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Escaped inmate's bid for freedom comes to crashing end after coordinated manhunt closes in

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 17:03:55 -0400

An escaped Nevada inmate's short-lived taste of freedom came to an abrupt end after a multi-agency search zeroed in on him with help from a helpful tipster, authorities said.

Video released by the Washoe County Sheriff's Office shows deputies finding 23-year-old Chase Orput lying shirtless on railroad tracks moments before taking the escaped inmate back into custody.

Authorities said he was last seen heading southwest while wearing a black-and-white striped inmate uniform, prompting an overnight search involving the Washoe County and Storey County sheriff's offices.

Authorities said a citizen from a nearby business recognized Orput near Interstate 80 and alerted the Sparks Police Department, whose drone helped direct officers and deputies to his location near mile marker 21.

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Orput was evaluated by medical personnel at the scene before being transported back to the Washoe County Detention Facility, where he is expected to face additional escape charges.

The Washoe County Sheriff's Office said Orput was located around 1 p.m. Tuesday, roughly 24 hours after he walked away from a Washoe County Sheriff's Office inmate work crew at about 1:30 p.m. Monday.

Authorities said the citizen's call gave officers a crucial lead, allowing Sparks police officers and Washoe County sheriff's deputies to quickly narrow in on Orput's location. Sparks police also deployed a drone to provide aerial support as deputies closed in.

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"This incident demonstrates the value of strong partnerships between our region's law enforcement agencies and the important role our community plays in public safety," Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam said in a statement.

"We also want to thank the citizen who recognized Mr. Orput and immediately contacted law enforcement. Their quick actions contributed directly to this successful outcome."

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The sheriff also thanked the Sparks Police Department and Storey County Sheriff's Office for assisting in the search.

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Orput had been serving a 90-day jail sentence on misdemeanor charges for possession of drug paraphernalia and failure to show or maintain proof of insurance when he walked away from the inmate work crew, authorities said.

DHS eviscerates media for ‘absolute absurdity’ over concern about ‘worst of the worst’ activist judges list

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 17:02:32 -0400

A high-ranking Trump Department of Homeland Security official called out the "liberal media" for what he referred to as the "absolute absurdity" of its response to his series criticizing activist judges.

James Percival, general counsel for the Department of Homeland Security, posted a series on X last week titled "Worst of the Worst, District Judge Edition." In his posts, Percival pointed to the risks that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents face while enforcing the law, saying some judges are working to "sabotage" those operations and put officers "at risk."

After his posts, Percival said DHS was contacted by a Chicago Sun-Times reporter about whether "a social media post like this risk[s] additional threats" in the context of "ongoing threats to federal judges."

In response, Percival blasted the outlet in an X post in which he told followers, "Witness the absolute absurdity of the liberal media response to my new series, Worst of the Worst, District Judges."

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Percival emphasized that "legitimate fact based critiques of judges and their rulings is fair game in a free society." He also noted that "the media has no issue with it if the judge is conservative."

Notably, conservative judges, including Supreme Court justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, have been the target of intense criticism from the left and, in some cases, violence. In 2022, Kavanaugh was the target of an assassination plot after an armed California man traveled to his home with a pistol, ammunition, zip ties, pepper spray, duct tape and burglary tools. Further, Barrett testified in a recent congressional hearing that she has had to wear a bulletproof vest in response to threats.

In his Worst of the Worst activist judges series, Percival called out district judges in the sanctuary jurisdictions of Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland and California.

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Percival said that earlier this month, Northern District of Illinois Judge Matthew Kennelly, a Clinton appointee, ordered a nationwide pause on the termination of temporary protected status for migrants from Burma. Percival wrote that Kennelly ordered the stay "even though these decisions are not subject to judicial review, even though we have been vindicated by the Supreme Court on TPS four times, and even though the Seventh Circuit summarily reversed him on the same issue only days before."

"This is judicial sabotage," he wrote.

Meanwhile, Percival wrote that Central District of California Judge Hernan Vera, a Biden appointee, recently "entered an order micromanaging DHS’s use of force policy with respect to violent anti-ICE agitators in Los Angeles."

Percival noted that the judge "described the agitators as ‘protesters’ and ‘legal observers,’ while describing DHS’s actions defending its personnel and property as ‘violent.’"

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Percival noted, "Agitators in Los Angeles have assaulted DHS employees, thrown objects at them, engaged in arson, and even tried to breech [sic] a federal facility."

"Judicial micromanagement of use of force in these contexts puts our officers at risk."

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In response, Sean Lewis, a spokesperson for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, told Fox News Digital that "the Code of Conduct calls on federal judges not to comment publicly on pending cases. It also requires them to decide each matter independently, based on the law and the facts—not political pressure, public reaction, partisan interests, or fear of criticism."

Lewis added that "when someone disagrees with a ruling, the appropriate way to challenge it is through the appellate process."

Fox News Digital reached out to the Chicago Sun-Times and the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California for comment.

Sophie Cunningham fans allege Storm players, exec heckled girls during game over support of women's sports

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 17:02:06 -0400

A night of celebration devolved into a storm of chaos in Seattle.

Women who were at the Indiana Fever game against the Seattle Storm on Tuesday night told Fox News Digital that Storm players and even co-owner Celeste Keaton allegedly made mocking gestures and insults to girls who were there to celebrate Sophie Cunningham.

The Storm provided a statement to Fox News Digital apologizing for the conduct of the co-owner.

"We are aware one of our co-owners made comments to two fans in attendance at last night's game. We apologize that this happened. Everyone who attends a Storm game deserves to feel welcome, and we remain committed to creating an inclusive environment where every fan is treated with respect," the statement read.

The game became a flashpoint in the national debate over trans athletes when Cunningham supporters showed up to hold a rally outside Climate Pledge Arena in support of her recent statements on protecting women's sports.

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But then when her supporters went inside the arena, they allegedly faced shocking hostility, while fans in attendance relentlessly booed Cunningham from the moment she touched the ball.

The group included several teenage girls wearing XX-XY Athletics shirts and carrying handmade signs thanking Cunningham. Independent journalist Brandi Kruse, who helped organize the gathering, sat near the girls in courtside seats on the Storm’s end of the floor.

Kruse said fans began booing the girls when they stood up for photographs before the game and between quarters.

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"Some of the fans were relentlessly booing at them," Kruse told Fox News Digital. "And I kind of turned around and said, ‘Look, they’re just teenage girls.’"

Kruse said she also personally witnessed "a couple" of Storm players direct thumbs-down gestures toward the girls. She said one of the gestures came when a girl wearing an XX-XY Athletics shirt danced during a break in the game.

"They were giving them thumbs down — like, to their faces," Kruse said.

Kruse did not hear the players say anything to the girls and could not identify which players made the gestures.

The night took a more emotional turn at halftime.

One of the 16-year-old girls had already texted Kruse that nearby fans were making comments about her shirt and Cunningham. Kruse later looked across the court and saw the girl sobbing in her front-row seat.

"I look over at halftime, and she’s sobbing," Kruse said. "They were so excited for those seats, like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see some of their favorite players. They stayed up the night before making signs."

Kruse said the girls then told her that an older woman associated with the Storm had approached them, yelled at them and called them "f---ing insane."

The girls later pointed out the woman sitting directly across from them beside Storm legend and team co-owner Sue Bird, according to Kruse. When Kruse alerted an arena security guard, she said the guard identified the woman as "one of the owners of the team."

Kruse later identified the woman as Keaton, who has previously been publicly identified as a member of the Storm’s ownership group.

Kruse said she pressed security to confront the woman, arguing that the alleged conduct violated the arena’s code of conduct. Climate Pledge Arena prohibits abusive or obscene language and says violators may be ejected.

"Had this been any other fan under any other circumstances who swore at and called some teenage girls ‘f---ing insane’ until they cried, they would’ve been ejected," Kruse said.

Security personnel instead recommended that Kruse contact the Storm’s front office after the game, she said.

Kruse also claimed that the girls were not forced to put down their signs in support of Cunningham, despite online rumors, but that they chose to put them down after the alleged harassment.

"The report that they told the girls to put those signs away is not true," Kruse said. "The girls put their signs away because of what happened with Celeste, and they just felt so scared and uncomfortable, they decided not to hold them anymore."

Kruse and rally organizer Amy Sousa said supporters deliberately left signs promoting Washington Initiative 638 outside because they understood that political signs were not permitted in the arena. The November ballot measure would prohibit students it defines as biologically male from competing in certain K-12 athletic events designated for female students.

However, the arena displayed "No Hate in Washington State" signs opposing the initiative on its video boards throughout the game, according to both women. Kruse said two security guards told her the Storm had made a one-night exception to its political-signage restriction for the opposition campaign.

Climate Pledge Arena’s publicly posted sign policy does not expressly prohibit political messages. It bars commercial, derogatory, insulting, obscene or culturally disrespectful signs and gives management discretion to reject signs it deems inappropriate.

Storm center Stefanie Dolson also arrived wearing a shirt that read "Trans rights are human rights." The team posted photographs of Dolson wearing the shirt on social media, and Dolson shared the post.

Kruse said Dolson later stood and applauded demonstratively when the "No Hate" signs appeared on the arena’s video board. She viewed the gesture as directed toward Cunningham’s supporters seated nearby.

The arena also erupted in loud boos when Cunningham entered the game and when she attempted her first free throws.

"Very loud," Kruse said. "They booed Sophie so loud. I was shocked."

Kruse claims that when the arena jumbotron showed fans wearing shirts in support of trans people, Dolson clapped demonstratively on the court.

Sousa, who organized the gathering outside Climate Pledge Arena, said she also heard the boos but stressed that the reception was not uniformly hostile.

"For the most part, I was happily surprised," Sousa told Fox News Digital. "I was surprised at how many people sitting in our area who were not of our group were thanking us for being there."

Sousa did not witness the alleged exchange with Keaton or the players’ gestures. She learned about those incidents afterward. However, she provided footage to Fox News Digital of an adult man confronting members of the group as they left the arena and repeatedly tell them to "take out the trash."

Sousa said the conduct inside the arena was worse than what supporters experienced at the pregame rally, where a few dozen Cunningham supporters and counterprotesters gathered. Supporters brought balloons, a life-size Cunningham cutout and signs with messages including "Thank you Sophie" and "With love is truth."

Sousa described the outside event as largely peaceful. Heather Weiner, a spokesperson for the opposing No Hate in Washington State campaign, also characterized the competing demonstrations as positive overall.

A separate video circulated on social media after the game appearing to show a person in Storm apparel spit or spray liquid at a fan wearing Fever gear during a confrontation.

On the court, Cunningham appeared unfazed. She scored 11 points, made three of her four 3-point attempts and collected five rebounds in Indiana’s 105-95 victory. Caitlin Clark scored 32 points, while Kelsey Mitchell added 28 as the Fever earned their fourth consecutive win.

"She seemed completely unfazed by any negative attention," Sousa said. "I felt like I saw a smile on her face the whole game."

Before the game, the Storm said it was aware of the planned demonstration and was "tracking it closely." The team said it remained committed to providing a safe and inclusive environment for all guests.

Storm head coach Sonia Raman addressed the rally after the game but did not discuss the allegations involving the girls.

"We always want to be an area where people feel welcome coming into this building," Raman said, adding that the organization coordinated with arena security. "From what I understand, that was successful."

The comments came before Kruse publicly detailed the allegations involving the teenagers.

The Fever, meanwhile, distanced the organization and Cunningham from the rally. A team public relations representative interrupted when head coach Stephanie White was asked about the gathering during her postgame press conference.

"Neither our organization nor Sophie had any knowledge of this demonstration and no contact with its organizers," the representative said.

The representative added that the Fever remained united around winning games and building its fan base before directing reporters back to basketball questions.

