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Detroit pastor says progressive candidates are trying to 'virtue-signal' to Christian voters
Detroit Pastor Lorenzo Sewell told Fox News Digital that progressive politicians are trying to "virtue-signal, placate, and try to propagate to Christians" because they represent the largest religious voting bloc in America.
"It's the largest voting bloc in America. We're celebrating 250 years, where our forefathers — they understood that the God of the Bible, the Lord Jesus Christ, would give them the ability to start this great nation," Sewell said. "And we see that we've not been a perfect nation, but we understand that we've been the most benevolent."
"We've been the nation that's protected Israel," he continued. "We've been the nation that, quite frankly, has spread Christianity throughout the world to reach hundreds of millions of people in the last 250 years."
Three progressive Democratic candidates running for the U.S. Senate — Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon, former Michigan health official Abdul El-Sayed and Texas state Rep. James Talarico — shared a penchant for bucking the Democratic establishment in their high-profile primary bids this midterm cycle. They have also incorporated their religions and faiths into their campaigns and messaging to voters.
Talarico, a Texas state lawmaker and theological seminary graduate, has often cited biblical scripture to defend progressive policies, gaining national attention. Talarico has argued that Jesus focused on feeding the hungry, welcoming strangers, and helping the poor rather than engaging in partisan culture wars.
"Imagine a Democratic Party that takes on big money and isn’t captured by it," Talarico told an audience of Democrats in Hays County, according to a report by the Texas Tribune. "Imagine a Democratic Party that delivers for people on housing, health care, and education, and actually defeats the right-wing extremists who have taken over this country."
In a sermon laying out his progressive framing of the Bible, Talarico asked what Jesus would do "about a tax system that benefits the rich over the poor" and "a health care system that forces the sick to start GoFundMe pages to afford lifesaving surgeries."
During comments at the Saint Paul AME Church of Jacksonville, Florida, Nixon — the Democratic Senate nominee facing Republican incumbent Sen. Ashley Moody in November — contended that her political positions were akin to those of Jesus Christ.
"They are trying, y'all. They are trying ... to label me as this extremist, this radical. But, you know, Jesus was a radical," Nixon said.
El-Sayed, during an appearance on the "Progressive Christians Podcast" that aired in May, similarly invoked Christ when asked about his policy positions. El-Sayed, who is Muslim and running in Michigan's Senate race against former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, was asked about the overlap between Islamic teachings and Christianity, and why his platform was being framed as radical.
EL-SAYED MAKES JESUS COMPARISON WHEN PRESSED ON SOCIALIST VIEWS: 'RADICAL IN HIS TIME, TOO'
"Well, you know, Jesus — peace and blessings be upon him — was considered radical in his time, too," El-Sayed said.
Sewell insisted that progressive Democrats are simply playing politics with the electorate.
"They know that they need to appeal to Christians. But the question becomes: What is their agenda for the church?" he said. "President Donald Trump has been the only president that has an agenda for the local church."
"I was with them last week," Sewell added. "I'll be preaching at the RNC coming up, and that's because the president honors the church and honors the presence of God. But you won't hear Jesus in the DNC. You won't hear Jesus spoken about through the real Jesus — the God of the Bible."
Fox News' Alex Miller contributed to this report.
Florida Gators revive iconic 'Gator Bait' chant the left deemed racist back in 2020, and fans ate it up
The Florida Gators opened the first college football weekend of the season with a new coach, a new quarterback, and an offense that put up more points than it had in years.
The most noticeable change, however, took place in the stands.
The school revived the iconic, yet controversial, "Gator Bait" chant that had been shelved since America lost its mind during the summer of 2020. Like a lot of things, "Gator Bait" was deemed racist as the (very peaceful) social justice movement swept through the streets, and the school promptly shut it down.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL'S FIRST FULL SATURDAY IS HERE AND IT'S A CELEBRATION OF AMERICA AT ITS BEST
Now, six years later, it's back ...
And fans were THRILLED:
Goodness, does that bring me back. I grew up going to Gators games during the Tebow era — the last good era, by the way — and that chant was electric. The band. The fans. The energy. It was the best.
Of course, it was banned six years ago because folks suddenly decided it was racist.
MIXED REVIEWS FOR 'GATOR BAIT' BAN
Why? Well, the internet cooked up the idea that the chant originated from late-1800s and early-1900s imagery and stories that depicted Black children being used as bait to catch alligators.
Yes, obviously that's just disgusting literature. Nobody is arguing that. Nobody did.
