Illegal immigrant’s ‘kidnapping’ by ICE exposed as elaborate money-making fraud scheme
A Mexican illegal alien living in Los Angeles was charged with orchestrating her own fake ICE “kidnapping” to generate sympathy and solicit donations, the Justice Department announced Thursday.
Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon, 41, a resident of South Los Angeles, was charged with conspiracy and making false statements to federal officers, the DOJ said.
Calderon had been living in the U.S. based on a federal law enforcement parole that expired in 2023. She is in federal custody after she allegedly faked her kidnapping.
This comes after local outlet KTLA reported on a news conference held by Calderon’s “loved ones and attorneys,” who claimed she had been “kidnapped” by uniformed men in unmarked cars June 25.
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The outlet reported that a woman identified as an attorney named Stephano Medina claimed Calderon was cornered in a Jack in the Box parking lot in Los Angeles by men who did not identify themselves but were possibly bounty hunters. Medina claimed Calderon was taken to the border and presented to an “ICE staffer,” who demanded she sign self-deportation paperwork.
Medina said that when Calderon refused to sign the paperwork, she was taken to a warehouse until she agreed to sign the document.
Fox News Digital obtained a copy of the criminal complaint against Calderon, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. An affidavit filed with the complaint alleges that Calderon and others “planned a hoax kidnapping” for their benefit, “including their own pecuniary gain.”
The affidavit said that Calderon’s daughter set up a GoFundMe page to raise $4,500 after her mother was “taken by masked men in an unmarked vehicle.”
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The daughter filed a missing person report with the Los Angeles Police Department, which notified Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) of Calderon’s supposed kidnapping.
HSI determined Calderon was not in DHS custody and, out of concern for her safety, the agency launched its own investigation to find her. During the investigation, HSI noticed several irregularities, including that the phone calls to loved ones that Calderon had supposedly made via borrowed phones were made from her cell phone, intentionally masked to appear as an unknown number.
According to the affidavit, video surveillance of Calderon’s alleged forced abduction further showed her calmly leaving the Jack in the Box parking lot and getting into a nearby sedan. Despite the video showing a marked LAPD car in the vicinity, Calderon did not make any attempts to alert officers that she was in danger.
The affidavit states that “when confronted with true information that contradicted their kidnapping story,” Calderon and others lied to federal agents and “attempted to thwart law enforcement efforts” by keeping her whereabouts from law enforcement.
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According to a DOJ statement, HSI agents tracked Calderon down July 5 in a shopping plaza parking lot in Bakersfield, California. The statement said Calderon continued to claim she was taken by masked men and held in custody with others.
She is in U.S. immigration custody and is facing a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for conspiracy and up to five years for false statements if convicted of the charges.
Commenting on the charges, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli thanked HSI and “all federal agents facing unprecedented levels of assaults” for “providing cool heads and professionalism during these difficult times.”
Essayli said “dangerous rhetoric that ICE agents are ‘kidnapping’ illegal immigrants is being recklessly peddled by politicians and echoed in the media to inflame the public and discredit our courageous federal agents.”
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HSI Los Angeles Special Agent in Charge Eddy Wang also decried the scheme, saying, “My office invested valuable time and resources working this alleged kidnapping investigation only to discover that it was a hoax.
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“Diverting critical law enforcement resources is not only reckless and irresponsible, but it also endangers the community,” Wang added. “The real cost of a fraud like this is the amount of fentanyl not seized, child predators not removed from the communities and human trafficking victims not rescued because law enforcement redirected resources to recover the defendant.
“We want to assure the public that allegations of criminal activity will be thoroughly investigated by HSI and our law enforcement partners and that those who engage in fraud and deception will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
The White House also chimed in on the development. White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital that “the Fake News is so desperate to believe any anti-ICE narrative that they refuse to actually check the facts and instead just echo the lies they’re fed.”
“The truth has come out: this was nothing more than another Fake News Hoax,” she added. “Any outlet that participated in this hoax should be ashamed and apologize to their viewers for lying to them. Trust in the media is at an all time low and this is the perfect example why.”
