A far-Left New York Democrat doubled down on her pledge to bring revolution to Congress after facing backlash from Republicans for promising to fight against “empire.” House candidate Claire Valdez said Monday she would continue to fight “fascism” and “empire,” despite criticism from Republicans for a post she made celebrating Mexico’s Independence Day. Valdez, running in a deep blue New York City district, is running on a democratic socialist platform that includes “universal rent control” and “queer and trans liberation.”  “On Mexican Independence Day, I posted about my heritage with pride, and the right lost its mind. Republicans called me un-American,” she wrote in a lengthy social media post. “So I’ll say it again: I will fight empire, and the fascists and war profiteers who serve it, whether they attack working people inside our borders or outside them.” Valdez added that she would “fight for a free Palestine” and “abolish ICE” once taking office.  “Mexican Independence Day marks a people’s fight to free themselves. That struggle isn’t finished. The United States still holds a colony of its own,” Valdez said, in reference to Puerto Rico. “I’ll be meeting with Puerto Ricans fighting for basic dignity and the right to decide their own future. And I will commit to fighting alongside them — and with working people all over the world who are standing up for what we deserve. Solidarity forever. Free Palestine. F*ck ICE.” Last week, Valdez celebrated Mexico’s Independence Day with a post and shared a picture of her meeting with “comrades” from Morena, a Left-wing political party in Mexico.  “215 years ago, Mexicans fought an empire that demanded our land and our labor. And we won. I’ll carry that fight with me to Congress as New York’s first Mexican American representative,” Valdez said. “And I’m strengthened not just by Mexico’s history but its present.” House Republicans accused Valdez of forgetting which country she was running for office in after a post she made celebrating Mexican Independence Day.  “Not sure if you’re aware of this, but you will be representing the United States of America in Congress and not Mexico,” said Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX). Valdez, who won the Democratic primary with the backing of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, was more laudatory of Mexico’s independence than her posts over the Fourth of July, when she attacked billionaires and called for Puerto Rico liberation.

Hundreds of Americans have filed personal injury lawsuits against the makers of popular diabetes and weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro, claiming they were not properly warned about a rare but potentially devastating form of sudden vision loss. The condition, known as nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, or NAION, occurs when blood flow to the optic nerve is disrupted. The vision loss typically comes on suddenly, without pain, and is usually permanent. In one lawsuit, a Kentucky woman named Sandra Godby says she took Ozempic and Wegovy as prescribed before developing NAION in her left eye. Her lawsuit claims the resulting vision loss was severe and permanent, causing “radical changes” to her lifestyle, and alleges Novo Nordisk, which makes Ozempic and Wegovy, failed to adequately warn patients and doctors about the potential risk. Researchers began examining a possible connection between GLP-1 drugs and NAION after a safety signal emerged from a Boston health center in 2024. Since then, studies have produced conflicting results, and no study has established that the medications actually cause the condition. A 2026 consensus statement from the American Academy of Ophthalmology and North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society said some studies suggest a small possible increased risk, while others have found no association, with the overall magnitude of the risk remaining low. Novo Nordisk told ABC News that it believes the U.S. personal injury lawsuits are “without merit.” Eli Lilly, the maker of Mounjaro and Zepbound, said it continuously monitors and evaluates safety information, including potential ophthalmic issues. Doctors say there are several established risk factors for NAION that already exist independently of GLP-1 use. ABC News cited diabetes, overnight low blood pressure, and having a very small optic nerve cup as risk factors. A person who has already experienced NAION in one eye may also require a more individualized discussion about potential risks. For now, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not require NAION to be specifically listed as a risk on the drugs’ labels, although the agency says it is reviewing the potential safety signal. “The FDA routinely monitors the safety of drug products postmarketing,” a statement from the agency said. “The FDA identifies safety signals from a variety of sources, evaluates the available data and takes regulatory actions when appropriate.” The vision concerns come as users and doctors have been dealing with a wide range of other reported side effects from the increasingly popular drugs. For example, Business Insider previously documented severe gastrointestinal problems among semaglutide users, including constipation, diarrhea, and episodes of people losing control of their bowels. One Wegovy user described becoming so severely constipated that she experienced significant abdominal pain before eventually having an accident. Additionally, Ozempic’s FDA-approved labeling carries a boxed warning about thyroid C-cell tumors. The drug is specifically not recommended for people with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or with Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome type 2. The FDA labeling says it remains unknown whether semaglutide causes these tumors in humans. Still, the drugs have helped people lose significant amounts of weight and improve blood-sugar control. For patients struggling with obesity, doctors often weigh potential benefits against the drugs’ known side effects and risks that are still being studied.

