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The Will of 100: Trump’s SAVE America Act sidelined after Senate unanimously agreed to August exit

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 10:56:18 -0400

The Senate has been out of session for about two weeks. It’s convened in brief "pro forma" sessions for just a couple of moments on four occasions since senators called it quits for more than a month at 4:57 a.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 8.

Pro forma sessions are where the Senate huddles for just a few seconds, gaveling in and gaveling out with a skeleton crew. It’s rare that more than one senator is even in the chamber.

The Senate truly isn’t back for debate and votes until the afternoon of Monday, Sept. 15.

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But what about all of that sturm and drang about "cancelling the August recess?" Remember that President Donald Trump and conservatives – ranging from Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, to Rick Scott, R-Fla. – wanted the Senate to remain in session for the month to debate the SAVE America Act. That’s the chief legislative demand of Trump. It requires voter ID and proof of citizenship to vote.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., was on the floor when the Senate cut town a little more than two weeks ago. Did Thune hornswoggle his fellow Republicans into recessing the Senate for five weeks in the dead of night?

Hardly. In fact even those Republicans who would have liked senators to remain in Washington to debate the SAVE America Act were in on Thune’s plan, allowing the Senate to abandon town for most of August and nearly half of September.

Huh?

Believe it or not, Thune and all other 99 senators agreed to leave Washington. In fact, that’s the only way it could have happened.

The Senate was meeting at 2:07 a.m. that Saturday, on the verge of commencing a vote series to confirm Attorney General Todd Blanche and approve the Russia sanctions bill. That’s when Thune asked the following on the Senate floor:

"When the Senate completes its business on Aug. 8, to meet for pro forma sessions only at 10 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026. 8 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026," requested Thune.

The majority leader then continued, rattling off a host of dates on Mondays and Thursdays for the Senate to convene in those pro forma sessions.

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, was presiding over the Senate at the time.

"Without objection?" asked Moreno of the body when Thune concluded.

There was none.

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In other words, the Senate would soon depart Washington. There would be no August debate about the SAVE America Act. The Senate would simply meet for abbreviated sessions over the next few weeks.

And shortly before 5 a.m., Thune requested the following from the floor:

"Madam President, I ask unanimous consent when the Senate adjourns on Thursday, Sept. 10, it stand adjourned until 3 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 14. And following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved and the Morning Hour be deemed expired," asked Thune.

The South Dakota Republican then threw in some more boilerplate, parliamentary language, to tee up a test vote on an unresolved cryptocurrency regulation bill for the afternoon of Tuesday, Sept. 15.

"Without objection," said Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wy., who was presiding over the Senate at that ungodly hour.

Thune paused briefly. But no one said boo from the floor.

That’s because the chamber was bereft of senators — except for Thune and Lummis. Everyone bailed and was heading for the airport.

"Madam President, if there’s no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order," Thune asked.

"The Senate stands adjourned until 10 a.m. ET on Monday," declared Lummis, rapping the Senate’s unique hourglass shaped gavel on the dais.

No objection. No roll call vote.

The Senate was done.

So let me filet this for you.

The Senate conducts much of its business via "unanimous consent." The Senate is a body of equals. All 100 senators wield nearly the same power. The Senate relies on "unanimous consent," the blessing of all 100 members, to conduct quotidian tasks, like going in and out of session or what time to meet. The Senate occasionally approves bills — sometimes even big ones — by unanimous consent if all senators agree.

But unanimous consent is just that. All 100 members must be on the same page. And if you have 99 senators in agreement and one holdout, well, that’s not unanimous consent.

All it takes is the objection of a solitary member to sidetrack a "unanimous consent" request on the floor. And note that despite the advocacy by some Republican senators for the body to remain in session during August, no one lodged an objection.

That’s because Thune pre-baked a series of unanimous consent requests offstage before he came to the floor.

Late in the evening of Friday, Aug. 7, Thune ran what’s called a "hotline" in the Senate. He proposed a series of votes to confirm Blanche, OK Russia sanctions and consider a few other items. If any senator had a problem with Thune’s hotline, they should let leadership know before 11:30 p.m. that night. Otherwise, Thune would go to the floor and "propound" the unanimous consent request for the upcoming vote sequence. Thune would also propound a unanimous consent request for what the Senate would address when members returned in September,

This package included a plan for those aforementioned pro forma sessions. And, for the Senate to hold off on any votes until Monday, night, Sept. 14. Thune also locked in the procedural vote on the cryptocurrency measure for Sept. 15.

Anyone could have objected offstage.

They didn’t. That would have scuttled the entire enterprise.

Anyone could have objected on the Senate floor when Thune made the unanimous consent requests in real time. That didn’t happen either. That’s why both Moreno and Lummis asked the body if there was "an objection." Or, they declared "without objection, so ordered."

However, those pushing for the Senate to remain in session to debate the SAVE America Act did manage a minor victory. Part of Thune’s unanimous consent request at 2:07 a.m. that Saturday included a test vote on a voter ID bill pushed by Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio. This package addressed some of the provisions desired by Trump. It was also helpful to Husted, who faces a tough election this fall against former Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. And, the test vote would get senators on the record voting for or against voter ID.

All Republican senators voted yes. All Democratic senators voted no. Republicans will likely deploy this roll call vote against their Democratic colleagues this fall.

The vote secured more than a simple majority in the Senate. But here’s the catch: part of Thune’s unanimous consent request — pre-agreed to by all 100 senators — dictated that the test vote on the Husted measure was subject to a 60 vote threshold. Republicans only command 53 votes in the Senate. So without Democratic assistance, the Husted plan was doomed from the start.

So the Senate is long gone. And will continue to be gone for a few weeks.

This wasn’t because of some backroom plan cooked up by Thune. This wasn’t just Thune going against the wishes of conservative senators who suggested the Senate remain in session. This wasn’t just Thune working against the president.

Those unanimous consent requests reflected the will of all 100 senators. Anyone on either side could have blocked the proposals. But they didn’t.

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And when someone asks why the Senate didn’t remain in session this month to address the SAVE America Act, you can tell them that all 100 senators agreed to call it quits and go home at 4:57 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 8.

Anna Faris admits drinking fueled depression and 'self-sabotage' before she decided to quit

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 10:55:15 -0400

Anna Faris is now sober after personally discovering a correlation between "drinking and depression."

During an appearance on the "Dear Chelsea" podcast, Faris told host Chelsea Handler that in the past year, she began to feel "ungracious" about her comedy career and movie roles.

"I really started to notice and appreciate if and when people recognize me, they would usually smile … thinking about something f---ing stupid I did onscreen," Faris said, which prompted Handler to bring up her sobriety.

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"Do you think that has to do with not drinking? Because I know you stopped drinking. Maybe that lit that a little bit," Handler said.

Faris confirmed that she "stopped drinking" and said "one of the many gifts" she's gained since becoming sober is shifting her perspective.

"Turns out there’s a correlation between drinking and depression for me for sure. I had to take a step back to not self-sabotage," Faris said.

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Along with quitting alcohol, Faris said hormone patches were a game changer for her mental health. She did not share additional details on her sobriety journey.

Elsewhere on the podcast, Faris shared that her 14-year-old son Jack asked her to "accept Jesus Christ" as her savior.

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"He is religious. I didn’t grow up with religion. He’s asked me to accept Jesus Christ [as my savior]. And I told him I would do anything for him, including this, but it’s going to take a whole lot of long conversations," Faris said.

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Faris shares Jack with her ex-husband, Chris Pratt. The former couple welcomed Jack in August 2012, and he was born nine weeks premature.

The "Scary Movie" actress explained that her son is strong, which allows them to have deeper conversations.

"He’s impressive, actually. Because I try to challenge him. I’m like, ‘Do you think it’s a luxury that you get to be pro-life? Do you think that’s kind of a luxury?’ And he’s like, ‘Maybe.’ Or I’ll say, ‘What do you think of this megapastor that’s kind of a grifter?’ And he’s like, ‘Oh, megapastors are the worst.’ So it’s like, ‘OK, he’s getting there,'" Faris said.

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California sociology professor cited 'irony' in removing ACT/SAT not fixing racial disparities as intended

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 10:45:36 -0400

A University of California, Los Angeles, professor told Fox News Digital on Thursday that the university system’s "test-blind" admissions policy failed to eliminate racial disparities in standardized testing as intended.

"That was obviously the motive. The UC Regents were very clear," said Gabriel Rossman, a sociology professor at UCLA. "They did get rid of the SAT because they thought it had a disparate impact by race."

More than 3,000 faculty members across the University of California system have backed open letters urging the system to reinstate the SAT and ACT in undergraduate admissions. Former UC President Janet Napolitano led the effort in 2020 to phase out the standardized tests, citing equity concerns.

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In response to growing faculty feedback, the University of California’s Academic Council directed the Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools (BOARS) on July 22 to oversee a faculty-led, evidence-based review of standardized testing in undergraduate admissions.

Rossman’s comments came after he co-authored an open letter with non-STEM colleagues, following a similar effort led by math and science faculty demanding that state officials restore the exams.

"We are University of California faculty from the social sciences, humanities, arts, business, law, education, and other non-STEM fields," the non-STEM letter reads. "We are writing to endorse our STEM colleagues’ earlier open letter regarding the math component of SAT/ACT and argue for also using the verbal reasoning component of SAT/ACT in undergraduate admissions."

The non-STEM faculty noted that while they supported the STEM letter's conclusions, they did not initially sign it because it was specifically framed around math preparation.

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Rossman told Fox News Digital that the test-blind policy has proven counterproductive to its original mission.

"One of the ironies of this is they got rid of the SAT in order to promote equity in enrollment," Rossman said. "The UC freshman class had been diversifying for the previous 20 years, and then it leveled off in 2020. In particular, the big change was the ratio of Latino students versus Anglo students. The numbers of Black and Asian students didn't change by nearly as much."

An analysis by The Oakland Report, a regional media outlet covering Bay Area policy, similarly noted that eliminating test scores stripped admissions officers of a key metric for identifying high-achieving applicants from under-resourced schools.

"Removing test scores from the admissions process weakened UC’s ability to evaluate academic readiness while ignoring the real causes of racial disparity," the analysis argued.

The push from non-STEM faculty follows a recent op-ed in The San Francisco Standard by UC Berkeley mathematics professor Zvezdelina Stankova, who warned of a sharp decline in incoming student preparation under test-blind policies.

Neetu Arnold, a Paulson Policy Analyst at the Manhattan Institute, told Fox News Digital she is concerned about losing an objective metric and the "misallocation of talent."

"I actually think standardized tests are a lot more accessible for working-class students," she said. "It's much easier to go to the library to pick up some prep books and to really put in the work than investing in really expensive extracurricular activities."

Stankova cited university diagnostic data showing a significant drop in foundational math readiness after UC stopped considering standardized tests. From 2018 to 2020, 71% of roughly 2,200 tested Calculus I students were deemed ready or nearly ready, while just 0.14% placed below basic algebra. By contrast, among roughly 2,800 students tested from 2021 to 2023 under a revised diagnostic, only 51% were deemed ready or nearly ready. That figure dropped to 44% in 2023, with 17% failing to answer a single question correctly across eight basic topics.

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In a statement to Fox News Digital, Stankova praised her colleagues across the UC system for raising awareness about academic preparation.

"On behalf of the authors of the open letters, I would like to thank the thousands of UC faculty and people from around the world who have written to us in support of this initiative," Stankova said, emphasizing that student preparation in math and English is critical to the future of the university.

"We urge all UC faculty across the 10 campuses to work with their own campus admissions committees and Senate bodies this year to help pass the incoming recommendation from BOARS, which we hope will be to reinstate the SAT/ACT, and to further work toward faculty oversight of admissions procedures," Stankova added. "Without that, any admissions criteria can be ignored or even counted against the applicant. Let us all make sure that UC admissions works to select based on a holistic approach that incorporates academic merit as a significant part of that process."

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The Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Little League team gets absolutely screwed on final pitch of no-hitter, fans stunned by call

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 10:44:28 -0400

Last year I said that Little League umpires should be held more accountable, and I've never felt more vindicated in my life.

For those who haven't followed every pitch of the ongoing Little League World Series (all of you), a California team was absolutely robbed this week on the final pitch of what turned out to be a no-hitter.

Iowa won the game, 1-0, despite the boys from out west loading the bases with two outs in the sixth inning. Iowa starter Cooper Thissen struck out 15 and didn't allow a hit in 5 ⅓ innings, but had to be lifted due to his pitch count.

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That's when California worked a couple walks and loaded the bases, only to have a 3-2 pitch with two outs be called strike three in one of the most ridiculous fashions I've ever seen.

Take a look:

Umpires have to have some pride here

Lordy. I know Little League umps ain't exactly Doug Harvey behind the plate (gold star if you get that reference), but come on. What are we doing here?

That's clearly — very clearly — a ball. Should've been ball four, and the game should've, at the very least, gone to extras. It's a mile outside. It doesn't even sniff the plate.

