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Maine Democrat Graham Platner apologizes for using ‘R-word’ in interview on tattoo scandal
Progressive U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner apologized on Wednesday for using the R-word during a recent interview regarding his tattoo controversy.
Speaking with the Maine Monitor last week, Platner described his reaction to learning he had been accused of having a Nazi tattoo after it was revealed he had a skull-and-crossbones tattoo resembling the Totenkopf used by Hitler’s SS paramilitary forces.
“I was like, ‘Well, that’s the f—ing most r——- s— I’ve ever heard in my life,’” Platner said. “‘No, I don’t have a White supremacist tattoo,’ and I never thought about it again. And then it came up later on, and I was like, ‘God f—ing damn it.’”
GRAHAM PLATNER BLAMES NAZI TATTOO ON MILITARY ‘CULTURE,’ DRAWS BACKLASH FROM GOP VETERANS
Platner faced backlash from disability advocacy organizations that condemned the Maine Democrat for using language that “diminishes dignity.”
“For decades, people with disabilities and their allies have fought to eliminate the use of the R-word — an ableist term rooted in discrimination and exclusion,” Kim Moody, CEO of Disability Rights Maine, said in a statement. “This language is not harmless; it reinforces stigma, diminishes dignity, and undermines the value and contributions of disabled individuals in our communities.”
In an interview with WMTV 8 ABC, Platner apologized for his comments and said that he was “endeavoring to improve” his language.
DEMOCRATIC MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE GRAHAM PLATNER CONFRONTED BY MS NOW HOST ABOUT TATTOO CONTROVERSY
“I am sorry. I’m sorry that I said it. I am endeavoring to improve every single day. I am not a perfect person, and I continue to try to be better,” Platner said. “I will say that my politics is one of inclusivity and one of showing up for everybody, and I will continue every day to represent that in our policies and in our campaign.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the Platner campaign and Disability Rights Maine for comment but did not immediately receive responses.
Platner’s apology followed a series of controversies surrounding the candidate since he launched his campaign in the fall.
GRAHAM PLATNER CLAIMS VOTERS CONCERNED OVER TRANS ATHLETES ARE ‘MANIPULATED BY BILLIONAIRES’
Along with the controversy surrounding his tattoo, Platner faced backlash for old Reddit posts where he made several inflammatory and offensive comments. In his posts, he referred to himself as a communist, praised Hamas’ military tactics and suggested people concerned about rape should not “get so f—ed up they wind up having sex with someone they don’t mean to.”
Platner has apologized for his comments and cited his combat deployments and struggles in the aftermath of his service for influencing him at the time.
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Barricaded suspect faces murder charges after 2 doctoral students vanished from campus, 1 body remains missing
The towel-wearing suspect who barricaded himself inside a home amid an intense SWAT standoff following the disappearance of two University of South Florida doctoral students was charged Saturday with two counts of murder.
Hisham Abugharbieh, 26, “is additionally facing two counts of murder in the first degree with a weapon (premeditated) in the deaths of Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy,” the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on Saturday.
“Evidence was presented to the State Attorney’s Office, resulting in further charges against Abugharbieh. To protect the integrity of the investigation, we will not be commenting on the findings in the case,” the sheriff’s office said.
“At this time, the search for Bristy continues,” the update added. “Anyone with information regarding her disappearance is asked to contact the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office at (813) 247-8200.”
Abugharbieh was initially arrested on Friday on charges of unlawfully holding or move a dead human body in unapproved conditions, failure to report death to medical examiner or law enforcement (intent to conceal), tampering with physical evidence, false imprisonment, battery.
Authorities discovered human remains near the Howard Frankland Bridge. They were positively identified Friday as belonging to Limon. Bristy’s body remains missing as of Saturday.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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‘Wonder Woman’ star Gal Gadot puts Malibu beach house on the market for $8.75M
Gal Gadot is ready to part with her oceanfront home.
The 40-year-old actress has placed her Malibu, Calif. home on the market for $8.75 million, and it is listed by Benjamin Illulian of Illulian Realty.
According to Realtor.com, Gadot purchased the three-bedroom and three-bathroom home with her husband, Jaron Varsano, in December 2020 for $5 million.
The 1,956-square-foot home boasts an open floor plan and seamless indoor/outdoor living, as the living room opens up to an outdoor balcony with picturesque views of the Pacific Ocean.
GAL GADOT, ASHTON KUTCHER CONDEMN ANTISEMITIC TERROR ATTACK AT BONDI BEACH HANUKKAH EVENT
In addition, the home features direct beach access, 80 feet of frontage on Carbon Beach and a two-car garage with an additional eight parking spots for guests. It is also located next to Nobu, Soho House Malibu and the Malibu Pier.