But here's the thing ... then-UF President Kent Fuchs acknowledged at the time that the chant, which had been around for decades, had NOTHING to do with any of that.
"While I know of no evidence of racism associated with our ‘Gator Bait’ cheer at UF sporting events, there is horrific historic racist imagery associated with the phrase," he wrote in a letter in June 2020.
Translation: This isn't racist, but we're bending the knee to the mob because that's what everyone is doing right now.
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Fast-forward six years, and new Florida president Dr. Stuart Bell brought up the idea of reviving the iconic chant earlier this summer.
"I know there’s a lot around the ‘Gator Bait’ (chant). It’s meaningful to the Gator family," Bell told 1010XL. "I hope we’re able to have some really great conversations around that."
The chant, for those wondering, was coined the "Gator Bait" chant by Lawrence Wright way back in 1995. It was foolishly canceled in 2020, and smartly revived on Saturday.
Sanity wins again.
Sherrill anti-ICE policy hammered after fleeing migrant driver injures Dem mayor’s wife
EXCLUSIVE: Sanctuary policies are leading to dangerous situations by making it harder for ICE to do its job, Republican critics argued after an illegal immigrant fled agents and crashed on a major New Jersey highway, injuring the wife of a Democratic mayor.
The Wednesday crash is fueling a renewed fight over New Jersey's limits on cooperation between local police and federal immigration authorities. Republicans are arguing Sherrill's approval of the "Trust Directive" creates public-safety risks by limiting the ability of ICE to work with police officers. They also contend that Democrats are wrongheaded to respond to such incidents by calling for ICE's abolition rather than stronger enforcement.
"This is just the latest in a long line of traffic incidents and vehicular incidents that wouldn't occur if New Jersey didn't have our sanctuary status that got codified as soon as Gov. Sherrill came into office," Assemblyman Paul Kanitra, R-Point Pleasant Beach, told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview Friday.
"We all fought against it. We told them that this would create chaos, and it seems like Democrats are unable to take accountability for their own actions."
Kanitra said Sherrill and other Democrats have been unable to recognize the connection between their support for the "Trust Directive" sanctuary policy — signed into law by the governor this year — and incidents such as the one in Middlesex County this week.
NJ TAXPAYERS ON THE HOOK FOR $12M MORE AS DEM GOVERNOR PROTECTS ILLEGAL ALIENS BATTLING DEPORTATION
"Democrats seemingly have an inability to take accountability for their own actions here. They're unable to even recognize the chaos that they're creating, and they're shouting and screaming at everybody else trying to find somebody to blame. It's somewhat ridiculous," Kanitra said.
"You kind of reap what you sow," he said, adding that at least two people in his district have been killed in incidents connected to illegal immigrants behind the wheel.
Kanitra also pointed to a separate case in his county in which an illegal immigrant allegedly drove a vehicle into a family outside a kosher supermarket, killing an infant.
"They got behind the wheel, and they wound up killing an innocent toddler in the process," he said, calling the circumstances of the situation "absolutely abhorrent."
MAN FLEEING ICE OFFICERS IN FLORIDA IS STRUCK AND KILLED BY TRACTOR-TRAILER, POLICE SAY
Wednesday’s crash saw an illegal immigrant flee a targeted ICE operation, the agency told Fox News Digital, and speed off.
The suspect drove onto U.S. 130 — the heavily trafficked spine of the Trenton-Camden corridor — and collided with a Tesla in North Brunswick after running a stoplight.
FLEEING SUSPECT IN NEW JERSEY STRIKES ICE AGENT, WHO OPENS FIRE
One of the people injured in the other vehicle was the wife of East Brunswick Mayor Brad Cohen. Fox News Digital reached out to Cohen and North Brunswick Mayor Francis Womack III for comment.
"After repeated verbal warnings and due to officer safety concerns, ICE officers relied on their training and attempted to safely remove the illegal alien [from their car]. The illegal alien then proceeded to flee at a high rate of speed and collided with other vehicles," an ICE spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital.
HOCHUL BOASTS 'I JUST BANNED IT' AS NEW YORK OUTLAWS LOCAL POLICE PARTNERSHIPS WITH ICE
Sen. Mike Testa, R-Vineland, said Cape May County, one of the counties in his district, along with Monmouth County, fought hard but unsuccessfully against Sherrill and others to be able to engage with ICE through 287(g) interagency cooperation agreements.
The incident Wednesday showed why they are integral to keeping the public safe, he said.
