The full text of the first ransom note sent to the family of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie after her abduction from her Tucson home has been publicly disclosed for the first time, and the FBI has since concluded none of the ransom demands were genuine. Arizona journalist Briana Whitney, reporting for the Crime Junkie podcast, read […] The post First ransom note in Nancy Guthrie abduction revealed in full, exposing chilling demands and investigative dead ends appeared first on American Almanac .
The full text of the first ransom note sent to the family of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie after her abduction from her Tucson home has been publicly disclosed for the first time, and the FBI has since concluded none of the ransom demands were genuine. Arizona journalist Briana Whitney, reporting for the Crime Junkie podcast, read the note word for word during a special episode marking six months since Guthrie, the mother of NBC "Today" show host Savannah Guthrie, vanished from her $1 million Tucson, Arizona, home in the early hours of February 1, 2026. The note, sent to the family days after the abduction, opened with a line addressed directly to Savannah Guthrie and closed with a death threat tied to a hard deadline. The case has drawn…Open
New tariffs of 10% to 12.5% took effect on imports from 60 countries overnight, replacing emergency duties the Supreme Court invalidated five months ago, and projections say the levies could generate nearly $1 trillion over the next decade. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced the duties on July 23, capping a months-long investigation into whether […] The post Trump administration imposes forced-labor tariffs on 60 countries, replacing duties struck down by Supreme Court appeared first on American Almanac .
New tariffs of 10% to 12.5% took effect on imports from 60 countries overnight, replacing emergency duties the Supreme Court invalidated five months ago, and projections say the levies could generate nearly $1 trillion over the next decade. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced the duties on July 23, capping a months-long investigation into whether trading partners had failed to ban or enforce bans on goods produced with forced labor. The tariffs, imposed under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act, went live at 12:01 a.m. July 24, the same moment a temporary 10% global tariff expired. The timing was deliberate: the administration built a legal bridge from one tariff regime to the next without leaving a single day uncovered. The…Open
A small-town Utah mayor who used her legal authority to let residents light fireworks over the Fourth of July weekend, while wildfires burned hundreds of thousands of acres across the state, says she was doxxed, threatened, and called "the most horrible, disgusting person" by strangers statewide. Clinton Mayor Marie Dougherty made a straightforward call. Governor […] The post Utah mayor allows Fourth of July fireworks despite statewide ban, then faces threats and doxxing appeared first on American Almanac .
A small-town Utah mayor who used her legal authority to let residents light fireworks over the Fourth of July weekend, while wildfires burned hundreds of thousands of acres across the state, says she was doxxed, threatened, and called "the most horrible, disgusting person" by strangers statewide. Clinton Mayor Marie Dougherty made a straightforward call. Governor Spencer Cox had issued an executive order imposing a temporary statewide fireworks ban ahead of Independence Day, citing extreme drought and wildfire conditions. But the order included a provision allowing local leaders to designate safe areas within their jurisdictions. Dougherty consulted her fire chief, reviewed local conditions, and concluded that most of Clinton, a suburban…Open
A former convict in Baltimore turned his frustration with Maryland's squatter-friendly laws into a thriving removal business, boarding up doors, deploying smoke bombs, and charging property owners $2,000 a job to do what police won't. Sanchez Deandre Lewis, who goes by "Mikey," runs a crew he calls "the Wolf Pack" under the banner of his […] The post Baltimore ex-convict builds booming business removing squatters after police refused to act appeared first on American Almanac .
A former convict in Baltimore turned his frustration with Maryland's squatter-friendly laws into a thriving removal business, boarding up doors, deploying smoke bombs, and charging property owners $2,000 a job to do what police won't. Sanchez Deandre Lewis, who goes by "Mikey," runs a crew he calls "the Wolf Pack" under the banner of his company, Squatter King Removal. His methods are blunt: board up windows and entrances, pull doors off hinges, remove locks, and apply relentless pressure until unauthorized occupants leave voluntarily. He also keeps smoke bombs and bear spray on hand as what he calls defensive measures. The Daily Mail profiled Lewis and his operation, detailing tactics that have drawn a growing social media following and…Open
Harvard University filed court documents this week pointing to a self-described "counter-Zionist" professor, a student journal tied to Palestinian liberation and erotic poetry, and a Jewish ecology course taught by a rabbi who has accused Israel of genocide, all as evidence the school is making progress against antisemitism on campus. The filings landed in two […] The post Harvard cites 'counter-Zionist' professor and erotic poetry journal as proof it is fighting antisemitism appeared first on American Almanac .
