Jelly Roll’s Daughter, Who ‘Changed’ His Life, Was Slammed for Being ‘Overweight’ – Meet the Country Icon’s 2 Kids
The acclaimed performer has expressed immense pride in his daughter, with whom he has joined forces on musical projects, allowing them to share both artistic and emotional journeys. Alongside her, he is also the proud father of a young son.
Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason Bradley DeFord, is a devoted father to two children from different relationships. His oldest child, who has faced criticism for her weight, was born during a pivotal time in his life—when he was serving time in prison. Reflecting on her impact, Jelly Roll has shared that her arrival profoundly “changed” his perspective and path.
The country music star’s life took a significant turn when his daughter, Bailee Ann, was born on May 22, 2008, while he was incarcerated at 23 for drug dealing. Struggling with despair, he recalled the moment a guard informed him of her birth, saying, “I have to figure this out right now.”
Though his focus on music and time in prison strained his relationship with Bailee’s mother, Felicia, her arrival became the catalyst for his journey toward change.
Jelly Roll at the 59th Academy of Country Music awards on May 16, 2024, in Frisco, Texas. | Source: Getty Images
Initially seeing fatherhood as another mistake, Jelly Roll’s perspective shifted after Bailee’s birth, inspiring him to seek self-improvement. Transferring to an education unit while incarcerated, he pursued his GED despite minimal schooling. To his surprise, he passed on the first try, saying, “I thought I was learning disabled. I walked in there and smacked that [expletive] out of the park.”
After his release, Jelly Roll worked to rebuild his relationship with Bailee, finally meeting her on her second birthday. Meanwhile, Felicia battled addiction that began with painkillers and escalated to heroin by age 24.
Her use progressed from snorting to injecting, with each method affecting her behavior differently. Despite their challenges, Jelly Roll and Felicia eventually established a co-parenting agreement for Bailee’s well-being.
Jelly Roll at the Spotify Best New Artist Party on February 1, 2024, in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images
By 2017, the rapper and his wife, Bunnie XO, had gained custody of Bailee, providing her with a stable home. Jelly Roll credits his spouse, whom he married in 2016, as instrumental in the process, calling her “a beacon of change in my life.”
Jelly Roll, Bailee Ann and Bunnie XO posing together, dated November 2024 | Source: Instagram/jellyroll615
Moreover, he has openly reflected on how fatherhood changed him, noting that Bailee’s birth made him realize he couldn’t be selfish anymore. It dawned on him that there was now someone who relied on him, calling it an “important task” and emphasizing, “I wanted to take it serious, and I did.”
Jelly Roll’s journey as a father came full circle when history repeated itself in an unexpected way. Just as his friends brought him to church at 14, Bailee invited him to a small church in 2022, an experience that deeply resonated with him.
“That little back-road church reminded me so much of this little church,” he shared, reflecting on Bailee’s struggles and how they mirrored his own as a teen. Inspired, the father of two scrapped most of the 70 songs he had written and created “Whitsitt Chapel,” an album tackling faith and addressing the hypocrisy he’s faced.
As Jelly Roll works to confront his own demons, he’s ensuring Bailee receives the support she needs, including therapy. “Her father was in jail when she was born. Her mother ended up hooked on heroin and disappeared,” he reflected in an interview, noting how these struggles inspire his music.
The singer views his life in two acts: Act 1, the person he was before Bailee, whom he calls “a less-than-desirable human,” and Act 2, the man he strives to be today, having made peace with his past. Building on his efforts to grow as a father and artist, Jelly Roll embraces the balance between his music career and parenting.
When asked about being a full-time musician and a father, he said, “It’s awesome,” proudly sharing that Bailee has inherited his passion for music. She plays both the piano and guitar, further strengthening their bond through a shared love of creativity.
Jelly Roll and Bailee’s shared love for music has also led to powerful collaborations. In 2020, the father-daughter duo released “Tears Could Talk,” a heartfelt song where Bailee channels the emotional weight of growing up with a mother battling addiction. These early hardships shaped her resilience, making her self-reliant at a young age.
Jelly Roll’s pride in Bailee shines through in every milestone, especially following his wins at the 2023 CMT Music Awards. Speaking to “Entertainment Tonight,” he shared, “She knows the story. She knows how real it is. I’m just proud of her.”
In a heartfelt message, he added, “I love you, Bailee Ann, so much. I thought about it the moment I walked off stage. You’ve changed my life in so many ways.”
Jelly Roll’s deep bond with Bailee has been a highlight of his life and career, often creating unforgettable moments. In August 2023, the two shared a special duet during a concert, where the proud parent thanked fans for transforming their lives.
“Not only have y’all changed my life, you’ve changed her life in ways that we can’t even describe,” he said, and asked the crowd for a “daddy and daughter moment.” When the audience cheered, Bailee playfully responded, “Sounds like a yes.”
