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Paul Skenes caps awful month with another brutal start, and an alarming stat has MLB fans concerned

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 12:49:07 -0400

It's officially August, and MLB fans are officially worried about Paul Skenes.

Not great!

The ace of the Pittsburgh Pirates got rocked again Friday night, giving up five runs on seven hits in a loss to the Cincinnati Reds. It marked the second straight start in which Skenes gave up five runs, and capped a brutal month for the 24-year-old in which he gave up at least five runs in three of his five starts.

Skenes' ERA is now 3.90 — a full two runs higher than both his 2024 and 2025 totals.

To be fair, the ace did have three good starts last month, going 3-0 in the middle of the month with just a total of five earned runs in those three games. So, it's not all bad. It's not all doom and gloom.

Things could certainly be worse.

But ... something is off, and one troubling stat hit the internet last night that has baseball fans worried on this first day of August:

What's happened to Paul Skenes?

Lordy. I had to refresh the page just to make sure those stats were correct.

Paul Skenes hasn't topped 98 MPH in his last four starts, and he's topped it only 95 times this season. He did it nearly 900 times last year, and nearly 700 the year before.

It's a jarring number to see, regardless of what you think of Skenes' season. He routinely had one of the liveliest fastballs in the league for two years, and the velocity just isn't there this season.

Of course, some of it could be by design. Skenes admitted as much last month, when questions first started to pop up about his fastball.

"It's been by design," he told DK Pittsburgh Sports. "It's nothing I've been worried about."

Still, the numbers are the numbers — as they say — and they're alarming to see. He capped his worst month as a professional last night by giving up five runs in back-to-back games for the first time in his career, and lasted just four innings.

Here's another stat that the fellas in Pittsburgh's analytics department won't love: Skenes gave up just 41 earned runs all of last year. Through 23 starts in 2026, he's already given up 54.

A blip? A bad season? Or real cause for concern?

Pirates pre- and post-game host, Dan Zangrilli, didn't mince words after the loss:

"The ace didn't ace," he said. "Far more questions than answers. For any of this to work, he has to. He looks like an out of shape, lumbering yeti sucking wind on a hot day."

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Goodness gracious. What a takedown. Just a scathing review from someone who is around the team all the time.

Is it fair? I don't know. But things aren't going great right now in Pittsburgh on this first day of August.

What has happened to Paul Skenes?

Nicki Minaj torches Anthony Fauci in mock diary video after explosive Senate appearance

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 12:36:07 -0400

Nicki Minaj is once again taking aim at Dr. Anthony Fauci.

She escalated her criticism of the former White House COVID-19 advisor with a satirical video and a series of social media posts following his recent Senate testimony.

On Friday, the rapper shared a video filmed in near darkness in which she pretended to be Fauci writing in a diary.

INSIDE FAUCI'S PRIVATE DIARY: WHAT HE WROTE ABOUT TRUMP, TV PERSONALITIES AND CELEBRITIES

"Dear Diary, well the press is hot for me," Minaj started the clip while impersonating the longtime public health official.

Continuing the parody, she added, "They say I'm sexier than Tyra Banks. Julia Roberts gasped when she saw how handsome I was. Brad Pitt played me on 'SNL.'"

The jokes quickly turned into criticism of Fauci's pandemic leadership.

"Never mind that I sent millions of children back years on their education ... the elderly are alone and afraid, dying by themselves," Minaj said before delivering one final jab: "If anyone asks questions, me and my gang ruins their lives."

The video came days after Fauci appeared before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, where he invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times during questioning about his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The hearing followed the release of Fauci's pandemic-era diary by Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky. The entries detail his meetings and observations throughout the pandemic, including reflections on his public profile and discussions about COVID-19's origins.

NICKI MINAJ ACCUSES CALIFORNIA GOV. NEWSOM OF 'TRYING TO BE TRUMP' IN SCATHING INTERVIEW

Republicans have since intensified their criticism of Fauci, with Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., introducing legislation that would bar him from returning to government service and potentially expose him to criminal prosecution.

Minaj continued to pile on with a series of posts on X.

In one, she mocked the government's COVID-19 booster recommendations, writing, "They started telling yall to get a new booster shot every 5 to 10 business days like it was the new Jordans droppin?!?!!!!!!! That's when I knew. I went in my backyard & started building the Arc. Nicki's Arc. I know the Lord won't send another flood but still."

In another post, she blamed Fauci for lasting emotional and societal damage she believes he caused during the pandemic.

"Feeding tubes will be his portion. He will lose the ability to speak & then & only then will he feel the collective pain & long term ramifications he caused to new borns, young children who are still trying to become acclimated into society & schools, traumatized pregnant women who couldn’t even have family in the delivery rooms & visits, the elderly who died alone & afraid," she wrote.

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She continued, "...young ppl still struggling w/mental health, suicide, people turned away from hospitals at their most vulnerable moments, the trust that is now gone from innocent people toward their governments forever, billions of stolen money from hard working tax payers via con artists…I’ve been struggling to find the humor in any of this. God bless everyone who made it to the other side. You’re stronger than you thought. God is in control."

The post also featured an AI-generated image of Fauci in a '90s-inspired bedroom, writing in a diary — a clear nod to the recently released journals that have been the focus of political debate.

The posts quickly drew both praise and backlash.

One supporter wrote, "Nicki getting that shot is one of the biggest regrets of my life. I was under so much stress during that time & was threatened with unemployment that I buckled & took it. Only God knows the impact it's had on my body. We deserve justice."

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Minaj replied, "I don’t want you guys to beat up on yourselves. You did what you had to do to feed your family. You had no choice. Now take it to God in prayer & trust that by his stripes you are healed. In Jesus name, Amen. love you guys. And yes! Justice is imperative!!!!!!!!!"

Actor Rob Schneider also weighed in on her statements, writing on X, "Nicki is a rarity in show business, a real truth teller!!"

However, not everyone agreed with the rapper's remarks.

"We studied science. You sang songs. We aren’t the same. Stay in [your] lane," one critic wrote.

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Another user added, "You attacking Dr. Fauci is beyond laughable. You’ve… embarrassed yourself spreading baseless vaccine claims, and somehow convinced yourself that celebrity makes you an authority on public health. Fauci has 50+ years of science and public service behind him. You have scandals and a social media account."

Minaj has repeatedly challenged Fauci and COVID-19 policies since the pandemic, and her latest barrage makes clear the feud between the two is far from over.

Sophie Cunningham supporters rallied outside in Portland while liberal fans booed her inside

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 12:31:24 -0400

Sophie Cunningham is now the most polarizing athlete in sports. She’s loved and she’s hated. That was clear Friday evening in Portland as the Fever traveled to another liberal Mecca to play one of the WNBA’s newest expansion franchises, the Portland Fire.

Cunningham’s bold stance to support the effort to keep women’s sports and spaces female has attracted women’s sports advocates to rally outside of her games. The first rally, which took place in Seattle, received moderate pushback from trans supporters and made headlines due to what happened inside the arena. A now fined and suspended co-owner of the Seattle Storm, Celeste Keaton, berated two teenage girls sitting courtside with XX-XY Athletics T-shirts and a sign that said, "Thank You Sophie For Speaking Up For Girls." Meanwhile, a local store director of Nordstrom, Marco Esquivel, was caught berating and cussing at the girls, their mothers and fellow Cunningham supporters. Nordstrom has yet to make a public statement.

"The 'With Love Is Truth' series began July 28, 2026, when women’s rights group Women Are Real, women’s rights advocate Amy E. Sousa (AKA Known Heretic), and independent journalist Brandi Kruse organized a fan rally with local supporters, including Washington high school athletes, outside Climate Pledge Arena before the Indiana Fever’s game against the Seattle Storm," the group stated via a press release.

"We are here today [in Portland] in solidarity with those girls [who were berated in Seattle], in solidarity with Sophie Cunningham, and in solidarity with all female athletes," Sousa stated proudly as she addressed the crowd outside the arena.

Sousa was joined Friday by dozens of individuals directly associated with the group, including former Olympian Inga Thompson and attorney Kara Dansky - a board member of Democrats for an Informed Approach to Gender and former president of Women’s Declaration International USA, outside the Moda Center. They had dozens more join in support of the group’s efforts and Cunningham’s stance about 90 minutes before tip-off.

SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM RALLY ROCKS WNBA GAME AS 'SAVE WOMEN'S SPORTS' ACTIVISTS FACE COUNTERPROTEST

Sousa said that Cunningham has been, "a voice of reason, in what has become a very contentious topic." She was then rudely interrupted by a woman in a "Protect Trans Kids" shirt, which featured a rose and a knife. The shirt has been worn by Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan and the apparel features a rose and a knife to show that advocates will use both support and active, militant resistance to keep trans children safe from harm. The protester was one of about a dozen trans supporters who joined in opposition to the Cunningham supporters.

The trans supporters I talked to were not interested in defending their stance that men should be allowed in women’s sports. Many of them cussed at me, as if having dialogue is not allowed. One protestor in a frog suit, holding a sign that said, "Trans People Just Want To Live" responded to my questioning by saying I’m promoting a "bulls*** issue."

Other trans-supporting protesters I spoke with tried deflecting my questioning about why they supported men in women’s sports, and one even said it was possible for a biological man to change his chromosomes to become a woman.

RILEY GAINES SAYS WNBA IS 'HELLBENT' ON BEING AN ACTIVIST ORGANIZATION OVER A BASKETBALL LEAGUE

One photographer, who works for the Associated Press, told me that a group of young boys and girls didn’t know what they were doing holding signs, which stated "Thank You Sophie" with hearts on it, insinuating that they were essentially indoctrinated into this position to support Cunningham and keeping sports female, by their parents and the organizing group.

SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM SENDS BLUNT MESSAGE TO BOOING, TRANS FLAG-WAVING WNBA CROWD AFTER DRILLING SHOT

So, I went up to the group, which included 6 young girls, 3 mothers, and one young boy, to ask them. Answering my question about why they were there and if they understood what they were supporting, one of the girls stated boldly, "No boys and girls in the same sports. Like no boys in girls sports." The Associated Press photographer stood by, off camera, defeated, though he tried to backtrack.

Cunningham stated pregame, "I'm here to play basketball, but I'm also here to be me, and I'm not going to like shadow that or hide or, you know, dim my light just because maybe people don't agree with that."

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Inside the arena for the game, Cunningham received relentless boos every time she checked in and touched the ball. The Fire promoted trans and gay pride flags held by fans whenever they could, clearly showcasing their anti-Cunningham agenda. The loudest cheer of the evening, up to that point, was during the ultra-inclusive "companion cam," featuring multiple gay couples kissing and a group of lesbian trans supporters waving trans flags prior to the start of the second quarter.

It was evident that many fans were there to protest Cunningham's "common sense" stance. The protests didn't stop outside. That was clear in the apparel, flags, and voices of the Fire fans in the building.

The next rally is slated for Sunday in Minnesota as the Fever play the red-hot Minnesota Lynx.

Humanoid robot skin senses people before contact

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 12:30:40 -0400

Working beside a metal humanoid robot would probably make you watch every step it takes. After all, a collision between a heavy robot and a human body will usually end worse for the person. Italian startup Generative Bionics believes its Gene.01 humanoid robot could help reduce that risk. The company covered the robot with sensor-filled skin that can detect a person approaching before physical contact occurs.

The system also senses touch, temperature and force. As a result, Gene.01 can gather information about what surrounds its body and what happens during an interaction. That sounds reassuring. However, the real question is whether the sensors and control software can react quickly enough when people start working beside the robot.

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How the Gene.01 humanoid robot senses workers

Gene.01 carries distributed sensors across its torso and limbs. The company says this smart skin detects touch, temperature, proximity and force at the same time. Proximity sensing gives the robot an early warning when someone enters the space around its body.

The basic idea feels familiar. You may feel heat near a stove and pull your hand away before touching the surface. In a similar way, Gene.01 can detect a nearby person before the person touches its sensor-covered body. That information gives the robot's control system a chance to respond before contact. It can also continue measuring force if contact happens. However, Generative Bionics has not released detailed workplace safety data showing how the system performs during full industrial shifts. For now, the safety benefits remain company claims tied to a newly introduced platform.

Why proximity sensing could reduce robot collisions

Traditional factory robots often operate behind barriers to keep workers outside their range of motion. Humanoid robots create a different challenge. Companies want these machines to use tools and move through spaces built for people. That could place them closer to human workers.

Cameras can help a robot see someone approaching. However, a camera may lose sight of a person who stands too close or moves behind part of the robot. Full-body proximity sensing adds another source of information. The robot can detect activity near its torso or limbs without depending entirely on its view of the room.

HUMANOID ROBOT VIDEOS SHOW MACHINES LASHING OUT

Workers can physically teach Gene.01 new tasks

Gene.01's sensors could also change how workers teach a humanoid robot. A person can guide the robot's arm through a movement while the system records the motion and force involved. This gives the robot information that a video demonstration may leave out.

For example, a video can show a robot where to place its hand. Yet the footage may not reveal how tightly the robot should grip an object. Too little pressure could cause the item to slip. Excessive force could damage it.

By moving Gene.01's arm directly, a worker can demonstrate the physical feel of the task. The company says this approach can help the robot learn how much force to apply. That could make robot training more accessible to experienced workers who understand the job but do not program robots.

What Physical AI means for Gene.01

Generative Bionics built Gene.01 around an approach it calls Physical AI. Under this approach, engineers develop the robot's body and movement controls as a connected system. They do not build the hardware first and treat the software as a separate layer added later.

The team uses models of the robot and its human partner. It can then adjust the design around measurable factors such as walking stability and physical strain on the person. The approach grew from research conducted by members of the company's founding team at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia.

Nature Machine Intelligence published that research on July 13, 2026. The paper focuses on a human-aware robot called ergoCub rather than Gene.01. Researchers jointly optimized ergoCub's physical design and movement controls. They used human-related measurements, including stress on a person's back, alongside the robot's walking requirements. Generative Bionics says Gene.01 is the first industrial platform to apply that peer-reviewed methodology to a fully functional humanoid covered in sensors.

