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Pro Bowl offensive lineman Andrus Peat announced his retirement in a social media post Friday.Peat, 32, played in the NFL for 11 seasons after being selected with the No. 13 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft out of Stanford by the New Orleans Saints.”11 years in the league, I gave it everything I had. I may be walking away from football, but not from the lessons it taught me. Thank you to my coaches, teammates, and especially my brothers in the trenches. I’m grateful beyond words that I was able to live out this dream,” Peat wrote in his caption on Instagram.CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM”On to the next chapter with my wife and sons. All glory to God!”Peat spent the first nine seasons of his career with the Saints, primarily as their starting left guard. He made the Pro Bowl in three consecutive seasons, from 2018 to 2020.Peat was a key part of the Saints’ offensive line when the team won four straight NFC South titles from 2017 to 2020.ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!Peat left the Saints following the 2023 season and joined the Las Vegas Raiders as veteran depth on the offensive line. He played in 15 games with the Raiders, starting just one.After one season with the Raiders, he joined the Pittsburgh Steelers in a similar backup role, appearing in six games and starting three.Peat’s wife, Ashley, posted a touching comment under his post.”We are SO proud of you baby!!!! Thank you for everything you sacrificed and worked so hard to provide for us all these years. Can’t wait to enjoy this next chapter with you,” she wrote with three heart emojis.Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

While Starbucks has had stumbles over the past few years, it seems to have finally found its footing.That’s thanks to CEO Brian Niccol, who joined the company in September 2024 to take the reins of a major overhaul. Niccol’s plan, called “Back to Starbucks,” prioritized investing in baristas and transforming its locations into inviting, cozy spaces. Niccol called this “Green Apron Service,” and it showed up in small details, such as baristas handwriting messages to customers on its cups again (something old-school Starbucks customers may remember that it used to do).Other changes included bringing back the condiment bar, offering dine-in customers ceramic mugs for their drinks, and making non-dairy milks a free upgrade. Nichol also prioritized speed, encouraging baristas to hand off orders in four minutes or less.Our results show we’re walking the talk. We’re on the right path, and we remain ahead of schedule.Niccol used the same playbook to revive Chipotle when he was CEO, resulting in more than double the annual revenue and an increase in restaurant-level margins from about 19% to nearly 29%.Now Starbucks is seeing the returns. “Customer visits are rising, same-store sales have accelerated for three consecutive quarters, and the company recently raised its full-year earnings outlook,” TheStreet’s Daniel Kline reported July 23. Notably, Niccol’s plan also broke a seven-quarter run of declining same-store results. During its recent earnings call, Starbucks announced its third consecutive quarter of positive global comparable sales.Starbucks fall menu will feature banana bread flavorsStarbucks has always been known for its fall menu, thanks to the now-infamous Pumpkin Spice Latte (or the PSL, as fans call it). But the chain is also introducing plenty of new items this year, leaning into banana bread and pecan flavors.Food blogger Markie Devo posted a teaser on X (the former Twitter) on July 30, featuring a full look at the menu, which he predicts will drop Aug. 25. Along with returning favorites, the menu includes seven new drinks and two new dessert items.Related: Starbucks has new plan to beat Dutch Bros, 7 BrewThree of the new drinks are pumpkin-themed: Pumpkin Spice Chai, Iced Pumpkin Cream Shaken Espresso, and Iced Pumpkin Cream Matcha. There’s also an Iced Banana Bread Latte and an Iced Banana Bread Chai. You can also try out a Dirty Chai and a “Chaider,” which is a blend of chai tea and cider. As for food items, the Chicken Bacon Protein Pocket is a new item to appeal to those trying to pack in the protein in the morning, while the Hedgehog Cake Pop is a new addition to the cake pop line that’s almost too cute to eat.Fans in the Starbucks subreddit had mixed reactions to the new menu, with many disappointed to see that the apple-themed drinks from the previous year would not be returning. The Chaider also got a lot of negative feedback, with one Starbucks employee saying, “The Chaider is horrible. We made it last night, and it tastes like a candle.” Several also called out the number of new drinks, with one commenter saying, “What happened to ‘simplifying’ the menu??”

