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  • iHeartRadio Music Awards: Taylor Swift Dominates as Alex Warren Tops Winners List

    iHeartRadio Music Awards: Taylor Swift Dominates as Alex Warren Tops Winners List

    Taylor Swift was the top winner at the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards, which took place live from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Thursday night.

    “The Fate of Ophelia” singer went into the Ludacris-hosted ceremony, which aired on Fox and could be heard on iHeartRadio stations nationwide and the iHeartRadio app, with the most nominations, nine, leading the field for the fourth year in a row.

    And she left the night with the most wins at the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards, with seven total. She earned the coveted title of artist of the year, and won additional honors including best music video, pop song of the year and lyrics, among others.

    Swift stopped by the awards show, making her first awards show appearance of 2026, where her fiancé Travis Kelce also attended in support. During her acceptance speech for for pop album of the year, tied to her 2025 record The Life of a Showgirl, she sung praise toward her fiancé.

    “The album The Life of a Showgirl was really inspired by the energy that I felt looking into crowds and seeing you guys and connecting with you every single night. And so the album came out with this energy of just feeling really happy and strong and confident and free, and so I wanna say thank you to the fans for for giving me that feeling,” Swift said. “This album probably also feels very happy and confident and free because that’s the way that I get to feel every single day of my life, because of my fiancé, who’s here tonight.”

    Other top winners at the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards included Alex Warren, with three awards total, including song of the year, best new pop artist and favorite debut album. Best new artists were named in various categories, including Ella Langley (country); Real Boston Richey (hip-hop); Leon Thomas (R&B); sombr (alternative); Sleep Theory (rock); Beéle (Latin Pop/Urban); Los Dos De Tamaulipas (Regional Mexican); and Cortis (K-pop).

    Sabrina Carpenter was named the pop artist of the year, as Kendrick Lamar earned the same honor in the hip-hop category. Amy Allen won songwriter of the year, as Andrew Watt took home the producer of the year title.

    Warren, Carpenter and Bad Bunny went into the night with eight nominations each, with Swift, Carpenter and Bad Bunny up for artist of the year alongside Lamar, Benson Boone, Chris Brown, Jelly Roll Lamar, Lady Gaga, Morgan Wallen and Tate McRae.

    The awards show honored John Mellencamp with the iHeartRadio Icon Award along with Ludacris with the iHeartRadio Landmark Award, Miley Cyrus with the iHeartRadio Innovator Award and Warren with the iHeartRadio Breakthrough Artist of the Year Award. Ludacris and Warren also performed at the iHeartRadio Music Awards.

    Additional performers included Kehlani, Lainey Wilson, Raye and, performing together for the first time, TLC, Salt-N-Pepa and En Vogue. Alysa Liu, Ne-Yo, Nicole Scherzinger, Nikki Glaser, sombr and Weezer also appeared on the show.

    The 13th annual iHeartRadio Music Awards celebrate the most-played artists and songs on iHeartRadio stations and the iHeartRadio app throughout 2025. This year’s show was executive produced by Jesse Collins, Dionne Harmon and Jeannaé Rouzan-Clay for Jesse Collins Entertainment (JCE) as well as John Sykes, Tom Poleman and Bart Peters for iHeartMedia and Fox Entertainment Studios.

    A complete list of this year’s iHeartRadio Music Awards winners follows.

    Song of the Year         

    “Anxiety” – Doechii
    “Good News” – Shaboozey
    “Love Somebody” – Morgan Wallen
    “luther” – Kendrick Lamar and SZA
    “Manchild” – Sabrina Carpenter
    “MUTT” – Leon Thomas
    “Ordinary” – Alex Warren (WINNER)
    “Sorry I’m Here For Someone Else” – Benson Boone
    “Stargazing” – Myles Smith
    “The Fate of Ophelia” – Taylor Swift

    Artist of the Year

    Bad Bunny
    Benson Boone
    Chris Brown
    Jelly Roll
    Kendrick Lamar
    Lady Gaga
    Morgan Wallen
    Sabrina Carpenter
    Tate McRae
    Taylor Swift (WINNER)

    Album of the Year

    Taylor Swift, “The Life of a Showgirl” (WINNER)

    Pop Artist of the Year

    Alex Warren
    Benson Boone
    Sabrina Carpenter (WINNER)
    Tate McRae
    Taylor Swift

    Pop Song of the Year

    “Golden” – HUNTR/X, EJAE, AUDREY NUNA, REI AMI
    “Manchild” – Sabrina Carpenter
    “Ordinary” – Alex Warren
    “Pink Pony Club” – Chappell Roan
    “The Fate of Ophelia” – Taylor Swift (WINNER)

    Pop Album of the Year

    Taylor Swift, “The Life of a Showgirl” (WINNER)

    Best New Artist (Pop)

    Alex Warren (WINNER)
    Jessie Murph
    Myles Smith
    Ravyn Lenae
    sombr

    Duo/Group of the Year

    HUNTR/X, EJAE, AUDREY NUNA, REI AMI (WINNER)
    Linkin Park
    Maroon 5
    Shinedown
    Twenty One Pilots

    Best Collaboration

    “All The Way” – BigXthaPlug ft. Bailey Zimmerman
    “APT.” – ROSÉ & Bruno Mars (WINNER)
    “luther” – Kendrick Lamar and SZA
    “Timeless” – The Weeknd ft. Playboi Carti
    “WHATCHU KNO ABOUT ME” – GloRilla ft. Sexyy Red

    Country Song of the Year

    “After All The Bars Are Closed” – Thomas Rhett
    “Good News” – Shaboozey (WINNER)
    “Liar” – Jelly Roll
    “Love Somebody” – Morgan Wallen
    “Whiskey Drink” – Jason Aldean

    Country Artist of the Year

    Jason Aldean
    Jelly Roll
    Lainey Wilson
    Luke Combs
    Morgan Wallen (WINNER)

    Best New Artist (Country)

    Chase Matthew
    Ella Langley (WINNER)
    Hudson Westbrook
    Josh Ross
    Zach Top

    Country Album of the Year

    Morgan Wallen “I’m The Problem” (WINNER)

    Hip-Hop Song of the Year

    “luther” – Kendrick Lamar and SZA (WINNER)
    “NOKIA” – Drake
    “Outside” – Cardi B
    “The Largest” – BigXthaPlug
    “WHATCHU KNO ABOUT ME” – GloRilla ft. Sexyy Red

    Hip-Hop Artist of the Year

    Cardi B
    GloRilla
    Kendrick Lamar (WINNER)
    Playboi Carti
    Tyler, The Creator

    Best New Artist (Hip-Hop)

    MOLIY
    PLUTO
    Real Boston Richey (WINNER)
    YKNIECE
    ZEDDY WILL

    R&B Song of the Year

    “Burning Blue” – Mariah the Scientist
    “Folded” – Kehlani (WINNER)
    “MUTT” – Leon Thomas
    “Residuals” – Chris Brown
    “SOMEBODY LOVES ME” – PARTYNEXTDOOR & Drake

    R&B Artist of the Year

    Chris Brown (WINNER)
    Kehlani
    Leon Thomas
    Mariah the Scientist
    SZA

    Best New Artist (R&B)

    Jenevieve
    Kwn
    Leon Thomas (WINNER)
    Mariah the Scientist
    Sailorr

    R&B Album of the Year

    Leon Thomas, “PHOLKS” (WINNER)

    World Artist of the Year

    Ayra Starr
    Jackson Wang
    JO1
    MOLIY (WINNER)
    Tyla

    Alternative Song of the Year

    “Back To Friends” – sombr
    “Ensenada” – Sublime (WINNER)
    “One Eyed Bastard” – Green Day
    “Stargazing” – Myles Smith
    “The Contract” – Twenty One Pilots

    Alternative Artist of the Year

    Cage the Elephant
    Green Day
    Linkin Park
    Sublime
    Twenty One Pilots (WINNER)

    Best New Artist (Alternative)

    almost monday
    Gigi Perez
    Lola Young
    Role Model
    sombr (WINNER)

