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Abdul El-Sayed battles Jesse Watters over billionaires, Sharia law in tense interview and more top headlines

Tue, 25 Aug 2026 07:28:34 -0400

Good morning and welcome to ӣ��Ƶ’ morning newsletter, ӣ��Ƶ First. And here's what you need to know to start your day ...

TOP 3

1. Abdul El-Sayed battles Jesse Watters over billionaires, Sharia law in tense interview

2. Smithsonian-linked museum in El-Sayed’s backyard puts America’s post-9/11 response on trial

3. Dem mayor in hot seat over 'unhinged' move 'hunting down' property owners leasing to ICE

MAJOR HEADLINES

OUT OF BOUNDS – Enes Kanter Freedom exposes Natasha Cloud's profane tirade after WNBA ejection. Continue reading …

PENALTY ON THE PLAY – 49ers owner busted in $140 prostitution sting near Ohio trailer park. Continue reading …

TARIFF TENSIONS – Canada gears up for payback after Trump slaps goods with 50% tariffs. Continue reading …

NO SURRENDER – Expert says Putin ‘panicked’ as Ukraine’s deep strikes push war further into Russia. Continue reading …

BAD MEDICINE – Doctor accused of shooting two young sisters in violent road rage clash. Continue reading …

POLITICS

'BAD LOOK' – Newsom's attack dog taunts Buttigieg over South Carolina visit as 2028 fight heats up. Continue reading …

SEEN THIS BEFORE – Surging Dem with DSA ties is 'either a bona-fide socialist, or she's not very smart': GOP rep. Continue reading …

BALLOT BOX FACE-OFF – Trump endorsements face key test in Oklahoma, South Carolina GOP runoff elections. Continue reading …

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MEDIA

TOXIC INFLUENCE – Democrat rips Hasan Piker as 'hack who thrives on hate' over his warning to American Jews about Israel. Continue reading …

TURNING THE PAGE – Washington Post ordered to reinstate columnist axed after Charlie Kirk's death. Continue reading …

LONG OVERDUE – 'National Treasure' director predicts upcoming third film won't be able to 'ignore' politics. Continue reading …

DIVIDED DEVOTION – Trump inauguration pastor warns Christians in Dearborn are 'afraid to talk about Christ'. Continue reading …

OPINION

LIZ PEEK – China is cheering as the left blocks America’s AI infrastructure. Continue reading …

BRUCE PEARL – Conservatives are attacking the very college sports bill that protects women. Continue reading …

IN OTHER NEWS

FAMILY FRACTURE – Prince William ‘blindsided’ by Harry, Meghan return as Kate fears new turmoil from royal feud: experts. Continue reading …

SOBER CURIOUS – GLP-1 boom could reshape restaurant bars as diners cut back on alcohol. Continue reading …

SKY-HIGH RIVALRY – Sydney Sweeney tells Tom Cruise to 'watch out' after strapping herself to top of airplane. Continue reading …

AMERICAN CULTURE QUIZ – Test yourself on presidential portrayals and summer sips. Take the quiz here …

LISTEN

Tune in to the FOX NEWS RUNDOWN PODCAST for today's in-depth reporting on the news that impacts you. Check it out.

PODCASTS

'Ruthless' dives into socialist hypocrisy and midterm landscape. Check it out ...

Don't miss 'The Riley Gaines Show.' Catch the new episode at 10am ET ...

Clay Travis and Buck Sexton join ‘Hang Out with Hannity.' See the new episode at 10am ET ...

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Nike x NFL Rivalries uniforms return for 2026 season with 8 new teams, including Lions and Texans

Tue, 25 Aug 2026 07:02:57 -0400

With a new NFL season around the corner, the league and Nike are building off the success of last year’s "Nike x NFL Rivalries" program, a first-of-its-kind uniform and apparel collection manufactured and sold by Fanatics, which was designed to deepen the connection fans and communities have with their football teams.

For the 2026 campaign, eight new teams continue the Nike x NFL Rivalries program through distinct uniform designs created for each participating team.

The teams include teams from the AFC South – the Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Indianapolis Colts – and NFC North – the Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers.

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"Revealing eight new Rivalries uniforms marks the next chapter in a program that is beloved by fans across the NFL and Nike," Taryn Hutt, vice president of club marketing for the NFL, said in a statement. "By spotlighting the launch of the AFC South and NFC North Clubs and the passionate communities behind them, we continue to capture the spirit and tradition of football’s greatest divisional rivalries."

This program became Fanatics’ best-selling merchandise release to date, which demonstrated just how strong the fan demand was, while establishing momentum for the program’s sequel in 2026.

The teams will be debuting these Rivalries uniforms during an upcoming home game against their division rival, starting with the Colts in Week 3 against the Texans.

JOSH ALLEN DELIVERS FULL-THROATED UNSOLICITED DEFENSE OF BUFFALO BILLS' HIDEOUS NEW UNIFORMS

Here is the full schedule for the teams this season, while a full description has been added as to how the uniforms came together:

Colts: Week 3 vs Texans, Sept. 27, 1 p.m. ET

"Amps up the classic Colts look with enhanced stripes, high-shine finishes and dark, intense tones designed to evoke power and speed. Horseshoe, iron work and anvil-inspired details keep the look rooted in Colts tradition."

Packers: Week 5 vs Bears, Oct. 11, 4:25 p.m. ET

"Celebrates the Packers’ unique fan ownership and community connection, with stock certificate-inspired details woven into the numbers and sleeves. Vintage green and alabaster tons give the historic concept a fresh, elevated look.

Lions: Week 8 vs Vikings, Nov. 1, 1 p.m. ET

"Takes a futuristic approach to Lions identity, pairing Honolulu blue with carbon-fiber-inspired numbers that nod to the city’s automotive and racing heritage. Lion-eye shoulder details reinforce the team’s ‘Defend the Den’ mentality."

Jaguars: Week 8 vs Colts, Nov. 1, 1 p.m. ET

"Blends Florida coastal culture with the city’s urban swagger, featuring a custom Jaguars script, jaguar-print details, chrome accents and dimensional numbers. The design celebrates DUUUVAL from the shoreline to the streets."

Titans: Week 10 vs Jaguars, Nov. 15, 1 p.m. ET

"Blends the Titans’ Two Tone Blue heritage with Nashville’s music culture, featuring a navy base, Titans Blue accents, neon-inspired numbers and guitar/amplifier-inspired striping."

Texans: Week 11 vs Colts, Nov. 19, 8:15 p.m. ET

"The all-white ‘iced out’ uniform celebrates H-Town culture through metallic and chrome finishes inspired by the city’s custom car scene. ‘Be Someone’ bridge-inspired numbers, street-tile patterns and street-name details bring Houston’s identity into the design."

Vikings: Week 15 vs Lions, Dec. 20, 8:20 p.m. ET

"Draws on Viking history and the spirit of the North, pairing deep purple and ivory with carved numbers and Viking Knot-inspired details. References to the Gjallarhorn, longship and classic helmet create a look that feels both ancestral and modern."

Bears: Week 16 vs Packers, Dec. 25, 1 p.m. ET

"Gives Bears heritage a modern update, using a midnight palette, burnt orange accents and striping inspired by classic team design and the Chicago flag. Bold orange pants and heritage details nod to George Halas and the return of the ‘Monsters of the Midway.’"

The Rivalries uniforms will be included in the team’s lineup for three years in addition to their existing alternate uniforms. And additional teams will debut their own Rivalries uniforms during the 2027 and 2028 seasons, while the eight teams from 2025 will also wear their uniforms at some point this season in a select game against a division rival.

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Finally, this year’s launch features visual campaigns showcasing the new uniforms in communities where each rivalry lives. The campaigns include current players like the Lions’ Jameson Williams, Texans’ Nico Collins and Packers’ Jordan Love , while homegrown talent in those cities like rappers Big Sean, Slim Thug and Bun B, as well as country singers Gowa Gibbs and Thomas Edwards, are featured.

With each jersey date set, fans can get ahold of these new threads starting Sept. 1.

Sarah Spain says WNBA players need ‘real media,’ but that sounds more like league-approved PR

Tue, 25 Aug 2026 07:01:20 -0400

Sarah Spain thinks the WNBA should steer its players toward what she calls "real media."

That’s a PR job. Not a journalism job.

MEGAN RAPINOE CALLS ON TRADITIONAL WNBA MEDIA TO BE REPLACED WITH THOSE WHO ‘UNDERSTAND QUEER CULTURE’

On a recent episode of her podcast, Spain said she wants the league to keep setting up relationships with "the real media" that covers the WNBA "in a fair way."

Her definition of fair is pretty clear. Players trust the outlet, the outlet helps build their brands and the WNBA helps make the relationship happen.

She’s laying out a league-approved list of "reporters" players are supposed to trust.

The people who don’t make it? Spain threw them in with "a rando" on the internet spreading "bulls---."

And, by the way, Spain’s already inside the system she wants the league to grow. Spain's podcast has recently featured Connecticut Sun assistant coach Roneeka Hodges, Golden State Valkyries guard Veronica Burton, Seattle Storm players Dominique Malonga and Awa Fam, WNBA legends Cheryl Swoopes and Ticha Penicheiro, and former WNBA president Donna Orender.

Spain has the access and she calls that fair coverage. Then she says the WNBA should help its players find more outlets like hers.

That's convenient, huh?

The WNBA has publicists, marketers, agents, sponsors and social media teams to build brands. It doesn't need to turn reporters into another arm of that operation.

The credential emails show what 'fair' can mean

Spain’s preferred media setup is already taking shape in the WNBA.

I know because the teams have put it in writing.

The Atlanta Dream denied an OutKick credential request for its Aug. 5 game against the Phoenix Mercury. In follow-up answers, the Dream said it had denied 14 applications, given priority to season credential holders and outlets that consistently cover the team, and considered "the tone of coverage."

Tone of coverage.

That has nothing to do with whether a reporter got facts wrong. It has everything to do with whether the team likes the way it is being covered.

WOMEN’S SPORTS MEDIA OUTLET BACKS TRANS ATHLETES, THEN AVOIDS QUESTIONS FROM REPORTER WHO DISAGREES

The other credential denials use different words, but the same record keeps pointing in one direction.

The Dallas Wings said priority went to outlets that regularly cover the Wings and WNBA. The Connecticut Sun cited "reputable media/wire services" and outlets with a record of covering the organization. The Las Vegas Aces said it would prioritize local outlets and organizations that regularly provide editorial coverage of the Aces and WNBA.

The Chicago Sky asked a ӣ��Ƶ reporter about his planned coverage, denied the request and said credentials were for media covering games "for basketball purposes."

Then Atlanta told us it weighs tone.

That’s the one that matters.

The WNBA can call the preferred outlets reputable. Spain can call them real media. But a credential decision based on tone is still a team deciding whether it likes the reporter doing the coverage.

The WNBA knows where to take the story it wants told

And the league just gave us another example.

When it wanted the public to know Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White were ineligible for the 2027 draft, the WNBA didn’t answer OutKick’s questions about the rule it used. Instead, unnamed league sources told Front Office Sports the men were ineligible and called their declarations "simply publicity stunts."

Front Office Sports printed the conclusion and the league’s framing. But it never told readers whether it asked the WNBA to define "woman," explain its eligibility standard or say how Freedom and White failed it. If it did ask, readers were never told the WNBA refused to answer.

That’s different from the treatment OutKick gets when we report something inconvenient for the league. Then Front Office Sports wants documentation, competing sources and a discussion about our motives.

Spain says the WNBA should steer players toward "real media" outlets they can trust. The league has already made clear which outlets it trusts: the ones that will carry its message without making it answer the question.

LEFT-WING SPORTS HOST SARAH SPAIN LAUNCHES DISGUSTING PERSONAL SMEAR OF SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM

USA Today columnist Christine Brennan asked DiJonai Carrington whether she intentionally poked Caitlin Clark in the eye during the 2024 WNBA playoffs. It was a question that had to be asked after an incident happened on the court, yet the WNBA Players’ Association responded by calling for Brennan to lose her access.

