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Gary LeVox just helped raise $1.25 million for military families — and the way it happened is worth hearing about. Continue reading…The Boot – Country Music News, Music Videos and Songs
Gary LeVox just helped raise $1.25 million for military families — and the way it happened is worth hearing about. Continue reading…Country Music News – Taste of Country
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As you’ve likely heard by now, internet personality Perez Hilton was hospitalized Tuesday night amid what appeared to be a mental health crisis.
During a livestream that left fans horrified, Hilton allegedly cut himself with knives and threatened suicide.
Viewers were concerned for Hilton, of course, but many also expressed fears for his three children.
Fortunately, police have indicated that the kids were not at home at the time of the incident.
However, it’s unclear what will become of them now.
Hilton is a single father, and while he has family in the area — having recently moved from Las Vegas to Miami to be closer to his mother — there’s no word on whether any of them are in a position to take in his children.
The infamous blogger has been open about the fact that his elderly mother is very ill.
Hilton will likely be hospitalized for quite some time following this week’s incident, and the situation has sparked renewed interest in the lives and welfare of his three kids, all of whom were welcomed via surrogate.
“All kids are mine genetically,” he wrote in a Huffington Post essay in 2017, adding:
“Each was born thanks to the generosity of a different surrogate, using eggs from the same anonymous donor.
“While I don’t rule out adoption in the future, for me it was important to have kids with my DNA. My dad passed away when I was 15 and having my children is a way of him living on through them — literally.”
Hilton wrote about how much he “love[s] being a dad more than anything else” and “works hard at it,” explaining, “I have my hands very full changing diapers and taking kids to swim class. And I wouldn’t have it any other way!”
He announced the birth of his first child, a son named Mario, in February 2013.
“I am ready to announce that earlier this month I was blessed with the birth of my first child, a beautiful and healthy baby boy — with lots of hair on his tiny head,” he wrote on his website at the time.
“My family is overjoyed at this newest and most cherished addition,” Hilton continued. “I am so humbled to welcome this little man into my life. And I am honored and ready for the challenge of guiding him through his.”
In May of 2015, Hilton welcomed his second child, daughter Mia Alma.
“It is with great pride and relief that I can finally announce: I am a dad again!” he captioned the newborn’s Instagram debut at the time.
In October 2017, Hilton’s third child, Mayte, joined the family.
She “waited until 41 weeks to make her fashionably late arrival,” Hilton explained at the time.
For obvious reasons, concerns about Hilton’s kids are widespread this week. We hope that whatever else unfolds in the days to come, his children’s material and emotional needs are being met.
What Will Happen to Perez Hilton’s 3 Children Following His Self-Harm Incident? was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
The Hollywood Gossip
The wave of populist energy propelling progressive Democrats to primary wins across the country reduced Wednesday morning to a ripple, just pushing Abdul El-Sayed to a narrow victory over his more moderate opponent, Rep. Haley Stevens.
Francesca Hong will try to keep the progressive momentum alive in another swing-state test in Wisconsin next week.
But if Hong, the democratic socialist frontrunner to claim her party’s gubernatorial nomination, wins her primary, she’s already recognizing the need to unite a broader coalition to win in November.
“We absolutely need every single vote, and we’ll be fighting to earn every single vote,” Hong said in an exclusive interview with POLITICO on Wednesday morning.
“I’ve talked to moderates and independents, Republicans, folks who don’t have a political home right now, and they have a lot of concerns about what’s going on in the state. They also have concerns about things I’ve said in the past,” she added. “But what we’re focusing on is how to come together to actually deliver for Wisconsinites, and that’s going to be electing Democrats down and up the ballot this cycle.”
Hong, a state Assembly member and former restaurant owner, this week faced criticism from across the political spectrum about a slew of old social media posts espousing far-left views, from declarations to abolish the police to a call to “cancel Thanksgiving.” And El-Sayed’s knife-edge win right next door is reigniting concerns among some Democrats that a battleground may not be ready for such a lefty leader.