Jelly Roll also reflected on Bailee’s musical journey, revealing how she turned to songwriting as therapy from a young age. Their collaboration on “Tears Could Talk,” written when she was just nine or ten, showcased her talent and the unique bond they share through music.
Building on that connection, Jelly Roll created another unforgettable moment during his April 2024 Stagecoach performance. He brought his then-15-year-old daughter on stage to celebrate her upcoming 16th birthday.
Leading the crowd in a sing-along, he joked about embarrassing her in a “cool dad way.” Joined by his wife, Bunnie, he thanked fans for their support, sharing that they had helped “break generational curses,” making the moment truly special.
Bailee Ann and Jelly Roll attend the world premiere of the documentary “Jelly Roll: Save Me,” 2023 | Source: Getty Images
However, Jelly Roll’s bond with Bailee has not shielded them from public scrutiny. In early 2024, Bunnie took to TikTok to defend her husband and stepdaughter against trolls criticizing their weight.
She noted that weight struggles are often tied to eating disorders and emphasized that those facing such challenges already endure enough negativity from the world without added criticism from loved ones. The podcaster also shared that while she decides what to eat, she avoids forcing him into anything to prevent resentment.
Bunnie, who met her spouse in 2015, emphasized her unconditional love, noting that Jelly Roll had already lost 280 pounds. While genetics and a history of eating disorders contribute to his emotional eating and weight, her care doesn’t equate to enabling.
Addressing comments about Bailee, the doting stepmother responded, “For you to even come on my page and say something about my underage daughter’s body shows the type of human you are.” She expressed hope that such negativity would reflect back on those who spread it, affirming her family’s resilience against online criticism.
Bunnie’s heartfelt defense of her family highlights the deep love and support they share, despite public scrutiny. In addition to now-16-year-old Bailee, her husband is also a devoted father to his 8-year-old son, Noah Buddy, whom he welcomed in 2016.
In July 2023, Bunnie introduced Jelly Roll’s son in an Instagram post, sharing that Noah lives primarily with his mother, Melisa, but all three co-parents maintain a positive and collaborative relationship.
Jelly Roll, while respecting Noah and Melisa’s privacy, embraces his role as a father and avoids talking about his son in interviews. However, his wife has shared glimpses of him online. In a TikTok clip, Bunnie filmed Noah sharing fun facts about himself, including his love for soccer, the beach, and his sister, offering a rare and lighthearted look into the family dynamic.
Bailee Ann DeFord and Jelly Roll attend Guy Fieri’s Smokehouse on Day 1 of the Stagecoach Festival on April 26, 2024, in Indio, California. | Source: Getty Images
Bailee Ann DeFord at Guy Fieri’s Smokehouse on Day 1 of the Stagecoach Festival on April 26, 2024, in Indio, California. | Source: Getty Images
Jelly Roll’s journey as a father, husband, and artist reflects his resilience and unwavering commitment to his family. Through love, music, and determination, he continues to break generational cycles and inspire others with his story.
You may brush and floss twice a day, but you definitely won’t be able to stop this from gradually turning your teeth yellow
There’s a leading reason behind your teeth becoming more yellow as you get older, and it might not be a problem that can be solved.
People care a lot about their smiles, and it’s no wonder, with Instagram being filled to the brim with gleaming white gnashers.
It’s also why so many people have been booking flights over to Turkey to get a cheaper set of veneers put in to get themselves that fresh white smile.
We all want our teeth to look and feel the best they can (Getty Stock Image)
But for those who prefer to keep it natural, even though you may be brushing and flossing twice a year, your teeth may turn yellow naturally regardless.
There’s a particular reason behind this, though.
It’s well documented that there are certain foods and drinks that can ruin your teeth quicker than others, wearing your enamel away.
The outer layer of your teeth, the enamel, is crucial to protect your teeth from breaking, and it helps to give your teeth a nice white colour when fresh.
However, once it erodes, you are susceptible to fractures and discoloration, with one drink above all known to be the worst for your chompers.
It’s coffee, sadly, while tea and wine can also ruin the colour of your teeth. And if you think it’s caffeine doing this and decaf is any better—you’re wrong.
Who would want yellow teeth? (Getty Stock Image)
So let’s say you avoid coffee. Well, it turns out that your teeth will go yellow anyway, unless you can reverse the aging process.
While there are a number of reasons behind discoloured teeth, ageing is one that you cannot steer clear of.
According to Naenae Dental Clinic, your enamel will slowly wear away and leave behind a set of yellow teeth, regardless of how healthy your teeth cleaning routine is.
They add: “This can be exacerbated by the simple fact that, based on our genetics, some of us are born with an extremely thick layer of enamel, and some of us naturally have a very thin layer.”
So essentially, it’s all up to genetics, the cards you were dealt at birth… Unless you want to make a quick trip to Turkey, of course.