    Alternative Album of the Year

    sombr, “I Barely Know Her” (WINNER)

    Rock Song of the Year

    “Afterlife” – Evanescence
    “Bad Guy” – Falling In Reverse ft. Saraya
    “Dance, Kid, Dance” – Shinedown
    “Even If It Kills Me” – Papa Roach
    “Heavy Is the Crown” – Linkin Park (WINNER)

    Rock Artist of the Year

    Linkin Park
    Papa Roach
    Shinedown (WINNER)
    Sleep Token
    Three Days Grace

    Best New Artist (Rock)

    Architects
    Poppy
    Return to Dust
    Sleep Theory (WINNER)
    Spiritbox

    Dance Song of the Year

    “Blessings” – Calvin Harris feat. Clementine Douglas
    “In My Arms” – ILLENIUM & HAYLA
    “No Broke Boys” – Disco Lines & Tinashe (WINNER)
    “Save My Love” – Marshmello, Ellie Goulding and AVAION
    “Won’t Be Possible” – Tiësto, Odd Mob & Goodboys

    Dance Artist of the Year

    Calvin Harris
    David Guetta (WINNER)
    John Summit
    Martin Garrix
    Tiësto

    Dance Album of the Year

    Lady Gaga, “MAYHEM” (WINNER)

    Latin Pop/Urban Song of the Year

    “Angel” – Grupo Frontera & Romeo Santos
    “DEGENERE” – Myke Towers & benny blanco
    “DtMF” – Bad Bunny (WINNER)
    “Qué Pasaría…” – Rauw Alejandro and Bad Bunny
    “Soltera” – Shakira

    Latin Pop/Urban Artist of the Year

    Bad Bunny (WINNER)
    Feid
    J Balvin
    Karol G
    Shakira

    Latin Pop/Urban Album of the Year

    Bad Bunny, “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS” (WINNER)

    Best New Artist (Latin Pop/Urban)

    Alleh Mezher
    Beéle (WINNER)
    De La Rose
    Dei V
    Louis BPM

    Regional Mexican Song of the Year

    “Amor Bonito” – Luis Angel “El Flaco” (WINNER)
    “El Amor De Mi Vida” – Calibre 50
    “Flores” – Xavi
    “Hecha Pa’ Mi” – Grupo Frontera
    “Lejos Estamos Mejor” – Eden Muñoz

    Regional Mexican Artist of the Year

    Alejandro Fernández
    Carin León
    Fuerza Regida
    Grupo Frontera (WINNER)
    Luis Angel “El Flaco”

    Best New Artist (Regional Mexican)

    Clave Especial
    Edgardo Nuñez
    Los Dos De Tamaulipas (WINNER)
    Óscar Maydon
    Oscar Ortiz

    Latin Pop/Urban Song of the Year

    Fuerza Regida “111XPANTIA” (WINNER)

    K-pop Artist of the Year

    JENNIE
    j-hope
    Jin
    LISA
    ROSÉ (WINNER)

    K-pop Group of the Year

    ATEEZ
    BLACKPINK
    ENHYPEN
    Stray Kids (WINNER)
    TWICE

    K-pop Song of the Year

    “APT.” – ROSÉ & Bruno Mars
    “Golden” – HUNTR/X, EJAE, AUDREY NUNA, REI AMI (WINNER)
    “JUMP” – BLACKPINK
    “Killin’ It Girl” – j-hope feat. GloRilla
    “like JENNIE” – JENNIE

    Best New Artist (K-pop)

    82Major
    AllDay Project
    Cortis (WINNER)
    Hearts2Hearts
    Meovv

    K-pop Album of the Year

    Jennie, “Ruby” (WINNER)

    Songwriter of the Year

    Amy Allen (WINNER)
    Ashley Gorley
    Cal Shapiro
    Charlie Handsome
    Julia Michaels

    Producer of the Year

    Andrew Watt (WINNER)
    Dijon
    Jack Antonoff
    Max Martin & Shellback
    Sounwave

    Favorite Broadway Debut

    Ashley Graham, “Chicago”
    Cheryl Porter, “& Juliet”
    Durrell “Tank” Babbs, “Hell’s Kitchen”
    Gabrielle Nevaeh Green, “Stranger Things: The First Shadow”
    Jack Wolfe, “Hadestown”
    Kelsie Watts, “Six! The Musical”
    Lencia Kebede, “Wicked”
    Lizzy McAlpine, “Floyd Collins”
    Meg Donnelly, “Moulin Rouge! The Musical”
    Ne-Yo, “Hell’s Kitchen”
    Tom Felton, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” (WINNER)
    Trisha Paytas, “Beetlejuice”

    Favorite TikTok Dance

    “Abracadabra” – Lady Gaga
    “Gnarly” – KATSEYE
    “GO!” – CORTIS
    “Happen To Me” – Russell Dickerson
    “JUMP” – BLACKPINK
    “like JENNIE” – JENNIE
    “Midnight Sun” – Zara Larsson
    “MONA LISA” – j-hope (WINNER)
    “Revolving Door” – Tate McRae
    “SPAGHETTI” – LE SSERAFIM, j-hope
    “The Fate of Ophelia” – Taylor Swift

    Favorite Debut Album

    Addison Rae, “Addison”
    Alex Warren, “You’ll Be Alright, Kid” (WINNER)
    Audrey Hobert, “Who’s the Clown?”
    Calum Hood, “ORDER chaos ORDER”
    Coco Jones, “Why Not More?”
    JADE, “THAT’S SHOWBIZ BABY!”
    JENNIE, “Ruby”
    LISA, “Alter Ego”
    Michael Clifford, “SIDEQUEST”
    Perrie, “Perrie”
    sombr, “I Barely Know Her”
    Tucker Wetmore, “What Not To”

    Best Lyrics

    “Anxiety” – Doechii
    “BAILE INoLVIDABLE” – Bad Bunny
    “Camera” – Ed Sheeran
    “Choosin’ Texas” – Ella Langley
    “DAISIES” – Justin Bieber
    “Golden” – HUNTR/X, EJAE, AUDREY NUNA, REI AMI
    “Man I Need” – Olivia Dean
    “Manchild” – Sabrina Carpenter
    “Ordinary” – Alex Warren
    “The Fate of Ophelia” – Taylor Swift (WINNER)
    “undressed” – sombr
    “WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!” – RAYE

    Best Music Video

    “Abracadabra” – Lady Gaga
    “BAILE INoLVIDABLE” – Bad Bunny
    “BORN AGAIN” – LISA feat. Doja Cat & RAYE
    “Gabriela” – KATSEYE
    “JUMP” – BLACKPINK
    “like JENNIE” – JENNIE
    “Manchild” – Sabrina Carpenter
    “Ordinary” – Alex Warren
    “Sapphire” – Ed Sheeran
    “Shake It to the Max (FLY) (Remix)” – MOLIY, Shenseea, Skillibeng, Silent Addy
    “The Fate of Ophelia” – Taylor Swift (WINNER)
    “toxic till the end” – ROSÉ

    Favorite On Screen 

    AJ McLean, Nicole Scherzinger, Liam Payne, Kelly Rowland, “Building the Band”
    Ariana Grande & Cynthia Erivo, “Wicked: For Good”
    Bad Bunny, “Happy Gilmore 2”
    Becky G, “REBBECA”
    Ed Sheeran, “ONE SHOT with Ed Sheeran: A Musical Experience”
    Jimin and Jungkook, “Are You Sure?!” (WINNER)
    Jonas Brothers, “A Very Jonas Christmas Movie”
    Karol G, “Karol G: Tomorrow Was Beautiful”
    Lady Gaga, “Wednesday”
    LISA, “The White Lotus”
    Taylor Swift, “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The End of an Era”
    Zara Larsson, “Up Close”