Spain has gone after Brennan, too. Earlier this summer, she called Brennan’s Caitlin Clark coverage a "dereliction of duties as a journalist" and questioned whether Brennan’s book promotion explained her singular focus on Clark.

In Spain’s version of "real media," the reporters who ask the wrong questions don't belong.

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Then Sophie Cunningham said "biological men" shouldn't compete in girls’ and women’s sports. Days later, the WNBA’s biggest players and Commissioner Cathy Engelbert were available all weekend in Chicago for All-Star festivities.

The questions should have been obvious to any reporter interested in doing their job.

Do you agree with Cunningham? Does the WNBA support female-only sports? What is the league’s policy on transgender eligibility?

The reporters with access didn’t ask.

Spain had access, too. She moderated a panel at the WNBA’s All-Star Media & Innovation Summit, hosted a live show, sat courtside at the game and later said she spoke with Paige Bueckers, Fever coach Stephanie White, Stephanie Dolson and Aliyah Boston.

Her All-Star recap had plenty about the parties, cookies, mascots and her baseline seat. It didn't include a single question about Cunningham’s comments, female-only sports or the WNBA’s transgender eligibility rules.

And when Fever coach Stephanie White read a prepared statement accusing unnamed people of hate, fear mongering and divisiveness, WNBA media elevated the rehearsed rant into an "important" moment instead of testing a single one of those claims.

Spain predictably took White’s side, too. She played part of White’s performative outrage speech on her podcast, said she was "adamantly opposed to Sophie Cunningham’s grift" and said White "was warranted in that anger and frustration."

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Spain wants the league steering players toward outlets that will help build their brands and tell them who to trust. Those are the outlets she calls "real media."

The reporters who ask questions the league doesn’t want answered get hit with a credential denial, accused of having the wrong tone or brushed off as "randos."

That isn’t fair coverage.

It’s a loyalty test that punishes the reporters who are actually doing their jobs.

Major brain changes that occur around age 50 could impact dementia risk

Tue, 25 Aug 2026 07:00:45 -0400

The brain may undergo a notable shift at midlife, as new research suggests that its protective immune cells begin to decline and are increasingly replaced by inflammatory cells at around age 50.

Researchers from the University of California, San Diego; New York Genome Center; and University of California, Irvine, found that these brain changes may help explain why aging increases the chances of neuroinflammation and neurodegenerative disease, including dementia.

The study analyzed postmortem tissue from the hippocampus – the portion of the brain that is responsible for learning and memory – in 40 neurologically healthy adults, ranging from 20 to 95 years of age.

THE 'AGE' OF YOUR BLOOD COULD PREDICT DEMENTIA RISK, NEW STUDY SUGGESTS

"The most striking change was that after about age 50, the brain’s resident immune cells, called microglia, appear to be increasingly replaced by immune cells that enter from the bloodstream," first author Nathan Zemke, Ph.D., principal investigator at the UC San Diego Center for Epigenomics, told ӣ��Ƶ Digital.

"Microglia normally protect the brain by clearing debris and responding to injury, but the incoming cells carry stronger inflammatory signals."

The researchers believe this shift may contribute to chronic inflammation linked to cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s.

They also noted the deterioration of cells involved in maintaining the blood-brain barrier – the protective filter that helps keep harmful substances out of the brain – as well as widespread changes in DNA and gene activity.

'LONGEVITY GENE' MAY PROTECT THE BRAIN FROM ALZHEIMER'S BY BOOSTING DNA REPAIR, STUDY FINDS

One of the most exciting implications of the study, according to Zemke, is that the replacement immune cells originate in the blood, which means they are more accessible than cells already deep inside the brain.

"It may eventually be possible to modify blood-derived immune cells so that they are more protective and less inflammatory when in the brain," he said. "That could provide an entirely new way to approach Alzheimer’s and other neurological diseases without having to directly manipulate cells within the central nervous system."

Although these findings are still in early stages, Zemke said, gaining a better understanding of why this immune-cell replacement happens – and why it happens earlier in some people than others – could lead to new strategies for preserving brain health during aging.

The study’s chief limitation is that it studied human brain tissue collected postmortem from different individuals across the adult lifespan, the researchers noted.

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"That allows us to identify strong age-related patterns, but it cannot directly show how the same person’s brain changes over decades or prove that a particular cellular change causes cognitive decline or Alzheimer’s disease," Zemke said.

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"We also do not yet know what triggers the influx of blood-derived immune cells into the brain. Determining whether changes in the blood-brain barrier, inflammation, genetics, lifestyle or other factors initiate this process will be an important next step."

The researcher emphasized, however, that he would not recommend that people make any specific medical or lifestyle changes based on this study alone.

"These findings are primarily about understanding the biology of brain aging and identifying new directions for prevention and treatment," he said.

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The timing and extent of the brain changes varied considerably between individuals, suggesting that brain aging is not necessarily a fixed process that happens identically in everyone.

"The next challenge is to understand what drives that variation and whether some of those factors can be modified," Zemke added.

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The study also included a small sample of just 40 people and examined tissue only from the hippocampus, meaning the findings may not reflect immune changes throughout the entire brain.

The study, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health, was published in the journal Science.

Atlanta Beltline trail stabbing suspect charged with murder had 30 prior arrests and was on probation: police

Tue, 25 Aug 2026 07:00:11 -0400

The man charged in Sunday’s fatal stabbing near the Atlanta Beltline’s Eastside Trail had 30 prior arrests and was on active probation for an aggravated-assault case, according to the Atlanta Police Department.

Johnathan Hamby, 54, was booked Monday on charges of murder, aggravated assault, terroristic threats and acts, and possession of a firearm or knife during the commission of a felony in the death of 29-year-old Ramon Harris near a Kroger grocery store at Ponce de Leon Avenue.

Atlanta police said officers responded at about 4:01 p.m. to a report of a stabbing, found Harris with an apparent stab wound and detained a suspect at the scene. Harris was taken to a hospital, where he died.

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Authorities said that the stabbing began when Hamby was allegedly arguing with Harris and another man before threatening to stab them. The incident happened near Atlanta's famed Beltline, a 22-mile loop of multi-use trails and public parks around the city.

"We believe this was an attack that was carried out as a result of an argument that was verbal in nature and quickly escalated," Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said in a news conference Monday.

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An arrest warrant, obtained by FOX 5 Atlanta, alleges Hamby then stabbed Harris in the neck. Investigators also recovered two knives at the scene, the outlet reported.

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Schierbaum said that the department’s records showed Hamby was no stranger to interactions with police and had been arrested 30 times. The chief also noted that Hamby was a felon on active probation for a prior aggravated-assault case in Brookhaven.

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FOX 5 also reported that Hamby had previously pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a knife.

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According to ӣ��Ƶ Digital’s review of Fulton County jail records, Hamby’s previous arrests included allegations of battery, aggravated assault, possession of a knife during the commission of a felony, obstruction of law enforcement and criminal trespass.

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Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said Monday that he asked the city's public safety and Beltline teams to review patrols, camera coverage and the emergency response surrounding the attack.

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"After seeing the video of yesterday’s heinous attack on the Atlanta Beltline, my prayers are with the victim, his loved ones and everyone forced to witness such a horrific act of violence. Atlantans and visitors should be able to enjoy the Beltline safely, and I have asked our public safety and Beltline teams to conduct a review of the safety protocols surrounding this incident, including patrols, camera coverage and emergency response," Dickens said.

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The mayor said that Hamby's long history as a felon raises "serious questions about how someone with that record was once again in a position to endanger the public."

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"Those facts demand that we examine the systems surrounding behavioral health, repeat offenders and public safety, and address any failures plainly with the partners responsible for those systems. Atlanta will continue doing everything within our power to keep people safe, but we cannot solve these challenges alone," he said.

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APD said that its information is preliminary and that the homicide investigation is ongoing. An attorney was not listed for Hamby as of Monday evening. ӣ��Ƶ Digital has requested additional information from the Fulton County Sheriff's Office.

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Sports cartoons of the day

Mon, 22 Jun 2026 11:08:52 -0400

Smithsonian-linked museum in El-Sayed’s backyard puts America’s post-9/11 response on trial

Tue, 25 Aug 2026 06:00:58 -0400

DEARBORN, MI – Nearly 25 years after the Sept. 11 attacks, a Smithsonian affiliate in Michigan continues to use its 9/11 exhibits and anniversary programming to focus on discrimination and government actions in the attacks' aftermath, while giving less attention to the nearly 3,000 people killed that day, ӣ��Ƶ Digital found.

The Arab American National Museum (AANM) in Dearborn, Michigan, features an exhibit arguing that Arab Americans "suffered two-fold as a result of the tragic events of September 11th," both from the attacks themselves and from what the museum describes as unfair treatment by the U.S. government afterward. Since its founding, the museum has repeatedly hosted programs examining what it describes as discriminatory consequences of the U.S. response to 9/11.

ӣ��Ƶ Digital visited the museum earlier this month, reviewed its exhibits and gift shop, and examined years of anniversary programming and federal funding records.

The AANM has received hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and is also an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian has been under intense scrutiny from conservative lawmakers in recent months for allegedly allowing political bias to influence its presentation of history.

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One placard criticizes the government’s post-9/11 detention of immigrants investigated for possible terrorist links, noting that "virtually none were charged" in connection with terrorism.

"The Arab American community suffered two-fold as a result of the tragic events of September 11th. As with all Americans, they suffered the horror and grief. However, Arab Americans were unfairly held responsible, yet not a single Arab American was found guilty of any connection to September 11th," it reads.

On Sept. 11, 2001, 19 al Qaeda terrorists hijacked four passenger planes, crashing two into the World Trade Center and one into the Pentagon. Passengers and crew fought back aboard United Flight 93, the fourth plane, prompting the hijackers to crash the plane in Pennsylvania. The attacks killed 2,977 people and triggered the largest investigation in FBI history.

The museum placard also argues that Arabs faced harsher immigration enforcement after the attacks, saying some were "deported for minor visa violations or petty offenses which previously would have been overlooked."

HISTORIAN BLASTS SMITHSONIAN'S ACTIVISM SHIFT AFTER FIRST VISIT IN OVER A DECADE: 'COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PLACE'

In the 11 months after the attacks, immigration authorities detained 762 noncitizens on immigration charges in connection with the FBI’s terrorism investigation, including for overstaying visas or entering the country illegally, according to a Justice Department inspector general report. The watchdog found that some detainees with no terrorism ties were treated harshly and held under unnecessarily restrictive conditions.

Public opinion also showed a more complicated picture of the post-9/11 backlash. President George W. Bush publicly urged Americans not to blame Muslims for the attacks, and polling later suggested attitudes toward Muslim Americans actually improved in the immediate aftermath. The share of Americans who viewed Muslim Americans favorably rose from 45% in March 2001 to 59% in November, two months after the attacks, according to the Pew Research Center.

Beyond its permanent exhibit, AANM has repeatedly used programming around the 9/11 anniversary to examine discrimination and law-enforcement policies affecting Arab and Muslim communities.

The museum holds a "solidarity" town hall each year, where criticism of the American reaction to 9/11 is often the focus. The online description of the event does not mention the deaths connected to the attacks themselves, but rather "offers a safe space for communities to reflect and engage in dialogue about the harmful prejudices that Arab and Muslim (and anyone perceived to be Arab or Muslim) individuals face on both an individual and systemic level."

One such town hall in 2018 examined "how communities of color have been targeted through the frame of national security and profiled as violent threats."

A year later, the AANM’s annual town, which received support from the National Endowment for the Arts, criticized how "institutions and communities of color have been infiltrated" by law enforcement as well as how leaders of those groups have been "targeted" following 9/11.

SMITHSONIAN AMERICA 250 EXHIBIT FEATURES 3X MORE LIBERAL ITEMS THAN CONSERVATIVE ONES

The AANM was founded in 2005, partially in response to the increased scrutiny directed at the Arab American community following the attack on the World Trade Center. In addition to receiving well over half a million dollars in funding from the NEH over its lifetime to support its exhibits and educational programming, the museum also benefited from a $385,000 grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development which helped it expand its physical footprint in 2013. It received further HUD funding, over half a million dollars, between 2017 and 2019 as well as at least $50,000 from the State Department between 2016 and 2017, according to annual reports published by the museum.

