Rob Williams

"I went to the Cirque du Soleil tribute to the Beatles and I was sitting in the second row, bawling. I tried not to be vocal, but I was so blown away when I saw that hologram of the four Beatles walking onstage, that just took me. The reality of the thing brought me to my knees . . . that just wiped me out. "I love all the songs that they've done. I started finding my voice around the time the Beatles started playing and I bought everything they recorded. I learned all of their songs and taught them to my students in junior high school in Washington DC. When I made the transition from teaching in the classroom to entering the fray as a recording artist, I was listening to the Beatles. Everybody was listening to the Beatles. "They created a lot of discussion in the black community, particularly in the black community of music. Because during those days we had a lot of doo-wop groups and we had Chuck Berry and we had Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, and James Brown. And it seemed to me that when these guys came busting out of England, they busted out with all that influence. You could hear Chuck Berry, you could hear Otis Redding. You could hear it. It was wonderful. When I did 'Oh Darling' [on Let It Be Roberta] I thought it was a throwback. I thought 'Oh Darling' is a blues. I don't care how you look at it — it has blues (chord) changes. I didn't change any of the chords, I just sang it like it was a blues. "The Beatles wear me out, they're too talented. Their music is so important, not only because the songs are easily accessed by even the layman's ears, but also by musicians. I could hear in the melodies a brilliance like Schubert. They were so far ahead of their time. "In my life I’ve had the opportunity to cover so many beautiful, beautiful songs, with great melodies. And the Beatles have the largest collection of those songs for me. My passion [for their music] comes from the magical genius of the greatest songwriters of all time. Love, inspiration, friendship and my own life's lessons come together when I sing the songs they created." --#RobertaFlack #Roberta #Soul #Jazz #RandB #TheVoice #Grammys #HallsOfFame #TheBeatles #Songs #Original #Influence #GOAT Sources: National Post, 2012; Soul&Jazz&Funk, 2012; The Guardian, 2015; Liner notes, 'Let It Be Roberta'

A 72-year-old woman hit a $2.55 MILLION jackpot on a slot machine at an Atlantic City casino. Other players celebrated and called her a millionaire. Then security arrived, the machine displayed an error message, and the casino offered her $350 instead. – Roney Beal was a regular casino visitor from Shamong Township, New Jersey. – On February 25, 2024, she visited Bally’s Casino in Atlantic City and started playing a Wheel of Fortune slot machine. – She had already put hundreds of dollars into the machine. – Suddenly, the machine announced that she was a winner. Gold coins appeared on the screen. – The jackpot showed more than $1.27 MILLION. – But she had also hit a 2x multiplier, which brought the total to $2,555,908.70. – Another player standing nearby celebrated and told her she was a millionaire. – Beal was excited. She believed she had just won the money that could change her life. – She pressed the service button to call an attendant. – That’s when things changed. – Security personnel arrived, and the machine displayed a message reading “REEL TILT.” – Casino employees told her the machine had malfunctioned and that she had not actually won the jackpot. – An attendant then opened the machine, pushed several buttons and spun the reels again. – Beal objected to what the employee was doing. She later accused casino staff of interfering with the machine before anyone else could independently inspect it. – The casino eventually told her that her actual winnings were only around $350. – She refused to accept that as the answer and hired attorney Michael DiCroce. – Beal filed a lawsuit against Bally’s and the slot machine manufacturer, International Game Technology, seeking the jackpot she believed she had won. – Her lawyer argued that the casino should preserve the machine and its surveillance footage so independent experts could investigate what happened. – Bally’s referred questions to IGT, while IGT said it was cooperating with the investigation. – In August 2025, a federal judge ordered the lawsuit to be put on hold while New Jersey gaming regulators completed their investigation. – The judge did NOT rule that Beal had lost her case. The lawsuit was administratively terminated, not dismissed. Roney Beal went to a casino, watched a slot machine announce a $2.55 MILLION jackpot, celebrated with other players, and then watched the casino turn around and tell her she had won just $350.

Brad Pitt told Meet the Press his Katrina homes were 5 times stronger than code. 12 years later, the owners settled for $20.5M. In 2010, he hosted David Gregory in the Lower 9th Ward. His charity, Make It Right, planned 150 homes there. "We've got to make sure that these things are done right." The houses sat above the flood line. "5 times stronger than code." Affordable homes, he said, get the cheapest materials. "Do it right in the first place instead of this obsession with profit margin." The charity spent $26.8M on 109 homes. The wood rotted. In 2015, it sued the maker of its deck wood for nearly $500K. 39 homes needed new decks. In 2018, the owners sued Pitt over leaks, mold and rot. By 2022, 2 houses had been torn down. Each of 107 owners could claim $25K. The rest went to repairs. His forecast, in 2010: "I see this place as a template for the future."

.@elonmusk is one of the great disappointments of humanity! Someone with such a talent and opportunity to bring people together and is just creating mayhem in USA and supporting the wrong cause in this war……Supporting Putin killing civilians children and women…and taking away the possibility of @MFA_Ukraine to defend itself! 🇺🇸🇺🇦🇺🇸🇺🇦🇺🇸🇺🇦😔

MAGA pastor Hank Kunneman says God once sent a "high-ranking angel" to protect his ministry. And he took a picture. Wait till you see it...

.@hakeemjeffries Only you could undermine a historic night for Democrats by going on TV and saying "The American people don't want us to get even" It's never been about that. It IS about ACCOUNTABILITY and the RULE OF LAW. And your failure to understand this is DISQUALIFYING

New - 98% of the money musk spent in the midterms went to candidates who lost yesterday

A 10-year old boy wrote Virginia Foxx a letter as part of a school project. He had to write a persuasive essay and he chose tax credits for electric vehicles. The congresswoman responded by ripping him & his teacher. Last night, voters retired Rep. Foxx.

So many fantastic victories across America. Congratulations to all our amazing Democrats who never gave up. 🌊 I will say seeing Virginia Foxx losing in NC last night was the icing on the cake for me😁 #DemsUnited