Gothic Castle Mark Zuckerberg Just Bought Has a Gruesome Past

Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg’s new house has a spooky past. The billionaire’s new Gothic 1830s Strancally Castle in County Waterford, Ireland, is the latest property acquisition by him and his wife, Priscilla Chan. The 440-acre property sits just under three miles from the site of an original 12th-century castle, with today’s building built for former Member of Parliament John Keily. But its predecessor has a dark past. Author William Howitt wrote in his book Homes and Haunts of the Most Eminent British Poets, first published in 1847, that a “murderous device” had once been used in the original castle. “The unwary, when decoyed within the castle, were tied hand and foot, and hung down the murder-hole,” he wrote. “The rapid river hurried by, and soon carried away their gasping shrieks, and the dead told no tales.” Zuckerberg’s spokesperson told the BBC: “Mark and his family are excited to continue caring for this historic home and look forward to spending time in Ireland, where Meta maintains its international headquarters.” The price is not known, but the Irish Times estimates the deal could have closed for between $23-$35 million.

Dave Bautista is officially taking over as the titular role in God of War after the new series’ original lead actor suffered an on-set injury. Bautista, 57, was confirmed to be playing the role of Kratos in the upcoming Amazon Prime Video series based on the popular video game franchise, according to Variety. The series had previously announced in January that actor Ryan Hurst was cast in the lead role. However, Hurst suffered a torn bicep that required surgery during filming, which would have delayed production into 2027. Amazon and Sony, which are co-producing the series, announced shortly afterward that they were recasting Kratos. Bautista, a retired pro wrestler, is an ideal pick for the role, as the character in the games boasts an impressively muscular build. The series will focus on the story told in the two latest games of the God of War franchise. It will follow Kratos as he cares for his 10-year-old son Atreus (played by Callum Vinson) while they defend themselves against Norse gods such as Odin and Baldur.

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Fall is officially around the corner, which means shorter days, cooler weather, and criminally overrated pumpkin spice everything is on the agenda in the coming month. As we inch closer to the dreaded end of daylight saving time and the beginning of SAD season (or “cuffing season,” if you’re a glass-half-full person), the good news is that it’s the perfect time to cozy up with a new blanket. Lola Blankets are indisputably the best on the market—they’re designed from the softest faux fur fabric we’ve ever felt and are actually machine-washable. Right now, the brand is offering a very generous 50 percent-off deal to help us quell our post-summer blues during its annual Christmas in August sale.

Lola Blanket Christmas in August Sale

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In addition to this unheard-of deal, the brand is also offering free shipping on orders over $250 and a $50 gift card with every order. It’s a great opportunity to treat yourself and save one for holiday gifting... or not. If you’re new to Lola Blankets, you cannot go wrong with the Original Lola, but we also love the XL size (it fits over a queen-size bed) and the weighted versions. Either way, it’s one of (if not *the*) biggest deals of the year, so if you’re looking for a luxury blanket for snuggle season, now’s the time to treat yourself. Use the code AUG50 at checkout to unlock the savings.

A car salesman has been declared a Belgian prince after the king’s brother identified him as his secret son. King Philippe’s younger brother, 63-year-old Prince Laurent, identified the 26-year-old Clément Vandenkerckhove as his son about six months ago, with details reported Wednesday. The new prince has equal rights to his father’s private estate alongside his three siblings: half-sister Princess Louise, 20, half-brothers Prince Nicolas, 20, and Prince Aymeric, 19. Vandenkerckhove has embraced the new title but will not receive a royal allowance, take on royal duties, or join the line of succession to the Belgian throne. He remains undecided on whether he will take on Laurent’s Saxe-Coburg family name. “I am proud of the name Vandenkerckhove,” the young prince said. “If I were to sacrifice that family name, it would be a betrayal of everything my mother has done for me.” Vandenkerckhove, raised by his Belgian singer and socialite mother, Wendy Van Wanten, confirmed his royal status in a TV documentary on Belgian network VTM last September.

The New York Times lost its first defamation suit in more than 50 years when a jury found it had defamed a former college basketball star. In 2023, the Times wrongly reported that Kai Spears, who played for the University of Alabama men’s basketball team, was in a car with teammates at the scene of a shooting where a 23-year-old mother died. A teammate was charged with murder and awaits trial. The reporter relied on a single anonymous source to place Spears at the scene. After publication, Spears’ father denied his son was present, and the article was updated with his denials. However, two months later, Spears sued, complaining that he would forever be linked with a murder. The article was corrected, and the reporter even apologized to Spears in court. On Thursday, the jury awarded Spears $9.25 million in damages. This followed a nine-day trial in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. Spears’ lawyer told the jury in his closing argument that they had “the opportunity today to change the way journalism works at The New York Times.” “There was a mistake, an honest mistake,” Michael Bell, a lawyer for the paper, argued. After the verdict, Spears posted a Bible verse from James 1‬:‭17‬ on Instagram: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

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If you’re planning to tune into the U.S. Open this year, there’s a new way to get in on the action (even if your knowledge of tennis begins and ends with Challengers). Polymarket, the popular prediction-market platform, increasingly allows users to trade on the outcomes of real-world events, ranging from politics and pop culture to sports.

