An uncanny strength of the second Trump administration has been its ability to be involved in so many scandals that no single one seems to become a dominant story.

Take the most recent allegations about Alina Habba, Trump's former personal defense attorney, who recently landed a plush gig working for Julio Herrera Velutini, a Venezuelan banker. Habba will get $50 million over five years to do unspecified work for a company that barely exists, according to The New York Times, while Herrera got a presidential pardon for a 2025 campaign finance charge.

That's just a typical day for the current White House, where the mingling of personal and public business has become routine. Some days, the story is President Donald Trump trying to help himself to taxpayer funds by suing the government he runs, or shipping billions of taxpayer dollars to a foreign mining company partially owned by his sons. Other times, it is Trump selling political influence in the form of digital coins, or his appointees getting caught in naked pay-to-play schemes. If you have a hard time keeping track of it all, I get it. The corruption is so deep and wide that focusing on any singular item becomes difficult.

But that constellation of corruption might finally be breaking through to voters ahead of next month's midterm elections.

A recent Fox News poll found that "government corruption" was the top issue for voters, ranking ahead of inflation and gas prices. Conservative commentators are taking notice.

"What they're saying is, 'Look, we're tired of you getting rich and us getting poor,'" former White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said this week.

Tim Carney, senior columnist at the conservative Washington Examiner, also tabs the corruption issue—along with other "avoidable mistakes" such as the Iran War and tariffs—as one of the major reasons why Democrats are likely to win the midterms:

Trump and his family have enriched themselves in this second term in ways more similar to third-world regimes or Cook County than to any previous administration. He and his family operate a financial company that has received heavy investments from Qatar's government. He's sold access to himself by selling otherwise worthless cryptocurrency. The IRS he controls settled a lawsuit with him, promising to pay him $1.8 billion (this settlement was voided by a judge).

Trump is not directly on the ballot next month, of course. And most voters might not be able to tell you the details of any single Trump scandal in detail. Even so, this may turn out to be the defining narrative of the second Trump administration, and there seems to be a growing consensus that Republicans have allowed (if not aided and abetted) his corrupt behavior, so it's time to give Democrats a shot at reining it in.

The Trump corruption issue is like the Biden cognitive decline issue in one key sense: Everyone around the president or even supporting him professionally from afar should be asked about it, and their lies/claims of ignorance should be hung around their necks like dumbbells.

— Matt Welch (@MattWelch) October 20, 2026

Vice President J.D. Vance told journalist Mark Halperin this week that he's "never seen any evidence that anybody's selling access to the president." When Halperin pushed back, Vance doubled down: "What I would say is I don't think there's evidence that the Trump family has become enriched by politics," the vice president said.

So either Vance isn't paying attention, or he's deliberately misleading. "Credit to Vance, it's as good an argument as is available to him," writes Daniel Foster at National Review. "The bad news is it's still not very good."

---

The internet nearly crashed on Wednesday as digital security and website administrators scrambled to patch two vulnerabilities in the PHP programming language that serves as the basis for many websites.

"Since its development in the 1990s, PHP has evolved into an essential scripting language for web development and is used across vast swaths of the internet in websites and software," explains Wired. "Everything from publishing systems like WordPress and Drupal to e-commerce platforms like Adobe's Magento are built on PHP."

Amid fears that hackers and AI agents could exploit the security weakness, many websites were taken offline. The National Security Agency and its counterparts in the United Kingdom and the European Union sounded the alarm. Even the prime minister of Japan, Sanae Takaichi, was telling website administrators to take the issue seriously.

The potential hacking abilities of advanced AI agents make these sorts of security risks more serious. In this case, however, the problem was also identified with the help of AI.

"Ryan Austin, a researcher at Calif, uncovered the flaws with help from GPT-5.6 Sol, one of OpenAI's most advanced models, during an audit of PHP's source code in August," The Wall Street Journal reports. Another security researcher had flagged the issue years ago, but it had never been fixed because it was considered "considered too difficult to exploit" by human hackers.

