Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), 78, has declared that he will not seek reelection next year — and that he plans to step aside in an effort to allow for younger Democrats to step into leadership positions.
As reported on Monday by The New York Times, Nadler said that watching former President Joe Biden over the last several years had moved him to consider making way for the next generation of leaders.
“Watching the Biden thing really said something about the necessity for generational change in the party, and I think I want to respect that,” Nadler explained, saying that he hoped the next person to fill his seat “can maybe do better, can maybe help us more.”
With 34 years in Congress, Nadler is both the longest-serving New Yorker and the longest-serving Jewish member of the U.S. House — and he claimed that he was a bit uncertain about bowing out at first because he believed he still needed to fight against President Donald Trump — but the writing may have been on the wall long before Nadler was willing to read it.
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The New York Rep. recently lost his leadership position in the House Judiciary Committee at the beginning of the current Congress when the party shifted its focus toward younger leaders — and he was expected to face a primary in his home district, likely from a number of candidates who are younger and more progressive than he is.
Nadler was involved in both Trump impeachment attempts &#8212; in 2019 and 2021 &#8212; <a href="https://time.com/5743613/jerry-nadler-trump-impeachment-probe/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">helping to lead</a> the former.
The news of Nadler’s retirement comes in the wake of a new congressional map in Texas that may net Republicans as many as five additional seats — and as several other states move to change their maps as well, either in retaliation to or in an effort to supplement Texas’ actions.
Nadler’s exit will not likely change the balance in Congress, however, since his district covers a large swath of Manhattan and is considered to be a safely blue district.

Representative Jerry Nadler

Dem Who Led Trump Impeachment Effort To Bow Out Of Congress

Congress

Jerrold Nadler

Joe Biden

New York

Politics

BROOKLYN, NY — Surrounded by law enforcement personnel, Attorney General Pam Bondi sternly told the world that a notorious drug lord who had finally pleaded guilty to U.S. drug trafficking charges would die in prison.
“This guy, ‘El Mayo,’ was living like a king,” Bondi said of Ismael &#8220;El Mayo&#8221; Zambada, the co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel, as cameras flashed around her. ”Now he’s living like a criminal for the rest of his life.”
&#8220;Thanks to the relentless work of our prosecutors and our federal agents, El Mayo will spend the rest of his life behind bars. He will die in a U.S. federal prison where he belongs,&#8221; Bondi told reporters. &#8220;His guilty plea brings us one step closer to achieving our goal of the elimination of the drug cartels and the transnational criminal organizations throughout this world that are flooding our country with drugs and human traffickers and homicides.&#8221;
Her rhetoric and demeanor clearly spelled out the message that President Donald Trump&#8217;s Justice Department intends to send to those involved in the violent drug trade hurting so many Americans: they should be afraid, and any one of them might be next.
<div id="attachment_965195" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bondi-cartel-kingpin-will-die-in-a-u-s-federal-prison-where-he-belongs/attorney-general-pam-bondi-announces-sinaloa-cartel-co-founder-ismael-el-mayo-zambada-garcia-guilty-plea-2" rel="attachment wp-att-965195"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-965195" class="wp-image-965195 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2232068243-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2232068243-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2232068243-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2232068243-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2232068243.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi (R) speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Attorney’s Office on August 25, 2025, in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)</div>
The attorney general had traveled to Brooklyn straight from a two-hour Oval Office meeting with the president to make the announcement at the U.S. Attorney&#8217;s Office for the Eastern District of New York. The trip made clear that stopping the threat of drug cartels remains a top priority for the Trump administration.
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Zambada, for example, pleaded guilty on Monday to being one of the top leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, described by the Justice Department as &#8220;one of the most violent and powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world.&#8221; He made billions of dollars importing dangerous drugs into the United States. The DOJ said he &#8220;operated with impunity at the highest levels of the Mexican drug trafficking world while being assured of his continued success and safety from arrest through his payment of bribes to Mexican government officials and law enforcement officers.&#8221; &#8220;El Mayo&#8221; controlled those corrupt officials, who in turn protected his cartel members and the shipments of his drugs smuggled into America.
&#8220;Numerous witnesses have testified, including at the trials of El Chapo and corrupt former Mexican Secretary of Public Security Genaro García Luna, that corruption at all levels was necessary to allow the Zambada Garcia’s criminal enterprise to function so effectively at such a large scale: from local police officers who escorted the drugs through Mexico, to corrupt officials who informed the Cartel of military actions, thwarted capture operations, and consulted with the Cartel about proceedings and investigations against it,&#8221; the DOJ release notes.
&#8220;El Mayo’s crimes have been so prolific that in the past two decades, he&#8217;s been indicted in no fewer than 16 federal courts across our country, 16 from the Western District of Texas to Chicago to here in the Eastern District of New York. He escaped justice for decades,&#8221; the attorney general noted. &#8220;But under President Trump&#8217;s leadership, he has finally been brought to justice.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_965225" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bondi-cartel-kingpin-will-die-in-a-u-s-federal-prison-where-he-belongs/attorney-general-pam-bondi-announces-sinaloa-cartel-co-founder-ismael-el-mayo-zambada-garcia-guilty-plea-3" rel="attachment wp-att-965225"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-965225" class="wp-image-965225 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2232068319-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2232068319-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2232068319-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2232068319-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2232068319.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>Members of the NYPD listen as U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Attorney’s Office on August 25, 2025, in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)</div>
In a statement on Tuesday, family members of U.S. citizens <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-judge-orders-mexican-cartel-pay-billions-for-killings-nine-women-children/">killed by the Juárez Cartel</a> in 2019 thanked Bondi and Trump for going after the cartels.
&#8220;We are deeply grateful to President Trump, Attorney General Bondi, and the entire Trump administration for their commitment to holding cartels accountable,” said Adriana Jones, the president of &#8220;American Families Against Cartel Terrorism.&#8221; Jones is the sister of Maria &#8220;Rhonita&#8221; Le Baron and the aunt of Howard Miller Jr., Krystal Miller, and Titus and Tiana Miller — all of whom were killed in the 2019 massacre. “The Sinaloa Cartel and Juárez Cartel both represent a clear and present danger, and their actions have caused immense loss, pain, and suffering. Thanks to the efforts of this administration, our nation is safer.&#8221;

