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As New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani moves ahead with a plan to open five city-run grocery stores, one of the Big Apple’s biggest supermarket owners has a blunt warning: the stores won’t feed the hungry, but they will shelve the bodegas next door.”The fact is the people [Mamdani] is going to hurt are the current bodegas or the current supermarkets in those neighborhoods,” John Catsimatidis, CEO of the New York City grocery chain Gristedes, told Fox News Digital. “So it becomes a problem of ‘for whom do the bells toll?’”In July, Mamdani announced the stores would be located in each of the city’s five boroughs, with the first location set to open in Hunts Point in the Bronx in late 2027. The mayor added he hopes to have all five stores operational before his term ends in 2030, and has set the project’s capital budget at an eye-watering $70 million.MAMDANI’S CITY GROCERY PLAN COULD LEAVE TAXPAYERS PAYING FOR EVERY BANANAThe government-run shops will offer a 30% discount on a “core basket of everyday groceries,” including meat, seafood and fresh produce, in an attempt to combat the affordability crisis plaguing the city, according to Mamdani’s administration.”Every week, New Yorkers walk into a grocery store hoping the prices haven’t gone up again. A trip to the grocery store shouldn’t spell dread for New Yorkers,” Mamdani said.Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani’s administration for comment.The city is currently accepting applications from private operators interested in managing the logistical challenges of running the stores. Mamdani’s administration has also vowed to cover the property taxes and rental costs for each location — a decision that Catsimatidis feels puts local business owners at a disadvantage.NY GOVERNOR HOPEFUL VOWS SHOWDOWN WITH MAMDANI OVER SOCIALIST AGENDA: ‘I WILL STOP HIM’”The people that are going to run those five stores are not going to pay any real estate taxes. Not going to pay any rent,” Catsimatidis said. “If I don’t pay any rent or real estate taxes, I can bring down the cost of a product 20% across the board.”In recent years, business owners throughout the five boroughs have been faced with expanding hurdles taking aim at their bottom line.Catsimatidis added that local owners are already dealing with increased competition from outside vendors who rely on online commerce to reach consumers in the Big Apple, with the average grocery store operating at just a 1% to 3% profit margin.GROCER-TURNED-LAWMAKER SAYS MAMDANI’S GOVERNMENT-RUN STORES ‘MIGHT NOT EVEN LAST A YEAR'”The businesses that are doing business outside New York City are just shipping [products] in by mail, they can afford to be cheaper,” Catsimatidis said. “And you know what happens? They put the stores and the businesses inside New York City out of business.”According to the grocery tycoon, new and increasing costs — including congestion pricing and the rising cost of electricity — are also cutting business owners in New York City off at the knees.”The big picture is that five stores in five boroughs is only good for public relations, and it’s not really going to help the hungry,” Catsimatidis told Fox News Digital. “Congestion pricing is hurting the stores in Manhattan a great deal. If you go up and down the streets in New York City, half the stores are empty — which is horrible.”Catsimatidis pointed out that Manhattan’s congestion pricing — which was enacted in January 2025 — puts a premium on deliveries traveling south of 61st Street.”If I want stuff delivered to us from vendors in New Jersey — and all these companies are in New Jersey, Nassau, Suffolk County, Brooklyn, Queens or the Bronx — and I say to them, ‘I want you to deliver to New York City,’ they’re going to charge me 10% more, or 15% more,” Catsimatidis said.I WATCHED CHICAGO PROMISE FOOD EQUITY. NOW MY NEIGHBORHOOD HAS EMPTY SHELVESWhile the solution to rolling out affordable grocery options without infringing on businesses within the area isn’t necessarily black and white, Catsimatidis is offering his own suggestion on how Mamdani’s administration can walk the line.”If they’re not given credits to reduce their prices, then they’re going to be hurting,” Catsimatidis said. “If you want me to lower the price of eggs, well maybe I’ll lower the price of the eggs by a dollar a dozen. But maybe [the city] will give me a dollar a dozen credit toward my real estate taxes.””If you want to lower the prices for all Americans, all New Yorkers, well let’s do it right and lower it in all five boroughs,” he added.While Mamdani’s rollout of the city-run grocery stores has not come without critics, director of the CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute Nevin Cohen emphasized New York City’s dire need for officials to combat food insecurity among its residents.THE OVERLOOKED WAY THE IRAN WAR IS MAKING GROCERIES, AMAZON PACKAGES AND NEW HOMES MORE EXPENSIVE”The problem is that many people can’t afford food for their families,” Cohen told Fox News Digital. “1.4 million New Yorkers are food insecure, which means that they’re unsure whether they have enough money to put food on the table. Twenty percent of New Yorkers depend on SNAP benefits or federal food subsidies to put food on the table for the family.”Cohen also pointed to an existing program titled “FRESH,” which aims to identify food deserts within New York City.”It provides tax incentives and zoning incentives to encourage new supermarkets or the expansion of existing supermarkets in neighborhoods deemed to be underserved by food retail,” Cohen said.CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTUREWhile Catsimatidis agrees the city-run grocery stores are being placed in neighborhoods throughout the city that would serve lower-income residents, he remains worried about the impact the shops will have on businesses in the immediate area, while pointing to Mamdani’s democratic socialist platform.”You’re competing against your own citizens, and that’s only done in socialist countries,” Catsimatidis told Fox News Digital. “Look at socialist countries — nobody’s breaking down the walls to get in, but they’re all breaking down the walls to get into the United States of America.”

