Jonas Valanciunas took a jab at LeBron James without saying a word during a game of charades on a Lithuanian television show.
He let his actions do the talking during the appearance in his native country.
While imitating James in front of a live audience, Valanciunas first rubbed his eyes and wept, a clear shot at the Lakers superstar’s penchant for complaining about fouls. After the crowd broke into laughter the 30-year-old went a step further, floundering to the floor in an exaggerated manner in an attempt to mimic James flopping.
Valanciunas’ guesser quickly pieced together the references, correctly inferring that the 6-foot-11 center was acting out the role of James.
LeBron James handles the ball against Jonas Valanciunas at Crypto.com Arena.Getty
While Valanciunas and James have had no publicized beef with each other prior to this shot, their team’s recently exchanged blows over Twitter last week.
The Twitter feud began after the Pelicans official account was called out by user @thewhistle0 for having a Twitter banner of five active players posing at an NBA Summer League game – a stark contrast from the Lakers account’s banner, which boasts the franchise’s 17 championships. New Orleans didn’t hold back, responding “yes our players enjoy sitting next to each other rather than on opposite ends of the court.”
The reply was a direct dig at James and teammate Russell Westbrook, who were seen sitting apart from one another at an earlier Summer League Lakers’ game.
Perhaps the NBA’s newest rivalry is developing before our very eyes.
Accused Brooklyn subway shooter Frank James was a troubled loner with a checkered past and had been estranged from his family in the years before this week’s horrific attack.
James, who was arrested Wednesday in the Sunset Park subway shooting, was described as quiet and unassuming by those that knew him –but the conspiracy theorist also had a rap sheet dating back to 1984 for largely petty busts.
James, 62, was arrested at least 12 times by the NYPD between 1984 and 1998 on charges ranging from burglary, possession of burglar tools, and criminal sexual acts, cops said. The outcomes of those cases, however, were not immediately available.
The suspected shooter also “has a record of terroristic threats in New Jersey,” one NYPD official told The Post. He has no record of a conviction in the Garden State.
His sister, Catherine James Robinson, told The Post her brother “kept to himself” and said she last spoke to him about three years ago.
“He was a loner, yes he was,” she said.
After his time in New York in the 1990s, James lived in both Philadelphia and Milwaukee where locals described him as quiet and polite.
Frank James has been named by the NYPD as a suspect in the Brooklyn subway shooting.Courtesy of NYPD via AP
“He was cordial,” said Eugene Yarbrough, pastor at Mount Zion Wings of Glory Church in Milwaukee. “He wasn’t bothering anybody. I didn’t know of him messing with anybody.”
His genial attitude changed on Tuesday when he parked a U-Haul van two blocks from the Sunset Park N train station on 36th Street shortly before 8:30 a.m. and unleashed the attack that wounded 29 straphangers, including 10 who suffered gunshot wounds.
According to a federal complaint released Wednesday, James had rented a room in Philadelphia for 15 days starting on March 28 and was still booked there when he reserved a U-Haul van on April 6 at a nearby outlet.
James was arrested at least 12 times by the NYPD between 1984 and 1998 on charges ranging from burglary, possession of burglar tools and criminal sexual acts.DOJ
He picked up the white Chevy Cargo Van on Monday and headed for New York.
Early Wednesday morning — while James remained on the run — the FBI and local police raided the Philadelphia apartment looking for the fugitive. Inside, authorities found an empty magazine for a Glock, a taser, a high-capacity rifle magazine, and a blue smoke canister.
“He wasn’t here long,” said neighbor Bruce Allen. “I don’t remember his face. He would just go in and leave. He wasn’t one of those guys who stays outside. He might stay for an hour or two and leave, and then come back late at night.”
In recent years James had become increasingly unhinged, posting bizarre YouTube rants where he claimed to have suffered from mental illness and blamed Mayor Eric Adams, among others, for his plight.