Doctors react to alleged Trump health issues as pics show bruising and swelling
After photos circulated recently of President Donald Trump’s apparently swollen legs and bruised hand, doctors are speaking about potential causes and concerns.
In an “effort of transparency” on Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shared a note from Trump’s physician after he underwent a “comprehensive examination” by the White House Medical Unit.
During a press briefing, Leavitt stated that Trump’s swollen legs were part of a “benign and common condition” called “chronic venous insufficiency” that can affect older individuals. (The president is 79.)
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“Importantly, there was no evidence of deep vein thrombosis or arterial disease,” she said.
Leavitt attributed the bruising on the president’s hand to “frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin.”
“This is consistent with minor soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin, which is taken as part of a standard cardiovascular prevention regimen,” she said.
“This is a well-known and benign side effect of aspirin therapy, and the president remains in excellent health.”
‘Common condition’
Scott A. Sundick, M.D., a vascular and endovascular surgeon at The Cardiovascular Care Group in Westfield, New Jersey, commented on the concerns that have been raised. (He has not treated the president.)
“Leg swelling is a common condition, particularly among older adults. As a practicing vascular surgeon, I see patients for this issue more frequently than almost any other complaint,” he told Fox News Digital.
“The president remains in excellent health.”
While leg swelling is often benign, it can sometimes be a symptom of serious, potentially life-threatening conditions, such as acute deep vein thrombosis (DVT), congestive heart failure (CHF) or renal failure, according to the doctor.
“In the president’s case, these more concerning causes were appropriately ruled out through a combination of diagnostic testing, including a venous Doppler ultrasound, echocardiogram and laboratory evaluations respectively,” he added.
Sundick also spoke about the president’s diagnosis of chronic venous insufficiency, which he described as a “relatively common and benign condition.”
“Under normal circumstances, blood returns to the heart from the legs through the veins, aided by the contraction of leg muscles with each step we take,” he said.
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“These contractions help push blood upward, and valves within the veins prevent it from flowing backward toward the feet. When these valves become weakened or incompetent, blood can pool in the lower legs — a condition known as venous insufficiency.”
This condition can cause symptoms such as leg swelling or varicose veins, the doctor noted.
Treatment usually includes the use of compression stockings or, in some cases, a minimally invasive outpatient procedure called venous ablation.
Regarding the bruising being attributed to aspirin therapy, Sundick noted that many older adults take daily low-dose aspirin as part of a cardiovascular disease prevention strategy.
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“Aspirin works by inhibiting platelet function, reducing the risk of blood clots that could lead to heart attacks or strokes,” he said.
“A well-known side effect of aspirin therapy is an increased tendency to bruise easily, even with minor trauma.”
Sundick said this is “common and generally not concerning,” particularly considering aspirin’s “well-established cardiovascular benefits.”
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Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News’ senior medical analyst, also commented on the bruising seen on Trump’s hand.
“As you age, your skin can become more friable (fragile), less elastic and more prone to easy bruising,” Siegel, who has not treated the president, told Fox News Digital.
“I don’t think there’s anything hidden there at all.”
“Aspirin interferes with platelet function, making this more likely.”
On a Thursday episode of “America Reports,” Siegel noted that he found the medical update “reassuring,” calling Trump’s condition “not serious, completely benign and cosmetic.”
“It’s expected for a man who’s in his late 70s and standing on his feet all the time,” Siegel added, noting that compression stockings and elevating the legs could help to reduce swelling and any potential discomfort.
The doctor also said he “accepts the explanation” that Trump’s hand bruising is caused by “vigorous handshaking.”
“I don’t think there’s anything hidden there at all,” Siegel said.
‘Women will die’: Far-left NYC mayoral hopeful under fire for radical police stance
Domestic violence survivors and advocates are speaking out after far-left New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s past comments opposing sending police to respond to domestic violence resurfaced.
“Police do not create safety… there are so many responsibilities we’ve given to police that, frankly, should have nothing to do with their departments… if somebody is jaywalking, if somebody is surviving, going through domestic violence—there are so many different, different situations that would be far better handled by people trained to deal with those specific situations, as opposed to an individual with a gun,” Mamdani said on the Immigrantly podcast in July 2020, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
Mamdani’s comments came shortly after George Floyd’s death engulfed the nation in a fever of anti-police riots and sentiment among the left. Domestic violence advocates are sounding the alarm about Mamdani’s comments, warning that if the left-wing mayoral candidate follows through on these policies, lives could be endangered.
