A judge denied Sean “Diddy” Combs’ request to be let out of jail on bail Wednesday as the disgraced rapper awaits his sentencing.
Judge Arun Subramanian ruled against Combs’ request for a $1 million bail. Subramanian quoted Combs’ legal defense and spoke about the rapper’s past violence against his girlfriends when delivering his ruling.
“At trial, the defense conceded defendant’s violence in personal relationships saying ‘it happened’ in relation to Cassie Venture and Jane,” Subramanian said, according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/entertainment/live-news/sean-diddy-combs-trial-07-02-25#cmcmgj2dn000t3b6mzhehagb4">CNN</a>. Prosecutors had argued that the rapper was a flight risk.
The judge also noted violence that took place after Combs’ homes were searched, saying of the episodes, “this highlights a disregard for the rule of law and a propensity of violence.”
Combs has been in jail since he was arrested in September.
Subramanian has <a href="https://www.cnn.com/entertainment/live-news/sean-diddy-combs-trial-07-02-25#cmcmgq1s400103b6mvx7yo2hu">floated</a> an October 3 date for Combs’ sentencing hearing. Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo asked for the hearing date to be moved up as much as possible, suggesting that, if the judge agreed, the defense would waive a pre-sentencing investigation to secure an earlier date.
A Manhattan jury <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sean-diddy-combs-found-guilty-on-2-counts-acquitted-of-most-serious-charges">found</a> Combs guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution on Wednesday. Each count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Both counts related to incidents with ex-girlfriends of the rapper.
The jury acquitted Combs of the more serious charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking.
After the verdict was delivered, Combs <a href="https://apnews.com/live/sean-diddy-combs-trial-verdict-updates">appeared</a> to celebrate the jury’s decision that acquitted him on the most serious charges. He raised his hands in a prayer motion and then hugged one of his defense attorneys, Teny Geragos.
The verdict concluded a weeks-long trial in which prosecutors accused the 55-year-old rapper of coercing girlfriends to take part in drug-fueled “freak-off” parties that included rampant sexual exploitation of the women.
Combs’ defense did not deny many of the sordid details, but asserted that the activities at the parties and elsewhere were consensual.

Sean “Diddy” Combs

Diddy Denied: Disgraced Rapper To Remain In Lock Up Until Sentencing

Judge Denies Diddy Request For Bail As Disgraced Rapper Awaits Sentencing

New York

Sean 'Diddy' Combs

Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic candidate in New York City’s mayoral race, sponsored a bill that would fine Jewish groups at least $1 million for donating to “unauthorized” charities operating in Israel.
Mamdani first introduced his bill, known as the “Not on our dime!: Ending New York funding of Israeli settler violence act,” in 2023 to block donations to groups that he <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/17/new-york-law-aims-stop-funding-israeli-settlements-west-bank">accused</a> of funding the “expulsion and dispossession of Palestinians in the occupied territories.”
The bill is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/20/nyregion/ocasio-cortez-israeli-settlements.html">backed</a> by New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who endorsed Mamdani and has appeared at recent rallies alongside Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Mamdani, a self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist, wrote the <a href="https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S606">legislation</a> to target “not-for-profit corporations” that engage “in unauthorized support of Israeli settlement activity.”
The legislation would ban Jewish synagogues and charities from donating to groups such as United Hatzalah and ZAKA, nonprofit groups that specialize in emergency response and treatment of victims of terrorism, according to <a href="https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-859627?dicbo=v2-puQTs4k#google_vignette">The Jerusalem Post</a>.
The bill would also ban donations to the <a href="https://oneisraelfund.org/learn/">One Israel Fund</a>, which focuses on “the safety and wellbeing of the 500,000+ residents of Judea and Samaria,” including providing “medical, educational, recreational, preventative security and all other forms of communal and social welfare.”
The bill defines settlement activity as “aiding and abetting activity by the Israeli armed forces, the government of Israel, or citizen thereof” relating to “the unlawful transfer of Israeli civilians into occupied territory” and “acts of violence committed by Israeli citizens against protected persons living in occupied territory.” The law goes on to include the “destruction, damage, or vandalism of Palestinian property,” “the appropriation, expropriation, seizure, destruction, demolition, dismantlement, or confiscation, in whole or in part, of private Palestinian land,” and “the unilateral acquisition and annexation of land in occupied territory.”
According to the bill, &#8220;occupied territory&#8221; relates to “the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.” “West Bank” is the Palestinian name for the regions of Judea and Samaria. The reference to “East Jerusalem” means that part of Israel’s capital city would be considered “occupied territory.”
After it was introduced in 2023, the legislature received swift condemnation from New York lawmakers, including many of Mamdani’s fellow Democrats. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins both <a href="https://www.cityandstateny.com/policy/2023/05/socialist-legislators-back-bill-block-new-york-charities-funding-israeli-settlements/386485/">said</a> that Mamdani’s bill would not receive a vote. A group of 25 lawmakers signed a letter opposing the bill.
“The bill is a ploy to demonize Jewish charities with connection to Israel. It was only introduced to antagonise pro-Israel New Yorkers and sow divisions within the Democratic party,” the letter <a href="https://x.com/DanRosenthalNYC/status/1658646209702051845">said</a>.
Mamdani beat former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to receive the Democratic Party’s nod to run in the general election for New York City mayor. Mamdani’s vocal support for socialism and <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/06/30/us-news/zohran-mamdanis-chilling-call-for-seizing-the-means-of-production-draws-outrage-from-communist-refugees/">use</a> of Communist revolutionary language has <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/26/nyregion/eric-adams-business-leaders-meeting.html">worried</a> New York’s business community. Mamdani’s anti-Israel positions – including support for the antisemitic Boycott, Divest, and Sanction movement – has further <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/25/us/politics/zohran-mamdani-jewish-voters.html">worried</a> New York’s substantial Jewish community.

