MSNBC host erupts over Supreme Court ruling on birthright citizenship

MSNBC host Symone Sanders Townsend unloaded on the Supreme Court’s ruling on President Donald Trump‘s birthright citizenship executive order, calling it “insane” during a discussion on Friday. 

“I just don’t, I can’t believe that we are asking the question, ‘is the 14th Amendment to the Constitution constitutional?’ That is what, it is crazy. And I am sorry, but people need to call, ‘this is crazy.’ They are asking us… They’re asking us not to believe our own eyes and our own ears. They’re asking us to go against everything that we know to be true. This is insane,” Sanders Townsend said.

The Supreme Court delivered a major victory in Trump’s effort to block lower courts from issuing universal injunctions that had upended many of his administration’s executive orders and actions on Friday. The Justices ruled 6-3 to allow the lower courts to issue injunctions only in limited instances, though the ruling leaves open the question of how the ruling will apply to the birthright citizenship order at the heart of the case.

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The Supreme Court agreed this year to take up a trio of consolidated cases involving so-called universal injunctions handed down by federal district judges in Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington state.

Judges in those districts had blocked Trump’s ban on birthright citizenship from taking force nationwide — which the Trump administration argued in their appeal to the Supreme Court was overly broad.

“The applications do not raise – and thus we do not address – the question whether the Executive Order violates the Citizenship Clause or Nationality Act,” Justice Amy Coney Barrett said, writing for the majority. “The issue before us is one of remedy: whether, under the Judiciary Act of 1789, federal courts have equitable authority to issue universal injunctions.”

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MSNBC host Michael Steele responded, “this is the landscape we find ourselves on now.”

“I mean, the reality is that they have been very effective. Trump and his minions inside the government have been very effective at setting the stairsteps to the various narratives that they want to get accomplished,” he said. 

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Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern also criticized the ruling, and insisted that no one could explain how Trump’s order would work in practice.

“When a child is born in America, the doctor doesn’t demand the papers of their parents to ensure that they’re a citizen or a green card holder. All they need is a birth certificate showing that they were born here. You, me, most people we know, we are citizens because of our birth. And once the government takes that away, once it introduces this wild, chaotic new system where it depends on your parents, and you get punished if your parents didn’t have the right papers, then everyone’s citizenship is thrown into disarray, and advocates need to present that very clearly to the Supreme Court because, frankly, this conservative majority is very selective in its empathy,” Stern argued. 

Tennis legend blasts ‘Johnny come lately’ actor for attacking author JK Rowling

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova came to the defense of “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling on Saturday as the writer received criticism from actor Pedro Pascal in a recent interview.

Rowling and Pascal have clashed in the past on transgender issues, including after Rowling celebrated the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court ruling on the legal definition of a woman.

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“Bullies make me f—— sick,” Pascal told Vanity Fair. “It’s a situation that deserves the utmost elegance so that something can actually happen.”

Rowling dismissed Pascal in a social media post on Friday and Navratilova added to it.

“Another Johnny come lately telling women to STFU,” Navratilova wrote.

Navratilova is a lifelong Democrat but has never wavered on her push to keep biological males from competing against girls and women in sports. 

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She has made clear in the past she is no supporter of President Donald Trump, and a quick scan of her social media posts would underscore that. However, she has lamented Democrats’ inaction over the issue of transgender athletes participating in women’s and girls’ sports.

When Trump signed an executive order to prohibit biological males from women’s and girls’ sports, she fired off a fierce message toward the Democratic Party.

“I hate that the Democrats totally failed women and girls on this very clear issue of women’s sports being for females only,” she wrote in a post on X.

She also expressed her frustration in January when the House of Representatives passed the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act. Only two Democrats voted with Republicans on the bill.

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“More Dems need to step up here. I know many who agree but are scared to speak up because of re-election. I say do the right thing. Grow a spine,” she wrote on X.

Trump celebrates ‘great victory’ as Senate Republicans advance bill

Lawmakers from across the aisle are reacting to President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” passing a key Senate vote on Saturday night.