"I think it has only emboldened illegal aliens to engage in illegal behavior. This illegal alien was stopped lawfully by federal authorities, ran through a red light, fleeing federal authorities and unfortunately ran into the mayor of East Brunswick's wife."
He said there has been little movement among Democratic leadership to address the troubling trend, but at least one member of the majority — Sen. Brian Stack, who is also the mayor of Union City — told him that, in an all-encompassing sense, laws on the books must be enforced.
Watson Coleman, whose district includes the area where the crash occurred, responded differently.
"Today, it appears an ICE involved car chase resulted in an accident involving the wife of the Mayor of East Brunswick. Abolish ICE," Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J., tweeted.
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Testa said that while Democrats’ "silence is deafening" writ-large, Watson Coleman’s call to abolish ICE shows that some Democrats are responding to the incident by targeting federal immigration enforcement rather than the driver.
"This is just another example of lawlessness. And sadly, there's been a stamp of approval from radical leftists like Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman saying ICE should be abolished rather than actually punishing the criminal that put multiple citizens' lives at risk," he said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Watson Coleman and Sherrill for comment.
As for his county's wish to forge a 287(g) agreement with ICE one day, he said it shows there are parts of the state that still believe in law and order.
"And we believe quite literally that citizenship should have its privileges. I've made this comment many times," he said.
Testa accused Watson Coleman and Sherrill of supporting policies that make it harder for federal authorities to arrest and remove illegal immigrants.
"You know, I'm a child of the '80s — and the old American Express commercial was ‘membership has its privileges’ — well, citizenship should have its privileges," he said.
Michigan fans storming the field after beating a MAC school was amazing, Ole Miss fan goes viral & LSU fights
The sun is shining, the birds are chirping their little hearts out and we get this edition of Labor Day Monday Screencaps rolling with a recap of a weekend that will be remembered as the weekend where we learned that the clock that we see during football games isn't the official...official game clock, if you're watching Big Ten football.
Am I mad that Michigan won? Not at all. I LOVE that Michigan won like that because of the mental gymnastics that these fans have going on in their heads. I LOVE that the supposedly smart Michigan students, the coastal elites, rushed the field after beating Western Michigan. In fact, I'm tempted to get a photo of the field rush framed for my basement.
Look at all the people on the field after one of the most important wins in Michigan history. Rockwell couldn't have painted it better.
– Anonymous writes: Michigan is to the point they can't help themselves from cheating - new coach, same old same old. If they'd missed that second Hail Mary, I have no doubt they would have gotten a third chance. No way the B1G 10 is allowing one of its four marquee programs to lose to second-tier school.
Kinsey: To be fair, Michigan didn't cheat. They just got the benefit of the super-secretive game clock that fans don't get to see. This is absolutely the best thing that could ever happen this season to my profession. Do you realize how many game clock questions will be asked this season, especially late in games? This is the stuff that keeps my, and many, many others employed.
CLOCK CONTROVERSY ALLOWS MICHIGAN WOLVERINES TO AVOID MASSIVE UPSET AGAINST WESTERN MICHIGAN
It provides us with memes. It provides us with content for Dan Dakich to talk about. It provides us with content for months.
And this keeps Bryce Underwood as the Michigan QB. Saturday was great.
NOTRE DAME CAVES, LIVES UP TO MARCUS FREEMAN'S PROMISE AS USC RIVALRY GAME IS OFFICIALLY BACK
– Eric P. emails: Can u start a thread on your great website that asks why there are the decrepit retirees involved in rule explanations? They are not only wrong more often than one would expect; they offer nothing to improve the broadcasts, other than to allow me to say what dumb asses they are.
Kinsey: I was completely shocked last night when Terry McAulay, working on Notre Dame's broadcast, actually said Notre Dame didn't deserve the ball after a punt fumble. I'm not a Notre Dame fan by any stretch, but it sure felt like the NBC crew was leaning towards Wisconsin early in that game. I couldn't have been the only one to catch that.
TEXAS TECH HEAD COACH BLASTS USC, LINCOLN RILEY, FOR POOR ATTENDANCE AT LA COLISEUM IN WEEK ZERO
By the way, Labor Day weekend needs better matchups, but we're not going to get them. Indiana showed us the way by scheduling cupcakes for the first three weeks. Look at what USC scheduled this fall. San Jose State, Fresno State and Louisiana. If the goal is to just make the playoffs, why schedule tough out of the gates?
