When Richard Gere publicly criticized President Trump's USAID cuts, the White House communications director responded not with a policy defense but by recycling a baseless urban legend that has followed the actor for more than 35 years. On July 21, White House communications director Steven Cheung posted on X: "Not going to listen to a […] The post White House invoked a decades-old, unsubstantiated rumor to dismiss Richard Gere — and revived a story that says more about America than about the actor appeared first on American Almanac .
When Richard Gere publicly criticized President Trump's USAID cuts, the White House communications director responded not with a policy defense but by recycling a baseless urban legend that has followed the actor for more than 35 years. On July 21, White House communications director Steven Cheung posted on X: "Not going to listen to a guy who may have put a gerbil up his a**." The post came after Gere, 77, criticized what he called Trump's "ignorance" regarding cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development at an event promoting an educational partnership on migration. Gere also remarked, "He has idiots around him." Cheung's response did not address USAID, migration policy, or any of Gere's specific claims. Instead, it reached…Open
A senior at a small upstate New York school earned an in-school suspension on her very first day back for carrying a cup of coffee, and her challenge to the rule exposed a transparency failure the district now admits it needs to fix. Julie Kaputa showed up to Beaver River Central School in Beaver Falls, […] The post New York high schooler suspended on first day of school for bringing a cup of coffee appeared first on American Almanac .
A senior at a small upstate New York school earned an in-school suspension on her very first day back for carrying a cup of coffee, and her challenge to the rule exposed a transparency failure the district now admits it needs to fix. Julie Kaputa showed up to Beaver River Central School in Beaver Falls, New York, on September 3 ready to start her senior year. She brought coffee. A staff member told her to finish it or throw it out. Kaputa refused and walked to the main office instead. The school handed her an in-school suspension for violating a brand-new policy banning outside food and drinks. It was the first day the rule existed in practice, and Kaputa was already on the wrong side of it. But what happened next turned a minor…Open
A Czech libertarian politician claims more than 800,000 people have applied to become citizens of a blockchain-based microstate he founded on a muddy, disputed island between Serbia and Croatia, and no recognized government on earth acknowledges it exists. The self-proclaimed Free Republic of Liberland sits on Gornja Siga, a seven-square-kilometre patch of heavily forested floodplain […] The post More than 800,000 apply for citizenship in self-proclaimed crypto micronation built on a Danube floodplain appeared first on American Almanac .
A Czech libertarian politician claims more than 800,000 people have applied to become citizens of a blockchain-based microstate he founded on a muddy, disputed island between Serbia and Croatia, and no recognized government on earth acknowledges it exists. The self-proclaimed Free Republic of Liberland sits on Gornja Siga, a seven-square-kilometre patch of heavily forested floodplain along the Danube River, roughly the size of Gibraltar. Vít Jedlička, who styles himself president, claimed the territory in 2015 under the legal principle of "terra nullius," arguing that neither Croatia nor Serbia had formally asserted sovereignty over the land after the Balkan wars of the 1990s left the border in dispute. A settlement on the island became…Open
Uganda reversed its pullout from Prince Harry's Invictus Games after King Charles III's top aide telephoned the country's military chief, a swift diplomatic fix that exposed how far the Sussex brand has drifted from the Crown. General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Uganda's Chief of Defence Forces and the son of President Yoweri Museveni, approved his country's return […] The post Buckingham Palace smooths over Uganda's Invictus Games withdrawal with a single phone call appeared first on American Almanac .
Uganda reversed its pullout from Prince Harry's Invictus Games after King Charles III's top aide telephoned the country's military chief, a swift diplomatic fix that exposed how far the Sussex brand has drifted from the Crown. General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Uganda's Chief of Defence Forces and the son of President Yoweri Museveni, approved his country's return to the international veterans' competition after a phone conversation with Sir Clive Alderton, King Charles's Principal Private Secretary. Colonel Chris Magezi, Uganda's acting director of Defence Public Information, announced the reversal on social media, confirming that Sir Alderton had conveyed the King's personal support for Uganda's participation in the Birmingham games scheduled…Open
A female passenger on an American Airlines flight from Baltimore to Miami was taken into custody after she allegedly removed all her clothing and engaged in indecent acts in full view of other travelers, the latest in a string of alarming in-flight incidents. The crew aboard Flight 1779 reported the disturbance using the aircraft's ACARS […] The post Woman arrested after allegedly stripping naked on American Airlines flight to Miami appeared first on American Almanac .
A female passenger on an American Airlines flight from Baltimore to Miami was taken into custody after she allegedly removed all her clothing and engaged in indecent acts in full view of other travelers, the latest in a string of alarming in-flight incidents. The crew aboard Flight 1779 reported the disturbance using the aircraft's ACARS datalink system, a digital messaging tool that connects cockpit and cabin staff to airline operations on the ground. The lead flight attendant flagged that a woman in seat 9D had completely undressed and was behaving indecently in front of nearby passengers, Fox News reported . Law enforcement officers were waiting at the gate when the plane touched down at Miami International Airport at approximately…Open
A 36-year-old Arizona mother suffered severe facial wounds after she beat back a coyote that lunged at her four-year-old daughter, armed with nothing but a flip-flop and a parent's reflex. Brittany Cardinal was flying a kite with her young daughter in Surprise, Arizona, on September 6 when the child screamed. A coyote had come at […] The post Arizona mother fights off coyote with a flip-flop after it attacks her four-year-old daughter appeared first on American Almanac .