Hong appears to be moderating on — or at least adding context to — some of her more controversial positions. She has walked back her stance on police abolition while emphasizing the need to better tackle the underlying causes of crime. She told POLITICO many of her old posts were “jokes,” including the one about Thanksgiving, which she said is actually her favorite holiday.
Still, Hong isn’t giving up her democratic socialist bonafides.
“The vision that we have for Wisconsin is one that my local DSA chapter shares,” she said, adding that “we’re fighting to make sure that we’re building the diverse coalition that we need to make sure that we win this for Wisconsinites in November.”
Hong has notched endorsements from several national progressives, including Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who rallied alongside her and the progressive podcaster Hasan Piker last weekend.
But she hasn’t been endorsed by the country’s two most prominent democratic socialists and standardbearers of the progressive movement: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). Hong told POLITICO she has not spoken to either and attributed their lack of endorsement to their focus on federal races — though Sanders endorsed Troy Jackson in the Vermont governor’s race before he lost and became the Senate nominee, and both endorsed New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani last year.
“We have been focusing on winning a Democratic primary and staying above the drama,” Hong said.
Despite a major fundraising disadvantage, Hong has emerged as an unlikely frontrunner. She has led in the polls for months and became the all-but-presumed nominee after her main opponents, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes and Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, both dropped out amid simmering scandals that embroiled their campaigns. Hong’s chief primary opponent next week is Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who dropped out of the race then jumped back in last month and has the endorsement of the state’s current Gov. Tony Evers, a moderate Democrat. Whoever wins on Tuesday will face off against the President Donald Trump-endorsed GOP Rep. Tom Tiffany.
Hong believes her lead is due to a grassroots campaign that has excited Democratic primary voters in Wisconsin. “Free child care, fully funding our schools, taxing the billionaires and a moratorium on AI data centers is what the majority of Wisconsinites have been telling us that they want, and we are the campaign that is listening,” she said in the interview.
The Crowley campaign is pointing to the Michigan results as a sign that they can still catch Hong. “There is still a long way to go in this race,” Crowley spokesperson Eddie Vale said. “If you can’t handle an easy CNN interview about Thanksgiving how can you possibly face the full wrath of the Republican attack machine?”
To beat Tiffany in the general, Hong would likely need to pick up support from more moderate Democrats and independents — all while dodging a deluge of Republican attacks digging up her old comments and seeking to paint her as “woke.”
“All Francesca Hong has to offer Wisconsin is bigger government, a plan to make Wisconsin the highest-taxed state in the nation, and a record of calling to abolish the police and prisons,” Tiffany said in a statement to POLITICO.
“They are trying to get a head start on labeling her ahead of the primary because they don’t see the result changing,” said Winnebago County Executive Gordon Hintz, who was minority leader in the state Assembly when Hong was first elected.
“There’s a very big discussion going on in Wisconsin, much as there was in Michigan, about whether a very progressive candidate can prevail in the primary and in the general election,” said John Nichols, a Madison native who wrote an anti-capitalist manifesto with Sanders. “It goes to a lot of questions about what’s been said in the past and how much people care.”
Asked if she planned to change her messaging strategy ahead of the primary, Hong flipped the question back to Tiffany. “When it comes to tailoring messaging, it’s important to recognize that what we have to offer are actual solutions, and what Tom Tiffany is bringing are clearly more Trump tariffs,” she said.
Tiffany, in his statement, hit back. “While she focuses on promoting socialism, defending inflammatory statements, and campaigning alongside terrorist sympathizers, I’ll remain focused on ending the 400-year property tax hike, rooting out fraud, bringing good-paying jobs back to Wisconsin, and making life more affordable after eight years under a Democrat governor,” he said.
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President Donald Trump’s most vocal opponents on the right were sowing the seeds for a future third-party political organization during a weekend get-together aimed at undercutting the Republican establishment.
