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The Trump administration scored another major immigration victory on Tuesday after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit cleared the way for the Department of Homeland Security to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for South Sudan and Ethiopia.
In a decisive ruling, the First Circuit reversed a lower court order that had temporarily blocked the administration from ending the designation, concluding that the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Mullin v. Doe foreclosed the legal arguments relied upon by the plaintiffs.
The appeals court held that the Supreme Court’s June 25 ruling made clear that the TPS statute bars judicial review of all non-constitutional challenges to the Homeland Security Secretary’s decisions regarding TPS designations and terminations.
“Previously, upon the government’s motion… we denied an administrative stay of the district court’s order postponing the termination of Temporary Protected Status (‘TPS’) for South Sudan,” the First Circuit wrote. “Upon further briefing, we now reverse the postponement order in light of Mullin v. Doe.”
The court explained that the Supreme Court held that “the TPS statute’s judicial-review bar applies to all non-constitutional claims” challenging the Secretary’s TPS determinations, and those were the only claims supporting the district court’s injunction.
As a result, the First Circuit granted the Trump administration’s request for summary reversal, denied its request for a stay as moot, and sent the case back to the district court for proceedings consistent with the Supreme Court’s decision.
This ruling dismantles another activist-judge roadblock erected against the lawful termination of a TPS designation that DHS determined no longer met statutory conditions.
Former Secretary Kristi Noem and current Secretary Markwayne Mullin had moved to end South Sudan’s designation after a review of country conditions, with termination originally set for January 5, 2026.
A single district judge in Massachusetts, Clinton appointee Patti B. Saris, had previously stayed that termination at the request of African Communities Together and several anonymous “Doe” plaintiffs, keeping roughly 200-plus South Sudanese TPS holders shielded from removal despite the administration’s determination.
Just as it did in the South Sudan case, the appeals court reversed a lower court order that had postponed the TPS termination for Ethiopia, concluding that the Supreme Court’s decision in Mullin v. Doe foreclosed the plaintiffs’ legal claims.
The court wrote that it was reversing “the postponement order in light of Mullin v. Doe,” explaining that the Supreme Court held “the TPS statute’s judicial-review bar applies to all non-constitutional claims” challenging the Homeland Security Secretary’s decision to terminate a TPS designation. Those statutory claims were the sole basis for the district court’s injunction.

The immediate effect is that DHS is no longer blocked by this injunction from ending TPS for South Sudan. The case now returns to the district court, where any remaining constitutional claims, if preserved, will be evaluated under the Supreme Court’s decision in Mullin.
— SCOTUS Wire (@scotus_wire) July 29, 2026

