The second weekend of the 2026 World Cup saw the tournament favorites get back on track and set themselves apart from the rest of the field, while Cape Verde continued its fairytale run.  
Friday afternoon was also highlighted by the United States <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/team-usa-takes-major-step-forward-in-home-field-world-cup-run?author=Drew+Berkemeyer&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=25&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=Team+USA+Takes+Major+Step+Forward+In+Home-Field+World+Cup+Run">securing</a> Group D and advancing to the knockout round after its 2-0 win against Australia. America&#8217;s opponent in the following round has yet to be determined. 
After surprising draws in their opening matches, Brazil, the Netherlands, and Spain proved why many predict them to win the tournament. 
Brazil followed its disappointing 1-1 tie against Morocco in its opening game with a hot first half against Haiti. Matheus Cunha scored the first two goals at the 23rd and 36th minutes, setting the tone for what would be a dominant first half. Brazil’s star Vinícius Júnior scored in the third minute of injury time in the first half for his second goal of the young tournament, and Brazil defeated Haiti 3-0.
The Dutch have not lost in regulation or extra time since the 2010 World Cup final against Spain. On Saturday, the Netherlands continued its record of consecutive World Cup matches without a loss by picking up its 14th straight against Sweden in a commanding way. 
Led by two goals in the first 20 minutes of the first half from Brian Brobbey and two in the first 10 minutes of the second half by Cody Gakpo, Netherlands won 5-1, propelling them to the top of Group F with Japan.
Coming off a 7-1 win, Germany struggled against Ivory Coast, who led the powerhouse 1-0 at the end of the first half following Franck Kessié’s goal in the 30th minute. The German national team was saved when Deniz Undav was substituted into the game with 30 minutes remaining in regulation. 
Undav, who came off the bench and scored in their last game, scored two goals to pull off the comeback against Ivory Coast, one of them coming in the fourth of six minutes of stoppage time in the second half.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT? 🤯
GERMANY TAKES THE LEAD IN STOPPAGE TIME! <a href="https://t.co/hVrMbRwxFx">pic.twitter.com/hVrMbRwxFx</a>
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) <a href="https://x.com/FOXSports/status/2068453457523032554?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 20, 2026</a></blockquote>
Sunday’s slate started off with Spain’s dominance. After tying 0-0 against Cape Verde and Vozinha’s heroics in goal, the Spaniards got back on track against Saudi Arabia.
The 18-year-old phenom Lamine Yamal made his presence felt in his first career World Cup start, scoring just 10 minutes into the game for his first goal of what is presumed to be many for Spain.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
LAMINE YAMAL MAKES HISTORY WITH HIS FIRST-EVER FIFA WORLD CUP GOAL! 🇪🇸
In just the 10th minute of his first start, the 18-year-old finds the scoresheet for Spain <a href="https://t.co/lCRbt56lo5">pic.twitter.com/lCRbt56lo5</a>
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) <a href="https://x.com/FOXSports/status/2068728884355289195?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 21, 2026</a></blockquote>
Spain’s Mikel Oyarzabal kept the scoring going with two goals in three minutes to give them a 3-0 lead at halftime, and the Spaniards eventually won 4-0.
Fan-favorite Cape Verde continued its magical run in arguably the best game of the weekend against Uruguay. After putting up a clean sheet in its last time out, Cape Verde got on the board quickly thanks to a deep free kick from Kevin Pina for the country’s first-ever World Cup goal.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
ABSOLUTE GOLAZO FOR CAPE VERDE&#8217;S FIRST-EVER FIFA WORLD CUP GOAL 🇨🇻
Kevin Pina with a historic moment for his country! <a href="https://t.co/yHUEczi56z">pic.twitter.com/yHUEczi56z</a>
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) <a href="https://x.com/FOXSoccer/status/2068822091885883586?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 21, 2026</a></blockquote>
Uruguay responded at the end of the first half, with Maxi Araujo and Agustín Canobbio each scoring within seven minutes of each other to take a 2-1 lead heading into the half. Cape Verde’s Helio Varela miraculously tied things up after goalkeeper Fernando Muslera left the goal in a disastrous moment for Uruguay.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
EMPTY NET GOAL 🚨
Cape Verde equalizes after Muslera gets caught in no man&#8217;s land! <a href="https://t.co/wI6Y4iRAbf">pic.twitter.com/wI6Y4iRAbf</a>
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) <a href="https://x.com/FOXSoccer/status/2068838395829276922?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 21, 2026</a></blockquote>
This tie keeps Cape Verde alive in the group stage with one game remaining. If Cape Verde wins its final game against Saudi Arabia and Spain beats Uruguay, it will advance to the knockout stages for the first time in World Cup history.
With a ton of action this past weekend, Monday’s matches feature potential historic moments and offensive powerhouses on display.
Argentina takes on Austria in their second game of group play. Lionel Messi, coming off his first career hat-trick during this tournament, will look to become the all-time leading goal scorer in World Cup history with his next goal. France’s Kylian Mbappé, who is quickly rising up the same list, and Norway’s Erling Haaland will look to build on their two-goal performances.

Spain v Saudi Arabia: Group H – FIFA World Cup 2026

World Cup Favorites Bounce Back, And The Magic Continues For Cape Verde

Brazil

Netherlands

Soccer

Spain

U.S.

