Six years after being shown the door by NBC News, Megyn Kelly is getting the last laugh.

Kelly made an illustrious career for herself at Fox News between 2004 and 2017, signing off as one of the network’s most popular evening anchors in history. Her departure came at the height of the #MeToo movement when allegations of sexual harassment led to the firing of Fox co-founder Roger Ailes, and she gained prominence for going public about Ailes’s attempts to forcibly kiss her and repeatedly demanding she send nude photos of herself to him. She transitioned to host and correspondent duties at NBC News but was dismissed in 2018 after comments about blackface Halloween costumes. Media reports at the time show she netted a $30 million settlement with the network as a result.

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Since then, Kelly has built her own brand on SiriusXM where “The Megyn Kelly Show” dominates satellite radio’s talk show charts. Semafor reported on the latest ratings which show the 53-year-old better positioned than ever to be one of the most influential voices in conservative news. “According to audience figures highlighted by Kelly’s team for Semafor, Kelly’s show is now not only one of the most listened-to programs on SiriusXM, but it’s also one of the top ten podcasts in the country and its viewership is eclipsing that of some mainstream news outlets on YouTube,” the outlet noted.

The decision to launch her own program came after a lengthy discussion with Ben Shapiro, a conservative kingmaker who launched his own company, The Daily Wire, in 2015. Kelly recounted that Shapiro convinced her that striking out on his own was the best career decision he ever made, and he’s been able to net outsized profits by streamlining his staff. “Kelly boasts that despite the fact that she only has six staffers, she has managed to get numbers that put her in the range of the accounts of legacy media outlets,” Semafor noted. “The Megyn Kelly Show’s YouTube channel, which has 2.3 million subscribers, had 116.8 million views in July — more views than the official channels for NBC News (78 million) CBS News (83 million), Sky News (87 million), the BBC News (72 million) and CNBC (17 million).”

Kelly still offers free partial programming on YouTube where she says her audience welcomes the familiar feel of seeing her on camera. “On-camera is how people are used to getting their news from me, so it likely feels familiar,” she told the outlet. She joked, “I am also half Italian, half Irish, so if you choose to watch the show, you will definitely glean something from the hand gestures and facial expressions that you might not always pick up on from listening alone. With the news what it is these days, sometimes an eye-roll, forehead slap, or pen-throw is absolutely required.”

Separations between superstar journalists and the legacy media have become more pronounced, most notably with the 2023 termination of former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. His firing came shortly after a landmark nine-figure settlement with Dominion Voting Systems to settle a lawsuit that Carlson and others used their platforms at the network to defame the company’s voting machines used in the 2020 elections. Carlson rebranded on X, releasing free hour-long shows before launching his own subscription service. He has interviewed former President Donald Trump and leading voices in conservative politics and was even rumored to be on the former president’s shortlist for a vice presidential pick.

At the time, Kelly encouraged her former colleague to “breach the contract” binding him to Fox News, which the network attempted to enforce in a bid to sideline him through the 2024 election. “He should come out. He should talk. He should start a rival news network. He should quit. He should forfeit the money,” Kelly said. “He’ll make more money anyway.”

Media entrepreneurism is not confined to conservatives, either. Don Lemon, the longtime CNN host who was fired earlier this year for a number of crude remarks about Nikki Haley and other Republican women, has since begun to produce his own show on X until he had a falling out with owner Elon Musk following their interview. Mehdi Hasan was let go by MSNBC earlier this year and has launched his own venture as well.

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Pavel Durov, a billionaire tech entrepreneur and Russian exile who founded the encrypted messaging application Telegram, was arrested at the Bourget airport outside Paris on Saturday evening.

Telegram, which enjoys widespread popularity in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, is ranked as one of the most popular social media sites in the world, trailing only Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram and WeChat. The platform is aiming to surpass one billion users at some point next year.

Durov founded the Dubai-based platform after he lost Russia in 2014 for refusing to censor his VK social media platform, which he later sold.

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According to French outlets TF1 and BFM, Durov was arrested due to lack of content moderation on Telegram. Police blamed Durov for allowing “criminal activity” to flourish on the app and placed him under arrest.

Telegram has become a main source of uncensored information surrounding the war in Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in 2022. The app has become preferred means of communications for Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his officials, Reuters noted.

