Author: J.P. Knowles

Jason Momoa said he regrets taking pictures and videos during a recent trip to the Sistine Chapel.

Earlier this week, the “Aquaman” star took to Instagram to share selfies he’d taken inside the Apostolic Palace. However photography is not permitted as the flash can be harmful to the artwork.

“I LOVE YOU ITALY what a beautiful start to our day off enjoying ROMA,” Momoa captioned his post. Fans were outraged with many saying the actor, 42, received special treatment.

“We, regular people, are not allowed to film inside the Sistine chapel,” one user commented. Another fan said, “We can’t take pics but ofc celebrities can nothing against Jason (I adore him) but it’s not fair.”

Momoa issued an apology video after the backlash.

“I just also wanted to say, if you ever felt that I disrespected your culture, it wasn’t my intention,” Momoa said.

“I came here when I was 19 or 20 to experience the Sistine Chapel. I’ve always wanted to and now that I can, I gave a wonderful donation to bring my friends and crew because we only had a couple days off to experience these places.”

“And then I found people wanted to take pictures with me, which is very odd, during a trip to the Vatican with all this wonder and they want to take pictures with me, which I don’t get, but regardless, I did,” he added.

“I was very respectful and I asked for permission from what I thought, would be okay. I would never want to do anything to disrespect someone’s culture. If I did, I apologize. It was not my intention. I paid to have that private moment and gave a nice donation to the church. I love you. I’m sorry if I offended you.”

Momoa has been in Italy shooting for his upcoming film “Fast X,” the sequel to “F9” and is the 10th main installment in the “Fast & Furious” franchise.

A California woman was walking her dog Saturday evening in East Hollywood when she found more than 100 unopened mail-in ballots.

Christina Repaci was walking her dog when she happened upon the box of ballots. “I turned the corner and I just saw this box of envelopes, and it was a USPS box. I picked some envelopes up and I saw they were ballots,” Repaci said, adding that she took the box home with her to figure out what to do with it.

Repaci called local politicians and the LA County Sheriff’s Department and also sent videos of the ballots to social media accounts.

“I actually called the Sheriff’s Department. I couldn’t get through, so I emailed them,” she said. “I got an email back from a deputy basically in so many words saying it wasn’t their problem and to contact the USPS.”

Eventually, Dean Logan with the LA County Registrar’s Office personally retrieved the ballots, according to the report. “Logan picked them up,” Repaci said. “I made sure he was legit. He gave me a card, and took a photo of the box.”

“It was so much stress and for just one person to get back to me. What do I do here? Now if it happens to someone else, they don’t know what to do. They’ll just put them in a dumpster or throw them in the trash. I just don’t think it should have been this hard to figure out what to do with legal ballots. This is a country of freedom and our votes should matter and something like this should never happen,” Repaci said.

The LA County Registrar’s Office released a statement saying they “reissued new ballots to the impacted voters.”

“Early signs indicate that this was an incident of mail theft and not a directed attempt at disrupting the election. We are cooperating with the United States Postal Service and law enforcement to investigate,” the statement continued.

The manhunt for former Alabama corrections officer Vicky White and capital murder suspect Casey White ended in tragedy Monday after Vicky died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Sheriff Rick Singleton announced Monday afternoon that they had captured the couple in Evansville, Indiana, following a police pursuit. They had been on the run since April 29 when she help him escape from the Lauderdale County Jail.

U.S. Marshals and local law enforcement were in pursuit of the pair after they were spotted at a hotel.

The Cadillac driven by Casey was involved in a wreck during the pursuit and he surrendered to law enforcement. Vicky was transported to Deaconess Hospital with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. She was pronounced dead at 7:06 p.m. CST by the Vanderburgh County coroner.

No citizens or law enforcement officers were injured during the escape or pursuit.

“We got a dangerous man off the streets today,” Singleton said of Casey. “He is never going to see the light of day again.”

“I had every bit of trust in Vicky White. She has been an exemplary employee,” Singleton said. “What in the world provoked her, prompted her, to pull something like this, I don’t know. I don’t know if we’ll ever know.”

Singleton said Casey will have to be extradited back to Alabama to face arraignment, but he is not sure how long that process will take.

