<ul class="summary-list"><li>Some members of <keyword id="1575" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Congress">Congress</keyword> are mulling new tax reforms for the super wealthy, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/09/us/politics/propublica-taxes-jeff-bezos-elon-musk.html">NYT reports</a>. </li><li>A <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/the-secret-irs-files-trove-of-never-before-seen-records-reveal-how-the-wealthiest-avoid-income-tax">ProPublica report</a> showed how some of richest Americans had legally slashed their income tax bills. </li><li>A GOP senator who oversaw a 2017 corporation <keyword id="6632836" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="tax-cut">tax cut</keyword> criticized the reported tax avoidance. </li></ul><p>A <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/the-secret-irs-files-trove-of-never-before-seen-records-reveal-how-the-wealthiest-avoid-income-tax">ProPublica investigation</a> into the tax records of the richest people in the US, which showed that some avoided paying federal income tax even as their wealth grew, has renewed debate in Congress about tax reform, The New York Times reports. </p><p>The nonprofit <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news">news</keyword> site <keyword id="287807" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="ProPublica">ProPublica</keyword> <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/the-secret-irs-files-trove-of-never-before-seen-records-reveal-how-the-wealthiest-avoid-income-tax">published a</a><a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/the-secret-irs-files-trove-of-never-before-seen-records-reveal-how-the-wealthiest-avoid-income-tax"> report</a> on Tuesday showing how much the 25 richest Americans - including <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-did-not-pay-income-taxes-2-years-report-2021-6">Jeff Bezos</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-paid-little-in-taxes-2014-2018-propublica-report-2021-6">Elon Musk</a>, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg - paid in tax. The report highlighted how <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/propublicas-billionaire-tax-data-america-close-step-up-charity-loopholes-2021-6">two key tax loopholes benefit billionaires</a>.</p><p>Some billionaires had slashed their tax bill via deductions made possible by tax cuts passed during the Trump administration, the ProPublica report said.</p><p>Republican Sen. Patrick J. Toomey, of Pennsylvania, told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/09/us/politics/propublica-taxes-jeff-bezos-elon-musk.html">The New York Times</a> that a 2017 corporation tax cut that he helped author was not intended to let the super-rich avoid paying <keyword id="6368033" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="taxes">taxes</keyword>.</p><p>"My intention as the author of the 2017 tax reform was not that multibillionaires ought to pay no taxes," Toomey told the NYT. "I believe dividends and capital gains should be taxed at a lower rate, but certainly not zero."</p><p><em><strong>Read more: </strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/propublicas-billionaire-tax-data-america-close-step-up-charity-loopholes-2021-6">ProPublica's billionaire tax data shows the importance of closing 2 key tax loopholes. Here's how.</a></em></p><p>ProPublica reported that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-paid-little-in-taxes-2014-2018-propublica-report-2021-6">Musk's wealth grew by $14 billion</a> from 2014 to 2018, but that he only paid $455 million in taxes. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-did-not-pay-income-taxes-2-years-report-2021-6">Bezos did not pay any income taxes</a> for at least two years between 2006 and 2018, the report said.</p><p>Buffett paid minimal tax by holding Berkshire Hathaway stock and not paying a dividend, according to ProPublica's report. The <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/warren-buffett-defends-propublica-tax-rate-berkshire-hathaway-stock-dvidends-2021-6-1030504042">investor defended himself</a> in a statement to the news outlet, saying his shareholders didn't want a dividend and that he gave nearly all of his money to good causes.</p><p>A Republican-led Congress cut the <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/7-charts-showing-trump-tax-cuts-not-economic-rocket-fuel-2019-12-1028780773">corporation tax rate from 35% to 21%</a> in 2017 under former President Donald Trump, benefiting company shareholders. The 2017 <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/taxes/trumps-tax-reform-plan-explained/">Tax Cuts and Jobs Act</a> also reduced the tax rate for the top income bracket from 39.6% to 37%. </p><p>Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden, chairman of the Senate finance committee, said he was <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/propublicas-tax-revelations-lead-to-calls-for-reforms-and-investigation">considering new reforms</a> following the report, but did not share details. </p><p>Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren has pushed for a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wealth-tax-would-have-raised-114-billion-elizabeth-warren-2020-2021-3">wealth tax</a> - a 2% tax on a person's net worth between $50 million and $1 billion. In March, Warren introduced an <a href="https://www.warren.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Wealth%20Tax%20Bill%20Text.pdf">Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act</a> with Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Rep. Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania. </p><p>"Raising multibillionaires' income taxes isn't enough when these guys don't grow their fortunes from income," Warren <a href="https://twitter.com/SenWarren/status/1402772111270240256">tweeted</a> Wednesday. "We need a Wealth Tax in American to help fix a tax system that's rigged for the rich and powerful."  </p>

ProPublica's bombshell tax investigation reportedly has lawmakers eyeing policy changes. One senator who designed a key corporation tax cut says it wasn't supposed to let 'multibillionaires' avoid tax.

