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Socialism moves into the mainstream — the warning signs are all here

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 09:00:37 -0400

For the 333 million Americans who don’t live in New York City, there are plenty of reasons not to care what goes on there. It doesn’t affect our day-to-day lives. New Yorkers democratically elected their socialist leader. It’s their bed, let them lie in it. Or as the mainstream media likes to put it, it’s probably just hyped-up right-wing hysteria.

And of course, that’s exactly how the communists in our country want us to think.

But right now may be the most important moment to push back. It’s incumbent on all of us to resist the normalization of socialism in America. Speak up now, so that what’s radical in New York today doesn’t become the norm in your neighborhood tomorrow.

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And to be clear, there are plenty of radical things going on in New York right now. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has published a searchable database listing more than 960,000 properties worth over $1 million, with the owners’ full names and home addresses attached.

He then went on X to gloat that anyone with a second home in the city worth more than $5 million should check the mailbox, because notification letters for his new pied-à-terre tax had already gone out. "You’ve got mail," he wrote.

It was clear that the mayor of America’s largest city had one goal: intimidation.

Even worse, the co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America has said as much. The goal, in Ashik Siddique’s words, is "to replace capitalism with socialism." That kind of power, he says, "is not conceded without struggle."

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That’s why Mamdani was proud to film his "Happy Tax Day" video doxxing Ken Griffin’s Manhattan penthouse. Again, the natural response might be to move on quickly. Mamdani’s video is just one billionaire’s problem, right? Wrong.

Mamdani is drawing up the blueprint for socialist tactics and the weaponization of government around the country. He’s testing what the American people will tolerate. So long as the rest of us shrug our shoulders and move on, he’s one step closer to something far more aggressive.

That’s why everyday Americans must push back in one of the most powerful but overlooked ways: by talking about it. The best way to resist the normalization of socialism is to expose it and treat it as the serious threat it is. Americans have short attention spans, and every story, no matter how outrageous, competes for clicks in our attention economy. That is exactly the kind of environment that allows socialism to spread.

If one thing is clear, socialism rarely stays put. The leaders of the DSA make it their mission to push socialism all across the country. For Mamdani and his ilk, this is a marathon, not a sprint. Contrary to what the media might lead you to believe, they have no intention of running NYC into the ground and packing up to go home. They’re here to stay, and they aren’t sitting on the sidelines.

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One of the greatest lies propagated in the media is that the Democratic Socialists are just a far-left wing of the Democrat Party. They want us to believe that communists are only on the fringe of Democrat Party politics. That might have been the case when avowed socialist Bernie Sanders was pushed out of the way for Hillary Clinton 10 years ago. But times are different now.

The socialists are now the heart of the Democrat Party, with a co-chair who muses openly about abolishing the Senate and the Electoral College and insists none of it is extreme. They might have played the supporting role in years prior, but now they’re monopolizing all the main character energy that the left has to offer.

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Thankfully, those of us who love our country still have an important role to play too. Expose every socialist policy and every destructive DSA platform, and call the leaders who champion them what they are: communists. It is better to be accused of overreaction now than of complacency later.

Mom, 2 co-parents arrested in boy’s murder after grandparents hire PI to probe ‘house of horrors’

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 09:00:31 -0400

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A 7-year-old boy’s mother and two co-parents were charged with murder in Ohio after his grandparents hired a private investigator over concerns the child was being abused, according to reports.

Cincinnati police said Kaitlin Evans, 38, and her co-parents, Kirby Rankin, 33, and Nessa Keaney, 23, have all pleaded not guilty to murdering 7-year-old William Evans.

The Hamilton County jail and Municipal Court databases list Rankin’s sex as male, while Cincinnati police identify Rankin as female.

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911 and police-dispatch records trace the response from a Mercy Rookwood emergency room to a Cincinnati apartment, where officers ultimately found William bound in a closet and unresponsive.

The sequence began when a charge nurse called 911 to report that a barefoot woman had entered the emergency department, dropped to the floor and said someone was trying to kill her and had taken her son.

The nurse told the dispatcher the woman claimed her son was being held in the attic of a nearby apartment.

FOX19 NOW reported that the woman identified herself as William’s mother and named Rankin as the partner she accused of trying to kill her and taking the boy.

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Police were sent to the hospital and the apartment for a welfare check, according to radio traffic and computer-aided dispatch records. An officer reported that a juvenile boy was in a closet and "not moving."

A dispatch entry also stated that a child was "found tied up in closet." Dispatchers then asked fire personnel to expedite their response, records show.

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Cincinnati police said officers found William unresponsive inside the residence and that Cincinnati Fire Department personnel determined he was dead.

FOX19 NOW reported that Cincinnati homicide Detective Kyle Smith testified in court on Friday that William had been severely beaten over the previous two months, calling the case "probably one of the most disturbing cases of child abuse" he had encountered during decades in law enforcement.

Smith told the judge investigators believe William was held underwater for a prolonged period. He also said Rankin disclosed her involvement in what he described as a prolonged child-abuse incident and implicated Evans and Keaney as active participants.

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Rankin’s attorney sought a competency evaluation, citing what the attorney described as serious mental health issues.

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William’s grandparents, Mike Evans and Tina Evans, told WLWT they feared their grandson’s home had become a "house of horrors."

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The grandparents said William, who regularly spent Fridays and many Saturdays with them, told them about six weeks before his death that he did not want to return home.

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They said Kaitlin later restricted their contact with William. Mike and Tina said they saw him once during the final six weeks of his life and noticed a bruise on his shoulder. That visit, nearly four weeks before William’s death, was the last time they saw him.

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Mike and Tina said they met with an attorney alongside William’s other grandparents and hired a private investigator to monitor Kaitlin and William. Mike said relatives feared both William and Kaitlin were being abused.

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He said he rented a car Thursday intending to watch the home but arrived to find police vehicles outside. A detective then told Mike that William had died and Kaitlin was being questioned downtown.

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The Cincinnati Police Department’s Homicide Unit is investigating.

Former Syrian President Assad sentenced to death in absentia

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 08:58:32 -0400

A Syrian court sentenced ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad along with his younger brother to death in absentia on Tuesday for crimes against humanity and war crimes during Syria’s 14-year conflict that left about half a million people dead.

The sentences at the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus are the first against Assad or members of his inner circle since the Assad family's five decades in power came to an end 20 months ago.

"Bashar Assad used state agencies to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity," said Judge Fakhareddine al-Aryan during a court session that was aired live on state TV.

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Also sentenced to death in the same case was Assad’s maternal cousin Atef Najib, who was convicted of overseeing a crackdown in the southern province of Daraa that led to the uprising and later the civil war.

Amid tight security, Najib stood inside a cage wearing a prisoner’s uniform as the judge read the sentence. A crowd of people gathered outside the courthouse in central Damascus to hear the verdict.

Assad and his brother Maher fled to Russia after the government's fall in December 2024 and received political asylum. Syria's new rulers have asked Russia to hand the Assads over.

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Najib, who was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury in April 2011, was later detained and is one of the highest-ranking officials to be put on trial.

Najib is a former Syrian army brigadier general who was head of the Political Security Branch in southern Syria’s Daraa province under Assad in 2011.

During his tenure, more than a dozen teenagers who scrawled anti-government graffiti on a school wall in Daraa were arrested and tortured. The case became a catalyst for mass protests against the repressive policies of Assad’s security forces.

The protests were met by a brutal government crackdown and spiraled into a 14-year civil war that ended with Assad’s ouster in a lightning rebel offensive.

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Maher Assad was a former commander of the Syrian military’s 4th Armored Division — which Syrian opposition activists have accused of killings, torture, extortion and drug trafficking, in addition to running its own detention centers.

High school football player practices with venomous snake hiding inside helmet before coach's discovery

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 08:47:58 -0400

Thousands of high school football players across the country are taking the practice field, preparing to kick off the 2026 season in the coming weeks, but one young man in Arkansas recently had a practice experience unlike any other.

With the Maumelle High School football team split into position groups during practice, a player noticed there was movement inside his helmet. Obviously, nothing is supposed to be moving inside a football helmet, but when he handed the helmet over to a defensive coach, nobody could have predicted what was hidden inside.

According to NBC KARK, there was a two-foot-long snake hiding underneath the helmet's padding. While there are plenty of high school football coaches who would have immediately tossed the helmet into the woods or taken care of the snake themselves, athletic director Kirk Horton called on Animal Services.

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Officers for Animal Services received a report that the snake was a copperhead, which is venomous, but when they arrived to see it for themselves, it was identified as a cottonmouth, which is also venomous.

"It really was just shock and disbelief," Horton told the outlet. "I’ve got a better shot at winning the lottery than seeing this in my ten years."

Oh, and it's worth mentioning that the player didn't feel the movement inside of his helmet until an hour into practice. The snake did a great job hiding, as it wasn't one of those situations where it was discovered while the team was stretching before getting practice underway.

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"I’ve removed a snake out of a car vent, in the engine, purses, backpacks," Animal Services Director Chris Davis told KATV. "In a helmet? Never." He also noted that the cottonmouth is the second most venomous snake found in Arkansas, only behind the rattlesnake.

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Practicing football with a two-foot-long, deadly snake inside your helmet is the stuff of nightmares. Thankfully, the young man avoided an accident, but he also picked up a story he can tell for the rest of his life.

Animal Services relocated the snake, by the way, so for the folks concerned about the deadly animal, everything is okay.

Cleveland Clinic launches prescription drone delivery

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 08:41:13 -0400

A trip to the pharmacy can feel like a routine errand on a normal day. When you feel sick or care for someone else, that same trip can become a serious burden. Now, some Cleveland Clinic patients can skip the drive and have eligible prescriptions lowered into their yards by drone.

Cleveland Clinic just announced the launch of its prescription drone delivery program with Zipline. The first successful deliveries took place in and around Beachwood, Ohio.

Cleveland Clinic describes the launch as the first long-term deployment of a prescription drug drone delivery program by a U.S. health system. While other hospitals have tested medical drone services, this program is designed for ongoing delivery to patients' homes.

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Cleveland Clinic drone delivery starts in and around Beachwood

The service currently covers eligible addresses within five miles of Cleveland Clinic's Beachwood Administrative Campus. That location serves as the home base for Zipline's electric drones. Initially, Cleveland Clinic is offering the service to certain patients who already use its pharmacy home delivery program. The pharmacy team will notify eligible patients through their electronic patient portal.

Patients do not have to use a drone. The delivery option is voluntary, and Cleveland Clinic says it will not charge an additional fee. According to Zipline, the program initially covers shelf-stable prescriptions. Controlled substances will not travel by drone at this time.

How prescriptions arrive by Zipline drone

The process begins inside a Cleveland Clinic pharmacy. A pharmacy technician places the packaged medication into a secure Zipline drop box. Next, an autonomous drone retrieves the order and flies to the patient's address. When the aircraft reaches its destination, it remains as high as 300 feet above the ground. A small delivery pod then descends on a tether. The pod places the prescription at the selected delivery location before rising back to the drone. The aircraft returns to its charging station after completing the delivery.

Since the drone stays in the air, it does not need to land in your yard. You also do not need to clear space for a landing pad. Once a pharmacy order enters the Zipline drop box, it can reach the patient's home within minutes. According to Zipline, its average flight time is under five minutes.

Patients can follow the delivery through a tracking link in the MyChart messaging portal. Because delivery information arrives through a health portal, be careful with unexpected texts or emails claiming to contain a tracking update. Open the official MyChart app or type the portal address into your browser instead of tapping an unplanned link. CyberGuy's guide to using health apps and patient portals safely explains why going directly to the official app can help you avoid phishing attempts.

Who can use Cleveland Clinic prescription delivery

For now, eligibility remains narrow. You must live within the initial delivery zone near Beachwood. You must also participate in Cleveland Clinic's pharmacy home delivery program. Cleveland Clinic patients who are interested in participating should ask their doctor if they are eligible. The Beachwood launch gives the Cleveland Clinic and Zipline a chance to incorporate the experience during regular pharmacy operations.

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Patients can choose where the package lands

Eligible patients can select a delivery location on their property. According to Zipline, that location will typically be in the front yard or backyard. Patients can also schedule delivery for a time when they expect to be home. After the pod places the package on the ground, the patient can collect it without touching the drone or the delivery pod. That setup may help keep a prescription from sitting outside longer than necessary. It also gives patients more control over where the package appears on their property.

