Kentucky’s Governor Andy Beshear said Sunday that Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) “absolutely refuses” to make a two-minute proof-of-life video to reassure his constituents he is healthy and able to serve.

While speaking to CBS News’ White House political correspondent Ed O’Keefe on Face the Nation, Beshear explained:

I’ve heard absolutely nothing back from Mitch McConnell. And while I do hope that he is getting better, I’ve known him my entire life. I wish him no harm, I actually wish him good health. His boss are the people of Kentucky, and this is why the Senate, the Republican-controlled Senate, feels so broken. They feel like they’re not accountable to anyone. All he needs to do is call into this show for two minutes, or Fox News for two minutes, or do a video for two minutes to the people he’s supposed to serve. But you know what? He absolutely refuses to do it. And then John Thune, as the leader of the Senate, you’ve got a duty to make sure all of your senators have the capacity to serve. And what is he saying? Not my job. That’s not surprising. None of them will do their job right now and stand up to a president that is running over the Constitution at every turn.

McConnell returned home on August 6 after a weeks-long stay in a D.C. area hospital.

A statement he issued that day read, “Earlier today, I was discharged from the rehabilitation center to continue my recovery at home. Elaine and I are grateful for the many well wishes and support from friends, colleagues, and Kentuckians, and for the attentive care I’ve received from excellent doctors, nurses, therapists, and hospital staff.”

The statement continued, “On the advice of my doctors, I’ll maintain an intensive regimen of physical therapy from home during the state work period, and I’ll continue to engage with my staff and colleagues on important Senate business.”

Watch the above via CBS News.

The post Kentucky Gov. Beshear Says Mitch McConnell ‘Absolutely Refuses’ to Make a Proof-of-Life Video first appeared on Mediaite.

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President Donald Trump is getting a lot of attention Sunday, but for reasons that may mystify.

Video from a Trump event in New York on Friday Aug. 14 prompted plenty of speculation about what exactly might be going on with the president’s backside — which, according to many left-leaning observers, purported to show Trump harboring a mysterious bulge, or box-shaped item. The president spoke to a group of supporters on Long Island highlighting his administration’s efforts to fight crime, but the focus from the progressive pundits was on his posterior.

“Seriously, what is going on with Trump’s rear end here? It looks like he has some sort of contraption back there,” wrote progressive influencer Aaron Rupar — who shared a video that was taken by outgoing White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

“It depends,” George Conway answered — an apparent reference to the line of adult incontinence products.

Czech-American tennis legend Martina Navratilova also noted, “That’s a big diaper, I think:).”

Other left-wing social media notables also commented on the video, which has quickly gained traction on X:

——

The post ‘What is Going on With Trump’s Rear?’ Viral Clip Sparks Speculation and Mockery from Left-Wing Pundits first appeared on Mediaite.

MS NOW anchor Eugene Daniels bluntly asked Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin why people were leaking accusations of paranoia inside the organization.

Martin appeared on MS NOW’s The Weekend Saturday, where he painted a rosy picture inside the organization weeks after reports claimed he threw a phone in frustration.
He denied the claims, calling them inaccurate:

JACQUELINE ALEMANY: Chairman Martin, I wanted to give you an opportunity to respond to some allegations made by some of your staffers, current and former.

The Times reported at the end of last month that you threw a phone at a junior staffer’s desk, that it prompted an HR complaint.

Multiple sources also described a growing sense of paranoia inside DNC headquarters under your leadership and that the staff had become afraid of leaks and decisions that you were making in isolation.

I’m wondering if this reporting is accurate, if you recognize this description of yourself and whether you have changed at all the way that you manage your staff.

MARTIN: Well, the reporting is not accurate, but what I would say is every day when I go into the DNC, what I see is a staff that works extremely hard. They’re working overtime. I’m usually the first one in, the last one to leave.

