Former President Donald Trump said on Thursday that independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is “not a serious candidate,” and he would have to get his poll numbers up “before he’s credible.” After leaving the Manhattan courtroom where he is being tried for alleged hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels, Trump was asked by a reporter if he would debate Kennedy. “RFK? I don’t know anything about him,” Trump replied. “Look, RFK is polling very low. He’s not a serious candidate. They say he hurts Biden. I don’t know who he hurts; he might hurt me, I don’t know.” “He has very low numbers,” Trump added. “Certainly not numbers he can debate with, and he’s gotta get his numbers up a lot higher before he’s credible. But the numbers he’s taking away, they say will be against Biden, but I don’t know; I’m not so sure. It could be a little bit against me, but I don’t see him as a factor.” Trump: "RFK is polling very low. He's not a serious candidate." pic.twitter.com/epUKaHxDm1 — The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) May 2, 2024 In a five-way race with Trump, President Joe Biden, Green Party candidate Jill Stein, and independent candidate Cornel West, Kennedy polls at 10% nationally, according to the RealClearPolitics average. Trump and Biden, meanwhile, are locked in a tight race at 41% and 39%, respectively. While Kennedy remains far behind Trump and Biden in the polls, the independent candidate has gained ballot access in critical battleground states in recent weeks. According to the Kennedy campaign, the candidate has qualified to appear on the ballots in Michigan, Nevada, and North Carolina, all states considered to be battleground races this November, according to RCP. Trump has repeatedly blasted Kennedy, calling him “the most radical Left candidate in the race” and saying he would likely pull votes away from Biden. “RFK Jr. is the most Radical Left Candidate in the race, by far. He’s a big fan of the Green New Scam, and other economy killing disasters,” Trump said in March. “I guess this would mean he is going to be taking votes from Crooked Joe Biden, which would be a great service to America.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP Last week, however, the Republican presidential candidate said that Kennedy’s campaign will help Biden, writing in a social media post that Kennedy is “a Radical Left Liberal who’s been put in place in order to help Crooked Joe Biden.” Kennedy has criticized both Biden and Trump during his presidential campaign, but more recently has focused his attacks on the sitting president. Kennedy said last month that he “can make the argument that President Biden is a much worse threat to democracy” than Trump is. “The greatest threat to democracy is not somebody who questions election returns, but a president of the United States who uses the power of his office to force the social media companies, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter to open a portal and give access to that portal to the FBI, to the CIA, to the IRS, to CISA, to NIH to censor his political critics,” Kennedy said on CNN. Earlier this week, Kennedy called on Biden to suspend his 2024 campaign, arguing that the president’s “presence gives Trump the victory instead of Kennedy.”

Actor Ryan Gosling said he’s not taking on certain roles that could affect his family. The 43-year-old Canadian-born actor had previously explored more psychologically complex characters, including roles he played in “The Notebook” (2004), “Blue Valentine” (2010) and “Drive” (2011). But he has a new perspective since becoming a dad. “I don’t really take roles that are going to put me in some kind of dark place,” Gosling told WSJ Magazine during a recently published interview.  “This moment is what I feel like trying to read the room at home and feel like what is going to be best for all of us,” he added. “The decisions I make, I make them with [girlfriend Eva Mendes] and we make them with our family in mind first.” Mendes and Gosling have two daughters – Esmeralda, 9, and Amada, 8. He said after they were born, he started exploring different genres.  “I think ‘La La Land’ was the first,” Gosling told the outlet. “It was just sort of like, oh, this will be fun for them, too, because even though they’re not coming to set, we’re practicing piano every day or we’re dancing or we’re singing.” The actor said his daughters helped influence his decision to accept the part of Ken in Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie,” a role that nabbed him an Oscar nomination earlier this year. “They were already making little movies about their Barbies on the iPad when it happened, so the fact that I was going off to work to make one too, we just felt like we were aligned,” Gosling explained.  CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP “I’m trying to just figure out who they are and be there for them in the way that I can,” he went on. “They’re such clear and distinct personalities that it’s sort of becoming obvious.” The actor is currently promoting his new action comedy, “The Fall Guy,” which hit theaters May 3.  During a previous interview with People, Gosling said his daughters told him they don’t approve of him playing with fire on set. “My kids didn’t want me to be set on fire,” he told the outlet. “Even though I said, ‘Well, it’s actually, technically the safer thing to do because there’s a lot of protective stuff involved.’ [They] “were like, ‘No. No fire.’ So I didn’t do it,” Gosling said.