A 36-year-old Arizona mother suffered severe facial wounds after she beat back a coyote that lunged at her four-year-old daughter, armed with nothing but a flip-flop and a parent's reflex. Brittany Cardinal was flying a kite with her young daughter in Surprise, Arizona, on September 6 when the child screamed. A coyote had come at the girl. Cardinal didn't pause. She yanked off her flip-flop, swung it at the animal, and screamed to drive it away. The coyote didn't retreat. Cardinal fell to the ground during the struggle but managed to free her daughter. The animal then bit Cardinal on the face, leaving severe lacerations and puncture wounds. She got back up, grabbed her child, and ran home. Her daughter was unharmed. Cardinal says she…Open
Kaley Cuoco broke down at a Los Angeles gala honoring her late "8 Simple Rules" co-star John Ritter, calling his 2003 death "one of the worst days of my life", and pledging to keep his legacy alive. The actress, who was just 16 when she landed the role of Ritter's oldest daughter on the ABC […] The post Kaley Cuoco pays tearful tribute to late TV dad John Ritter at charity gala appeared first on American Almanac .
Kaley Cuoco broke down at a Los Angeles gala honoring her late "8 Simple Rules" co-star John Ritter, calling his 2003 death "one of the worst days of my life", and pledging to keep his legacy alive. The actress, who was just 16 when she landed the role of Ritter's oldest daughter on the ABC sitcom, delivered an emotional speech Saturday night at the John Ritter Foundation for Aortic Health's annual Evening From the Heart Gala. Ritter's widow, Amy Yasbeck, and his son Tyler Ritter co-hosted the event, which drew fellow television veterans and raised money to fight the condition that killed the Emmy-winning actor at 54. Cuoco, now pregnant with her and fiancé Tom Pelphrey's second child, recalled the first time she met Ritter, at the…Open
The 80-year-old actress best known for her role on Charlie's Angels says she has lived with an "unusual" form of obsessive-compulsive disorder since she was 12, and kept it hidden for most of her career. Jaclyn Smith traces the start of her OCD to a family tragedy. Her uncle died from the effects of alcoholism […] The post Jaclyn Smith opens up about decades-long battle with OCD in new memoir appeared first on American Almanac .
The 80-year-old actress best known for her role on Charlie's Angels says she has lived with an "unusual" form of obsessive-compulsive disorder since she was 12, and kept it hidden for most of her career. Jaclyn Smith traces the start of her OCD to a family tragedy. Her uncle died from the effects of alcoholism at 54, and the loss sent the young girl into a cycle of obsessive prayer. She began bargaining silently, praying to keep the people she loved safe, convinced that the right words in the right order could hold disaster at bay. She was 12 years old. Smith laid out the details in her newly released memoir, I Once Knew a Guy Named Charlie, published September 8, and in a companion interview with People magazine. The book covers far…Open
President Trump took to Truth Social over the weekend to praise sweeping renovations to the White House and blast his predecessors for letting the 232-year-old building fall into disrepair, a claim that arrives alongside ballooning cost estimates and a political fight over who foots the bill. In a Sunday post, Trump shared photos of a […] The post Trump celebrates White House renovations, calls building a 'dump' under past presidents appeared first on American Almanac .
President Trump took to Truth Social over the weekend to praise sweeping renovations to the White House and blast his predecessors for letting the 232-year-old building fall into disrepair, a claim that arrives alongside ballooning cost estimates and a political fight over who foots the bill. In a Sunday post, Trump shared photos of a restored column and declared the executive mansion "in better shape than when built in 1792," while calling the condition he inherited "very bad" and the building itself, in his word, a "dump." He credited the Department of the Interior, led by Secretary Doug Burgum, and unnamed contractors for what he described as a "fantastic job," the New York Post reported . The posts cap a stretch of ambitious…Open
California Gov. Gavin Newsom now says he largely agrees with President Donald Trump that transgender girls competing in women's sports is "deeply unfair", and a growing number of Democrats are quietly reaching the same conclusion ahead of the 2026 midterms. Newsom, widely regarded as the frontrunner in the Democratic shadow primary for 2028, made the […] The post Newsom and fellow Democrats break with their party on transgender athletes as midterms loom appeared first on American Almanac .
California Gov. Gavin Newsom now says he largely agrees with President Donald Trump that transgender girls competing in women's sports is "deeply unfair", and a growing number of Democrats are quietly reaching the same conclusion ahead of the 2026 midterms. Newsom, widely regarded as the frontrunner in the Democratic shadow primary for 2028, made the admission while campaigning in South Carolina. He told the Associated Press that he struggles with the issue but cannot pretend the current arrangement is fair. The shift is not limited to one ambitious governor. From Iowa to Ohio to Texas, Democratic candidates for statewide office are distancing themselves from their party's longstanding defense of transgender athletes, a repositioning…Open