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Republican senators are rallying behind the petition from families of 9/11 victims to block New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani from attending the 25th anniversary remembrance ceremony of the attacks at Ground Zero.Several families of 9/11 victims launched an online petition calling on the National September 11 Memorial & Museum to not include Mamdani in the commemorative events honoring those who lost their lives in the terror attacks 25 years ago.Fox News Digital asked senators on Capitol Hill about the efforts to ban Mamdani from attending the memorial, and whether it would be appropriate for him to show up given claims that the democratic socialist has failed to adequately condemn Islamic extremism.FIREFIGHTER BROTHER OF 9/11 VICTIM INCENSED BY ‘RADICAL’ MUSLIMS WINNING KEY DEM PRIMARIES”It might be appropriate if he goes while wearing a paper bag over his head,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told Fox News Digital.”I mean I can’t defend anything that guy says or does,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said.The petition cites eight specific concerns about Mamdani, including claims he has never directly condemned the phrase “globalize the intifada,” allegedly associating with extremist and anti-American individuals and claims that his beliefs are shaped by his father, who called for destigmatizing suicide bombers and drew comparisons between the United States and al-Qaeda.”His opinions on America’s place in the world are pretty different than probably most of those families feel,” Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., told Fox News Digital.MAMDANI’S POLITICS LINKED TO MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD IDEOLOGY AS NEW YORK VIOLENCE ESCALATES: REPORTThe families’ plea also points to claims of Mamdani praising and appointing people linked to radical Islam, his comments blaming the United States for the radicalization of al-Qaeda propagandist Anwar al-Awlaki and his recent endorsement of democratic socialist Darializa Aria Chevalier.”He’s platformed Islamic extremism, and he openly supports Hamas, as does his wife,” Sheehy claimed. “And Hamas is not just an adjacent organization to all the other Muslim extremists, they’re one of the core members of it.”Mamdani has taken fire from many GOP lawmakers over his refusal to call for Hamas to lay down its weapons during an interview last year, as well as for other claims of ties to Islamic extremism and alleging the NYC leader of antisemitism.”Given these concerns, we respectfully ask that the organizers carefully consider whether Mr. Mamdani’s participation would align with the intention of the ceremony and the expectations of the families most directly affected by the tragedy,” the petition states.NEW YORK GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE URGES 9/11 ATTENDEES TO TURN AWAY FROM MAMDANI DURING CEREMONY”I think he has said some pretty disgusting things and seems to be on that trend line that he’s going to talk like that more and more,” Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., said. “And so I certainly can understand why some of the families feel that way.”As of Monday evening, the petition currently has over 82,000 signatures in support of the efforts of the families to bar Mamdani from the event.”As far as I’m concerned, he’s a disgrace and an embarrassment to the country, but we’ll see if he shows up, right?” Sheehy said.After hearing of the petition, Mamdani shared that he still plans to attend this year’s 9/11 commemoration, according to CBS News.Mamdani’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.”At the end of the day, those families should have the say who’s going to show up and honor the memory of their own families,” Sheehy said.

