🎯 SUCCESS 🧠 BRAIN 💸 MONEY 🧭 SPACES 🌍 TRAVEL 🎙️ PODCASTS 📺 VIDEOS 🎥 CRIME & MOVIES
  • Skip to main content

Mad Mad News

CURATED FOR CLARITY

Curated for Clarity

MMN Editor

‘Fire Country’ star Diane Farr leaves Los Angeles after 30 years to start her ‘third act’

July 31, 2026 MMN Editor Filed Under: THE NEWS

“Fire Country” star Diane Farr has left Los Angeles after 30 years.The 56-year-old actress took to Instagram to share snippets from her “Last Day in LA,” noting she has lived in the city for “exactly 30 years” and that “more importantly- I chose LA.””I wasn’t born here, I didn’t go to school here – I just had a chance for representation as an actor and I moved out of NYC the summer I was 26,” she wrote. “I came like most of the people I love in Hollywoodland – none of which I saw this week bc moving sucks.”She went on to say that she came to Los Angeles “chasing a dream that I am still shocked worked out.”‘SOPRANOS’ STAR JAMIE-LYNN SIGLER FLED HOLLYWOOD FOR TEXAS WHERE SHE NO LONGER FEELS ‘WATCHED’Farr’s acting career began in the ’90s, with the actress landing her breakthrough role in “Roswell” in 1999. She later earned leading roles in “Numb3rs,” “Splitting Up Together” and, most recently, “Fire Country.”In addition to her acting career, Farr also reflected on the many other positive experiences she had while living in Los Angeles, including starting a family.”I also got to raise babies in the sun and the mountains and enjoy this beautiful home and attend public schools ??” she said. “Pinch me I’m overwhelmed by the blessings and hope, really hope I gave enough back. LA will always be where my family is from.”Farr shares three children with her ex-husband, Seung Yong Chung: son Beckett, 18, and twin daughters Coco and Sawyer, 17.CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTERThe video showed snippets of her final day in the city, including shots of her saying goodbye to her home and her motorcycle, driving away in a 15′ truck and photos of memories in the home.She explained she has gone through many “phases” in the home and is now entering her “third act,” in which she “settles into whatever it is I’m supposed to be…as a one,” hinting it could include “a couple of countries I never saw myself in.””We are just taking a hiatus now – a word I learned here – so we are letting the house go,” she concluded her caption. “But god damn this was harder than I thought. To leave this house. To leave this dream, even if it is realized – and to leave home. Thank you #cityofangels.”Many fans took to the comments section to wish the actress good luck in the next chapter of her life, with one writing, “Good luck and safe travels as you start the next book in your series of life.”LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSAnother fan added, “Lots of great memories to remember ❤️ on the next chapter to make even more amazing memories ❤️,” while a third wrote, “A new adventure awaits you, believe in the journey and the magic 🫶🏻💖🙌🏻.”The season four finale of “Fire Country” aired in May.

Riley Gaines says WNBA is ‘hellbent’ on being an activist organization over a basketball league

July 31, 2026 MMN Editor Filed Under: THE NEWS

The reaction from some in the WNBA to Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham voicing her support of keeping biological men out of women’s sports has been about what you might expect: wild.With some wild behavior coming from the league, Riley Gaines gave her take on the matter in the latest episode of her podcast, “The Riley Gaines Show.”The former collegiate swimmer made it clear that she practices what she preaches and is focused on ensuring that women and girls get the opportunities in sports that were meant for them.SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM SEES SUPPORT SURGE AFTER STAR PUTS CAREER ON LINE FOR GIRLS SPORTS”My entire brand has been built on protecting women’s sports,” Gaines said. “And that’s not just a slogan that I say for social media or for clicks online. I really mean it. I want women to have the opportunity to compete and to succeed in their sport, whatever that sport may be.”But the WNBA, they seem determined to sabotage (themselves) at every single opportunity.”And this time, as Gaines pointed out, this situation with how Cunningham and those who share similar views on the topic of keeping women’s sports safe and fair — which is most people — has the league at a real crossroads.WNBA SUDDENLY WANTS TO STICK TO BASKETBALL AFTER YEARS OF MAKING POLITICS PART OF THE PRODUCT”They can either be a professional women’s basketball league, or they can be an activist organization that occasionally plays basketball,” she said. And it seems as if they’re hellbent on fulfilling the latter.”Of course, what is going on in the WNBA is just a part of the greater landscape. Gaines noted that the optics of adults — including a team owner — yelling at teenagers for supporting a common-sense belief is a disturbing look for society at large.”When grown adults feel emboldened to pick on teenage girls, there is something seriously wrong with society,” she said. “How could you possibly stand there and think that you are the bigger person?”It’s a fair question, and one that some folks are going to need to grapple with.