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="106037" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Pennsylvania">Pennsylvania</keyword> Lt. Gov. <keyword id="3750336" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="john-fetterman">John Fetterman</keyword> has formally entered the state's 2022 Senate race.</li><li>Fetterman is well-known for his blunt talk, progressive views, and blue-collar appeal.</li><li>The seat is being vacated by two-term GOP Sen. Pat Toomey.</li></ul><p>Democratic Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman on Monday formally announced that he would run for the US Senate in 2022, pledging to fight for voters across the state who "feel left behind."</p><p>The seat <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/pat-toomey-retirement-pennsylvania-2022-elections-20201005.html">will be vacated</a> by two-term GOP Sen. Pat Toomey, who is retiring after the 2022 midterm elections, in what will be one of the most competitive races in the country.</p><p>Fetterman, a former mayor of the small Western Pennsylvania borough of Braddock, has become <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gY7JuojLNjI">well-known</a> beyond the Keystone State for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/john-fetterman-democratic-rising-star-says-hes-just-being-honest-2020-11">his blunt talk</a>, progressive views, and blue-collar appeal.</p><p>In his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6x6MkUfZEWE">announcement video</a>, Fetterman reflected on his desire to fight for citizens in economically-devastated localities across the state.</p><p>"There's a lot of great towns in Pennsylvania that … feel like their best days were generations ago or more," he said. "Nobody deserves to be abandoned. These communities deserve to be helped."</p><p>Fetterman speaks fondly of Braddock, the <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2018/08/heres-what-happens-when-an-old-steel-town-gets-real-about-the-environment/">former industrial mecca</a> where he served as mayor from 2005 to 2019 before joining Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf in the state's executive branch.</p><p>"The things that I learned in Braddock is that every place matters," he said. "No place deserves to be written off. These places across Pennsylvania feel left behind. They don't feel part of the conversation. That's why Donald Trump went to these small counties and held these big rallies. We cannot afford to take any vote for granted. We cannot afford to take any place for granted."</p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6x6MkUfZEWE" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><strong><em>Read more: </em></strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-white-house-transition-team-administration-remotely-workouts-2021-2"><em>Inside the 7-minute virtual workouts the Biden transition team used to stay connected as staffers prepared to demolish Trump's policies</em></a></p><p>He added: "Talk is cheap, but for the last 20 years, I have been working to represent, rebuild and to advance these places."</p><p>Since informing the Philadelphia Inquirer that <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/john-fetterman-2022-pennsylvania-senate-campaign-launch-20210208.html">he was exploring</a> a run last month, Fetterman has already raised nearly $1.5 million.</p><p>With the Senate currently split between 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans and Vice President Kamala Harris's tiebreaking ability giving the narrowest of majorities to the Democrats, the Pennsylvania race will almost certainly attract heavy spending from both parties and outside groups.</p><p>While Fetterman is the most prominent Democratic candidate in the race at the moment, other <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/02/08/fetterman-senate-pennsylvania-466932">potential candidates</a> include Reps. Conor Lamb, Chrissy Houlahan, and Brendan Boyle, as well as state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta.</p><p>Fetterman, for his part, is forging a message of unity in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/2020-election-results">a state</a> where former President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/19/us/politics/pennsylvania-democrats-trump.html">was able to peel off</a> a lot of disaffected Democrats and ramp up conservative turnout.</p><p>"I'm going to fight not for one part of Pennsylvania, not for one party of Pennsylvania, but for one Pennsylvania," he emphasized in his announcement. "Just the way I did as mayor, just the way I'm doing as lieutenant governor, and just the way I would as your next US senator."</p>

PA Lt. Gov. John Fetterman launches 2022 Senate bid in an appeal to voters who 'feel left behind'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>President <keyword id="6354862" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="trump">Trump</keyword>'s doctor has declined to answer several major questions about the president's <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID-19</keyword> case.</li><li>His physicians are bound by <keyword id="2561883" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="hipaa">HIPAA</keyword> privacy laws, which only allow them to disclose the details about a patient's <keyword id="6354750" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="health">health</keyword> that the patient has authorized them to share.</li><li>No law requires presidents to share all their health information with the public. </li><li>"The ethics are stacked up against the public understanding, knowing, and really following what's happening," one expert said.</li></ul><p>The public will likely never know all the details surrounding President Donald Trump's battle with COVID-19.</p><p>His doctor, Sean Conley, declined to share key details about Trump's health during a press conference on Monday, citing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).</p><p>"I'm not at liberty to discuss," Conley said when asked about Trump's lung scans, adding, "there are HIPAA rules and regulations that restrict me in sharing certain things for his safety and his own health and reasons."</p><p>Over the weekend, Conley and his team also would not say whether the president had gotten supplemental oxygen. They later acknowledged he had on two occasions. The likely reason for these omissions is that Conley is limited by the same privacy laws all doctors are: HIPAA stipulates that <keyword id="6354525" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="healthcare">healthcare</keyword> providers can't share anything about a patient's condition without their consent. </p><p>That means Conley can only reveal the information about Trump's condition that the president allows.</p><p>"The ethics are stacked up against the public understanding, knowing, and really following what's happening," Arthur Caplan, professor of bioethics at New York University Gross School of Medicine, told Business Insider, "even though that's crucial because we have president in denial about the disease and downplaying it at every turn."</p><h2>Conley can only share details that Trump authorizes</h2><p>On Monday, Conley also declined to say when Trump last tested negative for the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword>. He wouldn't give specifics about some of his medications either.</p><div type="image" title="trump walter reed discharge" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78504480" hostid="261"></div><p>Even though being more forthcoming about the timeline of Trump's infection would assist with contact tracing, <a href="https://www.tuftsmedicalcenter.org/physiciandirectory/helen-boucher">Dr. Helen Boucher</a>, professor of medicine at Tufts University Medical Center, said she understands why Conley isn't doing so. </p><p>"As physicians we have a duty to maintain our patients' confidentiality," she told Business Insider. </p><p>HIPAA makes it illegal for doctors to disclose sensitive patient health data without the patient's agreement. If doctors do share such information without patients' consent, they could lose their license, go to jail, or face fines.  So everyone, including Trump, must give healthcare providers permission to discuss their cases — or can choose not to. </p><p>"Physicians' code of ethics and duty to their patients hinges on not revealing what they don't want revealed," Caplan said. "There's no exception for the president."</p><p>If anything, he added, the pressure to maintain confidentiality is heightened for Conley.</p><p>"The assumption of privacy is being reinforced by the power of the Commander-In-Chief asking for it," Caplan said, adding, "traditionally, sadly, the White House has always spun medical information for political purposes."</p><p>So by refusing to reveal whether any of the president's scans were abnormal and when his last negative test result came in, Conley was likely following his patient's orders.</p><p>"The spokesperson is only as good as the person they're speaking on behalf of. If there is pressure to say certain things and not to say certain things, that could be part of the game as well," Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious-disease specialist at University of California San Francisco, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-doctor-sean-conley-medical-training-history-qualifications-2020-10">previously told Business Insider</a>.</p><h2><strong>Trump isn't obligated to tell the public anything about his health</strong></h2><p>There's no law saying that presidents must release details about their health to the public. </p><p>Instead, it has become something they do voluntarily. Presidents going back to Ronald Reagan have released some of their medical information, though in no uniform format. Presidential candidates also commonly do this when running for office, though again, it's not a requirement and they control what information their doctors offer.</p><p>When Trump was running for president in 2016, his longtime physician, Dr. Harold Bornstein, wrote a letter declaring that Trump "will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency." </p><p><em><div type="image" title="trump walter reed" height="733" width="1024" msid="78504481" hostid="261"></div></em></p><h2><strong>Might the rules change? Probably not.</strong></h2><p>Members of Congress have considered forcing presidents and candidates to be more transparent about their health given the power they wield, but no proposals have received widespread political support.</p><p>Proponents of evaluating politicians' fitness point out that it's a common practice in other jobs, such as for airline pilots and members of the military. But those opposed understand that a requirement to reveal medical histories could bring to light unfavorable things in leaders' or candidates' pasts, such as a history of drug use or sexually transmitted infection.  </p><p>In 2018, Democratic Rep. Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania tried to change the rules about access to a president's medical records. Boyle introduced the Stable Genius Act, which would obligate each political party to file a Federal Election Commission report certifying that their nominee had received an exam from the medical office of the secretary of the Navy.</p><p>The year prior, Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah, who was chairman of the House Oversight Committee at the time, said he was <a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/house/320120-chaffetz-considering-bill-requiring-presidential-candidates-to-undergo-medical">considering introducing legislation</a> that would require presidents to undergo an independent physical and mental health exam.</p><p>But it's unlikely, Caplan said, that such laws would pass — even amid an unprecedented pandemic. </p><p><em>Morgan McFall-Johnsen contributed reporting to this story. </em></p>

