National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya stopped CBS News anchor Margaret Brennan cold during a Sunday morning interview, refusing to let her steer the conversation away from what he says was his censorship by former President Joe Biden&#8217;s administration.
Midway through the interview, Brennan turned to Bhattacharya&#8217;s trip to Atlanta that week, marking one year since the shooting at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters that killed DeKalb County police officer David Rose — a Marine combat veteran and father of three who had graduated from the police academy five months earlier. Brennan asked whether enough was being done to counter that kind of &#8220;misinformation,&#8221; noting that the shooter&#8217;s father said his son had been &#8220;brainwashed&#8221; about the vaccine and thought it &#8220;was making him suicidal.&#8221;
Bhattacharya, the acting CDC director, pushed back, reminding Brennan that not everyone agreed on what constituted &#8220;misinformation&#8221; — and that had been weaponized to great effect during Biden&#8217;s administration.
&#8220;I think the key thing is there&#8217;s a loss of public trust in public health that happened in part because a lot of — frankly, even on this network and on other networks — there was a particular single point of view put across during the COVID pandemic that led to things that really did cause harm to people,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The school closures are probably the number one thing that the —&#8221;
Brennan interrupted, attempting to redirect the conversation: &#8220;This is not a productive line of claims. We covered COVID in depth on this program like no other Sunday show did.&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;m not blaming you specifically,&#8221; Bhattacharya replied. &#8220;What I&#8217;m saying is that you want to talk about misinformation — the kinds of decisions and the public, sort of the face of public health during the pandemic led to many people losing trust in public health.&#8221;
&#8220;The Trump administration officials,&#8221; Brennan interjected.
&#8220;No, I mean like Biden. So Biden, for instance, censored me,&#8221; Bhattacharya said.
&#8220;The pandemic began under the Trump administration, and we put those officials on our air,&#8221; Brennan said.
&#8220;Just so we&#8217;re clear, the Biden administration censored me,&#8221; he said. &#8220;They sent out direct attacks on people who disagreed on whether the COVID vaccine stopped — &#8221;
Brennan cut in to note that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had called the COVID vaccine &#8220;the deadliest vaccine ever made.&#8221;
&#8220;That is misinformation, and we&#8217;re not being clear about that,&#8221; she said. &#8220;And I think that is dangerous. Wouldn&#8217;t you agree?&#8221;
&#8220;People lost their jobs, Margaret, because the Biden administration censored people and said, &#8216;Look, you can&#8217;t even talk about COVID vaccine harms,&#8221; Bhattacharya responded.
&#8220;We&#8217;re talking about a shooting,&#8221; Brennan said.
&#8220;Yeah, and I&#8217;m talking about why you have the kind of distrust that&#8217;s led to the kind of problems that we were talking about earlier in public health,&#8221; Bhattacharya replied. &#8220;That distrust was not caused by President Trump, it wasn&#8217;t caused by Bobby.&#8221;

Jay Bhattacharya

NIH Director Stops Margaret Brennan Cold: ‘The Biden Administration Censored Me’

NIH Director Stops Margaret Brennan Cold: 'The Biden Administration Censored Me'

CBS News

Margaret Brennan

Media

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Politics

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) bid a sad farewell to his longtime vacuum cleaner on Saturday, and even The New York Times took a moment to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/08/us/politics/beth-vacuum-chuck-grassley-iowa.html">eulogize</a> the legendary piece of machinery.
Grassley shared the sad news in a pair of posts on X — including a photo of his beloved &#8220;Beth&#8221; that showed damage to the cord from electrical sparks.
&#8220;U willl see Beth no more. See black that’s from electrical sparks. It’s not safe to use anymore. GOOD BYE BETH. U hv been a real workhorse. Ur namesake still is hard worker. I will miss u,&#8221; the senator wrote.
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It’s a sad day at Grassley household…. For my 34 years and 15 yrs before that at my mother in law’s home Beth has worked dependably….
— Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) <a href="https://x.com/ChuckGrassley/status/2086183580594491507?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 8, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;It’s a sad day at Grassley household … For my 34 years and 15 yrs before that at my mother in law’s home Beth has worked dependably …&#8221; he added.
The New York Times took note of the occasion, publishing a brief tongue-in-cheek obituary for &#8220;Beth&#8221; on Saturday.
&#8220;Beth, a trusty tan Hoover vacuum cleaner with a burgundy cloth dust bag that for years tended to the floors of the Iowa farmhouse of Senator Chuck Grassley, earning admirers in both parties, has died. She was believed to be 49,&#8221; the obituary began — and then proceeded to document Beth&#8217;s history as portrayed by Grassley on social media.
In 2018, as others in the household prepared food for Thanksgiving, Grassley shared a photo of Beth and said that he&#8217;d be doing his part to get ready for guests as well: &#8220;Mrs G and daughter Wendy hv started big job of preparing meal for30 at farm Thxgiving. So my housework contribution begins. This is my machine (Beth).&#8221;
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Mrs G and daughter Wendy hv started big job of preparing meal for30 at farm Thxgiving. So my housework contribution begins. This is my machine (Beth😄) <a href="https://t.co/DYJCkdrqzk">pic.twitter.com/DYJCkdrqzk</a>
— Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) <a href="https://x.com/ChuckGrassley/status/1064964569804783618?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 20, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Beth made follow-up appearances in later social media posts, and even found a &#8220;fan&#8221; in Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV).
The Times also noted that Beth, at the time of her &#8220;passing,&#8221; was older than several lawmakers currently serving in the U.S. Senate — a group that includes Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR), Katie Britt (R-AL), and Jon Ossoff (D-GA) — and had long outpaced the average eight-year lifespan of a Hoover upright vacuum.

