Thought of the Day
I don’t always carry all the groceries on one arm, but when I do, my keys are in the wrong pocket.
March 4th 2025
Everyday Salad Dressing
Everyday Salad Dressing
Everyday Salad Dressing Recipe from Gimme Some Oven
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: N/A
Serving size: about 1/3 cups
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small garlic clove, pressed or minced (or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder)
- 1 tablespoon freshly-squeezed lemon juice (or red wine vinegar)
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper
Directions
You will need a small jar and a citrus juicer.
- Combine ingredients. Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl (or shake all ingredients together vigorously in a sealed jar) until completely combined.
- Serve. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for between 1-7 days. If you choose to refrigerate the dressing, it will need to be stirred or shaken again prior to serving.
If you want it to be a bit sweeter, add 1 or 2 teaspoons of honey or your favorite sweetener.
This salad dressing recipe also works wonderfully with just about any kind of vinegar — red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, sherry vinegar, etc.
Carl Dean, Dolly Parton’s husband of nearly 60 years who inspired ‘Jolene,’ dies at 82
By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer
Carl Dean, Dolly Parton’s devoted husband of nearly 60 years who avoided the spotlight and inspired her timeless hit “Jolene,” died Monday. He was 82.
According to a statement provided to The Associated Press by Parton’s publicist, Dean died in Nashville, Tennessee. He will be laid to rest in a private ceremony with immediate family attending.
“Carl and I spent many wonderful years together. Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy,” Parton wrote in a statement.
The family has asked for respect and privacy. No cause of death was announced.
Parton met Dean outside the Wishy Washy Laundromat the day she moved to Nashville at 18.
“I was surprised and delighted that while he talked to me, he looked at my face (a rare thing for me),” Parton described the meeting. “He seemed to be genuinely interested in finding out who I was and what I was about.”
They married two years later, on Memorial Day — May 30, 1966 — in a small ceremony in Ringgold, Georgia.
Dean was a businessman, having owned an asphalt-paving business in Nashville. His parents, Virginia “Ginny” Bates Dean and Edgar “Ed” Henry Dean, had three children. Parton referred to his mother as “Mama Dean.”
Dean is survived by Parton and his two siblings, Sandra and Donnie.
He inspired Parton’s classic, “Jolene.” Parton told NPR in 2008 that she wrote the song about a flirty a bank teller who seemed to take an interest in Dean.
“She got this terrible crush on my husband,” she said. “And he just loved going to the bank because she paid him so much attention. It was kinda like a running joke between us — when I was saying, ‘Hell, you’re spending a lot of time at the bank. I don’t believe we’ve got that kind of money.’ So it’s really an innocent song all around, but sounds like a dreadful one.”
Parton and Dean kept strict privacy around their relationship for decades, Parton telling The Associated Press in 1984: “A lot of people say there’s no Carl Dean, that he’s just somebody I made up to keep other people off me.”
She joked that she’d like to pose with him on the cover of a magazine “So that people could at least know that I’m not married to a wart or something.”
In 2023, Parton told AP Dean helped inspired her 2023 “Rockstar” album.
“He’s a big rock and roller,” she said. The song “My Blue Tears,” which was written when Parton was with “The Porter Wagoner Show” in the late 1960s and early ’70s, is “one of my husband’s favorite songs that I ever wrote,” she said. “I thought, ’Well, I better put one of Carl’s favorites of mine in here.” She also covered a few of his favorites on the temporary detour from country music: Lynard Skynyrd ’s “Free Bird” and Led Zeppelin ’s “Stairway to Heaven.”
Lighter winds help crews fighting wildfires in South and North Carolina
By ERIK VERDUZCO Associated Press
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) — Lighter winds Monday helped crews in South Carolina and North Carolina battle wildfires that caused evacuations and threatened hundreds of homes over the weekend.
Hundreds of firefighters from across South Carolina managed to keep a large blaze in Horry County near Myrtle Beach from destroying any homes despite social media videos of orange skies at night and flames engulfing pine trees just yards away. Volunteers distributed cases of water and food to firefighters working long hours protecting homes and other structures.