Tackle Your Credit Card Debt by Paying 0% Interest Until 2028

July 31, 2026 MMN Editor Filed Under: THE NEWS

(Note: Thank you for supporting businesses like those presenting a sponsored message below and ordering through the links below, which benefits Gateway Pundit. We appreciate your support!)

Did you know some credit cards can actually help you get out of debt faster?
Yes, it sounds crazy. But it’s true.
The secret: Find a card with a “0% intro APR” period for balance transfers.
Then, transfer your debt balance and pay it down as much as possible during the intro period. No interest means you could pay off the debt faster.
Check out these cards today so you can focus on planning your next trip.

The post Tackle Your Credit Card Debt by Paying 0% Interest Until 2028 appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

S&P 500 ends with its first July decline since 2014. Here are the stocks that led the selloff.

July 31, 2026 MMN Editor Filed Under: MarketWatch, SUCCESS

After a whipsaw end to the month, the stock market’s decline was highlighted by the worst month for chip stocks in 24 years.

Bitcoin holds monthly gain, faces ‘choppy’ August as ‘forced-selling’ exhausted, analysts say

July 31, 2026 MMN Editor Filed Under: Coindesk, SUCCESS

The largest crypto shrugged off a barrage of bad news this month, but traders remain cautious as rate hike fears and jobs data loom.

The Fourth Turning Is Here: The Old Order Is Breaking Down

July 31, 2026 MMN Editor Filed Under: THE NEWS

The Fourth Turning Is Here: The Old Order Is Breaking Down

Authored by Chris MacIntosh via InternationalMan.com,

In 1997, historians William Strauss and Neil Howe published “The Fourth Turning,” a cyclical theory of Anglo-American history built around generational archetypes and recurring saecular rhythms of approximately 80 to 100 years — roughly the length of a long human life.

Their framework identified four “turnings,” each lasting roughly 20 to 25 years, that repeat in sequence.

The First Turning, the High, is an era of institutional confidence and community solidarity following a great crisis. The rules work, people trust them, conformity is rewarded — think the post-WWII boom, or the post-Civil War Reconstruction era.

The Second Turning, the Awakening, is a spiritual and cultural awakening that challenges the institutional consensus of the High. Individualism resurges; the establishment is questioned — the consciousness revolution of the 1960s-70s, the Second Great Awakening of the 1820s-30s.

The Third Turning, the Unraveling, sees institutions weaken, individualism reach its apex, and civic order decay. Trust collapses — in government, media, corporations, each other — as it did through the Culture Wars era of the 1980s-90s, or the Gilded Age of the 1870s-90s.

The Fourth Turning, the Crisis, is a decisive era of institutional destruction and reconstruction, typically catalysed by an existential threat — war, economic collapse, or civilisational rupture. The old order is swept away; a new one is forged. The Great Depression and WWII. The Civil War. The American Revolution.

“History is seasonal, and winter is coming.”

— William Strauss and Neil Howe, The Fourth Turning, 1997

The Current Position

By Strauss and Howe’s reckoning, the current Fourth Turning began around 2008 — the Global Financial Crisis being its catalytic spark — and will likely reach its resolution sometime in the 2025-2030 window. We are, in other words, in the heart of it. The battles being fought now — over monetary systems, institutional legitimacy, national sovereignty, and the nature of truth itself — are the defining conflicts of the crisis era.