There's having a "wide zone," and then there's calling a pitch a strike that's six inches off the plate. Maybe more. Actually, definitely more.

"Pretty bad, even for a little league strike zone," one fan commented.

"That batter should’ve been tapping his helmet," another said.

Added a third: "Got him on the corner? Corner of what? The other batter’s box?"

Yeah, hard to argue with that. The ball literally is in the other box!

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I know Little League strike zones are different, I get it, but come on. This is Williamsport. The Little League World Series! This ain't a 10 a.m. Saturday game in April where we're all just trying to get home.

Let's have a little pride. A little self-respect. God forbid we have a semblance of a standard.

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Be better.

AOC's 'Woke 1' comment conceals a dangerous pivot to socialist class war, media chief warns

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 10:00:27 -0400

When Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., recently dismissed past left-wing platforms by noting that "Woke 1 was crazy," some media reports framed the comments as a shift toward the political center. But Pirate Wires Editor-in-Chief Mike Solana argues her comment points to a more aggressive direction for the party.

As Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) candidates win races across the country, centrist Democrats are confronting the group’s growing influence as DSA-backed candidates support policies like abolishing the Senate and expanding public ownership of major companies.

Speaking with Fox News Digital, Solana criticized Ocasio-Cortez’s response to her party’s progressive past after the congresswoman appeared on ABC’s "This Week." When host Jonathan Karl pressed her on Wisconsin state Rep. Francesca Hong’s past calls to defund police and abolish prisons, Ocasio-Cortez dismissed concerns about Hong’s previous positions.

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"I have a local city councilman that has this saying, 'Woke 1 was crazy,'" Ocasio-Cortez said. "And I think that what’s important is that we have to assess what a candidate is saying now."

Hong failed to capture the Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial nomination, losing on Aug 11.

Solana argued the congresswoman’s comment allowed her to avoid accountability for past positions. "She said something more interesting, which she had from another Democrat, a phrase, ‘Woke one was crazy,’" he said. "Now, it was an incredible obfuscation, you know, there's no real admission of guilt there, but there is an admission that there was an era of crazy left-wing views that was not really palatable or correct."

Solana said Ocasio-Cortez has not renounced several of her previous "woke" positions. He pointed to her past support for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, defunding the police and granting mass amnesty to illegal immigrants.

"I mean, it's crazy, right? It's like, 'Sure, we lorded over a loosely decentralized global censorship apparatus in service of burning the world down in the era of BLM, but that was like so long ago. Oops, my bad, girls will be girls,'" Solana said sarcastically.

While Solana acknowledged that politicians can change their views over time, he argued voters deserve clear answers on which positions progressives are actually abandoning.

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"There are all of these things in the era of woke that she's been a part of that she hasn't actually said she no longer believes. We kind of wrap it all in a neat little bow which is ‘woke one was crazy,’ and we move on and maybe she's not going to talk about those things anymore," Solana said.

"Maybe there are some things there that she no longer believes. It's possible that people, politicians, can evolve on some other topic. In fact, it's great. But we need to know exactly what position she's evolved on and why," he added.

According to Solana, the shift from "Woke 1" to "Woke 2" is less about identity politics and more about class conflict.

"Things are a little bit less racist and a lot more classist. We're doing a class war now; the race war is kind of over. There's room for everyone of every color to eat the rich," Solana said.

Solana's comments echoed statements he made in a recent column, where he suggested that Democrats are now less focused on "destroying White people" and instead have shifted their platform to center around destroying the wealthy.

The DSA is the largest socialist political organization in the United States, with more than 100,000 members. The group has gained more attention as DSA-backed candidates have defeated more moderate Democrats in states including New York and Colorado. Prominent democratic socialists holding public office include Ocasio-Cortez and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

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According to the DSA website, the group opposes capitalism, which it calls a "system designed by the owning class to exploit the rest of us for their own profit." Its platform also calls for abolishing the Senate, expanding the House and establishing public ownership of the largest private companies.

Solana said moderate Democrats are allowing far-left members to remain influential in the party rather than pushing back against them.

"They've won everywhere from obviously New York and [Los Angeles] to Louisville, Kentucky. They're winning everywhere. Everywhere there is a city, the DSA is ascendant," Solana said.

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"As the DSA becomes more ascendant, the centrist Democrats have a choice. It's like, ‘Do we cut them out of our party completely, or do we ourselves moderate, not in the context of America, but in the context of the New Democratic Party?" Solana said.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the DSA and representatives for Rep. Ocasio-Cortez but did not immediately receive a response.

Travelers rage as budget airline plans overhead bag fee: 'Highway robbery'

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 10:00:52 -0400

Jetstar is facing some pushback after announcing its passengers will soon have to pay extra to put their carry-on bags in the overhead bin.

The Australian budget airline, owned by Qantas, will require passengers to pay fees from $25 AUD (about $18) per overhead bag per flight starting in Feb. 2027.

The "priority carry-on" purchase will include priority boarding. Passengers will not be charged for a smaller bag, such as a backpack, handbag or laptop bag, that can fit under the seat in front of them.

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The updated policy replaces Jetstar’s previous carry-on rules, which allowed passengers to bring carry-on luggage up to a total of 7kg (about 15.4 pounds) aboard.

Fox News Digital reached out to Jetstar for comment.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Steven Arroyo, an aviation expert based in Florida and a retired captain for United Airlines, said the new policy can "certainly expedite the boarding process."

He also said other airlines may follow suit.

"Oil prices have doubled. It's a third of an airline's expense," he said.

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Arroyo said the cost will have an impact on larger families.

"If you're traveling with a big family, it's going to [have] impact," he said.

"That's going to be the main focus. Will the consumer accept these new fees that airlines are proposing?"

Some travelers have not reacted well to the news.

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A number of Instagram users responded with pleas to boycott.

"Highway robbery, Jetstar! You think it will be less frustrating being charged for locker space than getting your stuff weighed?" commented an Instagram follower.

A second person quipped, "Soon they will also charge to use [the] toilet."

The company sees it differently. Stephanie Tully, CEO of Jetstar, positioned the fees as a way to "streamline boarding and help more flights depart on time" while allowing customers to "only pay for what you need," according to a company press release.

Some travelers agreed with the new policy.

"Fair enough because it’s annoying when you have a small carry-on, and it has to be put several seats away from you because someone has a larger case," an Instagram user said.

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"Maybe if people stopped taking multiple bags or oversized cases to save a few bucks, this wouldn't be needed?" replied another.

On Reddit, a user said the new policy was better "than people trying to sneak in multiple 10kg bags."

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"If we are really lucky, the current carry-on addicts will reconsider," another Reddit user said.

Airline insiders said they aren’t surprised by the new charges.

"Jetstar is catching up to a market that got there years ago," Koen Karsbergen, an aviation strategy consultant and educator, told Fox News Digital.

Karsbergen said Frontier and Allegiant haven't included overhead bin space in their ticket prices for several years.

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Still, Karsbergen isn’t surprised by the backlash.

"Nobody likes to pay for something we have had before for free," he said.

Arroyo pointed to the now-defunct airline PEOPLExpress.

When PEOPLExpress began selling tickets in the 1980s, the carrier adopted an à la carte pricing model, charging separately for carry-on bags in overhead bins, coffee, tea and bottled water.

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"It has happened in the past in the United States, and it could happen again," he said.

Kelly McGreal of Fox News Digital contributed reporting.

Skillet’s John Cooper says Christians who call rock music ‘demonic’ are ‘getting the gospel wrong’

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 10:00:41 -0400

Christian rock artist John Cooper believes that people who think hard rock is inherently "demonic" are "getting the gospel wrong."

"I would say, I just think that you're misunderstanding something very basic, which is that music does not belong to the devil. Music belongs to God and it's the intentionality," he told Fox News Digital. "It's the lyrics. It's what you do with it. It's not in a sound. It's in a heart posture. And I would just say to those Christians, you're not just getting the issue of music wrong, I would say you're getting the gospel wrong."

He added that he doesn’t believe any style of music "in itself carries some inherent evil."

"I just don't think that that's right," he admitted. "And I think that God gave us creative expression."

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Skillet, the group he co-founded in the ‘90s, recently saw its 2009 hit "Monster" become the first song by a Christian rock band to reach 1 billion streams on Spotify, which Cooper said "shocked" everyone.

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The band has sold more than 23 million albums, and they average 12 million monthly Spotify listeners, which includes "Monster," which has surpassed 4 billion global streams.

Cooper noted that Christians believe God "created us in his image, and that part of what that means is that God gave all of us humans, every single one of us, the ability to do something kind of like what he does, which is to create something beautiful."

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The ability to write a song, he said, is an "amazing gift of freedom God has given all of humanity."

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"Talk about a God that says, I'm going to give you a very powerful gift and it's up to you how you choose to use it," he said. "Man, that is powerful."

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He said he doesn’t like the idea that "Because [rock music] sounds a certain way, it is pagan or something like that. I just can't be down with that."

"So, I would just say to critics, I would say, ‘Hey, You can have something that sounds incredibly beautiful that is actually offending God in its intentionality, in its lyrics."

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If Cooper were "the devil, I probably would want to fool somebody and make it sound really, really nice and pretty, and then insert something subversive underneath that begins to poison the well just a little bit like a siren song. You know? You think you're hearing something beautiful, but it's drawing you to your death. That's probably how I would do it."

Cooper admitted that he grew up in a household where his parents believed rock music was demonic.

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"My mom very much, very much believed that like the loud guitars, anything with a drum beat really was Satanic, was from hell," he explained. "She believed that Christian rock music was the devil's tool."

He called his mom, who died when he was 15, "wonderful," adding, "I never speak ill of my mom ever. That's just what she believed. And so I grew up with that mentality. It was always a wrestle, and it's the reason I think I talk so freely and so, I hope, graciously towards people that believe that. I don't hate them. I'm not mad at them, but I definitely grew up in a household like that. So I'm very familiar with it."

When demonstrators show up outside of his concerts to protest the band as "servants of the devil," he said he doesn’t speak to them because he knows there isn’t anything he could say to them to make them believe differently.

"And I also know that they believe that they are loving me, and they believe they're loving people to warn them of Satan's tools, and I just got to go, ‘I don't know, there's something about that I strangely appreciate, and I know I can't change their minds and so I don't try," he added.

Regarding the success of "Monster," Cooper said he can’t pinpoint exactly if it’s the lyrics or the music that people like, but "I always meet kids that love the song," he said.

"I think that they like the idea of feeling like a monster. I think it kind of gets their attention and then I think that probably most teenage — especially teenage males, who are getting all that testosterone dump, you know, at 14, 15 are probably finding themselves angry and don't know why, and then you have kids and you don't sleep and you really feel like a monster."

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The song is something people "can relate to and it rocks. It's a very, it's a simple song. There's not much reason not to like it."

USPS publishes rule to block mail-in ballots from states that don't provide voter lists

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 10:00:37 -0400

The United States Postal Service (USPS) published a rule Friday that would require states to provide lists of voters who received mail-in ballots to the agency.

The USPS rule, first proposed on June 2, moves to align the agency with President Donald Trump's March 31 executive order, which, among other things, ordered the agency to mandate that all states that plan to use USPS to send mail-in ballots notify the agency at least 90 days before an election and to send USPS a list of eligible voters the state plans on providing a mail-in ballot to at least 60 days before the election.

"Any state that intends to receive mail-in or absentee ballots from individual voters through the Postal Service must ensure that such individuals have been enrolled with the Postal Service for inclusion on the state's Mail-In and Absentee Participation List," the new rule reads.

In order for an individual to be included on the list, their state must submit to the USPS the individual's name and address and include a "uniquely serialized Intelligent Mail barcode (IMb)" on both the outbound federal ballot and the return ballot sent to the individual.

DHS PLANS COSTLY CRACKDOWN ON STATES THAT DON’T COOPERATE ON ELECTION SECURITY

The finalized rule, however, cannot go into effect under an outstanding federal injunction against Trump's March executive order.

U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani, who was nominated by former President Barack Obama, issued an initial preliminary injunction against the executive order in June, ruling that two sections – including the section pertaining to USPS and mail-in ballots – were unconstitutional.

In July, siding with the plaintiffs in League of Women Voters of Massachusetts v. Trump, Talwani renewed the injunction, barring the USPS from enacting the rule.

DHS APPROVES PLAN TO VERIFY VOTER CITIZENSHIP, MONITOR MAIL BALLOTS AS TRUMP PUSH INTENSIFIES

The rule, which USPS will officially publish on Aug. 26, would only take effect for the upcoming midterm elections if a federal court lifted its injunction on Trump's executive order.

In a filed opposition to the renewal of the injunction, the Trump administration argued that the judicial review was premature under the ripeness doctrine, claiming that the plaintiffs cannot demonstrate any harm from the proposed law until it takes effect.

"Plaintiffs cannot demonstrate they suffer any particularized injury from ongoing policymaking deliberations within the Executive Branch. Instead, their concern is with possible 'action that the [government] might take in the future,' the objection, filed by the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) Civil Rights Division, read.