    Favorite Tour Photographer

    Abby Waisler for Gracie Abrams
    Adam DeGross for Post Malone
    Anna Lee for Coldplay
    baeth for Tate McRae
    Chris Cornejo for Shakira
    Cynthia Parkhurst for Katy Perry
    Henry Hwu for Billie Eilish
    Hyghly for The Weeknd
    Joshua Halling for Oasis
    Rahul Bhatt for KATSEYE (WINNER)
    Thomas Falcone for Shawn Mendes
    Tom Pallant for YUNGBLUD

    Favorite Soundtrack

    “A Very Jonas Christmas Movie (Original Soundtrack)”
    “F1 the Album”
    “Frankenstein (Soundtrack from the Netflix Film)”
    “KPop Demon Hunters” (WINNER)
    “Nobody Wants This Season 2: The Soundtrack”
    “Sinners (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)”
    “Smurfs Movie Soundtrack (Music From & Inspired By)”
    “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere”
    “Tron: Ares (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)”
    “Wicked: For Good – The Soundtrack”
    “Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires (Original Soundtrack)”

    Favorite Tour Style

    Bad Bunny, “DeBí TiRaR MáS FOtoS World Tour”
    Beyoncé, “Cowboy Carter Tour”
    Billie Eilish, “Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour”
    BLACKPINK, “Deadline World Tour”
    Dua Lipa, “Radical Optimism Tour”
    Ella Langley, “Still Hungover Tour”
    KATSEYE, “Beautiful Chaos Tour”
    Lady Gaga, “The Mayhem Ball”
    Sabrina Carpenter, “Short n’ Sweet Tour”
    Tate McRae, “Miss Possessive Tour”
    Taylor Swift, “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour” (WINNER)
    Zara Larsson, “Midnight Sun Tour”

    Favorite Tour Tradition

    Benson Boone, Cover song
    Beyoncé, Blue Ivy & Rumi on stage
    Billie Eilish, “when the party’s over” silent loop
    Coldplay, Crowd cam (WINNER)
    Dua Lipa, Surprise guest
    Jonas Brothers, Surprise guest
    KATSEYE, “Gnarly” dance break
    Lainey Wilson, Cowgirl of the night
    ROLE MODEL, Sally
    Sabrina Carpenter, Celebrity “Juno” arrest
    Tate McRae, Fan cam on stage
    Zara Larsson, “Lush Life” star

    Favorite K-pop Collab 

    “Blink” – Corbyn Besson & TZUYU of TWICE
    “BORN AGAIN” – LISA feat. Doja Cat & RAYE
    “BUCK” – Jackson Wang feat. Diljit Dosanjh
    “Confessions” – Flo Rida, HEESEUNG & JAKE of ENHYPEN, Paul Russell
    “Dirty Work” – aespa feat. Flo Milli
    “ExtraL” – JENNIE, Doechii
    “EYES CLOSED” – JISOO X ZAYN
    “Illegal + SEVENTEEN” – PinkPantheress, SEVENTEEN
    “On My Mind” – Alex Warren & ROSÉ
    “Sweet Dreams (feat. Miguel)” – j-hope, Miguel (WINNER)
    “TOO BAD” – G-DRAGON feat. Anderson .Paak
    “WE PRAY (TWICE Version)” – Coldplay, TWICE, Burna Boy, Elyanna, TINI, Little Simz

  • US judge weighs Trump decision to bar Venezuelan funds for Maduro’s defence

    US judge weighs Trump decision to bar Venezuelan funds for Maduro’s defence

    A United States judge has said that he will not dismiss the drug-trafficking and weapons possession charges brought against former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.

    But in a Thursday court hearing, Judge Alvin Hellerstein questioned whether the US government has the right to bar Venezuela from funding Maduro’s legal expenses.

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    The hearing was the first for Maduro and his wife since a brief January arraignment, where they pleaded not guilty.

    Maduro and Flores have sought to have the charges against them thrown out. Hellerstein declined to do so, but he pressed the prosecution on some of the issues Maduro’s legal team raised in its petition to dismiss the case.

    Among them was a decision by the administration of US President Donald Trump to prevent the Venezuelan government from financing Maduro’s defence.

    Federal prosecutors argued that national security reasons prevented the US from allowing such payments. They also pointed to ongoing sanctions against the Venezuelan government.

    But Hellerstein pushed back against that argument, noting that Trump had eased sanctions against Venezuela since Maduro’s abduction on January 3. He also questioned how Maduro might pose a security threat while imprisoned in New York.

    “The defendant is here. Flores is here. They present no further national security threat,” said Hellerstein. “I see no abiding interest of national security on the right to defend themselves.”

    Hellerstein emphasised that, in the US, all criminal defendants have the right to a vigorous defence, as part of the US Constitution’s Sixth Amendment.

    “The right that’s implicated, paramount over other rights, is the right to constitutional counsel,” he said.

    Maduro, who led Venezuela from 2013 to 2026, has been charged with four criminal counts, including “narco-terrorism” conspiracy, conspiracy to import cocaine, the possession of machine guns and the conspiracy to possess machine guns and other destructive devices.

    He and his wife were taken into US custody on January 3, after Trump launched an attack on Venezuela.

    The Trump administration has framed the military operation as a “law enforcement function”, but experts say it was widely considered illegal under international law, which protects local sovereignty.

    Maduro has cited his status as the leader of a foreign country as part of his push to see the case dismissed.

    When he last appeared in court, on January 5, he told the judge, “I’m still the president of my country.”

    In a February hearing, his defence team sought to dismiss the charges on the basis that preventing Venezuela from paying his legal fees was “interfering with Mr Maduro’s ability to retain counsel and, therefore, his right under the Sixth Amendment to counsel of his choice”.

    In an interview with the news agency AFP on Thursday, Maduro’s son, Venezuelan lawmaker Nicolas Maduro Guerra, said that he trusts the US legal system but believes that his father’s trial has been mishandled.

    “This trial has vestiges of illegitimacy from the start, because of the capture, the kidnapping, of an elected president in a military operation,” Maduro Guerra said in Caracas.

    Protests and counterprotests took place in front of the New York City courthouse on Thursday, with some condemning the US’s actions and others holding signs in support of the trial with slogans like, “Maduro rot in prison.”

    Trump himself weighed in on the proceedings during a Thursday US Cabinet meeting, hinting that further charges could be brought against Maduro.

    “He emptied his prisons in Venezuela, emptied his prisons into our country,” Trump said of Maduro, reiterating an unsubstantiated claim.

    “And I hope that charge will be brought at some point. Because that was a big charge that hasn’t been brought yet. It should be brought.”

    Trump has had an adversarial relationship with Maduro since Trump’s first term in office, when he issued a bounty for the Venezuelan leader’s arrest. He has frequently repeated baseless claims that Maduro intentionally sent immigrants and drugs to the US in a bid to destabilise the country.

    Those claims have served as a pretext for Trump claiming emergency powers in realms such as immigration and national security. On Thursday, Trump emphasised that, while he expected a “fair trial”, he expected more legal action to be taken against Maduro.

    “I would imagine there are other trials coming because they’ve really sued him just at a fraction of the kind of things that he’s done,” Trump said. “Other cases are going to be brought, as you probably know.”

  • Venture Firm Founder Offers Bounty to Help Recover $42 Million in Stolen Bitcoin, Crypto

    Venture Firm Founder Offers Bounty to Help Recover $42 Million in Stolen Bitcoin, Crypto

    In brief

    • Bo Shen, founder of Fenbushi Capital, is offering a 10-20% bounty to those who can help him recover a portion of $42 million that was stolen from him in 2022.
    • The theft was allegedly due to a compromised seed phrase, leading to the loss of around $38 million in stablecoins in addition to Bitcoin and Ethereum.
    • The venture founder believes new on-chain tooling and AI can help crack the case.

    Bo Shen, the founder of crypto venture firm Fenbushi, is offering a bounty of 10-20% to any individuals able to help him recover a portion of the $42 million in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins stolen from his personal wallet in 2022. 

