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Selma Blair breaks silence, weeks after arrest for alleged assault

Selma Blair on Friday apologized following her arrest after an alleged altercation with flight attendants on a Delta flight earlier this month.

The 54-year-old actress said her lawyers advised her not to say anything because of the ongoing legal matter but added, "Not one day ever have I intended to hurt or frighten anyone a day in my life. And, so, to the people I disappointed, that I hurt, I frightened, alarmed, I am so sorry."

In the emotional Instagram video, taken in what appeared to be her home, she added that she would be taking care of her health and her son "and thinking of you all with gratitude and love."

Blair was arrested for assault and arraigned Oct. 12 on two counts of second-degree assault stemming from alleged attacks on a Port Authority police officer and a nurse following her arrival at John F. Kennedy International Airport from Los Angeles. Police had responded to a call about a "physically abusive passenger" aboard Delta Flight 938.

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Blair pleaded not guilty. The judge set bail at $20,000 cash, $60,000 bond or $60,000 partially secured bond. She's expected in court in January 2027.

"On Sunday, October 11, at approximately 11 p.m. at JFK Airport, PAPD responded to a call about a physically abusive passenger aboard Delta Airlines flight 938, which was parked at the gate after arrival from LAX," New York Port Authority officials confirmed to Fox News Digital.

"Suspect was identified as Selma Blair, a 54-year-old woman. She was taken into custody and transported to the hospital for evaluation."

According to court documents, Blair was restrained on a stretcher at the airport but freed her leg and allegedly kicked an officer in the face, neck and chest, causing substantial swelling. A nurse at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where Blair was taken, alleged that the actress kicked her in the chest while moving her.

Delta confirmed that law enforcement officials responded to an incident upon arrival at John F. Kennedy International Airport, a flight that departed Los Angeles earlier in the day.

"Delta has zero tolerance for unruly or unlawful behavior, as the safety of our customers and crew always comes first," Delta said in a statement. Sources told TMZ that Blair punched one flight attendant and bit another in the middle of the flight.

Law enforcement officials confirmed Blair was also separately served with a summons by the FBI and is facing one charge of assault.

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At the time, the New York Post reported that Blair's lawyer told the court that the actress "missed several doses of … a powerful medication that controls severe neurological symptoms."

Representatives for Blair later shared a lengthy statement with People, saying the actress "did not intend to harm anyone."

"Since Sunday night, the public account of what happened to Selma aboard a flight to New York has been built almost entirely on a police statement and a decade-old headline," the spokesperson said.

"A handful of journalists have taken the time to report on Selma as a human being rather than a headline, and we are grateful to them," the statement continued. "But fair reporting has been the exception, and in the space left by our silence, speculation has hardened into something being treated as fact. 

"We can, however, correct the record on a few points already in public circulation. Selma Blair experienced a medical emergency on the flight. There was no attempt to open the door of the aircraft. Selma did not intend to harm anyone."

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The statement also addressed rumors the actress does not in fact have multiple sclerosis, a diagnosis she went public with in 2018. The spokesperson called those rumors "outrageous," noting, "What Selma has been able to do physically in the years since is nothing short of a miracle.

"There is much more to this story than has been reported, and we ask to consider the entirety of the facts before rushing to judgment, whether in the courtroom or in the court of public opinion."

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Death row killer Christa Pike describes waking up after execution she never expected to survive

Death row inmate Christa Pike is speaking out one month after surviving Tennessee's attempt to execute her, saying she remains in constant pain and had never contemplated a life beyond the night she expected to die.

Pike, 50, described her condition in a statement dictated to her legal team and released Friday.

"One month ago on September 30, I walked into the execution chamber at Riverbend men’s prison prepared to die," Pike said. "I had made my peace."

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Pike said she thanked those who had supported her through the years and told those who were there to witness her execution that she was "leaving them in loving kindness."

"Several days later I woke up alone in a hospital confused and in pain," Pike said. "There hasn't been a moment since that night when I haven't been in pain. My body hurts. My arms hurt. My hands hurt. My throat hurts. I still struggle to speak. And the pain isn't just physical. There is pain in my mind and in my soul."

CHRISTA PIKE NOW CONSCIOUS AND TALKING AFTER SURVIVING 2 DOSES OF LETHAL INJECTION DRUG

Pike said she had never considered what her life would look like if she survived the execution.

"I had not contemplated life beyond that night, and I’m deeply hurt by the incompetence that has put so many people in this terrible position," she said. "I continue to think about my victim’s family and the terrible pain and loss they have endured."

