Kentucky’s Democratic Governor, Andy Beshear, has issued a strong call to Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, urging him to affirm his capability to continue serving in the U.S. Congress following an extended hospitalization. Beshear insists that if McConnell cannot do so, he should step down.

In a letter addressed to McConnell, Governor Beshear stressed the importance of the 84-year-old lawmaker directly communicating with the people of Kentucky about his health and readiness to fulfill his senatorial duties.

“I urge you to openly and verbally engage with the citizens of Kentucky to demonstrate your ability to serve, or to resign,” Beshear wrote emphatically in his message to the senator.

This appeal came after McConnell’s office announced on Monday that while the senator had been released from the hospital, he had not yet been declared fit to leave the rehabilitation facility where he is undergoing physical therapy. Consequently, McConnell remains unable to resume his senatorial responsibilities.

Moreover, his office confirmed that McConnell would be absent from a significant political event in Kentucky, as well as from important upcoming Senate votes, further raising concerns about his capacity to serve.

“I’m still working hard to get back to my full schedule of work in the Senate and in Kentucky, keeping up with intense physical therapy per my doctors’ orders. Unfortunately, that means I won’t be able to make it to Fancy Farm, Kentucky, this Saturday … As always, I appreciate all of your continued well wishes, and I’m looking forward to getting back to the Senate and to Kentucky soon,” McConnell said in a statement.

McConnell was hospitalized on June 14 and later revealed that it was due to a fall at his home.

“Since his discharge from hospital care, he has maintained a strenuous course of physical therapy and rehabilitation, including multiple sessions a day designed to rebuild strength and reduce the risk of future falls. His bout with childhood polio continues to be a significant factor in his mobility. He is not yet medically cleared to leave the rehab facility and return to the office,” the Attending Physician’s office said in a statement.

The physician’s statement focused on McConnell’s mobility, physical rehabilitation and risk of future falls and did not raise concerns about his cognitive condition.

Beshear first urged McConnell earlier this month to release more information about his health after weeks of no public comments.

The governor also sent a letter on Tuesday to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., calling on him to investigate McConnell’s condition if the senator does not prove that he is capable of continuing his term.

“All of this speculation and even this letter could have been avoided with a minimal amount of transparency,” Beshear wrote to Thune.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the offices of Beshear, McConnell and Thune.

Since he was hospitalized last month, McConnell’s office has issued major updates on July 12 and July 27, with each notice featuring a photograph.

This comes amid intensified public scrutiny of aging elected officials in recent years over mental gaffes and deaths in office.

The dispute comes amid heightened scrutiny of aging elected officials and transparency surrounding their health. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., died in office in 2023, while Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., died earlier this month. Former President Joe Biden ended his 2024 re-election campaign after concerns about his age and health became a dominant political issue.

Dubbed the Casa de los Sueños, or House of Dreams, this enchanting three-bedroom farmhouse, nestled in a picturesque setting surrounded by olive and almond groves, was once the pride of its owners. Located in the small, serene village of Fuente del Albarico, approximately 230 miles east of the bustling city of Malaga in southern Spain, it offered a tranquil escape.

For over two years, Cameron and Sue Evans embraced a peaceful, retired life as expatriates here, forming cherished memories. They enjoyed social gatherings with friends, integrated themselves into the local community, and took leisurely walks with their two cherished dogs amidst the breathtaking pine forests and rugged terrains of the Andalusian mountains.

However, today they describe their once beautiful abode in stark terms, saying it now resembles a scene from a war movie.

The landscape once alive with vibrant flora is now a desolate expanse, charred and smoking, with remnants of glowing embers still scattered around. Their cherished dream home has been reduced to ashes by a devastating wildfire.

The entertainment room, complete with a bar that was the heart of joyful gatherings with friends and family, now lies in ruins. The invaluable artwork collected from around the globe, a testament to their many travels, is lost forever. The scorched remains of the once-lush trees that gracefully encircled the property serve as a haunting reminder of the life that once thrived there.

