Kentucky governor says he received calls suggesting McConnell died

Kentucky Governor Casts Doubt on Mitch McConnell's Status

Despite recent evidence to the contrary, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear isn't so sure that Senator Mitch McConnell is actually alive.

Speaking with journalist Katie Couric in an interview published on YouTube July 15, Beshear explained why he had requested a formal update from McConnell's office earlier this month. In his explanation, Beshear revealed that he had received information from multiple officials indicating that the 84-year-old Republican had passed away.

"It had been a month before anything had been put out, not even an official statement from Senator McConnell," Beshear recalled. "In fact, I'd gotten two calls from different agencies—not state agencies—suggesting he's passed."

The Kentucky senator went missing for nearly a month after he was found unconscious in his Washington residence and rushed to the hospital on June 14. For weeks, McConnell's office refused to explain his extended hospitalization or elaborate on his eventual return to Capitol Hill.

The media blackout finally ended on Sunday, when the senator's office shared a photo of McConnell sitting upright in a chair beside his wife, holding a copy of The Washington Post's Sunday sports section in his lap.

Far-right influencers immediately jumped on McConnell's statement, baselessly claiming that the picture had been AI-generated while demanding that McConnell release a video statement to address public concern. (Forensic analysis teams concluded that McConnell's "proof of life" image was very much real and not AI-generated.)

McConnell's team has not provided any further explanation or evidence supporting McConnell's improving health condition since Sunday.

Earlier this week, Beshear held a press conference in which he acknowledged that while the July 12 update was a "step in the right direction," McConnell ultimately needed to provide a more comprehensive update in order to cut through the resulting conspiratorial noise.

"We hope that there is a speedy recovery," Beshear said on Tuesday. "But with all the speculation—and there's been a ton—the fastest way to end all of it is calling into a news station if you're otherwise taking calls, putting out a video or two, which all of us do in office."

Read more: MAGA Is Pissed at Mitch McConnell's Photographic Proof of Life

ICE Agent Who Killed 25-Year-Old Has History of Violence, Relatives Say

New details are emerging about the ICE agent who shot and killed 25-year-old Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero on Monday.

David Brouillette has a history of violent and abusive behavior, his relatives told the Associated Press, including attacks on the women and girls in his life.

Abuse Allegations

• First ex-wife, Ashley Brouillette, said she divorced him after he became violent with her while she was pregnant with their daughter. In one instance, she told the AP, he threw boiling water at her while she was holding their daughter—an account confirmed by her mother, Avis Collins.
• A second ex-wife (not identified by the AP due to fear of retaliation) alleged years of physical and verbal abuse against her and her daughters. She said Brouillette stalked and harassed her, and engaged in physical and verbal abuse against his daughter, forcing them to seek temporary protection orders. Specific incidents included tackling his teenage daughter, smashing spaghetti in her hair, and dragging her around the house while she was crying.
• "Dave needs counseling or something for his PTSD & depression," the ex-wife wrote while applying for a temporary protective order on behalf of Brouillette's teenage daughter, which a judge granted in 2021.

Mental Health Concerns

Brouillette's oldest daughter, Madison, also told the AP about her father's mental health issues.

"I saw my dad struggle with a lot of things," she said, recalling one instance where she came home from school and he told her that he had sat on a tree stump holding a gun to his head. "If you don't really, truly take care of yourself, there's no way you can protect other people. And with my dad, he never wanted to get help."

One relative anonymously told the AP that Brouillette was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder and severe bipolar disorder as a child, which Ashley Brouillette confirmed.