There isn’t a breeze in sight. The air is stuffy, muggy, thick enough to chew. Lady Liberty still looks beautiful with the sun on her copper facade, and I won’t complain about a sunny day, no matter how hot it gets. But today there’s something heavier than the humidity hanging over the city. For some New Yorkers, there’s a looming, crushing sense of guilt, stickier than the air itself. Because they haven’t turned their AC up to 78 degrees. Why would anyone willingly suffer through a muggy apartment when they could enjoy the start of Fourth of July weekend in a crisp 68-degree living room? Because the socialist, terror-sympathizing, former-failed-rapper mayor of New York City told them not to. For the good of the very warm collective. “Set your AC to 78 degrees,” he says. Because “a stable grid means the AC stays on, and lives are saved,” he says. Translation: sweat now, comrade, so YOU [insert Sophia Cunningham pointing meme] don’t overheat the cooling system and kill grandma. That’s eerily reminiscent of French health officials last week, instructing the elderly and sick to essentially stick their heads in ice buckets and sip cold soup rather than run an air conditioner. I made fun of France for sounding like the third world. I didn’t expect the third world to make it to New York City this fast. It’s the same degrowth logic wearing a different accent. Paris told its sick and elderly to suffer through the heat for the sake of the planet. Mamdani is telling everyone else to suffer through it for the sake of the grid. Different continent, same underlying belief: your comfort is negotiable, and someone else always gets to decide the terms. Today it’s your thermostat. Tomorrow it’s your grocery cart, your car, your lightbulbs. The mask doesn’t come off all at once. It slips one degree at a time. Last week, I went nine days without AC. It hovered between 78 and 80 degrees, and it was unbearable. Now the mayor of a city of eight million residents is scolding those same residents into voluntary suffering and harm, fresh off a campaign that promised prosperity, rainbows, and abundance for all. Nothing to see here, folks. Just a full-fledged Islamic socialist chipping away at the freedoms and comforts we hold dear, one thermostat at a time. Utopia was supposed to be air-conditioned. Mamdani blames the power grid, apparently so fragile that if all eight million New Yorkers don’t sweat through their Alo yoga pants and Wall Street suits in togethership, the whole system goes dark. And what made the grid so fragile in the first place? Horrendous Democrat energy policy, three decades in the making. New York banned hydraulic fracking despite sitting on massive Marcellus Shale reserves, in the name of eliminating gas use. It didn’t eliminate anything. It just made the state import the energy it refuses to drill for itself. Environmentalists celebrated the closure of Indian Point, a nuclear plant that once supplied roughly 25% of New York City’s electricity. The grid never recovered. Then came the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, mandating 70% renewable energy by 2030 and leaning on unreliable sources like solar and wind. Less efficient. More expensive. Exactly the recipe for a grid that buckles the moment July shows up. Naturally, the socialist mayor isn’t offering practical fixes like drilling, fracking, coal, or nuclear power. That would be radical. Instead, he’s threatening you with thermostat mandates and doubling down even when his proletariat complains. A commenter on my recent video mocking Mamdani for this wisecracked that Texas has also asked residents to set their AC to 78 during extreme heat waves. Sure. But Texas asks because it regularly hits triple-digit heat that sends demand through the roof, even with a grid that actually builds power plants and lets markets work. Mamdani is asking because years of green policy, championed by his side, shuttered reliable nuclear capacity and choked off gas, leaving the grid with paper-thin margins. Now ordinary New Yorkers get to roast while the system he inherited, and never intends to fix, tries to catch up. Mamdani handed us this layup himself the moment he swore to strip away your individuality in exchange for warm, collective security. That cozy collectivism now looks like a forced, hellish scarcity. The cozy collectivism he promised now looks a lot like forced, hellish scarcity. That’s the trick with socialism. It’s always sold as a group hug and delivered as a group sweat. You can’t say every wise soul in history didn’t warn you. “Socialism is the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy,” said Winston Churchill. That quote could be on a welcome mat outside Mamdani’s front door. A door I’d bet good money leads to a home that isn’t sitting at 78 degrees.

