Costco is making a rare change to its legendary $1.50 hot dog combo, but don’t worry: it’s a good one.
The price isn&#8217;t going up, staying true to the founder’s commitment to keep the famously cheap meal intact. Instead, Costco shoppers can now opt for bottled water as part of the combo, rather than being limited to a fountain soda alongside the oversized hot dog. 
It&#8217;s the first notable tweak to the $1.50 deal in more than 40 years, dating back to its debut in the 1980s, <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/shopping/deals/membership/2026/04/28/new-costco-hot-dog-combo-deal/89841410007/">according to</a> USA Today. 
This upgrade is seen as a major plus at a time when fast food chains are being accused of reducing portion sizes, at least according to people posting viral videos online about “shrinkflation.”
Costco, by contrast, has built a reputation around holding the line on its food court staple. CEO Ron Vachris recently reiterated that commitment, saying the $1.50 combo will “not change as long as I’m around.”
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The promise echoes the stance of co-founder Jim Sinegal, who was famously adamant that the price never increase. Former CEO W. Craig Jelinek once recalled suggesting a price hike, only to be swiftly shut down. 
“I came to (Sinegal) once and I said, ‘Jim, we can’t sell this hot dog for a buck fifty,&#8221; Jelinek said, <a href="https://www.delish.com/food-news/a34111722/costco-hot-dog-combo-story/">according to</a> Delish. &#8220;We are losing our rear ends.’ And he said, ‘If you raise the effing hot dog, I will kill you. Figure it out.’ That’s all I really needed.&#8221;
While haters like to point out that the deal is only available to Costco members, with memberships starting around $65 annually, the combo remains one of the most iconic bargains in retail.

Costco hot dog deal

Costco Adjusts Its Legendary $1.50 Hot Dog Deal For The First Time In Decades

Business

Costco

Food

United States

In a show of tradition and diplomatic goodwill, President Donald Trump and King Charles III exchanged symbolic gifts on Tuesday during the British monarch’s state visit.
King Charles gave Trump a historically significant, high-quality reproduction of the 1879 design plans for the Resolute Desk, which sits in the Oval Office. The 1,300-pound desk was crafted from salvaged timbers from the British ship H.M.S. Resolute, as The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/28/us/trump-king-charles-visit-gifts.html">reported</a>. The original design plans are housed at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England.
In return, Trump gifted the British Monarch a framed copy of a 1785 letter from then-U.S. ambassador to Britain John Adams to John Jay, who was serving as U.S. Secretary of Foreign Affairs. Adams, who would later become the nation’s second president, described in the letter a meeting with King George III in which both sides agreed to move forward amicably despite lingering bad feelings from the Revolutionary War. 
The exchange was widely seen as a symbolic nod to the enduring relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.
First lady Melania Trump and Queen Camilla also exchanged gifts. Melania Trump presented the queen with a set of six engraved silver spoons from Tiffany &amp; Co., while Queen Camilla gifted the first lady a designer brooch.
It was also revealed this week that Trump and King Charles share a distant familial connection, as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/yes-kings-trump-is-related-to-british-monarch-charles-iii">reported</a>. Research cited by The Daily Mail traces both men&#8217;s lineage back to the 3rd Earl of Lennox, a great-grandson of King James II of Scotland, making them 15th cousins.
The official White House X account highlighted the discovery, sharing a chart tracing back the ancestry research along with a screenshot of Trump&#8217;s reaction on Truth Social: “Wow, that’s nice. I always wanted to live in Buckingham Palace!!! I’ll talk to the King and Queen about this in a few minutes!!!”
King Charles and Queen Camilla are visiting the United States as the country approaches the 250th anniversary of its independence from Britain, a milestone both sides are marking as a sign of the continued strength of the transatlantic alliance. The royal couple arrived in the United States on Monday and is scheduled to visit Washington, D.C., New York, and Virginia.

Trump King state visit

King Charles, Camilla Brought Gifts To The White House. Here’s What They Got In Return.

