Kim Kardashian, Robert De Niro, and Sabrina Carpenter are three of the many stars set to appear on the "Saturday Night Live" 50th anniversary show.
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"Saturday Night Live" will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a three-hour special on February 16.
Sabrina Carpenter, Robert De Niro, Pedro Pascal, and Kim Kardashian are among those set to appear.
Here's how each guest is linked to the show.
The three-hour-long, 50th-anniversary special of "Saturday Night Live" is shaping up to be a major event, featuring guests who have previously appeared on the show from Kim Kardashian to Robert De Niro.
NBC has been gearing up for the anniversary by releasing multiple documentaries about the show's history and organizing a livestream concert on February 14, featuring acts including Lady Gaga, Post Malone, and the Backstreet Boys.
The special will be the centerpiece of the celebration, airing on NBC and Peacock on February 16 from8 to 11 p.m. E.T.
On Thursday, NBC began to announce the guests, but didn't say what they would do.
Here's what to know about the guests and their history with "SNL."
Adam Driver
Adam Driver last appeared on "Saturday Night Live" in December 2023.
NBC / Will Heath / NBC via Getty Images
Adam Driver has hosted the show four times, and was nominated for an Emmy in 2020 for his guest appearance that year.
In 2016, Driver parodied Kylo Ren, his "Star Wars" villain, in a sketch where he pretended to be a maintenance worker to find out what his underlings thought of him.
Ayo Edebiri
Ayo Edebiri hosted "Saturday Night Live" for the first time last year.
NBC / Lauren Clements / NBC via Getty Images
Ayo Edebiri hosted "SNL" for the first time in February 2024, with Jennifer Lopez as the musical guest.
The actor joked about her role in "The Bear," and one of her sketches poked fun at the "Dune" popcorn bucket.
Bad Bunny
Bad Bunny pulled double duty as host and musical guest during his last appearance on "Saturday Night Live" in 2023.
Will Heath / NBC
Bad Bunny was a musical guest on the show in February 2021. Two years later, in October 2023, he hosted and was its musical guest.
Dave Chappelle
Dave Chappelle hosted an episode of "Saturday Night Live!" in January.
Leanne Diaz / NBC
Standup comedian Dave Chappelle has hosted "SNL" four times in just under a decade, and has won two Emmys for two separate appearances on the show.
Chappelle is known for his controversial monologues. During an episode he hosted in January, he joked about Sean "Diddy" Combs, the Los Angeles fires, and President Donald Trump's reelection.
John Mulaney
John Mulaney hosted an episode of "Saturday Night Live" this season.
NBC / Rosalind O'Connor / NBC via Getty Images
John Mulaney started off as a writer on "SNL," working on the show from 2008 to 2013. Since his departure, he's hosted multiple times and was nominated for an Emmy for an appearance in 2019.
In 2022, Mulaney was inducted into the show's Five-Timers Club, a tradition where a host's fifth appearance is marked by them receiving a special jacket and being in a dedicated sketch.
Kim Kardashian
Kim Kardashian hosted "Saturday Night Live" in 2021.
NBC / NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
Kim Kardashian hosted the show in October 2021. Between 2009 and 2021, cast members have also impersonated her 15 times.
Steve Martin and Martin Short
Martin Short and Steve Martin have hosted "Saturday Night Live" separately and as a duo.
NBC / Rosalind O'Connor / NBC via Getty Images
In December 2022, Steve Martin and Martin Short, the "Only Murders in The Building" costars and long-term friends, hosted the show together for the first time. But they've both appeared on the show solo too.
Short was briefly an "SNL" cast member from 1984 to 1985, and he has hosted it five times since then, including this season's Christmas episode in December 2024.
Martin has hosted the show 17 times, the second-highest in the show's history.
Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus has hosted and been a musical guest on "Saturday Night Live" multiple times.
NBC / NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
Miley Cyrus hosted the show three times in 2011, 2013, and 2015 — as well as performing as the musical guest in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2020, and 2021.
The "SNL" cast has also impersonated her nine times between 2010 and 2024.
Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney has been a musical guest on "Saturday Night Live!"
Chris Haston / NBC / NBCU Photo Bank
The former Beatle Paul McCartney has been the musical guest on "SNL" four times: in 1980, 1993, 2010, and 2012.
Paul Simon
Paul Simon has been a musical guest and host on "Satuday Night Live"
Dana Edelson / NBC / NBCU Photo Bank
Paul Simon, of Simon and Garfunkel fame, has hosted the show four times: in 1975, 1976, 1986, and 1987. He's also been the musical guest on 13 different episodes.
Pedro Pascal
Pedro Pascal made his "Saturday Night Live" debut in 2023.
NBC / Will Heath / NBC via Getty Images
Pedro Pascal's first appearance on "SNL" as the host in February 2023 won him an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.
Pascal also made a cameo appearance later that year during Bad Bunny's episode, where he reprised his role as a cast member's overprotective mom.
Peyton Manning
Peyton Manning first hosted "Saturday Night Live" almost 20 years ago.
NBC / NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
Peyton Manning, a former NFL quarterback, has hosted "SNL" once, in 2007. In 2022, Manning returned to appear on the "Weekend Update" segment to talk about his love for Netflix's "Emily in Paris."
Quinta Brunson
Quinta Brunson has hosted "Saturday night Live" once.
NBC / Will Heath / NBC via Getty Images
In April 2023, two years after creating and starring in "Abbott Elementary," Quinta Brunson made her hosting debut on "SNL." The anniversary special will be her second appearance on the show.
Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro has made multiple appearances on "Saturday Night Live" impersonating Robert Mueller, the former director of the FBI, for political sketches.
NBC / NBCU Photo Bank / NBCUniversal via Getty Images
Robert De Niro has hosted "SNL" three times but has made several more cameos since his first appearance in 1992.
