Until recently, few people outside of Pennsylvania had heard of Kathy Barnette.
The political commentator, who is running to become the Republican candidate for an open Senate seat in November, was languishing in the polls before Tuesday's primary election. As such, the two established Republican candidates paid her little attention.
That has all changed now as Ms Barnette, whose Twitter account is littered with incendiary comments, many of them disparaging toward Islam, has pulled even with Dr Mehmet Oz, who is well known for his The Dr Oz Show, and David McCormick, a former hedge fund manager.
Two separate polls, one by Fox News, the other by Trafalgar, show Ms Barnette in a near statistical dead heat with the better-funded and better-known candidates.
Her last-minute surge has jolted the Republican Party, which fears she would be unelectable in a race against a Democratic candidate in November.
"Kathy Barnette will never be able to win the General Election against the Radical Left Democrats," former president Donald Trump said in a statement last week.
Ms Barnette's campaign did not respond to requests for an interview.
Speaking on “Fox News Sunday” ahead of Tuesday’s primary, Ms Barnette said the “overwhelming majority” of the comments for which she’s now being criticised are old and not complete thoughts and that she hasn’t embellished her record as critics say.
“They’re mad because I didn’t ask for permission to be in this space,” Ms Barnette said. “I just walked in because this is my country, and our country is in trouble.”
According to the Fox News poll, Dr Oz is leading with 22 per cent, followed by Mr McCormick with 20 per cent and Ms Barnette with 19 per cent. The margin of error for the poll is three per cent.
Mr Trump, himself known for his "Muslim ban" that sought to restrict travel from 13 majority-Muslim and African nations, said Ms Barnette had said things in the past that had "not been properly explained or vetted".
He did not, however, condemn her seemingly Islamophobic Twitter posts, which include multiple false claims that former president Barack Obama is a Muslim, and said she will "have a wonderful future in the Republican Party" if she can explain those comments.
"And I will be behind her all the way,” Mr Trump said.
Ms Barnette also said Mr Obama “loves all things homosexual” and that Islam “should be banned in the USA.”
The Pennsylvania Senate race is seen as crucial in November's midterms. The seat is presently held by Republican Pat Toomey, who is not seeking re-election.
If the Democrats can secure a win, they may be able to gain control of the evenly divided Senate.
Though they currently have a nominal majority in the upper house, thanks to Vice President Kamala Harris’s tie-breaking role, they have no practical mandate as conservative Democrat Joe Manchin often sides with Republicans.
Ms Barnette’s popularity began rising after she released a video describing how she was a product of rape and why she is still anti-abortion.
The video comes after a leaked Supreme Court ruling revealed the nation's top court is likely to scrap federal protections for women seeking abortions.
The four-minute video has more than 1.3 million views and has helped Ms Barnette to win the backing of conservative groups such as Catholic Vote.
Ms Barnette’s ascendancy has caught her opponents flat-footed and forced them to alter campaign strategies just days before Tuesday’s primary.
“It’s reprehensible that she would tweet out something that is defamatory to an entire religion,” Dr Oz told The Associated Press on Saturday.
“This state was based on religious freedom. I’m proud as a Pennsylvanian to uphold those founding beliefs that every faith has its merits.”
For months, Dr Oz and Mr McCormick waged vicious attacks against each other trying to court Mr Trump’s approval and win the Senate primary.
Dr Oz, who made a fortune in television and has pumped millions of dollars into his own campaign, eventually won Mr Trump's endorsement.
That Dr Oz and Mr McCormick paid so much attention to each other likely allowed Ms Barnette to sneak up in the race, said Jessica Taylor, the Senate and Governors editor at The Cook Political Report that analyses US political campaigns.
“What is stunning is that she has done this with very little money,” Ms Taylor told The National. “I think she's been outspent by something like 350 to one."
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Saturday's results
West Ham 2-3 Tottenham
Arsenal 2-2 Southampton
Bournemouth 1-2 Wolves
Brighton 0-2 Leicester City
Crystal Palace 1-2 Liverpool
Everton 0-2 Norwich City
Watford 0-3 Burnley
Manchester City v Chelsea, 9.30pm
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
The Gandhi Murder
- 71 - Years since the death of MK Gandhi, also christened India's Father of the Nation
- 34 - Nationalities featured in the film The Gandhi Murder
- 7 - million dollars, the film's budget
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Fly Etihad or Emirates from the UAE to Moscow from 2,763 return per person return including taxes.
Where to stay
Trips on the Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian cost from US$16,995 (Dh62,414) per person, based on two sharing.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The Old Slave and the Mastiff
Patrick Chamoiseau
Translated from the French and Creole by Linda Coverdale
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Scoreline
Al Wasl 1 (Caio Canedo 90 1')
Al Ain 2 (Ismail Ahmed 3', Marcus Berg 50')
Red cards: Ismail Ahmed (Al Ain) 77'
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
THE SPECS
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Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch automatic
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On sale: now
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
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MATCH INFO
Day 2 at Mount Maunganui
England 353
Stokes 91, Denly 74, Southee 4-88
New Zealand 144-4
Williamson 51, S Curran 2-28
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204-cylinder%202.0L%20TSI%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dual%20clutch%207-speed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20320HP%20%2F%20235kW%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20400Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efrom%20%2449%2C709%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Why your domicile status is important
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
Hotel Silence
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Pushkin Press