Dearborn, where about 54.5% of residents are of Middle Eastern or North African descent, is a key political center in Michigan ahead of one of the country’s most competitive Senate races this year. Socialist-aligned Abdul El-Sayed, who is running for the Senate, drew strong support from the city earlier this month.

The museum’s focus extends beyond its criticism of the U.S. response to 9/11.

On Sept. 10 — the eve of the 25th anniversary of the attacks — the AANM is scheduled to host a screening of "Seeds for Liberation," a film that portrays Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack as part of a decades-long Palestinian "struggle" and places it within a broader history of "anti-imperialist and decolonial movements."

During ӣ��Ƶ Digital’s visit earlier this month, a section of the museum was dedicated to art criticizing Israel's alleged "occupation" of Palestinian land. One piece of art, the word "wall" presented in a stylized print, accuses the Israeli government of perpetuating a system of "apartheid."

The art installation broadly accuses Israel of targeting civilians in military operations, denying basic necessities to Palestinians and unjustly occupying land.

FORMER DEMOCRATIC STAFFERS, DEI LEADERS SHAPE SMITHSONIAN LEADERSHIP AMID POLITICAL FIRESTORM

One placard accompanying a sculpture states that Israel has killed more than 2,000 Palestinian children since Sept. 29, 2000, citing If Americans Knew (IAK).

The placard’s sourcing is itself controversial. Some pro-Palestinian organizations have distanced themselves from IAK over allegations of antisemitism and ties to White supremacists, allegations the group has disputed. IAK also operates a news site that has published articles rejecting the designation of Hamas as a terrorist organization.

Another placard attached to a sculpture pulls a quote from Defense of Children International Palestine (DCIP), which the Israeli government designated as a terrorist organization in 2021. DCIP and human rights groups have disputed the designation.

The museum gift shop also sells Palestinian-themed merchandise, including map-shaped magnets and key chains, coloring books promising to help children "explore Palestinian heritage" and keffiyehs.

IN CHARTS: A VISUAL BREAKDOWN OF THE SMITHSONIAN'S BILLION-DOLLAR TAXPAYER-FUNDED BUDGET

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The AANM, Smithsonian, NEA and NEH did not respond to requests for comment after being reached by ӣ��Ƶ Digital on Friday.

Smithsonian affiliates, like the AANM, are independently operated museums that maintain formal partnerships with the Smithsonian, providing them with access to artifact loans, educational resources and consultations from institutional experts.

In recent months, the Smithsonian has faced mounting pressure from Republican lawmakers and the president over allegations that its museums advance left-of-center ideological causes through their exhibits. Officials have threatened funding cuts against the institution if it does not root out what the Trump administration characterizes as anti-American bias.

GLP-1 boom could reshape restaurant bars as diners cut back on alcohol

Tue, 25 Aug 2026 06:00:45 -0400

The rise of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs could be changing more than what Americans put on their plates, as restaurants increasingly look to wellness drinks and other alternatives to traditional alcoholic beverages.

The National Restaurant Association's new 2026 Restaurant Beverage Trends report found growing interest in a wider range of drink choices, particularly among younger consumers, as restaurants experiment with everything from wellness and energy drinks to smoothies, lemonades and alcohol-free cocktails.

Chad Moutray, chief economist at the Washington, D.C.-based National Restaurant Association, told ӣ��Ƶ Digital that the growing use of GLP-1 medications is one of several health trends restaurant operators are watching.

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The report, which was conducted by the National Restaurant Association and is based on surveys of consumers and restaurant operators across the country, found that health is already influencing some Americans' decisions about alcohol.

Among adults surveyed who said they don't drink alcohol, 25% cited health reasons. That figure climbed to 34% among Gen Z nondrinkers.

Several trends are converging as younger consumers become more health-conscious and GLP-1 medications become more widely used, Moutray said.

"I think you're seeing a lot younger folks who are, in general, wanting to be healthier. You have the Make America Healthy Again movement, which is also driving some of this trend," he said.

PROTEIN COFFEE IS EXPLODING IN POPULARITY AMONG ADULTS WORRIED ABOUT MUSCLE LOSS

"You have people drinking energy drinks and health drinks and all those things. And then you add to that the GLP-1 notion, where if you're taking one of those drugs and your appetite is more suppressed, you're not going to drink as much alcohol."

Restaurants are already preparing to broaden their drink selections.

Among limited-service restaurant operators, 24% said they planned to add new wellness drinks in 2026, while 26% planned to add energy drinks, 29% smoothies and 27% lemonades.

Just under half, 46%, planned to add new coffee offerings.

"I think as GLP-1s become less expensive as this year goes on and as we move into 2027, you're going to see restaurant operators continuing to look for alternatives that can be good menu options for consumers that might be taking those drugs," Moutray said.

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Derek Brown, a hospitality consultant and founder of Drink Company, said he's also seeing GLP-1s contribute to a broader shift toward moderation.

"Yeah, there's no doubt that GLP-1s are having an effect on the way that people consume," Brown told ӣ��Ƶ Digital. "And it's part of a basket of things that's contributing to people moderating more often."

The drugs can affect people's appetites for both food and drinks, Brown said, potentially leading some customers to consume less alcohol or choose nonalcoholic alternatives.

"I think that's clearly part of this entire moderation trend that we're seeing that's just a part of it, but it's significant enough, so I think that's certainly a real thing," Brown said. "And I definitely think that bars and restaurants are starting to feel that."

The changing beverage landscape, however, doesn't necessarily mean younger Americans are abandoning alcohol.

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Per the report, 71% of Gen Z adults and 74% of millennials surveyed said they drink alcohol either at home or at restaurants. Sixty percent of Gen Z adults and 68% of millennials said they drink alcohol at restaurants.

Moutray believes younger consumers are instead choosing from a broader portfolio of drinks.

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That broader selection could be increasingly important for restaurants. The report found that 87% of full-service operators and 80% of limited-service operators said beverages can be an important driver of customer traffic.

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"It's driving traffic, it's getting people excited and it's, hopefully, also helping to improve overall profit margins," Moutray said.

Blue state's water failures could threaten food supplies across US, lawmaker warns

Tue, 25 Aug 2026 06:00:39 -0400

California's aging infrastructure is helping fuel a clean water crisis that could have ramifications across the country, a key House Republican warned.

Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., accused California Gov. Gavin Newsom of playing politics with the management of the Colorado River, a major body of water that millions of people in the Western United States depend on. She's arguing that the Golden State's bloated bureaucracy and environmental regulations are making it more reliant on the Colorado River, thus stressing its supply and affecting the other six states through which it runs.

"The system is now becoming very, very stressed because California has not kept up with the infrastructure demands and needs of its citizens," Hageman told ӣ��Ƶ Digital. "Pinedale, Wyoming, may be a long way removed from Southern California, but when there are calls on the river and when there are demands that we reduce the amount of water that we are able to use in order to meet a demand downstream, that isn't fair."

California's water infrastructure has largely remained unchanged since the late 20th century, despite a ballooning population.

COLORADO SMALL TOWN ABANDONED AFTER ALL ELECTED OFFICIALS RESIGN, WATER CONCERNS GROW

Hageman argued that California's growing need paired with a lack of new infrastructure is hurting the agricultural sector in areas that rely on the Colorado River — which could have ripple effects beyond the West.

TRUMP CAN PROTECT CALIFORNIA AVOCADO FARMERS AND TAKE A BITE OUT OF MEXICAN CARTELS, TOO

"California could grow almost all the food we need in the United States, but they've really decimated their Ag industry because they've taken irrigation water away from their Ag industry to try to meet municipal demand and industrial demand elsewhere. So really it's just, it's a whole parade of bad decisions that are being made," she said.

"Food independence is a national security issue. We do not want to become food dependent on Mexico or Central America or bringing all of our food in from other countries. We have the resources to grow healthy, high-quality food right here while also protecting our environment."

Environmental groups like Tell the Dam Truth have opposed new dam builds in California, arguing they contribute to climate change while harming biodiversity.

"With its strong environmental laws, regulations, and policies, California has the opportunity to not only stop new dam construction, but also decommission dams to restore the biodiversity and carbon sequestration currently inundated in river valleys across the state," the group's website states.

Groups like the Sierra Club have also opposed desalination, an alternative water source that would require California to convert its abundant saltwater into a usable product.

But Hageman said that opposition was misguided.

"They're very backwards people. I kind of look at them like flat-Earthers. They're very backwards people in the way that they approach things. They ignore the fact that humans are also part of the natural environment, and they ignore the benefits of what we can create by building this much-needed infrastructure," she said.

The Colorado River's Upper Basin runs through Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and Utah. The Lower Basin runs through California, Arizona and Nevada.

TRUMP TO SHRINK 2 UTAH NATIONAL MONUMENTS BY 90%

It has faced growing problems, in part due to climate change and increased dependence, prompting discussions about whether the seven aforementioned states could update their existing water-sharing agreement.

A failure to do so thus far has prompted the Trump administration to step in and force steep cuts to the Lower Basin states for the next two years.

NEWSOM, WALZ URGE CONGRESS TO BLOCK ANTI-CLIMATE BILL IN THEIR ‘WOKE’ CRUSADE

Newsom praised the plan while pointing out California has reduced its use in recent years, but said it was only a "short-term" solution.

"This is a necessary step to protect a river that 40 million Americans depend on, at a time when climate change is driving a regional water crisis that makes every drop of water count. California continues to lead the way forward, growing our economy while cutting our Colorado River water use to the lowest level since 1949," he said of the Trump administration order. "Any long-term solution must share responsibility fairly across all seven states in recognition of the new reality of the Colorado River."

California also recently made plans for a new reservoir project, projected to cost $6.8 billion, which is expected to be completed in the mid-2030s. The state is also investing in new groundwater infrastructure and other initiatives to expand availability of the critical resource.

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A spokesperson for the California Natural Resources Agency re-emphasized the state's reduced dependency on the Colorado River when reached by ӣ��Ƶ Digital.

"California’s Colorado River use is at its lowest since 1949 – and our urban water agencies have reduced their demand for imports by 50% since 2000. Even with that, we continue to invest billions of dollars to increase water supply as we face changing conditions driven by climate change," the spokesperson said.

"Suggesting we move the world’s fourth largest economy entirely to desalinated water is a deeply unserious proposal that ignores the underlying issues facing all users of the Colorado River. All Basin states must share the responsibility of caring for the Colorado River for generations to come – and that means real conservation from all seven states."

Newsom's attack dog taunts Buttigieg over South Carolina visit as 2028 fight heats up

Tue, 25 Aug 2026 06:00:39 -0400

The battle for the Democratic Party’s 2028 presidential nomination is already spilling into public view, with a top aide to California Gov. Gavin Newsom taking a swipe at fellow White House hopeful Pete Buttigieg over his effort to build support with Black voters in the South.

Newsom communications director Izzy Gardon mocked Buttigieg's recent visit to South Carolina, which his representative Aida Ross highlighted with a post on X over the weekend that included a photo of the former Transportation secretary with members of the Orangeburg branch of the NAACP.

"Pete returned to Orangeburg, SC! Great night with the Orangeburg Branch of the NAACP," Ross said alongside the photo.

Meanwhile, Gardon responded to the post: "First time in SC in 3 years? Nice!"

JENNIFER SIEBEL NEWSOM DODGES QUESTION ON HUSBAND GAVIN'S PRESIDENTIAL ASPIRATIONS

The exchange garnered buzz online, as it placed two of the Democratic Party's most closely watched potential presidential contenders at the center of a growing fight over Black voter outreach — an issue likely to be central in 2028 as South Carolina again prepares to hold the party’s first nominating contest.

It also comes amid wider Democratic tensions over whether the party is doing enough to engage Black voters and the South, with Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens accusing the DNC of "abandoning the South" and "abandoning Black voters" after Atlanta was eliminated from 2028 convention contention last week.

