Sylvia Jefferies, who played Hayden Panettiere’s on-screen mother in “Nashville,” recently reflected on the struggles the late actress faced, stating her “demons” became overwhelmingly burdensome before her untimely passing.

Jefferies expressed her sorrow on Instagram, writing, “This news has hit me deeply. I’ve needed time today to process the reality that Hayden is no longer with us.”

In her heartfelt message, Jefferies candidly spoke of the challenges Panettiere presented, recalling, “Sometimes, being around Hayden was difficult; I once likened her to a whirlwind. Yet, she was our whirlwind,” reflecting on her vibrant and unpredictable nature.

She poetically described the actress, saying, “She was like the initial sunburst, the gentle mist, the escalating storm, encompassing everything around her, until the rain subsided, bringing back calm, the sunshine in her eyes, and the delightful giggle in her voice.”

The 57-year-old actress acknowledged that while Panettiere had a “remarkably promising future,” the internal battles she faced were sometimes insurmountable.

“I pause as I reflect on her, looking at photos, remembering scenes, listening to voicemails, and remembering the first time she called me ‘Mama’ while she shared stories of her youth. We seemed far apart, but we were very close in our hearts,” the “Walker Payne” actress penned.

Jefferies said she and the “Heroes” alum “reconnected” after the former read the latter’s new memoir, “This Is Me: A Reckoning,” earlier this year and had made plans to see each other.

This story is being updated…

Hints unearthed from a pair of mysterious messages might soon unlock the enigma surrounding Nancy Guthrie’s suspected kidnapping in Arizona. Retired investigator Lisa Miller from Colorado noted that the grammatical traits and sentence structures strongly indicate that a single individual likely authored both messages. Such a revelation could potentially spark the crucial tip that law enforcement officials have been eagerly anticipating.

Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Savannah Guthrie, the well-known co-host of “Today,” was reportedly snatched from her residence in northern Tucson. Surveillance footage from a doorbell camera, which has been recovered, shows a masked intruder appearing at her doorstep during the early morning hours of February 1.

Last month’s decision to make these messages public might do more than spark a long-lost memory, Miller suggested. It could also increase the pressure on the message’s author, potentially causing them to slip up and inadvertently reveal themselves to those in their proximity.

“For those involved, there’s a constant paranoia about being discovered,” Miller explained. “That anxiety induces what’s known as behavioral leakage, which is precisely what we are hoping for and what those around the suspect might notice.”

But the notes themselves may give the public something specific to look for.

“Think about if you’ve heard someone in your group, maybe outside your orbit that you just encounter that uses this strange language, or if you’re written a letter,” Miller said. “If you see something in their writing or in an email where they’re using these comma splicings, those are the things that are useful to ask people to look for.”

The comma splices — where two sentences are joined with a comma rather than separated by a period — are a signature detail in both notes, she added.

“We see it also again in the second note,” she said. “So it’s continuous between the two notes, which is one of the reasons why I believe this continuity more likely than not indicates this one author.”

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department released the notes in July, six months after Guthrie’s suspected abduction from her home in Tucson, Arizona. Her whereabouts remain unknown, and authorities said they are hoping that someone recognizes the sender’s “unique linguistic style.”

“These are characteristics, these are things that law enforcement can use to ask people, crowdsource for help in this case,” Miller said.

And the comma splices aren’t the only habits that caught her attention.

“We’re seeing also some open compounds through the notes,” she said. “We see ‘heart related,’ that should be hyphenated by most people when they write that. We see smartwatch written as two words. Most people write that as one. Floodlight, we see that written as words. So that is a continuity that we’re seeing between the two.”

She also said she doesn’t think the sender used AI to concoct the messages. There’s a typo, for example, and the sentences don’t have a smooth, AI-generated flow, she said.

Instead, the unusual language may reflect the writer’s unique speech and writing habits, Miller said.

“There’s something else, it’s called idiolect,” Miller explained. “Idiolect is our personal style of communication and it can be affected by many things. The region we grew up in, neighborhoods we live in, slang that we’ve adopted.”

The sender’s idiolect could be why they used the word “perished” rather than “died” and wrote that Guthrie had been “buried in nature,” Miller speculated.

“Perhaps this idiolect, this personalized language is something that they’ve said based on religious upbringing, based on books they’ve read, maybe ‘buried in nature’ is something they utilize,” she said.

Another possibility, she said, is that offenders typically try to minimize their wrongdoing.

“They blame others,” Miller said. “They blame, you know, the victim themselves. They distance themselves from that bad thing that they did.”

Miller also flagged the sender’s use of both a dollar sign and “USD” to specify the ransom amount, along with the way dates and times were written, as other notable quirks.

