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REDSTATE (Ward Clark) - Shifting Goalposts: Politico Admits There's 'Little to Stop' Illegal Aliens From Registering to Vote Sun Aug 2 18:40:22 2026

AMERICANALMANAC (Alex Tanzer) - Indonesian ferry fire kills five, leaves 41 missing as navy scrambles rescue near Madura Island Sun Aug 2 18:31:24 2026

A fire aboard the Indonesian ferry KMP Mutiara Sentosa 2 killed five people and left 41 missing off the coast of Madura Island, forcing desperate passengers to jump overboard as flames consumed most of the vessel. The ferry, carrying roughly 250 passengers and crew, had departed the port city of Surabaya bound for Makassar, a […] The post Indonesian ferry fire kills five, leaves 41 missing as navy scrambles rescue near Madura Island appeared first on American Almanac .

A fire aboard the Indonesian ferry KMP Mutiara Sentosa 2 killed five people and left 41 missing off the coast of Madura Island, forcing desperate passengers to jump overboard as flames consumed most of the vessel. The ferry, carrying roughly 250 passengers and crew, had departed the port city of Surabaya bound for Makassar, a route stretching across the Java Sea, when the blaze broke out early on July 31. The captain radioed a fire report between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. local time. Then communication went dead. More than an hour passed before the Surabaya Search and Rescue Office received the alert, at 8:24 a.m. By late morning, roughly 200 passengers had been transferred to nearby rescue vessels, but 40 people still remained trapped aboard the…Open

AMERICANALMANAC (Sadie Smith) - WestJet flight attendants walk off the job, canceling more than 300 flights across Canada Sun Aug 2 18:31:23 2026

Flight attendants at Canada's second-largest airline launched a strike over a pay dispute on Sunday, grounding more than 300 flights and stranding travelers at the height of summer. The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents 4,400 cabin crew members at WestJet, announced the work stoppage on its Facebook page. WestJet confirmed it canceled more […] The post WestJet flight attendants walk off the job, canceling more than 300 flights across Canada appeared first on American Almanac .

Flight attendants at Canada's second-largest airline launched a strike over a pay dispute on Sunday, grounding more than 300 flights and stranding travelers at the height of summer. The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents 4,400 cabin crew members at WestJet, announced the work stoppage on its Facebook page. WestJet confirmed it canceled more than 300 flights as of early Sunday and said it could not operate any scheduled service on its Boeing 737 or 787 aircraft, the backbone of its fleet. The airline said travelers would be refunded or moved to other flights. The walkout centers on a straightforward question: whether flight attendants should be paid for work they perform on the ground before and after flights. The union…Open

AMERICANALMANAC (Alan Benson) - Louisiana launches Fauci investigation as three states now pursue potential state charges Sun Aug 2 18:31:22 2026

Louisiana's attorney general announced a state investigation into Dr. Anthony Fauci days after he invoked the Fifth Amendment 111 times before a Senate committee, making Louisiana the third state to signal that Joe Biden's federal pardon may not shield Fauci from accountability. Attorney General Liz Murrill made the announcement Saturday on X, accusing Fauci of […] The post Louisiana launches Fauci investigation as three states now pursue potential state charges appeared first on American Almanac .

Louisiana's attorney general announced a state investigation into Dr. Anthony Fauci days after he invoked the Fifth Amendment 111 times before a Senate committee, making Louisiana the third state to signal that Joe Biden's federal pardon may not shield Fauci from accountability. Attorney General Liz Murrill made the announcement Saturday on X, accusing Fauci of lying under oath and pointing to newly surfaced records that she says contradict testimony he gave during an earlier deposition. Florida and Alabama had already opened their own inquiries, and the rapid pile-on from Republican-led states marks a coordinated effort to test whether state courts can reach conduct that a presidential pardon placed beyond federal prosecutors' grasp.…Open

AMERICANALMANAC (Alan Benson) - Trump orders signs outside Smithsonian museum over claims of left-wing bias in exhibits Sun Aug 2 18:31:22 2026

President Trump directed his administration to post signs outside the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History pointing visitors to what the White House calls "accurate" information, a move that puts a billion-dollar federal institution squarely in the crosshairs of a broader fight over how America's past is presented to the public. The order, issued in […] The post Trump orders signs outside Smithsonian museum over claims of left-wing bias in exhibits appeared first on American Almanac .

President Trump directed his administration to post signs outside the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History pointing visitors to what the White House calls "accurate" information, a move that puts a billion-dollar federal institution squarely in the crosshairs of a broader fight over how America's past is presented to the public. The order, issued in late July 2026, followed a sweeping White House report released earlier that month that accused the Smithsonian of allowing left-wing ideology to seep into its exhibits and educational programs. The report singled out the museum's director, Anthea Hartig, who has led the National Museum of American History since 2019, citing her own stated view that history is a "prime tool of…Open

AMERICANALMANAC (Jonah Adams) - Trump calls off planned Iran strike after Tehran and regional allies request hold on deal terms Sun Aug 2 18:31:18 2026

President Trump announced Saturday night that he canceled a planned U.S. military strike on Iran after Tehran and several Middle Eastern governments asked him to hold fire, with the outlines of a deal covering the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's nuclear program now on the table. The announcement, posted on Truth Social, came less than […] The post Trump calls off planned Iran strike after Tehran and regional allies request hold on deal terms appeared first on American Almanac .

