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We have a curated list of the most noteworthy news from all across the globe. With any subscription plan, you get access to exclusive articles that let you stay ahead of the curve.
We have a curated list of the most noteworthy news from all across the globe. With any subscription plan, you get access to exclusive articles that let you stay ahead of the curve.
We have a curated list of the most noteworthy news from all across the globe. With any subscription plan, you get access to exclusive articles that let you stay ahead of the curve.
(The Hill) – Multiple reports indicate that Paul Pelosi, husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), is potentially facing misdemeanor charges following a hit-and-run incident in California on Friday. The accident reportedly resulted in “major” damage to a vehicle.
According to a statement from the Napa County Sheriff’s Office, acquired by The Associated Press, the 86-year-old Pelosi was behind the wheel of his brown convertible in Yountville, Calif., when he collided with a legally parked car at the roadside.
Reports suggest that Pelosi stopped momentarily before leaving the scene. Thankfully, no one was injured during the incident.
As reported by the AP, a witness contacted 911 to report the accident. Subsequently, sheriff’s deputies found Pelosi approximately a quarter mile away from the site, with damage visible on the front of his vehicle. When questioned, he admitted awareness that he had struck something but could not identify what or when.
Tests confirmed that Pelosi was not under the influence of alcohol at the time. The AP mentions that he was referred to the Department of Motor Vehicles to assess whether he should maintain his driving privileges, a routine procedure for senior drivers.
He was not arrested, and the sheriff’s office reportedly recommended that he be charged with fleeing the scene of an accident, a misdemeanor crime.
“Mr. Paul Pelosi has personally apologized to the owner of the vehicle and assured them that he would take responsibility for the damage to their vehicle,” a spokesperson for the Pelosi family said in a statement on Saturday. “Speaker Pelosi will not be commenting further on this private matter.”
Paul Pelosi was sentenced to five days in jail and three years of probation in August 2022 after pleading guilty to misdemeanor DUI charges following a late-night crash in Napa County that injured another driver.
The AP reported that Pelosi served only two days in jail after receiving credit for good conduct and then served one day in a work program at the courthouse.
Later that year, a man broke into the couple’s San Francisco home and violently attacked Paul Pelosi with a hammer. The attacker, David DePape, is currently serving life in prison without the possibility of parole on state charges in connection with the assault.
An Australian mother and teacher, Leah Stewart, has found solace and strength in heartfelt messages from supporters worldwide following a shark attack at Sydney’s Coogee Beach that resulted in the loss of her arm, according to her family.
In an update on GoFundMe shared on Sunday, her brother Joshua Stewart expressed gratitude, saying, “We’ve been sharing some of the beautiful messages we’ve received with Leah, and she’s loved them, finding inspiration from the care and love you’ve all shared.”
“Leah has faced some difficult days but has drawn real strength from your kindness and support,” he added, highlighting the impact of these messages.
In her journey to recovery, Leah Stewart has been grappling with sleepless nights, turning to the supportive words of family, friends, and even strangers during her most challenging times.
Joshua described how these messages have been a beacon of comfort, stating, “Since the incident, Leah has struggled with sleep, and on those nights she’s been reading back through your messages, not only from her family and community in Australia and her whānau in New Zealand but also from people all across the world.” These words have given her “real comfort and strength,” he noted, using the Māori term for family to emphasize the bond.
Stewart, mother to a 1-year-old daughter and passionate teacher, was attacked June 13 while on a morning swim close to shore and within the flags at Coogee Beach, according to her family. She suffered life-threatening injuries, including multiple bites across her arms and legs, lacerations, fractures and extreme blood loss.
She was placed on life support, put under a medically induced coma and underwent multiple surgeries in the days after the attack. Her treatment required the amputation of one arm, and the family said more surgeries were scheduled as doctors worked to save her life and stabilize her condition.
Stewart, who woke up from her 10-day coma after doctors reduced her sedation, told her mother and partner, Fernando, “I love you.” Her brother said at the time that her first thoughts were with her young daughter, August.
“Leah has a long road ahead,” Joshua Stewart wrote after she briefly woke, calling the moment a hopeful first step in her recovery.
Joshua Stewart said the family wanted to apologize for delays in responding to supporters, explaining they have had issues with the GoFundMe messaging system.
“Leah is beyond overwhelmed at the amazing support she has received and that her story has resonated with so many people,” he wrote. “Thank you!”
The fundraiser was launched to help Stewart, her partner and their young daughter through what her family described as a heartbreaking situation. The money will support her recovery, prosthetics, rehabilitation, ongoing care and the major adjustments she will need as she works toward returning to life as a mother.
Her family also thanked the lifesavers, first responders, helicopter crew and medical team at St. Vincent’s Hospital who helped care for Stewart after the attack.
“As a family we are shocked and devastated that this could happen to our beloved partner, daughter and mother who is so full of life and energy,” Joshua Stewart wrote.
Casper O’Brien, a seven-year-old from Flint Township, Michigan, tragically passed away in early November 2025. Weighing 255 pounds and standing at just over 4 feet 2 inches, Casper had stopped breathing by the time paramedics arrived at his family’s residence. Despite their efforts, he did not survive the journey to the hospital.
The Genesee County Medical Examiner determined that Casper’s death was due to dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition where the heart’s chambers swell and become too weak to pump blood efficiently. Morbid obesity was noted as a contributing factor in his tragic passing.
In the months following this heartbreaking incident, Casper’s parents face serious legal charges, usually associated with violent offenses. In June, Damien and Jessica O’Brien, aged 40 and 41, respectively, were charged with second-degree murder, torture, and three counts of second-degree child abuse. The court has yet to schedule a trial.
According to investigators, Casper’s mother recounted that his daily meals consisted largely of a substantial bag of potato chips, french fries, carbonated water, and apple juice. She also admitted to using baby wipes for his baths, as he disliked water.