Russian government officials also use the app to disseminate news. Telegram has become one of the few places where Russian citizens can access information about the war in Ukraine.

The app was previously banned in Russia after Durov refused to hand over user data, though it was eventually unbanned in 2022.

Top-rated conservative commentator Tucker Carlson — who has interviewed Durov — condemned the arrest as an authoritarian power play.

“Pavel Durov left Russia when the government tried to control his social media company, Telegram. But in the end, it wasn’t Putin who arrested him for allowing the public to exercise free speech. It was a western country, a Biden administration ally and enthusiastic NATO member, that locked him away,” Carlson wrote in an X post.

“Pavel Durov sits in a French jail tonight, a living warning to any platform owner who refuses to censor the truth at the behest of governments and intel agencies. Darkness is descending fast on the formerly free world.”

This is a developing story.

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In a sit-down with Tucker Carlson, comedian and actor Rob Schneider publicly apologized to his daughter, Elle King, about their strained relationship surfaced on a recent podcast. The emotional exchange offered a rare glimpse into their personal struggles, spotlighting Schneider’s journey from career-driven comic to a more present and reflective father.

“I love you completely, I love you entirely, and I just want you to be well and happy with you and your beautiful baby, Lucky,” Schneider said during the interview.

“I love you and I feel that God has gifted this moment and gifted me to be able to just tell you I love you and I accept you and I apologize for any of my shortcomings that I have. And I wish for you that they heal and be well and that you have everything that you want, including the dad that you want from me to be I’m here I’m here for you. I love you whenever you need me,” he said.

Schneider also touched upon the challenges families face when dealing with addiction, a topic that resonates with many across the nation. “It’s hard, it’s really tough on the family, and it really is crushing. And so if we’re able to discuss and talk about that and help heal people and help give them the opportunity to let them know that this is common and that there are routes you can do to heal.”

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“I love her and all I want for her is to be happy and to heal from this. And I really feel if there’s anything that I can, you know, I apologize completely for and accept responsibility for not being the parent that I am now with my new kids,” Schneider said.

Schneider has ventured into directing and producing, with mixed reviews but a consistent presence in the comedy genre of the film industry. His personal life, particularly his family ties to Elle King, often garners media attention. His daughter is a well known singer, songwriter, and actress known for her blend of rock, blues, and country music. King gained fame with her debut single “Ex’s & Oh’s,” which was nominated for two Grammy Awards and topped the Billboard Alternative Songs chart. Her work often discusses themes of love, heartbreak, and adventure, resonating with a broad audience.

In a recent episode of Bunnie XO’s “Dumb Blonde” podcast, King discussed her challenging relationship with her father, Rob Schneider. A preview on TikTok showed the “Ex’s & Oh’s” singer openly criticizing Schneider’s controversial opinions on drag and the LGBTQ community. The full episode is set to release on Monday.

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@xomgitsbunnie OUT TOMORROW on patre0n & Monday everywhere else my sister @Elle King doesnt hold back! She addresses everything #elleking ♬ original sound – Bunnie Xo

“I disagree with a lot of the things that he says,” King said about her father. “You’re talking out of your ass and you’re talking s— about drag and, you know, anti-gay rights. And it’s like, get f—ed.”

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The Trump comeback needs a storyteller, and Tucker Carlson plans to play that role.

On Monday the quixotic conservative journalist released a slickly produced trailer of his upcoming documentary on the campaign to return former President Donald Trump to the White House, packing it with 96 high-speed seconds of admissions from his friends, aerial views, and arenas of fans. Carlson, if anything, is an entertainer who promises to release a compelling narrative about who is supporting the former president this year, and why. Among the scenes: hip-hop fans touting red MAGA caps, cowboys waving ten-gallon hats, and shaky footage of Carlson’s vantage point during the July 13th assassination attempt.

