THE NEWS

We have a titanic hero in Southwest Florida.
He’s Bob Hilliard, who just turned 101.
His birthday on June 25 was so inspiring to those who know him, we wanted to make it a statewide holiday.
Hilliard is that consequential in a life spanning New York City, growing up and as a journalist and in theater, near Jacksonville for Army basic training, World War II in Europe, D.C. and Boston for careers in government and academia, down to Florida again at Sanibel Island and, after Hurricane Ian, Fort Myers.
He never quits, just as he dug deep when the Nazis came on as brutally as the Battle of Bulge’s deep freeze in Belgium.
“What I remember most,” he says, “is the terrible cold winter and having to use TNT to blast foxholes … for shelter and sleep. And I got frozen feet.”
He was just 19, an Army private hit by mortar shrapnel, from which he overcame and received the Purple Heart.
That was 1945, a few months before America and our Allies clinched victory on the continent.
What Hilliard experience at the Bulge was the bloodiest battle for American forces on the Western Front during the Second World War. But he survived and has thrived the 81 years since.
Thrived? That’s putting it mildly.
He has a sharp wife, JoAnn Reece, and two brilliant children, Mark Hilliard, a military historian, and Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, one of the country’s leading civil liberties lawyers as co-founder and head of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund.
Also in the past eight decades, he has produced 50 books and multiple stage shows. Even musicals, one of which, “Piccadilly,” my wife and I enjoyed at Fort Myers two years ago.
“Piccadilly,” obviously set in London, sings of love after WWII.
Can you imagine composing not only a screenplay, but also music and lyrics? I can’t, but then I’m not Bob, the Florida Firebrand. He burns with a fervor.
The Guardians of Democracy, a group of citizen journalists and activists, felt Hilliard’s heat from years of demonstrations and decided to honor him with its Lifetime Award.
Bob responded with a message captured by Florida Weekly’s Roger Williams: “When one gets to an advanced age … much of one’s thinking turns to remembrances of the past. One wonders whether they have fulfilled their obligation as human beings to make life better for as many others as possible. My mantra has been ‘be ashamed to die until you’ve made the world a little better than you found it.’ Your generous award – the Guardian of Democracy Lifetime Award – gives me hope that I am fulfilling my mantra, my goals in life. It buoys my spirits and supports my continuing commitment to our mutual fight for democracy.”
It’s a pleasure to know Bob Hilliard, who’s walked the Earth longer than anyone I’ve known.
Think of what he’s lived through: the 1927 Yankees, the Great Depression, the Berlin Airlift, Bobby Thomson’s Shot Heard Round the World, the Dodgers and Giants leaving New York for California, JFK’s murder, Joe Namath’s Super Bowl, the moon landings, the Miracle Mets, Secretariat, the Bicentennial, the stock market’s rocket since 1982, the Berlin Wall’s tumble, Buster Douglas’ shocker over Mike Tyson, 9/11, America coming up on 250.
America 250? It’s also great seeing Hilliard 101.
Bob Hilliard and fellow newspaper guys Jeff Cull and Bucky Fox in Aprilin Fort Myers, Florida. Courtesy photo.