The post First Circuit Clears Way for Trump to End South Sudan and Ethiopia TPS After Supreme Court Ruling Shuts Down Legal Challenge appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson backed Michelle Obama’s criticism of isolating students of color at elite colleges during Wednesday’s episode of the former first lady’s podcast, agreeing after Obama said schools failed those students when they spread them thinly across campus.Jackson said Harvard’s sizable Black community helped her feel at home. Jackson was an undergrad there and also received her law degree at Harvard; Obama also received her law degree there but was a Princeton undergraduate.”You don’t do kids of color service by plucking them out and making them one of a few, and then scattering them about the campus,” Obama said.”I think that’s absolutely right,” Jackson said.MICHELLE OBAMA ACCUSES MEDIA OF WEAPONIZING FASHION TO ‘DIMINISH’ HER AS A CAMPAIGN THREATJackson described feeling popular but lonely in high school before the discussion turned to college. She contrasted that isolation with the belonging she found after arriving at Harvard in the late 1980s.”At the time that I went to Harvard, which, we’re contemporaries in terms of the timing of it, there was a sizable Black community on campus,” Jackson said. “And it was like, I found my people, in a sense.”Jackson said students in that community shared similar backgrounds and allowed her to feel comfortable being herself. She said she lived with five other Black women and praised the broader community they found on campus.”The people who had similar life experiences and backgrounds that I had, where you could feel totally comfortable being yourself,” Jackson said. “And my roommates and I… I roomed with five other Black women, and there were six of us on campus, and then we were within this larger community, and it was just amazing.”JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ZEROES IN ON UCLA FOR ALLEGED ILLEGAL DEI ADMISSIONS AS ELITE SCHOOL CRACKDOWN EXPANDSJackson, a 1992 Harvard College graduate, recused herself from the Supreme Court’s case over Harvard admissions because she had served on the university’s Board of Overseers. She participated in the companion University of North Carolina case when the court struck down both schools’ race-conscious admissions programs in 2023.Jackson joined Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s dissent as it applied to UNC and issued her own opinion warning that the majority’s decision would deepen racial disparities.”No one benefits from ignorance,” Jackson wrote. “Although formal race-linked legal barriers are gone, race still matters to the lived experiences of all Americans in innumerable ways, and today’s ruling makes things worse, not better.”IS ‘TRAUMA SHORTHAND FOR BLACKNESS’ IN COLLEGE ADMISSIONS? REPORT SPARKS DEBATEHarvard’s reported Black enrollment has declined in both classes admitted since the ruling. Among students who reported their race, Black students accounted for 11.5% of the Class of 2029, down from 14% in the Class of 2028 and 18% in the Class of 2027. Asian American enrollment reached 41% in the latest class, while Hispanic enrollment fell to 11%.CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTUREFox News Digital reported in February that the Justice Department sued Harvard for applicant-level records to examine whether its undergraduate, law and medical schools comply with the ruling. The department said the lawsuit sought documents and did not accuse Harvard of new discrimination.”If Harvard has stopped discriminating, it should happily share the data necessary to prove it,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said in a Justice Department press release.Harvard moved to dismiss the case in June, saying it changed its procedures immediately after the ruling, blocked application reviewers from seeing race check-box information and produced thousands of pages showing its compliance.”Harvard is committed to following the law, including civil rights laws in connection with admissions and financial aid, and Harvard has complied with and continues to comply with the law under the Students for Fair Admissions decision,” Harvard said in a February statement to Fox News Digital.

