CNN Anchor John Berman found himself playing defense while his guest, Rep. Dave Min (D-CA), flirted with defaming President Donald Trump in connection to the late convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Berman invited Min to join Tuesday&#8217;s broadcast of &#8220;CNN Central,&#8221; where they began with a discussion on the most recent revelations coming from the trove of Epstein-related documents released by the House Oversight Committee. As they were talking, however, Min repeatedly pushed the idea that Trump was likely guilty of wrongdoing connected to Epstein&#8217;s criminal history.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
JOHN BERMAN: There&#8217;s no reason to think that Donald Trump is involved in any wrongdoing with Jeffrey Epstein
REP. DAVE MIN: I would say we have lots of reasons to think he was involved in wrongdoing
BERMAN: Involved with what? What proof do you have?
MIN: We have a 14 year… <a href="https://t.co/w9J0n7slH5">pic.twitter.com/w9J0n7slH5</a>
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) <a href="https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1965412088114807093?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;We’ve seen that this is just kind of the casual misogyny, disrespect for women that we’ve seen come out of Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein,&#8221; Min said of a crude line drawing of a naked woman that accompanied a letter in Epstein&#8217;s &#8220;Birthday Book&#8221; — which the White House has repeatedly denied came from Trump.
&#8220;Again, I do want to say we have no reason to think that he was in any way involved with that check itself. Also, no reason to think he’s connected to any wrongdoing involving Jeffrey Epstein,&#8221; Berman cautioned. &#8220;You noted, you’re a prosecutor, you are a lawyer here. There’s this defamation —&#8221;
&#8220;I would say we have lots of reasons to think he was involved in wrongdoing,&#8221; Min ignored the warning and charged ahead. &#8220;I mean, at this point, there’s a lot of smoke. There may be some fire, but I would just push back and say I think there’s a lot reason to think Donald Trump was involved.&#8221;
&#8220;Involved with what? I’m sorry what exactly, what proof do you have that he was involved with wrongdoing in regards to Jeffrey Epstein?&#8221; Berman asked. &#8220;And if that’s the case where – why have there been no prosecutions over 20 years here? Because there haven’t really been any allegations that he was involved with the wrongdoing.&#8221;
Min was insistent: &#8220;There are a lot of connections where Donald Trump was named, right? We had a 14-year-old claiming that she was raped by him, then withdrew that claim after she was apparently threatened. His name appears a lot. And again, we, at this point, our job is to find justice for these survivors, and that means that we need to continue digging, knowing that there is a cover-up taking place right now.&#8221;
Dialing back slightly, Min continued, &#8220;And I didn’t say that we have proof. At this point, we have, like, a lot a smoke. But Donald Trump’s name is clearly mentioned multiple times. We’ve seen him lie over and over about things that we now know to be true. So again, I think that we, as the Oversight Committee, deserve, we owe an obligation to the girls, the American people out there, to keep digging and find out the truth, whoever’s involved.&#8221;
Berman tried once more to get Min to tap the brakes: &#8220;Again, Donald Trump has not been named in any connection or charged with any wrongdoing there. Ghislaine Maxwell, take this for what it is, but Ghislaine Maxwell said she never saw Donald Trump, or anyone for that matter, engage in any wrongdoing connected to Jeffrey Epstein.&#8221;
&#8220;I will just point out that Ghislaine Maxwell was indicted for perjury after she made that statement that you mentioned, transferred to minimum security prison in Texas, so again &#8230;&#8221; Min protested.

Berman

‘What Proof Do You Have?’: CNN Anchor Tries To Help Dem Avoid Defaming Trump On Epstein

California

Donald Trump

Jeffrey Epstein

John Berman

Media

Politics

The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the Trump administration can arrest anyone it suspects of being in the United States illegally, lifting a U.S. District Court judge&#8217;s order barring immigration agents from conducting &#8220;roving patrols.&#8221;
In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court said that immigration officers have the right to detain people for questioning if they are suspected of being an illegal immigrant, The Los Angeles Times <a href="https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2025-09-08/supreme-court-immigration-stops-los-angeles">reported</a>. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a Trump appointee, wrote a 10-page opinion explaining the high court&#8217;s decision, saying that immigration officers have a reasonable and legal basis to detain suspected illegal immigrants in Los Angeles based on the “totality of the circumstances.&#8221;
&#8220;Here, those circumstances include: that there is an extremely high number and percentage of illegal immigrants in the Los Angeles area; that those individuals tend to gather in certain locations to seek daily work; that those individuals often work in certain kinds of jobs, such as day labor, landscaping, agriculture, and construction, that do not require paperwork and are therefore especially attractive to illegal immigrants; and that many of those illegally in the Los Angeles area come from Mexico or Central America and do not speak much English,&#8221; Kavanaugh added.
The Department of Homeland Security said last week that over 5,000 immigration arrests have been made in the &#8220;Los Angeles region&#8221; since June 6, the Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-immigration-stops-los-angeles-trump-57cc1f85ceafda0f11052b326c8b7173">reported</a>. Gregory Bovino, the chief Border Patrol agent in charge of the L.A. operation, said that the Trump administration has been successful &#8220;in getting the worst of the worst out&#8221; of the area. Much of the immigration crackdown in the L.A. area has focused on arresting suspected illegal immigrants in Home Depot parking lots, at car washes, and at farms. Immigration agents have also nabbed people while they were on the street and in their vehicles.
On July 11, U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong issued a temporary restraining order that stopped Trump&#8217;s immigration agents from detaining suspected illegal immigrants over their race, ethnicity, language, location, or employment, the Times reported. Two weeks later, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the district judge&#8217;s ruling.
In an appeal to the Supreme Court, Trump Solicitor Gen. D. John Sauer argued, &#8220;Reasonable suspicion is a low bar — well below probable cause.&#8221; Sauer said that immigration agents can look at &#8220;the totality of circumstances&#8221; to detain someone suspected of entering the country illegally, adding that “illegal presence is widespread in the Central District [of California], where 1 in every 10 people is an illegal alien.”
Liberal Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented from the majority ruling, arguing that Kavanaugh&#8217;s conclusions are incorrect.
“Immigration agents are not conducting ‘brief stops for questioning,’ as the concurrence would like to believe. They are seizing people using firearms, physical violence, and warehouse detentions,” she wrote. “Nor are undocumented immigrants the only ones harmed by the Government’s conduct. United States citizens are also being seized, taken from their jobs, and prevented from working to support themselves and their families.”

