The Kennedy family is in mourning this morning. Joan Kennedy, the first wife of Ted Kennedy has died at the age of 89. Joan Kennedy was married to Kennedy for 22 years and during those years she suffered through many challenges due to her husband’s immoral actions. People Magazine reported more on Joan Kennedy’s death: Joan Bennett Kennedy, the first wife of Sen. Ted Kennedy, died early in the morning on Oct. 8, PEOPLE confirms. She was 89 years old. GoLocalProv published an obituary announcing the news, revealing that she died peacefully in her sleep at her Boston home. Joan, a talented classical pianist with a master’s degree in education, divorced Ted in 1983, but continued to be known as the long-suffering wife of the youngest Kennedy son to whom she was married for 22 years. Joan was born in New York City on Sept. 2, 1936, and raised in the suburbs by a Roman Catholic family. She met Ted in 1957, when his older sister Jean Kennedy introduced them. Both Jean and Joan were students at Manhattanville College. Within the year, the two became engaged. Although both Joan and Ted expressed reservations about getting married, Ted’s father, the powerful patriarch Joe Kennedy, insisted they go through with it. They wed on Nov. 29, 1958, in Bronxville, N.Y., the tiny suburb where Joan grew up. Joan was 22 years old. Together, they had three children, Kara, Ted Jr. and Patrick. BREAKING: Joan Kennedy, wife of Sen. Ted Kennedy who was by his side during Chappaquiddick scandal, dead at 89 pic.twitter.com/ScXVvphWi7 — Fox News (@FoxNews) October 8, 2025 Hand it to Joan Kennedy, she STOOD BY Ted KennedyShe suffered a miscarriage shortly after Ted plunged a car off a Massachusetts bridge & killed Mary Jo Kopechne.She stood by Ted’s side as he attended the funeral, & later pled guilty to leaving the scene of an accident. pic.twitter.com/POAIl74jEj — Marla Hohner (@marlahohner) October 8, 2025 ABC News reported Joan was an advocate for sobriety after suffering from alcoholism for many years: She also became one of the first women to publicly acknowledge her struggles with alcoholism and depression. “I will always admire my mother for the way that she faced up to her challenges with grace, courage, humility, and honesty,” Ted Kennedy Jr. said in a statement. “She taught me how to be more truthful with myself and how careful listening is a more powerful communication skill than public speaking.” Virginia Joan Bennett was born into a prominent Bronxville, N.Y., family and as a teen she worked as a model in TV ads. She was a classmate of Jean Kennedy, the future senator’s sister, at Manhattanville College, where her exceptional beauty caught Ted Kennedy’s eye when he visited the campus for a building dedication in 1957. They married a year later, but Joan Kennedy struggled from the start to fit in to the high-powered family. “Joan was shy and a really reserved person, and the Kennedys aren’t,” Adam Clymer, author of “Edward M. Kennedy: A Biography” said in an 2005 interview with the AP. Kennedy is survived by her two sons, nine grandchildren and other 30 nieces. Her daughter, Kara, died in 2011.

