A Spanish woman delivered a heart-wrenching firsthand account of the crush of thousands of migrants who stormed the beaches of Ceuta this week as she made a desperate plea for help. Surrounded by a horde of Moroccan migrant men shouting and pushing, Ceuta resident Rocio cried out for help from the Spanish government, which she said has been missing in action amid the influx. Between Thursday and Friday, roughly 60,000 migrants, mainly young men, swam or scaled border fences into Ceuta, which sits on the African continent. Nearly three dozen people are dead, according to The New York Times. “We are afraid. We cannot condone this. Where are our rights as Spaniards? Where are our principles as Spaniards? … They need to fortify this city. We need police on the streets, the civil guard on the streets, we need the military on the streets. They’re not there; we’re alone. We cannot call the police or the civil guard because they can’t keep up. We need urgent help,” Rocio said during a televised interview. She went on to call the situation an “invasion” as she broke down in tears. That was when the migrant men standing behind her began shouting. “This is really outrageous. I am surrounded, I’m afraid. How can I not be afraid? I even feel like crying. This can’t go on, this can’t go on, really. This can’t go on; we need help. The thing is, I’m shaking. Really, this has to be lived through. You have to live through this as a woman. You have to live through this as a woman,” Rocio said. “You have to live through this to understand it,” she said. “This is an invasion. They’ve started with Ceuta, but this is the border to Spain, the border to Europe. Today it was Melilla, tomorrow it will be the Canary Islands. The day after, it will be Tarifa.” At the end of the interview, the reporter remarked that the migrant group closing in behind them couldn’t be kept away or controlled. “They’ve started approaching us. I am asking them to stay away, but there’s no way,” the reporter said. The men then clapped but didn’t appear to understand what the women had said. (Photo by JORGE GUERRERO / AFP via Getty Images) Spain’s far-left Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, who is set to give amnesty to one million migrants this year, traveled to Ceuta on Friday after deploying the Spanish military to control the melee. Sánchez vowed to deport some of the migrants. Earlier this month, however, Spain’s Supreme Court ruled that migrants who enter by sea cannot be immediately expelled. “The Government will guarantee the safety of the residents of Ceuta, intensifying the presence of the Security Forces and Corps on the city’s streets. Additionally, we will deploy a physical containment barrier in the sea to facilitate repatriation at the border, in compliance with the Supreme Court ruling,” Sánchez said. After complaining they had not eaten in days and could not find food in Ceuta, thousands of the new arrivals began making the journey back to Morocco on Friday.

The Democrat frontrunner for Wisconsin governor faced renewed criticism on Friday after social media users resurfaced a 2019 post in which she said she nearly had an “anxiety attack” because there were too many “old white people” at a Culver’s restaurant.  Francesca Hong, a Wisconsin state representative backed by multiple Democratic Socialists of America chapters, became the clear favorite for the Democratic nomination Thursday after former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes dropped out of the race. “I ate two bites of my kid’s cheeseburger at a Culver’s in black river falls (sic) and told him they ran out of ice cream. Mostly just wanted to leave bc I was on the verge of a anxiety attack…to [sic] many old white people who didn’t think we spoke english,” Hong posted on X.  I ate two bites of my kid’s cheeseburger at a Culver’s in black river falls and told him they ran out of ice cream. Mostly just wanted to leave bc I was on the verge of a anxiety attack…to many old white people who didn’t think we spoke english — Francesca Hong For Governor (@FrancescaHongWI) July 2, 2019 Recent Marquette Law School polling found Hong with a commanding double-digit lead ahead of next month’s Democratic primary, raising concerns among some establishment Democrats that her left-wing positions could alienate voters in the general election.  Hong’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for clarification on her comments. In a Wednesday post on X, Hong lamented that “folks are digging up old tweets in an attempt to shift the narrative in this race.” “Here’s a Democrat gubernatorial candidate complaining about how she nearly had an ‘anxiety attack’ because there were too many ‘white people’ at a restaurant,” said Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX). “Nothing unifies the Democrat Party more than vitriolic racial animus against white people. It’s evil and indefensible.” Hong, who is backed by DSA chapters in Madison and Milwaukee and endorsed by leftist Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Ro Khanna (D-CA), has also drawn attention for past statements about policing and race. In 2021, she wrote, “Police exist to uphold white supremacy. Defund then abolish. Reform can’t be an option.” Hong has also advocated abolishing ICE, imposing a one-year moratorium on data centers, creating government-owned grocery stores, restoring voting rights to felons,  and legalizing marijuana. She has also previously advocated for abolishing the U.S. Senate.  The Wisconsin Democrats will choose their nominee in the August 11 primary. Some state Democrats, including Gov. Tony Evers, are backing Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley.