Attorney General Pam Bondi Announces Sinaloa Cartel Co-Founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada Garcia Guilty Plea

Bondi’s Promise: Cartel Bosses Will ‘Will Die In A U.S. Federal Prison’ Where They Belong

Crime

Donald Trump

Drug Cartels

Pam Bondi

Sinaloa Cartel

Governor Kathy Hochul’s administration recently blew nearly $500 million in potential savings for New York taxpayers by failing to move seniors to a federally funded Medicare plan. That’s half a billion dollars — gone — because Kathy Hochul couldn’t get her act together. That’s money that could have gone to tax relief, infrastructure, and keeping your utility bills lower.
When it comes to utility bills, National Grid customers in upstate New Yorker should brace themselves for a 15% increase in their bill starting next month. This amounts to about $216 more per customer per year, thanks to Governor Hochul’s green energy scam agenda. Likewise, Con Edison has proposed double-digit rate increases that will raise costs for downstate residents, driving up their utility bills as early as January 2026.
And that’s just the average cost increases. Many families and small businesses will be paying far more at a time when they are already struggling and can’t afford any more increases in their cost of living and doing business.
These increases are not a reflection of market forces or a sudden spike in demand, rather, they are a direct result of action by the governor’s Public Service Commission, which Hochul controls. This board approved the increases to fund her ambitious climate mandates. It’s typical of Albany: self-righteous politicians pushing you to “do your part” by paying more, even when you’re already struggling.
Why are these things happening? For starters, Kathy Hochul is incompetent and instead of addressing these problems and protecting you, she prioritizes politics. Currently, she’s focused on her crusade to illegally gerrymander New York’s congressional map – a scheme that the courts, and voters, already rejected. When the rules don’t work for the Democratic Party, Hochul tries to change them.
Hochul and her cronies describe mid-decade redistricting as “undemocratic,” yet in the same breath she and her fellow New York Democrats <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/24/new-york-redistricting-hochul-00475043" target="_blank" rel="noopener">have declared</a> they will engage in mid-decade redistricting. In other words – their words – they’re going to take undemocratic actions in order to “save democracy” in America. The hypocrisy and absurdity of this is unparalleled, and New York voters can see right through it. The voters and the courts in this state have already made it clear the people must have the ability to choose their representatives, rather than politicians manufacturing uncompetitive districts and forcing their preferred candidates down everybody’s throats.
New York voters overwhelmingly supported a nonpartisan redistricting process. However, Democrats ignored them, blatantly gerrymandered districts, and when they were thrown out by the courts, they corrupted the Court of Appeals to get their way. Now, they are looking to stomp on the Constitution again for another shot at rigging the system to protect their power. Meanwhile, New York taxpayers continue to struggle with rising costs and a deteriorating quality of life in their communities.
This is not leadership. It’s political wheeling and dealing at its worst, and taxpayers are footing the bill.
Albany’s ruling class has made their priorities clear: your paycheck, your bills, and your future come second to their grip on power.
Until we get a governor who will put people over politics, rein in spending, protect ratepayers, and actually focus on making New York affordable again, New Yorkers will keep paying for Kathy Hochul’s failures.
* * *
Robert G. Ortt was sworn into office as a New York State Senator for the 62nd District in January of 2015. He serves as the Republican Senate Minority Leader.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

NY Governor Hochul Delivers Remarks At MTA Board Meeting

While Gov. Hochul Is Busy Rigging Elections, NY Taxpayers Bear The Burden

Democrats

Elections

Energy

Green New Deal

Kathy Hochul

In a hilarious incident at the annual Men’s Day event in Brooklyn on Saturday, New York Democrat mayoral socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani tried to prove his manly prowess, and was left looking like the helpless girl tied to the railroad tracks in old-time movies.
Mamdani, 33, apparently eager to show off his physical strength, attempted to bench press 135 pounds, and had to have a heavily-muscled accomplice behind him help him complete the rep — twice.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Lolll Mamdani tried showing off at a “men’s day” event by doing the bench press and couldn’t do a single rep without help <a href="https://t.co/JNG2SLBfI9">pic.twitter.com/JNG2SLBfI9</a>
&mdash; Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) <a href="https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1959432709224435823?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 24, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Following Mamdani’s public humiliation, rival candidate and mayor Eric Adams, 64, shared a video from the same place showing him doing repeated bench presses with the same weight, commenting on X, “64 vs 33. A lifetime of hard work vs. a silver spoon. The results speak for themselves. The weight of the job is too heavy for &#8216;Mamscrawny.&#8217; The only thing he can lift is your taxes.”
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
64 vs. 33. A lifetime of hard work vs. a silver spoon. The results speak for themselves.
The weight of the job is too heavy for “Mamscrawny.” The only thing he can lift is your taxes. <a href="https://t.co/HR6fDPKn0B">pic.twitter.com/HR6fDPKn0B</a>
&mdash; Eric Adams (@ericadamsfornyc) <a href="https://twitter.com/ericadamsfornyc/status/1959444242352267682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 24, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Another mayoral candidate, former New York Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo, chimed in, “It’s easy to talk, it’s hard to carry the burden. This guy can’t bench his own body weight, let alone carry the weight of leading the most important city in the world.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
It&#39;s easy to talk, it&#39;s hard to carry the burden. 
This guy can&#39;t bench his own body weight, let alone carry the weight of leading the most important city in the world. <a href="https://t.co/kKB61LGojY">https://t.co/kKB61LGojY</a>
&mdash; Andrew Cuomo (@andrewcuomo) <a href="https://twitter.com/andrewcuomo/status/1959432881643638957?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 24, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Mamdani’s underwhelming performance prompted swimmer and outspoken women’s rights advocate Riley Gaines to share a video of herself bench pressing 165 lbs, writing, “165lb relatively easy reps on bench when I weighed 130lbs. Take note,  @ZohranKMamdani.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
165lb relatively easy reps on bench when I weighed 130lbs
Take note, <a href="https://twitter.com/ZohranKMamdani?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ZohranKMamdani</a> <a href="https://t.co/TNyv28VkgE">pic.twitter.com/TNyv28VkgE</a>
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) <a href="https://twitter.com/Riley_Gaines_/status/1959686839385870822?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 24, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“I&#8217;m not saying we should judge politicians for how much they can bench but I&#8217;m absolutely judging a politician for how much he can bench,” she quipped on X.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I&#39;m not saying we should judge politicians for how much they can bench but I&#39;m absolutely judging a politician for how much he can bench <a href="https://t.co/IkgsxegoQ2">https://t.co/IkgsxegoQ2</a>
&mdash; Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) <a href="https://twitter.com/Riley_Gaines_/status/1959690987359637801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 24, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“Zohran Mamdani can’t bench press 135 lbs,” comedian Tim Young wrote. “So like a good socialist, someone else basically does all the work for him and he celebrates like he did it himself. Yikes.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Zohran Mamdani can’t bench press 135 lbs…
So like a good socialist, someone else basically does all the work for him and he celebrates like he did it himself.
Yikes. <a href="https://t.co/Cc0AYYeuTN">pic.twitter.com/Cc0AYYeuTN</a>
&mdash; Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) <a href="https://twitter.com/TimRunsHisMouth/status/1959714102994948604?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 24, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&nbsp;

