Latest news with #McKnight
Vogue
a day ago
- Politics
- Vogue
What's Next For Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear?
'He noticed this,' McKnight remembers. 'And he's like, 'Oh, no, you're going shopping.' ' Beshear introduced Kara to his daughter, Lila, now 15, who they'd brought along. 'And it was like they were at Walmart. They've got this black trash bag and she's smiling from ear to ear. And I'm like, Oh my God, this is worth everything.' McKnight tries to stay off of Facebook. 'But I kind of get fighting mad,' she says. 'People see this D beside his name, and, you know, this hatred just starts. I'm like, You guys don't understand the man. Y'all don't. I don't see a D. I don't see an R. I've never seen that. Actions speak so much more than words.' That might as well be a Beshear campaign line. He is a deacon at Beargrass Christian Church in Louisville, and he loves to quote scripture, routinely calling his constituents 'children of God,' and leans hard on the parable of Jesus and the Good Samaritan. 'Every now and then after a few of his public addresses I'll text him, 'That was a great sermon, Governor,' ' says his close friend Rob Shrader, a minister at Beargrass. But as devout as Beshear is, I note an equally fervent faith in the power of pragmatism. He boasts to me about restraining regulation in Kentucky: 'We'll get a business up and running faster than any other state.' He's fascinated by entrepreneurs and invites them on his podcast (so far, Mark Cuban and Pinterest CEO Bill Ready). 'I have a genuine interest in what other people do and how they're successful at it,' he says. 'I've always been more pragmatic than political. I got in this to actually do things. And that's a lot more important to me than whether I score this many points with that group or this many points with another.' For instance, here's something he'll tell you without a moment's hesitation: 'Trump's FEMA operation on the ground in Kentucky is the best I've ever seen.' Beshear doesn't actually talk much about Donald Trump. 'Five and a half years into being governor, people almost never bring up the president to me,' he says with satisfaction, as if that's one more problem he's solved. What he does do is lament the state of American politics. 'We're not gonna allow the national division to pull us apart,' he assured a crowd of local business leaders at the Louisville Slugger museum, his podium neatly situated in the shade of the museum's enormous baseball bat. Then, in a tent erected on a suburban field where a children's hospital would be built: 'While we're standing up, some of our leaders in DC are threatening to leave about 16 million Americans without health care.' He was referring to the Trump-approved, Republican-led policy bill, which he likes to call 'the anything-but-beautiful bill.' ('I've just never seen Congress do something so callous and so cruel to so many Americans,' he told me in July after it passed the Senate.) I could barely hear him in that field over the summertime roar of cicadas, but he raised his voice to deliver his applause line: 'Let me say in my Kentucky accent, that just ain't right.' The accent isn't a performance. Beshear is a native son of Kentucky, born and raised in Lexington, and his father, Steve Beshear, also served as Kentucky's governor, from 2007 to 2015. His mother, Jane, worked as a school teacher, bookkeeper, and real estate agent at different points in her life. Much of who he is is down to them, Beshear allows, and it's true that his Southern gentility, his easeful hospitality, has a trained air. 'They're people of strong values,' Beshear says. 'Now, they have very high expectations and at times can be exceedingly critical.' 'The 2 percent thing is a perfect example,' says Britainy. Californian by birth, age 46, she's as upright in her bearing as he is; they met when both were working in DC, Beshear as a young attorney, Britainy in marketing. ('At Cantina Marina because all great love stories start in a Mexican restaurant,' Beshear says.) The governor explains that he'd come home from school with a 98 percent on a test. 'And my dad thought he was joking but he always had the same response: 'What happened to the other 2 percent?' ' Tiny pause. 'It does make you strive for that next piece,' he says. 'Even the things that I thought were awful as a kid have helped me as I've gotten older.' MORNING CONSULT 'Strong women have always been in his life. His aunts, his cousins.… I would dare say his wife,' says first lady Beshear, here at the Governor's Mansion in Frankfort with Beshear and Winnie the labradoodle Beshear was raised alongside his older brother, Jeffrey, now an equine veterinarian in Virginia. 'Both were very intelligent, very competitive, very strong-willed,' remembers Steve Beshear, 80. 'Our job was to mold and direct all of that. So we set high standards and goals.' He reminisces about how teenage Andy became his 'sidekick' when he ran as a Democratic candidate to unseat Kentucky senator Mitch McConnell in 1996. 'He drove me around all that summer and saw the ins and outs of what a campaign is,' Steve says. 'He also experienced what it's like to lose, which I think is a valuable experience.' After college and law school, and after he and Britainy married and moved to Louisville, the younger Beshear joined his father's campaign for governor. 'I performed a year and a half of free legal work,' Andy jokes. 'And we were the hotel,' says Britainy. 'I bunked in with them because that didn't cost anything,' remembers Steve. 'I never was independently wealthy and so I couldn't write big checks to myself, like so many people these days can do. And so we had to be frugal.' The elder Beshear won that election and served as governor until 2015. Andy then took over his father's job just four years after Beshear vacated it. ('Sort of slid into this office on his dad's coattails,' is how the Republican commentator and Kentucky native Scott Jennings put it last year when Beshear was being considered as Kamala Harris's running mate.) 'Kentucky is a very traditional state,' says the writer Chris Offutt, who grew up in Kentucky's Appalachian mining country. 'Many, many, many sons do what their fathers did. So that tradition is there.' Nepotism isn't the harshest critique on Beshear; it's that his compassion, humility, and faith in pragmatism have a quieting effect. Is he exciting enough to be a national figure? Can he rally younger voters? Self-deprecation may be a lost art, but mastering it does not make you go viral on TikTok.