Zohran Mamdani

Mamdani Bill Would Fine New Yorkers $1M For Donating To ‘Unauthorized’ Nonprofits In Israel

Israel

Several high profile Democrats have responded after Zohran Mamdani, the presumptive Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City, refused to condemn the phrase &#8220;globalize the intifada&#8221; over the weekend.
On Sunday, Mamdani was pressed three times to condemn &#8220;globalize the intifada&#8221; during an appearance on NBC, and each time he refused to do so, but said, &#8220;it&#8217;s not language that I use.&#8221;
&#8220;But do you actually condemn it?&#8221; NBC&#8217;s Kristen Welker pressed, noting that many people hear it as a &#8220;call to violence against Jews.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
“Globalize the Intifada” is a call to violence. Full stop.
Words matter—whether Mamdani cares to believe that or not.
New Yorkers need to reject this lunatic. <a href="https://t.co/xLk9kyR9vQ">pic.twitter.com/xLk9kyR9vQ</a>
&mdash; Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) <a href="https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1939490143104360878?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;I don&#8217;t believe that the role of the mayor is to police speech in the manner, especially, of that of Donald Trump, who has put one New Yorker in jail, who has just returned to his family, Mahmoud Khalil, for that supposed crime of speech,&#8221; Mamdani said.
Mahmoud Khalil was a prominent participant of pro-Palestinian protests and campus occupations at Columbia University.
Also on Sunday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) demanded Mamdani &#8220;clarify&#8221; his position on the controversial phrase.
“Globalizing the intifada, by way of example, is not an acceptable phrasing,” Jeffries said on ABC. &#8220;He&#8217;s going to have to clarify his position on that as he moves forward.&#8221;
&#8220;With respect to the Jewish communities that I represent, I think our nominee is going to have to convince folks that he is prepared to aggressively address the rise in antisemitism in the City of New York, which has been an unacceptable development,&#8221; Jeffries said.
&#8220;Any mayor, whether you&#8217;re a Democratic mayor, a Republican mayor, an independent mayor, has got to commit to the safety of all of the people of the city of New York,&#8221; Jeffries said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Hakeem Jeffries on Mamdani: &quot;&#39;Globalizing the intifada&#39; by way of example is not an acceptable phrasing. He&#39;s gonna have to clarify his position on that as he moves forward.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/TA9Hn6lFD9">pic.twitter.com/TA9Hn6lFD9</a>
&mdash; Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) <a href="https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1939322480314724563?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 29, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Jeffries was also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/spin-cycle-how-do-you-solve-a-problem-like-mamdani?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Virginia+Kruta&amp;category=News+and+Commentary&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Spin+Cycle%3A+How+Do+You+Solve+A+Problem+Like+Mamdani%3F">hesitant</a> when asked whether he planned to endorse Mamdani, and said his district includes many Jewish Americans.
&#8220;Well, we don&#8217;t really know each other well. Our districts don&#8217;t overlap. I have never had a substantive conversation with him, and so that&#8217;s the next step,&#8221; Jeffries said, adding that he and Mamdani have agreed to sit down and talk.
Meanwhile, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat came out swinging against Mamdani for refusing to condemn the phrase &#8220;globalize the intifada.&#8221;
“New York constituents I talked to are alarmed. They are alarmed by past public statements. They are alarmed about past public positions, referring to global jihad,” Gillibrand <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/06/26/us-news/ny-dem-reps-suozzi-gillen-distance-from-socialist-nyc-mayoral-nominee-zohran-mamdani/?utm_source=chatgpt.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> during a WNYC interview on Thursday.
“This is a very serious issue because people who glorify the slaughter of Jews create fear in our communities,” she said. “The global intifada is a statement that means destroy Israel and kill all the Jews.”
Other Democrats weighed in as well.
Rep. Laura Gillen, a freshman Democrat representing Long Island who is known as a centrist, <a href="https://time.com/7298136/zohran-mamdani-nyc-laura-gillen/?utm_source=chatgpt.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accused</a> Mamdani of “a deeply disturbing pattern of unacceptable antisemitic comments.”
“He is the absolute wrong choice for New York,” Gillen said.
Mamdani, a New York assemblyman representing Queens, won the Democratic primary last week in an upset that threw the New York City mayor&#8217;s race into chaos. Current Mayor Eric Adams and former Governor Andrew Cuomo will both likely run as independents, and Curtis Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels, will face them all as the Republican candidate.
The general election for mayor will be held on November 4.

Celebrity Sightings In New York – June 29, 2025

Dems Slam Zohran Mamdani For Refusing To Condemn ‘Globalize The Intifada’

Dems Slam Zohran Mamdani For Refusing To Condemn 'Globalize The Intifada'

Elections

Hakeem Jeffries

Kirsten Gillibrand

New York City

Politics

Zohran Mamdani, who stunned Democrats when he snagged the party&#8217;s presumptive nomination for New York City mayor this week, lived up to his anti-capitalist reputation on Thursday.
Mamdani, a self-described Democratic socialist, came out swinging against capitalism during a television spot with CNN anchor Erin Burnett.
&#8220;Do you like capitalism?&#8221; Burnett asked the New York state assemblyman, who represents Queens.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
CNN: Do you like capitalism?
ZOHRAN MAMDANI: No. I have many critiques of capitalism.
In the words of Dr. King decades ago, he said, &#39;Call it democracy or call it democratic socialism; there must be a better distribution of wealth for all of God&#39;s children in this country.&#39;… <a href="https://t.co/iW02E21Qoe">pic.twitter.com/iW02E21Qoe</a>
&mdash; Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) <a href="https://twitter.com/kenklippenstein/status/1938448693138501832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 27, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;
&#8220;No, I have many critiques of capitalism,&#8221; Mamdani responded. &#8220;And I think ultimately the definition for me of why I call myself a democratic socialist is the words of Dr. King decades ago.&#8221;
&#8220;He said, call it democracy or call it democratic socialism, there must be a better distribution of wealth for all of God&#8217;s children in this country,&#8221; Mamdani said. &#8220;And that&#8217;s what I&#8217;m focused on is dignity, and taking on income inequality.&#8221;
During a 1961 speech to the Negro American Labor Council, King reportedly <a href="https://truthout.org/articles/martin-luther-king-was-a-radical-not-a-saint/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>, “Call it democracy, or call it democratic socialism, but there must be a better distribution of wealth within this country for all God’s children.”
<a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://get.dailywire.com/freedom/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/freedom/" data-sk="tooltip_parent">JULY 4 SALE: Get Six Months Of DW+ Free</a>
In a major upset on Tuesday, Mamdani beat out former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary for mayor of the Big Apple.
Cuomo is considering running as an independent in the wake of the shock results.
Current Mayor Eric Adams also launched his reelection campaign as an independent on Thursday at a rowdy rally on the steps of City Hall, where he took a shot at both Mamdani and &#8220;socialism.&#8221;
“This is a city not of socialism,” Adams <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-city-not-of-socialism-eric-adams-takes-shot-at-zohran-mamdani-as-he-launches-reelection-bid?author=Mairead+Elordi&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=‘A+City+Not+Of+Socialism’%3A+Eric+Adams+Takes+Shot+At+Zohran+Mamdani+As+He+Launches+Reelection+Bid">said</a> at his rally. “There’s no dignity in someone giving you everything for free. There’s dignity in giving you a job, so you can provide for your family and the opportunities that you deserve. This is not a city of handouts. This is a city of hands up. We’re going to lift up the City of New York.”
Mamdani has proposed expensive policies including rent freezes, government-run grocery stores, free buses, free city universities, free child care, increasing New York City’s minimum wage to $30 an hour, and investing $65 million in transgender drugs and surgeries.
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), another self-described democratic socialist, referenced the same quote from King in 2021, a few days after former President Joe Biden took office.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
“Call it democracy, or call it democratic socialism, but there must be a better distribution of wealth within this country for all of God&#39;s children.” — Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
&mdash; Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenSanders/status/1353101452281962496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 23, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Curtis Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels, the volunteer group dedicated to crime prevention on New York’s subways and streets since the late 1970s, won the Republican nomination for mayor.
The general election for mayor will be held on November 4.

