Democratic ‘Civil War’ Against Chuck Schumer Heats Up
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s headaches may only just be getting started after his handpicked candidate to take down Republican Sen. Susan Collins was forced to drop out early in Maine’s Democratic primary.
In races across the country for the Senate, progressive candidates are running serious, well-funded campaigns against more traditional Democrats.
Moderate Democrats are afraid that if they pick progressive candidates, especially those with a history of bad behavior, it will hurt their chances of flipping important Senate seats.
Progressives say that the current leaders of political parties are using an old, one-size-fits-all method to choose who is “electable.”
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Graham Platner, an oyster farmer, beat Gov. Janet Mills to become the Democrats’ likely Senate choice in Maine. Now, Senate leaders have more fights against the establishment to come.
Axios detailed a list of upcoming Democratic primaries where older Democrats are running against younger, more far-left candidates:
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–Michigan: Rep. Haley Stevens is the establishment favorite and is seen by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee as the strongest candidate in the fall. Polls show she’s locked in a tight race with the Bernie Sanders-backed former public health official Abdul El-Sayed and the digitally savvy liberal state Sen. Mallory McMorrow.
–Minnesota: Rep. Angie Craig, a battle-tested swing-seat Democrat, is viewed by liberals as the party leaders’ preferred candidate. Peggy Flanagan, the progressive lieutenant governor who has attacked Craig as too squishy on ICE, has led in polling.
–Iowa: Schumer and his allies believe Josh Turek, a state lawmaker and Paralympic gold medalist, has the best chance in the general election. Recent polling conducted by a group supporting Turek shows him ahead by a comfortable margin. But Turek’s progressive opponent, Zach Wahls, matched him in first-quarter fundraising, and past polls have shown him as more competitive.
Democrats keep making headlines for all of the wrong reasons.
House Democrats were largely against a resolution supporting law enforcement amid a spike in assaults on police last year.
Just 29 House Democrats voted for a Republican measure praising the “extraordinary sacrifice” of law enforcement officers and denouncing the “defund the police” campaign for endangering public safety.
However, 173 Democrats voted against the motion, led by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and every GOP representative in attendance voted in favor.
“We want to take that best practice of respecting law enforcement in Iowa to the nation’s capital, and I was thrilled that we got bipartisan support,” Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, who introduced the measure, said in an interview with Fox News.
But the Iowa Republican said he expected his resolution to receive unanimous backing.
“I think it unfortunately puts a real spotlight on a chasm we have between those who support law and order and those who are supporting those who undermine it,” Nunn said.
The decision follows a rise in assaults against law enforcement officers to a 10-year high last year, an F.B.I. report released Monday showed.
The number of officers murdered declined from 2024 to 2025.
Some Democrats likely bristled at language in the resolution criticizing left-wing activists for backing the “defund the police” campaign and sanctuary city policies that put officers’ safety in danger.
Nunn’s measure also lauded the Trump administration’s tough law and order policies for leading to a record reduction in violent crime, including the United States achieving its lowest homicide rate in more than a century last year.
“We are at a 125-year low for murder rates, 10-year low for drug overdoses,” Nunn told Fox News Digital. “These are things that good community policing, that our law enforcement officers are doing every day, have had a really positive impact.”
The vote took place during National Police Week, a time to recognize the service and sacrifice of dead law enforcement officers across the country.
BREAKING: Dolly Parton’s Cause Of Death Revealed: ‘Brief Battle’
Dolly Parton’s death came after a brief battle with cancer, her representatives revealed Tuesday.
The country music legend died Aug. 25 at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville. She was 80.
Parton had been admitted to the cancer center Friday, four days before her death. Her representatives confirmed the cancer diagnosis in a statement to PEOPLE but did not disclose what type she had.
“Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched. Her unmatched generosity reached the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was always there to offer a helping hand,” the statement read.
“Whether it be the hundreds of millions of books donated through her invaluable Imagination Library or funding research that helped create a lifesaving vaccine used around the world, Dolly’s unconditional love for all people was the guiding force for her lasting impact. After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones,” the statement concluded.
The “Jolene” singer had also been dealing with kidney and autoimmune issues before her death, PEOPLE previously reported.
Just days earlier, Dolly Parton opened up about her declining health and acknowledged that she had put off addressing some medical issues while caring for her husband, Carl.
“As I’ve shared in video messages throughout the past year, I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over [my husband] Carl. You know, this isn’t the first time I’ve had to manage something like this. Back in the early ’80s, I was down for several months with female issues, and I was struggling with my weight at the time too, so it’s not like I haven’t been through hard times with my health,” Parton told PEOPLE.
Her nephew, Bryan Seaver, announced her death in an Instagram video Tuesday on behalf of the Parton and Owens family.
“My name is Bryan Seaver, son of Cassie Parton, and I’m representing the Parton and Owens family today announcing the passing of my aunt, Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean, Sister, Sis and Granny to one generation and Gigi to the next,” he says in the video.
Seaver, who served as Parton’s head of security for more than two decades, said she had asked him years earlier to deliver the announcement.
“This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality,” he continued. “As her head of security for more than two decades, a role my father Larry held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven’t truly felt it until now.”
Seaver said the moment brought immense pride and heartbreak, but he took comfort in his faith that Parton had been reunited with Carl and other loved ones.
Seaver added: “It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly. Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl, her parents and countless othe
Shocking 'truth' behind Prince Harry's decision to quit major role
Prince Harry should have "resigned in disgrace" from the board of a controversial African wildlife charity, a commentator says. James Walker makes the bombshell remark in Wednesday's episode of this publication's podcast, Daily Expresso.
He and the show's host, JJ Anisiobi, delve into the Duke of Sussex's dramatic decision to step down from African Parks. James, commenting on the controversy, said: "When you hear about this stuff and how long it's been going on for, you should be resigning in disgrace. [Harry] should be saying: 'I'm not touching that with a barge pole. That is a failed entity. We're going nowhere near it'.
"But no. He's still saying he's going to 'support their mission'. And again this Caroline Pearce, executive director of Survival International, goes on to say: 'His departure doesn't undo that record'.
"She alleged that African Parks was aware of the abuses for years, but it was only after Survival complained to Harry that the charity finally commissioned an investigation."
James added: "Well, she's got a point."
It emerged on Monday (August 24) that Harry was no longer a board member of the wildlife charity.
The conservation organisation has admitted that human rights abuses were committed by its rangers against members of the semi-nomadic Baka group in Congo-Brazzaville.
African Parks has said since that it has improved its safeguarding processes both in the Odzala-Kokoua National Park and institutionally.
Its admission followed an independent human rights investigation into allegations guards managed and paid by the charity had beaten, raped and tortured indigenous people in Odzala-Kokoua National Park.
Harry was president of the charity for six years before he became a member of its board of directors in 2023.
A spokesman for the Duke said he remains an active and avid supporter of African Parks. He added: "The Duke is proud of his 10 years with African Parks and fully supports the ongoing strengthening of its board.
"His commitment to conservation in Africa continues and he remains a supporter of African Parks’ mission."
Human rights organisation, Survival International, said it had been calling on Harry to step down from African Parks for years.
The group's director, Caroline Pearce, said in a statement: "It’s outrageous that for 10 years Prince Harry has served African Parks while the organisation has been responsible for abuse and violence against Indigenous people.
"His departure doesn't undo that record — African Parks itself must now be held accountable, and must abandon this model of fortress conservation for good."
Survival International said indigenous peoples know how best to manage their land and the idea outsiders know better is racist and colonial.