Trump's doctors can only legally share health information that the president authorizes — which is why we don't get the full picture

<ul><li><strong>Every week, Business Insider India picks up all the new releases across theatres and different OTT platforms in India for its readers. <br /></strong></li><li><strong>This week Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is streaming on <keyword id="163880" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Apple-TV">Apple TV</keyword>. <br /></strong></li><li><strong>Visit Business Insider for more stories.<br /></strong></li></ul>Every week, Business Insider India picks up all the new releases across theatres and OTT platforms in India for the readers. <br /><br /><strong>Once upon a time in Hollywood on Apple TV</strong><br /><br /><div type="image" title="once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-920x584" msid="72293660" hostid="261"></div>

<br /><strong>Director: Quentin Tarantino<br />Stars: <keyword id="26566" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Leonardo-DiCaprio">Leonardo DiCaprio</keyword>, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie <br />IMDb: 7.9/10</strong><br /><br /><strong>Description: </strong>In this Tarantino’s extravaganza, an aging actor Rick Dalton (DiCaprio) and his stunt double Cliff Booth (Pitt) worry about their future in the competitive Hollywood. In a parallel storyline, Margot Robbie portrays Dalton's neighbour Sharon Tate, who was murdered by members of the <keyword id="260614" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Charles-Manson">Charles Manson</keyword> family in real life. But Tarantino adds twists and turns to the plot, and shows Bruce Lee as a feisty and egoistic actor. <br /><br /><strong>What critics say: </strong>It is Tarantino's best, bravest and most confrontationally impudent movie since <keyword id="62231" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pulp-Fiction">Pulp Fiction</keyword>., wrote <keyword id="8389246" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nigel-Andrews">Nigel Andrews</keyword> from Financial Times<br /><br /><strong>Out of love on Hotstar <br /></strong><br /><div type="image" title="Capture" msid="72293696" hostid="261"></div>

<br /><strong>Director: Tigmanshu Dhulia and Aijaz Khan<br />Stars: Rasika Dugal <br />Description: </strong>Dr. Meera Kapoor’s perfect marriage runs into a problem as her husband who is facing a mid-life crisis has an affair with a 22 year old girl<br /><br /><strong><br />The Conspiracy on Amazon Prime </strong><br /><div type="image" title="hqdefault" msid="72293701" hostid="261"></div>

<br /><strong>Director: Christopher MacBride <br />Stars: Aaron Poole, James Gilbert, <keyword id="36019" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="ian-anderson">Ian Anderson</keyword> <br />IMDb: 6.3/10 <br /></strong><br /><strong>Description: </strong>Two filmmakers feature a conspiracy theorist in their movie but soon the theorist vanishes without a trace. Both of them begin a quest to look for the theorist only to discover an ancient secret society. <br /><strong><br />What critics say: </strong>Continually surprises and engages the viewer even when it's falling apart wrote Christopher Runyon Movie Mezzanine<br /><br /><strong><br />The Guard on Amazon Prime </strong><br /><strong><br /><div type="image" title="Still-from-The-Guard-007" msid="72293721" hostid="261"></div>

<br />Director: John Michael McDonagh<br />Stars: Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle, Mark Strong <br />IMDb: 7.3/10 </strong><br /><br /><strong>Description: </strong>Sergeant Gerry Boyle — a small town Irish policeman with confrontational personality — is forced to join hands with an FBI agent join hands to take down an international drug smuggling cartel. <br /><br /><strong>What critics say: </strong>The Guard offers an offbeat take on a genre without skimping on the violence or gunplay, said Jim Schembri from The Age (Australia).<br />

Weekend Watchlist: The top shows on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and other streaming services