Mayoral Candidate For New York Zohran Mamdani Holds Primary Election Night Party

Zohran Mamdani Says He Has ‘Many Critiques Of Capitalism’

Andrew Cuomo

Capitalism

Eric Adams

Trump ally Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) is set to launch her campaign for New York governor, giving Republicans new hope of flipping the traditionally deep blue Empire State, two sources familiar with Stefanik&#8217;s thinking told The Hill.
&#8220;It&#8217;s not a matter of if, it&#8217;s a matter of when,&#8221; one source close to Stefanik <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5371832-stefanik-prepares-launch-governor-race/">told</a> The Hill, noting that the congresswoman will announce &#8220;at the time and place&#8221; of her choosing.
As The Daily Wire previously reported, Stefanik has been considering a run in recent months, following President Trump&#8217;s decision to withdraw her nomination to serve as U.N. ambassador, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/stepping-up-as-a-team-stefanik-reacts-after-trump-withdraws-nomination">deeming</a> it too risky to put her competitive district up for an open election ahead of Trump&#8217;s push for his &#8220;big, beautiful bill.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
RUN <a href="https://twitter.com/EliseStefanik?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EliseStefanik</a> RUN!! <a href="https://t.co/EJu4v6jz2n">https://t.co/EJu4v6jz2n</a>
&mdash; Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) <a href="https://twitter.com/megynkelly/status/1938350682106458604?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 26, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Stefanik was the number four Republican in the House, serving as Chair of the House Republican Conference after replacing former Rep. Liz Cheney, before being briefly nominated as U.N. ambassador.
Polling indicates strong support for the Trump ally, with a GrayHouse survey showing Stefanik commanding 44% among Republican primary voters compared to just 7% for Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) and 5% for Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, both of whom received Trump endorsements for reelection to their current positions last month.
Republicans have reason for optimism in the traditionally Democratic stronghold, as the GOP has made significant gains in recent elections.
<a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://get.dailywire.com/freedom/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/freedom/" data-sk="tooltip_parent">JULY 4 SALE: Get Six Months Of DW+ Free</a>
Trump lost New York by just over 12 points in 2024, a dramatic 11-point <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-the-nation-told-us-in-2024-state-by-state/">improvement</a> from his 2020 performance, while current Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul defeated Republican challenger Lee Zeldin by only 6 points in her 2022 race. However, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report still considers the upcoming gubernatorial contest &#8220;likely Democratic.&#8221;
Stefanik, 41, has risen quickly through the Republican ranks since first being elected to Congress in 2014 at the age of 30 – at that time, the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. Her national profile grew significantly during former President Trump&#8217;s first impeachment proceedings, when she emerged as one of his most vocal defenders.
Republicans have been increasingly competitive in parts of New York, particularly in Long Island and Hudson Valley districts that helped the party secure a narrow House majority in 2022. Economic concerns, rising crime rates, and migration issues have become prominent topics that GOP candidates have successfully leveraged to win local races.
Stefanik&#8217;s run would come after socialist Zohran Mamdani defeated former Governor Andrew Cuomo in Tuesday&#8217;s Democratic mayoral primary, inciting <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/billionaire-pledges-to-bankroll-any-nyc-mayoral-candidate-who-can-beat-zohran-mamdani?author=Nathan+Gay&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Billionaire+Pledges+To+Bankroll+Any+NYC+Mayoral+Candidate+Who+Can+Beat+Zohran+Mamdani">panic</a> among many in the city and providing a fruitful target for the New York Representative.
Mamdani, a state assemblyman representing parts of Queens, has championed policies that alarm fiscal conservatives and moderate Democrats alike. His <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/here-are-the-top-five-craziest-policy-proposals-from-nyc-mayor-candidates?author=Catherine+Maxwell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Here+Are+The+Top+Five+Craziest+Policy+Proposals+From+NYC+Mayor+Candidates">platform</a> includes advocating for city-owned supermarkets, rent freezing measures, and significant reallocations of police funding to social services.
Stefanik would likely face incumbent Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul in the 2026 general election.
Hochul, who took office in 2021 following Andrew Cuomo&#8217;s resignation amid sexual harassment allegations, has faced criticism over her handling of crime and the state&#8217;s high cost of living, issues that could provide an opening for Republicans to make further inroads with New York voters.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The Worst Governor in America Kathy Hochul desperately tries to distance herself from the Defund the Police, raging antisemite Communist except Kathy refuses to denounce any of his insane Marxist policies. She OWNS this catastrophic candidate who will destroy NYC. 
Kathy Hochul… <a href="https://t.co/ifBXhTFEGx">https://t.co/ifBXhTFEGx</a>
&mdash; Elise Stefanik (@EliseStefanik) <a href="https://twitter.com/EliseStefanik/status/1938308720230105133?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 26, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Stefanik/Hochul