Generative Bionics built Gene.01 in 6 months

The company says its team moved Gene.01 from a concept to a functional platform in six months. Generative Bionics CEO Daniele Pucci said the company designed the robot as a foundation for different industrial machines.

"Unlike other one-size fits all humanoids, Gene.01 is a scalable platform, customized at the edge of AI, design and end-effector level to maximize each customer's needs. It is also the first expression of our belief that Physical AI must be human-aware, physics-native and industrial from day one. In six months, our team moved from concept to a fully functional and sensorized humanoid platform by combining deep humanoid robotics expertise with AI, biomechanics and design." Pucci said the company wants robots to learn from the physical world while adapting to each customer's work.

Gene.01 can change for different industrial jobs

Generative Bionics designed Gene.01 as a base for a family of specialized humanoids. The company can adjust the AI for a particular task. It can also alter the robot's exterior to fit the working environment.

Meanwhile, engineers can replace its end effectors. That technical term covers the hands, grippers or feet attached to the ends of a robot's limbs. A robot built for warehouse work may need a different hand than one designed to operate welding equipment. This platform approach lets Generative Bionics adapt one core robot instead of designing every machine from the ground up.

The company sees potential uses in manufacturing and logistics. It has also identified inspection, public safety and health care as possible future markets. However, Gene.01 remains an early industrial platform. Generative Bionics still needs to show that its customization strategy can work reliably outside controlled demonstrations.

An open-source Gene.01 model gives developers a head start

Generative Bionics has also started releasing a digital model of Gene.01. The model lets developers simulate the robot before they gain access to the physical machine. They can test movement software and begin developing industry-specific applications in a virtual environment.

The company's website currently links to a preview of the robot's URDF model on GitHub. URDF stands for Unified Robot Description Format. Developers use it to describe a robot's physical structure for software and simulation tools. Generative Bionics says it wants to maintain the model across software distribution systems that Physical AI developers already use. An open model could attract researchers and robotics developers to the platform.

Fincantieri partnership targets shipyard welding

Gene.01's first planned industrial use involves shipbuilding. Generative Bionics is working with Italian shipbuilding company Fincantieri to develop a humanoid for welding operations in shipyards. Shipyards can contain tight work areas and heavy equipment. Welding also exposes workers to heat and fumes. A humanoid could eventually handle selected tasks in areas that place extra physical demands on people. However, Generative Bionics and Fincantieri have not yet published detailed performance results from the welding project. The partnership will give Gene.01 an important test.

An $81M investment backs the robot company

Generative Bionics has raised an $81 million seed round led by CDP Venture Capital. AMD Ventures, Duferco and Eni Next participated in the round. RoboIT and Tether also invested. That funding gives the company more resources to develop Gene.01 and expand its production capacity. Generative Bionics says its team includes about 100 people. Nearly half hold doctoral degrees, according to the company. The team's experience includes earlier humanoid projects such as iCub and ergoCub.

Generative Bionics wants a European robot supply chain

The company also wants to build more of its humanoid technology in Europe. Generative Bionics formed a strategic partnership with German company Synapticon to develop an actuation system for Gene.01 and future robots. Actuators serve as the motorized joints that move a robot's body. They play an important role in how quickly and forcefully a humanoid can move. The partnership covers final assembly and calibration in Europe. The companies also plan to conduct safety testing there. Generative Bionics says this approach will give it more control over key components while supporting European compliance requirements.

What the Gene.01 humanoid robot means for you

You probably will not find Gene.01 working beside you tomorrow. Still, its sensing skin points to a larger change in humanoid robot design. Companies want these machines to move beyond fenced-off areas and enter workplaces built for people. To do that safely, robots need more awareness of the humans standing around them. Detecting a worker before contact gives the machine more time to react. Force sensing could also help the robot respond more carefully when physical interaction occurs.

Kurt's key takeaways

Gene.01 introduces a promising idea for factory safety. Its sensor-filled skin can detect a nearby person before physical contact and continue measuring force during an interaction. The system could also help workers teach the robot by physically guiding its movements. That gives Gene.01 information about force that video demonstrations may miss. However, most of the performance and safety details currently come from Generative Bionics. The company now needs to support those claims with workplace testing and clear data. Smart skin may give a humanoid more awareness of the person beside it. Yet awareness only helps when the robot reacts correctly every time.

Would you trust smart skin to protect you from a full-size humanoid at work, or would you still want a barrier between you and the machine? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com

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Reporter's Notebook: Why Fauci's 111 Fifth Amendment pleas could end up before the courts

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 12:26:55 -0400

Silence is golden.

But actions speak louder than words.

That’s the solution which Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., is engineering for the reticence of Dr. Anthony Fauci. The head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for 38 years, Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment a staggering 111 times when appearing under subpoena before Paul’s panel this week.

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

The only words Fauci spoke were his invocation of the Fifth Amendment on the advice of his attorney. But the action promised by Paul is contempt of Congress.

"There will be repercussions to your refusal to testify today," warned Paul after Fauci invoked the Fifth. "The Committee will have to consider after this hearing what appropriate action should be taken against you for the failure to testify after being directed to do so. It's against the law to obstruct an investigation of Congress."

But it’s not as though Fauci was completely mum during the entire hearing. He offered an opening statement before leaning on the Fifth Amendment as a shield for the next three hours.

"The only conclusion I can reach is that the sole reason he is calling me before this committee is to get me to say something, anything, that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, quote, ‘behind bars,’ unquote," Fauci said. "Any reasonable person who has followed his unhinged obsession with me would readily come to the same conclusion."

And then Fauci fell mute. He ignored questions about his diary, inquiries about what ignited the pandemic, even interrogatives about the mundane.

TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM FAUCI'S HEARING: PAUL BOOTS LAWYER, MORENO ERUPTS AS CONTEMPT VOTE LOOMS

"What day of the week is it today?" asked Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo.

Hawley wasn’t done.

"What color tie are you're wearing?" Hawley continued. "What is the color of the carpeting?"

From a legal standpoint, there is logic behind Hawley’s banal inquiries. These are carefully designed questions which a good prosecutor might ask a witness to trip them up.

To wit: If Fauci had already invoked the Fifth Amendment, why is he suddenly answering questions about the calendar, his tie or carpeting? If Fauci replied "Wednesday," "blue" or "green" as answers to Hawley’s queries, Paul could have asserted that the Fifth Amendment shield no longer applied. Thus, the committee, or the courts, should compel Fauci to respond to any question.

By the same token, Republicans argued that Fauci should have been able to answer such trite questions from Hawley because they had nothing to do with the proceedings. It’s kind of a "we win, you lose" proposition for the GOP.

Yet Fauci never deviated from the script, invoking the Fifth Amendment 111 times.

CAN FAUCI HIDE BEHIND THE FIFTH? GAME-CHANGING BIDEN PARDON MAY NOT PROVIDE COMPLETE COVER, EXPERTS SAY

By the way, Fauci’s repetitive legal recitation of the Fifth is not a Senate record. In 1958, mob boss Vito Genovese appeared before a Senate panel investigating organized crime. Genovese established the mark, invoking the Fifth a stupefying 150 times.

Republicans don’t think that Fauci had any right to invoke the Fifth even once, considering his pardon from former President Joe Biden. On one hand, they asserted he should be free to testify. Democrats took issue with that.

"I’m not surprised that he pled the Fifth because the objective is to put him in jeopardy of criminal prosecution," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. "So the more prudent course was to claim the Fifth Amendment."

Hawley saw it differently, citing the 1896 Supreme Court case Brown v. Walker.

In the late 19th Century, the Supreme Court granted auditor Theodore Brown immunity to testify in a railway rate-fixing case. But Brown still refused to testify. However, the High Court ruled that Brown had to speak. Writing for the majority, Justice Henry Billings Brown (no relation), who also wrote the opinion in Plessy v. Ferguson, declared the following:

"If it be once conceded that the fact that his testimony may tend to bring the witness into disrepute, though not to incriminate him, does not entitle him to the privilege of silence, it necessarily follows that, if it also tends to incriminate, but at the same time operates as a pardon for the offense, the fact that the disgrace remains no more entitles him to immunity in this case than in the other."

Translation: What you have to say may be embarrassing. But if you enjoy the privilege of immunity, you still have to cough up the goods, despite the Fifth Amendment.

How Fauci conducted himself in the hearing runs parallel to former IRS official Lois Lerner's conduct in 2014. Republicans believed that Lerner blocked groups affiliated with the Tea Party from tax-exempt status or targeted them for scrutiny. At a 2014 House Oversight Committee hearing, Lerner delivered an opening statement. She then invoked the Fifth.

The full House later voted to hold Lerner in contempt of Congress for not answering questions and referred her to the Justice Department for prosecution. The DOJ, then operating under the administration of former President Barack Obama, did not take action against Lerner.

Whether or not DOJ prosecutes contempt of Congress often comes down to which party on Capitol Hill is doing the referring, and which party controls the Justice Department.

For instance, the Republican House referred former Attorney General Eric Holder to the DOJ for contempt of Congress in 2012. But it was Holder who ran the Justice Department. So that was a dead letter.

The Democratic House referred White House Counsel Harriet Miers to the DOJ in 2008. But the administration of former President George W. Bush was simply not going to prosecute its own lead attorney at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

The Democratic House held Trump administration figures Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro in contempt of Congress for failing to appear before the committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot. Naturally, the Biden Justice Department prosecuted that duo.

So could Fauci face prosecution from the Trump Justice Department after a referral from the Republican-led Senate?

The Lerner case bears further study. The Obama DOJ declined to prosecute Lerner because she asserted her Fifth Amendment rights — but after her opening statement. Fauci did the same. Would the Trump administration perceive Fauci’s protocol at the hearing through a similar lens?

Paul will ask his committee to prep a resolution holding Fauci in contempt of Congress in the coming days. But the full Senate must approve such a measure before sending it to the DOJ for possible prosecution.

It’s easier to adopt a contempt of Congress resolution in the House because it only requires a simple majority. The same is true in the Senate. But it must also clear a filibuster, which needs 60 votes. That’s why contempt of Congress citations are more prevalent in the House than the Senate.

But Paul believes he has a workaround.

"I plan on sending it directly with the legal brief supporting the argument to the Department of Justice," Paul told Fox News.

It’s then up to DOJ to prosecute Fauci or not.

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However, in his same appearance on Fox, Paul said he had "sent a criminal referral on Anthony Fauci twice under Biden and twice under Trump."

President Donald Trump’s DOJ hasn’t prosecuted Fauci before. But would prosecutors see it differently after Fauci’s performance at the hearing?

That brings us back to Lerner.

She invoked the Fifth Amendment and the DOJ did not prosecute. That establishes a precedent. Would the Trump DOJ follow that model? Or are we in for what could be a lengthy, perhaps seminal court battle about whether Fauci was in the right to invoke the Fifth Amendment? That may trigger a legal fight over his pardon from Biden — and perhaps what the High Court ruled in Brown v. Walker.

We’ll know when or if the DOJ takes action. In the case of Fauci, silence may be golden. But in this instance, it may be up to the courts to determine if it’s legal.

Three big college football recruiting 'winners' that helped their cases in the month of July

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 12:15:21 -0400

A quick glance at your calendar (if you still have one of those hanging around) will inform you that we have now entered the month of August, which means college football is exactly four weeks away.

It's an exciting time to be a fan, as fall camp starts to ramp up and practice reports will have every fanbase believing this is the year their team wins it all, but there's plenty of action off the field to be locked in on too, namely recruiting.

Nowadays, most of the top-end talent in the current recruiting class has already committed to their program of choice by mid summer, but that doesn't mean we still didn't see some July fireworks on the recruiting trail.

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Here are three college football programs that picked up big wins in the class of 2027 this past month.

After a blistering June on the recruiting trail, Mario Cristobal and company seemed like they might have taken the month of July off for a little vacation.

Who could blame them? After all, they were sitting comfortably within the top five of most recruiting industry rankings and their class was nearly full with 20 commits.

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Then, about a week or so ago, some of the more plugged-in sources in the recruiting world started making noise about five-star cornerback A'mir Sears reclassifying from 2028 to 2027.

Given his South Florida roots and the fact that the Canes were seen as the leader to land his commitment even a year out, alarm bells started ringing that Miami's elite 2027 class was about to reach another level.

Then, on the last day of July, Sears decided to make it official, giving the Hurricanes their fifth five-star and putting the rest of the country on notice that The U might really be back this time.

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I didn't think it was possible for anyone to catch the Texas A&M Aggies, but Miami has a serious shot.

Their class currently has the highest average player rating of any program in the 2027 cycle, sitting just above a 93.5, and they have only 21 commits as of August 1, which means there's plenty of room for expansion.

Cristobal and the Canes are crushing recruiting by every conceivable metric, which should terrify the rest of the country.

I know what you're thinking: "But Austin! A team with a recruiting ranking in the low 30s who landed just one commit in the entire month is a 'winner' from July?"

Yes. And I'll explain why.

The Indiana Hoosiers have been a recruiting doormat for the entire existence of industry rankings and recruiting services.

If you don't believe me, a quick search through their sordid history of talent acquisition will show you that Indiana has never landed a five-star recruit... until now.

That's right, Curt Cignetti just changed the entire dynamic of Hoosier recruiting with a commitment from one Monshun Sales, a five-star wideout hailing from nearby Indianapolis.

Sales had his choice of any program in the country, with the might Alabama Crimson Tide pushing hard for his pledge, but the 6'5" athlete with 10.8 second 100 meter dash times chose to stay close to home and play for coach Cig.

This is about more than just landing the next big weapon at receiver to feature in your offense next season.

The commitment of Sales to Indiana just nuked an entire lifetime of narratives and checked off the one thing that was surprisingly missing from Cignetti's resume.