James lived upstairs in this 2624 N 6th Street Milwaukee home.William FarringtonJames reportedly stayed in the center door’s room.Rachel Wisniewski/For the New York PostJames allegedly rented a room at a Philadelphia Airbnb for 15 days starting on March 28.Rachel Wisniewski/For the New York Post
In one since-deleted post titled “My Family the Enemy,” James said he blamed his father “40 percent” for leaving him unprepared to face the world.
“I’ll take 60 percent of the blame…”cause it’s my life,” he ranted. “It’s my life and I didn’t realize what I was up against…. to live and not be f–ed up by other motherf—ers, which is to take the position that if you f–k with me I’ll f–k you up or I’ll kill you.”
Anyone with information on the shooting should call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS or log onto the CrimeStoppers website.
“The Shop” seemed to even rattle seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady.
“I remember seeing Tom Brady in the chair next to me,” the show’s co-creator, Paul Rivera, recently told The Post about the Buccaneers quarterback’s Season 4 appearance last June. “At the time, I had done the show enough that I could tell he was a little nervous.
“But I don’t think that he was nervous from a standpoint of, ‘Wow, this platform is so big. I’m nervous to be on here.’ But he respected what we do at ‘The Shop’ and he wanted to do well. Me, as a fan of football and Tom, I was like, ‘You’re Tom Brady. You’re the goat. How are you nervous for our little show?’ That was a pretty cool moment. I’ve honestly taken it as the ultimate compliment that people of his stature even care to be nervous.”
So, what really goes on inside Uninterrupted’s “The Shop” — the safe haven Rivera helped create for sports and pop culture’s biggest stars to speak their mind in meaningful conversations led by LeBron James and his business partner, Maverick Carter?
The Post was on-site for an upcoming episode of “The Shop”Akilah Townsend / UNINTERRUPTED
The Post was on set of “The Shop” at All-Star weekend in Cleveland last month for a behind-the-scenes look at the new fifth season, which premiered March 4. We were on hand for the taping of episode two — premiering Friday, April 8 — that features rappers Rick Ross and Gunna, Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson, and business maven Steve Stoute.
A Sports Emmy Award-winning talk show, “The Shop” unites athletes, politicians, and celebrities — such as Brady, Mary J. Blige, former President Barack Obama, and Jay-Z — inside a barbershop, where haircuts are performed on-site.
When guests arrive at the set of “The Shop,” they are asked on-site if they’d like a haircut and the hot towel VIP treatment. Many guests have gotten haircuts on the show, including Draymond Green and Charles Oakley, while rappers Jay-Z and Nas chose not to get haircuts during their respective appearances on the show, according to Nick “Slick” Castellanos, James’ personal barber.
The episode in which The Post got an inside look was filmed at the Black Cat barbershop, which is located on Cleveland’s West Side in the historic Gordon Square Arts District, about 50 minutes from James’ iPromise School. The popular Cleveland barbershop sits on a quiet corner alongside a vacant building. It’s narrow inside and has an edgy, rock-and-roll vibe with antique furniture and decor.
Pulling up
A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces appears on “The Shop”Akilah Townsend / UNINTERRUPTED
When the Uber arrives at the Victorian-esque building, it is hard to imagine what is going on inside. James, Carter, and the guests were inside talking about the meaning of Gunna’s latest hit (“Pushin P”), the moment Wilson knew she deserved a max contract (signed in February), and why the first million-dollar check is the hardest to make.
The crew is setting up cameras and adjusting the lighting. Each barber chair had a seat assignment. Grey Goose bottles sat in-between James and Carter’s chairs, although James and Wilson chose to drink red wine throughout the episode.
Guests are able to drink whatever they’d like throughout the taping of “The Shop,” which can last anywhere from 30 minutes to five hours, depending on the level and flow of the conversation and how many drinks have been consumed. Guests of the show are asked to submit their drink orders ahead of filming.
