<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">McDonald’s customers are annoyed by what the fast food company just pitched as a bargain.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For a limited time, the McDouble will be available on the company&#8217;s &#8220;McValue&#8221; menu for $2.50. But social media commenters are pointing out that this “value” only highlights how much prices have increased in a short period, as the same sandwich once cost $1.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">People were further incensed when McDonald’s discontinued its popular “Buy 1, Get 1 for $1” promo in late April. That’s been replaced by the “Under $3” menu that includes the McDouble and other items, many of which were included in the earlier promotion. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">&#8220;Look, it was my go-to lunch for work every single day. Quick, easy and 5 bucks for lunch. That&#8217;s gone, so am I,&#8221; one commenter wrote. &#8220;No reason else to go. Might only be 1 person, but that&#8217;s one customer gone.&#8221; </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Anyone remember when McDoubles used to be 99 cents? It was only 10 years ago &#8230;&#8221; one Reddit user noted. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">&#8220;All these were 99-cent items, then it [turned] into a &#8216;value&#8217; meal, then we have what we got now,” another commenter observed. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">&#8220;Thing was a dollar, they sell billions of burgers and I&#8217;m supposed to be impressed by 2.50?&#8221; a third agreed.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">McDonald’s pushed back against those criticisms, insisting that their offerings remain a great value.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">&#8220;Our focus has always been on listening to our customers and meeting their needs,&#8221; McDonald&#8217;s USA said in a statement, </span><a href="https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/mcdonalds-2-50-mcdouble-sparks-backlash-americans-say-fast-food-no-longer-cheap"><span style="font-weight: 400;">per</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Fox News Digital.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">&#8220;That&#8217;s why McValue was built as a flexible platform designed to evolve with them. The under $3 menu delivers on what they&#8217;ve told us matters most: consistently great prices on their favorite items and the freedom to order what they want, when they want — no bundling required.&#8221;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The fast-food chain is also facing backlash for continuing to phase out its self-serve beverage stations, which many dine-in customers valued for free refills. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“As confirmed in 2023, McDonald’s will be transitioning away from self-serve beverage stations in dining rooms across the U.S. by 2032,” the company said in a </span><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mcdonalds-continues-to-phase-out-popular-restaurant-feature-nationwide"><span style="font-weight: 400;">statement</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> this week. “The change is being rolled out over 10 years, and is intended to create a consistent experience for both customers and crew across all ordering points, whether that’s McDelivery, the app, kiosk, drive-thru or in-restaurant.&#8221;</span></p>


