Victoria Fox's Blog, page 270
March 14, 2023
Clashes erupt as Pakistan authorities attempt to arrest former PM Imran Khan
Enlarge this image Supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party scuffle with riot police officers outside Khan’s residence, in Lahore, Pakistan, on Tuesday. K.M. Chaudary/AP
K.M. Chaudary/AP
LAHORE, Pakistan — Pakistani police scuffled with supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday as officers arrived outside his home to arrest him for failing to appear in court on graft charges, police and officials said.
The police operation triggered clashes between Khan’s supporters and police in the country’s major cities.
Police in the eastern city of Lahore planned to serve Khan with a warrant to appear in court later this week. They fired tear gas at the house as the 71-year-old opposition leader’s supporters hurled rocks and bricks at the officers.
After 10 hours of clashes, police were no closer to arresting Khan and officers moved back at midnight as the number of Khan’s supporters grew.
About a dozen police and some 35 of Khan’s supporters were reported injured. Tear gas shells and pieces of bricks littered the pavement as Khan’s followers fought back with batons they had brought to resist police.
Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote in Parliament last April, was ordered to appear before a judge in Islamabad on Friday to answer charges of illegally selling state gifts he had received during his term as premier and concealing his assets.
The former premier has avoided appearances before the court since November when he was wounded in a gun attack at a protest rally in the eastern Punjab province, claiming he was not medically fit to travel from Lahore to Islamabad to face indictment.
Last week, he went to Islamabad to appear before three courts, but he failed to appear before the fourth court to face indictment in the graft case, which is a legal process for starting his trial.
Khan has claimed that the string of cases against him, which includes terrorism charges, are a plot by the government of his successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, to discredit the former cricket star turned Islamist politician.
On Tuesday, Sharif told Pakistan’s Geo television that Khan’s arrest was ordered by a court, and it was not a political victimization.
“We will arrest him, and will do it on a court order,” Shahzad Bukhari, deputy-inspector general of Islamabad police, told reporters earlier in Lahore. Bukhari was later also lightly injured in the violence and received first aid from police medics at the scene.
However, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, a top leader from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, said the government was trying to disrupt law and order by sending police to Khan’s house.
“We are ready to find a middle way through talks with police, but we should know what the purpose of today’s police raid is,” he said. “Don’t worsen the situation. Let us sit and discuss what you want,” Qureshi asked the police. He said Khan could consider voluntarily offering his arrest, “but let us talk first.”
Fawad Chaudhry, another senior party leader, said Khan’s legal team was in the process of submitting a request to the Islamabad High Court to have warrants against Khan suspended. Khan’s lawyers were also legally challenging the warrants before another Islamabad court later Tuesday.
From inside his home, Khan urged his followers to fight on even if he is arrested in a message on Twitter. “They think this nation will fall asleep when Imran Khan is jailed,” he said. “You need to prove them wrong.”
Police said reinforcements were on their way to Khan’s house to bring the situation under control.
TV footage showed tear gas shells falling inside Khan’s house.
Angered over the expected arrest of Khan, his supporters took to the streets across Pakistan, blocking some key roads near Islamabad while asking the government to refrain from arresting Khan.
“We will arrest this man on the court order and he ran away to avoid arrest,” said Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan, who is not related to the former premier. He said Khan will be produced before the court.
Earlier on Tuesday, Sharif’s government made changes approved by the Cabinet to clarify laws banning officials from keeping valuable state gifts received while in office. The ban clarifies that no official — including the country’s prime minister, figurehead president and Cabinet ministers — can keep a gift that exceeds $300 in value.
The ban says any recipient must deposit such a gift with the state repository, known as Toshakhana in the Urdu language, within a month of receiving it. The gifts would from now on be perceived as state property, it added.
Impoverished Pakistan has been embroiled in a deepening economic crisis and is trying to negotiate a desperately needed bailout from the International Monetary Fund to avoid a default.
Until his ouster, Khan’s government had blocked the release of any information about gifts officials received from visiting dignitaries. In the past, officials receiving a gift — regardless of its value — would symbolically reimburse state coffers with a small amount and keep the gift.
In a major U-turn, Sharif’s government on Monday publicized a list of gifts given to officials from past administrations, listing each item’s value and the minor amounts paid by the recipients since 2002.
