The main road entering the besieged Syrian city of Sweida from the west has changed dramatically over 12 hours.The Latest News from the UK and Around the World | Sky News
Month: July 2025
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By: James Brooks, Alaska Beacon
A group that advocates in favor of Alaska’s nonpartisan judicial system has filed a lawsuit against Gov. Mike Dunleavy, alleging that he illegally appointed a member to the board that nominates candidates for the state’s judicial vacancies.
The suit, filed Wednesday in Anchorage Superior Court by Alaskans for Fair Courts, claims Dunleavy violated the constitution and state law when he picked John W. Wood — also named as a defendant — for a public seat on the Alaska Judicial Council.
Under the state constitution, the council consists of three non-attorneys picked by the governor and three attorneys selected by the Alaska Bar Association. In addition, whoever holds the office of chief justice of the Alaska Supreme Court sits as the council’s chair.
The council accepts applications for judicial vacancies, vets those applicants for merit using nonpartisan metrics, then submits a list of nominees to the governor for final selection.
Wood was picked for a non-attorney seat on the board but is a former attorney, making him ineligible to serve, the suit alleges. In addition, the suit says Wood is ineligible because he held a “position of profit” with the state when appointed in May.
State records show Wood has served as a state contractor, receiving more than $132,000 this year. The most recent payment is listed as June 6.
Alaskans for Fair Courts also claims that Wood is ineligible because he has not been confirmed by the Legislature.
Wood was appointed during this year’s legislative session, but after lawmakers had voted on confirmations for the year, the suit claims, meaning that Wood’s appointment should not be considered a recess appointment subject to confirmation next year.
“If the governor were to appoint a (judge) nominee selected by a judicial council that is not properly constituted … the resulting legal deficiency … could subject actions taken by the new judge to challenge by litigants,” the suit claims.
It asks that the Anchorage Superior Court issue an order declaring that Wood is ineligible, and that his appointment is void.
In a written statement, Attorney General Treg Taylor said the state hasn’t yet been served with the lawsuit and can’t comment on the merits.
About the timing issue, Taylor said, “The Governor has the ability to appoint three members to the Judicial Council, and the Alaska Bar Association appoints the other three members to provide a 50/50 balance on the Council. The Council then nominates judges for the Governor’s selection with any ties on the Council being broken by the Chief Justice. It is important that the Council have this balanced perspective as it moves forward with its work. Having to wait almost a full year before seating a Governor’s appointee, as the Alaskans for Fair Courts argues, upsets that balance and doesn’t seem so fair.”
Dunleavy has seemingly violated the state constitution’s judicial nomination process before.
In 2019, he failed to appoint a judge under the timeline required by the constitution, which was part of the basis of a failed attempt to recall him from office. In 2021, he called for the council to add a nominee in addition to the three it had forwarded to him for a seat on the Supreme Court. The constitution does not allow governors to appoint someone from outside of the council’s list of nominees. He ultimately did by the constitutional deadline in that instance.
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Kourtney Kardashian is pregnant, fans are declaring with total confidence after a recent bikini photo.
But what does Kourt herself have to say?
The mother of four has enjoyed and adventurous summer vacation with her husband. One indirect selfie may have shown more of her to fans than she intended.
Take a look for yourself and decide how you feel about the fan speculation.
Is Kourtney Kardashian pregnant?
On Thursday, July 17, Kourtney Kardashian shared a massive series of photos with fans.
In the Instagram snaps, she showed off her summer vacation trip to Italy.
“When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie,” Kourt captioned the images.
One photo in particular caught the eye of many.
Not because it was showcasing the gorgeous views of Italy, but because it was showcasing a gorgeous view of Kourtney herself.
Kourt showed off her gorgeous body in a bikini. But some of her fans and followers speculated that she was also soft-launching a brand new pregnancy.
Here is what fans (and Kourtney) are saying:
“You can tell from the bikini reflection photo kourtney is pregnant again,” proclaimed one follower.
This comment was not elsewhere on social media, but boldly appears in Kourtney Kardashian’s mentions.
The photo in question shows Kourt snapping a selfie of her own reflection, showing her bikini body and the gorgeous Mediterranean water behind her.
Kourtney replied to the speculation that she is not only pregnant but visibly pregnant.