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Asked to describe the momentum he’s seeing, Congressman Byron Donalds (R-FL) said President Trump’s third run for the White House is defined by “execution,” a summary that even Democrats agree is accurate and driven by the tight circle of battle-tested advisors who surround him these days. Many, including spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt and his own children, are intimately familiar with the successes and missteps of his four years in office and two previous campaigns, and they are determined to learn from their mistakes. Speaking with Politico, recently departed Biden advisor Anita Dunn said the discipline of President Trump’s campaign played a significant role in the Democrat’s poor debate performance on July 27th. “The people who are running his campaign this time are very good. … They’re much smarter. They’re running a very competent campaign. We saw that early in this process. And so we had a reasonable expectation that they were going to have a fairly competent rollout and a fairly good convention,” she said on Thursday.

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Carlson, who has been a trusted media figure to Trump for years, promises “unprecedented access” in his latest film, and from the teaser trailer, it certainly appears he will deliver. Titled, “The Art of the Surge: The Donald Trump Comeback,” it is promised for later release on the Tucker Carlson Network, a media service founded by Carlson after spending more than a year on Twitter. He found his footage there after being fired from Fox News in the wake of a devastating lawsuit by Dominion that in part relied on statements the former anchor made regarding their voting machines and their role in the 2020 election. Carlson was essentially welcomed onto the platform by Elon Musk and rode a surge in conservative users who flocked to the site as Musk rebranded it X and promised unfettered free speech.

Though he never left the platform, Carlson teases his 13.4 million followers with limited programming and other enticements to subscribe to his own network at TuckerCarlson.com. If he continues to produce the kinds of feature films that “Art of the Surge” promises to be, he could significantly alter the conservative media landscape and prove his shadow looms larger than ever since parting ways with Fox.

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Top-rated conservative journalist Tucker Carlson received a standing ovation when he speak on the final night of the 2024 Republican National Convention on Thursday.

Carlson began with a shoutout to former Trump advisor Peter Navarro, who addressed the convention on Wednesday after he was released from a four-month stint in federal prison for refusing to comply with the January 6 Committee, which defied congressional rules by refusing to allow House Republicans to appoint representatives.

He then provided a somber but hopeful take on the assassination attempt on former President Trump, which left retired firefighter Corey Comperatore, a father of two, dead after he was hit while shielding his family from gunfire. Two additional innocent rally goers were critically injured in the attack.

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“So I watched I watched a video of what happened in Butler Pennsylvania about 1550 times. I think I was one of about 8 billion people around the world who watched it. And the more I watched it the more it that everything was different. After that moment everything, this convention is different,” Carlson said. “The nation is different, the world is different, Donald Trump is different.”

“When he stood up after being shot in the face, bloodied, and put his hand up. I thought at that moment that was a transformation this was no longer a man. Well, I think that I think it was divine intervention but the effect that it had on Donald Trump, he was no longer just a political party’s nominee, or a former president, or a future president. This was the leader of a nation. And I think there’s a difference.”

After a jab at President Biden’s highly questionable election, Carlson went on to describe former President Trump as the most caring politician he has met after a lifetime of covering Washington D.C.

“His courage gave them heart. A leader’s courage gives courage to his people period. And the second thing I noticed which I don’t think anyone has remarked upon in public but I’m just going to since I’m on the script like why not. Is that he turned down the most obvious opportunity in politics to inflame the nation after being shot,” Carlson told the crowd.

“To inflame the nation, which is an opportunity that almost every other politician I’ve ever met and certainly his opponents would have taken instantly. And they would have said, well, what is this? How did he get shot? Like, how did this happen? And those are real questions that we have to get to the bottom of. But in the moments, the days, the week after the shooting, he did not say that. He did his best to bring the country together.”

In reference to the mainstream media and Democrat Party’s coverage of the former president, Carlson remarked, “this is the divisive figure, this is the irresponsible person?”

“No. This is the most responsible unifying behavior of a leader I think I’ve ever seen.”

Carlson concluded his remarks by stating that “God is among us right now.

The full speech can be viewed below:

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Leading conservative commentator Tucker Carlson praised former President Donald Trump’s selection of Senator JD Vance (R-OH) as his running mate.

“I think every person who pays close attention has gotta be thrilled by that. And if you don’t know much about J.D. Vance, I’m not even gonna make a case for J.D. Vance,” the former Fox News host said while speaking at the Heritage Foundation’s Policy Fest as part of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

“I’m gonna tell you what I just saw, which is that every bad person I’ve ever met in a lifetime in Washington was aligned against J.D. Vance.”

