Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is facing backlash after trashing a beloved Michigan vacation spot in a resurfaced video — and doubled down when confronted.
“I don’t think the most American place in Michigan is a place that…bans cars,” he said. 
Mackinac Island banned motor vehicles in the 1890s, leaving the island to horse-drawn carriages, bicycles, and foot traffic. It&#8217;s a rule generations of Michigan families have treated as part of the island&#8217;s charm. But El-Sayed sees it differently.
“I hate Mackinac so much,” in a resurfaced documentary from his failed 2018 gubernatorial campaign. “Every time I’ve ever come here I’ve hated it. Why am I here?” 
The island has also hosted the governor&#8217;s official summer residence since 1945 — a fact El-Sayed jokes about in the clip, noting that a win would have made Mackinac his own summer home.
El-Sayed will face off against Republican nominee Mike Rogers, a former U.S. representative, who has already taken two digs at El-Sayed.
“There’s no place like Mackinac,” Rogers <a href="https://x.com/MikeRogersForMI/status/2085799879905771713">said</a>, sharing personal photos of him enjoying his time on the island. The other swipe occurred when Rogers put out a campaign video where he looked directly into the camera and said, “If you are among the majority of Democratic voters who woke up on Wednesday feeling well, hopeless, because the person who won does not represent your values then just know there is still hope.” 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
My message to Democratic voters in Michigan: <a href="https://t.co/Jluml1RepW">pic.twitter.com/Jluml1RepW</a>
— Mike Rogers (@MikeRogersForMI) <a href="https://x.com/MikeRogersForMI/status/2085694224285212728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2026</a></blockquote>
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El-Sayed has embraced the party&#8217;s far-Left flank, campaigning alongside communist influencer Hasan Piker — who declared in a 2019 stream that &#8220;America deserved 9/11,&#8221; a remark he later characterized as a criticism of U.S. foreign policy. On Friday, <a href="https://x.com/Tectone/status/2085718952563392798?s=20">another clip</a> circulated of Piker circulated telling viewers, &#8220;We want more immigrants to come into your countries and then they&#8217;re going to f*ck your sisters and then your daughters,&#8221; before adding, &#8220;We&#8217;re here to destroy the white race.&#8221;
Asked on CNN Tuesday night whether we was comfortable with El-Sayed&#8217;s association with piker given the 9/11 remark, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/04/politics/video/bernie-sanders-abdul-el-sayed-progressives-nn-digvid">admitted</a> he was not — &#8220;I think that&#8217;s a dumb statement&#8221; — but quickly pivoted to defending the streamer. &#8220;He has a whole lot of followers and there&#8217;s a lot of things that he&#8217;s saying that make sense to a lot of people,&#8221; Sanders said. &#8220;I think we have to get above cancel culture. You know, when you&#8217;re doing radio, whatever they do — podcasts three hours a day — you say dumb things.&#8221; Sanders has not been asked publicly about the clip that resurfaced Friday.
Piker&#8217;s involvement with the campaign has been no obstacle to party leaders, who have rallied behind El-Sayed since Tuesday. The streamer, who traveled to Havana in March with a delegation organized in part by the Democratic Socialists of America — a trip now under Treasury Department scrutiny for possible sanctions violations — has appeared alongside El-Sayed at a series of campaign events. Former Vice President Kamala Harris nonetheless <a href="http://detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2026/08/07/kamala-harris-endorses-michigan-u-s-senate-race-el-sayed-rogers-lobbies-democrats/91214121007/">endorsed</a> El-Sayed on Friday.
&#8220;Abdul knows that we need bold solutions to the crises facing America&#8217;s working families, and he is ready to take on this fight,&#8221; Harris said. &#8220;I proudly stand with him to ensure we win a Democratic Senate majority in November.&#8221;
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer endorsed El-Sayed on Wednesday in a joint statement with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee — this despite El-Sayed campaigning opening on replacing Schumer as Democratic leader.
&#8220;If I have anything to do about it, the next Senate majority leader — Chris Van Hollen,&#8221; El-Sayed said at a rally introducing the Maryland senator. Schumer, for his part, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/05/top-democrats-embrace-abdul-el-sayed">waved off</a> the challenge. &#8220;Democrats are united by a common purpose: putting a check on Donald Trump by defeating his Republican enablers and taking back the Senate,&#8221; he and Gillibrand said.