Bonus: Remember when ESPN cameras would catch fans in the stands and Internet dorks didn't act like it was a crime against humanity? Guys, let's act like it's 2010 again. ESPN cameras spotting hot fans in the stands is NORMAL.
I've seen too many Internet dorks banging on the cameraman for this shot. This is the college football that I love.
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– Marc is back and is still mad at me: So, no Screencaps yesterday (Saturday) or today. "Screencaps runs 7 days a week." Yeah, my ass it does. What is your excuse these past 2 days, you lazy d–k?
Kinsey: As always, I recommend you guys bookmark the Screencaps landing page.
https://www.foxnews.com/category/outkick/outkick-culture/screencaps
Now, SeanJo was on Sunday Screencaps duty and, for some reason, the post didn't end up on the landing page. Not sure what happened there, but SeanJo definitely showed up for work. He was all over Brooks Nader's night in Baton Rouge.
– Tom T. reacts to Marc's outburst: Wow!! Marc needs to take a chill pill…..my ex-wife said that I had anger issues, and his email made ME feel uncomfortable. I hope he can find peace this weekend (take the heavy dogs today, Marc).
– Richard emails: Joe love the column. First time long time. I was a young lawyer at my father’s law firm in 1997. My wife was 7 months pregnant with our first child I worked primarily for a partner in a 2 lawyer Satelite office who generated a lot of work for the firm and was my dad’s protege. She was going on vacation to Aspen. She told me if X(another lawyer from a different firm) comes to the office and asks for a particular client file give it to her.
So X did come to the office and I gave her the file. When my boss returned from Aspen I popped my head into her office and asked how was your vacation? She was crying. I said what wrong? She said why did you give X the file? I said because that is what you said to do. She said no I didn’t. I said yes you did and you showed me where the file was. She said she didn’t.
So I said well I guess you are calling me a liar. She said yes I am. I said well "F**k you I’m not a liar" and this was in front of her sycophant staff. The partner told my father it was her or me who had to go. My dad backed her so I quit and went home and told my wife I just quit. Started my own firm as a solo which is now a 5 office mid size firm and far far more successful than my former boss and even my father. My dad and I made amends.
Oddly in 30 + year hindsight I think she did tell me NOT to give X the file.
– John H. says: Joey with all this talk of respecting summer I think we need to clarify the geographic demarcation for this movement. The historical Mason Dixon line is too far north. But maybe a line between North and South Carolina, between Tennessee and Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi then deviating south to divide Louisiana and Arkansas.
Most of us south of this line currently have a strong case of summer fatigue which rapidly worsens as we approach mid September. I split time between Miami and Atlanta where summers are similar in magnitude, but vary in length. Miami has 2 seasons - brutal and not so brutal. Atlanta has elements of a spring and autumn, albeit often too short. Since our winters are not as limiting as yours, we understand the sentiment for delaying those dreaded winter months.
So although we acknowledge the "respect summer" mantra, those of us south of the pumpkin spice line are covertly stoked about summer’s departure. Sorry Joe. However you have our full support for summer’s departure NOT being synonymous with Christmas. Let’s enjoy the time between summer and December. I think everyone can agree on that point - whether you’re north or south of the pumpkin spice line.
If this Facebook embed doesn't load, don't kill me. Don't treat me like Marc treats me.
##################
It's time to go golfing. I've been knocking out projects around the house the last two days, including patio projects, mowing (on Sunday because it rained for five straight days last week) and kicked the ball around with Screencaps the III, who got the book he wanted.
It's time for a little me time. I hope all of you have a great Labor Day. Tonight, you'll get SMU vs. Florida State.
Falcons name sixth different Week 1 starting quarterback in six years
The Atlanta Falcons’ quarterback situation is inconsistent, snake-bitten or insert your description here.
On Monday, the Falcons named Tua Tagovailoa their Week 1 starter as Michael Penix Jr. recovers from a partially torn ACL that he suffered in Week 11 of the 2025 season against the Carolina Panthers. Atlanta doesn’t seem as though it was willing to rush Penix back to the huddle and will give the nod to Tagovailoa.
ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON'T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!
ESPN’s Adam Schefter noted that Tagovailoa is the sixth different quarterback to start Week 1 for the Falcons. Matt Ryan started in Week 1 of the 2021 season – his final year with the Falcons before he signed with the Indianapolis Colts. The team tried its best with Marcus Mariota in 2022 and Desmond Ridder in 2023. Kirk Cousins won the starting job in 2024 and Penix began the 2025 season as the starter.
The team was in flux during the 2026 offseason.