Elise Stefanik Set To Challenge Hochul For New York Governor

2026 Midterms

Elise Stefanik

Kathy Hochul

Zohran Mamdani, the socialist who is the Democratic nominee in New York City’s mayoral race, wants to “shift the tax burden from overtaxed homeowners in the outer boroughs to more expensive homes in richer and whiter neighborhoods.”
Mamdani, a far-left 33-year-old Muslim who became an American citizen in 2018, detailed his plan in a <a href="https://pdfhost.io/v/sTRKnd9Qtc_Homeowner_Policy_Memo">policy memo</a> that insists “the cityʼs property tax system favors wealthier homeowners in gentrifying neighborhoods.” According to the campaign document, Mamdani wants to lower the tax burden for homeowners in lower-income neighborhoods while &#8220;raising the amount paid in the most expensive Brooklyn brownstones.”
Mamdani&#8217;s proposal to target &#8220;whiter neighborhoods&#8221; is one of many radical policy objectives, along with city-owned grocery stores, defunding the police, and freezing rent. The leftist state assemblyman has drawn the ire of Republicans and moderates across the country.
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) even called for Mamdani to be stripped of his American citizenship in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, saying the Democratic socialist expressed support for foreign terror organizations, a reference to Mamdani&#8217;s self-professed &#8220;love&#8221; for a group of individuals convicted of funneling money to Hamas.
“Zohran ‘little muhammad’ Mamdani is an antisemitic, socialist, communist who will destroy the great City of New York,” Ogles said as he <a href="https://x.com/RepOgles/status/1938301392416084150">shared the letter</a> to Bondi on social media. “He needs to be DEPORTED. Which is why I am calling for him to be subject to denaturalization proceedings.”
New York billionaire Bill Ackman has already <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/billionaire-pledges-to-bankroll-any-nyc-mayoral-candidate-who-can-beat-zohran-mamdani?author=Nathan+Gay&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Billionaire+Pledges+To+Bankroll+Any+NYC+Mayoral+Candidate+Who+Can+Beat+Zohran+Mamdani">pledged</a> millions of dollars to the effort to stop Mamdani from being elected. “There are hundreds of millions of dollars of capital available to back a competitor to Mamdani that can be put together overnight,” the Pershing Square Capital founder and CEO said.
Mamdani came out ahead of former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in an upset victory in the Democratic primary and is now set to face off against incumbent Democratic Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent in November&#8217;s general election.

Socialist NYC Mayoral Candidate Wants To Hit ‘Whiter Neighborhoods’ With Higher Taxes

Democratic Party

Socialism

Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic socialist candidate for mayor of New York, said on Thursday that he understood economics better than billionaire Bill Ackman, arguing that Ackman’s opposition to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies was bad for business.
In the wake of Mamdani’s victory Tuesday night in the Democratic primary over former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Ackman had stated of Mamdani on X:
<blockquote>
 &#8230; his policies would be disastrous for NYC. Socialism has no place in the economic capital of our country. The ability for NYC to offer services for the poor and needy, let alone the average New Yorker, is entirely dependent on NYC being a business-friendly environment and a place where wealthy residents are willing to spend 183 days and assume the associated tax burden. Unfortunately, both have already started making arrangements for the exits.
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I awoke this morning gravely concerned about New York City. I thought “What has NYC become that an avowed socialist who has supported defunding the police, whose solution to lowering food prices is city-owned supermarkets, who doesn’t understand that freezing rents will only…
&mdash; Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) <a href="https://twitter.com/BillAckman/status/1938094628034506984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 26, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Asked by Erin Burnett of CNN about his insistence that New York City raise the top corporate tax rate, Mamdani preached, “I&#8217;d also tell Bill Ackman that I firmly disagree with his attempt to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion across the country because it&#8217;s not only against the morals of so many, it&#8217;s also against the actual bottom line for so many businesses. And as a businessman, he should understand that.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Socialist Zohran Mamdani lectures billionaire <a href="https://twitter.com/BillAckman?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BillAckman</a> on the business case for DEI.
Oh, this is rich.
“I’d also tell Bill Ackman that I firmly disagree with his attempt to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion across the country. Because it’s not only against the morals… <a href="https://t.co/az5x2XOjaH">pic.twitter.com/az5x2XOjaH</a>
&mdash; The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) <a href="https://twitter.com/VigilantFox/status/1938421381789577432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 27, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Mamdani, 33, a state assemblyman who grew up the privileged son of “acclaimed Marxist scholar Mahmood Mamdani and Oscar-nominated film director Mira Nair,” as The Indypendent <a href="https://indypendent.org/2020/06/home-foreclosure-specialist-aims-to-take-the-fight-for-housing-racial-justice-from-astoria-to-albany/">reported</a>, attended Bowdoin College, where he <a href="https://nyassembly.gov/mem/Zohran-K-Mamdani">co-founded</a> the school&#8217;s chapter of the radical activist group, Students for Justice in Palestine. His entire job history outside of politics has consisted of working as a foreclosure prevention counselor and a rapper.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/freedom/">JULY 4 SALE: Get Six Months Of DW+ Free</a>
Ackman, by contrast, has invested in businesses so successfully that he is now <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/william-ackman/">worth</a> an estimated $9 billion. He is a signatory of The Giving Pledge, committing to donate at least 50% of his wealth by the end of his life to charitable causes. The resident of New York City was a lifelong Democrat who crossed the aisle to support President Donald Trump in the 2024 election.
New York Democratic Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent this mayoral election cycle, slammed Mamdani, <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/06/26/us-news/eric-adams-officially-kicks-off-nyc-mayoral-campaign-with-swipes-at-zohran-mamdani-blue-collar-or-silver-spoon/">saying</a>, “This election is a choice between a candidate with a blue collar and one with a soup silver spoon. A choice between dirty fingernails and manicured nails. &#8230; This is not a city where you use idealism to stake your giving everything to everyone for free. There&#8217;s no dignity in someone giving you everything for free. There&#8217;s dignity in giving you a job so you can provide for your family and the opportunities that you deserve. So, this is not a city of handouts. This is a city of hands up.”
Mamdani also issued a statement blasting President Trump, stating, “Zohran Mamdani will fight Trump&#8217;s attempts to gouge the working class, and deliver a city where everyone can afford a dignified life. Here&#8217;s how: Make NYC the Strongest Sanctuary City in the Country.”
After asserting his desire to “Get ICE out of all City facilities and end any cooperation,” the statement continued, “The Mamdani administration will:  Invest $165M in funding for immigration legal defense services . &#8230; Protect all personal data from other jurisdictions: The Mamdani administration will take seriously the threat Trump poses and will think expansively about ways to protect undocumented New Yorkers from deportation or other federal attacks.”
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BREAKING: This is the memo that could be Zohran Mamdani’s downfall.
He wants to triple down on making NYC a Sanctuary City and crack down on ICE.
These two policies are extremely unpopular with New Yorkers, especially the middle class. <a href="https://t.co/EuvdjFUyhH">pic.twitter.com/EuvdjFUyhH</a>
&mdash; Douglass Mackey (@DougMackeyCase) <a href="https://twitter.com/DougMackeyCase/status/1938235458607018356?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 26, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Other actions by Mamdani have also elicited harsh criticism:
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Remember back in 2013 when two Islamist terrorists used a meat cleaver to try to behead British soldier Lee Rigby in the streets of London?
Zohran shared a 2013 article by Glenn Greenwald questioning whether the killing was terrorism because Rigby was a soldier <a href="https://t.co/F5eMdFQo9i">pic.twitter.com/F5eMdFQo9i</a>
&mdash; Drew Pavlou 🇦🇺🇺🇸🇺🇦🇹🇼 (@DrewPavlou) <a href="https://twitter.com/DrewPavlou/status/1938506747939066063?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 27, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Mamdani/Ackman

