Category: Align
Fugees felon gets 14 years for illegal Obama donations
Platinum-selling artist Pras has been sentenced to prison following charges related to illegal foreign lobbying and conspiracy.
Prakazrel Samuel Michel, member of the huge 1990s group the Fugees, has been trapped in legal turmoil for years surrounding apparent attempts to influence presidential elections and administrations.
‘There’s a possibility that I’m going in while I’m fighting.’
The Fugees’ 1996 album “The Score” went seven-times platinum in the United States, and even though the record hit No. 1 in seven countries, it was the group’s last original release.
Michel was charged in 2019 and began his trial four years later in 2023. The three-week trial that included testimony from actor Leonardo DiCaprio was focused on multiple money-laundering schemes related to Malaysian financier Jho Low, a Billboard report revealed.
First, Michel was accused of secretly funneling $2 million from Low to Barack Obama’s 2012 presidential campaign. The donations were allegedly made through straw donors. In 2023, Michel said he received $20 million from Low, but it was only to help him get a photo with Obama. These figures were part of a $120 million total Michel received from Low, WCBV reported.
Secondly, Michel was accused of funneling money from Low to a lobbying campaign that had the goal of convincing President Trump’s administration to drop an investigation into Low in 2019.
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Pras Michel arrives at U.S. District Court on March 31, 2023, in Washington, D.C. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Michel was recently ordered to forfeit over $64 million after he was found guilty for his attempts to influence the Trump administration.
‘Next chapter’
A representative named Erica Dumas told Variety, “Throughout his career Pras has broken barriers. This is not the end of his story. He appreciates the outpouring of support as he approaches the next chapter.”
Pras had previously told the outlet that he planned to appeal the outcome of the case, saying he was “going to fight” and “going to appeal.”
“But there’s a possibility that I’m going in while I’m fighting,” he said. “It’s just the reality.”
RELATED: Grammy-Winning Singer Headed to Prison for Failing to Pay $1 Million Owed in Taxes
Wyclef Jean (L), Pras Michel (C), and Lauryn Hill (R) attend the 24th Annual American Music Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, January 1997. Photo by Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images
Tumultuous trio
The other Fugees members went on to have careers worthy of feature film.
In 2010, Wyclef Jean attempted to run for president of Haiti after a hurricane ravaged the island. He was eventually dropped from the ballot, presumably because he did not meet the country’s residency requirements. It was also revealed in the process that Jean had been claiming he was three years younger than he actually was, admitting he was 40 years old, not 37.
In 2013, Lauryn Hill spent three months in prison for failing to pay around $1 million in taxes. At the time, she compared her experience in the music industry to slavery.
“I am a child of former slaves who had a system imposed on them,” she claimed. “I had an economic system imposed on me.”
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‘The Naked Gun’ creator David Zucker bashes ‘frightened’ Hollywood elites
Legendary “Airplane!” director David Zucker has a theory about why today’s movies are flopping so badly — and the folks in charge aren’t going to like it.
“The studios are very frightened people afraid to take risks,” the director told Align, stroking his chin. “I wrote an article … about the 9% rule. There’s 9% of people who just don’t have a sense of humor. There’s like zero sense of humor. So the studios are being guided by those people.”
‘There’s 9% of people who just don’t have a sense of humor.’
According to Zucker — whose cinematic pedigree includes comedies like “The Naked Gun,” “BASEketball,” and “Top Secret!” — cancel culture is still alive and well in the film biz, pushed by overly cautious studio brass.
Cracked rearview
“It’s like driving looking through the rearview mirror,” Zucker said — an attitude that leads to unfunny films that repackage old ideas with jokes that don’t land.
Zucker didn’t have to look far to find an example: the recent “The Naked Gun” reboot, which went ahead without his involvement.
