Suspect admits why he torched governor’s mansion with family inside — and how he did it
The man who allegedly set fire to the mansion of Gov. Josh Shapiro, D-Penn., and his family turned himself in, according to the criminal complaint obtained by Fox News.
Cody Balmer, 38, of Harrisburg, was first identified to police by an ex-lover after he allegedly confessed to her and “wanted her to call police to turn him in,” the complaint said. It was only a short time later that Balmer turned himself in outside Pennsylvania State Police headquarters, police said.
While being interviewed by troopers, “Balmer admitted to harboring hatred towards Governor Shapiro.” Balmer allegedly told investigators “he removed gasoline from a lawn mower and poured it into Heineken bottles he found at his residence.”
Balmer allegedly said he walked an hour to the governor’s mansion “with the intention of throwing his homemade Molotov cocktails into the residence.”
PENNSYLVANIA POLICE ARREST SUSPECT AFTER GOVERNOR’S MANSION SET ON FIRE WHILE GOV JOSH SHAPIRO, FAMILY SLEPT
Troopers say Balmer admitted to scaling a perimeter fence, breaking two windows with a hammer and throwing Molotov cocktails inside. The arson suspect allegedly admitted he was aware it was a possibility that Shapiro and others were home at the time and “it was a possibility that people could be injured by his actions.”
Had Balmer come face-to-face with Shapiro, he allegedly said, “he would have beaten him with his hammer.” Following the interview, Balmer was taken to Dauphin County Prison for arraignment.
Police say the arson suspect was caught on security cameras both in and outside the mansion “wearing a black ‘Snap-On’ jacket, black boots and carrying a bag.” Troopers say they found the jacket, bag “and a small sledge hammer” at Balmer’s home.
The fire broke out around 2 a.m. Sunday after Shapiro, considered a potential presidential contender for the Democratic Party in 2028, and his family celebrated the first night of the Jewish holiday of Passover.
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“This kind of violence is becoming far too common in our society,” the politician said. “And I don’t give a damn if it’s coming from one particular side or the other, directed at one particular party or another, or one particular person or another. It is not okay and it has to stop. We have to be better than this.”
Trump singles out specific industry for new tariff: ‘We will not be held hostage’
President Donald Trump said semiconductors and chips imported into the United States will be hit with specific tariffs, adding that the rate for the items will be announced within the week.
While speaking with reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night, Trump said the goal behind the specific tariff is to “uncomplicate” trade in the semiconductor sector.
“We wanted to uncomplicate it from a lot of other companies, because we want to make our chips and semiconductors and other things in our country,” Trump said while traveling back to Washington, D.C. from West Palm Beach.
WHITE HOUSE TRADE CHIEF SAYS TRUMP HAS NO PLANS TO SPEAK WITH XI JINPING ABOUT TARIFF WAR
The questions on tariffs that will soon impact the semiconductor industry came after the president posted on Truth Social that the National Security Tariff Investigations will be looking at semiconductors and “the WHOLE ELECTRONICS SUPPLY CHAIN.”
In January alone, the U.S. experienced a negative trade balance in the semiconductor sector of $322 million – exporting $521 million and importing $843 million, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity.
“NOBODY is getting ‘off the hook’ for the unfair Trade Balances, and Non Monetary Tariff Barriers, that other Countries have used against us, especially not China which, by far, treats us the worst!” Trump wrote earlier Sunday.
TRUMP TARIFF SPIKE FUELS NEW HOUSE BILL TO LOCK CHINA OUT OF US GOVERNMENT TECH
He also said he didn’t announce an overall tariff exemption on electronics from China on Friday, stating that the products still face the existing 20% tariff – just not the reciprocal tariffs, which are now at 145%.
In response, Beijing increased its own tariffs on U.S. imports to 125%.
Trump also floated the idea of adding specific tariffs on drugs and pharmaceuticals in hopes that the industries would bring production to the U.S.
“In case of war, in case of whatever, we’re not relying on China and various other countries to supply us with drugs, which is not a good idea, and it’ll happen very fast,” the president said on AF1.
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His comments during his trip back to Washington mimic other parts of his Truth Social post earlier in the day, where he wrote, in part:
“What has been exposed is that we need to make products in the United States, and that we will not be held hostage by other Countries, especially hostile trading Nations like China, which will do everything within its power to disrespect the American People. We also cannot let them continue to abuse us on Trade, like they have for decades, THOSE DAYS ARE OVER!”