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5cc1ee2c16c65a54604e5615-2400/ap19115566597930.jpg" border="0" alt="Former Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden arrives at the Wilmington train station Thursday April 25, 2019 in Wilmington, Delaware. Biden announced his candidacy for president via video on Thursday morning. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)" data-mce-source="AP Photo/Matt Slocum" data-mce-caption="Joe Biden." data-link="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Election-2020-Joe-Biden/ac1866c0de1e47cd9f54f7ea2177896c/9/0" /><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Election-2020-Joe-Biden/ac1866c0de1e47cd9f54f7ea2177896c/9/0">AP Photo/Matt Slocum</a></span></p><p class="caption">Joe Biden.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>Former Vice President <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-joe-biden-bio-age-family-key-positions-2019-3">Joe Biden</a> announced a 2020 presidential run on Thursday, the third attempt of his career.</li><li>Biden immediately began racking up high profile endorsements, including several senators from outside his home state.</li><li>Biden is the 20th candidate to enter the 2020 presidential race on the Democratic side.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit BusinessInsider.com for more stories.</a></li></ul><p>Former Vice President <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-joe-biden-bio-age-family-key-positions-2019-3">Joe Biden</a> immediately received several high profile endorsements upon <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/former-vice-president-joe-biden-running-for-president-2020-2019-1">announcing his 2020 presidential campaign</a> Thursday.</p><p>The slew of endorsements and prominent backers suggest Biden is looking to build a strong coalition of support from across the Democratic Party.</p><p><em><strong>Read more: </strong></em><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-joe-biden-bio-age-family-key-positions-2019-3"><em>Joe Biden is running for president in 2020. Here's everything we know about the candidate and how he stacks up against the competition</em></a></p><p>There are six sitting senators also running for president in 2020. Within an hour of Biden's announcement, more senators had endorsed the former vice president than any of their colleagues in the race who have been running for several months.</p><p>Shortly after Biden's announcement early Thursday morning, Democratic Sens. Chris Coons and Tom Carper of Delaware threw their support behind Biden, a longtime senator from the first state in the union. Delaware's at-large Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester also endorsed Biden.</p><p>"We are at a crucial moment in our history," Coons said in a statement. "We need leaders who will bring us together instead of tearing us apart, who will focus on the real issues facing American families, and who will restore the United States' role in the world as a force for stability, freedom and human rights. Joe Biden is that leader, and I'm proud to endorse him for President of the United States."</p><p>Outside Biden's home state, Alabama Sen. Doug Jones, who is facing a tough re-election fight in 2020, also endorsed the former vice president, followed by Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey and California Sen. Dianne Feinstein.</p><p><span>"The quality that makes Joe stand out is his ability to bring people together to find common ground while standing up for what he believes is right," Jones <a href="https://twitter.com/DougJones/status/1121381353117843456">wrote on Twitter</a>. "We need to listen to each other &amp; get things done for working people. Joe can, and will, do that. That's why I support Joe Biden."</span></p><p>In addition, Biden managed to earn support from several House lawmakers, including Reps. Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts, Thomas Suozzi of New York, as well as Brendan Boyle and Matt Cartwright, who are from Pennsylvania.</p><p><em><strong>Read more: </strong></em><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/barack-obama-does-not-formally-endorse-joe-biden-after-2020-announcement-2019-4"><em>Joe Biden says he told Obama not to formally endorse him</em></a></p><p>Biden also received a supportive statement from former President Barack Obama, which stopped short of a full endorsement. Biden told reporters that he personally requested Obama not endorse him, as he is looking to court support on his own merits.</p><p>One endorsement came from an unlikely place when anti-Trump attorney Michael Avenatti wrote on Twitter he would be backing Biden.</p><div><p lang="en" data-aria-label-part="0">"I am extremely happy that @JoeBiden has decided to enter the race," Avenatti wrote. "He offers Dems the very best chance in 2020, especially in key states. He has the fight, intelligence and fortitude to beat Trump and begin to make America, America again. He has my enthusiastic support."</p><p lang="en" data-aria-label-part="0">Avenatti, who at one point was mulling a 2020 presidential run for himself, lost a lot of his favor in the Democratic Party for both his handling of a female accusing Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, as well as recently being <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/michael-avenatti-indicted-36-counts-financial-fraud-faces-335-years-2019-4">indicted for 36 counts of financial crimes</a>.</p><p lang="en" data-aria-label-part="0">Shortly after endorsing Biden, Avenatti set his Twitter account to private.</p></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mueller-report-trump-takeaways-from-redacted-version-russia-investigation-2019-4">Here are 7 takeaways from special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/FoNPyinM-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

Joe Biden has already built up a big advantage over his 2020 rivals in the first day of his campaign