Starbucks is introducing new items this year, leaning into banana bread and pecan flavors.Bloomberg / Getty Images

Starbucks’ turnaround plan “ahead of schedule”Niccol said during the company’s Q3 earnings that the “Back to Starbucks” plan is working. “We said we would drive sales growth first and earnings would follow,” Niccol said.The chain reported an 8% increase in comparable sales in the U.S. and a 6% increase internationally. Net income for the quarter was $1 billion, a major improvement over the $558 million reported in Q3 2025.More Restaurants:Popular breakfast chain closes restaurants for unexpected reasonMajor Taco Bell franchisee sells 44 restaurantsChick-fil-A opens restaurant customers can’t eat inStarbucks also said it is seeing strong interest in its Refreshers. It’s currently testing the Starbucks Spritz Collection, a carbonated variety of the beverage, in Austin, San Antonio, Texas, and St. Louis, Mo. “The test will evaluate customer demand, operational execution and the role sparkling beverages could play in our long-term refreshment strategy, while supporting our focus on menu innovation and afternoon growth,” the company said.In addition, Starbucks said it would raise its fiscal 2026 guidance and expects global comparable store sales growth to be near 6%.”Back to Starbucks” timelineSeptember 2024: “Back to Starbucks” plan announced.October 2024: Added more retail staff with a focus on 90% internal retail leadership hires.November 2024: Eliminated upcharges for non-dairy milks.January 2025: Focus on narrowing customer wait times to four minutes or less. Also expanded parental leave for employees, offering up to 18 weeks of fully paid leave for birth parents and 12 weeks for non-birth parents.January 2026: Green Apron Service fully rolled out, announced goal of adding 25,000 café seats by the end of the year, and reimagined Starbucks Rewards program.Future plan: Double its international coffeehouse footprint, with a goal of 40,000 locations outside the U.S. (with 15,000 to 20,000 new coffeehouses in China).Starbucks balances the new and the belovedWhile Starbucks continues to pave new avenues in the way it runs its business, the fall menu is something its customer base looks forward to every year. By keeping the pumpkin theme strong and introducing new flavors to try, the chain is carefully walking the line between what people love most and what they may be curious to try next.The coffee retailer is also focused on transforming the afternoon, which it said “generates $11 billion in sales after 11:00 a.m.,” according to an April 2026 post on the official Starbucks blog. The aim is to create a true “second peak” by offering upbeat playlists in coffeehouse locations in the afternoons, as well as a digital billboard that will highlight afternoon food and drink picks.Starbucks is smart to capitalize not only on making its cafes desirable places to be again, but also on creating inviting spaces for remote workers who may feel isolated working from home. It clearly has much more in the pipeline, so it’ll be fascinating to see what comes next.Related: Starbucks, Dunkin’, and Luckin embrace non-coffee products

“Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” starring Tom Holland, Zendaya and Sadie Sink, is barreling toward a monolithic domestic haul in its opening frame and leaving pre-release forecasts in the dust in the process.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Friday said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had lodged a detainer asking Texas to not release an El Salvadoran national, who is accused of murder in two fatal shootings and is in the country illegally, without notifying the agency.Jefferson Adonay Velasquez-Torres, 18, was charged this week with murder for an April 27 shooting outside a Houston nightclub in which Noah Ramirez, 27, died.Two others were injured in the shooting, according to a report from affiliate FOX 26 Houston.ICE ARRESTS MORE THAN 900 SUSPECTED HUMAN TRAFFICKERS DURING FIFA WORLD CUP, RESCUES 180 VICTIMS: DHSVelasquez-Torres was previously charged in June with murder for his alleged involvement in a shooting at a Houston house party last August that left Angel Garcia, 17, dead.A second suspect, Enrique Aguilar, 19, was also arrested in connection with Garcia’s death, FOX 26 reported.TWICE-DEPORTED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ACCUSED OF FIRING TOWARD TEXAS HOMES DURING NEIGHBORHOOD DISPUTEVelasquez-Torres also faces charges of unlawfully carrying a weapon and aggravated robbery.The 18-year-old came into the U.S. illegally as a minor in 2014 during former President Barack Obama’s second term and was released into the country.”This criminal illegal alien has been charged with TWO counts of murder after two fatal shootings in Houston,” Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement.VIDEO SHOWS ICE OFFICERS ARRESTING ALLEGED MS-13 GANG MEMBER, A ‘KNOWN SUSPECTED TERRORIST’ IN FLORIDAShe continued, “He would not be in our country if it weren’t for the reckless open-border policies of the Obama Administration. ICE asked officials in Texas to not release this heinous murderer from jail without notifying ICE. Thankfully, Texas cooperates with us and together we will ensure this public safety threat will never be loose on our streets.”Velasquez-Torres is being held in the Harry County Jail after being denied bond for charges related to the second shooting.