Upon arrival in Alabama, Casey will be immediately arraigned and transferred to the Department of Corrections. Singleton said the judge has already agreed to come out to complete the process “even if it’s 2 a.m.”

Nancy Crampton Brophy, author of “How to Murder Your Husband,” stands accused of actually murdering her husband and she allegedly confessed to the crime while in prison.

Crampton Brophy is accused of shooting her husband in an Oregon Culinary Institute classroom in 2018 and is currently on trial for the murder.

Multnomah County Senior Deputy District Attorney Shawn Overstreet claims the self-published novelist and blogger described how she murdered her husband in detail to a cellmate.

Her cellmate, Andrea Jacobs, told detectives that Crampton Brophy confessed to shooting her husband in the back and chest at close range. Jacobs also told detectives that Crampton Brophy was embarrassed after admitting that she killed her husband and that their relationship became “very awkward.”

The self-published novelist apparently committed the murder so she could collect the $1.5 million life insurance. The prosecution also alleges that Crampton Brophy spent $15,000 on parts for a ghost gun in 2017.

Along with authoring the novel, “How to Murder Your Husband,” a search of the couple’s computer revealed a bookmarked article entitled, “10 Ways to Cover Up a Murder.”

Crampton Brophy’s defense attorney has argued that she was at a Starbucks in Washington County when her husband was murdered. “Nancy Crampton-Brophy has always been thoroughly, madly, crazy in love with Daniel Brophy, and she still is to this day. For Nancy Brophy, he was perfect,” her defense team argued during opening statements.

First lady Jill Biden made an unannounced trip to Ukraine on Sunday, where she visited with Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska in Uzhgorod, a city in the southwest of the country.

Biden and Zelenska met at a school currently housing Ukrainian refugees fleeing Russia’s invasion.

“I wanted to come on Mother’s Day,” Biden said. “We thought it was important to show the Ukrainian people this war has to stop. And this war has been brutal … The people of the United States stand with the people of Ukraine.”

Biden’s Mother’s Day stop in Ukraine is part of her larger Eastern European trip to Romania and Slovakia where she met with U.S. officials, government members and Ukrainian refugees.

“I thought it was important to show the Ukrainian people that this war has to stop, and this war has been brutal and that the people of the United States stand with the people of Ukraine,” Biden said.

Zelenska, who has not been seen in public since the invasion began, thanked Biden for “a courageous act.”

“We understand what it takes for the U.S. first lady to come here during a war, where the military actions are taking place every day, where the air raid sirens are happening every day — even today,” she said, speaking through a translator.

“We all feel your support,” she added. “We all feel the leadership of the U.S president. But we would like to note that Mother’s Day is a very symbolic day for us. Because we also feel your love and support during such an important day.”

The White House previously indicated that Biden would travel to the Slovakia-Ukraine border.

Jen Psaki will be leaving her role as White House press secretary on May 13 and will be replaced by deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

Biden announced the change on Thursday afternoon, praising Psaki “for returning decency, respect and decorum to the White House Briefing Room.” Although Psaki has not yet announced her plans upon leaving her role, earlier reports suggest she will join MSNBC.

“Karine not only brings the experience, talent and integrity needed for this difficult job, but she will continue to lead the way in communicating about the work of the Biden-Harris Administration on behalf of the American people. Jill and I have known and respected Karine a long time and she will be a strong voice speaking for me and this Administration,” Biden said in a statement.

Jean-Pierre has served in various senior communication and political roles for Biden, including during his campaign and when he was vice president. She was also previously an NBC News political analyst.

Jean-Pierre has held multiple press briefings since Biden took office, filling in for the first time in May 2021.

“She (Jean-Pierre) will be the first black woman and the first openly LGBTQ+ person to serve as the White House Press Secretary. Representation matters and she will give a voice to many, but also make many dream big about what is truly possible,” Psaki said about the upcoming changes.

“I can’t wait to see her shine as she brings her own style, brilliance and grace to the podium,” Psaki added.

A transgender inmate has been sentenced to seven years in prison for raping a woman while incarcerated in the women’s section of the Rikers Island jail.

