The American cardinal now known as Pope Leo XIV watched the movie Conclave shortly before he went into conclave for real, according to his brother. John Prevost, the brother of the Chicago-born pontiff, told WMAQ-TV about one of the last conversations he’d had with his sibling, Robert, before he went into the secret ballot process to elect a new pope. “I said: ‘Did you watch the movie Conclave, so you know how to behave?’” Prevost told the station. “And he had just finished watching the movie Conclave!” The 2024 Oscar-winning drama stars Ralph Fiennes as a fictional dean of the College of Cardinals, the Vatican official tasked with overseeing a contentious conclave rocked by political scheming and personal scandal among those vying to be elected pope. The revelation that Pope Leo watched the film comes after Politico reported that other Catholic cardinals had turned to the Hollywood movie for guidance on what they could expect, as many of those who joined the secret session in the Sistine Chapel had been appointed by the late Pope Francis and therefore had no previous experience of a conclave.

A famed New York law firm’s $100-million pro bono deal with President Donald Trump is backfiring as employees jump ship in anger. The Wall Street Journal reported that lawyers are exiting Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft in anger after the firm committed to providing free legal services in support of Trump. Cadwalader, NY’s oldest firm, made the deal to skate punitive damages made by Trump’s February flurry of executive orders targeting law firms that he said were “weaponizing” the legal system against him. Cadwalader was also among three other firms—A&O Shearman, Latham & Watkins, Simpson Thacher—that claimed their independence has not been compromised despite deals with Trump, according to letters dated April 28, Reuters reported. However, Cadwalader’s exiting employees appear unconvinced. Sources told the Journal that the key partner in the firm’s litigation group is heading to a smaller firm, along with other litigators planning their outs. J.B. Howard, a former Maryland deputy attorney general and counsel at the firm, is also reportedly on the outs after protesting the firm’s Trump deal. “Departures can be tough,” a firm spokesperson told the Journal. “Some attrition is normal and expected; it is part of the typical rhythm of a successful firm.”

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Kayla Tausche, a senior correspondent at CNN who recently shifted off the White House beat, is leaving the network after just two years, according to The New York Post. In a farewell letter to her colleagues, Tausche did not give reason for her departure. “I’m off to chase the next big story,” she wrote, according to Status. CNN did not immediately return the Daily Beast’s request for comment, and Tausche could not be reached. Tausche, who joined CNN from CNBC in July 2023, was a White House correspondent during Joe Biden’s presidency. However, her tenure in the White House role appears to have ended in February, based on her personal LinkedIn page. Her latest status shows her as “senior correspondent” at CNN. Her departure from the network comes as CNN has faced a crisis over its ratings, trailing behind competitors Fox News and MSNBC. It laid off hundreds of staffers in January amid slumping viewership. The network has also made a number of personnel changes to prepare for Donald Trump’s return to office, like bringing star Kaitlan Collins back to the White House as its chief correspondent. At CNBC, Tausche co-hosted the network’s business and tech show, Squawk Alley, from 2014 to 2017 before becoming a senior White House correspondent.

A firing squad execution carried out in South Carolina went wrong, leaving the subject alive and in pain for nearly a minute after the marksmen missed their target, according to an autopsy. Mikal Mahdi was the second person put to death in South Carolina this year on April 11 when he was strapped to a chair with a red target placed on his heart. A hood was also placed over his head before the shooting commenced. But the state’s shooters apparently missed their target, extending his suffering for much longer than the “10-to-15 second” window that experts predicted. He was declared dead four minutes later after crying out, groaning twice, and breathing for around 80 seconds. A new autopsy report report raises questions about how many shots were fired, while adding that they mostly missed their target, hitting the pancreas, liver and lower lung, according to The Guardian. Mahdi endured a “more prolonged death process than was expected had the execution been conducted successfully according to the protocol.” He experienced “excruciating conscious pain and suffering for about 30 to 60 seconds,” said Dr Jonathan Arden, a forensic pathologist retained by Mahdi’s lawyers. Mahdi was sentenced to death in 2006 after committing a multi-state crime spree during which he killed a gas station clerk and an off-duty police officer.

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Former First Lady Michelle Obama was forced to confront her mortality when hubby Barack told her she was “up next” after her mom’s death. Obama, who started the IMO Podcast with her brother, Craig Robinson, was discussing the death of her 86-year-old mother, Marian, last May. “I guess, if anything, with mom’s loss, I think that—thank God you’re my big brother and I have a husband who’s older,“ Obama, 61, said. “Barack was saying, you know, ‘Well, you’re next up.’ And I was like, ‘I’m not really ready to be next up.’” She added, “I told him, You’re next up, and Craig is next up. I delegate that power to you.” Obama and her brother also lost their dad, who passed away in 1991 at age 55. The Becoming author, whose daughters are 26 and 23, said that, after your parents die, you assume an adult role and become the “glue” holding the family together. Obama, who said that she’s in a transitional period, has returned to therapy now that she’s an “empty nester.”

