Matthew Rhys made Emmy Awards history on Monday night, becoming the first performer to claim two lead acting prizes during the same 78th Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony.

Yet while the 51-year-old Welsh star’s double victory drew a huge reaction inside the venue, viewers at home were equally struck by one notable omission: Rhys did not acknowledge his longtime partner, Keri Russell, in either speech.

Rhys first took home Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for The Beast in Me. In his remarks, however, he did not mention Russell, 50, his former The Americans co-star and partner.

Clearly surprised by the result, Rhys also appeared not to look toward Russell as he rose from his seat. He did, however, pause to embrace an ecstatic Claire Danes, his The Beast in Me co-star.

Later in the broadcast, Rhys had another historic moment — and another chance to recognize Russell — after winning Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for Apple TV+’s horror-comedy Widow’s Bay.

But during his second trip to the stage, Russell’s name again went unmentioned.

When Rhys’ name was announced for the first award, Danes immediately rose from her seat, visibly astonished as she reacted with her mouth open.

She stretched her arms out for a hug, and she and Rhys briefly rocked back and forth while she touched his face, before he marched up to the stage.

‘Matthew Rhys doesn’t even look at Keri Russell next to him, and doesn’t thank her,’ one user on X wrote as they posted a video of the NBC broadcast that they shot on their phone from their TV of the enthusiastic hug.

Rhys took a confrontational stance with his first win when he began his speech by warning, ‘If you try to turn me off, I’ll stab you in the eyes with this [award].’ 

‘This is a real shock, not least because of the caliber and company of the actors in this program,’ he said as he thanked his Beast in Me colleagues and his costar, Claire Danes. 

‘Thank you for letting me join the mystery machine. Intimidating scene partner, but I’m very grateful for all this,’ he gushed before heading off stage.

After he broke the record and returned for his second acceptance speech for Widow’s Bay, Rhys joked, ‘My apologies to the women who had to stand.’

In the audience, Martin Short was seen on the broadcast comically tearing up his acceptance speech after losing out on the award.

‘This is purely because of the depraved and twisted mind of [Widow’s Bay creator] Katie [Dippold], and her genius really does live in the recesses of her disturbed brain,’ Rhys said.

Toward the end of his speech, Rhys made sure to thank multiple family members, including his parents and his sister, whom he mentioned was in the audience.

‘She was the brains of the outfit all along,’ he joked, adding, ‘Thank you for all the sage words and patient listening.’

Despite Rhys apparently snubbing his partner of 12 years, Russell suggested she was still fully supporting him when she was seen letting out a big cheer and applauding enthusiastically from their table when Rhys won his second award of the night.

‘THE CHEER FROM HER…… all that matters all that matters,’ wrote one user on X who posted video of the moment. 

In a video posted to X, Yahoo Entertainment reporter Taryn Ryder shared video taken from inside the theater showing Rhys returning with one of his Emmys to embrace Russell and pose with her for a photographer.

After the photographer had enough snaps, the two actors leaned in for a kiss to cement the honor.

It was a night of disappointment for Russell, who lost out on her single nomination, for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for The Diplomat, to Pluribus star Rhea Seehorn.

‘KERI RUSSELL 8-time EMMY LOSER,’ a poster joked on X while comically juxtaposing their comment with a clip of Russell falling down a staircase from season two of The Diplomat 

Apple TV horror comedy series Widow’s Bay was the biggest winner at the Emmy Awards 2026 as it swept the ceremony, with leading man Matthew Rhys making history as the first actor to win two leading acting gongs in different categories in one night.

On the drama side, it was once again The Pitt who was the big winner as the HBO Max series took home top honor,s Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama for Noah Wyle. They earned the same honors at last year’s Emmys.

However, it was Widow’s Bay that made the massive first impression on television’s biggest night as it won in all six categories it was nominated in, including the top honor Outstanding Comedy Series.

The comedy-horror series beat out: Abbott Elementary, The Bear, Hacks, Margo’s Got Money Troubles, Nobody Wants This, Only Murders in the Building, and Shrinking.

Widow’s Bay is set in the fictional New England island town of Widow’s Bay, which happens to be afflicted with a centuries-old curse that brings various supernatural evils upon the island

In addition to Rhys, top acting honors were earned by Kate O’Flynn and Stephen Root in the Outstanding Supporting Actress and Actor in a Comedy Series categories, respectively.

