The founder of a controversial kratom-based drink that Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin holds a large stake in admitted he knew customers would abuse it. J.W. Ross, 63, started Botanic Tonics in May 2020 and turned Feel Free, its kava-and-kratom shot, into a brand with sales topping $250 million across 24,000-plus stores. Critics dub it “gas station heroin” because it hits the same brain receptors as opioids. Ross began life as Jerry Dale Cash and was imprisoned for diverting $10 million out of the Oklahoma oil and gas firm he ran, according to the Daily Beast’s investigative Substack PunchUp. He renamed himself in January 2014. On a 2023 podcast, Ross said he dosed himself heavily for months and tracked his own blood work “because I knew that some people would abuse it.” Mullin, 48, put as much as $1 million into the company and has not divested. He then backed a federal crackdown in July 2025 that hit rivals selling 7-OH concentrates but left whole-leaf kratom, the type in Feel Free, alone. A DHS spokesperson said Mullin “follows all ethics and conflict of interest standards and has not lobbied for any individual or company. As a Senator, Markwayne Mullin fought alongside Secretary Kennedy to regulate 7-OH, which is a synthetic drug marketed to kids at convenience stores via deceptive packaging.” Ross did not respond to multiple requests for comment from PunchUp.

Tom Latchem exposes the secrets, scandals, and stories that powerful people and institutions want to keep under wraps. Follow all of his reporting at PunchUp on Substack.

An American Airlines flight flying from Rome to Philadelphia was forced to land in Ireland after six of the nine flight attendants fell sick on board. Flight AA-719 departed Rome Fiumicino Airport and was in the air for roughly three hours before it had to divert to Dublin on Saturday afternoon. American Airlines said that a majority of the cabin crew reported feeling unwell after a “reported odor” was detected aboard the Boeing 787. One of the 281 passengers aboard the flight also reported feeling ill during the flight. After landing safely, the airline said paramedics met the aircraft at the gate “out of an abundance of caution.” The six flight attendants and passengers were evaluated and subsequently released. All passengers were then put in hotels and rebooked onto another flight to Philadelphia the following day. It is unclear what caused the smell during the flight, or whether it caused the crew to fall ill. Aviation insider @XJonNYC first reported on the crew members feeling dizzy and unwell during the transatlantic flight on X.

America just turned 250—but we don’t look backward. We’re already thinking about the next 250 years of innovation. Want to share your thoughts about the country’s future and have a chance to be featured on The Daily Beast Podcast? Pull out your red-white-and-blue soapbox and share your thoughts, predictions, and questions here.

In a four-part series, Joanna Coles is sitting down with experts to discuss the future of America, exploring topics like manufacturing, sports, and technology. This series is produced in partnership with PMI U.S., US Businesses of Philip Morris International and its America250 initiative, a yearlong push to celebrate and accelerate American innovation and reinvention.

This week, Joanna sits down with Vivek Ranadivé, owner of the Sacramento Kings and longtime tech investor, to discuss the future of sports and technology. Sports have always been a backbone and mirror of American identity and culture, with baseball serving as a national pastime, football cemented as a Sunday tradition, and millions of fans finding community through the teams they love and the games they play. As innovation reshapes athletics both on and off the court, what new trends and breakthroughs will emerge? Share your thoughts for a chance to have Vivek and Joanna respond on air.

Your opinions fuel the conversation. Don’t miss your chance to weigh in—submit your thoughts here.

Hollywood’s biggest stars may have had their private contact information laid bare after a massive online database linked to the Tribeca Film Festival was allegedly exposed. Cybersecurity researcher Jeremiah Fowler said he discovered four publicly accessible databases containing roughly 666,000 records dating from 2019 through 2026. Most were marketing files, but one allegedly included celebrities’ private email addresses and mobile phone numbers. Among those reportedly affected were Angelina Jolie, Robert De Niro, Jennifer Lawrence, Morgan Freeman, Winona Ryder, Martin Scorsese and George Lucas. Fowler, of Black Hills Information Security, said it was “by far the biggest collection of celebrity data I’ve ever seen.” “What was really interesting was that there was a folder that captured their device information based off the email,” he said. “That could give the bad guys a lot of additional information.” He said he alerted the Tribeca Film Festival last month, before its annual event began, and the organization responded that it “takes matters of data security very seriously and is actively investigating this issue” before removing the databases. It remains unclear how long the information was publicly accessible or whether anyone accessed it maliciously. There is no suggestion the Tribeca Film Festival was responsible for the alleged exposure.

