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Parents drop eye popping fees on sorority rush coaches to get kids into elite college Greek life

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 07:00:40 -0400

Forget SAT tutors — parents are now spending thousands of dollars on professional "rush coaches" months or even a year before their daughters set foot on a college campus.

Viral social media trends, documentaries and intense competition at top universities have turned college sorority recruitment into a high-stakes process. Young women are polishing their resumes, practicing their social skills and cultivating a specific look for a chance to join their top-choice house.

Consultants are now hired to do everything from crafting professional resumes and conducting mock conversation drills to hosting practice events where young women learn how to handle Southern heat and intense social settings.

SOUTHERN SORORITY GIRLS PUT THROUGH 'PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE' IN CUTTHROAT BAMA RUSH RECRUITMENT: COACH

Trisha Addicks, founder of sorority consulting service It’s All Greek to Me, told Fox News Digital that viral southern "rush" videos are driving more out-of-state students to seek her services.

"I have seen a big change in the geography of people who come to our company, and it's much more the northeast, California, the midwest, it's not the traditional southern families that are coming to us," Addicks said. "It's because the parents and the families are seeing rush online, and they're wanting to come south, but they have no idea how to navigate it and that's what we do."

Addicks explained that prep work with her team of mentors is individualized for every student. It can include securing recommendation letters, practicing conversation skills and learning how to navigate high-pressure situations, which she says can prepare young women for their future careers.

"The biggest misconception is that we're just telling them what to wear and telling them that they should be wearing certain brands or look a certain way, because that's not it at all," Addicks added, later describing one of the mock events her company runs in preparation for rush week.

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"You're experiencing the chaos, the heat, the sometimes rain," she said. "And then you are having real conversations with sorority actives and people who are my mentors who work with me. And it gets you an idea of what an actual rush party is [going to] look like, and it's a great preparer."

Addicks' unlimited services now cost families $6,500 per daughter, a price increase she attributed to growing demand. While coaching comes with no guarantees, Addicks said she frequently acts as a referee for anxious parents when recruitment stress peaks.

"So, in my experience, which has been for 30 years now, parents don't really have any idea how much they're [going to] lose their minds when their daughters are in rush itself," Addicks said.

"All of a sudden, their daughter's calling them crying, and they want to help," Addicks said, noting that her team helps "talk them out of their tree" and advises clients on how to move forward positively.

"They get to the end, and they're like, ‘Okay, I should not have lost my mind.’ But I get it, I understand it, I'm a parent, but that's when the apology flowers come," she added.

Addicks isn’t the only consultant seeing a surge in business. Jennifer Carabetta, a high school theater teacher and founder of Crush My Rush, charges a flat fee of $1,500 to guide her clients through the recruitment cycle, from cleaning up their online presence to late-night or early morning pep talks.

Carabetta, who launched her business after helping her own daughter navigate recruitment at the University of Georgia, said modern rush requires digital brand management long before girls arrive at the sorority houses.

"Your Instagram for these girls going through recruitment is really truly their personality on a screen," Carabetta said. "The recruiters inside a sorority look at those Instagrams to try to gauge what you're all about. You post a picture of an amazing brunch with a cute matcha on the side, and you’re like, ‘Brunch day.’ That little thing can really resonate with someone."

Carabetta said she capped her roster at 45 clients for the latest fall cycle. While much of her work happens before rush, she said she mostly provides emotional support during recruitment itself.

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"I’m not judgy with them if they tell me something. I’m there to listen and just say, 'Okay, that's valid what you're feeling, and let’s work with this and now let's get dressed and go because you have a party in 15 minutes, so put your makeup on, girl. Buck up, little camper,'" Carabetta said jokingly.

Carabetta pushed back against the idea that rush coaching makes Greek life overly transactional, comparing her service to private sports coaching or SAT tutoring.

"If you're on a dance team, you might hire a private instructor to help you with those fouetté turns and nobody questions that. You want to go to a certain college and get your SAT score up, nobody questions that," Carabetta said.

"They're really looking for those deeper connections. And that's what I get from every girl I help with, is that they're looking for those deeper connections," she added.

While coaches frame their work as practical prep, clinical psychologist Seth Meyers said the trend may also reflect how parents handle major college milestones. Meyers, host of the YouTube channel ‘Dr. Seth: Psychologist,’ told Fox News Digital that the surge in hiring consultants stems from a phenomenon called "informational social influence."

"If people know that other people are engaging in a certain behavior, like using rush consultants, they tell themselves, 'Those people must know something I don't,'" Meyers said. "This triggers a type of fear and anxiety that people have that they may miss out if they don't pursue this."

He said that for many parents, rushing is about securing lifelong social connections and networking opportunities for their daughters at a time when they may feel they are losing control over their children’s lives. He also noted that some families may view investing in lifelong social relationships as just as valuable as hiring an SAT tutor for academic success.

Meyers cautioned that the emotional stakes can become increasingly steep when thousands of dollars are on the line. "The consequence of being rejected from a sorority, especially after going to great lengths, like hiring a consultant … can feel emotionally catastrophic to the young person," Meyers said, noting that freshman year is already full of anxiety.

"Responsible parents who pursue rush consultants have to work equally hard to emotionally prepare their daughters for a possible Plan B," he added. "Without a replacement plan in place, the risk for the sense of emotional catastrophe increases."

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Meyers emphasized that while consultants can guide students through recruitment, sorority coaching is not a substitute for clinical mental health support. "Coaches are not therapists," Meyers said. "For anyone struggling with real anxiety, what they should really do is seek out a licensed mental health professional through this process as well."

Boater was drunk, dancing before Boston Harbor crash that killed 24-year-old former soccer player, DA says

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 07:00:31 -0400

The boater charged in the crash that killed a 24-year-old former student athlete was intoxicated and dancing with his hands off the wheel when he steered a stolen boat into a Boston pier, prosecutors said.

Lawrence Shieh, 40, of Boston, was indicted by a Suffolk County grand jury on multiple charges in connection with the May 13 crash that killed Elizabeth "Lizzie" Dankert, 24, and injured two of her friends. He is charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter, one count of boat OUI causing death, two counts of boat OUI causing serious bodily injury, using a boat without authority, and a Logan International Airport security zone violation.

Shieh's blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit following a night of bar-hopping before he crashed the boat.

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"That night, Lawrence Shieh drank a mix of alcoholic beverages at the ReelHouse with friends and several other bars in the Seaport," Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden told reporters. "Blood testing after the crash recorded his blood-alcohol at .20, or more than twice the .08 legal limit here in Massachusetts."

The boat, which was not equipped with exterior lighting, had been docked at Freedom Boat Club in Boston's Seaport District before it was taken without permission. Although Shieh held membership in the club, he had no authorization to remove the vessel. Hayden said cellphone footage — including video recorded on Dankert's phone — captured the moments leading up to the deadly crash.

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"Cellphone videos recorded Shieh's conduct, including inattentiveness at the helm, dancing and engaging with the three young women. Approximately six seconds before the crash, Shieh is captured on video with both hands off the wheel of the boat," Hayden said.

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The boat then crashed nearly head-on into Pier 4R at Logan.

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"Recovered data from the boat navigation system indicates that the boat was traveling at a dangerously excessive speed for the area of 36 mph at the time of the crash," Hayden said.

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Dankert struck her head and died as a result of blunt force injuries. The other two women and Shieh suffered non life-threatening injuries.

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Dankert, of Andover, was a 2024 graduate of Union College, where she played soccer.

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"Lizzie was an exceptional student-athlete who had a tremendous impact during her four years at Union College," Union College spokesperson Phillip Wajda told Boston 25 in a statement. Fox News Digital has reached out to Union College for comment.

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In his first hearing, a cash bail was set at $25,000 with conditions for Shieh to stay away and have no contact with the female witnesses, Fan Pier and Freedom Boat Club employees, stay away from the ReelHouse in Seaport and no boating or consume alcohol during the investigations.

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Shieh's attorney, Nick Pisegna, said in the hearing that his client did not have a criminal record and has been "diligently attending" his appointments following the incident.

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Shieh was released after posting bail. He is due back in court on Oct. 8 at 2 p.m. for a pre-trial conference. Fox News Digital has reached out to Shieh's attorney for comment.

3 common factors may be secretly speeding up the aging process, expert says

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 07:00:21 -0400

Lifestyle habits and environmental exposures may affect processes involved in cellular health and biological aging.

That's according to functional medicine expert Dr. Will Cole, co-author of the upcoming book "Heal Your Cells," who believes modern lifestyle factors may contribute to cellular dysfunction, which can can influence inflammation, sleep and other processes tied to overall health.

"Our genetics haven't changed in thousands of years, but our world has changed dramatically in such a finite period of time," Pennsylvania-based Cole told Fox News Digital. "It’s the foods we're eating or not eating, it's environmental toxins that were never on the landscape before, it’s stress and trauma."

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Cole said these pressures may contribute to what he calls an "accelerated aging problem," in which biological age may differ from chronological age.

"Many people in their 20s, 30s and 40s have the cells of a senior citizen," he said. "That's common, [but] not normal."

Cole noted that people may normalize persistent symptoms, such as brain fog and fatigue, instead of discussing them with a health professional. Those symptoms are non-specific and can stem from a range of medical, lifestyle and mental-health factors.

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Cole said that, in some cases, changes tied to cellular dysfunction may begin years before a person receives a medical diagnosis — but that people often dismiss or push through early symptoms.

He identified the following three factors that can most disrupt cellular communication, creating "cellular noise" that may contribute to accelerated aging and disease.

No. 1: An unhealthy diet

Eating foods that "don’t love human body back" is the first agitator of cell health — particularly inflammatory foods, according to Cole.

Failing to stick to a consistent eating window — and instead eating over long stretches of the day without giving the body time to digest and fast — can also disrupt cellular balance, he said.

No. 2: Exposure to toxins

Cole cited certain environmental exposures, including pesticides, herbicides and PFAS — sometimes called "forever chemicals" — as potential concerns for overall health. The effects of an exposure depend on the substance, dose and duration of contact, experts say.

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He also pointed to infectious pathogens, such as bacteria and viruses, and exposure to mold as factors that can affect health.

Evening exposure to blue-enriched light can interfere with circadian timing for some people, while a consistent sleep-wake schedule and daytime light exposure may support healthy sleep and cellular health, Cole added.

No. 3: Chronic stress, trauma and disconnection

Cole also pointed to chronic stress, unresolved trauma and a lack of social or spiritual connection as factors that could be linked to more cellular noise.

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Some observational research has linked religious or spiritual involvement with lower levels of certain inflammatory markers and better health outcomes, although such studies cannot prove that faith itself causes those effects.

"That's something that's not talked [about] a lot in the biohacking world," Cole said. "What's your relationship with God and how does that show up in the cells on a somatic level?"

"The research shows that people who have a ‘faith walk’ tend to live longer, healthier, more youthful, vibrant lives."

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Cole said a person may find similar benefits through any belief system or community that "shifts your state," as well as through a connection to nature.

Giving the body a 'fighting chance'

Modern stressors may affect the body in ways that are not always immediately visible, Cole noted.

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"The cell becomes confused and doesn't know how to function well and doesn't know how [to] repair itself," he said. "We just need to give our body a fighting chance to hear through the noise."

