Hayden Panettiere (‘Heroes,’ ‘Nashville’) Dies At 36 + More News

Some news items for you as we close out the weekend:

• AP News: Hayden Panettiere, who soared to fame in “Heroes” and “Nashville,” died Sunday at the age of 36. She had written and spoken about her struggles with mental health, including body dysmorphia and postpartum depression.

An autopsy found no signs of trauma, but a 9-1-1 dispatch call indicates an overdose may have been the cause of death.

• Them: A New Bedford, Massachusetts, police officer is under investigation after being accused of using a Flock Safety camera to track her ex-girlfriend’s car over 200 times. There have been dozens of cases of police officers using Flock technology to stalk individuals, especially romantic partners and exes.

• New York Times: After 31 years, The DataLounge has shut down. The quirky, gay gossip forum emerged at a time when the internet was funny, wild (and maybe a little reckless).

• Boy Culture: Matt Rettenmund chats with veteran character actor and standup comic Jason Stuart about his new, award-winning short film “Redlining.” He also shares about working with Faye Dunaway, Robert Guillaume, Justin Bateman, Kirstie Alley, Keanu Reeves and more.

• JoeMyGod: According to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll,  Donald Trump’s approval rating fell to the lowest level of his presidency, ‌with just 33% of respondents said they approved of Trump’s performance in the White House, while 64% disapproved. The New York Times‘ poll of polls puts his average approval rating at 37%.

• Fox News: As his 60-day ceasefire with Iran lapses today with no resolution in sight, Trump threatened to “bomb the shit out of” U.S. ally Oman. Oman has been mediating talks between the U.S. and Iran, so it’s unclear what specifically prompted Trump’s outburst.

Trey Yingst: “I just got off the phone with President Trump … the president told Fox News that Iran should raise the white flag of surrender … the president said that if Oman gets in the way, ‘we’ll bomb the s**t out of them”” pic.twitter.com/GrEp3riM1B

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 17, 2026