Meanwhile, South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Christale Spain declared last month, amid debate over the party’s presidential primary calendar, that "the South is not the past, it is the future," while Democratic chairs from five other southern states also previously warned the DNC against sending Black voters the message that their loyalty is "taken for granted," according to the Associated Press.

When reached for comment, Gardon told ӣ��Ƶ Digital that the post was made from his personal account and in his "personal capacity," calling it "simply my own observation." He stressed that he was "NOT speaking for the Governor or anyone else."

Ross did not respond to ӣ��Ƶ Digital's request for comment.

JASMINE CROCKETT WARNS DEMOCRATS ARE TOO FOCUSED ON WHITE VOTERS, IGNORING BLACK VOTERS

"Love to watch Gavin Newsom staffers dunk on Pete Buttigieg staffers as they all jostle to catch up to AOC in the 2028 Dem primaries," Republican strategist Matt Whitlock wrote on X.

"We’re just dropping all pretenses huh," quipped political polling executive Adam Carlson.

Democrat strategists also weighed in on the in-fighting.

"Staffers of potential 2028ers who denigrate other potential 2028ers at this juncture should be embarrassed. They reflect extremely poorly on their principals," Democrat strategist Jennifer Holdsworth said in response to Gardon's jab.

"Weird tweet to send rn - bad look," Democratic consultant Eric Koch said.

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"Potential 2028 staffers, huddle up: you do not want to start the fighting now or on this platform," added the Head of Digital Engagement at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Stefan Smith. "It’s too early in the cycle. The longer we play nice (and encourage the principals to play nice) the better it is for everyone."

Prince William ‘blindsided’ by Harry, Meghan return as Kate fears new turmoil from royal feud: experts

Tue, 25 Aug 2026 06:00:31 -0400

Prince William was reportedly "blindsided" by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s surprise decision to return to the U.K. with their children.

Several royal experts told ӣ��Ƶ Digital that the Prince and Princess of Wales are "concerned" about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex returning for an extended period beginning this month. Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet are set to begin school there in September, People magazine reported.

"Prince William was blindsided," Kinsey Schofield, host of YouTube’s "Kinsey Schofield Unfiltered," told ӣ��Ƶ Digital.

PRINCE HARRY, MEGHAN MARKLE’S UK MOVE PUTS FRESH SPOTLIGHT ON THEIR EXPLOSIVE CLAIMS AGAINST ROYAL FAMILY

"He had found Harry’s recent eagerness to publicly signal that he wanted to spend more time in Britain unusual, but that is very different from anticipating a full return. William now has to navigate a situation he did not create, did not ask for and, given the state of their relationship, almost certainly would not have chosen."

A Kensington Palace spokesperson told ӣ��Ƶ Digital: "We would never comment on private family matters."

In a statement shared with The New York Times, a spokesperson for the Sussexes said, "On the heels of a wonderful trip with family and friends this summer, Harry and Meghan have decided to spend an extended period in the U.K. this autumn. They are excited to have their children spend more time in the country that’s such an important part of their family’s story."

The spokesperson confirmed that the couple’s businesses will remain unchanged and based in the U.S. Meghan and Harry will also keep their home in California.

British broadcaster and photographer Helena Chard told ӣ��Ƶ Digital that the Waleses are "feeling uneasy" about facing another chapter in the "endless Sussex soap opera."

WATCH: PRINCE WILLIAM UNLIKELY TO RECONCILE WITH PRINCE HARRY SOON: EXPERT

"It’s about broken trust," Chard explained. "Prince William is said to feel that Harry and Meghan have spent years attacking the institution, then monetizing their grievances through a very lucrative media operation. From his view, it’s an ongoing campaign for maximum impact and self-gain. He’s not going to fuel it, and he’s not going to endorse behavior he sees as damaging."

William and Kate were seen arriving in Scotland on Thursday, where they’ll spend time with King Charles at Balmoral Castle. The royal family has spent summers at the Scottish estate since the reign of Queen Victoria, with family members traditionally hunting, fishing and horseback riding there.

The king learned about Harry and Meghan’s move three days before it was made public, according to reports.

"Prince William, along with Catherine, is currently at Balmoral Castle visiting the king," royal broadcaster Neil Sean told ӣ��Ƶ Digital. "Harry and Meghan have, so far, not been invited to visit the king privately while on a holiday. This will not happen while William is there. I’ve been told he has no desire to connect on any level with his younger brother and simply has no time for [Meghan]."

A spokesperson for Archewell, which handles the offices of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, told ӣ��Ƶ Digital: "We do not comment on the family’s private travel arrangements or meetings with the extended family."

The Daily Mail reported that the king and his heir held a "Sussex Summit" following the announcement. A source told the outlet that the Prince and Princess of Wales "have no interest in engaging with anything Harry and Meghan do or say."

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"Things are projected to be tense at Balmoral," British royal expert Hilary Fordwich told ӣ��Ƶ Digital. "... Princess Catherine is particularly guarded given how deeply hurt she was by both of them. Both she and Prince William are very determined to maintain their own family stability and remain focused on duty with their royal roles paramount."

Several royal experts previously told ӣ��Ƶ Digital that William and Harry haven’t been on speaking terms since at least 2022.

"My sources have described genuine concern within the Wales camp," Schofield said. "I don’t think Prince William and Princess Catherine are sitting at Balmoral panicking about Harry and Meghan returning, but they are understandably apprehensive about what their return could bring. The last several years have taught them that private family tensions have a habit of becoming very public."

"The concern isn’t simply that Harry and Meghan will be geographically closer," Schofield continued. "It’s the unpredictability that comes with the Sussexes. There have been interviews, books, documentaries and very personal allegations about members of the royal family. … My sources tell me the Wales camp has not forgotten the hostility directed at them after some of Harry and Meghan’s previous public accusations."

Schofield said unnamed sources told her Kate is also unsettled by the news.

"My sources tell me that Catherine does not want to revisit that chapter of her life," Schofield explained. "She has endured very personal allegations, an enormous amount of public scrutiny and a difficult few years. My understanding has always been that her priority is Prince William, their children and the future."

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"Meghan returning to Britain doesn’t mean Catherine suddenly has an obligation to reopen a relationship that has caused considerable hurt," she said. "Catherine can wish Harry and Meghan well without wanting them back inside her private life. ... The idea of resurrecting the ‘Fab Four’ is fantasy. Too much has happened, and too much has been lost."

The Sussexes are expected to live at a private, nonroyal residence outside London, The Associated Press reported. They won’t resume their royal duties, which they gave up in 2020.

The couple’s return to the U.K. comes as the king continues treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer diagnosed in 2024. In 2025, Harry said he didn’t know "how much longer my father has" and expressed a desire for his children to get to know their grandfather.

Last month, the king met with Harry, Meghan and their children at Highgrove House.

Vanity Fair royal correspondent Katie Nicholl reported at the time that, according to sources, "not even the Prince and Princess of Wales were made aware that the meeting was taking place."

"The Sussexes played a blinder with the king welcoming them, having not told him last month of a plan they have had for ages as their children will soon be in school," royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told ӣ��Ƶ Digital.

The move is understood to have come together relatively quickly, as Harry and Meghan waited to learn whether their children had been accepted to the private school they applied to.

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"Since the brothers haven’t spoken in years, the imminent arrival of the Sussexes places William and Catherine in a pressured and difficult situation," said Fitzwilliams. "William is reportedly furious. But what is essential is that the king accepts that the Waleses and their children are the future of the monarchy."

Schofield doesn’t believe reconciliation between the brothers is likely, at least anytime soon.

"Geography cannot repair a relationship where trust has been so badly damaged," she said. "Harry’s return could make that estrangement more obvious because people will inevitably ask why two brothers living in the same country still aren’t seeing one another. ... William and Catherine could suddenly find themselves under public pressure to perform a reconciliation that probably doesn’t exist behind closed doors."

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"... William may have reached the conclusion that distance is healthier than reconciliation, and he is entitled to make that decision," Schofield said. "The realistic goal at this stage probably isn’t friendship [with Harry]. I would argue it’s peaceful coexistence for the sake of their father. ... Harry and Meghan moving back to Britain creates proximity, not reconciliation. They can buy a house near London. They cannot buy back trust."

Charlotte man accused of mass shooting threats at 5 schools released days before classes begin

Tue, 25 Aug 2026 06:00:09 -0400

A Charlotte man indicted on five felony counts accusing him of threatening mass shootings against five area public schools was released from jail just three days before students were scheduled to return to class.

Drew Andres Owens, 33, was released from the Mecklenburg County Jail at 11:30 a.m. on Aug. 22, according to jail records. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools students were scheduled to return on Aug. 25.

A Mecklenburg County grand jury indicted Owens in March 2025 on five counts of communicating threats of mass violence on educational property. He has pleaded not guilty, and the cases remain pending.

THREE SCHOOL SAFETY STEPS EVERY PARENT SHOULD KNOW BEFORE CLASSES BEGIN

Four counts allege Owens sent emails on Feb. 15, 2025, threatening West Charlotte High School, Ardrey Kell High School, Community House Middle School and Hawk Ridge Elementary School.

According to court documents reviewed by ӣ��Ƶ Digital, Owens allegedly sent messages threatening to "slaughter staff and students."

SUBSTITUTE TEACHER ARRESTED AFTER ALLEGEDLY TRIGGERING FALSE ACTIVE SHOOTER ALERTS AT 5 SCHOOLS: SHERIFF

A separate indictment alleges a mailed threat against Garinger High School. The affidavit claimed that a student, who was armed with two shotguns and an AR-15, would carry out the mass shooting. School administrators later determined that no student by that name was enrolled there, according to the affidavit.

The warrant affidavit states that Darryl Owens, Drew's father and a West Charlotte High School ROTC instructor, told police he also believed his son was responsible for the school threats.

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Darryl Owens allegedly told authorities that his son had harassed relatives, neighbors and family friends after being removed from the family home in 2021, and had sent unsigned emails and letters threatening to kill or shoot people at multiple locations.

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The father told police he had previously obtained a restraining order against his son, that Owens had been arrested for violating it and that the order was later dismissed. He also told police that Owens had recently sat outside neighbors' homes and photographed his car at West Charlotte High School "to try to lure him outside."

CHARLOTTE REPEAT OFFENDER CHARGED WITH KILLING MAN HOURS AFTER RELEASE ON BOND

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According to court records, the bond in the four-school case was lowered from $135,000 to $60,000 in May 2026. Docket records indicate the four-school case had originally been set at a $135,000 secured bond with electronic monitoring in February 2025.

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A judge reduced that amount to $60,000 on May 1, 2026. The separate case tied to Garinger High School carried a secured bond of $15,000. Owens satisfied the court-ordered pretrial bond conditions and was released Saturday, Aug. 22.

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Court records showed a $60,000 secured bond in the four-school case and a $15,000 secured bond in the Garinger case. A professional surety posted the $60,000 bond the previous Friday night.

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WSOC previously reported that Owens’ record included arrests for resisting arrest and shoplifting. The local outlet did not report a total number of prior arrests and ӣ��Ƶ Digital has reached out to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department for additional details.

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Following his release, parents told WSOC that they are nervous to send their kids off to school as the school year kicks off.

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"Is he going to show up at one of the schools? It’s not good," said one parent. "I’m not going to feel at ease, I’m not going to pretend it’s OK."

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"In this situation it’s confusing because he had a $200K bond," another parent said. "He’s clearly a public safety threat, so what took the threat level down?"

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"He’s out and that’s it, and the rest of us have to deal with it and teachers have to go to school on Tuesday and deal with it," another parent said.

It was not immediately clear if Owens had an attorney representing him.

BRUCE PEARL: Conservatives are attacking the very college sports bill that protects women

Tue, 25 Aug 2026 05:00:54 -0400

Men don’t belong in women’s sports. That isn’t complicated, but some conservative influencers and interest groups are allowing it to become complicated through careless claims about legislation designed to protect college athletics.

