Author: alaskaadmin

Dems use Venezuela to hammer affordability issues at home

Post author By alaskaadmin
Post date January 6, 2026
No Comments on Dems use Venezuela to hammer affordability issues at home

Democrats hoping to win higher office this year are seizing on President Donald Trump’s intervention in Venezuela to push a twist on one of his campaign promises: America first.

Across the country, candidates and lawmakers are slamming Trump’s decision to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and are using the moment to hammer their domestic affordability message.

“Ohioans are facing higher costs across the board and are desperate for leadership that will help deliver relief,” former Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is running to reclaim his seat, said on X. “We should be more focused on improving the lives of Ohioans – not Caracas.”

The frame from Democrats shows how potent the party views affordability as an issue in the midterms, one that Trump and his team have grown increasingly preoccupied by after across-the-board losses in 2025.

“The problem Trump was already having was that he looked like he was focused on everything other than what matters in people’s daily life,” said longtime Democratic strategist Jesse Ferguson, a former spokesperson for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. “And now he’s just supercharged that.”

Trump won in 2024 largely by running on affordability, and his less interventionist “America First” approach helped him win over more isolationist voters who had been alienated by the neoconservative approach of the Republican Party in the Iraq War era. But continuing economic uncertainty and persistent inflation, combined with his second-term shift towards a more aggressive foreign policy approach, threaten to hurt the president and his party at the ballot box.

Polling shows that cost of living will remain top of voters’ minds before November, something that Ferguson said “transcends every subgroup.”

In some of the party’s most competitive 2026 midterm primaries, Democrats are coalescing around messaging on Venezuela.

In Michigan, where the war in Gaza drew clear fissures between Democratic opponents, all three candidates sang the same domestically-focused tune.

“Americans have made themselves crystal clear: they don’t want to risk sliding into another costly war abroad. Families are struggling to buy groceries. People are skipping doctor’s visits because they can’t pay for healthcare,” state Sen. Mallory McMorrow said in a statement.

“Make no mistake, this is about enriching his oil executive donors who want access to Venezuela’s oil — not about democracy or Maduro or narcotics. Meanwhile, they tell us we can’t afford healthcare at home,” Abdul El Sayed, the former head of the Wayne County Department of Health, wrote on X.

“Taking over another country while Americans can’t afford their rent and groceries is unacceptable,” said Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.).

The issue isn’t just being used by midterm hopefuls. Potential Democratic 2028 candidates are bringing affordability to the forefront of their Venezuela messaging.

“As of this week, millions of Americans are now paying thousands more for health insurance,” former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Monday. “If the President and Congressional GOP think Washington has the capacity to ‘run’ Venezuela right now, why won’t they fix the insurance cost crisis they’ve created here at home?”

Longtime Miami-based Democratic strategist Christian Ulvert thinks his party is right to remind voters of what they see as failures in Trump’s domestic agenda as he sets his sights abroad, including on cost of living issues — as long as that messaging doesn’t overshadow a cogent perspective on how they would approach relations with Venezuela. South Florida is home to one of the biggest Venezuelan communities in the country, which has been shaken by Trump’s recent revocation of Temporary Protected Status for those fleeing Maduro’s regime.

“Democrats need to also appreciate that many things can be true. It’s not a single issue, especially in this moment, and we have to talk about it in a way where you can join Venezuelans in speaking up that Maduro being gone is a victory for Venezuelans,” Ulvert said.

Some Democrats who served in foreign wars have also chosen to center a critique of American interventionism in addition to joining in on the party’s pivot back to cost of living.

Graham Platner, a veteran of the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan who is now running to unseat Sen. Susan Collins in Maine, has seized on Trump’s vague suggestions that the U.S. will run Venezuela following Maduro’s forced ouster.

“Bullshit. This has never worked,” Platner posted in response to a clip of the president’s Saturday morning remarks. “I watched my friends die in Iraq in the wake of speeches like this one.”

Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego — an Iraq War veteran — has been outspoken on the American military action in Venezuela, flooding social media and cable news with broadsides aimed at Trump. He expressed a similar frustration: “I fought in some of the hardest battles of the Iraq War. Saw my brothers die, saw civilians being caught in the crossfire all for an unjustified war. No matter the outcome we are in the wrong for starting this war in Venezuela.”

