There’s an old saying that it’s easy to make a million dollars in the music business, but it’s hard to hold on to one dollar. Continue reading…The Boot – Country Music News, Music Videos and Songs
There’s an old saying that it’s easy to make a million dollars in the music business, but it’s hard to hold on to one dollar. Continue reading…Country Music News – Taste of Country
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One of the worst 90 Day Fiance villains in history was Geoffrey Paschel.
In his case, it wasn’t about his on-screen antics — though there were plenty of red flags.
What landed Paschel on Worst Ex Ever and also behind bars was his violent domestic abuse.
Who is Paschel? And where is he now?
Season 2 of Netflix’s chilling docuseries, Worst Ex Ever, has introduced viewers to some loathsome figures.
But many of us were already more familiar than we’d ever wanted to be with Geoffrey Paschel.
For years, he appeared on television — usually in nonspeaking roles on Investigation Discovery shows, reenacting crimes.
In 2020, he appeared on 90 Day Fiance: Before The 90 Days. The season was supposed to show him flying out to Russia to win the heart of Varya Malina and convince her to overlook his behavioral red flags.
The season featured a messy love triangle and more, only for Paschel to not appear on the Tell All special. Producers did not allow Shaun Robinson to explain his absence, but we all knew the truth.
Before Season 4 of Before The 90 Days even aired, we at The Hollywood Gossip were already reporting — in 2019, even — that Paschel was accused of a brutal attack against his ex.
As World Ex Ever highlighted, we uncovered multiple accusers in his past. It seemed that each woman had her own horror story.
He was accused of domestic violence, stalking, and rape.
One of Paschel’s intended storylines for Before The 90 Days was to tell the story of his child, who had passed away as a toddler.
That child’s mother said that she was held captive by Paschel while pregnant and forced to give birth in captivity. It appears that TLC missed some things during the casting process.
We do not know exactly when Paschel filmed for Before The 90 Days, which aired in early 2020. It appears that he filmed during the summer or autumn of 2019.
But in June of that year, Paschel attacked then-fiancee Kristen Wilson. (Yes, he was clearly messaging Malina and gearing up for 90 Day while still engaged to Wilson.)
His violent attack left her face swollen. First responders found her blood smeared on the walls and floor, making them able to retrace the attack — only after she escaped and called for help. (Geoffrey had sabotaged her phone.)
Wilson courageously testified against Paschel at his trial. In late 2021, the jury found him guilty.
At sentencing in early 2022, prosecutors informed the court that at least one of Paschel’s children was being used to try to pressure Wilson into asking the court to show him leniency. This did not go over well with the judge.
Paschel received an 18-year prison sentence — without the possibility of parole.
Additionally, the judge made it clear that Paschel’s pattern of terrorizing and manipulating women and the moving on to the next was as transparent as hit attempts to manipulate his victim into asking for leniency.
Paschel’s scheduled release is in December of 2037.
Perhaps the saddest twist is that Malina, like many of his exes, seems to believe that he is a victim, that women are simply telling lies about him.
We are relieved that he went to prison before Malina could discover who and what he truly is. It is our sincere hope that the engagement ends before his release.
Geoffrey Paschel: Where is the Disgraced ’90 Day Fiance’ Alum Featured on … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
The Hollywood Gossip
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Senators passed the mental health budget by a 20 to 0 vote on May 7, 2026. (Photo by Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)
We’re headed into the finale of the second legislative session of the 34th Legislature. The Senate passed a draft operating budget and the House continues work on the capital budget, while lawmakers are considering final bills to pass or reject. A joint session to vote on the governor’s appointees for various boards and commissions is expected this week, but a date has not been set yet.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy is in Juneau and pushing for legislative action on the proposed Alaska LNG gas line project, but there is still considerable disagreement among legislators about what that should look like — and how much the state should subsidize the gas line.
This is the Alaska Beacon’s list of where we’re putting our attention in the coming week. There’s always more news than there are people to report it.