And I can tell you that the team at the DNC is doing exceedingly great work to prepare for these upcoming elections. And what we’re focused on is that in the next 80 days, right? We have to take this vote on the calendar and, of course, we have to look ahead a little bit.

But where the staff at the DNC that I’m so proud to work with every single day is focused is actually on winning this November. And we’ve been winning, by the way, 90% of the elections over the last 18 months we’ve been winning and I’m proud of that record.

I’m proud of the money that we’ve raised, I’m what we’ve able to do to make the investments to help us win up and down the ballot both in our candidate campaigns, both in the infrastructure, both in state parties. And that is a testament to the work at the DNC and the great colleagues that I get to work.

And I will just say this, our motto at the DNC is pretty simple, all gas, no brakes. At this point, we’re drowning out the noise and we’re focused on actually winning.

And so while other folks want to focus on, you know, everything, all the noise on the outside, what the DNC staff is, as they put their heads down, they’re focused on the work ahead.

EUGENE DANIELS: But to be fair, Mr. Chairman, some of this noise is coming from the inside, right?

And I guess we’re trying to, and I think Democrats, I know you guys at the DNC think Democrats don’t want to talk about this and they just want to focus on the calendar and moving forward and the winning.

But there is a question to some of these specific allegations.

And I guess why do you think these leaks are happening, even when you ask folks to keep the leaks inside, the leak, that’s so sure for our way to make sure the leaks come out when you guys are having private conversations, but if none of the reporting is true, why are people saying it about you?

MARTIN: You know I don’t know but as I travel across the country Eugene what I hear from American people, they’re not focused on any of that.

They’re focused on the fact that they can afford their lives that they’re paying $4 more in gas that they can’t put groceries on the table that they were worried about their job they’re worried about their family actually being able to get ahead and not just get by.

Watch above via MS NOW.

The post MS NOW Anchor Bluntly Asks Ken Martin DNC ‘Paranoia’ Accusations: ‘Some of This Noise Is Coming from the Inside, Right?’ first appeared on Mediaite.

CNN’s Pamela Brown defended Karoline Leavitt’s reasons for leaving her White House role as “pretty legit” on Saturday’s The Arena.

President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that Leavitt was leaving her role as press secretary. She will remain an advisor to the administration as she focuses more on family after having given birth to her second child in May. At 27, she became the youngest person to serve as White House press secretary.

On The Arena, Dana Bash argued it’s good to have more women like Leavitt in top roles because it brings motherhood and the difficulty of work/life balance into the conversation more.

“I have one. You have three babies,” she told Brown. “It is hard, but there’s — and we all have demanding jobs. People out there have more than one job that they have to do in order to make ends meet — but this is one of the, frankly, one of the benefits of having these discussions of having more women in public life in the workforce,” she said.

Leavitt’s departure from the White House sent shockwaves through Washington, D.C. Brown and others on her panel were stumped when trying to name a worthy replacement as an effective communicator for the president.

Brown said she sees only personal reasons in Leavitt’s decision and joked that most who cite family as the reason for leaving a job are usually viewed as just spewing hot air:

By the way, someone made a joke, I forgot who it was, just like in Washington, so often when people leave a job, you know, they say, I want to spend more time with my family, and everyone kind of brushes it off.

I think in this case, it seems pretty legit. You can’t, you can’t blame her for wanting that. And she’ll still be a top outside advisor. But it’s a loss for President Trump. I mean, she has been one of his key messengers.

Watch above via CNN.

The post CNN’s Pamela Brown Defends Karoline Levitt’s Reason for Leaving White House: ‘Seems Pretty Legit’ first appeared on Mediaite.

AP Photo/Ryan Murphy

The family of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson called Luigi Mangione’s guilty plea “an important step toward justice,” as the now-confessed killer’s sentencing date was officially set.

In their first public statements since the father of two was brutally gunned down on a Manhattan street, the Thompson family noted more potential prosecutions ahead for Mangione following Friday’s emergency hearing in Manhattan Federal Court.

