All posts tagged: Collins

Susan Collins’ time is up as Maine’s Houdini

Susan Collins’ time is up as Maine’s Houdini

Published by Sam Flores

Susan Collins is very concerned — and she should be. As a politician who has only run for one office in her life and held the same seat for nearly 30 years, the Maine senator is facing a possible loss in what looks more and more like a big blue wave coming in November’s midterm elections. As the rare GOP senator representing a blue state, she should be the first one caught in that undertow. But Collins is a rare creature: a virtual Houdini who has always managed to fend off defeat during tough elections. Whether she will somehow work her magic again is one of the biggest questions of 2026. At the start of this election cycle, Democrats had two competing strategies about how to beat her. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was convinced that because more women than men vote in the state and Collins wins most of them, the answer was to find a Democratic woman that closely matched Collins’ profile. So he persuaded the popular Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, 79, to …

Judy Collins on the art of the farewell

Judy Collins on the art of the farewell

Published by Sam Flores

When Judy Collins comes to Los Angeles, she likes to stay at the Beverly Hilton in part because “they serve a fabulous breakfast,” she says over coffee at the hotel on a recent morning. “That’s rare today,” she adds. “Too often a place will just send up a cardboard shopping bag with the things you ordered in it.” Collins knows her amenities: At 87, the Grammy-winning singer and songwriter still plays about 120 shows a year, drawing audiences around the world with her high, clear voice and an expansive repertoire that blends the hits that made her famous in the 1960s and ’70s — Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now,” Leonard Cohen’s “Suzanne,” Stephen Sondheim’s “Send in the Clowns” — with traditional folk tunes and material of her own. Yet now she’s preparing to hang it up with a lengthy farewell tour she’s calling Sweet Judy Blue Eyes (after “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes,” the folk-rock classic her one-time lover Stephen Stills wrote about her for Crosby, Stills & Nash). The night before our interview, Collins played …

Jackie Collins Wrote Her Own Revolution

Jackie Collins Wrote Her Own Revolution

Published by Daniella Wilson

Once, when I was 15 years old and as awkward and skinny-legged as a baby giraffe, I was idling in a department store in central London when I saw the novelist Jackie Collins standing at the register. Can you imagine the aura emanating from her, like Hermès-scented magnetic waves? She was wearing animal print and a tailored jacket and had the kind of steely composure I’ve never managed to pull off in adulthood without straining something. Faced with one of my true idols, all I could do was gawk. Explore the October 2026 Issue Check out more from this issue and find your next story to read. View More I learned about sex when I was 8, but it wasn’t until several years later, when my best friend yanked me upstairs to show me a particularly juicy paragraph from her mother’s neon-pink copy of Hollywood Kids, that I learned about pleasure. Jackie—with apologies, I will call her Jackie throughout, because “Collins” feels just too formal for a woman who impressed upon me the existence of …

Susan Collins Is Not Concerned About Election Denial

Susan Collins Is Not Concerned About Election Denial

Published by Daniella Wilson

When Jay Clayton, Donald Trump’s nominee for the next director of national intelligence, appeared before the Senate on Wednesday, Jon Ossoff of Georgia had a simple question for him: Who won the 2020 election? Clayton dodged and squirmed. “I’m not gonna engage in the theater,” he insisted, at one point simply going silent when Ossoff repeated the question. Susan Collins, a Republican senator from Maine, took in the exchange and seems to have concluded that Clayton performed rather well. Buttonholed in the Senate hallway by CNN’s Manu Raju, Collins said, “The Office of the Director of National Intelligence does not certify elections, and he made very clear over and over again that Joe Biden had been certified as the winner of the election.” Clayton, she continued, “did a good job.” Stating that Biden was certified as the winner of the 2020 election, as Clayton and other Trump supporters have done, does not in any way contradict Trump’s blizzard of falsehoods. Trump does not claim that he actually served as president from 2021 to 2025. His …