Five people have died while attempting to climb Russia’s Mount Elbrus, the highest mountain in Europe. The climbers, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, died after getting caught up in a violent storm. The bodies of two climbers were located at an altitude of more than 17,500 feet on Mount Elbrus and evacuated from the mountain. Authorities have been unable to recover the bodies of the remaining three climbers due to the bad weather conditions. Rescuers were able to save two climbers who survived the storm, and they were taken for medical treatment. The local prosecutor’s office said the group “strayed from the route” after getting caught up in deteriorating weather conditions while scaling the mountain. Bosnia’s foreign minister, Elmedin Konakovic, called the deaths “a major tragedy.” Bosnian media reported that all seven members of the climbing expedition were from the central town of Zenica and included a female doctor and a married couple. Mount Elbrus, located just north of Russia’s border with Georgia, is known for sudden ⁠changes in weather and hazardous climbing conditions.

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Finding the right bronzer can be surprisingly tricky… especially if you have mature, dry, or fair skin. Many powder formulas are too matte, settling into (and even emphasizing) fine lines, texture, and pores, while creams and liquids tend to lack the staying power to make them worth applying in the first place. Even if your goal isn’t to look more tan, the right bronzer can make a huge difference in your complexion. A good formula adds warmth back into the skin, creates subtle definition without the harshness of contour, and gives you a healthy, well-rested glow (even if you definitely did not get eight hours of sleep).

Summer Fridays’ skincare-powered Bronzer Butter Balm hits the sweet spot between a cream and a powder bronzer, delivering an ultra-forgiving, endlessly buildable wash of color that nourishes the skin while softly blurring texture. In other words, if bronzer has always intimidated you (or you’ve been burned by chalky powders, muddy shades, or creams that disappear before noon), this buttery formula will make you rethink the category.

Summer Fridays Bronzer Butter Balm

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Unlike most balms, creams, and liquids, Bronzer Butter Balm stays put for up to 12 hours, which is a rarity outside the world of powders and long-wearing matte formulas. It’s made with an innovative emulsion technology that melts effortlessly into the skin before self-setting for all-day wear. You get plenty of time to blend and perfect, but when it’s set, it truly stays put, which is a huge plus for summer heat waves and humidity.

Available in six shades, the Bronzer Butter Balm is infused with a cocktail of skincare ingredients, including ceramides, peptides, and essential fatty acids, to help plump the appearance of fine lines, smooth the appearance of skin texture, and lock in moisture. It’s also packed with shea, mango seed, and illipe butters, giving it a velvety, second-skin finish that never feels greasy or heavy. If you’re into low-maintenance makeup that’s basically impossible to mess up, this is the fuss-free bronzer of your dreams. There’s no streaking, no patchiness, and no orange surprises that require an instant double cleanse to correct. ​

A ‘fire cloud’ has formed above France’s Bordeaux region as the south-west of the country is ravaged by fierce wildfires. The pyrocumulonimbus cloud, a weather phenomenon ordinarily seen during volcanic eruptions, now threatens to exacerbate blazes that have already driven more than 360,000 people from their homes in France and Spain. The clouds, created by sudden updrafts of hot air, ash, and smoke, can produce lightning that risks sparking more fires. The blazes have already torn through the Cap Ferret peninsula, an upscale area often compared to New York’s Hamptons, and are now just seven miles from Bordeaux, at the heart of the country’s winelands. French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday he would convene a cabinet meeting to discuss the emergency after activating the government’s crisis response units on Sunday. The infernos come hot on the heels of successive heatwaves across the country that have left the landscape dry and parched, though officials have also attributed some of the fires to deliberate acts of arson. Fire chiefs say it could take “several weeks or months” to fully extinguish the flames.

A California man who went missing in the Pacific Ocean for more than a month has been found alive after surviving on scraps of food, fish, and even condensation collected from seawater while drifting far from help. Kai Sato, 39, set sail alone from Catalina Island on June 7 bound for Hawaii, but disaster struck two weeks into the voyage when the mast on his sailboat snapped. Stranded outside major shipping lanes with no fuel and a dead phone, Sato said he spent days overwhelmed by despair as the current carried him farther into the open ocean. “I cried for a whole week, just drifting south, like miserable,” he told Hawaii News Now. “I felt like I was going to just try to turn my motor on and just suffocate, to kill myself.” After several days, Sato began fashioning makeshift repairs with PVC pipes and kayak paddles. He survived on leftover oatmeal, fish and squid that landed aboard, and condensation collected in a bucket. “I was just licking that to survive,” he said. Nearly a month later, Sato drifted back into the California-Hawaii shipping route, where the crew of the container ship Pasha Hawaii spotted and rescued him after two attempts to lower a rope ladder.