Neither Cunningham nor Clark was made available to reporters after the game. Mitchell and Monique Billings appeared beside White instead. When White was asked about the festivities and activism, she also said they were not aware of it and that their players were not in touch with the organizers.

Sousa said most of the Cunningham supporters still enjoyed the game. But the treatment of the girls overshadowed the celebration they had intended to give them.

"The hardest thing was those girls having their spirits crushed," Sousa said. "Adults should deal with adults. If you don’t like what I’m saying, talk to another adult."

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"Why would you behave that way toward young women?"

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Storm for a response to the remainder of Souza and Kruse's allegations, but the team has only addressed the allegations against Keaton.

TSA officer sees alarming shapes on X-ray before stolen Civil War mystery unravels

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 17:00:30 -0400

A routine baggage screening at an Alabama airport sparked an explosive scare when TSA officers discovered stolen historical artifacts inside a passenger's bag.

The artifacts were found in the checked bag of a passenger going through Gulf Shores International Airport (JKA), about 45 miles southeast of Mobile, Alabama, on July 18.

The TSA said the artifacts — five Civil War-era cannonballs — were discovered by Justin Dupree, a lead TSA officer at the airport, according to a story published on the TSA site on July 24.

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While screening the bag, Dupree "saw what appeared to be a large opaque item on his X-ray screen, which he initially thought might be a medicine ball."

The five cannonballs, all of different sizes, were wrapped in paper towels.

The larger ones were "about the size of grapefruits," Dupree said.

"My first thought was, ‘I couldn’t see a fuse and need to get some help quick,’" Dupree said, according to the TSA.

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"I couldn’t see the entire item but was scared I might have been holding a live explosive."

He quickly alerted his supervisor, Richard Cash, a supervisory TSA officer.

Dupree, who's been a TSA officer for about four years, said he had "never seen anything quite this unique."

"I’ve seen inert grenades and training munitions but never an Indiana Jones-esque stolen artifact-type situation," Dupree said.

Cash analyzed the X-ray image and agreed with Dupree that the cannonballs could pose a danger.

Regional TSA explosives specialists were notified, and local police and deputies with the Baldwin County Sheriff's Office responded to the airport.

Cash told TSA officials that he "had never seen anything like this."

"It was my first time dealing with a potentially live explosive, and it’s actually only the second incident we’ve had since JKA opened in May 2025," he said.

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The cannonballs were prohibited from flying because they were classified as artillery munitions and officers could not immediately determine whether they were inert, Cash said.

"With assistance from the [explosives expert] and law enforcement, and because we were unable to initially determine they were inert, they could have been dangerous to the aircraft," he said.

Officials later found that the cannonballs had been stolen from Fort Morgan, a historic fort in Gasque, Alabama.

The Baldwin County Sheriff's Office told Fox News Digital that a juvenile stole them from a storage area within the fort.

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The cannonballs "were being transported in the juvenile’s grandmother’s checked bag," officials said.

"Fort Morgan personnel were able to confirm the items as their property due to paint markings they apply to artifacts," the office added.

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"The grandmother stated that she did not know they were stolen. Fort Morgan’s director chose to not press charges, so there was no further action from us."

In a statement, TSA Alabama Federal Security Director Tara Corse said that she was "very proud of the great catch and teamwork by Officers Dupree and Cash."

"Even if inert and not active, travelers should avoid bringing weapons of any kind, including replicas, to the airport. They can cause security alerts, flight delays and safety concerns," said Corse.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the TSA for further information and comment.

Caitlin Clark sends WNBA All-Star ratings soaring as 3-point contest audience falls without her

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 16:47:15 -0400

ESPN had plenty to celebrate after WNBA All-Star Weekend.

Saturday night’s WNBA All-Star Game averaged 3.2 million viewers on ABC, peaked at 3.3 million and became the second-most-watched edition of the event in league history.

The audience increased 44% from last year, when Caitlin Clark attended the game but didn't play because of an injury.

This year, Clark returned to the court.

One night earlier, however, she wasn't part of the WNBA 3-Point Contest after declining an invitation, and she wasn't among the participants in the WNBA’s new Shooting Stars event.

CAITLIN CLARK DECLINES WNBA 3-POINT CONTEST INVITATION, DEALING MAJOR BLOW TO ALL-STAR WEEKEND AND ESPN

That audience, predictably, went in the opposite direction.

After OutKick and Fox News Digital asked ESPN for the figures, a network spokesperson said Friday’s telecast averaged 1.17 million viewers on ESPN and peaked at 1.35 million.

The average declined approximately 11% from the 1.318 million viewers who watched last year’s competition.

Clark didn't compete last year either, but she was expected to make her 3-Point Contest debut before withdrawing because of an injury just one day before the broadcast.

ESPN publicly celebrated Saturday’s strong audience. It also promoted the 1.8 million viewers who watched WNBA Countdown, which featured a sit-down interview with Clark before the game.

But its ratings graphic did not include Friday’s average or peak audience.

ESPN didn't explain why.

The 1.17 million figure is quite solid for a league that went 16 years without drawing a seven-figure audience before Clark arrived on the scene.

It was the second-largest audience on record for the WNBA’s Friday All-Star events, approximately 68% higher than the 695,000 viewers who watched in 2024 and more than four times the 288,000-viewer audience from 2023.

Still, the number declined.

And ESPN, which found space in its graphic for Saturday’s game, its peak audience, the year-over-year increase, the game’s historical ranking and even the pregame show, didn't publicly mention it.

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Networks promote numbers that make their programming look good, obviously.

But the selective celebration produced a revealing contrast between the WNBA events in which Clark participated and the one she didn't.

Saturday’s game drew roughly one million more viewers than the 2.19 million who watched the 2025 All-Star Game, when Clark remained on the bench with a groin injury.

Last year’s audience was still the second-largest in event history at the time, but it fell 36% from the record set in 2024.

This year, Clark returned to the court and the audience surged 44%.

Apparently, there is a meaningful difference between having Caitlin Clark in the building and having Caitlin Clark actually playing basketball. Who would have thought?

The 2026 audience also finished only about 7% below the record 3.442 million viewers who watched the 2024 All-Star Game.

That comparison makes this year’s number look even more impressive, although it requires substantial context.

The 2024 game wasn't a traditional All-Star exhibition.

Clark and Angel Reese, whose college rivalry helped transform women’s basketball viewership, played on the same team for the first time.

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Their WNBA All-Star team faced the U.S. Olympic roster after Clark’s controversial exclusion from Team USA, creating an obvious revenge storyline.

The players also treated the game seriously. Team WNBA defeated Team USA, 117-109, in what doubled as a tune-up before the Paris Olympics.

This year’s game had none of that.

It used a more conventional All-Star format, lacked the Olympic controversy and featured the limited defensive effort that has become common in professional All-Star showcases.

Yet it still attracted 3.2 million viewers.

There's also an important Nielsen caveat because the 2024, 2025 and 2026 audiences were not all measured under the same system.

Nielsen expanded its out-of-home measurement to cover 100% of the contiguous U.S. television population beginning in early 2025, up from 66% previously. That change is especially relevant to live sports, which attract substantial viewing in bars, restaurants and other communal locations.

This year’s numbers were also reported using Nielsen’s newer Big Data + Panel methodology, which became the standard after last year’s All-Star Weekend.

That means neither the comparison with the 2024 record nor the year-over-year comparison with 2025 is perfectly apples-to-apples.

Still, the methodology changes don't diminish the most obvious result.

Clark didn't play in last year’s All-Star Game.

She played this year.

The audience increased by roughly one million viewers.

Friday’s comparison is more complicated, but the decline remains newsworthy because it's important not to treat the "Clark effect" as an on-off switch.

WNBA events benefit from Clark’s presence even when she isn't competing.

Indiana Fever games have continued to produce strong audiences while Clark is injured because viewers remain interested in her team, her status and whether she appears on the broadcast.

A Fever game without Clark on the court is still a Fever game. Those broadcasts routinely outperform games featuring two teams with no connection to her.

All-Star Weekend works similarly.

Clark didn't compete Friday, but the event remained attached to a weekend whose central attraction was Clark. She was in Chicago, appeared throughout the weekend and was scheduled to play in Saturday’s game.

So the Shooting Stars event and 3-Point Contest still benefited from the same halo that helps Fever games when she is sidelined.

Even with that advantage, and despite the broader Nielsen system used this year, the audience declined from 1.318 million to 1.17 million.

ESPN’s decision to omit Friday’s figures becomes more interesting with that backdrop.

The network had Friday’s average and peak audiences available but chose not to include either figure in its public ratings graphic.

Instead, ESPN celebrated 3.2 million viewers for a game featuring Clark, a 3.3 million peak and 1.8 million for a pregame show featuring a sit-down interview with Clark.

It provided Friday’s 1.17 million average and 1.35 million peak only after OutKick and Fox News Digital requested them.

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The WNBA continues to insist that its growth story is bigger than one player.

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But All-Star Weekend provided another reminder of the hierarchy.

When Caitlin Clark is around, the WNBA benefits.

When Caitlin Clark actually plays, the audience changes entirely.

Halperin compares Fauci diary media coverage to Biden's mental decline, calls it another cover-up

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 16:32:43 -0400

Journalist Mark Halperin, host of "2Way," likened the mainstream media coverage of Anthony Fauci's diaries to the press' coverage of former President Joe Biden's mental acuity on Wednesday, and said they were present at the creation of the cover-up.

"I could spend this entire hour talking to you about the media coverage of this thing," Halperin said during a conversation with Larry O'Connor and Kevin Walling during "The Morning Meeting" podcast. If you read the stories in the so-called mainstream press about the Fauci Diaries, you will see an exact parallel to the Biden acuity situation. They were present at the creation of the cover-up. They were present, engaged in non-stop bias, pro-Fauci, anti-Trump, and they're — they're just sustaining it."

"There's no consciousness raising," he continued. "There seems to be no awareness. And this goes across a range of things. It goes across the question of whether Dr. Fauci lied, whether Dr. Fauci helped fund the gain-of-function research, and it also goes to Dr. Fauci's insane obsession with fame and celebrity. There's no other way to describe it."

Fauci faced questions from Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Rand Paul on Wednesday over his diary entries, which Paul released earlier this week. Fauci repeatedly refused to answer questions, invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

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"There's so much rich stuff here and — and Fauci's obsession with celebrity," Halperin said, again calling out Fauci's seeming obsession with celebrities. "He’s obsessed. He talks about Julia Roberts. He talks about Cher. He talks about covers. He talks openly in his diaries about how people blocked him from TV. And he acts like being blocked from a TV appearance is like someone trying to strangle him underwater. OK, this guy has a problem. And, by the way, if you’ve covered him in the last 50 years when he’s been in Washington, this comes as no surprise."

Halperin specifically called out CNN's Brian Stelter and his note about the news in his "Reliable Sources" newsletter.

"While MAGA media ridicules Fauci’s 'obsession' with fame, the diary entries read more like someone documenting the objectively wild speed at which a government immunologist became internationally famous," Stelter wrote.

"Brian Stelter, this should be Christmas for him," Halperin continued. "This should be the greatest day of his life to get to write about all the connections between Fauci and the media here and the ethics involved in people secretly being friends with him and helping him and then praising him on TV. Brian Stelter in his career has written many corrupt sentences to protect the liberal side of the house, many."

When reached for comment, CNN referred Fox News Digital to what Stelter wrote in the newsletter on Monday.

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Halperin asked co-host Larry O'Conner, "Can you think of a more extreme example than that characterization of these diaries?"

O'Connor agreed and added, "The narcissism he displays in his constant focus on what celebrity or what media outlet is saying wonderful things about him is really only valuable in juxtaposition with his admissions to what was really going on with this pandemic that he withheld from the American people."

Fauci opened up about his relationships with various media personalities in a series of diary entries, including CNN's Jake Tapper, who was mentioned 41 times.