For four years, golf’s establishment insisted LIV Golf was a temporary, Saudi-funded experiment destined to implode the moment the oil money dried up.Golf’s media establishment mocked defectors as sellouts and eagerly counted down the days until LIV’s collapse.Put those obituaries on hold.LIV Golf is reportedly close to finalizing more than $250 million in outside investment, according to the New York Post. Multiple investment firms have submitted written commitments and qualified term sheets as part of a financing syndicate designed to keep the league operating through 2027 and beyond.TRUMP WEIGHS IN ON LIV GOLF, PGA TOUR AFTER SAUDIS PULL FUNDING OF STARTUP LEAGUEThe deal is not complete, and LIV declined to comment. But if the financing closes as expected, it would represent a major lifeline for a league many had already declared dead.Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund informed LIV earlier this year that it would no longer bankroll the league beyond the 2026 season as the sovereign wealth fund redirected capital toward other priorities.PGA TOUR CEO SHARES JARRING COMMENTS ABOUT PLAYERS RETURNING AS LIV GOLF SAUDI FUNDING DISAPPEARSPIF has reportedly poured more than $5 billion into LIV since its launch, funding enormous player contracts, massive tournament purses and the league’s global expansion.Critics immediately smelled blood. The assumption was simple: Once the Saudi money stopped flowing, the party was over.LIV responded by overhauling its leadership and searching for outside capital. The league appointed Gene Davis, a veteran restructuring executive, as chairman and retained investment bank Ducera Partners to lead its fundraising effort.LPGA LEGEND ANNIKA SORENSTAM SAYS LIV GOLF INTERRUPTED THE GAME OF GOLF, FORCED PGA TOUR TO MAKE CHANGESEarlier pitch materials reportedly projected that LIV could reach profitability in approximately 20 months if it raised the full $250 million and dramatically reduced expenses.Other versions of the proposal have called for as much as $350 million and projected a longer road to profitability, underscoring how fluid LIV’s plans remain.Either way, the bloated spending of LIV’s launch era appears finished.The days of casually handing out nine-figure signing bonuses are likely over. Tournament purses and the number of annual events could also be reduced as LIV attempts to build a more sustainable operation around media rights, sponsorships and its 13 team franchises.The proposed “LIV 2.0” structure could also give players majority ownership of the league, potentially aligning its biggest stars more directly with the circuit’s long-term financial future.Will LIV Golf look different moving forward? Absolutely.But the idea that it would simply fold and hand the PGA Tour an effortless victory was always wishful thinking from the same golf establishment that has underestimated LIV from the beginning.A completed $250 million-plus investment would provide LIV with more than operating cash. It would offer outside market validation that serious investors see at least some commercial potential in its team model, international schedule and attempt to modernize golf’s traditional broadcast product.Those who declared LIV Golf dead may have spoken a little too soon.Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s chances of confirmation were derailed on Wednesday, less than 24 hours before a pivotal vote in the Senate.It’s another chapter in the troubled saga that has followed Blanche since being tapped to replace former Attorney General Pam Bondi, and one that boils down to issues among Blanche, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and two key Republicans who control his fate in the Senate Judiciary Committee.Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., are demanding that the DOJ provide explicit, written proposals to modify the settlement deal reached between the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and President Donald Trump and his family earlier this year.TRUMP AG PICK TODD BLANCHE FACES SENATE TEST IN FIRST MAJOR CONFIRMATION FIGHT SINCE GRAHAM’S DEATHSenate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., had hoped that a deal could be struck and allow for the confirmation to move forward, eying next week as the major floor vote to formally confirm Blanche as Bondi’s replacement.”I think that that’s an issue between, right now, the White House and Senators Cornyn and Tillis,” Thune said. “But, yeah, I would encourage them to sit down, which I think they are, and try to come to a resolution there so that the markup can continue tomorrow, and we can get Todd Blanche ready for the floor.”The DOJ had until 4 p.m. on Wednesday to get the lawmakers what they wanted, but the agency fell short, and Blanche’s bumpy carriage ride to confirmation turned into a pumpkin.Without a guarantee that Cornyn or Tillis would vote to confirm Blanche, Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, opted to postpone the hearing until a later date.Their targets are the now-defunct, nearly $2 billion anti-weaponization fund and the president’s audit immunity. Republicans and Democrats alike railed against the fund, particularly over concerns that the funding would go to people involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, riots on Capitol Hill. Trump’s audit immunity has similarly ruffled feathers. Blanche, in his announcement of the settlement deal earlier this year, outlined that as part of the agreement, the IRS would not be allowed to audit Trump, his family or affiliated companies.DEMS REJECT TRUMP’S TOP SPY PICK AFTER DEMANDING REPLACEMENT, LEAVING COUNTER-TERROR TOOL IN AIRCornyn has proven the most resistant until his demands are met.  He’s used his newfound freedom to extract concessions from the Trump administration in recent weeks.His push for an explicit end to the audit language in the settlement agreement is another such example. The longtime lawmaker, who will exit the Senate at the end of this year after being ousted by the Trump-backed Ken Paxton, was set to meet Blanche Wednesday morning.But the confab was called off, and Blanche continued making the rounds in the Senate throughout the day, capping off his visit to the Capitol with Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo. He declined to comment to reporters on his way out. Cornyn said that it was “made clear from the outset that we expected some written proposals to modify the release that was signed in the tax dispute with President Trump and his organization.””We need to conform the actual document to what Todd Blanche testified under oath as the President’s Acting Attorney General,” Cornyn said. “We’ve had two meetings scheduled that have now been canceled because they have not been responsive in providing those written documents.”TRUMP AG PICK HANGS BY A THREAD AS KEY GOP SENATORS REFUSE TO COMMITTrump, when asked about the holdup in the Senate for Blanche, portrayed a president at an arm’s length from the situation, and said that he heard his attorney general pick was “going through quite nicely.” “Well, all I can say is Todd Blanche is outstanding. And I thought he’s — I thought it was pretty routine because he’s so good,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “You just wouldn’t find a better person. So I don’t know, maybe John Cornyn is upset with me because I didn’t endorse him. I don’t know what it is, but I haven’t heard that there’s a problem.”Meanwhile, Tillis made clear that he doesn’t “have a beef with DOJ or with Blanche.” “They’re trying to get it done, but still gotta get it done,” Tillis said. He also noted that the number of hurdles that getting those kinds of written proposals through was more extensive than meets the eye. For example, Tillis said that the actual settlement likely was signed by the president’s lawyer and not Trump himself. “So there’s, you know, there’s a circle of people that have to go through the loop,” he said. “And I get that, but, you know, if we can get it done or possibly get him reported out on Tuesday, if they schedule a markup, I would support that if we get the language.”