Michigan Democrats Brace For Tectonic Shift In Key Senate Race

El-Sayed Doubles Down After He’s Blasted For Disparaging Historic Michigan Destination

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Mackinac Island

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Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was narrowly confirmed by the Senate on Saturday to officially serve in the role, clearing a vote that divided the Republican Party. 
The Senate voted 50 to 49, with two Republicans — Sen. Susan Collins (ME) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (AK) — siding with Democrats to oppose to Blanche’s nomination. Collins said her opposition stemmed from a Justice Department she believes &#8220;has become increasingly political.&#8221; 
&#8220;Mr. Blanche has taken several actions that have further eroded the Department&#8217;s independence, and that is the basis for my vote to oppose his confirmation,&#8221; she said in a <a href="https://www.collins.senate.gov/newsroom/senator-collins-statement-on-nomination-of-todd-blanche-to-serve-as-attorney-general">statement</a> earlier this week.
Collins argued against Blanche&#8217;s approval of an IRS order to &#8220;shield[ed]&#8221; the Trump family and its businesses from audits, along with the creation of a $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund. Murkowski <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/second-gop-senator-comes-out-against-blanche-confirmation">echoed</a> those concerns and separately criticized the department&#8217;s handling of the Epstein files release.
The Senate voted to confirm Blanche in a late-night session that ended at 4:00 a.m. After his confirmation, the attorney general <a href="https://x.com/DAGToddBlanche/status/2086015509821038750">said</a> he was &#8220;deeply honored by the trust and confidence President Trump has placed in me to lead the Department of Justice.&#8221;
 On Friday, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who had previously opposed Blanche&#8217;s nomination, announced he would vote to confirm Blanche in what would become the deciding vote in the 50-49 outcome.
“Mr. Blanche is not perfect, and he will tell you this,” Cassidy <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/todd-blanche-gets-guarantee-from-key-senator-on-confirmation-vote">said</a>. “But the choice is not between perfection and Mr. Blanche. It is between Mr. Blanche and another acting attorney general who may not run the department effectively under President Trump, and who indeed may not be as good as Mr. Blanche.”
Cassidy voiced some concern but said he believed that a confirmed attorney general would have more authority to resist political pressure than someone serving only in an acting capacity. Blanche thanked the Senate for staying late to complete the vote and thanked President Donald Trump. 
“I am deeply honored by the trust and confidence President Trump has placed in me to lead the Department of Justice as our great nation’s 88th Attorney General,” he said. 
Blanche&#8217;s path to the job began outside government entirely; he served as Trump&#8217;s personal defense lawyer before nominating him as deputy attorney general upon returning to office. He was appointed to acting attorney general by the president after former Attorney General Pam Bondi was ousted from the department in April.