Donald Trump

King Charles

Monarchy

Royal Family

United Kingdom

Maybe he’s a king after all? According to a newly published <a href="https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15770263/Mail-traced-Trumps-family-tree-Kings-cousin.html">report</a> from The Daily Mail, President Trump shares a common ancestor with the British monarch King Charles III.
The news broke the day after Charles and his wife arrived in the United States for an official state visit. Their research shows that the connection starts with the 3rd Earl of Lennox, a great-grandson of King James II of Scotland. This ultimately makes Trump and Charles III 15th cousins. 
The official White House X account posted about the findings, including a chart tracing back the ancestry research. They also included a screenshot of the president’s Truth Social post about it, which said, “Wow, that’s nice. I always wanted to live in Buckingham Palace!!! I’ll talk to the King and Queen about this in a few minutes!!!”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
👀 <a href="https://t.co/DP7jAYh7Qj">pic.twitter.com/DP7jAYh7Qj</a>
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/2049115763777085519?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 28, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Trump and King Charles have another thing in common, namely remaining calm in the face of would-be assassins. Trump has been remarkably brave when confronted with someone trying to murder him not once, not twice, but three times — first in Butler, Pennsylvania when a bullet grazed his ear after he miraculously turned his head at the precise right moment, and again on Saturday night when a gunman crashed the White House Correspondents’ Dinner armed with multiple weapons and the intent to kill the president.
More than three decades ago in 1994, King Charles (then Prince Charles) was targeted by a crazed activist himself while giving a speech in Australia. David Kang, 23, fired off two blanks and tripped onto the stage where Charles was speaking before being tackled by the future monarch’s security detail.
The whole time, the Prince of Wales can be seen looking on with a mildly sour look on his face, without cowering in fear or ducking for cover.
King Charles and Queen Camilla are visiting the United States as the country approaches the 250th anniversary of its independence from Britain as a signal of the strong relationship between the two countries. The royal couple will visit Washington DC, New York, and Virginia between April 27 and 30.
Buckingham Palace issued a statement on Sunday evening following the assassination attempt, saying the event did not change their plans.
&#8220;The King and Queen are most grateful to all those who have worked at pace to ensure this remains the case and are looking forward to the Visit getting underway tomorrow,&#8221; the statement said.

King Charles and Donald Trump

Is Trump In Line For The British Throne? The Connection To The Royal Family

King Charles III

Prego – as in the pasta sauce company – has a new marketing strategy that involves customers recording their dinner conversations using a small device they place on the table.
The Campbell&#8217;s-owned company announced the debut of its “Connection Keeper” on Monday.
This pasta-lid-shaped device is meant to serve as a “simple, screen-free way to capture the real conversations that happen around the dinner table.”
“With just the press of a button, families can record meaningful moments and relive them later – without phones, screens, or distractions getting in the way,” the promotional <a href="https://www.campbells.com/prego/the-connection-keeper/#HowItWorks">web copy</a> says.
“Sit down with your loved ones. Place the Connection Keeper on the dinner table and press to record. No setup needed,” it goes on, noting that the device has no Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or AI features. It’s meant to help families disconnect, PR reps for Prego say. It’s a joint effort with the national nonprofit StoryCorps.
“Everything now is AI, and everyone has their phones on the table,” Elyce Henkin, a managing director of StoryCorps studios and brand partnerships, <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/prego-has-a-dinner-recording-device-capiche/">told</a> Wired. “It interrupts the conversation and the flow. We wanted to get rid of that and go back to the basics and have everyone talking to each other.”
What happens after these fascinating dinnertime conversations are captured, you might be wondering? Beginning May 4, users can “easily and safely” upload recorded content to an online portal set up by StoryCorps, to be stored for future listening. 
Then what?
As Prego notes, “The recordings are designed to help families preserve the authentic sounds of time spent together, creating a personal archive to revisit for years to come. Families will have the option to preserve their recordings private within the StoryCorps archive or share them publicly as part of a special Prego Collection.”
There’s also a chance that shared recording could wind up preserved forever. As StoryCorps says in the <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/prego-partners-with-storycorps-to-transform-the-everyday-dinner-into-cherished-family-memories-302746573.html#:~:text=About%20StoryCorps,%2C%20and%20best%2Dselling%20books.">press release</a> announcing this promo, they are known to preserve the recordings in their archives at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, “the largest single collection of human voices ever gathered.”  
The Connection Keeper Bundle will be available for $20 beginning April 27.