The meeting at Tucker Carlson’s compound in Maine with Rep. Thomas Massie, former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and others — captured in a photo posted by Greene on Saturday — served as a launch pad for a possible independent presidential campaign focused on unwinding U.S. involvement in foreign conflicts.
“We said no more foreign wars and we meant it and supported Donald Trump because he made that promise. But he’s betrayed us all,” Greene wrote in the post. “The movement has begun.”
Joe Kent, the former Trump national security official who resigned earlier this year and attended the weekend confab with Carlson, said the group congregated to strategize on how to best organize their shared opposition to the war in Iran.
“There’s a lot more nuts-and-bolts work that needs to be done there,” Kent said in an interview on “The Young Turks,” the progressive talk show. “Running as a third-party candidate is challenging. Not impossible, but it is very challenging. But that’s kind of the consensus that we came to, that the current system just simply doesn’t work, and we have to find something new to save our country.”
Carlson, Greene and Massie all backed Trump ahead of the 2024 election. But each one broke with Trump over the course of his second term as the Trump administration continued to coordinate military operations with Israel in the Middle East. Greene and Massie were also loudly critical of Trump’s opposition to releasing federal investigative documents relating to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, further drawing Trump’s ire.
It’s unclear who would lead the newborn movement. Kent said every attendee at the Maine meeting urged Carlson to run for president in 2028 with their group’s backing but noted that Carlson said he wouldn’t run.
“Hopefully he wakes up one day and Tucker says he’s going to run,” Kent said.
Carlson and Massie did not respond to requests for comment. Greene declined to comment.
The challenges facing third-party and independent presidential candidates are enormous. They must navigate different signature requirements and deadlines in each state just to get on the ballot. Past independent campaigns have been unable to compete financially with the two major parties.
The most recent third-party presidential campaign — Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s independent bid in 2024 — ended months before Election Day when Kennedy endorsed Trump. At the time he dropped out, Kennedy was polling in single digits and fighting lawsuits seeking to block him from the ballot in multiple states.
Kent said the policy platform for the group’s hypothetical third-party campaign in 2028 would ignore most domestic matters and further emphasize their staunch anti-interventionism.
“I think it is having a very, very simple platform, and it’s acknowledging upfront, like, we are going to disagree on a lot of domestic policy and a lot of social issues,” Kent said. “At the end of the day, the president can talk a lot about all those things, but he really doesn’t have a lot of power.”
“We do agree that we don’t want Israel dictating our foreign policy,” he added. “We don’t want any more foreign wars.”
Carlson didn’t signal his involvement in any broader political project or back a third-party candidate for 2028 during his show Wednesday. Instead, he delivered an hour-long monologue laying out his worldview and aspirations for the country.
His vision covered familiar territory — including encouraging Americans to have more children, ending immigration and promoting healthy foods. In addition to denouncing Trump, he called Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth a “deranged, bloodthirsty monkey,” for his conduct during the Iran War.
Lisa Kashinsky, Alec Hernandez and Sam Benson contributed to this story.
Politics
Who doesn’t love a grocery sale? If you plan to do some shopping at Walmart this month, these discounts can be found all over the store’s food aisles.
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NOTN- Sealaska Heritage Institute has released new renderings of a proposed $40 million mixed-use arts and cultural center planned for the current Juneau City Hall site.
The three-story facility would feature Northwest Coast art and cultural experiences, a glass-blowing studio, gallery space, community programming and a possible new home for the Juneau-Douglas City Museum, though no agreement has happened between SHI and the city as of now.
Institute officials say the project would strengthen downtown year-round, create jobs and expand Juneau’s cultural tourism economy. The proposal depends on the City and Borough of Juneau approving the sale of the City Hall property to Sealaska Heritage for $1.5 million.
The Juneau Assembly is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the proposal Aug. 17.
The full press release by SHI can be found below;
Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) has released schematics of its proposed arts building envisioned for the site of Juneau’s old city hall.
The crown-jewel, mixed-use facility would encompass multi-levels, feature stunning glass walls and be adorned in monumental red formline design — elements that mirror SHI’s Walter Soboleff Building, Atnané Hít (Sealaska Heritage Arts Campus) and its Indigenous Science Building in the city’s designated Heritage Square.
