So the Washington Post has sussed out what's going on, or how Trump's staff has translated his rant into something feasible: on Wednesday June *24*, prior to the scheduled kickoff of (whatever concerts are left), he's going to do a rally. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Janet Mills's name is still on the ballot. I've been accused of Mainesplaining before, but I have no idea why folks shouldn't rank her first.

So here's the deal: there's a lot of hotels right by the Meadowlands. It *seems* really close. But the complex is completely surrounded by highways, and the only entrances are from the highways. Google Maps will not provide walking directions to the stadium because there's no safe route. (Try it!)

DEVELOPING: Because it was time to change the lineup, a talented young sextet from Southern California has been booked to replace Young MC at Trump's America 250 celebration.

The Electric Mayhem, live: WOO-HOO!

The Electric Mayhem, live: WOO-HOO!

It's been a while since Pizza Hut excited the masses.

Still America's greatest city.

DEVELOPING: Because it was time to change the lineup, a talented young sextet from Southern California has been booked to replace Young MC at Trump's America 250 celebration.

Ladies and Gentlemen ...

the bus. you've once again invented the bus.

It's a remarkable temper tantrum by Trump which basically says, "Screw it. If I can't run the Kennedy Center how I want, let Congress handle it. I'm out."

Big courtroom win for Rep. Joyce Beatty, reversing Trump's renaming of the Kennedy Center and halting Board plans to shut it down for two years, with the Court holding that the Board failed in its fiduciary duty to look out for the Center's best interests. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

"Ok Google, what are two things I never expect to see in the NYT Spelling Bee, let alone on the same day?" www.nytimes.com/puzzles/spel...

BREAKING: The Heights has withdrawn from President Trump's America 250 celebration. You'll just have to figure out on your own how to talk to an angel.

Shut the fuck up, asshole.

There is one video I'd like someone to stitch together from last night, and this was my daughter's idea: combine Dr. Jacque Bailly's extended pronunciation of "cara sposa" with the Enzo Gorlomi/Antonio Margheriti/Dominic De Coco scene in INGLORIOUS BASTERDS.

Shrey spelling 32 words in 90 seconds to win the Spelling Bee is the new greatest athletic accomplishment of 2026. I don’t even know how he said the letters that fast. Got a “Holy Mackerel” out of @minakimes.bsky.social

Update: the NYT is now reporting consistent with what I had said: yes, someone claiming to be "Milli Vanilli" has said they're not performing at the America 250 stuff, but she may be trying to lip-sync on behalf of the Milli Vanilli frontman who's expected to perform. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/a...

"They told me it was nonpartisan" is the updated-for-2026 version of "they promised me the photos would be tasteful."

DEVELOPING: Lambda Lambda Lambda and Omega Mu have withdrawn from President Trump’s America 250 celebration, citing politicization of the event.

DEVELOPING: Jeff Bebe's Stillwater** has withdrawn from President Trump’s America 250 celebration. ** He's the only remaining member of the original band, and the legal settlement with Russell, Larry, and Ed requires him to use this name. The reclusive Russell Hammond lives on a Montana ranch.

Morvan has recently done and has future dates on the I Love The 90s Tour, and when most fans hear that "Milli Vanilli" is doing a concert, they're expecting to see him and not "The Real Milli Vanilli." (Rob Pilatus died in 1998.) In other words, "Milli Vanilli" may still be doing this gig. 2/2

This is the messiness I was referring to earlier: the people who actually played the Milli Vanilli songs, who call themselves "the Real Milli Vanilli," will not be at the Trump DC stuff. But they say "a tribute band" might be—and by that they mean Fab Morvan, the lip-syncing co-frontman of MV. 1/2

Even the late Interior Secretary James Watt could book a less lame 4th of July concert than what's left for this Trump debacle.

They're going to need Vanilla Ice to go on for so long that he's going to have to do the Ninja Turtle rap. Twice.

NO. It is 9:58pm, so they are rushing to the Spell-Off rather than just let the kids go a few more rounds. It's like having a football game end with a speed-field-goal-kicking competition. Maybe needed at some point, but not yet. #SpellingBee

We are down to two spellers. One more round of words, then it's kendo sticks and bridge tables.