World Cup

Three bungee jump instructors facing homicide charges after launching a 21-year-old woman off a 130-foot Brazilian bridge without a safety line attached now <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/06/16/world-news/bungee-instructors-toss-student-off-130-foot-bridge-to-her-death-claim-they-cant-remember-who-was-supposed-to-tether-her/">claim</a> they &#8220;can&#8217;t remember&#8221; which one of them was responsible for securing her harness.
Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas had <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/06/14/world-news/chilling-final-post-of-bungee-jumper-who-plummeted-to-death-after-she-was-thrown-with-no-cord/">posted</a> a lighthearted caption to her Instagram Story just hours before her fatal June 13 jump at the Ponte do Esqueleto — Skeleton Bridge — located between Limeira and Cordeirópolis in São Paulo state. &#8220;Who was the crazy person who let me jump off a bridge???&#8221; she wrote. Her fiancé was watching when she went over the edge. The rope never left the platform.
Now, in interrogation footage obtained by <a href="https://g1.globo.com/sp/piracicaba-regiao/noticia/2026/06/16/video-veja-depoimento-de-trio-preso-por-morte-de-jovem-lancada-sem-corda-em-salto-de-hope-jump-em-sp.ghtml">EPTV</a>, the three men charged in her death are pointing fingers everywhere but at themselves.
<div style="max-width: 728px; margin: 0 auto;"><iframe style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; max-width: 100%; width: 100%; margin: 20px auto 5px; border: 0;" src="https://player.mux.com/mT9JkNGXTQk01fB01Z01xRnKP2tJOEdbHdy?metadata-video-content-type=embed_video&amp;metadata-video-id=06948dd5-4d21-4b7c-9c51-cf7f95769379&amp;metadata-video-stream-type=on-demand&amp;metadata-video-title=2026-06-15%20Woman%20Thrown%20from%20bridge%20without%20rope&amp;poster=https%3A%2F%2Fdailywireplus-v2.imgix.net%2Fimages%2Fembedded-videos%2Feab778f7-173f-492a-93e5-e9720680ead0.png&amp;autoplay=false&amp;accent-color=%23DB3D3B&amp;primary-color=%23ffffff&amp;secondary-color=%23000000" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div>
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Luis Felipe Feliciano Egoroff, 32, acknowledged he and fellow instructor Maicon Fernandes Cintra, 42, shared responsibility for rigging the safety line — but told investigators his memory simply went dark at the critical moment. &#8220;After that, it erased from my mind,&#8221; he said. Cintra, who was stationed at the rear holding Freitas by her feet, admitted the team routinely rotated who handled the rope, offering no clearer explanation for the catastrophic oversight.
&#8220;I simply cannot understand,&#8221; he told investigators.
The third instructor, Vitor de Freitas Gonçalves, 27, was called to assist the victim. He also told authorities the team has no idea what happened to the GoPro camera Freitas was given to record her jump.
A bystander filming the event caught the rope lying slack on the bridge deck as Freitas disappeared below the railing and could be heard screaming, &#8220;Guys, the rope!&#8221; Freitas <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nurse-reveals-bungee-jumper-who-plunged-without-safety-cord-was-still-alive">survived</a> the initial impact. An off-duty nurse rushed down to help but was unable to save her.
&#8220;She wanted to be a physical education teacher,” her teacher Valdinei Barbosa <a href="https://g1.globo.com/sp/sao-paulo/noticia/2026/06/14/ela-queria-dar-aula-de-educacao-fisica-ex-professor-relembra-jovem-que-morreu-em-salto-de-rope-jump-no-interior-de-sp.ghtml">recalled</a>. “I always encouraged her, because she had the right aptitude for it.”
All three men were charged with homicide and are being held without bond. Investigators determined they were operating under the banner of informal businesses — unregistered, unauthorized to use the federally owned structure. When police arrived, two of the suspects had fled into nearby woods and had to be tracked down by a police helicopter.
Three additional individuals connected to the event were also detained for questioning and later released.

Unrecognizable hand preparing a bungee cord and harness for indoor workout

Workers Claim They ‘Can’t Remember’ When Asked Critical Question About Woman’s Fatal Bungee Jump

Bungee jump

Crime

Death

The 21-year-old woman who was killed after being thrown off a bridge without her bungee cord attached was reportedly found alive after a 131-foot fall. 
A bystander who is a nurse rushed to Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas after workers at Skeleton Bridge in Brazil made a catastrophic error, <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/06/15/world-news/bungee-jumper-who-plunged-from-130-foot-bridge-without-a-cord-was-still-alive-when-she-was-found-nurse-reveals/?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=nypost&amp;utm_source=twitter">according</a> to the New York Post. The nurse, Rayza Dias, said she had to climb down a steep, muddy slope to reach Rodrigues de Freitas, but when she did, she detected a weak pulse. 
“I even talked to her,” Dias said. “I have a habit of joking and saying, ‘Nobody dies on my shift,’ even though I wasn’t on my shift there.” 
Dias said reaching Rodrigues de Freitas was a challenge in itself. “I scraped my whole hand because there’s a steep slope down there and only one rope for us to climb down,” she said. 
Although Dias said Rodrigues de Freitas was still alive when she reached her, medical professionals pronounced Rodrigues de Freitas dead shortly after arriving on the scene.
The odds of surviving a fall from 131 feet are extremely low, but a study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3212924/">suggests</a> that what a person lands on — and how they land — can influence their chances of survival. The study examined a 28-year-old rock climber who survived an &#8220;unsurvivable&#8221; injury after falling 300 feet onto a solid rock surface, about 170 feet further than Rodrigues de Freitas fell. 
According to the report, the climber initially fell about 200 feet onto a flat rock surface, then fell a further 100 feet, which slowed and redirected her descent. Although she suffered devastating injuries to her legs, pelvis, and spine, her body position helped her avoid immediately fatal trauma to the head, brain, and heart because her lower body absorbed much of the impact. The report concluded that body positioning at the time of impact can play a crucial role in survivability.
Officials have not publicly disclosed Rodrigues de Freitas&#8217; body position at the time of impact.
Three bungee operators were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bungee-jumper-plunges-to-her-death-after-workers-make-horrifying-mistake?author=Brecca+Stoll&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Bungee+Jumper+Plunges+To+Her+Death+After+Workers+Make+Horrifying+Mistake">arrested</a> at the scene. Two of the three fled the scene but were later tracked down in the woods by a military helicopter. Feliciano Egoroff, one of the bungee jump operators charged in Rodrigues de Freitas&#8217; death, was seen in a <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/06/16/world-news/video-shows-brazilian-bungee-instructor-performing-terrifying-stunt-with-child-before-arrest-in-untethered-womans-fatal-plunge/">resurfaced video</a> from 2023 running off the bridge with a young child hugging him. Egoroff appeared to be attached to a safety rope while the child clung to him, but a chorus of social media users called the stunt irresponsible and called for an end to &#8220;these bizarre practices!&#8221; 
Brazilian police official Andrea Dantas Levy said the team wasn&#8217;t licensed: “It was a team there that wasn’t regulated; they didn’t even have authorization to be there. They ended up organizing this event, and this fatality happened today, in my perception, due to a failure to verify and supervise the placement of the rope on the victim’s jump.”