What Fourth Turnings produce is not predictable in detail but consistent in structure: the old institutions are exposed as either corrupt or incompetent, a battle ensues between competing visions of the replacement order, and the outcome is determined by which faction can mobilise sufficient force — social, political, economic, or military — to impose its vision. The process is neither clean nor just. Fourth Turnings historically produce enormous suffering alongside the reconstruction.

The GFC was Act One: the revelation that the financial system was not a wealth-generation machine but a debt-recycling mechanism sustained by regulatory capture and central bank intervention. The quantitative easing programmes that followed — printing roughly $20 trillion across major central banks between 2008 and 2022 — bought time at the cost of massively inflating asset prices, concentrating wealth, and making the eventual reckoning worse.

Covid was Act Two: a simultaneous crisis of public health, institutional credibility, and civil liberties, weaponised by an apparatus of state control that had been building for decades and found in the pandemic a perfect justification for deployment at scale. More on this shortly.

Act Three is visible on the horizon: the currency crisis that follows years of money creation, the geopolitical realignment driven by a rising China and a fragmenting Western alliance, and the social rupture of populations that have been systematically lied to discovering the magnitude of the deception. Fourth Turnings do not end until the crisis is resolved. We have not arrived there yet.

*  *  *

If we are deep into a Fourth Turning, the years ahead could bring far greater economic, political, and social disruption than most people expect. Understanding the forces driving this shift may be essential to protecting both your wealth and your personal freedom. Our free special report, Clash of the Systems: Thoughts on Investing at a Unique Point in Time, reveals the trends now reshaping the world, the risks they create, and how a contrarian investor could position to stay one step ahead. Get instant access to Clash of the Systems.

Tyler Durden
Fri, 07/31/2026 – 17:00

How much longer does Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney realistically have in Death Valley?

