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Iran inmates sew lips shut in mass hunger strike at notorious US-sanctioned jail: report
More than 1,000 inmates death-row inmates held in a unit of Iran’s Ghezel Hesar Prison have entered a third week of a mass hunger strike to protest regime executions, with some prisoners sewing their lips shut in protest, according to reports.
The escalating demonstration at the U.S.-sanctioned Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj near Tehran, also highlights growing international concern over the Islamic Republic's reliance on capital punishment, particularly for drug-related offenses.
According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), the hunger strike started on July 13, after six inmates were transferred to solitary confinement ahead of possible executions. Other Iranian human rights groups said the prisoners had been convicted of drug-related offenses.
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Reports also indicate that the striking prisoners have been chanting "No to Execution" and taking extreme measures, including sewing their lips shut.
One media outlet cited a video that appeared to show an inmate speaking to the camera and saying he was going to sew his lips shut because, six days into the hunger strike, no prison official had responded to the protest.
The Guardian reported that the video also appears to show an unseen prisoner using a needle and thread to stitch the man's lips shut.
In a statement released on July 27, the exiled Iranian opposition group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), reported that prisoners in Unit 2 of Ghezel Hesar Prison were in "deteriorating physical condition" because of the hunger strike.
"Although 15 days have passed since the start of this hunger strike, the henchmen of the regime’s judiciary have given no response to the striking prisoners. Despite the prisoners’ deteriorating physical condition and urgent need for medical attention, prison guards have taken no measures to care for them," the organization said.
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The NCRI also said the striking prisoners urged the public, human rights organizations and international bodies to take action to halt the executions.
This marks the second major demonstration at the facility in recent months.
A similar protest occurred at Ghezel Hesar Prison in October 2025, when more than 1,500 inmates staged a six-day hunger strike, according to reports.
That demonstration ended after senior judicial and prison officials made a visit to the facility and promised to temporarily halt executions and review cases.
However, human rights activists report those promises were never fulfilled, according to Ynet.
The State Department had designated and sanctioned Ghezel Hesar Prison in 2024 for gross human rights violations and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of prisoners.
"These heinous acts included multiple severe beatings of political prisoners engaged in a peaceful hunger strike to protest the increased wave of executions being carried out at the facility," then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at the time.
According to Amnesty International, the Islamic Republic of Iran executed at least 2,159 people in 2025.
Iran’s total helped drive the number of executions recorded by Amnesty International to at least 2,707 across 17 countries — the highest figure the organization has recorded since 1981. The total excludes China, where execution data is classified as a state secret and Amnesty believes thousands of executions were carried out.
Bryan Kohberger's stunning claims draw fiery response from defense expert who uncovered key evidence
FIRST ON FOX - A forensic expert formerly retained by Bryan Kohberger's defense is raising questions about hair evidence recovered from the off-campus home where four University of Idaho students were murdered, although an attorney for one victim’s family says the evidence does not exonerate the convicted killer.
Kohberger pleaded guilty in July 2025 to murdering Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves in Moscow, Idaho, in November 2022. He was sentenced to four consecutive life terms without parole and an additional 10 years for burglary.
Kohberger recently filed a petition for post-conviction relief seeking to undo his guilty pleas. He alleges he was coerced into accepting the plea agreement and that his attorneys failed to communicate potentially exculpatory evidence. The petition references hair evidence recovered during the investigation.
The hairs were found under where Chapin’s right hand was photographed in Kernodle’s bed, affixed to the frame by dried blood. It’s the side of the bed that was touching the wall.
Shortly before sentencing, defense expert Brent Turvey examined the state’s evidence and saw that it was still present on the bed frame. There is a photo.
In terms of color, the hairs are a mix of light and dark brown.
By a rough estimate, there are more than two dozen visible strands. Although there are no measurements for reference in the photo, the strands appear to be between three and four inches.