USPS Postmaster General David Steiner defended the ⁠rule when it was first proposed in June, arguing that the USPS is making sure "we match the ballots that a state believes they're sending out to what actually gets sent out."

USPS WOULDN'T DELIVER BALLOTS IN STATES THAT REFUSE TO FORK OVER MAIL-IN VOTER INFO UNDER PROPOSED RULE

After the most recent injunction was issued, White House spokesperson Lauren Bis said, "The entire Trump Administration will continue lawfully enacting the agenda President Trump was elected to enact – which includes the safety and security of American elections."

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Fox News Digital contacted the White House, the DOJ, USPS and the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts for further comment.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Golfer Paige Spiranac leaves playing partner speechless with awkward question, LLWS mud & WNBA wiki pages

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 09:45:10 -0400

I've officially made it to the end of 13 editions of Screencaps in 13 days. SeanJo is back tomorrow and I can actually sleep in without an alarm clock, which means I'll probably wake up at 5 a.m., but at least I won't hear that damn alarm clock.

I digress.

Let's get this Saturday morning cranked up with Paige Spiranac on the links with lesbian LPGA veteran Mel Reid. Relax, the lesbian thing was part of Paige's content play here. Mel's not all up tight. She's fun. She's a golfer you want in your foursome to crank up the innuendo.

PAIGE SPIRANAC HAS HER GOLF CONTENT DIALED IN AHEAD OF THE FOURTH OF JULY, MEGAN MORONEY'S AT THE BEACH & MEAT

But...she was left speechless when Paige took things to the next level with an "F, Marry, Kill" game with three legendary options for Mel to choose from:

PAIGE SPIRANAC'S SWING IS SO HOT IT GETS FLAGGED AS SHE HITS THE COURSE IN COUNTRY CLUB APPROVED ATTIRE

• Juli Inkster

• Karrie Webb

• Laura Davies

STAR GOLFER CHARLEY HULL HAS BLUNT MESSAGE FOR CRITICS WHO ARE UPSET WITH HER SAVAGE PRANK ON CADDIE

"Oh my god," Reid says with her hand in her face, trying not to bust out laughing. "That is awful."

After all these years, I think Paige has finally found a content series that works for her. She's been trying to find a lane where she doesn't have to be posting Instagram photos and doing instructional videos on YouTube. It's nice to see women being just as big of degenerates as men on the course.

SMOKIN' CHARLEY HULL REFUSES TO APOLOGIZE FOR PULLING PRANK ON HER CADDIE, SKENES HITS A WALL & GOLDEN GIRLS

That's the key here. We all know women can be degenerates in their own way, but they have better ways of concealing it. Now we just need to see these women doing Fireball shots after birdies, pranking each other with rubber snakes and hitting on cart girls.

📩 Email: joe.kinsey@outkick.com Send photos, stories, tips, rants—whatever you've got.

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How much does it cost to carry the NFL Ticket in a bar?

Do we have any bar owners who are reading? I want to know just how much it would cost you to show the NFL Ticket this fall. In late July, the NFL announced that DirecTV will carry games that bar owners can show over streaming or satellite.

I'm just wondering what all of this costs. Let's do a cost analysis on how much it would cost to break even on the Ticket.

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/sunday-ticket-will-be-available-in-commercial-establishments-via-directv-after-all

Me at 10:55 during Sunday and/or Monday night NFL games

Ben is 54.

Little League World Series question

– Dawgs fan Sam L. asks: Are the international teams using their version of travel ball players?

Kinsey: That's a great question, Sam. Does travel ball even exist in the Dominican? Do you think there are mama bears in the D.R. packing up the Suburban with Ryobi fans and tents for six games in three days eight hours across the island?

STAY "FEARLESS" ON THE GO! TAKE TOMI LAHREN WITH YOU. DOWNLOAD THE TLIF PODCAST NOW!

The Wendy's atrium

– Matt in Florida emails: I am not sure if it is you or another screen caps writer whom I have seen ask Wendy’s to bring back the all you can eat salad bar and the atrium like rooms they used to have. Here in Jupiter, Florida….while we have no food/salad bar, we still have that old school atrium look….and with carpeting no less. 1 out of 2 ain’t bad.

I leave you this weekend with a chicken-calling contest

I am off to spend time with my family and do something other than look at a computer. As always, thank you for making this column a dream job. I'm beyond fortunate to do this for a living and you'll never catch me taking that for granted.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Have a great weekend. Take it away, ladies.

Numbers from :

Stuff You Guys Sent In & Stuff I Like :

Navy veterans reunite after 30 years for 'grueling' cross-country bike challenge honoring 9/11

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 09:00:43 -0400

Two Navy veterans recently reunited to complete a great expedition across America.

Jim Serger, 55, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Cory Hardy, 51, of Ennis, Montana, hadn’t seen each other in 30 years since serving together overseas.

On July 14, the two friends embarked on a bike ride across the country – from California to New York City – in honor of the upcoming 25th anniversary of Sept. 11.

NEW JERSEY MAN WALKS ACROSS US TO RAISE NEARLY $100K FOR HOMELESS VETERANS: 'RESPECT AND REVERENCE'

After writing three books for the nonprofit Tunnel to Towers, Serger said he felt he needed to challenge himself "with something bigger."

"And why not wrangle in my old Navy buddy, who I hadn’t seen for 30 years, that I knew was a tremendous bicyclist," he told Fox News Digital. "Back in January, I said, ‘Would you like to go on this trip?’ And he said, ‘Absolutely, Jimmy, count me in.’"

Hardy said he’s always viewed himself as "incredibly patriotic," as he’s been granted "so many opportunities" through the military to see the world and get an education.

"When Jim approached me about the idea of doing this, I was like, ‘Wow, this is awesome. This is something that I can do,’" he shared.

"It's the 250th anniversary of our country and the 25th anniversary of 9/11, and I don't want to forget, and I want people to keep it at the forefront of their minds."

TUNNEL TO TOWERS 5K DRAWS 40,000 PEOPLE TO HONOR 9/11 FIRST RESPONDERS IN NYC

Serger trained for 10 months, logging 5,000 miles on an indoor trainer. When spring came, he hit the trails around Cincinnati.

A few months later, the duo began their journey in San Diego and headed east. They were met with 20 road closures, a fire and flooding in Colorado, two flat tires, three bike shop visits and lots of backroad maneuvering.

Serger and Hardy focused on staying hydrated, especially in the California and Arizona heat, with a collective three gallons of water each day, sometimes including electrolytes. They snacked on energy waffles, protein bars and "salt gummy bears," and ate lots of carbs at meals.

Hardy said he took 10-minute ice baths "every single day." Serger reported losing six pounds by the end of the mission, which he gained back by eating "good food" in New York.

AMERICA'S FIREFIGHTER SHORTAGE HITS CRISIS LEVEL AS EMERGENCY CALLS TRIPLE, PUTTING LIVES AT RISK

While Hardy was already accustomed to the elevation after living in mountainous Montana, Serger said the altitude posed a physical challenge.

"It was grueling ... so hard," he told Fox News Digital. "Cory had to take the mountains in Colorado, I stayed on flat ground — that was our game plan."

Serger and Hardy were met by some of their old Navy buddies along the way. One fellow veteran, an Arizona state trooper, drove from Phoenix to Flagstaff to meet them on the route. Others opened their homes for the pair to stay the night.

The friends stopped at about 25 firehouses to hand out Tunnel to Towers books and to introduce themselves.

"Sometimes we were there for an hour, sometimes we were there for four hours," Serger said. "Talking about Tunnel to Towers, where they were on 9/11 … how much they train … it was just very heartwarming."

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Serger said he and Hardy both foster the "patriotic mentality" of "what we can do for others," as Hardy serves on the city council and Serger's wife cooks for the fire department every month. These types of efforts were reciprocated on their journey.

"Every fire station, EMS, police station, they're all involved in the communities. We got patches, we got hats, we got pins, we got T-shirts," Serger said.

Hardy added that at every firehouse, everybody was there to help, "regardless of their state’s political affiliation."

"They're just another American out there willing to put their life on the line to save people," he said. "I thought it was super awesome to get to meet firefighters from East Coast to West Coast."

"The closer we got to Shanksville and the Pentagon and New York, it became very emotional, because then people said, ‘My mom was there’ or ‘My aunt was there' ... and then a firefighter said, ‘Three of our brothers went up there.’"

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"The closer we got, we knew we had hit the epicenter of how people responded to those terrorist attacks – and it really hit home."

At the Pentagon, Serger and Hardy got a police escort from the Pentagon Police and Pentagon Fire Department before receiving a five-hour tour, including the 9/11 memorial.

Clocking about 170 miles a day, the pair made it to Lower Manhattan in 20 days.

They were welcomed by the FDNY, Port Authority and NYPD Honor Guard at FDNY Ten House, across from Ground Zero and the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.

TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ

"I started crying," Serger said. "My wife was there. She flew in. We had Sal Cassano, the [former] FDNY Fire Commissioner, there. Fire Station 10 had firemen, civilians were there. It was very, very moving."

Serger and Hardy’s cause has so far raised more than $17,000 for Tunnel to Towers.

In addition to raising funds for the organization, Serger said the expedition aims to generate continued awareness for those who sacrificed and risked their lives on 9/11 as the 25th anniversary approaches.

"We never forget 9/11," Serger said. "We never forget the sacrifice of our heroes, of our military, our first responders and gold star families," he said. "We never want 9/11 to fade away."

CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES

Serger described the bike ride as a "surreal" and emotional experience.

"It started off with, we're going to raise money for Tunnel to Towers, and I think our final [takeaway] was there's a lot of love and pride and patriotism in this country, from far west all the way to the east," he shared. "Everybody welcomed us with open arms. That's all we talked about."

Teacher who battled union fears she’s being targeted after shirt complaint: 'I'm afraid'

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 09:00:34 -0400

Stacy Adair, an award-winning teacher from Colorado, is facing scrutiny after a complaint that accused her of spreading anti-transgender messaging by wearing an "XX ≠ XY" chromosome t-shirt to a professional development training event earlier this month.

"They get an anonymous complaint — nobody said anything that day," Adair, who was named teacher of the year at the 2025 Teacher Freedom Summit, said. "I would say people don't even know what it means, honestly."

"I told one of my friends that yesterday about getting in trouble and she goes, ‘that's math.’ I said, ‘well, no, it’s actually genetics.’"

A week after the meeting, Adair was called in, given a questionnaire about why she had worn the shirt and was instructed not to wear clothing with controversial messaging going forward.

The reprimand has made Adair fearful for her job and worried that she might receive heightened scrutiny down the road. But beyond her individual case, onlookers like Ryan Walters, the CEO of the Teachers Freedom Alliance (TFA), an organization advocating for alternatives to teacher unions, believe her situation is emblematic of larger power struggles in schools over ideology.

EXCLUSIVE: INDIANA SCHOOL COUNSELOR FIRED FOR SPEAKING OUT ON GENDER IDENTITY POLICY SETTLES LAWSUIT FOR $200K

"It’s not an isolated incident," Walters said.

"These are the types of teachers that when you talk to parents around the country, they go, ‘I want my kids in a teacher's class like that.’ And yet you see the way that they're treated by the districts."

Adair’s case began when she selected one of her many "word" shirts to the professional development event — a routine training for teachers during the back-to-school season.

She noted that her shirts aren’t out of the ordinary for her. In fact, she threw on a "Math facts" t-shirt to meet a member of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet — Secretary of Education Linda McMahon.

She noted that the school district has a policy against apparel that is political or "disruptive to the educational environment."

But Adair said she didn’t see her shirt as overtly political or disruptive — especially as there were no students present at the training event.

"I mean I just grab a shirt I feel like wearing that day," Adair said.

"I just wear these shirts because they’re facts. I just feel like someone has to be stating the truth," she added.

Asked why she thinks she might face future repercussions for the XX ≠ XY shirt, Adair said she’s been expecting this for some time.

Long before the write-up, she helped strip the teacher union’s grip on her district.

JONATHAN TURLEY: ARKANSAS SCHOOLS TEACHERS UNIONS AND PROVES EDUCATION CAN BE IMPROVED

In 2021, she helped topple two members of her school board who were backed by the union. Without them, the board allowed the district’s contract with the teachers union to lapse by not voting to renew it.

"It basically dictated how the administration could run the school district," Adair said of the contract.

"So, if the superintendent wanted to pay teachers extra money for having better scores or outcomes, he had to ask the union first. The union basically controlled the school district rather than the elected board."

Since helping flip the seats and speaking out against the union’s influence, Adair said she has felt like there was a target on her back — sometimes literally.

"One time a local plumber wrote me a veiled, threatening email to my district email right after I went against the union during a school speech on a Wednesday night," Adair said. "And I got to school, and district security had to have me file a police report."

"You don’t mess around with the union. So, am I surprised? No. Yes, I'm afraid. I know this is the beginning of them coming after me," she added.

Adair noted that she doesn’t have evidence that the teachers unions are behind the anonymous tip that sparked the review.