Francesca Hong, the likely Democratic nominee for governor in Wisconsin backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, once argued that Americans should not celebrate Thanksgiving.”Cancel Thanksgiving. Should have done this in 1621,” Hong wrote in a now-deleted post to X.”If it takes a worldwide pandemic for us to realize we should stop celebrating colonialism and the original superspreader event that killed indigenous folx [sic] and women, so be it,” she added, referring to the spread of smallpox that killed many indigenous Americans.WISCONSIN DEM SOCIALIST GUBERNATORIAL HOPEFUL DODGES WHETHER SHE STILL WANTS TO ‘ABOLISH POLICE’The post, which was originally made in November 2020, sheds more light on Hong’s progressive thinking as she emerges as a frontrunner in the Wisconsin gubernatorial contest and drew mockery online.”‘Folx,'” Stephen Miller, a conservative podcaster, posted to X, noting the term used to signal inclusivity of LGBTQ+ and other marginalized groups.”Francesca Hong is all but certain to be the Democratic nominee for governor of Wisconsin. She also wants to ‘Cancel Thanksgiving,’ according to a since-deleted tweet. What is going on in Wisconsin??” another observer wrote.Hong has leaned into her socialist record in her campaign, describing it as ensuring that “working-class people have their fair share.”Hong shares policy positions with other notable progressives like New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, another self-proclaimed socialist. Among other platform positions, Hong is championing race-based grants for social workers, publicly funded grocery stores and a state-run bank.The stances seem to have paid off as Hong has gained momentum in recent months, and, with under two weeks to go until the primary, looks poised to capture the Democratic nomination.’FREE BEER’ FOR TRUMP DEATH DEM ACTIVIST RUNNING FOR WISCONSIN GOV: ‘I WILL WIN’ IF THEY SILENCE MEHong also started getting mocked Friday for a resurfaced 2019 post where she said, “I ate two bites of my kid’s cheeseburger at a Culver’s in black river falls and told him they ran out of ice cream. Mostly just wanted to leave bc I was on the verge of a anxiety attack…to (sic) many old white people who didn’t think we spoke english.””Omg English ***TOO **AN,” she replied.”Bold choice for Democrats in Wisconsin running someone statewide who gets a panic attack at Culver’s at the sight of ‘old white people,’” Former White House Principal Deputy Communications Director Alex Pfeiffer wrote on X.”The only way this post could be worse for someone running for office in Wisconsin is if she had complained that Culver’s uses too much butter,” Chuck Ross, an investigative reporter at the Washington Free Beacon, wrote on X.”One of the democrats running for Governor of Wisconsin doesn’t know that Culver’s serves only fresh frozen custard. She thinks they serve ice cream. Disqualifying,” Brick Suit, an online MAGA personality, wrote on X.The race was shaken up on Thursday when Mandela Barnes, the state’s former lieutenant governor, dropped out of the race. Barnes was considered a frontrunner in the race because of his proximity to outgoing Gov. Tony Evers and his name recognition.His exit also coincides with rumblings that Barnes may have abused his position in the past to make sexual advances toward women in the workplace, an allegation currently under investigation by The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.With his departure, Hong and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley were left as the two main contenders.Hong has received backing from a number of nationally recognized progressives, including Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif. She has raised nearly $709,000 as of late June, according to state records.SCHIFF-BACKED CANDIDATE ABRUPTLY ENDS GUBERNATORIAL CAMPAIGN AMID RUMBLINGS OF A DAMAGING REPORTBy comparison, Crowley has secured $250,000 and enjoys the support of a number of local organizations and figures.Gov. Evers has endorsed Crowley , citing his experience.The gubernatorial primary will take place Aug. 11.Fox News Digital has reached out to Hong’s campaign for comment.