In 2019, De Niro was nominated for an Emmy for playing special counsel Robert Mueller on the show.
Sabrina Carpenter
Sabrina Carpenter first appeared on "Saturday Night Live" last year as the musical guest.
NBC/Will Heath/NBC via Getty Images
Sabrina Carpenter, a Grammy winner and rising pop star, made her first appearance on "SNL" as a musical guest in May 2024, where she performed her songs "Espresso," "Feather," and "Nonsense."
Carpenter and her song "Espresso" have been referenced in other sketches, including the viral "Bridesmaid Speech" sketch from Ariana Grande's October 2024 episode.
Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson, who is married to "Saturday Night Live" cast member Colin Jost, has appeared on the show multiple times.
NBC / NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
Scarlett Johansson is married to Colin Jost, who is a resident news anchor on the show's Weekend Update segment.
The actor has hosted the series six times, and has made multiple cameos.
Johansson's last appearance was during this season's Christmas episode in December 2024.
Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks made a cameo in the Christmas episode of "Saturday Night Live" in 2024.
NBC / Will Heath / NBC via Getty Images
Tom Hanks has hosted the series ten times. In 2017, he was nominated for an Emmy for his guest appearance.
Hank's last hosted when "SNL" ran a virtual version of the show in April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Woody Harrelson
Woody Harrelson last hosted "Saturday Night Live" in 2023.
NBC / Caro Scarimbolo / NBC via Getty Images
Woody Harrelson has hosted "SNL" five times. During Harrelson's fifth hosting appearance in February 2023, he didn't get the typical Five-Timers Club induction sketch, but he did receive the robe.
Data for fiscal year 2024 shows that USAID distributed nearly $32.5 billion in aid that year, much of it to Africa or the Middle East.
On Tuesday evening, USAID staff received an email stating that starting Friday, "all USAID direct hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership, and specially designated programs." The email further said that essential staff would be notified on Thursday afternoon and that the agency would begin moving international staff back to the US within 30 days.
The US spends more on humanitarian aid than other countries by wide margins, though foreign aid spending is under 1% of the federal budget. The US provides some amount of aid to most countries, including nearly every country in Africa and Asia. Many polls have shown a majority of Americans believe the US is spending too much on foreign aid, including to Ukraine.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
In 2024, the US donated over $5.4 billion in aid to Ukraine through USAID, most of which was through macroeconomic support to assist in its war with Russia.
The agency gave over $1.23 billion to Jordan last year, most through a cash transfer to the government in exchange for Jordan cooperating with US interests, such as providing intelligence support and housing Syrian refugees.
USAID also gave slightly over $1.2 billion to Ethiopia and nearly that amount to Congo amid continued conflict, climate shocks, and food shortages.
Other countries receiving hundreds of millions of dollars from the agency included South Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria, Sudan, and Yemen.
Of the $32.5 billion in spending, about a quarter went to humanitarian purposes, while another quarter went to health and population. The agency allocated about $7 billion to governance and another $3.6 billion to administrative costs.
USAID devoted over $2.3 billion to fighting AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria globally, about $290 million to making vaccines and immunization more widespread, and nearly $188 million to international development and capital investment.
USAID, founded in 1961 during the Cold War, had three top partners in 2024: the World Bank Group, which received $4 billion; the World Food Program, which received $3.4 billion; and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, which received $2.3 billion.
About a quarter of USAID funding came from the Economic Support Fund, while $7.4 billion came from the Department of State and global health programs.
Democrats and Republicans have been split on USAID's standing. While many Democrats say cutting USAID spending could have widespread negative impacts on millions of people in war-torn or developing countries — and could cost Americans thousands of jobs — Republicans argue USAID spending is often wasteful and not in the US' best interests.
Donald Trump and Elon Musk have attacked USAID and other foreign aid programs over the last few weeks. Musk called USAID a "criminal organization" in a post on X, while Trump told reporters on Sunday that USAID is "run by a bunch of radical lunatics."
Some legal analysts and Democratic politicians have argued that only an act of Congress can shut down an independent agency like USAID. Though Trump and Musk have argued that there is fraud in USAID, some experts have pushed back on these claims.
"We don't have a fourth branch of government called Elon Musk, and that's going to become real clear," said Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin at a press conference outside the USAID headquarters on Monday. "This illegal, unconstitutional interference with congressional power is threatening lives all over the world."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio was named USAID's acting director on Monday and has advocated for foreign assistance agencies to be more transparent about how aid is being implemented. Rubio said the administration is reviewing each program to see if it makes the US safer, stronger, and more prosperous.
At the start of Trump's presidency, his administration froze billions in humanitarian aid, stating that many foreign assistance programs promote liberal agendas or cost the US unnecessarily large amounts.
Are you a federal worker who wants to share your story with a reporter? Reach out from a nonwork email tonsheidlower@businessinsider.com.
Bourla did not specify when he met with Kennedy, but said they'd talked about topics they could agree on and "not on the things that we clearly disagree, like the vaccines."
"And those are things in chronic diseases, in cardiovascular diseases, and more importantly, in cancer, which is something that is very, very high in the mind of the president. And it is also very in the mind of Mr. Kennedy," Bourla told investors.
Bourla added that he was "cautiously optimistic" about the new administration.
"I think there are a lot of opportunities that probably outweigh the risks that we have with the radical change that we will see from the Trump administration," he said.
Bourla said that he thinks the administration would not like to see "another health crisis," and is optimistic that "they will be very, very prudent with everything they try to do."
Pfizer, one of the world's biggest pharmaceutical companies, produces medicines and vaccines.