Harvard University filed court documents this week pointing to a self-described "counter-Zionist" professor, a student journal tied to Palestinian liberation and erotic poetry, and a Jewish ecology course taught by a rabbi who has accused Israel of genocide, all as evidence the school is making progress against antisemitism on campus. The filings landed in two federal cases at once: an appellate fight before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and a parallel district court case in Massachusetts, where the Trump administration is challenging Harvard over billions of dollars in federal research funding. Harvard's own legal team, ten outside lawyers led by former Bush administration solicitor general Paul Clement, told the First…Open
Tom Holland has confirmed that a long-awaited Fred Astaire biopic is his next project, and the actor says he plans to handle every dance routine himself, with no doubles and no safety net. Holland made the announcement during back-to-back press tour stops for "The Odyssey" and "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," telling George Stephanopoulos on "Good […] The post Tom Holland takes on Fred Astaire biopic, vows to perform every dance himself appeared first on American Almanac .
Tom Holland has confirmed that a long-awaited Fred Astaire biopic is his next project, and the actor says he plans to handle every dance routine himself, with no doubles and no safety net. Holland made the announcement during back-to-back press tour stops for "The Odyssey" and "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," telling George Stephanopoulos on "Good Morning America" that he has already started preparing for the role at a dance studio in central London. Variety reported that Holland described the early rehearsals as equal parts thrilling and daunting. The biopic was first announced five years ago, in 2021, but has taken its time reaching the rehearsal stage. Holland now appears ready to commit fully, framing the project as the defining…Open
The 64-year-old talk show veteran credited three years on the GLP-1 drug with transforming her health, and now wants the pharmaceutical company to lower its price instead of paying her to pitch it. O'Donnell told People magazine in an interview published Thursday that Mounjaro, the brand-name GLP-1 medication, has helped her lose weight at a […] The post Rosie O'Donnell says Mounjaro 'saved my life' after decades of weight struggles rooted in childhood grief appeared first on American Almanac .
The 64-year-old talk show veteran credited three years on the GLP-1 drug with transforming her health, and now wants the pharmaceutical company to lower its price instead of paying her to pitch it. O'Donnell told People magazine in an interview published Thursday that Mounjaro, the brand-name GLP-1 medication, has helped her lose weight at a pace of roughly a pound or two per month over the past three years. She traced her lifelong battle with weight back to 1973, when her mother, Roseann O'Donnell, died and left five children to fend for themselves at the grocery store. O'Donnell, now 64, said she was about 11 years old when her father handed the children a hundred-dollar bill and sent them to Foodtown to buy the family's food. The…Open
Matthew McConaughey marked Woody Harrelson's 65th birthday with an Instagram caption that revived a long-running and genuinely strange question, whether the two Hollywood friends share the same biological father. McConaughey, 56, posted an older photo of the pair embracing and wrote, "from another mother? Happy birthday brother." The five-word tease landed with the subtlety of […] The post McConaughey stokes the brotherhood question again with birthday post for Harrelson appeared first on American Almanac .
Matthew McConaughey marked Woody Harrelson's 65th birthday with an Instagram caption that revived a long-running and genuinely strange question, whether the two Hollywood friends share the same biological father. McConaughey, 56, posted an older photo of the pair embracing and wrote, "from another mother? Happy birthday brother." The five-word tease landed with the subtlety of a sledgehammer, given that both men have spent years publicly entertaining the possibility that they are, in fact, half-brothers, and that a new Apple TV+ series built on that very premise is set to premiere September 23. The rumor is not tabloid invention. It traces back to McConaughey's own mother, who told Harrelson she "knew" his father, hinting at a past…Open
Michael J. Fox is heading back to a television set for another season of Apple TV+'s Shrinking, a move that extends a comeback few expected from a man who retired from acting during the pandemic and whose foundation has now funded more than $3 billion in Parkinson's research. Fox, 65, confirmed he will return for […] The post Michael J. Fox returns to acting 35 years after going public with Parkinson's diagnosis appeared first on American Almanac .
Michael J. Fox is heading back to a television set for another season of Apple TV+'s Shrinking, a move that extends a comeback few expected from a man who retired from acting during the pandemic and whose foundation has now funded more than $3 billion in Parkinson's research. Fox, 65, confirmed he will return for Season 4 of the comedy series, where he plays a character who, like Fox himself, lives with Parkinson's disease. He is also currently nominated for an Emmy for his three-episode arc in Season 3, a run that marked the first time in his career he played someone whose Parkinson's was written directly into the role rather than worked around it. The Hollywood Reporter profiled Fox and his foundation co-founder Deborah W. Brooks in…Open