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., who flipped his vote from a ‘no’ to ‘yes’ in dramatic fashion, said in a statement that the mammoth bill is a “necessary first step” to fiscal sustainability and cleaning up the mess left by the Biden administration.

“Biden and the Democrats left behind enormous messes that we are trying to clean up – an open border, wars, and massive deficits,” Johnson said. “After working for weeks with President Trump and his highly capable economic team, I am convinced that he views this as a necessary first step and will support my efforts to help put America on a path to fiscal sustainability.”

The 51-49 vote went along party lines, with only Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., voting against unlocking a marathon 20-hour debate on the bill.

SENATE REPUBLICANS RAM TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ THROUGH KEY TEST VOTE

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., was among the Democrats against what he called a “radical” bill.

“Senate Republicans are scrambling to pass a radical bill, released to the public in the dead of night, praying the American people don’t realize what’s in it,” Schumer said in a statement. “If Senate Republicans won’t tell the American people what’s in this bill, then Democrats are going to force this chamber to read it from start to finish.”

The bill will not immediately be debated thanks to Senate Democrats’ plan to force the reading of the entire, 940-page legislative behemoth on the Senate floor.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., posted a video on her X account in which she said that Democrats were holding the floor “all night” and “we need to use every single second we can to fight back against Trump’s bill.”

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., however, said he was “proud” to work with Trump on the bill and “put our nation on a path to balance the budget after years of Democrats’ reckless spending.”

“We will deliver on President Trump’s agenda and continue Making America Great Again!” Scott wrote.

Trump has said that he wants the bill, which must pass the Senate before being sent to the House for a vote, on his desk by July 4.

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Trump called the Senate vote a “great victory” and directly praised Sens. Johnson, Scott, Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., in a post on his Truth Social platform.

“They, along with all of the other Republican Patriots who voted for the Bill, are people who truly love our Country!” Trump wrote. “As President of the USA, I am proud of them all, and look forward to working with them to GROW OUR ECONOMY, REDUCE WASTEFUL SPENDING, SECURE OUR BORDER, FIGHT FOR OUR MILITARY/VETS, ENSURE THAT OUR MEDICAID SYSTEM HELPS THOSE WHO TRULY NEED IT, PROTECT OUR SECOND AMENDMENT, AND SO MUCH MORE. GOD BLESS AMERICA &, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”

In a second post, Trump wrote, “VERY PROUD OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY TONIGHT. GOD BLESS YOU ALL! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, released a statement calling the legislation “significant,” and “soon we will vote to send it over to the House and on to President Trump’s desk to become law.”

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“Senate Republicans are one step closer to delivering on President Trump’s agenda by advancing the One Big Beautiful Bill, which will avoid a massive tax increase on Texas families, secure our southern border, remove burdensome taxes on Americans exercising their Second Amendment rights, and chart our country on a path toward fiscal sanity after years of frivolous spending in Washington under Joe Biden,” Cornyn said.

Bartenders ‘annoyed’ by Gen Z’s drinking habit that’s costing bars money

In bars across America, fewer young bargoers – those born in the late 1990s or early 2000s – are opening tabs, instead choosing to close out and pay after every drink, The New York Times recently reported.

Does the trend bother bartenders? Fox News Digital asked a few for their thoughts.

“Is it annoying to close out the tab after every single drink for bartenders? And the answer is yes. Unequivocally, that is annoying,” said Derek Brown, a bartender and founder of Drink Company, a hospitality consulting agency in Washington, D.C. 

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“You have so many things to do as a bartender throughout your shift, and closing out the tab, if you have to do it throughout the evening when somebody’s ordering two, three drinks — it takes time, and it’s frustrating and annoying.”

Today’s younger generation isn’t the first to annoy bartenders, Brown clarified.

“Every generation has its quirk,” he said.

Still, while it may not seem like a big deal to customers, closing out after every drink is a nuisance to those on the other side of the bar, especially when things are busy, Brown said. 