McDonald’s

The McDonald’s Menu Change Sparking Nostalgia For The 99-Cent Era

Economy

Fast-Food

Food

Restaurant

United States

<p>WASHINGTON — Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and General Dan Caine both laughed off The Daily Wire&#8217;s questions about &#8220;kamikaze dolphins&#8221; last week, joking that while Iran does not have such capabilities, the United States wouldn&#8217;t reveal if it did.</p>
<p>While the phrase &#8220;kamikaze dolphin&#8221; certainly sounds fictional, a Navy spokesman clarified to The Daily Wire that there is a long history of the military using sea life in warfare through the U.S. Navy’s Marine Mammal Program. Some drone programs are mimicking the appearance and aesthetics of dolphins and sharks in modern-day weaponry.</p>
<p>Iranian officials <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/iran-us-blockade-oil-641b89f2">told the Wall Street Journal this month</a> that Iran might use &#8220;mine-carrying dolphins&#8221; to attack U.S. warships, in addition to other measures like submarines or mines themselves. On Tuesday morning, during a press briefing at the Department of War, The Daily Wire pressed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine about this claim.</p>
<p>“I haven’t heard the kamikaze dolphins thing — it’s like sharks with laser beams, right?” joked Caine, referencing the film Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.</p>
<p>“I can’t confirm or deny whether we have kamikaze dolphins,” Hegseth said with a smile, “but I can confirm <em>they</em> don’t.”</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Iran-affiliated accounts, which closely follow American news cycles, have responded to the kamikaze dolphins news cycle with AI-generated images of dolphins equipped with explosives.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Say hello to these cute dolphins who&#8217;ll be giving love bites to &#8230; You know whom 😌 <a href="https://t.co/dbTLa3QVIa">pic.twitter.com/dbTLa3QVIa</a></p>
<p>— True Promise &#8211; الوعد الصادق ✪🇮🇷 (@IRTruePromise) <a href="https://twitter.com/IRTruePromise/status/2052353591424241949?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 7, 2026</a></p></blockquote>
<p>Dolphins have long been used &#8220;to detect, locate, mark and recover objects in harbors, coastal areas, and at depth in the open sea,&#8221; according to the U.S. Navy&#8217;s Marine Mammal Program.</p>
<p>Scott Savitz, an expert on mines and a senior engineer at the think tank<strong> </strong>Rand Corporation, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/05/iran-war-hegseth-kamikaze-dolphins.html">pointed out to CNBC</a> that during the Vietnam War, the Navy even trained dolphins to locate swimmers trying to access U.S. military facilities, and during the Iraq War, dolphins helped find and clear naval mines from the port of Umm Qasr.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">&#8220;The U.S. Navy’s Marine Mammal Program began in 1959 and has supported maritime security missions for decades using bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions,&#8221; a Navy spokesman told The Daily Wire. &#8220;The program supported missions including mine countermeasures, object recovery, and harbor security. Elements of the program’s history, including deployments during the Vietnam War, have been publicly documented.&#8221;</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">The Navy spokesman noted that the Navy&#8217;s marine mammals are &#8220;trained, cared for, and handled by professional personnel, with animal welfare and safety central to all operations.&#8221;</p>
<div id="attachment_1092181" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/kamikaze-dolphins-real-underwater-drone-investigation/defense-secretary-hegseth-and-joint-chiefs-chairman-caine-brief-media-at-pentagon" rel="attachment wp-att-1092181"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1092181" class="wp-image-1092181 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-2274634271-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-2274634271-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-2274634271-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-2274634271-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-2274634271.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-1092181" class="wp-caption-text">ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA &#8211; MAY 05: U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth takes questions during a press briefing at the Pentagon on May 05, 2026 in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)</p></div>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">&#8220;As with many long-running military programs, fictional portrayals, speculation, and misinformation have contributed to public misconceptions regarding the Navy&#8217;s Marine Mammal Program and its mission,&#8221; he explained.</p>
<p>The Navy&#8217;s program is focused on defensive maritime missions, the spokesman stressed, noting that the Navy doesn&#8217;t discuss specific operational capabilities or procedures or speculate about hypothetical missions.</p>
<p>&#8220;The Navy is aware of public reporting regarding marine mammal programs in other countries,&#8221; the spokesman added. &#8220;As a matter of longstanding policy, we will not discuss foreign military capabilities or intelligence assessments.”</p>
<p>Meanwhile, groups like Cardona Marine Group are creating their very own &#8220;kamikaze dolphins&#8221; in the form of the &#8220;Sea-Predator 7,&#8221; a combat drone that is designed to sink or disable large vessels and engineered for both surface and underwater deployment. The Sea Predator 7 is currently in development and Cardona Marine Group has been in talks with the United States Navy about their product.</p>
<p>The drone is inspired by a shark and has shark skin hydrodynamics with riblet-textured armor and a &#8220;custom Flume Drive propulsion system&#8221; that make it virtually undetectable, according to its maker, while its hull is built with ballistic composites. A spokesman for the company claimed that a swarm of them can take out a group of enemy ships by sneaking up to a submarine or aircraft carrier undetected.</p>
<p>“The Sea-Predator 7 can operate alone or as part of a swarm, submerging until the right moment to surface, deploy its armaments, and then vanish again from detection,” explains John Cardona, President of Cardona Marine Group. “Beyond strike capabilities, it is built to perform mission-critical tasks including anti-mine warfare, reconnaissance, special operations support, force multiplication, logistics, stealth operations, and underwater surveillance.&#8221;</p>
<p>Cardona Marine Group would very much like to see their drones in the hands of the United States Navy.</p>
<p>There are unmanned underwater vehicles being developed by the United States Navy itself, such as the &#8220;Ghostswimmer unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV).&#8221; The Navy was testing the Ghostswimmer as far back as 2014 as part of the Rapid Innovation Cell project, Silent NEMO. At about five feet long and 100 pounds, the Ghostswimmer was designed to mimic the shape and style of a large fish like a shark.</p>
<p>&#8220;It swims just like a fish does by oscillating its tail fin back and forth,&#8221; Michael Rufo, director of Boston Engineering&#8217;s Advanced Systems Group, <a href="https://www.doncio.navy.mil/CHIPS/ArticleDetails.aspx?ID=5839">explained in 2014</a>. &#8220;The unit is a combination of unmanned systems engineering and unique propulsion and control capabilities.&#8221;</p>
<p>While the Ghostswimmer isn&#8217;t known to be equipped with weapons, it can stealthily provide the military with intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. And other versions of the product, like the Ghost Shark XL-AUV developed by Anduril Industries for the Royal Australian Navy, are in fact armed and dangerous.</p>
<p>Then there&#8217;s the &#8220;Manta Ray Drone,&#8221; an autonomous underwater vehicle developed by <span class="citation-37">Northrop Grumman</span><span class="citation-37"> for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (</span><span class="citation-37">DARPA). The Manta Ray, shaped like the fish it is named for, glides silently under the water, borrowing a &#8220;trick from nature,&#8221; as <a href="https://defensefeeds.com/military-tech/navy/uuvs/manta-ray-drone/#:~:text=Drone%20slips%20in.-,Photo%3A%20Northrop%20Grumman,collecting%20data%20over%20extended%20periods.">Defense Feeds described last month</a>, gliding rather than fighting the water, &#8220;conserving energy in a way that seems almost unfair.&#8221; It can even power down on the floor of the ocean in order to stay hidden. </span></p>
<p>The Manta Ray is <a href="https://www.darpa.mil/news/2024/manta-ray-uuv-prototype#:~:text=The%20Manta%20Ray%20prototype%20uncrewed,in%20February%20and%20March%202024.">currently being tested</a> in real-world naval environments. With its payload-capable design, it could carry a variety of mission-specific tools, including weapons.</p>


