Riley Gaines has promised to appeal after a federal district court judge dismissed her case against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for allowing men access to women&#8217;s sports teams and locker rooms.
In a joint press release published Tuesday, Gaines and the <a href="https://iconswomen.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://iconswomen.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1790766847024000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1-WSCIk1lE7CfefDivAwk3">Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS)</a> announced their plan after U.S. District Judge Tiffany R. Johnson — who was appointed by then President Joe Biden in 2024 — issued a ruling in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Johnson ruled, in Gaines v. NCAA, that the NCAA is not accountable under Title IX for allowing men to compete on women&#8217;s sports teams or gain access to women&#8217;s locker rooms and changing facilities.
&#8220;This momentary setback will not deter me or other women athletes in the least,&#8221; Gaines, a former NCAA swimmer who was forced to compete with trans-identifying male swimmer Lia Thomas, said in a statement following the ruling. &#8220;Rest assured, we will be appealing this decision. We are on the side of truth. I am confident Americans will rally to our side to fight the NCAA. Working together we will defeat the NCAA’s continuing efforts to trample women’s rights in sports.&#8221;
ICONS Co-Founder Kim Jones, a former NCAA All-American tennis player, also released a statement supporting Gaines and throwing the weight of her organization behind plans to appeal the case.
&#8220;We believe the district judge erred and that the Court of Appeals will find that the NCAA, which is the controlling body of college sports for more than 1,100 member schools, almost all of which are federally funded, is subject to Title IX. We will not give up our fight for women and girls’ rights in sports,&#8221; she said.
“ICONS will support an appeal by Riley Gaines, Brooke Slusser, Kylee Alons, Reka Gyorgy, Kaitlynn Wheeler, Grace Countie, Ainsley Erzen, Lily Mullens, and the many other young women who depended on the NCAA to protect their equal opportunities but were let down by the NCAA,&#8221; she added.
By holding that the NCAA is not subject to Title IX — which was implemented to address discrimination against women and girls — ICONS and Gaines argue that the court is effectively removing all protections for women in NCAA competition.
Additionally, because universities have consistently defended a reliance on NCAA policy, ICONS and Gaines argued that the ruling leaves no clear authority to whom women and girls can appeal.
The Protect College Sports Act — which passed the Senate on Monday — raises other questions about the NCAA&#8217;s authority to allow men into women&#8217;s spaces. Despite an amendment to the bill — pushed by Sens. Josh Hawley (R-MO), Jim Banks (R-IN), and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) — that would prevent state laws from superseding it and allowing men to compete on women&#8217;s teams, Gaines and ICONS worry that the measure gives the NCAA the authority to do just that.
&#8220;The PCSA’s overly broad exemption would short-circuit these lawsuits and halt efforts to hold the NCAA accountable under Title IX. By exempting all NCAA eligibility decisions, the bill would shield the NCAA from liability for past and future eligibility decisions that violate Title IX,&#8221; Jones wrote in a <a href="https://www.wsj.com/opinion/ncaa-pushes-congress-to-gut-title-ix-5fa149d7">Wall Street Journal op-ed</a> published on August 2.
&#8220;The PCSA would exempt the NCAA from accountability under state laws in 27 states, and from measures on the ballot in several others, which specifically address eligibility for women’s sports teams in college. These state laws became necessary because the NCAA and its member institutions were violating Title IX,&#8221; she added.
Fellow ICONS Co-Founder — and former NCAA swimmer — Marshi Smith also issued a statement urging votes against the PCSA at least as long as it would give the NCAA broad authority to determine its own eligibility standards.
&#8220;The NCAA thinks it can use its vast financial resources to avoid responsibility to protect women’s opportunities in college sports. We won’t let the NCAA get away with it. The NCAA’s refusal to recognize its responsibility to uphold women’s rights means the NCAA cannot be trusted to regulate anyone’s sports — men’s or women’s,&#8221; she said.
&#8220;All Americans who care about women’s sports should act immediately to prevent the NCAA from hurting women and girls. ICONS urges every member of Congress to withdraw support for the Protect College Sports Act which, if passed, would give the NCAA vast new powers over college sports eligibility and a broad exemption from federal law,&#8221; Smith added. &#8220;ICONS calls upon every female athlete, every soccer mom, and every girl’s dad who cares about girl’s sports to immediately call your Senators and your Congressman and ask them to vote against the Protect College Sports Act. The NCAA cannot be trusted to receive broad new powers that it will only use to inflict further harm upon women.&#8221;
President Donald Trump has voiced support for the PCSA — which was largely designed to address issues around transfer eligibility, revenue sharing, and NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) rules — but because the House of Representatives is in recess until after the midterm elections, it is not likely to move forward until at least November.

