Author: Fox News

ARIZONA BORDER OFFICERS SEIZE 1.5 MILLION FENTANYL PILLS OVER LAST WEEK

President Biden will “gaslight” the American public when he heads to the southern border on January 8, Fox News’ Judge Jeanine Pirro warned, suggesting he won’t bring a spotlight to the migrant crisis.

“This guy is going to gaslight us when he goes there. He’s going to talk about how great it is. He’s not going to talk about the mess,” Pirro said Thursday on “The Five.”

Biden has announced he will head to El Paso, Texas, to meet with local officials for his first-ever visit.

President Biden has struggled to get a grip on the border crisis (Photo by David Peinado/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci | Photo by David Peinado/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The administration announced new border enforcement policies, including an expansion of a humanitarian parole program for Venezuelan nationals to include Haitians, Cubans and Nicaraguans.

Pirro said the president needs to acknowledge the gangs, fentanyl and human trafficking at the southern border and not deny its existence.

She argued if he refuses to talk about it, he is “complicit” in the crisis.

“Until you tell me you’re going to give money to Border Patrol, you’re going to make sure that there are arrests for fentanyl, that this cashless bail where people arrested for fentanyl, illegals are released immediately – until you change those laws, these people are still entering as ‘gotaways.’ So it’s all talk,” she explained.

“The Five” co-host continued, saying she believes Biden is only heading to the border because Democrats were hammered over the issue during the midterm elections.

“I believe that the moderate Democrats who were in trouble this last midterm said, ‘Joe, you got to go down there. If you don’t go down there, we’re all in trouble,'” she said.

Immigration is at the top of the ticket this November as a record number of illegal immigrants continue to cross the border.
(John Moore/Getty Images)

“This is a situation where his own party is forcing him to go there saying, ‘how dare you?’ This is an invasion of the southern border of people we know nothing about,” Pirro added.

“MS-13, Latin Kings, fentanyl, killing 100 people a day in the United States. And you’re la-di-da and telling us the border is secure. [It’s] nonsense until he proves that it is secure. I don’t believe a word he says.”

Ashley Carnahan is a production assistant at Fox News Digital.

Healthy aging and drinking water: Fascinating findings from a new study

SHOULD YOU DRINK WATER BEFORE BED? EXPERTS CHIME IN

Nearly half of people worldwide do not get the recommended daily total water intake, a new report indicates

Yet drinking enough water may help to delay the aging process for many.

A recent study by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) published in eBioMedicine suggests as much — though there are caveats to know.

“The results suggest that proper hydration may slow down aging and prolong a disease-free life,” said Natalia Dmitrieva, PhD, a study author and researcher in the Laboratory of Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, in a news release.

The researchers looked at the link between sodium levels in blood and certain health markers — and explained that blood sodium levels increased when fluid intake decreased.

Staying well-hydrated is associated with better health, fewer chronic conditions and longer life, a new study suggests. Fox News Digital talked to several physicians, who shared some key caveats.
(iStock)

Adults who had serum sodium levels at the higher end of a normal range were more likely to die at a younger age.

They were also more likely to develop chronic conditions and show signs of advanced biological aging, compared to those whose levels were in the medium ranges, the NIH report said.

The study’s authors explained that hydration plays a role in serum sodium levels.

A normal serum sodium range should be between 135-146 milliequivalents per liter (mEq/L), according to the NIH release.

The study’s authors explained that hydration plays a role in serum sodium levels.

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“Decreased body water content is the most common factor that increases serum sodium, which is why the results suggest that staying well-hydrated may slow down the aging process and prevent or delay chronic disease,” they said.

The team collected data from 11,255 participants over a 30-year period.

Staying well-hydrated was also associated with better health, fewer chronic conditions and longer life, a new study said.
(iStock)

The NIH release indicated that the team found that serum sodium greater than 142 mmol/l for those who are middle-aged is associated with a 39% increased risk of developing chronic diseases — and up to a 64% increased associated risk for developing dementia and chronic diseases such as diabetes, stroke, atrial fibrillation, heart failure, and peripheral artery disease.

Randomized, controlled trials are needed to determine if the optimal amount of fluid intake can help prevent disease and promote healthy aging.

Staying well-hydrated was also associated with better health, fewer chronic conditions and longer life, the study said.

The researchers also found that participants with serum sodium levels above 144 mEq/L had a 50% increased risk of being “biologically older” than their actual age — while those around the 142 mEq/L mark had up to a 15% increased risk, compared to those who had ranges between 137 and 142 mEq/L

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Adults with levels between 144.5 and 146 mEq/L presented a 21% increased risk of premature death compared to those with ranges between 137-142 mEq/L, the NIH report also said.

The study’s authors found that adults with serum sodium levels between 138-140 mEq/L had the lowest risk of developing chronic disease.

The correlations found in the study can be helpful in guiding an individual’s behavioral habits and be informative to clinicians, the researchers said.
(iStock)

The NIH release, however, noted that the researchers’ findings do not prove a causal effect — and that randomized, controlled trials are needed to determine if the optimal amount of fluid intake can help prevent disease and promote healthy aging.

The researchers said the correlations found in the study can be helpful in guiding an individual’s behavioral habits and be informative to clinicians.

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“People whose serum sodium is 142 mEq/L or higher would benefit from [an] evaluation of their fluid intake,” Dmitrieva said in the NIH release.

It is important for people to discuss with a physician how much water intake is appropriate for them and their individual situations.

People can increase their fluid intake with water as well as with juices, vegetables and fruits with high water content, she said in the release.

Health experts said certain medical conditions could also affect fluid intake or a need for fluid restriction — so it is important for people to discuss with a physician how much water intake is appropriate for them and their individual situations.

“The goal is to ensure patients are taking in enough fluids, while assessing factors, like medications, that may lead to fluid loss,” said Manfred Boehm, M.D., a study author and director of the Laboratory of Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine, in the NIH release.

