Anthony was convicted of murder on Tuesday after just two and a half hours of deliberations over the fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf at a track meet in Frisco, Texas, in April 2025. While Anthony’s family peddled claims that he was targeted for his race and that Metcalf provoked him, video evidence shows that Anthony refused requests that he leave the track team’s tent before he stabbed Metcalf.

Despite the evidence and the quick verdict, some black leftists claimed the outcome was racially motivated. 

Dominique Alexander, a Dallas-based civil rights leader, political activist, and founder of the Next Generation Action Network, said, “Black America should be very upset about what went on today.” He called the verdict “flawed” and “unjust.” 

The case’s result tells people that “black lives do not matter in the criminal justice system,” according to Alexander. It shows racism in law, Alexander said, demonstrating that black people will “be afforded the same laws as anybody else.” He added that he is not “playing the race card,” but presenting the fact that black people have suffered from these laws for 400 years.

A post shared on Instagram by Dr. Umar Johnson, a motivational speaker and author who has dubbed himself “prince of Pan-Africanism,” compared the Anthony case to the infamous Dred Scott decision of 1857, claiming that Anthony was “lynched by an all-white jury.” The post shared by Johnson also claimed that “black people aren’t allowed to defend themselves” and that there is “no justice!” 

Instagram — Dr. Umar Johnson

Ben Crump, a prominent American civil rights attorney, said the case presents “hard questions about fairness, justice, and whose actions earn the benefit of understanding.”

“Those questions are not new, and we owe it to every family touched by this to keep asking them,” Crump added.

Civil rights attorney and CNN contributor Areva Martin also said that Anthony’s verdict “raises questions.”

“This case is far from over. We should expect an appeal, including challenges related to the exclusion of Black jurors,” Martin added. “Faith in our courts requires more than a conviction or an acquittal. It requires confidence that every defendant was afforded a fair trial.”

Martin said that the reason this verdict will be difficult for the “African American community” to accept is due to the exclusion of “all of the black potential jurors.” Multiple black witnesses, however, said that Anthony was in the wrong and spoke highly of Metcalf. Martin also argued that Anthony pulled out the knife because he was “fearful of his life” and believed he would be injured, despite the fact that Metcalf said he would not fight Anthony.

Not everyone in the black community is upset by the verdict. Judge Glenda Hatchett, the prominent American attorney, author, and television personality, said in a video on Instagram that she did not find a “basis for self-defense.” The testimony did not show “his life was in danger” or that it “justified the fatal stabbing,” according to Hatchett.

Coming from a “mother’s heart,” Hatchett said that parents must teach their children how to “think clearly” in these situations.

“He was not supposed to be in the tent,” Hatchett said. “He was asked to leave the tent. Why not just leave the tent?”

“There is a group of filmmakers who still want theatrical. Those are filmmakers that we’ve accepted we just won’t work with,” Lin told The New York Times. 

He also emphasized that Greta Gerwig’s upcoming adaptation of “The Chronicles of Narnia” is an exception to this rule and not indicative of a new standard. His blunt comments come on the heels of Netflix’s major merger deal with Warner Bros. falling apart as Paramount Studios swooped in and made an offer it couldn’t refuse.

Some of the chief concerns critics had about the proposed Netflix/Warner Bros. merger centered around the future of theaters and theatrical releases if Netflix cornered such a large piece of the entertainment market.

The company heads promised that Netflix would have taken good care of the Warner Bros. IP (intellectual property) and “strengthened the entertainment industry and preserved and created more production jobs in the U.S.,” as they said when the deal fell apart earlier this year.

“But this transaction was always a ‘nice to have’ at the right price, not a ‘must have’ at any price,” the execs concluded.

Though neither company (Paramount or Netflix) were favored by those in the industry, Netflix was viewed with a particularly skeptical eye as some questioned the streaming giant’s commitment to the theatrical experience. Others view Paramount CEO David Ellison’s apparently close relationship with the Trump administration as a reason to worry.

When the deal was still on the table, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos dispelled rumors that he would shorten theatrical release times if the company acquired Warner Bros.

“When this deal closes, we will own a theatrical distribution engine that is phenomenal and produces billions of dollars of theatrical revenue that we don’t want to put at risk. We will run that business largely like it is today, with 45-day windows,” Sarandos told The New York Times in January.

“I’m giving you a hard number. If we’re going to be in the theatrical business, and we are, we’re competitive people — we want to win. I want to win opening weekend. I want to win box office,” he said at the time.

Now that Warner Bros. won’t be part of Netflix’s portfolio, it appears the streaming giant is abandoning theatrical efforts almost entirely. 

“Official Statement: We know that for some, eating is a top priority this month. We respect that. And while eating out can be exciting, there’s something to be said for diving head first into a satisfying box at home. Happy Pride to everyone who appreciates a good box,” the company wrote. The caption added, “Happy Pride. Comment BOX and we’ll DM you how you can eat ours.”

This was, of course, a thinly veiled reference to oral sex. It was likely an appeal to lesbians and a response to the HelloFresh post, which alluded to anal sex for gay men. 

Commenters on the Blue Apron post were either delighted or disgusted, with no in-between.

“Just cancelled my subscription,” one of the top comments says. 

“Why does everything have to do with sex,” a second commenter asked. 

“This is…. f***ing weird,” a third reaction said.

The Daily Wire reached out to Blue Apron, seeking comment.

The controversial social post came just days after meal kit delivery company HelloFresh shared an equally sexually charged social media post.

“We know that eating isn’t always a top priority this month,” the company wrote. “We respect that. But for those of you who are … prepping … we have an extensive lineup of high-fiber recipes available. Happy Pride.”

The post is a reference to anal sex and preparation for sexual activity. The company further amplified the “joke” by using a suggestive promotional code from a commenter. “Use code BOTTOMSUP for a Pride Month discount,” the company wrote, as The Daily Wire previously reported.

Major food companies have used sexual themes during Pride Month marketing in the past. In 2022, the Uber-owned food delivery service Postmates launched a “bottom-friendly” Pride campaign developed with an anal surgeon that promoted specific foods for those preparing to engage in anal sex. 

Despite the backlash, these companies continue to cater to a very small percentage of their customers and virtue signal their fealty to Pride, even as other major retailers like Target move away from rainbow-drenched displays in June. 

Gates will be one of the highest-profile witnesses yet in Congress’ ongoing investigation into Epstein’s network of wealthy and politically connected associates.

Unlike several previous witnesses, Gates’ testimony will not be recorded on video. Instead, lawmakers are expected to release a transcript in the coming days, setting up what could be one of the most closely watched document releases of the committee’s months-long probe.

“I’m glad to be here voluntarily to testify,” Gates told reporters as he arrived on Capitol Hill. “I hope my testimony is helpful to the hard work of the committee to find justice for the victims.”

Gates published his opening statement to the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday morning, saying he supports “the release of all the Epstein files,” and that he hoped “the survivors of Epstein’s crimes can get the justice that they deserve.”

Still, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) described Gates as “not as candid and forthcoming as he can be” and even a “little combative” after the initial hour of questioning, according to Forbes.

The hearing follows months of scrutiny surrounding Gates’ relationship with Epstein, which began in 2011 — three years after Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution.

The House Oversight Committee first requested Gates’ testimony in March. Chairman James Comer (R-KY) stated the committee believed the billionaire possessed information relevant to its investigation into Epstein and his associates. The date for the hearing was scheduled for Wednesday, June 10, as previously reported by The Daily Wire.

Gates has long maintained that he was unaware of Epstein’s criminal conduct and has denied any involvement in wrongdoing. “While he never witnessed or participated in any of Epstein’s illegal conduct, he is looking forward to answering all the committee’s questions to support their important work,” a spokesman for Gates previously said.

The billionaire’s ties to Epstein have generated controversy for years, particularly after documents released by the Justice Department revealed repeated communications involving Gates, Epstein, and several of Gates’ closest advisers.

Earlier this year, Gates apologized to employees at the Gates Foundation for his association with Epstein and acknowledged that he had engaged in extramarital affairs, including relationships with a Russian bridge player and a Russian nuclear physicist.

Documents released as part of the Epstein files included emails in which Epstein discussed Gates’ personal life and alleged sexual relationships with Russian women. One email, which appeared to be a draft resignation letter sent by Epstein to himself, referenced helping Gates obtain medication following encounters with “russian girls.” Another email alleged that Gates contracted a sexually transmitted disease and sought to secretly provide antibiotics to his then-wife, Melinda Gates.

Gates has categorically denied those allegations. “These claims are absolutely absurd and completely false,” a spokesman for Gates said previously, arguing that Epstein sought to “entrap and defame” him after Gates cut off contact.

Gates has also insisted that none of the women with whom he had affairs were connected to Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation. “I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit,” Gates told foundation employees earlier this year. “To be clear I never spent any time with victims, the women around [Epstein].”

Still, lawmakers from both parties have signaled they want answers about why Gates maintained contact with Epstein years after his conviction and what exactly transpired during their relationship.

Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) said ahead of the testimony that lawmakers are seeking “accountability for those in power and answers for survivors.” Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA) similarly said he wanted to learn more about “what Gates knew of Epstein’s crimes, and the nature and extent of their relationship.”

Wednesday’s appearance also drew attention because Gates sought advice from Jake Greenberg — the former chief investigations counsel for the House Oversight Committee — while preparing for the interview, according to the New York Times. Ethics experts told the Times that the arrangement could create the appearance of a revolving door between congressional investigators and high-profile witnesses, though no rules appear to have been violated.

Gates joins a growing list of prominent figures questioned by the committee as part of its Epstein investigation, including former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Attorney General Pam Bondi, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, retail billionaire Les Wexner, and convicted Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

With no video recording and no immediate public release of his testimony, attention is now turning to the transcript, which committee officials say will be released in the coming days and could provide the clearest account yet of Gates’ long-questioned relationship with Epstein.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) only conducted 176 of the 256 required visits between September 2021 and August 2024 to check conditions at unlicensed facilities in Texas and Florida, according to a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Inspector General’s report released Wednesday. Due to the oversight failures, “new staff may have had access to children before the care provider could verify that the staff member did not have a criminal history or a history indicating a risk to unaccompanied alien children.”

“As a result, the health and safety of unaccompanied alien children may have been at risk,” the audit found.

The Biden administration hastily used the unlicensed facilities, which didn’t meet the normal requirements, to handle the overwhelming flow of roughly half a million migrant children who arrived in the United States alone.

When Border Patrol agents encounter unaccompanied migrant children at the border, they transfer them to the department’s ORR, which places them in shelters, foster care, or secure facilities. Some of those children eventually end up with sponsors in the United States, which include family members.

ORR is required to check on the facilities during its first three months of taking in migrant children and on a quarterly basis thereafter, according to the report. There is also a requirement to conduct checks no less than once every two years.

When conducting visits at the facility, ORR officials spend a week checking on conditions by reviewing case files and other documents, including staff files for background check information, and interviewing staff, children, and stakeholders.

In some cases, ORR found that facilities failed to conduct or document some FBI fingerprint-based background checks or let them expire. They also discovered that the care providers didn’t conduct Child Protective Services (CPS) clearances or conducted them after employees were already hired.

In March 2023, ORR officials inspected one of its largest care providers’ 17 facilities in Texas for the first time since it was delicensed in August 2021, according to the report. During the audit, the federal inspectors found that the provider failed to conduct FBI background checks and only ran names through state criminal databases of more than 3,000 employees since their delicensing.

Four of the employees who failed risk evaluations were ultimately terminated, the report noted.

ORR said monitoring visits were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, when they stopped conducting in-person visits and ran checks virtually, and an “influx of unaccompanied alien children through the southern border.”

The agency also said they didn’t have the resources or staffing to conduct timely checks “due to a hiring freeze and difficulty securing monitoring contractors.”

The Biden administration has also received intense scrutiny of its vetting of the sponsors of some of the children, who were released from their care. An earlier government watchdog report found that the Biden administration lost track of roughly 320,000 unaccompanied migrant kids, some of whom ended up in the hands of traffickers, gang members, and predators.

I’m almost relieved that such a sight is still shocking to both me and the public; there have been an increasing number of random acts of extreme violence across the United Kingdom in recent years, many linked to migrants or, more scarily, their children.

The reason that this video, beyond its shocking barbarity, has elicited such a strong reaction is that it comes on the heels of another brutal murder. Days ago, footage was released of 18-year-old Henry Nowak being stabbed in cold blood by Vickrum Digwa. We are sadly getting used to suffering Islamist violence in Britain, but this was an attack by a Sikh born in Britain, using ceremonial knives that have legal exemptions in legislation to ban the possession of many offensive weapons. Sikhs have generally been regarded as some of the best-integrated groups, but Digwa’s mother hid the knives and lied to the police.

After murdering Nowak, Digwa complained to police arriving on the scene that he was the victim — of racism. When Nowak told police he had been stabbed, the cold, dead voice of the modern bureaucratic state drawled from the copper’s mouth: “I don’t think you have mate.” Henry Nowak was then handcuffed. He then bled to death at the scene. The bodycam image of his ghostly white hand, drained of blood, as it was handcuffed by plastic-gloved police, haunts me still.

This attack has led to interventions by U.S. Vice President JD Vance, and Elon Musk. Contrasts have been drawn, in both England and America, between this murder and the behavior of the police with the death of George Floyd. The latter was a truly global event; in Britain, hordes of progressives protested outside No. 10 Downing Street. Like their U.S. counterparts, they screamed “Hands up, don’t shoot!” at largely unarmed police. At least one policeman was induced by the braying mob to “take the knee” right outside the gates to the prime minister’s home.

Nowak’s chilling murder saw no such public outcry, until, perhaps, last night, when the broader, broiling social tensions across the U.K. erupted in the streets of Belfast following the latest violent attack.

HMOs (Houses of Multiple Occupation – residential properties where growing numbers of asylum seekers are housed among residents) were set alight by balaclava-wearing gangs, as were cars and buses.

Unforgivable as any kind of street violence is, it is the biggest outbreak yet of a sense of frustration amongst the native population of Britain at what has come to be called “two-tier justice” or “two-tier policing.” This is the growing sense that asylum seekers, immigrants (including/especially illegal ones), and even sometimes ethnic minority Brits are treated more favorably by the modern state than anyone else.

This is demonstrably true in at least some areas of modern life. The Sentencing Council, a quasi-autonomous non-governmental organization that meddles in the length of criminal sentences, pushes judges to literally give more lenient sentences to non-white people.

Coupled with this is the ongoing scandal known as the “small boats” crisis, which highlights a total failure of state capacity. Criminal gangs are brazenly smuggling illegal immigrants across the English Channel from French beaches in dinghies in broad daylight. Achieving what Napoleon, Hitler, and the Spanish Armada failed to do: over 200,000 mostly African and Middle Eastern young men have landed in Britain since 2018, according to the BBC. For context, this number is two and a half times larger than the entire regular British army.

These men are rarely deported because of the European Convention on Human Rights, an international legal agreement (separate from the EU) that is overly protective of their rights. Rapists, murderers, and pedophiles have likewise avoided deportation under this foreign law. Last year, a small boat arrival prompted riots after a man sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl. The previous summer, the son of Rwandan refugees murdered three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class and was found with ISIS material at home.

Mass riots were only prevented by the authorities in 2024 by imprisoning even those who tweeted about the incident the wrong way. Counter-protests by a Muslim militia in Birmingham were not just excused by this same condemnation; they were justified by a Labour Party minister as “Just being scared of the far-right backlash.”

Four million new people entered Britain since 2020 in the so-called “Boriswave” despite Brexit being largely about limiting migration and its hero, Boris Johnson, promising to cut it. Along with economic decline and general woe, this old country feels like it’s coming apart at the seams. It’s no wonder that Nigel Farage, leader of the outsider party Reform UK, now tops the polls. But even a revolutionary new force may not be enough to prevent Britain from sliding into civic, religious, or even ethnic strife. I pray that I am wrong.

***

James Price is a former Chief of Staff to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and a senior fellow at the Adam Smith Institute. 

]]> https://www.dailywire.com/news/bedlam-and-beheadings-in-the-streets-of-the-uk Wed, 10 Jun 2026 11:41:13 GMT https://www.dailywire.com/news/live-updates-iranian-protests-intensify-as-citizens-demand-end-to-ayatollah-rule Daily Wire 

Democratic lawmakers have decried the conditions inside the Newark facility, that include claims of worms in the food, as the reason for the purported hunger strike. Meanwhile, sales from the detention center’s commissary store have surged 161%, jumping from $11,498 on May 26 to $30,013 on June 1, according to internal data recently obtained by The Daily Wire.

State inspectors visited the facility last week, reporting that the “overall sanitation and physical condition of the production kitchen and warehousing areas” was “satisfactory” and “free from signs of rodent or vermin activity,” NJ.com reported.

The New Jersey-based SOMA Mutual Aid Collective, a coalition comprised of SOMA Action, SOMA Justice, and SOMA Shares, has raised more than $50,000 through its “Commissary and Communication Fund” during the supposed hunger strike.

The coalition, which says it’s run by volunteers, raised roughly $68,000 as of the end of May and has now raised more than $120,000 to provide funds for detainees’ commissary accounts, according to The Internet Archive.

“Right now, over 1,000 people are detained at Delaney Hall Detention Center in Newark, NJ — our friends, neighbors, and community members who have been taken by ICE and face deportation. In detention, men and women often purchase their own toiletries due to the poor quality of what they are given, along with staples like rice, noodles and sausage to make up for the frequent inedible food served,” the fundraiser website states.

“The SOMA Mutual Aid Collective is working with other organizations on the ground at Delaney Hall to help fund commissary and communication accounts to those who need — and we urgently need your support. We are trying to keep up with every request for commissary account funding at Delaney Hall as well as those who have been sent to other facilities throughout the country — and that list continues to grow,” it adds.

SOMA Justice was founded by Rutgers University professor Khadijah Costley White, who authored “The Branding of Right-Wing Activism: The News Media and the Tea Party.” The group says it seeks to fight “racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, and other ideologies of power and oppression.”

(Photo by Adam Gray/Getty Images)

The SOMA umbrella asks contributors to “make a recurring donation of $55/month and help someone detained afford basic food and necessities they are being denied.” The beneficiaries of the funds, it says, are “immigrants whose lives have been upended by the current mass detention and deportation drive.”

The donations also help pay for detainees to make calls to family members, lawyers, and friends, according to the fundraiser website. Any “excess” funds raised will help pay for legal aid and bonds to free illegal immigrants from ICE detention.

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Pax Christi New Jersey (@paxchristinj)

Activist groups, like SOMA “are a cash cow for detainees,” former ICE New York Field Office Deputy Director Scott Mechkowski told The Daily Wire.

“Shut off the free money and watch how fast they’re back in line for their trays,” he said.

Protestors have demonstrated outside Delaney Hall for weeks, advocating for the facility’s closure. Some demonstrators have clashed with authorities outside the facility, resulting in dozens of arrests.

