With the country’s gold medal-winning hockey team even making an appearance, Trump spoke about the likes of Iran, tariffs and the economy. But while Trump’s State of the Union was going on, so was a counter-address; ‘The State of the Swamp’. Attended by the likes of Don Lemon and Mark Ruffalo, Robert De Niro headlined the event. 

According to the event's organisers, Defiance.org, it was ‘focused on defying Donald Trump's abuses of power, including officials who previously advised Trump’. And, along with comments he made on a podcast released the day before, Hollywood icon De Niro is now facing threats of deportation.

Trump has accused the Goodfellas actor of ‘Trump derangement’. Born in New York, the 82-year-old has been outspoken for the past decade or so about Trump and criticised him and his MAGA supporters during the episode of MSNBC’s The Best People with Nicole Wallace podcast. “He’s an idiot. We gotta get rid of him. He’s gonna ruin the country,” De Niro said. 

The star went on to add: “I don’t want everybody going around with their MAGA, the American flags, like they’re the only ones. We are Americans too.” During his emotional speech at the State of the Swamp event, he described the president as ‘failing, flailing and desperate’.

And yesterday, Trump went on a fiery rant as he labelled the Heat actor as ‘demented’ in a Truth Social post. He proposed deporting Reps Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib who left the Capitol building early on Tuesday after shouting him down during his speech.

Calling them ‘lunatics’, the president went on to write: “They should actually get on a boat with Trump Deranged Robert De Niro, another sick and demented person with, I believe, an extremely Low IQ, who has absolutely no idea what he is doing or saying — some of which is seriously CRIMINAL!” He continued: 

“When I watched him break down in tears last night, much like a child would do, I realised that he may be even sicker than Crazy Rosie O’Donnell, who is right now in Ireland trying to figure out how to come back into our beautiful United States.” 

Trump claimed the ‘only difference’ between the actor and comedian is that she is ‘probably somewhat smarter’. “The good news is that America is now Bigger, Better, Richer, and Stronger than ever before, and it’s driving them absolutely crazy! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP,” he added in his post.

What is ‘Trump derangement’?

A term coined by MAGA supporters, 'Trump derangement' is often used to describe critics of Donald Trump. It appears to be an adaptation of 'Bush derangement syndrome', a phrase dubbed by conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer during George W Bush's presidency in 2003. 

Writing about 'Trump derangement syndrome' for the Therapy Group of DC, psychologist Brad Brenner, PhD, noted that it 'discredits rather than describes and its very existence shows how political language can blur the line between clinical insight and partisan insult'. 

The president himself has regularly used the phrase to describe his political opponents and sparked backlash after claiming filmmaker Rob Reiner's death was linked to 'Trump derangement syndrome'.

Escobar is perhaps the most famous drug lord of all time, having built the Medellín Cartel, and that unsurprisingly made him an incredibly rich man. Most sensible folks would know better than going anywhere near Escobar's hard-earned cash but one lucky, or unlucky, farmer wasn't left with much choice after discovering $600 million on his family ranch. 

Josè Mariena Cartolos was in the middle of making a trench for irrigation purposes when he discovered several contained filled to the brim with money, which might not have been the cleanest in the most literal or figurative sense. 

Despite making the discovery in 2015, more than 20 years after Escobar's death, Cartolos clearly didn't want to be in debt to anyone still close to the legendary criminal, as he alerted the authorities almost immediately despite discovering over half a billion dollars.

Unfortunately for him, and for Escobar's associates, the authorities decided to seize every penny, without leaving him anything, so he's probably kicking himself for being so honest when he could have at least got himself a new tractor. 

Instead, it was spent on social and economic programs by the Colombian government, MTV Lebanon previously reported, which I suppose is a nice way to spend it too, even if Escobar might have been rolling in his grave. Reacting on Reddit, plenty of people admitted that they might not have been so honest if they found themselves in a similar situation.

One person on Reddit wrote: "Never would’ve said a word. Would’ve loaded that up and been gone." Another added: "Why would he report it? I’d be living the high life right now." A third joked: "I'd invoke the law of finders keepers." And a fourth laughed: "Dude won the lottery and and said 'no thank you.'" 

Others reckoned that Cartolos definitely did the right thing, especially as the Pablo Escobar is supposedly the rightful owner of the cash. "Finding a stash that belongs to a cartel is a 'I'm f***ed' situation," one person commented. 