A heavily armed man was arrested earlier this week outside a North Carolina church after authorities found an arsenal of weapons, including two flamethrowers, in his truck.  On Sunday morning during a service, a caller reported that an armed man wearing camouflage clothing was sitting in his truck in the parking lot of Wesley Memorial Methodist Church. Authorities responded to the call and arrested 44-year-old William S. Milliken III, charging him with possession of a weapon of mass destruction, impersonation of a law enforcement officer, and possession of a controlled substance, according to the High Point Police Department. Milliken was wearing body armor during his arrest and was disarmed by officers. He was taken into custody without incident and is currently being held at Guilford County Jail. After Milliken’s arrest, the officers searched his truck and discovered several weapons, including a CO2-powered launcher made to resemble a handgun, two flamethrowers, two crossbows, more than 500 rounds of ammunition, rolls of black duct tape, three knives, and Oxycodone pills, according to police. WFMY reported that court documents revealed Milliken had a history of mental health issues. He possessed GPS coordinates, body armor, radios with police scanners, handcuff keys, an enlarged map of North Carolina, and a notebook with addresses of other churches, schools, and public buildings. “Thanks to the quick action of our officers, a man armed with weapons was taken into custody before anyone was hurt,” Chief Curtis Cheeks III said. “The officers prevented a potentially dangerous situation from escalating and helped ensure everyone attending church services could return home safely. “We also want to thank the community members who recognized a potential danger and had the courage to speak up. As we work to keep High Point safe, it is crucial that we continue to look out for each other,” Cheeks said. Mayor Cyril Jefferson of High Point also spoke out about the incident. “Most importantly, no one was hurt,” Jefferson said. “Hundreds of people who had gathered to worship were able to return home safely to their families.”

A 31-year-old novice climber is lucky to be alive after falling 1,500 feet down California’s Mount Shasta.  The female climber suffered a serious fall while ascending the Left of Heart variation, a steeper section of the Avalanche Gulch route on Mount Shasta, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Mount Shasta is the second-highest peak in the Cascades and the fifth-highest in the Golden State.  The woman, who has not been publicly identified, was with three novice climbers when she plunged 1,500 vertical feet—from an elevation of about 13,000 feet to approximately 11,500 feet—before coming to rest on the mountain. Moments later, three U.S. Forest Service Climbing Rangers, with assistance from the California Highway Patrol, launched a rescue response. Due to heavy cloud cover, Climbing Ranger Falconer left the helicopter and continued the rescue on foot to reach the injured woman, aided by one member of her party, who helped carry rescue equipment.  “The patient was found alert, in good spirits, and suffering from a suspected fractured right ankle along with additional injuries consistent with the significant fall,” the U.S. Forest Service said in a social media post. “After being stabilized and packaged in a SKED rescue litter, Climbing Rangers Falconer, Jordan, and MacArthur, along with members of the climbing party, carefully lowered the patient to Lake Helen.”  Later that evening, rescuers evacuated the woman from Lake Helen before she was transported to Mercy Medical Center in Mount Shasta for further treatment. The route the woman and her group were climbing is considered “steep and rigorous,” requiring climbers to carry specialized gear—including crampons, an ice axe, and a helmet—as well as possess basic snow travel skills, according to the Mount Shasta Avalanche Center. “Don’t consider this route as a cakewalk,” the center said. “Though not an overly technical route, it does follow a 7,000 vertical foot ascent that exposes the climber to steep snow and ice, rock fall, and weather extremes.”    Over the decades, nearly 50 people have died on Mount Shasta since recordkeeping began in 1916.  “This incident serves as an important reminder that Mount Shasta is a high-altitude mountaineering environment, not a hike,” the Forest Service said. “Even experienced climbers can encounter rapidly changing weather, steep snow and ice, rockfall, and hazardous fall conditions.”