“We’re very, very proud of our first responders,” said Rick Vines, a plumber who was helping with the volunteer effort. “And we wanted them to feel how proud we were by coming out here and stepping in and making sure they had what they needed so they could focus on what they were here to do.”
The fire burned 2.5 square miles (6.5 square kilometers) and was about 30% contained as of Monday evening, according to Horry County Fire Rescue. The department deployed drones as well as ground crews to respond to flare-up fires, reinforce break lines and set up portable sprinkler systems.
It was the biggest fire in the area since a 2009 wildfire nearby did $42 million in damage and destroyed about 75 homes.
Officials in all of South Carolina banned almost all outdoor fires, including burning yard debris and campfires. They told residents to call 911 if they see a neighbor setting a fire.
“You can and will go to jail for starting a fire outdoors in South Carolina. Period,” Gov. Henry McMaster wrote on social media.
Burn bans were also in place in western North Carolina. Some residents in Polk County remained evacuated from their homes as fire crews Monday morning set their own blazes to burn possible wildfire fuel to make it easier to contain a 480-acre (190-hectare) fire that was about 30% contained.
Polk County is on the fringes of an area badly hit by Hurricane Helene last year. Fallen trees that have not been cleared are increasing the risk of fires across the region.
In eastern North Carolina, nearly 80 mostly small wildfires were reported in Robeson County. Emergency officials said 15 structures were damaged, but they did not give specifics on the types of buildings.
The North Carolina Forest Service reported more than 200 wildfires across the state Monday, although almost all of them were small and not threatening any structures.
Officials across the Carolinas warned of poor air quality because of smoke.
In a drier-than-normal winter, a weekend cold front moved through the area, bringing high winds without the usual rain that accompanies the weather systems in the South and increasing the fire danger.
The area near Myrtle Beach is one of the most dangerous for wildfires in South Carolina as hundreds of years of decomposing vegetation creates peat, which when it dries out can burn for a long time.
Pine trees and other waxy vegetation provide fuel for fires to rapidly spread in dry, windy conditions.
Horry County’s population has doubled to 400,000 people over the past 25 years. Many of those newcomers have moved into neighborhoods being rapidly built right next to the oval Carolina Bays where peat and flammable vegetation all grows together. Fires have been part of the natural landscape of the bays for centuries.
Officials have not said what caused any of the fires.
Senate confirms McMahon to lead Education Department as Trump pushes to shut it down
By ANNIE MA AP Education Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate voted Monday to confirm former wrestling executive Linda McMahon as the nation’s education chief, a role that places her atop a department that President Donald Trump has vilified and vowed to dismantle.
McMahon will face the competing tasks of winding down the Education Department while also escalating efforts to achieve Trump’s agenda. Already the Republican president has signed sweeping orders to rid America’s schools of diversity programs and accommodations for transgender students while also calling for expanded school choice programs.
At the same time, Trump has promised to shut down the department and said he wants McMahon “to put herself out of a job.”
The Senate voted to confirm McMahon 51-45.
A billionaire and former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, McMahon, 76, is an unconventional pick for the role. She spent a year on Connecticut’s state board of education and is a longtime trustee at Sacred Heart University but otherwise has little traditional education leadership.
McMahon’s supporters see her as a skilled executive who will reform a department that Republicans say has failed to improve American education. Opponents say she’s unqualified and fear her budget cuts will be felt by students nationwide.
“Americans believe in public education,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said before the confirmation vote. “They don’t want to see the Department of Education abolished. If the Trump administration follows through on cuts to education, schools will lose billions in funding.”
At her confirmation hearing, McMahon distanced herself from Trump’s blistering rhetoric. She said the goal is to make the Education Department “operate more efficiently,” not to defund programs.
She acknowledged that only Congress has the power to close the department, and she pledged to preserve Title I money for low-income schools, Pell grants for low-income college students, and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Yet she suggested some operations could move to other departments, saying Health and Human Services might be better suited to enforce disability rights laws.