Former BYU Cougars football player Curtis Brown and his family, including his wife Kim, are grieving after a drowning accident led to the death of their 2-year-old son, Haze.Haze drowned in the pool at the Brown family home in Clovis, California, July 26, police told the New York Post.A GoFundMe page was started by Chandler Pearson, a family friend who wrote on the site that the Brown family is dealing with an “unimaginable loss.”CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM”Kim and Curtis recently lost their miracle baby, Haze, in a tragic drowning accident. No words can ease the heartbreak they are facing as they grieve the loss of their precious son,” Pearson wrote on the GoFundMe page.”Many of you know and love Kim, Curtis, and their family, and have reached out asking how you can support them during this incredibly difficult time. One meaningful way to help is by contributing to this GoFundMe campaign. Your donation will help ease the financial burden of funeral expenses and other unexpected costs, allowing the Brown family to focus on healing and being together.”Every act of kindness, no matter the size, reminds them that they are surrounded by a community that loves them deeply. Thank you for your generosity, compassion, and support during this heartbreaking time.”OLE MISS FILES LAWSUITS AGAINST COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYERS WHO LEFT FOR LANE KIFFIN’S LSUThe New York Post added that a family member found Haze unresponsive in the pool and immediately called 911, and police, EMTs and firefighters responded.CPR was attempted on the toddler, but it was unsuccessful. Haze was taken to a nearby hospital and was later declared dead.The GoFundMe page had received $77,375 in donations at the time of writing.”It’s an extremely unfortunate situation,” Clovis Police Department spokesman Ty Wood told the New York Post. “Adults should never let children swim unsupervised and should always learn CPR and keep rescue equipment nearby.”Brown and his wife are the parents of five, including son Trey and triplets Cruze, Julie and Kash.Brown played five seasons with the Cougars from 2002 to 2006, including a redshirt sophomore campaign in 2003. He came into his own in 2004, racking up 789 yards on 158 carries with six touchdowns and cementing himself as someone to lead the way for BYU the next season.Brown did just that, leading the Mountain West Conference with 14 rushing touchdowns, while registering 1,123 yards on 210 carries. He also had 454 receiving yards on 53 receptions with two more scores through the air.In his final year, Brown had 1,010 yards on the ground and 566 through the air with 10 total touchdowns over 13 games.Brown finished his BYU career with 3,241 rushing yards and 1,309 receiving yards with 36 touchdowns over 52 games. He owned the rushing record in school history before Harvey Unga broke it in 2009.Brown looked to the NFL as his next step in 2007, signing with the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent. However, after four appearances during the preseason, the Bengals released him before Week 1.BYU didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment by Fox News Digital.

President Trump took a swipe at John Cornyn as the RINO Senator refuses to vote to confirm Todd Blanche as Attorney General.
Senator John Cornyn is continuing his anti-Trump crusade after losing the Texas Senate primary to Ken Paxton earlier this year.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is voting on whether to advance Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s nomination on Thursday.
Tillis and Cornyn are still holdouts and continue to make demands from the DOJ on its language related to restricting Trump’s IRS agreement.
On Tuesday, after whining about the push to cancel August recess over the SAVE America Act, Cornyn went after President Trump’s nomination for Attorney General, Todd Blanche.
“There is no “deal” on Blanche nom. They know what they have to do,” Cornyn said in a post on X.