According to the diary, Tapper texted Fauci to mock rival cable news hosts and other doctors. On one occasion, Tapper called to check on Fauci after an appearance on his show irked Trump supporters.

"Jake wanted to make sure the interview did not cause me any problems," Fauci wrote on April 13, 2020.

In July 2020, Fauci gushed that he was forming a friendship with Tapper.

"Had dinner over Jake Tapper and Jen Tapper’s home in DC. Terrific couple. Friendship building," Fauci wrote, according to the diary.

Later that month, Fauci wrote that he "gave Jake some questions to ask" pediatrician Brett Giroir during an interview on CNN’s "State of the Union." But Tapper would later express frustration, waking Fauci up in the process.

"Tapper woke me up at 11:23 AM (I went to bed early) furius [sic] at POTUS for tweeting about the fact that Jake severly [sic] questioned Brett Giroir on SOTU CNN show today. Jake was really pissed at the craziness of it all," Fauci wrote.

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Other CNN personalities were also mentioned, including Dana Bash and Andrea Mitchell.

Former NBC host Chuck Todd and ABC's George Stephanopoulos were mentioned as well.

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Fox News' Brian Flood and Joseph Wulfsohn contributed to this report.

Schumer dodges question on whether DSA belongs in Democratic Party

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 16:30:45 -0400

As the Democratic Party's socialist wing racks up primary victories, one top Democrat is emphasizing that the party remains a big tent.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., dodged a question from Fox News on Wednesday about whether the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) platform has a place in the Democratic Party.

"[The] bottom line is Democrats from one end of the spectrum to the other are going to be working to defeat Trump, to bring down costs, to go after his corruption and to end the chaos," Schumer replied at a leadership news conference.

The Senate minority leader did not elaborate on whether he agreed with the DSA’s call to abolish the Senate.

WATCH: HOUSE DEMS DODGE QUESTIONS ON SOCIALIST AGENDA THAT THREATENS TO ABOLISH KEY INSTITUTIONS

The Senate has frequently drawn criticism from socialists for giving equal power to all states and its 60-vote threshold requiring bipartisan consensus to pass most legislation.

The Senate abolition proposal is part of the DSA's recent platform, "Workers Deserve More," which also calls for scrapping the presidency and the Supreme Court in favor of representatives "chosen by" and "subordinate to" a unicameral Congress.

In the manifesto, the far-left group also calls for abolishing the police and prisons, defunding the Department of War, and dismantling capitalism.

The exchange comes as Schumer’s path to political power is increasingly colliding with the socialist movement's growing strength.

After upsetting Democratic incumbents in New York City and Colorado this year, the DSA is attempting to keep its winning streak alive by electing more socialist candidates in upcoming primaries in Missouri and Michigan.

If Michigan Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed, a far-left candidate who has rejected the "socialist" label, wins the hotly contested Democratic primary, Schumer’s hopes of becoming Senate majority leader could depend on his victory in November.

The New York Democrat has thrown his support behind Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., who has consolidated support among the party’s establishment wing, in the key Senate race.

Schumer could also face a primary threat from the Democratic Party’s far-left flank if he seeks reelection in 2028.

DSA MEMBER LEADS DEM PRIMARY IN MIDWEST BATTLEGROUND BUT TRAILS LIKELY GOP NOMINEE: POLL

Some moderate Democrats have called on the party to take a harder line in rejecting the DSA.

"This isn’t a big tent—it’s anarchy," Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., wrote on social media earlier this week. "Why can’t Dems call out the DSA?"

DSA co-chair Megan Romer affirmed the group supports many of these policy ideas during a recent interview with "Fox News Sunday."

"[You're advocating for] abolish[ing] the Senate?" Fox News’ Shannon Bream asked.

"True," Romer responded.

"Replace the presidency and Supreme Court as we now know them?" Bream followed up.

"Yep," Romer replied.

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"Abolish ICE?" Bream pressed.

"Absolutely," Romer said.

Whether Democratic leaders embrace or distance themselves from the DSA will be a defining question heading into the November midterms.

Humanoid robot videos show machines lashing out

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 16:30:30 -0400

A humanoid robot starts swinging its arms inside an office. Another appears to surge toward a festival crowd. In the most upsetting clip, a performing robot kicks a child in the stomach.

These videos spread quickly because they hit a nerve. Humanoid robots can move with startling speed. Once a machine loses balance or follows a faulty motion routine, nearby people have little time to react.

So, what do these clips reveal about robot safety, and what needs to change before these machines move closer to the public?

ROBOT SOCCER PLAYER DENTS WALL WITH TERRIFYING KICKS

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Why these humanoid robot videos raise safety concerns

A robot demonstration should make you curious, not force you to dodge a metal arm or leg. Yet several of these clips show people standing far too close to powerful machines. In one video, workers sit beside a humanoid robot during a test. When it suddenly starts flailing, they have only seconds to jump out of the way. In another clip, spectators crowd around a robot because everything appears under control. Then the movement changes and that sense of safety disappears.

That is what stands out to me. These robots move fast, weigh a lot and can generate real force. Once something goes wrong, the people nearby may have very little time to react. Of course, social media videos rarely tell the whole story. We may not know who operated the robot, what program it was running or whether someone triggered an emergency stop. So, we are sticking to what the footage clearly shows and pointing out what we still cannot confirm.

The CyberGuy Report reviews five disturbing robot clips

On The CyberGuy Report podcast at cyberguypodcast.com, we break down five viral videos and react as each situation unfolds. The footage moves from an indoor kung fu-style incident to a public performance that ends with a child on the ground. The clips vary in age and location. Still, each one raises the same question: Why were people allowed so close to a powerful robot that goes wrong?

HUMANOID ROBOT NAMED 'GABI' ORDAINED AS BUDDHIST MONK, PLEDGES DEVOTION TO 'HOLY BUDDHA'

1) An indoor robot turns a dance into a danger zone

The first clip begins like a playful demonstration. A humanoid robot moves through dance-like motions while people stand nearby. Then the robot's arms accelerate into wide chops. Its legs also swing with enough force to send people stepping backward. Several adults try to regain control while others rush out of its path. Those filming from above appear amused. Meanwhile, the people standing beside the robot look frightened. The clip offers no verified explanation for the movement. However, it shows how fast a performance can become hazardous when spectators share the robot's operating space.

2) A robot lurches toward a festival crowd

A second clip shows a humanoid robot near a crowd at a public event. The X post says the incident happened in China. It describes the robot as malfunctioning before staff restrain it. The robot appears to move toward a person near the barrier. Staff members then grab the machine and pull it away. The footage alone cannot tell us whether the robot tripped or lost balance. It may have misread an input or followed an incorrect command. Either way, the crowd had very little space to escape.

3) A tethered robot starts flailing near workers

The third clip moves behind the scenes. A humanoid robot hangs from a support hook while two workers sit close to it. At first, the robot makes smaller movements. Then its arms swing harder and its entire body begins thrashing. One worker jumps away while the machine strikes nearby equipment. Several Reddit commenters suggested a balance feedback loop may have caused the motion. In that theory, the robot kept trying to correct its posture while the tether prevented a normal response. Each correction then became larger. That explanation remains unverified. Still, the scene shows why engineers need distance and immediate shutdown access during testing.

4) A performing robot kicks a child

Another clip carries the most serious emotional impact. A humanoid robot performs in front of families while children stand close to its legs. Then the robot kicks one child in the stomach. The child folds over and crouches on the ground while the performance continues for several seconds. A Reddit comment citing a separate social media report says the incident happened at a scenic attraction in China's Xinjiang region. That account says the child's mother contacted police and criticized the park's response. It also says the child avoided serious injury. Those details remain secondhand. However, the footage itself shows a child making contact with a powered metal leg during a public performance.

5) A fallen humanoid keeps fighting the floor

Another Reddit video shows a humanoid robot on a slick floor. It appears to start a stand-up routine. Instead, its body twists and its legs kick as someone reaches toward it. Commenters in the robotics community offered a possible explanation. They suggested the robot may have switched from a standing routine to a walking controller before reaching a stable position. The floor may also have reduced traction. As a result, the robot kept trying to regain balance while its powered limbs moved near the person beside it. Again, the explanation comes from community discussion rather than a verified incident report. The visible hazard remains clear. A person reached toward a moving robot with exposed joints and no obvious barrier.

Public robot demonstrations need stronger safeguards

These incidents point to several changes that event organizers and robot companies should make before inviting a crowd close.

Keep a real buffer around the robot

The safety zone should extend beyond the robot's longest possible step, swing, kick or fall. Children should remain farther back because they have less time and space to react.

WOULD YOU TRUST A TINY DENTAL ROBOT?

Put a shutdown control within immediate reach

A trained operator should hold a dedicated emergency control throughout the demonstration. Staff should never have to wrestle a robot while searching for a switch.

Reduce speed and force around spectators

A public demonstration needs a lower-power operating mode. The robot should slow down when a person enters its safety zone.

Test falls before the public arrives

Engineers should verify how the robot responds on the actual flooring. They should also test what happens when a stand-up routine fails.

Document every contact incident

Any strike or collision deserves a written review. Organizers should preserve the footage and explain what changed before the robot returns to a public event.

What this means to you

As humanoid robots move beyond controlled labs, you may encounter them at public demonstrations or community events. First, look at the space around the robot. A small rope or a few staff members may offer limited protection when a powered machine loses balance.

Also, keep children beside you. Avoid photo opportunities that place them near the robot's arms or legs. If a robot falls or repeats a violent motion, move away immediately. Leave restraint to trained staff with shutdown controls. Powered joints can create pinch points and sudden swings. Finally, report any physical contact and seek medical attention when needed. A brief impact from a metal limb can cause an injury even when the robot resumes its routine.

Kurt's key takeaways

These videos show physical machines failing in ways nearby people cannot predict. I believe innovation should never come at the cost of our well-being. Robot companies can promote progress, but public demonstrations need safeguards that work during a failure. You can watch the full discussion on all of these videos on The CyberGuy Report podcast at cyberguy.com/podcast/, where we review every clip.

Would you feel safe letting one of these robots perform beside your child or grandchild? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com

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Weight-loss joke turns serious as 'cyclospora skinny' trend fuels health warnings

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 16:28:57 -0400

A social media trend dubbed "cyclospora skinny" is prompting warnings from medical professionals as Arizona health officials investigate 36 locally acquired cases of the intestinal illness.

Videos and jokes referencing the outbreak have spread across social platforms, with some users suggesting the parasite could be used as a rapid weight-loss method.

Medical experts emphasize that infection from Cyclospora cayetanensis, a foodborne intestinal parasite, is a painful illness.

MORE THAN 12,000 POUNDS OF BACON RECALLED AFTER USDA ISSUES HIGHEST-RISK ALERT

"Getting any kind of illness to purposely cause something like that is just a bad idea," Dr. Andrew Carroll, president of IntraCare and a physician in Chandler, Arizona, told Fox 10. "Plus, cyclosporiasis can be deadly. There are folks ending up in the hospital for long periods of time."

Cyclospora cayetanensis is a microscopic foodborne parasite that causes the intestinal illness cyclosporiasis, according to Mayo Clinic.

The parasite spreads through food or water contaminated with fecal matter, often linked to fresh produce such as berries, basil, cilantro and bagged salad mixes.

CYCLOSPORA OUTBREAK: IS IT STILL SAFE TO EAT AT RESTAURANTS? HERE'S WHAT TO KNOW

The parasite infects the small intestine, causing prolonged, watery and sometimes explosive diarrhea, loss of appetite, abdominal cramping and severe fatigue.

Infectious disease specialists emphasize that while weight loss can occur with cyclosporiasis, it results from fluid loss, muscle wasting and nutrient malabsorption — not healthy fat reduction.

Intentionally exposing yourself to Cyclospora — or ignoring symptoms of infection — can carry serious health risks, according to Cleveland Clinic.