Republicans, however, are backing Trump and praising the action he took against Maduro.

“Nicolas Maduro is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans after years of trafficking illegal drugs and violent cartel members into our country — crimes for which he’s been properly indicted in U.S. courts and an arrest warrant duly issued — and today he learned what accountability looks like,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said on X the day the operation became public.

Politics

Juneau mayor heads to Washington seeking funding for long-term flood solution

Post author By alaskaadmin
Post date January 6, 2026
No Comments on Juneau mayor heads to Washington seeking funding for long-term flood solution

Mendenhall Glacier

NOTN- Juneau Mayor Beth Weldon is travelling to Washington, D.C., this week to press federal officials and Alaska’s congressional delegation for funding and coordination on the city’s long-term solution to recurring flood risk from Suicide Basin, even as the capital city grapples with ongoing winter weather.

“Hopefully we get more money, and we’ll work with some of the agencies to coordinate our enduring solution.” Weldon Said, “So first we’ll talk to our delegation, Representative Begich, Senator Sullivan and Senator Murkowski.”

Weldon said she plans to meet with Alaska’s Delegation to seek immediate geotechnical funding through congressional spending, while also pursuing longer-term financial support through federal agencies, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“We’re actually going to talk to the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army, and that’s the Civil Works branch, just to make sure that the Secretary and the Army Corps of Engineers are aligned with our project, and we are also talking with the Forest Service and the Office of Budget Management to make sure our path forward is aligned.” Said Weldon.

City leaders and project partners have unanimously selected the Lake Tap option as Juneau’s enduring solution to flooding concerns, Weldon said. The approach was chosen because it is the fastest to implement, the least environmentally disruptive and the most cost effective among the alternatives considered.

“It’s cheapest, as in under a billion dollars, not by much, but all the rest of them were way over a billion dollars.” Said Weldon, referring to other options considered, like an enclosed dike, “And now, even though it’s snowing like crazy, we have to look at our flood, our next big event, which is flooding.”

Tags alaska, flood, flood mitigation, juneau

Featured Juneau News Juneau Local Ketchikan Local News Feeds Sitka Local

Juneau closes city facilities, schools due to ongoing hazardous winter conditions

Post author By alaskaadmin
Post date January 6, 2026
No Comments on Juneau closes city facilities, schools due to ongoing hazardous winter conditions

Snow reports yesterday, photo courtesy of the National Weather Service Juneau

NOTN- City and Borough of Juneau facilities and offices will be closed today as hazardous road and weather conditions persist following about 6-7 inches of additional snowfall in some areas of Juneau yesterday, with exceptions for Downtown Juneau, West Juneau and South Douglas, who, according to reports saw 11-12 inches, 9.5 inches, and 9 inches of snowfall respectively.

Juneau School District schools will also be closed and the UAS campus will be operating remotely.

City officials urged residents to stay off the roads for their own safety and to allow snow removal crews to continue their work as efficiently as possible. While facilities are closed to the public, CBJ staff will continue providing services remotely where feasible.

The closure affects all Juneau Public Libraries and the Juneau-Douglas City Museum, as well as all Parks and Recreation facilities.

Capital Transit will continue operating on winter routes. Riders are encouraged to check service updates at juneaucapitaltransit.org.

City officials said they are assessing the roofs of city-owned facilities and will continue monitoring storm and road conditions, sharing updates as they become available.

Tags alaska, juneau, Southeast Alaska, winter, winter storm

Featured Juneau News Juneau Local Ketchikan Local News Feeds Sitka Local

Alaska Family and Community Services commissioner leaves state post for Trump administration job

Post author By alaskaadmin
Post date January 6, 2026
No Comments on Alaska Family and Community Services commissioner leaves state post for Trump administration job

The State Office Building in Juneau is seen on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

The commissioner of Alaska’s Department of Family and Community Services has departed that position to take a job with the Trump administration.

Kim Kovol has accepted a job with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced last week. Her last day working for the state was on Friday, and Tracy Dompeling, the department’s deputy commissioner, assumed the role of acting commissioner, the statement said.