RELATED: ‘Trey didn’t have a car’: ‘Airplane!’ director David Zucker on humble origins of ‘South Park’ empire
Blocked calls
Zucker recalled the confusion he felt when he learned Paramount had no intention of consulting him on “The Naked Gun” reboot, despite having pages upon pages of jokes already written. Instead, the studio went with “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane, who came in and took over.
Zucker attempted to explained the debacle:
“I’m excluded from it. I called him. He didn’t return my calls, refused to meet with me. So I don’t know. I don’t know what’s going on, but that’s Hollywood.”
Still he said MacFarlane did contact him after the movie finished production and spent “10 minutes just telling me how much he idolized [my movies], hard to get mad at a guy who keeps telling you what a genius you are.”
‘Painful’ viewing
Despite all the flattery, Zucker said he had no intentions of ever seeing the new version of “The Naked Gun,” recalling his experience watching “Airplane II: The Sequel,” with which he also had no involvement.
“If your daughter became a prostitute, would you go watch her work?” he asked. “So you know, it’s painful. It would be painful to sit through. It’s somebody else doing our movie, and they don’t know what they’re doing.”
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(L-R) Seth MacFarlane, Pamela Anderson, and Liam Neeson attend ‘The Naked Gun’ New York Premiere on July 28, 2025. Photo by Arturo Holmes/WireImage
In Zucker’s view, Hollywood’s risk-averse approach is especially obvious in comedies. “If you do a comedy that’s not funny, you can’t hide,” he noted, adding that the new “The Naked Gun” “must have been excruciating to sit through.”
It’s safe to say Zucker won’t be lining up for the upcoming “Spaceballs” reboot either. Not that he was a huge fan of the 1987 original, which he dismissed as “an attempt to copy ‘Airplane!'”
“You can’t do stuff that’s 10, 20 years old … puns [that] were fresh in 1982,” he laughed.
As for his own movies, Zucker said he hopes to advance the pun-filled, slapstick comedy genre he helped popularize — with his next project offering a fresh, humorous spin on film noir.
’Trey didn’t have a car’: ‘Airplane!’ director David Zucker on humble origins of ‘South Park’ empire
The creators of “South Park” didn’t always know it would become a hit — let alone one of the longest-running shows in the history of television.
Just ask Hollywood veteran David Zucker, who hired Trey Parker and Matt Stone shortly before the duo — and the foul-mouthed kids they created — became household names.
‘They were also unsure of if “South Park” would ever work.’
Zucker — who directed seminal spoof comedy “Airplane!” along with his brother Jerry and the late Jim Abrahams — recalled that when he first met the University of Colorado grads in the mid-1990s, they were still very much struggling filmmakers.
Ride share
“They came to my office and I met with these guys, and Trey didn’t have a car,” Zucker said.
Despite their precarious finances, the duo already had a feature film under their belt — 1993’s “Cannibal! The Musical” — as well as animated short “The Spirit of Christmas,” which would soon land them a deal for “South Park.”
Impressed with their talents, Zucker hired Parker and Stone to do a video for Universal executives commemorating the studio’s recent purchase by Canadian beverage giant Seagram.
The duo turned in “Your Studio and You,” a side-splitting send-up of 1950s industrial videos crammed with cameos by the likes of Steven Spielberg, Sylvester Stallone, and Michael J. Fox.
Hedging their bets
Zucker remembered the young newcomers in 1997 when casting the leads for his longtime passion project, “BASEketball.” By then Parker and Stone had made a second film, “Orgazmo,” a comedy about a Mormon missionary (Parker) turned porn star turned superhero. With a $25 million budget and major studio backing, Zucker’s project represented a major step up.
And while the two were then deep in production on the show that would launch their careers, they assumed it would die a quick death once it aired. So they agreed to star in “BASEketball.”
“They were also unsure of if ‘South Park’ would ever work,” said Zucker. “This was a hedge against, you know, Trey having to get his car fixed.”
Upon premiering in August 1997, “South Park” was an instant hit, requiring Parker and Stone to shoot “BASEketball” while simultaneously maintaining their grueling TV schedule.