A new defense pact linking Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan is fueling debate over whether the three countries are laying the groundwork for a competing regional bloc — potentially challenging the U.S.-backed architecture built around Israel and the Abraham Accords — or simply creating a new model of burden-sharing among American partners.The three countries, all with longstanding security ties to the United States, enter the pact with different interests — but together they could begin shifting the region’s balance of power.Saudi Arabia signed a Strategic Defense Agreement with the United States in November 2025 and was designated a major non-NATO ally, but Riyadh did not secure the treaty-level, Article 5-style U.S. defense guarantee it had long sought, making the new pact a potential hedge against uncertainty over Washington’s future security commitments. Pakistan, a nuclear-armed state, gains greater energy security, Saudi investment and regional influence, while offering significant military capabilities — although whether its nuclear deterrent extends to its partners remains unconfirmed. Turkey, already a NATO member, gains a larger market for its growing defense industry and additional strategic weight as tensions with Israel rise.WHO IS TURKEY’S RECEP TAYYIP ERDOĞAN? HOW NATO’S MOST UNPREDICTABLE LEADER KEEPS REINVENTING HIMSELFTaken together, the arrangement gives three U.S. partners greater ability to build deterrence on their own — potentially easing Washington’s security burden while also giving them more independence from it.Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement on Aug. 7 . A joint statement said the pact was intended to “strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression” and stipulated that an armed attack against one country would be regarded as an attack against all three.Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan went further the following day, telling Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency that the agreement was “technically the same” as NATO’s Article 5 mutual-defense provision, which treats an attack on one member as an attack on all. Fidan said, however, that the countries would consult on the degree and form of assistance provided following an attack, with operational details still to be determined by a new ministerial committee. The alliance will also establish a general secretariat based in Saudi Arabia , Reuters reported Aug. 8 .Fidan said President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan wants the alliance to eventually expand beyond its three founding members and identified Egypt as a potential participant. He said negotiations over the pact had been underway for two years and eight months.Saudi Deputy Minister for Public Diplomacy Rayed Krimly has pushed back on suggestions that the agreement represents the creation of a new sectarian or military bloc, saying it is not connected to nuclear ambitions or an arms race. Turkish officials have similarly said the pact is defensive and not directed against Iran or any other country.Iran, meanwhile, played down the pact as a threat to Tehran. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Aug. 10 that Iran saw no reason to be concerned that the agreement was directed against it, telling Reuters that the pact reflected a regional shift toward countries relying more heavily on their own security capabilities rather than outside powers.”Any plan that is based on the geopolitical and historical realities of the region, is comprehensive and inclusive, and correctly identifies the enemy and the threat, has a chance of helping to strengthen security and prevent instability and abuses by the Zionist enemy and its allies,” Baghaei said, referring to Israel.Fox News Digital reached out to the Turkish Embassy in Washington, D.C., and the Pakistani government for comment but did not receive responses in time for publication.Sinan Ciddi, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and director of its Turkey program, told Fox News Digital that he remains skeptical that the pact currently amounts to a NATO-style alliance.AMERICANS ARE NOT GIVING UP ON NATO, BUT THEY EXPECT EUROPE TO DO ITS SHARE”Does it have teeth? Is it a serious deterrent? Is that a serious collective defense pact? Is it a Muslim NATO? We’re not actually sure yet,” Ciddi said.Ciddi said each of the three countries enters the pact with different incentives. For Saudi Arabia, he sees it as a hedge against doubts over the reliability of U.S. security guarantees; for Pakistan, it offers greater energy security, Saudi investment and added regional prestige; and for Turkey, it creates new opportunities for defense cooperation and a larger market for its arms industry. Ankara also gains additional deterrent weight as its tensions with Israel grow, he argued.”I would say that this pact is much more targeted towards closer economic and commercial ties rather than substantive NATO-like security ties,” Ciddi added.Saudi Arabia rejects the suggestion that the agreement represents a turn away from Washington.WATCH: DEMOCRATS BLAST TRUMP SAUDI NUCLEAR DEAL AS GOP TOUTS REGIONAL ALLIANCE”The United States remains to be our primary strategic partner,” a Saudi source told Fox News Digital on background, saying the kingdom’s expanding ties with Pakistan and Turkey should not be viewed as coming at the expense of its relationship with Washington.The Saudi source also rejected descriptions of the agreement as a “Muslim NATO” or Sunni alliance and said it was not directed against Israel, Iran or any other particular country. Asked whether the pact represented a Saudi move away from normalization with Israel, the source said, “It’s not related in any way.”Aziz Alghashian, a senior non-resident fellow at the Gulf International Forum, offered a similar interpretation.”I don’t think it’s a counterweight to the Abraham Accords,” Alghashian told Fox News Digital.WHY NATO’S DEFENSE SPENDING IMBALANCE LASTED FOR DECADESInstead, Alghashian described the agreement as part of Saudi Arabia’s longer-term diversification of strategic relationships.”I think it’s actually a supplementation. It’s complementary to the United States,” he said, arguing that greater cooperation among regional partners could provide increased burden-sharing for Washington.From Pakistan’s perspective, the agreement offers both military and political advantages, Raza Rumi, distinguished lecturer at the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at CUNY, told Fox News Digital.”Pakistan gains strategic depth, greater leverage in the Gulf and a more formal place in an emerging regional security architecture,” Rumi said, pointing to potential cooperation on defense production, technology transfers, intelligence, training and air and missile defense.But he cautioned against interpreting the pact’s mutual-defense language too literally.”Seriously, but not literally as an Article 5-style guarantee, at least not yet,” Rumi said. Its credibility, he added, will depend on whether the countries develop joint planning, command structures and procedures for responding to crises.Rumi also warned against assuming the Middle East is already dividing into two fixed camps. India, however, is watching the new alignment closely. India’s Ministry of External Affairs said Aug. 11 that it was examining the pact’s implications for national security and regional peace and stability, adding that New Delhi would take “whatever necessary steps are required” to safeguard its interests.”These states are hedging, not choosing permanent blocs,” he said.TRUMP SQUEEZED BETWEEN ISRAEL AND TURKEY AS NETANYAHU, ERDOGAN ESCALATE FEUDCiddi, on the other hand, argued that the agreement reflects “serious reservations” among regional countries about U.S. security guarantees. His greater concern is that even a militarily weak pact could encourage opposing alignments to harden.”Security pacts beget more security pacts,” Ciddi said, arguing that Israel, Greece, Cyprus and potentially India could deepen their own cooperation in response.”You’re buying security, but you’re also creating tension,” he said. “That’s where I think the harm comes in.”Calling the pact a direct counterweight to the Abraham Accords or the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor would therefore be “premature,” Rumi argued. But he said a broader competition is emerging over the region’s future — between U.S.-backed economic integration involving India, Israel and the Gulf and efforts by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan to develop greater strategic autonomy.