Zohran Mamdani Celebrates Union Endorsement As He Campaigns For New York City Mayor

Biceps In Airplane Mode: Mamdani Crushed By 135 Pounds In Painful Public Defeat

bench press

Zohran Mamdani

A tour bus carrying more than 50 people veered out of control and rolled over on an Upstate New York highway on Friday, killing at least five people and injuring dozens of others, authorities said.
At least one child was among the dead, according to trooper James O&#8217;Callaghan, a spokesperson for the New York State Police. He told reporters near the scene that most of the passengers were Asian or of Asian descent, including Chinese, Indians and Filipinos.
The accident took place on Interstate 90, part of the New York State Thruway, in Pembroke, New York, about 30 miles (48 km) east of Buffalo, while the bus was en route from Niagara Falls to New York City.
The National Transportation Safety Board was sending a team to investigate the accident, the agency said.
Multiple passengers ended up trapped in the wreckage and had to be extricated, while others were thrown from the bus when it rolled over across the highway before coming to rest on its side in a ditch along the shoulder of the road, O&#8217;Callaghan said.
The driver, who survived the accident, lost control while the bus was moving at &#8220;full speed,&#8221; he said, causing the vehicle to career into the median and then flip over. No other vehicles were involved.
<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>
The driver was cooperating with investigators, O&#8217;Callaghan said, and police were in contact with the bus company, which was not publicly identified.
The bus was carrying 51 passengers, not counting the driver, and every person aboard suffered some kind of injury, O&#8217;Callaghan said.
An online statement by state police said &#8220;several fatalities&#8221; were confirmed. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said on the social platform X that police had confirmed that &#8220;five lives were tragically lost.&#8221;
After the crash, authorities closed the highway in both directions, causing massive traffic delays at the onset of one of the last weekends of the summer vacation season.
(Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles and Rich McKay in Atlanta; Additional reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Frank McGurty, Cynthia Osterman and Sandra Maler)

Brooklyn Queens Expressway

Tour Bus Rolls Over On New York Highway, Killing 5 And Injuring Dozens

Brooklyn

Car Crash

General

U.S.

