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Author: business
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Bernie Sanders at Coachella: Senator echoes Trump jeers
Coachella 2025: Sen. Bernie Sanders makes surprise appearance at fest
Sen. Bernie Sanders made a surprise appearance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on Saturday night, urging political action.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., made a surprise appearance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival Saturday night.
As part of an introduction to the performer Clairo, Sanders told Coachella attendees that the fate of America lay with the younger generation. He urged younger people to become politically active to fight for progressive causes like universal healthcare, women’s rights and action on climate change.
“This country faces some very difficult challenges,” he said. “And the future, what happens to America, is dependent on your generation. And you can turn away and ignore what goes on, but if you do that, you do that at your own peril.”
With him, Sanders brought U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost, a congressman from Florida’s 10th Congressional District, which includes Orlando, who, at 28, is the youngest member of Congress.
Sanders apparently brought Frost to inspire the festivalgoers with a person of a similar age.
“We need you to fight for justice, to fight for economic justice, social justice and racial justice,” he told the crowd of thousands, who had arrived at the Empire Polo Club for the second day of Coachella. “We’ve got a president of the United States…”
Many people in the crowd interrupted Sanders to yell obscenities. Sanders waited a moment before saying, “I agree.”
“He thinks that climate change is a hoax,” Sanders continued, referring to President Donald Trump. “He is dangerously wrong.”
Attendees were largely supportive of Sanders during his roughly four-minute speech. They frequently cheered his statements, cheering especially loudly when he urged the crowd to support women’s rights.
Sanders, an independent senator for Vermont with strong ties to the Democratic Party, is well known for his stances on reducing economic inequality. He brought up that topic Saturday night as well.
“We have an economy today that is working very well for the millionaire class, but not for working families,” he said. “We need you to help us in creating an economy that works well for everybody.”
Although not the only politician to speak onstage at Coachella, he is likely the most prominent in festival history. Sanders’ appearance, which occurred at around 8:15 p.m., was largely unexpected. Many people rushed toward the stage as soon as his name was called over the loudspeakers.
He said he appeared with Clairo because the musician had used her prominence to fight for women’s rights and bring an end to the war in Gaza.
“So I want to thank Clairo not only for being in a great band, but the great work she is doing,” he concluded before ushering her and her band onstage.
Earlier in the day Saturday, Sanders co-led a rally in Los Angeles with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., that was attended by thousands of people dissatisfied with President Donald Trump. Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez are currently on the “Fighting Oligarchy: Where We Go from Here” tour.
Sam Morgen covers the city of Palm Springs for The Desert Sun. Reach him at [email protected].
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Katy Perry, Gayle King space updates
Queue “E.T.” – Katy Perry went intergalactic (literally).
The singer, along with several other members of a star-studded, all-female crew, blasted off Monday as part of Blue Origin’s latest space mission, taking off and landing successfully. Perry put her pop star duties on hold to explore the outer orbit for 11 minutes.
The mission, called NS-31, also included television personality Gayle King and journalist Lauren Sánchez, who is engaged to Blue Origin (and Amazon) founder Jeff Bezos. The crew is rounded out by former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, bioastronautics research scientist Amanda Nguyen and film producer Kerianne Flynn. The six women became the first all-female space crew in more than 60 years, Blue Origin has said.
In the lead-up to the flight, Perry, King and Sánchez all expressed nerves and an eagerness to bring a female finesse to space. And on the day of the launch, celebrity friends including Oprah Winfrey, Khloe Kardashian and Kris Jenner joined the historic moment at the site in Texas.
“I feel super connected to love,” Perry said of her trip to space.
Holding the daisy she took with her on the mission, Perry remarked that she brought that particular bloom because it’s a common plant and it can grow through any circumstances.
“This is all for the benefit of Earth,” she said. “I wanted to model courage and worthiness and fearlessness,” Perry added, revealing it was a hard decision as a mom to take that risk but that she needed to “surrender” to the universe. And she said “of course,” she would definitely write a song about the experience.
“I can’t even believe what I saw,” King said. “I’m so proud of me right now.”
King said the opportunity was “such a reminder of how we have to do better, be better,” she added, echoing Sánchez’s sentiment that it was very quiet in space and invited reflection on how important it is to take care of one another on earth.
King described the crew as a “sisterhood” and revealed Perry sang “What a Wonderful World” to the women on their descent back to earth.
After touching down and embracing loved ones, the six-woman crew reflected on what it was like to be lifted upwards towards the heavens.
“I don’t think you can describe it … it was quiet but also really alive,” Sanchez said of looking down at Earth.
“I had to come back, I mean we’re getting married,” she joked about her upcoming nuptials. “That would be a bummer.” Sanchez is set to wed Bezos in Italy later this year.
As Blue Origin employees gathered around the capsule to help prepare for opening, viewers watched anxiously on, waiting for Perry, King, Sánchez and others to emerge.
Bezos greeted the women, embracing Sánchez who had tears in her eyes and walked off to see her children.
Perry kissed the ground and held up the daisy she brought with her onboard. There were screams from Nguyen, cheers from Bowe, and King gestured to the sky and kneeled down to kiss the ground.
