Sen. Mitch McConnell has not been seen in public since early June, and his empty seat is now threatening to derail the confirmation of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, with Republicans left holding a one-vote margin they may not be able to keep. The August 3 deadline that some observers believed could force a special […] The post McConnell's prolonged absence narrows GOP margin on Trump nominees as Kentucky succession law looms appeared first on American Almanac .
Sen. Mitch McConnell has not been seen in public since early June, and his empty seat is now threatening to derail the confirmation of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, with Republicans left holding a one-vote margin they may not be able to keep. The August 3 deadline that some observers believed could force a special election in Kentucky came and went without consequence. McConnell did not vacate his seat, and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, moved quickly to dismiss the date's significance. Beshear posted on X that the deadline carried no legal weight on his options should a vacancy open this year. But the passed deadline did nothing to resolve the real problem: McConnell remains absent, his office says he is not medically…Open
Sen. John Fetterman delivered a blunt rebuke to fellow Democrats for elevating a communist-sympathizing internet personality, warning that the party's leftward lurch toward anti-Israel radicalism and socialist candidates is alienating mainstream voters. The Pennsylvania Democrat, speaking on the sidelines of the Israel on Campus Coalition's National Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, singled out […] The post Fetterman confronts his own party over Mao-praising streamer and socialist primary surge appeared first on American Almanac .
Sen. John Fetterman delivered a blunt rebuke to fellow Democrats for elevating a communist-sympathizing internet personality, warning that the party's leftward lurch toward anti-Israel radicalism and socialist candidates is alienating mainstream voters. The Pennsylvania Democrat, speaking on the sidelines of the Israel on Campus Coalition's National Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, singled out socialist Twitch streamer Hasan Piker by name. Piker has openly praised Mao Zedong and defended Cuba's communist regime while blaming America for the island's suffering. He has also emerged as an influential voice on the Democratic left, backing socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and campaigning alongside Michigan Senate…Open
A progressive doctor backed by Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez survived a nearly $62 million outside spending barrage to win Michigan's Democratic Senate primary, and now his own party's strategists are openly questioning whether he can hold the seat in November. Abdul El-Sayed defeated Rep. Haley Stevens by fewer than 15,000 votes out of more […] The post Abdul El-Sayed edges past Haley Stevens in Michigan's $98 million Democratic Senate primary appeared first on American Almanac .
A progressive doctor backed by Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez survived a nearly $62 million outside spending barrage to win Michigan's Democratic Senate primary, and now his own party's strategists are openly questioning whether he can hold the seat in November. Abdul El-Sayed defeated Rep. Haley Stevens by fewer than 15,000 votes out of more than 1.5 million ballots cast on August 4, a margin of less than one percentage point, AP News reported . NBC News called the race for El-Sayed around 2 a.m. Eastern on August 5. Stevens phoned El-Sayed to concede Wednesday morning. The result hands Michigan Democrats a nominee who campaigned on Medicare for All, halting military aid to Israel, and campaign finance reform, in a general…Open
Six months after 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie was taken from her Tucson home, the Pima County Sheriff's Department says releasing two ransom notes has produced only a "slight increase" in tips, and none that have cracked the case. The department confirmed to ABC News on Tuesday that every tip generated since the notes went public last […] The post Ransom notes in Nancy Guthrie case yield only a trickle of new tips, sheriff's department says appeared first on American Almanac .
Six months after 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie was taken from her Tucson home, the Pima County Sheriff's Department says releasing two ransom notes has produced only a "slight increase" in tips, and none that have cracked the case. The department confirmed to ABC News on Tuesday that every tip generated since the notes went public last Friday has been followed up on, but investigators still have no breakthrough. Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of "Today" show host Savannah Guthrie, vanished from her home in the early hours of February 1 and has not been seen since. The disclosure lands at a frustrating inflection point. Authorities chose to release the notes, a rare investigative move, precisely because the trail had gone cold. And…Open
Rosie O'Donnell says she won't lose sleep over the FCC or Chairman Brendan Carr as she prepares to guest-host "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", even as the agency's regulatory pressure on ABC and Disney remains very much alive. O'Donnell made the remarks during a Monday appearance on Kara Swisher's podcast, where the interviewer asked whether she feared […] The post Rosie O'Donnell brushes off FCC concerns ahead of guest-hosting stint on Kimmel's ABC show appeared first on American Almanac .