Left untreated, a Cyclospora infection can persist for weeks or even months, cycling through periods of apparent improvement followed by relapses.

DOCTORS WARN YOUR 'STOMACH BUG' MAY ACTUALLY BE A PARASITE THAT'S HARDER TO DETECT

Cyclospora cannot be detected through standard bacterial stool cultures and requires a specific laboratory test ordered by a physician.

Unlike many common stomach bugs that resolve on their own, severe or persistent Cyclospora infections typically require a prescription antibiotic, most often trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, to fully eliminate the parasite.

Severe diarrhea and vomiting can also lead to dehydration, electrolyte imbalances and complications that are especially dangerous for children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems, experts warn.

"With diarrhea, if you’re not able to control that part of it, you’re going to lose a lot of electrolytes, so you’re going to have problems with muscle cramps and headaches and all those sorts of things," Carroll said.

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"We’re really aware of dehydration in this state; you don’t want to get to the state where your heart just can’t pump enough blood because there is no water in there."

Medical professionals urge the public not to view parasitic infections as a weight-loss shortcut. Instead, experts from Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic recommend practicing safe food handling and seeking medical attention for persistent gastrointestinal symptoms.

"People who are influencers on social media, a lot of people listen to them," Carroll said. "There’s millions of followers for these people and even the most off-colored comment, or meant to be funny, could be considered something serious."

TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ

"Especially to someone who might be dealing and struggling with their weight; they might think, ‘Hey, it might be a good idea,’ and it’s never a good idea."

Iran mines US troops' social media as military considers seizing cellphones

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 16:27:51 -0400

Some U.S. troops deployed to the Middle East may soon be ordered to surrender their cellphones as military leaders warn that Iran is using photos and videos posted online to assess where its strikes landed and potentially improve follow-up attacks, Reuters first reported Wednesday.

Some service members stationed in Jordan have been told their phones will be confiscated in the coming days, two sources familiar with the matter told the outlet. A third source said cellphone restrictions were being considered more broadly across the region because of operational security concerns but did not describe the move as certain.

Any crackdown would force U.S. military commanders to balance operational security against troops’ reliance on cellphones to communicate with their families during wartime.

TWO US SERVICE MEMBERS KILLED IN IRANIAN STRIKES ON JORDAN, CENTCOM SAYS

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), the military command that leads U.S. military operations in the Middle East, confirmed to Fox News Digital that commander Adm. Brad Cooper sent the internal message described in the report but declined to release it publicly.

"The message is a general reminder to our service members on the importance of maintaining operational security," CENTCOM spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins said. "This is one of many opportunities Admiral Cooper has used to convey operational priorities."

A defense official declined to tell Fox News Digital whether personnel had been ordered to surrender their phones or whether wider restrictions were under consideration, saying CENTCOM does not discuss force-protection tactics and techniques for operational security reasons.

SECRET SERVICE AGENT ON JD VANCE'S DETAIL INVESTIGATED FOR ALLEGEDLY LEAKING OPERATIONAL SECURITY INFO

The message warned that online posts were giving Iran near-real-time information about whether its missile and drone attacks had succeeded, according to Reuters, which obtained a copy.

Iran can search news reports and social media for reactions, photos and cellphone footage showing where its weapons landed, Cooper reportedly wrote.

"The direct, unavoidable cost of this open-source intelligence could be measured in the lives of American service members," Cooper warned.

THE SURVEILLANCE CAMERA ON YOUR STREET CORNER: LAWFUL SPYING OR CONSTITUTIONALLY PROBLEMATIC?

Cooper reportedly pointed to footage posted online during the July 17 Iranian attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, which killed Pvt. Isabella Gonzales and fatally wounded 1st Lt. Tyler Feehan. Sgt. Angel Rampersad also is believed to have been killed in the attack.

The footage, captured using a service member’s Meta smart glasses, showed troops running for shelter and where the individual evacuated.

Without such information, Iran could have difficulty determining whether its weapons missed, struck an empty area or hit a populated facility, Cooper wrote. Publicly available details can effectively provide Iran with a battle-damage assessment and help it plan more devastating follow-up attacks, he warned.

Cellphone rules vary widely across the military. Personal devices already are prohibited during some sensitive missions and inside classified areas, while sailors at sea often lack ordinary cellular service. Many troops stationed at established overseas bases, however, often retain use of their phones.

The concern raised in Cooper’s message is distinct from another cellphone-related vulnerability reported by Fox News Digital in June — adversaries’ potential access to commercially available location data generated by smartphones, apps and advertising networks.

CENTCOM told lawmakers it had received "multiple threat reports concerning adversary exploitation of commercial location data to target or surveil U.S. personnel in theater."

A bipartisan group led by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rep. Pat Harrigan, R-N.C., subsequently accused the Pentagon of failing to take basic precautions against the threat posed by data brokers, which collect and sell information about users’ movements.

The lawmakers said adversaries could potentially use that information to identify military installations, monitor troop movements or track individual service members. They urged the Pentagon to disable advertising identifiers on government-issued smartphones and direct personnel to take similar precautions on personal devices.

Justin Sherman, CEO of research and advisory firm Global Cyber Strategies, previously told Fox News Digital that foreign adversaries could obtain cellphone location data through brokers, digital advertising networks and other commercial systems.

"The sale of location data, in particular on Americans’ devices, puts military personnel at risk," Sherman said, calling it "a serious national security threat."

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While the earlier warning focused on information collected and sold by commercial companies, Cooper’s message addressed material posted publicly, including footage that can reveal where troops sought shelter and whether Iranian strikes hit their intended targets.

The Pentagon referred Fox News Digital to CENTCOM when asked for comment. Iran's Mission to the United Nations in New York could not immediately be reached for comment.

Fox News Channel outdraws ABC, NBC, CBS in July weekday primetime while thumping MS NOW, CNN across board

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 16:19:27 -0400

Fox News Channel continued its television dominance during July, outdrawing broadcast networks ABC, NBC and CBS during weekday primetime while crushing cable news competitors.

Fox News averaged 2.6 million weekday viewers during primetime compared to 2.5 million for NBC, 2.3 million for ABC and 1.9 million for CBS.

When it comes to cable audiences, Fox News defeated MS NOW and CNN combined in both total day and primetime viewers.

Fox News averaged 1.5 million viewers while MS NOW managed 636,000 and CNN settled for 465,000. During primetime, Fox News averaged 2.3 million total viewers compared to a smidge over 1 million for MS NOW and only 658,000 for CNN.

ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN AND MS NOW IGNORE FAUCI DIARY ENTRIES THAT REVEAL FIXATION ON FAME DURING COVID

"The Five," with Dana Perino, Greg Gutfeld, Jesse Watters, Jessica Tarlov and Harold Ford Jr., averaged 3.3 million viewers and 300,000 among the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults age 25-54 to finish as the No. 1 cable news program in both categories.

"Jesse Watters Primetime," "Gutfeld!," "Hannity," "Special Report with Bret Baier," "The Ingraham Angle," "The Will Cain Show," "America’s Newsroom with Bill Hemmer and Sandra Smith," "Outnumbered," Martha MacCallum’s "The Story," "The Faulkner Focus," "America Reports with Sandra Smith and John Roberts" and "FOX News @ Night with Trace Gallagher" all dominated their time slots to help Fox News finish as the most-watched network among all of basic cable.

The only MS NOW program to finish among the 14 most-watched cable news programs was "The Rachel Maddow Show," which only aired three times the entire month because its namesake host is on a Mondays-only schedule.

CNN’s most-watched show, "Anderson Cooper 360," landed at No. 24 and finished with a smaller audience than 14 Fox News shows and nine MS NOW offerings.

FAUCI'S DIARY SHOWS HE FED QUESTIONS TO JOURNALISTS, BUILT FRIENDSHIPS WITH MEDIA FIGURES

Fox News finished with its most-watched July 4 in history during marathon America 250 programming, peaking at 5.7 million viewers and 701,000 in the demo during President Donald Trump’s speech from 11:15-11:45 p.m. ET.

Special coverage, hosted by Bret Baier, Sean Hannity, Dana Perino, Harris Faulkner and Brian Kilmeade, from 7 p.m. through 1 a.m. ET, averaged 3.9 million viewers and 459,000 in the demo to nab 73% of the cable news share.

"FOX & Friends" finished the month with 1.3 million viewers and 124,000 in the demo to remain the No. 1 cable news morning show among both categories for 65 consecutive months, beating CNN and MS NOW combined in the process.

CNN STAFFERS SEE PARAMOUNT MERGER AS 'INEVITABLE' DESPITE LEGAL BATTLE DELAYING ELLISON TAKEOVER

Kayleigh McEnany’s "Saturday in America" was the most watched show on cable news of the day on Saturdays, with over 1.6 million viewers, while "Sunday Morning Futures" took the Sunday crown with 1.7 million viewers.

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"FOX News Saturday Night with Jimmy Failla," "Life, Liberty & Levin," "My View with Lara Trump," "The Big Weekend Show," "Sunday Night in America," "The Sunday Briefing" with rotating co-anchors Peter Doocy and Jacqui Heinrich, "FOX & Friends Weekend" and "One Nation with Brian Kilmeade" also thrived to help Fox News defeat CNN and MS NOW by double to triple-digits during weekends.

Trump unveils gleaming gold makeover of iconic DC horse statues

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 16:13:35 -0400

President Donald Trump offered Americans a first look at the newly regilded Arts of War sculptures in Washington, D.C., as crews began removing the towering scaffolding that concealed the iconic golden horses during months of restoration work.

"Taking down the scaffolding around the regilded Arts of War sculptures!" Trump wrote on Truth Social, sharing photographs of workers carefully dismantling the structure surrounding the massive monument near the Lincoln Memorial.

Exclusive Fox News video captured workers removing the final sections of scaffolding, revealing the gleaming gold horses and figures that crown the monumental granite pedestals.

The Arts of War sculptures flank the eastern entrance to Arlington Memorial Bridge just west of the Lincoln Memorial, while their companion Arts of Peace sculptures sit nearby along Parkway Drive. Each monument features gilded bronze horses and human figures mounted atop massive granite bases, according to a study by MTFA Design.

TOP TRUMP OFFICIAL TOUTS HOW DC MAKEOVER IS PROOF AMERICA IS REJECTING 'DECLINE BY CHOICE'

The restoration is part of an ongoing National Park Service preservation project. According to the same 2018 study, the granite pedestals had developed extensive purple staining caused by copper runoff from the aging bronze sculptures, prompting specialized cleaning and stabilization work in addition to regilding.

The agency temporarily closed surrounding lawn and turf areas beginning July 2 to protect visitors, workers and the historic monuments while construction continues. The restrictions are scheduled to remain in effect through Sept. 30, though the National Park Service said areas will reopen as soon as the work no longer requires them to remain closed.

‘DERANGED’ VANDALS FUEL MALL SABOTAGE TREND, FROM BLOOD WRITING TO REFLECTING POOL DAMAGE

Sidewalks bordering the restoration area and those leading onto Memorial Bridge remain accessible, and the project has not required any road closures, according to the agency.

The surrounding parkland will remain partially restricted while crews complete the broader rehabilitation project and remove the remaining construction equipment.

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For months, the towering monuments were almost entirely hidden behind scaffolding, tarps and fencing.

Trump's photos and Fox News' exclusive video now offer one of the clearest looks yet at the restored sculptures are unveiled with a renewed gold finish just in time for America's 250th anniversary.

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

Sudan's forgotten war leaves millions hungry as global attention remains elsewhere

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 16:13:15 -0400

As multiple international crises grip the world, from Iran to Russia’s war in Ukraine, Sudan quietly remains one of the largest humanitarian and displacement disasters in the world.