By the time of his untimely death, young Casper was nonverbal, bedridden, and suffering from severe bed sores.
Casper had last seen a medical provider in February 2024, 21 months before his death, weighing 104 pounds at the time. He was referred to a pediatric endocrinologist, but his parents never made an appointment.
This is, by any measure, an extreme case. It’s also not, strictly speaking, new legal ground. Courts in at least six states, including New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Indiana and California have already considered whether morbid obesity of a child, by itself, meets the legal threshold for medical neglect.
A 2009 South Carolina case involved a mother charged with criminal mistreatment after her fourteen-year-old son reached 555 pounds.
Casper O’Brien weighed 255 pounds when he died. He was seven years old, stood just over 4 feet 2 inches tall and by the time paramedics reached the family’s home in Flint Township, Michigan , on November 4, 2025, he’d stopped breathing
Damien O’Brien, 40, and Jessica O’Brien, 41, were each charged in June with second-degree murder, torture and three counts of second-degree child abuse
A 2007 New York case involved a 261-pound teenage girl and resulted in court-ordered nutritional counseling rather than a criminal charge.
What sets the O’Brien case apart is the severity of the outcome and the decision to treat it as a murder case rather than a civil child-welfare matter. But the underlying legal theory is that a child’s dangerous weight can meet the threshold for criminal neglect.
Casper was too young for any FDA-approved obesity medication, but his parent’s case is being prosecuted after GLP-1 drugs have changed the treatment landscape for adolescents.
Wegovy, the brand name for the GLP-1 drug semaglutide, was approved by the FDA for adolescents aged 12 and older with obesity in December 2022. Saxenda, a daily injection, was approved for the same age group two years earlier.
CDC data show that obesity-medication prescribing among adolescents ages 12 to 17 with obesity rose from 0.1 percent in 2020 to 0.5 percent in 2023, a roughly 300 percent increase. Even so, fewer than one percent of adolescents with obesity received a prescription in 2023 and most prescriptions went to teens with severe obesity.
Dr Fatima Cody Stanford, an obesity medicine physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and an associate professor of medicine and pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, says the new drugs have ‘helped shift the conversation, reinforcing that obesity is a chronic, biologically driven disease. But it’s important to be clear that these treatments are not used in young children. They are approved for adolescents, not for a 7-year-old.’
For younger children, she says, the medical response is not Wegovy, but sustained, closely supervised care. ‘Treatment focuses on intensive, family-based care: nutrition, physical activity, behavioral support, and close medical follow-up,’ Stanford says. ‘Medications and bariatric surgery are not part of standard care at that age.’
If pediatric obesity is increasingly understood as a chronic disease with medical treatments, parents may face more pressure to seek care. Stanford says severe pediatric obesity requires ‘coordinated, multidisciplinary care,’ and families often face ‘real barriers, like access, cost, transportation and competing demands.’
In her view, obesity should become a medical-neglect issue only at the far edge of the spectrum. ‘Medical neglect in obesity is rare and should only be considered in extreme situations where a child is at imminent risk of serious harm, and all efforts to engage the family in care have failed,’ she says.
Elizabeth Bartholet has spent close to five decades warning against too much caution. She’s the Morris Wasserstein Public Interest Professor of Law, Emeritus, at Harvard Law School, where she founded and directed the Child Advocacy Program.
Her long-standing position is that American child welfare law leans too far toward protecting parents rather than children.
Casper was referred to a pediatric endocrinologist, but his parents never made an appointment Pictured: Damien O’Brien (left) and Jessica O’Brien (right)
Casper was too young for any FDA-approved obesity medication, but his parent’s case is being prosecuted after GLP-1 drugs have changed the treatment landscape for adolescents
‘As a general matter, I believe that the child welfare system is much too reluctant to intervene when parents fail their children in health care and medical treatment,’ Bartholet says. ‘Child welfare authorities are often reluctant to intervene unless the child’s life is at risk. They are unduly deferential to parent rights.’
Bartholet rejects any standard that leaves children less protected when their health is on the line. ‘I don’t think there should be a less protection of children standard in extreme obesity cases,’ she says. ‘It may be correlated with poverty and other conditions, but I don’t see why that means we should punish the children by putting them even further at risk for bad health and in extreme cases death.’
Taken together, these experts don’t settle the question so much as define its boundaries.
What happens next depends on whether the next prosecutor to consider a case like this reads Genesee County as a warning about overreach or as proof the system waited too long.
The law can decide what the O’Briens owed Casper only after the fact. The harder question is what everyone else owed him while he was still alive.
The winds of change are blowing through Hunter, a pivotal Labor bastion in New South Wales known for its coal mines, wineries, and national parks.
As SBS News engages with locals in Singleton—a central town nestled near the scenic Hunter Valley vineyards—and Morisset, a semi-rural area adjacent to Lake Macquarie, a strong allegiance to One Nation and its leader, Pauline Hanson, becomes apparent.
“Go Pauline,” exclaims a passerby enthusiastically in Morisset, while another comments, “she’s good, she’s for Australia.”
Even those who do not align with Hanson’s views have observed her growing popularity. Many recall her rise to fame in the 1990s, driven by her contentious anti-immigration rhetoric, famously claiming that Australia was at risk of being “swamped by Asians.” Some residents express surprise upon discovering their friends’ support for Hanson.
Yet, One Nation’s momentum in Hunter is not a recent phenomenon. In the last federal election, it was one of just two electorates where the party’s candidate secured a second-place finish.
Stuart Bonds, who ran as the One Nation candidate last year, secured 41 per cent of the vote in the seat once preferences were distributed. Labor’s Dan Repacholi won with 60 per cent of the vote.
With One Nation’s rapid ascendancy around the country — securing its first lower house seat in the Farrer by-election and, for the first time, surpassing both major parties in polls — RedBridge director of research and reputation, Simon Welsh, says “on paper” Hunter is an electorate the party should win.
