Today in History: Malcolm X shot to death
Today in history:
On Feb. 21, 1965, civil rights activist Malcolm X, 39, was shot to death inside Harlem's Audubon Ballroom in New York. Three men identified as members of the Nation of Islam were convicted of murder and imprisoned; all were eventually paroled. (The convictions of two of the men were dismissed in November 2021, when prosecutors said new evidence had undermined the case against them.)
Also on this date:
In 1885, President Chester Arthur dedicated the Washington Monument.
In 1911, composer Gustav Mahler, despite a fever, conducted the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall in what turned out to be his final concert. (He died the following May.)
In 1916, the Battle of Verdun, the longest battle of World War I, began in northeastern France.
In 1972, President Richard M. Nixon began a historic visit to China, where he met with Chinese leader Mao Zedong.
In 1973, Israeli fighter planes shot down Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114 over the Sinai Desert, killing all but five of the 113 people on board.
In 1975, former Attorney General John N. Mitchell, former White House Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman, and former White House Domestic Affairs Adviser John D. Ehrlichman were sentenced to 2 1/2 to 8 years in prison for their roles in the Watergate cover-up. (Each ended up serving less than two years.)
In 1992, Kristi Yamaguchi of the United States won the gold medal in women's figure skating at the Albertville Winter Olympics; Midori Ito of Japan won the silver, Nancy Kerrigan of the U.S. the bronze.
In 1995, Chicago adventurer Steve Fossett became the first person to fly solo across the Pacific Ocean by balloon, landing in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada. after a 5,400 mile, four-day flight from South Korea.
Today's birthdays: Film and music executive David Geffen is 82. Actor Tyne Daly is 79. Actor Anthony Daniels is 79. Actor William Petersen is 72. Actor Kelsey Grammer is 70. Country musician Mary Chapin Carpenter is 67. Baseball Hall of Famer Alan Trammell is 67. Actor William Baldwin is 62. Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona is 61. Actor Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor is 56. Musician Rhiannon Giddens is 48. Actor Tituss Burgess is 46. Actor Jennifer Love Hewitt is 46. Filmmaker-comedian Jordan Peele is 46. Singer Charlotte Church is 39. Actor Elliot Page is 38. Actor Joe Alwyn is 34. Actor Sophie Turner is 29.
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Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
Meet the Labubu, the ugly-cute doll that's all the rage
Write to us at . To subscribe, . TODAY'S STARTING POINT A fluffy body, monstrous grin, pointy ears, a perfect keychain size, and a global craze — meet the Labubu. The mischievous-looking plush dolls have gasps of delight. backpacks and purses across Boston. The quirky dolls are sold by the Chinese toy giant Pop Mart, and have sent fans, young and old, scrambling to Advertisement Here's what you need to know about the ugly-cute dolls. What is a Labubu? Labubus come in over 300 sizes and styles, from key rings to pendants to 3-foot 'Super Labubus.' The dolls were designed in 2015 by Advertisement Lung collaborated with But the toys really took off last April when LISA, a member of the band BLACKPINK, a Korean girl group, The craze exploded and has not slowed since. There are different Labubu series under 'The Monsters' brand, according to a online Fans can buy the toys in box sets that come with six or 12 toys in 'blind boxes.' Serious collectors look for 'secret' Labubus, the rarest editions of the dolls, such as the For those who aren't willing to shell out big money, there are knock-off versions called Lafufus. Why are the dolls popular? Mary ET Boyle, a senior continuing lecturer at the University of California, San Diego, said the Labubu trend hits the cognitive 'trifecta.' First, social media and our identities have become heavily intertwined, said Boyle, a neuroscientist. 'So then if everybody on social media has this doll' we're going to want one, too, she said. People also don't want to 'miss out,' Boyle said. So when Labubus are hard to find, primal instinct makes us want to acquire them. Finally, the idea of opening a 'blind box' and finding a rare Labubu is akin to 'gambling,' Boyle said. Advertisement 'That random part makes your brain go crazy,' she said. 'It's the dopamine moment.' Are these the new ... Beanie Babies? Labubus may recall the Beanie Baby craze of the mid-90s. Back then, the $5 stuffed animals became so sought after that some eventually sold for thousands of dollars. Zac Bissonnette, the author of 'The Great Beanie Baby Bubble: Mass Delusion and the Dark Side of Cute' described the Beanie Baby as the 'first indicator that the internet could drive people mad.' 'What happened with [Beanie Babies] then was a harbinger of many things to come,' he said. 'Both good and bad.' What's happening in Boston? In Boston, the Labubu market is tough. Stores like Newbury Comics that carry Pop Mart brands have been sold out for months. Muniz, who runs a young adult lifestyle account on TikTok, loved the 'blind boxes' and having a 'cute' Labubu charm on her bag. As she walked down Newbury Street after buying them, Muniz said she noticed people pointing and whispering: 'Oh my God, she has a Labubu.' Outside Newbury Comics on a Wednesday in early July, Terri Morgan, 55, who was visiting Boston from Los Angeles, flaunted two Labubu key chains on her purse. Terri Morgan shows off the Labubu doll on her purse. The dolls have taken over social media and are the latest toy craze. Joanna Malvas 'They were hard to get,' said Morgan, who owns 15 Labubus. It's all about 'the thrill of trying to find something that you can't get,' she said. At the height of her obsession, Morgan was buying custom Labubus, large-size versions, and even clothes for the dolls. Advertisement Eventually, it got to be too much, she said. Raine Montgomery, 30, the store manager at Newbury Comics at Faneuil Hall, said they started selling Pop Mart items in large quantity around the start of 2025. But after March, Pop Mart no longer supplied them, Montgomery said. But they still get as many as 10 to 15 requests a day for Labubus. 