Abdul El-Sayed, a Democratic Michigan Senate hopeful, just revealed he is in the top 1% of the state’s wealthiest earners. This comes after El-Sayed faced pressure from his Democratic primary opponent, Haley Stevens, to keep his promise of transparency and release his tax filings before the primary election, Wood TV, an NBC affiliate, reported. According to El-Sayed’s 2025 partial tax release, he and his wife reported $130,749 in wages, $262,299 in capital gains, and $292,881 in “additional income.” This totals to an adjusted gross income of $675,246.  This adjusted gross income puts him well above the threshold of $611,000 to be in Michigan’s top 1%, according to Axios. The partial release does not disclose all his streams of income. Additionally, his net worth is not disclosed, though it is estimated to lie between $580,000 and $1.7 million. El-Sayed’s campaign said that the capital gains come from the sale of a house El-Sayed’s in-laws have bought for him and his wife, along with El-Sayed’s little-known podcast America Dissected and his wife’s psychiatry practice, Mind Work Psychiatry. El-Sayed claimed the delay in the release of his tax filings was not to try to conceal financial records, but that “my wife and her family own property abroad, so getting all those tax forms is a thing,” The Washington Free Beacon reported. El-Sayed previously stated that he had a “mundane,” “standard” tax return. However, El-Sayed has previously let slip that his wealth situation differs from that of many in his state. In an interview, El-Sayed affirmed that he is most likely a millionaire, saying that his and his wife’s combined assets would “add up to something like that,” but insisted, “My career has never been about trying to maximize on money.” On his website, El-Sayed describes himself as a physician who moved into politics and says he “is fighting for an economy that works for everyone” and “healthcare for all” and that he will fight against Trump’s billionaire friends. Though El-Sayed has distanced himself from Democratic Socialism, he has gained the support of democratic socialists, including Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, and Ilhan Omar, according to The National Review. El-Sayed has recently been under fire for other issues. The Washington Free Beacon exposed El-Sayed’s wife for not accepting Medicare or any other insurance for her psychiatry work, even though one of El-Sayed’s major party platforms is “Medicare for All.” The primary between Stevens and El-Sayed will take place on August 4, and the winner will face Republican Mike Rogers in November for the Senate seat of retiring Democrat Senator Gary Peters.

Memorial services for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) will be held in Washington, D.C., and South Carolina on July 28 and 29 after funeral plans were delayed to accommodate foreign dignitaries, a staffer revealed on Friday.  Graham’s funeral was initially expected to take place this week, but the services were delayed after multiple international leaders expressed a desire to attend, according to Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC). “I think my understanding is that the offer has been made to lie in state,” Scott told News19 on Wednesday, stressing that final arrangements had not been decided.  “The process of figuring out when the National Cathedral would be made available at the exact same time that the global leaders who want to come and all the other national leaders who will be there has made it a little more difficult,” he added. Last weekend, Graham unexpectedly died at his Capitol Hill home in what the medical examiner’s office believes to be an aortic dissection. The life-threatening condition is a tear in the inner layer of the aorta, the body’s largest artery, which carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body. Before collapsing, Graham reportedly told a staffer he was experiencing chest pain.  On Capitol Hill, Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, was sworn in to fill her brother’s seat for the remainder of his term, which expires in January.  The Associated Press reported that Nordone has privately expressed interest in running for the full Senate term, citing sources who say she has begun conversations about a potential campaign.  Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and Reps. Russell Fry, Nancy Mace, and Ralph Norman are among the other prominent Republicans considering a run. The filing period for a special primary runs from July 21 to July 28, and the primary is scheduled for Aug. 11. Behind closed doors, Republican senators on Tuesday watched an emotional tribute featuring memorable quotes from their late colleague.  “Here’s what I can tell you: that life can change just like that,” Graham is heard saying, with overlay footage showing him greeting world leaders. “Don’t take it for granted. Don’t take relationships for granted.”

President Donald Trump on Friday endorsed Darline Graham Nordone to succeed her late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), even though she has yet to announce whether she’ll run in next month’s special Republican primary.  In a Truth Social post, Trump said he asked Nordone to run in the August 11 special GOP primary.  “I hope Darline does this, in that there would be nobody better to honor the legacy of her beloved brother, Lindsey,” Trump said. “Darline, who comes from an absolutely incredible family, has been a WINNER all of her life and, should she accept, has my Complete and Total Endorsement in the Special Election for U.S. Senate in South Carolina — SHE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN.  “RUN, DARLINE, RUN!” As of Friday afternoon, Graham has not formally launched or committed to running for her brother’s seat.  The preemptive endorsement follows reports that Nordone, who was sworn into office earlier this week, has privately expressed interest in running for the seat and has talked to multiple people about launching a campaign.  Last weekend, Graham unexpectedly died at his Capitol Hill home in what the medical examiner’s office believes to be an aortic dissection. The life-threatening condition is a tear in the inner layer of the aorta, the body’s largest artery, which carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body. Before collapsing, Graham reportedly told a staffer he was experiencing chest pain.  Memorial services for Graham will be held in Washington, D.C., and South Carolina on July 28 and 29 after funeral plans were delayed to accommodate foreign dignitaries, a staffer revealed on Friday.  In June, Graham overwhelmingly won his Republican primary. His sudden death upended the race, forcing GOP leaders to quickly find a candidate to replace him on the ballot. Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and Reps. Russell Fry, Nancy Mace, and Ralph Norman are among the other prominent Republicans considering a run. “She is a spectacular person, and a true American Patriot,” Trump said about Nordone. “Lindsey was one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known, and his sister shares his deep love of our Country, and the State of South Carolina.” The Cook Political Report ranks the seat as solid Republican going into November. 