RELATED: ‘Naked Gun’ creator David Zucker offers ‘Crash’ course in comedy
Rookie year
While Zucker had already written a script for “BASEketball” — inspired by an actual sport he and some friends “invented on my driveway” during the 1980s — he relied on his Gen X collaborators to punch it up for the younger “South Park” fan base.
“They probably wrote about a third of it, and you know, a lot of that stuff, because I didn’t know what kind of language went on between … 20-somethings,” Zucker explained. Both the actors were in their late 20s at the time.
One of Parker and Stone’s most significant additions to the script was helping with the “psych-outs” — tasteless insults “baseketball” players hurl at an opponent in hopes of making him miss a shot.
All-star lineup
Such tactics were never used by the real-life players, whom Zucker described as “all these guys who later became, you know, heads of studios and heads of agencies” — a roster including director Peter Farrelly (“There’s Something About Mary” and “Dumb and Dumber”), former CAA head David “Doc” O’Connor, and former Fox Television Group chair Gary Newman.
RELATED: ‘South Park’ roasted Trump — and the White House is not happy
1998: “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone star in the movie “BASEketball.” Getty Images
Zucker noted that he is emphasizing the “psych-out” element in a new “BASEketball” pitch: a reality show featuring teams of comedians playing the sport while tearing each other down.
As for his old “BASEketball” buddies, Zucker said he recently visited their office to get a 10-minute preview of their new movie, “Whitney Springs,” a live-action comedy musical starring rapper Kendrick Lamar as a black man working as a slave re-enactor at a living history museum who discovers his white girlfriend’s ancestors “owned” his ancestors.
“They showed me 10 minutes of it, and it looks great,” said Zucker.
New head of US Catholic Bishops said he would deny communion to pro-abortion politicians
Archbishop Paul S. Coakley is not in favor of giving politicians preferential treatment.
Coakley, archbishop of Oklahoma City, was elected as the next president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in a secret ballot on Tuesday and will serve a three-year term as president.
‘I think in many cases it becomes the right decision and the only choice.’
Coakley has set a strong precedent for supporting the denial of communion to certain politicians that dates back more than a decade.
Most recently, in 2022, Coakley spoke in support of Archbishop Salvatore Joseph Cordileone of San Francisco. As reported by Life News, Cordileone decided to withhold communion from Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) at the time after she backed the Democrats as they blocked a vote on a bill to stop infanticide at least 80 times.
As Pelosi’s district encompasses San Francisco, Cordileone informed Pelosi she would be denied communion following her repeated dismissal of the archbishop, who attempted to speak with her about supporting “grave evil.”
Coakley supported the decision, saying, “I applaud the courage of Archbishop Cordileone and his leadership in taking this difficult step. Let us continue to pray for Abp. Cordileone, priests of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, Speaker Pelosi, for the protection of the unborn, and for the conversion of hearts and minds.”
The new USCCB president has remained consistent, and the proof is showcased in an interview he gave in 2014.
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After Coakley said that many Catholic politicians have been at the forefront of “fostering so-called abortion rights,” he was asked about denying them communion due to the “severity” of their support for abortion.
Coakley replied, “I think one has to determine yet at what point it can be determined that they have come to that state of obstinate refusal to desist from that condition of manifest, grave sin.”
He told Life Site News, “I think we have an obligation as bishops, as pastors, to try to work with them to bring them to a change of heart and refusing them communion would be, not the first, but more than likely, the last stage in a serious [sic] of steps.”
The outlet then clarified, asking if it was something he would rule out or not.
“Oh, absolutely not,” Coakley reiterated. “I think it is something that Canon Law sanctions and that I think many bishops find themselves with no other choice but to make that decision. I think in many cases it becomes the right decision and the only choice.”