Skeleton Bridge

Nurse Reveals Bungee Jumper Who Plunged Without Safety Cord Was Still Alive

A 21-year-old woman was killed when she was thrown off a 130-foot bridge after workers at a popular jumping spot failed to attach a bungee cord to her on Saturday.
Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas fell to her death after workers tossed her off Skeleton Bridge in Limeira, Brazil, around 90 miles northwest of São Paulo. In a video posted on social media, a bystander is heard shouting, &#8220;Guys, the cord!&#8221; as Rodrigues de Freitas was already falling.
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Authorities <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/woman-dies-thrown-bridge-without-safety-cord-brazil/">told</a> the AFP, “The safety equipment was not properly secured at the time of the jump. The victim did not survive the fall.” Brazilian police arrested three men on charges of homicide with eventual intent, a legal concept in Brazil that applies when a person recognizes the possibility of death but accepts the risk anyway. Another three people were detained for questioning. 
Three of the men were arrested at the scene. Two other suspects allegedly <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/06/14/world-news/chilling-final-post-of-bungee-jumper-who-plummeted-to-death-after-she-was-thrown-with-no-cord/">fled</a> and were later located by helicopter in a wooded area near the bridge. 
A company called Ih Voei — which translates to &#8220;Whoa, I Flew!&#8221; — operated at Skeleton Bridge and has since removed its Instagram page. Another company, Entre Cordas — which translates to “between the ropes” — was also involved in the accident. It has not been confirmed whether either company was responsible for Rodrigues de Freitas&#8217; death. 
“It was a team there that wasn&#8217;t regulated; they didn&#8217;t even have authorization to be there. They ended up organizing this event, and this fatality happened today, in my perception, due to a failure to verify and supervise the placement of the rope on the victim&#8217;s jump,&#8221; <a href="https://people.com/woman-plummets-to-her-death-bungee-jump-staff-allegedly-forgot-safety-cord-11997684">said</a> Andrea Dantas Levy, a Brazilian police official, according to People. 
Rodrigues de Freitas&#8217; fiancé witnessed the fatal fall, and he was later taken to the emergency room after he experienced sickness from watching the incident. Minutes before the jump, Rodrigues de Freitas posted on social media, &#8220;Who was the crazy person who let me jump off a bridge?&#8221;

Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas / Instagram

Bungee Jumper Plunges To Her Death After Workers Make Horrifying Mistake

A little over two months away from their opening game set to be played in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the University of Virginia and North Carolina State University rescheduled the game back in the states, saving themselves from the foreign travel headache and keeping the game accessible for students and fans. 
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) released a statement Wednesday afternoon that both universities relayed to fans, announcing that the in-conference matchup between the Cavaliers and Wolfpack would no longer take place in Brazil. 
“Following extensive review with operational partners and international stakeholders, [the game] will be relocated to Charlottesville, Virginia, for the conference matchup,” the ACC announced on NC State’s X account and UVA’s official <a href="https://virginiasports.com/news/2026/06/3/virginia-football-season-opener-relocated-to-charlottesville">website</a>. “This change follows communication [with game organizer] Athlete Advantage, which informed the ACC and participating schools that the event could not be conducted.”
Neither the event’s organizers nor the ACC or NCAA had any further comments on why the game was canceled and relocated. 
Expanding football overseas at the professional and collegiate levels has become a top focus for leagues seeking to move into more markets. Many fans, however, have criticized the jump overseas as much of the tradition around college football derives from the passionate students, fans, and alumni supporting their college teams. 
The rescheduled Rio game marks the second overseas hassle in 2026 as the University of Michigan and Western Michigan University were scheduled to play in Frankfurt, Germany, before the game was moved to the Big House in Ann Arbor. 
The matchup, announced December 1, 2025, was one of two international games set to take place in “Week 0” of the NCAA football season, with it supposed to be the first-ever college football game to take place in Brazil. The University of North Carolina and Texas Christian University are set to play in Dublin, Ireland, marking the seventh college football matchup ever played at Aviva Stadium.
While the University of Kansas and Arizona State University face off later this year in London, it is unknown if the NCAA will attempt to play more games outside of the countries they usually compete in.
Refunds will be provided only if purchased through the official College Football Brazil website, the ACC added in its statement. 
The trouble of fans paying extreme expenses and making over-the-top travel plans to watch their favorite university compete can be solved by keeping American teams playing in America.
Thankfully, the Wolfpack and Cavaliers will still kick off as scheduled on August 29, 2026, with it now being a home ACC matchup for UVA.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: SEP 06 Virginia at NC State

College Football Game Stays In America After South America Plan Goes Up In Flames