Ohio sues Norfolk Southern over the train derailment in East Palestine
Enlarge this image A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains in February. The Ohio attorney general said Tuesday that the state is suing the railroad. Gene J. Puskar/AP
Gene J. Puskar/AP
Ohio filed a lawsuit against railroad Norfolk Southern to make sure it pays for the cleanup and environmental damage caused by a fiery train derailment on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border last month, the state’s attorney general said Tuesday.
The federal lawsuit also seeks to force the company to pay for groundwater and soil monitoring in the years ahead and economic losses in the village of East Palestine and surrounding areas, said Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.
“The fallout from this highly preventable accident is going to reverberate throughout Ohio for many years to come,” Yost said.
No one was hurt in the Feb. 3 derailment, but half of the roughly 5,000 residents of East Palestine had to evacuate for days when responders intentionally burned toxic chemicals in some of the derailed cars to prevent an uncontrolled explosion, leaving residents with lingering health concerns. Government officials say tests over the past month haven’t found dangerous levels of chemicals in the air or water in the area.
Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw apologized before Congress last week for the impact the derailment has had on the area, but he didn’t make specific commitments to pay for long-term health and economic harm.
The railroad has promised more than $20 million so far to help the Ohio community recover while also announcing several voluntary safety upgrades.
Ohio’s attorney general indicates the cleanup costs will be highNorfolk Southern said Tuesday in a response to the lawsuit that it was listening to concerns from the community and planning to take additional steps to deal with some of those.
The railroad is working on creating a long-term medical compensation fund, a way to provide protection for home sellers if their property loses value because of the derailment, and improving drinking water protections, it said in a statement.
The lawsuit also asks for the railroad to reimburse first responders and state agencies for the costs of dealing with the disaster.
How much money the state is seeking isn’t known yet because the response is ongoing, but Yost made it clear the cost will be enormous. “This was an epic disaster. The cleanup is going to be expense, ” he said.
Ohio officials met with Norfolk Southern representatives on Monday and talked about several possible ways to help the people in East Palestine, including enhancing the village’s water treatment operations, Yost said.
The state attorney general said he was pleased that the railroad has indicated it wants to do the right thing and that the lawsuit will make sure it keeps its promise.
Many in East Palestine remain outraged at the railroad and worried about what will become of the village.
Those fears include concerns about their long-term health, their house values and the economic future for local businesses.
Warren and Porter unveil bill to repeal Trump banking law
WASHINGTON — A group of Democrats led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Rep. Katie Porter of California will unveil legislation on Tuesday to restore banking regulations that were undone under President Donald Trump in 2018, seeking to fix what they claim to be the cause of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.
The legislation, first reported by NBC News, would repeal the centerpiece of a law passed on a bipartisan basis by the Republican-led Congress in 2018 that relaxed Dodd-Frank financial regulations on midsize banks in raising the “too big to fail” threshold. from $50 billion in assets to $250 billion.
“In 2018, I sounded the alarm about what would happen if Congress rolled back critical Dodd-Frank protections: Banks would increase risk to boost profits and collapse, threatening our entire economy – and that is precisely what happened”, Warren Warren. said. “President Biden has called on Congress to toughen the rules for banks, and I’m proposing legislation to do just that by repealing the heart of Trump’s banking law.”
The Warren-Porter bill would restore the threshold established in 2010 for enhanced capital requirements and stress tests in an effort to prevent future defaults like those of SVB and Signature Bank last week.
The legislation will be officially introduced with a series of original co-sponsors, according to Warren’s office – including the senses. 2024, along with Reps. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., the Progressive Caucus Chair, and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who represents the SVB District, and Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who serves with Warren to the Banking Committee.
Porter, who is running for the Senate seat held by Sen. Dianne Feinstein in a close race against several prominent House Democrats, said the bill would “restore the common sense safeguards that control corporate greed.” and restore confidence in our financial system”.
Rep. Katie Porter.Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images FileAnother co-sponsor of the bill is Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona, who is running for the Senate seat held by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz; Sinema voted for the 2018 legislation when she was a member of the House, while Gallego opposed it.