African invader defecates in the street in Ceuta, Spain (screenshot via @davidsantosvlog on X)
Almost immediately after tens of thousands of Africans invaded the Spanish city of Ceuta, all hell broke loose, with chaos flooding the streets. 
As The Gateway Pundit reported, European leaders are panicking over the chaos, with Spain’s Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez declaring that Spain is “under attack” after more than 50,000 Africans poured across the small city’s border.
The world is finally getting a wake-up call– years after watching tens of millions of violent criminals flood the United States to rape and pillage our country.
Video from the invasion on Thursday shows the thousands of military-aged African migrants, all men, pouring across the wide-open border.

Another video shows thousands of invaders lined up on the beach and crossing into Spanish territory by simply walking around the fence or swimming, with no border enforcement.
WATCH:

Inevitably, the alien invaders began breaking into homes immediately after arriving on Thursday night, according to David Santos, director of the Spanish outlet La Bandera.

URGENTE| Marroquís que acaban de llegar ilegalmente a Ceuta intentan entrar en viviendas por la fuerza. pic.twitter.com/biGpHTCAJJ
— David Santos (@davidsantosvlog) July 30, 2026

Then, they started looting businesses.
WATCH:

Video shared by Visegrad also shows invaders attacking cars of displeased citizens as they drive by:

La Bandera’s David Santos shared a video of a migrant defecating in the street.

Marroquíes defecan en la vía pública en Ceuta. pic.twitter.com/u52PVMiFbz
— David Santos (@davidsantosvlog) July 31, 2026

White House officials responded to the chaos by likening it to the Democrats’ policies here in the US.
“These images out of Spain are an unfortunate reminder of the consequences of mass migration and the radical left-wing globalist policies that have enabled the Invasion of the West,” Vice President JD Vance wrote on X.

Thank God @POTUS was elected and our country’s border no longer looks like this.
These images out of Spain are an unfortunate reminder of the consequences of mass migration and the radical left-wing globalist policies that have enabled the Invasion of the West.@BillMelugin_:… pic.twitter.com/b67fR3SEof
— JD Vance (@JDVance) July 31, 2026

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “If the Democrats take back power, they will immediately reopen our border and allow millions of unvetted migrants to pour into our country again.”

If the Democrats take back power, they will immediately reopen our border and allow millions of unvetted migrants to pour into our country again. https://t.co/XopJ3KvUFl
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) July 31, 2026

The White House also reminded Americans on X, “This is what was happening at America’s borders under Joe Biden. This is what Democrats support and defend.”
“Never forget what they did, and what President Trump fixed on DAY ONE.”

This is what was happening at America’s borders under Joe Biden. This is what Democrats support and defend.
Never forget what they did, and what President Trump fixed on DAY ONE. https://t.co/A9TGRm86sY pic.twitter.com/SXF8blkCAK
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 31, 2026

As The Gateway Pundit reported, President Trump also responded to the invasion on Friday with a dire warning of what America could look like in just three years.
(VIDEO) Trump Responds to Spain’s Migrant Invasion with a Dire Warning: “DON’T LET OUR COUNTRY BE DESTROYED.”

