When your goal is to keep your audience whipped up into a perpetual state of outrage and fear, you treat the mundane and the routine as an egregious breach of norms with questionable legality. That’s exactly what happened on ABC’s “bona fide news program” The View this week when Joy Behar and Sunny Hostin clutched their pearls over Darline Graham getting appointed as a South Carolina senator following the death of her brother, Lindsey Graham. Let’s get the fact-check out of the way early so that we can see just how truly ridiculous and manipulative their outrage was. The text of the 17th Amendment makes it clear that state governors (if allowed by their legislatures) have the authority to appoint temporary senators to fill in and represent the state before a special election for a formal successor: When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct. “I don’t love it. I don’t love it,” Hostin proclaimed, even though she was wholly supportive of Vice President Kamala Harris being handpicked to replace President Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket without winning a single primary state. Ignoring how it’s been common practice by both parties for decades to have relatives appointed to their loved one’s seat upon their death, Behar and Hostin suggested Republicans were being hypocritical and equated Graham to a DEI hire benefitting from nepotism: BEHAR: It’s – this the very definition of a DEI? HOSTIN: Correct! Correct! It’s everything that the Republican Party stands against! Everything! Everything! It’s DEI. Nepotism. All these things thrown in together. Hostin was particularly upset that Graham was a doctor and suggested that somehow disqualified her from being a senator. “I think the experience does matter. And while she is a certified optician and while she has done great work in that field, I don’t think that she should be representing the people of South Carolina in the U.S. Senate. I just don’t,” she proclaimed. Sunny Hostin attacks South Carolina for Darline Graham being their first female senator, and says there’s something “fundamentally wrong” with the state. She suggests doctors can’t be senators. She and Joy Behar call the appointment “the very definition of a DEI [hire]” and an… pic.twitter.com/MxaSry6HAS — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) July 15, 2026 Not including Graham, there were four doctors serving in the U.S. Senate, all of them Republicans: John Barrasso (WY), Rand Paul (KY), Bill Cassidy (LA), and Roger Marshall (KS). There have also been 54 senators who have either studied and/or practiced medicine throughout the Senate’s history. Yet, in the same segment, they suggested President Obama was qualified to be a senator since he was a community organizer: BEHAR: Obama was a community organizer, like that and they gave him a lot of crap for that. HOSTIN: And he was qualified to be in the Senate. Behar was appalled by the revelation that Graham was her own person and may not think like her brother: “But we do not know her positions on abortion, foreign policy, or healthcare. … Just because she’s your sister doesn’t mean she agrees with you.” This would be true for anyone appointed and not just Graham. So, was Behar coming out against the completely constitutional process of temporary appointments? Additionally, there was no indication that Graham was seeking to run to keep the seat. Sara Haines calls out Behar and Hostin. Haines notes that relatives being appointed to seats when a lawmakers has passed is a common practice by both sides. She also notes such appointments mean the voters of a state get someone who can represent the in a similar way to who they… pic.twitter.com/V6mUvIBazU — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) July 15, 2026 Ultimately, this showed that Behar and Hostin were more interested in stoking fear and outrage among their audience than in ensuring that the citizens of South Carolina were properly represented. Then again, Hostin did lash out, claiming something was “fundamentally wrong” with the state because Graham was their first female senator, so she likely didn’t care about their well-being. *** Nicholas C. Fondacaro is the associate editor for the Media Research Center and NewsBusters.