Fake news alert: there is no “deal” on Blanche nom. They know what they have to do.
— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) July 28, 2026

A reporter asked President Trump about Cornyn’s refusal to vote for Blanche.
“I don’t know what it is, but I haven’t heard that there’s a problem. I’ve heard he’s going through quite nicely,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
“All I can say is Todd Blanche is outstanding, and I thought it was pretty routine because he’s good. You just wouldn’t find a better person,” Trump said.
“Maybe John Cornyn’s upset with me because I didn’t endorse him,” Trump said.
WATCH:

.@POTUS: “All I can say is @DAGToddBlanche is outstanding… maybe John Cornyn’s upset with me because I didn’t endorse him, I don’t know what it is.” https://t.co/c1JnHz00Sy pic.twitter.com/xMXB3UK1fr
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 29, 2026

CNN’s Manu Raju caught up with Cornyn later and asked him about the DOJ’s effort to resolve his concerns about the $1.8 billion weaponization fund.
“You would acknowledge though, not having to run for reelection anymore has freed you up! To be more independent from the president! Can you acknowledge that?” Manu Raju asked Cornyn.
“Have you noticed?” Cornyn quipped.
WATCH:

New — Sen. Cornyn makes clear DOJ still has NOT resolved his concerns about $1.8B weaponization fund and audits of presidents. Still not ready to support Todd Blanche ahead of key committee vote tomorrow.
Feeling more independent from Trump after losing primary? “Have you… pic.twitter.com/4h7HMUFWux
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) July 29, 2026

During the primary election against Ken Paxton, Cornyn lied to the voters about his support for President Trump.
After he lost the primary, Cornyn took the mask off and began attacking President Trump.
Later Wednesday, Fox News reported that the DOJ transmitted a new response to Cornyn and Tillis that address their concerns.

The post Trump Takes a Swipe at Cornyn as RINO Senator Refuses to Vote to Confirm Blanche – Cornyn Responds (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk believes that the future is robotic, and he is willing to spend $25 billion of his company’s money this year to prove it. Musk already says Tesla (TSLA) is much more than a car company, so when the company raised its 2026 capital expenditure forecast to over $25 billion for mostly non-car-related development, most analysts didn’t blink (though some did).A significant portion of that money is going to retooling the company’s car production capacity to make room for the production of 1 million Optimus humanoid robots annually.But as is the case with its electric vehicles, Chinese competition represents a big obstacle to Tesla’s long-term plans for humanoid robots. However, new rules issued by the Federal Communications Commission offer Tesla a reprieve from some of its biggest competitors. FCC adds robots to ‘covered list’This week, the FCC updated its “covered list” to include two new categories: advanced robotic devices and connected power inverters produced in foreign countries. The agency says it made the decision following an executive branch meeting at the White House that featured national security advisers who determined that advanced robots and power inverters built in foreign countries “pose unacceptable risks to the national security of the U.S. or the safety and security of U.S. persons,” according to a press release. The robot ban includes humanoid robots like the one Tesla makes as well as quadruped robots (robot dogs).Along with the inverters, “these devices could create supply chain vulnerabilities that could disrupt U.S. economic and national security and could create a cybersecurity risk,” against critical U.S. infrastructure. “I welcome these Executive Branch national security determinations, and I am pleased that the FCC has now added foreign-produced advanced robotics and power inverters to the FCC’s Covered List,” said FCC chairman Brendan Carr.