He added that addressing physical, mental-emotional and spiritual well-being may help reduce what he calls "epigenetic noise."

Dolly Parton’s six-decade love story with Carl Dean began at a laundromat

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 07:00:05 -0400

Dolly Parton lived much of her life in the spotlight, but her greatest love story unfolded almost entirely away from it.

The country music legend, who died on Tuesday at the age of 80 after a "brief battle with cancer," was married for almost 60 years to her late husband Carl Dean. Parton's death comes less than 18 months after she lost Dean, who died in March 2025 at age 82.

While announcing her passing, her nephew Bryan Seaver shared their family's belief that she had been reunited with the man she called the "star of my life story."

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"Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl, her parents and countless others who have watched her and longed to meet her in the heavens," Seaver said.

Despite being married to the internationally famous singer, Dean was a very private man who steered clear of the limelight and was rarely seen in public.

The couple's romance began with a chance meeting on Parton's first day in Nashville in 1964. At the time, Parton was 18 and Dean was 21.

Parton, who hailed from rural East Tennessee, previously shared she had been so eager to leave home that she arrived in Nashville with dirty clothes and went to the Wishy Washy Laundromat. While her clothes were in the wash, she bought a cold drink and walked around looking at her new city.

Dean drove past in a Chevrolet and warned her that she was going to get sunburned. Parton, who said she greeted everyone because she was "straight from the country," answered him. He soon circled back and joined her at the laundromat.

"I was surprised and delighted that while he talked to me, he looked at my face, a rare thing for me," Parton recalled in a 2016 post on her official website. "He seemed to be genuinely interested in finding out who I was and what I was about."

During his lifetime, Dean rarely gave interviews. However, in 2016, he spoke lovingly of Parton while the couple were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.

"My first thought was, 'I'm going to marry that girl,'" Dean told Entertainment Tonight about meeting Parton for the first time. "My second thought was, 'Lord, she’s good-looking.' And that was the day my life began. I wouldn't trade the last 50 years for nothing on this Earth."

Two years after their first meeting, Parton and Dean married in a private ceremony in Ringgold, Georgia, on May 30, 1966. Parton’s record label had reportedly urged her to postpone the wedding for a year while launching her career, but the couple chose to marry quietly across the state line to avoid coverage in the Nashville press. Parton's mother Avie Lee was the only wedding guest.

"It was just my mother and Carl and me," Parton told CMT in 2016. "We went across the state line to Ringgold, Georgia. My mother made me a little white dress and a little bouquet and a little Bible."

Parton said she rejected the idea of a courthouse ceremony because she feared she would not "feel married." The couple instead found a small Baptist church, where Pastor Don Duvall married them before they posed for photographs on its steps. According to Parton’s official website, the pastor’s wife also attended.

While Parton pursued her dream of country music stardom, Dean remained firmly outside the entertainment industry. He owned an asphalt-paving business in Nashville and preferred a quiet life on their farm away from the limelight, though Parton said he always supported her ambitions.

Early in their marriage, Parton persuaded Dean to accompany her to the BMI Awards, where she won her first songwriting award for 1966's "Put It Off Until Tomorrow," which was named song of the year. During a December 2024 appearance on Bunnie Xo’s "Dumb Blonde" podcast, Parton recalled renting Dean a tuxedo and begging him to attend.

"And, oh, he was so uncomfortable the whole night," Parton said.

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Parton remembered that Dean "started pulling off stuff" immediately after they returned home.

"He said, ‘Look, now I want you to do everything you want to do, and I wish you the best, but don't ever ask me to go to another one of these damn things because I ain't going.’ And he never did," she said.

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"So we just kind of have that respect, and I respected that because I didn't know he was gonna be that uneasy, but he doesn't even like to go out to, you know, to big dinners or anything like that," she added.

Over time, Dean's absence became so conspicuous that there was speculation that he didn't exist, and she had made him up to ward off admirers.

During a 2020 interview with Entertainment Tonight, Parton weighed in on the longtime rumors.

"A lot of people have thought that through the years, because he does not want to be in the spotlight at all," she shared. "It's just not who he is. He's like, a quiet, reserved person and he figured if he ever got out there in that, he'd never get a minute’s peace and he's right about that."

"I've always respected and appreciated that in him and I've always tried to keep him out of the limelight as much as I can," Parton continued. "He said, 'I didn't choose this world, I chose you, and you chose that world. But we can keep our lives separate and together.' And we do and we have."

While Parton's career required constant travel, she previously said that Dean preferred staying at their Tennessee home and taking care of their ranch. While speaking with ET, Parton shared that the time spent apart strengthened their relationship.

"Our joke about the fact, when people ask me why it's lasted this long, I say, ‘Because I stay gone,’" she told ET. "And there's a lot of truth in that — the fact that we're not in each other's faces all the time.

"But we do have a great respect and admiration for each other. We both have a great sense of humor. So, we have a lot of fun," she added.

During a 2015 interview with People magazine, Parton shed some light on their favorite shared activities and their low-key home life.

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"We like to get out in our little RV and just be simple," she said. "I love to read, I love to cook, I love to be with my husband. I put on my little comfy clothes – I call them my baby clothes – and we just relax."

"He loves to go on vacation or on little trips, but he doesn’t want to be gone a long time," Parton continued. "He wants to be mostly around the house. He knows I’m just the opposite. I can’t go enough places. I can’t do enough things. He loves that. He’s independent."

"But when we’re together, we have enough things in common that it works," she added. "We love the simple life. We can be calm and just have a good time."

Though Dean stayed out of the spotlight, his influence could be heard throughout Parton’s music. The country star previously said that a flirtatious red-haired bank teller’s interest in her husband helped inspire the story behind her 1973 hit "Jolene," while an early disagreement about Parton’s romantic past led her to write 1968's "Just Because I’m a Woman." She later said she thought of Dean while writing her 2012 song "From Here to the Moon and Back."

Dean’s love of rock music, particularly Led Zeppelin, also helped inspire Parton’s 2023 album "Rockstar." Shortly after his death, she paid tribute to him with "If You Hadn’t Been There," a song crediting him with supporting her and encouraging her dreams.

Parton and Dean never had children, though she said they had imagined becoming parents early in their marriage and even chosen names. In 2017, Parton told The Guardian that they would have named a daughter Carla.

The "9 to 5" star previously said that she later came to believe not having kids allowed her to pursue her career and devote herself to other children, including her nieces and nephews and goddaughter Miley Cyrus as well as those reached through her early-childhood literacy program Imagination Library.

"I didn’t have children because I believed that God didn’t mean for me to have kids so everybody’s kids could be mine, so I could do things like Imagination Library, because if I hadn’t had the freedom to work, I wouldn’t have done all the things I’ve done," she said while appearing on 2020 episode of Apple TV+’s "The Oprah Conversation." "I wouldn’t be in a position to do all of the things I’m doing now."

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In May 2016, Parton and Dean renewed their vows in a private Nashville ceremony on their 50th anniversary.

"We’re going to get married again!" Parton told People magazine at the time. "I’ll have a beautiful wedding dress, ’cause I didn’t have a big, long wedding dress when we got married and we've got a suit for him, so we’re going to dress up and take a bunch of pictures."

Parton later celebrated their vow renewal ceremony in a June 2016 statement. "If I had it to do all over, I’d do it all over again, and we did," she said. "I’m dragging him kicking and screaming into the next 50 years."

On March 3, 2025, Parton announced Dean's death on social media, writing, "Carl and I spent many wonderful years together."

"Words can't do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years," she added. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy."

Days later, Parton released "If You Hadn't Been There" in honor of her husband and the cover art for the song featured a vintage photo of the couple.

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"I fell in love with Carl Dean when I was 18 years old," she wrote on Instagram at the time. "We have spent 60 precious and meaningful years together. Like all great love stories, they never end. They live on in memory and song. He will always be the star of my life story, and I dedicate this song to him."

Though no cause of death was disclosed, Parton later said her husband had "suffered a lot" during his final years.

During a June 2025 interview with The Associated Press, Parton opened up about how her belief in God has helped her navigate the grief she has endured in the wake of Dean's death.

"I am a person of faith, and I truly believe that I’m going to see him again someday," Parton said.

In the months after Dean’s death, Parton revealed that she had neglected her own health while caring for her husband during his prolonged illness. She later battled a kidney stone infection and other health complications that forced her to postpone concerts and miss public appearances. However, Parton continued working and remained optimistic about her recovery until shortly before her death.

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During a March 2026 appearance at Dollywood, Parton laughed off rumors that she was dating or had remarried, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel.

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"I don't think I'll ever be married but once," she said. "I think Carl Dean’s waiting for me on the other side."

Karoline Leavitt heads for White House exit as speculation builds over replacement and more top headlines

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 06:57:45 -0400

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

TOP 3

1. Karoline Leavitt heads for White House exit as speculation builds over replacement

2. How the Smithsonian’s woke push ‘infiltrated’ America's most beloved Zoo

3. Jury set to weigh Lindsay Clancy case

MAJOR HEADLINES

SILENT STRUGGLE — Dolly Parton’s cancer battle raises a question many patients face after diagnosis. Continue reading …

HIGH-SEAS HAUL — Coast Guard seizes 7K pounds of cocaine worth more than $54 million. Continue reading …

TARMAC HORROR — 'Tragic accident' unfolds as travelers, employees witness deadly jet incident. Continue reading …

STARTLING DETAILS — Suspect arrested at Trump golf course had Melania's schedule, Secret Service notes. Continue reading …

POLITICS

BADGE BATTLE — Spanberger AG draws fire over two-front fight against Trump enforcement agenda. Continue reading …

LAWSUIT LOOMING — Grocers issue warning over Mamdani’s taxpayer-backed stores. Continue reading …

DEBT TRAP DIPLOMACY — US counters China as Beijing’s ‘shock wave’ hits African economies. Continue reading …

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MEDIA

COMIC CONSCIENCE — Jon Stewart wonders if shows like his gave America ‘political diabetes.’ Continue reading …

SWITCHING GEARS — 'The View' co-host pushes back on Hunter Biden calling Trump a ‘dictator.’ Continue reading …

TROOP TROUBLE — Girl Scouts rival boasts it never obscures its beliefs after Muslim badge backlash. Continue reading …

OPINION

HUGH HEWITT — Hasan Piker’s radical rhetoric is becoming the Democrats’ 2026 brand. Continue reading …

VICTORIA COATES — Trump gives every nation an easy choice: Do business with America or terrorist Iran. Continue reading …

IN OTHER NEWS

MAKING HER MARK — 12-year-old daughter of ex-MLBer is smashing records in the Little League World Series. Continue reading …

ROCKY ROAD — 11 visitors trapped as dangerous conditions rip through iconic national park. Continue reading …

WAIT IS OVER — Costco unlocks a major new convenience perk for some of its beloved items. Continue reading …

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

LISTEN

Tune in a look at whether high-profile political endorsements can actually sway voters in today’s polarized political landscape. Listen to more on Castbox.