ICE in Little Tokyo

SCOTUS Lifts Lower Court Order, Allows Trump To Restart ‘Roving’ Immigration Operations In L.A.

SCOTUS Lifts District Court Order, Allows Trump To Restart 'Roving' Immigration Operations In L.A.

Border Patrol

Deportations

Illegal Immigration

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Los Angeles

Supreme Court

Trump Administration

A 38-year-old Alabama man who traveled to Southern California with a cache of weapons and ammunition, claiming to be the &#8220;Angel of Death,&#8221; was arrested after threatening a Catholic monastery, according to prosecutors.
Joshua Michael Richardson was charged on Wednesday with felony criminal threats and possession of six high-capacity gun magazines, brass knuckles, and a sword, the Los Angeles Times <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-09-04/heavily-armed-angel-of-death-from-alabama-charged-with-threatening-socal-church">reported</a>. Richardson sent a disturbing email to St. Michael’s Abbey in Silverado Canyon, California, on August 19, saying that he was &#8220;rider of the pale horse,&#8221; who personifies death in the book of Revelation, and threatening to &#8220;do the Lord&#8217;s reaping&#8221; at the monastery. He also claimed to be Michael the Archangel, the &#8220;Angel of Death,&#8221; from the Bible, according to prosecutors.
Silverado Canyon is a small, unincorporated community in eastern Orange County, nestled within the Santa Ana Mountains about 55 miles southeast of downtown L.A.
Along with the high-capacity magazines and sword, investigators also discovered knives, body armor, and a stun gun in Richardson&#8217;s truck. It does not appear that the Alabama man had a firearm in his possession when he was arrested.
The L.A. Times reported that Richardson allegedly attended a service at St. Michael’s Abbey on August 26 and then followed the priest into a private area. He told the priest that “he came to do the Lord’s work, to separate the weak from the weeds, and that he rode his white pale horse from Alabama,” prosecutors said.
Richardson reportedly added that he wanted to target St. Michael&#8217;s Abbey because it still celebrates Michaelmas, which recognizes St. Michael with a feast on September 29. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department received a report about the threats two days after Richardson attended the service at the monastery, and arrested him. He is being held without bail and is scheduled to be arraigned on Thursday.
Law enforcement urged the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity.
&#8220;While incidents like this can feel unsettling, they also highlight the power of community. If something seems off, say something. Trust your instincts and report suspicious activity, whether it is a strange message, unusual behavior, or something that does not sit right,&#8221; the sheriff&#8217;s department said.
“No one should have to worship in fear that a stranger would walk through the door with the intent to carry out their own day of judgment and determine who lives and who dies,” added Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “A threat on one house of worship is an attack on every place of worship, and we refuse to allow threats and terror to dissuade any person from practicing their faith without fear.”
Richardson was arrested shortly after a Catholic school in Minneapolis was attacked by a trans-identifying shooter. FBI Director Kash Patel <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/kash-patel-says-minneapolis-school-shooting-was-an-act-of-domestic-terrorism">said</a> that the Minneapolis shooter, identified as 22-year-old Robin Westman, held anti-Catholic and antisemitic views. Westman killed two children and wounded more than a dozen others after opening fire at Annunciation Catholic School during Mass last Wednesday.

Catholic

‘Angel Of Death’: Man Arrested After Threatening Catholic Monastery, Traveling With Cache Of Weapons

Catholic Church

Police

Multiple California-based healthcare workers lost their jobs after they were seen in a TikTok video mocking patients in medical exam rooms.
The incident occurred at Sutter Health’s Pesetas Urgent Care facility in Santa Barbara. The video went viral over Labor Day weekend and has since been taken down. 
In the clip shared by the handle @angieuncut, a group of workers asks via caption, “Are patients allowed to leave you guys gifts?” The following images show exam chair papers stained with bodily fluids left by patients, along with the responses, “Yes!” and “We love them so much.” 
“All shapes and sizes,” another caption reads alongside a photo of a different employee sticking out her tongue while bending over a large stain.
The employees posed around the soiled exam chairs, smiling and giving thumbs-up signs. “Guess the substance,” the original video caption said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
NEW: Healthcare workers at Sansum Clinic in Santa Barbara, CA, pose next to bodily-fluid-stained exam paper and post it on social media.
The workers were apparently mocking the &#8220;sweet gifts&#8221; that their patients left them.
&#8220;Guess the substance!&#8221; the caption read.
In response to… <a href="https://t.co/WN6UqmUcGe">pic.twitter.com/WN6UqmUcGe</a>
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) <a href="https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/1963307752618668142?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 3, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“We are deeply concerned about a disrespectful social media post made on a personal account by a former employee, and we are conducting a full review in line with our policies,” a Sutter Health spokesperson told <a href="https://ktla.com/news/local-news/santa-barbara-clinic-staff-tiktok-bodily-fluids/">KTLA</a>. The company also stated that the employee who posted the video had not worked at the healthcare facility for two months.
In a later statement, Sutter Health confirmed that the individuals involved had been terminated.
“Sutter Health has terminated the employees responsible for the inappropriate and insensitive photos posted on social media,” a spokesperson said in a statement, per <a href="https://people.com/clinic-workers-fired-for-outright-violation-of-policy-after-posting-photos-mocking-patients-pap-smear-discharge-11803181">People</a>.
“This unacceptable behavior is an outright violation of our policies, shows a lack of respect for our patients and will not be tolerated,” it said. “Protecting the trust of those we serve is our highest priority and when that trust is violated, we take swift action to address it.”
“We expect all team members to live our patients-first mission and uphold the highest standards of compassion, professionalism and respect,” the representative went on. “We are using this inappropriate incident to reinforce our comprehensive policies with all our team members across the organization as part of our commitment to providing all patients with high-quality, compassionate care.”

