The unwatchably awful Stephen Colbert interview that proves why he was doomed: MAUREEN CALLAHAN delivers the real story... and unmasks America's most loathsome late-night host
That's it and that's all for the late-night host Stephen Colbert, whose intolerance, intransigence and nightly screeds against Trump have surely led CBS to kill his entire show.
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BBC News
24 minutes ago
- BBC News
Ozzy Osbourne: did he really bite the head off a live bat?
When it comes to the unruly world of rock, shocking behaviour is rarely frowned upon. Just the opposite. Most of the time it's practically there are limits, few performers have pushed those generous boundaries more than John Michael Osbourne, aka Ozzy Osbourne, or the Prince of Darkness, who has died aged don't get a nickname like that by Sabbath fans initially dubbed him with it thanks to his jet black onstage persona, decadent aura and lyrics that seemed obsessed by the his actions on the night of 20 January 1982, when the body of an unfortunate creature ended up separated from its head, were bat-split crazy, even by Ozzy's excessive an event that, decades later, is still discussed as one of the most notorious moments in heavy metal oddly, this wasn't even the first time that the singer had seemingly been involved in the decapitation of an innocent more of that it comes to Ozzy and the bat, it's unsurprising that, over the years, recollections have differed on the precise turn of that was because people's memories clashed. But mostly it depended on which version of the story Ozzy was in the mood to facts about the incident, however, are unambiguous. In January 1982, Ozzy was two months into a gruelling tour promoting his second solo album, Diary of a Madman. A tradition had developed where the singer would catapult pieces of raw meat and animal parts - including intestines and liver - into the far, so revolting. And perhaps, not totally inexplicable behaviour for a man who'd once served an apprenticeship at an the tour, word quickly spread about the practice, and Ozzy's fans were nothing if not resourceful. At every venue, they knew exactly what was coming, and they turned up armed and ready to when something small and black landed on stage during a rowdy Wednesday night show at Des Moines' Veterans Memorial Auditorium, the singer thought it was a rubber here's where recollections start to veer off in different his 2010 autobiography I Am Ozzy the singer says he picked it up, stuffed it in his mouth, and chomped down."Immediately, though, something felt wrong. Very wrong. For a start my mouth was instantly full of this warm, gloopy liquid," he recalled. "Then the head in my mouth twitched." "Somebody threw a bat. I just thought it was a rubber bat. And I picked it up and put it in my mouth. I bit into it," he told the he says he realised: "Oh no, it's real. It was a real live bat."So is this the definitive version of the story - live bat thrown on stage, Ozzy bites into it? Far from hadn't always insisted the bat was alive when it was thrown towards in 2006, he gave the BBC a take on the story that was subtly, but crucially different."This bat comes on. I thought it was one of them Hallowe'en joke bats 'cos it had some string around its neck," he said."I bite into it, and I look to my left and Sharon [Osbourne, his wife and then manager] was going [gesturing no]."And I'm like, what you talking about? She [says], 'it's a dead real bat'. And I'm... I know now!"So was the unfortunate winged mammal dead or alive?Who better to confirm whether it was bereft of life and had ceased to be, than the person who claims to have actually brought the bat to the concert? Dead or alive? According to the Des Moines Register, that man was Mark was 17 at the time of the concert. And his account of the events leading up to the gory night was this: His younger brother had brought the bat home a fortnight before but, sadly, it hadn't said that, by the time he took it to the concert, it had been dead for it seems that the available evidence about this legendary piece of heavy metal excess, placed at number two in Rolling Stone magazine's list of Rock's Wildest Myths, does point to it being largely agrees that the bat did find its way into Ozzy's mouth, although it seems likely it was no longer alive by that point - something Ozzy himself concurred with. what of an eerily similar incident some nine months before in Los Angeles? Again the details vary, usually depending on who Ozzy was talking basic facts have never been in dispute. Ozzy was due to meet a group of CBS record label executives in Los Angeles, and Sharon had the idea of him bringing three live doves with giving a short speech of thanks, the plan was for Ozzy to throw them into the air, so everyone could watch them flutter away, in a symbolic gesture of alert: That's not what ended up happening. Doves of peace Ozzy had been drinking brandy all morning, and he later told rock biographer Mick Wall that a PR woman at the meeting had been seriously annoying to Wall's book, Black Sabbath: Symptoms of the Universe, Ozzy "pulled out one of these doves and bit its [expletive] head off just to shut her up"."Then I did it again with the next dove," he added, "spitting the head out on the table"."That's when they threw me out. They said I'd never work for CBS again." In version two, recounted some months later, he told Sounds' magazine's Garry Bushell a slightly different story."The scam is the bird was dead. We were planning to release it there, but it died beforehand. So rather than waste it, I bit its head off."You should have seen their faces. They all went white. They were speechless." The ringmaster of rock excess Ozzy, of course, had a reputation to uphold. After all, this was the man who'd been thrown out of Black Sabbath because, even by rock's astronomically lax standards, his drink and drug consumption was considered too while his encounters with bat and dove may not have seemed cricket to many, they - with helpful dollops of exaggeration - added significantly to Ozzy's outrageous undoubtedly gave him even greater publicity and notoriety, helping his solo career to skyrocket like a bat out of even though he might not be guilty of every misdemeanour that was attributed to him over the years, there's little doubt that he reached heights (or depths) that other rock stars never dared to meant that he was seen as the undoubted ringmaster of rock excess - a career defining reputation that stayed with him right to the end.
