Trending
McConnell
returning
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is returning to vote in the Senate. The 94-year-old senator has not been to the U.S. Capitol since June 14, when he was hospitalized for a fall in his home.
His three-month absence from the Senate generated a flood of criticism and online speculation, as the Kentucky senator initially remained quiet for weeks about his condition.
The 84-year-old senator eventually disclosed that he had been "briefly unconscious" due to a fall and had also been treated for mild pneumonia in the hospital.
Defendant
denied bond
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- A man arrested in the hanging death of a 29-year-old Black woman in Mississippi has pleaded not guilty to a murder charge. Tasia Fortune’s body was found hanging from a tree behind an abandoned home in Jackson last month, and police said Friday that they had charged 51-year-old Jarques Ratliff, who is also Black, in her death.
During Ratliff’s initial court appearance Monday, he pleaded not guilty and the judge denied him bond. No motive has been given for the killing.
Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney told reporters last week that there was an “association” between the victim and suspect, but she didn’t elaborate.
Election
plans launched
(AP) -- Democratic state parties are launching an operation for the midterm elections intended to recruit 10,000 volunteers to guard polling places in case armed federal officers show up.
Activists are planning mass protests if the Trump administration tries to interfere with voting or ballot counting. And legal scholars are distributing white papers on what judges should do if the government tries to seize ballots. One of those efforts was announced Monday.
The so-called New Battlefield Project is in response to President Donald Trump’s efforts to interfere in this year’s midterm elections. The contingency planning has become a marker for how fraught democracy has become in the U.S.
Bob Mackie
dies at 87
NEW YORK (AP) -- Fashion designer Bob Mackie has died at 87. A statement on his social accounts said he died in Palm Springs on Monday. The cause of death was given as pneumonia. His designs defined the 1970s, dressing stars like Carol Burnett and Cher in iconic outfits.
Mackie won nine Emmy Awards, a Tony, and was nominated for three Oscars. He dressed celebrities such as Madonna and Diana Ross, and his influence continues today with stars like Zendaya. He also designed the gown Marilyn Monroe wore to croon “Happy Birthday” to John F. Kennedy.
Known as the “Sultan of Sequins,” Mackie believed in enhancing natural beauty. His work spanned Broadway and television, creating memorable looks that combined fashion with fantasy.