The department’s primary divisions are the Division of Juvenile Justice, the Alaska Psychiatric Institute, the Alaska Pioneer Homes and the Office of Children’s Services.

Kovol was the first commissioner of the Department of Family and Community Services, which was created in 2022. Up to then, its functions were part of the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. Through an executive order, Dunleavy split that department into two: the Department of Health and the Department of Family and Community Services.

In his statement, Dunleavy said Kovol was a “strong and dedicated leader” for the redesigned department. “As the first Commissioner of DFCS, she built a foundation focused on service, accountability, and support for Alaska’s most vulnerable populations. I thank her for her service and wish her every success in this next role,” he said.

Kovol said she was honored to have served in that role. “I am incredibly grateful to the staff, partners, and communities who have supported our work. Together, we have made meaningful progress for Alaska families, youth, and elders, and I will always be proud of what we have accomplished,” she said in the statement.

Kim Kovol, the first commissioner of the Alaska Department of Family and Community Services. The department was created in 2022 when the Department of Health and Social Services was divided into two entities: the Department of Health and the Department of Family and Community Services. Kovol’s last day working for the state was Jan. 2. She has taken a job with the U.S. Department of Health and Social Services. (Photo provided by the Alaska Department of Family and Community Services)

Kovol is the second Alaska department head to leave state service to join the Trump administration. Almost a year ago, Emma Pokon left her position as commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation to become the Pacific Northwest regional administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Dunleavy in May chose Randy Bates to be the department’s new commissioner. Bates was formerly director of DEC’s Division of Water.

With Kovol’s departure, there are now five state departments with leaders who currently lack legislative approval.

In addition to Bates, Dunleavy has named commissioner-designees for the Department of Law and the Department of Natural Resources. Dunleavy in August named Stephen Cox, a former U.S. attorney in Texas, as Alaska’s attorney general, replacing Treg Taylor, a Republican who is running for governor.

Dunleavy also named John Crowther, a DNR veteran, as his choice to be permanent commissioner. Crowther became acting commissioner after John Boyle resigned from the position in October.

Bates, Cox and Crowther are subject to legislative confirmation after lawmakers convene later this month for their 2026 session.

The state Department of Revenue is currently being led by an acting commissioner, Janelle Earls, who assumed the job in August after Adam Crum left the commissioner post. Crum is another Republican candidate for governor.

Dunleavy has not yet named his choices for the commissioner posts at the Department of Revenue or the Department of Family and Community Services, said Jeff Turner, the governor’s spokesperson. Earls and Dompeling are currently acting commissioners and it is not clear whether the governor will name commissioner-designees for those positions, he said.

Dunleavy is in the last year of his second term. He is term limited and may not run for reelection.

Tags alaska, Alaska Legislature, election, juneau, ketchikan, sitka, trump

Hip Hop

How John Singleton’s Soundtracks Brought The Black Experience To The Big Screen

Post author By alaskaadmin
Post date January 6, 2026
No Comments on How John Singleton’s Soundtracks Brought The Black Experience To The Big Screen

“Music has always been a huge influence on me,” celebrated filmmaker John Singleton told record producer Arthur Baker at the International Music Summit in 2016. “I put certain music cues in the scripts… I have an idea of exactly what I want.” When Singleton passed away, on April 28, 2019, at the age of 51, he left us with a body of work that married storytelling with music, usually set in gritty urban landscapes.

Browse our soundtracks collection featuring limited edition vinyl and CDs here.

Boyz N The Hood

Singleton grew up in the South Central neighborhood of Los Angeles before graduating from USC School Of Cinematic Arts in 1990. The 22-year-old Singleton wasted no time in launching his career, quickly selling a semi-autobiographical script with the caveat that he would also have to direct it. The result was Boyz N The Hood, a coming-of-age story about a group of friends attempting to navigate the harsh realities of life in the ghetto.

Click to load video

Named after Compton native and NWA member Eazy-E’s debut single, Singleton gave the song’s lyricist, Ice Cube, a supporting role in the film, as the character Dough Boy. The gangsta persona Cube had cultivated through song became fully realized on the big screen, and music was integral to capturing the mood. As in Jaws, when someone is about to get eaten by the shark, the audience hears John Williams’ fear-inducing cue, in Boyz N The Hood, “Before someone’s gonna get shot, you hear the bumping 808 bass from a car,” explained Singleton.

