Sam Rivers, bassist for rock band Limp Bizkit, has died. He was 48 years old.

Rivers’ death was confirmed by the band, who wrote online on Saturday: “today we lost our brother”.

“Sam Rivers wasn’t just our bass player — he was pure magic. The pulse beneath every song, the calm in the chaos, the soul in the sound,” Limp Bizkit said in a social media post Saturday. “He was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of human. A true legend of legends. And his spirit will live forever in every groove, every stage, every memory.”

The band did not share any details about his death.

Rivers’ last post on social media was on Friday, in which he shared a “Save The Date” video for Limp Bizkit performing at the Rock for People festival in Hradec Králové, a city in the Czech Republic, in June 2026. Rivers and his bandmates last performed in August at the Leeds Festival in the United Kingdom.

In 2015, Rivers left the band after suffering from liver disease but rejoined the group in 2018.

“I got liver disease from excessive drinking … I had to leave Limp Bizkit in 2015 because I felt so horrible, and a few months after that I realized I had to change everything because I had really bad liver disease,” Rivers said during an interview with Variety. “I quit drinking and did everything the doctors told me. I got treatment for the alcohol and got a liver transplant, which was a perfect match.”

The nu-metal band skyrocketed in popularity in the ’90s, being nominated for three Grammys. Their hits, including “Rollin’” and “Nookie,” also landed on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

Fred Durst, fellow bandmate and frontman for Limp Bizkit, remembered the first time he heard Rivers play at a Jacksonville, Florida bar while searching for bandmates to form the group. Rivers was playing in a band at the bar and Durst said he was “killing it on the bass.”

“I saw Sam play and I was blown away,” Durst recalled in a video posted on social media Sunday morning. “He’s playing a five-string bass too. I’d never really seen someone using a five-string bass… he was so smooth and good and he stood out. I could hear nothing else but Sam… everything disappeared besides his gift.”

When he approached Rivers after his performance and told him that he wanted to form a band, Durst said the bassist didn’t hesitate.

“He looked at me and he says ,’Killer. I’m in. Let’s do it’,” Durst recalled. “I’ve gone through gallons and gallons of tears since yesterday and… I’m thinking, ‘My God, Sam’s a legend….he did it. He lived it.’”

Limp Bizkit’s new single, “Making Love to Morgan Wallen,” topped several Billboard charts in September.

George Santos has said he has spoken to U.S. President Donald Trump after the president commuted his sentence for fraud.

Writing on X, the former New York Republican representative said he would “never forget” the conversation he had with Trump after the president released him less than three months into his sentence, having pleaded guilty in August 2024 to multiple counts of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, campaign finance violations, and other financial crimes.

Newsweek reached out to Santos and the White House by email to comment on this story outside of normal business hours.

Why It Matters

Trump’s use of pardons and commutations, granted to the president under the U.S. Constitution, has raised questions about the limits of executive power.

The president’s pardons thus far—including releasing around 1,500 people convicted in connection with the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot—have raised eyebrows among his critics, while his supporters have said they are necessary to correct what they deem to be unjust sentences.

Santos is the sixth lawmaker in U.S. history to be expelled from the House of Representatives, so his case has drawn widespread attention and scrutiny from people of all political persuasions.

What To Know

Santos, who was expelled from Congress in December 2023, pleaded guilty to financial schemes linked to his 2022 campaign for office and personal finances. He had submitted false fundraising reports to the Federal Election Commission and false financial disclosures with the House of Representatives. He also stole donor identities, charging their cards without consent, and used donations to buy designer clothing, service debt payments and make cash withdrawals.

He was sentenced in April 2025 to 87 months in federal prison and began serving his term at the Federal Correctional Institution in Fairton, New Jersey, in July. Republicans like Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene had lobbied for his release and sent a letter in August asking the Justice Department to commute his sentence.

Writing on X, after Trump announced his release, Santos said he had been given “a true second chance at life” and an opportunity “to walk a better path.” He said he expressed his “deepest gratitude” to the president and said: “Earlier today, I had the honor of speaking with him personally, a conversation I will never forget. In that moment, I saw not only the strength of a great leader, but the heart of a man who believes in mercy, in redemption, and in the promise that America gives everyone the promise of a second chance.”

