Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson declared a statewide wildfire emergency and banned outdoor burning across all 39 counties as fires in Spokane destroyed at least 700 structures and drove tens of thousands from their homes, with 14 people still unaccounted for. The fires tearing through eastern Washington have burned more than 8,000 acres near Spokane with […] The post Spokane wildfires level 700 structures and force 65,000 to evacuate as governor issues statewide burn ban appeared first on American Almanac .
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson declared a statewide wildfire emergency and banned outdoor burning across all 39 counties as fires in Spokane destroyed at least 700 structures and drove tens of thousands from their homes, with 14 people still unaccounted for. The fires tearing through eastern Washington have burned more than 8,000 acres near Spokane with zero containment, according to Newsmax , leveling homes, businesses, and entire neighborhoods while 900 crews and National Guard soldiers fight to hold the line. Officials said Monday that the destruction toll, already at 700 structures, many of them homes, is expected to climb as satellite imaging of 1,100 additional areas gets underway to assess commercial and residential damage. The…Open
Senate leaders from both parties unveiled a short-term spending bill to keep the government open through December, but the deal strips out the administration's request for "Trump-class" battleships and blocks a proposed grant oversight rule that critics on both sides called politically charged. The bipartisan continuing resolution, rolled out Sunday on Capitol Hill, would fund […] The post Senate spending deal sidesteps shutdown but blocks key Trump priorities appeared first on American Almanac .
Senate leaders from both parties unveiled a short-term spending bill to keep the government open through December, but the deal strips out the administration's request for "Trump-class" battleships and blocks a proposed grant oversight rule that critics on both sides called politically charged. The bipartisan continuing resolution, rolled out Sunday on Capitol Hill, would fund federal agencies at current levels through Dec. 11, pushing the next spending fight well past the midterm elections and the September 30 fiscal-year deadline. The Senate plans to vote before lawmakers leave Washington for their August recess. The House has already passed a similar measure, though the Senate version diverges on several key provisions the White House…Open
A Long Island father of three spent five days in the hospital and waited five years for a diagnosis after contracting a rare tick-borne virus that has no treatment, no commercial test, and has already killed two Americans. Michael Larkin, 67, of Suffolk County, New York, became the state's first confirmed case of Bourbon virus […] The post New York confirms first case of Bourbon virus, a tick-borne illness with no cure appeared first on American Almanac .
A Long Island father of three spent five days in the hospital and waited five years for a diagnosis after contracting a rare tick-borne virus that has no treatment, no commercial test, and has already killed two Americans. Michael Larkin, 67, of Suffolk County, New York, became the state's first confirmed case of Bourbon virus after researchers at Stony Brook University identified the infection in April 2026, roughly five years after two lone star ticks bit him while he worked in his own yard. The diagnosis came only after a year-long antibody trial, and it raises a question public health officials should have been asking sooner: how many other cases across the Northeast are going undetected? Bourbon virus was first identified in 2014 in…Open
The Trump administration handed Anne Arundel County Public Schools a blunt ultimatum, rescind your policy of concealing student gender transitions from parents within a week, or face federal litigation and the loss of federal funding. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon sent the demand letter on July 29, invoking the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, […] The post DOJ gives Maryland school district seven days to stop hiding gender transitions from parents appeared first on American Almanac .
The Trump administration handed Anne Arundel County Public Schools a blunt ultimatum, rescind your policy of concealing student gender transitions from parents within a week, or face federal litigation and the loss of federal funding. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon sent the demand letter on July 29, invoking the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, the federal law that guarantees parents access to their children's school records. The letter targets a district policy that lets students adopt new names and pronouns at school without parental knowledge or approval, and that classifies gender-identity records as confidential medical information staff should reveal only when "legally required." Dhillon's letter lays out what…Open
Rosie O'Donnell confirmed she will return to ABC's The View as a guest for its 30th-anniversary special, capping years of behind-the-scenes tension and two messy departures from the daytime talk show. O'Donnell, 64, made the announcement on a Monday episode of the "Tangle With Kyle Ridley" podcast, saying she plans to appear "in whatever way […] The post Rosie O'Donnell headed back to 'The View' for Season 30 anniversary special appeared first on American Almanac .