Rosie O'Donnell says she won't lose sleep over the FCC or Chairman Brendan Carr as she prepares to guest-host "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", even as the agency's regulatory pressure on ABC and Disney remains very much alive. O'Donnell made the remarks during a Monday appearance on Kara Swisher's podcast, where the interviewer asked whether she feared any FCC action once she takes the chair on the late-night ABC program. The former talk-show host's answer was blunt: she doesn't care. Swisher framed the question around the FCC's recent moves against ABC, including an ongoing probe of "The View" and Chairman Carr's earlier threat to pursue regulatory "avenues" against ABC and parent company Disney. O'Donnell, who is set to host one week of episodes…Open
Actor Stephen Baldwin told People magazine he walked away from mainstream Hollywood more than two decades ago after a spiritual awakening, trading box-office ambitions for church ministry and Christian filmmaking. Baldwin, 60, the youngest of the four Baldwin acting brothers, laid out the full arc of his conversion in an interview published by the Daily […] The post Stephen Baldwin chose faith over fame — and says he'd do it again at 60 appeared first on American Almanac .
Actor Stephen Baldwin told People magazine he walked away from mainstream Hollywood more than two decades ago after a spiritual awakening, trading box-office ambitions for church ministry and Christian filmmaking. Baldwin, 60, the youngest of the four Baldwin acting brothers, laid out the full arc of his conversion in an interview published by the Daily Mail on Sunday. He got sober in 1989, married his Brazilian wife Kennya in 1990, and by 2001 had become a born-again Christian. Every career decision since, he said, has followed from that turn. In a culture that treats religious conviction as either a punchline or a marketing gimmick, Baldwin's account stands out for its plainness. He is not launching a comeback. He is not apologizing.…Open
Ariana Grande told a Chicago crowd her decision to step away from public life after her current tour was planned long ago and made "from a thoughtful and empowered place", not driven by the online speculation swirling around her. The 33-year-old Grammy winner spoke directly to fans at Chicago's United Center on Aug. 3, one […] The post Ariana Grande addresses planned retreat from public life at Chicago concert appeared first on American Almanac .
Ariana Grande told a Chicago crowd her decision to step away from public life after her current tour was planned long ago and made "from a thoughtful and empowered place", not driven by the online speculation swirling around her. The 33-year-old Grammy winner spoke directly to fans at Chicago's United Center on Aug. 3, one day after her representative released a statement confirming she would withdraw from public-facing work once her Eternal Sunshine tour wraps on Sept. 1 in London. Grande pushed back on the framing that her break was a reaction to recent scrutiny, telling the crowd that "sometimes, when a story comes out that's not directly from me, things can get a little blown out of proportion." The representative's statement, first…Open
Actor Bradley Cooper and supermodel Gigi Hadid appear to have quietly married after the couple was photographed in Paris this week wearing matching gold wedding bands, a move insiders say followed a secret ceremony in New York. Cooper, 51, and Hadid, 31, were spotted outside a gym in Paris and later at the celebrity restaurant […] The post Bradley Cooper and Gigi Hadid reportedly married in secret New York ceremony appeared first on American Almanac .
Actor Bradley Cooper and supermodel Gigi Hadid appear to have quietly married after the couple was photographed in Paris this week wearing matching gold wedding bands, a move insiders say followed a secret ceremony in New York. Cooper, 51, and Hadid, 31, were spotted outside a gym in Paris and later at the celebrity restaurant Loulou, both wearing gold rings on their left ring fingers. Cooper is currently in Paris filming the prequel to the 2001 heist film Ocean's Eleven, alongside actress Margot Robbie. The Sun reported that anonymous insiders claim the couple married in a quiet ceremony in New York last month. Neither Cooper's nor Hadid's representatives responded to requests for comment. No details about the ceremony itself, the…Open
Actress Jane Fonda and Wendy Schmidt, wife of Google co-founder Eric Schmidt, are bankrolling a campaign to block a popular ballot measure that would cut red tape on housing construction in a state where the median home just hit a record $930,000. The two women launched their "No on 45" campaign in Sacramento on Wednesday, […] The post Jane Fonda and a Google billionaire's wife fight California housing reform — from mansions worth millions appeared first on American Almanac .
Actress Jane Fonda and Wendy Schmidt, wife of Google co-founder Eric Schmidt, are bankrolling a campaign to block a popular ballot measure that would cut red tape on housing construction in a state where the median home just hit a record $930,000. The two women launched their "No on 45" campaign in Sacramento on Wednesday, rallying opposition to Proposition 45, a measure that would limit environmental reviews and court-imposed delays on housing, infrastructure, water, healthcare, and clean energy projects across California. Fonda, 88, and Schmidt, 71, are working through Clean and Healthy California, an environmental PAC that Schmidt seeded with more than $5 million and that has poured $7 million since June into defeating the measure. …Open
About 1.5 million voters cast ballots in the Democratic primary for governor compared with about 930,000 in the Republican primary, as of midday Wednesday.