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Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Fact Check: Photo allegedly shows Obama and Epstein drinking beers in Southeast Asia. You should have reservations
Claim: A photograph authentically shows former U.S. President Barack Obama drinking beer in Southeast Asia with convicted sex offender Jeffery Epstein. Rating: Context: The man in the photograph with Obama is late television host and chef Anthony Bourdain. In July 2025, a photograph circulated online purportedly showing former U.S. President Barack Obama drinking beer with disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The picture was allegedly taken in a Southeast Asian country, according to numerous posts. One X user's caption read: "It was buried by the press, but not only were Obama and Jeffrey Epstein friends, they traveled around Thailand together, in search of 'the perfect spring roll'." (X user @baltic_dan) However, the photo above does not show Obama drinking a beer with Epstein. The man drinking alongside the former president is the late chef and television personality Anthony Bourdain. As such, we have rated this picture as miscaptioned. The authentic photo was taken while Bourdain was interviewing Obama in a small restaurant in Hanoi, Vietnam — not Thailand — for his show "Parts Unknown" in 2016 (archived). They had a dish called bún chả while drinking beer. During the interview, Obama spoke about his past experiences in Southeast Asia, parenthood and reaching across political divides. Bourdain died by suicide in 2018. On June 8 of that year, Obama posted the above photograph of the pair drinking beer in Hanoi with the caption: "'Low plastic stool, cheap but delicious noodles, cold Hanoi beer.' This is how I'll remember Tony. He taught us about food — but more importantly, about its ability to bring us together. To make us a little less afraid of the unknown. We'll miss him." While Bourdain and Epstein may have had some facial similarities, it is clear that they are two different men and that Epstein was not pictured in the above photo alongside Obama. Snopes has investigated numerous claims regarding Bourdain and Obama. For example, we looked into whether the late chef said that people should have a drink with those they disagree with and whether the former president said that boys need gay mentors. If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health, suicide or substance use crisis or emotional distress, reach out 24/7 to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline) by dialing or texting 988 or using chat services at to connect to a trained crisis counselor. "Barack Obama & Anthony Bourdain Have Dinner | Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown." YouTube, HBO Max, 25 Nov. 2023, Accessed 29 July 2025. 'Former Obama Adviser Ben Rhodes Remembers Anthony Bourdain'. Explore Parts Unknown, 25 Oct. 2018, ' X (Formerly Twitter), Accessed 29 Jul. 2025. Ibrahim, Nur. 'Anthony Bourdain Said "Have a Drink" With People You Wouldn't Agree With?' Snopes, 3 Jul. 2024, ---. 'Examining Claim Obama Said Boys Need Gay Mentors'. Snopes, 24 Jul. 2025, Instagram. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025. Severson, Kim. "The Last, Painful Days of Anthony Bourdain." The New York Times. 27 Sep. 2022. Available at: YouTube. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025. Solve the daily Crossword
CNN
6 days ago
- Sport
- CNN
Why record-breaking athlete Abdelrahman Elaraby is about more than just swimming
EDITOR'S NOTE: Help is available if you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health matters. In the United States, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. The International Association for Suicide Prevention and Befrienders Worldwide also can provide contact information for crisis centers around the world. For all Abdelrahman Elaraby's success as an athlete, swimming is a passion simultaneously pursued intensely and held at arm's length. 'You'll never find me talking about swimming outside the pool,' the 25-year-old Egyptian told CNN Sports. Few people even knew that he had broken the African record in the men's 50m butterfly in Monaco in May until the news was shared publicly. When one of his friends checked to make sure he was OK after not hearing from him for a few days, Elaraby simply responded, ''Yeah man, I just … became the fastest African in history so I feel great.' 'And he was like … 'How did you not tell anybody?'' Elaraby recalled. For him, focusing on life outside swimming is just as important as his goals in the sport. There is time for training in the pool and at the gym, 'and then outside that we can find some other stuff to do,' he added. 'I'm very family-oriented … I read, I journal, I could go crazy if I leave my house without journaling in the morning or praying or reading the Quran.' Still, even as the fifth fastest man in the world this year over his preferred distance – the 50m butterfly – Elaraby prefers not to think about swimming as a career, wary of the trap he fell into earlier in his life. It was Elaraby's mom who first introduced him to swimming as a child in Cairo, searching for any way to tire out her young, chatty, social son who had been diagnosed with ADHD. 