On the 250th anniversary of our independence, we should ask what America means.
Commentator Dennis Prager once wrote that, for most countries, the question is irrelevant. England, France and Spain are nations with their own histories and cultures. However, through mass migration, they are being colonized by the Third World.
Still, there are Englishmen who are rightly proud to be English.
Yet to ask what England means now that its empire is gone is absurd. That Britain has had six prime ministers in the past 10 years is a sign of a nation adrift.
America is unique. From our founding, the United States was meant to reflect certain truths: “That all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
That is as much of a revolutionary statement today as it was in 1776.
We went on to offer a model of limited government in the Constitution. We fought two world wars in pursuit of our national purpose and later defended the free world during the Cold War.
We embraced Adam Smith’s free market vision, as set forth in “The Wealth of Nations,” published the year we declared our independence.
From the outset, we were a creedal nation, one based on ideas rather than blood. People came here from all over the world. We were e pluribus unum – out of many, one.
As it was during the Civil War, we are once again engaged in a great struggle to determine which will prevail: the philosophy of the founders or a darker vision.
The Democratic Party hates America. Only 27% of Democrats intend to display the flag on the Fourth of July this year.
Socialism – an ideology diametrically opposed to the principles of the founders and a failure everywhere it has been tried – is on the rise. New York and Seattle have socialist mayors. Washington just elected one. In New York City, socialists just won three congressional primaries.
Polls show that a majority of young adults have positive views of socialism. For a dose of reality, they should spend a week in Cuba or Canada.
President Reagan said: “Freedom is a fragile thing, and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction.” This could be that generation.
The leadership of the Democratic Party does not believe in borders. It thinks homelessness is a natural phenomenon and is convinced that crime can be controlled with more social spending.
A Democratic congressional candidate in New York believes that no one should be in prison, including murderers. Far-left Sen. Bernard Sanders, Vermont independent, thinks private property should be taxed out of existence.
The party’s leadership cannot tell you what a woman is, but it will help your son become one.
The national debt is a staggering $39.2 trillion, or $115,000 for each American. It grows by $2 trillion to $3 trillion a year. If the fiscal house of cards we have built ever collapses, we will all be buried in the rubble.
We are governed by career politicians, a notion the Founding Fathers abhorred. President Biden spent 55 years of his life serving in elective office.
Opposing this is an army of patriots of every race, religion and creed. These are people whose hearts beat faster when they see the flag or hear “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Some have worn their country’s uniform. Others have engaged in political warfare for decades.
Some have lineages going back to the Mayflower. Others, such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have immigrant parents.
When someone called novelist Ayn Rand a “foreigner,” she replied: “I chose to be an American. What did you do, besides being born here?”
Regardless of where we were born, we all choose to be Americans.
The fate of humanity will depend on the outcome of this struggle. Daniel Webster, the great 19th-century Whig leader, cautioned: “Hold on to your Constitution, for if the American Constitution shall fail there will be anarchy throughout the world.”
If not America, who will stop mankind from marching backward into slavery – old Europe, which has severed its religious roots?
This is our time to stand up for freedom.
As it was with the Colonial militia of 1775, the blue coats on Cemetery Ridge, the soldiers on Omaha Beach and those who fought in muddy fields, jungles and deserts around the world, now it is our turn to sacrifice for America and all mankind.
This column was first published at the Washington Times.

Daveigh Chase’s official cause of death was released Monday, two weeks after the child star died. She was 35.Chase’s primary cause of death was from acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), according to the Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s office.Chronic polysubstance use was listed as a significant condition that contributed to her death.’THE RING’ ACTRESS DAVEIGH CHASE DEAD AT 35: REPORTChronic polysubstance use is defined as the repeated, long-term consumption of two or more substances (such as illicit drugs, prescription medications, or alcohol) simultaneously or within a short period, according to the Cleveland Clinic.Her manner of death was ruled as natural, and while she died in a hospital, her body was not brought in to the coroner’s office.CLIVE DAVIS, MUSIC ICON WHO SIGNED WHITNEY HOUSTON AND CARRIE UNDERWOOD, DEAD AT 94Chase’s father, John Schwallier, previously told NBC News via text that his daughter “died of complications of bacterial meningitis and a blood infection.”Additionally, he said Chase “was suffering from severe malnutrition.”Her former manager, John Ryan Jr., disputed claims made in a recent crowdfunding campaign published before reports of Chase’s death began circulating.”Daveigh’s estate has plenty of means to pay for the cremation,” Ryan said in a statement to Deadline. “John is next of kin and never signed any paperwork over to this so-called boyfriend.”TMZ was first to report Chase’s death through her alleged boyfriend, Roy Hernandez.CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER”That GoFundMe is not going toward ANY expenses for Daveigh,” Ryan told the outlet. “Myself, her father, her uncle and all of us close friends who knew her for decades are encouraging people not to donate to this page.””This man making these claims brought her into the hospital in terrible condition and didn’t let any of the family know until she passed so he can control the dialogue. Daveigh’s actual family is handling all arrangements. We have contacted GoFundMe to let them know this man started this page on his own under Daveigh’s name when she was already unresponsive and urging people to report the page and not donate.”LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSChase found fame at a young age when she was cast to voice Lilo at only eight years old, and worked alongside Tia Carrere and Chris Sanders to bring the Oscar-winning animated Disney film to life.In addition to voicing Lilo in the film, Chase recorded more than 60 episodes of “Lilo & Stitch: The Series” and voiced the character in various video games and multimedia projects.The same year, Chase earned legions of fans in another demographic after her chilling role as “Samara” in the DreamWorks classic horror, “The Ring.”In 2003, the young actress earned the best villain award at the 2003 MTV Movie Awards, beating Mike Myers, Colin Farrell, Willem Dafoe and Daniel Day-Lewis to win the trophy.