This is the future of humanity's digital landscape. "Given the severity of these flaws and PHP's widespread use, we consider this one of the most impactful security issues in recent memory," OpenAI said in a statement on Wednesday. "It highlights how AI can uncover security flaws with internet-scale impact, but the same capabilities can also help attackers rapidly develop offensive tools and exploits."

(A shoutout to Reason's web development team for keeping us up and running, today and every day.)

---

"Fanciful fiction." Media outlets also continue to face decidedly nondigital threats over articles and polls that make the president unhappy.

The White House threatened Politico on Wednesday with unspecified "consequences" for publishing "fanciful fiction" in a series of articles earlier this month about White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. If the articles are not retracted, it would trigger "an immediate review of Politico's relationship with the White House, and, of course, consideration of all other appropriate and available legal remedies," wrote White House counsel William O. Scharf in a letter to the media outlet's publisher.

Meanwhile, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr issued vague threats to broadcasters who cover what Carr called "Fake Polls" intended to "alter the normal patterns of voter turnout and enthusiasm."

These sorts of threats are an affront to the First Amendment, of course. But they are downstream of a more significant issue: the very existence of the FCC.

It's a problem, obviously, that the FCC is run by an authoritarian jackass. But the bigger problem is that the agency contains so many tempting tools for an authoritarian jackass to wield. https://t.co/Q4IJXntkOy

— Jesse Walker (@notjessewalker) October 21, 2026

---

QUICK HITS

• A judge in New Mexico ordered social media giant Meta (which owns Facebook and Instagram, among other things) to pay $25 billion for misleading users about data privacy. Last month, a jury found that Meta had violated the state's consumer protection laws 43 million times.
• Officials are trying to pin the blame on Elon Musk for a Starlink slowdown that limited the effectiveness of Ukrainian missile defenses. Musk says the decision was made by the U.S. military and Trump.
• Peter Thiel joins the majority of Americans in thinking that Trump's Iran War was a mistake. Even so, the U.S. and Israel are reportedly planning another round of attacks after the election.
• The environmental studies for California's high-speed rail line include such absurdities as counting bumblebees "one by one" and considering the train's "acoustic impacts on waterfowl and shorebirds." That's how to spend 16 years and $15 billion building nearly nothing.
• Obvious metaphor alert!

A group dispatched by Hegseth's team in February attempted to move the historic globe, said to be used by Eisenhower during World War II.

They lifted it from its home in an Army office in the Pentagon … and dropped it. pic.twitter.com/vTjWdYXn0k

— Dan Lamothe (@DanLamothe) October 22, 2026

The post The Swamp King appeared first on Reason Magazine.

• Former "GMA3" co-anchors Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes are married.
• The two first sparked controversy when they were spotted cuddling while still legally married.
• Nearly four years later, the two are now legally wed, and their exes are engaged.

As one of the internet's favorite sayings goes: Never let your spouse stop you from finding your soulmate.

"GMA3: What You Need to Know" co-anchors T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach sparked controversy in November 2022 after their relationship became public when photos of them cuddling were published by The Daily Mail.

The relationship between the two journalists — who were legally married to other people at the time — subsequently made national headlines. 

Holmes married attorney Marilee Fiebig, 49, in 2010, the same year Robach married actor Andrew Shue, 59. After the news broke, both Holmes, 49, and Robach, 53, said they were either separated or in the midst of divorce proceedings when they were photographed together.

"To be clear, we were outed as being in a relationship, but everyone else thought we were being outed as adulterers — being outed as cheating on our spouses — and it wasn't the case," Holmes said on a December 2023 episode of their podcast, "Amy & T.J."

In October 2025, nearly three years after the first headlines about their relationship, Holmes and Robach announced on their podcast that they had gotten engaged.

One year after their engagement, Robach and Holmes married on September 19, 2026, in Holmes' home state of Arkansas, according to public marriage records. People reported the news on October 13.