When Boyz n The Hood was released in 1991 to great acclaim, not only did it make Singleton the first African American to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director, but its accompanying soundtrack helped bring the filmmaker’s tale of the black experience to life.

“How To Survive In South Central” captures Ice Cube in his prime, though it wasn’t initially included on any of his own releases. Cube’s female protégé Yo-Yo comes correct with “Mama Don’t Take No Mess,” while fellow West Coast gangsta rappers Compton’s Most Wanted and Kam also contribute tracks.

Click to load video

“Whenever I’m trying to do something that is endemic of a certain environment, I have to use that music from that environment,” Singleton revealed, with regard to the Boyz N The Hood soundtrack’s heavy reliance on LA-based hip-hop. However, a handful of East Coasters thrown into the mix. New Yorkers Main Source’s “Just A Friendly Game Of Baseball” uses America’s pastime as a metaphor for police brutality to great effect. The soundtrack version is a remix of the original, which had appeared on their groundbreaking debut album, Breaking Atoms. Perhaps the most historically significant track on the soundtrack, however, is “Too Young” by Hi-Five, featuring a teenaged MC named Prodigy, who would soon make a name for himself as one half of the Queensbridge duo Mobb Deep.

Poetic Justice

John Singleton followed his cinematic debut with Poetic Justice in 1993, which, like Boyz N The Hood, sees renowned musicians cast in key roles. This time Janet Jackson and Tupac Shakur star as an unlikely couple who fall in love over the course of a road trip after finding commonalities in their painful family situations. The Poetic Justice soundtrack is an intermingling of hip-hop (Mista Grimm, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Naughty By Nature, Dogg Pound, Nice & Smooth) and R&B (TLC, Babyface, Tony! Toni! Toné!, Terri & Monica, Cultural Revolution, Stevie Wonder and the first-ever appearance of Usher – then going by Usher Raymond), with Pac contributing “Definition of A Thug N__ga.”

Click to load video

Baby Boy

Tupac was also set to star in Singleton’s next coming-of-age hood film, Baby Boy, before his murder in 1996. The role of Jody, a 20-year-old who lives with his mother and small child in South Central LA, then went to R&B singer Tyrese Gibson. Released in 2001, Baby Boy saw the intermingling of hip-hop and R&B within many of the tracks themselves. Snoop Dogg (who plays ex-con Rodney) pairs up with Tyrese and Mr. Tan for “Just A Baby Boy.” Singer Raphael Saadiq and Houston rapper Devin The Dude collaborate on a track, as do D’Angelo and Marlon C. And who can forget the slow jam opus “Straight F__kin” by The Transitions, featuring Charles “Gator” Moore?

Click to load video

Four Brothers

When it came to creating a soundtrack for 2005’s Four Brothers, starring Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson, André Benjamin (aka André 3000 of OutKast), and Garrett Hedlund as adopted siblings in Detroit on a mission to avenge their mother’s death, the studio wanted Singleton to make it hip-hop. He refused, insisting that it needed to reflect the kind of music their mother would have listened to – late 60s and early 70s soul meets R&B and Motown.

Four Brothers holds true to the director’s vision, and includes classic Motown tracks by Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye, Four Tops, The Temptations, The Undisputed Truth, and The Miracles. “Knucklehead” by Grover Washington, Jr, while not originally a Motown release, fits the mood. “This is the music that got us through hard times,” John Singleton said of this specific era of R&B, speaking from the personal experience of growing up in the 70s.

Click to load video

Straight to the “scource”

For his films, Singleton often employed what he coined “scource music,” a combination of source music and the score. Source music refers to what the audience can visibly see a character listening to in a given scene that then transitions into the background score of that scene. Singleton would also play the music on set in order to capture the correct emotion from the actors.

The director firmly believed that black representation in film was often corrupted by studio execs from outside the community meddling with art. This made music a generally truer form of expression than cinema. “In terms of African-American aesthetic, the purest images we have is only through music,” said Singleton. “If music is used very well through film, it lifts and adds a whole other emotion.”