“The Shop” has been taped in cities all over the US, including Los Angeles and Charlotte, as well as Toronto during All-Star weekend in 2019.
“The Shop” will choose a barbershop location in whichever city they plan to film and work with the shop owner to obtain access to the space. This can be a process, as is coordinating schedules to get James and guests — such as Brady — in one room together.
A peek inside the Black Cat barbershop in Cleveland, OhioAkilah Townsend / UNINTERRUPTED
When it comes to choosing guests for each episode, Rivera said it’s all about finding the right people that will make for the most dynamic conversation.
“That’s why you’ll never see us in the shop discussing who the top five rappers are, or who the greatest basketball player is. Although we do have a point of view on that as you can imagine,” he said, smirking. “It’s about the richest of conversations. That’s what ‘The Shop’ started as — we wanted to a create a fly-on-the-wall experience for people to learn, be empowered, and be inspired from these conversations.”
It truly is a fly-on-the-wall experience. The cameras are hidden in order to create an authentic environment. There aren’t crew members running around to film certain angles, and the lights don’t feel like they’re burning the top of your head or causing the room to overheat. It’s actually a calm atmosphere that makes you feel at home, sitting around the table, talking to friends.
Brady made headlines during his appearance. At the time, he was discussing his 2020 free agency experience and remarked, “One of the teams, they weren’t interested at the very end. I was thinking, ‘You’re sticking with that motherf–ker?”
“It’s interesting to have a Tom Brady in a room, who’s just one of the most guarded athletes and the greatest to ever do it, and put him in a room with Draymond Green, who’s one of the most outspoken athletes,” Rivera said. “We’re having fun putting rooms [of guests] together, we’re having fun saying, ‘Hey, it would be fun to have Chelsea Handler in a room with Draymond Green.’”
A new home
Maverick Carter and LeBron James are business partnersAkilah Townsend / UNINTERRUPTED
“The Shop” now airs exclusively on Uninterrupted’s YouTube channel following four seasons on HBO, due in part to a massive expansion at SpringHill Co. — the entertainment and production company founded by James and Carter.
“The idea is that ‘The Shop’ isn’t just a TV show. It’s a franchise,” Rivera said while discussing the show’s expansion from HBO to Uninterrupted’s YouTube channel.
Jamal Henderson, the chief content officer at the SpringHill Co., said that nothing will change in terms of a show standpoint. Viewers will still see James and guests of the show getting real haircuts while sipping cocktails over unscripted conversations about sports, music, celebrity, and culture.
Rick Ross appears on “The Shop”Akilah Townsend / UNINTERRUPTED
“We’re just building on our mission of empowerment and we’re excited to continue to the show and reach more people through video and audio,” he said.
The expansion of “The Shop” also includes a branded men’s grooming line; a multi-platform audio-exclusive version of “The Shop” in its traditional format; and a dedicated flagship barbershop location in Los Angeles for activations, in-person moments, filming and more.
“We will not only film the show there, but fans will also be able to get a haircut in the same chair that LeBron gets a haircut in,” Rivera said.
Yes, the haircuts really happen
Nick “Slick” Castellanos, Vince Garcia, and Lionel “Brownie Blendz” Harris of “The Shop”Akilah Townsend / UNINTERRUPTED
“The barbers are not extras,” Henderson said. “Those are real barbers and it brings authenticity to the set.”
Since the show is unscripted and focused on authenticity, Henderson said, “We don’t really do a lot of takes. We just let the conversation flow.” Except for the time Ross had to use the restroom while taping in Cleveland and James playfully called him out.
“I know there’s been a lot of chatter on social media, like ‘Are they real barbers?’ or ‘Does anyone get a real haircut?,’” said Rivera, who noted that “Maverick and I get a haircut every episode.”
Castellanos has been a mainstay on the show since its inception in 2018. He was actually Dwyane Wade’s personal barber before moving on to James after the Heat legend discovered him in Miami.