The Age
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Age
The TikTok-approved trends for brows and make-up coming for your beauty cabinet
This story is part of the July 20 edition of Sunday Life. See all 13 stories. Tracing trends is always a slippery topic. Sometimes, just when you think you have nailed it, things flip. So, to the best of my ability, here are some trends to take note of. Big, bold hair is back – and just after you had mastered the perfect poker-straight blow-dry. According to the international king of hair, Sam McKnight, 'bombshell blowouts' are big news. The reference point is, of course, the 1980s and the tool of choice is velcro rollers. McKnight has created the 'Big Set', which comes with a 'heating hood' you attach to your hairdryer and 18 rollers. Says McKnight, 'Velcro rollers have been a staple since the '80s – they're foolproof for getting that runway lift at the roots and a soft, touchable texture. The hood dryer locks in your set – it's a game-changer for effortless, high-volume results at home.' Until the kit is available here, the next best thing is the Blo Brush Hot Roller Set ($120). On the TikTok beauty front, trends include the clean brow, where the emphasis is on natural brow shapes and textures, stepping away from more sculpted 'block' brows. This has also created a demand for laser eyebrow tattoo removal. According to brow guru Amy Jean Linnehan, 'If the shape and colour still flatter your face, there's no need to remove the tattoo – and you can opt for the latest, softer 'mist brows' technique.' As with brows, lashes are also taking a more natural stance, and TikTokkers are currently experimenting by applying a full face of make-up – without mascara. But if you are still wedded to mascara, try brown – our current favourite is Benefit BadGal Bang! Volumizing Mascara in Rebel Brown ($49). Alternatively, try applying a clear mascara such as Maybelline Great Lash Clear Gel Mascara ($18) to give your eyelashes a glossy, lifted look. And if you just can't give up dark lashes, try a combined lash lift and tint. The 'Y2K lip' is also on the comeback trail, with two key versions – super juicy lips (think Lancôme's Juicy Tubes) and, at the other end of the spectrum, lips blotted with concealer so that they almost disappear. On TikTok, interest in Y2K make-up increased by 64.8 per cent in the 12 months to March according to data from consumer researcher Spate reported in Global Cosmetic Industry magazine. Too Faced is leading the charge with glosses that are shiny and hydrating; we love Kissing Jelly Lip Oil Gloss ($38). And with concealer lips, keep it modern with a darker lip liner. One of our favourites is Mecca Max Pout Pencil in Stella ($16) – use it to colour in the entire lip – and then top with a putty-coloured lipstick. Hero status here goes to M.A.C Cosmetics Macximal Silky Matte Lipstick in Acting Natural ($40).