The space would provide authentic educational, cultural and art experiences for locals and visitors, include a Northwest Coast art glass studio and offer space to house the Juneau-Douglas City Museum.
The project is part of SHIs efforts to make Juneau the Northwest Coast arts capital of the world, said SHI President Rosita Worl.
“We are thrilled to unveil our latest proposal to bring more Northwest Coast arts, cultural experiences and economic diversity to Juneau and to further enhance the downtown corridor,” Worl said.
The project hinges on whether the city elects to put the project out to the highest bidder or sell to SHI for $1.5 million. If the institute did purchase the land, SHI would have to raze city hall because it’s contaminated with asbestos and other toxins inside and below the dilapidated facility. The city also has delayed maintenance on the building that would cost $13 million to address.
Demolishing the building and decontaminating the site would come with a steep price tag, said SHI Chief of Operations Lee Kadinger.
“The project would require demolition and removal at considerable cost to SHI. The demolition and highly regulated removal and disposal process is estimated to cost in excess of $1 million before construction of a new facility would be possible,” Kadinger said.
The new structure would span roughly 30,000 square feet and encompass three floors. If it were built using today’s prices, it would cost approximately $32 million. Assuming it will take four years to raise capital funds, the price would be closer to $40 million, as costs rise over time, Kadinger said.
SHI would install a nicely landscaped space onsite for locals and visitors while it’s raising capital funds to build the facility, similar to when it filled in the so-called “pit” downtown while the institute raised money to construct the Walter Soboleff Building.
The institute would give the city first right of refusal to relocate the Juneau-Douglas City Museum to the second floor of the building. This would move the museum closer to cruise ship docks.
Through community oriented year-round activities, the facility will help draw locals to the downtown corridor in off-tourism months — and help to revitalize downtown, which is a priority of the City and Borough of Juneau. The institute is also considering setting aside some space for apartments in recognition of the community’s housing needs, as well as its own employees.
Cultural Tourism
The new facility would launch SHI’s planned cultural tourism programming, where visitors and locals would get hands-on experiences in Northwest Coast arts.
The structure would include a glass studio, where the famed Tlingit glass artist Preston Singletary would help to establish the program and secure partners who would create an educational structure around glass blowing. This would become a creative space for the community of Juneau — one that could grow to create opportunities for visitors and locals to make their own glass pieces. Singletary would also help create a tiered program to develop skills from beginner to advanced, teaching students to create limited production pieces that could become a cottage industry over time.
The glass studio is based on the wildly successful model created by the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington, which draws nearly 100,000 visitors annually, includes a Hot Shop that hosts more than 50 visiting artists each year and has engaged more than 250,000 students through educational programs to date.
The new facility would be across from the Juneau Seawalk and Marine Park and attract more tourists to the core of downtown. The glass studio and a retail gallery for high end art would add to SHI’s monumental art and cultural tours currently offered at the Arts Campus and Walter Soboleff Building.
Community Benefits
While SHI projects and services are structured for tribal members, many of the programs benefit or are available to the entire community. Teacher trainings, lectures, art classes, summer camps, visiting scholars, concerts, academic publications, live streams, traditional ceremonies, First Fridays, Totem Pole Trail tours and Indigenous science workshops are commonly available to the public.
As the glass program grows, the facility would be open to residents who want to learn about the art of making glass and glass blowing.
SHI’s three other buildings also have transformed and beautified Juneau, adding to the visual appeal of downtown, and the plaza has been open to the public for art performances and other activities. The institute’s hope is to retain the city hall site for additional community space.
Economic Benefits
The successful completion of previous SHI capital campaigns has led to significant benefits for Juneau. In addition to its construction projects and their associated employment and economic activity, SHI has provided direct monetary contributions to the Juneau School District and University of Alaska Southeast totaling more than $13,000,000 since 2015, according to a 2025 study by McKenley Research Group, and it plans to continue the educational investments.
