Garth’s new arena tour isn’t just about playing smaller venues again—it’s also bringing back a fan-favorite part of the live shows that helped define his career. Continue reading…Country Music News – Taste of Country
Month: July 2026
Garth’s new arena tour isn’t just about playing smaller venues again—it’s also bringing back a fan-favorite part of the live shows that helped define his career. Continue reading…The Boot – Country Music News, Music Videos and Songs
North Dakota leaders talk Trump & Teddy Roosevelt over bison burgers
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BRUNSWICK, Maine — The effort to push Graham Platner out of the Maine Senate race has some Democrats flashing back to 2024 — and making them worry about abandoning their nominee.
Platner has seen a dramatic drop in support within the party and has lost his biggest financial backers after POLITICO reported that a woman said he forced her to have sex with him, which he denies. Democrats in Maine are already jockeying to replace him on the ballot and take on GOP Sen. Susan Collins — all before Platner has even dropped out of the race.
That series of events, several voters said in interviews, dredged up unwelcome memories of one fateful summer two years ago, when former President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid late, leaving his Vice President Kamala Harris just 107 days to beat Donald Trump. Then, she lost.
Platner should end his bid “only if he does it in time for another good strong candidate to actually hit the ground really running like hell,” Claudia Knox, 85, told POLITICO.
“I do want a fighter. I do want Collins out. So, the question to me is, if he withdraws, what happens? That’s my question,” she added. “Maybe he should hurry up, because this is feeling parallel to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.”
Some Maine voters told POLITICO they’re doubtful that another candidate can replicate Platner’s momentum, even as some of them want him to drop out. They’re skeptical of what the process to replace him would even look like and worried whether Democrats have enough time to both pick a new nominee and unseat Collins.
Linda, a 79-year-old Brunswick resident who declined to share her last name, said that it was time for Platner to end his campaign. But she’s worried Democrats now face potentially insurmountable odds to defeat Collins with just four months left before the general election.
“It’s going to be tough, tough, tough. It’s going to be very tough,” she said. “I think [Democrats] have a reasonable slate of people to work with. … They can’t just go blue sky now. I mean, they’ve got to focus.”
If Platner withdraws by Monday, the Maine Democratic Party has until July 27 to name his replacement. Some officials have already begun maneuvering to identify who can step in and are considering the unsuccessful candidates for governor in this year’s primary — Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, former public health official Nirav Shah and former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson — as well as state Rep. Valli Geiger and brewery owner Dan Kleban, who briefly launched his own Senate campaign last year.
Harris’ experience shows the difficulty for a candidate to step in late in the process and rebuild Democrats’ ticket-topping campaign. Platner’s replacement will have a short runway to reintroduce themself to voters and broadcast their policy priorities — all while continually having to distance their campaign from the oysterman and his string of controversies.
But the two situations are not entirely analogous. None of the candidates have shared a ticket with Platner, and all have forcefully denounced him. Harris, on the other hand, had to contend with the four years she served alongside Biden, as his presidency grew increasingly unpopular.
Biden and Harris spokespeople did not respond to requests for comment.
Those differences haven’t calmed some Maine voters’ early concerns at this nascent stage in the process, though.
“We are just leery about a new kind of Kamala Harris situation, where we don’t get to choose whatever Democratic candidate will be on the ticket,” said Stephanie Gardner, 38, as she removed her Graham Platner campaign sign from her yard in Topsham on Tuesday morning.
Gardner said she believes it’s time for Platner to step aside and wants Jackson to step up in his stead. Jackson, who touted endorsements from Platner and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in his unsuccessful run for governor, has already filed paperwork exploring a run.
Rose Heithoff, 35, said that she might prefer a process in which party leaders help winnow the field to avoid a full intraparty war, but acknowledged that didn’t solve Democrats’ problems in 2024: “If you look back at the Biden-Harris situation, that was a fumble in some ways because I think people felt like they didn’t necessarily have the choice,” she said.
The Maine Democratic Party has promised an open process and that it will reveal details as soon as Platner withdraws from the race. In a fiery Tuesday evening post on social media, Maine Democratic Party Executive Director Devon Murphy-Anderson also slammed Platner’s team for reaching out to party officials to “put their thumb on the scale of what this process looks like.”