July 31, 2026 MMN Editor Filed Under: THE NEWS

If I were to ask you to describe Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney in one word, your response would likely hinge almost entirely on how far back your memory goes when it comes to watching college football.If you’re fairly new to the sport, you would probably use words like “washed” or “cooked” or even “fired” given his performance relative to expectations since the turn of the decade.Fans who have been around for a while longer and know why those expectations exist at Clemson would opt to use words like “legend” or “champion.”‘HOT SEAT RANKINGS’ FOR ALL 16 SEC COACHES AS BEGINNING OF 2026 COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON DRAWS NEARERHowever, if you’re an older college football fan and happen to remember the Tigers pre Dabo, you’d use words like “god” or “untouchable.”This is because you would be painfully aware of where Clemson was as a program in the years leading up to Swinney’s arrival.Sure, the Tigers have a national championship from the early 80s, but outside of that, no one was counting Clemson as a blue blood in the three decades before Dabo donned the tiger paw-crested polo.CURT CIGNETTI REVEALS HOW WORKING FOR NICK SABAN CHANGED EVERYTHING: ‘EVERY DAY WAS 4TH-AND-1’From 1990-2008, the Tigers finished a season ranked inside the AP top-10 just once, as coaches like Tommy West and Tommy Bowden produced middling results year after year.Enter Swinney, who, after becoming the full-time coach in 2009, has a robust 180-47 record, seven AP top-ten finishes, a remarkable nine ACC championships, and two national titles to his name.All of that is to say, Dabo Swinney is Clemson football.THREE INTRIGUING QUARTERBACK BATTLES TO WATCH DURING COLLEGE FOOTBALL OFFSEASON CAMPSBut after a disappointing 2025 season in which the Tigers went from top-five preseason Playoff darlings to Pinstripe Bowl losers, is the clock ticking for the winningest coach in ACC football history?It’s been well documented that Swinney is rather resistant to change in the world of college football, particularly when it comes to NIL and the transfer portal, both of which are seen as essential to competing in today’s day and age.You could make the argument that Dabo’s unwillingness to embrace modernity has put Clemson a step behind the elites of college football, but the Tigers just won an ACC Championship and were in the College Football Playoff two years ago.The question then becomes, is that good enough?Is getting an invite to the dance but never being dangerous enough to win the whole thing acceptable now that Swinney himself has ratcheted up the expectations in western South Carolina?That remains to be seen. The natives are restless, but as far as I (or anyone else, for that matter) can tell, leadership doesn’t seem to be in a big rush to show Dabo the door.That brings us to this coming season.What will 2026 look like for the Tigers and what is a “safe” year for Swinney?Contrary to what they showed last season, I think Clemson will have a big bounce back year this season.As long as they get the quarterback decision right (and that’s a big “if”), the Tigers have weapons like TJ Moore and Bryant Wesco Jr. to field a dynamic offense.We talked about Swinney’s affinity for familiarity in the face of change, so he will likely be thrilled to see an old friend in Chad Morris back on the headset as Clemson’s offensive coordinator.Morris was the OC for the Tigers from 2011-2014, which is right around the time the program started ascending, so maybe a familiar face from the glory days is just what Dabo needs to right the ship.There is talent to be found all over this roster, but that’s never been the issue.I think Swinney and the Tigers will relish in the fact that no one is talking about them this offseason.Leading up to the 2025 season, Clemson and Swinney were expected to compete for a national title, and they crumbled beneath the weight of their own goals.This year’s squad is similarly talented, but will be flying under the radar, and that could be a blessing.The schedule is a mixed bag, though, as the Tigers open up with their fellow striped-cat brethren in LSU.Outside of that game and a home contest against Miami, though, the slate for 2026 looks more than manageable.Clemson will be the more talented team in almost all of their match ups, save for the two aforementioned games against LSU and Miami, so 9-3 or 10-2 is absolutely within reach.That kind of year would easily buy Swinney some more time, but based on everything we’ve discussed, I’m not sure he even needs it.Never say never, but I truly believe Dabo Swinney has the closest thing to a “lifetime contract” at Clemson that you’ll see in modern sports.Swinney has done everything he can to turn the Tigers into a traditional power in college football, so when the time comes for Dabo to call it quits, he will likely be doing so on his own schedule.I don’t know if Clemson will ever achieve the heights they reached in the 2010s with Swinney at the helm again.For now, eight to ten wins and an occasional CFP berth might be the ceiling until Swinney decides to call it quits.Or maybe the pendulum swings back the other direction with regard to NIL and the transfer portal, and Dabo looks like a genius playing the long game.Either way, Dabo Swinney likely isn’t going anywhere, this year or beyond.Clemson fans will have to accept that and, in the meantime, appreciate everything the man has done for your program.It will be a long time before another coach like him comes along.

‘Free speech’: Muzzle comes off therapists who help kids struggling with gender dysphoria

July 31, 2026 MMN Editor Filed Under: THE NEWS

Religious liberty attorneys secured a legal victory for therapists who treat children struggling with gender confusion.
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty secured a permanent order on Thursday from U.S. District Judge Jane Beckering requiring Michigan to stop enforcing its 2023 law that barred counselors from engaging in talk therapy aimed at helping children struggling with gender dysphoria, according to a press release by the legal organization. This comes after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in March that similar treatments are protected by the First Amendment.
Democratic Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
“Michigan’s crackdown on talk therapy pushed children with gender dysphoria toward harmful, irreversible drugs and surgeries; the harms of these procedures are so serious that 26 states and at least five European countries have banned or significantly restricted them,” Becket senior counsel Luke Goodrich — who served as the counselors’ lead attorney — told the DCNF. “Thankfully, the Constitution stopped Michigan’s attack on free speech, religious liberty, and children in need.”
Goodrich said he wasn’t surprised that Michigan backed down, stating that the First Amendment “clearly protects conversations between counselors and their clients, and Michigan had no constitutional basis for silencing them.”
“The court’s order protects every licensed Michigan professional who practices talk therapy, not just the counselors who brought this case. It’s a major victory for kids, counselors, and common sense,” Goodrich added.

Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Jim Cramer sends major Astera Labs signal to investors

July 31, 2026 MMN Editor Filed Under: SUCCESS, The Street

Jim Cramer just told investors to buy a stock he once thought was too expensive.During the July 29 “Lightning Round” on CNBC’s “Mad Money,” a caller asked about Astera Labs (ALAB), and Cramer did not hesitate to comment. He said the fundamentals had not changed and that the recent drop came down to market mood, not the business itself.That call is noteworthy because Cramer had been cautious on Astera Labs before, pointing to its steep valuation next to established chip names.The timing is what makes this interesting for investors. Astera Labs reports second-quarter results on August 4, so anyone acting on the advice is stepping in right before a result that could move the stock in either direction.What Jim Cramer actually said about Astera Labs stockCramer’s verdict was blunt. According to CNBC, he said that nothing changed with the company and that the drop was a matter of sentiment, before landing on his signature “buy, buy, buy.”The reversal matters because Cramer had flagged Astera Labs as pricey in comparison to a proven player like Broadcom (AVGO). Cramer’s shift suggests the stock got cheaper while the business itself stayed the same.A well-known voice is signaling that a beaten-down AI stock has reached a level he considers attractive, but a signal is not a guarantee.

Astera Labs makes the connectivity hardware that moves data between chips inside AI data centers.SOPA Images / Getty Images

Why Astera Labs stock fell so far so fastAstera Labs hit an all-time high of $499.48 on June 30, 2026, according to Yahoo Finance. By late July, it had fallen into the mid-$200s.That is a decline of more than 40% in a matter of weeks. The drop followed a general fall in AI stocks. Investors also cashed in gains after a huge run-up, and grew more anxious about how much Big Tech companies are spending to build data centers.More AI Stocks:Nvidia CEO doubles down on AI and stock market verdictOverlooked AI stock is growing faster than NvidiaThe AI secret behind Qualcomm’s price hikeShares rose more than 15% on July 30, trading near $288.66, according to Google Finance.None of that selling came from a problem inside the business. Astera Labs’ first-quarter revenue increased 93% year over year to $308.4 million, even as the stock fell. Cramer’s point was that the business kept growing while the price did the opposite.What Astera Labs does and why it keeps growingAstera Labs designs semiconductor-based connectivity products, including smart retimers, cable modules, and memory controllers.AI chips need to constantly send huge amounts of data back and forth, and without the right hardware in between, that data can slow down and cause delays. Related: Jim Cramer has terrifying one-word message for tech stock investorsAstera Labs makes the parts that keep the data moving smoothly.The company does not build the AI chips that get the headlines. It sells the hardware that links those chips together.Astera Labs can benefit from the AI buildout no matter which chipmaker wins, because the connections still have to be made. The earnings report that could decide the next moveAstera Labs releases second-quarter results after the market closes on August 4, Stock Titan reported. Management guided second-quarter revenue to $355 million to $365 million, up roughly 85% to 90% from a year earlier. That would mean Astera Labs is on track to grow sales by almost double in a single year.Non-GAAP earnings guidance sits at $0.68 to $0.70 per share, up from $0.37 a year ago.Wall Street analysts expect about the same numbers: roughly $360 million in revenue and $0.69 per share in earnings. In other words, Wall Street thinks Astera Labs will hit its own target, not beat or miss it by much.The setup cuts both ways:A strong report that meets or beats the revenue target could send shares sharply higher.Any hint of slowing data center demand could push the stock down again.Buying just before a report like this means accepting short-term risk. The stock can rise or fall on August 5.The valuation question investors still cannot ignoreEven after the drop, Astera Labs is not cheap.The stock trades at a forward price-to-earnings multiple above 190x, which means investors are still paying for years of expected growth in advance.For context, a high multiple like that leaves little room for error. If growth slows even slightly, a richly priced stock tends to fall harder than a cheap one.Cramer argues that the recent selloff improved the risk-and-reward balance, not that the stock became a bargain. Those are different claims, and the distinction matters for how much you commit.How analysts and investors can approach ALAB from hereWall Street sits somewhere between Cramer’s enthusiasm and outright caution.The consensus rating across 19 analysts is a “Moderate Buy,” with an average 12-month price target of $317.50. That average target points to about a 10% increase from current levels. It is a solid but not dramatic gain, suggesting analysts see the stock as reasonably priced rather than deeply undervalued.For investors weighing a position, a few practical steps can help you manage the risk:Steps to consider before buying ALABCheck whether your portfolio already leans heavily on high-volatility AI infrastructure names before adding another.Consider building a position in stages, such as part before August 4 and part after, to soften the impact of an earnings surprise.Watch the average analyst target of $317.50 as a rough gauge of where institutions see fair value.Dollar-cost averaging, or buying in smaller pieces over time instead of all at once, is a common way to handle a stock this volatile before an earnings reportThe bottom line on Cramer’s Astera Labs callCramer’s call comes down to one belief: He thinks Astera Labs is still a strong, growing business, and the only thing that changed is how much investors are willing to pay for it right now. In his view, the stock got cheaper for reasons that have nothing to do with how the company is actually performing. That belief is about to be tested. Astera Labs still trades at a price that assumes years of continued fast growth, so the stock has little room for a disappointing quarter. And the company reports earnings on August 4, just days away. A strong report could prove Cramer right and send the stock higher. However, a weak one, especially any sign that AI data center spending is slowing, could send it right back down.That timing matters for how you approach this. If you’re investing for the long term and you believe the AI buildout still has years to run, buying now means getting in below June’s peak, even with the near-term risk. If you’d rather not gamble on a single earnings report, waiting until after August 4 costs you nothing but a few days, and it removes the biggest unknown hanging over the stock.Either way, the smarter move is to treat Cramer’s recommendation as a starting point, not a final answer. Look at the earnings numbers yourself when they come out, and decide whether the growth story still holds up before you commit.Related: Jim Cramer says he’s steering clear of one popular stock