Kristi Noem isn’t buying what Zach Bryan is selling. The country music star trashed ICE and called law enforcement ‘cocky motherf***ers’ in a teaser of his unreleased song, “Bad News”. Beyond that, the lyrics paint a picture of a dystopian and declining America under the Trump Administration. The controversy surrounding the song has already created enough backlash that Bryan has come out with MULTIPLE STATEMENTS attempting to defend himself and the veracity of his lyrics. DHS Secretary Noem didn’t pull any punches when she hit back against the singer and his song this week. In fact, there is currently no love being lost between the DHS and Zach Bryan at all. Just to stir the pot, the Department of Homeland Security dropped a tongue-in-cheek video yesterday, trolling the singer by using one of his own songs in an ICE highlight reel! Here’s that DHS hype video as shared on X to get things started: We’re having an All Night Revival pic.twitter.com/o7q8DExPra — Homeland Security (@DHSgov) October 7, 2025 For her part, Noem made it clear what she thought of the song. She spoke about it with podcaster Benny Johnson while on the ground in Portland yesterday, while accompanying ICE agents conducting operations targeting — among others — child predators in the country illegally. She pridefully claimed to have never spent a ‘single penny’ on Bryan’s music, according to this from the New York Post: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem put country music superstar Zach Bryan on blast over his controversial new song targeting ICE raids — as the singer said the tune is about “how much I love this country.” “I hope he understands how completely disrespectful that song is, not just to law enforcement but to this country,” Noem told conservative podcaster Benny Johnson on Tuesday. “To every single individual that has stood up and fought for our freedoms. He just compromised it all by putting out a product such as that, that attacks individuals who are just trying to make our streets safe.” Bryan claims kids are scared, houses aren’t being built, but everyone has a telephone, even as bars stopped being the social spot of the town. “The middlе fingers rising, and it won’t stop showing Got some bad news Thе fading of the red, white and blue.” Noem spoke out against the song during a short media briefing in Portland after federal agents arrested several illegal immigrants, including an accused child rapist, earlier in the day, according to Johnson. “Zach, I didn’t listen to your music. I’m happy about that today,” Noem said. “That makes me very happy that I never gave you a single penny to enrich your lifestyle, if you truly believe what that song stands for.” Noem called out Bryan’s apparent hypocrisy for releasing the anti-law enforcement song while having police protect him at his concerts. “That’s what’s so special about law enforcement, is that they don’t pick and choose who they defend when they do their jobs. They will even defend and protect people that don’t respect them or stand up for them so that’s who I’ll point to when I tell my grandkids to grow up like someone.” For everyone who prefers a video, here’s the clip of the conversation Sec. Noem had with Benny Johnson talking about the “Bad News” song: BREAKING: Secretary Kristi Noem flames country singer Zach Bryan. I just asked Noem about the new Zach Bryan song attacking ICE. Noem went scorched-earth calling the woke singer “completely disrespectful” to the law enforcement that protect him. Secretary Noem: “I hope Zach… pic.twitter.com/MPXuVshPnM — Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) October 7, 2025 As I stated earlier, she made the comments while riding along on ICE operations that included busting a known threat to children. The video doesn’t show the man’s face, but Benny Johnson shared this clip of Noem talking to one of the recent arrestees. The man is accused of being a pedophile on top of illegally entering the country and had just been busted by those ICE agents that Zach Bryan is so down on: BREAKING: Secretary Kristi Noem tells arrested illegal pedophile from Portland that he will be prosecuted and deported to his FACE. The child molester was arrested just one hour ago. Team Trump is NOT messing around here. Watch this: pic.twitter.com/Pe9Ko3Vgk0 — Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) October 7, 2025 Of course, the left-leaning media loves the fact that a ‘country’ music artist is seemingly anti-Trump and perfectly fine with an open border policy. MSNBC aired a clip of the teased song, along with lauding Zach Bryan as the epitome of the country music genre. (Something I would take issue with on SEVERAL levels…) That characterization seems like reaching too far to me, considering Bryan has never lined up with anything remotely resembling “conservative” in his lyrics or public statements. Here’s that clip from MSNBC… if you can stomach to even hear it: Meanwhile, Bryan has twice come out with statements on his Instagram account amid the backlash. In the first statement shared to his Instagram stories, he said people were missing the “full context” of the song, as covered in this report from Fox News: On his Instagram account, Bryan previewed a new song titled “Bad News” that appeared to lament the policies and general spirit of America under President Donald Trump. In a statement posted on an Instagram Story, Bryan wrote that “Bad News” was written months ago and that people need the “full context” of the song. “This shows you how divisive a narrative can be when shoved down our throats through social media,” Bryan said. “This song is about how much