However, their costar Rhys was perhaps the biggest winner of the night as he made history by becoming the first actor to earn two leading acting honors in the same night.

He not only earned Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy series for the Apple TV series, but also took home Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for The Beast in Me earlier in the evening. 

On the Apple TV series, the talented actor portrays Tom Loftis, mayor of Widow’s Bay, as he is originally from the mainland and is initially skeptical of the local residents’ superstitions about the island’s supposed curse. He is a widower and father to a son, Evan, from his marriage to his deceased wife, Lauren. 

In the psychological thriller mini-series, Rhys portrays Nile Jarvis, who is the son of a real estate magnate who moves next door to the home of Aggie Wiggs [Clare Danes] in Oyster Bay, New York, on Long Island to live in a more secluded manner with his second wife, as he allegedly killed his first wife.  

The Pitt earned the top award of the night, Outstanding Drama Series, on a night where it earned 25 nominations, which was the most from any single series.

It faced stiff competition including: The Diplomat, The Gilded Age, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Paradise, Pluribus, Slow Horses, and Your Friends and Neighbors. 

The Pitt is centered around the daily lives of healthcare professionals in a Pittsburgh hospital as they juggle personal crises, workplace politics, and the emotional toll of treating critically ill patients, revealing the resilience required in their noble calling. 

Noah Wyle was the first to be awarded for the highly popular HBO Max series.

The 55-year-old actor earned the win in the coveted Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series category as he beat out: Sterling K. Brown for Paradise, Gary Oldman for Slow Horses, Mark Ruffalo for Task, and Rufus Sewell for The Diplomat.

On the series, he portrays Dr. Michael ‘Robby’ Robinavitch, who is the main protagonist of the show as he deals with trauma and PTSD alongside unresolved post-COVID stress.

Meanwhile, Rhea Seehorn earned one of the biggest wins of television’s biggest night and beat one of the biggest stars in Zendaya to earn the honor. 

The 54-year-old actress triumphed in the Lead Actress in a Drama category at the Emmy Awards 2026 as she was recognized for her work in Pluribus.

Jean Smart earned her fifth Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy win in a row at the Emmy Awards 2026 on a night that featured a star-studded red carpet.

 The 75-year-old talented actress was recognized for her work on Hacks, which just had its fifth and final season. 

Smart – who earned her eighth total Emmy in her 15th total nomination – was obviously emotional as her name was called and she was presented the honor by Zendaya.

Sally Field earned Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for her work in Remarkably Bright Creatures. 

The 78th annual Primetime Emmy Awards took place at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles on Monday night. 

Law & Order: SVU executive producer/star Mariska Hargitay served as host of the gala event, which marks the first time a woman has hosted the show in 15 years.

Georgia’s youngest elected mayor has been removed from office only 10 months into his term amid allegations that he misused municipal money and exchanged sexually suggestive messages and images with an 18-year-old high school student.

Jayden Williams, who recently turned 23, was impeached by the Stockbridge City Council. The city is located south of Atlanta, and Williams had taken office in January.

“The City of Stockbridge confirms that the City Council has taken formal action concerning the Office of Mayor,” the city said in a statement Sunday. “The Mayor has been removed from office.”

Williams was accused of charging more than $4,000 in personal purchases to a city purchasing card, including restaurant meals, clothing, haircuts and a movie, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.

He also reportedly spent $2,600 on gas and used a city-owned vehicle for personal reasons.

The allegations surfaced after city employees identified unusual transactions involving public funds and promptly alerted management and the city’s legal team.

In testimony cited by Fox 5, Williams said he did not intend to use city money and later reimbursed the city.

Williams also said the city-issued card closely resembled his personal card and that he replaced the cards afterward to prevent similar confusion, the outlet reported.

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In a separate allegation, Williams was accused of exchanging sexually suggestive messages and explicit images with an 18-year-old male high school student.

A police report stated that Williams did not commit a criminal violation because the student was legally considered an adult under Georgia law.

However, police referred the matter for administrative review over potential policy and ethical concerns about an elected official’s interactions with a student in what investigators described as a city-affiliated mentorship program, Fox 5 reported.

In a statement, Williams previously said he met the individual before taking office and that the student never participated in the city’s “Mayor for a Day” program, which Williams described as not a mentorship program.

“The individual was 18 years old at the time of our communication, meaning we were both adults. I met this individual on November 30, 2025, and our online communication occurred before I was sworn into office in January 2026,” he said.