Todd Blanche

Senate Confirms Todd Blanche As Attorney General In Razor Thin, Late-Night Vote

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Department of Justice

A 14-year-old boy killed five people and injured more than <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/world/asia/two-dead-gunman-school-shooting-thailand-officials-say-rcna591309">30</a> others when he opened fire at his school in Thailand on Friday. 
The attack marks one of Thailand’s deadliest school shootings in recent years. Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/world/asia/two-dead-gunman-school-shooting-thailand-officials-say-rcna591309">confirmed</a> that five individuals were killed at Debsirin Nonthaburi School before the gunman took his own life. 
Police identified the suspect as a student at the school and said he fired at least 26 rounds and still had more than 30 rounds of ammunition remaining. The handgun is believed to have belonged to the boy’s grandfather.
Police said the teen shot and killed his grandparents at their home earlier that day before going to the school, bringing the number of victims killed in the attacks to seven. 
One student <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c980j3j578do">told</a> the BBC that she “had to climb over the school fence to escape.” 
Another student said he thought he heard firecrackers. 
“Then it started getting more frequent, like ‘bang, bang, bang’ and then it went quiet at one point,” he said. “And the shooting started again.”
The attack is the latest in a string of deadly mass shootings in Thailand. 
In 2025, a man opened fire at a Bangkok market, killing five people before taking his own life. In 2023, a 14-year-old opened fire at a luxury mall in Bangkok, killing two people and injuring five others.
In 2022, a former police officer killed 36 people, including 24 children, in a gun-and-knife attack centered on a day care center.

Relieved yet deeply shaken parents burst into tears as they

High School Shooting Takes Even Darker Turn As Gunman’s Path Is Revealed

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Michigan&#8217;s Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed ranted about one of the state&#8217;s most beloved vacation spots and complained about being forced to travel there for his campaign. 
“I hate Mackinac so much,” he said in a 2020 documentary that followed his failed run for governor. “Every time I’ve ever come here I’ve hated it. Why am I here?”
In the clip, which was posted by <a href="https://x.com/Th_Midwesterner/status/2085731486158708741">The Midwesterner</a> on Friday, El-Sayed added that if he won the gubernatorial race, Mackinac Island would become his summer home. The car-free island is home to the Michigan governor’s official summer residence, a property the state has used to host political events since 1945. With no motor vehicles allowed on the island, travel is restricted to horse-drawn carriages, bicycles, and on foot. 
El-Sayed’s campaign did not immediately respond to The Daily Wire’s request for comment on why he dislikes one of Michigan’s most beloved and historical landmarks. 
Last year, Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer pitched the island as a film location for HBO&#8217;s popular series &#8220;The White Lotus.&#8221;
“If HBO is looking for the perfect location for season 4…Mackinac Island is ready to check you in,” she wrote over a video featuring beautiful scenery from the island. Whitmer regularly visits the island for political events, including for the Mackinac Policy Conference, which hosts Michigan’s political and business establishment each year. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
If <a href="https://x.com/HBO?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HBO</a> is looking for the perfect location for season 4…Mackinac Island is ready to check you in 🪷 <a href="https://t.co/JHUjlqXSvX">pic.twitter.com/JHUjlqXSvX</a>
— Governor Gretchen Whitmer (@GovWhitmer) <a href="https://x.com/GovWhitmer/status/1898857658100158693?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
It&#8217;s not the first time a Democratic candidate has trashed the place he or she is vying to represent. During a special election for Tennessee&#8217;s 7th Congressional District, Democratic nominee Aftyn Behn was criticized for comments she made about Nashville. 
“I hate the city, I hate the bachelorettes, I hate the pedal taverns, I hate country music, I hate all of the things that make Nashville apparently an ‘it’ city to the rest of the country. But I hate it,” she said.
El-Sayed now faces Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers in the general election. After El-Sayed’s win, Rogers released a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mike-rogers-makes-his-pitch-for-dem-support-in-michigan-after-el-sayeds-divisive-victory">direct message</a> to Democratic voters who are concerned about the rise of the far-Left in Michigan. In a campaign video released after El-Sayed edged out Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) 48.5% to 47.5%, Rogers told Michigan Democrats of all ages, &#8220;You have a home with us.&#8221;
&#8220;Over the next 90 days I am going to work hard to earn your trust, to earn your support, and earn your vote,&#8221; Rogers said. &#8220;We have a state to save, Michigan. Let&#8217;s get to work.&#8221;

Michigan Democratic Senate Primary Winner Abdul El-Sayed Holds News Conference Day After Primary Win

