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Rep. George Santos, the chronically untruthful Long Island Republican who has fabricated much of his biography, claimed in a newly-unearthed podcast interview that he survived an “assassination attempt” — and separately had his shoes stolen off his feet during a mugging in the middle of Fifth Avenue.

The notorious fabulist made a series of wild allegations during a virtual sit-down with a Brazilian podcast in December, which was translated from Portuguese by MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” and aired on Monday.

We have already suffered an attempt on my life, an assassination attempt, a threatening letter, having to have the police, a police escort standing in front of our house,” said Santos, who previously went by the name Anthony Devolder and was introduced on the show as George Santos-Devolder. MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” on Monday aired parts of George Santos’ podcast interview translated from Portuguese, in which he painted himself as a victim of multiple crimes. MSNBC

The freshman congressman, who is of Brazilian descent — but previously claimed he was “Jew-ish” and the descendant of Holocaust survivors — alleged that he has been the victim of multiple crimes over the years, including the “assassination attempt.”

He also said that when he and his husband returned home from a New Year’s Eve party in 2021, they found their Florida home to have been vandalized in what he described as a politically-motivated attack. He also claimed he was mugged by two white men in the middle of Fifth Avenue who stole the shoes right off his feet. MSNBC

It was vandalized because we were at a Republican party, he argued.

Later in the interview, Santos recounted how one afternoon in the summer of 2021, he was mugged by two men in the middle of Fifth Avenue in New York City.

Before asking any questions, they (the robbers) werent black, they were even white, but they robbed me, took my briefcase, took my shoes, and my watch,” Santos said on the podcast. “And that was in broad daylight. It was 3 p.m. I was leaving my office, going to the garage, getting my car, and I was mugged.

Santos went on to say that the worst part of the robbery was that “nobody did anything.” The serial fabulist has lied about much of his life, including his education, work history and family heritage. REUTERS

“The fear is real,” he added. “Its surreal what we live through here.

Maddow said during Monday night’s broadcast that the hosts of the Brazilian podcast later asked Santos — aka Devolder — for a copy of a police report documenting his purported robbery but did not receive a response.

Since flipping a Democrat-held seat in November, Santos has been mired in a seemingly ever-expanding web of lies, scandals and investigations running the gamut from his murky finances to his equally shady resume and puzzling ancestry.

The newly sworn-in Republican congressman was found to have fabricated his college education at Baruch College and NYU, his employment history at top Wall Street firms, his family heritage, and even the circumstances of his mother’s death, which he claimed was tied to the 9/11 attacks. People demonstrate against Rep. Santos in Queens on Jan. 7. REUTERS

Santos was caught in yet another lie last week, when it emerged that he performed as a “drag queen” named Kitara Ravache in Brazil back in 2008, despite his repeated denials of that fact.

After a photo of Santos in a sparkly red dress and wig was shared by a former friend from Brazil, Santos, who is openly gay, finally admitted to dabbling in cross-dressing — but insisted that he was not a drag queen, and only having fun at a festival.

Despite growing calls from both Democrats and Republicans demanding Santos’ resignation over his unending litany of falsehoods, the freshman lawmaker has flatly refused to step down — and instead was awarded seats on two House committees.

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Mark Zuckerberg ‘s net worth plummets by more than $18 billion from Meta stock drop

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Mark Zuckerberg 's net worth plummets by more than  billion from Meta stock drop

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks about the Facebook News feature at the Paley Center For Media in New York on Oct. 25, 2019.

Drew Angerer | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Mark Zuckerberg‘s net worth plunged by $18 billion Thursday after comments from the Meta CEO on the earnings call sent his company’s stock price to its steepest decline since October 2022.

Meta beat expectations on revenue and profit but delivered a lighter-than-expected revenue forecast. Zuckerberg told investors that the company would continue to spend billions of dollars investing in areas like artificial intelligence and the metaverse, even though Meta counts on advertising for 98% of its revenue.

“We’ve historically seen a lot of volatility in our stock during this phase of our product playbook where we’re investing in scaling a new product but aren’t yet monetizing it,” Zuckerberg said on the call.

Zuckerberg owns around 345 million Class A and B shares. With the stock falling by $52.12 on Thursday, the value of his stake sank by about $18 billion to $152 billion by the close of trading.