Let’s get rolling with Wednesday Screencaps on this morning after the WNBA doubled, tripled, quadrupled down on its stupidity. But, you’re not here for that. You’re here for a dose of Real America and the OTHER topics of the day, including the news that my Wendy’s prediction that everyone laughed at years ago becomes a reality by the day.”Wendy’s has a massive problem: It’s closing restaurants left and right,” Yahoo Finance declared Tuesday.You don’t say?Are you tired of me taking a victory lap on my Wendy’s prediction as a franchise that would be dead in 5 to 10 years? Too bad. I took extreme heat for that hot take 2 to 3 years ago when readers of this column thought I’d lost my mind.Folks, take a look around at places where you interact with workers. If they’re meth heads, there’s a good chance common Americans aren’t going to trust those workers to serve food. It’s simple.What’s the deal with car washes?– Ken G. asks: To add to last weeks parking discussion I have a couple of other vehicle questions / comments that think hit on the do hard things topic.First, why do people leave their cars at the gas pump during the gas stations busy hours? Some start gassing up and leave while others finish the pumping process and then go into the store! Move your car into a parking spot so others have access to the pumps.Second, are car washes the equivalent of DoorDash? These mega facilities are popping up everywhere which means lots of people are spending insane money instead of pulling out the hose and bucket. And the quality at a car wash is not as good.Lastly no one really addressed my why are people putting on their hazards / flashers when driving in bad weather. If I can see you driving it means I am driving in the same crappy weather and as a knowledgeable driver I know the conditions change my approach to driving.Thanks for letting me vent – my therapist would say it’s better to journal my thoughts instead of releasing my anger at these people LOLThe DSA nutjobs– Kevin in Toboso writes: It is time for SC nation to get the word out and get regular Americans to get rid of nutjob politicians like the Michigan senate race, Wisconsin gov and the rest of these dsa whackjobs who actually hate football(see MI), Thanksgiving ing (WTH) . Sane people dont always vote in mid terms but if we want to return to bideneque craziness and lose freedoms we have to energize regular folks to not drink  the mandami like coolant.Just saying. Betting markets have sanity vs communism as a toss up. I know we are a ways out but it is time to start calling for sanity over these nutjobs.Landry Kiffin & her mom get into shape for the SEC seasonFrom every indication we have on Aug. 12, Landry Kiffin will attend Ole Miss this fall as her dad coaches LSU where her boyfriend, Whit Weeks, will play linebacker. Her Instagram account still lists her Ole Miss sorority. I take it that means she’s still attending Ole Miss.That said, I need all of you to clear your schedules for Sept. 19. That’s a Saturday night when Lane, Whit and the Tigers roll into The Grove for a very early SEC showdown that could be one of the most emotional nights of football in SEC regular-season history.Will Landry stay loyal to her Ole Miss roots? Will Ole Miss burn down if the Rebs can beat Lane? I was there in 2014 when the Rebs beat Alabama. The students ripped down the goal posts and carried them all the way up the hill to The Grove and partied into the night.Sept. 19 is going to be at a higher emotional level. It’s going to be blazing hot. Lane is going to be there wearing the enemy colors. Emotions are still boiling over how he left. It’s going to be a powder keg.LANE KIFFIN KNOWS THERE AREN’T EXCUSES AT LSU. NOW COMES THE TEST OF MAKING IT WORTH THE PRICE OF ADMISSIONTravel Ball Hardo Chris B. in Houston wants to test me this morning– Hardo writes: You throw travel ball under every bus you can find, often warranted, but you don’t mention this Little League sh–show? There are sh–ty people at rec ball too. I know you won’t post this Barstool link, but I just sent this link because its got alot of info. Surely you’ve seen this story all over social medias.Kinsey: You’re right, I’m not going to post a Barstool link when I can post a Fox News link.https://www.foxnews.com/sports/barred-little-league-team-tulsa-reinstated-chance-play-world-seriesCLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COMI’m going to remind readers that the Little League teams you’re seeing are travel ball teams posing as Little League teams. The rules specifically say kids can play travel ball. On Facebook, the travel ball world openly talks about this rule and how the teams you’re watching on ESPN are built off travel teams.I would bet a paycheck that the Oklahoma Little League drama is the direct result of travel ball parents, but I’m willing to be proven wrong.SIGN UP TO GET THE LATEST SPORTS NEWSI know this, Kinley Rasmus, the 12-year-old girl from Phenix City Little League that is headed to Williamsport, also plays in Perfect Game tournaments. We’re not talking about Little League like many of you grew up with. This is a made-for-TV product that ESPN puts on filled with travel ball kids to pose as everything that’s right with America.STAY “FEARLESS” ON THE GO! TAKE TOMI LAHREN WITH YOU. DOWNLOAD THE TLIF PODCAST NOW!Meanwhile, travel baseball killed the fabric of community that Little League has preached forever.######################That is all this morning. I had to deal with a plumber in the house this morning which put me back a little bit. Let’s get the day rolling and get after it.