How Zipline handles privacy and flight monitoring

Zipline says it does not know what is inside a Cleveland Clinic order. The company receives only the information it needs to complete the delivery and follow healthcare requirements, including package handling or temperature instructions. The drones do not send a live video or image feed to Zipline employees. Instead, trained specialists monitor flights at the fleet level through operational dashboards. Each drone and delivery pod flies autonomously using onboard sensors. Those sensors help the system navigate the airspace and avoid obstacles near the delivery area. Cleveland Clinic and Zipline say they worked together to meet the regulatory and technical requirements for the program.

Zipline has delivered medical products since 2016

While a prescription hovering over an Ohio neighborhood may seem unusual, Zipline has spent years building autonomous medical delivery networks. The company began delivering blood and other medical products in 2016. Today, Zipline says it serves more than 5,000 hospitals and health facilities around the world. It has delivered tens of millions of medical products through its network.

CyberGuy first examined how Zipline planned to deliver medicine and food when the company revealed its Platform 2 system in 2023. That design introduced the tethered pod that can place a package in a precise location while the main aircraft stays overhead. Since then, Zipline has moved further into everyday U.S. delivery. To date, the company reported more than 2.7 million commercial deliveries. Roughly 70% of its flights now take place in the United States. Outside healthcare, Zipline carries restaurant orders and retail products. In parts of Texas, customers can receive drone deliveries from national brands and local businesses.

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Drone delivery can continue through difficult weather

Cleveland Clinic's program arrives as drone delivery becomes more visible in the U.S. CyberGuy recently covered a drone food delivery pilot in New Jersey. That service also uses a tether to lower orders while the aircraft remains in the air. Food delivery gives companies a way to test flight paths and neighborhood acceptance. Delivering medicine raises the stakes because patients may rely on the package for their care.

According to Zipline, its drones can operate in rain, wind, storms and cold conditions that may slow road traffic. However, weather or another issue could still make a drone flight unavailable. In that situation, Cleveland Clinic would use another delivery option. Zipline says the prescription would typically travel by ground courier instead. According to Cleveland Clinic, each Zipline drone performs more than 500 safety checks per second while flying.

Cleveland Clinic plans to expand medical drone delivery

Prescription medication is the starting point. Over time, Cleveland Clinic plans to add other medications and lab samples. The program may also transport medically tailored meals and medical supplies.

Zipline has already announced its next expansion will be to Austin, Texas. Zipline's president of U.S. healthcare, Hillary Brendzel, described the immediate benefit in simple terms: "That's one less errand to run, and more time back in people's days." That may sound modest compared with the technology involved. However, saving one pharmacy trip can matter when someone feels ill or cannot easily drive. In fact, in Texas, according to Zipline, its most frequent customers are older adults and busy parents.

Kurt's key takeaways

What caught my attention here is how ordinary the problem is. People need medicine, but getting to a pharmacy can be difficult when they are already dealing with an illness or mobility problem. Cleveland Clinic and Zipline are using drone technology to remove that errand for some patients. The drone stays above the property while a tethered pod handles the final delivery. Patients can track the order through MyChart without paying an extra fee. The average flight takes under five minutes, according to Zipline. Patients can choose where the package arrives and schedule the delivery for a time when they will be home. If the drone cannot fly, Cleveland Clinic can use a ground courier instead. Zipline also says it does not know what medication is inside the package, and its drones do not provide employees with a live video feed. Those details may reassure patients who have questions about privacy. Still, the launch remains limited to a small area near Beachwood. Only shelf-stable prescriptions qualify at first, and controlled substances are excluded. If this works reliably, prescription delivery could become one of the most meaningful uses for autonomous drones.

Would you trust a drone to deliver medication you depend on, or would you rather keep your prescriptions on the ground? Let us know by writing to us at CyberGuy.com.

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Wisconsin progressive Hong's supporters are confident she's the answer to affordability ahead of primary

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 08:25:11 -0400

MADISON, Wis. – Supporters of Democratic candidate for Wisconsin governor Francesca Hong expressed confidence ahead of Tuesday that the far-left progressive and member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) can win the Democratic gubernatorial primary on a platform centered on economic relief.

"She's speaking to working-class issues. Everybody's struggling right now. The price of gas is insane. Trying to pay for your groceries is insane, trying to pay your rent is insane," campaign canvasser Josiah Wampfler told Fox News Digital at Hong’s campaign headquarters in Madison. "We're all struggling, and she's presenting solutions to bring down prices and to have improved government programs."

The affordability crisis has plagued many Americans amid rising costs of groceries, housing and healthcare. The House passed legislation — showing a rare display of bipartisanship earlier this year with a 390-9 vote — to deliver policies aimed at growing the supply of affordable housing in the U.S.

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Hong enters primary night as a polling frontrunner in a Democratic showdown that was upended this summer after several high-profile contenders — including former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes and current Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez — exited the race, while Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley briefly suspended his campaign before re-entering.

A member of the DSA, the 37-year-old former chef and single mother has drawn backing from prominent national progressives, including Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif.

Hong’s platform includes state-guaranteed paid leave, raising Wisconsin’s minimum wage from $7.25 to $20 per hour, and placing a one-year moratorium on new AI data center construction. Her tax proposal would raise state income taxes by 1% on couples earning over $431,000 and individuals earning over $323,000.

Supporters and volunteers poured into the Madison headquarters on Election Day, preparing for final voter outreach pushes.

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"When I first started this campaign, I figured it was a long shot, but seeing her grow, it really feels like a people-powered movement," volunteer Peter German said following a canvassing briefing. "I think it's been clear where the momentum is heading for a little bit now."

Another supporter, Dana, wearing a "Hotties for Hong" campaign shirt, argued that Hong represents the disruption the state needs.

"I think what I've seen inside of Madison and throughout the state is that people are looking for change — dare I say radical change — because we have been subjected to a lot of very moderate views for a long time, and people are suffering," she said.

Despite her grassroots momentum, high-profile national figures like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and the national DSA organization declined to endorse her in the Wisconsin gubernatorial contest. Hong has also been forced to backtrack from previous far-left stances like wanting to cancel Thanksgiving, and abolishing the police, prisons and the U.S. Senate itself.

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Speaking to reporters in the campaign's HQ, Hong responded to the lack of endorsements.

"I have so much respect for the senator and the congresswoman, and they are working tirelessly to make sure that we can that we can flip Congress and the Senate," she said to a crowd of reporters and her supporters standing behind her.

Hong's supporters, however, dismissed the lack of national backing as standard procedure for state-level executive races.

"They haven't really endorsed in gubernatorial races. They're focused on the federal level," Dana added. "And I think it's actually really, really impressive that Fran has been able to do this without many national endorsements."

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Wampfler echoed that sentiment, pointing out that national progressive leaders have concentrated their primary endorsements on federal contests this cycle — such as Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders backing Dr. Abdul El-Sayed in his recent Michigan U.S. Senate primary victory.

"I know that they don't generally endorse gubernatorial campaigns," Wampfler said. "I think that it shows that Fran is building this out of Wisconsin."

WNBA silence on DiJonai Carrington's 'White privilege' post exposes Sandy Brondello double standard

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 08:10:06 -0400

Three weeks ago, the WNBA needed less than 24 hours to suspend Toronto Tempo head coach Sandy Brondello for making a comment that wasn't explicitly racial.

More than two days after Chicago Sky guard DiJonai Carrington explicitly invoked race by posting "WHITE PRIVILEGE @indianafever" on Threads moments after being ejected from a game against the Fever, the league apparently had nothing to say.

Carrington then suited up and played for the Sky against the Seattle Storm on Monday night.

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Seems like a pretty clear double standard.

Let's start with Brondello.

During a July 17 game against the Atlanta Dream, Brondello became upset after officials called a foul on Nyara Sabally while she battled Angel Reese for a rebound. Sabally went down in pain, and Brondello complained that Reese was a "protected species."

Brondello is Australian, where "protected species" is a common sports expression used to describe an athlete perceived to receive favorable treatment from officials. The context made her meaning pretty clear, too. She was complaining about a foul call.

Still, because Reese is Black, the comment was quickly given a racial interpretation. Reese also leaned into the racial narrative by posting "ARE WE SURPRISED" shortly after the game.

Brondello apologized the following morning, saying her frustration was with the officiating and acknowledging that her words had an impact beyond what she intended, "particularly for Black women in our league."

Apparently, that wasn't enough.

On July 18, less than a day after Brondello made the comment, the WNBA suspended her without pay for one game. The league called it an "inappropriate comment" and said coaches and team personnel are expected to uphold the "highest standards of professionalism and respect."

Reese later thanked the WNBA for taking action and said there is "no place for discrimination or hate" in the league.

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Keep that standard in mind.

DiJonai Carrington explicitly invoked race after WNBA ejection

On Saturday afternoon, Carrington struck Fever guard Sophie Cunningham across the head while Cunningham attempted a layup. Officials reviewed the play, upgraded the foul to a Flagrant 2 and ejected Carrington late in the first quarter.

Minutes later, while the game was still being played, a post appeared on Carrington's Threads account.

"WHITE PRIVILEGE @indianafever."

Not "protected species," which is an Australian sports phrase that someone else interpreted through a racial lens.

"WHITE PRIVILEGE."

Carrington made an explicitly race-based comment and tagged another WNBA franchise almost immediately after being ejected from a WNBA game.

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OutKick and Fox News Digital contacted the league shortly after Carrington's post Saturday and asked whether the WNBA viewed it as an allegation that race or racial bias played a role in her ejection, whether the league had spoken with Carrington and whether it was reviewing the matter for potential discipline.

No response.

OutKick followed up with the WNBA again Monday morning and Monday night, giving the league another opportunity to explain its position before publication.

Again, no response.

The Chicago Sun-Times also reported Monday that the WNBA didn't respond to its request for comment.

Meanwhile, Carrington wasn't backing away from her use of the phrase.

Responding Monday to Emmanuel Acho, who criticized the idea that her ejection represented white privilege, Carrington insisted people were misunderstanding her.

"I've never once claimed that the assessment of the foul was white privilege (that was your assumption)," Carrington wrote.

OK.

Then what was?

Carrington didn't say.

Instead, she defended her qualifications to discuss white privilege, saying she attended "one of the top universities" to educate herself on the subject and would never use the term as a "rhetorical weapon" without "the proper evidence to substantiate it."

Evidence of what?

Carrington posted "WHITE PRIVILEGE," tagged the Fever and did so almost immediately after an ejection. She now says she wasn't referring to the assessment of the foul and insists she has evidence to substantiate whatever accusation she was making.

Yet neither Carrington nor the WNBA has explained what that accusation actually is.

The WNBA needs to explain its standard

Maybe the league believes the situations involving Brondello and Carrington are completely different.

It’s hard to identify a material distinction that explains the dramatically different responses, and the WNBA hasn’t offered one. The league could argue that Brondello’s comment was made by a head coach during live game action, while Carrington’s came from her own social media account after she was ejected.

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Still, is the league OK with one of its players posting on social media about an incident moments after being ejected, while the game is still being played, especially when the post makes a race-based allegation whose target remains unclear?

Maybe the league is perfectly fine with it.

Then it should say that.

The league didn't offer Brondello days of silence while it figured out how to handle an ambiguous phrase. It acted the next day, even though Brondello publicly apologized and explained that her comment had nothing to do with race.

Carrington, meanwhile, used an unmistakably racial term, tagged an opposing franchise, later said she had evidence to support using that term and still hasn't explained exactly whom she was accusing of white privilege.

More than two days later, she took the floor for another WNBA game without the league publicly acknowledging the situation at all.

That's particularly notable given what WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert recently told Congress when lawmakers questioned whether the league fairly protects and disciplines all of its players.

"In all instances, the League seeks to apply the WNBA rulebook and applicable disciplinary processes consistently across all games and for all players," Engelbert wrote.

Well, this would be a good time to demonstrate that consistency.

This isn't an argument that Carrington automatically deserved the exact same one-game suspension Brondello received. Perhaps the WNBA reviewed the situation and concluded Carrington violated no league rule.

If so, say that.

But the league can't aggressively police one comment because of its perceived racial implications, then simply look the other way when a player explicitly invokes race during a game and pretend nobody is going to notice the difference.

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Brondello was suspended for words that weren't explicitly racial but were interpreted that way.

Carrington explicitly wrote "WHITE PRIVILEGE."

So far, only one of them has faced consequences from the WNBA.