China slashed its oil imports by more than half after the Iran war began, a move analysts say helped prevent global oil prices from climbing even higher despite major supply disruptions. “China was definitely the most important factor in keeping prices down,” oil markets analyst Rory Johnston said.  China typically imports about 11 million barrels of oil per day, but cut back on roughly 5 million after fighting disrupted Middle East energy markets and shipping routes, leaving more crude available to other buyers. Analysts estimate oil could have reached $150 to $200 per barrel had China continued buying at its normal pace, rather than remaining around $90. China imports more than 70% of the oil it consumes, making it especially sensitive to price spikes. Instead of buying expensive crude on the open market, Beijing has increasingly relied on its strategic reserves, though analysts question how long that strategy can continue.  Before the war, China’s Foreign Ministry urged all sides to de-escalate tensions, warning that regional conflict could disrupt global energy markets. “The international community [should] make greater efforts to promote de-escalation of the conflict and prevent regional instability from having a greater impact on global economic development,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.  The U.S. government estimates China holds nearly 1.4 billion barrels of oil in underground strategic reserves and commercial storage, enough to last between six months and more than a year depending on consumption.  China employed the opposite strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic, dramatically increasing imports as oil prices collapsed. U.S. crude exports to China jumped 211% in 2020 while benchmark oil briefly traded below zero, allowing Beijing to stockpile cheap supplies. “China is doing this for China, fundamentally,” said Ruby Osman, a senior policy advisor on China at the Tony Blair Institute. “But obviously it’s not unhelpful for China that it has become a global public good.”

French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday he has ordered the deployment of four units of mobile forces, along with aircraft and drones, to strengthen controls at France’s border with Spain in response to the migrant situation in the Spanish territory of Ceuta. In a post on X, Macron wrote that he had been in contact with the leader of the Spanish government “to express our solidarity and offer any necessary assistance, including through Frontex.” He cited ongoing cooperation with Morocco, which he said “has already enabled more than 40,000 returns from Ceuta to Morocco today.” Interior ministers from both countries were in contact “to ensure close monitoring of the situation.” Macron noted that Ceuta does not benefit from freedom of movement to the rest of the Schengen Area. “However, as of yesterday, I asked the Interior Minister to strengthen controls at our border with Spain if necessary: 4 units of mobile forces, aircraft, and drones have been deployed.” These steps, he said, reinforce arrangements France has taken since 2020 to protect its border with Spain through joint brigades and concerted action against illegal immigration.  They also complement European instruments for returns and the asylum and migration pact. Macron cited a 25% drop in irregular flows to the European Union last year and a decline on the Atlantic and western Mediterranean routes in 2026. “Solidarity and responsibility with our European partners to enforce our rules of firmness on returns and the protection of the Union’s external borders,” he wrote. “I reiterate here our solidarity with Spain, its government, and its people.” The announcement comes after nearly 60,000 migrants entered Ceuta from Morocco since Thursday. At least 57 people have died, many from drowning as they tried to swim into the territory and others from being trampled as crowds broke down gates and overwhelmed Spanish border officials. Most of those who crossed appeared to be young Muslim men. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said his government was “fully committed to providing an immediate response to the situation in Ceuta” and was mobilizing resources while working with Moroccan and international authorities. Later, he called the events something that “deserves our full reproach, our condemnation at the strongest possible level of rejection, condemnation, and consideration as deplorable.” The influx followed a Spanish Supreme Court ruling that migrants crossing by sea cannot be immediately deported. Migrants were reportedly heard chanting “Bye Bye Morocco, hello Spain” and “Allahu akbar” as they pushed past officials.  Locals described closed businesses, packed streets, and fear. One restaurant owner said it was “every man for himself.” Another called the scene an “apocalypse.” Santiago Abascal of Spain’s Vox party described the arrivals as an invasion of military-aged men. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Italy was taking extraordinary measures, including the possible suspension of the Schengen Area with Spain, calling uncontrolled illegal immigration a concrete threat to Europe’s borders.  European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen labeled the situation “unacceptable” and said dangerous crossings must stop, smuggling networks must be dismantled, and returns must be swift. President Donald Trump said Friday the events in Spain would feature in Republican midterm messaging. Speaking from Camp David, he described it as looking “like an invasion of a country by hundreds of thousands of people” and warned that the same thing would happen to the United States on a larger scale if Republicans are not elected.  “If we’re not in office, our country will be invaded at levels that made Spain look small time,” Trump said. He had told Fox News earlier Friday to “remember that picture,” adding that it would be the United States in three years “if the wrong side gets in.” Vice President JD Vance called the images “an unfortunate reminder of the consequences of mass migration and the radical left-wing globalist policies that have enabled the Invasion of the West.”  The State Department said the United States stands with the people of Spain against “this egregious violation of their sovereignty and human rights” and described the incident as the result of Spanish government efforts that enabled mass illegal migration. Macron’s deployment of the four mobile forces, aircraft, and drones is the clearest French operational response so far to the pressure building at the Spanish border.