Exam Chair

California Clinic Workers Fired After Mocking Patients In Viral TikTok: ‘Unacceptable’

California Clinic Workers Fired After Mocking Patients In Viral Video: 'Unacceptable'

Healthcare

Medical

viral video

In recent years, California&#8217;s K-12 schools, colleges, and universities have increasingly begun classroom sessions and meetings with land acknowledgements. 
For those unfamiliar, the California Community Colleges (CCC) website explains that a <a href="https://www.cccco.edu/About-Us/land-acknowledgement">land acknowledgement</a> is &#8220;a formal statement that recognizes and respects the Indigenous peoples as traditional stewards of this land, the enduring relationship that exists between Indigenous peoples and their traditional lands.” The CCC further argues that “all of California is Indian land” and that these acknowledgements are a recognition of “the original people who have been living and working on the land from time immemorial.”
Reading this language for the first time can be jarring for the uninitiated. It’s one thing to acknowledge and show respect to indigenous tribes of the past, it’s another to require school children and administrators to publicly recite these statements.
It is true, much of North America was inhabited by a wide variety of Indian tribes. The westward push of European settlers brought an inevitable clash of civilizations with Indigenous peoples. Some encounters led to trade and cooperation, while others descended into violence. Many tribes were nomadic and waged war against rival tribes and settlers alike. But as American settler populations grew, treaties were broken, land was seized, and tribes were forcibly moved.
Given this history, it is fair to ask what ultimate purpose land acknowledgements serve today. While they are said to honor Indigenous history and affirm their continued presence, it remains questionable what actual, positive impact these statements have. They do not appear to improve living conditions or economic outcomes for Native Americans — nor do they provide concrete restitution or reform. Instead, they often operate as a type of forced ritual that foments resentment toward America and Americans of European descent. 
Take, for example, a land acknowledgement currently used in a Southern California school district:
<blockquote>I want to recognize that our District and school campuses are located in the Village of Pasbenga. I want to acknowledge that this land we refer to as Orange County, is the unceded and traditional lands of the Gabrielino Tongva Nation, and the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians Acjachemen Nation. These lands were taken through a process of colonization, physical, and cultural genocide. I want to pay my respect to elders, both past and present, as well as the Tongva and Acjachemen Youth who have attended and are currently attending our schools in the neighboring districts.</blockquote>
I find this not only unhelpful but grossly inappropriate — particularly for pre-kindergarten or elementary-aged children, who are subject to various versions of these acknowledgements through ethnic studies programs like the <a href="https://www.liberatedethnicstudies.org/uploads/1/6/1/9/16198322/ch_1_pk-2_one_voice_many_people.pdf">California Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum</a>. Children in public schools are exposed to highly politicized narratives about guilt, victimization, and responsibility — long before they are able to grapple with such complex or contentious historical realities.
One of the central flaws of land acknowledgements is that those who promote them rarely pair acknowledgment of past wrongs with any tangible action to remedy them. It reveals an institutional comfort with empty, performative statements: moralizing language that resonates in assemblies and boardrooms but does not foster improvements for Native communities. If academic institutions truly believed their own rhetoric, the only meaningful next step would be the return of their own land — or substantial, material investment. Yet there are no examples of these institutions actually returning any land.
For educators and administrators, the ritual of land acknowledgement belies a more insidious lesson for students: that words without action are sufficient, that virtue is to be signaled but need not be practiced. Children are perceptive. They know, or eventually learn, when adults say one thing but do another. In the long run, this undermines trust and models a kind of hypocrisy — a failure to follow words with real change.
There is another critical aspect frequently overlooked: land acknowledgements fundamentally bypass the authority of parents to determine how values are taught to their own children. In California’s educational system, land acknowledgements are often treated as mandatory and thus serve as vehicles for moral instruction. They transmit a particular worldview about history and justice which may conflict with what some parents believe and wish to impart themselves. The primary function of public education is not to instill contested moral values, but rather to equip students with knowledge and analytical tools. Land acknowledgements risk inverting that focus, making politics rather than learning the centerpiece of the classroom experience.
Finally, the most serious issue may be that land acknowledgements overlook or even erase the substantive progress that has been made to address historical wrongs. Over recent decades, the U.S. government has implemented extensive settlement and reparation processes in recognition of the suffering endured by Native Americans. The <a href="https://www.bia.gov/bia/history/history-indian-land-consolidation#cobell-settlement-and-land-buy-back-program-2012-2022-2">Cobell settlement</a> in 2009, for example, allocated $3.4 billion in compensation for government mismanagement of tribal funds and resources. There have also been concrete land returns, such as the <a href="https://www.npca.org/articles/2779-the-milestone-for-public-lands-you-ve-never-heard-of-and-why-it-matters">restoration of Blue Lake</a> to Taos Pueblo, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havasupai_Indian_Reservation">acreage </a>to the Havasupai, and <a href="https://www.gov.ca.gov/2024/04/26/a-step-towards-healing-and-restoration-california-to-support-the-return-of-ancestral-tribal-lands-and-lands-management-projects/">tribal land initiatives in California</a> involving over 38,000 acres transferred back for stewardship and management.
Neither California nor the federal government can ever fully undo the harms of the past. Rather than engage in hollow, performative gestures, educational leaders should actively support positive, meaningful efforts like investing in Native communities, supporting language and culture, and teaching students the full truth of history along with contemporary progress.
We must move beyond symbolic language and show California’s students and families, by example, what real partnership, restitution, and responsibility look like.
* * *
Walter Myers III is a Southern California-based Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Land Acknowledgement

