Psaki faces backlash for remarks about Vice President JD Vance’s wife Usha
MSNBC host Jen Psaki was denounced for her “disgusting” comments Tuesday suggesting Vice President JD Vance’s wife Usha is scared of him.
Psaki made the remarks on the “I’ve Had It” podcast, where she and the hosts expressed concern over Vance as a member of the Trump administration.
She suggested Vance was “scarier” than President Donald Trump in some regards, and that Usha Vance may feel similarly.
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“I think the little Manchurian candidate, JD Vance, wants to be president more than anything else,” Psaki said. “I always wonder what’s going on in the mind of his wife. Like, are you OK? Please blink four times. We’ll come over here. We’ll save you.
“And that he’s willing to do anything to get there. And your whole iteration you just outlined, I mean, he’s scarier in certain ways in some ways. And he’s young and ambitious and agile in the sense that he’s a chameleon who makes himself whatever he thinks the audience wants to hear from him.”
The podcast episode’s description also referenced this joke, stating, “Usha Vance, please blink twice if you need help.”
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Several X users called out Psaki’s comments as “disgusting” and “vile” for mocking Vance’s marriage and suggesting someone was worse than the “worse than Hitler” Trump.
“Not a good person. At all,” Fox News contributor Joe Concha remarked.
The Libs of TikTok X account wrote, “Unhinged Jen Psaki is now smearing JD Vance, suggesting that his wife, Usha, wants to leave her husband and offers to ‘save’ her. She also thinks JD Vance is ‘scarier’ than Donald Trump. @MSNBC should be ashamed to pay her salary.”
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Townhall.com writer Amy Curtis commented, “Also, this is an absolutely vile thing to say. Usha Vance is happily married. She made a vow to JD and those words mean something. It’s also an insult to women who are in actual bad marriages.”
“Jen Psuki [sic] must be transferring her own personal issues onto others. @jrpsaki is a dumba– who has no comprehension of the truth and has to overcompensate for her lack of talent by saying untrue things. Circle back on that, moron,” White House director of communications Steven Cheung wrote.
“I must admit, the pivot to ‘JD Vance is worse than Hitler’ started earlier than I anticipated,” Federalist senior legal correspondent Margot Cleveland joked.
“A NEW ‘Worse than “worse than Hitler”‘ is on the way!” conservative commentator Doug Powers wrote.
“Usha is accompanying JD right now in Israel securing the Gaza Peace Deal. Absolutely disgusting comments,” Turning Point USA contributor Jack Posebic wrote.
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Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and the vice president’s office for comment.
Man allegedly fired at by masked accountant over Trump banner expresses shock at suspect’s identity
A North Carolina man says he was shot at by an angry motorist who tore down a Trump banner in his mother’s front yard, an incident he believes reflects the nation’s growing political hostility.
Mark Thomas, who owns a river rafting business in the Nantahala Gorge, said he was relaxing at home on Sept. 6 when the shooting occurred.
Thomas told Fox News Digital he checked his security cameras after seeing a man wearing an “Antifa-style mask” step out of a Jeep Cherokee to look at a Trump banner attached to a bus parked near his 87-year-old mother’s home.
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The man, identified by police as Benjamin Michael Campbell, 38, was allegedly speeding before abruptly stopping and removing the banner.
“Being a Second Amendment believer, I reached over, grabbed my rifle and took off out there to the porch,” Thomas said.
Thomas said he fired two warning shots into the air before Campbell allegedly got back into his vehicle and opened fire through the sunroof. Campbell then fled — only to return moments later and fire several more shots, striking a refrigerator inside the home, Thomas said.
Campbell, an Atlanta-based accountant, fled before police arrived. He was arrested Sept. 30 and extradited to North Carolina, where he faces charges including felony assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or inflict serious injury, discharging a firearm within an enclosure to incite fear and willful and wanton injury to personal property.
Thomas said he was stunned to learn the suspect was a professional in his late 30s.
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“Some of these people, they just see a Trump sign, and they just snap,” he said. “The whole time I’m thinking, ‘This is some 20-year-old kid, and he’s going to figure it out eventually’.
“That was really my hesitation,” he added. “I thought, ‘You know, son, you’re going to live another day.’ And I came to find out this guy is 38 years old and an accountant out here in a full Antifa outfit.”