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
The TikTok-approved trends for brows and make-up coming for your beauty cabinet
This story is part of the July 20 edition of Sunday Life. See all 13 stories. Tracing trends is always a slippery topic. Sometimes, just when you think you have nailed it, things flip. So, to the best of my ability, here are some trends to take note of. Big, bold hair is back – and just after you had mastered the perfect poker-straight blow-dry. According to the international king of hair, Sam McKnight, 'bombshell blowouts' are big news. The reference point is, of course, the 1980s and the tool of choice is velcro rollers. McKnight has created the 'Big Set', which comes with a 'heating hood' you attach to your hairdryer and 18 rollers. Says McKnight, 'Velcro rollers have been a staple since the '80s – they're foolproof for getting that runway lift at the roots and a soft, touchable texture. The hood dryer locks in your set – it's a game-changer for effortless, high-volume results at home.' Until the kit is available here, the next best thing is the Blo Brush Hot Roller Set ($120). On the TikTok beauty front, trends include the clean brow, where the emphasis is on natural brow shapes and textures, stepping away from more sculpted 'block' brows. This has also created a demand for laser eyebrow tattoo removal. According to brow guru Amy Jean Linnehan, 'If the shape and colour still flatter your face, there's no need to remove the tattoo – and you can opt for the latest, softer 'mist brows' technique.' As with brows, lashes are also taking a more natural stance, and TikTokkers are currently experimenting by applying a full face of make-up – without mascara. But if you are still wedded to mascara, try brown – our current favourite is Benefit BadGal Bang! Volumizing Mascara in Rebel Brown ($49). Alternatively, try applying a clear mascara such as Maybelline Great Lash Clear Gel Mascara ($18) to give your eyelashes a glossy, lifted look. And if you just can't give up dark lashes, try a combined lash lift and tint. The 'Y2K lip' is also on the comeback trail, with two key versions – super juicy lips (think Lancôme's Juicy Tubes) and, at the other end of the spectrum, lips blotted with concealer so that they almost disappear. On TikTok, interest in Y2K make-up increased by 64.8 per cent in the 12 months to March according to data from consumer researcher Spate reported in Global Cosmetic Industry magazine. Too Faced is leading the charge with glosses that are shiny and hydrating; we love Kissing Jelly Lip Oil Gloss ($38). And with concealer lips, keep it modern with a darker lip liner. One of our favourites is Mecca Max Pout Pencil in Stella ($16) – use it to colour in the entire lip – and then top with a putty-coloured lipstick. Hero status here goes to M.A.C Cosmetics Macximal Silky Matte Lipstick in Acting Natural ($40).
Montreal Gazette
5 days ago
- Business
- Montreal Gazette
‘Rue Canada': Vermont town hopes to lure Canadians by temporarily renaming major shopping street
By Burlington, Vt. is temporarily naming a major shopping street after Canada in hopes of attracting Canadian tourists who have eschewed U.S. travel since President Donald Trump took office. The town rechristened Church St., a popular shopping street for visitors, as Canada St. in a ceremony Wednesday. Signs reading 'Rue Canada St.' are set to remain in place until Sept. 1. The move was a 'symbolic gesture' designed to show that 'Trump's policies are not in line with our values,' said Burlington city councillor Becca Brown McKnight. Those policies, which include aggressive tariffs alongside threats to annex Canada as a '51st state,' have caused a sharp deterioration in cross-border relations. Canadians, including Quebecers, are travelling to the U.S. in smaller numbers than before. In June, 164,000 Quebecers travelled to the U.S., a 43-per-cent drop from the 286,000 who made the trip in June 2024. Canadian tourism offers a significant boost to the Burlington and Vermont economies, McKnight said. 'More Canadians come to Vermont each year than people who live here.' Around 581,000 Canadians visited Vermont between January and May 2025, a 23-per-cent drop from 2024, according to the state's Agency of Commerce and Community Development. Fewer tourists have made for less spending, with the agency reporting a 41-per-cent drop in Canadian credit card spending in the first five months of 2025 compared with the year-earlier period. Reduced tourism is bad news for Burlington, McKnight said, where around 15 per cent of the town's downtown spending typically originates from Canadians. Locals have noticed the decline and 'are hearing French spoken less often,' she said. McKnight said she has already heard positive feedback from Canadians, who she said have told her they plan to visit Burlington this year. But she also acknowledged that some Canadians don't feel comfortable making the trip to the U.S. 'I completely understand that.' Vermonters in Burlington enjoy travel to Quebec, McKnight said, adding that she spent her honeymoon in Montreal.
Irish Independent
11-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Road closure in Meath to facilitate major water project between Duleek and Navan
To facilitate works, a 24-hour temporary road closure will be in place on the R153 from the R153/R150 Junction in Kentstown to the R153/N2 Balrath Cross Junction, from 7am on Monday, July 14 to 7pm on Friday, July 25. Diversion routes will be clearly signposted, with local and emergency access maintained at all times. According to Uisce Éireann, this closure will not come into effect until the L1610 Duleek to Balrath Crossroads route has been reopened, ensuring ongoing route availability for local traffic. The works form part of a major infrastructure project aimed at securing a more reliable water supply for Navan. The project includes the construction of a 16km regional trunk water main and a pumping station, creating a strategic link between the Staleen Water Treatment Plant and the Proudstown and Carn Hill reservoirs that serve Navan. Uisce Éireann's William McKnight said: 'This infrastructure will maintain supply in the event of planned or unplanned disruptions at the Liscarton Water Treatment Plant and will support development in an area that has seen unprecedented growth in recent years.' The project is expected to support both residential and economic growth while safeguarding against future service interruptions. A dedicated Community Liaison Officer remains active in the area to keep residents informed about traffic management and construction updates. 'We would like to thank the community for their continued patience and cooperation as we deliver this essential infrastructure for Navan and apologise for any inconvenience these necessary works may cause,' Mr McKnight added. Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