Today, SHI employs more than 100 staff in Juneau. An economic impact study by the same firm in 2023 demonstrated that SHI generates more than $30,100,000 in direct and induced economic activity annually in Juneau.
Because SHI’s buildings are staffed and open year-round, they support area businesses as employees patronize nearby establishments. The new building’s employees would help offset the loss of city workers who will move to the area by the Juneau-Douglas Bridge.
As with SHI’s other buildings, the new facility is expected to provide an economic boon during construction, provide new jobs, boost labor income and generate millions of dollars in direct expenditures.
The city will hold a public hearing on Monday, Aug. 17, to take public testimony on the terms of the sale.
Sealaska Heritage Institute is a non-profit tribal organization founded in 1980 to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. Its goals are to promote cross-cultural understanding by educating the general public about the Indigenous cultures of Alaska. SHI also conducts scientific and public policy research that promotes Alaska Native arts, cultures, history and education statewide. The institute is governed by a Board of Trustees and guided by a Council of Traditional Scholars, a Native Artist Committee, a Southeast Regional Language Committee and an Education Committee.
CONTACT: Kathy Dye, SHI Communications and Publications Deputy Director, 907.321.4636, kathy.dye@sealaska.com.
Captions from top: The facade of the arts building. The structure as seen from Marine Way. Heritage Square, which currently includes SHI’s Atnané Hít (Sealaska Heritage Arts Campus), Walter Soboleff Building, its Indigenous Science Building and the Sealaska building. Schematics by MRV Architects, courtesy of Sealaska Heritage Institute. Note: Media outlets are welcome to use these photos for coverage of this story. For higher resolution images, contact kathy.dye@sealaskaheritage.com.
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What does the ultimate lifestyle queen, Martha Stewart, think of Meghan Markle?
The Duchess of Sussex is diving deeply into that market, with As Ever and With Love, Meghan.
Meanwhile, Martha seldom minces words even when remaining extremely polite.
She actually met Meghan recently. That won’t necessarily make her assessment any kinder.
‘I had dinner with Meghan Markle the other night’
Speaking to people, the legendary Martha Stewart spoke to People about her encounter with the duchess.
“I had dinner with Meghan Markle the other night,” she shared.
Martha explained: “We were both guests at a dinner party in California.”
The other night is a little vague. She narrowed things down a little.
“And she had just gotten back from the palace,” the 85-year-old living legend specified.
In early July, Meghan and Prince Harry took their two children, Archie and Lilibet, on a trip to the UK.
During that time, there were royal meetings.
They also spent some time at Harry’s maternal ancestral home, which sent unhinged royalists into a frenzy.
Martha simply means that it was a few weeks ago.
As for the content of their exchange, she did share a little more — without telling tales out of school.
‘It doesn’t sort of follow’
“I didn’t talk to her really more than to say a couple words,” Martha clarified.
So it’s not really as though she was chatting up a storm.
This was more of a name-drop, it seems, even though surely Martha Stewart does not need to name-drop anyone.
“But I know she was talking about it,” Martha added.
During the interview, People then asked her if she had any thoughts on the duchess’ With Love, Meghan … which some might see as an intrusion into Martha’s fiefdom.
“If you’re an actress,” Martha amused, “it’s hard to then transition to a princess.”
She continued: “And then from a princess into a homemaking guru on a television show.”
Martha explained: “It doesn’t sort of follow. So go from there.”
That’s a little vague. It sounds like it could be potentially shady … but isn’t really a condemnation of Meghan.
It’s more or less indisputable that Meghan has had to put a lot of effort into changing her image from Duchess of Sussex to As Ever founder and lifestyle influencer. She is, after all, still a duchess.
Martha Stewart: It’s ‘Hard’ for Meghan Markle to Go from … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
The Hollywood Gossip
Most Americans aren’t getting enough fiber, and one way to easily amp up is looking for foods with the most when dining out, like this Culver’s burger.
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