The Pentagon is preparing a dramatic course correction after years of purchasing key missile-defense interceptors in relatively modest numbers — even as China built up the world’s largest arsenal of conventional ballistic and cruise missiles and the U.S. increasingly focused on the threat of a conflict in the Indo-Pacific.Following a string of missile-heavy conflicts, U.S. air defenses have been used repeatedly to protect Israel, American forces in the Middle East and Navy ships in the Red Sea, drawing down some of the Pentagon’s most sophisticated and difficult-to-replace munitions.The Pentagon’s abrupt course correction raises a question that has taken on new urgency after years of missile-intensive warfare: Why did the U.S. wait so long to build deeper interceptor magazines?US DRAINS CRITICAL MISSILE STOCKPILES IN IRAN WAR AS YEARSLONG REBUILD LOOMSThe Army’s fiscal 2027 budget, reviewed by Fox News Digital, calls for a massive increase in purchases of Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (PAC-3 MSE) and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors, part of a broader effort to rapidly expand a munitions industrial base that cannot be scaled overnight.The shift is particularly striking when compared with what the military was buying only a few years ago.The budget documents show PAC-3 MSE procurement at 230 missiles in fiscal 2024 and 214 in fiscal 2025. The same FY2026 budget book shows the Army Requirements Oversight Council had increased its acquisition objective for the missile from 3,376 to 13,773 in April 2025 — more than quadrupling the requirement.”The problem is 25 years of not buying enough munitions,” retired Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital.HEGSETH DISMISSES ‘FOOLISH’ US STOCKPILE CONCERNS AS IRAN CONFLICT TESTS MUNITIONSPAC-3 MSE and THAAD are among the military’s most important defenses against ballistic missile attacks. Patriot batteries provide shorter-range protection for troops, air bases and other critical assets, while THAAD is designed to intercept ballistic missiles at higher altitudes and greater distances, giving commanders another layer of defense against incoming attacks.Reuters reported this week that the Army has used “virtually all” of its ATACMS and Precision Strike Missile inventories in just five months of conflict with Iran, while also drawing heavily on Patriot and THAAD interceptors.The rapid expenditure, coupled with years of relatively modest procurement, raises a broader question: What would happen in a longer conflict against a near-peer adversary like China?”The shortage was entirely foreseeable, and there have been arguments surrounding interceptor and munition procurement numbers for decades,” Jim Fein, a defense industrial base researcher at the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital. “Ultimately, budgetary tradeoffs were made, and those arguing for other programs won out.The Pentagon budget documents reviewed by Fox News Digital show years of relatively modest procurement for some of the military’s most important missile-defense interceptors.Army budget documents show PAC-3 MSE procurement fell from 328 missiles in fiscal 2022 to 252 in fiscal 2023, 230 in fiscal 2024 and 214 in fiscal 2025. The fiscal 2026 request began to move higher, with funding for 320 PAC-3 MSE missiles.THAAD procurement was even smaller. The Missile Defense Agency bought 11 interceptors in fiscal 2024 and 12 in fiscal 2025. Its fiscal 2026 base request called for 25, while an additional $317 million in mandatory reconciliation funding added 12 more, bringing the total to 37 interceptors.The procurement history broadly aligns with the findings of a new Heritage Foundation analysis, which estimates annual production capacity at 620 PAC-3 MSE missiles and 96 THAAD interceptors. Much of the difference between U.S. procurement and total production was accounted for by foreign military sales, according to Fein, who authored the report.Lagging U.S. purchases were the byproduct of decisions made across both the Pentagon and Congress.”Budget tradeoffs obviously lead to hard choices, and it now looks like many of those past decisions were wrong,” Fein said. “That includes decisions by the Pentagon in what they request, but ultimately what Congress appropriates.””The shortage was entirely foreseeable, and there have been arguments surrounding interceptor and munition procurement numbers for decades. Ultimately, budgetary tradeoffs were made, and those arguing for other programs won out.”By fiscal 2027, the approach had changed dramatically. Responsibility for THAAD procurement had shifted to the Army, and the Army request supports production of 857 THAAD interceptors: 27 through discretionary funding and another 830 through mandatory Munitions Acceleration Council funding.But ordering thousands more missiles on paper is only the beginning.The new production plans will require Congress to provide the money and industry to build the additional manufacturing capacity needed to deliver them. Fein called the administration’s new agreements with defense companies “the most significant effort to address munitions shortfall in, at a minimum, decades.””The trick will be obtaining the funding needed to turn the framework agreements into actual production,” he said.Even with the money in place, replenishing U.S. magazines will take time. Advanced interceptors rely on specialized production lines and a network of suppliers producing rocket motors, seekers, guidance systems, energetics and other components that cannot be expanded overnight.That means the dramatic increase in planned procurement is less an immediate refill of depleted inventories than an attempt to build the industrial capacity needed to sustain much higher production over the coming years.The stakes extend well beyond the war with Iran, the Heritage report argues.A conflict with China could place far greater and more sustained demands on U.S. missile defenses, particularly if Beijing struck American bases and forces across the Indo-Pacific with large salvos of ballistic and cruise missiles.US FALLS BEHIND IN HYPERSONIC RACE AS CHINA, RUSSIA GAIN EDGE”Interceptor inventory is not a supporting detail in a China contingency—it is what allows the Joint Force to survive long enough to win,” Fein wrote.The report estimates the United States would require 7,082 PAC-3 MSE interceptors and 1,394 THAAD interceptors for what it considers a minimum viable inventory in a conflict with China—several times the inventories it estimates the U.S. currently holds. Actual U.S. stockpile levels remain classified.At current production rates, Heritage estimates it would take between roughly nine and more than 80 years to build the interceptor inventories it believes are needed, depending on the missile system. “The window of opportunity to bridge the interceptor gap is closing,” Fein wrote.