Naked pride parade participants take over the Seattle Center water fountain, with multiple children present
Fully naked adults exposed themselves to children in Seattle, Washington, at a pride parade on Sunday. 
Hundreds of thousands reportedly gathered in downtown Seattle to revel in sexual degeneracy.
It’s a typical scene during Pride Month in liberal cities across the nation. The Gateway Pundit has reported on past Seattle Pride parades, where, likewise, naked men rode bikes and flashed children as they rode by. Of course, the police do nothing as nude adults abuse young children with indecent exposure.
In California on Saturday, thousands of nude bikers also participated in the World Naked Bike Ride, where they stripped nude and rode bicycles around the city. One vigilante was actually arrested on charges of assault with a deadly weapon for shooting bikers with his BB gun in a wild turn of events.
LOL! Man Arrested for Assault with a Deadly Weapon After Shooting Nude Bike Riders With BB Gun in Los Angeles (VIDEO)

In one video from this past Sunday, fully naked adults are seen prancing around the Seattle Center water fountain following the parade with dozens of young boys and girls present. One man appears to chase a young boy around the fountain with his genitals swinging around. (WARNING: NUDITY)
In another video, nude bike and roller skate riders expose themselves to the city with children present.
A large group of “furries,” dressed in animal costumes, is also seen walking by as innocent children watch, clap, and high-five the predatory individuals. A black Mini Cooper is then seen driving through the parade with a giant black d**do on the hood, and people wearing demented costumes follow– all in front of children as young as toddlers.
WATCH:

Fully nude bicyclists participated in the Seattle Pride Parade, riding past children with their exposed genitalia.
Video by: @KatieDaviscourt pic.twitter.com/kuJz2cRKBe
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) June 29, 2026

Additional video shows them riding around, completely naked, as onlookers cheer. (WARNING: NUDITY)
One woman was even seen with a baby stroller, exposing an infant to the degeneracy.
Fully nude riders participate in the Seattle Pride parade
 

The post WATCH: Seattle Pride Parade Participants Strip Naked, Chase Children Around Water Fountain appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

RFK Jr. Says 1 Million Obamacare Enrollees Lacked Social Security Numbers

Authored by AG News Staff via American Greatness,

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said 1 million people were enrolled in Obamacare health plans without Social Security numbers, as the Trump administration pledged to intensify efforts to combat fraud in federal health care programs.

Kennedy disclosed the figure in a video posted to the social media platform X alongside Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

.@DrOzCMS and I are exposing how bad actors exploited the Obamacare marketplace by enrolling people without proper verification and profiting at taxpayers’ expense.
The Trump Administration is taking decisive action to stop these corrupt schemes, recover taxpayer dollars, and… pic.twitter.com/ea5dN31S9n
— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) June 27, 2026
The officials said the administration is devoting more resources to identifying and preventing fraud within government health care programs than the previous administration.

Kennedy and Oz said the effort is aimed at protecting taxpayer dollars by strengthening oversight and improving the integrity of federal health care programs.