Weeks before McMahon’s confirmation hearing, the White House was considering an executive order that would direct the education secretary to cut the agency as much as legally possible while asking Congress to shut it down completely. Some of McMahon’s allies pressed the White House to hold the order until after her confirmation to avoid potential backlash.
Created by Congress in 1979, the Education Department’s primary role is to disburse money to the nation’s schools and colleges. It sends billions of dollars a year to K-12 schools and oversees a $1.6 trillion federal student loan portfolio.
Trump argues the department has been overtaken by liberals who press their ideology on America’s schools.
Schools and colleges have been navigating a demand to eliminate diversity programs or risk having their federal funding pulled. The Trump administration gave them a Feb. 28 deadline to comply. The Education Department addressed questions about its guidance in a document released Saturday, saying in part that changing program names that reference “diversity” or “equity” alone is not enough if they treat students differently by race.
During the presidential campaign, Trump vowed to close the department and grant its authority to states. Schools and states already wield significantly greater authority over education than the federal government, which is barred from influencing curriculum. Federal money makes up roughly 14% of public school budgets.
Already, the Trump administration has started overhauling much of the department’s work.
Trump adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has cut dozens of contracts it dismissed as “woke” and wasteful. It gutted the Institute of Education Sciences, which gathers data on the nation’s academic progress, and the administration has fired or suspended scores of employees.
Some of the cuts have halted work that’s ordered under federal law. At her hearing, McMahon said the agency will spend money that’s directed by Congress, and she played down DOGE’s cuts as merely an audit.
McMahon is a longtime Trump ally who left WWE in 2009 to launch a political career, running unsuccessfully twice for the U.S. Senate. She has given millions of dollars to Trump’s campaigns and served as leader of the Small Business Administration during his first term.
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The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find the AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Trump hits ‘pause’ on US aid to Ukraine after Oval dustup, pressuring Zelenskyy on Russia talks
By AAMER MADHANI and ZEKE MILLER Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday directed a “pause” to U.S. assistance to Ukraine after a disastrous Oval Office meeting as he seeks to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to engage in peace talks with Russia.
A White House official said Trump is focused on reaching a peace deal to end the more than three-year war sparked by Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine, and wants Zelenskyy “committed” to that goal. The official added that the U.S. was “pausing and reviewing” its aid to “ensure that it is contributing to a solution.” The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the assistance.
The moment comes some five years after Trump held up congressionally authorized assistance to Ukraine in 2019 as he sought to pressure Zelenskyy to launch investigations into Joe Biden, then a Democratic presidential candidate. The moment led to Trump’s first impeachment.
Trump in the leadup to his 2024 election win vowed to quickly end the war in Ukraine. He’s expressed increasing frustration with Zelenskyy over the war, while simultaneously expressing confidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin can be trusted to keep the peace if a truce in the conflict is reached.
Trump earlier on Monday slammed Zelenskyy for suggesting that the end of Russia’s war against Ukraine likely “is still very, very far away.”
The comments come as prominent Trump allies escalate pressure on Zelenskyy to dramatically change his approach to the U.S. president, who has made quickly ending the war a top priority, or step aside.
The long complicated relationship between the leaders has reached a nadir following the disastrous White House meeting in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance excoriated Zelenskyy for not being sufficiently thankful for U.S. support for Ukraine since Putin ordered the February 2022 invasion.
“This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform about the comments Zelenskyy made late Sunday while speaking to reporters in London.
Trump at an event at the White House later on Monday referred to Zelenskyy’s reported comments, and asserted the Ukrainian leader “better not be right about that.”
“If somebody doesn’t want to make a deal, I think that person won’t be around very long,” Trump added. “That person will not be listened to very long.”
Trump took issue with Zelenskyy suggesting it would take time to come to an agreement to end the war. The Ukrainian leader also tried to offer a positive take on the U.S.-Ukraine relationship in the aftermath of last week’s White House meeting.