Shop our soundtracks collection featuring limited edition vinyl and CDs here.

Discover more about the world’s greatest R&B artists | uDiscover Music

Hip Hop

Doris Troy: Remembering Mama Soul

Post author By alaskaadmin
Post date January 6, 2026
No Comments on Doris Troy: Remembering Mama Soul

You may not have heard of Doris Troy, but it’s likely you’ve heard her voice. Born in the Bronx, New York, on January 6, 1937, Doris Elaine Higginsen changed her name to Doris Troy after she was “discovered” working at Harlem’s famous Apollo Theatre by James Brown.

This led to her singing backing vocals for many artists, including Cissy Houston and Dionne Warwick. She got an opportunity to record for Atlantic Records in 1963, and her single, “Just One Look” made No.10 on the Billboard Hot 100; several singles followed that all stalled just outside the 100. “Just One Look” was covered in early 1964 by the Hollies and made No.2 on the UK singles chart. One of her follow-up records for Atlantic, “Whatcha Gonna Do About It,” made No.37 in the UK.

Further records in the 1960s all failed to sell in any decent numbers, and it led to Doris moving to London in the spring of 1969. One of her earliest gigs in the UK was arranging and singing on the gospel-tinged chorus of the Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” Around the same time, Madeline Bell asked Doris to help with the vocals on Billy Preston’s Apple album, That’s The Way God Planned It. Also on the album was Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Keith Richards, and George Harrison. This led to Doris signing to Apple and recording a solo album that George Harrison co-produced at Trident and Olympic studios in London.

Click to load video

Work began at George’s home in high summer 1969 with help from Billy Preston, before Doris and George went into the studio proper, probably in late September. Over the next few months, there were sessions in which numerous musicians participated, including Ringo Starr, Stephen Stills, Peter Frampton, Eric Clapton, Delaney and Bonnie, Leon Russell, Klaus Voormann, Bobby Whitlock, Jim Gordon, and Rita Coolidge. It all reflected George’s involvement with other musicians and his solo album, All Things Must Pass.

Harrison co-wrote four of the songs on Doris Troy, arranged the traditional, “Jacob’s Ladder” with Troy, while other tracks included a cover of The Beatles’ “Get Back” that did not appear on the original album, but was the b-side of “Jacob’s Ladder,” along with songs by Stills (a Buffalo Springfield cover), Joe South, Jackie Lomax (another Apple artist) and some Doris Troy compositions and co-writes. When the album was reissued, Troy said, “Doing that album was a reminder that ‘soul’ didn’t have a color.”

Click to load video

When the album came out in September 1970, at the same time as Bill Preston’s album, it largely sank without trace. Allen Klein ran Apple at the time, and his ability for marketing records was not his strongest suit.

Troy went back to singing backing vocals and arranging, and her credits during the 1970s included Humble Pie, Nick Drake, Carly Simon, Dusty Springfield, and perhaps most famously, Pink Floyd on Dark Side of the Moon.

In the 1980s, Doris co-wrote a musical, Mama, I Want To Sing, with her sister, and it ran in Harlem for 1500 performances and later in London. Doris Troy passed away in February 2004, aged 67.

Browse our soul collection featuring limited edition vinyl and CDs here.

Discover more about the world’s greatest R&B artists | uDiscover Music

Entertainment

Evangeline Lilly Says She Has Brain Damage in Wake of Terrible Fall

Post author By alaskaadmin
Post date January 6, 2026
No Comments on Evangeline Lilly Says She Has Brain Damage in Wake of Terrible Fall

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Evangeline Lilly has revealed something very personal and seemingly very troublesome to her fans and followers.

The veteran actress posted on social media this week she has brain damage after suffering a concussion last year when she fell into a boulder.

“I’m entering into this new year, the Year of the Horse, with some bad news about my concussion,” the Marvel star said in an Instagram video.

“A lot of you asked how I’m doing. A lot of you have inquired about the brain scans that you heard I got. And the results came back from the scans [and] showed that almost every area in my brain is functioning at a decreased capacity.”