College Football

North Carolina State

University of Virginia

President Donald Trump said his White House meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva “went very well” following hours of closed-door talks that shut out reporters despite originally being scheduled as open press.
“Just concluded my meeting with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the very dynamic President of Brazil,” Trump posted on Truth Social afterward, adding that the two leaders discussed trade and tariffs and that additional meetings between representatives from both countries are planned in the coming months.
The bilateral meeting drew attention earlier in the day, after reporters waited roughly 3 hours before learning that the press would not be allowed into the session at all. 
A source familiar with the meeting told The Daily Wire the Brazilian delegation opposed press access because Lula likely would have faced tough questions about his past attacks on Trump.
Lula is still expected to give a news conference later at the Brazilian embassy in Washington, according <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c8095x87j1nt">to the BBC</a>.
Over the past two years, Trump and Lula have exchanged insults, clashed over trade and free speech, and sharply disagreed over Brazil’s prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Despite those tensions, both leaders have recently attempted to stabilize relations through private outreach and softer rhetoric.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Encontro com o presidente dos Estados Unidos, <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>, em Washington.
🎥 <a href="https://twitter.com/ricardostuckert?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ricardostuckert</a> <a href="https://t.co/bfg2qqYxIg">pic.twitter.com/bfg2qqYxIg</a>
— Lula (@LulaOficial) <a href="https://twitter.com/LulaOficial/status/2052440329781993735?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 7, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
During the closed-press meeting, the two leaders were expected to discuss trade, regional security, and organized crime, with the Trump administration reportedly weighing whether to designate two of Brazil’s largest drug gangs as foreign terrorist organizations. 
Lula, a socialist leftist leader who openly supported Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 election, previously <a href="https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/world/2024/11/possible-return-of-trump-to-the-white-house-leaves-brazil-apprehensive.shtml">accused</a> Trump of representing “fascism and Nazism coming back with a different face” and once <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/america-votes/article/brazils-lula-says-trump-wants-to-be-emperor-of-the-world/#:~:text=Brazilian%20President%20Luiz%20Inacio%20Lula,Brazilian%20products%20such%20as%20steel.">referred to him</a> as a wannabe “emperor of the world.” 
Trump has repeatedly condemned what he called the “political persecution” of Bolsonaro and his supporters by Brazil’s Supreme Court and government. 
In July, Trump signed an executive order imposing an additional 40% tariff on Brazil, declaring that the country posed an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to U.S. national security and foreign policy. The order specifically cited Brazil’s prosecution of Bolsonaro and alleged censorship of conservatives. 
Also in July, Trump took to Truth Social to accuse Brazil of “doing a terrible thing on their treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro.”
“He is not guilty of anything, except having fought for THE PEOPLE. I have gotten to know Jair Bolsonaro, and he was a strong Leader, who truly loved his Country,” Trump wrote. “This is nothing more, or less, than an attack on a Political Opponent — Something I know much about!”
Trump added that he would be closely watching what he called the “WITCH HUNT” against Bolsonaro and argued that the only real judgment should come from Brazilian voters at the ballot box.
“LEAVE BOLSONARO ALONE!” Trump wrote.
In another post from the same day, Trump posted a letter he wrote to Lula where he defended Bolsonaro and condemned the Brazilian government’s prosecution of him as a politically motivated “witch hunt” and said the trial against him is “an international disgrace.”
Bolsonaro, Lula’s longtime political rival and a close ideological ally of Trump, often nicknamed the “Trump of the Tropics,” had close relations with the American president during his only term as president from 2019 to 2023. Bolsonaro, 71, was sentenced to 27 years in prison by Brazil’s Supreme Court over allegations that he attempted to remain in power after losing the presidential election to Lula. Prosecutors also alleged Bolsonaro was aware of plans to assassinate Lula and Vice President Geraldo Alckmin.
Bolsonaro’s supporters argue the prosecution was politically motivated and designed to prevent the right-wing leader from returning to office. He has since been placed under temporary house arrest because of health issues. The case remains deeply polarizing in Brazil and has become a major point of tension between the Trump and Lula governments.
The political battle is already shaping Brazil’s next presidential race. An AtlasIntel/Bloomberg poll published in March found Bolsonaro’s son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, narrowly leading Lula in a hypothetical runoff, with 47.6% support to Lula’s 46.6%. Supporters of the Bolsonaro movement have argued that polling in Brazil has historically underestimated conservative support, drawing comparisons to polling misses during Trump’s 2016 victory in the United States.
Last week, Brazil’s Congress overrode Lula’s veto of a law that would significantly reduce prison sentences for some coup-related convictions, a move that could potentially benefit Bolsonaro. Flavio Bolsonaro celebrated the vote on X, calling it a “very special birthday present” after the override coincided with his 45th birthday. The measure could still face legal challenges before Brazil’s Supreme Court.
In the letter, Trump also accused Brazil of undermining free speech and democratic values, specifically targeting Brazil’s Supreme Court and its efforts to regulate online speech. He claimed the court had issued “secret and unlawful censorship orders” against American social media companies, threatening them with massive fines and even removal from the Brazilian market. 
The criticism was largely aimed at Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversaw investigations into Jair Bolsonaro and his allies and became a central figure in Brazil’s clashes with Elon Musk over censorship and online speech.
Trump sanctioned Moraes, with the administration characterizing his actions as politically motivated persecution and part of a broader crackdown on conservative opposition figures in Brazil. Trump later lifted the sanctions in December after the passage of a major amnesty bill by Brazil’s lower house, which a senior administration official told <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-removes-brazilian-supreme-court-judge-alexandre-de-moraes-sanctions-list/">CBS News</a> was viewed by the U.S. as a sign that “lawfare conditions” in the country were beginning to improve.
Despite the hostility, relations between the two leaders began to thaw in recent months. Trump later rolled back some tariffs on key Brazilian exports, and the pair softened their rhetoric after meetings on the sidelines of international summits. At the United Nations General Assembly last year, the two embraced publicly, and Trump reportedly described Lula as “a very nice man.” The leaders later held a private meeting in Malaysia and continued speaking by phone. 
The renewed diplomatic push was reportedly aided by Brazilian billionaire Joesley Batista, one of the owners of JBS, the world’s largest meat processor. <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazils-lula-flavio-bolsonaro-are-neck-neck-presidential-runoff-poll-finds-2026-04-28/">Reuters reported</a> that Batista helped broker the Trump-Lula meeting. A U.S.-based poultry company, majority-owned by JBS, also donated $5 million to Trump’s 2025 inauguration committee, according to Reuters.