Land Acknowledgements In California Schools: ‘All Of California Is Indian Land’

Land Acknowledgements In California Schools: 'All Of California Is Indian Land'

Colonialism

Education

Gavin Newsom

indigenous

Land Acknowledgements

Native Americans

Opinion

Public Schools

Whites

California Republican legislators and citizens filed a petition with the state Supreme Court on Monday to block Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom’s effort to redistrict the state.
On August 14, Newsom and fellow California Democrats announced plans to introduce a legislative package for a state constitutional amendment that would permit the legislature to redraw the boundaries of California’s congressional districts. They introduced the legislation on August 18, four days later.
The <a href="https://www.dhillonlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/FileStampedCopy-3.pdf">petition</a>, filed by the Dhillon Law Group, states that the rushed move by Newsom broke the standards agreed upon by the state, which handed the redistricting process over to an independent commission. It&#8217;s asking the Supreme Court to step in on behalf of citizens to stop the rogue redistricting attempt, which was undertaken as a direct response to actions by Texas Republicans.
“The people of California enshrined in their constitution fundamental rules by which they would have the redistricting power undertaken in this state. The work of redistricting as well as the power that goes with it were intentionally taken away from the partisan California Legislature and given to an independent citizens redistricting commission; barring a court order, the inherent tumult of the redistricting process could only occur once per decade; to protect their rights the redistricting process would involve extensive public engagement and the people expressly prohibited partisan gerrymandering.&#8221;
Commenting on the effort by California Democrats in two Assembly bills and a Senate bill to redraw the boundaries of the state’s congressional districts, the petition noted that the effort violated the aforementioned restrictions and also was rammed through the legislature in four days, which violated the state constitution’s requirement for 30 days’ public notice of new legislation.
The petition also noted that the measure the Democrats would present to the voters “violates the single subject rule by illegally calling for voters to approve two separate questions on two separate subjects based on two different legal authorities and representing conflicting policy choices.”
Those questions would be proposing “petitioning Congress to institute independent citizens redistricting commissions nationwide to draw voting district maps” as well as proposing “discarding maps created by California’s independent citizen’s redistricting commission to implement legislation and maps developed in secret by unknow members of the legislature.”
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“Days ago, the California Legislature rushed through hundreds of pages of redistricting changes in just four days, an unconstitutional scheme that rips power away from the independent Citizens Redistricting Commission and hands it back to politicians,” Mike Columbo of the Dhillon Law Group stated. “The Constitution requires redistricting be done by the Commission with transparency and public participation, and only once per decade. They broke all of those rules, and that is why we’ve gone to the Supreme Court today.”
State Senator Tony Strickland, a Republican, called Newsom’s plan “a shining example of why the people took back redistricting in the first place,” adding, “We created the Citizens Commission to stop backroom deals. Instead, Sacramento is forcing Californians into a predetermined election with no transparency, no hearings, and no public input. That’s not democracy — that’s authoritarianism, and I’ll fight it every step of the way.”
Republican Assemblyman Tri Ta declared: “I fled a country that never had free elections to come here for freedom. What happened last week on the Assembly floor was outrageous and a complete violation of the California Constitution. And now, on top of that, we are being forced to spend more than $200 million on a special election when Californians are asking for relief on affordability, crime, and homelessness.”
The petition requests that the Court act no later than September 8.
The Dhillon Law Group was founded by Harmeet Dhillon, the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the Department of Justice. She left the firm earlier this year to avoid conflicts of interest following her appointment.

Gavin Newsom’s Redistricting Push Could Hit A Court Roadblock: ‘Complete Violation Of The Constitution’

Redistricting

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Tuesday gave California, New Mexico, and Washington 30 days to comply with federal English proficiency rules for truckers or risk losing federal funding.
Duffy criticized the three states for failing to enforce new Trump administration rules requiring English proficiency for truck drivers. He announced the move after the Department of Transportation launched an investigation into a deadly August 12 crash on the Florida Turnpike, in which an illegal immigrant driver allegedly killed three people after making an illegal U-turn.
“We at DOT and Federal Motor Carriers, we are not going to tolerate states that don’t comply with the rules that come from this department,” Duffy said at a press conference. “We are going to give these states 30 days to come into compliance with truck drivers speaking proficiently the English language, or we’re going to look at the federal funding that they receive under the Motor Carriers Safety Assistance Program.”
Harjinder Singh, the accused driver in the Florida crash, was given a commercial driver&#8217;s license by both California and Washington. New Mexico law enforcement also failed to administer an English proficiency test to Singh when he was pulled over in July for speeding, the Transportation Department found.
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California could lose $30 million, Washington $10 million, and New Mexico $7 million if they don’t align with the English proficiency standards. The policy was first announced in May and then implemented at the end of June.
“When we did that, there was a lot of press that complained to us that we were being unfair to people, that we were being mean to people,” Duffy said. “And what we said was, ‘no, this is a safety issue.’ Making sure drivers of very heavy, 80,000-pound rigs can speak the language is truly a critical safety issue.”
Duffy said his department would take additional steps to ensure compliance if the states did not satisfy the requirements.
An investigation from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration found that from June 25 to August 21, California allowed at least 23 drivers with documented violations of English proficiency in other states to remain on the road.
During that same period, Washington allowed four drivers to stay on the road with proficiency violations from other states and two drivers who violated proficiency regulations in Washington.
New Mexico also allowed seven drivers to stay on the road who had documented failures in English proficiency.
The Trump administration has taken other steps to crack down on the number of truck drivers who are unable to understand English. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced last week that he had paused the issuance of work visas for commercial truck drivers.

