Lifestyle
Trump Ex-Secret Service Agent Explains What He Would've Done to Prevent Shooting
![Trump Ex-Secret Service Agent Explains What He Would've Done to Prevent Shooting](https://imagez.tmz.com/image/02/16by9/2024/07/16/02875b8780b54824a8436057ec92f579_xl.jpg)
Donald Trump‘s Secret Service detail is catching heat for a security failure after he was shot — and an ex-agent who worked with him has thoughts on how they could’ve prevented this.
Mike de Geus — who worked for the Secret Service during the Trump years, and who used to guard the former President — tells TMZ there were a lot of problems he saw with the way the Secret Service handled things Saturday, including several glaring issues they missed.
TMZ.com
He points out that there are very simple things the agency could’ve done to block off the clear line of sight Thomas Matthew Crooks had from a building outside the perimeter … even if that technically wasn’t within the Secret Service’s ring of protection.
Mike says they should’ve seen the building Crooks perched himself on had a direct line to Trump — and he suggests there are simple things they could’ve done ahead of time to block that clear path … including rolling out vehicles, or even turning the stage.
While he says they missed opportunities to protect Trump, he does note they did the right thing by getting him out of there relatively slowly.
That might sound counterproductive, but Mike points out the Secret Service had to make sure Trump wasn’t bleeding beyond just his ear grazing, so he gives them credit there.
TMZ.com
Now, on the issue of the agents themselves — something else that’s come under a microscope — Mike does say he feels some of the agents might’ve not been the best options to protect a guy as big as Trump. The much-smaller female agent comes to mind here.
He believes the agents should be physically capable of carrying whoever they’re tasked with shielding — and, at least to the eye, it’s unclear if all the agents on his Saturday detail were right for that specific scenario.
Big picture … Mike thinks the Secret Service has slipped a bit in quality — and while he can’t pin down why that might be, he thinks this incident is a come-to-Jesus moment.
Interesting insight from a guy who used to do this job, no doubt.
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Lifestyle
This may sound like a broken record, but Taylor Swift has broken another record
![This may sound like a broken record, but Taylor Swift has broken another record](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/3833x2157+0+329/resize/1400/quality/100/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc5%2Ffa%2F0583ee08473792d3dd927c339be0%2Fgettyimages-2160637293.jpg)
Taylor Swift, seen onstage in Amsterdam in July during the European leg of her record-breaking Eras Tour, has broken another record with her latest album The Tortured Poets Department.
Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images
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Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images
This week, Kendrick Lamar enjoys a resurgence: His very catchy Drake diss track, “Not Like Us,” has rebounded to the top spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart for the first time since its release week back in May. Taylor Swift has outdone her own record on the Billboard 200 albums chart and a talented upstart named Bruce Springsteen has made a chart debut. (For real.)
TOP SONGS
It was probably the release of the clever official video on the Fourth of July that did it: Kendrick Lamar’s sneering Drake diss track “Not Like Us” is back at No. 1, nine weeks after it debuted in the top spot.
Since then, it’s been meandering between the second and sixth position. By contrast, none of Drake’s own diss tracks against K-Dot are currently anywhere in the Hot 100; his collaboration with rapper Sexyy Red, “U My Everything,” is currently at No. 76. As far as sheer popularity goes, Kendrick is the clear winner in this round of beef.
Meanwhile: Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” has dipped back down to No. 2 after one week in the top spot, followed by Post Malone’s “I Had Some Help,” featuring Morgan Wallen, at No. 3, Tommy Richman’s “Million Dollar Baby” at No. 4 and Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” rounding out the top five (her follow-up, “Please Please Please,” is at No. 6).
TOP ALBUMS
Well, folks, she did it: With The Tortured Poets Department at No. 1 for a 12th consecutive week, Taylor Swift has set another chart milestone. Not only has Tortured Poets beat the 11-week record of two of Swift’s other albums (1989 and Fearless), but it is now the only album by a female artist to debut in the top spot and remain there for so long. (The previous record was held by Whitney Houston, for her 1987 album Whitney.)
As Billboard notes, only two other albums have remained at No. 1 for their first 12 weeks after being released: Stevie Wonder’s iconic Songs in the Key of Life, which was released in 1976 and spent 14 weeks in first place, and current country star Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time, which in total spent 19 weeks in the top spot.
In a big upward sweep, another contemporary prince of country, Zach Bryan, moved from 17th place last week to No. 2 with his album The Great American Bar Scene. (Remember how we said this looked like it was going to be a big summer for country music?)
Seventeen of the album’s 19 tracks have also made it into the Hot 100. Why the big jump this week? The reason why Bar Scene didn’t chart higher last week is that was only commercially available for one day of the last chart-tracking period.