And until the league explains why, its supposed commitment to consistent standards falls completely flat.

The only thing consistent about the WNBA is its uncanny ability to get in its own way.

Cruise fee doubles at vacation hot spot as passengers brace for even steeper hikes

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 08:00:43 -0400

Cruise passengers heading to Mexico are now paying a higher fee to visit some of the country's most popular destinations as the latest increase in a phased tax plan takes effect.

As of Aug. 1, the fee for foreign cruise passengers visiting Mexican ports increased from $5 to $10 per person, with additional increases scheduled over the next two years, according to Mexico's phased plan.

The charge applies to foreign cruise passengers visiting popular cruise destinations, including Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, Cozumel and Costa Maya. It can be collected by cruise lines or their shipping agents.

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Clint Henderson, a managing editor of the travel site The Points Guy and based in New York, told Fox News Digital the increase likely won't be enough to deter most travelers, but said it adds to the growing expenses consumers face when traveling.

"While it's not horrible and likely won't be a deal-breaker for most tourists, it's another example of prices going up for travel across the board, and it's frustrating as a consumer rights advocate," Henderson said.

"Consumers keep getting hit with more and more taxes and fees for everything related to travel," he added.

The $10 charge is only one step in Mexico's plan, with the fee scheduled to increase again over the next two years.

CRUISE LINE'S TOUGHER BOOKING RULES IGNITE BACKLASH OVER HIGHER DEPOSITS AND PAYMENTS

"The messed-up thing about this new fee is [that it's] just one of several increases to come over the next few years," Henderson said. "It will eventually go up to $21 over the next few years."

"We'll have to see if this ends up denting cruise demand for Mexico," he added.

Henderson noted that cruise passengers had previously been exempt from the immigration fee imposed on certain foreign travelers entering Mexico.

ANGRY CRUISE PASSENGERS BLAST MAJOR LINE OVER SURPRISE DAILY GRATUITY HIKE

"That's no longer the case," he said, "and it's going to raise costs for tourists."

The $10 charge, however, is still significantly lower than the fee Mexico originally planned to impose on cruise passengers.

Fox News Digital previously reported that Mexico's Congress approved an immigration levy of 860.56 pesos, roughly $42 at the time, on foreign cruise passengers in December 2024 — prompting pushback from the cruise industry.

The law took effect Jan. 1, 2025, but Mexico granted cruise passengers a 100% fiscal credit through the end of June, effectively postponing collection of the fee.

Following negotiations between the Mexican government and the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA), the two sides reached an agreement that set the initial fee at $5 per passenger beginning July 1, 2025.

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"On behalf of the FCCA and our member cruise lines — representing over 95% of cruise capacity in the Caribbean and Latin America — we thank the Federal Government of Mexico for working with us to reach an ‘in transit fee’ agreement," the FCCA told Fox News Digital at the time.

The association said the agreement was intended to protect cruise tourism while supporting Mexican communities that rely on visitors.

Under the phased plan, foreign cruise passengers paid $5 beginning in July 2025 before the fee doubled to $10 on Aug. 1 of this year.

The next increase is scheduled for July 1, 2027, when the charge will rise to $15 per passenger.

Then, beginning Aug. 1, 2028, travelers will pay $21 through Sept. 30, 2030, under the current plan.

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The impact of additional taxes and fees can become more noticeable when travelers are paying for an entire family, Henderson said.

"It's definitely making Mexico more expensive as all these taxes and fees start to add up," he said.

The increase arrives as travelers are seeing jumps in costs throughout the industry.

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"Unfortunately, cruising, like everything else, is getting more expensive," Henderson said in a previous interview.

He pointed to higher expenses for staffing, entertainment, food, beverages and fuel as some of the costs facing cruise operators.

"There's a lot of demand. There's a lot [of] people [who] want to cruise," Henderson said. "It's become very popular and things have gotten much more expensive."

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Still, Henderson said cruising can offer good value when travelers consider the transportation, accommodations and entertainment included in the price.

"Cruising is still a relative bargain," he said.

Fox News Digital’s Ashley DiMella contributed reporting.

Oklahoma victim fights back after teen charged in rapes walks free — as feds could storm in: attorney

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 08:00:35 -0400

An Oklahoma teenager accused of sexually assaulting and strangling two high school girls walked free without serving a day in prison, spurring public outrage as a victim’s family prepares to fight back.

"We’re moving on to the next phase, which is civil litigation," Rachel Bussett, an attorney representing the family of one girl in the case, told Fox News Digital.

Jesse Mack Butler was initially charged as an adult at 17 with counts including attempted first-degree rape, rape by instrumentation, sexual battery, forcible oral sodomy, and domestic assault and battery by strangulation. But he ultimately received youthful-offender status and pleaded no contest to all 11 counts in August 2025.

OKLAHOMA TEEN ACCUSED OF RAPING TWO GIRLS WALKS FREE; DA FURIOUSLY CALLS IN FEDS: ‘MADE MY BLOOD BOIL’

Instead of being sent to prison, he was placed under the supervision of the Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs and ordered to complete a rehabilitation plan. Once Butler reached age 19 at midnight on Aug. 4, the court's jurisdiction lapsed, and the case was dismissed by operation of law.

For the family she represents, Bussett said, the outcome was painful but hardly unexpected.

"They were sad and upset, obviously, because they didn't want the deal to go through this way, but they weren't surprised," Bussett said. "They knew that it was going to happen from the beginning."

The family may now have two possible paths forward.

80% OF CLAIMS IN AMERICA'S LARGEST SEXUAL ABUSE SETTLEMENT IN HISTORY COULD BE FRAUDULENT, LA DA SAYS

Bussett said the family is preparing for civil litigation while also hoping federal authorities take a fresh look at the case.

She said her understanding is that materials are being referred for review to determine whether content allegedly found on Butler’s phone could qualify as child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and whether it was distributed. Bussett said her client had seen material she believes was on the phone.

"We know that that's a long shot," Bussett said of possible federal action, "but we're holding confident in the process."

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of Justice for additional information on the case.

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Bussett also blasted her client’s treatment during the earlier prosecution, describing an encounter with the former elected district attorney that she characterized as a "mock cross-examination."

Bussett said the teen believed she was speaking with someone she could trust to protect her, only to feel "absolutely attacked."

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"Not only are they often not believed, but then they're attacked by those who are supposed to help them," Bussett said of sexual-assault victims coming forward.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the previous district attorney for comment.

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Beyond the family's troubling encounters with public officials, Butler's defense attorney, Derek Chance, drew further criticism at the hearing after suggesting Butler was innocent and had been victimized by the case, according to newly elected Payne and Logan County District Attorney Jeremiah Gregory.

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"Today’s hearing included disingenuous assertions from the defense regarding the defendant’s innocence, that he was the victim in this matter and that the victim’s assertions were false and had no bearing. The defense portrayed that somehow the perpetrator suffered more than these victims. What was said was insincere, untruthful and an affront to these victims and what they have endured," Gregory said in a statement.

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"Nothing has made my blood boil more."

WATCH: Police bodycam shows arrest of Oklahoma teen Jesse Butler

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Gregory said constitutional double jeopardy protections bar Oklahoma from prosecuting Butler a second time, and he has contacted the appropriate federal agency to request a prosecutorial review of the case.

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"I cannot undo what has already been done," Gregory said, "but I can — and will — continue to stand as a strong voice for all victims of violent crime."

Fox News Digital reached out to the Payne and Logan County District Attorney’s Office, the Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs and Butler's attorney for additional comment.

Pentagon makes dramatic missile shift as repeated conflicts drain US stockpiles and more top headlines

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 07:28:02 -0400

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

TOP 3

1. Pentagon makes shift as repeated conflicts drain US stockpiles

2. Fauci’s 'truly sick' private texts exposed

3. Mamdani’s luxury-home tax rollout gets derailed

MAJOR HEADLINES

LIMITS ARE OFF – Applause erupts as Democratic governor signs law allowing abortion up to birth. Continue reading …

TABLES TURNED – Trump answers Iran’s demand for war payments with a sweeping bill of his own. Continue reading …

DEFENSIVE STANCE – Controversial WNBA player pushes back on Sophie Cunningham's assertion on hard foul. Continue reading …

BACKFIRE POLITICS – Kamala Harris accidentally becomes the SAVE America Act's best saleswoman. Continue reading …

SWING FOR SHOW? – Tim Walz stuns the internet with his golf swing and questionable course attire. Continue reading …

POLITICS

TARMAC TRICK – Trump security team reportedly staged elaborate Air Force One fakeout. Continue reading …

DOSE OF CHANGE – Child vaccine schedule reduced as Trump moves to dramatically shift medical power to parents. Continue reading …

MIDWEST SHOWDOWN – Socialist winning streak puts prized Democratic battleground at risk. Continue reading …

'NOT FIT TO LEAD' – Conservatives shred AOC as she attempts to brush off radical 'Woke 1' wave amid 2028 speculation. Continue reading …

Click here for more cartoons…

MEDIA

‘HOW EMBARRASSING’ – 'Pod Save America' accused of temporarily deleting clip critical of Piker after ex-Biden staffer amplified it. Continue reading …

HOT AIR – AOC tries to laugh off 'crazy' woke era as thing of the past, but conservatives aren't amused. Continue reading …

UNWELCOMED THREAT – Democratic Michigan AG accuses her party of 'absolutely not' doing enough to counter antisemitism. Continue reading …

CITY LIMITS – Mamdani clashes with Democratic Socialists' push to abolish police and prisons. Continue reading …

OPINION

LIZ PEEK: A brave Democrat leaves his party as radical socialists take over. Continue reading …

SEAN DUFFY – Fraudsters on the run as highway deaths hit record lows after sweeping crackdown. Continue reading …

IN OTHER NEWS

CAUGHT AGAIN – Repeat offender illegal immigrant accused of plowing pickup into Nashville crowd – now ICE wants him. Continue reading …

TROUBLED WATERS – Unlicensed NYC boat operator allegedly ignored safety warnings before mother, baby died in capsizing: feds. Continue reading …

HILLSIDE HAVOC – Suspect arrested at Kim Kardashian's mansion after stolen vehicle, break-in reported in Hidden Hills. Continue reading …

AMERICAN CULTURE QUIZ – Test yourself on family fun and medical marvels? Take the quiz here …

LISTEN

Tune in to break down contests in Connecticut, Vermont, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Plus, South Carolina's special primary for the U.S. Senate. Check it out ...

PODCASTS

'Ruthless' dives into Democrats' woke agenda. Check it out ...

Kansas City Chiefs Brand Development Executive Gracie Hunt joins 'The Riley Gaines Show.' Catch the new episode at 10am ET ...

The parents of University of Idaho murder victim Kaylee Goncalves join ‘Hang Out with Hannity.' See the new episode at 10am ET ...

Matt Moneymaker joins Planet Tyrus. The new episode goes live at 11am ET ...

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What’s it looking like in your neighborhood? Continue reading…

Thank you for making us your first choice in the morning! We’ll see you in your inbox first thing Wednesday.

Repeat offender accused of college student’s murder was known ‘threat’ after prior arrest: victim’s mom

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 07:00:50 -0400

FIRST ON FOX: "This happening to her feels so unfair in so many ways," said the mother of slain University of Arizona student Julissa "Julie" Salazar.

Salazar, 19, was found strangled to death in her apartment near campus on Thursday.

Investigators say her alleged killer, Varun Batchigari, 20, from India, boarded a flight out of the U.S. and was captured by law enforcement in Berlin, Germany.

INDIAN NATIONAL ACCUSED OF ARIZONA GIRLFRIEND'S MURDER ENTERED US ON STUDENT VISA: FEDERAL SOURCES

Reports say his alleged motive may have been tied to a breakup with Salazar.

Her mother told Fox News Digital that Salazar had "broken up" with the suspect before she was found dead.

"She had already had that conversation with him" about ending the relationship, said Salazar's mother, who asked not to be identified.

Federal law enforcement sources confirmed to Fox News that Batchigari entered the U.S. on an F-1 student visa in January 2024.

In a statement sent to Fox News Digital, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said:

"Indian national Varun Batchigari is a foreign student who lawfully entered the United States and enrolled at the University of Arizona in January of 2024 under the Biden administration. As this is an ongoing criminal investigation, limited information is available at this time. Visas provided to foreign students to live, study, and work in the United States are a privilege, not a right. When you break our laws, that privilege should be revoked, and you should not be in this country. ICE, like all our federal and local law enforcement partners, is focused on public safety."

