Entertainment
Fugees rapper Pras Michel receives 14-year sentence for illicit contributions tied to Obama campaign
Grammy-winning rapper Prakazrel “Pras” Michel of the Fugees was sentenced on Thursday to 14 years in prison for a case in which he was convicted of illegally funneling millions of dollars in foreign contributions to former President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign.
Michel, 52, declined to address the court before U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly sentenced him.
In April 2023, a federal jury convicted Michel of 10 counts, including conspiracy and acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government. The trial in Washington, D.C., included testimony from actor Leonardo DiCaprio and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Justice Department prosecutors said federal sentencing guidelines recommended a life sentence for Michel, whom they said “betrayed his country for money” and “lied unapologetically and unrelentingly to carry out his schemes.”
“His sentence should reflect the breadth and depth of his crimes, his indifference to the risks to his country, and the magnitude of his greed,” they wrote.
Defense attorney Peter Zeidenberg said his client’s 14-year sentence is “completely disproportionate to the offense.” Michel will appeal his conviction and sentence, according to his lawyer.
Zeidenberg had recommended a three-year prison sentence. A life sentence would be an “absurdly high” punishment for Michel, given that it is typically reserved for deadly terrorists and drug cartel leaders, Michel’s attorneys said in a court filing.
“The Government’s position is one that would cause Inspector Javert to recoil and, if anything, simply illustrates just how easily the Guidelines can be manipulated to produce absurd results, and how poorly equipped they are, at least on this occasion, to determine a fair and just sentence,” they wrote.
Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Michel, a Brooklyn native whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from Haiti, was a founding member of the Fugees along with childhood friends Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean. Their hip-hop band won two Grammy Awards and sold tens of millions of albums.
Michel obtained more than $120 million from Malaysian billionaire Low Taek Jho — also known as Jho Low — and steered some of that money through straw donors to Obama’s campaign.
Michel said during trial that he viewed Low’s payments as “free money,” and accepted the millions over the course of nine months to help Low secure a photo op with Obama. He said under oath at the time that no one told him such payments toward political donations could have been unlawful or violations of campaign finance laws.
The Justice Department also charged Michel with serving as an unregistered foreign agent for China, alleging that in 2017 he sought to sway the Trump administration to halt its probe into Low and to extradite a Chinese government target living in the U.S. That individual, dissident Miles Guo, was charged in New York in a billion-dollar fraud case and is still in custody.
Low, who has lived in China, was one of the primary financiers of “The Wolf of Wall Street,” a movie starring DiCaprio. Low is a fugitive but has maintained his innocence.
“Low’s motivation for giving Mr. Michel money to donate was not so that he could achieve some policy objective. Instead, Low simply wanted to obtain a photograph with himself and then-President Obama,” Michel’s attorneys wrote.
In August 2024, the judge rejected Michel’s request for a new trial based in part on his defense attorney’s use of a generative artificial intelligence program during his closing of the trial’s arguments. The judges said that and other trial errors didn’t amount to a serious miscarriage of justice.
Entertainment
Invictus Games issue update as Harry determined to open ceremony with King
Prince Harry appears fully ready to take on the Invictus Games at Birmingham in 2027as it sets the stage for friends and families to support a meaningful cause.
The Duke of Sussex, who founded the supporting event for the injured and sick veterans in 2014, seemingly planned to extend an olive branch to his father King Charles to open the Games. Reports suggested that it would fulfil a “dream” of Harry to have his father by his side for the event that means so much to him.
There is also the matter of Harry’s UK police protection verdict, which is pending, but sources believe that this time it would tip in his favour.
While there is confirmation pending on the matter, the Invictus Games shared an exiting update for the upcoming event, as they set the “finest stage” in UK in a special video. It revealed that there is an “exclusive” chance to experience the possible reunion of father and son on stage.
“Join our community for official news and an exclusive chance to win two tickets to the Opening Ceremony at the NEC on Saturday 10 July 2027.”
While there is confirmation pending on the matter, the Invictus Games shared an exiting update for the upcoming event, as they set the “finest stage” in UK in a special video. It revealed that there is an “exclusive” chance to experience the possible reunion of father and son on stage.
“Join our community for official news and an exclusive chance to win two tickets to the Opening Ceremony at the NEC on Saturday 10 July 2027.”
In the video clip, the presenter and competitor at the Games, JJ Chalmers, shared that this event “feels very special”. He noted that there are “people who want to share their stories and they have got the finest stage in Birmingham for 2027”.
Jonny Ball, a competitor from 2023, shared that the Games are “the soul of our recovery”. It could possibly also serve as a means of recovering a bond that was once broken by a years-long rift.
A previous report in The Sun noted that Harry “desperately wants Charles at Invictus — and he wants him to open the games alongside him”. Moreover, the Games always invites Heads of State but “Harry wants to go further with Charles involved in the opening ceremony”.
The source noted that Charles is the Head of the Armed Forces and the games “represent a cause close to both’s hearts”.