White House’s new policy to ignore reporters who share their pronouns sparks debate
Even email signatures are getting caught up in the culture wars.
The Trump White House habit of dismissing reporters who use pronouns in their email signatures has stirred both support and criticism from journalists and observers.
The New York Times put a spotlight last week on the White House press office refusing to respond to emailed questions from reporters who display their pronouns, saying they deny “biological reality” and can’t be trusted to report with integrity. Other media relations figures at other government agencies gave similar responses to those who display their pronouns.
The decision for individuals to list them – for example, He/Him for a man or They/Them for someone who is transgender or doesn’t identify as male or female – is often criticized as unnecessary virtue-signaling to promote the false notion of multiple genders beyond the male-female binary, while proponents say it’s respectful to people of all identities.
TRUMP PRESS SECRETARY DOESN’T ENGAGE WITH REPORTERS USING PRONOUNS IN EMAILS, SAYS THEY DENY REALITY
The White House has the policy in place because “any reporter who chooses to put their preferred pronouns in their bio clearly does not care about biological reality or truth and therefore cannot be trusted to write an honest story,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital.
The Daily Wire’s White House correspondent Mary Margaret Olahan said she supported the administration’s stance.
“Pronouns in your bio is an overtly political statement, and about sexual preference too! Wildly inappropriate for anyone in a professional context,” Olahan told Fox News Digital.
“Also, they can answer whoever they want,” Olahan continued, adding she was often ignored or simply got a “catty” response from the Biden White House when asking for comment.
John Ashbrook, a co-host of the Ruthless Podcast who sat in the “new media” seat for a recent press briefing, didn’t seem bothered.
WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY KAROLINE LEAVITT PRAYS BEFORE FACING REPORTERS
“No White House has ever been more transparent out of the gate,” Ashbrook told Fox News Digital.
Another White House correspondent said the situation was “amusing” and wasn’t sure how hard and fast it was as a policy, noting most reporters who cover the White House can simply approach Leavitt or other members of the press office and get an answer in person.
They also noted reporters are more likely to use text messages or Signal than email anyway. Another White House correspondent shrugged they had “no clue” what to make of the press team’s stance on pronouns.
The New York Times disparaged the policy in a statement to Fox News Digital, saying it was an excuse for evasion.
“Evading tough questions certainly runs counter to transparent engagement with free and independent press reporting,” a spokesperson said. “But refusing to answer a straightforward request to explain the administration’s policies because of the formatting of an email signature is both a concerning and baffling choice, especially from the highest press office in the U.S. government.”
Andrew Bates, who served as President Joe Biden’s deputy White House press secretary, said the Trump team was trying to divert attention from economic difficulties.
“That’s the Trump White House admitting how weak he is after shattering his top economic promises with the biggest middle-class tax hike in modern history,” he told Fox News Digital. “The subtext is, ‘So I know my tariffs are raising the everyday prices I ran on lowering and hollowing out you 401(k)s – but will you shut up and be happy if I randomly push a few reporters around?’”
CNN’S ANDERSON COOPER CORRECTED BY QUESTIONER FOR USING WRONG PRONOUNS DURING BERNIE SANDERS TOWN HALL
Fox News contributor Leslie Marshall believes the White House would be smart to worry about more important things, as pronouns are “not a kitchen table issue” in American homes.
“For the White House to single people out on that, I just think it’s a bad look,” Marshall said last week on “Outnumbered.”
At least one Washington Post reporter recently received replies from White House officials despite listing their pronouns in their signature, the Post reported last week.
The Trump administration has focused on gender identity issues throughout his second term, signing executive orders banning transgenders from being in the U.S. military, barring trans women from competing in women’s sports and removing gender identity language throughout the federal government.
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Dem mocked for how she tries to hide at the White House: ‘What my 2-year-old does’
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, was ribbed online for seeming to hide her face during a meeting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office.
Whitmer was seen temporarily shielding her face from cameras in the Oval Office by holding up a folder, according to a photo by the New York Times.
She later lowered the folder, as the president spoke to the press and encouraged Whitmer to comment as well. The Democratic governor, who clashed with Trump during his first term regarding her COVID-19 lockdown policies, met with the president to discuss recovery from an ice storm that impacted thousands of Michiganders, funding for the Selfridge Air National Guard base near Detroit, protections for the Great Lakes and the automobile industry.