He was expelled from the University of Arizona following a "fight," KOLD reported.

The university confirmed to Fox News Digital that Batchigari was expelled on July 22.

"We can confirm that Julissa Rubi Salazar was a University of Arizona student and offer our deepest condolences to her family, friends and all who knew her as a member of our campus community," the university said in a statement. "We have been in contact with Julissa’s family and are providing support and resources to those who need them during this very difficult time."

US STATE DEPARTMENT HAS YANKED MORE THAN 175K VISAS UNDER TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SO FAR

"He no longer had any business here [in the U.S.] or around the student body, especially as a threat," Salazar's mother said.

Court records from Pima County, Arizona, indicate the University of Arizona Police Department charged Batchigari with assault on May 26.

Before his expulsion, he was a business analytics student who said, "I don't see work as my purpose. I see it as a tool, something that helps me build a life I actually want," according to a video he posted to his YouTube account.

In the video he posted in April, he said, "I want to travel, see different places, experience different cultures, and do that with someone I care about."

As Batchigari awaits extradition back to the U.S., the Salazar family is beginning to come to terms with their new normal.

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Salazar leaves behind her mother, father and two younger sisters. She was a "bright light," her mother said – in more ways than one.

Salazar was just 17 years old when she began her studies – with a scholarship – at UA.

"She was our first-generation child going off to college. So this was a huge deal for our entire family," her mother said.

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She went on to say, "Us sending her off to be able to live that dream that she wanted to live was such an amazing and proud moment for us."

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Before she was killed, she was an aspiring child psychologist working toward her degree at UA; her mother said she was about to begin her third year at the university.

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"She was a big advocate for survivors. She was a big advocate for new first-generation students. She was a big advocate for mental health."

Prior to her academic career at UA, Salazar graduated from high school in the top 5% of her class, her mother said.

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"She skipped seventh grade and moved on to eighth grade because of how smart she is," her mother said.

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"I know we will get justice for my baby girl," she said.

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Fox News Digital has reached out to authorities in Berlin, Germany, for comment.

Fox News Digital's Stepheny Price contributed to this report.

Cut off by your adult child? Psychology researcher reveals what parents should do next

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 07:00:28 -0400

Family estrangement has become increasingly common in the U.S. — but experts stress that reconciliation may still be possible after relatives have cut ties.

A 2025 YouGov poll found that 38% of U.S. adults were estranged from at least one close family member, including 16% who were estranged from a parent and 10% from a child. Among parents estranged from their children, 70% said they would consider reconciling.

Research also suggests that many parent-child estrangements eventually experience a period of renewed contact. In one nationally representative study published in the Journal of Marriage and Family, 81% of adult children who experienced estrangement from their mothers later became unestranged, as did 69% of those estranged from their fathers.

5 REASONS MORE AMERICANS ARE CUTTING OFF THEIR OWN PARENTS, ACCORDING TO PSYCHOLOGIST

While every relationship is different and there are no guarantees, Texas-based psychology researcher Dr. Richard Blake stated that the majority of estrangements do come to an end – but willingness to change and find common ground is key.

In many cases, parent-child estrangements are a cycle — "they'll re-engage, then they'll fall out again," Blake said. "One of the key things from the research is that adult children will reach out and if they see nothing has changed, they'll estrange again."

In an interview with Fox News Digital, the psychology researcher shared the following steps that may increase the likelihood of repairing a fractured relationship.

No. 1: Aim for stability first

Estrangement from an adult child can be seen as a form of "ambiguous loss" — a situation in which someone is gone, but there is still hope they could return, according to Blake.

He compared the situation to having a child missing in action: "You don't know if he's dead or alive and you kind of have to grieve, but you don't really know if you should be grieving, because there's hope."

SECOND LADY USHA VANCE GETS CANDID ABOUT NEW BABY, JUGGLING FOUR CHILDREN AND MOTHERHOOD

Research supports the significant emotional toll of estrangement. In a 2025 study of older parents, being cut off from an adult child was associated with poorer well-being and a reduced sense of purpose, as well as greater depressive symptoms.

Before attempting a reconciliation with an estranged parent or adult child, Blake said the first priority should be stabilizing oneself.

"What I tend to recommend first is to get that person stable, have healthy habits and build a community," he advised. "Good mental health practices are really important."

No. 2: Listen and validate

When communication with an estranged family member is possible, Blake recommends repeating back what the other person has said and acknowledging how they experienced the conflict before offering a different perspective.

"Listen to the other person and then actually repeat back what they said as you understood it, and validate that – like, ‘Oh, I can see why you felt like that. I see why you interpreted it in that way,’" Blake said.

It’s important to resist the impulse to immediately correct, contradict or defend, and to acknowledge the other person's experience without necessarily agreeing with every aspect of their account, according to the expert.

After listening, parents should be open-minded about making some changes as needed, Blake said.

"I really tell our parents … if you're 100% perfect, great … but most parents have done something wrong, something that they want to change. And if they want a relationship with their child, they are going to have to change some things."

No. 3: Pause before reacting to accusations or labels

Certain labels used during family disputes can make compromise more difficult, Blake noted, an issue he refers to as "moralized language."

"I talk about these therapy words that get thrown at parents … abuse, toxic boundaries, narcissists, gaslighting, all those things," he said. "In the research, when you use moralized language like that, compromise becomes far more difficult."

To parents on the receiving end of this type of terminology, Blake’s first recommendation is not to immediately react.

"I tell adult parents to pause before they really react, because it's understandably going to make them very angry."

Taking time before responding can help keep the conversation from escalating and allow both sides to focus on the underlying conflict rather than reacting in the moment.

No. 4: Focus on specific behaviors and events

After pausing, Blake recommends asking the other person to explain specifically what they mean, going beyond broad labels to the behaviors underlying the complaint.

"Okay, you've used the word toxic – can you describe the behavior or behaviors that you consider to be toxic?" he asked as an example.

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Blake distinguished between describing a person’s behavior and its impact on you, and assigning that person a sweeping label.

"If someone says, ‘When you criticize my weight, I left dinner feeling really, really upset,’ that's a fact. That's the person's interpretation," he said.

"But if you say, ‘You're toxic because you always criticize me,’ it’s very difficult to come back from that. So it sort of inflames the situation."

That approach shifts the conversation away from judgments about character and toward concrete actions and events that can actually be discussed.

No. 5: Use ‘I’ statements; avoid ‘always’ and ‘never’

When continued communication is appropriate, Blake suggested using language that focuses on a person’s own experience of a conflict rather than beginning with an accusation.

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"First, I would start by using ‘I’ statements, rather than ‘you,’" he advised. "It'd be like, ‘When you said this, I felt like this. When this happened, I did this.’"

This allows the person to discuss their own reaction to a specific interaction rather than beginning with an accusation.

Blake also recommends avoiding absolutes, such as "you always..." or "you never..." when trying to resolve a conflict.

In cases involving abuse, threats or other safety concerns, however, reconciliation or continued communication may not always be appropriate, he noted.

No guarantees

Although Blake maintains there is always hope for a reconciliation, he acknowledged that there is no single guaranteed formula for restoring a fractured relationship.

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While there are many people who are "selling" reconciliation services, Blake cautioned, "I don't think anyone can promise, ‘I can get your kids back.’"

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The goal is to create better conditions for reconciliation, not to promise that specific actions can achieve it, he noted.

Ultimately, Blake’s advice is for the person to focus on things within their control, such as embracing healthy habits, aiming for stability and building a community.

Cam Newton backs Aaron Rodgers, claiming NFL 'players, coaches and executives' used fake COVID vaccine cards

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 06:52:48 -0400

It escaped vast attention last week when Aaron Rodgers suggested during his appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show" that NFL people got past league COVID-19 protocols by obtaining "fake" vaccination cards. And now, former quarterback Cam Newton is joining that chorus.

Newton, appearing on his "4th & 1" podcast on Monday, addressed the 2021 NFL protocols that required all team employees – players, coaches, staff, everyone – to get Covid-19 shots so as to avoid stringent frequent testing in order to enter team facilities.

All coaches were forced to take the shots or not work. Players who did not have their shots indeed had to submit to daily testing and had to wear a mask within the team facility and practice distancing guidelines during meals, meetings and workouts.

AARON RODGERS EVISCERATES ANTHONY FAUCI AFTER PLEADING THE FIFTH AT SENATE HEARING: 'ABSOLUTE CRIMINAL'

"If we're being honest," Newton said on his podcast, "Going back to 2020, there were multiple players, coaches, and executives that fraudulently got their COVID shot. Yes, I said it."

That allegation supports what Rodgers said last week in the middle of what was mostly a viral criticism of Anthony Fauci's testimony in front of the United States Senate.

Fauci, one of the leading members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force in 2020 under President Donald Trump, was a strong proponent of the vaccines when they were rolled out during President Joe Biden's administration. He testified before the Senate and invoked the Fifth Amendment so as to not incriminate himself under questioning from Senators.

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Rodgers took Fauci to task for pleading the Fifth a total of 111 times but added this:

"A lot of people had probably fake vax cards back in the day," he said during the latter portion of his McAfee interview. "I remember seeing some of the vax cards. It was like written in crayon.

"I'm like, alright, so we're going to pass that off [as legitimate], but we [unvaccinated] are going to be second-rate citizens over here. I got to wear a yellow armband, train in the back, can't be around more than three people."

Rodgers called it a "crazy time" and it indeed was because wearing masks into restaurants but taking them off during the meal wasn't science derived from the virus being unable to affect people sitting down as opposed to standing up.

It was all performative.

"What a crock of (expletive)," Rodgers said, describing the madness.

Newton apparently agrees because he says people simply got around the NFL's protocols by buying their freedom.

"You're like, Cam, what do you know? It's like, man, I knew multiple people in that locker room didn't get the Covid shot," Newton said. "But they got a card that they paid for.

"Boy, nurses was making big bank. But that card and that little [stamp] .... Man, folks was trying to get in that club. 'Hey, man, you got your vaccination card? Yeah, yeah, I got it...' "

SWITZERLAND FIRES HOCKEY COACH WHO ADMITTED TO FAKING VACCINATION STATUS FOR 2022 BEIJING OLYMPICS

It should be noted that while Newton recalled Cardgate as starting in 2020, it actually began in 2021. And he had his issues with the vaccine during that time.

He was unvaccinated and when he traveled away from the New England Patriots for a medical appointment, he had trouble with the protocols.

The Patriots, for which Newton was the presumptive starting quarterback, said in a statement that Newton went to the appointment and was away for three days, testing negative each day for COVID-19.

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But due to a "misunderstanding about tests conducted away from NFL facilities" Newton became subjected to a five-day, re-entry cadence before he could return to the team facility.

Newton, who had become an inconsistent passer, lost practice time, then lost his starting job to rookie Mac Jones, and eventually lost his job on the team when he was released.

He later said he felt "bamboozled" by the entire issue.

But if Rodgers and Newton are right about fake vaccination cards being a thing around the NFL at the time, there was apparently much bamboozling being done by a number of people.

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GOP senators rally behind 9/11 families in push to ban Mamdani from anniversary ceremony: 'He's a disgrace'

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 06:00:43 -0400

Republican senators are rallying behind the petition from families of 9/11 victims to block New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani from attending the 25th anniversary remembrance ceremony of the attacks at Ground Zero.

Several families of 9/11 victims launched an online petition calling on the National September 11 Memorial & Museum to not include Mamdani in the commemorative events honoring those who lost their lives in the terror attacks 25 years ago.

Fox News Digital asked senators on Capitol Hill about the efforts to ban Mamdani from attending the memorial, and whether it would be appropriate for him to show up given claims that the democratic socialist has failed to adequately condemn Islamic extremism.

FIREFIGHTER BROTHER OF 9/11 VICTIM INCENSED BY 'RADICAL' MUSLIMS WINNING KEY DEM PRIMARIES

"It might be appropriate if he goes while wearing a paper bag over his head," Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told Fox News Digital.

"I mean I can't defend anything that guy says or does," Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said.

The petition cites eight specific concerns about Mamdani, including claims he has never directly condemned the phrase "globalize the intifada," allegedly associating with extremist and anti-American individuals and claims that his beliefs are shaped by his father, who called for destigmatizing suicide bombers and drew comparisons between the United States and al Qaeda.

"His opinions on America's place in the world are pretty different than probably most of those families feel," Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., told Fox News Digital.