A grand jury on Thursday indicted three-time U.S. Olympian David Hearn, alleging he ripped a piece of sealant from the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool with his bare hands, federal prosecutors said. Hearn, 67, faces a single felony count for destruction of property following his arrest last month in the nation’s capital, according to Jeanine Pirro, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.  “This was a deliberate act to damage the reflecting pool at the National Mall that members of the National Park Service actually have worked hard to restore,” Pirro said at a press conference. “We can state and prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he caused damage, and that damage is over $1,000.” On June 19, Hearn, a former Olympic canoeist, was on a bike ride when he stopped to see the reflecting pool following reports of algae in the water, describing himself as a “curious, concerned citizen” to ABC News.  That’s when U.S. Park Police warned, then cited, the former Olympian after he touched a piece of blue coating. Prosecutors say he later tore two square feet of sealant from the bottom of the pool, an account Hearn denies. “I saw a piece of this loose end of this blue coating … I reached out and touched the end of that piece that was loose but still attached to the bottom,” he told ABC News. “I was able to reach out and touch the edge that was still attached at the bottom and handled it a little bit.” Federal prosecutors paint a different picture of the incident.  “Our evidence further shows that the National Park Service employees observed Hearn actually forcefully and violently pulling up and removing the bottom liner with both hands,” Pirro said, adding that witnesses described Hearn’s behavior as “belligerent” and “disrespectful.”  An attorney for Hearn said his client was innocent and that the charges are “outrageous and should be alarming to every American.” “On the eve of our nation’s Independence Day, Americans should be deeply concerned by the misuse of government power against an ordinary citizen based on a concocted narrative.” Speaking to ABC, Hearn directly denied wrongdoing.  “I did not remove, I did not damage, I did not rip, tear, break, destroy, or harm any part of the Reflecting Pool,” he told ABC. “The condition of that part and all other parts of the Reflecting Pool were in the same condition after I walked away as they were before I walked up to it.”  On June 9, U.S. Park Police responded to reports of damage to the reflecting pool, including foam sealant that had been cut with a sharp knife or razor. As a result, crews scrubbed algae from the pool as strips of “American flag blue” paint and sealant peeled from its bottom, just weeks after the $14.8 million restoration project, The Daily Wire previously reported.  Thursday’s indictment follows a string of alleged vandalism and protests, including one woman chanting, “algae’s better than MAGA.”  The issues and negative publicity surrounding the iconic landmark have drawn Trump’s ire as he pushes to restore the site ahead of America’s 250th anniversary, describing vandals as “SICK, DERANGED PEOPLE!”  At least six individuals have been arrested in connection with reflecting pool-related vandalism, according to NBC.  “These landmarks and monuments belong to all of us, and they must be protected for generations to come,” Pirro said. “We will not allow our sacred monuments to be roped off, defaced, or diminished, or in any way impacted by disgruntled individuals.” If convicted, Hearn faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

I’m going to discuss what is easily one of the worst videos I’ve ever seen on the internet, uploaded by the 40-year-old actor Frankie Muniz, who gained fame as the lead character in the Fox sitcom “Malcolm in the Middle,” which aired from 2000 to 2006.  After making a few terrible films, he mostly gave up acting and began moonlighting as a race car driver —  a career where he’s best known for fighting very hard for 26th place in the NASCAR Truck Series while the actual contenders are busy lapping him.  Muniz has not completely dropped out of Hollywood, though. He just starred in the “Malcolm in the Middle” reboot miniseries on Hulu, which very few people watched or cared about. But they did make sure to include all of the obligatory woke updates, such as introducing a “non-binary” sibling for Malcolm and revealing that his black friend is now in a gay interracial relationship and has an adopted son. They checked all of the boxes, except, in a surprising twist, they didn’t have Bryan Cranston’s character come out as trans. I guess they’re saving that for the reboot of the reboot in 2029. In short, Frankie Muniz has had a mediocre career since reaching its zenith at the age of 14. He hasn’t received much attention of late, and for good reason: He’s not relevant anymore, and no one cares about anything he’s doing. There’s certainly no shame in that. It’s probably been a major lifestyle upgrade, in too many ways to list. This is a period in his life when he’s supposed to focus on raising his family and counting the many blessings he’s enjoyed, including all of the residual checks that are still pouring in.  