The new bill is likely to reignite divisions among Democrats dating back to the 2018 fight. At the time, Warren lobbied senators to block the GOP-led deregulation bill, but 17 Democrats voted with Republicans, giving them enough support to break up a filibuster and pass it. Proponents argued that many small and medium-sized banks were being suffocated by the tougher regulations enacted in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and could function better without them.
Among the banks affected by the regulatory easing under the Trump-era measure was Silicon Valley Bank, which joined a range of midsize and community banks pushing for the relief at the time. The Warren-Porter bill would not repeal the entire 2018 law, but rather the bulk of it – Title IV, called “Certain Bank Holding Company Customization Regulations” – which set asset limits for which banks were subject to federal scrutiny.
Some of the 2018 law’s Democratic supporters, including Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, say it set appropriate levels of regulation for midsize and community banks.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, DN.H., who voted for the 2018 bill, said Tuesday she was standing by her vote.
“I think it’s early. We need to complete the investigation into what really happened at Silicon Valley Bank. All the regulations in the world are not going to fix bad management practices, and that seems to be one of SVB’s problems,” Shaheen said. “But depending on the outcome, I think it’s appropriate for us to take a look at what we’ve done and see if it still holds up.”
The failure of SVB has revived the debate on financial regulation. It’s far from clear that the Warren-led bill can get the 60 votes needed to advance in the Senate. And if so, it would be a tougher sell in the House, which is controlled by Republicans who voted for the deregulation measure in 2018.
Republicans don’t blame bank failure on lack of regulation: California House Speaker Kevin McCarthy tweeted On Tuesday, President Joe Biden’s spending prompted “record inflation and rapid interest rate hikes that also wrecked family and bank budgets.”
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Silicon Valley Bank oversized depositors bailed out
Silicon Valley is betting it could avoid banking risk management costs. He won that bet.
Silicon Valley essentially imposed the cost of ordinary corporate cash prudence on the banking system and was rewarded for it when the the government broke its own rules and agreed to support even the largest Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) deposits.
In a joint statement, the Treasury, Federal Reserve and FDIC announced that all deposits at SVB and Signature Bank would be made in full. To do this, regulators said bank failure posed “Systemic risk” and therefore qualified for an exception to the usual deposit insurance limits.
Can this be considered a bailout? The official statement was clear that “shareholders and certain unsecured creditors” would not be protected and senior management would be removed from their positions. Shareholders are likely to lose their entire investment, and holders of bonds issued by banks may also be wiped out. They may expect some recovery if bank assets prove to be more than sufficient to repay depositors, but that is likely a long way off and will certainly result in losses.
A branch of Silicon Valley Bank in San Francisco, Calif., on March 13, 2023. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images
SO, it’s not quite a 2008 style bailout. In this case, equity holders were heavily diluted when the government used TARP funds to purchase preferred equity. But they did not see the value of their shares fall to zero. They were allowed to participate in the recovery of businesses. Holders of debt issued by financial institutions were almost universally repaid.
On the other hand, this decision definitively bails out the depositors who had over $250,000 in the banks. In the normal course, these depositors would have received an emergency dividend payment later this week and certificates entitling them to funds from the sale of bank assets. If a bank’s assets can be sold quickly and at a higher price than deposit liabilities, there may be no write-down beyond a slight delay. According to public revelations, it is likely that the depositors of Silicon Valley Bank would have finally been cured, or almost.
Where are the Silicon Valley Bank buyers?However, as we have seen, the banking authorities have not yet succeeded in finding a buyer for the bank or its assets. The auction held over the weekend apparently failed, although the reasons are not known. Fox Business Network’s Charlie Gasparino raised questions about the quality of SVB’s loan portfolio. THE the wall street journalThe editorial page of reported that some regulators were trying to stop the biggest banks from getting even bigger by buying Silicon Valley Bank.
SCOOP: A former SVB executive tells @FoxBusiness that the bank’s loan portfolio was so risky that it should not have been @FDICgov insured; SVB loans including loans to venture capital funds cos w low or no profits and lines of credit to private equity funds no longer w @LizClaman
—Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) March 13, 2023
It is more than likely that some of our biggest banks looked at what happened after 2008 and decided that it was not worth taking the risk of buying the assets of a failing big bank. , even at bargain prices. Jamie Dimonthe chief executive and chairman of JPMorgan Chase, said he regretted buying I don’t hunt, I prefer to let animals kill each other And Washington Mutual in 2008 because liabilities associated with those two banks were responsible for about 70% of the $19 billion in fines, penalties, and redemptions his bank was forced to make.
