Last week, Vice President Kamala Harris made the pitch that her economic policies will benefit the middle class more than Donald Trump’s. But in San Francisco, where she has been a power player for decades as a district attorney, state attorney general and finally as a senator, it is the middle class itself most hurt by the city’s crippling decline at the hands of Democrats.
“There are a lot of cheap options,” Dave, who moved here from back east three years ago and is in advertising, told me at lunch, “and of course there are Michelin star restaurants on the high end, but not much in between.”
KAMALA HARRIS’ SAN FRANCISCO IS A DYSTOPIAN NIGHTMARE. IS THIS WHAT SHE HAS PLANNED FOR AMERICA?
It is a dynamic that one can see all across town, as the highest end stores, like Armani and Neiman Marcus sport dangerous-looking guards outside their tony shops, while more affordable haberdashers face greater risk of shoplifting.
“Just our presence outside kind of keeps them out,” one guard told me of thieves.
Likewise, in the fast-food restaurants there are no condiments except behind the counter to keep them from being stolen, and a basic diner breakfast will easily set you back $30 after tax and tip.
On Sutter and Stockton streets, the ramshackle Starbucks has no chairs, just a few tables to stand at, presumably because the employees cannot control the homeless, addicts, or mentally ill from taking them over. Sitting at Starbucks and having your coffee is a basic middle class luxury all over America, but not here.
Across the street, you can see the vague outline of a now-missing Joseph A Banks store. That was a place where you could get a nice tie for $60, instead of the $500 you can easily pay at nearby Hermes.
Upstairs from the Starbucks, Joseph runs a salon. He is also a personal shopper and fashion writer.
“My husband and I are taxed at 50 percent,” he said when I asked how squeezed the middle class is here, “and we have a kid. It’s very hard.”
He told me the changes for the worse began around the turn of the century and have sped up ever since.
In San Francisco, the threshold to be in the middle class is almost $90,000 a year. In the average major U.S. city it is about $50,000. In fact, five of the 10 highest thresholds in the country are in Harris’ California.
HARRIS HAULS IN $12M AT SAN FRANCISCO FUNDRAISER AS PELOSI WELCOMES VICE PRESIDENT HOME
Another woman told me the secret was to work in the public sector.
“The government unions run the city, they get whatever they want, it makes working in the private sector very difficult,” she said.
On almost every level, it seems that political and social resources here, including Joseph’s taxes, go either to serve the top elites, especially big tech billionaires, or the squalid poor for whom some new harebrained and lavishly expensive policy doomed to failure is thought up every other day.
One bright spot for middle class workers is the tourism industry. There are a shocking number of European tourists here. You can spot them from their weird sneakers even before they start speaking their crazy moon-man languages.
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One hotel employee I spoke with who didn’t want to use his name, told me, “You can make a good living, it isn’t that hard.” But in fairness, he was an immigrant from a small, poor town in Mexico, so his definition of “good living” doesn’t exactly match the average Americans’.
The sheer number of tourists speaks to the storied nature of San Francisco, not just in America, but around the world. There is a romance of the West here that can be spoken of in the same breath as Paris, or Venice, but for those who live here, the hard grind is clear and obvious.
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In Chicago this week, Harris will claim that she and the Democrats can create an “opportunity economy” for the middle class. Well, her track record here in the city by the bay suggests that she might be good for venture capitalists and government workers, but at a crushing expense to most mid-level workers.
If the driving principle for Harris and her particular breed of California Democrat is to help the middle class, there is no evidence of it in her hometown, much the opposite, and voters need to ask themselves in this regard, just how much they want their hometown to look and feel more like San Francisco.
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Liberal New York Times columnist calls Biden’s ouster by the one word Dems won’t use
New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd deemed President Biden’s ouster a “coup” orchestrated behind the scenes by powerful Democrats on Sunday.
“Even though it was the right thing to do, because Joe Biden was not going to be able to campaign, much less serve as president for another four years, in a fully vital way, it was a jaw-dropping putsch,” Dowd wrote.
The president announced he would be dropping out of the race for the White House at the end of July, following weeks of pressure from top Democrats, who had reportedly called on him to bow out in private. Top Democrats, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Chuck Schumer and more have repeatedly denied they were involved in a “coup” to push Biden out.
“At some point, when the polls cratered, Democratic mandarins decided to put the welfare of the party — and the country — ahead of the president’s ego, and stop catering to his self-regarding fantasy that he was the only one who could beat Donald Trump,” Dowd continued.
ECONOMIC COMMENTATOR WARNS HARRIS’ PRICE CONTROL PLAN ALREADY TRIED IN ‘VENEZUELA, ARGENTINA, SOVIET UNION’
Dowd noted that Pelosi and others have revealed they haven’t been able to speak to Biden since he bowed out.