NCAA SWIMMING: MAR 18 Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships

Riley Gaines Responds To NCAA’s Latest Title IX Escape Hatch

Riley Gaines Vows Appeal After Judge Tosses NCAA Title IX Case

ncaa

protect college sports act

riley gaines

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transgender in sports

women's sports

Michael Desronvil, best known publicly as the lone holdout juror in Lindsay Clancy&#8217;s murder trial, gave his first public statement on Monday.
Desronvil&#8217;s attorney Edward Paltzik released the statement, in which Desronvil asserted that the focus of continuing conversations should not be on him. Instead, he said that the focus should be on the three &#8220;angels&#8221; — the children Clancy had strangled to death — because they could no longer speak for themselves.
After introducing himself, Desronvil immediately moved to redirect attention to the three children: &#8220;I know the whole focus has been on me, but we want to reel everything back and put the focus on the three angels that&#8217;s at hand.&#8221;
&#8220;The ones that can&#8217;t speak for themselves, the ones that can&#8217;t defend themselves, and the ones that can&#8217;t fight the battles — and those are Cora, Dawson and Callan,&#8221; he continued.
He went on to tell people a bit about himself, his family, and his faith, adding, &#8220;I want to thank God for my Catholic faith. I want to thank God for blessing me with the ability to love my daughter. And foremost, I would like to thank everyone, every individual, that has supported me throughout this difficult situation.&#8221;
Desronvil said that he was thankful for those who had offered prayers or emotional and psychological support — and who had publicly spoken on his behalf since the trial: &#8220;I do want to thank you from the bottom of my heart.&#8221;
In the days since the trial, Desronvil had previously only issued statements through proxies. When several of the other jurors gave interviews attacking him, he had responded through YouTuber Ray Marcel (who publishes content under the name FugitiveTV).
Paltzik, Desronvil&#8217;s attorney, joined Fox News host Kayleigh McEnany over the weekend to address claims from the other jurors — and from defense attorney Kevin Reddington — that Desronvil had ignored the law and had harbored doubt about the case.
&#8220;Michael has zero doubt,&#8221; he said.
The lone holdout juror has reportedly gone into hiding since the trial as several other jurors have joined <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/lindsay-clancys-defense-makes-a-new-move-against-the-holdout-juror">Reddington</a> in attacking him over his refusal to vote with them. Reddington has even called for an investigation into Desronvil in his continued efforts to get the 48-year-old retroactively removed from the jury.
Just over two weeks after the high-profile case ended in a mistrial, Reddington asked a judge to ensure the preservation of records from all 12 jurors — including juror questionnaires, surveillance video recorded outside the deliberation room, and sign-in sheets for the jurors’ electronic devices — but it was clear that his target was Desronvil.
As The Daily Wire previously reported, Reddington also asked the judge to probe whether prosecutors had any contact with the juror and to order an “independent examination” into his phone records from each day of deliberations.

Screenshot

Lindsay Clancy Holdout Seen On Camera For First Time With Defiant Message

jury holdout

kevin reddington

lindsay clancy

michael desronvil

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Three Florida counties, including Hillsborough, have declared local states of emergency as locally acquired cases of dengue fever continue to rise.
The Florida Department of Health has reported <a href="https://www.floridahealth.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/fl-arbovirus-report-w37-2026.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">190 locally acquired cases</a> so far in 2026 across six counties, 170 of them in Hillsborough. One person has died.
“This is wildly unusual for us,” Chris Wilkerson, a spokesperson for Hillsborough County, told the AP about the outbreak, per <a href="https://abcnews.com/Health/wireStory/florida-confirms-death-dengue-state-struggles-worst-recent-136572973" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ABC News</a>.
Officials have said the weather is likely a factor, as heavy rains have left standing water, making it easier for Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that carry the virus to breed more quickly. Residents have been warned to check their homes and properties regularly and dispose of standing water to slow reproduction.
Those diagnosed with the virus have also been warned to isolate themselves, because if they are bitten by a mosquito while infected, that mosquito can spread the disease to others. Dengue fever cannot be transmitted from person to person like a cold or flu, but requires the mosquito vector to pass from one person to another.
The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exotic-mosquito-virus-is-rapidly-expanding-in-the-united-states">mosquito-borne virus</a>, also known as &#8220;breakbone fever&#8221; because of the severe pain some sufferers feel in their bones and joints, is typically contracted in tropical regions — and most cases documented in the United States have traditionally been diagnosed in patients who had recently traveled outside the country.
Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are common in Florida and across the southern United States, and can also carry several other diseases like the Zika virus and Yellow fever — and they&#8217;re considered to present a higher risk because, unlike many other species of mosquitoes, they are active during the day.
Recent testing of mosquitoes around the affected area has been negative for the virus — and suggests that females carrying the virus are not passing it to their offspring — which has officials hopeful that the outbreak could soon resolve on its own. But the overall threat, they say, is not likely to go away.
“I do think it’s going to be somewhat the new normal,” Michael von Fricken, a University of Florida associate professor of environmental and global health, <a href="https://abcnews.com/Health/wireStory/florida-confirms-death-dengue-state-struggles-worst-recent-136572973" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> The Associated Press.
In addition to severe bone pain, the virus can cause a sudden high fever, headaches, rash, and nausea. Patients are warned to seek immediate medical attention if they experience confusion, extreme fatigue, or restlessness.