“Let me just appreciate the ground for just a second,” she joked. Flynn exclaimed and raised her hands before hugging Bezos.
Perry’s daughter Daisy, whom the singer shares with husband Orlando Bloom, was present at the launch and watched her mom head to space.
“She’s 4 and a half, so she’s still trying to figure out what day of the week it is,” Perry joked about her daughter’s reaction to the mission ahead of liftoff. “But it is very normal for us to talk about mommy going to space now, and I will be so excited to hold her when I land.”
The 60-foot-tall rocket topped with the gum-dropped shape crew capsule got off the ground right on time at 9:30 a.m. Monday morning.
Launching from Blue Origin’s private west Texas ranch, known as Launch Site One, the New Shepard reached supersonic speeds surpassing 2,000 mph during its ascent.
Around the 3-minute mark, the rocket booster separated from the crew capsule, at which point the women aboard became weightless as their spacecraft continued toward apogee, or its highest point.
The New Shepard’s crew capsule then took them on its famed brief voyage above the Kármán Line – the 62-mile-high internationally recognized boundary of space.
At this point, the women were permitted to safely unstrap from their seats to experience a few minutes of microgravity and gaze out the capsule’s large windows to take in a stunning view of Earth. The women on board could be heard on the webcast marveling at the moon and the thin blue line of Earth’s atmosphere.
Meanwhile, the rocket booster headed back to the ground while firing its engines and using its fins to slow and control its descent to land about seven minutes after liftoff about two miles from the launchpad.
The capsule then began what Blue Origin refers to as a “stable freefall” – plummeting back to Earth. The women on board could soon be heard whooping in joy as three massive parachutes deployed after about nine minutes into the flight and the capsule made a soft landing two minutes later in the desert, sending up plumes of dust.
King, Perry and company touched down just a few moments after leaving earth Monday. Dust blew up as the rocket landed.
The mission saw celebrities and activists alike head to space. The voices of the women could be heard screaming as they descended, shortly after they were heard mid-flight marveling about the moon as they entered zero gravity and were unable to unbuckle and float about the cabin.
The space capsule holding Perry, King and their peers launched Monday morning as a breathless crowd watched on.
Amid the dry, already alien-like backdrop of the Texas desert, Blue Origin workers and families of the six-woman all-female crew – the first of its kind – saw the rocket lift upward and turn a pop star, a journalist, an activist and others into astronauts.
When will Katy Perry, Gayle King, others head to space? How to watch Blue Origin launch livestream
The launch is happening at Launch Site One in Southwest Texas.
A livestream is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. ET, with the launch window beginning at 9:30 a.m. ET.
Gayle King, Katy Perry head to space in historic flight
Blue Origin’s “New Shepard” space vehicle will historically carry an all-female crew, including Katy Perry and Gayle King, to space.
King’s best friend Oprah Winfrey watched on as her friend and fellow famed interviewer readied to take flight.
“I’ve never been more proud of my friend than today,” Winfrey said, adding that she felt very calm about the whole ordeal. Winfrey wore a bright yellow sweater in honor of King’s call signs which is sunshine.
“This is bigger than just going to space,” she said of her friend who has long been a fearful flier. “This is overcoming a wall of fear. I think it’s going to be cathartic.”
Before blast-off, King told Blue Origin that when she first began toying with the idea of going to space her children and Winfrey signaled immediate support.
Winfrey immediately encouraged her to take the chance, King said, saying her friend pointed out how much regret she might have if she had to watch the flight take off and wonder about what it would be like to be on it.
“You should always know that no dream is too big,” King said.
As the all-female crew readied for takeoff, watchers were treated to a celebrity-studded sendoff with part of the Kardashian-Jenner family showing up to signal support.
“It’s really something,” Kris Jenner said, adding that Kim Kardashian was supposed to attend as well but was studying for a law school exam. “It’s a very brave thing to do,” she added of the space flight.
“Really whatever you dream of it is in our reach,” Khloe Kardashian added. “Dream big, wish for the stars and one day you can maybe be amongst them.”
Named after astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American in space, the gum drop-shaped New Shepard launch vehicle is designed to be fully reusable
The spacecraft operates autonomously – meaning no pilots or professional astronauts are aboard.
Launches with celebrity crews may attract headlines, but the majority of spaceflights Blue Origin has conducted to date with New Shepard haven’t even had humans aboard at all. Across 30 total spaceflights, an uncrewed New Shepard spacecraft has multiple times flown with scientific payloads on behalf of paying customers, including NASA.
For nearly four years since its first crewed spaceflight, New Shepard has served as a powerful symbol of Blue Origin’s commercial spaceflight ambitions amid a growing space tourism industry.
Spaceflight, once a sector dominated by government space agencies like NASA, is increasingly becoming a commercial enterprise as billionaire-led companies like Bezos’ Blue Origin, Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic look to develop their own spacecraft.
The U.S. space agency is even poised to soon be potentially led by Jared Isaacman, himself a billionaire who has funded two of his own private spaceflights with SpaceX.
As Perry, King and the rest of the crew prepared for takeoff, they loaded up into a set of trucks with the windows open, waving to loved ones and Blue Origin workers. Bezos drove one of the Rivian trucks with fiancée Sánchez.
