THE NEWS

Belgium got a new prince this week after 26-year-old former car salesman Clement Vandenkerckhove was recognized by the king’s brother.

An Albany, N.Y., woman was charged Thursday with supporting a terror group after allegedly planning to attack the New York State capitol building.

EXCLUSIVE – DETROIT, MI – Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers has a message for Democrats who are far from happy with their party’s nominee in battleground Michigan: “You have a home with us.”Rogers, a former congressman and former FBI agent who is running a second straight time for the Senate after losing by a slim margin two years ago, on Thursday stood alongside a group of voters as he unveiled his “Democrats for Mike Rogers” coalition during a campaign event at a residence in a western Detroit neighborhood.After a combustible and divisive Democratic Senate primary, where Abdul El-Sayed narrowly edged more moderate Rep. Haley Stevens for the nomination, Rogers is heavily courting Democrats disaffected with their left-wing nominee, as he works to flip a crucial Democrat-held Senate seat in the midterm elections.”To Democrat voters who feel their nominee doesn’t represent them and their values, all hope is not lost. I’m not asking you to be a Republican. I’m asking you for the opportunity to earn your trust. .. our door is open,” Rogers said as he referred to Democratic voters uncomfortable with some of El-Sayed’s controversial past comments and far-left policy positions. DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUBA new public opinion survey from AARP indicated El-Sayed and Rogers locked in a margin-of-error race. And in a Fox News poll conducted Aug. 6-10 and released last week, Rogers held a slight four-point edge.Rogers’ advantage in the Fox News poll was fueled largely by stronger party unity among Republicans. Nearly all Republicans (96%), including both MAGA (99%) and non-MAGA Republicans (89%), backed Rogers, the poll indicates.El-Sayed’s support among Democrats was slightly lower, at 91%. While 98% of self-described Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) supporters backed El-Sayed, that number dropped to 69% of non-DSA Democrats and independents.”We definitely think it’s an opening. This is going to be a tight race. It’s Michigan,” Rogers said in an exclusive Fox News Digital interview following the campaign event. “We’re going to take advantage of the fact that people are pausing to think if he [El-Sayed] represents their values.”Rogers highlighted that Democrats “who have never voted for a Republican in their life, they’re going to vote for me. We take encouragement in that. It’s inspiring. It’s going to show that…values do matter in this election, and we’re going to be talking to a lot of people that would not normally have…an opening with a Republican.”One of those Democrats who stood alongside Rogers identified herself as Chelsea from West Bloomfield, Michigan.”I’m a lifelong Democrat. I voted for Obama. I voted for Hillary. I voted for Biden. I voted for Slotkin. I heavily supported Haley Stevens throughout her race and now I’m voting for Mike Rogers because sometimes the election calls for us to look at something bigger than our party lines,” Chelsea explained.CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLL IN MICHIGAN’S BLOCKBUSTER SENATE RACEPointing to El-Sayed, she emphasized “the Democratic nominee that we’ve been given does not share my values and he does not agree with a world that I want my children to grow up in.”Responding to the event, the El-Sayed campaign highlighted Rogers’ ties to President Donald Trump, who is supporting the GOP nominee.”Mike Rogers will put Donald Trump ahead of Michigan every single time. Just like he carried water for Trump’s dangerous election lies, he’ll rubber-stamp Trump’s reckless agenda—driving up gas prices and sending your tax dollars to fight foreign wars,” El-Sayed campaign spokesperson Cole Wozniak charged in a statement to Fox News.Wozniak added, “Abdul’s the only candidate with a coalition that can win this November and will get right to work in the US Senate getting money out of politics and putting money in your pockets.”A former Wayne County Health Department director, El-Sayed, if elected in November, would make history as the nation’s first Muslim senator. He is an epidemiologist who unsuccessfully ran for governor as an insurgent candidate in 2018. He has made support for Medicare for all a major component of his campaign.El-Sayed, who was endorsed and joined on the primary campaign trail by progressive champions Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, has also called for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and is a vocal critic of Israel during its war with Hamas —characterizing Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide” against Palestinians.WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS IN THE MIDTERM RACES SHOWRabbi Asher Lopatin of Huntington Woods, Michigan, who also joined Rogers at the campaign roll out, told Fox News Digital, “I do have a lot of issues with a lot of policies of the Trump administration. I do have concerns about the Supreme Court. But it’s more important to make a statement that we cannot let someone like Abdul El-Sayed get into the Senate.”Lopatin said that Jewish voters who “normally vote Democrat are going to vote for Mike Rogers, and I’m hearing that. And there’s a growing movement like that. And I think the more they meet him…the more they’re going to feel comfortable voting for a Republican, sometimes the first time in their lives.”The rabbi also pointed to a state Democratic Party convention in April, where there was hostility towards anyone who openly supported Israel. Stevens, a strong Israel supporter, was booed at the convention.”Many people I talked to, many super progressive people, are really traumatized by the way they were treated, and the way Haley Stevens was booed, and the way other candidates were treated. It’s a violent, uncivil kind of setup for politics, and that’s the biggest danger: taking away civility from politics,” Lopatin said.SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTERAsked about concerns from Jewish voters, Rogers told Fox News Digital, “I’ve talked to two young women who were at University of Michigan, who were afraid to walk to class. They couldn’t display their Star of David. To say that they’re afraid is probably an understatement.”He said “the violent rhetoric [is] going to make a difference” in the general election.El-Sayed’s sharp criticism towards Israel and AIPAC, a powerful Israel-aligned political group that has long been a major player in American elections, were a central part of his primary campaign.But two weeks ago, after winning the nomination, El-Sayed emphasized, “My commitment to Jewish safety is the same as my commitment to the safety of my own kids. We have a responsibility to take on antisemitism in all of its forms, wherever we see it.”