Aedes aegypti (dengue, zika, yellow fever mosquito) biting human skin, frontal view

The ‘Wildly Unusual’ Deadly Outbreak Spreading Across The U.S.

dengue fever

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public health emergency

New York Magazine published an issue dedicated to men&#8217;s fashion — and included topless photos of trans-identifying actress Elliot Page.
The print edition ships with four different covers — one of which shows Page, naked from the waist up. And in addition to including a biological woman — in the name of inclusion, obviously — the X post teasing the photo spread boasted that the issue supposedly about &#8220;men&#8217;s style&#8221; mainly featured men (and Page) wearing almost nothing.
The issue was titled, &#8220;Men’s Style: A Special Issue about Putting Clothes on and Taking Them Off Again.&#8221;
&#8220;See our very-little-fashion shoot in the baths with regulars and newcomers, including Troye Sivan, Christopher Abbott, Mike Faist, Marlon James, Francesco Clemente, Elliot Page, Rashid Johnson, Eddie Huang, and more,&#8221; the outlet teased.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
See our very-little-fashion shoot in the baths with regulars and newcomers, including Troye Sivan, Christopher Abbott, Mike Faist, Marlon James, Francesco Clemente, Elliot Page, Rashid Johnson, Eddie Huang, and more. <a href="https://t.co/i563OEjvNx">https://t.co/i563OEjvNx</a> <a href="https://t.co/LGkYFohCMf">pic.twitter.com/LGkYFohCMf</a>
— New York Magazine (@NYMag) <a href="https://x.com/NYMag/status/2104580702310465761?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 28, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Page was also quoted in the accompanying article, talking about how locations like bathhouses and saunas had never appealed to her before she&#8217;d undergone surgery to remove her breasts.
&#8220;I went to a bathhouse recently. I’ve only in the past couple of years been like, &#8216;Yeah, that sounds nice, to like go somewhere and sit around in your body like that,'&#8221; Page said. &#8220;I do sing in the shower sometimes. The same songs and lyrics will get stuck in my head, and I don’t know why. Like &#8216;Do you believe in life after love?&#8217; That’s one I’ll belt out. Or &#8216;The Sound of Music&#8217;: I’ve never seen the movie, which seems crazy, but for some reason I find myself belting out that song in the shower. I can’t explain it.&#8221;
Critics were quick to point out the fact that one of the &#8220;men&#8217;s style&#8221; cover stars was not, in fact, a man —
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) responded to Page&#8217;s presence with five simple words: &#8220;This is not a man.&#8221;
Seth Dillon, CEO of the satirical Babylon Bee, responded with the Bee&#8217;s own July headline naming Page its &#8220;Woman of the Year.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<a href="https://t.co/EnTT9CWOTz">https://t.co/EnTT9CWOTz</a> <a href="https://t.co/WhlGed8EaA">pic.twitter.com/WhlGed8EaA</a>
— Seth Dillon (@SethDillon) <a href="https://x.com/SethDillon/status/2104597640189022652?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 28, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;History is going to look back on this time and condemn EVERYONE. Drugged and mutilated mentally ill women plastered across magazine covers for profit while society applauded. We are in hell,&#8221; a doctor named Andrew Zywiec <a href="https://x.com/AndrewZywiecMD/status/2104611763937325506">posted</a> in response.
The Daily Wire&#8217;s Megan Brock pointed out that the cover and others like it were part of the transgender lobby&#8217;s continued efforts to normalize radical gender ideology.
&#8220;Over the past few weeks I’ve been reminded in many ways that the transgender lobby still holds a large amount of institutional power — despite being rejected by a majority of normie Americans. Be leery of those who’ve prematurely claimed victory on the issue,&#8221; she posted.

Elliot Page

Nothing Says ‘Men’s Style’ Like New York Mag’s Topless Trans Cover Star Elliot Page

