Hulk Hogan, the 1980s icon of professional wrestling who helped propel the low-budget spectacle into the global spotlight and parlayed his prowess in the ring into pop culture stardom, died Thursday. He was 71.Hogan, whose real name was Terry Bollea, was pronounced dead at a Florida hospital after emergency personnel responded to a cardiac arrest call at his home in Clearwater, police said.The Hall of Fame talent — known for his towering 6’7″ (two-meter) physique, bandana and blond handlebar mustache — was ubiquitous during his heyday, acting in film and television, appearing in video games and promoting a range of products.He also courted his share of controversy, first when a sex tape featuring him leaked, and again when a recording of him using racist language, including a slur referring to Black Americans, resurfaced in 2015.In recent years, Hogan became an avid supporter of US President Donald Trump.”One of pop culture’s most recognizable figures, Hogan helped WWE achieve global recognition in the 1980s,” World Wrestling Entertainment said on social media. “WWE extends its condolences to Hogan’s family, friends, and fans.”Hogan’s wrestling skills and magnetic personality as a heroic all-American in the ring transformed the sport into mainstream family entertainment, attracting millions of viewers and turning the league into a multi-billion-dollar empire.”Hulk Has Been By My Side Since We Started In The Wrestling Business. An Incredible Athlete, Talent, Friend, And Father!” fellow Hall of Famer Ric Flair said on social media.”R.I.P Hulkster, thank you for opening up doors for so many people in the business including myself,” said retired pro and Olympic champion Kurt Angle.- From local gym to Hall of Fame -Hogan was born on August 11, 1953 in the southern US state of Georgia to a construction worker father and a dance teacher mother. The family moved to Florida when he was a toddler.After dropping out of university, Hogan was spotted at his gym by local wrestlers and was quickly swept into competitions.His nickname came about in part because of comparisons to the Marvel superhero The Incredible Hulk, featured at the time in a television series.He first competed in 1979 in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as WWE) but became a mainstay and fan favorite in the mid-1980s alongside others like Andre the Giant and “Rowdy” Roddy Piper.At age 48 in 2002, in the waning days of his competitive career, he even battled Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.His brand of “Hulkamania” transferred to the small and big screen, with roles in films such as “Rocky III,” “No Holds Barred” and TV’s “Baywatch.””He was absolutely wonderful and his amazing skill made Rocky three incredibly special. My heart breaks,” said ‘Rocky’ star Sylvester Stallone.Hogan was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005.But the scandal over his use of racial slurs led to his firing from WWE in 2015. He later apologized for his actions and was reinstated to the Hall of Fame.When a tape emerged of Hogan having sex with a woman who was not his wife in 2012, he filed suit against Gawker Media and won a $140 million judgment for invasion of privacy. He eventually accepted a settlement of $31 million, but the case divided media and press freedom advocates after it was revealed that Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel had funded Hogan’s case as part of an effort to drive Gawker out of business.Gawker shut its site down months after the verdict.- ‘Great friend’ -Hogan memorably appeared at the 2024 Republican National Convention that would seal Trump’s nomination — tearing his shirt off to reveal a Trump-Vance tank top.”We lost a great friend today, the ‘Hulkster.’ Hulk Hogan was MAGA all the way — Strong, tough, smart, but with the biggest heart,” Trump said on social media.”He gave an absolutely electric speech at the Republican National Convention, that was one of the highlights of the entire week. He entertained fans from all over the World, and the cultural impact he had was massive.”Hogan suffered numerous health problems in later years, stemming from the years of abuse his body took in the ring. In the 1990s, he admitted under oath that he had used anabolic steroids at the peak of his career.He was married three times, and had two children with his first wife Linda.

A top Department of Justice official was meeting on Thursday with Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned accomplice of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, US media reported, as President Donald Trump struggles to tamp down a furor over his handling of the explosive case.The former British socialite is serving a 20-year sentence after being convicted in 2021 of recruiting underage girls for Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial in his own sex trafficking case.Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche — Trump’s former personal lawyer for his hush money trial and two federal criminal cases — was interviewing Maxwell at a courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida, CNN, NBC and the Tallahassee Democrat newspaper said.”If Ghislaine Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say,” Blanche said on Tuesday. “No one is above the law — and no lead is off-limits.”Trump, 79, was once a close friend of Epstein and The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that the president’s name was among hundreds found during a DOJ review of the so-called “Epstein files,” even if there was no indication of wrongdoing.Trump spokesman Steven Cheung called the report “fake news” and said Trump had long ago broken with Epstein and “kicked him out of his (Florida) club for being a creep.”Trump filed a $10 billion defamation suit against the Journal last week after it reported that he had penned a sexually suggestive letter to Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003.Maxwell, 63, is the only former Epstein associate convicted in connection with his activities, which right-wing conspiracy theorists allege included trafficking young models for VIPs.The meeting with Maxwell marks another attempt by the Trump administration to defuse anger among the Republican president’s own supporters over what they have long seen as a cover-up of sex crimes by Epstein, a wealthy financier with high-level connections.- ‘A Trump-friendly tale?’ -Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse said Blanche’s meeting with Maxwell raises a number of troubling questions.”Is he really going as (deputy attorney general) or is he going de facto as Trump’s personal criminal attorney, Tom Hagen style?” the senator said in a reference to the Corleone family lawyer in “The Godfather.””Will he promise her a pardon for silence, or for a Trump-friendly tale?” Whitehouse asked. “Who will be in the room? What records will be kept?”Many of the president’s core supporters want more transparency on the Epstein case, and Trump — who has long fanned the conspiracy theories — had promised to deliver that on retaking the White House in January.But he has since dismissed the controversy as a “hoax” and a “witch hunt” and the DOJ and FBI released a memo this month claiming the so-called Epstein files did not contain evidence that would justify further investigation.Epstein committed suicide while in jail and was not murdered, did not blackmail any prominent figures, and did not keep a “client list,” according to the July 7 FBI-DOJ memo.Seeking to redirect public attention, the White House has promoted unfounded claims in recent days that former president Barack Obama led a “years-long coup” against Trump around his victorious 2016 election.The extraordinary narrative claims that Obama had ordered intelligence assessments to be manipulated to accuse Russia of election interference to help Trump.Yet it runs counter to four separate criminal, counterintelligence and watchdog probes between 2019 and 2023 — each of them concluding that Russia did interfere and did, in various ways, help Trump.Epstein was found hanging dead in his New York prison cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges that he sexually exploited hundreds of victims at his homes in New York and Florida.Among those with connections to Epstein was Britain’s Prince Andrew, who settled a US civil case in February 2022 brought by Virginia Giuffre, who claimed he sexually assaulted her when she was 17.Giuffre, who accused Epstein of using her as a sex slave, committed suicide at her home in Australia in April.