    The malicious actor made off with crypto assets now valued around $42 million, highlighted by $38 million in Circle’s dollar-backed stablecoin USDC, but also 1,607 Ethereum, nearly $720,000 in Tether’s stablecoin USDT, and 4.13 Bitcoin. 

    “Three years have passed. The investigation has never stopped,” said Shen in a post on X. “Our team has continued to gather critical evidence and leads. The flow of the stolen assets is becoming increasingly clear,” he added while making a public bounty offer. 

    “Any individual or organization that makes a substantive contribution to asset recovery—regardless of identity, background, or method—will receive 10%–20% of the total recovered amount, based on the level of contribution,” he added.

    About $1.2 million of the funds have been frozen to date thanks to help from notable on-chain analyst Taylor Monahan and pseudonymous sleuth ZachXBT. 

    Now, though, Shen thinks the advances in on-chain tooling and artificial intelligence (AI) can help do even more in the case. 

    “This is not just about recovering assets,” he said. “It is about opening a real case to the community, inviting collaboration, and seeing how far the tools of the AI era can push what was once impossible.” 

    The theft from Shen’s personal wallet took place in November 2022, allegedly as a result of a compromise of his seed phrase, the 12 or 24 word phrase that unlocks a wallet’s private key,  according to analysis by blockchain security firm SlowMist.

    Shortly after the theft, it was reported to local law enforcement, according to Shen, with the FBI and lawyers also involved. 

    Established in 2015, Shen’s Fenbushi Capital says it has more than $1.6 billion in assets under management. Its portfolio includes major crypto firms like exchange Bybit and stablecoin issuer Circle, alongside holdings of Ethereum and Zcash. 

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  • Wikipedia Bans AI-Generated Text in Articles Under New Editing Policy

    Wikipedia Bans AI-Generated Text in Articles Under New Editing Policy

    In brief

    • Wikipedia now prohibits editors from using large language models to generate or rewrite article content.
    • The policy still allows limited AI-assisted copyediting if editors review the changes and no new content is introduced.
    • The rule reflects growing concerns about hallucinations, fabricated sources, and accuracy in AI-generated text.

    Wikipedia editors have moved to restrict how artificial intelligence can be used on the platform, in a recent policy update banning the use of large language models to write or rewrite articles.

    The new guideline reflects growing concern within the Wikipedia community that AI-generated text can conflict with the platform’s standards, particularly around verifiability and reliable sourcing.

    “Text generated by large language models often violates several of Wikipedia’s core content policies,” the policy update reads. “For this reason, the use of LLMs to generate or rewrite article content is prohibited, save for the exceptions given below.”

    The policy still allows limited use of AI tools, including suggesting basic copy edits to an editor’s own writing, provided the system does not introduce new information. However, editors are advised to review those suggestions carefully.

    While the new policy does not mention penalties for using AI-generated content, according to Wikipedia’s guidelines around disclosure, repeating misuse forms a “pattern of disruptive editing,” and may lead to a block or ban. Wikipedia does give editors a path to reinstate their accounts following an appeal process.

    “Blocks can be reversed with the agreement of the blocking admin, an override by other admins in the case that the block was clearly unjustifiable, or (in very rare cases) on appeal to the Arbitration Committee,” Wikipedia said.

    “The Wikimedia Foundation does not determine editorial policies and guidelines on Wikipedia; volunteer editors do,” a Wikimedia Foundation spokesperson told Decrypt. “Wikipedia’s strength has been and always will be its human-centered, volunteer-driven model.”

    According to Emily M. Bender, a professor of linguistics at the University of Washington, some uses of language models in editing tools may be reasonable, but drawing a clear boundary between editing and generating text can be difficult.

    “So one of the things that you can do with a language model is build a very good spell checker, for example,” Bender told Decrypt. “I think it’s reasonable to say it’s fine to run a spell checker over edits. And if you are doing the next level up, a grammar checker, that can also be fine.”

    Bender said the challenge comes when systems move beyond correcting grammar and begin altering or generating content, noting that large language models lack the kind of accountability that human contributors bring to collaborative knowledge projects.

    “Using large language models to produce synthetic text, it is a fundamental property of these systems that there is no accountability, no connection to what someone believes or stands behind,” she said. “When we speak, we speak based on what we believe and what we are accountable for, not based on some objective notion of truth. And that’s not there for large language models.”

    Bender said widespread use of AI-generated edits could also affect the site’s reputation.

    “If people are instead taking shortcuts and making something that looks like a Wikipedia edit or article and putting it there, then that degrades the overall value and reputation of the site,” she said.

    Joseph Reagle, associate professor of communication studies at Northeastern University, who studies Wikipedia’s culture and governance, said the community’s response reflects longstanding concerns about accuracy and sourcing.

    “Wikipedia is wary of AI generated prose,” Reagle told Decrypt. “They take the accurate characterizations of what reliable sources state about a topic seriously. AI has had serious limitations on that front, such as ‘hallucinated’ claims and fabricated sources.”

    Reagle said Wikipedia’s core policies also shape how editors view AI tools, noting that many large language models have been trained on Wikipedia content. In October, the Wikimedia Foundation said human visits to Wikipedia fell about 8% year over year as search engines and chatbots increasingly provide answers directly on their platforms, rather than sending users to the site.

    In January, the Wikimedia Foundation announced agreements with AI companies, including Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta, allowing them to use Wikipedia material through its Enterprise product, a commercial service designed for large-scale reuse of its content.

    “While the use of Wikipedia content is permitted by Wikipedia’s licenses, there’s still some antipathy among Wikipedians about services that appropriate the content of communities and then place unwanted demands on those communities to deal with the consequent glut of AI slop,” Reagle said.

    Despite the prohibition on using LLMs, Wikipedia does permit AI tools to translate articles from other language editions into English, provided editors verify the original text. The policy also warns editors not to rely on writing style alone to identify AI-generated content and instead focus on whether the material complies with Wikipedia’s core policies and the contributor’s editing history.

    “Some editors may have similar writing styles to LLMs,” the update says. “More evidence than just stylistic or linguistic signs is needed to justify sanctions, and it is best to consider the text’s compliance with core content policies and recent edits by the editor in question.”

    Editor’s note: This article was updated after publication to include comment from the Wikipedia Foundation.

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  • Taylor Swift Takes Home Seven Awards at iHeartRadio Music Awards 2026, Extending Her Record for Most Wins

    Taylor Swift Takes Home Seven Awards at iHeartRadio Music Awards 2026, Extending Her Record for Most Wins

    Taylor Swift picked up the most trophies out of any artist at the iHeartRadio Music Awards on Thursday night, walking away with seven wins in nine nominated categories to extend her record as iHeartRadio’s most decorated artist of all time.

    Swift was on hand with her fiancé, Travis Kelce, to first accept the award for best pop album of the year with “The Life of a Showgirl,” as presented by Raye. “I think that this album feels very happy and confident and free because that’s the way that I get to feel every single day of my life, because of my fiance who’s here tonight,” she said. “So thanks for all the vibes. I really just wanted to say thank you also to iHeart and thank you to anyone who cared about ‘The Fate of Ophelia,’ because you made that into the biggest hit of my career, which is crazy at this point. And thank you.”

    But Swiftmania kicked into full gear when figure skater Alysa Liu presented her with not one but six additional awards including artist of the year, album of the year and best lyrics, among several others, bringing her overall tally to 41 iHeartRadio Music Award wins.

    “We live in this world where there’s so much immediate feedback, constantly, like you get feedback for everything you share with the world,” she said. “Now, like everything you post, you get feedback whether it’s good or bad or whatever. I just wanna say if I had one hope for you, I would say that I hope that you get to nurture your hobby and your passion. Just between you and that craft, and you give yourself time. Give yourself time to make mistakes. Give yourself time to hone your craft. I’m a firm believer that anything you feed your mind, it will internalize. Anything you feed the internet, it will attempt to kill, and I don’t want that for your dreams. So just thank you for allowing me to turn my hobby into a love, into a passion, into a dream, into a career. Thank you for allowing me to have it this long.”