In a happy twist, Shue and Fiebig are also in a relationship and have been together since December 2023. They announced their engagement just over a week after Robach and Holmes' marriage became public.

Here's a timeline of the scandal that rocked "GMA3" and led to both Holmes and Robach exiting the morning show.

Holmes and Robach did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Keyaira Boone, Esme Mazzeo, and Libby Torres contributed to a prior version of this article.

Match-fixing scandal in Greek basketball: Six arrests and €820,000 in cash found in the safe of one referee. Implicated in the scandal that shakes the Greek Basketball is also the president of the Hellenic Basketball Federation (EOK), Vangelis Liolios, ANT1 TV who has been also arrested and other media reported on Tuesday afternoon. Law enforcement […]

The post Scandal in Greek Basketball: Six people arrested, among them Federation president appeared first on Keep Talking Greece.

Department drops efforts to return Tony Hall to Barbados, a country he left at 12 and where he has no living relatives

The Home Office has lifted a deportation order handed to a 62-year-old man who has lived in Britain for 50 years after criticism of the department’s attempts to remove him to Barbados, a country he left as a child.

The Home Office wrote to Tony Hall on Tuesday to inform him that his deportation order had been revoked. His case had been highlighted in the Guardian a day earlier.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Christian Sinibaldi/The Guardian

© Photograph: Christian Sinibaldi/The Guardian

© Photograph: Christian Sinibaldi/The Guardian

Former Disney star Erik von Detten is being sued by an elderly California couple who claim he convinced them to invest more than $2.1 million of their retirement savings in overpriced gold coins.

Sheila Greenberg, 85, and her husband, Norman Greenberg, 97, filed the lawsuit against von Detten, who is best known for his roles in Disney's "Brink" and "The Princess Diaries," and his former employer, Rosland Capital, in Los Angeles County Superior Court on May 11. The complaint accuses the defendants of financial elder abuse, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, constructive fraud and conversion.

According to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital, the Greenbergs believe Rosland "designed in large part to appeal to senior citizens through their television and internet advertising, direct mail brochures, and high-pressure boiler-room type sales practices."

ALEC BALDWIN SUED BY ‘RUST’ PROP COMPANY OWNER ALLEGING ACTOR MADE HIM ‘SCAPEGOAT’ IN DEADLY ON-SET SHOOTING

The Greenbergs claim they contacted Rosland in 2020 after seeing the television commercials promoting gold as a safe way to protect their wealth.

Once put in touch with von Detten, one of the company's top advisors, the couple disclosed that their combined traditional IRA accounts contained more than $2 million.

"Von Detten earned Sheila’s and Norman's trust. They believed him to be an expert and thus placed their faith completely in Von Detten to make the correct choices and recommendations and expressed as much to him," the court documents state.

On Oct. 19, 2020, the Greenbergs allegedly followed von Detten’s recommendations and purchased more than $999,000 worth of Lady Liberty gold coins. The lawsuit claims Sheila paid $599,654.83 for 797 coins, while Norman paid $399,519.09 for 531 coins.

"They believed that, however valued, Von Detten was taking care of them and the price they paid was a fair price for what they bought and the gold they purchased was worth the money they spent. Afterall, this was an IRA rollover. An investment intended to protect their hard-earned wealth for retirement."

The complaint alleges the coins were sold at a premium of roughly 60%. The Greenbergs claim they paid the equivalent of $3,009.56 per ounce when the spot price of gold was approximately $1,903 per ounce.

LIKE WHAT YOU'RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

The lawsuit claims the couple lost more than $367,000 in value almost immediately after the first transaction.

The Greenbergs allege von Detten continued contacting them and "hounded" them to invest even more money. The complaint claims Rosland "likely" viewed the couple as a "whale" after learning how much money they had available.

On Nov. 5, 2020, the couple allegedly made another purchase totaling more than $1.14 million. Sheila reportedly bought 885 additional coins for $677,644.50, while Norman purchased 614 coins for $470,139.80.