“Or breastfeeding, eating gelato, focaccia, pasta, not working out, and living my best damn life baby,” she listed.
Those aren’t merely a list of alternative explanations for Kourt’s figure.
It’s a description of having a wonderful time on vacation.
Is there a lesson to learn from all of this?
Bikini selfie or no bikini selfie, perhaps there is a valuable lesson in all of this. Not for Kourtney Kardashian, who knows that people will speculate wildly, but for fans.
You don’t actually know if someone’s pregnant until they tell you.
And it’s super rude to speculate about someone having a baby bump right to their face. Yes, the comments under their Instagram are “right to their face.”
Talk about people behind their backs — it’s more polite. Sort of.
Kourtney Kardashian Pregnant? Fans Spy Possible Baby Bump in Italy Selfie was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
The Hollywood Gossip
Reading Time: 3 minutes
Andy Bryon is resigning — in hilarious disgrace.
On Saturday, the Astronomer CEO stepped away permanently from his position after two people (strongly!) believed to be him and another member of his company’s executive team were involved in a viral moment at a recent Coldplay concert in Massachusetts.
For those whose Internet connection was out all week, here is a quick recap of what led to this decision…
During Coldplay’s aforementioned show a few days ago, a camera swung around and caught Byron hugging his HR boss, Kristin Cabot, from behind.
As the big screen focused on them, Byron quickly hid behind a barrier while Cabot covered her face with her hands. They were clearly embarrassed and in shock and seemingly very afraid of being seen acting in such a cozy manner.
“Either they’re having an affair or they’re very shy!” said lead singer Chris Martin as the crowd laughed loudly… and videos of the awkward moment then spread quickly online.
Days later, Byron was placed on leave by Astronomer, which said it was conducting an investigation into his behavior.
Fast forward to July 19 and this statement from the company:
Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted. The Board will begin a search for our next Chief Executive as Cofounder and Chief Product Officer Pete DeJoy continues to serve as interim CEO.
We try not to laugh often at the personal lives of individuals on this website — but Andy Byron is a millionaire who headed up a billion-dollar business…
… and has now been forced out of his position because he was captured on camera canoodling with his co-working sidepiece at a concert in front of thousands of people, and whose name never would have been known if he and said sidepiece had just acted all cool and normal when they saw themselves on screen.
It’s objectively an incredible turn of events.
“Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding,” the company previously wrote on X in response to the scandal.
“Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability. The Board of Directors has initiated a formal investigation into this matter and we will have additional details to share very shortly.”
The DataOps platform also shut down speculation that Byron had previously spoken out in a fake written statement that began circulating the internet one day after the ordeal.
In the past 36 hours, more than 22,000 news articles were written about Astronomer and roughly 9,000 were written about Byron, according to Muck Rack data.
They say no publicity is bad publicity, but… well… is that really always the case?!?
In the wake of what certainly appears to be an instance of infidelity, Byron’s wife changed her last name on Facebook and then deleted her account.
Astronomer is the company behind Astro, “the industry-leading data orchestration and observability platform powered by Apache Airflow,” per its company website.
It was estimated to be worth between $1.2 and $1.3 billion after its Series D funding round in May 2025.
Andy Byron Resigns from Astronomer Days After Coldplay Catches Him in Apparent Affair was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
The Hollywood Gossip
The unlikely alliance of the populist left and right has strengthened over the Jeffrey Epstein controversy.
Leading the charge for Congress to vote on publicizing Epstein-related records are Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.). The odd couple — a libertarian from rural Kentucky and a progressive from Silicon Valley — is piecing together Republican and Democratic support for the House to take an up-or-down vote on releasing the so-called Epstein files. If successful, their efforts would further complicate President Donald Trump’s ability to move on from the spiraling scandal that has angered his political base.
“I do believe that there are issues that populists on the right and left can collaborate on,” Khanna said in an interview. “In this case, it’s about going after the corruption in our government. Rich and powerful men shouldn’t have impunity from accountability. And that’s something that both people on the left and right are sick of.”
Discharge petitions, which allow any member of the House to force legislation to the floor if a majority of members agree, are usually a long shot. As of Friday afternoon, Massie, a frequent White House foil, and Khanna had convinced 10 Republicans and five Democrats to get on board as cosponsors. It’s not the first time they’ve teamed up: Massie and Khanna collaborated on legislation aiming to limit U.S. involvement in the wars in Yemen and Iran.