Prego

Your Dinner Could Be Spying On You

News

Surveillance

President Donald Trump and a number in his administration have suggested that Democrats and media were actively rooting for the United States to lose the war with Iran — and one New York Times columnist gave a striking example of that during a Saturday interview on CNN.
Foreign affairs columnist Thomas Friedman admitted that he felt torn over fully backing the United States in the ongoing Operation Epic Fury, saying that he wanted the Iranian regime to fall but that he wasn&#8217;t sure it was worth the cost of elevating President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Friedman told CNN host Michael Smerconish that he was all for the end of the Iranian regime, but that it was the likelihood the credit — and with that credit, political capital — would go to Trump and Netanyahu that gave him pause.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Don’t want Iran to lose if it means Trump wins. <a href="https://twitter.com/tomfriedman?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TomFriedman</a> of <a href="https://twitter.com/nytimes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NYTimes</a> really wants “to see Iran defeated militarily because this regime is a terrible regime for its people and the region,” but on CNN’s <a href="https://twitter.com/smerconish?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Smerconish</a> he fretted “the problem is I really don’t want to see Bibi… <a href="https://t.co/rgPngGXkGc">pic.twitter.com/rgPngGXkGc</a>
— Brent Baker 🇺🇲🇺🇦 🇮🇱 (@BrentHBaker) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrentHBaker/status/2043048290523005341?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 11, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;I find myself, Michael, in a situation where I really want to see Iran defeated militarily because this regime is a terrible regime for the people and the region,&#8221; he explained, saying that the best thing for the Iranian people — and for the region across the board — would be a regime change that resulted in leadership that allowed the people to flourish and thrive.
&#8220;I&#8217;m all for that. The problem is I really don’t want to see Bibi Netanyahu or Donald Trump politically strengthened by this war because they are two awful human beings,&#8221; Friedman continued. &#8220;They are both engaged in anti-democratic projects in their own countries. They’re both alleged crooks. They are terrible, terrible people doing terrible things to America’s standing in the world and Israel’s standing in the world.&#8221;
&#8220;And so I really find myself torn,&#8221; Friedman concluded, saying that he was trying to balance his support for a new regime in Iran against his fears that Trump or Netanyahu might get a share of the credit for helping to  bring that about.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Donald Trump