I love this country and everyone in it more than anything. When you hear the rest of the song, you will understand the full context that hits on both sides of the aisle. Everyone using this now as a weapon is only proving how devastatingly divided we all are. We need to find our way back.” Hours later, he posted an additional statement expressing heartbreak over being scrutinized for the last few months. Bryan, who has a history of being at odds with law enforcement, is known for his liberal commentary. I personally find it hilarious when people make a statement, and then feel compelled to issue multiple subsequent statements to clarify what they really meant. Only to DOUBLE DOWN on what they said to begin with… which is what caused the uproar in the first place! Here’s the full text of Bryan’s first attempt at calming the disquiet over his new lyrics as shared to his Instagram story: “On the ‘new’ song: I wrote this song months ago. I posted this song three months ago as a snippet. This shows you how divisive a narrative can be when shoved down our throats through social media. This song is about how much I love this country and everyone in it more than anything. When you hear the rest of the song, you will understand the full context that hits on both sides of the aisle. Everyone using this now as a weapon is only proving how devastatingly divided we all are. We need to find our way back. I served this country, I love this country and the song itself is about all of us coming out of this divided space. I wasn’t speaking as a politician or some greater-than-thou asshole, just a 29 year old man who is just as confused as everyone else. To see how much shit it stirred up makes me not only embarrassed but kind of scared. Left wing or right wing we’re all one bird and American. To be clear I’m on neither of these radical sides. To all those disappointed in me on either side of whatever you believe in just know I’m trying my best too and we all say things that are misconstrued sometimes. Everyone have a great day and I love each and every one of ya!!!” Obviously, that didn’t calm things down. Because he almost immediately put out this SECOND statement: “The last few months of my life I’ve been scrutinized by more people than I ever thought possible. I feel like I’ve tried my hardest in so many ways and it’s so hard to see where my bearings even are anymore. Been falling off a cliff while trying to grow wings at the same time. I am SO proud to have served in a country where we can all speak freely and converse amongst each other without getting doxxed or accosted on the internet or worse; the violence and heartbreak we’ve faced in the last few months! God speed ol sons I’m out!” There once was a time when the prevailing wisdom would have agreed with him, at least regarding the need to “find our way back” and exit “this divided space”. But like some others, Bryan seems to have missed the memo that some things are no longer up for debate. Like… common-sense and justified legitimate laws. Like… the the responsibility and obligation of law enforcement and the Executive Branch to ENFORCE those laws. The internet was quick to jump in and help deliver that memo to Bryan… In the form of good ole’ fashioned social media pushback. Here are a few of the responses Zack Bryan has received following the teasing of his controversial lyrics. Popular X account DC_Draino noted the possibility of a boycott in Bryan’s future: We were just invaded by over 10 million illegal aliens and who does Zach Bryan cheer for? The illegals I smell a boycott brewing https://t.co/qZKTe3Rudh — DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) October 6, 2025 Another account responded by prophesying the overall deterioration of the singer’s career: Zach Bryan’s musical career after this… pic.twitter.com/V5yiflmlcH — Tyler (@USAFtylerMAGA) October 6, 2025 Another X user agreed that Bryan’s career would be “over” following this flap. She was even more direct in expressing her off-the-cuff response to Bryan’s ICE-hating lyrics: Dear Zach Bryan, Fvck you. Sincerely, American Patriots ICE agents risk their lives daily. Violent leftists throw bricks at them, attack them, spit at them, even shoot at them. And this is the song he released. Career over. pic.twitter.com/uGjkdN4snv — Kentucky Girl (@Notwokenow) October 6, 2025 And my personal favorite social media response to Bryan’s open defiance of President Trump’s immigration plan came from an X user responding to that previous post. Here’s one of the SOLUTIONS that Kristi Noem probably wishes she would have thought of when offering up Zach Bryan alternatives: In a world full of Zach Bryan’s be an Oliver Anthony pic.twitter.com/s5g1KFblHf — Providence Wire (@providence_wire) October 6, 2025 It’s worth mentioning that the song hasn’t even been released yet… only teased. And already the backlash has been this severe. Maybe MSNBC is missing something by hyping Bryan’s apparent popularity? I’ll give him this much — we’re on dangerous ground because of the divisive political atmosphere currently boiling in the United States. But you don’t put out a fire by pouring gasoline on the flames. And you’ll never successfully mitigate backlash by doubling down on what caused it in the first place. Like Noem, I have never dropped a dime into Zach Bryan’s pocket; and I certainly don’t intend to after this story. But unlike Noem, I’m not much of an Aldean fan. So as I cue up some Hank Williams Jr at my writing desk — “A Country Boy Can Survive” — and finish out this story… I encourage you to do the same, and wash out that bad taste from Bryan’s tone-deaf lyrics.