Their newest gambit would pay off if the entire Democratic caucus signs on — which Khanna guaranteed in a recent video clip. Democrats have been hungry to capitalize on Trump’s Epstein problem, given the president’s longstanding ties to the accused sex trafficker that were illuminated in a Wall Street Journal story this week. The paper focused on a letter Trump reportedly wrote to Epstein for his 50th birthday. Trump denies he wrote the note, and POLITICO has not independently verified it. The president has never been accused of any wrongdoing linked to Epstein.
Nevertheless, the political fallout has been widespread as it weds the divergent factions of Congress.
From conservative firebrand Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) to famed progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), the cosponsors on Massie’s measure represent an eclectic mix of lawmakers who rarely agree on anything — or even speak to each other cordially. The list yokes one of the furthest left members of Congress, Michigan’s Rashida Tlaib, with Trump loyalist Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). And one Republican in a battleground district, Rep. Tom Barrett from Michigan, has also signed onto the push.
It’s not the first time that the populist left and right have converged: A handful of leaders on both sides have found agreement recently on wars in the Middle East, U.S. involvement in Israel, antitrust policies, artificial intelligence and the unaffordability of housing.
To that end, Khanna said he’s “exchanged a few texts” with MAGA godfather Steve Bannon, who has expressed support for a special counsel to examine the Epstein case. Their correspondence was “in the context of trying to stop the regime-change war in Iran,” Khanna said.
Asked for comment, Bannon listed Khanna as one of a group of figures on the populist left and right who have found common ground on “neo-Brandeisian antitrust.”
On X, Massie is keeping a live whip count of cosponsors for his proposal to release the Epstein files and encouraging his 1.3 million followers to ask their representatives if they support the idea. When Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Thursday the Justice Department will move to release grand jury transcripts — a decision seen as an attempt to appease the MAGA base — Massie declared: “Folks, Keep the pressure on, it’s working. But we want all the files.”
Should it come to pass, the resolution would be symbolic — Congress doesn’t have the power to force the Justice Department to release any information. But under procedural rules, action on the floor can’t take place until September, meaning that Trump’s Epstein problem could linger in Congress for several more weeks.
Khanna said he has a “very friendly” relationship with Massie. The idea for the discharge petition came about after Khanna introduced an amendment to release the Epstein files, and Massie texted him to propose they draft a bill on the topic.
“We text back and forth all the time. I will often see him on the House floor, pick up the phone and call him,” he said. “Obviously, we come from different ideological perspectives, but there are areas where we have agreement in making sure that we’re preventing wars of choice overseas and transparency.”
A spokesperson for Massie declined to comment. Earlier this week, Massie said in an interview that the pressure will intensify on House Republicans over the upcoming recess.
“They probably want to let the steam out, but this will build momentum over August,” Massie said. “They can’t sweep it under the rug.”
It’s not the first time Massie, often an iconoclast in his party, has found strange bedfellows in Democrats. He and other conservatives joined forces with libertarian-minded and anti-interventionist lawmakers on digital privacy and war powers measures. And just last month, he teamed up with Khanna on a measure to reign in Trump’s ability to use military force in the Iran-Israel conflict.
“It is very on brand for Thomas Massie to stick with his position, even under pressure,” said Marisa McNee, a Democratic strategist from Massie’s northern Kentucky district. “The thing that bugs his party about him is that he’s sort of unwavering once he has a position on something.”
Massie, who is up for re-election next year, has easily survived primary challenges. But he’s become a top target for Trump’s allies angered by his choice to break party lines and vote against the megabill.
Meanwhile, Democrats are angling to exploit their opposing party’s wedge over Epstein. As Democratic lawmakers filtered into a closed-door caucus meeting Thursday, one chanted “Epstein, Epstein, Epstein,” and Democrats frequently heckled their GOP counterparts as the House debated clawbacks of public media and foreign aid overnight.
House Democrats reveled this week in the pressure they and Massie applied to the GOP, underscored by a group of Rules Committee Republicans huddling with Speaker Mike Johnson for hours Thursday in search of political cover.
Republicans advanced their own non-binding resolution calling for the release of a limited scope of Epstein-related documents, while voting down a Democratic amendment to advance Massie’s bipartisan legislation.