Turvey, a forensic scientist and senior partner at Forensic Solutions LLC who has testified at more than 70 trials, found the hair when he traveled to Moscow, Idaho, to review evidence in person.
"The FBI lab said Kohberger is excluded," Turvey told Fox News Digital. "This is not his hair."
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It remains unclear who the strands belonged to or whether all of them were tested. Fox News Digital has not independently reviewed the complete laboratory documentation underlying Turvey’s statement.
According to People, a DNA expert retained by Kohberger’s defense tested at least one hair sample found in Chapin’s hand and determined that it matched Chapin. It remains unclear whether that sample was the same hair evidence Turvey described.
The hairs were first publicly described in Christopher Whitcomb’s book "Broken Plea," which Kohberger referenced in a new New York Times interview. Kohberger also mentioned the hairs specifically in his petition for post-conviction relief.
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Turvey said Kohberger's latest filing raises broader questions that extend beyond the hair evidence, arguing the court should closely examine the former criminology student's allegations that he was coerced into pleading guilty and received ineffective legal representation.
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"Everybody involved needs to be put under oath, starting with Anne Taylor and her legal team," Turvey told Fox News Digital.
"The court should want to know what evidence Bryan Kohberger has regarding these clear accusations of coercion and ineffective assistance."
Turvey said Kohberger's claims "need to be taken seriously and investigated by the court."
"This will require Anne Taylor and her co-counsel to answer some very difficult questions," he said. "Not just why she attacked her own experts for revealing the possibility of the exculpatory material — but for failing to respond to another expert that is out there claiming he's guilty and that he knew it from the start."
Turvey has had a public rift with Kohberger’s former defense team. Taylor and two co-counsel previously accused him of violating a confidentiality agreement and said they were "appalled" by his public comments, while Turvey denied disclosing confidential information.
Fox News Digital reached out to Taylor for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Shanon Gray, an attorney representing the family of victim Kaylee Goncalves, disputed the significance of the evidence.
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"If he's talking about the hairs, that's not exculpatory evidence," Gray told Fox News Digital.
Gray noted the defense had long been aware of the evidence.
"The defense had that evidence. And someone was gonna testify about it," Gray said. "The other glaring issue is that all that proves is that there could've been another person, not that he wasn't present."
The FBI declined to comment when reached by Fox News Digital.
Kohberger has never responded to any letters or emails from Fox News Digital.
New Maine law limits police cooperation with federal immigration officials
A new law in Maine will limit state and local law enforcement agencies' cooperation with federal immigration officials.
The law is set to take effect on Wednesday, along with other measures that seek to restrict the state's cooperation with civil immigration enforcement.
The "ICE Out of Policing" law restricts state and local law enforcement agencies, including jails, from assisting federal authorities with civil immigration enforcement.
Law enforcement agencies will be prohibited from reaching out to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents for translation services if they encounter a person who does not speak English, and they generally may not provide personal information for civil immigration enforcement, although the law includes exceptions for criminal investigations and certain legally permitted information exchanges.
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The law also restricts local and state agencies from holding people for ICE based solely on civil immigration enforcement, and jails generally will be prohibited from notifying ICE about nonpublic inmate release dates or honoring civil detainer requests, subject to exceptions involving serious crimes, outstanding warrants, final removal orders and certain public-safety concerns.
Another law also taking effect on Wednesday generally prohibits employees at public schools, state colleges, public libraries, healthcare facilities and child-care facilities from voluntarily allowing immigration officers into nonpublic areas or granting access to protected records without a judicial warrant or other applicable legal authority.
A third law restricts landlords from disclosing tenants' personal information without consent, including information related to immigration status, while preserving exceptions for warrants, subpoenas, emergencies and certain legitimate housing or legal purposes.
The policing measure became law without Mills' signature in January. Mills signed the schools, libraries and healthcare measure in April, while the tenant-privacy measure became law without her signature later that month.