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Whitmer, joined by Michigan State House Speaker Matt Hall and several Cabinet secretaries, stood steps away from Trump while he signed executive orders Wednesday.
“We’re honored to have Gretchen Whitmer from Michigan, great state of Michigan. And, she’s been — she’s really done an excellent job. And a very good person,” Trump said.
Whitmer told reporters afterward that she thought she was coming into the Oval Office for a one-on-one meeting with the president and was taken by surprise by the press conference.
Her face-shielding was derided online.
“Whitmer covering her face is the perfect metaphor for the Democratic Party,” one user wrote.
Another X user said, “Gretchen Whitmer hiding behind her files in the White House is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. This is what my 2 year old does.”
DEM GOVERNORS REVOLT AGAINST TRUMP’S ‘LIBERATION DAY’ TARIFFS
“Was this the nail in the coffin of Gretchen Whitmer’s political aspirations?” a third user wrote.
Some users joked that Whitmer was “embarrassed” to be photographed with Trump but had no shame in placing a Dorito in the mouth of a podcaster in a 2024 social media post that critics said mocked a Christian sacrament.
The photo showed Whitmer hiding her face while standing in between Trump aide Natalie Harpe and Deputy Assistant to the President and White House Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs Alex Myer.
Myer shared the photo on X, writing: “#NewProfilePic.”
Whitmer was in Washington to deliver a “Build, America, Build” address in which she called for bipartisan cooperation to strengthen American manufacturing. She was at the White House for her second meeting with Trump in less than a month, this time to talk about tariffs that were expected to disproportionately affect Michigan, whose economy is closely tied to an auto industry reliant on trade with Canada, Mexico and other countries.
In her speech Wednesday, which came before Trump announced he was pausing tariffs in most nations except for China, Whitmer highlighted areas of agreement with Trump on tariffs but criticized how they had been implemented.
“I understand the motivation behind the tariffs, and I can tell you, here’s where President Trump and I do agree. We do need to make more stuff in America,” said Whitmer, before adding, “I’m not against tariffs outright, but it is a blunt tool. You can’t just pull out the tariff hammer to swing at every problem without a clear defined end-goal.”
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Whitmer’s approach stands in stark contrast to that of other high-profile Democratic governors, many of whom are also seen as potential contenders for the party’s 2028 presidential nomination. But Whitmer faces a more challenging political landscape than leaders such as Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker or California Gov. Gavin Newsom as she represents a state with a divided state legislature and that went for Trump in two of the last three elections.
NCAA woman of the year, family among those killed in New York plane crash
Authorities released the identities of the six people tragically killed in a New York plane crash on Saturday, including a highly-acclaimed former student athlete.
The six victims, most of whom were related, died at around 12:15 p.m. local time on Saturday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The aircraft, a Mitsubishi MU-2B, was en route to Columbia County Airport in Hudson, New York, when it crashed into an open, muddy field in Copake, around ten miles south.
Karenna Groff, a former Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) soccer player who was named the NCAA Woman of the Year in 2022, was one of the decedents, as well as both of her parents, Dr. Michael Groff and Dr. Joy Saini. Groff had been studying medicine at New York University at the time.
Her brother, Jared Groff, and his partner, Alexia Couyutas Duarte, were also killed on the flight. Karenna Groff’s boyfriend, James Santoro, was aboard the flight and died as well.
6 DEAD, INCLUDING 3 CHILDREN, AFTER HELICOPTER PLUMMETS IN HUDSON RIVER
The six had boarded the plane at Westchester County Airport in White Plains earlier that morning. Shortly before the crash, the pilot had radioed air traffic control at Columbia County Airport to say that he had missed the initial approach and requested a new approach plan.
Air traffic controllers prepared new coordinates and attempted to send a low altitude alert three times to the pilot, who did not respond.
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the crash, which may take as many as 24 months to complete.
‘EVERYTHING IS ON THE TABLE’ AS NTSB INVESTIGATES DEADLY HUDSON RIVER TOUR HELICOPTER CRASH
The aircraft, which was a private plane owned by Michael Groff, was discovered “compressed, buckled and embedded in the terrain” of the muddy field, NTSB official Todd Inman said in a briefing on Sunday.