MAMDANI'S POLITICS LINKED TO MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD IDEOLOGY AS NEW YORK VIOLENCE ESCALATES: REPORT

The families’ plea also points to claims of Mamdani praising and appointing people linked to radical Islam, his comments blaming the United States for the radicalization of al Qaeda propagandist Anwar al-Awlaki and his recent endorsement of democratic socialist Darializa Aria Chevalier.

"He's platformed Islamic extremism, and he openly supports Hamas, as does his wife," Sheehy claimed. "And Hamas is not just an adjacent organization to all the other Muslim extremists, they're one of the core members of it."

Mamdani has taken fire from many GOP lawmakers over his refusal to call for Hamas to lay down its weapons during an interview last year, as well as for other claims of ties to Islamic extremism and alleging the NYC leader of antisemitism.

"Given these concerns, we respectfully ask that the organizers carefully consider whether Mr. Mamdani’s participation would align with the intention of the ceremony and the expectations of the families most directly affected by the tragedy," the petition states.

NEW YORK GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE URGES 9/11 ATTENDEES TO TURN AWAY FROM MAMDANI DURING CEREMONY

"I think he has said some pretty disgusting things and seems to be on that trend line that he's going to talk like that more and more," Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., said. "And so I certainly can understand why some of the families feel that way."

As of Monday evening, the petition had more than 82,000 signatures in support of the efforts of the families to bar Mamdani from the event.

"As far as I'm concerned, he's a disgrace and an embarrassment to the country, but we'll see if he shows up, right?" Sheehy said.

After hearing of the petition, Mamdani shared that he still plans to attend this year’s 9/11 commemoration, according to CBS News.

Mamdani’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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"At the end of the day, those families should have the say who's going to show up and honor the memory of their own families," Sheehy said.

Inside the Senate's chaotic all-nighter that left Trump's SAVE America Act on the shelf

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 06:30:28 -0400

During the long night to send the Senate home, deals were brokered, major legislation was punted and promises were extended.

The SAVE America Act never made it off the shelf, despite promises up and down from its biggest proponents to thwart any attempt to leave Washington, D.C., without trying to pass it. And the vehicle to blast through Democratic objections and pass parts of the bill never left the garage, either.

But it all nearly fell apart before lawmakers ever got a chance to hit the Senate floor for an early morning round of votes. Here’s what happened in the dead of night, and how Republicans are readying for a busy stretch when the Senate returns in September.

NO OBJECTION

The sun was about to rise in Washington, D.C., as the Senate tidied up last-minute work, but no lawmaker ever made an objection to adjourning for the rest of August.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, empowered by President Donald Trump, vowed that he would object and force a floor vote to keep lawmakers in Washington to find a way to pass the SAVE America Act.

THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO WHAT THE SENATE DID AND DIDN’T DO OVERNIGHT

He even stood in the way, along with several other Republicans for differing reasons, of the deal concocted by Republican leaders to get major items, like averting a shutdown, agreed to and sent to Democrats for their approval in a bid to get a guaranteed floor vote.

But the promised objection never came. A roll call vote didn’t happen. And Lee and others settled for a voice vote, responding "no" to the Senate adjourning for recess. They weren’t successful.

SAVE AMERICA AND RECONCILIATION 3.0

Another issue that played out during the night was over the budget blueprint designed to sketch out how to pass pieces and parts of the SAVE America Act without fear of Democrats blocking the process.

It was destined for failure, and Trump pushed Republicans to pull the plug.

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., who is now at the helm of the Senate Budget Committee, plans to go back to the drawing board with his budget resolution and beef it up to include more funding for the Pentagon.

"We're, obviously, with the president at his direction. This is what he wants to do," Johnson said.

TRUMP PUMPS BRAKES ON SENATE BUDGET PLAN, DELAYING GOP SAVE AMERICA PUSH

But the slowdown serves as another blow to the SAVE America Act and vastly lowers the possibility that Republicans can get another budget resolution and forthcoming reconciliation package, passed before the lame-duck period after the midterm elections.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., acknowledged that "we’re going to need to do another reconciliation bill," but wouldn’t say just how soon the Senate could make it happen.

"We'll see," Thune said. "I mean, I think that Ron's gonna work on it over the break, and his team, and we'll see what they come up with."

THE NIL DEBACLE

A major reason that the night dragged on as long as it did was because of a massive college sports bill to redraw the boundaries of the big money tied to name, image and likeness (NIL).

The package, pushed by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, faced pushback from several Republicans over bringing it to the Senate floor. It prompted Trump to call on the Senate GOP to move the bill in a Truth Social post, but it wasn’t enough to kill the resistance.

TRUMP URGES CONGRESS TO PASS PROTECT COLLEGE SPORTS ACT BEFORE RECESS: 'WE HAVE TO GET THAT DONE'

A source familiar with negotiations told Fox News Digital that things had become bleak as the night went on.

"We are pretty much at a standstill and could be here through Monday or Tuesday," they said.

Ultimately, the bill was stripped from the larger floor deal and delayed until September after Cruz and Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., huddled with Thune in his office.

"We will get the bill to President Trump’s desk and deliver results for hundreds of thousands of student-athletes and bring stability to college athletics," Cruz said in a statement.

BLANCHE AND THE BATTLE AGAINST SLEEP

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s confirmation almost didn’t happen, not because of Republican defectors, but because of tired lawmakers.

When it finally came time to do back-to-back votes to officially lock him in as former Attorney General Pam Bondi’s replacement, it was just past 3 a.m. And senators were ready to go — Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., had his suitcase ready just outside of the Senate floor.

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But two key votes, Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., had missed the preceding votes. The late night had gotten to them, and Republicans needed them to confirm Blanche.

They were eventually roused and voted to confirm him, handing Trump one of the narrowest confirmation wins in history at 50-49.

Adam Vinatieri shamed into offering apology and explanation for Hall of Fame speech that was epic

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 06:25:19 -0400

The speech Adam Vinatieri delivered at the Pro Football Hall of Fame upon his induction was touching, insightful, emotional, and comedy-act funny. It was easily the most memorable speech at that venue in recent years so, of course, it turned off some critics.

It caused some people to want him to apologize because, they contend, it was not respectful enough or fitting of a Pro Football Hall of Fame ceremony. (If they only knew some of the stuff that happens in NFL locker rooms).

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Anyway, Vinatieri heard some of the disapproval the last few days.

"I wanted it to start sentimental," Vinatieri said during a guest segment on "The Dan Patrick Show" on Monday. "I wanted to make people laugh, and then I wanted to end it with a bang at the end.

"So hopefully I accomplished that. But if people got offended or thought it was inappropriate, I apologize to you guys."

There is no apology necessary. Because Vinatieri took what is typically a ceremonial assignment and made it entertaining. He turned yawns to guffaws. And tears.

Consider:

In addressing former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, for whom Vinatieri played six years, the former kicker said ....

"Your preparation, discipline, and attention to detail shaped far more than my football career. Unfortunately, Bill couldn’t make it here today. There is a LOT going on at UNC right now. He may be on a recruiting trip looking for the next Lawrence Taylor. I thought it was because training camp had already started.

"But in truth it's because he is judging his girlfriend's cheerleading competition!"

And with that the speech turned into something of a roast.

"I was lucky enough to play with the greatest quarterback in Patriots history," Vinatieri said, redirecting the bullseye. "Unfortunately he wasn’t able to make it today …. Drew Bledsoe."

Ziiiing!

"I had a few more Tom Brady jokes but I was afraid he would run up on stage and 'Will Smith' me like he did to Logan Paul," Vinatieri added.

The crowd roared.

Vinatieri played his final 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. So they didn't escape the jocularity, either. He addressed Peyton Manning as the camera cut to the former Colts quarterback.

"Thank you for generously donating your forehead for today’s teleprompter," Vinatieri said, repeating a joke about Manning's large forehead that was for years whispered in the Colts locker room.

"Hey, Pat McAfee is here today, great to see you brother!" Vinatieri continued as we watched McAfee acknowledge his time as the Indy punter and holder on extra points and field goals.

"The only person who enjoyed holding my balls more than my wife!" Vinatieri exclaimed before a pause.

"She held for me in the offseason when everyone else was gone," the kicker then added.

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The speech resembled a two-drink minimum Las Vegas act for a while, but it also had its stirring moments – like when Vinatieri addressed the game of football as if it was an old friend.

"I loved you with everything I had," Vinatieri told the game. "There was a time when I thought I wanted you more than air. But I was wrong. You were the air. You gave me purpose. You gave me direction. You gave me a life I could have never imagined.

"The beautiful thing about our relationship was that the more I gave to you, the more you gave back to me. The more I devoted myself to you, the more you rewarded me. The more I committed to you, the more you committed to me.

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"I tried to honor you every single day because I knew you deserved nothing less than my very best. I gave you 38 years of my life, and in return, you gave me a lifetime of memories. I gave you points, you gave me friendships. I gave you countless hours of work, you gave me the opportunity to travel the world, experience different cultures, and meet extraordinary people.

"Every sacrifice became an investment, and somehow, football, you always gave me back more than I put in. Looking back, I realize I was never just playing football. We were building a life together."

This speech doesn't need an apology to a thinned-skinned crowd of critics. It needs a replay in front of every future Hall of Fame speech writer, as a lesson on how it should be done.

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DiJonai Carrington dismisses Sophie Cunningham's notion that flagrant foul was 'intentional'

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 06:14:28 -0400

Chicago Sky guard DiJonai Carrington threw herself into the flames of controversy on Saturday when her flagrant foul left the Indiana Fever’s Sophie Cunningham bloodied, leading to an ejection and a subsequent social media post that read "WHITE PRIVILEGE."

Cunningham said after the game she believed the foul was "intentional," suggesting that the foul could have been a receipt from when she clobbered Connecticut Sun guard Jacy Sheldon during a regular-season game early last year. Carrington played for the Dallas Wings in 2025.

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On Monday night, Carrington seemingly dismissed the notion that the foul was intentional. The Sky lost to the Seattle Storm 97-88.

"It was unfortunate that I made contact with her in the way that I did, but it was never intentional," she told reporters after the game, via the Chicago Sun-Times. "And, look, it might happen again. That’s just how I play. I’m gonna always go all out. I’m not gonna just let an open layup happen. But like I said, I’m never intending to hurt anybody, regardless of the outside noise or whatever the situation may be."

Carrington said she wanted "consistency across the board" when asked whether Cunningham should have been ejected for the shove she gave her after the foul.

"Whether it’s the foul that I commit, whether it’s the reaction or retaliation, I would just love for it to be consistent across the board, regardless of the name on your jersey or your skin color or the score of the game, whatever.

‘‘I don’t think we’re there yet. That’s something that I’ve talked to the league about, as well. I think that will eliminate a lot of frustrations we all have."

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Carrington attempted to explain away the "White privilege" post she made after the Fever game, responding to criticism from sports media personality Emmanuel Acho.

Though she said there was evidence to back up her post, she failed to provide any.

"I’ve never once claimed that the assessment of the foul was white privilege (that was your assumption). Try exercising your critical thinking skills, I know you studied psych," she wrote in a post on X.

"Furthermore, I’m the LAST thing from ignorant or asinine when it comes to speaking on "white privilege", do ya research on that one. I actually went to school, one of the top universities might I add, to educate myself on this exact subject. I would never use that term as a rhetorical weapon knowing the historical and social weight it holds without having the proper evidence to substantiate it."

She said she raised concerns to the league.

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The WNBA has not responded to multiple requests for comment about the post.

Actress Swell Ariel Or takes advocacy for Israeli women further in new film ‘Tankistas’

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 06:00:55 -0400

Israeli actress Swell Ariel Or has long cared about championing Israeli women and Jews, but her new role playing an Israel Defense Forces unit captain during the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas attacks has her taking her advocacy to the next level.

Since the Tel Aviv-born star of Netflix’s Israeli television series "The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem" hit Hollywood’s radar in 2021, she’s been on a mission — and it doesn’t involve chasing award nominations or lucrative brand endorsements like many rising young actresses in Tinseltown.

Instead, Or told Fox News Digital, her mission focuses on authentic storytelling and meaningful narratives that accurately represent her people.

"I think that, of course, the Oscars matter and Hollywood, I mean, like, it's like the Olympics for films and TV, right? But I've seen what it does to the industry to be driven by getting an award or getting accepted to an elite circle of intellectuals and art people," she said. "I just feel as a storyteller that it hurts — that's not what we’re telling stories for."