Every Thursday, the Alaska Legislature publishes its committee schedule for the coming week. Public notices alert us to meetings and events. The governor’s office occasionally lets us know ahead of time that something’s coming down the pike, too.
Here’s what we know about for the coming week. If you know of something that’s coming up that you should think we should pay attention to, email us at info@alaskabeacon.com.
We can’t cover everything on this list, but we’re interested in them and we think you should know about them in case you’re interested in them, too.
This list is ripped from our notebooks, and it is likely to change over the course of the week. We’ll update it when we can.
Are you trying to keep track of when to testify on a bill? The Legislature has a website for that.
House/Senate floor sessions in the morning
9 a.m. – Senate Finance considers an omnibus crime bill, containing ten bills related to a variety of court and criminal justice issues
1:30 p.m. – House Finance considers a “mini-bus” education bill, including adding nearly $82 million in one-time funding for schools and a variety of policy changes
3:15 p.m. – House Labor and Commerce considers a bill to change charitable gaming law to include electronic pull tabs, passed by the Senate
3:30 – Senate Resources continues considering tax breaks for the proposed Alaska LNG gas line project
8 a.m. House Community and Regional Affairs considers a bill to expand property tax deferments for some farms and agricultural businesses, which was passed by the Senate
9 a.m. – Senate Resources continues considering the proposed Alaska LNG gas line project, and a bill to enact tougher standards for residential licenses for hunting and fishing, which was already passed by the House
1:30 p.m. – Senate Transportation considers a bill that would regulate autonomous vehicles, which was passed by the House
3:15 p.m. – House State Affairs considers a bill that would cap campaign contributions and enact more reporting requirements for political campaigns
3:30 p.m. – Senate Resources considers a bill to establish cooperatives for salmon setnetters that has been passed by the House, and continues considering the proposed Alaska LNG gas line project
3:30 p.m. – Senate State Affairs considers a bill to establish an Alaska Native Languages Task Force, and looks at a new elections bill introduced by Gov. Dunleavy after he vetoed a bipartisan elections reform bill that the Legislature tried and failed to override
9 a.m. – House Finance considers a bill to enact a statewide spay and neuter program, and another bill that would establish shared responsibility for construction project owners and contractors for unpaid wage violations
9 a.m. – Senate Finance hears a presentation on the Donlin Gold project
9 a.m. – Senate Resources continues considering the proposed Alaska LNG gas line project
1:30 p.m. – House Finance considers a bill related to property taxes for the proposed Alaska LNG gas line project
1:30 p.m. – Senate Labor and Commerce considers a bill that would require contracts for new data centers to account for energy needs, prioritize renewable energy and ensure other energy customers’ costs do not increase
3:15 p.m. – House Labor and Commerce continues considering a bill to change charitable gaming law to include electronic pull tabs, passed by the Senate
3:30 p.m. – Senate Resources continues considering the proposed Alaska LNG gas line project
9 a.m. – House Finance considers a bill to expand state funding for early education, including school districts’ funding for pre-K student programs, passed by the Senate
9 a.m. – Senate Finance to consider a governor’s proposal, amended by the Senate Resources Committee, to levy a state tax for education and expand corporate income taxes
9 a.m. – Senate Resources continues considering tax breaks for the proposed Alaska LNG gas line project
1:30 p.m. – House Finance continues hearing a House proposal for tax breaks on the proposed Alaska LNG gas line project
1:30 p.m. – Senate Finance considers two bills that would allow communities to borrow from the state’s bulk fuel loan program to help offset rising fuel costs
3:15 p.m. – House State Affairs continues to consider a bill that would cap campaign contributions and enact more reporting requirements for political campaigns, and another bill to update state law to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity or expression in real estate transactions
9 a.m. – House Finance considers a bill that would enact a $0.98 monthly surcharge on all phone lines to fund behavioral health crisis services, including a 988 crisis hotline
1:30 p.m. – House Finance continues consideration of a House proposal for tax breaks on the proposed Alaska LNG gas line project
1:30 p.m. – Senate Labor and Commerce considers a bill to exempt seafood processing workers from paid sick leave, passed by Alaska voters with Ballot Measure 1 in 2024
3:30 p.m. – Senate Resources continues considering the proposed Alaska LNG gas line project
Hearings on various bills are scheduled to continue in Senate Finance, House Finance, House Health and Social Services and House State Affairs
Americans think cash rules more of the political system than it should — a concern that crosses party lines as midterm spending is projected to once again shatter records.