culture

elliot page

media

nancy mace

new york magazine

transgender

FBI Deputy Director Andrew Bailey announced on Monday that he would step down from his position, saying that he planned to return home to be with his family in Missouri.
Bailey made the announcement in a post shared on X, thanking several members of President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration for placing confidence in him and allowing him to serve alongside them.
&#8220;I want to thank President Trump, @AGToddBlanche, and @FBIDirectorKash for the opportunity to serve in the FBI,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Under President Trump’s leadership, we have delivered historic results in our mission to Make America Safe Again. With great pride in what we have accomplished, I am announcing that I am stepping down to return to my family in Missouri. I am confident Director Patel will continue to reform the FBI, combat violent crime, defend the homeland, ensure strong organizational accountability, and restore public trust in this institution of excellence.&#8221;
Bailey&#8217;s resignation will take effect Oct. 2, Bloomberg Law <a href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/fbi-deputy-bailey-resigns-after-one-year-as-top-kash-patel-aide">reported</a>, citing two sources.
FBI Director Kash Patel also issued a <a href="https://x.com/FBIDirectorKash/status/2104589058156437659">statement</a> thanking Bailey for his service and wishing him well.
&#8220;I want to thank Andrew Bailey for his dedicated service to return the FBI to its core mission and fulfill President Trump&#8217;s promise to make America safe again. Although Andrew is leaving the FBI in order to return to his family in Missouri, his fantastic contribution instituting critical reforms which resulted in our historic success will live on,&#8221; Patel wrote on X. &#8220;Andrew&#8217;s leadership at the FBI will be missed but we are grateful he answered the call to serve! Thanks Andrew for your tremendous dedication to the mission of this FBI.&#8221;
Bailey, a conservative Republican who previously served as Missouri&#8217;s attorney general, was one of two deputies serving under Patel — the other being Christopher Raia — and it is unclear whether Patel will choose another deputy or move forward with just one. Prior administrations had only one deputy director, but the bureau shifted to a co-deputy model in 2025 when Bailey was appointed to serve alongside then-Deputy Director and conservative podcaster Dan Bongino.
As attorney general, Bailey secured a $24 billion judgment against the Chinese Communist Party in 2025 in a <a href="https://ago.mo.gov/attorney-general-andrew-bailey-secures-historic-24-billion-judgment-against-china-for-unleashing-the-covid-19-pandemic/">COVID-19 lawsuit</a> his predecessor, Eric Schmitt, filed in 2020.
&#8220;This is a landmark victory for Missouri and the United States in the fight to hold China accountable for unleashing COVID-19 on the world. China refused to show up to court, but that doesn’t mean they get away with causing untold suffering and economic devastation. We intend to collect every penny by seizing Chinese-owned assets, including Missouri farmland,&#8221; Bailey said at the time.
Recent <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/28/us/politics/andrew-bailey-fbi-patel-bongino.html">reporting</a> had indicated that Bailey and Patel had not been getting along, and often went for long stretches without speaking to each other. Their apparently strained relationship only added to the tension that has marked the Department of Justice almost since the beginning of Trump&#8217;s second term.
Former Attorney General Pam Bondi, for example, clashed with Bongino over her handling of files concerning the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Bongino left the FBI in January, and Bondi was fired several months later in April.

Operation VIPER press conference

Top FBI Official, Conservative Favorite To Leave Agency After Year On Job

andrew bailey

dan bongino

department of justice

kash patel

politics

An upstate campaign event for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) hit all the antisemitic notes as college students led chants calling for an end to Israel as a Jewish state.
Ocasio-Cortez, campaigning in Ithaca ahead of an expected run for the U.S. Senate, drew a crowd of some 2000 Democratic socialist-aligned college students to her &#8220;Students vs. Billionaires&#8221; town hall. Led by Cornell University Young Democratic Socialists of America co-chairs Mina Petrova and Zoe Reisman, students sang the antisemitic slogan, &#8220;from the river to the sea.&#8221; If that was not enough to drive the point home, they also chanted, &#8220;long live the student intifada.&#8221;
Petrova, speaking to the crowd ahead of the congresswoman&#8217;s appearance, riled up the crowd by trashing her Ivy League school: &#8220;Cornell is fundamentally a capitalist institution that prioritizes billionaires and profit over students and community and is controlled by CEO trustees that are profiting off of genocide and war.&#8221;
<a href="https://nypost.com/2026/09/27/us-news/crowd-sings-from-the-river-to-the-sea-at-aoc-event-promoting-dems-ahead-of-midterms/">Ocasio-Cortez</a> also took potshots at the elite university, suggesting that Cornell had not handled student protests in an acceptable manner. She made no effort to distance herself from the chanting and singing that had taken place prior to her taking the stage.
&#8220;Whether it’s the issue about Palestine or many others. Whether it’s about people trying to fire those who are forming a union in their workplace, whether it’s people trying to speak up about a number of different issues, we have to respond to that first crackdown,&#8221; she said. “When we come out in numbers, they cannot take us all.&#8221;
The chant echoed by so many at that event — &#8220;From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free&#8221; — has long been recognized as a call for the total eradication of Israel (from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea) as a Jewish state. Even the United States House of Representatives voted in 2024 to declare the chant hateful and antisemitic in nature — but Ocasio-Cortez voted against that resolution.
The Bronx-based politician advertised the event as &#8220;part of an effort by the Congresswoman to boost turnout in Democratic strongholds ahead of the November election&#8221; — but most saw it as an effort to make inroads ahead of a broader run for statewide office, the U.S. Senate, or eventually the presidential nomination.
Governor Kathy Hochul (D-NY) was initially scheduled to appear alongside Ocasio-Cortez at another event upstate earlier on Sunday, but withdrew, citing concerns about the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/powerful-northeast-storm-kills-at-least-one-knocks-out-power-to-100000">major storm system</a> attacking the Northeast.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