President Trump announced Saturday night that he canceled a planned U.S. military strike on Iran after Tehran and several Middle Eastern governments asked him to hold fire, with the outlines of a deal covering the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's nuclear program now on the table. The announcement, posted on Truth Social, came less than 24 hours after Trump told reporters at a Cabinet meeting at Camp David that the United States would be "hitting them very hard" and that he was "losing faith" in negotiations with Tehran. By Saturday evening, a furious round of regional diplomacy, led by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, and others, had produced enough movement to pause what multiple outlets described as one of the most significant planned U.S.…Open

AMERICANALMANAC (Melissa Gentry) - Ceuta reels from border surge that killed at least 72 as Spain promises fence and far-right leaders descend Sun Aug 2 18:31:18 2026

As many as 60,000 North African migrants overwhelmed the tiny Spanish enclave of Ceuta in a matter of hours last week, and though most have been returned to Morocco, at least 72 are dead and the city is still counting the cost. The surge began Thursday and continued through Friday, when tens of thousands of […] The post Ceuta reels from border surge that killed at least 72 as Spain promises fence and far-right leaders descend appeared first on American Almanac .

As many as 60,000 North African migrants overwhelmed the tiny Spanish enclave of Ceuta in a matter of hours last week, and though most have been returned to Morocco, at least 72 are dead and the city is still counting the cost. The surge began Thursday and continued through Friday, when tens of thousands of mostly young men crossed an urban beach and a breakwater barrier from Morocco into the Spanish territory. Spanish army soldiers moved to block beach access on Friday, but by then the arrivals had already swelled Ceuta's population of 84,000 by more than half. Spanish authorities said some of the dead drowned in the crossing; others were killed in a stampede at the breakwater barrier. By Sunday, officials said most of the migrants had…Open

AMERICANALMANAC (Alan Benson) - Anna Wintour quietly courted Jewish leaders before naming Galliano as Met Gala honoree Sun Aug 2 18:31:17 2026

The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Vogue tapped designer John Galliano, convicted of a hate crime in France after a filmed antisemitic tirade, as the 2027 Met Gala honoree, but only after a year of behind-the-scenes meetings with rabbis and Jewish leaders. The announcement landed on July 31, and with it came a revealing backstory: […] The post Anna Wintour quietly courted Jewish leaders before naming Galliano as Met Gala honoree appeared first on American Almanac .

The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Vogue tapped designer John Galliano, convicted of a hate crime in France after a filmed antisemitic tirade, as the 2027 Met Gala honoree, but only after a year of behind-the-scenes meetings with rabbis and Jewish leaders. The announcement landed on July 31, and with it came a revealing backstory: Vogue's global editorial director Anna Wintour, Galliano himself, and Met Costume Institute curator Andrew Bolton had spent the past year sitting down with influential Jewish figures in New York City, seeking what amounted to pre-clearance for the planned exhibition. The New York Times, in an exclusive report by chief fashion critic Vanessa Friedman, broke the details of that outreach campaign. The meetings were…Open

AMERICANALMANAC (Alan Benson) - Richard L. O'Connor, Emmy-winning producer behind The Muppet Movie and On Golden Pond, dead at 96 Sun Aug 2 18:31:16 2026

Richard L. O'Connor, the veteran Hollywood producer who helped bring The Muppet Movie and On Golden Pond to the screen, has died at 96, closing a career that stretched from a CBS mailroom to an Emmy win. O'Connor died July 22 in Palm Desert, his family announced. No cause of death was disclosed. A funeral […] The post Richard L. O'Connor, Emmy-winning producer behind The Muppet Movie and On Golden Pond, dead at 96 appeared first on American Almanac .

Richard L. O'Connor, the veteran Hollywood producer who helped bring The Muppet Movie and On Golden Pond to the screen, has died at 96, closing a career that stretched from a CBS mailroom to an Emmy win. O'Connor died July 22 in Palm Desert, his family announced. No cause of death was disclosed. A funeral mass is scheduled for 1 p.m. on August 8 at St. Anthony's Catholic Church in Mendocino, California, the coastal community where he grew up and eventually returned after decades in the film business. His credits spanned more than 20 years of features, television movies, and miniseries. He served as executive in charge of production on The Muppet Movie in 1979, working alongside producer Jim Henson, and held the same role on On Golden Pond…Open

AMERICANALMANAC (Jonah Adams) - Trump's Patriot Games kick off next week at Ohio academy with $250,000 in scholarships on the line Sun Aug 2 18:31:16 2026

President Trump's Patriot Games, a national high school athletic competition pitting one boy and one girl from every state and territory against each other, begin August 9 at an Ohio prep school, with ESPN cameras rolling and a quarter-million dollars in scholarship money at stake. The three-day event at Spire Academy in Geneva, Ohio, will […] The post Trump's Patriot Games kick off next week at Ohio academy with $250,000 in scholarships on the line appeared first on American Almanac .

President Trump's Patriot Games, a national high school athletic competition pitting one boy and one girl from every state and territory against each other, begin August 9 at an Ohio prep school, with ESPN cameras rolling and a quarter-million dollars in scholarship money at stake. The three-day event at Spire Academy in Geneva, Ohio, will run August 9 through 11 and feature athletes aged 14 to 17 competing in football, basketball, soccer, track, a Presidential Fitness Test, a military-style bootcamp, and an obstacle course. Athletes arrive August 7 and 8. A one-hour ESPN special will air on ABC on August 13 at 9 p.m. ET, and the full competition will stream live on the ESPN app, USA TODAY reported . Freedom 250, the organization Trump…Open