“One of the most ruthless and successful tacticians in congressional history seemed sheepish about knifing her pal, and conflicted over whether to take credit. Biden must have thought,” the columnist added.
Pelosi has also heaped praise on the president, despite what appears to be a fractured relationship, and recently suggested Biden belonged on Mount Rushmore.
“Kamala can’t be thrilled that Obama, Pelosi and Schumer hesitated to endorse her because they wanted more moderate rivals to compete in an open mini-primary. And Biden and Harris staffs are also tetchy, as Kamala layers on her own people,” Dowd wrote.
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Biden immediately endorsed Vice President Harris to take his place at the top of the ticket, as other prominent Democrats, such as Pelosi and the Obamas, waited a little bit to endorse the VP.
“Those who pushed out Biden should be proud,” Dowd wrote. “They saved him and their party from a likely crushing defeat, letting Trump snake back in and soil democracy.”
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Former Biden chief of staff Ron Klain spoke with CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Wednesday and said he disapproved of the coup against Biden.
“I think that was wrong,” Klain said, arguing that Biden had fairly secured the nomination through the democratic process and was set on winning the White House again.
Harris team defends VP’s media silence with an it’s all about ‘her’ excuse
Harris’ deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks on Sunday defended the vice president for not yet sitting down for an interview since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee.
“The vice president has been interviewing
. She’s been interviewing with the American people,” Fulks said during an appearance on MSNBC’s “The Weekend” Sunday. “And she respects the free media, respects the press, so that will come on her time, but right now our focus is making sure that we’re communicating with the voters, that they see her, that they understand her world view, her perspective, her upbringing, her record of delivering and fighting for American families to protect their freedoms and her vision for moving forward.”
MSNBC host Michael Steele dismissed concern about Harris’ lack of media appearances since President Biden dropped out of the race, stating he has found it “amusing to watch and hear many in the media sort of go after the vice president because she hasn’t done that face to face.” He said he’s observed Harris “seems to be talking directly to the people.”
Steele asked Fulks if that was intentional by the campaign so that Harris can “push past the noise of the Washington press corps and all of that drama.”
Fulks said the campaign enters the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week with “a lot of enthusiasm and momentum,” as Harris and running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, have been “out on the ground talking to and communicating directly with voters.”
“They’re kicking off a bus tour today, going throughout Pennsylvania, they’re going to be at a rally in Wisconsin tomorrow before they head into the convention, and so we’re incredibly excited to continue to stay out on the road, in the battleground states, talking to the voters who are ultimately going to decide this election, making sure that they understand that this race is fundamentally a choice between two stark visions for the future of this country,” Fulks said. “One where we’re lowering costs, protecting freedoms, and continuing to deliver for the American people and one that is extreme, unstable, Project 2025 agenda that is led by Donald Trump and JD Vance.”
Ohio Sen. JD Vance dismissed polling
that shows Vice President Kamala Harris has taken the lead nationally and in key battleground states, arguing that the same polls were inaccurate in 2016 and 2020.
“The polls tend to radically overstate Democrats, we certainly saw that during the summer of 2020 and summer of 2016 and, of course, a lot of those polls were wrong when it came to Election Day,” Vance said during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday.”
The comments came after Fox News’ Shannon Bream told Vance about a recent New York Times poll that showed Harris ahead of former President Trump in Arizona and North Carolina at the same time as she has narrowed Trump’s lead “significantly” in Georgia and Nevada.
“What we have certainly seen is that Kamala Harris got a bit of a sugar high a couple of weeks ago, but what we’ve actually seen from our own internal data is that Kamala Harris has already leveled off,” Vance said. “If you talk to insiders in the Kamala Harris campaign, they’re very worried about where they are because the American people just don’t buy the idea that Kamala Harris, who has been vice president for three and a half years, is somehow going to tackle the inflation crisis in a way tomorrow that she hasn’t for the past 1,300 days.”
This is an excerpt from a story by Fox News’ Michael Lee.
PITTSBURGH, PA – Vice President Kamala Harris and running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz barnstorm through western Pennsylvania on Sunday, on the eve of the kickoff of the Democratic National Convention.
Hours earlier, former President Trump declared “I love Pennsylvania” as he held a rally at an indoor arena in Wilkes-Barre, in the northeast corner of the Keystone State.
Pennsylvania has been and will continue to see plenty of campaign trail traffic. With 19 electoral votes up for grabs, it’s the largest prize among the seven battleground states that will likely decide the outcome of the presidential election.
“We’re winning by a lot in Pennsylvania,” Trump declared on Saturday.
Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Jaime Harrison on Sunday revealed some of the strategy behind Democrats’ goal to win control of the House, as well as hold onto the White House and Senate.