‘We put two-and-a-half years of labour and love into the house to make it our home, and it was just gone within 24 hours,’ says Cameron, 60.

Devastating as it is, a home can be rebuilt. Thirteen other people fleeing the inferno that also hit the nearby neighbourhood of Bedar in Almeria earlier this month – seven of them Britons – did not escape.

‘We’re the lucky ones,’ says Cameron, even as he surveys the charred remains of his home. 

Friends of friends are among the dead, including Annette Kilgour, 69, who was killed while trying to escape the blaze. 

She and her husband, Malcolm Timbrell, 70, had moved to the village of Bedar, below Fuente del Albarico, from Cornwall, finding their home on the TV show A Place In The Sun in 2022. Both had lost previous partners due to terminal illnesses.

Already this summer 300,000 people have been evacuated from the path of catastrophic wildfires across Europe, with at least 254,000 hectares of land burned.

Fuelled by a rolling series of extreme heatwaves and strong winds, fires in the Gironde region of France and west of Madrid in Spain have threatened scenic holiday locations and major urban centres, and are still burning. 

Both countries have declared national emergencies as a result and warned that extreme wildfire danger is likely to continue throughout August.

But the blaze that hit the Evanses on July 9 remains Europe’s deadliest this year.

At one point moving at about 300ft per minute, the fire rapidly burned across 17,000 acres, trapping people in hilly regions with few escape routes.

It began, remembers Cameron, with a seemingly innocuous ‘little puff of smoke’ on the horizon.

The couple moved to Spain in 2024 from Blackpool, where Cameron had worked as a maintenance engineer for Johnson & Johnson, and Sue, 69, worked in non-teaching roles at a school.

Early that Thursday evening, he and Sue watched the smoke for about ten minutes as it began rolling down the ridgeline of the hills a couple of miles away.

They weren’t overly worried – they had seen wildfires on the horizon before. Last year, friends, and then the authorities, had told them to evacuate the farmhouse while firefighters tackled another nearby wildfire. But on that occasion they were allowed back to the house after 24 hours.

Now they decided they would leave only if the wind changed direction – but that didn’t take long. Twenty minutes later, just before 6.30pm, the fire began to head towards them.

Grabbing a bag containing their passports, house deeds and insurance documents – and of course their dogs, English pointer Phoebe and cocker spaniel Molly – they drove down the hillside to Bedar, 20 minutes away, to join forces with a small group of fellow Britons from the area.

‘We were all stood at the car park, wondering what to do,’ says Cameron. At this stage they had received no alerts from the local authorities. 

But the situation was fast becoming perilous – just half an hour after reaching the village, ‘the wind had pushed the fire to the edge of Bedar’.

‘You could actually see the smoke getting thicker and thicker, and you could see flames on the top of the hill,’ says Cameron.

Anxiety rising, they decided to move again, and got back in their car to drive ten minutes down the twisty, semi-mountainous road to the next town, Los Gallardos. It was in the sports centre here that people had been told to gather in an emergency.

But now the fire was beginning to encircle them – and before they could reach Los Gallardos, flames had torn across the road and blocked their path. 

They tried a back road out, but ‘the fire was all around us’ and moving fast. ‘It was on the hillsides, you could see it coming quite close, within 50 or 100 metres,’ recalls Cameron.

Now he felt panic, realising that ploughing onwards would mean certain death and yet unsure whether the way back was also now engulfed by fire.

It was a white-knuckle journey as their small convoy of cars turned around and tried yet another route. Cameron remembers the horrifying thought that the car in front of them wasn’t going as quickly as they needed to in order to outrun the blaze. 

As the fire sped through bone-dry vegetation, with no breaks or obstacles, it was moving significantly faster than the average wildfire. Driving past, hearts in their mouths, the fleeing Britons could see it spark and flare in the undergrowth.

