He is a freak. Perhaps he is gay. Maybe he is even a vegan. Was he genuinely recovering from flu, or had he entered a mental health facility in another state?

Texas Republicans have raised all of those questions — and many more — about Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico.

Their campaign has saturated the state with advertising, spending an eye-watering $175 million along the way. The attacks have been relentless, and any one of the insinuations — despite every claim being entirely false — might have been enough to derail Mr Talarico. The vegan accusation, in particular, seemed designed to strike a nerve: Texans love beef and are famously suspicious of vegetables as a food group.

So why is he still leading in the polls? Why does the Democratic candidate in rural, heavily pro-Trump Kansas also appear to be performing strongly? In Iowa, where Trump won by 13 points two years ago — the largest margin recorded by any presidential candidate since 1972 — the Senate contest is now rated a close race.

The list goes on. What a reversal. I was in Washington, DC, during the exhilarating early days of Trump’s second presidency, when he appeared unstoppable. He was amusing, disciplined and seemingly incapable of sleep, dismissing officials in the middle of the night and signing executive orders with a Sharpie before tossing it into an adoring crowd.

Even Democratic friends in the capital seemed oddly relieved. Their own party, they felt, might finally receive a much-needed shock. And if Trump could stop illegal immigration, bring inflation down and take on what they saw as woke universities, perhaps his presidency would not be entirely negative.

Racial minorities, groups often championed by white Democrats, also appeared receptive to Trump. Latinos, in particular, backed him in record numbers.

But, as Texans might put it, he turned out to be all hat and no cattle. It is true that he has effectively closed the border, but that achievement was followed by an unpopular and sometimes violent crackdown on immigrants living blamelessly inside the United States. He has failed to bring down inflation and, amid the war with Iran, his record on fuel prices has been especially disastrous.

Latino voters have cooled toward Trump. So have many rural Americans, including former supporters who rely on diesel trucks. In communities built around big vehicles and hard work, the cost of diesel and gasoline is more than an inconvenience. It shapes how families feel about their lives.

Raise fuel prices high enough and a voter might even support a candidate accused of being a vegan.

Donald Trump has endured extraordinary political crises, including the prospect of imprisonment. Yet this may be the greatest challenge of his career.

Early voting is already under way, with election day scheduled for a week on Tuesday. The prospect that Trump could lose control of both chambers of Congress is now looming.

But there is a warning for Democrats. During the 2022 midterms, I told some surprised BBC interviewers that the result — far better for Joe Biden’s Democrats than expected — could ultimately prove disastrous for the party.

A strong showing might persuade the ageing president to seek a second term. I was right about that. I still believe that had the Democrats performed poorly, they would have replaced him with a much stronger candidate and might have defeated Trump in 2024.

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Once again, victory could quickly turn into defeat. Imagine the Democrats winning both houses of Congress. Not only would moderate candidate James Talarico prevail in Texas, but Abdul El-Sayed could also win in Michigan. El-Sayed is a firebrand left-wing campaigner in the mould of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Unlike Mamdani, however, he would become a national party figure rather than remaining primarily associated with one city. That would do little to help Democrats shed their reputation for being obsessively woke.

To be clear, El-Sayed is a capable politician with particularly strong support among younger voters. But he and those around him would be tempted to out-Trump Trump, seeking to destroy him with the same intensity he has used against his political opponents.

They would pursue another impeachment attempt. That would mean congressional hearings, prolonged investigations and time spent tracking down evidence of alleged wrongdoing. In the

Senate, however, two-thirds of members would have to vote to convict and remove him from office — a threshold the effort would almost certainly fail to reach.

That will not stop them raking over wrongdoing that many Americans might want to put behind them. It would become a sore when the country is looking for balm. And the Democrats would become a party of past grievances rather than forward-looking optimism.

And then El-Sayed and his friends would press for a radical presidential candidate in the 2028 campaign and all that new-found support the party has in places like Kansas and Iowa might fade rather fast.

Better perhaps to lose this time round or maybe take the lower House of Representatives but not the Senate. Better to face disappointment now, forcing the party to have a serious conversation about its appeal to all of America. Left leaning, even socialist in places. But centrist too, and with a candidate who can knit it all together. Just as Bill Clinton did in the 1990s and Barack Obama in this century.

Talking of presidential candidates: that process of selection (yes, it’s crazy) starts within hours of the results. Here it gets complicated and highly unpredictable. The Democrats might, as I suggest, live to regret winning big in 2026 if that is what happens.