“For three and a half years we’ve been focused on pouring resources into all of our states. A lot of people look at Howard Dean’s fifty-state strategy as the Golden Age for the DNC in terms of investing in those state parties,” Harrison said on MSNBC’s “The Weekend” on Sunday.
“We, in our midterms, we put 40% more into state parties,” he said. “We created a red state fund than what Howard Dean did in 2006, and so we’ve been focused on that, and that’s thanks to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in helping us garner the resources to do just that.”
Harrison said there’s been “unprecedented collaboration” between the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), the Democratic Governors Association (DGA), and the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC).
He is on a Signal messaging chain with DSCC Chair Sen. Gary Peters, D-Michigan, and DCCC Chair Rep. Suzan DeBene, D-Wash., Harrison told MSNBC, adding that “the three of us stay in close collaboration” to look at polling, notice traction and “red alerts” on certain issues as Election Day approaches.
“Our staffs also work very closely together, and I don’t think that has happened historically in the past in the Democratic ecosystem
,” Harrison said. “So we are all aligned, we are all on one page, we’re in formation, we are focused like a laser on not just winning the White House back, but making sure that the House, the Senate, we pick up gubernatorial elections, that we flip some state House seats, and that is all in alignment, and again, we’re going to be focused on that from now until Election Day, as we’ve been focused on it for the last three and a half years.”
Former President Trump took questions
from reporters on Thursday at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, the second straight week that the former president has grabbed headlines by holding a news conference.
The move is partially to try and blunt the momentum of Vice President Kamala Harris heading into next week’s Democratic National Convention. Harris has been riding a wave of energy and enthusiasm since replacing President Biden at the top of the Democrats’ 2024 ticket three and a half weeks ago.
But it also appears to be another move to try and put pressure on Harris for not holding a news conference or a major interview since Biden bowed out and backed his vice president.
“It has been 24 days and Kamala Harris
continues to duck and hide from the media – no interviews and no press conferences since she announced,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung emphasized on Wednesday.
Vice President Kamala Harris needs to ensure she is “striking the right balance” at the Democratic National Convention, with Democratic strategists explaining it is “critical” for her to share her record with the voters, while focusing on the future and enhancing her “momentum” as the race formally enters the general election.
The Democratic National Convention kicks off in Chicago on Monday and will run through Thursday, when Harris formally accepts the Democratic nomination for the presidency.
Top Democrats and supporters from across the nation are expected to coalesce their support behind Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — support they have seen building since President Biden suspended his re-election campaign and the vice president launched her own.
Democrat strategists are telling Fox News Digital that Harris needs to make sure she seizes on the “surging voter enthusiasm.”
“The most important thing to do is keep the ball rolling — they have been on a roll for the last couple of weeks,” Brad Bannon, a Democrat strategist, pollster, and President of Bannon Communications Research, told Fox News Digital. “Once President Biden decided to step away, Vice President Kamala Harris did a great job seizing the opportunity — she raised a lot of money quickly; solidified her hold on the nomination; made a great pick that turned out to be very popular in Walz; and what they need to do at this convention is keep the ball rolling and keep that momentum going.”
Vice President Kamala Harris went viral Friday after she lamented the soaring prices of American goods since “before the pandemic,” when former President Trump was in office.
During her economic policy speech in Raleigh, North Carolina, Harris blamed inflation on the supply chain crisis that occurred during the COVID pandemic, but stressed that “prices are still too high” despite the fact that “our supply chains have improved.”
“A loaf of bread cost 50% more today than it did before the pandemic,” Harris said at one point. “Ground beef is up almost 50%.”
That quote was quickly clipped, with an “I’m Donald Trump and I approve this message” disclaimer added on at the end, cut from an official campaign ad.
It was shared by the popular X account End Wokeness as the “shortest political ad I’ve ever seen” for former President Trump.
This is an excerpt from an article written by Fox News’ Joseph A. Wulfsohn.
The whole world is watching.
They want to see what unfolds this week in Chicago as Democrats convene their quadrennial political convention and anoint Vice President Harris as their 2024 standard-bearer.
But, the mantra “the whole world is watching” is from 1968.
That was a battle cry from demonstrators who descended on the Democratic convention in Chicago in 1968. They brawled with delegates, reporters and police. The war in Vietnam raged. And anti-war protesters wanted the world to know how they felt. So what better opportunity to converge on the Democratic convention and air their grievances – often within the view finder of a television camera.
The 1968 Democratic convention
was the most volatile in American history.
Democrats hope to avoid such controversies this year. But with raucous, anti-Israel protests raging on college campuses and across the nation all spring, that may be tough to avoid. Moreover, this highlights the schism in the Democratic Party over the Middle East.