In a stunning development for bioelectronic medicine, scientists have revealed that a quadriplegic man has sustained significant physical improvements months after his brain-computer implant system was completely deactivated. This unexpected discovery suggests that the human nervous system can fundamentally restructure and heal itself when driven by advanced technology. Keith Thomas, 48, was left paralyzed from the chest down following a severe diving accident in 2020, the New Scientist reported. Without sensation and control over his limbs, he faced a future of total dependence. However, a groundbreaking 2023 clinical trial at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research altered his future. During a 15-hour surgery, medical pioneers implemented a “double neural bypass,” placing five microelectrode arrays into the motor and sensory regions of Thomas’s brain. The cutting-edge system operates with artificial intelligence, which decodes Thomas’s thoughts of movement and relays those intentions into electronic forearm splints to trigger muscle contractions. Simultaneously, 3D-printed hand devices with force sensors gather tactile feedback, sending electrical pulses back to the brain to recreate the perception of touch. This allowed Thomas to perform delicate actions independently, such as drinking from a cup, scratching his face, and holding fragile objects. The true breakthrough occurred by complete accident. Hoping to evaluate the long-term impacts of the treatment, the research team originally intended to pause the system for four weeks. But an unexpected building fire extended this blackout period to three months. To the astonishment of the scientists, Thomas did not regress. Instead, his body retained its newfound strength and tactile awareness even while entirely disconnected from the computer. He demonstrated enhanced movement, moving individual fingers with increased precision, and reported feeling a distinct tingling sensation in his wrist in response to physical pressure. “I can now scratch my face, wipe my eyes independently. The technology has given me back both connection and sense of self,” Thomas said. Experts believe this lingering recovery is a direct result of neuroplasticity, the brain’s capacity to forge entirely new pathways to circumvent damaged areas. By reinforcing surviving neural networks, the device appears to have triggered a permanent remodeling of Thomas’s nervous system. While some in the scientific community are celebrating this milestone as a massive leap forward for neuroprosthetics, independent experts caution that the results stem from a single participant. Because individual responses to spinal cord injuries vary drastically, expanding clinical trials to a larger pool of patients will be necessary to prove whether this neural rewiring can be replicated. For Thomas and the architects of the double neural bypass, the horizon looks incredibly bright. The nature of his recovery opens up unprecedented possibilities for millions of individuals living with severe paralysis.

Irish actor Brenda Fricker, best known for her performances in “My Left Foot” and “Home Alone 2,” died Thursday evening at age 81. Her agent Phil Belfield told TMZ that she passed away peacefully in her home in Dublin from an undisclosed illness. “We will never see her again and the world is less for the lack of her,” Belfield said. “I was honored to know, love, and work with her, and she will always have a place in my heart and in the heart of so many film and TV fans the world over.” Derek Thompson, who worked with Fricker on the TV show Casualty, told BBC News that Fricker was “truly the best I have ever worked with, and I’ve worked with a lot of actors.” Cathy Shipton, who also worked with Fricker on Casualty, added that Fricker was “one of the most authentic people I’ve ever met”. “She lived her life courageously, warts and all. I loved her for her wit, her intelligence and her brilliant sense of humour,” Shipton said. Actress Fionnula Flanagan told RTE News that she was “totally devastated” after hearing of Fricker’s passing and described Fricker’s Oscar win as a paradigm moment for Irish cinema. Flanagan added that Fricker was a “great talent” which was “terribly important for Ireland because at the time we didn’t have a film industry … She was one of the leaders of that movement.” Fricker was born in Dublin and gained acting experience with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre, according to IMDb.  She won international acclaim for her Oscar-winning supporting performance as the mother of a son afflicted with cerebral palsy in “My Left Foot”. She also played acclaimed roles in classics such as “Angels in the Outfield.” She is best known among younger audiences for playing the part of the introspective pigeon lady in “Home Alone 2.”  She persevered in her acting career, all while struggling to support an alcoholic husband and losing all six of her children to miscarriages.