Riley on news · June 19th

The vice president couldn’t say whether or when his trip to Switzerland might happen, joked awkwardly about his book promotion and The View — and rounded off with an unexpectedly threatening rant about Israel, writes Holly Baxter

The car manufacturer is suing a prominent Los Angeles lemon law firm for alleged over-billing, the company's latest attempt to crack down on California attorneys who it says are exploiting the state's law to protect consumers from defective vehicles.

The state's trial attorneys and Uber say they have reached a last-minute deal to scrap their competing ballot measures over car crash lawsuits and sexual assaults, averting what was gearing up to be one of most expensive battles of the November election.

Senator Bernie Sanders thinks the American people should have a stake in AI companies. The democratic socialist from Vermont introduced a bill on Thursday where leading AI firms making at least $200 million in annual revenue would pay a one-time tax of 50 percent of stock to create a sovereign wealth fund for taxpayers, which would be worth about $7 trillion. That fund would have a 5 percent annual dividend for direct payments to Americans, which Sanders estimates would be more than $1,000. “AI was not created out of thin air,” Sanders said in a statement. “It was not a brilliant idea that just popped into Mark Zuckerberg’s head or Elon Musk’s imagination. The foundation of AI is based on the collective knowledge of humanity and the creative work of tens of millions of people. “The principle is simple: When a public resource generates wealth, the public should share in that wealth,” Sanders added. Under the terms of the bill, companies would have to split their AI and non-AI businesses. Sanders is proposing that the fund would be managed by a newly created, bipartisan Independent Commission for Democratic AI, made up of seven members nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The commission could also have the power to use its voting shares in the companies to block AI decisions that are bad for the country. “Left unchecked, Artificial Intelligence and robotics threatens the jobs, privacy rights and mental health of every man, woman and child in America,” Sanders’s statement said. “As a society, we can no longer sit back and allow a handful of Big Tech oligarchs to determine the future of this revolutionary technology with no democratic input.” The bill is not without its pitfalls. The American taxpayer would be tied to the AI companies’ success, which comes at the cost of building unpopular data centers, displacing American jobs, and consuming vast amounts of electricity, including burning a lot of fossil fuels. In effect, the American public would own a profitable, but toxic, asset. While the bill faces a tall order to pass, it’s a good start on the question of how to reign in and regulate AI. The ideal scenario, however, would have to go a lot further.

Vice President JD Vance told three massive lies while defending the recently signed memorandum of understanding with Iran, which includes what many see as multiple U.S. capitulations on key points of contention. Vance took the podium in Washington, D.C., Thursday afternoon to make his case. “The nuclear weapons program is destroyed. It is gone. If the Iranians decided tomorrow to build a nuclear weapon, they simply don’t have the capacity in order to do that,” Vance said. “What we’re trying to ensure is they don’t rebuild that capacity—not just a year from now, two years from now, but many many years from now.” JD Vance: "The nuclear weapons program is destroyed. it is gone." — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 18, 2026 (Bookmark this one!) pic.twitter.com/T9vSdVBbeo This is lie number one. Although President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have claimed to have completely destroyed Iran’s nuclear program multiple times, U.S. intelligence reveals that there was limited damage during the course of the war. In fact, the time Iran would need to build a nuclear weapon has not changed since last summer. (Iran has long maintained that it is not seeking a nuclear weapon through its program.) Vance also claimed that Iran has committed to destroying their enriched uranium stockpile and to cease enrichment—two more lies that aren’t even mentioned in the recently signed memorandum of understanding. In fact, Iran has never promised not to enrich throughout their entire nuclear history. “Under this deal [Iran is] being allowed now to sell their oil freely. How is that not a financial benefit?” a reporter asked Vance. “And they’re being allowed to do that without making any new concrete nuclear commitments. So can you explain, how is that not lopsided?” “They’ve made very concrete nuclear commitments—they’ve committed to the destruction of the highly enriched stockpile that they have in their possession,” Vance replied. But that’s not what’s in the MOU. The final text says that Iran will use “minimum methodology” to gradually down-blend their stockpile. That is not the same as “the destruction of the highly enriched stockpile,” as Vance said. All other references to the uranium in the MOU remain vague, as both sides have agreed to revisit the issue at the end of a 60-day negotiating period. The administration trotted out Vance to lie about how great his paltry deal he made with Iran was, and even he struggled to push the narrative effectively. The next 60 days will be a huge indicator of Vance’s actual negotiating abilities. As of right now, it’s not looking good. Q: They are being allowed to sell oil without making concrete nuclear commitments. How is that not lopsided? — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 18, 2026 JD VANCE: They've made very concrete nuclear commitments. They have committed to the destruction of their highly enriched stockpile. pic.twitter.com/vsJ3ZVeAt9