    The show, hosted by Ludacris, kicked off with performances from Lainey Wilson and Alex Warren, who was on hand to accept the award for breakthrough artist of the year. After Wilson’s performance, Miley Cyrus took the stage to accept the iHeartRadio Innovator Award.

    “This week, celebrating 20 years of ‘Hannah Montana’ has been a dream come true,” said Cyrus. “My double denim and gold star thank you because they’ve been waiting over a decade to leave the house. Hannah Montana inspired me so much in my own career. I fell in love with the idea that you can create a persona that gives you the confidence and courage to perform authentically. And that sometimes, the fake you can actually reveal the real you.”

    Elsewhere, John Mellencamp accepted the iHeartRadio Icon Award as presented by his daughter Teddy, and headed to the back of the stage after a short speech to sing “Jack & Diane” and “Pink Houses.” Kehlani hit the laundromat for a rendition of “Folded,” while Raye preempted the release of her new album, out tonight, with a performance of “Where Is My Husband!” TLC teamed up with Salt-N-Pepa and En Vogue for a medley of songs as a teaser for their upcoming summer tour, and Ludacris took a break from emceeing to close out the evening with “Rollout (My Business),” “My Chick Bad” and “Money Maker.”

    Check out the list of winners below:

    Pop Album of the Year
    “The Life of a Showgirl” – Taylor Swift (WINNER)

    Alternative Album of the Year
    “I Barely Know Her” – sombr     (WINNER)

    Album of the Year
    “The Life of a Showgirl” — Taylor Swift (WINNER)

    Song of the Summer
    “I Just Might” — Bruno Mars (WINNER)

    Breakthrough Artist of the Year
    Alex Warren

    iHeartRadio Innovator Award
    Miley Cyrus

    iHeartRadio Icon Award
    John Mellencamp

    iHeartRadio Landmark Award
    Ludacris

    Song of the Year:
    “Anxiety” – Doechii
    “Good News” – Shaboozey
    “Love Somebody” – Morgan Wallen
    “luther” – Kendrick Lamar and SZA
    “Manchild” – Sabrina Carpenter
    “MUTT” – Leon Thomas
    “Ordinary” – Alex Warren (WINNER)
    “Sorry I’m Here For Someone Else” – Benson Boone
    “Stargazing” – Myles Smith
    “The Fate of Ophelia” – Taylor Swift

    Artist of the Year:
    Bad Bunny
    Benson Boone
    Chris Brown
    Jelly Roll
    Kendrick Lamar
    Lady Gaga
    Morgan Wallen
    Sabrina Carpenter
    Tate McRae
    Taylor Swift (WINNER)

    Pop Artist of the Year:
    Alex Warren
    Benson Boone
    Sabrina Carpenter (WINNER)
    Tate McRae
    Taylor Swift

    Pop Song of the Year:
    “Golden” – HUNTR/X, EJAE, AUDREY NUNA, REI AMI
    “Manchild” – Sabrina Carpenter
    “Ordinary” – Alex Warren
    “Pink Pony Club” – Chappell Roan
    “The Fate of Ophelia” – Taylor Swift (WINNER)

    Best New Artist (Pop):
    Alex Warren (WINNER)
    Jessie Murph
    Myles Smith
    Ravyn Lenae
    sombr

    Duo/Group of the Year:
    HUNTR/X, EJAE, AUDREY NUNA, REI AMI (WINNER)
    Linkin Park
    Maroon 5
    Shinedown
    Twenty One Pilots

    Best Collaboration:
    “All The Way” – BigXthaPlug ft. Bailey Zimmerman
    “APT.” – ROSÉ & Bruno Mars (WINNER)
    “luther” – Kendrick Lamar and SZA
    “Timeless” – The Weeknd ft. Playboi Carti
    “WHATCHU KNO ABOUT ME” – GloRilla ft. Sexyy Red

    Country Song of the Year:
    “After All The Bars Are Closed” – Thomas Rhett
    “Good News” – Shaboozey (WINNER)
    “Liar” – Jelly Roll
    “Love Somebody” – Morgan Wallen
    “Whiskey Drink” – Jason Aldean

    Country Artist of the Year:
    Jason Aldean
    Jelly Roll
    Lainey Wilson
    Luke Combs
    Morgan Wallen (WINNER)

    Best New Artist (Country):
    Chase Matthew
    Ella Langley (WINNER)
    Hudson Westbrook
    Josh Ross
    Zach Top

    Country Album of the Year
    “I’m the Problem” — Morgan Wallen (WINNER)

    Hip-Hop Song of the Year:
    “luther” – Kendrick Lamar and SZA (WINNER)
    “NOKIA” – Drake
    “Outside” – Cardi B
    “The Largest” – BigXthaPlug
    “WHATCHU KNO ABOUT ME” – GloRilla ft. Sexyy Red

    Hip-Hop Artist of the Year:
    Cardi B
    GloRilla
    Kendrick Lamar (WINNER)
    Playboi Carti
    Tyler, The Creator

    Best New Artist (Hip-Hop):
    MOLIY
    PLUTO
    Real Boston Richey (WINNER)
    YKNIECE
    ZEDDY WILL

    R&B Song of the Year:
    “Burning Blue” – Mariah the Scientist
    “Folded” – Kehlani (WINNER)
    “MUTT” – Leon Thomas
    “Residuals” – Chris Brown
    “SOMEBODY LOVES ME” – PARTYNEXTDOOR & Drake

    R&B Artist of the Year:
    Chris Brown (WINNER)
    Kehlani
    Leon Thomas
    Mariah the Scientist
    SZA

    Best New Artist (R&B):
    Jenevieve
    Kwn
    Leon Thomas (WINNER)
    Mariah the Scientist
    Sailorr

    R&B Album of the Year
    “PHOLKS” — Leon Thomas (WINNER)

    World Artist of the Year:
    Ayra Starr
    Jackson Wang
    JO1
    MOLIY (WINNER)
    Tyla

    Alternative Song of the Year:
    “Back To Friends” – sombr
    “Ensenada” – Sublime (WINNER)
    “One Eyed Bastard” – Green Day
    “Stargazing” – Myles Smith
    “The Contract” – Twenty One Pilots

    Alternative Artist of the Year:
    Cage the Elephant
    Green Day
    Linkin Park
    Sublime
    Twenty One Pilots (WINNER)

    Best New Artist (Alternative):
    · almost monday
    · Gigi Perez
    · Lola Young
    · Role Model
    · sombr (WINNER)

    Rock Song of the Year:
    “Afterlife” – Evanescence
    “Bad Guy” – Falling In Reverse ft. Saraya
    “Dance, Kid, Dance” – Shinedown
    “Even If It Kills Me” – Papa Roach
    “Heavy Is the Crown” – Linkin Park (WINNER)

    Rock Artist of the Year:
    Linkin Park
    Papa Roach
    Shinedown (WINNER)
    Sleep Token
    Three Days Grace

    Best New Artist (Rock):
    Architects
    Poppy
    Return to Dust
    Sleep Theory (WINNER)
    Spiritbox

    Dance Song of the Year:
    “Blessings” – Calvin Harris feat. Clementine Douglas
    “In My Arms” – ILLENIUM & HAYLA
    “No Broke Boys” – Disco Lines & Tinashe (WINNER)
    “Save My Love” – Marshmello, Ellie Goulding and AVAION
    “Won’t Be Possible” – Tiësto, Odd Mob & Goodboys

    Dance Artist of the Year:
    Calvin Harris
    David Guetta (WINNER)
    John Summit
    Martin Garrix
    Tiësto

    Dance Album of the Year
    “Mayhem” — Lady Gaga     (WINNER)

    Latin Pop/Urban Song of the Year:
    “Angel” – Grupo Frontera & Romeo Santos
    “DEGENERE” – Myke Towers & benny blanco
    “DtMF” – Bad Bunny (WINNER)
    “Qué Pasaría…” – Rauw Alejandro and Bad Bunny
    “Soltera” – Shakira