The Falcons fired Raheem Morris and hired Kevin Stefanski as their head coach after he was let go by the Cleveland Browns. Tagovailoa signed with the Falcons after he was cut by the Miami Dolphins.
Stefanski said during preseason he wanted Tagovailoa to go out and prove the doubters wrong.
"You want to prove people wrong," he said, via the team’s website. "You have a chip on your shoulder. I think where I'm coming into this, where Tua's coming into this is, listen, this is not exactly how you thought it would go, but guess what, that's the reality, and how are we gonna respond? I think that's what he's made of. You look at his career, you look back at his college career, he's responded."
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Tagovailoa isn’t exactly known for being able to stay on the field. He only played at least 16 games in a season once – in 2023 when he was a Pro Bowler for the first time and led the Dolphins to an 11-6 record and a postseason berth.
Last season, he had 2,660 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in 14 games.
Luckily, for the Falcons, the NFC South is as big of a crapshoot as one can get in the NFL.
The Panthers won the division last year with an 8-9 record. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were the divisional champs from 2021 to 2024 and from 2017-2020, the New Orleans Saints were on top. The Falcons haven’t won the division since 2016 when they last appeared in the Super Bowl.
Atlanta begins the season Sunday on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Small business owners built the American Dream. Democrats want to take it from you
Imagine living the American Dream, taking a risk to build a business from nothing, only to watch your tax dollars subsidize the government-backed competitor across the street.
That is exactly what is happening in New York, where a coalition of small business owners went to court last week to stop the Mamdani regime from using taxpayer dollars to compete directly against them.
That is socialism on Main Street. That is the Democratic Party's economic agenda.
Small businesses are not merely one sector of the American economy. They are the American economy. There are roughly 36 million small businesses across the country, employing nearly half of America’s private-sector workforce.
For more than 50 years, my family has operated a car dealership in Weatherford, Texas. In all that time, I have never been the sole dealer in my market, nor have I asked the government to make me one. In our business, we compete for our customers, and they, not the government, decide who wins.
MILLIONS TAP TRUMP TAX CUTS THIS FILING SEASON AS REFUNDS TOP $3,400
That is capitalism.
Socialism takes that choice away. It does not build a better store. The government picks up the tab, leaving the small business owner across the street to compete against an opponent whose losses are someone else’s problem.
CAPITALISM IS ABOUT INCENTIVES. STOPPING THE STUPIDITY OF SOCIALISM IS A BIG INCENTIVE
Republicans chose a different path.
Through the Working Families Tax Cuts, we made the 20% small business deduction permanent, giving Main Street businesses the certainty to invest, expand and hire. On average, 8 million small business owners are keeping an extra $4,600 — helping them breathe a little easier.
Full expensing, for example, allows a machine shop to deduct the entire cost of qualifying new equipment in the year it's purchased. We also ended the tax on tips and overtime pay so hardworking Americans can keep more of what they earn.
Already, nearly 20 million workers have benefited from overtime relief alone. We cut red tape, saving $211.8 billion in regulatory costs last fiscal year. In May, the SBA doubled the maximum loan size available to growing businesses, from $5 million to $10 million. The result is an economy where entrepreneurs are once again willing to bet on themselves. Small business optimism is running above its 52-year average, hiring plans are the strongest they have been since 2022, and in July alone, Americans filed 578,926 applications to start new businesses.
That is what happens when Republican leadership puts Main Street first.
Democrats call their approach compassion. Look at what happens to the people they claim to help.
Los Angeles is phasing in a $30 hourly wage for hospitality workers, and a survey of owners this spring found that roughly 650 jobs had already been lost. New York's delivery-pay mandate allegedly shrank the ranks of active delivery workers by nearly 28,000 and increased the fee on every order by 72%.
Fewer jobs, higher prices, and small businesses are left holding the bill.
Republican-led states have taken a different approach. Over the past year, my home state of Texas added 165,600 jobs — more than any other state. Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, who left the Democratic Party in 2023, now calls his city "America's Sanctuary City from Socialism."
Same country, same economy, different parties in charge. The results speak for themselves.
THIS RED STATE IS STRENGTHENING ITS GRIP AS AMERICA'S NEXT ECONOMIC HEAVYWEIGHT
As chairman of the House Committee on Small Business, I will always fight for the people willing to put their own money and time on the line to build something of their own. Government should create conditions that enable entrepreneurs to succeed, not use taxpayer dollars to compete against them.