Several Maine cities, including Portland, Lewiston, Waterville and Rockland, have already adopted their own laws restricting local police from communicating with ICE and Border Patrol.
Local governments across the country have also sought to pass similar legislation.
The Maine State Police announced in December that it would begin following the policing restrictions before the law took effect. Some agencies continued contacting immigration officials, while Scott Stewart, president of the Maine Chiefs of Police Association, warned that limiting cooperation could expose Maine agencies to federal funding cuts or increased enforcement.
Immigrant rights advocates said the new laws will improve community trust in Maine officials to ensure public safety, regardless of immigration status.
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The ACLU of Maine, Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition and civil legal aid provider Maine Equal Justice held a news conference on Tuesday about the new laws targeting ICE operations, according to the Portland Press Herald.
Sue Roche, executive director for the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, said she was aware of more than 50 incidents last year where state and local police contacted immigration officials, leading to arrests.
"The vast majority of people who have been handed over to ICE or Border Patrol by Maine’s law enforcement were people in lawful immigration processes who had no criminal record," Roche said.
Fox News Digital has reached out to ICE for comment.
Bari Weiss poaches conservative NY Times columnist, others join '60 Minutes' in CBS program shakeup
CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss poached one of her former New York Times colleagues as part of the network's major shakeup of "60 Minutes" ahead of its 59th season.
Newly minted "60 Minutes" executive producer Nick Bilton announced to staff Tuesday that conservative New York Times columnist Ross Douthat will be joining the program as a correspondent.
"He makes controversial topics approachable and renders characters and points of view with richness and compassion. Ross will bring this big and ranging curiosity to our air," Bilton told staffers in the memo obtained by Fox News Digital.
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New York Times Opinion editor Kathleen Kingsbury addressed Douthat's departure from the paper after 17 years in a note to staff and thanked him "for arguing in good faith, for a year of doing it in a format that gave you nowhere to hide and for reminding all of us, on every side of every question, what a column is for. We are enormously grateful, and we will miss you."
A spokesperson for the Times declined to comment further.
CBS News veteran Norah O'Donnell will also join "60 Minutes" as a correspondent, according to the Bilton memo.
"Norah has contributed exceptional pieces to the show for more than a dozen years, including interviews with Pope Francis, President Trump, President Biden and Mohammed bin Salman," Bilton said of the former "CBS Evening News" anchor.
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Additionally, Bilton announced a slew of "60 Minutes" contributors, including journalist and documentary filmmaker Sebastian Junger, former Vice News correspondent Gianna Toboni, who was previously tapped by CBS News as a national correspondent, and former Sky News presenter Trevor Phillips, whom CBS News recently hired as its senior global affairs correspondent.
"We couldn’t be more excited about this news. Please join us in welcoming these new colleagues," Weiss and CBS News President Tom Cibrowski told network staff.
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The announcement comes after a slew of firings from "60 Minutes," including its executive producer, Tanya Simon, as well as correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi, Cecilia Vega and Scott Pelley, fueling tensions within CBS News and sparking backlash from liberal critics. Veteran correspondents Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim remain with the program while Anderson Cooper announced his exit earlier this year.
GOP governor survives challenge from Bitcoin evangelist in gubernatorial runoff
South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden fended off a primary challenge from businessman and Bitcoin evangelist Toby Doeden on Tuesday, winning the first gubernatorial primary runoff in state history and advancing to the November general election.
The Associated Press called the race for Rhoden within minutes of final polls closing. He had received 70.5% of the vote compared with Doeden’s 29.5% at the time it was called, with approximately 25% of the expected vote counted.
The election marked the first time South Dakota voters were asked to settle a gubernatorial nomination through a primary runoff. State law requires a runoff between the two leading candidates when no contender for governor, U.S. Senate or U.S. House receives at least 35% of the primary vote.