Trump Threatens To Pull State Funds Over English Language Rule

Three States Could Lose Federal Funding For Defying Trump’s Trucking Mandate

Duffy Gives Three States 30 Days To Enforce English Rules For Truckers Or Lose Federal Funding

Department of Transportation

General

Immigration

New Mexico

Sean Duffy

Truckers

Washington

In March, the Trump Administration issued an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/restoring-truth-and-sanity-to-american-history/">Executive Order</a> (EO) calling for a restoration of “Truth and Sanity to American History” which included a review of the Smithsonian Institute Museums. Now, the Administration is making good on that EO.
Naturally, politicians, Left-wing media, and the far-Left are pouncing with charges of &#8220;Stalinist tactics,” “fascism,” and “Trump’s historical vision.”
Yet, the most glaring example to justify the Administration’s action is the now <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/smithsonian-race-guidelines-rational-thinking-hard-work-are-white-values-1518333">infamous</a> Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture’s &#8220;Aspects and Assumptions of Whiteness in the United States.&#8221;
But it is not just the one museum, the American Art Museum also features a <a href="https://americanart.si.edu/furthering-conversation-about-whiteness">page</a> titled “Furthering the Conversation About Whiteness.”
While the auditing of these institutions is probably overdue and necessary, there also needs to be a spotlight put on the teaching of culture and history in our educational institutions, especially K-12 schools.
The defensive position from the Left is that they just want to teach “<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/27/opinions/teachers-union-critical-race-theory-schools-weingarten">honest history</a>.” Meant to sound noble, this is nothing more than wordplay. It is misdirection in an attempt to hide their heavily curated and far-Left [re]vision of history.
“Honest history,” as they will have the public believe, is just teaching the history of “underrepresented groups” to highlight their contributions to the United States. However, peel back the feel-good façade and it is clear there is a political agenda to advance anti-American, anti-Western ideologies – i.e. anti-“whiteness.”
In the context of K-12 education, there is no clearer example of this than [liberated/critical] ethnic studies.
Sold to school districts, parents, students, and the public writ large as the teaching of history and culture of minority groups, it is a far-Left radical political programming.
It is agitprop being deployed on children into K-12 schools. Amping up their emotions, preying on their empathy, and then feeding them politically biased content.
It’s general framework begins with a heavy focus on a student’s various racial and ethnic “identities,” or intersectionality. The intention is to create a strong tribal attachment to the student’s collective identities.
It then introduces “<a href="https://www.newsmax.com/politics/critical-competency-consciousness/2023/12/07/id/1145144/">critical consciousness</a>,” which trains students to find racism and oppression everywhere in their lives. Driving them into a constant state of anxiety and fear.
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For example, a recent Castro Valley Unified School District ethnic studies <a href="https://cvk12ca.community.highbond.com/document/cf8c0982-2db8-464f-83da-7932fab50636/">presentation</a> to the district board demonstrates this via student art which states “As an Asian American, racism is prevalent all around me.”
Ethnic studies activate deep feelings of anger and resentment in students towards the United States, and even towards their white teachers and peers.
A <a href="https://cla.umn.edu/ridgs/ethnic-studies-initiative/ethnic-studies-evaluation-projects">review</a> of Saint Paul Publics Schools’ ethnic studies program by the University of Minnesota highlights several students’ reflections on the course. One anonymous student stated &#8220;Why would a course about being critical have white teachers? My school has one [B]lack teacher teaching it. How can we be critical if we don’t listen to the voices who are firstly impacted? Also, white teachers even if they mean well will implement their own biases that students will have to deal with.”
The political programming continues by creating heroes, legends, and mythology through the intentional curation of historical events and peoples that have modeled “resistance” against whiteness. Examples include <a href="https://defendinged.org/incidents/ethnic-studies-course-features-poster-of-che-guevara-on-wall-includes-content-focused-on-white-supremacy-and-privilege/">Che Guevara</a>, the <a href="https://defendinged.org/incidents/scotts-valley-unified-school-district-ethnic-studies-course-teaches-students-that-capitalism-heterosexism-and-ableism-are-systems-of-oppression-and-forms-of-oppression-requires-students-to-part/">Black Panther Party, Angela Davis</a>, and even a defense of <a href="https://defendinged.org/incidents/san-francisco-unified-school-district-provides-resource-to-social-studies-and-ethnic-studies-teachers-that-claims-israeli-terrorism-has-been-significantly-worse-than-that-of-the-palestinians-reso/">anti-Israel</a> activism and terrorism.
Finally, students are taught and required to engage in far-Left social justice activism. Under the guise of “Youth Participatory Action Research,” students are trained to become street <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2023/11/20/staley-k-12-student-demonstrations-equity-double-standard/">activists</a> for the flavor-of-the-day far-Left cause.
Eventually, the goal is to embed it into every single subject area and <a href="https://defendinged.org/incidents/santa-rosa-city-schools-ethnic-studies-courses-feature-critical-race-theory-whiteness-and-social-justice-activism-paid-ethnic-studies-consultant-530000-over-four-years/">curriculum</a>. They admit this outright.
In California, San Rafael City Schools <a href="https://simbli.eboardsolutions.com/SB_Meetings/ViewMeeting.aspx?S=36030430&amp;MID=24501&amp;enIID=fBHmEqAHmyvMJ3CrfpluszzjQ%3D%3D&amp;srch=ethnic+studies&amp;ktype=Exact&amp;Tab=Agenda">contracted</a> with the University of California Berkeley’s <a href="https://ucbhssp.berkeley.edu/ethnic-studies">History-Social Science Project</a> to integrate ethnic studies “concepts and pedagogies” into the district’s World and U.S. history courses.
The university’s site states that it is assisting teachers and districts in integrating the “<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/13h6vVmJEeVyk1XdBAGZDuxMiZjLhhoYD4loNz7NSlck/copy">CA Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum</a>” into courses, which includes helping teachers “familiarize themselves with&#8230;critical race theory, intersectionality, which are key theoretical frameworks and pedagogies.”
This issue is not about the actual teaching of culture and history; it is about how far-Left actors are advancing their cultural revolution via the long march through American institutions.
While the Administration and public focus their attention on the national museums, heavy scrutiny must simultaneously be placed on the teaching of “honest history” and ethnic studies in K-12.
The advancement of anti-American and anti-Western ideologies need to be removed from classrooms.
* * *
Rhyen Staley is a researcher for Defending Education. He holds a master&#8217;s degree in elementary education and has over a decade of classroom experience in both public and private schools. He has over 25 years of volleyball coaching experience from Women’s Division I down to junior high.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Empty Black Board in Classroom

