Forbes is reporting that the value of Donald Trump’s wealth declined so much in 2016 that he dropped 92 spots on the list of richest people in America.
A tough New York real estate market, a costly lawsuit and an expensive presidential campaign all contributed to the declining fortune of the 45th president. After months of digging through financial disclosures and public property records and conducting dozens of interviews, Forbes now estimates POTUS’ net worth at $3.1 billion, down from $3.7 billion a year ago. He drops to No. 248 in the ranks of the richest people in America, down from No. 156 in 2016.
The biggest hit was to Trump’s real estate portfolio, which is weighted heavily toward New York City. Values of several Manhattan properties, particularly those on or near Fifth Avenue, have dropped, shaving nearly $400 million off his fortune.
Some of his golf properties, including ones in Miami, Ireland and Scotland, have also declined in value, as some would-be guests stayed away, apparently offended by the president’s politics and bombast. Trump’s cash pile is down an estimated $100 million since last year, after he spent $66 million on his campaign and $25 million settling a lawsuit over Trump University. As always, we refined our estimates based on new information uncovered during months of reporting.
• Fitness model Rodiney Santiago (above) facing down Monday like a boss.
• Thanks to California’s newly signed Gender Recognition Act, folks will soon be able to identify as nonbinary, in addition to male or female, on state-issued identity documents, including driver’s licenses and birth certificates.
• Considering he has never been a friend to the LGBT community, eyebrows were raised when U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions sent an experienced hate crime lawyer to Iowa to aid in prosecuting a man accused of killing a transgender high school student.
• In pop culture news, original Charlie’s Angels star Jaclyn Smith says the ladies of the hit 1970s series are thinking about getting together for a reunion. In addition to Jaclyn (Kelly), the surviving “angels” are Cheryl Ladd (Kris), 66; Kate Jackson (Sabrina), 68; Tanya Roberts (Julie), 61; and Shelley Hack (Tiffany), 70.
• Out radio show/columnist Dan Savage has raised over $200K via his ITMFA website. Upon hitting the second $100K, he sent checks to Planned Parenthood ($33,333.33), the ACLU ($33,333.33) and the International Refugee Assistance Project ($33,333.34). The money was raised selling ITMFA (“Impeach The Mother Fucker Already”) buttons, t-shirts, tanks, hats, stickers, coffee cups, and lapel pins at www.ITMFA.org.
• Transgender hip hop artist Epiphany Mattel released her debut single, “Fix Yo Face,” which she says has an important message. “It’s about everyone going above and beyond with their appearance to stand out and be noticed at clubs today, but then they bring their scowl, a ‘resting bitch face,’ that makes them unapproachable,” explains Mattel.
“They’re so insecure with themselves, they push that negative energy on the rest of the party and make everyone else uncomfortable. It’s a party bitches… lighten the hell up,” she adds.
In celebration of the reissue of the late George Michael’s iconic album, Listen Without Prejudice Vol.1, Sony Music together with Channel 4 and BBC Worldwide have commissioned George Michael: Freedom, a stunning new film, narrated by George himself.
George Michael: Freedom tells the gripping, dramatic story of the making of Listen Without Prejudice Vol 1, the court case which followed and George’s personal struggle and pain as he loses Anselmo.
You may recall George decided he would not appear on Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1’s album cover or be available to physically promote the album beyond select interviews, but instead gave the label the David Fincher-directed “Freedom! ‘90,” which featured five of the most recognizable beauties on the planet, lip-syncing in place of George.
George succeeded in reuniting the Freedom! ’90 video’s five supermodels: Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford, Tatjana Patitz and Linda Evangelista.
Other contributors include world famous artists such as Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Liam Gallagher, Mary J Blige, Tony Bennett, Nile Rodgers, Kate Moss, Ricky Gervais, Jean-Paul Gaultier and James Corden.
George Michael: Freedom airs in the UK on October 16, and will premiere in the US this Saturday/October 21st at 9pm ET/PT on SHOWTIME.