Castellanos is one of four main barbers on “The Shop,” including Vince Garcia, who has cut celebrities and athletes such as James, Devin Booker, Damian Lillard, Travis Kelce, Victor Cruz, Ludacris, Drake, and Fabolous.
A close-up of the tools inside “The Shop”Akilah Townsend / UNINTERRUPTED
“I’m actually in Phoenix once a week to cut Devin Booker and a bunch of the guys on the Suns,” Garcia told The Post.
Lionel “Brownie Blendz” Harris got his gig on “The Shop” through his friend, Warriors star Green, who helped introduce him to the Uninterrupted production crew. Harris previously served as the barber for several Raiders players when the team was in Oakland.
“We don’t have time to pre-prep,” Castellanos said about doing haircuts while filming. “Everything we do is right there and we do what we can, but we don’t get in the way of the cameras. So, when we’re done filming the episode, we’ll just finish haircuts after if guests want to hang around. But we actually put razors on necks, we put clippers on heads, we brush hair — we do the whole nine.”
Once director Rob Alexander yells action, the barbers are tasked with doing their job while remaining as quiet as possible so that the cameras and microphones don’t pick up their sounds or that of their instruments.
“Me, Vince, and Nick are skilled enough to whisper and converse with the client and work around [production] and do what needs to be done on set,” Harris said. “But the cutting we’re doing is real. We’ve done whole haircuts on the show in early seasons.”
Garcia recalled, “There was one episode we were filming and I was doing my thing and I went to the back and Nick came up to me and said, ‘They’re pissed off at you bro. It’s way too loud.’”
The barbers laughed, thinking about the moment, and said they now use clippers and other tools with quieter motors.
The man who shot Lady Gaga’s dog walker last year was released from jail due to a clerical error, NBC Los Angeles reported.
James Howard Jackson, 18, one of three men charged in the shooting and robbery of dog walker Ryan Fischer, was released from court on Wednesday after records showed the charges against him were dropped.
According to the LA County District Attorney’s Office, the dismissed charges were supposed to have been replaced by a superseding grand jury indictment unsealed during Wednesday’s hearing. However, it seems the superseding case was not entered against Jackson, sources familiar with the case told NBCLA.
Jackson was arrested in April 2021 along with Jaylin White, 19, and Lafayette Whaley, 27. Each was charged with attempted murder and robbery for the dogs-for-cash scheme, according to prosecutors.
Two others — Jennifer McBride, 50, and Harold White — were charged as accessories to the crime, officials said. All of the suspects, except for McBride, reportedly have gang connections.
Lady Gaga’s dog walker Ryan Fischer was hospitalized after the shooting.Instagram
Police said at the time of their arrest that the suspects were not aware Lady Gaga owned the dogs.
They snagged two of Gaga’s dogs and Fischer was seriously hurt in the violent robbery during which Jackson shot him in the chest.
After Lady Gaga offered a $500,000 reward for the pups “with no questions asked”, the group recruited McBride to act as the “hero” to show up at a LAPD station with the dogs claiming she had found the two pups. She was never given the award after officials became suspicious of her story.
Gaga, meanwhile, was reunited with her dogs as cops pieced the story together, connecting McBride with the others.
Fischer suffered serious injuries including a collapsed lung and was hospitalized for nearly a month. He’s since said he’s traumatized by the experience.
Lady Gaga’s Dog is picked up by her Bodyguard at the Hollywood LAPD Station after an earlier shooting in Hollywood where her Dog walker was robbed and shot multiple times.BACKGRID
In the multiverse-spanning sci-fi action wonder Everything Everywhere All At Once, 93-year-old James Hong plays Gong Gong, the stern father of protagonist Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh). She’s been trying to please him her entire life, apparently with little success, and his disapproval has been one of the defining pressures that shaped her many possible timelines. Over his nearly 70 years of acting experience, Hong has taken on hundreds of roles, and has become one of the world’s most recognizable character actors. But he says one of those roles stands out above all the rest for him, and Gong Gong brought back memories of playing that part.