As they said in 1968, the world is watching.
This is an excerpt from an article written by Fox News’ Chad Pergram.
The Harris campaign is signaling continued
support for ending cash bail and bail reform as the vice president and former prosecutor faces scrutiny over past policies and positions related to crime and law enforcement.
“Vice President Harris believes our criminal justice system should protect and serve all Americans, regardless of their economic status, gender, or race,” James Singer, a spokesperson for the Harris campaign, told Fox News Digital.
“On the issue of cash bail, she believes that we need a system where public safety, not wealth, determines who should stay behind bars following an arrest. Anyone who is a danger to society should be detained regardless of how wealthy they are.”
During her public life as district attorney in San Francisco, California attorney general and U.S. senator, Harris’ position on cash bail has varied.
In 2019, when she unsuccessfully ran for president, Harris made her position known a little more forcefully.
“End money bail. Our bail system is unjust and broken,” Harris wrote in a post on Medium.
This is an excerpt from an article written by Fox News’ Brianna Herlihy.
Approximately 100,000 anti-Israel demonstrators are expected to descend on Chicago during the four-day Democratic National Convention this week, according to the New York Post.
At least seven large rallies and marches are scheduled to unfold across Chicago this week as the McCormick Place Convention Center hosts DNC programming about the Harris-Walz ticket. Additional rallies are also planned, though they’re unsanctioned, meaning organizers have not obtained required city permits, the Post reported.
Photos showed some businesses boarded windows in anticipation of possible riots.
The DNC is planned
for Monday to Thursday. But some demonstrations are starting Sunday. The group Bodies Outside of Unjust Laws organized a march toward Grant Park Sunday focused on “abortion rights, LGBTQ+ rights and stopping Israel’s war efforts in Gaza,” the Chicago Tribune reported.
Yet the largest number of expected protesters are expected Monday and Thursday at the “March on the DNC 2024” rallies, orchestrated by a coalition of 125 anti-Israel groups including the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression and the U.S. Palestinian Community Network. Multiple reports say more than 30,000 people are expected to attend Monday’s rally alone.
Hatem Abudayyeh, chair of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, vowed to the Washington Post to still lead protests in Chicago during the DNC despite President Biden no longer being on the ticket.
“We’re not changing a thing. Everything is still full steam ahead,” Abudayyeh said.
“It’s still about ending the genocide,” he added. “Our target is the Democratic Party and the leadership of the party and ‘Killer Kamala’ is one of them.”
At least three other anti-Israel events are happening in Chicago during the DNC. Among them is a march titled “Behind Enemy Lines” planned to start Tuesday in front of Chicago’s Israeli consulate, according to the Tribune. The group “Poor People’s Army,” which also demonstrated at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, organized another march in Chicago this week demanding the U.S. stop sending military aid to Israel.
Chicago saw bloody riots in 1968 while hosting the DNC during the Vietnam War.
CNN anchor Abby Phillip appeared skeptical of one of Vice President Kamala Harris’ first economic policy proposals on Thursday.
During the segment, the host read aloud one commentator’s criticism of the price control proposal – that it was meant to pander to “economically illiterate” voters –and appeared to agree that it was a way to get cheap votes from those who don’t understand how the economy works.
“Is this just a ploy? Because it sounds kind of like it,” Phillip asked her guests, which included Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., Democratic strategist Keith Boykin and Vanderbilt University professor Michael Eric Dyson.
The Harris campaign announced on Wednesday that she would institute a “federal ban on price gouging on food and groceries” as president in an attempt to stop “big corporations” from taking advantage of consumers.
Phillip introduced the topic, stating, “One of the things that we learned about her policy that she’s going to roll out is a ban — support for a ban on price gouging. Now, I think reasonable people would ask, what does that mean? What does that really mean, and how is the government going to be involved in it?”
This is excerpt from an article written by Fox News’ Gabriel Hays.
The Democratic National Convention on Sunday released a list of the confirmed speakers scheduled to address the party’s four-day convention in Chicago about the Harris-Walz ticket.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker
will speak on Monday and Tuesday respectively to welcome Democrats “to our amazing Host City,” DNC officials said. “Chicago is the perfect place in the heart of the Midwest for us to come together as a party for the first time in eight years. Their speaking roles will showcase how Democrats across the Blue Wall are on the frontlines, fighting for our freedoms and our future.”
President Biden and first lady Jill Biden will speak on Monday night.
“The successes of the Biden-Harris Administration will be front and center on night one and throughout the week: successfully overcoming a once in a century pandemic, transforming an economy that was flat on its back to the strongest economy in the world, defending democracy at home and abroad, and restoring decency and dignity to the White House,” DNC officials said.