Milwaukee County Executive Director David Crowley is projected has won the Wisconsin Democratic primary for governor in an upset over Francesca Hong.

South Korea’s Hana Bank said Wednesday it launched a center that specializes in foreign exchange-related capital transactions in southern Seoul.

Turkey Thinks Israel Fabricated Trump Air Force One Assassination Plot

Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

Turkish officials suspect that an Israeli intelligence report about an Iranian plot to assassinate President Trump at the NATO summit in Ankara last month was a ruse designed to derail diplomacy between the US and Iran, Middle East Eye reported on Tuesday.

The Washington Post first reported on Monday that the US thought there was a credible enough threat against Trump that he secretly swapped planes when he departed Turkey. The president flew into Ankara on a new version of Air Force One donated by Qatar, but made a public show of departing on the older Air Force One, saying he was doing so for “old time’s sake.”
Trump boards Air Force One at Ankara Esenboga International Airport in Ankara, Turkey on Wednesday, July 8, 2026

According to the Post report, after boarding the older Air Force One, Trump was then moved to a third plane, an Air Force C-32A, via a catering truck.

Some White House staffers and reporters on the older Air Force One thought President Trump was also onboard as they flew to the UK, making them unwitting decoys.

Missing from the Post report was where the intelligence about a plot against Trump came from. According to Middle East Eye and also a report from The Wall Street Journal, it came from Israel, which aligns with reports from the time.

Sources told MEE that the Israeli intelligence report warned that Iranian covert forces could target Air Force One at the airport in Ankara using shoulder-fired rockets, known as MANPADS, from just one kilometer away.
MANPAD file image

Due to the alleged threat, the Secret Service moved the departure point from Ankara Airport to Esenboga Airport and wanted to switch from the new Air Force One to the old one.

“Of course, we took the report very seriously and tried to assist our American counterparts as much as possible,” a source, described as a person familiar with the matter, told MEE. “Yet it was very clear to us that there was no way this report was true.”