Williams became the youngest mayor in Georgia history after campaigning for the position while still attending Clark Atlanta University.

He was subsequently stripped of certain official privileges on July 17 as the investigation unfolded but was never criminally charged in connection with the alleged conduct.

Matthew Rhys made Emmy Awards history at the 2026 ceremony.

LIVE UPDATES: Winners and standout moments from the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards

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Georgia police are looking for a man accused of becoming “infatuated” with a rubber duck while using a stranger’s hot tub.

According to the Chatham County Police Department, the suspect allegedly trespassed on a homeowner’s property, used the pool and hot tub, then took pool towels before leaving. Investigators said he appeared to become “obsessed” with a rubber duck at the residence.

“He trespassed onto their property, used their hot tub, became obsessed with their rubber duck, then stole their pool towels. It’s obviously not the biggest crime we’ve dealt with this month, but it has a lot of ick-factor. So, we’d like to find this guy so he doesn’t do this to someone else,” police wrote.

Surveillance footage from a home in the 9000 block of Whitefield Avenue allegedly shows the man on the property between 2:15 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. on Sept. 1, police said.

The footage reportedly shows the suspect swimming in the pool before getting into the hot tub. While there, police said, he became “infatuated” with the rubber duck and was seen “intensely interacting” with it.

“While in the hot tub, the man is caught on video becoming infatuated with a rubber duck. The video shows the man spending more than 10 minutes intensely interacting with the duck,” police wrote.

Police did not provide details about the nature of the man’s interaction with the toy. A grainy black-and-white still from the security footage appears to show him holding the duck near his face, though it is unclear exactly what he is doing.

The man later left the property on a bicycle, police said.

As the man was leaving, he took several luxury beach towels with him, valued at a total of $1,200.

Police said the six towels valued at $200 each were seen in the basket under the bike on surveillance video.

Anyone who recognizes the man in the photos released to the public or has any information about the case is urged to contact police.

Newly released interviews with the father of Thomas Crooks portray the 20-year-old would-be Donald Trump assassin as an intensely quiet and isolated young man.

Crooks opened fire from a nearby rooftop with an AR-15-style rifle during Trump’s July 13, 2024 rally, firing eight shots. Trump was struck in the right ear, while rallygoer Corey Comperatore was killed and two other people were wounded.

The FBI’s conversations with Crooks’ father, Matthew, were provided to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley as the Iowa Republican continues his investigation into the Butler, Pennsylvania, shooting.

Matthew Crooks said he had not seen any indication that his son was in distress or headed toward violence in the period before the shooting.

Still, he described Thomas as exceptionally withdrawn: someone who seldom laughed, could be difficult to read and never developed what his father considered a close father-son relationship.

According to Matthew, his son’s reserve was apparent almost immediately. He recalled that Thomas did not scream when he was born and remained quiet as he grew up. Matthew and his wife, Mary, believed he might have had ADHD.

Matthew said Thomas’ muted emotional responses sometimes caused friction at home. In one incident, after an argument, Thomas poured an entire container of fish food into his sister’s aquarium. His father said he pushed the boy until he cried, frustrated by what he saw as his lack of emotion.

The father said Thomas became somewhat more expressive during elementary school, though often through disruptive behavior that he attributed to boredom, according to documents obtained by The New York Post.

He once wrecked a school desk and briefly befriended what his father saw as a ‘bad’ group of other children. 

Things grew worse in high school, as Thomas got quieter and quieter, started talking to himself and struggled to talk to his teachers, Matthew claimed.   

While he ‘never showed interest in girls,’ Thomas ‘repeatedly denied’ accusations that he was gay, Matthew told the FBI.   

Thomas put ‘a lot of pressure on himself’ as college applications came around, with Matthew saying his son eventually got an impressive 1500 on his SATs despite not studying. 

However, Crooks said that his son never really had any convictions for future plans beyond ideas.

‘At one point, Thomas wanted to join the military to work in nuclear submarines, but this was more of just an idea as Thomas thought it would be cool,’ one FBI agent notes from speaking to the father. 

Matthew expressed regret that his work schedule kept him from being able to be around his son more often, saying that talking him through extracurricular activities could have helped the boy. 

An interest in firearms appeared to spark something in the boy, Matthew claimed, though he said his son wanted nothing to do with hunting and ‘hated’ fishing. 