    Latin Pop/Urban Artist of the Year:
    Bad Bunny (WINNER)
    Feid
    J Balvin
    Karol G
    Shakira

    Best New Artist (Latin Pop/Urban):
    Alleh Mezher
    Beéle (WINNER)
    De La Rose
    Dei V
    Louis BPM

    Regional Mexican Song of the Year:
    “Amor Bonito” – Luis Angel “El Flaco” (WINNER)
    “El Amor De Mi Vida” – Calibre 50
    “Flores” – Xavi
    “Hecha Pa’ Mi” – Grupo Frontera
    “Lejos Estamos Mejor” – Eden Muñoz

    Regional Mexican Artist of the Year:
    Alejandro Fernández
    Carin León
    Fuerza Regida
    Grupo Frontera (WINNER)
    Luis Angel “El Flaco”

    Best New Artist (Regional Mexican):
    Clave Especial
    Edgardo Nuñez
    Los Dos De Tamaulipas (WINNER)
    Óscar Maydon
    Oscar Ortiz

    K-pop Artist of the Year:
    JENNIE
    j-hope
    Jin
    LISA
    ROSÉ (WINNER)

    K-pop Group of the Year:
    ATEEZ
    BLACKPINK
    ENHYPEN
    Stray Kids (WINNER)
    TWICE

    K-pop Song of the Year:
    “APT.” – ROSÉ & Bruno Mars
    “Golden” – HUNTR/X, EJAE, AUDREY NUNA, REI AMI (WINNER)
    “JUMP” – BLACKPINK
    “Killin’ It Girl” – j-hope feat. GloRilla
    “like JENNIE” – JENNIE

    Best New Artist (K-pop):
    82Major
    AllDay Project
    Cortis (WINNER)
    Hearts2Hearts
    Meovv

    Songwriter of the Year:
    Amy Allen (WINNER)
    Ashley Gorley
    Cal Shapiro
    Charlie Handsome
    Julia Michaels

    Producer of the Year:
    Andrew Watt (WINNER)
    Dijon
    Jack Antonoff
    Max Martin & Shellback
    Sounwave

    Favorite Broadway Debut: *Socially Voted Category
    Ashley Graham, “Chicago”
    Cheryl Porter, “& Juliet”
    Durrell “Tank” Babbs, “Hell’s Kitchen”
    Gabrielle Nevaeh Green, “Stranger Things: The First Shadow”
    Jack Wolfe, “Hadestown”
    Kelsie Watts, “Six! The Musical”
    Lencia Kebede, “Wicked”
    Lizzy McAlpine, “Floyd Collins”
    Meg Donnelly, “Moulin Rouge! The Musical”
    Ne-Yo, “Hell’s Kitchen”
    Tom Felton, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” (WINNER)
    Trisha Paytas, “Beetlejuice”

    (New for 2026) Favorite TikTok Dance: *Socially Voted Category
    “Abracadabra” – Lady Gaga
    “Gnarly” – KATSEYE
    “GO!” – CORTIS
    “Happen To Me” – Russell Dickerson
    “JUMP” – BLACKPINK
    “like JENNIE” – JENNIE
    “Midnight Sun” – Zara Larsson
    “MONA LISA” – j-hope (WINNER)
    “Revolving Door” – Tate McRae
    “SPAGHETTI” – LE SSERAFIM, j-hope
    “The Fate of Ophelia” – Taylor Swift

    (New for 2026) Favorite Debut Album: *Socially Voted Category
    Addison Rae, “Addison”
    Alex Warren, “You’ll Be Alright, Kid” (WINNER)
    Audrey Hobert, “Who’s the Clown?”
    Calum Hood, “ORDER chaos ORDER”
    Coco Jones, “Why Not More?”
    JADE, “THAT’S SHOWBIZ BABY!”
    JENNIE, “Ruby”
    LISA, “Alter Ego”
    Michael Clifford, “SIDEQUEST”
    Perrie, “Perrie”
    sombr, “I Barely Know Her”
    Tucker Wetmore, “What Not To”

    Best Lyrics: *Socially Voted Category
    “Anxiety” – Doechii
    “BAILE INoLVIDABLE” – Bad Bunny
    “Camera” – Ed Sheeran
    “Choosin’ Texas” – Ella Langley
    “DAISIES” – Justin Bieber
    “Golden” – HUNTR/X, EJAE, AUDREY NUNA, REI AMI
    “Man I Need” – Olivia Dean
    “Manchild” – Sabrina Carpenter
    “Ordinary” – Alex Warren
    “The Fate of Ophelia” – Taylor Swift (WINNER)
    “undressed” – sombr
    “WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!” – RAYE

    Best Music Video: *Socially Voted Category
    “Abracadabra” – Lady Gaga
    “BAILE INoLVIDABLE” – Bad Bunny
    “BORN AGAIN” – LISA feat. Doja Cat & RAYE
    “Gabriela” – KATSEYE
    “JUMP” – BLACKPINK
    “like JENNIE” – JENNIE
    “Manchild” – Sabrina Carpenter
    “Ordinary” – Alex Warren
    “Sapphire” – Ed Sheeran
    “Shake It to the Max (FLY) (Remix)” – MOLIY, Shenseea, Skillibeng, Silent Addy
    “The Fate of Ophelia” – Taylor Swift (WINNER)
    “toxic till the end” – ROSÉ

    Favorite On Screen: *Socially Voted Category
    AJ McLean, Nicole Scherzinger, Liam Payne, Kelly Rowland, “Building the Band”
    Ariana Grande & Cynthia Erivo, “Wicked: For Good”
    Bad Bunny, “Happy Gilmore 2”
    Becky G, “REBBECA”
    Ed Sheeran, “ONE SHOT with Ed Sheeran: A Musical Experience”
    Jimin and Jungkook, “Are You Sure?!” (WINNER)
    Jonas Brothers, “A Very Jonas Christmas Movie”
    Karol G, “Karol G: Tomorrow Was Beautiful”
    Lady Gaga, “Wednesday”
    LISA, “The White Lotus”
    Taylor Swift, “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The End of an Era”
    Zara Larsson, “Up Close”

    Favorite Tour Photographer: *Socially Voted Category
    Abby Waisler for Gracie Abrams
    Adam DeGross for Post Malone
    Anna Lee for Coldplay
    baeth for Tate McRae
    Chris Cornejo for Shakira
    Cynthia Parkhurst for Katy Perry
    Henry Hwu for Billie Eilish
    Hyghly for The Weeknd
    Joshua Halling for Oasis
    Rahul Bhatt for KATSEYE (WINNER)
    Thomas Falcone for Shawn Mendes
    Tom Pallant for YUNGBLUD

    Favorite Soundtrack: *Socially Voted Category
    “A Very Jonas Christmas Movie (Original Soundtrack)”
    “F1 the Album”
    “Frankenstein (Soundtrack from the Netflix Film)”
    “KPop Demon Hunters” (WINNER)
    “Nobody Wants This Season 2: The Soundtrack”
    “Sinners (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)”
    “Smurfs Movie Soundtrack (Music From & Inspired By)”
    “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere”
    “Tron: Ares (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)”
    “Wicked: For Good – The Soundtrack”
    “Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires (Original Soundtrack)”

    Favorite Tour Style: *Socially Voted Category
    Bad Bunny, “DeBí TiRaR MáS FOtoS World Tour”
    Beyoncé, “Cowboy Carter Tour”
    Billie Eilish, “Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour”
    BLACKPINK, “Deadline World Tour”
    Dua Lipa, “Radical Optimism Tour”
    Ella Langley, “Still Hungover Tour”
    KATSEYE, “Beautiful Chaos Tour”
    Lady Gaga, “The Mayhem Ball”
    Sabrina Carpenter, “Short n’ Sweet Tour”
    Tate McRae, “Miss Possessive Tour”
    Taylor Swift, “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour” (WINNER)
    Zara Larsson, “Midnight Sun Tour”

