Joan Crawford's rivalries in Hollywood are well documented, with much attention paid to her rivalry with Bette Davis
In the introduction to Jungle Red! The Making of MGM's The Women, friend and film historian Jeanine Basinger dismisses the notion that Davis was Crawford's most significant adversary, pointing instead to Norma Shearer
Basinger and author Illeana Douglas explore the complex dynamic between Crawford and Shearer in the deep-dive on the film
Jeanine Basinger's unique friendship with Joan Crawford has left her with particular insights about the star's life behind the scenes.
Basinger writes the introduction for Illeana Douglas's book, Jungle Red! The Making of MGM's The Women, where she talks about Crawford's role in the 1939 comedy. The film historian touches on Crawford's feud with Norma Shearer on the set and compares it to one of Crawford's most well-known rivalries.

#basinger #film #jeanine

WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge in the nation's capital agreed on Thursday to permanently dismiss a criminal case charging a former Olympian with vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, a move that could prevent federal prosecutors from reviving the case under political pressure from President Donald Trump.
D.C. Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman ordered the dismissal of David Hearn's case with "prejudice," which would block U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office from refiling the felony charge against him. The judge ruled nearly a month after hearing attorneys' arguments.
Hearn's lawyers say Trump administration officials have continued to falsely accuse the Maryland resident of vandalizing the reflecting pool despite Pirro's decision to drop the case on July 31. Trump responded by saying Pirro "choked" and "folded like an umbrella."
Edelman said the case presents "exceptional circumstances" that warrant dismissing the case permanently. He agreed with defense attorneys that the government "shot first and asked questions later" by charging Hearn in a "a lightning-fast indictment process."
"While the government wishes to hold open the possibility of the development of evidence that would support a future prosecution, its own representations make plain that such a possibility is theoretical at best, and more likely, is simply fanciful," the judge wrote.

#reflecting

Former U.S. Olympian David Hearn and his attorneys returned to court to urge the judge who previously oversaw his Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool vandalism case to formally bar federal prosecutors from seeking new charges against him.
In late July, the D.C. U.S. Attorney's Office moved to dismiss the criminal case against Hearn in a filing that acknowledged damage to the Reflecting Pool "was the result of flawed installation" and not the work of vandals -- prompting outrage from President Donald Trump.
Finn Gomez/Getty Images - PHOTO: Former Olympian David Hearn stands with his attorney Norman Eisen as he speaks to reporters and protestors gathered after his arraignment at Moultrie Courthouse, July 9, 2026, in Washington, D.C.
But the motion from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro asked the judge overseeing Hearn's case, Todd Edelman, to dismiss the indictment "without prejudice," which would leave the door open for prosecutors to potentially seek to re-charge Hearn.
Hearn's attorneys have argued a series of statements from Trump and other officials in the weeks after Pirro's motion that falsely accused him and others of vandalizing the pool warrants dismissal of the case "with prejudice" -- effectively shutting the door for prosecutors to charge him again.

#reflecting

A workout video that Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, shared with the world has received a harsh online reception.
Pirro, 75, on Tuesday became the latest Trump administration official to film and post their exercise routine, following in the footsteps of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Pete Hegseth, Sean Duffy, Kash Patel, and Mehmet Oz. It wasn't immediately clear if Pirro was the first woman to join in on the trend.
The former Fox News host captioned the video of her bench pressing: "10 reps of 45 lbs. My morning workout preparing to fight crime in DC."
Before her set on the Smith machine, Pirro addresses the camera, saying, "Good morning, Brian." It wasn't clear who she was addressing.
In the 19-second video, which speeds up during her reps, the theme music from Rocky IV plays.

#clear

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI has seized more than $560,000 in cryptocurrency donations intended for Hamas, the Justice Department said Tuesday in announcing a disruption of financing for the militant group.
In addition to seizing cryptocurrency meant to support Hamas' military wing, the department said that it had taken control of website domains and communication platforms used for fundraising and recruitment, and had obtained information about thousands of people who had contacted Hamas with a goal of giving money to the group.
"My message to Hamas is clear: your networks are not secure, your crypto is vulnerable, and we will not stop until your ability to wage war is defeated," Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said in a video statement announcing the operation.
According to FBI affidavits filed in connection with the seizures, Hamas began testing virtual currency fundraising in or around early 2019 through its Qassam Brigades, or military wing, and solicited donations on its Telegram channel and also used direct online fundraising. Hamas officials bragged that the currency would be untraceable and their websites offered instructions for how to make anonymous donations, the affidavits say.
A major investigative break arrived last year when FBI officials identified a financing network soliciting donations to the Qassam Brigades via virtual currency and a confidential source located in the United States alerted law enforcement to a Telegram post asking for contributions to an email address **** ociated with Hamas.