But for now, it’s unclear whether there will be any public debates and campaigning, or how much voters will have a say.
Platner said on social media within minutes of POLITICO’s report publishing Monday that he was “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward.” By Tuesday, he had cancelled fundraisers, pulled down ads, and lost support from his biggest backers, including Sanders. The powerful national Democratic campaign arm and outside groups who’ve helped fund Platner’s bid said they would focus their resources elsewhere.
Even so, some voters don’t want to see Platner go at all, worried about the consequences for the race.
On Monday, outside the site of a cancelled town hall in Gorham where Platner was scheduled to field questions from voters, Kirk Little, 78, said “the Democratic Party disqualifies people too soon” and he is sticking with Platner — for now.
POLITICO had published Racicot’s allegations just an hour before the event was supposed to begin, and Little had heard of it from a radio broadcast in his car.
“If it’s true, is it disqualifying historically? Yes. But since Trump, stuff like this that we used to think of as historically disqualifying isn’t,” he said. “I’ll still vote for the guy.”
About 30 miles away in Sanford, just north of the Maine-New Hampshire border, a group of about 10 Maine voters gathered in the parking lot of a veterans community center where Platner was set to appear after his town hall in Gorham. Once it became clear that he would not show, the would-be attendees started commiserating over the canceled event and the day’s news.
Rob Brandow, 41, of nearby Waterboro, leaned against the wooden fence surrounding the building and quietly followed the conversation from a few feet away. “It’s a tough one,” he told POLITICO of the allegations. “The honest answer is, I actually don’t care.”
“I think it’s possible philosophically to walk that line where I say, like, ‘Yes, those things are bad, it shouldn’t happen, and those allegations should be given appropriate due process to see the light of day,’” he said. “And simultaneously Susan Collins should not be re-elected.”
Jessica Piper contributed reporting.
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The round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup brought some epic moments and exciting soccer. We started to see some upsets and close calls, as we now head into the quarterfinals at the tournament. So, with only eight teams remaining, who are the best nations still playing at the tournament? The FOX Sports World Cup NOW crew of Melissa Ortiz, Maurice Edu, Brad Guzan, and Sacha Kljestan took a look at the field to reveal their power rankings of the eight remaining teams left in the quarterfinals. “I think Switzerland, that just put us to sleep, can be No. 8,” Kljestan said. Edu agreed with the evaluation, noting that Belgium should move up after Switzerland needed penalty kicks to beat Colombia to advance. As a result, Belgium got to move up a spot. Still, Switzerland is now 3-2-0 at this tournament. Belgium, which was originally ranked eighth, moved up one spot following a 4-1 rout over co-hosts United States in the round of 16. Belgium has displayed the ability to score in bunches, but it looked vulnerable early against Senegal in the round of 32, having to mount a comeback for the ages to advance. That also came after Belgium went 1-2-0 in the group stage, but it has now won three straight matches. Norway occupied the No. 6 position with unanimous consent from the World Cup NOW crew, with Edu even leading a quick Viking row with his crewmates. Norway advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time in its federation’s history after Erling Haaland scored twice in its round of 16 win over Brazil on Sunday. Norway has also won all four games Haaland has played in this tournament as he battles for the Golden Boot. For the No. 5 spot, the crew agreed on Morocco to finalize the bottom half of the power ranking. Ortiz added that Morocco should not be taken lightly, something the rest of the crew agreed with. Morocco advanced to the quarterfinals after its 3-0 win over Canada on Saturday. But its most impressive match might have been against the Netherlands in the round of 32. After battling to a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands, Morocco advanced in penalty kicks as it’ll now take on France in the quarterfinals on Thursday. The debate shifted as the panel examined the top four teams, starting with a close comparison between England at No. 4 and the third-ranked team on this list. “Our decision between number three and number four was tough, because I think England has also shown championship quality, and so I think there’s a small separation between the one and two teams and the three and four teams,” Kljestan said. Edu pointed to England’s recent performance with its 3-2 win over Mexico to show how close the margin was between the two sides. “The biggest to me, between Argentina and England, because I was at that game in Mexico City, England were impressive to be able to do what hadn’t been done since 2013 in a competitive match at the