Socialist NYC Mayoral Candidate Lectures Billionaire, Claims DEI Critics Don’t Understand Business

Bill Ackman

Democratic Socialism

Socialists

Billionaire investor Bill Ackman vowed on Wednesday to provide &#8220;hundreds of millions of dollars&#8221; to back any viable challenger against Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani in New York City&#8217;s mayoral race.
Mamdani <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/andrew-cuomo-falls-to-radical-socialist-zohran-mamdani-in-nyc-mayoral-primary?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Tim+Rice&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Andrew+Cuomo+Falls+To+Radical+Socialist+Zohran+Mamdani+In+NYC+Mayoral+Primary">defeated</a> former Governor Andrew Cuomo in New York City&#8217;s Democratic primary on Tuesday and will compete against incumbent Mayor Eric Adams (running as an independent this cycle) and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa in the November general election.
Ackman, founder and chief executive of hedge fund manager Pershing Square Capital, <a href="https://www.mediaite.com/politics/billionaire-bill-ackman-promises-millions-to-anyone-willing-to-challenge-mamdani-for-nyc-mayor/">wrote</a> a lengthy post on X to express his alarm at Mamdani’s victory.
&#8220;I awoke this morning gravely concerned about New York City,&#8221; Ackman wrote. &#8220;I thought &#8216;What has NYC become that an avowed socialist who has supported defunding the police, whose solution to lowering food prices is city-owned supermarkets, who doesn&#8217;t understand that freezing rents will only make apartments scarcer and more expensive in the long run.'&#8221;
The billionaire investor compared a potential Mamdani-led New York to &#8220;another failed major city run by Democrats alongside Seattle, Chicago, LA, and SF,&#8221; quoting Senator John Fetterman&#8217;s (D-PA) assessment that Mamdani&#8217;s victory represented &#8220;Christmas in July for the GOP.&#8221;
&#8220;A mayor who disrespects the NYPD and has called for their defunding will get less effective policing, and Bratton&#8217;s &#8216;broken window theory&#8217; will operate in reverse,&#8221; Ackman wrote, warning that New York City would become &#8220;much more dangerous and economically unviable&#8221; under Mamdani&#8217;s administration.
Ackman assured potential candidates that funding would be instantly available, stating, &#8220;there are hundreds of million of dollars of capital available to back a competitor to Mamdani that can be put together overnight,&#8221; and adding that he is &#8220;in the text strings and the WhatsApp groups&#8221; organizing the effort.
The financier noted that any challenger would likely need to run as a write-in candidate, but suggested this could become &#8220;an important call to action that brings people in throngs to the polls&#8221; rather than a disadvantage.
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I awoke this morning gravely concerned about New York City. I thought “What has NYC become that an avowed socialist who has supported defunding the police, whose solution to lowering food prices is city-owned supermarkets, who doesn’t understand that freezing rents will only…
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) <a href="https://twitter.com/BillAckman/status/1938094628034506984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 26, 2025</a></blockquote>
New York City, with a gross metropolitan <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/NGMP35620">product</a> of $2.3 trillion and a population exceeding 8 million residents, is America&#8217;s financial nerve center. Many on Wall Street reacted with dread following Mamdani’s primary win, and <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/06/23/us-news/nyc-biz-leaders-left-shaking-over-prospect-of-zohran-mamdani-mayoral-win-it-would-be-disastrous/">predicted</a> a mass exodus from the city if he is elected in November.
Mamdani, a state assemblyman representing parts of Queens, has championed policies that alarm fiscal conservatives and moderate Democrats alike. His <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/here-are-the-top-five-craziest-policy-proposals-from-nyc-mayor-candidates?author=Catherine+Maxwell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Here+Are+The+Top+Five+Craziest+Policy+Proposals+From+NYC+Mayor+Candidates">platform</a> includes advocating for city-owned supermarkets, rent freezing measures, and significant reallocations of police funding to social services.
Ackman expressed particular concern about Mamdani&#8217;s stance on Israel, noting that &#8220;a mayor who condones hate speech will incentivize more hate speech and violence,&#8221; adding that &#8220;words matter, and yes, they can inspire people to kill as we have recently tragically seen in our country and around the world.&#8221;
Mamdani has stated that he doesn’t believe Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state, refused to condemn calls to “globalize the intifada,” and recorded a <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/06/21/us-news/socialist-nyc-mayoral-candidate-zohran-mamdani-once-rapped-about-his-love-for-hamas-teror-funding-group-holy-land-five/">rap song</a> expressing “love” to convicted Hamas financiers. His October 7 statement notably focused on “ending the occupation” with little mention of Hamas’ massacre of Israeli civilians.
Ackman suggested that former Mayor Michael Bloomberg might play a significant role in any challenge to Mamdani, stating that he was &#8220;sure that Mike Bloomberg will share his how-to-win-the-mayoralty IP and deliver his entire election apparatus and system to the aspiring candidate.&#8221;
The investor called on his followers to &#8220;crowdsource&#8221; potential candidate names and conduct polling to identify the most viable challenger.