Democratic New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill said Monday that she “finally” toured the detention center “after being denied access for weeks,” but complained that her visit “was a closely controlled and limited tour of the facility.”

“That is unacceptable,” she wrote on X. “I was not allowed to meet or speak directly with the detainees, which continues to raise serious questions about the real conditions of the facility and the treatment of those held there. I will continue to push to speak with the detainees directly. They deserve to be heard and the public deserves answers.”

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin responded to Sherrill, saying he “personally granted” her access to Delaney Hall “as an act of good faith— despite you having exactly ZERO federal oversight authority.”

“Of course, you’re still trying to turn Delaney Hall into a political football for the radical left. You were told BEFORE you went in you would not have the ability to speak to detainees. This is a federal facility, Governor. You are NOT federally elected,” he said.

Mullin also suggested that Sherrill “spend more time” at state-run prisons, where he said the problems are worse.

“Delaney Hall has 2x more medical personnel per detainee than NJ state prison, and at least 2x as much square footage. Detainees are also 2x more likely to die in NJ state custody,” he said.

Gus Wilson contributed to this report.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, officials have confirmed 115 deaths out of 598 confirmed cases of Ebola outside the U.S. since the outbreak started in early May. In comparison, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has reported 3,596 new cholera cases and 176 deaths in Africa since the end of April. 

The reason cholera is underreported is that the disease has affected Africa and parts of Asia for centuries. 

Cholera is one of the world’s deadliest diseases and has swept the globe with seven pandemics since its discovery, according to the World Health Organization. The current outbreak has lasted for 65 years since starting in Southern Asia and has since gone worldwide.

“Researchers estimate that there are 1.3 to 4.0 million cases and 21,000 to 143,000 deaths from cholera worldwide each year,” the WHO reported.

The symptoms of cholera can be even more painful and more quickly lead to death than Ebola symptoms.

Cholera is a disease that triggers rapid, uncontrollable diarrhea that can cause severe dehydration, internal organ failure, and death of infected patients within hours if left untreated.

Ebola, on the other hand, causes internal bleeding. It can take between 2 and 21 days for an infected person to begin showing symptoms, and symptoms can continue for weeks.

Though Ebola does have a higher fatality rate than cholera, studies show that treatment in the United States can significantly lower the chance of death.

“Death rates [for Ebola] drop sharply with intensive supportive care, the kind that keeps patients hydrated and their blood pressure and oxygen stable,” UC Berkeley Public Health reported. “During the 2014 West Africa outbreak, mortality ran 40 to 70 percent across affected countries; for the small number of patients evacuated to Europe and the U.S., it was closer to 20 percent.”

Ebola, unlike other viruses such as COVID-19, is not airborne but spreads through contact with a contaminated person’s bodily fluids. In Africa, the disease has spread rapidly due in part to local burial customs that dictate that a whole tribe should bury the dead.

Cholera spreads through contaminated water. Thus, while Ebola spreads from person to person, entire villages can contract cholera at the same time due to using a single source of contaminated water.

Cholera has also been increasing in Africa in recent years. Conflicts in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, along with earthquakes and natural disasters, have harmed the water infrastructure in Africa, causing more people to resort to cholera-infested sources.

“Reported cholera cases rose by 5% and deaths by 50% in 2024 compared to 2023, with more than 6000 people dying from a disease that is both preventable and treatable,” the WHO stated. “Conflict, climate change, population displacement, and long-term deficiencies in water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure continue to fuel the rise of cholera.”

One European in particular is documenting his first time in the States and is already enamored with one section of the nation — the SEC.

A user on X named Freddy (@FreddyLA7) is going viral for documenting his six-week World Cup trip to the United States, which begins in the heart of the South.

“The World Cup trip starts tomorrow,” Freddy wrote in his initial travel post on X. “Tomorrow we’ll fly to Dublin, and after a 24-hour layover we’ll arrive in Atlanta on Friday.”

Little did the European know how much he would fall in love with what many deem “SEC Country” as he drove through numerous states and cities home to diehards of the Southeastern Conference.

Just passing through a town called Gainesville and this place looks beautiful. The houses are insane wow. pic.twitter.com/x5SpGr6NAg

— Freddy🇩🇪 (@FreddyLA7) June 8, 2026

While visiting Georgia, Freddy was able to experience a staple among college towns in the SEC — Waffle House.

Just had our first Waffle House experience at 1am. Great food, great prices, and friendly staff. 10/10, we will be coming back.😋 pic.twitter.com/QHgftpqfoX

— Freddy🇩🇪 (@FreddyLA7) June 8, 2026

The European’s discovery and perfect rating of the 24/7 breakfast spot blew up on X, expanding his following to over 200,000 as people tuned in to see how he would react to other commodities of the southern college towns.

Next up, Buc-ee’s:

DUDE LMAO THIS IS A GAS STATION😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/YYFmWJiCQa

— Freddy🇩🇪 (@FreddyLA7) June 10, 2026

His most recent travels took him to Auburn, AL, where the Tigers hosted Argentina’s national team’s final “friendly” match against Iceland on June 9, 2026, in Jordan-Hare Stadium. The European’s reaction prompted a viral meme that SEC fans commonly use to discuss the magnitude of college football games.

This is the most “The European mind can’t comprehend this” moment of my life. One of my friends said, “Punch me five times tomorrow and I’ll still think this isn’t real.” pic.twitter.com/FWYOY8iyDF

— Freddy🇩🇪 (@FreddyLA7) June 10, 2026

Freddy couldn’t believe his eyes when Auburn performed its historical eagle flyover before every game that takes place in the stadium.

There’s an eagle flying around the stadium pic.twitter.com/luC6ENq7oM

— Freddy🇩🇪 (@FreddyLA7) June 10, 2026

Europeans visiting the United States for the first time for the 2026 World Cup will certainly share Freddy’s reaction to the SEC, as there is nothing comparable overseas. His final stop in the South will be Montgomery, AL, where he is sure to see more of the same fundamental landmarks of the prestigious conference.

The 4.2% increase was in line with expectations, with analysts predicting a 0.4 percentage-point increase from April’s 3.8% annual rate. The inflation increase was driven primarily by higher energy costs as oil prices surged amid tensions in the Middle East. The inflation report showed energy prices accounted for more than 60% of the monthly increase in the Consumer Price Index, with gasoline prices rising sharply, up 8.6% before seasonal adjustment. Shelter costs also continued to climb, rising 0.3% during the month, while food prices increased 0.2%. 

“It’s not a good number,” former Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher told CNBC. “I think the consumer is under tremendous pressure, and we’re just going to have to see if this is going to abate.”

Fisher added that if he were Fed chair, he would leave interest rates unchanged for now to allow more time to assess the economy.

Stocks, which are edging lower on the data, started the day with a downward trend after President Donald Trump blasted Iran for taking “too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them.”

“Now they will have to pay the price!!!” Trump added. 

After Trump’s message, Brent crude oil futures jumped to around $93 per barrel. Higher energy prices have become the Trump administration’s Achilles’ heel for inflation. Higher energy prices have become a persistent challenge for the Trump administration’s efforts to bring inflation lower. After nearly a month of conflict with Iran, the energy index rose 3.9% in May, up from a 3.8% increase in April.

The latest data continues a trend of steadily rising inflation since February. While Federal Reserve policymakers have signaled patience in recent months, the continued acceleration in prices could complicate the central bank’s path forward. Investors who had hoped for interest rate cuts later this year are now debating whether officials will instead keep rates elevated for longer, or consider additional rate hikes if inflation remains stubbornly high.

The United States House of Representatives recently took a major step to address this problem by passing the Stopping Indoctrination and Protecting Kids Act. If signed into law, this bill would require that elementary and middle schools that receive federal funds obtain parental consent before making changes to a child’s pronouns, preferred name, and gender markers on any school forms, or before allowing a student to use opposite-sex bathrooms and locker rooms. Most importantly, the bill would withhold funds from schools that “teach or advance concepts related to gender ideology.”

This bill seeks to address a widespread social contagion. School officials in states around the country have socially transitioned children or exposed them to gender ideology without parental notice or consent, and at times directly against parental instructions. In more than one case, children have ultimately attempted suicide after school officials exposed them to this ideology.

In Massachusetts, a school counselor encouraged an eleven-year-old girl to meet with her weekly to discuss gender-related issues as the school facilitated her social transition. All this happened without her mother’s knowledge and despite her mother’s specific instructions to the school not to discuss gender identity with her daughter.

In another case, a school reassured a mother that nothing unusual was happening at school despite her declining academic performance. In fact, the school was facilitating the child’s social gender transition the entire time. Even when the mother withdrew her child from the school, officials continued to communicate with the child about gender identity.

In New Jersey, a school worked to ensure a father would not discover his daughter’s social transition at school, even using her legal name during announcements to avoid alerting siblings who might inform him.

And in Colorado, a teacher encouraged two eighth-grade girls to attend after-school meetings of the Gender and Sexualities Alliance Club. When one of the girls attended, a substitute teacher told the assembled children that they were “likely transgender” if they “were not completely comfortable with their bodies,” and warned them that telling their parents about the meeting “might not be safe.”

The other girl, sometime after attending the meeting, asked her parents to homeschool her so she could avoid the teacher who had invited her and who “kept asking” her to come back. The girl identified her attendance at that meeting as the beginning of her mental health decline, which resulted in her ultimate attempt to take her own life.

The Stopping Indoctrination and Protecting Kids Act would not completely eliminate these problems. But it would provide a significant roadblock to gender indoctrination in schools around the country.

Parents must be the ones making these important decisions for their children, not teachers and school administrators. As case after case has shown, when schools attempt to cut parents out of their children’s lives, the consequences are devastating. Congress, states, and local school boards all must act to restore parental authority.

Passing the Stopping Indoctrination and Protecting Kids Act would be a critical step in the right direction.

***

J. Marc Wheat is the General Counsel at Advancing American Freedom Foundation.

Anthony was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to 35 years behind bars. Tuesday was his first day serving out his sentence.

“New mugshot of Karmelo Anthony in the Collin County Jail as he spends the first night of his 35 year sentence for murder,” CBS 11 reporter J.D. Miles posted. “He will [likely] be transported to prison in the coming days.”

New mugshot of Karmelo Anthony in the Collin County Jail as he spends the first night of his 35 year sentence for murder. He will like be transported to prison in the coming days. pic.twitter.com/yENKRyD6AP

— J.D. Miles (@jdmiles11) June 10, 2026

Anthony, who is black, fatally stabbed Metcalf, who was white, at a track event in April 2025 in Frisco, Texas. The case quickly generated national attention, both due to a narrative peddled by the Anthony family and the glaring lack of coverage from the legacy media, which routinely highlights and escalates white-on-black incidents.

The high-profile trial started on June 1 with jury selection and wrapped in a matter of nine days. Video footage and witness testimony — even from defense witnesses — generally indicated that Anthony provoked the situation with Metcalf and deadly force was not needed, contradicting the self-defense argument from Anthony’s team.

Anthony broke down in tears when the verdict was read and was visibly shaking; he also broke down when his 35-year sentenced was announced. It’s unclear if Anthony cried during any other part of the trial. 

Karmelo Anthony breaks down in tears you can hear inside courtroom. His bond has been extinguished he is in the custody of Collin County Sheriff

— J.D. Miles (@jdmiles11) June 9, 2026

Notably, when Metcalf’s family read victim impact statements before the court, Anthony reportedly kept his head down and refused to look them in the eyes, even when asked to do so.

“You can’t even look me in the eyes right now, but you can stab my f*cking son in the heart,” the victim’s father Jeff Metcalf said.

Hunter, Metcalf’s twin brother, reportedly said to Anthony, “If you could just look me in the eye while I speak, I would really respect that.” Anthony looked down at the ground until Hunter was done speaking.

Related: Slain Teen’s Dad Unloads On Karmelo Anthony In Courtroom: ‘Can’t Even Look Me In The Eyes’

Crockett made the remark during an unhinged two-hour stream after 19-year-old Karmelo Anthony was sentenced to 35 years in prison for murdering the 17-year-old Metcalf. Anthony fatally stabbed Metcalf during a track meet in April 2025 in Frisco, Texas, and the case quickly garnered national attention. 

Responding to the murder sentence, Crockett turned to race, arguing that the Metcalf family, who are white, don’t understand the alleged pain of black women.  

“Black women, especially black women who have black male children live in fear and agony every single day … fear and agony that I promise you the Metcalfs probably never spent a day living that way and we’re going to have to have just some real conversations about race in this country,” Crockett said during her stream. 

Rep. Crockett: “Black women live in agony every day that I promise the Metcalfs had never lived through” pic.twitter.com/GVielzMf51

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) June 10, 2026

Crockett, who will leave Congress at the end of her current term after a failed run for Senate, added during the stream that she didn’t think the knife carried by Anthony at the track meet qualified as a “deadly weapon.” 

“Well, I would have argued the size of it alone, you wouldn’t even think it’s a deadly weapon,” she said as the panel she hosted argued that the knife used in the murder was a multi-tool and it only killed Metcalf because of where he was stabbed. 

Rep. Crockett (D) says the knife used to kill Metcalf “was not a deadly weapon” pic.twitter.com/evYfecEhqW

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) June 10, 2026

She also claimed the jury should have considered whether it was “one stab versus a gazillion” that led to Metcalf’s death. 

“Because those are the ways that you look at intent, right? Like if you got a machete, bro, it’s a wrap, right? Like I mean, like the size and even in arguing these are the things that you argue right, like, is like what do you expect will happen if somebody got a machete versus what do you expect will happen if somebody has like a switchblade, like, or a Swiss Army Knife,” Crockett said. 

Crockett added that the jury should have considered the size of Metcalf compared to Anthony. She claimed the size differential could have strengthened Anthony’s self-defense claims.

“If a 300 pound man is beating me, like, on top of me and beating me down, I’m not limited to fist,” she said. “You know, I would argue that even, the only time we go into things like people’s hands being considered deadly weapons, is typically, like, if they’re a professional boxer, that kind of stuff, but I think by the time you start getting to, like, football player, good argument. Good, freaking arguments. We are not talking about, like, the golfers. We’re talking about football players, right?”

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D) suggests that she also would have stabbed Austin Metcalf: pic.twitter.com/TBn3txFSAi

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) June 10, 2026

At the end of the stream, Crockett claimed one of her takeaways from the trial was that more black people needed to be on juries. 

“So, black people, stop walking yourself off the juries. First of all, make sure you show up,” she said. “Stop wondering why our kids are not being saved when you literally have people that don’t even see their humanity nine out of 10 times pulling up to jury duty and you saying you got other things to do and you trying to come up with every excuse for not showing up. You got to pay it forward.”

Contradicting Crockett’s racial narrative, a number of black teen witnesses testified during the trial that Anthony was in the wrong and praised Metcalf’s character.

The high-profile trial started on June 1 with jury selection and wrapped in a matter of nine days. Video footage and witness testimony — even from defense witnesses — generally indicated that Anthony provoked the situation with Metcalf and deadly force was not needed, contradicting the self-defense argument from Anthony’s team.

Inhale, exhale. The smoke blows across the pavement and eventually dissolves into the view of ethereal skies and the rolling, smoggy silhouette of the Hollywood Hills.

That, folks, is a typical Monday for a homeless crack junkie in Los Angeles.

Last week, the L.A. mayoral race was officially called, and to voters’ consternation, Mayor Karen Bass and City Councilwoman Nithya Raman will advance to the November 3 runoff, as neither candidate cleared 50% of the vote. Spencer Pratt, the Angeleno whose house burned down during the Palisades Fire, who was running as an independent to prevent further destruction from devastating the city he cares so deeply for, was edged out of the race a week after Election Day.

Monday’s count added another 33,378 votes to Raman’s total overnight, while Pratt gained only 14,672 and Bass added a further 25,121. Raman now sits at 28.5%, Pratt at 26.7%, and Bass at 34.7%, with 93% of votes counted. Pratt lost by a whisker. And he lost it to a ballot-harvesting machine that has been humming along, legally, for years.

This is enraging for a plethora of reasons. The two victorious candidates are radicals who would each continue grinding the once-angelic city to a sadistic pulp. A tax-increase measure on the ballot also passed. And the entire election process looked about as legitimate as a three-dollar bill, corroding what little public trust remained in California’s voting systems.

But the cherry on top of this feces-pie? The homeless. The thousands of homeless people plaguing the streets of L.A. voted in bulk for the communists and to raise your taxes.

Yes. The drug addicts who cannot make salient life decisions, and as a result are unhoused, as the idiots say, are playing a consequential role in how California is governed.

It’s a simple and ingenious scheme, if you’re into large-scale legalized fraud.

Candidates like Nithya Raman funnel money, reportedly in the form of $60,000 checks, into homeless shelters where hundreds of people are registered to vote. Democratic NGOs host voter registration drives at those same centers, coerce the residents into signing up, help them fill out the paperwork, and cast ballots on the Democrats’ behalf. Then a useful idiot collects the stack and drops them off at a ballot drop box on behalf of the coke zombies.

This isn’t speculation. The California Post reported that 1,160 voters were registered to vote at the Midnight Mission in Skid Row, a shelter whose website lists a capacity for just 84 men and 36 women. One homeless man living on that skidmark street told reporters that voter registration efforts have been active in the area for years, and that in the past, he helped out in exchange for cigarettes.

Inhale. Exhale. Democracy.

These people have no idea who is even on the ballot. They are doing, ingesting, saying anything for drugs and a little cash. They have no idea they just propelled a Cuban Marxist-trained communist and her even further Left friend into the next round of the mayoral race.

They also have no idea their ballots helped push through the Essential Services Restoration Act, a countywide general sales tax measure that is now passing with 50.35% of the vote. It raises the sales tax rate from 9.75% to 10.25%, stacked on top of whatever cities are already picking from your pocket. The billion dollars expected to be grabbed go into the general fund.

Great. So they can spend more of your money “generally” transing the kids and “generally” handing out heroin needles to crack addicts.

The measure was losing. Then, a week after election day, just enough tax-enthused mail-in ballots materialized to flip it. Funny how that keeps happening.

For those more confused than Gavin Newsom trying to read a book, here is the legal fraud playbook, written a long time ago in California, and only now getting the outrage it deserves.

In 2016, ballot harvesting was expanded and made fully legal. So John Democrat Doe from down the street can walk into a homeless shelter, scoop up a couple of hundred ballots from willing methheads, and dump them at the polls on their behalf.

In 2021, universal vote-by-mail was permanently enshrined, mandating that every active registered voter receive a ballot by mail automatically. You fill it out, sit on it, and drop it off whenever you feel like it. And as Steve Hilton pointed out, you fill in the date yourself. So if you’re a day or two past election day and need to backdate things a little, well, who’s really gonna know?

In 2024, Newsom signed Senate Bill 1174, banning local municipalities from enacting their own voter ID requirements.

Hilarious. They literally banned voter ID. They don’t want to know who you are or what you are. Only that you are welcome here, rainbow sunshine, as you are.