“The authors’ findings are in keeping with advice many of us received from our mothers — drink six to eight glasses of water every day,” said one physician.
(iStock)

Boehm also said in the release, “Doctors may also need to defer to a patient’s current treatment plan, such as limiting fluid intake for heart failure.”

Deepak L. Bhatt, M.D., MPH, is director of Mount Sinai Heart Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Health System in New York City. He was not part of the study, but he told Fox News Digital that the findings were interesting and provocative.

“The authors’ findings are in keeping with advice many of us received from our mothers — drink six to eight glasses of water every day,” he said.

“Staying well-hydrated is probably a good idea, though for the average healthy person, I wouldn’t say to drink more water unless you are thirsty.”

“More recently, that conventional wisdom has been challenged, with experts instead recommending drinking water only when actually thirsty and not on a schedule.”

Bhatt cautioned, “Older adults or those with some degree of dementia … may lose their sense of thirst — and in those situations, more scheduled water consumption can sometimes be useful.”

Bhatt, who is also a professor of cardiovascular medicine at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Health System, pointed out that the investigators examined sodium levels — and it was not a direct study of the amount of daily water intake.

“To prove that drinking more water actually improves health would require a gold-standard, randomized trial,” he said.

“Bottom line: Staying well-hydrated is probably a good idea, though for the average healthy person, I wouldn’t say to drink more water unless you are thirsty,” he added.

When more people are working from home today, said one health professional, it’s perhaps “more important not to lose track of time and to make sure you are getting enough water to stay well-hydrated.”
(iStock)

“Perhaps, in this peri-pandemic period where some people may be working from home and glued to a computer, it is more important not to lose track of time and to make sure you are getting enough water to stay well-hydrated.”

Dr. Marzena Gieniusz, an internist and geriatrician in the Department of Medicine and Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at Northwell Health in New York, told Fox News Digital, “An important thing to take from this study is that more research needs to be done to understand the dynamics between hydration and aging, and how to best optimize hydration in the setting of various conditions, and on an individual level to improve health and outcomes.”

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She added, “The findings of this study do not prove a causal effect — and more hydration is not synonymous with better hydration, healthier aging and better outcomes for everyone. This is important to understand.”

Dr. Gieniusz, also an assistant professor at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, said as well, “Optimal hydration depends on the individual and the body’s needs, which are affected by various factors including, but not limited to, activity level, medical conditions, weather, etc.”

She noted, “When it comes to recommendations about how much water or fluids we should drink, it depends on the individual. The standard 6-8 cups per day does not apply to everyone.”

“The body is designed to self-regulate and maintain balance — although self-regulation and maintaining balance becomes more challenging as we get older.”

Added Gieniusz, “The human body is very complex — and we are still learning how the various systems work independently and interact with each other, including the system of using and balancing salt and fluids in the body.”

She said, “We do know that the body is impressively designed to self-regulate and maintain balance — although self-regulation and maintaining balance becomes more challenging as we get older.”

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For example, she said, “with aging, we often experience a decline in our thirst sensation, so older adults may drink [fewer] fluids, which may increase their risk of fluid depletion or dehydration — and that can sometimes lead to complications. Yet sometimes it can actually be a good thing.”

She added, “Certain medical conditions (e.g. heart failure), which are more common in older adults, may benefit from limiting fluid and/or salt intake, and some patients even take medications to rid the body of water in order to better manage their medical conditions.”

The current guidelines from the National Academies of Medicine suggest women should drink 6-9 cups (1.5-2.2 liters) daily and men should drink 8-12 cups (2-3 liters) daily, according to the release.

Amy McGorry is a contributing health reporter for Fox News Digital. Follow her on Twitter @amymcgorry.

Buttigieg responds to critics of Christmas chaos, pledges 'full force' of DOT to compel Southwest redress

CRENSHAW TORCHES MCCARTHY HOUSE SPEAKER DETRACTORS

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg responded Thursday to critics following a disastrous Christmas travel week compounded by nationwide snowstorms and thousands of canceled flights, most notably from Texas-based Southwest Airlines.

Buttigieg reiterated that USDOT made a “ton of progress” in promised preparations for the winter travel season, despite critics’ claims his agency dropped the ball.

Anchor Bret Baier cited comments Buttigieg made in September to CBS comic James Corden about making sure travel would get better by the time Christmas came around:

“[T]he evidence of that is we had an epic storm hit the United States, and within a few days, almost all the airlines had recovered,” Buttigieg replied on “Special Report.”

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

“Matter of fact, every airline recovered except for one – Southwest Airlines. That’s right: They failed to invest in the kind of IT systems that they needed and made a number of other operational mistakes.”

When asked if USDOT was aware of Southwest’s antiquated scheduling system prior to the Christmas rush, the secretary replied he does not run the airline, but does regulate it.

“So what we’re doing right now is using the full force of this department to make sure customers get taken care of – I made clear to Southwest Airlines that they will be required by our department – by the way, this is something that wouldn’t have been possible before the work we did this summer – They are now required to cover lodging, to cover ground expenses, to cover hotels for these delays and cancelations that were their responsibility.”

HANNITY AND BOEBERT SPAR OVER HOUSE SPEAKER CHAOS

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Monday, Nov. 8, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Buttigieg noted Southwest CEO Bob Jordan is “pretty new,” having only gotten into the job in February 2022, but that the airline should have been taking corrective action years before the new boss took over.

“What I know for sure is that — and this is important for anybody who’s watching this to know – you are required to get your money back if your flight was canceled and you’re required to get it within 7 days… and you are required to get your expenses covered. I know a lot of passengers right now still having issues.”

Baier later pressed Buttigieg on a handful of other situations for which USDOT has taken criticism, including the supply chain crisis, which largely hit its apex while the secretary was on paternity leave.