Chuck Grassley

Chuck Grassley’s Vacuum Died, And Even The New York Times Took Notice

The New York Times

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham pushed back after Chicago Sky guard DiJonai Carrington blamed &#8220;WHITE PRIVILEGE&#8221; for her own ejection from Saturday&#8217;s game — a post Carrington later deleted.
Cunningham <a href="https://x.com/kareemcopeland/status/2086219526266556444?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2086219526266556444%7Ctwgr%5E6d9bb0378f30ffe86b5bba7a7baf000c6f030b5a%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Foutkick-sports%2Fsophie-cunningham-speaks-out-against-dijonai-carrington-flagrant-foul-white-privilege-post">dismissed the accusation</a> outright, pointing to her own ejection last season for a similar foul.
&#8220;I think the league is taking care of that,&#8221; she said. &#8220;This has nothing to do with race. Last year, I did the same thing and I got kicked out. And I deserved to be kicked out. There&#8217;s no reason to even play that card.&#8221;
Of the foul itself, Cunningham <a href="https://x.com/kareemcopeland/status/2086220659319771185">said</a>, &#8220;Clearly, I think it was unnecessary. I&#8217;ve never really spoken to her and have no beef with her, but I guess she has  some pent-up stuff. So, get your [stuff] off. That&#8217;s fine — I can take it.&#8221;
She went further, calling the hit deliberate: &#8220;Yeah, it&#8217;s intentional&#8230; I do think when people play the Fever, we&#8217;re nationally televised, there&#8217;s a lot of eyes on us and people just want attention. And that&#8217;s her just trying to get attention.&#8221;
Video of the interaction — which showed Carrington clothes-lining Cunningham as she went in for a lay-up — spread quickly across social media. The foul — which landed Cunningham on her back on the court — was upgraded to a flagrant two after review, with officials citing &#8220;wind-up, impact, and follow-through&#8221; and a &#8220;high potential for injury for player in a vulnerable position.&#8221;
Fever Coach Stephanie White reacted to the hit, saying, &#8220;It was a hard foul. I don&#8217;t think that DiJonai intentionally came out to get her across the neck like she did, but it did happen, and I thought it was the right call.&#8221;
Sky coach Tyler Marsh, when asked about Carrington&#8217;s locker-room reaction to her removal from the game, replied, &#8220;I have to get back to you on that because I&#8217;m just now hearing about that. So yeah, we&#8217;ll handle that.&#8221;
Cunningham made waves when she said in an <a href="https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/49306657/sophie-cunningham-finger-point-indiana-fever-wnba">ESPN interview</a> last month that she did not believe it was fair for women and girls to compete in athletics against biological males — and has been the target of protests and criticism ever since.
Sports Illustrated delivered <a href="https://x.com/ClayTravis/status/2086229865930297827">clear bias</a> in a headline covering the most recent incident, which read, &#8220;Sophie Cunningham Got A Bitter Taste Of Karma After Drawing Flagrant Foul In Fever-Sky.&#8221; The outlet appears to have since quietly <a href="https://www.si.com/wnba/sophie-cunningham-karma-flagrant-foul-fever-sky">changed the headline</a>.
Women&#8217;s sports advocate <a href="https://x.com/EricLDaugh/status/2086418921914012058">Riley Gaines</a> responded to Carrington&#8217;s reaction, saying on Fox News that her post was more indicative of &#8220;black privilege&#8221; than anything else.
&#8220;I would actually say that this is BLACK privilege to be totally honest with you! Because her posting this white racist comment right after assaulting Sophie Cunningham on the court is actually black privilege, because she knows the WNBA won&#8217;t do a SINGLE thing of significance about it!&#8221; Gaines explained. &#8220;And imagine if the roles were reverse if Sophie made a comment similar to this — then she&#8217;d likely never play again!&#8221;