Maybe they’d warm up to the idea if we just mandated everyone to put their pronouns next to their name.

And to top it all off, California refuses to clean its voter rolls. People are casting ballots on behalf of folks like Dorris, who is registered as a 126-year-old and has apparently voted in 51 elections without her knowledge. There’s a good chance that a portion of Raman’s voters weren’t alive to see her win. Bummer.

By 2024, upwards of 87% of voters were casting their ballots by mail.

This is the environment. And into that environment, unions and nonprofits like the Democratic Socialists of America have sent their organizers armed with explicit instructions on how to harvest as many Democratic votes as possible. The operation generates thousands upon thousands of ballots for their preferred candidates, systematically, election cycle after election cycle.

But showing up to a voting booth in a MAGA hat? That would be insane.

This is legalized corruption, unfolding in plain sight. It is resulting in homeless zombies unknowingly making decisions that affect your tax dollars, your family, your safety, and your governance. It is resulting in increasingly radical, far-left candidates seizing the levers of power in one of America’s largest cities.

Democrats love to hurl the “undemocratic!” stone from their glass Marxist mansions.

The ballots are being harvested. The rolls are rotting. The shelters are stuffed with registered voters who couldn’t pick Nithya Raman out of a lineup. And every cycle, the machine gets a little more efficient, a little more brazen, and a little harder to stop.

It’s time we did something about it. Starting by demanding the basic election-integrity safeguards that every other functioning democracy on earth takes for granted. Voter ID. Clean rolls. An end to ballot harvesting. California doesn’t want those things, and now you know exactly why.

Under guidance from the State Department to be on high alert about fraudulent documentation, U.S. embassies in West Africa, Europe, and North Africa found evidence of multiple plans to produce fraudulent documents and facilitate individuals traveling to the United States to give birth within American borders, The Daily Wire has learned.

In West Africa, a U.S. embassy uncovered a “sophisticated birth tourism network” wherein more than 100 foreign nationals were using fraudulent documents to obtain visas and secure U.S. citizenship for their children. The State Department shut down this birth tourism network and revoked the foreign nationals’ visas. State is also coordinating with local authorities to “systematically identify and cut off any similar operations.”

“Under President Trump, the State Department is defending the integrity of U.S. citizenship by ending illegal birth tourism schemes,” said State Department messaging viewed by The Daily Wire. “No foreigner is permitted to obtain a visitor visa for the primary purpose of acquiring U.S. citizenship for a child by giving birth in the U.S.”

A U.S. embassy in Europe found that more than 400 suspected birth tourism cases had occurred since 2024. In this case, investigators traced the birth tourism to at least six companies that were coaching applicants on what to say in their visa interviews, arranging housing, and setting up delivery plans. State again shut down the process, revoked the visas, and permanently banned “several fraudsters from traveling to the United States ever again.”

An embassy in North Africa revoked more than 100 visas for “birth tourist” parents who came to the United States specifically to give birth to children who would get U.S. citizenship. State Department consular officers worked with law enforcement and used data analytics to identify the networks abusing the visa system in this case.

“A U.S. visa is a privilege, not a right,” the State Department messaging said. “The State Department is taking action around the world to stop this abuse, dismantle birth tourism networks, and hold accountable those who try to scam our system.”

The Daily Wire previously investigated eyebrow-raising cases of birth tourism in Texas, where the state sued De’Ai Postpartum Care Center in Houston for “exploiting birthright citizenship by unlawfully facilitating the invasion of Chinese nationals … for the sole purpose of giving birth.” That center is accused of facilitating the births of more than 1,000 American-born babies, as reported by to The Daily Wire’s Jennie Taer.

President Donald Trump promptly signed an executive order ending birthright citizenship after taking office in January 2025, but the order has been repeatedly paused due to legal challenges. The Supreme Court will hand down a decision on the order sometime in late June or early July.

“We are the only Country in the World STUPID enough to allow ‘Birthright’ Citizenship!” protested the president, the day that the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case. He attended those oral arguments in person, the first president in United States history to do so.

Trump described the incident and rescue mission in an exclusive call with Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst. The U.S. Army Apache helicopter was shot down earlier this week when, according to the president, an Iranian drone struck the helicopter but failed to detonate, lodging itself between the two pilots as they flew at low altitude.

Flying a gunship with a live, burning drone embedded in the cockpit, the pilots faced the possibility of explosion at any moment. Trump said the cockpit filled with heat and fire before the crew managed to ditch the aircraft into the sea. The two pilots were subsequently rescued — in what Trump described as the first-ever rescue of its kind — by an unmanned sea drone.

After the Iranian drone attack, Trump warned Wednesday that he is nearing a decision to order strikes on Iranian power plants and bridges, signaling a sharp escalation in the ongoing military confrontation with Tehran amid stalled nuclear negotiations.

The revelation comes amid a broader military campaign against Iran. Overnight Tuesday, U.S. fighter jets struck Iranian radar systems and air defense sites in response to what the administration characterized as ceasefire violations. Iran had reportedly attempted to rebuild its defensive capabilities during a pause in hostilities, an effort Trump said was explicitly prohibited. The overnight strikes were described as highly effective: even the partial reconstruction Iran managed represented “just a few percentages” of its original capacity, and Trump said U.S. forces destroyed roughly 55% of even that rebuilt capability.

Iran also fired missiles at U.S. forces stationed in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan — attacks that Trump suggested could prompt further American military action. When Yingst asked about a possible response, Trump said, “I may keep going.” In a post on Truth Social Wednesday morning, the president pointedly declared, “The bully of the Middle East is DEAD.”

The president’s most pointed remarks concerned the state of nuclear negotiations. Trump said Iran has been “tapping the United States along” in talks, and that he is now seriously considering strikes on Iranian power plants and bridges to increase pressure. He said Iran “had a chance to sign a deal and survive,” a phrase widely interpreted as a direct warning that the window for a diplomatic resolution may be closing.

BREAKING: President Trump exclusively tells @TreyYingst that the U.S. is getting close to ordering new strikes against Iranian power plants and bridges in response to “tapping the United States along” when it comes to drawn out negotiations.

The U.S. launched overnight strikes… pic.twitter.com/Eh3zZBWh7q

— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 10, 2026

The dual-track pressure — military strikes coupled with explicit threats of further escalation — marks a significant hardening of the U.S. posture. Whether Tehran responds at the negotiating table or with additional military action is now the central question as the confrontation enters a potentially decisive phase.

Not one Democrat voted yes.

Republicans wasted zero time going for the jugular.

“House Democrats’ main constituency is illegal immigrants and criminals,” blasted RNC Chairman Joe Gruters. “Democrats have now voted dozens of times against funding ICE, Border Patrol, and DHS, repeatedly siding with open borders over law and order.”

House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX) was equally scorching. “For 76 days, Democrats held the Department of Homeland Security hostage,” he fumed. “They walked away from the appropriations process, shut down Homeland Security operations, and used the safety of the American people as political leverage. Even today, every single House Democrat voted to defund ICE and Border Patrol.”

The GOP framed the Democratic no-votes as the latest chapter in what they called a relentless, systematic effort to kneecap President Donald Trump’s border security agenda. Republicans noted it marked the 37th time Senate and House Democrats have voted against border security measures — a stat they are clearly planning to weaponize heading into the midterms.

National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Mike Marinella didn’t exactly reach for diplomatic language either. “House Democrats just told every cop, every border agent, and every American family to drop dead,” he said. “Their soft-on-crime, open-border agenda has already devastated communities across the country, and they just proved they still haven’t learned a thing.”

Democrats tried to spin their unanimous “no” votes as something other than opposing immigration enforcement. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) argued the bill handed ICE a “blank check” with no “guardrails, oversight, or accountability.” One independent member also voted against the bill.

Republicans weren’t buying it for a second.

Arrington framed the bill’s passage as a direct mandate from voters. “The American people fundamentally rejected the chaos of the last four years,” he said. “They elected Republicans for the promise of secure borders, safer communities, and restoring rule of law. The Secure America Act makes good on that promise.”

The legislation now heads to President Trump’s desk, locking in ICE and Border Patrol funding through 2029 — a major win for a White House that has made border enforcement the centerpiece of its domestic agenda.

Democrats handed Republicans a gift-wrapped attack ad.

And the GOP is already running with it.

Anthony was convicted Tuesday of murdering Austin at a track meet in April 2025 and was sentenced to 35 years in prison.

Austin’s father, Jeff Metcalf, admonished Anthony for making the case about race and told him he’s been feeling “pure unfiltered rage” while grieving the loss of his son.

“I said from day one, this was never about race, please don’t politicize it,” Jeff said. “But what did you choose to do, both. It’s about right and wrong. We’re all humans. We all bleed the same color.”

Notably, Anthony’s family held a press conference after Austin’s murder and suggested Anthony was a victim of racial injustice. They forcibly removed Jeff from the presser when he said he wanted to speak with the Anthony family and possibly pray with them. The Anthony family also started a fundraiser in the wake of the murder, which accumulated more than $600,000. Many comments in support of the fundraiser were racially charged.

Continuing to address Anthony directly, Jeff told the 19-year-old to stop looking down and said his family had been robbed of Austin.

“A piece of me died with my son, and I’m expected to keep living,” he said. “You’re going to prison. I forgave you the day it happened. I don’t forgive what you did.”

“You’re free to make choices all you want, but you’re not free from those consequences,” the father continued. “You will face those consequences starting today.”

“People think that grief is sadness but it’s not. It’s rage! Pure unfiltered rage,” Jeff reportedly shouted while slamming his hands on the table in front of him. “You failed your parents, you failed yourself and you failed society, You don’t belong in this community.”

“You’re going to prison,” he added. “You can’t even look me in the eyes right now but you can stab my f*cking son in the heart.”

Austin Metcalf’s dad, Jeff, just unloaded on Karmelo Anthony.
“We were robbed, don’t look down, of all of these things.”
“I said from day one, this was never about race, please don’t politicize it. But what did you choose to do, both. It’s about right and wrong. We’re all humans.…

— MaryAnn Martinez (@MaryAnnreports) June 10, 2026

Austin’s mother, Meghan Metcalf, also delivered a victim impact statement, telling Anthony he should consider himself fortunate given the pain he inflicted on the Metcalf family.

“My son was murdered,” she said. “He didn’t just die. He was taken from us, just as he was starting to live.”

“You may have just been given a sentence of 35 years — you should feel lucky because I’ve been sentenced to a life without my son,” she added.

Austin’s twin brother, Hunter Metcalf, told Anthony that he took “everything” away from him when he murdered Austin. Hunter notably held Austin as he died from Anthony’s vicious attack. Hunter also told Anthony that every morning he still sees Austin’s bedroom door shut, causing him immense pain.

Hunter also reportedly told Anthony to look him in the eyes when he was speaking. But Anthony refused, looking down instead. “If you could just look me in the eye while I speak, I would really respect that,” Hunter said.

Anthony’s murder trial started on June 1 with jury selection and wrapped in nine days. Video footage and witness testimony — even from defense witnesses — generally indicated that Anthony provoked the situation with Metcalf and deadly force was not needed, contradicting the self-defense argument from Anthony’s team. Anthony did not take the stand during the trial.

***

Taylor Sheridan has discovered that his keyboard is a money-printing machine for both himself and Paramount+. From “Yellowstone” to “1883,” “Mayor of Kingstown,” and “Landman,” Sheridan has built a sprawling empire of gritty American archetypes: Montana ranchers, Oklahoma mobsters, Texas oil barons, and anyone else Hollywood might have deemed too working-class and out of touch with its consumer base of working-from-home metropolitans.

His latest work, “Dutton Ranch,” combines many of the best elements of “Yellowstone” without much of the whiny, self-aggrandizing nonsense that hampered the show in its later seasons. We get it, Monica: You are a proud Native American woman and think the loving multimillionaire ranching Dutton family you married into is a bunch of racist colonizers (thankfully, her character has not returned).

Kevin Costner’s gruff, commanding charisma is sorely missed, but the heart and soul of Sheridan’s cowboy universe was always Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser). I may be a stereotypical yuppie software engineer who has only once tried (unsuccessfully) to ride a horse, but most scenes with Rip leave me compelled to sell the downtown condo, buy a Stetson and a pickup truck, and move to a ranch.

Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly), meanwhile, returns as formidable as ever, but with a renewed sense of purpose. In the final seasons of “Yellowstone,” Sheridan seemed to lose sight of how to write her, reducing one of television’s more compelling characters to impulsive tirades and alcoholism. Her drinking alone could have kept Tito’s running. Here, she remains profane and ferocious, balancing farm-girl tenacity with Christian Louboutins and investment-banker shrewdness, but her fury is now directed toward securing a new life for herself and her husband.

Following the events that ended “Yellowstone,” Beth and Rip, along with their adopted son Carter, move to Texas to start over. It is a classic American story of settling somewhere unfamiliar, staking a claim, and trying to build something of your own despite hardship and hostility.

And there is no shortage of hardship. At one point, their cattle contract foot-and-mouth disease, threatening the ranch’s survival and forcing Rip into the brutal necessity of rounding up and shooting an entire doomed herd. Beth laments the toll it takes on him: “That man has lost more than he’d ever admit,” she says, adding, “He devoted his life to the Yellowstone. This was supposed to be his time, his ranch.” There is an important and subtly conveyed lesson here, that life is not fair, and no one is owed a reward merely because he has suffered nobly.

Among the most welcome additions to Sheridan’s world is Ed Harris as Everett McKinney, a gregarious, salt-of-the-earth veterinarian. But Sheridan does not write twee HGTV television that is set in the countryside. Problems are not confined to veterinary and agricultural woes; sooner or later, we expect our dose of extortion, corruption, and murder. In contrast to the power Rip and Beth held by association on “Yellowstone,” here in Texas they are newcomers, pitted against the established and crooked Jackson family, led by the ruthless matriarch Beulah Jackson, whose deep pockets seem to reach everywhere from the state cattle industry to the police force.

Though Sheridan is thankfully reluctant to sermonize about politics, his work remains beguiling fodder for conservatives. In this sense, he is the conservative answer to Darren Star. Where Star built fantasies around cosmopolitan women in couture navigating careers, brunch dates, and fleeting romances, Sheridan gives us ranchers, oil workers, and cowboys who grow thick beards, wake up at 3:30 AM, work with their hands, and have no use for LinkedIn or ChatGPT.

Of course, most of us are more comfortable admiring this life from afar. There is a running joke among watch enthusiasts that most people who buy “tool watches” — Rolex Submariners built for diving or Daytonas built for race car drivers timing laps — only ever use them as aesthetic props in office jobs. Many city truck owners rarely haul anything more demanding than groceries or their kids’ hockey equipment. How many Yeti cooler owners have been backcountry camping? Some would call such people posers. But we buy these things because they offer us a connection to worlds we lack the courage, will, or circumstances to enter. Sheridan’s heroes are compelling because they inhabit such lives.

As Beth and Rip fight to establish new roots, a parallel storyline follows Carter (Finn Little), who, for someone raised by Beth and Rip, ought to have more common sense than to cut school in pursuit of a shortcut to cowboying while strutting around after a pretty young blonde. But then again, he is a teenage boy, and in any skirmish between brains and pubescent hormones, the former has little hope.

There is palpable hardship in Carter’s circumstances. With his adoptive parents too busy fighting for the ranch to tend to his teenage angst, he develops a budding friendship with Dwight White (Ray McKinnon), a downtrodden cowboy of questionable judgment who keeps an African leopard on his property. But Dwight offers Carter a job and proffers some much needed counsel. “Growing up fast is highly overrated,” he tells him. Carter may be eager to leapfrog adolescence and become the man he imagines himself to be, but, Dwight warns, “You don’t realize how young you are until you’re old and realize it’s too late.”

Sheridan’s wrangler epics are like “Game of Thrones” with cattle and cowboys. They are action fantasies about the sorts of characters we aspire to be, or at least aspire to have in our lives: loyal, brave, stubborn men of action. If you haven’t yet seen “Yellowstone,” I would recommend watching the first three seasons for Costner’s aura alone. But “Dutton Ranch,” streaming new episodes on Prime through July, can be enjoyed in isolation. Sheridan’s great strength is crafting myths of large personalities against larger landscapes, all in pursuit of the American dream of carving out a life through grit and sacrifice. At its best, “Dutton Ranch” understands why that dream still has power for those of us watching from the comfort of our living rooms, far from the hard and unglamorous work that makes it possible.

***

Harry Khachatrian (@Harry1T6) is a film critic for the Washington Examiner. He is a software engineer, holds a master’s degree from the University of Toronto, and writes about wine at BetweenBottles.com.

The jury rendered the sentencing on Tuesday evening, hours after issuing a guilty verdict on a first-degree murder charge.

Anthony reportedly broke down in tears when the sentencing was announced. The 19-year-old also sobbed and was visibly shaking when the guilty verdict was read hours earlier.

Daily Mail reporter MaryAnn Martinez, who is inside the courtroom, said the prosecution argued before sentencing deliberations that the Metcalf family will suffer far greater than Anthony ever will, no matter the sentence.

“Nothing you do with your verdict, no matter what it is, nothing you do will take more from Karmelo, Anthony, or his family, than he took from a Austin Metcalf,” attorney Dewey Mitchell said. “Karmelo Anthony’s gonna have the opportunity to continue to be a son, to continue through his life and find out what he’s interested in, maybe meet the love of his life, have children. Austin Metcalf did not have the opportunity to meet the love of his life. Didn’t have the opportunity to know what it felt like the hold a plaque of graduation, isn’t going to know what it’s like to have children with someone you love. He’s never gonna have the time with his parents, where he grows up, and he gets out of those teenage years.”

Closing arguments for Karmelo Anthony sentencing:
Dewey Mitchell speaking for the state
“Nothing you do with your verdict, no matter what it is, nothing you do will take more from Karmelo, Anthony, or his family, than he took from a Austin Metcalf. ⁰
Karmelo Anthony’s gonna have…

— MaryAnn Martinez (@MaryAnnreports) June 9, 2026

Outside of closing arguments, the only person to speak during the punishment phase of the trial was Anthony’s mother. “Please have mercy on my son,” she reportedly told jurors while sobbing.

The only person to take the stand in the punishment phase was Karmelo Anthony’s mother. She begged for mercy.
‘Please have mercy on my son,’ Hayes sobbed as she looked at the jury.
Both sides have closed out their cases. The court is now working on a charging document and will…

— MaryAnn Martinez (@MaryAnnreports) June 9, 2026

Anthony, who is black, fatally stabbed Metcalf, who was white, at a track event in April 2025 in Frisco, Texas. The case quickly garnered national attention, both due to a narrative peddled by the Anthony family and the glaring lack of coverage from the legacy media, which routinely highlights and escalates white-on-black incidents.