Phil Collins Would ‘Contemplate’ Performing Live, Shares Health Update

Phil Collins Would ‘Contemplate’ Performing Live, Shares Health Update

Published by Daniella Wilson

Phil Collins said in a new interview with BBC Breakfast that he declined the opportunity to perform at his forthcoming induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but that he would not rule out future live performances while sharing a positive health update. During the Friday interview, the Oscar-winning musician was asked if he’d perform again, to which he replied, “I can’t really see it happening. But I’m healthier now than I have been for quite a while.” Collins has faced several health issues over recent years, including kidney issues and five knee surgeries. After enduring a spinal injury in 2007, the “In the Air Tonight” singer has faced health struggles that have prevented him from performing. The “In the Air Tonight” singer further revealed that he was asked to perform at the 2026 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Collins has already been inducted into the esteemed musical museum with Genesis in 2010, and now joins a rare group of two-time inductees. “They asked me if I would perform and …

Gemma Collins hate is snobbery, says Phillipson

Gemma Collins hate is snobbery, says Phillipson

Published by Miika Tikkanen

Bridget Phillipson has defended the use of reality TV star Gemma Collins in a promotional video for vocational courses after it attracted backlash online.  The education secretary said criticism of social media clips featuring The Only Way is Essex star had veered between “outright snobbery and just downright unpleasant”.  She said the Department for Education sought to use Collins’ “incredible reach” online to discuss the importance of education to young people.  In the campaign video, filmed at the DfE head office, Collins spoke candidly of her educational struggles, including a failure to pass GCSE maths.  “I found it so panicky, and so stressful. Part of it was I didn’t believe in myself. All that pi over sky or whatever it is, you probably know,” she said.  Phillipson replied that the government’s ambitions were to create “great routes” into technical vocational education, trade occupations as well as strong academic options.  Collins added: “So everyone has got to remember there is always an opportunity out there for everyone.”  The video comes as the DfE plans to roll out V …

Oasis, Phil Collins, Wu-Tang Clan All In

Oasis, Phil Collins, Wu-Tang Clan All In

Published by Daniella Wilson

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame officially unveiled its 2026 class on Monday night, with Phil Collins, Oasis, Billy Idol, Wu-Tang Clan, Luther Vandross, Sade, Joy Division/New Order and Iron Maiden all named as inductees. Ryan Seacrest and Lionel Richie revealed the inductees on the latest episode of American Idol for the show’s Rock Hall episode. Beyond the performer category, Queen Latifah, Graham Parsons, Celia Cruz Fela Kuti and MC Lyte will all be honored with the early influence award, while Linda Creed, Arif Mardin, Jimmy Miller and Rick Rubin will receive the musical excellence award. Artists reach Rock Hall eligibility when their debut recording turns 25 years old. Collins, Vandross and Wu-Tang Clan are all getting into the hall on their first nominations. Collins was previously inducted with Genesis back in 2010 and is now joining the rarer group of two-time inductees. Idol and Sade got the nod on their second nominations, with Idol earning his first nomination last year, while Sade was previously nominated in 2024. Iron Maiden, Joy Division/New Order and …

Collins stares down tough reelection bid

Collins stares down tough reelection bid

Published by Sam Flores

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) is staring down a precarious reelection bid after officially launching her campaign this week, with her fellow Senate Republicans trying to smooth the way as much as possible for their most vulnerable incumbent. The Maine centrist is key to the GOP’s path to keeping the majority in the upper chamber, prompting… Source link

Musician Phil Collins Reveals He Has Serious Health Issues

Musician Phil Collins Reveals He Has Serious Health Issues

Published by Sam Flores

Music legend Phil Collins has said he is currently battling serious health issues that require a 24-hour nurse. The former Genesis drummer and popular solo artist recently appeared on the BBC podcast Eras in advance of his 75th birthday next week, and discussed his ongoing health concerns. “I have a 24-hour live-in nurse to make sure I take my medication as I should do,” Phil explained. “I’ve had challenges with my knee. I had everything that could go wrong with me, did go wrong with me.” The In The Air Tonight singer said everything “seemed to converge at the same time”, and said his kidneys started to back up after he contracted Covid while in hospital. In addition, the drumming legend has difficulty walking after undergoing five knee surgeries that left him with only one knee “that works”. “I can walk, albeit with assistance, you know, crutches or whatever,” he added. Phil Collins Miami Herald via Getty Images Phil admitted that “drinking too much” is what caused his kidneys to get “messed up,” but said …