He went on to make the case that Vance was the best candidate on Trump’s long-rumored shortlist, which included names like Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY). Carlson himself was once rumored to be in the mix, though it is unclear if such a move was ever seriously considered.

“…I don’t always think that my side is right. I know for a fact I have been wrong many, many times, and I hope to correct and be honest about my error,” Carlson said while addressing the Heritage Foundation event. “So, it’s not like I think that…God’s always on my side. Sometimes I’m not on God’s side, but I definitely know who’s representing the other side.”

Carlson, who recently launched the Tucker Carlson Network, pointed to hostile reactions to Vance from those with a financial interest in “killing other people in pointless wars.”

“I know who those people are, and their odor is so powerful that I can smell one when he walks in the room. And every single one of those people in a line that would extend from Milwaukee to Chicago was lined up over the last week to knife J.D. Vance,” he said.

“And boy, they went after him in a way I’ve just kind of never seen, which I think happens every day in Washington. I just don’t have a vantage on it because I’m far, far away and grateful to be.”

Vance reportedly received no less than 20 minutes notice before Trump formally selected him as his running mate in a Truth Social post. A freshman senator, Vance has evolved from a former critic to one of the former president’s strongest supporters in the Senate.

The campaign is hopeful that his inclusion on the ticket will help turn out the vote in pivotal Rust Belt states.

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Top-rated conservative journalist Tucker Carlson announced Wednesday that he has booked a long-awaited interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“Looks like we’ve got the Zelenskyy interview. We’ve been trying for two years, and with particular intensity after interviewing Putin in February,” Carlson announced in an X post.

“The point is to bring Americans much-needed information about the conflict that’s completely reshaping their country’s position in the world. Coming soon we hope.”

Earlier this year, Carlson conducted what was perhaps the most high-profile interview of his career when he sat down with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. The two discussed a number of topics, including U.S.-Russia relations and the War in Ukraine, while Putin delivered a nearly hour-long overview of the history of Russia.

“Two years into a war that’s reshaping the entire world, most Americans are not informed… But they should know,” Carlson said when announcing the interview.

“They are fawning pep sessions specifically designed to amplify Zelensky’s demand that the U.S. enter more deeply into a war in Eastern Europe and pay for it. That is not journalism. It is government propaganda. Propaganda of the ugliest kind, the kind that kills people.”

Carlson has long stated that he wants to interview Zelensky and get his take on the conflict.

“I heard some messages in media, and, also, my guys who are advisers, they said. So I don’t have to do — I don’t have time to hear more than two hours of bull**it about us, about the world, about the United States, about our relations, and this interview with a killer. So I have got some briefly what were there,” Zelensky said shortly after Carlson conducted his interview with Putin.

Despite the Ukrainian state’s often hostile stance towards Carlson and Americans who question their nation’s multi-billion dollar commitment to Ukraine, Zelensky appears set to give the long-awaited interview.

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Former President Barack Obama is growing disillusioned about President Joe Biden’s chances in November, according to an “unusually good source” who spoke with Tucker Carlson about the growing rift between both families.

While the Obamas and Bidens have never been especially close, the president’s poor debate performance last week has turbocharged anxiety about his declining mental acuity and ability to refute attacks by former President Donald Trump. Carlson, posting on X, said Obama is privately airing his grievances to allies, admitting Biden “can’t win” and has so far failed to tell his former vice president the truth about his feelings.

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“Obama’s tweet supporting Joe Biden was disingenuous. In private, Obama is telling people Biden can’t win, and he is therefore in favor of an open convention,” Carlson reported. “Obama will not say whom he supports, nor as of yesterday afternoon had he met personally with Biden to deliver the message.”

The same source confirmed reporting by other outlets that first lady Dr. Jill Biden has “cloistered” her husband away from aides and outside influencers who might try to encourage the 81-year-old to suspend his presidential campaign ahead of the party’s August convention.

“Relations between the Obamas and the Bidens have never been warm. At times they’ve been hostile. But recently they’ve deteriorated further, mostly due to Jill Biden. In the hours and days after the debate, she kept her husband cloistered away from anyone who might convince him to drop out. Jill Biden is the driving force behind her husband’s reelection campaign, just as she was in 2020, when other members of the family (including Biden’s sister Val) considered him too impaired to run,” Carlson added.

