News from Underground by Mark Crispin Miller

August 1, 2026 An aspiring singer from California discovered she had cancer the day before releasing her debut song. Suede Avery Sanders, a senior at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, was diagnosed with the rarecancer,alveolar soft part sarcoma, the day before her song “Go Bravely” was due to go live on July 17, KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco reported.

August 12, 2026 Rod Stewart [a U.S. citizen and resident] has cancelled all coming dateson his farewell tour after undergoing a routine heart procedure. On 9 August, Stewart, 81, pulled a performance in Ohio at the last minute [reported here last week]. After the successful insertion of a coronary stent, he announced that all dates would be cancelled. Representatives for the singer told Rolling Stone that Stewart required four weeks off to recuperate.

When COVID hit, we were largely too freaked out by terror of “the virus,” or by resistance to that panic, to note the unprecedented oddity of that worldwide campaign, as every country, other than some few in Africa and the Caribbean (whose leaders paid dearly for it if they didn’t go along), bought the fear, and, consequently, craved the new “vaccine,” and then the boosters.

August 12, 2026 Denver, CO - Former University of Colorado professor and controversial activist Ward Churchill has died. He was 78. David Lane, Churchill’s former attorney, confirmed to Denver7 that the former professor died of a stroke on Tuesday.

August 9, 2026 “Highlander” actor Christopher Lambert suffered a medical emergency while attending the Steel City Comic-Con in Pittsburgh. At the annual convention on Saturday, the French actor, 69, was signing autographs for fans when he “suddenlycollapsed,” a witness told TMZ. Lambert was then placed in an ambulance and transported to a local hospital.

I am pinched on time, would love it if someone could post a high level summary! Is he still in jail?

August 5, 2026 Barry Manilow rescheduled his Kentucky show on Tuesday just 45 minutes before it was set to start. “Due to unforeseen circumstances tonight’s show in Lexington has been rescheduled,” Manilow, who was diagnosed with lungcancer last year, wrote on X ahead of the concert. No other explanation was given. While some slammed Manilow as “disrespectful” for the late rescheduling, others were quick to offer him words of encouragement.

August 7, 2026 Social media influencer Sydney Towle [26] ’22 died on Wednesday at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., according to an announcement shared on social media by her brother Austin Towle. Towle died from complications related to metastatic bile ductcancer. Her TikTok channel, which documented her three-year battle with cancer, had over 1.1 million followers at the time of her death. At Dartmouth, Towle majored in government and environmental studies.

July 26, 2026 By Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPH News from Underground by Mark Crispin Miller is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. The story of the COVID-19 pandemic is one defined by a chasm between the public directives issued by the medical establishment and the private realities of its most prominent leaders.

July 7, 2026 Penélope Cruz revealed that she suffered from several brain aneurysm “scares” in recent years. “I have had many scares like that,” The Invite actress, 52, said in an interview Net-a-Porter published on Monday, July 6. “Fortunately, I’m fine, it was a false alarm.” Cruz, who shares son Leo, 15, and daughter, Luna, 12, with husband Javier Bardem, explained that the health issues inspired her to make sure she was on the right path for her well-being.