Unlike a traditional sportsbook, Polymarket works more like a financial market: Users buy and sell contracts based on whether they think a particular outcome will happen, with prices fluctuating as the market’s collective expectations change. This means you can put your tennis predictions to the test while seeing what thousands of other traders think will happen in real time.

The timing is especially fitting for this year’s U.S. Open. Polymarket recently became the ATP Tour’s official prediction-market partner, expanding its presence in professional tennis and integrating real-time prediction markets with live match coverage.

With the 2026 U.S. Open kicking off Aug. 23 and the main singles draw beginning Aug. 30, users can follow the action (and the market’s shifting predictions) as some of the biggest names in tennis compete for the final Grand Slam title of the year.

Pizza Hut is dropping “Pizza” from its name as the chain begins a temporary football-themed makeover. The franchise is going simply by “HUT” to mark the start of football season, covering the word “Pizza” on some restaurant signs with a large red football banner. The company noted that “hut” has been called before football snaps for generations, adding that now “it’s calling your next order.” The company said in a social media post the temporary rebrand will be in place for the next 25 weeks. The transformation comes as the parent company Yum! Brands is preparing to sell the chain in a deal worth $2.7 billion. Private equity firm LongRange Capital agreed to acquire Pizza Hut’s operations outside mainland China for about $1.5 billion, while Yum China will buy the Chinese business for $1.2 billion. Pizza Hut Global CEO Aaron Powell announced on Friday that he will leave the company after the LongRange deal closes, despite being asked to remain in the role. “I’ve always believed in leaving things better than you found them—and this business is in a better state,” Powell wrote on LinkedIn. Pizza Hut is not the first major food chain to shorten an iconic name. Kentucky Fried Chicken became KFC in 1991 to distance itself from negative health connotations, while Dunkin’ Donuts officially became Dunkin’ in 2019. The Daily Beast has reached out to ‘Hut’ for comment.

Fox & Friends host Lawrence Jones has come clean about why he’s been suddenly and unexpectedly absent from the network. Jones was forced to take an unscheduled break from his on-air duties after complications from eye surgery, he wrote in a post to X on Thursday. “You may have noticed my recent absence,” Jones began, explaining his eye surgery earlier in the year was caused by a childhood sports injury and then saying he had experienced another retina detachment, “which is common after the initial tear,” he wrote. “Yesterday, I underwent surgery again with the best care team... I’m optimistic that I’ll be back soon!” Jones took leave in January for the initial surgery on his eye, after the surprise discovery of the problem in December. Jones had a retinal detachment—when the retina separates from supportive tissue—which causes painless symptoms including flashes of light, spots in your vision, blurred vision, and darkening of peripheral vision, and can lead to blindness if untreated. He said he doesn’t know what incident in his childhood caused the condition.

Scandal-hit companies tuned into a virtual Homeland Security briefing on a $ 2.3 billion Trump administration contract for its controversial self-deportation scheme, according to an investigation by PunchUp, the Daily Beast’s sister Substack. Data-mining giant Palantir, private prisons group GEO Group, and chartered deportation carrier CSI Aviation led the pack on last week’s call about the second iteration of Project Homecoming. Round one saw former Secretary Kristi Noem, 54, hand $915 million to Salus Worldwide Solutions in May 2025, a company just two years old at the time which has since faced corruption allegations over how it won that award. Draft terms for the new contract require the winning bidder, which is “unlikely” to be Salus, to pay unaccompanied migrant children who “choose” to leave the country. The winning firm will also track down eligible participants through commercial software normally used by bounty hunters and lead teams to find migrants at more than 35 detention sites nationwide.

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.

