“We bought a ferry! The windowless van of the sea.”
Once again, Saturday Night Live is making jokes about Pete Davidson’s life outside of the show, but this time the joke is about a recent purchase he made with one of his costars.
It happened during this week’s “Weekend Update,” when anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che were joined by “Guy Who Just Bought a Boat” (Alex Moffat).
NBC
“Guy Who Just Bought a Boat” comes on “Update” to talk about any particular topic, but ends up making terrible, awful, cringey sex jokes that frequently reference his small penis and lacking sexual ability. I promise it’s funny.
It was quickly pointed out that Colin himself is a new boat owner, leading him to invite “Guy Who Just Bought a Ferry” on stage…Pete Davidson, the co-owner of said boat.
Pete quickly made a joke about their co-investor, who he guarantees is a real person.
Then they talked about the sheer size of the ferry, which is when things started to go downhill for Pete.
NBC
Pete was giggling from the moment he came out, but the man really lost it at “Mine’s like a tuna can.”
Colin and “Guy” kept talking about the ferry while Pete happily giggled next to them, and no, he never recovered his composure. Even Colin lost it a little bit!
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Pete could barely squeak out his last line, it was very funny.
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Colin Jost and Pete Davidson kind of had no choice on last night’s Saturday Night Live but to address that whole thing from three days ago where they bought a defunct Staten Island ferry alongside a man named Paul Italia. During “Weekend Update,” Jost (fittingly) brought out Alex Moffat’s “Guy Who Just Bought a Boat,” who had a bit of time to be his usual gross self before the conversation shifted to Jost and Davidson’s recent maritime acquisition. “It’s very exciting,” Jost noted. “We thought the whole thing through.” Though the bit stretches on for about three minutes, the pair manages to clear up absolutely nothing about their bizarre purchase. Davidson, who breaks almost immediately, at least confirms that Paul Italia “is the name of a real person and not a mafia-themed wrestler.” Watch the full bit above.
For about 24 hours, it was a New York City mystery: Who would pay more than $280,000 for a hulking, orange 57-year-old Staten Island Ferry boat whose engines don’t work?
The answer turned out to be a group of investors that includes two of the most famous natives of the island, Pete Davidson and Colin Jost, cast members of “Saturday Night Live.”
Mr. Davidson and Mr. Jost joined a consortium of New Yorkers who placed the winning bid in an auction that ended on Wednesday, according to Paul Italia, a comedy club owner who did the bidding for the group. A spokeswoman for NBC, the network that broadcasts “S.N.L.,” also confirmed the involvement of the two performers.
“Yes, Pete Davidson and Colin Jost are involved,” said Mr. Italia, who founded The Stand, a comedy club in Manhattan. “Yes, we bought the boat and we have a general idea of our dream of what we want to do.”
Mr. Italia said they were considering turning the ferry into “an arts and entertainment venue” but added that it was too soon to know what was feasible. “The reality is that everyone who came together on this has a sincere motive to see the right thing happen, to restore a piece of New York,” he said.
Mr. Italia described the buyers as a group of like-minded New York City natives who wanted to save the old boat from being scrapped. He said Mr. Davidson and Mr. Jost got involved because the ferry, known as the John F. Kennedy, “had a special place in their hearts as Staten Island natives.”
Mr. Davidson, who still lives on Staten Island, has made fun of his roots on “Saturday Night Live,” noting the borough’s former gargantuan garbage dump and its abundance of pizzerias and bagel shops.
He starred in “The King of Staten Island,” a 2020 movie in which his character spends his days smoking marijuana and dreaming of becoming a tattoo artist. And lately, he has thrilled residents of the borough by bringing his even-more-famous girlfriend, Kim Kardashian, to visit.
Mr. Jost wrote in his 2020 memoir, “A Very Punchable Face,” that his commute to high school in Manhattan involved riding the ferry every weekday. Mr. Jost, who is married to the actress Scarlett Johansson, no longer lives on Staten Island.
Among the other investors in the boat is Ron Castellano, who described himself as an architect, developer and contractor. Mr. Castellano said the Kennedy had significant historic value as the last of an old style of ferries. The purchasers of the ferry were first reported by Vulture.
The Kennedy, which was commissioned in 1965, was by far the oldest boat in the city’s fleet when it was retired in August, said Vincent Barone, a spokesman for the city’s Department of Transportation.
