Country stars have started to reach out to Colt Ford after his tour bus crashed this week. Continue reading…Country Music News – Taste of Country
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Meghan Markle is used to getting the A-list treatment everywhere she goes.
But during a recent appearance with Prince Harry, Meghan endured the sort of awkward encounter that’s all too familiar to peasants everywhere.
The Duchess of Sussex attended the 40th anniversary gala for the David Foster Foundation in Victoria, Canada, where she and Harry crossed paths with hosts David Foster and Katharine McPhee.
But one moment involving Meghan and the Grammy-winning music producer quickly became the subject of online chatter.
In footage from the event, Meghan appeared to reach out toward Foster as he walked by.
Foster seemingly did not acknowledge the gesture and instead appeared to greet Harry, leaving Meghan standing nearby.
The brief interaction was enough to send social media into overdrive.
Some viewers interpreted the moment as an intentional snub, while others insisted it appeared to be nothing more than an innocent misunderstanding.
Things looked somewhat more awkward moments later when McPhee joined the group for photographs. Foster and Harry could be seen chatting and laughing together while Meghan stood nearby.
Still, there is apparently no evidence that Foster intended to slight Meghan.
In fact, the two couples have a longstanding friendship.
Foster has been particularly close to Harry, with the former royal reportedly describing their relationship as something of a “father and son” bond.
Foster also helped Harry and Meghan find a place to stay in Canada after they stepped back from their royal duties.
Meghan and Katherine have their own connection, having attended the same school as children.
So, while the viral video may have sparked plenty of speculation, the moment appears to be nothing more than a few seconds of awkward footage that social media has turned into a much bigger story.
Neither Meghan nor Harry, nor Foster and McPhee, have publicly addressed the incident.
For now, the internet will apparently have to decide for itself whether Meghan was actually snubbed — or whether everyone simply needs to calm down.
Meghan Markle ‘Snubbed’ By David Foster In Viral Red Carpet Video was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
The Hollywood Gossip
Glacial lake outburst flooding begins on the Mendenhall River below the Mendenhall Glacier on Aug 11, 2026. Officials issued an evacuation advisory for roughly 5,000 residents in the area. (Photo by Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska’s capital city has issued an evacuation advisory for the densely-populated Mendenhall Valley area on Wednesday as glacial outburst flooding begins.
Officials and the public are closely watching the Mendenhall Glacier, where climate-change driven melting results in water filling an ice-dammed lake called Suicide Basin each year. That lake eventually bursts and billions of gallons of water are released down the Mendenhall River, threatening suburban neighborhoods nearby.
The National Weather Service forecasts the flooding in the Mendenhall River will peak on Thursday morning between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m.
“Evacuating is absolutely the best way to keep yourselves, your neighbors, and first responders safe as we respond to this flood,” said Ryan O’Shaughnessy, emergency manager for the City and Borough of Juneau at a news conference on Wednesday.
Scientists with the National Weather Service estimate the flooding to peak between 16.1 to 16.6 feet. That’s similar to last year’s flood where the river peaked at a record-breaking 16.65 feet.
The scale of flooding is uncertain, and depends largely on whether sand bag barriers erected along the Mendenhall River hold.
In the event that water bursts through the barriers, CBJ will issue an emergency flash-flood alert to all local cell phones, similar to an Amber alert.
Last year, local, state and federal agencies erected the new barriers along the river, where they largely prevented major flood damage. Thirty-five homes were affected by the flood, with six sustaining major flood damage. Some homes had up to five feet of flooding water in living spaces, according to city reports. In 2024, there were no barriers and flooding damaged nearly 300 homes.
This year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and local partners worked to fortify those sand bag barriers along the Mendenhall River. In some areas, the barriers were constructed higher, up to 16 feet. They were extended in other areas across 1.8 miles of additional riverbank, said U.S. Army Corps Brigadier General Joseph Goetz at a news conference on Tuesday. The Army Corps has also installed roughly 40 industrial pumps to control seepage, and distributed an estimated 225,000 sandbags.
But this year officials issued an evacuation advisory for an area nearly double the size of last year’s — including roughly 1,900 homes — in case the barriers fail. Officials are calling that a worst case scenario.
Ryan O’Shaughnessy said census data shows the evacuation area includes an estimated 5,000 residents.
