His sister Doris Breay confirmed the death to NBC Boston. Close friend and former campaign manager Jim Segel told the Associated Press that Frank died late Tuesday, May 19, 2026, at his home in Ogunquit, Maine. He had entered hospice in April with congestive heart failure. He is survived by his husband Jim Ready, sisters Ann Lewis and Doris Breay, and brother David Frank.

Frank represented the Boston suburbs from 1981 until he retired in 2013. He chaired the House Financial Services Committee during the 2008 crash and helped write the Dodd Frank overhaul that tightened rules on banks and created new consumer protections. In 1987 he publicly said he was gay, the first sitting member of Congress to do so without being forced out by a scandal. In July 2012 he married Ready in Newton, Massachusetts, becoming the first sitting member of Congress to enter a same sex marriage.

“It was life changing, lifesaving for me,” Frank told NBC News last month. “I think the key to our having made the enormous progress we made in defeating anti gay prejudice had to do with us all coming out and people discovering the gap between our reality and the way we were painted.”

Born March 31, 1940, in Bayonne, New Jersey, he left office with a reputation for biting humor and a willingness to lecture his own party as well as the other side. In his final weeks he kept talking. He told Politico from hospice that one regret stayed with him.

“One of my regrets is that I won’t see the continued implosion of Donald Trump.”

On Boston public radio station WBUR, in an interview published May 14 from that same Maine house, he went further and called the president an “idiot savant.”

“As to Trump, I have developed my theory about him: It’s not just that he’s bad on all these values, but he is an idiot savant,” Frank said. “He has just one talent: an ability to exploit anger that got him into power. But having gotten into power, he’s got nothing left, and that’s why now he’s just floundering.”

He added that he could not think of an issue on which Trump was popular, naming the Iran war, a fight with the Pope, the economy, and even immigration. “His anger, his narcissism, all of the negative parts of his personality have asserted themselves, and he really doesn’t have much of a positive vision of things to offset that.”

Former President Barack Obama posted a tribute on X. “Barney Frank was one of a kind. For more than three decades in Congress, he fought tirelessly for the people of Massachusetts, helped make housing more affordable, stood up for the rights of LGBTQ+ Americans, and helped pass one of the most sweeping financial reforms in history designed to protect consumers and prevent another financial crisis. Barney’s passion and wit were second to none, and our thoughts are with his family today.”

Nancy Pelosi said Frank had called her the month before to tell her he was in hospice. “He has been about idealism and pragmatism to get the job done,” she told NBC. “He was a real mentor to so many of us here.”

Frank spent those last weeks at home, still arguing about how Democrats should win again and still needling the man in the White House. The voice that once filled hearing rooms went quiet on a Tuesday night in Maine.

The letter went out on Monday through the Lord Chamberlain, one of the Palace’s most senior officials. It was circulated to Harry’s team, government departments, military officials and Lord Lieutenants, the King’s representatives around the country.

The wording leaned on the 2020 Sandringham agreement. The Duke and Duchess stepped down from representative duties then, the letter said, and they are no longer working members of the Royal Family. Their charity work is personal. In short, their position is akin to private citizens with commercial and charitable interests.

Harry and Meghan’s spokesperson answered quickly. The couple were a little surprised not to have been told about this in advance, the statement said, and the letter had caught them off guard. Palace sources later told the Daily Mail that this was incorrect. They insisted the Sussexes received the letter before it was published, even if there was no negotiation over the wording. Later reporting put the gap at roughly an hour. The couple’s team got the document, asked whether it had already gone out, and by the time they reached Harry the Palace had already sent it to the media.

Charles has been described as glad to have his son and grandchildren closer. The same warmth has not been attached to Prince William. The brothers have been estranged for years. Kate and Meghan’s relationship has stayed cold. Talk that William would rather keep Harry far from any future coronation has circulated for a long time.

Now a fresh claim has landed on top of the letter itself. Journalist Rob Shuter, writing on his Substack, quoted a source saying William pushed for the clarification. Lord Lieutenancies were asking how Harry and Meghan should be treated. William’s answer, the source said, was brutally simple. Nothing has changed. They are out.