NYT Journo Admits He Was ‘Torn’ On Rooting For U.S. In Iran War

NYT Journo Admits He Was 'Torn' On Rooting For U.S. In Iran War

Benjamin Netanyahu

Iran

Israel

Media

New York Times

Politics

The Islamic Republic of Iran&#8217;s proposed 10-point peace plan, according to versions circulating in Iranian and international media, demands acceptance of the regime&#8217;s uranium enrichment program, removal of all sanctions, and compensation payment for war damage.
Iran&#8217;s proposal also calls for the United States to withdraw all forces from the region and implement a ceasefire on all fronts, including Israel’s conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
On Truth Social early Wednesday, President Donald Trump said there will be “positive action” following the two-week ceasefire agreement with Iran, but he appeared to contradict key pillars of Iran&#8217;s plan.
&#8220;The United States will work closely with Iran, which we have determined has gone through what will be a very productive Regime Change! There will be no enrichment of Uranium, and the United States will, working with Iran, dig up and remove all of the deeply buried (B-2 Bombers) Nuclear &#8216;Dust,'&#8221; <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116368825638596650">Trump said.</a>
The president, however, left the door open to sanctions and tariff relief.
Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116369934305888462">said</a> later on Wednesday that numerous proposed lists of demands from Iran have been reported &#8220;that have absolutely nothing to do with the U.S.A. / Iran Negotiation.&#8221;
&#8220;There is only one group of meaningful &#8216;POINTS&#8217; that are acceptable to the United States, and we will be discussing them behind closed doors during these Negotiations,&#8221; he wrote on Truth Social. &#8220;These are the POINTS that are the basis on which we agreed to a CEASEFIRE.&#8221;
Iran&#8217;s full 10-point plan includes the following demands.
<ul>
<li>1.   The U.S. must fundamentally commit to guaranteeing non-aggression.</li>
<li>2.   Continuation of Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz.</li>
<li>3.   Acceptance that Iran can enrich uranium for its nuclear program.</li>
<li>4.   Removal of all primary sanctions on Iran.</li>
<li>5.   Removal of all secondary sanctions against foreign entities that do business with Iranian institutions.</li>
<li>6.   End of all United Nations Security Council resolutions targeting Iran.</li>
<li>7.   End of all International Atomic Energy Agency resolutions on Iran’s nuclear program.</li>
<li>8.   Compensation payment to Iran for war damage.</li>
<li>9.   Withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from the region.</li>
<li>10. Ceasefire on all fronts, including Israel’s conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon.</li>
</ul>
The 10-point framework differs from the plan that Trump said was a “workable basis on which to negotiate,” <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/04/08/world/iran-war-trump-news">according to the New York Times.</a> White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is expected to share additional details during a Wednesday afternoon briefing.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who has backed Trump&#8217;s operation, said he prefers a diplomatic solution &#8220;to end the reign of terror in Iran&#8221; but described elements of Iran&#8217;s reported proposal as &#8220;troubling.&#8221;
&#8220;Allowing this regime to enrich in the future would be an affront to all those murdered by the regime since this war started and would be inconsistent with denying Iran a pathway toward a bomb in the future,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/LindseyGrahamSC/status/2041871542032716010?s=20">Graham said in a post on X</a>. &#8220;The last thing I’m interested in is for Iran to be able to save face. I’m interested in a deal that will stop their maniacal drive to a nuclear weapon among other things.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Again a diplomatic solution to end the reign of terror in Iran is the preferred outcome. The supposed negotiating document, in my view, has some troubling aspects, but time will tell. I look forward to the architects of this proposal, the Vice President and others, coming forward…
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) <a href="https://twitter.com/LindseyGrahamSC/status/2041871542032716010?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2026</a></blockquote>
Conservative broadcast host Mark Levin, another hardline supporter of the war, called the Iranian 10-point plan an &#8220;absolute disaster.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
These 10 points are an absolute disaster <a href="https://t.co/GLlDwtM5k6">https://t.co/GLlDwtM5k6</a>
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) <a href="https://twitter.com/marklevinshow/status/2041859062820696167?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2026</a></blockquote>
The fragile two-week ceasefire hinges on the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/live-updates-iranian-protests-intensify-as-citizens-demand-end-to-ayatollah-rule?author=Daily+Wire&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=LIVE+UPDATES%3A+Trump+Says+Peace+Is+Within+Reach+As+U.S.+Vows+Hands-On+Role+In+Strait+Of+Hormuz">Daily Wire White House correspondent Mary Margaret Olohan</a> asked Secretary of War Pete Hegseth what Iran meant when it said it would open the strait with &#8220;technical limitations.&#8221;
&#8220;What we know is that Iran is going to say a lot of things. A lot of people are going to say a lot of things, claim a lot of things. What has been agreed to, what&#8217;s been stated, is the strait is open. Our military is watching. I&#8217;m sure their military is watching, but commerce will flow,&#8221; Hegseth said.
The Daily Wire also asked Hegseth about reports that Iran was still launching strikes overnight.
&#8220;As far as shooting, we were monitoring it last night in real time. Of course, we are. Iran would be wise to find a way to get the carrier pigeon to their troops out in remote locations, to know not to shoot, not to shoot any longer,&#8221; Hegseth said. &#8220;It takes time sometimes for ceasefires to take hold. We&#8217;re watching it.&#8221;