Kennedy, a former environmental justice lawyer, ran for president himself before dropping out of the race in August. He then aligned himself closely with Trump, who, after the elections, tapped him to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
Kennedy has also established a new MAHA — Make America Healthy Again — movement, which has called to remove vaccine mandates and lobby against fluoride in the water system.
Kennedy's tough stance on vaccines
Kennedy has taken a tough personal stance on vaccines.
In 2023, Kennedy vowed to slash funding for federal health agencies that regulate childhood vaccines if elected president.
And in May 2021, he was one of two people who jointly petitioned the Food and Drugs Administration, urging it to "immediately revoke" emergency use authorizations that allowed children under 16 to take the Pfizer and other COVID vaccines.
But shortly after Trump's November win, Kennedy told NBC that he would not "take away anybody's vaccines," but would let them choose if they wanted to be vaccinated.
On Tuesday, he moved closer to becoming health secretary after winning the crucial support of Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, a former physician.
Kennedy's nomination cleared a key hurdle and passed the Senate Finance Committee, who voted along party lines to move it forward. His nomination is now slated for a full Senate vote.
Representatives for Kennedy and Pfizer did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider, sent outside regular business hours.
Throughout his career, Drake has squared up with several fellow stars, leading to high-profile rap battles and even physical fights.
Keep reading for a rundown of Drake's biggest feuds, loosely ordered from most to least recent.
Barnaby Lane contributed to an earlier version of this article.
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar performed at Rolling Loud Miami in 2022.
Jason Koerner/Getty Images
Although Drake and Kendrick Lamar collaborated multiple times early in their careers, Lamar distanced himself from the Toronto rapper in 2013.
In a guest verse on Big Sean's single "Control," Lamar crowned himself the king of rap and name-dropped several others who can't compete, including Drake.
After years of simmering beef, Lamar reiterated this position when he was featured on Future and Metro Boomin's "Like That," released in March 2024 as the sixth track on their collaborative album "We Don't Trust You."
Drake didn't back down and retaliated with a pair of diss tracks, "Push Ups" and "Taylor Made Freestyle." In response, Lamar dropped "Euphoria" and "6:16 in LA." The sparring continued with Drake's "Family Matters," Lamar's "Meet the Grahams," Lamar's explosive No. 1 hit "Not Like Us," and, finally, Drake's "The Heart Part 6," which seemed to bring an end to the lyrical bloodbath — though bad blood is still flowing from both ends.
Most recently, Drake sued Universal Music Group (the company that owns both rappers' labels) for allowing the release of "Not Like Us" and, as a result, encouraging the spread of false and "dangerous" accusations about Drake, per the lawsuit.
Rick Ross
Rick Ross performed at the Miami Jazz In The Gardens Festival in 2024.
Ivan Apfel/Getty Images
Drake's beef with Lamar triggered a domino effect in hip-hop, bringing a variety of rap heavyweights onto the battlefield.
Most notably, Drake's former friend Rick Ross was also featured on "We Don't Trust You" — so Drake took a shot at Ross (whom he calls "Ricky") in "Push Ups."
"Every song that made it on the chart, he got from Drizzy," Drake raps. "Spend that lil' check you got and stay up out my business."
Ross countered with his own song, "Champagne Moments," in which he calls Drake a "white boy" and lobs multiple plastic surgery accusations ("You had an operation to make your nose smaller than your father's nose"). The music video doubles as a promotional clip for Ross' business ventures.
Drake directly responded to Ross' claims on "Family Matters," rapping, "What the fuck I heard Rick drop, n****? Talkin' somethin' 'bout a nose job, n**** / Ozempic got a side effect of jealousy and doctor never told y'all n*****."
Later in the verse, he adds: "Ross callin' me the 'white boy' and the shit kind of got a ring to it."
A$AP Rocky
Drake and A$AP Rocky were photographed together in 2013.
Theo Wargo/Getty Images
Back in 2012, Drake and A$AP Rocky collaborated on the hit single "F**kin' Problems" for the latter's debut album. Their relationship turned sour when the Harlem native began dating Rihanna, who previously had a will-they-won't-they relationship with Drake.
In "Fear of Heights," the fourth track on Drake's 2023 album "For All the Dogs," he mocks both Rocky and Rihanna, implying sex with his ex-girlfriend was "average" and saying Rocky "can't leave" because they have children together — evoking a classic sexist trope known as "baby trapping."
The following year, amid Drake's beef with Lamar, Rocky was tapped for a feature on Future and Metro Boomin's second collaborative project, "We Still Don't Trust You." Like its predecessor, the album is rich with anti-Drake disses, both explicit and subliminal. (Until quite recently, Drake and Future were buddies, releasing a collaborative mixtape in 2015 and several duets over the years, including the No. 1 hit "Wait for U" in 2022. It's unclear what happened there.)
"N***** in they feelings over women, what, you hurt or something? / I smash before you birthed, son, Flacko hit it first, son," Rocky raps on "Show of Hands, alluding to a rumor that he had sex with Sophie Brussaux, the mother of Drake's son, before Drake did.
Drake shot back on "Family Matters," teasing Rocky for his stylish reputation, love life, and lower album sales.
"Rakim talking shit again," he raps, using Rocky's real name, Rakim Mayers. "Gassed 'cause you hit my BM first, n****, do the math, who I was hittin' then?"
Here, Drake uses an acronym for "baby mama" and implies that, if Rocky were sleeping with Brussaux, then Drake was sleeping with Rihanna at the same time.
"I ain't even know you rapped still 'cause they only talkin' 'bout your 'fit again," Drake continues. "Probably gotta have a kid again 'fore you think of droppin' any shit again / Even when you do drop, they gon' say you should've modeled 'cause it's mid again."
The Weeknd
Drake and The Weeknd performed together several times in 2014.