Rosie O'Donnell confirmed she will return to ABC's The View as a guest for its 30th-anniversary special, capping years of behind-the-scenes tension and two messy departures from the daytime talk show. O'Donnell, 64, made the announcement on a Monday episode of the "Tangle With Kyle Ridley" podcast, saying she plans to appear "in whatever way they want me, just as a guest." She stopped short of calling it a full comeback. Co-hosting, she has said, is off the table for good. The Daytime Emmy winner co-hosted The View during two separate stints, Season 10 in 2006, 2007 and Season 18 in 2014, 2015, and left both times under a cloud. Her first exit followed an infamous on-air clash with conservative co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck. Her second…Open
An independent cost study pegs Mayor Zohran Mamdani's flagship universal childcare plan at roughly $9 billion a year, about 50 percent above the $6 billion figure he sold voters on the campaign trail. The Center for New York City Affairs, a nonpartisan research group affiliated with the New School, released a report estimating that New […] The post Mamdani's universal childcare program will cost billions more than he promised, independent study finds appeared first on American Almanac .
An independent cost study pegs Mayor Zohran Mamdani's flagship universal childcare plan at roughly $9 billion a year, about 50 percent above the $6 billion figure he sold voters on the campaign trail. The Center for New York City Affairs, a nonpartisan research group affiliated with the New School, released a report estimating that New York City would need between $8.7 billion and $9.3 billion annually to deliver the free childcare program Mamdani made the centerpiece of his mayoral bid. That is approximately $3 billion more per year than Mamdani's own number, and it lands at a moment when City Hall has yet to produce its own official cost model for the program. The New York Post reported that City Hall declined to comment on the $9…Open
Country music star Keith Urban is reportedly reeling after photographs surfaced of his ex-wife Nicole Kidman with a new romantic partner, a private-equity businessman she has apparently been seeing for months. The 58-year-old singer had allegedly held out hope for reconciliation with Kidman, 59, even after their divorce was finalized in January following 19 years […] The post Keith Urban reportedly struggling after Nicole Kidman's new romance surfaces appeared first on American Almanac .
Country music star Keith Urban is reportedly reeling after photographs surfaced of his ex-wife Nicole Kidman with a new romantic partner, a private-equity businessman she has apparently been seeing for months. The 58-year-old singer had allegedly held out hope for reconciliation with Kidman, 59, even after their divorce was finalized in January following 19 years of marriage. But Daily Mail photographs showing the Oscar-winning actress holding hands and sharing a kiss with businessman Michael Reinstein on the Italian Riviera appear to have ended that possibility for good. An unnamed insider told the Australian magazine New Idea that Urban was blindsided by the images and the reality they represent. "Up until now, the door had been…Open
America's ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle, came within inches of an unplanned swim in the Aegean Sea after her six-and-a-half-inch platform heels betrayed her on a Mykonos dock, a moment her security detail scrambled to prevent. Guilfoyle, 57, was stepping from the harbor onto a luxury boat on Saturday when the gap between dock and […] The post Kimberly Guilfoyle nearly tumbles into Aegean Sea boarding boat in sky-high Valentino heels appeared first on American Almanac .
America's ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle, came within inches of an unplanned swim in the Aegean Sea after her six-and-a-half-inch platform heels betrayed her on a Mykonos dock, a moment her security detail scrambled to prevent. Guilfoyle, 57, was stepping from the harbor onto a luxury boat on Saturday when the gap between dock and deck, combined with the rocking vessel and her towering Valentino platforms, nearly sent her overboard. Security officers and aides lunged forward to catch her before she hit the water. She steadied herself, smiled, and continued aboard with her composure intact . No injury was reported. The whole episode amounted to a fleeting moment of embarrassment, the kind of thing that happens when anyone tries…Open
Pirro's office moved last week to drop charges against a former Olympian they accused of vandalizing the Reflecting Pool outside the Lincoln Memorial, claiming new information has since indicated that damage to the pool was the result of a rushed job.