Commander Biden, much like Major Biden, has a “biting problem.” Major Biden was sent to live in Delaware, and then President Biden’s brother gifted him with a German Shepherd puppy, Commander. Last week, we heard that the Secret Service is suddenly known for their meticulous record-keeping when it comes to dog bites (not so much their enabling of domestic terrorism on January 6th) and they have records of “eleven” biting incidents involving Commander. Politico did follow-up reporting, basically saying that White House staff actually love Commander and he’s a really friendly dog, but yeah, he possibly bites a couple of Secret Service guys from time to time. Well, Commander didn’t even make it to Thanksgiving at the White House – Commander has been sent away, and “Secret Service” sources are crying to CNN about how Commander was biting everyone. What is actually happening here?

President Joe Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden’s 2-year-old German shepherd, Commander, has been involved in more biting incidents than previously reported at the White House, multiple sources familiar with the matter told CNN. While the US Secret Service has acknowledged 11 reported biting incidents involving its personnel, sources who spoke to CNN said the real number is higher and includes executive residence staff and other White House workers. Those bites have ranged in severity, from one known bite requiring hospital treatment to some requiring attention from the White House Medical Unit to some going unreported and untreated.

While the first family works for solutions to the ongoing issue, CNN has learned, Commander is not on the White House campus.

“The President and First Lady care deeply about the safety of those who work at the White House and those who protect them every day. They remain grateful for the patience and support of the U.S. Secret Service and all involved, as they continue to work through solutions,” Elizabeth Alexander, communications director for the first lady, said in a statement released first to CNN. Alexander continued, “Commander is not presently on the White House campus while next steps are evaluated.”

One source familiar with the incidents pointed to efforts from their colleagues to adjust Secret Service workplace habits amid broader concerns about workplace safety as they work to support the first family at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The situation has also revealed broader tensions between the Bidens and the US Secret Service. Sources suggest the relationship between the first family and the US Secret Service was first strained when the family’s elder dog, Major, caused an injury to an unnamed Secret Service agent before ultimately being sent away more permanently to Delaware. That incident caused a breach in trust, a source familiar with the dynamic said.

While the Bidens enjoyed a good relationship with Secret Service during the vice presidency, the Major situation caused “stress” for the first couple in their early days at the White House. That laid the foundation for a “combustible” relationship with Secret Service, which has since been exacerbated by numerous “last minute changes” to schedules – including spending most weekends away from the White House at Camp David or one of their Delaware residences – and “unrealistic requests” that strain the agency’s resources, the source familiar with the relationship dynamic said. There had also been questions of USSS agents’ political loyalty to former President Donald Trump, as detailed by Biden allies to The Washington Post during the presidential transition in late 2020.

[From CNN]

People are talking around it, but I absolutely get the sense that President Biden still believes that certain Secret Service agents are lying about his dogs and/or provoking his dogs. One biographer said it outright last year, that the SS story of one of the “biting incidents” with Major didn’t make any sense. I also believe there’s a significant loss of trust between the Bidens and the Secret Service which has nothing to do with the dogs and everything to do with certain SS agents being MAGA-compromised. These people deleted all of their records from January 5 & 6, 2021. These people threatened Cassidy Hutchinson and called her a liar because she spoke about how Trump assaulted his SS detail. Basically: this Commander story might be a symptom of something a lot bigger and more nefarious. Just wait, Willow Biden is next.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, the White House.

It really does feel like Prince William and Kate’s marriage never recovered after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s exit in 2020. Was the Sussexit the “only” reason for the Wales’ marriage drama? No, but it definitely feels like it set off a domino effect. More attention on William and Kate separately, more attention on the state of their marriage, they didn’t know how much Harry knew or what he would reveal, plus they always hated the side-by-side comparison with the Sussexes, and it grew even more stark after the Sussexit. Anyway, nearly four years later and we’re in the midst of a separation rollout and a “Bachelor Will” rollout, and they’re still finding a way to make it all about Harry.

Even Prince William and Princess Kate aren’t perfect. A royal insider exclusively tells Us Weekly that the pair have been having typical marital struggles.

“Kate and William have been having ups and downs in their marriage like everyone else,” the source tells Us. “But they’re focused on their royal duties and doing that as a unit.”