RELATED: Protestant pastor says polygamy is biblical: ‘He divinely ordained it’
VATICAN – 2022/06/29: US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi (R), with her husband, Paul Pelosi (C), attend a Holy Mass for the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul lead by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica. (Photo by Stefano Costantino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Upon accepting his new role, Coakley wrote a statement on X about being “put out into deep waters” in his new position.
“Once again, the Lord is inviting me,” he wrote. “Please pray that I may be a faithful steward and a wise servant of unity and communion with our Holy Father, Pope Leo, and with my brother bishops.”
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Protestant pastor says polygamy is biblical: ‘He divinely ordained it’
A protestant pastor is not backing down from his claim that he can have multiple wives.
Rich Tidwell, a pastor in Canton, Missouri, has sparked an online debate about the acceptance of polygamy in Christianity and whether or not it is biblically justifiable.
‘I have two beautiful wives.’
To the expected amount of backlash, Tidwell recently made an announcement on his Instagram page that his second wife is expecting his eighth child.
“I have two beautiful wives,” Tidwell wrote in a long entry. “We’re thrilled for what the Lord has done for our family,” he added, citing Bible passage Luke 18:29.
The pastor wrote about his justifications in an article called “Plural marriage,” labeling the practice as polygyny, which refers to one man being married to multiple women.
“In 2019, I discovered the surprising fact that God not only never prohibited polygyny throughout the entire biblical narrative (as He did with polyandry or homosexuality), He divinely ordained it in several cases,” Tidwell claimed.
He then cited more passages.
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Exodus 21:10 regulates but does not prohibit the practice, Tidwell claimed, when it says, “If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or her marital rights.”
Tidwell also noted 2 Chronicles 24:2-3, which mentions that “Jehoiada took two wives for him, and he became the father of sons and daughters,” as well as 2 Samuel 12:7-8:
This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: “I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more.”
The pastor continued with more citations and said that if God explicitly gave men more than one wife at any time in history, “Then it was not and is not sin.”
For those who argued that polygyny is not the original design for mankind, Tidwell countered, “Neither is death, nor clothing, nor eating meat.”
RELATED: This crisis in churches is real. Will Christians fight back?
In an article titled “Should polygamist families be welcome at church?” Tidwell shared a letter he wrote to an Anglican church in Missouri requesting to attend its worship services; he was soundly denied.
A priest replied, saying the bishop, clergy, and parish council “unanimously decided against” the family’s participation.
“On multiple levels, polygamy is forbidden in our convictions, interpretation of Scripture, and the Canons and Constitution of the [Anglican Church of North America],” the unknown representative wrote, citing the following: “Canon II.7: Of Christian Marriage, which defines marriage as a lifelong union of one man and one woman.”
“These convictions are non-negotiable,” the letter said. “If you ever repent and become functionally and theologically monogamous, you are welcome to participate.”
Tidwell is a pastor at the nondenominational Ormond Church in Canton, Missouri, according to Protestia.
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Tragic Kingdom: String of mysterious deaths shakes Disney World
The happiest place on Earth is going through a strange bout of deaths this fall.
In just a matter of weeks, four guests to Florida’s Walt Disney World have died, all from tragic circumstances.
‘People who … want to have that one last good happy family memory will go to Walt Disney World.’
The first death reportedly came on October 15 when an avid Disney World fan was found dead hours after she vanished.
Four deaths in four weeks
As the New York Post reported, 31-year-old Summer Equitz died at the Contemporary Resort, one of the theme park’s 25 hotels. Equitz even reportedly had a missing persons page posted on a Reddit for Disney fans, with relatives seemingly looking for help to locate her.
“She booked a flight [to Orlando] without telling us, unfortunately,” a relative allegedly wrote.
Unfortunately, Equitz died by multiple blunt impact injuries, originally thought to be by jumping onto the monorail; police declared she was “NOT struck by the monorail.”
A man in his 60s then reportedly died on October 21 after being taken to the hospital from Disney World. Entertainment Weekly said it was told by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office that there were “no signs of foul play.”