<div type="image" title="Joe Biden Ireland" height="600" width="1200" msid="79246891" hostid="261"></div><ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="99719" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Joe-Biden">Joe Biden</keyword> is likely to make <keyword id="6358817" type="LOCATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="ireland">Ireland</keyword> his first state visit as US president, a source on his campaign told Business Insider.</li><li>The move, if confirmed, would be a coup for the Irish government and could heap more pressure on UK Prime Minister <keyword id="6380867" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="boris-johnson">Boris Johnson</keyword> to shift policy on <keyword id="6355333" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Brexit">Brexit</keyword>.</li><li>In County Louth and County Mayo, where many of Biden's ancestors were from, residents have taken to the streets to celebrate his victory over President Donald Trump.</li><li>"It's very much a case of local Joe," said Paul Allen, a spokesman for the Irish for Biden campaign.</li><li>Irish senators and campaigners say they expect Biden's ties to the country mean he will face down Johnson over his Brexit plans for Northern Ireland.</li><li>"For the first time since JFK, we'll have someone who is a real Irish American in the White House," Irish Sen. Erin McGreehan told Insider.</li></ul><p>President-elect Joe Biden is expected to make Ireland his first foreign state visit, a source in his campaign told Business Insider, in what supporters in his ancestral home believe would be a watershed moment in their relationship with the United States.</p><p>The move, if confirmed, would be a coup for Micheál Martin's government and would add to growing pressure on UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to change course on Brexit after a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/joe-biden-victory-spells-trouble-uk-us-relations-boris-johnson-2020-11?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">difficult beginning to his relationship</a> with the US president-elect.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/joe-biden-first-call-with-boris-johnson-brexit-warning-2020-11?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">Biden's recent interventions</a> in the Brexit negotiations have been greeted favorably in Ireland and with suspicion in the UK government, where Johnson is being urged to soften his position on the Northern Ireland border to strike a trade deal with the European Union.</p><p>If Johnson does bend, then Biden's interventions would undoubtedly be credited as a major factor and a further sign of the increased importance of Ireland as an ally for the US.</p><p>Biden's interest in the matter is rooted in a deeply felt affinity with his ancestral homeland.</p><p><em><strong>Read more: </strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/joe-biden-victory-spells-trouble-uk-us-relations-boris-johnson-2020-11?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">Joe Biden's election victory could soon spell trouble for Britain's 'mini-Trump' Boris Johnson</a></em></p><p>When he was a small child struggling to overcome his stutter, he spent hours in front of the mirror reciting the poetry of Yeats. He's a distant cousin of Rob Kearney, the Irish rugby player, who has visited the White House. Biden <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/us/biden-win-sparks-louth-mayo-rivalry-for-greatest-claim-1.4403738" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spoke</a> with Irish cousins over the phone in the months leading up to the US Election Day and recited poetry by another giant of Irish literature, Seamus Heaney, <a href="https://twitter.com/rtenews/status/1325192497337950208?s=08" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in a widely shared election campaign video</a>.</p><p>Earlier this year, <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/DarranMarshall/status/1325146584284323841?s=08" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he jokingly told the BBC</a> "I'm Irish" when asked for an interview.</p><h2>Biden's Irish supporters are celebrating victory</h2><div type="image" title="biden" height="1250" width="2500" msid="79246893" hostid="261"></div>A week on since Biden's election victory, his supporters in Ireland, where 10 of his 16 great-great-grandparents were born, are still celebrating that a distant relative is set for the White House.<p>"It's very much a case of local Joe," Paul Allen, a spokesman of the Irish for Biden campaign, told Business Insider last week. "He's like your favorite uncle — that's the sort of character he is."</p><p>He added: "Everybody in these areas is absolutely ecstatic that one of their own is going to be president. They were really rooting for their local hero. There were sleepless nights, and it's all that people were talking about."</p><p>Claire Tighe, the vice chair of the UK Labour Party's Irish Society, told Business Insider: "For a descendant of those Irish migrants to become president of the United States is a phenomenal story, and it has really moved something in people.</p><p>"There is a massive pride that runs really deep. It's really quite hard to describe."</p><p>Tighe is from County Mayo in western Ireland, where a handful of Biden's Irish ancestors who emigrated to the US in the 19th century were also born. The others originated from the eastern side of the country, in County Louth.</p><p>Residents of County Mayo and County Louth have likened Biden's victory to the success of Ireland's beloved title-winning boxer Barry McGuigan. In County Mayo there's talk of a "Biden bounce" helping its Gaelic football team win silverware after decades of disappointment. Mayo has played in nine finals over the past 70 years, losing them all. Biden reportedly <a href="https://www.rte.ie/news/us-election-2020/2020/1110/1177302-joe-biden/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">brought up</a> Mayo's recent win over Roscommon in his call with Martin last week.</p><div type="image" title="Joe Biden supporters Ireland" height="750" width="1500" msid="79246896" hostid="261"></div><h2>'I would assume that the very first overseas visit will be Ireland'</h2><p>"Biden is acutely aware of his Irish ancestry," said Brian O'Dwyer, a cochair of the official Irish American Democrats lobby group who is also a member of Biden's finance committee. "More than that he is extremely proud of his Irish ancestry and identifies himself as a full-scale Irish American. He never leaves an opportunity to identify as Irish."</p><p>Erin McGreehan, the senator of the Fianna Fáil party from County Louth, told Business Insider: "It seems that for very much for his entire life has grabbed on to his Irish identity. That has been a very important part of his whole life story, his grounding in whatever he has been doing every step of the way."</p><p>Irish ministers have already contacted the Biden team to invite him to Ireland once travel restrictions put in place to combat the coronavirus are lifted. He told people when he visited Ireland in 2016 that he would return within the first year of his term as president, should he be elected. Arrangements are being made for Simon Coveney, the minister for foreign affairs, to extend a formal invitation.</p><p>A well-placed figure on the Biden campaign told Business Insider that they expected Ireland to be his first state visit.</p><p>"I would assume that the very first overseas visit will be Ireland," the person said. "I can't think of any other place that he would rather go, given the last time he was vice president, the kind of adulation, rock-star status that he has in Ireland."</p><p>A leader in the Irish American community is at the heart of Biden's successful campaign. John McCarthy, Biden's deputy national political director, was previously chief of staff to US Rep. Brendan Boyle, whose father emigrated to the US from Ireland in the 1970s and has been involved in Irish philanthropic organizations for several years.</p><h2>Biden's victory heaps pressure on Johnson over Brexit</h2><div type="image" title="biden boris 2" height="1815" width="3630" msid="79246899" hostid="261"></div><p>There is a shared belief among Irish politicians and campaigners that Biden's victory will put greater pressure from the White House on Johnson to change tack on Brexit — namely, his refusal to ditch a controversial plan to disapply parts of the UK and EU's withdrawal agreement pertaining to Northern Ireland.</p><p>His government has acknowledged that going ahead with its plan <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/brexit-brandon-lewis-uk-plans-break-international-law-northern-ireland-2020-9?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">would break international law</a>, and it faces staunch opposition at home and abroad.</p><p>Johnson is sticking with the plan, despite the House of Lords last week voting it down by a large majority.</p><p>Biden brought up the issue of Northern Ireland twice in his recent phone call with Johnson, <a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeWParker/status/1326255920943427586?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Financial Times</a> reported. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/joe-biden-first-call-with-boris-johnson-brexit-warning-2020-11?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A readout of the call</a> from the Biden transition team said he "reaffirmed his support for the Good Friday Agreement." In September, he made waves in Britain with a tweet warning that a post-Brexit free-trade deal between the UK and US was "contingent upon respect for the Agreement and preventing the return of a hard border."</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Joe Biden  (@JoeBiden) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1306334039557586944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 16, 2020</a></blockquote><p>Biden's tweet about Brexit in September was "in many ways a dose of reality," said Frank Costello, a leading figure in Irish America who served as chief of staff to Rep. Joseph P Kennedy II in the 1990s.</p><p>"Joe's interest in Ireland is deep and legitimate," he said. "It's not just 'a great granny came from Ireland.'"</p><p>Irish Sen. John McGahon of the Fine Gael party agreed, telling Business Insider that "the line Boris Johnson has been taking for the last six months went down fine with Donald Trump" but that "there's a new president in the White House who has a totally different view on how the United Kingdom government has been handling their affairs."</p><div type="image" title="Joe Biden supporters Ireland" height="749" width="1499" msid="79246902" hostid="261"></div><p>In the meantime, the celebrations in Ireland are set to continue until Biden's inauguration in January.</p><p>"For the first time since JFK," McGahon said, "we'll have someone who is a real Irish American in the White House."</p><p>Allen said the Irish for Biden campaign was in discussions with the president-elect's team about sending an eight-person, pump-and-drum band from the County Louth town of Carlingford to Washington for the occasion.</p><p>"It'll be a little piece of home that he will enjoy," he told Business Insider.</p>

Joe Biden's Irish supporters are celebrating the victory of their 'favorite uncle' as he faces Boris Johnson over Brexit

