Bursting onto the scene as a provocative comedian before transforming into a Hollywood star then internet conspiracy theorist, Russell Brand still boasts millions of online fans despite being accused of rape.

Brand, who has almost seven million subscribers on YouTube, 11.3 million followers on X (formerly Twitter) and 4.8 million on Instagram, was on Friday charged with rape and a number of other sexual offences.

For a long time, the 49-year-old was best known for his hyper-sexualised and often lewd comedy shows as well as anything-goes appearances on British TV and radio that made him a household name in the early 2000s.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., is resigning from the House Freedom Caucus, she announced in a letter to fellow conservatives on Monday.

It’s the latest escalation in her fight against House GOP leaders and a small group of members on the right flank of their conference over the issue of proxy voting. Luna has teamed up with Democrats and several other Republicans on a mechanism aimed at forcing consideration of legislation that allows new parents in the House to vote remotely for 12 weeks around their baby’s birth.

“I have consistently supported each of you, even in moments of disagreement, honoring the mutual respect that has guided our caucus,” Luna wrote. “That respect, however, was shattered last week.”

The focus of her anger is a brief incident from earlier this month when a group of House conservatives held up a chamber-wide vote on unrelated legislation to press GOP leaders to kill Luna’s measure – known as a “discharge petition.”

A discharge petition allows lawmakers to force a bill onto the House floor, despite objections from leadership, provided the mechanism gets signatures from a majority of the chamber.

“Acting within the House conference rules – rules we all agreed to – I sought to bring a vote to the floor on a measure that would allow new mothers in Congress (fewer than 14 in our nation’s history) and fathers, if they choose, to vote by proxy,” Luna continued.

 “This was a modest, family-centered proposal. Yet, a small group among us threatened the Speaker, vowing to halt floor proceedings indefinitely – regardless of the legislation at stake, including President Trump’s agenda – unless he altered the rules to block my discharge petition.”

She shared praise for House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., whose conduct she called “gentlemanly,” but added, “With a heavy heart, I am resigning from the Freedom Caucus.”

“I cannot remain part of a caucus where a select few operate outside its guidelines, misuse its name, broker backroom deals that undermine its core values and where the lines of compromise and transaction are blurred, disparage me to the press, and encourage misrepresentation of me to the American people,” Luna wrote.

She will be the first House Freedom Caucus member to leave the group, which does not advertise its membership, in the 119th Congress.

The most recent departures before Luna include Reps. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, and Randy Weber, R-Texas, who were both pushed out, and Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, who left during the shakeup.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said he believed proxy voting was “unconstitutional” in remarks after House Republicans’ weekly closed-door meeting on Tuesday.

Sen. Cory Booker spent Monday night on the Senate floor, delivering a nonstop speech protesting the Trump administration’s policies.

The New Jersey Democrat took the podium at 7 p.m. EDT, vowing to speak “for as long as I am physically able.” He was still standing — with glasses on and papers in hand — as of 11 a.m. on Tuesday, taking periodic breaks by yielding to questions from several fellow Democrats.

By mid-morning, some 40,000 people were watching Booker’s live stream on YouTube.

“I’ve been hearing from people all over my state and indeed all over the nation calling upon folks in Congress to do more, to do things that recognize the urgency, the crisis of the moment,” Booker said in a video posted to social media beforehand. “And so we all have a responsibility, I believe, to do something different, to cause — as [late Rep.] John Lewis said — ‘good trouble,’ and that includes me.”

Booker’s speech took aim at President Trump, White House senior adviser Elon Musk and policies he says show a “complete disregard for the rule of law, the Constitution, and the needs of the American people.”

It covered a wide range of topics overnight, from healthcare and Social Security to immigration, the economy, public education, free speech and foreign policy. And it included portions of letters that Booker said he had received from affected constituents, as well as public comments from world leaders, in recent weeks.

“In just 71 days, the president has inflicted harm after harm on Americans’ safety, financial stability, the foundations of our democracy, and any sense of common decency,” Booker said in his introductory remarks. “These are not normal times in our nation. And they should not be treated as such in the United States Senate.”

Trump and Musk have not commented publicly on Booker’s speech as of Tuesday morning. It comes at a tense time for Booker’s party: Nine Democrats joined with Republicans to pass a Trump-backed spending bill last month, preventing a government shutdown but alienating constituents who want lawmakers to push back against the president’s agenda.

Monday marks the annual Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV), which honors transgender, nonbinary and gender-expansive people while drawing attention to the high levels of poverty, discrimination and violence the community faces globally.

This year’s TDOV follows President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders that restrict the rights of transgender Americans – impacting their ability to serve in the military, participate in school sports and obtain government documentation, including passports that reflect their gender identity.

Rachel Crandall Crocker, a psychologist and executive director of the nonprofit group Transgender Michigan, created this initiative in 2010. She expressed her amazement at the level of participation the day received in an interview with National Public Radio last year: “I wasn’t expecting to start an international movement.”