US-POLITICS-ECONOMY-MILKEN

Billionaire Pledges To Bankroll Any NYC Mayoral Candidate Who Can Beat Zohran Mamdani

Wall Street

Former CNN host Chris Cuomo slammed the Democratic Party after “open socialist” Zohran Mamdani <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/andrew-cuomo-falls-to-radical-socialist-zohran-mamdani-in-nyc-mayoral-primary?author=Tim+Rice&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=7&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Andrew+Cuomo+Falls+To+Radical+Socialist+Zohran+Mamdani+In+NYC+Mayoral+Primary">defeated</a> his brother, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary on Tuesday.
Cuomo told viewers on his NewsNation program Wednesday night, “Thank you very much for all the kind words about my brother. I didn’t cover the mayoral election or even comment on it here at NewsNation for obvious reasons, and my feelings about my brother and what he should do now, those are personal, not professional. So, suffice it to say, I love and support my brother, and I’m not worried about him.”
Cuomo revealed that he was not stunned by the outcome.
“It was a low turnout race that people did not think could go the way it did. The enthusiasm and turnout energy were overweighted for the more extreme candidates, as is often the case, and that’s one of the problems with our binary system and with our closed primaries,&#8221; Cuomo said. “Not to mention, and contrary to what was sold by his opponents, Andrew’s no establishment guy and the party was not loving that he ran, but that’s his case to make, okay?”
Gov. Cuomo, 67, who has been elected to that role three times, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-andrew-cuomo-to-resign">resigned</a> in disgrace in 2021 following multiple allegations of sexual harassment by female employees, making him a pariah in the eyes of many primary voters and the Democratic establishment.
Throughout his campaign, Mamdani, 33, a state assemblyman, advocated for defunding the police, rent control expansion, government-sponsored grocery stores, higher taxes, and $65 million in taxpayer-funded “gender-affirming” trans <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-york-mayoral-hopeful-would-go-all-in-on-transing-the-kids-to-the-tune-of-65-million?author=Virginia+Kruta&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=New+York+Mayoral+Hopeful+Would+Go+All-In+On+Transing+The+Kids%2C+To+The+Tune+Of+%2465+Million">procedures</a> for adults and children.
Chris Cuomo <a href="https://www.mediaite.com/media/tv/chris-cuomo-declares-democratic-party-dead-after-brother-loses-nyc-mayoral-primary-tacitly-supporting-extreme-islamism/">blasted</a> the Democratic Party for its “extremism,” declaring the party all but “dead” in his eyes.
“The Democratic Party is now officially in MAGA mode. We are now, on both sides, in a period of extremism,” Cuomo said. “The same way MAGA played with the prejudices of white nationalism, you’re seeing an identical dynamic on the Left with prejudices like tacitly supporting extreme Islamism or targeting Jews.”
“For the Right, it’s migrants. For the Left, it’s Jews. It’s fundamentalist Christians dominating the Right. It’s fundamentalist Islamists making headway on the Left. I know that doesn’t sound like Democrats, but that party is dead. What it will be reborn as, we’ll see,” Cuomo added.
Mamdani has stated that he doesn&#8217;t believe Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state, refused to condemn calls to “globalize the intifada,” and recorded a <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/06/21/us-news/socialist-nyc-mayoral-candidate-zohran-mamdani-once-rapped-about-his-love-for-hamas-teror-funding-group-holy-land-five/">rap song</a> expressing “love” to convicted Hamas financiers. His October 7 statement notably focused on “ending the occupation” without mentioning Hamas&#8217;s massacre of Israeli civilians.
“What we’re seeing now is that there are many in America who are adopting and adapting to fundamentalism. The outcome in this election wasn’t about affordability or about real change. The winner is an open socialist, and the Democratic Party is now just that: socialistic. But be clear, this is a fictional fix for very real frustrations,” Cuomo concluded.
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There is no more Democratic party. There is no Republican party. Here is the truth: <a href="https://t.co/7b8nTV5Hhp">pic.twitter.com/7b8nTV5Hhp</a>
— Christopher C. Cuomo (@ChrisCuomo) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisCuomo/status/1938041189204431251?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 26, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Andrew Cuomo declined to say if he would run in the November general election as an independent for the Fight and Deliver Party, which he formed for this race.
Should the ex-governor enter the race as an independent, that would make the race a five-person contest between Cuomo, Mamdani, incumbent Democrat Mayor Eric Adams (running as an independent this cycle), Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, a talk show host, and independent Jim Walden, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

Andrew Cuomo and Chris Cuomo

‘That Party Is Dead’: Chris Cuomo Blasts Democrats After Brother’s Defeat To ‘Open Socialist’