Prince William and Kate Middleton could use a “gentleman’s agreement” when Prince George starts Eton College in the fall — and it could face the ultimate test in the smartphone era.Vanity Fair reported that the Prince and Princess of Wales could forge an agreement with the British press to limit intrusions into the life of their eldest son. Royal author and former broadcaster Simon Vigar said it’s the same approach that protected the early days of their romance at the University of St. Andrews.Fox News Digital reached out to Kensington Palace for comment.PRINCE WILLIAM AND KATE MIDDLETON ‘CAUTIOUS’ ABOUT WHICH ROYAL APPEARANCES THEIR CHILDREN MAKE: SOURCE”Prince William and Princess Catherine are realistic enough to know that they cannot completely control the environment around Prince George,” Kinsey Schofield, host of YouTube’s “Kinsey Schofield Unfiltered,” told Fox News Digital. “Most people have a camera in their pocket now, and one photograph can be online and around the world before the palace even knows it exists.””What they can do is establish very clear boundaries with the British press,” she said. “There is a huge difference between legitimate coverage of Prince George carrying out public engagements and somebody photographing a teenager going about his public life at school. The palace cannot police every teenager with an iPhone, but the press can make a conscious decision not to create a market for those intrusive photographs.”In June, Kensington Palace announced that George, who turned 13 on July 22, will attend the prestigious boarding school where his father and uncle, Prince Harry, were educated.WATCH: PRINCE GEORGE EARNED ETON COLLEGE SPOT WITH NO SPECIAL TREATMENT: EXPERTEton College, founded in 1440 by King Henry VI, has educated generations of leaders, including 20 British prime ministers. George, who is second in line to the throne, will likely meet many of his future peers there.British royals expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital that the “new age” of smartphones and social media is one of the many reasons Eton College is chosen “among the elites.””Many classmates are from extremely wealthy and well-connected families,” she said. “Within this circle are unwritten rules of conduct. Throwing a pupil to the media risks being ostracized from the inner circles.”Eton College is known for fiercely protecting its students from prying eyes, creating a world within its walls where they can simply be pupils.”For Prince George and every high-profile teenager, everything could become international news within minutes,” royal broadcaster and photographer Helena Chard told Fox News Digital. “We’re in a better place,” she said. “Years ago, after Princess Diana’s death, I believe Prince William and Prince Harry forced positive change. The old paparazzi harassment was replaced with something somewhat controlled and truce-like.”When William and Harry were in school, an informal agreement was reached between the palace and the British press: As long as the brothers were pursuing their studies, their privacy was to be respected, Vanity Fair reported.CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTERAccording to the outlet, this media truce allowed William and Kate to quietly build their relationship outside the public eye when they were students.William and Kate met in 2001 at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. They were close friends before they began dating more than a year later. Their romance remained a secret for nearly two years before becoming public. That level of discretion, Vanity Fair reported, was made possible, in part, by the informal agreement with the press.The couple married in 2011.Vigar told the outlet that William and Kate want to offer the same level of privacy to their three children. Their children’s first romantic relationships as they grow older “are already the subject of careful consideration,” according to Vanity Fair. If the press respects George’s privacy while he’s in school, it could set a precedent for his siblings, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, to enjoy the same discretion.”The ‘gentleman’s agreement’ is more than necessary now,” said Chard. “Prince William knows firsthand what privacy during school gave him. This handshake is perceived as a little fragile now and not necessary due to traditional paparazzi. Friends at school with their smartphones can become instant paparazzi.””George will have mentors, both family and at school, to guide him through pitfalls. No one wants him to feel burdened at 13. He should have space to grow, to be with friends, to be pain-free at Eton.”LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSThe Prince and Princess of Wales are also navigating what it’s like to raise a teenager.During the Commonwealth Games in Scotland, cycling champion Laura Kenny invited the couple to “come and give it a go” on a tandem bike, The Telegraph reported.When Welsh TV presenter Gethin Jones asked the royal children if they would like to see their parents “on a tandem in the velodrome,” George quickly said, “No.””We embarrass you enough as it is,” said William.When the royal family received their own Welsh cycling outfits, William joked, “You know me, Lycra!””I won’t whip the shorts out,” the prince promised.Royal experts told Fox News Digital that the privacy challenge could become more complicated when George starts dating.”George understands why people are interested in him,” said Schofield. “A teenage girlfriend may find herself facing international attention simply because she sat next to him or was photographed leaving the same place. But Prince William will remember exactly what Catherine experienced. Her family, her friendships, her background and, eventually, almost every aspect of her life became subjects of enormous public interest.””I would expect William and Catherine to be fiercely protective when the day comes,” said Schofield. “Especially while George and whoever he’s dating are still minors. And I think the media has to exercise some common sense. A teenage romance involving Prince George is not automatically a royal courtship. Hopefully, we will all give him that space.”Royal broadcaster Ian Pelham Turner told Fox News Digital it’s also likely William will remind his eldest son not to cause “mischief” while at Eton.”George has been very family friendly, so I don’t envision major changes in the dynamics,” said Turner. “He must remember William knows every trick in the book.””Eton was also picked due to its proximity to their home at Windsor,” Fordwich pointed out. “Prince William credits his afternoon teas with his beloved grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, on Sundays. It was just a short walk from Eton. George will likely stay close to both his parents and spend time with them.”PRINCE WILLIAM, KATE MIDDLETON FINALLY FEEL FREE TO SHOW AFFECTION IN PUBLIC: EXPERTSSchofield told Fox News Digital that the Prince and Princess of Wales are determined to let George enjoy his school years and make new friends in private, without the added pressures of royal life.”Teenagers naturally want independence,” said Schofield. “Prince George is going to want to make his own decisions and develop interests that have nothing to do with becoming king. At the same time, public curiosity about him is only going to increase.”These years could be enormously important in shaping the king he eventually becomes. William and Catherine had introduced royal life gradually rather than overwhelming him with it. We’ve seen George at family engagements, but he has still been allowed to be a schoolboy first.””The goal shouldn’t be to manufacture the perfect future king at 13,” she continued. “It should be to produce a confident, grounded adult who understands the institution but has also experienced enough of ordinary life to understand the people he will one day serve. Giving Prince George a genuine adolescence could ultimately be one of the best preparations for kingship William and Catherine can give him.”