Since the outbreak of hostilities in 2023, over 14 million people have been displaced and nearly 34 million people are in desperate need of humanitarian support, accounting for 10% of global needs, according to the International Rescue Committee.

"The war in Sudan has caused the world's largest humanitarian crisis and has escalated into a regional war involving all of its neighbors as well as numerous Middle Eastern powers," Alan Boswell, Project Director for the Horn of Africa at International Crisis Group, told Fox News Digital.

"Despite this, world leaders continue to ignore the conflict, leaving it to subordinates. That approach continues to fail," Boswell added.

COULD THIS AFRICAN NATION BECOME TRUMP'S NEXT TERROR TARGET AS JIHADISTS CLOSE IN ON POWER?

The United Nations says that some 19.5 million people are experiencing acute hunger, and 4.5 million people have fled the country.

The U.S. also recently imposed an additional round of sanctions against the Sudanese Armed Forces for allegedly using chemical weapons in 2024 in violations of the Chemical Weapons Convention.

The Sudanese government denied the allegations.

The Trump administration has made significant efforts in trying to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, as well as bring Israel’s war against Gaza to an end. The administration is also trying to uphold a shaky ceasefire that was agreed with Iran to halt the war that began on February 28.

"For three years, we have warned that Sudan was on the brink of catastrophe, and those warnings have gone unanswered," said International Rescue Committee Country Director Richard Data.

Sudan’s recent outbreak of civil war, following years of coups and credible accusations of ethnic cleansing and genocide, persists under the radar.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TOUTS MORE THAN $1B IN UN BUDGET CUTS AS REFORM PUSH GAINS MOMENTUM

The civil war broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, widely known as "Hemedti," leader of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The two had been in an uneasy alliance ruling the country following the 2019 overthrow of Sudan’s longtime dictator, Omar al-Bashir, who had been in power since 1989. Together, the generals staged another coup in 2021, toppling the interim civilian government that had been in power after the fall of Bashir.

While both the Sudanese Armed Forces and RSF are accused of committing atrocities, recent reports have highlighted the brutality of the RSF.

A major focus of the deteriorating conditions has been in El-Obeid in North Kordofan state, where an escalating hunger crisis is plaguing over 100,000 displaced people in camps throughout the city.

"What we need to do is really now to plan for the scale-up beyond the 100,000 people that we have been supporting," said World Food Programme Sudan Country Director, Abdallah Alwardat.

El Fasher in the Darfur region is another major flashpoint, where the RSF took control in October 2025 and killed more than 6,000 people in the initial siege of the city.

A recent July report from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights revealed widespread acts of sexual violence against women and girls, some as young as 12, including reports of mass and gang rapes committed by the RSF.

The RSF is also accused of abduction, with survivors describing incidents of girls and women being beaten, having their hands tied behind their backs, and being driven away in a Land cruiser.

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The United Nations and other human rights groups have accused the RSF of perpetrating ethnically targeted attacks and concluded that at least three components of genocide have been overwhelmingly met, including deliberately inflicting conditions of life intended to destroy a group in whole or in part.

A U.N. report from September 2025 found that the Sudanese Armed Forces have also committed war crimes and attacked civilian populations and infrastructure. Both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces targeted civilians with perceived affiliations to the enemy, executing, torturing and raping victims.

The WNBA team that mocked Sophie Cunningham can barely win a game, Tony Romo limbers up & MLB's Abby Labar!

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 16:01:16 -0400

'Nightcaps' is a daily column that catches you up on the biggest sports, news and culture stories you may have missed while pretending to do work at your desk. It runs Monday–Friday on OutKick.com.

Final Hump Day of July. Can you believe it?

All 32 NFL teams have reported. We've already had at least one brawl in camp. Tua's already hurt. Players are holding out. Players are "holding in" (figure that one out).

It's all happening, folks, and ...

The insufferable WNBA is again front and center.

Credit where it's due — they're stealing headlines. Perhaps that's the goal? I'm not sure it's the best strategy given that cultish league becomes uglier and uglier with each passing day, but hey, bad PR is still PR.

WNBA STAR SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM'S PLAYER EXCLUSIVE ADIDAS SHOE SELLS OUT IN LESS THAN AN HOUR ONLINE

Welcome to a Hump Day Nightcaps — the one where Sophie Cunningham continues to melt brains, this time out west! That's right.

For those of you who thought Seattle was full of crazies, you ain't seen nothing yet!

What else? I've got new Tony Romo bodycam footage from his OWI over the weekend, the Mets' broadcasters being absolutely DISGUSTED by the Atlanta Braves, and MLB Network's Abby Labar checks in to end the day.

TONY ROMO TREATING HIS FIELD SOBRIETY TEST LIKE AN NFL COMBINE LEAVES FANS STUNNED

Sound good? Good!

Grab you some chicken wings for National Chicken Wing Day, and settle in for a Hump Day 'Cap!

The Seattle Storm could probably use a dude on the squad

First of all, blue cheese is the best dipping sauce for chicken wings. That's probably an unpopular opinion, but it's the correct one. Ranch is certainly more versatile, but blue cheese owns chicken wings.

Another unpopular opinion? Dry rub is the way to go. Give me the dipping sauce on the side. Buffalo wings are great. Garlic Parmesan wings are terrific. But give me those sauces on the side.

It's cleaner and, frankly, it tastes better. You get a better bite. The little game you play at a restaurant between eating the wings, wiping your hands, and drinking your beer is exhausting. It's too much. Doesn't happen if the wings are naked. It's just better.

Most things in life are.

And that's your Ted Talk for the day!

Now, let's get this class started with the Seattle Storm — who sit at a whopping 6-24 after last night's loss to Indiana — being just the most insufferable "professional" sports team on the planet (this week, at least):

The Tony Romo bodycam footage is a stretch

The WNBA is such an embarrassing league. It's a cult. It's an activist group. It's so backwards, it's almost unbelievable.

Almost.

This Seattle Storm player, Stefanie Dolson, decided to try and make a name for herself by wearing a "Trans Rights Are Human Rights" shirt, and it's just so pathetic.

Sophie Cunningham never said trans rights weren't human rights, dummies. She said biological men don't belong in women's sports. That's a stark difference. It's something that, up until a few years ago, NEVER needed to be said because it was a laughable thought.

Of course they don't belong! Duh.

But the narrative shifted a few years back, and it's been a Culture War ever since. A dumb one, of course, but a war nonetheless.

PS: Let's go ahead and check in on the all-inclusive Seattle Storm's season:

Whoaaaaaaaaa Nellie! 6-24! Way to go, Storm. Worst team in the WNBA. 1-14 in the conference. Currently on a 7-game skid. Losers of nine of their last 10 games.

And THIS is the team that's attacking Sophie Cunningham? Okeedokee.

Unserious league. Serious cult.

Next? Let's head on out to Wisconsin, where Tony Romo failed his sobriety test last weekend despite going through all the proper warm-up techniques:

Braves pitcher bites the bullet, football is BACK & MLB Network's Abby Labar!

"Sorry, two back surgeries, I need to stand here."

Just PEAK TV from Tony Romo in that parking garage. I've given him a lot of crap over the years for his shtick in the booth, but this reeled me right back in. I've never seen a man get down on start to stretch like he's about to run the 40 before a sobriety test. Never in my life.

Credit to Romo for giving it his all, though. Some folks mail it in. Not Romo. If he's going to start a task, he's going to try and do it to the best of his ability. That's what four-time Pro Bowl quarterbacks do.

You play to win the game. A great man once said that, and it's true in all facets of life — not just sports. Romo's back was against the wall here after being stuffed in the back of a tiny police car on the drive over, and he needed to work up a quick sweat to get the juices flowing before the lights came on.

PS: This Romo stuff forced me to do some Big J digging on Wisconsin DUI laws, and they are stunning. Did y'all know that A) it's referred to as an "OWI" only in Wisconsin, and B) it's basically a slap on the wrist for the first THREE offenses?

That's right. In fact, the penalty for a first offense is a small fine ($150-300) and your license is revoked for a few months. That's pretty much it.

Wild state.

OK, let's rapid-fire this Hump Day class into a big Hump Day Night. First up? Where do we stand on the Braves letting this poor minor league kid get absolutely rocked the other night?

Goodness gracious. It's tough to watch. I get it, but it's tough to watch. You have to feel at least a little bad for Connor Thomas.

It does beg the question ... when is enough enough? The Braves put in a position player right after him. Why not just do it earlier? What difference does it make at that point? You have plenty of position players. Can't one of them just go out there and throw BP for an hour rather than shatter this kid's confidence?

For those wondering what giving up 11 runs and walking five over 2.2 innings looks like on the stat sheet, Thomas is now 0-1 this season with a 21.32 ERA. He was sent back down to Gwinnett after the game.

He probably couldn't get on that plane fast enough.

Next? I've got a ONE MONTH warning for all you dads out there with summer chores still not checked off ...

Look at that ... it's beautiful. What a Week 0 slate!

UNC-TCU at noon on ESPN. The Bill Belichick, Year 2 kickoff!
For some reason, we actually get an ACC conference game at 3:30. What's that all about?
For those pining for the CBS theme song, head on over to CBS Sports Network at 5:30 for Jacksonville State and North Dakota.
FSU at 7 p.m. on the CW, followed, I assume, by Smallville.
End the day with a little Memphis-UNLV tilt on FOX!

Chills. We're so close. One month, folks. Get that yard work DONE and ready for the fall over these next three weekends. Thank me later.

OK, that's it for today. Solid Hump Day, everyone. I think we did well.

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MLB Network's Abby Labar takes us into the second half of the week!

Would the Storm have more than six wins if they had a biological man on their team? Email me at Zach.Dean@OutKick.com.

Violent anti-ICE rioter who targeted police finally faces reckoning in federal court

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 15:57:11 -0400

A California man accused of taking part in a violent confrontation during last year's anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles was sentenced to more than three years in federal prison after admitting he targeted law enforcement officers caught in the chaos.

Ismael Vega, 42, of Los Angeles' Westlake neighborhood was sentenced Monday to 37 months in prison and ordered to pay $253,415 in restitution for his role in the June 8, 2025, attack, the Justice Department announced.

"Those who attack our brave officers protecting public safety will face federal prison time for their crimes," U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli wrote Monday on X after the sentencing. "Let this be a warning to others who think they can act without consequences."

Vega pleaded guilty in April to obstructing, impeding and interfering with law enforcement during civil disorder.

FBI ARRESTS PROTESTER WHO THREATENED TO KILL ICE OFFICER'S FAMILY AT NJ DETENTION CENTER PROTEST, BLANCHE SAYS

According to court documents, Vega was among a large crowd gathered on the Main Street overpass above U.S. Highway 101 as protests over federal immigration enforcement descended into violence.

Prosecutors said Vega knew California Highway Patrol officers were trapped beneath the overpass when rioters began dropping burning debris, fireworks and other objects toward a California Highway Patrol (CHP) patrol vehicle parked below.

FORMER MARINE GETS 100 YEARS IN PRISON AS JUDGE CALLS ICE DETENTION CENTER AMBUSH 'AN ASSAULT ON DEMOCRACY'

Court records show Vega repeatedly helped others ignite debris before setting a large piece of cardboard on fire himself. He then held the burning cardboard over the railing, lined it up with the hood of the CHP vehicle and dropped it onto the cruiser.

As the cardboard burned, Yachua Mauricio Flores, 23, poured a liquid onto the flames, causing the fire to grow as Vega stood nearby and gestured toward the blaze, according to prosecutors.

Vega also admitted throwing multiple rocks at officers as they attempted to clear the overpass. He acknowledged that the burning debris and other objects created a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to the officers below.

VIDEO SHOWS MOMENT CHICAGO MAN ALLEGEDLY USED SUV AS WEAPON AGAINST ICE AGENT, PROSECUTORS SAY

"This civil disorder stood apart in its magnitude," federal prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum.