Vice President Harris will travel from her bus tour through western Pennsylvania to watch President Biden’s remarks. In line with convention precedent, the DNC said, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will deliver the vice presidential acceptance speech on Wednesday.
Harris will deliver her presidential acceptance speech on Thursday.
Convention officials also confirmed the speakers “who will be participating during the convention and will help tell the story of the Harris-Walz ticket.” They are second gentleman Doug Emhoff, former President Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.
The themes of each of the four nights of the Democratic National Convention were released Sunday morning. The convention’s overall theme, “For the People, For Our Future,” is meant to signal how Vice President Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz plan to “fight for people, our freedoms, and our future” as the presidential and vice presidential nominees, DNC officials said.
The themes for each night are as follows:
Monday, August 19: For the People
– “While Donald Trump puts himself first, Democrats are fighting for the American people. President Biden has exemplified this through his leadership and legacy as a historic president who put the American people’s interest above his own,” the DNC said. “The accomplishments and results President Biden delivered for people, with Vice President Harris by his side, will be on full display during the convention, as will Kamala Harris’s commitment to fighting on behalf of everyday Americans. At its core, the Harris-Walz ticket is a ticket for the people.”
Tuesday, August 20: A Bold Vision for America’s Future – “This race isn’t just a choice between two candidates. It’s a choice between two very different visions of America,” the DNC said. “While Donald Trump believes our best days are behind us, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz know the best days lie ahead. Standing in stark contrast to the Trump-Vance Project 2025 agenda designed to take us backwards, the Harris-Walz ticket presents a brighter vision where everyone will have a chance not just to get by, but to get ahead.”
Wednesday, August 21: A Fight for Our Freedoms
– “Vice President Harris has spent her entire career fighting for Americans’ freedoms,” the DNC said. “In Governor Tim Walz, Vice President Harris chose as her running mate a champion for America’s working families and a staunch defender of those same fundamental freedoms. Donald Trump spent his four years in office fighting to strip our rights away, and he’s once again running on an extreme agenda to go even farther in turning back the clock on all the freedoms we hold dear.”
Thursday, August 22: For Our Future – “America can’t afford to put Donald Trump back in the White House — because a second Trump term would be even more dangerous and more extreme than the first one,” according to DNC officials. “But the choice we face in November isn’t just about us versus Donald Trump. This election is a fight for the future. Vice President Harris and Governor Walz will lead America into a brighter, more hopeful era.”
Convention programming will air live from the United Center in Chicago between 6:15-11p.m. ET/5:15-10p.m CT on Monday, and 7-11 p.m. ET/6-10 p.m. CT for all other days.
Actress Jane Fonda and other climate change activists gathered Friday to tout the Harris-Walz campaign as “a proud climate ticket.”
Climate Voters for Harris kicked off a virtual call Friday, two years since the signing of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, to discuss “the historic accomplishments of the IRA. We’ll hear messaging guidance and the best ways for Climate Voters to get involved in the campaign.”
The call was hosted by Sweta Chakraborty, a behavioral scientist, who said there was “palpable” excitement about Harris being the Democratic nominee.
Fonda encouraged people to “vote with climate in their hearts,” claiming the Harris-Walz ticket is “our only hope.”
“Sitting it out, voting for a third-party candidate, this is voting for the orange man,” she told listeners on the call.
Other speakers included former Secretary of State John Kerry; Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass.; and Democratic Washington state Gov. James Inslee.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., gave his approval to Vice President Kamala Harris’ newly unveiled economic policy proposal on Friday, calling it “bold and popular.”
“Is it all that I would like? No,” he said in a statement. “Is it an important step forward in making our country a fairer and more just society? Absolutely.
“Sanders lauded the proposal for speaking “to the needs of working families” and taking on “the unprecedented corporate greed that is taking place throughout America.”
Sanders has long-described himself as a Democratic socialist, and has been considered one of the most far-left U.S. politicians.
Harris’ plan was revealed by her campaign on Friday, including several expansions of policies implemented during the Biden-Harris administration. It specifically targets corporate “price gouging” in the food industry, calling for a first-ever federal ban on it.
It would also drastically expand the child tax credit, granting credits up to $6,000 during a child’s first year. Existing prescription drug price caps would additionally be expanded to everyone, not just senior citizens.
This is an excerpt from an article written by Fox News’ Julia Johnson.
Vice President Kamala Harris conceded Americans are struggling in the current economy and vowed to improve things after President Biden boasted his policies were “working” just a day earlier.
Harris made the remarks during a campaign stop in North Carolina on Friday, where she unveiled part of her economic platform for the 2024 election.