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5829e760691e881b008b68ac-2400/ap_16296634465095.jpg" alt="donald trump steve bannon" data-mce-source="AP Photo/ Evan Vucci" data-mce-caption="Donald Trump and Steve Bannon with a park ranger in Pennsylvania."><p class="source"><span>AP Photo/ Evan Vucci</span></p><p class="caption">Donald Trump and Steve Bannon with a park ranger in Pennsylvania.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>While mainstream news outlets search inwardly for answers after the shocking victory of President-elect Donald Trump, Breitbart News appears to be riding his wave to the presidency.<p>The far-right website, which bolstered Trump's candidacy in its infancy with positive coverage, has been run since 2012 by Steve Bannon, who was named Trump's chief&#xa0;strategist on Sunday. Bannon's appointment set off a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-steve-bannon-2016-11">firestorm of criticism</a>, as politicians of all political stripes argued that he harbored sympathies for white nationalist arguments and rhetoric.</p><p>In recent days, the website has flexed its emboldened political clout, boasting of <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2016/11/07/breitbart-news-hits-record-240-million-pageviews-37-million-uniques-in-october/">record-shattering traffic</a> and announcing it will expand its US operations and <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-trump-strategy-idUSKBN1342TP">launch new sites</a> in Germany and France. It has also v<a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/media/306106-breitbart-news-planning-lawsuit-against-major-media-company">owed it will sue</a> a "major media company" over claims that Breitbart is a "white nationalist website," and is reportedly trying to <a href="http://pagesix.com/2016/11/12/billy-bush-courted-by-breitbart-for-comeback-gig/">recruit Billy Bush</a>, the disgraced ex-host of NBC's "Today" who exchanged crude sexual remarks with Trump in a 2005 incident captured by a hot mic.</p><p>All the while, Breitbart's coverage has continued to flaunt its provocative spin on the news, to the outrage of mainstream reporters and fact-checkers. A recent article, for instance, went viral for declaring Trump won a "7.5 million popular vote landslide" in the country's heartland - a misleading assertion which, as the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/11/15/thanks-to-a-bad-map-and-bizarre-math-breitbart-can-report-that-trump-won-the-real-popular-vote/?postshare=9711479252952980&amp;tid=ss_tw">Washington Post noted</a>, can only be made true by arbitrarily defining "heartland" and discounting 52 counties Clinton won.</p><p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Thanks to a bad map and bizarre math, Breitbart can report that Trump won the REAL popular vote <a href="https://t.co/1jv17Fez0W">https://t.co/1jv17Fez0W</a> <a href="https://t.co/C7O3GuB3k4">pic.twitter.com/C7O3GuB3k4</a></p>- Chris Cillizza  (@TheFix) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/798671217607774208">November 15, 2016</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div></p><p>Now, Breitbart's status as a brazenly pro-Trump news outlet is prompting questions around what role the website will play in media coverage of the Trump administration, and how close its ties will remain to Bannon and the president-elect himself.</p><p>As former Breitbart spokesman Kurt Bardella told Business Insider recently, it's unclear where Breitbart ends and Trump's government begins - perhaps there is no division.</p><p>"I don't look at them as a news source, I look at them as a de-facto wing of the Trump administration," Bardella said.&#xa0;"As long as he is in office, they are his mouthpiece.</p><p>"Just consider Breitbart the official vehicle of the Trump White House."</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/582cf194e02ba71c008b4cba-2000/gettyimages-112771411.jpg" alt="andrew breitbart" data-mce-source="Getty Images/Brendan Smialowski" data-mce-caption="Conservative activist Andrew Breitbart listens to a question during an event at the Heritage Foundation April 21, 2011 in Washington, DC."><p class="source"><span>Getty Images/Brendan Smialowski</span></p><p class="caption">Andrew Breitbart listens to a question during an event in 2011.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><h3>The evolution of Breitbart</h3><p>Breitbart was founded in 2008 by Andrew Breitbart, the late conservative firebrand known for his commentary excoriating liberal media bias and political corruption.</p><p>Under his leadership, the website generated news coverage that was hailed by the right-wing for its populist, anti-establishment slant, and reviled by the left for purportedly inflaming partisan tensions and using handpicked details devoid of context to mislead readers.</p><p>Breitbart is also notorious for offering provocative, even deliberately outrageous commentary that is separate from its news coverage, and written by far-right bloggers such as <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/twitter-permanently-bans-milo-yiannopoulos-2016-7">Milo Yiannopoulous</a>, who frequently denounces feminism and was famously banned from Twitter in July after allegedly inciting his followers to send a wave of harassment and abuse to "Saturday Night Live" star Leslie Jones.</p><p>But the website first began gaining prominence years earlier, after its staunch defense of the <a href="http://www.teapartyexpress.org/3622/rest-in-peace-andrew-breitbart">Tea Party movement</a> and its role in the downfall of then-New York congressman <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2013/04/15/lies-upon-lies-how-anthony-weiner-went-down/">Anthony Weiner</a> (Breitbart was the first to break the news of lewd photos and texts Weiner had sent to women online).</p><p>After Andrew Breitbart's death in 2012, however, the website took on a more nationalist tone under the direction of Bannon, who became executive chairman.</p><p>Breitbart was propelled into mainstream attention during the 2016 presidential campaign, when its reporters began providing strikingly positive coverage to Trump during the Republican primaries.</p><p>It was a shift that disgusted establishment Republicans, and even some staffers within Breitbart. The turmoil came to a head in March, after reporter Michelle Fields accused Trump's then-campaign manager <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/corey-lewandowski-charged-simple-battery-2016-3">Corey Lewandowski</a> of assaulting her at a Florida event.</p><p>Breitbart's perceived defense of the Trump campaign in the matter eventually prompted the resignations of Fields, editor-at-large Ben Shapiro, and Bardella - all of whom are now vocal critics of the website and of Bannon.</p><h3><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/582cf22bba6eb67d058b4be9-2000/gettyimages-622468874.jpg" alt="steve bannon" data-mce-source="Getty Images/Drew Angerer" data-mce-caption="Trump campaign CEO Steve Bannon exits an elevator in the lobby of Trump Tower, November 11, 2016 in New York City."><p class="source"><span>Getty Images/Drew Angerer</span></p><p class="caption">Trump campaign CEO Steve Bannon in the lobby of Trump Tower.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div></h3><h3>The embracement of the "alt-right"</h3><p>Bannon described Breitbart News as "<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/08/stephen-bannon-donald-trump-alt-right-breitbart-news">a platform to the alt-right</a>" to journalist Sarah Posner at the Republican National Convention in July.&#xa0;</p><p>The "alt-right" refers to a growing movement that has shunned establishment conservatism and openly embraced white nationalism and promoted racist and sexist rhetoric. It largely rejects the label of bigotry, however, arguing that it instead seeks to fight "political correctness."</p><p>According to Breitbart's own "<a href="http://www.breitbart.com/tech/2016/03/29/an-establishment-conservatives-guide-to-the-alt-right/">guide to the alt-right</a>," written by&#xa0;Yiannopoulous&#xa0;and Allum Bokhari, the movement aims to reemphasize the value of Western European culture and it explains the many racist and bigoted memes created by members as a means of shattering cultural taboos. The guide notes that the "alt-right" has attracted and grown to encompass "real racists and bigots" as well as neo-Nazis, albeit with the caveat that "there's just not very many of them."</p><p>Breitbart has similarly rejected accusations of racist or sexist coverage, contending&#xa0;that its goal is merely to "hold the global permanent political class in contempt," as the site's Washington political editor Matthew Boyle recently <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/conservative-media-trump-drudge-coulter-2016-8">told Business Insider</a>.</p><p>"We are doing what journalists throughout said mainstream media are supposed to do: Challenge the conventional wisdom, hold politicians' feet to the fire, ask tough questions, report facts that are in many cases inconvenient truths for career politicians, and give a voice to the millions of people worldwide who have had theirs taken away from them by world elites who consider the ordinary person beneath them," he said.</p><p>Breitbart's vilification of said mainstream media outlets, as well as Trump's embracement of its coverage, has significantly boosted Breitbart's popularity - even elevating its <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/14/business/media/breitbart-reveling-in-trumps-election-gains-a-voice-in-his-white-house.html">traffic on Election Day</a> to rival that of Fox News, CNN, and the New York Times.</p><p>Now, instead of being damaged by its "alternative-reality bubble," Breitbart has become weaponized, according to conservative talk radio host Charlie Sykes.</p><p>"We are now going to see what (state-controlled media) really looks like in this country, where you are going to have this media network that will act like an echo chamber and an enforcer for somebody in power in the White House," he told <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/11/14/how-donald-trump-and-steve-bannon-could-use-breitbart-as-a-political-weapon/">the Washington Post</a>.</p><p>"It will be deployed to attack and vilify other conservatives who might want to oppose Trump on initiatives."</p><p><em>Oliver Darcy contributed to this report.</em></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/moodys-analytics-predicts-hillary-clinton-win-presidential-election-2016-11">A model that has correctly predicted the presidential election since 1980 says Clinton will have a landslide victory</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="1paWY2NzE6h7mhySqrGrtAnvXK89a902" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', '1paWY2NzE6h7mhySqrGrtAnvXK89a902',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