Prosecutors cited a statement from a CHP sergeant with nearly three decades in law enforcement who described the impact the attack had on him and his son.

"His experience underscores how violent this incident became and the deep toll it took on all law enforcement present," prosecutors wrote.

The attack unfolded two days after violence erupted against federal agents carrying out immigration enforcement operations in Los Angeles.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAS LOST OR ABANDONED HUNDREDS OF LAWSUITS AGAINST ANTI-ICE PROTESTERS, MIGRANTS: REPORT

Federal prosecutors previously charged seven people in the overpass attack.

According to court documents, Vega, Flores and Adam Charles Palermo, 40, helped drop burning debris toward the CHP vehicle while others threw rocks at officers trying to clear the overpass.

Vega is the fifth person sentenced in the case.

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Flores is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 3 and faces up to five years in federal prison.

Palermo, whom prosecutors identified as the lead person charged in the case, is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 14 after pleading guilty to assaulting, resisting and impeding people assisting federal officers with a deadly or dangerous weapon. He faces up to 20 years in prison.

WATCH: Fetterman reveals his ‘one regret’ from COVID era after Fauci testimony

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 15:47:28 -0400

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., says one of his regrets from the COVID-19 pandemic was not speaking up more forcefully about the possibility the virus originated in a lab after a heated exchange with Anthony Fauci at a Senate hearing Wednesday.

"Did I have regrets?" Fetterman said. "Well, I did."

Speaking to Fox News Digital after questioning Fauci at the Senate hearing, Fetterman said he regretted not speaking up when the lab leak theory was dismissed as a "fringe" idea.

CBP INTERCEPTED BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS TIED TO US–CHINA VIRUS NETWORK BEFORE COVID, NEW DOCUMENTS SHOW

"One [regret] for sure was, you know, this idea that it could have come from the lab," Fetterman said. "That was like, you know, crazy, right fringe kind of thing. And I was like, ‘It seemed to make sense to me.’"

During his remarks at the hearing, Fetterman told Fauci he was not there to attack him but rather to call out his own questioning and hesitancy throughout the pandemic. He revealed he was reluctant to publicly support the possibility of a lab origin after it became viewed as what he called a "right-wing kind of theory," even though he thought it deserved consideration.

"I hope the next time this happens, we can follow where the truth is, depending on if there's an R or D after the name or whatever the side is," Fetterman told Fox News Digital.

RAND PAUL BRINGS CIA WHISTLEBLOWER TO SENATE HEARING ALLEGING 'DEEP STATE' COVID-19 CONSPIRACY

"It's a virus. The only side is, really, Americans versus the virus in the future."

Fetterman shared the same sentiment during the hearing, explaining he doesn’t want to be "blindsided" by a partisan idea moving forward, arguing that everyone should be "willing to pursue the truth" despite what political party is spearheading it.

He also told Fox News Digital he knew Fauci was going to plead the Fifth, which Fauci invoked 111 times after claiming Committee Chairman Rand Paul had an "obsession" with putting him behind bars. Fetterman shared that, regardless, he wanted to hold himself accountable for his own approach during the pandemic.

RAND PAUL SEEKS CONTEMPT CHARGES AFTER FAUCI INVOKES FIFTH AMENDMENT MORE THAN 100 TIMES

"I know Dr. Fauci was gonna take the Fifth," Fetterman said. "So, just like I said, I expressed my one regret, [not] being more willing to push that idea," Fetterman said, referring to the possibility of a lab leak.

Fetterman also spoke about his acknowledgment that while many lost their lives to the pandemic, countless businesses were also devastated by the pandemic, calling it a "different kind of death."

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"I've had loved ones die from COVID, but I also met and I've heard from countless people that lost their businesses," Fetterman said. "That's devastating."

Senator’s F-bomb bashing of Fauci rocks Internet: ‘High-heat fastball!’

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 15:46:06 -0400

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, tore into Dr. Anthony Fauci, who served as President Joe Biden's chief medical advisor and was a key government spokesman during the COVID-19 pandemic, dropping an F-bomb during Wednesday's congressional hearing.

Fauci was issued a subpoena by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., as part of a congressional investigation into the origins of COVID-19 and the federal government's response to the pandemic. Paul, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and his Republican colleagues have long accused Fauci of misleading Congress and the American people about the origins of the virus, federal funding for research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in the Chinese city where the virus first emerged and the nature of so-called gain-of-function research, which alters pathogens to study how they may become more transmissible or dangerous.

"Here I am sitting in front of you six years later saying, who the f--k do you think you were for doing that?" Moreno said. "It is a total disgrace what you did to this country."

FAUCI PRIVATELY TOOK CREDIT FOR COVID-19 LOCKDOWNS DESPITE PUBLIC DENIAL, NEWLY EXPOSED DIARY ENTRIES REVEAL

Moreno's remarks came after he argued the government's COVID-19 guidance, including mask mandates, social distancing recommendations and school closures, harmed Americans. He said "moronic" politicians' implementation of Fauci's guidance led to arrests, recounting the story of an Ohio mother who was arrested for not wearing a mask during an outdoor high school football game.

"When that story broke, I said to myself, I cannot stand idly on the side and watch this happen," Moreno said. "It was about six years ago today that I decided I'm going to give up my businesses, sell them all, run for office, run for the United States Senate."

Moreno then asked Fauci whether he would apologize to the American people, prompting Fauci to invoke the Fifth Amendment. Throughout the hearing, Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times rather than answer lawmakers' questions.

RAND PAUL SEEKS CONTEMPT CHARGES AFTER FAUCI INVOKES FIFTH AMENDMENT MORE THAN 100 TIMES

At the beginning of his allotted time, Moreno called on audience members to stand if they had questioned the government's COVID-19 guidelines and were made to feel "like less than a human being" or suffered consequences for failing to comply, such as being fired from their jobs or refusing the vaccine. Moreno's request prompted audience members sitting behind Fauci to stand. Moreno asked Fauci to turn around and face them, but he refused.

Moreno accused Fauci of being more interested in rubbing elbows with celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, referring to a Zoom call Fauci participated in with her and more than a dozen other celebrities, than serving as a public health official.

Moreno's fiery exchange with Fauci quickly drew praise from conservative commentators and Trump administration officials on social media.

"Fauci should go to jail. Full stop," Fox News contributor Joe Concha wrote on X.

White House Communications Director Stephen Cheung praised Moreno's line of questioning.

"Senator @BernieMoreno throwing a high-heat fastball!"

Jace Yarbrough, a Republican congressional candidate in Texas' 32nd District and an Air Force veteran, thanked Moreno for confronting Fauci and described what he said was pressure placed on service members who declined the COVID-19 vaccine.

"I am one of the service members who refused the COVID shot," Yarbrough wrote on X. "Many were removed from service, lost their livelihoods, or received career-ending reprimands simply for declining the shot."

"Thank you @berniemoreno for taking this man to task and standing up for those who were targeted by his regime."

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Philip Letsou, Moreno's chief of staff, also reacted to the exchange, writing on X, "Never seen a moment quite like this in Congress."

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"We have no comment on anything Senator Moreno had to say other than he is completely wrong," David Schertler, Fauci's attorney, said in an email to Fox News Digital.

Paul Finebaum eviscerates Illinois' Bret Bielema after his claim that the SEC is stuck living in the past

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 15:43:23 -0400

ESPN's Paul Finebaum has offered a rebuttal to Bret Bielema and the Illinois head coach's nonchalant yet noteworthy comments about the SEC wanting to live in the past. Finebaum brought out the receipts, too, which don't exactly put Bielema in the best light.

While speaking at Big Ten media days on Tuesday, Bielema elected to take a not-so-subtle shot at the Southeastern Conference.

"[SEC commissioner] (Greg) Sankey, I know he's gotta protect the SEC, and they kinda wanna live in 2005 forever," Bielema said while at the podium. "But, I think the forward thinking of where we are in college football is an awesome thing."

ILLINOIS COACH BRET BIELEMA FIRES BACK AT NOTRE DAME AD OVER RECENT REMARKS: 'JUST JOIN A CONFERENCE'

There is absolutely no valid argument to be had against the fact that the Big Ten sits on the throne of college football at the moment with programs from the conference winning three straight national championships. Sure, the SEC won the four before the Big Ten built its recent run, but in today's reality, the Big Ten reigns supreme.

That, however, isn't what Bielema said, he elected to take a jab at the SEC as a whole, which includes some of the most rabid fan bases in all of sports, for being stuck looking into the rearview mirror.

The exact comments from Bielema are rather rich given the fact that he has a history of coaching in the SEC, which Finebaum was quick to remind people of in his response to the head coach.

"He never fails to be the village idiot at Big Ten Media Days," Finebaum said during ESPN's 'Get Up' on Wednesday. "I have no earthly idea where that came from, why he said it. First of all, 2005, since that moment in time, the SEC has only won 13 national championships.

"Let’s go back to Bret Bielema in the SEC at Arkansas. He didn’t make it. His last year, he was 1-8 in the SEC. His overall record in the SEC is 11-29. He was a complete and total disaster. But he always shows up there and gives us something to laugh about, but mostly to laugh at him."

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ARKANSAS ATHLETIC DIRECTOR HUNTER YURACHEK DEMANDS SEC CHANGE GAME TIMES FOR RAZORBACKS' FOOTBALL TEAM

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Finebaum did make an error during his rebuttal.

Bielema wasn't 1-8 in the SEC during his final season with the Razorbacks. He was actually 1-7, for whatever that is worth. His final campaign with the Hogs at 4-8 in 2017 did come on the heels of three straight winning seasons, but Bielema never came close to meeting expectations in Fayetteville during his five-year tenure, winning just 11 conference games.

Giants outfielder suffers late-night scooter accident while already dealing with foot injury, team says

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 15:16:18 -0400

Harrison Bader's season has gone from bad to worse.

The San Francisco Giants outfielder has been limited to just 30 games due to injury, and when he's been on the field, it has not been pleasant.

Bader is hitting just .170 with a .198 on-base percentage and .358 slugging percentage, as he's dealt with plantar fasciitis for the second time in his MLB career.

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But this week, the Giants announced that Bader had a "scooter accident" on "Saturday night/early Sunday morning," which further injured his foot.

Bader is now set to get an MRI for the new injury.

Bizarrely enough, this is not the first time Bader has gotten into trouble with a scooter. While playing for the University of Florida in 2014, he was suspended for 19 games for drunkenly crashing a scooter into a parked truck.

MLB PROSPECT PROVIDES POSITIVE UPDATES AFTER FRACTURING VERTABRAE IN SCARY OUTFIELD COLLISION

Bader is in the first year of a two-year pact with the Giants, which is worth north of $20 million. The Giants are his seventh team.

The 2021 Gold Glove Award winner spent nearly six full seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals before being traded to the New York Yankees in 2022. He then had a brief stint with the Cincinnati Reds before spending time with the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins and Philadelphia Phillies.

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The Giants, meanwhile, are tied for the second-worst record in the National League and figure to trade just about anyone they can ahead of next week's deadline.

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Vacation paradise evacuated as raging wildfire threatens to roar back amid high winds

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 15:15:10 -0400

Greek authorities warned Wednesday that strong winds could reignite a wildfire on the popular tourist island of Paros, after the blaze forced residents and visitors to evacuate.

Paros, an island between Mykonos and Santorini, was hit by the wildfire Tuesday, prompting precautionary evacuations in multiple communities.

Flames spread through dry vegetation near the Kampi area, Italian outlet Ansa reported.

THOUSANDS SWARM STUNNING MOUNTAIN ESCAPE AS SELFIE TOURISM BACKLASH ERUPTS ONLINE

Although the blaze has since been largely contained, authorities are warning that strong winds could reignite lingering hot spots, the Greek City Times reported.

The winds could complicate firefighting efforts, the outlet said, and residents are being urged to avoid any activities that could spark fires.