President Donald Trump won’t stop ranting about the stock market amid backlash to his disastrous peace deal with Iran. “These fools, who think I haven’t been tough enough on Iran, when the Stock Market Just Hit A RECORD HIGH, and Oil prices are ‘tumbling’ down, are either jealous, bad people, or stupid,” Trump wrote on Truth Social early Thursday morning. But that was only the beginning: Trump proceeded to post multiple times railing against his critics, pointing to the stock market and oil prices as proof of his masterful deal making. “Markets are loving what is happening with Oil Prices way down, and Stocks way up,” Trump wrote in one post. “All there is for the U.S. is Success, Lower Oil Prices, and Victory. Check out the Stock Market,” he wrote in another. “THE STOCK MARKETS ARE ROARING,” he wrote in yet another missive. After Trump signed the peace deal with Iran, Wall Street jumped one percent Wednesday, and stocks have continued to rise despite Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s decision to hold interest rates steady. Oil prices dropped to their lowest prices since the war began. Trump gloats about these changes as if he expects us to forget how they got that way in the first place. But Trump’s peace deal won’t solve the country’s oil issues overnight, especially after the months-long closure of the Strait of Hormuz threatened to take the U.S. oil supply into the danger zone. Even if some things are bouncing back, that still wouldn’t take away from the fact that Iran is in a stronger position now than it was before the war, and the United States is slowly crawling back to where it started.

Vice President JD Vance’s weird attempt to be woke just made it clear how little he thinks of working class people. In an interview published Thursday, The New York Times’s Ross Douthat cornered Vance about how the Trump administration’s tone of “aggressive uncharity” contrasts with its purported brand of Christian politics. Vance immediately started flailing, calling the interviewer’s claim “fundamentally unfalsifiable.” The vice president argued that there were plenty of “clips” of administration officials that would read as Christian or un-Christian, shamelessly plugged his new book, and then pivoted to something even more surprising. DOUTHAT: Let's be honest -- the tone of the administration is not consistently a Christian tone. There is a tone of aggressive uncharity — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 18, 2026 JD VANCE: Tonal arguments are ways of, frankly, policing working class ways of communication, and covering them in elite preferences pic.twitter.com/YwFVAAVJBC “The tone argument is in some ways, I think, people see what they want to see. I also think that tonal arguments are ways of, frankly, policing working-class ways of communication and covering them in elite preferences,” Vance said. If that argument sounds a little “woke” for Vance, that’s because tone policing is most often used to prevent marginalized individuals and groups from sharing their experiences. The term typically refers to policing emotional language—not overt cruelty. Vance suggested that if he was coming across as uncharitable, that was because he was speaking for a working class that was totally onboard with it. How little he must think of working class people to imagine that they’d co-sign gutting social programs and shuttering humanitarian aid. Not to mention all of the wildly un-Christian things Vance himself has said, including making up racist lies, defending an unjust war, and hating thy neighbor. But it should come as no surprise that the “tone” of an administration headed by a billionaire is not representative of the working class. Rather, it represents the elite.