Chris Cuomo

Mayor

Media

Former New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, 67,  and self-declared Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, 33, are facing off on Tuesday in the New York Democratic mayoral primary, with a final poll suggesting the Uganda-born lawmaker could topple the veteran politician through ranked-choice voting.
Steve Kornacki, a national political correspondent and election analyst for NBC News, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/steve-kornacki-breaking-state-new-yorks-mayoral-race-primary-day-rcna214579">paints</a> a nuanced picture of Tuesday’s primary vote, emphasizing that only two major public polls have been conducted in the lead-up to the primary, each showing vastly different results.
The Emerson College/PIX11/The Hill <a href="https://emersoncollegepolling.com/new-york-city-mayoral-poll-june/">poll</a> shows Cuomo leading Mamdani by a slim 35% to 32% margin in first-choice votes, but after multiple rounds of ranked-choice tabulation, Mamdani overtakes the former governor to win 52% to 48%. There are 11 Democrats on the primary ballot.
A Marist University poll <a href="https://maristpoll.marist.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Marist-Poll_June-NYC-NOS-and-Tables_202506162130-2.pdf">conducted</a> a week prior has Cuomo leading 38% to 27% in the initial round and 55% to 45% after several rounds of ranked choice.
In ranked-choice voting, voters rank up to five candidates in order of preference. If no candidate receives more than 50% of first-choice votes, the last-place candidate is eliminated, and their votes are redistributed based on voters’ next choices until someone wins a majority.
The polls diverge in two major areas, Kornacki explains: performance among black voters and the distribution of City Comptroller Brad Lander’s votes after he is eliminated in the ranked choice tabulation.
The Marist poll showed Cuomo with a 52-point advantage among black voters in the final round, while the more recent Emerson survey indicates Mamdani has closed that gap significantly, winning 38% of black voters in the final tabulation.
Lander’s projected elimination had little impact on the final round of the Marist poll, as Cuomo’s lead diminished only slightly from 13 to 10 points. In contrast, Emerson’s final round shows Lander’s votes propelling Mamdani to a 4-point lead over Cuomo after trailing in the prior round.
Brad Lander, recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-democrat-nyc-mayoral-candidate-arrested-by-ice-at-immigration-court">arrested</a> at an immigration court protest, could emerge as the race&#8217;s kingmaker.
Lander and Mamdani formed a strategic alliance last week, with each candidate asking supporters to include the other in their ranked ballots while excluding Cuomo — a move that explains why Mamdani gains substantially if Lander is eliminated in the tabulation process.
Political analyst and statistician Nate Silver <a href="https://x.com/NateSilver538/status/1937185148736618695">points out</a>, “[O]ne of the nuances of RCV (ranked-choice voting) is that negative campaigning can backfire just because it puts your name more in voters&#8217; minds and therefore they&#8217;ll list you *somewhere* on their ballot.”
&#8220;I&#8217;m hearing things I don&#8217;t like about this Zohran guy, I&#8217;d better make sure to list him below [preferred choices] on my ballot’ is a lot *better* for Zohran than if voters don&#8217;t list him at all. Cuomo may benefit from this effect too,” Silver <a href="https://x.com/NateSilver538/status/1937185150611357725">adds</a>.
Kornacki predicts the tallying will likely continue past Tuesday, and the primary result might not even indicate the next mayor of deep blue New York City.
But no matter who wins the Democratic primary, both Cuomo and Mamdani are expected to appear on the general election ballot. Cuomo has already created the &#8220;Fight and Deliver Party,&#8221; which will allow him to appear on the November ballot regardless of today&#8217;s outcome, while Mamdani is poised to be the candidate of the Working Families Party in the event of defeat.
Meanwhile, current Democratic Mayor Eric Adams is running as an independent in the general election, while Republicans are poised to nominate Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa. The potential addition of both Cuomo and Mamdani further crowds the field for the general election in November.
Mamdani, who currently represents parts of Queens in the state assembly, has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/here-are-the-top-five-craziest-policy-proposals-from-nyc-mayor-candidates?author=Catherine+Maxwell&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=Here+Are+The+Top+Five+Craziest+Policy+Proposals+From+NYC+Mayor+Candidates">advocated</a> for defunding the police, rent control expansion, government-sponsored grocery stores, higher taxes, and $65 million in taxpayer-funded “gender-affirming” trans procedures for adults and children.
Betting markets have the race in a dead heat as of Tuesday morning, leaning slightly in favor of Mamdani after the new Emerson poll, which accurately predicted the <a href="https://emersonpolling.reportablenews.com/pr/nyc-mayor-2021-adams-stays-ahead-but-rank-choice-voting-closes-gap-for-wiley-and-garcia">outcome</a> of the 2021 primary, showed Mamdani taking the lead.

Mamdani/Cuomo

Mixed Polls, Major Stakes: Experts Decode The Tight NYC Mayor Battle

Polls

Ranked Choice Voting

The Supreme Court upholds Tennessee’s ban on transgender medical procedures for minors. The 6–3 decision is a landmark victory for parents and conservatives, and a defining blow to transgender activism. The United States continues to fortify the Middle East as Trump ramps up the pressure on Iran to surrender. And, as Trump escalates deportation plans, Democrats make headlines by getting themselves arrested.
It’s Thursday, June 19, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
Morning Wire is available on video! You can watch today’s episode here:
 
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If you’d rather listen to your news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
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<h2>SCOTUS Upholds Gender-Mutilation Ban</h2>
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Topline: In a major win for conservative activists and parent groups, the Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a Tennessee law banning transgender drugs and surgeries for children.
In the case of United States v. Skrmetti — the justices decided that Tennessee’s law does not violate the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. The plaintiffs in the case — which included trans-identifying teens and their families — claimed that Tennessee’s law banning puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries for minors discriminated against them on the basis of sex. More than 20 states have bans similar to Tennessee’s.
Chief Justice John Roberts penned the court’s <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-477_2cp3.pdf">opinion</a> and rejected the plaintiffs’ argument. He also said the plaintiffs “contort the meaning of the term ‘medical treatment,&#8217;” writing, “Notably absent from their framing is a key aspect of any medical treatment: the underlying medical concern the treatment is intended to address.”
“The main argument from the other side when we did the oral argument in front of the court was if you have a boy who wants testosterone to resolve a developmental defect, then they can get it,”  Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti told The Daily Wire. “But a girl who wants testosterone to deepen her voice can&#8217;t. The dissenting justices thought that this was some sort of discrimination. But with any medical treatment, you&#8217;re not just handing someone a drug, you&#8217;re giving them a treatment to treat a specific condition. And different drugs have different effects on different conditions. And we differentiate between those purposes all the time. So I thought that was a fatal flaw in the argument on the other side.”
Roberts noted that the number of minors requesting “sex transition treatments” has increased in recent years, and meanwhile, European countries have cracked down on these procedures and drugs. Medical skepticism around these drugs and procedures is only growing – last month, the <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/gender-dysphoria-report-release.html">HHS</a> released a review saying the “science and evidence do not support” the use of these drugs and procedures for children.
Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a concurring opinion in which he said, “there is no medical consensus on how best to treat gender dysphoria in children,” and “recent revelations suggest that leading voices in this area have relied on questionable evidence, and have allowed ideology to influence their medical guidance.”
Meanwhile, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote a dissent joined by the two other liberal-leaning justices, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Sotomayor claimed that teens needing transgender drugs “can be a question of life or death.” Advocates of these drugs and surgeries have <a href="https://www.heritage.org/gender/report/puberty-blockers-cross-sex-hormones-and-youth-suicide">pushed</a> a similar line to parents of trans-identifying children for years, even as newer evidence has shown that these treatments do not improve children’s mental health.
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<h2>Iran Says It Will &#8216;Never Surrender&#8217; While Trump Teases Possible Strikes</h2>
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Topline:  As the war between Israel and Iran approaches its seventh day, the Ayatollah says his country will never surrender.
On Wednesday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei let the world know he would never agree to President Donald Trump’s demand for an unconditional surrender. In a video statement, Iran’s theocratic leader said, “Those with wisdom who know Iran, its people and its history, never speak to this nation in the language of threats, because the Iranian nation will not surrender…The United States must know that our people will not surrender, and any military intervention by them will lead to irreparable consequences.” 
That video came a day after President Trump threatened to strike the Ayatollah, and as Israel continues to hammer Iranian nuclear and military facilities. To date, the Israelis have killed 11 of Iran’s 12 highest-ranking military leaders.
The expectation from military experts is that if Trump joins Israel’s offensive, the Iranians would respond by launching missiles at American military installations across the Middle East, particularly those in Iraq, Syria, and Kuwait, which are just across the border. 
“I may do it, I may not do it,” Trump <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1935338837695189018">said</a> at the White House on Wednesday. “Nobody knows what I’m gonna do. I can tell you this, that Iran’s got a lot of trouble. And they wanna negotiate. And I said, &#8216;Why didn’t you negotiate with me before all this death and destruction?'&#8221;
The president also made it clear that whatever course he takes, he intends to avoid a protracted war and is solely focused on preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. In the latest <a href="https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/trump_administration_second_term/57_favor_u_s_military_action_against_iran_s_nukes">Rasmussen polling</a>, 57% of Americans support American strikes to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, compared to just 30% who oppose them. But 69% of Americans say that even if they support airstrikes against Iran, they prefer the two sides negotiate an agreement.
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<h2>Immigration Pushback Continues As Trump Admin Sticks To Its Guns</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-936587" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_02_17_10.Still003.jpeg" alt="" width="640" height="360" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_02_17_10.Still003.jpeg 640w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_02_17_10.Still003-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></div>
Topline:  Blue cities are in rebellion against Trump’s immigration agenda. Protests and riots threaten immigration officers, while Democratic officials openly challenge the federal government.
Most of the pushback against immigration enforcement is in major cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York. The resistance involves everything from activist coordination to impeding ICE operations and local officials getting in between ICE and local law enforcement. 
Chicago has suspended an online portal for illegal aliens to apply for IDs. The CityKeys program was shut down after ICE subpoenaed its records. The Chicago city clerk then shut it down and told the <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/06/14/ice-subpoena-chicago-city-clerk-online-municipal-id/">Chicago Tribune,</a> “We’re going to fight giving over any data to the federal government.” Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson has been adamant that Chicago would “take to the streets” if it had to resist Trump. 
Comments like that haven’t stopped Trump from targeting these cities.
“Biden allowed 21 million people to come into our country,” Trump <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1934638998640537748">said</a> earlier this week. “Vast numbers of those people were murderers, killers, people from gangs, people from jails. They emptied their jails out into the US. Most of those people are in the cities, all blue cities, all Democrat-run cities, and they think they&#8217;re going to use them to vote. It&#8217;s not going to happen.” 
Local law enforcement is also cracking down on anti-ICE riots  – a bevy of new charges were announced Tuesday from state and federal officials. U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli and Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman outlined dozens of counts from curfew violations to assault of law enforcement. Hochman said that his district attorney’s office has charged at least 30 people. The U.S. attorney has brought an additional 20 counts. 
Lawmakers on both sides have condemned violence, but Democrats also seem to court their own run-ins with law enforcement. Earlier this month, New Jersey Congresswoman LaMonica McIver was charged after chaos erupted at an ICE detention center in Newark. More recently, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who is a candidate for mayor, was arrested outside an immigration court on Tuesday. Police say he was impeding law enforcement. Then last week, Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) had to be forcefully removed from a Homeland Security press conference in Los Angeles.

