For any political candidate, a single question can carry enormous consequences.

It may not come from a television anchor or an opponent on a debate stage. Sometimes, it comes from a voter at a local party meeting—someone with a microphone and a long memory.

‘Is that why you chose to grope me at an event for Jeff Landry at the Texas Club?’

The accusation, made at a Republican gathering last month and recorded in video obtained by the Daily Mail, has triggered denials, allegations of political sabotage and a rupture between former friends.

The question came from a woman attending a meeting at a Louisiana golf club, shortly after a married Baptist minister seeking a congressional seat said he had ‘voted for every protection act’ supporting women.

The woman was Republican activist Abby Crosby, 55. The candidate was state Senator Rick Edmonds, 70, who immediately denied the allegation and told her it was ‘not even remotely close to any truth.’

Crosby alleges that Edmonds grabbed her hips from behind during the 2023 event for Landry and whispered: ‘I want to thank you, for myself and all these men in here, for wearing this pink dress.’

Edmonds has described the allegation as ‘a fabrication’ and linked Crosby to his rival, Blake Miguez. The two candidates are competing for Donald Trump’s endorsement in a deeply conservative district, where the president’s backing could prove decisive.

Republicans are expected to view the seat as a rare pickup opportunity in a difficult election year. Louisiana redrew its congressional map this spring, transforming what had been a Democratic stronghold into a district favorable to Trump. Democrats need a net gain of only three seats to win control of the House, while the Cook Political Report forecasts Republican losses of between five and 15 seats.

Crosby told Edmonds at the meeting: ‘You ran from me after you did it and I chased you down.’

She added: ‘I have witnesses, Sir.’

Edmonds replied: ‘Well good, I wish that you would produce them, I’d be glad to answer any question at any time.’

The confrontation unfolded at a September 14 endorsement meeting of the Livingston Parish Republican Executive Committee, held at Carter Plantation golf course in Springfield.

Crosby says the alleged encounter took place on August 9, 2023, at the Texas Club, a legendary country music venue in Baton Rouge. Landry, who was then Louisiana’s attorney general, was launching his campaign for governor, with John Rich, Tracy Lawrence and Craig Morgan scheduled to perform.

Images from the event show Edmonds wearing cowboy boots, jeans and a Western-style short-sleeved shirt. A separate photograph shows Crosby in a pink dress.

Crosby, a longtime Republican volunteer, had met Edmonds previously after her pastor, who was a mutual friend, introduced them. At the time, Edmonds was serving as a state representative.

She told the Daily Mail that she was standing on steps beside the stage with her husband and friends when Edmonds approached from behind, took hold of her hips and leaned toward her.

‘He got up in the left ear and I could feel his breath,’ she said. ‘I couldn’t move and I’m thinking, do something, do something, and I couldn’t.’

Crosby, who has spoken publicly about surviving childhood sexual abuse, told Edmonds at the September meeting: ‘I am a rape victim, do you know how that startled me?’

She said she chased him into the crowd. Brad Crosby, 55, a jeweler, said he did not see the alleged contact but looked over to see Edmonds walking away and his wife looking ‘stunned.’

Edmonds told the Daily Mail his wife ‘was by my side the entire evening’ at the event, which he said drew ‘more than 1,000 public officials, legislative colleagues, friends and voters with many cameras.’

What Crosby describes ‘would have been seen by hundreds of people and caused quite a scene,’ he said.

One of those people was Hollis Day.

Day, 50, a life insurance salesman and friend of the Crosbys, was one of the witnesses Crosby named at the meeting. He said he only agreed to speak to the Daily Mail after Edmonds’ campaign lawyer, Lauren Ventrella, put his name forward without telling him.

He said Ventrella, who is also a state representative, later asked him to sign an affidavit. ‘I said, “I’m not signing anything. I’m out of this,”‘ he said.

Day said he was seven or eight feet away and saw Edmonds stop beside Crosby and put a hand on her. He said it did not appear sexual or inappropriate.

‘I remember just the hips. Yeah, just one hand around the side right there, the hip,’ he said.

He said Edmonds ‘stopped to talk to her, to tell her something,’ for ‘no more than three or four seconds.’