[It] reaches into a regional area, it’s got that outer suburban fringe, everything about it screams One Nation.
While One Nation is building support among many residents in Hunter, not all of its policies are striking a chord.
Growing support for Pauline Hanson
Many locals SBS News spoke with complained about people being “fed up” with the major parties amid rising cost of living pressures and housing unaffordability.
Even the local Chinese restaurant in the small village of Heddon Greta just outside the electorate, is known for supporting Hanson. A photo of its Malaysian Chinese owners with the One Nation leader was displayed on its walls for years.
Seng Lim, who owns and runs May & Seng Chinese Takeaway, says he didn’t know much about Hanson’s politics at the time they met, except that she was quite popular in Queensland.
She first visited the restaurant close to the city of Maitland on the Hunter River with a friend in 2011 and returned a number of times, including in 2013.
“She’s very nice to me, and very nice to my wife and my children,” he says.
Lim believes local support for Hanson is growing. He says many people ask about the signed photos he previously displayed but took down following a recent renovation.
“I think a lot of people here like her very much now,” he says, later adding that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is also “not bad”.
“Last five years, he’s done a very good job for this country.”
When asked whether he’s worried about worsening racism due to the rise of One Nation, Lim says: “I don’t think so because we always try to be nice to everybody.”
“Everyone come in [is] just like family and that’s why they give me so much business.”
‘Too much immigration’ but support for multiculturalism
Last month, Hanson sparked a debate about the definition of multiculturalism after saying Australia’s immigration policy had left the country in a “state of crisis”.
“At the centre of this crisis is the utterly flawed policy of multiculturalism,” Hanson told reporters during a National Press Club address on 17 June.
“We cannot be a multicultural society.”
“We are a multi-racial society, but we must be monocultural.”
A week after her appearance, SBS News asked Hunter residents what they thought of her comments.
Robert, a Morisset resident and disenchanted Labor voter, agreed with some One Nation policies, including the party’s claim that there’s been “too much immigration”.
“Too many people who’ve lived here for years are missing out because there’s so many people coming in all the time,” the 75-year-old tells SBS News.
“I agree with multiculturalism, but numbers need to be reduced.”
When asked what he thought about Hanson’s comments on monoculturalism, Robert was among a number of supporters who expressed confusion over the term.
“Monocultural depends on what she means by that,” he says.
[If] she means White Australia — no, I don’t agree with that.
“But if she means that basically we’re people who are assimilated and we’re Australian people and we respect the Australian flag [then] yeah.”
Long-time One Nation voter Justin, 56, says he missed Hanson’s monoculture comments but believes Australia is multicultural.
“We have been for hundreds of years,” he says.
“My girlfriend’s from East Timor, so I’m happy if they’re prepared to come here and work hard.”
Concern about racist views
Kurt, who lives near Singleton, says he doesn’t support any of the major parties at the moment and has no idea who he’ll vote for.
He is anti-religion, and while he agrees with some of One Nation’s policies, including its criticism of Islam, he is concerned about other facets of the party, including its relationship with billionaire mining magnate Gina Rinehart, who recently gifted the party a small plane.
Like others SBS News spoke to, Kurt is concerned about the party’s rhetoric fuelling racism. While he doesn’t necessarily believe Hanson is racist, he thinks many of her supporters are.
“I don’t want any part of that,” the 36-year-old says.
Andrew Jakubowicz, emeritus professor of sociology at the University of Technology Sydney, says it’s important to remember that Hanson’s monoculture comments were not made in a vacuum and follow remarks earlier this year that questioned whether there were any “good Muslims”.
“What she’s saying with monoculture is not that we want everyone to have the same culture,” Jakubowicz says.
“What she’s saying is ‘we don’t want Muslims here’.”
Hanson has hit back at criticism of her comments and told the Senate on 24 June that the essential features of Australian monoculture would include “a fair go, tolerance, secular democracy, freedom of speech, religion and the rule of law”.
“It means accepting our irreverence and larrikinism. Bring back Paul Hogan and Norman Gunston.”
She dismissed suggestions she would try to ban foreign food and argued the Socceroos represented her vision of a monocultural Australia.
“People from different backgrounds and cultures and nations all wearing green and gold,” she told parliament.
But Jakubowicz says what Hanson appears to be describing is actually multiculturalism.
Multiculturalism is the capacity of people to work together across differences to recognise their complementary strengths and move forward.
Monoculturalism, he says, is what happens in North Korea.
“You have a single head … of the country dictating how people should behave and act, that’s what monoculture is,” he says.
“The monocultures that exist — like North Korea — are really not the sort of place I think that anybody in Australia would want to live in.”
Polls show slide in support for Pauline Hanson
Following Hanson’s Press Club comments, during which she also criticised paid parental leave, noted business complaints about not being able to sack people, supported nuclear energy and said SBS “would be gone” if she were in power, support for One Nation appears to have softened.
An Australian Financial Review/RedBridge Group/Accent Research poll conducted last week found One Nation’s primary vote fell two points to 29 per cent, a drop echoed by the Guardian Essential poll, which found the party’s primary vote had also dropped two points to 26 per cent.
While the declines for those two polls are within the margin of error, Welsh says there was also a significant drop of 10 percentage points in Hanson’s net favourability rating.
He says it shows that critiques of One Nation’s economic policies — such as Hanson’s previous opposition to raising the minimum wage — may be hurting them.
“But that sort of prevailing disenchantment with the existing political system is such that those voters still don’t feel like they’ve got somewhere else to go,” Welsh says.
Monoculture comments could be a problem for One Nation
Welsh says data gathered from focus groups show people are concerned about the volume of immigration, which they believe is contributing to the housing crisis, traffic congestion and other issues. Despite that, he says the same people could be quite embracing, even defensive of multiculturalism.