Tyler Durden
Mon, 06/29/2026 – 19:15

ASPEN, COLORADO — PBS CEO Paula Kerger recounted the “extraordinary” year her organization has had after President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans revoked its federal funding.Appearing Sunday at the Aspen Institute’s Ideas Festival, Kerger was asked to summarize the dramatic saga PBS underwent, which she referred to as a “year of letters,” the first in January 2025 from Federal Communications Committee (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr, who was probing PBS’ corporate partnerships, followed by a letter that March from then-Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who summoned her and NPR CEO Katherine Maher to testify before the DOGE Committee’s hearing, which she noted was titled “Anti-American Airwaves.””I repeat this all the time because of all the things in the last year, that was the most offensive,” Kerger told the Aspen audience.PBS AFFILIATE BOARD CHAIRMAN UNDER FIRE AFTER SAYING HE HOPES TRUMP SUFFERS STROKEShe then noted the letter she received from Trump on his executive order withholding federal funding from PBS and NPR.”The most sobering moment of the year, maybe even my life, was signing the lawsuit against the president,” Kerger said. “I did feel the gravity of the moment. I mean, never in my life did I think that I would be signing a lawsuit against the President of the United States.”FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDER TO CEASE FUNDING FOR NPR AND PBS, CITES FIRST AMENDMENTThe effects of the pulled funding were immediate, pointing to the scrambled effort to fund its new PBS Kids show “Phoebe and Jay” and cancelling an initiative to provide American Sign Language for children’s programming.”Our stations were counting on that money. Eighty percent of the money that comes from the federal government actually doesn’t go to me or to NPR, it goes to the stations. That’s where that money goes,” Kerger said, before citing “50%” of the budget at PBS-affiliated station like in Cookeville, Tennessee came from federal funding.”We’ve laid off 100 people. I mean, we’ve had very deep cuts,” she later revealed.Kerger said she turned to famed documentarian Ken Burns to help sway votes in the Senate after a bill to defund public media passed in the GOP-controlled House of Representatives.CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST MEDIA AND CULTURE NEWS”I am very hesitant to ask someone like him to wade in on something like this because we try to protect our creative talent, but I was desperate at the end and I knew we were really, really close,” Kerger said of Burns, who was sitting beside her at the Ideas Festival. “He made calls and we had the votes, and then there was a pause for about an hour and a half and my colleague Jeremy… he and I are talking and he said, ‘I think we’ve got it. I think he pulled it out.’ And then we didn’t. And we lost by one vote.”Despite the turmoil she revisited, Kerger then shared the “good part of the story,” which was the creating of a “runway” for stations who heavily relied on federal money with a fundraising effort dubbed the Bridge Fund, hoping it will provide them at least two years of funding. She also boasted the addition of “a million new members of Public Broadcasting Stations” since funding was pulled last July, adding that the majority of them contribute every month.”This has not solved our problem, So I can say proudly we’re still here… but it’s up to all of us to make sure if this is something worth preserving that we’re leaned in together,” Berger added.

An air traffic audio recording has captured a JetBlue pilot reporting a possible drone strike Monday morning as the aircraft was preparing to land. The incident occurred as Flight 948 was approaching John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) after departing Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). “We collided with a drone back there in the turn,” the pilot said in a recording posted by LiveATC.”You said you collided?” the controller asked.JETBLUE FLIGHT REPORTS DRONE STRIKE DURING APPROACH TO NEW YORK AIRPORT: FAA”Yep, it is right above the cockpit,” he responded. The reported encounter occurred as the aircraft was beginning its final approach sequence, about 10 to 12 miles out from JFK at roughly 3,000 feet.The pilot said the incident specifically happened near the ASALT waypoint, a navigational checkpoint where aircraft typically line up to land.MYSTERIOUS DRONE SIGHTINGS CONTINUE TO BE REPORTED IN NEW JERSEY WITHOUT ANSWERS”It was as we were making the turn to ASALT, so about 10 miles to 12 miles outside of ASALT. We were coming over that part of land in New Jersey,” the pilot said.When asked by air traffic control whether assistance was needed, the crew declined.”We don’t need any assistance, we’re just going to go ahead and land,” the pilot said.At the end of the exchange, the controller acknowledged the message, responding, “Roger, thank you.” “Sorry, I couldn’t give you any more details than that,” the pilot added. According to JetBlue, the flight landed without incident and passengers deplaned normally.A post-flight inspection also did not reveal any damage to the aircraft, officials said. “Safety is JetBlue’s first priority, and we will assist with any relevant investigations,” the airline said in a statement to Fox News Digital. The FAA said the agency will investigate the incident.