Despite its age, the Kennedy was popular with riders because it had broad promenades on its decks that provided space for riding in the open air and made it easy for passengers to board and disembark.
The city’s Department of Citywide Administrative Services put the ferry up for auction this month, seeking an initial bid of $250,000. After it was lowered to $125,000, Mr. Italia started bidding. But, he said, each of his bids was quickly countered by an undisclosed rival.
The top bids hovered around $140,000 until the Wednesday evening deadline approached. At the last minute, Mr. Italia’s rival bid $280,000, triggering a brief extension during which Mr. Italia placed the winning bid: $280,100.
“He certainly made us spend more money than we wanted to,” Mr. Italia said of the unidentified rival.
But the purchase price is the least of the buyers’ concerns now, he said. The auction website made clear that the boat was being sold “as is” and “where is,’’ which is at the St. George Ferry Terminal along the north shore of Staten Island.
The buyers have about two weeks to move the boat, which is 277 feet long, 69 feet wide and weighs more than 2,100 tons.
Mr. Italia said it would take two tugboats to tow the Kennedy and a lot of money to store it while its ultimate destination is determined. In the meantime, he said, the owners will seek help from the city and the state.
“We’re going to need a tremendous amount of support to get this done,” he said. “It’s a heavy lift.”
Colin Kaepernick compares the NFL’s draft process to a slave auction in his new Netflix special — with black “athletes” in shackles and their white “owners” whipping them.
The former NFL player uses the analogy in his drama series “Colin in Black & White” to depict the league’s draft process and training camp.
“What they don’t want you to understand is what’s being established is a power dynamic,” says Kaepernick, a former quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers.
“Before they put you on the field, teams poke, prod and examine you searching for any defect that might affect your performance. No boundary respect. No dignity left intact.”
The Netflix special then cuts to a line of black actors playing NFL prospects who morph into slaves at an auction with shackles on them. In the scene, white slave owners bid on the men and whip them.
“Look at this here! Come on! Who wants this?” the auctioneer shouts.
Critics challenged the slavery comparison on social media.
The Netflix special features actors playing NFL prospects who morph into slaves at an auction. Ser Baffo/Netflix
“How dare @Kaepernick7 compare the evil endured by so many of our ancestors to a bunch of millionaires who CHOSE to play game,” wrote Utah GOP Rep. Burgess Owens, a former NFL player, on Twitter.
Radio host Clay Travis added, “Colin Kaepernick compares the NFL combine, which allows all players of all races a voluntary chance to become multi-millionaires, to slavery.
“Anyone still defending this imbecile lacks a functional brain.”
The NFL combine is held every year to evaluate draft prospects.Courtesy of Netflix
Netflix released the limited series Friday, billing the special as recounting Kapernick’s “formative years navigating race, class and culture while aspiring for greatness.”
Kaepernick created controversy in 2016 by kneeling during the national anthem at games to protest police violence and racism in the US. He left the NFL that same year and has not been signed with a team since.
Netflix released the limited series on Oct. 29.Courtesy of Netflix
Colin Jost has surpassed Seth Meyers as the Saturday Night Live star who has appeared most on SNL’s Weekend Update.
Jost has hosted the iconic desk sketch on 155 episodes since he first took the chair in 2014.
Tonight, he ribbed Kanye West, Facebook, Goop and Bridgerton, while Jason Sudeikis popped by to recreate his classic Devil character.
Jost began hosting Weekend Update as co-anchor alongside Cecily Strong during season 39, taking over from Meyers, who left SNL to host Late Night. For the second half of season 39, he hosted with Strong, but starting in fall 2014, he began hosting it with Michael Che.
Jost began on SNL as a writer in season 31 before becoming co-head writer in season 38 alongside Meyers.
Meyers joined the cast of SNL in 2001 and became co-head writer in 2006 alongside Tina Fey and Andrew Steele, becoming co-anchor of Weekend Update in 2006 alongside Amy Poehler. He hosted Weekend Update alone between 2008, when Poehler left, before co-anchoring with Strong for half a season in 2013.
Personalities on Fox News have been slammed for using the death of former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell from complications of COVID-19 to question the effectiveness of coronavirus vaccines.
Tucker Carlson, Will Cain and John Roberts each faced backlash for their coverage. Powell, 84, was fully vaccinated but also had multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that attacks the immune system, making him more susceptible to the effects of the virus.