A brief history of Breitbart News, the controversial website that Donald Trump's chief adviser runs

WHIP COUNT: Here's which members of the House voted for and against impeaching Trump

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/548890646da81135648b4568-1200-924/amy-pascal-steven-mosko-5.jpg" border="0" alt="amy pascal steven mosko"><p class="source"><span>Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Sony execs Steve Mosko and Amy Pascal aren't smiling today after their email boxes were leaked online by hackers.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Lat<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">e Tuesday, Sony president Steven Mosko and co-chairman Amy Pascal's entire email inboxes were </span><a href="http://www.thewrap.com/sony-execs-amy-pascal-steven-moskos-emails-leaked-by-hackers/" target="_blank">leaked online</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> in the </span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sony-cyber-hack-timeline-2014-12" target="_blank">latest cyber attack</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> against the studio.</span></p>
<p>Links to the sites where the mailboxes were made available were posted in a message claiming to again be from the mysterious "Guardians of Peace" (GOP) group, who have also taken credit for the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sony-cyber-hack-timeline-2014-12" target="_blank">previous attacks</a> over the past two weeks.</p>
<p><span>According to </span><a href="http://www.thewrap.com/sony-execs-amy-pascal-steven-moskos-emails-leaked-by-hackers/" target="_blank">The Wrap</a><span>, "</span><span>The Microsoft Outlook mailboxes are massive in size, each coming in at multiple gigabytes and purportedly containing thousands of email exchanges, both business-related and personal, as well as contact information for executives at other companies." </span></p>
<p>Since the mailboxes were released, people have been <a href="http://defamer.gawker.com/leaked-the-nightmare-email-drama-behind-sonys-steve-jo-1668882936" target="_blank">sifting through them to find dirt</a> on Sony's business dealings and trade secrets.</p>
<p><strong>With new emails being made public, a few bombshells have been revealed:</strong></p>
<p><strong>1. The email addresses and contact info for every A-lister in front of and behind the camera who has ever worked with Sony are now public.</strong></p>
<p>Everyone from "Breaking Bad" creator Vince Gilligan to actor/comedian <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/joel-mchale-asked-for-discount-on-sony-tv-2014-12" target="_blank">Joel McHale may want to change</a> their email addresses.</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54886e4a6da811bc328b4567-1200-600/joel-mchale-nbc-community-3.png" border="0" alt="Joel McHale, NBC Community"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHL7UhxA0qg">NBC screengrab</a></span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p><strong>2. Sony lost the Steve Jobs movie to Universal after an explosive back-and-forth email chain with <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0748784/" target="_blank">mega-producer Scott Rudin</a>, who apparently brought "Jobs" to the studio.</strong></p>
<p>Pascal begged Rudin to let Sony have another chance with the film, but it was too late.</p>
<p>Rudin wrote to her in emails <a href="http://defamer.gawker.com/leaked-the-nightmare-email-drama-behind-sonys-steve-jo-1668882936" target="_blank">obtained by Gawker</a>: "<span>You've </span><span>behaved abominably and it will be a very, very long time before I forget </span><span>what you did to this movie and what you've put all of us through. ... </span>You've destroyed your relationships with half the town over how you've behaved on this movie. If you don't think it's true, wait and see."</p>
<p>Pascal replied, simply, "Get rid of him," forwarding Rudin's strongly-worded emails to a colleague.<span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> </span></p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54886e166bb3f78a728b4567-1200-600/amy-pascal-scott-rudin.jpg" border="0" alt="amy pascal scott rudin"><p class="source"><span>Neilson Barnard/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Sony exec Amy Pascal and producer Scott Rudin in happier times.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p><strong>3. The whole "Jobs" saga started with a fight over Angelina Jolie, who <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">wanted David Fincher to direct her version of "Cleopatra" at Sony, but instead the studio put the "Social Network" director on the Steve Jobs movie. </span></strong><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Scott Rudin ends up calling Angelina Jolie a "spoiled brat" with "a rampaging spoiled ego."</span></strong></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Rudin and Pascal started fighting back in February over Angelina Jolie, who objected to David Fincher directing "Jobs" instead of her version of "Cleopatra." In the leaked emails, Rudin gets upset with Pascal for not telling Jolie that Fincher won't have time to direct the actress' movie.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span>"You're involving yourself in this massive and pointless drama that is beneath you. You are entitled to say no," Rudin emailed Pascal.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span>After months more of back-and-forth emails, Rudin tells Pascal to "</span><span>Shut it down," "it" presumably being Jolie. It's a request he repeated again later on in the email chain: "</span><span>YOU BETTER SHUT ANGIE DOWN BEFORE SHE MAKES IT VERY HARD FOR DAVID TO DO JOBS."</span></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Rudin goes on to blast Jolie (via <a href="http://defamer.gawker.com/leaked-the-nightmare-email-drama-behind-sonys-steve-jo-1668882936" target="_blank">Gawker</a>):</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">I'm not destroying my career over a minimally talented spoiled brat who thought nothing of shoving this off her plate for eighteen months so she could go direct a movie. I have no desire to be making a movie with her, or anybody, that she runs and that we don't. She's a camp event and a celebrity and that's all and the last thing anybody needs is to make a giant bomb with her that any fool could see coming. We will end up being the laughing stock of our industry and we will deserve it, which is so clearly where this is headed that I cannot believe we are still wasting our time with it.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span>Essentially, these leaked emails are going to make it hard for Rudin or Sony to ever work with Jolie again, considering she now knows what the two think of her.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5488707869beddb5108b4567-1200-600/angelina-jolie-david-fincher.jpg" border="0" alt="angelina jolie david fincher"><p class="source"><span>Neilson Barnard/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Angelina Jolie wanted David Fincher to direct her version of "Cleopatra," but Sony had Fincher attached to the "Jobs" project instead.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div></span><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">4. Amy Pascal found out that David Fincher <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/david-fincher-star-wars-adam-driver-sony-email-2014-12" target="_blank">ditched "Jobs"</a> through a public industry email newsletter.</strong></span></p>