Day could not hear what Edmonds said to her. ‘It could be a big deal. I don’t know what he told her. I don’t know that, but I saw the interaction,’ he said.

Day said Crosby turned to him straight after. ‘She turned around and made eye contact and she said, “Did you see that?” And I said, “Yes,”‘ he recalled.

He said Edmonds’ wife was not with him at the time. ‘No, he was by himself,’ he said.

But Day did not see Crosby chase Edmonds. ‘No, she stood right there for a minute or so,’ he said.

Day has known Abby Crosby since about 2021 and Brad ‘a long time.’ He said he voted for Edmonds before the pandemic and is ‘still undecided’ in the race. ‘I’ve never heard her do this to anybody else or anything like that,’ he said of Crosby.

A second witness the campaign put forward, former Edmonds aide Mason Batts, said he never left the senator’s side. Shown a photo of Edmonds at the event without him, Batts said there was ‘a good chance’ he had taken the picture. 

Ventrella has said she has three more witnesses who will refute Crosby’s claims, but has not identified them.

Edmonds doubled down in a statement to the Daily Mail. ‘The allegations made by Mrs Crosby are categorically false,’ he said.

‘We’re not playing this game where weeks before an election you lie and say someone grabbed you inappropriately at an event without any evidence and no prior police reports or complaints,’ he added.

Crosby said she told her pastor, his wife and friends at the time but made no official complaint.

Edmonds added that he does not drink alcohol. Crosby has not alleged he was drinking. ‘No, no, I don’t think he was drinking,’ she said.

Edmonds has threatened to sue. ‘My wife and I are consulting our attorneys and considering whether to file suit against her,’ he said. ‘If she wants to lie and smear my character, fine, but she should have to do it in front of a judge.’

‘We are going to find out exactly who was involved in planning this blatant lie,’ he added.

‘There are real victims out there and every time someone fabricates nonsense like this it hurts them,’ he said.

‘This type of desperate attack is evidence that our campaign is winning as we are connecting with voters on real issues impacting our district.

‘Cindy and I have faith in the voters of the 6th Congressional District that these lies are not going to work.’

Edmonds has cast the allegation as a political attack and pointed the finger at Miguez, his main rival for the seat.

‘Her allegation is a fabrication. I am not that kind of person, but Mrs Crosby and her friend Blake Miguez want you to think that I am,’ he said.

Photos on Crosby’s Facebook show her with Miguez at events. Brad said the couple were friends with Miguez and backed him in his last race.

They now support another Republican in the field, Larry Davis III, and Brad said he has donated to his campaign.

Crosby denied anyone put her up to it. ‘I’m not working for nobody. I’ve never worked for anybody,’ she said.

Miguez spokesman Chris Pack said: ‘Senator Miguez refuses to dignify his opponent reducing this to some sort of political stunt with any sort of a response.’

Ventrella also sent the Daily Mail a screenshot showing Crosby wrote ‘Happy Anniversary’ under a February 2025 post on Edmonds’ Facebook page marking his anniversary with Cindy.

Ventrella said it was ‘difficult to reconcile with the account she is now providing.’

Crosby said that the post was from more than a year ago and she doesn’t remember commenting on it. 

She told the Daily Mail the confrontation last month ‘wasn’t rehearsed. I didn’t have it written down.’

She and her husband said they have been ostracized since she made the allegation.

‘We’ve been shunned from people that we’ve been friends with for years and years because of this,’ Brad said. He added: ‘I know quite a few of them support Rick Edmonds, and that’s one of the reasons why.’

One friend told Crosby she should ‘wear a cage’ when she went out so nobody would touch her, she said.

GOP lawmakers redrew the 6th District at Governor Landry’s direction after the Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v Callais in April.

The redraw turned a majority-black seat held by Democrat Cleo Fields into a Republican stronghold. Fields is not seeking re-election.

A crowded field of about ten candidates appears on one ballot in the November 3 open primary. If no one wins a majority, the top two go to a December 12 runoff.

Edmonds, a former pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Shreveport, campaigns as a ‘Proven Trump Conservative.’

Trump backed Miguez for the 5th District before the redraw, but that endorsement did not carry over to the 6th.

Miguez faces an allegation of his own. A former girlfriend told police in 2007 that he raped her, according to a police report obtained by The Atlantic.

