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He’s a real space cadet!

Don Lemon — who submitted a wish list that included demands for a free Cybertruck in contract talks with X before he was unceremoniously dumped last week — also wanted SpaceX boss Elon Musk to launch him into orbit for the first-ever extraterrestrial podcast, The Post has learned.

“First podcast in space to be hosted by Don (via SpaceX),” the bulleted line item reads.

The literally out-of-this-world ask was on a document Lemon’s agents at United Talent Agency sent to Musk’s social media site that also included demands for a $5 million advance on top of an $8 million base salary, equity in the company, and veto power over the site’s news content policies and its roster of creators, as The Post reported exclusively last week.

The document, which was reviewed by The Post, was sent last December — a month before Musk and Lemon announced their partnership for the fired CNN anchor to host a show on X.

Lemon’s representatives did not return calls for comment.

X executives were also taken aback when Lemon requested that a private jet ferry him and his partner to Las Vegas for a tech conference with the company footing the bill for the plane as well as a stay at a suite in a swanky hotel on the Strip, sources close to the situation said.

Last week, Lemon’s reps adamantly denied that their client made those demands.

Jay Sures, vice chairman at UTA, told The Post: This is absolute, complete utter nonsense without an iota of truth to it.

Lemon’s spokesperson Allison Gollust also tried to shoot down the report.

There is nothing in your list of demands that you claim Don made of X that is true. Literally nothing, she said.

X declined to comment.

SpaceX — along with Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin and Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic — have charged millions of dollars to launch daring tourists to the edge of space. One seat on an early Blue Origin suborbital flight even went for $28 million.

A glance at SpaceX’s web site shows that a flight aboard its “ride share program” can cost anywhere from as low as $300,000. The cost rises in conjunction with the payload that will be coming onboard.

Musk fired Lemon last week — before his debut episode even aired — after taping what turned into a testy interview on March 8. Lemon grilled the tech mogul on his political views, his reported drug use and his content moderation policies.

Lemon posted the full interview with Musk online on Monday, though snippets of it were leaked last week after Musk ended discussions about a revenue-sharing sponsorship agreement that X had touted earlier this year.

Musk’s move prompted Lemon to accuse the mogul of reneging on his pledge to allow unfettered speech on X.

But Musk pulled the plug after he deemed Lemon to be “dull” and “underwhelming” — adding that he had no wish to indulge Lemon’s “approach” which was “basically just ‘CNN, but on social media.’”

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Entertainment

Madonna plays biggest-ever show to 1.6 million fans on Rio’s Copacabana beach

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Madonna plays biggest-ever show to 1.6 million fans on Rio's Copacabana beach

Madonna has played her biggest-ever gig to an estimated 1.6 million people on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro.

It was the last show in her Celebration tour and she performed hits such Like A Prayer, Vogue, Hung Up, Into The Groove and Like A Virgin.

The Brazil city was buzzing ahead of Saturday’s free two-hour show, with hotels and Airbnb’s packed and about 170 extra flights expected into the city.

Pic: Reuters
Image:
Pic: Reuters

The famous Rio beach was packed with fans. Pic: AP
Image:
The famous Rio beach was packed with fans. Pic: AP

Helicopters and drones buzzed over the beach as the Queen of Pop took to the stage at 10:37pm, nearly 50 minutes late.

“Here we are in the most beautiful place in the world,” Madonna told the crowd as she pointed out Rio’s famous mountains and Christ the Redeemer statue.

The 65-year-old opened up with Nothing Really Matters from 1998’s Ray of Light album.

Eighteen speaker towers were dotted along the beach to ensure everyone could hear the US star’s vocals.

Brazilian musicians and people from local samba schools were involved in the show – with many fans dressing up in Madonna-themed outfits.

Pic: AP
Image:
Pic: AP

Pic: Reuters
Image:
Pic: Reuters

“Since Madonna arrived here, I’ve been coming every day with this outfit to welcome my idol, my diva, my pop queen,” said Rosemary de Oliveira Bohrer, 69, who wore a version of Madonna’s iconic gold cone bra.

Many fans had staked out a spot many hours – or even days – before the show, while others took in the spectacle from yachts or apartment balconies.

Madonna’s website said it was the biggest she had ever done – more than 10 times the 130,000 she played to in Paris in 1987.

However, Rio is used to huge shows – The Rolling Stones and Rod Stewart have played to similar-size crowds there.

Pic: AP
Image:
Pic: AP

Pic: Reuters
Image:
Pic: Reuters

Read more from Sky News:
Flight nightmare causes Murs to cancel gig with Take That
Is now a golden age for original musicals on the West End?

Thousands of police were on duty for Saturday’s show, which city authorities estimated drew a crowd of 1.6 million and would earn the local economy about 293 million reals (£46m).

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For Madonna, it was the culmination of an 81-date retrospective tour that began in London in October and moved across Europe and North and South America.

The singer embarked upon the tour a few months after being admitted to intensive care with a serious bacterial inaction in June 2023.

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UK

Bradford: One child dies and four other people taken to hospital after house fire

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Bradford: One child dies and four other people taken to hospital after house fire

A child has died in a house fire in Bradford.

A woman and three other children managed to escape the property and are being treated in hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

In a statement, West Yorkshire Police said: “At 1.08 this morning (5 May) police were called by the fire service to reports of a serious house fire on Kingsdale Drive, Bradford.

“A woman and three children managed to escape the property and were taken to hospital for treatment. Their injuries are not life-threatening.

Police at scene of fatal house fire in Bradford
Police at scene of fatal house fire in Bradford

“A fourth child was found inside the address and was sadly pronounced deceased at the scene,” police added.

“A scene is currently in place at the address and police are working with the fire investigators to establish the exact cause of the fire.”

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow @SkyNews on X or subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

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Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu rejects ceasefire deal that would ‘leave Hamas intact’

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Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu rejects ceasefire deal that would 'leave Hamas intact'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected ceasefire proposals because he says Hamas’s call for a withdrawal of all troops from Gaza and an end to the war is unacceptable.

Mr Netanyahu said agreeing to such proposals would “leave Hamas intact” and leave the possibility of another attack in future.

“Surrendering to the demands of Hamas would be a terrible defeat for the State of Israel,” he said in a video statement.

Mediated negotiations for a pause in the fighting in return for the release of hostages held by Hamas have been going on in Egypt, but a deal still appears some way off.

Hamas said in a statement on Sunday it’s “still keen to reach a comprehensive, interconnected agreement that ends the aggression, guarantees withdrawal, and achieves a serious prisoner exchange deal”.

The impasse comes after Egyptian media reported “noticeable progress” in ceasefire talks on Saturday.

The proposal mediators had put to Hamas set out a three-stage process for an immediate, six-week ceasefire and partial release of Israeli hostages, with some sort of Israeli pull-out in exchange.

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More than 34,600 Palestinians have been killed and more than 77,000 have been wounded in Israel’s military operation, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

Israel has said it remains committed to a ground offensive in the southern city of Rafah, where more than a million have fled in search of safety, as it tries to wipe out Hamas.

The UN and others have warned of catastrophe if it goes ahead.

The war began in October after Hamas killed about 1,200 people, according to Israeli figures, when it launched a surprise attack.

More than 200 were abducted and many remain as hostages, while others are thought to have died.

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