President Trump and First Lady Melania participated in a ‘Fostering the Future’ announcement in the Rose Garden on Thursday.
WATCH:

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The evidence is there. Already there is a peer-reviewed study confirming there are “significant levels of mifepristone” in eight out of nine water samplings from three U.S. cities.
So Liberty Counsel Action is calling for the Environmental Protection Agency to add mifepristone and its active metabolites to its list of monitored elements “so public water systems can start collecting nationwide data.”
LCA Public Policy Analyst Abigail Forman already has delivered testimony to EPA officials regarding the risks of mifepristone in public water systems.
The issue? Mifepristone is the killer chemical used in chemical abortions.
LCA confirms, “research has shown that endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs), including steroid hormones, synthetic estrogens and progestins found in oral contraceptives, are present in water supplies. This problem remains an environmental and health concern, especially given the widespread use of contraceptives and the increased prevalence of medication abortion recent years.
“These compounds have a number of deleterious effects on human and animal biology, particularly aquatic animals. Small amounts of these chemicals (parts per trillion) can affect the endocrine system of animals and humans. Progestins, including specifically the anti-progesterone synthetic steroid hormone mifepristone, have been found to have disruptive effects on the fertility and reproduction of fish,. Moreover, further highlighting the potential for environmental toxicity and contamination, the FDA recommends treating any unused mifepristone pills as hazardous waste,” it said.
And removing the contaminant is problematic, as ordinary filtration systems are not particularly effective.

No one asked for abortion drugs in their drinking water.
Researchers found what appear to be significant levels of mifepristone, the abortion pill, in tap water in two U.S. cities. What can this mean for fertility, reproductive development, and fetal health?
Americans… pic.twitter.com/HpUU5bQAR4
— Heritage Foundation (@Heritage) August 18, 2026

EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Josh Hawley introduced a bill that would ban the use of mifepristone for abortion.
The proposed Safeguarding Women from Chemical Abortion Act would ban the drug due to what Hawley says are documented health risks. 11% of women experi… pic.twitter.com/dFr11UXu3W
— Senator Josh Hawley (@rose1kampala) August 20, 2026

No one consented to abortion drugs in their drinking water.
Researchers have reported what appear to be significant levels of mifepristone (aka the abortion pill) in tap water in two U.S. cities.
If these findings are confirmed, Americans deserve to know what this could mean… pic.twitter.com/sKV1fdOTdb
— GA Life Alliance (@GaLifeAlliance) August 19, 2026