Iran-Tehran-Explosions-March

Trump Suggests 10-Point Plan Is Not What’s Being Discussed In Iran Peace Talks

Ceasefire

The CEO of Five Guys joked that his motivation behind handing out $1.5 million in employee bonuses was a fear of being murdered.
The restaurant exec Jerry Murrell seemed to be making a dark reference to the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024. 
“I didn’t want anybody shooting me in the back or anything after the first day, because we really screwed it up. We had no idea that we were going to get that kind of response,” Murrell, 82, <a href="https://fortune.com/2026/03/25/five-guys-ceo-jerry-murrell-bonus-employees-bogo-burger/">told</a> Fortune of their failed buy-one-get-one promotion that made headlines earlier this year.
In February, Five Guys celebrated its 40-year anniversary with a BOGO promo, which proved so popular that it crashed the app and led to many restaurants shutting their doors early and refusing to honor it. This led to massive backlash on social media. 
The company apologized for the chaos with a <a href="https://www.fiveguys.com/news/blog/were-sorry/">statement</a> posted on its website. “We let you down, and we’re sorry,” it said. “The promotion spread far beyond what we anticipated, and our hardworking crews were placed in a difficult situation. Some locations ran out of product and had to close early. Online and app ordering experienced sporadic issues that prevented some of you from redeeming the offer.”
The apology went on to praise employees, saying this wasn’t their fault. “We also want to recognize the incredible men and women working in our restaurants. While yesterday’s issues were through no fault of their own, they handled it with the same grit and dedication that has defined Five Guys for four decades.”
Five Guys ran the promo again the following month with better preparation for how popular it would be. Murrell, founder of the popular burger joint, said he used his own money to pay out the bonuses.
“I was gonna buy my wife a new fur coat, and I spent it on [the bonus] instead,” Murrell told the outlet. “She still looks at me like I’m stupid. But I thought it was worth it. They worked so hard. They were so overwhelmed.”​
The outlet noted that Five Guys is one of the last major fast-food chains that is still private and family-owned. There are approximately 1,500 locations nationwide, meaning each restaurant received about $1,000.

Five Guys Murrell

Five Guys CEO Jokes About Why He Gave $1.5 Million To Staffers

Fast-Food

Restaurant

UnitedHealthcare

Actor Vince Vaughn just publicly called out what conservatives have been saying for years: late-night shows gave up being funny long ago in favor of pushing a hyper-partisan agenda.
The 55-year-old “Dodgeball” star made his thoughts known during a recent appearance on Theo Von’s “This Past Weekend” podcast.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Vince Vaughn | This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von #648" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XDlj_6Ik7tQ?start=3049&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
“Podcasts have gotten so much more popular with less production, less writers, less staff,” Vaughn said. He went on to explain how people seem to prefer podcasts because they’re looking for “authenticity.”
“I think that the talk shows, to a large part, became really agenda-based,” the celeb went on. “They were going to evangelical [sic] people to what they thought. And so, people just rejected it because it didn’t feel authentic. It felt like they had an agenda. It stopped being funny and it started feeling like I was in… f***ing a class I didn’t want to take… I’m getting scolded.”
Vaughn said it was a mistake to blame technology or other external factors for late night’s downfall, saying he believed it was a catastrophe of their own making.
“If you look at what happened to the talk shows and why their ratings are low, it’s got only to do with the fact of what you just said… they all became the same show,” Vaughn added. “And they all became so about their politics and who’s good and who’s bad. And it’s like, imagine sitting next to someone like that on a f***ing plane.”
As for his own politics, Vaughn has said in the past that he most closely identifies with the Libertarian Party and doesn’t land cleanly on the right or the left.
“I got along with people for the most and always was, you know, always try to be honest about who I am,” the actor told Von. “But yeah, there’s times you felt like it would have been easier. It’s almost like a career move. You know what I mean? But I was always the other way, too. Like, I’m not jumping on 100% this or this because I have opinions on both sides. There’s sh** I don’t agree with at all, and then there’s sh** I don’t agree with at all.”
Vaughn’s comments come on the heels of Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show” being canceled due to poor performance, with insiders saying the show lost millions every year. The liberals cried censorship, but average viewers appear to be fed up with the heavily biased, unfunny program and others like it.
A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/late-night-hosts-targeted-conservatives-92-of-the-time-made-more-than-7000-trump-jokes-in-2025">report</a> published by the New York Post last December found that 92% of jokes on mainstream late-night shows over the previous year have been targeted at conservatives.
The analysis of 818 episodes focused on major mainstream late-night hosts, including Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, and Seth Meyers.
Those shows included 197 liberal guests and only two who were conservative.

