THE BIG STORY

The Queen says she’s concerned by Meghan and Harry’s racism allegations

After Oprah’s blockbuster interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, Buckingham Palace issued a statement saying Queen Elizabeth II is concerned by allegations of racism raised by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

The statement on behalf of the Queen said that “The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan. The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning.”

During the interview, the pair accused the royal family of not doing more to defend Meghan amid racist attacks from the press.

The Queen’s statement comes as reverberations of the shocking interview continue. Meanwhile, CBS released a previously unseen clip from the interview where Meghan opens up about the “betrayal” she felt after learning her father had secretly worked with the press to stage paparazzi photos.

Queen Elizabeth II, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in 2018. Chris Jackson / Getty Images

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STAYING ON TOP OF THIS

A judge ordered a former Trump official charged in the Capitol insurrection to stay in jail

Federico Klein joined the Trump administration in 2017. He was a political appointee in the State Department. And then he was charged with assaulting police during the Jan. 6 insurrection. On Tuesday, a judge ruled that Klein will remain in jail while his case goes forward.

US Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui noted that Klein took an oath to defend the US Constitution “against all enemies, foreign and domestic,” and found it concerning that “there were enemies, domestic, directly at the heart of America's democracy and a person who has sworn an oath to protect then switched sides.”

SNAPSHOTS

An actor on HBO’s Lovecraft Country said they significantly darkened her skin tone for the role. Kelli Ffrench-Parker, an up-and-coming actor who landed a minor role in the hit series, is speaking out about the uncomfortable moment she was covered in makeup significantly darker than her actual skin tone to play the part.

Joshua Bassett asked people to not “forget the value” of Olivia Rodrigo and Sabrina Carpenter after he was asked about the drama. Bassett tried to cool down rumors and gossip about the two after he was asked to choose between their songs.

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SHOW THE DOCTOR OUT

It’s time to cancel Dr. Phil.

Most of us are familiar with Dr. Phil. The show has been on the air for nearly twenty years. It premiered as an Oprah-endorsed platform for Phil McGraw (more commonly known as Dr. Phil), and featured couples in troubled marriages, people trying to lose weight, and other daytime audience favorite themes.

The premise was simple enough: McGraw would sit with his guests and offer “psychological” advice, and guests would cry or resolve to change or confront a hard conversation.

But as Scaachi Koul writes, she recently started watching the show again and “discovered that it had morphed into something much more caustic and ugly.”

Koul notes that “there are episodes exploiting people’s devastating alcohol addictions, older men and women getting catfished by a fake Nikki Sixx...The show’s sole purpose is now seemingly all about displaying people’s difficulties in their crudest forms, and less about actually trying to help them.”

NEW DIGS

An old Macy’s was turned into a new high school in Vermont, and it still looks like a store

Ok, yes, it’s been a strange high school year. But for students of Burlington High School in Burlington, Vermont, it got a little weirder.

Their old school building was closed due to chemical contamination concerns. So as a result, they restarted school in a new location that might look kind of familiar.

It’s an old Macy’s store. The students get to take an escalator to class, and some of the classrooms still have Calvin Klein and Levi’s signage. The whole thing looks so...odd. For example, look at the library books displayed on old merchandise shelves:

SevenDaysVT / YouTube.

Take a moment to notice your little triumphs this morning,

Elamin