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Lorne Michaels’ ‘SNL’ grip on cast exposed in new documentary

Published

1 week ago

April 17, 2026

For decades, Lorne Michaels has loomed as comedy’s ultimate gatekeeper — the man “Saturday Night Live” stars believed could make or break their careers.

But filmmaker Morgan Neville painted a different picture of the legendary boss after speaking to cast members including Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph, John Mulaney and Chris Rock for a documentary project decades in the making. “LORNE” hit theaters on April 17.

Neville said the documentary captures a wide range of perspectives from past and present “Saturday Night Live” cast members who have wrestled with Michaels’ outsized influence over their careers.

“I mean, some of these people, he was their boss. Some, he was a former boss,” Neville told Fox News Digital. “And I think people have all different kinds of experiences of Lorne — where they think of him as the person that controls everything about their fate. You know, how many minutes they get on air, where their career is gonna go. I mean, I understand why people are neurotic about Lorne, and people feel like, ‘Oh, he didn’t get this, or he doesn’t understand this.'”

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But Neville said that view of Michaels’ influence only tells part of the story.

“But I also get what John Mulaney says in the documentary, which is Lorne’s protecting people in ways they don’t understand at all, you know?” he explained. “And I think one thing … that I’ve seen is that Lorne is totally paying attention and trying to do the right thing for the right person at all times. But that may seem unfair sometimes to people, you know. And again, if they feel like their entire future is in his hands, that’s a lot of weight for all of them to carry. But I think there’s also this sense from the outside that Lorne is sitting on the throne of comedy, deciding who makes it and who doesn’t make it.“

Michaels himself feels “beleaguered” and “in the trenches,” according to Neville. The comedy giant’s main focus is on solving the little problems and trying to make next week’s live show work.

“He feels like he’s barely making it himself, which is crazy,” Neville said. “But I think it’s part of what motivates him … but he’s very focused on the challenges immediately in front of him. He’s not one to take a victory lap, really, or to think about the big picture of things.”

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Michaels began his career as a writer for Canadian radio and television before moving to Los Angeles in the 1960s. He worked on shows such as “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” before NBC decided to take a chance on the young comedy writer. Michaels’ idea for a new late-night show that blended sketch comedy and live music evolved into “Saturday Night Live.”

The show quickly became a pop culture phenomenon and would launch the careers of many famous comedians, including John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Eddie Murphy, Will Ferrell and more.

As the 50th anniversary of “Saturday Night Live” came and went in February 2025, Michaels realized, “this is kind of the end of an era.”

“I think Lorne is going to stay as long as he can,” Neville clarified. “But he’s not going to be doing this for another 50 years. So it was just kind of an understanding of, if we’re ever going to do it, now is the time to do it. I think that’s his thinking.”

Neville said it feels like a rare chance to finally witness what comedy fans have heard about for years — seeing this almost “‘Wizard of Oz’ character in action” — watching how he moves through the show, assembles it, and thinks, and how “SNL” ultimately reflects his vision.

“I mean, everything about the show, from the hours it keeps to the way it’s made to the culture of the show is so directly related to Lorne,” Neville said. “…I can’t think of another example of any show that is made in the form of its creator in such a way.”

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Neville pointed to the “liveness of the show” as the true defining element — not just that “SNL” is live, but how “significant that is to everything about the show.”

There’s very little second-guessing, with decisions driven largely by a “first instinct, go” mentality. That immediacy puts both performers and the audience in the moment, essentially deciding together whether a sketch works.

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The other element that sets the late-night comedy show apart — the writer is king.

“A 24-year-old writer can be writing a sketch and then essentially directing it and have it on national TV three days later,” Neville explained. “There’s kind of like a real meritocracy to it too, that it’s just… the laughs win, what’s funny, wins.”

Fey was hired as a writer in her 20s and quickly rose through the ranks to become the show’s first female head writer. Other notable young hires included Conan O’Brien, Mulaney, Seth Meyers and Adam McKay.

Michaels has almost “resisted hierarchy,” Neville said, instead focusing on creative freedom to shape the show’s long-term evolution.

“It’s part of why I think he now embraces change so much, that the show has to change,” Neville explained. “Even if things are going well.”

“In a way, if things are going well, Lorne’s worried,” he added. “Because two years from now, it’s not going to be going well, because all the successful people are going to get movie deals or go off and do other things. And he knows it’ll go badly. But when the show’s not doing well, he’s happy because he knows in two years it’s going to gel. And suddenly, he sees what it’s going to become. So he’s always kind of thinking a couple years in the future, which in television is unheard of pretty much.“

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USA’s next Ryder Cup captain decided after Tiger Woods turns down offer: report

Published

28 minutes ago

April 24, 2026

Addison Blake

Jim Furyk is returning as the captain for the United States’ Ryder Cup team next year, The Associated Press reported Friday.

It’s a blast from the past, although not necessarily a positive past – Furyk captained the 2018 team that was shellacked in France, with his captain’s picks combining to go 2-10.

Keegan Bradley captained last year’s team at Bethpage Black, which had an embarrassing first two days but gave a valiant effort at an unprecedented comeback in Sunday singles. They fell just short, 15-13, after entering the day trailing by seven points.

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Members of that USA team backed Bradley after their loss, but it appears to be for naught.

Furyk led the Americans to victory as Presidents Cup captain in 2024, and he was said to be a reliable voice as an assistant to Bradley at Bethpage.

Furyk’s 2018 team had issues behind the scenes, too, as Patrick Reed was not happy with being benched twice. He also blamed Jordan Spieth for the two not playing together, which Reed felt could have been successful.