Pool / Getty Images

Why do foreign robots present national security risks?According to the FCC, advanced robotic systems with networked capabilities create “extensive vulnerabilities and vectors for attacks” that could be used to manipulate their physical operation.Not only that, but the data collected by the robots is also vulnerable to being used by bad actors to spy on Americans. “Relying on foreign-produced advanced robotic devices presents unacceptable supply chain and cybersecurity vulnerabilities . . . Advanced robotic devices collect data that could be leveraged by malign actors to surveil Americans, enhance the capabilities of foreign intelligence services, or to remotely commandeer the robots,” the FCC says. What are the next steps?If you have already purchased a foreign-made inverter or robot, then your device is grandfathered in and legal. However, new foreign-produced advanced robotic devices and power inverters are “generally prohibited from receiving FCC authorization to be imported, marketed, or sold in the U.S.”The new rules do not prohibit the sale, import or use of any existing models that the FCC previously authorized. Foreign advanced robotics manufacturers that receive a “conditional approval” from the Department of Defense or the Department of Homeland Security can also continue to receive FCC equipment authorizations. You can view the full list of companies with conditional approval; many of them appear to be drone manufacturers. What does this mean for Tesla?Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been extremely optimistic about Optimus, calling it perhaps “the most important product” in Tesla’s history; there seems to be one major problem with his grand vision for the future: not many people are looking to buy a $30,000 humanoid robot.Lack of demand led Tesla to mothball the Model X and Model S, but the company is betting billions that demand for humanoid robots will be there to replace them. However, there is scant evidence for this train of thought.“Tesla’s humanoid robots have hardly demonstrated any notable capabilities, but they’re supposed to cost tens of thousands of dollars each once they’re launched,” Zachary Shahan of CleanTechnica wrote recently.Part of the issue is that Optimus robots are extremely expensive. The robot costs $10,000 to produce at Giga Texas, according to Tesla Car World, and could retail for between $20,000 and $30,000, according to StandardBots.“Normal people can’t plop down $30,000 on a robot companion, and how many super-rich people are really going to benefit from one? And $30,000 is probably an overly optimistic price. Who is going to spend $30,000 or more on what is basically a toy?” Shahan said.However, what little demand there is currently is now protected from foreign competition, especially from China, which leads the world with over 150 operating companies building robots and accounts for between 80% and 90% of worldwide humanoid robot shipments, according to The Robot Report. Related: Tesla sales rebound hides costly problem for investors

The chip company came up short on its bottom line.

Secret Service Agent Arrested In Hazing Incident

Authored by Susan Crabtree via RealClearPolitics,

Secret Service agent Marquez Pinder was arrested and charged Sunday with five felony counts in a near-fatal fraternity hazing incident that occurred this spring, according to court documents.

RealClearPolitics first reported in June that the agent was put on administrative leave while local authorities in Miami investigated him in connection with an April hazing incident that caused severe damage to a fraternity pledge’s kidneys. The victim is a law student at the University of Miami and was undergoing an initiation process to become a member of Kappa Alpha Psi, a prominent historically black fraternity.

Pinder, 29, who was booked in a Miami jail Sunday, faces felony charges of hazing, attempted manslaughter, and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Part of the hazing included paddling, which was allegedly so severe that the pledge’s kidneys and skin were harmed, and he was rushed to the hospital.

Pinder’s arrest marks the fifth known time this year that a Secret Service agent or Uniformed Division officer has run afoul of law enforcement.

Last week, RCP reported that senior Secret Service agent Kenneth Premo, 50, who currently serves as a polygrapher, was arrested on July 6 and charged with a driving while impaired, assault on a law enforcement officer, and sexual battery in Virginia.
In May, Secret Service Uniformed Division officer John Spillman was arrested in Miami after police responded to a complaint and found him naked and masturbating in a hallway.
In March, Secret Service Uniformed Division officer Tristan Hale was arrested and faced charges for sending sexually explicit messages, images, and videos to a Lancaster County girl. Pennsylvania State Police charged Hale, 28, of Virginia with possession of child sexual abuse material, unlawful contact with a minor, corruption of a minor, and disseminating sexual materials to a minor.
A Secret Service agent on the vice president’s detail had his home raided by the FBI late last year in a wide-ranging tax fraud probe first reported by RCP.
In addition, a Secret Service agent serving on Vice President JD Vance’s detail is under internal investigation for either purchasing or trying to sell drugs to an undercover police officer, according to multiple sources.
On New Year’s Eve, a new Secret Service agent recruit shot and killed his 16-year-old half-brother and may have been responsible for another bullet grazing a woman’s face on New Year’s Eve. The suspect has claimed self-defense while Florida police continue to investigate.
Many current and retired agents have argued that the agency’s ongoing DEI issues and lowering of hiring standards, as well as manpower shortages in recent years, have weakened the agency’s ability to prevent or respond properly to multiple assassination attempts against Donald Trump, and provide security for the president’s cabinet and dozens of other protectees.