I spent nearly five decades coaching college basketball. I know the difference between winning a possession and winning the game. Conservatives now face a similar choice: We can chase applause by attacking allies and mischaracterizing the bill, or we can unite around the facts and win the larger fight for women, fairness and the future of college sports.

Some organizations and women’s-sports advocates claim the Protect College Sports Act would "gut" Title IX or invalidate state laws that reserve women’s teams for women. They are wrong. The text says the opposite.

REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK: COLLEGE SPORTS BILL ENTERS LEGISLATIVE 'RED ZONE' AS SEASON KICKS OFF

Section 127 explicitly states that nothing in the bill will "override, modify, or amend" Title IX. Female athletes would retain their current legal protections and ability to bring sex-discrimination claims. Section 120 also protects athletes, employees and others from retaliation for reporting discrimination or participating in Title IX proceedings.

Critics also claim the bill would erase state laws keeping men out of women’s sports. It would not. The legislation establishes national standards for Division I and Division II competition on limited eligibility questions, including academics, professional status, legal violations, age and years of eligibility. It neither creates a federal right for men to enter women’s competitions nor pre-empts state laws establishing sex-based athletic categories.

REPUBLICAN SENATORS FILE AMENDMENT TO STOP COLLEGE SPORTS BILL FROM OVERRIDING STATE WOMEN'S SPORTS LAWS

The bill does not expressly create a federal right for biological males to compete in women’s sports, and Section 127 states that nothing in the bill overrides, modifies or amends Title IX. Critics seem to be grasping at anything and eager to disregard the Title IX provisions here. Especially since the Supreme Court ruled in June that schools may keep men out of women’s sports.

It also requires governing bodies to enforce rules related to state and federal law and allows individuals to sue when the law is violated.

CONGRESS MUST FIX THE PROTECT COLLEGE SPORTS ACT BEFORE GIRLS PAY THE PRICE

The bill also gives schools a powerful incentive to invest in women’s and Olympic sports. It creates a $22.5 million athlete-retention fund and allows schools to unlock up to an additional $5 million through eligible NIL investments in women’s, Olympic and non-revenue sports. A school seeking the full $27.5 million retention allowance would first need to invest $5 million in those sports. That is an ingenious way to ensure continued investment in programs that might otherwise be left behind.

And every year Congress waits, the financial pressure on college athletics grows, and the programs with the fewest resources become even more vulnerable. My 2025 Final Four team had a total NIL budget of approximately $4 million. By the 2027 Final Four, some teams could be operating with budgets approaching $30 million.

Conservatives should debate legislation, demand improvements and scrutinize every line. But facts must guide us. Too many Washington organizations would rather score points against perceived rivals than secure lasting victories for women and college athletes.

CRUZ AND CANTWELL REFUSE TO BEND TO SEC AND BIG TEN CONCERNS IN REVISED COLLEGE ATHLETICS LEGISLATION

Outrage is easy; turning shared principles into law is harder. Infighting only helps the left, which has spent years undermining Title IX while conservatives battle over legislation that expressly preserves it. If we can’t unite and get this done, we will lose college sports as we know them, and women’s and Olympic sports will continue to be among the first casualties.

The stakes extend beyond Title IX, and the crisis is no longer theoretical. Thirty-two Division I Olympic-sports programs were cut between the announcement of the House settlement and May 2025. WRAL reported that more than 40 Division I Olympic-sports programs were cut between May 2024 and July 2025, even though 75% of American Olympians in 2024 competed in collegiate athletics. NCAA data

Even the University of Arkansas, backed by SEC resources, announced plans to eliminate its tennis programs before donors intervened to save them. If programs at schools like Arkansas are vulnerable, imagine the danger facing smaller schools, women’s teams and non-revenue sports nationwide.

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Credit where credit is due: Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., and others have stepped up to move this legislation forward. President Trump has also led from the front by restoring the biological meaning of sex in federal policy, taking action to save college sports and backing this bill. Now, those who claim to support the America First movement should get in the game, help Congress finish the job and deliver this win for women and college athletes.

Congress now has the opportunity to take important steps to stabilize college sports, support educational opportunities for young women and men, and provide protections for the uniquely American experience of intercollegiate athletics.

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There is broad agreement that college sports cannot go on with no meaningful guardrails around eligibility, transfer policy and NIL oversight. The Protect College Sports Act is an important step in the right direction, and Congress needs to keep the positive momentum moving forward.

Winning the point may feel good. Winning the war matters more.

Democrat mayor blasted by DHS for 'hunting down' property owners leasing to ICE: 'Unhinged'

Tue, 25 Aug 2026 05:00:50 -0400

The Department of Homeland Security is calling out Boston Democratic Mayor Michelle Wu’s "unhinged" effort to dissuade business owners from leasing to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the city, equating it to "hunting down" private property owners.

After Boston banned ICE vehicles from using city-owned parking lots to stage operations, ICE issued a notice seeking to rent hundreds of parking spaces in the city for five years. In response, Wu, an outspoken opponent of President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda, issued an open letter to parking garage and lot owners throughout Boston in which she revealed the city had submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request "for any local responses to ICE."

DHS fired back in an X post, writing that "these actions by sanctuary Mayor Michelle Wu are unhinged."

"She knows she has NO authority to block us from using private property. So, she’s hunting down private property owners and threatening them for working with ICE — because she’d rather intimidate law-abiding Bostonians than get criminal illegal aliens OFF the street," wrote DHS.

TOM HOMAN FIRES BACK AT FLORIDA DEMOCRAT OVER 'RIDICULOUS' ICE RACIAL PROFILING CLAIM

ICE issued a "sources sought" notice last month for "surge parking" in 14 cities across the country. The notice revealed ICE was seeking 249 contiguous parking spaces in Boston.

In response, Wu issued an official appeal from the city of Boston for garage and lot owners to "reject ICE staging facilities." She wrote that "were ICE to procure such resources, it would constitute an unprovoked and unwarranted escalation, creating potentially significant risks to public safety and halting economic activity across our entire region."

She boasted that she "joined together with six other cities across Greater Boston and signed Executive Orders prohibiting ICE from staging its operations on municipal property and parking lots," adding, "Today, I ask you to join us: Reject any proposition by ICE to facilitate an attack on the people of Boston."

Wu also noted that the same day, the city submitted a FOIA request for any local responses to ICE. She told the garage and lot owners, "We will keep you updated as we push for a response," adding, "Thank you again for your partnership."

EXCLUSIVE: 5-TIME ILLEGAL ENTRANT ADMITS ‘MISTAKE’ THAT FINALLY GOT HIM BUSTED BY ICE

In its FOIA request, which was submitted to ICE and reviewed by ӣ��Ƶ Digital, the city of Boston states that it is seeking "all submissions and/or responses to ICE Sources Sought Notice with Notice ID ‘DHS-ICE-SurgeParking.’"

DHS responded to Wu’s FOIA request by calling her a "pro-criminal illegal alien politician" in another X post. The agency said the request also indicates that Wu "admits she has no authority to block ICE from utilizing private property."

"If private citizens want to allow federal law enforcement onto their own property, they should be allowed to do so—free of threats, intimidation and coercion from their radical left-wing mayor who shamelessly compared ICE agents to a neo-Nazi group," wrote DHS.

ӣ��Ƶ Digital reached out to Wu’s office and the city of Boston for comment.

Wu’s FOIA request came after the Boston City Council adopted an "emergency resolution" earlier this month urging the city to "explore all avenues to oppose" proposed parking leases for ICE in downtown Boston.

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The council said that by adopting the emergency resolution, it was calling on the city to "explore available options to prevent the proposed parking leases and expressed its opposition to an increased ICE presence in the city."

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Besides Boston, ICE’s notice showed the agency seeking significant numbers of parking spaces in the metropolitan areas of Denver, Seattle, Philadelphia, Dallas, Phoenix, Pittsburgh and several other cities.

Darline Graham faces make-or-break GOP runoff in historic bid to keep brother’s Senate seat

Tue, 25 Aug 2026 05:00:36 -0400

President Donald Trump isn't on the ballot, but his clout over the GOP and the immense power of his endorsements in Republican primaries are on the line Tuesday in statewide runoff elections in South Carolina and Oklahoma.

Trump is backing Sen. Darline Graham in the Republican Senate nomination runoff in South Carolina, in the race to succeed her late brother, GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham, who unexpectedly died this summer at age 71.

And the president is supporting former state budget secretary and former state Sen. Mike Mazzei for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in Oklahoma, where GOP Gov. Kevin Stitt is term-limited.

Both Trump-backed candidates are facing off in competitive contests on that day that also includes a special election runoff in Georgia to fill a congressional seat left vacant following Democratic Rep. David Scott’s death in April. The two candidates are Democrats, which means the winner will further reduce an already extremely fragile Republican majority in the House.

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In South Carolina, Darline Graham is facing off with conservative Rep. Ralph Norman, with the winner replacing the late senator as the Republican Senate nominee on the midterm ballot in reliably red South Carolina.

Graham and Norman finished first and second in a special Senate primary two weeks ago, but with neither candidate landing a majority of the vote, they advanced to a runoff from a field that also included Rep. Russell Fry and former governor and former Rep. Mark Sanford.

"We need every South Carolina patriot to go to the polls and vote for Darline Graham," Trump urged on Friday as he headlined a rally for Graham in Myrtle Beach. "What I really want you to do is pretend, please, that I'm on the ballot. Just come and vote. It's so important."

Graham is backed by term-limited South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, who last month appointed her to fulfill the rest of her late brother's current term in the Senate. She also has the backing of Fry, a top Trump ally in the House, as well as the support of Sen. Tim Scott, South Carolina's other senator and chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

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Norman, who unsuccessfully campaigned earlier this year for the GOP gubernatorial nomination in the race to succeed McMaster, has been showcasing his support for the president in his Senate campaign and questioning Trump's backing of Darline Graham.

He was backed last week by Sanford, who briefly launched a long-shot and unsuccessful 2020 presidential challenge against Trump. Sanford, who is known as a fiscally conservative budget hawk, pointed to the nation's debt as a key motivator behind his decision to launch a Senate campaign, and later for backing Norman.

The Trump endorsement hasn't proven to be a sure bet this cycle in South Carolina.

Trump backed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette for the GOP gubernatorial nomination — in the race to succeed the term-limited McMaster — ahead of the state's early June primary.

Evette was the top vote-getter in the primary but lost the ensuing runoff election against South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson in a landslide. And Trump, ever hungry for a victory, endorsed Wilson in addition to Evette days before the runoff.

"It’s becoming a referendum on Trump," a South Carolina-based Republican consultant told ӣ��Ƶ Digital.

The strategist, who asked for anonymity to speak more freely, argued Trump "came to South Carolina to solidify his endorsement because he has to show a win here."

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Norman, as he runs for the Senate, is also backed by former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who served as ambassador to the United Nations during Trump's first term in the White House. Norman was the only member of South Carolina's congressional delegation, and the first member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, to endorse Haley over Trump in the 2024 Republican presidential primaries.

"Trump still has a nasty taste in his mouth for Nikki Haley," the GOP strategist argued.

In Oklahoma, the Trump-backed Mazzei finished slightly behind state Attorney General Gentner Drummond in the initial June GOP primary, with a crowded field keeping either from winning the nomination outright. The winner of Tuesday's GOP runoff will be considered the clear general election favorite in the Republican-dominated state.

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Trump has boasted a powerful endorsement scorecard in GOP primaries so far this election cycle.

"My Endorsements are stronger than ever," the president touted this past weekend in a social media post.

But five of his gubernatorial picks in Republican primaries have fallen short. Besides South Carolina's Evette, that list includes Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa, who lost nominating contests this spring. And two weeks ago, Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder and Minnesota businessman and "My Pillow" founder and former CEO Mike Lindell fell short.

"There’s no question that an endorsement from President Trump provides a tremendous boost in a Republican primary. But it doesn’t necessarily mean the candidate’s going to win," veteran GOP strategist and communicator Ryan Williams told ӣ��Ƶ Digital.