    Favorite Tour Tradition: *Socially Voted Category
    Benson Boone, Cover song
    Beyoncé, Blue Ivy & Rumi on stage
    Billie Eilish, “when the party’s over” silent loop
    Coldplay, Crowd cam (WINNER)
    Dua Lipa, Surprise guest
    Jonas Brothers, Surprise guest
    KATSEYE, “Gnarly” dance break
    Lainey Wilson, Cowgirl of the night
    ROLE MODEL, Sally
    Sabrina Carpenter, Celebrity “Juno” arrest
    Tate McRae, Fan cam on stage
    Zara Larsson, “Lush Life” star

    (New for 2026) Favorite K-pop Collab: *Socially Voted Category
    “Blink” – Corbyn Besson & TZUYU of TWICE
    “BORN AGAIN” – LISA feat. Doja Cat & RAYE
    “BUCK” – Jackson Wang feat. Diljit Dosanjh
    “Confessions” – Flo Rida, HEESEUNG & JAKE of ENHYPEN, Paul Russell
    “Dirty Work” – aespa feat. Flo Milli
    “ExtraL” – JENNIE, Doechii
    “EYES CLOSED” – JISOO X ZAYN
    “Illegal + SEVENTEEN” – PinkPantheress, SEVENTEEN
    “On My Mind” – Alex Warren & ROSÉ
    “Sweet Dreams (feat. Miguel)” – j-hope, Miguel (WINNER)
    “TOO BAD” – G-DRAGON feat. Anderson .Paak
    “WE PRAY (TWICE Version)” – Coldplay, TWICE, Burna Boy, Elyanna, TINI, Little Simz

  • ‘Love Story’ Gives John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy a Wrenching, Wistful Sendoff

    ‘Love Story’ Gives John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy a Wrenching, Wistful Sendoff

    SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for the finale of FX’s “Love Story.”

    We get a glimpse of John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy in the final moments of the finale of “Love Story.” But it’s only in memory. The pair are shown on a Massachusetts beach, living the life they might have had fate not intervened. 

    Fans of the FX series recounting the story of the presidential heir and his fashion-publicist bride have wondered from the first moments of the premiere of “Love Story” how we’d get to its inevitable endpoint. The show begins with a flash-forward to an argument on the tarmac ahead of the real-life 1999 flight to Martha’s Vineyard that killed John, Carolyn, and Carolyn’s sister Lauren; it then backtracks to show the blossoming of John and Carolyn’s relationship, their wedding and their eventual coming to loggerheads over disputes about how much publicity their marriage could withstand.

    Their passing is treated with no small amount of sensitivity. We arrive at that tarmac once more, but we first walk through their final month or so. We learn that their marriage counselor had recommended taking a trial separation. They’d been fighting a lot — Carolyn (Sarah Pidgeon) had told John (Paul Anthony Kelly) that “I cannot be the third person in my marriage,” behind the spectre of the media, or the Kennedy mythos. But the notion of splitting even for a month came as a shock to the system: These two may have come to loathe one another, but they could never go no-contact. 

    Paul Anthony Kelly and Sarah Pidgeon

    Courtesy of FX

    This startling advice has short-term consequences (they slept together, as if to prove a point) and somewhat longer-range ones: Carolyn, imprisoned within the Tribeca loft for fear of paparazzi invasiveness, eventually attends a George magazine party because she understands it’s important to her husband. After months in self-imposed exile, fearing the camera’s lenses and the press’ criticism, she makes the choice to smile. After that, John, craving outside validation, takes Carolyn to a super-secret dinner at their little Indian spot, and promises to re-examine his life to make room for her. He’s even willing to skip a cousin’s wedding, but she insists. “I miss dancing with you,” she declares on the walk home. 

    Courtesy of FX

    Which brings the audience to the tarmac. The first-episode fight, over a perceived delay by Carolyn as she changed the color of her nails and over John’s not engaging his flight instructor for the short trip, is elided with a fade to white. When we fade in, Carolyn is reading the Irish playwright Brian Friel’s “Lovers” alongside her sister Lauren (Sydney Lemmon), as John flies solo. Bored or stirred-up or having some kind of premonition, Carolyn asks her pilot “Permission to enter the cockpit?” Granted that permission, she dons headphones. 

    “I missed you,” John says. “I had a feeling,” Carolyn replies. It’s the full-on reconciliation the show has been making viewers wait for — and it comes just as John, piloting toward what he thinks is the horizon, suddenly loses his sense of it. He urges Carolyn to go back to her seat, but she refuses, staying by his side as dials spin and light his face red. “It’s OK, just breathe. John, just breathe. Just breathe.” As he looks confounded by the moment his destiny and choices have placed him in, she looks serene.

    The remainder of the finale deals with the aftermath of the deaths of John, Carolyn and Lauren — particularly the grief of John’s sister Caroline Kennedy (Grace Gummer) and Carolyn and Lauren’s mother Ann Messina Freeman (Constance Zimmer). Freeman and the Kennedy family battle at first through Kennedy proxy, Caroline’s husband Ed Schlossberg (Ben Shenkman), over where the three might be allowed to be buried; an impromptu meeting between Caroline and Ann, both visiting the star-crossed couple’s loft, allows for a moment of détente, a relaxing of tensions, and an agreement that all three plane passengers might be buried at sea. We hear Ann reading, first, Henry Scott-Holland’s “Death Is Nothing at All” and then Clare Harner’s “Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep,” at a highly negotiated funeral service, then see the scattering of ashes, then a moment of that which might have been: John and Carolyn, entirely alone, embracing on a sand dune, happy in the company of no one, and no mediating force, but one another.  

  • Analysts Say It Could Take 300 Days for Bitcoin to Return to Its Previous Peak! Here’s Why

    Analysts Say It Could Take 300 Days for Bitcoin to Return to Its Previous Peak! Here’s Why

    A noteworthy analysis regarding the recovery process in cryptocurrency markets has been published. Data and analysis platform Ecoinometrics revealed that declines in Bitcoin price are directly related to the recovery period.

    According to an analysis shared by the platform via X, the deeper the decline in Bitcoin, the longer it takes to return to its previous peak levels. The analysis suggests that each additional 10% increase in the rate of decline adds an average of 80 days to the recovery period.

    Calculations based on this model predict that, given Bitcoin’s current low level, it could take approximately 300 days for it to reach its previous all-time high again.

    Ecoinometrics specifically emphasized that this data is not a direct price prediction, but merely a timing indicator based on historical trends. Analysts suggest that investors should consider such data in conjunction with broader market dynamics rather than in isolation.

    According to the data, Bitcoin has fallen by approximately 45 percent from its peak of $126,000 reached in October 2025, dropping to around $68,900 as of March 27. This decline indicates that volatility persists in the markets and that the recovery process may take time.

    Experts point out that both macroeconomic conditions and investor demand need to be supportive for Bitcoin to re-enter a strong upward trend.

    *This is not investment advice.

  • Bitcoin macro risks spike as Ukraine throws a spanner in Trump’s plan to stabilize oil markets

    Ukraine has complicated President Donald Trump’s efforts to stabilize oil markets amid the Iran war, amplifying risks for financial markets, including cryptocurrencies.

    For nearly a month, markets have been gripped by a single concern: the Iran war. Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz – a critical oil chokepoint – have driven prices sharply higher, stoking fears of sticky inflation, a risk-off shift, and renewed Fed rate hikes.

    To cool things down, the Trump administration quickly lifted sanctions on Russian crude for the short term, opening the tap to compensate for oil supply disruptions caused by the Iran war.

    It came across as a solid plan to stabilize energy markets until Ukraine blew it up.
    This week, Ukraine launched drone strikes on ports and refiners in Russia’s Leningrad, leading to what one observer described as “the most serious threat” to the country’s oil exports since Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

    The damage is significant, with roughly 40% of Russia’s oil export capacity offline. Oilprice.com editor Michael Kern described it as “a logistics problem first – and a supply problem second,” underscoring that moving oil to buyers is now as difficult as producing it.

    “In conjunction with the war in the Middle East and de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz and subsequent oil/LNG production outages, the Russian disruption adds a fresh element to already sky-high oil prices,” Kern noted.