“It’s nonsense,” Buttigieg replied. “Let’s start with the supply chain crisis. I worked that issue before, during and after the time that I was focusing on my children.”

HOUSE SPEAKER VOTE DERBY THE ‘ANTI-GROUNDHOG DAY’: CRITICS

A Southwest Airlines jetliner sits at a gate on the C concourse of Denver International Airport
(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

He added that, though media outlets were predicting “Christmas was going to be cancelled” because of the lack of goods and the like, the reality was that retailers enjoyed record sales.

As for the formerly looming rail strike in late 2022, Buttigieg said he had been actively working on Capitol Hill and in his office to avert what would’ve been a catastrophe for American commerce.

“I think the night before the tentative agreement, I remember going to bed at 1 and then being back up to check my phone at 4 [o’clock],” he said.

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In closing, Baier also asked Buttigieg about a recent senatorial retirement from a state which he recently moved to.

Since the former South Bend, Ind., mayor reportedly relocated north to Michigan, Buttigieg was asked about the possibility of running in 2024 to replace fellow Democrat Deborah Stabenow.

“I’m completely focused on doing this job, and I’m not planning to run for anything,” he said when asked if he would rule out running to replace Stabenow, who was first elected in 2000.

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.

Charles covers media, politics and breaking news, and has covered the annual CPAC conference for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to [email protected].

JESSE WATTERS: 'Coyote Joe' and his admin create app to usher in migrants amid border crisis

BIDEN ANNOUNCES BORDER VISIT, NEW MEASURES AS PRESSURE GROWS OVER OVERWHELMING MIGRANT SURGE

Fox News host Jesse Watters roasts President Biden’s potential parole program for undocumented migrants on “Jesse Watters Primetime.”

JESSE WATTERS: So, before you cross into our country and they let you in, now Joe wants you to make an appointment so they can let you in. No one is still not getting in. You just have to make an appointment. It’s like OpenTable for illegals. So, if you’re from Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti or Venezuela, Biden wants you to still pay a coyote, still hop into a caravan, still walk through jungles and deserts and then once you get to our border, you download an app and it will take your reservation. This is like TSA PreCheck for the third world.

President Joe Biden speaks about border security in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023, in Washington. Vice President Kamala Harris stands at left.
(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

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And wait, I thought these were all peasants without a dime — excuse me, pesos — to their name, and they’re all going to die if they stay in their village and they all have iPhones? And they know how to get into the App Store? Is Tim Cook going to set up Apple stores in Tijuana now, or are they just going to hand out Biden phones along the Rio Grande? And honestly, what’s harder, downloading the app or the 2,000-mile journey? I can’t even figure out how to change my settings. And you’ll probably get cleared to come through as long as you get a sponsor living in the United States to vouch for you.

Valerie Bertinelli announces she will be going dry in January for 'two reasons'

MATTHEW PERRY REVEALS HE KISSED EDDIE VAN HALEN’S WIFE VALERIE BERTINELLI WHILE ROCKER WAS ‘PASSED OUT’ DRUNK

Valerie Bertinelli announced on her Instagram story Thursday she will be participating in Dry January this month.

The Food Network star announced in a video the two reasons why she has chosen to give up alcohol for 31 days.

“I have decided to go Dry January. I like it so far,” Bertinelli said. “I’m doing it for two reasons. One, I want to try and cut down the cravings for my sugar. And I think alcohol exacerbates that.”

The second reason for the alcohol-free month revolves around reducing her stress level.

Valerie Bertinelli took to Instagram to announce she will be participating in Dry January.
(Valerie Bertinelli Instagram)

“I want to calm down the cortisol in my body that has been raging for the last five, six years. I’ve been in fight, flight, freeze, fawn mode. And I want to go into rest and digest,” she shared. “I think cutting alcohol will help me do that.”

She added that she is not a doctor, so this is just her “theory” on what would help “reset and regulate” her body. Bertinelli also noted she has cut back on drinking over the past several months.

Valerie Bertinelli is cutting out alcohol this month for two reasons.
(Zach Pagano/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

“If you’re doing a Dry January, let’s have fun. Let’s do it together,” she concluded. “If not, it’s OK. It don’t matter. You take care of yourself, I’ll take care of me.”

In 2022, the actress was candid about her divorce from ex-husband Tom Vitale.

In a video posted to her social media in November, Bertinelli couldn’t contain her glee as she learned from her lawyer that divorce papers were signed and would soon be filed.

Valerie Bertinelli attends the Build Series at Build Studio Aug. 21, 2019, in New York City.
(Dominik Bindl/Getty Images)

“I’m at the airport. About to go see Wolfie. And my lawyer just called. The papers are all signed. They’re about to be filed. On 11/22/22, I am officially f—ing divorced,” she whispered into the phone.

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Bertinelli, 62, filed for divorce from her second husband, financial planner Vitale, in May.

Bertinelli exclaimed, “Happily divorced. God. Finally. It’s finally over. YES!”

Tom Vitale and Valerie Bertinelli were married New Year’s Day in 2011.
(Taylor Hill)

She captioned her twitter video “11.22.22 second best day of my life.”

Prior to Vitale, Bertinelli was married to late rocker Eddie Van Halen from 1981 to 2007, although they separated in 2001. Wolfgang “Woflie” Van Halen is the son of Eddie Van Halen and Bertinelli.

Fox News Digital’s Caroline Thayer contributed to this report.

Janelle Ash is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital.

'Canceled': Kate Hudson, Sally Field and more Hollywood stars reveal worst on-screen kisses

SALLY FIELD REACTS TO BURT REYNOLDS’ DEATH: ‘HE WILL BE IN MY HISTORY AND MY HEART FOR AS LONG AS I LIVE’

Hollywood stars are sharing the good and the bad that comes with sharing a kiss with their famous co-stars on-screen.