One sore spot for the Prince and Princess of Wales, both 41, is Prince Harry. It’s been 10 months since the Duke of Sussex, 39, dropped his bombshell memoir, Spare, and his relationships with the royal family remain fractured after his book covered various fights with his brother and father. While Harry has made it clear he believes the royal family should apologize to both himself and wife Meghan Markle, Kate doesn’t want to make amends with her brother-in-law.

“Kate has no desire to communicate with Harry nor Meghan,” the source tells Us. “There has been too much that has happened and she’s not ready yet.”

William, however, would like to eventually make amends — but is in no rush to do so. “William wants his relationship with his brother to improve, but they’re not speaking right now,” the insider adds. “So when that will happen is still uncertain.”

[From Us Weekly]

Is this the start of something new, where Kate is being blamed for the years-long estrangement between the Waleses and the Sussexes? Usually, it’s “Kate is the peacemaker, William is incandescent with rage.” Remember when someone leaked that doing that walk in Windsor with the Sussexes after QEII died was the “hardest thing” Kate ever had to do? Now Kate isn’t “ready yet” to make peace with the sister-in-law she style-stalks and copykeens at every turn. Now Kate isn’t ready to reconcile with the brother-in-law who outed her as a liar and mean girl.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

The Princess of Wales has now had events for three days in a row. The poor overworked sausage, you know she’s tired. Today, Kate went to Hull to visit the Allam Sports Centre and try her hand at wheelchair rugby. Team England won the World Cup in wheelchair rugby, and if you watched Heart of Invictus, you can see how seriously British people take wheelchair rugby. I found it charming in HoI – the veterans worked so hard and their coach was this elderly man in very poor health, but they were all salt of the earth people who worked hard and looked out for each other. Anyway, Prince Harry used to be the patron of English Rugby, but that was taken away from him and given to Kate. So here she is.

The big headline here is that her mysterious finger injury is back. On September 12, Kate showed up to visit a prison and she had her index and middle finger bandaged together. The excuse at the time was that she had some kind of trampoline accident while playing with her kids. Given how many times she’s worn bandages or band-aids on her hands, it feels like there’s more to the story. In any case, after that prison event, Kate’s hand was no longer bandaged. Now, weeks later, the injury is back and Kate once again has the same fingers taped. What the hell is going on?

The Daily Mail reported: “The bandages appear to be a precaution from her injury earlier this month – when she damaged her fingers trampolining with Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis at their home in Windsor.” A precaution which she had not been taking for weeks? Granted, she knew she would be using her hands today and it’s possible that it’s just precautionary specific to sports, but her fingers seemed totally back to normal in the past three weeks.

Also: the thing that annoys me the most is when she turns up for sporty events without pulling back that janky wig. She didn’t even bring a clip or a scrunchie to pull her hair back for when she was playing!

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Avalon Red.

Anne Hathaway wore a pink Attico dress to a New York screening of her film She Came to Me. In case you’re wondering, that film got a SAG-AFTRA waiver! [RCFA]
Not even Cate Blanchett looks good in this Stella McCartney mess. [Go Fug Yourself]
Football bros are very very mad about Taylor Swift. [LaineyGossip]
Jesse L. Martin is back on NBC! [Pajiba]
What hot new songs are you listening to? [OMG Blog]
Jessica Chastain wore a chocolate brown gown. [Just Jared]
You can get abortion pills via Telehealth in NYC. [Jezebel]
Jason Mraz is doing Dancing with the Stars?! [Seriously OMG]
Here’s Sarah Burton’s last McQueen collection. [Tom & Lorenzo]
Nelly Furtado wears Skims. [Egotastic]
Anya Taylor Joy got married again, this time in Italy, and she wore an “unconventional” wedding gown in beige. [Buzzfeed]

As much as I used to complain about the Princess of Wales’ doily looks, button-slathered coatdresses and inappropriately twirly skirts, you’d think that I would be happy that Kate is finally committing to pantsuits and work-friendly separates. Instead, I just find it unsettling, mostly because she’s still doing “Meghan, by Kate.” Kate inevitably gets it wrong though. The details are always off.