"The first question is: how do I get out of that alive?" Another chimed in saying: "Any Colombian farmer would know better than to advertise this lol." And a third pointed out: "I promise you that you would have no idea what to do with $600m in illegal cash."

 

For those in need of a reminder, 44-year-old Ivanka is the second of the three children the President welcomed with late wife, Ivana. The couple also shared Donald Jr, 48, and Eric, 42, until their mother's death in 2022. 

Whilst married to Ivana, Republican frontman Trump had an affair with model and actress Marla Maples (whom he later wed, and subsequently divorced) which resulted in the birth of his second daughter, Tiffany, 32. With third wife, Melania Trump - the current First Lady to the United States - 79-year-old Trump shares one son, his youngest, Barron.

The baby of the brood, Barron is just 19. Despite currently enrolled as a student at NYU's Stern School of Business, the teen made an appearance alongside Donald Jr, Ivanka and Tiffany in Washington D.C. on Tuesday (24 Feb), where they attended their father's the State of the Union address. 

A family photo that businesswoman Ivanka shared prior to the address - which also included her husband, Jared Kushner, Donald Jr's fiancée Bettina Anderson, Tiffany's husband Michael Boulos - featured Barron smiling on the end. 

It wasn't just his rare public appearance that prompted online discussion after the snap was shared on X (formerly Twitter), however, but Barron's absolutely staggering height. Responding to the image, one social media user joked: "Barron is 12 foot tall."

"Yo they don't make XXXXXL ties," another teased. "He's so damn tall. Unreal!" A third also jibed: "Baron is an absolute unit." The Palm Beach Post previously reported that Barron stands somewhere between 6'7 and 6'9 tall, making him by far the tallest of his siblings. The youngster even towers above his parents, with right-wing leader Trump being 6'3'', and 55-year-old Melania being 5'11.

The First Lady was also in attendance alongside Barron and his stepchildren yesterday, where her husband delivered a 1 hour and 48 minute speech - the longest of its kind in modern history. 

Trump's latest public pledge focussed heavily on a self-declared 'economic turnaround', as well as his hardline stance on immigration and foreign policy, which comes amid slumping Republican approval ratings and approaching midterm elections.

However, on 19 February, American-born Gu was questioned after the qualifiers about comments Vance made about her affiliation with China. Vance had said he thought a person who grew up in the US would ‘want to compete with the United States’ when asked about Gu in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday (17 February). 

Vance said he has ‘no idea’ what Gu’s status ‘should be,’ but: “I certainly think that somebody who grew up in the United States of America, who benefited from our education system, from the freedoms and liberties that make this country a great place, I would hope that they want to compete with the United States of America.”

He added: “So, I’m going to root for American athletes. I think part of that is people who identify themselves as Americans. That’s who I’m rooting for in this Olympics.” His words were brought up by reporters, who asked her if she feels ‘like a bit of a punching bag for a certain strand of American politics at the moment.’ “I do,” Gu responded to reporters at the Games. 

She went on to say people are more bothered about it because ‘I win’, explaining: “Like if I wasn't doing well, I think that they probably wouldn't care as much, and that's OK for me. People are entitled to their opinions.”

The 22-year-old responded to the VP’s comments in a conversation with USA TODAY, saying: “I’m flattered. Thanks, JD! That’s sweet.” This comes after Gu defended American freeskier Hunter Hess after he revealed he didn’t feel too comfortable representing the US in light of its current administration. 

To this, Donald Trump called him a ‘real loser’ in a social media post. “As someone who’s been caught in the crossfire before, I feel sorry for the athletes,” Gu said. Gu was born in San Francisco, California, to Yan Gu, a first-generation Chinese immigrant to the United States, and an American father, and schooled at Stanford University. 

Prince William, 43, and Kate Middleton, 44, stepped out onto the red carpet at the Royal Festival Hall to celebrate the best of British film and TV at the annual awards ceremony yesterday (22 February). Kate looked stunning in a princess-style Gucci gown, while her husband donned a burgundy maroon tuxedo for the outing. 

The royal couple posed for red carpet snaps and chatted to representatives from BAFTA and the Southbank Centre before taking their seats in the star-studded auditorium for the awards ceremony.

