Lady Gaga's first child, Lil Durk's acquittal, Judge Judy's retirement

Lady Gaga welcomes first child

Lady Gaga may be entering a new chapter away from the spotlight, with reports claiming that she and fiancé Michael Polansky have welcomed their first child.

The singer and the technology entrepreneur were reportedly photographed in Northern California with a newborn. Gaga was allegedly seen carrying the baby in a sling, prompting speculation that the couple had quietly become parents. Neither has issued a public announcement, and information about the child has not been disclosed.

The reported arrival follows years of a largely private romance. Gaga and Polansky first confirmed their relationship publicly in 2020, and she later called him “the love of my life.” Their engagement also remained under the radar until Gaga referred to him as her fiancé in 2024.

She eventually shared that Polansky proposed during a rock-climbing trip, revealing that he asked for permission to propose before getting down on one knee. “He wanted to know if it was OK to propose before he proposed,” Gaga recalled.

The possible baby news comes months after Gaga completed her The Mayhem Ball tour in April. Since then, she has made fewer public appearances, leaving fans to await confirmation of the latest development in her personal life.

⁠Lil Durk gets acquitted of ‘murder-for-hire’ charges

Lil Durk has been cleared of federal murder-for-hire charges, but the Chicago rapper’s legal battle is far from over.

A Los Angeles jury found the Grammy-winning artist, whose real name is Durk Devontay Banks, not guilty of five felony counts connected to the 2022 killing of Saviay’a Robinson. Robinson was the cousin of rapper Quando Rondo and was fatally shot during an ambush at a Los Angeles petrol station. Rondo, who was also in the vehicle, survived the attack.

Prosecutors alleged that Durk arranged the shooting as retaliation for the 2020 death of fellow OTF rapper King Von. They claimed he offered a financial reward for Rondo’s killing, while the defense challenged the government’s evidence during the three-week trial.

Defense attorney Drew Findling said Durk was “thankful” after the verdict. Supporters also gathered outside the courthouse to celebrate the decision, which followed three days of jury deliberations.

Two co-defendants, Deandre Wilson and David Lindsey, were acquitted of murder-for-hire charges but convicted of stalking-related offenses.

Despite the victory, Durk remains detained and is scheduled to face a separate trial on October 5 involving racketeering murder and firearms allegations. Prosecutors have said they intend to continue pursuing the case.

⁠P!nk responds to backlash for calling Macklemore ‘anti-Israel’

Pink has clarified the reason behind her criticism of Macklemore’s pro-Palestine remarks, insisting that her reaction was rooted in fear as a Jewish mother, not opposition to the phrase “Free Palestine.”

The singer addressed the backlash after reposting a statement from StopAntisemitism that criticized Macklemore’s comments during his opening sets for Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium.

“Last Sunday I reposted somebody else’s post about Macklemore’s set at Ed Sheeran’s show,” Pink wrote on Instagram, admitting that the original post “said things in words I didn’t write.” She added, “A repost isn’t a statement, and a meme isn’t a spine.”

Pink emphasized that she has never spoken for “Israel, or for any government,” while stating that “Hamas is a terrorist organization” and that “Palestinians deserve a future that honors their humanity and their aspirations.”

The UNICEF ambassador also recalled her work with children affected by war. “I have grieved every one of them, on both sides of that fence,” she wrote. “I didn’t do it from behind a screen; I went to those children and held them.”

Explaining her repost, Pink said, “Not ‘Free Palestine,’ and not anyone’s right to say it.” She added, “What I need is to be able to say, as a Jewish mom, that scared me.”

Macklemore has defended his remarks, saying, “Wanting all humans to be treated equal should never be controversial.”

⁠Judge Judy announces retirement

Judge Judy Sheindlin is closing the book on one of daytime television’s most recognizable eras, as her Amazon Prime Video courtroom series Judy Justice prepares to release its final new episode.

The 83-year-old television personality, who became a household name through Judge Judy, will no longer preside over new cases after decades of delivering blunt verdicts and cutting remarks to television litigants. The final Judy Justice episode is scheduled for October 22.

Sheindlin’s original series premiered in 1996 and ran on CBS for more than two decades before ending in 2021. At its peak, Judge Judy attracted as many as 10 million viewers a day and became one of the most successful programs in daytime television.

Her signature attitude became part of her appeal. “They don’t keep me here because I’m gorgeous,” Sheindlin once said. “They keep me here because I’m smart.”

Despite the end of Judy Justice, Sheindlin is not leaving television entirely. She will executive produce Adam’s Law, a new legal show starring her son, Adam Levy. She is also developing Judyverse, an adult animated series featuring a baby version of Judge Judy.

Her representative, Gary Rosen, summed up the transition simply: “Judge Sheindlin is not retiring. She is rewiring.”

ICYMI:

• Leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will reportedly gather tomorrow to sign a deal aimed at beginning the break-up of the United Kingdom. The agreement is expected to mark a significant development in the nations’ push for greater autonomy and could further intensify debate over the future of the UK.

• Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, is calling for the artificial intelligence industry to slow the pace of model development. In a nearly 4,000-word essay, Amodei warned that AI capabilities are advancing faster than safety measures can keep up, adding to a growing number of concerns raised by researchers across the industry about the risks of rapidly developing AI systems.

— Bea Bertuldo

Subscribe to the newsletter to discover new releases through Pop Base weekly and to find out what songs we declare the best of the week.