AOC Campaign Event Features Antisemitic Chants, Singing

2026 midterm election

alexandria ocasio-cortez

antisemitism

cornell university

israel

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) can&#8217;t quit recycling her own social media posts, as it was revealed on Thursday that she four-peated a Thanksgiving photo between 2021 and 2025.
Klobuchar used different captions each time, but the photo — which showed her boxing up individual slices of pie between her husband John and her daughter Abigail — was identical.
Townhall columnist Dustin Grage shared the four posts side by side, commenting, &#8220;She did it. Amy Klobuchar did it again. After getting caught recycling the same photo to show off her Vikings fandom, it turns out she’s been doing the exact same thing every Thanksgiving. You can’t make this stuff up.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
She did it. Amy Klobuchar did it again.
After getting caught recycling the same photo to show off her Vikings fandom, it turns out she’s been doing the exact same thing every Thanksgiving.
You can’t make this stuff up. <a href="https://t.co/Ujitoro20e">pic.twitter.com/Ujitoro20e</a>
— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) <a href="https://x.com/GrageDustin/status/2100630314385125864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Just three days earlier, Grage had caught Klobuchar recycling a different photo — which she&#8217;d posted on at least three previous occasions — to kick off the beginning of the NFL season.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Amy Klobuchar has now used the exact same photo to ring in the Vikings season opener four years in a row.
So authentic. <a href="https://t.co/Axy8DcviDT">pic.twitter.com/Axy8DcviDT</a>
— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) <a href="https://x.com/GrageDustin/status/2099527255173067230?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 14, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Minnesota senator — who is currently running for governor — joked in the caption of her 2026 photo about wearing the same shirt to cheer for the Minnesota Vikings every year: &#8220;Time to get out the shirt.&#8221;
But as Grage and others quickly pointed out, Klobuchar wasn&#8217;t &#8220;getting out the shirt&#8221; so much as she was getting out the photo.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dem-senator-torched-for-recycling-same-nfl-kickoff-pic-four-years-in-a-row">Klobuchar</a> has made headlines for a number of ridiculous things over the years, not the least of which being a New York Times story that alleged she&#8217;d once eaten a salad with a hair comb. The report, which dug into allegations that Klobuchar often treated her staffers harshly, stated that a staffer had brought her a salad to eat on a plane but had dropped the fork. Klobuchar reached into her purse, pulled out a comb, and proceeded to use that to eat the salad. &#8220;Clean it,&#8221; she reportedly told the staffer when she was finished.
During a 2019 interview — as she chased the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination — she admitted to killing a duck while playing golf. Laughing it off as just one more reason that she shouldn&#8217;t be allowed to play golf, Klobuchar explained that her errant swing had sent a ball flying into a duck&#8217;s head.
&#8220;It appeared to perish,&#8221; she said before laughing uncomfortably and saying that, for the sake of the American bird population, she would refrain from playing golf in the future.

Senate Commerce Committee Considers Nominees For NASA Administrator And Federal Trade Commissioner