Also, a remastered version of George’s amazing 1996 MTV Unplugged performance will also be available as an album for the very first time as part of the Deluxe box set, 2CD and digital editions.
The concert took place in East London on October 11, 1996 and featured George playing ten of his finest songs from the Wham!, Faith, Listen Without Prejudice Vol.1 (Freedom ’90) and more.
Listen Without Prejudice Vol 1 will also be reissued on vinyl.
George Michael Listen Without Prejudice / MTV Unplugged Track listings:
3 CD/1 DVD LIMITED EDITION BOX
CD1 Listen Without Prejudice (Remastered)
1 Praying For Time 2 Freedom! ’90 3 They Won’t Go When I Go 4 Something To Save 5 Cowboys And Angels 6 Waiting For That Day 7 Mother’s Pride 8 Heal The Pain 9 Soul Free 10 Waiting (Reprise)
CD2 MTV Unplugged
1 Freedom! ’90 2 Fastlove 3 I Can’t Make You Love Me 4 Father Figure 5 You Have Been Loved 6 Everything She Wants 7 Strangest Thing 8 Older 9 Star People 10 Praying For Time 11 Fantasy featuring Nile Rodgers
CD3 B Sides & Rarities
1. Soul Free (Special Radio Edit) 2. Freedom! (Back To Reality Mix) 3. Freedom (Back To Reality Mix Edit) 4. Fantasy 90 5. Freedom (Edit) 6. Cowboys & Angels 7. If You Were My Woman 8. Too Funky (Edit) 9. Crazy Man Dance 10. Do You Really Want To Know 11. Happy 12. Too Funky (Extended) 13. Too Jazzy (Happy Mix) 14. Fantasy 98 15. George Michael with Paul McCartney – Heal The Pain 16. George Michael with Astrud Gilberto – Desafinado
DVD
1. The Southbank Show 1990 2. Freedom! ’90 promo 3. Praying For Time promo 4. Freedom 90 MTV 10th Anniversary
2 CD EDITION
CD1 Listen Without Prejudice (Remastered)
1 Praying For Time 2 Freedom! ’90 3 They Won’t Go When I Go 4 Something To Save 5 Cowboys And Angels 6 Waiting For That Day 7 Mother’s Pride 8 Heal The Pain 9 Soul Free 10 Waiting (Reprise)
CD2 MTV Unplugged
1 Freedom! ’90 2 Fastlove 3 I Can’t Make You Love Me 4 Father Figure 5 You Have Been Loved 6 Everything She Wants 7 Strangest Thing 8 Older 9 Star People 10 Praying For Time 11 Fantasy featuring Nile Rodgers
Listen Without Prejudice – Vinyl
SIDE A
1 Praying For Time 2 Freedom! ’90 3 They Won’t Go When I Go 4 Something To Save 5 Cowboys And Angels
SIDE B
1 Waiting for That Day 2 Mothers Pride 3 Heal The Pain 4 Soul Free 5 Waiting (Reprise)
Regular readers know I’m a big fan of comic book super hero movies. So imagine me this morning when I see the visually stunning new trailer for the upcoming Black Panther from Marvel Studios.
The superhero flick chronicles T’Challa who, after the death of his father, the King of Wakanda, returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation to succeed to the throne and take his rightful place as king.
But when a powerful old enemy reappears, T’Challa’s mettle as king — and Black Panther — is tested when he is drawn into a formidable conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk.
Faced with treachery and danger, the young king must rally his allies and release the full power of Black Panther to defeat his foes and secure the safety of his people and their way of life.
In addition to the visuals – and the eye candy of Chadwick Boseman and Michael B. Jordan, I’m thrilled to see the African culture being incorporated into it.
Chadwick Boseman stars in the title role, with Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker and Andy Serkis also starring.
Speaking at a press briefing with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in the Rose Garden at the White House today, Donald Trump outrageously claimed that Barack Obama and other presidents didn’t contact the families of fallen soldiers in the past.