“There’s a lot of humans who are victims in the city of New York, and they need protection because sometimes it’s a matter of life and death. They’re hiding in the bathroom with their children, and they need someone to come immediately,” Michelle Esquenazi, founder of the Victims Rights Reform Council, told Fox News Digital.
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The democratic socialist, who was first elected to the New York state legislature in 2020, has a long history of calls to defund the police.
In 2020, Mamdani called to defund the police multiple times and called the NYPD “wicked and corrupt.” Mamdani’s campaign website calls for the establishment of the “Department of Community Safety”, which his website claims will take on certain responsibilities currently delegated to the police.
However, at a mayoral debate last month, Mamdani denied that he would defund the police, and vowed instead to “work with the police,” and use mental health counselors and social workers to address homelessness and the mentally ill.
For Esquenazi, Mamdani’s past comments hit home because she claims the NYPD saved her when her ex-husband attacked her in their Queens home while she was pregnant in 1993.
“I called 911, and they came running. They made sure that me and my children, and I was pregnant at the time, were safe. One of the officers took us to a back bedroom and made sure that we were calmed down and made sure that we had what we needed. They separated him from the situation immediately and essentially saved our lives,” Esquenazi told Fox News Digital.
“If Mamdani puts in any sort of barrier to victims getting immediate help from NYPD, then many lives will be lost,” she said.
Jennifer Harrison, also a domestic violence survivor and executive director of the Victims Rights Reform Council and founder of Victims Rights New York, echoed Esquenazi’s warnings that women’s lives would be in danger if the NYPD was prevented from responding to domestic violence calls.
“It would definitely make women less safe… we’ve already tried their experiments, and they’re failing epically. These are all smokescreens and pipe dreams,” Harrison told Fox News Digital.
Harrison said that she needed police, fearing for her life, when her boyfriend had a mental health crisis in 2017, in which he smashed her and her son’s iPads and threatened to kill himself while preventing them from leaving their Suffolk County, NY home.
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The police brought her boyfriend to the hospital, seeing he needed mental health treatment, but the hospital discharged him mere hours later. However, a cop was notified and tipped off Harrison that her enraged boyfriend was on his way back home — giving her and her son time to escape.
“That cop probably saved my life… I don’t think we should be playing Russian roulette with the lives of domestic violence victims,” Harrison told Fox News Digital.
Republican candidate for mayor Curtis Sliwa blasted Mamdani when reached for comment by Fox News Digital.
“Women will die, and children will die. He has no idea what goes on, he’s either hopelessly naive, or he hates the police so much he doesn’t care,” Sliwa told Fox News Digital.
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Sonia Ossorio, Executive Director of National Organization for Women NYC, said that women’s lives are “at stake,” and she pointed out that having unarmed first responders attend to domestic violence situations could put them in harm’s way.
“The number one cause of death and major injury for women in this country is done at the hands of their intimate partner. So fast response by law enforcement that is trained and has the resources to intervene in major situations is critical,” she told Fox News Digital.
“What are we saying about women’s safety about the endemic of domestic violence if we are even hinting at the idea that police response is not a priority?”
A 2021 study published by the World Journal of Psychiatry found that domestic violence is the “leading cause of homicide death for women” and found that 30% of women experience domestic partner violence, which is often called “intimate partner violence.”
Mamdani and two of his rivals in the NYC mayoral race, Eric Adams and Andrew Cuomo, did not return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Former MSNBC host accused of playing ‘race card’ after show’s ratings plummeted
Joy Reid and Piers Morgan had a heated exchange on “Piers Morgan Uncensored” Thursday when the host disputed her claim that she was fired from MSNBC for being a Black woman.
“Joy, I mean, let’s be honest. I don’t think you were fired after all those years because of your skin color, or because you’re a Black woman. I think you were fired because your show just got increasingly unpopular,” Morgan said.