Thomas said he almost didn’t call the police after the first round of shots but changed his mind when Campbell returned and opened fire again.
He added that his mother had several other Trump signs on her property that Campbell never saw.
“His head would have just completely exploded,” Thomas said.
Thomas also noted that he had no intention of harming Campbell, citing the shooter’s poor aim.
SUSPECT IN NC RESTAURANT SHOOTING IDENTIFIED, CHARGED WITH MURDER AFTER 3 KILLED, AT LEAST 5 WOUNDED
“The only thing that saved his life was the fact that he couldn’t shoot that well,” he said. “You would’ve had to hit me pretty good to get me to not do what I was ready to do.”
The shooting happened four days before the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, an incident that Thomas said “really woke people up” to the violence happening amid deep political divisions across the country.
He claimed some Democratic officials have publicly encouraged hostility toward conservatives, further fueling divisions.
Thomas said he hopes to one day speak with Campbell to understand what motivated the attack.
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“I’d really like to talk to that guy and find out what’s in his head,” Thomas said. “I’d like him to look at the video and see me standing on my porch and realize how close he came to losing his life over a banner.
“I swear I’ve thought about putting $10 on his (jail) account and getting him to call me.”
Republicans share ‘strong concerns’ about Trump plan to import grocery staple
FIRST ON FOX: A group of House Republicans is raising concerns about the potential effects of the U.S. importing Argentinian beef after President Donald Trump floated the idea earlier this week.
Rep. Julie Fedorchak, R-N.D., is leading seven other House GOP lawmakers in a letter to the president on Tuesday evening, warning the potential plan has rattled the multibillion-dollar American ranching industry.
“America’s cattle producers are among the most resilient and hardworking in the nation,” the Republicans wrote. “Collectively, the cattle industry supports thousands of jobs across our districts and contributes $112 billion to rural economies nationwide.”
“In recent days, we have heard strong concerns from producers regarding reports that the U.S. may import beef from Argentina.”
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The House Republicans acknowledged the “importance of strong trade relationships and diverse markets” but added that beef producers in their districts “are seeking clarity on how this decision will be made, what safety and inspection standards will apply, and how this policy aligns with your administration’s commitment to strengthening American agriculture.”
Trump suggested Sunday that buying beef from Argentina could help lower prices for Americans at home, amid a wider promise to lower costs for U.S. citizens.
“One of the things we’re thinking about doing is beef from Argentina,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
He later elaborated in his conversation with reporters, “We would buy some beef from Argentina. If we do that, that will bring our beef prices down.”
“Our groceries are down, our energy prices are down. I think we’re going to have $2 gasoline pretty soon. We’re getting close and everything’s down. The one thing that’s kept up is beef,” Trump said.
He added that it would not be “that much” but argued it would help Argentina, a U.S. ally, as well.
58 HOUSE DEMS VOTE AGAINST RESOLUTION HONORING ‘LIFE AND LEGACY’ OF CHARLIE KIRK
But the House Republicans questioned whether imported beef would be held to the same food safety and animal health requirements as that of the U.S., which they called “the gold standard.”
“Any import policy must hold foreign suppliers to those same rigorous standards. Introducing beef from countries with inconsistent safety or inspection records could undermine the confidence that U.S. ranchers have worked decades to earn,” the lawmakers warned.
“We respectfully request additional information on this matter and urge your administration to ensure that any future decisions are made with full transparency, sound science, and a firm commitment to the U.S. cattle industry. America’s producers can compete with anyone in the world. If given an opportunity, they will continue to respond quickly to the market demand for more quality American beef in our grocery stores.”
In addition to Fedorchak, the letter is also signed by Reps. Michelle Fischbach, R-Minn., Troy Downing, R-Mont., Gabe Evans, R-Colo., Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., Derek Schmidt, R-Kan., Jeff Hurd, R-Colo., and Republican Study Committee Chair August Pfluger, R-Texas.
White House spokesman Kush Desai told Fox News Digital in response, “The Trump administration remains committed to addressing the needs and concerns of American cattle producers and safeguarding their interests at home and abroad. That’s why the administration has secured billions in new export opportunities for American agricultural products in our historic trade deals with the UK, Japan, the EU, and others.”
“It’s also why the administration is focused on reversing a prolonged decrease in the supply of live cattle by growing American cattle herds with robust action to deliver disaster relief to cattle country, support new ranchers, and reduce risk for cattle producers,” Desai said.