While taking a lie detector test for Vanity Fair, Kate Hudson was recently forced to decide which one of her former co-stars was the best on-screen kiss she has had. She revealed that Dane Cook, her “My Best Friend’s Girl” co-star, should be “canceled.”

Meanwhile, Sally Field name-dropped her famous ex, claiming Burt Reynolds was her worst on-screen kiss due to “a lot of drooling.”

On a positive note, Zac Efron called his kiss with “The Greatest Showman” co-star Zendaya his “favorite kiss ever.”

Here’s a look at other A-listers who have gotten candid about their on-screen romances.

Kate Hudson, left, and Sally Field both opened up about their terrible on-screen smooches.
(Getty Images)

Sally Field, Burt Reynolds

Sally Field revealed her least favorite on-screen kisser throughout her illustrious acting career was none other than the American sex symbol Burt Reynolds.

During an appearance on Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen” in early December, Field named her worst on-screen kiss was with her longtime boyfriend, Reynolds.

Burt Reynolds and Sally Field in 1978.
(Ron Galella/File)

“Should I really name names? This is going to be a shocker, so hold on, folks,” she said ahead of the reveal. “It’s Burt Reynolds.”

Reynolds and Field starred together in 1977’s “Smokey and the Bandit,” a road action-comedy film in which the Bandit (Reynolds) picks up hitchhiking bride-to-be Carrie (Field). In the film, the two spark a romance and share several on-screen kissing scenes.

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“Weren’t you dating at the time?” Cohen asked, referencing their four-year relationship between 1976 and 1980.

“It was just not something he did very well,” Field said.

After a brief pause, Field said she could provide details but brushed her own suggestion off, saying, “You probably don’t want to hear it.”

Burt Reynolds and Sally Field first starred together in 1977’s “Smokey and the Bandit.”
(Michael Ochs Archives/File)

“I kind of do,” the host interjected. “The tongue? The tongue?” he asked.

Field modestly summarized the problem as too much drool.

“No, we’re not totally involved [with the kiss], it was just a lot of drooling,” she said.

While Reynolds and Field dated for four years, they never married. The relationship happened between Field’s marriages to Steven Craig, 1968-73, and Alan Greisman, 1984-94.

Before Reynold’s passing in 2018 at the age of 82, he said Field was still the love of his life.

Kate Hudson, Dane Cook

During Vanity Fair’s lie detector test segment last month, Janelle Monáe showed Kate Hudson various images of her former on-screen smooches, with one standing out to the “Glass Onion” star.

Dane Cook and Kate Hudson on the red carpet for the world premiere of “My Best Friend’s Girl” in 2008.
(Lester Cohen/File)

Monáe showed Hudson a picture of Dane Cook, with whom she shared a kiss in the 2008 movie “My Best Friend’s Girl,” and asked if the actor compares to her other co-stars.

KATE HUDSON, DAUGHTER OF GOLDIE HAWN AND KURT RUSSELL, ON NEPOTISM IN HOLLYWOOD: ‘IT DOESN’T MATTER’

“No. Canceled,” she replied. For his part, Cook previously called Hudson his worst on-screen kiss in 2014 but appeared to walk back his comments later that year, according to Us Weekly.

Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Pratt and Matthew McConaughey

Bryce Dallas Howard detailed her on-screen kisses with both Chris Pratt and Matthew McConaughey to “People Now” host Jeremy Parsons in 2017.

Bryce Dallas Howard said her on-screen kiss with Matthew McConaughey for “Gold” in 2016 was “pretty good.”
(Dimitrios Kambouris/File)

“He was drinking a lot of, I think it was tea stuff, a lot of fake alcohol, so it was pretty good,” she said of McConaughey, with whom she starred alongside in “Gold” in 2016. “It was like some sort of good, healthy aesthetic substitute for alcohol.”

She deemed her kiss with McConaughey as “pretty good” before raving about her “Jurassic World” co-star, Chris Pratt.

Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt
(Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/File)

Howard said Pratt’s breath was “like Starburst,” before adding, “He’s perfect in every way.”

Zac Efron, Zendaya

Zac Efron admitted in 2017 that his favorite on-screen smooch was with his “The Greatest Showman” co-star, Zendaya.

Zendaya said the kiss with Efron was “incredibly special.”

Zac Efron previously called his on-screen kiss with Zendaya his “favorite kiss.”
(Kena Betancur/AFP/File)

“You’re into the moment. When you’re into a character, the whole time, they’re not allowed to as much as touch, talk, speak, have a moment between each other,” she said. “So every moment, even if they’re just touching, is really, really, incredibly special. It’s not just another kiss. It’s different. We try to take ourselves out of it and become these two characters, and that’s their moment.”

Efron added, “This might be my favorite kiss, I think ever.”

The actor continued, “Just because at this point for these characters, it’s so built up, the tension between them is so strong, and literally, just a glance between them is electric.”

Zac Efron and Zendaya starred in “The Greatest Showman” in 2017.
(Don Arnold/File)

“And when they finally have the courage in that moment to finally connect and get that kiss, it’s that epic musical moment,” Efron said.

Sharon Stone, Robert De Niro

In 2020, Sharon Stone revealed that her on-screen kiss with Robert De Niro was “pretty fabulous.”

On an episode of “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen,” Stone revealed that she has a massive amount of respect for her “Casino” co-star, saying she held him at an “extraordinary high regard.”

Robert De Niro and Sharon Stone in 1995.
(Universal Pictures/File)

“Well, Robert De Niro was for sure the best kisser. Bob was far and away the best kisser,” she told Cohen.

The actress said that De Niro is the actor whom she “admired the most.” In the movie “Casino,” Stone said their kiss was the “pinnacle” because there was “so much attached to it.”

“I was just so madly in love with him as an actress to start with that he probably could have hit me in the head with a hammer and I would’ve been, ‘Oh yeah,’” she continued.