Girls star Jake Lacy has confirmed that the set of Lena Dunham’s hit HBO show could be a tense place. Seasons 4 and 5 star Jake Lacy, who played Dunham’s character Hannah’s love interest, Fran, on the series, told Obsessed: The Podcast that he thought his co-star, Adam Driver, “might hit” him at one point. Lacy, who was Emmy-nominated for his role on Season 1 of The White Lotus, revealed one scene during which Driver got really deep into character. “We’re newly dating, and she takes me to an art show to sort of make Adam jealous, or at least to see what happens when she shows up with another guy and he’s dating her friend,” Lacy said, describing Season 4, Episode 7, “Ask Me My Name.” Driver played Hannah’s on-again-off-again boyfriend Adam Sackler for all six seasons of the Emmy-winning show. “We shot that scene. I think maybe we blocked it, but not really rehearsed it fully,” Lacy continued. “And I was just standing next to Adam and was like, ‘This guy might hit me in this scene.’ Like, I think this man might… I don’t really know what’s gonna happen right now.” Dunham had a similar, albeit more damning, description of working with Driver on the show. In her memoir Famesick, the Girls creator, writer, and star alleged that the actor threw a chair and punched a wall near her head during their seven seasons working together on the series, and that Driver’s temper could be set off by her “stammering” during rehearsal or a haircut he didn’t like. She also claimed that the actor crossed boundaries during intimate scenes, despite the actors’ “carefully blocking” them beforehand. Dunham wrote that in one such scene, she was “afraid that when I turned around, I would find I was suddenly in a full-penetration 1970s porno… But after a few mimed thrusts, I called cut.” Dunham said that she “didn’t tell anyone” about the alleged incidents. Lacy, for his part, enjoyed working with the star, telling Obsessed that Driver’s intensity helped his own performance. “That was so exhilarating,” he said, “to really be doing a thing with a person—to not be like, I’ll pretend to be nervous, and you’ll pretend to be jealous and whatever that is.” Driver’s seriousness about the role was just that intense, he explained. “To act, to undeniably be there with a person, was so cool,” Lacy said, adding that he’s been “chasing that for 10 years.” Subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch new episodes of ‘Obsessed: The Podcast’ every Wednesday and Friday. And follow our feed to listen to the show the next morning on your favorite podcast platform.

Many Hollywood stars aim to maintain a youthful look as they mature, but a few have frozen time quite like Jane Seymour. Seymour, who rose to fame in 1973 as the Bond girl Solitaire in Live and Let Die, won a Golden Globe in 1995 for her lead role in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. Shockingly, the 75-year-old’s appearance has barely changed since then, and on Tuesday, the legendary Bond girl revealed her beauty tips in an interview with NewBeauty. Seymour, a mother of six, said she felt incredibly grateful to have reached 75 and to have so much energy. “I’m told on film sets that I outrun and outpace all the young ones. I think it’s because I love what I do, and I eat really well,” she said. Seymour revealed that she has “always” followed a Mediterranean diet, which typically prioritizes fruits, vegetables, and whole grains while limiting red meat and sweets. Research shows that the Mediterranean diet can offer many health benefits, including support for brain function, weight control, and heart health, according to the Cleveland Clinic. “I love berries, kale, and spinach and all those kinds of things,” Seymour said. Seymour also advocated for regular exercise. “Pilates is brilliant, whether it’s mat Pilates or on a reformer. I also do Gyrotonics, but mostly I do all of this with the light weights,” she said, adding, “We need that muscle tone, especially as we get older.” Her daily exercise routine includes a combination of yoga, Pilates, isometrics, crunches, and stretching. Sometimes, she plays tennis, too, but she does everything in moderation. “I don’t push myself because I’m way too competitive,” she said. “Listen to your body. Don’t injure yourself trying to become superwoman.” When it comes to skincare, Seymour’s attitude is “less is more.” She sticks to her trusted skincare and gentle exfoliants instead of fancy facials. The English actress said she tans fast, and took advantage of this when she was younger. “I tan very quickly, but oh my gosh, I have lived to regret that!” Seymour said. Now, she never skips sunscreen in the mornings and also wears hats to protect her face. “I’ll walk through the sun, I’ll play tennis in the sun, but I always make sure I cover the areas I have to. The damage you do when you’re young comes back to haunt you later in life.” Seymour, who has been a spokeswoman for Body Firm since 2015, said her skin secret is the Body Repair Treatment ($84, Amazon). “I go to bed with the cream on and then wake up in the morning, and my skin feels amazing,” she said. Adding, “The more I use it, the better my skin is. I mean, honestly, young people keep coming up to me saying, ‘Why is your skin amazing?’” Seymour said her confidence comes from life experience. “I think it actually comes from having survived a lot in my life. I mean, I really have,” Seymour said. Adding, “A long time ago, I was doing a movie, and I actually died and came back—they resuscitated me. So you know, if the greatest fear we have in life is a wrinkle, that is not as problematic to me as being dead.” In 1988, Seymour contracted bronchitis while filming Onassis: The Richest Man in the World—a movie that won her an Emmy. But when a person administered an antibiotic to her, they accidentally injected it into her vein, not her muscle, which led to Seymour going into anaphylactic shock. In 2023, she told The Times that she “left her body” in the moment. “I did see the white light, and I did look down and quite clearly see and hear everyone screaming and trying to resuscitate me, which they were able to do.” On Tuesday, Seymour said that women should stop believing that aging or going through menopause means their lives are over and they should hide. “I think it’s an attitude,” she mused. “I know a lot of people who say ‘I’m too old to do this,’ or ‘I’m too old to do that.’ You’re never too old to do it. You just have to listen to your body while you’re doing it.”