JP Morgan CEO James Dimon (left) and Bear Stearns CEO Alan Schwartz (right) testify before Congress on April 3, 2008. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
“We did not anticipate that we would have to pay the penalties that we ultimately had to pay,” Jamie Dimon wrote in a 2015 letter to JPMorgan shareholders. He went on to say that he doubted his board would allow him to make similar acquisitions given that experience.
Transfer of risk management costs from venture capitalists to the banking systemAs a result, many of those with officially uninsured deposits at Silicon Valley Bank may have faced significant delays in getting their funds back. The media reported that many Silicon Valley start-ups were “hustle” on weekends to find money to pay their bills. Some companies would have tens of millions, even hundreds of millions of dollars in the Silicon Valley Bank. BuzzFeedfor example, would have had more than 50 million dollars. Roku said he had $487 million on deposit at Silicon Valley Bank.
In Roku’s case, that was just 26% of the company’s cash or cash equivalents. Thus, he had diversified some of the risk he faced by exposing himself to Silicon Valley Bank. Others appear to have put all their money in one bank, leaving them vulnerable to the potential inability to make payments to employees and suppliers if their deposits were not immediately released. It is a confession of an abdication of basic risk management and an indictment of both the management of these companies and their venture capitalists.
But turned out to be a good bet from Silicon Valley. The venture capital community was able to avoid paying cash risk management costs by concentrating deposits in a single institution. When the bank went bankrupt because those same depositors rushed to withdraw their funds en masse last week, the costs were absorbed by the entire banking system.
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The Biggest Revelations From Paris Hilton’s Memoir
While Paris Hilton has previously opened up about the abuse she said she suffered at several boarding schools she attended as a teenager, the DJ and businesswoman is sharing even more details about her harrowing experience in her Paris: The Memoir. Paris issues a trigger warning before opening up about the trauma she endured during the two years she spent at various CEDU (CEDU Educational Services, Inc.) schools, including Provo Canyon School in Utah.
Paris first recalls begins with being dragged out of her bed in the middle of the night. “My mind instantly went to the obvious,” Paris writes. “I’m about to be raped. I’m about to be murdered. Here the memory shatters—a broken mirror in my mind. Two men. Hands on me.”
From there, Paris details being repeatedly strip-searched, verbally and physically abused and “force-fed drugs intended to dull my wits and make me comply.”
The 42-year-old writes that she made multiple escape attempts from the schools, but was always found and brought back to the facilities, including one time where they “beat the s–t out of” her upon her return.
In February 2021, Paris testified in a Utah court against Provo Canyon School in support of a bill focused on ending abuse in the state’s congregate care facilities. In describing her alleged experiences at the institution, she said, “I was verbally, mentally and physically abused on a daily basis. I was cut off from the outside world and stripped of all my human rights.”
The bill was ultimately passed and Paris continues her advocacy work for survivors of the “Troubled Teen Industry” through her 11:11 Impact Foundation.
In a statement shared to E! News in October 2022, the Provo Canyon School said that the boarding school “was sold by its previous ownership in August 2000.”
“What we can say is that the school provides a structured environment teaching life-skills, providing behavioral health therapy, and continuing education for youth who come to us with pre-existing and complex emotional, behavioral and psychiatric needs,” the statement read. “These youth have not been successful in typical home and school environ
March 13, 2023
Ulta 24-Hour Flash Sale: 50% Off Elizabeth Arden, Dermablend, and More
We independently selected these products because we love them, and we think you might like them at these prices. E! has affiliate relationships, so we may get a commission if you purchase something through our links. Items are sold by the retailer, not E!. Prices are accurate as of publish time.
Beauty enthusiasts and bargain hunters, rejoice! There are some great deals at Ulta. The 21 Days of Beauty Sale is happening from March 12 through April 1, with different markdowns on their best-selling makeup, skincare, haircare, and more items every single day. Every day, you will have 24 hours to shop for different beauty products at half price. And, if you’re a Diamond or Platinum member, your order will ship free (no shipping minimums!).