El-Sayed Once Trashed Beloved Michigan Vacation Destination

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A North Carolina man with a lengthy criminal history filmed himself on social media as he attacked random women on the street. 
Di-Quan Schafar Hunt, 32, is now facing <a href="https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/cmpd-arrests-man-for-assaulting-woman/275-c2e1f0ba-fa12-4423-a560-c4241112eb8a?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=facebook_WCNC_Charlotte">charges</a> after assaulting a woman in Charlotte, North Carolina, on camera, WCNC reported. The disturbing video that Hunt recorded and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/diquan1/">posted</a> to Instagram shows him walking past a woman on the street and saying, “Nah don’t wave at me,” then knocking her to the ground. She became unconscious after she hit the sidewalk. 
“You still talking?” the criminal said as he stood over her.
He slapped her again as she lay unconscious on the ground. Authorities <a href="https://www.charlottenc.gov/cmpd/News-Information/Newsroom/Assault-Investigation-in-the-Providence-Division-08.06026">said</a> the assault was reported on July 30 and that the victim “was transported to a local hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.”
In another video that was <a href="https://x.com/mattvanswol/status/2085506462529237191?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">obtained</a> by political commentator Matt Van Swol on Thursday, Hunt is seen stopping a woman on the sidewalk and then chasing her. The woman, visibly frightened, runs into the road with cars passing by to escape. “You run again motherf*cker,” Hunt shouted. “You said something else? You said something?” He finally walked away as the terrified woman hid behind a car that stopped in the street. As Hunt walked away, he continued to yell profanities. 
Paper Skyscraper, a business in the background of the attack video, <a href="https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/cmpd-arrests-man-for-assaulting-woman/275-c2e1f0ba-fa12-4423-a560-c4241112eb8a?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=facebook_WCNC_Charlotte">issued</a> a statement saying, “We are grateful to the officers, first responders, and community members who have been assisting the victim and supporting the ongoing investigation.” Paper Skyscraper turned over additional video footage to law enforcement and urged its neighbors to do the same. 
Hunt has a long rap sheet and has been arrested in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, 14 times. The first time occurred in 2012, when the case was dismissed after he was arrested for assault on a female. His past charges have included assault on a female, domestic violence, and assault with a deadly weapon. Between October 2023 and December 2025, Hunt was arrested <a href="https://www.azfamily.com/2026/08/07/dont-wave-me-man-charged-after-police-say-social-media-video-shows-him-punch-woman-sidewalk/">nine</a> times. 
Hunt was taken into custody after an investigation by the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department. His first stop is a medical facility for treatment, and then he will face charges for assault with a deadly weapon when he is discharged from the facility.  
The attacks targeting women in Charlotte come around a year after Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, fatally stabbed Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on the city&#8217;s train. Brown had a criminal record that goes back to 2007, which includes <a href="https://cbs12.com/news/nation-world/who-is-decarlos-brown-jr-the-man-accused-of-murdering-ukrainian-refugee-lightrail-charlotte-north-carolina-career-criminal-arrested-first-degree-murder-armed-robbery">14 arrests</a>, including felony larceny, robbery with a dangerous weapon, assault, shoplifting, and others.

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Repeat Criminal Records Video As He Attacks Random Women On The Street