Here’s what to know about Trans Visibility Day and trans people who have made history.

Actors, models and other trans people who continue to make history

While transgender and nonbinary individuals have been the targets of political attacks, there have also been moments of celebration, particularly among celebrities, politicians and performers.

A snapshot of trans people who recently made history include:

• Laverne Cox in 2014 became the first transgender person to be nominated for an Emmy in an acting category. She was nominated for her role as Sophia Burset in “Orange Is the New Black.”
• Elliot Page in 2021 became the first trans man to appear on the cover of Time magazine.
• Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, or MJ Rodriguez, has a series of firsts. In January 2022, she became the first trans woman to win a Golden Globe, for her role as Blanca Evangelista in FX’s “Pose.” She is also the first trans woman to earn an Emmy nomination in a lead or supporting acting category, and the first openly trans woman to win best actress in television at the NAACP Image Awards.
• Lia Thomas in March 2022 was the first trans woman to win an NCAA swimming championship.
• Kim Petras won a Grammy Award in February 2023 for her performance in Sam Smith’s “Unholy” music video. Petras is the first openly transgender artist to win a Grammy in the best pop duo/group performance category.
• Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Delaware, in November 2024 was the first transgender person elected to Congress.
• Alex Consani in 2024 was the first trans woman to win Model of the Year at the Fashion Awards.
• Gottmik in 2021 was the first trans man to compete on “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”
• 

• What’s the purpose of Trans Visibility Day?

  A representative from the national advocacy group The Trevor Project told USA TODAY that while the day aims to support the community, many transgender people have safety concerns, and visibility should not be forced upon anyone.

  “This day should also remind people that ‘visible’ does not mean ‘equal,’” explained Nova Bright, head of internal training, learning and development at The Trevor Project. “We must continue working toward a country full of people that understands transgender people are our neighbors, our family members, and our friends; trans people want to simply be able to go about their daily lives, just like anyone else.”

• 

• The national crisis lifeline for LGBTQ+ young people reminds trans individuals that it’s OK to celebrate acts of visibility, whether they are large or small, including:

  • The feeling that comes with taking your first hormone dose.
  • Being called your chosen name by someone who loves you.
  • Finding language to describe your identity.
  • Feeling euphoric in a piece of gender-affirming clothing.
  • Looking in the mirror and loving who you see looking back at you.
  • “As we honor Transgender Day of Visibility, one thing remains abundantly clear: Trans people are here, trans people have always been here, and they are not going anywhere,” Trevor Project CEO Jaymes Black said. “To all trans young people, I want you to know: You are never alone.”

Far-right French leader Marine Le Pen was handed a four-year prison sentence and banned from holding public office for five years by a French court Monday, in what could be the biggest setback for her political cause in a generation.

Until this week, Le Pen had looked like the likeliest winner in France’s next presidential election set for 2027, but she was found guilty Monday by a court of embezzling European Union funds.

When handing down the sentence, the court said the crimes committed by Le Pen, 56, warranted an immediate ban from public office, Reuters reported. The court also handed her a fine of 100,000 euros ($108,195).

Le Pen’s lawyer said she would appeal the verdict, but she will remain ineligible while she does and could therefore be ruled out of the 2027 presidential race. She was also sentenced to four years’ imprisonment, with two to be served under house arrest and two suspended.

Even if she does appeal the ban on public office, only an appellate ruling could overturn it and restore her hopes of running, although time is running out for that to happen before the election as appeals in France can take several years to conclude. There is also no guarantee that an appeals court would rule more favorably.

The nine-week trial, which began in November after almost a decade of investigations, saw Le Pen and 24 other figures from her National Rally (RN) party accused of misusing more than 3 million euros ($3.3 million) of European Parliament funds to pay party staff between 2004 and 2016 in violation of E.U. regulations. All of those accused have denied the charges.

Delivering his ruling Monday, Judge Benedicte de Perthuis said Le Pen had been “at the heart” of the scheme. “It was established that all these people were actually working for the party, that their (EU) lawmaker had not given them any tasks,” he added, according to Reuters.

He said that the investigations also showed that “these were not administrative errors … but embezzlement within the framework of a system put in place to reduce the party’s costs.”

Shortly after being convicted, Le Pen was seen abruptly leaving the Paris courtroom before her sentence was announced.

The ruling has the potential to reshape French politics, with Le Pen having spent decades turning her far-right vehicle into a mainstream and popular political force and herself into the favorite to win the country’s next presidential elections, set to be fought in 2027.

After taking over the leadership from her late father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, she has transformed the RN, with its far-right nationalist roots, into the biggest single party in France’s parliament by making it more mainstream and popularizing it among younger and more blue-collar voters.