“Today’s guilty plea marks an important step toward justice for Brian and for our family. While nothing will ease the pain of losing him, we are grateful that the federal justice system has held the person responsible for this heinous act accountable,” the family said in a statement.

“Now we look to the court to ensure that sentencing reflects the severity of this crime. We remain mindful that additional proceedings in New York and Pennsylvania are still to come, and we will continue to seek the justice Brian deserves.”

Thompson, 50, shared two teenage sons with wife Paulette Thompson, who attended the emergency hearing in which Mangione, 28, coldly described his early morning assassination of the healthcare executive.

Mangione, whose sentencing on federal stalking charges has been set for Dec. 18, said in court that he had endured “years of pain” from a broken back when he learned UnitedHealthcare would hold its annual investors conference on Dec. 4, 2024, getting the specific location in New York City after some online research.

He admitted emailing the company posing as an investor before shooting Thompson outside the New York Hilton Midtown. The executive was alone, without security, as he headed to the conference.

“Before traveling to New York, I used a 3D printer to make a gun. I traveled to New York with the intent to shoot Brian Thompson. On the morning of Dec. 4 2024 I shot Mr. Thompson,” Mangione said, according to Fox News.

“I knew what I was doing,” he added.

Mangione was arrested at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s after a five day manhunt. He also faces state murder charges in New York, but could escape that case because arguments his attorneys are expected to make regarding the Fifth Amendment’s prohibition on double jeopardy.

The post Brian Thompson’s Family Speaks Out After Luigi Mangione’s Guilty Plea as Sentencing Date Is Set first appeared on Mediaite.

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The era of the boombox as we knew it in the 90s might be over, but if you still want an audio powerhouse that’ll give you better sound than your average portable speaker, there are several options that fit the bill, along with modern features like the ability to float in water and lighting effects. The popular Anker Soundcore Boom 2 Plus Bluetooth speaker is one of them—and right now, it’s 32% off ($169.98, originally $249.99).

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This speaker gets seriously loud thanks to two 50W woofers and two 20W tweeters, delivering up to 140W. This is enough to create immersive sound during a backyard or pool party, camping trips, and beach get-togethers. PCMag, which gives it an Editors’ Choice Award, says it has a “powerful low-frequency response” and gives “serious thump” with plenty of bass. When BassUp 2.0 mode is activated (it’s on by default), the sound gets even bassier. Battery life lasts up to 20 hours with BassUp off and volume at 50%. 

The Soundcore Boom 2 Plus has an IPX7 rating that lets the speaker be submerged up to a meter for 30 minutes, and it even floats. Despite being mostly plastic, the speaker still has a rugged build. While it clocks in at 8.4 pounds, a removable, adjustable strap and built-in handle make it easy to carry around. The standout feature that sets it apart from similar speakers in its class is the bright, customizable LED lights that pulse with the beat of the music. The app controls both the sound and the lights, allowing you to further customize colors. 

If you’re craving robust audio that can hold its own outdoors, a rugged build, and fun lighting effects to set the vibe, the Anker Soundcore Boom 2 Plus has the right combination of features, making it a go-to for indoor and outdoor use. At its lowest price yet, this portable party starter should be on your radar.

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.

If you work from home or just travel a lot for work and dread being forced to use a single screen to do your job, the solution could cost you less than $100. Right now, Amazon has discounted the Asus ZenScreen MB16AHV portable monitor by 37%, taking it down to $95—the lowest price it has ever reached, according to price tracking tools.

Asus ZenScreen MB16AHV 15.6" 1080p USB-C IPS Portable Monitor

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Asus reliably produces some of the best affordable productivity portable displays, and the MB16AHV, which came out in 2023, is a solid option. It has a matte anti-glare 15.6-inch 1080p display with 250 nits of brightness, a dual USB-C port, and a Mini-HDMI port. There is a built-in foldable kickstand so it doesn't need any other accessories to do its job, and it comes with a protective sleeve that you can use to carry it or prop it up.