'So many people told her: 'He's the slowest kid on the team. What are you doing?'' Elaraby said. But she stuck with it and her son improved, drawn to the sport by the friends he found there. In 2018, he became Egypt's national champion in the 50m fly and won bronze in the 50m freestyle at the Junior Olympic Games. Aged 18, he left Egypt on a scholarship for the University of Louisville (Kentucky), competing on the swim team. However, while at Louisville, in March 2022, he attempted to take his own life. He had lost his passion for swimming and that spiralled into feelings of worthlessness, he said in a 2023 video made by the University of Louisville for Mental Health Awareness Month. He overdosed on medication and was taken to hospital, where he fell into a coma. When Elaraby recovered, he was transferred to a 'mental health hospital,' but even then, his thoughts were on returning to competitive swimming, he said in the video. In the time since March 2022, Elaraby has spoken of 'reclaiming' his life, of finding purpose and fulfillment again. Part of that has involved getting closer to his Muslim faith, he said. Another part has been by reducing the time he spends on his phone, instead using it to try things like learning a musical instrument and 'reading more about topics in life,' like the philosophy of Stoicism. And another is by considering: 'Who do I allow in my life?' 'I'm the fastest person to block people now (on social media) … just being part of each other's life is a great honor,' he told CNN Sports. Although 2023 was tough and he considered quitting swimming, he threw himself into his training and won the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) title in the men's 50m freestyle. In 2023, he left Louisville and swam for the University of Notre Dame, but after graduating, he began working full-time at a non-profit that helps college athletes break into the world of work, giving himself something to focus on beside his training. 'I got so stuck on the idea that I need to win, not because I want to win, I need to win because, if I win, I'm going to make this amount of money; if I win, I'm going to get seen by this amount of investors or sponsors,' he said. 'And it took away from the beauty and the love I have for the sport.' Last year, he was 'ready to quit' after failing to qualify for the Egyptian Olympic team. He didn't have a coach. Notre Dame's swim team was suspended for a year due to 'possible misconduct' and gambling violations and Elaraby says he was not seen as a training priority; he had 'every reason' to stop. Only a passing comment made by an Egyptian entrepreneur while she was interviewing him persuaded Elaraby to continue swimming. 'You should go back to swimming, but not because you want to achieve things, it's because this is what you love,' he recalled her saying. So he returned to the pool and trained three or four times a week. But without any serious weight training, he went to the World Championships last year in Budapest, Hungary, knowing he was 'absolutely out of shape.' There he finished joint 34th in the 50m butterfly and realized that 'being here just for the fun of the sport is not what I wanted. It's not fulfilling.' Determined to become a world-class athlete again, Elaraby took it upon himself to buy books about coaching, learned how to coach himself and set up competitions at the end of every month to focus his training blocks. That approach has paid off, allowing him to break that African 50m fly record and resurrect his goal of qualifying for the Olympics. In a moment of serendipity, Elaraby's preferred 50m butterfly event, as well as the 50m breaststroke and backstroke, will be included at the 2028 Olympics for the first time in the Games' history. This news made Elaraby 'so excited,' he said, adding that he believes competing at the Olympics in his preferred event would give him respect that he's previously been denied. But, even with such lofty goals, Elaraby's life remains multifaceted, concentrated as much outside the pool as inside it. After his suicide attempt, he shared his story in the hope of encouraging others, particularly men, to seek help when they need it. Opening up publicly initially provoked two types of reactions, he said. '(Some) people were like, 'Why are you talking about it? This is a very private matter. You should keep it to yourself' … And then a lot of people were like 'We feel seen, thank you, you're so courageous,'' he said. Speaking so publicly about his mental health and advocating for others to take better care of theirs comes with a complex responsibility. As time went on, Elaraby became wary of people taking his message and using it 'to find an excuse not to do things.' 'I don't want to drown a whole generation while I'm trying to save some people,' he said. 'I don't want to create a world of mentally weak individuals – I'm just trying to allow people to see mental health the right way, just as physical health. I'm not asking people to curl up and cry. I'm just asking people to get help, just like (when) you break an arm.'