Legal commentators have said throughout the trial that the defense had an incredibly poor showing, and the state’s case was effectively airtight. Witnesses blew apart any racial narrative peddled by the Anthony family, and video evidence showed that Anthony was not surrounded by a mob of people, but only confronted by Metcalf after he was told to leave the team’s tent up to 15 times by different people. Also, of note, witnesses say Metcalf explicitly told Anthony he would not fight him.

The trial, from start to finish, lasted only nine days, including jury selection. The jury rendered a guilty verdict mere hours after they were set to deliberate.

Related: Jury Reaches Verdict In Karmelo Anthony Murder Trial

With 76% of the vote reported, Platner leads the field with about 72% of the vote. Decision Desk HQ called the race at 9:07 p.m. ET. He will face off against incumbent Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) in November. 

It’s not yet clear what Platner’s final margin will be after all votes have been tallied, which could offer early clues on his electability this fall.

“If Janet Mills’ basically defunct campaign gets 20 to 30%, Graham is in trouble come November,” NOTUS White House Correspondent Jasmine Wright warned earlier on CNN. 

Platner’s decisive victory, however, deals a major blow to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who recruited and backed Maine Democratic Governor Janet Mills. 

During the bitter primary, a series of damaging revelations dropped against the Senate hopeful, painting a picture of a troubled veteran with a history of infidelity and disturbing social media activity. 

The Daily Wire previously uncovered that the Senate hopeful maintained an active account on a social media platform known to attract child predators. Several media outlets reported that Platner, a married man, had exchanged sexually explicit messages with several women. 

In May, Platner refused to apologize after resurfaced online posts appeared to show him mocking a Purple Heart recipient who was almost killed in a firefight with the Taliban.

Platner was confronted near his home in Sullivan, Maine, and asked whether he regretted a since-deleted Reddit post in which he said wounded Army veteran Ted Daniels “didn’t deserve to live,” The Daily Wire previously reported. In response, Platner attempted to defend his own military record, referring to the accusations as “slanderous and offensive.”

“I did four tours in the infantry; any attempt to say that I disrespect veterans is slanderous and offensive,” he said.

Resurfaced Reddit posts also showed the Senate hopeful describing himself as a “communist” and denigrating cops and white people.

“I got older and became a communist,” Platner, a veteran and oyster farmer, wrote on a Reddit forum dubbed “antiwork” in 2021, according to CNN. He also said he was a “vegetable growing, psychedelics taking social these days” in a United States Marine Corps subreddit that same year, saying that he “still got the guns though, I don’t trust the facsists [sic] these days,” citing his past military experience in the post.

“Living in white rural America, I’m afraid to tell you they actually are,” the Democrat said about white Americans.

“Bastards. Cops are bastards. All of them, in fact,” Platner said in another post.

In addition, the Washington Post reported multiple posts he made to Reddit in 2013 regarding sexual assault, including in the military.

“Rape is a real thing. If you’re so worried about it to buy Kevlar underwear, you’d think you might not get blacked out f***ed up around people you aren’t comfortable with,” he wrote.

“In today’s current climate, when every whisper of a misplaced hand brings down a feature-length film, anyone who actually thinks the military is purposefully covering up rape to save the career of some god damn [captain], is clearly both an idiot and junior enough in rank or life experience to think it matters,” Platner wrote.

He also called black people cheap.

“I work as a bartender, and it always amazes me how solid this stereotype is,” Platner wrote. “Every now and again a black patron will leave a 15-20% tip, but usually it [is] between 0-5%. There’s got to be a reason behind it. What is it?”

Last Thursday, the latest shoe dropped, with The New York Times citing ex-girlfriends who claimed Platner engaged in a pattern of “intimidating and disturbing” behavior in their relationships and lied about not knowing the meaning of his Nazi tattoo. 

Three of Platner’s ex-girlfriends described volatile and “toxic” relationships with the Senate hopeful, claiming he demeaned women, became physically threatening, and was repeatedly unfaithful. On one occasion, an ex-girlfriend accused Platner of twisting her arm, shoving her into a bedroom, and holding the door shut until she became “calm.” 

The Platner campaign denied allegations of misconduct and rushed to MS NOW to do damage control. 

“There are some allegations in this piece that I just want to be kind of unequivocal about, are simply not true,” Platner said on the television network. “Anything alleging physicality, anything alleging that I knew what my tattoo was, these are the statements of someone who’s politically motivated.”

On election eve, Platner’s former political director blew the whistle on her former boss, alleging the Senate hopeful knew the meaning behind his Nazi tattoo and “exhibits a pattern of dishonest behavior.”

In an op-ed for The Washington Post, former Maine state representative Genevieve McDonald wrote that her enthusiasm for the Platner campaign collapsed after she learned of his misconduct.

“I quit the campaign in October, disturbed by what I learned about the candidate and concerned about his potential impact on the Democratic Party’s prospects in my home state,” she wrote.

In September, Platner told McDonald he had a “problematic” tattoo that could raise questions, but chalked it up to it being a “military thing.”

“I believed him,” she wrote in the WAPO. “Then, I began receiving calls from Washington warning me he was not who he seemed: “Have you read his oppo file?” I had not. I trusted that his out-of-state consulting team had thoroughly vetted him.

Her account appears to corroborate reporting from The New York Times. The accusations cut against Platner’s previous claim that he did not understand the significance of the symbol, which was used by Nazi Germany’s SS.

Most Democrats have bent over backward to excuse or downplay Platner’s conduct, though that did not stop Mills from mounting a last-ditch effort.

Hayes: Did that happen?

Platner: No, it did not. There are some allegations in this piece that I just want to be kind of unequivocal about are simply not true. Anything alleging, physicality, anything alleging that I knew what my tattoo was. These are the statements of someone… pic.twitter.com/bghFgN5z75

— Acyn (@Acyn) June 5, 2026

“People have the impression that I withdrew or dropped out, but I simply suspended active campaigning. I am still on the ballot,” she told a local outlet.

That effort did not appear to pay off, with results showing a blowout victory for Platner. The Cook Political Report ranks the contentious Senate race as a toss-up.

The Democratic establishment viewed Mills as the strongest candidate to defeat Collins. Meanwhile, Platner gained momentum with a leftist-populist message and secured high-profile endorsements from Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

The Daily Wire previously reported that leftists turned to the embattled Platner after their initial choice was found to have a major “skeleton” in his closet. Last July, two Bernie Sanders-aligned political operatives hunted for a Democrat to challenge Collins, ultimately landing on and recruiting Platner.  

Platner, who brands himself as a blue-collar oyster farmer, launched his campaign on August 19 in a viral video that quickly attracted national attention from leftist activists and Democratic donors. 

My name is Graham Platner and I’m running for US Senate to defeat Susan Collins and topple the oligarchy that’s destroying our country.

I’m a veteran, oysterman, and working class Mainer who’s seen this state become unlivable for working people. And that makes me deeply angry. pic.twitter.com/QZfAm528N1

— Graham Platner for Senate (@grahamformaine) August 19, 2025

Trying to stop his momentum, Mills went on the attack against Platner in commercials, highlighting his scandals and running with the tagline, “Graham Platner: The closer you look, the worse it gets.”

One advertisement in particular featured older women expressing disgust. 

#MEPol: “Graham Platner, the closer you look, the worse it gets.”

Janet Mills is up with a new #MEGov ad attacking Platner. This is the first broadcast TV attack ad in the Democratic primary. pic.twitter.com/885wLOxGmn

— AdImpact Politics (@AdImpact_Pol) March 17, 2026

Ultimately, her strategy failed to gain traction with an increasingly restless base eager to buck their party’s establishment. On April 30, Mills suspended her campaign. 

“While I have the drive and passion, commitment and experience, and above all else – the fight– to continue on, I very simply do not have the one thing that political campaigns unfortunately require today: the financial resources,” Mills said in a statement.  

***

When I was growing up, family dinner was the expectation. We didn’t sit down for breakfast together during the week (I’m pretty sure with having three children, my parents only ate coffee for breakfast), but we all knew we would gather around the table together in the evening. Whether we were eating at our house or at my grandparents’ house, most of the time it was going to be at the dinner table. My grandparents still have the dinner table I was accustomed to eating at. It’s a staple in their home. 

Wherever we were, we would all talk, laugh, and joke. It was rare that dinner was a serious affair. We had stories to share. The kids weren’t there to be seen and not heard; we were part of the whole shebang. I felt included and comfortable. Family dinners are a bright spot in my memory when I think about childhood, adolescence, and even adulthood. I’m happy to say that as a mom, I’ve continued with this tradition. 

Roughly half of the population regularly eat dinner as a family. According to research from 2019, 29% of American families sit down and eat dinner together every day — almost a third of families! Another 23% reported eating dinner together four to six times a week. Sixty-two percent of parents with kids under 18 indicated they would like to have family dinners more often.

We want to be connected with our family. But why? What is so important about family meals? 

Let’s start with the stories. Researcher Robyn Fivush says it beautifully: Stories sustain us. She has conducted research examining how the act of storytelling affects families. She has found children who have strong intergenerational sharing of stories happening in their family show higher levels of self-esteem, social competence, autonomy, sense of meaning, and fewer behavioral problems, which include depression, aggression, and anger. She identifies the act of storytelling as the catalyst; it is more than knowing the facts of what has happened to generations of your family. It is the bond of sharing the story that leads to these positive outcomes. It’s sharing the experiences. She goes on to explain that families who shared stories in a coherent and emotionally open way with their adolescents found that those kids coped better with life events.

Family meals also act as a protective net around our children. A meta-analysis (really big review of a lot of research studies) found that family meals are especially beneficial for children and adolescents. The data showed sitting down to eat with family led to increased levels of self-esteem and performance in school. The meals together were also linked to fewer mental health issues (disordered eating, symptoms of depression, substance abuse, and violent behavior). 

When kids eat dinner as a family, they are more likely to develop healthy eating habits: ingesting more fruits and vegetables, engaging in social eating, finding it important to sit down and eat rather than eating on the run, and eating less fried food and drinking less soda. Please don’t feed your kids a kiddie alternative. When kids eat what their parents eat, they are more likely to have healthy diets overall. 

Want even more reasons to eat as a family? Doing so apparently increases literacy! By talking to our children at the dinner table, we expose them to more words that are considered “rare.” When we include children in the conversation, sometimes we have to explain things, and that’s how they learn. Family dinner is also a time for longer conversations. These involve more back-and-forth between family members and are excellent for learning. 

Family dinner is not only beneficial for children; there are benefits for adults too. Family meals lead to increased intake of healthy foods, decreased consumption of fast food, and decreased negative eating behaviors. Data show eating with your family is related to better mental health in parents. Having a lot of conversation or storytelling during dinner means we have to eat more slowly, and this gives our brain a chance to register how full we feel, meaning its easier not to overeat. 

Now for the harsh part: The data show that eating in front of the TV removes that protective net from eating together. The healthy food goes out the window. The emotional atmosphere of dinner takes a hit too. Researchers observed people’s family meals and found that when eating in front of the TV, people’s level of enjoyment was significantly decreased. If your family doesn’t have a dinner table and only eats together on the couch, that’s fine; simply leave the TV off while you eat so your family is able to engage with each other. 

Family dinners are great, but the atmosphere around the meal matters. If everyone is stressed and yelling at each other, that’s not going to lead to positive outcomes. It’s up to the adults at the table to cultivate a warm and engaging environment so the family can feel connected to each other.

From my experience as a mother and a therapist, I can report that eating together leads to a feeling of connection, especially when storytelling is tied in. Ideally, our family is the place where we feel comfortable and secure. Dinner time becomes a time for sharing emotional experiences and receiving empathy, problem-solving, or feedback from the people who love you. I personally am hoping it is a time for creating positive memories. Our brains learn from our experiences, so if we continually experience a positive environment with our family, then we are able to link those positive emotions with the family unit. 

My own basic rules are: put away phones and tablets, turn off the TV, sit down together, try the food on your plate, and participate in conversation. And everyone helps with clean-up. 

Set a goal for eating together three to four times a week because research shows positive outcomes from this baseline. Happy dinners, y’all!

***

***

YouTuber Jesse Ridgeway, who goes by McJuggerNuggets to his over 4 million subscribers, has sparked heated debates over the last week after announcing that he and his wife had chosen to get an abortion. The couple recorded themselves explaining that decision after discovering the unborn child had a high likelihood of being born with Down syndrome.

The pro-life crowd rightfully called out this evil for what it is: eugenics. Even some leftists seemed to grapple with the larger ramifications, with several X commenters expressing their cognitive dissonance that abortion on demand for any reason is good, but also people with disabilities should be protected.

Ridgeway said when he first found out the baby may have Down syndrome, he was “optimistic” and would try to “make it work” if the child was just “a little slow intellectually.” But he decided against it. “I just didn’t fully understand what Down syndrome entailed,” he explained. “I didn’t realize just how rough it is for the child, let alone the family … more often than not, they would be fully dependent on others for the rest of their life.”

The one thing no one seems to be talking about is how Ridgeway opened up a conversation that should be seen as a gift to the pro-life argument. That is, he exposed the reality of why abortions are happening, and it’s not the extreme situations that so often dominate headlines.

Pro-abortion advocates would love for the general public to picture abortions happening only when the baby was going to die anyway, or when the woman was raped, or very, very early in a pregnancy when the fetus was supposedly nothing more than a meaningless clump of cells. For years, pro-lifers have pushed back on that narrative with facts and reason. But it took a random YouTuber to show the reality of who is getting abortions and why.

Per the National Library of Medicine, the most common reasons women seek abortion include “financial reasons (40%), timing (36%), partner related reasons (31%), and the need to focus on other children (29%). Most women reported multiple reasons for seeking an abortion crossing over several themes (64%).”

Studies show that at least 67% of babies diagnosed with Down syndrome in the United States are aborted. In Iceland, there are almost no cases of Down syndrome because those who have it are killed before they have the chance to be born.

Between 350,000 and 400,000 Americans have Down syndrome, meaning they were born with an extra chromosome. When polled, these individuals consistently say they are satisfied with their life and were happy they were born, as The Daily Wire previously reported. 

The Ridgeways going viral for the killing of their unborn child has prompted parents, siblings, and friends of people living with Down syndrome to post stories of why their lives are amazing. They speak of challenges, yes, but also of a surprising joy that can only come from accepting reality. People of faith would call this following God’s plan. However, even non-religious people can understand the futility in trying to control the world and the peace that comes from embracing life as it comes. 

It also points to a larger question: Who is qualified to determine what makes a life worth living? 

Stories such as the Ridgeways’ are gleefully held up by the pro-abortion crowd as proof of why abortion should exist. But this viral Down syndrome story is a bridge too far for many people who recognize that Trisomy 21 isn’t life-limiting enough to warrant a death sentence. They are pointing out how people with Down syndrome are often the happiest individuals they know. Why do they deserve to die for being “differently abled,” as progressives would say?

I used to have a distant acquaintance who was an ob-gyn who performed abortions. We would get into surface-level debates all the time about abortion. I will never forget the one time she conceded to me on one point: sex-selective abortions. She recalled a time her patient, who only wanted two children, came into her office to schedule a second-term abortion after finding out she was pregnant with a second girl. “All I could think about was this woman’s adorable toddler, with blonde curls and big eyes, and think she was making a huge mistake terminating a healthy pregnancy,” she told me.

Even someone participating in such an evil act had a moral standard. Most Americans who believe abortion should be legal also have lines they won’t cross, which are commonly determined by gestational age. But the thing about lines is that they are incredibly arbitrary. If we tell mothers only to abort for life-limiting medical reasons, then who gets to decide what counts as life-limiting? 

Ridgeway has made it clear that the real justifications people give for abortion — Down syndrome, my boyfriend broke up with me, I wanted a boy instead, I’m just really tired — are flimsy excuses when it comes down to it. Abortion is never the right choice. Now that the reasons it keeps happening are out in the open, we can start having honest conversations about it.

The leagues mostly shrugged. They should have listened.

On Monday, June 8, the Committee’s GOP majority released a new report debunking the leagues’ talking points defending the move to streaming. According to the hard-hitting review, “the NFL’s claim of a fan-friendly distribution model defies the reality experienced by millions of NFL fans.” The report continues, “the NFL’s current model of placing games behind a paywall, especially through its Sunday Ticket offering, is harming consumers …”

The concerns of consumers will be front and center on Wednesday when the antitrust subcommittee hears testimony on whether the Sports Broadcasting Act’s antitrust exemption is being twisted to harm consumers and benefit leagues’ bottom lines.

This is a smart and timely move by Chairman Jordan and subcommittee chairman Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI). Since his letter last year, other Republican leaders have followed, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has opened a review, and the Department of Justice has launched an investigation into potential anticompetitive practices by the NFL.

Most importantly, President Donald Trump himself said in a recent interview: “You have people that live for Sunday. They can’t think about anything else, and then all of a sudden they’re gonna have to pay $1,000 a game. It’s crazy, so I’m not happy about it.”

Where the administration and allies in Congress stand is clear: Putting fans first is America first.

“$4,785. That’s How Much It Costs to Be a Sports Fan Now,” according to sports journalist Joon Lee. To watch every NFL game last season, die-hard fans needed subscriptions to nine different channels and streaming platforms, totaling more than $750. A recent Fox News national survey confirmed that nearly 6 in 10 sports fans say they’ve skipped watching a game because it was too expensive, with one-third saying this has happened “many times.” And it’s not just happening in living rooms. Restaurants and bars, where watching the game is a community ritual, are equally frustrated — in fact, a restaurant owner will be one of the witnesses at Wednesday’s hearing.

The leagues and Silicon Valley streamers are driving a wedge between fans and the teams they love. And as always, it hits hardest on families who can’t afford a different subscription for every sport, every platform, every week.

The league’s antitrust exemption was a product of its time, and even then, it wasn’t supposed to be a blank check. Courts have been explicit: that exemption covers free, sponsored telecasting, not pay TV, not satellite, not streaming. The leagues have been exploiting a regulatory no-man’s-land, benefiting from an antitrust shield while shifting games to platforms that sit outside it.

Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner who presides over the most lucrative sports league in the world, was invited to testify but decided to skip the hearing. The image of an empty chair with a nameplate reading “Roger Goodell” may not materialize on C-Span, but his decision to decline the chairman’s request speaks volumes.

That’s been the NFL’s playbook. When the FCC opened its review, the NFL didn’t engage until the last minute, while the other major leagues didn’t participate at all. The strategy is transparent: run out the clock, hope the political heat fades, and keep the money flowing.

But fan frustration isn’t dissipating. Every Sunday when a family can’t find the game, every bar owner who loses customers because the right subscription costs too much, every working-class fan priced out of a sport their family has followed for generations, that frustration will land somewhere. It will manifest in town halls, polling data, and ultimately in hearings like this one.

The league’s bet is that Washington’s attention span is shorter than their lawyers’ patience. That’s a bad bet, especially as the NFL makes things worse by moving next season’s holiday games online.