Eventually, mercifully, they made it out of danger, across the baking foothills to the tiny town of Lubrin nine miles away.

Here the Red Cross was giving out emergency supplies, and they were at least safe from the flames.

Hoping the fire would be contained once the sun was up, Cameron and Sue parked nearby and tried to get some sleep in their car. The next morning, however, they were told the entire area was still a danger zone. Fears for their house began to mount.

Meanwhile, unbeknown to them at this point, Annette Kilgour had already perished in the Bedar fire. Initially both she and her husband Malcolm had fled their house in the village, but Malcolm had decided to return to rescue their two cats, Charlie and Lilly.

Attempting to catch up with Annette and a group of other neighbours, he found himself outpaced by the fire with no option but to shelter in a car, which – by an extraordinary twist of fate – escaped the blaze while others around it burst into flames.

Meanwhile, Annette and six others were confronted by a wall of fire and killed.

With the help of friends, the Evanses now found somewhere to stay an hour’s drive away, but even from there ‘we could smell the fire – in fact we could see it in the hills. There was ash falling everywhere and smoke in the air’.

The area they had fallen so deeply in love with less than three years before had turned on them with a ferocious power.

It was on a trip around Europe to mark Sue’s retirement that they decided to follow their dream and move to Spain. 

While visiting Sue’s daughter in Murcia in the south of the country, their camper van broke down and they ended up staying for six weeks. Shortly after, they began to plan their own Spanish idyll.

‘Sue had lost her mother the year before and wanted a change, a challenge,’ says Cameron of his partner of more than 30 years.

The third place they looked at – a rural home, parts of which dated back 250 years and built into the hillside – was the clincher. ‘Sue looked at it, and said, “Right, I want to move here.”

‘It’s not an easy life, living so rurally. Sometimes you have water, sometimes you don’t, or the electricity goes off.’

Indeed, last year they had no water for three months.

Yet ‘it is a beautiful, beautiful place, and it’s so peaceful,’ says Cameron. ‘It’s good for the mental health, it’s relaxing.

‘And the people in the area, the villagers, once they get to know you, are very friendly.’

Of course that tranquillity has been utterly shattered for now.

It’s not known how many homes were destroyed in the July 9 fire, but the village of Bedar now looks like the surface of the moon, a sea of black ash deposited over its gently rolling hills with just the occasional villa left intact among the devastation.

Instead of a summer spent at social events across the neighbouring villages, the calendar has been filled with funerals.

Not that the Evanses knew what they would return to, when the area was considered safe enough to visit a week after the fire.

As they drove towards the village, their mood was positive as they ‘chatted away’ – but once what was left of their home came into view ‘we went quiet and then were both in tears’.

Seeing the wreckage was ‘unbelievable’ says Cameron, who even now is overcome with emotion.

‘You’re bewildered. It’s like: where’s it all gone?’

The farmhouse was burned almost entirely, yet the randomness of the fire’s path meant some neighbouring properties were completely untouched.

Others had survived either because they were built on higher ground or had large boulder-strewn terraces where nothing could grow or burn.

Mercifully, a cubbyhole under their stairwell has kept the Evanses’ family photos safe. But ‘the house itself was the most sentimental thing for us, as it was a new start in a new country in a beautiful place’ – and that was gone.

Given the scale of the damage and the rebuilding project, they are unlikely to be back in their home for at least six months, probably more.

The situation, they say, is simply ‘heart-breaking’.

Now many in the community are questioning the actions of the authorities in the midst of the crisis. Amid conflicting reports, the Belgian son of one of the fire’s victims has issued an open call for information to construct an accurate account and timeline of the Bedar blaze.

Residents say that no official warnings were given about the fire, while the authorities maintain otherwise. Legal proceedings are now under way.

UK-based Danielle Gillam-Kirton, whose parents both perished in the fire, is supporting the call, writing on social media: ‘We implore anyone that has information to help us get answers… anyone that knows my parents knows that they would always stand up for what is right and just, I would be doing them a disservice if I did not do the same.’