A 79-year-old man from Nevada has died while visiting one of the busiest hiking trails in California’s Sequoia National Park. Park rangers rushed to the General Sherman Tree Trail on Thursday after receiving reports of a medical emergency, according to the National Park Service. Emergency responders arrived at the scene to provide medical treatment, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene. The Park Service said it is not providing further information “out of respect for the family.” A cause of death has not yet been determined. The one-mile General Sherman Tree Trail leads visitors to the General Sherman sequoia, the largest living tree on Earth. The death came as the region was under an extreme heat warning issued by the National Weather Service. It is the second fatal incident in Sequoia National Park in just over a month. In June, 17-year-old Andrea Diaz Mondragon drowned after slipping into a river during her first visit to the park with her older brother and a group of friends. Her family described the teen as someone who loved “bringing joy to those around her.”

Roxette, the Swedish pop duo that rose to fame in the late 1980s and early ‘90s, canceled its 40th anniversary North American tour due to “logistics and hugely increased touring costs.” The band’s official Instagram account posted: “This decision was made by Live Nation USA, which they probably based on their own calculations. I hope we can play for our fab fans in the USA and Canada at some point in the near future.” The band’s biggest hit, “It Must Have Been Love,” was released in 1987 but became wildly popular in 1990 after it was featured in the iconic romantic comedy Pretty Woman. Roxette was originally made up of Per Gessle and Marie Fredriksson. Fredriksson died of a brain tumor in 2019 and Swedish singer Lena Philipsson joined the duo in 2024. Fourteen shows slated for September and October were pulled in cities including Toronto, Philadelphia, Dallas, Houston and Los Angeles.

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There are plenty of purchases I’ve justified over the years in the name of “self-care,” but few have delivered quite as much immediate gratification as my Lola Blanket. Whether you’re settling in for a TV marathon, reading in bed, cuddling with your partner (or, more realistically in my case, your pet), or just trying to survive an overzealous air conditioner in the middle of summer, a great throw blanket is one of those everyday luxuries we often overlook. Lola Blankets have very much earned their reputation as the internet’s favorite blanket, and after wrapping yourself in one, it’s not exactly hard to understand why.

Dubbed the “softest blanket ever,” the brand’s premium faux-fur throws have amassed more than 30,000 five-star reviews, making them among the most beloved blankets online. Available in an impressive range of colors, patterns, and four different sizes (along with weighted and pet-friendly versions), there’s a Lola Blanket for just about every sofa, bed, and perpetually chilly person. The ultra-soft blankets strike that rare balance of looking elevated enough to leave draped over your couch while still being the blanket everyone instinctively reaches for the second they sit down.

Lola Original Faux-Fur Blanket

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Of course, softness is only part of their appeal. Unlike many faux-fur throws that require delicate care (or immediately look worse after one wash), Lola Blankets are machine washable, stain-resistant, and built to withstand everyday life. That makes them especially ideal for homes with kids, pets, or anyone who’s been known to enjoy dinner, wine, or an entire sleeve of cookies on the couch (*shamefully raising my hand*).

Each blanket is crafted with OEKO-TEX Standard 100-certified faux fur, therapeutic four-way stretch that makes sharing with a partner (or a pet) a little easier, and reinforced double-hemmed edges for added durability. Best of all, they’re shed-proof, so your furniture, clothes, and floors won’t end up looking like you’ve adopted a very fluffy new pet.

A former NFL player has been deported from the United States. Daniel Ogama Adongo, 37, was removed from the country on June 20 after ICE alleged he had overstayed a visa that expired in 2016, NBC News reported Sunday. The athlete had retired from the league a year earlier, according to the outlet. DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Adongo made history as the first Kenyan to play in the NFL after signing with the Indianapolis Colts in 2013. In March, an immigration judge ordered his removal. Before that, Adongo had amassed a string of criminal offenses, according to ICE, including a 2020 conviction for misdemeanor criminal mischief resulting in property damage. He was sentenced to 364 days in jail, NBC News reported. The Indianapolis Star reported that Adongo’s attorneys and others have suggested the former athlete may have sustained a traumatic brain injury during his football—and earlier rugby—career.

A circus performer was airlifted to the hospital after a terrifying mishap sent an arrow into his neck during a live performance. The freak accident occurred around 9:30 p.m. Friday during a crossbow sharp-shooting act performed by Ana Daza Tavera, 42, and Edwin Cuervo Rangel, 38, at the Orange County Fair in Wallkill, New York, state police said in a statement. Daza Tavera fired an arrow at a foam target held by Cuervo Rangel, but the shot missed its mark and struck him instead. The audience was ushered out of the tent as paramedics rushed to the performer’s aid, News 12 reported. “Well, last night, unfortunately, when she shot the crossbow, it caught him in his neck,” Circus Murcia ringmaster Benjamin Jackson told News 12. “The good news is, she caught him right at the very corner of the neck. There was no blood, nothing.” Cuervo Rangel was flown to Westchester Medical Center and is now in stable condition, according to police. “Our performer is safe and in stable condition following surgery at the hospital and will make a full recovery,” Circus Murcia owner and operator Alexander Murcia said in a statement, according to the Hudson Valley Post.