PUT YOUR ENTERTAINMENT KNOWLEDGE TO THE TEST AND SEE HOW YOU SCORE

The lawsuit claims the second transaction resulted in another immediate loss of more than $418,000.

In total, the Greenbergs allege they paid $2,146,958.22 for coins worth approximately $1,360,925. The complaint claims the couple’s entire traditional IRA accounts were rolled over into the gold investments.

The lawsuit also alleges the physical coins were never delivered to the Greenbergs. Instead, they were sent to Delaware Depository for storage. The couple claims they continued paying fees to maintain their gold IRA accounts and store the coins.

After the retirement accounts were "depleted," the complaint alleges Rosland pursued other sources of money. In August 2021, the Greenbergs allegedly used their family trust to purchase nearly $200,000 worth of additional gold coins.

The lawsuit claims they paid $135,487 for 109 PAMP British Museum Lewis Chessmen coins that were worth approximately $48,832. They also allegedly paid $64,300 for 50 PAMP F1 Abu Dhabi coins that were worth about $22,420.

GRANDPARENTS ARE IDENTITY THEFT'S BIGGEST PAYDAY

The Greenbergs claim they did not realize they had been overcharged until 2025, when they began looking into the value of their holdings. When an Advantage Gold representative allegedly suggested the company operated differently from Rosland, Sheila turned to AI to look into Rosland's business practices, a search that led her to uncover what she described as unethical conduct.

"By their conduct, Defendants took, secreted, appropriated, obtained or retained an unconscionable mark-up over the fair value of no less than $900,000 for a wrongful use, because they knew or should have known that doing so would likely be harmful to Plaintiffs," the documents state.

GET ENTERTAINMENT SCOOP DELIVERED RIGHT TO YOUR EMAIL BY CLICKING HERE

"Instead of helping them protect their hard-earned wealth, Defendants helped themselves to it. 49. In addition, Defendants committed financial elder abuse because they took, secreted, appropriated, obtained or retained Plaintiffs’ money with the intent to defraud."

The couple is seeking at least $900,000 in compensatory damages, double damages, punitive damages, prejudgment interest, attorneys’ fees and costs. They have also demanded a jury trial.

A representative for von Detten did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Larry David eerily crossed paths with O.J. Simpson on the day Nicole Brown Simpson was brutally murdered in 1994.

David, the co-creator of "Seinfeld" and creator/star of "Curb Your Enthusiasm," discussed the chilling moment in his newly released authorized biography, "Emperor Of Nothing: The Making of Larry David." The book was written by Blake J. Harris.

Fox News may be compensated for or earn a commission if you buy through our referral links.

On the morning of June 12, 1994, David was eating breakfast at the exclusive Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles alongside his then-wife Laurie, newborn daughter Cazzie and fellow comedy writer Alan Zweibel. Zweibel's wife, Robin, was also at the table.

FORMER OJ SIMPSON ATTORNEY, LONGTIME FRIEND BOTH SUPPORT POSSIBILITY OF ACCOMPLICE IN 1994 MURDERS

Zweibel said that he will never forget that breakfast with Larry, or the date, "because that night O.J. Simpson killed Nicole [Brown Simpson] and Ron Goldman."

"[We] saw him in the dining room the day of the murder!" David said.

In the biography, Zweibel explained that he not only saw Simpson, but interacted with him twice that same day.

"We were having breakfast and all of a sudden I hear somebody say my name: ‘Zwa-bell.’ I turn around. It’s O.J. Simpson," Zweibel said.

He went on to explain how he knew Simpson. "I knew O.J. because I went to the University of Buffalo while he was playing for the [Buffalo] Bills," Zweibel began.

"He was like a god. And when he came to host ‘SNL’ [in 1978], I remember saying to Lorne, ‘This is my hero.’ So I spent a lot of time with O.J. that week. I wrote a lot for that show. And then in subsequent years, we had a mutual friend on Rockingham, and we all had kids around the same age, so we’d see each other at birthday parties and s--- like that," he continued.

