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Tribune News Service on Aug 21, 2026

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Natalie Harp gushes to ‘guardian and protector’ Trump in new letters

Natalie Harp gushes over President Donald Trump as her “Guardian and Protector” in newly unearthed letters that underline the unusually close personal relationship the 35-year-old White House aide has with the commander-in-chief.

“You are all that matters to me,” Harp writes to Trump in one missive, the Daily Beast reported. “I don’t want to ever let you down.” “No one know or cares about me more,” the $150,000-a-year executive assistant wrote in another letter. “Thank you for always being there for me.”

The news site published scanned copies of the letters bearing Harp’s distinctive handwritten “Natalie” signature. One was signed with the affectionate “Always” while another ended: “With all my heart.”

The New York Times also published excerpts from the letters, the authenticity of which the White House has not disputed. “You are all that matters to me. I don’t want to ever let you down,” Harp wrote. “Thank you for being my Guardian and Protector in this Life.” Although there is no sign of a romantic link, some of the phrases in the letters strike a less-than-professional tone.

—New York Daily News

RFK Jr. touts Minnesota as model for new national autism alert system

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Law enforcement and first responders here have trained for decades on how to track and approach autistic people who have wandered away from their homes. Federal officials could soon use similar tactics nationwide.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Friday announced federal officials plan to create a new national alert system for missing autistic people based on existing systems like the Amber Alert, which sends emergency notices out whenever children go missing.

During a news conference inside a law enforcement training center in Rochester, Kennedy pointed to Olmsted County sheriff’s deputies and Rochester police as examples for how federal officials should train first responders to get people with autism safely home. That includes encouraging the use of wearable trackers and purposefully and regularly interacting with the area’s autism community.

“Here in Rochester, they have a perfect record of recovery without losing anybody, and that’s what we want nationally,” Kennedy said. Although he made the announcement in Mayo Clinic’s hometown, Kennedy has drawn criticism for controversial healthcare and medical views that often run contrary to accepted medical practice, including the false claim that vaccines may cause autism in children.

—The Minnesota Star Tribune

Fossil fuels continue to dominate New England’s energy grid, despite green push, study says

BOSTON — A new study shows that despite the push across most of New England to transition to green energy, the region’s energy grid is still dependent on fossil fuel-based generation.

The study, titled “New England’s Energy Transition: Colliding with Reality,” was authored by energy policy analyst Lisa Linowes and released by the Fiscal Alliance Foundation, and concluded that New England is essentially as dependent on fossil fuels today as it was in 2000.

The report found that in 2000, fossil fuels supplied 54.6% of electricity generated in New England, with that number rising to 55.4% in 2025.

This after renewable sources offshore wind, battery storage and solar power provided less than 10% of power to New England’s energy grid during the January cold-snap that saw temperatures plummet into the single-digits. The region heavily depended on natural gas and heating oil at the time.

—Boston Herald

US, Japan, South Korea urge North Korea to halt ‘provocations’

The U.S., Japan and South Korea held a three-way call to coordinate their response to North Korea’s barrage of short-range ballistic missiles, after Pyongyang dismissed President Donald Trump’s overtures to revive dialogue with leader Kim Jong Un.

North Korea launched about 10 ballistic missiles from Pyongyang Thursday that flew roughly 300 kilometers (186 miles), South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. Japan’s coast guard earlier said a suspected North Korean missile appeared to have fallen outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, according to the nation’s public broadcaster NHK.

Officials from the U.S., South Korea and Japan urged North Korea to halt “provocations that threaten the peace and security of the region and the international community” during a phone call Friday, Japan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

It comes after Trump stunned Seoul by abruptly canceling decades-old annual military exercises with South Korea. North Korea then mocked the South as a U.S. “puppet” following Trump’s unilateral decision to curtail the drills, while also casting doubt on the U.S. president’s suggestion that high-level communication between Washington and Pyongyang had resumed.

—Bloomberg News