Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) incorrectly described Virginia’s own voter identification law during a Sunday interview, prompting a correction from the host of a Democrat-friendly network. The awkward exchange came on ABC’s “This Week“ with host Jonathan Karl, as Warner criticized President Donald Trump’s election security agenda and defended Democratic opposition to the SAVE America Act, legislation that would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. Karl asked Warner whether Democrats should embrace photo voter identification requirements, noting that polls consistently show broad public support for voter ID laws. “You know what? In Virginia, we have voter voter ID and photo ID,” Warner responded. Karl immediately corrected the senator. “That’s actually not the case,” Karl replied. “I mean, I’m a Virginia voter. You don’t need to show a photo ID in Virginia. There are a wide range of things you can show for ID. And if you don’t show one of those, you can sign an affidavit.” Warner attempted to recover by arguing that Virginia still has “voter ID of one form or another,” before pivoting back to criticizing Republican-backed election reforms. ABC: “You and every other Democrat oppose the SAVE America Act… requiring photo ID to register to vote, is this Democrats should get behind?” WARNER: “In Virginia, we have voter ID and photo ID!” ABC: “That’s actually not the case. I’m a Virginia voter…” pic.twitter.com/jRuFt8veKw — RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 19, 2026 Under Virginia law, voters may present numerous forms of acceptable identification, including certain government-issued IDs and other approved documents. If a voter does not have acceptable identification, he or she may sign an ID Confirmation Statement affirming their identity and cast a regular ballot. Virginia does not require voters to present a photo ID in order to vote. The exchange occurred after Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, spent several minutes attacking Trump’s election security policies, arguing foreign adversaries such as Russia, Iran, North Korea, and China continue to pose cyber threats to American elections.  Warner argued that Republicans were using the issue to suppress turnout through the SAVE America Act. “The SAVE Act is about voter disenfranchisement,” Warner said. “The SAVE Act is going to take anybody that changed their name when they got married. They don’t get to vote unless they go back and find [proof of a name change].” Warner also argued that some Republican-led states permit voters to use gun-related identification while refusing to accept student IDs. “The irony here would be the case if you can show any photo that is government stamped would be fine,” Warner said. “Certain states will say we’re going to let you show your … NRA gun license but you can’t show your student ID.” While some states do accept certain handgun carry permits as valid identification, a majority of those same states also permit qualifying student IDs for voting under specified circumstances.

South Carolina’s newly appointed interim U.S. Senator Darline Graham Nordone addressed the people of her state in an open letter posted to X on Saturday, reflecting on the sudden loss of her brother, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, and her commitment to stepping into the role. Nordone began the letter by addressing her brother’s death a week before, writing, “Dear Fellow South Carolinians, I never imagined I would be speaking to you under these circumstances.” “If I could trade this moment and have Lindsey back, I would do so in a heartbeat,” she continued. Darline Graham expressed gratitude for the support her family has received. “I have been amazed and appreciative of the outpouring of love and support from the people of South Carolina,” she said. “I always knew Lindsey was an amazing person, but I have been overwhelmed by how many people truly loved him and how many lives he touched.” The letter highlighted Lindsey Graham’s lifelong dedication to South Carolina and the nation and also described Nordone’s decision to accept the appointment as a continuation of family values instilled in them from an early age. “Lindsey dedicated his life to serving South Carolina and defending our nation. He accomplished so much, yet he still had so many big ideas that he was determined to see through,” she wrote, adding, “Now, it’s time for me to step up for South Carolina, just like he stepped up for me when our parents died. In the most challenging of times, I’ve learned God often calls on ordinary people to do extraordinary things.” She acknowledged that she brings her own approach to public service. “Yet I am not Lindsey. I have my own way of doing things. But we were raised with the same values: work hard each day, trust in the Lord, remember your roots, and never forget who you work for.” She cited her career focused on helping South Carolinians with disabilities find employment and live independently as an example of that service. The open letter also thanked Lindsey Graham’s staff for their work during a difficult period. “On behalf of my family and Lindsey’s staff — who have worked tirelessly through their own grief while continuing to serve the people — thank you.” She concluded by asking for prayers: “I did not seek this moment. But it’s here. Now, I’m asking for your prayers. God Bless.” The letter comes days after South Carolina Republican Governor Henry McMaster appointed Nordone to fill the remainder of her brother’s Senate term after she was recommended by President Donald Trump, saying it would be a fitting tribute to Lindsey Graham, who had spoken highly of his sister in past interviews. She accepted the position in an emotional public appearance. “Lindsey has always been there for me. Now, I will be there for him,” she said last week. Supporters, including members of Graham’s former staff and fellow South Carolina officials, praised her background in state government, workforce development, and her personal character. With her appointment, Nordone became the first woman to represent South Carolina in the U.S. Senate. She will serve out the remainder of her brother’s term, which ends in January 2027. 