Furyk would be the fourth U.S. captain to get a second chance dating to 1979, considered the modern era of the Ryder Cup, when continental Europe became part of it, along with Davis Love III (2012 and 2016), Tom Watson (1993 and 2014) and Jack Nicklaus (1983 and 1987).

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Tiger Woods’ name was floated around for the tournament in Ireland, but he took himself out of consideration shortly following his arrest on March 27. It was not known which way Woods was leaning when his SUV clipped the back of a trailer being pulled by a pickup truck on a residential road in Florida, turning his SUV on its side. Woods was arrested and briefly jailed after Florida authorities determined he was impaired.

Europe has won 11 of the last 15 matches dating to Oak Hill in 1995. Last year, they became the first team to win back-to-back events since they won three straight from 2010 to 2014. It was also the first time a team won on foreign soil since Europe’s Miracle at Medinah in 2012.

Luke Donald will try to become the first captain to win three straight times in September 2027 at Adare Manor. Europe returned all but one player from the 2023 squad to Bethpage, the lone difference between an identical twin brother.

Furyk played in all nine Ryder Cups from 1997 to 2014 before becoming an assistant for the first time in 2016. He’s remained an assistant since 2021.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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American journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin acquitted on all charges after 52 days detained in Kuwait, family says

Published

28 minutes ago

April 24, 2026

Addison Blake

Kuwaiti-American journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, who was detained in Kuwait under new security and misinformation laws, has been acquitted on all charges, his family announced on Thursday.

“We are relieved that Ahmed Shihab-Eldin has been found innocent after 52 days in detention,” Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) CEO Jodie Ginsberg said in a statement.

“Ahmed’s freedom and safety remain our topmost priority and we will continue to closely monitor his case,” Ginsberg added.

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Shihab-Eldin was arrested on March 3 in Kuwait, where he was visiting family, and faced charges related to “spreading false information, harming national security, and misusing his mobile phone” – which the CPJ designed to promote press freedoms called “vague and overly broad accusations that are routinely used to silence independent journalists.”

A spokesperson for Shihab-Eldin’s family confirmed Shihab-Eldin was acquitted but declined additional comment until further information is known. He is expected to be released immediately.

On March 2, Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior posted a chilling message warning against photographs or information related to missiles or relevant locations. Khalid Ibrahim, Executive Director of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights, told CPJ that dozens have been arrested since the war began in cases related to freedom of expression.

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Kuwait then issued a decree stipulating up to 10 years in jail for anyone who undermines “the prestige of the military or deliberately works toward eroding public trust in them,” according to the Kuwait Times.

Shihab-Eldin, who is known for work at The New York Times, HuffPost, BBC, Al Jazeera, Vice News and other outlets, posted video of a U.S. fighter jet crash near a U.S. base in Kuwait shortly before he was detained.

The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A State Department spokesperson previously told Fox News Digital that the Trump administration “has no higher priority than the safety and security of Americans” and they were aware of reports of Shihab-Eldin’s detention.

“Whenever an American is detained abroad, the Department works to provide consular assistance in accordance with our authorities under U.S. and international law,” the State Department spokesperson added.

The CPJ asked Americans to keep Shihab-Eldin’s situation visible by signing a petition and posting about his detention with the hashtags #freeahmed and #freeahmedeldin and #journalismisnotacrime.

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Forensic genealogy unmasks cold case suspect as strangler, sexual predator decades later: officials

Published

2 hours ago

April 24, 2026

Addison Blake

Years after DNA evidence linked a 1991 killing and a 1993 rape in Massachusetts, forensic genetic genealogy helped investigators identify the man authorities say was responsible for both cold cases.

Evidence from the killing of Cherie Bishop in 1991 and the rape of Donna Bell in 1993 was uploaded to the Combined DNA Index System, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz said Thursday.

“For decades, the Bishop and Bell families were deprived of the full story of what happened to their loved ones,” Cruz said. “They carried these tragedies across lifetimes.”

Investigators said Bishop, 28, was found strangled in a wooded area near her Brockton apartment in June 1991. Bell was raped in Brockton in 1993.

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Bishop was found dead in nearby Mulberry Park, wearing only socks and a diamond earring, Cruz said. Her cause of death was ruled to be mechanical asphyxiation, and the manner of death was homicide.

Investigators collected DNA evidence through a rape kit and analyzed it at the time, but no suspect was identified. The evidence was later retested as forensic genealogy techniques continued to advance.

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A rape kit was also collected in Bell’s case.

Cruz said Bell was abducted from the street and sexually assaulted by a man in a vehicle, who threatened to strangle her if she resisted.

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She managed to escape after, authorities said, she seized a sharp object. Bell died in 2021.

Cruz said investigators had known since 2016 that the cases were connected, but available DNA evidence did not identify a suspect until advances in forensic genetic genealogy provided a breakthrough.

“Their exhaustive investigative work, combined with a DNA sample match, identified Robert Carey as the perpetrator,” Cruz said.

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The district attorney’s office said Othram, a Texas forensic genealogy lab, identified a likely relative of the suspect, helping investigators ultimately identify Carey.

Carey, who died of natural causes in June 2025 at 64, lived at the Brockton Veterans Administration Medical Center, about 1.5 miles from both crime scenes, the district attorney’s office said.

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“None of this would have been possible without the tremendous effort and devoted work of the Massachusetts State Police, Brockton Police, the State Police Crime Lab, Trooper Joe Collett, Assistant District Attorneys Samantha Mullin and Jennifer Sprague, as well as Forensic Scientist Krista Lundgren,” Cruz said.