Ollie Millington/WireImage
The Weeknd, aka Abel Tesfaye, is yet another artist who was once on good terms with Drake but has since turned on him.
Back in 2010, when The Weeknd was an elusive rising star in Toronto, two of his songs were shared on Drake's popular OVO blog. Drake also tweeted lyrics from The Weeknd's "Wicked Games" in 2011.
Drake's cosign gave The Weeknd a major boost in his career and they went on to release two duets: "Crew Love" on Drake's 2011 album and "The Zone" on The Weeknd's 2012 compilation.
Drake was reportedly eager to sign The Weeknd to his OVO label, but The Weeknd turned him down, signing instead with Republic in 2012. Some fans have suspected this was the turning point in their relationship.
Still, The Weeknd opened for the European leg of Drake's Would You Like a Tour? in 2014.
In 2020, peace still reigned, with Drake alluding to The Weeknd's vocal chops in his "Only You Freestyle" ("The boy that sound like he sang on 'Thriller,' you know that's been my n**** / We just had to fix things, family, 6 ting we can't split up").
But by 2024, the tides had quietly turned. The Weeknd was featured twice on "We Still Don't Trust You" and alludes to walking away from Drake's label offer: "I thank God that I never signed my life away," he raps in the eighth track, "All to Myself."
He also adds, "Their shooters making TikToks / Got us laughing in the Lambo," to which Drake responded directly in "Family Matters."
"If Drake shooters doing TikToks, n**** / Realest shooter in your gang, that's P's brother, y'all ain't getting shit shot, n**** / Can't listen to the stick talk in falsetto, save it for a hip-hop n****," Drake raps.
In the same song, Drake also implies The Weeknd's music is more popular among gay men.
"Weeknd music gettin' played in all the spots where boys got a little more pride / That's why all your friends dippin' to Atlanta, payin' just to find a tour guide," he raps.
Megan Thee Stallion
Megan Thee Stallion performed at LA Pride in the Park in 2023.
Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty Images
Drake took unprompted aim at Megan Thee Stallion in "Circo Loco," a track from his 2022 collaborative album with 21 Savage, "Her Loss."
"This bitch lie 'bout getting shot, but she still a stallion," he raps, referencing the 2020 incident when Tory Lanez shot Megan in the foot. Lanez was convicted of assault with a semiautomatic firearm in 2022, among other charges, and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
It's unclear what prompted the lyric, as Drake and Megan had previously seemed friendly, but she replied with a fiery message on social media.
"Stop using my shooting for clout," she wrote. "Since when tf is it cool to joke abt women getting shot!"
However, Drake continued to escalate the feud, sharing support for Lanez online amid the attempt to appeal his criminal sentence.
"These n***** hate on BBLs and be walkin' 'round with the same scars," she raps. "Don't speak on my body count if the dick ain't worth coming back for seconds / Cosplay gangsters, fake-ass accents."
Kanye West
Ye, then known as Kanye West, visited the White House in 2018.
Responding to the rumors in a now-deleted Instagram video, Ye addressed Drake directly: "People making rumors or thinking you fucked my wife and you're not saying nothing and carrying it like that, that don't sit well with my spirit," he said.
Drake and Ye then took a series of public shots at one another.
During an appearance on LeBron James' HBO show "The Shop," Drake said he felt betrayed because Ye had dropped his eponymous eighth studio album in 2018 a few weeks before his own album, "Scorpion."
Drake also said he believed that Ye told Pusha T about his son, fueling the "deadbeat dad" discourse, even though Ye denied the accusation. (Pusha later confirmed that he didn't find out through Ye.)
In a series of since-deleted tweets, Ye then accused Drake of threatening him and called him a "bully."
To date, the pair still haven't put their feud to bed. In 2023, Drake released the song "Rescue Me," which included an audio sample of Kim talking about divorcing Ye. More recently, Ye remixed "Like That," in which he sided with Lamar and proclaimed, "I can't even think of a Drake line."
Joe Budden
Joe Budden at a summit in 2019.
Getty/Phillip Faraone
Drake and Joe Budden have sporadically traded blows since 2016, when the "Pump It Up" rapper criticized Drake's fourth studio album, "Views," calling it "uninspired."
Most recently, the pair clashed after Budden trashed Drake's new album, "For All the Dogs."
In a clip shared by DJ Akademiks on Instagram, Budden suggested that Drake was "rapping for children" and that he hadn't matured as an emcee.
"You're going to be 37 years old," he said, adding, "I want to hear adult Drake rapping for adult people."
Drake responded to Budden's criticism in a lengthy Instagram comment under Akademiks' video in which he wrote that the podcast host had "failed at music."
Replying to Drake's comment, Budden wrote, "You'll grow up sooner or later… Father time is undefeated."
Pusha T
Pusha T performed at the Made In America Festival in 2018.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Roc Nation
Drake and Pusha T initially clashed in 2012 when Pusha released "Exodus 23:1" and appeared to call out Drake, Lil Wayne, and the rest of Wayne's Cash Money Entertainment crew.
"You are hiding a child, let that boy come home," Pusha raps in the 2018 track. Drake subsequently confirmed the rumor on his 2018 album "Scorpion."
In the same year, Pusha also released "Infrared," in which he accused Drake of using a ghostwriter named Quentin Miller.
Speaking with Rap Radar in 2019, Drake conceded that he had lost his feud with Pusha.
Meek Mill
Meek Mill opened for The Pinkprint Tour in 2015.
Scott Legato/Getty Images
Pusha T wasn't the first rapper to accuse Drake of using a ghostwriter.
In 2015, Meek Mill said Drake didn't write his own verse for their collaboration, "R.I.C.O," which appeared on Meek's album, "Dreams Worth More Than Money."