FBI Director Kash Patel announced that the FBI has officially dismantled a public corruption unit, known as CR-15, in addition to firing a number of agents connected to previous misconduct involving surveillance of Republican senators -- outed by a recent report by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Proposition 50, California‘s redistricting plan to get more Democratic representatives, is likely to pass, recent polls have indicated. According to polling conducted over the last two months, voters are likely to pass an amendment put forth by California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, that would temporarily revise its congressional map, in a move expected to boost […] The post Newsom’s Vanity Project – Prop 50 – Will Likely Pass appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

Recently Larry Ellison made Bari Weiss the editor-in-chief of CBS and bought her blog,The Free Press, for $300 million. So, will CBS change? Not a chance! The next live debate on The Free Press isn’t about rampant crime in Democrat cities, attacks on ICE, sanctuary city crime, pro-criminal governors and mayors. Instead, it’s about taking […] The post “CBS Will Change in No Way Whatsoever” appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

Federal officials on Wednesday announced the arrest of a man accused of deliberately sparking the deadly blaze that devastated Pacific Palisades, California, in January. The Justice Department and the Los Angeles Police Department said at a press conference that 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht of Melbourne, Florida, started the Lachman Fire on New Year’s Day. The Lachman Fire eventually became the Palisades Fire after it was rekindled by severe winds a week later. In the federal criminal complaint, Rinderknecht is charged with maliciously starting the fire that eventually “burned down the Palisades,” according to Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli. If convicted on that charge, Rinderknecht faces up to 20 years in prison. However, Essayli stated that authorities have not yet determined all the charges that Rinderknecht will face, and more charges will likely be presented to a federal grand jury. Essayli said that Rinderknecht, an Uber driver, was in Pacific Palisades late on New Year’s Eve after working throughout the evening. Rinderknecht allegedly got out of his car and walked up a trail to a nearby hilltop, where he recorded videos and listened to a rap song. The song was accompanied by a music video that showed objects being set on fire, according to Essayli. “Twelve minutes into the new year, environmental sensing platforms indicated that a fire had started. It took the defendant several tries to contact 911 to report the fire,” Essayli said. “He fled the scene in his car, but turned around after passing fire engines driving in the opposite direction to fight the fire. While the Lachman Fire burned, the defendant walked up the same trail from earlier that night to watch the fire and firefighters, using his iPhone to take short videos of the scene.” The U.S. attorney added that while firefighters successfully extinguished the blaze, the fire continued to smolder underground “within the root structure of the dense vegetation” and was rekindled by heavy winds on January 7, “causing what became known as the Palisades Fire.” Get 40% off new DailyWire+ annual memberships with code FALL40 at checkout Rinderknecht was questioned by law enforcement on January 24 and is accused of lying to investigators about where he was when he first saw the Lachman Fire. Rinderknecht claimed that he was near the bottom of the hiking trail, but geo-location data from his 911 call revealed that he was standing “above the fire in a clearing nearly 30 feet from the blaze as it rapidly grew,” Essayli said. Some of Rinderknecht’s passengers on New Year’s Eve told investigators that the suspect appeared agitated before he dropped them off. Essayli also pointed to images the suspect allegedly generated on the artificial intelligence platform ChatGPT that showed a burning city. The suspect allegedly generated the image in the months leading up to the fire. Rinderknecht was arrested in Florida, where he was most recently living, but he was living in Pacific Palisades at the time of the fire. Essayli