Trump’s proposal has stirred some anxiety among some Republicans whose constituencies depend on cattle ranching.
Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., posted on X Tuesday, “If the goal is addressing beef prices at the grocery store, this isn’t the way.”
“The U.S. has safe, reliable beef, and it is the one bright spot in our struggling ag economy. Nebraska’s ranchers cannot afford to have the rug pulled out from under them when they’re just getting ahead or simply breaking even,” Fischer wrote.
Meanwhile, Fox News Digital was told that Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., also raised significant concerns about what importing beef from Argentina could do to the U.S. cattle ranching industry during a call with fellow House Republicans on Tuesday.
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But some Republican responses were more muted. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., told reporters that Trump “definitely identified a problem” regarding a shortage of cattle in the U.S. He added, “I understand what he’s trying to get done. I think there’s more ways to implement it.”
Fedorchak herself told Fox News Digital, “We’ve all received a number of questions and calls from our constituents over the last few days, so we are asking for clarity on the administration’s long-term plans. Our farmers and ranchers stand ready to deliver on the president’s America-First agenda. North Dakotans take great pride in producing the safest, highest-quality beef in the world — and we should be building on that success.”
Federal raid on NYC’s Chinatown alleged counterfeit market ignites political tension
A federal raid in New York City’s Chinatown targeting criminal activity tied to the alleged sale of counterfeit goods turned chaotic Friday as protesters clashed with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, prompting city officials to say they had no role in the operation.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News that ICE and federal partners conducted a “targeted, intelligence-driven enforcement operation” on Canal Street focused on criminal activity related to the sale of alleged counterfeit goods.
“During this law enforcement operation, rioters who were shouting obscenities, became violent and obstructed law enforcement duties, including blocking vehicles and assaulting law enforcement,” McLaughlin wrote in a statement. “Already, one rioter has been arrested for assault on a federal officer.”
During a news conference Tuesday night, Murad Awawdeh, vice president of advocacy at the New York Immigration Coalition, said between 15 and 40 vendors were arrested, and at least two locals were taken into custody for protesting and blocking their arrest efforts.
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City officials quickly moved to distance themselves from the raid.
Mayor Eric Adams’ press secretary, Kayla Mamelak Altus, told Fox News that New York City “never cooperates with federal law enforcement on civil deportation matters, in accordance with local laws,” and had “no involvement in this matter.”
“Mayor Adams has been clear that undocumented New Yorkers trying to pursue the American Dream should not be the target of law enforcement, and resources should instead be focused on violent criminals,” she said.
City officials said police were monitoring the situation near Canal Street and 26 Federal Plaza but had “matters under control.” However, if circumstances were to escalate and an individual assaults or interferes with a legal law enforcement action, a source said Adams instructed the New York City Police Department (NYPD) to intervene.
The source added there have been numerous multi-agency enforcement actions on Canal Street this year, and any illegal activity should be addressed by the NYPD.
“We saw what looked like tanks in our streets,” said Jumaane Williams, a New York City public advocate. “We saw people who were armed and in tactical gear for vendors, which was planned. Many of you actually got advance notice that this was going to happen. They were targeting, in this case, Black vendors on Canal Street. That’s what occurred… None of this is about public safety. It is about fear and chaos.”
He added that what gives him hope is that, in a few months, he believes “we are going to have a mayor who actually cares about New Yorkers and who will be here joined with us.”
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Socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani weighed in on X, calling the Manhattan raid “aggressive and reckless.”
“Federal agents from ICE and HSI—some in military fatigues and masks—descended on Chinatown today in an aggressive and reckless raid on immigrant street vendors,” Mamdani wrote in a post. “Once again, the Trump administration chooses authoritarian theatrics that create fear, not safety. It must stop.”
Mamdani’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for further comment.
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“Let’s be clear, street vendors are not a national security threat,” said New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. “They are not a national security threat… There is no excuse for sending military style vehicles and a national law enforcement response for street vendors, whether they were sourced from social media or otherwise.”
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DHS said it will release additional details about the criminals arrested as soon as they become available.
ICE did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Border security gets ancient upgrade as Trump deploys $4.5B ‘smart wall’ strategy
Back when President Joe Biden was presiding over essentially open U.S. borders, I argued that contrary to leftist wishes, border walls actually do work. They are not intended to stop everyone coming through, by any means, but to stop illegal people, goods and drugs getting through easily.