The same source told Shuter that the Sussexes had underestimated how much influence William still holds behind palace walls. They’re starting to question whether this return can work. William can close doors faster than they expected. William has won, for now. Harry and Meghan are back in Britain, but they’re not back in the royal family.

That last part is gossip dressed as certainty. The letter itself is real. BBC and Reuters both reported its contents and the Sussex reaction. What remains unproven is whether William personally forced his father’s hand. No official statement from the King or the Prince of Wales has said so.

Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

The 50 year old model and mother spoke with Hello! magazine in an interview published September 7. “It is extremely difficult and painful,” she said. “It’s natural, we all want our loved ones to be healthy, full of life and being the person they always were. But FTD is a devastating illness that steals things from you very slowly. So the reality is that you find yourself constantly in a state of grief.”

Bruce, now 71, first stepped away from acting in 2022 after an aphasia diagnosis. In February 2023 the family said his condition had progressed and that doctors had identified frontotemporal dementia. FTD is an umbrella term for diseases that damage the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, the areas tied to personality, behavior and language.

Emma and Bruce share two daughters, Mabel, 14, and Evelyn, 12. His three older daughters with former wife Demi Moore, Rumer, 38, Scout, 35 and Tallulah, 32, remain close as well. Emma calls that blended circle her village, and she says every one of them has chosen to show up for Bruce in a way that feels healthy for the whole family.

“The key lies in understanding that I am part of a family where every single one of us has decided to show up for Bruce, always looking for a way that is healthy for everyone,” she said. “Each one of us has their own relationship with him that’s unique and special.”

What has stayed with her is how deeply they all love him while still respecting that each person expresses that love differently. She believes the balance they have found is a reflection of who Bruce has always been. The care he planted over the years, she said, is coming back to him now.

Emma has tried to work through the mourning by writing her book The Unexpected Journey, a guide meant to help other caregivers. Even with that work she still feels guilty when she takes a moment for herself. “The reality is that guilt is something I still struggle with daily,” she said. “When you are a care partner and you have to navigate a situation like this, it’s practically impossible not to feel guilty. But I’ve learned that I can’t allow that feeling to consume me, because it’s a huge waste of time and energy.”

Talking to their younger daughters about what is happening at home has been another kind of tightrope. “It’s a really delicate balance to strike,” she said. “Guiding them through something like this, through any serious illness, really, is an enormous challenge. But despite how tough things get, I always try to remind myself that it could be so much worse.”

She does not want people to picture only sadness. She wants them to see what the girls watch every day. “At the end of the day, what our daughters are experiencing and witnessing at home every single day is a masterclass in pure love. They see how much we support their dad, how deeply we love him and how we stand by him through thick and thin. It’s wonderful for them to see everyone rallying together: family, friends… absolutely everyone has formed a protective ring around him.”

“I think there’s something genuinely beautiful about them growing up with that sense of unity,” she added. “Yes, it’s heartbreakingly hard, but my daughters are learning the true meaning of loyalty, devotion and unconditional love.”

Those girls have also seen their mother fall apart. Emma said they have watched her stay strong and they have watched her broken on the floor. She is only human, she said, and they know she is learning this in real time.

One question follows her almost everywhere. People ask if Bruce still remembers her. Her answer is always yes. He does not have Alzheimer’s. He has frontotemporal dementia, which affects a different part of the brain. That mix up, she said, shows how little the public still understands about the different forms of dementia.

She also refuses the idea that a diagnosis turns the lights off in a house. The family still finds small jokes. Their daughters still say hilarious things. Bruce still says things that make them laugh. They laugh with him, she made clear, never at him. A dementia diagnosis, in whatever form, does not mean a life is over. There is still fun. There is still laughter. There is still an entire world of love that remains intact.

The video went up on Truth Social over the Labor Day weekend as part of a longer montage. In it Trump lines up footage of other leaders he wants to look uncaring, then cuts to himself hugging veterans, greeting police, and standing close to people who need help. One of the clips is King Charles.

The Charles footage is from July 2020. The then Prince of Wales and Camilla were visiting an Asda distribution centre in Bristol to thank staff keeping food moving during the early months of Covid. A worker talking to Charles suddenly folded and fell backward.