Every time someone fires at President Trump in court and misses, it makes him stronger.
The turning point in the 2024 election wasn&#8217;t even the assassination attempt or even Joe Biden dropping out.
It was the Mar-a-Lago raid. That raid turned the entire election on its head, because people rightly believed that Trump was being politically persecuted.
On Thursday, there was another case of someone firing at Trump legally and missing.
You might recall a decision that came down last year from a New York court and a trial judge that found Trump was liable for fraud. Why? Because when he was getting loans, he had supposedly made statements about his properties and the value of his properties, and then he got loans based on the value of the properties.
None of those loans were in default. He ended up paying back all of those loans. No lenders complained about any of this.
But New York State Attorney General Letitia James decided she was going to target him. So she jerry-rigged an entire case that violated the actual essence of the law — because the law was not designed for any of this.
James had actually put out a tweet in February 2024 celebrating the amount Trump was fined: $464,576,230.62.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2265-member-exclusive?elementPosition=4&amp;row=2&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
According to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/ny-appeals-court-throws-out-500-million-civil-fraud-judgment-against-trump-c556d887?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=ASWzDAguMmZjVZl0arP456l7GRMObgKK8fjnRl1FgKAaMZSg4XdNIVN6ckGrsP1q61I%3D&amp;gaa_ts=68a8cb47&amp;gaa_sig=ETQOYr5qhHGImG5q168H_WjgueZJuCsEXZ4qSbx65exAOqWJTG-CcWXTLUIgZKmmqjJpMqHND0VhTfBkJZBaXg%3D%3D">The Wall Street Journal</a>: 
<blockquote>A New York appeals court threw out a more than $500 million penalty against President <a href="https://www.wsj.com/topics/person/donald-trump">Trump</a> and his business empire, in a sharply splintered ruling that paves the way for further proceedings before the state’s highest court. 
The decision on Thursday from <a href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/court-split-leaves-trumps-civil-fraud-appeal-stuck-in-slow-lane-8ca09956?mod=article_inline">a five-judge panel</a> of the New York Appellate Division’s First Department is a significant legal boost for Trump, freeing him, for now, from a massive penalty that caused him financial headaches last year. …
“While harm certainly occurred, it was not the cataclysmic harm that can justify a nearly half billion-dollar award to the State,” Justice Peter Moulton wrote…</blockquote>
This was a bizarre award in the first place, given the fact that the supposed crime was not committed against the state of New York. It was a misread of the law. Judge David Friedman said that the law that originally enabled Letitia James to sue President Trump was designed to protect consumers and the public marketplace from deception and consumer transactions. It was not designed to protect lenders, who were not the ones who were damaged.
The court <a href="https://prod-i.a.dj.com/public/resources/documents/Appeal.pdf">wrote</a>:
<blockquote>A.G. James&#8217;s suit turns section 63(12) on its head, the leniency with which the courts have construed the requirements for pleading and proving fraud under that section, a leniency that has been extended for the purposes of facilitating the use of the provision to prevent the exploitation of unsophisticated consumers, investors and small business, is here being used by Attorney General Letitia James to apply section 63(12) to a scenario to which that provision has never before been applied or even thought to apply.</blockquote>
The court basically said, “You have got to be kidding me. $500 million fine? Are you kidding me?”
So Letitia James put out a <a href="https://x.com/NewYorkStateAG/status/1958567967148449838">statement</a>, saying:
<blockquote>The First Department today affirmed the well-supported finding of the trial court: Donald Trump, his company and two of his children are liable for fraud. 
The court upheld the injunctive relief we won, limiting Donald Trump and the Trump Organization officers’ ability to do business in New York. It should not be lost to history: yet another court has ruled that the president violated the law, and that our case has merit. 
We will seek appeal to the Court of Appeals and continue to protect the rights and interests of New Yorkers. </blockquote>
She claimed that the part of the decision saying that her filing wasn&#8217;t illegal was a vindication for her.
But if the thing that she was bragging about went away, namely, a $500 billion penalty, then she lost.
And that&#8217;s the point that President Trump was making on Truth Social, <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115067582190707382">writing</a>:
<blockquote>TOTAL VICTORY in the FAKE New York State Attorney General Letitia James Case! I greatly respect the fact that the Court had the Courage to throw out this unlawful and disgraceful Decision that was hurting Business all throughout New York State. Others were afraid to do business there. The amount, including Interest and Penalties, was over $550 Million Dollars. It was a Political Witch Hunt, in a business sense, the likes of which no one has ever seen before. This was a Case of Election Interference by the City and State trying to show, illegally, that I did things that were wrong when, in fact, everything I did was absolutely CORRECT and, even, PERFECT. Every single Dollar was thrown out, even the penalties imposed on us by the Corrupt Judge, one of the most overturned in History, Arthur Engoron.
I wasn’t given a Jury and, during the course of the Trial, which lasted a long time, was not given one Ruling in my favor by this Political Hack, but worse than him, if that’s possible, was Letitia James, a Corrupt and Incompetent Attorney General who only brought this Case in order to hurt me politically. She is a Trump Deranged Lunatic! They made me bond the outrageous sum, which never happened before, and which cost me Millions of Dollars a month. It should have never been allowed to happen, and everyone knew it! Importantly, the Vote was 5 to 0. I am so honored by Justice David Friedman’s great words of wisdom, which should be read by everyone. I would also like to thank the Court for having the Courage to make this Decision, which is already going down as one of the worst business persecutions in the History of our Country. 
Sadly, there are other Cases against me that are equally disgraceful, including those headed up by Corrupt Judges, like Juan Merchan, whose daughter collected Millions of Dollars in Fees from Crooked Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, while her father shockingly REFUSED TO RECUSE himself from a vicious and corrupt trial, which is also under Appeal, one in which every Legal Pundit in New York said, “THERE WAS NO CASE!” — Even Editorial Boards said, “DO NOT DO THIS!” Judge Merchan gave me an unprecedented Gag Order, not letting me talk about him or his daughter, or the fact that the Appellate Judges thought he should not be doing the Case, but he did it anyway. Many Lawyers said that his daughter and him created the Greatest Conflict of Interest they had ever seen.</blockquote>
The bottom line: this was a big victory for Trump. Even CNN legal analyst Elie Hoenig, no ally of President Trump, said, “This is a huge win for Donald Trump, any way you cut it. And this is a stinging rebuke to the Attorney General Letitia James.”
That is correct.
And Trump just got stronger.