Robert De Niro and Sharon Stone having a tender moment as they lay on a bed in a scene from the film “Casino.”
(Universal Pictures/File)

After Stone said the kiss was “pretty fabulous,” she said, “I don’t know if I could compare anything else to that, everything else was kind of meh.”

Stone received her only Oscar nomination for best actress in the 1995 crime drama.

Julia Roberts, George Clooney

George Clooney and Julia Roberts have chemistry on and off the big screen.

Clooney, 61, and Roberts, 54, opened up about filming “Ticket to Paradise” in a recent interview. “Ticket to Paradise” features Roberts and Clooney, who have been friends for more than two decades, as two long-divorced parents who come together in order to stop their daughter from impulsively marrying a man she just met.

Julia Roberts explained what it’s like kissing George Clooney during a recent interview. The two have a friendship that has spanned two decades.
(Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images/File)

During an October interview with “Today,” host Hoda Kotb asked Clooney and Roberts if it was awkward filming some scenes – including one where the two share a kiss.

Kotb also asked if the two shared a laugh during the kiss.

JULIA ROBERTS, GEORGE CLOONEY REUNITE IN MOVIE TRAILER FOR ‘TICKET TO PARADISE’

“It’s kind of ridiculous,” Roberts said. “It is like kissing your best friend.”

“Well, thanks for that,” Clooney responded. “You know I was a two-time ‘Sexiest Man Alive?'”

Julia Roberts and George Clooney have starred in a slew of films together but never pursued a romantic relationship.
(Dave J. Hogan/File)

“Then you go, ‘Wait, my best friend is George Clooney,’” Roberts added.

Clooney and Roberts previously explained that it took about “six months” to film the kissing scene.

“Yeah. I told my wife, ‘It took 80 takes,'” Clooney told the New York Times of Amal Clooney. “She was like, ‘What the hell?'”

“It took 79 takes of us laughing and then the one take of us kissing,” Roberts further explained.

Jennifer Aniston, Adam Sandler

Jennifer Aniston had one rule for her kissing scenes in Netflix’s “Murder Mystery” with co-star Adam Sandler in 2019.

“I did have him learn to oil the beard up a little bit,” the actress said in a joint interview at the time. “Conditioned.”

Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston attend a photocall of Netflix’s “Murder Mystery” in 2019.
(David Livingston/Getty Images/File)

Sandler said kissing his longtime friend on camera wasn’t all that awkward, except when his wife, Jackie, and children were on set and encouraging him a little too much.

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“The only awkward part is hearing my wife on the side going, ’Harder! Harder! Kiss her harder! Deeper!” he joked. “They (Jackie and the kids) watched the kissing. They love it. They love Aniston, and they want her to have good things, and they say, ‘Give her something nice.’”

“That was awkward,” Aniston agreed.

Penn Badgley, Blake Lively

Penn Badgley revealed in 2015 on “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen,” that his best and worst on-screen kiss was none other than his “Gossip Girl” co-star and ex-girlfriend, Blake Lively.

“It’s hard to say,” Badgley replied when asked about his favorite kiss while filming. “On-screen kisses are not really that real.”

Penn Badgley revealed that Blake Lively was his best and worst on-screen kiss while filming “Gossip Girl.”
(Bryan Bedder/File)

“I’d say best,” he said, “I’ll say it was Blake because we actually had a relationship at the time.”

When addressing the worst kiss, Badgley replied with a smirk, “Maybe Blake after we broke up.”

Lively and the “You” star were in a relationship from 2007 to 2010, during the time they were filming “Gossip Girl.” After their relationship ended, Lively wed Ryan Reynolds in 2012.

Janelle Ash is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital.

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Madalina Cojocari: Missing North Carolina girl's mom, stepdad indicted under post-Casey Anthony case statute

NORTH CAROLINA POLICE PLEAD FOR MADALINA COJOCARI TIPS ON 42ND DAY SINCE 11-YEAR-OLD VANISHED AFTER EXITING BUS

The parents of North Carolina 11-year-old Madalina Cojocari were formerly indicted by a grand jury Tuesday for failing to report the girl missing for more than three weeks, as prosecutors reportedly pointed to a statute enacted in response to the 2008 Casey Anthony case in Florida years ago.

Cojocari’s been missing for 45 days as of Thursday after the girl was last seen on video exiting a school bus with other children on Nov. 21 by her home in the upscale Charlotte suburb of Cornelius.

Her mother, 37-year-old Diana Cojocari, and the girl’s stepfather, 60-year-old Christopher Palmiter, each were indicted by a grand jury Tuesday on the charge of failing to report the disappearance of a child to law enforcement. That’s the same charge the pair were first arrested for nearly three weeks ago on Dec. 17, but prosecutors reportedly newly pointed to a state statute known as Caylee’s Law Tuesday. The indictment now advances the case to superior court.

State Rep. Kelly Hastings, a Republican, said he sponsored the bill years ago in response to concerned constituents asking what would happen should something resembling the Anthony case happen in North Carolina. In 2008, Casey Anthony, then a 22-year-old single mother in Orlando, was charged with murdering her two-year-old daughter, Caylee, whom she failed to report missing for weeks. The girl’s skeleton remains weren’t found until months late, and Anthony ultimate escaped conviction in 2011.

A photo of missing 11-year-old Madalina Cojocari last seen on Nov. 21.
(Twitter/@FBICharlotte)

When his team started to research North Carolina statute, Hastings said they recognized that “North Carolina had a loophole and didn’t have a time constraint on the reporting,” WSOC-TV reported. “That was a little surprising, but we clarified that and got it addressed in the statutory language,” he said.

In the Cojocari case, a school resource officer and counselor tried several times to contact the sixth-grader’s mother about extended absences, and the woman eventually agreed to bring her daughter to school. Instead, she showed up alone on Dec. 15, according to Cornelius Police Capt. Jennifer Thompson.