The family and friends of Laci Peterson are among the advocates of California murder victims opposing a new parole board policy that would open a path to recommend resentencing or clemency for serial killers, mass shooters and other convicts serving sentences of life without parole when it goes into effect later this year.”We’re talking about people that would have been qualified for the death penalty, OK? So they are the worst of the worst,” said Anne Marie Schubert, a former Sacramento District Attorney who is now the president and CEO of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation (CJLF), a nonpartisan, nonprofit group that filed a lawsuit over the new policy.”We are talking about cop killers. We’re talking about baby killers. We had a family at our press conference of a six-week-old that was tortured to death by her father over a week-long period of time, all of which, what I understand, was on video — and so you talk about baby killers. We talk about mass shooters, there’s a case out of Fresno that happened in the early ’90s where a guy killed 10 people and he pled to life without parole. He would potentially be eligible.”Schubert singled out some high-profile prisoners serving life without parole:Scott Peterson was convicted of killing his pregnant wife Laci and their unborn son after she vanished on Christmas Eve in 2002. Gang member David Hill fatally shot San Francisco Police Officer Isaac Espinoza in 2004 and wounded his partner. Darryl Lamar Collins was 24 when he killed two people in 1995 but was granted early release in 2017 thanks to changes in California’s youthful offender parole law — only to kill his girlfriend Fatima Johnson less than a year later. They are among thousands who could potentially benefit from the new regulations, Schubert said.CALIFORNIA MURDERER WHO SHOT DEPUTY, KILLED CHAPLAIN AT AGE 24 GRANTED ‘YOUTH OFFENDER’ PAROLEAccording to Schubert, the board exceeded its statutory authority by using the bureaucratic rulemaking process to create a resentencing and clemency review system for prisoners sentenced to life without parole, a plan that California’s Office of Administrative Law approved on July 9.”The main primary arguments deal with the fact that one, they don’t have the legal authority to do this, that this is an administrative bureaucratic agency that’s trying to rewrite the legislature, that they’re trying to rewrite sentencing laws that came out of ballot initiatives,” she said. “And really, this is a violation of what we call Marsy’s Law, which is a constitutional provision that supports the finality of judgments for victims in California.”The CJLF, along with a coalition of victims’ families and nonprofit groups, filed the lawsuit in an effort to stop the board’s new policy before it goes into effect in October.”The Board…has taken it upon itself to expand this recommendation authority into a full-blown system of reviews and hearings paralleling and resembling the system of parole hearings — the system that the people of California voted to curb in Marsy’s Law, Proposition 9 of 2008, due to the prolonged suffering it imposes on crime victims and their families,” reads the petition, filed in Sacramento’s Superior Court on July 15.”The Board has extended this parallel system to include inmates convicted of first degree murder with special circumstances sentenced to life without parole, despite initiative statutes mandating life without parole as the minimum sentence for this crime and forbidding the striking of special circumstances.”MAN ONCE EYED IN DISAPPEARANCE OF MISSING CALIFORNIA TEEN NOW CHARGED WITH MURDERIn addition to alleging the new regulations run contrary to California law, the petition raises concerns that the new process would force victims’ families to repeatedly relive traumatic cases that were supposed to be over.CJLF is working with the victims of some of California’s most notorious murder cases, including Sharon Rocha, the mother of Laci Peterson.”My daughter, Laci, was eight months pregnant when she and my unborn grandson, Conner, were murdered,” Rocha said in a statement. “Scott Peterson was initially sentenced to death. After his death sentence was overturned, he was resentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Our family believed that sentence would finally bring some measure of certainty. Victims should not have to spend the rest of their lives wondering whether the person responsible will receive another opportunity for release. Justice demands finality.”SCOTT PETERSON’S DEFENSE LOSES BID TO INTRODUCE WITNESS TESTIMONY IN LONG-RUNNING FIGHT TO OVERTURN CONVICTIONREAD THE LAWSUIT:Peterson has maintained his innocence for decades and is still fighting his conviction in court. The California Supreme Court overturned his death sentence but has upheld his murder convictions. Prosecutors have opposed his claims and say the evidence against him is “overwhelming.”When Peterson’s death sentence was reduced to life without parole in 2021, Laci’s close friend Kim Juarez said she reluctantly accepted it because she believed it still meant he would never walk free.”The only certainty that we had when Scott was put away was that he wasn’t ever going to get out,” she told Fox News Digital in a phone interview. “That’s what, to me, is aggravating.”LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? FIND MORE ON THE TRUE CRIME HUBJuarez described the last two decades as the repeated removal of scabs as Laci’s friends and family have watched appeals, a resentencing and now another potential avenue that could eventually lead to Peterson’s freedom.”In a world where nothing is guaranteed and in something so big, we are guaranteed to never see Laci and Conner again. That’s never going to happen,” Juarez said. “The person that took her away — we just want to stick to what was handed down to him. This isn’t about punishing him further. It’s just about sticking to what was handed down to him.”NEW YORK BILLS COULD ABOLISH LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE FOR SERIAL KILLERS AND COP KILLERS, CRITICS WARNJuarez described trauma that extended well outside of the courtroom and the legal process. Years after Peterson’s conviction, she was pregnant with her own first child. But she found herself gripped by the fear that what happened to her friend could happen to her.”I was about six months pregnant and I said, ‘If you decide that this isn’t the life you want, don’t kill me. Just let me go,'” she told her husband, a firefighter she’d met while handing out missing person flyers.Laci Peterson was eight months pregnant on Christmas Eve in 2002, when she went missing from her Modesto home. Peterson was charged with killing her and their unborn son, Conner, when their bodies washed up months later in the San Francisco Bay.FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X”There was life before this happened and there’s life after this happened — this will always be a part of our lives,” Juarez said. “Every Christmas, my family decorates a miniature Christmas tree for her.”But Juarez said Scott Peterson continues to cast a shadow over those close to Laci.”She’s never forgotten, and we want to make her the focus of all of these memories, but it’s like he’s the cloud that hangs over it,” Juarez said. “The likelihood of him getting out, I don’t know what the likelihood is, but the fact that it’s on the table, that it is a possibility, is scary in itself.”SIGN UP TO GET THE LATEST TRUE CRIME NEWSThe dispute is also playing out against the backdrop of an unsuccessful effort in the California Legislature last year to expand parole eligibility for some younger inmates serving life without parole.”Last year there was a bill, it was called SB 672, that… tried to achieve a similar goal of letting life without parole out, but they limited that to people under 26,” Schubert said. “They could not get that bill through the legislature…. So in lieu of that, they backdoor it, and they go through a bureaucratic process that’s not just under 26, it’s everybody.”The board, in public filings, countered that there’s nothing in existing state law that blocks it from doing so.GOT A TIP?”Penal Code sections 1172.1 and 4801 do not exclude individuals sentenced to life without the possibility of parole from consideration by the Board for recommendation of commutation or resentencing,” the board wrote in response to a concerned citizen who protested the new policy on inmates serving life without parole.”Rather, these statutes grant the Board discretion to evaluate these cases and determine whether referral to the sentencing court or the Governor is appropriate. Had the Legislature intended to bar this population from consideration under either statute, it would have done so.”LISTEN TO THE NEW ‘CRIME & JUSTICE WITH DONNA ROTUNNO’ PODCASTSchubert, however, disagreed with that interpretation.”The law says in California they can write regulations related to parole,” she told Fox News Digital. “That’s the word, ‘parole.’ Well, they don’t get parole for life without parole.”Neither the parole board nor the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation responded to a request for comment.