By age 40, most child actors end up homeless outside of a Denny’s, pants around their ankles, begging every passing stranger for a few dollars so they can get a bus ticket to Milwaukee, which, as we know, is homeless drug addict code for buying crack.  Muniz was somehow able to avoid that fate. He managed to dodge the curse of childhood fame and start a family that, to all outward appearances, seemed healthy and happy. And that’s an achievement in its own right. Indeed, in terms of accomplishments, a child actor not becoming a crackhead is like a normal person placing in the top 100 in the Boston Marathon. It’s not the kind of thing that will win you the Presidential Medal of Freedom, but it’s quite impressive in its own right. Unfortunately, Frankie has just undone all of that goodwill in one fell swoop with one of the most agonizingly cringy posts ever to curse the feeds of unsuspecting social media users. On Wednesday, across all his social media profiles, Muniz announced that he and his wife were getting a divorce.  He framed the divorce as something he’s happy about, which he obviously isn’t, and as a mutual decision, which it obviously wasn’t. But before we get into Muniz’s statement — a statement that reflects a larger cultural trend, which is the only thing that makes it worth talking about — here’s the video that he uploaded along with his announcement. The caption reads, “WHO SAYS YOU CAN’T STAY BEST FRIENDS WITH YOUR BABY MAMA?” The fact that he’s a 40-year-old white man using the term “baby mama” should make this video less surprising, though no less excruciating to witness.  Watch: Frankie Muniz deleted this video that he posted of him celebrating breaking up his family by divorcing his wife.pic.twitter.com/99c6PidegV — Ian Miles Cheong (@ianmiles) July 1, 2026 Source: @ianmiles/X.com The footage shows Frankie and his wife dancing together in the living room, celebrating their divorce. There’s a lengthy caption where he excitedly talks about the divorce — like he’s announcing a marriage, rather than the dissolution of one.  The video itself is a tragedy, especially given the context. Admittedly, there is no context where a 40-year-old man should be posting videos of himself dancing. It is undignified and unfair to those of us who had the misfortune to be born with eyes. Frankie, like most 40-year-old men — and I say this as one myself — moves with all of the grace and rhythm of a three-legged deer, hobbling away after getting shot in the ass. That’s why dancing is meant for younger people.  If you feel the need to dance as a middle-aged man, for some ungodly reason, go somewhere behind a locked door, lower the blinds, draw the shades, make sure all other humans and domestic animals have evacuated the premises, and then dance in private, so that the rest of us are not forced to witness the ghastly sight.  But in this context — a cucked, henpecked weakling convulsing off-beat to a bad pop song, pretending to be happy that his wife is leaving him, displaying the sincere enthusiasm and wearing the genuine smile of a North Korean citizen giving a standing ovation to Dear Leader because the other option was burial in a mass grave — in this context, it is unbearable to behold.   When I first watched this — probably because I was so overwhelmed with disgust that I turned it off in 3.2 seconds — I didn’t even notice that their 5-year-old child joins in on the dancing. Frankie invites his son over and plays air guitar with his body, all to celebrate the fact that his son won’t be growing up in a stable two-parent household.  They apparently sat the child down, explained very somberly that mommy and daddy still love each other but don’t want to be around each other or live in the same house or on the same planet anymore, and then as the child was tearfully trying to process the worst trauma of his life, they excitedly declared: “Hey, we have an idea — let’s have a dance party!” Dancing with your wife and child to celebrate the fact that your child will no longer have mommy and daddy in the home is one of the most depraved things a Hollywood actor has ever done, which is obviously a very very high bar to clear.  