It's easy to use, with a plug-and-play setup: You just need a single USB-C port that supports DisplayPort Alt Mode, which will provide both image connectivity and power. There is a 1/4" threaded hole in the back for a tripod accessory if you want to prop it up. It will also automatically rotate from landscape to portrait if you turn the screen, which is helpful for reading long documents or doomscrolling (there is no touchscreen support, however).

CNN anchor Pamela Brown read Dr. Jonathan Reiner, who sounded alarm bells about President Donald Trump’s health, an expletive-filled statement from the White House attacking him.

Brown spoke to Dr. Reiner, a CNN medical analyst, on Thursday about his recent op-ed in the New York Times, titled, “ I Was Dick Cheney’s Cardiologist. Trump Has Not Looked Well, and We Should Know Why.”

“Well, let me read this statement for you from the White House in response to your op-ed,” Brown began, adding:

The statement reads, quote: “President Trump is the sharpest, most accessible, and energetic president in American history.” It goes on to say that what you’re engaging in is an armchair diagnosis for political purposes, and it says that you’re a disgrace to the medical profession. I just want to make sure that I give you an opportunity to respond to that.

Brown notably left out some of the exact wording in the statement, which called Reiner “an a**-hat engaging in armchair diagnosis.”

“So, for the last piece of that… the White House actually awarded me a certificate recognizing my service to the White House Biomedical Unit last year, given by the Trump White House Medical Unit. So maybe they should double check with that first. But secondly, I haven’t made any diagnoses, and if you look at the op-ed in the New York Times, I simply ask questions,” Reiner replied.

Reiner, who is the director of the cardiac catheterization laboratory at The George Washington University Hospital, wrote in the Times, “Despite reassurances from the White House to the contrary, at times over the past year, the president has not looked well. I am not Mr. Trump’s doctor, and have only reviewed his records that have been made public. But Mr. Trump is probably the most photographed president in American history, and a variety of physical ailments are easy to see.”

“He’s had large bruises on both hands, swelling in his legs and episodes when it appears that he is struggling to stay awake. He’s also had advanced imaging performed for unclear reasons. The public is again left to wonder whether the nation’s leader is OK,” added Reiner, elaborating on the “physical ailments” he sees Trump as having.

Watch the clip above.

The post ‘Dr. Reiner is an A**-Hat!’ CNN Confronts Their Medical Analyst With WH Statement Trashing Him first appeared on Mediaite.

Maybe she meant it figuratively?

Megyn Kelly accused ABC reporter Jonathan Karl of “literally” allowing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) to get away with “murder” during a recent interview with the liberal lawmaker.

Kelly made the claim while skewering Karl during a Wednesday appearance on News24 in Australia, with Kelly saying Karl let AOC spew what she derided as left-wing nonsense without any pushback. She argued he allowed it because he’s a leftist stooge posing as a real journalist.

“The performance of Jonathan Karl of ABC News across from her when she tried that was abysmal. He embarrassed himself, he embarrassed the profession of journalism,” Kelly fumed. “He was looking at her with his cow eyes like ‘Ha ha ha, right, yeah?’ It was just embarrassing, and let her get away with murder.”

She reiterated, “I mean, literally get away with murder. And didn’t even seem embarrassed about it, because that’s his team.”

In particular, Kelly slammed him for going easy on AOC when she shrugged off comments made by Thanksgiving-hater-turned-lover democratic socialist Francesca Hong during her interview on ABC’s This Week.

Ocasio-Cortez quipped, “Woke 1 was crazy” when Karl asked about Hong’s past calls to cancel Thanksgiving, as well as abolish the police and prisons. Karl chuckled at the remark.

But Kelly on Wednesday said if Karl had any respect, he would have pointed out AOC was one of the leaders of the Democratic Party’s pivot into “extreme” craziness.