NEWLY ELECTED SEATTLE TEACHERS UNION PRESIDENT UNDER INVESTIGATION OVER ALLEGED ABUSE OF AUTISTIC CHILD

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Even so, Walters, the CEO of the Teachers Freedom Alliance, said it is emblematic of some of the pressure he’s seen firsthand in other cases across the country applied to teachers who question their authority. He believes cases like Adair’s are a key reason he says schools have become proxies for political control.

"It’s like, well, you tally up these types of incidents across the country over two decades and guess what you’ve got? You’ve got a lack of other viewpoints in the staff and the employees," Walters said.

"And so that’s where we’ve seen this ideology being pushed in schools, even in red states where people go, ‘how did this happen?’ Well, take this incident, multiply it by a thousand and apply it on a daily basis."

Tupac Shakur murder trial's first week sees heated testimony from reluctant witnesses with old gangland ties

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 09:00:24 -0400

The first week of Tupac Shakur’s long-awaited murder trial exposed the challenge prosecutors face nearly 30 years after his death — most of the key players are dead, others refuse to cooperate and their case rests heavily on the defendant's own words.

Duane "Keffe D" Davis, 63, is accused of providing the murder weapon used in a 1996 Las Vegas drive-by shooting that killed Shakur and wounded Death Row Records founder Marion "Suge" Knight. He is not accused of pulling the trigger. The trial began Monday and is expected to run four to five weeks.

Three other men believed to have been in the suspect vehicle with Davis are all dead, including Davis' nephew, Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, who was jumped earlier that night by Knight's entourage, according to prosecutors.

TUPAC MURDER TRIAL FACES 'SNITCHES GET STITCHES' PROBLEM BUT DEFENDANT'S GHOSTWRITER COULD BE KEY

The defense denies he was involved, and his attorney, Michael Sanft, has suggested that he fabricated the version of events now being used by the prosecution.

Former FBI Special Agent Wade Lee testified that Davis sat down with investigators in 1998 after a drug-trafficking bust and began cooperating with authorities.

MEXICAN MAFIA TURNED AMERICAN NEIGHBORHOODS INTO ‘GANGSTA’S PARADISE’ WITH MURDERS, KIDNAPPINGS, DRUGS: FEDS

Davis sat down for multiple interviews with investigators, then spoke out on a BET documentary and detailed the night of the slaying in his memoir, prosecutors said.

Davis is a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips, which was a rival of the Mob Piru Bloods, a gang affiliated with Knight, who is serving a 28-year prison sentence for another Compton dispute that turned deadly.

DIDDY SENT TO SOLITARY CONFINEMENT AFTER PRISON FIGHT WITH ANOTHER INMATE: MULTIPLE REPORTS

The two groups had a bloody rivalry, highlighted by a brawl in the summer of 1996 that preceded Anderson's beating at the MGM Grand casino on Sept. 7, 1996, shortly before Shakur was gunned down in what prosecutors allege was retaliation.

Knight, who is on the witness list, has said in prior interviews he does not intend to cooperate with prosecutors. James "Mob James" McDonald, a former Mob Piru associate, told the court to "treat me as a hostile witness" when he took the stand and later told Davis directly, "I don't want to send you to prison."

"At the time, again, the gang culture, they had that same culture as the La Cosa Nostra, which was, you know, ‘we don’t talk to the cops,’" said Chris Swecker, a former assistant director of the FBI.

He also has a background in gang investigations and helped implement the National Gang Intelligence Center.

"You would think a victim would say, ‘Hey, that’s who shot me.’ Not the case in that culture," Swecker added. "And so that’s partly why … nobody was charged originally with the crime."

Davis' own words are now central to the state's case against him.

"The need to brag and the need to get street cred sort of overrode caution," Swecker said. "And now he sits in that defendant’s chair."

Prosecutors opened Monday by describing Shakur's killing as revenge for the beating of Anderson, Davis' nephew, inside the MGM Grand after a Mike Tyson fight on Sept. 7, 1996. They argue Davis obtained a gun, helped hunt down Shakur and handed the weapon into the back seat before someone opened fire.

TUPAC SHAKUR MURDER TRIAL KICKS OFF AS DUANE 'KEFFE D' DAVIS FACES JURY NEARLY THREE DECADES AFTER SHOOTING

"Remarkably, you will learn that from Duane Davis himself," Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal told jurors.

Defense attorney Michael Sanft countered that Davis exaggerated and made up stories for attention and book sales.

FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X

"What they are telling you, they're representing it to be a fact when it really is fiction," he told jurors in his own opening statement. "And it's up to you to determine what the facts are in this case."

He also said that police never tried corroborating Davis' claims when other suspected parties were still alive and attacked the investigation as incomplete.

Former LAPD Detective Daryn Dupree testified Wednesday that Davis once denied involvement in the murder of Christopher Wallace, better known as the rapper Notorious B.I.G., by saying, "we did the other one," which Dupree testified he understood as a reference to Shakur.

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Dupree also described Davis' claim that Sean "Diddy" Combs was supposed to provide money for Shakur's murder.

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Combs is currently in prison after being convicted of federal prostitution charges. He has not been charged in the deaths of Shakur or Wallace. He was a close associate of Wallace, who was killed in Los Angeles six months after Shakur, and whose Bad Boy Records was a rival of Knight's Death Row Records.

WATCH: Retired LAPD detective Moses Castillo says Tupac Shakur murder trial may hinge on Keffe D's ghostwriter

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Then on Thursday, prosecutors played hours of Davis' 2008 police interview.

On the recording, Davis said he was inside the Cadillac, initially had the gun and passed it toward the back seat. He identified Anderson as the man who ultimately opened fire on Shakur and Knight.

LISTEN TO THE NEW 'CRIME & JUSTICE WITH DONNA ROTUNNO' PODCAST

On Monday, jurors were shown surveillance video from MGM showing the initial fistfight involving Knight's entourage and Davis' nephew, Anderson.

Thomas Kern, a former Las Vegas crime scene analyst who now works for Customs and Border Protection, testified Tuesday that he was present at Shakur's autopsy. The forensic pathologist determined his death to be a homicide caused by multiple gunshot wounds to his chest and abodmen.

By Friday more than a dozen witnesses had testified, including photographer Leonard Jefferson, who took one of the last known photographs of Shakur alive.

Also on the witness list is Yusef Jah, a ghostwriter who worked with Davis on his book, "Compton Street Legend: Notorious Keffe D's Street-Level Accounts of Tupac and Biggie Murders, Death Row Origins, Suge Knight, Puffy Combs, and Crooked Cops."

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Fox News' Melissa Chrise contributed to this report.

Identity restoration: What to do after identity theft

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 08:57:55 -0400

You get an alert saying your Social Security number, email address or other personal information showed up in a breach. Your first thought may be, What did someone do with it? I get why that can be unnerving. An alert can sound serious without telling you whether a criminal actually opened an account, took over something you already use or did nothing at all.

The first thing I want you to know is that exposure and identity theft are not the same thing. Exposure gives you a reason to pay attention. Identity theft means someone has actually misused your information. And if that happens, getting your identity back in order can turn into a lot of work.

Here's how identity restoration actually works and what I recommend doing if you suspect someone has misused your information.

New! Free live CyberGuy class: Protect Your Money From Today’s Biggest Threats

Join us on Saturday, Aug. 29, at 10 a.m. ET for a free CyberGuy LIVE class covering five simple steps to help defend yourself against AI scams, fraud, identity theft and financial hacks. Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson will explain how to set up bank alerts, strengthen your account logins, protect your phone number, freeze your credit and help secure your retirement savings against unauthorized transfers. No technical experience is needed. You’ll also receive our financial protection checklist, and every registrant will get a link to the class recording afterward.

Reserve your free spot today at CyberGuyLive.com.

IS YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER ON THE DARK WEB?

Identity monitoring can warn you about trouble

Identity monitoring is the early-warning side of identity protection. Depending on the service, monitoring may watch for suspicious activity involving your credit files, financial accounts and places online where personal information could surface. The FTC explains that credit monitoring typically watches your credit report for changes such as new accounts or inquiries. Identity monitoring may look beyond your credit report for other signs that someone is using your information.

An alert could point you toward a new credit inquiry, an unfamiliar account or personal information found in a breach. However, an alert cannot tell the whole story. You still need to determine whether the activity is legitimate and decide what action to take. I would not panic over every notification. Read the alert carefully. Look at exactly what information was involved and save the notice in case you need it later.

Identity restoration begins when something needs fixing

Restoration is the hands-on work of recovering after identity theft. That may mean contacting a bank or credit bureau, disputing fraudulent activity, replacing compromised documents or securing an account.

Identity theft can also reach beyond your credit report. Someone could use stolen information to open a new account or take over one you already have. A thief may even use your identity for tax or government benefit fraud. The recovery process depends on what the criminal actually did.

Documentation helps too. Save breach notices, account alerts and correspondence. Keep case numbers and notes from conversations together so you are not hunting for them later.

IDENTITY THEFT RARELY ANNOUNCES ITSELF: 6 SIGNS YOU MISSED

What to do if your information may have been misused

If something looks suspicious, focus first on what you can verify.

1) Check your credit reports and financial accounts

Review your credit reports for accounts or activity you do not recognize. USA.gov says the three nationwide credit reporting agencies are Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. AnnualCreditReport.com is the federally authorized site for requesting your free credit reports. Also review your bank and credit card accounts. Check payment apps and any other financial services you regularly use.

Pay attention to government notices as well. A tax filing or benefit notice that does not match your activity could signal a problem. A sudden wave of convincing scam messages may raise concern. However, scam messages alone do not prove someone has stolen your identity.

2) Freeze your credit

A credit freeze restricts access to your credit file. Because lenders generally need to review that file before approving new credit, a freeze can make it harder for an identity thief to open a new account in your name. You need to place the freeze separately with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. It is free, and you can lift it when you legitimately need someone to access your credit.

A fraud alert works differently. It tells businesses to take additional steps to verify your identity before extending new credit. For an initial fraud alert, you only need to contact one of the three bureaus. That bureau must notify the other two. An initial fraud alert is free and lasts one year.

3) Secure your most important accounts

I would start with your primary email account. If someone controls your email, they may be able to use password-reset links to get into other services. Use a strong, unique password for every important account. A password manager can create and store those passwords for you.

Turn on multifactor authentication wherever you can. It gives a criminal another barrier to get past even if your password has already been compromised. Also check the recovery phone numbers and email addresses attached to important accounts. Remove anything you do not recognize.

4) Contact the company involved

If you find suspicious activity, contact the bank, card issuer or company directly. Use the phone number from the company's official website, your statement or the back of your card. Do not use a number supplied in a suspicious text or email.

Ask what you need to do to secure the account and dispute unauthorized activity. Keep the case number or confirmation information you receive. You may need it later.

5) Report confirmed identity theft

If someone actually used your identity, report it through IdentityTheft.gov. The FTC says IdentityTheft.gov can create a recovery plan based on what happened and help identity-theft victims work through the next steps.

Do not feel like you have to understand every part of the fraud before protecting yourself. You can start securing your accounts while you continue figuring out what happened.

What an identity restoration specialist can do

This is where professional restoration help can become useful. A restoration specialist can help you understand what needs attention and guide you through the recovery process. Depending on the service and incident, that could include helping organize paperwork or explaining how to handle disputes. Some services may also assist with communications involving affected institutions.

Still, a specialist cannot necessarily handle everything for you. You may need to verify your identity or provide documents. Your bank or a government agency may require you to communicate with them directly. The amount of help you receive depends on the service and what happened. I look at restoration assistance as having someone help you navigate a complicated process. It isn’t a promise that identity theft disappears overnight.

How identity protection services are evolving

Older identity-protection products were often centered mainly on credit monitoring. Today, many services are expanding to cover more of the ways personal information can be exposed or misused.

Depending on the service, that may include monitoring for suspicious financial activity, checking and savings accounts, investment accounts, phone takeovers, home title changes, dark-web exposure, data breaches and social media risks.

Some services are also adding tools designed to help you act when something goes wrong. These can include alerts for suspicious charges, data-broker removal, scam support and access to specialists who can help guide you through identity restoration.

Certain plans may also include reimbursement for eligible losses tied to identity theft or scams. Coverage limits, eligibility requirements and exclusions can vary widely, so it is important to read the terms before signing up.

6 IN 10 IDENTITY CRIMES NOW BEGIN WITH A NEW ACCOUNT

For me, the bigger change is that identity protection is becoming more focused on both detection and recovery. The question is whether the monitoring, support and coverage offered by a service match the risks you are most concerned about and are worth the cost to you.

See my tips and best picks on Best Identity Theft Protection at Cyberguy.com

What to check before paying for identity protection

If you are considering a paid identity-protection service, here are the questions I would ask before signing up.

How much monitoring are you getting?

Look at what the service actually monitors. Does it cover one credit bureau or multiple bureaus? Does it monitor financial accounts or other places where your identity could be misused? Compare those features with the risks you are most concerned about.

What happens when you receive an alert?