Cameron and Sue have begun planning how they could survive another catastrophe. They have discussed building a fire barrier around the perimeter of the property, and permanently keeping an emergency bag filled with documents, non-perishable supplies and clothes so that they are equipped should the worst happen again.

Several weeks on and the shock is yet to leave them.

‘One minute you’re crying, the next minute you’re angry and the next minute you try to laugh it off – typical British sensibilities,’ explains Cameron.

Astonishingly, in spite of everything, he believes that moving to Spain remains ‘the best thing we ever did’.

In normal times, nothing can beat the sense of peace the couple found there. That’s why, despite what has happened – despite their children (and 14 grandchildren) urging them to come back to the UK – they have decided to stay.

‘We still love it and we still want to live here,’ they say.

The hope has to be that human ingenuity can find ways to defend life and property from the ever-increasing threat posed by fire in a changing climate. 

But as parts of the continent still remain at the mercy of some of the largest wildfires ever seen in Europe, the battle this year is far from won.

In a shocking display, Iran executed two young men on Tuesday for their supposed involvement in nationwide anti-government protests that took place in January. As the executions unfolded, bystanders chanted “Dishonorable, dishonorable!” prompting security forces to use tear gas to scatter the crowd, according to the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), an Iranian opposition group in exile.

The hangings of Abolfazl Sepahi Badjani and Amirhossein Safari Hosseinabadi occurred at Shahid Alikhani Square in Isfahan, where authorities claimed they had committed crimes linked to the January 8 protests. This information was confirmed by both the NCRI and Iranian state media.

Witnesses on the scene protested vehemently against the executions, which led security forces to use tear gas to control the gathering. The NCRI reported that security agents were strategically placed on rooftops and in nearby streets anticipating unrest.

These executions were also covered by Iranian state media, according to Reuters. Iran’s semi-official news agency Mehr stated that they were conducted “in the presence of a group of people” at Alikhani Square.

“Fearing public outrage over this brutal crime, the regime’s suppressive forces had deployed agents in the surrounding streets and on rooftops,” NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi said in a statement shared on X.

The executions mark the latest escalation in Iran’s crackdown on protesters arrested during the nationwide demonstrations that began in late December and intensified in January.

Human rights groups have accused Iranian authorities of denying defendants due process, relying on coerced confessions and carrying out executions after unfair trials.

Iran’s judiciary, meanwhile, accused Badjani and Hosseinabadi of participating in the Jan. 8 killing of four members of the State Security Force during demonstrations in Shahid Alikhani Square.

According to the judiciary’s Mizan news agency, Badjani and Hosseinabadi were convicted of moharebeh, or “enmity against God,” efsad-fil-arz, or “corruption on Earth,” as well as destruction and arson of public property, and acts that led to the deaths of four officers. Authorities also accused them of possessing firearms and Molotov cocktails.

The NCRI claimed Tuesday that the defendants were denied the right to choose their own lawyers, and even their court-appointed attorneys were denied access to the case files.

Iran publicly hanged Abolfazl Sepahi-Badjani Tuesday over in January’s nationwide anti-government protests.

The judiciary, however, said the men had legal representation, appealed their convictions and were convicted using police reports, cellphone evidence, witness testimony, confessions and a crime scene reconstruction. 

The pair were said to be among 12 protesters sentenced to death in what has become known as the Alikhani Square case.

Two other defendants, Erfan Esfandiari and Gol Mohammad Mohammadi, were executed July 19, bringing the total number of executions in the case to four.

The U.N. experts warned this week that the remaining defendants face an imminent risk of execution.

‘KILLING OFF THE COUNTRY’: IRAN EXECUTES DOZENS, ARRESTS 4,000+ IN WAR CRACKDOWN

“The young men, aged between their late teens and early 20s, were reportedly arbitrarily deprived of their liberty, in some cases being subjected to enforced disappearance, ill-treated and accused of involvement in the killing of four security force members, as well as arson and vandalism during the Jan. 8, 2026, protests in Shahid Alikhani Square in Isfahan,” U.N. experts said in a statement.