Sophie Cunningham

Sophie Cunningham Smacks Down Opponent’s ‘White Privilege’ Comment

Sports

Transgender

transgender athlete

WNBA

Women's Basketball

Women's sports

The United States military is reportedly close to a breakthrough in the development of high-energy laser weapons, opening the doors to a future battlefield where targets are destroyed at the speed of light.
Laser weapons would give the United States an obvious advantage with regard to defensive capabilities, especially because they would allow operators to target incoming enemy drones and missiles for almost immediate destruction. In addition, they would not be forced to deploy missile interceptors — such as the Patriot (MIM-104) or the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) — at a much higher cost.
The U.S. Army is close to awarding a contract for a laser weapons system: Enduring High Energy Laser (E-HEL), according to a <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/inside-americas-laser-revolution-military-nears-big-battlefield-breakthrough">report</a> from Fox News.
Army acquisition executive Lt. Gen. Frank Lozano said that the service was negotiating a contract with AeroVironment for the E-HEL, saying that it had been tested recently at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, where it had shown &#8220;a lot of recent promise and capability.&#8221;
The initial goal is to implement E-HEL in a defensive posture so that the United States is not forced to put millions of defense dollars into traditional kinetic weapons that will be used to shoot down relatively cheap enemy drones — a move Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/OLi34jNSBHk">likened to</a> &#8220;throwing Ferraris at frisbees.&#8221;
Lasers, in contrast, may only cost a few dollars each time they are fired — and they require no additional ammunition, only maintenance — meaning that the operational costs are almost nothing once the system has been installed.
The U.S. military has attempted to add lasers to its arsenal several times in the past, from a 747-mounted &#8220;ray gun&#8221; to a Humvee-mounted laser designed to target roadside bombs — but as WIRED <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/landmark-deal-would-officially-add-laser-weapons-to-us-army-arsenal/">reported</a>, none of those attempts were able to deliver on the promise of low-cost effectiveness.
The Army is not alone in its efforts to develop and implement laser-based weaponry. The U.S. Air Force has already implemented a compact laser weapon system as a defense against enemy drones, and the U.S. Navy has been slowly integrating HELIOS (high-energy laser with integrated optical-dazzler and surveillance) after years of testing.
Outside the United States, China has also put considerable time and money into laser-based counter-drone weapons and other laser weapon systems.
And in the United Kingdom, the <a href="https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news/2025/november/20/20251120-dragonfire-trials">Royal Navy</a> has already inked a £316 million (over $426 million) deal to develop a laser weapon after successful trials shooting down high-velocity drones. Until now, the Royal Navy has relied on a combination of kinetic weapons — including Sea Viper missiles and other traditional weapons — and the Phalanx system to defend against aerial attacks.

Red Laser Beam and Reflections

Experimental Weapons Offer Glimpse Of The Battlefield Of The Future

China

Military

Military Weapons

U.S. Air Force

U.S. Army

U.S. Military

U.S. Navy

weapons

CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins gave Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed a clear opportunity to distance himself from antisemitic communist streamer Hasan Piker — and El-Sayed doubled down instead.
Collins, while speaking to El-Sayed on Wednesday evening, asked him to respond to comments from Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) warning him to back away from Piker: &#8220;I can&#8217;t come together with someone if you are willing to embrace people that love Hamas, or that think America deserved 9/11. I think that&#8217;s reasonable.&#8221;
&#8220;In Trump&#8217;s words, &#8216;What a lovely gentleman,'&#8221; El-Sayed said in response to Fetterman&#8217;s comments.
&#8220;I mean, he said that you need to renounce people like the Left-wing streamer Hasan Piker, who was out there campaigning with you, who was out there in Michigan on Monday night, I believe last night as well. Do you have any plans to do that?&#8221; Collins pressed.
&#8220;Look, I&#8217;m less focused on folks who are campaigning with me, more focused on the folks I&#8217;m campaigning to,&#8221; El-Sayed said, not directly answering the question but still making it clear that he had no intention of backing away from Piker. &#8220;I think it&#8217;s important to stay in touch with the folks you want to elect you. I think that&#8217;s clearly what&#8217;s gone wrong with Senator Fetterman, it&#8217;s clear he probably doesn&#8217;t spend much time in Pennsylvania, because he was campaigning with Bernie Sanders and now wants to renounce Bernie Sanders. I don&#8217;t know if he still thinks he&#8217;s a Democrat or not, I&#8217;m hoping to get to the U.S. Senate and maybe we can hash that conversation out in person.&#8221;
Fetterman is not alone in calling for El-Sayed to renounce Piker. Gun control activist Fred Guttenberg weighed in on the issue, commenting on Piker&#8217;s reaction to those pushing El-Sayed to move to the center to win the Senate seat.
&#8220;Everyone being like, &#8216;Abdul has a f*ck-ton of work to do mending bridges,&#8217; here&#8217;s the f*cking take nuke for you: You are all unbelievably Islamophobic pieces of sh*t. You literally called the dude a f*cking terrorist for months on end,&#8221; Piker said on his election night livestream.
&#8220;Mazel Tov @AbdulElSayed for winning a Democratic primary with a minority of Democratic voters. You will need everyone of your voters and @HaleyforMI voters to win a general. For that to be possible, you will need to move on from Piker. Guessing you won&#8217;t and I won&#8217;t be surprised when you lose,&#8221; Guttenberg <a href="https://x.com/fred_guttenberg/status/2085090821506764957">shot back</a>.
And there are more, as one MS NOW host noted: &#8220;Some Democrats I&#8217;ve talked to &#8230; on the plane this morning, a guy said to me, &#8216;I&#8217;m anxious &#8230;&#8217; he said, &#8216;I voted for Haley Stevens &#8230; in fact, if he wins, I will be voting for MIKE ROGERS.'&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨 WOW! MSNOW is now PANICKING after Democrat voters told her they&#8217;re voting Mike Rogers (R) because Abdul El Sayed (D) became the MI Senate nominee
&#8220;Some Democrats I&#8217;ve talked to&#8230;on the plane this morning a guy said to me, &#8216;I&#8217;m anxious&#8230;&#8217; he said, &#8216;I voted for Haley… <a href="https://t.co/MweVr8G4bb">https://t.co/MweVr8G4bb</a> <a href="https://t.co/iuEXdhiAyL">pic.twitter.com/iuEXdhiAyL</a>
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) <a href="https://x.com/EricLDaugh/status/2085096708204290525?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 5, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Michigan Democratic Senate Primary Winner Abdul El-Sayed Holds News Conference Day After Primary Win