Reid’s MSNBC show “The ReidOut” was canceled in February as part of a larger shakeup at the network. Her show had struggled to attract ratings, averaging only 973,000 total viewers in February 2025 compared to 1.3 million during the same month in 2024, marking a 28% decline.
Reid has maintained her show suffered smaller declines than other MSNBC shows and she didn’t understand the reason for the cancellation.
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When Morgan asked why she was playing “the race card” instead of acknowledging that rating struggles were behind her cancellation, an incensed Reid shot back at Morgan that he was “fixated on trying to racialize conversations.”
“I love the fact that your ‘play the race card’ is your version of the race card. You literally are so fixated on trying to racialize conversations with me, Piers, I actually find it quite charming –” Reid said before she was cut off.
“You racialize more conversations in your tenure at MSNBC than any host in history,” a peeved Morgan interrupted while Reid continued to speak.
Reid’s show was known for her controversial and often racially charged views, especially directing scorn towards Black Republicans and conservatives.
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She called Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas “Uncle Clarence” due to his conservative views.
Reid claimed in 2021 that Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., was only present at a GOP press conference to provide a “patina of diversity.” The former MSNBC host also called Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fl., the “Black guy the Republicans love to roll out” in 2021.
Reid previously told podcaster Marc Lamont Hill that being a “Black woman” made White viewers “angrier” when they objected to some of the controversial views she shared on her program.
“You take an entire conversation I had with Marc Lamont Hill and pick the bits that you can racialize because this is your schtick,” Reid told Morgan.
“You racialize everything Joy, come on… It’s not my schtick, it was your schtick, but people got bored with it,” Morgan shot back.
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The former “ReidOut” host went on to say that Morgan, a “White European,” had a double standard for when “people of color” discussed race.
Morgan and Reid’s interview was contentious throughout. At another point, Morgan confronted Reid at length over her blog controversy, where homophobic posts from a Florida-based blog she had resurfaced in 2018.
Texas power couple unearths ‘priceless’ royal tomb filled with 1,700-year-old treasures
A Texas archaeologist couple recently unearthed the ancient tomb of a legendary king in Central America — a feat that’s been over 40 years in the making.
Arlen Chase and Diane Chase, both professors at the University of Houston, uncovered the 4th-century tomb at the Caracol archaeological site in Belize. The university shared the discovery on July 10. (See the video at the top of this article.)
Caracol was a major Mayan city established in the 300s A.D. The tomb belonged to Te’ K’ab Chaak, the earliest ruler of the city and the founder of its royal dynasty – and it’s the first confirmed royal tomb found at the site.
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“Now in ruins, this metropolis was a major political player in Maya history, dominating the southern part of the Yucatan Peninsula from 560 through 680 AD before its abandonment by 900 AD,” the University of Houston said in its press release.
Teʼ Kʼab Chaak’s tomb was filled with treasures, including 11 pottery vessels and carved bone tubes. Excavators also found a mosaic death mask made of jadeite, along with jewelry made from the same type of gemstone.
The Chases are the foremost scholars on Caracol, and this latest excavation is just one of many they’ve conducted.
Their son, Adrian, is also an archaeologist and discovered Caracol’s decentralized water system.
“The true value of the materials is in what they can tell us about the ancient culture.”
Judging from the ruler’s remains, the Chases also found that Te’ K’ab Chaak was 5’7 in height and died at an advanced age. He also had no remaining teeth.
Speaking to Fox News Digital, Arlen Chase called the recently unearthed artifacts “priceless.”
“Professional archaeologists will not put a dollar value on the items they dig up … That being said, the true value of the materials is in what they can tell us about the ancient culture,” the expert described.
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“In this case, most of the individual artifacts are unique, but together they not only tell a story about the individual who once owned them but also enable us to provide a date for the burial.”
Arlen Chase said the artifacts date to 350 A.D. and “include a full range of vessel types for this time period,” including two from the Highlands of Guatemala and shells from the Pacific Ocean.
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Both these types of treasures, he noted, were the “result of long-distance trade.”
Arlen Chase also confirmed that archaeologists identified the burial “based on the size of his chamber, the presence of jadeite mosaic death mask and earflares, and everything being covered in cinnabar.”