Asked by a reporter about the outlines of a new European initiative to end Russia’s war, Zelenskyy said: “We are talking about the first steps today, and, therefore, until they are on paper, I would not like to talk about them in great detail.”
“An agreement to end the war is still very, very far away, and no one has started all these steps yet,” he added.
But Trump was only further irritated by Zelenskyy’s suggesting it will take time for the conflict to come to a close.
“It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing and, Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelenskyy, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the U.S. — Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia,” Trump added in his post. “What are they thinking?”
Zelenskyy took to social media soon after Trump’s latest criticism. He did not directly refer to Trump’s comments, but underscored that it “is very important that we try to make our diplomacy really substantive to end this war the soonest possible.”
“We need real peace and Ukrainians want it most because the war ruins our cities and towns,” Zelenskyy added. “We lose our people. We need to stop the war and to guarantee security.”
Trump’s national security adviser said Zelenskyy’s posture during Friday’s Oval Office talks “put up in the air” whether he’s someone the U.S. administration will be able to deal with going forward.
“Is he ready, personally, politically, to move his country towards an end to the fighting?” Mike Waltz said on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom” earlier Monday. “And can he and will he make the compromises necessary?”
Waltz added another layer of doubt about U.S. support as other high-profile Trump allies have suggested that the relationship between Trump and Zelenskyy is becoming untenable.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday that Zelenskyy “needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude or someone else needs to lead the country” for Ukraine to continue pursuing a peace deal negotiated by the United States.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally who has been a vociferous supporter of Ukraine, said soon after the Oval Office meeting that Zelenskyy “either needs to resign and send somebody over that we can do business with, or he needs to change.”
Angela Stent, a former national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia at the National Intelligence Council, said Putin is likely in no rush to end the war amid the fissures between Trump and Zelenskyy and Europe and the U.S. about the way ahead.
“He is not interested in ending the war,” said Stent, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington. “He thinks Russia is winning. … And he thinks that as time goes on, the West will be more fractured.”
Trump administration and Ukrainian officials had been expected to sign off on a deal during Zelenskyy’s visit last week that would have given the U.S. access to Ukraine’s critical minerals in part to pay back more than $180 billion in aid the U.S. has sent Kyiv since the start of the war. The White House has also billed such a pact as a way to tighten U.S.-Ukrainian relations in the long term.
The signing was scrapped after the leaders’ Oval Office talks went off the rails and White House officials asked Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian delegation to leave.
Trump on Monday, however, suggested he hasn’t given up on the economic pact, calling it “a great deal.” He added that he expected to speak to the deal during his Tuesday address before a joint session of Congress.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican who co-chairs the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, spoke with Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, on Monday about getting the mineral rights deal back on track.
Fitzpatrick after the lengthy call predicted the “deal will be signed in short order.”
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AP journalist Tracy Brown contributed reporting.
Trump says 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports will start Tuesday, with ‘no room’ for delay
By ZEKE MILLER, JOSH BOAK and ROB GILLIES Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday that 25% taxes on imports from Mexico and Canada would start Tuesday, sparking renewed fears of a North American trade war that already showed signs of pushing up inflation and hindering growth.
“Tomorrow — tariffs 25% on Canada and 25% on Mexico. And that’ll start,” Trump told reporters in the Roosevelt Room. “They’re going to have to have a tariff.”
Trump has said the tariffs are to force the two U.S. neighbors to step up their fight against fentanyl trafficking and stop illegal immigration. But Trump has also indicated that he wants to even the trade imbalance with both countries as well and push more factories to relocate in the United States.
His comments quickly rattled the U.S. stock market, with the S&P 500 index down 2% in Monday afternoon trading. It’s a sign of the political and economic risks that Trump feels compelled to take, given the possibility of higher inflation and the possible demise of a decades-long trade partnership with Mexico and Canada.
Yet the Trump administration remains confident that tariffs are the best choice to boost U.S. manufacturing and attract foreign investment. Before Trump’s statement on tariffs in response to a question on Tuesday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that the computer chipmaker TSMC had expanded its investment in the United States because of the possibility of separate 25% tariffs.