Last week, the Secret Service placed an agent on administrative leave who was suspected of leaking complaints about manpower issues on Vice President JD Vance’s detail.

Michael Townsend, the special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s Miami Field Office, where Pinder is assigned, said the agency “takes seriously any criminal misconduct allegations involving one of our employees.”

“We are fully cooperating with the investigation,” Townsend said in a statement. “The Secret Service remains committed to accountability, professionalism, and integrity, and any misconduct will be addressed swiftly and appropriately upon completion of the investigative and judicial process,” he added.

The Secret Service safely protected a heavily fortified rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Friday. Agency leadership instituted several new security measures and checkpoints never before used for that particular event, along with a scaled-back guest list of 700 compared to the usual 3,000 attendees.

The dinner, which President Trump also attended, was rescheduled after the original event ended abruptly early in the evening when would-be assassin Cole Tomas Allen shot past a security checkpoint and a magnetometer that was being dismantled at the dinner. Besides Trump, guests at that dinner included several Cabinet members and dignitaries, including Erika Kirk, who fled the dinner in tears while other guests hid under tables and an elite group of trained Secret Service agents pointed guns at the ground, searching for any additional suspects.

Secret Service agent Victor Gonzales, who was honored at Friday’s White House Correspondents’ dinner, shot at Allen five times but missed. Allen tripped before he was apprehended by the Secret Service 45 yards from the stairs leading to the ballroom where the dinner was being held.

Gonzales was hit in his protective vest by buckshot from Allen’s gun, according to the Secret Service. The White House Correspondents Association on Friday presented Gonzales an award for exceptional service to its members and guests.

Shortly after the original WHCA’s jarring episode, Secret Service officers shot and hit a soldier visiting Washington D.C. with his family while agents were trying to stop another man firing at them outside a White House checkpoint.

Army Private Benjamin Del Real, 25, is on leave from the military and says he plans to sue the Secret Service. He was hit in the abdomen and critically wounded during the May incident. He’s still recovering after two surgeries. The Secret Service has yet to publicly admit to shooting Del Real.

While he was recuperating at Walter Reed National Medical Center, Del Real told NBC News that a high-ranking Secret Service official visited him in the hospital to see how he was doing. Del Real’s attorney, Joseph Murphy, said he has respect for the Secret Service. Yet, he said, the agency has “dropped the ball here over the last few years in terms of protecting many dignitaries, including the president at the correspondents’ dinner.”

“It seems to happen more frequently than it ever has in the past, and it’s time to take a serious look at what’s going on inside the Secret Service,” Murphy added.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn sent Secret Service Director Sean Curran a letter demanding a full, immediate audit of the Secret Service following the string of embarrassing incidents, including the Allen incident at the White House Correspondents’ dinner.

Citing RealClearPolitics’ reporting, the Tennessee Republican demanded an immediate audit of every employee on the agency’s payroll, demanding that the agency “root out the rot.” In her letter to Curran, Sen. Blackburn said, “It is blatantly clear that the Secret Service needs to be cleaned up.”

“Unless you root out the rot, our nation will suffer the consequences,” Blackburn warned.

Law enforcement experts, including Fox News contributor Paul Mauro, who served 24 years with the New York City Police Department, have questioned why the Secret Service didn’t provide more details sooner about the May exchange of fire near the National Mall and the suspect’s injuries. Federal prosecutors charged 45-year-old Michael Marx of Midland, Texas, with assaulting federal officers with a dangerous weapon, among other crimes.

“A press conference over this recent mysterious shooting in D.C. wouldn’t be a bad idea either,” Mauro remarked in an X.com post. “USSS involved in more shooting incidents than NYPD these days. And that’s … new.”