Brushing your teeth won’t stop you from getting older (Getty Stock Image)
However, you can cut down on drinks that speed up the breaking down of teeth, such as the aforementioned three of coffee, tea, and wine, as well as dark soft drinks.
This is all due to chromogens, which make up the composition of the dark colour, though it is also sticky, meaning it can latch onto teeth.
So even if you’re brushing extra hard, more often than normal, make use of other products (which experts advise you to do), or even get your teeth cleaned and whitened, you will not see the long-term benefits.
If you continue drinking these drinks that stain, your teeth will end up adopting the yellow colour once again.
A research team at the University of Genova has developed the spin quantum battery, an energy storage system that uses the spin degrees of freedom of particles.
A research team at the University of Genova has developed the spin quantum battery, an energy storage system that uses the spin degrees of freedom of particles.
The battery utilizes the spin properties of particles for energy storage and release, with a distinctive charging method that eliminates the need for an external field.
Quantum many-body theory and non-equilibrium physics are longstanding research areas within the quantum condensed matter theory group led by Maura Sassetti at the University of Genova, according to senior author Dario Ferraro.
Researchers merge interests to develop spin quantum battery
Ferraro further explained that his work focuses on quantum batteries—miniaturized devices designed to store energy using quantum mechanical principles. He saw an opportunity to advance this research through Riccardo Grazi’s master’s thesis.
Together with colleagues at the University of Genova, they extended their investigation of spin quantum batteries to a regime involving a significantly larger number of elements. This advancement overcame limitations previously faced with conventional approaches to designing such batteries.
The Italian scientist further explained that the quantum battery works by intercalating two collections of ½-spins, which are the simplest possible quantum systems. By adjusting the interaction between the elements of the two chains, such as shifting one relative to the other, energy can be trapped in the quantum battery in a stable manner.
The developed protocol offers several advantages over existing spin quantum battery designs, particularly by enabling the battery to charge without relying on an external field. Furthermore, the main results of their work include the development of an alternative charging protocol for spin quantum batteries, which relies on time-dependent modulation of one of the system’s internal parameters, as well as the ability to study this protocol in a system with a very large number of elements.
Quantum battery research could lead to neutral atom-based devices
Ferraro and his colleagues suggest this development could open new possibilities in quantum battery research, including the potential to use systems like neutral atoms, which are important in the development of large-scale quantum computers.
The team tested the new spin quantum battery design and charging protocol in a series of initial experiments. The results were highly promising, demonstrating the robustness of the proposed charging method, which does not require precise accuracy to manipulate the battery in real-time.
Elon Musk attends the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) gala at Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., November 14, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
Wilmington, Delaware, Dec 2 (Reuters): Tesla (TSLA.O), which opens a new tab, cannot give Elon Musk a $56 billion compensation package despite a vote in support of the CEO’s pay deal by the company’s shareholders, a Delaware judge ruled on Monday.
Below is a look at what could come next for Tesla and its billionaire founder, who is still seeking a huge payday from the company:
WHAT DOES MUSK WANT?
Musk told a special committee of the Tesla board soon after a judge voided his compensation in January that he wanted a similar-sized replacement package, according to a securities filing.
In addition, earlier this year he said on his social media platform X that he wanted a larger stake in Tesla or he might develop some products outside the company. Musk’s other companies include rocket venture SpaceX and Neuralink, which develops brain implants.
TESLA COULD APPEAL THE RULING
Musk and Tesla’s board could appeal and try to reverse the ruling at the Delaware Supreme Court, a process that typically takes around a year.
The case, which involved the largest-ever pay deal at a U.S. public company, raises issues that have rarely been addressed by Delaware judges, adding uncertainty to an appeal.
For example, the trial court judge, Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick, found that Musk controlled the compensation negotiations, even though he owned only about 22% of Tesla’s stock.
In addition, Tesla has acknowledged that the June vote by shareholders to ratify Musk’s pay was a “novel” legal tactic and has said it was unclear how it would be treated under Delaware law.
TESLA COULD DEVISE A NEW PLAN
Tesla’s board could craft a new pay package, although that could be very expensive.
The original plan, agreed to by Musk and the company in 2018, awarded him stock options if the company hit very aggressive performance and financial targets. The stock options allowed Musk to buy Tesla stock priced at the 2018 level. The company exceeded the targets, and Tesla’s stock has risen 10-fold since then, making the options incredibly valuable.
Tesla booked a cost of $2.6 billion when the 2018 plan went into effect. The company has said that a replacement plan for the same cost today would likely have to be less than 10% of the size of the 2018 plan.
Could Tesla just restore the old plan?
Tesla could offer Musk the same 304 million stock options with the same $23.34 exercise price used in the 2018 plan. If shareholders wanted to challenge that, they would have to sue in Texas, where the company reincorporated this year, rather than the Court of Chancery in Delaware.
But the company cannot escape accounting and tax implications.
Tesla said putting the old plan back in place would require the company to take a $25 billion charge, according to securities filings.