Understanding that nuance is key. He says criticism of immigration could become problematic for One Nation if the party talks about it through a cultural frame, instead of focusing on quantity.
There is a fair chunk [of their supporters] that come from migrant communities [and who are] culturally, linguistically diverse.
“They get really uncomfortable when you start talking about cultural narratives of immigration or monoculture.”
He says this raises questions about what monoculture means and how it would be enforced.
“Even the most entrenched One Nation voters say ‘This ain’t the 1950s anymore’,” Welsh says.
“How are they going to make that happen? Because those days have gone.”
The discussion is also taking place against a backdrop of rising anti-immigration sentiment globally, including ICE raids in the United States, and Welsh says potential voters may be concerned about being targeted.
I think the longer that [the concept of monoculture is] left undefined by One Nation — and what exactly does that mean in terms of a policy — the more problematic it’s going to be.
The Guardian Essential poll, released on Wednesday, found only 20 per cent of respondents supported ending multiculturalism.
Jakubowicz hopes the government deals with the challenges of multiculturalism rationally, rather than inciting emotional fears and prejudices that appear to have emerged.
“We need to have institutions and we need to have networks which actually affirm the value of collaboration between communities,” he says.
“We need to recognise where there’s hurt and get on with it.”
‘Not the right person to run a country’
Other ideas raised by Hanson also had low support, with the Guardian Essential poll finding just 18 per cent supported reviewing workplace laws to give employers more power, and 25 per cent believed the renewables transition should be stopped to instead focus on fossil fuels.
Scepticism about One Nation’s ability to deliver on its promises was also raised by Hunter residents SBS News spoke to last week.
Steven, a Singleton business owner who is critical of Labor, says Hanson is the type of person who “sits around at a barbecue having a beer … talking about the government”.
“That’s not the right person to run a country,” he tells SBS News.
A lot of people I know [are] talking about Pauline Hanson and possibly wanting to vote for her … but I don’t think they will.
Other Singleton voters also remain unconvinced. Gail, 57, says she has not heard any “real grounded policies” from One Nation, while Niki, 38, says she doesn’t think the party has “follow through” and doesn’t trust Hanson.
“It’s really quite frightening to think that something that’s happening in America [such as the immigration crackdown under US President Donald Trump] could actually happen here in Australia as well,” Gail says.
‘We need a change’
At the same time, Labor does appear to be at risk of losing supporters to the party.
Phillipe, a Morriset resident and former Labor voter, says he will now vote for One Nation despite being supportive of multiculturalism.
“We need a change,” the 73-year-old tells SBS News.
Former Labor voter Robert says he doesn’t like Albanese.
“They were supposed to be an open government — transparent — and it turns out [they are] quite the opposite,” he says.
When asked whether he is considering a vote for One Nation, he says: “Well, I can’t vote Liberal and I can’t vote Labor. So I’ve got to vote for someone else.”
The 75-year-old clarifies that although he doesn’t agree with all of One Nation’s policies, he believes Hanson “speaks the truth” and that there’s been too much immigration.
“There are too many people in Australia who are living in conditions that aren’t ideal.”
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, net overseas migration peaked post-COVID-19 pandemic, reaching nearly 538,000 people in 2022-23. Since then, it has dropped, falling to 429,000 in 2023-24 and 306,000 in 2024-25.
Robert tells SBS News he remains concerned about his grandkids’ future and the cost of living, and doesn’t agree with Australia’s transition to renewables, saying “we have so much coal”.
“I think people are just fed up with the way things are.
We need to stop selling off the country … and get back to what [things] were like when I was young and you came out of school and there was a position available for you somewhere, whatever you wanted to try and do.
While support for One Nation may be growing among voters like Robert, fuelled by financial stress and disenchantment with the major parties, Welsh says polling can underestimate the impacts of a good local candidate.
“You’ve got Dan Repacholi there [in the Hunter]. I think he brings a certain value over and above the Labor brand.
“Will that be enough? I don’t know. I think that’s going to be a really fascinating thing to watch.”
Calais Campbell is facing a deeply personal tragedy involving his family.
The NFL standout’s mother, Nateal Campbell, was discovered dead on June 30 in her Atlanta residence, as confirmed by the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office.
According to the Atlanta Police Department, a man found at the scene, identified as Nateal’s son and Calais’ brother, Ciarre Campbell, had barricaded himself inside the house. He was subsequently taken into custody by responding officers.
Jail records reported by Oxygen indicate Ciarre faces charges of murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime. It’s yet to be determined if he has entered a plea.
Oxygen attempted to contact Ciarre’s defense attorney, Jay Abt, for a statement but has received no response. Previously, Abt told WSB-TV, “We are eager for his day in court. It’s an honor to represent him and, above all, the Campbell family.”
Arrest warrants obtained by the outlet accuse Ciarre of cutting his mother’s neck, but an official cause of death has not been released. Investigators are still determining what events led up to Nateal’s attack.
“A brief look into the history does show some calls back in April dealing with this location; a possible arson incident,” APD Lieutenant Christapher Butler told 11 Alive. “There have been some indications of possibly some mental health issues with the individual.”
Nateal’s family is reeling from the devastating loss.
“While the details of her passing are still being investigated,” a family spokesperson shared in a statement to Oxygen. “We take comfort in knowing she is reunited with our father, her beloved Chuck, and in the arms of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”
“We ask for privacy at this time so that we may honor her,” the message continued, “and share in our overwhelming grief privately and as a family.”
Calais is an 18-year NFL veteran and six-time Pro Bowler, having previously played for the Atlanta Falcons and Arizona Cardinals. The defensive lineman is currently signed with the Baltimore Ravens.
“We are incredibly saddened to learn about the passing of Calais Campbell’s mother,” the Ravens said, per Ravens Wire. “We extend our deepest condolences and full support to Calais and his family during this difficult time.”