In a series of since-deleted tweets, Meek said Drake didn't promote the album because Meek found out about Drake's ghostwriter. He went on to say that he would have pulled "R.I.C.O." from the album had he known earlier.
Drake fired back at Meek with "Charged Up," followed quickly by the widely celebrated "Back to Back." Meek shot back with "Wanna Know," which again includes a nod to Quentin Miller. (Drake later described the ghostwriter charge as "propaganda.")
The two continued to exchange diss tracks over the next few years, including Drake's "Summer Sixteen" and Meek's "War Pain," but made peace in 2018 when Drake welcomed Meek onstage to perform at one of his concerts in Boston.
"This right here is a long time coming," Drake told the crowd.
Tyga
Tyga performed at Vestival festival in 2014.
Helen Boast/Redferns via Getty Images
Back in 2014, Drake and Tyga were both signed to the same record label, Young Money Entertainment.
So it was a big surprise when Tyga decided to target his "The Motto" collaborator.
"I don't like Drake as a person. He's just fake to me," Tyga said in a 2014 interview. "We were forced together, and it was kinda like we were forcing relationships together."
Drake responded to Tyga's comments in his 2015 track "6PM in New York."
"It's so childish calling my name on the world stage / You need to act your age and not your girl's age," Drake rapped, referring to Tyga's then-alleged relationship with 17-year-old Kylie Jenner.
In an interview with 106 KMEL the following year, Tyga said he and Drake squashed their beef when they met at one of Ye's fashion shows.
"We just chopped it up for a long time about a lot of stuff," he said. "It's all about conversation and communication."
Chris Brown
Chris Brown was invited to Drake's most recent New Year's Eve party.
Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for The h.wood Group
In June 2012, Drake and Chris Brown were involved in a violent brawl at a New York City nightclub. According to reports, both entourages threw bottles and glasses at each other; Brown emerged with a gash to his chin.
The club later sued the pair for $16 million, claiming they "made deadly weapons" with whatever they could find and "overtook the entire space."
The clash was presumably sparked by both singers' connections to Rihanna; in 2009, Brown pleaded guilty to felony assault after hitting his then-girlfriend. That same year, Drake was linked to Rihanna for the first time.
By 2019, the pair had buried the hatchet. Drake and Brown released a duet titled "No Guidance," sparking controversy among fans. The following year, Brown was featured on Drake's mixtape "Dark Lane Demo Tapes."
Common
Common performed at Rock The Bells Music Festival in 2011.
C Flanigan/FilmMagic
In 2011, Common released a song called "Sweet" in which he appeared to take a subliminal shot at Drake.
"You ain't motherfucking Frank Sinatra," he rapped.
After Common confirmed the line was indeed about Drake during an interview on "Sway in the Morning," Drake fired back in a verse on the 2012 Rick Ross track "Stay Schemin,'" accusing Common of coming for him in order to sell records.
Common responded with a remix of "Stay Schemin,'" on which he called Drake "soft" and "a bitch."
In an interview with VladTV in 2014, Common admitted he started the feud with Drake because Drake was rumored to be dating Serena Williams, Common's former girlfriend.
"For me, I think it was an emotional thing," the Chicago native said. "The Drake-Serena situation, I ain't know what was going on with that. And I ain't know if he was throwing things, shots at me."
Ludacris
Ludacris in 2010.
Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images
During an interview with AllHipHop in 2010, Drake accused Ludacris of copying his one-word rhyme style, known as the "Supa Dupa" flow.
"I hate that rappers picked that flow up," he said. "I wish they had left that for people that know how to use it."
Ludacris hit back at Drake on his 2011 song "Bada Boom."
"Counterfeit rappers say I'm stealing they flows, but I can't steal what you never made up, bitch," he rapped.
After a few more back-and-forths, Ludacris appeared on "The Breakfast Club" in 2015 and said Drake had personally apologized to him. Then, at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards, Drake showed some public love to his former foe while collecting an award.
"Ludacris, we haven't always seen eye to eye, but I've always been a big fan of yours and I got a lot of love for you," he said. "I want to let you know that face to face, while I'm still here."
President Donald Trump is serving his second term as president.
JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images
Donald Trump is now America's 47th president and serving his second term.
From his marriages to real estate to the presidency, he's captured the public's attention.
Here's all you need to know about Trump's family, real estate business, and career in politics.
Donald Trump is president — again.
After his inauguration on January 20, 2025, the businessman and former reality television star commenced his second term. Long a fixture of the American cultural scene and now the 45th and 47th president of the United States, he will continue to have untold political influence.
Trump first entered politics in June 2015 when he descended an escalator at Trump Tower in New York City and announced he was entering the 2016 presidential race. Trump's presidency altered the very fabric of the Republican Party, bucking some traditional conservative values and ushering in the MAGA — Make America Great Again — era.
Here's a closer look at Trump's personal history and wide-ranging career.
Donald Trump's second presidency
Starting on his very first moments in office, Trump signed a flurry of day one executive orders and rescinded many of former President Joe Biden's executive actions.
Trump's earliest actions built on themes from his campaign, from an immigration crackdown, to increasing oil and gas production, to shrinking the federal workforce and calling employees back to the office. He signed a series of orders rolling back diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, demanding that government-run diversity offices shut down and green-lighting probes into private companies' DEI efforts. He also issued around 1,500 pardons for January 6-related offenses included six commutations in the package, including for individuals who had been charged with seditious conspiracy.
Trump also used an executive order to form the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk's cost-cutting and deregulatory body. Despite saying the group would exist outside of government during the campaign, the executive order brought DOGE inside the White House.
Tech and corporate leaders beyond Musk have also featured prominently in Trump's second term, with some formally serving in his administration. Silicon Valley leaders, including Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, had prime spots at his inauguration.