The report said Turkish officials believe that the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu devised the plot to make it appear that Israel was protecting Trump, further derail diplomacy between the US and Iran, and also strain relations between Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whom the US president repeatedly praised during the summit.

Israel has strongly opposed the idea of the US selling F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, something Trump has said he’s strongly considering.

US President Donald Trump says the decision to make a plane switch in Turkiye after the NATO summit was made by the Secret Service.
The Washington Post revealed Trump boarded Air Force One, but used a catering truck to move to another aircraft due to an alleged Iranian threat. pic.twitter.com/dg1jz2DdBI
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) August 12, 2026
Another source, described as an Ankara insider, told MEE that it was ironic that the Secret Service’s decision to move Trump has been leaked just one month after it happened. “I guess they need heroes for an attack that never happened and, most likely, was never planned,” the insider said.

Tyler Durden
Wed, 08/12/2026 – 09:45

Golf: the only sport in which the fans care more about the regular season than the playoffs. In fact, most of you thought the PGA TOUR 2026 season ended after the final major, the British Open. But, nope. The FedExCup Playoffs start this week with the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee.Only the top 69 golfers in the FedExCup standings head to Memphis for the first round of the playoffs because Daniel Berger withdrew. With no cut and massive playoff points at stake, only the top 50 in the standings advance to next week’s BMW Championship.PAR TALK: INCREDIBLE MICHAEL BLOCK DRAMA, YOUNG AMERICAN STREAK CONTINUES ON PGA TOUR AND JOAQUIN NIEMANN DOES IT AGAINTPC Southwind is a 7,288-yard, par-70 that rewards precise iron play more than mindless bombing. Water is in play throughout; the Bermuda greens can get tricky, and missed approaches bring bogey into the equation quickly. Hence, I’m upweighting ball-striking and course management in my handicap.My betting strategy for the St. Jude Championship is to wager enough on a golfer’s outright to profit 20 units (u), while backing them up with top-10 and 20 bets. That said, let’s talk about the guys I’m backing in the first round of the FedExCup Playoffs.2026 FedEx St. Jude Championship Best BetsThe following odds are from when I bet on the golfers listed below. Subject to change.🇯🇵 Hideki Matsuyama +3300 (0.61u) at DraftKings and Top-10 with ties +240 (0.5u) at Kalshi🇳🇴 Viktor Hovland +4356 (0.46u) at Kalshi and Top-10 with ties +275 (0.5u) at BetMGM🇺🇸 Justin Thomas +5146 (0.39u) at Polymarket and Top-10 with ties +275 (0.5u) at BetMGM🇰🇷 Tom Kim +5500 (0.36u) at DraftKings and Top-20 with ties +146 (0.75u) at Kalshi🇺🇸 Rickie Fowler +8481 (0.24u) at Polymarket and Top-20 with ties +189 (0.75u) at Kalshi‘Deki has five straight T20-or-better finishes at TPC Southwind, and I cashed on him when he won the 2024 St. Jude Championship at +3000. Furthermore, he has the best course history in this field, according to Betsperts Golf’s Ron Klos.Matsuyama has five consecutive T14-or-better finishes entering the 2026 St. Jude, with a T3 (3M Open), T5 (Rocket Classic) and T7 (Wyndham Championship) in his last three tournaments.Hideki has gained strokes on the field in driving accuracy in six consecutive starts, has picked up strokes putting in four of his last five outings, has a world-class short-game and is dialed in with his irons.Between his skill set and the course history/fit, Matsuyama should have a shorter price than many names ahead of him on the betting board, so I’m taking the value.I’m probably missing something, but Hovland shouldn’t have worse odds here than Patrick Cantlay and Si Woo Kim, who haven’t won this season, or in the last couple of seasons for that matter.Hovland won the 2026 Travelers Championship at another TPC course (River Highlands) three starts back and nearly won the 2024 St. Jude by finishing T2.Iron play is a separator at TPC Southwind, and Hovland has gained strokes on approach in all four majors this year and eight straight starts. Viktor is a notoriously crappy chipper, but around-the-green is deemphasized at TPC Southwind.Regardless, as long as he plays his game this weekend — dialed in with his irons and accurate off-the-tee — Hovland will be in the mix on Sunday.Okay, so JT is down to +3605 at Polymarket now, and I’m sorry. But I gave out my full betting card for the St. Jude via X/Twitter Monday, and I’ve only hit one outright this season. Meaning, if you don’t want to bet Thomas at the current odds, it’s a good thing you didn’t see it on X.Also, I’m not even sure why JT’s number has come down so far. I know why I bet him, and I’ll get into that in a second. However, DataGolf.com, which is like scripture in the golf betting community, makes his true odds +2975. Bookmaker, the sharpest sportsbook for golf, has Thomas at +3002 as of Wednesday at midnight.Back to why I bet JT. He’s won the 2020 St. Jude Invitational, and a couple of his 14 other PGA TOUR wins have come at similar courses with a ton of water hazards, such as TPC Sawgrass (THE 2021 PLAYERS Championship) and PGA National (The 2018 Honda Classic).Thomas gained strokes on approach in his six visits to TPC Southwind. His biggest weakness is driving accuracy, and he hit a higher rate of fairways than the field in nine of his last 10 starts, including four straight, per DataGolf.com.JT has played well this season — eight top-20 finishes, highlighted by a T4 at the 2026 PGA Championship — and if he can stay out of the water, he should play much better this week than his odds indicate.The South Korean cashed a big top-20 bet for me last week by tying for fifth at the Wyndham Championship, so I’m happy to reinvest that money back into him this week. Kim won the 2026 Genesis Scottish Open four starts back, two weeks after nearly winning the U.S. Open, where he finished third.More importantly, his game is a perfect fit for this course. Because of all the water, accuracy off-the-tee and with your irons is important at TPC Southwind, and Kim is one of the most precise ball-strikers in the world. He ranks second in this field for Strokes Gained (SG): Approach over the last 40 rounds, per Bet The Number.CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COMKim has gained strokes with his irons and in driving accuracy in all three St. Judes from 2022-24. He’s picked up strokes on approach in 15 of his last 16 starts, including 11 straight, according to DataGolf.com. Yeah, it’s unlikely he’ll win again in a short span, but Kim’s fair odds are roughly +4000.Fowler has had a roller coaster season, but he comes into the St. Jude with strong lead-in form. He has 10 top-20 finishes in 19 events this season, including three straight: T15 at the John Deere Classic, T18 at the British Open and T8 at the Rocket Classic.At last year’s St. Jude, Fowler ranked fifth in SG: Ball-striking (driving and approach) in a T6 finish, per Betsperts Golf, and he was playing worse last season. Based on how well he is ball-striking and putting this year, Fowler can get into the mix this weekend and definitely cash a top-20 ticket.SIGN UP TO GET THE LATEST SPORTS NEWSSTAY “FEARLESS” ON THE GO! TAKE TOMI LAHREN WITH YOU. DOWNLOAD THE TLIF PODCAST NOW!2026 FedEx St. Jude Championship ‘One-and-Done’ Pick: Viktor HovlandMayo Cup season standings: 4,307th with $5,760,849_____________________________Follow me on X @Geoffery-Clark, and check out my “OutKick Bets Podcast” for more betting content and random rants.