PODCASTS

Mark Teixeira and Jay Feely reveal why they’re trading professional sports for congressional campaigns on ‘Hang Out with Sean Hannity.’ Check it out…

Lara Trump joins ‘Planet Tyrus’ for a conversation on politics, culture, and the issues driving today’s national debate. Check it out…

Vince August brings a comedian’s perspective to the cultural and political conversations shaping the week on ‘Will Cain Country.’ Check it out…

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

Sports cartoons of the day

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

Karoline Leavitt heads for White House exit as speculation builds over who Trump picks next

Thu, 13 Aug 2026 14:41:52 -0400

President Donald Trump has yet to choose a successor to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, setting off speculation over who could become the administration’s next public face as she prepares to leave the West Wing.

Leavitt will join "Fox & Friends" Thursday morning for her final interview as White House press secretary on her last day in the role, as the 29-year-old prepares to spend more time with her two young children before joining Trump-aligned political group MAGA Inc.

Trump’s choice of a new press secretary will help define the final stretch of his presidency, putting one of the administration’s most visible voices at the center of shaping his legacy and the political battle over what comes next.

While the hunt continues to name a new press secretary, the briefing room will see a rotating line of Trump administration officials briefing the White House press corps rather than a permanent replacement, similar to when Leavitt was on maternity leave earlier this summer, CBS reported.

WHITE HOUSE PLANS GUEST HOSTS FOR PRESS BRIEFINGS WHILE KAROLINE LEAVITT TAKES MATERNITY LEAVE

Secretary of State Marco Rubio held the first news conference while Leavitt was on leave, followed by Vice President JD Vance, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz.

"The final two years of any president’s second term are shaped by an inevitable reality: the day after the midterms, all eyes begin turning toward the next general election," Fox News host Dana Perino told Fox News Digital. "Many of the top White House reporters head out to the campaign trail, and nearly every question starts to be viewed through a political lens."

Perino served as White House press secretary under former President George W. Bush from 2007 to 2009.

"For a press secretary, the challenge is managing the day-to-day work of governing while staying out of the campaign itself—though with President Trump, he may very well want to remain deeply involved," the Fox News host added.

Perino said Leavitt did so well "both in front of the camera and behind the scenes."

TRUMP SAYS KAROLINE LEAVITT WILL LEAVE WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY ROLE, BECOME OUTSIDE ADVISOR

"There are two critical aspects of the job — the public-facing one that includes the briefing where the press secretary is the public face of the President’s policies and priorities," former Trump press secretary Sean Spicer told Fox News Digital.

Spicer said the next press secretary will "undoubtedly" be someone who has a strong existing relationship with the president.

"He values and understands the importance of this role in communicating his positions on policy, personnel and key issues, so I can’t imagine it not being someone currently in his orbit," Spicer added.

Spicer, who served as Trump’s first White House press secretary, said he was not seeking the role again.

Alina Habba, who serves as senior advisor to the attorney general for U.S. Attorneys, was viewed as a frontrunner after Trump won re-election but has recently shut down the idea.

Habba, who was Trump's personal attorney and a high-profile surrogate on the 2024 campaign trail, was the early favorite on Kalshi to replace the press secretary but now ranks third behind conservative political commentator Scott Jennings and Leavitt's deputy, Anna Kelly.

"Flattered by the Kalshi odds, but I’m not in the running for any job. However, if I’m getting a new one, I’d love for one of these anonymous sources to let me know first. Fake news remains the undefeated champ…well…until I come at them," she wrote on X.

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Trump's principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly has been seen in an outward-facing role. Kelly filled in for Leavitt in media hits while Leavitt was on maternity leave but has yet to take the podium for a briefing.

Jennings, a CNN contributor and former aide to President George W. Bush, was also reportedly considered for the press secretary role when Trump retook office in 2024 before he selected Leavitt. Trump has touted Jennings’ recent book and has referred to him as a "patriot" who "gets it."

Jennings was spotted with Trump's chief of staff Susie Wiles for a meal days after Leavitt's announcement, according to a Daily Mail report.

Trump's senior advisor, Stephen Miller, and his wife, Katie Miller, have been floated on social media as potential replacements.

Stephen Miller was asked for his thoughts on his wife, former Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary and communications director, filling Leavitt’s role. In lieu of commenting, Miller smiled at the reporter who asked the question.

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White House communication director Steven Cheung is one of Trump’s most forceful defenders, wielding significant influence but largely operating behind the scenes.

Other names floated as potential contenders include Breitbart's Washington Bureau Chief Matthew Boyle and former White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich.

Leavitt is Trump’s second-longest-serving press secretary with 19 months in the role. She comes in second to first-term press secretary and now Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ 23-month tenure.

After Huckabee's departure, Stephanie Grisham stepped into the role for nine months but was famous for not holding a single press briefing during that time. She was eventually replaced with Kayleigh McEnany, who served through the end of Trump's first term.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.

WATCH: El-Sayed praised ‘beautiful’ sense of community abroad while trashing US as 'White supremacy'

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 06:00:59 -0400

Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed described Americans as "desperate to feel something" and lamented that "we’re just all living it alone here" while reflecting on the community he experienced during extended childhood stays in Egypt during a podcast episode last year — remarks uncovered after the candidate recently declared that he "hates" one of his home state’s most iconic destinations.

During a late-October 2025 podcast interview, after getting asked what Americans could gain from life "back home," El-Sayed had a one-word answer: "Community."

"I think the hardest part about American life right now is that we’ve been, like, deeply atomized," El-Sayed said, arguing that the connections offered through phones and social media are "not community." In Egypt and other societies with far more constant human interaction, he said, "you’re constantly enveloped in other people’s humanity."

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"It’s like a beautiful thing," El-Sayed said. "And I wish we had more of that."

The podcast remarks are not the first time El-Sayed has offered pointed criticism of American society and institutions.

During a 2019 University of Michigan School of Public Health commencement address, while discussing racial and economic disparities in Detroit, he said residents had been "directly and purposely marginalized by every level of government" in "a city and a state and a country that has baked racism into its foundation." Later in the speech, while discussing the Flint water crisis and the country's political climate, El-Sayed said he had watched American politics "revert to a strain of white supremacy and racism I never thought we’d go back to."

The comments stand in tension with the Michigan-centered image El-Sayed has presented at times, at one point describing himself as the quintessential "Michigan man." In recently resurfaced recordings, however, he said he "hates" Mackinac Island, questioned elements of football culture by linking its ethos to historical narratives of slavery and oppression, and argued Americans should find another way to celebrate the Fourth of July in a video sharing four reasons "why fireworks suck." In a 2021 Substack post El-Sayed also said "toxic masculinity" was "at the heart of America's most popular sport."

MICHIGAN DEM SENATE NOMINEE COMES UNDER FIRE OVER RESURFACED BLOG POST LINKING FOOTBALL TO 'TOXIC MASCULINITY'

His campaign has pushed back on the resurfaced material, telling CNN that cherry-picked comments from old podcasts do not reflect his beliefs today and noting that El-Sayed played football and has publicly celebrated the Fourth of July.

During the October 2025 podcast interview, El-Sayed recounted how his parents would "ship me off to Egypt in the summers" so he would know his father’s language and culture, sometimes spending roughly four months with his working-class extended family in the one-bedroom apartment where his father grew up.

He told the hosts those experiences taught him something about "the human condition" that he believes can be harder to encounter in American life.

"I think in American life sometimes we’re not so privy to the lives other people lead," El-Sayed said, adding that in societies like Egypt, "the humanity of it all, like the carnal nature of it all, hits you." He called the experience "euphoric" and said exposure to other people's lives "softens or should soften your heart" to their experiences.

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El-Sayed later pointed to weddings "back home" as a "celebration of humanity," contrasting people spending hours together with social media, which he described as an attempt to recreate that experience through "some huge corporation that's monetizing your eyeballs and your eardrums." He said that type of human connection "can’t" be replaced and called it "the best of living."

"I think that, like, the essence of our country is that we actually do come together and build things collectively," El-Sayed said, arguing Americans have been "oscillating between that instinct and the instinct to chase money," blaming the pursuit of wealth by a small number of people for problems ranging from the American healthcare system to U.S. military spending abroad.

"And, like, at some point I'd rather live in community where people have the basic things they need than be in a country where a few people get to be billionaires and the rest of us get to suffer."

Iowa Dem gubernatorial candidate says he would not want Biden or Harris to campaign for him

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 06:11:00 -0400

Iowa Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand flatly stated that he would not want to have former President Joe Biden or former Vice President Kamala Harris campaign for him.

When Politico's Jonathan Martin asked Sand if he would want Biden to campaign for him, the candidate said, "No. Can he even do that right now? I'm sorry."

"No thanks," Sand said after Martin asked about Harris. "Let's move on. We need some new leadership."

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"You don't think Harris should run in 2028?" Martin asked.

"Nope," he replied.

When Al Sharpton asked Harris in April if she will run again in 2028, she said "I might" and noted that she was "thinking about it."

OBAMA ENDORSES DEMOCRATIC IOWA STATE REP RUNNING FOR US SENATE AGAINST TRUMP-BACKED HOUSE REPUBLICAN

Biden, who was already the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, dropped his re-election bid in 2024 in the wake of a widely-panned debate performance and endorsed Harris, who went on to lose the general election to then-former President Donald Trump.

Sand, the Iowa auditor of state, is running against Trump-backed Republican Zach Lahn in the state's 2026 gubernatorial race.

President Donald Trump declared in a part of a Truth Social post last month, "It is my Great Honor to endorse America First Patriot, Zach Lahn, a tremendous Candidate running to be the next Governor of the Wonderful State of Iowa, a place I love and WON BIG in 2016, 2020, and 2024!"

IOWA GUBERNATORIAL HOPEFUL ZACH LAHN TELLS 'RUTHLESS' DEMOCRATS ARE HIDING THEIR BAD POLICIES

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Current Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, announced last year that she would not seek re-election.

JONATHAN TURLEY: Fake pollster's stunt was a reckless game with real races

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 06:00:54 -0400

In this political season, there is one question that needs no poll: Rahil Prakash is a liar. The other thing we know is that he will likely get away with spreading fake polling results. Lies can be protected speech under the First Amendment and, while Prakash would not likely want to take a popularity poll, he is unlikely to face legal consequences for his "short-term social experiment."

We still do not know much about the 21-year-old college graduate who reportedly admitted to releasing fake polling in the last election cycle.

What we do know is that he succeeded, and such polls can influence critical campaign decisions. For example, his poll put the Democratic Socialist up by 20 points in Wisconsin, and she surprised many by spending the final days campaigning in rural areas where she was expected to do worse. (She would lose by less than 1% of the vote). It is unclear where, had Hong known how close the race was, she would have spent the final days in higher-yield urban districts.

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The story laid bare the vulnerability of modern polling, which was again wildly wrong in predictions in various races during the primaries. However, it also highlights a novel question of potential liability for knowingly spreading falsehoods. In this case, Prakash wanted the lie to spread and likely succeeded beyond his wildest imagination.

He told The Guardian that "I wanted to see if fake polls could really penetrate the ecosystem that easily. And as it turned out, it could." He created a website called Median Strategies and released fake polls in Democrat primaries in the Wisconsin governor’s race, the Los Angeles mayoral race, and two statewide Nevada races. The polls were quickly picked up and spread throughout the "ecosystem."