'As soon as I hear 'La-,' I'm like, 'Oh, nope,'' Montgomery said. A spokesperson for Pop Mart Americas said the 'Monsters Vinyl Face blind boxes are only available for sale directly from official POP MART sales channels at this time.' Sunday Market in Allston was the rare local store where Labubus were plentiful. The owner, Kun Chen, 29, buys them from resellers in Asia. Based on their prices, Chen says he may have to sell the Labubus for almost $70. Since he started selling Labubus in late April, sales have increased 80 percent. 'They are so hard to find,' said Muniz, the TikToker, 'That just makes you want it more.' 🧩 7 Across: 78° POINTS OF INTEREST Summer school at Boland Elementary School, where Massachusetts Migrant Education Program programming would be taking place if the Trump administration hadn't frozen its funding. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff Haverhill police death: The Essex County district attorney's office Politics and business: As Josh Kraft runs against Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, her administration is pushing his family's company to Advertisement Healey vs. Campbell: Massachusetts' governor dismayed consumer advocates last year when she signed a bill that included legal protections for BlueHub Capital, a Boston nonprofit accused of predatory lending. Now the state's attorney general is proposing new rules A new way to lose: The Red Sox lost to the Phillies last night on a walkoff catcher's interference call in the 10th inning, First Amendment: The White House barred a Wall Street Journal reporter from covering Trump's upcoming trip to Scotland over the paper's recent story about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. ( RFK Jr.: Researchers are cautiously optimistic about the Trump administration's $50 million initiative to explore autism's origins, wary of interference by Trump's vaccine-skeptical health secretary but hopeful that the funding School's out: The Trump administration froze funding to an education program for the Los Angeles: The Pentagon is withdrawing 700 Marines it sent to the city last month amid anti-ICE protests. ( Etan Patz case: Pedro Hernandez, a New York City store clerk convicted of kidnapping and killing the 6-year-old Patz in 1979, should get a new trial, a court ruled, finding that a judge violated Hernandez's rights. ( Breonna Taylor: A judge sentenced a former Louisville police officer convicted in her 2020 killing to 33 months in prison, rejecting the Trump administration's request that he receive just one day. ( Advertisement BESIDE THE POINT 🍽️ On assignment: Here's what Adam Himmelsbach, the Globe's traveling NBA beat writer, ate ☀️ SPF: Animals in nature have ways of avoiding sunburns. For the rest, there's sunscreen. ( 🎥 Appointment viewing: Catch a Studio Ghibli classic, so-bad-it's-good sci-fi, and 📱 Brave new world: As many as 25 percent of job applications appear to be AI-generated, recruiters say. Here's how they can tell. ( 🍳 Oops: A viral study about the dangers of black-plastic cookware contained a math error that vastly overstated the risk. That still doesn't mean you were wrong to throw out your spatula. ( 😡 Morality tale: The Coldplay audience camera incident reveals a timeless truth — that writes. 🪦 RIP: Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who played Theo Huxtable on 'The Cosby Show,' died after he got caught in a current while swimming in Costa Rica. He was 54. ( Thanks for reading Starting Point. This newsletter was edited by ❓ Have a question for the team? Email us at ✍🏼 If someone sent you this newsletter, you can 📬 Delivered Monday through Friday. Ava Berger can be reached at
The Hill
15 hours ago
- The Hill
Hunter Biden: Clooney threatened to pull out of LA fundraiser after fuming at White House
Hunter Biden on Monday claimed actor George Clooney had threatened to pull out of a Los Angeles fundraiser last summer, an event that was the basis of a New York Times op-ed Clooney later wrote alleging then-President Biden didn't recognize him. The claim came as part of a wide-reaching interview Hunter Biden gave to YouTube personality Andrew Callaghan's web series 'Channel 5″ where he also lashed out at Clooney and other members of the Democratic party who publicly criticized the former president after his disastrous debate against President Trump. Hunter Biden claimed that prior to the LA fundraiser, Clooney had been lashing out at White House staff, confirming reporting from The Washington Post that the actor had expressed his displeasure to the White House about the president's remarks on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's arrest warrant. Biden claimed that Clooney's ire was related to the work of his wife, Amal Clooney, a noted human rights attorney, who was one of the legal experts who recommended that the International Criminal Court seek action against Netanyahu over Israel's war in Gaza. The Post had reported that George Clooney called Steve Ricchetti, one of Biden's closest advisers, to complain, and took particular issue with the president's deeming of the warrant as 'outrageous.' 'He was bitching to the White House staff … he was so angry that the president criticized the arrest warrant that was executed for Netanyahu,' Hunter Biden said. The president's son claimed that the actor had gone a step further, threatening to pull out of the major campaign fundraiser as the 2024 campaign was beginning to heat up. 'I saw the text messages that he wrote. Reams of text messages, like, 'how dare he do that,'' Hunter Biden said. 'And he kept promising that he was gonna embarrass the president and pull out of the fundraiser.' Representatives for George Clooney did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In the end, George Clooney did attend the fundraiser headlining the event alongside former President Obama and late-night host Jimmy Kimmel in Los Angeles. But along with raking in $28 million for the Biden campaign, the marquee event proved fateful in a different way: George Clooney, taken aback at President Biden's seeming frailty during the event, wrote an opinion piece in The New York Times a month later calling on him to step back from the race. The actor was among the earlier voices calling for Biden to drop out of the race. Hunter Biden's interview with Callaghan came on the one-year anniversary of Biden exiting the race. Hunter Biden laid into George Clooney and other critics of his father during the three-plus hour interview. 'F‑‑‑ing George Clooney is not a f‑‑‑ing actor. He is a f‑‑‑ing, like … I don't know what he is. He is a brand,' Hunter Biden said in an expletive-laden broadside.