Williams said that "the president still has a firm grip on the party, even in places where a candidate he backed loses a nomination." But he noted that "if there are underlying issues with a candidacy, those can pose problems that even an endorsement can’t overcome."

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Meanwhile, in Georgia, two Democrats are vying to serve the remaining months through the end of the year of Scott's term in the House.

The finalists are former Gwinnett County School Board Chair Everton Blair and Marcye Scott, the late congressman's daughter.

LIZ PEEK: China is cheering as the left blocks America’s AI infrastructure

Tue, 25 Aug 2026 05:00:23 -0400

The progressive left is working hard to derail America’s AI dominance by blocking data center construction. So is China.

The AI push is critical to U.S. national security, to win what retired Lt. Col. Robert Maginnis calls the "new AI Cold War with China." But, it is also essential to U.S. economic growth. The U.S. needs to buttress its shrinking workforce, and AI agents are standing by to take over from retiring Boomers, self-deporting immigrants, and a declining number of college graduates.

AI is coming of age at the perfect time and yet anti-growth activists, amplified by foreign adversaries and media alarmism, want to shut it all down.

LAWMAKERS RAISE ALARM OVER NEVILLE ROY SINGHAM'S $278M NETWORK SPREADING CCP PROPAGANDA IN THE U.S.

China is helping them do that. While concerns about the build-out of energy-hungry data centers across the country are spurring authentic local opposition, there is also little doubt that America’s enemies are encouraging the resistance.

In 2023, The New York Times published a report detailing their investigation into Neville Roy Singham, an American Marxist based in Shanghai who, according to the Times, "works closely with the Chinese government media machine and is financing its propaganda worldwide."

At the time, Singham had funneled "at least" $275 million into leftist U.S. nonprofits like Code Pink, The People's Forum, BreakThrough News, the Justice and Education Fund, and Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. The Times documented that these groups are interconnected, sharing staff and content; the Times writes that Singham also "shares office space — and his groups share staff members — with a company whose mission is educating foreigners about "the miracles that China has created on the world stage."

Though he denies it, investigative reports and congressional leaders argue Singham's network advances China's strategic goals. Beijing’s main objective today is to race ahead of the U.S. in AI. President Xi cannot count on Chinese tech innovators, so is feverishly trying to hobble America’s data center build-out, the infrastructure essential to continued American dominance. Singham’s non-profit network is helping by amplifying the anti-data center campaign.

The Bitcoin Policy Institute reported recently that the "Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), a Marxist-Leninist group… whose stated mission is to dismantle American capitalism," is "deeply enmeshed" in local groups fighting against data center construction. The group’s leaders come from Singham’s non-profit network and the PSL has been effective in delaying or blocking about $24 billion in proposed AI-infrastructure investment.

REPORT: CHINESE PROPAGANDA, SINGHAM NETWORK, FOREIGN DARK MONEY LINKED TO CAMPAIGNS AGAINST DATA CENTERS

BPI writes, "The Singham network’s campaign against American AI has been years in the making"; it catalogs the "seeding [of] anti-data-center talking points well before the local fights began." For instance, the PSL's Communist paper, "Liberation News," published a piece in 2025 blaming rising electricity bills in Illinois to the data center boom, declaring the facilities "are generating massive profits for some, but leave workers with more bills and devastate the environment."

JIM BANKS, GOP LAWMAKERS RALLY BEHIND DOJ PROBE INTO ALLEGED CCP-LINKED FUNDING NETWORK

In June, in response to the BPI reporting, the House Energy and Commerce Committee demanded the White House and the FBI investigate foreign efforts to block the American data center buildout. The attack on AI progress is complex; the Manhattan Institute's Stu Smith wrote that the PSL and other Singham network groups are "not just one group or one campaign. It is an ecosystem of overlapping organizations, causes, and front-facing projects that all reinforce each other locally."

According to BPI findings, campaigns tied to the Singham network have contributed to delaying or restricting projects in East Charlotte, North Carolina, Prince George's County, Maryland, and elsewhere.

The AI industry’s brilliant CEOs have been astonishingly slow to counter the anti-data center propaganda. Only recently have the firms begun a counter-narrative highlighting the increased tax dollars and other benefits generated by their companies. For example, in Richland Parish, Louisiana, a giant Meta data center produced a spike in sales tax revenue which, in turn, led to teachers receiving a bonus of nearly $51,000, more than many of them make in an entire year.

In Loudon County, Virginia, some 250 data centers are expected to provide $1.3 billion in taxes, or roughly 40% of the county’s total 2027 tax revenue. For local residents, that’s some payoff.

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Americans concerned about their energy bills or worried that data centers are consuming too much water are demanding legislators protect their interests, and rightly so. The fix is not difficult, and some states are already passing bills that will require hyperscalers to provide their own electricity and limit the water used in cooling the vast computers enabling the AI boom.

Americans are also worried that AI will steal their jobs. But the truth is, with millions of Boomers (finally) retiring, a declining birth rate and an exodus of immigrants further shrinking our workforce, the U.S. needs AI to provide the labor to drive our economy forward. Young people may have to reassess which fields will be most promising, but their future will without a doubt be enhanced, and not crushed, by the most powerful technological development ever created. Those who learn how to use AI will be rewarded; those who fight it will be run over.

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Overlaying the opposition to AI is a mindless hatred of President Donald Trump, who won the support of our technology leaders because he offered an economy driven by cheap energy and unhampered by the suffocating regulations and green policies of Joe Biden and his Democrat colleagues. The Left’s attack on AI-fueled growth and the billionaires creating the investment surge scratches more than one itch.

AI backlash has become a hot political weapon in the upcoming midterms, with both Republican and Democrat candidates opposing the data center build-out. The stakes are high; only China will benefit from that opposition. Senator John Fetterman gets it, writing on X, "AI supremacy and energy dominance underpins our national security." He is correct.

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Surging Dem with DSA ties is 'either a bona-fide socialist, or she's not very smart': GOP rep

Tue, 25 Aug 2026 05:00:22 -0400

Florida Democratic Senate nominee Angie Nixon's denial that she is a socialist despite her membership in the Democratic Socialists of America should alarm voters as much as her surprise primary victory did, a lawmaker who fled Fidel Castro's Cuba told ӣ��Ƶ Digital.

Nixon, who upset Trump impeachment witness Alexander Vindman in last week's Democratic primary, told NBC News on Sunday that she is "not a socialist," despite acknowledging her DSA membership. She said she joined the far-left group because of its platform on public housing, healthcare, veterans and removing big money from politics.

"She's either a bona-fide socialist, or she's not very smart, because she ended up being a member of the Democratic Socialists of America," Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., told ӣ��Ƶ Digital.

"I don't know what the heck she thought she was joining… Socialists [and] communists, deny what they are until they get into power," Gimenez said. He fled Castro’s Cuba as a child.

FLORIDA DEMOCRAT SENATE NOMINEE ANGIE NIXON INSISTS ‘I’M NOT A SOCIALIST’ AFTER JOINING DSA

Gimenez said he experienced that type of political pivot firsthand after Castro overthrew Fulgencio Batista in 1959.

Castro denied he was a Marxist and a communist early in the revolution but publicly acknowledged on Dec. 2, 1961 that he embraced Leninism and would do so forever, Gimenez recounted.

SOCIALISM WILL 'CONTROL PEOPLE' AND 'TAKE EVERYTHING AWAY' FROM AMERICA, ACCORDING TO THESE EXPATS

Gimenez argued that Nixon’s position, along with those of her DSA allies, "doesn’t sell" to the broader electorate.

"These socialists … are actually using democracy to destroy democracy," Gimenez said, pointing to Venezuela and Nicaragua as examples of movements that initially gained power through elections.

Gimenez said an early act of Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez was to pack the Supreme Court. He argued that socialist and communist regimes typically restructure government so the presidency answers to a single legislative chamber packed with apparatchiks.

"Sound familiar?" he said, drawing a comparison between that history and DSA proposals to abolish the Senate and restructure the Supreme Court.

NICARAGUA'S ORTEGA SAYS COUNTRY WILL 'NEVER AGAIN' HOLD ELECTIONS, SHUTTING OUT OPPOSITION

Gimenez pointed to Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega's July announcement banning future elections after Ortega was democratically elected twice.

Ortega then "eliminated all pretexts of democracy" and plans to jail political opponents, Gimenez said, arguing that the development shows socialism as presented is "a pack of lies."

PROGRESSIVE FLORIDA LAWMAKER ANGIE NIXON TOPPLES TRUMP IMPEACHMENT WITNESS IN DEM SENATE PRIMARY UPSET

Gimenez predicted incumbent Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., will "smoke" Nixon in November. He added that his district, which stretches from Miami to Key West and has a 70% Hispanic population that includes immigrants from Cuba and Venezuela, has "seen this movie before."

"We kind of look at each other and go ‘OK’. Unfortunately, across the nation, it is not the same," Gimenez said, pointing to New York City and Detroit and referencing the rise of Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Abdul El-Sayed.

Before Nixon’s comments, the DSA publicly celebrated what would have been Castro’s 100th birthday while attacking Secretary of State Marco Rubio for upholding the longstanding embargo and accusing him of hurting the Cuban people.

"They blame the embargo for everything," Gimenez said, adding that Rubio — the son of Cuban immigrants — is doing the right things. Gimenez said the embargo has never covered basic necessities such as food or medicine and argued that the only reason Cuba is broke is its leadership.

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He noted Cuba used to be a global leader in sugar production but now imports cane.

"Why are they broke? Because they're incompetent. Why are incompetent? Because they are communists," Gimenez said, adding that the DSA is honoring a man who "incarcerated [his] entire island" so that no one can flee.

When socialists defend the Cuban healthcare system, Gimenez said his response is "the Cuban healthcare system... sucks," pointing to hospitals without supplies or medicines and a lack of public access to pharmaceuticals.

"It's okay to deny you all your basic rights as long as they give you healthcare? That's how screwy they are."

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"I have seen socialism. I want no part of it. And hopefully the American people once they understand exactly what that brings and the price that you're going to pay because they lose your freedom, that they'll say we want no part of this."

ӣ��Ƶ Digital reached out to Nixon for comment.

America Needs AI to Survive. Working families also need to survive it

Tue, 25 Aug 2026 05:00:22 -0400

Every few weeks, another multibillion-dollar AI data center is announced. The numbers keep getting bigger. So do the grid demands, the water consumption and the land footprints.

A tech giant celebrates a new milestone. A small town wonders what it just signed away.

That disconnect deserves far more urgency than the latest LLM benchmark or model release.

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The United States has no choice but to lead in artificial intelligence. China is investing aggressively, treating the technology as a geopolitical imperative. AI will dictate military capability, scientific breakthroughs and economic hegemony for the next half-century. Falling behind is a luxury we cannot afford.

Winning, however, requires more than chips and capital. It requires a domestic social contract.

The American public has accepted massive technological disruption before because progress eventually minted a ticket to the middle class. Railroads built towns. Automobile factories created generational wealth. The internet launched millions of micro-economies and entirely new career paths. Workers lost jobs along the way, but they could always see new doors opening.

AI feels different. Because it is different.

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The empires building it are scaling to multitrillion-dollar valuations while requiring a fraction of the headcount of the industrial giants that came before them. Compounding that anxiety, the jobs AI threatens sit squarely in the middle-class professional tier. Software developers. Designers. Accountants. Corporate marketers. Legal analysts. These are people who spent decades believing that a specialized college degree was an absolute shield against automation.

That reality carries explosive political and social consequences.

I spend a significant amount of time in boardrooms advising directors on AI strategy. The conversation almost always centers on velocity. How fast can we deploy? How much productivity can we unlock? What market share can we capture?

Almost no one asks the foundational question:

How long will the public support this pace of change if they believe they are bearing the infrastructure costs while a handful of zip codes collect the rewards?

That question belongs on every board agenda today.

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The surrounding debate usually retreats to predictable ideological corners. One side argues the government should simply tax and redistribute the wealth AI creates. The other promises that breakthroughs in medicine and science will eventually lift all boats.