The version Trump shared is cut so it looks as if Charles throws his hands up and walks off. The full recording shows something else. Charles reached out to try to catch the man. He stayed right there while first aid arrived. He only stepped back after his security team told him the worker was all right. The man recovered quickly and later carried on the conversation.

People who have followed Trump’s comments on the royals found the post odd. He welcomed Charles and Camilla to the White House earlier this year and has repeatedly taken the king’s side in the family rift with Harry and Meghan. The sudden use of six year old edited tape left many asking what message he meant to send.

The clip is already spreading again. Some viewers see it as another late night posting burst. Others wonder why a president who calls the king a friend would circulate footage that makes him look heartless.

The 36 year old actress sat down with Vogue and finally explained what was going on. She has been dealing with melasma, the dark patches that show up on the skin, and they landed on her cheeks and chin. Around the same time she started using tretinoin, the prescription retinoid often called Tret, her skin got dry, flaky and extra sensitive to the sun. So she started tying a scarf under her chin and across the sides of her face every time she stepped outside.

“I’ve been wearing a scarf over my melasma spots ever since I started Tret, which of course I get photographed and people think I’m making some sort of fashion statement,” she told the magazine. “I’m literally just haggard and scaling and trying to survive.”

She made it clear she would rather look a little goofy than let the spots get worse. “There’s no amount of looking goofy that I’m going to care about more than my melasma.”

Melasma is a common skin condition that causes patches darker than a person’s natural tone, usually on the face. It shows up more often in women and can flare with sun, heat or hormonal shifts. The American Academy of Dermatology notes that daily sunscreen and a wide brim hat help keep the spots from darkening or coming back. Lawrence has been extra careful with sun protection, even slathering SPF on her hands while her skin adjusts to the retinoid.

The scarf, she said, goes under the chin and covers the spots on her cheeks. Photographers keep catching her in it and the pictures circulate as if she launched a new trend. She laughs it off. She is not trying to start a look. She is just trying to get through the day without her skin paying the price.

The weather had already forced a change of plan that morning. The crew had been working on a documentary called Ocean’s Deadliest when conditions turned. They ended up in calmer, shallower water and Steve decided to film a stingray instead. That last minute choice is the one that cost him his life.

Stingrays are not known for attacking people. This one reacted when Steve moved above it. The barb went through his chest and the injury was catastrophic. His crew pulled him toward the boat and fought to keep him conscious. Cameraman Justin Lyons later said they kept telling him to think of his children and to hang on. Steve looked up at him and said, “I’m dying.” Those were the last words he spoke.

The cameras were rolling. That footage has never been shown. Producer and close friend John Stainton saw it and refused to let it go out. Terri Irwin has said she never watched it herself. She already knew how her husband died and she was grateful the children were not on the boat that day, as they so often were.

Bindi was eight when it happened. Robert was two. This week both of them marked the anniversary. Bindi called her father a guardian angel and said his greatest legacy turned out to be love, not just the conservation work everyone remembers. Her five year old daughter watches his old documentaries every morning and feels loved by the grandfather she never met. She calls him grandpa crocodile. Robert has followed the same path into wildlife work and photography. Together with their mother they still run Australia Zoo and the conservation projects Steve started.

Steve grew up around animals. His parents opened a reptile park that became Australia Zoo. The Crocodile Hunter made him famous, but the point of the show was always the same. He wanted people to understand wildlife instead of fearing it. That message is the part his family keeps repeating. The khaki shirt and the “Crikey” are what people remember first. The work is what they want remembered now.

The recording of those last minutes stays locked away. Twenty years on, the family would rather people look at the life he lived than the moment it ended.

These symptoms can also come from other medical problems, so this is not a checklist for self diagnosis. What matters is getting checked if something new, sudden, or one sided appears and then disappears.

One of the most important early clues is temporary numbness or weakness on one side of the body. It may hit the face, an arm, a hand, or a leg and then fade after a few minutes or a few hours. That short episode can be a transient ischemic attack, often called a mini stroke. The symptoms pass, but the risk of a full stroke rises afterward, which is why it should never be treated as nothing.