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The head-to-head contest followed a four-way June primary in which Doeden finished first with 30.6% of the vote and Rhoden placed second with 25.2%, leaving both short of the 35% needed to secure the nomination outright. Rhoden became governor in early 2025 after Kristi Noem left to join the Trump administration, while Doeden entered the race as a businessman and political newcomer.
Doeden also built a public profile as a Bitcoin evangelist. He said he began investing "very, very heavily" in the cryptocurrency around 2020 after devoting roughly 500 hours to researching it, eventually converting nearly all the cash reserves from his companies that he did not expect to need into Bitcoin.
"I will buy bitcoin forever, every single day," Doeden previously said on his podcast, according to the South Dakota Searchlight. "We mine bitcoin, we buy bitcoin."
Doeden also supported legislation that would have allowed the South Dakota Investment Council, which manages public employee pension funds and other state investments, to invest in Bitcoin. He went further by calling for South Dakota to establish a state Bitcoin reserve – a move state investment and budget officials opposed.
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Tuesday’s winner advances to face former Democratic state Sen. Dan Ahlers in November. South Dakota has not had a Democratic governor since Harvey Wollman left office in 1979, and no Democrat has been elected to the office there since Richard Kneip won re-election in 1974. Wollman became governor automatically as lieutenant governor when Kneip resigned.
In the run-up to Tuesday's primary runoff, property taxes were among the defining issues of the campaign. Doeden campaigned on eliminating property taxes, while Rhoden’s campaign portrayed Doeden’s proposal as fiscally reckless, arguing it could leave local governments and schools with a major funding shortfall.
Meanwhile, Rhoden's campaign highlighted other tax relief measures that the governor signed back in March, which Rhoden's campaign website describes as the "largest" property tax cut in the state's history.
During the race, Doeden portrayed Rhoden as part of South Dakota’s entrenched political class, declaring after the June primary that "the career politicians told me" an outsider could not break through against three longtime officeholders.
Rhoden pushed back on the attack, saying Doeden was trying to "make hay" out of calling him a career politician and describing that characterization as "such a warped viewpoint," during an interview with the South Dakota Public Broadcasting network. Rhoden argued that his years in the Legislature gave him practical experience writing laws and then returning home to live under them.
President Donald Trump did not publicly weigh in with an endorsement in the runoff, according to a review by Fox News Digital. Trump thanked Rhoden by name during his July 3 remarks at Mount Rushmore but did not mention the governor’s race. Doeden, meanwhile, campaigned as a "fierce Trump supporter" who said he would help implement the president’s "America First agenda."
Aaron Rodgers doubles down on retirement plans at Steelers training camp: 'This is it'
If you didn't believe Aaron Rodgers when he first said this would be his final season, maybe now it will sink in.
Rodgers, who re-signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason and said that his 22nd NFL season will be his last, reiterated his desire to retire at training camp on Monday.
"This is it," the 42-year-old told media members at a press conference.
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The thought of retirement has hovered around Rodgers for quite some time now, including this offseason, when the Steelers, and the rest of the NFL, for that matter, waited patiently to see if this was indeed the end of his career.
The Steelers, meanwhile, hired Mike McCarthy as their next head coach after parting ways with longtime sideline leader Mike Tomlin. McCarthy and Rodgers have the obvious rapport of winning together as Green Bay Packers. They spent 15 seasons at Lambeau Field.
Rodgers admitted McCarthy’s hiring was a key part of him wanting to ride out one more season into the sunset.
"I thought last year might be it and then Mike got hired, and then talked to the wife and she said, ‘You can do one more year. See if it works out.’ And then it kinda all came together," he said.
When one reporter brought up that Rodgers' top receiver, DK Metcalf, had said players often claim it's their last season only to return, Rodgers doubled down.
"No, zero debate," he responded.
Rodgers said the same thing in May during a press conference after signing his one-year pact with the Steelers, which he joined after a lowly tenure with the New York Jets.