He explained to the Guardian how easy it was: "I think my overall takeaway was that if you just make it look a bit pretty, it’s rather easy for it to spread."

We do not know if Prakash had a political motive in showing certain candidates dominating in certain races.

He reportedly denied using his fake polls to play betting sites as part of the prediction market. He also denied being compensated or directed by any campaign to run the hoax.

That matters because using lies for financial gain can be a form of fraud. However, just being a liar is protected.

In United States v. Alvarez, the Supreme Court struck down the Stolen Valor Act and held 6-3 that it is unconstitutional to criminalize lies.

The case shows the dividing line. Xavier Alvarez was protected in claiming to have won the Congressional Medal of Honor as well as marrying a Mexican movie star, playing for the Detroit Red Wings, and rescuing the ambassador in the Iranian hostage crisis. However, if he had used those claims to receive veteran benefits or donations, he could have been prosecuted.

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Many of us in the free speech community supported that decision and still oppose censorship systems that target what governments decide is disinformation, misinformation, or malinformation. Anti-free speech figures have long justified censorship by declaring views as false or dangerous.

While apologizing to a few campaigns for misleading them, Prakash still seems perfectly clueless about the ethics and impact of lying in elections. Indeed, he seems to entirely remove himself from the problem of spreading lies: "I hope it gives a really good lesson going forward in that we need to be very serious about these things and very serious in how, if one person can do this, what can a serious operation do in the future – a real, you know, operation for an organization, country, whatever."

Yeah, whatever.

The most revealing aspect of this controversy is not that some polling seems to lack any factual foundation for its predictions, but that some people lack any moral foundation for their actions. We have seen similar sites put out fake stories. Some do so for political ends, while others want to laugh at those gullible enough to trust them.

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As with anonymous positions, the Internet gives people a certain license to say and do things that they would not do in their own name. Unlike Prakash, most are not exposed. They spread vicious, false stories and relish their sense of twisted power. While lacking the courage to speak in their own names (often in attacking those who have the courage to do so), they yield to their darkest or cruelest inclinations.

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Prakash created a fake site to make it seem like this was not an anonymous, unreliable source. He found his chumps in the media who wanted to report the results without looking into the source. However, the "really good lesson" was missed by him: he was neither noble nor particularly clever, just another liar among the Internet's sad voyeurs and vagabonds.

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Coast Guard seizes 7K pounds of cocaine worth more than $54 million near Puerto Rico, five arrested

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 06:00:47 -0400

FIRST ON FOX: The U.S. Coast Guard stopped the possible transport of more than $50 million worth of cocaine as the agency intercepted a suspected smuggling boat off the coast of Puerto Rico.

The agency confirmed to Fox News Digital that investigators discovered more than 7,000 pounds of the drug on the boat that was traveling nearly 50 miles off the coast of the U.S. territory.

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Richard Dixon intercepted the alleged drug smuggling boat on Saturday, Aug. 22, with the help of Customs and Border Protection air marine operations.

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An estimated 7,250 pounds of cocaine was seized, worth about $54.5 million.

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Five people on the alleged smuggling boat were detained and taken into custody in the investigation.

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The Coast Guard destroyed the boat as it "posed a hazard to navigation," the agency said.

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In a statement, Lieutenant Commander Michael D. Torgesen said: "An outstanding team effort thanks to seamless coordination with Coast Guard and CBP [Customs and Border Protection] air assets, cutter Richard Dixon was in the right place at the right time to stop a major shipment. I’m constantly humbled by my crew’s dedication and am proud to serve alongside them as we strike a direct blow against transnational smuggling operations and protect the nation’s maritime borders in the Caribbean."

OVERCROWDED MIGRANT VESSEL WITH 240 PEOPLE ON BOARD INTERCEPTED NEAR TURKS AND CAICOS

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Coast Guard Southeast District Commander Admiral Adam Chamie said, "This interdiction shows what ready crews and strong interagency partnerships can achieve in the maritime domain."

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The Coast Guard has yet to announce charges in the operation.

CBP OFFICERS SEIZE $67 MILLION IN ILLEGAL DRUGS AT SAN DIEGO BORDER PORTS, DHS SAYS

The cocaine bust announcement follows another development this week as the agency reached a milestone in which more than 75,000 pounds of illicit narcotics, valued at $473 million, were offloaded in Port Everglades in Miami, Florida, on Monday.

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Ex-waitress reveals restaurant tipping secret most customers don't realize — expert calls it 'bad hospitality'

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 06:00:37 -0400

Mel Robbins learned an unusual lesson about earning big tips when she worked as a waitress: Pay attention to the women at the table.

The bestselling author and podcast host recently recalled advice from a "mentor-boss" at the Red Rooster Tavern in Michigan about figuring out who really influences the gratuity.

"She told me when I started waitressing the secret to getting a good tip: Understanding who has influence over who gives you the good tip," Robbins told The Wall Street Journal.

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Most might assume that if a man picks up the check, he's also deciding the tip. But Robbins said her mentor taught her otherwise.

"What happens when the check comes and you've had a really good server? What happens often is the women turn to their partners and say, 'She was great. Give her a good tip,'" Robbins recalled, adding that she learned "to ignore the men and to completely take fabulous care of the women."

Robbins may be onto something about the social dynamics surrounding a tip — although hospitality and etiquette experts caution against ignoring anyone at the table.

"I don't entirely disagree," Robert Mahon, managing partner of New York-based Mahon Hospitality Group, told Fox News Digital. "In my experience, when a man is paying, the woman will often have the final judgment on the service and may suggest the tip."

AUTOMATIC TIP OR SERVICE CHARGE? NEW STATE LAW REQUIRES RESTAURANTS TO TELL DINERS BEFORE THEY ORDER

But, he added, focusing solely on the women and ignoring the men is "just bad hospitality."

"We would never encourage a server to show favoritism," Mahon said.

Instead, Mahon said skilled servers pay attention to the dynamics of the entire group.

"The best servers read the whole table," Mahon said. "Regardless of gender, people naturally respond to someone who is friendly and engaging. Ultimately, big tips come from making everyone at the table feel well-looked-after."

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Research suggests there is more psychology behind a generous tip than simply providing good service.

In one experiment, communication researchers John S. Seiter and Harry Weger Jr. examined whether something as simple as complimenting customers could affect gratuities.

Four restaurant servers waited on 360 dining parties, either complimenting diners on their food selections or refraining from doing so, according to a study published in 2010.

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The researchers found servers received significantly higher tips when they complimented diners — evidence that small interpersonal interactions can potentially influence what customers leave behind.

Lisa Burdette, founder of the Dallas School of Etiquette, told Fox News Digital it's true that women can have an influence over a man's tip. But, she said, "a good server should always concentrate on all customers, never slighting anyone."

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Etiquette dictates that the person picking up the check ultimately determines the gratuity, Burdette said.

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"It should never be a topic of debate at the table," she said.

Dominican Republic joins global fight against antisemitism with landmark move

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 06:00:04 -0400

The Dominican Republic is set to become the 48th country worldwide and the seventh in Latin America to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism after President Luis Abinader ordered the country’s foreign ministry to formalize the decision.

The move came as Ambassador Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, the U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, urged other Latin American governments to follow the Dominican Republic’s lead, pointing to the Trump administration’s efforts at home as a framework for confronting antisemitism internationally.

Abinader made the announcement Monday at the Combat Antisemitism Movement-sponsored annual Latin American Forum Against Antisemitism in the nation's capital, Santo Domingo. According to an English translation of the president’s remarks, Abinader said antisemitism should not be viewed as a threat affecting only Jewish communities. "Antisemitism is not a problem that concerns only the Jewish people," he said. "It is a threat to democratic coexistence and to the rights and freedoms of us all."

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The announcement comes amid heightened concern over antisemitism worldwide. The Combat Antisemitism Movement’s Antisemitism Research Center monitored and reported 767 antisemitic incidents globally in March 2026, an average of nearly 25 incidents per day and a 32.5% increase compared with March 2025.

Kaploun praised the Dominican Republic’s decision at the conference as a "historic moment" and called on other governments across the region to follow its lead.

"What you have witnessed tonight is a government standing up for what is right," he said.

"There cannot be any compromise with antisemitism," he continued. "We will lead by example, and we will take positive steps to protect every Jewish community."

Kaploun pointed to the Trump administration’s efforts in the United States as a framework other governments could use to confront antisemitism within their own institutions.

'NOT ON OUR WATCH': GLOBAL LAW ENFORCEMENT LEADERS UNITE IN POLAND AGAINST HATE

"In America, we have our marching orders," he said. "We are holding universities accountable. We are prosecuting hate crimes. We have changed our visa vetting programs. We have withdrawn from major U.N. bodies that have promoted terrorism and antisemitism."

The U.S. State Department has used a working definition of antisemitism, together with guiding examples, since 2010. In 2016, the IHRA’s member countries adopted the current non-legally binding working definition.

The IHRA describes antisemitism as "a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews." It further explains that antisemitism can include rhetorical or physical manifestations directed against Jewish or non-Jewish individuals, their property, Jewish community institutions or religious facilities.

Its non-legally binding definition and accompanying examples are intended to help governments, law enforcement agencies, universities and other institutions identify contemporary manifestations of antisemitism and respond to incidents more consistently.

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The accompanying examples address conduct including Holocaust denial, conspiracy theories about Jewish power, holding Jewish people collectively responsible for Israel’s actions and applying standards to Israel that are not demanded of other democratic nations.

As of the end of 2025, 1,334 governments, public institutions, universities, nonprofit organizations, corporations and sports organizations worldwide had adopted or endorsed the IHRA definition, according to data compiled by the Combat Antisemitism Movement’s Antisemitism Research Center.

Abinader told the conference that, "Rejecting antisemitism does not mean taking a position regarding a particular government or conflict," he added. "It means stating unequivocally that no political disagreement, no cause and no circumstance can justify hatred, discrimination, or violence against an individual or a community."

Abinader said the definition would provide the country with a framework for identifying and combating different forms of antisemitism while respecting freedom of expression and other rights protected by the Dominican Constitution.

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"Through this decision, the Dominican Republic reaffirms its commitment to the memory of the Holocaust, to the protection of Jewish communities and to the eradication of antisemitism in all its forms," he said. "Human dignity is indivisible and its defense admits no exceptions."

The president connected the decision to the Dominican Republic’s history of offering refuge to Jews fleeing Nazi persecution. Following the 1938 Évian Conference, hundreds of Jewish refugees established a community in Sosúa, where they were able to rebuild their lives.

Abinader also announced that his government would commit 50 million Dominican pesos toward constructing a new building for the Jewish Museum of Sosúa to preserve that history.

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Once the Foreign Ministry formalizes the decision, the Dominican Republic will join Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama and Uruguay as the Latin American countries that have embraced the IHRA framework.

The decision adds to growing regional acceptance of the definition and could set a precedent for additional Latin American governments considering how to formally identify and address antisemitism.

Abinader concluded his remarks with a call for the region to act: "From this land, which at different moments in its history has offered refuge and hope, let us send a firm message throughout Latin America and the Caribbean: Indifference must never prevail in the face of hatred."

"May this forum enable us to turn memory into education; education into prevention; and our principles into concrete action," he added.