Diane Chase told Fox News Digital that the ceramic vessels in particular really showed off Teʼ Kʼab Chaak’s status and wealth.
“The two Pacific spondylus shells near his head, the jadeite earflares, the carved jadeite tubular beads, and the mosaic jadeite death mask also show his ability to obtain long-distance prestige items,” she noted.
A car trip between Teotihuacan and Caracol today would take over 23 hours. Ancient people would have had to walk at least 153 days to complete the journey, making the burial offerings particularly special.
Above all, Diane Chase noted that finding a ruler’s burial is “extremely unusual, and important.”
She said, “This is the first one we have discovered within the ancient city of Caracol.”
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She added, “Even more important, he is the first ruler of the Caracol dynasty with some 30 other rulers following him (according to the hieroglyphic[s]) before the city was abandoned.”
Social media sensation ‘consulted only people who would agree’ before show stunt
Olivia Dunne, a former LSU Tigers gymnast and popular social media star, dished on the backstory on how she decided to do a split during a Sports Illustrated Runway Show in Miami earlier this year.
The national champion appeared on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition this year and was able to walk the runway for the first time. She explained on “What’s Your Story? With Stephanie McMahon” that she was able to participate in the show because she was out of LSU and had no need to start training for the upcoming season.
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During the May show, she strutted down the walkway in a black and white polka dot bathing suit that featured red bows in the front and down toward her hips. As she reached the end of the aisle, she dropped into a split.
She told McMahon in a recent episode of the former WWE executive’s podcast that she was nervous to do the show because she had never walked down a runway, let alone been at one of the fashion shows before.
“I went to Miami. I had no clue what to expect,” Dunne explained. “I’ve never walked a runway a day in my life. I’ve only ever walked in my bedroom mirror after watching the Vicotria’s Secret Fashion Show growing up. I’ve literally never walked a runway.
“So, I get to the rehearsal and you just do a quick run through of the show. Literally, two hours before the show. And they’re like, ‘OK, Liv, you’re opening the show.’ Oh shoot, I’ve never even watched someone walk down the runway in person.”
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Dunne said she consulted the people she believed wouldn’t sway her from doing it.
“So, I got to open the show with a Sports Illustrated T-shirt on, which was so cool and it was an iconic moment,” Dunne said. “And then, I decided right after the rehearsal, I remember, I was talking with my sister – I was consulting with only people I knew would agree with me. I was like, ‘Should I do a split?’ And they were like, ‘… Yeah. Just go for it.’ So, I asked the head, lady (SI editor MJ Day) and she was just like, ‘Honestly, just have fun with it because this is not an ordinary runway. This isn’t stoic …’ And I kinda think dropping into a split would be fun and show my athleticism. And I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody do it.
“When watching a fashion show like Sports Illustrated, they wanna see personality, they wanna see movement, they wanna see you having the time of your life, because it really was in the moment. It was so fun. And yeah, I oiled myself up and dropped into a split.… It was so much fun.”
Dunne was one of four cover models, along with Lauren Chan, Salma Hayek and Jordan Chiles.
She has been one of the most-followed athletes on social media since she joined LSU. She boasts more than 8 million followers on TikTok and another 5.4 million on Instagram. She helped the Tigers to a national championship in 2024, but her final year with LSU was derailed because of an injury.
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Since then, she’s been spotted cheering on her boyfriend Paul Skenes as he makes waves in MLB with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Billy Joel says he felt ‘like a homewrecker’ over affair, deserved to get ‘punched’
Billy Joel fell in love with the wife of his best friend and bandmate when he was just starting his career.
In a new documentary, “Billy Joel: And So It Goes,” the Piano Man revealed the anguish he went through when he told his friend he was in love with his wife.
Joel had been living with bandmate Jon Small; Small’s wife, Elizabeth Weber; and their son, while Joel and Small were in a duo called Attila in their early 20s.
“I was just in love with a woman, and I got punched in the nose, which I deserved,” Joel said in the documentary. “I felt very, very guilty about it. They had a child, you know? I felt like a homewrecker.”
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Earlier this year, Joel was diagnosed with a brain condition that forced him to cancel all of his scheduled concerts.