Nancy Kissinger, wife of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, has died at 92. The philanthropist and socialite died on Thursday at her home in South Kent, Connecticut, according to the New York Times. Her death was announced by her family. Henry Kissinger died in 2023, also at home, at 100. She was born Nancy Maginnes in Manhattan in 1934 and raised in White Plains, New York. Prior to marrying Kissinger in 1974, she worked as an aide to New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller. She was Kissinger’s researcher while he worked at Harvard University, and later became a foreign policy specialist for Rockefeller’s Commission on Critical Choices for Americans. She traveled widely with her husband on diplomatic missions. After Kissinger stepped down from Secretary of State in 1977, the couple became a fixture at Washington state dinners, embassy parties and Republican White House receptions. The Times noted the “ash-blond, chain-smoking” Mrs. Kissinger was nearly six feet tall, and her husband was 5-foot-8, “but friends said that they were a good match, intellectually and emotionally, and described them as inseparable.” In 1982, when Ellen Kaplan, a follower of extreme cult leader Lyndon LaRouche, insulted both Kissingers at Newark International Airport, witnesses said Nancy grabbed the heckler by the throat and threatened to throttle her. The Kissingers had no children. She is survived by two stepchildren, Elizabeth Vandermark and David Kissinger, and five step-grandchildren.

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When it comes to liver-focused supplements, many of us assume they’re only for recovering from a hangover or for people who drink heavily (or at least frequently). But alcohol is just one small part of the equation. Your liver is responsible for hundreds of essential functions, including filtering waste products from the blood, processing nutrients, supporting metabolism, and producing bile. This digestive fluid helps break down fats and absorb fat-soluble vitamins. When bile secretion or liver function is less than optimal, digestion can suffer, possibly contributing to symptoms like bloating, gastrointestinal discomfort, and sluggishness.

In other words, whether you drink alcohol or not, your liver could probably use a little extra TLC—especially if you’re dealing with persistent digestive issues such as bloating, irregularity, or stomach discomfort. Vitamin Shoppe is celebrating Wellness Month this August, with a slew of products formulated to support your liver (along with digestion and metabolism). Still, our favorite is Dose For Your Liver’s liquid supplement.

Dose for Your Liver Daily Shot

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Dose For Your Liver has earned the nickname “liquid gold” for good reason. The daily wellness shot is formulated with science-backed ingredients traditionally associated with liver health, including turmeric, milk thistle, dandelion, and ginger. The formula also contains bioflavonoids and other plant compounds designed to support healthy liver function, digestion, and metabolism. Plus, it actually tastes good. The bright, citrusy flavor reminds me of the SunnyD “orange drink” I grew up on, minus the artificial ingredients and sugar overload. Instead, you’re getting a concentrated mixture of botanicals with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that may help support the body’s natural detoxification processes and general digestive health.

If you’re looking to give your liver (and, by extension, your digestive system) a little extra support without adding yet another capsule to your supplement routine, Dose For Your Liver offers a convenient way to combine several popular wellness ingredients into one surprisingly delicious daily shot. Grab a bottle (or two) on sale at The Vitamin Shoppe this month.

Two teenagers who were left dangling upside down on a malfunctioning amusement park ride have been awarded a combined $550,000. Xitlali Gomez-Salais and Evie Yannotta were 13 and 14 when they became trapped with 26 other riders on the AtmosFEAR pendulum ride at Oaks Amusement Park in Portland in June 2024. The ride malfunctioned during its 360-degree cycle, leaving passengers suspended about 100 feet in the air for 25 minutes. A jury awarded the girls, both now 16, $275,000 each Wednesday after they sued the park and ride manufacturer Zamperla for $2 million. “Just the highest terror I ever felt,” Yannotta testified. “There’s nothing like it ever in my life,” Gomez-Salais told jurors, saying she feared dying in front of her friends below. “I didn’t want people to see me die,” she said. Both teens have suffered anxiety and post-traumatic stress since the incident, according to their lawsuits. “We are grateful that all of the riders are safe, and this incident is now resolved,” a park spokesperson told KATU.

Follow Tom Sykes’ royal reporting at The Royalist on Substack, and get exclusive insight on everything going down behind the palace gates.

One constituency of professionals is tracking Harry and Meghan’s blockbuster return to the United Kingdom differently from the rest of us: the accountants. Experts in the field believe the timeline of their departure and return is—from a U.K. tax perspective—perfect, if the goal was to minimize tax liabilities. As Nimesh Shah, chief executive of the London tax and advisory firm Blick Rothenberg, wrote on X: “Good to see Harry and Meghan achieve six full tax years of non-UK residency to manage the ‘temporary non-resident’ rules for capital gains tax... the timing of their move back to the U.K. is immaculate.” The U.K. has a “temporary non-residence” rule—if you leave the country and come back within five years, you never really left for tax purposes as far as “capital gains” are concerned. But if you stay out for over five years (which in practice means six complete tax years) you’re golden. Now look at the Sussex calendar: Having left just before the 2020 U.K. tax year wrapped up, they’ve now been non-resident for—surprise!—the requisite six full tax years. Say what you like about their staff management skills, somebody in Montecito seems to have a very good accountant.

Want more royal gossip, scoops and scandal? Follow all Tom Sykes’ reporting at The Royalist on Substack or listen to The Royalist podcast on YouTube.