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Kaploun framed that regional effort as one the United States is prepared to support, saying he was representing President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in delivering a direct message to Latin American leaders: "America stands ready to support our friends in this effort to bring a new Latin America with religious liberty and freedom for everybody."

US counters China as Beijing’s ‘shock wave’ hits African economies

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 06:00:04 -0400

JOHANNESBURG: A top State Department official has hit out at China for what analysts are calling "the China shock wave" effect now crippling African economies.

African manufacturing is reportedly being battered by a surge of Chinese imports. It’s a triple whammy — China takes raw materials, including critical minerals, from the continent and floods Africa with state-subsidized products. And Beijing isn’t importing anywhere near an equal amount of African products.

The China Global South Project reported that in 2025, Chinese exports to Africa hit $225 billion in value, whereas imports from Africa were roughly only half that — $123 billion.

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Now the Trump administration aims to change this imbalance — and create opportunities for American businesses.

"China continues to flood Africa with exports," Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Frank Garcia told Fox News Digital. He added, "No country is immune to the negative impacts of China’s unfair trade practices and state-subsidized overcapacity. China’s economic engagement with African countries has often led to unsustainable debt, economic coercion and an oversupply of Chinese imports threatening to displace and preventing the development of local industries."

He continued, "The U.S. government aims to offer credible alternatives that leverage public and private financing in priority areas that make America safer, stronger and more prosperous. The United States is committed to maintaining the strong, open investment environment that benefits our economy and our people, while enhancing our ability to protect our nation from new and evolving threats that can accompany foreign investment."

Elaine Dezenski, senior director and head of the Center on Economic and Financial Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), told Fox News Digital China is the number one trading partner for many African countries but warned "that doesn’t mean that African countries are moving up the value chain. On the contrary, some African countries are increasingly tied into a cycle of mineral and other natural resource exports to China, only to be on the receiving end of finished goods, also from China."

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Dezenski added, "Africa wants to manufacture. Chinese exports are getting in the way. Key exports from China are substituting for specific products that could be manufactured in Africa. As China is increasingly shut out of U.S. and European markets through high tariff regimes, Africa is feeling the effects, while China still claims it's supporting emerging economies."

China has lent the money to build new roads, bridges and other infrastructure in Mozambique. But in this, the fifth-poorest country in the world where jobs are in short supply, Beijing insisted that Chinese companies should do the construction. Mozambicans in some cases stood by, while workers brought 7,000 miles from Beijing to dig up the streets became a feature in this African country.

Beijing has now targeted Africa in another way. Between 17% and 40% of all car sales in South Africa are for vehicles from China. The goal appears not to stop at imports. The Chinese government-owned carmaker Chery has recently bought South Africa’s Nissan plant, and will make Chinese models such as Jetour near Johannesburg.

But China has won over many South African consumers. "China is delivering better vehicles and better prices to South African consumers — and this is pushing Western-oriented firms out of the market," analyst Frans Cronje told Fox News Digital.

Cronje, president of the Washington-based Yorktown Foundation for Freedom, added, "The South African and broader sub-Saharan business communities have always shown a Western lean or bias, in large part a consequence of the region's colonial past. But China's industrial influence is changing, and as the South African vehicle industry shows, that change can be rapid and occur with the support of consumers. Privately, many Western firms say they don’t know if they can remain competitive."

The U.S. is making its own waves in Africa though. The administration’s Bureau of African Affairs has reported it has worked on 37 commercial transactions that have closed since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term — representing $25.67 billion in total value, with more still being reported.

There’s a way to go. While American goods traded with Africa last year were valued at $83.4 billion by the Office of the United States Trade Representative, Beijing’s General Administration of Customs claimed bilateral trade between China and Africa reached $348 billion for the same period.

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The will to succeed, though, is clear. Assistant Secretary Garcia added, "The United States is committed to reshaping the global critical minerals and rare earths market to make it more diverse, secure and reliable. We will work with African partners to address risks from non-market actors and ensure supply chain security. We are using diplomatic and economic tools to promote fair and transparent markets that work for everyone."

Fox News Digital reached out to the Chinese Embassy spokesman in Washington, D.C., for comment.

Trump gives every nation an easy choice: Do business with America or terrorist Iran

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 05:00:52 -0400

When President Donald Trump announced last week that he would subject Iran to unprecedented economic pressure, critics crowed that this shift was tantamount to an admission that Operation Epic Fury had failed. Yet such a policy is not only completely consistent with the president’s approach during his first term, but has a significantly greater chance of working because of Epic Fury’s actual military success.

Now, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s announcement of the so-called "D-Day" sanctions of Operation Economic Outcast, the pressure on Iran is about to become intolerable, giving Trump overwhelming leverage to force the nuclear deal he wants on Tehran.

Between 2019 and 2021, Trump directed the implementation of the Maximum Pressure campaign against Iran. The most aggressive sanctions program in modern history, it was designed to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon by starving it of the economic resources to build one.

TRUMP’S ECONOMIC D-DAY CAN HAMMER IRAN, BUT WILL TEHRAN EVER SURRENDER?

Naysayers predicted it would fail, but the opposite turned out to be true. Iran’s oil exports dropped below 400,000 barrels a day, down from 2.5 million a day. Iran’s inflation soared to 30%. Accessible foreign currency reserves were slashed from $122 billion to a dismal $12 billion.

All for the simple reason: Given the choice between doing business with the United States or Iran, any country that can add and subtract picked the U.S.

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What a contrast with the Biden administration’s approach. When it chose to start negotiations for a new nuclear deal with Iran by preemptively ending enforcement of the sanctions rather than increasing the leverage these sanctions provided, Iran welcomed the relief but did not make any efforts to reach a deal. While inflation remained high, oil exports quickly rose to 1.6 million barrels a day, foreign currency reserves rose to $26 billion, and unemployment hit a record low of 7.2%.

Once again, these funds were poured into a ballooning military budget, an ever-more sophisticated nuclear program and regional terrorist proxies. What was spent domestically was not invested in drivers of economic growth but rather in food and fuel subsidies in an effort to mollify the Iranian people.

TRUMP BETS ECONOMIC PRESSURE CAN SQUEEZE IRAN AS REGIME’S OWN FAILURES DEEPEN THE PAIN

When Trump returned to office in 2025, Iran had sponsored the Hamas attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and made alarming progress toward a nuclear weapon. The president immediately directed the reimposition of Maximum Pressure, which rapidly took effect because the structural economic weakness caused during his first term had not been remedied. Inflation rose to 50% in the lead-up to the Twelve-Day War last year, after which the situation got considerably worse.

In the lead-up to Operation Epic Fury, inflation in Iran was at 50% and accelerating, the rial was around 1.87 million to the dollar, one major bank had collapsed, and five others were in trouble, nationwide protests had been brutally suppressed but not resolved and foreign exchange channels were narrowing. The war compounded these problems through the destruction of energy infrastructure, notably at Kharg Island and the South Pars gas field, as well as petrochemicals facilities.

TRUMP’S OPERATION EPIC FURY HUMILIATED THE EXPERTS AND REDREW THE MIDDLE EAST

But by far Trump’s most devastating tool was the imposition of the U.S. blockade on Iranian exports through the Strait of Hormuz last April. Iran is now losing an additional $13 billion a month and is also cut off from critical imports. Iran’s own estimate is a 10% economic contraction, the rial is hitting a record 2 million to the dollar, inflation is climbing still higher, and the pressure on the banking system remains acute.

Iran is cut off, having alienated regional neighbors who might have helped it. Even traditional clients such as China are alarmed by the exposure ongoing commerce with Iran represents.

IRAN COULD UNLEASH ‘KINETIC’ RESPONSE AS US TIGHTENS ECONOMIC CONTAINMENT, ANALYST WARNS

The sanctions Bessent announced Monday are going to accelerate economic decline into a collapse. No longer are such measures being considered a discrete tool in a larger effort to encourage Tehran to negotiate. They are now part of a crushing campaign to force a surrender.

Iran’s airlines will not be allowed to fly, its bank branches will be closed, and anyone who does business with the regime will be considered complicit in its terrorism and can expect to also be cut off from the U.S. financial system. While there is going to be a period for allies to wind down their business with Iran, no one will be exempt. All those who want to continue doing business with America should take note.

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Sadly, for the people of Iran, the situation did not have to be this dire. Iran should be a wealthy, powerful country, secure at home and at peace with its neighbors. It still could be if Tehran agrees to the reasonable deal Trump has proffered time and time again by renouncing its nuclear program and ceasing to project hostile power beyond its borders.

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But if it refuses the only path to survival left open to it, according to the terms the Treasury secretary has laid out, Iran’s economy will soon simply cease to exist. And it will have only itself to blame.

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Spanberger AG draws fire over two-front fight against Trump enforcement agenda

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 05:00:50 -0400

Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones is drawing fire over two disputes involving the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement agenda — a civil rights investigation into a rural sheriff’s traffic-stop practices amid his cooperation with ICE and a legal challenge involving federal access to commercial driver records.

Virginia House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore told Fox News Digital that the two disputes reflect what he characterized as a broader unwillingness by Virginia’s Democratic leadership to cooperate with President Donald Trump. His criticism came as Jones announced a probe into Greene County Sheriff Steve Smith.

"That's just this whole administration's modus operandi, to put it bluntly, they are so mad at Trump, they want to make sure they don't want to cooperate with Trump in any area whatsoever, and they want make it unsafe for Virginians," Kilgore, R-Gate City, told Fox News Digital in an interview.

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The criticism comes as Jones’ Office of Civil Rights notified Smith that it had launched an investigation into allegations involving the Greene County Sheriff’s Office’s traffic-stop practices and cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

"I applaud the Greene County sheriff for working with ICE to make that we don't have illegals on our roads, illegals out here committing crimes and things of that nature, unlike our attorney general, who's the chief law enforcement officer of our state out here picking fights with sheriffs over illegal immigrants," Kilgore said.

The dispute comes amid a broader shift in Virginia’s immigration enforcement policy under Spanberger.

On her first day in office, Spanberger — who endorsed Jones — rescinded former Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s order encouraging ICE cooperation. She later signed a law on April 22 sponsored by Del. Alfonso Lopez, D-Arlington, restricting state and local participation in federal civil immigration enforcement.

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"[My office] has reviewed allegations that GCSO may be conducting traffic stops in violation of state law and the Constitution," Jones’ Office of Civil Rights wrote to Smith while demanding records concerning immigration enforcement policies, training materials and interagency agreements.

Smith’s deputies have participated in several operations with ICE — notable for a small, rural county located along major transportation routes.

A June operation near the intersection of U.S. 29 and U.S. 33 resulted in 49 people being detained by ICE. U.S. 29 connects Washington, D.C., with Charlottesville and points south, while U.S. 33 connects Richmond with western Virginia.

A Honduran man identified by DHS as an MS-13 gang member was among 26 people arrested during another operation in nearby Ruckersville in May.

"Tell me what kind of message that's sending to the citizens of Virginia — that it's more important for me to protect illegal folks who are here illegally than to protect our citizens here," Kilgore said.

Smith had previously defended his operations in comments to Charlottesville media, saying his deputies apply reasonable suspicion — "the same as we do for all vehicles" — as the standard for initiating traffic stops.