“I know this community has experienced this flood before, but we can’t be complacent,” said Ken Murphy, a safety officer with the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, on Tuesday. “What happened last year may or may not happen this year.”
Residents are asked to evacuate the area by 3 p.m. on Wednesday.
Officials said there is a risk of tree-strikes damaging the barriers and causing major flooding, and urged the public to take extra precautions, evacuate and avoid the river area entirely.
“The risk is real,” Murphy said. “Debris, erosion, unstable banks, changing water levels, and hidden hazards make the river dangerous. If you’re near the river or within the flood zone, you’re in danger. There is no safe reason to approach the water during this event. This is not a normal event, even though it reoccurs.”
Officials said they will be monitoring the river and barriers by livestream cameras and by drone throughout the flood, with emergency crews staged nearby ready to respond.
Residents can monitor Suicide Basin through a National Weather Service monitoring page. Officials recommend signing up for emergency alerts and reviewing Mendenhall River inundation maps. KTOO Public Media has set up several livestreams to monitor the flooding event. There is an emergency shelter at the former Floyd Dryden Middle School staffed by the American Red Cross.
The Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area, Alaska’s most-visited tourist destination, surrounding the Mendenhall Glacier and Mendenhall Lake below is closing on Wednesday afternoon.
A joint emergency incident command has been established to monitor and respond to the flood. That includes the National Weather Service, City and Borough of Juneau, Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
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Where Costco Bananas Come From
While Costco does its best to source its food, especially produce, locally, that becomes impossible to do when it comes to bananas. Here’s where they come from.
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LOS ANGELES – The optimism leading into Blake Snell’s first start back in nearly three months went beyond the usual confidence one might expect when a two-time Cy Young Award winner returns to action. It was as if both Snell and his manager knew he’d come out looking like a completely different version of the pitcher who allowed five runs in three innings in his only previous start of the season. “It’s the best I’ve felt in three years, by far,” Snell claimed 12 days before his return. “He’s on a mission,” Dave Roberts added assuredly. It certainly looked that way Tuesday night in front of a crowd of 49,958 fans at Dodger Stadium, where Snell exhibited no signs of rust in his return from elbow surgery as he lifted a scuffling Dodgers club in need of a pick-me-up. Even after two comeback victories on Monday and Tuesday, the Dodgers have won just 13 of their last 30 games. Their bullpen has been unreliable. Their bats have been inconsistent. Earlier this week, Roberts lamented the way his star-studded offense had gotten “bullied” by fastballs far too often over this stretch of substandard play. And yet, Snell’s 10-strikeout return provided a reminder of why any potential concerns about the Dodgers’ aging roster might not matter if this rotation is upright and whole by October. They have Yoshinobu Yamamoto, last year’s World Series MVP. They have depth arms in Roki Sasaki, Justin Wrobleski and Eric Lauer, who could shift to bullpen roles in October. Shohei Ohtani continues to play catch with the hopes of returning to the mound before season’s end. Tyler Glasnow has started his rehab assignment and could return by month’s end. And, of course, they now have two two-time Cy Young Award winners after their deal for Tarik Skubal at the deadline. Skubal labored through five innings in his home debut Monday but kept the Dodgers close enough to storm back for the win. Snell, meanwhile, overpowered Kansas City’s lineup one day later. “We needed to win tonight, and we needed to win a series, and it started with him,” Roberts said. “So I thought from pitch one, you know, he exuded that, and we fed off of that.” Roberts’ goal was to get Snell through five innings, but Snell was thinking bigger. While texting back and forth with Roberts before the start, he assuredly told his manager he could go six. And then he did. The optimism before Snell’s outing was justified. He struck out the side in the first inning, maintained velocity throughout the night, walked just one and surrendered soft contact when the Royals did manage to put the bat on the ball. With the game still tied after five innings, no one was getting warm. Amid the team’s slump, Roberts demanded more urgency, both from his club and himself. Tuesday night provided the latest example of it. Roberts knew Snell was his best option to return for the sixth, even if pushing him beyond 80 pitches wasn’t part of the plan. The left-hander made quick work of his final frame, needing just 13 pitches that inning and 84 pitches in total to navigate through six. The Dodgers’ offense then responded in the late innings again, making up for more shaky bullpen play. It was another instance of the urgency that had been lacking. “The last two nights,” Roberts said, “is what we’re looking for.” Snell was calmer than he thought he would