Cain used the news of Powell’s death to rail against President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandates, claim there’d be calls for “more truth from our government” and note that fully vaccinated people are being hospitalized and dying from COVID-19, even though the vast majority of victims now are unvaccinated.
Roberts deleted a widely criticized tweet saying Powell’s death “raises new questions” about the shots, replacing it with a thread saying he was not anti-vaccine.
Carlson, meanwhile, suggested Americans are “being lied to” about the vaccines. He did not appear to reference Powell’s other health issues until the end of his broadcast.
CNN’s Don Lemon ripped Fox News for its response.
“The man had just died and this guy couldn’t wait to make it into a fight about vaccine mandates. It is disgraceful,” he said of Cain.
Others agreed:
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
Fatal breakthrough Covid-19 infections among people who have been fully vaccinated, like former Secretary of State Colin Powell, are rare. But experts say such deaths show the need for society as a whole to protect its most vulnerable: those of advanced age and those with compromised immune systems.
Powell, who died Monday of Covid complications, met both criteria. The trailblazing public servant was 84 years old and had multiple myeloma, a blood cancer in which malignant plasma cells overtake the space usually reserved for normal plasma cells that fight off infections.
His cancer may have left him particularly susceptible: Not only does multiple myeloma rob the body of its ability to resist infections, but it also can interfere with a vaccine’s efficacy. Research on multiple myeloma patients published in the journal Nature in July found that only 45 percent developed an “adequate response” to Covid mRNA vaccines.
“Covid has been our worst nightmare,” said Dr. Paul Richardson, the clinical program leader and director of clinical research at the Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
“Patients are not only vulnerable to being infected in the first place even despite vaccination, but when they become infected, their immune system is so dysfunctional that they get the worst of both worlds,” he said.
Compared to the number of deaths among unvaccinated people across the U.S., which tops more than 722,000, breakthrough deaths are just a sliver. Among the more than 187 million people who have been fully vaccinated across the U.S., there have been 7,178 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with 85 percent of the deaths occurring in people 65 and older.
Age has always been a contributing factor to the severity of Covid and many other infections, said Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and the medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
“As we get older, our physical cells become less robust. They become more frail, and that can also happen to our immune systems,” he said. “If you add on to that, of course, the underlying illness, that’s a double blow to the immune system.”
The hope, Schaffner said, is that Covid booster shots among those ages 65 and up will increase the number of antibodies they have, providing longer protection. At the moment, booster shots are available for people 65 and older and others at high risk who received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine; boosters for other 65-and-up vaccine recipients are expected to be approved soon.
It was not clear whether Powell had had a booster shot. The experts said he most likely would have qualified for the additional dose of the vaccine, which the Food and Drug Administration authorized for use in certain immunocompromised people in August.
‘We have a responsibility’
Powell’s death reflects why the onus is on everyone to do their part to end the pandemic, said Dr. Khalilah Gates, an associate professor in pulmonary and critical care at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
“When we talk about vaccinations, it’s not just about us as individuals. It’s about those of us in our communities and in our society who are more vulnerable: That’s our elderly and our children,” she said, referring to children under 12 for whom the vaccines have not yet been authorized. “We have a responsibility to protect those who can’t protect themselves.”
Schaffner said the function of vaccines is not only to protect the individual but also to create a “cocoon of protection” around viruses so they can’t find vulnerable people.
Not getting vaccinated “is akin to someone coming to a traffic light and driving through the red light,” he said, adding, “Yes, they assume a certain degree of risk to themselves, but they put others at risk.”
Powell’s death should not dissuade people from getting vaccinated if they haven’t already, Schaffner said, adding that more than 90 percent of people admitted for Covid at his hospital are unvaccinated.
“The vaccines are not perfect,” he said. “But the vaccine shifts the odds in your favor for severe disease into being protected against severe disease.”
Elizabeth Chuck is a reporter for NBC News who focuses on health and mental health, particularly issues that affect women and children.
Washington — Former Secretary of State Colin Powell died Monday morning due to complications from COVID-19, his family announced, amid an ongoing battle with cancer. He was 84.
Powell, the first Black secretary of state and the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was fully vaccinated, his family said in a post on his Facebook page. But Powell had battled various other health ailments, and had been treated for multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer that affects white blood cells and can severely compromise the immune system. His wife, Alma, also had a breakthrough case of COVID-19, but responded to treatment.