The Independent
25 minutes ago
- The Independent
Trump claims he's made a ‘massive' trade deal with Japan
President Donald Trump boasted Tuesday that he had made a 'massive' deal with Japan that would generate 'thousands of jobs' and billions of dollars for the U.S. The president announced the trade framework – 'perhaps the largest Deal ever made' – in a Truth Social post Tuesday, revealing that a 15 percent tax on goods imported from Japan had been agreed. In the post Trump said Japan would invest 'at my direction' $550 billion into the U.S. and would 'open' its economy to American-made vehicles as well as 'rice' and 'other things.' But further details remained scant. The 15 percent tax on imported Japanese goods is a significant drop from the 25 percent rate that Trump, in a recent letter to Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, said would be levied starting on August 1. 'This Deal will create Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs — There has never been anything like it,' the president posted on Truth Social, adding that the United States 'will continue to always have a great relationship with the Country of Japan.' 'This is a very exciting time for the United States of America, and especially for the fact that we will continue to always have a great relationship with the Country of Japan. Thank you for your attention to this matter!' Early Wednesday in Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Shigera Ishiba confirmed the new trade agreement, saying it would benefit both sides and help them work together. 'The government was determined to protect national interests,' Ishiba told reporters, per the Wall Street Journal. Trump's announcement appeared to excite investors, with the benchmark Nikkei – the Tokyo stock market – climbing 2.6 percent to its highest in a year, with shares of automakers also surging. Toyota grew by more than 11 percent, with Honda and Nissan both up more than 8 percent. But American automakers were less buoyed with the deal, with concerns raised over low import levies from Japan, compared to tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico remaining at 25 percent. Matt Blunt, head of the American Automotive Policy Council, said, "Any deal that charges a lower tariff for Japanese imports with virtually no U.S. content than the tariff imposed on North American-built vehicles with high U.S. content is a bad deal for U.S. industry and U.S. auto workers.'
Reuters
26 minutes ago
- Reuters
Japan's Nikkei surges to one-year peak, bonds slide on US trade deal
TOKYO, July 23 (Reuters) - Japanese automakers led a surge in the Nikkei share average to a one-year peak on Wednesday, while bonds slid after Tokyo reached a trade deal with Washington, ending a months-long stalemate. The Nikkei (.N225), opens new tab rallied as much as 3.3% to 41,070.91, its highest since July last year. The Tokyo Stock Exchange's transport equipment index (.ITEQP.T), opens new tab soared 10.3%, with Toyota Motor (7203.T), opens new tab surging more than 13%. The trade deal reduced economic uncertainty, bolstering the case for the Bank of Japan to resume raising interest rates. Traders sold Japanese government bonds, pushing two-year yields up by 7 basis points (bps) to 0.82%, the highest since April 2, when U.S. President Donald Trump shocked markets with his aggressive "Liberation Day" tariff announcement. Markets largely shrugged off a media report that Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba would step down by the end of August. Ishiba is facing growing opposition from within his Liberal Democratic Party for his vow to stay in power despite the ruling coalition's defeat in Sunday's upper house election. The yen was last down about 0.2% at 146.96 per dollar . Trump said on Tuesday the U.S. and Japan had struck a trade deal that includes a 15% tariff that will be levied on U.S. imports from the Asian country, down from a threatened tariff of 25%. Industry and government officials briefed on the agreement said the deal also lowers the tariff to 15% from 25% on Japanese autos, which account for more than a quarter of the country's exports to the U.S. "It is commendable that the 25% baseline tariff was avoided," said Norihiro Yamaguchi, senior Japan economist at Oxford Economics in Tokyo. "Lowered uncertainty will be welcomed in the equity market." Bank shares gained, sending the TSE's banking index (.IBNKS.T), opens new tab up 4.5%. The 10-year JGB yield jumped 9.5 bps to 1.595%, matching last week's 17-year high. Ten-year Japanese government bond futures tumbled as much as 1.04 yen to 137.56 yen, their lowest since March 28. Deputy BOJ Governor Shinichi Uchida said the central bank needs to focus on downside risks to the economy. His comments came ahead of a BOJ policy meeting next Wednesday and Thursday. "I don't think this (trade deal) alone will lead to a Bank of Japan rate hike next week, but the possibility of a rate hike between September and October has increased," said SMBC chief currency strategist Hirofumi Suzuki. "This will create pressure to buy the yen."