But not just because such a victory persuades their own party to adopt positions that are electorally unviable. It might also persuade the Republicans to double down on Trumpism. Or to claim that it has never been properly tried!

In those circumstances it seems at least possible that this is the moment fringe people on the Right outside the party come out against him and try to seize the wheel.

This might not be pretty. How about a presidential run from Tucker Carlson, the Right-wing influencer who clashed recently with the former Conservative cabinet minister Jacob Rees- Mogg, who accused Carlson of getting dangerously close to defending Adolf Hitler.

There are others too who might be willing to shake up the Republicans and thrust aside their ageing president – who’ll be something of a lame duck if Congress blocks or delays his domestic agenda – and the obvious candidates to replace him in 2028, the Vice-President JD Vance and the Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Of course, all of this suggests that we have an actual result. But if it is close it is entirely possible the President tries to overturn it and we are in for weeks of dangerous and divisive squabbling.

All American elections matter because America matters. This one might just matter a little bit more than normal.

Four people have been injured in a drive-by shooting outside a Queensland venue preparing to host a boxing event.

Police said officers were called after reports that shots had been fired from a vehicle outside a licensed premises in Loganholme, south of Brisbane, at about 8.15pm.

The vehicle involved was seen leaving the area, police said.

A 19-year-old woman from Jimboomba was in a critical and unstable condition, police told the Daily Mail.

Two men, aged 38 and 37, were seriously injured but in stable condition. A third man, aged 27, was also reported to be stable.

Police said there was not believed to be any continuing threat to the wider public.

Fitzys Loganholme, on Bryants Road, had been scheduled to host the Logan City Titles Fight Night on Saturday.

According to The Courier-Mail, one victim was shot in the head, while two others suffered gunshot wounds to the abdomen and another was shot in the arm.

The vehicle reportedly connected to the shooting was discovered burning at Waterfront West shortly after the incident.

Tyler Florance, 18, told The Courier-Mail that he heard three or four gunshots while cleaning his car across the road.

He said the sound was followed by extensive screaming.

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Florance said he was shocked that an incident of that nature had occurred so close to his home.

Speaking on Nine’s Today show, Logan City Mayor Jon Raven said the shooting had frightened residents and sent a shockwave through the community.

Raven expressed his sympathy for the victims, event staff and attendees, describing the boxing night as a family-friendly occasion attended by many children. He said the experience could affect them for the rest of their lives.

The Logan City Titles Fight Night reportedly featured amateur and professional bouts involving men, women and teenagers.

In an Instagram post, Logan City Titles said it was heartbroken by what had happened.

‘Logan City Titles was a family event, an event for our community, showcasing local talent, hard work and everyone’s skills in the ring,’ the post read.

‘These types of incidents have no place in the boxing community and any part of the broader community.

‘As a team we are working through it and dealing with the emotions that come with this. Right now our thoughts go out to the victims and all that were affected.

‘We are praying for full recoveries.’

One woman posted on a Loganholme community Facebook page she was out having dinner with colleagues and had to hide in a kitchen as the incident unfolded.

‘Scared babies, screaming girls, people coming in covered in blood. [Absolutely] terrifying,’ she wrote.

Police were urging anyone with information about the incident to contact them.

More to come

Megyn Kelly has faced a wave of backlash from celebrities after criticizing Christina Applegate over the actress’s experience with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Applegate, 54, stunned fans this week by revealing that her doctor now believes she may not have MS, despite more than five years of debilitating symptoms.

The actress publicly disclosed her diagnosis in summer 2021. Speaking on the latest episode of her Messy podcast, she said her doctor’s new assessment had left her without answers, explaining that a misdiagnosis did not mean she had suddenly recovered.

Applegate added that her condition had, if anything, deteriorated, leaving her “back at square one” and unsure what was causing her symptoms.

Kelly discussed Applegate’s revelation on The Megyn Kelly Show, accusing the actress of taking her audience on what she described as a “wild goose chase.”

The SiriusXM host questioned Applegate’s changing diagnosis and suggested that celebrities sometimes embrace health struggles publicly in order to become associated with a particular illness.

Kelly also claimed Applegate had built a “cottage industry” around discussing MS and implied that the actress was upset about no longer being able to present herself as the face of the disease.

Kelly’s remarks spark backlash

Kelly’s comments quickly drew fierce criticism online. Janice Dean, a former Fox News colleague who has lived with MS, described Kelly as a “mean girl” in a strongly worded post on X.

Dean began by saying she had remained silent about Kelly for a long time. She then alleged that Kelly had stopped communicating with her after endorsing Andrew Cuomo for mayor and learning that Dean felt deeply hurt by the decision.