Where flights set to enter full orbit and remain in space for a few days require their astronauts to quarantine, this 11-minute flight doesn’t hold the same requirements, allowing for the women to give cameras a shot of them reaching out to fans and family for a personal send-off.
In a pre-flight interview, a tearful Perry talked about the love she felt for her family and a sense of pride about what the trip represents. Perry revealed she will bring a real-life daisy with her into orbit, to remind her of the preciousness of the earth (and a tribute to her daughter Daisy, no doubt).
“The message to my family is that I love them so much. And I am so grateful to be representing a fearless female in my family which is a domino effect from my mom, from my sister and definitely something I feel from my daughter,” she said.
“I love you,” Perry posted on X in all caps Monday morning, hinting at a last earthly goodbye.
Katy Perry space flight glam: ‘I’m going to be wearing lipstick’
“Space is going to finally be glam,” Perry told Elle magazine earlier this month, revealing she would be getting her hair and makeup done for the mission. “Let me tell you something. If I could take glam up with me, I would do that.”
“We’re going to have lash extensions flying in the capsule!” Sánchez joked, assuring a worried King that hers are securely glued on so they would stay put.
“I think it’s so important for people to see us like that. This dichotomy of engineer and scientist, and then beauty and fashion,” Nguyen added. “We contain multitudes. Women are multitudes. I’m going to be wearing lipstick.”
King, who has achieved icon status as a television host and author, said while she’s sure others seeing her up there will hold significance, one audience member stands out as special.
“My grandson, who’s 3½, thinks it’s the coolest thing,” she told Elle. “He will be there at the launch. He already has a little astronaut uniform.”
Gayle King admits to having nerves before Blue Origin flight
Mere days ahead of he expedition, King admitted to having some nerves in an interview with Vladimir Duthiers for “CBS Mornings” that released April 11.
“I’ll be ready Monday morning, I promise,” she said. ” But I still have a ways to go before I’m like, ‘OK, put me in, coach. Let’s go.’”
She explained the historic nature of the space launch is what encouraged her to be part of the adventure.
“There was something about being part of the first female team to me,” she said. “The group of women that they put together is so extraordinary to me that I thought, ‘Wow. Why would I not wanna be a part of that?’”
“I’m looking forward to just floating in space, and just seeing what that feels like, and what that looks like,” she said.
William Shatner space flight, more celebrities in space
Monday’s blast-off represents the first all-woman flight to space since the Soviet Union’s Valentina Tereshkova’s solo venture in 1963.
Perry and King are not the first big-name stars to take their fame into orbit, however: “Star Trek” actor William Shatner became the oldest person to head to space in 2021, and NFL player turned television host Michael Strahan also boarded a Blue Origin flight that same year.
Contributing: KiMi Robinson, USA TODAY; Natassia Paloma, El Paso Times
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Shaboozey, Megan Thee Stallion shine
Lineup, tickets and more: What to know about Coachella 2025
Learn about the Coachella 2025 lineup, ticket options and what’s new at the festival. (Spoiler: Chappell Roan and Charli D’Amelio are not scheduled.)
Sunday marked the conclusion of Weekend 1 of the 2025 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, and though it had plenty of surprise guests, still provided its fair share of lows in contrast to the highs (especially when compared to Friday and Saturday).
The festival will return for the second weekend on Friday.
Here are a few of the high and low points of Sunday’s action, which included Post Malone and Megan Thee Stallion on the main Coachella stage.
THE HIGHS
Short lines getting into the Empire Polo Club
Maybe it was that Travis Scott went past the 1 a.m. curfew to end Saturday and the crowds were sleeping in Sunday morning. Or it could be that the fatigue of two days under that sometimes irritating Coachella Valley sun had caught up to festivalgoers. Either way, the lines were noticeably shorter getting into the festival site once the gates opened on Sunday.
For those of us who were there, it was a welcoming sight. On both Friday and Saturday, the lines were lengthy, though crowds moved through security checks fairly quickly.
Crowds picked up on the site in the mid-afternoon on Sunday.
Shaboozey brings out Noah Cyrus, captivates on the main stage
Shaboozey brought it.
The Grammy-nominated singer, who is known for the unique blend of hip-hop, country and rock elements in his music, put on a fun show on the Coachella Stage Sunday afternoon. He sang his most popular song, “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” and during the set brought out Noah Cyrus for their song “My Fault,” which they recorded together for Shaboozey’s popular 2024 album, “Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going.”
The singer played just nine songs but sang “Blink Twice” and “Amen” for the first time live.
Only real complaint is that this set probably would have been even better had it been played in the evening, after the sun had dropped behind the Santa Rosa Mountains.
Megan Thee Stallion plays energetic set
I wouldn’t call myself a fan of the 30-year-old rapper and singer, but even I cannot deny the energy she brought to the Coachella Stage Sunday evening. She even brought some recognizable guests on stage with her.
The set included a guest appearance from Queen Latifah, and the two sang “Plan B” and performed Latifah’s “U.N.I.T.Y” for a crowd of around 50,000.
Victoria Monét was also brought on stage and she and Megan performed “Spin” and “On My Mama,” the latter of which is a Monét song.
Ciara was also brought on stage to sing “Roc Steady”/”Goodies,” a mashup the two recorded last year.