IDF CLAIMS TO HAVE TAKEN OUT HAMAS COMMANDER WHO PARTICIPATED IN OCT 7

The 27-year-old actress recently went viral for echoing that sentiment on Instagram for ARISE for Israel, an alliance whose mission is to "reinforce Israel’s security and economy," while promoting her new film, "Tankistas." The plural form of "tankista," the title means "tank crew members" or "tankers" in several languages.

"I don’t care about the Oscars. I don’t care about Hollywood. I don’t care about doing the biggest, greatest career… I care about honest representation of who we are," Or said about her upcoming film, which wrapped production earlier this year and is being edited in both English and Hebrew versions and is set for release next year.

The war drama, directed by Ayelet Menahemi ("Seven Blessings") and inspired by true events, follows the IDF’s first all-female tank unit and its 17-hour defense during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. As the unit’s captain, Or’s character leads three armored vehicles and engages Hamas militants in battle.

Or served in the IDF in real life before moving to Hollywood to pursue an acting and modeling career. She, along with fellow cast members, spent a good deal of time with the real-life women of the combat unit on which the film is based.

She also spoke about why the movie stands out among other combat films and female-focused superhero movies.

"The world is obsessed right now with female heroes, but so often, I feel like it's from the wrong reasons, because it sells or whatever," she said. "This film is very unique because if it was an American film about an all-female team company in World War II or whatever, it checks all the boxes of everything the world wants to see. But this is a feminist film written by women, based on a true story that actually happened, but it's Israeli."

CHRISTIAN LEADERS HOLD EMERGENCY SUMMIT IN JERUSALEM TO CONFRONT GLOBAL RISE IN ANTISEMITISM

"It's not a typical war film, thank God, because unlike so many films that try to bring a female hero to the front, the characters here are based on real women," she continued. "They are diverse and human and complex, and it captures what the world so often fails to understand about Israeli women, especially about Israeli women in combat."

Or has made a habit of sharing her convictions while appearing prominently on podcasts and in viral clips of media commentary, where she’s addressed antisemitism and the importance of authentic representation for Jewish and Israeli women in entertainment.

She’s appeared on the "Stars of David with Elon Gold" podcast and "Reel Talk," and joined Tablet Magazine’s "Unorthodox Podcast" to discuss relocating to the U.S. shortly before Oct. 7 and what it’s like to be an Israeli artist abroad.

ARISE for Israel called her "one of the most powerful voices for Israelis and Jews in Hollywood."

Roz Rothstein, co-founder and CEO of the international, nonpartisan Israel education organization StandWithUs, called her an "important voice for a new generation at a time when too many Jews feel pressure to hide their identity, soften their connection to Israel, or remain silent in the face of antisemitism."

"Swell is standing tall and using her platform to tell the diverse stories of the Jewish people while encouraging others to do so," she added.

FREED HOSTAGE ROM BRASLAVSKI DETAILS ABUSE, STARVATION DURING 738 DAYS IN GAZA CAPTIVITY

"I feel like this community — it's so misunderstood," Or told Fox News Digital about portraying Israeli women in a combat role. "You don't have a lot of stories who portray so many layers at the same time of a woman who's a commander in combat — the values, who they are, their humanity, the profound gap between how the world sees them and what their motives are and what they carry with them."

Besides "Tankistas," the actress can be seen in a new season of her Netflix show, which she said focuses heavily on the year 1948 and the Israeli War of Independence.

"This is a year that is very much relevant for people to learn more about," Or said.

She also recently finished shooting her first short film, "The Divide," which she said is being developed into a feature.

Despite her representation of her homeland, Or said she’s no stranger to facing backlash or listening to those who raise concerns about the tragedy of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"Last week, I walked in LA and a person approached me, and she's like, ‘I watched ‘Beauty Queen.’ I have to tell you, I define myself as Palestinian, but I watched the whole thing because I wanted to see Jerusalem of that day because my family came from there too’," Or recalled.

Regarding Oct. 7, Or said she knew six people who were murdered at the Nova music festival that day.

"You can have debates from here ‘til Russia and back about what happened on October 7. But the festival, it's like something that you can't debate about," she said.

"Growing up in Israel, you are born at a crossroads of so many identities and histories of your own people, so you got to love storytelling because your family's going to tell you all of them, and for me, it's my passion, and it's like my purpose in life," Or continued.

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"It's been my goal even before October 7, but especially after, when I saw that it’s not just a passion of mine, but a necessity," she added. "That's the difference. Now it's a necessity."

Pentagon races to buy 10X more missiles as Iran war dwindles arsenal, threatens readiness for China aggression

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 06:00:48 -0400

The Pentagon is preparing a dramatic course correction after years of purchasing key missile-defense interceptors in relatively modest numbers — even as China built up the world's largest arsenal of conventional ballistic and cruise missiles and the U.S. increasingly focused on the threat of a conflict in the Indo-Pacific.

Following a string of missile-heavy conflicts, U.S. air defenses have been used repeatedly to protect Israel, American forces in the Middle East and Navy ships in the Red Sea, drawing down some of the Pentagon's most sophisticated and difficult-to-replace munitions.

The Pentagon's abrupt course correction raises a question that has taken on new urgency after years of missile-intensive warfare: Why did the U.S. wait so long to build deeper interceptor magazines?

US DRAINS CRITICAL MISSILE STOCKPILES IN IRAN WAR AS YEARSLONG REBUILD LOOMS

The Army's fiscal 2027 budget, reviewed by Fox News Digital, calls for a massive increase in purchases of Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (PAC-3 MSE) and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors, part of a broader effort to rapidly expand a munitions industrial base that cannot be scaled overnight.

The shift is particularly striking when compared with what the military was buying only a few years ago.

The budget documents show PAC-3 MSE procurement at 230 missiles in fiscal 2024 and 214 in fiscal 2025. The same FY2026 budget book shows the Army Requirements Oversight Council had increased its acquisition objective for the missile from 3,376 to 13,773 in April 2025 — more than quadrupling the requirement.

"The problem is 25 years of not buying enough munitions," retired Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital.

HEGSETH DISMISSES ‘FOOLISH’ US STOCKPILE CONCERNS AS IRAN CONFLICT TESTS MUNITIONS

PAC-3 MSE and THAAD are among the military's most important defenses against ballistic missile attacks. Patriot batteries provide shorter-range protection for troops, air bases and other critical assets, while THAAD is designed to intercept ballistic missiles at higher altitudes and greater distances, giving commanders another layer of defense against incoming attacks.

Reuters reported this week that the Army has used "virtually all" of its ATACMS and Precision Strike Missile inventories in just five months of conflict with Iran, while also drawing heavily on Patriot and THAAD interceptors.

The rapid expenditure, coupled with years of relatively modest procurement, raises a broader question: What would happen in a longer conflict against a near-peer adversary like China?

"The shortage was entirely foreseeable, and there have been arguments surrounding interceptor and munition procurement numbers for decades," Jim Fein, a defense industrial base researcher at the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital. "Ultimately, budgetary tradeoffs were made, and those arguing for other programs won out."

The Pentagon budget documents, reviewed by Fox News Digital, show years of relatively modest procurement for some of the military's most important missile-defense interceptors.

Army budget documents show PAC-3 MSE procurement fell from 328 missiles in fiscal 2022 to 252 in fiscal 2023, 230 in fiscal 2024 and 214 in fiscal 2025. The fiscal 2026 request began to move higher, with funding for 320 PAC-3 MSE missiles.

THAAD procurement was even smaller. The Missile Defense Agency bought 11 interceptors in fiscal 2024 and 12 in fiscal 2025. Its fiscal 2026 base request called for 25, while an additional $317 million in mandatory reconciliation funding added 12 more, bringing the total to 37 interceptors.

The procurement history broadly aligns with the findings of a new Heritage Foundation analysis, which estimates annual production capacity at 620 PAC-3 MSE missiles and 96 THAAD interceptors. Much of the difference between U.S. procurement and total production was accounted for by foreign military sales, according to Fein, who authored the report.

Lagging U.S. purchases were the byproduct of decisions made across both the Pentagon and Congress.

"Budget tradeoffs obviously lead to hard choices, and it now looks like many of those past decisions were wrong," Fein said. "That includes decisions by the Pentagon in what they request, but ultimately what Congress appropriates."

"The shortage was entirely foreseeable, and there have been arguments surrounding interceptor and munition procurement numbers for decades. Ultimately, budgetary tradeoffs were made, and those arguing for other programs won out."

By fiscal 2027, the approach had changed dramatically. The Army's budget request supports procurement of 2,798 PAC-3 MSE missiles, including 2,554 through mandatory Munitions Acceleration Council (MAC) funding. The request also supports 857 THAAD interceptors — 27 through discretionary funding and another 830 through the MAC.

But ordering thousands more missiles on paper is only the beginning.

The new production plans will require Congress to provide the money and industry to build the additional manufacturing capacity needed to deliver them. Fein called the administration's new agreements with defense companies "the most significant effort to address munitions shortfall in, at a minimum, decades."

"The trick will be obtaining the funding needed to turn the framework agreements into actual production," he said.

Even with the money in place, replenishing U.S. magazines will take time. Advanced interceptors rely on specialized production lines and a network of suppliers producing rocket motors, seekers, guidance systems, energetics and other components that cannot be expanded overnight.

That means the dramatic increase in planned procurement is less an immediate refill of depleted inventories than an attempt to build the industrial capacity needed to sustain much higher production over the coming years.

The stakes extend well beyond the war with Iran, the Heritage report argues.

A conflict with China could place far greater and more sustained demands on U.S. missile defenses, particularly if Beijing struck American bases and forces across the Indo-Pacific with large salvos of ballistic and cruise missiles.

US FALLS BEHIND IN HYPERSONIC RACE AS CHINA, RUSSIA GAIN EDGE

"Interceptor inventory is not a supporting detail in a China contingency — it is what allows the Joint Force to survive long enough to win," Fein wrote.

The report estimates the United States would require 7,082 PAC-3 MSE interceptors and 1,394 THAAD interceptors for what it considers a minimum viable inventory in a conflict with China—several times the inventories it estimates the U.S. currently holds. Actual U.S. stockpile levels remain classified.

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At current production rates, Heritage estimates it would take between roughly nine and more than 80 years to build the interceptor inventories it believes are needed, depending on the missile system. "The window of opportunity to bridge the interceptor gap is closing," Fein wrote.

Prince William, Kate Middleton could seek 'gentleman's agreement' to protect Prince George at Eton: experts

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 06:00:28 -0400

Prince William and Kate Middleton could use a "gentleman's agreement" when Prince George starts Eton College in the fall — and it could face the ultimate test in the smartphone era.

GB News reported that the Prince and Princess of Wales could forge an agreement with the British press to limit intrusions into the life of their eldest son. Royal author and former broadcaster Simon Vigar told the outlet it’s the same approach that protected the early days of their romance at the University of St. Andrews.

Fox News Digital reached out to Kensington Palace for comment.

PRINCE WILLIAM AND KATE MIDDLETON 'CAUTIOUS' ABOUT WHICH ROYAL APPEARANCES THEIR CHILDREN MAKE: SOURCE

"Prince William and Princess Catherine are realistic enough to know that they cannot completely control the environment around Prince George," Kinsey Schofield, host of YouTube's "Kinsey Schofield Unfiltered," told Fox News Digital. "Most people have a camera in their pocket now, and one photograph can be online and around the world before the palace even knows it exists."

"What they can do is establish very clear boundaries with the British press," she said. "There is a huge difference between legitimate coverage of Prince George carrying out public engagements and somebody photographing a teenager going about his public life at school. The palace cannot police every teenager with an iPhone, but the press can make a conscious decision not to create a market for those intrusive photographs."

In June, Kensington Palace announced that George, who turned 13 on July 22, would attend the prestigious boarding school where his father and uncle, Prince Harry, were educated.

WATCH: PRINCE GEORGE EARNED ETON COLLEGE SPOT WITH NO SPECIAL TREATMENT: EXPERT

Eton College, founded in 1440 by King Henry VI, has educated generations of leaders, including 20 British prime ministers. George, who is second in line to the throne, will likely meet many of his future peers there.

British royals expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital that the "new age" of smartphones and social media is one of the many reasons Eton College is chosen "among the elites."