The man had a history of hypertension and end-stage liver disease.
More questions than answers
This “medical episode” was the most open-and-shut down case of the four, leaving far fewer questions than the next death at the Contemporary Resort.
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Photo by nik wheeler/Corbis via Getty Images
The third death came as visitors to the theme park posted a video about a “VERY large law enforcement” presence outside their balcony at Disney’s Bay Lake Tower.
Entertainment Weekly confirmed that Matthew Cohn died by suicide on October 23 at the Contemporary Resort, with a representative saying the cause of death was “multiple traumatic injuries.”
A fourth death was then reported by TMZ on Tuesday, with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office telling the outlet that a “woman in her 40s was transported to Celebration Hospital where she passed away.”
The sheriff’s office also told the Independent that there were “no signs of foul play.”
The woman was reportedly found at Disney’s Pop Century Resort, located near Epcot and Hollywood Studios.
RELATED: Disney feeds on yesterday while starving tomorrow’s childhood
Photo by Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images
‘Weird phenomenon’
Outlets like Fox Business and the New York Post have reported that since 1971, there have been a total of 68 deaths at Disney World.
In those 648 months, that would be an average of about 0.1 deaths per month before the recent four.
The strange phenomenon may be explained by remarks made by Jim Hill from the “Disney Wish” podcast in 2022.
According to Fox Business, Hill told the Post that there exists a “weird phenomenon where people who are severely depressed but want to have that one last good happy family memory will go to Walt Disney World.”
Fox Business, the New York Post, Entertainment Weekly, and the Independent were unable to acquire comment from Disney World on these matters. Blaze News has reached out for comment and will update this article with any applicable responses.
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‘Cosby Show’ actress on disgraced former boss: ‘Separate the creator from the creation’
A co-star from “The Cosby Show” says there should be nuance when talking about Bill Cosby’s career.
Cosby’s iconic family sitcom aired from September 1984 to April 1992 and is frequently mentioned among the greatest shows of all time, including in TV Guide’s top 50 shows list of 2002.
With Cosby since being accused of a plethora of sex crimes, networks pulled his show from the air and seemingly kept it off following an overturned conviction and release from prison in 2021.
Now, one of his former castmates is saying it’s time to separate Cosby’s personal life from his creative works.
‘Black people pushed through the door, and now we’re getting all colors.’
Appearing on an episode of actor Jamie Kennedy’s “Hate to Break It to Ya” podcast, a former child actor and Disney star came to the defense of the 88-year-old’s show, on which she starred.
“Separate the creator from the creation,” Raven-Symoné said. The actress played Olivia Kendall on “The Cosby Show.”
“That’s just where I live because the creation changed America, changed television,” she said of Cosby’s family-oriented program.
Quoth the Raven
The 39-year-old, whose full name is Raven-Symoné Christina Pearman-Maday, has had a long and successful career appearing in countless sitcoms, while shining as a young adult in the Disney kid classic “That’s So Raven,” which had 100 episodes in the mid-2000s.
At the same time, Symoné did not excuse Cosby’s alleged crimes on the podcast.
Photo By: Art Murphy/NBC) via Getty Images
After host Kennedy noted how many black people Cosby had provided jobs to, Symoné jumped in:
“He also has been accused of some horrific things,” she added, before reiterating, “And that does not excuse, but that’s his personal [life]. So personally, keep that there, and then business-wise, know what he did there as well. Like you said, both can live, and I think our culture is right to — don’t do wrong. Don’t do wrong personally. You just can’t do wrong.”
Color commentary
Kennedy and Symoné went back and forth on how great diversity is, with Symoné saying “thank goodness” to the idea of diversity being “protected” in the entertainment industry.
“Black people pushed through the door, and now we’re getting all colors, all types, all backgrounds, and it’s protected — thank goodness — now. So, it’s mandatory in a way,” she explained.