#telegram

WASHINGTON (AP) — A legal watchdog says it filed bar complaints on Tuesday accusing U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro and two lieutenants of violating their ethical duties in seeking to charge six Democratic lawmakers with federal crimes for appearing in a video that called on troops to resist unlawful orders.
The Legal Accountability Center's bar complaints, filed in New York and Virginia, claim Pirro and her subordinates, Carlton Davis and Steven Vandervelden, abused their prosecutorial powers to seek "meritless" indictments against President Donald Trump's "perceived political enemies."
Tim Lauer, a spokesperson for Pirro's Washington-based office, noted that it's a grand jury's job — not prosecutors' — to decide whether to hand up an indictment.
"Attempting to weaponize the disciplinary process against prosecutors for doing their jobs amounts to nothing more than a frivolous complaint," Lauer said in a statement.
In February, a grand jury in Washington refused to indict Sens. Mark Kelly and Elissa Slotkin and four House Democrats for urging U.S. service members to follow established military protocols and reject orders they believe to be unlawful. All six lawmakers previously served in the military or at intelligence agencies. Trump accused them of sedition "punishable by DEATH" in a social media post.

#lawmakers #unlawful #orders #grand

The pilot, now live, features DPP data for three denim fabrics sourced from Bhaskar Savitt Industries in India.
The pilot is currently operating with three products, namely Renewed Eco, Earthbound Eco, and Bluecanopy Eco, with each displaying interactive DPP widgets on their product pages.
According to World Collective, these widgets enable stakeholders to access detailed information on fabric composition, sustainability credentials, and supplier details, according to statements from the partners.
World Collective co-founder and CEO Jeanine Ballone said: "The bottleneck in supply chain transparency has never been data availability, it's standardisation and scalable distribution. Currently, suppliers are asked to share the same information separately by dozens of brands.
"Our pilot shows that when suppliers invest in structuring their data once, in a standardised format, that information becomes infinitely more valuable. It's not just efficient; it's a competitive advantage. Suppliers with comprehensive DPP data can demonstrate their practices and capabilities directly to the market."

#pilot #World

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Sunday said vandals are to blame for large swaths of dead grass on the National Mall near the World War II Memorial — in the same spot where Trump had a stage built and hosted crowds for his July 4 celebration.
Trump made the accusation in a social media post without saying why he believes it's the work of vandals instead of trampled turf from the Independence Day festivities. He posted a photo showing a once-grassy area by the World War II Memorial, now patchy and brown across much of the sprawling turf.
"Look what VANDALS did to the grass connecting the vandalized World War II Monument and the vandalized Reflecting Pool, which will be opened again, and better than ever, shortly," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
"Anybody who thinks the Reflecting Pool wasn't vandalized should go back to Law School!" he added.
Trump has repeatedly blamed vandals for damage to his renovation projects in the nation's capital, often without evidence and sometimes despite opposing accounts from his officials. Trump lashed out at U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro this month after her office concluded that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was the result of poor construction and not the work of vandals, as Trump claimed.

#World #memorial

By Robin Respaut
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 16 (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Sunday that he backs top Washington, D.C., prosecutor Jeanine Pirro, ‌who was criticized by President Donald Trump for the way she handled ‌a case of alleged vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
"I absolutely support U.S. Attorney Pirro, as does President Trump," Blanche said on NBC's "Meet the Press" program.
The Trump administration fast-tracked a renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool ahead of the nation's Fourth of July celebrations, at a cost of about $14.7 million. Within weeks an algae bloom developed and material at ‌the bottom of the pool ⁠started peeling off. Federal authorities subsequently charged former U.S. Olympian David Hearn and others with vandalism.
In a court filing asking for the ⁠case against Hearn to be dismissed, Pirro blamed the Reflecting Pool's peeling issues on "flawed" work by a contractor and accused the Interior Department of providing incomplete information at first. Trump subsequently posted that Pirro should revisit her "hastily made decision" to drop the case.