Now the Department of Homeland Security is using “smart walls” that combine high-tech with good old-fashioned tall, strong barriers to prevent illegal entry. The idea is not new, even if the technology is.
The ancient Romans had an early version of smart walls. At Hadrian’s Wall in what is now northern England, the Roman empire established a wall to mark their northern frontier, punctuated by forts. Vindolanda is the best preserved large fort, with the layout still visible in stone foundations and a wealth of archeological finds to help us guess what every building was.
Starting in the 1970s, archeologists found remarkably well-preserved personal items, due to the ideal conditions of the surrounding soil. There were not just durable coins, metal, glass and stone, but even leather shoes and clothes, as well as a trove of letters written on thin wood that departing troops had failed to burn. We know a lot about how they lived and worked, communicated, and ran their army.
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A “dumb wall” would be just putting up a barrier and hoping no one could get over, under or around it. The Romans didn’t rely on that. First, though their wall was easy to cross, it created a visible frontier that any northern tribes would be aware of and thus know they were crossing without permission into Roman territory. The occasional head on a spike, evidence of which was found at Vindolanda, was a primitive warning to the illiterate tribes to the north that maybe proceeding further was a bad idea. That’s what today we’d call psychological operations, or “psy-ops.”
Second, like the U.S. southern border barrier system, the Roman wall in northern Britain also had early models of signals intelligence to better direct resources to areas under threat. Vindolanda was manned by a cohort, about 500 men or a tenth of a legion. The men went on regular foot and horse-back patrol. They were ready to move to wherever a threat presented, warned either by horse-borne messengers or by signal fires lit at high points along the frontier. They received regular correspondence from the other forts, and occasionally from Rome itself, to keep them informed.
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Two thousand years later, the modern U.S. Border Patrol has more men than the Romans did in Britain, but they are still few compared to the land they cover. The Border Patrol is getting some much-needed new manpower and resources, after years of neglect under Biden and former Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, who diverted staff off the line to processing and releasing illegal aliens into the country.
But even with the significant boost they are getting in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, they will still be thinly spread along 1,800 miles of southern border and nearly 5,000 in the north. That’s why, like Roman signal fires and messengers, high-tech cameras, sensors, drones and lights on the wall or around the border area can all help detect illegal crossings early, so that the Patrol can send vehicles and officers quickly to intercept them.
Under Biden, illegal aliens were so confident of being released that they gladly surrendered to any American in uniform. Millions were released over Biden’s four years. Under President Donald Trump, however, things have completely changed. Encounters of illegal aliens at the border between ports of entry are about a tenth of what they were in the peak Biden months.
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And unlike the Biden years, almost none are being released into the interior to await years of immigration process. Instead, as the law requires, they are mostly being detained throughout any applicable immigration process until the U.S. has determined whether they have a right to remain. This fact alone has discouraged many from even attempting to come illegally.
DHS recently announced the award of $4.5 billion in contracts for 230 miles of various types of barriers along the border with Mexico. This includes 80 miles of the barriers in the middle of the Rio Grande along the Texas border, which may include the effective spinning orange buoys that the state installed in the face of Biden administration opposition as part of operation Lone Star in 2023.
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The DHS “smart wall” means not just 30-foot steel bollard walls, but better roads for Border Patrol vehicles to respond to incursions, as well as lights, cameras and sensors. Smart Walls will be built or enhanced in El Paso and Del Rio Texas, San Diego and El Centro in California, and in Tucson and Yuma, Arizona – site of the Morelos Gap, where I saw hundreds of illegals cross in one night in 2023.
The Roman empire knew that walls worked. If well-manned and supported, they could create a stable frontier with limited access according to rules they set. In Trump’s second term, the United States is implementing the same, proven tactics to limit illegal entry to the United States, thus reducing drug smuggling, human trafficking and other crime.
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Mike Johnson hit with Dem-led lawsuit amid government shutdown chaos
The state of Arizona is suing Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., over the delayed swearing-in of Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz.
“Speaker Mike Johnson is actively stripping the people of Arizona of one of their seats in Congress and disenfranchising the voters of Arizona’s seventh Congressional district in the process,” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, said in a statement.