STUDY FINDS ANTI-PROGESTERONE ACTIVITY IN U.S. TAP WATER
A newly published study detected measurable anti-progesterone activity in water samples from three U.S. cities, including municipal tap water, prompting calls for further testing on whether mifepristone is present. pic.twitter.com/xqas0rloJ5
— The Dallas Express News (@DallasExpress) August 19, 2026

It’s because of the nation’s abortion industry.
“Abortion providers have shifted a large part of their practice from surgical to chemical (medication-induced) abortion. In 2023, 642,700 of the abortions in the US were medication abortions, forming 63% of the total. The first drug given in this type of abortion is the anti-progesterone synthetic steroid hormone mifepristone, or RU-486. Mifepristone is an antagonist of progestational and glucocorticoid hormones. Mifepristone competitively binds to the progesterone receptor, thereby inhibiting the effects of endogenous or exogenous progesterone. The drug is thought to disrupt attachment of the placenta to the uterine lining in early pregnancy. The prostaglandin-like drug misoprostol is administered several days later to induce uterine contractions and preterm labor,” LCA documents.
That means it might end up in water supplies.
The study cited confirmed that, “A statistically significant amount of mifepristone was found in all but one of the nine water sources.”
The tests were done in Blacksburg, Virginia; Austin, Texas; and Carbondale, Illinois.
LCA reported the request was submitted as the EPA considers new drinking water contaminants.
The organization noted that the approximately 700,000 chemical abortions annually deliver pollution to U.S. water systems “through human excretion, aborted human fetal remains, and related medical waste.”
Among those are the active metabolites in mifepristone, LCA said, which is “designed and approved to be lethal in nature by starving a baby in the womb.”
LCA’s submission to the EPA confirmed “studies show even ‘trace amounts’ of endocrine-disrupting substances can have adverse effects on health and fertility.”
“Considering the inability of wastewater plants to completely filter out active metabolites from these abortions, as well as 23,000-75,000 annual sanitary system overflows and up to 425 billion gallons of sewer discharge into the environment, it is probable that the human remains and medical waste from at-home chemical abortions are contaminating American water bodies,” LCA confirmed.
Liberty Counsel Action President John Stemberger said, “The chemical abortion drug mifepristone is being used in most abortions annually where it is being flushed into U.S. wastewater systems. Yet, in its 26 years on the market, there has been no federal environmental monitoring or evaluation of mifepristone’s environmental effects. Mifepristone’s primary action is blocking the vital fertility hormone progesterone. Given the nation’s infertility crisis and the growing concern of the health risks of endocrine disruptors in our water, the drug’s active metabolites warrant immediate monitoring efforts. By naming mifepristone to the Sixth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, the Environmental Protection Agency can properly evaluate the drug’s environmental and public health implications. We encourage our supporters to also submit comments to the EPA.”
WND previously posted a report from Daily Caller News Foundation that the EPA confirmed it is reviewing related comments from 14 state attorneys general urging the classification of mifepristone as a water contaminant.
“Pharmaceuticals, like Mifepristone, encompass a diverse group of chemicals, including prescription and over the counter drugs,” an EPA spokesperson told the DCNF. “EPA is currently reviewing comments submitted on its draft contaminant candidate list 6 (CCL 6), which lists pharmaceuticals as a group, and human health benchmarks for 374 individual pharmaceuticals that are approved by the FDA and may occur in surface and groundwaters and/or treated drinking water.”
The report noted last year, 19 members of Congress signed a letter asking the EPA to review the pill’s environmental risks. When residual amounts of progesterone blockers are flushed into waterways, prolonged exposure to them could interfere with the fertility of both women and men.
And WND has reported on LCA’s efforts to coordinate opposition to the abortion chemical.
That was when it delivered testimony to the Science Advisory Board of the EPA recommending mifepristone be given the designation so it can be monitored and evaluated.
 

The USS Abraham Lincoln left the Middle East and started making its journey back to the United States on Thursday, relieved by the USS Washington.