Lawyers for accused Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson are arguing that prosecutors haven’t established a case for the potential death penalty in a new court filing made public Tuesday night.”The facts and the law require this Court to strike the sole aggravating factor,” defense attorneys Kathy Nester, Michael Burt, Richard Novak and Staci Visser wrote in a 41-page brief.After a week-long preliminary hearing in early July, Judge Tony Graf Jr. gave both sides in the case time to file briefs before he makes a decision on whether there is enough probable cause to send the case to trial — which he is expected to announce on Sept. 1.CHARLIE KIRK MURDER CASE AS ‘STRAIGHT-FORWARD’ AS IT GETS, PROSECUTORS ARGUE AS CASE NEARS TRIAL DECISIONRobinson, 23, is accused of shooting the 31-year-old Kirk at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025, during a Turning Point USA event. Kirk had founded the group to promote conservatism on campuses around the country and was speaking in front of a crowd of more than 2,000 in the courtyard when he was struck and killed by a single bullet.Robinson’s defense argued in Tuesday’s filing that prosecutors didn’t establish probable cause concerning the aggravating factor — that the shooting created a high probability of death to someone other than Kirk and that Robinson knew of that “high probability.”SEND US A TIPWithout the aggravator, the potential death penalty would be taken off the table.”The State had over ten months to investigate the shooting death of Charlie Kirk and to develop legally sufficient evidence that Mr. Robinson ‘knowingly created a great risk of death to another other than Charlie Kirk and the defendant,’ the sole aggravator alleged in the Information which in theory exposes Mr. Robinson to the potential punishment of death,” Robinson’s attorneys wrote. “The State’s presentation of its evidence as to this alleged circumstance in aggravation at the preliminary hearing in July 2026 wholly fails to carry its burden of proof.”FRIEND OF CHARLIE KIRK LABELS COURTROOM EVIDENCE ‘DEVASTATING’ AFTER CHILLING SURVEILLANCE FOOTAGE SHOWNRobinson’s lawyers noted that there was only one shot fired and that it struck Kirk. No one else was hit.They also argued that no one else was in the line of fire — noting that the bullet came from the rooftop, following a downward trajectory before striking Kirk.”The only evidence presented supports that the bullet travelled above, not through, the crowd,” they wrote.TYLER ROBINSON’S AND LANCE TWIGGS’ DNA BOTH ALLEGEDLY FOUND ON KEY EVIDENCE IN CHARLIE KIRK’S ASSASSINATIONWhen the suspected murder weapon was recovered, a .30-06 bolt-action Mauser rifle, there was a spent casing in the chamber and three unfired rounds.And the evidence introduced by Utah County prosecutors indicates Kirk was the lone target, according to the defense filing.TYLER ROBINSON’S DEFENSE SUFFERS DUAL SETBACKS AS JUDGE HOLDS OFF ON DEATH PENALTY DECISION”The communications the State admitted between Mr. Robinson and Mr. Twiggs indicate Mr. Robinson’s intention to kill Charlie Kirk,” the defense wrote, citing an alleged message from Robinson: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I took it.””There is no mention of any threat or intended harm to any other individual(s).”Prosecutors have a deadline next week to reply to the brief. Graf’s decision is expected at the Sept. 1 hearing.FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON XDonna Rotunno, a Chicago-based lawyer and Fox News contributor, said Robinson’s argument is a long-shot, especially at the probable cause stage of the case.”The evidence in the preliminary hearing has already proven that there were many people there,” she told Fox News Digital Wednesday. “The evidence has shown where the shooter was vs where Charlie was and where the shot was taken from, the amount of people who were in the line of fire. They can argue those facts from other pieces of evidence that they’ve introduced. They didn’t need somebody specifically to get on the witness stand and say there were all these people in danger.”Prosecutors have alleged that Robinson is the man who appears on surveillance video approaching a sniper’s perch. According to investigators, the killer opened fire from a rooftop on the far side of the packed courtyard, which was full of spectators.SIGN UP TO GET THE LATEST TRUE CRIME NEWS”If you drive a car into a crowd, that whole crowd is in danger,” Rotunno added. “I don’t think that argument is a stretch.”TYLER ROBINSON ASKS FOR MORE SECRET HEARINGS AFTER LOSING FIGHT OVER CAMERAS IN COURTLIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORERobinson’s lawyers also renewed their attempt to throw out hearsay evidence from the preliminary hearing , arguing that prosecutors haven’t established its reliability.Similar objections failed in July, and Rotunno said she expects them to fail again.”They’re relitigating many issues that the judge has already ruled on, and they’re going nowhere,” she said.LISTEN TO THE NEW ‘CRIME & JUSTICE WITH DONNA ROTUNNO’ PODCASTThe defense is also asking Graf to strike two lesser charges — witness tampering and committing a violent offense in the presence of a child — arguing that Robinson was advising his roommate Lance Twiggs to exercise his constitutional rights and that prosecutors failed to show Robinson knew children were present at the time of the shooting.UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY SCRAPS CONTROVERSIAL COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER WHO CRITICIZED CHARLIE KIRK AFTER HIS MURDERAnd they argue that the enhancement that Kirk was targeted for his political expression should also be dropped, disputing an alleged text from Robinson to Twiggs stating, “I had enough of his hatred.””It is the State that argues that because Mr. Robinson and Mr. Twiggs are two men who love each other and/or, it speculates, because Mr. Twiggs (and not Mr. Robinson) was at least intermittently identifying as a female to his close friends, it is Mr. Kirk’s views on these topics which are the ‘hatred’ Mr. Robinson was referring to,” the defense wrote. “These circumstances are not sufficient to establish, even by probable cause which if any political expression of Mr. Kirk motivated Mr. Robinson to select Mr. Kirk for an act of violence.”Robinson has not yet entered a plea.