In February, Trump put a 10% tariff on imports from China and reemphasized on Monday that the rate would be doubling to 20% on Tuesday.
Trump provided a one-month delay in February as both Mexico and Canada promised concessions. But Trump said Monday that there was “no room left for Mexico or for Canada” to avoid the steep new tariffs, which were also set to tax Canadian energy products such as oil and electricity at a lower 10% rate.
“If Trump is imposing tariffs, we are ready,” said Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly. “We are ready with $155 billion worth of tariffs and we’re ready with the first tranche of tariffs, which is $30 billion.”
Joly said Canada has a very strong border plan and explained that to Trump administration officials last week. She said the diplomatic efforts are continuing. She spoke after Trump made his comments Tuesday.
Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum went into Monday waiting to see what Trump would say.
“It’s a decision that depends on the United States government, on the United States president,” Sheinbaum said ahead of Trump’s statement. “So whatever his decision is, we will make our decisions and there is a plan, there is unity in Mexico.”
Both countries have tried to show action in response to Trump’s concerns. Mexico sent 10,000 National Guard troops to their shared border to crack down on drug trafficking and illegal immigration. Canada named a fentanyl czar, even though smuggling of the drug from Canada into the United States appears to be relatively modest.
As late as Sunday, it remained unclear what choice Trump would make on tariff rates. Lutnick told Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” that the decision was “fluid.”
“He’s sort of thinking about right now how exactly he wants to play it with Mexico and Canada,” Lutnick said. “And that is a fluid situation. There are going to be tariffs on Tuesday on Mexico and Canada. Exactly what they are, we’re going to leave that for the president and his team to negotiate.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Mexico has also offered to place 20% taxes on all imports from China as part of talks with the United States.
Bessent told CBS News on Sunday that China would “eat” the cost of the tariffs, instead of passing them along to the U.S. businesses and consumers that import their products in the form of higher prices.
But companies ranging from Ford to Walmart have warned about the negative impact that tariffs could create for their businesses. Similarly, multiple analyses by the Peterson Institute for International Economics and the Yale University Budget Lab suggest that an average family could face price increases of more than $1,000.
Trump also plans to roll out what he calls “reciprocal” tariffs on April that would match the rate charged by other countries, including any subsidies and and value added taxes charged by those countries.
The U.S. president has already announced the removal of exemptions from his 2018 tariffs on steel and aluminum, in addition to tariffs on autos, computer chips, copper and pharmaceutical drugs.
ACC, FSU, Clemson reach proposed settlement to end legal fight, change money distribution: AP source
By AARON BEARD AP Sports Writer
The legal fights between the Atlantic Coast Conference and high-profile member schools Clemson and Florida State appear close to resolution, which could provide the league with a measure of stability for the coming years.
The league and the two schools have reached a proposed settlement that would include changing the league’s revenue-distribution model, a person familiar with the situation said Monday. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither the league nor the schools have publicly addressed the deal, which requires all three to approve. ESPN first reported the details.
Trustees at Clemson and Florida State have each scheduled meetings for Tuesday. The FSU meeting specifically lists lawsuits involving the ACC on the agenda, while the Clemson meeting agenda refers to settling “athletic litigations.”
The ACC’s Board of Directors – made up of university presidents and chancellors – will also hold a call to sign off on the settlement Tuesday during a previously scheduled meeting, the person who spoke to AP said.
If approved, the settlement would incorporate viewership ratings into revenue distribution among member schools, which would increase payouts to schools generating the most TV interest. The upside could be $15 million or more for top-earning schools, while it could also result in a decline of about $7 million for others, the person told the AP.
The agreement would also provide clarity on the costs for a team to potentially exit before the expiration of a grant-of-rights deal — signed by all schools to give the ACC control of a school’s media rights — through the duration of the league’s TV deal with ESPN in 2036. Those costs had been a key subject of FSU’s December 2023 lawsuit, filed as it sought to explore potential membership in other leagues, and Clemson’s March 2024 lawsuit. The ACC had conversely sued both schools.