be in his first start back at Dodger Stadium since May 9, when he labored through three innings on 77 pitches against the Braves. Soon after that start, he underwent surgery to remove loose bodies from his sore elbow. The procedure seemed to do more than simply address that compromised body part. Snell believes the bone chips in his elbow were also contributing to pain in his shoulder, which had caused him problems most of last year, and pressing on a nerve. For the last couple of years, the ring finger and pinky finger on his throwing hand had felt numb. “They took [the loose bodies] out, and I could feel my hand completely,” Snell told me. “My shoulder pain went completely away.” Shortly after the procedure, he started to regain his range of motion and the extension in his arm that had been lacking. That led to more swing and miss at the top of the zone with his fastball and the ability to consistently finish his curveball and tunnel it in a way he couldn’t before the surgery. On Tuesday, after laughing off a poor rehab appearance in Salt Lake City — during which the elevation wreaked havoc on his secondary offerings — Snell bounced back by getting 15 swings and misses from Kansas City hitters. The Royals swung eight times at his curveball and whiffed on five of them while watching another five breaking balls go by for strikes. “That’s me having the range to move the ball how I want,” Snell told me. “I just haven’t had it in a couple years. Everyone’s like, ‘Oh the changeup.’ I’m like, ‘If the curveball’s on….” Snell believes that pitch in particular could be much more of a difference-maker this season. “The curveball’s finally coming back to how I remember it being,” he said. “It was always a pitch that was a wipeout. I could throw it, but now I’m finally releasing it where I need to release it, and I’m kind of releasing everything in the same slot out in front.” The performance served as a reminder of his dominance when he’s right. “I think the biggest thing was just being aggressive,” Snell said. “Be in the zone, attack. I know how good my stuff is, so I don’t want to just be nibbling and then complaining like, ‘Oh, that’s a strike.’ I didn’t want to do any of that again like I did versus Atlanta.” “That’s the Snell that we’re used to seeing,” added Max Muncy, who walked the Dodgers off with a win Tuesday night, “and hopefully we have him for the next two, three months, for the long run.” It’s the version Snell is expecting to see from himself, as well, no longer concerned about his health or pitching through pain, the way he did through much of last season while still displaying flashes of brilliance. “I can just pitch and focus on pitching,” Snell said. “That’s pretty cool.”Latest Sports News from FOX Sports
Local officials across Michigan are highly confident in their ability to administer an accurate election this November, according to a report on election integrity my team published on Aug. 12, 2026. They also voiced concerns about rising disinformation and costs.
“We work very hard at our elections and resent all the negative comments about insecure or fraudulent elections,” one local official said in the report, which details findings from a survey of local officials and clerks who administer elections in Michigan. The officials responding to our survey were granted confidentiality.
Michigan voters will elect a new governor, a U.S. senator, several representatives in Congress and lawmakers in the state Legislature in November 2026.
Public confidence in elections and secure and accessible voting are the bedrock of a healthy democracy. Because U.S. elections are run by local governments, collecting data on local officials’ on-the-ground experiences and perspectives is one of the most valuable ways researchers can gauge local governments’ preparedness to run the upcoming election with integrity.
Local confidence in election integrity is high
At the University of Michigan Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy, where I am the director, we have been tracking how local officials feel about local election administration, democratic functioning, fiscal health and a wide range of other local issues since 2009.
Our Michigan Public Policy Survey consistently gets responses from local officials in over 70% of Michigan’s 1,856 cities, villages, townships and counties. This makes us confident that our results reflect the full range of communities, from small rural townships to large cities.
In spring 2026, we asked local officials how they are feeling about administering the 2026 November general election. We revisited questions we previously asked them in 2017, 2020 and 2022.
Local clerks and municipal employees are responsible for the day-to-day work of administering elections. They register voters, maintain voter lists, distribute and collect absentee ballots, run polling locations on Election Day, distribute “I voted” stickers, and tabulate and report election results.
We found that this year 95% of city and township clerks are “very confident” in their ability to administer an accurate election this November. This is a slight increase compared to surveys in 2020 and 2022. The high level of confidence holds across communities large and small, urban and rural, and deep red and deep blue.
Local officials want the public to know just how seriously they take their responsibility for election security.