The pair’s conversations would usually involve guns, with Matthew calling it ‘odd’ that his son asked him if he needed a background check to buy his father’s Glock or if he could have his grandfather’s guns.

Matthew told FBI agents that his son began his new hobby by joining a gun club when the pandemic began, saying ‘he could not hit’ paper targets.

After about four to five years of practicing, he became a solid shooter, noting that he began trying to hit targets from further and further distances, explaining that ‘he wanted to see how far he could shoot with rudimentary sights.’ 

He began buying big quantities of ‘parts, tools and items to increase the capacity of his rifle’ off Amazon, using the name of former Senator and presidential candidate ‘Bob Dole’ as a pseudonym.

Thomas had become paranoid about his checking account being hacked after his father had experienced a hack, though Matthew explained that he could still be hacked under a fake name. 

The son eventually taught his father how to use software to hide your identity to, as Thomas explained it, make them ‘less likely to be compromised by outside actors.’ 

Thomas started to build things using a 3D printer, even once creating a Glock 19 that he immediately got rid of after firing a single round, worried that the frame would explode.

A second person interviewed by investigators – whose name was redacted from the documents – spoke about Crooks’ political interests. 

They called Thomas a ‘big history buff’ who had a ‘nonchalant’ interest in political discussions and ‘spoke often about Trump and [Joe] Biden back when Trump initially got elected,’ even repeatedly bringing up Marco Rubio.

Matthew said of his son: ‘Thomas called himself a Republican. Thomas did not like the welfare state and was against the ‘woke’ ideology but never really espoused the Republican ideology.’ 

He noted, however, that his son didn’t seem to gravitate to either party – crediting Thomas’ status as a registered Republican to his own – and that they would often make fun of politicians from both parties. 

Thomas ‘did not believe the 2020 presidential election was rigged’ and ‘expressed shock’ over the events of January 6, 2021, Matthew claimed, but that overall he was more critical of Trump than his son.

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He was surprised to learn his son had made a small donation to a Democrat group called Progressive Turnout Project in 2021. 

Thomas’ interests were similar to many young men. He idolized the superhero Iron Man, loved movies like Saving Private Ryan, Full Metal Jacket and John Wick, while enjoying rap and country music, Matthew said.

Ultimately, he reiterated that no one in their family thought there were any red flags about Thomas prior to the shooting. 

Much of the investigation into the mysterious shooter has baffled the media and onlookers. 

Investigators found 22 unfired rounds and extra magazines in Crooks’ vehicle, along with a ballistic vest. 

An undetonated explosive device was also discovered in the car. The device had a receiver for remote detonation but was in the off position, preventing activation.

The would-be assassin was shot dead by a Secret Service sniper.

The President, in an extraordinary moment, raised his clenched fist as he was mobbed by bodyguards, shouting to his supporters: ‘Fight, fight, fight.’

Many do not believe the official version of the incident, especially since the FBI originally said Crooks had almost no digital footprint – and certainly did not disclose that Crooks exhibited violent, radical tendencies online.

The FBI then had to walk that back in November 2025 when Tucker Carlson released a documentary Who is Thomas Crooks? on November 14 with extensive and authenticated proof of Crooks’ radical online presence – and revealed the existence of the mysterious ‘Willy Tepes’ for the first time.

Carlson said in the video that a source was able to retrieve Crooks’ social media accounts from his Google Drive account after many, if not all, of them had been wiped off YouTube.

Right after Carlson’s video went up, FBI Director Kash Patel released a statement describing what he said was an extensive investigation into ‘nearly 500,000 digital files’ from ’13 seized digital devices’ as part of the Crooks case.

The FBI also created what it called the ‘FBI Rapid Response’ on X in response to Carlson’s video.

In one of its first posts, it wrote: ‘This FBI has never said Thomas Crooks had no online footprint ever.’

But a community note added to the post pointed out that during a Senate hearing shortly after the assassination attempt, FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate did vaguely disclose a social media account believed to be associated with Crooks but went on to describe a ‘general absence of other information to date from social media.’

The FBI’s handling of the case has been confusing from the start.

On November 17, 2025, three days after Carlson’s video aired, Patel, then FBI deputy director, Dan Bongino, and a senior FBI official sat down with Fox News to reiterate that Crooks acted alone – and issued an official FBI statement that appeared to be from their website but has only ever been available on the Fox News website.