These are photos of Kate today, making a solo visit to the Vsi Razom Community Hub. The community center is located about ten miles away from Adelaide Cottage. She “helped pack parcels of food and clothes with young Ukrainians, who arrived in the U.K. in the last year,” and the food is for other Ukrainian refugees. William and Kate have made several visits to various foodbanks and refugee centers over the past year and a half. They always arrive empty-handed. The most infuriating examples of their empty-handed, half-assed refugee work is when both of them met refugee CHILDREN at separate events and neither of them brough one toy or diapers or kids’ clothes. It’s appalling.

As for Kate’s ensemble here, she wore a £120 Cefinn sweater vest and £130 Sézane ‘Martin’ trousers. Can’t wait to hear from all of those people who complained for years about the Duchess of Sussex’s inseams – Kate absolutely needs a trouser tutorial, because I’ve yet to see her in a pair of pants which I find flattering or well-tailored. The shoes are also wrong with this look.

Note by CB: Get the Top 10 stories about Will & Kate showing up empty-handed when you sign up for our mailing list! I only send one email a day on weekdays.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

The 1975 recently announced an indefinite hiatus “from touring” but I’m choosing to interpret it as a general hiatus. They’re still in the middle of touring to support their most recent album and performed at the Hollywood Bowl on Monday night. Frontman and noted creep Matt Healy took the opportunity to apologize in a general, hand-waving way for his many gross comments, including making fun of Ice Spice’s accent. But he chased up this ‘apology’ with the desire to “create an environment” where he gets to play-act as an aggrieved edgelord. He claimed that this kind of performance of being a jackass is part of his work as an “artist.” Imagine being that self-absorbed.

Addressing the crowd at the Hollywood Bowl on Monday night, Healy said, “I think it is important to take inventory of yourself. So you become aware when your intentions and your actions don’t align. So, because some of my actions have hurt some people, I apologise to those people and I pledge to be better moving forward.”

The singer added, “But I think it’s also important I express my intentions, so everybody knows that there is no ill will coming me. You see, as an artist, I want to create an environment for myself to perform where not everything that I do is taken, literally.”

Referring to the controversial podcast comments, the musician said that he had “performed exaggerated versions” of himself on “other stages be in print or in one podcast,” and that it was often a misguided attempt to fulfill the “character role of the 21st century Rockstar”.

“You can probably also say that men would rather do offensive impressions for attention than go to therapy,” he continued.

His apology comes days after Ice Spice said that she was left “confused” by the rocker’s racist comments about her. For those unaware, Healy referred to Spice as Inuit and Chinese and mocked her accent on The Adam Friedland Show. The podcast episode was later removed from Apple Music and Spotify because of its offensive content.

[From Wion News]

It isn’t “art” to be racist or sexist. Misogynoir isn’t art. (CC: all the stand-up comedians right now complaining about cancel culture.) Matt just sounds dumb when he talks this way and it also makes clear that his apology is totally empty. When he says he’s performed “exaggerated versions” of himself he means that he showed his real self: a man who desperately wants to be a rock star but whose work is mostly mediocre and overshadowed by his own prejudice. I hope he does go to therapy but he seems like the kind of person who won’t really do the work. He comes off like a big time narcissist. I wonder if Taylor would have figured this out if his comments hadn’t surfaced. I can’t imagine him being that pleasant to be around after the honeymoon stage.

Embed from Getty Images

Photos credit: Cover Images, Getty and Mike Gray/Avalon

This feels like the first time in years that I’ve seen Taylor Swift in bike shorts, a slouchy t-shirt, sneakers and a baseball cap. Throughout this year, she struts around New York in heels, minis and other cute ensembles. She’s the queen of street style and one of the nicest things about Taylor is that she gets “dressed up” to leave her house. It does look like Taylor dressed with purpose though – her t-shirt is from Free People, and it’s the Shania Twain “Any Man of Mine” tee. Her sneakers are New Balance and she carried a Louis Vuitton purse.