President Trump Meets With Asian Leaders In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Trump Holds Unexpected Closed Press Meeting With Brazil’s President After Years Of Public Feud

Donald Trump

Global Politics

Media

Singer Chappell Roan just responded after being called out by Brazilian soccer star Jorginho Frello for her alleged treatment of his 11-year-old stepdaughter. The singer claimed her personal security was not involved and said she doesn’t actually “hate children.”
The drama began when Frello detailed his version of the “aggressive” treatment of Chappell&#8217;s young fan while both were eating breakfast at a local hotel. He claimed Chappell Roan&#8217;s security guard threatened his family, including the young girl, for daring to walk by the Grammy Award-winner’s table and look at her.
In Frello’s social media post, he said his daughter “was so happy to see an artist she really admires, or used to admire” before the hotel drama changed everything. Frello did not say the name of the child, but it’s believed he is referring to his stepdaughter, who is the biological child of actor Jude Law and Frello’s wife Catherine Harding.
Chappell Roan, whose real name is Kayleigh Amstutz, is currently headlining Lollapalooza Brazil in São Paulo.
“By coincidence, they’re staying at the same hotel as this artist. During breakfast, the artist walked past their table. My daughter, like any child, recognised her, got excited, and just wanted to make sure it really was her,” he explained. “And the worst part is she didn’t even approach her. She simply walked past the singer’s table, looked to confirm it was her, smiled, and went back to sit with her mum. She didn’t say anything, didn’t ask for anything.”
The pro athlete said that next, “a large security guard came over to their table while they were still having breakfast and began speaking in an extremely aggressive manner to both my wife and daughter, saying that she shouldn’t allow my daughter to ‘disrespect’ or ‘harass’ other people.”
Frello continued the post, saying his daughter “was extremely shaken and cried a lot” following the interaction. He added in his post, “It’s sad to see this kind of treatment coming from those who should understand the importance of fans. At the end of the day, they are the ones who build all of this. I sincerely hope this serves as a moment of reflection. No one should have to go through this, especially not a child.”
Chappell Roan addressed the accusations Sunday morning with an Instagram post of her own, claiming that she had no knowledge of the incident.
“I’m just going to tell my half of the story of what happened today with a mother and child who were involved with a security guard who is not my personal security,” the singer <a href="https://www.instagram.com/stories/chappellroan/3858455290845217294/?hl=en">said</a> in a video response. “I didn’t even see, I didn’t even see a woman and a child. Like, no one came up to me. No one bothered me. I was just sitting at breakfast in my hotel. I think these people were staying at the hotel as well.”
“The fact that a security guard who was … I did not ask the security guard to go up and talk to this mother and child. They did not come up to me. They weren’t doing anything. It’s unfair for security to just assume someone doesn’t have good intentions when they have no reason to believe, because there’s no action even taken. I do not hate people who are fans of my music. I do not hate children. Like, that is crazy,” she went on. “I’m sorry to the mother and child that someone was assuming something that you would do something and that if you felt uncomfortable, that makes me really sad. You did not deserve that.”
Chappell Roan has been outspoken about having personal boundaries and is known for calling out fans or paparazzi who approach her, even at events. “I chose this career path because I love music and art and honoring my inner child, I do not accept harassment of any kind because I chose this path, nor do I deserve it,” she <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C_CGxsrP4Bc/?hl=en&amp;img_index=1">shared</a> in 2024.
“I don’t agree with the notion that I owe a mutual exchange of energy, time, or attention to people I do not know, do not trust, or who creep me out — just because they’re expressing admiration,” she went on.

Chappell Roan

‘Pink Pony Club’ Singer Chappell Roan Responds To Explosive Claim She Left Child In Tears

Celebrities

Children

Entertainment

singer

World

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) — The deadliest police operation in Brazil&#8217;s history killed at least 132 people, public defenders said on Wednesday, as Rio de Janeiro residents lined a street with dozens of corpses found overnight, a week ahead of global climate events in the city.
State police said the raids targeting a major drug gang the day before had been planned exhaustively for more than two months, designed to drive suspects into a forested hillside where a special operations unit was waiting in ambush.
&#8220;The elevated lethality of the operation was expected but not desired,&#8221; Victor Santos, head of security for Rio state, told a news conference. Rio police officials confirmed 119 deaths so far, including four police officers. Police said they had arrested 113 suspects in the operation and seized 118 firearms.
Santos said there was no connection to global events Rio will host next week related to the United Nations COP30 climate summit, including the C40 global summit of mayors tackling climate change and British Prince William&#8217;s Earthshot Prize.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was surprised to learn Rio police had launched an &#8220;extremely bloody, violent&#8221; operation without notifying or involving the federal government, Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski told journalists.
The minister said he planned to meet with Rio&#8217;s governor and could increase the number of federal security officials there.
Lula, who returned to Brasilia late on Tuesday from a trip to Malaysia, met with Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and cabinet members on Wednesday to discuss the matter, his office said.
Rio has hosted several global events over the past decade, including the 2016 Olympics, the 2024 G20 summit and the BRICS summit in July, without violence on the scale seen on Tuesday.
The city&#8217;s most deadly police raid before Tuesday was a 2021 raid that left 28 people dead in the Jacarezinho neighborhood. In 1992, 111 were killed when Sao Paulo police stormed the Carandiru Penitentiary to put down a prison rebellion.
Residents of the Penha neighborhood in Rio gathered dozens of corpses from the surrounding forest overnight and lined up more than 70 of the bodies in the middle of a main street.
Several civil society groups and public security experts criticized the heavy casualties of the military-style raid. The United Nations Human Rights office said it adds to a trend of extremely lethal police raids in Brazil&#8217;s marginalized communities.
&#8220;We remind authorities of their obligations under international human rights law, and urge prompt and effective investigations,&#8221; the agency said in a statement.
Rio Governor Claudio Castro said he was certain those killed in the operation were criminals firing guns from the forest.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t think anyone would be walking in the forest on the day of the conflict,&#8221; he told reporters, calling the raids an effort to combat &#8220;narcoterrorism.&#8221;
&#8220;The only real victims were the police officers,&#8221; he said.
The Rio state government said the operation was its largest ever to target the Comando Vermelho gang, which controls the drug trade in several favelas &#8211; poor and densely populated settlements woven through the city&#8217;s hilly oceanside terrain.
(Reporting by Janaina Quinet and Rodrigo Viga Gaier; Additional reporting by Oliver Griffin, Isabel Teles, Luciana Magalhaes, Eduardo Simoes and Gabriel Araujo in Sao Paulo, and Lisandra Paraguassu in Brasilia; Editing by Brad Haynes and Rosalba O&#8217;Brien)