Neither answer addresses the psychological reality of the American worker. People rarely oppose technology because they dislike progress; they oppose it when they realize progress no longer includes them.

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Every extractive industry in history eventually had to learn this lesson. Oil companies learned it. Mining conglomerates learned it. Wind and solar developers are learning it now. Communities supplying the land, the electricity, the water and the political baseline expect more than a corporate ribbon-cutting and a dozen permanent jobs.

AI infrastructure providers must anticipate the same reckoning.

When a tech company builds a data center designed to operate for decades, the host community should be able to point to an asset that will actually endure for generations.

We need to see permanently upgraded municipal electric grids. Dedicated AI institutes at local community colleges. Standardized apprenticeship programs that route local residents into high-paying technical careers. Sovereign compute resources reserved for regional universities and homegrown startups. Local venture funds backed by tech capital to help residents build businesses using the very systems their town is hosting.

In short: Leave something meaningful behind.

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None of this is philanthropy. It is an active investment in the social license to operate — the intangible asset upon which every transformational technology ultimately depends. Lose that public trust, and projects stall, local regulations multiply, zoning boards revolt and expansion grinds to a halt. The AI industry is not immune to public backlash simply because its technology is extraordinary.

America will build astonishing AI systems over the next decade. I have zero doubt about our engineering capacity. The far more critical question is whether we will build a country that still believes those systems are working in its favor.

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History has a stubborn habit of answering that question long before the engineers finish training the next model.

Arizona grandpa to undergo amputation after collapsing on scorching sidewalk

Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:58:34 -0400

An Arizona grandfather is preparing to undergo an above-knee amputation of his right leg after he tripped and fell while walking outside in Bullhead City during 120-degree heat earlier this month, according to his family.

Grant Siler, 72, fell during a walk on Aug. 3 in Bullhead City, causing his body temperature to rise to more than 105 degrees.

The family’s GoFundMe said Siler was on the ground for an estimated at least an hour before a passerby found him. The fundraiser said he suffered second and third-degree burns in multiple areas of his body, heat stroke and multiple organ shock.

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He was then taken to a burn ICU in Las Vegas, where he has been cared for since the incident. When he arrived at the facility, doctors discovered he was suffering from heat stroke and organ shock.

"He is in constant pain, can barely move, and has undergone two debridements. Also, he will soon need to undergo surgery for amputation, the extent is not yet known," the GoFundMe reads.

During surgery, a surgeon found that tissue in Siler’s right leg was so severely damaged it was unlikely to fully heal, according to an update posted to the fundraiser.

Siler is scheduled to have his right leg amputated above the knee on Aug. 31, according to FOX 10 Phoenix.

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"The plan now is to have an above-knee amputation. The Dr's feel he will overall heal faster and have better pain control this way," the fundraiser reads.

"We can all imagine that after any amputation, the road to recovery is long and hard...physically, mentally and emotionally," it continued.

His wife, Vicki, has been traveling one-and-a-half-hours each way to be with her husband as she continues to work to support the family’s financial obligations. The family said the couple will also soon have to face medical bills to help with Siler’s recovery.

The family is accepting donations to help with home renovations, home medical supplies, prosthetics and other added costs.

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Siler's daughter, Heather Crook, recalled an incident in which he dropped an 80-pound cinderblock on his foot but did not even take a Tylenol.

"He's hurting really bad," Crook told FOX 10. "He's the 'get up and walk it off' type."

"So for him to holler out in pain … it’s really hard to hear. That’s not the kind of person that he is," she added.

Lindsay Clancy trial: Postpartum is real, but child killing demands accountability, veteran prosecutor says

Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:00:25 -0400

If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

While failures by people, medical professionals and systems around Lindsay Clancy deserve scrutiny, nothing should erase a parent’s responsibility for killing a child, according to a veteran prosecutor who said he's concerned that public support for the Massachusetts mom is overshadowing the killing of her three young children.

Clancy is accused of killing her three young children — Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months — and trying to end her own life by dropping from a second-floor window after sending her husband to pick up takeout and something from a pharmacy, according to the Plymouth County District Attorney's Office.

But as the case has drawn national attention, Clancy has also attracted supporters both online and in-person at the courthouse, and experts have warned that that support has taken attention away from the victims.

LINDSAY CLANCY'S THREE CHILD VICTIMS FORGOTTEN AMID CROWDS OF SUPPORT: MOTHER OF SIX

"Nobody who murders children is a victim no matter what they’re suffering through," said Jonathan Hatami, a veteran child abuse prosecutor. "You're never a victim if you murder people because victims don't do something. Something happens to them."

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The defense does not dispute that Clancy caused the deaths — but she has pleaded not guilty and is contesting criminal responsibility.

Hatami has spearheaded a number of high-profile cases against child abusers in Los Angeles, California, including the murder of 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez, who was tortured and killed by his mother and her boyfriend. Gabriel's killing exposed a series of missed red flags by the county's Department of Children and Family Services and inspired a Netflix docuseries.

LINDSAY CLANCY DEFENSE SCORES ‘EXTREMELY HELPFUL’ PSYCHOSIS CONCESSION AS EXPERT FLAGS NEXT HURDLE

"Gabriel Fernandez was tortured and murdered by his mom and her boyfriend — however, there were a lot of other people...that were responsible," Hatami told ӣ��Ƶ Digital. "There were a lot of people that missed signs through the eight or nine months of Gabriel's torture. There were a lot of people in government, in law enforcement, social workers, who missed all these different signs that really could have saved Gabriel — and they didn't do it. However, Pearl Fernandez and Isauro Aguirre were ultimately responsible for the torture and murder of Gabriel and were prosecuted for that, and they were convicted of that."

LINDSAY CLANCY MURDER TRIAL BECOMES SOCIAL MEDIA OBSESSION AS TIKTOKERS, SLEUTHS DEBATE CONTROVERSIAL CASE

In Clancy’s case, he argued, many of the people and systems around her deserve scrutiny — but that should not turn her into the central victim of the story. In his view, she's been too much of the focus.

"Instead of about the three victims who were innocent kids," he said.

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While failures of government and the child welfare system were investigated after Gabriel's murder, that didn't take responsibility away from the killers, he said. And in the Clancy case, he said he sees a risk that the focus on her mental health could eclipse the three children who were killed in their own home.

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"I didn't see people out in the streets cheering on Pearl Fernandez because there were other people that were somewhat responsible for what happened to Gabriel," he said. "And the same thing plays in this case. Lindsay admitted to strangling her three children to death. She admitted to strangling them to death with exercise cords."

LINDSAY CLANCY DESCRIBED A MALE VOICE ORDERING HER TO ‘KILL HER CHILDREN AND KILL HERSELF’: TESTIMONY

Clancy's defense has said she sought help repeatedly as she struggled with depression, sleeplessness, suicidal thoughts and voices urging her to harm herself and the children.

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Defense attorney Kevin Reddington has argued that Clancy was under the effects of postpartum psychosis, while prosecutors allege she acted deliberately and understood what she was doing was wrong.

"If you murder your children, you need to be held accountable and responsible for that," Hatami said. "No matter what the whys are, no matter what reasons are."

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If convicted of any of the three counts of first-degree murder she faces, Clancy would see a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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"Your children should be your life. And if you take their life, you should, as a person, want to be punished for that," Hatami said.

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ӣ��Ƶ' Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Adam Sabes contributed to this report.

Illegal immigrant accused of fentanyl dealing linked to Virginia high school overdoses

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 21:57:08 -0400

An illegal immigrant from El Salvador who has faced a final deportation order since 2024 was caught and later released on bond at the Texas border in 2016 before his arrest last week for allegedly dealing fentanyl near a Virginia high school, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Isaac Melendez-Carranza, 31, was arrested Aug. 20 and charged with distributing fentanyl within 1,000 feet of a school. He is being held without bond at the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center.

"ICE lodged a detainer on August 20 for Isaac Melendez-Carranza, an illegal alien from El Salvador, with the Loudoun County Jail," a DHS spokesperson told ӣ��Ƶ.

An immigration judge issued Melendez-Carranza a final order of removal on July 18, 2024, according to DHS.

THE BORDER IS CLOSED THANKS TO PRESIDENT TRUMP. IN VIRGINIA, THAT DOESN’T MATTER

Melendez-Carranza was encountered in Sterling, Virginia, less than a month later, on Aug. 16, 2024, but no action was taken, DHS said.

The department cited the Biden administration for the lack of action.

U.S. Border Patrol arrested Melendez-Carranza near Hebbronville, Texas, on May 3, 2016, after he illegally entered the U.S. via the Rio Grande, according to DHS. He was released on bond on July 13, 2016, the department said.

The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office identified Melendez-Carranza as a suspected drug dealer connected to overdoses involving Park View High School students in May.

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Deputies seized about 100 pills and approximately $1,000 in cash during a search of his home, FOX 5 DC reported.

Multiple students had been hospitalized following suspected overdoses at Park View High School in May, the outlet said.

Loudoun County Public Schools confirmed at the time that two students suffered nonfatal suspected overdoses during school hours.

Additional students were taken to a local hospital for evaluation after exhibiting symptoms, district officials said.

The school system noted that it was unclear whether the incidents were connected and could not immediately confirm whether controlled substances were involved.

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Sheriff Mike Chapman called the case particularly alarming because the illicit drugs were reaching local students.

The sheriff's office said Melendez-Carranza will be turned over to ICE after he is released, Fox 5 DC reported.

"He’s here illegally," Chapman said. "I think he came in about 10 years ago. We shouldn’t be here and maybe if he wasn’t here this would not have happened, so we take that quite seriously. There is a detainer on him from ICE, so once he is done with his charges here, he will be released to ICE."

The sheriff's office said more arrests are possible, but there was no timetable.

Chapman confirmed ICE placed a detainer on Melendez-Carranza, who will be transferred to federal immigration authorities after his local criminal charges are resolved.

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"Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, ICE is targeting the worst of the worst. Nearly 70% of ICE arrests are of illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime in the U.S.," DHS said.

Houston Uber driver caught in wild police chase as officers seen on dashcam video hitching a ride in his car

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 21:45:11 -0400

A Houston Uber driver was caught "off guard" but kept his cool when two police officers jumped into his vehicle and directed him to chase a suspect fleeing on foot, wild dashcam video shows.

Anthony Baines said he was driving for Uber at about 12:20 a.m. Aug. 8 in a Houston Heights neighborhood, when a shirtless man ran across the street in front of his vehicle with two Houston Police Department officers close behind, according to Storyful.

The video shows Baines getting waved down by an officer and stopping as she approaches and hops into the front passenger seat.

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"Hey, give me a ride over there please," the officer says in the video. "Go, go that way … go, go, go, go, go!"

Baines can be heard asking which way he should drive as officers point him in the direction of the suspect. After driving a short distance, the officer signals for her partner, who's carrying a flashlight, to get in the vehicle, too, and opens the car door and jumps into the backseat.

RIDESHARE PASSENGER HELD HOSTAGE FOR EIGHT HOURS DURING ARMED STANDOFF WITH POLICE IN SWANKY NEIGHBORHOOD

The officers rode with Baines for several minutes while searching the area before one of them appeared to spot the suspect. Both officers jump out of the Uber and resume their pursuit on foot.

"What the f---?!" Baines is heard saying as the officers dart from his car.

BODYCAM SHOWS POLICE K-9 LEAPING INTO ACTION AFTER SUSPECTED IMPAIRED DRIVER REFUSED TO SURRENDER

"It caught me completely off guard," Baines told Storyful. "I’ve never had anything like that happen driving. I was surprised but just did what the officer asked in the moment."

Houston police confirmed the authenticity of the video and the incident to KPRC 2, which reported officers had been responding to a terroristic threat call involving allegations that the suspect threatened to shoot a woman and her children after becoming upset over a belief that someone had stolen from him.

Police said officers tried to detain the man as he left an apartment, but he refused to cooperate and ran away. An officer asked the driver to take them around the block to the apartment complex, where the officers returned to their own vehicle, according to KPRC.