From an unusually good source: Obama’s tweet supporting Joe Biden was disingenuous. In private, Obama is telling people Biden can’t win, and he is therefore in favor of an open convention. Obama will not say whom he supports, nor as of yesterday afternoon had he met personally…

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) July 1, 2024

One day after Biden’s resounding debate loss, President Obama urged his followers on X to look past the results. Instead, he wrote, they should focus on the contrast of deliverables between “someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself.”

“Last night didn’t change that, and it’s why so much is at stake in November,” the former president wrote, notably omitting whether he himself plans to vote for Biden.

Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know. But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself. Between someone who tells the truth; who knows right from wrong and will give it to the…

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 28, 2024

Compounding the friction is a refusal by former first lady Michelle Obama to campaign for Biden. The popular wife of President Obama has never forgiven the Biden clan for essentially shouldering out Kathleen Buhle, the former wife of Hunter Biden who was married to the president’s son for 24 years before the couple divorced in 2017. Michelle has since told confidants that she believes her close friend has been wronged. While President Obama has appeared on the campaign trail with Biden, including at a recent high-dollar Hollywood fundraiser, Michelle hasn’t so much as posted on social media in support of the Democratic incumbent’s campaign. She was dragged into participating in Biden’s 2020 campaign only after top national Democrats warned her about the stakes of a second Trump administration.

High-ranking figures in the Democratic Party has predicted that Michelle Obama would be heavily courted to enter the race if President Biden bows out. However, that Herculean feat could only be accomplished by Presidents Obama and Clinton as well as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who allies say have a plan in place to approach Biden about dropping out if the growing chorus of calls for his exit become impossible to ignore.

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Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson unleashed a critique of both the media and political leaders during a question-and-answer session that followed his speech in front of a packed audience in Australia. The event quickly turned into a spectacle as he responded to a reporter’s question that lightly veered into a discussion on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Carlson, known for his unapologetic conservative stance, began by addressing the reporter from the Sydney Morning Herald, who praised his uplifting comments about Australia before segueing into a question about Putin, subtly suggesting Carlson had avoided the topic.

Carlson accused the media of being stuck in a “time capsule,” likening the persistence of the COVID narrative to “the last Japanese soldier on Okinawa who thinks the war’s still going.” Carlson also criticized Boris Johnson, whom he labeled a “criminal buffoon” responsible for exacerbating the conflict in Ukraine.

Carlson’s rhetoric escalated as he defended his journalistic integrity against accusations of being a “useful idiot” for Putin. He argued that Western media and governments were complicit in significant global issues, including the destruction of Ukraine and biased reporting. “The tragedy of what’s happened in Ukraine, orchestrated by the Western powers, including your government, and driven by my government, I feel shame about it, I hope you do too, is really one of the great crimes of my lifetime,” Carlson said.

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“I find disgusting, actually, this alignment between media organizations and the government. I think it’s a perfect inversion of what you’re supposed to do. If you’re a journalist, your job is to challenge power on behalf of the powerless,” Carlson said.

Carlson has ignited conversation down under on his “Australian Freedom Conference” speaking tour, captivating audiences alongside notable figures like Clive Palmer, Dinesh D’Souza, and Dr. Melissa McCann. The tour has garnered attention across Australia with stops in major cities including Cairns, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Sydney, and Melbourne, from June 21 to July 1.

Carlson secured an exclusive interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin in February, marking the first time a Western reporter has sat down with Putin since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He has often created controversy with his remarks on international figures, notably the Russian President. His perspective on Putin has been characterized by a certain level of admiration, particularly in the context of Putin’s leadership style, which Carlson sometimes contrasts with political figures in the West.

In various segments on his show, Carlson has called attention to what he sees as strengths in Putin’s governance, often pointing to his decisiveness and strong nationalistic approach. This has created debate among viewers and political analysts, especially considering the larger geopolitical tensions involving Russia. His views are seen by some as a necessary counterbalance in a media landscape they believe is often too critical of Russia, while others criticize him for oversimplifying complex international dynamics and potentially downplaying the threats posed by Putin’s policies.

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