Miguez was questioned but not arrested, and the woman declined to press charges. His campaign says the allegation is false. Her mother and brother have since dismissed her account, and her father called her claims ‘lies’ in an email to Miguez.

Crosby, a mother of five and grandmother of six, said she expects to pay a price for speaking out.

‘We’ll take a hit to our business. But you know what? It doesn’t matter,’ she said.

Meghan Markle has offered another glimpse into her family’s life in the English countryside, sharing the moment Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet encountered a herd of deer during a woodland outing.

The 45-year-old Duchess of Sussex posted a 20-second video on Instagram on Sunday, showing her children riding scooters along a long country lane.

Seven-year-old Archie and five-year-old Lilibet carried matching blue and pink backpacks as they explored, accompanied by the family’s black Labrador, Pula.

The children paused in amazement when a large herd of deer suddenly raced across the path, just metres in front of them.

The Temptations’ song My Girl plays over the footage, while Pula bounds alongside Meghan as she makes her way towards the children.

The family are understood to have received a warm welcome from their new neighbours after their surprise move to the UK.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are due to make their first joint appearance since returning to Britain next week. The couple moved to the Cotswolds in September, six years after stepping back from the working monarchy and beginning a new life in the United States.

Following a false start at one private school because of traffic during the school run, Archie and Lilibet are now settled at a new school in the Midlands.

The Sussexes will retain their mansion in Montecito, along with their holiday home in Portugal.

Meghan has previously shared glimpses of the family’s new routine in Britain, including images of the children enjoying the autumn countryside.

In a 34-second montage posted last month, Archie and Lilibet were shown jumping in puddles before warming their bare feet beside an open fire.

Lilibet also appeared riding a pink-tasselled bicycle, complete with a doll sitting in its chair, towards a group of deer across a track in a park.

Another clip showed the family travelling in a rowboat on a lake, with Pula – whose name means rain in Botswana – playing on the nearby bank.

Meghan has also released a collection of family photographs to celebrate Harry’s 42nd birthday.

One image shows Harry kissing Lilibet, while another captures him carrying her bicycle. In a further photograph, he drives a quad bike along a track with Archie and Lilibet seated behind him on either side of a Marks and Spencer bag, as Pula follows close behind.

Meghan and Harry were also spotted having lunch at one of The Falkland Arms’ locations in Oxfordshire last week.

The pub is a short two-mile walk from Soho Farmhouse and near where David and Victoria Beckham own a £12million home. 

Meghan also enjoyed another pub lunch with Ellen DeGeneres and her wife Portia at The Three Horseshoes in nearby Asthall last month.

They are reportedly yet to meet with King Charles face-to-face since their return, with the monarch spending the summer in Balmoral Castle in Scotland. 

It’s understood the duke is in phone contact with his father. 

Meghan also shared a photo today as she was unveiled as the new face of a Los Angeles charity supporting single mothers as she continues her philanthropic efforts.

She has partnered with Moms Offering More (MOM) on a ‘special edition’ cream and chocolate-brown sweatshirt. 

The jumper, which is being sold for £76 (US$100), is embroidered with the words ‘It’s the little things’ on the back and sleeve, presumably chosen by Meghan. 

Meanwhile, the Sussexes are set to make their first joint appearance since relocating to the UK in Nottingham on Thursday to visit three charities, including the Community Recording Studio where Meghan is expected to take part in an acting workshop.

The couple will visit the Himmah food bank with the Hubb Community Kitchen and Epic Partners, a charity offering sports mentoring to children aged four to 18.

Meghan has also been working full-time on her brand As Ever, which on Sunday announced 100 per cent of net profits from her teas and jams would be donated to the Malala Fund for the duration of International Day of the Girl.

The collaboration with Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai was revealed after the women were pictured leaving Claridge’s in central London last Wednesday.

The pair were captured in a warm embrace after they dined in the world-famous Foyer and Reading Room, where afternoon tea costs £95 per person.

The London meet-up is believed to have been Meghan’s first public appearance in the capital since Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in September 2022.

Meanwhile, Harry was allegedly booed as he watched the Premiership match between Leicester Tigers and Gloucester on Friday night. It was enough for TV commentator Nick Mullins to quip: ‘Well, that wasn’t overly welcoming, was it?’

