A black historian is no longer employed at Tufts University after it was revealed that her prize-winning book cited sources that didn’t exist.  Initial reviews praised Kerri K. Greenidge’s book — titled “The Grimkes: The Legacy of Slavery In An American Family” — for her focus on the slaveholding Grimke brother fathering children with an enslaved woman. Previous histories had focused more on the Grimke sisters — Sarah and Angelina — who had rejected their heritage and become prominent abolitionists, also championing women’s rights. The book retold the story through the sisters’ biracial nephews, citing letters from the University of Michigan’s archive that apparently are not there. But when Greenidge was confronted with that information, she suggested that her work was only under scrutiny because she was black. “I am heartbroken that a field I have given my life to can treat me this way,” Greenidge said in an interview on Friday. “The attack on black women academics is real.” She claimed she has never fabricated anything, but admitted some citations could be misattributed. “Are there citations that were misattributed? Probably.”  Myra C. Glenn, a retired professor of American history at Elmira College, first raised concerns about the book’s credibility in a March 2024 review. “All too often Greenidge lacks the evidence to substantiate many of her major claims. Her work is also riddled with factual errors and repeatedly omits needed endnotes.” Glenn alleges that Greenidge negatively portrayed the two abolitionist sisters as being “alternately cruel and relentlessly judgmental” toward their bi-racial nephews without evidence. Glenn argues the negative portrayal of the sisters ultimately “serves a larger purpose” by laying the foundation for the book’s central narrative.  Another allegation claims Greenidge fabricated a dramatic scene by writing that the Grimké sisters “led thousands of antislavery women through prayer” and helped them escape the burning Pennsylvania Hall during an anti-abolitionist mob attack in 1838. Glenn said that numerous sources had previously documented that no one was in the building as it burned.  After Glenn expressed her doubts, other scholars followed. The book, labeled one of the 10 best books of 2022 from Publishers Weekly, is no longer listed on Greenidge’s author page. Patrick Collins, a spokesman for Tufts University, told the New York Times that Greenidge was no longer employed by the university on Thursday. While the email did not specify whether Greenidge left the university or was terminated, Collins said the university had recently become aware that the book “contained multiple errors of fact and failed to give appropriate credit to the work of another.”  Like Collins, Greenidge declined to detail the nature of her departure but did criticize Tufts’ peer review panel. Greenidge claimed two of the panelists were hostile toward black women in academics and that the university’s review was prompted by a white female scholar. Greenidge said that she plans to get a restraining order against that woman. Collins responded saying, “The independent review by outside experts in the field was fair, fact-based, thorough, and objective. We stand by the review and strongly deny any allegations of bias.” Problems with Greenidge’s “The Grimkes” ultimately led to questions about her book “Black Radical.” Stephen Fox, a historian who wrote a book on the same story, said, “It seems well done, except when you look at the footnotes. I started to think maybe it wasn’t just sloppy,” before adding “I think it’s something deeper.”

Piles of human feces, garbage stacked several feet high, and bug-infested debris greeted authorities when they stepped in to rescue 16 “almost feral” children from the home now called the “house of horrors” in Ohio. Photos from inside the home — which was raided in late June — have been released, showing the horrific conditions in which the children had been living.   Credit: New York Post The photos obtained by The Post show broken windows, trash scattered all over the floor, broken furniture, food containers among other junk. There also appears to be an empty Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey “Party Bucket” laying in the middle of the other moldy waste. The state is planning to give $1 million to assist the Siders siblings, ranging in age from 18 months to 18 years, who were living in the 12×12 foot area — and prosecutors are looking to put the children’s parents and grandparents behind bars, The New York Post reported.   Credit: New York Post The Siders siblings, who have been described by authorities as “almost feral,” are unable to speak and have never been enrolled in school. Authorities were serving an unrelated warrant when they found the 16 siblings living in deplorable conditions with their mother, 33-year-old Elizabeth Siders, their father, 36-year-old Gary Siders Jr., and their grandparents, Gary and Christina Siders — 73 and 67, respectively.   