Eight Must-Read Stories About Dead Models, Billionaires and How ‘50 Shades’ Killed Sex
The Beast’s best from this past week.
How ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ Killed Sex
You’ve heard about the steamy sex scenes. You’ve seen the whips. Now prepare for the underwhelming buzzkill of a film devoid of any kind of passion.
David Carr’s Outsize ‘Times’ Legacy
By Lloyd Grove
The beloved New York Times media critic died after collapsing in the newsroom, his passing greeted with disbelief and tears by colleagues in journalism and beyond.
The Dead Model and the Dirty Billionaire
By M.L. Nestel
Pedro Gaspar was a fixture in New York’s nightclub scene, where the models are ever younger and drugs are rampant. Why did his sudden death—above a modeling agency tied to Jeffrey Epstein—go unnoticed?
What Turned Fury at North Carolina Muslim Neighbors to Murder
By Michael Daly
Parking dispute or hatred of Muslims, we still don’t know what motivated the slaying of three young people in Chapel Hill. But do we know that without a gun, they’d still be alive.
A Muslim Oversees Our Spies. Get Over It.
By Tim Mak
He’s a rapper, a cop, a congressman and, yes, a Muslim. Welcome to America, where such things are possible.
Will Smith: I Was ‘Broken’ by ‘After Earth’ Flop
By Jen Yamato
After a colossal bomb packed with subliminal Scientology teachings and tabloid rumors that there's trouble in marital paradise, can Mr. July con his way back to the box office?
Kayla Mueller: The Best of America
The 26-year-old aid worker taken by ISIS left Arizona to help a people suffering through civil war. Now, her courage should remind us of all the good we’re still capable of.
White House Stalled ISIS Rescue. Foley, Sotloff, and Mueller Died.
By Jamie Dettmer and Shane Harris
The U.S. did not think British intelligence was good enough to act on and waited a month to launch a mission to rescue ISIS's hostages. By then it was too late.