The statement also said all defendants were sentenced to death during a single closed-door hearing without clarity about each individual’s alleged responsibility, calling the proceedings a violation of international fair trial standards.

Human Rights Watch said this week that at least 50 people have been executed over the past four months on what it described as vague national security charges.

“By resorting once again to the medieval practice of public hangings, the Islamic Republic is trying to instill fear throughout society and deter future protests,” Iran Human Rights Director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said in a post shared on X.

“Public executions are a cruel form of state terror that the international community must not tolerate,” he added.

The protests across Iran began in late December amid a deepening economic crisis before expanding into one of the largest anti-government movements in the Islamic Republic’s history.

An Idaho father is facing manslaughter charges after reportedly engaging in phone activities shortly before a tragic car accident claimed the life of his 7-year-old son.

Austin Summers, 31, was behind the wheel of a black GMC Sierra when he allegedly collided with a 2013 white Ford F450. The incident occurred on I-84 in Canyon County, Idaho, as reported by the Idaho Statesman based on court filings. The Ford was experiencing mechanical difficulties at the time of the crash on November 25 of last year.

Graham, Summers’ eldest son sitting in the front passenger seat, died in the collision. His father was subsequently charged with manslaughter earlier this week.

According to allegations, Summers was driving between 73 and 75 mph in a 65 mph zone when he struck the Ford, which was traveling at a mere 7 mph in the far right lane.

Meanwhile, Summers’ other two children, aged 3 and 5 at the time, were seated in the back and fortunately emerged unscathed from the accident.

The dad was hospitalized and told cops one week later that he remembered “screaming to save his son” after the horror unfolded.

Summers was initially cooperative with cops during the early stages of their investigation– and initially agreed to hand over data from his phone. But he suddenly withdrew that request, forcing police to obtain a search warrant.

Investigators later found Summers had been using his phone between 2:45 p.m and 3:02 p.m., minutes before the fatal collision.

The dad scrolled on Instagram, browsed Amazon, snapped a picture of another crash site and drafted an Instagram story, according to court documents.

“Avoid th freeway heading [sic],” the text on the story supposedly said. 

He also messaged Ashley Summers – the mother of his kids – “Stick [sic] in traffic,” according to KTVB. Summers and Ashley are separated. 

Summers allegedly looked at an Instagram picture at 3:03 p.m. – one minute before a 911 call was logged.

It prompted Idaho State Police to conclude reckless driving was the primary cause of the smash.

Summers was also accused of not realizing that the Ford car in front was “barely moving,” police said.

The mechanical problem the Ford was experiencing was deemed a secondary cause by investigators. The Ford driver, who was 21 at the time of the crash, was uninjured, cops said in their initial release.

A urine sample was taken following the crash – and it tested positive for cocaine and opiates, according to the documents.

Ashley Summers claimed her estranged husband had admitted to her that he had used cocaine three days before the smash.

Summers also admitted to police that Graham had removed his seatbelt.

“While I am devastated by the loss of my son, I take responsibility not in that I was impaired by any means, or that Graham unilaterally took his seat belt off while I was driving on the freeway, but that I should have immediately pulled over and made sure he was properly buckled. That will haunt me forever,” he said. 

Ashley showed cops messages where she had warned Summers about their kids’ safety while they were traveling in his car.

Tributes were paid to Graham following his death. In a fundraiser created to help Ashley and her two other kids, he was described as the “sweetest, kindest, and most smiley 7-year-old you could ever meet.”

“As a 2nd grader and an amazing big brother, Graham’s silly spirit and infectious smile brought joy to everyone around him,” the fundraiser added.

“He had a special way of making people laugh and always put a smile on everyone’s faces, no matter the situation. His loss has left a deep void in the hearts of his family, friends, and all who knew him.”

