Toward the end of each month, South African households experience a subtle sense of urgency. Lists of groceries are updated. Money for transportation is rationed. And for the nation’s more than 18 million recipients of social grants, one question often takes precedence over all others: when will the money be arriving? The South African Social Security Agency has now formally confirmed the payment dates for September 2026, and there are no surprises in the schedule. On Wednesday, September 2, the Older Persons Grant will be disbursed. On Thursday, September 3, recipients of the Disability Grant come next. Additionally, Friday, September…
Author: Sierra Foster
Sierra Foster
Born in Kansas City, Sierra Foster writes about politics and serves as Senior Editor at kbsd6.com. She was raised paying attention to this city, not just living in it. Sierra has a strong, deep connection to Kansas City, from the neighborhoods east of Troost to the discussions that take place in the city hall halls. Sierra, who is presently enrolled at the University of Kansas to pursue a degree in Political Science, applies the rigor of academic study to her journalism. She writes about politics in Missouri and Kansas as someone who genuinely cares about what happens to the people in these communities—the policies that impact them, the leaders who represent them, and the civic forces influencing their futures—rather than as an outsider watching from a distance. Her editorial coverage encompasses state-level policy, local government, and the national political currents that permeate bi-state regional life. Whether it's a city council vote or a Senate race, she has a special gift for turning complex policy language into writing that feels urgent, relatable, and worthwhile. Sierra seldom sits still off the page. She claims that playing soccer on a regular basis has sharpened her instincts for political reporting because of the sport's teamwork, strategy, and requirement to read a changing game in real time. She's probably somewhere in Kansas City with her friends when she's not writing or on the pitch, discovering new reasons to adore a city she already knows so well.
There’s something sad about hearing a voice you’ll never hear the same way again when you open a game you’ve played a dozen times. This week, a lot of Kingdom Hearts fans were in that situation: they were going through old footage and early cutscenes and feeling the kind of grief that comes from feeling like someone you never met really meant something to you. She was 36 years old when she died on August 16. She was discovered in Greenville, South Carolina, not moving. At the scene, she was pronounced dead. The police said there were no signs of…
A certain type of political moment doesn’t come with a floor speech or a policy announcement. Wrapped in a list of other criticisms, it quietly—almost casually—arrives during a Sunday rally in Atlanta before exploding over the course of the next 48 hours. That’s essentially what happened when Senator Jon Ossoff brought up the name “Natalie” during a campaign speech, and the White House quickly demonstrated his point by becoming agitated. Ossoff was criticizing what he called a president who is disinterested in the real task of governing during a Sunday campaign appearance in Atlanta. Although the language he used was…
There is a certain kind of quiet that says everything. Silence like when someone keeps a secret out of loyalty or to show respect. Hayden Panettiere talked about a different kind of silence after her ten-year relationship with Neutrogena ended in 2015. It was cold, businesslike, and meant to be final. Panettiere said in a podcast earlier this year, “I had worked with these people for 10 years and I remember not hearing a word from anyone.” That’s when she paused, and it might have said more than anything else she said in the interview. Panettiere became a Neutrogena spokesperson…
Once you hear it, there’s a moment that’s difficult to forget. October of 2023. In Manhattan, a motorcade is parked outside Trump Tower. Somewhere in the lobby, an argument has broken out that, by all accounts, qualifies as a screaming match while Donald Trump is on his way to court. Natalie Harp is informed by a staff member that there isn’t space for her. She claims that Trump personally invited her to attend. No one moves. She then gets into the trunk of an SUV. That isn’t a metaphor. According to two people who spoke with CNN and a picture…
He passed away on February 19, 2023, when he was 28 years old. He painted and acted, and his sister called him her best friend. He was smart, funny, and had a big personality. The people who loved him say that he could fill a room with his presence. He died quickly. His family was very sad. It was after that that Hayden Panettiere’s grief would follow her through every interview and role she played until she died in August 2026. From what his family said in a statement, it was clear that cardiomegaly (an enlarged heart) and problems with…
After reading about Hayden Panettiere’s last days, there is something that stays with you. Not just the sadness of losing someone in public and so young (36 years old). Because of the way the situation was set up, a woman who had written openly about being abused and shared her trauma with the world was seen at an airport the day before she died, traveling with the man she had written about. Brian Hickerson was arrested more than once for hitting Panettiere while they were dating and after they broke up. When he was arrested in 2020, he punched her…
Axl Kovaňvić sees the opening during the Sekai Taikai finals of Cobra Kai Season 6. He knew exactly where to strike thanks to his sensei. Miguel’s vulnerability. The audience would not have blinked at all. And Axl simply doesn’t do it. It’s a brief beat, perhaps two seconds of screen time. However, it subtly reframes everything that the show had been developing for more than twenty episodes. When Axl first appears in Season 6, you are supposed to despise him right away. As the reigning Sekai Taikai champion, he is emotionally distant, physically intimidating, and a member of the Iron…
Kyler Park swaggers through the school hallway like he owns every square inch during one of the early seasons of Cobra Kai. He is ruthless, arrogant, and convincingly seventeen. You wouldn’t believe the man portraying Miguel was born ten years or more before the majority of the students he interacts with when you watch him shove Miguel around. Cobra Kai has been quietly maintaining that specific delusion for years. What is Kyler from Cobra Kai’s exact age? At the beginning of the show, Kyler Park appears on screen as a junior in high school, perhaps sixteen or seventeen years old.…
When a new character enters a long-running show and takes over every scene right away, there’s a certain kind of satisfaction. When Rayna Vallandingham played Zara Malik in Cobra Kai season 6, she did just that, and to be honest, I’m still a little surprised at how well it worked. Zara shows up as the female captain of the Iron Dragons, a dojo from Hong Kong that was first presented at the international Sekai Taikai competition. As the reigning champions, the Iron Dragons are unbeaten and appear to be unbeatable. Zara, who is both a social media influencer and a…