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Four years ago to the very day, we were talking about Sean Spicer’s performance as Donald Trump’s new press secretary. Spicer’s first act in the White House press briefing room was to waltz in and declare that Trump had “the largest audience ever to witness an inauguration, period, both in person and around the globe.” That was what concerned Trump and the Trump White House on their very first day: people mocking Trump’s batsh-t crazy Struggle Inauguration, which was poorly attended and fascist. It set the tone for what would be the Trump White House’s constant abuse of journalists and the media writ large. The relationship between the WH and the media became so toxic, at some point the press secretaries just stopped doing press briefings entirely.

Well, if we needed any more evidence of “the return to normalcy,” President Biden’s new press secretary Jen Psaki gave the first press briefing of the Biden administration yesterday evening. It was great! She treated journalists with respect and tried to answer questions honestly and thoroughly. She didn’t berate anyone, squeal about “fake news” or throw out a bunch of lies. As I watched Psaki, I realized that it’s going to take a while for all of us to process the trauma of the past four-to-five years.

It was just nice. It was fun to watch everyone adjust, in real time, to the new normal of “wait, this is how it used to be, in the Before Time.” No one screamed, no one called female journalists “nasty,” no one pushed a bunch of lies about crowd size.

In another example of the Biden Administration’s back-to-normal approach with the press, President Biden invited the press pool into the Oval Office, where he confirmed that Donald Trump had left him a letter and the letter was “generous.” Hm. President Biden also signed a stack of Executive Orders, many of which were simple reversals of Trump-era EOs.

Jen Psaki told the press after this moment that Biden was not actually planning to speak to Trump any time soon, so the point is that we’ll probably never learn what’s in the letter. Hm.

Day 1 Press Briefings: Trump admin vs. Biden admin pic.twitter.com/S5wd57YrSr

— The Recount (@therecount) January 21, 2021

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Photos courtesy of Getty.

Inauguration Day marks the end of my trilogy on the 2021 American election. This election has been marred by lies, conspiracies, and armed insurrection, so I have never really relaxed even after the election was called for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. And I’m still not relaxed, even though President…

Yesterday, as everyone watched President Biden’s inauguration, Justice Warby was finishing up the Duchess of Sussex’s summary judgment hearing in the High Court. The hearing was a two-day long affair with Meghan’s lawyers representing her and a team of lawyers representing Associated Newspapers (ANL), which operates the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday. The Mail published Meghan’s handwritten letter to her father, and ANL’s lawyers have thrown everything they can to get the court to believe that they were justified in doing so because.. Finding Freedom, or People Magazine. Well, Justice Warby has heard the arguments and he’s going to crunk on it for two weeks or so and we’ll get his ruling on the summary judgment then. Even if Meghan “loses” the summary judgment, that means that the trial will go ahead later this year, likely in November. And at trial, a lot of former and current Kensington Palace staffers could be called in to testify. Which makes this kind of extraordinary.

Four royal aides say they do not wish to “take sides” over a letter from the Duchess of Sussex to her father, the High Court has been told. In a letter lawyers for the four said they believed their clients could “shed some light” on the letter’s drafting but the four were “strictly neutral”.

Meghan’s lawyers are asking for summary judgement – a dismissal of Associated Newspapers’ (ANL) defence instead of a trial. The five articles, published in February 2019, were a “triple-barrelled invasion” of the duchess’s privacy, correspondence and family, the lawyers claim. She is seeking damages from the newspaper group for alleged misuse of private information, copyright infringement and breach of the Data Protection Act over the articles.

ANL claims Meghan wrote her letter “with a view to it being disclosed publicly at some future point” in order to “defend her against charges of being an uncaring or unloving daughter”, which she denies. On the second day of the hearing on Wednesday, ANL’s barrister Antony White QC told the court that a letter from the so-called “palace four” showed that “further oral evidence and documentary evidence is likely to be available at trial which would shed light on certain key factual issues in this case”. He said it was “likely” there was also further evidence about whether Meghan “directly or indirectly provided private information” to the authors of an unauthorised biography of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Finding Freedom.

The four aides are: Jason Knauf, former communications secretary to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Christian Jones, their former deputy communications secretary, Samantha Cohen, formerly the Sussexes’ private secretary, and Sara Latham, their ex-director of communications.

“None of our clients welcomes his or her potential involvement in this litigation, which has arisen purely as a result of the performance of his or her duties in their respective jobs at the material time,” their lawyers said in a letter sent on their behalf. “Nor does any of our clients wish to take sides in the dispute between your respective clients. Our clients are all strictly neutral. They have no interest in assisting either party to the proceedings. Their only interest is in ensuring a level playing field, insofar as any evidence they may be able to give is concerned.”