U.S. stocks fell on Thursday as Treasury yields reversed course from the decline seen in the prior trading day.

‘Hot Mess’: Salmonella Outbreak Linked To Jalapeños Spreads To More States

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

The salmonella outbreak connected to jalapeño peppers from Mexico has spread to additional states, U.S. authorities said on Aug. 19.

Thirty-two states have now reported cases in the outbreak, up from 27 states earlier in the month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in an update.

The states are: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Colorado and Minnesota have each recorded more than 100 cases, while more than two dozen have been logged in Georgia and Illinois. The other states have reported one to 14 cases.

The outbreak has reached 431 cases, with 86 of those new cases and 57 hospitalizations. No deaths have been reported.

The outbreak has been linked to jalapeños from a farm in Sinaloa and distributed to the United States earlier in the year. Stores that sold the peppers and products containing them include Kroger, Target, Trader Joe’s, and Whole Foods Market.

Taylor Fresh Foods, Whole Foods, NatureBest, and Hardie’s Fresh Foods have recalled both the peppers and products containing them.

The products include Spicy Jarlsberg Dip, sold at Kroger, and Taco Dip, sold at Target. The full list of products can be found on the Food and Drug Administration website.

The public is advised not to consume the recalled products. They can either be thrown out or returned to the place of purchase for a refund. Restaurants and other companies should not sell or serve the peppers, authorities said.

Salmonella, caused by consuming contaminated food, typically causes symptoms such as diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after consuming the food. If a person experiences symptoms such as a fever higher than 102 degrees Fahrenheit combined with diarrhea, they should call their health care provider, according to the CDC.

A digitally colorized scanning electron microscopic image of a grouping of Gram-negative bacilli, or rod-shaped, Salmonella sp. bacteria. Janice Haney Carr/CDC

Illnesses in the outbreak started as early as June 19 and as late as Aug. 2.

Of the 224 patients interviewed by investigators, 91 percent reported eating at a Mexican-style restaurant before getting sick, including Chipotle Mexican Grill and QDOBA.

Amid the outbreak and a spike in cases of cyclosporiasis, a disease caused by food contaminated with feces, the acting Food and Drug Administration commissioner said recently that people should have confidence in the country’s food supply.

“We have the safest food supply in the world,” Kyle Diamantas said.

“FDA investigates dozens of foodborne illness outbreaks each year,” he added later. “There is definitely a heightened narrative right now. People are more aware.”