New results from The POLITICO Poll are stark: 72 percent of Americans say there is too much money in politics, with just 5 percent disagreeing. Across parties, majorities say billionaires wield outsized influence over U.S. politics and that special interest spending is a type of corruption that should be restricted, rather than protected as free speech. Nearly half of respondents say voters have too little power.
Outside money shows no sign of slowing. New groups tied to artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency and other emerging industries are rapidly entering the political arena, pouring millions into competitive primaries to shape who makes it to Washington. Each of the last three midterm elections has set new spending records, and ad tracking firm AdImpact projects advertising spending will once again reach new heights, to the tune of $10.8 billion.
“This type of astronomical spending corrodes people’s faith in our system of government, and I think people are really looking for changes to take some of this outrageous amount of spending and rein it in,” said Michael Beckel, the Money in Politics Reform Director at Issue One, a nonprofit advocacy group.
The poll — conducted in partnership with Public First — suggests many Americans see that influence as coming at voters’ expense, raising concerns not just about fairness, but about the health of the democratic system itself.
Still, there was some partisan disagreement, with Democrats tending to hold the strongest views against money in politics. Non-voters, meanwhile, were more likely to respond “I don’t know” to these questions, which lowered the overall shares of Americans who are critical of money in politics, compared with Harris voters and Trump voters.
Here’s a look at where Americans stand, starting with a place of unified skepticism:
Americans overwhelmingly believe there is too much money in politics.
Cutting across party lines, nearly 3 out of 4 Americans agreed with the statement that “There is too much money in American politics,” while most others didn’t take a position.
They also see that money as powerful. A majority think it can shape election outcomes — with 39 percent saying money can outright buy results and another 34 percent saying it can influence but not buy them. That perception mirrors what’s already playing out in campaigns: wealthy donors and outside groups are pouring millions into competitive races, often through vehicles that can accept unlimited contributions and amplify a small group of voices.
There’s a partisan break in beliefs about how far that money can go. Trump voters lean toward saying people or organizations with a lot of money can influence elections without buying the outcomes, while Harris voters were more likely to say election outcomes can be bought.
Americans agree: Voters don’t have enough power.
When asked how much sway different groups have over politics, about half of respondents said voters have too little — far greater than the shares that said voters have either too much influence or the right amount.
Meanwhile, 6 in 10 say billionaires have too much influence over U.S. politics — a view that’s more widespread among Democrats, with 75 percent of Harris voters agreeing, compared with 55 percent of Trump voters. A sizable share of respondents also see political parties, special interest groups and foreign governments as overly influential, far outweighing the number of Americans saying those groups have too little influence.
Concern about special interest money runs particularly deep. Not only do two-thirds of Americans say there is too much of it flowing into U.S. politics, a majority (53 percent) view that money as corrupt and in need of stricter regulation, instead of following the conservative legal principle that it is an act of free speech to be protected. That includes 56 percent of Trump voters.
Money plays a major role in shaping elections, including in determining candidates’ ability to run advertising to get their message in front of voters, to hold campaign events and to hire staff. It can even shape who runs in the first place.
Americans know that money matters, expressing a broad skepticism about how elections are decided. A plurality believes the candidate with the most money — not the most popular positions — wins.
That view is far more common among Democrats: Over half of 2024 Harris voters say money is the deciding factor, compared with a little over a third of Trump voters.
Erin Doherty contributed reporting.
Politics
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