Their letter said that their lawyers’ “preliminary view is that one or more of our clients would be in a position to shed some light” on “the creation of the letter and the electronic draft”.

It also said they may be able to shed light on “whether or not the claimant anticipated that the letter might come into in the public domain” and whether or not the duchess “directly or indirectly provided private information, generally and in relation to the letter specifically, to the authors of Finding Freedom”.

But Justin Rushbrooke QC, representing the duchess, said the letter from the four “contains no information at all that supports the defendant’s case on alleged co-authorship (of Meghan’s letter), and no indication that evidence will be forthcoming that will support the defendant’s case should the matter proceed to trial”.

[From BBC]

Yeah, ANL’s argument still doesn’t make any sense to me, but obviously I’m not a lawyer. I think the only argument that they *could* make is that the copyright for Meghan’s letter doesn’t belong to her alone, especially if she had significant help writing it with KP staffers. But even then, if the copyright was shared with, say, Jason Knauf… it’s still a copyright violation, and the copyright belongs to both Knauf and Meghan and the Mail still didn’t have the right to publish it. But really, it’s extraordinary that these four staffers are all saying that they have no desire to testify for either side. It’s just… very complicated. I feel like the Windsor clan will have to pull some strings to end things in Meghan’s favor, just so all of the palace secrets don’t come spilling out all at once.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Avalon Red.

These pics were not Photoshopped. Donald Trump’s hands really do look that small. If anything, his hands got smaller and smaller over the course of the past four years. These are photos of the Trumps arriving in Florida yesterday, after Donald Trump’s pathetic, poorly-attended “send-off” at Andrews Air Force Base, where he ranted nonsensically one last time. Melania changed on the plane – no more black mourning suit, which she wore earlier in the day. She changed into this $3700 Gucci dress which made her look like a clown. Melania, it was said, was completely checked out ever since her husband lost in November. She was the only one in the family who looked forward to retiring to Florida. Melania didn’t even bother with a goodbye wave in Florida:

I am in tears??????? pic.twitter.com/G8GVVhRLQN

— I Aint Going Back N Forth With None of You (@nice_two) January 20, 2021

As for the rest of them… I mean, I would have been happy to wake up this morning to the news that Trump was indicted in twenty jurisdictions, but I have patience. At the end of the day, Donald Trump didn’t pardon his lawyer (Rudy Giuliani), his children or himself. New York has ongoing investigations into the Trump struggle-empire, he’s got an impeachment trial coming up and he is on tape, committing election fraud in Georgia. Plus, all of the civil lawsuits AND all of his creditors want their payments. It’s going to be so much fun.

Not so much fun? Taxpayers are on the hook for a lot of Secret Service protection for the Trump family:

In the days before he left office, President Donald Trump instructed that his family get the best security available in the world for the next six months, at no cost — the protection of the U.S. Secret Service. According to three people briefed on the plan, Trump issued a directive to extend post-presidency Secret Service protection to his four adult children and two of their spouses, who were not automatically entitled to receive it.

Trump also directed that three key officials leaving government continue to receive the protection for six months: former treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin, former chief of staff Mark Meadows and former national security adviser Robert C. O’Brien, two people familiar with the arrangement said.

Under federal law, Trump, his wife, Melania Trump, and their 14-year-old son are the only members of his immediate family entitled to Secret Service protection after they leave office. The couple will receive it for their lifetimes, and Barron is entitled to protection until he turns 16. Former vice president Mike Pence and his wife, Karen Pence, will also receive continued Secret Service security for the next six months under the same law governing protection.

But Trump wanted every family member who had been protected by the Secret Service during his administration to be covered for six additional months, according to the people familiar with his directive, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe security arrangements. That means the expensive, taxpayer-funded security will continue for daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner; son Donald Trump Jr.; son Eric Trump and his wife, Lara Trump; and daughter Tiffany Trump.