8f835cb6-1544-4dcd-87be-94a9662bfb3b

Are ‘Kamikaze Dolphins’ Real? The Daily Wire Investigates

Department of War

Iran

Pete Hegseth

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Costco just changed how it sells bagels, and not everyone is happy about it. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Previously, the big-box retailer offered its Kirkland Signature brand bagels in two six-packs for $5.99, with no option to split the packs and purchase only a half dozen if they didn’t need so many. This led to many complaints, as customers reported that the freshly made bagels went stale or moldy before they could be consumed, </span><a href="https://nypost.com/2026/05/07/lifestyle/costo-changes-bakery-rule-after-years-of-customer-complaints/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">per</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> The New York Post.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Now Costco is rolling out a new option: eight bagels for $4.99. While it’s a welcome change for shoppers who prefer fewer bagels at once, customers with some basic math skills can’t help but notice that the price was reduced by $1, but the quantity of bagels was reduced by four. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“No more bagels going bad before you can finish them,” the popular Instagram account @costcobuys said of the change. </span></p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I never buy them for home because I don’t want 12 bagels, so I love the single pack option!” one commenter said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Yay!!! 8 pack!! For ppl who don’t own a hotel,” another agreed.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But not everyone was happy. Many commenters said they didn’t mind the 12-pack because even if it was too many, they could freeze the extras.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Why would I want one bag with more for more money&#8230; That is the stupidest math ever,” one person observed.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“So they removed choice and quantity. Good job,” another complaint read.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Costco has been making several notable changes lately, including amending the legendary $1.50 hot dog deal. 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. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s the first major tweak to the $1.50 deal in more than 40 years, dating back to its debut in the 1980s, as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/costco-adjusts-its-legendary-1-50-hot-dog-deal-for-the-first-time-in-decades">reported</a>.</span></p>


