Daily English Article — July 8, 2026

Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner is facing a serious allegation of sexual assault that has thrown his candidacy into uncertainty. A former girlfriend, Jenny Racicot, 41, claims that in 2021, Platner arrived at her home unannounced and intoxicated, and forcibly assaulted her. Her account was reported by Politico and corroborated by an interview posted by CNN. The allegation has become a significant disruption in a Senate race widely considered critical to the Democratic Party's efforts to reclaim the Senate majority.

Racicot described the incident in vivid and disturbing detail, telling Politico, 'I remember him grabbing my pelvis and being really forceful of me. I remember the specific moment where I thought to myself, like, this is no longer my choice.' Politico reported that it reviewed messages between Racicot and her therapist and spoke with two individuals she had confided in during 2023. Racicot had also previously appeared in a New York Times piece featuring several women who described 'unsettling' behavior by Platner during their time dating him.

Platner categorically denied the allegations, calling Racicot's account false and describing the report as a coordinated smear campaign orchestrated by outside political operatives. 'These allegations are troubling, serious, and false. Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically untrue,' he stated. Despite his denial, Platner released a video suggesting he was reconsidering his candidacy, saying he was taking time to reflect on 'the best path forward' given what he described as the unavoidable political consequences of the reporting.

Several prominent supporters swiftly withdrew their endorsements following the allegations. Representative Ro Khanna of California, a vocal backer of Platner's campaign, called the accusations 'very serious and credible' and publicly demanded that Platner drop out of the race. Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona similarly rescinded his endorsement, describing the allegations as 'troubling and deeply serious.' The rapid withdrawal of high-profile support signals how damaging the allegations have become for Platner's political standing.

NBC News has not independently verified the allegations, and Racicot declined to comment through a representative at the time of reporting. Platner's campaign maintained that the allegations were 'coached and coordinated by out of state establishment operatives,' insisting they were politically motivated. The race against incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins had been seen as a key battleground for Democrats. The outcome of Platner's deliberations over his candidacy could have significant consequences for the party's broader Senate strategy heading into the election.

Apple has confirmed that using Apple Intelligence features within the Home app will require a subscription to iCloud+ at the 2TB tier or higher. The detail was disclosed in Apple's release notes accompanying the third beta of macOS Golden Gate. This clarifies previous ambiguity from Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, where the company announced that certain Apple Intelligence features would require a paid iCloud+ plan but did not specify which subscription level would be necessary for particular features.

The new Home app capabilities, arriving with iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 Golden Gate, represent a meaningful expansion of smart home functionality. Users will be able to receive AI-generated written summaries of motion alerts from HomeKit Secure Video cameras. The system can also group footage from multiple cameras to provide a consolidated overview of activity across a property, identify and extract noteworthy recordings, and respond to natural language search queries, making it easier to locate specific footage without manually browsing through archives.

The 2TB iCloud+ plan, which is the minimum required to access these Apple Intelligence Home features, costs $9.99 per month. This tier includes 2TB of iCloud storage and already offered unlimited HomeKit Secure Video camera support prior to this announcement. Lower-tier plans have more restrictive camera limits: the 50GB plan supports only one camera, while the 200GB plan allows up to five. The new AI-driven features will be bundled exclusively into the 2TB plan and above, drawing a clear line between basic and premium smart home experiences.

One notable technical detail is that HomeKit Secure Video footage does not count against a user's iCloud storage allowance. This means that subscribers to the 2TB plan retain the full 2TB of general-purpose storage for photos, documents, backups, and other data, while camera footage is stored separately at no additional cost to the storage quota. This architecture helps justify the higher subscription tier, as users receive both substantial cloud storage and unlimited camera coverage without one resource cannibalizing the other.

Apple's decision to gate these features behind the 2TB plan has drawn attention because it represents a significant monthly cost compared to entry-level iCloud+ tiers. However, for households with multiple HomeKit cameras and significant storage needs, the 2TB plan may already be the logical choice. Apple has not yet indicated whether additional Apple Intelligence features announced at WWDC will carry similar subscription requirements, though the Home app announcement suggests the company intends to align advanced AI capabilities with its higher-value service tiers.