Speech can change just as fast. A person may suddenly slur words, struggle to find the right ones, or have trouble following a simple conversation. Even if the problem clears up on its own, the brain may have been short on blood flow for a moment. That is not something to wait out at home.

Balance problems show up in another group of people. Repeated dizziness, a wobbly walk, or a sudden loss of coordination can point to reduced blood supply in the parts of the brain that keep you upright. The same goes for a severe headache that feels nothing like the usual ones. A sudden, unusually intense headache with no clear cause can be a warning of bleeding or reduced flow and needs urgent evaluation.

Vision can flicker too. Blurred sight, double vision, or a brief blackout in one or both eyes can mean circulation to the visual pathways was interrupted. Extreme fatigue is less specific on its own, yet it becomes more concerning when it arrives with other neurological changes. Some people also notice tingling, burning, or unexplained pain in an arm, shoulder, or leg. Brief confusion, memory lapses, or trouble following simple instructions can reflect a short disruption in brain function.

None of these signs means a stroke is certain. They do mean a doctor should hear about them quickly, especially if they come on suddenly or keep returning.

If symptoms look like a stroke in the moment, remember FAST. Face drooping on one side. Arm weakness when both arms are raised. Speech that is slurred or strange. Time to call emergency services right away. Rapid treatment can limit brain damage and improve the chance of recovery.

Prevention is the other half of the story. Most of the advice sounds familiar because it is the same work that protects the heart. Keep blood pressure under control with regular checks and treatment when needed. Manage blood sugar if you have diabetes. Lower unhealthy cholesterol with food and medicine if a doctor recommends it. Stop smoking and stay away from secondhand smoke. Limit alcohol. Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate activity each week. Stay at a healthy weight. Eat more fruit, vegetables, whole grains, fish, and healthy fats while cutting back on processed food and extra salt. Get regular checkups if you already have heart disease, diabetes, obesity, or a family history of stroke.

Many strokes still arrive without a clear warning. Some people do get temporary neurological symptoms in the days or weeks beforehand. Sudden changes in movement, speech, vision, balance, or thinking are the ones that deserve the fastest response. If you or someone close to you notices any of these signs, seek medical advice as soon as possible. Early recognition and prompt treatment remain two of the strongest tools against the lasting harm a stroke can leave behind.

Trump and Prince Harry have never been close. The Duke has criticized him in the past, and years earlier Trump raised the possibility of deportation over questions about Harry’s visa application and past admissions of drug use. Groups like the Heritage Foundation had even pushed for access to the prince’s immigration records, arguing he may have received special treatment.

The couple left their California home and landed back in Britain last week. Reports place them in the Cotswolds, with some suggesting they are staying at a property linked to Ellen DeGeneres. Trump, who has often spoken warmly of the late Queen Elizabeth and King Charles, made clear he was glad to see them go.

Speaking to reporters after a press conference on Wednesday, Trump said he was happy about the move. “I was not a fan,” he continued. He spoke of his strong relationship with the Queen and with King Charles, whom he has known for years and called a “great, great guy.” Trump then said Harry and Meghan had treated the royal family with great disrespect. “I didn’t like it,” he added. “If I were the royal family, I would not have taken them back.”

The comments mark Trump’s first public reaction since the Sussexes returned to the UK six years after stepping back from royal duties.

She travels with him, sits in on meetings, helps with Truth Social posts, and is often photographed boarding planes and helicopters at his side. In recent weeks that constant presence has drawn more attention than usual, in part because the First Lady is seen with the president far less often.

The latest round of questions followed the Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington on August 23. Broadcast cameras clearly showed Harp standing just behind Trump and Melania Trump in the presidential suite. Yet official White House clips shared on Instagram and X were cropped so tightly that she all but vanished. One video of Trump waving the starting flag cut off part of the Fox Sports logo and much of Melania’s arm. Wider footage from the same moment showed Harp smiling and clapping over the First Lady’s shoulder. Viewers noticed the difference immediately and began asking what Melania really thinks of the aide who is almost always nearby.

Harp was also part of the group captured on Marine One with Trump and then Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, footage that later fueled its own wave of commentary. Through it all, one question kept coming back. How does the First Lady feel about another woman occupying so much of her husband’s daily space?