[From WaPo]

The thing that strikes me is that Trump is afraid of his own “supporters.” He incited them to do terrorism, and now he’s afraid that they’ll turn on him. Speaking of, this is something to keep your eye on: the Proud Boys are no longer on Trump’s side, and QAnon is apparently collapsing as we speak.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

Dear Gossips, In one of Sarah’s upcoming posts (coming later this morning) about how she experienced the inauguration of President Joe Biden yesterday, she writes about the kind of “normalcy” that might return to the White House now that Trump is out. The normalcy happened almost immediately as the …

Alec Baldwin will not stand for us being mean to his wife, you guys! Or his el wifa, I don’t know, I took French. Alec’s so tired of everyone calling Hilaria Baldwin out on her bs that he’s leaving Twitter, so he doesn’t have to listen to you anymore! Just because his wife misrepresented her entire upbringing doesn’t mean we had to make a big deal out it – as if we don’t all turn our What I Did on my Summer Vacation into mythical backstories. So that’s it, Alec is out.

Alec Baldwin is going silent on Twitter.

After posting a message in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, the 62-year-old actor announced he would cease using the social media service for the foreseeable future.

“Twitter is like a party where everyone is screaming. Not much of a party. Goodbye for now,” he wrote.

It’s not the first time the former 30 Rock star has quit the platform. In 2013, he deleted his account after lashing out at a British journalist who claimed his wife, Hilaria Baldwin, was tweeting during James Gandolfini’s funeral.

His most recent departure from Twitter comes after Hilaria found herself at the center of recent controversy regarding her heritage.

[From People]

We used to call these announced departure a “flounce,” because they took on the cadence of a debutante stomping her foot and quitting a room in a huff after not getting her way. Alec posted this on Monday, what were we yelling about on Monday? Martin Luther King, Jr.? This week has had such a hint of hope to it, it’s been decidedly less shouty of late. Especially since you-know-who got kicked off – ooh, maybe that’s it. Alec’s going method. To take his Trump impression to the next level, he has to ban himself from Twitter to see how it feels. Plus, Alec’s not leaving as much as just walking away from it since he’s not deleting his account or anything. And even then, Alec retweeted something the very next day. So we’ll see how long Alec can stay away from this party he hates so much.

Since President Biden asked us to play well together, I will say something nice: in the past, Alec would have gone full ham on everyone for daring to question any part of Hilaria’s story. He would have lashed out at anyone who dared question her. Although he’s back his wife and telling us to consider our sources, Alec’s response has been much milder than I would have anticipated – not one death threat or voicemail that can be used against him in court. That’s growth, so good for him. I hope he takes the opportunity for some R&R. Maybe he could use the time to travel. I hear Spain is nice.

Photo credit: Avalon

In the middle of Joe Biden’s inauguration, I had a fleeting thought about what President Biden’s first visit to Great Britain would look like – as a proud and sentimental Irish-American – and what would happen if he sent Vice President Harris to the UK as well. Like, whenever American presidents or VPs visit the UK, they usually get some kind of photo-op or greeting with Queen Elizabeth II. If you ask me, QEII was a little too eager to play nice with Donald Trump though. The Windsor clan threw a massive hissy fit about the very idea of Duchess Meghan, an American citizen, encouraging people to vote and reject hate. So the idea that the Queen is supposed to be so apolitical just falls flat, especially in recent history. Now it turns out that QEII sent President Biden a “private letter.” Hm. I’m sure that breaks some protocols. Too political! The monarchy cannot be political!

Britain has long enjoyed a close relationship with the United States—and that continued today, as a Buckingham Palace spokesperson confirms to BAZAAR.com that the monarch sent a private letter to President Joe Biden ahead of his January 20 inauguration ceremony.

Although the palace maintains that the contents of the note will remain private, it is sure to be the start of a friendship between the two leaders. The queen has met every U.S. president, except Lyndon B. Johnson, since the beginning of her reign in 1952 and will no doubt invite the president for an official state visit to the United Kingdom in the future.

The Bidens already know one member of the British royal family well. In 2013, Dr. Jill Biden welcomed Prince Harry to a reception for British and American wounded servicemen and women during his visit to the United States. A year later, Harry invited Jill to attend the Invictus Games in London, where she and the Duke of Sussex were regularly seen chatting and laughing together. At the time, Joe—who also hung out with the prince at the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto—joked to Britain’s Guardian newspaper, “My wife was with Prince Harry at the Invictus Games.” He remembered reading in the news that “everywhere Prince Harry went, he had this blonde woman on his arm.” He quipped, “The vice-president’s wife! I’m a little worried here, you know what I mean?”