TOPSHOT-US-POLITICS-TRUMP

Still Winning: Court Kills $500M Anti-Trump Judgment

Ben Shapiro

Court

Lawsuit

Leftists

Letitia James

Opinion

A New York appeals court throws out the nearly half-billion-dollar penalty against Donald Trump in his civil fraud case, calling the fine &#8220;excessive&#8221; and unconstitutional. Texas leads a new push by red states to crack down on mail-order abortion pills, as Costco announces it will no longer stock mifepristone. The pace of deportations under President Trump surges to nearly 1,500 a day as the administration ramps up interior enforcement.
It’s Friday, August 22, 2025, 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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<h2>Trump’s Excessive Civil Fraud Fine Overturned</h2>
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Topline: A New York appeals court on Thursday handed Donald Trump a stunning legal victory, tossing out the nearly half-billion-dollar penalty in the civil fraud case brought against him by New York Attorney General Letitia James. 
In a major reversal, the court ruled that the disgorgement order, which directed Trump to pay nearly $465 million, was an &#8220;excessive fine that violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution.” While the court did not overturn the underlying ruling that found Trump liable for fraud, it stated that the &#8220;cataclysmic harm that can justify a nearly half billion-dollar award to the state&#8221; did not occur.
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President Trump celebrated the decision on Truth Social, calling it a “TOTAL VICTORY in the FAKE New York State Attorney General Letitia James Case!” One of the judges, David Friedman, appeared to agree with that assessment, writing that James’ “ultimate goal was not ‘market hygiene’ … but political hygiene, ending with the derailment of President Trump’s political career and the destruction of his real estate business.” 
The ruling allows Trump’s legal team to appeal the fraud finding to New York’s highest court. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice is conducting a separate investigation into whether James violated Trump’s civil rights and whether she committed mortgage fraud.
&nbsp;
<h2>Red States Escalate Fight Against Abortion Pills</h2>
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Topline: Republican-led states are escalating their efforts to restrict access to mail-order abortion pills, which now account for nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the U.S. 
Texas is leading the charge on two fronts. Attorney General Ken Paxton has issued cease-and-desist letters demanding that national organizations stop illegally shipping abortion pills into the state. The Texas legislature is also considering a bill that would allow private citizens to sue out-of-state manufacturers and distributors of abortion pills for wrongful death or harm. In Tennessee, Senator Marsha Blackburn (R) is calling on the DOJ to investigate whether abortion pill manufacturers misrepresented the drugs’ safety risks to the FDA. 
The battle is also playing out in corporate America. Last week, Costco announced it will no longer stock mifepristone at its U.S. pharmacies, citing low member demand. Lila Rose of the pro-life group Live Action celebrated the decision as a &#8220;major victory,&#8221; saying, &#8220;Costco is where you go to buy in bulk, not to buy pills or death in a bottle.&#8221; Pro-life activists are now pressuring other major retailers like Walgreens and CVS to follow suit.
<h2>Trump Ramps Up Deportations, Nears ‘Deporter-in-Chief’ Pace</h2>
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Topline: The pace of deportations under President Trump has surged to nearly 1,500 per day, a level rivaling the Obama administration, as the White House continues to ramp up interior immigration enforcement. 
According to The New York Times, daily deportations have hit nearly 1,500 a day. Unlike under the Obama administration, when most deportations were of aliens arrested at the border, these numbers reflect people arrested in the interior of the country, as the border has been effectively closed for months. The number of aliens held in detention has now reached nearly 60,000, and new detention centers are being brought online with the help of GOP governors. 
Immigration enforcement in federally controlled Washington, D.C., has been particularly effective. The Wall Street Journal reported that nearly half of the 465 arrests made since the federal takeover have been of illegal aliens. 
The crackdown has been met with defiance in sanctuary cities. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu recently held a press conference vowing not to cooperate with federal demands for &#8220;mass deportations.&#8221; An acting ICE field office director in Boston responded on Fox News, saying of Wu’s leadership, &#8220;I know what a safe Boston looks like and this isn’t it.&#8221;

MRN 8.22.25 Thumbnail V1

Morning Brief: Trump’s $500 Million Fine Tossed & President On Track To Be Deporter-In-Chief

Abortion

Deportations

Illegal Immigration

Texas

New York Attorney General Letitia James staked her entire career on taking down President Donald Trump through highly controversial and unprecedented legal warfare — but now everything is falling apart.
James, who expressly campaigned on “leading the resistance&#8221; to &#8220;take on&#8221; the president, took another blow on Thursday, when an appeals court panel struck down the absurd penalty handed to Trump in a James-backed civil fraud case.
Trump quickly declared &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/total-victory-trump-triumphs-as-appeals-court-voids-excessive-civil-fraud-fine?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=%E2%80%98TOTAL+VICTORY%E2%80%99%3A+Trump+Triumphs+As+Appeals+Court+Voids+%E2%80%98Excessive%E2%80%99+Civil+Fraud+Fine">TOTAL VICTORY</a> in the FAKE New York State Attorney General Letitia James Case!”
The case, initiated by James, was eye-popping. Trump was being targeted for allegedly presenting higher property values to lenders, but, notably, there are zero victims in the president&#8217;s supposed crimes — all loans were paid back.
Additionally, the fines totaled more than half a billion dollars. The appeals panel found the penalty against Trump unconstitutional, a violation of the Eighth Amendment, and dismissed it in its entirety.
One panelist took aim at James specifically, saying the AG was seeking the “derailment of President Trump’s political career and the destruction of his real estate business.”
Indeed, James ran on trying to destroy Trump, a venture she&#8217;s so far failed.
While running for AG in 2017, James asked New Yorkers to vote for her since she would go after Trump. &#8220;I&#8217;ve been leading the resistance against Donald Trump in NYC and will only continue to do so in every way possible,&#8221; she posted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I&#8217;ve been leading the resistance against Donald Trump in NYC and will only continue to do so in every way possible <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NYCVotes?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NYCVotes</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NY1Politics?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NY1Politics</a>
— Tish James (@TishJames) <a href="https://twitter.com/TishJames/status/920076346646237185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 16, 2017</a></blockquote>
&#8220;I’m running for attorney general because I will never be afraid to challenge this illegitimate president when our fundamental rights are at stake,&#8221; she <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/21/politics/letitia-james-new-york-attorney-general">said</a> months later in 2018.
James followed up those comments by saying that her apparent hatred for Trump was fueling her campaign and her soul. &#8220;And what is fueling this campaign, what is fueling my soul right now, is Trump and his abuses, abuses against immigrants, against women, against our environment,&#8221; she said. &#8220;We need an attorney general who will stand up to Donald Trump.&#8221;
She also solicited donations by <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/trump-doj-letitia-james-indictment-war.html">vowing</a> to “take on&#8221; the president, promising to sue Trump before he was re-elected.
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It didn&#8217;t stop there. James made racial comments about Trump, like referring to him as &#8220;too pale,&#8221; routinely called him an illegitimate president, a con-man, and hurling other insults.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
New York AG Letitia James is under criminal investigation by the DOJ for “Deprivation of Rights”
Letitia James says she never targeted Donald Trump. Here’s a collection of clips of her literally campaigning promising to “Get Trump” and using a megaphone to chant “Lock him up” <a href="https://t.co/0qtmGFlFPR">pic.twitter.com/0qtmGFlFPR</a>
— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) <a href="https://twitter.com/WallStreetApes/status/1953895364911878198?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 8, 2025</a></blockquote>
Additionally, James made a big political show of her lawfare campaign against the president. She personally attended the trial — something extremely uncommon for an AG — and sat in the front row. Video cameras captured James posing, offering smirks, and at other times, glaring at Trump from her seat.
<div id="attachment_963659" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-963659" class="wp-image-963659 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-1772670084-864x576.jpg" alt="New York Attorney General Letitia James sits in the courtroom during the civil fraud trial of former President Donald Trump and his children at New York State Supreme Court on November 03, 2023 in New York City." width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-1772670084-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-1772670084-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-1772670084-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-1772670084.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Dave Sanders-Pool/Getty Images</div>
Not only is James&#8217; civil fraud case against Trump falling apart, the AG is now facing her own legal battles. Ironically, it was James who routinely stressed that “no one is above the law” while prosecuting Trump.
James is facing a federal criminal referral over suspected mortgage fraud. The referral, sent by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte, accuses James of falsifying loan records to secure favorable terms on a Virginia property she claimed was her primary residence while she was still serving in New York. Ironically, additional allegations involve a Brooklyn property misrepresented to lenders. Pulte says James’ actions could also constitute wire and bank fraud, among other federal charges.
Additionally, the Department of Justice this month reportedly launched a federal grand jury investigation into James over her civil suit against Trump. The DOJ is seeking more information, apparently looking to find out if James may have deprived Trump and his adult children of their rights as part of the case, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/08/08/nx-s1-5496351/letitia-james-justice-department-subpoena-trump#:~:text=Two%20sources%20told%20NPR%20the,role%20in%20Trump's%20first%20impeachment.">according</a> to NPR. The DOJ is also investigating her office&#8217;s conduct in its corruption case against the National Rifle Association (NRA).
Last week, Ed Martin, who serves as director of the DOJ&#8217;s Weaponization Working Group, called on James to resign from her post.
&#8220;Her resignation from office would give the people of New York and America more peace than proceeding. I would take this as an act of good faith,&#8221; Martin <a href="https://cbs4local.com/news/nation-world/ny-attorney-general-letitia-james-faces-calls-to-resign-in-act-of-good-faith-during-mortgage-fraud-inquiry-weaponization-working-group-ed-martin-abbe-lowell-lawyer-federal-housing-agency-director-bill-pulte-pam-bondi-fannie-mae-freddie-mac">said</a>.
James has armed herself with Attorney Abbe Lowell, who represented Hunter Biden, to face the investigations. Responding to Martin, Lowell — in what was truly a full-circle moment — charged that the Trump administration was weaponizing the government against his client.
&#8220;[D]espite the lack of evidence or law, you will take whatever actions you have been directed to take to make good on President Trump&#8217;s and Attorney General Bondi&#8217;s calls for revenge for that reason alone,&#8221; he said.
President Trump won the 2024 presidential election, despite James&#8217; best efforts. And he&#8217;s currently winning in the courts, working to shed James&#8217; attempt to destroy him personally.
Meanwhile, James has her hands full feeling what it&#8217;s like to not be &#8220;above the law.&#8221;