Longtime collaborator and the executive producer of the documentary, Steve Cohen, told Fox News Digital his fingers are crossed Joel will perform again.
“I always look at it as a gift when he walks on stage,” Cohen said. “I can’t predict. I do know that the Billy Joel that I had dinner with last night, that’s the Billy Joe that I know. So, look, it’s up to him. If he feels like he wants to, you know, ‘play’ Billy Joel on stage again, we’re all gonna be there for him.”
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The five-time Grammy winner, 76, was diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), which occurs when cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) builds up inside or around the brain and has led to problems with hearing, vision and balance for the musician.
“I can’t predict whether he’s gonna wanna do it. Look, he’s got two beautiful kids. His daughter’s now turning 10. He’s got a great wife. He’s got a great life. Like, he’s 76. He doesn’t have to do s—. And he’s giving the fans something in this documentary that they can enjoy more of. So, I don’t know, fingers crossed.”
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Joel fell in love with his first wife, Weber, because she wasn’t happy with her husband Small.
Weber admitted in the documentary she and Small “were not a good fit. We were very young, and we didn’t really know much of anything. And I got more and more dissatisfied with the life I was living, and then things got complicated.”
She and Joel began spending more and more time together.
“When you just find someone you’re comfortable with … and can finish your sentences and know what you’re thinking without saying anything, sometimes it’s a low build,” she said.
Small said Weber was important to him, “but I think I was not the guy she hoped I would be.”
“I kept seeing that Billy was not the same guy. Something was the matter, and Billy one day came up to me, became a little honest and said to me, ‘I’m in love with your wife.’ So, it was a very devastating thing for me because these were basically my two best friends.
“He’s crying, and he’s telling me he feels so bad, and he didn’t know what to do about it. How does he break his best friend’s heart? But he said she was so powerful to him that it was worth it to him to lose our friendship for it.”
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Joel said that was the end of Attila, and “that was the end of my relationship with Jon for a while.”
He said Weber left as well, and he began drinking a lot and attempted suicide twice.
“I figured that’s it. I don’t want to live anymore,” Joel said. “I was just in a lot of pain. It was like why hang out? Tomorrow’s going to be just like today, and today sucks. So, I just thought I’d end it all.”
After his second attempt at suicide, Small was the one who took Joel to the hospital.
“Even though our friendship had blown up, Jon saved my life,” Joel said.
Small said even though Joel never said anything to him about it, “The practical answer I could give why Billy took it so hard was because he loved me that much and that it killed him to hurt me that much.”
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He said he eventually forgave Joel.
“I finally got over it where it was like, ‘OK.’ He thought it was over for him, but, to me, he didn’t even start living yet.”
Joel and Weber ended up getting together about a year later after she’d heard songs he’d written about her, when Joel gave her sister a cassette tape of his music.
“It was all from Elizabeth leaving him, and he was so sad. And he put it into music,” his sister, Judy Molinari, said in the documentary.
“Hearing those songs was overwhelming,” Weber admitted. “It was stunning that he could accomplish something like that.”
Joel and Weber eventually got married in 1973 before divorcing in 1982. He is now married to his fourth wife, Alexis Roderick, after his marriages to Christie Brinkley and Katie Lee.
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Part one of “Billy Joel: And So it Goes” premieres Friday, July 18, on HBO and will be available to stream on HBO Max. Part two of the documentary will be released Friday, July 25.
California takes legal action after Trump admin pulls high-speed rail funding
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a lawsuit against the Trump administration following the cancellation of more than $4 billion in federal funds for the state’s high-speed rail project.
“Trump’s termination of federal grants for California high-speed rail reeks of politics. It’s yet another political stunt to punish California,” Newsom stated in a news release.
“In reality, this is just a heartless attack on the Central Valley that will put real jobs and livelihoods on the line. We’re suing to stop Trump from derailing America’s only high-speed rail actively under construction,” the governor continued.
The lawsuit alleges the termination was driven by “petty, political retribution” rather than objective concerns, targeting California due to President Donald Trump’s hostility toward the state.