Rounding out the top five on the Billboard 200: Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time has tripped down to No. 3, followed by Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft and Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.
WORTH NOTING
Last week’s Billboard 200 chart position for The Great American Bar Scene doesn’t tell the full story of this album’s successes so far. Bryan’s album is currently atop a number of Billboard charts: Top Streaming Albums, Top Country Albums, Top Rock Albums, Top Rock & Alternative Albums and Americana/Folk Albums. Bryan’s multi-genre dominance also helped has also made some room to introduce another singer-songwriter to the country music chart: Bruce Springsteen. (Bruce Springsteen! In 2024! 49 years after his first Billboard chart appearance with 1975’s “Born to Run”!)
Performing as a featured artist on Bryan’s song “Sandpaper,” The Boss has made his debut on the Hot Country Songs chart, at No. 26. “Sandpaper” also landed at No. 76 on the Hot 100 this week — Springsteen’s first appearance on the overall singles chart since “Working on a Dream” in 2009. It just goes to show: With a lot of effort and a vision, a talented singer-songwriter can accomplish anything!
Lifestyle
Ingrid Andress, whose national anthem went viral, says she was drunk
![Ingrid Andress, whose national anthem went viral, says she was drunk](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/3000x1688+0+156/resize/1400/quality/100/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F20%2F0c%2F622d5f5749fa9a345c6bd093301e%2Fgettyimages-2161587147-edit.jpg)
Ingrid Andress sings the national anthem prior to the 2024 Home Run Derby at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on Monday.
Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images
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Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images
Ingrid Andress, the country music star who went viral on Monday night after flubbing the national anthem at MLB’s Home Run Derby, said she was drunk during the performance and is seeking help.
“I’m not gonna bull**** y’all, I was drunk last night,” Andress posted on Instagram. “I’m checking myself into a facility today to get the help I need. That was not me last night. I apologize to MLB, all the fans, and this country I love so much for that rendition.”
On most days, Andress has a lovely singing voice. She performed a charming Tiny Desk concert just last year, in case you’d like to see evidence that Andress can sing. (I was in the room! She can sing and was also very nice!) But Andress is not a traditional belter; her gifts lie in observation and conversation, and in getting at subtle truths without overstating them.
![How Sports Met 'The Star-Spangled Banner'](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2018/09/06/gettyimages-71761034_sq-494073550e21216b2bd515222a38b170133d2420.jpg?s=100&c=100&f=jpeg)
Plus, unless your name is Whitney Houston, “The Star-Spangled Banner” is a famously tough song to sing (lots of high and low notes, a melody that doesn’t glide easily) in a grand, high-profile setting that incentivizes soaring bombast.
On a normal day, Andress is not the singer you turn to if you’re in the mood for grandiosity. Combine that with her state of mind Monday night, and you can see why her “Star-Spangled Banner” went off the rails quickly.
There is a way to tackle the song without getting too tricksy — to keep it subtle and contained — and it seemed for a second in the beginning of the performance like Andress was following in that tradition. But she soon began bending and curling her syllables in a hyperstylized way, and that seemed to set off a chain reaction as she wandered further and further off pitch on her way into the power notes.
!['O Say Can You Hear'](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2022/07/04/gettyimages-55710693-1536x1024_sq-6a4554a4163b74045028657f80c57f34611908ff.jpeg?s=100&c=100&f=jpeg)
Before Andress revealed the reason for the disaster, the viral video appeared to be the hilarious distraction many of us needed after a week of awful news. But at least the singer is maintaining a sense of humor about it. She ended her Instagram post with this:
“I’ll let y’all know how rehab is[.] I hear it’s super fun.”
Lifestyle
Tell us: What’s the best beach in Southern California?
![Tell us: What’s the best beach in Southern California?](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5b607a3/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5280x2772+0+592/resize/1200x630!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F58%2Fe8%2F7d11af6944d2be91c01546c7a49e%2F1460082-wk-50-best-beaches-victoria-72-ajs.jpg)
Of course, naming the best beaches of Southern California is subjective. But when a group of reporters set out to take on this massive task for The Times, they had some guiding principles.
We sought beaches from San Diego to Santa Barbara that were easy to access and offered something special like amazing views, great surf, tide pools, firepits, volleyball courts or bike and walking paths. We made a handful of exceptions for beaches that feel more remote. We also considered parking, bathrooms and ADA access — and the complicated issue of ever-changing water quality in limited areas at some otherwise great sites.
However, with our 50-beach limit, there are many that didn’t make the cut. This is where you come in. Tell us: What beach did we miss? We may feature responses in a future story.
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