A viral confrontation at a New Jersey pizzeria over a child’s birthday cake has put a spotlight on the unwritten rules surrounding outside food at restaurants — and what both diners and restaurant operators should do when those rules collide.The controversy began after a family celebrating a 5-year-old’s birthday at Joey Tomato’s in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey, brought a cake into the restaurant and later asked for a knife to cut it. Family members said they had called ahead and received permission, while the owner said Joey Tomato’s has a policy prohibiting outside desserts.A heated exchange with owner Doreen Sullivan-Karcich was captured on video, prompting Joey Tomato’s to defend its position and argue that the viral footage lacked the context of what happened beforehand.RESTAURANT OWNERS REVEAL THE BIGGEST MISTAKE DINERS MAKE BEFORE ORDERING”We are a pizza restaurant. Not a party venue, not a bakery, not a rental hall,” Joey Tomato’s said in a social media post responding to the controversy.The pizzeria said it has policies governing outside food for reasons including “food safety, liability” and keeping operations running smoothly. Joey Tomato’s also pushed back against criticism of its stance.”These policies aren’t up for public vote just because one moment enforcing them got recorded,” Joey Tomato’s said, while adding in jest that it was considering a new tagline: “We don’t do cake. We do pizza.”So, what is the proper etiquette?”In terms of someone bringing in food from another restaurant or even from home, it’s always best to ask in advance,” according to etiquette expert Diane Gottsman, owner of the Protocol School of Texas in San Antonio.CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLE NEWSRestaurants that allow outside cakes may charge a cutting fee, Gottsman noted.”All in all, I think there’s nothing wrong with bringing something in as long as you get permission first,” she said.If a customer gets it wrong, however, restaurant employees can enforce the policy without escalating the situation, Gottsman said. She recommended having a manager approach the table rather than putting the responsibility on a server.”A manager could come up and say, you know, ‘If you’d excuse me, I just want to let you know it’s our policy not to let outside food come in,'” Gottsman said, noting there could be health or allergy concerns behind such rules.CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTERThe manager can then politely ask that the food not be served while offering an alternative.”‘I apologize. May I get you something? May we bring you something?'” Gottsman said. “All of these kindnesses really go a long way.”Robert Mahon, managing partner of Mahon Hospitality Group in New York City, said his restaurants allow customers to bring birthday cakes, preferably with advance notice.”Even in cases where they haven’t called ahead, we certainly wouldn’t want to cause a scene or take away from someone’s celebration,” Mahon said.The restaurant owner lost her credibility by reacting the way she did, Gottsman said.TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ”You can do it. You can just do it with some decorum,” Gottsman said. “Sometimes we have to set our boundaries, but we set our boundaries with professionalism, with kindness, with compassion and consideration.”For Mahon, whatever pressures a restaurant is facing should remain out of public view.”Customers come to enjoy themselves and celebrate special occasions, and whatever is happening behind the scenes shouldn’t affect their experience,” he said.