“(We) are very protective of our election process. Our clerk is constantly updated on elections and changes that occur,” one official told us. “We have a secure room for our election equipment and are very proud of how our elections are handled.”
Finn Gomez/Getty Images
What keeps election clerks up at night
Despite their high confidence overall, some clerks shared key concerns.
Almost half – 49% of surveyed officials – worried about the cost of running elections. This was the largest concern by far. Running elections requires hiring staff, buying equipment, investing in security upgrades, and, in Michigan and many other states, opening polling locations and staffing offices for between three and 46 days of early voting.
Michigan voters approved election reforms in 2022, including adding nine days of early voting. Many clerks say this has added significant cost, especially in smaller communities.
Elections are run by local governments. That means the costs of election equipment upgrades and wages for poll workers must compete for budget dollars with police officers, potholes and trash pickup, among many other local services.
As one Michigan township official explained, “Spending so much money on elections is taking away from other programs and causes that the money went to before.”
Besides costs, some officials worried about technical problems. Eight percent of officials reported concerns about equipment failures, 5% about long wait times and about inaccurate voter registration lists. These problems may cause delays while election workers troubleshoot or switch to more manual methods of counting votes, but they are unlikely to result in fraud.
Looming threats of disinformation
About 1 in 5 local officials expect problems with their voters being targeted with disinformation about elections or voting procedures, and about 8% expect disturbances at polling locations, our survey found.
Zooming in on the largest communities, these numbers increase. In communities with over 30,000 residents, over 40% of local leaders expect problems with disinformation, and 26% expect problems with disturbances.
“The aggressiveness by which some try to force their way into working elections for the purposes of disruption is increasing,” a local official explained.
Another official said their community is having difficulty finding polling locations because local schools and churches are increasingly worried about security.
“The rise of election misinformation and the resulting distrust in democratic systems have fundamentally shifted the landscape for municipal clerks and election officials,” one survey respondent explained. “What was once a largely administrative, behind-the-scenes role has become a high-stakes, public-facing position that requires navigating a ‘hyper-partisan’ environment.”
Partisan mistrust
Despite high confidence in their own communities, some local officials voiced concerns about their peers.
When asked how confident they are in other communities’ ability to administer accurate elections, 37% say they are “very” confident and another 37% say they are “somewhat” confident, with the remaining 26% expressing more doubt or saying they don’t know.
These levels of doubt about elections vary widely by political party. Among Democrat respondents, 94% report being “very” or “somewhat” confident in other communities’ ability to administer elections. Among Republican respondents, however, the percentage falls to 68%, and 25% of Republican respondents say they are “not very” or “not at all” confident. This is compared to just 1% of Democrat respondents.
Strength of local election control
Compared to other countries, elections in the U.S. are highly decentralized. There are over 10,000 local jurisdictions that administer elections and more than 1,600 in Michigan alone.
This decentralization means Americans often have to wait longer for local election workers to tabulate votes, compile results and declare winners. But keeping election administration local is also a strength. It means that the local officials and clerks who count our votes are members of our communities, not appointees chosen by partisans in state capitals or Washington, D.C.
Right now, election officials and clerks are telling us to worry less about whether they can do their jobs and more about those who may be spreading lies and disinformation ahead of the November election.
Stephanie Leiser does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Politics + Society – The Conversation
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Karoline Leavitt is saying goodbye to the White House.
President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that his press secretary will leave her position at the end of August, bringing an abrupt end to Leavitt’s tenure as one of the most visible members of his administration.
Trump shared the news on social media, praising Leavitt as one of his “most trusted aides” and making clear that her departure will not be the end of her political career.
According to the President, Leavitt is stepping down so she can spend more time with her family.
The 28-year-old recently returned to work following maternity leave after giving birth to her second child, a daughter, in May. She and husband Nicholas Riccio, 60, also share a two-year-old son.
Leavitt’s departure is one of many recent personnel shakeups in the Trump administration.
In March, Kristi Noem was fired from her post as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Just weeks later, Attorney General Pam Bondi was also terminated.
And in May, Tulsi Gabbard announced her resignation as U.S. Director of National Intelligence, also citing a desire to spend more time with family.
Leavitt addressed her decision in a statement of her own, describing it as a “bittersweet” choice.
“The truth is since returning to the White House after the birth of my daughter, I have felt in my heart that I cannot be the best mom my two young children deserve while devoting the constant time, energy, and attention required of the White House Press Secretary,” she said.