As firefighters battled the blaze, local officials asked residents with available space to help house emergency crews working to contain the fire.

"The Municipality of Paros warmly thanks everyone who is responding in person at this difficult moment, supporting the forces that are fighting the flames." the translated statement read.

MAJOR CITY LAUNCHES HARSH TOURIST CRACKDOWN AS LOCALS REVOLT OVER MASSIVE CROWDS

Fox News Digital reached out to the Municipality of Paros for comment.

Known for its whitewashed villages and beaches, as well as its high-quality Parian marble, the island attracts visitors across the world.

On a Reddit forum dedicated to travel in Greece, users shared concerns and firsthand accounts of evacuations as the wildfire spread across Paros.

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The commenters had been staying in Aliki and Parikia, two villages on the island, as well as the nearby island of Antiparos.

"We were staying near Aliki and had to evacuate," one person said. "Fire is pretty big now."

"I’m in Parikia at the moment. There are currently 4 choppers helping with the [wildfire], plus ground support," another Reddit user said. "They were filling up water right in front of the harbor and flew overhead my hotel."

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A third Reddit user said, "We’re in Antiparos now and it’s safe here. We could see the fires from our house last night. It looked really bad, but it seems like it’s almost gone now."

The Paros wildfire comes as Europe continues to battle a severe wildfire season.

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Earlier this month, another major wildfire burned near Thessaloniki, Greece's second-largest city, due to record heat and dry conditions.

France and Spain have been hit by massive blazes in recent weeks, including the famed Fontainebleau Forest near Paris, where roughly 4,900 acres of woodland was burned.

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While record-breaking heat has intensified the fire danger across Europe, experts say human activity, suspected arson and land management have also contributed to the devastating wildfire season.

Simon Constable contributed reporting.

JONATHAN TURLEY: Fauci took the Fifth, but his diary may have already answered for him

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 15:14:16 -0400

"Stick with the science and never veer from that, even when the science turns out to be an inconvenient truth for somebody."

Dr. Anthony Fauci, then director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, delivered those words to Georgetown students in 2017 as the touchstone of medical ethics.

On Wednesday, before the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Fauci replaced that line by repeatedly saying, "On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution."

FAUCI PLEADS FIFTH WITH 'ZERO LEGAL JUSTIFICATION' AS CRITICS ERUPT AND DEMAND CONTEMPT CHARGES

The optics could not have been worse, but what you saw depended largely on how you viewed the hearing. For critics, Fauci sounded like Crazy Joe Gallo without the sunglasses.

For supporters, Fauci is still a hero who refused to fall into a trap laid for him. Democratic senators such as Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., actually praised Fauci for refusing to answer questions before Congress.

There is no question that it is Fauci's right to invoke his privilege against self-incrimination, and many advised him to do so. The privilege can be invoked for strategic reasons separate from any criminal culpability. After all, he was given a last-minute pardon by President Joe Biden, and any false statements he made before the committee could be used to bring criminal charges against him.

However, Fauci is unlike many who have invoked the privilege. Unlike many past witnesses who have invoked it, Fauci has testified for days in countless prior hearings. He also has appeared in countless interviews on these issues. He had reason to fear this hearing after his diary revealed startling contradictions between his private observations and his public statements.

The question many will ask is why Fauci could not just "stick with the science" and resolve these contradictions. The fact is that he would have had difficulty dealing with his own "inconvenient truths."

FAUCI PRIVATELY TOOK CREDIT FOR COVID-19 LOCKDOWNS DESPITE PUBLIC DENIAL, NEWLY EXPOSED DIARY ENTRIES REVEAL

Fauci's opening statement expressed obvious anger over the release of his "unredacted diary."

The new evidence shows that Fauci connected the Wuhan lab to the emerging crisis before most people had ever heard of the lab. It also shows him repeatedly referencing the lab's gain-of-function work and discounting the "wet market" as the true origin of the virus, viewing it instead as an "amplifier."

Some of the most embarrassing areas for Fauci concerned his entries acknowledging that he pushed to close schools despite public denials that he ever recommended such closures. His entries take credit for convincing figures such as then-New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, the staff of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and others to close schools.

FAUCI'S DIARY SHOWS HE FED QUESTIONS TO JOURNALISTS, BUILT FRIENDSHIPS WITH MEDIA FIGURES

In an Oct. 16, 2022, ABC interview, Fauci repeated that denial, saying, "They always come back and say, 'Fauci was responsible for shutting schools down.' I had nothing to do [with it]!"

The media has also taken the Fifth on these subjects, declining to publish many of these contradictions. Media outlets have the same reason as Fauci. There is no spin that would reconcile their own prior coverage and gushing reviews of Fauci. The diary entries also show disturbing references to private meetings with media figures.

Fauci's diary refers to CNN anchor Jake Tapper 41 times. In some entries, Fauci suggested that the host was concerned about crafting an interview to better serve Fauci.

"Jake wanted to make sure the interview did not cause me any problems," the diary says.

Fauci also related how he met socially with Tapper in July 2020: "Had dinner at Jake Tapper and Jen Tapper’s home in DC. Terrific couple. Friendship building." Notably, on Oct. 14, 2020, CNN published a report warning about the dangers of "small household gatherings."

The diary revealed an obsession with his publicity and access to celebrities. It is replete with Fauci’s gushing accounts of himself, such as, "It is not hyoperbole [sic] to say that today I am the most famous and talked about person in the country and one of the most recognizable peson [sic] in the world."

The fact is that diaries tend to be self-obsessed, and no one would want their unvarnished private thoughts made public. Rather, my gripe with these passages is one I have previously raised in criticism of Fauci. During this period, dissenting scientists were barred from social media, removed from positions and vilified for expressing views despite now being vindicated on subjects ranging from the lab origin of the virus to the efficacy of masks, the 6-foot rule, natural immunity and school closures.

As these courageous scientists were being abused by academic and media figures who still hold their positions, Fauci said not a word in their defense despite privately acknowledging that they could be right.

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Yet Fauci remained silent as his allies in the media savaged those who voiced the view that the virus was man-made and escaped from the lab.

In 2021, New York Times science and health reporter Apoorva Mandavilli was still calling on reporters not to mention the "racist" lab theory. Federal agencies found the lab theory to be the most credible despite Fauci's public claim that a natural origin was the most likely explanation.

Fauci stayed silent while relishing his celebrity status. Indeed, his diary shows no concern for these scientists as he breathlessly recounts his bobbleheads and cover shoots.

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Once again, Fauci has every right to invoke his constitutional rights, but the public has every right to demand answers to these questions related to the deaths of approximately 1.2 million to 1.25 million Americans. That may result in a grant of immunity to compel him to answer them.

If there is any solace to Fauci, he will clearly be able to maintain that he is "the most famous and talked about person in the country."

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM JONATHAN TURLEY

Coastal workers fleeing blue strongholds could create an opportunity for Detroit

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 15:13:08 -0400

DETROIT — As high-tax, progressive-led cities continue to bleed residents nationwide, locals and policy experts in Detroit are offering contrasting visions for the Motor City’s future, with some eyeing radical free market reforms to attract those fleeing the East and West coasts.

High state and local taxes, lingering crime concerns and an astronomical cost of living continue to drive taxpayer flight out of blue strongholds like New York, Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles.

According to a study by the National Taxpayers Union Foundation (NTUF), taxpayers are consistently abandoning high-tax environments for fiscally friendly states.

While Texas and Florida remain primary destinations, Sunbelt states like North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee are seeing record population gains.

BLUE-STATE TAX BURDEN FUELS AMERICANS FLEEING TO REPUBLICAN-LED SOUTHERN STATES

For many moving away from major metros, the decision comes down to basic math.

"Cost of living is probably a huge reason for it. Those cities are some of the most expensive in the country," Ferndale resident Andy Femminineo told Fox News Digital Monday.

Femminineo, who grew up in the Detroit suburbs and works downtown, noted that even high-earning tech workers are being priced out of coastal hubs.

"A lot of those people are showing up here in Detroit," he said. "The cost of living [on the coasts] is outstripping the tech talent they have there, which is ridiculous. I mean, it's humongous talent and income there, and you still can't afford to live."

Floyd Brantley, a born-and-raised Detroiter, sees the population shifts as part of a historical cycle for major urban centers.

"I think it's a nationwide trend, and what a lot of people don't realize is that cities are cyclical anyway," Brantley said. "This isn't the first upward swing that Detroit has been on. We've been up and down a few times. New York's been up and down a few times, Chicago … LA is losing a lot of people going to Texas."

DETROIT DEVELOPER CITES 'SUBSTANTIAL TAXES' AS REASON BIG BLUE CITIES LIKE NYC ARE IN TROUBLE

Former Detroit Planning Director Antoine Bryant echoed those sentiments, noting that the South and Midwest offer economic relief that coastal markets simply cannot match.

"The South in general has been growing tremendously," Bryant told Fox News Digital. "South Carolina has won, there's been tremendous growth in Texas as well and you're seeing that along the coast because the income disparity isn't as vast as it is on the East and West coasts."

Bryant, who has lived in Detroit since 2021, expects the city to expand over the coming decade. "Many demographers and planners I talk to say there's real opportunity here in the Midwest," he added.

Other locals highlighted the permanent impact of remote work on traditional urban centers.

"People aren't working in the office buildings anymore, so they don't need to be centralized in major cities," said Allen Park resident Ashli Genaw, pointing to how flexible work policies allowed workers to leave New York and California.

While local residents remain hopeful about Detroit’s organic momentum, conservative policy thinkers argue that bolder action is required to capture fleeing taxpayers.

Rodney Lockwood, a board member at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, believes major cities reliant on heavy tax bases are headed for trouble unless they embrace aggressive free-market alternatives.

"Right now, socialists are on the march, and perhaps [New York State Assemblymember] Zohran Mamdani is the best example of that. They're winning races, and their answer is always more taxes and more free stuff," Lockwood told Fox News Digital. "We have to look at both sides: what is not working, and then what will work."

DAVID MARCUS: IN BOOMING DETROIT, VOTERS SKEPTICAL OF SOCIALISM SNAKE OIL

Lockwood’s proposal? Convert Detroit’s iconic Belle Isle Park into an independent, free-enterprise "Freedom City" designed to compete directly with high-tax blue hubs.

Developed in the late 19th century, Belle Isle is a 982-acre island park on the Detroit River making it larger than New York City's Central Park. Under Lockwood’s vision, private investors would purchase the island from the city to build a mixed-use housing, entertainment and commercial district structured as a special economic zone. The plan aims to accommodate 50,000 residents across 20,000 households without relying on public tax dollars.

"Detroit is stuck. Its population is not increasing fast enough, and it faces a potential fiscal cliff as federal COVID-relief money runs out," Lockwood argued.

However, the idea of privatizing Detroit’s prized public park met sharp resistance from several locals in the downtown area.

"Horrible idea," said Tanya Clark, a native Detroiter. "We need more public spaces throughout the city, not fewer. Other places might want that, but it's not a Detroit thing."

Others were more open to the ambitious concept.

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"I think that’d be amazing," said Alonte Banks, a student living in downtown Detroit. "I’m pretty sure I’d move down there."

Top 5 moments from Fauci's hearing: Paul boots lawyer, Moreno erupts as contempt vote looms

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 15:13:00 -0400

What was billed as a battle of wits between Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Dr. Anthony Fauci, with the lawmaker determined to uncover the former COVID-19 explainer-in-chief’s motivations during the pandemic, became a one-sided affair in the Senate.

Paul has for years sought to uncover Fauci’s alleged role in funding "risky" research in China that Republicans say sparked the pandemic in 2020. He has argued that Fauci should be thrown in prison, and that the former chief medical advisor to the president’s pardon from former President Joe Biden wouldn’t hold up.