The dueling positions Washington and Tehran staked out showed how far apart the two sides remain even as both talked of winding down regional hostilities.

David Axelrod, one of the architects behind President Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns, believes other progressives might stand a better chance of getting elected if, in his view, one of their more unserious candidates loses an upcoming primary.”It would be good for Abdul El-Sayed if Francesca Hong loses her bid to become the Democratic nominee in Wisconsin next week,” Axelrod wrote in a post to X.”He is a serious person. She is a font of zany liberal, faculty lounge exotica. But the [Republicans] … would surely try to link Abdul and Hong as philosophical kin.”JOHNSON TURNS DEMOCRATS’ SOCIALIST CIVIL WAR INTO NEW WEAPON FOR MIDTERMSAxelrod’s comments seem to indicate that despite their recent success in the 2026 midterms, not all progressives are viewed equally across the party — that some of them are seen as political liabilities even among themselves.”This tweet is a perfect example of why the consultant class keeps losing elections. They’re totally clueless, and they’re hellbent on keeping working-class people out of politics,” Hong wrote about Axelrod’s X post. “I’ve spent more time in kitchens than faculty lounges. Perhaps you’d like to come to Wisconsin and work a Friday night dinner rush with me?”Hong, a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly who is running to become the next governor of Wisconsin, has advocated for a wide slew of policies that put her solidly in the progressive camp.She has called for universal childcare, supports a $20 minimum wage, advocated for the abolishment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), believes even noncitizens should have access to state-issued ID, has called for publicly run grocery stores and opposes continued U.S. support for Israel.Hong is also a self-proclaimed socialist with the backing of the Democratic Socialist of America (DSA).WISCONSIN DEM SOCIALIST GUBERNATORIAL HOPEFUL DODGES WHETHER SHE STILL WANTS TO ‘ABOLISH POLICE’Apart from policy proposals, Hong has also attracted attention for cultural and social issues that have pushed the rhetorical envelope.She has recently come under scrutiny for past calls for Americans to cancel Thanksgiving because of the spread of smallpox during the colonial era, defund the police because of their reinforcement of White supremacy and even calls to abolish the Senate after the chamber voted to acquit Trump during a failed impeachment effort in 2021.Although she has tried to push back on some of those resurfaced comments, Hong has also made little effort to paint herself as a moderate.”I’m a proud democratic socialist. I’m not advancing a brand. I’m focusing on the policies, the socialist policies that improve lives,” Hong told NOTUS last week.Hong’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment on Axelrod’s post or on whether she believes Republicans will try to discredit other progressives through her positions.At the outset of the race, Hong was considered a dark horse candidate.But the race was shaken up last month when Mandela Barnes, the state’s former lieutenant governor, dropped out of the race. Barnes was considered a frontrunner in the race because of his proximity to outgoing Gov. Tony Evers and his name recognition.SOCIALIST FRONTRUNNER IN THE HOT SEAT AFTER ‘CANCEL THANKSGIVING’ POST EMERGES ONLINEWith his departure, Hong, who had already gained sizable momentum, and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley were left as the two main contenders.Evers has endorsed Crowley, citing his tenure as a public servant.Hong now faces a primary election next Tuesday, Aug. 11., after which, if she wins, she will go on to the state’s general election on Nov. 3.