The father of 9/11 hero Todd Beamer is lending his voice to a new political ad targeting Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed over his ties to anti-American streamer Hasan Piker. David Beamer, whose son was among the passengers who fought back against the hijackers aboard United Flight 93 on Sept. 11, 2001, narrates the ad backing Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers. The ad focuses on Piker’s past comments about America and El-Sayed’s decision to campaign alongside the streamer earlier this year. As highlighted in the ad, Piker said in a 2019 stream that America “deserved 9/11,” and said just days ago that the U.S. is worse than the terrorist group al-Qaeda. “Pound for pound as far as the number of deaths, yes, we have caused tremendous terror all around the world,” he told Axios. Piker has also made other highly controversial statements that didn’t make the ad, including that the goal is to “destroy the white race,” and that people should “motherf*ck the U.S. Constitution and motherf*ck this country.” Narrating the ad, David Beamer targeted such comments, saying, “The 43 people on Flight 93 were not victims, they were killed in action. When I hear anyone suggest America deserved 9/11, my question is, ‘Who would say that?'” The ad also features footage of El-Sayed appearing with Piker during the Michigan Senate primary campaign. El-Sayed campaigned with him at events at Michigan State University and the University of Michigan in April. Footage in the ad shows El-Sayed refusing to disavow Piker’s views, replying to a reporter, “I’m not here to disavow people’s views.” El-Sayed has somewhat backed off his association with Piker as he approaches the general election, but his ties to the streamer are still dogging him. Piker recently told Axios that El-Sayed was making a “mistake” by distancing himself from their relationship, saying he believed El-Sayed was “taking ownership over something that I think most voters understand is insincere.” El-Sayed has also acknowledged that he continues to talk to Piker. In a recent Fox 2 Detroit interview, El-Sayed said, “The reason I talk to Hasan isn’t because of Hasan, it’s because of the 3 million people who pay attention to what he has to say.” He added, “Too often the way that our politics happen is that we’re told who we cannot talk to.” Todd Beamer, who was a father to three young children, with his third child unborn at the time of the attacks, helped retake Flight 93 from the hijackers, and on his final phone call, he uttered the phrase, “Let’s roll,” directing passengers to storm the cockpit. David Beamer, a Michigan resident, endorsed Rogers earlier this month. Related: El-Sayed Is Lying About The Bizarre Alliance Upending Michigan

A Mississippi grand jury declined to bring charges in the death of 18-year-old Nolan Wells, whose body was found after a July 4 boating trip off the Mississippi Coast. The panel said speculation that Wells’ white friends played a role in his death was fueled by “public clamor and private malice.” Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath announced the grand jury’s findings following a “thorough and exhaustive investigation.” The grand jury unanimously returned what’s known as a “no true bill,” meaning prosecutors did not present enough evidence to charge anyone with a crime. “In addition to bringing prosecutions against the guilty, the grand jury must also exonerate those who have been falsely accused,” McIlrath said in a 15-minute video statement. “The death of Nolan Wells has devastated our community. Outsiders and influencers have attempted to exploit Nolan’s death to divide and create chaos here.” The 18-year-old’s mysterious death ignited an online and cultural firestorm, with internet sleuths, Democratic politicians, and lawyers fueling racial tensions through baseless speculation about whether Wells’ close group of friends played a role in his death on Horn Island, off the Mississippi coast. Wells, who was black, went to the party with a group of longtime white friends. Accusations intensified after his friends returned to the mainland without him. “The narrative that three white boys and a black boy went to an island and only three white friends returned spread like wildfire. This was false,” McIlrath said. “There is absolutely no evidence to support the allegations that Nolan’s disappearance and death were racially motivated.” Wells, a popular, outgoing football player at his community college, vanished on July 4 after separating from friends. His body was found in the water near the island two days later following an extensive search. Local authorities initially said there were no obvious signs of foul play and believed Wells likely drowned, while emphasizing that the investigation remained active pending autopsy and toxicology results, The Daily Wire reported. During an independent autopsy, the pathologist found a large area of red discoloration on the back of Wells’ head and neck that could be consistent with trauma, though decomposition prevented a definitive conclusion.  