‘Furthering The Conversation About Whiteness’: Anti-American Rhetoric On The Rise In The Classroom

'Furthering The Conversation About Whiteness': Anti-American Rhetoric On The Rise In The Classroom

American History

Critical Race Theory

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Ethnic Studies

Leftists

Students

Whiteness

Rapper Lil Nas X has pleaded not guilty to four felony charges, including three counts of battery with injury on a police officer and one count of resisting an executive officer, after he was arrested last week while wandering the streets of Los Angeles in his underwear.
The 26-year-old recording artist, whose legal name is Montero Hill, was released from jail after posting $75,000 bail on Monday. He spent the weekend locked up after being arrested on Thursday, per an <a href="https://da.lacounty.gov/media/news/rapper-montero-hill-known-lil-nas-x-charged-assaulting-police-officers">update</a> from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, and now has a hearing scheduled for September 15.
“Attacking police officers is more than just a crime against those individuals but a direct threat to public safety,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said. “Anyone who assaults law enforcement will face serious consequences, no matter who they are or how famous they may be.”
The “Old Town Road” singer is also being required to attend Narcotics Anonymous meetings four times per week, as it’s suspected he was under the influence of drugs when the incident occurred. 
The news release provided details about Hill’s arrest, noting how law enforcement was dispatched after being told the rapper was wandering Ventura Avenue in Studio City in his underwear just before 6 a.m. Hill proceeded to physically assault the responding officers and injured three of them, according to police.
If convicted on all charges, Lil Nas X could face up to five years in prison.
The rapper’s attorney, Christy O’Connor, defended her client, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/lil-nas-x-lapd-felony-charges-780ef8560cd075102257a5404f882b8f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">calling the allegations</a> “an absolute aberration in his life.”
“Nothing like this has ever happened to him,” she added.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_campaign=summer&amp;utm_content=editorialsummersale&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">End of Summer Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships</a>
&#8220;He’s never been in trouble for a split second in his existence, we’re not going to let one little event change the trajectory of his amazing life,&#8221; another member of Hill’s legal team, Drew Findling, told <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/music/music-news/lil-nas-x-charged-battery-police-officer-arrest-1236352928/">The Hollywood Reporter</a>. 
&#8220;There’s no way to have a sense of what happened this immediately, but we’re going to look into it and do the right thing,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Anybody that has kids, you hear about things like this all the time. Don&#8217;t forget, he&#8217;s 26 years old. It&#8217;s not unusual for something like this to happen, particularly when you have the pressure of being recognized internationally like him.&#8221;
The Atlanta-born recording artist burst onto the scene with viral hits like “Old Town Road” and “Industry Baby,” but quickly became controversial due to his provocative routines, which often included satanic imagery and messaging. 
In 2021, he promoted 666 pairs of limited-edition ‘Satan Shoes’—unauthorized Nike Air Max 97s released alongside the Satan-themed hit &#8220;Montero.&#8221; That same year, Lil Nas X gave an over-the-top, sexually explicit performance of the song during the season finale of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.”

Lil Nas X

Lil Nas X Pleads Not Guilty To Felony Assault, Leaves Jail After Posting Bail

Rapper Lil Nas X Pleads Not Guilty To Felony Assault Charges, Gets Released From Prison

Assault

Celebrities

Entertainment

U.S.