Tyler Durden
Thu, 08/20/2026 – 15:40

‘Nightcaps’ is a daily column that catches you up on the biggest sports, news and culture stories you may have missed while pretending to do work at your desk. It runs Monday–Friday on OutKick.com.Over the hump and safely onto the other side of the week. Phew. We made it. It’s all down(up?)hill from here!We’ve got NFL football tonight. Raiders-Texans at 8 p.m. on ESPN! Joe and Troy in the booth and back in our living rooms, presumably. Not a bad little game for Week 2 of the preseason.I’ll take anything at this point. Football is close, I can taste it. I can hear it. I can smell it. Nine days till Week 0. I pumped out two fantasy mock drafts last night.I’m woefully unprepared, for those wondering. But I’ve still got a few weeks. Back to the drawing board!On that note, welcome to a Thursday Nightcaps — the one where Natalie Decker gears up for a big pool party before NASCAR’s season-finale next weekend in Daytona.Feels like the fellas were just starting engines for the Daytona 500, and now the regular season is just about over. Nothing like a pool party to end the summer!What else? I’ve got ESPN’s Holly Rowe crying over a WNBA crowd, Pete Alonso getting absolutely robbed of a home run, and let’s check in with how things are looking over at Citi Field before we end the day.You’ll never see it coming. Trust me.OK, grab you a pen and paper to start prepping for tomorrow’s National Fantasy Football Draft Day, and settle in for a Thursday ‘Cap!First of all, tomorrow is far too early for a fantasy football draft. That’s insane. Do you know how many players are going to get hurt between tomorrow and Week 1? The absolute earliest you can have a fantasy draft is next weekend, and that’s even a little early.Like I said in the open, I’m woefully unprepared this year. During normal years, I would’ve already listened to a zillion podcasts and pumped out two dozen mock drafts by now.But, I have two kids, and a house, and a yard, and a wife. I just don’t have the time I used to have, but perhaps that’s not a bad thing.Every year, I prepare like hell for our big draft (in person, at Applebee’s like patriots), and every year I lose this stupid league. I walk away thinking I had the best draft ever and I outsmarted everyone, and every year the dude who slams back 14 vodkas before the fifth round and double-picks a player by Round 9 ends up winning the league.It’s uncanny. Every single year!So, this year I’m gonna go in woefully unprepared (to an extent) and see where that gets me.Bottom’s up!OK, let’s get this class started with NASCAR’s Natalie Decker hitting the pool ahead of next Saturday night’s Cup Series regular season finale at Daytona:No clue if Natalie is actually racing in next Friday’s O’Reilly (Busch) Series race, but she’ll certainly be in town. That much is clear!She’ll be at the Shores Resort Saturday afternoon for a little meet ‘n greet by the pool. Why? No clue. Sponsorships are everything in racing, I reckon.I used to live about 2 minutes down the road from The Shores. True story. Great spot. Solid bar/restaurant inside. I went to a St. Patrick’s Day party there once. What a night.Anyway, Natalie has had a … rough … season thus far, as we’ve documented in these very spaces. She had an all-time radio meltdown at Dover in May where she basically quit mid-race, and it’s been a rocky summer ever since.For those wondering, Decker has three O’Reilly Series starts this season with finishes of 33, 33 and 34. Credit for the consistency.Perhaps this is what turns this sucker around. Stay tuned!OK, let’s keep this class moving and check in with ESPN’s Holly Rowe, who was STUNNED at the crowd for this week’s Fever-Tempo game in Canada:Incredible stuff here from Holly.Quick show of hands: Have you ever been so moved by something that you felt the need to turn the camera towards you and start crying? And then keep the camera on your for a solid 40 seconds?I get Holly is passionate about women’s basketball. I respect that. But I just can’t envision a scenario in my life where I record myself crying for the world to see. It just doesn’t exist. Wild stuff.PS: Holly failed to mention that this was Caitlin Clark’s first visit to Canada, and the game had to be moved to a bigger arena to accommodate the extra fans. This wasn’t exactly a random Tuesday night WNBA game.The crowd was still great — Sophie Cunningham said as much after the game — but a little context matters.OK, let’s rapid-fire this Thursday class into a big Thursday night. First up? How in the world was this NOT a home run for Pete Alonso last night?Yeah … I’m not seeing a foul ball there. Looked fair in real time. Looked fair in the replay. I don’t get it.We have all the technology in the world, and we still can’t determine whether a ball is fair or foul? That seems silly.Come on. What are we doing here:Yikes. The O’s went on to lose, 5-3, for those wondering. Not great for my Red Sox!Next? Let’s stay on the diamond and check in with Pete’s old team, the New York Mets:Goodness gracious. That gives me the shivers. I HATE raccoons. We have ’em all over the place down here, and they’re just disgusting creatures. Raccoons and Opossums. The absolute worst.Filthy animals.OK, that’s it for today. Good work, everyone. To end class, I’d like to give everyone a quick update on Pat McAfee. Yesterday, the internet was furious at ESPN for giving McAfee yet another platform — this time on the ‘Monday Night Countdown’ panel.Everyone and their mothers grabbed their pitchforks and started complaining about “McAfee fatigue.”Anyway, I’m here to tell you all that ESPN heard your concerns …SIGN UP TO GET THE LATEST SPORTS NEWS… and promptly told you all to kick rocks!STAY “FEARLESS” ON THE GO! TAKE TOMI LAHREN WITH YOU. DOWNLOAD THE TLIF PODCAST NOW!Amazing. It’s called leaning into the skid! It’s the Year of McAfee, folks. Suck it up.See y’all tomorrow.Best fantasy football draft strategy? Email me at Zach.Dean@OutKick.com.