THE LOWS
Lack of star power
Look, nothing against those playing on Sunday. Overall, the lineup was solid. But I personally thought that the lineup was simply better on Friday and Saturday, when we had multiple superstar acts playing.
Post Malone was the headliner, with Megan Thee Stallion playing on the Coachella stage just prior. Go ahead and include Grammy-nominated Shaboozey, but if we’re talking star acts, in my opinion it ends there.
Compare that with Saturday, which included sets by Weezer, Green Day, Clairo, Charli XCX, Jimmy Eat World and Travis Scott, and Friday, which featured The Go-Go’s, Benson Boone, Missy Elliott and Lady Gaga and you get my point.
Sunday seemed like more of a chill day, which is fine. But it felt like a bit of a letdown.
Fewer big-name guest star appearances
Perhaps we were spoiled on Friday and Saturday.
On Friday, Tyla brought out Becky G, Mustard brought out 2Chainz, Ella Mai, YG, Big Sean and Roddy Ricch, Queen’s Brian May joined Benson Boone and Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong joined The Go-Go’s for a song.
On Saturday, Flava Flav and Thundercat joined Yo Gabba Gabba!, Clairo brought out Sen. Bernie Sanders and Charli XCX brought Troye Sivan, Lorde and Billie Eilish on stage.
Other than Zedd (who brought out Bea Miller, Elley Duhe, Maren Morris, John Mayer and Julia Michaels) and Megan Thee Stallion’s star-studded sets, we didn’t have quite as many big-name guest appearances on Sunday, and that was a bit disappointing.
Longer lines for food, pop-ups
This is merely an anecdotal observation, but it felt like the Sunday lines were longer for food and for many of the pop-ups around the festival site. Who knows why, but it was noticeable to both me and others covering the festival.
It was a minor inconvenience, if at all, but still less than ideal when navigating the festival experience.
Andrew John is a reporter covering Coachella for The Desert Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at [email protected].
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Gayle King, Katy Perry, crew of all women launch to space: Rewatch
A group of women that includes singer Katy Perry and broadcast journalist Gayle King are now the latest civilians to have boarded a commercial spacecraft for a quick trip beyond Earth’s atmosphere.
The star-studded Monday morning voyage to the edge of space took place from Blue Origin’s private launch facility in west Texas. Perry and King, who co-hosts “CBS Mornings,” were among six women selected for the short flight operated by billionaire Jeff Bezos’ private space company. Also on the crew was civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, filmmaker Kerianne Flynn and Lauren Sánchez, an Emmy Award-winning journalist who is also Bezos’ fiancée.
Now that the vehicle has launched and landed, the group of six women are officially the first all-female crew to travel to space since 1963, Blue Origin has said. The women are also now among 52 others who have previously boarded Blue Origin’s New Shepard launch vehicle to head more than 60 miles high for a few minutes of weightlessness and spectacular views of Earth.
Monday morning’s spaceflight was the New Shepard’s 31st overall launch, including the 11th with humans on board.
The New Shepard, composed of both a rocket and crew capsule, has been making human spaceflights since July 2021, when Bezos himself boarded the spacecraft as part of its maiden crew
But no pilots or trained active government astronauts are ever on board the spacecraft. Instead, the vehicle flies itself autonomously with up to six passengers, some of whom have been notable celebrities like actor William Shatner and NFL legend Michael Strahan.
Rewatch the launch and spaceflight at the webcast at the top of the story.
Who were the celebrities heading to space on Blue Origin’s New Shepard?
Six women were selected to be part of the next Blue Origin commercial spaceflight, a mission known as NS-31.
We’ve got today’s hot topics: Sign up for USA TODAY’s Everyone’s Talking newsletter.
Here’s a look:
- Aisha Bowe, a former NASA rocket scientist, CEO of engineering firm STEMBoard and founder of LINGO, which teaches students technology skills.
- Amanda Nguyen, a prominent civil rights activist and bioastronautics research scientist who worked on the last NASA space shuttle mission, STS-135, and the U.S. space agency’s exoplanet-hunting Kepler space telescope.
- Gayle King, a journalist and television personality best known as a co-host of “CBS Mornings.”
- Katy Perry, a pop music artist and former host of “American Idol.”
- Kerianne Flynn, a film producer known for her contributions to “This Changes Everything,” a 2018 documentary about sexism in Hollywood.
- Lauren Sánchez, an Emmy Award-winning journalist who is the fiancée of Bezos.
When was the Blue Origin launch from Texas?
New Shepard got off the ground right on schedule at 9:30 a.m. ET Monday, according to Blue Origin.
Like all of Blue Origin launches, the vehicle lifted off at Launch Site One, a private ranch in rural West Texas more than 140 miles east of El Paso.
How to watch Gayle King, Katy Perry go on all-female spaceflight
Blue Origin provided a livestream of the takeoff beginning prior to the launch window opening on its website.
CBS also provided coverage of the launch on its network and through its streaming service Paramount+. Coverage begins at 7 a.m. EDT during “CBS Mornings” and continues at 9 a.m. with a special segment, “Gayle goes to Space.”
What happens during a Blue Origin spaceflight?