“It’s no trouble for me to go from the benign grandpa to the villain, who is somewhat a version of Lo Pan,” Hong tells Reporter Door. “I always recall upon Big Trouble in Little China and Lo Pan. It was a great thing for me to be in that movie with John Carpenter and accomplish what I did. That character, of course, replays in my mind, and the creation [of him] jumped into other characters. There is almost always a facet of Lo Pan in other characters I play.”
On a surface level, the elderly grandfather Gong Gong doesn’t seem to share much with the evil demon-controlling sorcerer Hong played in 1986’s Big Trouble in Little China. But both films gave Hong dual roles: Just as Gong Gong manifests differently in different universes, Lo Pan manifests in different settings and moments as an all-powerful malevolent conjurer and a seemingly frail, harmless old man.
It’s an understatement to say Hong has played a wide variety of roles in his decades-spanning career. Chances are, you’ve seen him in something, possibly without realizing it was him. His first roles were nameless background characters, but he’s played everything from comedic scene-stealers, like the restaurant host in a memorable Seinfeld episode, to dramatic roles like loyal butler Khan in Chinatown
and the replicant designer Hannibal Chew in Blade Runner. He’s been in sci-fi staples, police procedurals, and action flicks, and he’s lent his voice to some iconic animated roles, like Po the Panda’s business-savvy father Mr. Ping in Kung-Fu Panda, the emperor’s advisor Chi-Fu in Mulan, and even wise ritual-runner Mr. Gao in Pixar’s Turning Red. He’s been in the industry long enough to see the types of film and television roles Asian Americans are offered shift considerably.
“In the early years, it was always either villains or subservient Asian Americans needing help,” Hong says. “And we were never the heroes… In the 500 or so roles I’ve played, I would say maybe 10 of them were principal people in the American walk of life, like doctors or lawyers and so forth.”
In 1965, Hong established the Asian American theater organization East West Players to help increase representation in the acting industry. Slowly, the industry began to recognize Asian American actors, and more roles began to open up. He cites Lost star Daniel Dae Kim, who also headlined the Hawaii Five-O reboot, as an example of that success, as well as Everything Everywhere All At Once’s Michelle Yeoh. Hong wants every aspiring Asian American actor to have a chance at meaty roles like Evelyn Wang.
Image: A24
“I hope in my lifetime, I see them all, eventually, in much bigger roles,” he says. “So like Stephanie [Hsu], the leading lady [in Everything Everywhere], and Ke [Huy Quan, who plays Evelyn’s husband], who has returned back to the industry. He stayed off for a long time, because there were no roles. Now there are! I’m so happy. He’s such a good actor.”
The entertainment industry is still nowhere near perfect representation. But it has come a long way since Hong’s initial nameless characters. Hong’s first big role was in 1957 as Barry Chan, the son of Chinese detective Charlie Chan in The New Adventures of Charlie Chan — a character played by white actor J. Carrol Naish (who incidentally also played a Chinese caricature in the first-ever live-action Batman series). Now in 2022, Hong is playing the patriarch of a Chinese family, in a story specifically about generations of expectations, cultural shifts, and struggles. At the same time, that family is mixed up in a universe-hopping martial-arts extravaganza. Movies like Everything Everywhere All At Once are a testament to just how far that representation has come.
“We’re on the same level as all actors in the SAG,” says Hong. “This film proves that!”
Everything Everywhere All At Once will be available in theaters nationwide on April 8.
Steph Curry might play wit h James in a “fantasy world,” but the Warriors star guard isn’t interested in teaming up with the King at the moment.
Curry joined 95.7 The Game’s Steiny & Guru Wednesday and was asked about James’ recent comments he made in an upcoming episode of “The Shop.”