Today is the only day for Ulta shoppers to save 50% on select products from Elizabeth Arden, Dermablend, Nudestix, Belif, Korres, Patchology, Youthforia, Beekman 1802, Lashfood, and Teami Blends. Keep reading to find out why these are must-buy products and to peek ahead at the upcoming steals so you can plan your shopping accordingly.
TL:DR: If you’re only buying one product today, I urge you to check out my absolute favorite highlighter while it’s available for half price.
Paris stinks! Rat invasion fears as trash strike hits French capital – POLITICO
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Expressed by artificial intelligence.
PARIS – In the French capital, garbage collectors are on strike, which means there is stinking rubbish piled up in the streets, politicians shouting at each other and a probable invasion of… rats!
Trash bags could be seen piling up on the sidewalks of Paris over the weekend – especially in areas with many restaurants – forming shoulder-high piles of rubbish. Indeed, the city’s garbage collectors have been on strike since March 6 to protest against a controversial reform of the French pension system championed by President Emmanuel Macron.
The reform would increase the retirement age of garbage collectors – who can currently retire early with reduced benefits due to the arduous nature of their work, which affects their life expectancy – from 57 to 59 years.
As a result, around 5,600 tons of uncollected waste lay in the streets of the capital on Monday – the eighth day of the strike – according to Paris City Hall, quoted by French newswire AFP.
“It’s crap, it’s not pretty and it stinks,” said Mathilde Boyer, 23, who lives in the 15th south.
Even if she is worried about health risks, Boyer says she is sensitive to the cause of garbage collectors. “It shows that there are small hands everywhere in Paris, and that their work – and their right to a decent life and pension – must be respected.”
Rats in ParisBut people aren’t just worried about a few trash bags – the real problem is that Paris, like most big cities, is infested with rats.
For every inhabitant of Paris, there are 1.5 to 1.75 rats, which makes the City of Light one of the most infested cities in the world, and prompted the National Academy of Medicine to issue last July an alert on the “threat to humanity”. health” posed by rats and the diseases they can transmit to humans.
The issue sparked a political tussle over the weekend, after the mayors of several Parisian districts argued that the strike threatened to turn into a major risk to public health and called on the mayor of Paris, socialist Anne Hidalgo, to act.
The dispute escalated on Sunday night as Transport Minister – and future Paris mayor – Clément Beaune blamed the mayor’s office for the situation.
“Seventh day without garbage collection. Stench and rot,” writing Beaune on Twitter on Sunday evening alongside photos showing trash cans overflowing with trash bags.
“Another example of inaction and contempt for Parisians,” he added, prompting Hidalgo’s office to react.
“Rotting is what characterizes your vision of social dialogue”, said Deputy Mayor Antoine Guillou. “If you really care about Parisians and French people, withdraw your unjust pension reform, which they overwhelmingly reject.”
In an interview on French television on Monday morning, government spokesman Olivier Véran also accused Hidalgo, whom he accuses of supporting the strike.
“What is the message sent by the mayor of Paris? It’s up to her to make things clear with the Parisians”, Véran said.
According to the daily Le Parisien, the strike will last at least until Wednesday, when union representatives must vote on whether or not to continue the strike.
But it could last longer as unions have said they will continue to strike until the government withdraws its pension reform, which aims to raise the statutory retirement age from 62 to 64.
With a series of parliamentary votes – which should be very tight – scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, the reform could be formally adopted by the end of the week.
Meanwhile, the Parisians are preparing to wait.
The trash “is not a particularly pleasant sight, but it is also the purpose of the strike”, said Guillaume Meigniez, 28, a longtime resident of northern Paris.
Meigniez said he wasn’t particularly worried about the rats, as they are already “quite numerous ‘in normal times’ and ‘they’re not going to start clustering together and attacking people’.
But “if the rats come out, it might shake things up a bit,” he said.
Not all news on the site expresses the point of view of the site, but we transmit this news automatically and translate it through programmatic technology on the site and not from a human editor.
Artificial Intelligence Can Realistically Reproduce Voices Raising New Tech Concerns
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New AI technology can reproduce voices, giving users the ability to craft content involving celebrities, politicians, or just about anyone. NBC News’ Gadi Schwartz talks more about the groundbreaking AI technology and its ethical implications.March 13, 2023
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helping Ukraine is not a vital strategic interest for the United States
Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis lambasted President Biden’s support for Ukraine on Monday and argued that helping the European nation repel invading Russian forces was not a vital national interest.