Prosecutors are asking the judge overseeing the trial of the 28-year-old man accused of killing four University of Idaho students to disallow anyone other than the accused from testifying about his alibi. The suspect, who is not being named by The Daily Wire, claims that he regularly drove around at night to look at “the moon and stars,” but that he didn’t commit the murders of Ethan Chapin, 20; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Madison Mogen, 21, in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022, in the college town of Moscow, Idaho. In a court filing this week, Latah County Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson said that the alibi was too vague and said the defense shouldn’t be allowed to call any witnesses other than the defendant to prove his whereabouts, Fox News reported. “With the exception of the reference to Wawawai Park (which is new), the defendant is offering nothing new to his initial ‘alibi’ that he was simply driving around during the morning hours of November 13, 2022,” Thompson wrote in the new filing. “As the State noted during the August 2023 hearing, the State is aware that the defendant was driving around rural areas of Whitman County, Washington, and Latah County, Idaho, during the early morning hours of November 13, 2022. In fact, the defendant’s travels during that time are described in the original Probable Cause Affidavit supporting the Criminal Complaint in this case,” Thompson added. It took the defense more than a year to file an alibi for the suspect, who said he was simply driving around in the early morning hours when the murders occurred. “[The suspect] was out driving in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022, as he often did to hike and run and/or see the moon and stars. He drove throughout the area south of Pullman, Washington, west of Moscow, Idaho,” Anne Taylor, the suspect’s lead attorney, wrote in a court filing last month. To back this up, the defense plans to call an expert witness “to show that [the suspect’s] mobile device was south of Pullman, Washington and west of Moscow, Idaho on November 13, 2022; that [the suspect’s] mobile device did not travel east on the Moscow-Pullman Highway in the early morning hours of November 13th,” according to the court filing. CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP For this reason, the defense claims, the suspect’s car could not be the one seen on video surveillance driving on the Moscow-Pullman highway on the night of the murders. The suspect has been charged with four counts of murder and one count of burglary relating to the killings. Part of the evidence that led to the suspect’s arrest, mentioned in a previously unsealed probable cause affidavit, showed that police were able to narrow the timeframe of the crime to between 4:00 a.m. and 4:25 a.m. and reviewed video footage taken in the area in the time before and after the murders are believed to have occurred. Video showed a white Hyundai Elantra without a front license plate (front license plates are required in Washington and Idaho, but not in Pennsylvania, where the car was registered) in the area between 3:29 a.m. and 4:20 a.m. The vehicle can be seen passing the off-campus residence three times before returning a fourth time around 4:04 a.m. and attempting to turn around on the road. The vehicle was next seen around 4:20 a.m. traveling away from the direction of the off-campus residence at high speed, heading in the direction of a road that eventually leads to Pullman, Washington, where the suspect attended Washington State University (WSU). Video footage from the WSU campus showed a white Hyundai Elantra leaving the area and heading toward Moscow at around 2:53 a.m. At around 5:25 a.m., this vehicle was again observed on five cameras in Pullman and the WSU campus. Police pulled records for white Hyundai Elantras registered at WSU on November 29 – just over two weeks after the murders were committed – and found one belonging to the man who was eventually arrested. Police reviewed the owner’s Washington state driver’s license and determined he matched the suspect’s physical description provided by one of the surviving roommates. Police matched the suspect to the vehicle through two previous traffic stops in the months before the murders. They also learned that the suspect registered his car in Washington and received Washington plates on November 18 – five days after the murders. Police also reviewed cell phone data to show the suspect’s phone did not ping any cellular towers near the crime scene during the relevant timeframe, but an expanded examination of cell phone data showed the phone stopped reporting data to the network at around 2:47 a.m. At that time, the white Elantra was leaving Pullman and heading toward Moscow. The phone next pinged at 4:48 a.m. in an area south of Moscow, heading back to Pullman. Cell records also showed that the suspect left his home in Pullman around 9:00 a.m. on November 13 and traveled back to Moscow. Cell records dating back to June 2022 showed the suspect’s phone was in the crime scene area on at least 12 occasions before the murders – all but one in the late evening or early morning hours.