"Many classmates are from extremely wealthy and well-connected families," she said. "Within this circle are unwritten rules of conduct. Throwing a pupil to the media risks being ostracized from the inner circles."

Eton College is known for fiercely protecting its students from prying eyes, creating a world within its walls where they can simply be pupils.

"For Prince George and every high-profile teenager, everything could become international news within minutes," royal broadcaster and photographer Helena Chard told Fox News Digital.

"We're in a better place," she said. "Years ago, after Princess Diana's death, I believe Prince William and Prince Harry forced positive change. The old paparazzi harassment was replaced with something somewhat controlled and truce-like."

When William and Harry were in school, an informal agreement was reached between the palace and the British press: As long as the brothers were pursuing their studies, their privacy was to be respected, Vanity Fair reported.

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According to the outlet, this media truce allowed William and Kate to quietly build their relationship outside the public eye when they were students.

William and Kate met in 2001 at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. They were close friends before they began dating more than a year later. Their romance remained a secret for nearly two years before becoming public. That level of discretion, Vanity Fair reported, was made possible, in part, by the informal agreement with the press.

The couple married in 2011.

Vigar told GB News that William and Kate want to offer the same level of privacy to their three children. Their children's first romantic relationships as they grow older "are already the subject of careful consideration," according to Vanity Fair. If the press respects George's privacy while he's in school, it could set a precedent for his siblings, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, to enjoy the same discretion.

"The 'gentleman's agreement' is more than necessary now," said Chard. "Prince William knows firsthand what privacy during school gave him. This handshake is perceived as a little fragile now and not necessary due to traditional paparazzi. Friends at school with their smartphones can become instant paparazzi."

"George will have mentors, both family and at school, to guide him through pitfalls. No one wants him to feel burdened at 13. He should have space to grow, to be with friends, to be pain-free at Eton."

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The Prince and Princess of Wales are also navigating what it's like to raise a teenager.

During the Commonwealth Games in Scotland, cycling champion Laura Kenny invited the couple to "come and give it a go" on a tandem bike, The Telegraph reported.

When Welsh TV presenter Gethin Jones asked the royal children if they would like to see their parents "on a tandem in the velodrome," George quickly said, "No."

"We embarrass you enough as it is," said William.

When the royal family received their own Welsh cycling outfits, William joked, "You know me, Lycra!"

"I won't whip the shorts out," the prince promised.

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Royal experts told Fox News Digital that the privacy challenge could become more complicated when George starts dating.

"George understands why people are interested in him," said Schofield. "A teenage girlfriend may find herself facing international attention simply because she sat next to him or was photographed leaving the same place. But Prince William will remember exactly what Catherine experienced. Her family, her friendships, her background and, eventually, almost every aspect of her life became subjects of enormous public interest."

"I would expect William and Catherine to be fiercely protective when the day comes," said Schofield. "Especially while George and whoever he's dating are still minors. And I think the media has to exercise some common sense. A teenage romance involving Prince George is not automatically a royal courtship. Hopefully, we will all give him that space."

Royal broadcaster Ian Pelham Turner told Fox News Digital it's also likely William will remind his eldest son not to cause "mischief" while at Eton.

"George has been very family friendly, so I don't envision major changes in the dynamics," said Turner. "He must remember William knows every trick in the book."

"Eton was also picked due to its proximity to their home at Windsor," Fordwich pointed out. "Prince William credits his afternoon teas with his beloved grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, on Sundays. It was just a short walk from Eton. George will likely stay close to both his parents and spend time with them."

PRINCE WILLIAM, KATE MIDDLETON FINALLY FEEL FREE TO SHOW AFFECTION IN PUBLIC: EXPERTS

Schofield told Fox News Digital that the Prince and Princess of Wales are determined to let George enjoy his school years and make new friends in private, without the added pressures of royal life.

"Teenagers naturally want independence," said Schofield. "Prince George is going to want to make his own decisions and develop interests that have nothing to do with becoming king. At the same time, public curiosity about him is only going to increase.

"These years could be enormously important in shaping the king he eventually becomes. William and Catherine had introduced royal life gradually rather than overwhelming him with it. We've seen George at family engagements, but he has still been allowed to be a schoolboy first."

"The goal shouldn't be to manufacture the perfect future king at 13," she continued. "It should be to produce a confident, grounded adult who understands the institution but has also experienced enough of ordinary life to understand the people he will one day serve. Giving Prince George a genuine adolescence could ultimately be one of the best preparations for kingship William and Catherine can give him."

California sued over policy that could free serial killers as Laci Peterson's friend sounds alarm

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 06:00:23 -0400

The family and friends of Laci Peterson are among the advocates of California murder victims opposing a new parole board policy that would open a path to recommend resentencing or clemency for serial killers, mass shooters and other convicts serving sentences of life without parole when it goes into effect later this year.

"We're talking about people that would have been qualified for the death penalty, OK? So they are the worst of the worst," said Anne Marie Schubert, a former Sacramento District Attorney who is now the president and CEO of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation (CJLF), a nonpartisan, nonprofit group that filed a lawsuit over the new policy.

"We are talking about cop killers. We're talking about baby killers. We had a family at our press conference of a 6-week-old that was tortured to death by her father over a weeklong period of time, all of which, what I understand, was on video — and so you talk about baby killers. We talk about mass shooters, there's a case out of Fresno that happened in the early '90s where a guy killed 10 people and he pled to life without parole. He would potentially be eligible."

Schubert singled out some high-profile prisoners serving life without parole:

Scott Peterson was convicted of killing his pregnant wife Laci and their unborn son after she vanished on Christmas Eve in 2002. Gang member David Hill fatally shot San Francisco Police Officer Isaac Espinoza in 2004 and wounded his partner. Darryl Lamar Collins was 24 when he killed two people in 1995 but was granted early release in 2017 thanks to changes in California's youthful offender parole law — only to kill his girlfriend Fatima Johnson less than a year later. They are among thousands who could potentially benefit from the new regulations, Schubert said.

CALIFORNIA MURDERER WHO SHOT DEPUTY, KILLED CHAPLAIN AT AGE 24 GRANTED 'YOUTH OFFENDER' PAROLE

According to Schubert, the board exceeded its statutory authority by using the bureaucratic rulemaking process to create a resentencing and clemency review system for prisoners sentenced to life without parole, a plan that California's Office of Administrative Law approved on July 9.

"The main primary arguments deal with the fact that one, they don't have the legal authority to do this, that this is an administrative bureaucratic agency that's trying to rewrite the legislature, that they're trying to rewrite sentencing laws that came out of ballot initiatives," she said. "And really, this is a violation of what we call Marsy's Law, which is a constitutional provision that supports the finality of judgments for victims in California."

The CJLF, along with a coalition of victims' families and nonprofit groups, filed the lawsuit in an effort to stop the board's new policy before it goes into effect in October.

"The Board...has taken it upon itself to expand this recommendation authority into a full-blown system of reviews and hearings paralleling and resembling the system of parole hearings — the system that the people of California voted to curb in Marsy’s Law, Proposition 9 of 2008, due to the prolonged suffering it imposes on crime victims and their families," reads the petition, filed in Sacramento's Superior Court on July 15.

"The Board has extended this parallel system to include inmates convicted of first degree murder with special circumstances sentenced to life without parole, despite initiative statutes mandating life without parole as the minimum sentence for this crime and forbidding the striking of special circumstances."

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In addition to alleging the new regulations run contrary to California law, the petition raises concerns that the new process would force victims' families to repeatedly relive traumatic cases that were supposed to be over.

CJLF is working with the victims of some of California's most notorious murder cases, including Sharon Rocha, the mother of Laci Peterson.

"My daughter, Laci, was eight months pregnant when she and my unborn grandson, Conner, were murdered," Rocha said in a statement. "Scott Peterson was initially sentenced to death. After his death sentence was overturned, he was resentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Our family believed that sentence would finally bring some measure of certainty. Victims should not have to spend the rest of their lives wondering whether the person responsible will receive another opportunity for release. Justice demands finality."

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Peterson has maintained his innocence for decades and is still fighting his conviction in court. The California Supreme Court overturned his death sentence but has upheld his murder convictions. Prosecutors have opposed his claims and say the evidence against him is "overwhelming."

When Peterson's death sentence was reduced to life without parole in 2021, Laci's close friend Kim Juarez said she reluctantly accepted it because she believed it still meant he would never walk free.

"The only certainty that we had when Scott was put away was that he wasn't ever going to get out," she told Fox News Digital in a phone interview. "That's what, to me, is aggravating."

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Juarez described the last two decades as the repeated removal of scabs as Laci's friends and family have watched appeals, a resentencing and now another potential avenue that could eventually lead to Peterson's freedom.

"In a world where nothing is guaranteed and in something so big, we are guaranteed to never see Laci and Conner again. That's never going to happen," Juarez said. "The person that took her away — we just want to stick to what was handed down to him. This isn't about punishing him further. It's just about sticking to what was handed down to him."

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Juarez described trauma that extended well outside the courtroom and the legal process. Years after Peterson's conviction, she was pregnant with her own first child. But she found herself gripped by the fear that what happened to her friend could happen to her.

"I was about six months pregnant, and I said, 'If you decide that this isn't the life you want, don't kill me. Just let me go,'" she told her husband, a firefighter she'd met while handing out missing person flyers.

Laci Peterson was eight months pregnant on Christmas Eve in 2002, when she went missing from her Modesto home. Peterson was charged with killing her and their unborn son, Conner, when their bodies washed up months later in the San Francisco Bay.

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"There was life before this happened and there's life after this happened — this will always be a part of our lives," Juarez said. "Every Christmas, my family decorates a miniature Christmas tree for her."

But Juarez said Scott Peterson continues to cast a shadow over those close to Laci.

"She's never forgotten, and we want to make her the focus of all of these memories, but it's like he's the cloud that hangs over it," Juarez said. "The likelihood of him getting out, I don't know what the likelihood is, but the fact that it's on the table, that it is a possibility, is scary in itself."

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The dispute is also playing out against the backdrop of an unsuccessful effort in the California Legislature last year to expand parole eligibility for some younger inmates serving life without parole.

"Last year there was a bill, it was called SB 672, that... tried to achieve a similar goal of letting life without parole out, but they limited that to people under 26," Schubert said. "They could not get that bill through the legislature.... So in lieu of that, they backdoor it, and they go through a bureaucratic process that's not just under 26, it's everybody."

The board, in public filings, countered that there's nothing in existing state law that blocks it from doing so.

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"Penal Code sections 1172.1 and 4801 do not exclude individuals sentenced to life without the possibility of parole from consideration by the Board for recommendation of commutation or resentencing," the board wrote in response to a concerned citizen who protested the new policy on inmates serving life without parole.

"Rather, these statutes grant the Board discretion to evaluate these cases and determine whether referral to the sentencing court or the Governor is appropriate. Had the Legislature intended to bar this population from consideration under either statute, it would have done so."

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Schubert, however, disagreed with that interpretation.

"The law says in California they can write regulations related to parole," she told Fox News Digital. "That's the word, 'parole.' Well, they don't get parole for life without parole."

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Neither the parole board nor the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation responded to a request for comment.

Can you bring a birthday cake to a restaurant? Viral pizzeria dispute reveals the rules

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 06:00:21 -0400

A viral confrontation at a New Jersey pizzeria over a child's birthday cake has put a spotlight on the unwritten rules surrounding outside food at restaurants — and what diners and restaurant operators should do when those rules collide.

The controversy began after a family celebrating a 5-year-old's birthday at Joey Tomato's in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey, brought a cake into the restaurant and later asked for a knife to cut it. Family members said they had called ahead and received permission, while the owner said Joey Tomato's has a policy prohibiting outside desserts.

A heated exchange with owner Doreen Sullivan-Karcich was captured on video, prompting Joey Tomato's to defend its position and argue that the viral footage lacked the full context of what happened beforehand.

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"We are a pizza restaurant. Not a party venue, not a bakery, not a rental hall," Joey Tomato's said in a social media post responding to the controversy.

The pizzeria said it has policies governing outside food for reasons including "food safety, liability" and keeping operations running smoothly. Joey Tomato's also pushed back against criticism of its stance.

"These policies aren't up for public vote just because one moment enforcing them got recorded," Joey Tomato's said.

It added in jest that it was considering a new tagline: "We don't do cake. We do pizza."

So, what is the proper etiquette?