Local activists accused deputies of profiling, while Smith said speeding, failure to maintain a lane and running red lights most often prompt traffic stops.

"Oh, look, the Virginia AG is going after a cop for doing actual cop things," former Del. Nick Freitas added in a statement.

Fox News Digital reached out to Jones, Spanberger and ICE for comment.

Smith declined to comment to Fox News Digital, citing his retention of counsel but previously told the Piedmont Journal-Recorder that he will "continue to assist ICE with their operations" after discussing the new law with Del. Karen Hamilton, R-Stanardsville.

State Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, the Democrats’ 2009 gubernatorial nominee whose district neighbors Greene County, said he was "disappointed" by the situation.

"Certainly we all want people who come into this country to come in legally, but the people that are here are for the most part here to fill a need and that’s work," he told CVilleRightNow.

Former Del. Kim Taylor, R-Petersburg, who received a politically motivated death threat during the 2025 election, referenced graphic text messages Jones sent to another former lawmaker imagining the murder of former Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah. The "two bullets" scandal nearly torpedoed Jones’ campaign.

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Taylor told Fox News Digital that she considers Jones’ actions hypocritical given his past messages.

"For an attorney general who once talked about putting ‘two bullets’ in a political opponent to now lecture law enforcement is hypocrisy at its worst," she said.

Alongside his investigation into Smith, Jones joined a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s demand for a bulk transfer of commercial-driver records covering roughly 17 million drivers as the U.S. Department of Transportation cracks down on drivers who cannot meet English-language requirements or illegal immigrant truckers accused of causing deadly wrecks.

Jones celebrated U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga, a George W. Bush appointee, temporarily blocking the bulk transfer of the records, calling it an "important win for protecting the privacy of millions of commercial drivers."

An ICE spokesperson confirmed the Ruckersville operation near US-29, including the arrests of 49 illegal immigrants.

"All of the illegal aliens were transported to ICE facilities for further processing and will receive due process. They will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings," the spokesperson said.

"Partnerships with law enforcement are critical to having the resources we need to arrest illegal aliens across the country. When politicians bar local law enforcement from working with DHS, our law enforcement officers have to have a more visible presence so that we can find and apprehend the criminals let out of jails and back into communities," they added.

Kilgore, whose southwestern Virginia district includes mountainous stretches of U.S. 58 and lies near Interstate 81, told Fox News Digital that the suit is "just another way that they try to stick their thumb in the administration's eye."

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"Once again, we're siding with illegals or foreigners who are here driving 18-wheelers… who could harm our citizens because they're not qualified," Kilgore said.

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"I don't understand why the Democrats are so, so against these activities [that] make sure that our highways are safe."

Fox News Digital's Hannah Brennan contributed to this report.

Gender equity, DEI, climate action: How the Smithsonian’s woke push ‘infiltrated’ America's most beloved zoo

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 05:00:49 -0400

FIRST ON FOX: As the Trump administration continues to crack down on far-left messaging and agenda items within the Smithsonian Institution, a Fox News Digital review found that the Smithsonian National Zoo has been adopting "woke" messaging and programming of its own over the past several years.

The Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, which hosts roughly 2 million visitors each year at its Washington, D.C. national zoo and operates a global conservation research program spanning more than 40 countries, has placed an emphasis on issues like DEI and climate change, according to its own website.

"Gender equity, civil liberties and justice are necessary ingredients for peace and prosperity, but they also have a direct impact on resource use and climate change," a 2021 article on the organization’s website reads.

The article, written by seabird ecologist Autumn-Lynn Harrison and coral biologist Mary Hagedorn, makes the case that "one direct way we can bolster climate action is by addressing inequities in health and education across the globe."

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Searching "climate change" on the zoo’s website yields almost 400 results, including articles warning about its impacts on vernal pools, salamanders, wildfires, coral nurseries and a variety of other aspects of wildlife.

In addition to attempting to root out political messaging in the Smithsonian, which Fox News Digital has extensively reported on, the Trump administration has also placed a focus on rooting out DEI practices within the federal government, practices that appear to be a high priority for the Smithsonian Zoo.

"Diversity and inclusion are integral to all aspects of the Smithsonian Institution's operations and key components of the Smithsonian Strategic Plan," the 2023 Smithsonian Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives Report, which includes several pages specific to the zoo’s DEI efforts, explains.

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The report outlines several DEI programs undertaken by the National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute during that fiscal year, including diversity-focused internships, LGBTQ family programming at the zoo featuring rainbow-themed animal enrichment and efforts to promote inclusive language in the zoo and aquarium profession.

"Americans visit zoos to learn about conservation efforts and admire animals, not to be shamed or feel guilt-ridden," Independent Women’s Forum Center for Energy and Conservation Director Gabriella Hoffman told Fox News Digital. "Conservation has, sadly, been infiltrated by elements of DEI, ESG, and climate alarmism. This invites confusion and division into a space that should be science-first."

A 2021 Smithsonian Magazine article promoted how the National Zoo helped launch the Association of Minority Zoo and Aquarium Professionals, aimed at increasing racial and ethnic minority representation in zoo and aquarium careers through networking, outreach, mentorship and professional development.

"As the curator of large carnivores at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and a black man in the zoo field, I have long been keenly aware of the dearth of black and brown faces in my chosen field," Smithsonian curator Craig Saffoe wrote in the article headlined: "Why a Group of Zoo and Aquarium Professionals Wants to Ensure the Future of Their Field Is More Inclusive."

"After years of thinking about what I could do to try to address this situation, I finally decided to, as my mother told me growing up, ‘stop talking about it, and be about it.’"

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LGBTQ family programming has been a consistent theme at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, which has used its annual International Family Equality Day to conduct outreach to the LGBTQ community. The free event, which the zoo says it has hosted annually since 2018, has featured animal encounters, keeper talks, music, games and community activities. Zoo staff have also created rainbow-themed animal enrichment and treats, including colorful ice cakes, for animals throughout the park.

The event expanded its community partnerships in 2024, when the zoo hosted representatives from the DC Center for the LGBTQ Community, SMYAL, Rainbow Families, Brave Trails and the Smithsonian Pride Alliance. The program included a performance by the LGBTQ-and-allied GenOUT Youth Chorus, a community picnic with local LGBTQ organizations and music that highlighted queer identity and inclusion. The outside groups referred to the gathering as "Gay Day at the Zoo," while the zoo’s programming was formally billed as International Family Equality Day.

"In places like the National Zoo, especially a taxpayer-funded organization like the National Zoo, zoos have a primary mission of conservation and species management, habitat management, that kind of thing, and when ideologies, or at least science that is in question, start to take over and really rule the management of an organization like the zoo, then you start to have problems," Jason Hayes, a senior research fellow with the Heritage Foundation's Center for Energy, Climate and Environment, told Fox News Digital.

In January 2025, the Smithsonian organization announced that it was eliminating its Office of Diversity in line with the Trump administration’s efforts but noted it is "retaining our efforts at visitor accessibility as it serves a critical function."

However, several work profiles listed on the zoo’s website as of this week still contain language suggesting DEI is part of their daily activities, including the zoo’s profile of Elliott Ferguson, president and CEO of Destination DC and a member of the zoo’s advisory board, which says advancing the tourism and hospitality industry is a priority for him and that his work includes "diversity, equity and inclusion," conversations about racism and expanding opportunities for people of color.

The profile also notes that he previously chaired Tourism Diversity Matters, a hospitality-workforce organization focused on DEI.

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Ricardo Stanoss, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute’s director for conservation capacity, was listed in the FY2023 diversity report as the principal investigator for an in-progress community advisory group that held listening sessions with D.C. leaders and explored development of a diversity-focused internship program and a master’s degree focused on environmental justice and climate change.

Additionally, the zoo’s Great Plains Science Program website currently lists "Inclusion" among its core values, pledging to create pathways for people from underrepresented groups to participate in its work and cultivate a new generation of conservationists. Several of the researchers associated with that project have biographies that underscore its emphasis on inclusion and Native community engagement.

The zoo also continues to partner with groups that have made DEI a central focus, including the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), of which the zoo is a long-standing accredited member. The zoo participates in AZA conservation and animal-management programs and must meet its accreditation standards, including a requirement that member institutions maintain written plans for accessible, welcoming organizational cultures.

AZA’s website says DEI is "embedded in everything we do" and the group wrote in 2020 that "systemic racism is embedded in our structures, culture and organizations, and we are committed to positive and sustained change that dismantles these barriers."

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Brandie Smith, the current director of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, joined the Smithsonian in 2008 after spending 10 years as AZA’s vice president of animal conservation.

Beyond its AZA accreditation, the Smithsonian is a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, a global conservation organization whose current gender policy calls for gender-responsive conservation and inclusive participation across race, sexual orientation and gender identity. The policy governs IUCN staff and is advisory for member institutions.

The zoo also works with the Zoological Society of London on the scimitar-horned oryx recovery effort. ZSL’s FAIRER Conservation program says it uses a "decolonial lens" and aims to embed "justice, equity and inclusion" in its conservation work.

Fox News Digital asked the Smithsonian’s National Zoo for comment and inquired about any current implementation of DEI in the organization but did not receive a response. Instead, a spokesperson provided a statement saying, "The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute is the Nation’s Zoo—a place where people can experience wildlife, learn about the natural world and see conservation in action."

The spokesperson added, "The zoo connects millions of people with wildlife while advancing a global mission to save species."

Hoffman explained that "activists have long targeted zoos simply because they exist."

"Kowtowing to these extremists — thinking the crocodile will eat you last by adopting these views — will invite extinction, not longevity," Hoffman said. "The Smithsonian Zoo shouldn't alienate visitors with political lectures and empty platitudes. The zoo should stick to showcasing pandas, not pandering to radicals. More imperiled species would be conserved and recovered today by de-emphasizing woke policies that are anathema to conservation efforts."

Data centers forgot the consumer — and that could cost America the AI race

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 05:00:42 -0400

Data centers have gone from a niche policy issue to one of the most controversial topics of the midterm elections. Fewer than 30% of Americans support a data center being built in their community and the reason why is simple; the industry forgot about consumers.

Data centers didn't suddenly appear with artificial intelligence. They have long powered the internet, cloud computing, streaming, online shopping, banking and countless other services Americans use every day. But the emergence of AI changed their scale and visibility. Companies began proposing larger facilities with new demands for electricity, water and space, often in communities where residents had little idea what was coming until the project was already well underway.

The industry had plenty to say about investment, innovation and America's race to lead the world in AI. All true and all important, but it did so in a way that alienated the average person with jargon, tech-talk, and a "trust me" approach.

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Most consumers have yet to hear a good reason why they personally benefit from data centers to begin with. They hear data centers will power the technologies of the future, but that is a difficult sales pitch when families are worried that their electric bills could rise or their water supply could be strained.

As a result, consumers have stepped into the conversation and begun to make their concerns known, and politicians are being forced to respond.

TEXAS GOV. GREG ABBOTT EFFECTIVELY PAUSES NEW DATA CENTER PROJECTS PENDING STATEWIDE GRID AUDIT

In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott has issued a pause to audit all new data center projects to ensure they meet consumer demands. Georgia has also moved in the same direction, with the Georgia Public Service Commission adopting rules to prevent costs associated with serving data centers from being shifted onto residential customers and small businesses. Most recently, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro imposed restrictions on data center development, removing the projects from the state’s Fast Track permitting program.