Dean called Kelly’s remarks about Applegate “disgusting” and pointed to her own more than 20-year struggle with MS, including the lengthy process it took for doctors to diagnose her.

She defended Applegate as courageous for speaking openly and said she was grateful the actress had become a voice for many people with the condition. Dean added that she had been ill for several weeks and in and out of the hospital, promising to say more when she was well enough.

Conservative political commentator Eric Bolling defended Kelly, saying he had worked with both women at Fox and had personally seen Kelly support Dean and help advance her career.

Bolling criticized Dean for publicly attacking Kelly and labeling her a “mean girl,” describing the move as disgraceful.

He said people could disagree with Kelly without using a former friendship to fuel a public pile-on, adding that he remained proud to call Kelly his friend and stood behind her.

Representatives for Kelly and Applegate declined to comment when contacted by The Daily Mail. A representative for Dean has also been approached for a response.

Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Gilbert also joined the criticism, taking aim at Kelly on social media.

Earlier this year, Kelly criticized Gilbert for promoting her lifestyle brand online after the actress faced child sex abuse charges, which were dismissed in October 2026.

In an Instagram post, Gilbert asked Kelly to consider how she would feel if she were diagnosed with a devastating disease, chose to keep living her life while advocating for others, and later learned that the diagnosis had been incorrect.

Gilbert said such a person would still be dealing with the same debilitating symptoms while facing a new series of painful tests to determine the real cause of the illness. She urged Kelly to imagine what that experience might feel like.

Kelly faces further criticism over remarks

‘Still battling the same debilitating, horrible symptoms while now having to put your body through a myriad of new, painful tests to figure out why you are so horribly sick. I just want you to imagine that for one moment. Imagine what that might feel like for you. 

‘Or how you might feel if it happened to one of your children or your spouse or someone you cared deeply about. I just sometimes wish that maybe you’d take a moment to dig deep in your soul and find a modicum of empathy, before you speak. Please feel free to go after me now. 

‘Actually, I’d prefer that, than you attack someone who, along with those who love her, are truly suffering. @christinaapplegate @megynkelly @megynkelly @amevipix #empathy #compassion #takeabreath.’

The View hosts Whoopi Goldberg and Sara Haines also lambasted Kelly, with the Ghost star saying: ‘So, let me ask you, ma’am, you think Christina wanted to have MS so she could have a good time? Are you crazy?’

Haines added: ‘Who wants to be the face of MS? Talk about kicking someone when they’re down. She got a diagnosis and wanted to help other people.’ 

The social media furor comes days after Applegate’s tearful misdiagnosis reveal. 

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Speaking of the moment her doctor told her of her misdiagnosis, a tearful Applegate, who was recently hospitalized, said: ‘She came into my room and said, “Congratulations, you don’t have MS”.

‘I was, like, not happy at all. Everybody else was so happy.

MS is a condition in which the immune system attacks the body and causes nerve damage to the brain and spinal cord.

It is an incurable, lifelong condition. Symptoms can be mild in some, and in others more extreme causing severe disability.

Symptoms include fatigue, difficulty walking, vision problems, bladder problems, numbness or tingling, muscle stiffness and spasms, problems with balance and co-ordination, and problems with thinking, learning and planning.

Applegate opens up about ongoing health struggles

Applegate, who has relied on a wheelchair and cane for years, and been forced to step away from her stellar acting career, said: ‘I’ve gone through a great depression because of it. 

‘But I lost everything. I lost my job. I lost – I’m sorry. What do you say to someone who’s been living with this for six years – God, I’m so sorry – because it stopped my life. 

‘I still have to use wheelchairs when I go to the doctor’s office. I can’t walk from the car to the room. I’m still in this. Nothing magical happened when she said, “You don’t have MS.” Nothing magical happened.

‘It’s weird because I feel like I let everybody down, It’s this weird feeling because I became this – you and I, the poster children for MS. 

‘And everything I was doing. I had a reason. I had a [expletive] reason as to why my day sucked every day. 

‘And now I don’t have a reason and it’s very unnerving and it’s very confusing for me.’

Applegate added the misdiagnosis is a ‘[expletive]’ and that she is still in ‘a state of shock’ as she seeks answers over the true nature of her illness. 

Earlier in February, Applegate shared that she is mainly confined to her bed due to her MS battle.

During an interview with People at the time, the star explained how the pain has largely kept her in bed.

However, she will make the effort to leave her bedroom for her teenage daughter Sadie, such as taking her to school.