New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul’s lead over Republican candidate Bruce Blakeman is slipping, according to a new Siena University poll released Wednesday, as likely voters in New York also gave a negative 30-47% favorability rating to the Democratic Socialists of America.With under three months to go until Election Day, Hochul leads Blakeman 49-39% among likely New York State gubernatorial voters, down from 52-32% when registered voters were asked the same question in June.”At this point four years ago, August 2022, when Hochul was just finishing her first year as governor, she led her opponent, former Republican Congressman (and current EPA Administrator) Lee Zeldin by 14 points, 53-39%, before going on to ultimately win the election by six points, 53-47%,” Siena pollster Steven Greenberg said in a statement.Blakeman, who is the current Nassau County executive, said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital on Wednesday that “All of the polls we have seen in the last two months have us virtually tied with Kathy Hochul,” and, “This poll is always off and continues to be off.”HOCHUL SAYS STEFANIK WOULD’VE BEEN TOUGHER GOP OPPONENT THAN BLAKEMAN IN SURPRISING SWIPE AT RIVAL”We know and she knows this race is neck and neck. Kathy Hochul is desperate for people to believe that she is way ahead when she knows that her high taxes, soaring electric bills, and increased crime have made her the worst governor in America,” Blakeman added.The latest Siena University Poll was conducted between Aug. 3-6 among 811 New York likely voters, with an overall margin of error of +/- 4.6 percentage points for those who answered the entire survey.Fox News Digital has reached out to Hochul’s campaign for comment.The Siena poll found that likely voters believe Hochul will do a better job than Blakeman on making prices more affordable for average New Yorkers, 48-41%, and increasing the supply of affordable housing, 51-35%.NEW YORK SHERIFFS ‘MAD AS HELL’ AS HOCHUL PUSHES TO BAN KEY LAW ENFORCEMENT PARTNERSHIPRespondents were more divided over the issues of keeping New Yorkers safe, where Hochul led 47-44%, and addressing undocumented immigrants living in the state, where she was ahead 45-44%, according to the Siena Research Institute.”Not surprisingly, both candidates are holding on to their partisan bases, as Hochul leads among Democrats 80-8% and Blakeman leads among Republicans 84-9%. Likely independent voters favor Blakeman by a narrow five-point margin, 45-40%,” Greenberg said.”Hochul holds a commanding 64-19% lead in New York City, but trails Blakeman in the downstate suburbs by eight points, 49-41%. They are running virtually even in upstate, as well as among men and with white voters; Hochul has large leads with women, Latinos and Black voters,” he added.The Siena Research Institute also said it asked voters about the Democratic Socialists of America for the first time. The progressive political group has been exerting its influence on elections across America, with member Zohran Mamdani winning the New York City mayoral race last year.The poll found that the group had a negative favorability rating.”Democrats view the DSA favorably, 50-21%, while 82% of Republicans and 57% of independents have an unfavorable view of the DSA,” the Siena Research Institute said.Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