Think of the great accomplishments of civilization: skyscrapers reaching toward heaven, bridges joining divided peoples, dams powering ambitious societies. How many have been built by human beings using only their feet? Not many, right? So, as we bring the mind-numbing boredom of another World Cup to an end, please explain our nation’s new fascination with soccer. Civilization took off when our ancestors stood upright, developed opposable thumbs, and learned to use tools. The hand fashioned the spear, raised the cathedral, laid the railroad, split the atom, and put a man on the moon. Human beings stopped merely living in the world and began shaping it to their intentions. Soccer responded to our magnificent evolutionary ascent by prohibiting the use of the hand. After millions of years of progress, soccer asks humanity to put its most useful equipment in its pants pocket. Here is a game in which modern human beings voluntarily surrender their principal biological advantage and spend 90 minutes trying to maneuver a ball with the precision of a bear opening a refrigerator. In American sports, effort usually produces some identifiable result. Football measures achievement yard by yard. Baseball records every pitch, hit, run, and error. Basketball rewards successful action so reliably that the scoreboard routinely reaches three digits, unless we count the WNBA as basketball. American sport operates on a simple assumption: If extraordinary athletes exert themselves for several hours, something should be accomplished. Soccer makes no such rash promise. And it frequently delivers. A soccer match can conclude 0–0, a score traditionally associated with a game that has not been played. A 2–0 result is considered an exciting blowout. Fans can watch nearly two hours of strenuous activity only to discover that neither side has achieved anything. Soccer remains stubbornly unwilling to happen. Except, of course, for the penalties. There is true drama only when a player is brushed by a passing breeze. Down he goes as if plugged by Dirty Harry. He grabs his leg, rolls across the grass, and pleads to the referee. Thirty seconds later, the performance is over. He’s back on his feet, running as if nothing happened. This theatrical suffering is not incidental to soccer. It is part of the strategy. Because goals are so scarce, an official’s ruling can matter more than ages of athletic effort. The referee reviews the collision. Video officials review the referee. Television analysts review the video officials. Millions of spectators then wait for a ruling from soccer’s administrative state. In an elimination match, a tie may finally be settled by a penalty shootout, a ceremony only loosely related to the original contest. It is as if the Super Bowl ended in a tie and the championship was decided by a game of beer pong. The soccer authorities award a victory; the players do not earn it. This explains why soccer doesn’t fit comfortably within the American imagination. Historian Frederick Jackson Turner argued that the frontier helped shape the American character: individualism, practical ingenuity, restless energy, and a determination to overcome obstacles rather than be their victim. Turner’s theory describes something recognizably American. The frontier did not reward elegant suffering. It rewarded people who crossed the river, raised the barn, harvested the crop, and made it over the mountain. American games reflect that inheritance. They divide territory, measure advances, record individual contributions, and produce winners. Their statistics are not just decorations. They express a national conviction that performance should be measured, excellence recognized, and achievement rewarded. A scoreboard is America’s incentive system celebrated in lights. Soccer comes from a different world. Its admirers praise its accessibility, and they have a point. A child does not need pads, helmets, bats, baskets, or a manicured diamond. All he needs is a ball and a patch of ground. That simplicity helped make soccer the world’s game. But scarcity is not an American virtue. Our nation did not escape poverty by romanticizing it. We triumphed by inventing tools, increasing productivity, rewarding accomplishment, and refusing to accept a scoreless afternoon as adequate. “The Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton,” goes the famous observation credited to the Duke of Wellington. The historical attribution is a little shaky, but the larger idea is sound: The games a culture plays help form the habits it carries into the future. If that is true, give me the playing field where progress is visible, achievement is rewarded, and somebody wins. Give me the game played with hands. *** Alex Castellanos is a co-founder of Purple Strategies, a bipartisan public affairs firm, and appears regularly on Fox News.