“We want to thank the medical staff at Walter Reed National Medical Center for their caring treatment,” the Powell family wrote. “We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather and a great American.”
President Biden ordered flags flown at half-staff until October 22 in remembrance of Powell, calling him “a patriot of unmatched honor and dignity.”
Colin Powell dies of complications from COVID…
02:08
“As a senator, I worked closely with him when he served as National Security Advisor, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and as Secretary of State. Over our many years working together — even in disagreement — Colin was always someone who gave you his best and treated you with respect,” the president said in a statement.
“Colin embodied the highest ideals of both warrior and diplomat. He was committed to our nation’s strength and security above all,” Mr. Biden added. “Time and again, he put country before self, before party, before all else — in uniform and out — and it earned him the universal respect of the American people.”
During an event for teachers at the White House Monday, Mr. Biden said people should “absolutely” still get vaccinated.
“Well, by the way, he had serious underlying conditions, as you know,” he said. “That’s the problem. It wasn’t that the vaccinations aren’t good. He had two very serious underlying conditions and unfortunately, it didn’t work. God love him.”
In this image released on May 28, 2021, General Colin Powell stands on stage during the Capital Concerts’ “National Memorial Day Concert” in Washington, D.C.
Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Capital Concerts
Born April 5, 1937, in Harlem, New York, to Jamaican immigrants, Powell was a ground-breaking figure in Washington and garnered respect from both sides of the aisle.
Powell joined the U.S. Army after graduating from college in 1958. Across his 35-year military career, he served two tours in Vietnam and was stationed in West Germany and South Korea.
He would go on to serve in top roles under four presidents, first as national security adviser to President Ronald Reagan, and then as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President George H.W. Bush and President Bill Clinton, as the first African-American to hold the role. Powell then was tapped by President George W. Bush as secretary of state.
Powell led the State Department during the September 11, 2001, terror attacks and favored taking military action against al Qaeda. He also supported the invasion of Iraq and appeared before the United Nations to present evidence that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. The chief justification for the war in Iraq, however, rested on bad intelligence.
Powell would go on to call his 2003 speech before the United Nations describing the weapons program in Iraq a “blot” on his record.
While Powell served primarily Republican presidents and was floated as a possible candidate himself, he drifted away from the GOP in his later years. The retired four-star general endorsed former President Barack Obama in 2008 over Republican nominee Senator John McCain, and again in 2012. He backed Hillary Clinton in 2016, and supported Mr. Biden over former President Donald Trump in 2020, and said Mr. Trump “lies all the time” and was not an “effective president.”
In a statement Monday, Mr. Bush praised Powell as a “great public servant” whose counsel and experience was relied upon by presidents of both parties, and said he and former first lady Laura Bush are “deeply saddened” by his death.
“He was such a favorite of presidents that he earned the Presidential Medal of Freedom — twice. He was highly respected at home and abroad. And most important, Colin was a family man and a friend,” Mr. Bush said. “Laura and I send Alma and their children our sincere condolences as they remember the life of a great man.”
In a statement of his own, Mr. Obama recalled Powell’s endorsement of his candidacy in 2008, noting that he “took the opportunity to get to the heart of the matter in a way only he could.” Appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press” just weeks before the 2008 election, Powell addressed conspiracy theories about Mr. Obama’s faith head on.
“It is permitted to be said such things as, ‘Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim.’ Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he’s a Christian. He’s always been a Christian,” Powell said. “But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer is no, that’s not America. Is there something wrong with some 7-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, ‘He’s a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists.’ This is not the way we should be doing it in America.”
Former Vice President Dick Cheney, who was secretary of defense in 1991 when he and Powell oversaw the expulsion of Iraqi troops from Kuwait during the first Gulf War, said he was “deeply saddened to learn that America has lost a leader and statesman.”
“Working with him during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, I saw first-hand General Powell’s dedication to the United States and his commitment to the brave and selfless men and women who serve our country in uniform,” Cheney said in a statement. “Colin was a trailblazer and role model for so many: the son of immigrants who rose to become National Security Advisor, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and Secretary of State.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken paid tribute to Powell in remarks from the State Department, praising him for not only a “legendary” military career, but for being an “exceptional diplomat” who helped modernize the State Department and bolster its resources.