[From Harper’s Bazaar]

Yeah, again – Prince Harry already had a warm relationship with Dr. Jill and Joe Biden. They adore him, he adores them. Meghan, a Democrat, was obviously anti-Trump but she never said that explicitly once she joined the royal family. The point is that Meghan and Harry backed the right candidates and they did so smartly. All while the Queen is trying to do some too-little-too-late damage control after she leaned in too hard with fascism. She’s the one who was pro-Brexit and pro-Tory, and she’s the one who was eager to give Trump a big, splashy state dinner. F–k your private letter! (Also, did you know that Biden’s Irish relatives came from Northern Ireland? Also, I don’t think Biden, when he was a senator or VP, ever met with QEII.)

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

Many questioned why Jennifer Lopez was asked to perform at the inauguration. But for years now, Jennifer has been a pretty big Democratic Party supporter and fundraiser and an advocate for the Latin vote. She did virtual appearances and interviews for the Biden-Harris campaign, and my guess is that President Biden just likes J.Lo. What I found questionable was how J.Lo’s fiance Alex Rodriguez got such prominent seating at the inauguration and how much camera-time he got. Gross. But Jennifer was… fine.

It was fine! Aggressively fine. I’m not going to nitpick, it was okay. My favorite part was the fact that You Know Who was enraged over the fact that such cool people came out to the Biden-Harris inauguration. What she said in Spanish was “One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice of all.”

As for Jennifer’s look, she wore head-to-toe Chanel, including Chanel-branded jewelry. I like that she didn’t play it down, actually. She’s J.Lo! We shouldn’t expect her to leave her sparkle at home because she’s in Washington. We want to see the sparkle!

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Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Getty.

I realized yesterday that I needed the schmaltz. Most days, I roll my eyes at cutesy, twee, crying-at-the-Anthem kind of stuff. But holy hell, we are all climbing out of a deeply traumatic experience with the Trump presidency. Just two weeks beforehand, armed terrorists laid siege to the Capitol, where they hunted for congressional leaders to murder, erected gallows on federal grounds and beat a Capitol Police officer to death. So yeah, I’m totally okay with Lady Gaga tearing up as she sang the National Anthem. I was also okay with her crazy ensemble, which involved a giant red skirt and a giant gold dove brooch. She made me cry!

Many people believed Gaga would wear Givenchy to the Inauguration, because she wore that label to the rehearsal the day before. But she had something custom made for the inauguration: a Schiaparelli haute couture ensemble which consisted of a navy cashmere fitted jacket and a red silk faille skirt. Maison Schiaparelli is a French label, but the house’s current creative director is Daniel Roseberry, a Texan.

Also, I was so charmed by the fact that Gaga seemed to hang out for a while after the inauguration. I saw a lot of pics of her taking photos with National Guardsmen and some of the military men and women who were there for the parades and such. She also was seen glad-handing with all of the politicians, including the Obamas and Clintons, and she gave Amy Klobuchar a big hug.

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Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Getty.

From CB: I’ve been shopping a lot out of sheer frustration. I tell myself it’s part of my job to shop, but that’s just an excuse. I got the inexpensive hyaluronic acid by Eclat we featured a couple of weeks ago and it feels great. I don’t know how effective it is yet but it has the consistency of the last brand I used which was pricier. I also got a few as gifts. Plus I reordered my go-to eyebrow mousse, eyeliner and mascara as they were running out. We’ve talked about all those before! My eyeshadow is still going strong. I mostly focus on my eyes with my makeup now. Here are a few more things Hecate and I are looking at.

A quiet and powerful air purifier that’s called an “allergy killer”

From CB: This small but powerful air purifier by Levoit changes the air up to five times per hour in a 200 square foot room. It removes 99.97% of dust, smoke, mold and pollen and is the number one bestseller in HEPA air filters. It has over 19,500 ratings, 4.7 stars and a B on Fakespot. People say it’s quiet, that it really works to help clean the air and that it reduces dust too. “This little quiet unit is amazing. I live in Santa Cruz, Ca. Our area is burning…. There’s no smoke smell in the house at all, actually no musty smell houses get from being closed up for days.” “My daughter now wakes up pretty free from the usual congestion and she gets a much better nights sleep when it on. It works so well we have on in our room also! If you have allergies you need this purifier.”

Keep your car clean with a heavy duty waterproof trash container

From CB: This waterproof car trash can by Epuato is the number one bestseller in automotive garbage cans. It has over 24,000 ratings, 4.7 stars and a B on Fakespot. It attaches right to your console, seat back or glove compartment and includes storage pockets for necessities like hand sanitizer and tissues. It comes in four colors, all under $16. People write that it’s big, sturdy and that the design helps trash stay in without spilling. “ Both passenger and driver can easily reach it. Can use a regular plastic bag from Walmart to fit inside. I especially like the Velcro strip on the underside that sticks to the carpet to secure it in place.” “I was pleasantly surprised by the quality… the kids and I spend a LOT of time driving and often eat on the go, creating all kinds of garbage. This was perfect for my needs. Good size and well designed.”