The brief voyage takes civilian passengers on a trip above the Kármán Line – the 62-mile-high internationally recognized boundary of space – where they can experience a few minutes of weightlessness.
Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket, named after astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American in space, also comes with a crew capsule outfitted with large windows for them to enjoy the stunning view of Earth.
The launch vehicle is designed to be fully reusable, with a capsule that returns to Earth via three parachutes. The rocket itself is powered by one BE-3PM engine, which propels it to suborbit before restarting to slow the booster to just 6 mph for a controlled landing back on the launch pad.
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]
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Maher, Stamos suffer liberal backlash because of Trump
The left’s intolerance is well-documented, but the outrage and horror directed at John Stamos for merely attending an event at Donald Trump’s property startled even me.
Bill Maher brushes off liberal critics ahead of Trump meeting
Comedian Bill Maher is planning a White House meeting with Donald Trump, facilitated by Kid Rock, despite years of political criticism.
Straight Arrow News
Back when actor John Stamos was on “Full House,” I remember having a crush on his character Uncle Jesse.
Yet, it’s been a few decades since I thought much about him. So it caught my eye when he popped up in the headlines. Stamos (still handsome at 61) is living proof that no good deed goes unpunished.
The actor had the audacity to emcee an April 5 charity event for health care workers – get this – at Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump’s resort and residence in Palm Beach, Florida.
I know, right?
The left’s intolerance is well-documented (torching Teslas, anyone?), but the outrage and horror directed at Stamos for merely attending an event at Trump’s property startled even me.
There’s no question that Stamos is a Hollywood liberal (although he seems much less strident than some of his peers). He’s not suddenly converted to a MAGA cultist.
He simply was asked to participate in a sold-out evening to raise money for the Academy for Nursing and Health Occupations, which helps address the nursing shortage in Palm Beach. And he graciously did so.
John Stamos has to defend attending a charity event? Give me a break.
When Stamos’ lefty fans found out where he had been, however, all hell broke loose.
Here’s a sampling of what they wrote on his Instagram page – including on a post where Stamos is raising awareness about giving to Make-A-Wish to help children with life-threatening illnesses:
- “John, you can support nurses a trillion different ways. Supporting them while at the wannabe dictator’s house isn’t the way to do it.”
- “Glad you popped up! I need a reminder to unfollow you”
- “MAGA clown 🤡 totally done with you!”
- “Enjoy all your new MAGA fans! Now the people banning books and hating minorities are on your team, great for you! Let me know how that works out for your career! 👏👏👏”
- “How dare you say it isn’t political. Tell that to the millions of people in your own country and around the world being hurt by this man. Supporting him is supporting bigotry, hate, racism, sexism, etc. whatever helps you sleep at night, right?”
- “Grow a pair a balls and stand up for Democracy!”
- “What were you thinking going to Marolago?! Thought better of you. Looks like fascists of a feather….”
Now, I’d like to think that Stamos would just ignore such idiocy. It seemed to bother him, though, and he took to an Instagram story to “explain” himself. He said that the fundraiser was nonpartisan and that “supporting nurses isn’t political ‒ it’s essential.”
“These are the people who care for us and our families when we need it most, and I believe we should show up for them with the same unwavering dedication they show up with every single day,” he wrote. “I stand by the importance of healthcare, of service, and of investing in those who care for our communities.”
Stamos also assured followers his “values and political views remain unchanged.”
If I were him, I may rethink which side I wanted to be on, given the irrational backlash.
Bill Maher shows what civility can look like. He had dinner with Trump at the White House.
What happened to Stamos reminded me of a very different Trump-related encounter. “Real Time” host Bill Maher recently had dinner with the president at the White House.
That is notable as Maher has not held back in his pointed criticism of the president (and vice versa). Yet, when Trump supporter and singer Kid Rock wanted to set up the dinner, Maher agreed. So did Trump, to his credit.
Maher likes to avoid party labels, but he’s an old-school liberal. And while he has plenty of criticism for Republicans, he has also made a name for himself by calling out the worst actors on the left.
Maher has no patience for illiberalism and wokeness, which were on full display in the backlash that Stamos received.
While Maher may hate some of the things Trump does, he said he does not hate him as a person.
“If you let yourself into that hate, then everything that happens you only see through the one partisan lens,” Maher said on a podcast.
John Stamos’ haters should take that advice to heart.
Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at USA TODAY. Contact her at [email protected] or on X: @Ingrid_Jacques
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Peruvian author dies in his home at 89
Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, who enchanted readers with his intellectual rigor and lyrical prose for five decades and came close to being president of his country, died Sunday at 89.
He died in Lima, Peru, surrounded by his family and “at peace,” his son Alvaro Vargas Llosa, a well-known political commentator, said on X.
“His departure will sadden his relatives, his friends and his readers around the world, but we hope that they will find comfort, as we do, in the fact that he enjoyed a long, adventurous and fruitful life, and leaves behind him a body of work that will outlive him,” his son wrote in a statement.
A leading light in the 20th-century Latin American literature boom, Vargas Llosa won the Nobel Prize for literature in 2010 for works like “Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter,” “Death in the Andes,” and “The War of the End of the World.”
But early on he abandoned the socialist ideas embraced by many of his peers, and his dabbling in politics and conservative views annoyed much of Latin America’s leftist intellectual class.