Evangeline Lilly attends the UK Gala Screening of Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, at BFI IMAX Waterloo on February 16, 2023 in London, England. (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Disney)

Lilly is best known for her roles on ABC’s Lost and in the Ant-Man movie franchise.

She said in a Substack post back in May that she had “fainted at the beach. And fell face first into a boulder,” adding at the time that she has experienced “fainting spells since I was a little girl.”

In this new update, Lily explained that “my job is to get to the bottom of that with doctors and then embark on the hard work of fixing it, which I don’t look forward to because I feel like hard work is all I do.

“But that’s okay. My cognitive decline since I smashed my face open has helped me to slow down and helped me to have a more restful finish to my 2025.”

Evangeline Lilly attends the Ant-Man and The Wasp Quantumania world premiere at Regency Village Theatre in Westwood, California on February 6, 2023. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)

Lilly wrote in the caption to her post:

“Verdict’s in… I do have brain damage from my [traumatic brain injury]. Comforting to know my cognitive decline isn’t just peri-menopause, discomforting to know what an uphill battle it will be to try to reverse the deficiencies. Thank you all for always asking, for always caring, and for your continued prayers.”

Aside from her aforementioned roles, the actress also played Tauriel in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy, appearing in the latter two films The Desolation of Smaug and The Battle of the Five Armies.

“You are a warrior,” Lilly’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania co-star Michelle Pfeiffer remarked under her friend’s post, adding a heart emoji and writing: “Nothing — not even this will defeat you my friend.”

Evangeline Lilly attends the Marvel Cinematic Universe press line during 2022 Comic Con International: San Diego at Hilton Bayfront on July 23, 2022 in San Diego, California.

In a social media post last June, Lilly said she was taking a break from acting for the foreseeable future and wrote:

“Stepping away from what seems like the obvious choice (wealth and fame) can feel scary at times, but stepping into your dharma replaces the fear with fulfillment. I might return to Hollywood one day, but, for now, this is where I belong.”

Evangeline Lilly Says She Has Brain Damage in Wake of Terrible Fall was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.

The Hollywood Gossip

Entertainment

Jayne Trcka Cause of Death: ‘Scary Movie’ Star Was 62

Post author By alaskaadmin
Post date January 6, 2026
No Comments on Jayne Trcka Cause of Death: ‘Scary Movie’ Star Was 62

Reading Time: 2 minutes

We have tragic news to report out of Hollywood today:

Jayne Trcka — the bodybuilder and actress best known for her work in the 2000 comedy Scary Movie — has passed away.

She was just 62 years old.

Jayne Trcka at the premiere of ‘Scary Movie’, 6/21/00 in New York City. (Photo: Scott Gries/Getty Images)

Trcka died unexpectedly at home, insiders say

News of Trcka’s death comes courtesy of her son, who tells TMZ that his mother passed away at her home in San Diego on December 12.

A friend tells the outlet that she became concerned when she called Jayne several times and received no response.

The friend called 911 and requested a welfare check, and police discovered Jayne’s body.

Authorities report that Trcka’s cause of death is still unknown, pending the results of a medical examiner’s investigation.

Jayne Trcka at the premiere of ‘Scary Movie’, 6/21/00 in New York City. (Photo: Scott Gries/Getty Images)

Though most famous for her role as the gym teacher Miss Mann in Scary Movie, Trcka also appeared in several other high-profile projects.

The popularity of Scary Movie — a cult classic that launched an entire franchise — led to Jayne making appearances in popular TV series The Drew Carey Show and Whose Line is it Anyway?

Jayne was also a bodybuilder who appeared in several fitness magazines, including Flex, MuscleMag International, and Women’s Physique World.

Across social media, fans are remembering Trcka for her comic timing, as well as for her abilities as an athlete.

“Remembering the strong Miss Mann, not just a role, but an inspiration in fitness and comedy,” one user wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

“From Miss Mann to bodybuilding icon… her legacy lives on,” another added.

Our thoughts go out to Jayne Trcka’s loved ones during this incredibly difficult time.

We will have further information on this developing story as new information becomes available.

Jayne Trcka Cause of Death: ‘Scary Movie’ Star Was 62 was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.