Police operation against drug trafficking at the favela do Penha in Rio de Janeiro

Over 130 People Killed In Massive Rio Drug Raid, Corpses Line Street

Drugs

Police

Five Senate Republicans joined with Democrats on Tuesday in a vote denouncing President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Brazil.
Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina sided with Senate Democrats in a 52 to 48 vote against the president’s trade policy, exposing a small rift in the GOP between the president and some lawmakers.
“Protectionists eagerly celebrate the revenue from tariff duties. But they don’t talk nearly as much about how much of that revenue they’ll spend protecting American growers and producers from the avoidable harm of their policies,” McConnell said in a <a href="https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=D1763366-63E6-4404-8FDD-B932A4691CB7">statement</a> defending his vote.
“Tariffs make both building and buying in America more expensive. The economic harms of trade wars are not the exception to history, but the rule. And no cross-eyed reading of Reagan will reveal otherwise,” he continued, referencing the late President Ronald Reagan, whose support for free trade became news recently because of an anti-tariff advertisement <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-sets-10-hike-in-tariffs-on-canada-after-fake-ad-that-aired-during-world-series">purchased</a> by the Ontario government.
The Senate’s Tuesday resolution against Trump’s Brazil tariffs is symbolic, and it is not expected to receive a vote – much less pass – in the House. Additional resolutions on Trump’s tariffs are expected to receive votes in the Senate this week.
Vice President JD Vance warned Republicans ahead of the vote not to side against the president in the symbolic gesture, calling a move to buck to White House on tariffs a “big mistake,” according to <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/senate/3867090/senate-rebukes-trump-tariff-vote-jd-vance-warning/">The Washington Examiner</a>.
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“The point that I made to my Republican colleagues, recognizing there’s a diversity of opinions about it, is that the tariffs give us the ability to put American workers first,” said Vance after meeting with GOP senators on Tuesday. “They force American industry to reinvest in the United States of America instead of a foreign country.”
Prior to Trump’s trade wars, U.S. tariffs on Brazil were roughly 3% in line with its status as a Most Favored Nation for U.S. trade. Brazil’s tariffs on U.S. goods were higher at around 11%, according to the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/regulating-imports-with-a-reciprocal-tariff-to-rectify-trade-practices-that-contribute-to-large-and-persistent-annual-united-states-goods-trade-deficits/">White House</a>.
In April, Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs, placing a minimum 10% levy on all nations, with some receiving a much higher tariff. In July, Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114825119138468153">threatened</a> to hike tariffs on goods from Brazil up to 50% because of its treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who was sentenced to 27 years in prison after Brazil’s left-wing government accused him of attempting to overthrow democracy.
Since coming into office in January, Trump has aggressively sought to remake the world’s trade lines, levying relatively exorbitant tariffs on enemies and allies. Through unilateral action on tariffs, Trump has sought to eliminate U.S. trade deficits and to establish leverage for action on drug trafficking and ending international conflicts.
Trump has cited emergency authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to issue most of his tariffs. The president’s tariff authority under the act is currently under <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/10/small-businesses-and-states-urge-court-to-strike-down-trumps-tariffs/">review</a> at the Supreme Court.
The president has <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/trumps-dramatic-rhetoric-tariffs-ramps-pressure-supreme-court-rcna238207">said</a> if his administration loses the case, the United States “will be a weakened, troubled, financial mess for many, many years to come.”

Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell

Five Senate Republicans Buck White House In Vote Against Trump’s Tariffs

JD Vance

Politics

Senate

Tariffs

President Donald Trump said he spoke to left-wing Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva over the phone on Monday, adding that the two leaders agreed to meet &#8220;in the not too distant future.&#8221;
The conversation with Lula focused on the economy and trade, according to the president. In July, Trump imposed a 40% tariff on Brazil, due in part to the country&#8217;s targeting of former President Jair Bolsonaro and its crackdown on speech on social media platforms. The 40% tariff came on top of a 10% baseline tariff that was already in place.
&#8220;This morning, I had a very good telephone call with President Lula, of Brazil. We discussed many things, but it was mostly focused on the Economy, and Trade, between our two Countries. We will be having further discussions, and will get together in the not too distant future, both in Brazil and the United States. I enjoyed the call — Our Countries will do very well together!&#8221; the president <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115328193599837767">wrote</a> in a post on Truth Social.
During the 30-minute call, Lula asked Trump to remove the 40% tariff on Brazilian goods, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazils-lula-trump-hold-video-call-says-source-2025-10-06/">reported</a>. Brazil <a href="https://tradingeconomics.com/brazil/exports/united-states">exported</a> around $40 billion worth of goods to the United States in 2024, with crude petroleum being the top product. The South American country is hoping to negotiate with Trump to bring the tariff rate down, and Brazilian officials said the phone call was &#8220;positive&#8221; and &#8220;better than expected.&#8221;
The conversation between Trump and Lula was held one month after Lula raged against the Trump administration&#8217;s trade policies, arguing, &#8220;Tariff blackmail is being normalized as a tool for conquering markets and interfering in domestic issues.&#8221;
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Lula added that BRICS nations — Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — have become &#8220;victims of unjustified and illegal trade practices.&#8221; Trump has recently used tariffs to put increased pressure on Brazil and India. For India, Trump wants the country to stop purchasing oil and military equipment from Russia as he seeks to bring an end to Russia&#8217;s war against Ukraine. For Brazil, the president wants the country&#8217;s leftist politicians and judges to end their attacks on elections and free speech.
In July, Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114825119138468153">blasted</a> Brazil&#8217;s &#8220;insidious attacks on Free Elections, and the fundamental Free Speech Rights of Americans.&#8221; The Trump administration also sanctioned Brazilian Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/extraordinary-threat-trump-unleashes-on-brazil-with-massive-tariff-sanctions-on-extremist-judge">arguing</a> that Brazil poses an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to U.S. national security. Moraes has been accused of suppressing political dissent and approving politically motivated police raids and bank account freezes.
After the contentious 2022 election, Moraes led the trial against Bolsonaro, who was accused of plotting to overthrow the government. Trump has defended Bolsonaro and called the trial a &#8220;WITCH HUNT.&#8221; Moraes also voted in favor of upholding a nationwide ban on Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, and holding social media companies liable for users&#8217; posts.