“I would bring people from the public that are looking at these notes to look at that also, cause that’s a distinction,” she said.

Authorities have not yet confirmed that the notes are authentic, but Guthrie’s daughter, “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie, has said she believes they may be — and investigators haven’t ruled them out either.

The sum of all rewards in the case is over $1.2 million.

Anyone with information is asked to dial 1-800-CALL-FBI or, to remain anonymous, call 520-88-CRIME.

Hayden Panettiere, the troubled actress who passed away from a suspected overdose, was reportedly “struggling” and “really lonely” during the production of her last film, revealed her co-star Justin Chatwin.

Panettiere, who died just days shy of her 37th birthday, completed filming on the psychological thriller “Sleepwalker” in February. In this movie, she portrayed a distraught mother dealing with the traumatic loss of her daughter in a car accident.

Having relinquished custody of her own daughter, Panettiere’s role mirrored aspects of her personal life. She also depicted a victim of domestic abuse, an experience she endured during her tumultuous relationship with her ex-boyfriend, Brian Hickerson.

Chatwin, who portrayed Panettiere’s abusive husband in the film, shared with People magazine that they bonded well on set. “It was a fantastic shoot, but considering the theme of domestic abuse, it might have been too relatable for her, as she did bring it up,” he explained on Monday.

Chatwin, renowned for his role in “Shameless,” had known Panettiere prior to filming and observed that she “seemed different” during the making of what would eventually be her final movie. Her sudden demise from a suspected overdose this weekend marks the end of her tumultuous yet remarkable journey.

“I could tell she was struggling, and I was like, ‘I don’t think it’s this movie,” he said of likely troubles off the set.

“There’s a handful of women that I’ve worked with that I really liked, and I really loved working with her, but I also know that she was really lonely.”

Canadian-born Chatwin, 43, said Panettiere “was authentic… about her life and she opened up about her struggles with addiction” while on set of the movie, which was released in January, Chatwin said.

“She was delightful and super open and we had a great time together and I’m just saddened that another one got taken down,” Chatwin said.

The actress’ shocking death came just three months after she published her deeply candid memoir, “This Is Me: A Reckoning,” in which the former child star opened up about her harrowing battles with alcohol and opioid addiction, postpartum depression, domestic abuse and the pressures of growing up in Hollywood. Hickerson has also admitted being abusive toward her.

Brandon Auman, the movie’s writer and director, described Panettiere as a “bright, open, [and] numinous spirit.”

“She was open and honest about the last few years of her life and how it related to her character,” he told People. 

“I’m keeping those conversations private, but I was struck by how complex and deeply introspective she was. She lived a dozen lives in one short beautiful life. I’ll miss her forever.”

Panettiere, who shared daughter Kyla with ex-boxing champ Wladimir Klitschko, was found unresponsive by an unidentified acquaintance inside a Greenville, South Carolina, apartment on Sunday having suffered a cardiac arrest following a suspected overdose.

She flew out of Los Angeles with Hickerson the previous day — though it’s not clear if he placed the call.

Panettiere died five days before her 37th birthday.

Outgoing Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace has responded to the media uproar ignited by her recent bikini photos, which revealed her collection of nine new tattoos.

The 48-year-old representative from South Carolina showcased her tattooed arms while wearing a bikini in a dynamic introduction for “Get Maced.” The clip captured her engaging in surfing and firing an automatic weapon.

Her social media posts quickly went viral, prompting Fox News commentator Raymond Arroyo to describe the display as ‘a cry for help.’

In response to the controversy over her appearance, Mace addressed the situation on social media, expressing surprise over the intense attention.

“Thoughts and prayers to all those affected by my sleeves. Made the mistake of opening my social media this afternoon. Some of y’all are OUT OF CONTROL,” Mace humorously remarked in her post.

‘My biceps should NOT be a news story. We have more important things to worry about. Goodness. And God Bless America.’

Arroyo joined the chorus of commentators on Laura Ingraham’s show Monday suggesting that Mace’s actions could even have a negative effect on other women.

‘My heart goes out to her and it sounds like there was some traumatic things. But tats are not therapy. This is a cry for help. But this is a bad message to women,’ he said.

Arroyo, who works for the Catholic-themed cable network EWTN, also slammed her for getting a tattoo of the Virgin Mary. 

‘She does have the Virgin Mary on the arm there. I wish she would pray to the Virgin Mary rather than placing a tattoo of her on her bicep,’ he said.

Mace first revealed in a February Politico profile that she got nine tattoos in rapid succession during a tumultuous period marked by the end of her engagement and the departure of her entire congressional staff.