Approval would quell that threat for the league and Commissioner Jim Phillips, who has spent much of his four-year tenure working to find ways to enhance revenue for schools as the league faces an increasing gap behind the Big Ten and Southeastern conferences. That has included expansion and a success-driven boost to revenues in what he has previously called “aggressive” efforts to change the financial picture, along with ACC leaders discussing ways to rethink revenue distribution.
According to tax documents, the ACC distributed an average of $44.8 million to its 14 football-playing members (Notre Dame receives a partial share as a football independent) and a record $706.6 million in total revenue for the 2022-23 season, its most recent available year. TV revenue increased 67% from $288.6 million in the 2018-19 fiscal year before the launch of the ACC Network to $481.7 million for 2022-23.
Overall, the ACC ranked third behind the Big Ten ($879.9 million revenue, $60.3 million average payout) and SEC ($852.6 million, $51.3 million) for that same year, and ahead of the smaller Big 12 ($510.7 million, $44.2 million).
The settlement comes roughly a month after ESPN exercised its option to extend its media base-rights agreement, aligning that deal with a separate one that covers their partnership for the ACC Network through 2036.
It also comes in the first year of a Phillips-championed “success initiative” that allows schools to keep more of the money generated by their own postseason success, which could amount to about $25 million in a year — tied mostly to performance in the College Football Playoff. For example, Clemson and SMU each were set to earn $4 million for their first-round CFP appearances this year, which the amount increasing as a team plays deeper into the bracket.
As with that initiative, the revenue-distribution proposal designed around viewership would follow a similar goal for Phillips: the additional money would theoretically be accessible to any league member, incentivizing a school to field a program that viewers want to watch because of its elevated success.
With this model, 60% of league revenues would go into a pot to be distributed based on a rolling formula tied to TV ratings. The remaining 40% would be distributed equally, the person told the AP.
The league has 18 member schools, 17 in football, after realignment led to westward expansion with the additions of California, Stanford and SMU.
That expansion created $600 million in additional incremental revenue gains through the ACC’s ESPN deal. Additionally, the league that has long leaned on equitable distributions has Cal and Stanford taking reduced payouts (around 30%) for the first seven seasons before gradually increasing to a full share in the 10th season, while SMU is forgoing nine years of TV money.
Oscar winners — and losers — laugh, drink and dance together at after-parties
By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Were it not for the absence of an Oscar in his hands, you wouldn’t have known Timothée Chalamet lost best actor to Adrien Brody as he sauntered with a smile into the Vanity Fair party.
Once he got inside, Chalamet’s grin grew even bigger as he was surrounded with love on all sides at the Beverly Hills bash that is the most luminescent of the post-Oscar parties, where winners and losers alike kicked up their heels, downed champagne and ate In-N-Out Burger late Sunday and early Monday to celebrate the end of a long night and a long awards season.
Changed out of the bright yellow tuxedo he wore to the ceremony into a simpler white shirt and black suit, Chalamet hugged his girlfriend’s sisters, Kim Kardashian and Kendall Jenner, who had awaited his arrival from the ceremony. He put his phone to his ear and struggled to hear over the thumping bass, but then waved over an arriving Kylie Jenner, who joined him with a kiss.
Chris Rock was indignant on Chalamet’s behalf, loudly declaring he was robbed when he didn’t win for playing Bob Dylan in “A Complete Unknown” as the two posed for a picture.
Chalamet for his part was looking ahead to his next film, “Marty Supreme” where he’ll be playing pingpong instead of folk songs.
Hugging the famously petulant tennis legend John McEnroe, Chalamet told the people around them, “For my next project, he was a big inspiration. I play a very intense table tennis player.”
Oscars host Conan O’Brien stood next to a couch nearby and thanked a parade of people who came up to give him rave reviews. One fan said he loved a bit he’d done mocking Amazon and its CEO, Jeff Bezos.
“I’ll never get a package again,” O’Brien said.