This isn’t rocket science. Consumers want answers on electricity, water and noise. And once that is answered, they want to know what benefit they will have from a data center being built in their own backyard.

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The failure of the industry to address these concerns at the outset has unfortunately made way for the same climate activist groups who have protested the energy industries for years to gain significant ground in the policy debate surrounding data centers. According to congressional inquiries and investigative research, Chinese state media and foreign-funded networks have allegedly played a major role as well.

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But all is not yet lost. Reasonable consumers understand data centers power everything from healthcare and emergency response to research and banking and welcome the economic growth, if done right — and modern data centers are addressing many of their concerns. They are leveraging closed-loop cooling systems that reuse and significantly reduce water consumption, they’re making changes that cut the noise disturbance, and they’re finding ways to bring their own power or build out and strengthen the grid.

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There are more stories coming out about the benefits data centers are having in communities. In Loudoun County, Virginia, data centers have provided a massive boost to local revenues, including generating almost half of the county’s property tax revenues. In Quincy, Washington, revenues generated by data centers have helped fund a new hospital, police and fire stations, city hall, a $120 million high school, and more local projects. And in Ellendale, North Dakota, a data center development has taken the city’s annual sales tax revenue from about $400,000 a year to $3.5 million in the first seven months of 2026.

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The industry was wrong to ignore their most powerful ally, the consumer. In the same way consumers used their power to halt the momentum of ESG and woke capitalism, they’re demanding modern data centers that mitigate risks while bringing clear evidence of community benefit. If the industry listens to consumers, then data centers may have a place in our communities after all.

MORNING GLORY: Hasan Piker’s radical rhetoric is becoming Democrats’ 2026 brand

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 05:00:33 -0400

At least Marx, Lenin and Mao were well-read.

Social media influencer Hasan Piker wears his Mao jacket and hoses his Twitch audience down with absurd political takes that do not betray any evidence that Rutgers University obliged him to read even a book or two of serious history before he graduated in 2013. Rutgers is a fine school and anyone can get a great education there, but Piker’s "body of work" shows us that serious study there is quite obviously not obligatory.

Piker uses social media to monetize the worst impulses of the extremes in American politics. In the course of doing so, he has become the face of the Democratic Party in the 2026 midterms and has personally carried the most radical major-party candidate in memory — Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed — to his party’s nomination for United States Senate.

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Piker has now gone so "supernova radical" that some Democratic leaders and elected officials have had to rebuke him without naming him — including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Sen. Elissa Slotkin — and others, like New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, have slapped Piker down by name.

This past weekend, Piker exploited the assassination of Charlie Kirk on September 10 of last year — to the great disgust of the vast majority of Americans who saw the mocking performance as it went viral. The exploitation of the suffering of Charlie’s family, friends and colleagues is despicable, but the need to make himself outrageous and at the center of attention for a deranged circle of followers — and thus contagious online — has overwhelmed any sense of decency in Piker.

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Piker is from the extreme left, and the record is full of his inanities and his outrages. He is best and most infamously known for blurting out years ago that "America deserved 9/11," but as recently as last week, his comments about American Jews endangering themselves because of their support of Israel pushed the alarm buttons for Democrats across the spectrum. What seemed to some to be a warning of a looming Kristallnacht may have finally obliged most Democrats to explicitly exile Piker from their tribe. (One exception though is still El-Sayed, who shimmies from ambiguous statement to ambiguous statement about Piker but won’t disown the radical who is now effectively the Michigan Democrat's running mate.)

After graduating from Rutgers, Piker learned his trade from his uncle Cenk Uygur, co-founder and host of "The Young Turks," a sprawling digital media operation. Piker learned the ropes of the "attention economy" there, then amplified the schtick right on through the land of the "outrage economy" and into what Mary Katharine Ham of the "Getting Hammered" podcast described to her co-host Vic Matus last week as the "personality disorder attention economy."

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That approach to garnering audience, and thus profits, was on display this weekend with Piker’s revolting mocking of grief around Kirk’s murder, a video that will injure every Democrat associated with him, most especially Abdul El-Sayed, the Democrats’ candidate for Senate in Michigan, whom Piker got over the top for the nomination with a closing campaign blitz (and pool party).

Other political figures who will be injured by Piker’s increasingly unhinged antics are Democratic Socialists of America-endorsed candidates for United States Senate, like Chris Pappas in New Hampshire. The DSA-adjacent hard-left Senate candidates among the Democrats — like Troy Jackson in Maine, James Talarico in Texas, and Peggy Flanagan in Minnesota — are also getting pulled down by Piker. Piker may never have met or even spoken with or about these candidates, but he has become the new face of the Democratic Party, its new "voice." Piker, like the DSA, is now effectively running with every Democrat in every race.

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The DSA is said to have about 120,000 dues-paying members. It appears to have nearly as many co-chairs, and not one of them can make a coherent argument about anything but their "we hate the Constitution" takes, while their extreme rhetoric has laid an oily film over every Democratic candidate. Piker then dances about the various stages — online and real — tossing matches. Voters notice.

Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer was pressed by Punchbowl News on the Piker- and DSA-led capture of his party’s leadership and momentum and could only lamely reply that "What people don’t understand is that a big tent is a strength, not a weakness. It’s how you build a majority."

SCHUMER DODGES QUESTION ON WHETHER DSA BELONGS IN DEMOCRATIC PARTY

That’s a lot of copium.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune doesn’t have to play that game. He doesn’t have a problem like Schumer’s Piker problem. Voters awake to the Democrats’ double-time march over the left cliff of American politics and into a Marxist fever swamp won’t be fooled by "Medicare for All" slogans.

Voters in Michigan, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Texas, to name just a few Senate races where radicalism will cripple Democratic candidacies, can’t help but notice and be repelled by Piker. Piker lives everywhere these days, and he’s taken over the emerging wing of the Democratic Party. Voters have noticed. And they will remember through November.

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There is a quality of frenzy about Piker that repels moderate Americans who love the country and who exist in both parties and as independents. Piker’s Maoist rants and his long list of transgressive assaults on norms are having a cumulative impact on Democrats because Piker, like the DSA as a whole, is understood to be the future of the Democratic Party, not a fringe figure who can’t break onto stages with candidates.

Piker is estimated to have a cumulative audience of 3 million "Twitch" viewers and another couple million viewers on YouTube. But that’s still an insignificant audience within the American voting public, save for very close races like the Michigan Democratic Senate earlier this month, which Piker delivered for El-Sayed.

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Now Democrats have to ask themselves: "At what cost do we continue to indulge this fanatic with his violent, profane rhetoric and horrible arguments built on slogans and absurd assertions?"

Most voters want a better life for themselves and their families. They don’t want the French Revolution or the Russian Revolution or Mao’s or Castro’s murderous reigns of terror.

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Piker is the brand of Democrats in 2026.

We will have to watch to see whether candidates for the party’s nomination for president in 2028 work to scrub that brand away in the months ahead.

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Man accused of using fake Chief Justice Roberts signature to get own criminal case dismissed

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 03:00:52 -0400

A man accused of using a forged signature of Chief Justice John Roberts on a bogus Supreme Court order in an alleged attempt to get his own Indiana criminal case dismissed has been arrested on federal charges, according to court documents.

Joshua M. Culver, who authorities say also used the alias "Maverick A. Young," was arrested last Friday in Colorado after a federal grand jury in Indiana indicted him on four counts of falsely impersonating a U.S. officer or employee and one count involving the use of a forged federal judge's signature and court seal.

Federal prosecutors allege Culver filed a document titled "Order of Dismissal With Prejudice" on Sept. 24, 2025, in a criminal case pending against him in Grant County Superior Court in Indiana.

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According to the indictment, the document used a forged signature of Roberts and a counterfeit U.S. Supreme Court seal in an effort to authenticate the purported dismissal order.

The alleged scheme involving the nation's highest court was not Culver's first attempt to pass himself off as a federal official, prosecutors say.

Five days before the alleged Roberts forgery, Culver allegedly posed as a National Security Agency agent while contacting the Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Office.

According to the indictment, Culver used his purported authority as an NSA agent to make requests that prosecutors say the sheriff's office otherwise would not have fulfilled, including asking deputies to conduct a welfare check on his biological daughter and provide information about her location.

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Culver also allegedly sought the names and information of sheriff's office employees and claimed he could take "adverse action" against the department in his purported capacity as an NSA agent.

The following day, on Sept. 20, 2025, Culver allegedly called the workplace of an individual identified in the indictment only as "Individual A."

Prosecutors say he falsely identified himself as a federal agent, claimed the person was "obstructing a federal investigation of a child kidnapping" and represented that he could have the individual arrested for committing a federal felony.

He also allegedly asked the person's employer to intervene to obtain the individual's cooperation.

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Months later, in January 2026, Culver allegedly portrayed himself as a "Special Master enforcing orders of the United States Supreme Court" in a communication sent to the Lake County clerk and directed to a Superior Court judge.

Prosecutors allege Culver claimed he had the authority to issue orders and warrants while demanding that the judge and court personnel take several actions, including making changes to vital records and dismissing cases and judgments against him.

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The indictment alleges Culver also warned that if officials failed to comply, he and U.S. Marshals would make arrests for "impeding a federal agent, lying to a federal agent, and conspiracy."

Then, in February, Culver allegedly assumed yet another federal identity, this time portraying himself as the "Director of Tailored Access Operations," which the indictment describes as a purported intelligence agency.

Prosecutors allege Culver filed a document titled "OFFICIAL SENSITIVE: TAILORED ACCESS OPERATIONS (TAO) COMPLIANCE DIRECTIVE" in Lake County Superior Court in a case pending against him.

The document, which purported to bear official letterhead, allegedly described Culver as a "federal asset" involved in multiple investigations and demanded that officials take a series of actions under a purported "federal directive."

Those demands included dismissing the case against Culver with prejudice, quashing warrants and requiring Lake County officials to cooperate with a purported "federal audit," according to the indictment.

Bloomberg Law reported that Culver was arrested Aug. 21 and that the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the District of Colorado was appointed to represent him.

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Fox News Digital has reached out to the Supreme Court's Public Information Office, the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the District of Colorado and the Justice Department for comment.

Small plane crashes into shallow water near remote Alaska town, killing all 4 people aboard

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 02:40:45 -0400

A small airplane crashed into shallow waters near a remote coastal town in Alaska on Wednesday, killing all four people on board, according to officials.

The aircraft, a Piper PA-24-260, was heading for an airport in the small town of Seldovia after taking off from Merrill Field Airport in Anchorage when it crashed at around 1:18 p.m., the Alaska Department of Public Safety said in a statement.

Seldovia's airport is about 136 miles southwest of Anchorage.

"Alaska State Troopers were notified that a small plane had crashed in the Seldovia Slough," the statement reads.

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A helicopter crew from Anchorage was dispatched to the crash site and other troopers were sent by boat from Anchor Point.

Following the crash, the plane was completely submerged in about 15 feet of water in the Seldovia Slough near the shore, according to Clint Johnson, the National Transportation Safety Board’s Alaska region chief.