Talk about being resurrected from the brink of extinction!

What Florida State pulled off in the month of July on the recruiting trail is the college football equivalent of that gif of The Undertaker sitting up in his casket.

On Memorial Day, the Seminoles were on death's front door with a recruiting class that was ranked in the 50s and not a single four-star to their name.

Then June happened, and the Noles were able to check off the four-star box, but many people felt like the flurry of commitments was similar to a last spasm from a dead body.

Translation: it was a fluke.

Well, July just proved that Florida State and head coach Mike Norvell weren't just one-hit wonders in the month of June, as they signed two more four-star prospects, including their highest rated pledge in safety Ta'Shawn Poole.

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Poole is a top-100 prospect from the Peach State and what makes his commitment to FSU even more impressive is the fact that the Noles pried him away from the home-state Georgia Bulldogs.

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Throw in four-star wide receiver Za'Kari Johnson and three-star edge Meshi Dobson, both of whom are Sunshine State prospects who were being courted by Alabama and Auburn, and this 2027 class for Florida State has gone from laughing stock to eye-opening quickly.

It's far from elite, to be sure, but the leg work that's been done in the past two months, especially given the uncertain circumstances surrounding coach Norvell's future, has laid the foundation for the Seminoles to potentially end the '27 cycle with one of their better classes since Norvell arrived in Tallahassee.

Trump blasts rogue GOP senators for blocking Blanche nomination, vows anti-weaponization bill fight

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 12:04:05 -0400

President Donald Trump blasted Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, on Saturday for opposing his nomination of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to the permanent position, suggesting he could keep Blanche in the temporary Justice Department leadership role and ensure the Anti-Weaponization Bill is passed.

While blasting the rogue GOP senators, Trump tied the Blanche nomination fight to the Anti-Weaponization Bill, proposed legislation that would establish a congressionally authorized compensation program for alleged victims of political "weaponization," replacing the controversial DOJ-created Anti-Weaponization Fund.

The fund was formed through a settlement Blanche reached with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Treasury Department to create a $1.8 billion fund to compensate alleged victims of political persecution. Amid criticism that the executive branch lacked authority to create such a program without congressional approval, the Justice Department later said it would not move forward with the fund, effectively shelving it.

"If Senators Cornyn and Tillis, both upset because I wouldn’t Endorse them (they lost, and quit, respectively!), aren’t going to approve Todd Blanche, one of the most respected professionals, according to everybody, in the Country, to be the United States Attorney General, then I will keep Todd as Acting A.G., and push hard to get the Anti-Weaponization Bill, which takes care of those who have been so badly treated by the Crooked Joe Biden (and Obuma!) Administration (I get nothing, although I was treated horribly!), PASSED. Todd Blanche was a voice of reason! It will immediately be back on the table, and I will get it done," Trump wrote in a Saturday morning post on Truth Social.

TRUMP THREATENS TO YANK HIS OWN AG NOMINEE AS GOP REVOLT GROWS

Cornyn and Tillis, both of whom faced electoral opposition from Trump in some form, each indicated that they would not vote to advance Blanche's nomination out of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"I think I am prepared to vote no, but I do think I owe it to my constituents and to Mr. Blanche to try to negotiate in good faith," Cornyn told Capitol Hill reporters on Wednesday. "And that’s what we’ve been doing. And so we’ll see where things are this morning and see where we go from here," he added.

Though both Blanche and Trump have previously said the Anti-Weaponization Fund is "dead," Cornyn and Tillis both indicated that they want the fund's demise to be formalized in writing before supporting Blanche's confirmation.

Cornyn questioned Blanche about the fund during his mid-July confirmation hearing.

"Has there been a written agreement of the parties to modify the settlement fund?" Cornyn asked Blanche.

"No, the settlement fund is just not moving forward," Blanche replied.

TRUMP UNLOADS ON CORNYN, TIES AG NOMINATION FIGHT TO BITTER TEXAS PRIMARY

Tillis, who announced in 2025 that he would not be seeking re-election just one day after Trump threatened to back a primary challenger, also criticized the Anti-Weaponization Fund, calling it a "payout pot for punks" in a Saturday morning response to Trump on X.

"Despite comments as late as yesterday that the fund is dead, President Trump clearly intends to resurrect the payout pot for punks either by inappropriately establishing another bogus fund or pushing Congress to vote for a bill that the majority of Republicans in the Senate would be against. It’s unfortunate that Todd Blanche, who I consider qualified for the job, will not be confirmed because of this reversal. Hopefully, we can resolve this by Tuesday," Tillis wrote

Cornyn, who has been a senator since 2002, lost his GOP primary to Trump-backed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton during the state's May 26 contest, losing by nearly 400,000 votes, according to the Texas Secretary of State's Office.

Trump, during his Friday Cabinet meeting at Camp David, theorized that his backing of Paxton was Cornyn's motivation for opposing Blanche.

"This is being done by a senator. And I don't really blame him, to be honest with you. I endorsed his opponent. And as soon as I endorsed his opponent, his opponent went through the roof and he won the primary election in Texas," Trump said.

"And the man that lost, the man that I didn't endorse has become very angry. And that's okay. I understand that. I probably would do the same thing," the president added.

Cornyn, for his part, downplayed that possibility.

"That’s a convenient excuse, and it happens to be untrue," Cornyn told reporters on Capitol Hill Wednesday, according to CBS News.

Trump also told reporters during the Cabinet meeting that though he considers the anti-weaponization fund "dead," he wishes it wasn't.

"Well, it is dead. But you know, I wish it weren't to be honest with you, I think people were horribly treated, horribly abused. This has nothing to do with this was me, horribly abused. And I'd like to see them compensated for the the pain," Trump said.

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Blanche is scheduled to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday for a vote on whether to advance his nomination out of the committee and to the full Senate for confirmation.

Fox News Digital contacted the White House, the Justice Department, Cornyn and Tillis for further comment.

Fox News Digital's Peter D'Abrosca contributed to this report.

Jillian Michaels exposes dangers of self-dosing illegal 'gray market' weight loss drugs

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 12:02:03 -0400

Fitness expert Jillian Michaels warned Americans against a dangerous trend of buying unregulated, "gray-market" weight-loss peptides online and self-dosing.

Speaking on the "Fox News Rundown," Michaels said foreign-sourced, unapproved chemical compounds pose severe health risks, including potential heart issues, vision loss and hormonal imbalances.

"These are very significant things that need to be further researched and discussed with your doctor before you decide, 'Hey, this sounds like a miracle drug! And I'm buying it on the web, and I am dosing myself in the bathroom off of a Reddit forum,'" Michaels told Fox News' Alex Hogan.

FDA TO REVIEW 7 POPULAR PEPTIDES TOUTED FOR WEIGHT LOSS, HEALING AND LONGEVITY

She noted that although it's "not difficult to get" peptide drugs online, consumers often don't know the true source of the products they’re buying. Michaels warned Americans not to take these drugs "into their own hands," but instead to use them under the supervision of a medical professional.

The federal government has cracked down on illegal sales and dangerous marketing tactics surrounding GLP-1 compounds. In March, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it had issued 30 warning letters to telehealth companies for making false or misleading claims about compounded GLP-1 products.

MILLIONS COULD GAIN EASIER ACCESS TO POPULAR PEPTIDES AFTER FDA PANEL VOTE

"Compounded drugs can be important for overcoming shortages or meeting unique patient needs — but compounders should not try to compound drugs in a way that circumvents FDA's approval process," FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said in a statement.

In June, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning about unapproved GLP-1 drugs, noting that it had logged hundreds of adverse event reports potentially tied to the products. The agency warned that unapproved versions "do not undergo FDA's review for safety, effectiveness and quality before they are marketed" and called out vendors falsely labeling chemicals as "for research purposes only."

Michaels argued that the surge in illegal sales is largely driven by people trying to lose "vanity pounds" quickly after taking inspiration from extreme body transformations in pop culture.

"You've got women in particular, but men as well, in all the major cities that want to go from a size eight to a size two for their summer vacation, and they are getting these things on the gray market. And we're starting to see the results of that in famous celebrities," Michaels said, adding that many people are taking these drugs when they don't need to.

WEIGHT-LOSS DRUGS LINKED TO 'OZEMPIC EARS' AND OTHER COSMETIC COMPLAINTS, SURGEONS SAY

"Every week, there's another famous celebrity whose face is being splashed through the headlines and on the front page of different publications… and they look gaunt, they look aged, they're losing their hair. I mean, there are real serious ramifications for this," she added.

While Michaels noted that FDA-approved GLP-1s can be appropriate under medical supervision for individuals with severe obesity or chronic health conditions, she warned that using them or unapproved peptides for minor weight loss carries risks that users overlook.

She pointed to potentially severe side effects, including vision loss and suicidal ideation.

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

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She added that when users stop taking unregulated weight-loss compounds, they often experience an aggressive rebound in hunger.

"You might think, 'Oh, I'm doing this for my summer vacation.' But then when you get off of them, all of a sudden you're hungrier because you've impacted your body's ability to make these hormones naturally," she said.

"And you'll get a cycle of yo-yo dieting that you no longer know how to stop because you messed up your own biochemistry. These things are not a joke, man. They are not something that you play around with for vanity purposes, for sure," Michaels added.

Bob Barker allegations in explosive docuseries were 'true and then some,' former game show host says

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 12:00:05 -0400

Bob Barker may have been America's beloved game show host, but Marc Summers says there was another side to him behind the scenes.

The former host of Nickelodeon's hit game show "Double Dare" recently appeared on "Nostalgia Tonight with Joe Sibilia" to celebrate the show's 40th anniversary.

During the interview, Summers was asked about the recent E! docuseries "Dirty Rotten Scandals," which examines allegations that "The Price Is Right" was plagued by a hostile work environment, sexual harassment and discrimination.

OPRAH WINFREY ADMITS SHE BEGGED TALK SHOW AUDIENCE TO BURY FOOTAGE OF WHITNEY HOUSTON ONSTAGE FALL

Summers previously worked with Barker, who died in 2023 at 99.

"Well, I think it’s too bad that the man’s not around to defend himself," the 74-year-old told Sibilia. "However, everything on there was true and then some. I could tell you stories off the air that make your hair curl that were true."

Summers said Barker's ego didn't disappear when the cameras stopped rolling.

WATCH: MARC SUMMERS SAYS BOB BARKER'S EGO ‘WOULDN'T FIT IN THE ROOM’

"When Dorothy Jo (Barker's wife) passed away, he kind of became a different guy, and his ego wouldn't fit in the room," Summers said. "It was all about Bob. On his dressing room door and on his dress shirts, it said, 'WGMC' — 'World's Greatest MC.' Give me a break."

Summers recalled that Studio 33, where "The Price Is Right" was taped, was occasionally used by other productions. During one such shoot, longtime "The Newlywed Game" host Bob Eubanks was filming a pilot when he hid the "WGMC" sign from Barker's dressing room door as a prank.

"So Barker comes in that Monday to do 'Price' and refuses to go on until they find the board that says 'WGMC,' and nobody could find it," Summers said. "They called up Eubanks at home and said, 'What the h--- did you do with this thing? We can't find it.' And Bob cracked up. He said, 'It's under the couch. Just lift up the couch. It is right under there.'"

Looking back, Summers described himself as a 22-year-old "idea man" who got along with Barker. But the price wasn't always right when it came to working for him.

"He had a deal at CBS when they wanted to give him a raise on 'Price,' but they didn't have enough money to pay him more as a host," Summers said.

"So they made him an executive producer and gave him an overall deal. He was producing game shows — or trying to — and needed questions written. He called me at home and said, 'Here's the show. I need 25 questions.' I said, 'Great, how much are you going to pay me?' He said, 'Marc, it's Bob. Don't worry. I'll take care of you.'"

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"So I wanted to impress him," Summers continued. "Instead of giving him 25 questions, I gave him 50. I thought, 'Oh my God, this is going to be great.' I called him and said, 'Bob, let me come by the house and drop them off.' He said, 'No, no, just put them in the mailbox, and there'll be an envelope in there for you.' I wrote him 50 questions when he'd only asked for 25, hoping for a check for $400 or $500. There was a check made out to Marc Summers for the grand total of 50 bucks. So that's the way it was."

WATCH: FAMOUS GAME SHOW HOST BOB BARKER PASSES AWAY AT 99

In March, Holly Hallstrom claimed on "Dirty Rotten Scandals" that she lost her job on "The Price Is Right" after refusing to publicly stand by Barker when fellow model Dian Parkinson accused him of sexual harassment in a 1994 lawsuit. Hallstrom, one of the show's longtime "Barker's Beauties," said producers blamed her 1995 firing on weight gain caused by medication.

Barker consistently denied wrongdoing and maintained that any relationships were consensual. Fox News Digital reached out to Parkinson for comment.

"When Dian filed her suit, oh boy, that was the beginning of when everything got really bad," Hallstrom told Fox News Digital. "I thought the whole situation, all the publicity, all the media attention, I thought it was horrible. I thought it was tacky. I was glad [co-creator] Mark Goodson had died [in 1992]. He would’ve been mortified to see that kind of tacky scandal on what was a family show."

"I didn't want to be involved in it at all," Hallstrom said. "Barker wanted us to go on all these talk shows and say he was the victim and that Dian was lying. I didn't participate because I thought it was tacky. I also couldn't honestly say, 'Oh yes, Dian is lying,' or 'Oh no, Dian is not lying.' I was not present for those conversations."

"I just avoided doing all of Bob’s PR tour," Hallstrom continued. "Finally, I was told I would be appearing on ‘The Suzanne Somers Show,’ period. And I did. Of course, all they wanted was for me to say that Dian was lying. When Suzanne asked me if I thought Dian was lying, I just babbled some answer, and that was that.

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"But then that week, I read in the tabloids, ‘Holly says, ‘Dian is lying.’ I never said that. I called the tabloid and demanded a retraction. They printed a retraction. But that was the beginning of the big rift between Bob and me. That’s when I got on his s--t list."