Sports is a national love affair, not merely another consumer product. The leagues thrive because of their social contract with the American people. Fans give them their loyalty, their money, and their Sundays. The leagues return that love with exciting action available to everybody. That’s the premise behind the telecast exemption.

Now the leagues are abandoning that deal in slow motion, and Congress is right to throw the flag. And fans, who have been patient long enough, are right to demand that policymakers protect their interests.

***

Daniel Suhr is the president of the Center for American Rights, a nonprofit, public interest law firm dedicated to protecting Americans’ most fundamental, constitutional rights.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said on Monday that Omar Artan had been denied entry after he arrived at Miami International Airport from Istanbul on Saturday.  Artan was set to officiate matches for the FIFA World Cup 2026.

A senior administration official told The Daily Wire on Tuesday evening that he was seeking admission to the United States, but, upon further inspection, Customs and Border Patrol discovered  “derogatory information,” including his “association with suspected members of terror organizations.”

That information made him ineligible for admission to the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

“The traveler was refused admission and given immigration forms that provide the section of law used to complete an expedited removal under 8235 of the INA,” the senior administration official told The Daily Wire. “President Trump’s administration will not allow any security threat to enter our country – full stop.”

Referee Omar Artan holds the match ball during the FIFA U-20 World Cup Chile 2025 third place match between Colombia and France at Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos on October 18, 2025 in Santiago, Chile. (Photo by Buda Mendes – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

On Monday, FIFA released a statement on Artan’s behalf and confirmed that Artan would not be able to train or officiate at the World Cup.

“Despite the circumstances, I am in a positive mood and I am focused on the next challenges in my refereeing career,” the Somali referee said in the statement. “I would like to thank FIFA and (the African federation) for all their support and I promise to keep my refereeing levels up as I concentrate on the future. I want to thank the football family for their messages and wish my colleagues all the best success during the World Cup and I look forward to joining them again in future competitions.”

CBP explained earlier on Monday that Artan was “determined to be inadmissible due to vetting concerns and was denied entry” during routine processing, to which all those entering the United States, including coaches, staff, and athletes, are subject.

“Admissibility determinations are made on a case-by-case basis using law enforcement, national security, and immigration information available at the time of inspection,” CBP noted. “CBP officers have the authority to question travelers, conduct inspections, and determine admissibility consistent with U.S. law.”

With 41% of the vote counted, Trump-endorsed candidate Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette leads the crowded field with 29% of the vote, followed by Attorney General Alan Wilson’s 26% vote share. With no candidates passing the 50% threshold, Evette and Wilson are projected to face off again in a June 23 runoff. Decision Desk HQ called the race at 8:26 p.m. ET. 

Decision Desk HQ projects Pamela Evette and Alan Wilson advance in SC Governor Republican Primary#DecisionMade: 8:26 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/BoDlI7JwSb

— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) June 10, 2026

Seven Republicans competed to replace Republican Gov. Henry McMaster, including Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette, U.S. Representatives Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, State Senator Josh Kimbrell, and businessman Rom Reddy. 

Polling showed a tight race with a large share of undecided voters. Kimbrell, who consistently polled in the single digits, dropped out of the race this week

The results offer the latest sign of President Trump’s endorsement power, who recently intervened in the wide-open race.  

“Highly Respected and very popular Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina, Pam Evette, is an America First Patriot who has been with me from the very beginning. She never wavered, never let me down, and was the only South Carolina Gubernatorial Candidate to Endorse me as soon as I launched my 2024 Presidential Campaign,” Trump said in a May 29 Truth Social Post. 

“Pam Evette is a good friend, fighter, and WINNER, and will be a terrific Governor of South Carolina. Pam has my Complete and Total Endorsement — SHE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”

Trump’s endorsement appeared to blindside other Republicans in the race, including Congresswoman Mace, who chalked up the decision as political retaliation. 

“I knew it was on the line when I voted to release the Epstein files, and I’m a survivor, but if the price to pay for an endorsement was to not release those files, I would never, I would never pay it,” Mace told Fox. “So I knew it was on the line, and I disagree with this endorsement, and I’m going to vote for myself.” 

Rep. Nancy Mace tells Fox News Digital that she believes President Trump refused to endorse her in South Carolina’s gubernatorial race because of her vote in Congress to push for the release of the Epstein files.

“If the price to pay for an endorsement was to not release those… pic.twitter.com/pVQgg1vFfA

— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 7, 2026

GOP frontrunner Evette pushed back on that characterization. 

“Congresswoman Mace has crossed the President many times we have seen since her time in DC,” Evette said in an interview. “She probably has a list of reasons why she was not on President Trump’s list of people he felt earned and deserved his endorsement.”

NEW: @PamelaEvette responds to @NancyMace‘s claim that her push to release the Epstein files cost her Trump’s endorsement.

“Mace has crossed the President many times… She probably has a list of reasons why she was not on President Trump’s list.” https://t.co/vR9is8BHkI pic.twitter.com/v8XB4MAln1

— Ryan Schmelz (@RyanSchmelzFOX) June 7, 2026

The next governor faces myriad challenges, including outdated infrastructure, a strained healthcare system, and lagging educational outcomes. 

Still, people across the country continue to pack up their lives and move to the Palmetto State in record numbers. Between July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2025, South Carolina’s population grew by 1.5 percent — faster than any other state—according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

“Overall, South Carolina’s population continues to grow rapidly, largely as a result of migration from other states—though growth has slowed since its pandemic-era peak, when the expansion of remote work along with elevated labor market turnover led to unusually high rates of relocation across the country,” South Carolina’s Department of Employment said in a report.

The state also held Senate and congressional primaries. Voters renominated Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally seeking his fifth term, who has faced increasing criticism over his interventionist foreign policy views.

Decision Desk HQ projects Lindsey Graham wins the SC US Senate Republican Primary#DecisionMade: 8:10 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/9ct87yBqvz

— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) June 10, 2026

On Monday night. Trump made an 11th-hour push for Graham and Evette. 

“I will be doing a TeleRally LIVE at 5:30 P.M. EST for Senator Lindsey Graham and South Carolina Gubernatorial Candidate Pamela Evette — Both have my Complete and Total Endorsement,” he said on Truth Social. They will never let you down! Vote for Lindsey and Pam. They LOVE the great people of South Carolina, and so do I!!!

Going into November, the Cook Political Report ranks both the gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races as solid Republican.

Pashinyan’s ruling Civil Contract party won nearly 50% of the vote, according to CNN, defeating opposition forces backed by Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan and preserving the mandate for a foreign policy realignment that has increasingly alarmed the Kremlin.

The election was widely viewed as a referendum on Armenia’s future geopolitical direction. For decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Armenia remained one of Moscow’s most reliable partners in the former Soviet space, hosting Russian military forces and relying heavily on the Kremlin for security guarantees.

That relationship began to unravel after Russia failed to prevent Azerbaijan’s military victories over Armenian-backed forces in Nagorno-Karabakh and later failed to stop the collapse of the region’s ethnic Armenian government in 2023. The defeat displaced more than 100,000 Armenians and shattered public confidence in Russia’s ability to protect one of its closest allies.

Since then, Pashinyan has steadily distanced Armenia from Moscow. His government froze participation in the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization, expanded security cooperation with the United States and France, pursued closer relations with the European Union, and opened the door to a historic peace agreement with Azerbaijan.

The Armenian leader campaigned under the banner of a “Real Armenia,” urging voters to move beyond Soviet-era thinking and embrace a more independent future.

The result represents an embarrassing setback for Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose government warned Armenia against deeper integration with Western institutions. In the weeks leading up to the election, Moscow imposed restrictions on Armenian imports while Russian officials repeatedly emphasized the importance of maintaining traditional ties between the two countries.

Rather than reversing course, Armenian voters handed Pashinyan another term.

The outcome could also represent a strategic opportunity for the United States. President Donald Trump publicly endorsed Pashinyan ahead of the election and has invested significant political capital in efforts to normalize relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The administration has promoted the proposed Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, or TRIPP, a transportation corridor that would connect regional trade routes while reducing dependence on Russian and Iranian transit networks.

If implemented, the project could expand American influence in a region historically dominated by Moscow.

Armenia occupies a critical geographic position between Turkey, Russia, Iran, and Azerbaijan. For decades, that location made it a valuable component of Russian influence in the Caucasus and broader Middle East. A sustained Armenian pivot toward Washington would weaken Moscow’s position while potentially giving the United States a new partner in a strategically important region bordering both Russia and Iran.

Despite the victory, challenges remain for Pashinyan. His coalition retained power but may fall short of the overwhelming parliamentary majority needed to rapidly implement constitutional reforms and fully execute his foreign policy agenda.

Armenia also remains economically dependent on Russia in several sectors, including energy infrastructure, giving Moscow significant leverage should relations continue to deteriorate.

Nevertheless, Sunday’s vote suggests many Armenian voters have little interest in returning to the old arrangement. After Russia failed to deliver on its promises of protection, many Armenians appear willing to continue betting on a future less dependent on Moscow and more closely aligned with the United States and other Western partners.

Earlier in the day, law enforcement said the suspect shown in a graphic video pinning another man to the ground and repeatedly stabbing him in the face and neck was a Sudanese national. Witnesses intervened and attempted to pull the attacker off the victim.

“He’s trying to cut his head off!” a person can be heard shouting in the video. 

The suspect was arrested on attempted murder charges, but authorities have yet to release his name. The victim, identified as a man in his 40s, was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. 

Hours later, demonstrations spread across Belfast. Dramatic video shows protestors torching vehicles and burning buses in the streets, creating roadblocks for passersby and setting up intense clashes with local police.

One video shows a moving burning car crashing into an apartment building. A group was also seen vandalizing houses and breaking windows. 

🚨BREAKING: Anti-migration riots escalate in Belfast, UK, as the sun begins to set

The police look overwhelmed… pic.twitter.com/8CCJ8PibM1

— Inevitable West (@Inevitablewest) June 9, 2026

The unrest quickly took on an anti-immigration tone.

“England For The English,” one man shouted at a protest. 

“Terrorist scum off our streets,” another group of protestors shouted. 

Footage circulating on social media appears to show locals storming and setting fire to properties housing migrants in Northern Ireland. Another video shows a house engulfed in flames as anger over migrant crime boils over across the pond. 

“Britain is at [a] breaking point and the government have turned their backs on the people,” Tommy Robinson, a right-wing British activist, said on X. 

🚨 BREAKING: A bus has been set on fire in Belfast amid protests over the attempted beheading of a man pic.twitter.com/FX8maCMalK

— Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) June 9, 2026

Police first identified the attacker as a man from Somalia, but later determined he was from Sudan. Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said that his “understanding is the individual was given leave to remain in Northern Ireland,” The Daily Wire previously reported.

Sky News reported that the suspect is a man in his 30s

Nigel Farage, the leader of the ascendant Reform UK party, called for full transparency over the attack. Farage has long called for a freeze on immigration. 

“What happened in Belfast last night is horrific,” he said. “The authorities must reveal the identity and status of the attacker immediately. The public are (sic) entitled to the truth.”

Northern Ireland Justice Minister Naomi Long said she was scared about backlash to minorities and said the attack should not be used to fuel “dangerous narratives.” 

“I also know there are many people in our community, people from ethnic minority backgrounds who are terrified today about any kind of retaliation or backlash against them, which we have seen in the past,” she told the BBC. 

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the attack. 

“The horrific attack in Belfast last night is sickening,” said Starmer. “I have absolutely no tolerance for abhorrent scenes of violence like this on our streets. My thoughts are first and foremost with the victim, and I thank the first responders, including members of the public who intervened.”

Geoffrey Wall, 59, is accused of serving as an airline captain from 2009 through 2025 despite never obtaining the proper pilot license required for the position, according to Peel Regional Police.

Authorities launched an investigation called “Project Icarus” in January following Wall’s retirement late last year.

According to investigators, Wall was promoted to captain in 2009 after spending 11 years as a commercial pilot. The promotion required an airline transport pilot license, which police say he never possessed.

Over that period, Wall operated more than 900 domestic and international flights and earned more than $2.1 million. 

Deputy Police Chief Nick Milinovich said Wall had been “flying for years misrepresenting himself and his credentials” while working as a captain for Air Canada.

“This is very similar to a doctor that is licensed to practice family medicine but is doing brain surgery in their office,” Milinovich told reporters, describing how Wall was able to avoid detection for so long.

On June 1, Wall was arrested and charged with fraud over $5,000, two counts of uttering forged documents, three counts of possession of counterfeit mark, and public mischief.

“This case is deeply concerning and strikes at the heart of public trust and safety, as the accused is alleged to have put hundreds of thousands of passengers at risk across more than 900 domestic and international flights,” said Chief Nishan Duraiappah of Peel Regional Police.

Air Canada emphasized that “safety was not compromised” in a statement released Monday. The airline said Wall was fully trained as a pilot but lacked the certification required to serve as a captain. 

Gill pressed Bryan Fair, Interim President and Chief Executive Officer of the SPLC, on Platner’s tattoo and whether the organization would condemn it.

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“Do you have an opinion on this tattoo?” Gill began, holding up a photo of Platner’s chest with the Totenkopf clearly visible.

“I’m not an expert on tattoos, no I don’t,” Fair replied.

Gill offered some “background” information on the displayed image, saying, “This is a tattoo on Maine Democrat Senate candidate Graham Platner’s chest — that’s the Nazi SS death head tattoo. Do you have any opinions on that?”

“If it’s what you say, if it’s a Nazi symbol, we oppose Nazis,” Fair replied.

“I agree, we do oppose Nazis,” Gill said. “Do you think that if somebody got a Nazi tattoo on their chest that’s indicative that they might be a Nazi?”

Fair attempted to evade the question, suggesting that Gill should ask Platner why he’d gotten the tattoo. Platner has claimed that he did not know the tattoo had Nazi connections until recently, but several people who have been close to him have said that he was well aware of the connections and referred to the ink as “my Totenkopf.”

“You don’t think that that’s indicative that perhaps he holds Nazi sentiment?” Gill tried a different tack.

Fair acknowledged, “It may well be.”

“Do people that aren’t Nazis normally get Nazi tattoos on their chest?” Gill asked one more question.

“I assume they don’t,” was Fair’s reply.

“Do you think that somebody that has a Nazi tattoo on their chest should service in the United States Senate?”

“I wouldn’t vote for that person,” Fair conceded.

Gill pressed again: “Do you think that this should disqualify him from serving politically in the Senate?”

“I’m not sure where the lines of questions are going,” Fair protested, repeating that the SPLC as an organization would not support Nazis.

Platner is likely to become Maine’s official Democrat nominee for Senate after Tuesday’s primary — especially since Governor Janet Mills (D-ME) suspended her campaign more than five weeks earlier due to a lack of funding — despite a series of damning reports detailing his troubling behavior in past relationships and social media posts attacking a Purple Heart recipient, among other things.

NASA selected Andre Douglas, Frank Rubio, Luca Parmitano, and Randy Bresnik for Artemis III. The four men will train for a year and a half, a shorter time than the Artemis II crew’s training, which was three years. Bresnik was designated as the commander, and Douglass and Rubio are the mission specialists. Parmitano — an Italian from the European Space Agency — is the pilot.

As the crowd applauded the men, Douglas shouted “Mom, thank you so much for believing in me.” 

For the Artemis III mission, the crew will be traveling in an Orion capsule for about two weeks, which is roughly the size of two minivans. The four crew members will undergo training to establish relational-bonds and teamwork. According to NASA, the mission’s goal is to “carry out a series of objectives designed to demonstrate critical systems needed for a future lunar landing.”

The Space Launch System rocket, carrying the Orion spacecraft, hopes to launch the crew members from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center by late 2027. The Orion spacecraft is a major step for NASA towards exploration on the Moon and, eventually, Mars.

Parmitano represents the European agency, beginning his career as “a test pilot and then colonel with the Italian Air Force.” In 2007, he was selected by the Italian Air Force to be a test pilot, training as an “Experimental Test Pilot at EPNER, the French test pilot school in Istres.” Promoted to colonel in the Italian Air Force, he logged over 2,000 hours of flight time. He also qualified for over 20 types of military airplanes and helicopters, flying over 40 types of aircraft. He has previously spent 366 days in space across two missions to the International Space Station and Volare and Beyond.  

Bresnik, the oldest member of the crew, started working with NASA in 2004, and is the only crew member who flew on a space shuttle before the vehicles retired. Bresnik has a military career, commissioned as Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1989. He also attended U.S. Naval Test Pilot’s School, becoming an F/A-18 Test Pilot and was deployed to Kuwait, flying combat missions. Along with being a veteran of the Space Shuttle mission STS-129, Bresnik served as “Commander of the International Space Station for Expedition 53 and flight engineer for Expedition 52” with over 32 hours of Spacewalk experience. Bresnik also has over 3,600 hours in spacecraft. 

Douglas has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from University of Michigan, along with a degree in electrical and computer engineering from Johns Hopkins University, and a doctorate in systems engineering from George Washington University. He also was a “naval architect, salvage engineer, damage control assistant, and officer of the deck” while serving the U.S. Coast Guard.

When Douglas was selected in 2021 to join NASA’s Astronaut Candidate Class, he was a “senior professional staff member at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab (APL) working on maritime robotics, planetary defense, and space exploration missions.”

Rubio graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1998, and received a Doctorate of Medicine from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in 2010. He also served in the U.S. Army as an aviator and a physician for over 28 years. An Army Aviator, Rubio flew more than 1,100 hours, which includes over 600 hours of “combat and imminent danger time” as a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter pilot. He is board-certified as a “family physician and flight surgeon.” When Rubio was selected by NASA in 2017, he was serving in the 3rd Battalion of the 10th Special Forces Group.

Rubio spent 371 days in space, the longest continuous stay in space by a NASA astronaut, due to traveling to the International Space Station where a coolant leak occurred. Rubio had travelled in a Russian Soyuz capsule, docked to the space station, and, instead of staying there six months, had to wait for a replacement Soyuz to come for over a year. 

The racing pro made the comments in 2023, but they quickly resurfaced now that he’s amassed a pile of wealth and is newly dating influencer Kim Kardashian, who has a personal net worth that’s close to $2 billion. Per Fox News, Hamilton, who races for Ferrari, is paid somewhere around $70 million per year as a salary.

Hamilton also reportedly owns six houses around the world and a 90-foot yacht, as the New York Post reported, plus has brand deals with designers including Lululemon, Dior, Puma, Tommy Hilfiger, IWC Schaffhausen, and Perplexity.

One of his homes is in Monaco, where his millions are protected from taxes.

Lewis Hamilton says there should be a limit to how much wealth one person can have

“One of the things that I struggle with every day is that there is such a disparity between the wealthy and the poor”

“When you drive around LA there’s still so many people living on the streets.… pic.twitter.com/Br2V9PqZld

— Jack (@Jackkk) June 6, 2026

“If you could create one law that everyone in the world had to follow,” Jay Shetty asked the seven-time world champion in a clip circulating on X, “What would it be?”

