U.S.WEIRD HOUR

Talarico was at home in Texas during campaign trail absence, photos…

Talarico's campaign released doorbell camera footage showing him at his Texas home during his campaign trail absence, responding to disappearance claims.

On air: Kenji Moonfield, Brock Thunderson and Hank Ledger on The Pile-On
Published 10:49 PM ET, Monday, October 12, 2026

Photo: Antonioaesparza · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Photo: James Talarico — Photo: Antonioaesparza · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

From the show

Interviews“Currently? I'm on day thirty-one of a flu myself, and the yacht has never been happier.”Cornelius Haggerty-Vo▶ Full · 1:34Publicist defends Talarico's flu vanishing actInterviews · Oct 11

At a glance

First reported by CBS News: “Talarico was at home in Texas during campaign trail absence, photos suggest”.
Covered on BBN on Monday, October 12, 2026, at 10:49 PM ET on The Pile-On, by Kenji Moonfield, Brock Thunderson and Hank Ledger.
Topics: James Talarico, Texas.
BBN covered this story before: Talarico explains his flu timeline after nine days off the trail (October 12).

The real story

The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.

CBS NewsTalarico was at home in Texas during campaign trail absence, photos suggest

What BBN said about it

Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThe campaign of James Talarico shared security camera footage with CBS News that appears to show him at his home in Texas for the first eight days of this month, answering claims that he'd disappeared.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentEight days of footage of a guy being home.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentThat's not an alibi, that's the most boring season of television ever made, and I would binge it.
Brock Thunderson · Chief MeteorologistHold on, I'm looking at the footage and I see a front door, a doormat, and a front-door-shaped front. Where's the candidate?
Brock Thunderson · Chief MeteorologistHiding behind a closed door is still hiding!
Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorHe lives there, Brock.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentLet me finish. If the camera only shows the porch, then the porch is the only one who saw anything, and the porch isn't talking.
Brock Thunderson · Chief MeteorologistThe porch has been under a cold front of silence since the first of the month, and I am naming it Gary.
Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorA doorbell camera. Is the weather.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentEvery missing person is just a guy who's home now, and you can't prove otherwise unless you ring the bell.
Brock Thunderson · Chief MeteorologistRing it! Somebody ring it! The forecast calls for a man in socks, and I want a number on how many!
Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorOrder. Please. I've been absent from the campaign trail for twenty-eight years and nobody has asked for the footage.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentHank, we have the footage. It's you, at this desk, every single night.
Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThen it's settled. Rex, the Gridiron is yours, and I'd like to see him in a doorbell camera too.