“She is the reason we have ‘woke,’ and there is no ‘woke 1.o’ or 2.0,” Kelly said.”There is only one woke, and it’s still here and it’s disgusting. It’s like this toxic film that’s all over us, this cancer that’s still in some of our cells that we need a little chemo to excise.”

Kelly went on, saying about 2,500 Black Americans died due to inner-city gun violence since 2020, following the “defund the police” movement.

“That’s squarely on AOC,” Kelly said. “I blame her. She’s not the only one, but she bears a lot of the blame and was pushing to defund police.”

Watch above.

The post Megyn Kelly Accuses ABC News’ Jonathan Karl of ‘Literally’ Letting AOC ‘Get Away With Murder’ in Interview first appeared on Mediaite.

Jacquelyn Martin/AP photo

The Trump administration has accused several political rivals of mortgage fraud, but an explosive new investigation has found President Donald Trump may have committed the same crime himself.

The bombshell report from ProPublica reporters Justin Elliot, Robert Faturechi, and Alex Mierjeski points to a 1993 mortgage Trump signed on a Palm Beach home that he claimed would be his primary residence.

But less than two months later, Trump was given another mortgage on a nearby property he also claimed would be his primary residence, the ProPublica report found.

What’s more — it appears Trump, who was living in New York at the time, never moved into either home.

If those actions sound familiar, it’s because Trump and some administration officials have accused four political foes of similar crimes: Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA), and former Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA).

All four have denied wrongdoing.

Trump hung up on a ProPublica reporter when asked if the Florida mortgages were obtained similarly to the ones in which he’s claimed wrongdoing.

A White House spokesperson told the outlet there “was no defraudation” in the Trump mortgages, saying: “This is yet another desperate attempt by the left-wing media to disparage President Trump with false allegations.”

The spokesperson added: “President Trump has never, or will ever, break the law.”

See below for a summary of the mortgage fraud cases against the Trump foes:

Lisa Cook

Trump’s then-Federal Housing Finance Agency chief Bill Pulte accused Cook of mortgage fraud in a series of social media posts back in August 2025. He referred his findings to the Department of Justice, which has not yet brought a case against her.

Nevertheless, Trump used the allegations in an attempt to fire Cook from the Fed. A back-and-forth legal battle made it as far as the Supreme Court, which denied Trump’s request to dismiss her.

Cook can now remain in her position until a decision is reached in the ongoing case.

Despite the court defeat, Pulte declared on CNBC in May Cook will be indicted “no matter what the Supreme Court does.”

Adam Schiff

In July 2025, Trump attacked Schiff, who led the first impeachment case against Trump, as a “THIEF” while sharing an apparent tax document to make his case.

In a Truth Social post, he accused “scam artist” Schiff of committing mortgage fraud, adding that Fannie Mae’s Financial Crimes Division was after him.

No charges have been brought against Schiff.

Letitia James

James was charged with mortgage fraud in October by the president’s former attorney and his handpicked appointee for U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Lindsey Halligan. The case was later dropped when it was found that Halligan was unlawfully appointed.

Attempts to reindict James have since failed.

Eric Swalwell

In November, Pulte referred Swalwell to the Justice Department for a federal criminal probe related to a Washington, D.C., home, NBC News reported at the time.

Swalwell later filed a lawsuit against Pulte, accusing him of weaponizing the probe. The suit was dropped when the Department of Justice declined to pursue the case against Swalwell.

The post Trump May Have Committed Same Mortgage Fraud He’s Lobbed Against Political Rivals: Bombshell Report first appeared on Mediaite.

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If your time on macOS is solely spent switching between the well-known apps that everyone uses—your web browser, Notes, Apple Music—then you're missing out. There are a host of more unusual and idiosyncratic apps for Apple's desktop operating system that are well worth digging into.

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The apps collected in the list below fall under that description, and while they might not have been installed on millions of Macs or be particularly complex in what they offer, they're all quite useful. Give them a try and see how they can upgrade your macOS experience.