New York Post
15 hours ago
- New York Post
Hunter Biden goes on foul-mouthed tirade against George Clooney: ‘F— him and everybody around him'
Scandal-scarred former first son Hunter Biden went on a scorched-earth rant against actor George Clooney and other Democratic Party luminaries who urged his father Joe to drop out of the 2024 presidential race. During an interview with YouTube personality Andrew Callaghan released Monday, the 55-year-old Hunter bristled at Clooney, 64, over his July 10, 2024, New York Times op-ed that urged Democrats to pick a new presidential nominee due to Biden's advancing age. 'F— him and everybody around him, I don't have to be f—ing nice,' Hunter said of the 'Good Night and Good Luck' star. Advertisement 5 Hunter Biden didn't mince words about George Clooney in a new interview — and chided that he isn't a real actor. YouTube / Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan 5 Hunter Biden claimed that George Clooney had given his father's team grief before the Los Angeles fundraiser last summer. X/Chris Jackson 'Number one, I agree with [director] Quentin Tarantino, George Clooney is not a f—ing actor … he is a brand,' he added. 'He's great friends with [former President] Barack Obama. F— you. What do you have to do with f—ing anything? Why do I have to f—ing listen to you?' Clooney had co-hosted a June 15, 2024, Hollywood fundraiser for Biden's re-election campaign — during which the 46th president froze up onstage before being led away by former President Barack Obama. Advertisement In their recent book 'Original Sin,' co-authors Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson revealed that Biden did not recognize Clooney at that same event, despite having known the 'Ocean's Eleven' and 'The Descendants' heartthrob for more than two decades. 'George Clooney wasn't going to show up to that fundraiser and he was bitching to the White House staff,' Hunter recalled. 'He was so angry that the president would criticize the arrest warrant that was executed for [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu.' Clooney's wife, Amal, a human rights lawyer, had been one of six experts who recommended the International Criminal Court seek to haul in Netanyahu for purported war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza, a move that the Biden administration rebuked. Advertisement In response, Clooney sent 'reams' of text messages threatening that he was 'going to embarrass the president and pull out of the fundraiser,' Hunter claimed. 5 George Clooney's wife had been one of the lawyers who pushed for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's to Tapper and Thompson, Biden had to be helped walking into the event by an aide who initially told the president 'you know George' before clarifying 'George Clooney' after the Democrat gave a perfunctory greeting. 'Oh, yeah … Hi, George!' Biden reportedly responded after perking up. Advertisement 5 Hunter Biden impassionately defended his father and lashed out against every Democrat who turned against him. AFP via Getty Images In the interview released on the anniversary of Joe Biden ending his re-election bid, Hunter claimed Clooney had fabricated the story of the 46th president having to be introduced to him — and claimed it was standard practice for aides to formally identify supporters to the commander in chief. Hunter suggested that Clooney was 'given the blessing' by Obama allies to throw Joe Biden under the bus and lashed out at each of them in turn. 'James Carville, who hasn't run a race in 40 f—ing years, and David Axelrod, who had one success in his political life, and that was Barack Obama — that was because of Barack Obama, not because of f—ing David Axelrod,' Hunter began. 5 The 'Pod Save America' hosts had questioned former President Joe Biden's decision to run for reelection. CBS via Getty Images 'And David Plouffe and all of these guys in the 'Pod Save America,' guys who were junior f—ing speech writers on Barack Obama's Senate staff who have been dining out on the relationship with him for years, making millions of dollars, the Anita Dunns of the world, who's made $40, $50 million off the Democratic Party they're all going to insert their judgment,' he added. A rep for Clooney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