Russia’s Only Anti-War Party Banned From Parliamentary Elections Over ‘Foreign Funding’

It’s been no secret that Russian authorities have increasingly cracked down on public speech which opposes the war in Ukraine, or as the Kremlin calls it – the special military operation. Any speech deemed ‘unpatriotic’ has also come under a legal microscope of late.

Currently, Yabloko (Apple) is the only officially registered Russian political party which openly oppose the war, calling “for peace and freedom”. But the party has just suffered a huge setback, having been banned by the nation’s top court from running candidates in upcoming parliamentary elections.
EPA

Russia’s Supreme Court on Monday “upheld a suit brought by a pro-Kremlin nationalist party, stripping voters opposed to the four-and-a-half-year war in Ukraine of their last option on the ballot,” France24 reports.

“The claims seeking to annul the registration of the federal list of candidates for the State Duma of the ninth convocation, nominated by the Yabloko political party, were granted,” the ruling by judge Vyacheslav Kirillov indicated.

Some one hundred mostly young supporters of Yabloko demonstrated outside the courthouse chanting “Shame! Shame!” following the ruling. Yabloko leader Nikolay Rybakov has affirmed that the party is planning to appeal the decision.

The rationale for the ban is that the anti-war party is accused of receiving foreign funds; however, it has countered by saying rival political parties have also received such funding:

According to data from Russia’s Federal Financial Monitoring Service (Rosfinmonitoring), the Yabloko party had received funding from abroad, a Central Election Commission (CEC) representative said. The representative spoke during a court hearing on a lawsuit the Rodina party filed seeking to remove Yabloko from the State Duma election.

On Aug. 7, Rosfinmonitoring gave the commission a document stating that individuals on Yabloko’s federal candidate list had received foreign funding, the CEC representative said.

Several dozen of the party’s counterparties had also received this funding, according to Rosfinmonitoring.

Anti-Kremlin regional outlet Meduza has published the following from Yabloko party concerning its legal hot water situation:

Yabloko has attributed the foreign funding data to the sale of foreign shares, which the law requires candidates to sell off ahead of elections, the Telegram channel Varlamov News reports. Yabloko lawyer Gadzhi Aliev said the funds did not come to the party itself from foreign individuals, but from Russian citizens who had received money from foreign sources.

Russia has long been fearful over foreign entities making inroads into Russian society, a concern which stretches to well before the war started.

The future of Russia’s only registered party opposing the war in Ukraine hangs in the balance. Moscow’s Supreme Court is hearing a bid to remove Yabloko from September’s parliamentary elections, drawing hundreds of the party’s supporters to the courthouse. pic.twitter.com/yJGoHod0nv
— TVP World (@TVPWorld_com) August 10, 2026
It also worries that US and European intelligence could seek to manipulate parliamentary elections. In America, Democrats had starting long ago charged Moscow with interfering in US elections, which produced years of ‘Russiagate’ hanging over President Trump – yet with nothing close to a smoking gun.

Regarding the brutal war in Eastern Europe, common Russian families have continued to struggle and suffer quietly because of the conflict as more and more young men are killed in the fighting. On the other side of it, Ukrainian families are also suffering immensely – and tragically there seems no end in sight as peace talks have proven illusive. 

Tyler Durden
Tue, 08/11/2026 – 05:45

U.S. crude is back above $84 as last week’s anticipation of a U.S.-Iran deal dissipates.