Donald Trump/Lula da Silva

Trump To Meet With Left-Wing President After Blasting Country’s ‘Insidious Attacks’ On Free Speech

Economy

The FBI broadens its investigation into Charlie Kirk’s assassination, New York mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani scores a major endorsement, and the White House threatens Brazil after its Supreme Court sentences the “Trump of the Tropics.”
It’s Tuesday, September 16, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
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<h2 style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;">FBI Probes Larger Plot In Kirk Assassination</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-972675 aligncenter" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Kirk-Probe-Widens-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Kirk-Probe-Widens-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Kirk-Probe-Widens-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Kirk-Probe-Widens-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Kirk-Probe-Widens-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Kirk-Probe-Widens.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></div>
Topline: As conservatives rally following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the FBI says it’s investigating radical left-wing groups for potential ties to the killer. 
Among those being investigated is the far-left pro-transgender group Armed Queers Salt Lake City. It deleted its Instagram account shortly after the shooting, but a membership form online listed its core principles, which included “the armed and militant protection of queer and trans communities,” “trans liberation,” and an “organized revolutionary movement.”
The Bureau is also investigating a number of social media accounts that seemingly displayed foreknowledge of the assassination. In one instance, a leftist X user wrote a week before Kirk’s killing: “it’d be funny if someone like Charlie Kirk got shot on September 10th.” According to FBI Director Kash Patel, suspected assassin Tyler Robinson told at least one person beforehand what he planned on doing.
What they’re saying: White House Deputy Chief Stephen Miller vowed to channel his “righteous anger” to go after “networks” of leftists in a special edition of The Charlie Kirk Show hosted by Vice President JD Vance on Monday.
“It is a vast domestic terror movement, and with God as my witness, we are going to use every resource we have&#8230; throughout this government to identify, disrupt, dismantle, and destroy these networks&#8230; and we will do it in Charlie’s name,” Miller <a href="https://x.com/avaricum777/status/1967627688711250054">said</a>.
<h2 style="text-align: left;">Establishment Dems Begin To Fall In Line With Mamdani</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-972677 aligncenter" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Hochul-Backs-Mamdani-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Hochul-Backs-Mamdani-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Hochul-Backs-Mamdani-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Hochul-Backs-Mamdani-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Hochul-Backs-Mamdani-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Hochul-Backs-Mamdani.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></div>
Topline: New York Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul has endorsed far-left NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, a sign that the Democratic Party establishment is moving behind the 33-year-old radical.
Hochul notably kept her distance from him during the New York City mayoral primary – Mamdani is an open democratic socialist and has some extremely far-left ideas, including the establishment of <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/04/05/us-news/socialist-nyc-mayoral-candidates-city-run-supermarket-plan-under-fire/">government-run grocery stores</a>. But Hochul’s flip could draw other prominent Democratic leaders into Mamdani’s camp.
Hochul said in an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/14/opinion/hochul-endorsement-mamdani.html">op-ed</a> in The New York Times that she’s backing Mamdani because of his focus on “affordability” and resisting President Donald Trump.
Step back: Mamdani is favored to be New York City’s next mayor, barring some major shakeup – so Hochul will likely have to work with him. She is also running for re-election in 2026, but is so disliked by folks in the NYC suburbs and most of upstate New York that some politicos <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/09/14/us-news/ny-gov-kathy-hochul-expected-to-endorse-zohran-mamdani-this-week-sources/">believe</a> she’s trying to lean harder on the urban vote, where Mamdani has strong support.
Trump weighs in: On the heels of Hochul’s endorsement, Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115207991871277413">labeled</a> Mamdani the “‘Liddle’ Communist” and described his frontrunner status as a “rather shocking development, and a very bad one for New York City.”
<h2 style="text-align: left;">Lengthy Prison Sentence For Jair Bolsonaro Strains U.S.-Brazil Relations</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-972679 aligncenter" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Trump-Of-The-Tropics-Convicted-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Trump-Of-The-Tropics-Convicted-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Trump-Of-The-Tropics-Convicted-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Trump-Of-The-Tropics-Convicted-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Trump-Of-The-Tropics-Convicted-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Trump-Of-The-Tropics-Convicted.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></div>
Topline: After a two-week public trial, Brazil’s five Supreme Court justices sentenced former President Jair Bolsonaro to 27 years in prison after he was found guilty of an attempted coup. The Trump administration is now threatening severe consequences.
Expert opines: Andres Martinez-Fernandez, senior policy analyst for Latin America at The Heritage Foundation: “This is a case which has a lot of question marks around it, and particularly with this sentencing, which is dramatic, over 25 years, for this person who just a few years ago was occupying the top office in Brazil, is very controversial at the moment. So a lot of Congress in Brazil and others are exploring very actively the need to take action to bypass this sentencing.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in response to the ruling that the United States would “respond accordingly to this witch hunt.”
Martinez-Fernandez: “There&#8217;s a disconnect, I think, that a lot of people see, and this administration certainly sees, between the pursuit of justice and the political priorities that we see the supreme court in Brazil pursuing … and that’s what the administration is really seeking to counter, leveraging the United States&#8217; economic heft and influence in that country. But, it&#8217;s clearly going to be a very significant challenge here.”

