Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Names and faces
■ Morning Joe host and former Republican congressman Joe Scarborough is blaming the GOP’s loyalty to President Donald Trump and its failure to live up to its promises for his decision to leave the party and become an independent. Scarborough first announced the switch during an interview with CBS Late Show host Stephen Colbert on Tuesday night.
He appeared as a guest with his co-host and fiancee, Mika Brzezinski, who recently was attacked in sharply personal terms by the Republican president. On Wednesday’s Morning Joe, Scarborough accused Republicans of abandoning their fiscal principles. He also referred to Trump, saying Republicans are “kowtowing to somebody who — inexplicably — shows them no loyalty whatsoever.” Scarborough was elected to four U.S. House terms from Florida starting in 1994.
■ Country legend Loretta Lynn is back at home after a stroke she suffered in May. Her new album will be delayed until next year, and all her remaining tour dates this year have been canceled. A statement released Wednesday by her record label said the 85-year-old singer-songwriter is back at her home in Tennessee after a stay at a rehabilitation facility. Lynn said she’s getting stronger every day and her main focus is on making a full recovery. Her next album, Wouldn’t It Be Great, on Sony Music Legacy Recording was to be released in August, but Lynn said in the statement that she wanted to wait until next year so she can give it her full attention.
■ Kim Kardashian West had to clear things up after some of her social media followers claimed to see lines of cocaine on a table in the background of one of her posts. Kardashian West posted a Twitter video Tuesday explaining that the pair of white streaks spotted on a black table at a hotel she’s staying at is just part of the table’s marble stone. She showed up close shots of the table. On Monday, she initially posted that she thought the streaks might be leftover sugar from some candy her kids were eating. Kardashian West admonished those who thought the streaks were drugs, saying, “I have kids. It’s just not my lifestyle. I’ve never been like that.”