From Nazi Tats To Kissing Cousins: Maine Democrats Go Full Jerry Springer

July 31, 2026 MMN Editor Filed Under: THE NEWS

From Nazi Tats To Kissing Cousins: Maine Democrats Go Full Jerry Springer

In the span of a few weeks, Maine Democrats replaced their U.S. Senate nominee amid a cascade of personal controversies, with a guy who’s been banging his 2nd cousin for years. 

Platner’s Collapse

Graham Platner, a Marine Corps veteran and oyster farmer, had emerged as a progressive populist challenger to five-term Republican Sen. Susan Collins. He secured the Democratic nomination in June 2026 despite a string of earlier controversies that included inflammatory Reddit posts, reports of sexually explicit texts sent to women while married, and a chest tattoo resembling the Totenkopf (a skull-and-crossbones emblem associated with Nazi SS units and concentration camp guards).

Platner said he got the tattoo in 2007 while drinking on leave in Croatia with fellow Marines and claimed he did not know its Nazi associations until the campaign. Multiple former romantic partners disputed that account, saying he had referred to it as “my Totenkopf” years earlier. Exes also described patterns of rough physical behavior, crude comments about women, and fantasies involving dominance through rape.

The decisive blow came in early July 2026, when a former girlfriend, Jenny Racicot, alleged that Platner had sexually assaulted her in late 2021 while intoxicated. Platner denied the claim, calling it false. Facing pressure from party leaders and the withdrawal of key support, he suspended his campaign and formally withdrew, clearing the way for a replacement under Maine party rules.

Enter Troy Jackson

Maine Democrats moved quickly. On July 25, 2026, they selected Troy Jackson, a fifth-generation logger from the remote Allagash area in the St. John Valley, former state Senate president, and progressive with strong union ties. Jackson had previously run for governor with support from Sen. Bernie Sanders and positioned himself as a working-class alternative. He won the special nominating process decisively and now faces Collins in a race that could influence Senate control.