The duke sat in the stands with his cousin George McCorquodale. They were accompanied by Andrea Pinchen, the Tigers’ chief executive. A passionate rugby fan, Harry was patron of the Rugby Football Union from 2016 until 2021.

His night out comes amid the Sussexes’ ongoing battle to get taxpayer-funded police protection in Britain. The couple previously mounted an unsuccessful legal challenge over Harry’s police security while he was visiting from the US.

It is understood now that the committee overseeing royal and VIP security, known as Ravec, is to reconsider the level of police protection now the couple and their two children are full-time residents.

Ben Duncan seemed to be living an enviable life, surrounded by a valuable property portfolio, high-profile friends and the kind of glamorous social circle that extended from London’s party circuit to the Royal Family.

The 45-year-old made his home in a stylish Pimlico apartment and built a successful career in television. That work brought regular invitations to lavish champagne receptions and exclusive events, where he was a familiar figure.

While studying at St Andrews University, Duncan became acquainted with Prince William and Kate Middleton. His later appearance on Big Brother in 2010 helped propel him into the world of television and celebrity.

Yet when Duncan died last October after falling from the rooftop of London’s five-star Trafalgar St James hotel, those closest to him said the tragedy did not come entirely without warning. He had been battling depression for some time.

Following his death, Duncan was widely remembered as the person who brought energy and laughter to any gathering. Behind that outgoing public image, however, his mental health had worsened, especially after several friends died within a relatively short period.

The true state of his finances also emerged only after his death, when the trustees handling his estate reviewed his assets and liabilities. Once his debts had been cleared, the wealth he left behind amounted to just £90,000.

The £90,000 represented the final value of Duncan’s estate and was left entirely to his mother. The figure had fallen from an initial gross total of £220,000 after outstanding debts, costs and other expenses were deducted.

Although £90,000 would still be a substantial amount for many people, the sum highlighted how far Duncan’s financial reality differed from the impression created by his glamorous social life. Among those in his circle were politician-turned-broadcaster Michael Portillo, celebrated socialite Nicky Haslam and, before his later public disgrace, US ambassador Peter Mandelson.

The privately educated television personality, who attended St Andrews between 2001 and 2005, had grown increasingly anxious about money. Property investments in Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle had failed to deliver the returns he expected.

A series of unsuccessful investments placed further pressure on Duncan, while he was also said to be frustrated by the direction of his career and disillusioned with the wider state of the country.

One of the people who saw most clearly how Duncan was feeling in the months before his death was veteran broadcaster Mike Hollingsworth. The pair were exceptionally close, with Duncan describing Hollingsworth as a second father.

Hollingsworth felt the same affection, referring to Duncan as “another son”.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, he said Duncan had been “slightly naive” about property ownership and may have made poor investment decisions that later weighed heavily on him.

Duncan owned several properties in northern England while living in London, meaning he relied on others to manage them. Hollingsworth said the constant requests for money to cover repairs and other costs had become a major source of anxiety.

“I got the idea that he wished he hadn’t gone into property,” Hollingsworth said. “It just wasn’t his shtick. He wasn’t a business-minded individual. He was very creative and very fond of people, but not so fond of the business life.”

Hollingsworth, now 80 and formerly married to breakfast television presenter Anne Diamond, met Duncan in 2010. Their friendship deepened over the years, and he eventually took on the role of Duncan’s agent.

And just ten days before his death he received a call from Mr Duncan, who told him he was feeling suicidal and wanted to say goodbye.

Mr Hollingsworth rushed to his hotel and ‘talked him out of it’ – but it plainly wasn’t a permanent fix. Ben would be found dead just ten days later.

Mr Hollingsworth, who also represented other TV presenters including Kirsty Young and Donal MacIntyre, said Ben’s fear of ageing had contributed to his depression and in his final years he struggled with insomnia and became increasingly reclusive.

He went on: ‘He was a Peter Pan figure and I think it depressed him to be getting older. He was young at heart. When he died he was 45 but people would think he was in his 30s.

‘It was the feeling of getting older that troubled him. He had the most magnificent head of hair but he was worried in the morning when he would comb it and hair would come out.