“When somebody comes in and says, ‘I’ll take a cocktail,’ great, and then somebody comes behind and says, ‘I’ll close it out,’ you have to turn around, you have to go to the [point-of-sale machine], and you have to turn around and go back to making drinks,” Brown said.

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“All of this while being congenial, keeping a smile, making sure people are taken care of — it can be just a really, really annoying habit between all the other things you have to do. But it is part of the job.”

Some younger people claim that paying as they go is a better way to manage their drinking money.

“Once you’ve had two drinks, then the third one comes a lot faster and easier.” 

“This is the positive side of this, right?” Brown said. “If you’re closing out every time, it’s true. You’re going to be able to monitor how much alcohol you’re drinking throughout the evening.”

Brown said “fiscal responsibility” is important from the consumer perspective.

“Once you’ve had two drinks, then the third one comes a lot faster and easier,” he said.

Others have expressed concerns about leaving their credit cards behind or in the hands of the bartender.

One way bars solved this problem was with a new system in which a customer’s card is swiped once and then immediately returned.

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“In that case, it’s not that difficult,” Brown said. “You keep your card. You put it in your pocket. That’s what we learned.”

Still, nothing stops a person from paying drink by drink.

“Somebody can just keep asking to open and close it [all] evening,” Brown said. “We just have to smile and do our best.”

Another reason for the decline in bar tabs could be that fewer young adults, in general, are drinking.

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A 2023 Gallup poll found that 62% of adults under age 35 say they drink, a 10% decrease over the previous 20 years.

“It depends on what kind of night I’m trying to have.”

Katie Fites, a former bartender in Tallahassee and recent graduate of Florida State University, said she doesn’t have a blanket rule when deciding whether she’s going to open a bar tab.

“It depends on what kind of night I’m trying to have,” she told Fox News Digital. 

“If I know that my friends and I are going to be staying in one spot for the night, I will leave a tab open. But if I think that we’re going to be bouncing around and there’s a possibility I’ll forget I’ve left my tab open and leave, I will not leave my tab open.”

Fites worked at a popular college bar that didn’t allow tabs — so most people paid in cash. 

Those who did pay with a card, however, were subject to a $10 minimum.

Card payments can not only slow down bartenders on a busy night, they can also be costly to a bar owner’s bottom line. 

Credit card fees, which range from, on average, 2% to 4% of the transaction, are assessed with every swipe, according to Doug Kantor with the Merchants Payments Coalition (MPC).

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These swipe fees totaled a record $187.2 billion in 2024, an increase of 70% since the pandemic, per the MPC.

That means less money for the bars.

Grammy winner’s teeth fall out during performance forcing mid-song confession

LeAnn Rimes took it in stride after experiencing an unfortunate onstage mishap during one of her recent concerts. 

The 42-year-old singer suddenly walked off-stage last Saturday while performing at the Skagit Valley Casino & Resort in Bow, Washington. The following day, Rimes shared a candid video on Instagram in which she revealed that her teeth had fallen out when she was singing her 1996 hit “One Way Ticket.” 

“This is the most epic example of how the show must go on,” Rimes began her clip. “Last night, I was onstage in the middle of ‘One Way Ticket’ and I felt something pop in my mouth.”

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“If you’ve been around, you know that I’ve had a lot of dental surgeries, and I have a bridge in front, and it fell out in the middle of my song last night,” she continued. 

Rimes said she struggled a lot growing up in the public eye.

The two-time Grammy Award winner admitted that she “panicked” and ran to the side of the stage where she “popped” her bridge back in before returning to continue her performance. 

“I just had to get real with everybody and tell them exactly what was happening, or else I would have had to walk off stage,” Rimes explained. 

“For the rest of the show… I was literally like this pushing my teeth in, like, every couple of lines,” she added as she pressed her thumb on her mouth. 

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Rimes said she realized that singing some of her songs was particularly difficult due to the challenging syllables in the lyrics. 

“Like ‘Can’t Fight the Moonlight,’ they completely fell again in my mouth,” the singer recalled with a laugh. “It was the most epic experience ever.”