Summers was also charged with two counts of injury to a child and is being held at the Ada County Jail on a $500,000 bond.

In a bold new role, a nepo baby actress has undergone a striking transformation to embody the late Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe for an upcoming short film.

Dakota Johnson, aged 36, steps into the shoes of the iconic star in the project named “Flesh Impact,” expertly scripted and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal.

In this 17-minute cinematic piece, Johnson channels Monroe ‘at the peak of her stardom,’ while Ellen Burstyn delivers a performance as a ‘version of Marilyn the world never got to see,’ as detailed in a press release.

A sneak peek image reveals Johnson gazing directly into the lens, her look completed with a striking platinum blonde wig.

The transformation is further accentuated by classic makeup choices, featuring a soft pink hue on her lips and a coating of mascara enhancing her lashes.

Other cast members that have joined the project include Gyllenhaal’s husband Peter Sarsgaard and The Pitt actress Sepideh Moafi. 

The short film is described as ‘a love letter’ to Monroe, and is set to premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September, just three months after what would have been the late actress’s 100th birthday. 

Flesh Impact is presented by automotive brand Genesis and received ‘the blessings of the Marilyn Monroe estate holders,’ per the press release. 

‘I’ve always been fascinated by Marilyn Monroe,’ Gyllenhaal expressed in a statement. 

‘So, when Genesis first came to me with the idea of a celebratory project for her centennial, I knew I wanted to work together on bringing this story to life.’ 

She continued, ‘With Flesh Impact, we showcase the timeless icon we know and love through a modern lens that reclaims her story.’ 

The premise of the short film is: ‘A mysterious old woman auditions for a play at a small blackbox theater in New York City. 

‘As she describes her qualifications and her acting experience, secrets about her identity and the misconceptions about her life bubble to the surface.’ 

Daily Mail reached out to reps for Johnson, Burstyn and Gyllenhaal for comment, but has yet to hear back. 

Johnson, who is the daughter of Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson, is known for starring in other films such as The Fifty Shades Of Grey franchise, Materialists and Madame Web.

The actress has previously collaborated with Gyllenhaal on the 2021 psychological drama The Lost Daughter. 

Burstyn is no stranger to the screen and has starred in films such as The Exorcist (1973), Requiem For A Dream (2000), Interstellar (2014) and Pieces Of A Woman (2020). 

She received an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Martin Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974). 

Along with the world premiere of Flesh Impact at the 2026 Venice Film Festival, Burstyn will also be honored with the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement. 

Gyllenhaal opened up about the short film during an interview with Vanity Fair, and admitted to having initial concerns that Johnson didn’t look like Monroe. 

‘Then I thought, “That’s ridiculous. Who cares?” she told the outlet. 

‘I don’t know that anyone even really totally knows what Marilyn looks like because she’s been so commodified and made into this myth and she’s very blurry in my mind.’ 

Gyllenhaal described Flesh Impact as ‘a mixture of Marilyn and my fantasy of her.’ 

She added that the film ‘is about Marilyn and also about actresses in general and what it’s like to have that strange, very vulnerable and, at the same time, very powerful job.’

Gyllenhaal has directed other projects such as The Bride! (2026) and an episode of the miniseries Homemade (2020). 

The star, whose brother is actor Jake Gyllenhaal, is also known for her roles in Mona Lisa Smile, Monster House, Stranger Than Fiction and The Dark Knight. 

Monroe was born on June 1, 1926 in Los Angeles and became a Hollywood icon. 

She starred in movies such as Niagara (1953), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), The Seven Year Itch (1955) and Some Like It Hot (1959). 

On August 4, 1962, Monroe passed away at the age of 36 from a barbiturate overdose inside her Brentwood home. Her death was ruled as a probable suicide by the Los Angeles county coroner. 

Other stars that have played Monroe over the years include Michelle Williams, Ana de Armas and Mira Sorvino.