Senate Homeland Security Chairman Rand Paul (R-KY) has subpoenaed Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, escalating a yearslong battle over the federal government’s handling of the COVID pandemic and the origins of the virus. Paul announced Monday that he issued the subpoena after Fauci allegedly backed out of an agreement to voluntarily appear before the committee. “Last week, Anthony Fauci notified us he will NOT voluntarily testify before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, even though he had previously agreed to do so,” Paul wrote on X. “Therefore, today I have issued a subpoena requiring him to testify before the Committee, in public, next month.” The subpoena is the first issued by Paul since taking over as chairman of the committee, which granted its chairman unilateral subpoena authority last year. Speaking to Semafor, Paul said months of negotiations with Fauci ultimately broke down after the former public health official agreed to appear and then reversed course. “He’s been slow-walking information to us for six months or more,” Paul said. “We’ve been negotiating over the date for several months. He agreed, then he said he wouldn’t. So, I think it’s time that we bring him in.” Paul indicated that lawmakers intend to question Fauci about several issues, including his presidential pardon, allegations regarding federally funded gain-of-function research, and accusations that records related to the government’s pandemic response were destroyed. “I think there’s a lot to discuss,” Paul said. The subpoena marks the latest chapter in one of Washington’s most contentious post-pandemic rivalries. Throughout the post-COVID era, Paul repeatedly sparred with Fauci during Senate hearings, accusing him of misleading Congress about U.S.-funded research connected to the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China. Fauci consistently denied claims that the National Institutes of Health funded gain-of-function research that could have created the virus responsible for the pandemic. As evidence supporting the lab leak theory gained credibility in recent years, Paul intensified his criticism, arguing that Fauci and other public health officials worked to dismiss legitimate questions about the virus’ origins. The Kentucky senator has previously called for Fauci to face criminal charges, alleging that he lied to Congress under oath regarding gain-of-function research funding. “We’ve been negotiating with him for material and for testimony. This has gone on for some time,” Paul said during a Tuesday interview. “He slow walked us and slow walked us. Finally agreed to come in voluntarily … then last week he says he’s not coming in.” “With this subpoena power, we will bring him in, unless he fights this in court,” Paul added. The move comes as congressional Republicans continue investigating the origins of COVID-19 and the federal government’s pandemic response, issues that remain politically potent years after lockdowns, vaccine mandates, school closures, and other emergency measures reshaped American life. Fauci has not yet publicly responded to the subpoena. If he declines to comply, the dispute could trigger a legal battle testing the scope of Congress’ oversight authority and Paul’s new subpoena powers as committee chairman.

In a letter addressed to Vice President JD Vance on Monday, the leader of the Lebanese Forces — the largest Christian party in Lebanon — asked that the United States support the Lebanese state in extending full authority over all of its territory, restrict weapons to legitimate institutions, and end Hezbollah’s military and security presence. Samir Geagea’s letter came after reports that a new Lebanon mechanism emerging from U.S.-Iran talks would include Iran, Qatar, and Pakistan, while excluding Israel and limiting Israeli responses to threats from Lebanon. The reported framework would allow Israel to respond only to “imminent threats,” rather than the broader “emerging threats” standard included in the 2024 mechanism, according to The Times of Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back on the report, saying the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) faced “no restrictions” in Lebanon. Geagea said the greatest contribution the United States could make at this stage would be to support the Lebanese state as the sole national authority and not as a matter to be negotiated with Iran. Geagea also asked for assurances that any negotiations over Lebanon go through the Lebanese state alone. That, Geagea argued, would be the most meaningful step for Lebanon’s Christians and all Lebanese citizens because it would open the door to a sovereign state capable of providing security, stability, and prosperity. The Lebanese Christian leader said he reviewed Vance’s statement on Iran with “interest and appreciation.” He said the vice president’s remarks reflected “genuine friendship and profound concern” not only for Lebanese Christians, but for Lebanon as a whole. Geagea framed Lebanon’s Christians as a stabilizing force in the country’s modern history, describing them as committed to openness, moderation, freedom, and cultural life in a region marked by instability. He argued that Lebanon’s pluralism, public freedoms, and open system have long made the country distinct in the Middle East. But Geagea said the last four decades have been especially difficult for Lebanese Christians and other Lebanese citizens because of Hezbollah’s rise as a military and security organization. He accused Hezbollah of usurping national decision-making, weakening legitimate institutions, blocking the formation of an effective state, and dragging Lebanon into conflicts tied to Iranian agendas rather than Lebanese interests. The impact, he wrote, has been economic decline, fewer job opportunities, and the emigration of many Lebanese, including a significant number of Christians seeking safety, stability, and a dignified life. Geagea’s warning comes as the IDF has accused Hezbollah operatives of using Christian areas as cover. Earlier this month, the IDF said dozens of Hezbollah members were hiding inside a Christian neighborhood in the coastal city of Tyre, an area that had not been included in a previous evacuation warning. Lt. Col. Ella Waweya, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokeswoman, said the military had issued an evacuation warning for parts of Tyre because of Hezbollah activity and alleged violations of the ceasefire agreement, but said that warning did not include the city’s Christian neighborhood. According to Waweya, the IDF later identified activity by dozens of Hezbollah operatives inside that Christian neighborhood. “This is not the first time we have exposed Hezbollah activity from within Christian areas, based on its belief that these areas provide it with a safer refuge,” Waweya said. She called on residents to “demand the removal of the terror organization’s operatives from your areas,” and warned Hezbollah members that they were “not safe there.” If they continued operating from inside the area, she said, the IDF would issue evacuation instructions for the Christian neighborhood and take action against them. The IDF’s allegation adds weight to the concern Geagea raised in his letter: that Hezbollah’s military presence has weakened the Lebanese state and exposed Lebanese civilians, including Christians, to instability and danger. Geagea closed by thanking Vance again for his concern and said he hoped the United States would remain a key partner in helping Lebanon reclaim its role as a model of freedom, pluralism, and peace in the Middle East.