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“I don’t usually have firsts in my career. That was a first and hopefully a last,” she said.

Rimes, who gave a second performance at the same venue on Sunday, jokingly issued a warning to her concert-goers in case she suffered another dental malfunction. 

“I hope my teeth stay in tonight,” Rimes said. “We shall see. The front row, get ready for something to fly out. Yeah, if you catch them, please return them.”

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“Just keeping it real,” she added. “Like I said, there wasn’t a f—— thing I could do about it except either walk off or just hold my teeth in and sing, so I just ran with it.”

Rimes explained that she hoped her confession would comfort other artists if they suffered similar misfortunes in the future. 

“In case anybody has an issue on stage ever and feels embarrassed by it, just watch this video again and it’ll remind you that the show can go on even in the midst of sheer utter embarrassment,” she said. “You just gotta be real with people.”

According to Billboard, Rimes has a long history of dental issues and has had 29 surgeries. The outlet reported that the “How Do I Live” hitmaker sued her former dentist for malpractice in 2013, claiming that she suffered from chronic pain and medical complications after getting veneers. 

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Heir to American empire vanished in tribal waters after eerie last words

Over 60 years after an heir of one of America’s wealthiest families vanished off the coast of a remote island inhabited by cannibals, questions still swirl over what may have caused his untimely disappearance – or death. 

Michael Rockefeller, the youngest son of then-New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller, was just 23 years old and a recent Harvard graduate when he departed for a months-long trip to the island of Dutch New Guinea, a region inhabited by the Asmat, to collect indigenous art for a Museum of Primitive Art exhibition. 

The Asmat people were particularly talented in woodcarving, decorating elaborate spirit masks and ancestor “bisj” poles. Despite their artistic beauty, they were also known for headhunting and cannibalism, rooted in their spiritual beliefs. 

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In 1961, Rockefeller and anthropologist René Wassing were seven months into the excursion when their catamaran overturned in rough waters, leaving the pair and two local teenagers clinging to the wreckage. In an attempt to save their lives, the young art collector decided to swim to shore in search of help and was never seen again.

“When people vanish, it is incredibly unsatisfying and there’s no closure,” Carl Hoffman, author of “Savage Harvest,” told Fox News Digital. “Just as Amelia Earhart remains fascinating to people, so is the death of Michael Rockefeller.”

Hoffman, whose novel dives into the tale of Rockefeller and the lives of the Asmat, spent years pouring over archival materials and meeting with villagers in the region before coming to his own conclusion regarding what may have happened in the 23-year-old’s final moments. 

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After the travel party’s homemade catamaran flipped, leaving the group to drift in the ocean for over 24 hours, Rockefeller strapped empty gasoline cans to his waist and swam for help. 

“Michael said, ‘I’m going to do it, I am going to swim,’” Hoffman said. “And his last words, as Wassing reported them, were, ‘I think I can make it.’”

While Wassing was rescued by the Dutch government, a two-week search failed to find Rockefeller. 

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Different theories surround his disappearance – such as an untimely brush with a shark or crocodile – with the vast majority of speculation landing on the belief that the young adventurer drowned as he swam for his life. 

“The most sensational rumor was that he had encountered men from the Asmat and they had killed and eaten him,” Hoffman said. “It was always this great mystery.”

Hoffman’s research revealed two priests in the region who heard rumors that Rockefeller had encountered members of a nearby tribe upon arriving on the island. 

“[They] immediately started hearing stories that men from one particular village – the village from Ochenep – had been at the mouth of a river,” Hoffman told Fox News Digital. “[They] had encountered an exhausted [Rockefeller] swimming up to them, and they had killed him, taken him to a very specific place and performed the sacred Asmat rituals on him in order to restore balance.” 

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According to Hoffman, the priests documented their findings, but the reports were only ever shown to the Dutch government and the apostolic vicar – the highest Catholic official in the Netherlands. The Rockefeller family was reportedly made aware of the rumors, resulting in them reaching out to Dutch officials, who allegedly swept the claims under the rug. 