“We’ll determine what happens with all that. There’s a lot developing,” Johnson told reporters, after declining to commit to put the GOP resolution to a full House vote.
The Epstein controversy is the latest example of Massie creating a major headache for his fellow Republicans, following his opposition to the megabill. Just a few weeks ago, Trump and Massie actually appeared headed to a sort of political truce. But it was short-lived.
House Republicans said Trump appeared to blow up the detente he and Massie struck during a late-night call to advance the struggling megabill on the House floor last month.
Shortly after, in a move that shocked some Republicans on Capitol HIll, Trump allies poured millions into a PAC attacking Massie, three House Republicans said this week as the Epstein chaos swirled. Trump allies say they wanted Massie to vote for the megabill final passage itself, not just the procedural move to advance it.
Massie going after Trump on Epstein “probably has the virtue of being able to poke Trump in the eye and appeal to important aspects of the base,” said former Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson, a Republican. “It makes sense he’s engaging.”
Nicholas Wu, Meredith Lee Hill and Mia McCarthy contributed reporting.
Politics
PAWLEYS ISLAND, South Carolina — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear drew a standing ovation from Georgetown County Democrats Thursday night, after he shook hands and grinned for photos. California Gov. Gavin Newsom packed standing-room-only crowds into a two-day rural county tour of the state last week. California Rep. Ro Khanna kicked off his multi-day swing Friday to promote his populist message to Black voters.
The 2028 Democratic primary calendar isn’t set yet, but presidential hopefuls are already making bets that South Carolina will hold a powerful role in the nomination process — even if it doesn’t keep its number-one spot. While Iowa and New Hampshire are drawing some big names, no other state has seen as much action as this small Southern state.
And while these top Democrats credited their appearances to local invitations — and in the case of Beshear, his son’s baseball tournament in Charleston — the 2028 implications are clear. Democratic hopefuls road-tested stump speeches and previewed their lines of attack against Republicans and President Donald Trump, all with an eye toward introducing themselves to a set of influential voters.
“I’m out there trying to be a common ground, common sense, get-things-done type of messenger for this Democratic Party,” Beshear told elected officials and party officials in Charleston Thursday morning. “Because I believe that with what we’re seeing coming out of Washington, D.C., the cruelty and the incompetence, that the path forward is right there in front of us.”
Christy Waddil, a 67-year-old Democratic voter who waited to shake Beshear’s hand Thursday night, said she was “excited” to meet all these potential contenders. But it’s a lot of responsibility to be the first state in the presidential primary calendar, she said: “We have our work cut out for us now.”
In June, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly spoke at an anti-gun event in Charleston to mark the grim anniversary of the Emanuel AME shooting. In May, Govs. Wes Moore of Maryland and Tim Walz of Minnesota headlined a pair of state party events to rub elbows with Rep. Jim Clyburn, the longtime South Carolina kingmaker whose nod helped anoint Joe Biden as the party’s nominee in 2020.
“It’s not a surprise,” said Clyburn when asked about the state’s revolving door of 2028 hopefuls nearly three years before the actual presidential primary. “Why argue with success? If it ain’t broke, why fix it?”
South Carolina Democrats know their grip on the top spot is tenuous, with traditional early states like Iowa and New Hampshire eager to reclaim their lead-off position, and others —like North Carolina and Georgia — seeking to emerge as new states to consider. And it comes as there’s been a major reshuffling on a powerful panel at the Democratic National Committee that has huge sway over the presidential nominating process.
“None of what those supposed candidates are doing right now is going to have any bearing on what the Rules and Bylaws Committee ultimately does for the calendar,” said Maria Cardona, a longtime member of the powerful panel. “That may or may not include all of the states that are in the early calendar now.”
Democrats haven’t won the state in a general election since 1976, and President Donald Trump won it by 18 points last year.
It’s led more competitive neighbors to wonder whether they should get top billing instead.
“[National Democrats] have a lot of mobility to get power back at the federal level by investing early in North Carolina. And I think a lot of people will hear that message loud and clear, especially after we just got our asses kicked,”said state party chair Anderson Clayton, who is interested in usurping its neighbor to the south and angling for one of the open at-large slots on the RBC. “The future of the state of the Democratic Party also runs right through North Carolina too.”