While on the red carpet, the couple whispered a few words to each other, and a lip reader claims to have decoded the moment, according to The Mirror. Lip reader Jeremy Freeman told the publication that Kate allegedly said to her husband: "Look at the people!" before eagerly waving at them and saying: "Hey!"

William then apparently told Kate to 'watch your step' as they made their way inside for the ceremony. The royal couple also chatted about movies, as William admitted he's yet to see Hamnet, which won big, bagging best outstanding British film, while its Irish star Jessie Buckley won best actress for her performance as Shakespeare’s wife, Agnes Hathaway. 

William told Elaine Bedell, chief executive of the Southbank Centre, and Allison Kirkby, chief executive of BT Group, that he had yet to see the acclaimed film as he's not 'calm' enough right now. He said: "I need to be in quite a calm state and I’m not at the moment. 

I will save it." While Kate said she saw the movie on Saturday (21 February), dubbing it as 'really very very powerful', while praising the 'fantastic' and 'raw' music score and talked about its portrayal of 'intergenerational grief'. 

Chatting with the chairwoman of BAFTA’s film committee, Emily Stillman, and executive director of the charity’s awards and content, Emma Baehr, the princess said: "Yes, I think it was a very bad idea actually… ended up with very puffy eyes."

Kate also said her three children, Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, seven, would love to have a closer look at the BAFTA film world. She said: “They love the idea of being behind the scenes and finding out how it all happens," adding that 'the children are getting into film a bit more'. 

“It’s a really great way to have some of the hard conversations with them. We have still got a long list of films we haven’t seen. Hopefully, this will help," Kate added. And towards the end of the show, William got on stage to present the BAFTA fellowship award to NBCUniversal’s chair of entertainment, Dame Donna Langley, for her outstanding contribution to film and television. 

He said: “Her transformative leadership and unwavering commitment to creative partnership have brought some of this century’s most iconic films to the big screen and to audiences around the world. “She has championed films that have shaped culture, and is responsible for some of our most beloved franchises.”

The American actor passed away earlier this week following a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and an appeal was launched to raise money for his grieving wife and two daughters, subsequently raising close to $300,000.  

A statement from his family read: "With heavy hearts, we share that Eric Dane passed on Thursday afternoon following a courageous battle with ALS. "He spent his final days surrounded by dear friends, his devoted wife, and his two beautiful daughters, Billie and Georgia, who were the centre of his world." 

Much like the family of James Van Der Beek, who were reportedly struggling financially in the wake of expensive medical bills, a fundraiser was set up to support the family Dane left behind, despite the popular actor being a regular feature in the hit medical series Grey's Anatomy, as well as Euphoria.

Dane, who had been diagnosed with the rare degenerative disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), is survived by his wife, Rebecca Gayheart, and their two daughters, Billie and Georgia. The grieving family confirmed the news in a statement to PEOPLE, which reads: "With heavy hearts, we share that Eric Dane passed on Thursday afternoon following a courageous battle with ALS. 

"He spent his final days surrounded by dear friends, his devoted wife, and his two beautiful daughters, Billie and Georgia, who were the center of his world. "Throughout his journey with ALS, Eric became a passionate advocate for awareness and research, determined to make a difference for others facing the same fight."

The message concluded: "He will be deeply missed and lovingly remembered always. Eric adored his fans and is forever grateful for the outpouring of love and support he’s received. The family has asked for privacy as they navigate this impossible time."

In April last year, Dane revealed he had been diagnosed with ALS, a rare degenerative form of motor neurone disease. It leads to muscle weakness in the arms and legs, often causing people to trip or struggle to hold onto things. 

Symptoms vary from person to person, depending on which nerve cells are affected. In most cases, it begins with mild muscle weakness that gradually spreads and becomes more severe over time. Dane's wife opened up about their relationship just one day before Dane announced his diagnosis back in April last year. 

The former Beverly Hills, 90210 star's comments also came a month after she filed to dismiss her 2018 divorce from Dane. He agreed to the filing, and a court in Los Angeles later closed the case, according to documents obtained by E!.

Speaking with E! News at the time, Gayheart said the two were 'best friends'. After calling off their divorce, she explained: "We are really close. We are great coparents. "We really figured out the formula to staying a family, and I think our kids are benefiting greatly from i,t and we are as well."