‘That was a sign of ageing but whenever you met him he looked the same as when you last saw him, he never seemed to age.’

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: JEFF POWELL's top five heavyweight knockouts of all-time – NewsFinale

But his body was catching up with him and he found sleeping increasingly challenging.

‘He found it very difficult to get up in the morning.

‘There was a joke that was made at his funeral,’ said Mr Hollingsworth. ‘That it was probably the first time he arrived anywhere on time’.

Mr Duncan also felt increasingly dissatisfied with his career, his friend explained.

He first gained public attention in 2010 after appearing on Channel 4’s Big Brother where he was depicted as ‘posh’ in contrast to Bristol-born Josie Gibson, who went on to win the show.

Mr Duncan also appeared on numerous reality shows including Celebrity Coach Trip, Come Dine With Me and ITV’s Ladette To Lady, and later presented a number of programmes including More Than A Mistress.

While at St Andrews he was present at the famous moment when Kate Middleton dazzled as a model in a university fashion show, famously credited for capturing William’s attention.

And he was seen as an authority on the British Royal Family by international broadcasters who were enthralled by his accent and supposedly upper class charm.

Mr Duncan was consequently hired to broadcast on royal weddings and funerals for foreign audiences.

But he found television opportunities in the UK were increasingly harder to come by.

‘People perceived him as a posh boy and a man about Mayfair,’ said Mr Hollingsworth. ‘But the posh boy voice slightly worked against him in ordinary life.

‘His Oxbridge pronunciation didn’t quite suit broadcasting these days and that really got to him because there were fewer jobs.

‘His voice probably deceived a lot of people as to how he might respond to them. He made lots of friends in all sorts of different walks of life. One time he saw a woman sleeping on the street and made room for her in his flat. He was that sort of person.

‘I think he could have done an awful lot more on television. He would light up a room with his personality, was hugely versed in politics and was extremely well read. I think he could have been a Jacob Rees-Mogg sort of figure.’

Mr Duncan’s accent was far from the only characteristic he shared with the Conservative MP. He was also a passionate Brexiteer and tried to become a Tory election candidate.

He told friends he was fed up with the state of the country and was depressed at how Brexit wasn’t working as well as he had hoped.

Mr Hollingsworth added: ‘He was very unhappy at the way the country had gone. I think he would rather have been born much earlier because he was a perfect individual for the 1950s or 1960s and that’s why he associated with a lot of older people, because he liked to talk about how life used to be.’

Mr Duncan was upset at what he perceived as Britain’s desertion of the Commonwealth and campaigned for closer ties with former colonies.

His financial career and political frustrations were compounded by the death of a number of friends in the years before his own.

He was very attached to Dame Jilly Cooper, the famous ‘bonkbuster’ author, and they frequently wrote long letters to each other.

She died just three weeks before Mr Duncan.

As well as the emotional damage, their deaths also reminded him he was getting older himself, it’s believed.

Mr Duncan fell to his death from the rooftop bar of the five-star hotel on October 30 last year.

On Monday his family interred his ashes next to where his late father is buried. An inquest into his death will begin on December 8.

Open TikTok on almost any morning and you may see wellness creators adding a pinch of Celtic Sea salt or pink Himalayan salt to a glass of warm water.

The viral “biohacking” ritual is promoted as a way to achieve cellular-level hydration, boost energy and even tackle so-called adrenal fatigue. Its message is simple: ordinary tap water supposedly is no longer enough.

Supporters often describe pink Himalayan salt as a more natural option because it is considered less processed and more unrefined than standard table salt.

But does mineral salt in your morning water offer a genuine wellness advantage—or is it merely a high-sodium health trend that may create risks for the heart and blood vessels?

The Daily Mail consulted leading nutrition specialists to examine the science behind the social media claims.

Unpacking the Social Media Hydration Hype

Fans of salted water argue that sodium helps transport fluid into the body’s cells more efficiently than drinking plain water alone.

Yet nutrition experts say the human body is already highly effective at taking in fluids after waking up, without needing an added dose of salt.

“For the average healthy adult, drinking plain water in the morning is all you need for proper hydration,” Julia Zumpano, a registered dietitian at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, told the Daily Mail.