DeSantis, who has reportedly told allies privately that he plans to run for president in 2024, released the statement in response to a questionnaire sent by Fox News host Tucker Carlson to all potential leading Republican candidates in the presidential election last week.
The “Tucker Carlson Tonight” host asked declared and potential candidates whether US opposition to Russia in Ukraine is of vital strategic interest to America; what is the US objective in Ukraine and how will the US know when it has been achieved; should there be a limit on arms and money sent to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky; have the American sanctions against Russia been effective? and does the United States face the risk of nuclear war with Russia.
In response to a questionnaire from Tucker Carlson, Governor Ron DeSantis said protecting Ukraine’s borders is not a vital strategic interest of the United States.AFP via Getty Images
In his response, DeSantis, 44, parted ways with Republicans who say the problem with the 80-year-old president’s Ukraine policy is that he hasn’t done enough.
“While the United States has many vital national interests – securing our borders, resolving the readiness crisis within our military, ensuring energy security and independence, and controlling the economic, cultural and military might of the Communist Party of China. – becoming more entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not one of them,” DeSantis said. said in a press release.
“The Biden administration’s virtual ‘blank cheque’ funding of this conflict ‘for as long as it takes,’ with no defined goals or accountability, distracts attention from our country’s most pressing challenges.” he argued.
The Sunshine State Governor said “peace should be the goal” in Ukraine and that the United States should not supply Zelensky with weapons that may require the deployment of American troops or allow the Ukrainian military to s engage in operations inside Russian territory.
DeSantis argued that the United States should not provide Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with weapons that would allow Ukrainian forces to hit targets inside Russian territory.Abaca/Sipa United States“So F-16s and long-range missiles should be ruled out,” DeSantis said.
“These steps would risk explicitly dragging the United States into the conflict and bringing us one step closer to a hot war between the world’s two largest nuclear powers. This risk is unacceptable,” he added.
DeSantis has indicated he is against a “regime change” policy in Russia, saying it would increase the likelihood of nuclear weapons being used and could produce an “even more ruthless” leader than Russian President Vladimir Putin.
DeSantis also blamed Biden’s policies for driving “Russia into a de facto alliance with China” and bolstering “Russia’s energy-dominated economy and Putin’s war machine at the expense of Americans.”
“Our citizens also have a right to know how US taxpayers’ billions of dollars are being used in Ukraine. We cannot prioritize intervening in an escalating foreign war at the expense of defending our own homeland, especially as tens of thousands of Americans die each year from smuggled narcotics. contraband across our open border and that our arsenals of weapons critical to our own security are rapidly being depleted,” DeSantis concluded in his questionnaire response.
Former President Donald Trump also believes that opposing Russia in Ukraine is not a vital strategic interest for the United States.DeSantis’ views on the war in Ukraine align with former President Donald Trump, who would be his most formidable challenger in the 2024 GOP primary.
Trump told Carlson that opposing Russia in Ukraine is not a vital strategic interest for the United States, but for Europe.
“That’s why Europe should pay much more than us, or as much,” he argued.
The 76-year-old former president is averaging 45% support in early polls, according to RealClearPolitics, while DeSantis is averaging 29% support.
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Below Deck’s Ben & Leigh-Ann Finally Hook Up in Steamy Preview
If the boat’s a rockin’, don’t come a knockin’.
After months of flirting on social media, Below Deck Deckhand Ben Willoughby and Stew Leigh-Ann Smith are finally getting physical in a preview of the Bravo series’ March 20 season 10 finale. But, the hookup might mean bad news for fired Stew Camille Lamb, who Ben has remained in contact with amid their ongoing boatmance this season.
The teaser, which aired at the end of the March 13 episode, shows the two yachties passionately making out with Ben admitting in a confessional, “Part of me’s just like, ‘Live in the moment.’ I haven’t got a title with Camille. Why don’t you just see what happens?”
After enjoying a nighttime swim, Ben and Leigh-Ann are seen heading into a cabin together with Ben closing the bedroom door on the cameras.
Later, as Ben and Leigh-Ann kiss during a van ride with their co-workers, Bosun Ross McHarg teases the duo, “Let’s just move straight to anal.”
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