Parkinson dropped her lawsuit in 1995. At the time, her attorney said the legal battle had become too emotionally and financially draining and had begun affecting her physical health.

"Barker went all over television saying, ‘Her case was dismissed, and I’m totally vindicated,’" Hallstrom recalled. "I said, ‘That’s not true.’ I would not comment on that. I did not participate in those interviews. ... I would not change my testimony to suit Barker. That’s when I was told my weight was a problem. I was off the show."

"That was, well, probably the worst thing in my life at that point that had ever happened," Hallstrom admitted. "It only got worse from there."

Hallstrom and Barker spent nearly a decade locked in a legal battle after he sued her for defamation, according to Business Insider. She filed a countersuit alleging defamation, emotional distress and discrimination.

According to the outlet, Hallstrom said she was effectively blacklisted in the entertainment industry and pushed to the brink financially. She also declined settlement offers, saying she refused to be silenced by a nondisclosure agreement.

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Two days before Hallstrom's case was scheduled to go to trial, Barker and CBS agreed to settle, Business Insider reported. According to the outlet, CBS agreed to pay Hallstrom a settlement reportedly worth millions. The terms were not disclosed, and the settlement did not constitute an admission of wrongdoing.

"I was not going to sign a nondisclosure for that show or anything," she said. "I was not going to sign away my right to free speech. It also meant that Barker could not do to me what he did to Dian, go out and claim victory and vindication. ... He could not say anything about me as long as I could speak out for myself. And he never said another word."

Not everyone accepted the show's portrayal of Barker. His longtime publicist defended the late host as "beloved" and "the greatest MC in TV history," while longtime producer Roger Dobkowitz denounced the series as an "obvious hit piece," arguing "The Price Is Right" "was a happy place" for most employees.

Hunter Biden claims under oath that his family is broke amid fight over $17M legal bill

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 11:38:54 -0400

In a recently released deposition transcript, Hunter Biden claimed that his family is broke and that he’s being crushed by legal fees.

The deposition is related to an ongoing lawsuit between Biden and firm Winston Taylor for unpaid legal bills. Winston Taylor, which has a history of representing leading Democrats, claims that the Biden scion owes them $17 million from representing him in criminal prosecutions, congressional investigations and defamation suits against his critics.

"My family doesn't have any money, and it's not their debt anyway," he said, according to the transcript. "I don't own anything of any value other than — and I don't know the value of it — my paintings which I painted myself. So that's it. And I don't even have any other assets at all, stocks, bonds, anything like that, savings accounts."

HUNTER BIDEN RESURFACES IN LA, REACTS TO QUESTIONS ABOUT BIDEN TAPES, UFO FILES

Claims that the Biden family may be strapped for cash are reflected in other reporting.

The Wall Street Journal reported in September 2025 that former President Joe Biden is having far more trouble cashing in on his time in the White House than his predecessors.

Upon leaving office, the former president had accrued roughly $800,000 in personal debt and was burdened with increased property taxes on their $2.7 million Delaware home, according to a source familiar with his finances. Biden also has had trouble booking paid speaking engagements, a common source of funds for former presidents, owing to his unpopularity and fears of angering President Donald Trump.

CHARLAMAGNE RIPS JILL BIDEN’S CONFESSIONS ABOUT HER HUSBAND AS TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE

Former President Joe Biden, however, pulls in more than $400,000 a year in government pensions from his time in Congress and the White House, according to the National Taxpayers Union Foundation.

Hunter Biden’s claimed lack of assets follows years of partying and substance abuse.

The former president’s son reportedly spent large sums of cash on crack cocaine, alcohol, stays at luxury hotels, prostitutes and expensive jewelry for his brother’s widow, whom he was romantically involved with. His spending habits could help explain how he blew through the wealth he accumulated selling paintings and pulling in a seven-figure salary while employed by the Ukrainian energy company Burisma.

‘PRIVILEGED’ HUNTER BIDEN, SPARED BY DAD’S PARDON, BLASTS TRUMP’S CLEMENCY POWER

"I don't have any assets. I don't own a car. I don't own a phone," Biden said in the deposition, which took place in February but was released by Biden’s new lawyers in recent days.

Biden argues that Winston Taylor knew he would be unable to pay his legal fees when it agreed to take him on as a client and claims the parties agreed to "work something out." The law firm, meanwhile, says that it tried to connect Biden with donors in the Democratic ecosystem to help him cover his legal bills.

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The younger Biden won a comparatively small legal victory in July when a judge awarded him $1.7 million in a defamation suit. Winston Taylor, however, has sought to put a lien on the judgment, and the Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne, who was ruled against, is believed to be overseas, making collection complicated.

Representatives for Hunter Biden and former President Joe Biden did not respond to requests for comment when reached by Fox News Digital Friday.

DAVID MARCUS: Reflecting pool controversy is mirror for our broken politics

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 11:35:18 -0400

In the 104 years that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has stood on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the event it is most closely associated with is the 1963 "I Have a Dream," speech by the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., but today, far from a symbol of national unity, this body of water has created a wave of anger and discontent.

On Friday, United States Attorney for the District of Washington, D.C. Jeanine Pirro did the right thing and dropped charges against David Hearn, a former Olympic athlete who had been facing 10 years in jail for allegedly defacing the monument.

Hearn was accused of pulling up pieces of the new sealant installed this year during President Donald Trump’s renovation of the pool. He claims he was just curious about the pre-existing damage he saw.

FORMER US OLYMPIAN DAVID HEARN INDICTED IN ALLEGED REFLECTING POOL VANDALISM

It may have been as annoying as chipping away at dried paint, but it wasn’t a felony.

According to the motion filed Friday, additional documents showed that the damage to the reflecting pool was the result of flawed installation by the contractor.

The first thing to say here is good for Pirro, who, unlike former President Biden’s Department of Justice in many January 6 and abortion protest cases, did not allow primal politics to influence her legal decision. That is how this is supposed to work.

WHITE HOUSE CONDEMNS 'TARGETED SABOTAGE' OF REFLECTING POOL AS REPAIRS PUSHED PAST JULY 4 CELEBRATION

What matters here is that the reason that Hearn’s curiosity, politically driven or otherwise, caused this kerfuffle, is that Trump’s repair of the reflecting pool, a public works project that should be as mundane as installing a stop sign, has become a synecdoche for America’s political divide.

To Trump’s critics, such as independent journalist Jim Acosta, who has all but camped out by the pool for months, this is a prime example of cronyism, Trump lining his friends’ pockets as they fail to properly line this national treasure.

It was with glee that leftists celebrated the peeling of sealant and the growth of algae in the pool, as if nature itself was confirming all of their anti-Trump convictions.

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

But one big flaw in this argument is exposed by a 2012 Washington Post headline, after work had been done on the pool, that blared, "Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool Is Drained To Remove Algae." So, unless then-President Obama was also a corrupt cronyist, it might just be that the reflecting pool is not easy to maintain.

The fault in this situation, as Pirro rightly points out, is with the Department of the Interior, for telling President Trump what he wanted to hear instead of the truth. To the extent that it put Hearn’s freedom at risk, that was utterly unacceptable.

But at the same time, in this day and age, was it so crazy for Interior to think that a deranged leftist was intentionally trying to damage the monument? Such things are par for the course for the looney left, and why was Hearns pulling at the sealant, anyway?

By all accounts, the beautification, not to mention the increased safety, of the capital since Trump activated the National Guard last year has been little short of miraculous. You can tell because unlike ICE agents, Democrats aren’t calling the Guard fascists.

Fountains are flowing, businesses are growing, Capitol Hill staffers in their drab dress and loafers roam the streets without fear. But by all means, let’s obsess over a minor setback to repair on a pool unlike any in the world.

The reflecting pool is now a microcosm of everything broken in our politics, our focus on meaningless minutiae and blindness to anything that does not confirm our worst suspicions.

The conventional wisdom in Washington circles will suggest that Trump must be furious at Pirro for undermining his narrative that vandals are to blame for the renovation’s imperfections. But I doubt it. In fact, this is the exit ramp from the story that he needed.

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In the summer of 1963, King brought the country together around the reflecting pool and helped our nation to dream of unity and peace. In 2026, this shimmering oasis in the swamp represents little but Americans' contempt for one another.

In this case, thanks to Pirro, the proper result was arrived at after all the sturm und drang. But in the end, the only way to stop such madness is for all of us, every American, to stop assuming the worst about those with whom we disagree.

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Test your pop culture: From Hollywood to the Heartland

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 11:30:02 -0400

The Pop Culture Quiz is your weekly test of what’s making headlines and breaking the Internet, from the Heartland to Hollywood.

This week's quiz spotlights summer escapes and remarkable love stories.

Can you get all 5 questions right?

For more Entertainment articles, visit www.foxnews.com/entertainment

To try your hand at more quizzes from Fox News Digital, click here.

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Bill Maher warns that the Democratic Party is being 'colonized' by socialists, says his 'vote is in play'

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 11:17:56 -0400

Comedian and talk show host Bill Maher doubled down on his previous comments suggesting his "vote is in play" in coming elections, as he expressed his discontent over the Democratic Party being "colonized" by radical, socialist views.

During Friday night’s episode of HBO’s "Real Time," Maher blasted the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) agenda that appears to be taking hold within the mainstream Democratic Party.

"People gotta realize this is going on," Maher said. "Yes, my vote is in play. I'm not voting for anyone who thinks the wrong side won the Cold War or cheers for the intifada like it's the World Cup."

MAHER SHAMES CLINTONS, KAMALA, DEMS, SAYING THEY WON'T GO ON HIS SHOW OR ANYWHERE THEY AREN'T 'PRE-ADORED'

Maher went on to poke fun at the sheer irony of the apparent political takeover within a party that has platformed against such views.

"It's so ironic from the people who obsess about colonization," Maher said. "You know what's being colonized now? The Democratic Party."

He then pointed to two congressional Democrats — Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., and Rep. Adam Gray, D-Calif.— after the pair launched a pledge to moderate the party amid the internal rise in DSA views.

RAHM EMANUEL WARNS DSA AGENDA DOESN'T PLAY WELL OUTSIDE 'UPPER WEST SIDE OF MANHATTAN'

"Last month, two Democratic congressmen released an open pledge," Maher told the audience. "They wanted their fellow Democratic members to sign. It said, ‘We are capitalists, not socialists. We want safety, not lawlessness. We are proud, not ashamed of America.’ These should not be hard words for a congressional Democrat to sign onto."

"You know how many did?" Maher continued. "Eight [members]. Eight, out of 212."

He added that while the DSA platform may appear to be making waves throughout the party, most mainstream politicians do not align themselves with the radical-left views.

SEN MARK KELLY WARNS FAR-LEFT POLICIES THAT ‘DON’T MAKE SENSE’ COULD COST DEMOCRATS SEATS

"And, no, this nonsense is not where most Democratic politicians are right now," Maher said. "But it's also becoming a raging fire festival in the party that neither is anyone putting out."

"People are actually getting elected now who literally don't think we should have police or prisons or borders," he added.

Maher’s comments come after Fox News Digital previously reported he told ABC News "This Week" co-anchor Jonathan Karl that his "vote is in play" due to his unhappiness with the direction the Democratic party is heading.

"My vote is in play because it can’t be Trump running, so I’m not living in communist America," Maher said last month.

"I mean, I know the talking point is that it’s not communism, it’s socialism. OK, I’ve read the quotes from the DSA platform from their own mouths. Don’t tell me I’m not seeing what I am seeing," he added at the time.

The sentiment was echoed by former state attorney Dave Aronberg, who told Fox News Digital the DSA's platform could be what brings an end to the Democrats' short-lived momentum in the polls.

"History and current polling trends point to a blue wave in November, and the DSA is the only thing that can stop it," Aronberg said. "Outside of concentrated blue enclaves in places like New York and Denver, general elections aren't won on the far-left fringes. If the Democratic Party lets the DSA drive the bus, they’re driving straight off an electoral cliff."

"Bill Maher is voicing what millions of voters are thinking: The Democratic Party must not surrender to extremists who despise classic American principles," he added.

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When reached for comment by Fox News Digital, Christian Toto, host of The Hollywood in Toto Podcast, said, Bill Maher is many things, and that includes being intellectually honest. His liberal comedy peers aren't. They do the bidding of the modern Democratic party, period. It's why Jimmy Kimmel literally raised money for President Joe Biden and, when the president glitched out for the world to see during that event, told us he did no such thing."

The film critic and author added, "The modern comedian must toe the party line. That gives them job security and immunity from media critics. Maher is no longer the media darling he once was. He's spoken repeatedly that by defying his own party it crushed any chances of him winning awards (Emmys, etc.). It took a Trumpian White House to honor him with the Mark Twain Prize a few weeks ago."

Maher concluded his show Friday by referencing former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, suggesting he would rather vote for the longstanding Republican over DSA candidates running within his own party.

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"Get your head out of your a–, I would vote for Sarah Palin before this s—," Maher said. "She's a bimbo, but if you asked her to come up with something she likes about America, she could do it. You betcha."

Fox News Digital reached out to the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Socialists of America for comment.

'American Idol' winner says husband 'put his badge up' to support her music career

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 11:00:55 -0400

Hannah Harper says her husband made the ultimate career sacrifice to help launch her country music dreams.

The "American Idol" Season 24 winner exclusively revealed to Fox News Digital that her husband walked away from a nearly decade long career in law enforcement, "put his badge up" and joined her full-time on the road as her tour manager.

"It has definitely strengthened our marriage in ways that I didn't even know those muscles worked, if that makes sense," Harper said.

CARRIE UNDERWOOD SURPRISES 'AMERICAN IDOL' CONTESTANT WITH TIFFANY JEWELRY AND HANDWRITTEN NOTE

"My husband was in law enforcement for eight years and put his badge up just so that I could pursue this. And he was doing insurance there for a little while. We were going to try to just do, like, a work-on-the-road kind of thing. And then music just got too busy. And he was like, 'You know what? I think I want to be tour manager.' And I was like, 'That's perfect. I think you should do that.'"