“We’ve made historic investments in infrastructure, in [semiconductor chips], manufacturing, in clean energy. And new numbers this week alone show that inflation is down under 3%. And as president of the United States, it will be my intention to build on the foundation of this progress,” Harris said.
“Still, we know that many Americans don’t yet feel that progress in their daily lives. Costs are still too high and on a deeper level, for too many people, no matter how much they work, it feels so hard to just be able to get ahead.”
Most dominant group that once filled churches now fleeing religion in droves
Women are leaving churches in droves after previously being the dominant group that filled them, according to a report.
“Women are less inclined to be involved with churches that don’t want us speaking up, that don’t want us to be smart,” Mojica Rodríguez, the daughter of a pastor who was raised attending church frequently, said, according to AOL.com.
Rodriguez, 39, earned a master’s degree in divinity. The Nashville-based author eventually left the church due to its views on women.
“We’re like the mules of the church – that’s what it feels like,” she continued.
CHRISTIAN GROUPS SEE NEED IN CHANGING APPROACH TO DEAL WITH HISTORIC DECLINE IN AMERICANS’ CHURCH ATTENDANCE
Several studies in AOL.com’s article point to the decline of church attendance and disaffiliation with religion.
The church’s views of women are of concern to Gen Z, far more than previous generations, as religious institutions maintain the belief that women can’t serve in leadership roles in the church, the Survey Center on American Life reported.
According to AOL.com, “As with Mojica Rodríguez, some fume over gender hierarchies, the inability of women to serve in influential positions, or expectations of chastity placed upon girls. Others, they say, struggle with their church’s positions on reproductive and/or LGBTQ rights.”
The American Enterprise Institute reported in April that women outnumber men among young adults leaving the religion across four generations. Especially among Gen Z women, 54% of Gen Z adults who left their religion were women compared to 46% of men.
Americans identifying as Christian has dropped significantly over the past 30 years, data has shown. According to the Pew Research Center, 63% of Americans identified as Christian in 2020, a decline from 90% of Americans identifying as Christian since the 90s.
Furthermore, a Gallup poll released this year showed that only “three in 10” U.S. adults attend church once a week or almost once a week. This represents a significant decline from attendance 20 years ago, when 42% of U.S. adults would still attend church regularly.
The drop-off doubled in the last decade, where regular church attendance, which was at around 38% percent between 2011 and 2013, plummeted to 30%.
PASTORS BATTLE SKYROCKETING BURNOUT AMID POLITICS, PANDEMIC: ‘WEARING ON THE SOUL’
Gallup noted this decline is represented not just among Christian denominations, but in nearly all faiths in the United States.
As women leave the church, it could pose harsh consequences for the church since they are the largest demographic filling the pews, former evangelist Sheila Wray Gregoire noted. She added that women tend to flock to volunteer opportunities and involve their families in church as well.
Gregoire told AOL.com that the church wouldn’t survive without women. Having studied Christian marriage in the U.S. and Canada for 17 years, she explained further that women are “the ones responsible for getting children out of bed and going to church.”
“Women do the majority of the work that keeps the church going,” Gregoire said.
“They’re the ones staffing the Sunday school, making sure potlucks happen or that people are supported when they have an illness or are having a baby. The church is not going to survive without women.”
Daniel A. Cox, director of the Survey Center on American Life, pointed to “cultural dissonance” with young women as drivers of leaving the church.
“There’s a cultural dissonance with young women being told you can do anything and then being told, well, generally, yes, but when it comes to our place of worship there’s restrictions,” Cox said.
“That’s another challenge that these places are wrestling with,” he added.
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As women leave the church, researchers are citing women prioritizing career goals and delaying marriage and parenthood, AOL.com reported.
“Why would you want to be at a place where your voice doesn’t matter?” Gregoire said.
She went on to say, “It’s hard when you grow up with a deep, personal faith and then the church you’re in treats you as less than. It’s like having the rug pulled out from under you.”
Parents say son is ‘alive for a reason’ after suffering ‘worst fraternity hazing injury ever’
On Oct. 19, 2021, Daniel “Danny” Santulli was blindfolded and shirtless when he was forced to drink a bottle of vodka taped to his hand at a fraternity pledge event. The incident left the University of Missouri freshman unable to see, walk or speak.
The case of the then-19-year-old, who suffered brain damage from severe alcohol poisoning, is being explored in A&E’s new true-crime docuseries, “Houses of Horror: Secrets of College Greek Life.”
The show details how Greek organizations can have “far-reaching consequences that can turn dangerous, even deadly.” It features interviews with former fraternity and sorority members, loved ones, law enforcement and other experts.
DRUM MAJOR’S HAZING LEFT HEARTBROKEN MOTHER WONDERING WHAT REALLY HAPPENED: ‘HE WAS BEATEN TO DEATH’
The Santulli family has come forward to raise awareness about their son and the peer pressure they said he endured leading up to his life-altering injuries.