Every single Democrat in Congress voted against the Working Families Tax Cuts. They voted against permanent tax relief for 36 million small business owners. They voted against Main Street.
The choice could not be clearer.
Socialism offers you a government store. Capitalism offers you the keys to your own.
The business owners in that New York courtroom are not asking for a handout. They are asking for something far more fundamental: the freedom to compete, the room to build something of their own, and the right to keep what they have worked so hard to create.
UN agency accused of Hamas ties sees another European nation cut funding
Another European nation has stopped funding the U.N. agency that aids the Palestinians. Finland has followed the U.S. and Sweden in halting donations to the terror-tainted agency.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), is presently being investigated for ties to the terrorist rulers of Gaza. Recently, organizations including the USAID Office of Inspector General (OIG) and NGO UN Watch have uncovered further evidence of what they allege is Hamas infiltration of UNRWA and its members’ participation in the Oct. 7, 2023 terror attacks in southern Israel.
Finland announced it would discontinue funding to the organization at the end of 2026. Finland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs confirmed to Fox News Digital that the agreement with UNRWA would conclude at the end of 2026 but that "As of yet, no decision has been made on what are the international partners through which Finland’s support will be channeled next year to meet the acute needs in the region."
Finnish officials did not respond to Fox News Digital’s questions about what prompted the change to the country’s funding for UNRWA.
US URGES DONORS TO ABANDON UNRWA FUNDING AS UN DEFENDS AGENCY'S MISSION
While other nations still continue to fund UNRWA, President Donald Trump fully banned funding to the organization in February 2025, and Sweden ended funding to UNRWA in December 2024. Sweden redirected aid to other U.N. bodies for its Gaza response.
The future of aid provision in Gaza matters for the Trump administration-backed Board of Peace as it seeks to shape a conflict-free future for the region.
An official affiliated with the Board of Peace reconstruction effort told Fox News Digital that "the international community’s concern about UNRWA in Gaza continues to rise and is supported by damning evidence. The Board of Peace has been clear: New Gaza will be both demilitarized and deradicalized, and we will only be working with trusted, credible delivery partners to achieve our goals. We anticipate responsibly replacing UNRWA with vetted partners who will deliver for the people of Gaza."
WATCHDOG DEMANDS APOLOGY AFTER UN MEMORIAL ERRONEOUSLY HONORS HAMAS TERRORIST
The USAID OIG is investigating about 1,500 members of UNRWA for terror participation, and has referred 108 UNRWA staff to the State Department to suggest they be suspended or excluded from further work with organizations in receipt of U.S. funds.
A senior U.S. official briefed on USAID OIG’s ongoing investigation told Fox News Digital that the USAID OIG’s "independent findings are prompting several other countries to reassess the stale and conventional thinking that UNRWA is the best and only option to provide aid to civilians in Gaza." The official said that the USAID OIG’s "findings also will prevent Hamas and October 7 affiliated staff from circulating across future, more responsible, aid organizations operating in Gaza."
WORLD'S HUMANITARIAN SYSTEM BUCKLING, 'NO LONGER FIT FOR PURPOSE,' US-BASED RESEARCHERS SAY
UN Watch’s Terror Network report claims that about 12% of UNRWA staff in Gaza are members of terror organizations, based on "cross-checking UNRWA employee rosters with Hamas records seized by the [Israel Defense Forces.]"
Executive director of UN Watch Hillel Neuer told Fox News Digital that "Finland’s principled decision to defund terror-infested UNRWA will not deprive Palestinians of aid, as it will be redirected through genuine humanitarian agencies such as the World Food Programme that are not systemically infiltrated by Hamas."
He said that "other democracies should follow" the examples of Finland, Sweden, and the U.S. "Contrary to what UNRWA supporters claim, the agency is not ‘indispensable’ — assistance can and must be delivered through responsible alternatives."
Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, told Fox News Digital that "UNRWA has taken note of the announcement, and they are grateful to Finland for the disbursement of the 2023–2026 funds under the multi-year agreement. UNRWA looks forward to continuing our discussions with the government." He explained that "the Secretary-General continues to encourage member states to support UNRWA's vital work."
Finland's four-year funding was around $23.23 million to UNRWA and will now end after this year. UNRWA did not respond to Fox News Digital questions about Finland’s decision.
Neuer said "defunding UNRWA is a prerequisite for deradicalization, the first step in the Gaza peace plan. Far from harming the prospects for peace, dismantling UNRWA is essential to achieving it. For decades, the agency has perpetuated the conflict by teaching generations of Palestinians that their future lies not in building their own society, but in a so-called ‘right of return’ that would eliminate Israel."