Ramel Blount, who also goes by Diamond Blount, approached a 33-year-old woman exiting the shower, held her down by her neck and raped her Feb. 8, 2021, according to investigators. Blount pled guilty to attempted rape April 7 and must register as a sex offender and undergo eight years of post-release supervision once the sentence has been completed.

“Sexual violence against anyone is unacceptable,” Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said.

New York City allows transgender inmates to choose where they are held based on gender identity rather than biological sex, meaning that a male who identifies as a woman can be held in a women’s prison.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul directed the state’s Department of Correctional Services and Supervision to implement a similar policy in January, however the policy will need to be passed by state lawmakers before it goes into effect.

The state’s prison system considers transgender inmates’ requests to be transferred to women’s prisons on an individual basis and does not make these decisions based solely on external genital anatomy, according to a 2019 directive.

A 30-year-old Wisconsin man was arrested after entering a family’s home and attacking a woman with a hedge trimmer.

Sturgeon Bay police officers initially responded to a reported fight between two men occurring outside a home on Georgia Street when a second 911 call came in about a man armed with a hedge trimmer attacking a woman, the Sturgeon Bay Police Department (SBPD) stated Monday in a Facebook post.

On April 25 the unnamed suspect entered the family’s home without permission and struck the woman on the head with the hedge trimmer, according to the police. She required treatment for injuries.

Two children, both aged 5 witnessed the attack. The suspect struck one child with his hand before the two barricaded themselves in another room until police arrived, the SBPD said.

The woman’s grandfather had been working in the backyard when he heard the commotion. He ran inside to find the suspect, who then began attacking him, according to the police.

The grandfather fought back, and the altercation eventually ended up outside, according to SBPD. Police officers found the suspect in the backyard and took him into custody.

The suspect claimed to have gone into the home looking for car keys so he could leave town. The suspect had previously attempted to do the same at another nearby house, breaking several windows, the SBPD stated in the post.

The Door County District Attorney’s Office has charged the suspect with multiple counts, including attempted first-degree intentional homicide, armed robbery with use of force, armed burglary, aggravated battery, false imprisonment and felony intimidation of a victim. He also faces charges of criminal damage to property, burglary of a building or dwelling, felony bail jumping and “physical abuse of a child – intentionally causing bodily harm by conduct which creates a high probability of great bodily harm,” according to the SBPD’s post.

Johnny Depp’s penis was front and center in court Friday as he shook his head and laughed at the bizarre accusations during his defamation trial against Amber Heard.

On day 11 of the Depp-Heard trial laughter erupted in the courtroom when Depp’s bodyguard, Malcolm Connolly, was questioned about an incident that supposedly occurred in the foyer of Depp’s home.

A lawyer asked Connolly, “And Mr. Depp was trying to urinate in the foyer, wasn’t he?” Connelly, looking confused, said, “No.” The lawyer continued, “Mr. Depp had his penis out, didn’t he?” and was immediately interrupted with an objection. Connolly interjected, “I think I would’ve remembered seeing Mr. Depp’s penis.” Depp shook his head and buried it but could not contain his laughter.

The trial has seen many dark accusations, but this one caused the courtroom to erupt in laughter.

As the exchange about his penis continued, Depp’s expression shifted from one of shock to a chuckle, and eventually uncontained laughter as he buried his head.

People walking along the shore of Lake Mead notified local authorities Sunday after they discovered a barrel containing human remains.

Rangers from The National Park Service uncovered the barrel near the Hemenway Harbor on the lake’s western shore.

The barrel is believed to have been stuck in the mud for approximately 40 years and was finally revealed by low water levels due to ongoing drought conditions throughout the western U.S.

“We were docking our boat to go home and heard a woman scream,” witness Shawna Hollister said. “My husband walked over and found the body. His shirt and belt were the only thing we could see over his decomposing bones.”

Authorities confirmed that the barrel contained human remains and authorities say murder was the cause of death. The person’s identity has not been confirmed by the Clark County coroner’s office. The National Park Service is working with Las Vegas Metro police to fully recover the remains.

Photographs of the barrel and body were shared by news organizations and posted to Twitter. The barrel appears to be an oil drum, and the body appears to be crouched inside.