Cornelius police arrested stepfather, Christopher Palmiter, 60, and her mother, Diana Cojocari, on Dec. 17 for failing to report the disappearance of missing 11-year-old Madalina Cojocari.
(Mecklenburg County Detention Center)

That’s when the parents admitted they hadn’t seen the girl for three weeks since Nov. 23, according to the FBI. Palmiter reportedly took a trip to Michigan to visit family around that same time.

The mother and stepfather remain held on $250,000 and $200,000 bonds respectively, but a judge ordered that the parents surrender their passport should they be released. The mother and daughter immigrated to the U.S. from the eastern European country of Moldova, where Palmiter also reportedly has family, and the couple and girl have resided in Cornelius, North Carolina, since 2017.

Investigators on Thursday shared a handwritten, personal message from the family of Madalina Cojocari.
(FBI Charlotte / Cornelius Police Department)

The FBI cited more than 250 leads in the case and released a handwritten note from the girl’s other family pleading for information that might lead to her safe return.

Investigators reportedly are focusing on the firepit in the backyard of the family’s two-story brick home not far from Lake Norman where couch cushions were burned around the time the girl went missing in November unbeknownst to police at the time. Last week, a court temporarily sealed search warrants related to the girl’s disappearance until at least March in order to preserve the integrity of the investigation, according to the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office.

When pressed by law enforcement on why she waited to report her daughter missing, the mother allegedly remarked that she felt doing so sooner could “cause conflict” between her and the girl’s stepfather, WCNC reported. The elder Cojocari also allegedly told investigators that she believed Palmiter “put her family in danger” but did not elaborate.

Danielle Wallace is a reporter for Fox News Digital covering politics, crime, police and more. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @danimwallace.

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Mysterious eco group is funding local climate journalism: 'Advocacy dressed up as news reporting'

GREEN ENERGY PROJECTS FACE STARK ENVIRONMENTAL, LOCAL OPPOSITION NATIONWIDE

A little-known environmental organization founded by the heir of a billion-dollar fortune has quietly organized large grants for local news outlets to boost climate change coverage and, sometimes, hire new climate reporters.

The North Carolina-based 1Earth Fund states on its website that it was founded to “fund cost-effective communication projects that can reach audiences across the political divide.” The group markets itself as a counter to “disinformation campaigns” funded by fossil fuel companies.

While little else is publicly shared about 1Earth Fund’s operations, the group adds on its site that it funds “projects like Connected Coastlines,” a nationwide climate reporting initiative in coastal states overseen by the Pulitzer Center. The project’s list of partners includes The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe, Miami Herald, Seattle Times and Orlando Sentinel.

“The initiative is building a consortium of newsrooms and independent journalists across America to report on the local effects of erratic weather patterns on coastal populations using the latest climate science,” the Pulitzer Center states.

Climate activists protest against fossil fuel development on April 22 in Washington, D.C.
(Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

“Currently, the Pulitzer Center is supporting 16 reporting projects and will cover climate change issues on every coastline in the mainland U.S. — the East Coast, Great Lakes, Gulf Coast and West Coast — along with Hawaii and Alaska,” it continues.

One such reporting project is titled “State of Change” and is based in North Carolina. The Pulitzer Center highlights six grantees who are journalists tasked with showcasing “the effects of climate change: sea level rise, ocean acidification, coastal erosion, more powerful storms, global warming, etc., and its impact on communities and individuals.” Their work has largely been published by a local PBS affiliate.

There are additional Connected Coastlines projects in Florida, Maine, California, Louisiana and Alaska.

ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS KEEP PUSHING EXTREME MEASURES AMID GLOBAL ENERGY CRISIS

1Earth Fund is also listed as a sponsor of the Climate Reporting Masterclass, a project designed to help journalists report on climate change. Partners of the project include government agencies such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

In addition, 1Earth Fund has partnered with various non-profit organizations to send direct grants to newsrooms located throughout the Southeast. The grants include a $65,000 grant to USA Today affiliate Wilmington News-Star in North Carolina, a $50,000 grant to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) in Georgia and a grant to The News & Observer and The Herald-Sun in North Carolina. Articles published in the Winston-Salem Journal in North Carolina have also been funded by a 1Earth Fund grant.

Roy Richards Jr, the current chair of the board of Southwire Company, speaks during an interview about climate action in May.
(Drawdown Georgia/YouTube/Video screenshot)

Articles produced with financial support from 1Earth Fund grants or by reporters funded by such grants often promote green energy and warn of dangers posed by global warming.

Examples published over the last 12 months include a News & Observer story with the headline “Sea change: NC is starting to make progress on wind energy, but lags other states” and a Winston-Salem Journal article titled “100% green energy in NC would cut costs, spark job growth, study says.”

1Earth Fund’s founder, meanwhile, is Roy Richards Jr., the current chairman of the Southwire Company, a massive electrical wire and cable company that provides products for renewable energy projects. Richards Jr.’s father founded Southwire, which has grown into a billion-dollar company, in 1937. The company has committed to various climate goals and to support green energy development.

FARMERS SLAM BIDEN OVER LATEST ECO REGULATION TARGETING BUSINESSES: ‘FEDERAL OVERREACH’

Still, the newspapers that have received financial support from 1Earth Fund have said the group doesn’t influence their editorial judgment. When asked about 1Earth Fund’s ties to the Southwire Company, a spokesperson for the AJC said the outlet maintains “strict editorial independence at all times to protect journalistic integrity.”

“In addition, we include a disclosure to every climate story supported through this partnership,” Jaime Sarrio McMurtrie, AJC’s director of development and community relations, told Fox News Digital in an email. “The funders of this grant have never made any attempt to review, influence or shape our coverage, nor would we entertain efforts to do so.”