Vince Vaughn

Vince Vaughn Drops Truth Bomb About Why Late-Night Television Is Dead

Celebrities

Entertainment

Leftism

Television

The horror novel “Shy Girl” is being pulled from publication in the United States and won’t be sold anymore in the U.K. due to suspected use of artificial intelligence (AI) by the author, Mia Ballard.
Hachette Book Group, one of the largest publishers in the United States, announced its decision on Thursday, per <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/19/books/shy-girl-book-ai.html">The New York Times</a>.
 “Hachette remains committed to protecting original creative expression and storytelling,” a company spokeswoman told the outlet, noting that authors are required to disclose any use of AI for writing before submitting their work.
“Shy Girl” was slated to be released later this spring. Ballard responded to the accusations via email, denying the allegations. 
“This controversy has changed my life in many ways, and my mental health is at an all-time low, and my name is ruined for something I didn’t even personally do,” she told the NYT.
The book has sold about 1,800 copies in the U.K. so far. As of Thursday, it was removed from Amazon and the Hachette website.
According to the Goodreads description, the novel is about a girl who decides to live as a man’s pet. Ballard initially self-published the book in 2025.
“Lonely, broke and depressed with a serious case of OCD, Gia finds herself at a crossroads when financial troubles lead her to Nathan, a mysterious and affluent man she encounters on a sugar dating website. Desperate for a solution, Gia is intrigued by Nathan&#8217;s unconventional offer: in exchange for living as his devoted pet, all of her debts will be erased. But the longer Gia is in captivity, the more animalistic she becomes,” the description says. 
While AI-generated writing isn’t always easy to recognize, many readers have begun to notice certain patterns and call it out. “Shy Girl” was no exception, as many reviewers noticed aspects that they said indicate AI did the writing. 
“I am quite certain that this was written by ChatGPT,” one reviewer who gave the book one star wrote. “As an editor, I&#8217;ve read a few specifically ChatGPT written books, and this has not only all the hallmarks, but some specific repeated phrases that I&#8217;ve read in other ChatGPT works … If it&#8217;s not AI, and I&#8217;m truly quite sure that it is, then this author needs to be ruthlessly edited. Every noun is preceded by a flaccid adjective, every action is followed by a repetitive, boring simile.”
Two months ago, YouTube personality Frankie&#8217;s Shelf released a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbeKTa5xhZo">video</a> on the book called &#8220;I&#8217;m pretty sure this book is AI slop,” which took a deep dive into the allegations. It received more than one million views and 44,000 likes. 
This move comes as the controversy over the use of AI across multiple industries, including entertainment and Hollywood, remains a hot topic of debate.

Robot’s hand holding a pencil.