All natural spring water that soothes and preps the skin

From CB: My first reaction to paying $14 for spray-on spring water is “what a crock,” but then I looked through the reviews and wanted it. This spring water spray by Eau Thermale has 4,500 ratings, 4.5 stars and a B on Fakespot. Women write that they understand the skepticism, but that it really does work to refresh and soothe the skin. A lot of women apply it before their moisturizer. “I don’t know how or why, nor do I really care anymore, but this stuff is amazing. There is not a single day that goes by that I do not use it.” “For the last year, I have been suffering from a severe eczema outbreak as a result of mold exposure. Before I sprayed it on, I was covered in dry, red patches… After I sprayed myself head to toe, the itching was gone, and my most stubborn patches were 80% improved after about an hour of spraying.”

A blackhead remover vacuum that really works

From CB: This blackhead remover vacuum by June Julien has five different suction settings and comes with four different heads. It has over 16,000 ratings, 3.9 stars and a B on Fakespot. People say it removes blackheads and reduces pores like nothing else they’ve tried. There are photos showing how much junk it gets out too. “This blackhead remover works wonders. I use it about once or twice a week & absolutely love it… I have seen a size reduction in my pores since using it for the past few weeks.” “Overall I love this new facial gadget… it removed a lot of whiteheads that were clogging my pores and left my face feeling lighter and smoother after one use.” There are warnings to make sure to use a low setting and keep it moving as it can be damaging if you leave it in one area for too long.

Curl activating hair products for soft, bouncy curls (sold separately)

From Hecate: My daughter really wants to bring out the curl in her hair but she only inherited curl from one side of the family. I got this Shea Moisture Curl and Shine Shampoo and Conditioner. It’s made such a difference! She went from limp waves to actual pin curls around her face and it’s starting to curl up in the back too. Plus, it’s not frizzy. Prior, she wasn’t brushing her hair because it would eliminate any texture. She’d look so unkempt. But this keeps her hair looking smooth and styled (I’m so happy). Both shampoo and conditioner are under $10 each. If you’re co-washing, this conditioner works well for that. It earned 4.6 stars out of 8,600 reviews and Fakepot gave it a B. Reviewers had the same results my daughter is getting, “The frizz has gone away and my hair is significantly more curly. This is the first product I’ve used that’s actually made my hair manageable.” Another said it won’t weigh your hair down, “My hair feels amazing and so much lighter since it doesn’t have the typical product build up.”

Cable knit Leg warmer socks for warm feet and legs

From Hecate: I think these are so freaking cute, I can’t decide if I want to get them for me or my daughter. They come in 10 different colors, some with pom poms. I’m probably getting these to wear under boots but I think they’d be great for weekends and chilly mornings working from home. Even though they’re new, they earned 3.8 stars with 90 reviews and Fakespot gives them an A. Most reviewers said they liked them, they just wished they came further up their thigh. I just want it to come over my knee, so I should be happy. One review said, “I love them!! Thick and soft..” which is what one wants in comfy socks. Another said they weren’t sure about buying them but were very happy with what they got, “I didn’t have a ton of confidence ordering these, but they’re REALLY cute, the color fade is good, and they’re vibrant and went through the wash really well. I’m glad I took a chance on them!”

A 5-quart cast iron dutch oven to up your baking and cooking

From Hecate: I never know if my Twitter feed is representative but it’s dominated with discussions about Le Crueset bakeware right now. Le Crueset is excellent and I would own a ton of it if I could afford it, but a 3.5 quart dutch oven is over $300 on Amazon. However, I got a good old fashioned 5-quart cast iron dutch oven as a wedding gift that I wouldn’t part with for anything. I also inherited my mom’s enameled cast iron dutch oven, but I use the regular one more. This is $60, but these things last forever. I like this one because it has the top handle, most of the other ones have only side grabs. I chose this one because of the free shipping (these suckers are heavy) and because it looks like the one I use.This has 40 ratings and 4.8 stars on ReviewMeta. Reviews say it is perfect for bread, “I bought this to make bread in and it works perfectly! I absolutely love it and am so glad I got it” As another mentioned, cast iron is good for everything, “This is definitely one of the best values in cookware around. The cast iron cooks very evenly and is very durable.” It really is a good price for what you get.

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