Newly surfaced audio shows Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico admitting his disdain for biblical Christianity as he continues to push his fringe faith worldview across the Lone Star State. In unearthed audio obtained by The Federalist, Talarico described himself as a “Christian who hates Christianity” during an appearance on a Left-wing podcast. “I always think of myself as a Christian who hates Christianity,” Talarico said in March 2021. “And I always get drawn back into it.” 

A man who routinely boasted about being the first open drag queen to be elected to a school board in the United States was arrested last week for disturbing sex crimes involving children as young as 18 months. Travis J. Longo, 46, who is the vice president of the Cazenovia Central School District’s board of education in New York state, was initially charged over a “pattern” of sending explicit communications to a child under 12 years old. Once authorities seized and searched Longo’s phone, child pornography was discovered. Tyler Toomey, a spokesperson for the United States Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of New York, said some of the videos on Longo’s device depicted the sexual abuse of infants. Longo, who was elected to the school board in 2024, has been charged federally with receiving and possessing child pornography and also faces four counts of endangering the welfare of a child in state court. “Who’d have thought that electing a drag queen to the school board could go wrong?” New York radio host and journalist Bob Lonsberry commented online. “Cazenovia NY school board Vice President Travis Barr-Longo was arrested last week on state charges of having sexually explicit communications with a child under 12, and on federal charges of possessing pornography ‘depicting the sexual abuse of infants.'” Longo routinely posted as his drag queen persona on his Instagram page. In one video, the school board member boasts about his leadership in the community and explicitly says that he’s not a predator. Drag queen NY school board vice president, who said during an interview that the last thing he is is a predator, has been arrested for possessing CSAM involving infants. Travis Longo served as Vice President of the Cazenovia School Board & founded Cazenovia Pride. Longo is… pic.twitter.com/hkqyYSsXYK — Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) June 23, 2026 Cazenovia School District Superintendent Kevin Linck said in a statement that Longo is currently barred from any school grounds or district-sponsored events, but indicated that he’s still on the school board. “The District became aware of the arrest of our Board of Education vice-president Travis (Barr) Longo when the news was publicly disseminated at approximately 10:00 this morning,” Linck said. “Mr. Barr is not an employee of the District, he was elected by the Cazenovia voters to a 3-year term in May of 2024. The role of a school board member is not a student facing role. Please be assured that we take all such matters with the utmost seriousness.” “The District has retained and is working closely with legal counsel to review the matter thoroughly and determine the appropriate immediate steps. In the interim, the individual in question will not be permitted on any school grounds or at any district-sponsored events,” he continued. “The safety, well-being, and peace of mind of our students, staff, and community remain our absolute highest priorities. Because this involves an ongoing administrative and legal matter, we are strictly limited in the specific details we can share publicly. However, please know that we are taking all necessary actions to ensure a safe, secure, and focused learning environment. We will update you as more information becomes available.”

A woman was killed on Friday night after a Tesla crashed into her home in Katy, Texas, authorities said. Martha Avila, a 76-year-old grandmother, was putting away groceries when the Tesla plowed into her home. Avila was airlifted to a nearby hospital where she later died, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said. The doorbell camera captured the Tesla Model 3 driving about 70 mph through the residential neighborhood before speeding across the lawn and crashing into Avila’s brick home.     Credit: Jennifer Barbour via Storyful Michael Butler, the 44-year-old Tesla driver, said the car was in autopilot mode when it slammed into the house. Butler was also injured and taken to the hospital. He showed no signs of intoxication and cooperated during the investigation, the sheriff’s office said. Officials are actively investigating the crash and whether the Tesla’s autopilot system was functioning properly. They have not identified what caused the Tesla to veer off the road and crash at high speeds. The crash left severe structural damage to the house, and the family temporarily relocated to a hotel, according to neighbors. A spokesman for Zehl & Associates, the law firm representing Avila’s family, said they planned on filing a lawsuit. Tesla CEO Elon Musk responded to a news story about the crash on X, writing, “Yes, this makes no sense. [Full self-driving] drives slowly through neighborhood streets and this was a high speed crash!” Automotive analyst and consumer advocate Lauren Fix told The New York Post that the Friday night crash is one of many concerns regarding Tesla’s self-driving technology. “The mistake was calling it autopilot,” Fix said. “When someone dies in a car at that kind of speed in a neighborhood … there’s obviously either a software issue … or could be a driver issue.”  “This remains an active and open investigation,” a Harris County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office spokesman told the Post. “Once all evidence has been gathered, it will be presented to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office to determine whether charges are appropriate.”