Billionaire entrepreneur and X owner Elon Musk had a simple suggestion for anyone who would replace an American flag with the flag of another country: a one-way ticket to visit the country in question. Musk shared a poll via X on Thursday, asking how many would support such a policy going forward. “Proposed law: if someone tears down the American flag and puts up another flag in its place, that person should get a free (but mandatory) one-way trip to that flag’s country,” he said, adding one small caveat: “I’m not saying they can’t come back, but they have to experience that country for some period of time before returning.” I’m not saying they can’t come back, but they have to experience that country for some period of time before returning — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 2, 2024 By the time the final results of the poll posted on Friday morning, the overwhelming response to his proposition was positive. After 1.5 million X users voted in Musk’s poll, nearly 1.2 million of them (79.9%) said they would support such a policy. Just under 300,000 (20.1%) said they would not support his proposal. Musk’s poll comes as students on multiple college campuses have either attempted to or succeeded in efforts to replace American flags with Palestinian flags during widespread anti-Israel protests. On some campuses, those efforts have been met with resistance from other students. At University of North Carolina’s Chapel Hill campus, a small group of fraternity boys stood between the anti-Israel protesters and their objective, holding the American flag over their heads and keeping it from touching the ground — even as protesters shouted profanities and threw things at them. CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP UNC student and Pi Kappa Phi brother Guillermo Estrada explained, “My fraternity brother and others ran over to hold it up, in order for it not to touch the ground. People began throwing water bottles at us, rocks, sticks, calling us profane names. We stood for an hour defending the flag so many fight to protect.”

Everyone knows that the most commonly practiced religion in Hollywood is the worship of self, even if most celebrities won’t admit it.  There are also plenty of stars who dabble in New Age practices, who call themselves “spiritual but not religious,” and a solid number of famous people who follow Eastern religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism.  And while lukewarm “Christians” are prevalent enough in Tinseltown, when it comes to being a Hollywood A-lister, it’s very unlikely that any will admit to being a full-fledged, church-going, sacrament practicing Catholic. It could be that the celebrity lifestyle doesn’t align with Catholicism. Or, perhaps there’s an invisible barrier preventing Catholics from reaching A-list status. More likely it’s a combination of both. However, there are a handful of Catholic celebrities who wear their faith loudly and proudly. It may mean that they’re shunned by their peers, but despite that, these famous players have decided that their religion means more than fitting in. Mark Wahlberg Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images Many millennials think of Wahlberg by his former stage name, Marky Mark. Wahlberg has collected plenty of impressive Hollywood accolades including a BAFTA Award, nominations for two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, nine Primetime Emmy Awards, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.  Besides just achieving success on the screen, the 52-year-old father of four is also a devout Catholic.  “I attribute everything good and everything positive in life to my faith,” Wahlberg said during a 2023 interview. “As soon as I started putting my faith and focus on God, good things started happening for me.” “And even when they didn’t, [faith] gives you the coping skills to deal with things that are inevitable, like loss and failure and those things,” he continued. “But, you know, again, my faith and my family, those are the most important aspects of my life.” In 2022, Wahlberg appeared in “Father Stu,” a movie based on the true story of a boxer who became a Catholic priest. The actor said it was “his calling” and “mission” to get the movie made. The meditation app Hallow, the most downloaded and used Catholic app in the world, launched a partnership with the actor in 2022 as he was promoting the movie. At the time, Wahlberg urged his 18 million social media followers to pray the rosary with him. “You got to stay prayed up. God bless you,” he said at the time. Gary Sinise Michael Tullberg/Getty Images Yes, Lieutenant Dan from “Forrest Gump” is also a practicing Catholic in addition to promoting causes that help veterans. He said he’s found success despite being openly conservative in Hollywood.  “I’ve had a blessed career in the movie and television and theater business,” Sinise said in January 2023. “I’ve done amazing things, I’ve worked with amazing people, and it really played a major role, if not the key element, in what I’m doing today on the service side.” Sinise discussed his journey to becoming Catholic in 2019. He said he was led to the church by his wife, Moira Harris, who converted herself after being cast in a play. The actor said he surprised his family by choosing to join the church about a decade after his wife.  “I surprised my family. I’d gone through the confirmation classes and whatnot myself behind everybody’s back and I didn’t tell anybody that I was doing it,” he told Catholic News Service. “On Christmas Eve 2010 I told the family I was taking them to dinner at Morton’s Steakhouse and have Christmas Eve dinner,” Sinise continued. “And on the way there, I pulled into the church, and everybody asked, ‘What are we doing here?’ I said come on in. We walked into the church. The priest was there, and he confirmed me. It was beautiful.” Jim Caviezel Steve Rogers Photography/Getty Images for SXSW The actor who portrayed Jesus in Mel Gibson’s massively popular drama, “The Passion of the Christ” (2004) is himself a Catholic. The 55-year-old actor credits his entire career to saying a daily rosary. He also credits his devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary with helping him be cast in “The Thin Red Line” (1998), which was the starting point of his career. While filming “The Passion,” Caviezel is said to have experienced a dislocated shoulder, pneumonia, and hypothermia, among other ailments.  “When I was up there on the Cross, I learned that in His suffering was our redemption. Remember the servant is no greater than the master,” he said while addressing a roomful of college students. “Each of us must carry our own cross. There is a price for our faith, for our freedoms. I have been literally scourged, hit by the whips, crucified, struck by lightning, yes, open heart surgery — that’s what happens after five and a half months of hypothermia.” He spoke about his faith similarly in 2018. “I never thought that being a Christian would be an easy road, but that my heart, even on a cross in the freezing cold, nothing could stop my burning heart from loving Jesus. It’s important. And I took it as an actor because I want people to see why I am proud to be a Christian,” Caviezel said at the time. Patricia Heaton Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Concordia Summit Actress Patricia Heaton is another mainstream actress who was cast on a hit sitcom despite being conservative, and Catholic to boot. She discussed growing up in a devout family during an interview in 2022 after meeting Pope Francis at the VITAE Summit in the Vatican. “My sister is a Dominican nun,” she said at the time. “My grandparents met Pope John Paul I. My mom was one of 15 children. I have some 100 first cousins on my mom’s side. So, we’re a very Catholic family. Meeting the Pope is such an incredible honor that I never thought I would have.” Unlike some of her peers, Heaton said she hasn’t been ostracized for her faith. “As much as people want to paint Hollywood as a sort of anti-religious place, I have found that going into work, we’re all there to do a job,” Heaton said during the same conversation. “We’re all there to be professional. We all respect each other. We share opinions, different opinions. And because we love each other and we have a common goal of creating something wonderful for people to enjoy, the differences in our religion or politics or whatever, in my experience on a set, have not been a problem.” Besides sharing bible quotes with her followers, Heaton also openly discusses how she’s pro-life. “I don’t understand why pro-life people want to know if they are ‘welcome’ to join the democrat party,” the actress shared on X in February 2020. “Why would any civilized person want to support a barbaric platform that champions abortion for any reason through all nine months funded by taxpayers?” Shia LaBeouf (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for HFA) One of the newest Catholic converts in the Hollywood community is actor Shia LaBeouf, best known for getting his start on the Disney series “Even Stevens” and later moving into film roles, including the “Transformers” franchise. Now the celeb is a practicing Catholic as well after receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation on New Year’s Eve 2023. And he may go even further than that. His sponsor told Catholic News Agency that the 37-year-old star is also considering becoming a deacon in the future. LaBoeuf credited being cast in the film “Padre Pio” (2022) with influencing his decision to convert after going through turmoil and scandals, as The Daily Wire previously reported. LaBeouf said he was “never an atheist,” but was previously agnostic. The actor further explained how the role in “Pio” saved his life.