He added: “His kindness, his humanity, and his generosity toward my family and me touched me deeply. President Trump reminded me that in this country we love so much, no mistake, no hardship, and no fall from grace can take away the possibility of renewal. His faith in second chances reignited my own, and for that, I will be forever thankful.”

Trump commuting his sentence shortens Santos’ punishment for his crime. Unlike a pardon, it does not erase his conviction so Santos remains a convicted felon.

What People Are Saying

Former Representative George Santos’ attorney Joseph Murray posted on his client’s X account on Friday: “God bless President Donald J Trump the greatest President in U.S. history!”

President Donald Trump wrote in part in a Truth Social post Friday: “…at least Santos had the Courage, Conviction, and Intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN! George has been in solitary confinement for long stretches of time and, by all accounts, has been horribly mistreated. Therefore, I just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY. Good luck George, have a great life!”

Republican Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote on X: “THANK YOU President Trump for releasing George Santos!! He was unfairly treated and put in solitary confinement, which is torture!!”

The minority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, Democrat Hakeem Jeffries, in a post on X: “Donald Trump has time to free serial fraudster George Santos from prison.

“But he can’t be bothered to address the Republican health care crisis crushing working-class Americans.

“The extremists are insulting you every single day.”

What Happens Next

Santos remains a felon as his sentence was commuted and he was not given a pardon. He said he held “no anger” toward his critics and would “move forward with humility” without “revenge.”

“My goal now is to turn my past into something meaningful, to help create a justice system that truly believes in rehabilitation and second chances,” he said.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Lately, on any given day, you’ll find Leann Villaluz knocking on doors around Kansas City to get people to sign a petition that would let voters decide the fate of the state’s new congressional map.

“There’s a sense of resentment, even to regular voters who aren’t as involved,” Villaluz says. “We have to pick up the slack for representatives who have been elected to do their simple duty and carry out the will of the voters. Instead, they think that we don’t know what’s best for ourselves.”

Missouri is the second state in the country, alongside Texas, to gerrymander its congressional map after President Donald Trump set off a nationwide redistricting battle in July to try to maintain control of the U.S. House in the 2026 midterms.

Multiple other states, including North Carolina, Indiana, Florida, Ohio and Kansas could soon follow. California is trying to counter the Republican effort by redistricting in favor of Democrats, if voters pass a constitutional amendment next month.

Missouri’s Republican Governor, Mike Kehoe, signed the new map into law late last month. The state had six Republicans and two Democrats in Congress, but the new plan targets longtime Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II’s seat in Kansas City.

Leann Villaluz (right) has been going door to door for weeks to collect signatures for a petition to put Missouri’s new congressional map to voters. She says most people she’s talked to are willing to sign.

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But with Villaluz and about 3,000 other volunteers, a group called People Not Politicians Missouri is working to overturn the state’s new map. If they’re successful in getting more than 106,000 signatures across the state by December 11, a referendum will go on the ballot in 2026 for voters to decide whether to want to keep or reject it.

The group says it’s already gathered more than 100,000 signatures and is still collecting more. If they get the signatures they need, the referendum would stall the map until voters weigh in next year.

Villaluz says everyone she’s spoken to has been excited to sign. She’s visited five neighborhoods so far around Kansas City, which would be split into three Republican-leaning districts under the new map. Villaluz even took her petition to the recent Chappell Roan concert to get signatures.

“Just about anyone that stops and hears what the petition is about is ready and willing to sign,” Villaluz says. “Whatever your vote is, it’s going to be diluted with the maps, and nobody wants that.”

Missouri attorney general and secretary of state fight back 

Not only does People Not Politicians Missouri have to gather enough signatures, it also has to take on pushback from top state election officials. The state’s Attorney General Catherine Hanaway filed a lawsuit in federal court arguing that a referendum on redistricting violates both the U.S. and Missouri constitutions.

Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins did approve the group’s referendum petition this week after initially rejecting it. But in a press release, Hoskins claims that none of the signatures gathered before his approval date are valid.

“The process is clear,” Hoskins said in the release. “Every Missourian deserves confidence that ballot measures follow the law — not out-of-state agendas or confusion campaigns. Missouri values fairness and integrity, and this process reflects that.”

The executive director of People Not Politicians Missouri, Richard von Glahn, said in a statement that Hoskins is “deliberately spreading misinformation for political purposes,” and that, according to the state constitution, the group was allowed to begin gathering signatures before the secretary of state’s approval.

A group called People Not Politicians Missouri has been working to gather signatures to overturn Missouri’s new congressional map. Signers have to leave one column on the petition, their congressional district, blank, because with the map changes, many don’t know which district they’re in.

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“Our campaign has gathered signatures at a historic pace — I’ve never seen Missourians unite and mobilize this quickly,” von Glahn said in the statement. “We will not be intimidated or distracted. This referendum will qualify, and Missourians — not politicians — will decide the future of fair representation in our state.”

The Democratic National Committee has joined the referendum effort and is contributing more staff and money to the cause. A slew of lawsuits have also been filed challenging the new districts.

A legal effort, too 

Rebeca Amezcua-Hogan is one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit that seeks to block Hoskins from using the map to hold a congressional primary or general election and argues mid-decade redistricting without a new census is unconstitutional.

“My own voting power would be watered down,” Amezcua-Hogan says. “I would feel like I’m not being represented. And I think that at least personally, for the issues that are close to my heart that I’ve been working on for years, it would be incredibly discouraging.”

Amezcua-Hogan is running as a progressive for the Kansas City Council. The area she wants to represent would be split into three different congressional districts if the new map holds. When she talks to voters for her campaign, Amezcua-Hogan is also gathering signatures for the referendum effort.

She says Kansas City is already competing for federal resources and splitting it up into three districts will only make that more difficult.

“Kansas City is already at a point where we’re dealing with lack of affordable housing, lack of mental health resources, lack of transportation,” says Amezcua-Hogan. “It already feels like we’re fighting an uphill battle, and that uphill battle is only going to get worse.”

Most, but not all Republicans, are on board

Lawmakers convene in an extraordinary legislative session at the Missouri State Capitol on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025, in Jefferson City, Mo.

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Missouri’s new congressional map easily passed the Republican-dominated Missouri Legislature in its week-long special session.

Michael Davis represents a suburb south of Kansas City and is one of the lawmakers who championed the new map. He’s part of the state’s Freedom Caucus, a group of Republican legislators who aim to push the party further to the right.

Davis says Missourians elected Republican lawmakers because they trust them to do what they think is best with redistricting.

“We should send a conservative message to D.C.,” Davis says. “The best way to do that is by sending seven Republicans who are going to ensure that Republicans keep control of the U.S. House of Representatives.”

But 15 Republicans — including Jon Patterson, the speaker of the Missouri House — voted against the map in the state legislature. Nearly all of them are from parts of the state targeted by redistricting or in areas that would be moved into new districts.

Republican state Rep. Bill Allen represents a part of Kansas City’s northland that is evenly split between parties. He opposes mid-decade redistricting and said he was disappointed that Missouri seemed to follow Texas and Trump’s lead in doing so.

“I think I heard from one or two constituents that wanted me to vote in favor, and almost every other one that I heard was in opposition,” Allen says. “The job of the representative is to represent the district, not the party, certainly not the president. Just the district that I represent, the 39,000 people. Their will is my responsibility.”

Villaluz says she plans to keep gathering signatures for the next two months, until the group finds out if it has done enough to put redistricting on the ballot and potentially reverse Missouri’s gerrymandered map.

“I feel that Missouri is used as a guinea pig by the GOP,” says Villaluz. “They think that the average Missouri voter is dumber than we are, and they think that they can get away with a lot more here in a red flyover state, but that’s not the case.”

Villaluz says voters across Missouri won’t stand idly by, and she believes they’ll get the last word.