Sam Matthews

    Executive Producer, Yahoo News

    Sam Matthews is the executive producer for Yahoo News. Before joining Yahoo News in 2017, he produced series for ABC, Travel Channel, and VICE, among others.

  • The It List: 'Civil War' depicts a dystopian America, 'Bluey' fans await 'The Sign,' Vampire Weekend release first album in 5 years

    Tensions run high in the radically divided America seen in "Civil War."

  • 2024 election: Is being an alternative to Trump enough for Biden to win a second time?

    With a general election rematch between President Biden and former President Donald Trump all but official, some Democrats worry that simply being an alternative to Trump might not be enough for Biden to win this time around. Yahoo News Chief National Correspondent Jon Ward explains how the anti-Trump playbookā€™s record has fared in past elections and what makes the 2024 election different.

  • Super Tuesday: Which states vote, and when will we know the results?

    Super Tuesday is coming on March 5, and it will mark a major turning point in the 2024 presidential election. Yahoo News presents a guide to which states will hold their party nominations, who can vote and why it may take a few days to learn exactly how many delegates each candidate has won.

  • 2024 election: What to make of the protest votes against Biden and Trump

    Less than two months into the 2024 presidential primary calendar, a rematch between President Biden and former President Donald Trump appears to be the most likely scenario. However, recent protest votes against both Biden and Trump point to dissatisfaction with the current frontrunners of the Democratic and Republican parties. Yahoo News Chief National Correspondent Jon Ward explains what to make of the intraparty discord.

  • Why Nikki Haley is already looking beyond the South Carolina primary

    In presidential politics, thereā€™s an unwritten rule that losing in your home state should be avoided at all costs. However, as former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley faces off against former President Donald Trump in South Carolina this weekend, polls suggest Haley, the state's former governor, may need to prove herself the exception to that rule if her campaign is to continue. Yahoo News Chief National Correspondent Jon Ward explains why Haleyā€™s announcement that she has no plans to withdraw from the race ahead of her home stateā€™s primary is less surprising than you might think.

  • The psychology of celebrity worship

    When does being a fan of someone go from normal and healthy to a serious problem? Well, it depends on the person and the behavior ā€” but there is a psychology to celebrity worship. Yahoo Lifeā€™s Kerry Justich explains how media trends led to the study of parasocial relationships and how psychologists categorize the phenomenon on a ā€œcelebrity attitude scale.ā€

  • Concerns over Bidenā€™s age arenā€™t going away. What options do Democrats have?

    Democrats are in an odd position: Theyā€™ve got an incumbent president with no significant competition in securing the partyā€™s 2024 nomination ā€” yet concerns over Joe Bidenā€™s age heading into a possible second term donā€™t seem to be fading. Despite handily winning in early primaries and poll data showing growing support for Bidenā€™s candidacy among Democratic voters, the release of a special counsel report describing the president as "an elderly man with a poor memory" has sparked panic about his ability to do the job if elected for another term. Yahoo News Chief National Correspondent Jon Ward offers a guide to the conversations taking place among Democratic strategists and the options being explored to overcome votersā€™ fears.

  • What does 'EGOT' mean?

    What do Whoopi Goldberg, Mel Brooks, Audrey Hepburn and John Legend have in common? Theyā€™re all part of an elite club known as ā€œEGOT winnersā€ ā€” artists whoā€™ve snagged at least one Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award over the span of their careers. Yahoo Entertainmentā€™s David Artavia explains the unlikely origin of the acronym and how a sitcom joke turned it into a common term.

  • Is 'Die Hard' a Christmas movie? Half of Americans say ā€˜noā€™.

    More than 35 years since the film's release in July 1988, we may finally have an answer to one of the holiday season's biggest debates: Is "Die Hard" a Christmas movie? Yahoo Entertainmentā€™s David Artavia explains.

  • Spaceflight and the human body: Astronauts on the health effects of long missions

    As NASA plans years-long missions to the moon ā€” and beyond ā€” astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Andreas Mogensen, currently aboard the International Space Station, join Yahoo Lifeā€™s Rebecca Corey to discuss how extended time outside the safety of Earthā€™s atmosphere and gravity affect the human body and mind.

  • How to watch the 'ring of fire' solar eclipse this weekend

    Sky-gazers in the western half of North, Central and South America will be treated on Saturday to a spectacular annular solar eclipse that will create a ā€œring of fireā€ in the sky ā€” for those lucky enough to see it.

  • Why China is taking pandas back from the U.S.

    In 2024, for the first time in more than 50 years, there will be no pandas in the United States, after zoos in Atlanta and Washington, D.C., return pandas that have been on loan from Beijing.

  • Even Marianne Williamson knows she's a long shot for the Democratic nomination

    After a short-lived presidential campaign in 2020, bestselling author and spiritual guru Marianne Williamson is back at it again. This time she's challenging President Biden for the 2024 Democratic nomination ā€” and she's well aware her chances of victory are slim. Yahoo News explains why, despite seemingly insurmountable odds, Williamson is determined to stay in the race to deliver her message of peace and love.

  • Morocco earthquake: Survivors spend nights sleeping on streets amid fear of aftershocks

    Since the deadly 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck Morocco Friday night, thousands of people have decided not to risk going back into their houses and apartment buildings, many of which were damaged.

  • Morocco earthquake: Rescue efforts continue as locals contemplate uncertain future

    Following an earthquake that struck Morocco on Friday night, killing more than 2,500 people and injuring thousands more, locals are beginning to take stock of the long road to recovery. While Marrakech, the closest large city to the epicenter, was spared from widespread casualties, the local business community fears that the international tourism their economy relies on may not return soon enough. Mohamed El Khal, manager of the Riad Al Massarah, shares his experience of the moments the tremors began, the ongoing need for aid and his hopes for the future.

  • The Hunter Biden investigation isn't going away anytime soon. Here's what we know to be true.

    For years, Republican politicians and members of right-leaning media organizations have attempted to connect President Biden to alleged criminal activity on the part of his son, Hunter Biden. Yahoo News Chief National Correspondent Jon Ward explains what facts have emerged in the investigation and why the appointment of a special counsel means the issue is likely to remain in the public eye for the foreseeable future.

  • ā€‹Danny Masterson sentencing: A timeline of the investigation and trial

    On Thursday, actor Danny Masterson is scheduled to be sentenced after being convicted of raping two women. Yahoo Entertainment's Taryn Ryder walks through the timeline of events from the origins of the investigation in 2017 to the guilty verdict handed down in May 2023.

  • Maui wildfires: Assessing the full extent of damage ā€˜harrowingā€™ for rescue workers

    At least 96 people have been confirmed dead and 1,000 others are missing on Maui in what is the deadliest fire in the U.S. in over a century. As rescue efforts continue across the island, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green explains the long road ahead both for assessing the full extent of the damage and understanding exactly how the fire that devastated Lahaina became so deadly.

  • Mike Pence's 2024 pitch: Trump policy without the persona

    As former Vice President Mike Pence launches his run for the Republican presidential nomination, he's courting primary voters and donors with a simple message: a continuation of Trump policies, without the divisive persona his former boss brought to the job. Yahoo News explains how drawing on his White House experience could be Penceā€™s greatest strength ā€” or his greatest weakness ā€” when it comes to standing out from the GOP's growing field of candidates.

  • Trump charged with criminal conspiracy to overturn 2020 election

    A federal grand jury has indicted former President Donald Trump on four charges stemming from special counsel Jack Smithā€™s investigation into Trumpā€™s role in efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the resulting Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The former president has been ordered to appear in court on Thursday where he will be arraigned and is expected to plead not guilty.