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After Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed rode Michigan&#8217;s far-Left to a primary victory earlier this week, Republican nominee Mike Rogers released a video on Friday reaching out to the state&#8217;s moderate Democrats.
Rogers is attempting to capture some of the 728,000 voters who chose Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) over El-Sayed. El-Sayed squeaked out a victory over Stevens by less than 16,000 votes after polls suggested he would win in a landslide.
“If you are among the majority of Democratic voters who woke up on Wednesday feeling well, hopeless, because the person who won does not represent your values then just know there is still hope,” Rogers said. He then issued a message to voters from baby boomers to Gen Z. 
“To Grandparents across Michigan who are heartbroken from watching their kids and grandkids leave this state, you have a home with us,&#8221; he said. &#8220;To young people who are looking for real solutions to solve our housing affordability crisis, you have a home with us. To working families who don’t want higher taxes and lower paychecks, well you have a home with us. And to the vast majority of people across Michigan who do not want to throw their support behind a campaign filled with anger, divisiveness, calls for violence, and the views that are out of touch with your values, then you have a home with us.&#8221;
Rogers positioned his campaign as not just a fight between the Left and Right, but a “fight for the very soul of our nation.” 
Rogers pointed to the rift between establishment Democrats and the party’s new far-Left socialist movement. But the Democratic establishment, including Rep. Haley Stevens and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, endorsed El-Sayed after his primary victory. He even received Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer&#8217;s (D-NY) endorsement despite pushing for Schumer to be replaced. El-Sayed advocated for Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen to become the party&#8217;s new Senate leader. 
Rogers hopes to lure moderate Democratic voters who do not share the extremist viewpoints of the far-Left of the party, which calls for canceling all medical and student debt, abolishing ICE, and defunding the police.
While El-Sayed does not claim to be a democratic socialist, he was endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America and holds many of the radical party&#8217;s viewpoints. El-Sayed has also campaigned with communist influencer Hasan Piker, who said, “America deserved 9/11.” 
In an attempt to run from his past radicalism, El-Sayed wiped social media posts, including some he used to advocate for defunding the police. He also pushed to resume lockdowns over a year after COVID first began spreading in the United States.

Screenshot 2026-08-07 at 11.45.11 AM

Mike Rogers Makes His Pitch For Dem Support In Michigan After El-Sayed’s ‘Divisive’ Victory

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Senate Race

The Trump administration reported the single largest month for arrests by ICE in July, but now, its efforts are moving beyond the border and into community banks. 
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent traveled to Arizona on Thursday to tell lenders to view credit applications under an increasingly scrutinized lens. 
&#8220;This administration will not tolerate blatant abuse of our financial system, nor will it permit risks posed by the extension of financial services to illegal aliens,&#8221; Bessent <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0595">told</a> the bankers. 
He was careful to frame the ask as part of the bankers’ ordinary duties rather than an expansion into border enforcement. 
&#8220;We do not ask bankers to assume the burdens of border enforcement,&#8221; Bessent said. &#8220;But we depend on banks to do what you do best: know your customers, identify risks as they arise, and report suspicious patterns before they metastasize into criminal schemes.&#8221;
The administration is pushing the banks to view lending money to undocumented immigrants as an added risk. The administration outlined concerns, such as the possibility of deportation and termination after an employer discovers the employee doesn&#8217;t have a valid work authorization. The guidance does not carry the force of law, however, as banks are not prohibited from offering accounts or loans to illegal immigrants.
Bessent argued that Arizona carries particular weight in the effort, telling the bankers the state &#8220;remains uniquely exposed to the aftershocks of Biden&#8217;s border crisis, including cartels and criminal organizations that seek to conceal illicit proceeds within legitimate channels.&#8221; He made similar remarks in Texas, given its proximity to the southern border. 
Critics of the Trump administration&#8217;s new guidance argue that community banks will suffer if they have to bear the burden of increased compliance as they face pressure to more closely scrutinize their customers. 
The National Association of Latino Credit Unions and Professionals <a href="https://inclusiv.org/news/inclusiv-nlcup-joint-statement-executive-order-restoring-integrity-americas-financial-system">said</a> the guidance will create a “nearly insurmountable operations and compliance burden for financial institutions in tracking the immigration and work authorization status of their members. This burden will be felt most acutely by small credit unions and will likely lead to closures and fewer affordable financial services in the communities that need credit unions the most.”
Bessent responded to that criticism by framing the federal government&#8217;s relationship with community banks as a two-way street. The secretary told the audience that even as Washington leans on community banks for vigilance, Treasury owes them relief from what he called years of &#8220;overregulation&#8221; that has cut the number of community and small banks in half since the 2008 financial crisis. 
&#8220;Dodd-Frank was supposed to end &#8216;too big to fail,'&#8221; Bessent said. &#8220;Instead, it created &#8216;too small to succeed.&#8217;” 
He reminded the banks of the administration’s commitment to reducing regulation and reminded them that increased regulation did not stop three bank failures in 2023.