The American model also reflected on their marriage and why she doesn't believe their relationship is a 'failure', adding: "I think it’s important to not look at a relationship that ends as a failure. It's just a season. "It wasn't a failure. It was a huge success." 

Talking about perspective, the mum-of-two added: "We were married for, I mean, we are still married, but together for 15 years and we had two beautiful kids, so I think that's a successful relationship, and that's how we look at it."

He was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) - sometimes called Lou Gehrig's disease - last year. His family said in a statement: "With heavy hearts, we share that Eric Dane passed on Thursday afternoon following a courageous battle with ALS. 

"He spent his final days surrounded by dear friends, his devoted wife, and his two beautiful daughters, Billie and Georgia, who were the center of his world. "Throughout his journey with ALS, Eric became a passionate advocate for awareness and research, determined to make a difference for others facing the same fight. 

"He will be deeply missed, and lovingly remembered always. Eric adored his fans and is forever grateful for the outpouring of love and support he’s received. The family has asked for privacy as they navigate this impossible time."

He had been married to fellow actor Rebecca Gayheart, with the couple sharing two children. Gayheart called off the pair's divorce a month before Dane went public with his ALS diagnosis. They had been separated for seven years. 

She told the Broad Ideas podcast in November 2025 she wanted to be there for her family 'when times are at their worst'. ALS is a degenerative disease which results in progressive muscle paralysis, those with it slowly lose their ability to move independently. 

Eventually, a person diagnosed with the disease will not be able to eat or breathe independently. Speaking to Good Morning America last year, Dane said his ALS diagnosis made him 'angry'. 

"My father was taken from me when I was young. And now, you know, there's a very good chance I'm going to be taken from my girls while they're very young," he had said. In the same interview, he confirmed he had lost the use of his right arm and was concerned that in a few months he would lose the use of his other hand.

In April 2025, Dane revealed he was filming scenes for the upcoming third season of Euphoria. He said at the time: "I feel fortunate that I am able to continue working." Due to his health, he filmed his scenes in a wheelchair. 

The show's creator Sam Levinson paid tribute to the actor in a statement provided to Variety. He said: "I’m heartbroken by the loss of our dear friend Eric. Working with him was an honor. Being his friend was a gift. Eric’s family is in our prayers. May his memory be for a blessing."

Dane had been scheduled to receive an award last month for his work raising awareness of ALS, but had been unable to attend ‘due to the physical realities of ALS’, People reported.

Skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych said he wanted to 'honour' Ukrainian sportsmen and women who had died in the Russian invasion of their home country – to do this, he had his helmet created with images of the fallen. 

However, this 'helmet of remembrance' that saw the likes of the late teenage weightlifter Alina Perehudova, boxer Pavlo Ischenko, ice hockey player Oleksiy Loginov, actor and athlete Ivan Kononenko, diver and coach Mykyta Kozubenko, shooter Oleksiy Habarov and dancer Daria Kurdel, and more, caused a stir. 

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) went on to ban the 27-year-old from the 2026 Winter Olympics when he refused to take it off on the grounds that he did not ‘comply with the IOC’s Guidelines on Athlete Expression’. 

The athlete then tried to appeal against the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation jury’s rule that he had breached athletes’ expression at the Games. However, he lost his case at the Court of Arbitration for Sport just hours before the final two runs of his competition. In light of the decision, a billionaire, and owner of the Ukrainian football club, Shakhtar Donetsk, has donated more than $200,000 (£148,590) to Heraskevych.

“Vlad Heraskevych was denied the opportunity to compete for victory at the Olympic Games, yet he returns to Ukraine a true winner,” Rinat Akhmetov, the club’s president, said in a club statement. “The respect and pride he has earned among Ukrainians through his actions are the highest reward. 

At the same time, I want him to have enough energy and resources to continue his sporting career, as well as to fight for truth, freedom and the remembrance of those who gave their lives for Ukraine.” The money he donated is equivalent to that Ukraine pays athletes who win a gold medal, which is in stark contrast to Singapore, who pays Gold medallists over 500k. 

When it came to the decision to ban him, IOC spokesperson Mark Adams told a news conference in Milan-Cortina that the helmet was against Rule 50.2 of the Olympic Charter. The rule states there shall be 'no kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas'.