A petition for clemency for the illegal immigrant truck driver charged with killing three people while making an illegal U-turn is gaining traction online, leading to outrage from people who believe the opposite approach is warranted.
Harjinder Singh entered the country illegally in 2018.
More than 2.5 million people have signed the change.org petition directed toward Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Board of Executive Clemency, urging them to consider that the accused has no criminal history and simply made a “terrible mistake.”
But DeSantis had already made it clear that he was taking the case seriously as he sent Florida’s new lieutenant governor, Jay Collins, to California last week to extradite Singh. “Fleeing to a sanctuary state will not prevent him from facing justice in Florida, and we will make sure of that. He will be held accountable for his criminal actions,” the governor said at the time, per <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/desantis-state-line-wont-protect-criminal-illegals-sends-chuck-norris-deputy-nab-fugitive-trucker">Fox News</a>.
Singh, 28, was charged with three counts of vehicular homicide and was recently denied bail as he awaits trial. California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom is also catching heat because the state issued Singh a commercial driver’s license despite him not being in the country legally. California is one of 19 states to issue licenses to illegal immigrants.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_campaign=summer&amp;utm_content=editorialsummersale&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">End of Summer Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships</a>
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said last week that he had launched an investigation into the accident, calling it a “preventable tragedy,” as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/preventable-tragedy-duffy-blames-multiple-states-as-illegal-alien-faces-charges-in-florida-crash">reported</a>.
“If states had followed the rules, this driver would never have been behind the wheel and three precious lives would still be with us,” Duffy said. “This crash was a preventable tragedy directly caused by reckless decisions and compounded by despicable failures.”
The online petition for clemency is being blasted online, with many commenters weighing in on the situation.
“They’d rather defend an illegal truck driver than protect American lives. I guarantee you, I know what their political ideologies are. Pure clown world,” one commenter <a href="https://x.com/CajunCombatVet/status/1959772678682022005">wrote</a>.
“It shouldn’t matter if 50 million sign it. We don’t impose justice by popular opinion. We have laws for a reason. 3 people lost their lives. Is there any justice for them?” another person <a href="https://x.com/pattydavid/status/1959804241448484996">agreed</a>.

MixCollage-20-Aug-2025-07-58-AM-812

Clemency Petition For Illegal Immigrant Trucker Accused Of Killing 3 Sparks Furious Backlash

Crime

Florida

illegal immigrant

News

Ron DeSantis

Joe Sanberg, a top California Democrat activist who decried the corruption of big Wall Street banks and started a company marketed as the &#8220;cleaner&#8221; alternative, actually propped that company up through blatant fraud, he admitted Thursday.
Sanberg and other high-profile Democrats started the carbon-credit platform and online banking app Aspiration Partners Inc., promising to plant trees and not invest in polluting industries. Its motto was &#8220;clean rich is the new filthy rich.&#8221; It was once a star of the &#8220;environmental, social, and governance (ESG)&#8221; movement that blended corporate finance with leftist politics, and counted actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert Downey Jr. as investors.
But it was instead a scheme as corrupt as any on Wall Street, with Sanberg concocting fake customers for his tree-planting services to try to dupe investors into a $2 billion valuation, the Department of Justice said. Sanberg faces up to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of wire fraud, according to the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/aspiration-partners-co-founder-charged-and-agrees-plead-guilty-248m-scheme-defraud-investors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Department of Justice</a>.
Sanberg is a key player in California politics, a Gavin Newsom donor who personally spent $11 million backing a ballot initiative to raise the state&#8217;s minimum wage to $18 an hour. Voters blocked the initiative by one percentage point in 2024. A 2019 <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/03/joe-sanberg-mulls-long-shot-presidential-campaign/586087/">Atlantic</a> story headlined, &#8220;Joe Sanberg Dares Trump to Call Him a Socialist,&#8221; said &#8220;the multimillionaire investor says the Democrats’ progressive agenda is best for jobs and economic growth.&#8221;
But “this so-called ‘anti-poverty’ activist has admitted to being nothing more than a self-serving fraudster, by seeking to enrich himself by defrauding lenders and investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars,” according to Bill Essayli, the Acting U.S. Attorney of the Central District of California.
Aspiration was set up to have companies pay it for &#8220;carbon credits,&#8221; with Aspiration promising to pay third parties to plant trees in Africa that would offset their emissions. But the United States Postal Inspection Service said Sanberg &#8220;built a business on a lie to boost the company&#8217;s value and line his own pockets.&#8221;
The findings raise questions about the broader world of &#8220;carbon credits&#8221; and whether they amount to one big company paying another big company money in exchange for fantasy indulgences, based more on partisan marketing than any real-world impact.
Sanberg also faces civil <a href="https://www.sec.gov/files/litigation/complaints/2025/comp26382.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Securities and Exchange Commission charges</a> that say he propped up fake customers to bolster his appearance.
&#8220;To make it appear as though Aspiration’s business was rapidly growing, Sanberg recruited friends, associates, small businesses, and religious organizations and presented them to Aspiration as bona fide customers who were fully committed to paying large sums of money&#8221; for the tree-planting services,&#8221; the SEC charging documents explain.
In reality, they were not going to pay, and Sanberg himself funded initial payments purporting to be from the customers to make them look real.
&#8220;Through his fraud, Sanberg raised more than $300 million from investors who falsely believed Aspiration had a thriving environmental sustainability services business,&#8221; it says. Sanberg owned 30% of the company and took $100 million in loans backed by his shares.
Sanberg founded the company with Andrei Cherny, who worked for Bill Clinton and Al Gore, ran the Arizona Democratic Party, and ran for Congress in 2024. The SEC complaint said Sanberg texted Cherny in 2020 saying, &#8220;if you don’t get me the money tomorrow we are all f…ed. Get me the money. Your turn to figure it out like I have for so long. Wire it to the [Sanberg-entity] account. If you don’t then [the lender] will foreclose. This will give you a good taste of what I have to experience every day. I hate you and I hate this company and I don’t want to work anymore with you [ ]. You are so oblivious to what you’ve forced me to have to do.&#8221;
In 2021, Aspiration attempted to go public through a SPAC, giving prospective investors projections based on the fraud, the SEC said. The &#8220;greenwashing&#8221; firm touted that revenue was &#8220;up 584%&#8221; due in part to &#8220;Enterprise Sustainability Services.&#8221; That year, the company funneled $3.6 million to Sanberg, with Cherny signing a $475,000 contract, for example, &#8220;in exchange for Joseph Sanberg&#8217;s services related to Aspiration&#8217;s Sustainable Impact Services.&#8221;
Sanberg aligns himself publicly with unions, but privately, management sacked the company. In January 2022, the board gave him an $8 million cash bonus, &#8220;despite having low cash reserves.&#8221; That year, Aspiration had $104 million in revenue that didn&#8217;t actually exist, and its outside auditor resigned due to &#8220;characteristics of fraud.&#8221;
The effort to go public through a SPAC collapsed in 2023, but not before taking $300 million from investors, including former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.
The investigation that began during the Biden administration after Sanberg and another investor, board member, and high-profile Democrat donor, Ibrahim Alhusseini, stiffed a lender. When the lender sued, documents unearthed in discovery showed that Alhusseini had gotten the loans based on fake financial statements.
<div id="attachment_854215" style="width: 1017px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-854215" class="size-large wp-image-854215" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-517390558-1007x576.jpg" alt="Actress and activist Jane Fonda embraces Ibrahim AlHusseini at a Champions of our Planet's Future gala in 2016 in Beverly Hills. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images)" width="1007" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-517390558-1007x576.jpg 1007w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-517390558-300x172.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-517390558-768x439.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-517390558-1536x879.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-517390558-2048x1172.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1007px) 100vw, 1007px" />Actress and activist Jane Fonda embraces Ibrahim AlHusseini at a Champions of Our Planet&#8217;s Future gala in 2016 in Beverly Hills. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images)</div>
That matter was referred to the FBI, which said that AlHusseini sent investors falsified bank statements that made it seem like he had assets “worth between approximately $80 million to $200 million&#8230;. In fact, AlHusseini’s brokerage account during this period held between approximately $2,000 and $15,000.&#8221; The fake bank statements had a telltale sign of all ending in dollar amounts with 43 cents.
The Daily Wire exclusively reported that AlHusseini, who is from Saudi Arabia and was a board member for the far-left, anti-Israel group CodePink, was arrested last October and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-green-investor-climate-change-activist-charged-with-securities-fraud" target="_blank" rel="noopener">held in jail</a> until December, when wealthy Democrat environmentalists, including CodePink founder Jodie Evans, put up their homes as $3 million bail.
Prosecutors said AlHusseini was a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/career-doj-prosecutor-dismissed-fraud-case-against-dem-megadonor-hours-before-trump-took-office" target="_blank" rel="noopener">flight risk</a> as he transferred $300 million to Saudi Arabia, and put his Venice mansion in his brother&#8217;s name. A New York civil court found him in contempt of court for avoiding paying the lender he stiffed, while—as the lender told the judge—he “donated at least US $22,100.00 to United States political candidates” such as Cori Bush and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and spent $16,000 at the Four Seasons hotel in Greece and $10,000 on Gucci clothes in New York.
Alhusseini turned on Sanberg, who was himself <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/california-politico-and-anti-poverty-activist-arrested-for-alleged-green-finance-fraud" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arrested</a> in March, The Daily Wire reported.
Sanberg was <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190328043932/https://www.ozy.com/politics-and-power/is-this-blue-apron-investor-aiming-for-the-white-house-on-a-poverty-platform/90556">reportedly considering</a> a Democratic presidential run ahead of the 2020 election, traveling to meet with party activists in early primary states. He was a fierce defender of California&#8217;s Newsom during the 2021 attempt to recall the governor.