These are pics of Taylor coming and going from the Electric Lady studio in NYC. The woman with her is Keleigh Sperry, aka Miles Teller’s wife. Miles and Taylor worked together a few years ago when he was cast in the music video for Taylor’s “I Bet You Think About Me.” Taylor has been in and out of the Electric Lady all year, recording new music and re-recording 1989 (Taylor’s Version). She uses it as a social club too, inviting her friends to hang out at the studio and listen to her record. But where’s Travis Kelce? Well, even if Travis isn’t around constantly, he and Taylor are apparently quite smitten with each other:

Despite being one of the most famous women in the world, Taylor Swift “was low-key and low-maintenance” as she watched Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce help his team defeat the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sunday, October 1, an insider exclusively reveals in the new issue of Us Weekly. The source adds that Swift “was sweet to everyone and had an amazing time” as she cheered alongside famous pals including Blake Lively and husband Ryan Reynolds, Sophie Turner and Sabrina Carpenter.

It was her second time watching Kelce play, but just one of Swift’s many upbeat outings in recent weeks. On a break from the first leg of her record-shattering Eras Tour — which is set to make more than $1 billion — the 33-year-old Grammy winner is clearly enjoying herself as she embarks on a new romance with the football star, 33, and spends quality time with her girl squad. “Taylor’s doing all the things she hasn’t had time for lately,” says a second source, “like going out with her friends and staying out late.”

Swift kept a noticeably lower profile during her six-year relationship with British actor Joe Alwyn, from whom she split in April. “Taylor has decided she’s not going to hide anymore,” a third source tells Us. “She’s going to be her authentic self and enjoy life.”

Despite talk that Swift and Kelce’s hookup is a PR stunt, multiple sources tell Us the pop star’s feelings for the Ohio native are legit. They’ve seen each other several times — Kelce was reportedly spotted leaving Swift’s NYC apartment on Sunday morning — and “talk every day,” says the third source. “Taylor’s really enjoying getting to know Travis,” the insider adds. “They’re taking it day by day, but she has high hopes. She likes that he’s a normal, nice guy. He’s down-to-earth and isn’t affected by fame. She also thinks he’s hot.”

A fourth source says the feelings are mutual: “Travis is completely smitten.”

[From Us Weekly]

“Taylor has decided she’s not going to hide anymore. She’s going to be her authentic self and enjoy life.” That’s sort of my favorite part about Taylor, post-Joe Alwyn. She was so f–king quiet during that relationship and while I appreciated that, and it felt like she was maturing, it’s been fun to see her as a chaotic single girl, out enjoying her life this year. Was the Matt Healy situation pretty bad? Yes, but it was also hilarious, because she was so out of practice as she tried to grapple with her feelings for a racist famewhore. This Travis Kelce thing must be a welcome relief.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

I genuinely think people have become numb to the frequency with which Donald Trump threatens people, targets people and encourages his MAGA army to inflict harm on his “enemies.” It’s barely even a headline or a news story at this point, that’s how often it happens. Trump is currently facing four criminal trials across multiple jurisdictions and over 90 felony and misdemeanor charges, including violating the Espionage Act and inciting an insurrection against the republic. He’s currently, as of this week, on trial in New York for his lengthy history of fraud, especially in regards to his business practices. The bench trial began on Monday, which is the same day Trump posted a threat on his Nazi social media, Truth Social. He was trying to smear Judge Arthur Engoron’s law clerk. On Tuesday, the judge issued a gag order.

The New York judge presiding over Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial on Tuesday issued a gag order after the former president attacked his clerk by name and shared her image on social media.

“Personal attacks on members on my court staff are unacceptable, inappropriate, and I won’t tolerate it [in my courtroom],” said New York State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron.

He added later to “consider this a gag order for all parties from posting about any members of my staff.”

The judge rebuked the “untrue and personally identifying posts” about a staff member.

“Schumer’s girlfriend, Alison R. Greenfield, is running this case against me. How disgraceful! This case should be dismissed immediately!!” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, along with a picture of the clerk and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

The post appeared to show a photograph of Greenfield standing next to Schumer, without any more context. Fact-checkers note that false rumors about Schumer and infidelity appear to trace their origins to a now-shuttered satirical website.

Engoron didn’t mention the former president by name, but the remarks clearly referred to him. The judge said he ordered the post deleted, and it was. Trump deleted his Truth Social post.

