“Never have we seen such a horrible candidate running for U.S. Senate out of Texas… He represents everything people are frustrated with, including Republicans,” says Republican strategist Susan Del Percio. The DNC focuses on flipping the Senate as midterms near and fundraising efforts peak. Basil Smikle, MS NOW Political Analyst, Professor of Practice at the School of Professional Studies at Columbia University, and former Executive Director of the New York State Democratic Party, and Susan Del Percio, MS NOW Political Analyst and Republican strategist join The Weekend to discuss.
Earlier this week, Jacob Soboroff asked "Connect" viewers what they wanted us to cover on the show this weekend. We received hundreds of responses, with many people asking us to report on the crisis happening aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. We could not agree more. Here's a quick report on what's happening aboard the ship, the alarming conditions over 5,000 service members have been struggling with, and an update on potential relief coming to the sailors, courtesy of MS NOW's Priya Sridhar.
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is calling on current Mayor Zohran Mamdani to stay away from the 25th anniversary ceremonies honoring the victims of the September 11 attacks, a demand that puts the city's first Muslim mayor at the center of a growing fight over who speaks for Ground Zero. Giuliani made the […] The post Giuliani says Mayor Mamdani has no place at Ground Zero on the 9/11 anniversary appeared first on American Almanac .
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is calling on current Mayor Zohran Mamdani to stay away from the 25th anniversary ceremonies honoring the victims of the September 11 attacks, a demand that puts the city's first Muslim mayor at the center of a growing fight over who speaks for Ground Zero. Giuliani made the remarks during a Friday appearance on the Newsmax program "Finnerty," where he argued that Mamdani's presence at the ceremonies would be an affront to the families who lost husbands, wives, and children in the 2001 attacks. The former mayor, who led New York through the worst terrorist strike on American soil, did not mince words about why he believes Mamdani should not attend. The broadside lands as Mamdani faces mounting…Open
An Iranian court handed 56-year-old Kolthoum Akbari ten separate death sentences for systematically marrying and killing elderly men across multiple towns, a killing spree she herself says may have claimed as many as 15 lives. Akbari, whom Iranian media have dubbed the "Black Widow," drugged her victims with sedatives, rubbing alcohol, and diabetes medications before […] The post Iranian woman sentenced to death ten times after killing at least 10 husbands over two decades appeared first on American Almanac .
An Iranian court handed 56-year-old Kolthoum Akbari ten separate death sentences for systematically marrying and killing elderly men across multiple towns, a killing spree she herself says may have claimed as many as 15 lives. Akbari, whom Iranian media have dubbed the "Black Widow," drugged her victims with sedatives, rubbing alcohol, and diabetes medications before suffocating them, authorities in Mazandaran Province said. She targeted elderly men through Iran's "sigheh" system, a form of temporary marriage under Islamic law, then collected gold, cash, and dowry wealth before moving on to the next husband in a different town. The geographic spread kept anyone from connecting the deaths for roughly twenty years. Her run ended in 2023,…Open
Dr. Anthony Fauci has rejected a request to appear before a second Senate panel investigating his pandemic record, dismissing the inquiry as political harassment just days after Republicans voted to hold him in contempt. Fauci's lawyer sent a letter to Sen. Ron Johnson on Friday declining the Wisconsin Republican's invitation to testify voluntarily before the […] The post Fauci refuses second Senate appearance after contempt vote, calls inquiry political harassment appeared first on American Almanac .
Dr. Anthony Fauci has rejected a request to appear before a second Senate panel investigating his pandemic record, dismissing the inquiry as political harassment just days after Republicans voted to hold him in contempt. Fauci's lawyer sent a letter to Sen. Ron Johnson on Friday declining the Wisconsin Republican's invitation to testify voluntarily before the Senate subcommittee on investigations. The letter accused Johnson of trying to "impermissibly harass or degrade Dr. Fauci for political purposes," the Associated Press reported . The refusal came less than a week after the Senate Homeland Security Committee voted along partisan lines on August 6 to hold the former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director in…Open
A powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Indonesia early Saturday morning, killing at least 47 people and flattening buildings across multiple provinces, with authorities warning the death toll will likely climb as rescuers push toward remote villages still cut off by landslides and communication failures. The quake hit at 5:58 a.m. local time, centered roughly 68 […] The post Magnitude 7.7 earthquake kills dozens in Indonesia as rescue teams struggle to reach hardest-hit areas appeared first on American Almanac .
A powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Indonesia early Saturday morning, killing at least 47 people and flattening buildings across multiple provinces, with authorities warning the death toll will likely climb as rescuers push toward remote villages still cut off by landslides and communication failures. The quake hit at 5:58 a.m. local time, centered roughly 68 kilometers north-northwest of the city of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara province. It struck at a shallow depth, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre initially measured it at magnitude 6.9 before upgrading it to 7.7. Fifteen minutes later, at 6:13 a.m., a second earthquake measuring 6.3 rattled the same region, followed by dozens of aftershocks that rippled…Open
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport scrapped a proposal to install Islamic ablution washing stations after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directed a review of state grants to the airport and referred it to the U.S. Department of Transportation for investigation. Abbott announced the move Friday on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, calling the planned […] The post DFW Airport abandons Islamic washing station plan after Gov. Abbott orders grant review appeared first on American Almanac .
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport scrapped a proposal to install Islamic ablution washing stations after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directed a review of state grants to the airport and referred it to the U.S. Department of Transportation for investigation. Abbott announced the move Friday on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, calling the planned facilities at the government-owned airport unconstitutional. He ordered a review of all state grants to entities operating both DFW and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, warning that funding could be revoked and future grants denied. He also referred both airports to the USDOT for a federal probe. Hours later, DFW reversed course. The airport said it had "accelerated its…Open
Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for Michigan's U.S. Senate seat, is scheduled to headline an Islamic convention in Detroit that also features a Pakistani cleric who admitted arranging the marriage of his teenage niece, and whose anti-Jewish rhetoric prompted Canadian activists to seek a visa ban. El-Sayed is listed on the convention itinerary for the […] The post Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed set to share stage with Pakistani cleric who admitted marrying off his 13-year-old niece appeared first on American Almanac .
Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for Michigan's U.S. Senate seat, is scheduled to headline an Islamic convention in Detroit that also features a Pakistani cleric who admitted arranging the marriage of his teenage niece, and whose anti-Jewish rhetoric prompted Canadian activists to seek a visa ban. El-Sayed is listed on the convention itinerary for the Islamic Society of North America's 63rd annual gathering, set for September 4, 7 in Detroit. His panel, titled "Cultivating God Awareness in a Turmoiled America," is scheduled for September 5. Also on the convention roster: Tariq Masood, a Pakistani mufti, a cleric qualified to issue religious rulings, who in a 2021 sermon admitted to the marriage of his 13-year-old niece, according to…Open
A Massachusetts jury heard testimony that Lindsay Clancy's cellphone contained searches for lethal self-harm methods and psychiatric terms in the days before she strangled her three young children, evidence both sides are now fighting to frame. Defense attorney Kevin Reddington confronted Massachusetts State Trooper Timothy Chiappini on the witness stand Thursday during day 13 of […] The post Lindsay Clancy searched 'how to slit throat to die' before killing her three children, trial testimony reveals appeared first on American Almanac .
A Massachusetts jury heard testimony that Lindsay Clancy's cellphone contained searches for lethal self-harm methods and psychiatric terms in the days before she strangled her three young children, evidence both sides are now fighting to frame. Defense attorney Kevin Reddington confronted Massachusetts State Trooper Timothy Chiappini on the witness stand Thursday during day 13 of Clancy's murder trial in a Plymouth County courtroom, pressing the forensic analyst on a series of Google searches recovered from Clancy's phone. Among them: "How to slit throat to die" and "Where is the carotid artery?" Reddington held up posters displaying each search for the courtroom to see, the New York Post reported . Clancy, a former nurse, is accused of…Open
Terry Moran, a veteran ABC News correspondent who left the network in 2025, alleges his 2021 report on COVID's possible lab origins was rendered "incomprehensible" after the script was routed through Dr. Anthony Fauci. Moran laid out the accusation in an interview with "The Fifth Column" podcast, describing a day-of-air review that stripped his roughly […] The post Former ABC News correspondent says network sent his COVID lab-leak script to Fauci, then gutted it appeared first on American Almanac .
Terry Moran, a veteran ABC News correspondent who left the network in 2025, alleges his 2021 report on COVID's possible lab origins was rendered "incomprehensible" after the script was routed through Dr. Anthony Fauci. Moran laid out the accusation in an interview with "The Fifth Column" podcast, describing a day-of-air review that stripped his roughly 15-minute "Nightline" segment of its editorial spine and buried it under legal hedging. The two-part piece, which aired in June 2021, had examined whether COVID might have leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a question that multiple U.S. intelligence agencies, including the CIA, FBI, and Department of Energy, have since assessed as the most likely explanation for the pandemic's…Open
