Hasta La Gadget!

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but in the case of one very red basement, not even its homeowners, Molly Dunn and Eric Geislinger, could bring themselves to see the room as “beautiful.” So, when the couple submitted their lower level space to “The Oprah Winfrey Show” Ugliest Room in America contest, it’s no surprise that they won.

Voters couldn’t seem to get past the basement’s wall-to-wall carpet in a garish shade of red, and the walls weren’t any better: One half was the same color as the carpet, and the other half was paneled in dark brown wood. The room was relatively empty, except for two pea-green chairs, a black floor lamp and a tiny TV sitting on an old wood coffee table. Indeed, Molly and Eric’s lower level needed a lot of love.

As the people with the 2003’s “Ugliest Room in America,” Molly and Eric won a total basement makeover led by designer Nate Berkus. They were banned from their home for one week while Berkus worked his magic.

To make his vision come to life, Berkus had all of the walls covered with handmade leather panels, introduced sophisticated couches and chairs, added a flat-screen TV with surround sound, hung silk embroidered draperies, created a dining area anchored by a chandelier, added a bar for serving drinks and even gave the couple their own popcorn machine.

Molly and Eric were stunned upon seeing the transformation. “I never dreamed it could look like this,” said Eric. “Wow.”

“Nate, we love this room,” Molly added, hugging the designer. “It’s better than what we expected.”

Check out the clip above to see the full reveal.

Watch full episodes of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” on WatchOWN.tv.

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Actress Pamela Anderson was coy about a rumored romance with Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, saying his being holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London made dating “a little bit difficult”.

Speaking to a Swedish television talk show, the former “Baywatch” actress and animal rights activist said she had probably spent more time with Assange than with any other man lately but would not be drawn on details.

British media have reported Anderson has been spotted visiting Assange at the central London embassy, where he took refuge in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden over allegations that he committed rape in 2010, which he denies.

In a clip of the interview which airs on Friday evening, Anderson is asked whether their relationship was romantic and if they are dating. The 49-year-old actress laughs before saying: “Well, he’s imprisoned, that would make it a little bit difficult.”

She is then pressed further.

“Let’s see what happens when he’s free. But you know I spend probably more time with him than any other man socially, which is very odd,” Anderson said.

In a post on her pamelaandersonfoundation.org website on Thursday, Anderson referred to Assange as “one of my favorite people”.

“He might be the most famous, most politicized refugee of our time. Famous for being persecuted. Famous for being persecuted is not a position of power but a position of vulnerability. I am concerned,” she wrote.

“Julian is a human being who is extremely empathetic and cares deeply about the world. And because of his work. He has made some powerful enemies in a few countries – America especially by exposing them. Julian is trying to free the world by educating it. It is a romantic struggle—I love him for this.”

British media have printed photos of Anderson outside the embassy, with one picture showing her carrying takeaway food.

“It has brought some attention to maybe people who didn’t realize a lot about him,” Anderson says in the clip.

“So I guess in a way that’s been a little bit helpful but I don’t want to go into any private details. But I don’t know.”

She can then be heard saying: “He’s very sexy.”

Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Mahershala Ali, Amy Poehler and a whole host of other stars are teaming up for Stand for Rights: A Benefit for the ACLU. Join us at 7 p.m. Eastern on Friday, March 31, on Facebook Live.

You can support the ACLU right away. Text POWER to 20222 to give $10 to the ACLU. The ACLU will call you to explain other actions you can take to help. Visit www.hmgf.org/t for terms. #StandForRights2017

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WASHINGTON ― Two top Trump administration officials wrote to California’s chief justice on Wednesday to tell her they won’t honor her request to stop conducting immigration enforcement within courts.

The letter, which Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly sent to California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye and shared with reporters on Friday, is a response to her request this month that immigration agents cease “stalking” courthouses.

Sessions and Kelly issued a flat “no” to her request. And they objected to Cantil-Sakauye’s characterization of “stalking” and blamed California’s policies against police cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement ― the so-called “sanctuary city” efforts that President Donald Trump promised to eradicate. Since police don’t always hold individuals upon ICE’s request, the officials wrote, officers and agents have to conduct arrests in public. Courthouses are a good place to do it because people inside are typically screened for weapons and contraband, they added.

The letter is emblematic of what will be an ongoing struggle as the Trump administration attempts to follow through on his vow to deport more undocumented immigrants: that many local officials think it’s detrimental to their own missions to assist him. The Trump administration, through its attempts to punish even jurisdictions with “sanctuary” policies based on court orders, has indicated its priorities on deportation are more important than those state and local officials’ own aims.

In Cantil-Sakauye’s case, she argued in a letter that allowing ICE agents to conduct enforcement at or near courthouses impeded administration of justice by discouraging victims of crime, witnesses and litigants from “seeking justice and due process of law.”

Courthouses aren’t considered “sensitive locations” like churches and schools, which immigration officers are told to avoid whenever possible, but they have in the past been subject to guidelines that encourage special precautions. After Trump became president and signed an order ending many of his predecessor’s enforcement priorities, ICE deleted a section of its “sensitive locations” website that said when possible, officers should avoid arrests in public areas of courthouses and not arrest non-targeted individuals.