But the highly anticipated back and forth, which was further stoked by Paul dumping over 1,000 pages of Fauci’s diary online before the hearing, didn’t go exactly as planned.

Fauci invokes the Fifth Amendment

The hearing kicked off with an impassioned opening statement from Paul, who accused Fauci and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of funding gain-of-function research for years, misleading Congress and destroying records, which he contended created a fracture in public trust over the nation’s COVID-19 response.

"That loss of trust may be your most damaging legacy," Paul said. "Trust can't be ordered. It has to be earned. No scientist is above scrutiny. No government official beyond accountability, and no public servant preferred version of history."

RAND PAUL SEEKS CONTEMPT CHARGES AFTER FAUCI INVOKES FIFTH AMENDMENT MORE THAN 100 TIMES

But Fauci, under guidance from his lawyers, opted against answering any questions from Paul or others on the committee.

He argued that Paul's "obvious obsession" with pushing for his prosecution, levying allegations against him, and dumping his unredacted diary was designed to "get me to say something, anything, that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, quote, behind bars, unquote."

"Although it pains me to do so because of the respect I have for the legislative branch of government, and my decades-long record of cooperating with Congress under the advice of my attorneys, I will invoke my right under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution to refrain from answering your questions," Fauci said.

Paul tosses out Fauci's lawyer

It wasn’t long after Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment that tensions flared in the hearing.

After being repeatedly asked questions, and repeatedly turning to his constitutional shield, Paul declared that as chair of the committee, he was denying Fauci’s right to invoke the Fifth Amendment.

"It's against the law to obstruct an investigation of Congress," Paul said. "There will be repercussions to your refusal to testify today."

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Then Fauci’s lawyer, David Schertler, spoke up to remind Paul it was Fauci’s constitutional right to turn to the Fifth Amendment.

Paul reminded Schertler that neither he, nor the "half dozen" lawyers with Fauci were recognized by the committee. That prompted Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., the top Democrat on the panel, to push for Schertler to speak.

But Paul was not having it.

"This is the way Anthony Fauci wants to be remembered — for a lawyer not listening to the rules," Paul said. "That's the way you want to be remembered, and that's what you're going to do. You are not recognized, sir. Security, please remove him from the room."

Moreno: ‘Who the f--- do you think you are?’

The hearing chugged along at roughly the same pace — lawmakers would ask Fauci a question, then he would invoke the Fifth Amendment.

But that didn’t stop some on the panel from getting frustrated at his lack of forthrightness.

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, noted that Schertler was a well-known lawyer who previously represented former Sen. Bob Menendez, who was sentenced for accepting gold bars and bribes in exchange for using his influence to benefit the Egyptian government.

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"And there's an article here in the Washington Free Beacon that talks about why you would hire a guy like David Schertler. And the comment is, if you're in deep s---, that's who you call," Moreno said. "Do you feel like you're in deep s---?"

Fauci again declined to answer, which prompted a frustrated Moreno to tell him that his influence over policy during the pandemic in 2020 and the effect that it had on Americans pushed him to run for the Senate.

"Here I am sitting in front of you six years later saying, ‘Who the f— do you think you were for doing that? It is a total disgrace what you did to this country,’" Moreno said.

Paul announces contempt vote

As the hearing wound down, Paul revisited his threat to hold Fauci accountable for declining to answer questions.

Paul announced that he would seek contempt charges against Fauci after he invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and teed up a vote in committee for next week.

"We're going to have a vote next week on contempt," Paul said. "I think there's another legal question that the courts may have to decide upon, and that is whether or not a presidential pardon offers you complete immunity."

How many times Fauci invoked the Fifth

Fauci never answered a question from any lawmaker on either side of the aisle, sticking to the advice from his lawyers to invoke the Fifth Amendment to protect himself from self-incrimination.

Before the hearing started, Paul and his staff were confident that Fauci wouldn't try to invoke the Fifth Amendment.

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So confident, a source familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital, that several questions were prepared ahead of time, and members of the committee were told to come prepared.

In all, Fauci wound up uttering the same phrase 111 times: "On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution."

Willie Nelson urges Americans to fight 'water thieving' AI data centers devouring rural Texas farmland

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 15:03:29 -0400

Willie Nelson urged Americans to think again when it comes to building the future.

Nelson, 93, encouraged followers to "fight against data centers invading our land" in a social media plea shared Tuesday.

The country music legend reflected on being able to see "stars at night" in his Texas hometown, but that light pollution and "water thieving" were imminent in a looming industrial climate.

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"I grew up in Abbott, and I still have a home there with farmed land where I can still see stars at night," Nelson told his followers.

"And now our community, like many others, needs to fight against data centers invading our land.

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"The last thing we need is a loud, water thieving, light polluting, data center anywhere near our town (or any others for that matter)."

The "On the Road Again" singer noted how "the strength of rural America has never come from big industrial footprints."

"It comes from generations of people, open spaces, local businesses, and a connection to the land," Nelson wrote. "All of America deserves thoughtful stewardship that doesn’t steal farmland (where our essential shared-food is grown) and small family farmers’ livelihoods, and not data centers that only destroy the environment around them.

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"Whoever controls food and water, controls the masses. Let’s not allow our own demise or give up control over necessary resources in the U.S. and especially in Abbott."

Nelson's a longtime environmental advocate and has raised more than $90 million through his Farm Aid nonprofit, which he co-founded with John Mellencamp and Neil Young more than four decades ago.

The charity was first formed in 1985 to raise awareness about the loss of family farms and to raise funds to keep farm families on the land.

On Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott called for a ban on data center developments in rural Texas.

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"We must prohibit them from building AI data centers in rural Texas neighborhoods," he said on a campaign stop in Bullard, according to The Texas Tribune.

"I made clear already: Any AI data center even thinking about coming here — they got to bring their own money, bring their own power, reuse their own water and do it in a way that reduces the cost of electricity for residents across our state.

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"We must eliminate the tax break they are getting. They must be responsible for funding their own projects here in Texas. We will get that done."

Top union 'cleared' by law firm over explosive corruption allegation previously gave millions to that firm

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 15:00:39 -0400

A law firm that says it found no evidence to support corruption allegations against two New York City unions has long-running financial and familial ties to those labor organizations, public records show.

The Hotel Trades Council (HTC) and UNITE HERE Local 6 (UH6) hired Pitta LLP to investigate a whistleblower letter alleging a culture of quid pro quo corruption and improper gift-giving at the two unions. The firm’s review was completed in March 2026. While Pitta LLP ultimately found no evidence that the two labor organizations had broken the law, the firm had previously received millions from the unions. The firm's leaders also share family ties with former union leaders.

Some legal experts said this could lead to an appearance of impropriety.

Though the financial and familial relationships may raise eyebrows, Pitta LLP had no legal obligation to disclose them in its review.

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Between 2020 and 2025, HTC and UH6 collectively paid $11.6 million to Pitta LLP for legal services, an average of nearly $2 million a year, according to disclosure documents filed with the department.

The Center for Union Facts (CUF), a nonprofit watchdog group that is sharply critical of labor unions and union leadership, provided documentation to Fox News Digital showing that the father of Vincent Pitta, the law firm’s chairman, held leadership positions at the two unions and that his sister is married to Peter Ward, HTC’s former president. Pitta later confirmed both relationships in a statement to Fox News Digital.

Fox News Digital obtained and reviewed the preliminary statement from a second independent investigation conducted by a former state and federal prosecutor affiliated with a different law firm that also concluded that there was no evidence to support any of the allegations of misconduct set forth in the whistleblower letter.

"When confronted with information suggesting that employees, consultants, or other business partners have engaged in serious misconduct, most companies’ first reaction is to consult with a trusted outside firm with which the company has a long working relationship," the law firm Quinn Emanuel wrote in a 2022 publication. "But there are drawbacks to this approach. In a complex internal investigation, a company’s longtime corporate counsel can become subject to ethical conflicts, confirmation bias, divergent incentives and other issues that may produce a suboptimal result for the client."

Quinn Emanuel’s blog post relates to general legal ethics, not the facts of the relationship between Pitta LLP and the two labor unions.

"Companies facing potential criminal or regulatory investigations or any allegation of serious misconduct almost always will be better served by hiring counsel that does not have a long history of providing corporate or transactional advice to the company," the publication continued. "Even where the firm’s lawyers can acknowledge, for example, misconduct by the executives from whom the lawyers have taken instructions, confronting those issues creates tricky reputational and financial problems for the firm … the firm might fear that the company’s board of directors or other executives not implicated in misconduct will blame the firm, thereby jeopardizing the firm’s relationship with the company going forward."

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The American College of Trial Lawyers, similarly, released guidance for internal investigations in 2020 which noted that government prosecutors "might be skeptical of an internal investigation of high-level or sensitive wrongdoing conducted by outside counsel regularly retained by the company" because "regular counsel may have a motive to avoid criticizing, and thus alienating, senior management, the source of past and future law firm revenues."

McKenna Long & Aldridge, another law firm, noted that engaging a firm with which an entity has "significant economic ties" presents "an obvious risk to independence" that must be weighed against the benefit provided by their familiarity with the case.

Pitta, in a statement to Fox News Digital, denied that financial and familial ties presented a conflict of interest when investigating the claims made against HTC and UH6.

"Our four-decade relationship with the unions, did not and does not constitute a conflict of interest as it relates to the expedited preliminary review conducted by one of our partners of the ‘anonymous allegations’ which you are interested in," he wrote. "We assiduously ‘call them, as we see them,’ to steal some baseball vernacular — without fear or favor."

Pitta said his firm charges the two unions a reasonable rate for its legal services.

"If the $12 million figure is accurate," he said, the average cost spread across the roughly 40,000 members of the unions would come out to just around "$1 per member per week for expert labor, employment, employee benefits, election law, and other requested legal services."

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He also confirmed that his father, who passed away in 2005, held leadership positions at the two unions for roughly 30 years and that his sister is married to Ward. Pitta maintains that neither relationship constituted a conflict of interest and that, if it did, the firm would address it with the "highest ethical standards and the best practices of our profession."

Critics of organized labor, however, see things differently.

"Tapping the union's family firm doesn't exactly inspire confidence in the results," CUF communications director Charlyce Bozzello told Fox News Digital.

CUF has repeatedly targeted Richard Maroko, who serves as president of UH6 and HTC.

"The contract with Pitta originated under the previous administration and there have been no familial relationships with the union for more than 6 years," HTC spokesman Austin Shafran told Fox News Digital. "During that time, the firm has handled over 1000 arbitration cases for the union, recovering more than $200 million that went directly into the pockets of our members."

Sources familiar with the inner workings of UH6 and HTC previously told Fox News Digital that leadership at the two unions had what they described as an unusually close relationship with hotel management — a relationship they alleged allowed hotel owners to strike beneficial deals in exchange for information that helped union leaders retain their power.

The sources further alleged that individuals involved in hotel management provided union leaders with improper gifts, such as high-end food and drink, to build relationships with them.

An HTC spokesman previously flatly denied the underlying whistleblower claims, pointing to two investigations the union commissioned, including Pitta LLP’s March 2026 review, which found no evidence to support claims that hotel management was unusually close to union leadership or that union officials accepted improper gifts.

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"Two exhaustive, independent investigations, including one by a former federal prosecutor, have concluded that these anonymous claims are frivolous, lack any factual basis, and were clearly an attempt to derail contract negotiations between the union and hotel management," HTC spokesman Austin Shafran previously told Fox News Digital. "Thankfully, these efforts failed as our union secured the best contract in its history that will provide unprecedented wage increases and benefits to tens of thousands of hotel workers. Nothing will ever deter the union from working every day to better the lives of our members and their families."

No HTC or UH6 leader, and no hotel executive allegedly involved in the whistleblower claims, has been charged with a crime or found to have engaged in professional misconduct in connection with the allegations.