An alert only helps if you know what to do with it. Find out what information the service gives you when suspicious activity appears and whether it helps you determine what happened. Some alerts may simply tell you to investigate. Others may connect you with additional support.

How does restoration support work?

This is one of the areas I would pay close attention to. Find out whether you get access to a restoration specialist and what that person can actually do. Will the specialist guide you through the process? Can they help with paperwork or communications? What steps will still fall on you? Those answers can tell you much more than a feature list.

What does the reimbursement actually cover?

Do not stop at the biggest dollar figure on the page. Look at the individual coverage limits, what types of losses qualify and what expenses may be excluded. Some identity-protection plans offer different reimbursement amounts depending on the level of coverage, so read the terms carefully before signing up.

Are you paying for help you would actually use?

You can take many important identity-protection steps yourself for free. Credit freezes are free. You can review your credit reports and report identity theft without paying for an identity-protection subscription. A paid service may still make sense if you value ongoing monitoring or want someone to help you navigate recovery. For me, that is the more useful way to judge these services. Look at what you get and decide whether that support is worth the price for you.

Kurt's key takeaways

The biggest thing to understand is what happens after you get an identity alert. Seeing your Social Security number or other personal information in a breach can immediately make you wonder what a criminal has already done. But an exposure notice alone does not answer that question. So I would start there. Find out whether anyone has actually used your information. Check your accounts and credit reports. If something looks wrong, protect the affected accounts and document what you find. A credit freeze can also help shut down one of the easiest paths criminals use to open new credit in your name. If you discover real identity theft, you have another decision to make. You can work through the recovery process yourself or use a restoration service to help guide you. I can see real value in having someone help when you are dealing with fraudulent accounts, paperwork and calls you never asked to make. Just know what you are paying for and understand where the service's job ends, and yours begins. No identity-protection service can guarantee that a criminal will never get your information. What you can control is how quickly you recognize trouble and how prepared you are to respond.

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WNBA player goes on profanity-laced rant about 'gay' men throwing sex toys on the court

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 08:55:10 -0400

As we theorized yesterday, the WNBA's sex toy problem has officially come back with a vengeance.

Three more sex toys were launched onto the court Friday during the third quarter of the Chicago Sky-Golden State Valkyrie game. Three! It's a pandemic. It's official, folks.

Mask up! Stop the spread!

This comes on the heels of the famous neon green toy making a stunning appearance during Thursday's Dream-Sparks game in Los Angeles. For those who missed that one, Angel Reese saw the perp right away and viciously pointed him out in the crowd. He was later seen fleeing the scene.

What a league.

Anyway, back to Golden State ...

Three sex toys interrupted play in the third quarter, and Sky guard Natasha Cloud was asked about it after the game.

What followed was one of the wildest two-minute rants I've heard come from a professional athlete.

Enjoy:

Natasha Cloud hits all the notes here

"Y’all lame as f–k," Cloud started before diving into a world of name-calling, slurs, and sex toy talk. "And I just, man, and like, in most of these occasions, it’s men. And I want you to know that is the gayest thing that you can do is to go to a store, a sex shop, buy a dildo, come to a women’s game to throw the dildo on the court. That is the gayest s–t that I’ve ever heard."

Here's where things really go off the rails:

WNBA SUDDENLY WANTS TO STICK TO BASKETBALL AFTER YEARS OF MAKING POLITICS PART OF THE PRODUCT

"So I’m a firm believer in anyone that has so much problem with a certain marginalized group, just come out and say that you’re a part of our marginalized group because that hate is unwarranted. It’s not factual," she continued. "And it says more about the internal struggles of that individual than it ever will say about the collective group. The men that are throwing it, shows that you are weak. Like, extremely weak. And it says a lot about how you feel about women. Y’all lame to us. Y’all gay to us.

"We see it. Keep throwing them if you want to keep telling us you’re gay. You can come out. You’ll be happier. You’ll be nicer to people. You’ll be happier in your everyday life. You don’t need to go to therapy or none of that s–t. Just be yourself. Y’all weird. Like it says dildo on their credit card. Like they have to go through their financial advisor and be like, ‘What’s this green dildo? You good, Chad? You good, Richard? Are you good, Paul?’ Because it also is a certain demographic."

Goodness gracious. Like I said, it's an all-timer. It's a rollercoaster. Natasha hit all the notes here. She used the word gay 400 times, and also used it as an insult, which I'm not sure the WNBA will love. She also attacks guys, which is fair, and makes sure to throw in some racial undertones at the end.

Again, I'd say that's fair, but also, one of the guys arrested for doing this last year had the name "Lopez," so I'm not 100% sure that math checks out.

BROADCAST BIAS: SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM TAKES A HIT, BUT ABC, NBC DODGE WNBA’S TRANSGENDER SPORTS FIGHT

Anyway, I don't care about any of it. I think Cloud is right in saying that going to a sex store and buying a toy, just to pay for a ticket to a WNBA game, just so you can then throw said toy onto the court and stop a game, is silly.

That seems like a ton of work for very little payoff. Also seems like a waste of money. I could never afford that lifestyle. What a luxury.

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That being said, I'm not sure lashing out like this is going to help. If anything, it's probably going to make this sex toy pandemic worse. If I know anything about how the human male brain operates, name-calling usually doesn't solve problems.

Just a hunch.

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Stay tuned!

Nick Chubb retires after NFL career that began on a Hall of Fame trajectory but was derailed by injuries

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 08:42:37 -0400

A stellar career seemingly ended for Nick Chubb after that catastrophic injury in 2023, but one of the NFL's most dominant running backs refused to go out like that at age 28. He is instead going out healthy and on his own terms at age 30.

Chubb on Friday night announced what he himself knew was inevitable years ago: He is done. He is now retired from the NFL.

"Today's the day I've been avoiding for a while," Chubb wrote in a farewell missive on Instagram. "Twelve-year-old me could never imagine this day, and 30-year-old me is wondering where all the time has gone.

"I've known for some time now, but I'm finally ready to share that I'm done playing football. I wanted to end my career on a healthy note, along with a winning season, and I was able to do that."

RUSSELL WILSON ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT FROM NFL AFTER 14 SEASONS

This is a true story: In the spring of 2018, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick went to the University of Georgia campus and watched both Chubb and Sony Michel work out for scouts.

He selected Michel with the 31st pick of the first round to be his running back.

Chubb was selected four slots later by the Cleveland Browns and over the next five seasons made Belichick's choice look like a mistake.

Chubb rushed for 996 yards as a rookie in '18 despite starting only nine games.

Then, starting in 2019, Chubb established himself as one of the NFL's premier running backs, producing four consecutive 1,000-yard-plus seasons, averaging over 5 yards per carry in each of those seasons, and being selected to four consecutive Pro Bowls.

Chubb never won a rushing title, but came closest in 2019, finishing second to Derrick Henry, who won the crown on the last day of the season by gaining 211 yards.

Through his first five seasons, Chubb gained 6,341 rushing yards, scored 48 rushing touchdowns and boasted a remarkable 5.2 yards per carry.

The guy was on a Hall of Fame career trajectory.

HOUSTON TEXANS STAR PRACTICES IN PADS FOR FIRST TIME IN NEARLY TWO YEARS AFTER 2024 CAREER-THREATENING INJURY

But that changed dramatically in September of 2023 when he suffered a devastating injury to his left knee against the Steelers that required two surgeries and cost him the remainder of that season and part of the next.

Chubb had previously torn multiple ligaments while at Georgia so he knew what a comeback entailed.

But when he returned in 2024, he wasn't the same. And even that diminished player had another injury when he broke his foot, prematurely ending his season once again.

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"The only thing I could control after hurting my knee twice was getting back up, getting back to work, and getting back on the field," Chubb wrote in his farewell post. "And I was able to do that both times."

The Nick Chubb story includes physical and emotional pain in large swaths. It seems like he had a career filled with setbacks.

That's not how he sees it.

"I say this to all my brothers still on the field, still in the heat of it," Chubb wrote. "There's a life waiting for you after football, too. And health is the real wealth.

"I end my career in a great place. Even though there are some things I wish had happened differently, I can say that I have no regrets."

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Jets say Geno Smith delivers 'exactly what we were looking for' in 2026 debut, so here comes the overreaction

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 08:31:23 -0400

Geno Smith played well in his New York Jets debut on Friday night and in any other town, that's going to be notable but somewhat mundane news because the starting quarterback performing at a high level in the preseason is not a promise of championships.

But because we're talking about New York, and the starving-for-glad-tidings Jets, this space warns you to prepare for what's next.

Because Smith's one drive against the Pittsburgh Steelers might lead to some massive overreaction. And a lot of excitement. And high expectations.

JETS FANS BREATHE SIGH OF RELIEF AFTER PRACTICE SCARE FOR $43M STAR RUNNING BACK

So, the Geno 2.0 public relations uproar is on.

That's how it is in the Big Apple's thrill ride through the NFL season for quarterbacks who struggle in preseason practices, as Smith has done at times this summer, and then deliver a near-perfect performance in their first preseason action.

"Very, very efficient," Jets coach Aaron Glenn described it to reporters afterward. "I mean, I think he had two third-down completions within that, threw to five different receivers within that drive. He looked very comfortable.

"It was exactly what we were looking for ..."

Smith is thus going to get a good dose of New York pundit love for the next few days because he had that drive in which he completed all seven of his pass attempts, including one that was tipped and caught by one of his offensive linemen.

He's going to get applauded for converting a couple of third-down situations. And, of course, the 13-yard touchdown pass to Jelani Woods will be replayed as if on a loop on channels 2, 4, 5, 7 and WPIX.

It's the New York way.

So, how ya feelin' Geno?

"It felt good to be out there with the guys," Smith told reporters gathered at his locker stall. "You know, obviously we got one drive in, but we scored a touchdown. You always want to start fast. so that was a good thing.

"But definitely a lot of room for improvement. So just looking forward to getting back to practice, getting to work."

This is a perfect reaction from Smith. He shows modesty while giving his performance proper context.

But the fans? The media? They're going to go as close to wild as is allowed by NFL preseason bylaws.

And it won't be just the fans and media getting all pumped. Some Jets teammates will, too.

IT'S WISE NOT TO TRUST THE NFL PRESEASON BUT, HOLY MOLY, RAMS QB TY SIMPSON LOOKS LIKE A STUD

"We were all fired up for him," backup quarterback Cade Klubnik said. "He's going to have a heck of a year and that's just a glimpse of it."

There it is, a prediction for the entire regular season based on one preseason drive.

And, again, it was a good drive. But that Steelers defense that retreated did not include T.J. Watt, or Jalen Ramsey, or Joey Porter, or Cam Heyward.

Just sayin'.

Look, the Smith we saw on Friday was more comfortable, more proficient, and just better than the one who left this same franchise a decade ago as a draft bust.

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You'll recall Smith's first stint with the Jets, from 2013 to 2016, was a mess. It ended, for all intents and purposes, when teammate IK Enemkpali sucker punched Smith and broke his jaw in 2015.

That, unfortunately, turned Smith's stint with the team into something of a punchline — literally.

So, this return has a wonderful opportunity to be something else. Something better.

But Friday's lone drive should be understood to be one humble hint of that possibility rather than a bold vision of the next few months.

Smith, thankfully, gets that.

"I just feel like," he said, "we can be a lot better."

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From fondue to casseroles: Classic 1960s foods that defined a generation

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 08:00:42 -0400

The 1960s marked a shift in American cuisine as international dishes gained popularity while the processed and convenience foods of the 1950s remained staples on dinner tables.

C. A. Swanson & Sons introduced the frozen TV dinner in 1954, "marketing it as an easy-to-prepare, fun-to-eat meal, with a disposable tray that reduced cleanup time," the Smithsonian National Museum of American History reported.

"The portable TV dinner tapped into middle-class Americans' excitement over television, allowing families to eat in front of their new sets."

VINTAGE PHOTOS REVEAL WHAT GROCERY SHOPPING LOOKED LIKE IN THE 1960s

Julia Child's first television cooking show, "The French Chef," debuted in 1963, and with it came a new approach to preparing foreign fare for middle-class home cooks.

Do you remember eating the following classic dishes during the midcentury?

Fondue

The Swiss tradition of fondue took America by storm in the 1960s and ‘70s, thanks in part to the Swiss Pavilion serving Swiss cheese fondue at the 1964 New York World's Fair.

Fondue is derived from the French word fondre, which means "to melt."

The dish involves melting cheese, wine and seasonings together in a pot and eating it communally with bread, meat and other items.

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Fondue sets became a fashionable centerpiece of entertaining during the '60s and '70s.

Casseroles

As convenience cooking grew in popularity during the mid-century, casseroles incorporating canned and processed products fit the bill.

The green bean casserole was created by Campbell's test kitchen employee Dorcas Reilly in 1955 and was originally called "Green Bean Bake," according to the company's website.

"To this day, the recipe calls for only six ingredients: canned or fresh green beans, Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup, soy sauce, black pepper, milk and French-fried onions," the website says.