In addition, because the stock options would be incredibly valuable from the moment they are issued, they would be treated unfavorably for tax purposes as income. Musk could be taxed at the highest rate and pay a 20% penalty, meaning authorities could tax his new plan at 57%, according to an analysis by Schuyler Moore of Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger.
MUSK COULD TRY TO SETTLE THE LAWSUIT
Musk could try to settle the lawsuit, which was brought by a Tesla shareholder, and accept a smaller portion of his pay package. However, that would contradict his track record of taking cases to trial rather than striking deals, even in the face of huge potential liability. It is unclear how McCormick would view a settlement at this stage in the litigation.
The country star is currently in the midst of her Deeper Well tour
Kacey Musgraves didn’t hold back after a fan was allegedly disrespectful toward her.
On Saturday, Nov. 30, the country star, 36, called out a fan who appeared to grab her during her concert in Tampa, Fla., the night prior.
In fan-captured footage, Musgraves told the audience of her Hollywood, Fla., concert about how she thought she was going to have to get “real East Texas” on the fan.
“Last night, this Tampa bitch,” the “Space Cowboy” singer began. “She kind of ruined it. She kind of ruined it for everybody. I thought I was going to have to get real East Texas on her and take off my earrings. Florida goes hard.”
Kacey Musgraves in October 2024.
Per fan-captured video on Friday, a fan appeared to grab Musgraves as she was walking through the crowd.
The “Rainbow” musician then stopped singing and could be seen telling the fan, “What the f—?”
“Jesus f—ing Christ,” she then said into the mic, per fan-captured TikTok footage.
Reps for Musgraves have not yet responded to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.
Since last summer, artists have been met with troubling behavior from fans.
A slew of stars have spoken out about fans throwing things at them while they’re performing on stage. Bebe Rexha was seriously hurt in New York City when a fan chucked a cell phone at her face (he was arrested), and Harry Styles was hit by objects multiple times while touring Europe last summer.
As recently as last week, Zach Bryan had to pause his Tacoma Dome concert in Washington after an unidentified object was hurled at him and a guitarist onstage, per footage from Country Central.
After picking up the object, the “I Remember Everything” musician sent a glaring look in the direction where it came from as he addressed the crowd.
“Who threw this? Who was it?” Bryan, 28, asked while holding up an item. “Does anyone know?”
He gave it a few moments to see if anyone wouldcome forward, or if others would point the person out. Unable to figure out who threw it, Bryan delivered a stern warning instead.
“Don’t throw s— at concerts, huh?” he said.
Musgraves is currently in the midst of her Deeper Well tour, which is set to wrap for the year on Dec. 7 in Nashville before picking up again on Feb. 28 in Tempe, Ariz.
The Falcon 9 rocket is truly delivering on the promise of rapid, reusable launch.
A Falcon 9 rocket launches its 400th successful mission on Nov. 26, 2024. Credit: SpaceX
SpaceX recently hit some notable milestones with its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket, and even in the full context of history, the performance of the vehicle is pretty incredible.
Last Tuesday, the company launched a batch of Starlink v2-mini satellites from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a Falcon 9 rocket, marking the 400th successful mission by the Falcon 9 rocket. Additionally, it was the Falcon program’s 375th booster recovery, according to SpaceX. Finally, with this mission, the company shattered its record for turnaround time from the landing of a booster to its launch to 13 days and 12 hours, down from 21 days.
But even though it was mere hours before the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States, SpaceX was not done for the month. On Saturday, November 30, the company launched twice more in a little more than three hours. The payloads were more Starlink Internet satellites in addition to two Starshield satellites—a custom version of Starlink for the US Department of Defense—for the US military.
Every 2.3 days
This brought the company’s total of monthly Falcon 9 launches in November to 16, a new record for SpaceX. (The company also launched its larger Starship rocket a single time last month.) The previous record for monthly launches by the Falcon 9 rocket was 14.
The company’s vice president of launch, Kiko Dontchev, said on the social media site X that SpaceX plans to attempt 15 additional Falcon rocket launches in December.
So far this year, SpaceX has launched a total of 119 Falcon 9 rockets, for an average of a launch every 2.3 days. The company has already superseded its previous record total for annual Falcon 9 launches, 92, completed last year. If SpaceX achieves its goal of 15 additional Falcon 9 launches this month, it would bring the company’s total this year to 134 flights. If you add two Falcon Heavy missions to that, it brings the total to 136 launches.
That is a meaningful number, because over the course of the three decades it flew into orbit, NASA’s Space Shuttle flew 135 missions.
The space shuttle was a significantly more complex vehicle, and unlike the Falcon 9 rocket, humans flew aboard it during every mission. However, there is some historical significance in the fact that the Falcon rocket may fly as many missions in a single year as the space shuttle did during its lifetime.
