The Somali World Cup referee who was denied entry to the United States earlier this month was “talking to some very bad people” just before his arrival, White House World Cup task force director Andrew Giuliani told CBS News on Sunday. Federal authorities blocked Omar Artan from entering the United States after he arrived at Miami International Airport from Istanbul on June 6. A senior administration official later told The Daily Wire that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had discovered “derogatory information,” including his “association with suspected members of terror organizations.” That information made him ineligible to enter the country to officiate matches for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Officially, CBP said they determined that Artan was “inadmissible due to vetting concerns and was denied entry” during routine processing. “Admissibility determinations are made on a case-by-case basis using law enforcement, national security, and immigration information available at the time of inspection,” CBP said. “CBP officers have the authority to question travelers, conduct inspections, and determine admissibility consistent with U.S. law.” Giuliani declined to share the specifics of Artan’s alleged communications, citing “classified information” that “may be released” in the future. “But what I can tell you is it was the right decision by CBP, it was the right decision by the secretary of Homeland Security, and I stand by that decision,” Giuliani said. “We can’t talk about the contact of who he was contacting in particular, but what I can tell you is that communication was happening before he was coming to the United States. It was not a few years before, this was immediately before he was coming to the United States,” he added. FIFA released a statement on Artan’s behalf, confirming that the referee would not be able to participate in World Cup events. “Despite the circumstances, I am in a positive mood and I am focused on the next challenges in my refereeing career,” the Somali referee said in the statement. “I would like to thank FIFA and (the African federation) for all their support and I promise to keep my refereeing levels up as I concentrate on the future. I want to thank the football family for their messages and wish my colleagues all the best success during the World Cup and I look forward to joining them again in future competitions,” he added. (Photo by Abuukar Mohamed Muhidin/Anadolu via Getty Images) Upon his return to Somalia, Artan was greeted by a crowd of supporters at a stadium in Mogadishu.

In less than a year, a massive community has gathered on social media giant Facebook of people opposed to the growth of data centers, which have surged in prevalence across the country along with the explosion of artificial intelligence. The group “Say NO to Data Centers,” was created in September 2025 and now has more than 170,000 members. It is filled with average Americans asking reasonable questions about water tables, property values, and utility rates. A Daily Wire investigation finds that the group’s grassroots energy is being channeled by Democratic operatives linked to Soros-funded organizations — and is part of an openly stated effort to turn local frustration over data centers into votes and candidates for the Left. At the heart of the group is the work of a man named George Duarte. He is designated in the massive group as one of five “Group Experts” and presents himself as an expert in “Maps & Navigation Apps” from Beverly Hills, California. He is the creator of “PoweredByWho,” the movement’s most sophisticated tool: a national database tracking 2,299 data center projects across 46 states, mapping their corporate and political money, and packaging it all with a “Community Toolkit” on how to stop a project. Duarte shares map info with the Facebook group almost daily and claims the project is funded solely by its readers.   Screenshot of the PoweredByWho platform PoweredByWho is an extremely technically sound, research-intensive project — all carried out due to his self-professed commitment to the fight against data centers. But what Duarte fails to mention to the group is his day job. Duarte is the director of digital research and AI strategy at Upswing Research & Strategy, a political consulting firm in Washington, D.C., with a client list that includes nearly every single Democratic campaign committee: The Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and the Democratic Governors Association. Upswing’s client list also includes a wide range of progressive organizations that are directly involved in the opposition to AI data centers: the Center for American Progress, the Working Families Party, and leftist activist group Indivisible.   Via Upswing Another political operator serving as a “Group Expert” in the Facebook group is Mark Schlosberg, a senior adviser at Food & Water Watch (FWW) — a Washington group demanding that Congress halt all new data center construction. Schlosberg claimed in a statement to the Daily Wire that neither FWW nor its affiliated PAC “has a role with this Facebook page.” According to Power the Future, FWW is the anti-data center campaign’s “chief political quarterback” and receives its funding “almost entirely through anonymizing donor-advised funds.” FWW’s affiliated PAC, Food & Water Action, has backed Democratic candidates almost exclusively. In 2024, it supported Kamala Harris, three Democratic congressional candidates, and one Working Families Party candidate. That same year, the group ran get-out-the-vote operations in Pennsylvania — a swing state where Food & Water Watch has also organized opposition to data center development. That is the machinery of a national political party, and its fingerprints sit on the anti-data-center movement’s central nervous system. Duarte himself bragged on LinkedIn that his project has become a voter-registration machine in swing states like Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin — a departure from his role as a Facebook group’s “Maps & Navigation” expert. “They don’t just get mad. They register to vote,” Duarte posted. Duarte told The Daily Wire that PoweredByWho is an “independent personal project” he built himself, and that Upswing “plays no role in it at all.” Upswing did not respond to a request for comment.   