Oops! Amy Klobuchar Did It Again

amy klobuchar

minnesota

social media

Actress Meryl Streep has been tapped to voice the iconic C.S. Lewis-created character Aslan in 2027&#8217;s &#8220;Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew.&#8221;
Director Greta Gerwig (&#8220;Barbie&#8221;) described to <a href="https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/narnia-magicians-nephew-aslan-meryl-streep-cover-exclusive/">Empire</a> what she was looking for in an actor for that particular role, and she said that Streep — who has won three Academy Awards and been nominated another 18 times — had been one of a very small group of actors who checked all of her boxes.
&#8220;I wanted someone who was profound but not pretentious, who had gravitas but not morose self-seriousness. Someone who could communicate depth and pathos as well as joy and delight. I wanted someone who was older than 70, so there was a wisdom of experience, but who also had the capacity of fresh wonder, like a child,&#8221; Gerwig explained. &#8220;And also to be one of the greatest actors to ever do it. That list is not a long one.&#8221;
The Daily Wire&#8217;s Isabel Brown was one of many who reacted to the news, noting that Aslan was the direct allegorical reference to Jesus Christ.
<blockquote>In case there&#8217;s ANY confusion, CS Lewis literally intended Aslan to be the incarnation of Christ inside the world of Narnia. When Lucy and Edmund learn they cannot return to Narnia again, Aslan comforts them by saying they&#8217;ll know him again in their own world: &#8216;There I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name.&#8217;
Aslan is more than an allegory for Christ, he *is* how the creatures of Narnia experience Christ in their world just as we experience Jesus Christ as an incarnate MAN in ours.
To cast Meryl Streep as Aslan in Greta Gerwig&#8217;s Narnia is a slap in the face to the genius of Lewis, but also a deliberate mockery of Christianity that is 100% intentional. So deeply disappointing. 
Makes me wonder what else they&#8217;ll mock about this Christian story&#8230; </blockquote>
Gerwig&#8217;s casting of Streep is not the only liberty she&#8217;s taking with the classic story: she told the outlet she envisioned the Narnia creation story as a sort of &#8220;<a href="https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/narnia-magicians-nephew-greta-gerwig-rock-opera-fantasy-bowie-exclusive/">rock opera</a>&#8221; — although not quite literally in the &#8220;Tommy&#8221; or &#8220;Jesus Christ, Superstar&#8221; sense.
Aslan, with his heterochromic eyes and red streaks around his face, is vaguely reminiscent of David Bowie — and that&#8217;s not by accident.
&#8220;I wanted a rock opera. I wanted it to be big and transporting,&#8221; Gerwig said. &#8220;David Bowie saved my life. Paul McCartney saved my life. David Gilmour saved my life. Pete Townshend saved my life. Jimmy Page, Robert Plant … When I heard their music, I had this deep sense of, ‘You’re gonna be okay.’ Narnia is literally a world made out of music,&#8221; she explained. &#8220;It is a world sung to life by Aslan, and rock ’n’ roll to me felt like a world made out of music.&#8221;
Gerwig also changed the setting of the story, from the 1900s to 1950s postwar Britain, saying of the story&#8217;s heroes, &#8220;They had this relationship to pain and loss and something as unpromising as a bomb site, and they made a castle. They made a universe. They made something you could live inside of. I don’t know how you went from David Jones to David Bowie unless you went to Narnia and you saw something.&#8221;

Meryl Streep

DW’s Isabel Brown Rips Streep’s Aslan Casting As ‘Mockery’ Of Christian Allegory

It's Official: Aslan Will Be Voiced By Meryl Streep

arts

christianity

greta gerwig

meryl streep

narnia

Stadium owners scheduled to host Ed Sheeran&#8217;s &#8220;The Loop&#8221; tour were reportedly promised that rapper Macklemore would not repeat the antisemitic rant he delivered at the first MetLife show — he did so anyway.
According to a <a href="https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/music/the-40-minute-phone-call-that-left-ed-sheerans-tour-hanging-by-a-thread-99e07984?st=861wWC">report</a> published Wednesday by The Wall Street Journal, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft set the ball rolling after Macklemore used the stage to broadcast his political opinions about Israel and Gaza — and he reached out to Sheeran directly.
Kraft — who had Sheeran sing at his own 2022 wedding — nonetheless made it clear to his friend that if Macklemore planned to use his venue to accuse Israel of genocide, he would not be allowed to perform there at all. He said that, in his mind, what the rapper had said was &#8220;hate speech&#8221; rather than simply free expression — and he worried about previous incidents that had led people to accuse Macklemore of antisemitism.
&#8220;This decision is not about diminishing the suffering of innocent Palestinians or denying anyone the right to advocate on their behalf. Their pain and loss are real,” Kraft said in a statement. “Standing with the Palestinian people and standing against Hamas, antisemitism and hate should not be mutually exclusive.&#8221;
Kraft also let Sheeran know that he was not the only team owner willing to pull the plug on shows that included the antisemitic rapper if he didn&#8217;t keep his political opinions off the stage. The expectation was that the rapper would dial back the political statements to stay on the tour — promoters even promised he would — but he did not.
Facing the prospect of other NFL owners pulling out of the tour — Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper, Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, and Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie — Sheeran&#8217;s promoters opted to cut Macklemore. However, when they did, all his scheduled opening acts and even the band backing him withdrew from the tour in &#8220;solidarity.&#8221;
<a href="https://nypost.com/2026/09/17/us-news/macklemore-called-for-free-palestine-at-second-metlife-stadium-show-after-nfl-owners-were-allegedly-assured-he-wouldnt/">Sheeran</a>, who has made a point of staying out of politics, plans to continue with his scheduled appearances thus far, taking the stage alone.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
So the opening acts cancelled and his own band quit. Ed Sheeran says hold my beer. 😉 <a href="https://t.co/slbKPeUeea">pic.twitter.com/slbKPeUeea</a>
— Gregory Jon (@gregoryjon) <a href="https://x.com/gregoryjon/status/2100207108532719912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 16, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In a statement, he said Macklemore&#8217;s contract was with the promoters, not with him, and that while Sheeran said he had made every effort to find a solution that worked for everyone, the promoters&#8217; decision was final.

Macklemore

Stadium Owners Were Promised Macklemore Wouldn’t Repeat Antisemitic Rant. He Did.