#reflecting #pool #lincoln

Jimmy Fallon spent a portion of Monday's Tonight Show celebrating Trump's defeat in the ongoing Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool saga.
The shallow pool was recently refurbished with a shade of dark blue and outfitted with "advanced nanobubbler technology" to tackle algae blooms that have long plagued the landmark — but algae returned shortly after the multi-million-dollar renovations were complete, and the new sealant started to peel off in chunks that bubbled to the surface.
Late last week, Washington, D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro moved to dismiss criminal charges against former Olympian David Hearn — one of several people arrested on suspicion of vandalizing the monument — after the Trump administration admitted that the damage to the recently installed blue liner was "the result of flawed installation by the contractor."
Fallon, 51, weighed in on the president's defeat, saying, "Trump is upset because his own Justice Department admitted the reflecting pool damage wasn't caused by vandalism, like he said. It was just a result of shoddy construction work.
"Trump claimed someone used a knife to quickly cut the pool liner the length of three football fields. I can barely use a knife to cut open my Amazon box," the late night host quipped.

#Trump #defeat #algae

The Justice Department moved to dismiss the criminal case against Olympian David Hearn, who was alleged to have vandalized the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting pool, acknowledging the damage to the pool "was the result of flawed installation by the contractor."
Hearn pleaded not guilty to a felony destruction of property charge earlier this month after the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro accused him of allegedly "forcefully and violently" ripping up parts of the pool floor.
Pirro's office said in a filing Friday seeking to drop the case that it only learned of evidence pointing to "a rushed and flawed installation process" after Hearn had been indicted by a grand jury.
Finn Gomez/Getty Images - PHOTO: The drained Reflecting Pool and Lincoln Memorial are seen on the National Mall on July 22, 2026, in Washington, DC.
The filing stated Pirro herself visited the Reflecting Pool on July 17 after it had been fully drained and became aware of significant damage throughout the pool area, which spurred the DOJ to request all documents from the U.S. Interior Department about how the pool was lined.

#pool #lincoln #july #case

Olympian David Hearn has been indicted by a D.C. grand jury on a felony charge related to alleged vandalism at the Washington, D.C., Reflecting Pool, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced Thursday.
Hearn, 67, is accused of ripping out a piece of sealant on the bottom of the Reflecting Pool on June 19, Pirro said. Pirro said National Park Service employees observed him removing the bottom liner of the pool.
"One of the most offensive images that I hold in my mind are the images of national monuments that are being debased, roped, torn down, graffitied, and damaged by individuals," Pirro said at a news conference on Thursday. "This unchecked vandalism and civil disorder turns into criminal behavior, and that's why we are here today."
Hearn, who lives in Bethesda, Maryland, said he stopped by the pool last month while on a 64-mile bike ride, and authorities arrested him after he reached down into the pool. He said he was held for five hours.
Hearn's attorneys issued a statement shortly after Pirro's announcement saying that Hearn is innocent and the "indictment reflects the administration's effort to shift blame for their own failures."

By Amina Niasse
NEW YORK, June 21 (Reuters) - People caught vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Washington's National ‌Mall will be fully prosecuted, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro ‌said on Sunday.
President Donald Trump has blamed vandalism for recent problems with the newly renovated pool, including its new blue paint peeling off. Citations for vandalism have been issued, Pirro said on Sunday, adding that even minor crimes must be prosecuted to keep the U.S. capital safe.
The ‌peeling paint was visible ⁠in the 2,000-foot-long rectangular pool, a major national landmark, less than two weeks after Trump declared ⁠its $14.7 million renovation project completed on June 6. Trump on Saturday claimed, without providing evidence, that vandals poured corrosive chemicals into the pool.
"Anyone who is in a position of vandalizing or attempting to vandalize ‌will face the criminal justice system in D.C.," Pirro told Fox News' "Sunday Briefing" program.

Pipe bomb suspect says he ditched distinctive shoes tied to yearslong probe

The man who is accused of placing two pipe bombs outside the Democratic and Republican National Committee offices on Jan. 5, 2021, told investigators he was "disappointed" in the results of the 2020 election, according to U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro.
Brian Cole Jr. also said that that he got rid of the unusual shoes that investigators were looking for, according Pirro.
"He told us that he had those sneakers and that he got rid of them after he placed the pipe bombs," Pirro told ABC New