A recipe for tuna, noodle and mushroom soup casserole was included in the 1951 version of "The Joy of Cooking."

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Chicken divan, a casserole combining chicken and broccoli in a creamy sauce and often topped with cheese and breadcrumbs, was another popular dish of the era.

Chicken Kiev

The exact origins of Chicken Kiev are disputed, but it has connections to French culinary techniques and Eastern European cuisine, reported Tasting Table.

It is made by stuffing a chicken breast with cold, garlic-and-herb butter, breading the chicken and frying it.

Frozen versions of this item are available in grocery stores today.

French Onion Dip

Lipton's introduced its dehydrated onion soup in the early 1950s.

By the middle of the decade, home cooks were combining it with sour cream to make what became known as California dip, later called French onion dip, a go-to snack item and party food, according to the website Quaint Cooking.

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The dip has evolved from the original, two-ingredient recipe.

Modern iterations of it involve using Greek yogurt, whipped cottage cheese or cream cheese.

Other retro food favorites that baby boomers may remember fondly include Swedish meatballs, Chicken à la king and grasshopper pie.

Swedish meatballs are typically made with a meat mixture, breadcrumbs and egg and topped with gravy.

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Chicken à la king uses chicken, vegetables and a cream sauce and is typically served over toast, rice or noodles.

Grasshopper pie is a no-bake dessert that incorporates crème de menthe and crème de cacao in a cookie crust.

Trump’s welfare reforms are a major victory. Bureaucrats could still wreck them

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 08:00:39 -0400

Is America doomed to repeat its welfare mistakes?

That’s the question on the 30th anniversary of the 1996 welfare reforms, which President Clinton signed on August 22. The law empowered millions of families to move from welfare to work, but it has since been replaced by an even more costly and harmful welfare state. Over $18 trillion in welfare spending later, President Trump championed an even bigger reform in the law he signed last summer. It represents historic progress, yet its success depends on tireless enforcement against states and bureaucrats that want to undermine it. The next welfare reform is already needed — sooner rather than later.

Even now, the 1996 welfare reform stands out as one of the most transformative policies in recent history. The law famously targeted the country’s main cash welfare program, which had trapped families in poverty and dependency for decades. It created a new program — Temporary Assistance for Needy Families — that connected mostly single mothers to work. By 2005, TANF caseloads had dropped by nearly 60%, saving taxpayers billions of dollars while improving millions of lives.

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Yet the progress with cash welfare was overshadowed by a backward slide in food stamps. While the 1996 law created much-needed work requirements for able-bodied adults, it had Swiss cheese levels of loopholes. State officials and federal bureaucrats conspired to the point that, in 2023, about 95% of able-bodied adults on food stamps were not covered by work requirements. Meanwhile, other welfare programs not touched in 1996 have exploded. ObamaCare and pandemic-era policies expanded Medicaid to previously inconceivable levels of more than 100 million recipients, a huge percentage of them able-bodied men with no disabilities.

The painful result: As of last year, federal welfare spending was 2.7 times higher than it was in 1996, even adjusting for inflation. Welfare is more expensive, expansive, and extreme than ever.

TRUMP TRIES TO CUT BLUE-STATE MEDICAID FRAUD AND SAVE MORE GREEN

Enter President Trump. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act enacted unprecedented reforms to both food stamps and Medicaid. The loopholes that states use to avoid food-stamp work requirements have almost all been closed, and Medicaid now has its first-ever work requirements. Most importantly, states are now on the hook for high misspending in both programs. If they tolerate waste, fraud, and abuse, they have to pay a portion of the programs’ costs — a powerful incentive to apply work requirements and shrink welfare rolls. My organization estimates that at least 10 million people could move from welfare to work under the law, far more than under the 1996 reform. Separately, President Trump is allowing local authorities to enact a work requirement in public housing — a major and much-needed move.

Yet just like after 1996, states are looking to avoid responsibility and worsen the welfare crisis. The worst loopholes are in Medicaid, where states can let recipients self-attest to their medically frail status. If recipients don’t provide documentation within six months, they’re supposed to be removed from the program. At least 30 states have admitted they plan to use self-attestation, and, based on a court filing, at least 25 states and D.C. have acknowledged they could simply remove these people at the six-month mark, then let them re-enroll for another six months. This never-ending cycle is a recipe for more, not less, abuse of programs meant for truly needy Americans.

COALITION OF 25 STATES SUES TRUMP ADMIN OVER MEDICAID WORK RULE DESIGNED TO PREVENT FRAUD

There’s also a food-stamp carve-out that lets states delay financial penalties if their misspending is high enough. The measure was supposed to give the worst offenders more time to design solutions, but bad actors are misspending more so they can delay penalties. Four states and D.C. have cleared that threshold. Several others, like New York, appear set to follow suit. Illinois and Delaware saw massive increases in waste, fraud, and abuse over the last year, and New Mexico openly admitted it’s using this strategy. Ultimately, states want to kill the reform or at least delay penalties, which the current Senate Farm Bill draft unfortunately does. Accountability should be tightened, not loosened, delayed, or eliminated.

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The Trump administration has just over two years to crack down on gimmicks. It must also police the overwhelmingly liberal federal bureaucracy so the law isn’t gutted from within. Other loopholes and tortured legal interpretations may take years to manifest. Democratic administrations have a history of taking a mile when statutory text only gives them an inch. While the new welfare reforms will help millions of people achieve financial independence and save huge sums of taxpayer money, constant vigilance is required to prevent President Trump’s achievements from being undermined or ignored long-term.

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Most of all, Congress should already be thinking about the next welfare reform, and it can’t take another 30 years. The welfare state is still growing larger by the year, sapping the American spirit of hard work and personal agency. The next stage is to shrink programs more dramatically, eliminate unnecessary and harmful handouts altogether, and eliminate all loopholes and waivers, period. The 1996 reform was good. President Trump’s reforms are great. The next welfare reform must be exceptional — and imminent.

WATCH: Father of three outraged over advice his family received amid trans teacher fight

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 08:00:39 -0400

Parents at a North Carolina elementary school are fighting for the ability to keep their children in public school while opting them out of a music class taught by a transgender teacher, as one father says critics have responded by telling families to homeschool instead.

The dispute at Middle Creek Elementary School in Wake County has centered on parents who say they were not given advance notice about the teacher and want an alternative for children whose families object on religious or personal grounds. Parents speaking before the school board this week said children have come home "upset, confused and uncomfortable," while others said requests for alternatives have been ignored or dismissed and called on the district to provide an opt-out.

The controversy spilled into a heated Wake County Board of Education meeting Tuesday, where speakers were sharply divided over whether accommodating those families amounts to protecting parental rights or discriminating against a teacher because of gender identity. One speaker argued that religious and conscientious exemptions effectively amount to parents demanding that their children not encounter people they dislike, while others said families should not have to leave the public-school system to avoid a class they object to.

PORTLAND PARENT BANNED FROM SCHOOL EVENTS AFTER OPPOSING GENDER IDENTITY ASSIGNMENT FILES LAWSUIT

Aaron Driver, a father of three children at Middle Creek Elementary and member of Middle Creek Parental Rights, told the board that parents "shouldn’t have to pass an ideological test to participate in public education."

"Here’s what our detractors are telling us," Driver said. "You don’t support school hiring a trans teacher. Maybe public school isn’t for you or your family. Maybe homeschool. Maybe private school."

BRAZIL PARENTS FACE PRISON SENTENCE FOR HOMESCHOOLING AFTER COURT ACCUSES THEM OF 'INTELLECTUAL NEGLECT'

"That's right," he continued. "Maybe pay taxes into the school system and then pay again to escape from it."

Later in the meeting, another public commenter, Katrina Day, offered a striking response from the other side of the fight, proposing a free homeschooling curriculum because it would "keep the bigots away from my grandchildren." She also suggested the district "relocate the children of bigots if needed" or "expel the children of bigots if needed."

The fight at Middle Creek has been building prior to Tuesday's contentious board meeting.

State Rep. Erin Paré, R-Wake, publicly raised concerns in late July after hearing from parents about the possibility of a transgender teacher at their southern Wake County elementary school, floating the possibility of a state law requiring sex-based professional attire for public-school employees, according to WRAL.

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Parents opposed to the arrangement have framed their objections as a request for advance notice and alternatives rather than a personal attack on the teacher. During Tuesday’s meeting, one speaker said parents should receive "advanced notice and the option to opt out" when a teacher’s presentation conflicts with their religious or personal beliefs, while another said families had requested alternatives and called on the board to "provide reasonable alternatives to families who object."

Charles Manson's granddaughter reveals moment she discovered dark family secret: 'It was devastating'

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 08:00:24 -0400

In 2022, Sophia Maddox received a phone call that upended everything she thought she knew about her family — and sent her searching for answers about one of America's most notorious criminals.

At the time, the 22-year-old aspiring filmmaker and actress was living in Los Angeles, juggling odd jobs to make rent, while her father, Daniel Arguelles, was searching for answers about his own past. Raised by his mother and stepfather, Arguelles had been trying to identify his biological father when he called Maddox with a startling discovery.

"He told me he thinks he found out who his father is, and if it's true, it's really dark," Maddox told Fox News Digital. "He wasn't sure if I was ready to know. And my dad is not a dark person. He never taught me any dark things. So if he says it's dark, my first thought is it must be famously dark. So I asked him to just get it out of the way."

WOMAN BRANDED ‘FEMALE CHARLES MANSON’ ESCAPED PRISON; PROSECUTOR NOW DOUBTS HER CONVICTION

"'Is it Ted Bundy?'" she recalled. "He said, 'Bigger. Think of the biggest movie you know and the biggest director you know.' And I thought of the movie 'Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood.' I was trying to remember the name mentioned in the film. And then I realized who it was: Charles Manson."

Maddox immediately Googled Manson's name. The resemblance, she said, was uncanny.

"I thought to myself, 'That's my dad,'" Maddox said. "It was a really devastating day."

Maddox's journey after learning that Manson was her grandfather is chronicled in the Hulu documentary "My Grandfather Charles Manson." In it, she meets people who had direct connections to Manson, including some of his former followers, to better understand her family history.

"It was cathartic," Maddox said. "I'm a filmmaker before I found out who my grandfather is. And my life got uprooted from this. I had something to say at that moment, and I couldn't bottle it up."

Arguelles submitted his DNA to Ancestry in 2015, hoping to identify his father and finally answer a question that had followed him for decades. He had long suspected the man who raised him was not his biological father and confronted his mother about his paternity when he was 21.

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Years passed, and Arguelles had nearly given up when he matched with Michael Brunner. DNA testing confirmed they were half-brothers. Brunner is Manson's son with Mary Brunner, one of Manson's earliest followers, People magazine reported.

Maddox described herself and her father as "normal, working-class citizens."

"We have no prior records or anything criminal," Maddox said. "We grew up as artists. My dad showed me the movies he made and his modeling photos of him photographed by Richard Avedon. So of course, when you learn that someone like Manson is your grandfather, it's normal to wonder, 'Am I that too?' People have asked me, 'Were you afraid that you inherited evil, that you were evil?' But my dad and I are very normal, hardworking people."

Manson, who was convicted of orchestrating the 1969 murders of pregnant actress Sharon Tate and six others in Los Angeles, died in 2017. He was 83 and serving a life sentence.

A petty criminal who had been in and out of jail since childhood, the charismatic, guru-like Manson surrounded himself in the 1960s with runaways and other lost souls, The Associated Press reported. According to the outlet, he then sent his disciples to butcher some of the rich and famous in what prosecutors said was a bid to trigger a race war — an idea he got from a twisted reading of the Beatles song "Helter Skelter."

Despite the overwhelming evidence against him, Manson maintained that he was innocent and that society itself was guilty.

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A horrified Arguelles resisted learning more about his biological father. Maddox wanted to dig deeper into her grandfather's past. She said she was less interested in the mythology surrounding Manson and more interested in how he became the man America came to fear.

Manson was born in 1934 to teenage Kathleen Maddox. His biological father was absent, and his mother married William Manson, whose surname Charles took. After that marriage ended, his mother was sent to prison for her role in a robbery, and Manson went to live with relatives. By his teens, he was stealing, running away and bouncing through juvenile institutions.

He eventually was sent to the Indiana Boys School. Manson later said he was beaten and sexually assaulted while locked up as a juvenile. His troubles continued into adulthood, with repeated prison sentences for crimes including theft and forgery.

By the time Manson was released from federal prison in 1967 at age 32, he had spent roughly half his life behind bars or in juvenile institutions.

In the film, Maddox examined previously unreleased records that shed light on Manson's troubled childhood.

"I heard about my dad's abuse as a child from a reform school and from his own parents," she explained. "My dad's was really bad, but that was the '70s. Imagine what it was like back in the '40s or '50s. It was shocking how bad they treated boys in these reform schools. the juvenile justice expert we spoke to said that Manson's experience at Indiana was not singular. Manson's story was not exceptional. That's how they learned their lessons in survival."

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"I think the biggest shock for me was how Manson's decision-making as an adult in his 30s can really stem from the survival mechanisms he learned from his childhood in these prisons," she added.