stated that Rinderknecht has no criminal history, and authorities did not disclose their belief regarding Rinderknecht’s motive, adding that it would be addressed in court. Rinderknecht is scheduled to appear in the U.S. District Court in Orlando at 1:30 ET on Wednesday. Today we are announcing the arrest of 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht on a criminal complaint charging him with maliciously starting what became the Palisades Fire in January. ⁰The complaint alleges that Rinderknecht’s started a fire in Pacific Palisades on New Year’s Day –… pic.twitter.com/UzrFa0Lmrz — Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli (@USAttyEssayli) October 8, 2025 The Palisades Fire ripped through the Los Angeles neighborhood on January 7, killing 12 people and destroying thousands of homes. It was one of multiple devastating fires that ripped through Los Angeles County in January. The Eaton Fire, about 15 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles in Altadena, was the most destructive blaze, killing 19 people and destroying more than 9,000 buildings. The cause of the Eaton Fire is still being investigated.

Former Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA), fresh off her Senate loss to Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA), raised some eyebrows with a contentious interview that went viral on Tuesday despite the fact that it first aired in mid-September. Porter, currently vying for the governorship of California, sat down with CBS reporter Julie Watts to discuss several key issues — and Porter became progressively agitated as Watts dared to ask pointed questions and follow-ups, her reaction suggesting that she was not accustomed to reporters asking her real questions. WATCH: When Katie Porter is our next governor here in CA, it will make us long for the days of the evil Gavin Newsom. She’s a lot like him, only dumber. How are Democrats not enraged that she overtly states here that she plans to make sure she runs in the general against a Republican?! pic.twitter.com/oc9hmVQ5kC — John Ziegler (@Zigmanfreud) September 19, 2025 The first question was a gimme, as Watts asked Porter what she thought of current Governor Gavin Newsom’s (D-CA) plan to redraw the state’s congressional districts, and Porter said she was in favor of that. But then Watts asked Porter what her plan was to win over some of the 40% of voters who had voted for President Donald Trump in 2024. California’s gubernatorial race utilizes a “Top-Two” primary system, in which the two candidates with the highest vote totals — regardless of party affiliation — advance to the general election. Get 40% off new DailyWire+ annual memberships with code FALL40 at checkout “What do you say to the 40% of California voters who you’ll need in order to win, who voted for Trump?” Watts asked. Porter appeared genuinely taken aback by the question: “How would I need them in order to win, ma’am?” “Well, unless you think you’re going to get 60% of the vote. You think you’ll get 60%? Everybody who did not vote for Trump will vote for you?” Watts clarified. “That’s what you’re saying?” “In a general election, yes,” Porter insisted. “If it is me versus a Republican, I think that I will win the people who did not vote for Trump.” “What if it’s you versus another Democrat?” Watts asked. “I don’t intend that to be the case,” Porter said. A longer clip from the interview showed what happened when Watts continued to press Porter on the issue … WATCH: Democrats are so used to media being their propagandists that they totally lose it when asked basic questions. Here’s California’s Katie Porter losing it during an interview. pic.twitter.com/relSS2Ajpa — Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) October 8, 2025 “So how do you intend that not to be the case? Do you — are you going to ask them not to run?” Watts asked, referencing other Democrats in the race. “No, I’m saying I’m going to build the support, I have the support already in terms of name recognition, and so I’m going to do the very best I can to make sure that we get through this primary in a really strong position,” Porter said. “But let me be clear with you: I represented Orange County. I represented a purple area. I have stood on my own two feet and won Republican votes before. And that’s not something