“By blocking Adelita Grijalva from taking her rightful oath of office, he is subjecting Arizona’s seventh Congressional district to taxation without representation. I will not allow Arizonans to be silenced or treated as second-class citizens in their own democracy.”
Johnson dismissed the lawsuit as a bid to get “national publicity” in comments to reporters earlier this week and on Tuesday evening.
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“I think it’s patently absurd. We run the House. She has no jurisdiction. We’re following the precedent,” Johnson said in response to the state attorney general. “She’s looking for national publicity, apparently she’s gotten some of it, but good luck with that.”
Grijalva won a special election on Sept. 23 to replace her father, late Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., after he passed away from cancer at age 77.
Johnson has repeatedly said that Grijalva will be sworn into office when the House returns to its regular sessions. But it’s not clear when exactly that will be — the House GOP leader has threatened to keep his lawmakers out of Washington, D.C., until the ongoing government shutdown is over.
It’s a bid to pressure Senate Democrats, led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to agree to the GOP’s plan to fund the federal government through Nov. 21.
But Schumer and his allies have resisted thus far, sinking the Republican-led bill 11 times and keeping the shutdown going for 21 days.
House Democrats have accused Johnson of playing politics and depriving Arizona’s 7th Congressional District of representation in the process.
“Republicans on vacation for four weeks — and one of the consequences of that is that Republicans have refused, now for four consecutive weeks, to swear in Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva, depriving hundreds of thousands of people in the state of Arizona of the representation that they deserve, particularly during this challenging moment in the country,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said during a press conference on Tuesday.
Johnson, in response to Democrats’ criticism, has repeatedly pointed out that the House was not in session when Grijalva won her election.
He’s also argued that he was following precedent set by former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who waited 25 days to swear in Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., in 2021.
Letlow had won a special election to replace her husband, Rep.-elect Luke Letlow, R-La., who died during the COVID-19 pandemic before he could be sworn into office in January 2021.
“We are not in legislative session. The chronology is important. Rep. Grijalva won her race, I think it was the last week of September, after we had already gone out of session. So I will administer the oath to her, I hope, on the first day we come back,” Johnson said.
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“I’m willing and anxious to do that. In the meantime, instead of doing TikTok videos, she should be serving her constituents.”
Grijalva has argued she cannot perform her legislative or constituent duties without being sworn in first, which Johnson and Republicans have disputed.
But her swearing-in is also key to the ongoing battle over Jeffrey Epstein documents going on in the House.
Once made a member of Congress, Grijalva is expected to be the deciding signature on a measure aimed at forcing a House-wide vote on releasing Epstein documents in the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) possession.
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The measure, called a discharge petition, is designed to end-run House leaders on specific legislation — provided it has a majority of lawmakers’ signatures.
Johnson and House GOP leaders have called the measure superfluous and political, pointing to the chamber’s own ongoing investigation and procedures aimed at widening transparency into Epstein’s case.
However, the speaker has signaled he would not block the measure if it came to the House floor when Grijalva was sworn in.
Fox News Digital reached out to Johnson for a response but did not immediately hear back.
Iconic temple free of scaffolding for first time in 200 years, but tourists must rush
For the first time in 200 years, visitors can see Greece’s most iconic historic landmark free of scaffolding. But anyone who’s interested needs to act fast to catch the view.
The Parthenon temple, which sits upon Athens’ famed Acropolis Hill, has been the subject of continuous restoration efforts since the early 19th century.
On Oct. 11, The Associated Press reported that the latest scaffolding project on the Parthenon’s western facade — going on since 2005 — had concluded.
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The view of the temple is completely clear for the first time in years.
The removal of the scaffolding has made a dramatic difference for tourists, as the Parthenon’s western facade provides the best view of the temple from the street.
Lina Mendoni, Greece’s culture minister, said during an interview on Skai radio that the scaffolding was removed in late September.
“It is like they are seeing a completely different monument,” said Mendoni.
But the pause is temporary.
Mendoni said new scaffolding will be put up in early November, though these structures will be less of an eyesore.
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The scaffolding will be “lighter and aesthetically much closer to the logic of the monument,” the official said.
Conservation work will likely conclude early next summer.
At that point, “the Parthenon will be completely freed of this scaffolding too, and people will be able to see it truly free,” Mendoni said.