<p class="p1"><span>Pascal forwarded an email with headlines about "Girls" actor Adam Driver, who is cast in "Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens," and another about Fincher reportedly being out of the Steve Jobs movie that was originally supposed to film under Sony Pictures. The body of the email contained a simple "WTF."</span></p>
<p class="p1">Fincher's response is golden:</p>
<p class="p1">"Adam Driver is a terrible idea, I'm with you …"</p>
<p class="p1">Pascal wasn't amused, replying in all caps, "I MEANT THE ONE ABOUT US BUTTING HEADS AND YOU NOT DIRECTING JOBS."</p>
<p class="p1">Fincher kept on the defense, calling the news "bulls-."</p>
<p class="p1">The report ended up being true. <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Danny Boyle is now set to direct the Steve Jobs movie for Universal Pictures. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54888a566da811ca428b4568-1200-600/david-fincher-amy-pascal-2.jpg" border="0" alt="david fincher amy pascal"><p class="source"><span>Kevin Winter/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Director David Fincher and Amy Pascal.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div></span></p>
<p><strong>5. </strong><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">Disney <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/captain-america-3-disney-tried-to-get-spider-man-2014-12" target="_blank">tried to get Spider-Man</a> in "Captain America 3."</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2014/12/09/sony-marvel-discussed-spider-man-movie-crossover/">According to the Wall Street Journal</a>, among the emails is an exchange between Sony and Marvel over the use of Spider-Man in Disney's upcoming "Captain America 3" due in theaters May 6, 2016. </p>
<p>WSJ reports Pascal told a business partner in an email that Marvel wanted to include Spidey in "Captain America: Civil War." </p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5488800beab8ea583a8b4568-1200-600/spiderman-new-york-city-1.jpg" border="0" alt="spiderman new york city"><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Brendan McDermid</span></p><p class="caption">A stunt man dressed as Spider-Man, poses during a photo call for the film "The Amazing Spider-Man 2", at the Empire State Building in New York April 25, 2014.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p><strong>6. <span>After Sony's "Community" was canceled, star Joel McHale asked for a discount on a Sony TV.</span><span><br /></span></strong></p>
<p>McHale <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/joel-mchale-asked-for-discount-on-sony-tv-2014-12" target="_blank">sent an email to Steven Mosko's assistant</a> asking for a discount on an $8,000 Sony TV. <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The email reads: </span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Hello Fayanne,</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">It's Joel McHale. You might remember me from such canceled Sony tv shows as-Community. <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Sad. </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Very sad.</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> </span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">So when I was talking to Steve about the show ending last Friday, I asked about a discount on a Sony tv. He said of course. He's the greatest as you know. I didn't want to bother him with the specific details of the screen I want so I thought I would bother you. I hope that is it [sic] cool. </p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">It's below. You can check with Steve obviously if this all sounds strange. </p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">I'm not sure how this all works but I'm happy to send a credit card number wherever necessary. </p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Thanks Fayanne. I'm very much going to miss working at Sony.</p>
<p><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54888bee6da8117e508b4567-1200-600/joel-mchale-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Joel McHale"><p class="source"><span>Ethan Miller/Getty Images</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">7. Leonardo DiCaprio regrets turning down a role in 1997's "Boogie Nights."</strong></strong></p>
<p>While trying to convince DiCaprio to consider the role of Steve Jobs, powerhouse agent Robert Newman <a href="http://defamer.gawker.com/leaked-the-nightmare-email-drama-behind-sonys-steve-jo-1668882936" target="_blank">wrote to the actor</a>:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">I remember speaking with you years ago about 'boogie nights', and all you could have done with that wonderful part, and I truly believe this is an opportunity we will look back on with regret if we don't make happen.</p>
<p><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54888d12ecad04c1698b4568-1200-600/leonardo-dicaprio-oscar-4.jpg" border="0" alt="leonardo dicaprio oscar"><p class="source"><span>Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div><br /></strong></p>
<p>And these are just the newest leaks coming out of two email inboxes... so far.</p>
<p>Previously, Sony <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/hacked-sony-docs-top-execs-paychecks-2014-12" target="_blank">employees' private info was made public</a> in an initial cyber attack against the studio, including salaries, addresses, and Social Security Numbers.</p>
<p>Additionally, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sony-movies-leaked-online-amid-massive-hack-2014-12" target="_blank">five unreleased Sony films were made available online</a> - excluding "The Interview," which is thought to be the reason for the hacks in the first place.</p>
<p>The Seth Rogen and James Franco comedy is about <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">two journalists recruited by the CIA to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">North Korea previously denounced the film, but has </span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/north-korea-response-to-sony-hack-2014-12" target="_blank">denied any involvement</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> in the recent hacks, despite saying they're glad it happened.</span></p>

You Searched For "Brendan Boyle" and got 9 results

ProPublica's bombshell tax investigation reportedly has lawmakers eyeing policy changes. One senator who designed a key corporation tax cut says it wasn't supposed to let 'multibillionaires' avoid tax.

Anna Cooban

PA Lt. Gov. John Fetterman launches 2022 Senate bid in an appeal to voters who 'feel left behind'

John L. Dorman

Trump's doctors can only legally share health information that the president authorizes — which is why we don't get the full picture

Kimberly Leonard,Aylin Woodwa…

Weekend Watchlist: The top shows on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and other streaming services

Preeti Soni

Joe Biden has already built up a big advantage over his 2020 rivals in the first day of his campaign

Joe Perticone

Joe Biden's Irish supporters are celebrating the victory of their 'favorite uncle' as he faces Boris Johnson over Brexit

Adam Payne,Thomas Colson

A brief history of Breitbart News, the controversial website that Donald Trump's chief adviser runs

Michelle Mark

WHIP COUNT: Here's which members of the House voted for and against impeaching Trump

Grace Panetta

Two Sony Execs' Entire Email Boxes Got Leaked By Hackers And Now All Hell Is Breaking Loose

Aly Weisman