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent testifies before a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on Capitol Hill

Trump Admin Taps Surprising New Partner To Combat Illegal Immigration

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The Senate is expected to vote Friday on a bipartisan bill designed to bring order to college athletics, but Republicans are divided over whether it could inadvertently undermine state laws barring biological males from competing in women&#8217;s sports. 
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) warned Wednesday that the legislation contains a “big, big problem,” arguing its federal preemption language could override Missouri&#8217;s law targeting transgender-identifying athletes.  
“I’m against men in women’s sports, and Missouri has a law that bans men in women’s sports that applies to collegiate eligibility,” Hawley said. “My concern is that this bill as it’s currently drafted would overturn Missouri law. Twenty-seven states have similar bans. This is something that needs to be fixed.” 
Hawley has filed an amendment with Sens. Jim Banks (R-IN) and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) that would explicitly exempt state and local laws prohibiting biological males from competing in women&#8217;s sports from the bill&#8217;s federal preemption provision.
Tuberville called the protection of women’s athletics “the civil rights issue of our time.” 
Banks added, “As the father of three daughters, I can’t support any legislation that would preempt Indiana’s law. This amendment would make sure the Protect College Sports Act protects female athletes.” 
The bill was primarily written to establish national standards for name, image, and likeness (NIL) payments and preempt the patchwork of state NIL laws governing college athletics.
But Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who coauthored the bill with Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), rejected Hawley&#8217;s criticism.
“That’s simply inaccurate,” Cruz <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/6012731-senate-gop-internal-squabbles/">said</a>. “The legislation explicitly has language, number one, that nothing in the bill alters Title IX in any way. And, number two, it explicitly says on eligibility that you can be blocked from eligibility for violating a state law. That was written very deliberately to avoid disturbing the twenty-seven states that have acted to protect women’s sports.” 
Despite Hawley’s questions, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) filed a cloture motion to advance the bill to a vote on Friday. 
&#8220;I&#8217;m hoping it can be worked out,&#8221; Thune said. “I know what it’s about and I think … some of our members have pretty good answers to some of the questions he’s raising,” 
Thune added, “I’m hopeful that we’ll have the bipartisan votes to get on the bill.” 
The legislation is backed by <a href="https://www.commerce.senate.gov/press/rep/release/committee-releases-revised-protect-college-sports-act/">28</a> collegiate athletic conferences and more than 370 colleges and universities across all 50 states.

NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament – Final Four – Phoenix

GOP Split Over Whether College Sports Bill Threatens Women’s Sports

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The Trump administration is shutting down an organ donor group after finding “patients placed on the organ donation pathway who should’ve never been there.”
“We found patients placed on the organ donation pathway who should’ve never been there,” said Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday. “We found cases with a donation process continued, despite signs that patients were not appropriate organ donors.”
One of those cases <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/05/health/kentucky-organ-procurement-organization-hhs">involved</a> TJ Hoover, a man who almost had his organs harvested after he was declared dead. In 2021, Hoover was taken to the hospital in cardiac arrest after an overdose. He woke up a couple of days later on the operating table to his chest being shaved and hospital staff discussing how they would take his organs. Donna Rhorer, TJ’s sister, said she became concerned something wasn’t right when TJ appeared to open his eyes and look around the room.
&#8220;It was like it was his way of letting us know, you know, &#8216;Hey, I&#8217;m still here,'&#8221; Rhorer <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/10/16/nx-s1-5113976/organ-transplantion-mistake-brain-dead-surgery-still-alive">said</a> during an interview. When Rhorer brought it up to medical professionals, she said she was told that it was just a common reflex.
Kennedy announced the decertification and shutdown process for Network for Hope, an organ donor group serving Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia. Out of the nearly 350 organ donation cases reviewed, over 100 were flagged with concerning features, including patients showing clear signs incompatible with organ donation. At least 28 of the patients may not have been deceased when organ procurement was initiated, and multiple patients <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/05/us/organ-donations-kentucky.html">appeared</a> to exhibit pain or distress as they were being readied for surgery.
Network of Hope <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/05/us/organ-donations-kentucky.html">plans</a> to appeal the decision, with the organization saying, “More than 3,000 people waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant will be negatively impacted by the decision today.”
Two agencies under the Health and Human Services Department conducted independent investigations, but both Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) determined the network failed to correct deficiencies, ultimately leading to the decertification process.
“Today’s action to begin the decertification process sends a clear message, not just to organ transplant organizations, but to every provider that participates in CMS programs: If you can’t be trusted to safeguard patients and be responsible stewards of American taxpayer dollars, we’ll find organizations that can,” <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/hhs-decertifies-kentucky-organ-procurement-organization.html">said</a> CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz.
The Trump administration is also establishing a misconduct reporting system to give patients and providers in organ retrieval a direct channel for safety concerns, a transparency tool that shows when organs are allocated outside the standard match list, and establish Organ Procurement Transplantation Network Officers who will oversee and investigate patient safety events in real time.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Testifies During House Hearing