Governors Ball is a must stop for newly minted Oscar winners
Winners abounded at the Governors Ball, including those from the night’s undisputed champion, “Anora.”
It’s the first stop of the night, just up the escalators from the ceremony’s Dolby Theatre home. It’s where they get their Oscar statuettes engraved, and dig into some food and drinks before heading off to other parties.
The engraving station is always buzzing with activity as people try to get a glimpse of the victors. Zoe Saldaña, best supporting actress winner for “Emilia Pérez,” stood proudly at the table, waiting for her golden statuette to be forever hers, dancing a little bit to pass the time.
When it was finished, her husband, Marco Perego-Saldaña — whom she embarrassed during her acceptance speech when she praised his beautiful long hair — snapped a photo of her on his phone.
Afterwards, the “Anora” team, including Sean Baker with his four Oscar trophies, and best actress winner Mikey Madison with hers, lugged their Oscars up to the station, as David Bowie’s “Modern Love” played on the speakers.
Brody, best actor winner for “The Brutalist,” was close behind, taking the spot next to Baker.
Mick Jagger, Olivia Rodrigo and a shining ‘Severance’ star
If the Governors Ball is the first stop of the night for the evening’s celebrities, the Vanity Fair party is often the last.
Hosted by the magazine’s editor, Radhika Jones, at a custom-built space connecting the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts with Beverly Hills City Hall, it begins as a dinner and viewing party for about 100 people before growing into a banger of a bash and the night’s most sought-after invitation.
This year’s design had a 1970s vibe, with gold carpets and a giant disco ball.
Mick Jagger was at the initial dinner, left long enough to present the Oscar for best original song, then came back for the big party.
The night’s music included a drum-machine remix of his “Satisfaction.”
Saldaña showed up holding her freshly engraved Oscar and posed for pictures with Jessica Alba.
Many less famous faces walked the room holding the Oscars that got them an instant invitation. They included a beaming costume design winner Paul Tazewell.
Nearly as popular as Chalamet was Britt Lower, star of “Severance,” the TV show that is so much in the zeitgeist that she was constantly approached by people who lit up when they saw her.
“Oh my god, we are such huge fans!” Olivia Rodrigo, with her boyfriend Louis Partridge, told Lower.
Chappell Roan lights up Elton John’s party, and duets with the host
For entertainment, no party could match the annual Oscars affair hosted by Elton John, where Chappell Roan brought her pop stardom to a special performance.
She had the crowd jumping as she sang her hits “Hot to Go” and “Good Luck, Babe” before bringing up the host.
Wearing a bedazzled pink cowboy hat Roan gifted him onstage, John sang two duets with the recent Grammy winner, including his “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” and her “Pink Pony Club.” The latter song celebrates West Hollywood, where the 33rd annual incarnation of the event was held in large white tents.
It’s a fundraiser, co-hosted by John’s longtime partner David Furnish, supporting the Elton John AIDS Foundation’s efforts to end new cases of HIV and AIDS.
Singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile was sitting with John during the party, after the two lost the Oscar for best original song for their collaboration, “Never Too Late.”
Young Hollywood hangs together, and leaves together
On the patio at the Vanity fair party, Rodrigo and Partridge hung out with a swath of young stars. They included “The Substance” star Margaret Qualley, who danced during a James Bond tribute at the ceremony; her husband, singer-songwriter-producer Jack Antonoff; actor Jenna Ortega; and model and actor Kaia Gerber.
Another tennis legend, Serena Williams, walked by while eating a slice of pizza from chef Evan Funke, who supplies pies for the party.
Even the valet-and-Uber pickup spot was buzzy with celebrity.
“Car for Andrew Garfield!” an attendant yelled.
Garfield and Monica Barbaro, a best supporting actress nominee for “A Complete Unknown,” have been the subject of dating rumors. They left together in an SUV.
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Associated Press Writers Lindsey Bahr and Brooke Lefferts contributed from Los Angeles.
March 3rd 2025
Thought of the Day
Silence isn’t always golden, sometimes it’s just yellow.