Wind turbines in Atlantic City, New Jersey, are pictured.
(AP Photo/Wayne Parry, File)

However, a resume belonging to Sarah Barr — who is both a climate science research fellow for the Environmental Protection Agency and an independent contractor for the 1Earth Fund, according to her LinkedIn page — provides additional insight into 1Earth Fund’s operations.

Barr’s resume states that she helped 1Earth Fund achieve its mission of “raising the public mandate for climate action,” researched which outlets to “target” with climate initiatives, identified the most prominent newspapers in swing electoral districts, tracked “journalist output of climate stories” before and after they received funding to ensure effectiveness, and ensured that potential collaborators aligned with 1Earth Fund’s stances.

BIDEN EPA PROPOSES REGULATION THAT FARMERS WARN WILL DRIVE FOOD PRICES HIGHER

“It’s advocacy dressed up as news reporting,” Brian Balfour — the senior vice president of research at the North Carolina-based free market think tank John Locke Foundation — told Fox News Digital in an interview. “I find it problematic that these pieces are published on news pages rather than opinion pages because there’s a lot of advocacy contained in these articles.”

“1Earth Fund is funded by a chairman of a company that seeks to gain financially from more of a transition to renewable energy,” Balfour continued. “The articles are sympathetic and almost promotional to renewable energy sources.”

Peter Daniel Sr., the chairman of the NC Ag Partnership, a North Carolina agriculture trade group, added that the newspapers receiving funding from 1Earth Fund have recently published articles critical of the state’s agriculture industry. He noted that many of the outlets that received grants are owned by McClatchy, a large media conglomerate that owns local papers nationwide.

“North Carolina proudly leads the country in supplying healthy and affordable poultry products. That our state helps feed the world should be a source of pride,” Daniel Sr. told Fox News Digital. “Yet the McClatchy media operation, whose reporters are literally paid by a secretive network of climate activists called the 1Earth Fund, launched a full-frontal assault on our state’s poultry industry last month.”

“We do not know if those donors pressed McClatchy to attack the industry,” he continued. “We do not know if the news organization cast the poultry industry in a negative light because it hopes to receive yet more money from the 1Earth Fund.”

He said that McClatchy has been tight-lipped about the details of its relationship with 1Earth Fund.

“The notion that McClatchy doesn’t consider the agenda of the special interest donors who pay their reporters’ salaries is ridiculous,” Daniel Sr. said. “We’re entering a startling new frontier when secretive donor networks pay journalists who claim their work is ‘objective.’”

1Earth Fund, McClatchy and the Pulitzer Center didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Thomas Catenacci is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.

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GREG GUTFELD: Goldman Sachs' 'free' perks for its employees are vanishing faster than a CNN anchor

GODLMAN SACHS PLANNING TO LAY OFF THOUSANDS OF EMPLOYEES

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Knock it off. Knock it off. Oh, man. You’re going to be in my hotel room later. Happy Wednesday, everyone. It’s the first Wednesday of the New Year, and I can only hope you’re holding on to those resolutions. After all, you want a beach bod, not a Bankman bod. Somebody get this guy a training bra. He’s a 30-year-old guy with the body of Kathy Bates.

Speaking of banks, did you hear what’s going down at Goldman Sachs? Huh, see, transition, everybody. As a recession becomes reality and layoffs loom. The perks that one used to enjoy at your job are disappearing faster than Whoopi Goldberg’s Jewish fan base. According to The New York Post, they’re taking away their free coffee perks for the Goldman Sachs employees. I know, stop the presses or at least the French presses. I know. That’s why I sit here, and you’re in the audience.

So now those bankers will have to pay for it like the rest of us, just like I do for those massages. Bill Hemmer has such strong hands, sadly, as the New York Post reports, Goldman Sachs employees returned to work on Tuesday to find out that they’d have to pay for their crappy coffee. That’s the Post’s words, not mine. I’m guessing it’s Starbucks, which I happen to like, because you know what I always say? I like my coffee the way I like my Joy Reid, black and really bitter.

So to quote one worker, they were “confronted” when they got their coffee “with a sign and a woman yelling at us” that the coffee was “no longer complimentary.” A woman yelling at them, Judge, I didn’t know you spend your mornings at Goldman Sachs. Anyway, the anonymous banker goes on quote, “we had to go to the checkout counter before we could leave, I paid $2.99 this morning for a —– cup of Seattle’s best. Well, I assume they’re either talking about coffee or a urine sample from Kelsey Grammer, he’s clean now.

But come on, people. What’s with the whining? You don’t have to buy coffee. You can make your own or choose to not drink it. It’s not like the “Gutfeld!” paid toilets at the studio where the audience has no choice. And man, if I cleaned up on that, even if I don’t clean them. But look, no one’s forcing you to work there. You’re not chained to your desk like Kat and that’s for her own well-being. But caffeine may be the least of their worries.

GOLDMAN SACHS OFFICIAL TELLS “FACE THE NATION” THE RISK OF RECESSION IS “VERY, VERY HIGH”

As many as 4,000 “low performing” employees, 8% of the Goldman workforce could potentially be laid off. So they might as well buy the coffee then at least they already have a cup for people to drop change into. That was mean. I actually feel bad for them. But this is happening to everyone, not just Wall Streeters. So many Americans are dealing with inflation and an uncertain future. And for that misery, of course, you can thank Joe Biden’s America. Am I right, people?

AUDIENCE: Applauses and cheers.

That’s what you call a desperate attempt for red meat applause. That meat was redder than a baboon’s — during mating season. But I’m not totally heartless, regardless of what my four homeless, estranged children have to say. The rich have feelings, too, and I should know the price of helicopter fuel is driving me insane. Worse, I now have to fill the tank myself after letting Kilmeade go, and he could pack a lot of tears under those jaunty eyebrows.