“In today’s game, Steph Curry. Steph Curry’s the one that I want to play with,” James said in a preview for the episode, which airs on Friday.
“Oh shoot,” Curry said, laughing. “That is phenomenal. When did he say that, on ‘The Shop’?’ Well he got his wish. He was the [All-Star] captain. He’s picked me the last two All-Star games. I don’t know if that suffices, but I’m good right now.”
When asked how James’ comments make him feel, Curry said, “I mean whenever you get the interest or curiosity of what it would be like to play with arguably, an MVP-caliber dude like he is, one of the greatest of all time, cool. I guess I made it. We can all live in that fantasy world though.”
Steph Curry and LeBron James at the All-Star Game on Feb. 19, 2022.Getty Images
James and Curry have battled each other on the court for years, but they’ve never played on the same team — with the exception of the All-Star Game. The pair were prolific in this year’s game, combining for 74 points (50 from Curry) in a win over Team Durant.
The 37-year-old James remains undefeated as an All-Star captain over the last three years, having selected Curry twice in his top three picks. After last year’s All-Star game, James praised Curry after the pair shared the ball for the first time in their storied careers.
But Curry is focused right now on winning his fourth championship with the Warriors, alongside longtime teammates Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala. The Warriors are currently the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. Last August, Curry signed a four-year, $215 million contract extension with Golden State.
James got an early start to the offseason after the Suns eliminated the Lakers from playoff contention in a 121-110 loss Tuesday. He’s up for a contract extension on Aug. 4.
“I knew the moment I met you I wanted to spend every single day with you. The way you love me and my little one was all I ever dreamed of,” gushed Rotten (aka Alaina Hicks), who has a 6-year-old daughter from a previous relationship.
“I can’t wait for the rest of our awesome lives together, I’ve never met anyone who understands me more than you.”
The former film star, 28, went on to call the West Coast Choppers founder, 52, her “best friend.”
“All I want in the entire world is to make you the happiest man in the entire universe,” she wrote. “You are perfect for me..I promise to always be by your side. ❤️✨”
The former porn star showed off her unique engagement ring via Instagram on Wednesday.officialbonnierotten/Instagram
The photos, which were taken at a park, include a snap of the smiling bride-to-be holding up her left hand, as well as a closeup shot of the unique ring.
“The blood sweat and tears you put into this creation that represents our eternity together I love so much.. I love you ❤️,” she marveled.
As for the “glorified welder,” he responded to the post with an apparent inside joke.
“‘He’s got time to forge you a Damascus ring, but can’t make my $25 keychain??’” James quipped, adding, “(I love you baby!!??)”
James was famously married to Sandra Bullock from 2005 to 2010.officialbonnierotten/Instagram
This will mark James’ fifth marriage. The former “Monster Garage” host said “I do” to his first wife, Karla, in 1991 when he was 20 and she was 30. The former couple – who share a daughter, Chandler, and a son, Jesse James Jr. – divorced in 2002.
That same year, James wed former porn star Janine Lindemulder, who famously covered Blink-182’s “Enema of the State” album in nurse attire. They were married for two years and share one daughter, Sunny.
James’ most famous marriage, however, was to Sandra Bullock from 2005 to 2010. After cheating on her, the motorcycle enthusiast told the Daily Mail that he felt like “the most hated man in the world.”
Following a failed engagement to tattoo artist Kat Von D – whom James allegedly cheated on with 19 women – he tied the knot for a fourth time to drag racer Alexis DeJoria. The two divorced in 2020 amid James’ alleged infidelity.
James Corden’s “Carpool Karaoke” is back on “The Late Late Show” after a two-year pause due to the coronavirus pandemic — and he couldn’t be more delighted to buckle up.
His first passenger: “Starships” singer Nicki Minaj.
“The entire afternoon that we spent together, I was so happy to be in her orbit and her company, and I really, really loved being with her,” he said during a press conference Wednesday to promote the night’s segment. “It was so joyous.”