CNN
6 days ago
- Sport
- CNN
Why record-breaking athlete Abdelrahman Elaraby is about more than just swimming
EDITOR'S NOTE: Help is available if you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health matters. In the United States, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. The International Association for Suicide Prevention and Befrienders Worldwide also can provide contact information for crisis centers around the world. For all Abdelrahman Elaraby's success as an athlete, swimming is a passion simultaneously pursued intensely and held at arm's length. 'You'll never find me talking about swimming outside the pool,' the 25-year-old Egyptian told CNN Sports. Few people even knew that he had broken the African record in the men's 50m butterfly in Monaco in May until the news was shared publicly. When one of his friends checked to make sure he was OK after not hearing from him for a few days, Elaraby simply responded, ''Yeah man, I just … became the fastest African in history so I feel great.' 'And he was like … 'How did you not tell anybody?'' Elaraby recalled. For him, focusing on life outside swimming is just as important as his goals in the sport. There is time for training in the pool and at the gym, 'and then outside that we can find some other stuff to do,' he added. 'I'm very family-oriented … I read, I journal, I could go crazy if I leave my house without journaling in the morning or praying or reading the Quran.' Still, even as the fifth fastest man in the world this year over his preferred distance – the 50m butterfly – Elaraby prefers not to think about swimming as a career, wary of the trap he fell into earlier in his life. It was Elaraby's mom who first introduced him to swimming as a child in Cairo, searching for any way to tire out her young, chatty, social son who had been diagnosed with ADHD. 'So many people told her: 'He's the slowest kid on the team. What are you doing?'' Elaraby said. But she stuck with it and her son improved, drawn to the sport by the friends he found there. In 2018, he became Egypt's national champion in the 50m fly and won bronze in the 50m freestyle at the Junior Olympic Games. Aged 18, he left Egypt on a scholarship for the University of Louisville (Kentucky), competing on the swim team. However, while at Louisville, in March 2022, he attempted to take his own life. He had lost his passion for swimming and that spiralled into feelings of worthlessness, he said in a 2023 video made by the University of Louisville for Mental Health Awareness Month. He overdosed on medication and was taken to hospital, where he fell into a coma. When Elaraby recovered, he was transferred to a 'mental health hospital,' but even then, his thoughts were on returning to competitive swimming, he said in the video. In the time since March 2022, Elaraby has spoken of 'reclaiming' his life, of finding purpose and fulfillment again. Part of that has involved getting closer to his Muslim faith, he said. Another part has been by reducing the time he spends on his phone, instead using it to try things like learning a musical instrument and 'reading more about topics in life,' like the philosophy of Stoicism. And another is by considering: 'Who do I allow in my life?' 'I'm the fastest person to block people now (on social media) … just being part of each other's life is a great honor,' he told CNN Sports. Although 2023 was tough and he considered quitting swimming, he threw himself into his training and won the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) title in the men's 50m freestyle. In 2023, he left Louisville and swam for the University of Notre Dame, but after graduating, he began working full-time at a non-profit that helps college athletes break into the world of work, giving himself something to focus on beside his training. 'I got so stuck on the idea that I need to win, not because I want to win, I need to win because, if I win, I'm going to make this amount of money; if I win, I'm going to get seen by this amount of investors or sponsors,' he said. 'And it took away from the beauty and the love I have for the sport.' Last year, he was 'ready to quit' after failing to qualify for the Egyptian Olympic team. He didn't have a coach. Notre Dame's swim team was suspended for a year due to 'possible misconduct' and gambling violations and Elaraby says he was not seen as a training priority; he had 'every reason' to stop. Only a passing comment made by an Egyptian entrepreneur while she was interviewing him persuaded Elaraby to continue swimming. 'You should go back to swimming, but not because you want to achieve things, it's because this is what you love,' he recalled her saying. So he returned to the pool and trained three or four times a week. But without any serious weight training, he went to the World Championships last year in Budapest, Hungary, knowing he was 'absolutely out of shape.' There he finished joint 34th in the 50m butterfly and realized that 'being here just for the fun of the sport is not what I wanted. It's not fulfilling.' Determined to become a world-class athlete again, Elaraby took it upon himself to buy books about coaching, learned how to coach himself and set up competitions at the end of every month to focus his training blocks. That approach has paid off, allowing him to break that African 50m fly record and resurrect his goal of qualifying for the Olympics. In a moment of serendipity, Elaraby's preferred 50m butterfly event, as well as the 50m breaststroke and backstroke, will be included at the 2028 Olympics for the first time in the Games' history. This news made Elaraby 'so excited,' he said, adding that he believes competing at the Olympics in his preferred event would give him respect that he's previously been denied. But, even with such lofty goals, Elaraby's life remains multifaceted, concentrated as much outside the pool as inside it. After his suicide attempt, he shared his story in the hope of encouraging others, particularly men, to seek help when they need it. Opening up publicly initially provoked two types of reactions, he said. '(Some) people were like, 'Why are you talking about it? This is a very private matter. You should keep it to yourself' … And then a lot of people were like 'We feel seen, thank you, you're so courageous,'' he said. Speaking so publicly about his mental health and advocating for others to take better care of theirs comes with a complex responsibility. As time went on, Elaraby became wary of people taking his message and using it 'to find an excuse not to do things.' 'I don't want to drown a whole generation while I'm trying to save some people,' he said. 'I don't want to create a world of mentally weak individuals – I'm just trying to allow people to see mental health the right way, just as physical health. I'm not asking people to curl up and cry. I'm just asking people to get help, just like (when) you break an arm.'