The grand jury report found that Wells traveled to Horn Island with a group of friends aboard three separate boats and chose to remain on the island after all three boats departed. The report found no conclusive evidence that Wells sustained any fatal injuries and said the cause of the injury to the back of his head remains “uncertain.” The panel, which heard from dozens of witnesses and reviewed troves of cellphone data, cited one witness account saying Wells slipped “awkwardly” off a boat that afternoon. “If credible evidence comes to light in the future that suggests Mr. Wells’ death was non-accidental, this matter should be represented to the Jackson County Grand Jury for further consideration,” the panel’s report said. The teen’s family is represented by attorney Ben Crump, who has previously advanced politically charged racial narratives in high-profile cases — including those of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota — before investigations were completed. In response to the grand jury report, Crump doubled down, calling on the Department of Justice to launch an independent investigation. “Today, the State of Mississippi is attempting to close the chapter on Nolan Wells’ death without getting to the truth,” Crump said in a statement. The Wells family has also suggested that Wells’ phone was missing texts and Snapchat photos before it was returned to them. The DA said Nolan’s family was shown evidence of Nolan purchasing his own alcohol.  Conservative podcast host Brandon Tatum spoke to Warren Hudson, a friend of Wells who was with the teen on the weekend he went missing. Hudson said he spoke with Wells several times on July 4 and that his friend seemed like his usual self. Hudson said Wells had been drinking but appeared to be fine. Hudson also said the group mingled with hundreds of people on Horn Island, that he witnessed no altercations involving Wells, and that everyone began searching for him after realizing he had gone missing. The grand jury panel found zero evidence to suggest any of Nolan’s friends engaged in criminal conduct, calling speculation otherwise “the result of public clamor and private malice.” “What we have seen happen in Nolan’s case, where lives and reputations have been damaged, is reprehensible. People have suffered,” McIlrath said. “Public officials have been harassed. Witnesses, public officials, and others who are completely unrelated to this case have been subjected to threats of harm and intimidation by an angry mob.” A fundraiser for the Wells family has raised $886,000. Wells is described as a “beloved son, grandson, brother, friend and teammate whose life touched so many people.” The fundraiser says Wells’ “smile, kind heart, and love for others left a lasting impact on everyone who knew him.”

Radical Islamic activist Mahmoud Khalil and leftist Jewish organizations put on a disgusting spectacle of appropriating the holiest day of the Jewish year and its sacred memorial service on Monday to take shots at Israel, the Trump administration, and the Jewish people. On Yom Kippur, a solemn 25-hour day of fasting, repentance, and spiritual purity meant for Jews to seek divine forgiveness, a coalition of fringe, anti-Zionist groups turned a holy sanctuary into a partisan circus in Brooklyn, New York. Hundreds gathered at Grand Army Plaza for a so-called “Yizkor service,” co-sponsored by radical outfits like Jews for Racial & Economic Justice, Jewish Voice for Peace, and IfNotNow. Instead of honoring Jewish ancestors, the gathering handed the microphone to anti-Israel agitator Khalil, who weaponized the sacred tradition to hurl wild accusations of “genocide” against Israel and brand the U.S. government as complicit. The outrage online was immediate and fierce, with critics slamming the event as an absolute mockery of Judaism. Social media users blasted the organizers as self-loathing agitators acting as modern-day “kapos,” while others pointed out that using a holy memorial service to shield terrorist sympathizers is the ultimate desecration. One critic noted that hijacking Yom Kippur for anti-Israel propaganda was as heinously offensive as bringing pork and offensive displays into a mosque during Eid. In Judaism, Yizkor is a deeply sacred prayer recited to elevate the souls of deceased relatives through charity and prayer, while Yom Kippur demands intense personal soul-searching, 25 hours of fasting from eating and drinking, and total abstinence from physical pleasures. But for the far-Left crowd in Brooklyn, who were joined by political panderers like Democrat congressional nominee Brad Lander, the holiest afternoon of the Jewish calendar was reduced to cheap political theater. Making matters far worse was the speaker himself. Khalil, who led chaotic Columbia University encampments that harassed Jewish students following the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacres, has long been in the crosshairs of federal authorities. The Department of Homeland Security previously slammed Khalil directly, declaring that he “refuses to condemn Hamas because he IS a terrorist sympathizer,” after he famously dodged straightforward questions on CNN about the terror group. Despite facing federal deportation orders, Khalil was given a red carpet and a bullhorn by leftist Jewish enablers on the single day meant for divine judgment. While millions of observant Jews spent the day in fasting and prayer, seeking to be sealed in the Book of Life as God decided who lives and dies in the coming year, this radical circus proved that for the far-Left, hatred of Jews and the state of Israel is a core issue.