CNN Gives El-Sayed A Chance To Renounce Hasan Piker — He Does The Opposite

Abdul El-Sayed

Democratic Socialism

Democratic Socialists Of America

Hasan Piker

Kaitlan Collins

Michigan

Three family members are facing charges in New York City for attempting to carry out a gang-related hit outside the Bronx Criminal Court in late June.
Reputed &#8220;Slutty Gang&#8221; member Chase Lackard, 20, was charged in the attempted hit of a member of rival gang P. Laafay. His mother, 49-year-old former Mount Vernon Deputy Police Commissioner Jennifer Lackard, was arrested with him on Tuesday and charged as an accomplice. His father, <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/08/06/us-news/ex-con-husband-of-ny-police-bigwig-in-custody-after-familys-drive-by-gang-shooting/">James Lackard</a>, 47 — an ex-con who did time on drug charges — turned himself in on Thursday.
According to a series of <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/08/04/us-news/ny-police-bigwig-was-getaway-driver-for-goon-son-in-gangland-shooting-sources/">reports</a> published by The New York Post, both Jennifer and James helped their gang-banging son to plan and then carry out the attempted hit on June 29. After dropping mother and son off at the criminal court building, James drove around the area and returned to pick them up.
Text messages from that timeframe showed Jennifer helping Chase work out how to carry out the next part of their plan.
&#8220;Be directly in Fromt (sic) When I Leave,&#8221; Chase told his mother in a text message.
&#8220;When? … You can’t just sit directly outside. It has to be timed right,&#8221; she said in response.
When they left the building, according to court documents, Chase got into the back seat and his mother rode in the passenger seat. They circled the block, and when Chase spotted his intended target, he reportedly fired several shots from the vehicle but missed. The family then drove away from the area, stopping a short distance away so that the parents could switch seats and Chase could change clothes in the car.
Both Chase and his mother were arrested at their home on Tuesday — after which Jennifer Lackard was immediately <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/08/04/us-news/new-york-police-bigwig-accused-of-driving-getaway-car-for-her-son-fired/">fired from her job</a> with the police department: &#8220;Effective immediately, the City of Mount Vernon has terminated Jennifer Lackard’s employment. The allegations are unrelated to her duties with the Mount Vernon Police Department and do not stem from any conduct associated with the Department or the performance of her official responsibilities.&#8221;
Lackard, prior to her termination, had been a boss within the Wellness Unit since 2022 and had advocated for her precinct to respond to mental health issues without resorting to traditional policing methods: &#8220;A lot of the people we encounter are in a mental health crisis. Some are combatant, some are really, really aggressive and some are not. And some are frequent fliers because they don’t have support.&#8221;
Damon Jones, who previously worked for three decades at the Westchester County Department of Corrections and now publishes Black Westchester Magazine, was incensed.
“This is f*cking embarrassing! I am embarrassed as a black law enforcement officer to see the dysfunction in a city that has a black mayor, a majority of black city council, a majority black police department that we have to see continuing dysfunction and just foolery in an organization that should be so professional,&#8221; he told The Post.

male being fingerprinted

Police Official Accused Of Helping Son Carry Out Gang Hit

Crime

gangs

Gun Violence

New York

Police

Violent Crime

The University of Michigan&#8217;s College of Literature, Science, and the Arts will eliminate letter grades from first-semester transcripts for incoming freshmen under a new pilot program to help new freshmen acclimate to college.
Instead of traditional letter grades, students will receive a &#8220;Pass&#8221; (P) or &#8220;No Credit&#8221; (NC) during their first semester. The <a href="https://lsa.umich.edu/lsa/academics/lsa-first-semester-grade-covering-pilot-program.html">university says</a> the change is intended to reduce stress tied to early grades and improve student mental health.
&#8220;Beginning in fall 2027, the College will designate all LSA first-year students’ first-semester grades as pass (P) or no credit (NC) on their transcripts,&#8221; the website explains. &#8220;While LSA students will still receive grades and instructor feedback in every course as they always have, final grades will not be recorded on their external transcripts and will not be reflected in their GPAs. LSA students’ official transcripts will state that all grades in the first semester are automatically designated as P/NC.&#8221;
The College of Literature, Science, and the Arts had <a href="https://lsa.umich.edu/content/dam/lsa-site-assets/documents/LSA-At-A-Glance.pdf">nearly 20,000</a> undergraduate students enrolled last year, making it the largest of the university&#8217;s schools and colleges.
One goal, according to the program, is to encourage students to try new things and take classes across a wide variety of subjects without worrying that their grades will hold them back if they find those subjects a struggle. Another is to ensure that students can build confidence in their academic abilities as they first acclimate to campus culture and the demands of college-level coursework.
&#8220;Helping all students establish early momentum has been recognized as the most important element in U-M’s campus-wide Student Success Initiative. We believe that covering grades will help students start strong and curb the mental health crisis unfolding among college-aged individuals,&#8221; the website reads.
The only students eligible for this pilot program will be incoming freshmen who start at the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts in the 2027 fall semester, and the &#8220;grade covering&#8221; will apply only to their first semester grades.
Although they will not appear on individual transcripts, some people will still have access to the students&#8217; actual letter grades and official GPA. The financial aid office will be able to access official grades to determine whether students are meeting required standards for scholarships and grants, and the athletic department will also be able to access grades to determine athletic eligibility.