In the serene pine woodlands of Camden, South Carolina, a historical secret from America’s early days lay hidden for centuries. It was here, in August 1780, that a fierce battle unfolded between British forces and the American Continental Army, resulting in a devastating blow to the American side.
For many years, battlefield archaeologists Jim Legg and Steve Smith have meticulously examined this historic site. Recently, they unearthed a startling find: several sets of human remains were discovered buried in the sandy soil’s shallow graves. The metal buttons on the remains pointed to their identity as Continental soldiers, although other identifying details were absent. Instead of names, the remains were initially labeled with numbers.
In this fierce confrontation, approximately 2,000 Continental soldiers were killed, wounded, or captured, leaving many families wondering about the fate of their loved ones. However, recent findings by Legg and Smith, combined with breakthroughs in DNA analysis, are unveiling new possibilities.
One set of remains, previously referred to as 9B, has now been confirmed as John Pumphrey. He was a young recruit from Maryland, joining the Continental Army’s 7th Maryland Regiment at the tender age of just 13.
Allison Peacock, a genetic genealogist adept at using DNA coupled with genealogical records to identify such remains, noted that researchers used “three different types of DNA” along with biographical information to complete the identification. Discovering the true identity of the remains gave her “goosebumps on her arms,” she remarked.
The Pumphrey family has deep Maryland roots, historic records show. The family owned sawmills and real estate, but court records show the estate was lost in a dispute after John Pumphrey’s father died. A need for money may have led to the teen’s decision to enlist, Peacock said.
“I’m sure he just was building a new life for himself,” Peacock said.
Pumphrey likely marched more than a thousand miles with the regiment. The unit fought in battles with then-Gen. George Washington in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
The Pumphrey family still exists today. The DNA that helped identify Pumphrey’s remains came from three women: Pam Donahue, Karen Pumphrey Etchison, and Nancy Pumphrey White. Donahue said she is proud to know her fourth-great-uncle fought for the United States.
“To find out that we do have a young man that sacrificed his life for the development of our country, it’s amazing, absolutely amazing,” she said.
In late June, members of the extended Pumphrey family came together to hear his story and say his name for the first time in centuries. His remains are interred in South Carolina, where he and the other soldiers were discovered, but the tombstone, once marked “Unknown,” will soon have his name carved on it.
“I think it’s a gift to the whole country to know his story,” Peacock said.
House panel questions CIA’s Cold War mind control program, MKUltra
A pivotal inquiry led by Florida Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna is shining a light on the CIA’s MKUltra program, a clandestine Cold War project aimed at mind control. Luna asserts that this was a calculated government initiative involving non-consensual experimentation on Americans, including using distressing methods such as electric shocks and sensory deprivation. Journalist Tom O’Neill delves into the potential links between this notorious program and the infamous 1969 Charles Manson murders, underscoring the lack of justice for those affected.
Last week, House Republicans revisited enduring concerns about a possible connection between the CIA’s MKUltra and Charles Manson’s deadly cult. Lawmakers revealed that newly uncovered agency documents are in the process of declassification, which could shed fresh light on these historical ties.
During Tuesday’s session held by the House Oversight Committee’s Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, the focus pivoted swiftly to allegations that the CIA obscured the full extent of its Cold War mind-control endeavors. Witnesses revived longstanding assertions involving figures such as Manson and Jack Ruby, amidst claims of pervasive government secrecy stretching back decades.
At the hearing’s onset, Task Force Chair Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican from Florida, charged the CIA with perpetrating illegal human experimentation on uninformed citizens and subsequently eradicating evidence to cover up the program’s existence.
Charles Manson was escorted to the Los Angeles city jail, suspected of orchestrating the brutal Tate-LaBianca murders in August 1969.(Bettmann Archive via Getty Images)
“This hearing is about the crimes committed by the Central Intelligence Agency against American citizens,” Luna said. “The American people deserve a complete and truthful record.”
Luna also revealed she recently traveled to CIA headquarters with Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., after reports surfaced that previously unknown MKUltra records had been located. She said the agency is currently declassifying those files, which she said pertain to a forgery program housed under MKUltra.
Much of the hearing centered on testimony from investigative journalist Tom O’Neill, author of Chaos, who told lawmakers his decades-long investigation uncovered correspondence between CIA chemist Sidney Gottlieb, the architect of MKUltra, and psychiatrist Dr. Louis “Jolly” West discussing experiments involving LSD, hypnosis, memory manipulation and behavioral control.
O’Neill testified that West later established operations near a San Francisco clinic where Manson and members of his inner circle received free medical treatment in 1967, the same period Manson transformed from a recently paroled criminal into the cult leader who would order the Tate-LaBianca murders two years later.
Charles Manson travels in a police van to the Santa Monica Courthouse to appear in court for a hearing regarding the murder of music teacher Gary Hinman in Los Angeles, California on June 25, 1970.(Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
“I believe Congress was never told the truth about what this program actually achieved,” O’Neill testified, arguing the CIA misled lawmakers in the 1970s when it characterized MKUltra as a failed experiment.
The hearing reached its most dramatic exchange near the close when Luna asked O’Neill whether it was his opinion that Manson had been an intelligence asset connected to MKUltra.
Jay Sebring (left, with Sharon Tate) fought Charles Manson (right) before he was killed in 1969.(Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images ; Getty Images)
O’Neill responded that he has never been able to prove such a theory regarding Manson, describing it as theoretical. He testified, however, that federal authorities repeatedly allowed Manson to violate parole, avoid prosecution and continue building his cult while under government supervision.
When asked about Ruby, the man who killed Lee Harvey Oswald, O’Neill testified he believes West’s involvement after Ruby’s arrest prevented Ruby from ever publicly telling his story, a claim that has not been established by official government investigations.