The Organ Donation Cases Involving Patients Who Began Waking Up

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

When President Donald Trump departed the White House aboard Marine One on Tuesday, air traffic controllers did not stop commercial departures at nearby Reagan National Airport, prompting a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investigation after a brief loss of required separation between the presidential helicopter and a departing commercial plane. 
According to air traffic control audio, Marine One radioed, “National Tower, that’s Marine One, proceeding as briefed.”
 Controllers responded, “Marine One, you got, uh, traffic rotating off Runway 1, E-170.” 
The helicopter replied, “We’ll be doing a momentary delay.” 
The traffic was an American Airlines regional jet bound for Pensacola, Florida
The FAA <a href="https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/faa-plane-trump-helicopter/4138741/">said</a> its preliminary investigation found “there was a momentary loss of separation after which the aircraft continued to move away from one another.”
“The air traffic controller was in contact with both the commercial pilot and Marine One pilot during the loss of separation,” the agency added.
 Marine Corps spokesman Capt. Jacob Sugg <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/faa-is-investigating-why-a-plane-was-allowed-to-take-off-as-trumps-helicopter-approached">defended</a> the helicopter crew.
&#8220;Washington National Tower did not delay the helicopter crew, ask them to hold, or otherwise alter their flight profile,&#8221; he said. &#8220;To the contrary, the ATC team approved the requested route and provided timely and appropriate traffic information.&#8221; 
Sugg added: &#8220;There were no &#8216;close calls&#8217; with the routine Marine One movement.”
The White House echoed support for the helicopter pilots. 
&#8220;Marine One flights are piloted by some of the best aviators in the world, and at no point was the President in harm&#8217;s way,&#8221; White House spokesman Kush Desai said.
The FAA is investigating why controllers did not halt commercial traffic during the presidential departure. 
The incident comes after the FAA tightened airspace procedures around Reagan National following the January 2025 collision between an American Airlines regional jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter that killed 67 people.
Under those revised rules, helicopters and commercial aircraft are no longer permitted to share the same airspace surrounding the airport. Military aircraft are also required to continuously broadcast their positions, and controllers are prohibited from relying solely on visual separation.