College of Literature, Science, And The Arts Building at the University of Michigan

Prestigious College To Hide Freshmen’s First-Semester Grades

College

Education

higher education

Mental Health

Schools

University of Michigan

CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten warned on Thursday that Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) was likely to cost his party a seat in the upcoming midterm elections.
Enten laid out the polling in Miller&#8217;s race showing his standing has fallen sharply since <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bernie-moreno-accuses-max-miller-of-abusing-his-daughter-after-congressman-breaks-silence">accusations</a> of domestic violence surfaced and Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH), Miller&#8217;s former father-in-law, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gop-senator-says-family-dispute-put-him-in-seventh-level-of-hell">called on</a> him to resign.
&#8220;Max Miller is going to cost his party — most likely cost his party a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives when we&#8217;re talking about the politics of this,&#8221; Enten said, &#8220;You can see quite well on the Kalshi prediction market chance to win Ohio [District] 7, look at this, Poindexter, the Democrat, 37% on July 25th, over the last few weeks his chances way up to 70%.&#8221;
In contrast, he added, &#8220;Max Miller&#8217;s chances, look at this, falling down through the floor, falling into Lake Erie, going from 64% now down to 30%. What seemed like a race that was favoring Miller is now favoring the Democrat Poindexter as this scandal has hit the press.&#8221;
CNN host John Berman jumped in to point out the fact that the new poll numbers had only come ten days after the first — and that was how quickly the race had turned on Miller.
&#8220;Is there a way to measure the impact that scandals have on House races?&#8221; Berman asked.
Enten laid out more historical data, noting that, on average, 85% of House members succeeded in reelection bids — but for those mired in scandals at the time of the election, the success rate dropped to 57%.
&#8220;Scandals matter. Scandals matter. I know a lot of people think nothing matters, but scandals still do matter in our politics,&#8221; Enten added.
He went on to say that another important factor was how much interest there was in a particular scandal — and the numbers were not working in Miller&#8217;s favor on that point either. According to Google Trends, searches in Miller&#8217;s district for information about him and the still-unfolding scandal were up 3200% over the previous two weeks.
Miller has repeatedly claimed that there is nothing to the accusations against him — but his attempts to interview his way out of public scrutiny have thus far been unsuccessful.

Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) speaks

Pollster: Max Miller Is In Trouble With A Capital ‘T’

Pollster: Max Miller Is In Trouble With A Capital 'T'