Congress also confirmed a number of Trump's more controversial Cabinet picks, including Pete Hegseth for defense secretary. Marco Rubio soared to confirmation as the secretary of state in a unanimous vote. One of Trump's most contentious nominees, former Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general, withdrew from consideration amid allegations of sex-trafficking.
Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign and defeat of Kamala Harris
Trump announced his third presidential bid just after the 2022 midterms, and almost two years before election day in 2024. He easily beat his primary rivals and prepared for a rematch against Biden.
Trump complained when Biden dropped out of the presidential race at the end of July and former vice president Kamala Harris soared to the top of the ticket. Polls showed Trump and Harris closely tied in the final days of the race, though Trump ultimately pulled off a comfortable victory, sweeping the seven swing states and winning 312 electoral votes to Harris' 226. He also won the popular vote — the first time a Republican has done so in 20 years.
While surveys suggested Biden's unpopularity may have proven unsurmountable for Harris, other stats showed how younger voters tilted red, Latino voters increasingly backed Trump, and economic frustrations likely pushed the needle in his favor, too.
Additionally, Republicans regained Senate control and maintained control of the House, paving the way for Trump to make judicial appointments and fill any vacancies on the Supreme Court.
Trump won a decisive victory against Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
The election cycle was defined by political violence: There were two alleged assassination attempts against Trump, one in Pennsylvania and the other in Florida. The then-candidate survived both.
On July 13, Thomas Matthew Crooks shot at Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, nicking his ear using an AR-style rifle. A Secret Service sniper killed Crooks, whose motive for the shooting remains unclear. The first assassination attempt quickly became a rallying cry for Trump supporters, and Elon Musk endorsed the former president shortly after.
The second assassination attempt occurred on Sept. 15 in Palm Beach, Florida at a golf course. Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect, may have staked out the course for 12 hours. Law enforcement officials said that Routh got close to Trump but didn't have a clear line of sight of the former president. They also said that a Secret Service agent spotted Routh's rifle through a fence and immediately opened fire, at which point the suspect fled. On September 16, Routh was charged with two firearms counts.
Donald Trump is rushed offstage during a rally in Pennsylvania after an attempted assassination.
In terms of the economy, a top issue for many voters, Trump promised to extend his hallmark 2017 tax cuts and eliminate taxes on tips. He also threatened broad 10 to 20% tariffs on imported goods, which economists predicted would fuel inflation.
Trump's views on abortion were a sticky subject in the post-Roe environment. He took credit for overturning Roe v. Wade during the race but tempered his stance to appeal to rising pro-choice sentiment. Trump said that states should decide the laws around abortion and didn't publicly supported a federal ban. In August, Trump said that the federal government should pay for costly IVF treatments.
Trump criticized Israel's actions in Gaza at times but portrayed himself as a strong defender of the Israeli state and hosted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago. A temporary cease-fire between Israel and Gaza went into effect days before Trump took office for the second time.
With respect to the war in Ukraine, Trump repeatedly said he could end the war on Day One, though did not do so on his first day in office. He avoided explicitly saying that he wants Ukraine to win during the campaign.
Donald Trump's controversies and legal woes
Donald Trump's legal troubles stretch back to the very beginning of his business career. In 1973, the US Justice Department sued Fred and Donald Trump for allegedly violating the Fair Housing Act in various New York City apartment buildings. The parties settled the suit two years later and the Trumps did not admit to any wrongdoing.
Trump's political rise is backlit by controversy as well, from the personal scandals that have plagued his candidacies to his new status as the first former president convicted of a federal crime. The FBI investigated Russian interference in the 2016 election, but ultimately concluded that there wasn't sufficient evidence to prove that "members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government." Yet the report did find "numerous links" between the two groups.
While in office during his first term, Trump was impeached twice by the House of Representatives, but the Senate acquitted him both times.
The chamber first impeached him in 2019 on articles charging him with abuses of power and obstruction of justice. He is accused of offering Ukraine a quid-quo-pro: dig up dirt on Biden in exchange for military aid.
The second impeachment articles relate to his ongoing efforts to overturn the 2020 election and actions on January 6, 2021, when a violent mob stormed the Capitol. As lawmakers convened to certify the election results, Trump encouraged his supporters to attend a rally in DC to protest the joint session of Congress. Thousands showed up, including some from white supremacist groups and right-wing militias.
When speaking to the crowd, Trump did not explicitly call for violence, but encouraged his followers to "fight like hell" — many of those same followers stormed the Capitol moments later, overwhelming police and forcing lawmakers to flee. Five people died during or shortly after the event, including a Capitol police officer.
Congress reconvened to certify the election results in the early hours of January 7 and Biden was inaugurated on January 20, 2021. Meanwhile, Trump continues to deny that he lost the election in 2020, refusing to admit defeat.
The House of Representatives impeached Trump over his actions on Jan. 6.
Kent Nishimura
After he left office, an avalanche of lawsuits against Trump piled up, many of which are stalled or are no longer being pursued after the election.
The former president has been charged in four criminal cases: a federal election interference case, a classified documents case, a Georgia election interference case, and a hush-money case. Trump had used money from two of his PACs to pay his legal fees.
In the federal election interference case, special prosecutor Jack Smith accused Trump of engaging in a broad effort to undermine Biden's 2020 win. Smith argued that Trump amplified false claims about voter fraud, pressured elected officials, and organized fake electors. He dropped the case after the 2024 election, but filed a report shortly before the inauguration saying that Trump would have been convicted if he hadn't won another term.
Smith also led the charge on a federal case accusing Trump of storing sensitive national security documents at Mar-a-Lago after removing them from the White House, and impeding the government from retrieving the documents. A Trump-appointed judge in Florida dismissed the case over highly controversial allegations that Smith's special counsel appointment was unconstitutional, a finding Smith's office appealed. The case was also ultimately dismissed after the election.