The Trump administration threw cold water on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s dream of arresting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling the proposal “pure political theater.” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz responded on Saturday after Mamdani revealed he was in “active conversation” with New York City’s Law Department over whether he could order Netanyahu’s arrest if the Israeli leader visits New York for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September.  “Mayor Mamdani: here’s why your threat to arrest PM Netanyahu in NYC during UNGA is not going to happen,” Waltz wrote on X. He went on to elaborate that the United States is not a party to the Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court (ICC), the U.N. Headquarters Agreement grants diplomatic protections to visiting heads of government, longstanding head-of-state immunity applies, and “federal authority trumps any local mayor’s wishes.” “This is pure political theater,” Waltz concluded. Mayor Mamdani: here’s why your threat to arrest PM Netanyahu’s in NYC during UNGA is not going to happen: 1. The U.S. is not party to the Rome Statute that underlies the ICC, 2. The UN Headquarters Agreement grants diplomatic protections to visiting heads of gov’t, 3.… — Ambassador Mike Waltz (@michaelgwaltz) July 18, 2026 Mamdani has repeatedly argued that Netanyahu should be arrested over an International Criminal Court warrant accusing the Israeli prime minister of war crimes and crimes against humanity related to Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. “I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,” Mamdani said during an interview with The New York Times. “He’s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court.” While acknowledging uncertainty over his legal authority, Mamdani said his administration is actively reviewing whether New York City could detain Netanyahu if he arrives for the annual U.N. General Assembly. “Whatever the law allows me to do in New York City, that’s what we will do, but we won’t be writing our own laws to that end,” he said. The comments marked a continuation of promises Mamdani made during last year’s mayoral campaign, when he pledged to direct the New York Police Department to arrest Netanyahu if he entered the city in compliance with the ICC warrant. At the time, Mamdani said, “It is my desire to ensure that this be a city that stands up for international law.” Legal experts have long questioned whether such an arrest would be possible, noting that the United States does not recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction and that any attempt by a city government to detain a sitting foreign head of government would almost certainly trigger a confrontation with federal authorities. Netanyahu has dismissed Mamdani’s most recent threats, telling radio host Sid Rosenberg that he was unconcerned by the mayor’s rhetoric while accusing Mamdani of sympathizing with Hamas. “I think he should look at who he’s condemning, who he’s praising,” Netanyahu said. “He’s condemning Israel, the one democracy that stands shoulder to shoulder with American values.” Netanyahu, appearing on Sid Rosenberg’s radio show, claims Mamdani “champions” Hamas and “apologizes and accuses for Iran, “He is with the terror actors… I think, secretly, he hates America.” pic.twitter.com/x2ILVvhAFX — Jacob N. Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) July 15, 2026 Waltz’s statement is the clearest indication yet that the Trump administration has no intention of allowing any effort by New York City officials to act on Mamdani’s proposal, effectively ending speculation over whether the mayor could attempt to use the ICC warrant during Netanyahu’s expected September visit.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has made permanent a controversial program that pays people cash for turning in used syringes, cementing an initiative that critics argue risks creating a cycle in which active drug users receive money that can be used to purchase more drugs. Mamdani’s first city budget includes $3 million to permanently fund the Community Syringe Redemption Program, first reported by the New York Post, which pays participants 20 cents for every used syringe they return, up to 50 syringes — or $10 — per day. The funding appeared in budget documents submitted to the City Council shortly before lawmakers approved the city’s roughly $126 billion spending plan. Originally authorized as a pilot program through legislation backed by progressive members of the City Council in 2022, the initiative officially launched in March 2025. Under the program, participants can bring used syringes to one of eight collection sites across the city in exchange for cash. The effort is administered by the nonprofit Addiction Response Resources under an $11.1 million contract that extends through the end of next year. City officials say the program is financed through more than $189 million New York received in opioid settlement funds from pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors. Supporters argue the program has successfully reduced hazardous syringe litter across the city. According to the city’s Health Department, more than 2.3 million syringes have been collected since the program began. During its first year, the city distributed roughly $292,000 to more than 1,700 participants. Sanitation Department data also suggests fewer discarded needles are ending up on city streets. Workers had collected 26,229 needles so far this year, compared to 64,560 during the same period the previous year. Health Department spokeswoman Rachel Vick defended the initiative, saying the program helps residents “live in a community free of syringe litter” while ensuring used medical waste is safely disposed of. “The city’s syringe redemption program allows New Yorkers in neighborhoods where we see the most complaints to help keep their communities clean, while safely disposing of medical waste and connecting people in need to nearby care,” Vick said. But critics say the city is addressing one public health problem by incentivizing another. Queens Councilwoman Joann Ariola, a Republican, argued that opioid settlement money should be directed toward addiction treatment rather than cash payments to active drug users. “All this is doing is putting money in the pockets of addicts, so they can continue to fuel their habits, rather than helping them break free of their disease,” Ariola said. Bronx Councilman Oswald Feliz, a Democrat whose district includes two of the redemption sites, credited the effort for reducing discarded needles but warned against policies that could create new risks for surrounding neighborhoods. “Too often, used syringes end up in front of schools and children’s parks, and this is an issue that should be treated with the seriousness it deserves,” Feliz said. “We should not recklessly create conditions that can threaten the safety of vulnerable communities.” Some participants openly acknowledged using the program to provide spending money. “It’s definitely a side hustle for me. Yeah, definitely!” participant Tamia Wright told the Post after redeeming used syringes at a Bronx collection site. Asked how she planned to spend the money, Wright replied: “Right now, I’m gonna buy some weed with [the earnings] and cigarettes.” That admission has become a focal point for opponents of the program, who argue it demonstrates the inherent flaw in paying cash for used needles. While the initiative may reduce dangerous litter, they contend it also places money directly into the hands of active drug users without requiring participation in addiction treatment or recovery services. Despite those concerns, city officials have no plans to eliminate the program. While the Health Department says it is not currently considering expanding beyond its eight existing collection sites or increasing the daily payment cap, the inclusion of permanent funding in Mamdani’s first budget effectively makes the syringe buyback program a lasting part of New York City’s public health strategy.