Inman also said that authorities obtained video of the flight, which appeared to show that the aircraft was intact “and crashed at a high rate of descent into the ground.”
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The NTSB also said that the plane had a recently-upgraded cockpit with newer FAA-certified technology, and that the pilot was flying under instrument flight rules instead of visual flight rules.
James’ father, John Santoro, expressed sorrow over the tragedy and described the Groffs as a “wonderful family” to The Associated Press.
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“The world lost a lot of very good people who were going to do a lot of good for the world if they had the opportunity,” the grieving father said. “We’re all personally devastated.”
Blue state slammed for ‘prioritizing’ criminals in $239M taxpayer-funded prison project
A prosecutor in California blasted the state’s $239 million taxpayer-funded project to build a prison rehabilitation center in the Bay Area, arguing that it’s another example of politicians putting criminals ahead of law-abiding citizens.
Construction is ongoing at the San Quentin State Prison, where construction crews are building a Norway-style rehabilitation center with luxury amenities such as a grocery store, library, café, farmer’s market and more. $360 million was initially allocated for the project, but the final cost to build the rehabilitation center is estimated to cost taxpayers around $239 million, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Building 38 at San Quentin State Prison was demolished to make room for the rehabilitation center. The state agency said the rehab center is part of the “California Model,” which is a “holistic initiative that leverages international, data-backed best practices to improve the well-being of those who live and work at state prisons.”
A construction plan for the project shows that the new San Quentin Rehabilitation Center will feature an education and vocational center, along with other amenities like a media center, library, grocery store, café and a learning center. An initial plan for the rehabilitation center states that the on-site farmer’s market will ideally be run by local producers.
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The plan states that the concept for the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center “embodies a humane campus atmosphere” that promotes “growth and self-empowerment, while guaranteeing safety and security.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the project in May 2023 and said the new rehabilitation center will “make all of us safer.”
“California is transforming San Quentin – our state’s most notorious prison – into the nation’s most innovative rehabilitation facility focused on building a brighter and safer future. We are literally tearing down walls to reimagine our prison system, incentivize true rehabilitation, and end cycles of violence and crime,” Newsom said.
Construction on the rehabilitation center is estimated to be completed by early 2026.
Jonathan Hatami, a prosecutor in Los Angeles County, told Fox News Digital that he supports the effort to transition inmates into civilian life, but he said the project is too costly for taxpayers and that the money isn’t being spent well.
“The first problem I have, though, with this situation is the cost. In California, we can’t fund our homeless programs. We can’t fund Medi-Cal or Medicaid. We can’t fund officers,” Hatami said. “And so we can’t fund so many programs that are important to people here in California.”
The Los Angeles prosecutor said this project sends a message to California residents.
KAMALA HARRIS STAYS IN THE GAME AS THE FORMER VP MULLS NEXT STEP: WASHINGTON OR SACRAMENTO?
“It appears that we’re prioritizing the criminals over the rest of us,” Hatami said. “And that’s a big problem I have is the priorities of this state seem to be, most of the time, tilted towards the criminal instead of looking at the rest of California and saying there’s so many other things that we should be funding that we can.”
Todd Javernick, spokesperson for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, told the San Francisco Chronicle, “The holistic initiative leverages international, data-backed best practices to improve the well-being of those who live and work at state prisons.”
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The San Quentin State Prison previously housed notorious criminals such as Charles Manson and Scott Peterson. As part of the plan to create the rehabilitation center, the prison was downgraded from maximum-security to minimum security.
Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom’s office and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for comment.
Strapped in and ready to soar — what makes this Blue Origin launch a historic first
Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin is launching its first all-female flight to space Monday, making it the 11th civilian launch since its debut.
Katy Perry, talk show host Gayle King and Bezos’ fiancé Lauren Sanchez are among the women set to take flight on the suborbital rocket on Monday. Film producer Kerianne Flynn, NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe and civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen will also be on board.
The historic flight is the first time in over 60 years that an all-female crew will visit space.
Per Good Morning America, Perry and her crew underwent final training sessions at their rocket’s launch site in Van Horn, Texas, a few days ahead of the flight.
The women debuted their Blue Origin flight suits on social media over the weekend, which featured a NASA patch, their last names and the Blue Origin logo on a navy jumpsuit.