Via George Duarte on LinkedIn Indivisible, another client of Upswing, is a leftist activist network best known for bankrolling the anti-Trump “No Kings” protests. It is now among the most active funded organizers in the anti-data-center fight. Indivisible has driven data-center fights nationwide — an April “week of action” in Temple, Texas, complete with a City Hall protest and a council recall; scripted phone banks in central Indiana; and anti-data center rallies from Massachusetts to California. The American Energy Institute has also tracked the group funding similar activity across Ohio, Virginia, Indiana, Georgia, and California. The grants database of the Open Society Foundations, George Soros’s $32 billion philanthropic juggernaut, shows more than $7.6 million flowing from George Soros to Indivisible, $3 million of which was earmarked for “social welfare activities.” The American Energy Institute tracked another $1 million in 2025 going to Indivisible from the Berger Action Fund, the advocacy vehicle of Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss, according to the fund’s tax filings. Wyss is notorious for donating to left-wing advocacy groups such as the Sixteen Thirty Fund, which, in turn, is well known as a major fiscal sponsor and “dark money” hub for leftist causes. Wyss has been investigated by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for allegedly illegally funneling millions in foreign money into U.S. elections through a network of left-leaning nonprofits, although the FEC complaint was later dismissed. Foreign nationals are barred from funding U.S. elections, but money routed through nonprofit advocacy groups remains legal, a loophole congressional Republicans have spent years trying to close. The American Energy Institute tallied more than $39 million in foreign money flowing to 12 organizations active in opposing data center development. The Working Families Party (WFP), a left-wing party that helped elect Zohran Mamdani to office in New York with $23.7 million in funding from George Soros, is also one of Upswing’s clients. FEC records show the WFP’s federal PAC paid Upswing nearly $80,000 over two years. The WFP has publicly urged critics of data centers to run for office in another attempt to convert local frustration into votes for the far Left. The party is recruiting data center opponents as candidates in northern Virginia, the upper Midwest, and the Southwest. WFP national press secretary Ravi Mangla told Wired, “You can’t fill a community center or a town hall just organically.” The same small world of Democratic firms, donors, and organizers surfaces at every layer of an anti-data-center movement that otherwise presents itself as grassroots. The 170,000 members of “Say NO to Data Centers” were never told that their “Group Expert” draws a paycheck from a key Democratic firm — and some have not welcomed the Facebook group’s increasingly partisan tone. One woman posted in the group earlier this year that it seemed to be getting away from its core focus on the data center issue. “Are we supposed to be making political posts in here,” the woman wrote amid a string of purely political posts in the group, “or stay on topic about AI data centers?”   Screenshot via Facebook

A recent study suggests that ultra-processed foods could be responsible for declines in attention and cognitive function. The study, which was published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring last week, analyzed over 2,100 individuals and found that ultra-processed food consumption was linked to worse attention and mental processing. Ultra-processed foods add artificial ingredients such as high-fructose corn syrup, whey protein, flavor enhancers, and chemical-based preservatives.  The study showed that even modest increases in ultra-processed foods, such as adding a bag of chips to one’s diet, had negative cognitive effects.  “For every 10 percent increase in ultra-processed food a person consumed, we saw a distinct and measurable drop in a person’s ability to focus,” the study states. “In clinical terms, this translated to consistently lower scores on standardized cognitive tests measuring visual attention and processing speed.” The study was led by Dr. Barbara Cardoso from Monash University, one of the top 40 research universities worldwide, in partnership with researchers at the University of São Paulo and Deakin University. Other studies from Harvard University, the Framingham Heart Study, and one from Brazil have shown that ultra-processed foods increase dementia and Alzheimer’s risk and overall cognitive decline. However, these studies analyzed people from general population cohorts, which include people with unhealthy diets. The new study from Monash University shows that even those with a healthy Mediterranean diet also suffer from the cognitive side effects of consuming ultra-processed foods. “Food ultra-processing often destroys the natural structure of food and introduces potentially harmful substances like artificial additives or processing chemicals,” Dr. Cardoso said. “These additives suggest the link between diet and cognitive function extends beyond just missing out on foods known as healthy, pointing to mechanisms linked to the degree of food processing itself,” she added.  Ultra-processed foods make up large proportions of the diets of developed countries, consisting of the majority of the total dietary energy for the average person in America, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Most foods go through some sort of system of processing, whether that be for drying, crushing, freezing, bottling, refining, or pressing, and these processes are mostly benign as they do not add any extra sugars, oils, or fats, according to a study published in Public Health Nutrition, a Cambridge University Press journal.  Ultra-processed foods, however, “are typically high-energy-dense products, high in sugar, unhealthy fats and salt, and low in dietary fibre, protein, vitamins and minerals,” the study adds. Ultra-processed foods often include fast food, soft drinks, salty snacks, frozen meals, and plant-based milks found in vegan products. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made the fight against ultra-processed foods a central part of his MAHA movement. In a “60 Minutes“ interview earlier this year, he called ultra-processed foods “poison” and stated they were the cause of America’s obesity. Kennedy has also instructed the HHS and the FDA to phase out artificial dyes, a major component in ultra-processed foods. 

