AMERICANALMANAC (Alex Tanzer) - Chris Rock pivots to directing with 'Misty Green' and says he's done chasing the Oscars stage
At 61, Chris Rock says he has reinvented himself as a writer-director, and he has no interest in returning to the Oscar ceremony unless the Academy nominates him, a shift he credits to therapy, a late-in-life diagnosis, and a $5 million film that may be his most ambitious work yet. Rock sat down with Variety […] The post Chris Rock pivots to directing with 'Misty Green' and says he's done chasing the Oscars stage appeared first on American Almanac .
At 61, Chris Rock says he has reinvented himself as a writer-director, and he has no interest in returning to the Oscar ceremony unless the Academy nominates him, a shift he credits to therapy, a late-in-life diagnosis, and a $5 million film that may be his most ambitious work yet. Rock sat down with Variety for his first extended interview since Will Smith slapped him onstage at the 2022 Academy Awards. The conversation, timed to the Toronto International Film Festival premiere of his new film "Misty Green," covered the movie's shoestring production, Rock's diagnosis with a nonverbal learning disorder, his views on Donald Trump and the media, and his deliberate retreat from the spotlight as a performer. "Misty Green" is Rock's fourth…Open
AMERICANALMANAC (Alex Tanzer) - Indiana farm honors slain Charlie Kirk with corn maze — and pays the price for it
A family farm in Evansville, Indiana, built a corn maze tribute to the late Charlie Kirk as a statement about free speech, and critics answered with a coordinated campaign of negative reviews that forced the business off Google entirely. Goebel Farms designed its 2026 corn maze as a portrait of Kirk, the Turning Point USA […] The post Indiana farm honors slain Charlie Kirk with corn maze — and pays the price for it appeared first on American Almanac .
A family farm in Evansville, Indiana, built a corn maze tribute to the late Charlie Kirk as a statement about free speech, and critics answered with a coordinated campaign of negative reviews that forced the business off Google entirely. Goebel Farms designed its 2026 corn maze as a portrait of Kirk, the Turning Point USA founder who was fatally shot during a speaking event at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025. Kirk was 31 and a father of two. The farm framed the tribute not as a political endorsement but as a memorial to a man killed for expressing his views, and a call for Americans to disagree without resorting to hatred. The response from parts of the community was swift and hostile. Dozens of negative Google reviews…Open
AMERICANALMANAC (Alex Tanzer) - A 1937 painting went viral over a "smartphone" in the frame — historians say it's a mirror
A Depression-era mural depicting colonial Massachusetts has reignited online time-travel conspiracy theories after viewers claimed an Indigenous man in the painting appears to hold a modern smartphone, though a historian identified the object as a European trade mirror years ago. The painting, Mr Pynchon and the Settling of Springfield, was completed in 1937 by Italian-born […] The post A 1937 painting went viral over a "smartphone" in the frame — historians say it's a mirror appeared first on American Almanac .
A Depression-era mural depicting colonial Massachusetts has reignited online time-travel conspiracy theories after viewers claimed an Indigenous man in the painting appears to hold a modern smartphone, though a historian identified the object as a European trade mirror years ago. The painting, Mr Pynchon and the Settling of Springfield, was completed in 1937 by Italian-born artist Umberto Romano, who grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts. It is one of six New Deal-era murals depicting the city's history. The scene shows English colonist William Pynchon, Springfield's founder, trading with members of the Pocumtuc tribe in western Massachusetts during the 1630s. In the foreground, a Native man holds a small, flat, rectangular object and…Open
AMERICANALMANAC (Jonah Adams) - Brett Favre video sparks fresh concern as Parkinson's battle takes visible toll
A new video of Brett Favre greeting Green Bay Packers fans in Mexico has football fans openly worried about the 56-year-old Hall of Famer's physical decline, a stark reminder that Parkinson's disease spares no one. Favre, the three-time MVP and 1996 Super Bowl champion, recorded a short message for the Packers' Mexican fan base ahead […] The post Brett Favre video sparks fresh concern as Parkinson's battle takes visible toll appeared first on American Almanac .
A new video of Brett Favre greeting Green Bay Packers fans in Mexico has football fans openly worried about the 56-year-old Hall of Famer's physical decline, a stark reminder that Parkinson's disease spares no one. Favre, the three-time MVP and 1996 Super Bowl champion, recorded a short message for the Packers' Mexican fan base ahead of the new NFL season. The clip surfaced on social media over the weekend and drew an immediate wave of concern from fans who noticed a visible change in the quarterback once known for his iron-man durability and gunslinger swagger. Comments flooded in. "He's the reason I fell in love with football, this is rough to watch," one fan wrote. Others called the scene "truly sad" and "terrible." An account on X…Open
AMERICANALMANAC (Charles McAdams) - Simone Biles back in the gym, fueling 2028 Olympic comeback talk
Simone Biles posted video of herself flipping off a trampoline at her family's Houston gym, and her own words about the 2028 Los Angeles Games have done nothing to quiet the speculation. The 29-year-old, who won three gold medals and a silver at the 2024 Paris Olympics, returned to World Champions Center in Houston and […] The post Simone Biles back in the gym, fueling 2028 Olympic comeback talk appeared first on American Almanac .
