You don’t have time for three hours of doomscrolling, twenty half-baked takes, and some guy online screaming READ THE THREAD. We are Front Page Detectives, this is your morning Drive-By, and here is what is real.
The newspaper faces accusations of retaliation after dropping a longtime contributor who shared criticism of its limited reporting on allegations against the president.
The New York Times is facing a backlash after romance fiction columnist Olivia Waite said the newspaper terminated her contract following social media posts criticizing its coverage of rape allegations against President Donald Trump. Waite told the website Smart Bitches, Trashy Books that editors informed her Friday they would not renew her contract, despite praising the quality of her work. She said the newspaper acknowledged monitoring her Bluesky activity and cited what it perceived as her negative feelings toward the publication.
The controversy centers on an October 26 report from House Judiciary Committee Democrats detailing allegations involving Trump and Jeffrey Epstein. The report included accounts from 11 women, five of whom alleged sexual assault or rape involving Trump in Epstein’s company or presence. Among them was former Swiss beauty contestant Beatrice Keul, who alleged that Trump raped her at New York’s Plaza Hotel in 1993, an accusation the White House has denied.
Critics questioned why the Times devoted just 323 words to the congressional report and omitted Keul’s rape allegation. Assistant managing editor Patrick Healy defended the coverage, explaining that the newspaper had previously investigated Keul’s earlier allegations but had not independently corroborated her latest claim. When journalist Marisa Kabas challenged that explanation, Healy noted that the article linked directly to the congressional report, prompting further criticism from journalists who argued that readers deserved more substantial coverage.
Waite reposted a critical comment from former Chicago Tribune editor Mark Jacob without adding her own remarks. Days later, she received the email ending her contract, which she described as retaliation for exercising her right to criticize journalism. The Times has not publicly addressed her departure, while hundreds of social media users have condemned the decision and questioned the newspaper’s commitment to editorial independence.
Hot Take: The Times couldn’t find room for a rape allegation against the president, but apparently found time to monitor a romance columnist’s social media. Nothing says fearless journalism like firing someone for sharing criticism. All the news that’s fit to print, provided nobody upstairs gets uncomfortable.
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Dylan Mortensen is asking a judge to protect her identity as questions about her actions during the murders continue to attract intense public scrutiny.
Dylan Mortensen, one of two surviving roommates from the November 2022 University of Idaho murders, has asked a judge to prevent her face from appearing in additional investigative photographs and records. In a written statement, the 23-year-old said she has endured years of harassment, threats and accusations concerning her possible involvement in the killings. She revealed that she and her family have moved nine times and that she now uses an assumed name when ordering deliveries, working or meeting new people.
Mortensen was inside the Moscow rental home when Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were stabbed to death. She previously told investigators that she heard disturbing noises, including a female voice and someone saying, “You’re gonna be fine. I’m gonna help you.” She also described briefly seeing a masked man dressed in black before locking herself inside a bedroom.
Her account has prompted persistent questions about why emergency services were not contacted until hours after the suspected time of the killings. Mortensen has described feeling frightened and uncertain about what she witnessed, while critics continue to question the sequence of events and the lengthy delay before police were called. No evidence establishing that Mortensen participated in the murders has been publicly presented, and Kaylee Goncalves’ father has acknowledged that an earlier emergency call would not have saved his daughter.
Mortensen said strangers have contacted her with accusations, threats and demands for explanations, while others have reportedly approached family homes. Steve and Kristi Goncalves publicly supported both surviving roommates and warned that they were considering legal action against individuals spreading defamatory claims. Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty to the four murders in July 2025 but is currently seeking to withdraw that plea through post-conviction proceedings.
Hot Take: Threatening a witness is contemptible. Asking why police weren’t called for hours after four murders is a legitimate question. The internet’s lunatics have made it easier to dismiss the questions that still deserve answers.
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The former music mogul’s 57th birthday will look considerably different from his lavish celebrity parties as he serves his federal sentence.