She says she got inked to experience ‘the pain that I need to feel.’

She described the tattoos as a way to ‘reclaim’ her body and identity after years of trauma she has publicly detailed, including being molested and raped as a teenager.

One is the opening line from Virginia Woolf’s novel Mrs Dalloway: ‘Mrs Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself.’

Other designs include the word ‘Justice,’ a saintly figure, a lion, a bird, a flower and a sun.

Donald Trump, whom Mace has described as a ‘father figure,’ has taken an interest in her ink, telling a group of South Carolina politicos last December that he had heard she had a number of ‘freaky tattoos,’ Fits News reported.

Until last week, Mace had almost entirely concealed the work in public appearances, even as she campaigned for governor and continued serving in the House.

She finished a distant fifth in the June Republican primary for South Carolina governor after failing to win Trump’s endorsement and later passed on a potential Senate bid after the death of Lindsey Graham.

Her term ends in January 2027, leaving her without an elected office for the first time in almost a decade.

The YouTube channel, where she plans to comment on daily news, already features segments on topics ranging from the WNBA to ‘radical Islam.’

In the intro video, Mace appears in a black bikini and later sleeveless at a microphone, making the tattoos impossible to miss.

Social media users reacted with a mix of shock and mockery, with some refusing to believe the images were not AI-generated. ‘What the f***,’ one X user wrote. Another said: ‘We’re living in a simulation.’

Mace has long framed her personal struggles as central to her political identity.

‘My story is I am totally broken,’ she told Politico in February. ‘I have PTSD over what I’ve been through.’

She has spoken repeatedly about a difficult relationship with her father, a decorated Vietnam War hero, and about suffering sexual abuse as a teenager.

The tattoos arrived amid a period of intense therapy and legal battles stemming from her February 2025 House floor speech accusing her former fiancé and three associates of sex abuse.

All four men denied the claims. Litigation continues, with Mace at times representing herself.

‘It’s just my reaction and my response,’ she said of the ink. ‘And it keeps me alive.’

Mace worked on Trump’s 2016 campaign and remained a visible ally until her support for releasing the Epstein files created distance between them.

She told NewsNation last month that the split ‘may have ended’ her future political aspirations.

With her House career winding down, the YouTube venture marks her clearest attempt to stay in the public eye on her own terms.

The promo ends with the simple declaration: ‘What happens when a Bulldog leaves Washington? She takes the fight to the people.’

As the 60-day deadline for the United States and Iran to finalize a deal came and went on Monday, no agreement was announced. Instead, President Donald Trump has intensified his language toward Tehran, and his administration is gearing up for what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has termed a groundbreaking new phase of economic pressure.

“They ought to raise the white flag of surrender,” Trump said in a phone interview with Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst on Monday. The President expressed no urgency to finalize a deal and revealed the existence of a direct communication channel with officials from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Under a memorandum of understanding signed in June, the United States and Tehran agreed to negotiate a final deal within 60 days, which could be extended if both sides consented. However, according to a Reuters report on Monday, the provisional agreement quickly unraveled due to a disagreement over control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz. On July 7, Trump announced the deal was “over,” and subsequently, Tehran acknowledged its suspension.

This lapsed deadline places a critical question at the core of Trump’s Iran policy: Can the United States leverage military and maritime pressure into political gains by financially squeezing Tehran rather than escalating militarily? Prior to the war, the Strait of Hormuz was a crucial passage for around one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas, making this impasse a significant risk not only to Tehran but also to global energy resources and U.S. fuel prices.

“Watch this space for more announcements coming next week because we are going to apply measures like have never been seen in the history of economic isolation of a country,” Bessent told Newsmax on Aug. 13.

In comments provided to News Media on background, a Treasury spokesperson said, “Economic Fury has left the regime desperate for cash,” arguing that the campaign has constrained Tehran’s ability to generate and move revenue and pushed it further toward shadow-banking networks and cryptocurrency to evade sanctions.

Average Iranian oil loadings had fallen from 1.8 million barrels per day before the war to less than 500,000 barrels per day over the previous month, The Associated Press reported Aug. 11, citing Treasury figures. AP also cited an IMF projection that Iran’s economy would contract 5.4%.

Miad Maleki, a former Treasury sanctions analyst and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told News Media that the pressure is real.

“The numbers are brutal,” Maleki said, citing inflation, the collapsing rial and reduced oil traffic. He described the current campaign as “a maximum pressure campaign on a steroid.”

Reuters reported Monday, citing Iran’s Statistical Centre, that consumer prices in July were 87.9% higher than a year earlier and food prices were up 128%. President Masoud Pezeshkian acknowledged last week that Iran was selling less oil and collecting less tax revenue from struggling businesses.