that every candidate in this race can say.” She went on to say that other candidates from deep blue areas might not have the same ability to win Republican votes — but Watts kept pressing. “But you just said you don’t need those Trump voters,” she said. “But you asked me if I needed them to win,” Porter pointed out. “So you don’t —” Watts pushed back. Porter put up a hand to stop Watts and complained, “I feel like this is unnecessarily argumentative. What is your question?” “The question is the same thing I asked everybody,” Watts said, showing Porter her notes and adding, “Every other candidate has answered this question; it’s not argumentative. The question is, ‘What do you say to the 40% of voters who voted for Trump?’” “Oh, I’m happy to say that,” Porter said. “It’s the ‘do you need them to win’ part that I don’t understand. And I’m happy to answer the question — ask the question as you have it written, and I’ll answer it.” “And we’ve also asked the other candidates, do you think you need any of those 40% of California voters to win, and you’re saying no, you don’t,” Watts continued. “No, I’m saying I’m going to try to win every vote I can,” Porter protested, visibly frustrated. “And what I’m saying to you is that —” “Well, to those voters, okay, so you —” Watts attempted one more time. “I don’t want to keep doing this. I’m going to call it,” Porter abruptly ended the interview and began fussing with her microphone. “You’re not going to do the interview?” Watts asked, clearly baffled by Porter’s behavior. “Nope, not like this I’m not,” Porter declared. “Not with seven follow-ups to every single question you ask.” Watts protested, “Every other candidate has answered follow-ups.” “I don’t care!” Porter clapped her hands together once to emphasize her point. “I want to have a pleasant, positive conversation in which you ask me about every issue on this list. And if every question, you’re going to make up a follow-up question, then we’re never going to get there … I have never had to do this before, ever!”  

We love Dolly Parton. Enough said, right? She’s one of the most decorated country music artists of all time. She’s also a very savvy businesswoman who works hard. Sometimes all that work can catch up to a girl, and Dolly’s experienced some health issues lately. Her sister, Freida Parton, scared the heck out of fans with cryptic posts asking for prayers on October 7. Dolly Parton took to Instagram the following day to let fans know she’s OK. She posted a video looking just as beautiful as ever captioned, “I ain’t dead yet!” “Well, today’s October 8th, and obviously, I’m here,” Dolly said. Dolly Parton explained that she’s filming some commercials for the Grand Ole Opry and wanted to let fans know the rumors about her health are a bit out of control. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dolly Parton (@dollyparton) Dolly Parton Appreciates Her Fans’ Concerns Dolly let fans know she loves the prayers, but she’s not gravely ill. “Do I look sick to you? I’m working hard here! Anyway, I wanted to put everybody’s mind at ease, those of you that seem to be real concerned, which I appreciate,” she said. “I appreciate your prayers, ’cause I’m a person of faith. I can always use the prayers for anything and everything. But I want you to know that I’m okay.” She explained that when her husband, Carl Dean, died, Dolly Parton pushed her own health to the side. But now her doctors want to focus on getting her squared away. “Nothing major, but I did have to cancel some things so I could be closer to home, closer to Vanderbilt, where I’m kind of having a few treatments here and there, but I wanted you to know that I’m not dying,” Dolly confirmed. Hearing that Dolly Parton’s health isn’t in rapid decline made her fans feel so much better. “The actual best,” one wrote. “We love you, Dolly!” “Don’t scare us all, Dolly. This year is rough enough! You are a treasure,” another shared. This comment might just be our favorite. “The Dolly Momma has spoken!!! Rest up sweet Dolly,” a fan wrote. “Lord knows you deserve a little downtime!” We love you, Dolly. Take care of yourself, and when you’re ready to perform, we’ll be there! This story’s featured image is by Theo Wargo/Getty Images The post Dolly Parton Finally Breaks Silence About Her Health appeared first on InspireMore.