In 1990, he ran for president of Peru, saying he wanted to save his country from economic chaos and a Marxist insurgency. He lost in the run-off to Alberto Fujimori, a then-unknown agronomist and university professor who defeated the insurgents but was later jailed for human rights crimes and corruption.
Frustrated by his loss, the writer moved to Spain but remained influential in Latin America, where he harshly criticized a new wave of strident leftist leaders led by then-Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.
In his dozens of novels, plays and essays, Vargas Llosa told stories from various viewpoints and experimented with form, moving back and forth in time and switching narrators.
His work crossed genres and established him as a foundational figure in a generation of writers that led a resurgence in Latin American literature in the 1960s.
His books often examined the unnerving relationships between leaders and their subjects. “The Feast of the Goat” (2000) details the brutal regime of Dominican Republic dictator Rafael Trujillo, while “The War of the End of the World” (1981) tells the true story of a fanatical preacher whose flock dies in a deadly war with Brazil’s army in the 1890s.
Born to middle-class parents in Arequipa, Peru, on March 28, 1936, Vargas Llosa lived in Bolivia and the Peruvian capital Lima. He later made a home in Madrid, but retained influence in Peru, where he wrote for newspapers about current events.
Vargas Llosa frequently drew from personal experience and his family, at times inserting characters based on his own life into his tales.
His acclaimed debut novel, “The Time of the Hero” (1963), was loosely based on his teenage life as a cadet at a military academy in Lima, while his 1993 memoir, “A Fish in the Water,” focused on his 1990 presidential run.
Other works expressed deep concern for his country. “The Storyteller” (1987) deals with the clash of Indigenous and European cultures in Peru, while “Death in the Andes” (1993) recounts the haunting years of the Shining Path guerrilla movement.
“An author’s work is fed by his own experience and, over the years, becomes richer,” Vargas Llosa told Reuters in an interview in Madrid in 2001.
As his range of experiences grew, so did his writing. Vargas Llosa continuously experimented with perspective and his subjects.
“The Bad Girl” (2006) was his first try at a love story and was widely praised as one of his best.
In the 1970s, Vargas Llosa, a one-time supporter of the Cuban revolution, denounced Fidel Castro, maddening many of his leftist literary colleagues like Colombian writer and fellow Nobel laureate Gabriel García Márquez.
In 1976, the two had a famous argument, throwing punches outside a theater in Mexico City. A friend of Garcia Marquez said Vargas Llosa was upset that the Colombian had consoled his wife during an estrangement but Vargas Llosa refused to discuss it.
Vargas Llosa became a staunch supporter of free markets mixed with libertarian ideals. Despite being outspoken on political issues, Vargas Llosa said he was a reluctant politician when he ran for president of Peru.
“In reality, I never had a political career,” Vargas Llosa once said. “I took part in politics under very special circumstances… and I always said that whether I won or lost the elections, I was going back to my literary, intellectual job, not politics.”
His personal life was worthy of a novel itself − and indeed, “Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter” (1977) was loosely based on the story of his first marriage at the age of 19 to Julia Urquidi, 10 years his senior and the former wife of his mother’s brother.
His second wife was his first cousin Patricia, but he left her in 2015 after 50 years for the charms of Isabel Preysler, the mother of singer Enrique Iglesias. That relationship ended in 2022. He had three children, including Alvaro, with Patricia.
On Sunday, his son concluded a statement on social media, writing: “We will proceed in the coming hours and days in accordance with his instructions. No public ceremony will take place. Our mother, our children and ourselves trust that we will have the space and privacy to bid him farewell in the company of family members and close friends. As was his will, his remains will be cremated.”
Contributing: Reuters staff; Additional reporting by Diego Ore
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Crossword Blog & Answers for April 14, 2025 by Sally Hoelscher
There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today’s puzzle before reading further! Career Moves
Constructor: CJ Tan
Editor: Amanda Rafkin
What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle
- HATER (40A: “___’s Anthem” (Infinity Song tune with the lyric “I would rather sit and criticize”) “HATER’s Anthem” is a 2023 song by the soft rock / R&B band Infinity Song. The song begins with the lines, “I love the way it feels to be a HATER / Something so sweet about thinkin’ that I’m better…”
- HOODIE (61A: Sweatshirt aka a bunny hug) Today I learned that a hooded sweatshirt, aka a HOODIE, is also known as a bunny hug. The use of the term bunny hug to refer to a HOODIE traces its roots to Saskatchewan, Canada, though the exact origin of the term is unclear.
- KEKE (53D: “One of Them Days” star Palmer) One of Them Days is a movie released in January of this year. It stars KEKE Palmer and SZA as friends and roommates who need to scramble to get the money to pay their rent and avoid eviction.
Random Thoughts & Interesting Things
- ESTD (7A: Abbr. in the Guinness logo) Guinness is a stout (a type of dark beer) that was originally brewed by Arthur Guinness in 1759 at the St. James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin, Ireland. The Guinness logo features a harp and the letters ESTD followed by the year 1759.
- ALIA (15A: “RRR” actress Bhatt) RRR is a Telugu-language movie that tells a fictional story of two revolutionaries in India who fight against British rule. ALIA Bhatt portrays Sita, the fiancée of one of the revolutionaries.