In his first season with the Steelers in 2025, Rodgers went 10-6, throwing for 3,322 yards with a 65.7% completion rate and 24 touchdowns with seven interceptions.
The Steelers also bolstered its offense this season, adding veteran wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. in a trade with the Indianapolis Colts. They also signed Rico Dowdle to work with Jaylen Warren in the backfield after Kenneth Gainwell, who Rodgers loved to dump the ball to, landed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this offseason.
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Sarah Michelle Gellar embraces Euro summer in the South of France with stunning bikini photos
Sarah Michelle Gellar is joining the long list of celebrities embracing a "Euro summer."
The 49-year-old actress shared a collection of photos from her getaway in the South of France, where she spent time on the water, explored the Calanques near Cassis and made a stop at Circuit Paul Ricard, the famed motorsports track in Le Castellet.
"Calanques, Cassis and @circuitpaulricard," Gellar captioned the Instagram post.
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The "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" star opened the vacation album in a black bikini decorated with white floral detailing and a coordinating swim skirt.
Gellar posed aboard a boat with the bright blue Mediterranean behind her, resting against the vessel while wearing black cat-eye sunglasses. She completed the waterside look with layered necklaces and bracelets as a rocky, tree-lined coastline filled the background.
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A second photo offered a closer glimpse of the actress relaxing under the French sun.
Gellar snapped a selfie from the boat while wearing a deep brown halter bikini top featuring gathered fabric and bow details. Her blonde hair was pulled back, and she appeared to go makeup-light as she smiled toward the camera with the turquoise water stretching behind her.
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She later covered up in an all-white eyelet set while posing on the deck.
The airy outfit included a short-sleeved blouse with scalloped edges and matching shorts, which Gellar paired with dark sunglasses and a woven tote bag. She stood with one leg bent as sailboats dotted the water behind her.
Another image captured the actress climbing back aboard after taking a swim.
Gellar didn't just admire the water from the boat. The actress later took a dip in the Mediterranean before climbing back aboard, accessorizing the swim look with a delicate necklace and stacked bracelets.
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Fans and famous friends praised the sunny vacation photos in the comments.
"Beautiful," Candace Cameron Bure wrote.
The trip comes months after Gellar reflected on beauty, aging and the pressure of being compared with her younger self during a January appearance on the "Gloss Angeles" podcast.
"I am constantly compared to my younger self because it’s so easy to pull up a picture from my 20s or my 30s and, you know, how has she changed?" Gellar said. "And in some ways, it, I think, puts a little bit of extra added pressure. And in other ways, it also reminds me I don’t want to be that person anymore. Like I like who I am now. And that’s okay."
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The "Cruel Intentions" actress acknowledged that growing older in the public eye can be difficult, particularly as cosmetic procedures and filtered images become increasingly common.
"I’m not gonna lie and say there’s no Botox in my face, but I can still move my face," she said. "So it’s definitely a hard walk."
Gellar added that she has questioned whether she should pursue more cosmetic work, but ultimately decided it would not feel authentic to her.
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"There are times where I’m like, ‘should I be doing this?’" she said. "But then I’m like, but that’s not who I am."
The actress also spoke about the confidence she has gained with age.
"It’s just that there’s a confidence that you get later that you just — there’s no way to replicate it for a younger person because it just comes with living," she explained. "And, you know, it gets better."
Ex-Newsom mistress exposes wild affair step by step, reveals Kamala Harris advice to stay quiet
Ruby Rippey, the woman whose affair with then-Mayor Gavin Newsom sparked a 2007 California political scandal, detailed the encounter step-by-step in a piece published Tuesday in Vanity Fair, while revealing the role former Vice President Kamala Harris played in advising her afterward.
Rippey, who was married to Newsom's campaign manager at the time, Alex Tourk, and who served as the mayor's appointments secretary, disclosed that Harris, who, at the time was the San Francisco District Attorney, privately advised Rippey to "pause" and refrain from public comment or taking a book deal as the scandal broke.