The mother of Henry Nowak’s killer, whose false allegations of racism sparked a political and cultural firestorm, was sentenced to three years in prison for hiding Vickrum Digwa’s murder weapon from police. A Southampton Crown Court judge handed down the sentence after a jury convicted Kiran Kaur, 53, of assisting an offender.  Prosecutors said Kaur made her way to the murder scene, took the knife, and ran back to the family home nearby to stash it, according to The Telegraph. Later that night, police arrested Kaur and found the murder weapon a week after the killing. “Digwa lied to police about Henry after carrying out the senseless act of violence, and in the immediate aftermath, Kiran Kaur chose to help her son by removing the murder weapon in a deliberate attempt to obstruct the investigation and hide crucial evidence,” Kelly Newman, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said.  At sentencing, Judge William Mousley KC told Kaur: “A responsible parent would have challenged their son over their actions and encourage them to do the right thing,” according to Sky News.  “Instead, you took the knife home and put it with a larger collection of ceremonial and other weapons in your son’s bedroom,” he added. “That would have helped to conceal what it had been used for.” Friday’s sentence marks the latest development in an explosive case involving British police handcuffing Nowak, an 18-year-old finance student, instead of the “weapons-obsessed” Sikh man convicted of fatally stabbing him, fueling the debate over two-tier policing and crumbling social cohesion across the pond. Twenty-three-year-old Vickrum Digwa was sentenced to life in prison in June for murdering Nowak last December in Southampton, which sits about 80 miles southwest of London. Digwa stabbed Henry multiple times with an eight-inch ceremonial Sikh “shastar” he was allowed to carry as part of his religion.  The bombshell video shows arriving officers arresting the dying teen as he was bleeding on the ground, as Digwa sold law enforcement a bogus racist claim against the victim, The Daily Wire previously reported. In court, prosecutors rejected Digwa’s self-defense claim, telling jurors that “Henry drowned in his own blood” after the knife pierced his lung.  “I’ve been stabbed,” Nowak told officers responding to the scene. “I don’t think you have, mate,” one officer responded.  “I can’t breathe,” he replied multiple times. After collapsing, officers began emergency first aid, but it was far too late. Nowak succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at 12:37 a.m.  In the U.K., riots erupted, demanding accountability for improper policing and a tougher crackdown on mass migration. The murder also captured the attention and outrage of Americans, including X owner Elon Musk, who pushed the shocking video to his millions of followers.  “Send the video to everyone you know showing how heinously Nowak was treated by the police in his dying moments and how the police cravenly kowtowed to his murderer,” Musk said. “Legacy mainstream media, same ones who wrote about George Floyd millions of times, are dead silent about Nowak.”

“Sex and the City” actress Cynthia Nixon has been appointed to screen New York judges despite having no legal training or experience whatsoever. The leftist activist and failed gubernatorial candidate was just appointed to serve on the Commission on Judicial Nomination by New York Chief Judge Rowan Wilson, as the New York Post first reported. “The Commission’s mandate is a powerful one: the Constitution requires that the Governor choose Judges of the Court of Appeals only from the nominees of the Commission,” the panel’s website says.  Nixon, who is a fervent supporter of “trans rights” and other radical leftist causes, ran for governor in 2018 and endorsed democratic socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani for New York City mayor last year. Her appointment to the commission is seen as yet another negative consequence of Mamdani’s win. “This is part of the damage [Mamdani] will do to NYC. Long after he’s gone the effects of the leftist lunatics will continue because they will be [embedded] in public offices. F*ck everyone who voted for this snake,” one X commenter wrote.  Nixon describes herself as “the mother of a proud trans man” and has spoken publicly about the issue. “My wife and I, our lives are filled with the most amazing, beautiful, brave trans people, young and old… but especially young,” the actress said at one New York rally last year. “My trans kid had his top surgery at NYU a number of years ago,” she continued. “…the idea that this city is filled with young people who thought they had a place to go where they could receive the highest care and that place has now been shut to them, sickens me. Sickens me to my core.”  Nixon described President Trump’s inauguration and subsequent executive order to protect children from irreversible gender procedures as “horrific” and “an assault.”  In the past, the “SATC” star has also denounced anti-shoplifting laws and has referred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as a “terrorist organization” all the way back in 2018. Former prosecutor Saritha Komatireddy told the Post that Nixon’s appointment proves that things are going downhill in New York. “Appointing a celebrity activist with zero legal background to help shape the future of our judiciary sends the wrong message entirely,” she told the outlet. “This is part of a broader trend in New York: politics increasingly taking precedence over public safety and common sense,” Komatireddy added. “At a deeply critical time when New Yorkers are demanding safer streets and greater confidence in our institutions, our leaders should be focused on restoring trust in the justice system and not turning judicial appointments into a political game.”