The career pivot came as Harper's schedule exploded following her "American Idol" victory, leaving the couple searching for a way to keep their family together while managing an increasingly busy tour calendar.

Harper is currently on her first national tour and recently landed her first major brand partnership with Sargento after her original song, "String Cheese," went viral during her "American Idol" run. The cheese company is sponsoring her tour with a custom-wrapped bus stocked with snacks for Harper, her band, crew and family.

However, working side by side with her husband has sometimes come with its own growing pains, Harper pointed out.

CARRIE UNDERWOOD WARNS HOLLYWOOD IS A 'SELF-SERVING BUSINESS,' CREDITS FAITH FOR KEEPING HER GROUNDED

"I think the biggest challenge now is because we're both working is, ‘OK, when are off hours?' You know, like when normal people go home, they're done working for the day, but our work is at home. And so, it's hard for us to be able to turn it off. But it's so much fun for both of us to be building this together."

WATCH: ‘AMERICAN IDOL’ WINNER SAYS HUSBAND TRADED POLICE BADGE FOR MUSIC TOUR LIFE

Before being crowned the winner of "American Idol" Season 24, Harper was already building a life with her husband, Devon Mendenhall. The couple, who married in April 2018, welcomed their first son the following year and have since grown their family to include three boys.

Harper said the family's all-in approach has become one of the most rewarding parts of her success.

"My entire family is on the road with me, both of my brothers, my parents, my kids. And I think it's so special that everyone has a role and a job, and everyone feels included."

The singer became emotional, reflecting on her husband's sacrifice.

"But more than anything, I feel honored that he was willing to step down from his position. A lot of men wouldn't do that. I think their pride would get in the way, and that man would bend over backwards for anything that I asked him to do."

WATCH: 'AMERICAN IDOL' WINNER CREDITS CARRIE UNDERWOOD FOR HELPING HER NAVIGATE FAME

As Harper adjusts to her rapid rise in country music, she said fellow "American Idol" winner, Carrie Underwood, offered advice that has helped her navigate the pressures of fame without losing herself.

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"Carrie, just saying like social media, the stage presence that one has to have, it's like a character basically, and you have to separate that character from reality, which is hard for me because I want them to be the same."

"I want everyone to feel connected to me and know that I'm real and authentic, but there definitely has to be a separation on my stage mask and mom, if that makes sense. And so, I'm learning that very quickly and how important it is to be able to take it off and still be Mom and still be the Hannah I was before 'American Idol.'"

Harper said one of the biggest surprises following her "American Idol" win was watching "String Cheese" take on a life of its own.

WATCH: 'AMERICAN IDOL' WINNER REVEALS HOW VIRAL SONG KEEPS REOPENING HER DEEPEST WOUNDS

The deeply personal song, inspired by her experience with motherhood and postpartum depression, has become an anthem for parents who see themselves in its message.

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"I am so emotionally connected to the people who are going through it," Harper said.

"In meet-and-greet lines... there are at least 50 of those are women who walked the exact same path as I did when it came to postpartum depression or just being in the trenches of motherhood. And getting to connect with them during their hardships... I relive all of those same emotions while talking to them and it still feels fresh."

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Harper believes the song's impact extends beyond music.

"And I think that it's a song that continues to give, and I didn't write it on my own. I think the Lord just kind of like laid it in my lap, and He's used it to minister to people as well as me."

Harper will remain on the road through November for her first national tour, with upcoming stops across the country and appearances alongside Brad Paisley and Lauren Alaina.

Exclusive: Israeli President Herzog blasts Mamdani, praises Trump, sounds alarm on Iran

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 10:57:13 -0400

JERUSALEM, Israel: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is spreading hateful and antisemitic rhetoric and endangering the lives of New Yorkers, Israeli President Isaac Herzog told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview at his Jerusalem residence.

"Mamdani does not respect my nation's right for self-determination… the Jewish people's inherent right to have a nation of their own. And he's basically spreading blasphemy, hate, antisemitic rhetoric. He should understand that he's risking his own citizens, he’s risking their safety, well-being and life," Herzog said.

In an incident that drew global attention, Mamdani posted a video on social media on July 21 in which he called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "a war criminal" and "the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people."

HUCKABEE WARNS OF 'BIBLICAL IGNORANCE' AS HE DEFENDS CONSERVATIVE SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL

"This cannot be accepted in New York, which is a city which is dear to our heart, dear to the Israelis, and dear to me personally," Herzog said.

"I think New York will continue way after Mamdani. And I hope he won't create an irreversible damage," he added.

On Iran, Herzog said the regime has for decades posed a strategic threat to global stability, and not only to Israel and the Middle East.

"They take their people's food and money and spend it on terror all over the world. It's a given fact," he said. "You ask yourself why a nation of this nature wants to have so much terror activity around the world, and that is because of ideology… The ideology does not accommodate any other religion or moderate Islam, for that matter. That is why it is so dangerous," he added.

The United States and Israel launched a joint military campaign against the Islamic Republic on Feb. 28, dubbed Operation Epic Fury by the Trump administration and codenamed Operation Roaring Lion by Israel, before Trump announced a ceasefire on April 7.

Herzog said Tehran’s missile program, activities around the Strait of Hormuz, nuclear ambitions, domestic repression and support for regional terror proxies as evidence of the regime’s major threat to U.S. national security interests. He added that many Americans had been killed by the Islamic Republic.

As some leading political voices in the U.S. have questioned the relationship with the Jewish state, the president stressed the important ties that have made the relationship so important.

"We both drink from this set of values which was commanded to all of us by these historic spiritual books given to us by the Almighty," he said.

The Israeli president highlighted what he described as Trump’s deep support for the Jewish state, demonstrated through both words and actions.

He pointed to Trump’s 2018 decision, during his first term, to relocate the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, as well as his subsequent recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

ISAAC HERZOG ELECTED ISRAEL'S PRESIDENT, FOLLOWING IN FATHER'S FOOTSTEPS

Herzog praised Trump’s "endless" backing of Israeli positions "in so many issues" and his "immense support and friendship with Israel," adding that the two countries still more often than not see "eye to eye."

Herzog credited Trump with helping secure the return of 255 hostages held by Hamas following the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre. While acknowledging the efforts of many officials involved, he said Trump "put his foot down" and "pushed and negotiated brilliantly" to bring them home, adding that he had "huge respect" for the American leader.

That admiration among Israelis has not been diminished by any perceived political disagreements, Herzog said, adding that he believes the U.S.-Israel relationship transcends shifting attitudes and growing criticism of the Jewish state.

"I believe that there is something biblical and prophetic in the way our nations work together. And I truly believe that Israel should be a bipartisan issue of friendship and support," he added.

Herzog linked the reported decline in American support for Israel, particularly among younger people, to campaigns of well-funded disinformation on social media.

"It's very easy to smear Israel on TikTok, but that doesn't say the real truth. And I invite every young American to set foot in this country," he told Fox News Digital.

Herzog described Israel as a place where innovators flourish and great ideas are shared with the world, contributing enormously across fields including health, energy, science, agriculture and food security.

A NEW CHAPTER FOR AMERICA’S 250TH: 'J250' INITIATIVE PUTS JEWISH CONTRIBUTIONS IN THE SPOTLIGHT

"There's a reason why Americans who visit our country, young Americans, fall in love with this country. And my aim in this interview is to … take off the terrible mask which was placed on our face by terrible forces, some of them, of course, forces which work on it all the time to tell a distorted story."

"We're a nation seeking peace, we're a nation seeking innovation, we are a nation bringing ideas which will save humanity, and we are [a] nation trying to do good," he continued. "And I hope and pray that we will have peace with our neighbors in the entire region, with our Palestinian neighbors as well. But that requires that Israel will be accepted and people will understand that we have security needs."

Herzog addressed the House's recent passage of a $1.15 trillion annual defense policy bill, which largely split along party lines, with the fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act receiving only six Democratic votes.

He described the development as a "red light," but said it does not signal the end of relations between the American and Israeli public or of bipartisan dialogue and support.

THE BEDROCK OF AMERICAN LIBERTY WAS LAID IN JERUSALEM

"Exactly three years ago, I spoke in the American Congress in front of a joint session of the House, marking 75 years of Israel's independence, and I had almost 30 standing ovations," he said.

"I'm aware … of the criticism, and aware of a huge campaign on campuses, and of huge money which was funneled to attack Israel, and also aware of our mistakes," he added.

Herzog said Israeli society is undergoing an evolution following Oct. 7, making it legitimate to ask difficult questions about the country’s future security after such a "horrendous, aggressive, cruel" attack.

At the same time, he said Americans are right to examine the bilateral relationship and Israel’s role in advancing U.S. national security interests.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Netanyahu traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with Trump and attend the memorial service for the late Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.

"Lindsey was ever active, always coming with new ideas, brilliant, understood world affairs like no one else, and understood Israel's role in protecting Western values and values of the free world," Herzog told Fox News Digital.

He said Graham also knew how to voice criticism, which is legitimate between friends, and enjoyed support across the Israeli political spectrum.

"[Graham] knew how to fight empires and nations of evil, and to stand up to them without fear. I will always remember him, Israel will always remember him. The Jewish people will always cherish his memory," Herzog added.

EXCLUSIVE: MEET THE MAN ISRAEL CHOSE TO BE ITS FIRST-EVER AMBASSADOR TO THE CHRISTIAN WORLD

Herzog also raised the importance of how Israel values Christian communities in the Holy Land and is committed to strengthening interfaith dialogue. He added that these communities are a top priority.

According to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, as of December 2025, Israel’s Christian population stood at approximately 184,200, representing 1.9% of the country’s total population. The community grew by 0.7% over the previous year.

"I myself met the Pope and spoke to him several times and went to the Holy See. I speak to all the heads of churches. I recently had the Greek Orthodox Patriarch and this morning the Cardinal of Jerusalem," Herzog said.

He continued, "I believe in real dialogue with our brothers and sisters from the Evangelical world in the United States and elsewhere. So, the Christian communities are a top priority in Israel and we are doing our best that they will flourish and grow."

Herzog spoke of a zero tolerance of anti-Christian behavior. "I know of cases where there was tension and we're dealing with it aggressively and there's a major reduction in moments of friction. Now we have to work hard throughout the region. Christian communities will be strong and will flourish because there is a movement to shun out Christian communities, especially in some of the Muslim world, in Palestinian communities and elsewhere. And we are dealing with it as well. And I'm here for any Christian community that needs support of any kind. People know it. And I speak to their leaders all the time."

EXCLUSIVE: SERBIAN PRESIDENT VUČIĆ SAYS SUPPORT FOR US 'SURGED' UNDER TRUMP, INVITES HIM TO VISIT BELGRADE

Herzog weighed in on the controversy surrounding the dismissal of the International Criminal Court’s Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan, who issued the arrest warrants against Netanyahu, after member states voted to remove him over sexual misconduct allegations.

Herzog said Khan "absolutely" pushed forward with the arrest warrants to try to distract attention from the sexual assault allegations against him. He added that Khan had wanted to come to Israel to meet with various experts and leaders, including the Israeli president himself.

"Everybody got ready to talk to him and present the real story and the real truth," Herzog told Fox News Digital. "His staff were on their way to the airport and all of a sudden he issued these orders and writs against Prime Minister Netanyahu, [then] Defense Minister [Yoav] Gallant and others. And only in hindsight now we know clearly that it was in order to divert attention from the sexual allegations.

"The case has to be dropped and the ICC should ... not fall into the trap of hate and lies that Karim Khan presented simply to cover for himself," said Herzog.

Lawyers for Karim Khan have said they "will challenge the lawfulness and fairness of the decision through all available legal mechanisms."

Just hours before President Trump’s announcement that Hamas had agreed to a roadmap that includes disarmament on Thursday, Herzog praised the "enormous efforts" by the U.S. administration to advance the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire.

"This is something that can be a major breakthrough if it happens. Let's remember, the 20-point plan of President Trump was approved by the [United Nations] Security Council, and the next phase is disarming of Hamas," Herzog told Fox News Digital.

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"The people of Gaza deserve a better life. And there is a real viable plan, including budget and efforts, how to change the course of the future," he added.

But one thing has to be made clear, he concluded: "Hamas cannot control Gaza and cannot turn it into a launching pad for terror and hate anymore."

Fauci's Fifth fuels vow to haul him into court 'every day' despite Biden pardon

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 10:39:57 -0400

Former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci may be spending more time in the Deep South than he envisioned after officials in Alabama and Florida announced plans to investigate whether he can be held accountable under state law for maladministration of the COVID-19 response.

Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination 111 times during a Senate hearing Wednesday.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., argued that former President Joe Biden’s blanket pardon eliminated Fauci’s federal criminal exposure for covered conduct and undercut his basis for refusing to answer.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., alluded to that detail and told Fox News Digital that same pardon cannot prevent prosecution at the state level under the Constitution — which says presidential pardons cover "offenses (sic) against the United States."

CAN FAUCI HIDE BEHIND THE FIFTH? GAME-CHANGING BIDEN PARDON MAY NOT PROVIDE COMPLETE COVER, EXPERTS SAY

"Anthony Fauci is responsible for the deaths of millions of Americans and tens of thousands of Alabamians," Tuberville told Fox News Digital. "The ‘pardon’ signed by Joe Biden’s autopen doesn’t apply to state-level crimes."

"When I’m governor of Alabama, I will look into ways we can hold Fauci accountable for all of the Alabamians who died under his watch," the former Auburn football icon said.

TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM FAUCI'S HEARING: PAUL BOOTS LAWYER, MORENO ERUPTS AS CONTEMPT VOTE LOOMS

Tuberville — who is favored to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Kay Ivey in November — indicated he would order Fauci to Montgomery, Alabama, as many times as he could to face state charges, and encouraged Alabamians to bring their own civil claims against the 85-year-old immunologist.

