Tagged: Stephen Colbert

According to columnist Rex Huppke, there was a recent death that you might have missed. It wasn't an actor, musician or famous politician, but facts.

In a piece for the Chicago Tribune, Huppke says facts – things we know to be true – are now dead.

Huppke says the final blow came on Wednesday, April 18, when Republican Rep. Allen West of Florida declared that about 80 members of the Democratic Party in Congress are members of the Communist Party.

"That was the death-blow for facts," Huppke tells weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz.

Three different congressional offices have received mailings that contained a suspicious powdery substance.

Terrance W. Gainer, the Senate Sergeant at Arms, sent an email to congressional staff saying that a Senate State office and House District office received a mailing yesterday and a Senate State office received a letter today. Gainer said the letters were postmarked in Portland and the substance was found to be harmless.

"The author of these letters has indicated that additional letters containing a powdery substance will be arriving at more Senate offices and that some of these letters may contain an actual harmful material," Gainer said in the email.

Without directly saying so, Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert all-but-confirmed last night that he was off the air for two days last week because his 91-year-old mother Lorna has been ill.

The Colbert Report is set to resume production Monday, after a hiatus last week brought on by concerns over the health of Stephen Colbert's mother, according to reports. Lorna Colbert, 91, lives in Charleston, S.C., where the Comedy Central star grew up.

Colbert received a flood of well-wishers' thoughts on Twitter after his show abruptly ceased production for two days last week. Word eventually spread that Lorna Colbert was ailing, prompting many to offer their support.

Provocateur comedian Stephen Colbert is known for many things. Silence has not been among them — until now. An abrupt suspension in his Colbert Report's production schedule sparked rumors online Thursday, after Comedy Central said it would air reruns for three days this week.

It seems the delay is due to a family emergency. The Wall Street Journal reports that Colbert "suspended production of his satirical comedy show temporarily because of an emergency in Mr. Colbert's family, according to people familiar with the show."