The post African Migrants Loot Homes and Stores in Ceuta, Defecate in the Streets, Attack Citizens (VIDEOS) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

President Donald J. Trump, joined by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Physicist John M. Martinis, Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, OMB Director Russ Vought, and others, delivers remarks after signing an executive order on quantum computing in the Oval Office, Monday, June 22, 2026. (Official White House photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)
Two Republican U.S. senators who’ve emerged as opponents of President Trump have blocked the approval of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche for the permanent position – though the commander in chief says he’d likely do the same were he in their position.
Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, have expressed their opposition to Trump’s Weaponization Fund, meant to compensate people politically targeted by Democratic administrations, such as the defendants related to the January 6 Capitol melee.
At a Camp David Cabinet meeting Friday morning, Trump admitted that the idea for the fund was “dead” and pinned the senators’ opposition, at least in the case of Cornyn, to his endorsement of his opponent in the GOP primary, Ken Paxton.
Speaking of those targeted, Trump said, “I’d like to see them compensated for the pain. They lost their families. Many people committed suicide.”
Trump referred to Cornyn’s apparent bitterness, without using his name: “I understand that. … You want to know the truth? I’d probably do the same thing” – i.e., oppose Trump at every turn.
Blanche is now unlikely to be confirmed before the Senate leaves town next week for its five-week summer recess. The chamber is not slated to return to session until after Labor Day.
Reports are that Trump may withdraw the nomination and install a different acting attorney general.

Excellent video! Trump continues to support the January 6th victims. Love this man!! ?￰ﾟﾇﾸ pic.twitter.com/ZZIygZSyZs
— The Gateway Pundit (@gatewaypundit) July 31, 2026

Our culture needs renewal. Some of our institutions need revival, others retirement — or at least some reinvention.

A federal judge on Friday turned down a request by Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company to block a law banning nudification technology.

Judge Rejects States’ Attempt To Block Medicaid Work Requirements

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

A federal judge on July 30 declined to block new work requirements for Medicaid recipients that states must implement by Jan. 1, 2027.

Judge Richard Stearns of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts turned down a request for a preliminary injunction made by Massachusetts and 25 other states to block the work requirements as the states’ legal challenge proceeds.

Stearns said in a six-page decision that the harms about which the states complained—added costs to comply with the new requirements—are largely reimbursable, since the federal government has said it will pay for 90 percent of the costs.

States have also complained that officials face a “tight timeline” to implement the requirements, which include mandating that beneficiaries aged 19 to 64 work, volunteer, or participate in job training for 80 or more hours per month. The timing, though, was set by Congress in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in 2025, not by the defendant, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, in its guidance on implementing the requirements, the judge said.

“There is a certain point at which damages fail to justify the issuance of such an extraordinary measure,” Stearns wrote later. “Plaintiffs have not shown that their damages rise above that minimal threshold here. Moreover, the additional costs that may be incurred by the States are unlikely to bloom disproportionately given the familiarity of the responsible state agencies with the tasks to be performed.”

Lawyers for the states and the government did not immediately return requests for comment.

In addition to the Jan. 1, 2027, deadline to implement changes, states in their motion for an injunction noted that under the guidance, they also must inform Medicaid recipients of the looming update in notices by Sept. 1.

The states also opposed the guidance on how to determine whether a person is medically frail, which would exempt them from the work requirements. The guidance suggests that in no case can states base their determinations of whether an individual is “medically frail” solely on their records that an individual has a “particular diagnosis or condition” and improperly limits the short-term hardship exception for individuals experiencing an emergency declared by the president to those who can establish that the emergency renders them unable to comply, state lawyers told the court.

Government lawyers said the One Big Beautiful Bill Act delegated the definition of medically frail to the federal government, and the states are seeking to impose “arbitrary limits” on that authority. They also said the state plaintiffs had not met the standards for a preliminary injunction.

Stearns said on July 30 that the court’s denial of the injunction request “is not a reflection or anticipation of its ultimate views on the merits of the underlying litigation,” which will proceed.

“As illustrated in the pleadings and briefings to date (and in the arguments of counsel during the hearing), this case presents difficult issues regarding the scope of Congress’s delegation of interpretative authority to the Secretary and the faithfulness to Congressional intent with which the Secretary performed his task,” the judge stated.

“This, in turn, requires an examination of the data relied upon by the Secretary and the judgments (some medical) that underlay his amplification of Congress’s legislative outline.

“These are determinations that, in the view of the court, should be made on a developed record of the kind that informs a court’s decision at the summary judgment stage of a case.”

Tyler Durden
Fri, 07/31/2026 – 18:25