Delivering on rapid, low-cost reuse
The principal goal of the Falcon program was to demonstrate rapid, low-cost reusability. By one estimate, it cost NASA about $1.5 billion to fly a single space shuttle mission. (Like the Falcon 9, the shuttle was mostly but not completely reusable.) SpaceX’s internal costs for a Falcon 9 launch are estimated to be as low as $15 million. So SpaceX has achieved a flight rate about 30 times higher than the shuttle at one-hundredth the cost.
Space enthusiast Ryan Caton also crunched the numbers on the number of SpaceX launches this year compared to some of its competitors. So far this year, SpaceX has launched as many rockets as Roscosmos has since 2013, United Launch Alliance since 2010, and Arianespace since 2009. This year alone, the Falcon 9 has launched more times than the Ariane 4, Ariane 5, or Atlas V rockets each did during their entire careers.
The increase in cadence has not occurred without a few bumps in the road for SpaceX. In July, a failure of the rocket’s second stage caused the loss of 20 Starlink satellites. This was the first Falcon 9 launch failure since a rocket exploded on the pad during testing in 2016. Then, in August, a first-stage booster landing ended in failure after it caught fire and tipped over during the attempt. This was the 23rd flight of this particular first stage, a record at the time.
In November, however, another rocket achieved this feat. Booster no. 1067 completed its 23rd flight by launching the Koreasat 62 mission into geostationary transfer orbit. Maybe we’ll see it go for two dozen before 2024 is out?
President Biden granted blanket clemency to stop his son from being prosecuted by the Trump administration for his foreign business. Experts reached for historical parallels.
Hunter Biden outside the courthouse in Wilmington, Del., in June. Credit: Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times
Kenneth P. Vogel has reported extensively about Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings.
President Biden’s pardon for his son not only allowed him to escape consequences from his current convictions but likely for any crimes he might have committed in the past 11 years.
That sweeping amnesty is raising awkward historical comparisons and sharp questions about the use of presidential clemency.
It also has inflamed a debate about who deserves mercy and for what, while underscoring the Biden family’s concerns about Hunter Biden’s vulnerability to prosecution related to his foreign business activities. Experts searched for an apt comparison, finding some similarities to the pardons granted by Gerald R. Ford to Richard M. Nixon; Andrew Johnson to former Confederate soldiers; George H.W. Bush to Iranian contra figures; and to those issued to more distant family members by President Bill Clinton and by Donald J. Trump during his first term.
Yet none of those pardons seemed to hit as close to home for the presidents who issued them, nor did they cover as broad a range of activity over as long a period of time, experts said.
“It is extraordinarily hazardous to use the pardon power in a case where the person is an intimate of the president,” said Aziz Z. Huq, a professor at the University of Chicago Law School.
Mr. Huq, who warned against Mr. Trump pardoning himself at the end of his first term, said President Biden’s pardon of his son “really does strike at the rule of law.”
Presidents have unchecked authority to issue pardons, which wipe out convictions, and commuters, which reduce prison sentences. The Justice Department’s Office of the Pardon Attorney is tasked with identifying, vetting, and recommending worthy clemency recipients for the president. The office’s regulations specify that it considers pardon applications only from people who have waited at least five years after their conviction or release from prison.
Hunter Biden had yet to be sentenced, let alone to serve any time, so he would not have qualified for a recommendation from the office, and it does not appear as if he applied for one.
President Biden’s pardon granted immunity for gun crimes for which his son had been convicted in June and tax crimes to which he had pleaded guilty in September. He could have faced more than 40 years in prison. The pardon also immunized him for any other crimes he “may have committed or taken part in” starting from Jan. 1, 2014, through Sunday.
The beginning of that date range is significant. It was a few months before he joined the board of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma Holdings—a position in which Republicans have accused him of violating foreign lobbying laws. They have also used it as a political cudgel against his father.
Prosecutors did not bring charges of violating foreign lobbying laws, but they hinted that they had evidence that might have supported doing so, citing his arrangement with a Romanian real estate magnate, which appears to have started in 2015.
The pardon, which represents a reversal of President Biden’s promise not to grant clemency to his son, is designed to preempt the incoming Justice Department from acting on Mr. Trump’s pledge to prosecute the Bidens.
“One of the reasons the president did the pardon is because it didn’t seem like his political opponents would let go of it; it didn’t seem like they would move on,” Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, said on Monday.
‘Different rules’
Frank O. Bowman III, a professor at the University of Missouri School of Law, said, “If we had anyone other than Trump coming in, I would think this is inexcusable.”
“But I don’t know, man. We’re kind of playing with different rules here.”
Mr. Bowman, who is writing a book about the history of presidential clemency, said the pardon fits into a category that grants amnesty for an array of unspecified crimes.
The closest parallel for such a “blanket” pardon, according to experts, was Mr. Ford’s amnesty for Mr. Nixon for any crimes he may have committed during his time in office—a shorter period than that covered by President Biden’s pardon of his son, but also one that included the Watergate break-in and cover-up.