- STL (23A: Tower Grove Park’s city (Abbr.)) Tower Grove Park is located in St. Louis (STL), Missouri. The park, which opened to the public in 1872, is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Tower Grove Park features pavilions dating from the Victorian Era and statues from the 1800s.
- SLR (24A: _ingle-_ens _eflex) In this kind of fill-in-the-blank clue, each blank corresponds to one letter. A Single-Lens Reflex (SLR) is a type of camera.
- GMOS (51A: Soybeans with altered DNA, etc.) GMOS are genetically-modified organisms, those whose DNA has been altered. Plants such as soybeans may be genetically modified in order to increase nutrient value or increase resistance to pests and diseases.
- HAN (56A: Largest ethnic group in China) The largest ethnic group in China – and in the world – are the HAN. The HAN people make up 91% of the population in China, and 18% of the global population.
- EID (59A: End-of-Ramadan festival) Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. Muslims around the world observe Ramadan by fasting from sunrise to sunset during the 29 or 30 days of the observance. EID al-Fitr, also called the “Festival of Breaking the Fast,” marks the end of fasting during the month of Ramadan. This year Ramadan was observed from March 1 to March 29.
- REBUS (1D: Puzzle in which “SHBESTOW” may represent “best in show”) A REBUS is a type of puzzle that involves wordplay and visual elements. In the letter string “SHBESTOW,” the word BEST is found within the word SHOW, leading to the answer of “best in show.” I enjoyed this clue!
- EARS (7D: Organs with canals) The EAR canal is the opening (or pathway) that connects the outer EAR to the middle EAR.
- AMORE (34D: “That’s ___” (Dean Martin song) “That’s AMORE” is a 1953 song by Dean Martin. “When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s AMORE…” The song first appeared in the 1953 movie The Caddy, and has appeared in a number of other movies since then including Rear Window (1954), Moonstruck (1987), Grumpier Old Men (1995), Stuart Little (1999), Enchanted (2007), and The Garfield Movie (2024).
- CAT CONDO (36D: Structure that may have scratching posts) and PET SIT (44D: Care for a buddy’s fur baby, say) My husband and I recently had a friend PET SIT for our cat, Willow, while we were on vacation. The experience has worn Willow out. If she weren’t so sleepy, she would be excited about CAT CONDO being in the puzzle.
- HUGHES (40D: “I, Too” poet Langston) Langston HUGHES (1901-1967) wrote the poem, “I, Too,” in 1925. The poem begins with the line, “I, too, sing America,” and ends with “I, too, am America.” It’s always a good day to be reminded of this poem.
- ABRADE (43D: Wear down by friction) I was convinced this was “erode” for far too long, even though it obviously didn’t fit. Crossing answers eventually got me to the right answer.
- ASHES (50D: What a phoenix rises from) A phoenix is a mythical bird of ancient Greek folklore that combusts into flames when it dies. The phoenix then experiences a rebirth and rises from the ASHES.
- A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
- FAVOR (38A: Someone who says “Do me a solid!” is asking for one)
- EYE ROLLS (11D: Reactions to bad puns)
- LOVER (25D: Sweetheart, or a Taylor Swift album)
- ADAGE (31D: “Laughter is the best medicine,” e.g.)
Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis
- BUTTERCREAM (17A: Cupcake frosting option)
- CAMERA CREWS (36A: Cinematographers’ teams)
- FREE CAR WASH (57D: Perk that a dealership may offer)
CAREER MOVES: Each theme answer contains an anagram of the word CAREER: BUTTER CREAM, CAMERA CREWS, and FREE CAR WASH.
I am getting better at spotting hidden anagram themes. The word “MOVES” in today’s title indicates that the letters of the word “CAREER” are moving around. We have the following anagrams of CAREER: ERCREA, ERACRE, and REECAR. Thank you, CJ, for this enjoyable puzzle.
For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles
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‘Upstairs, Downstairs’ star and co-creator dies at 90
British actress and writer Jean Marsh, best known for co-creating and starring in the series “Upstairs, Downstairs,” has died, per reports. She was 90.
Marsh died “peacefully in bed” on Sunday at her London home due to complications of dementia, the actress’s close friend, filmmaker Michael Lindsay-Hogg, told The New York Times and The Guardian.
“You could say we were very close for 60 years,” Lindsay-Hogg told The Guardian. “She was as wise and funny as anyone I ever met, as well as being very pretty and kind, and talented as both an actress and writer. An instinctively empathetic person who was loved by everyone who met her.”
Marsh’s agent also confirmed her death to the BBC.
USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Marsh and Lindsay-Hogg for comment.
Born in July 1934, Marsh began her film and television career in the late 1940s with a series of background roles in movies. In the following years, the actress graduated to guest roles in several TV series, including “Omnibus,” “The Twilight Zone,” “Danger Man” and “I Spy.”
Marsh’s showbiz breakthrough came when she landed a recurring role on the British sci-fi drama “Doctor Who,” appearing as the characters Joanna and Sara Kingdom from 1965 to 1966. Marsh followed this up with a starring role on “The Informer.” She played Sylvia Parrish on the British crime drama alongside co-stars Ian Hendry and Neil Hallett.