Stadium Owners Were Promised Macklemore Wouldn't Repeat Antisemitic Rant. He Did.

ed sheeran

macklemore

robert kraft

Washington state Democrat Krista Perez — who is seeking a seat in the state House — told a police officer after her August DUI arrest that she didn&#8217;t &#8220;know how to get out&#8221; of the police vehicle.
Perez was seen on police bodycam footage as she sat in the back of the vehicle, with her hands cuffed behind her back, alternately sobbing and begging for help as she complained that the handcuffs were sliding down her arms and cutting her hands.
Police in Tacoma, Washington, said that Perez was arrested after her 2019 Chevrolet Silverado allegedly ran into a parked vehicle on South G Street, FOX News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/democrat-candidate-seen-sobbing-praying-patrol-car-dui-arrest-video">reported</a>. The impact of the collision, which reportedly occurred just after midnight on August 11, ultimately damaged several other vehicles.
When police arrived, they asked Perez about the collision — and while she admitted to drinking wine, she said that she did not understand what was happening.
&#8220;Did you get into an accident here?&#8221; an officer asked her.
&#8220;I did not,&#8221; she replied.
When the officer asked Perez what had happened, she said, &#8220;I don’t know. I’ve never been in an accident before.&#8221;
The conversation quickly went sideways after the officer asked Perez whether or not she had been drinking that evening.
&#8220;I just had some wine,&#8221; she said, and when the officer followed up by asking how much wine she&#8217;d had, she insisted that it had been only one glass.
She struggled to answer when the officer asked how big the glass had been, saying, &#8220;I think you might need to contact the business.&#8221;
On a sobriety scale of zero to 10 — with zero being completely sober — Perez first rated herself a zero and then later revised that to a four.
The officer asked if she was willing to submit to field sobriety tests — which he reminded her were voluntary — and she said that she&#8217;d prefer to &#8220;go home first.&#8221;
&#8220;You’re not going to go home first. I’m going to tell you that right now, okay? So your options between the test, yes or no, that’s going to be determined tonight, right now, not when you go home. So would you like to take these tests or no?&#8221; he asked.
She said again that she wanted to &#8220;go home first,&#8221; which the officer interpreted as a refusal. He placed her under arrest, and Perez was charged with DUI along with a refusal enhancement.
The remainder of the footage shows Perez in the vehicle, sobbing and begging for help as she complained about her arm hurting because of the handcuffs.
When they arrived at the station, she began sobbing loudly, repeating, &#8220;Please help me, please help me.&#8221;
The door opened, and she directed her plea at the officer: &#8220;Please help me.&#8221;
When she explained that the handcuffs had slid too far down her arms and were cutting into her hands, the officer attempted to adjust them for her.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t know how to get out,&#8221; she said then, as he tried to help her out of the vehicle. &#8220;I don&#8217;t know how to get out.&#8221;
&#8220;One leg and then the other,&#8221; was the officer&#8217;s calm reply.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t know how to get out,&#8221; she said again and again, and the footage ended shortly after she finally stepped out of the vehicle and stood barefoot next to the door.

Screenshot/Police footage

WATCH: Dem Candidate Has A Question After DUI Arrest. It’s A Doozy.

krista perez

police bodycam footage

tacoma

washington state

The leftist group Hot2Vote has announced a $100,000 push to register voters in Atlanta, Georgia, with the help of a few adult film stars.
Porn stars are posing for pin-up-style posters and videos aimed at getting more people registered to vote ahead of the 2026 midterm elections in November. <a href="https://www.politico.com/playbook">POLITICO Playbook</a> reported on Thursday that the push comes after a major clean-up of the state&#8217;s voter rolls, and features 100 performers reminding Georgia voters to &#8220;check their status&#8221; to make sure that their voter registrations remain active.
One video, shared on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7QJiXqZEFM">YouTube</a>, shows adult film actress Kimmy Kimm walking voters through the process of checking their voter registration status online. Kimm, a Georgia native herself, is known for titles such as &#8220;Unsavory Elements&#8221; and &#8220;Nothing She Won&#8217;t Stoop To.&#8221;
Another <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxEmEHP7z0Y">video</a> features Cherie DeVille (&#8220;Kinky Secrets of the Suburbs,&#8221; &#8220;Trans-Active&#8221;) and King Noire (&#8220;The Bang Theory 8,&#8221; &#8220;Sex and Love in the Time of Quarantine&#8221;), also advising voters to &#8220;check their status&#8221; on the state&#8217;s voter registration site.
According to POLITICO, the multi-media ad campaign will also include &#8220;pin-up-style posters, in-person appearances and digital ads geofenced to adult clubs, with the aim of reaching more than 400,000 people (mainly men) around Atlanta.&#8221;
The campaign is far from the first time celebrities have used sex appeal to drive voters to the polls. The <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/politics-news/stars-deploy-sex-appeal-to-get-out-the-vote-4085029/">2020 campaign</a> featured a number of celebrities sharing photos best described as &#8220;thirst traps&#8221; that were designed to grab attention and then direct people to either register to vote or get out and cast a ballot.
Sterling K. Brown, for example, posted a photo and then shared a link for people to click if they liked what they saw — but instead of taking them to more photos, it redirected them to <a href="https://www.vote.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">Vote.org’s website</a>.
The actor later told late-night host Jimmy Fallon that it was worth it if it got people out to exercise their right to vote: &#8220;I had just moisturized. The cocoa butter was in full effect &#8230; you gotta do what you gotta do. If showing a little bit of flesh means that people will be incentivized to go ahead and register, it’s an important vote. I’ll press a little flesh.&#8221;
The 2020 season kicked off with a little accidental exposure from &#8220;Captain America: The First Avenger&#8221; star Chris Evans. After inadvertently sharing a photo of male genitalia — presumably his own — he did damage control, posting, &#8220;Now That I have your attention … VOTE Nov 3rd!!!&#8221;