Some experts questioned whether Mr. Ford had overreached because Mr. Nixon had not been charged, let alone convicted, of any crime. There were calls for the Watergate special prosecutor to bring charges to test the validity of the pardon in court, though none were ever filed.
Hunter Biden’s service on the Burisma board, which ended in April 2019, appears to fall outside the statute of limitations for foreign lobbying laws. But it is possible that the Trump administration could choose to pursue other charges against him and see if they could prevail in court, despite the pardon.
“Those same questions could be raised about Hunter Biden’s pardon, and in this context they may well be,” said Margaret Love, who served as U.S. pardon attorney in the 1990s. “Clemency is intended to be for specific offenses against the United States; it is not intended to be a full-blown amnesty for any crimes.”
Lacking specifics
There is limited precedent for the application of such blanket pardons, according to Aaron J. Rappaport, a law professor at the University of California, San Francisco, who has written of a “specificity requirement” in presidential pardons.
“It is hard to know how the Supreme Court would rule on the issue of a blanket pardon,” Mr. Rappaport wrote in an email. “However, I do think that there are serious legal questions about whether such a pardon would be deemed valid if it is extended to non-specified crimes.”
Most experts did not see the pardon’s lack of specificity as an issue.
Samuel T. Morison, a clemency lawyer, wrote in an email that “the terms of the grant will be read essentially like a statute.”
Mr. Morison, who worked for years in the Office of the Pardon Attorney before going into private practice, added that the Bidens may have seen risk in crafting the pardon grant more narrowly.
“I assume that Hunter’s lawyers were worried that an especially vindictive Trump DOJ would have looked for something to charge him with if they were too specific, so they asked for a blanket pardon, subject only to a fairly broad date range,” he wrote in an email.
Kimberly Wehle, a law professor at the University of Baltimore, predicted that if Mr. Trump’s Justice Department were to charge Hunter Biden, he would raise the pardon in a motion to dismiss the case.
Ms. Wehle, the author of a recent book detailing how the lack of constraints on presidential clemency powers invites abuse, said in an email that it was Mr. Trump—not President Biden—who initiated “the norm-violating behavior” by pledging to use the Justice Department to prosecute his enemies.
“This is not a corrupt pardon,” she said in an email. “It’s about taking care of a family member knowing what Trump will do otherwise.”
Jeffrey Crouch, an assistant professor of politics at American University who studies clemency, drew a distinction between what presidents can do and what they should do.
“Legally, the president can pardon pretty much whomever they want,” he said in an email. “Morally, it does raise some questions.”
“Hold your horses and check your sources,” one historian wrote.
Image courtesy of Almeron Newman/Library of Congress
A sepia-toned photograph showing dozens of men standing in the formation of a horse’s head is said by some to have been created to pay tribute to all the horses, donkeys, and mules that were killed during WWI.Social media users have shared the image on numerous platforms for years, such as X, Reddit, Facebook, TikTok, Imgur and Instagram. However, those posts contained some inaccurate information, which is why we have rated the picture as misspelled.
Some claimed the photo was originally captured in 1916, while others said it was from 1918 and showed a “tribute to the 8 million horses, donkeys, and mules that lost their lives during World War I.”
An October 2015 article by British newspaper Daily Express was even headlined: “Never Forget: Incredible tribute to the 8 million hero horses killed in the First World War.”
In short, while the image itself is authentic, there is no record to suggest it was taken in memory of all the equine animals that were killed during WWI. Instead, the gesture was carried out in tribute to just one horse belonging to a WWI remount commander. It was also captured after the war, not during the conflict.
According to Library of Congress (LOC) records, photographer Almeron Newman captured the picture at Camp Cody, New Mexico, in 1919—after WWI. LOC describes the image as showing the “formation of soldiers into the shape of a horse’s head.”
The caption says 650 officers and enlisted men of Auxiliary Remount Depot No. 326 posed for the photo “in a symbolic head pose of ‘The Devil’ saddle horse ridden by Maj. Frank G. Brewer, remount commander.”
It does not mention the men posing for all of the equine animals that died during WWI.
Military historian Lucy Betteridge-Dyson addressed the image in a blog post titled “Hold your horses and check your sources,” published in May 2019:
Over the years the photo has been reused and watermarked multiple times with misleading information which has perpetuated the myths surrounding it [ … ] I have tried to find further information on Maj. Brewer without much luck. Interestingly the US National Archives has a copy of the photograph, recorded in 1921, where Brewer is referred to as Colonel Frank C Brewer, instead. In their version, there is also a photo of a horse. This was likely used by Newman to model the scene, perhaps it may even be ‘The Devil’ himself (or herself as the case may be!)
[…]
There is no evidence to suggest this photo was taken in tribute to the millions of horses who served in the Great War, but it is a stunning photograph and gives us an insight into one of the largest remount depots in America in the immediate post war period.