“One of the things that I struggle with every day, and it’s just how life is, and it’s been this way for thousands of years, is that there is such a disparity between the wealthy and the poor,” the F1 driver said. “When you drive around LA there’s still so many people living on the streets.”

“You shouldn’t be able to have billions, right, I think there should be a limit to how much you can have because there’s enough to go around to everyone. So, somehow create a law that creates more equality and equal access for everyone.”

The video now has a community note added, which says, “In order to avoid tax, Lewis Hamilton lives in Monaco and Switzerland. He also used a corporate leasing structure to save over £3 million in taxes when buying his £16 million private jet in 2013.”

Commenters called out Hamilton for his apparent hypocrisy.

“To the guy worth a half billion who’s dating a woman worth 2 billion wants there’d be a wealth cap on everybody else, he can go screw himself,” one person wrote, echoing what most others were saying.

It shows a Sudanese national repeatedly stabbing a white man in his 40s in the middle of the road. The African man is squatting over the victim, who’s flat on the ground, attempting to behead him in front of horrified onlookers. There is a video as well, which looks like something you might find out of Iraq on LiveLeak around 20 years ago. But because of the UK’s immigration policy (which is also our immigration policy), these videos are now being shot here in the West. 

The UK has imported the third world and, as a result — just months after Henry Nowak was slaughtered by a foreigner — we have yet another graphic example of an innocent white man getting executed in the streets. 

Obviously, the British government would have suppressed this footage, if not for social media and X, where it quickly circulated. Instead of denying that the attack occurred, they’re downplaying it. Here’s how state TV in Ireland reported on the attack: “Arrest made after man seriously injured in Belfast stabbing.” 

That’s the headline they went with. Not “African tries to behead random white guy.” They feel compelled to provide as little information as possible, to hide the truth from the public.

So did the BBC. Here was their reporting: “A man has been taken to hospital with ‘serious injuries’ following a stabbing in north Belfast.”

A man has been taken to hospital with “serious injuries” following a stabbing in north Belfast. https://t.co/v7Pljb5woz

— BBC News NI (@BBCNewsNI) June 9, 2026

Once again, you’re not told the truth. Meanwhile, this was the response from a member of parliament in Northern Ireland:

“The horrific scenes in North Belfast should not be used by English, right wing politicians to further their own ends. I don’t ever remember them commenting on any of the other hellish things that community has experienced over the years.”

The horrific scenes in North Belfast should not be used by English, right wing politicians to further their own ends. I don’t ever remember them commenting on any of the other hellish things that community has experienced over the years.

— Colum Eastwood (@columeastwood) June 9, 2026

So the problem isn’t the African guy trying to behead someone. The problem is the “right-wing.” And it’s not just one random politician doing this. Most of them are. Here’s the prime minister, Keir Starmer:

“The horrific attack in Belfast last night is sickening. I have absolutely no tolerance for abhorrent scenes of violence like this on our streets. My thoughts are first and foremost with the victim, and I thank the first responders, including members of the public who intervened.”

The horrific attack in Belfast last night is sickening.

I have absolutely no tolerance for abhorrent scenes of violence like this on our streets.

My thoughts are first and foremost with the victim, and I thank the first responders, including members of the public who…

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) June 9, 2026

Give him a few more days, and he’ll be blaming knife crime again. There’s no mention whatsoever that the British government deliberately let this African into the country.

Take a step back and realize how truly shocking this is. When one of your native citizens is nearly beheaded on the streets, decent people — particularly people in power — pause and reevaluate everything they’ve been doing. They immediately begin thinking about how to prevent something like this from ever happening again, no matter what it takes, and no matter what their political beliefs are. But in the UK, the immediate response is to bury the story and to blame people who notice what’s happening. 

This is not really a political ideology that we’re up against. This is anti-white, anti-Western depravity. There is nothing that will make these people “change their minds” and govern in a way that protects the interests of their indigenous white citizens. They won’t do it unless they’re forced to do so.

As we’ve been covering for several days now, the trial of Karmelo Anthony — who is accused of stabbing white high school student Austin Metcalf — is yet another example of this anti-white depravity that’s now on full display. 

There is new reporting that, after the defense rested in the Karmelo Anthony murder trial yesterday, Anthony’s parents were visibly distraught. Anthony’s mother reportedly “had her head down.” His father was “leaning his head against the wall.” They knew, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that their son’s lawyers just concluded what has to be the single worst defense ever presented in a murder trial in the history of the United States. 

You have to understand, in this country, the defense doesn’t have to do anything. The burden is squarely on the prosecution to prove its case. So it’s pretty hard to mount a legal defense that’s actively bad when you can just remain silent. But that’s exactly what Anthony’s attorneys did. They called several witnesses who actually demolished their own case. One of them actually said, flat-out, that Karmelo Anthony was in the wrong and provoked Austin Metcalf. 

I want to discuss Karmelo Anthony’s family, and how apparently they’re now realizing — apparently for the first time — that their son is an alleged murderer. When Karmelo Anthony allegedly stabbed Austin Metcalf to death on April 2nd of last year, he and his family had a choice. They could have appeared in public and admitted that there was no reason whatsoever for Anthony to kill Metcalf. 

They could have immediately offered to take a plea deal — or, if no plea deal was offered, Anthony could have simply pled guilty to the charges — in order to spare the family a lengthy and very difficult trial. And they could have condemned the black activists who sought to use the case to advance the same anti-white propaganda that’s caused so much death and destruction over the past 60 years.

Instead of going this route, Karmelo Anthony and his family immediately began fundraising. They understood that, if they pretended that Anthony was somehow a victim, they could raise hundreds of thousands of dollars, mostly from unhinged black people. And to that end, Anthony’s family hired a representative at something called the “Next Generation Action Network” to stage a press conference. 

The first agenda item at this press conference was to smear Austin Metcalf. They implied they had some kind of dirt on him, which they wouldn’t reveal. Imagine being Hunter Metcalf, Austin’s twin brother, hearing that at a press conference. Just days earlier, you held your dying brother in your arms and said, “Oh my God. He’s my best friend. He’s my brother.” And then shortly afterward, you’re hearing these barely-literate race hustlers imply that your brother deserved to die.

And then, in one of the most disturbing moments of any press conference I’ve ever seen, they berated the father of Austin Metcalf for daring to show up to listen to their presentation. That’s all the father did. He was standing quietly in attendance. And for doing that, Anthony’s representatives told the police to throw him out of the building. And then they attacked his character.

Watch:

If Karmelo Anthony’s family had a shred of decency or self-respect, they would’ve immediately fired their representative for saying this. They would’ve taken over the podium, apologized profusely, and begun the lengthy process of reckoning with the fact that they’re horrible parents who raised a murderer. That course of action would’ve brought an abrupt halt to all the donations from black supremacists on GiveSendGo. It would’ve made it more difficult for Anthony’s family to afford fancy new toys. But it obviously would’ve been the decent and moral thing to do. 

Watch:

Instead, as you can see, they told the police to escort Austin Metcalf’s father out of the building. So it’s not enough for Karmelo Anthony to murder this man’s child. They also feel the need to treat his grieving father like a criminal. Everyone’s their oppressor. Everyone’s doing something wrong, except their son, who just allegedly killed an unarmed teenager for no reason.

What’s even more perverse is that our legal system is set up to reward this kind of behavior. This is something most people aren’t talking about, but it’s true: Even after mocking Austin Metcalf, raising $600,000 from black activists, and presenting a legal defense that’s frankly insulting, it’s still possible for Karmelo Anthony to get convicted for murder and walk free in just a few years.

To break this down quickly — First of all, because of a ruling by the Supreme Court, 17-year-olds cannot be sentenced to death or to life imprisonment without parole. And because Karmelo Anthony was 17 years old at the time he allegedly killed Austin Metcalf, he’s covered by that ruling. Obviously, this is an absurd state of affairs.  Someone who stabs an unarmed teenager to death over a light-to-moderate shove, after instigating the confrontation in the first place, needs to be removed from society forever. 

So right away, at the outset, the maximum sentence Karmelo Anthony can receive in Texas is between 5 years and life in prison, with the possibility of parole after around 30 years. So the judge or jury, if Anthony opts for that route, has wide discretion to let him out of prison in just a few years.

I should also point out that in Texas, it’s possible for murderers to argue during sentencing that they committed the crime “in a sudden passion.” They have to convince the judge that they were put in a position that would “commonly produce a degree of anger, rage, resentment, or terror in a person of ordinary temper, sufficient to render the mind incapable of cool reflection.” 

The defendant has to demonstrate that he was “under the immediate influence of sudden passion arising from an adequate cause.” The classic example is walking in on your spouse cheating on you. Obviously, that wouldn’t apply to this case. But if the judge somehow buys that argument, then the murder becomes a second-degree felony, and the sentencing range shrinks to between 2 years and 20 years.

Even the possibility that Karmelo Anthony will be a free man at some point in his life is unacceptable. Our legal system is designed to enable violent behavior by young black men, who are the ones committing the vast majority of violent crimes. Someone who kills an unarmed teenager at a track meet over a “light shove” should not have the slightest possibility of being a free man in 20 years, much less two years. But that’s where we are. So if you’re looking for an explanation for why Karmelo Anthony was spotted smiling and joking with his attorneys the other day, that might be the reason. His parents might be crying because their grift is coming to an end. But Karmelo is probably under the impression — which may turn out to be accurate — that he won’t spend much time in prison, regardless of the outcome of the case.

But the deception isn’t just coming from Karmelo Anthony’s family or black activists. Many people who call themselves conservatives and “truth-tellers” are claiming that this case had nothing to do with race. And if that message prevails, then no matter how bad Karmelo Anthony’s defense is, the whole ordeal will be a victory for the Left. It will be a victory for the black activists and militants and thugs — and there are many of them — who will excuse the murder of a white victim for any reason whatsoever. 

No one should forget what this trial has revealed about millions of people we’re living alongside — people who demand to be treated just like anyone else, even as they celebrate the execution of white children solely because they’re white. These people desperately don’t want you to realize that Karmelo Anthony is just one member of a much larger movement, and a much larger demographic — one that would happily use your dead body to raise half a million dollars, even as they taunt your grieving parents and claim to be oppressed. 

They will blow the money on cars and mansions, and in the meantime, they’ll hire the worst lawyers known to mankind — a strategy that might actually benefit them from a legal perspective. 

Thanks to the Civil Rights Act, schools cannot discipline these people. Neighborhoods can’t keep them out. All you can do is be ready to defend yourself, because as this trial has revealed, no one else has any interest in doing so. 

DeCarlos Brown Jr., 34, was found incompetent to stand trial Tuesday for the August 22, 2025, murder of Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old who fled Russian bombs only to be stabbed from behind while listening to music on Charlotte’s Blue Line light rail.

She never saw it coming.

Zarutska — a college-educated artist, aspiring veterinary assistant, and devoted daughter — had survived two years of war and built a quiet, hopeful life in North Carolina. She walked neighbors’ dogs, studied English, and worked at a pizzeria. She was thriving. Then Brown allegedly plunged a pocketknife into her neck and walked away, blood dripping from the blade.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell ruled Brown cannot understand the charges against him and is unable to assist his own defense. Brown’s behavior in court on Tuesday did little to dispute the claim — he repeatedly interrupted proceedings with unhinged outbursts. His team filed a motion saying he “experiences delusions that center around his belief that he was exposed to a material that controls his every movement.”

Brown will be hospitalized for up to four months. If doctors restore his competency, he’ll finally face trial — and potentially the death penalty.

This is exactly the kind of case that makes ordinary Americans furious with the insanity defense.

Brown has 14 prior arrests. He did five years for armed robbery. Law enforcement knew he was unwell — he called 911 claiming a government implant was controlling his body, and officers sent him home with a misdemeanor. His family begged for help. The system shrugged.

Now, after an innocent woman is murdered in cold blood — on camera, in front of passengers — the legal machinery grinds to a halt over whether the accused killer truly understood what he was doing. Experts will battle over his mental state ten months after the fact. A jury may never hear the case.

Critics of the insanity defense have long warned of exactly this: dangerous individuals cycling through a system that prioritizes their diagnosis over their victims’ deaths. Four states have abolished the defense entirely for this reason.

Zarutska’s family is holding firm: “We have confidence his capacity will be restored so he can stand trial for what he did to Iryna.”

So does prosecutor Russ Ferguson. “Our number one goal is justice for Iryna Zarutska,” he said. “That’s what’s on our minds and our hearts every day.”

She deserves nothing less.

The 53-year-old “Marty Supreme” star discussed the topic during a recent episode of her “goop Podcast.”

“He’s so progressive,” Paltrow said of her writer/producer husband Brad Falchuk, whom she married in 2018. “I’m pretty centrist, and my husband thinks I’m a Republican… which, I’m not a Republican. I don’t feel anything right now, to be totally honest with you. I feel like I’m completely an independent.”

The actress was talking with defense technology company founder Trae Stephens at the time, who was arguing in favor of mandatory civil service in the United States, and said, “We’re all getting so tribal” in politics.

Paltrow said she agreed. She also added that her husband “has such a sweet heart, and he wants to make sure everybody’s looked after.” But she still finds herself disagreeing with him. 

“It is very triggering for people,” she said. “It’s become so binary, I think. I am trying to, in my journey through being an American right now, I guess sort of weave together lots of different points of view, and also to get out of that place of, like, righteousness and anger and fear.”

Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro reacted to the clip, saying Paltrow is only considered Republican because she’s “not a psycho.”

“Just because she’s not mimicking the most crazy excesses of the Left, this now means she’s a Republican. This is the Elon Musk chart in real life,” Shapiro added, referencing a viral chart the Tesla founder shared showing how far to the Left the Democratic party has shifted over the years.

The actress has hosted Democratic fundraisers in her home, including one for Pete Buttigieg in 2019. Former President Barack Obama showed up at one of Paltrow’s fundraisers in 2014.

However, she also admitted to being “open-minded about everybody.” This included Paltrow listening to a podcast featuring HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“It was very interesting to hear his point of view,” she said at the time.

Paltrow was also speculative rather than furious after Trump won the 2016 presidential election. “It’s such an exciting time to be an American because we are at this amazing inflection point,” the Oscar-winning actress said at the time, per Page Six.

“People are clearly tired of the status quo, and … it’s sort of like someone threw it all in the air and we’re going to see how it all lands. It’s very important for me, personally, now more than ever, to create a community and to remember the humanity of everybody and to create love and … understanding.”

“The most amazing thing for me about this election is I felt … ‘I don’t understand the opposition well enough at all.’ I’m not going to tell you what side I’m on, but my big takeaway was, ‘I really need to open my mind and understand better because I don’t,’” Paltrow concluded.

For them, James Talarico is type number one; Graham Platner is type number two.

One of the most amusing aspects of the 2024 election was the Democratic Party’s realization that it had lost men — that they were increasingly trending toward the political Right.

There’s a reason for that.

Men are not really fond of a party that calls them “toxic” and sees them as, at best, superfluous, or treats them as dumb hacks, or as “rapey” bros, or as Bible-thumping elders from The Handmaid’s Tale.

Men aren’t fond of a party that says that women can be men, that men can be women, and that the world would be better off without men in positions of power.

The Left openly campaigned against men, and then they lost. Now they’re trying to win men back.

The problem is that the Left has alienated men for so long that they don’t even know how to talk to men anymore.

They don’t know men. They don’t know how men act like, how men behave, or what men are interested in. To the Left, men are a foreign population, and so they treat them that way.

This is why you hear lefties ask this ridiculous question: Where is the Left-wing Joe Rogan? Where is he?

The answer is obvious.

It’s Joe Rogan.

Joe is not a Right-winger at all. He voted for Bernie Sanders. He humors conspiracy nuts and socialists. He’s not socially conservative. He’s not economically conservative. He’s not a foreign policy hawk. Joe would vote Democrat in pretty much any election in which Democrats weren’t totally crazy and didn’t demonstrate their hatred and alienation of men.

But that is way too much for the Left. Instead, they’re trotting out Jennifer Welch — a screechy Left-wing lady — as the answer to Joe Rogan, or maybe Hasan Piker, a communist who wears Cartier and pearl necklaces and loves terrorists and foreign dictatorships. Or maybe they trot out the bros from Pod Save America.

Men are now foreigners in the land of the Left.

When the Left thinks of men, they think of stereotypes. And when they appeal to men, they try to play on those stereotypes.

This is why you get the bizarre contrast between James Talarico and Graham Platner. James Talarico is stereotype number one: Ned Flanders, ULTRAMAN.

They ran this guy who claims to thump the Bible but doesn’t believe in anything remotely biblical. For him, biblical values are passé, so he takes a bunch of radical Left-wing values and then reads them into the vaguest statements from the Bible.

They’re surprised that the Right doesn’t love this and that the Right is annoyed by James Talarico’s ridiculous cosplay as Biblical Man, because the guy says that God has no gender, or is gender-free, or is trans, or he talks about trans kids, or he talks about how his campaign is meat-free.

And then men go, “Nope.”

Now, in Texas — where Democrats are going to waste an awful lot of money trying to defeat Ken Paxton, and they’re going to lose anyway — the Left is trying to trans Talarico’s positions.

Remember, Talarico is incredibly far Left. He was just quoted saying, “I oppose gender reassignment surgeries for minors.”

That’s weird because you’ll recall that he also talked about the magic of trans kids not that long ago. He was asked, “Something that you love that’s not family or friends.” He replied, “I love and say this because it’s on my mind. The trans children who showed up yesterday at the state Capitol to advocate for their humanity. They shouldn’t have to, but it was an inspiration to watch.”

He’s also the same guy who said that God was non-binary. Not that God has no gender, which of course is true because He’s God, but that God is non-binary in a sort of bizarre LGBTQ+- way.

He voted against SB 14 in 2023, which banned gender affirming care. He also voted against HB 25 in 2021, which required K-12 students in public schools to compete exclusively on the sports teams of their same biological sex. His church funds abortions and transgender summer camps.

He lied about his views on border security as well, now saying he’s tough on the issue.

In 2021, he voted against House Bill 9, which appropriated $1.8 billion for border security operations. In 2023, he also voted against SB 4, which authorized Texas law enforcement to arrest and detain illegal immigrants. He also says that he’s a Second Amendment defender.

He’s transing all of his politics right now. He’s pretending to be something he is not. He’s trying to run as a moderate Republican, which he is not. He’s a very, very far-Left Democrat.

“I am a believer in the Second Amendment,” he said. “I don’t pick and choose between the Bill of Rights. I believe in the Second Amendment just as much as I believe in the First. We have a right to bear arms to protect ourselves, our families. We have a right to own weapons for sport or for hunting. But like any freedom in the Bill of Rights, it’s not absolute.”

In 2021, he voted against HB 1927. That’s a constitutional carry bill that allowed Texans 21 and over to carry handguns without obtaining a state permit.

Talarico is pretending to want to protect oil and gas jobs, which he absolutely does not. He said in the past, “You can’t call yourself a Christian and destroy God’s creation with greenhouse gases.”