Happy Friday to everyone, but not to Troy Jackson. The Cousin F*cker. You heard that right, friends. Troy Jackson, the newly selected Democratic Senate nominee to replace Graham Platner (Nazi tattoo guy) up in Maine and take on Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) for a seat that could hand Democrats the majority, is in a long-term relationship with, and shares two children with, his second cousin. There’s a sentence you never thought you’d read. We knew he was bad. Jackson stood by his friend Platner right up until a liberal woman accused him of rape; he’s a devout socialist, and his policies sit to the Left of Bernie Sanders. But we didn’t know he was this bad. Married-to-his-cousin bad. Somehow this skeleton, alive and kicking, is almost worse than Platner’s closet of overflowing bones. You’ll remember Graham Platner, the self-described communist who also claims to be an oyster farmer, though his main customer is his mommy. He had a large Nazi tattoo on his chest, cheated on his wife just months into their marriage, has a sexting problem, and enjoys jerking off in porta-potties. He said he’d r*pe home invaders, but not in a gay way, and he had a Kik account, a site notorious for hosting child sex predators. Oh, and he was accused of sexual assault by a Right-wing staffer. You’ll also remember that none of this moved the needle for Democrats. They staunchly defended this hirsute gopher and shrugged off his machinations right up to the end. It wasn’t until a liberal woman claimed he’d raped her that his support finally fell by the wayside. But have no fear! Democrats have an unending list of capable, normal, hardworking candidates to put in his place — someone to lay siege to Collins’s reign! We saw these qualified quacks take the Maine Senate debate stage earlier this month, and their sheer star power was astounding. Between transgender-identifying candidate Ashley Webb, who cited his background as a songwriter and author as proof of his qualifications, and Troy Jackson, the former logger with an affinity for putting his log in his relatives, this bench seemed unstoppable. Right up until word escaped the incestuary that Jackson was playing house with his high school second-cousin sweetheart. Sen. Collins is probably pouring an extra-large glass of wine and toasting the Maine Democratic Party’s unparalleled talent for self-sabotage. While Democrats scramble to explain why their latest “normal, hardworking” replacement shares great-grandparents with the mother of his children, Collins can campaign on the radical idea of not being related to her spouse. Second-cousin romance may be legal, and not unheard of in the remote North Woods, but the rest of the state still prefers its senators to have family trees that don’t look like a pretzel. And no, Dems, you can’t pretend this is like FDR and Eleanor. They were fifth cousins. Still super weird. But slightly better than sharing a great-grandparent. This is what happens when a party defends the indefensible until the last possible second, then pivots to the next available warm body without checking the Ancestry.com results. Platner had the Nazi ink and the porta-potties. Jackson has the high-school-sweetheart-who’s-also-family situation. These two could star in a low-budget Lifetime original: Love in the North Woods: When Blood Is Thicker Than Water and Also Kinda the Same Thing, But Not In A Gay Way. Somewhere in between, the concept of a boring, electable candidate got lost in those woods and never came back. So again, happy Friday to everyone but Troy Jackson. The rest of us can enjoy the weekend knowing that, once again, the Maine Democratic bench has delivered pure entertainment and an easier path to reelection for Susan Collins. Unless, of course, Mainers find second-cousin-f*cking commie candidates romantic and mysterious. In that case, let them keep it in the family.