After O’Neill described West’s role, Luna responded simply: “Wow.”
CIA cover-up allegations
Historian Stephen Kinzer, author of “Poisoner in Chief,” testified that MKUltra amounted to “the most extreme experiments on human beings” ever carried out by a U.S. government agency, alleging victims included prisoners, psychiatric patients and unwitting civilians in the United States and overseas.
Kinzer argued the CIA intentionally obscured the program by destroying records before congressional investigators could review them and urged lawmakers to seek the removal of decades-old redactions from surviving documents.
Later in the hearing, Kinzer alleged he identified what he believes was an early CIA “black site” in Germany where MKUltra experiments were conducted alongside former Nazi scientists. He testified that residents told him people died there and may be buried nearby — allegations that have not been independently verified.
Luna pledged to contact the German government.
“If there are indeed people that were victims of this… we would like to know who those people are and who their families are as well,” she said.
‘A massive cover-up’
Republicans repeatedly questioned why no CIA officials were prosecuted after former Director Richard Helms ordered MKUltra files destroyed before leaving office.
“No one went to prison. No victim was ever formally compensated,” Luna said.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna speaks during the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability hearing on border and immigration issues in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 7, 2023.(Jack Gruber/USA TODAY)
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., asked witnesses directly whether MKUltra represented “a massive cover-up by the U.S. government.”
“It’s certainly a cover-up of what happened in the past,” Kinzer replied.
“Oh, absolutely yes,” O’Neill answered.
Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., also questioned whether advances in technology and social media could accomplish today what MKUltra attempted during the Cold War. O’Neill declined to speculate about modern cases, saying he had no evidence connecting current events to government programs, though he testified he believes technology has advanced significantly since the 1950s.
Historian urges caution on new files
David Barrett, a Villanova University professor, told News Media that while Tuesday’s hearing revisited provocative questions about MKUltra, much of the program’s documented history is already well established.
“The thinking was, ‘The other side is doing it, so we need to do it,'” Barrett said of the Cold War mindset that gave rise to MKUltra, referring to U.S. intelligence officials’ belief that China and North Korea were using drugs to influence American prisoners during the Korean War.
Barrett said there is no dispute that MKUltra existed or that unwitting Americans were subjected to drug experiments.
“We know the program existed. We know drug tests were done on unwitting human subjects,” he said. “We don’t know the number.”
He also noted that the historical record remains incomplete because Helms ordered most MKUltra files destroyed in the early 1970s.
“Most of the records, as far as we can tell, were in fact destroyed, but not all of them,” Barrett said.
Still, Barrett cautioned against expecting the newly discovered records now being reviewed by the CIA to dramatically rewrite the historical record.
“I don’t think there’s going to be a smoking gun,” Barrett said, adding that he expects the files are more likely to be operational records than documents revealing major new information about senior-level decision-making.
Luna concluded the hearing by promising lawmakers will continue pressing the CIA to release additional records, including the newly discovered MKUltra documents currently under review.
While the CIA has long acknowledged the existence of MKUltra and previous congressional investigations documented unethical human experimentation during the Cold War, many of the hearing’s most explosive allegations, including purported links to Manson and Ruby, remain disputed and have not been confirmed by official government findings.
The CIA has previously pushed back against O’Neill’s claims.
“The author cannot definitively tie Manson to MK-ULTRA or CHAOS; he can only imply it on circumstantial evidence,” the CIA said in a review of O’Neill’s book.
A 90-year-old woman who struggled with debilitating back pain hindering her ability to walk or stay on her feet is attributing her newfound vitality to a minimally invasive procedure.
Hailing from New York, Marcia Grazen encountered significant challenges in her daily mobility.
Speaking with local news outlet 2WGRZ, she shared, “Life was extremely difficult for me because walking came with constant pain. Standing was an ordeal, with intense leg pain and a very tender lower back, especially in the lumbar region.”
Grazen was battling lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS), a condition affecting 100 million individuals worldwide annually.
LSS results from the narrowing of the spinal canal in the lower back, compressing the spinal cord and nerves. This leads to leg pain, cramping, sensations of aching or burning, numbness or tingling in the legs and feet, and difficulties in foot movement while walking.
Steroid injections are tried as a first-line treatment, along with physical therapy. However, patients with severe cases undergo a procedure called a lumbar laminectomy.
This is a major ‘open-back’ surgery that involves large incisions and removing the bone or tissue that is pressing on the nerves. Full recovery can take up to six months.
Because Grazen had underlying heart conditions, she wasn’t a candidate for typical LSS surgery.
Marcia Grazen (left) had been suffering from debilitating back pain and was searching for alternatives to invasive spinal surgery when a doctor told her about the MILD procedure
Grazen from Buffalo, New York, said she faced severe mobility limitations in her daily life
In searching for alternatives, Grazen and her family discovered Dr Dana Dunleavy, the medical director of Interventional Radiology at Atlas Interventional Radiology, who proposed a minimally invasive back procedure called MILD.
MILD stands for minimally invasive lumbar decompression.
This outpatient procedure is done under just local anesthetic and light sedation through a small incision.
Using specialized tools and X-ray, doctors can remove the tissue compressing the nerves without making large cuts and requiring weeks of down time.
Grazen underwent the MILD procedure in October 2025 and told 2WGRZ that the ‘surgery was very simple and very painless.’
She felt a ‘little bit of pressure’ but it was ‘very easy.’
Just three days after the procedure, she was traveling to see her family in Florida, where she had a ‘painless, great time.’
Grazen said her recovery was almost immediate: ‘I walked out of there saying, “Whoa!” Next day I was up doing what I usually do’
Just three days after the procedure, Grazen was traveling to see her family in Florida, where she had a ‘painless, great time’
Additionally, she said her quality of life has continued to improve thanks to a reduction in pain and increase in mobility.