Maddox said she was disturbed to learn that Manson, who had been institutionalized for offenses including running away and theft, was housed alongside older juveniles with violent records.

"I was shocked to read that he was imprisoned with kids who had murdered people," Maddox said. "And he was there for running away from home, stealing a bike or stealing a car. But so many boys, older kids with violent records, were placed there. And what does a kid have to do to survive a place like that? It breaks my heart."

Arguelles, born in 1959, learned that he was the result of a brief relationship between his mother, Darlene Arguelles, and Manson, who was using the alias "Charlie Dear" at the time, People magazine reported.

But as Maddox dug deeper into the family's past, the search that initially brought father and daughter together began pulling them apart.

Maddox said she and her father had a falling out one week before production on the documentary began. Arguelles had previously sat for an interview and encouraged his daughter to make the film, but she said confronting his biological father's past ultimately became too painful.

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"I have a little more distance from Manson because I am the grandchild, but that's his father," Maddox said. "And he's shared similar experiences in childhood as him. And my dad is a very sensitive person. [But] he was curious. He wanted answers. He wanted me to make this film. But then at the same time, it was all too much."

"I don't know if he's seen the film," Maddox said. "He hasn't reached out. So I'm just sitting back and respecting his wishes until he reaches back out."

"I still support Sophia and I'm very proud of her," Arguelles told Fox News Digital. "I believe the falling out between us came from a difference of opinion on the overall narrative. That's really all I can say at this point."

The Manson Family slaughtered five of its victims on Aug. 9, 1969, at Tate’s home: the actress, who was 8½ months pregnant, coffee heiress Abigail Folger, celebrity hairdresser Jay Sebring, Polish screenwriter Wojciech (Voityck) Frykowski and Steven Parent, a friend of the estate’s caretaker. Tate’s husband, "Rosemary’s Baby" director Roman Polanski, was out of the country at the time.

The next night, a wealthy grocer and his wife, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, were stabbed to death in their home across town.

After a trial that lasted nearly a year, Manson and three followers — Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten — were convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Another defendant, Charles "Tex" Watson, was convicted and sentenced to death later. Their sentences were commuted to life in prison after the California Supreme Court struck down the state’s death penalty in 1972.

Atkins died of cancer in prison in 2009 at age 61. Van Houten was released on parole in 2023. Krenwinkel and Watson are still behind bars.

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Maddox said she reached out to the victims' loved ones during filming.

"I'm in talks with two relatives at the moment," Maddox said. "And I'll just say every experience I've had with them has been very lovely. They were very kind to me. They understood why I am telling this story. ... I'm not the only person looking for answers."

Maddox said examining the forces that shaped Manson was never about absolving him of his crimes.

"My intention is never to apologize or justify for anybody's actions," she said. "I know what my grandfather did."

Maddox said understanding Manson's past wasn't about excusing his crimes but about understanding what shaped him — and potentially preventing future violence.

In the film, Maddox also explained her decision to change her surname.

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"My dad and I were always trying to find a last name that resonated with us," she said. "I spent a year or two investigating my family and re-looked the name 'Maddox.' And when I Googled it, it meant 'goodness.' My blood name means goodness. I'm going to own it. That's mine. I'm giving it new life."

‘Reagan’ film set to release director’s cut amid alleged online censorship

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 08:00:17 -0400

As the team behind the 2024 biopic "Reagan" promotes and prepares for the film’s re-release next month, it once again finds itself battling what its producer calls digital gatekeeping.

This time, producer Mark Joseph is taking issue with Google’s YouTube after ads promoting interviews with stars and others associated with the film were flagged under the platform's advertising policies. The interviews are part of Joseph's podcast special series, "Making REAGAN."

Since the film — which starred Dennis Quaid as the 40th president — was first released in theaters in August 2024, its creators have faced numerous obstacles, including restrictions imposed by Facebook early on related to efforts to boost posts and advertisements for the film. Production on "Reagan" began in 2020.

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In what Joseph describes as the latest censorship activity by YouTube, an ad promoting the first episode of the series, featuring rock legend Gene Simmons discussing family, his producing endeavors and his appreciation for America, was flagged by the platform for "advertisement for elections" and "shocking content," despite the noticeably tame conversation.

Simmons’ cover of "Stormy Weather" was his contribution to the "Reagan" movie.

"For 30 years, Simmons has been branded for outrageous content, and now he’s been deemed outrageous for talking?" Joseph told Fox News Digital.

Simmons, the co-founder, co-lead singer and bassist of the legendary rock band KISS, has long been famous for his black-and-white face paint, inordinately long tongue, fire-breathing and blood-spitting stunts and overall stage persona.

"The notion that a simple conversation with a rock legend like Gene Simmons is labeled ‘shocking content’ and ‘election advertising’ is ridiculous, as anyone who watches the episode can attest," Joseph added. "These are normal conversations."

Other episodes whose promotions were flagged for "election advertising" feature Kathie Lee Gifford, who co-wrote the tribute song "I Knew It Would Be You" for the film; actresses Amanda Righetti and Lesley-Anne Down; actors Dan Lauria, Elya Baskin and Trevor Donovan; author Arthur Laffer; singer Tanya Tucker; and screenwriter and filmmaker Howard Klausner.

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An Aug. 12 episode in which Joseph sits down with John Hinckley Jr. for an exclusive interview and extensive discussion about his 1981 assassination attempt on President Reagan also had its promotion blocked for "election advertising."

"The idea that an information and news-oriented interview with the man who shot Ronald Reagan, John Hinckley, is labeled ‘election advertising’ and blocked from being boosted is equally crazy," Joseph said.

According to Joseph’s team, when this happens, YouTube does not provide an option to appeal the ruling, but only allows them to boost a different episode.

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Joseph has called on the video-streaming platform to reverse its decision and stop blocking the team's attempts to promote the episodes, as well as the release of the "Reagan" director’s cut in theaters Sept. 25. The extended version includes 10 additional minutes of footage and returns to roughly 600 theaters on Sept. 25, after limited Independence Day screenings tied to the nation’s 250th anniversary.

YouTube responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment with a statement citing that "ads related to the podcast were removed for including profanity," referring specifically to the episode featuring Simmons.

A YouTube representative did note, however, that after review, the ad does not violate their U.S. Election Ads policy, but since it still contains profanity, it can’t be approved to run as an advertisement. Beyond that, it was noted that the creator’s videos are compliant with YouTube’s community guidelines, which apply to organic content.

It also said that the platform had reached out to the creator to "help them understand our policies moving forward, and they are welcome to adjust the content in order to promote the video in the future."

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Yet numerous other episodes were flagged for "election advertising."

YouTube noted its U.S. Election Ads policy, which requires advertisers to have an elections certification to run ads that feature a reference to a current candidate or officeholder for an elected office.

Joseph reiterated that many of the episodes weren’t geared towards politics and were just discussions with those who contributed to the "Reagan" film.

YouTube then responded, "Following a careful review, we determined that a few of these advertised episodes were out of scope of the Election Ads policy, but others are in scope."

Directed by Sean McNamara and produced by Rawhide Pictures, "Reagan" follows his childhood in Illinois, Hollywood acting career, California governorship and rise to the presidency.

Besides the overall challenge the filmmakers say they faced while telling the story of a conservative icon in left-leaning Hollywood, the film’s production encountered many stops and starts.

While filming in Guthrie, Okla., the production had to shut down for a month due to COVID.

Then, while promoting the film and ahead of its release, Facebook restricted efforts to boost posts and advertisements for the movie. Material featuring Quaid and a Reagan quotation about America’s best days still lying ahead was affected. The film’s official Facebook page also faced temporary suspensions.

For its part, Facebook cited automated systems and policies governing content involving politicians before a presidential election as the problem. Although Trump was the Republican on the ballot, not Reagan, Facebook later said that automated systems had mistakenly flagged content about "Reagan" as requiring special authorization under its social-issues and elections rules.

"The similarities to Facebook are that both use a nebulous reasoning that the content somehow constitutes electioneering, but with the ‘Making Reagan’ series on YouTube, these are just ordinary conversations with people who were involved with the film or the topic of the film and have nothing to do with advocating for an election," Joseph said.

Other obstacles related to the movie involved the Guinness World Records declining to certify a milestone asserted by the filmmakers: that the movie achieved the widest gap between audience and critic scores on Rotten Tomatoes for any American-made movie.

In terms of the YouTube kerfuffle, producer, director and CEO of boutique marketing agency Ribbow Media Group CEO Ash Greyson said he, too, has had ongoing issues when using YouTube’s platform to promote conservative films. But it’s the faith-based films he’s marketed that have faced the greatest hurdles.

Greyson helped market and promote the 2023 Christian drama "Jesus Revolution," among other Christian-based films, including "God’s Not Dead" and "I Still Believe."

"It’s been a frustrating and ongoing issue for years, particularly on YouTube, where they will flag anything ‘faith,’" Greyson said, noting that he’s had very few issues regarding films outside those genres. "And it seems to be worse on the Christian stuff."

For Joseph, it’s simply about getting these important stories seen after all the sweat equity involved in making them.

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"It’s unfortunate because it severely limits the reach," he said regarding what he sees as obstacles needlessly put up by YouTube.

Dem Senate hopeful racked up hundreds of missed votes during stops at multiple taxpayer serving jobs

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 08:00:05 -0400

FIRST ON FOX: Democratic Senate nominee and former Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, missed nearly one in five votes in the Alaska House of Representatives and more than a third of Bethel City Council meetings during her time in office, records show.

Peltola missed 794 of 4,265 state House votes, or 18.6%, during her five terms from 1999 to 2009, according to legislative records, and 22 of 60 city council meetings, or 36.67% from 2011 to 2013, according to city records.

Her attendance record is now raising questions about her commitment to public service as she advances to Alaska’s four-candidate general election, a closely watched race that could affect control of the U.S. Senate.

"Alaskans deserve an all-the-time workhorse like Dan Sullivan, not someone like Peltola who knifes Alaskans in the back when she even bothers to show up," Republican National Committee spokesperson Nick Poche said in a statement sent to Fox News Digital.

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Records show Peltola’s highest number of absences came during the 23rd Legislature from 2003 to 2004, when she missed 334 of 1,019 Alaska House votes. She also missed nine of 22 council meetings in 2013 and 11 of 32 council meetings in 2012, according to city records.

Peltola has also faced criticism from conservatives for missing votes while serving in the United States Congress from 2022-2024 where she missed 235 of 1,370 roll-call votes, or 17.2%, according to GovTrack data.

In addition to missed votes, Peltola's critics have also pointed to her time in Congress not resulting in any bills or resolutions for which she was the primary sponsor becoming law, compared to Sullivan who has had several bills signed into law.

"She couldn't even get a single bill signed into law," the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) posted on X in January. "Now, she wants a promotion."

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a Peltola campaign spokesperson defended the absences, saying Peltola, a mother of seven, took maternity leave after giving birth to three of her children while serving in the state House. The spokesperson added that, excluding excused absences, Peltola missed only about 6% of votes and continued to advance bipartisan measures throughout her tenure.

"Three of Mary’s children were born during her time in the state legislature and she took maternity leave. That didn’t stop her from working hard for Alaskans, from passing bills to improve public safety in rural Alaska to increasing Alaska energy production," the Peltola campaign said.

The campaign also said Peltola spent summers at fish camp and that some city council absences occurred during fishing months or because of other council priorities.

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Turning to Sullivan’s attendance record, the spokesperson said he has missed a significant number of votes and committee hearings, calling his absences "an insult to Alaskans" and saying that Sullivan has been "slacking off" missing fisheries subcommittee hearings.

Peltola announced her Senate bid in January to represent Alaska and unseat two-term Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, who is backed by President Donald Trump and also advanced to the general election in November. She finished ahead of Sullivan in Tuesday’s primary.

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Alaska’s unique election system uses a nonpartisan top-four primary, in which candidates from all parties appear on the same ballot, followed by ranked-choice voting in the general election.

Here are five tunes to blast this weekend in honor of late ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 07:58:30 -0400

Like a great many rock and blues fans around the globe, I was really sorry to hear the news that Frank Beard, the ironically beardless drummer of the legendarily bearded ZZ Top, had died at the age of 77.

The band is in the midst of a tour, plans to continue, but will do so with only one original member, vocalist and axeman Billy Gibbons, following the 2021 death of bassist Dusty Hill.

I was admittedly late to the ZZ Top part in my music listening journey, but over the last few years they’ve become one of my go-to bands.

Just good old-fashioned blues-rock tunes about cheap sunglasses, women with legs who know how to use them, and men who are sharply dressed.

So, let’s pay homage to Mr. Beard and run through a few songs we should all be blasting this weekend in his honor.

"Waitin’ For The Bus"

It’s kind of wild that a song about waiting for a bus has one of the most infectious grooves in the band’s body of work, but it does.

"Waitin’ for the Bus" kicks off ZZ Top’s 1973 album "Tres Hombres," and it lets you know that you’re in for some serious, down-and-dirty blues rock.