Morning Brief: Kirk Probe Expands, Hochul Backs Socialist Mamdani & U.S. Rips Bolsonaro Sentence

Morning Brief: FBI’s Kirk Probe Widens, Hochul Backs Mamdani, U.S. Rips Bolsonaro Prison Sentence

Charlie Kirk

Jair Bolsonaro

Kathy Hochul

Marco Rubio

Morning Wire

New York City

United States

Zohran Mamdani

Among his many promises along the campaign trail, President Trump vowed to take down what he and others have described as the “censorship industrial complex,” a global network of ideologically aligned governmental, nonprofit, media, tech, finance, and academic institutions that are colluding to censor vast swaths of legally protected speech by weaponizing terms like “hate” and “disinformation.”
From early in his presidency, President Trump’s actions have consistently aligned with his campaign promises. From Day One — beginning with executive orders that led to the dismantling of the Global Engagement Center, to Vice President JD Vance’s public condemnation of widespread censorship across the U.K. and Europe — restoring free speech has clearly been a top priority for the administration.
As Trump has landed a massive trade deal with the E.U., he has also taken multiple steps to combat global censorship. That includes zeroing in on the censorship regime in Brazil via a 50% <a href="https://x.com/SecRubio/status/1946349695221043669">tariff</a> and an <a href="https://x.com/secrubio/status/1946349695221043669?s=46">order</a> to revoke visas for Brazilian Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes and other members of the nation’s high court. In 2024, Moraes <a href="https://adfinternational.org/campaign/open-letter-x-brazil">ordered</a> X to block accounts of journalists and political figures under the pretext of “misinformation.” As Trump highlighted in his letter announcing the tariff, X still faces millions of dollars in fines and a permanent ban from the country.
Brazil’s disregard for free speech is paralleled in the E.U. by the “Digital Services Act.” Threatening what it designates as “Very Large Online Platforms” such as X, Meta, Amazon, and Google with crippling fines for noncompliance, the DSA weaponizes vague terms like “hate speech” and “disinformation” to purge the digital landscape of views they deem offensive, inconvenient, or a threat to their power. The DSA also formalizes the kind of public-private collusion exemplified by the censorship industrial complex, empowering private organizations as “trusted flaggers” whose censorship demands platforms are required to prioritize — or face penalties. 
Like Brazil’s Supreme Court, the DSA’s censorship directly impacts American citizens, whose accounts are subject to cancellation right along with our European cousins. We’ve already seen Americans censored under the DSA, as well as under the vague censorship policies that comprise it. These are the same policies at the heart of discriminatory debanking and financial surveillance that have targeted U.S.-based <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/yourmoney/banking/article-12417653/Debanking-row-breaks-Bank-America-shuts-account-ultra-conservative-Christian-charity-serves-impoverished-Ugandans.html">overseas missions</a> and <a href="https://adflegal.org/press-release/revealed-fed-govt-flagged-adf-domestic-terrorist-threat-target-surveillance-major/">conservative groups</a> like Alliance Defending Freedom, where I work.
They’re also the same policies that ruled the digital public square during Covid, when — often at the behest of the Biden administration and third party “flaggers” — major platforms censored and canceled users over views on public health, lab leak “theories” (since proven true), immigration, the Hunter Biden laptop <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/07/02/blowing-the-lid-off-the-coverup-of-hunter-bidens-cushy-plea-deal/">story</a>, gender ideology, and more. The DSA simply imposes this censorship regime on a global scale.
To the E.U. commissioners behind the DSA, the more governments work in lockstep to intimidate dissenting citizens into quiet compliance, the better. Just over a year ago, Canadian citizen “Billboard Chris” Elston <a href="https://adfinternational.org/news/free-speech-victory-in-australia-for-billboard-chris-as-x-post-censorship-overturned">posted</a> his objections to a controversial WHO appointee on X, linking to a UK Daily Mail article. The Australian government then demanded that X censor the post under its DSA-style “Online Safety Act,” using the law to classify Elston’s speech as “cyber abuse.”
With ADF International’s help, Billboard Chris took on the Australian government at the nation’s high court and won. But even that victory is unlikely to faze a technocratic cabal so committed to global censorship that it would enlist Australia to censor a Canadian speaking on an American platform and citing a British newspaper article.
Again, this multinational crackdown is a feature — not a bug — to those behind the DSA.
And that’s no surprise when you consider the actions and stated positions of DSA architects like Thierry Breton and Henna Virkkunen. It was Breton who, last summer, famously <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/eus-breton-says-musk-must-comply-with-eu-law-ahead-trump-interview-2024-08-12/">demanded</a> that Elon Musk censor then-candidate Donald J. Trump prior to the duo’s X live interview.
That incident apparently left Breton with enough egg on his face to <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/09/16/business/eu-official-thierry-breton-who-clashed-with-elon-musk-resigns/">resign</a> from his post as an E.U. Commissioner, but it wasn’t enough to change Virkkunen’s mind. Virkkunen recently <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-tech-tariffs-us-brussels-trade-commissioner-maros-sefovic/">defended</a> the DSA as “based on our European values” — a claim that evidently refers to the Brussels elites rather than the everyday Europeans who face <a href="https://www.deseret.com/u-s-world/2025/04/27/why-has-there-been-a-crack-down-on-free-speech-in-the-uk/">steep fines</a>, years-long <a href="https://adfinternational.org/cases/paivi">court proceedings</a>, and even <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/europe-crackdown-free-speech-26d021b1">jail time</a> for their online speech.
Fittingly enough, Virkkunen made those comments when she was asked if the DSA was on the negotiating table in ongoing trade talks with the U.S. With the DSA off the table, Virkkunen’s comrades in Brussels may have been negotiating with one hand tied behind their backs.
If that’s the case, it was a high price to pay for censoring peaceable citizens across the world, including in the U.S.
* * *
Jeremy Tedesco (@Jeremy_Tedesco) is senior counsel, senior vice president of corporate engagement at <a href="http://www.adflegal.org/?utm_source=wallstreetjournal&amp;utm_medium=oped">Alliance Defending Freedom</a> (<a href="https://twitter.com/ADFLegal">@ADFLegal</a>).
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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