In a shameful flip-flop, Representative Adam Smith (D-WA), the ranking Democrat on the powerhouse House Armed Services Committee, surrendered to the radical Left on Wednesday, voting to freeze $3.3 billion in vital U.S. military assistance to Israel just days after promising he would oppose the measure. At the end of June, Smith told Jewish Insider he planned to vote against the amendment, saying, “I’m against that. I don’t think it has support because it cuts off humanitarian aid, military aid — all aid for Israel. So I don’t think there’s support for it, but we’ll see.” In Smith’s statement explaining why he flipped, he tacitly implied that a ruthless campaign of intimidation right at his doorstep might have played a part in his decision. In a stunning statement posted to X, Smith hinted that a wave of aggressive far-left, anti-Israel agitators might have successfully bullied him into submission. The congressman detailed a catalog of terror targeted at his private life. Radicals vandalized his family home, ignited a fire in his driveway, and launched disruptive late-night demonstrations that terrorized his quiet neighborhood. The thuggery didn’t stop there; unruly mobs repeatedly shut down his local town halls, and an innocent member of his congressional staff was physically assaulted. My statement on my vote in support of Rep. Massie's Amendment #8. pic.twitter.com/gLoeYWiCNv — Rep. Adam Smith (@RepAdamSmith) July 16, 2026 But rather than standing strong against the lawless mob, the powerful defense lawmaker folded like a lawn chair. The shocking capitulation comes as Smith stares down a tense August 4 primary challenge from two fierce anti-Israel activists. Critics say his vote smells of pure political survival, driven by an appetite to appease the most extreme elements of his party. The $3.3 billion aid package was targeted by an amendment from Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) to strip funding from the 2027 State Department appropriations bill. While top Democrats like Representative Greg Meeks (D-NY) warned that defunding Israel during an existential crisis was dangerous policy, Smith broke ranks. Other progressives, like Representative Greg Casar (D-TX), cheered the cuts, blindly blasting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. The amendment ultimately failed 104–314–10 (103 Dems for, 98 against, 10 present; Rep. Thomas Massie the lone GOP yes). In his explanation, Smith tried to play both sides. He acknowledged that many of the radicals demanding America completely abandon the Jewish state actually deny Israel’s right to exist, pointing out their willful blindness to the horrific, violent extremism of Hamas. He claimed his vote was merely an attempt to grab the “attention of the Israeli government.” Yet, no amount of political spin can mask the dangerous precedent. By backing down after his home was targeted and his staff attacked, Smith sent a loud and clear message to political extremists: terrorism works.

Target has recalled 211,000 toddler sandals nationwide because they pose “a risk of serious injury or death.” The”Cat & Jack Children’s Sandals,” which sold for $22 across all of Target’s U.S. stores, were recalled July 16. The shoes have been recalled due to small decorative pearls on the tan sandal’s raffia straps. Target received 23 reports of the pearls falling off, posing a tripping and choking hazard for small children. No injuries have been reported from these sandals so far. The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced that parents should return the shoes as soon as possible or risk harming their child. “Consumers should stop using the recalled sandals immediately, take them away from children and contact Target for a full refund,” the Consumer Product Safety Commission reported. “Consumers will be asked to return the sandals to any store or use a prepaid label to return the sandals by mail.”  Target has been forced to recall other children’s products. The retail outlet has pulled a toddler kitchen step stool, children’s play tents, and an “Under the Sea Popping Toy” made for infants and toddlers.