“The IOC fully understands the desire of athletes to remember friends and colleagues who have lost their lives in that conflict, and in many, many other difficult conflicts around the world,” Adams said on Tuesday (10 February). 

“It's fundamental that there are equal rights for all athletes and that the games need to be separated not just from political and religious, but from all types of interference so that all the athletes competing can concentrate on their performance. What we said is that this helmet contravenes the guidelines. 

Rumer Willis, 37, shared a post to her 1.2 million Instagram followers about being a single mom, containing the caption 'Single Moms Be Like' at the top, as well as others such as 'play dates', 'lunch', 'working out', and 'meal prepping'. 

The 37-year-old shares her two-year-old daughter Louetta 'Lou' with her ex-boyfriend Derek Richard Thomas. But it seems that a few people took the comments on the post to say that Rumer takes money from her movie star parents Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, and used that to attack her as a single mom.

The comments got bad enough that Rumer felt the need to respond with a further post in which she slammed her critics.

In a subsequent post on social media, she wrote: "Just had to clarify since it seems there are quite a few uninformed and rude people in my comments on this post." She went on to explain that she is the sole provider for her daughter, and works four jobs to make ends meet. 

"I work 4 different jobs to provide for my daughter," she said. "I am the sole provider for her. "I don't live off a trust fund or get money from my parents. Most of the time I don't have help with her."

   

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A post shared by Rumer Glenn Willis (@rumerwillis)

She added: "So how about y'all pause before you judge and assume." But that wasn't all that she had to say on the matter, as this prompted someone else to reply that while she undoubtedly works hard, she still has a safety net. 

This time, Rumer decided to take a more conciliatory tone in her lengthy reply. "I want to respond to this with care, because I think there's a misunderstanding about what I was actually saying," she said.

"I am very aware that I have privileges in my life that many people don't, and I don't take that for granted. "I know there are realities I will never fully experience, and I respect that." 

She added: "But this particular post wasn't about privilege or comparing circumstances, and it feels like people are assuming I was ignoring that when that wasn't the conversation I was trying to have." Rumer went on to say that 'people's lives look different, and none of our experiences exist in a vacuum'.

Reflecting on the realities and hardships of life, she continued: "Just like someone with a stable job and housing might still struggle in ways that are real to them, even if their situation is different from someone facing much more severe hardship elsewhere in the world, we all move through different layers of reality. "Acknowledging that difference doesn't mean we can't also talk about what we share." 

The US initiative to end the Gaza war came from a 20-point peace plan, which was developed in collaboration with multiple nations like Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Pakistan, and Indonesia and headed up by a Board of Peace. 

Currently, the Board of Peace is helmed by Trump and senior US officials. But it won’t include anyone from the Vatican, as Pope Leo has brutally turned down an invitation to join, said a senior Vatican official.

The US Board is chaired by Trump to allegedly provide strategic oversight, resource mobilization, and more to Gaza so it can move on to its reconstruction and become a stable nation. With an oversight structure including an Executive Board, senior advisors, and more, it aims to bring peace after its February 19 meeting, which has racked up $5 million in pledges - per Trump. 

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, allegedly revealed, per the Independent, that the Pope had some reservations about the structure of the Board. Apparently, he was concerned about the US being the primary body that would be managing international crisis situations, such as Gaza’s conflict. 

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See’s secretary of state, told reporters the US shouldn’t be in charge, and that it should instead be led by the UN. “At the international level, it should above all be the U.N. that manages these crisis situations,” he told reporters, per Reuters. 

However, Pope Leo has been a long-time naysayer of Trump's policies - so it might not shock people to know he refused the invite. The Vatican isn’t the only party to decline the invite, as while around 60 countries were invited ahead of its meeting about restructuring the leadership in Gaza, a limited number formally joined. 

As of right now, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan, World Bank Group President Ajay Banga, US Deputy National Security Adviser Robert Gabriel Jr. and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, are all on the Board.

“The Board of Peace will prove to be the most consequential International Body in History, and it is my honor to serve as its Chairman," Trump wrote on Truth Social on February 15. 

Concerns have also been revealed regarding those who have been invited to the Board, such as international leaders involved in global conflicts, such as Russia's Vladimir Putin, who has been involved in a war with Ukraine since 2022, and Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu, who has similarly been in an invasive war with Palestine for decades. 

However, despite those concerns, Armenia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates, have all joined the program for potential peace.