Doom’s Whiskey Tasting

Left-Wing Group Deploys Porn Stars To Drive Voter Registration

atlanta

georgia

voter registration

A traditionally tropical disease is quickly gaining a larger foothold in the United States, as an alarming number of locally acquired cases of dengue fever have cropped up in recent weeks.
Centered primarily in <a href="https://theconversation.com/dengue-carrying-mosquitoes-expand-their-reach-into-new-territories-including-florida-291837">Florida</a>, where the mosquitoes that carry the virus are common, the mosquito-borne virus has been detected in at least 95 cases since July — in Hillsborough County, Florida, alone. In at least one recent case, the virus proved deadly for an elderly woman, according to her doctors. The Florida Department of Health has not yet confirmed that her death was dengue-related.
Officials in Florida have warned the public to take steps to avoid mosquito bites whenever possible — and to take extra steps to avoid being bitten if they know they have been infected, since a mosquito that bites an infected person could then carry dengue to the next person it bites.
Paolo Pecora, a senior environmental scientist with <a href="https://www.wfla.com/news/hillsborough-county/tampa-hillsborough-put-boots-on-the-ground-fighting-dengue-fever/">Hillsborough County</a>, warned local residents to check their homes and properties regularly for standing water, which is where mosquitoes breed.
&#8220;It takes everyone to help this problem,&#8221; Pecora said. &#8220;It’s right there behind your backdoor. It’s right there at the corner of your house; it’s behind your shed; it’s behind the brush in the shade after you washed the dog, or it’s an old dog bowl or cat bowl.&#8221;
He also warned those who have been infected against going out whenever possible: &#8220;Don’t be a host reservoir for the virus. Stay at home, get medical professionals, and contact us. We can do a domestic investigation and treat your yard for free.&#8221;
Dengue fever, more commonly known as &#8220;breakbone fever&#8221; for the extreme deep-bone pain often felt by those infected, is transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes — mainly <a href="https://theconversation.com/mosquitoes-are-picky-eaters-we-studied-3-common-south-florida-species-to-learn-why-they-like-some-people-more-than-others-289647">Aedes aegypti,</a> a species that is fairly common in Florida and bites during the day, unlike most other species. Aedes mosquitoes can also carry a number of other viruses such as Zika and Yellow Fever. Dengue cannot be transmitted from person-to-person contact.
Patients who contract dengue often experience the rapid onset of symptoms, beginning with a high fever and severe headache, often including pain behind the eyes. There is no specific treatment for dengue other than management of symptoms — for which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend rest, fluids, and acetaminophen (Tylenol) to control the fever. Patients should avoid Ibuprofen and other NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) because they present a risk of bleeding — which can also be a complication of dengue.
If the case is determined to be severe — with additional symptoms including belly pain, vomiting, bleeding from the nose or gums, or extreme restlessness, drowsiness, and irritability — patients are instructed to proceed immediately to an emergency room for care. Severe dengue can develop in just a few hours, so patients are cautioned to track symptoms carefully and seek medical intervention when necessary.
There are no vaccines for dengue in the United States, although some are in development in other countries. There was a vaccine approved in 2019, but it was only given to patients between the ages of nine and 16 in areas where the disease is endemic — and only to patients who had previously had a documented case of dengue. Giving the vaccine to patients who had not previously had dengue increased the likelihood that they would develop severe disease if infected later.
In addition to its rapid spread in the United States, dengue has been surging around the world over the last several years. According to data compiled by the World Health Organization, there were 505,000 cases of dengue reported in 2000. That number ballooned to more than 14 million in 2024, which was the worst year on record.

Exotic Mosquito Virus Is Rapidly Expanding In The United States

infectious disease outbreak

public health

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Virginia Kruta