TV host Drew Carey said he’s not ever going to retire from hosting “The Price Is Right.”  The 65-year-old comedian took over the role in 2007 after longtime host Bob Barker retired from the gig. Carey said there’s no chance he’ll follow in his predecessor’s footsteps. “I’m not going anywhere,” Carey told Entertainment Tonight’s Kevin Frazier at the CBS Fall Schedule Celebration.  “I think Bob made a mistake by retiring,” he added. “I’m not gonna make that same mistake. As long as my heart is ticking and they want me to be on the show, I think I’m gonna do ‘The Price is Right.’ I just love it.” “I think I was made for it,” Carey added. Despite not agreeing with Barker’s decision to retire, he did admit to learning a lot from the longtime “Price Is Right” host. Barker died in 2023 at the age of 99. “He was so good at this,” Carey said. “He was so good at relating to people and getting them to be relaxed and be themselves. You watch his demeanor and his attitude. He never seemed stressed.” He added, “I’ve learned to relax while I’m onstage and not be so uptight about what’s going on. I just have to own the show and make it like my living room, because he was so comfortable in front of a camera.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP “He was the ultimate pro game show host,” Carey said during a separate interview with ET. “This guy will never be replaced or equal. It’s kind of crazy how good he was.” The comedian also reflected on the success of “The Drew Carey Show,” which aired from 1995 until 2004.  “That was one of the best experiences of my life,” Carey told ET. “I loved it, all the writers, all the cast – we were like a family. I felt like that and yeah, I just thought it was the greatest thing, and I’m so grateful I got to do that. Grateful to Warner Brothers and ABC for giving me an opportunity like that. Made my whole life.”

President Joe Biden’s team has quietly shuffled in and implemented a new safeguard in their ongoing efforts to shield him from the prying questions — and eyes — of the White House Press Corps. According to a report published last week by Axios, the president’s staff plans to redouble their efforts to flank him as he makes the short walk across the White House lawn to and from Marine One. Their goal, apparently, is to steer him away from the reporters shouting questions and to hide his uneven gait from their cameras. In response to concerns that walking alone across the grass has drawn attention to his age and sometimes halting and uneven steps, Biden has been surrounded by staffers or lawmakers nine of the ten times he’s made that trip since April 16, ccording to the Axios report. A White House official told Axios that the idea was Biden’s and he told aides that he'd prefer a less formal approach to walking and suggested that they walk with him. "He's fully visible except for a few seconds. Impeach," WH spokesman Andrew Bates said. — Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) April 26, 2024 Axios’ Alex Thompson noted that Biden has also opted for athletic shoes with sturdier soles that could help minimize the risk that he would slip or trip while walking. Latest example of this new approach this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/KgZv25U6z8 — Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) April 26, 2024 He followed that with a video showing Biden exiting Marine One via the front door — and within seconds, he was surrounded by several others who had exited to the rear. In the days since, Biden’s team has taken things a step further — and in at least one case, they barred the White House Press Corps from approaching the president’s path until he was already boarding Marine One, too far away to hear even their shouted questions. CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP **BREAKING** Reporters are shocked as Biden boards Marine One in secret. The press were only allowed to film once he was on the helicopter. ‘Wow… He boarded before the press could even get out here.’pic.twitter.com/O6JCoAmU07 — The First (@TheFirstonTV) May 2, 2024 “Wow, the president just boarded Marine One without taking any questions, and he boarded before the press could even get out here,” one reporter could be heard complaining. Despite early promises of transparency, President Biden’s team has effectively sequestered him, scheduling very few interviews with friendly outlets like Howard Stern’s radio show and Ryan Seacrest’s New Year’s Eve broadcast. Biden’s lack of press availability has been such a stark contrast to former President Donald Trump’s near-constant banter with the press that it has raised the ire of New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger. “Systematically avoiding interviews and questions from major news organizations doesn’t just undermine an important norm, it also establishes a dangerous precedent that future presidents can use to avoid scrutiny and accountability,” the NYT said in a recent statement.