“This is a party that is jumping off a cliff, and I don’t intend to jump with them.”That was Julian Epstein, long-time Democrat apparatchik, talking recently about his party. He said in a post on X, “I think the Democrats have gone off the deep end… the lunatics are in charge of the asylum.”Epstein, who served as chief counsel to the House Judiciary Committee and worked to elect Hillary Clinton, is disgusted with his party for having “gone too far left” and having “lost its moral center”. He announced in an op-ed in the New York Post that he is supporting Mike Rogers, the Republican running for the senate in Michigan against progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed, because Rogers is a “very practical middle-of-the-road normie guy who would’ve been very consistent with where the Democrats were during the Clinton administration.”DEM ATTORNEY BACKS GOP HOPEFUL IN MICHIGAN RACE AGAINST EL-SAYED, ‘JUMPING SHIP’ FROM HIS PARTY’S ‘LUNATICS’Good for Epstein. He says in his broadside that his announcement isn’t about him, but rather an indication of where a lot of Democrats may end up. He declared, “There’s no room in the [Democrat] tent for people who want to destroy our constitution, there’s no room in the tent for people who want to align themselves with radical Islam, there’s no room in the tent for people who align themselves with antisemitism…”Good for Epstein. My only question is what took him so long? And… where are his Democrat colleagues?The answer to the first question is simple. The Socialist surge, and more specifically the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America, is fairly recent. Yes, the progressive “Squad” has been a noisy far-left cohort in Congress for several years, and heaven knows Bernie Sanders, the self-described Democratic Socialist, has been spouting the exact same “tax the rich” dogma for decades.But Democrats’ growing engagement with the progressive Left gained warp speed with the campaign of Zohran Mamdani, who was elected mayor of New York City last year. Since then, membership in the DSA has exploded, attracting the highly educated but profoundly ignorant young (mostly white) liberals who know nothing about the sorry history of Socialism and don’t understand how well off they are.MAMDANI DOUBLES DOWN ON DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM WHILE INSISTING WALL STREET, BUSINESS LEADERS CAN WORK WITH HIMYes, it’s hard to buy a house, and rent is expensive, but so are incomes for those who want to work, and there are millions of job openings. The standard of living in the U.S., where nearly everyone has a cell phone and routinely lines up for $6 lattes, is among the highest of any place on earth. That’s not conjecture; it’s a fact. Americans’ median income is $72.07 per day, 32% above the median Brit’s $54.55, 70% above Japan’s $42.10, and five times China’s $13.36, according to the World Bank.The answer to the second question — where are other Democrats? — is also simple. The Socialist “movement” has promoted a slew of kooky candidates, some of whom have successfully challenged long-time incumbents, like Adriano Espaillat, head of the Hispanic Caucus, throwing the fear of the Almighty into sitting Democrats.Not only are embattled legislators lying low. We also have a whole posse of Democrats aiming to run for the Oval Office in 2028, who have abandoned their traditional beliefs, their common sense and the Constitution, pandering to their progressive comrades.Pete Buttigieg is campaigning for El-Sayed, the far-left newbie who won the Democrat nomination to run for the senate in Michigan, Gavin Newsom supports a national wealth tax despite earlier opposing it in California and Kamala Harris wants to “revisit” the Electoral College and packing the Supreme Court, as well as statehood for Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.LIZ PEEK: MICHIGAN CAN STOP THE SOCIALIST FEVER RAGE — OR WATCH IT SWALLOW THE SENATEHarris also jumped Left in 2020 during her failed attempt to secure the Democrat nod in that cycle, causing the Los Angeles Times to run a scathing story about her bait-and-switch: “Kamala Harris tried being something she wasn’t. Now that liberal makeover is dogging her candidacy”. Wait until this round.Other senior Democrats are also prostrating themselves in front of the progressive surge. Chuck Schumer, a Jew who represents New York’s million-plus Jewish residents, has embraced Abdul El-Sayed and others of his ilk, regardless of their attacks on Israel.Hakeem Jeffries, the top House Democrat, is just as pusillanimous. He talks about welcoming the DSA into his party’s Big Tent, even though that crowd mercilessly booed him at a home state victory party and its candidates won’t commit to electing him House Speaker.Epstein, and a very few others like Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, reveal them all to be the cowards they are. But his most important message is his condemnation of “people that don’t have any interest in building for the next generation but only want to redistribute what others have created and basically tear down the free market that has been the most effective anti-poverty liberation machines that human beings have ever invented.”CAPITALISM IS ABOUT INCENTIVES. STOPPING THE STUPIDITY OF SOCIALISM IS A BIG INCENTIVEBingo. This is the root cause of Socialism’s failure — the main reason that Cuba, Russia, Venezuela and other collectivist states don’t succeed. And, why Democrat-run blue states are getting outgunned by GOP-managed red states.CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINIONDemocrats have been hammering away at the inequities of our society and the villainy of the wealthy for so long — echoing Bernie Sanders’ “Tax the Rich” pitch — that they have forgotten what makes our economy work.It isn’t Big Government that creates jobs and fosters innovation; it’s the competitive free market and the opportunity to create new businesses and — yes — wealth, that has made our economy and our country the envy of the world.There’s a reason that people like Sergey Brin, Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Vinod Khosla and other fabulously successful entrepreneurs brought their skills and ambitions to the U.S. Historically, this country has celebrated those who make, not those who take. Today’s Democrats have lost that thread, but voters have not. Polling by right-leaning pollster John McLaughlin finds “Americans overwhelmingly prefer free-market capitalism over big government socialism”.Let us hope those Americans show up in November and teach Democrats the Epstein lesson.CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM LIZ PEEK