The actress’s next TV hit was the ITV series “Upstairs, Downstairs,” which she co-created with Eileen Atkins, John Hawkesworth and John Whitney. The period drama, which Marsh also co-wrote and starred in, tackled the decline of British aristocracy in the early 1900s, as depicted in the lives of the affluent Bellamy family and their servants.
“Upstairs, Downstairs” debuted in October 1971 and received critical acclaim. The series, which ran for five seasons through 1975, won two BAFTA awards, seven Primetime Emmys (including a best drama actress win for Marsh) and a Golden Globe for best drama series.
After her stint on the British drama, Marsh kept busy with appearances in a number of films and TV series, such as “Hawaii Five-O,” “Nine to Five,” “Return to Oz,” “Murder, She Wrote” and “The Ghost Hunter.”
Marsh revisited her “Upstairs, Downstairs” role of Rose Buck in the show’s BBC reboot, which ran for two seasons from 2010 to 2012. The actress had a health scare during the series’ run after suffering a “minor stroke” in 2011, she told the BBC at the time.
Marsh was married to fellow British actor Jon Pertwee from 1955-1960. The couple had no children.
In 2012, the actress was honored for her artistic impact in her native England when she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.
Marsh’s final role was a 2016 voiceover appearance on the Doctor Who podcast series “Doctor Who: The Early Adventures.”
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Luke Bryan, Jelly Roll upstaged with their own songs
David Archuleta says Lady Gaga butt-dialed him at 3 a.m.
Archuleta reveals he got an early look at Lady Gaga’s breakout hit “Just Dance” while recording his debut, “Crush,” and once got a butt dial from her.
Entertain This!
Island living looks good on the “American Idol” 2025 contestants.
The Top 24 singers no longer look dead on their feet after putting in the work to make it through Hollywood Week. And they’ve made it far enough into the competition to be part of the show’s annual tradition of overt cross-promotional marketing efforts at Disney’s Aulani Resort.
On Sunday night, half of the remaining contestants put the advice they received from artist-in-residence Jelly Roll and mentor Ashanti to use. And for the first time, the aspiring stars sang for the audience’s vote as judges Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie and Carrie Underwood gave verbal pats on the back.
Of the dozen performances, nearly all knocked it out of the park. Here were the top moments from “American Idol” Episode 8.
Jelly Roll and Luke Bryan admit contestants’ covers were better than their original songs
“Luke, we’re 0 for 2,” artist-in-residence Jelly Roll yelled back at Bryan after watching Mississippi’s Jamal Roberts “beat up” Jelly Roll’s own song, as Richie put it.
Both Jelly Roll and Bryan seemed humbled after watching these aspiring stars one-up them with their own songs. Jamal brought Jelly Roll’s “Liar” to the stage in dramatic fashion with a stool kick, an uncompromising attitude and grit to his voice. As Richie put it, whenever Jamal goes on stage, he performs “like it might be the last time you ever sing.”
“I would feel disrespectful to call this my song in this moment,” Jelly Roll said after Jamal’s performance. “This is now Jamal’s song. I was singing Jamal’s song tonight.”
Bryan had some attitude about the situation, though: “I am mad at Jelly Roll. He has over-mentored,” the country star said.
Earlier, Illinois’ Victor Solomon boldly took on Bryan’s “That’s My Kind of Night” — and the risk paid off. The judges were up on their feet early on in the performance, as Victor massively upstaged Bryan with his hip-swinging, foot tapping moves.
Wearing a cowboy hat, suspenders (that soon came loose due to the aforementioned dancing) and tight jeans, Victor showed impressive voice control as he worked the stage while not missing a single note.
The fast-food director from Peoria was the last person Bryan would’ve guessed would take on his country rock music, and “You can truly out-dance me” at that, Bryan said. So much so that Ryan Seacrest encouraged the judge to come up on stage and learn some new moves ahead of his summer tour.
“Your voice is perfect for every genre of music, and I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that before — or heard that before,” Underwood said.
Kolbi Jordan makes roaring comeback after sickness
Sinus infection who?
Platinum ticket winner Kolbi Jordan brought some “New Attitude” (Patti LaBelle’s, that is) to the stage after suffering from an illness during Hollywood Week’s Showstoppers round. Because she had something to prove.
Kolbi’s voice is like a rubber band; it makes you want to play with it and see how far it will stretch. Her vocals went high, they went low, and she left it all out on the field. Hers was the first performance that the judges stood for, with Bryan commenting, it was “one of my favorite performances I’ve seen on this island.”
“America, she is back,” he said.
Who is in the ‘American Idol’ Top 24?
- Canaan James Hill
- Gabby Samone
- Zaylie Windsor
- Mattie Pruitt
- Thunderstorm Artis
- Drew Ryn
- Ché
- Grayson Torrence
- Penny Samar
- Josh King
- MKY
- Victor Solomon
- Amanda Barise
- Kyana Fenene
- Slater Nalley
- Baylee Littrell
- John Foster
- Filo
- Kolbi Jordan
- Isaiah Misailegalu
- Olivier Bergeron
- Desmond Roberts
- Jamal Roberts
- Breanna Nix