Sean “Diddy” Combs will celebrate his 57th birthday Wednesday, November 4, inside FCI Allenwood in Pennsylvania, where the prison menu offers a considerable departure from the luxury associated with his former lifestyle. According to published meal schedules, breakfast will include oatmeal, scrambled eggs, fruit and whole wheat bread. Lunch offers a choice between a hamburger and a black bean burger, accompanied by potatoes and fruit.
Dinner will feature pork roast, mashed potatoes, gravy and mixed vegetables, with whole wheat bread on the side. Combs also has the option of purchasing three cupcakes from the prison commissary for $1.25. Fellow inmates wishing to acknowledge the occasion could reportedly purchase a six-pack of birthday cards for $1.50.
Combs was transferred to Allenwood from FCI Fort Dix in October while serving a 50-month sentence following his conviction on two federal counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. He was acquitted of the more serious racketeering and sex-trafficking charges. His incarceration has reportedly included disciplinary violations, loss of good-conduct credit and a hospital visit following a non-life-threatening head injury, although officials have denied rumors about a widely reported prison fight.
Hot Take: Once upon a time, Diddy’s birthday parties had champagne, celebrities and enough security to protect a small country. This year it’s prison pork roast and three cupcakes for $1.25. At least the guest list has finally been vetted.
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A former FBI agent believes detectives’ visit to a Florida laboratory suggests they have forensic evidence worth pursuing, although no breakthrough has been confirmed.
Investigators searching for Nancy Guthrie are pursuing advanced DNA testing nine months after the 84-year-old disappeared from her Tucson, Arizona, home. Detectives from the Pima County Sheriff’s Office recently traveled to Florida to meet with forensic scientists about evidence recovered during the investigation. Authorities have not disclosed the precise nature of the material or whether testing has produced any identifiable suspects.
Retired FBI agent Steve Moore suggested the decision to meet laboratory specialists in person indicates investigators believe the evidence warrants further examination. He said the material might contain unidentified or partial DNA, potentially complicated by mixtures involving multiple individuals. Moore cautioned that additional testing does not guarantee useful results, and sources familiar with the investigation have reportedly confirmed that no major breakthrough has occurred.
Guthrie, the mother of Today host Savannah Guthrie, is believed to have been abducted from her home during the early hours of February 1. Investigators have treated the disappearance as a suspected kidnapping for ransom but have not publicly identified a suspect. Savannah recently shared a personal message describing the continuing anguish of living without answers, explaining that ordinary life has never returned to normal for the family.
Hot Take: Nine months without a suspect, and the best hope now sits in a Florida laboratory. The DNA might finally tell investigators something useful. It would be a welcome change from another press conference telling everyone how hard they’re working.
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As a new Netflix documentary revisits the 2005 disappearance, a private investigator who worked with Holloway’s father condemns the original police investigation.
A private investigator who assisted Natalee Holloway’s family has accused Aruban authorities of mishandling the investigation into her 2005 disappearance, arguing that critical opportunities were lost from the beginning. T.J. Ward, who worked with Holloway’s father, previously claimed local police wanted the international controversy to disappear rather than confront failures in their investigation. His criticism has resurfaced ahead of a new Netflix documentary examining the murder and the lengthy struggle to establish what happened.
Holloway, 18, disappeared during a high school graduation trip to Aruba in May 2005 after spending an evening with Dutch national Joran van der Sloot. Authorities arrested van der Sloot and brothers Deepak and Satish Kalpoe during the initial investigation, but all three were eventually released without murder charges. Van der Sloot was arrested again in 2007 as investigators pursued new evidence, although prosecutors never secured a murder indictment.
In 2023, van der Sloot confessed to killing Holloway as part of a federal plea agreement involving extortion and wire fraud charges. He admitted striking her in the head with a cinder block before disposing of her body in the ocean. The confession came years after he attempted to extort $250,000 from Holloway’s mother, Beth, by claiming he could reveal where her daughter’s remains were located.
Hot Take: Aruban police had their prime suspect in custody, let him go and spent years chasing their own tails. Van der Sloot eventually confessed while negotiating another criminal case. Twenty-one years later, the family has an answer. The island’s investigators still have some explaining to do.