New York State Attorney General Letitia James makes an

Letitia James Went All-In To ‘Get Trump’ — Now It’s All Falling Apart

Courts

A New York appeals court on Thursday overturned the massive civil fraud penalty against President Donald Trump, ruling the nearly half-billion-dollar fine was &#8216;excessive&#8217; under the Eighth Amendment.
The five-judge appeals court panel ruled that the $355 million penalty against Trump — not including interest — &#8220;is an excessive fine that violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution,” the Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-fraud-lawsuit-appeal-db39d93feff322eeeeedbc1ff75ccaf3">reported</a>. The total fine levied by Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron against Trump and other executives in the Trump Organization, including Eric and Donald Trump Jr., exceeded $527 million when interest was factored in.
The civil fraud case against Trump was brought by New York Democratic Attorney General Letitia James, who alleged that Trump inflated his net worth to gain favorable terms from lenders. Judge Engoron sided with James, finding that between 2014 and 2021, the president overvalued his assets by up to $2.2 billion, CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/21/trump-fraud-new-york-appeals.html">reported</a>. The judge ordered Trump to pay the massive fine, while also barring him from running his business in New York for three years.
While the appeals court threw out the massive fine, it kept the ruling in place that Trump committed fraud, leaving open the option for an appeal to the state&#8217;s highest court. The judges also kept the other penalties on Trump&#8217;s company in place, but said that the president can seek a further extension of the pause on those penalties.
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&#8220;TOTAL VICTORY in the FAKE New York State Attorney General Letitia James Case!&#8221; Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115067582190707382">posted</a> on Truth Social. &#8220;I greatly respect the fact that the Court had the Courage to throw out this unlawful and disgraceful Decision that was hurting Business all throughout New York State. Others were afraid to do business there. The amount, including Interest and Penalties, was over $550 Million Dollars. It was a Political Witch Hunt, in a business sense, the likes of which no one has ever seen before. This was a Case of Election Interference by the City and State trying to show, illegally, that I did things that were wrong when, in fact, everything I did was absolutely CORRECT and, even, PERFECT.&#8221;
Judge David Friedman ripped James for bringing the lawsuit, writing, “Plainly, her ultimate goal was not ‘market hygiene’ &#8230; but political hygiene, ending with the derailment of President Trump’s political career and the destruction of his real estate business. The voters have obviously rendered a verdict on his political career. This bench today unanimously derails the effort to destroy his business.”
Appellate Division Judge Peter Moulton said in a concurring opinion that &#8220;the calculation of the disgorgement in this case was far from a reasonable approximation.&#8221; The panel, however, was divided in its ruling, issuing more than 300 pages of concurring and dissenting opinions, according to the AP. While most of the judges agreed that the penalty was excessive, there was disagreement over whether the attorney general&#8217;s lawsuit against Trump was justified. Two judges said it was, but another judge argued that James exceeded her authority, adding that a lawsuit should have been filed by one of Trump&#8217;s lenders if they felt cheated, but no lenders took legal action against Trump.
The Democratic attorney general filed the suit against Trump after vowing on the campaign trail to &#8220;take on&#8221; the then-Republican presidential frontrunner. In one campaign video, James <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/21/james-lawsuit-trump-longstanding-battle-00058128">blasted</a> Trump as &#8220;incompetent&#8221; and &#8220;an embarrassment to all that we stand for.&#8221; Trump maintained his innocence and fought back against the charges throughout the case, calling the suit a politically motivated &#8220;Witch Hunt.&#8221;
Trump appealed the civil fraud judgment in February 2024, with his attorney Alina Habba saying, &#8220;Letitia James is not going to get away with it; the Biden administration is not going to get away with it.”
“President Trump has done nothing wrong,&#8221; Habba added at the time. &#8220;All he has done is win a campaign, and that is scaring them because they know when he goes back in November 2024 he is going to clean house, and that is truly the problem.&#8221;
In his lengthy post on Truth Social following the court&#8217;s decision on Thursday, Trump added that James &#8220;only brought this Case in order to hurt me politically.&#8221;
&#8220;She is a Trump Deranged Lunatic! They made me bond the outrageous sum, which never happened before, and which cost me Millions of Dollars a month. It should have never been allowed to happen, and everyone knew it!&#8221;