The 39-year-old programmer founded the company in his Harvard dorm room in 2004, and rebranded it from Facebook to Meta in 2021, signaling to investors his plan to focus on the non-existent metaverse.

Meta’s Reality Labs division, which houses the hardware and software for developing the metaverse, has posted cumulative losses of $45 billion since 2020, when the company first separated the unit in its financials.

Meta said it plans to spend $35 billion to $40 billion Meta on capital expenditures this year, an increase from its prior forecast.

Zuckerberg’s fortune has swung up and down through the years, as his company’s stock has been particularly volatile. His net worth fell by around $100 billion in 2022. In early 2023, he announced Meta would embark on a “year of efficiency,” a move that helped the stock price triple for the year, and bringing Zuckerberg’s net worth up with it.

Thursday wasn’t the worst day for Zuckerberg’s bank account. In early 2022, he lost almost $30 billion in a single day, when his company’s stock price tumbled 26% on weak earnings and disappointing guidance.

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MLB bringing back Players Weekend in August

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MLB bringing back Players Weekend in August

For the first time since 2019, MLB will dedicate three days in August to players, focusing on showcasing them beyond their stats and on-field performances, according to a release distributed Thursday.

From Aug. 16-18, a different aspect of players’ lives will be highlighted through in-stadium events, game broadcasts and social media.

Day 1 (Aug. 16) will feature their personalities, friendships and off-the-field interests. Day 2 will focus on their charitable causes, and Day 3 will celebrate the people who helped them on their path to the big leagues, including parents, coaches and other mentors.

During the weekend, players will wear special New Era caps featuring each players’ uniform number on the side panel in a “youthful design,” according to the release. Players also will be able to use customized bats during the games and can wear cleats with personalized designs as well.

MLB is calling the three days a “reimagined Players’ Weekend” as its previous incarnation, from 2017 to ’19, featured specially designed uniforms with player nicknames on the back of their jerseys.

The goal of the weekend is to reach younger audiences, which have been growing over the past several years. According to league data, the median age of ticket purchasers has dropped from 51 to 45 since 2019, while ticket buyers from ages 18-35 has increased by almost 10% during the same timeframe. MLB is hoping that trend continues.

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Dusty Baker wins Baseball Digest lifetime award

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Dusty Baker wins Baseball Digest lifetime award

NEW YORK — Dusty Baker has won the fourth Lifetime Achievement Award presented by Baseball Digest.

The beloved Baker retired following the 2023 season after spending 56 years in the majors as a player, coach and manager. He was honored Thursday with an annual distinction that “recognizes a living individual whose career has been spent in or around Major League Baseball and who has made significant contributions to the game.”

Willie Mays won the inaugural award in 2021, followed by Vin Scully in 2022 and Joe Torre last year.

“Receiving this award is a tremendous honor,” 74-year-old Baker said in a news release. “I never thought that I’d be in the class of the people that received this award. I know that my late mom and dad would be proud of me. This is really special.”

Baker broke into the big leagues as a teenager with the Atlanta Braves in 1968 and played 19 seasons. He made two All-Star teams, won two Silver Slugger awards and earned a Gold Glove in the outfield.

He was the 1977 NL Championship Series MVP and finished fourth in 1980 NL MVP voting before helping the Los Angeles Dodgers win the 1981 World Series.

After his playing career, Baker was a coach for the San Francisco Giants 1988-92 and then became their manager in 1993. He won the first of his three NL Manager of the Year awards with the Giants that season and spent 26 years as a big league skipper, also guiding the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Washington Nationals and Houston Astros.

Baker took all those teams to the playoffs, winning 10 division crowns, three pennants and finally a World Series championship in 2022 with the Astros. He ranks seventh on the career list with 2,183 wins and is the only manager in major league history to lead five franchises to division titles.

In January, he returned to the Giants as a special adviser to baseball operations.

“On behalf of Major League Baseball, I am honored to congratulate Dusty Baker as the 2024 recipient of Baseball Digest’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He joins an incredible club,” commissioner Rob Manfred said. “Dusty represents leadership, goodwill, and winning baseball. His ability to connect with others, across generations, is second to none. He is a championship manager and player. But, most importantly, Dusty is an extraordinary ambassador for our national pastime.”

Baker was selected in voting by an 18-member panel from a list of candidates that also included Bob Costas, Sandy Koufax, Tony La Russa, Jim Leyland, Rachel Robinson and Bud Selig, among others.

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