Kennedy agreed that diversity is a strength, pulling from his own experience living near “the hood” in Philadelphia.
Photo by Anna Webber/Getty Images for Teen Vogue
You don’t say
The former “View” pundit has never been shy about broadcasting her opinions.
Before the 2016 election, Symoné said she would leave the country if Donald Trump became president.
“I’m going to move to Canada with my entire family. I already have my ticket,” she said to then-cohost Whoopi Goldberg.
In 2022, she colloquially called for a “Don’t Say Straight” bill to be drafted in Florida in response to a law that Democrats dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. The term was born out of a misunderstanding of Florida law that barred teachers in the state from teaching about gender and sexuality with certain age groups.
Symoné is a lesbian and hosts a podcast with her wife, Miranda Maday. This is where Symoné reflected on commentary she made in 2014 when she said she was sick of being labeled.
“I don’t want to be labeled gay,” she said at the time, per ABC News. “I want to be labeled a human who loves humans.”
She added, “I’m tired of being labeled — I’m an American. I’m not an African-American. I’m an American.”
Symoné clarified in 2024 that she obviously knows where her ancestry lies and said that people had accused her of not considering herself black.
“When I am in another country, they don’t say, ‘Hey, look at that African-American over there.’ They say, ‘That’s an American,’ plain and simple.”
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Joe Rogan, Christian? The podcaster opens up about his ongoing exploration of faith
Joe Rogan may not be ready to call himself a Christian, but the former atheist does find himself rubbing shoulders with believers on many a Sunday.
The podcaster once again revealed details about his ongoing exploration of the faith, including his habit of regularly attending church.
‘It’s almost like everybody is under a spell.’
He also demonstrated a newfound appreciation of why someone would need God in his or her life. When recent podcast guest Francis Foster expressed amazement at how much a friend of his could rely on religion as a foundation for getting through tough times, Rogan didn’t seem nearly as surprised.
“If you really do believe that, it definitely will help you,” the comedian concurred.
Church going
At that point, fellow guest — and Foster’s “Triggernometry” podcast co-host — Konstantin Kisin chimed in that he himself had been becoming more religious.
“I haven’t got there, but I have started going to church every now and again,” Kisin explained.
“Do you enjoy it?” Rogan asked.
“I love it,” responded Kisin.
“I do too,” confessed Rogan, adding, “It’s a bunch of people that are going to try to make their lives better. They’re trying to be a better person.”
Rogan then described his church experience as getting together with a group of people who read and analyze Bible passages.
“I’m really interested in what these people were trying to say because I don’t think it’s nothing,” Rogan said.
No ‘fairy tale’
From there, the New Jersey native addressed claims he has heard from atheists and secularists who dismiss Christianity as being “foolish.”
The 58-year-old pushed back against the characterization that Christianity as a collection of “fairy tales” by “self-professed intelligent people,” noting that a proper understanding of the faith requires considering historical context, translation difficulties, and oral vs. written tradition.
“I think there’s something to what they’re saying,” Rogan offered.
Trust the science
While noting that modern science has found physical evidence for the biblical flood story told in Genesis, Rogan said he also appreciated the Bible as a compelling depiction of society 6,000 years ago.
Further segments in the podcast revealed that, perhaps due to a renewed interest in faith, Rogan’s algorithm may have even changed.
– YouTube
This became evident when the group discussed some of Kisin’s protest journalism, where he asks befuddled liberals the reason they are attending the current protest of the day.
In response, Rogan pointed to a video of a man doing interviews at a left-wing No Kings protest. The man asks attendees if they believe in human rights, to which they affirm, until they are asked about human rights “in the womb,” which is when they dismiss the idea.
“It’s almost like everybody is under a spell,” Rogan laughed.
Rogan first confirmed he was going to church in June, after hinting at the idea that he was becoming more religious. He described his attendance similarly at that time:
“It’s actually very nice; they’re all just trying to be better people.”
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