Speaking to Newsmax from the Capitol, Tuberville separately fumed that Fauci "should be locked up before he leaves this building today."

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

"We lost 20-30,000 (people) in Alabama alone, and I hope every damn one of them sues Fauci."

Tuberville said that if state prosecutors can't imprison Fauci, he would support voluminous litigation to "put him in court for the rest of his life where he can listen to the death he caused.

He told Fox Business that when he regularly heard from Fauci during COVID on the HELP Committee, and now believes he "lied … and knew he was lying" due in part to revelations in the doctor’s diary.

"He's going to court every day of his life for the rest of his life. And he's going (to) have to look these people in the face, these families, because the pardon does not cover state government."

Fox News Digital reached out to Ivey for comment on whether she would pursue similar action in the final months of her administration.

Florida also is investigating Fauci’s COVID-era tenure. Attorney General James Uthmeier confirmed to Fox News Digital that "any and all potential violations of Florida law" are on the table.

"Our inquiry will focus on what Fauci knew, when he knew it, and how he misled the American people. We will examine the physical and monetary harms to Floridians that may have resulted from his deceptions and determine whether his conduct exposes him to liability under state law," said Uthmeier press secretary Jae Williams.

Lt. Gov. Jay Collins — who is running for governor to succeed boss Gov. Ron DeSantis — fully backed Uthmeier’s probe in an interview Thursday with Fox News Digital.

"There has to be accountability ... between families getting threatened and our kids not being able to potentially go to school because of the risks coming from Fauci," he said.

Collins noted he is a 100%-disabled retired amputee veteran, and said he couldn’t get care from Veterans Affairs unless he had a COVID-19 shot.

"I had to make a choice of getting my prosthetic care and having a leg to walk on versus taking an immunization that I didn't want or believe in," he said, blaming Fauci's prescriptions for "generational loss" of businesses nationwide.

Asked about Fauci criticizing DeSantis in his diary, Collins said it was a badge of honor to be the state on the receiving end of "pejoratives."

DeSantis "became America's governor. Greatest governor in our state's history, largely because of what he did in COVID. When our president, our federal government, other world leaders were attacking him, he stood there and took it over and over and over."

"We protected America," he said of Tallahassee’s government. "We pushed back on the Fauci-Ouchie and all the nonsense that came from it … I’m glad (Fauci) was offended."

DeSantis similarly called Fauci the "most destructive bureaucrat in the history of the United States of America," when asked on Fox News to respond to the diary entries that called him a "jerk" and more.

While California’s current leadership complied with and welcomed Fauci’s prescriptions, the state’s Republican gubernatorial nominee said after watching Fauci plead the Fifth, he drafted a plan similar to his Deep South compatriots to bring the bureaucrat to justice.

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"What an absolute disgrace — when will there be any accountability for this guy," Hilton said in a statement.

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"I tell you, when I'm governor of California we will have a COVID Accountability Commission," he said on Facebook, Hilton said the panel would examine Fauci and California officials over policies "who caused so much pain and suffering and cruelty in this absolute disaster of public policy."

Fox News Digital reached out to Fauci via counsel for comment. DeSantis' office directed Fox News Digital to his quoted comments.

Smokin' Charley Hull refuses to apologize for pulling prank on her caddie, Skenes hits a wall & Golden Girls

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 10:22:02 -0400

I'm officially back in the saddle for a fresh edition of Saturday Screencaps after spending a few days in a secluded cottage with the family in an area where cellphone coverage was spotty and it felt absolutely amazing. The only TV I watched was local weather reports and the Golden Girls on some channel called ROAR.

Never forget that the wokes at Hulu went after the Golden Girls a few years back for an episode the wokes were worried would be interpreted as a blackface episode.

Let's get the morning rolling with great news. Speaking of the wokes, Smokin' Charley Hull is REFUSING to bend a knee to the dork golf media losers who are mad at her for pulling a scratch-off ticket joke on her caddie where the caddie thought he'd won $100k.

This IS GOLF. This is what you'd expect out of a woman who has been dubbed the John Daly of Women's Golf by the OutKick Culture Department. If Hull isn't pulling pranks, gambling, smoking, drinking, etc., then we have a problem.

Over on Twitter, the bots are FURIOUS at Charley. "It’s amazing once people get a bit of money they look at poorer people as toys for their entertainment. Quite sick really," some bot named Sad Greg wrote.

"How does anyone think this is funny?! This is horrible. Especially from someone who doesn’t have money issues. The only way this is a ‘prank’ is if she gave him said amount of money after she told him it was lie and he didn’t win anything. S----y human behavior," some member of the Alphabet Mafia added.

JORDAN SPIETH SAYS GAMBLING IS FUELING ROWDY GOLF CROWDS AND WANTS THE SPORT TO ADDRESS IT SOON

Blah, blah, blah. These idiots have never been on a golf course in a real golf environment where guys are pranking each other with fake snakes, exploding golf balls, cheating, kicking balls out from behind trees, cursing, asking cart girls ridiculous questions, telling rangers to go f-themselves, taking leaks in the middle of fairways and on and on and on.

Suck it, wokes.

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

TRAVEL BASKETBALL PARENTS CRY FOUL AS OHIO TOURNAMENT ADMISSION PRICE HITS A SHOCKING NEW HIGH

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Observations from the last five days

Going in, I didn't think I was going to be interested in Mackinac Island, only to be completely fascinated by the operation of the island once we walked around and rode around in a carriage for an hour. I'm fascinated by the dudes scooping up horse crap all day long. I'm fascinated by the Grand Hotel carriages that were very, very elite. I was fascinated by the lobby of the Grand Hotel, which looked like it was straight out of an episode of the Golden Girls. I was fascinated by contractors who were working on mansions and how they are able to move scaffolding and everything they need to work on projects. I was fascinated by the UPS truck sitting on the Mackinac Island loading dock where it is required to off-load its boxes onto horse-drawn carriages. And I was fascinated by the golf course with golf carts juxtaposed with horse carriages. I'll go back to play that course.
By the way, downtown on that island on a Tuesday at 2 p.m. was insane. PACKED. So packed that it was not comfortable walking down the street.
The kids enjoyed jaywalking, but having to dodge bicyclists and horse carriages.
Yes, even the beer guy transports the beer kegs to bars via horse-drawn carriages.
It didn't rain over five days in northern Michigan. I've now spent 11 days Up North this summer and it hasn't rained once.
I'm left wondering who's going to buy all the cabins after the Baby Boomers die off.

A report from London

– X-Canuck checks in: I just returned from vacation in London, then Paris and thought I would give your readers some tips and info if they ever plan on going over there. London was great, they speak the language, you can watch TV, have a variety of different foods, tons of great sights to see, wheeling around in my wheelchair was easy-peasy with the black cabs. What was interesting is that after work, pretty much everyone goes down to the pub and drinks beers for a couple of hours before heading home. Also interesting is they still have remote work on Fridays as a carryover from COVID, so the pubs are pretty much empty because no one comes into the city!

Top highlights include:

* afternoon tea at the Wolseley with the missus, that was a hit! She absolutely loved it

* British museum incredible, Natural History museum great

* pubs serve great food - shepherds pie, fish and chips, Sunday roast all pretty tasty

The drawback was the crowds. Joe, it was packed almost everywhere you went. Hoards of tour buses from foreign lands, kids on school trips, people everywhere! I recommend avoiding the month of June and pick another time to go.

Took the bullet train down to Paris, which was a wonderful experience (that thing rolls at speeds of up to 180 mph!) Discounted tickets, fees, abound if you are in a wheelchair! Paris is a beautiful city although not as easy to get around and the people are not as nice. Downright rude when driving, scooters and bikes weaving in and out, people opening their windows and yelling all the time.

Top highlights include:

* The Louvre was amazing

* The Palace of Versailles is massive

* The Eiffel Tower was amazing

* The Arc de Triomphe is larger than expected

* Lots of shopping and sprung for a LV for the missus

* The food was pretty standard at every cafe and after a while got old. I ended up at Benihana Paris one night to get some variety.

Again, the crowds were insane! Just not fun no matter where you went. We were there with the heat dome and it was 107 in Paris and, according to my buddies back home, it was 108 in Phoenix. They are all green there so there is very little air conditioning, no paper plates, no plastic cutlery, no plastic bags . . . even the fries at McDonald's came in a hard plastic container that you returned to be washed and reused. The Filet-O-Fish with yellow curry was amazing by the way. Interesting that the Mayor of Paris came out condemning the US for all of its greenhouse gases and why they don't have any air conditioning, but not a peep was mentioned about China or India. Oh, and over 6,000 people died during the heat dome. Guess being green is better than people's lives.

This leads me to my final point . . . the influencers were EVERYWHERE! Joe, they are horrible. As the missus and I are waiting for our chance to see the Mona Lisa, there was a crowd waiting to move up to the roped off area to get a closer look. There was a young couple that were clearly influencers from a foreign land that HAD THEIR BACKS TO THE MONA LISA, had the camera up high and were posing for repeated pics with pursed lips, peace signs, turn the other cheek, smile, tongues out, I could go on and on. Talk about being unaware. When they finally had all their snaps, they pushed through the crowd to go find the next place to generate likes. No appreciation that they were standing in front of one of the most priceless paintings in history.

Since OutKick is always on the cutting edge of cultural changes, here is the next one that is going to hit. People are going to start banning influencers everywhere. There is a restaurant in Nantucket I just read about that has banned all influencers. Fox had an article about a bakery owner here in Phoenix that went viral when an influencer tried to scam him by leaving bad reviews if he didn't pay up. He turned the tables on her good. See it here:

BAKERY OWNER WHO WENT VIRAL WITH RESPONSE TO CRITICAL INFLUENCER SPEAKS OUT ON WHY SHE DEFENDED HER BUSINESS

So, you are going to start seeing more and more of this and I can't wait. We all need to rally around this effort. It continues to amaze me the continually stupid things people will do for the likes and hearts . . . where is the sanity in this world.

Thank you to those who sent this to me

You guys get me. The Bee gets me. The travel ball loyalists will say its their way to spend time with their kids. Meanwhile, my kids played rec ball and I just spent a week swimming with them in waterfalls, watched them paddle board through a Pure Michigan sunset, got to pick Petoskey stones with them and watch the Golden Girls with them.

And we didn't step foot in a Hampton Inn the entire time.

############################

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My time is up this morning. We'll get cranking for real on Monday as we enter the first week of the football season. Yes, the Hall of Fame game is next week. It's here. The grind all the way to the Super Bowl begins now.

Go have a great weekend. Respect Summer® and let's get down to football business on Monday.

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Educators warn AI debate has focused too much on cheating, not enough on student learning

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 10:00:42 -0400

As the world scrambles to understand and use generative artificial intelligence in a variety of areas, the discourse about its implementation in higher education often centers around plagiarism and cheating. However, educators who spoke to Fox News Digital warned that the public is missing the point.

They argue that the real issue is determining what students have learned.

"I don't think cheating is the right concept to use here," Georgia Institute of Technology Regents’ Professor and Senior Associate Chair in the School of Interactive Computing Amy Bruckman told Fox News Digital. "I am not commenting on whether I think AI should be in the workplace. I'm simply saying, it seems like it will be, and therefore, banning students from using it at the university level seems like burying your head in the sand."

CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY AIMS TO PRODUCE 'IRREPLACEABLE' GRADUATES AS AI RESHAPES HIGHER EDUCATION

Bruckman argued that in order for universities to work with students learning in the age of AI, they must redesign what they are teaching in order to help students learn through using AI. However, Bruckman said that rather than taking advantage of technology to further their education, students are "avoiding learning" by using AI.

"Some of the current students are learning absolutely nothing in school," she said.

To understand what their students have actually learned, some professors have resorted to traditional methods of evaluation, such as handwritten exams that eliminate the possibility of relying on AI.

Bruckman told Fox News Digital that she is among the educators returning to analog evaluations by giving closed-book tests on paper to ensure that she is actually seeing what her students know. She said that this model separates students who used AI to complete their assignments without taking in the information from those who actually engaged with the content.

"I think we have to redesign our assessments to be resistant to AI," she said. "To say, 'I don't care whether you used AI or not, I'm going to give you a test that shows whether you learned the content that was part of the learning objectives.'"

CALIFORNIA PROFESSOR ARGUES NEED FOR 'OBJECTIVE MEASURES' AFTER STATE DROPS ACT/SAT REQUIREMENT

The Georgia Tech professor is not alone in rethinking how student learning is evaluated. Several educators are not pushing for a ban on AI, but for changes so they can truly evaluate students' understanding of the material.

Generations College Chancellor Dr. Grace Alexis told Fox News Digital that many faculty members initially viewed AI through the lens of potential cheating and plagiarism before realizing that they needed to rethink how to use the revolutionary technology in the classroom. Alexis said that this happened at her own institution and that instructors had not only learned how to use AI, but how to train students to use it in a way that enhances their critical thinking skills.

Alexis argued that the challenge is not simply allowing students to use AI, but ensuring that they do not end up relying on it. She compared it to the way previous generations used encyclopedias, noting that AI could be used to inform students' work without doing it for them.

"It's important for our students to understand that it is OK to use AI in the classroom ... It's really up to the faculty members to not only embrace the technology, but help their students embrace it properly and train them how to do that," she said.

While both educators who spoke to Fox News Digital agree that AI should be incorporated rather than banned outright, they warned that students still need to develop the critical-thinking skills that higher education is meant to cultivate.

"The students in my class fall into two groups," she explained. "The bottom half are definitely losing their critical thinking skills. I would not hire them to feed my cat, and I do not have a cat."

She said the other half of her students are still engaging with the material and are working to learn, adding that "we're not losing everyone, but we're losing a good chunk."

WILLIAM BENNETT, JON HAGE: AI CAN MIMIC A TEACHER, BUT IT CANNOT SHEPHERD A SOUL

Despite her concerns about the risks of generative AI use, Bruckman said that she has no interest in becoming an "AI cop." She recognized that despite whatever skepticism higher education has about AI, their students will need to use it when they enter the workforce.