Bernie Moreno

Harry Enten

Max Miller

Ohio

polling

Rep. Max Miller

Scandals

Embattled Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) sat down with CNN&#8217;s Jake Tapper on Tuesday and responded to allegations of abusing his ex-wife and daughter with a series of evasive answers that often raised more questions than they resolved.
Miller has been accused of abusing his ex-wife Emily Moreno — daughter of Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) — and their daughter, and his appearance on CNN was one of several public appearances the Ohio congressman made as he attempted to refute the accusations against him. But as Tapper questioned him, Miller offered very few concrete answers — and instead turned the questions on his former father-in-law.
Tapper began with a question about a &#8220;blue bunny doll&#8221; that Miller&#8217;s daughter took everywhere and asked whether Moreno had been telling the truth when he said Miller had refused to return it for two days: &#8220;If it&#8217;s true, that sounds like emotionally abusive behavior toward the toddler, to refuse to give into her when she can&#8217;t sleep without it.&#8221;
Without directly answering the question, Miller said that he agreed that &#8220;would be disturbing if the senator was telling the truth,&#8221; and then pivoted immediately. &#8220;However, he has taken two years to publicly acknowledge — for me to resign from my seat. Why is that, Jake?&#8221;
Then Miller alluded to damaging information he claimed to have on Moreno — about a &#8220;deeply and personal embarrassing matter&#8221; — and claimed Moreno had only called for his resignation because he feared Miller might share that information publicly on his livestream Sunday. Miller did not give any specifics on what that damaging information might be.
Tapper reminded Miller that he&#8217;d been asking about the blue bunny, asking again whether he&#8217;d held the toy &#8220;hostage.&#8221;
Miller denied that he had, and immediately pivoted again, telling Tapper that there had already been two investigations into him that had not resulted in charges. He said one investigation had found fault at a daycare center, and defended himself in the other case — which involved his daughter&#8217;s broken collarbone — by arguing that his wife had violated a custody agreement by taking her hurt child to the emergency room.
&#8220;When I was reported for child abuse for my daughter for a broken collarbone, my daughter was in my ex-wife&#8217;s care nine out of the last 11 days, and she took her to the emergency room, which is a contempt violation from our shared parenting plan,&#8221; Miller said.
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Rep. Max Miller: &#8220;When I was reported for child abuse of my daughter for a broken collarbone, my daughter was in my ex-wife&#8217;s care 9 out of the last 11 days and she took her to the emergency room, which is a contempt violation from our shared parenting plan.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/Gc05pX2g2t">pic.twitter.com/Gc05pX2g2t</a>
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) <a href="https://x.com/atrupar/status/2084749681448374468?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 4, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Tapper continued to press, asking Miller about a Dropbox link he&#8217;d shared — ostensibly to provide evidence that cleared his name — which included a photo of his daughter in a state of undress. That link remained live for a day before it was pulled down and the image removed.
Noting that Miller&#8217;s lawyer has since fallen on the sword for that &#8220;mistake,&#8221; Tapper argued that it was &#8220;shockingly reckless&#8221; to allow that to happen in the first place.
Miller protested, explaining that the photo was part of evidence in a court case and wasn&#8217;t that inappropriate — and claimed that it was being blown out of proportion by media outlets chasing a good headline.
Tapper, clearly taken aback, asked how he could defend releasing such a photo — and Miller immediately claimed he wasn&#8217;t defending it.
&#8220;You just defended it!&#8221; Tapper replied.
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TAPPER: One of the files you released was an image of your daughter naked. It was available in that drop box for a day before it was removed. Your ex-wife&#8217;s attorney says it could quality as CSAM. That&#8217;s shockingly reckless behavior.
MAX MILLER: I wouldn&#8217;t say it&#8217;s shockingly… <a href="https://t.co/l8tSilKtu5">pic.twitter.com/l8tSilKtu5</a>
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) <a href="https://x.com/atrupar/status/2084750725213532441?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 4, 2026</a></blockquote>
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As the conversation continued, Tapper pressed Miller about his claims that his daughter had told him she didn&#8217;t want to return to her mother&#8217;s house. He then asked about competing claims from Emily Moreno, who said their daughter had said things like, &#8220;daddy kill you,&#8221; &#8220;daddy angry,&#8221; and &#8220;daddy&#8217;s house is scary.&#8221;
&#8220;Jake, I wish you could talk to my beautiful baby girl. She can&#8217;t string together sentences like that. She&#8217;s two and a half years old,&#8221; Miller protested.
&#8220;You just told me that she had said that she was scared to go to mommy&#8217;s house,&#8221; Tapper pushed back.
&#8220;She is. I have video of it,&#8221; Miller said.
&#8220;But now you&#8217;re saying that she&#8217;s not capable of saying ‘Daddy kill you?’ I mean, it seems like she&#8217;s either able to say one but not the other. That doesn&#8217;t make sense,&#8221; Tapper pointed out.
&#8220;Jake. To be very direct, this is incredibly disturbing,&#8221; Miller said, adding, &#8220;You have to look at the timing of everything that is taking place, right? What about due process?&#8221;
Tapper then noted that Miller had been accused of inappropriate — and even violent — behavior by other women prior to his ex-wife. Miller shrugged off one of the cases by saying he&#8217;d been &#8220;young,&#8221; and then suggested that the accounts were not credible because at least one of the women had not gone &#8220;on record&#8221; with her accusation.
&#8220;I guess the question is, are all three of these women who don’t know each other, are all three of them lying?&#8221; Tapper asked.
&#8220;Yes, it’s very easy, and I can tell you why,&#8221; Miller said. &#8220;Every single time — and people have asked me, &#8216;What are you gonna do? Are you gonna drop out of this race? Are you gonna resign? Are you gonna get out before the deadline?&#8217; And my answer to you, Jake, is no. And I can tell you why. In 2016, when President Donald J. Trump faced the most extreme allegations in the world that hit him day after day after day, and people in the media very much like yourself and others said that he would have no shot at winning, that he should not be the president of the United States. But guess what? He stayed in and he was resilient.&#8221;
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TAPPER: Hold on &#8212; hold on, &#8217;cause I&#8217;m not done with the list of women who have accused you of violence. Are all three of them lying?
REP. MAX MILLER: Yes. And I&#8217;m not getting out of the race because in 2016, President Donald J Trump faced the most extreme allegations in the… <a href="https://t.co/gf76bMnzB6">pic.twitter.com/gf76bMnzB6</a>
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) <a href="https://x.com/atrupar/status/2084751783470002223?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 4, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Miller also struggled to answer questions about his alleged illegal drug use when Tapper noted that he&#8217;d been inconsistent in his answers during his custody dispute with Moreno.
&#8220;Emily Moreno&#8217;s lawyers asked you a series of questions about past alleged incidents, and some of them you denied outright — &#8216;no, that&#8217;s not true,&#8217; &#8216;no, that&#8217;s not true&#8217; — and others you refused to answer at all, your lawyers claimed that they were not relevant.&#8221;
Among the questions Miller had refused to answer was whether or not he&#8217;d ever referred to the birth of his daughter as &#8220;setting my playground on fire,&#8221; as well as several related to illegal drug use.
&#8220;I can tell you that I never did any of those things, why can&#8217;t you?&#8221; Tapper asked, suggesting that his selective refusal to answer only made him look more suspicious. He then corrected himself, admitting to smoking marijuana &#8220;before it was legal.&#8221;
Miller sputtered briefly, saying he&#8217;d be &#8220;happy to&#8221; discuss those topics, but had not answered before because answering gave the question &#8220;credibility.&#8221;
&#8220;In the Mother Jones story, it says when you were picked up for drunk driving, you had ecstasy in your system. When is the last time you used illegal drugs?&#8221; Tapper asked.
&#8220;I mean, the last time — I don&#8217;t — I would have to say, I don&#8217;t know, several years ago. I don&#8217;t have a timeframe,&#8221; Miller replied.
&#8220;Two? 20?&#8221; Tapper pressed.
Miller then claimed, unsolicited, that if anyone ever found needles it was because he was using them for &#8220;testosterone therapy&#8221; — at which point he name-dropped War Secretary Pete Hegseth and his recent initiative to keep testosterone levels steady for male service members.