Costco

Costco Finally Fixes A Major Bakery Complaint From Shoppers

Business

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">McDonald’s has ticked off many customers as it continues making an unpopular change to its restaurants.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The fast-food behemoth announced in 2023 that it planned to gradually phase out self-serve beverage stations. That was not an idle threat, as many customers are now seeing this change implemented at their local McDonald’s.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">&#8220;This change is intended to create a consistent experience for both customers and crew across all ordering points, whether that&#8217;s McDelivery, the app, kiosk, drive-thru or in-restaurant,&#8221; the company told USA Today in a statement in 2023.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">McDonald’s confirmed that the plan was moving forward despite significant backlash.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">&#8220;As confirmed in 2023, McDonald’s will be transitioning away from self-serve beverage stations in dining rooms across the U.S. by 2032,” the company </span><a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/fox-news-food-drink/mcdonalds-quietly-ditching-popular-in-store-feature-nationwide"><span style="font-weight: 400;">told</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Fox Business this week, giving a nearly identical statement. “The change is being rolled out over 10 years, and is intended to create a consistent experience for both customers and crew across all ordering points, whether that’s McDelivery, the app, kiosk, drive-thru or in-restaurant.&#8221;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The change is being seen as a move away from in-store dining in favor of drive-thru, delivery, and digital orders. This </span><a href="https://www.today.com/food/restaurants/whatever-happened-to-mcdonalds-playplaces-rcna195698"><span style="font-weight: 400;">lines up with</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> many restaurants being remodeled and removing play places for kids, plus generally changing the aesthetic to be more muted and modern. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Beverages, one of the </span><a href="https://www.mashed.com/190582/the-real-reason-all-mcdonalds-soft-drinks-are-only-1/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">biggest sources of profit</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> for the company, remain a focus for McDonald’s. Sodas have a profit margin of up to 90%, with the fast-food restaurant charging $1.50 to $4 for an item that costs 10 to 40 cents per cup, including product, packaging, and labor.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The company told Fox Business in a statement that it would introduce new items to the lineup, including “dirty sodas” that have been going viral online. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">&#8220;Our fans’ love for McDonald’s beverages runs deep … Next month, we’re building on that passion with a new era of beverages, featuring a variety of Refreshers and crafted sodas rolling out nationwide,&#8221; the statement said.</span></p>


McDonald’s soda

McDonald’s Continues To Phase Out Popular Restaurant Feature Nationwide

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Costco is making a rare change to its legendary $1.50 hot dog combo, but don’t worry: it’s a good one.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Costco, by contrast, has built a reputation around holding the line on its food court staple. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">CEO Ron Vachris recently reiterated that commitment, saying the $1.50 combo will “not change as long as I’m around.”</span></p>
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<p><script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I came to (Sinegal) once and I said, ‘Jim, we can’t sell this hot dog for a buck fifty,&#8221; Jelinek said, </span><a href="https://www.delish.com/food-news/a34111722/costco-hot-dog-combo-story/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">according to</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> 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;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.</span></p>


Costco hot dog deal

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

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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 </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/28/us/trump-king-charles-visit-gifts.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">reported</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The original design plans are housed at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Adams, who would later become the nation’s second president, described in the letter a meeting with </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">King George III in which both sides agreed to move forward amicably despite lingering bad feelings from the Revolutionary War. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The exchange was widely seen as a symbolic nod to the enduring relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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!!!”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.</span></p>