In 2023, he voted against HB 1500, which was an energy bill that would overhaul the Texas electrical grid and restrict renewable energy expansion.

He’s a down-the-line Democrat, and now he’s trying to flip himself into a Republican. It’s important to understand why Democrats were so high on this guy in the first place.

Why did they think that this was the guy? Answer: the effect. 

They think the Republicans in Texas are Bible-thumpers who look like they come straight out of Howdy Doody, and if they just cosplay that, if they pretend to be that, then Republicans will be happy.

So they grab the trappings of masculinity, and then they’re surprised when the Right doesn’t respond to those trappings, because we can see that they are pretending.

We can see that it’s a Halloween costume, and it all comes off as fake on James Talarico.

There’s stereotype number two that the Left believes about men, which is that they are toxic Starship Trooper dudes. Men are “rough and tumble.” They don’t ever shave, and they look kind of messy and treat women like trash.

They have two pictures of what men look like: one is Ned Flanders, and the other is Starship Troopers. Neither one is what men look like from a traditional conservative viewpoint, because the trappings are what matter.

It’s the duties that matter. So a traditional conservative man can look like a lawyer who works at the office, but provides for his family and his kids, and is a ranking member of the church. He does all of those things. 

Or a traditional man can look like a member of the military who is out defending the country, comes home to his wife and kids, and works a blue-collar job.

It can run the gamut. As long as you fulfill the basic duties of a man, you are a man, but the Left doesn’t believe in those duties. So instead they come up with the aesthetics. They look at Graham Platner and they say, “This is what a man looks like. A man looks like this toxic dude.”

The idea for the Left is what if we grabbed the costume of masculinity and poured a bunch of socialist nonsense into it? It is so obviously a costume for him that it’s ridiculous. The man went to a private school when he was growing up. His parents bought a house for him. He runs an oyster farm that basically supplies only his mom’s restaurant, and they somehow had to turn this guy into the blue-collar hero of the day.

Democrats look at Trump voters and think, “Who could we get to appeal to those voters? Maybe if we got our own guy who has sexual abuse problems, but he talks in a rumbly voice and doesn’t shave, and pretends that he’s a manly, manly man, what if we do that?”

Manliness in the traditional conservative sense is about fulfilling the duties of men. That is what manliness is.

The Left doesn’t understand manliness.

So what are the things that men ought to do?

They ought to get married to a woman, protect that woman, and then they ought to protect the children that they have and bring up with that woman. And that doesn’t just mean physical defense. It also means protecting and providing for that family. It means they are to do their duty in the community, defend it, and build its social fabric.

These are the things that men traditionally do. A man is defined by the things that he does.

But according to the Left, which doesn’t believe any of those things, it is not the duty of a man to get married. They don’t believe it’s a man’s duty to have children and raise them. They do not believe it’s a man’s job to build the social fabric of his community; these are all duties.

And the Left traditionally does not believe in social duties. They believe in “rights,” which means liberation from duties.

They wear the mask of masculinity. They’re happy with the guy who thumps the Bible, so long as he doesn’t read any of the 95% of it that talks about human responsibilities. They like it a little bit where it talks about being nice to strangers, but they don’t care about the rest of the Bible at all. They don’t like the rest of the Bible at all.

The picture of masculinity for Democrats is completely stereotypical because they have no idea of what masculinity ought to look like.

After the helicopter went down, the two American crew members remained stranded in the waters off Oman for nearly two hours as the U.S. military rushed to reach them before Iranian forces could.

On Tuesday, President Trump revealed that Iranian forces had shot down the aircraft and vowed that the United States would respond.

“I have just been informed by our Great Military that last night the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump said on Truth Social. “There were two pilots involved, both are safe and uninjured. Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack.”

The unmanned vessel responsible for rescuing the crew is a Saronic Corsair, Capt. Tim Hawkins, spokesman for U.S. Central Command, told the Wall Street Journal.

“When it comes to search and rescue, you utilize the best asset that is the closest and the quickest, and that was the case in this instance,” Hawkins said.

The drone boat transported the soldiers to a safer location at sea, where they were later hoisted aboard a helicopter and evacuated to receive medical care. Both are in stable condition, according to Hawkins.

While such sea drones have been used in exercises, they have not been used in real-life, he added.

The vessel, which was deployed to CENTCOM in March shortly after the conflict with Iran began, is operated by the Navy’s Task Force 59, which has evolved rapidly since its creation in 2021. 

The unit specializes in integrating artificial intelligence and autonomous systems into real-world maritime operations and has already tested more than 23 different unmanned platforms across the Middle East.

According to the Journal, Ukraine has used these types of vessels to target Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.

The incident comes just days after Iran struck Israel with at least 24 missiles for the first time since the ceasefire went into place about two months ago. In response, Israel fired back before both sides agreed to halt attacks at Trump’s request.

“I’ve always felt that it’s not a realistic thing,” the 53-year-old celeb told British GQ in a newly published interview. 

“James Bond was written how he was written for a reason. But I was complimented by it. And also, I think, in realistic terms, some markets just don’t go for that. Bond is big all over the world. And [audiences] won’t [all] go for a black male, an African male, playing Bond. That’s not what they like in their culture. Period.”

He went on to say he doesn’t believe Bond should change, anyway.

“Bond is so unrealistic, so a hint of reality is good, but let’s not try and make it woke,” Elba continued. “I think you’ve got to be pure to what it is: escapism. Don’t try and answer the world’s taste. Just be Bond.”

Fans have been speculating about who could play the next Bond weeks after Amazon Studios announced it had begun casting.

“The search for the next James Bond is underway. While we don’t plan to comment on specific details during the casting process, we’re excited to share more news with 007 fans as soon as the time is right,” Amazon MGM Studios said in a statement.

The role was last played by Daniel Craig, who retired from the franchise after “No Time To Die” in 2021. There has been a lot of speculation about who the next Agent 007 would be, but now, with Amazon leading the charge, anything can happen.

Former producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli surprised fans in 2025 when they announced they would step back from the James Bond franchise and give creative control to Amazon. The company purchased MGM for $8.5 billion in 2022 and, in doing so, acquired the rights to distribute all “James Bond” projects. 

Broccoli previously said she was open to a black man playing Bond.

“I think [the next James Bond] will be a man because I don’t think a woman should play James Bond,” Broccoli said in 2021. “I believe in making characters for women and not just having women play men’s roles.”

“I don’t think there are enough great roles for women, and it’s very important to me that we make movies for women about women,” she added. “He should be British, so British can be any [ethnicity or race].”

The communicator in question is Andrew Bates, who most recently handled crisis communications for former President Joe Biden as he weathered the final days of his ill-fated 2024 re-election campaign and the end of his term in the White House.

According to a report published Tuesday by Axios, some in Gallego’s camp feel they’re being sidelined to make room for the Biden alum.

“Senator Gallego has been clear that he plans to help Democrats take the majority in 2026 and is weighing all options for his political future. He has brought on Andrew to help navigate those processes,” a spokesperson for Gallego told the outlet.

What Gallego’s team did not say was that the senator has been under increased scrutiny since several women came forward with accusations of sexual misconduct and even rape against Swalwell. Gallego has repeatedly claimed that he had no knowledge of Swalwell’s alleged behavior — despite the fact that the former California congressman was a longtime close friend and former roommate.

An experienced crisis communicator may be necessary if Gallego is to survive the fallout — and Bates’ work for the Biden White House certainly speaks to that.

When even the Democratic leaders in Congress — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), among others — were approaching the White House and calling for Biden to bow out of the 2024 race, Bates was telling reporters that it wasn’t going to happen.

“The president told both leaders he is the nominee of the party, he plans to win and looks forward to working with both of them to pass his 100-days agenda to help working families,” Bates said, just a few days before Biden announced that he would not continue his presidential re-election campaign.

On July 18, Bates posted an ABC News article citing an unnamed White House official who declared Biden’s plan to remain in the race.

“Flatly denied reports that the president is now more open to the idea of ending his campaign.

‘Anyone who has talked to Joe Biden in the last 24 hours can tell you that is not true,’ [said] the senior White House official, who has spoken to Biden today”https://t.co/oCbBCvfciW

— Andrew Bates (@AndrewBatesNC) July 18, 2024

“Keep the faith,” Bates posted on July 20 — along with an article about Biden’s plans to hit the campaign trail in the coming days.

Keep the faith.

“1 big thing: Biden digs in”

“Biden officials are telling Democratic critics that President Biden is eager to prove them wrong — and plans to hit the campaign trail once he recovers from COVID” https://t.co/fIrxXSsrXv

— Andrew Bates (@AndrewBatesNC) July 20, 2024

Just over 24 hours later, Biden would exit the race.

And by late February of 2025, Bates — who had defended Biden to the final hours of both his campaign and his presidency — was on MS NOW claiming that President Donald Trump might not have the “energy” to do the job well.

.@FoxNews: “Former Biden spokesperson suggests Trump might not have the ‘energy’ to do the job, ‘desperate to show that he’s in charge'” https://t.co/ML0U5uB91v

— Andrew Bates (@AndrewBatesNC) February 23, 2025

Hector Deleon, 51, stabbed six men at Penn Station on Monday, the night before President Donald Trump arrived for the New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden, which sits just above the station. The victims were hospitalized and all are expected to survive. 

According to the New York Post, Deleon committed a similar crime in Newark on February 8, 2022. During an argument with another man who said Deleon wasn’t permitted on his property due to thieving tendencies, Deleon pulled out a six-inch knife and stabbed the man on the left side of his neck. 

The victim was placed in the trauma ward, receiving nine stitches. Deleon was arrested on February 14, 2022, and charged with aggravated assault, unlawful possession of a weapon, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and was held in jail before a court hearing. Deleon was released four days later on a cashless bail system under several conditions. 

In another incident on April 10, 2023, Deleon pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and was sentenced to two years of probation with conditions that he perform 100 hours of community service and undergo mental health treatments, per the Post. Deleon violated his probation in 2024 and was arrested at least two more times. One of the arrests included an alleged act of violence. 

Deleon still faces an active assault and criminal mischief case from 2025 over a domestic violence incident. Just six days after his scheduled appearance in court, Deleon was arrested on June 30, 2025, for possessing a crack pipe. 

His most recent arrest took place on May 22, 2026. Deleon was caught stealing and in possession of drug paraphernalia, after he stole $4 worth of coins from a tip jar and was holding a pipe with a “burnt brown color.”

The repeat offender was described as having “rage in his eyes” when he allegedly slashed six men at Penn Station, one of the victims, Henry Obadiah, said. 

Deleon was so crazed and “drugged-up” that he had to be sedated before he was “wrangled” into the ambulance, the Post reported. 

He has not been officially charged yet due to hospitalization under heavy sedation.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department stated that it received numerous complaints about individuals blocking roadways, trespassing, and disrupting the peace in the neighborhood.

Authorities told The Daily Wire that deputies initially issued warnings, posted no-trespassing signs, and cited violators, but some individuals continued to ignore the restrictions.

Sheriff Chris Nanos, under fire for his handling of the Guthrie investigation, directed deputies to crack down after surveillance video showed one of the streamers urinating in public behind a makeshift tent. 

“Sheriff Nanos will no longer tolerate behavior that disrupts the community or violates the law,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement to The Daily Wire, noting individuals found in violation of the law may be cited and released on a first offense. 

“However, repeat offenders may be arrested and booked into the Pima County Adult Detention Complex on charges of public nuisance under Arizona Revised Statute 13-2917, a Class 2 misdemeanor,” the statement added.

That is precisely what happened to at least two of the streamers who had been roaming the upscale and secluded Tucson neighborhood where Nancy Guthrie disappeared on February 1.

Alexander Zabel Junior, 54, was charged with two counts of obstructing a highway or thoroughfare and one count of public nuisance. He runs the “Criminal Network” YouTube channel, which has about 23,000 subscribers. One of Junior’s recent videos shows him canvassing the neighborhood and camping out in the pitch-black dark. At one point, a sheriff’s deputy approached him and warned him against pitching a tent.  

Troy Lewis Bradshaw, 34, was charged with one count of public nuisance. He hosts the “DAA JUICE” YouTube page, which has about 20,000 subscribers. Authorities also approached Bradshaw, warning him to leave the neighborhood, according to his latest YouTube upload.  

Both individuals were booked into the Pima County Adult Detention Complex. A third individual, Damian Todd Enderle, 46, was charged with one count of public nuisance. He was cited and released. It’s unclear whether the streamers are local to the area. 

The disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of “Today” show anchor Savannah Guthrie, captured international attention and wall-to-wall media coverage for weeks. With few leads, the public has been left with more questions than answers, fueling intense speculation. 

Savannah said her mother was abducted in her pajamas, with no shoes, leaving behind everything, including critical medication that kept the 84-year-old alive. After Savannah’s sister called 911 on February 1, the “Today” show host said it didn’t take long for the siblings to know something was very wrong.

“My brother, you know, he spent his career in the military and worked in intelligence and is a fighter pilot and is brilliant,” Savannah said. “He saw very clearly right away what this was. Even on the phone when I called him, he knew. And he said I think she’s been kidnapped for ransom.”

The popular television personality admitted the possibility that her mother was targeted due to her public prominence. 

“It’s too much to bear to think I brought this to her bedside, that it’s because of me,” Savannah told her former co-anchor. “If it is me … I’m so sorry.”

Anthony, who was 17 years old at the time of the murder, was tried as an adult and is facing five years to life in prison for the first-degree murder conviction. Anthony broke down in tears when the verdict was read and was visibly shaking.

CBS reporter J.D. Miles reported just before the verdict that more than two dozen deputies were outside the courtroom and a crowd outside the courthouse was gathering and chanting “Free Karmelo.”

Tense scene in and around Collin County Courthouse. More than 2 dozen deputies outside the courtroom alone. Outside a crowd is gathering with chants of “Free Karmelo” pic.twitter.com/Jy0e6jRNhl

— J.D. Miles (@jdmiles11) June 9, 2026

Anthony, who is black, fatally stabbed Metcalf, who was white, at a track event in April 2025 in Frisco, Texas. The case quickly garnered national attention, both due to a narrative peddled by the Anthony family and the glaring lack of coverage from the legacy media, which routinely highlights and escalates white-on-black incidents.

GoFundMe: Austin Metcalf Family

The high-profile trial started on June 1 with jury selection and wrapped in a matter of nine days. Video footage and witness testimony — even from defense witnesses — generally indicated that Anthony provoked the situation with Metcalf and deadly force was not needed, contradicting the self-defense argument from Anthony’s team.

Notably, Anthony did not take the stand during the trial.

The race narrative advanced by the Anthony family was also quickly dispelled during witness testimony. For example, a number of teen witnesses called to the stand by the state were black; they all said Anthony was in the wrong and spoke highly of Metcalf as a person and friend.

In an emotional moment, a male witness who knew both Anthony and the slain teen broke down crying about the murder, saying of Austin, “That was my brother, that was my brother that got stabbed.” Investigative journalist Sarah Fields, who was in the courtroom, said the teen was asked directly if this case was about race. He responded, “No, Austin was a leader and he protected us.”

Video evidence also showed that Anthony was never surrounded by a mob, but was confronted by Metcalf alone. Metcalf explicitly told Anthony he wasn’t going to fight him, according to witness testimony.

Supporters of Anthony have been outside the courthouse since the trial started. They have made racial remarks and denigrated Metcalf. In seeming anticipation of any protest over the verdict, authorities secured the area early Tuesday morning.

🚨 NOW: It’s 2:15am here outside the Collin County, TX courthouse where Karmelo Anthony’s trial is being held

And sheriff’s deputies have this placed LOCKED DOWN

I spoke with a couple deputies, and they’ve assured me they are READY to combat any sort of rioting that follows the… pic.twitter.com/GTwoWnWcdN

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) June 9, 2026

Related: Family Of Karmelo Anthony Hosted The Most Disgusting Press Conference I’ve Ever Seen

Fortunately, the U.S. Department of Justice just announced a Title VI investigation into one of the worst offenders: Arizona State University (ASU). The outcome could have ripple effects throughout the country.

This comes on the heels of Accuracy in Media (AIM) releasing hidden-camera videos from institutions across the country. Our team wanted to determine if the radicals running higher education were actually in compliance with the law. What we discovered was a shell game. DEI offices were renamed, DEI programs were rebranded, DEI job titles were changed, but the activism continued.

If I dropped names like the University of Alabama, NC State, the University of Texas, Louisville, and the University of Kentucky, you’d probably think I was offering a poor prediction of the preseason AP football poll. In fact, these are all universities where we’ve discovered taxpayer-funded DEI activism, often in defiance of state law.

Our investigation would start by examining whether staffers bragged about bending or breaking the law when speaking with someone they believed to be an ideological ally. Then a surprise visit with a cameraman revealed what they’d say when confronted with the reality of the situation.

The resulting videos went viral.

To the surprise of many, some of the worst footage came from ASU. On most campuses, one or two administrators brag about continuing DEI. But at ASU, seven were recorded engaging in such behavior. When more than a half-dozen highly paid staffers are caught, there’s no denying the entire orchard is rotten.

One administrator admitted, “We’re doing pretty much what we were doing before.” Another confessed, “… we are still doing the same thing,” and added, “It’s kind of embedded … this is who we are.” A third summed it up by saying, “We are DEI.” When someone tells you — and shows you — who they are, believe them.

An administrator from ASU’s education college says, “I know that the new legislation has asked us to eliminate it, but it’s in our hearts in education, so education has that just naturally.” This is consistent with what we hear in education colleges across the country. When Americans wonder why their child’s school is more focused on indoctrination than education, they need only look at the education colleges.

The same is true for colleges of social work and criminology. If you wonder why social workers sound more like activists, it’s because their colleges require them to be committed to social justice.

I wasn’t taken aback by these results, but I was shocked by the lack of response from ASU’s leadership. The individuals featured in our videos frequently find themselves out of work. A half dozen administrators in North Carolina lost their jobs after appearing in AIM videos recently, including the dean of students of UNC-Asheville.

In Texas, the results are similar. We investigate, and the offender is fired. I don’t think this is because the university cares about reform. It’s more likely that they’re afraid of Texas’s Attorney General Ken Paxton, who regularly investigates the universities we expose.

To be clear, we don’t view the firing of one individual as a victory. These staffers are usually replaced by someone just as radical but aware enough to keep their mouth shut. The reality is that senior administrators who hire and manage these people probably know that lawbreaking is occurring and support this behavior. Alternatively, these executives are so incompetent that they’re unqualified to work for the taxpayers. Either way, they don’t deserve a government paycheck.

The DOJ’s investigation into ASU’s DEI program comes on the heels of its investigation into Ohio State University. These actions are a massive step towards cleaning houses at America’s universities.

The Justice Department is examining whether ASU’s DEI policies affected admissions, recruitment, scholarships, tutoring, and educational support services. If investigators conclude that ASU’s DEI programs violate federal civil rights law, political activists masquerading as “educators” will likely begin job searching.