RN party president 29-year-old Jordan Bardella, who is expected to take Le Pen’s place if his mentor is forced to step down, said Monday that she had been “unjustly condemned,” adding that French democracy had been “executed,” Reuters said.

While RN won the largest number of votes in the first round of last year’s parliamentary elections, it failed to win a majority and remains outside of France’s governing coalition. Emmanuel Macron, the country’s centrist president, has since attempted to steer his country through months of razor-thin majorities, no-confidence votes and political uncertainty.

Macron has experienced a mild recovery in the polls during that time — partly due to the ripple effect of President Donald Trump’s first months back in office — but he cannot run for the presidency a third time due to term limits and any of his centrist successors risk losing to their ultraconservative rival.

A recent poll conducted by the French Institute of Public Opinion for the French broadcaster Sud Radio found that Le Pen would, with around 42% of the vote, easily win the first round of the next presidential election.

Even if she appeals the verdict, a “provisional execution” could see Le Pen, a three-time presidential contender and front-runner in the polls ahead of the 2027 vote, barred from running in the election.

Under the ban, Le Pen will not be removed from her seat in parliament until the end of her current term. She can also seek a last-minute reprieve from the French Constitutional Council, which is expected to hand a separate decision Friday on whether immediately barring elected officials from running for office is legal.

RN has accused prosecutors of seeking Le Pen’s “political death” to keep the popular far-right leader from seeking public office.

Le Pen said Saturday that she expected leniency from the judges, telling the French newspaper La Tribune Dimanche that “with provisional execution, the judges have the power of life or death over our movement … but I don’t think they’ll go that far.”

The trial has also whipped up fierce debate within France around on the subject of how much judges should be allowed to intervene in the country’s politics.

Across Europe, too, far-right leaders said the ruling showed democratic backsliding.

Hungary’s Viktor Orban posted on X saying “I am Marine!” Meanwhile, Deputy Italian Prime Minister Matteo Salvini described the ruling as a declaration of war by Brussels and called Le Pen his friend.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in a media conference Monday that “European capitals show that they are not at all reluctant to go beyond democracy during the political process.

 Monday, March 31 is Cesar Chavez’s birthday and Cesar Chavez Day, which will be marked in Denver with closed offices in honor of his life.

Cesar Chavez Day was proclaimed a federal commemorative holiday in 2014 and honors the activist’s legacy in the civil rights and labor movement during his life. Chavez formed the National Farm Workers Association in 1962, which was later dubbed the United Farm Bureau.

Chavez was also known for using boycotts, marches, strikes and other tactics to garner support and new members for farm labor unions in the U.S. He was also a sailor with the U.S. Navy during World War II, returning from war to fight for freedom in the U.S. agriculture industry alongside Dolores Huerta.

Together, the pair of activists adopted the phrase “Si, se puede,” as a rallying cry during a fast they conducted in 1972. The phrase means “Yes, it can be done” in English and has been hailed as the crux of the pair’s conviction to nonviolent tactics to enact change.

On Monday, most Denver offices will be closed in observation, including the libraries, courts, clerk and recorder’s office and motor vehicle title and registration offices

Because it is a holiday, street meters in Denver will be free, but time restrictions still apply. Trash, recycling and compost collection will be provided as normal.

A radar-confirmed tornado was spotted whirling through counties just south of Atlanta as strong storms barreled through the metro area Monday.

Channel 2’s Chief Meteorologist Brad Nitz noted the rotation on the radar in eastern Coweta County crossing into Fayette County around 12:45 p.m. It was not immediately clear what level of damage may have occurred.

A radar-confirmed tornado was spotted whirling through counties just south of Atlanta as strong storms barreled through the metro area Monday.

Channel 2’s Chief Meteorologist Brad Nitz noted the rotation on the radar in eastern Coweta County crossing into Fayette County around 12:45 p.m. It was not immediately clear what level of damage may have occurred.

Highs on Monday are expected to reach 72 degrees around the city.

Much of the state, including metro Atlanta, is under a Level 3 of 5 risk for severe weather, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Storm Prediction Center. North of the metro area, there is a Level 2 risk, and locations along the Tennessee border are under a Level 1 risk.

The storms are bringing heavy rain and damaging wind gusts of up to 60 mph, warned Nitz.

Gusts that strong could bring down trees, branches and power lines. And while the storms will be “heavy rainfall producers,” there shouldn’t be much of a threat for flash flooding as showers should move quickly, according to the NWS.

The heaviest part of the storms should be out of the area by about 5 p.m., with scattered showers lingering after that. Another punchy storm is expected to reach the city by about 7 p.m., though, just as a cold front arrives.

That storm should be on its way out by 9 p.m. Behind that, cooler, drier air will move into North Georgia, the NWS says.

After a chilly morning with temperatures in the 40s, “a dry, sunny Tuesday is in store with springlike afternoon highs in the 70s and 80s,” the Weather Service predicts.