Newman also captured a panoramic photo showing Camp Cody officers of the 34th Division on June 23, 1918, according to Library of Congress records.
(Almeron Newman/Library of Congress)
Newman is credited with taking another similar picture, which is hosted by the Palace of the Governors Photo Archive at the New Mexico History Museum. Records show it was captured in 1918 and shows “16,000 men” in the form of an “animated crest of the 34th (Sandstorm) Division at Camp Cody.”
(Almeron Newman/Governors Photo Archive at the New Mexico History Museum)
Archives West Orbis is an online database that catalogs archival collections hosted by various institutions in the Western U.S. Its website describes Newman’s experience in the world of military photography.
It’s a nudibranch, but so distantly related that it gets its own phylogenetic family.
Credit: MBARI
Some of the most bizarre lifeforms on Earth lurk in the deeper realms of the ocean. There was so little known about one of these creatures that it took 20 years just to figure out what exactly it was. Things only got weirder from there.
The organism’s distinctive, glowing presence was observed by multiple deep-sea missions between 2000 and 2021 but was simply referred to as “mystery mollusk.” A team of Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) researchers has now reviewed extensive footage of past mystery mollusk sightings and used MBARI’s remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to observe it and collect samples. They’ve given it a name and have finally confirmed that it is a nudibranch—the first and only nudibranch known to live at such depths.
Bathydevius caudactylus, as this nudibranch is now called, lives 1,000–4,000 meters (3,300–13,100 feet) deep in the ocean’s bathypelagic or midnight zone. It moves like a jellyfish, eats like a Venus flytrap, and is bioluminescent, and its genes are distinct enough for it to be classified as the first member of a new phylogenetic family.
“Anatomy, diet, behavior, bioluminescence, and habitat distinguish this surprising nudibranch from all previously described species, and genetic evidence supports its placement in a new family,” the MBARI research team said in a study recently published in Deep Sea Research.
Is that…
Nudibranchs are gastropods, which literally translates to “stomach foot,” since the “foot” they crawl around on when not swimming is right below their guts. They are part of a larger group that includes terrestrial and aquatic snails and slugs. B. caudactylus, however, seems to get around more like a jellyfish than a sea slug. It mostly swims using an oral hood that opens and closes to propel itself backward through the water in a manner similar to many jellyfish.
The hood of B. caudactylus can also act something like a Venus flytrap. While it is not a hinged structure like the leaves of the plant, it is used to trap prey. Typically small crustaceans, the prey are then pushed to the mouth at the back of the hood.
The mystery mollusk.
The nudibranch also seems to have a unique way of avoiding becoming food itself. Projections at the end of its tail, known as dactyls, can detach if needed, much like the tails of some lizard species. The MBARI team thinks that these dactyls are possibly a lure meant to trick predators while the nudibranch swims away. They later regenerate.
B. caudactylus is gelatinous and transparent, with a smooth heart, textured digestive gland, and whitish brain that can easily be seen from the outside. On its head are two antenna-like chemosensory organs known as rhinophores, which probably help it sense prey. A cylindrical foot helps with locomotion on the ocean floor. Like many other bioluminescent organisms in the deep sea, it glows blue since red light does not transmit far at those depths.
Almost alien
So how is B. caudactylus related to other nudibranchs? The researchers sequenced three of its genes and compared them to sequences from two prominent groups of nudibranchs (the dorids and cladobranchs) to find out. While the sequences of each B. caudactylus version of the gene had differences with those of the other groups, they still had enough in common for the mystery mollusk to be classified as a nudibranch.
“The three genes… supported that Bathydevius is a divergent genus of Nudibranchia,” the MBARI team said in the same study. “[It is a] sister to the rest of cladobranch and dorid nudibranchs [and a] sister to [the genus] Bathydoris.”
Even with its genetic relationship to other nudibranchs, there are many areas where B. caudactylus deviates. It is not the only nudibranch with a hood that traps prey and also not the only species to prey on crustaceans, which is rare for nudibranchs, which usually feed on cnidarians like jellyfish. It also lacks a radula, the tongue-like structure most nudibranchs eat with. Melibae leonina shares all these characteristics, but it is genetically distant. The researchers think that the similarities between the two species are a result of convergent evolution, when genetically unrelated organisms develop similar characteristics.
Bioluminescence is also uncommon in nudibranchs. B. caudactylus is only the third known bioluminescent nudibranch and seventh known bioluminescent gastropod. Again, it’s only distantly related to the other species.
The deep ocean is the closest thing to an alien environment, yet it’s right on our own planet. Much of it either remains unexplored or is still not well understood. This could mean that there are still many undiscovered species hiding in the darkness. Protecting their ecosystems could give us a chance to find more forms of life just as strange and fascinating as a glowing sea slug.