"She listens, then says simply: ‘I wouldn’t say anything right now, Ruby. Just pause. More time will give you better perspective,’" Rippey claims Harris told her after the affair became public.
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The essay chronicles Rippey's battle with alcoholism, the eventual breakdown in her marriage and her journey to sobriety, while questioning how Newsom's team framed the affair in his memoir.
Rippey notes that Newsom’s book wrongly claims he was the one who "came clean" to her husband, a detail she says gives him credit for a confession she had already made. When she asked a Newsom advisor if the governor "tells the truth" in the book, he responded, "Well, we all remember things differently, don’t we, Ruby?"
Rippey described beginning the affair while working at City Hall, detailing encounters that included sitting in a hot tub together, spending nights in hotel rooms, and visiting his Russian Hill penthouse.
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"The next clear memory is getting into the back of my boss’s chauffeured town car, heading to The Carneros Inn," Rippey wrote, later adding, "I stretch my legs across the center console and let my heels fall off. He is in the front seat. He takes one of my feet and begins to massage it, the gesture half-hidden inside the loud car."
Rippey described waking up beside Newsom the next morning, noting that while the encounters continued for months, they were fueled by addiction and status: "We meet and we drink. There is sex, but it isn’t the point. The point is proximity — to power, to being chosen, to feeling newly visible — no longer muted by pregnancy, by new motherhood, by the strain of white-knuckling long stretches of sobriety."
One comment she claims Newsom made came after the birth of her first child, when they met at a Mexican restaurant. He told her, "Hey — you look really good ... You’ve lost all your pregnancy weight."
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Rippey notes that while she entered into the affair willingly, years later she realized the power imbalance may have played a role in the ordeal, adding that "power does not need to coerce. It only needs to exist."
After she decided to come clean to her husband in an email while he was still working for Newsom, Tourk confronted the mayor and immediately resigned. The affair erupted publicly shortly after, prompting Newsom to admit to the affair during a 2007 news conference and subsequently announce he would seek treatment for alcohol abuse.
Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom’s team and Harris' team for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
Ex-NFL star rips Ryan Clark for turning emotional ESPN exit into a grab for clicks: 'That's his thing'
Ryan Clark wants you to believe he is a victim.
Clark — the former NFL safety — wants you to think ESPN executives set him up and threw him out on the street under the guise of mass layoffs. He even fired up the podcast cameras to cry on cue for the internet.
But former NFL running back LeSean McCoy is calling out the waterworks for exactly what they are.
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McCoy took one look at Clark's emotional display and immediately dropped the hammer on his fellow broadcaster.
"I can't tell you how he should vent and show his emotion," McCoy said on his Speakeasy podcast.
"So, I mean, I probably wouldn't do this right here, but I mean, this is part of his lane. He's into, what's the word, clicks, likes, you know, that's his thing."
McCoy wasn't buying it.
"I knew it was going to be something. I knew he was going to monetize this whole thing," McCoy added.
"That's what he did. Instead of just getting fired like everybody else, you know what? 'We're going to make some of this thing. We're going to get some clicks. We're going to have a million views on this joint.'"
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McCoy hit the nail directly on the head. We have seen this playbook from Clark before.
Once the cameras are on, Clark knows exactly what sells. Race-baiting narratives and professional victimhood have become staples of his brand.
Clark went on his podcast and accused ESPN of portraying him as the "angry Black man" after a producer tried to cool down a spat with Peter Schrager.
McCoy had no interest in validating Clark's latest grievance tour.
"There are certain dudes when they say different things, I watch them, 'Oh yeah, he's a social media guy, he does his stuff for attention,'" McCoy noted.
"I truly think that he's one of them. So, my thing is, I just don't know how real this is."