As the U.S. Men’s National Team (USMNT) prepares for its 12th World Cup appearance, its foreign-born head coach turned to a popular American underdog moment to fully embrace the American sports culture.  Head coach Mauricio Pochettino, who was born and raised in Murphy, Argentina, was hired by Team USA in September 2024 following the firing of coach Gregg Berhalter. Pochettino was highly sought after, and the United States hoped that the hire could push the USMNT to the next level. In preparation for the 2026 World Cup, Scott Goodwin, a donor and supporter of the USMNT, introduced Pochettino to the “Miracle on Ice” as well as the film adaptation “Miracle.” Pochettino had never heard of the film or iconic moment before Goodwin spoke to him. “I am not the guy that [follows] hockey,” Pochettino explained in his interview with Fox Sports.  “You have to watch this movie. I think it’s really going to help you understand American sports culture,” Goodwin told Fox Sports in an interview. “It’ll help him connect with the team.” After watching the well-known film, Pochettino said he walked away with a handful of insights he can apply to the USMNT in its quest for a trophy in 2026. The first thing Pochettino noticed was the passion behind American sports.  “That was a perfect film for me to watch,” Pochettino said. “I said we need more passion. How are we going to relate to our players?” During the construction of the 2026 USMNT roster, another useful concept from the film found its way into Pochettino’s coaching philosophy. “In football, you cannot win only because [of] one,” he stated. “We were talking [about] good players, ‘the right players,’ we need the right players.” Similar to the national hockey team in 1980, the United States is seen as a long shot to win the tournament. Mike Eruzione, the player responsible for the game-winning goal against the Soviet Union 46 years ago, explained his support for Pochettino using the same notions that won them gold. “Mauricio, he embraced what our team did. It’s a great message to his team, because nobody expects this team to win,” Eruzione said. “It was just like us in 1980. If it happened then, it could happen again.”  Despite the drastic differences in sport, Pochettino will never forget the story of the “Miracle on Ice,” and it will forever leave a lasting impression for as long as he coaches the United States.  “The love to play for your national team, it’s because you really love, you play for bigger things,” he insisted. “That film [made] me, you know, believe that this is the way we need to be like in this national team.”

The UFC held its once-in-a-lifetime “UFC Freedom 250” event on the White House South Lawn Sunday night, an event that featured patriotic walkouts, a Thunderbirds and Blue Angels flyover, and a string of must-see fights.  The most anticipated fight of the night was saved for last, as Justin Gaethje looked to pull off one of the most miraculous wins in the history of the UFC over Ilia Topuria, who is a two weight class champion and is coming off of knockouts of all time greats in the sport against Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and Charles Oliveira. Many doubted Gaethje, the American, whose odds closed from around 4-1 to even 6-1 on some sites. This didn’t stop Gaethje. Following three rounds of domination and a near-doctor’s stoppage at the end of the third, Topuria’s corner threw in the towel at the end of the fourth round, earning Gaethje his first ever undisputed lightweight championship in arguably the biggest upset in the history of mixed martial arts. “I’m from America, 250 years ago we were way bigger than 6-1 dogs, and look at us thriving now,” Gaethje stated in his post-fight interview. New UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje dropped a legendary line after his HISTORIC upset over Illia Topuria. Joe Rogan pointed out that he was a 6-1 underdog going into the fight. GAETHJE: “Hey, I’m from America. 250 years ago we were WAY bigger than 6-1 dogs!” “And look… pic.twitter.com/3d3AMKp3RQ — Overton (@overton_news) June 15, 2026 The card consisted of seven matches including two title fights in the heavyweight and lightweight division. President and CEO of the UFC Dana White scheduled some of the biggest names in the sport to compete in the historical event, including Sean O’Malley, Michael Chandler, and Alex Pereira. All seven fights finished via knockout (KO) or technical knockout (TKO), making it one of the most entertaining cards in the history of mixed martial arts. Festivities began with a flyover from the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels during the national anthem. Diego Lopes and Steve Garcia set the tone early by engaging in exchanges in the center of the octagon. No better way to start #UFCWhiteHouse