GET ENTERTAINMENT SCOOP DELIVERED RIGHT TO YOUR EMAIL BY CLICKING HERE

Zweibel said that he also saw Simpson later that afternoon at his daughter's middle school dance recital.

"Our daughters were [both performing]. And on our way out, I again hear a familiar voice," he said.

"S---," O.J. said to Zweibel. "Twice in the same day!"

"Hey, Juice!" Zweibel replied.

Zweibel explained in the biography that he called Simpson by his famous nickname and told him that he had nothing new to share since he had already seen him earlier that day.

O.J. SIMPSON JOKES ABOUT ‘BLOODY BRONCO,’ BOASTS OF ITS ‘GREAT ESCAPABILITY’ IN DISTURBING RESURFACED VIDEO

"Though, of course, [in retrospect] what I should have said was ‘Stay home tonight! Order in! Don’t go out!'" he said.

Simpson and Nicole married in 1985 and had two children, Sydney and Justin. They separated in 1992, and Brown filed for divorce after seven years of marriage.

In 1994, Brown and Goldman, her friend, were killed. Simpson was tried for their murders and acquitted in October 1995.

On Oct. 18, The New York Times reported that a mob-linked drug trafficker with ties to Simpson secretly became a jailhouse snitch and claimed to have information about efforts to dispose of evidence, potentially including a murder weapon that was never recovered.

The outlet said that Joseph Ippolito, a former cigarette boat racer, drug trafficker and restaurateur who knew Simpson, had told federal prosecutors he had information on the murder weapon. One has never been recovered.

LIKE WHAT YOU'RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

Elsewhere in David's biography, he discussed the famous decades before "Seinfeld" when he was a NYC comedian. David was infamous among NYC comedians for walking offstage mid-set, refusing to perform if someone looked at their watch, yelling at paying crowds and needing bouncers to protect him from a "mountain" of a heckler he almost fought.

WATCH: OJ Simpson may have had mob accomplice, new report says

"I didn't react well to adversity, so I would just walk off," David said. "I was young. I had a bad temper. And my stuff wasn't very commercial. I couldn't really give [the audience] what they wanted. [Before each set] there was a better chance that I'd bomb than do well. And I just couldn't handle being terrible."

He continued, "Basically, if the audience didn't like me, I didn't see the need for me to continue torturing them, or them to torture me. So, I'd just leave. I guess the best way to describe me onstage was 'unprofessional.'"

David discussed his run-ins with hecklers and wrote that he was always smart about the fights he would have with audience members.

"I did have some fights with the audience, [but] they were really more arguments—I'd say something to them and then they'd say something back. I was never stupid about it, though. I always made sure I had the bouncers behind me any time I said anything," he said.

PUT YOUR ENTERTAINMENT KNOWLEDGE TO THE TEST AND SEE HOW YOU SCORE

Before his career took off, David shared in his biography that he was voted "Least Likely to Accomplish Anything" by his peers in high school. He had a long list of bizarre pre-fame jobs — from carrying a bag of irregular bras down Broadway to driving a half-blind woman in a limo — all while violently rejecting his mother’s desperate pleas for him to become a postal worker.

"She wanted me to be a mailman. She wanted me to work for the post office. She was always begging me to take the civil service test," David said of his mother's pleas.

"Just take the test!! Take the test! What do you have to lose?" he recalled her saying to him.

But the comedian had a very logical reason why he didn't pursue postal work as his profession.

"I think I could have done the 'rain' and the 'snow.' But the hail would have done me in, you know? I'm not gonna be delivering in hail," David said. "I would have gone to the supervisor, 'I'm sorry, I can't deliver in hail. I know you got the big motto up there. But I'm not doing hail!'"

"Emperor Of Nothing: The Making of Larry David" releases on Oct. 20.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Haaretz: "If there is one thing clear from Netanyahu's recent behavior and declarations, it's that there is no ploy, no manipulation, no lie he wouldn't use, if it keeps him out of a cell"