Grazen added: ‘The recovery was almost immediate, and I think I walked out of there saying, “Whoa!” Next day I was up doing what I usually do.’
Dunleavy said the procedure typically takes about 25 minutes and is growing in popularity, especially where he practices in Western New York.
In searching for alternative treatment, Grazen and her family discovered Dr Dana Dunleavy (pictured)
He said: ‘Almost everyone – even though… it’s gradual improvement – will call the next day and say it’s the first time they can stand up straight.’
He told 2WGRZ that the goal with offering MILD – often to patients who have already tried injection treatments – is to improve their quality of life and reduce dependence on painkillers.
He said: ‘We don’t want the only option to be opioids, right? We know that there’s a tremendous opioid epidemic. If you’re not a surgical candidate, you probably are a candidate for this.’
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — A group of 24 high school students in Champaign recently garnered accolades for receiving awards from a respected national initiative.
According to a press release from the Champaign Unit 4 School District, these two dozen students have been honored with the 2026 College Board National Recognition Program School Recognition Award. This prestigious accolade highlights their exceptional academic achievements and applauds their unwavering “commitment to excellence.”
The school district noted that the College Board National Recognition Program boosts students’ visibility in the college admissions process by acknowledging their academic prowess and connecting them with colleges and scholarship opportunities throughout the nation.
These students from Central High School have been recognized for this prestigious award:
Urvi Banerjee
Avishai David
Ian Yao
Joanne Elise Bross
Ruth Walker
Julianna Balogh
Soorin Park
Simon Campbell
Maddox Todd
Keegan Kennedy
Jaden Nam
Kwanjung Pyo
Anthony Wantland
Additionally, the following Centennial High School students were award recipients:
Carol Stanley
David King
Minna Adoni
Christopher Miller
Jack Hallock
Dexter Lokshin
Lukas Clark
Rubye Landry
Jason Taylor
Niccolo Percoco
Lauren Kleber
This award was introduced in 2025 and celebrates students who demonstrated academic excellence in their school community. To qualify, a student must score among the top 10% of their high school’s test takers on the PSAT/NMSQT or PSAT 10 and/or earn a 3+ on two or more distinct AP exams by 10th grade.
For schools with fewer than 20 test takes, the top 10% will be calculated across all small schools in the geographic region.
“Champaign Unit 4 Schools congratulates these students on this outstanding accomplishment and hard work,” the district said in its release. “Their achievements reflect the dedication of our students, educators, families, and school communities.”
This week brought to light that Kelly Clarkson‘s former husband, Brandon Blackstock, has been directed to return $2.6 million. He allegedly charged her excessively by millions during his time as her manager.
The couple, who were married for nearly seven years and share two children, River, nine, and Remington, seven, finalized their divorce last year.
As part of the divorce settlement, Clarkson agreed to make a one-time payment of $1.3 million to Blackstock and provide monthly child and spousal support.
The pair first crossed paths in 2006 and enjoyed nearly seven years of marriage before the singer decided to file for divorce in June 2020.
Prior to reaching a divorce agreement, Clarkson was also required to give Blackstock a five percent stake in her nearly $18 million ranch in Montana.
Now DailyMail.com breaks down the bitter divorce to see how much The Voice star’s ex-husband will be walking away with in the end…
This week it was revealed that Kelly Clarkson ‘s ex Brandon Blackstock had been ordered to return $2.6million after he reportedly overcharged her by millions when he represented her as a manager; the former couple are pictured in January 2018
What is Kelly Clarkson’s net worth?
Clarkson, 41, has had a successful music career and earned millions from her role on The Voice as she currently hosts chat show The Kelly Clarkson Show.
In addition she has also written children’s books and boasts an impressive real estate portfolio.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Clarkson’s worth is about $45million.
What is Brandon Blackstock’s net worth?
Blackstock, 46, has managed big name country acts including Blake Shelton, Carly Pearce, Rascal Flatts, and the aforementioned Clarkson; he is pictured with Shelton and Clarkson in February 2012
Blackstock, 46, is the son of Narvel Blackstock who founded the recording studio and music management company Starstruck.
Through the company, Clarkson’s ex has managed big name country acts including Blake Shelton, Carly Pearce, Rascal Flatts, and the aforementioned Clarkson.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Blackstock is worth about $10million.
Kelly Clarkson’s real estate portfolio
Clarkson has owned and offloaded several big budget homes throughout the US including buying a 10,000-square-foot home in Encino, California for $8.5million which she ultimately offloaded for a loss at $8.24million in September 2021
She later purchased a home by herself in Los Angeles for $5.5million in June 2021.
In 2018, the Since U Been Gone hitmaker had put her home in Henderson, Tennessee on the market for $8.75million after buying the property in 2012 for $3million. She ultimately offloaded the property in June 2020 for $6.3million for a profit of $3.3million.
She also had another property in the same state but in major city Nashville in 2007 which she bought for $1.5million only to sell it for a loss four years later at $1.2million.
However, she did earn a profit with a 275-acre farm in Lebanon, Tennessee which she bought after offloading the Nashville property for $1.96million and ultimately sold in 2020 for $3million.
However, the biggest property and the one which hung in the balance during her divorce with Blackstock was a massive 5,7000-acre ranch in Montana which was purchased in 2019. The final sale price of the home was never revealed but according to legal filings the home was worth $17million around the time of their divorce.
JANUARY 2022: Clarkson forks over five percent of nearly $18million Montana ranch to ex Blackstock
Clarkson agreed to give a five percent share of her Montana ranch to ex Blackstock after months of battling over the property as his slice of the ranch, which is valued for a whopping $17,750,000, is worth $908,800
Clarkson agreed to give a five percent share of her Montana ranch to ex Blackstock after months of battling over the property.
Just weeks after attempting to evict the talent manager from the residence, the talk show host forked over a sliver of the sprawling abode.