The main riff is one of my favorites and is just one of those that makes you involuntarily nod your head with a "stinkface."

You know the look.

Beard’s playing is stellar, especially during the harmonica and guitar solos, and then they segue seamlessly into a straight-ahead blues tune in "Jesus Just Left Chicago."

Now that’s how you start a record.

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"Gimme All Your Lovin’"

One of the last things you’d think you’d ever hear out of a blues band from Texas is them throwing some synthesizers into the mix, but ZZ Top did it, and it’s brilliant.

"Eliminator" is an all-time album from top to bottom, and is really the sound I think of when I think of ZZ Top.

"Gimme All Your Lovin’" is a classic in its own right, and I love the opening drum part from Beard that gets the song going.

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In fact, I think almost everyone can tell what song is about to start with those first two snare hits.

That’s practically the definition of an iconic song in my book.

And the chorus? Good luck not singing along to it.

"TV Dinners"

This list may make it obvious, but I’d say my two favorite ZZ Top albums are "Tres Hombres" and "Eliminator."

Kind of strange because the first is a classic, down-and-dirty blues-rock record, while the other has deliciously ‘80s synthesizers thrown into the mix on top of it.

That doesn’t seem like it should work, but it obviously does.

I love that they didn’t go overboard with synths and drum machines; they used them to accent what they were already doing. "TV Dinners" is a prime example of it.

The rhythmic synth part just adds to what Beard is playing and completes a song with an undeniable groove to it.

There aren't many records that have tried to mesh a traditional style of music like blues with what was cutting-edge technology at the time.

Believe me, I've looked for them, and I think the closest modern album to those ZZ Top gems from the 1980s is Sturgill Simpson's 2019 album "Sound & Fury."

"Manic Mechanic"

I had never heard of this gem off of "Deguelo" until I was watching the documentary "ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band from Texas," and it blew my mind.

It has this big, ugly riff — a description I offer in the most complimentary way imaginable — that makes little to no musical sense, and I'm pretty sure that's because it’s supposed to sound like an engine.

You’d think it would be almost impossible to come up with a drum part to go with that bizarre riff, but Frank Beard pulled it off.

He somehow managed to play a part that adds to the machine-like sound of the riff, but is still musical with a cool backbeat to it.

It’s so, so good, and while that opening riff is the one that stands out because it is so unusual, the one that comes later in the song (it kind of reminds me of the closing riff from the Black Sabbath song "War Pigs") is a winner as well.

"Precious & Grace"

I was introduced to this tune after hearing one of my favorite bands, Clutch, do a cover of it.

So, I went back to "Tres Hombres" and checked it out.

It’s another song that starts with a cool little fill from Frank and another that has a bit of an off-kilter feel to it.

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As we touched on with "Manic Mechanic," Beard’s playing feels so thoughtful and serves the song so well.

The best part, in my opinion, is when they veer away from the money riff and into a quick, flowing, almost epic-sounding bridge section where the drums really shine.

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What a tune.

Start your engines: Here is your crash course on the IndyCar Freedom 250 Grand Prix weekend

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 07:38:08 -0400

The NTT IndyCar Series is about to hold one of its biggest, most ambitious spectacles ever with the Freedom 250 Grand Prix.

If you're an IndyCar fan, then you know how we got to the point where Pennsylvania Avenue has a pit lane and start-finish straight with a picturesque view of the U.S. Capitol.

But if you're not, here's a quick rundown.

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It started with an executive order

Back in January, President Trump signed an executive order that directed multiple federal agencies to work with the Washington, D.C., mayor's office to put together a circuit for an IndyCar race.

This idea was to make it part of the America 250 celebrations, although oddly enough, the 250-mile race distance wasn't part of the event until just a few weeks before.

Also, when the executive order was signed and the event announcement was made, the IndyCar schedule had been out for quite some time and was only about a month from starting.

Of course, for a once-in-a-lifetime event like this, you make it work.

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Where is the track and how is it?

The circuit for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix uses streets around the National Mall and in front of the Capitol building, as well as a section of Pennsylvania Avenue.

That portion of Pennsylvania Avenue is also where the pit lane is located.

The layout is fairly simple with just seven corners, but don't equate "simple" with easy.

It's mostly 90-degree or almost-90-degree corners, but take a look at Turn 6. It doesn't really come through on that map, but it's a chicane and a pretty narrow one at that.

Take a look at an onboard from a Corvette hot lap.

The track also has what looks to be a tricky pit lane entrance that sneaks up on drivers immediately after Turn 1.

Where is the paddock?

One of the things about an IndyCar race, or really any motorsport event, is that you need a lot of space for teams to park their haulers and prepare their cars.

So... where do you do that in the middle of Washington, DC?

The answer is pretty simple: teams are stationed along Constitution Ave. NW and 7th Street.

That means they can give their cars a quick tow and be on pit lane for all on-track sessions.

Is it only IndyCar racing?

While IndyCar's direct feeder series, Indy NXT, did not make the trip to the Nation's Capital, we will get two International Race of Champions, or IROC, races on Saturday.

The series ran from 1973 to 2006, and is now being revived for select events.

It pits drivers from different disciplines, all competing in the same machinery, which, in this case, are Pontiac Firebirds used in the original series from 1996 to 2006.

The field will include NASCAR greats Jeff Gordon, Bill Elliott, Bobby Labonte, Rusty Wallace and Kurt Busch, as well as IndyCar legends Tony Kanaan, Helio Castroneves and Dario Franchitti.

How do you get tickets?

While some premium tickets (and I mean premium) are still available, general tickets were free and were gone in minutes.

Race organizers are anticipating as many as 140,000 people on each day of the two-day event.

Where can I watch?

Saturday's IndyCar practice and qualifying sessions will be on FS1 and FS2, as will Sunday morning's warm-up session.

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Pre-race coverage begins at 11:30 a.m. ET on FOX, with the race slated to begin at 1 p.m. ET.

Woman claims NY Liberty tried to change her 'XX-XY' paid scoreboard message for halftime of Fever game

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 07:26:02 -0400

EXCLUSIVE: The New York Liberty refunded a lesbian hip-hop artist after the team attempted to change her paid scoreboard message thanking Jennifer Sey and XX-XY Athletics.

Julie Potter claims she purchased 25 tickets for a group attending the Liberty vs Fever game at Barclays Center to support Sophie Cunningham, saying the tickets cost more than $2,000.

Potter also paid $100 to display a message on the arena scoreboard during halftime. A receipt shows the payment was processed Aug. 17 for the Liberty’s Aug. 22 game against Indiana.

Potter says she submitted the message: "Thank you Jennifer Sey! XX-XY Athletics will Save the Day!!"

Potter added that the Liberty initially approved the message and accepted her payment. But the team’s sales department contacted her Friday, one day before the game, and said it had changed the wording.

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"Your scoreboard message for 8/[22] has been modified to: ‘Thank you Jennifer Sey, thank you for all you do for XX-XY Athletics,’" an email to Potter from the Liberty's sales team said. "This will run during halftime."

Potter’s receipt identifies the game of her purchased "scoreboard message" as "August 22 vs. Indiana." The receipt shows the Liberty charged Potter $100 on Aug. 17 and refunded the payment on Aug. 21. But the Liberty email to Potter referred to Aug. 29.

The Liberty have not responded to a request for clarification on the date of Potter's scoreboard message, but Potter said she believes it was a typo by the Liberty employee.

Potter also explained why she objected to the changing of her message and asked the Liberty either to display her original message or return her money, in email exchanges reviewed by Fox News Digital. The team refunded her, and then gave a brief explanation for the attempted change of her message.

"Our scoreboard messages are limited to positive, celebratory content, and submissions that may intentionally or unintentionally violate that spirit are not eligible for display," the Liberty sales team wrote in one email.

Potter accused the team of "censorship."

"Unfortunately, this is censorship. My message was approved and payment was accepted. You then changed it without giving me any opportunity to revise or respond, and you did so inside your own 48-hour window," Potter wrote.

"Why would I pay to let you speak for me?"

The Liberty’s publicly available scoreboard-message form says requests must be submitted at least 48 hours before tipoff. It also says proceeds support the Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty Foundation. The form does not publicly list additional content restrictions.

Potter acknowledged that her original wording carried a broader message about protecting female sports. She said she intentionally avoided explicitly referencing Cunningham or the "Save Women’s Sports" movement.

"I wanna say I purposely didn't put Sophie's name in it, 'cause I thought that would trigger, trigger them," Potter told Fox News Digital.

XX-XY Athletics is an apparel company founded by Sey, a former national champion gymnast and former Levi Strauss & Co. brand president. The company advocates for keeping transgender athletes out of female sports categories.

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Potter said the Liberty never identified which words in her message violated the team’s standards.

"I don't know what that means. What did I do wrong? I want a code. I want a violation. I read everything. I read their website. I made sure to follow the rules," Potter said.

"I said nothing derogatory. I didn't even say, ‘Save women's sports.’ I just said, ‘Shout out to the CEO of a dope company who's changing the world from my perspective.’ That's obviously not their perspective, but is this America? Can we have different perspectives?"

Potter and her guests plan to attend a rally supporting Cunningham before Saturday’s game. Similar rallies have followed the Fever during recent road games after Cunningham publicly opposed transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.

The controversy has also produced counterprotests and confrontations involving fans wearing XX-XY Athletics clothing. The WNBA recently acknowledged that security personnel should not have asked a mother and daughter to cover their XX-XY shirts during a Fever game in Atlanta.

Potter said she still planned to attend Saturday’s game but would no longer purchase tickets from the Liberty. She said she would instead consider attending future Fever games.

The Liberty have not provided a response to Potter's statements.

Potter’s connection to the WNBA dates back to its beginning. She said she attended the first two league games played in Los Angeles as an 18-year-old California native.

The first was the inaugural WNBA game on June 21, 1997. The New York Liberty defeated the Los Angeles Sparks 67-57 before 14,284 fans at the Great Western Forum. Penny Toler scored the first basket in league history, while Lisa Leslie recorded 16 points and 14 rebounds for the Sparks.

Four days later, Potter watched the Sparks earn the first victory in franchise history. Los Angeles defeated the Charlotte Sting 74-54 at the Forum. Leslie led the Sparks with 19 points.

"I saw Lisa Leslie. I am a Californian, and I grew up on the Sparks," Potter told Fox News Digital.

Before the scoreboard controversy, she had considered purchasing more tickets if Indiana returned to New York for the playoffs.

She said she no longer plans to buy Liberty tickets, but emphasized that she does not dislike the team or its players.

"I love the Liberty, though. I got no hate. I think they're an incredible team. You know, shout out Stewie," Potter said.

Potter also remains willing to spend money on the WNBA. However, she said she will direct that support toward the Fever and organizations that welcome her position on women’s sports.

"I'd love to go to a Fever game. They gonna make the playoffs, you know? Yeah, I'm already planning on it. I know they've got some great games in September, so yeah, my money shall be directed to where it is welcomed. And if they have a scoreboard, and I can put it up, and Jen gets to roll, I will," Potter said.

Potter said her support follows Cunningham rather than any particular franchise. She credited the Fever guard with giving women like her a reason to attend games and publicly support the league.

"I'm a woman loyalist, okay? So I'm there for Sophie. Where Sophie's going, I'm going where the Fever's going," Potter said.

Despite her frustration with the Liberty, Potter said the attention surrounding Cunningham and the accompanying rallies can benefit the WNBA by bringing new customers into arenas.

"Of course it's good for the league. We're women supporting women playing a woman's sport. How is this not good? Every Fever game is selling out," Potter said.

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Potter said she would consider giving the Liberty another opportunity if the team respected her original message. For now, however, she plans to support Cunningham, the Fever and other women’s sports organizations that she believes share her principles.

Potter’s experience adds to growing censorship concerns surrounding the WNBA and fans who support Cunningham’s position on women’s sports.

Alliance Defending Freedom sent a letter to WNBA leadership Friday addressing recent incidents involving Cunningham supporters in Seattle and Atlanta.

"The WNBA claims to stand for female athletes, but we've seen recent current events undermine that claim. We have seen just in the past few weeks that there have been two separate incidents where fans have been silenced or berated when they tried to peacefully express their viewpoint," ADF legal counsel Suzanne Beecher told Fox News Digital.

The letter cited the teenage girls who were confronted by Seattle Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton while holding signs supporting Cunningham, along with the mother and daughter who were instructed to cover their XX-XY Athletics shirts in Atlanta. The WNBA suspended Keaton from five Storm home games and later said the Atlanta incident "should not have happened."

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also recently told Fox News Digital that he admired Cunningham for speaking publicly despite the criticism she faced. Paxton said the WNBA should protect the ability of fans to peacefully express differing opinions.

Paxton expressed a willingness to engage with the league and continue supporting its games. However, he said he would not retreat from his principles regarding women’s sports or the treatment of Cunningham’s supporters. Potter’s rejected scoreboard message now gives critics another incident to cite as they question whether the league treats opposing viewpoints equally.