McCoy pointed out that both men know getting cut comes with the territory. The difference is Clark spent years stepping into controversy, from race-baiting segments to public feuds and on-air outbursts that repeatedly put him in the headlines.
Eventually, ESPN decided it had seen enough.
"Being fired from a job is one thing, but when you get cut, and in football, you understand that route," McCoy said.
"So, I don't feel bad with the tears and all that."
Clark has spent years perfecting his brand of clickbait outrage.
Now that he is on the outside looking in, he is simply doing what he does best... creating content.
Shady McCoy saw right through the act, and frankly, so did everyone else.
Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela
Daughter of late House Dem forced into runoff after falling short in special election
Marcye Scott, the daughter of late Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., and former Gwinnett County school board chair Everton Blair advanced Tuesday to an Aug. 25 runoff in the special election to serve the remainder of the late Congressman Scott's term before the winner of November’s regular election takes office for a full-term beginning in January.
Neither candidate captured the 50% majority needed to win the seat outright, according to the Associated Press, which called the race around a quarter to 9 o'clock East Coast time. Scott had received 47.5% of the vote and Blair had received 36.1% when the race was called around 8:45 p.m. eastern, with 85% of the expected vote counted. Republican Caesar Gonzales was far behind in third with just 8.5%.
The runoff will determine who serves the final weeks of the late-Congressman's term in the heavily Democratic metro Atlanta 13th Congressional District following his death in April at age 80. It will not determine who represents the district for the next full two-year term beginning in January; voters held a separate primary for that term in May, with the general election set for Nov. 3.
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Democratic state Rep. Jasmine Clark won the regularly scheduled May primary for the full term with roughly 56% of the vote and will face Republican Jonathan Chavez in November. Blair, the only special-election candidate who also competed in that regular May primary, finished third with approximately 12%.
Regardless of party affiliation, all candidates appeared together on one special-election ballot Tuesday. Georgia law allows a candidate who receives more than 50% to win outright, but sends the two leading candidates to a runoff when no one reaches that mark. Six names appeared on the ballot, although Democrat Tony Brown was disqualified after the check he submitted for the $5,220 qualifying fee bounced, according to the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office, which indicated votes cast for Brown would not count.
The remaining field included Scott, Blair Gonzales, Attorney Carlos Moore and Republican candidate Fayth Park.
Scott announced during her father’s early-May funeral in Atlanta that she planned to run in the special election to complete his term. Scott has cast herself as the candidate best positioned to complete her father’s unfinished work, particularly his outstanding federal funding requests, with her campaign noting how she worked alongside her father for more than two decades, playing an active role in his campaign operations, fundraising, constituent outreach and community engagement.
"Right after my dad passed, a lot of the City Council or the commissioners and chair people, they wanted to know what was going to happen with these projects," Scott said following her father's death, according the Atlanta-Journal Constitution. "And that’s really why I’m running: to complete that."
Her runoff opponent, Blair, was elected to the Gwinnett County Board of Education in 2018 and was elected board chairman a few years later in 2021.
According to Blair's campaign website, the former high school math teacher earned a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics and a doctorate in education leadership from Harvard University, as well as a master’s degree in policy, organization and leadership from Stanford University. Blair’s campaign has highlighted that education-policy background and his prior elected service on the Gwinnett County school board.
The winner of the August runoff will add another Democratic vote to a narrowly divided House. Republicans officially hold 218 seats, compared with 212 Democrats and four vacancies, while independent Rep. Kevin Kiley of California continues to caucus with Republicans despite defecting from the GOP earlier this year. Once the Georgia winner is sworn in, Democrats would hold 213 seats, compared with a 219-member Republican-aligned bloc.
The 13th District includes portions of Clayton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Henry and Newton counties, along with all of Rockdale County. David Scott carried the district with approximately 72% of the vote in 2024. In the presidential race that same year, then-Vice President Kamala Harris received roughly 71% of the district’s vote, compared with about 28% for President Donald Trump.