“He was a man of ideas, but he wasn’t ideological. He was constantly listening, learning, adapting. He could admit mistakes. It was just another example of his integrity,” Blinken said, adding he is a “huge admirer” of Powell.
Blinken said he spent several hours with Powell on July 4, during which his “depth of knowledge about world events” and love for the State Department were clear.
“Colin Powell dedicated his extraordinary life to public service because he never stopped believing in America,” he said. “And we believe in America in no small part because it helped produce someone like Colin Powell.”
In France, diplomats mourned the passing of Powell, despite the differences that the U.S. and France had when the Iraq invasion took place. Secretary General of the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs François Delattre told CBS News that Powell was admired in France.
“We think of him as a respected military leader and a statesman,” Delattre said.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told reporters he lost a “tremendous personal friend and mentor,” and said it’s “not possible to replace a Colin Powell.”
“The world lost one of the greatest leaders that we have ever witnessed,” Austin said, adding Powell always provided counsel to him on difficult issues. “I feel as though I have a hole in my heart.”
David Martin, Jenna Gibson and Pam Falk contributed to this report.
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Colin Kaepernick should have been cut for kneeling during the national anthem, according to a newly uncovered email exchange between former Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden and ex-GM Bruce Allen of the Washington Football Team.
“They suspend people for taking amino acids, they should cut this f**k,” Gruden wrote in an email to Allen, according to Yahoo Sports.
Kaepernick has not played in the National Football League since 2017, when he opted for free agency. When Kaepernick was not re-signed, he filed a grievance against the NFL, alleging a conspiracy by the owners. The lawsuit was eventually settled.
Starting in 2016, Kaepernick began kneeling for the national anthem before games, allegedly to protest police brutality and racial injustice. Players on other teams picked up on his lead, eventually prompting the NFL to adopt a different approach to player relations and become more woke. That included messages on its helmet and in the end zone, having the so-called “Black National Anthem” performed before games, and donating a large sum of money to various Black causes.
Kaepernick is still training each day, hoping for yet another shot in the league.
Gruden resigned earlier this week as Raiders coach after many emails revealed racist, misogynistic, and anti-gay language.
The NFL is under pressure to release more information from its investigation into the Washington Football Team culture.
The former Washington Football Team (WFT) employees sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell earlier this year that asked him to make the league’s investigative reports findings public.
Colin Jost and Scarlett Johannson welcomed their son, named Cosmo, in August but their unique name choice took a minute for Jost’s family to “get.”
On Thursday, the “Saturday Night Live” star appeared on “The Late Show with Seth Meyers” and joked about how his mom “was slightly thrown by it.”
“My mom, I would say… didn’t quite understand it. I don’t know if she thought it was kind of like a hippie thing,” he recalled.
Jost admitted even after they finalized the name in the hospital, his mom was still trying to convince them to change it.
SCARLETT JOHANSSON GIVES BIRTH TO FIRST CHILD WITH COLIN JOST
“She would call us after three or four days, she’d be like, ‘Cosmo,'” Jost said. “And she’d be like, ‘And now, is it final? Like, did you submit the birth certificate?’ And we’re like, ‘Oh, yeah, we did that at the hospital.’ She was like ‘OK, interesting. Because I was reading that there’s also a name Cosimo with an ‘I,’ so that could also be an option. Maybe Cosimo, that’s his real name, but then you can call him still Cosmo.'”
Actress Scarlett Johansson and comedian Colin Jost welcomed their son, Cosmo, in August. (ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images)
Jost said after speaking with some neighborhood friends back on Staten Island, his mom learned there were a lot more Cosmos out there.
“Eventually, she started meeting various members of the Italian community who have a lot of Cosmo relatives,” he laughed. “And so then she would call, and she would say, ‘I met someone—they said their uncle’s name is Cosmo. So it is OK.'”
SCARLETT JOHANSSON SAYS ‘BLACK WIDOW’ IS A FILM ABOUT ‘SELF FORGIVENESS’
Cosmo is Jost’s first child and the Marvel star’s second. She also shares her daughter Rose, 7, with her ex-husband Romain Dauriac.
Jost confirmed Cosmo’s birth in a lighthearted post on social media at the time. He wrote, “Ok ok we had a baby. His name is Cosmo. We love him very much.”
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The stand-up comedian and the actress tied the knot last year in an “intimate ceremony” in October. They became engaged in May 2019 after two years of dating.