‘I want to take her; it’s my favorite thing to do. It’s the only time we have together by ourselves,’ the actress told the outlet.

‘I tell myself, “Just get her there safely and get home so you can get back into bed.” And that’s what I do.’

Applegate further expressed: ‘My life isn’t wrapped up with a bow. People’s lives, sorry for lack of a better term, [expletive] suck sometimes. So I’m being as honest and raw as I possibly can.’

‘I don’t have patience for [expletive] any more, for things that are meaningless or merely “extra.”‘

Applegate shared the news of her MS diagnosis on social media in August 2021.

And in 2022 she posted a photo of her canes, and said needing help with walking is her ‘new normal.’

During an episode of her MeSsy podcast last year, the actress revealed that she had been hospitalized multiple times amid her MS battle. 

‘For three years since I was diagnosed, I’ve been in the hospital upwards of 30 times,’ she told her co-host Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who is also battling the same disease.

‘That is unimaginable, okay? They’ve done every test known to man on me, put so much radiation into my body from CT scans to everything else.’

When it came to penning her memoir, which was released on March 3, Applegate previously shared that she made the decision to pen the book when she was ‘forced to slow down.’

Explosive claims have surfaced over an alleged bitter breakdown between Carrie Bickmore and Tommy Little as their decade-long radio partnership approaches its end.

The pair announced this week that their national Hit Network drive-time program will conclude at the end of the year, while Bickmore is reportedly preparing to join rival broadcaster KIIS FM.

Although the announcement left many listeners disappointed, industry sources claim the former co-hosts’ relationship has deteriorated significantly away from the studio.

One source characterised the alleged dispute as a “nasty rift”, claiming Bickmore and Little can barely tolerate being in the same room when they are not live on air.

“Carrie and Tommy are not speaking,” the source told the Daily Mail.

“Things are so toxic, you barely get them in a room together if the mics aren’t on.”

The allegations present a stark contrast to the close friendship that appeared to define one of Australian radio’s most popular duos—and fuelled years of speculation that their connection extended beyond their professional partnership.

Romance speculation intensified in early 2023, after Bickmore announced her separation from Chris Walker, her partner of 11 years.

Little was also single at the time, having ended his relationship with former girlfriend Natalie Kyriacou in 2021.

The timing led some fans to wonder whether the pair’s famously flirtatious on-air dynamic had developed into something more.

Neither Bickmore nor Little has publicly confirmed that they were romantically involved.

Now, with their working relationship coming to an end, sources have rejected the idea that the pair are a couple. One well-placed industry insider reportedly described the rumours as “laughable”.

“The rumours couldn’t be further from the truth,” the source said, while suggesting that although the pair may have been romantically involved in the past, that was no longer the case.

The alleged rift comes as Bickmore is said to have negotiated a move to ARN separately, rather than as part of a joint deal involving Little.

According to one insider, Bickmore quietly began discussions after learning that the Carrie and Tommy show would not be renewed.

“Carrie realised their show wasn’t being renewed and began talks solo,” the source claimed, adding: “Tommy figured they would go to a rival network as a package deal.”

The source further alleged that Bickmore finalised the deal without Little’s knowledge.

The reported move has also prompted questions about who will partner Bickmore in KIIS FM’s national drive-time slot, previously held by Will and Woody.

One industry source claimed ARN was struggling to find her a permanent co-host.

‘Her drive show is looking like Carrie and Friends, with a rolling roster of co-presenters. It really isn’t the most promising start,’ they said.

Meanwhile, the Carrie and Tommy Show’s cancellation is also said to have blindsided staff, who had spent weeks seeking clarity from management and remained hopeful of securing new contracts before learning the program would not return.

Sources say some team members were disappointed by the handling of the announcement and had hoped for more time to process the news before it became public.

The decision comes amid broader cost-cutting pressures across commercial radio following the merger between Southern Cross Austereo and Seven West Media, with executives said to be scrutinising expensive talent-led programming. 

A source said Carrie and Tommy cost more than $5million a year, while its replacement drive show, hosted by Lu and Jarch, is reportedly budgeted at about $1million, with the presenters earning approximately $500,000 each.

‘SCA is run by bean counters these days,’ added the insider. 

While no further shake-ups have been announced, the axing of Carrie and Tommy has fuelled speculation that other long-running radio shows, including Fifi, Fev & Nick, could also come under review.

According to the latest industry rumours, KIIS FM Melbourne has its sights on Fifi Box to replace breakfast hosts Ash London, Isaac Smith and Elliot Garnaut in 2028, as management already expects the trio to flop in the highly competitive market.