"I don't want to waste my whole semester accusing people of AI use when they're going to need AI in their jobs," she said. "Teaching them appropriate use and redesigning assignments so that they can learn while using whatever tools they have at their disposal, I think, is the only way to go."

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Bruckman believes that higher education will eventually adapt to AI, but she remains concerned that students will be lost during the transition.

"We will meet this challenge," she said. "My concern is that we will lose a generation of students in the gap while we're figuring it out."

'Baywatch' star Brandy Ledford shares fitness secrets at 57, says she's 'not ready to hang up my bikini yet'

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 10:00:21 -0400

Brandy Ledford has no problem revealing the secrets behind her youthful glow.

The "Baywatch: Hawaii" alum said her beauty routine boils down to two Bs: "Botox and bleach."

The star, 57, who made hearts race as lifeguard Dawn Masterton, is hosting a luxury wellness retreat for women in September. She is also a creator on Passes, where she shares exclusive content and connects directly with fans.

JANE SEYMOUR, 75, SHARES HOW SHE APPROACHES AGING WITH VITALITY: 'BEST I CAN BE'

Ledford told Fox News Digital that she has zero qualms about still being recognized as a sex symbol by fans today.

"I love, I mean, I'm a grandmother," she gushed. "I mean, what? That's so great! I think it's so fun. I'm not ready to hang up my bikini yet."

As she has gotten older, Ledford said her fitness philosophy has evolved.

"My fitness routine these days focuses on strength training more than ever," she said. "When you get to be my age, you need to lift weights for bone density and longevity. My doctor is really stressing weight training using heavier weights for me."

WATCH: ‘BAYWATCH: HAWAII’ ALUM BRANDY LEDFORD REVEALS HER FITNESS SECRETS

"For the last few years, I was pretty addicted to yoga sculpt, a high-intensity yoga workout with light weights. I'm really trying to use much heavier weights now to strengthen my bones and muscles."

"I also still love walking, and I still love yoga," Ledford said. "I love to go on hikes. But I'd say right now, I'm really, really, really focused on serious weight training."

Ledford's commitment to fitness is not new. Looking back, she said landing "Baywatch" required her to kick one unhealthy habit.

WATCH: ‘BAYWATCH’ STAR BRANDY LEDFORD SAYS FAITH HELPED TRANSFORM HER SOBRIETY JOURNEY

"I'm a really good swimmer," she said. "I'm from the beach, so we grew up swimming in the ocean. But at the time, I was a smoker, and there were stamina tests. They would throw quarters to the bottom of the deep end of the pool, and you'd have to swim down. They wanted to see how long you could hold your breath. It was kind of hard for me at the time, so I quit smoking."

"I did end up getting a lot better at holding my breath underwater and became a lot better at swimming," she added.

Ledford also "hired a trainer immediately" to make sure she always looked swimsuit-ready for every scene.

"He trained me in the water and got me really comfortable working and exercising in the water," she said. "Then I worked out with weights. I also did a lot of workouts in the sand. The sand is an incredible workout. Even walking in the sand is a great workout. And when we got to Hawaii, we worked out at the gym there."

"I just trained a lot," she said. "I really wanted to be comfortable in my swimsuit and not be self-conscious. I think that shows. When you're self-conscious, it shows. So I wanted to feel comfortable, and the only way I knew how was to work out and take care of my body."

"We all made it a priority to get our workouts in and swim in the ocean. Walking from our trailer to the set in the sand was a workout in itself. That was really important to me, and it became part of my lifestyle. I've actually maintained it to this day."

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Ledford noted she still works out daily to look and feel her best.

"I think health is our greatest wealth," Ledford said. "I really believe that what you feel on the inside is going to come out on the outside. I've been sober for 14 years, and that's been a big life changer. I have a really strong faith in God. Listen, I do all the things, but it starts from the inside. I love really good skincare. I think healthy hair is a big part of it. And I think a beautiful smile is important. I'm always drinking water."

The actress said maintaining her appearance involves more than workouts and beauty treatments.

"I value what I look like on the outside because I value so much of the work I do on the inside," Ledford said. "I always say I do so much work in my inner life. The second I get up, I'm in prayer and meditation. I want to look as good on the outside as I feel on the inside, so I make it a priority. But I'm just as comfortable with no makeup, sweats, a hoodie and my fluffy slippers."

Ledford said she's feeling so good these days that she's even tempted to pull out her "Baywatch" swimsuit and rock it again.

"It's in storage somewhere," she said. "I might pull it out and do a photo shoot in it. It was pretty iconic — yellow — because red is what's known as the 'Baywatch' one-piece. But in 'Baywatch: Hawaii,' we wore yellow because it came from the Australian lifeguards. They wear yellow. It's not an easy color to pull off, but we had so much body makeup on that it all looked good."

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Ledford said she's excited to check out the new "Baywatch" reboot, which stars Brooks Nader, Shay Mitchell and Livvy Dunne, among others.

"The advice I'd give the ladies to look glamorous and effortless on the beach in all those scenes is to stay hydrated, wear sunscreen, work out and feel comfortable in your body. They're all so beautiful, fit and in great shape. Every one of those girls looks amazing."

"I think we tend to look back at our younger selves and say, 'I wish I'd known how cute I was. I wish I'd realized I looked good in that bikini.' So just know that you look amazing and let it shine from the inside."

Ledford said she isn't surprised "Baywatch" is still making a splash decades later.

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"First of all, it's iconic," she said. "It's a fantasy. People got to escape. The men were hot, and the women were beautiful. But there was also drama and really good action. It was just the perfect show. I think we need that in our lives again these days."

Nearly 2,000 ocean rescues occur as dangerous surf slams popular beaches this summer

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 10:00:06 -0400

A 10-year-old boy was standing in ankle-deep water at a California beach recently when he lost his footing and was pulled into the ocean by powerful surf.

Ryder Williams, a 16-year-old California State Parks lifeguard, radioed for help and raced into the water at Seabright State Beach in Santa Cruz during the July 25 emergency, as Fox News Digital previously reported.

The lifeguard's dramatic and widely hailed rescue of the boy — including by President Donald J. Trump, who invited the "heroic young man" and his family to the White House to be recognized — came during a weekend of extremely hazardous conditions along the California coast.

TEXAS TEEN BITTEN BY BARRACUDA IN POPULAR VACATION SPOT AFTER BRACELET GLINTS IN WATER

Hundreds of miles south, Los Angeles County lifeguards performed nearly 2,000 ocean rescues as extreme heat sent large crowds to the beaches, according to the Los Angeles County Lifeguard Division.

Water safety experts interviewed by Fox News Digital are urging beachgoers to take extra precautions as elevated surf and strong rip currents continue to affect portions of the Southern California coast, according to the National Weather Service.

The Los Angeles County Lifeguard Division shared the rescue totals in an Instagram post, urging visitors to remain vigilant and speak with an on-duty lifeguard before entering the water.

"In total, @lacolifeguards performed just under 2,000 rescues as millions flocked to Los Angeles County beaches to beat the heat," the Instagram post read.

SHARK WEEK DANGERS HIT HOME AS MAN IS BADLY BITTEN WHILE SAVING PREGNANT FIANCÉE FROM HARM

"With a heat advisory continuing across the Southland and a Southern Hemisphere swell expected to keep surf elevated throughout the week, we encourage everyone to take proper precaution, and talk to a lifeguard about conditions before entering the water," officials said in the post.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Los Angeles County Fire Department, which oversees the Los Angeles County Lifeguard Division, for additional comment.

Swells from Hurricane Fausto affected Southern California during the rescue weekend and were expected to produce life-threatening surf and rip currents, according to the National Hurricane Center.

A later swell from Tropical Cyclone Genevieve was expected to bring high surf to Los Angeles and Ventura County beaches through Saturday, the National Weather Service said.

ANGRY CRUISE PASSENGERS BLAST MAJOR LINE OVER SURPRISE DAILY GRATUITY HIKE

The agency warned of very strong rip and longshore currents.

The conditions should not be viewed as a one-time event, said Dr. Molly O’Shea, a Detroit-based pediatrician with Goldfish Swim School.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center said El Niño is expected to strengthen.

O’Shea said the El Niño pattern, combined with swells, could produce elevated surf throughout the summer.

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"That combination can keep surf elevated on and off for weeks at a time," she told Fox News Digital.

O’Shea recommended that people swim near an open lifeguard tower and ask a lifeguard about the conditions before entering the water.

Also, "if you see someone struggling, don’t swim out after them without something that floats," she added.

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"Throw it, don’t go — a lot of rip current deaths are bystanders who tried to help and got caught themselves."

The National Weather Service advises beachgoers to seek out a lifeguard or call 911 when someone is caught in a rip current. A flotation device should be thrown to the person when possible, and would-be rescuers should not enter the water without flotation equipment, according to the agency.

When caught in a rip current, swimmers should remain calm and avoid attempting to swim directly against it, O’Shea said.

"Panic makes people swim as hard as they can against it, and that’s exactly backwards — you’ll exhaust yourself before you get anywhere," she said.

"The move is to relax, swim parallel to the beach until you’re out of the current, then let the waves angle you back in."

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Similarly, the National Weather Service advises swimmers caught in a rip current to move parallel to the shoreline until they escape its pull, then swim at an angle toward shore. Those who can't escape should float or tread water and signal for help, according to the agency.

Thomas Gill, president of the United States Lifesaving Association, urged beachgoers not to turn their backs on the ocean.

Gill, based in Virginia, told Fox News Digital that swimmers should "not overestimate [their] ability to handle rough conditions."

"The larger surf leads to more opportunity for strong rip currents," he said.

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Rescue events, he added, "are not as uncommon as they seem," particularly during periods of dangerous surf.

Bipartisan pair of senators urge Rubio to release aid to African women, children at risk of Ebola

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 09:36:08 -0400

Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., are urging the State Department to release hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to help women and infants affected by an Ebola outbreak in East Africa.

In a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday, the senators urged him to use $608 million in congressionally-approved international family-planning funds and distribute $1.7 million in already purchased family-planning supplies.

The supplies — which the senators implied included condoms, hormonal contraception, post-rape care medicine and hemorrhage medicines — are being stored at a facility in Geel, Belgium, according to the letter.

The senators said that if the supplies aren't used, their understanding is that they will be "destroyed."

EBOLA TREATMENT CENTER SET ON FIRE IN CONGO AFTER RESIDENTS CLASH WITH AUTHORITIES OVER VICTIM'S BODY

"Ebola during pregnancy is catastrophic, with a nearly 100 percent fetal loss rate and catastrophic material mortality risk due to severe hemorrhaging," the lawmakers wrote.

"By providing women with the option to voluntarily prevent unplanned pregnancies and to protect themselves from transmission of the virus and have access to clinics, the United States can prevent further deaths of women and the cruel and certain death of any fetus exposed to the virus," they added.

The senators also asked the State Department to issue a "humanitarian exception" to support the United Nations Population Fund's existing health clinics in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

SUDAN'S FORGOTTEN WAR LEAVES MILLIONS HUNGRY AS GLOBAL ATTENTION REMAINS ELSEWHERE

As of July 29, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had reported 3,532 Ebola cases in the DRC and 1,556 deaths, representing a mortality rate of roughly 44%.

In neighboring Uganda, there have been 20 confirmed cases and two deaths, according to the CDC.

Murkowski and Shaheen told the State Department that the virus's rapid spread "leaves no time for delay in providing all possible interventions to save lives."

VACATION HOT SPOT FACES NEW CDC TRAVEL WARNING AS OUTBREAK CASES CONTINUE CLIMBING

"The cost of [the] United States response is approaching $1 billion," they wrote. "Investment now in voluntary family planning is fiscally rational in addition to being morally urgent."

Fox News Digital reached out to the State Department for comment.

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The earliest known case in the latest Ebola outbreak involved a health worker in the DRC’s Ituri Province who developed symptoms in late April and later died, though the World Health Organization (WHO) believes transmission may have begun as early as March.

The WHO was first alerted to the outbreak on May 5 after four health workers died within four days. Ten days later, investigators confirmed that the illness was caused by Bundibugyo virus, a form of Ebola.

Sophie Cunningham sends blunt message to booing, trans flag-waving WNBA crowd after drilling shot

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 09:17:25 -0400

The Sophie Cunningham train rolled on through liberal Portland Friday night, and it didn't slow down for anyone.

And that includes all the boo-birds in the crowd who waved a trans flag every time Sophie touched the ball!

Cunningham and the Indiana Fever took down the Fire, 112-98, but nobody is here for the Xs and Os from the big win. Let's be honest.

STORM CO-OWNER SUSPENDED AFTER INCIDENT WITH SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM FANS AS STAR BREAKS SILENCE ON CONTROVERSY

Instead, you're here to see how Cunningham did ...

She dominated. Again.

The left's most-feared athlete finished with 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. She finished with the second-highest +/- of any player on the court (+18). Some player named Caitlin Clark led the way with a +23.

Wonder if she's any good?

Anyway, Cunningham faced a ton of nonsense from the onset, mainly from the crowd. Shockingly, those in California don't seem to agree with her very sane take that men don't belong in women's sports (novel concept), and they greeted her with boos every time she touched the ball.

Frankly, it didn't work out great:

Sophie Cunningham got the last laugh, again

"Sophie Cunningham knocks down the three and then lets the crowd hear about it!"

That's right. She did. With a big, fat "L" right to their booing faces after drilling the shot. Lordy. What a feeling that must be, especially in a place like Portland.

Side note: How funny is it that Sophie Cunningham's first two games after sending the country into a spiral for saying men don't belong in locker rooms were in SEATTLE and then PORTLAND? The WNBA Gods must just despise her.

Speaking of those Portland fans ... Just look at how they spend their Friday nights:

Imagine buying tickets to a sporting event just to purely go there and wave a trans flag and boo one specific player the entire night. What a life. What a calling.

