Review: Visit Independence Hall, Where Founders Signed Their Own 'Death Warrants'

Chris Hayes says vulnerable GOP senator got 'sham vote' to look independent against Trump

Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner has endured a brutal week of reporting on his personal history and unsavory interactions with women — issues that have left many people wringing their hands over the state of the race. However, MS NOW's Chris Hayes, who interviewed Platner earlier in the week, noted that Maine voters on the street largely seem unfazed.Part of the reason, he suggested, is that there is genuine disgust with longtime GOP incumbent Susan Collins — despite their "reservations about his character.""A lot of them ... really do not want to send Susan Collins back to the Senate," said Hayes. For all her posturing over the years as a dealmaker and moderate, she "is really a party line Republican" and "a rubber stamp for the Trump agenda during both terms.""I also think Senate Republicans realize she's in trouble, right?" he continued. "I mean, this is a state that Donald Trump has lost three times. She managed to win in 2020, but she's got a real tough road ahead of her."Because they realize she's in trouble, he continued, they organized a "sham vote" in the reconciliation bill for an amendment to formally restrict President Donald Trump's $1.776 billion "Anti-Weaponization" slush fund — and while the GOP voted it down, Collins and two other vulnerable Republicans were allowed to vote against it."Everyone knew that it was doomed to fail from the beginning," said Hayes, because Republicans would not let such a huge rebuke to Trump pass, even though his Justice Department is now claiming the fund won't go forward anyway. "They don't actually want to bar your money from being stolen from the government to pay off cop-beaters and seditionists. And so what they do is Collins gets to pretend to be independent when the stakes don't actually matter."When they do, though, said Hayes, Collins reliably joins the party line — most famously being "the key vote to get Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court" while falsely assuring voters he would never restrict abortion rights. - YouTube youtu.be

‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Actor Stabbed To Death — Suspect Made Chilling Call To Police

The man accused of killing “Top Gun: Maverick” actor James Handy made a chilling 911 call after allegedly stabbing the 81-year-old actor outside of a Los Angeles home. Michael Gledhill, who is the son of Handy’s girlfriend, Wendy, allegedly stabbed Handy in the chest in the front yard of the home of Handy’s girlfriend, where ...

GOP 'in absolutely huge trouble' in swing state as Trump plans visit

President Donald Trump is desperate to maintain his hold on the Republican-dominated House, so he’s personally fighting for plenty of embattled seats. But some seats are going to be a much harder sell for him and his Republican Party."The Republicans are just in absolutely huge trouble in Wisconsin. I think that more so than any of the polls would say … the fact that all those Republicans are leaving the state Legislature, they're sort of telling us with their actions what they expect," said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato's Crystal Ball, a nonpartisan political newsletter at the University of Virginia's Center for Politics.Trump is making his first trip to the Badger State since he won here nearly two years ago, visiting one of the nation's few battleground congressional districts, but the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says he’s coming at a time “when his approval among Wisconsin voters is at an all-time low.“The visit comes at a time when the president's tariffs and recent attacks on Iran have produced gale-force headwinds for Republicans in their effort to preserve their power in Congress and in state government in Wisconsin, an effort made more complicated by the retirements of the Legislature's two GOP leaders and key members of both houses,” reports the Journal.Nevertheless, Trump is planning to discuss agricultural issues during a Friday roundtable event at a farm in Chippewa Falls, which lies in the 3rd Congressional District − a swing district held by Republican incumbent Rep. Derrick Van Orden. Van Orden's district is one of just 18 congressional districts considered a toss-up in the upcoming midterm election, and the Trump administration heavily focused upon it. The paper reports Trump's visit comes days after U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. held an earlier event with Van Orden.Van Orden won the district twice, but he defeated his opponent by about 3 points two years ago. Now one of those opponents, Democrats Rebecca Cooke, will be on his heels again this year, if she surpasses Democrat Emily Berge in the primaries.“But the political environment this year favors Democrats, who have won governor races and special elections in other parts of the country since Trump took office,” reports the Sentinel. “In Wisconsin, liberals won a seat on the state Supreme Court in April by a stunning 20-point margin. Republicans did not even bother to field a candidate in another election for a court that the GOP dominated just a handful of years ago.This is a hard fall for a state that voted for Trump in 2024.The Sentinel reports Trump's influence “remains strong among Republican voters – 71 percent said they would vote for a 2026 primary candidate endorsed by Trump. However, it also notes that a nationwide Marquette University Law School poll released two days before Trump's visit to western Wisconsin found his approval rating dropped to 38 percent, the lowest point so far in his second term.

Prediction Markets Are Flashing Warning Signs for California Primary Races

Arkansas Dad and Sheriff Candidate Cleared After Shooting Death of Daughter’s Alleged Molester

In 2025, The Gateway Pundit reported that an Arkansas father, Aaron Spencer, who killed a man he discovered in a car with his 14-year-old daughter last year, announced that he is running for sheriff in Lonoke County after the system failed his daughter. The post Arkansas Dad and Sheriff Candidate Cleared After Shooting Death of Daughter’s Alleged Molester appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

'Jumanji' actor James Handy stabbed to death outside home in LA — and the suspect is someone Handy knew

An actor known for his roles in "Jumanji" and "Top Gun: Maverick" was lethally stabbed in the chest outside a home in Los Angeles, and the main suspect is his girlfriend's son.81-year-old James Handy was found by Los Angeles Police Department officers in the front yard of a home in Tarzana in the San Fernando Valley.'I just killed the man of sin.'An individual called 911 at about 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday. "I am the son of man. I just killed the man of sin," the caller told the 911 dispatcher, according to police.When cops arrived, 44-year-old Michael Gledhill flagged them down and told officers that "he was the one they were looking for," the police statement claimed.Handy was found unconscious with a stab wound to the chest and was rushed to a hospital by paramedics, where he was pronounced dead.Gledhill was booked on murder charges and held on a $2 million bail at the Van Nuys Jail. Police say he had been living with his mother, Handy's girlfriend, at the Tarzana residence on Erwin Street.The LAPD said there was no longer a threat to the public.Police are asking for anyone with information related to the investigation to contact them. RELATED: Obamas were to meet Rob Reiner and his wife on the day they were killed, Michelle says The "son of man" is a biblical phrase used in the New Testament as one of the descriptions of Jesus Christ. Others have used the phrase to refer to themselves as the second coming of Christ, most notably Charles Manson.Handy had starred in about 150 movies and television shows going back to the 1970s. He is also known for his roles in the "Logan" movie as well as "Arachnophobia."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Employers added 172K jobs last month, sign of resilience amid Iran war

The job market has been recovering this year from a miserable 2025, so far shrugging off higher energy prices and increased economic uncertainty

FDA reviewing safety of abortion drug mifepristone

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is moving ahead with a safety review of the abortion pill mifepristone, according to an administration official. The move marks a victory for anti-abortion groups that could pave the way for the Trump administration to restrict its use and how it can be distributed. The retrospective analysis of data…