Troopers were forced to wait until the tide went out in order to reach the aircraft.

Once the tide level dropped at about 6:30 p.m., troopers were able to retrieve the bodies of the four adult victims from the plane.

The bodies will be sent to the state medical examiner’s office for autopsy. The victims' names will be released once next of kin are notified, according to the Alaska Department of Public Safety.

It remains unclear what may have caused the crash.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.

This comes after another plane crashed last week at a remote military site in western Alaska, killing all eight people on board. That aircraft had been making its second runway approach in heavy fog, and its pilots were struggling to see the gravel airstrip, according to officials.

AIR FORCE OFFICER WHO DIED IN ALASKA PLANE CRASH REMEMBERED AS 'POSITIVE LEADER'

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In that incident, the Cessna's two pilots were flying solely by instruments when the plane crashed. Regulations required that the pilots abort their first landing attempt because of the lack of visibility, and the plane crashed on its second attempt, about one-third of a mile from the runway.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Lindsay Clancy didn't show 'break with reality' as jury weighs psychosis defense: Susan Smith prosecutor

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:45 -0400

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

The prosecutor who secured a conviction for Susan Smith, who drowned her two sons, says Lindsay Clancy's defense never proved a "break with reality" as jurors prepare to deliberate following Thursday's closing arguments.

Clancy, 36, faces three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her children — Cora, Dawson and Callan, all under age 6 — who were found strangled at the family's home in January 2023. Prosecutors rested their rebuttal case on Wednesday afternoon, with closing arguments scheduled for Thursday before the jury begins deliberating.

Her defense attorney argues that Clancy was experiencing postpartum psychosis when killing her children, a claim that has been heavily refuted by prosecutors.

SUSAN SMITH ELIGIBLE FOR PAROLE AGAIN AFTER BEING DENIED RELEASE FOR DROWNING HER 2 SONS IN 1994

Smith, a South Carolina mother, was convicted of killing her two young sons — 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander — after she strapped them into her car and allowed it to roll into a lake. Prosecutors contended she killed the boys at least in part because the man she was romantically involved with did not want a relationship with a woman who had children. She received a life prison sentence.

Smith's defense contended she was in a fragile mental state and suffered from severe depression, characterizing the act as a failed suicide attempt in which she had intended to end her own life along with her sons'.

PROSECUTOR IN INFAMOUS KILLER MOM CASE SAYS WOMEN ON LINDSAY CLANCY JURY MAY BRING ‘STRANGE TWIST’ TO VERDICT

As jurors begin to deliberate on Thursday, Rep. Tommy Pope, who is currently the speaker pro tempore for the South Carolina House of Representatives and prosecuted Smith, told Fox News Digital he thinks Clancy failed to prove she had a break from reality.

"So as a prosecutor, what you try to do, and you've seen it in this case, is the prosecutor will point out all the things that she did that it can be mundane. Sometimes people watch and go, why do they care that she ordered dinner? Why do they hear that she sent her husband away or was able to dial the phone or those things? But that's what you're looking at. Was it a break from reality? Or did she just commit a horrible, horrible crime and make a horrible, horrible choice?" Pope said. "In these circumstances, Clancy had, like I said, all the prior treatment. But I still don't really see the break with reality."

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However, Pope said that one of the things that "jumps out" for him is a clear lack of motive in Clancy killing her children, which was present in the Smith murders.

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"In this one, it's hard to see the end game," Pope said, referring to the murder case against Clancy. "What was her goal after? Let's say that even jumping out the window was a suicidal gesture, which obviously went terribly wrong for her, if that was the case. But what was her end game? And that's one disconnect I see."

WATCH: FBI psychiatrist says financial strain weighed on Lindsay Clancy before killings

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Gregory Saathoff, a University of Virginia forensic psychiatrist who consults for the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, testified Wednesday that financial pressure was among the stressors Clancy faced and may help explain why she killed her children.

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Saathoff said Clancy felt her "brain had been damaged" and could no longer do the work she loved or help support her family, which left her with a sense of being a burden.

WATCH: Prosecution psychiatrist in Lindsay Clancy trial says severe insomnia can lead to psychosis

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Defense attorney Kevin Reddington questioned Saathoff about his experience with terrorism, drawing from him an acknowledgment that sleep deprivation is employed as a form of torture and that severe insomnia "can actually lead to psychosis." Saathoff confirmed the point, saying, "Yes, it's possible."

Florida driver fleeing traffic stop slams head-on into school bus carrying 19 children before fleeing on foot

Wed, 26 Aug 2026 23:56:44 -0400

A Florida driver allegedly fleeing a traffic stop slammed head-on into a school bus carrying 19 children before abandoning his damaged vehicle and fleeing on foot, authorities said.

The dramatic Tuesday morning incident was captured on video, including footage of the vehicle crashing into the Sumter County school bus and police body camera video showing a deputy chasing down and arresting the suspect.

All 19 children aboard the bus were safe and uninjured, according to the Sumter County Sheriff's Office.

HELICOPTER FOOTAGE CAPTURES FLORIDA MAN ALLEGEDLY ABANDONING CHILD DURING HIGH-SPEED CHASE FROM DEPUTIES

The incident began around 7:20 a.m. when a deputy conducting school-zone traffic enforcement in front of The Villages Intermediate Center spotted Qahiem Williams, 23, allegedly driving 17 mph over the posted speed limit on County Road 466 near Tatonka Terrace.

According to the sheriff's office, the deputy made a U-turn and activated his emergency lights to initiate a traffic stop, but Williams allegedly accelerated and sideswiped two vehicles at a traffic light.

FOUR TEENS KILL COUPLE IN HEAD-ON CRASH AFTER STEALING G-WAGON, LEADING COPS ON HOURS-LONG CHASE: POLICE

Authorities said the collisions damaged the axle of Williams' vehicle, causing him to collide head-on with a Sumter County school bus on County Road 103.

Video taken from inside the bus shows the collision, with the driver's side door of Williams' vehicle appearing to open moments before impact.

Williams then allegedly got out of the vehicle and fled on foot, according to the sheriff's office.

Body camera video shows a deputy pursuing Williams before apprehending him near a Walmart.

HANDCUFFED SUSPECT ALLEGEDLY SLIPS RESTRAINTS, STEALS DALLAS POLICE CRUISER WITH OFFICER TRAPPED IN BACK SEAT

Williams was taken into custody and faces multiple charges, including fleeing or eluding, driving with a suspended license, possession of marijuana, leaving the scene of a crash, resisting an officer, hit-and-run and a moving traffic violation, according to the Sumter County Sheriff's Office website.

Authorities said Williams also had two outstanding Sumter County warrants for fleeing or eluding and driving with a suspended license.

Sumter County Sheriff Patrick Breeden condemned the alleged actions, saying they put children's lives in danger.

"I have zero tolerance when it comes to actions that put our children's lives in danger," Breeden said in a statement.

"This suspect has a history of this type of behavior and our community is safer with him off our streets," he added.

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Williams was medically cleared before being transported to the Sumter County Detention Center, where authorities said he was being held without bond.

PGA Tour Champions golfer Matt Gogel suspended six months for betting on PGA Tour events

Wed, 26 Aug 2026 23:35:27 -0400

Matt Gogel, a golfer on the PGA Tour Champions circuit, was suspended six months by the organization for placing bets on PGA Tour events.

Gogel released a statement claiming that he placed "small recreational wagers on golf" in 2024 without knowing he did so.

"I want to be clear that these wagers were not placed on regular PGA Tour events, PGA Tour Champions events or any tournament in which I participated," Gogel said in his statement released by the PGA Tour.

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"I would never knowingly violate the integrity of the game of golf. I made an honest mistake, and I look forward to playing in 2027 on the PGA Tour Champions."

Gogel’s suspension will begin on Sunday and run until Feb. 22, 2027.

NFL SUSPENDS ARIZONA CARDINALS EXECUTIVE FOR VIOLATING GAMBLING POLICY, LEAKING DRAFT INFO

The PGA Tour claimed that Gogel never once bet in a tournament he participated in. However, he violated the Tour’s integrity program where wagering on PGA-sanctioned events is prohibited.

Gogel isn’t the first documented suspension for betting on PGA Tour events. In 2023, Vince India and Jake Staiano on the Korn Ferry Tour were suspended six months and three months, respectively, for similarly placing bets on PGA Tour competitions.

Gogel, 55, had just one PGA Tour victory in his career, which came at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in 2002. However, after his first career on Tour, he became a golf broadcaster with The Golf Channel and CBS Sports.

When he turned 50, Gogel joined the PGA Tour Champions, which is the senior circuit of the golf organization.

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Gogel currently sits 20th in the Charles Schwab Cup points race.

TCU football pulls credentials from local newspaper for reporting on locker room assault story

Wed, 26 Aug 2026 23:08:44 -0400

TCU Horned Frogs football has a chance to make a run in a wide open Big 12 Conference, coming off a 9-4 season in 2025. But if they do, local fans who subscribe to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram won't have access to the type of reporting they might normally expect.

The Star-Telegram reported recently about an incident in the TCU locker room that resulted in senior safety Jacob Fields being dismissed from the football team. Fields allegedly assaulted another player, wide receiver Dozie Ezukanma, though the initial report didn't identify him directly. Ezukanma posted a now-deleted Instagram video acknowledging that he was the other player involved.

TCU has now, per the paper, rescinded the Star-Telegram’s credentials to cover Horned Frogs athletics. And it's supposedly because of the "health and wellbeing" of student athletes.

NEW YORK TIMES LOSES DEFAMATION SUIT, ORDERED TO PAY $9.25M TO FORMER ALABAMA BASKETBALL PLAYER

"Our primary focus is the health and wellbeing of our student athlete," said TCU athletic director Mike Buddie in a statement this week. "Unfortunately, an unnamed source without first-hand knowledge of the incident provided inaccurate information cited in initial reporting by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, which we strongly disputed.

"The inclusion of the misinformation advanced a narrative that endangered a student-athlete and resulted in threats to him and his family. These actions led to the decision to withhold the media credential until additional conversation can be held between athletics and the sports reporting team. We remain dedicated to restoring our student to health as well as focusing on the game that’s ahead."

SEAN PAYTON EXPLORED PLAN TO MAKE BILL BELICHICK BRONCOS' TEMPORARY HEAD COACH TO REACH MILESTONE: REPORT

This decision came just a few days before the Horned Frogs start their season against Bill Belichick's North Carolina team in Dublin on Saturday. The paper's TCU reporter, Steven Johnson, is still traveling to cover the game from Ireland, though he will now not have media credentials to do so within the press box.

TCU's athletic department was reportedly not clear about what the Star-Telegram needs to do to regain their credential, but without question, the biggest irony in the whole story is that the Horned Frogs' home stadium is named after the founder and publisher of... the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Banning news organizations from doing their jobs is not what schools and athletic departments should be doing. Given the player identified himself, how TCU is blaming this on the Star-Telegram is inexplicable. What's more likely here is that TCU simply didn't like a negative story about their locker room that potentially reflected poorly on head coach Sonny Dykes, so they punished the paper.

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We'll see if they get their credential back in time to report on Saturday's game. They should.

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