The Hollywood Gossip

Entertainment

Heather Thompson, Sons, Grandmother Die in Apparent Triple Murder-Suicide

Post author By alaskaadmin
Post date January 6, 2026
No Comments on Heather Thompson, Sons, Grandmother Die in Apparent Triple Murder-Suicide

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Heather Thompson is dead alongside three members of her family.

All four died by violence in a very short span of time.

Authorities are investigating the deaths of Thompson, her two young sons, and her grandmother as a triple-murder suicide.

Investigators still consider this to be an open case — and are asking the public for information. The boys’ father is publicly sharing his grief.

As this news report details, the deaths of Heather Thompson and her family is under investigation as a triple murder-suicide. (Image Credit: WSMV 4 Nashville)

Tragedy in small town America

On Friday, January 2, the Humphreys County Sheriff’s conducted a welfare check in the small town of Waverly, Tennessee.

There, authorities made a grim discovery of four bodies.

Two were women. Two were young boys.

One of the women was Heather Thompson, a 32-year-old nurse. The other woman was her 88-year-old grandmother, Evelyn Johnson.

The boys were Thompson’s sons, 13-year-old Isiah Johnson and 4-year-old Arius Johnson.

All four had apparently died from gunshot wounds.

Authorities are investigating cause of death, which is sometimes not as simple as it appears.

However, from the initial investigation — that is, police investigating the scene — authorities believe that Heather Thompson was the shooter.

They believe that she shot her sons, her grandmother, and then herself. There is no indication of any suspected motive.

Both the Sheriff’s Office and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation are treating this tragedy as an open investigation.

Authorities and local news alike are unable to explain the motive behind the deaths of a Waverly, Tennessee family. (Image Credit: WSMV 4 Nashville)

Authorities are still piecing together what may have happened

Family annihilators are a type of killer who, as it says in the name, eliminate their own family members.

The most stereotypical example if this is a man who either believes that he has failed his family or that his family is unworthy or holding him back, so he then kills his wife or girlfriend and their children.

Sometimes, it begins with a single incident — domestic violence that turns fatal, and then eliminating witnesses.

Other times, the family annihilator plans these murders in advance.

There are documented cases of these killings going back throughout recorded history, with some immortalized in legends or even religious narratives.

With so little information available, it is difficult to determine whether this horrific crime is the work of a family annihilator — or simply appears like one.

Authorities have noted that they have found no instances of domestic violence calls from the house.

(As countless survivors know, that does not mean that domestic violence never took place at the home)

Additionally, Biah Thompson, the reported father of the boys, resides in Arizona.

When the Humphreys County Sheriff’s Department wrote about the crime scene in a January 2 Facebook post, Thompson commented.

Under a Facebook post about the deaths of his family, Biah Thompson left a heartbroken comment. (Image Credit: Facebook)

Their loved ones are experiencing unimaginable grief

“I miss my sons already,” he wrote. “Daddy still loves you. Sorry I was at work.”

That is certainly heartbreaking.

Reportedly, Biah Thompson works at a Subway. It is unclear if these reports are up-to-date.

Investigators are still looking into this crime, and ask anyone with information relevant to these tragic deaths to come forward.

Our hearts go out to all of the family’s surviving loved ones. Perhaps authorities will be able to provide the answers that they need.

Heather Thompson, Sons, Grandmother Die in Apparent Triple Murder-Suicide was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.

The Hollywood Gossip

Entertainment

Ashley Tisdale Calls Out ‘Toxic’ Mom Group Featuring Hilary Duff, Meghan …

Post author By alaskaadmin
Post date January 6, 2026
No Comments on Ashley Tisdale Calls Out ‘Toxic’ Mom Group Featuring Hilary Duff, Meghan …

Reading Time: 4 minutes

This is a different kind of mom-shaming.

Ashley Tisdale is calling out a “toxic” mom group including the likes of Hilary Duff, Meghan Trainor, and Mandy Moore.

People who were supposed to be her social circleinstead made her feel like a bullied high schooler at the age of 40.

But she cut ties with the not-so-supportive group, and soon learned that she’s not the only one who felt the cold shoulder of the “mean girls.”