Jennifer Aniston’s alleged stalker appeared shirtless in court Thursday as a judge ruled on whether or not he was fit to face charges. Jimmy Wayne Carwyle, 48, appeared shirtless and wrapped in a blanket while standing behind glass in a custody area of a Los Angeles courtroom. He reportedly did not speak during the proceedings, and had his attorney enter a not guilty plea on his behalf. Judge Keith L. Schwartz subsequently ordered that Carwyle must go through mental-health court to determine if he’s competent to face felony stalking and vandalism charges. Prosecutors allege that the Mississippi native had been harassing Aniston for two years before crashing his car through the front gate of her Los Angeles home Monday. Carwyle allegedly sent Aniston “unwanted social media, voice mail, and email messages,” according to prosecutors. Aniston was at home when the crash happened Monday, however her security guard was able to stop Carwyle in the driveway before authorities arrived and arrested him. There were no reports of injuries. The Friends star has yet to publicly address the situation.

Bill Maher revealed that he now has a direct line to President Donald Trump. In this week’s episode of his Club Random podcast, the comedian said he doesn’t have to go through Trump’s team since he can go straight to the president’s phone. “Would you ever interview him on TV?” Maher’s guest, author and podcaster Lewis Howes, asked him about Trump. “Of course, he’s the president of the United States. Are you crazy?” When Howes began to say, “You have his team, you can talk to his [staff],” Maher cut him off to respond: “I can talk to him.” Asked whether he had Trump’s phone number, Maher nodded “Yeah” with a laugh. “Look, we’re not having a bromance here,” he was quick to clarify. “I have no patience for people who just can’t find friendship with people who don’t agree with them. It’s just a way to civil war, and I’m not going down that road.” Maher had dinner with Trump, Kid Rock, and Dana White at the White House in March. “In person, he’s definitely the kind of guy you just feel like you can say anything and you don’t have to censor it,” Maher said of Trump.

Recent data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis shows a sharp dip in travel spending in the United States. According to a report released by the bureau on Tuesday, travel decreased by $1.3 billion in March. Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail also reports that the export of travel services, a measure of how much tourists spend while in the United States, saw one of the largest three-month drops in the past 25 years. The dip is only dwarfed by the effects of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the travel market and the COVID-19 pandemic. The Trump administration’s policies on tariffs and immigration have been widely attributed as the cause of the market plummet. Canadians have also notably been boycotting trips to the U.S. in opposition of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on the country and threats to make it the 51st state. “Tourism’s doing very well,” Trump said in an April 30 interview with ABC News. “We’re doing very well. We’re doing very well. Wait till you see the real numbers come out in about, in six months from now, wait till you see the numbers.”

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Former Sex Pistols lead singer John Lydon (formally known as Johnny Rotten) said The Rolling Stones “should retire,” since the band seems “short” on song ideas. Lydon, 69, made the comments during an appearance on Good Morning Britain, where he took back his own 2023 retirement announcement. “As I indicated before, if I just sat back and retired, that’s not me. I’m not that kind of person,” he said. Upon being reminded that he previously said he’d never tour again, Lydon said, “That’s dementia for you, I forgot that bit.” Though he’s not retiring himself, he thinks the Stones should, he explained. “By all means, The Rolling Stones should retire,” he said. “I’m not short of a song idea or two, so there’s a difference.” Lydon then joked that he’d “offended music lovers,” with his comment. Stones lead singer Mick Jagger, 81, previously said in 2015 he’d never considered retiring. The band completed a North America tour last year after releasing its 2023 album. Lydon, on the other hand, considered never touring again after he lost his longtime friend and manager John “Rambo” Stevens, followed by the death of his wife Nora Lydon in 2023 to Alzheimer’s disease. Lydon had been her full-time caretaker until her death.

Shia LaBeouf had a rough time on Broadway. While preparing for the Broadway play Orphans in 2013, LaBoeuf said he was “using steroids” and sleeping among the horses in a “little fire basin” in Central Park, he told The Hollywood Reporter. LaBeouf, 38, eventually dropped out of the production, citing “creative differences” after weeks of conflict with co-star Alec Baldwin. However, the former Disney Channel star said he and Baldwin are “good now.” According to LaBeouf, they were able to make peace after he converted to Catholicism while living in a monastery to prepare for the 2022 film, Padre Pio. This isn’t the first time LaBeouf’s substance abuse issues have come to light. In 2021, the Transformers star was sued by ex-girlfriend FKA Twigs, who accused him of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. In response, LaBeouf admitted he’d been “abusive to [himself] and everyone around [him]” and said he would take a break from acting to undergo inpatient treatment. LaBeouf told THR that having “absolutely no spiritual life” before becoming Catholic made him “a piece of s**t.”