GOLDMAN STRATEGISTS WARN S&P COULD DROP ANOTHER 11% IF RECESSION HITS

The media has seen a cost-cutting bloodbath in recent week with several high-profile news organizations slashing headcount and announcing looming layoffs as economic uncertainty plaques the industry.
(Getty)

But this is what happens when good times suddenly become bad. All those perks seem to vanish faster than a CNN anchor. What freebies that were once dangled in front of you to join the firm disappear like a garbage bag full of éclairs during “The View’s” feeding time, but it’s like SeaWorld. But we’re all experiencing this malaise. Before the media would ignore it, the politicians would deny it and when it got undeniably worse, the press and politicians would collude and tell us that inflation is actually a good thing, which is like saying COVID is a good thing or high crime is a good thing. In fact, now that I think of it, pretty sure they did say that.

As for Goldman Sachs, a company that’s already dealing with lower revenues in this uncertain economic climate, coworkers claim that the free coffee was the last straw, which sucks because that straw was going to be saved for the blow.

Greg Gutfeld currently serves as host of FOX News Channel’s (FNC) “Gutfeld!” (weekdays 11PM/ET) and co-host of “The Five” (weekdays 5PM/ET). He joined the network in 2007 as a contributor. He is the author of several books. His latest is “The Plus: Self-Help for People Who Hate Self-Help.” Click here for more information on Greg Gutfeld.

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GOP holdout Dan Bishop says he will resign if bid to stop McCarthy fails

THE VOTE FOR HOUSE SPEAKER: LIVE UPDATES

After six votes in two days, House Republicans still do not have a consensus candidate for speaker, and 20 GOP holdouts remain opposed to Rep.-elect Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., for the job. One member of the group, Dan Bishop of North Carolina, went so far as to say he would resign from Congress if they are unsuccessful in their effort to bring about institutional change in the House – which they do not trust McCarthy to deliver.

“We’re going to either see improvement up here the same way we made remarkable improvements in North Carolina in the state legislature, or I’m out,” Bishop told Roll Call in an interview published early Thursday morning. He said that over McCarthy’s 14-year tenure in Republican leadership, the would-be speaker has said the same things over and over again about threats facing the country and “every one of them has gotten worse, not better.”

As someone who is “older than the average bear” and “not going to stay up here for decades,” Bishop told Roll Call he has no qualms about adopting a “never Kevin” position in the ongoing leadership fight.

Such is the opposition the majority of the Republican conference faces as they struggle to find 218 votes for the next House speaker. McCarthy can only afford to lose four votes in his quest for the speaker’s gavel, and not even the urging of former President Trump for Republicans to rally behind him was enough to change minds.

Rep. Dan Bishop listens during a House Judiciary Committee hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on June 2, 2022, in Washington, D.C.
(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Until a speaker is elected, House Republicans cannot conduct business – they are not even sworn in – and their campaign promises to serve as a check and balance on the Biden administration on day one hang in limbo. The last time a speaker vote failed was in 1923.

McCarthy’s leadership team engaged in negotiations with the holdouts overnight. The anti-McCarthy block says they want rule changes that would open up the legislative process by allowing rank-and-file members to add floor amendments to major bills, as well as conservative representation on powerful House committees and a lower threshold to trigger the process to remove a speaker.

A GOP aide confirmed to Fox News that McCarthy is weighing these concessions. However, a sticking point is that many of the holdouts like Bishop simply do not trust McCarthy to follow through on the promises he makes.

Reps.-elect Bob Good, R-Va., Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., Eli Crane, R-Ariz., Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., and Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., are firmly in the “never Kevin” camp, though they have yet to throw their support behind a viable alternative. That is already enough to block McCarthy from becoming speaker without Democratic support or members of the House voting “present,” which would lower the threshold McCarthy needs to win.

HOUSE ADJOURNS WITHOUT ELECTING A SPEAKER AFTER MCCARTHY LOSES SIXTH BALLOT

Reps.-elect Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., left, and Tom Emmer, R-Minn., speak with Kevin McCarthy as the House meets for a second day to elect a speaker and convene the 118th Congress in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Reps.-elect Chip Roy, Scott Perry, Matt Gaetz and Byron Donalds confer on the floor of the House at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023.
(Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

On the other side, many of the 200 or so Republicans backing McCarthy are growing increasingly angry with the holdouts – Rep.-elect Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, called them “terrorists” and Rep.-elect Don Bacon, R-Neb., referred to them as the “Taliban 19” – and say they will never support any candidate they favor.

Adding to the intrigue are Democrats floating the possibility of throwing their support behind a “unity candidate” who would doubtlessly be to McCarthy’s left. But they are unlikely to enter into any coalition agreement unless Republicans agree to major concessions, such as keeping Democrats in charge of key House committees or nerfing the GOP’s subpoena powers to stymie promised investigations into the Biden administration.

MCCARTHY, HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS DISCUSSING CONCESSIONS IN EFFORT TO SWAY 20 REPUBLICAN VOTERS

The House is expected to begin its seventh vote on Thursday as McCarthy has failed to secure the votes six total times: three times on both Tuesday and Wednesday. The most he received came on Tuesday with 203 votes.

Twenty Republicans are standing in McCarthy’s way to the speakership, with most of them being members of the House Freedom Caucus. One of the preferred candidates for the 20 representatives is Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who has said he isn’t interested and announced his support for McCarthy.

During the last three rounds of voting, Republicans put up Rep.-elect Byron Donalds, R-Fla., as an alternative, but he never gained more than 20 votes.

Before adjourning Thursday, McCarthy indicated some progress had been made in these ongoing discussions.

“I crawl before I walk, I walk before I run,” McCarthy said Wednesday. “I felt as though we had a very good discussion.”

Fox News’ Elizabeth Pritchett contributed to this report.

Chris Pandolfo is a writer for Fox News Digital. Send tips to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @ChrisCPandolfo.