He concluded by noting that USAID OIG and UN Watch’s exposes on UNRWA prove that "the agency is unreformable. Nations that genuinely want peace should stop financing this machinery of hate, and invest instead in humanitarian relief, deradicalization and Palestinian self-reliance."
NASCAR race turns ominous as driver delivers chilling warning, Hooters Gianna gets racy in the pool & Hocevar!
Monday Morning Pit-Stop is a weekly NASCAR column that runs on OutKick.com and Fox News Digital. If you're looking for a normal NASCAR recap, go check out insufferable ESPN ... assuming they still know NASCAR exists.
Last week, Carson Hocevar told me he didn't expect any drama in The Chase.
I asked him, point blank, if he felt like he had any enemies on the track, or if he felt like he was driving around with a target on his back.
This, of course, came after months of NASCAR drama — all culminating in a recently launched relationship with a TikTok influencer who was starting to ruffle some feathers around the garage.
"I think it's good for TV and merch sales at times, but I don't think so," Hocevar told me when I asked him about other drivers coming after him.
"You know, I've had people try to wreck me and they just end up wrecking themselves lately. So I don't foresee anybody really having to, you know, wanting to do anything like that that where I would have to really be worried about it.
"So, yeah, I mean, I'm not really worried about."
Carson, buddy, it's time to start worrying. If your head wasn't on a swivel before Darlington, it HAS to be on one now.
Welcome to a Labor Day edition of Monday Morning Pit-Stop! We're gonna keep this one brief today because A) it's a holiday, B) it's a holiday, and C) I've got meat to smoke ... because it's a holiday.
We're gonna dive into Carson's antics last night at Darlington here in just a minute.
We'll also get into Ryan Blaney putting another few dollars in NASCAR's new 'Swear Jar,' Dale Jarrett got a nice little Sunday night wakeup call, and Hooters Gianna Blaney gave us one final summer photo dump from the pool.
And what a summer it was!
Four tires, enough fuel to get us to Gateway, and maybe some secret service protection for Carson ... Monday Morning Pit-Stop — the 'Watch Out, Carson' edition — is LIVE!
Look, I'm not gonna break down the race. It's a holiday, and it was a relatively "meh" finish.
OK, we all caught up? Good! Now, let's check in with Carson and Brad Keselowski:
Thoughts? First impressions?
First of all, Brad didn't just spin, as Hocevar says with a s–tgrin on his face 14 times. That's obviously false. Hocevar washed up the track and got into Brad, which caused the spin.
Now, here's where I veer a bit with the rest of the pitchfork crowd today ...
He barely — and I mean barely — tapped him. You have to squint to see it. If anything, it looks like he really just got Brad loose enough to spin him out. I don't think it was intentional. I think it was a mistake on Carson's part, and he's too embarrassed/proud to admit it.
"His day’s coming and it’s coming hard. Watch out, Carson."
You don't hear Brad Keselowski talk like that often — not this version of Brad, at least. He was hot, and I get it. At some point over the next few weeks, he's going to end Carson Hocevar's day. This sport has a way of policing itself, and you will see it unfold.
Now, the question becomes ... is this good for NASCAR?
Of course it is. It's great for NASCAR.
The series desperately needs a villain, and they have one in Carson Hocevar. He's also an extremely popular villain, given he LEADS the series in merchandise sales right now.
Hocevar talked to me a lot last week about the state of the sport, and even compared it, to a degree, to WWE.
"They don't understand the new guys," Hocevar said when asked about balancing old and new NASCAR fans. "'This guy is popular, and I don't understand why.' A lot of my friends, some of them love WWE and all the intricacies of that world. But the casuals of it, they're like, 'Man, I loved Stone Cold when he walked out. I never even watched him wrestle, but I liked him, and the Undertaker and their shticks.
"It's very similar to how NASCAR fans describe everything and become negative to everything. A lot of times, they're not sure what they're looking for."
That's an actual social media post from Brad Keselowski's RFK racing team, if you were wondering how the rest of the garage felt about Carson Hocevar.
They hate him.
By the way, they also hated Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski back in the day. I can remember a time when those two were HATED. Kyle especially.
Carson Hocevar is young and stupid. He's got a hot TikTok influencer girlfriend. He was just told he's the most popular driver on the circuit. He won at Talladega earlier this year, and he's in the Chase.
He's good for NASCAR. He also needs some humbling. Both things can be true.