Ways and Means Treasury Priorities

Embattled GOP Rep Agreed To Live Interview. It Didn’t Go Well.

Donald Trump

House of Representatives

House Republicans

Jake Tapper

The Republican primary in Michigan&#8217;s 8th Congressional District went a little bit sideways when President Donald Trump&#8217;s chosen candidate lost — to a candidate who&#8217;d suspended his campaign a month earlier.
Trump endorsed U.S. Navy veteran and former federal law enforcement officer Amir Hassan, but after votes were tallied, Decision Desk <a href="https://x.com/DecisionDeskHQ/status/2084854764135711197">called the race</a> for retired General Motors engineer and small business owner Thomas Smith — who had stopped campaigning mid-July.
<a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5986241-mcdonald-rivet-hassan-michigan-house/">Smith won</a> with 50% of the vote, and Hassan walked away with 33%. Al Lemmo, to whom Smith gave his endorsement when he suspended his campaign, commanded 16% of the vote. Lemmo is a pro-life activist and retired mechanical engineer with the U.S. Army’s Tank‑Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC). He attacked Hassan during the campaign by claiming that he was a &#8220;Trojan horse&#8221; candidate and was previously a Democrat.
On July 18, Smith <a href="https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/elections/2026/08/04/amir-hassan-thomas-smith-al-lemmo-gop-primary-congress-michigan-flint-saginaw-midland/91157512007/">posted a video</a> declaring that he was putting his full support behind Lemmo. At the same time, he notified the Federal Election Commission — in a handwritten note, explaining he&#8217;d had difficulties logging into the system — that he planned to file his next report by the deadline he&#8217;d received in an email.
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Tom Smith, the candidate who dropped out of the <a href="https://x.com/hashtag/MI08?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MI08</a> Republican primary but is still poised to defeat Trump-endorsed Amir Hassan, sent this handwritten note to the FEC less than a month ago: <a href="https://t.co/xllPk5ZwTH">pic.twitter.com/xllPk5ZwTH</a>
— Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) <a href="https://x.com/PatrickSvitek/status/2085008011706163379?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 5, 2026</a></blockquote>
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But because Smith withdrew from the race after the deadline, his name was not scrubbed from the ballot — and the rest is history.
In a statement issued Wednesday morning, a surprised Smith told supporters that he was &#8220;humbled and honored that Republicans have chosen me to take the fight to Kristen McDonald Rivet.&#8221;
&#8220;I look forward to working with Speaker Johnson and the entire Republican team to expand our House majority and advance President Trump’s America First agenda to lower costs for working families and make America affordable again,&#8221; he added.
Michigan&#8217;s 8th Congressional District is just one of a number of seats Republicans are hoping to flip in their efforts to retain control of the U.S. House. McDonald Rivet, a first-term congresswoman, won the open seat in 2024 when she defeated Republican Paul Junge by over six points — but Trump also won that district the same year.

United States Conservative Crisis

Trump-Backed Candidate Loses Primary To Guy Who Quit The Race A Month Ago

Michigan Primary

Republicans

Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) on Monday called for eliminating the Senate filibuster to pass the SAVE America Act, breaking with the position held by her late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
During a Republican primary debate Monday night, Graham argued that Republicans should abolish the 60-vote threshold rather than wait for Democrats to do so first.
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Credit: WIS News 10 via YouTube
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&#8220;One of the first things I did was co-sponsor the SAVE America Act. As I said earlier, I’m willing to stay through recess to get it done. What’s up with recess anyway? Who gets a month off from work?&#8221; she asked, adding, &#8220;I think we should stay up there and work and get it done.&#8221;
&#8220;You have to have an ID to check out a library book, to buy alcohol, you don&#8217;t have to have an ID to vote? That&#8217;s absurd!&#8221; she continued.
Acknowledging the fact that her brother had always <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/12/trump-lindsey-graham-senate-whisperer-00994269">stopped short</a> of agreeing that the filibuster had to go, Graham argued — as many have — that Democrats were likely to get rid of it the moment they regained power.
&#8220;I am all for – this is where I differ from my brother – getting rid of the filibuster to get this done, because eventually the Democrats are going to get rid of it anyway,&#8221; she said.
Graham was appointed to the Senate after Lindsey Graham died in July from an aortic dissection. Just days later, with the full backing of President Donald Trump, she was sworn in and declared her intention to seek a full term in the U.S. Senate.
Monday&#8217;s debate had Graham facing off with her Republican opposition: Reps. Ralph Norman (R-SC) and Russell Fry (R-SC), businessman Mark Lynch and former Gov. Mark Sanford (R-SC).
After Lynch aimed a series of attacks on the late senator, Graham jumped to her brother&#8217;s defense.
&#8220;Mr. Lynch mentioned Lindsey Graham multiple times, and I don’t know if he’s afraid that Lindsey beat him and now his little sister is going to beat him, but I just don’t like hearing that,&#8221; she said.
Graham said in a previous interview that she would <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/lindsey-grahams-sister-breaks-from-one-of-his-defining-priorities">break </a><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/lindsey-grahams-sister-breaks-from-one-of-his-defining-priorities" target="_blank" rel="noopener">with her brother</a> in another way, saying she planned to focus more on kitchen-table issues than on foreign policy and national security, as he had.