Extra sodium may be useful after prolonged, heavy sweating or certain serious illnesses, but most people do not need it simply to get their digestive or circulatory systems moving at the start of the day.

“For someone who isn’t losing large amounts of fluid through sweating or illness, a pinch of salt is unlikely to provide any meaningful hydration benefit over plain water,” said Caroline Meehan, a registered dietitian and clinical nutrition manager at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia.

The Truth About Trace Minerals

Another major claim behind the trend is that unrefined salts provide a broad spectrum of essential trace minerals, including magnesium, potassium and calcium.

Although those minerals can be detected in some mineral salts, dietitians say the quantities found in a single pinch are far too small to make a meaningful nutritional difference.

“Pink Himalayan and other mineral salts do contain trace amounts of minerals, but they’re present in such small amounts that you’re unlikely to get a meaningful nutritional benefit from adding a pinch to your water,” Meehan explained.

A 2023 study published in Nutrients likewise found that the mineral content of unrefined culinary salts was too low to contribute substantially to recommended daily intakes or produce a significant biological effect.

Foods such as bananas, leafy greens and berries offer considerably more potassium and other important nutrients, along with fiber and a wider range of health benefits.

“The amount in a pinch of salt is too low to provide health benefits or alter physiology in any significant way,” Zumpano said.

Debunking the Adrenal Fatigue Myth

One of the most persuasive claims on social media is that drinking salt water in the morning supports the adrenal glands and can relieve persistent fatigue.

MORE STORY: NYC Loses More Than Half of Pied-à-Terre Tax Appeals

However, medical experts say there is a clear divide between popular online wellness language and the evidence-based principles of clinical endocrinology.

‘Adrenal fatigue is not a recognized medical diagnosis,’ Zumpano explains.

While true adrenal disorders like Addison’s disease do require specialized medical management and electrolyte monitoring, routine stress and morning tiredness do not mean your adrenal glands are starving for salt.

‘There isn’t evidence that healthy adults need to drink salt water in the morning to support normal adrenal function,’ Meehan added.

Hidden Health Risks and Red Flags

Far from being a harmless wellness ritual, starting your morning with a shot of salt poses genuine health risks, especially for individuals with underlying heart or kidney conditions.

‘Adding extra salt can increase blood levels of sodium, which causes the body to hold on to more fluid, which in turn increases blood pressure,’ warned Zumpano. 

To that point, a 2023 study published in the journal Hypertension cited that routine incremental additions to daily dietary sodium significantly elevate arterial stiffness and systemic blood pressure, even among healthy adults. 

Those living with high blood pressure, kidney disease or heart failure are strongly advised to avoid adding raw salt to their morning beverages, as excess sodium can lead to fluid retention, swelling in the limbs and heightened cardiac strain, per The American Heart Association.

Understanding Daily Sodium Limits

Most adults already consume far more sodium than their bodies require through standard daily meals. 

The FDA caps sodium at 2,300mg daily, but Americans average closer to 3,300mg. One teaspoon of unrefined salt on its own adds another 1,700-2,000mg before breakfast.

‘Adding salt to your morning water simply adds to your overall intake, and sodium can add up quickly throughout the day,’ Meehan cautions.

Medically Approved Morning Hydration Hacks

If you want to optimize your morning hydration routine without exposing your body to unnecessary cardiovascular risks, simple evidence-based habits are far superior to viral fads.

‘Start your day with plain water. Aim for 8–16oz (about 1–2 cups) of room-temperature or cool water upon waking,’ Zumpano told the Daily Mail. 

If plain water feels uninspiring, consider infusing your water with a bit of natural flavor, getting some extra antioxidants while you’re at it. 

‘If you want to jazz it up a bit, add lemon, lime, cucumber, mint or fruit for extra flavor,’ Meehan suggested. 

The Takeaway

While adding pink mineral salt to morning water continues to trend across social media platforms, medical consensus remains clear that plain water alongside a nutrient-dense diet is all your body needs to stay optimally hydrated. 

‘For most people, plain water and a balanced diet will get the job done,’ Meehan emphasized. 

So, in a nutshell, relying on whole foods and adequate fluids is a far safer and more effective path to long-term wellness.