His slice of the ranch, which is valued for a whopping $17,750,000, is worth $908,800.
In legal documents, obtained by People, it is clear that ‘Blackstock does not have any ownership interest in the Stronger singer’s property adjoining her ranch.
In December 2021, Clarkson’s attempt to evict her ex-husband from her ranch was blocked by a US judge.
The former American Idol winner is the sole owner of Vintage Valley Ranch in Montana, but is currently unable to utilize the property while Blackstock – her former manager – occupies it.
The ranch is said to cost $81K per month to maintain, and the pop powerhouse pays her ex a total $195,601 per month in child/spousal support.
‘The judge ruled in his favor, but the order hasn’t been formally signed off on,’ a source told Us Weekly at the time.
‘He has been living in it and said he doesn’t have the financial means to afford to purchase a residence of his own at this time, citing the unresolved financial aspect of their divorce.’
‘If Blackstock fails to keep up with the maintenance payments associated with the property, Clarkson can file a motion to sell the property,’ an insider noted.
Vintage Valley Ranch was partially the reason for the acrimonious end of the Texans’ seven-year marriage.
‘Being in quarantine at the ranch together heightened their problems to the point of no return,’ the source added.
MARCH 2022:Clarkson settles divorce with Blackstock, agrees to pay him one-off sum of $1.3M plus MONTHLY payments of $115K for spousal support and $45K for kids
Last year the two had settled their divorce after nearly seven years of marriage and two children together named River, nine, and Remington, seven as at the time the two had agreed upon a one time payment by Clarkson to Blackstock for $1.3million along with monthly payments for child and spousal support; they are also seen with his kids from a previous relationship Seth and Savannah in LA back in April 2019
The former couple finally settled their divorce case after two years of bitter negotiation in March 2022
The singer, who announced her split from talent manager after nearly seven years of marriage in June 2020, will be paying her former spouse $45,601 per month in child support for their two kids River and Remington according to TMZ at the time.
Additionally, the three-time Grammy winner had agreed to a one-time payment of $1,326,161 and $115,000 per month in spousal support until January 31, 2024, according to The Blast.
In 2021, it was reported that Clarkson earns a whopping $22.8 million per year thanks to her successful talk show and music career.
Clarkson will also be shelling out a ‘reimbursement’ payment of $50,000 for private air travel for the children as they continue to fly private until they’re fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to The Blast.
The pair will share joint custody of their little ones, but reside in Los Angeles with their mom, and visit their father in Montana one weekend a month.
It was reported at the time by The Blast that Blackstock will remain living at their Montana ranch, and pay Clarkson $2,000 a month in rent until he moves out in June.
He also kept their ‘farm cattle, livestock, stock dogs, and horses,’ a Ford F-350, a Ford F-250, an ATV, snowmobiles, and other hunting items as well as a ‘golf simulator,’ reports The Blast.
Meanwhile, she kept their ‘family pets,’ a baby grand piano, ‘all guns acquired prior and during the marriage,’ plus a Can-Am 4-wheeler, a bush hog, and other items connected to hunting.
The Since U Been Gone hitmaker also stayed in possession of one of their pick-up trucks, a Ford Bronco, a Ford F-250, and a Porsche Cayenne.
In January 2022, a source told Us Weekly that she wouldn’t ‘even entertain the idea’ of agreeing to a settlement.
‘She is devoting 100 percent of any free time she has preparing for the trial,’ the insider said. ‘When not filming her talk show, she is hunkered down with [attorney] Laura Wasser.
Wasser is one of the most high-profile divorce attorneys serving a variety of entertainment industry clients, and she’s believed to have served as the inspiration for Laura Dern’s aggressive divorce attorney in Oscar-winning dramedy Marriage Story.
NOVEMBER 2023: Clarkson’s ex husband Blackstock ordered to RETURN $2.6million to singer after he ‘overcharged’ her in booking fees as manager
Clarkson’s ex husband Blackstock reportedly overcharged her by millions when he represented the pop star as her manager as a California labor commissioner awarded her $2,641,374; they are seen in January 2020
Clarkson’s ex husband Blackstock reportedly overcharged her by millions when he represented the pop star as her manager.
A California labor commissioner ruled Blackstock ‘unlawfully’ booked jobs for Clarkson – including inking her deal as a judge on The Voice – while employed as her manager, as only agents can secure roles for talent, according to court documents obtained by TMZ.
Blackstock collected fees for booking The Voice and other endorsements like Wayfair and Norwegian Cruise Line in the amount of $2,641,374, per the outlet.
The labor commissioner ordered Blackstock to return the commissions — which includes the $1.98 million for The Voice gig –to his ex-wife.
The outlet reported that Blackstock said he will appeal the decision.
The commission also ruled that Blackstock is off the hook for the commission on Clarkson’s talk show The Kelly Clarkson Show, per the outlet.
So how much will Blackstock come out with in the divorce process?
All these elements considered where they currently stand Blackstock should be making an estimated $13,958,044 from the divorce from the pop megastar; he is seen here with his eldest child with Clarkson named River
Blackstock – who has a reported net worth of $10 million – was originally awarded a one-time sum of $1,326,161 and $115,000 per month in spousal support until January 31, 2024 which will total 3,971,161.
On top of that he will also receive $45,601 per month in child support for their two kids until they are of adult age. River will turn 18 in June 2032 bringing that total to $5,107,312. Remington will turn 18 in 2034 bringing that total to $6,612,145.
When it comes to the Montana ranch they once shared together Clarkson agreed to a five percent share of the $17,750,000 in January 2022 which is worth $908,800.
As it stands Blackstock will take a loss to the tune of $2,641,374 due to a California labor commissioner ruling Blackstock ‘unlawfully’ booked jobs for Clarkson.
All these elements considered where they currently stand Blackstock should be making an estimated $13,958,044 from the divorce from the pop megastar.