Former veteran Secret Service agent Rich Staropoli said the string of arrests for serious criminal charges shows that the agents “who are supposed to be elite investigators have shown an inability to police themselves – allowing things to fester until outside police or intel entities get involved and bring incidents into the public forum.”

“The place needs a house-cleaning at all levels,” he said. “This agency will do better with people who truly are worthy of trust and confidence even if it means dumping half the personnel.”

Staropoli places a lot of the blame on previous Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden and was forced to resign after the Butler assassination attempt on Trump.

“[Cheatle] followed the same DEI policies that the Biden crime family pushed – she bought into it as much as she bought into her own ability to actually do the job,” he said.

The alumni and other senior fraternity members performing the paddling in the Florida hazing incident allegedly involving Pinder are referred to as NUPEs, which stands for “Negro Under Pressure Excelling,” an acronym that Kappa Alpha Psi, a prominent historically black fraternity, has popularized. According to sources familiar with the fraternity scene the term refers to how diamonds are formed under pressure. Kappa Alpha Psi has championed the acronym as praise for black scholars, artists, and leaders who have responded to highly pressurized or historically restrictive environments by achieving “excellence” or success in their various fields.

Kappa Alpha Psi officially prohibits all forms of hazing. Nonetheless, several chapters have faced disciplinary action and suspensions from universities nationwide following allegations of physical and psychological abuse over the last 30 years.

In 2001 a Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University band member was beaten so severely his kidneys shut down, resulting in a $1.8 million lawsuit. In 2013, a Stevenson University student who became a member of Kappa Alpha Psi at Coppin State University-Powell claimed he was caned, paddled, and beaten so badly he needed days of hospital care, filing a $4 million lawsuit. A University of Mississippi chapter was suspended through 2025 after a student alleged repeated hazing incidents from spring 2019 through spring 2020.

Neither the Secret Service nor Kappa Alpha Psi’s national headquarters responded to a request for comment.

The hazing incident underscores the continuing problems of college hazing. Earlier this year, three fraternity members at Northern Arizona University were charged in connection with the death of an 18-year-old student during a rush event. This month, Ohio State University revoked a fraternity chapter’s status when a student was hospitalized after a hazing incident.

In 2019 Florida State University student Andrew Coffey died during an episode of fraternity-related drinking. Pinder was charged under a Florida law passed after Coffey’s death that makes hazing a felony if it results in serious injury or death.

“Among some, fraternity hazing might be seen as a tradition creating a sense of belonging and brotherhood, but since 2001, hazing in Florida has killed Chad Meredith, Robert Champion and Andrew Coffey while seriously injuring others,” Fernandez Rundle said in a written statement. “This case, with the victims requiring hospitalization, provide[s] clear-cut examples of hazing’s danger. In Florida, hazing is abuse, and it is a crime,” she said. “Its victims too often lie in their graves and in hospital beds.”

Pinder’s attorney, Justin Beckham, told the New York Times that his client was “grossly overcharged.”

Also facing charges in the Miami hazing case are two other men whom authorities allege helped carry out the beatings. They are identified as Jared Lamar James, 26, and Elijah Delano Dyous, 29.

This article was originally published by RealClearPolitics and made available via RealClearWire.

Susan Crabtree is RealClearPolitics’ national political correspondent.

Tyler Durden
Wed, 07/29/2026 – 20:10

Now, Harry has 13 million issues to solve
The lawsuit became a real problem for the celebrity claimants.
First, the privacy lawsuit loss was a big confidence blow for Prince Harry, especially with the judge saying such tough words against the claimants’ manufactured answers.
But that was not the end of the troubles.
Now, Prince Harry and his celebrity co-claimants may have to pay $13.3 million in interim legal costs to the Daily Mail’s publisher.

Prince Harry and co may have to foot legal bill of millions over doomed phone hacking claims against the Mail https://t.co/agHJYfPFkP
— Daily Mail (@DailyMail) July 29, 2026