Meanwhile, a friend of the King told Daily Beast that the “he loves both his sons and of course he wants to be reconciled with Harry.” They added, “It would be a source of great joy to him if trust could improve sufficiently to normalise the relationship.”
If that reconciliation happens on stage, it would not only fulfil the dream of Harry’s but also win hearts of the public in the moanrchy’s favour, something that the royals are keen on.
Entertainment
Jennifer Lawrence reflects on marriage with Cooke Maroney
Jennifer Lawrence is opening up about how marriage and motherhood have reshaped her daily life, revealing how her relationship with husband Cooke Maroney has helped bring balance after what she describes as a chaotic upbringing.
Speaking candidly on the Jan. 12 episode of the SmartLess podcast, the Oscar winner reflected on adapting to a very different lifestyle since tying the knot and starting a family.
“I married somebody who is the opposite of me,” Lawrence, 35, shared. “He is so organized. He’s an anchor.”
She explained that Maroney’s calm, structured nature has influenced how she manages her home and time.
“Everything is ordered,” she said, noting that she has learned to adjust by keeping certain spaces closed off and assigning herself small responsibilities she works hard to maintain.
That structure became especially important after welcoming children.
Lawrence and Maroney share a son, Cy, 3, and welcomed their second baby in 2025. While strict schedules didn’t come naturally to her, Lawrence admitted she now understands why they matter.
“I get it now, I get it,” she said, explaining that their kids follow a very precise routine. She credited her husband with maintaining it, adding, “He’s good at keeping it.”
Still, the actress acknowledged that compromise is key.
“But we’ve learned, to keep our marriage alive, I have a 15 minute wiggle room,” she said, a sentiment host Jason Bateman supported by joking that rigid timing can put strain on a relationship.
Lawrence later noted that tight schedules can be especially challenging for her, adding with humour that she might need occupational therapy to help manage her ADD.
Beyond schedules, Lawrence has previously shared how becoming a mother shifted her entire perspective.
In a November interview with W Magazine, she spoke about the emotional intensity of early motherhood.
“When I had my first child, I felt completely connected to my baby,” she said, while also realizing how difficult it was to re-enter a world not built around that bond. “Everything looks different after that.”
Through marriage, motherhood, and mutual understanding, Lawrence says she’s found stability in a life that once felt overwhelming, crediting both her partner and her community for helping her navigate it all.
Entertainment
Matt Damon shares shocking thing about wife and bestie Ben Affleck
Matt Damon surprised fans by sharing a long-kept personal detail about his wife, Luciana Barroso, and his lifelong best friend Ben Affleck, revealing that when they first met, Barroso initially found Affleck more attractive.
The candid confession came during Damon’s appearance on The Howard Stern Show on Monday, Jan. 12, and quickly became a standout moment of the interview.
“This is f****ing completely true,” Damon, 55, said when Stern asked whether Affleck, 53, was around the night he met his future wife.
Damon explained that the truth came out months into their relationship, after he met Barroso’s best friend from high school.
The two women had gone to see Good Will Hunting together years earlier, and their opinions about the film’s stars were very different.
Damon recalled, “After we’d been together for a little while, probably a few months, she admitted that — I think I met her best friend from high school and it came out that the two of them went and saw Good Will Hunting together and her best friend thought I was the cute one and she thought Ben was the cute one.”
Damon said he jokingly confronted his wife about it at the time, telling Stern, “So she admitted to me… I’m like, ‘You got the wrong one?!’ She told me that 23 years ago.”
When Stern asked whether hearing something like that lingers over time, Damon and Affleck pointed out that their bond has only grown stronger, both personally and professionally.
Barroso, now 49, currently works closely with both men and serves as a producer on The Rip and Affleck’s upcoming directorial project Animals.
Affleck joked that he never sensed any romantic tension, saying Barroso is “a great producer and a really good friend,” adding that whatever attraction existed clearly faded once she met him in real life.
“Finally she met him and all that went away,” Damon replied, drawing laughs in the studio.
The conversation turned playful when Stern suggested it would be “devastating” if Barroso ever left Damon for Affleck.
Damon agreed without hesitation, saying, “If my two favourite people just exited my life? Yeah, that would suck.”
Damon and Affleck famously rose to fame together with Good Will Hunting, which earned them Oscars, and Damon later met Barroso in Miami while filming Stuck on You.
The couple married in 2005 and share four daughters, Alexia, Isabella, Gia and Stella.
Affleck, who has witnessed their relationship over the years, praised their marriage, calling it “a really gorgeous marriage and friendship.”
Damon also revealed that he barely remembers who was with him the night he met Barroso because he was so taken by her.
“I couldn’t remember who I was with ’cause all I remembered was her,” he said, a comment Affleck jokingly qualified by saying Damon was “hammered” but smart enough to phrase it romantically.
More than two decades later, Damon’s story landed as a reminder of the deep friendship and humour that still define his bond with both his wife and his best friend.
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