[From The Messenger]

If Trump violates the gag order, the judge could actually send him to jail for 30 days. Or, you know, a fine or something like that. I hope the other judges take notice of Judge Engoron’s quick work here- don’t dawdle, don’t play games, shut down Trump’s bullsh-t quickly and if he does it again, hand down some FAFO jail time. Of course Trump attacked the judge’s female law clerk too – he’s always looking to threaten, bully, assault, malign, smear or rape the closest woman he can find.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

Dame Mary Beard is a British historian specializing in ancient Rome. I would imagine she loves the TikTok trend of women asking their partners how often they think of the Roman Empire. She’s currently promoting her latest book, Emperor of Rome, and she’s been giving tons of interviews in British print media. She has that “cool professor” energy where she can tie ancient history to modern pop culture and modern politics. For weeks, she’s been talking about cancel culture, gender discourse, race throughout history and her Gucci sneakers. Well, Richard Eden at the Daily Mail got her to comment on, guess what? The Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Reporting tittle-tattle about the state of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s marriage is important, because it will serve as a historical record of what people are talking about, declares television historian Dame Mary Beard.

‘I’ve been reading that they are going to get a divorce,’ the Cambridge classicist says.

‘Maybe they are, maybe they’re not, but that’s very much the same sort of gossip’ [as in Roman times].

Promoting her new book, Emperor Of Rome, she adds: ‘Before anyone thinks I’m trivialising it, gossip is very important… from a historical point of view.’ Hear, hear…

[From The Daily Mail]

I would love to know what she was asked specifically and the entirety of her answer in context, because it feels like Eden chopped it up to make it specifically about the Sussexes. As for what she says… yeah, I agree, gossip is important. Gossip saves lives! “Gossip” is just a catch-all term for “information-gathering, informal reporting and early warning systems.” Most of what appears in Politico is GOSSIP. Most of what’s said on ESPN is gossip. I also agree that gossip about the Sussexes serves as part of the historical record. Just as gossip about the Wales marriage will be part of the historical record too.

Also: earlier this year, Beard made other comments about Harry and Meghan, saying “They’re going too far” with their interviews and “because they go further than we can, because we can’t have our own Netflix series, it makes us think about how you want to be and how you want to behave. Is Medea a hero? She gives you a lens on to what it would be like to be the kind of person who killed.”

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

It’s been interesting to watch as Sophie Turner becomes some kind of sainted figure for a particular group of people, and those people suddenly fancy themselves family-law experts who claim that Sophie is 100% right and Joe is 100% wrong. While I’ve said all along that Joe’s carefully orchestrated campaign against Sophie was a nasty business, don’t confuse that with Sophie having a strong position. She is not in a strong position whatsoever. As soon as she claimed that Joe was abducting their children – while their daughters were with her in New York and after she had been served with the order to not remove the children from the US – it was clear that Joe and Sophie both needed to come to the table and work out their sh-t quietly. Thankfully, over the past week, it looks like they’ve started to do just that. They’re now dealing with the family court in New York, they agreed to not remove the girls from the greater New York area for the time being, and now they’ve agreed to mediation:

Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner are turning to mediation to work through custody of their children. In a hearing on Tuesday, lawyers for the estranged couple revealed that they are set to start a four-day mediation on Wednesday to resolve issues in their divorce, including establishing custody and a parenting plan for their two daughters, Willa, 3, and Delphine, 14 months.

Although Judge Katherine Polk Failla set a Jan. 2 trial date, the mediation aims to solve many of Turner, 27, and Jonas’ custody issues. In court, Turner’s lawyer Stephen Cullen claimed that Jonas, 34, is asking for joint custody, saying that “what he was looking for is a 50-50.”

“The parties are both seeing their children, which is what we all want,” Cullen later said.

Judge Failla agreed with Cullen, saying that she “echo[es] concerns about the children” that he had brought up.

Despite high hopes for the mediation, Cullen said that the current case “should proceed in parallel track to [the] mediation.”

Reps for Jonas and Turner did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment regarding the mediation.

[From People]

For the record… Joe has never said that his aim was full custody. He’s always said that he and Sophie should have 50-50 custody, and he’s actually fine with Sophie moving back to the UK and raising their daughters there half the time. He just doesn’t want to move to the UK, which seems to be the root of all of this drama more than anything else. I would love to know how all of this plays out in mediation, but that’s the whole point of Sophie and Joe going through mediation – they can work this sh-t out with their lawyers in a room instead of the acrimonious legal filings.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.