In a twist no one saw coming, Frankie Muniz has surged ahead of Charlie Sheen and Kevin Spacey in the race to be the greatest living Hollywood degenerate. If he can’t win a NASCAR race, at least he can win this one.  How are we supposed to interpret what happened specifically in Frankie’s case? I can’t say one way or the other because I don’t know any of these people. Just looking at that video, though, it’s pretty apparent that his wife came up with the idea. No man would subject himself to something like this voluntarily.  Also, from a statistical perspective, these sorts of things are normally the wife’s idea. I don’t just mean posting dancing videos on the internet, although that too. Depending on what studies you look at, women are responsible for filing something like 70 to 80% of divorces. This has been one of the most enduring consequences of the feminist movement. Women have been bombarded with relentless propaganda about how they’re fully independent and “don’t need no man.” They’re taught that they can murder their children if they’re inconvenient, so obviously, breaking up a family is no big deal. And as a result, divorce has become something of a social contagion. The social contagion aspect of divorce is nothing new. What is new, or at least increasingly mainstream, is the relentless effort to present divorce as something empowering and fulfilling, a thing to be celebrated.  Not to get too hung up on this one example of the guy from Malcolm in the Middle, now the star of Malcolm in the Cuck Chair, but the example is illuminating. Especially when you read the caption: Life update! Following a period of separation that we kept private, Paige and I have decided to move forward with ending our marriage. After 10 beautiful years together, we’ve grown in ways that made us realize our relationship feels most natural and strong as a deep friendship and as co-parents. We share an incredible son who remains the center of our world, and we’re both happier, stronger parents because of the love and growth we’ve shared.  This feels like an email you’d get from HR when they deactivate your keycard. “We’ve decided to move forward with ending our marriage.” There isn’t an actual human being on the planet who’s ever uttered that sentence. I’m confident in saying that.  You’ll only get a line like that from Brenda from HR or ChatGPT. If there’s one thing AI chatbots are good at, it’s putting together grammatically correct sentences that manage to be coherent and yet have no meaning at the exact same time.  Also, notice the attempt — typical of these Hollywood divorce announcements — to pretend that divorce is the result of “personal growth” when really it is the result, usually, of two selfish people who never figured out how to stop being selfish. The problem is precisely a lack of growth. Or, if it was growth, it was growth of the wrong thing. Saying divorce is the result of growth is like saying terminal cancer is the result of growth. It’s technically and medically true, but the problem is that the wrong thing was growing. As for being a “co-parent” — that’s the arrangement you already had. That’s called being married. Divorced couples aren’t co-parents. They are competing parents. If you were cooperating parents, parents on the same team, you’d still be married. It is certainly a practical impossibility for any child to remain “the center of their world,” as Frankie claims, in this scenario — which is one of the reasons why it’s so revolting that these people insist on including their child in all of their messaging about their divorce.  And at any rate, the child actually should not be the center of your world anyway. The center of your world should be your faith, and your marriage should be the next closest thing to the center. The child orbits around that, like a planet around the Sun. The child is not himself the Sun with you and your wife as planets orbiting him. Not to torture the cosmic analogy, but the thing in the solar system with the most mass is the thing that everything else orbits around. Your child should not — in a metaphorical or literal sense — have the most mass.  Your marriage is the center, the thing with the gravitational pull that your child revolves around. Putting the child at the center of your world is very likely — in fact, almost certain — to result in exactly what has happened here. It would be like trying to reorganize our solar system with Pluto in the middle of it. Apocalyptic chaos and destruction are the only possible results.  Of course, in this case, within a few minutes, Muniz (or his PR people) apparently realized the footage wasn’t playing well, so the video was deleted from all of his social media profiles. But in its place, we get this message, along with a family photo featuring his son.