Both Corden’s series and Minaj herself teased the segment on their social media platforms over the past week. They each shared a rollicking video of past “Karaoke” performers — including H arry Styles, Usher, Stevie Wonder, Ed Sheeran, Britney Spears and Adele — as well as a new clip featuring the dynamic, dancing duo celebrating the end of “not being able to sit this close.”
A caption overlay declares that “social distancing is over” as the 39-year-old rapper’s 2014 hit “Anaconda” blasts in the background.
The preview also reveals that “Havana” singer Camila Cabello, 25, will catch a lift — and a few tunes — on “Carpool Karaoke” on April 18.
The wildly popular — if oddly controversial segment, which spun off a full series in 2017, was put on hold in 2020 due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19.
“It’s felt over the past year — very, very slowly, in one sense or another — like we started to get our show back. But this was, this is obviously a big part of our show — this segment,” Corden, 43, said Wednesday.
“The entire pandemic … there [were] so many things that we couldn’t do, and I think that’s true of every show,” he continued. “But for us, our show is very much about getting out there, whether that’s running out into the street and doing musicals in a crosswalk or big taped bits or having all the guests together on a couch at the same time.”
However, he wasn’t about to rev the engines too quickly in order to get it back on the air, even after a long two years.
“The conclusion we came to was not to do this segment unless we could do it right,” he said. “So that’s why it took a long time. There’s probably a version of it we could have done a while ago, but … it didn’t feel completely right.”
Fans can catch the return of “Carpool Karaoke” during the late-night gabfest, which airs at 12:37 a.m. ET on CBS.
State Attorney General Letitia James’ office reaffirmed that it has an active criminal probe into whether Andrew Cuomo illegally used staffers in preparing his lucrative coronavirus pandemic memoir — just days after the disgraced ex-governor sued the government watchdog agency to keep the proceeds.
James launched a probe into the $5.1 million profit-making memoir last April after getting a referral from state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, who asked her to “investigate the alleged commission of any indictable offense or offenses” related to the book deal.
Her office issued a subpoena to the Joint Commission on Public Ethics last September requesting all records regarding the Cuomo book deal.
It was a devastating investigative report commissioned by James last August that concluded Cuomo sexually harassed or mistreated a slew of women — including female government staffers. He was then forced to resign under the threat of impeachment. Cuomo has noted that five different prosecutors declined to press charges against him.
A lawyer for one of the witnesses — who requested anonymity — said the AG’s office informed him back in December that the book probe was “completed.”
James launched a probe into the $5.1 million profit-making memoir last April and issued a subpoena to the Joint Commission on Public Ethics last September requesting all records regarding the Cuomo book deal.Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
James’ office said the Cuomo book investigation is ongoing but declined further comment.
Nursing home families and Albany insiders have questioned why it’s taken so long for the at torney general’s office to complete the book probe.
“It’s taken much longer than I expected. It’s pretty clear cut — Cuomo did it or didn’t do it,” said Peter Arbeeny, whose father, Norman, died after contracting COVID-19 in a Brooklyn nursing home in 2020.
Still, Arbeeny said he still had “complete faith” that James will issue a report on the findings.
Cuomo sued the government watchdog agency to keep the proceeds for his memoir.Stephen Yang
One government watchdog said it’s time for the attorney general to come clean on the book deal probe.
“The conventional wisdom in Albany is she’s doing nothing and the investigation has stalled. But we don’t know,” said John Kaehny, executive director of Reinvent Albany.
James’ office said the Cuomo book investigation is ongoing but declined further comment.
“If this is an ongoing investigation it’s reasonable to say when it’s going to be closed and what’s the timeframe on this? Especially because she’s been criticized for this being politically motivated against Cuomo.”
JCOPE initially approved Cuomo’s plan to publish and earn a profit from the book, under an agreement that he wouldn’t use staff or other government resources to prepare it.