Among the over 600 faculty members at the University of Texas at Austin who signed onto a letter stating that they have “no confidence” in the university president because he took swift action against anti-Israel protesters are radical liberal professors who blamed Israel for Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attack. Led by Pauline Turner Strong, a women’s and gender studies professor who is currently studying the “role of indigenous nations and movements in climate justice activism,” the professors say that President Jay Hartzell “has shown himself to be unresponsive to urgent faculty, staff, and student concerns” “He has violated our trust,” the letter states. “The University is no longer a safe and welcoming place for the diverse community of students and scholars who until now have called this campus home.” The faculty take issue not only with Hartzell’s handling of the protests — he brought in police to forcibly disperse students that formed an encampment — but also his decision to fire dozens of diversity, equity, and inclusion staffers at the university. Hartzell “capitulated to political pressure” by dissolving the Division of Campus and Community Engagement (DCCE) last month, the letter states, resulting in the firing of “at least forty staff — predominantly women and people of color.” The letter and signature campaign is coordinated by the union, American Association of University Professors at UT Austin, which co-organized a “Stop the Purge” rally to protest the firings. “President Hartzell needlessly put students, staff and faculty in danger,” the letter states. “Dozens of students were arrested for assembling peacefully on their own campus.” The letter currently stands at 657 signatures, making up about 20% of the roughly 3,200 faculty members at the university. Only seven signatures are publicly displayed on the website with the posted letter, all of whom are AAUP chapter officers. These include professors Pauline Turner Strong, Brian L. Evans, Karma R. Chávez, Andrea C. Gore, Lauren Jae Gutterman, Steven Seegel, and Julia Mickenberg. The Daily Wire obtained a copy of the letter with all of the signatories listed, and identified several with a history of anti-Israel activism. One of the most controversial signatories is Nahid Siamdoust, an assistant professor in the Middle Eastern Studies department who put the blame on Israel in the immediate wake of Hamas committing its massacre of Israeli civilians on October 7. “This is the moment when the world powers need to step in and say enough is enough,” Siamdoust posted. “End the occupation. There won’t be peace otherwise. Let’s stop this bloodshed. Let’s solve this problem. Instead they empower Israel to retaliate indiscriminately. My [heart breaks] for all the innocent.” This is the moment when the world powers need to step in and say enough is enough. End the occupation. There won’t be peace otherwise. Let’s stop this bloodshed. Let’s solve this problem. Instead they empower Israel to retaliate indiscriminately. My 💔 for all the innocent. — Nahid Siamdoust (@nahid8) October 8, 2023 In a tweet two days later, she said she was “ashamed” by seeing exiled Iranians celebrating “Israel’s illegal siege and indiscriminate killing of Palestinians with the military & financial might of the world.” African diaspora and gender studies professor Pavithra Vasudevan, a member of the Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine, frequently sports a keffiyeh and has attended anti-Israel rallies on campus. In one video, she is heard telling students that she “lost confidence” in the university for “inviting the police state to take over this campus.” “The police do not protect us, we protect us,” she added. “This is our space, this is our campus.” Associate Dean for Faculty Mentoring and Development, Peniel E. Joseph, also signed onto the letter and published an op-ed on Thursday accusing the school of assaulting democracy by firing the DEI-focused faculty members.  “What we are experiencing here in Texas is an assault on the nation’s democracy,” Joseph wrote. “As in Gov. Ron DeSantis’s Florida, Gov. Greg Abbott’s efforts here amplify conservative legislators’ vision of ‘reclaiming’ the university from a so-called ‘woke mob’ apparently populated by folks who look like me.” The faculty letter demands that criminal charges be dropped “against students and others,” that students not face disciplinary action, and that the school “respect the first Amendment free speech rights of students and faculty.” The idea for the letter began as police were still arresting people on campus last Wednesday, according to the Austin American-Statesman. While the number of faculty who signed on to the letter is certainly large, there is also substantial support for Hartzell in the university community. A letter of support for Hartzell organized by Alums for Campus Fairness thanks him for his “decisive action in putting an end to the recent antisemitic encampment on campus.” Organizers say the letter in support of Hartzell already has 9,137 signatories from its community of alumni, parents of students, and donors to the university. 

Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) and his wife were indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice on Friday for allegedly taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from two foreign entities. The 68-year-old congressman was charged along with his wife, Imelda Cuellar, 67, with participating in two alleged schemes involving bribery, unlawful foreign influence, and money laundering, the DOJ said in a statement. The Cuellars allegedly took nearly $600,000 in bribes from an oil and gas company that is wholly owned and controlled by the government of Azerbaijan and a bank that is headquartered in Mexico city. CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP “Cuellar promised to use the power and prestige of his office to advance Azerbaijan’s and Foreign Bank-1’s interests in the United States,” the DOJ said. “The bribe payments were laundered, pursuant to sham consulting contracts, through a series of front companies and middlemen into shell companies owned by Imelda Cuellar. Cuellar performed little or no legitimate work under the sham contracts.” The indictment comes after the FBI raided Cuellar’s home and campaign office back in 2022 as part of the criminal investigation into the former Soviet state of Azerbaijan and several U.S. businessmen. Numerous items were seized during the raid. Prosecutors allege that in-exchange for the bribes, Cuellar, who is the Ranking Member on the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, used his office to influence U.S. foreign policy in a manner favorable to Azerbaijan. “In exchange for the bribes paid by the Mexican bank, Congressman Cuellar allegedly agreed to influence legislative activity and to advise and pressure high-ranking U.S. Executive Branch officials regarding measures beneficial to the bank,” the DOJ said. Both individuals were charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit bribery of a federal official and to have a public official act as an agent of a foreign principal; two counts of bribery of a federal official; two counts of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud; two counts of violating the ban on public officials acting as agents of a foreign principal; one count of conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering; and five counts of money laundering. If convicted on all of the charges, both individuals face a maximum of up to 204 years in prison. This report has been updated to include additional information. 

Actor Mark Hamill crashed Friday’s White House press briefing — the day before Star Wars Day (May the Fourth) — and instead of taking questions about the popular Sci-Fi/Fantasy franchise, all he wanted to do was gush about President Joe Biden. Hamill, who played the role of Jedi Luke Skywalker in George Lucas’ original trilogy, joined White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at the lectern and told reporters how happy he had been to meet the president’s staff. He opened with a joke, saying that when Biden had invited the actor to call him “Joe,” he’d asked whether he could call him “Joe-Bi-Wan-Kenobi.” WATCH: Mark Hamill is at the White House press briefing today making cringe Star Wars jokes. Not like there’s anything important going on in the world at the moment! pic.twitter.com/Qjryh8Wx1M — Greg Price (@greg_price11) May 3, 2024 WATCH: .@MarkHamill at the White House press briefing: “I was honored to be asked to come to the White House to meet the President, the most legislatively successful president in my lifetime. And you know, I don't have to go through the list of bipartisan infrastructure law, the PACT… pic.twitter.com/6BuWLHEJ9g — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) May 3, 2024 “I was honored to be asked to come to the White House to meet the president, the most legislatively successful president in my lifetime,” Hamill began, listing off a series of legislative actions that he counted as Biden wins. “And you know, I don’t have to go through the list of bipartisan infrastructure law, the PACT Act, the Chips Act, all of that inflation — 15 million jobs.” “Look, it’s all good,” Hamill continued, praising Biden’s staff and raving about how much work the president did day-to-day. “I mean, I was really thrilled to meet the entire staff because, you know, it’s not just one person. It’s like a composite endeavor and all these people, my goodness, you know, I mean, I have no idea — I — I had no idea. Just what went into what is on his plate on a daily basis.” “So, that’s pretty much it. I’m open to questions, although no Star Wars questions, please,” Hamill concluded. “But I want to say once again how grateful I am, and it just shows you that just one person can be so influential and so positive in our lives and, again thank you so much. And @PeterBakerNYT, I loved your book.” “Hamill was born in 1951,” Mike Cote pointed out in an X post. “Even for his personal politics, Biden isn’t remotely close to the most legislatively successful president of his lifetime. LBJ, anyone? Very sad to see a Jedi turn into a Sith before our eyes.” Hamill was born in 1951. Even for his personal politics, Biden isn't remotely close to the most legislatively successful president of his lifetime. LBJ, anyone? Very sad to see a Jedi turn into a Sith before our eyes. https://t.co/7gLEWGahxz — Mike Coté (@ratlpolicy) May 3, 2024