“Prior to the incident, he was very sleep-deprived,” Santulli’s mother, Mary Pat Santulli, told Fox News Digital. “[The fraternity was] draining his account… He was very drained… At that point, I talked to him and said, ‘Danny, you don’t have to go through this. You can quit. You have to do what’s best for you.’”
“He was… quiet about it,” the matriarch reflected. “And then two days later, this happened… I just couldn’t believe what took place that night.”
According to the episode, Santulli broke down to his older sister Meredith. He was struggling with the recruitment of the fraternity Phi Gamma Delta. His grades were slipping.
Previously, he was hospitalized after an older member instructed him to climb inside a trash can filled with broken glass.
At the time of the incident that would rock his family, Santulli was taking part in a ritual called “pledge dad reveal night.” According to the series, Santulli was forced to drink hard liquor, followed by beer.
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Just before 11 p.m., a heavily intoxicated Santulli was seen in security camera footage losing his balance, and eventually falling backwards. Fraternity members then carried him to a nearby sofa. At one point, his head hit a tile floor.
Santulli’s limp body fell off the sofa at 12:30 a.m. and was not put back until 15 minutes later, when he was taken outside. While carrying Santulli to the door, the video footage showed members of the fraternity dropping him. He was then taken to the hospital in a car driven by fraternity members.
Santulli was found in cardiac arrest and not breathing inside the vehicle. Authorities said his blood alcohol content was 0.486%, six times the legal limit.
Santulli’s father, Tom Santulli, told Fox News Digital it was important for him to watch the painful footage for himself.
“People say, ‘Are you sure you want to see it?’ Yes, I want to see what happened to my son,” Tom explained. “I do want to see the abuse. I want to see exactly what happened. And yes, I was blown away. But then again, I said, ‘I’m glad [I saw it].’”
“Now we’re focused – now we’re on a mission, and we’re going to hold people accountable for what happened that evening,” the patriarch added.
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Santulli spent six weeks at the University of Missouri Hospital’s intensive care unit before moving to a rehab hospital in Colorado. As a result of the incident, doctors say he will need care for life. He has been described as a victim of “the worst fraternity hazing injury ever in the United States,” his family’s attorney said.
“I think Danny’s alive… because other kids were not as fortunate when there was a hazing incident,” said Tom. “… He’s alive for a reason.”
“This is real, [this] is happening [to other students],” chimed Mary Pat. “It will continue if fraternities and sororities are still going on. People need to be educated and we need to talk to our kids. We need to let them know what’s going on. [Parents] need to do their research and find out if any of these sororities or fraternities have had past violations, what the record is.”
Attorney David Bianchi, who represents the Santulli family and specializes in hazing litigation, said the student’s injury was not an isolated event.
“These are part of a pattern of unsafe and dangerous behavior that represents the traditions of the fraternity,” he said.
Since 2017, Phi Gamma Delta, also known as Fiji, had six documented violations of alcohol distribution policies and two hazing violations in Missouri, according to university records. The Missouri chapter has since been shut down following Santulli’s hospitalization.
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Today, the Minnesota resident has been making “great strides,” but the pain has not lessened for the family.
“Danny needs care 24/7,” Tom explained. “We are the main caregivers, my wife and I. We also have nurses come in. We have caregivers come in. We have different folks who focus on speech, occupational therapy and physical therapy. We also have appointments for Danny.”
“But from the accident in 2021 to now, he has improved,” Tom shared. “I’m not saying it’s significant, but he is making strides.”
Santulli’s story is far from over. Loved ones went on to file a civil lawsuit against the fraternity and 23 members. It was settled for an unspecified amount in 2022.
In May of this year, Ryan P. Delanty of Manchester, Missouri, pleaded guilty to supplying liquor to a minor and misdemeanor hazing, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. Santulli’s “pledge dad” was sentenced to six months in jail, KRCGTV shared. According to the outlet, he will also spend six months on house arrest.
Another fraternity member, Thomas Shultz of Chesterfield, Missouri, previously pleaded guilty to supplying liquor to a minor. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail, two years of probation, and ordered to perform community service and complete a drug and alcohol education program.
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Alec Wetzler pleaded guilty to charges of supplying liquor to a minor or intoxicated person and purchase/attempt to purchase or possession of liquor by a minor, according to KRCG. Court records showed that Wetzler was handed a 180-day jail sentence, as well as two years of unsupervised probation. He was also ordered to pay a $500 fine.
The university has disciplined 13 former fraternity members, the Columbia Daily Tribune reported.