    In other words, oil prices may remain elevated longer than initially expected. For risk assets, including bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, that’s an issue because higher sticky energy prices could lead to sticky inflation, potentially putting pressure on global central banks to raise borrowing costs and drain liquidity.

    Traders are already prepping for a potential Fed rate hike in the short term. According to Bloomberg, flows in the options market tied to overnight interest rates indicate traders are wagering on a rate increase within two weeks.

    Taken together, these factors suggest bitcoin’s recent resilience may face tests, with the $65,000–$75,000 range vulnerable to a downside break.

    At press time, bitcoin traded near $68,500, down nearly 2% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinDesk data. WTI oil, which slipped nearly 10% to $83.95 per barrel on Monday, has since bounced back to $93.50. Brent crude is once again trading above the $100 mark.

  • ‘The Drama’ Director Kristoffer Borgli’s 2012 Essay on His Age-Gap Romance Resurfaces, Sparking Controversy

    ‘The Drama’ Director Kristoffer Borgli’s 2012 Essay on His Age-Gap Romance Resurfaces, Sparking Controversy

    A resurfaced Norwegian magazine essay by Kristoffer Borgli — now drawing attention on Reddit — is raising fresh questions about the filmmaker just as his profile in Hollywood continues to rise.

    Borgli, the director behind the upcoming feature The Drama starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, has been the subject of a viral thread on the platform, where users have shared scans of a 2012 print article from D2, the weekend magazine of Dagens Naeringsliv — Norway’s leading financial daily, comparable to the Wall Street Journal. D2 is its glossy culture and lifestyle supplement known for longform essays and profiles.

    The piece, written by Borgli himself, then 27, reflects on a recent relationship he had with a teenage girl. The scans, which are not widely available online, have begun to circulate and have been translated by users.

    The renewed attention comes as Borgli transitions from cult indie filmmaker to a more mainstream presence. Borgli’s The Drama — his latest English-language project, following 2023’s Dream Scenario starring Nicolas Cage — features two of Hollywood’s biggest stars, Zendaya and Pattinson, further elevating his profile internationally.

    The Drama follows a soon-to-be-married couple whose relationship takes an increasingly unsettling turn, blending intimacy with unease. It’s in line with Borgli’s brand of black comedy, which leans into discomfort, taboo and provocation — a sensibility that aligns with A24‘s taste for bold, conversation-driving, filmmaker-led work.

    While the legal age of consent in Norway is 16, relationships between adults and teenagers remain socially contentious in the country, a tension Borgli grapples with in the essay.

    The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to A24 and Borgli’s team for comment.

    Below is the full translated text of the essay, as shared and translated from the original Norwegian:

    Wikipedia lists 266 films that deal with so-called May-December romances.

    The term “May-December” is explained here as when the age difference between two people in a relationship is so large that it risks social disapproval. The reason I know this is because I met a girl ten years younger than me whom I liked very much – a girl who wasn’t old enough to vote – and I had to find something that could recalibrate my moral compass. The few friends I confided in about my situation responded that it was not “within bounds. ” That confirmed that it was precisely a May-December romance.

    I woke up in the cramped little apartment I was temporarily renting after I moved out – or was thrown out – by my ex half a year earlier. Beside me lay a blonde girl, a high school student enjoying the sporadic holidays in May. I chose to see her that way, to define her by her age, and I chose never to see her again. But you can’t choose what the heart wants. A post on Facebook, a text message, small digital exchanges in the days that followed.

    In my previous relationship, the age difference had been in the opposite direction; she had lived seven more summers than me. Age then proved to be more of a problem than an attraction. Emotional dilemmas like these drive me to seek out films and books with similar and relevant themes (and suddenly all songs are about me). Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson portray a May-December romance, aged 53 and 18 respectively, in Lost in Translation. In Ghost World, the age difference between Steve Buscemi and Thora Birch is significant, but it was revisiting Woody Allen’s Manhattan that completely changed my attitude. The relationship there is presented as entirely open and romantic. If a film made in 1979, in which Woody Allen’s 42-year-old character has a public relationship with a 17-year-old girl, is portrayed exclusively in a positive way and causes no controversy in its own time, then why shouldn’t my relationship – with a considerably smaller age difference – in 2012 be “within bounds”? I chose to listen to Woody over my friends.

    I was fascinated by her life. Unlike me, she was born and raised in Oslo, in Grünerløkka, and must have been exposed early and clearly to literature, music, and film. When I was 16, I played PlayStation, drank homemade liquor at house parties, and made splatter films in the backyard. She played piano, drank cava at gallery openings, and wrote texts that were published by a press. I think my cultural insight (and therefore, because I am who I am, my life insight) was delayed by ten years as a result of growing up in the countryside versus Oslo. In many ways, we were strangely quite equal. She never laughed at my Seinfeld references – naturally, since she had never seen a single episode – but in return she could recommend books to me, such as Self-Portrait by Édouard Levé.

    I could watch her as she read the ever-new books she brought into my apartment. Her curiosity was admirable and contagious. I developed a bigger appetite for everything. Suddenly we were together all the time – long days in my apartment, eggs and bacon with Woody Allen films for breakfast (she was also a fan), long walks with her parents’ dog, and late midweek evenings at restaurants and bars (where they didn’t check ID). When her parents were away, we began spending entire days in their large apartment; we drank her parents’ wine, we read her parents’ books. Some days we didn’t go outside because it was dark (and only then did we get dressed); sometimes we could sit at the large kitchen table from breakfast until dinner without moving, just talking and laughing. She played completely unfamiliar music that I often liked on first listen, and my favorite films became her favorite films. She told me what clothes I should and shouldn’t wear (crew neck, not V-neck). We shared a fascination with Fleetwood Mac, and we both had a childish attachment to peanuts. That summer, I didn’t travel – for the first time as long as I can remember – but the time we spent together that summer in her parents’ apartment was nonetheless the best and most exotic summer I’ve ever had. Her parents came home unexpectedly early from vacation, and I had to climb out the window (first floor). The summer ended, and our weeklong weekends became ordinary weekdays. She was May; I was December.

  • Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Make Awards Show Debut at 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards

    Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Make Awards Show Debut at 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards

    Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have made their official awards show debut as a couple at the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards.

    The Grammy winner and NFL star were both in attendance at Thursday night’s show, which was held at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre. They did not make their highly anticipated red carpet debut, as Swift walked solo, though they were seated inside the theater together.

    The Grammy winner’s attendance at the ceremony was confirmed ahead of the show, marking her sole appearance at an awards show in 2026. Swift walked the carpet in a mint-green mini skirt and corset ensemble that was adorned with sparkly embellishments.

    Swift and Kelce announced their engagement in August 2025, after first being romantically connected in the late summer of 2023. While they may have not walked the red carpet as a duo quite yet, Swift regularly attends the Kansas City Chiefs player’s NFL games, as he has attended many stops of Swift’s Eras Tour. During her 2024 London show, Kelce himself made a surprise on-stage cameo during her performance of “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart.”

    The “Opalite” singer was the most nominated artist at the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards, leading the nominees with a total of nine nods. Swift was up for some of the night’s tops honors, including song of the year (for “The Fate of Ophelia”), best music video (for the same track) and artist of the year.

    Elsewhere, Alex Warren, Sabrina Carpenter and Bad Bunny topped the nominees list with eight noms each. Carpenter and Bad Bunny were up for the coveted title of artist of the year alongside Swift, Benson Boone, Chris Brown, Jelly Roll, Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, Morgan Wallen and Tate McRae.

    The awards ceremony took place live from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Thursday night, where Ludacris served as host. He was recognized with the the iHeartRadio Landmark Award, while John Mellencamp was presented with the the iHeartRadio Icon Award. Miley Cyrus also received the iHeartRadio Innovator Award and Warren with the iHeartRadio Breakthrough Artist of the Year Award.

    More to come.

    Taylor Swift attends the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards.

    Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for iHeartRadio