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Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, a fellow participant in a federal Job Corps program in Knoxville.

Her statement comes two days after Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said Pike remains incarcerated under state law and signaled that her death sentence is unlikely to change.

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Pike's attorneys have called on Lee to commute her death sentence to life without parole after the failed execution.

Pike said Friday that she is recovering but remains in the infirmary at the Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center, where she has been largely isolated from other people.

CHRISTA PIKE DISCHARGED FROM HOSPITAL, RETURNED TO PRISON AFTER BOTCHED EXECUTION, ATTORNEYS SAY

"I am recovering, and I know that I am getting stronger," Pike said. "But healing is not the same as being okay."

"Since that night, I have been largely isolated in the prison’s medical ward, away from other people and the human connections that mean so much to me," she continued. "That isolation brings its own kind of pain. I spent 28 years in solitary confinement and much of what I am experiencing today is a repeat of that condition."

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Pike survived Tennessee's attempt to execute her by lethal injection on Sept. 30 after receiving two doses of pentobarbital and was rushed to a hospital.

She remained unconscious for days, and her attorneys at one point believed she was brain-dead and expected her to be taken off life support. Pike later regained consciousness and was discharged from the hospital before being returned to prison.

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Her attorneys subsequently said she was able to walk and speak in full sentences.

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Pike's survival renewed a decades-long fight over her death sentence and whether Tennessee could attempt to execute her again.

CHRISTA PIKE’S BOTCHED LETHAL INJECTION TAKES FOCUS OFF VICTIM, JEOPARDIZES EXECUTION: FORMER POLICE CHIEF

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She was 18 when she, her 17-year-old boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, and 19-year-old Shadolla Peterson were charged in Slemmer's killing. All four were participating in Job Corps at the time.

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The three took Slemmer to a secluded area on the University of Tennessee's Knoxville campus, where her throat was cut multiple times, she was struck in the head with a large piece of asphalt and a pentagram was carved into her chest.

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Pike later confessed to her role in the killing. She was convicted and sentenced to death in 1996, and the Tennessee Supreme Court later affirmed her convictions and sentence.

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Following the failed execution, Lee halted Tennessee's remaining executions for the year and ordered an independent review of what went wrong.

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Pike said Friday that she is still trying to understand why she survived.

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"I don't know why I survived that night. I don't know what comes next," she said. "Some days, finding hope is harder than others. For now, I am trying to heal, one day at a time. And I am holding on to the love and kindness of so many people who have reminded me that I am not alone."

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Unhinged judge who called Latino attorney a 'White savior' ordered to undergo psychiatric examination

A Trump-appointed judge was ordered to undergo a psychiatric examination as part of an ongoing judicial misconduct investigation after she called a Latino attorney a "White savior" who was intimidated by "Black excellence" due to his "White mediocrity" during a hearing.

U.S. District Judge Ada Brown of the Northern District of Texas, who is Black and Native American, was temporarily removed from her docket by the Fifth Circuit Judicial Council earlier this month, following a May judicial-conduct complaint filed by attorney Ezra Young, whose permission to practice before Brown had previously been revoked.

The complaint centered on Brown's rhetoric toward Young during his appearance for a show-case hearing, in which he was facing sanctions over allegations from Brown that he shared sealed court filings online. Young represented a Black law professor who sued Southern Methodist University, alleging she was denied tenure because of discrimination. He joined the case in 2022 and appeared before Brown before the judge barred him from practicing in her courtroom.

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During the April hearing, Brown railed against Young, accusing him of "bullying" the Black attorneys on the case.

"You’re the White savior, come to save all the stupid Black lawyers in Texas who need your help from New York," Brown later said, according to the transcript obtained by Bloomberg.

Brown repeatedly brought attention to Young's skin color, calling him "White presenting" and "fair-skinned" after Brown told her that he was a Latino.

"I think what’s happening here, quite candidly, is you are very intimidated for some reason, Mr. Young, with Black excellence, in light of your White mediocrity. Yeah. Right?" Brown said. "You should write that down. I mean, you — I’m — you look like a White man, right?"

She also called Young a "Chad" which she said is the male version of "Karen."

"It’s someone who calls the manager when they don’t get their way. They stomp their foot when the rules are supposed to apply to them, right?" Brown said.

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Brown also accused Young of sensationalizing the case after reading a news article that quoted his brief and referenced another law professor’s comparison of the Black professor’s treatment in the tenure dispute to a "lynching."