Joe Sanberg

California ‘Anti-Poverty Activist’ And Dem Mega-Donor Pleads Guilty To Massive Carbon-Credit Scam

Environment

Fraud

The state of Texas is suing California over its plan to enforce new “green energy” car emission standards as the two states are locked in a battle over Congressional redistricting, The Daily Wire can first report.
The suit, which was filed in conjunction with America First Legal, argues that California’s attempt to set its own vehicle emission standards separately from federal law would result in material damage to other states like Texas and would effectively impose restrictions on the rest of the country.
President Donald Trump cancelled a waiver that California received, allowing it to create its own standards, but the state filed an appeal.
The lawsuit comes as Texas is locked in a fight with California over Congressional redistricting. The blue state has moved forward with a plan to hold a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/thats-out-the-window-california-already-moving-to-retaliate-over-new-texas-congressional-map">ballot measure</a> allowing it to engage in its own Congressional redistricting in retaliation against Texas’ redistricting plan.
“I am standing with President Trump in his effort to stop Gavin Newsom and California from shoving its insane so-called ‘green energy’ vehicle standards down the Nation’s throat,” Attorney General Paxton charged. “Texas will not look the other way while the failed state of California undermines our sovereignty, attacks America’s energy independence, and intentionally adopts destructive policies that would harm the other States.”
“California’s crusade is not about innovation—it is about abusing the legal system to flout federal law and impose its radical agenda on all Americans,&#8221; Daniel Epstein, the Vice President of America First Legal, asserted. &#8220;America First Legal stands proudly with the State of Texas to defend competition, consumer choice, and the rule of law. We will not let Gavin Newsom remake America in California’s image.”
Texas contends that California’s policy would not only “undermine the sovereignty of Texas,” but would also “inflict substantial economic harm” on the state’s residents and industries.
“Texas’s interests in this matter are significant and protectable under law. If reinstated, the waivers at the center of this suit would effectively allow California to dictate national vehicle emission standards, undermining the sovereignty of Texas and other States,” the state of Texas argues in its lawsuit, viewed first by The Daily Wire.
“This would not only impair Texas’s authority to regulate within its own borders but would also inflict substantial economic harm by threatening vital revenue streams from oil and gas production, increasing costs for Texas’s vehicle fleet, and diminishing the economic well-being of its citizens,” the suit goes on to say.

AG Paxton

BREAKING: Texas Shoots Back At California With Lawsuit Amid Redistricting Fight

Texas

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