Publisher Yanks Horror Novel Over Suspected AI Use

Artificial Intelligence

Books

Technology

Joy Reid did a side-by-side comparison of the United States and Iran, and her overall takeaway was that if American women were better off than their Iranian counterparts, they were not better off by much.
Reid, who was ousted from her regular gig with liberal network MSNBC before NBC News jettisoned the now rebranded cable news network (MS NOW), argued that the United States had secret police just like Iran and was just as oppressive when it came to how women were treated — although she listed off the &#8220;oppressive&#8221; policies impacting American women and did not mention one of the many that affect Iranian women. The only real difference, she claimed, was that American oppression came at the hands of Christians and Iran&#8217;s oppressive regime was rooted in Islam.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Joy Reid: America is a Christian form of Iran &amp; women may have be better off there <a href="https://t.co/mDAheewOPU">pic.twitter.com/mDAheewOPU</a>
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) <a href="https://twitter.com/EndWokeness/status/2033542969509191976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;We get told, particularly when it comes to Arabs and Muslims and Africans, that people are just diabolically evil for no reason, right? That they do things because they hate our freedoms. We were told this about Iraq, that they just hated us for no damn reason at all,&#8221; Reid said, suggesting that the narrative was invented out of whole cloth in order to justify American actions.
&#8220;Now, I’m not saying that that regime is not bad, but, by the way, our regime is not good,&#8221; Reid continued. &#8220;Our regime has secret police. They have secret police. Our regime is oppressing women, taking away abortion rights, taking away women’s rights in like 26 states — some states where they’re trying to have the death penalty for having an abortion.&#8221;
Reid acknowledged briefly that the Iranian rulers &#8220;also oppress women,&#8221; but omitted the <a href="https://iranhumanrights.org/2025/03/gender-apartheid-in-iran-is-crushing-womens-lives-and-futures/">extent of that oppression</a>. A number of the regime&#8217;s laws — and the punishment for breaking them — only apply to women.
<ul>
<li>Women must adhere to a mandatory dress code that requires covering their hair, arms, and legs in public. The regime&#8217;s so-called “morality police” — along with surveillance cameras — enforce the rule, and women who disobey could face hefty fines, prison sentences of five to 15 years, or be barred from travel. In 2022, for example, the morality police arrested Mahsa Amini for allegedly wearing her hijab improperly, and she died after they brutally beat her. Nationwide protests followed.</li>
<li>Women can be arrested or thrown in prison for social media posts showing them without their hijabs or for posting dance videos online.</li>
<li>Women must also wear a hijab when appearing in films or on television, because Iranian law requires the covering in all public media.</li>
<li>Women are not permitted to sing solos in front of mixed audiences, meaning that female performers are restricted to performing at female-only events or recorded performances.</li>
<li>Women have often been banned from attending men’s sporting events, especially soccer matches, leading to a number of women being arrested for dressing as men in order to attend such events.</li>
<li>Many women require permission from a father or male guardian to marry, regardless of their age at the time, if it is their first marriage.</li>
<li>Girls can legally be married at 13, but a younger girl can be forced to marry if her father or a judge decrees it.</li>
<li>Married women are not permitted to leave the country or obtain a passport without first getting written permission from their husbands.</li>
<li>A woman’s testimony in court is only worth half of a man’s testimony.</li>
<li>Women typically inherit less than men, meaning that daughters usually receive only half the inheritance that would be given to sons.</li>
<li>The Iranian constitution bars women from ever becoming president, and women are not permitted to become judges.</li>
<li>Married women can be legally barred from holding a job if their husbands claim that their work conflicts with their family obligations.</li>
<li>Men can file for and obtain divorces for any reason, but women risk losing inheritances and child custody — and are rarely granted divorces anyway.</li>
</ul>
Reid, clearly unbothered by that, went on to claim, &#8220;They have the highest rate of women who are in STEM careers. We’re kicking women out of the military, out of university. We’re saying that DEI means women can’t be hired for high positions in the sciences.&#8221;
While it has been claimed in viral social media posts that 70% of STEM graduates in Iran are women, data from the <a href="https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org/view#indicatorPaths=UIS-EducationOPRI%3A0%3AFOSGP.5T8.F500600700.F&amp;geoMode=countries&amp;geoUnits=IRN%2CUSA&amp;browsePath=EDUCATION%2FUIS-EducationOPRI%2Fgraduates&amp;timeMode=range&amp;view=line&amp;chartMode=single&amp;tableIndicatorId=FOSGP.5T8.F500600700.F&amp;chartHighlightSeries=&amp;chartHighlightEnabled=true&amp;chartIndicatorId=FOSGP.5T8.F500600700.F">United Nations</a> shows that 25% of Iran&#8217;s STEM graduates are female.
&#8220;So we’re marginally better,&#8221; Reid concluded. &#8220;And we’re doing it for Christianity, they’re doing it for Islam, right? So, it’s like we don’t get told those things because it would take away the kind of American exceptionalism narrative that makes it easy to take our people and send them off to die in a war that we have nothing to do with, that we don’t want.&#8221;
The Daily Wire&#8217;s Isabel Brown fired back at Reid, saying, &#8220;Forgive my Christian ignorance but when was the last time a woman was BEATEN TO DEATH BY THE MORALITY POLICE for a sliver of her hair showing in a Christian country?&#8221;

2024 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture™ Presented By Coca-Cola® – Day 3 – Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

Joy Reid Says Iranian Women Are As Free As Americans — The Brutal Reality Says Otherwise

Joy Reid Compares U.S. And Iran Side By Side, Concludes America Is Just Barely Better