Simone Biles posted video of herself flipping off a trampoline at her family's Houston gym, and her own words about the 2028 Los Angeles Games have done nothing to quiet the speculation. The 29-year-old, who won three gold medals and a silver at the 2024 Paris Olympics, returned to World Champions Center in Houston and recorded herself launching flips into a foam pit. She posted the video to Instagram with the on-screen text "old girl, same tricks" and a caption that read, "scheduling a massage ASAP." An unnamed person filming the session asked if she was OK. Biles, breathing hard, answered plainly. "No, it feels like I just did a floor routine." She wrapped up the session with a declaration that left little doubt about the toll: "I'm…Open
AMERICANALMANAC (Sadie Smith) - Massive sinkhole swallows driveway at Nicolas Cage's Malibu mansion after Hurricane Marie batters coast
A sinkhole estimated at 30 feet deep opened in the driveway of Nicolas Cage's $10.5 million Malibu beachfront home after Hurricane Marie's remnants hammered Southern California, forcing evacuations and a local emergency declaration. The collapse began developing Monday, September 7, and broke through the surface the following morning, swallowing the entire driveway section next to […] The post Massive sinkhole swallows driveway at Nicolas Cage's Malibu mansion after Hurricane Marie batters coast appeared first on American Almanac .
A sinkhole estimated at 30 feet deep opened in the driveway of Nicolas Cage's $10.5 million Malibu beachfront home after Hurricane Marie's remnants hammered Southern California, forcing evacuations and a local emergency declaration. The collapse began developing Monday, September 7, and broke through the surface the following morning, swallowing the entire driveway section next to the garage of the oceanfront property on Sea Level Drive near Point Lechuza. Waves and structural beams were visible underneath the gaping hole, which USA TODAY reported measured up to 30 feet wide and 60 feet long. A gas leak erupted just before 6 a.m. Tuesday, prompting utility SoCalGas to shut off natural gas service across an 85-foot stretch of the street. …Open
AMERICANALMANAC (Charles McAdams) - Hurricane Lowell leaves Kaua'i in the dark after rare direct hit on Hawaii
Hurricane Lowell slammed Hawaii's western islands as a Category 2 storm Monday night, knocking out power to nearly 90 percent of Kaua'i customers and leaving a trail of destroyed roads, flooded homes, and uprooted trees across the state. The storm's center passed within 60 miles of Kaua'i and 30 miles of the small island of […] The post Hurricane Lowell leaves Kaua'i in the dark after rare direct hit on Hawaii appeared first on American Almanac .
Hurricane Lowell slammed Hawaii's western islands as a Category 2 storm Monday night, knocking out power to nearly 90 percent of Kaua'i customers and leaving a trail of destroyed roads, flooded homes, and uprooted trees across the state. The storm's center passed within 60 miles of Kaua'i and 30 miles of the small island of Ni'ihau, delivering wind gusts of 92 mph, dumping more than 21 inches of rain in higher elevations, and driving storm surge that ripped apart coastal roadways in the town of Kōloa. More than 60,000 customers across Kaua'i and Oahu lost power at the height of the storm early Tuesday, and 275 people took shelter in emergency facilities as conditions deteriorated overnight. By Tuesday afternoon, calm had returned, but…Open
AMERICANALMANAC (Sadie Smith) - Abdul El-Sayed's imam denounces homosexuality, complains about Jewish scholars, and calls voting for El-Sayed a Muslim 'obligation'
The imam at the mosque Michigan Senate Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed regularly attends has called homosexuality "against human nature" and told congregants they are obligated to vote for El-Sayed, raising fresh questions about the candidate's associations. Imam Abdelhamid Algizawi, who leads the Muslim Community Association of Ann Arbor, described El-Sayed's narrow Democratic primary win as […] The post Abdul El-Sayed's imam denounces homosexuality, complains about Jewish scholars, and calls voting for El-Sayed a Muslim 'obligation' appeared first on American Almanac .
The imam at the mosque Michigan Senate Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed regularly attends has called homosexuality "against human nature" and told congregants they are obligated to vote for El-Sayed, raising fresh questions about the candidate's associations. Imam Abdelhamid Algizawi, who leads the Muslim Community Association of Ann Arbor, described El-Sayed's narrow Democratic primary win as a "very big victory for the Muslims" and told worshippers three days later, on August 7, that electing the candidate was not optional but mandatory. The Washington Free Beacon reported that Algizawi's remarks, captured on video by the Middle East Media Research Institute, went further, framing El-Sayed's candidacy as a vehicle for transforming…Open
AMERICANALMANAC (Alan Benson) - Jerry Seinfeld faces growing international backlash over his unapologetic support for Israel
Comedians in Portugal are boycotting a major festival headlined by Jerry Seinfeld over his pro-Israel stance, the latest chapter in a campaign of confrontation and protest that has followed the comedian since 2024. Multiple Portuguese performers pulled out of the Commedia a la Carte Fest in Lisbon, where Seinfeld is scheduled to headline on November […] The post Jerry Seinfeld faces growing international backlash over his unapologetic support for Israel appeared first on American Almanac .
Comedians in Portugal are boycotting a major festival headlined by Jerry Seinfeld over his pro-Israel stance, the latest chapter in a campaign of confrontation and protest that has followed the comedian since 2024. Multiple Portuguese performers pulled out of the Commedia a la Carte Fest in Lisbon, where Seinfeld is scheduled to headline on November 1, citing his vocal defense of Israel. Comedy duo Cebola Mol were among the first to withdraw, posting an Instagram image featuring a watermelon, a symbol widely used by pro-Palestinian activists, to announce their decision. Actress and comedian Inês Aires Pereira followed, telling Breitbart : "We cannot relativise or normalise a genocide." The boycott marks an escalation from heckling and…Open