Maleki argued that what distinguishes the current campaign from previous rounds of sanctions is the combination of financial restrictions and a physical blockade. “What really started, I would say, as Economic Fury, has now turned into maximum pressure on steroids,” he said, arguing that Tehran is being squeezed not only in its ability to export oil but also in its ability to bring critical goods into the country.

He pointed in particular to Iran’s gasoline deficit and weakening government revenues as vulnerabilities that could become increasingly difficult for the regime to manage. In November 2019, a sharp increase in government-set gasoline prices triggered nationwide demonstrations that rapidly broadened into anti-government protests. Reuters reported at the time that Iranian officials said roughly 200,000 people participated in the unrest, while thousands were arrested.

“The regime is very scared of another 2019,” Maleki said, arguing that Tehran has been reluctant to significantly raise retail fuel prices because of the potential political consequences.

But history also illustrates the limitation of Washington’s strategy: economic pain can bring Iranians into the streets without necessarily forcing the regime itself to concede.

The larger question, Maleki said, is who ultimately absorbs the pain.

Iran’s economic system, he argued, includes powerful foundations and elite networks tied to the IRGC and the supreme leader that were built long before today’s sanctions architecture.

“That elite network has spent about three decades insulating themselves from exactly this kind of pain,” Maleki said. “And historically, the regime always burns the population clock before really having to absorb any of that pressure themselves.”

Maleki said pressure can force “tactical concessions,” but broader concessions depend on whether the financial pain reaches IRGC-linked foundations, oligarchs and regime elites rather than remaining concentrated among ordinary Iranians.

Washington is already near “the ceiling on sanctions with Iran,” he argued, meaning the next phase may depend less on new legal tools than on enforcing existing restrictions against foreign enablers, including Chinese refineries, Hong Kong shell traders, exchange houses, shadow-fleet tankers and cryptocurrency channels.

So far, the pressure has not produced a final deal. Reuters reported Monday that a senior Iranian official threatened military escalation within weeks if Washington does not fully implement the interim agreement.

“The worst is still ahead for the Iranian regime,” Maleki said, arguing that payment-cycle delays mean the full fiscal impact of reduced oil exports may not be felt until the fall.

State Attorney General Tish James is currently entangled in other pursuits, appearing frequently in front of cameras and embroiled in lawsuits against the Trump administration. Meanwhile, she’s overlooked an urgent issue: the West Harlem Development Corp.’s $100 million debacle, marred by squandered resources, missed opportunities, and potential self-dealing.

Back in 2009, Columbia University established the WHDC as a conciliatory gesture to appease local influencers when the university sought state intervention through eminent domain to expand its footprint significantly within the neighborhood.

With tens of millions from the university, this nonprofit was charged with channeling funds into economic development initiatives in Harlem, including a $20 million commitment aimed at creating affordable housing.

However, rather than fulfill its mission, the WHDC transformed into a machine for political favors, dispensing grants to minor arts and youth groups in Harlem, awarding lucrative salaries to insiders with political ties, and — in a puzzling turn of events — reportedly contributing to a plan by the Council on American Islamic Relations for addressing the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks and the ensuing hostage situation.

The anticipated economic revitalization and affordable housing never materialized. Instead, the organization became a pipeline for channeling funds and influence through well-connected individuals like current Chair Milton Tingling and Executive Director Zead Ramadan, who also serves on the board of CAIR-New York.

Tingling, a retired judge, was just named to Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s new Jew-free advisory panel on judicial appointments.

Ramadan is the central figure in a federal lawsuit against the WHDC, brought by its terminated director of housing development, Vincent Morgan, who taped his boss Ramadan’s allegedly racist rants about Dominicans, African-Americans, Zionists and Jewish control of New York City. (Ramadan has denied any wrongdoing.)

The dysfunction at the WHDC is well-known among uptown pols, who won’t go on the record about the noxious organization; Columbia has washed its hands of the whole thing after years of peeping about the waste and abuse.

But where’s crusading AG James, whose duties include policing New York tax-exempt charitable organizations?

She hasn’t been shy about suing groups with whose positions she dislikes, from the NRA to the Catholic Church, but declines to lift even an eyebrow about the scandalous WHDC.

The West Harlem Development Corp. is a poster child for the neglect and deep-rooted waste that defines so much “economic development” in New York, and the “community benefits” blackmail surrounding most large projects.

And that, no doubt, is why Tish James won’t do a thing to liberate the tens of millions still in the WHDC hoard for the actual good of the community.