Azteca, which is to win, there was impressive,” Edu said. “Their stars showed up, Jude Bellingham gets a brace, Harry Kane gets a goal, and assists in that one as well.” Despite England’s heroic performance, the crew gave Argentina the edge at No. 3 due to its tournament history and tournament management. “What separates Argentina? Obviously, it’s Messi, but it’s that they’ve done it already,” Edu said. “They come in here as a defending champion, so they know that winning pedigree, they know what it takes, and when you’re talking about their last couple games against Cape Verde, and then today against Egypt, yeah, they were nerve-wrenching. “If you’re a Messi fan, if you’re an Argentine fan, you’re sitting there sweating, you’re nervous, but there’s a certain character that this group possesses, the manager as well, because they’ve crossed that line already at the last World Cup.” Argentina has won all five matches it’s played at this World Cup. However, its last two victories were dramatic. It needed extr a time to take down Cape Verde in the round of 32 before having to comeback from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Egypt in the round of 16 on Tuesday. “You guys, they’ve, they’ve made the fans suffer, they’ve made football fans suffer, but they’ve always come through,” Ortiz said. Guzan added that it has “been the Messi show,” and indicated that the rest of the roster must contribute more as the tournament progresses. “They’re going to need some help from others,” Guzan said. “There’s other guys on that team, they’re going to have to step up.” Spain secured the No. 2 spot in the power rankings, largely due to its defensive efficiency throughout the competition. “I think Spain has been incredible,” Edu said. “There’s still more, there’s still more to be seen from this team, but they’ve been incredibly efficient. The fact that they’re in a quarterfinal without having conceded a goal, that’s where [I say] this is impressive.” As Spain hasn’t conceded a goal yet in this tournament, it’s outscored its opponents 9-0 in this tournament. France took the No. 1 spot on the board, maintaining its status as tournament favorites. “And they’ve lived up to the expectations that everybody’s put on them,” Kljestan said. “They were the odds-on favorite. They were the team that all of us, I believe, at this little round table has picked to win the tournament, and they’ve been the best attacking team. So, they’re No. 1 — best attacking team, number two, best defending team in this tournament.” Just like Argentina, France has won all five matches it has played in this tournament as well. It had to grind out a 1-0 win over Paraguay in the round of 16, but France has outscored its opponents 14-2 in this tournament. With the rankings set, the analysts discussed whether any of the lower-ranked teams could challenge the top four for the title. Kljestan expressed skepticism about the lower tier’s chances of sustaining success through the remaining rounds. “I personally don’t think that any of the teams outside the top four can win this World Cup,” Kljestan said. “You have to win three more games from this point on, and I don’t see any of those teams knocking off any of the top four teams, let alone knocking them off once and then having to do two more.” Guzan agreed, emphasizing the difficulty of putting together multiple consecutive wins against elite opponents. “That’s what I was just gonna say, I think there’s potential for doing it once, doing it two and three times,” Guzan said. “I think it becomes really, really challenging when you’re going up against these top four teams in the quality that they possess.”Latest Sports News from FOX Sports
The round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup brought some epic moments and exciting soccer. We started to see some upsets and close calls, as we now head into the quarterfinals at the tournament. So, with only eight teams remaining, who are the best nations still playing at the tournament? The FOX Sports World Cup NOW crew of Melissa Ortiz, Maurice Edu, Brad Guzan, and Sacha Kljestan took a look at the field to reveal their power rankings of the eight remaining teams left in the quarterfinals. “I think Switzerland, that just put us to sleep, can be No. 8,” Kljestan said. Edu agreed with the evaluation, noting that Belgium should move up after Switzerland needed penalty kicks to beat Colombia to advance. As a result, Belgium got to move up a spot. Still, Switzerland is now 3-2-0 at this tournament. Belgium, which was originally ranked eighth, moved up one spot following a 4-1 rout over co-hosts United States in the round of 16. Belgium has displayed the ability to score in bunches, but it looked vulnerable early against Senegal in the round of 32, having to mount a comeback for the ages to advance. That also came after Belgium went 1-2-0 in the group stage, but it has now won three straight matches. Norway occupied the No. 6 position with unanimous consent from the World Cup NOW crew, with Edu even leading a quick Viking row with his crewmates. Norway advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time in its federation’s