"In terms of someone bringing in food from another restaurant or even from home, it's always best to ask in advance," according to etiquette expert Diane Gottsman, owner of the Protocol School of Texas in San Antonio.

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Restaurants that allow outside cakes may charge a cutting fee, Gottsman noted.

"All in all, I think there's nothing wrong with bringing something in as long as you get permission first," she said.

If a customer gets it wrong, however, restaurant employees can enforce the policy without escalating the situation, Gottsman said. She recommended having a manager approach the table rather than putting the responsibility on a server.

"A manager could come up and say, 'If you'd excuse me, I just want to let you know it's our policy not to let outside food come in,'" Gottsman said, noting there could be health or allergy concerns behind such rules.

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The manager can then politely ask that the food not be served while offering an alternative.

"'I apologize. May I get you something? May we bring you something?'" Gottsman said. "All of these kindnesses really go a long way."

Robert Mahon, managing partner of Mahon Hospitality Group in New York City, said his restaurants allow customers to bring birthday cakes, preferably with advance notice.

"Even in cases where they haven't called ahead, we certainly wouldn't want to cause a scene or take away from someone's celebration," Mahon said.

The restaurant owner lost her credibility by reacting the way she did, Gottsman said.

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"You can do it. You can just do it with some decorum," Gottsman said.

"Sometimes we have to set our boundaries, but we set our boundaries with professionalism, with kindness, with compassion and consideration."

For Mahon, whatever pressures a restaurant is facing should remain out of public view.

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"Customers come to enjoy themselves and celebrate special occasions, and whatever is happening behind the scenes shouldn't affect their experience," he said.

The Medicare-for-all trade-offs socialists aren't talking about, according to experts

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 06:00:20 -0400

Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is one of several socialist candidates making Medicare-for-all a centerpiece of their midterm campaigns, defending the policy even as El-Sayed acknowledged Sunday that it would require Americans to pay more in taxes in exchange for coverage untethered from employment.

The stakes extend beyond who pays the insurance bill. A nationwide single-payer system would substantially change how healthcare is financed, what providers are paid and the role of private insurance, while potentially affecting employment and access to care under a framework radically different from the existing "Medicare" model its name invokes, according to experts.

Cato Institute health policy studies director Michael Cannon and Heritage Foundation health policy expert Ed Haislmaier, who has worked with lawmakers on Obamacare alternatives, argue those trade-offs are often obscured by the "Medicare-for-all" label.

"As the late P. J. O’Rourke liked to say, ‘if your healthcare is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free,'" Cannon said.

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In his NBC interview, El-Sayed defended Medicare-for-all by saying that the average person's second-largest W-2 deduction "is [paid] to your health insurance company."

"So imagine, instead of paying that to your health insurance company, whose CEO makes $20 million a year, instead, you paid a little bit more in taxes for healthcare that you wouldn’t lose if you lost your job or turned 26 or got married or got divorced."

One of the central questions is how much providers would be paid. Medicare currently pays hospitals and physicians substantially less than private insurers for many services, while a single-payer system would dramatically expand the number of patients whose care is financed at government-set rates.

Cannon warned that policymakers could face a choice between raising substantially more federal revenue and holding down payments at the risk of some providers reducing their participation.

Canada and England have long been cited by critics as cautionary tales against implementing socialized medicine because of concerns about long wait times, including waits of weeks for MRIs in Canada, limited access to prompt care and well-to-do Westerners seeking care in the U.S. to avoid waiting at home.

Still, Cannon argued the U.S. system is critically flawed and that market competition, including taking employers and the government out of the equation and putting spending choices in patients' hands, could provide the closest framework to universal healthcare.

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Haislmaier dubbed single-payer Medicare-for-all a "solution in search of a problem."

"[Medicare-for-all proponents] haven't got a solution for the real question, which is not the coverage, but the cost. Are we going to force competition so that people who provide better care at a lower price get more of the business? That's our vision," he said of conservatives.

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Instead of giving the government more authority, President Donald Trump "stumbled onto something that might work," in Haislmaier's words, by proposing a shift away from letting health insurers manage the pool of money for each American and instead depositing funds into a restricted personal account that could be used only to buy or retain insurance.

Meanwhile, several pieces of the current American system can be found within the various "socialized" models that El-Sayed, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and others want to replicate in the U.S. Socialized healthcare also does not describe a single international model.

The Department of Veterans Affairs draws parallels to the British NHS, while employer-sponsored insurance is a key feature of the German system, Cannon noted. And Obamacare's framework for ensuring eligibility for care is similar to systems in Canada and Scandinavia, he said.

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But the U.S. may already have the developed world beat on socialized medicine, the experts said. Cannon argued that the Medicare system for seniors referenced in the left's platform is unique to the U.S.

"When Medicare-for-all supporters say that they want a European-style Medicare system, they're already telling you they don't know what they're talking about because no European nation has something like [our] Medicare Program," he said.

Cannon also resisted labeling Medicare-for-all supporters socialists, arguing the existing U.S. system already contains extensive government intervention through Medicare, Medicaid, employer-sponsored insurance tax policy and Obamacare.

In that way, he said, the far-left Medicare-for-all crowd and Republicans appear to be vying for the title of who cares least about healthcare.

"If you think this is a question between should we have a government controlling our healthcare sector or not, you've already missed the boat. The government already controls the U.S. Health sector."

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The Medicare model outlined in the socialists' platform is also not "free" healthcare because beneficiaries face premiums, deductibles and cost-sharing.

Some current Medicare-for-all proposals discourage or appear to prohibit private insurance coverage, which could affect physicians' ability or willingness to provide access to all patients, particularly if demand increases as out-of-pocket costs decline, according in part to an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office.

Maintaining such broad access to care while creating a one-size-fits-all model or keeping provider payments near current Medicare rates could cause hospitals to reduce participation, Cannon warned.

Financing is the other side of the equation. Moving most healthcare spending onto the federal government's books would require an enormous increase in federal revenue, even though some of that would replace premiums and other healthcare expenses currently paid by employers and households.

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Cannon said that would double or triple federal taxes.

If Medicare-for-all proponents want coverage to be as close to universal as possible, the model should remove, not add, government barriers, Cannon said. He noted that Americans one year away from Medicare eligibility and those in their first year of eligibility each spend twice as much on healthcare as people in other developed countries.

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"Medicare is not the solution here," he said.

Fox News Digital reached out to El-Sayed for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Israel vindicated by Gaza nutrition data after ‘blood libel’ starvation claims, UN envoy says

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 06:00:15 -0400

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations said new data showing sharply lower child malnutrition in Gaza undermines wartime accusations that Israel deliberately starved Gazans, calling those claims a "blood libel" fueled by Hamas figures.

The remarks by Ambassador Danny Danon follow a newly published U.N.-backed survey showing acute malnutrition among young children in the Gaza Strip has dropped to levels comparable to or below those recorded prior to the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.

"During the war in Gaza, Israel was accused by many countries and by many U.N. officials that we deliberately starved the population in Gaza. That was a blood libel," Danon told Fox News Digital. "When we actually answered those claims and asked our colleagues where they got the data, the answer was that they relied on Hamas reports."

Danon argued that the latest U.N.-backed figures undermine previous starvation claims and said earlier numbers attributed to Hamas were fabricated.

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"For the future, we shouldn't count on a terrorist organization. We are a reliable country, we share data, we share concerns regarding humanitarian issues, and we should not collaborate with terrorists," he said.

The Gaza SMART nutrition survey — coordinated by the UNICEF-led Nutrition Cluster and presented by the State of Palestine Nutrition Cluster on July 22, 2026 — evaluated 1,335 children under age 5, covering regions home to approximately 83% of Gaza's population.

About 17% of the population could not be surveyed due to security and operational constraints.

The survey found acute malnutrition rates between 0.2% and 0.8% using weight-for-height (WHZ) measurements (estimated globally at 0.5%) and 1.3% using mid-upper-arm circumference (MUAC).

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Evaluators concluded there was "no widespread acute malnutrition at population level," noting that rates are significantly lower than those in neighboring countries, though lingering challenges like stunting, poor diet diversity and illness remain.

Danon pointed directly to past statements made by senior international officials, including U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher.

During a 2025 BBC interview about border access, Fletcher said 14,000 babies were at risk of dying within 48 hours without immediate nutritional aid. The figure was later clarified as referring to an 11-month projection involving children at risk of severe malnutrition.

"That was false and did not happen. Using starvation and babies to spread blood libels against Israel is outrageous," Danon said of Fletcher's comments.

"We care about babies in Gaza more than those making these allegations against us."

The ambassador emphasized that Israel kept records of food supplies moving into the enclave throughout the conflict.

"In terms of the food coming into Gaza, that was very easy for us to prove because we control the checkpoints and count the number of trucks coming in," Danon explained.

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"We know what they carry. Thus, we know there is no lack of food entering Gaza, and we always ensure sufficient supplies are brought in. Looking at recent reports, the situation is much better than expected, and we are glad for that. We do not want to see famine anywhere in the world, and certainly not in our backyard."

Danon also accused Hamas of hijacking aid distribution networks for financial gain.

"We know for a fact that Hamas took the aid and sold it in the market, taking advantage of the situation with inflated prices," he said. "That is why we are trying to work with NGOs that are not infiltrated by Hamas. We want NGOs to be able to deliver aid and food without Hamas gaining control over it."

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Israel withdrew its military and civilian presence from the Gaza Strip in 2005.

The war broke out following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on southern Israel and continued for two years until a ceasefire agreement took effect on Oct. 10, 2025.

Now, the region continues to face military strikes as talks over a proposed 15-point U.S. peace and disarmament plan appear stalled.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the proposal, saying Israeli forces will not withdraw until Hamas is fully disarmed.

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"Unfortunately, Hamas took over and turned it into a terror state," Danon said.

"Our vision remains unchanged: we have no desire to control Gaza. However, for progress to occur, Hamas must disarm and not move weapons from one warehouse to another."

"Regarding the food situation, we see improvement on the ground," Danon concluded. "The prices in the markets in Gaza have gone down dramatically, which serves as the clearest indicator that there is no food shortage."

Fauci said ‘no red flags’ for pregnant women days after raising theoretical vaccine miscarriage risk: text

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 06:00:13 -0400

Former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci privately raised a theoretical risk of first-trimester miscarriage tied to reactions from COVID-19 mRNA vaccines — then publicly said thousands of vaccinated pregnant women had shown "no red flags."

Newly released text messages from Fauci’s government-issued phone, made public by Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., show the contrast between his private discussion and later public reassurances.

In a Jan. 25, 2021 exchange with then-CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky and Dr. Vivek Murthy, Fauci discussed fever and other immune reactions some people had experienced after a second mRNA vaccine dose.

That reaction, Fauci wrote, "theoretically could be associated with miscarriage in the 1st trimester," according to the messages.

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Walensky responded that it was "definitely a good point, esp after dose two," while Murthy called Fauci’s observation "a really good point."

On Feb. 3, 2021, Fauci said more than 10,000 pregnant women had received COVID-19 vaccines without any concerning safety signals being detected, CNBC reported at the time.

"The FDA … have found, thus far … no red flags about that, about pregnant women," Fauci said during an interview with the Journal of the American Medical Association.

One week later, Fauci repeated the reassurance.

During a Feb. 10 White House briefing, Fauci said approximately 20,000 pregnant women had been vaccinated and that officials had seen "no red flags," Politico, The Daily Mail and The New York Post reported at the time.

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"Since the [Emergency Use Authorization] and under the [Emergency Use Authorization], approximately 20,000 pregnant women have been vaccinated with no red flags, as we say, and this is being monitored by the CDC and the FDA," Fauci said.

The public comments came shortly after Fauci had privately raised the theoretical possibility that fever and cytokine-related reactions after a second vaccine dose could be associated with first-trimester miscarriage.

The messages do not show that officials had found an increased miscarriage risk, only that they were discussing a theoretical concern while pregnancy data was still limited.

Months later, Fauci continued to emphasize the lack of adverse safety signals, saying "tens and tens and tens of thousands" of pregnant women had been followed after vaccination and there was "no indication whatsoever" of increased adverse outcomes compared with unvaccinated pregnant women, according to an article published Aug. 30, 2021 by What to Expect.

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The newly released texts show a contrast between officials’ private concerns and public reassurances.

"The text chain released today could have an immediate impact [on] public health and the principle of informed consent," Johnson's press release read.

Fauci, Walensky and Murthy could not immediately be reached by Fox News Digital for comment.

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