Joy Reid

Women

Women's Rights

As the United States and Israel continue their joint military campaign against Iran, Israelis have set up a memorial in Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Square honoring fallen American service members.
The display has turned a busy public space into a place of reflection, where Israelis have gathered to pay their respects to the American soldiers who lost their lives during the conflict. The memorial features photos of six fallen U.S. soldiers, with flowers placed nearby and visitors pausing in silence. 
The Tel Aviv memorial comes as the United States and Israel continue close military coordination against Iran. The campaign — known in Washington as Operation Epic Fury and referred to in Israel as Operation Roaring Lion — began on February 28 with coordinated U.S. and Israeli strikes targeting Iran’s missile systems, military infrastructure, and naval assets. 
The soldiers honored in the display were members of the United States Army Reserve working in logistics when a drone struck their command center at Port Shuaiba in Kuwait. The attack occurred one day after the United States and Israel launched their military campaign.
A sign at the memorial reads: “For the American heroes, your courage and dedication will not be forgotten,” alongside “Seek peace and pursue it,” from Psalm 34:14.
<div id="attachment_1057197" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1057197" class="size-large wp-image-1057197" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2265274271-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2265274271-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2265274271-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2265274271-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2265274271.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Memorial on Dizengoff Square in Tel Aviv on March 10, 2026. (OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT / AFP via Getty Images)</div>
Those honored in the memorial are:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Maj. Jeffrey R. O&#8217;Brien</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Capt. Cody Khork</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Sgt. Declan Coady</li>
</ul>
Army Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, who was also killed in an Iranian drone attack, was not included in the display because his name had not yet been publicly announced when the memorial was created. His remains were returned to the U.S. in a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base on Monday. 
The memorial comes as U.S. forces continue to face attacks across the region amid the conflict with Iran.
About 140 U.S. service members have been wounded over 10 days of sustained attacks, though most injuries have been minor, and 108 troops have already returned to duty, according to Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell. Eight service members remain listed as severely injured and are receiving the highest level of medical care.
Israel has previously erected memorials dedicated to American victims and service members.
One of the most prominent examples is the 9/11 Living Memorial Plaza in Jerusalem, built by the Jewish National Fund. Located in the hills outside the city, the monument, shaped like a rising American flag, is the <a href="https://voicescenter.org/living-memorial/memorials/911-living-memorial-plaza">only memorial</a> outside the United States that lists the names of all 2,977 victims of the September 11 attacks. The site hosts annual commemorations attended by Israelis and Americans.

Iran Continues Drone And Missile Attacks After Joint U.S.-Israel War

Far From Home, Fallen American Troops Honored in Powerful Tribute

Operation Epic Fury

Tel Aviv

The LA Marathon was full of highs and lows over the weekend, with viewers celebrating the triumph of American excellence and resiliency, and also mocking the implementation of what amounted to a participation trophy. 
American high school track and cross country coach Nathan Martin finished first, beating out Michael Kamau from Kenya by a mere .01 of a second.
It was the closest finish ever for the famous marathon and drew a huge reaction online, especially as viewers watched how Martin overcame Kamau right at the finish line.
Martin&#8217;s time was 2:11:16.50, which was technically the same as Kamau&#8217;s, even though he crossed the line first. Kamau can be seen on video collapsing at the finish line, where he was later attended to by medics.
In interviews later, Martin said he wasn’t even sure at first he had won because of how close he and Kamau were to crossing at the same time. 
Last year was the first time in 31 years that an American won the LA Marathon when Matthew Richtman took home top honors. Prior to that, an American hadn’t won the race since 1994. 
The annual running event kicked off with the implementation of a cringeworthy policy. Runners could still receive a medal indicating they had completed the entire marathon if they were having an off day and could only complete half the race.
The 26.2-mile race was expected to have unusually warm temperatures, which is what prompted the change.
“If you’re having a tough day and want to end your race before 26.2, you can choose to take the turn at Mile 18 and head into the finish line early. You do not need to notify anyone of your decision and can opt to take this route at any time,” officials said, as <a href="https://www.mccourtfoundation.org/race-day-weather/">posted</a> on the “Race Day Weather” page.
“There is no shame in making a smart decision for your body,” the announcement went on. The temperature had reached the upper 60s by 9 a.m. on Sunday, per ABC News 7, and was expected to be in the mid-70s within the next hour when the update was made.
Social media users mocked the idea, <a href="https://x.com/lisa_4_la/status/2030362981230678211?s=43">saying</a>, “people who don’t finish the Marathon can identify as people who do finish the Marathon.”
“Can I submit my application to be a marathon finisher by mail and just have them send me my medal afterwards?” another X commenter asked.
ABC7 <a href="https://abc7.com/post/heat-prompts-safety-changes-la-marathon-higher-usual-temperatures-expected/18692488/">reported</a> that more than 27,000 people participated in this year’s Asics LA Marathon.

Nathan Martin

LA Marathon Ends In Stunning Photo Finish Between American Coach And Kenyan Runner

LA Marathon Ends In Closest Race Ever, With American Track Coach Narrowly Besting Kenyan Runner Up

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Marathon

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