The young Rockefeller’s passion for indigenous art is reflected in the newly renovated Michael C. Rockefeller Wing of New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. The wing showcases 16 galleries of art, including works from Oceania, Africa and the ancient Americas. 

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“Opened to the public in 1982, the addition was named after Nelson Rockefeller’s son, Michael C. Rockefeller, who was greatly inspired by the cultures and art of the Pacific and pursued new avenues of inquiry into artistic practice during his travels there,” according to the Met’s website. “Among the wing’s signature works are the striking Asmat sculptures he researched and collected in southwest New Guinea.”

The Met did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

While the mystery surrounding Rockefeller’s disappearance may never be solved, his legacy will live on through the artwork of the people who may have been the ones to end his life.  

“There was nothing primitive about the Asmat at all,” Hoffman said. “They were this fantastically rich, complex culture that had 17 tenses and produced this art that was a direct view into archetypes and of the human unconscious, the human mind – and that’s a fantastic thing. It’s mind-opening, and it’s mind-expanding, and it’s inspiring.”

Dick Van Dyke misses comedy event due to illness, wife hosts in his absence

Dick Van Dyke missed a comedy event Saturday due to an undisclosed illness.

The 99-year-old actor was set to host Vandy Camp at Malibu High School, but never showed. His wife, Arlene Silver, hosted alone instead. She told the crowd she was “not the Van Dyke you’re expecting,” according to People magazine.

“I have to inform you that Dick is not up to coming to celebrate with us today. I’m sorry.”

“When you’re 99 and a half years old, you have good days and bad days … and unfortunately, today is not a good day for him, and he’s sick that he can’t be here,” she continued.

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Van Dyke attended the comedy event via a live stream and Silver promised fans the comedian would be at the next Vandy Camp “in person.”

Vandy Camp featured multiple performances, games and a Q and A session.

Silver also spoke about Van Dyke’s love of the fundraising event, telling the audience it’s about more than “just Dick Van Dyke.”

“It is a celebration of your childhood, all of our childhoods, the music that’s in the fabric of all of us, [and] Dick Van Dyke is a big part of that,” she continued.

Fox News Digital reached out to a representative for the actor.

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Van Dyke celebrated his 99th birthday in December. The “Dick Van Dyke Show” star opened up about his age while appearing in Coldplay’s music video for the song “All My Love.”

“I’m acutely aware that I could go any day now, but I don’t know why, it doesn’t concern me, I’m not afraid of it,” Van Dyke said in the video. “I have that feeling, totally against anything intellectual, that I’m going to be alright.”

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“I think I’m one of those lucky people who got to do for a living what I would have done anyway,” he added. “When you think how lucky I am — I got to do what I do, play and act silly.”

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In September, Van Dyke opened up about how he’d like to be remembered following his Creative Arts Emmy win. 

“For laughter,” he said while holding his trophy for outstanding variety special for “Dick Van Dyke 98 Years of Magic,” per People magazine. “I hope for making people laugh for 75 years.”

Popular restaurant chains set to expand with dozens more locations opening soon

Darden Restaurants is looking to open more Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse restaurants. 

CFO Rajesh Vennam said during Darden’s fourth-quarter earnings call that the parent company is “probably going to have 40 to 45 openings” between the two chains “next year.”

Darden operated over 930 Olive Garden locations as of late May, when its fiscal 2025 year ended. Meanwhile, the restaurant count of company-owned LongHorn Steakhouses stood at over 590. 

Ruth’s Chris, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Chuy’s, Seasons 52 and Eddie V’s are among the other chains currently within Darden’s portfolio of brands. 

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“Yard House might be in the mid-single digits, and then you have all the other brands contributing probably another 15 or so,” Vennam went on to say. “But as we look into the future, we expect the other brands to become a bigger part of the mix.” 

The CFO told analysts and investors that Darden believes there was still “huge opportunity” for LongHorn to open 25 to 30 locations a year and Olive Garden to be “in the 20-ish range for the foreseeable future.” 