"And so when I read a headline — a sensationalized, very racialized headline that says, ‘it’s like I’ve been lynched,’ and it’s literally got no connection to this case, I have to ask you, Mr. Social Media, Main Character Chad, White Hero, Savior, Loves to Help Black People Be An Ally, where the lynching in this case came from?" Brown said.

The release of the April court hearing transcripts comes as Brown shared with lawyers, judges and several media outlets via email of Young's complaint and her response.

Meanwhile, in a July 28 filing responding to Young's complaint, Brown stood by her conduct.

"I do not believe my demeanor was inappropriate at any time, especially during the candid conversations about race," Brown wrote.

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"I take to heart the lessons I have learned from this experience and I ask the Chief Judge to weigh this candor, as well as my commitment to being mentored by senior judges with more experience in such situations when determining an appropriate disposition," Brown wrote. "I realize the importance of public confidence in the judiciary and take to heart my role in fostering the public’s faith in it."

President Donald Trump appointed Brown to the federal court in Texas in March 2019. She is the first Black woman to serve in that court.

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Russell Brand’s wife defends actor at rape trial while admitting his past monogamy struggles

Russell Brand’s wife, Laura Brand, took the stand Thursday as a defense witness, one day after the comedian and actor testified in his ongoing rape and sexual assault trial.

Brand, 51, is accused of three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of attempted indecent assault involving six women between 1999 and 2009. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and vehemently denies the allegations.

According to Sky News, Brand acknowledged that he had been "reckless" and used his fame to pursue sexual relationships, but insisted that the encounters were consensual. He also told the jury that consent was "fundamental, essential and necessary."

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During Laura's testimony, the mom of three — who first met her husband when she was 19, and he was 31 — opened up about the start of their relationship.

The pair began dating in 2006, but split the following year due to Brand’s difficulty with monogamy and her "inexperience."

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"When I met him, I was aware that he liked women, and I was aware toward the latter half of that year that he was engaging with other women," Laura told the court, per Sky News. "I was not interested in having a relationship with him if he was sleeping with other people. I was invested; we both had told each other we loved each other, but it was clear it was difficult for him to be monogamous."

The couple rekindled their relationship in 2015 and married in 2017. They share three children.

Laura described Brand as "caring and kind, a wonderful father to our children, and an amazing, attentive husband," adding that he has an "eye for detail I have never known before."

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"I feel very seen by him," she said. "We have a very honest, frank and clear relationship and marriage.… Our relationship has always been [about] honesty. I love him very much."

According to the outlet, there was a brief moment of tension in court when defense attorney Ian Winter asked Laura about her "view as to the truth of the allegations."

The judge quickly intervened, telling the attorney that Laura was not an expert witness. The jury was temporarily sent out of the courtroom.

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Prosecutors allege that Brand committed the offenses against six women over a 10-year period. The women have testified in court about alleged encounters at a hotel, a bar, a radio station, a workplace and Brand’s home.

Brand has denied forcing any of the women to engage in sexual activity against their will.

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In a video posted to X last year, Brand thanked his fans for messages of support, then criticized the British government and legal system before addressing the charges directly.

He explained that he "was a fool before I lived in the light of the Lord. I was a drug addict, a sex addict and an imbecile, but what I never was was a rapist. I've never engaged in nonconsensual activity. I pray that you can see that by looking in my eyes."

Brand added, "Of course, I'm now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court, and I'm incredibly grateful for that."

He wrapped up his video by assuring his followers that he'd continue to address the allegations against him.

As police explained in a press release, detectives began investigating Brand after allegations were made public by U.K. media outlets Channel 4 and The Sunday Times in September 2023.

The outlets launched a joint investigation into the allegations, resulting in a lengthy article on the Times' website, as well as an episode of Channel 4's documentary series, "Dispatches," called "Russell Brand: In Plain Sight." Both contained a number of anonymous complaints, with women accusing Brand of physical and emotional abuse and bullying, as well as some instances of sexual assault.

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Brand denied the claims shortly after they were made public, saying in a video statement shared on social media that his relationships were "always consensual."

The actor revealed that he received a few inquiries from media outlets with regard to "a litany of extremely egregious and aggressive attacks."

"Amidst this litany of astonishing, rather baroque attacks are some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute," he said.

According to Brand, the encounters occurred during a "time of promiscuity" but were "always consensual." He also noted that he "was always transparent about that then, almost too transparent, and I am being transparent about it now as well."

"To see that transparency metastasized into something criminal, that I absolutely deny, makes me question: Is there another agenda at play?" he asked.

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Fox News Digital's Janelle Ash and Stephanie Giang-Paunon contributed to this post.

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