Moana 2continued to surpass all expectations and finished with $389 million as the top animated movie opening weekend of all time at the worldwide box office, besting Inside Out 2’s own record-setting bow this summer by almost $100 million.
Moana 2’s Record-Breaking Debut
Previously, Moana 2 was already blowing the doors off the box office and besting estimates with a projected $375 million as of Saturday, which in turn was a big bump past initial pre-holiday predictions pegging the film’s performance somewhere closer to $250-300 million globally.
Instead, Moana 2’s domestic ticket sales alone almost hit those figures, with more than $225 million in North America. Additionally, Moana 2 put up the biggest Thanksgiving gross in cinema history and biggest post-Thanksgiving day as well.
All told, this helped boost stateside sales to a new record for the holiday, at more than $420 million. While 2024 will still wind up down overall, every win helps.
And it’s worth noting, there’s no denying animation has done more than its share of heavy lifting these days—just the top performers Inside Out 2 ($1.698 billion), Despicable Me 4 ($969 million), Kung Fu Panda 4 ($547), The Wild Robot ($321 million), and Moana 2 ($389 million) have already contributed nearly $4 billion to the year’s coffers, with Moana 2 set to increase that past the $5 billion mark.
Will Moana 2 Top $1 Billion?
It’s early in Moana 2’s release, obviously, but there’s much we can discern from its debut numbers, particularly in the context of current theatrical competition and the trifecta of holidays from now through the start of 2025.
Already, even a modest 2.5x final multiplier would send Moana 2 sailing past $970 million. But with two weeks of open seas ahead at the box office and only moderate challengers arriving in mid-December, Moana 2 should see plenty of repeat business as well as audiences who waited until opening weekend and the Thanksgiving crunch were over before venturing to multiplexes with their families and friends.
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But consider that Moana 2 is playing at record-shattering levels—even ahead of Inside Out 2, which this summer became the highest-grossing animated film of all time with $1.698 billion—despite Wicked also occupying a strong position at the box office as another family-friendly popular brand that looks to have long legs through the coming holiday season. At $359 million worldwide and counting, Wicked is already the biggest Broadway film adaptation ever released in domestic theaters.
The fact Moana 2 is able to perform at such sky-high levels alongside Wicked’s success, then, points to both the power of the Disney franchise’s brand as well as to the positive word of mouth driving the film’s success.
Good thing, then, that it has a long runway ahead with no serious obstacles to slow it down until December 20th. Then there’s the sheer power of the Christmas holiday season to create nice big waves that lift all boats higher into the New Year, where Moana 2 should get a good boost at just the time it might otherwise see more of a falloff in attendance and momentum.
Can Moana 2 Top The 2024 Charts?
Moana 2 will finish Monday with a worldwide total, pushing it into the year’s top-10 highest earners—probably the #9 position — after just six days in release. By end of business Thursday ahead of its second weekend, Moana 2 should challenge Kung Fu Panda 4’s $547.6 million for the #6 spot on the year’s charts.
Exactly how high up those charts Moana 2 climbs — even though we know it will be high —are still uncertain.
It will take a 3.44x final multiplier for Moana 2 to best Deadpool & Wolverine’s $1.338 billion to become the second-highest grossing movie of the year. And a 4.4x final multiplier is what it would take to send Moana 2 past Inside Out 2 for the year’s box office crown.
Looking back at Inside Out 2’s run, that film opened to $295 million around the world before building so much momentum and must-see buzz that it finished with a mind-blowing 5.75x final multiplier (i.e., the final box office of $1.698 billion divided by the opening weekend of $295 million).
While I don’t expect Moana 2 to play as long and strong as Inside Out 2, I do believe the combination of factors will all add up to Moana 2 enjoying a generous final multiplier somewhere in the 4x range.
That would be good enough to push Moana 2 past $1.55 billion and into second place on the 2024 box office charts. This is where I currently think Moana 2 will finish its run, with a low-end prediction of about $1.4 billion and a high-end of $1.6 billion—all still landing the film in that #2 position.
The lowest end of my expectations would be a larger than expected drop next weekend, due to heavier front-loading, and then more interest in the new releases mid-December. That would reduce momentum and might lead to a subsequent larger decline in audience target demos when Christmas arrives with a new batch of releases.
In that case, then, I would guess a final box office for Moana 2 somewhere right around $1.1 billion or slightly less. So, ahead even of the worst-case $900+ million mentioned earlier.
But as noted, it’s still extremely early to try to guess so far into the future, regardless of how much initial data we have to consider.
So, if Moana 2’s weekday earnings plus second weekend wind up overperforming on par with its opening figures, then it could easily put itself close enough to $1 billion on its third weekend to provide the momentum capable of overtaking Inside Out 2 through the Christmas holiday. I’ll be watching this week and next weekend closely.
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(Almeron Newman/Library of Congress)
(Almeron Newman/Governors Photo Archive at the New Mexico History Museum)