PS: Massive sale going on over at Carson's pro shop right now!
Amazing. The kid doesn't care. Can't wait to see the fight in a few weeks!
OK, let's put the pedal to the floor and get on outta here ... it's a HOLIDAY.
First up? NASCAR has a new initiative where they are going to put $5 in a swear jar over these next 10 weeks every time a driver cusses over the radio.
That's A LOT, by the way. These guys are disgusting over the radio in the heat of battle. Trust me.
Anyway, if you can guess how much money is in the jar by the end, you, apparently, get ALL of it!
Hat's off to NASCAR. I give them a bunch of crap (rightfully so), but this is a smart promotion. Perhaps they took a page out of Carson's WWE playbook?
Also ... what a liner there from Angry Ryan Blaney!
"Christ, it's f—ing plowing my d–k off."
That's $10, by my count!
Next? Let's check in with Dale Jarrett on the way out:
Amazing. That gif, I assume, will get some good play this football season. It's not often that 40 stock cars can sneak up on you, but Dale was genuinely taken aback here.
No clue what he was doing, but I'm glad the cameras were rolling. Well done.
OK, that's it for today. Some solid laboring on Labor Day, everyone. Let's go have a big week.
Take us into it, Gianna Blaney!
Beverly Vance calls daughter-in-law Usha humble: 'One of the nicest people I've ever met'
Being front and center in the political sphere is certainly not for the thin-skinned, and no one knows that more than Vice President JD Vance's wife, Usha.
The second lady of the United States recently caught some flak on the internet for wearing an $8 maternity dress from Old Navy in a recent appearance with her husband.
One person who is squarely in Usha's corner defending her from the online criticism is none other than her mother-in-law, Beverly Vance.
SECOND LADY USHA VANCE GETS CANDID ABOUT NEW BABY, JUGGLING FOUR CHILDREN AND MOTHERHOOD
Vance joined OutKick's very own Tomi Lahren on her show, "Tomi Lahren is Fearless," and when the subject of Usha's choice of dress was brought up, Beverly couldn't help but sing the praises of her daughter-in-law.
"She's very humble," Beverly revealed to Lahren. "I think she's one of the nicest people I've ever met... I love her like she's my own daughter."
SECOND LADY USHA VANCE SHARES FAMILY PHOTOS FEATURING NEWBORN WHO IS LESS THAN 1 WEEK OLD
For those of you who have in-laws, you know it can be a crapshoot as to whether you get along with them or not, so it's really comforting to see Beverly speak so highly of Usha.
Beverly would go on to describe Usha as "authentic" while listing off some of her most admirable qualities.
"She's very genuine, very authentic. She loves JD. She's a good mom," Beverly said. "I can't think of anything bad to say about her."
As for the cultural side of things, although the two could not be more different, Beverly admits that she's a big fan Indian food.
"I have to admit, I don't think I could cook it," she said. "But it's pretty good."
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As Lahren opines, the Vance family represents a good example of a modern American family dynamic, and that mix of cultures is part of what makes them so special.
This won't be the last time Usha Vance faces criticism and trolls from the internet, that much is for sure.
But with a mother-in-law like Beverly Vance on her side, I doubt she will ever be too bothered by the noise.
Italy women's basketball star tears into ref after missing game-tying shot vs US in Women's World Cup
Italian women’s basketball star Cecilia Zandalasini was irate with FIBA officials at the end of their loss to the U.S. on Sunday in their Women’s World Cup game.
Zandalasini was looking to tie the game with a 3-pointer in the closing moments of Italy’s 55-52 loss to the U.S. She was creating space while being guarded by Jackie Young. As she was dribbling, she reacted as though Young swiped her in the face.
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No foul was called and Zandalasini was forced to put up a contested shot. She missed and the game was over. However, Zandalasini was not finished with the officials.
She was seen yelling at them and needed to be held back by some staff members.
Zandalasini apologized for her outburst later.
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"I would like to apologize for the way I reacted," she said in the postgame press conference. "It wasn’t sportsmanship at all. Yeah, just wanted to apologize to the team and the referee. When I wear this jersey, it’s just a different me I guess. I feel embarrassed. I just wanted to say that out loud and to whoever watches."
Zandalasini finished with 14 points and seven rebounds in 27 minutes.
Italy had the U.S. on the ropes the entire game before the Americans utilized their interior offense to draw fouls and grab free points at the foul line.
Young led the way for the U.S. with 10 points, four rebounds and three assists. Angel Reese added eight points and three rebounds.