Paris Deputy Mayor Audrey Pulvar released a lengthy statement blaming the United States for the deadly heat wave over France this past week.”Dear American journalists and social media ‘influencers’: for days, some of you have been criticizing and making fun of Paris because the city does not have A/C in every room. OMG, this is so rich!” she wrote on Instagram Friday.She added, “As the second-largest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions in the world, you bear a significant amount of responsibility for global warming and the consequences we, in France, are experiencing. Your cities ‘90% air-conditioned’ are not unrelated to this. In Paris, we take responsibility.”SCIENTIST CALLS FOR AMERICANS TO CUT OFF AIR CONDITIONING IN SUMMER, CLAIMING IT CAUSES GLOBAL WARMINGPulvar, who was elected to her position in March, went on to explain that Paris has implemented measures to fight air pollution and develop energy-efficient renovations for the city, arguing that air conditioning “contributes and aggravates the problem” of global warming.”If every American city made the same ecological transition efforts as Paris and many European cities, believe me, the whole world would be better off. So please, enough with the lecture. Just start doing your part. Best regards,” she concluded.In an additional statement on her post, Pulvar defended the left’s efforts in Paris to combat climate change.CNN POLLING GURU SURPRISED MAJORITY OF AMERICANS ‘AREN’T AFRAID’ OF CLIMATE CHANGE”If we hadn’t done so, the situation today would be much worse. Yes, there is still much to be done. No, the situation is not ideal. But perhaps it would be more appropriate for one of the countries most responsible for the problem not to lecture those who are trying to find solutions for their own populations,” Pulvar wrote.Fox News Digital reached out to Pulvar and the Paris mayor’s office for comment.Paris felt record-setting heat during the week with temperatures climbing above 104 degrees Fahrenheit, AP reported. At least 48 people in France have drowned while attempting to cool off outside designated swimming areas.20 YEARS LATER, AL GORE AND HIS DIRECTOR DEFEND THEIR CONTROVERSIAL CLIMATE MOVIE ‘AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH’In response to the heat, French authorities have imposed alcohol restrictions in public spaces and restricted large public gatherings as the nation deployed thousands of emergency workers.Paris also reduced hours at many of the country’s famous landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre to protect tourists.

President Donald Trump said Monday that he remains undecided about signing a landmark housing bill backed by both Democrats and Republicans.

Venezuelan Housing Projects Collapsed “Like Sandcastles” As Twin Quakes Expose Socialist Rot

Spanish daily newspaper ABC.es reports that some of the worst quake damage in Venezuela is concentrated in Caraballeda and Catia La Mar, where high-rise towers built under the Great Housing Mission Venezuela, or Gran Misión Vivienda Venezuela (GMVV), were reduced to rubble.

The Chávez-era socialist housing program is now facing scrutiny after the outlet noted, “The explanation given by engineers and construction specialists is that low-quality materials were used in the Chavista Housing Mission, without supervision and without applying anti-seismic standards.” 

GMVV was later expanded by the socialist Maduro regime without regard for the quality of building materials or anti-seismic standards, leaving only a handful of the 193 buildings in one housing complex in quake-ravaged Catia La Mar standing. 

The devastating earthquakes in Venezuela exposed exactly how the socialist government built housing for their people. Look at this video from La Guaira.
The buildings in the Misión Vivienda program were constructed using expanded polystyrene (EPS) panels coated with a thin layer… pic.twitter.com/N4qLX7W3Xa
— Maila Maria Rosa (@MailaMariaRosa) June 28, 2026
“None of the official buildings would withstand an engineering inspection, much less an earthquake of magnitude 7.5, like the one last Wednesday,” the outlet stated.

Según múltiples reportes independientes y testimonios de las zonas afectadas confirman que #HechoEnSucialismo es: muerte, destrucción y dolor
Las propiedades de la #MisionVivienda son las que mayormente se han caído o sufrido daños sustanciales (si no se han derrumbado)
Una… pic.twitter.com/DT0AMEuNUi
— Bonyuet (@DBonyuet) June 28, 2026
Transparency Venezuela has previously alleged widespread corruption in the socialist housing program, including unfinished or failed projects linked to foreign contractors from Chavismo-aligned countries.

The outlet said many of these social housing projects “collapsed like sandcastles,” and the head of the Chilean rescue teams on the ground told AFP News last Friday that there is “little chance of finding people alive.”

A satellite image reveals the collapse of five residential buildings of the Housing Mission in Venezuela 🇻🇪 pic.twitter.com/mBQRQEThPA
— BowTiedMara (@BowTiedMara) June 27, 2026
The collapse of Venezuela’s GMVV is becoming another case study in how socialist corruption fails at delivering even the most basic needs for the people. What was sold by the left-wing government as housing for all now appears to have produced high-rise death traps, built with low-quality materials, weak oversight and inadequate seismic standards. 

The result is grim: 1,500 dead, 50,000 missing…

Yet another example of socialist governance has instead become a symbol of state failure and corruption.

Tyler Durden
Mon, 06/29/2026 – 18:50