Jet Takes Off in Washington

New Audio Reveals Air Traffic Confusion During Trump’s Marine One Departure

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Coca-Cola is facing backlash for allowing customers to order Coca-Cola cans with personalized messages, including &#8220;Allah Is King&#8221; and &#8220;Satan Is King,&#8221; but when customers try to write &#8220;Jesus Is King,&#8221; they are rejected.
A video shows customers are able to order bottles with custom phrases through the Coca-Cola website which allows slogans like &#8220;Allah Is King&#8221; and &#8220;Satan Is King&#8221; to advance to the company’s review, but &#8220;Jesus Is King&#8221; is immediately declined. The Coca-Cola website also did not allow users to create cans with Christian names such as &#8220;Holy Trinity,&#8221; &#8220;Virgin Mary,&#8221; or &#8220;Holy Spirit.&#8221;
The website cited restrictions on religious figures for why it wouldn’t create the can with Jesus&#8217; name on it. It did, however, allow users to generate the messages &#8220;Jesus is bad&#8221; and &#8220;Jesus is evil.&#8221;
Coca-Cola has not issued an official statement in response to the backlash but has made changes to its website so that all online submissions undergo review for compliance with its content guidelines.
Coca-Cola did not immediately respond to The Daily Wire’s request for comment. 
The controversy is not the first time Coca-Cola has faced public criticism from conservatives. In 2021, the company’s former CEO James Quincey slammed new voting laws in Georgia, where the company’s headquarters is located, after Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp signed voter ID requirements into law. Quincey stepped down from his CEO position in December of 2025. 
The company that sometimes ventures into politically charged topics and conversations has also faced backlash from the other side of the aisle when the far-Left group, “The Latino Freeze Moment,” <a href="https://www.newsnationnow.com/business/coca-cola-boycott-explained/">called</a> for boycotting the beverage company after it scaled back its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts last year. 
“Latinos and Latinas stop spending money. Hold the line. We can all collectively make a big impact by simply holding and not spending our money,” the Latino Freeze Movement said on its website.

Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola Said No To Jesus But Yes To Satan

Christianity

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Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed invited a sex educator on a 2021 podcast and argued that &#8220;capitalism has become the thief of sex,&#8221; saying modern work culture and pornography undermine healthy relationships. 
During the episode of his &#8220;America Dissected&#8221; podcast, titled &#8220;Talkin&#8217; Nerdy About Gettin&#8217; Dirty,&#8221; El-Sayed said that capitalism negatively affects people’s sex lives in two ways. 
&#8220;Subordinating that most natural human act to the tyranny of our ever-so-busy lives, it&#8217;s just one way capitalism steals our sex from us,&#8221; he said. He also argued that pornography keeps people from &#8220;embracing the sex we actually have.&#8221;
“It’s a productized version of the thing, not the real thing you have with a real partner built on a real relationship, warts and all,&#8221; he said, adding that &#8220;capitalism has become the thief of sex.&#8221;
&#8220;Sex positivity isn’t about being exposed to the highlight reel picked and pruned version of sex that is so ubiquitous on our screens,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;It’s about embracing the sex we actually have.”
In another episode, El-Sayed also complained about the prevalence of adult content on Instagram, blaming the platform&#8217;s algorithm for showing him an &#8220;OnlyFans model&#8221; every third video.
At the beginning of the podcast, El-Sayed described what he called the &#8220;duality&#8221; of sex, saying it is viewed as both a &#8220;shameful, dirty act&#8221; and &#8220;the physical act of showing love.&#8221; He also cited research showing that the average adult is having about 13% less sex than in the late 1990s.
“Mostly millennials like me, often in loving, committed, long-term relationships, many with kids,” he said. “Life gets hectic between work commitments, the struggle to keep up with various chores inside and outside the house, and the absolute libido killer that is the existence of children in your home.”
Throughout the episode, El-Sayed asked sex educator and author Emily Nagoski about why millennials are having less sex. Nagoski agreed with El-Sayed&#8217;s argument that capitalism contributes to the decline.
El-Sayed has built much of his political message around criticism of corporate capitalism, particularly in healthcare, arguing corporate interests drive up prescription drug prices and limit access to care.  
His anti-corporate message, combined with a focus on affordability, helped him defeat Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) in Tuesday’s Democratic primary. 
Backed by leftist leaders including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), El-Sayed will face Republican Mike Rogers in November in one of the nation’s most competitive Senate races.

Democratic Senate Candidate Abdul El-Sayed Holds Primary Night Event In Detroit

Abdul El-Sayed Says Capitalism Is ‘The Thief Of Sex’

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Brecca Stoll