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Sadly, Cunningham didn't give them much ammo. She missed two shots all night, and the Fever won their fifth straight game.

Choose your fighter, America.

Property owner advocacy groups push back on Mamdani's 'Rental Ripoff Report,' public database of landlords

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 09:00:51 -0400

Organizations that advocate on behalf of property owners called out New York City’s democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani in blistering statements to Fox News Digital.

Mamdani campaigned on freezing rents for New Yorkers and appears to have delivered on his crackdown on landlords, upsetting local property owners. He recently released a "Rental Ripoff Report," which makes the case that residents in the nation's largest city are paying too much rent while not receiving enough in return and offers 23 proposals to address the issue.

His administration also sparked controversy by publishing a searchable database identifying affluent property owners who could be subject to the city's proposed pied-à-terre tax, a move critics say could expose them to harassment and public safety risks.

The database, released by the city's Department of Finance, allows users to search properties and view the names and addresses of owners whose non-primary residences could be subject to the proposed tax. A spokesperson for the department said publication of the property roll was required by state law.

MAMDANI WARNING TO WEALTHY NEW YORKERS ABOUT 'FAIR SHARE' SPARKS ONLINE FIRESTORM: 'FULL BLOWN COMMUNIST'

The Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) President James Whelan told Fox News Digital that Mamdani was addressing the problem in a counterproductive way.

"The Mayor's report focuses on symptoms, not causes," he said. "New Yorkers are paying record-high rents because there is not enough housing, and many of the reported conditions are concentrated in heavily rent-stabilized buildings that are facing significant operational and financial challenges."

"Rather than addressing these issues directly, the administration continues to paint property owners with a broad brush, unfairly characterizing an entire industry," Whelan continued. "Seven months into this administration, it is time to prioritize policies that will truly make New York more affordable by increasing housing supply and preserving existing housing."

In response to the searchable database, he warned that many smaller property owners will be caught in the crossfire of what he described as a clumsily directed policy.

"By publishing a database of properties that might be subject to this tax before the tax has even been enacted, City Hall has only added to the confusion surrounding this proposal," Whelan said. "What this database really demonstrates is that the second-home tax is far broader and more complicated than its supporters have suggested."

"Policymakers should take a hard look at the many homeowners who could be swept in despite not fitting the profile of the ultra-wealthy residents this tax was supposedly designed to target," he added.

NEW YORK CITY LANDLORDS WARN AMERICAN DREAM IS SLIPPING AWAY UNDER SOCIALIST RENT POLICIES

Ann Korchak, board president of Small Property Owners of New York (SPONY), condemned Mamdani’s influence on politics in a statement to Fox News Digital while discussing his campaign.

"From the start of his mayoral campaign, Mamdani put a target on the backs of property owners," she said. "Small owners are the backbone of the city’s affordable housing stock. We are part of the solution, not the problem, yet he ignores our frontline experience when planning the future of housing."

"Mamdani repeatedly doubles down on making us the villains, using political stunts like ‘rental rip-off hearings’ and using City Administration officials to go door-to-door to organize tenants while on the taxpayer dime," Korchak continued. "They are not tenant organizers, they’re city officials who represent all New Yorkers — including thousands of small owners."

She added that the hearings were cynical political theater.

"The rental rip-off hearings process was no more independent and objective than last month’s Mamdani-appointed Rent Guidelines Board delivering the rent freeze that the Mayor demanded," Korchak said. "These hearings were political theater to make a case against us. The findings were decided before the hearings concluded, just as the rent freeze was predetermined as we learned from the board member who resigned because of the rigged process."

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She went on to warn that Mamdani’s policies will inevitably punish small businesses and immigrants.

"Mamdani’s housing agenda is stacked against us," Korchak told Fox News Digital. "His rent freeze sets us up for failure. The rents are frozen, but our operating costs and expenses — insurance, utilities, energy, repairs, labor — continue to skyrocket."

"Many rent-stabilized buildings are already at the edge of the economic cliff, and when our buildings fall into disrepair because of his policies, Mamdani will illegally take private buildings from mom-and-pop, immigrant, multi-generational owners and convert them into socialized housing or give them to his hand-picked nonprofit housing providers," she added.

Korchak concluded by warning that widespread damage will be done by his policy agenda.

"Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax is another nail in the coffin," she said. "Creating fear and financial pressure on modest, multi-generational owners, who have poured their life savings, sweat equity and heart and soul into their properties, will destroy the fabric of neighborhoods."

"His list is a database that proves he is targeting property ownership as a whole," Korchak added. "No one is safe."

Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani’s office but did not immediately receive a response.

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Fox News’ Amanda Macias, Alec Schemmel, Andrew Mark Miller, and Kiera McDonald contributed to this report.

Kelsey Grammer admits surprising reason 'Frasier' almost never happened

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 09:00:43 -0400

Kelsey Grammer is revealing the surprising twist that turned "Frasier" into one of television's most successful sitcoms.

The actor recently appeared on "Planet Tyrus," where he revealed he nearly starred in a different show after "Cheers" before one conversation changed everything.

Grammer spent nine seasons portraying the Boston psychiatrist on "Cheers," where the character evolved from Diane Chambers' love interest to one of the bar's most memorable regulars.

KELSEY GRAMMER SUSPECTS HE 'MAY HAVE' LOST HOLLYWOOD ROLES DUE TO CONSERVATIVE VIEWS

"It’s funny, I had visions," the star explained. "I’d been offered another show. They said, ‘We want to do a show with you when "Cheers" is over.’ They said, ‘We think you could actually carry a show on your own.’ I said, ‘Great.’ So we actually started doing it with the same writers that ended up on 'Frasier.' We wrote a completely different story, and they wrote a script. I thought it was kind of funny."

"I went out for dinner with John Pike, who was the president of Paramount at the time," the 71-year-old shared. "... I said, 'Have you read the script?' He said, 'Yeah. And I think a sitcom should be funny. ... This is what you guys have come up with? I don't like it. I think you should play Frasier.'"

"It was John Pike who said, 'Play Frasier.’"

WATCH: KELSEY GRAMMER SHARES THE KEY TO ACHIEVING THE 'AMERICAN DREAM'

Grammer was listening.

"I said, ‘OK, I see what you’re saying. Build an audience. I am kind of funny in the character. He can’t be married anymore, and he can’t have kids,’" Grammer said.

"He did have a son. ... My thing about sitcoms is if there's a child in it, the child growing up every year becomes the most interesting thing about the show. ... Becoming a young woman or becoming a young man is the only really interesting thing that's going on in front of you. So I got rid of that, had him come in once in a while."

Grammer said moving Frasier from Boston to Seattle helped separate the spinoff from "Cheers." It also gave a believable reason why his young son, Frederick, wasn't part of the show full-time instead of making the psychiatrist seem like a "deadbeat dad."

"[I] just had to be a man trying to find his way," said Grammer.

"Whose support payments were on time," Tyrus joked.

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"Frasier" premiered on Sept. 16, 1993, and ran for 11 seasons before ending on May 13, 2004. The sitcom won 37 Primetime Emmy Awards and drew 25.2 million viewers for its series finale, becoming one of television's most acclaimed comedies.

In 2023, Grammer reprised his iconic role in the "Frasier" revival on Paramount+, which followed the psychiatrist's return to Boston. The series ran for two seasons before Paramount+ canceled it in 2025.

Noticeably absent from the reboot was John Mahoney, who played Grammer’s on-screen father, Martin Crane. Mahoney died in 2018 at 77.

"John was a remarkably fun guy," Grammer told Fox News Digital in 2021. "He was always kind and sweet and lovely. But the ironic thing about him — when I was directing him once on the show, I said, ‘John, let’s put the dog Eddie in your lap.’ And he says, ‘No, no.’ I said, ‘What’s going on?’ ‘He always bites me. He always growls at me. He scares me, and I don’t like it.’ So I thought, ‘Oh, this is weird. I had no idea.’"

"So they had to put a little sardine oil on his hands, so the dog would lick something instead of trying to growl at him or bite him. This love for Eddie that existed on the show really wasn’t real. It was just an on-camera love. They fought each other, and he was really funny about his relationship with the dog."

"... Every time I spoke to him, we just had a great time," Grammer continued. "We spent time in New York together off-screen, and I saw him in Chicago, and I saw him in Ireland once. He was just a wonderful guy."

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At the time, Grammer said he was eager for what the future held, both personally and professionally.

"You know what? Life always inspired me," he said. "Life and the variety of experience is what inspires me. People inspire me; I love people. I mean, it’s odd that I ended up on a show that was based in a bar. My favorite places on Earth are bars. I’ve had the best experiences, met the most interesting people in bars around the world. And so, what keeps me going personally is that there is always another experience I haven’t known."

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"... I'll go right up to the edge before it starts to get dangerous," he joked. "But I love it. I love riding horses, I love shooting guns, I love just exploring all the things that people can do and all the things that a character can do and show you. By virtue of the fact that you've played it, you've actually kind of lived it."

BROADCAST BIAS: Networks go from hiding Fauci diaries to defending him from Republicans

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 09:00:32 -0400

An easy way to demonstrate that the broadcast networks have a deep-seated Democratic Party bias is to evaluate how they cover congressional committee investigations. If a committee is assembled to destroy Republican reputations, everything it does is newsworthy. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s January 6 Committee was Exhibit A. It was "perfect," in that it had no Republican counterweight on it.

If a committee is trying to hold Democrats accountable for government overreach, the networks avoid it like … a deadly bat virus. On July 25, Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul released more than 1,100 pages of COVID-19 czar Dr. Anthony Fauci's personal diary (from his government computer) spanning 2019 to 2022.

Two days later, "CBS Evening News" broke the network silence with a 24-second report. Then there was nothing for another two days until the morning Fauci was scheduled to appear before Paul’s committee.

FAUCI'S NEWLY RELEASED COVID DIARIES REVEAL BIZARRE FIXATION ON FAME AS PANDEMIC DEATHS MOUNTED

It's not like there was nothing newsworthy in Fauci’s diary entries. For example, he admitted early on that COVID did not emerge from the Wuhan wet markets, but he spent 2020 aggressively denouncing the lab-leak thesis as a fringy conspiracy theory – with much media amplification.

Surely, the entries the networks hated the most were the references to the fawning friendships he developed with TV anchors and hosts. ABC’s George Stephanopoulos texted, "Thank you, Tony, so impressive" after one interview. He recounted a warm conversation with then-NBC anchor Chuck Todd about how to deal with the cantankerous conservative media.

In July 2020, Fauci gushed that he was forming a friendship with CNN’s Jake Tapper. "Had dinner over Jake Tapper and Jen Tapper’s home in DC. Terrific couple. Friendship building," Fauci wrote. Later that month, Fauci wrote that he "gave Jake some questions to ask" Trump adviser and pediatrician Brett Giroir during a very hostile interview on CNN’s "State of the Union."

INSIDE FAUCI'S PRIVATE DIARY: WHAT HE WROTE ABOUT TRUMP, TV PERSONALITIES AND CELEBRITIES

Then on Oct. 23, 2020, there was more: "Had dinner at my home with Jake and Jennifer Tapper. Relaxed, good time. Jake clearly believes that Trump is totally nuts." These dinners came at a time when this kind of socializing was strongly discouraged between family members, but clearly the elitist media and government officials were exempt from these orders.

Once the networks began covering the Fauci hearing, it became clear they were like Fauci’s unpaid defense lawyers. Before the hearing, ABC reporter Jay O’Brien fretted on "Good Morning America" that it would be a "fiery hearing" for poor Fauci at "85 years old," who "has long been a target" of Sen. Paul, noting his lawyer said Paul’s conducted a "years-long public crusade against the doctor, not a genuine quest for information." That sounds like ABC’s reporting on Trump.

"CBS Mornings" previewed the hearing with Biden transition-team adviser Dr. Celine Gounder, who bizarrely claimed Fauci never had authority to close the country down, even as Fauci bragged about all the politicians taking his advice. She also denied Fauci had ever reveled in being famous, which is just a brazen lie.

WATCH: FAUCI ATTORNEY EJECTED FROM SENATE HEARING AFTER CHAOTIC EXCHANGE: ‘YOU ARE NOT RECOGNIZED!’

On both NBC’s morning and evening news shows on hearing day, reporter Monica Alba actually quoted from Fauci’s writings, including the part reveling in his fame. But the networks repeatedly made it sound like Paul did something wrong or impolite in releasing Fauci’s "private diaries," which were composed on a government computer as preparation for his impending book deal.

"CBS Evening News" harped on the "angry Senate hearing" where Paul "kicked one of Fauci’s lawyers out" (for trying to answer for Fauci) while "Democrats accused the GOP of conducting a biased investigation." At least fill-in anchor Matt Gutman aired excerpts of his interview with National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a longtime Fauci critic, who explained there was American support for "gain-of-function" research to engineer a more dangerous virus in China.

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On both Wednesday night and Thursday morning, ABC’s Jay O’Brien touted Fauci as "the man millions of Americans turned to for answers during the COVID pandemic." His refusal to answer was presented as merely sad: "The 85-year-old Fauci, who served in government for 54 years and has testified in more than 200 hearings, sitting stone-faced as Republicans needled him." Republicans pounced on The Science was the gist of it.

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The drop-dead funniest proclamation came the next morning from ABC "Good Morning America" co-host George "so impressive, Tony" Stephanopoulos. He mourned it was "a sign of the times" that the Fauci hearing was "about as partisan as it gets." But there was somehow no partisanship during the January 6 hearings, as Stephanopoulos touted former Rep. Liz Cheney’s "lonely path" as a Republican serving Pelosi’s purposes.

So Republican hearings, when they’re actually mentioned on the news, are spun as angry partisan spectacles, but Democrat hearings are presented as the noblest expressions of democracy and accountability. This blatantly partisan spin is why public trust in the elitist media is so low.

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