Ashley Tisdale attends the world premiere of the new season of Disney’s “Phineas And Ferb” on May 31, 2025. (Photo Credit: Michael Tullberg/Getty Images)

Sometimes, new moms want a social circle that understands exactly how they’re feeling

Tisdale, who rose to fame as a teenager and young adult as a Disney Channel star and a singer, first wrote about leaving her “mom group” on a more personal blog.

“Breaking Up With My Toxic Mom Group” is a more confrontational take, but that’s the title of her The Cut essay in which she details the process.

The process began, Tisdale shared, when she found what she believed was a group of like-minded moms in similar circumstances.

“I needed to talk to someone else who related to what I was going through,” she explained.

“The mood swings, the late nights, saying good-bye to who I used to be,” Tisdale listed. “And getting to know my daughter and the new person I was becoming.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by People Magazine (@people)

“During the early days of the group, there was another mom who often wasn’t included,” Tisdale recalled in her essay.

She admitted: “I’d picked up on hints of a weird dynamic, but at the time, I didn’t dwell on it too much.”

Tisdale observed: “Now it seemed that this group had a pattern of leaving someone out. And that someone had become me.”

This, she wrote, led to eerily familiar self-doubts: “Here I was sitting alone one night after getting my daughter to bed, thinking, Maybe I’m not cool enough?”

Tisdale reflected: “All of a sudden, I was in high school again, feeling totally lost as to what I was doing ‘wrong’ to be left out.”

Ashley Tisdale speaks onstage on March 09, 2025. (Photo Credit: Robin Marchant/Getty Images for Inc. at Inc. Founders House at SXSW)

Being a mom at 40 should never make you feel like a teenager

To be clear, Tisdale is a 40-year-old woman. Even if she were not very famous, this would be a strange way for her to feel.

“I texted to the group after being left out from yet another group hang,” she revealed, after listing numerous incidents of exclusion and seemingly accidental oversights.

“This is too high school for me,” she wrote to them. “And I don’t want to take part in it anymore.”

Unfortunately, Tisdale shared: “It didn’t exactly go over well.”

The efforts to apologize or win her over fell flat, she explained.

To Tisdale’s judgment, some of the moms seemed to feel bad about how she was feeling. But not enough to change things — and not enough to have missed her when the group met without her.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Cut (@thecut)

“To be clear, I have never considered the moms to be bad people,” Tisdale assured, before slyly adding: “(Maybe one.)”

She continued: “But I do think our group dynamic stopped being healthy and positive — for me, anyway.”

After she first began speaking on the topic, she shared, she has heard “feedback” from other moms.

Tisdale wrote: ‘I now know I’m far from the only mother who’s been brought to tears by members of a group that’s supposed to lift everyone up.”

She also admitted that some called her “brave,” which puzzled her. What, she wondered, does she have to fear?

Ashley Tisdale attends a Bush’s Baked Beans and Bluey combo event on May 14, 2025. (Photo Credit: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Bush’s Beans® )

‘It’s not the right group for you’

“You deserve to go through motherhood with people who actually, you know, like you,” Tisdale affirmed.

(Not to distract from the point, but this applies to most things — your friends, your partner, family gatherings, and more)

“And if you have to wonder if they do, here’s the hard-earned lesson I hope you’ll take to heart,” she expressed.

Tisdale wrote: “It’s not the right group for you. Even if it looks like they’re having the best time on Instagram.”

Ultimately, she did not choose to name-drop anyone. But while Tisdale follows Meghan Trainor, she is no longer following Hilary Duff or Mandy Moore on that platform.

Interesting!

Ashley Tisdale Calls Out ‘Toxic’ Mom Group Featuring Hilary Duff, Meghan … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.

The Hollywood Gossip

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Categories

Boyz N The Hood

Poetic Justice

Baby Boy

Four Brothers

Straight to the “scource”

Trcka died unexpectedly at home, insiders say

Tragedy in small town America

Authorities are still piecing together what may have happened

Their loved ones are experiencing unimaginable grief

Sometimes, new moms want a social circle that understands exactly how they’re feeling

Being a mom at 40 should never make you feel like a teenager

‘It’s not the right group for you’

Opinion & Request