MRN 6.19.25 Thumbnail_V1

Morning Brief: SCOTUS Makes Trans Ruling, Iran Talks Tough, And Dems On Thin ICE

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Brandon Johnson

California

Chicago

Children

Donald Trump

Illinois

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Iran

Los Angeles County

minors

Morning Wire

Riots

SCOTUS

Supreme Court

Tennessee

transgender surgery

Food Network star Anne Burrell was discovered dead in her Brooklyn, New York, home on Tuesday morning. She was 55.
Her death was confirmed in a statement from the Food Network: &#8220;We are deeply saddened to share the news that beloved chef, Anne Burrell, passed away this morning. Anne was a remarkable person and culinary talent—teaching, competing and always sharing the importance of food in her life and the joy that a delicious meal can bring. Our thoughts are with Anne&#8217;s family, friends and fans during this time of tremendous loss.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
We are deeply saddened to share the news that beloved chef, Anne Burrell, passed away this morning. Anne was a remarkable person and culinary talent – teaching, competing and always sharing the importance of food in her life and the joy that a delicious meal can bring. Our… <a href="https://t.co/KABKH2SvkP">pic.twitter.com/KABKH2SvkP</a>
&mdash; Food Network (@FoodNetwork) <a href="https://twitter.com/FoodNetwork/status/1935101438931161477?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The cause of death for the TV personality has not been disclosed. 
Burrell made her Food Network debut in 2005 as part of the popular competition series &#8220;Iron Chef America,&#8221; serving as a sous chef for Iron Chef Mario Batali. She is also recognized for hosting the shows &#8220;Secrets of a Restaurant Chef&#8221; and &#8220;Worst Cooks in America.&#8221;
Burrell is survived by her husband, Stuart Claxton, his son, Javier, and her mother, brother, and sister, as Newsweek <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/anne-burrell-death-update-food-network-tributes-2087122">reported</a>.
&#8220;Anne was a beloved wife, sister, daughter, stepmother, and friend — her smile lit up every room she entered,&#8221; her family said in a statement. &#8220;Anne’s light radiated far beyond those she knew, touching millions across the world. Though she is no longer with us, her warmth, spirit, and boundless love remain eternal.&#8221;
Tributes to the reality show chef have been pouring in since the news of her death broke. 
Her “Worst Cooks in America” co-host Robert Irvine wrote a lengthy post <a href="https://x.com/RobertIrvine/status/1935104672844673384">shared</a> to social media, saying he was &#8220;stunned and deeply saddened&#8221; by the passing of his colleague. 
&#8220;Anne wasn&#8217;t just a fiery chef. She was a radiant spirit who lit up every room she entered. From the very beginning on Worst Cooks in America, our friendly rivalry was fueled by mutual respect: I&#8217;d risk bleaching my hair; she&#8217;d risk losing hers. An epic wager that epitomized her unbeatable spirit. It was a wager I ultimately lost, but I couldn&#8217;t imagine losing to a more fierce competitor,&#8221; he wrote. 
Comedian Loni Love also offered her condolences, <a href="https://x.com/LoniLove/status/1935172639913340986">writing</a>, “Anne Burrell&#8217;s passing has left me in shock and sorrow. She was a gifted chef, and an extraordinary person. Chef Anne was the same on and off camera. She would just check on me out the blue. I will miss her tremendously. My condolences to her husband, family, &amp; fans. Rest Chef.&#8221;

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