On May 30, 2024, Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to hush-money payments made to Stormy Daniels, a porn star who alleges she had an affair with Trump. With the guilty verdict, Trump became the first former president to be convicted of a crime.
On January 10, 2025, the judge in that case sentenced Trump, cementing his felon status. The president did not receive any punishment, but the decision set off a new slate of legal questions, as Trump has pledged to appeal his criminal conviction.
Georgia's election interference case focused specifically on Trump's alleged attempts to overturn Biden's win in the state. District Attorney Fani Willis charged Trump and allies in August of 2023, though the case shrunk in scope and a judge dismissed several counts against Trump. The case was mired in scandals involving Willis' personal life, and her team was eventually disqualified. Willis is appealing the decision, which could take months. If Willis wins the appeal, she'll have to wait until Trump finishes his second term to re-start the case.
In addition to the criminal trials, a jury found Trump guilty of sexual abuse in a civil case brought by E. Jean Carroll. The saga, which has extended over two suits, related to Carroll's allegation that Trump raped her in a Manhattan department store and subsequently made defamatory statements. Together, they resulted in a verdict granting Carroll damages of $88.3 million. Trump appealed the cases but a jury upheld one of the verdicts in December, 2025. A spokesperson for Trump told BI he plans to keep appealing the verdict, which could keep the $5 million that Trump owes Carroll through that case frozen.
Trump is facing four criminal lawsuits and is the first former president to be convicted of a crime.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Donald Trump's political rise and the 2016 election
An ubiquitous presence in American life since the 1980s, Trump floated running for president since his early days as a businessman. People generally didn't take him seriously, and his political affiliations flip-flopped — he went from being a registered Democrat, to a registered Republican, to the front man for a remade American conservatism.
In 2012, Trump gained prominence in Republican circles for popularizing the "birther" theory — the racist and false claim that former President Barack Obama was not born in the United States. And in the summer of 2015, the prospect of a Trump presidential bid became much more real when he announced his candidacy at a campaign rally in New York City.
Throughout the 2016 campaign, Trump positioned himself as a political outsider and built his platform around economic prosperity, immigration, and a newly combative rhetoric. His campaign was mired in controversy — from the Access Hollywood tape where he bragged about groping women to his failure to quickly denounce the KKK — but he appealed to a wide swath of Americans.
Despite doing poorly in the early Iowa caucus, Trump triumphed in a series of primary wins and had a strong performance on Super Tuesday. After becoming the Republican nominee, Trump trailed Hillary Clinton in the polls but ended up victorious on November 8, 2016. He lost the popular vote by more than 2.8 million but won 304 electoral votes to Clinton's 227.
Trump shocked the country when he won the 2016 presidential election.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Donald Trump's first presidency
Once in the White House, Trump was quick to issue a slate of executive orders based on his campaign promises, including building a wall on the southern border and implementing his proposed "Muslim ban," which quickly faced legal challenges.
While running for office, Trump promised to repeal the Affordable Care Act, but doing so proved difficult and contentious, so he instead chipped away at the law. He also repealed many Obama-era environmental policies and withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement because he said it damaged the economy.
Trump took an isolationist approach to foreign policy, imposing tariffs and withdrawing from revising long-standing trade agreements. On the economy, Trump pushed a $1.5 trillion tax cut package through Congress. Regarding the Supreme Court, he appointed three conservative judges and took credit for overturningRoe v. Wade.
By his final years in office, Trump was both president and candidate — he launched his reelection bid in June 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic upended both the election and spelled the end of Trump's presidency. President Joe Biden had accused him throughout the election of ignoring the crisis. Trump came down with COVID-19 himself during the final weeks of the campaign and received treatment at Walter Reed Medical Center.
When election day finally rolled around, Trump eventually lost both the popular and Electoral College votes. The race was extremely close in key states and took days to call. Trump declared victory one day after the election, before all the votes were tallied, and thus inaugurated his months-long campaign contesting the election results.
After leaving office in January 2021, Trump and Melania moved to Mar-a-Lago, where he has lived since leaving the White House.
During Trump's presidency, he passed a slate of controversial executive orders to fulfill campaign promises.
Chip Somodevilla
Donald Trump's various marriages and children
Donald Trump has a marital history marked by various divorces and alleged affairs.
He met his first wife, Czech model Ivana Marie Zelníčková, in 1976 when she was in New York City for a fashion show. The two got married in 1977 and remained a fixture of the city's tabloid scene. They had three children together: Ivanka, Donald Jr., and Eric.
Rumors about Trump having affairs swirled throughout the marriage, including with American actor Marla Maples. Ivana and Trump divorced in 1992.
One year later, Maples had Trump's fourth child, Tiffany. The couple got married two months later but split up in 1999.
Trump's current wife, Melania Trump (née Knauss), is a Slovenian-American former model whom he met in 1998 at a mutual friend's party. The two dated on and off before tying the knot in 2004 at Mar-a-Lago. The star-studded guest list included the Clintons and Billy Joel.
Trump's fifth child, Barron Trump, was born in 2006. When Trump moved into the White House, Melania and Barron waited months before joining him at the residence.
In addition to his five children, Trump has 10 grandkids. The oldest, Kai, has already stepped onto the political scene and even spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention.
Trump has been married three times. His current wife is Melania Trump.
In November 2023, his personal physician said measures of his physical health were within the normal range but did not provide details about his medication, blood pressure, or cholesterol. Standing at a reported height of 6 feet 3 inches, some have expressed concern about Trump's weight in the past.