Sessions and Kelly argued that immigration agents needs to go into courthouses, in part, because California and many of its counties and cities “have enacted statutes and ordinances designed to specifically prohibit or hinder ICE from enforcing immigration law” and pick people up from prisons and jails. That means they must conduct arrests in public spaces, they wrote.

“We agree with you that the enforcement of our country’s immigration laws is necessary, and that we should strive to ensure public safety and the efficient administration of justice,” Sessions and Kelly wrote. “Therefore, we would encourage you to express your concerns to the Governor of California and local officials who have enacted policies that occasionally necessitate ICE officers and agents to make arrests at courthouses and other public places.”

They also objected to Cantil-Sakauye’s statement about reports she heard “from some of our trial courts that immigration agents appear to be stalking undocumented immigrants in our courthouses to make arrests.”

Sessions and Kelly wrote that ICE officers are targeting specific individuals and that her use of the word “stalking” was unfounded.

“As the chief judicial officer for the State of California, your characterization of federal law enforcement officers is particularly troubling,” they wrote. “As you are aware, stalking has a specific legal meaning in American law, which describes criminal activity involving repetitive following or harassment of the victim with the intent to produce fear of harm.”

Conducting immigration enforcement at courthouses is, as they wrote, legal, and arrests are part of ICE’s mission. Producing fear, though, is exactly what Cantil-Sakauye and others have said would happen if ICE carried out arrests at or near courthouses.

“[E]nforcement policies that include stalking courthouses and arresting undocumented immigrants, the vast majority of whom pose no risk to public safety, are neither safe nor fair,” Cantil-Sakauye wrote in her letter  this month. “They not only compromise our core value of fairness but they undermine the judiciary’s ability to provide equal access to justice.”

You can read the letter in full below:

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At 9:37 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001, al Qaeda terrorists who had hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 flew it into the Pentagon, killing 184 people.

Now, more than 15 years later, documentation of the horrific incident is still trickling out. The FBI recently released a batch of 27 previously unseen photos of the aftermath, documenting everything from first responders battling flames to interior and exterior damage to the building.

Of the 184 killed, 125 worked at the Pentagon. As ABC News notes, that number is substantially lower than it could have been: The plane collided with an area of the building that was undergoing renovations, so was relatively empty.

See some of the newly released photos below:

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WASHINGTON ― Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, once one of President Donald Trump’s strongest supporters and then his national security adviser, is scrambling to save himself from prosecution in exchange for telling Congress what he knows about Russia’s involvement in the 2016 elections. And to do so, he has hired a lawyer who has been a vocal opponent of Trump.

“General Flynn certainly has a story to tell, and he very much wants to tell it, should the circumstances permit,” Flynn’s lawyer, Robert Kelner, said in a statement on Thursday evening.

Trump fired Flynn in February, after he admitted he had indeed had a conversation in December with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak ― despite previously denying he’d had any contact with Russian officials before Trump took office.

Flynn told the FBI and congressional officials that he would be willing to testify in their investigations into Russia’s involvement in the elections if he could receive immunity from prosecution, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

NBC reported Friday that the Senate Intelligence Committee turned down Flynn’s request for immunity, telling Kelner it was “wildly preliminary” and “not on the table” at this time. The Huffington Post confirmed the report with a Senate staffer. The committee declined to comment.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, put out a statement Friday saying his panel was still considering the offer. 

“[W]e should first acknowledge what a grave and momentous step it is for a former National Security Advisor to the President of the United States to ask for immunity from prosecution,” he said. “We will be discussing the matter with our counterparts on the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Department of Justice. While Mr. Flynn’s testimony is of great interest to our committee, we are also deeply mindful of the interests of the Department of Justice in the matter.”

Kelner tried to tamp down speculation that Flynn might have done something that opens him up to charges, saying in his statement, “No reasonable person, who has the benefit of advice from counsel, would submit to questioning in such a highly politicized, witch hunt environment without assurances against unfair prosecution.”

Flynn’s hiring of Kelner is notable. Kelner was an outspoken opponent of Trump during the campaign, questioning his campaign’s ties to Russia, among other matters. 

Trump tweeted Friday morning that he supports Flynn asking for immunity, also calling the investigation a “witch hunt.” 

House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) took issue with the president’s tweet, telling Fox News that he doesn’t understand why Flynn would want immunity.

“No, I don’t think it’s a witch hunt,” Chaffetz said. “Look, it’s very mysterious to me, though, why all of a sudden General Flynn is suddenly out there saying he wants immunity. A, I don’t think Congress should give him immunity. If there’s an open investigation by the FBI, that should not happen. I also don’t believe … the president should be weighing in on this. They’re the ones that actually would prosecute something.”

The White House has encouraged the congressional investigations, saying they should also investigate Trump’s baseless claim that President Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower during the campaign. Even though FBI Director James Comey told the House Intelligence Committee there is no evidence to support Trump’s wiretapping allegation, chair Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) later said he saw evidence that Trump transition officials had been caught inadvertently in surveillance operations targeting suspected foreign spies.

Nunes received this information ― which he has not shared with his fellow committee members ― on White House grounds, and reports reveal that White House officials provided him with the materials.

With growing accusations that Nunes is openly colluding with the White House on the investigation, attention has shifted to the Senate Intelligence Committee, which started its hearings this week and has promised to be bipartisan.

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