Markwayne Mullin was caught on live television in what appeared to be a bit of locker-room talk. Mullin, who was installed as Department of Homeland Security secretary at the end of March, appeared on Newsmax on Thursday—a little earlier than he expected. The 48-year-old was introduced by Wake Up America host Marc Lotter, who referred to the secretary as a “good friend of our show.” The camera then cut to Mullin, who appeared unaware that he was already on live television and was chatting with someone off-camera. “So you could see all the heifers,” Mullin could be heard saying, prompting booming laughter from people out of view. Officially, heifers are young female cows. But the word is often used as slang to derogatorily refer to an overweight or obese woman. “Good morning, Mr. Secretary. You ready for us? Can you hear us?” Lotter said. Mullin, who appeared to realize he was on live television, quickly responded: “Yeah, I’m ready.” A DHS spokesperson told the Daily Beast: “This is gross, but we would expect nothing less from The Daily Beast. As you can hear in the full audio clip, the Secretary can be heard saying: ‘…cattle auctions so you can see all the heifers.’ Secretary Mullin is a lifelong cow-calf rancher… he was talking to his staff about cattle. We’d encourage The Daily Beast to touch grass.” The interaction quickly made the rounds on social media, where critics were quick to slam the former Oklahoma senator for his “locker room talk.” “The good ole boy culture is making America not great,” one person wrote on X. Another chimed in: “[Mullin] got a lot of nerve calling someone a heifer when he has more neck fat than he has education.” To be fair, Mullin has a reputation for not holding back. One of his most notable moments came in 2023, when he challenged Teamsters President Sean O’Brien to a physical fight during a Senate hearing. Mullin was upset over a tweet from O’Brien, who called him “a clown & fraud.” “This is the time, this is the place,” Mullin told O’Brien after reading several critical tweets O’Brien had made. “If you want to run your mouth, we can be two consenting adults. We can finish it here.” “I’d love to do it right now,” O’Brien said at the time. “Well, stand your butt up then,” Mullin responded, to which O’Brien shot back: “You stand your butt up.” Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who chaired the Senate panel at the time, intervened and told Mullin to sit down. Sanders yelled at Mullin, “You are a United States senator!” while banging his gavel several times in an attempt to bring the now-soon-to-be secretary to order. At the same time, his boss is practically the locker-room-talker-in-chief. President Donald Trump famously defended his 2005 Access Hollywood comments—in which he said he forgoes consent and grabs women “by the p----”—as merely “locker room talk.”