Credit: Southeastern Ohio All four were arrested and charged with 16 counts each of felony child endangerment. Court records show the ages of the children removed from the home as 18, 16, 15, 14, 13, 11, 9, 8, 6, 5, 4, 4, 20 months, and 20 months. The children listed as the same age are two sets of twins. The 15th and 16th charges against the Siders do not list ages for those two children, WOWK news reported. Elizabeth and Gary Jr. were apparently married as teenagers (15 and 18), according to court records obtained by WOWK. The eldest child removed from the house, now aged 18, was born just two months after their marriage in 2008. The outlet also reports that the two welcomed another set of twins, both girls, who were born in November of 2022, but died the same day. A state legislative panel is expected to approve the request from the Ohio Department of Children and Youth to give extra cash to Vinton County, an extremely rural county, to help the 16 victims in this child-abuse case, the outlet reported. The children were forced to live inside the tiny room — which was overfilled with waste — for the past four years, according to authorities. Authorities said local livestock in the rural area lived in better conditions than the children, The Post noted. Vinton County has just over 12,000 residents and the smallest budget out of Ohio’s 88 counties, which is why the state is stepping in. Gary Sr. is also costing a pretty penny for his care behind bars. Vinton County Prosecutor William Archer Jr. said the medical care costs for Gary Sr. would have “bankrupted the county,” per The Post. The court had to change the grandfather’s bond from the original $300,000 and release him from jail, with the understanding that Gary Sr. would need hospital care, so the county wouldn’t have to pay up. “Based on the information the county was provided, his medical care could potentially bankrupt Vinton County,” Archer told reporters Wednesday. Since the June 30 arrest, Archer said Gary Sr. had fallen at the jail — and authorities quickly realized that the grandfather would need specialized care. Gary Sr.’s son-in-law, Ronnie Fletcher, told a local news station in Ohio he didn’t know about his nieces’ and nephews’ horrendous condition until he heard about it on the news. Fletcher told WOWK he is married to a daughter of suspects Gary Sr, and Christina. The son-in-law claims his wife and the couple’s other three daughters had no idea the home situation had gotten this out of control.   Credit: New York Post “Horrified. Worried about the kids. It’s hard to explain the action when you’re distant family,” Fletcher told WOWK. “‘What can I do to help?’ That was the original reaction to it.” Fletcher described his in-laws as distant family members, saying that over the years they had grown apart — citing no tension, but saying that they had just focused on their own lives. The children, who had to spend time in the hospital because of their dire condition after being rescued, will be placed in care that will cost $150 and $250 per child daily, according to the Ohio Department of Children and Youth. The Post reports the daily rates equal roughly $850,000 a year — which is more than three times the amount generated by Vinton County’s levy that goes toward both children’s and senior services. An agency in Ohio is also consulting its attorneys about setting up a trust for the 16 siblings. South Central Ohio Job and Family Services has been handling donations for the children on Facebook since the news of the case broke. The $1 million from the state would help with the children’s treatment — and would also help to cover court costs, and police overtime, The Post reported. The case has moved to the grand jury for indictment after the Siders’ attorneys waived their preliminary hearings. Gary Jr. will appear in court on a separate public indecency charge July 23 at 10:15 a.m. in Vinton County.

Hundreds of protesters swarmed the streets of Maine Monday after local officials said a 26-year-old Colombian man was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent. Details of the shooting, which occurred in the coastal town of Biddeford, remain scarce. The Department of Homeland Security has yet to officially confirm that the shooting took place or provide any details on the circumstances. Hours after the shooting, anti-ICE demonstrators attempted to storm Republican Maine Senator Susan Collins’s office in opposition to her support of ICE. Protesters shouted, “Whose streets? Our streets!” outside Collins’ office and chanted, “Vote her out.” Later, Maine Senator Angus King claimed that the man shot and killed by federal immigration agents was not their intended target, according to CNN. King said he had spoken with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who apparently told him that the deceased man was “NOT the target of the warrant.” The lawmaker had earlier told reporters that Mullin shared that the Colombian man was the intended target, CNN reported. “Senator King continued to emphasize the need for a full, comprehensive, and transparent investigation,” his office said. The Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition and Presente! Maine, both advocacy groups, issued a joint statement confirming the individual’s death and noting that he was Colombian. “The shooting in Biddeford requires a full and impartial investigation of what happened,” Collins said in a statement. “It is my understanding that the Biddeford police have secured the site and that the FBI is investigating.” I’m in Biddeford, Maine, where members of the town are rallying after the speaker of the state House, Democrat Ryan Fecteau, said ICE was involved in a fatal shooting. Two candidates for the Dem Senate nomination are set to speak— Shah and Jackson. pic.twitter.com/AXMtBGWjBb — Bayliss Wagner (@baylisswagner) July 13, 2026 Initial statements indicated that the Colombian man was behind the wheel of a vehicle trying to flee “in the direction of the officer” when he was shot, according to CNN, citing the Office of the Maine Attorney General. The state’s attorney general also said that the name of the subject will not be shared until positive identification is made and family members are notified and that the officer who fired the shot was placed on leave, citing “standard protocol in police involved shootings.”