history after Erling Haaland scored twice in its round of 16 win over Brazil on Sunday. Norway has also won all four games Haaland has played in this tournament as he battles for the Golden Boot. For the No. 5 spot, the crew agreed on Morocco to finalize the bottom half of the power ranking. Ortiz added that Morocco should not be taken lightly, something the rest of the crew agreed with. Morocco advanced to the quarterfinals after its 3-0 win over Canada on Saturday. But its most impressive match might have been against the Netherlands in the round of 32. After battling to a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands, Morocco advanced in penalty kicks as it’ll now take on France in the quarterfinals on Thursday. The debate shifted as the panel examined the top four teams, starting with a close comparison between England at No. 4 and the third-ranked team on this list. “Our decision between number three and number four was tough, because I think England has also shown championship quality, and so I think there’s a small separation between the one and two teams and the three and four teams,” Kljestan said. Edu pointed to England’s recent performance with its 3-2 win over Mexico to show how close the margin was between the two sides. “The biggest to me, between Argentina and England, because I was at that game in Mexico City, England were impressive to be able to do what hadn’t been done since 2013 in a competitive match at the Azteca, which is to win, there was impressive,” Edu said. “Their stars showed up, Jude Bellingham gets a brace, Harry Kane gets a goal, and assists in that one as well.” Despite England’s heroic performance, the crew gave Argentina the edge at No. 3 due to its tournament history and tournament management. “What separates Argentina? Obviously, it’s Messi, but it’s that they’ve done it already,” Edu said. “They come in here as a defending champion, so they know that winning pedigree, they know what it takes, and when you’re talking about their last couple games against Cape Verde, and then today against Egypt, yeah, they were nerve-wrenching. “If you’re a Messi fan, if you’re an Argentine fan, you’re sitting there sweating, you’re nervous, but there’s a certain character that this group possesses, the manager as well, because they’ve crossed that line already at the last World Cup.” Argentina has won all five matches it’s played at this World Cup. However, its last two victories were dramatic. It needed extr a time to take down Cape Verde in the round of 32 before having to comeback from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Egypt in the round of 16 on Tuesday. “You guys, they’ve, they’ve made the fans suffer, they’ve made football fans suffer, but they’ve always come through,” Ortiz said. Guzan added that it has “been the Messi show,” and indicated that the rest of the roster must contribute more as the tournament progresses. “They’re going to need some help from others,” Guzan said. “There’s other guys on that team, they’re going to have to step up.” Spain secured the No. 2 spot in the power rankings, largely due to its defensive efficiency throughout the competition. “I think Spain has been incredible,” Edu said. “There’s still more, there’s still more to be seen from this team, but they’ve been incredibly efficient. The fact that they’re in a quarterfinal without having conceded a goal, that’s where [I say] this is impressive.” As Spain hasn’t conceded a goal yet in this tournament, it’s outscored its opponents 9-0 in this tournament. France took the No. 1 spot on the board, maintaining its status as tournament favorites. “And they’ve lived up to the expectations that everybody’s put on them,” Kljestan said. “They were the odds-on favorite. They were the team that all of us, I believe, at this little round table has picked to win the tournament, and they’ve been the best attacking team. So, they’re No. 1 — best attacking team, number two, best defending team in this tournament.” Just like Argentina, France has won all five matches it has played in this tournament as well. It had to grind out a 1-0 win over Paraguay in the round of 16, but France has outscored its opponents 14-2 in this tournament. With the rankings set, the analysts discussed whether any of the lower-ranked teams could challenge the top four for the title. Kljestan expressed skepticism about the lower tier’s chances of sustaining success through the remaining rounds. “I personally don’t think that any of the teams outside the top four can win this World Cup,” Kljestan said. “You have to win three more games from this point on, and I don’t see any of those teams knocking off any of the top four teams, let alone knocking them off once and then having to do two more.” Guzan agreed, emphasizing the difficulty of putting together multiple consecutive wins against elite opponents. “That’s what I was just gonna say, I think there’s potential for doing it once, doing it two and three times,” Guzan said. “I think it becomes really, really challenging when you’re going up against these top four teams in the quality that they possess.”Latest Sports News from FOX Sports