JCOPE rescinded its approval of the book deal after concluding that Cuomo violated a directive not to use staffers and public resources to prepare it and has since sought to force him to cough up the profits. Cuomo said the staffers volunteered their time and he did not break the law.
“As we’ve said all along — just like legislative or other government staffers working on political campaigns — on advice of counsel, aides who were involved did so volunteering on their own time,” Cuomo spokesman Richard Azzopardi said.
Assemblyman Charles Lavine, who chairs the judiciary committee that issued a damning investigative report on Cuomo’s use of staffers to prepare the book, said, “His actions completely contravene JCOPE’s directive to him regarding the book. The former governor is left with little but chutzpah.”
American journalist James Foley’s terrorist captors never made serious attempts to negotiate for a ransom before brutally beheading the New Hampshire native in 2013, his family testified on Monday.
The revelation came during testimony from Foley’s brother at the federal terror trial of El Shafee Elsheikh — an alleged member of the British-born ISIS executioners dubbed “The Beatles” who is charged in the kidnapping scheme that resulted in the deaths of Foley and three other Americans Steven Sotloff, Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller.
Foley, a freelance photographer, had left for Syria in 2012 to document the raging civil war in the country. He was familiar with the dangers of the trip, having been held captive covering the First Libyan Civil War the year prior.
Foley’s mother, Diane Foley, said she first became concerned when her son didn’t call on Thanksgiving. They finally learned he’d been taken hostage when they received an email from his captors in late November trying to establish a line of communication.
Emails exchanged in Nov. 2012 and Jan. 2013 demanded the release of Muslim prisoners or 100 million euros in exchange for the journalist, according to Michael Foley, his brother.
“We had no ability to secure either of those demands,” Michael Foley said Monday. “It’s not a reasonable demand. It’s not a negotiation, in my mind.”
Foley, a freelance photographer, had left for Syria in 2012 to document the raging civil war in the country. AP/Nicole Tung
The captors proved that Foley was in their possession and alive by providing personal details about his life that only his family would know.
For eight grueling months, the Foleys received no response to multiple emails requesting to speak with the kidnappers.
Then in August 2013, they received an email titled: “A message to the American government and their sheep-like citizens,” criticizing a recent U.S. bombing campaign against the Islamic State.
Diane and John Foley claim their son’s captors never made serious attempts to negotiate for a ransom before brutally beheading him.OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images
“As for the scum of your society who are held prisoner by us, THEY DARED TO ENTER THE LION’S DEN AND WHERE (sic) eaten,” the message said. It promised retaliation, ”the first of which being the blood of your American citizen, James Foley. He will be executed as a DIRECT result of your transgressions towards us!”
Foley was beheaded in a sickening video shared widely on the web a few days later.
His mother and brother both said that they first learned of James’ death when reporters called seeking the family’s reaction.
The execution video was widely spread online.Reuters
Michael Foley said he found the video easily on the internet and watched his brother’s execution multiple times.
Diane Foley could not believe it, hoping it was some kind of horrible joke.
She learned her son’s fate when then-President Barack Obama confirmed the beheading in a television address.
Elsheikh and terrorist pal Alexenda Kotey — another member of “The Beatles” — were captured together and brought to Virginia to face trial. Kotey pleaded guilty last year and received a life sentence, avoiding the death penalty.
British Islamic State (IS) group fighters El Shafee el-Sheikh, left, and Alexanda Kotey, right, were brought to Virginia to face trial for the murder.Syrian Democratic Forces/AFP via
A third Beatle, Mohammed Emwazi, served as executioner in the video of Foley’s execution. He was killed in a drone strike.
Elsheikh’s defense attorneys claim there is insufficient evidence to prove he was a member of the group that took part in the hostage-taking scheme. Prosecutors plan to present evidence that Elsheikh confessed to his role in interviews with authorities and the media.