CNN
6 days ago
- Sport
- CNN
Why record-breaking athlete Abdelrahman Elaraby is about more than just swimming
EDITOR'S NOTE: Help is available if you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health matters. In the United States, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. The International Association for Suicide Prevention and Befrienders Worldwide also can provide contact information for crisis centers around the world. For all Abdelrahman Elaraby's success as an athlete, swimming is a passion simultaneously pursued intensely and held at arm's length. 'You'll never find me talking about swimming outside the pool,' the 25-year-old Egyptian told CNN Sports. Few people even knew that he had broken the African record in the men's 50m butterfly in Monaco in May until the news was shared publicly. When one of his friends checked to make sure he was OK after not hearing from him for a few days, Elaraby simply responded, ''Yeah man, I just … became the fastest African in history so I feel great.' 'And he was like … 'How did you not tell anybody?'' Elaraby recalled. For him, focusing on life outside swimming is just as important as his goals in the sport. There is time for training in the pool and at the gym, 'and then outside that we can find some other stuff to do,' he added. 'I'm very family-oriented … I read, I journal, I could go crazy if I leave my house without journaling in the morning or praying or reading the Quran.' Still, even as the fifth fastest man in the world this year over his preferred distance – the 50m butterfly – Elaraby prefers not to think about swimming as a career, wary of the trap he fell into earlier in his life. It was Elaraby's mom who first introduced him to swimming as a child in Cairo, searching for any way to tire out her young, chatty, social son who had been diagnosed with ADHD. 'So many people told her: 'He's the slowest kid on the team. What are you doing?'' Elaraby said. But she stuck with it and her son improved, drawn to the sport by the friends he found there. In 2018, he became Egypt's national champion in the 50m fly and won bronze in the 50m freestyle at the Junior Olympic Games. Aged 18, he left Egypt on a scholarship for the University of Louisville (Kentucky), competing on the swim team. However, while at Louisville, in March 2022, he attempted to take his own life. He had lost his passion for swimming and that spiralled into feelings of worthlessness, he said in a 2023 video made by the University of Louisville for Mental Health Awareness Month. He overdosed on medication and was taken to hospital, where he fell into a coma. When Elaraby recovered, he was transferred to a 'mental health hospital,' but even then, his thoughts were on returning to competitive swimming, he said in the video. In the time since March 2022, Elaraby has spoken of 'reclaiming' his life, of finding purpose and fulfillment again. Part of that has involved getting closer to his Muslim faith, he said. Another part has been by reducing the time he spends on his phone, instead using it to try things like learning a musical instrument and 'reading more about topics in life,' like the philosophy of Stoicism. And another is by considering: 'Who do I allow in my life?' 'I'm the fastest person to block people now (on social media) … just being part of each other's life is a great honor,' he told CNN Sports. Although 2023 was tough and he considered quitting swimming, he threw himself into his training and won the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) title in the men's 50m freestyle. In 2023, he left Louisville and swam for the University of Notre Dame, but after graduating, he began working full-time at a non-profit that helps college athletes break into the world of work, giving himself something to focus on beside his training. 'I got so stuck on the idea that I need to win, not because I want to win, I need to win because, if I win, I'm going to make this amount of money; if I win, I'm going to get seen by this amount of investors or sponsors,' he said. 'And it took away from the beauty and the love I have for the sport.' Last year, he was 'ready to quit' after failing to qualify for the Egyptian Olympic team. He didn't have a coach. Notre Dame's swim team was suspended for a year due to 'possible misconduct' and gambling violations and Elaraby says he was not seen as a training priority; he had 'every reason' to stop. Only a passing comment made by an Egyptian entrepreneur while she was interviewing him persuaded Elaraby to continue swimming. 