But to truly rid our universities of DEI, each state must enact a Florida-style DEI ban, which prohibits administrators and professors from promoting identity politics. Educators are still free to discuss controversial topics in the appropriate courses, but they can’t promote antiracism and social justice in math class.

Arizona State will soon discover that legal compliance isn’t optional. Other universities would be wise to take notice. My hope is that this DOJ investigation will set the precedent that their divisive politics will no longer be tolerated in taxpayer-funded institutions.

***

Adam Guillette is the president of Accuracy in Media.

Jonathan Pettigrew, 41, was riding a Bx36 bus around 2:30 p.m. near East Tremont Avenue and White Plains Road when he confronted the teen about the volume of his phone conversation. The teen then pulled a handgun and shot Pettigrew in the abdomen, according to authorities.

First responders rushed Pettigrew to Jacobi Medical Center, where he later died.

Police said the suspect fled the scene and remains at large.

An employee at the nearby Family Mexican Deli told Gothamist that surveillance video appeared to show the gunman fleeing south on White Plains Road. Authorities said the suspect was last seen wearing a white T-shirt.

“ Right now it’s just hard for me to believe what’s going on because I’m really, like, in a state of shock,” Pettigrew’s older brother, Avery Pettigrew, told Gothamist. 

He said his brother struggled with anxiety and was particularly sensitive to loud noise.

“ He got this anxiety where he, like me, we can’t be around a lot of noise,” Pettigrew said. “I guess the person that was on the phone was being very disrespectful and loud, and it was bothering him.”

Pettigrew worked in catering and was the father of seven children. He was likely on his way to pick up his youngest daughter from school when he was shot, two of his aunts told The New York Times.

“This is his routine: He drops her off at school, he goes to work, he gets off work, he picks her up,” his aunt, Sandra Ferguson, said. “I just can’t believe this.”

“He took real good care of that little girl,” another aunt, Sabrina Vereen, said.

Culinary Specialist 3rd Class Jeremiah Copeland pleaded guilty during a military court-martial to the unpremeditated murder of Petty Officer 3rd Class Angelina Resendiz, a 21-year-old sailor assigned to the guided-missile destroyer USS James E. Williams.

“I killed CS3 Resendiz on May 29, 2025,” Copeland told the military judge. “I strangled her with my hands.”

Under a plea agreement accepted by the court, Copeland also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault by strangulation, indecent recording, obstruction of justice, and making a false official statement. He faces a minimum sentence of 40 years and two months in prison, a dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and mandatory registration as a sex offender.

According to court proceedings, Resendiz entered Copeland’s barracks room on May 29, 2025. Copeland admitted the two were drinking alcohol when an argument began after she saw something on his phone. He told the court he strangled her on the floor of the room before hiding her body in a suitcase in his closet.

Investigators later determined Copeland kept Resendiz’s body concealed for several days before transporting it to a wooded area roughly ten miles from the base. Her decomposing remains were discovered on June 9, 2025, nearly two weeks after she vanished.

But even before Resendiz’s death, Copeland was already facing allegations involving other women.

Military prosecutors had previously accused Copeland of raping a fellow sailor in November 2024 and sexually assaulting and attempting to strangle another service member months earlier. Court records also show he was facing a separate rape allegation involving a civilian woman in Norfolk just days before Resendiz disappeared.

His history reportedly stretches back even further. Before joining the Navy in 2023, a Washington state judge issued a temporary sexual assault protection order against Copeland involving an underage girl. He was also accused in a separate incident of kissing and groping another underage girl against her will.

Resendiz’s mother, Esmeralda Castle, has repeatedly argued that Navy leadership failed to act despite numerous warning signs.

“This situation was absolutely preventable,” Castle said before trial proceedings began.

“If they would have dealt with him when he started harming women, he would never have gotten to Angie,” she later told Fox News.

Castle has been among the most vocal critics of the Navy’s response to her daughter’s disappearance. Resendiz was last seen on May 29, 2025, but a statewide missing-person alert was not issued until five days later after military officials initially classified her as absent without leave.

The delay sparked criticism from family members and comparisons to the case of Army Specialist Vanessa Guillen, whose murder prompted sweeping reforms throughout the military regarding sexual harassment and assault investigations.

Friends and family described Resendiz as a bright and ambitious young sailor who hoped to build a career in military culinary arts. According to her mother, Resendiz aimed to one day join the Navy’s elite culinary competition team and cook for world leaders.

Following Monday’s plea hearing, Castle met privately with Copeland.

“I thanked him for telling the truth,” she said.

While Castle said hearing Copeland finally admit responsibility brought her “peace of mind,” she remains convinced the tragedy should never have happened.

“We have statutes, and we have policies, and we have procedures that were implemented by Congress to protect service members from this type of violence,” Castle said. “And nothing’s changed.”

The military judge is expected to formally impose a sentence under the terms of the plea agreement following the conclusion of court-martial proceedings.

“I’m sorry if people have been having a go at you because of my tweet,” the 66-year-old actor wrote in his apology shared on Monday, saying it was “not at all the plan” of his initial response to her criticism of the show.

“I was very slightly drunk and already upset about something that had nothing to do with you,” Laurie wrote in an X post. “If it’s any comfort, I got it in the neck too. I’m a thin-skinned twat, apparently, even though it wasn’t my skin.”

He went on to say he reacted in anger because he was defending the show’s writers. 

The drama started on Saturday when British journalist Janet Murray shared some of her criticisms of “House,” a popular medical drama series that aired for eight seasons beginning in 2004.

“Late to the party, but I’ve started watching Season 1 of House. Same narrative every episode: Patient has mysterious illness. Hugh Laurie (House) gets diagnosis wrong. Patient nearly dies,” Murray wrote in the original post. 

She continued, “Hugh Laurie gets diagnosis wrong again. Gets threatened with being fired. Patient nearly dies again.”

“Hugh Laurie has last minute left-field idea. Gets diagnosis right. Doesn’t get fired. Eight seasons of this?”

Laurie wrote back in his original response, “Thanks for your critique, Janet. We actually tried a couple of episodes where House (Hugh Laurie) (please put the brackets in the right place) gets it right first time, but they were only 6 minutes long. NBC weren’t (sic) happy. Then we tried some where House never gets it right and the patient dies. The audience wasn’t happy.”

“One could apply your trenchant analysis to other art forms: JS Bach wrote 30 Goldberg variations on the same chord structure; Frida Kahlo painted 50 portraits of herself;  Henry Moore, what??”

He added, “The point is, or was, variations on a theme; if all you see is hospital, medical blah blah, then it wasn’t meant for you. Nonetheless, I look forward to your first novel!”

Thanks for your critique, Janet. We actually tried a couple of episodes where House (Hugh Laurie) (please put the brackets in the right place) gets it right first time, but they were only 6 minutes long. NBC weren’t happy. Then we tried some where House never gets it right and…

— Hugh Laurie (@hughlaurie) June 7, 2026

Murray went on to publish an article in UnHerd about the interaction and the fallout on social media. It was titled, “What I learnt from my online fight with Hugh Laurie.”

“While it’s all been rather fun, I do hope @hughlaurie takes the time to read my @unherd article (I’m sure he can stretch to a subscription),” Murray wrote in an X post sharing the article on Monday.

“Because while his witty riposte was genuinely amusing, one point I make in the piece is that it was shared with his 1.2 million followers on X,” she wrote, comparing it to her paltry audience of just 38,000.

“That creates something of an imbalance – particularly given that the responses to my original post were overwhelmingly warm-hearted and affectionate towards the show. The result has been some fairly horrific trolling. It turns out House fans are even more abusive than trans activists (and that’s saying something).”

She concluded, “I have enough experience of the media to take it on the chin, as the saying goes. But someone without my background might have found the experience far more distressing.”

Bryan Fair, the SPLC’s interim president and CEO, hid behind his lawyers at nearly every turn — repeatedly deflecting to “counsel in the Middle District of Alabama” — as Jordan methodically walked through the superseding federal indictment against the organization.

According to the indictment, the SPLC used donor money to pay confidential “field sources” to infiltrate extremist groups — but the scheme allegedly went far beyond mere surveillance. Jordan pressed Fair on charges that the group’s operatives actually hosted extremist rallies, grew existing chapters of hate groups, recruited new members into those organizations, and even purchased materials for cross burnings. Fair’s response to nearly every charge was a variation of “our counsel will respond to all the allegations.”

“It seems to me if the answer is no, you could just say no,” a visibly frustrated Jordan told Fair, who acknowledged only that “we’ve alleged that those allegations are false.”

The indictment also names a web of alleged shell companies — Fox Photography, North West Technologies, Tech Writers Group, Rare Books Warehouse, Imagery Ink, J&J Electronics, Center Investigative Agency, and Kelly’s Marine — which Jordan suggested were used to launder payments to field sources and keep the paper trail obscured. Fair claimed knowledge of the companies came only through attorney-client privileged conversations, and refused to say whether they were fronts.

The reported total price tag for the alleged program? A staggering $4 million funneled to field sources, according to the indictment.

Then came the gut-punch moment. Jordan asked whether the SPLC’s fundraising spiked after the deadly 2017 Charlottesville rally — where, the indictment alleges, one of its own paid field sources helped coordinate transportation for participants. Fair acknowledged donations surged, but credited President Donald Trump’s 2016 election rather than Charlottesville. Jordan pointed out the group’s haul jumped from $51 million to $133 million in a single year.

Fair finally offered one voluntary admission: the SPLC ran the program “to protect our staff and to protect the public.” The group has since announced it is shutting down the field source program.

Jordan’s parting shot — asking Fair if he knew the president of the National Socialist Party — was met with the now-familiar refrain: “That’s an allegation in the indictment that will be responded to by counsel.”

Although authorities banned watch parties outside of Madison Square Garden due to security issues around the attendance of President Donald Trump, other locations throughout the city were still open for large crowds to gather and watch the game if they couldn’t afford the absurd ticket prices to get in the Garden.

 

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After the Spurs pulled out a 115-111 victory over the Knicks, some fans on the streets got violent. Videos posted on social media show Knicks fans across the city fighting with fellow Knicks fans and Spurs faithful. 

The NYPD estimated that roughly 7,000 people gathered near Bryant Park for the watch party Monday night.

In one video, New Yorkers appeared to be ganging up on a man wearing a San Antonio jersey as he was simply walking down the street. The Spurs fan was forced to fend off numerous attackers.

 

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Some Knicks fans were seen clapping and cheering on other individuals who were attacking and ripping Spurs jerseys off bystanders. According to the NYPD, the crowd took over 42nd Street, blocked traffic, and ignored repeated police orders to disperse.

“People climbed on top of scaffolding, light poles, police cars, and NYPD trucks, causing significant damage. The crowd was throwing glass objects at each other and police officers, and they ripped bus signs and trees out of the ground to throw them,” the NYPD said in a statement.

🚨INSANITY🚨

SPURS FAN gets ASSAULTED by a rabid mob of New York Nicks fans

Police is nowhere to be found… pic.twitter.com/p57KAD8vln

— PartiKing (@parti_king) June 9, 2026

Police were notably absent in several videos, but authorities finally arrived and arrested some of the troublemakers after the fights. Twenty-one people were reportedly taken into custody following the events.

Of the 21 people police took into custody, officers arrested and charged eight and released 13 with criminal court summonses. Police charged two people with assault on a police officer and one with attempted assault on an officer. Five NYPD officers suffered injuries during the disorder, according to a statement from the department.

Neither the NYPD nor Mayor Zohran Mamdani has said how the city will prevent similar disorder at future games. Game 4 takes place Wednesday night in New York City.

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Gordon S. Wood spent more than half a century explaining to Americans why their country was worth understanding.

He died on a Sunday in June, struck by a motorist in the parking lot of a Shaw’s supermarket on Taunton Avenue in East Providence, Rhode Island. According to the East Providence Police Department, he sustained critical injuries and later died at the hospital. He was 92.

His death came just weeks before the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and it is a true tragedy that one of the most celebrated historians of the Revolution and the Founding did not live to see this milestone. Just last year Wood reached his largest audience yet thanks to his appearance in Ken Burns’s PBS documentary “The American Revolution.”

That his death should come on the eve of the semiquincentennial has weighed heavily on those who knew his work. Fellow historians and admirers have mourned that the man who spent his career illuminating the Revolution, for scholars and ordinary readers alike, would not be present for the anniversary he did so much to prepare the country to mark.

The grief has been personal as much as professional. John T. Lowe, a senior history lecturer at the University of Louisville, was set to meet Wood at Clemson University for the John Adams Fellowship, a two-week scholarly deep dive into the American Revolution.

“Wood embodied for me what it means to be a historian, someone who studies not just events but the ideals behind them,” Lowe said via email. “That I will never have the chance to meet the man whose work shaped my own is a loss I am always going to feel.”

Aaron N. Coleman of the University of the Cumberlands recalled fondly that Wood was the first scholar ever to cite him.

“As a then-young historian, it was a humbling experience,” Coleman said. “It was less than a year after I got my degree. I told him that two years ago and he just laughed. But I can’t think of any other scholar who a citation would mean more. At the same time, I worried that having Wood cite my work so fresh from my degree meant that my career had already peaked!”

One of Wood’s former doctoral students at Brown University, C. Bradley Thompson — author of “America’s Revolutionary Mind” and executive director of the Snow Institute for the Study of Capitalism at Clemson University — reflected on his mentor’s influence: “Gordon S. Wood was a gentleman and a scholar of the highest order. We will never see the likes of him again. May his memory be a blessing for all of us.'”

The outpouring from former students, colleagues, and admirers online has been tremendous. Vivek Ramaswamy, the entrepreneur now running for governor of Ohio, credited Wood on X with “shaping my understanding of the American founding,” adding that he and Wood “corresponded as recently as November about what makes America special.” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis echoed Ramaswamy’s hope that the next generation of Americans would learn from Wood, calling him on X “one of the best historians on the American Revolution and creation of the republic.” And the body of work behind that affection was immense.

After studying under Bernard Bailyn at Harvard University, Wood published his first book in 1969, “The Creation of the American Republic, 1776–1787,” based on his doctoral dissertation. It won the Bancroft Prize, establishing him as a rising star in the field. In 1993, “The Radicalism of the American Revolution” won the Pulitzer Prize for History, while “Empire of Liberty,” his sweeping volume in the Oxford History of the United States, was a Pulitzer finalist in 2010.

Along the way came “The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin,” “Revolutionary Characters,” “Friends Divided: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson,” and many others. In 2010, he received the National Humanities Medal for “scholarship that provides insight into the founding of the nation.” Wood would even have a second-hand brush with Hollywood thanks to “Good Will Hunting,” when Matt Damon’s character name drops him to demolish a pretentious grad student in a bar. An impressive reference for a historian, even though the dialogue doesn’t accurately represent Wood’s work.

Yet for all this recognition, Wood was not without critics, and late in his career, they grew louder.

He found himself increasingly at odds with a younger, more progressive cohort of historians who came to view his work with suspicion. Where Wood saw the Revolution as a genuinely radical transformation that unleashed democratic and egalitarian forces, these critics dismissed such celebratory accounts as “Founders’ Chic” — a nostalgic approach that, in their telling, sanded down the negatives of the founding and lent itself too easily to a so-called patriotic mythology.

The friction sharpened in 2019, when Wood emerged as one of the most prominent scholarly critics of the New York Times’s 1619 Project. In an open letter, debates, and numerous interviews, he objected to its claim that the American Revolution had been waged, in significant part, to protect slavery from a looming British threat. For Wood, this claim was not merely arguable but unsupported by the documentary record. To his detractors, Wood’s resistance confirmed that he had become a defender of an outdated and sanitized narrative. But to his admirers, it was the stand of a scholar unwilling to bend rigorous history to the demands of contemporary politics.

Nowhere is that divide more visible than in “The Radicalism of the American Revolution,” which remains a fixture of college seminars precisely because it still provokes such fierce disagreement. Wood argued that the Revolution was not merely a political break from Britain but the most radical social upheaval in American history. A wholesale dismantling of monarchy, hierarchy, and patronage that set loose the democratic and egalitarian energies that define the nation still.

To show how completely the Revolution remade daily life, Wood looked past the battlefield to the small habits of a rank-bound world: who got to have a portrait painted, who was owed a title like “esquire,” who had to doff his cap or bow as a gentleman rode past. That whole apparatus of deference dissolved — so thoroughly that the leader of the new nation would be addressed not as “His Highness” but simply as “Mr. President” — and was eventually replaced by the once-radical premise that ordinary people were fit to govern themselves.

Some historians bristled at the thesis, arguing that a revolution that left women without the vote, Native peoples dispossessed, and the enslaved still in bondage hardly deserved to be called “radical” at all. But Wood turned the objection on its head: to dwell on what the War of Independence failed to finish, he insisted, was to miss what it had set in motion. By toppling monarchy and its logic of inherited and fixed superiority, the American Revolution “made possible the antislavery and women’s rights movements of the nineteenth century and in fact all our current egalitarian thinking.”

The complaint has only sharpened in recent years, as a younger generation of historians came to see Wood’s celebratory account as the very thing the field needed to move past. Wood, for his part, had long understood how his book was received across the aisle. When then-Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich praised “Radicalism,” Wood joked on C-SPAN in 2002 that the endorsement had been “the kiss of death for me among a lot of academics, who are not right-wing Republicans.”

What critics often missed was that Wood was never a flatterer of the past. He knew the Founding’s failures intimately but refused to let them become the whole story. His was not the reflexive patriotism that turns away from hard facts, but the harder kind that looks straight at them and still finds something extraordinary in what a handful of provincial colonists managed to build. Ever wary of presentist agendas that lambaste the past for failing to meet our standards, Wood answered such criticism with a reminder in the New York Review of Books: “If history teaches anything, it teaches humility.” Americans, he believed, were not born believing themselves free and equal but came to believe it, slowly and unevenly, because the Revolution gave them both the ideals to measure themselves against and the language to do so.

As Wood explained to the Library of America, “The Revolution is the most important event in our history. It not only legally created the United States, but it infused into our culture our noblest ideals and highest aspirations, our beliefs in liberty, equality, and the happiness of ordinary people. Since there is no American ethnicity, these ideals and values are the only thing holding us together as a nation.”

There is a certain poetry in the timing of his death. We remember how the Founding bends toward the calendar, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both dying on July 4, 1826, 50 years to the day after the signing of the Declaration. But we forget James Madison, who slipped away on June 28, 1836, six days short of the 60th. Similarly, Wood, who spent his life interpreting figures like Adams, Jefferson, and Madison, has died on the threshold of America’s 250th anniversary, denied by weeks the celebration he taught Americans to study and appreciate. But when Americans gather to mark it, they will be reading him still, and few have done more to explain what there is to celebrate.

***

Daniel N. Gullotta is an assistant professor at the Ohio State University’s Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture, and Society.