‘TOTAL VICTORY’: Trump Triumphs As Appeals Court Voids ‘Excessive’ Civil Fraud Fine

Executive

The Democratic Party is in a &#8220;deep political hole&#8221; with voter registration, according to an analysis <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/20/us/politics/democratic-party-voter-registration-crisis.html">published</a> by The New York Times on Wednesday.
Between 2020 and 2024, Democrats lost ground to Republicans in all 30 states that track party affiliation when Americans register to vote, and the Times acknowledged the losses were &#8220;often by a lot.&#8221; In those 30 states, plus the District of Columbia, Democrats shed 2.1 million voters between 2020 and 2024. Republicans, meanwhile, gained 2.4 million voters.
&#8220;That four-year swing toward the Republicans adds up to 4.5 million voters, a deep political hole that could take years for Democrats to climb out from,&#8221; the Times wrote.
The major shift toward the GOP included vital swing states, such as Arizona and Pennsylvania, but Democrats also lost ground in the deep blue states of California, New York, and Massachusetts. In states where Republican voter registration was already blowing past that of the Democrats — such as Florida, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Oklahoma — GOP gains continued to grow.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
New York Times: &#8220;The Democratic Party is hemorrhaging voters long before they even go to the polls.
Of the 30 states that track voter registration by political party, Democrats lost ground to Republicans in every single one between the 2020 and 2024 elections — and often by a… <a href="https://t.co/gx94qL9EVP">pic.twitter.com/gx94qL9EVP</a>
— Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomBevanRCP/status/1958153504842801375?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 20, 2025</a></blockquote>
&nbsp;
While Democrats still outnumber Republicans by party registration nationwide, more newly registered voters across the country chose the Republican Party over the Democratic Party for the first time since 2018. The Times also noted that the Democrats&#8217; voter registration numbers are helped by massive blue states like California and New York allowing people to register by party, while the largest Republican state, Texas, and many of the deep-red southern states do not.
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Decision Desk HQ&#8217;s director of data science, Michael Pruser, told the Times that there &#8220;seems to be no end&#8221; to the voter registration crisis for Democrats.
&#8220;There is no silver lining or cavalry coming across the hill. This is month after month, year after year,&#8221; he said.
In recent years, Democrats &#8220;fell asleep at the switch,&#8221; according to longtime Democratic strategist Maria Cardona. Even Tom Bonier, one of the party&#8217;s top voter registration experts, admitted to the Times that he &#8220;was wrong&#8221; after downplaying the Democrats&#8217; registration issues last year.
“Clearly, in retrospect, we can say the Democratic Party had dug itself in too deep a hole in the preceding four years for the Harris campaign to dig itself out in the last few months,” Bonier said.
Republicans, meanwhile, adjusted their strategy following President Donald Trump&#8217;s 2020 election defeat and <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/republicans-ballot-harvesting-fraud-claims-rcna151952">hit the gas</a> on voter registration and ballot harvesting strategies in 2024.
“We don’t like drop boxes, to be clear,” a Republican National Committee official said in May of 2024. “We’re still going to use drop boxes if we have to, if they’re available. Same thing with harvesting: Where it’s a practice that Democrats are partaking in, we’re going to partake in it, too.”
Republicans also benefited from the efforts of activist Scott Presler, who dedicated himself from 2021 to 2024 to registering Republicans in the all-important swing state of Pennsylvania. In the summer of 2024, voter registration in Bucks County, Pennsylvania — a competitive suburb of Philadelphia — shifted to a GOP advantage for the first time since 2007, according to the Times. Trump went on to win Bucks County in the 2024 election, becoming the first Republican presidential candidate to do so in the 21st century.
In Pennsylvania, Democrats held an advantage of more than 517,000 registered voters in 2020, but that lead has now <a href="https://x.com/ScottPresler/status/1954912806911844834">fallen to fewer</a> than 54,000. Much of that shift comes from Democrats switching their party affiliation to Republicans. From 2020 to 2025, around 314,000 registered Democrats flipped to registered Republicans, while just over 160,000 registered Republicans became registered Democrats.
Democrats are also losing support among young voters, who are shifting to the GOP. Last year, Republicans registered nearly twice as many voters under 35 as Democrats did in key states such as Nevada, the Times reported.