'You should go back to swimming, but not because you want to achieve things, it's because this is what you love,' he recalled her saying. So he returned to the pool and trained three or four times a week. But without any serious weight training, he went to the World Championships last year in Budapest, Hungary, knowing he was 'absolutely out of shape.' There he finished joint 34th in the 50m butterfly and realized that 'being here just for the fun of the sport is not what I wanted. It's not fulfilling.' Determined to become a world-class athlete again, Elaraby took it upon himself to buy books about coaching, learned how to coach himself and set up competitions at the end of every month to focus his training blocks. That approach has paid off, allowing him to break that African 50m fly record and resurrect his goal of qualifying for the Olympics. In a moment of serendipity, Elaraby's preferred 50m butterfly event, as well as the 50m breaststroke and backstroke, will be included at the 2028 Olympics for the first time in the Games' history. This news made Elaraby 'so excited,' he said, adding that he believes competing at the Olympics in his preferred event would give him respect that he's previously been denied. But, even with such lofty goals, Elaraby's life remains multifaceted, concentrated as much outside the pool as inside it. After his suicide attempt, he shared his story in the hope of encouraging others, particularly men, to seek help when they need it. Opening up publicly initially provoked two types of reactions, he said. '(Some) people were like, 'Why are you talking about it? This is a very private matter. You should keep it to yourself' … And then a lot of people were like 'We feel seen, thank you, you're so courageous,'' he said. Speaking so publicly about his mental health and advocating for others to take better care of theirs comes with a complex responsibility. As time went on, Elaraby became wary of people taking his message and using it 'to find an excuse not to do things.' 'I don't want to drown a whole generation while I'm trying to save some people,' he said. 'I don't want to create a world of mentally weak individuals – I'm just trying to allow people to see mental health the right way, just as physical health. I'm not asking people to curl up and cry. I'm just asking people to get help, just like (when) you break an arm.'
Fox News
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Epstein's former lawyer: Ghislaine Maxwell should get immunity in exchange for secrets
This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing 988. Jeffrey Epstein's former lawyer has suggested that the sex-trafficking financier's only convicted accomplice should be granted immunity from further prosecution in exchange for coming clean in front of Congress. Ghislaine Maxwell, 63, is the only associate held criminally or civilly liable in connection with the allegations against Epstein. In 2016, she sat for a deposition in a civil lawsuit, in which she denied recollection of nearly two dozen flights on Epstein's private jet with an underage Virginia Giuffre, who would go on to become the trafficking duo's most outspoken accuser. Epstein's flight logs showed Giuffre and Maxwell on the plane at the same time 23 times before she turned 18, Fox News Digital reported previously. Giuffre died of suicide earlier this year. "[Maxwell] knows everything," Alan Dershowitz, a former attorney for Epstein, told Fox News' Shannon Bream on "Fox News Sunday." "She is the Rosetta Stone." An unidentified friend of Maxwell's said in a recent interview with the Daily Mail that she would be open to testifying before Congress. Maxwell's attorney declined to confirm or deny the reporting. "If she were just given use immunity, she could be compelled to testify," Dershowitz said. "I'm told that she actually would be willing to testify, and there'd be no reason for her to withhold any information. So I don't see any negative in giving her the kind of use immunity that would compel her to testify. So she ought to be summoned in front of a congressional committee." The comments come days after federal authorities said they would ask a federal judge to unseal secret grand jury materials in an attempt to shed more light on Epstein's criminal enterprise. Dershowitz, however, warned that most of the material of interest to the public is not in the grand jury materials, but in sealed court documents, some of which he has already seen. He cautioned, however, that not all the allegations leveled at people in Epstein's orbit would be credible. "As long as there's nothing redacted about the accuser's lack of credibility, then the public has the right to make its own decision," he said. "Just because somebody's name is mentioned doesn't really mean very much." Under federal law, use of immunity is a legal protection that prevents a witness' testimony or any evidence drawn from it from being used to prosecute them criminally, so long as they tell the truth. In 2021, more than two years after Epstein's death in custody while awaiting his own trial, Maxwell was convicted of helping him traffic teen girls. She received a 20-year sentence and has appealed her case to the U.S. Supreme Court. "She arranged every single trip with everybody," Dershowitz said. "She knows everything."