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The Parthenon is one of the most popular tourist sites in Greece, attracting about 4.5 million visitors in 2024.
The temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, dates back to the 5th century B.C.
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It was built to honor Athena, the patron goddess of Athens.
Former ESPN host ‘maddened’ as daughter guards ‘naturally born boy’ in girls game
Former ESPN employee Sam Ponder is witnessing one of her strongest oppositions come to life before her own eyes.
Ponder said last month that it is “ridiculous” to have transgender athletes compete against biological women and girls in sports.
On Monday, Ponder took to social media, explaining that her middle school daughter was “guarding an obviously naturally born boy in a girls (basketball) tournament.”
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“It’s happened many times now living in NYC… The parents cheer while the boy is physical and dominant against the girls. The all-girls team loses,” Ponder posted on X.
“We’ve taught our kids to never make fun of the kid… to always be kind and loving. That the parents are the problem. That no kid is born in the wrong body. But if I’m honest, watching my daughter get posted up by a boy whose parents have deceived him in this way is maddening.”
Neither the city of New York nor the state has regulations regarding trans athletes, but there is currently a legal battle in Long Island’s Nassau County.
Ponder responded to numerous X users, saying that the “boy” in question was not at fault but rather the parents.
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Ponder appeared on Fox News Channel’s “Saturday in America” with Kayleigh McEnany last month and talked about her decision to speak out against transgender athletes participating in girls’ and women’s sports. The topic has been hotly debated in recent years, with Lia Thomas winning an NCAA title in 2022, and now the Trump administration demanding U.S. schools to comply with Title IX.
“There is no way in this country, especially in sports, you shouldn’t be able to say on your social media accounts, ‘I don’t think men should be in women’s sports.’ This is something – I talk to athletes all the time, 99.9% of professional athletes, like we know this is ridiculous,” she said.
“And the fact that we haven’t been able to say it boldly – but with kindness and some humility – is insane. It is insane we’ve gotten to this point in sports that we just can’t be honest about what’s true and not be a jerk about it but to say, ‘Yeah, you’re not putting a male in my daughter’s locker room. It’s not happening.’”
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Transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports continue to be a major topic in 2025. President Donald Trump signed an executive order barring men from competing in girls’ and women’s sports in February. Since then, several states have thumbed their nose at the order.
Super lucky spin: Gambler hits $1M jackpot on ‘Wheel of Fortune’ slot
A $3 bet turned into a million-dollar miracle Friday when a lucky Nevada player hit it big on a “Wheel of Fortune” slot machine.
“Congratulations to a local guest on hitting an incredible $1,048,675.87 jackpot playing IGT’s Wheel of Fortune Cash Link Big Money at Sunset Station last night!” the Sunset Station Hotel and Casino posted on Facebook.
The casino shared the update in a celebratory post on Saturday, sparking multiple congratulatory comments from fans and fellow gamblers online.
The post included an image of the progressive video slot machine, showing a grand prize of $1,048,675.87 at the top. Other potential payouts listed included one just over $10,100 and another for nearly $1,200.
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The “Wheel of Fortune” Cash Link Big Money machine is a progressive slot, meaning the prize pool grows each time a player wagers, often across multiple linked machines in different locations.
Sunset Station told FOX Business the winner is a Las Vegas resident.
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The casino sits in Henderson, a suburb about 13 miles southeast of the world-famous Las Vegas Strip. The property caters largely to locals seeking the same gaming excitement as the Strip without the crowds and parking headaches.
International Game Technology (IGT), the maker of the machine, told FOX Business that its “Wheel of Fortune” Slots have awarded million-dollar jackpots to more than 1,200 players and have paid out over $3.5 billion in prizes.
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Introduced in the mid-1990s, “Wheel of Fortune” slots have become one of the most recognizable and profitable slot brands in casino history, blending the thrill of the TV game show with the promise of life-changing jackpots.
As for how the winner will receive the payout, IGT said players can choose between a discounted lump-sum payment or installments through a multi-year annuity. The lump-sum option provides immediate access to the winnings, while the annuity spreads payments out over time — a decision that often depends on financial planning and tax considerations.
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According to IGT, a Wheel of Fortune jackpot of $100,000 or more hits every 72 hours.
Friday’s win adds to a string of high-profile jackpots in Nevada this year, where lucky spins continue to turn small bets into extraordinary paydays.