Within days of Jackson’s formal selection, independent reporting from The Maine Wire (followed by national coverage in the New York Post and Daily Wire) revealed that his longtime partner, Lana Pelletier – his high school sweetheart and the mother of his two adult sons, Chace and Camden – is his second cousin by blood.

Genealogical records and local knowledge show they share great-grandparents Thomas Pelletier and Edith Thibodeau:

Jackson’s maternal grandmother (Albertine Pelletier O’Leary) and Pelletier’s paternal grandfather (Louis A. Pelletier Sr.) were siblings.
This makes Jackson’s mother (Colleen McBreairty) and Pelletier’s father (Louis “Louie” Pelletier Jr.) first cousins.
Therefore, Troy Jackson and Lana Pelletier are second cousins.
Via @SteveRob

 Oh… 

When your debate partner says he wants to introduce you to his wife and cousin but there’s only one person with him…. pic.twitter.com/9bqUuovFbs
— Magills (@magills_) July 31, 2026
The pair has been together for decades, raised two sons (who are simultaneously third cousins), and never obtained a marriage license. Jackson has sometimes referred to Pelletier as his wife in older materials but more often as his partner; she works as a clinical care specialist for the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. The relationship has been an open secret in the small, isolated Allagash community for years.

Second-cousin relationships and marriage are legal under Maine law with no special restrictions (unlike first-cousin unions, which face additional requirements). Genetic experts generally view the increased risk of inherited disorders as negligible compared with the general population. Such pairings are not unheard of in sparsely populated rural areas with limited dating pools and deep family interconnections.

Political Optics

The sequence was immediate and unsubtle. Critics and online commentators framed it as Democrats trading one set of personal liabilities – allegations of abusive behavior toward women and a Nazi-linked tattoo – for a nominee whose domestic life involves a blood relative of the second-cousin variety.

Just caught up with Troy Jackson in DC — asked him for some dating advice since he apparently knew the right places to take his cousin
📷 @townhallcom’s @storm_paglia pic.twitter.com/PbmdKOaR6B
— Matthew Foldi (@MatthewFoldi) July 31, 2026
Defenders noted that nothing illegal occurred, that the relationship predates Jackson’s political career by decades, and that focusing on it distracts from policy differences with Collins.

Jackson has built his brand on authentic North Woods working-class roots. The revelation does not change the formal legality of his long-term partnership, nor does it involve any allegation of non-consent or criminality. It does, however, underscore how personal histories – whether tattoos, relationship conduct, or family trees – can rapidly dominate a high-stakes Senate race once they surface.

Tyler Durden
Fri, 07/31/2026 – 16:40

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 50
  • Page 51
  • Page 52
  • Page 53
  • Page 54
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 1444
  • Go to Next Page »

© 2026 Mad Mad News™ · OGGHY Media™ Live Above the Madness™ Independent news, signals, and analysis. Atlanta, Georgia

Live Above The Madness

Market Wire + Business Live

Bloomberg Business News Live

Live market context: Watch the money signal while tracking headlines, gold, oil, risk, and opportunity.

Open Live Streams Bloomberg

Market News Headlines

WSJ + Gold / Oil

Gold

Fear, inflation, currency pressure, central banks, and global instability.

Gold Chart Track Gold Gold News

Oil

Energy pressure, shipping lanes, geopolitics, inflation, and consumer prices.

WTI Chart Brent Chart Track Oil Oil News

Risk Signals

Risk + Opportunity

Follow shipping disruptions, war risk, inflation pressure, credit stress, dollar strength, and market instability.

Market Risk Shipping Risk Inflation Risk Geo Risk Dollar Signal Credit Stress

MMN Read

Markets are not just numbers. They are a live map of fear, confidence, war, debt, energy, and opportunity.

Watch The Levers

Gold, oil, dollar strength, credit stress, and shipping lanes can move faster than ordinary headlines explain.