US-VOTE-POLITICS-DEMOCRATIC-CONVENTION

Leftists Panic: Even NYT Says Democrats Face ‘Voter Registration Crisis’

California

Florida

New York Times

Pennsylvania

Republicans

Voter Registration

Voters

Oklahoma will require teachers relocating from California and New York to take a 50-question test aimed at assessing whether they hold leftist political views that might influence their teaching.
Developed by Prager University, the Oklahoma test, according to  Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters, will have to be approved by the education board before it is administered. Walters <a href="https://www.cnn.com/politics/prageru-oklahoma-woke-teacher-test">said</a> if applicants do not pass the test, they will not receive a teaching certificate.
“Every teacher that teaches in the state of Oklahoma will have to have a certificate that goes through my office. It has my signature on it. So that those will not move forward until this is done,” he declared.
“One proposed question deals with gender – asking teachers to select from a series of multiple-choice answers which chromosome pairs determine biological sex,” KCCI reported.
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“We will not allow these leftists’ plans and schemes to take place here in Oklahoma,” Walters said, according to <a href="https://www.kcci.com/article/oklahoma-prageru-teacher-test-controversy/65789726?utm_source=chatgpt.com">KCCI</a>. “They are trying to warp the minds of our kids to turn them into social justice warriors, instead of kids that are getting the most of their God-given talents to go get a good job, to go live a fulfilling life.”
“We’re not bringing in woke indoctrinators into the classroom,” Walters told <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2025/08/19/oklahoma-teachers-california-new-york-test/">The Washington Post</a>. “It’s a very America-first approach.”
“You’re gonna teach that there’s biological differences between males and females, period,” Walters told CNN. “You’re going to teach American history and use primary source documents, not pushing a left-wing agenda on to our kids.” He added that California and New York have required teachers to “do things that are antithetical to our standards and values as a state.”
“Oklahoma already requires new teachers to <a href="https://archive.is/o/wWfjk/https:/oklahoma.gov/education/services/teacher-certification.html">take a U.S. citizenship test</a>, which covers civics topics, to complete their certification,” the Post added.
Some other sample questions include:
<blockquote>
What are the first three words of the Constitution?
Why is freedom of religion important to America’s identity?
What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?
How many U.S. Senators are there?
Why do some states have more Representatives than others?
</blockquote>

Holland, Goirle, woman weeding

Oklahoma To Require Ideology Test For Incoming Teachers From California And NY To Weed Out Wokeness

Education

Oklahoma

Wokeness

President Trump and Vladimir Putin are set to meet in Alaska today for a high-stakes summit aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. The Trump administration orders a sweeping review of Smithsonian museums to remove &#8220;woke&#8221; and &#8220;divisive&#8221; narratives from exhibits. A 16-year-old girl wins a federal court case in New York, forcing her school to accept a medical vaccine exemption in a state that bans religious exemptions.
It’s Friday, August 15, 2025, 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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<h2>Trump and Putin Face Off in Alaska Summit</h2>
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Topline: President Trump is set to sit down with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska today for a high-stakes, one-on-one meeting that could set the stage for ending the war in Ukraine. 
The two leaders will meet at an Air Force Base in Anchorage for what President Trump has called a &#8220;feel out&#8221; meeting. &#8220;This meeting sets up the second meeting,&#8221; Trump said Thursday. &#8220;The second meeting is going to be very, very important because that&#8217;s going to be a meeting where they make a deal.&#8221; 
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was not invited to the initial summit, warned that Putin is not preparing for a ceasefire and will use the meeting as a &#8220;personal victory.&#8221; Trump has offered assurances that if the talks go well, Zelensky will be included in a future meeting. 
Putin enters the negotiations with more leverage than he had earlier in the war, with Russia now controlling about 18% of Ukrainian territory. His likely demands include formally retaining seized land, a guarantee that Ukraine will never join NATO, and the normalization of economic ties with the U.S. 
<h2>Trump Orders Review of ‘Woke’ Smithsonian Museums</h2>
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Topline: The Trump administration has ordered a sweeping review of eight Smithsonian museums to remove what the White House calls &#8220;divisive, race-centered ideology&#8221; and restore an &#8220;America First&#8221; vision to the nation&#8217;s cultural institutions. 
In a letter released this week, the administration announced a comprehensive review to remove &#8220;divisive or partisan narratives&#8221; and ensure exhibits are &#8220;historically accurate.&#8221; The move has drawn fierce criticism, with one museum educator comparing it to the actions of the Taliban.
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Supporters of the review argue that a rewriting of history has already taken place through the embrace of woke ideology. In an appearance on CNN, TV personality Jillian Michaels pointed to a Smithsonian exhibit on gender in sports that calls gender testing &#8220;complex.&#8221; &#8220;It&#8217;s not complex. It&#8217;s basic science,&#8221; she said. &#8220;It&#8217;s XX chromosome, XY chromosome.&#8221; 
President Trump defended the review, saying, &#8220;We want the museums to talk about the history of our country in a fair manner, not in a woke manner or in a racist manner.&#8221; The Smithsonian’s board of regents, which includes Vice President JD Vance, has agreed to cooperate with the review. The move is part of a broader cultural push by the president, who recently vetoed several &#8220;woke&#8221; honorees for the Kennedy Center awards, selecting Sylvester Stallone, George Strait, Gloria Gaynor, Michael Crawford, and the rock band KISS instead. 
<h2>New York Teen Wins Vaccine Exemption Case</h2>
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Topline: A 16-year-old girl has won a federal court case against her New York public school, which must now honor her medical exemption for a vaccine in a state that has banned religious exemptions. 
On Tuesday, a federal court granted a medical exemption to the teen, identified as &#8220;Sarah Doe,&#8221; ordering her school to allow her to attend classes this fall. The case is significant because New York is one of four states that do not allow religious exemptions, and families have reported that schools are increasingly denying valid medical exemptions as well. 
After New York ended religious exemptions in 2019, Sarah received 18 vaccine doses in two months to comply with school mandates. She subsequently developed severe autoimmune conditions and a bleeding disorder. Six different doctors advised her to skip her final Hepatitis B vaccine dose, but the school repeatedly denied the exemption. 
The family&#8217;s attorney, Sujata Gibson, argued that New York&#8217;s regulations have led to hundreds of children with longstanding medical exemptions having them revoked, forcing some to get vaccinated against medical advice. She believes the school&#8217;s actions are a &#8220;square violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.&#8221; With vocal vaccine exemption supporter Robert F. Kennedy Jr. now leading HHS, federal guidance on the issue may be forthcoming.

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Morning Brief: Trump & Putin Alaska Summit, Anti-Woke Review Of Federal Museums, NY Vaxx Case

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