"It's from Caddo, an indigenous language of North America." They are not messing around, Kadohadacho. DAMN.

So Paul Loeffler explained that Dr. Bailly wasn't doing a weird NPR over-pronunciation thing: this word is listed in the dictionary as being pronounced as kääräˈspȯȯzä. #spellingbee

Derived from the name of a Belgian mineralogist, and we are denied a second pair of sibling #SpellingBee champions this century. Alas. [revised to fix typo. OOPS.]

"It's from Welsh, it's a noun." This is my #SpellingBee. H-W-Y-L, people! (It's pronounced HOO-ill.)

"You don't eliminate a top kid like this on a word derived from a German physicist's name. You just don't."

My wife asked me what happened to a particular young Bee winner and I did some research and ... remember what happened with the kid who played Neville Longbottom in the Potter films over the years? Like that. [I'm not naming names because no one needs to be frozen in amber as a pre-teen.]

Logan Bailey spells with such joy, and damn this was a hard word in a buzzsaw sound; only 5 of 9 survive to round 13. Seriously, soo-tə-RIN-kəs, a genus of weevils?

Two in a row down, and my thoughts immediately go to what our guest blogger Shonda Rhimes wrote about the Canadian Bloodbath round of 2008. #SpellingBee throwingthings.blogspot.com/2008/05/roun...

I think it's fantastic that they're advertising for MARGO'S GOT MONEY TROUBLES during the #SpellingBee. Fantastic crossover of audiences. (Well, me and my wife, at least.)

9-for-9 in tonight's first round. I suspect that especially given this nonet the judges titrated this round so that everyone could ease in under the bright lights before bringing the pain starting in this next round. We'll see. They've been doing some *tough* non-Euro roots this year. #SpellingBee

The 90 second clock for all the kids is reminding me that when I started Bee blogging in 2003 there was no time limit on the spellers, and one of the finalists in particular tested the patience of the room. They've all learned to handle this pressure, but my goodness is this not easy. #SpellingBee

Oliver Halkett, 14, who's one of the two #SpellingBee finalists coached by SuperCoach Scott Remer ($180/hr), towers over some of these kids like Andy Reid in that old Punt Pass & Kick footage. He nails kə-BOH-lə, a Central American evergreen tree. We are zipping through kids.

I really like the tv production so far. They're giving each kid a separate intro, though I *really* wish they had given them theme music and pyro. Welcome to the #SpellingBee!

There's a lot of good background material here on the finalists, the Bee, and how they hope this year's presentation will make for better tv.

"What I remember most from the experience wasn’t just how smart these kids are (very smart!). It wasn’t their discipline (very disciplined!). It was how much joy they had spelling (very, very joyful!)." The Bee is on at 8pm EDT.

This is the messiness I was referring to earlier: the people who actually played the Milli Vanilli songs, who call themselves "the Real Milli Vanilli," will not be at the Trump DC stuff. But they say "a tribute band" might be—and by that they mean Fab Morvan, the lip-syncing co-frontman of MV. 1/2

The Commodores support a Brick House, not this White House.

Three hours until the Spelling Bee finals. No, they're not on ESPN anymore; that ended in 2021. It's on ION and other Scripps-affiliated channels (sigh), and you can find them. Promise. Nine great kids. Much joy and drama ahead. I'll bee covering it live again. spellingbee.com/meet-the-spe...

Smart @thefienprint.bsky.social on where TOP CHEF and SURVIVOR have gone astray. I'll focus on one sentence, as to SURVIVOR, because he's right: "The producers actively worked to upset merit-based performance on the grounds that fans find merit-based performance boring." But there's a catch. 1/2

It feels like we're playing D-List Hollywood Squares and just need to go to Flo Rida or C+C Music Factory's Freedom Williams for the win.

It is deeply unclear whether the Rocco sisters have been part of the touring Milli Vanilli "band," though original frontman (I can't say "singer") Fab Morvan still is. youtu.be/1uGuqIBeMRQ?... It looks like they have a website called TheRealMilliVanilli.com about their role on the original album.

No one's character is wholly fixed; we are the sum of our choices and who we are now may not be who we were. But if you're asking "is this fundamentally true about BIF, and not some miasma of bullshit from people with ill intent," no, in this case, it's true. And Hamawy should talk about it. 3/3