ScrollPods

Scroll around macOS by tilting your head. Credit: Lifehacker

Scrolling isn't particularly hard on macOS, but what if it were even easier? ScrollPods teams up with a connected pair of AirPods to let you scroll up and down webpages, documents, and more with a tilt of the head. It works with anything on screen that can be scrolled.

The utility is simple to set up, and based on my testing, it works quite well. The default sensitivity is just right, with slight head tilts enough to nudge a page up or down, but you can adjust the sensitivity and set up custom gestures for the app through its settings.

• ScrollPods (free)

Slidr

You can opt to activate Slidr with a keyboard shortcut. Credit: Lifehacker

You can add some extra functionality to your MacBook trackpad with Slidr: It turns the left side of your trackpad into a brightness slider, and the right side into a volume slider, so you can quickly adjust these key settings without interrupting your typing and scrolling flow.

You're able to take advantage of a free trial before committing to the purchase, so you can see if it works for you. It couldn't be any more straightforward to use: The app runs from the menu bar, and there are options for adjusting the sensitivity and position of the slide gestures, and swapping over the brightness and volume sliders if you prefer.

• Slidr (free trial, then $4.99)

Pipiri

Pipiri comes with lots of settings to customize. Credit: Lifehacker

A picture-in-picture mode can be very useful when multi-tasking, but it's not supported in every app—something Pipiri fixes. Once you've got Pipiri installed, any window on the macOS desktop can be put into a picture-in-picture mode, running on top of your other apps.

So, for example, you can keep an AI agent window or a social media feed visible on screen while you get on with something else. There are lots of options to play around with, too, including the refresh rate of the overlaid window, app hotkeys, and adaptive resizing.

• Pipiri (free trial, then $9.70)

Haptyk

Get an authentic mechanical keyboard sound with Haptyk. Credit: Lifehacker

Haptyk takes advantage of the hidden accelerometer that's built into every Apple Silicon MacBook keyboard, figuring out how hard you're striking each key and adding appropriate audio. You get mechanical keyboard sound effects, with your existing MacBook keyboard.

I gave the app a go and it works really well: There's zero lag on the sound effects, and you get the same experience across every app. You've got 16 different keyboard sound packs to choose from, plus lots of configuration options (including volume, pitch, and gain).

• Haptyk (free trial, then $8)

Stealthy

Stealthy can jump into action automatically during video calls. Credit: Lifehacker

If you're a regular video caller, then you'll know that subtle feeling of dread that rises up whenever you're called upon to share your screen or to record something you're doing. What browser tabs do you have open? Is an embarrassing notification going to pop up?

Stealthy deals with this with the minimum of fuss, hiding your desktop icons, the desktop wallpaper, and the dock. silencing notifications, and clearing away open app windows you don't want visible on screen. It can also launch automatically when video calls start.

• Stealthy (free trial, then $12.99)

Gestimer

You're able to customize Gestimer in a number of different ways. Credit: Lifehacker

There's nothing too revolutionary about Gestimer, but it does a simple job in an intuitive way, and is likely to come in handy more often than you might think. It lets you set timers and reminders by just dragging down the app icon from the macOS menu bar.

There's no messing around with opening up other apps or digging through calendars—it's just click and drag, with the length of the drag controlling the time that's set. There's a persistent countdown in the menu bar, and you get a notification at the appropriate time.

• Gestimer (free trial, then $6.99)

Unclack

Save others from your typing sounds with Unclack. Credit: Lifehacker

Unclack is both simple and useful: It mutes your microphone when you're typing (even more helpful if you've installed Haptyk, above). That means you no longer need to worry about your aggressive typing style distracting other people during video meetings.

It runs quietly from the menu bar and you don't need to do anything to enable or disable it—it just works, and you won't even know it's there. Should you need to talk and type at the same time, you can disable Unclack with a couple of clicks until you need it again.

• Unclack (free)