“Usually, you know, these suits are made for a man. Then they get tailored to fit a woman,” Sanchez, who helped redesign the suits, told The New York Times.
“I think the suits are elegant, but they also bring a little spice to space.”
Sanchez enlisted the help of Monse co-founders Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim to create the jumpsuits for the all-female team. Sanchez said Perry previously noted, “We’re putting the ‘a–’ in astronaut.”
Bezos founded his private aerospace company in 2000, and they started sending humans to space in 2021 with New Shepard.
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News’ Janelle Ash
Billionaire Jeff Bezos shared a video previewing the Blue Origin rocket flight set to take Katy Perry and five other women into space on Monday.
Bezos’ fiancée, Lauren Sanchez, is among the group.
“I love this crew!” Bezos wrote in a post on X.
Monday’s flight is scheduled for 9:30 am ET and will take off from Van Horn, Texas.
Katy Perry described the moment she agreed to join Blue Origin’s first all-female crew for a flight into space this weekend.
Perry said Blue Origin invited her on the mission and she started doing research into the New Shepard rocket.
“When I was invited to come on this voyage, I looked up the capsule. On the very front of it is the outline in the shape of a feather and when I saw that it was like a total confirmation because my mum has always called me feather,” Perry told her followers on Instagram.
She went on to describe another coincidence regarding the mission.
“And so I’m in space training today and there’s a lot to digest. We’re almost finished with the day and they showed us the capsule and we run simulations in another capsule and tested the noise and what to expect and all these different things and they reveal the capsule name.
“The capsule’s name is Tortoise. A wave, just the most energetic wave, just shot through my body. And I was like, ‘What? This capsule’s name is Tortoise?’”
“My mum calls me two nicknames. Feather and tortoise. What are the chances that I’m going to space on a rocket in a capsule with my symbol, the feather, called Tortoise?” she continued.
“There are no coincidences, and I’m just so grateful for these confirmations and so grateful that I feel like something bigger than me is steering the ship,” she added.
Katy Perry shared a look at the space suits she, Lauren Sanchez, Gayle King and other members of the all-female Blue Origin team will be wearing for their launch on Monday.
Perry posted a group photo on Instagram, writing in the caption, “Happy International Day of Human Space Flight. Forever in awe of the Universe and its alignment.”
In the photo, Perry, Sanchez, Gayle, scientists and activists Amanda Nguyen and Aisha Bowe and film producer Kerianne Flynn, all wear dark blue jumpsuit-style ensembles, adorned with a NASA patch, a patch with their last name, and the Blue Origin logo on one arm.
Sanchez also shared some behind-the-scenes video of people’s first reaction to the suit, walking into a room with fiancé and Blue Origin owner Jeff Bezos, with people cheering the look.
The journalist showcased some more details of the suit, which she helped design, including flared pant legs, with a white feather design on the bottom of the left leg, part of the Blue Origin logo.
In another part of the clip, Sanchez got out of a car, stretching in the suit and saying, “Well, they’re comfortable. OK, that’s for sure!”
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News’ Elizabeth Stanton
Billionaire Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin will launch Katy Perry, Bezos’ fiancée Lauren Sanchez and four other women into space on Monday.
The New Shepard rocket is set to take off from Van Horn, Texas at 9:30 am ET. The flight is scheduled to last just 11 minutes, with passengers spending four minutes beyond the Kármán Line, the internationally-recognized border between the atmosphere and space.
The all-female crew will be able to unbuckle and look out of six-foot windows for a handful of minutes before securing themselves for descent.
This will be the 31st time Blue Origin has launched its New Shepard rocket, and the 11th time it has done so with a crew aboard.
Actress Sofia Vergara begs for summer with cheeky, poolside bikini snap
Sofía Vergara is ready for summer, and she’s not afraid to show it.
Vergara, 52, showed off her golden tan in a sexy snap shared with her millions of social media followers.
The “Modern Family” star relaxed poolside wearing nothing but a pair of cheeky black bikini bottoms as she soaked up the sun.
The “Griselda” actress captioned the selfie in Spanish “Ya casi llega el verano! protégete con @toty,” which translates to, “Summertime is almost here! protect yourself with @toty.”