“And that is why I have ultimately made the bittersweet decision to depart the White House and embark on a new chapter in my life.”
Leavitt has served as Trump’s press secretary since he returned to the White House in January 2025.
She previously worked as a press aide during his first administration and later became a prominent member of his 2024 campaign.
She made history as the youngest person ever to serve as White House press secretary.
Her departure comes at a particularly important time for the Trump administration, with the 2026 midterm elections approaching.
Still, Trump indicated that Leavitt won’t be disappearing from the political scene.
He said she will remain one of his top outside advisers and continue to be an “influential voice” within the Republican Party as the administration works toward the midterms.
For now, however, Leavitt appears ready to trade the White House briefing room for more time with her family.
We will have further updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.
Karoline Leavitt QUITS White House Press Secretary Job In Stunning Development was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
The Hollywood Gossip
Original the Band Perry member Neil Perry says he was “terminated” from the group, indicating he did not support his brother-in-law joining. Continue reading…The Boot – Country Music News, Music Videos and Songs
Original the Band Perry member Neil Perry says he was “terminated” from the group, indicating he did not support his brother-in-law joining. Continue reading…Country Music News – Taste of Country
Megan Moroney surprised fans at her Cloud 9 Tour stop in Arizona this week when Kameron Marlowe made an unexpected appearance onstage for a special performance of their collaboration, “Fix You Too.”
The country sensation set the moment up by reflecting on the song’s history before inviting him to join her onstage at the Desert Diamond Arena. She told the packed room of fans that when she first wrote “Fix You Too” with Becca Rae Greene and Adam Wheeler for her debut EP, Pistol Made of Roses, they had penned several different versions.
When it came time to select tracks for the deluxe version of her 2023 record Lucky, she opted to bring that song to life in a new way with the addition of Marlowe’s vocals and perspective.
As Marlowe made his way to the stage, Moroney went on to express her longtime admiration for his voice.
“I’m sure y’all are already very familiar with him but I’ve said for the past however many years he has one of the best voices in Nashville and as most of you know this song came out on my debut EP but when we wrote it we wrote like several versions,” she stated. “The only voice I heard on it was Kameron’s and he was nice enough to sing it.”
She explained how rare it is for artists to find themselves in the same place at the same time, so when she heard Marlowe was nearby, she told him he had to make a surprise appearance to deliver the track.
@angelg1214 Megan Moroney x Kameron Marlowe Fix you too 8/11 Glendale Az @Megan Moroney @MoroneyHQ @Kameron Marlowe #meganmoroney #f #concert #cloud9 #foryoupage ♬ original sound – Angel1214
Moroney kicked off the performance by taking the first verse while dressed in a sparkling pink ballgown and playing a matching guitar that reflected off the stage lights. Marlowe then joined her for the chorus with the two voices blending beautifully on the emotional track that centers around two people who are clearly drawn to each other but recognize that neither of them is quite ready to take on the responsibilities of a relationship.
Using the idea of a “fixer-upper” as a metaphor, the pair of artists come compare their emotional baggage and personal struggles to things around a house that need repairing, noting how they have enough on their hands and can’t handle having to fix each other too. So, they take the mature route and realize they need to go their separate ways for the time being.
They sing, “Maybe we could be somethin’, somewhere down the road/ And I know that a younger me couldn’t sit here now and tell those green eyes no/ But you’re a fixer-upper if there ever was/ And I need some work mysеlf to tell you the truth/ I don’t wanna have to fix you too.”
The crowd erupted when Marlowe took over the second verse, giving fans a chance to hear the powerhouse vocalist bring his own talent to the song. After the performance, Moroney encouraged the crowd to show Marlowe some love before she swapped out guitars and continued on with the show.
“Please make some noise for Kameron Marlowe,” she stated, causing another roar of cheers to erupt in the venue.
The memorable crowd-pleasing moment took place during Megan Moroney’s first-ever arena run. The Cloud 9 Continues this week with a sold-out show in Dallas, TX on August 14, followed by performances in Oklahoma and Missouri to cap off the weelend.
The post WATCH: Megan Moroney Welcomes Kameron Marlowe for Surprise ‘Fix You Too’ Duet in Arizona appeared first on Country Now.
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