Gadot and her husband first met in 2006 at a yoga retreat in Israel, when the actress was 21 years old, and later tied the knot in 2008.
In their time together, the couple have welcomed four daughters; Alma, 14, Maya, 9, Daniella, 4, and Ori, 1.
Most recently, Gadot starred in the live-action remake of the animated Disney classic, “Snow White,” which was released in March 2025. The movie ultimately grossed $205 million worldwide, falling short of its reported $270 million budget.
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The Israeli actress said in an August 2025 interview on Israel’s Channel Keshet 12 program “The A Talks,” that she believes the Israel-Palestine conflict played a role in the movie’s failure.
“I was sure that this movie was going to be a huge success, and then October 7 happened — and what’s happening in all kinds of industries, and also in Hollywood — is that there’s a lot of pressure on celebrities to speak out against Israel,” Gadot said.
Later in the interview, she added that no matter how hard one tries “to give people in the world context” and try to get them to understand “what the reality is here,” people will ultimately make their own decisions, and she “was disappointed that the movie was greatly affected by that and didn’t do well at the box office.”
Also in August 2025, Gadot visited Israel and met with the families of those who had been taken hostage by Hamas, and had been held in captivity for nearly two years.
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“We were deeply moved by Gal Gadot’s visit to Hostages Square today,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement to Fox News Digital at the time. “She chose to spend real time with us, sitting with the families and Hamas captivity survivors, listening with patience and empathy, and sharing in our pain. For families who have endured nearly two years of fear and uncertainty, her presence was a rare moment of comfort and strength.”
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Trump to headline 2026 White House Correspondents’ Dinner for the first time as president
President Trump is attending the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Saturday for the first time as commander-in-chief — after boycotting the annual event last year and each year during his first term.
The dinner will take place on Saturday, April 25, at the Washington Hilton.
“The White House Correspondents Association has asked me, very nicely, to be the Honoree at this year’s Dinner, a long and storied tradition since it began in 1924, under then President Calvin Coolidge,” Trump posted on his Truth Social last month, adding that it would be his “Honor to accept their invitation.”
The White House Correspondents’ Association’s president, Weijia Jiang said that they were “happy” with the president’s decision to attend.
“For more than 100 years, the journalists of the White House Correspondents’ Association have enjoyed an evening with the president,” Jiang said in a statement last month. “We’re happy the president has accepted our invitation and look forward to hosting him.”
DAN RATHER AMONG 200 JOURNALISTS DEMANDING TRUMP BE CALLED OUT AT WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER
The president had skipped the event in years past, saying that decision was due to the press being “extraordinarily bad” to him.
Despite the annual invitation and Trump’s acceptance, hundreds of journalists are going after the president, having signed an open letter urging the White House Correspondents’ Association to call out the president and “forcefully demonstrate opposition” to his “efforts to trample freedom of the press.”
“The dinner has long served as a symbol of the vital and irreplaceable role of a free press in American democracy and a celebration of the First Amendment and the journalists who uphold it. President Trump’s systematic, sustained, and unprecedented attacks on the free press… render his presence at such an event a profound contradiction of its purpose,” the open letter reads.
“The collective weight of the administration’s actions — retaliatory access bans, coercive regulatory investigations, frivolous lawsuits against the press, defunding of public broadcasting, dismantling of international broadcasting, physical restrictions on journalists, personal verbal attacks on reporters, assaults on the media in official White House press releases and social media posts, the arrest of journalists, and the pardoning of those who committed violence against the press — represent the most systematic and comprehensive assault on freedom of the press by a sitting American president.”
Notable signatories on the letter are former CBS News anchor Dan Rather, former ABC News White House correspondent Sam Donaldson, former NBC News anchor Ann Curry and PBS NewsHour correspondent Stephanie Sy.
A spokesperson for the White House simply pointed to Trump’s Truth Social post announcing he was attending the dinner when previously asked about the open letter.
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Trump did attend the event as a private citizen in 2011 during the Obama administration. Then-President Barack Obama made a joke about Trump during that event saying: “Say what you will about Mr. Trump, he certainly would bring some change to the White House. Let’s see what we’ve got up there.”
Obama then featured an image of the White House with a neon sign that said “Trump White House Hotel Casino Golf Course” with gold columns and a chandelier.
But during his second term, Trump has actually taken to remodeling the White House— with a new ballroom under construction and his addition of gold molding to the Oval Office.
Fox News’ Joseph Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
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