Trump was answering a question as to why he hadn’t addressed the deaths of 3 Green Berets in Niger on October 4.
“I felt very, very badly about that,” Trump said during a press availability in the Rose Garden. “I always feel badly. It is the toughest calls I have to make are the calls where this happens, soldiers are killed.”
Trump claimed that past presidents — including Barack Obama — hadn’t written or called the families of slain service members, though Obama spoke publicly during his term about his many interactions with the families of Americans killed in action.
Later, Trump backtracked on the claim slightly, saying “I was told that he didn’t often.”
Trump’s comments today are his first since the Green Berets died on October 4. Many have wondered why the long silence from a president who is never far from his Twitter feed.
Watch Trump’s comments below.
Trump: “If you look at Pres Obama +other presidents, most of them didn’t make calls. A lot of them didn’t make calls.” Obama aide weighs in: https://t.co/tkcn9opUOe
According to a lengthy profile of Vice President Mike Pence in The New Yorker, Donald Trump apparently “joked” that Vice President Mike Pence “wants to hang” all gay people.
“Trump thinks Pence is great,” Bannon told me. But, according to a longtime associate, Trump also likes to “let Pence know who’s boss.”
A staff member from Trump’s campaign recalls him mocking Pence’s religiosity. He said that, when people met with Trump after stopping by Pence’s office, Trump would ask them, “Did Mike make you pray?”
Two sources also recalled Trump needling Pence about his views on abortion and homosexuality. During a meeting with a legal scholar, Trump belittled Pence’s determination to overturn Roe v. Wade. The legal scholar had said that, if the Supreme Court did so, many states would likely legalize abortion on their own. “You see?” Trump asked Pence. “You’ve wasted all this time and energy on it, and it’s not going to end abortion anyway.”
When the conversation turned to gay rights, Trump motioned toward Pence and joked, “Don’t ask that guy—he wants to hang them all!”
Pence’s views on LGBT rights have been a threat to the community for years.
As Indiana governor, he signed into law the virulently anti-LGBT Religious Freedom Restoration Act in 2015, which essentially legalized discrimination against gay people. The legislation created a huge backlash against the state and Pence.
Additionally, Pence has publicly supported so-called gay conversion therapy and has been named “one of the most anti-LGBT politicians out there.”
Yahoo News reports that Russian agents in a St. Petersburg “troll factory” were required to watch Netflix’s hit series House of Cards in order to better understand American “problems” like guns, taxes, and gays.
The Russians who worked for a notorious St. Petersburg “troll factory” that was part of Vladimir Putin’s campaign to influence the 2016 presidential election were required to watch the “House of Cards” television series to help them craft messages to “set up the Americans against their own government,” according to an interview broadcast Sunday (in Russian) with a former member of the troll factory’s elite English language department.
The interview, broadcast by the independent Russian TV station Rain, provides new insight into how the troll factory formerly known as the Internet Research Agency targeted U.S. audiences in part by posting provocative “comments” pretending to be from Americans on newspaper articles that appeared on the websites of the New York Times and Washington Post.
“At first we were forced to watch the ‘House of Cards’ in English,” said Maksim in the interview. It was part of a documented “strategy” in the English language department to fully understand how the American political system works. “It was necessary to know all the main problems of the United States of America. Tax problems, the problem of gays, sexual minorities, weapons,” he said.
Among the major themes the trolls were to write about in their posts were guns and gays. “When it was gays, we almost always had to bring out the religious themes,” he said. “Americans are very religious, especially those [who post] on news sites and write comments. You had to write that sodomy is a sin. That could always get you a couple of dozen ‘likes.’”
Remember when Trump said he wouldn’t have any time for golf?
No? Let’s take a little trip on the way-back machine, shall we? Watch this medley of Trump’s “greatest hits” when he promised he’d never leave the White House.
Can you believe that, with all of the problems and difficulties facing the U.S., President Trump spent the day playing golf pic.twitter.com/nrZyVI0RKN