His parents, real estate developer Fred Trump and Mary MacLeod, met at a party and got married in 1936. They had five children, with Donald Trump being their fourth. He attended a Presbyterian church as a child but doesn't appear to regularly attend church services.
Fred Trump made much of his fortune in New York City real estate and was the subject of a US Senate investigation related to taking advantage of a federal loan program.
As a teenager, Donald Trump attended New York Military Academy, a private military school. After graduating, he attended Fordham University in the Bronx for two years before eventually switching to the Wharton School of Finance and Economics at the University of Pennsylvania. Trump graduated from Wharton with a bachelor's degree in economics and talks about his time at the prestigious institution often.
Trump grew up in Queens, New York.
NICHOLAS KAMM/Getty Images
Donald Trump's career in business and reality television
After graduating from college, Trump began working for his father and eventually became the president of a collection of family-owned companies that he later turned into the Trump Organization. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Trump expanded his father's business and invested in Manhattan hotels. He was buoyed along by financial and social help from his father, whose New York connections ran deep.
In 1983, Trump opened Trump Tower on 56th Street and 5th Avenue, where he later had an apartment. That same decade, Trump started investing in casinos and bought Mar-a-Lago, his resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
The 1990s recession harmed Trump's businesses and he was forced to sell various assets, as well as commit to a personal budget. His luck largely changed by the end of the 1990s, though his casinos continued to struggle.
Trump profited from his name throughout his long business career, selling everything from branded cologne and steaks to putting his name on an online education company. In 2018, The New York Times published a lengthy investigation detailing how Fred Trump funneled money to his son. The outlet reported Donald Trump received the equivalent of $413 million from his dad by the early 2000s. (Trump declined the Times's request for comment on the article at the time; a Trump spokesman at the time said there had been no fraud or tax evasion.)
In 1996, Trump teamed up with NBC to buy the Miss Universe Organization, which encompasses the Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA beauty pageants. Trump then starred in a reality television show of his own — "The Apprentice." The Emmy-nominated program made him nearly $200 million over 16 years and boosted his image as a self-made billionaire.
Trump's net worth was $3.8 billion as of September 2024, according to Forbes's calculations.
In addition to starring in "The Apprentice," Trump owned the Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants.
It took five years and nearly a million dollars to finish renovating our fixer-upper.
Kirsten Fogg
We bought a fixer-upper in Canada while living in Australia, then moved our family across the world.
Living in active construction for years was much more destabilizing than I ever imagined.
My husband and I spent double our budget, missed time with our kids, and almost lost each other.
In 2017, we were living in Australia with our daughters and planning our move to Canada when I found my dream house on the internet.
From our home in Brisbane, I video-called and emailed a real-estate agent in Toronto, doing my best to juggle our 15-hour time difference.
Within days, I'd signed an online contract to buy the 1913 fixer-upper without ever setting foot in the house or the neighborhood.
My husband and I thought we could handle it, as we'd both lived in a few different countries and had worked with builders to renovate our Brisbane home years earlier.
However, the reality of our situation was far from what I had imagined.
The house needed more work than expected
Many parts of the house needed to be gutted.
Kirsten Fogg
When we bought the house, it had been divided into four apartments, so we agreed we'd live in it for a year or so while we drew up renovation plans.
However, as soon as our family moved in, we found that the house needed urgent repairs, including fixing its crumbling foundation and replacing its dangerous knob-and-tube wiring.
My husband, an engineer, decided we had to start work right away, and I didn't say no. In an attempt to cut costs, we hired the first person who said they could save us money and get the work done while we lived in the house.
As my husband commuted to his clean, quiet office for work each day, I tried to write and edit from home. Renovations, on top of the international move, were grueling.
No amount of plastic taped over doors kept the dust out of my hair, my nose, or the rest of the house. I dealt with bathroom floods and burst pipes while juggling being the sole parent and project manager since my husband had to travel for work.
My daughters, ages 9 and 11, missed their friends and our Brisbane home, and so did I.
Builders and the pandemic pushed me to a breaking point
The before (left) and (after) of my office.
Kirsten Fogg
By 2020, we had only finished a quarter of the house, and I finally convinced my husband we should move out during remodel. Before we could, though, our area went into lockdown amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Living in renovations during the pandemic exacerbated every problem we already had. We were overwhelmed by decisions and financial pressures, and we were far away from friends in a city we didn't know.
Our daughters wrestled with severe mental-health issues, and family conversations spiraled into quarrels and angry silence.
Our kitchen before (left) and after (right).
Kirsten Fogg
During one late-night argument, my husband collapsed onto the kitchen floor. I should've taken it as a sign we all needed to step back, but I didn't. I became my worst self, and I hated the house.
I reminded myself constantly that we were lucky to even own a home, but it didn't help my panic attacks. After a particularly severe crisis, my doctor prescribed me medication for anxiety.
Years later, we're happy with our home — but the path to get here wasn't glamorous
The before (left) and after (right) of our living room.
Kirsten Fogg
All in all, it took us five years, over a dozen tradespeople, and two separate contractors to finish the house. We spent more than $1.4 million Canadian dollars (about $973,000.00), which was double our original budget.
It's hard to say if the renovations were worth all of the struggles. What I do know is that we now have a beautiful home and a new perspective.
Looking back, we realized our family took on far too much.
Our daughters were displaced by the move and destabilized by living with builders constantly in our home. And, by spending so much time working on the house, we missed precious growing-up time with them.
During these renovations, I also struggled to feel like an equal in my relationship. By letting my husband (an engineer and the main earner) make the decisions, I put too much pressure on him — and I was angry at myself for not speaking up.
After 20 years of marriage, we're finally talking about what we've learned and what we want our partnership to look like moving forward. I'm becoming more assertive, building my self-confidence, and prioritizing my mental health.
Above all, my husband and I are looking forward to never renovating again.