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

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Maybe he’s a king after all? According to a newly published </span><a href="https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15770263/Mail-traced-Trumps-family-tree-Kings-cousin.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">report</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> from The Daily Mail, President Trump shares a common ancestor with the British monarch King Charles III.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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!!!”</span></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="qme">👀 <a href="https://t.co/DP7jAYh7Qj">pic.twitter.com/DP7jAYh7Qj</a></p>
<p>— The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/2049115763777085519?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 28, 2026</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Buckingham Palace issued a statement on Sunday evening following the assassination attempt, saying the event did not change their plans.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">&#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.</span></p>


King Charles and Donald Trump

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

King Charles III

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Campbell&#8217;s-owned company announced the debut of its “Connection Keeper” on Monday.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Everything now is AI, and everyone has their phones on the table,” Elyce Henkin, a managing director of StoryCorps studios and brand partnerships, </span><a href="https://www.wired.com/story/prego-has-a-dinner-recording-device-capiche/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">told</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> 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.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Then what?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There’s also a chance that shared recording could wind up preserved forever. As StoryCorps says in the </span><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."><span style="font-weight: 400;">press release</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> 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.”  </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Connection Keeper Bundle will be available for $20 beginning April 27. </span></p>


Prego

Your Dinner Could Be Spying On You

News

Surveillance

<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><strong>WATCH:</strong></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">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></p>
<p>— Brent Baker 🇺🇲🇺🇦 🇮🇱 (@BrentHBaker) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrentHBaker/status/2043048290523005341?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 11, 2026</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>&#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.</p>
<p>&#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;</p>
<p>&#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.</p>


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

Israel

Media

New York Times

Politics

<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>&#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></p>
<p>The president, however, left the door open to sanctions and tariff relief.</p>
<p>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;</p>
<p>&#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;</p>
<p>Iran&#8217;s full 10-point plan includes the following demands.</p>
<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>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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;</p>
<p>&#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;</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">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…</p>
<p>— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) <a href="https://twitter.com/LindseyGrahamSC/status/2041871542032716010?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2026</a></p></blockquote>
<p>Conservative broadcast host Mark Levin, another hardline supporter of the war, called the Iranian 10-point plan an &#8220;absolute disaster.&#8221;</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">These 10 points are an absolute disaster <a href="https://t.co/GLlDwtM5k6">https://t.co/GLlDwtM5k6</a></p>
<p>— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) <a href="https://twitter.com/marklevinshow/status/2041859062820696167?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2026</a></p></blockquote>
<p>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;</p>
<p>&#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.</p>
<p>The Daily Wire also asked Hegseth about reports that Iran was still launching strikes overnight.</p>
<p>&#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;</p>


Iran-Tehran-Explosions-March

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

Ceasefire

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The CEO of Five Guys joked that his motivation behind handing out $1.5 million in employee bonuses was a fear of being murdered.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The restaurant exec Jerry Murrell seemed to be making a dark reference to the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“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, </span><a href="https://fortune.com/2026/03/25/five-guys-ceo-jerry-murrell-bonus-employees-bogo-burger/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">told</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Fortune of their failed buy-one-get-one promotion that made headlines earlier this year.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The company apologized for the chaos with a </span><a href="https://www.fiveguys.com/news/blog/were-sorry/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">statement</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> 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.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“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.”​</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.  </span></p>


Five Guys Murrell

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

UnitedHealthcare

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The 55-year-old “Dodgeball” star made his thoughts known during a recent appearance on Theo Von’s “This Past Weekend” podcast.</span></p>
<p><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></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“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.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“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.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“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.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“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.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A </span><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/late-night-hosts-targeted-conservatives-92-of-the-time-made-more-than-7000-trump-jokes-in-2025"><span style="font-weight: 400;">report</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> 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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The analysis of 818 episodes focused on major mainstream late-night hosts, including Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, and Seth Meyers.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Those shows included 197 liberal guests and only two who were conservative.</span></p>


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