When CNN anchor Chris Cuomo was filmed delivering an unhinged rant to a heckler at a restaurant, one of the things many people took offense to was his declaration that the term “Fredo” was to Italian-Americans as the “n-word” is to African-Americans. This has been completely debunked since then with guests on his own show using the name to refer to Donald Trump Jr. But that didn’t keep CNN from backing their guy.

TMZ caught up with Gianni Russo, a star from The Godfather who told the reality of the situation from three unique perspectives. First, he said it wasn’t a racial slur and clearly referred to the weaker brother, a perspective he understands as a star of the film. Second, he knows the Cuomo family well and couldn’t believe Chris would have said that. Third, knowing father Mario Cuomo, former governor of New York, leads him to believe the elder Cuomo would have smacked his son had he heard him say what he did.

No real repercussions are expected against Cuomo from his employers at CNN.

Here’s a video from TMZ of Russo’s perspective:

Update: It has been confirmed.

Former NFL and Texas Longhorns running back Cedric Benson has reportedly died, according to a Facebook post written by his brother and another that he shared. Police have not released the names of victims involved in a motorcycle accident early this morning, but speculation has connected the two.

Police are blaming speed and visibility on the accident, which happened when a man and a woman on a motorcycle collided with a minivan that was pulling out.

Here’s Benson’s post as well as the post he shared:

Benson was one of the most prolific running backs in college football history for the Longhorns before being drafted #4 overall by the Chicago Bears in the 2005 draft. He played in the NFL for three teams and had three 1000+ yards rushing in three seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals.

This report is unconfirmed by police or local media. His name trended quickly on Twitter as fans try to determine if the brother’s report is accurate. We’ll update this story as more details come to light.

Waking up to the texts and tweets regarding the homie @Cedric_Benson are truly heartbreaking! So many great memories from college with him. RIP to a Longhorn legend… 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/2SJmpTNJMl

— Todd Krulewich (@tkrulewich16) August 18, 2019

Rip to Cedric Benson. A legend gone too soon. #HookEm 🤘🏽 pic.twitter.com/oFBdZKHgJq

— MJT (@MJTang46) August 18, 2019

RIP Cedric Benson. One of the greatest running backs in the storied history of backs at the University of Texas. Four 1,000-yard seasons. Most rushing attempts in school history. Second behind Ricky Williams in total yards and TDs. pic.twitter.com/p4f8C4q8sZ

— Longhorn Republic (@LonghornPod) August 18, 2019

Word going around that Cedric Benson was killed in a motorcycle accident this AM. Terrible news. One of the most electric and fun to watch Texas players in my lifetime. 🤘🏻 pic.twitter.com/ULYKHxk6S9

— Zach Barnhart (@zachbarnhart_) August 18, 2019

This one hit close to home man. I’ll never forget those years growing up in Texas watching Cedric Benson, Jamaal Charles, Romace Taylor, Selvin Young, etc tote the rock for the Longhorns. RIP to one helluva running back https://t.co/2I6ZV0ALYD

— john o’reilly (@ColdDudeKTA) August 18, 2019

Former #Bears and #Longhorns great Cedric Benson has passed away at age 36. He was also drafted by the Dodgers in 2001. Another tremendous athlete gone too soon. RIP 🙏 pic.twitter.com/Q7IRp3UpwU

— Roto Street Journal (@RotoStJournal) August 18, 2019

Really sad news on Cedric Benson. He was absolutely incredible running the football. One of my favorite RB’s of my lifetime. You did not want to be a defender in his path when he had a full head of steam coming downhill. #RIP32

— Justin Sapp (@JSapp_) August 18, 2019

We are currently forming the American Conservative Movement. If you are interested in learning more, we will be sending out information in a few weeks.

The satirical video above is not only extremely well produced and quite humorous, but it also brings up a notion that maybe the people should consider. Should Tom Cruise run for President as a Democrat? Absolutely. I don’t care whether he’s a Democrat or not; he seems more like a progressive Libertarian than anything else. But that’s semantics. Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump were Democrats earlier in life. Political party isn’t really about anything other than assigning majorities in Congress.

There are actually compelling reasons for the Democrats to draft Cruise to be their candidate. I know what you’re thinking. With a couple hundred candidates already, why do they need another one? Just because they have candidates already doesn’t mean they have any GOOD candidates.

Would Tom Cruise be a good candidate? There’s only one way to find out for sure, but in the meantime we can look at different aspects of his life and compare them to the declared Democratic candidates. Here’s a list of 10 reasons Cruise should run:

1. Many of the current candidates had to fight for enough attention to get people interested in them running at all. Cruise has never expressed the desire, yet there’s a video and now at least one article telling him to do it.
2. He does his own stunts. Most Democratic candidates can’t even write their own speeches.
3. At 57 he looks healthier than Bernie Sanders looked at 37.
4. Democratic candidates have a problem understanding how the law works. After playing a lawyer, twice, Cruise’s understanding of the law has already surpassed their collective understanding.
5. Had he been born a few hours later, his birthday would be July 4th. But even if the real world deprived him of his glory, he still starred in the movie Born on the 4th of July.
6. He was in the military multiple times on tours through Hollywood productions. He has also been a spy, an inspirational speaker, a sports agent, and a smuggler. But if there’s one thing he does regularly, it’s fight to save the world. He’s fought aliens, mummies, terrorists, and even fought vampires… as a vampire.
7. There has never been a Scientologist president… as far as we know.
8. He says others are “glib.” Name one candidate who ever says other people are glib.
9. Unlike Democratic candidates, he has never espoused the desire to institute a variation of socialism in America.
10. Tom Cruise panders to nobody, ever. Every Democratic candidate panders at any moment an opening presents itself.

Tom Cruise has been needed to save the world on dozens of occasions. Now, the Democrats may need him to come in and save their party from the socialists who are taking it over. If anyone can do it, it’s Tom Cruise. Or Keanu Reeves.

We are currently forming the American Conservative Movement. If you are interested in learning more, we will be sending out information in a few weeks.