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker will deliver the keynote address at North Carolina’s state party unity dinner on July 26, and state party leaders are in talks with Sens. Kelly of Arizona and Cory Booker of New Jersey about visits to the state later this year.
But moving the order of primary states is easier said than done. North Carolina is hamstrung by state law from moving its date, and Democrats would need the GOP-controlled legislature to agree to any changes. DNC members have also emphasized smaller states to allow lesser-known candidates to build followings.
“The most powerful force in the universe is inertia, so South Carolina is probably the favorite to stay just because of that,” said an incoming member of the committee granted anonymity to discuss internal dynamics. “Every state has a chance to be first, but I do think we have to come into this with a degree of realism.”
The DNC is attempting to remain neutral.
“The DNC is committed to running a fair, transparent, and rigorous process for the 2028 primary calendar. All states will have an opportunity to participate,” Deputy Communications Director Abhi Rahman said in a statement.
Iowa Democrats are also gearing up on a bid to restore their caucuses to their traditional spot as the nation’s first presidential contest. Michigan replaced Iowa as the Midwestern early state in 2024.
Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart said she planned to have “tough and direct conversations” with the party in a statement, even as the DNC removed Iowa’s only representative, Scott Brennan, from the Rules and Bylaws Committee this year.
Already, potential 2028 candidates have traveled there, including former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who held a town hall in Cedar Rapids in May. Walz stopped by the Hawkeye State in March, and former Japan Ambassador Rahm Emanuel and freshman Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego are both slated to visit the state in the coming months.
New Hampshire Democrats also openly clashed with top DNC officials last cycle — and plan to stick with their state law making it first primary in the nation. Pritzker went to an influential state party dinner there in April.
“The potential candidates on the Democratic side and, to some extent, the Republican side are coming through New Hampshire,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) said in a brief interview.
The positioning at the national party over early states is already underway.
Party insiders are voting for the remaining open seats on the panel after DNC Chair Ken Martin named members to the governing body in recent weeks. Cardona said the goal of the committee is to ensure the strongest and most electable candidate emerges from what is expected to be a crowded field. Talks will begin on the next presidential primary calendar later this year, but will ramp up after the midterms.
South Carolina’s ascension was aimed at recognizing South Carolina’s significant Black electorate, long considered the backbone of the Democratic Party.
That’s partly why Khanna is there, he said in an interview on why he is focusing on reaching out to Black voters.
“I believe that’s critical for all the people who want to lead the Democratic Party, in whatever form, and to me it’s encouraging that people are going down to South Carolina” to reach them.
Beshear, too, expressed support for South Carolina’s representation, telling reporters that Democrats “need to make sure that the South is represented in the primary calendar” because “for too long, the investments haven’t been made in places like Kentucky and in places like South Carolina.”
In defense of remaining in the early window, South Carolina Democrats are playing up the state’s diverse electorate and inexpensive media markets that could allow for the best presidential candidates — not just the best fundraisers — to emerge in a wide open presidential cycle in 2028.
“The Democratic primary for president is not based on the state’s competitiveness in a general election,” said Parmley. “This is the same bullshit that loses us presidential elections, and we only play in eight competitive states.”
Lisa Kashinsky and Kelly Garrity contributed to this report.
Politics
Sen. Eric Schmitt on being a White House whisperer and Senate budget reformer | The Conversation
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Politics
Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt is a lawyer, former state attorney general and a skilled navigator of the old — and new — wings of the Republican Party. He also has another title: White House whisperer.
Schmitt joins POLITICO’s Dasha Burns to talk about his closeness with the Trump administration, driving the Senate’s $9.4 billion rescissions bill, his involvement with passing Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” his belief in Medicaid reform, the controversy over the release of the Epstein files and what he describes as his “America First” — but not isolationist — foreign policy approach.
“I think a slur that’s often uttered is that it’s an isolationist point of view,” Schmitt told Burns. “That’s not true at all.”
(Note: This interview was conducted before the Senate and House passage of the rescissions bill.)
Plus, POLITICO reporter Ben Jacobs digs into his reporting on social media influencers running for office and how the phenomenon is reshaping electoral politics.
Listen and subscribe to The Conversation with Dasha Burns on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Politics
If you’ve ever experienced taking heartburn medication only for the problem to still persist, you might be making a mistake with the way you ingest it.
Health Digest – Health News, Wellness, Expert Insights