SOFIA VERGARA TELLS ED O’NEILL ‘DON’T DIE’ SO THEY CAN MAKE ‘MODERN FAMILY’ REBOOT
On her Stories, Vergara paid dues to the sun and her skincare line with a snap captioned, “Protección todo el verano,” or “protection all summer.”
SOFIA VERGARA WANTS ‘EVERY PLASTIC SURGERY THAT I CAN DO’
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Vergara launched Toty, her skincare brand, in 2023 and told People magazine that she named the brand after her own childhood moniker.
“I want to create a brand that has it all,” she said. “Lips, body makeup that has sun protection, that doesn’t get on your clothes, and that you can put on your chest every day to even out. The dream is big, but we have to start little by little.”
Beauty has always been “very important” in Vergara’s life.
“I think because I’m Latin, we always grow up thinking about looking good, doing your hair, your makeup. It’s something that makes you feel good,” she said.
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“I love beauty products. I love makeup. I love clothes. And I think now that I’m older, it’s great because you know exactly what you like, what looks good on you, what doesn’t look good on you. I don’t do what is in fashion. I just do what feels good, makes me feel confident and beautiful.”
Vergara previously admitted that while she hasn’t pursued plastic surgery, she’s willing to go under the knife when the time is right.
“I feel like I’m going to do every plastic surgery that I can do when I’m ready,” she told Allure. “I wish I had more downtime; I would’ve done stuff already. [But] because I’m in front of the camera, it’s not like I can do something and then sit in my house recuperating for weeks.”
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She’s not afraid of needles, though, and has been using Botox for her neck and around her eyes “for a long time.” The Colombian star has yet to wade into “filler” waters.
“I feel filler does good when you’re really young and you want a little bit more cheeks or to plump your lips a little bit,” she said.
“At my age, I feel it’s not going to make you look younger. It is going to make you look more done. And I feel like it actually doesn’t pull you up, it kind of weighs [you down]. So I am against that, once you hit a certain age.”
She is a fan of sunscreen and has been “religious” about its application after reading an article about the dangers of sun damage.
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“If you’re tanning your face, there’s nothing in the world that you put on at night that is going to give you good skin,” Vergara said. “I feel like you have to take advantage of everything that is out there. I mean, if you care about aging; nothing wrong if you don’t care about it. It’s not the end of the world. But if you do, now there’s so much stuff out there.”
Trump praises Rory McIlroy’s ‘tremendous courage’ fighting for Masters win
President Donald Trump was among those who thought Rory McIlroy’s Masters win on Sunday showed exactly what the legendary golfer was made of as he battled through highs and lows throughout the round.
Speaking with reporters on Air Force One, Trump gave his congratulations to McIlroy, who became the sixth golfer ever to capture the coveted Grand Slam, winning every single professional golf major.
“I have to congratulate Rory,” Trump said when a reporter asked if he watched The Masters. “That took tremendous courage. He was having a hard time, but it showed great guts and stamina and courage.
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“People have no idea how tough that is. He came back. It’s better for him that it happened that way because that showed real courage to have come back from what could’ve been a tragedy – it was amazing.”
Trump called The Masters “maybe my favorite sporting show,” and that he loves watching it every year when possible.
He also gave a shout-out to Justin Rose, the Englishman who McIlroy had to face in a sudden-death playoff after he missed his par putt on his 72nd hole of the tournament to collect the win.
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Rose buried a deep birdie putt on Hole 18 to move to 11-under and put pressure on McIlroy, who bogeyed that same hole in regulation.
“Justin Rose was great,” Trump, an avid golfer himself, added. “Look, they’re great athletes under tremendous pressure. But unless you’re a golfer, you don’t understand that hundredth of an inch makes a difference between a great shot and a horrible shot.”
McIlroy and Rose went back to the 18th tee box for the sudden-death playoff, which would’ve had a second hole on No. 10 if needed.
But McIlroy’s approach shot, which trickled down a slope to two feet, put pressure on Rose to bury his birdie opportunity. After a long read around the green, Rose put his best stroke on it, but it went too far left. He finished with a par and hoped that Hole 10 was where he would head next.
McIlroy didn’t let it get to that, as he sunk the putt on 18 this time and dropped to his knees.
At that point, the weight of 11 years without a major win and finally collecting the career Grand Slam left him as he welled up in tears.
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Patrons around the green roared as McIlroy let out several bursts of celebration before joining his family and team for heartwarming moments.