“But then we’re also, as I said, the other brands will start to contribute even more” to Darden’s brand mix “as we move into the next few years,” he said.

His comments came in response to an analyst question about the 60-65 total new restaurants that Darden forecasted it would launch in fiscal 2026 and when unit growth was expected to increase. 

“We’re actually building the pipeline,” Vennam said. “We expect to be in the 3-plus [percent] range over the next five years.” 

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Darden has over 2,100 company-owned restaurants across all its brands at the end of fiscal 2025. 

Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse have been around since the early 1980s, with Darden acquiring the latter brand in 2007. LongHorn Steakhouse ranked No. 2 for customer satisfaction among full-serve chains in the American Customer Satisfaction Index Restaurant and Food Delivery Study released earlier this month, while the Italian-themed chain was close behind it with a score of 81.

Olive Garden had $5.2 billion in sales for fiscal 2025, marking a 2.8% increase from the prior year. Longhorn’s annual sales rose by 7.8% to $3.03 billion.  

Overall, Darden generated nearly $12.08 billion in sales during fiscal 2025 with net earnings of $1.05 billion. For fiscal 2026, it forecast sales will grow 7-8%. 

During the earnings call, the company also revealed it was looking at “strategic alternatives” for its 28-location Bahama Breeze chain. 

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“We have made the difficult decision that these remaining locations and the Bahama Breeze brand are not a strategic priority for us. We also believe that this brand and these restaurants have the potential to benefit from a new owner,” CEO Ricardo Cardenas said. “Consequently, we will be considering strategic alternatives for Bahama Breeze, including a potential sale of the brand or converting restaurants to other Darden brands.” 

Air traveler forced to ‘spit out’ Zyn mid-flight, igniting social media storm

Smoking and vaping are banned on flights, but it appears that smokeless nicotine pouches are allowed — depending on the airline. 

Pouches are allowed in both carry-on bags and checked bags, according to the TSA.

Yet when it comes to the actual use of these items on flights, airlines can determine their own rules for smokeless tobacco activity.

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American, United, Alaska Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines do not specifically define on their websites whether passengers can use nicotine pouches, according to the most recent review of their sites. 

Recently, one flight passenger called out an airline in the “r/delta” forum on Reddit for an experience with chewing Zyn on board. 

“Got told to spit my Zyn out on a flight. I really didn’t know that was a thing?” the user wrote.

“Delta flight, first class (not that that matters). They brought a cup out and asked me to spit my Zyn out.”

The user added, “They said it was because it was a tobacco product. I didn’t put up a fight and complied right away.”

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“Was just wondering if this was an FAA thing I didn’t know about?” asked the flight passenger.

Redditors took to the comments section to share thoughts about the incident — and their own similar experiences. 

“Probably because the way you had it in your lip, it looked like a dip,” said one user.

Another Redditor argued, “Zyn isn’t tobacco. You can have it in flight.”

“Tobacco or not, does it cause you to spit into a bottle or cup that could spill or be left stuffed in the seat pocket that someone else has to clean up?” said one person. 

“Then I’d say it doesn’t matter what you call it,” the person added.

A user commented, “It [is] allowed but be discrete. I see many people using them on flights, myself included, and as long as you’re not doing it right in front of an FA, you’re fine,” the person added. 

“It is silly because no one would stop you from using nicotine gum or a patch,” the same user added.

One user claimed, “I was on a United flight a few days ago and the shopping/menu magazine in the seatback actually had a Zyn ad in it. It said something like, ‘Flight ready.’”

“It said something like, ‘Flight ready.’”

“How would the FA even know what it is? Just looks like gum/mints,” said another individual.

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On Delta’s “Contract of Carriage” section on its website, the airline specifies a no-smoking policy.

“Delta prohibits smoking and the use of all smokeless tobacco products (including e-cigarettes and vapes) on all flights,” it states.

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A Delta spokesperson said the policy also prohibits smokeless tobacco, including pouches and gum.