There’s no need to wait for the FIFA World Cup championship game on July 19; the United States of America is already the real winner, and it’s not even close. As the 2026 host, visitors now understand why America’s people, culture, and economy make it the premier travel destination. The cartoonish “ugly American” stereotypes and tropes pushed by politicians and legacy media here and abroad have been tossed out the window of an F-150 truck and rendered roadkill. Tourists from Europe, Asia, and the Middle East have been given a taste of our wide-open spaces, freedoms, and cultural norms; our multicultural cuisine and fast food; and our air conditioning. In return, they have given us a fresh appreciation for what we have too often taken for granted. The host cities and arenas, like Atlanta and Boston, have received financial boosts, but small-town America has received the biggest boon. When our guests rented SUVs and trucks to get from one host city to another, they discovered the heartland and found it heartwarming. Some were fortunate to experience our America 250 Independence Day celebrations and learned about the depth and strength of our patriotism and love of country. One European tourist said, “It is crazy! The way you guys celebrate the 4th of July is insane. The patriotism is so insane good[…] You LOVE your country … People are genuinely happy, and you guys know how to celebrate this day so super well.” This authentic image of America has spread globally thanks to tourists documenting their World Cup journeys online. TikTok, X, and Instagram have been filled with videos of Brits, Scots, Germans, Vikings, Argentinians, and many other foreigners singing America’s praises while having the time of their lives and bringing us along for the ride. Both national and foreign media have had to catch up. Too often, they cover America in less-than-favorable ways, with manipulated crime reporting to achieve a certain outcome, manufactured racism, and any show of American pride being couched as arrogance. An NBC News Boston correspondent interviewed German tourist Sebastian Krause at the Germany vs. Paraguay match. Krause was moved to tears when he talked about America. “I fall in love with this country, and this was so emotional, I even cried in the stadium.” Krause had been fed warnings of a dangerous and unfriendly country. But he told the correspondent that everyone has treated him with “kindness and respect,” and he has not felt unsafe. Multiply Krause’s experience by thousands of organic and viral expressions on how friendly, helpful, and hospitable Americans really are, and you have the start of a cultural transformation that cannot be produced through summits. Tourists have also deemed our food and beverages to be brilliant. Free refills on water and coffee, Ranch dressing, Big Gulps, and a variety of snacks in different sizes that the European mind cannot comprehend. Capitalism, competition, and the freedom to innovate are the drivers behind this largesse. The food that received the highest praise wasn’t from some Food & Wine-curated menu but from America’s stick-to-your-ribs and carb-laden staples: Waffle House, IHOP, Taco Bell, Chick-fil-A, In-N-Out, Whataburger, Sonic, and lots of fabulous Texas barbecue places. We can’t forget the big box retailers such as Bass Pro Shop, Costco, Target, and Walmart, which have caused our foreign friends’ eyes to pop out from the variety of items available, not to mention the footprint of the stores. While documenting his journey, British tourist Oliver Henry was so embraced by many Americans that they started a GoFundMe to help extend his trip to Dallas, Boston, and even New York. He appeared nationally on several U.S. media outlets and even visited the White House. Henry said in a video that he now understands why, “America is the land of opportunity […] there is nowhere else in the world where this would be possible.” Henry is correct. Our Founding Fathers believed that a new world was possible, built not on lineage or station in life, but on freedom and individual liberties. This embodies the American spirit: the power to chase your dreams and chart your trajectory. Whether those dreams are as big as a SpaceX or as small as a barbecue storefront, the pursuit of happiness does not happen without believing that you and God are in control of your destiny in a free society and free market system. That combination makes us unstoppable. In their farewell videos, many of our friends say they will be back, and we will welcome them with open arms. We cherish our country and the benefits of our free-market system. We’re happy to share these blessings with others. However, let’s avoid importing socialist policies that could undermine what makes America great. *** Jennifer Oliver O’Connell is a visiting fellow with Independent Women.

Researchers at the University of California San Diego have proposed a method to “dim the sun” in hopes of reducing the looming effects of El Niño, a recent study revealed.  As reports of stronger El Niños — the natural warming of the Pacific Ocean that affects global weather — by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) continue, researchers at UC San Diego have determined that damages from the phenomenon could cost the global economy trillions of dollars. To combat this, researchers in the journal Science Advances have proposed an extremely far-fetched form of “solar geoengineering” known as “marine cloud brightening.” “One [solar geoengineering] proposal that could be amenable to targeted application is marine cloud brightening (MCB), which was proposed as a way to cool the planet by injecting aerosols into the lower atmosphere to form brighter marine clouds,” the researchers wrote. Injecting these particles into the clouds would hypothetically bounce the rays of the sun out of the atmosphere, preventing the water from heating up, which creates stronger El Niños.  While some researchers blame global warming for the increasing strength of El Niño, the World Meteorological Association said that “there is no evidence that climate change increases the frequency or intensity of El Niño events,” the New York Post reported. The proposal from UC San Diego comes after a 2023 study they conducted involved two computer MCB simulations applied to two real El Niño events in 1997 and 2015, per the Post. The study found that aerosols released from an Australian bushfire brightened the clouds and hindered the effects of El Niño. The simulations run by the research team applied the same method to 1997 and 2015, which increased cooling and drying effects by 40%. Co-author and University of Chicago postdoctoral researcher Jessica Wan stated that the aerosols would have to be “deployed continuously for an indefinite period of time,” according to the Post.  As of now, there are no real-world plans to test out the far-fetched hypothesis. Andrew Dessler, a  Texas A&M University professor of atmospheric science, added, “These models are imperfect, and there’s the possibility that you’ll create an unpredicted problem that is worse than the problem you’re trying to solve.”