FLORIDA MAN ARRESTED IN IHOP RESTAURANT AFTER POLICE SAY HE STABBED A RIDESHARE DRIVER

Despite the unusual assistance, police did not locate the suspect. His identity has not been released, and the investigation remains ongoing.

Baines later appeared to confirm in a social media post that he was the Uber driver behind the dashcam footage.

"Yep, that was me," he wrote. "The Uber driver whose dashcam caught two HPD officers jumping in my car to chase a suspect."

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Baines described himself as an Army veteran, husband and father of two who began driving Uber so he and his wife could save for their first home.

ӣ��Ƶ Digital has reached out to HPD and Uber for comment.

Abdul El-Sayed grilled on past statements on Sharia law and White supremacy, taxing the rich

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 21:40:40 -0400

Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed was grilled in a fiery interview on "Jesse Watters Primetime" Monday on his progressive policy positions as he sparred over his high-stakes Senate race against former Republican congressman Mike Rogers.

El-Sayed was challenged over his stated adherence to Sharia law, which was recently criticized by Vice President JD Vance, as well as previous remarks in which he linked efforts to eliminate Sharia law to White supremacy.

"Nobody is trying to push Sharia law on anyone else, just like I hope nobody is trying to push Canon law on anybody else, because we live in an America where you should have the freedom of your religion," he told host Jesse Watters.

VANCE UNLOADS ON EL-SAYED OVER SHARIA REMARKS: ‘THAT’S NOT MY GRANDPA’S DEMOCRATIC PARTY’

El-Sayed, who said he would "never" push his faith on someone else, argued that there is evidence proving the Trump administration has targeted him because he is Muslim.

"There's statistical evidence that the president and the vice president like to target me simply as a function of my faith," he said.

The Democratic nominee condemned Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., over his proposed legislation that would prevent foreign nationals advocating for Sharia law from entering the U.S., including the No Sharia Act and Preserving a Sharia Free America Act.

"The idea, that you have somebody like Tommy Tuberville – who barely was good at coaching football – is out here trying to ban Sharia Law when there's less than 1% of the Muslim community in America, as if somehow Muslims are out here trying to push Sharia law, that seems to me to be deliberately targeting the Muslim Community, because they're different," he said.

EL-SAYED'S AGENDA PUTS ‘PERMANENTLY’ CHANGED AMERICA ON THE LINE IN MICHIGAN SENATE RACE, GOP FIREBRAND WARNS

El-Sayed and Watters later clashed over the Democratic nominee’s proposal to raise taxes on the wealthy.

"I also think we got to start taxing wealth for people who know have over $100 million. I mean at that point like what are gonna even do with more money?," El-Sayed said Wednesday on "The Ansari Podcast."

"What are you going to do with more money? Whatever I want!" Watters said in response to El-Sayed’s podcast remarks.

El-Sayed, who has repeatedly railed against "the 1%" as a malign influence on American politics, defended his tax-the-wealthy stance, arguing it is aimed at improving the lives of average Americans, including in infrastructure and education.

EL-SAYED MAY BE 'FULL-BLOWN COMMUNIST' DESPITE SOCIALIST DENIAL: TOP REPUBLICAN

"The question ultimately is, ‘Do you want to drive on good roads, or would you rather have a billionaire make a second billion?’ That's what Mike Rogers wants. That's why Donald Trump wants. Apparently, that's what you want. I think the people in Michigan want something different," he said.

While El-Sayed has repeatedly criticized the influence of wealthy Americans on the campaign trail, he and his wife reported $686,069 in income in 2025, placing their household among Michigan’s top earners.

LIZ PEEK: MICHIGAN CAN STOP THE SOCIALIST FEVER RAGE — OR WATCH IT SWALLOW THE SENATE

El-Sayed accused Watters of "defending billionaires," to which the host responded, "No, I just think I have the right to the fruits of my own labor. That's America. It's not communist what you're talking about."

El-Sayed countered that billionaires would remain financially secure even if they faced higher taxes.

"If we tax you at 7%, you're still going to make what? A cool $30 million off your billion dollars? I think that's okay, they're going to be okay, Jesse," he said.

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El-Sayed also took aim at Rogers, calling his opponent in Michigan’s Senate race a "beta" male who "thinks he is running against Hasan Piker."

He accused Rogers of dodging interviews, though El-Sayed himself seemed to dodge questions during his "Jesse Watters Primetime" appearance about men in women’s sports and him previous characterization of the NFL as racist.

The Democratic Senate candidate also argued that considering reparations for Black Americans "shouldn’t be a crazy thing" and that the U.S. shouldn’t be fighting wars "we don’t know how to get out of," referencing the Iran conflict.

Trump administration proposes six-figure price tag for new H-1B visas

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 21:30:02 -0400

The Trump administration unveiled a proposal on Monday to codify an unprecedented fee of more than $100,000 for cap-subject H-1B petitions for highly skilled foreign workers, replacing a charge first imposed by presidential proclamation last year that has thus far been blocked by a federal court.

The Department of Homeland Security's proposed rule would charge $103,265 as an additional fee for every H-1B petition subject to the annual statutory cap, including petitions eligible for the advanced-degree exemption.

The worker visas are heavily relied on in the tech, education and research industries.

The fee would be used to cover the federal government’s costs of administering the legal immigration system, including actions carried out by DHS and the Department of Justice, Department of State and Department of Labor.

FEDERAL JUDGE STRIKES DOWN TRUMP’S $100K H-1B VISA FEE, RULING IT AN UNCONSTITUTIONAL TAX

"The proposed H‑1B fee is intended to recover the costs incurred across the federal government to adjudicate, vet, and support lawful immigration programs that otherwise must be funded by taxpayers," U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesperson Zach Kahler said in a news release.

The fee, which was first temporarily imposed by President Donald Trump's administration last year, was blocked by a federal judge in June in an order that barred the federal government from collecting the money.

An appeals court is reviewing the judge's decision while a different court considers whether a challenge to the fee by a major business group was properly rejected.

The temporary fee increase expires next month, one year after it was issued. The proposed rule by DHS was posted for public inspection Monday and is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday. It would make the $103,265 fee permanent.

The charge could be finalized by the end of the year.

The H-1B program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers with training in specialty occupations, with 65,000 of these visas offered annually under the regular cap.

Another 20,000 are offered for workers with a master’s degree or higher from a U.S. institution, generally granted for up to three years but typically extendable to a total of six years. Those visas typically came with fees between $2,000 and $5,000 before Trump's order, according to Reuters.

The proposed fee would apply to all cap-subject H-1B petitions, including petitions filed for some foreign students already in the United States seeking to change to H-1B status. It would not apply to cap-exempt H-1B petitions; routine extensions for current H-1B holders generally are not subject to the annual cap.

Trump has argued that the H-1B program is abused by many companies who replace American workers with cheaper foreign labor. But business groups and many U.S. companies have contended that the program is needed to address a lack of qualified American workers for certain jobs and to allow American firms to bring in the most skilled workers to support the U.S. economy.

According to court filings, about 70 employers had paid the $100,000 fee on a total of 85 visa applications as of late February.

FEDERAL JUDGE BLASTS RUBIO’S 75-COUNTRY VISA FREEZE AS ‘ORWELLIAN,’ STRIKES DOWN POLICY

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The fee is being challenged by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce of Democratic-led states and a coalition of labor unions and employers.

Those complaints could be altered to challenge the rule proposed this week once it is finalized.

The Trump administration has also ordered increased vetting of H-1B applicants and proposed a new visa selection process that would favor higher-skilled and better-paid workers.

Earlier this month, DHS added fees of up to $4,500 to applications to extend the stay of H-1B workers or to transfer employees based in other countries to the U.S.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Ex-Lakers player speaks out in defense of Enes Kanter, doubles down against WNBA's trans issue

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 21:08:40 -0400

Ex-Los Angeles Lakers forward Matt Ryan isn't staying quiet after watching Enes Kanter Freedom get escorted out of Wintrust Arena on Sunday night for standing up for female athletes.

Ryan didn't hold back in Freedom's Instagram comments after the ejection, calling out the WNBA for failing to stand up for female athletes as the league's position on the trans issue keeps falling apart.

He doesn't understand why Enes is catching so much heat.

"Just insane times we are living in," Ryan commented on Freedom’s Instagram on Monday.

"Getting demonized for trying to PROTECT women's sports and calling out the absurdity that the WNBA cannot define what the W is... just unreal and sad. Hopefully you'll force them to come to their senses, be REAL leaders, and protect the future young women."

CLUELESS WNBA ATTACKS 'BAD-FAITH' FANS WHO DON'T WANT BIOLOGICAL MEN RUINING WOMEN'S SPORTS

Ryan's support for Enes came after Freedom was booted late in the third quarter following a heated courtside exchange with Sky guard Natasha Cloud.

Kanter Freedom was sitting baseline in support of Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, an outspoken advocate for protecting women's sports.

ENES KANTER FREEDOM OPENS UP ON CONFRONTATION WITH NATASHA CLOUD THAT LED TO EJECTION, WNBA PURSUIT

Before tip-off, Freedom was met by a hostile crowd outside the arena.

Rather than walking back his words after they went viral, Ryan pulled a Sophie Cunningham, heading over to X to double down on his message.

"Yes. This is an '80-20' topic, with [more than] 80% of the country having the most basic of common sense - being able to clearly define what a woman is, and recognizing someone not born as a woman should not participate in women’s sports. There is no transphobia involved in this stance. Every human in the US is free to live as they choose. However, others should not be forced to adhere to absurdity for the sake of feelings.

"The W has a golden opportunity to be PRO- women and protect their league’s integrity. It shouldn’t be difficult. Enes has ZERO intention of stepping foot on a WNBA court - if you can’t recognize that l, I’m not sure how to help you. He’s simply, and very publicly, challenging the highest league in women’s basketball to do what is right."

In an interview with ӣ��Ƶ Digital's Jackson Thompson following his ejection, Freedom explained what triggered the altercation.

WNBA PLAYER NATASHA CLOUD FIRES OFF PRO-TRANS MESSAGE FOLLOWING ALTERCATION WITH ENES KANTER FREEDOM

According to Freedom, the drama began after a routine play by Cunningham.

"Sophie Cunningham shot a three, and I put my hands up to celebrate," Freedom said to ӣ��Ƶ Digital. "Literally, a couple possessions later, Natasha came back and started screaming and yelling and said, 'She's not gonna sleep with you.' And I was like, 'I am not trying to sleep with her. I'm just here to protect women and support her.'"

ENES KANTER FREEDOM EXPOSES NATASHA CLOUD'S PROFANE TIRADE ON 'INGRAHAM ANGLE' AFTER WNBA EJECTION

Freedom said Cloud immediately escalated the exchange with explicit language in front of family audiences.

"She started to use some very heavy language, she started to actually cuss," Freedom said. "I was very shocked that there were a lot of kids and teenagers at that game... using those F-bombs in front of all these kids. That’s not a WNBA athlete reaction."

The courtside exchange nearly stole the spotlight from Indiana’s 113-90 blowout victory. Afterward, Fever superstar Caitlin Clark said she did not see the incident and referred questions to Chicago. Fever head coach Stephanie White dismissed the incident as a "social media thing," while Sky forward Azura Stevens called it a routine "fan incident."

Regardless of those attempts to downplay the scene, Freedom made clear that WNBA leadership is facing a reckoning it can no longer dodge.

ROYCE WHITE PREDICTS ENES KANTER FREEDOM WILL BE SUSPENDED FROM WNBA EVENTS AFTER RUN IN WITH NATASHA CLOUD

"The WNBA has no idea what they're about to face," Freedom noted. "They're still trying to figure out what a woman is. So let's see if they can figure that out... let's see what kind of rules that they're gonna come up with."

With players like Ryan publicly backing Freedom and calling out the league's ideological confusion, the WNBA's attempt to sweep the arena fallout under the rug is failing fast.

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Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela

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Abdul El-Sayed battles Jesse Watters over billionaires, Sharia law in tense interview and more top headlines

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