“Our hearts continue to go out to the Santulli family,” a spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “The university took immediate action, ultimately resulting in the loss of recognition of Phi Gamma Delta. The individuals found responsible for this tragedy also have been held accountable.”
“Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with Danny and the Santulli family,” Executive Director of Phi Gamma Delta Rob Caudill previously said.
“Danny should not have been put in such a situation,” said Caudill. “The International Fraternity prohibits hazing and the provision of alcohol to minors and expects all members to follow the law and our policies.
“We support anyone being held accountable for their conduct and the consequences that may result. The International Fraternity acted immediately to stop all activities of the chapter, which is now closed.”
As the school season gears up, Santulli’s family is determined to warn other parents. Mary Pat even suggested that students considering Greek life should wait at least one semester and speak with other members first to educate themselves and their loved ones.
“It’s very difficult to relive everything and talk about it,” she said. “But I feel… it’s important to make people aware of what is happening in Greek life. Hazing is real. And we just want to make people aware, so this tragedy doesn’t happen to another family.”
Simone Biles catches heat after outfit choice goes viral at husband’s preseason game
Simone Biles showed up to the Chicago Bears’ preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals Saturday to support her husband, Jonathan Owens, after the NFL safety was excused from training camp this month to watch the American gymnast compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
But Biles appeared to receive some backlash on social media for her outfit choice.
Fresh off of winning three gold medals in Paris, Biles was pictured on the sidelines at Soldier Field wearing a jacket dedicated to Owens.
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The only problem was the jacket depicted Owens during his time with the Green Bay Packers.
“Simone Biles on the sideline for The Bears game today…in a Packers jacket,” The Athletic’s Chase Daniel said in a post on X showing Biles’ look.
“With all due respect, Simone Biles gotta throw that jacket in the trash ASAP,” another user wrote on social media. “How did she get in with that?”
SIMONE BILES’ NFL HUSBAND JONATHAN OWENS, SAYS HIS WIFE IS ‘THE S—‘
“Simone Biles should be stripped of all her medals after wearing Packers gear while cheering for the Bears,” another wrote. “Yeah yeah I get it, her husband played for the Packers and it’s an Owens themed jacket, but this is just wrong.”
Owens signed a two-year contract with the Bears in March after spending one season with the Packers. He returned to training camp after the Bears’ 21-17 win over the Houston Texans in the Hall of Fame game.
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In addition to wearing a division rival’s jacket, Biles was also spotted wearing a boot on Saturday.
She injured a calf during the Olympics, but she previously told NBC Sports she was wearing it as a “precautionary” measure.
New McDonald’s freebie sparks online frenzy for all the wrong reasons
Those looking to snag all six cups in the McDonald’s “Collector’s Meals” that were released Tuesday can already find them popping up on online resale websites.
One full set of cups sold on eBay for $99. A single Hello Kitty-themed cup sold for $25 plus shipping.
When McDonald’s released information about the cups, they were hoping to tap into nostalgia, with many referring to the meals the cups come with as adult Happy Meals. Judging from the secondary market sales, interest certainly appears to be high, but not every customer who bought a cup directly from McDoanld’s is satisfied.
“How do we go from this… the nice, heavy, engraved, glass,” TikTok user @littlemiss1stgrade asks while holding some of the fast-food giant’s formerly released collectible cups, before showcasing the newly released ones. “To this? Like seriously? Like, I’m so disappointed.”
MCDONALD’S TARGETS ADULTS WITH NOSTALGIC ‘COLLECTOR’S MEAL’ AVAILABLE THIS MONTH
Her video has more than 873,000 views, and more than 1,500 comments.
“I was just about to go to McDonald’s to get one. This has changed my mind. Thank you kind internet stranger,” one TikTok user wrote.
“Not only that buttttt the price of the meals to get a plastic cup,” another responded. “Insane.”
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A Collector’s Sausage McMuffin with Egg meal runs $9.49 before tax at an Orlando-area McDonald’s.
The medium-sized Collector’s Big Mac costs $11.59 before tax, with an option to upgrade to a large.
One TikTok user lamented that cleaning the cup is an added chore.
“They’re not even dishwasher safe! I got it home and about threw it out the window,” the user wrote in response to @littlemiss1stgrade’s video. “I hate handwashing cups more than anything.”
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MCD | MCDONALD’S CORP. | 278.49 | +3.62 | +1.32% |
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The new cups are plastic and come in blue plastic bags in the U.S., along with the breakfast or lunch/dinner meal of choice. They feature a range of franchises, including Barbie, Hot Wheels, Beanie Babies, Coca-Cola, Hello Kitty, Peanuts, Shrek, Jurassic Park, Minions and McDonald’s itself. They are available for a limited time, although the company did not specify a date when sales will cease, and did not immediately respond to a FOX Business request for more information.