The FBI admitted that a Willy Tepes had mentioned Crooks in four YouTube comments but said that Crooks himself had never directly communicated with Tepes.

That statement was disproven by the discovery of a YouTube video comment on August 5, 2020, showing Crooks responding to Tepes in a lengthy post that included this statement:

‘IMO the only way to fight the gov is with terrorism style attacks, sneak a bomb into an essential building (and) set it off before anyone sees you, track down any important people/politicians/military leaders and try to assassinate them.’

An online investigative organization called Citizens Commission released a video called ‘Who is Willy Tepes?’

It tracked Tepes’s full digital footprint, infiltrated the extremist Telegram channels he was active in, and recovered thousands of his messages — many of which explicitly encouraged political violence, including assassinations.

Citizens Commission used an online tracking tool, TGDB, to parse most of Tepes’ roughly 5,000 Telegram messages in 83 different channels on the app – the first one dating back to May 16, 2021.

‘What I don’t understand is how this guy is still able to keep posting violent stuff if the investigation into Crooks was thorough,’ said a spokesman for the group.

‘How was this Tepes character missed? Or if they knew about him why did they omit it in speaking about the investigation? 

‘From everything we can tell, it appears Crooks talked about assassination attempts with a foreign terrorist in a YouTube comment section.’

Comperatore’s widow, Helen, made it clear that she does not believe the official account of Crooks’ story either.

‘If you think that kid just got out of bed and went and shot the President and shot my husband, you’re batshit crazy,’ she told the Daily Mail in May.

Comperatore said she believes that two people ‘high up’ at the federal level who were there during the Biden Administration and are still in their positions are responsible in some way for the assassination attempt.

‘I will find out what happened to him and I will continue focusing on this until the day I die.’

The Pentagon is permitting current and former personnel who were bound by secrecy agreements over Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, or UAP, activity to legally provide information to the government.

The Department of War said Monday that it has established a legal waiver allowing former and current service members, civilian employees and contractors to share UAP-related National Defense Information with authorized representatives of PURSUE — the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters, the Trump administration’s UAP task force.

When disclosures are made through the authorized PURSUE channel, the waiver supersedes existing non-disclosure agreements and Special Access Program Indoctrination Agreements.

The policy is intended to establish a route for reviewing and potentially declassifying UAP-related records, advancing President Trump’s directive for broad transparency surrounding UAPs.

It builds on a July directive in which the Trump administration instructed the Department of War and the intelligence community to allow former employees with UAP knowledge to report it to either the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, known as AARO, or PURSUE.

Until Monday’s announcement, people with access to classified UAP material remained subject to their non-disclosure agreements and Special Access Program Indoctrination Agreements, commonly called SAPIAs.

For decades, concerns over legal exposure and the possible loss of security clearances discouraged people with UAP knowledge from speaking out.

Under the new waiver, individuals who submit information to PURSUE cannot be penalized, lose their security clearance or face legal or administrative consequences for violating those NDAs.

“This waiver removes those barriers by explicitly authorizing covered disclosures to PURSUE representatives without triggering breach-of-agreement penalties or standard NDA violations,” the Department of War said.

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Trump has repeatedly expressed skepticism about the existence of alien life, but he ordered greater UFO transparency after former President Barack Obama said during a February interview of aliens: “They’re real, but I haven’t seen them.“

The Trump administration’s most recent UFO files release revealed that government employees witnessed a triangle UFO near Colorado Springs in 2023.

While the waiver opens the door for current and former government personnel to report UAP activity, it remains unclear whether the Pentagon has any plans to investigate the massive number of UFO sightings reported by the general public.

Earlier this month, famed TV host Dr. Phil McGraw accused the Pentagon of disregarding more than 1,800 legitimate UAP reports submitted by members of the public.

The only options available to the public are two private, non-government databases — the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC) and the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) — that allow anyone to submit reports about UFOs and unexplained encounters.

Through NUFORC’s catalog of data, more than 1,800 UFO reports were classified as “Tier 1,” meaning they represented the most credible sightings on record, McGraw pointed out.

The AARO — the Pentagon division responsible for examining UFO sightings — has repeatedly promised to begin accepting public reports, but has yet to do so.

AARO said on its website that “reporting is limited at this time to current or former US Government employees, military personnel, or contractor personnel with direct knowledge of US Government programs or activities related to UAP dating back to 1945.”