Todd Blanche Mark Up TW

Darline Graham Breaks With Her Late Brother On Another Key Issue

2026 elections

Darline Graham

Filibuster

Lindsey Graham

SAVE America Act

U.S. Senate

Voter ID

Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) said Tuesday that his former son-in-law, Rep. Max Miller (R-OH), has put his family into the &#8220;seventh level of hell&#8221; as the increasingly public feud between the two Republicans escalates.
Miller and Emily Moreno, the senator&#8217;s daughter, have spent months battling in court over custody of their young daughter, with Emily accusing the congressman of domestic abuse and child endangerment. Miller has denied the allegations, sued his ex-wife for defamation, and publicly claimed she suffers from mental illness.
Speaking with entertainment site TMZ from a Capitol Hill hallway, Moreno addressed Miller&#8217;s recent statements and took questions about why he hadn&#8217;t gone public with his feelings earlier. The one topic he refused to address was politics, saying repeatedly that he did not care about how his statements could affect Miller&#8217;s re-election campaign — and, by extension, the balance of power in the House of Representatives.
WATCH:
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🚨🎥 BREAKING: Sen. Bernie Moreno speaks out on camera about ex-son-in-law Rep. Max Miller, calling his family&#8217;s ordeal &#8220;truly the seventh level of hell&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/b1OtdoJOqs">pic.twitter.com/b1OtdoJOqs</a>
— TMZ (@TMZ) <a href="https://x.com/TMZ/status/2084668961505845517?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 4, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Did the lawyer for Max Miller apologize to you?&#8221; one reporter asked, and Moreno said he had not.
&#8220;Do you think that Max Miller should resign from Congress?&#8221; another asked.
Moreno turned to face the reporters and asked, &#8220;Did you read my statement?&#8221;
The Ohio senator went on to say that he believed Miller should not serve in Congress, adding, &#8220;He needs serious help.&#8221;
One reporter pointed to a statement from Miller in which he&#8217;d said Moreno was only attacking him to &#8220;hide from&#8221; his &#8220;own circus,&#8221; and asked what that might be referencing.
&#8220;The ramblings of a madman,&#8221; Moreno said, adding, &#8220;I don&#8217;t even know what that means.&#8221;
&#8220;What do you think about Miller telling Trump he could still win?&#8221; a reporter asked.
Moreno was adamant: &#8220;Look, I don&#8217;t care about the politics. I hope that you understand — or maybe I hope that you never have to understand — what my daughter has been through, what my daughter is going through, what my wife is going through &#8230; this is truly the seventh level of hell.&#8221;
Moreno spoke with the reporters for several minutes, explaining that although his family had been dealing with the situation privately for two years, he had not spoken publicly because his daughter had asked him to help de-escalate the situation with Miller so they could co-parent. <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/08/max-miller-moreno-domestic-abuse-allegations/688159/?gift=SKtFP-7gCBnFn1bNJdqPMn3BVXlEYS7QkYI0KH5aUiE&amp;utm_source=copy-link&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=share">Reporting</a> from The Atlantic appears to back that up, with the outlet citing several sources who said that Emily Moreno did not want her daughter to grow up and see articles and videos showing her grandfather and her father attacking each other.
All of that had changed, he said, when Miller gave a public statement on Sunday and claimed that Moreno&#8217;s daughter was mentally ill.
&#8220;My daughter lives in constant fear of this man,&#8221; Moreno said, adding, &#8220;You can&#8217;t fathom what that makes me feel like when the dad&#8217;s number one job is to protect your kids.&#8221;
He explained that he had been the one to pick up his granddaughter on Sunday because he didn&#8217;t want his daughter to have to interact with Miller any more than absolutely necessary — and that they had to arrange a pickup at a local police station &#8220;because I don&#8217;t know what this guy&#8217;s capable of.&#8221;
Miller, Moreno said, initially refused to return his granddaughter&#8217;s favorite blue bunny — the one toy that she always slept with: &#8220;This girl is crying at night because she can&#8217;t sleep without her little blue bunny. His answer is, &#8216;I&#8217;m just not going to give it to you.'&#8221;
Moreno also accused Miller and his attorney, in their attempt to <a href="https://x.com/anniekarni/status/2084611256019783703">publish evidence</a> that backed his side of things, of having released photos of his granddaughter &#8220;completely naked&#8221; — something that Miller&#8217;s attorney said was &#8220;completely unintentional.&#8221;
&#8220;My personal opinion is that this is a felony and that every single human being that touched that photo and transmitted it electronically should go to jail because it is illegal to do that,&#8221; he said.
Miller also addressed the ongoing situation on Tuesday, declaring his innocence and promising to prove it through an ethics investigation — which was <a href="https://x.com/JakeSherman/status/2084702476675031241">launched</a> Tuesday.
&#8220;In light of all the renewed interest in my family affairs I am going to file my own paperwork for an ethics investigation into myself to clear my name from these horrific attacks on myself and family. I have absolutely nothing to hide. We will be providing the committee all necessary documents needed for a detail [sic] examination,&#8221; Miller <a href="https://x.com/MaxMillerOH/status/2084665339799822436">posted via X</a>. &#8220;The accusations continue to change, but my facts stay the same. I am looking forward to my colleagues reading everything for themselves.&#8221;

GOP Senator Says Family Dispute Put Him In ‘Seventh Level Of Hell’

Bernie Moreno Says Max Miller Has Put His Family In 'Seventh Level Of Hell'

Abuse

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Virginia Kruta