According to gossip columnist Rob Shuter, the answer is not the one many people expected. A White House source told him Melania is not jealous. She is grateful. “Melania isn’t jealous of Natalie. She’s grateful for her,” the source said. “Donald demands constant attention, and Natalie genuinely seems to enjoy giving it to him. For Melania, that takes an enormous amount of pressure off.”

Another source put it more bluntly. Natalie wants to be there for every meeting, every trip, every moment. Melania does not. They want entirely different relationships with Donald, and that is why the arrangement works. A third source added that Melania hates becoming part of other people’s gossip but does not want Harp gone. Why would she? Natalie handles the exhausting around the clock Donald duty Melania has spent years avoiding.

Those comments, published in late August and quickly picked up by other outlets, recast weeks of speculation. Instead of a quiet rivalry, the picture offered by Shuter’s unnamed sources is one of complementary roles. Harp thrives on the proximity. Melania, who has long preferred a more private and independent life, is said to welcome the relief.

Whether that account fully captures the First Lady’s private feelings remains known only to those closest to her. What is public is the contrast. Harp is a near constant presence. Melania appears when she chooses. And the White House’s own social media edits from the Grand Prix only made the contrast harder to ignore.

A lot of people live with kidney problems for years without knowing. The earlier those changes get noticed the better the chance of slowing damage before it becomes serious.

Here are the 10 signs that often appear when the kidneys are under real strain.

1.  Constant fatigue and weakness. Feeling wiped out all the time is one of the first things many people notice. Healthy kidneys release a hormone that helps your body make red blood cells. When that process slows down anemia can set in and leave you tired, weak, and foggy even after a full night of sleep.

2.  Swelling in the feet, ankles, hands, or face. Extra fluid that the kidneys can no longer clear tends to collect in these areas. It can come and go at first but persistent puffiness is worth paying attention to.

3.  Changes in urination. You might find yourself getting up more at night, seeing foam that doesn’t rinse away easily, noticing darker color, spotting blood, feeling pain when you go, or producing less than usual. Those shifts happen because the kidneys are the organs that actually make urine.

4.  Persistent back pain. A deep, dull ache in the upper back just below the ribs can show up. It feels different from ordinary muscle strain and sometimes comes with fever or changes in how you urinate. Infections, stones, or declining function can all cause it.

5.  Puffy eyes and dark circles. Puffiness around the eyes, especially in the morning, and darker circles can appear when protein starts leaking into the urine. The kidneys normally keep those proteins in the bloodstream.

6.  High blood pressure. Blood pressure and kidney health are tightly linked. Damaged kidneys have a harder time regulating pressure, and high pressure in turn hurts the kidneys further. If your numbers stay high even with treatment it may be time to look at kidney function.

7.  Nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite. As waste builds up in the blood some people start feeling nauseous, lose their appetite, notice a metallic taste, or drop weight without trying. Food can suddenly taste off.

8.  Dry and itchy skin. Dry, itchy skin that doesn’t improve with lotion is another later sign. Mineral imbalances that develop when the kidneys aren’t working well often show up on the skin.

9.  Muscle cramps. Muscle cramps, especially in the legs, can become more frequent because potassium, calcium, and sodium levels drift out of range.

10.  Shortness of breath. This can happen two ways. Fluid may collect in the lungs or anemia can leave the body short on oxygen. Either one, especially together with swelling and fatigue, needs prompt attention.

Diabetes and high blood pressure cause most long-term kidney damage. Infections, stones, certain autoimmune conditions, heavy use of painkillers like ibuprofen, smoking, obesity, and chronic dehydration add to the risk.

Simple habits help protect the kidneys. Drink enough water, keep blood sugar and blood pressure under control, cut back on salt, go easy on over-the-counter pain pills, and stay active.

See a doctor sooner rather than later if you notice blood in your urine, sudden or severe swelling, unrelenting tiredness, ongoing back pain, trouble breathing, or a clear change in how often or how much you urinate. Blood and urine tests can catch problems early, often before you feel truly sick.

Kidneys do their job without making a sound most of the time. When they start sending signals it is worth listening. Catching trouble early gives you the best shot at keeping them working for years to come.