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While the lawsuit characterizes the decision as “petty, political retribution,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy justified the termination of $4 billion in unspent federal funding by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), citing 16 years of failure, no completed high-speed track, and escalating costs.
Duffy declared the project, dubbed the “train to nowhere,” a mismanaged and over-budget “boondoggle.”
“This is California’s fault. Governor Newsom and the complicit Democrats have enabled this waste for years. Federal dollars are not a blank check – they come with a promise to deliver results,” Duffy said in a statement.
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The announcement followed months of scrutiny after a comprehensive compliance review, plus failed attempts by the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) to address serious project deficiencies.
The 300-page report, released back in June, examined the project and found delays, missed deadlines, mismanagement, waste, skyrocketing costs, budget shortfalls and over-representation of projected ridership.
Other key findings revealed that the project faced ongoing — and likely increasing — contractor cost overruns due to delays and that the CHSRA failed to finalize contracts for its high-speed trainsets on time.
The review found that zero miles of high-speed track have been laid since ground was broken 10 years ago, and the cost continues to balloon.
Trump, echoing Duffy’s sentiment, also referred to the project as a “boondoggle.”
“To the Law abiding, Tax paying, Hardworking Citizens of the United States of America, I am thrilled to announce that I have officially freed you from funding California’s disastrously overpriced, “HIGH SPEED TRAIN TO NOWHERE,” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social.
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“This boondoggle, led by the incompetent Governor of California, Gavin Newscum, has cost Taxpayers Hundreds of Billions of Dollars, and we have received NOTHING in return except Cost Overruns. The Railroad we were promised still does not exist, and never will,” Trump continued.
“This project was Severely Overpriced, Overregulated, and NEVER DELIVERED. Thanks to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, not a SINGLE penny in Federal Dollars will go towards this Newscum SCAM ever again. This was an ill-conceived and unnecessary project, and a total waste of Taxpayer money — But no more!”
Newsom pushed back on Trump’s criticism, arguing that his administration illegally terminated federal grant agreements funding the high-speed rail.
Newsom contrasted California’s progress with other states, stating that the Golden State’s project was well ahead of others.
“Trump wants to hand China the future and abandon the Central Valley. We won’t let him. With projects like the Texas high-speed rail failing to take off, we are miles ahead of others,” Newsom wrote.
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“We’re now in the track-laying phase and building America’s only high-speed rail. California is putting all options on the table to fight this illegal action,” he continued.
In addition to canceling $4 billion in unspent federal funds to CHSRA, Duffy directed FRA to review other obligated and unobligated grants related to the CHSRA project.
Dave Portnoy brings ‘authentic, bold’ Barstool brand to FOX Sports in new partnership
FOX Sports and Barstool Sports are coming together to bolster coverage of college football, college basketball and other FOX Sports properties, the companies announced Thursday.
Starting in the fall, Barstool Sports owner and founder Dave Portnoy will become a regular contributor on FOX Sports’ “Big Noon Kickoff.”
In addition to Portnoy, various Barstool Sports personalities, including Dan Katz, known as “Big Cat,” will appear on “Big Noon Kickoff.”
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“We’re excited to welcome Dave Portnoy and Barstool Sports to the FOX Sports family,” FOX Sports CEO and Executive Producer Eric Shanks said in the announcement.
“Dave has built a one-of-a-kind brand that connects with a new generation of sports fans — authentic, bold and original. Their unique voice and loyal fan base makes them a natural fit for our evolving multiplatform content strategy.”
Portnoy echoed Shanks’ excitement about the collaboration.
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“Everybody at Barstool is super excited to partner with the FOX Sports family,” Portnoy said. “In our two-decade history, we’ve never had the chance to work with so much talent and resources. We can’t wait to collab and bring our voice to FOX Sports’ airwaves. See ya soon in Columbus.”
Barstool Sports’ “Barstool College Football Show” will travel with “Big Noon Kickoff” for select games throughout the season. The “Barstool College Football Show” will air from 9-9:45 a.m. ET on Barstool-owned channels, Tubi, the Fox Sports App and FoxSports.com.
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As part of the new relationship, Barstool will produce and deliver a live two-hour program that will air on FS1 Monday through Friday. More details about that show will be announced at a later date.