Screencap of Twitter/X video.
An anti-rent activist named Tracy Rosenthal, who has direct connections to the Zohran Mamdani campaign and administration, grew up in a million dollar apartment in Manhattan with her father, a Grammy winning recording artist.
Rosenthal now lives in a $2,300 dollar a month apartment in Brooklyn, but has not paid rent for years. Her previous landlord was foreclosed on, and now the bank is trying to remover her and other tenants for living in the building as squatters.
Meanwhile, Rosenthal makes videos and public appearances where she teaches people how to screw their landlords out of rent.
She is another communist nepo-baby who has lived a life of total wealth and privilege, while pretending to be a working class hero.
The New York Post reports:
A rent-striking, rising-star radical orchestrating the Mamdani administration’s socialist housing agenda is the daughter of a famed music studio owner who recorded rock legends like David Bowie, the Ramones, Blondie, Lou Reed, Sonic Youth, the Foo Fighters and Coldplay, The Post has learned.
While framing herself as a champion of the proletariat, Tracy Rosenthal grew up in a trendy $1.7 million NoMad pad with elite access to the music industry — attending the Grammys at least twice with her dad, four-time winner Steven Rosenthal.
Her father recorded hit albums by some of the world’s biggest artists at the Magic Shop, the SoHo studio he founded in 1988, including Coldplay’s 2008 “Viva la Vida,” which sold more than 10 million copies worldwide; the Foo Fighters’ 2014 “Sonic Highways,” for which he was interviewed in the band’s HBO docuseries; and Bowie’s final album, 2016’s “Blackstar.”
Yet despite her first-class upbringing, she’s been on a four-year “rent strike” since moving back to New York City after a stint in Los Angeles — because the Bolshevik bugged out after spotting a cockroach in her hip $2,300 a month Bed-Stuy apartment…
She said the landlord refused to hire an exterminator, and after finding out the building had more rental units than were legally approved and was facing foreclosure, she organized with the other tenants to eventually stop paying rent, stiffing the owner of at least $108,000 on her unit alone.
In the video below from Stu Smith, Rosenthal talks to an audience about methods for not paying rent:
Tracy Rosenthal’s Strategy: Build Toward a “General Rent Strike” and Create a Crisis Big Enough to Force Concessions
This is one of the more revealing Tracy Rosenthal clips because she is explaining how she thinks the movement can force systemic change.
Asked what mass rent nonpayment would actually look like, Rosenthal describes a “long term strategy” of building enough scale to create the kind of “crisis” necessary to extract major political concessions.
“One way of thinking about abolishing rent is a permanent and general rent strike.”
Watch:

Tracy Rosenthal’s Strategy: Build Toward a “General Rent Strike” and Create a Crisis Big Enough to Force Concessions
This is one of the more revealing Tracy Rosenthal clips because she is explaining how she thinks the movement can force systemic change.
Asked what mass rent… https://t.co/3nrJG3r9jE pic.twitter.com/JYcoEJcp7f
— Stu Smith (@thestustustudio) August 10, 2026

These people are so entitled. She thinks she has a ‘right’ to live in an apartment that doesn’t belong to her and not pay rent.
And she’s another child of privilege. Why are so many of them like this?

The post OF COURSE: Mamdani Linked Anti-Rent Activist Grew Up as a Child of Wealth and Privilege (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.