The Dianna Russini saga has been blown wide open after The New York Times released a 5,000-word report on Wednesday, exposing new details about the former NFL insider who worked for The Athletic. The Times, which owns The Athletic, published the piece detailing Russini’s entire rundown as a reporter from her time at ESPN and The Athletic before resigning due to her rumored affair with New England Patriots’ head coach Mike Vrabel in April. Two of the more striking revelations were Russini’s salary and her apparent abuse of insider power to evade law enforcement. When discussing how shocked the company was by the rumors of Russini’s now public affair, The New York Times also revealed how much she earned before her resignation. A former manager who had knowledge of her salary negotiation stated that The Athletic was paying her nearly $800,000 a year, making her one of the highest-paid journalists at the Times.  The decision to engage with the relationship with Vrabel is seen as even more surprising considering her salary. Russini was actively in contract talks with the paper on renewing the contract to potentially make even more money, but the photos that came to the surface of the affair halted all discussion. She eventually resigned. Russini’s abuse of power as an NFL reporter and insider was also highlighted in the report. In January of this year, Russini was pulled over for using her phone while driving with her children in the car. She then tried to avoid a ticket by mentioning that Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott had just been fired and she needed to break the news. After the cop was unimpressed, she discovered his favorite team, facetimed the head coach, and was let go without a citation. This came two months before the leaked photos of her and Vrabel.  This isn’t the first time the story has surfaced. Earlier this year, Russini joked on a podcast about the situation. WILD: Dianna Russini revealed she got out of a traffic ticket by FaceTiming the head coach of the officer’s favorite NFL team. Russini: “What a nasty play… but it worked.”

A heated feud between Pastor Tony Spell and his neighbors turned violent as the pastor sought to defend his family and congregation. Spell, who is the pastor at Life Tabernacle Church in Central, Louisiana, was arrested for second-degree battery against his neighbor’s son, Scott Sherwin, after an altercation outside his church. Spell has been released on a $25,000 bond, according to the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office. Louisiana pastor beats up a man who allegedly threatened to r*pe and kill his wife and grandchildren. Pastor Tony Spell of Life Tabernacle Church says he was working on a church bus when the neighbor’s son started shouting at him. Spell said that it is his job as the natural… pic.twitter.com/v2ThlOEo3t — Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) June 24, 2026 The New York Post reported that Spell gave Sherwin a total of 35 punches. Sherwin’s father said his son had to receive five stitches to his chin after the incident. Released footage of the incident appears to show Spell confronting the younger man.  Speaking at a news conference about the altercation, Spell claimed that Sherwin threatened to sexually assault and kill his family, WAFB reported.   “While this individual is walking up and down the shoulder of the road, he’s shouting vulgarities, profanities, and very nasty words towards my person, or myself,” Spell recalled. “And while I’m working on this particular bus, he said, Tony, I’m quoting him. He said, ‘Tony, I’m gonna rape your wife. I’m gonna rape all of your grandchildren.’ And he said, ‘The next time you go out of town, I’m going to kill them. And what the f*ck are you going to do about it?’”  “Number one, I’m a husband, number two, I’m a father, and number three, I’m a pastor who shepherds his flock,” he added. “I will not allow a man to murder my children when I’m gone.” Spell also claimed that the Sherwin family has thrown vulgarities at his congregation, which is racially diverse and made up of vulnerable individuals, including people recovering from addiction. “[My congregation is] constantly stalked by these individuals across the street. They are constantly intimidated with threats of bodily harm,” Spell said. “There’s not a person that’s come to this church that’s standing behind me in this meeting today who hasn’t been called the racial slur of the N word. Their children have been screamed at and shouted at with vulgarities.”  Spell appeared to make light of his actions to his congregation during a sermon by referencing Mark 16:18 from the Bible, WAFB reported. “‘In my name, they shall lay hands on the sick. And they shall recover,’” he said. “So today, I fulfilled the Scripture. I laid hands on the sick. I don’t know how much recovery they’re going to have, but I laid hands on the sick.” Spell’s lawyer, Jeff Wittenbrink, criticized the local police for negligence, stating that Spell had reported harassment multiple times previously and was ignored by the local authorities. “There’s certainly a failure of laws and enforcers to keep the peace,” Wittenbrink said. Corcoran disputed the claim that police failed to act on the Spells’ complaints. “Our records reflect only 5 incidents involving Pastor or Mrs. Spell in the past 4 years, and only one of those involved a complaint against their neighbors,” Corcoran said in a statement.  Corcoran has offered to investigate any failure by his department to respond to a complaint if Spell can provide the dates and times of the alleged unaddressed complaints. Bad blood has reportedly existed between Spell and the Sherwin family for half a decade. Spell was ticketed for holding church services in person in violation of COVID-19 restrictions, the New York Post reported.  The Sherwin family allegedly set up surveillance cameras to monitor Spell and his violations of COVID protocol, prompting the pastor to sue the family.

The father of a neglected three-year-old who died from a lice infestation was sentenced by a New York judge on Monday. Matthew Dylewski, 34, admitted neglecting his three-year-old daughter Joycelynn Ann Dylewski, who died February 19, 2025, due to horrible living conditions in the family’s Corinth apartment. A picture of their home showed the floor piled with debris and garbage.  “You failed as a parent,” said Saratoga County Judge James Davis. “Your entire job was to keep her safe.” In March of 2026, both parents pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide, and in May, Joycelynn’s death was ruled a homicide due to acute and chronic neglect, CBS 6 Albany reported. On Monday, Joycelynn’s father was given 16 months to four years in prison. “I wish it was me that died to this day,” he said in court during his sentencing. On June 8, Samantha Dylewski, Joycelynn’s 33-year-old mother, was also sentenced to 16 to four years.   Investigators discovered that the girl’s teeth were “rotten and black” and a cockroach fell out of her winter hat, according to the New York Post. Bugs were also found on her face and scalp.  The three-year-old was diagnosed with anemia due to a lice infestation, which caused damage to her heart and organs, and was also dosed with clonidine, a blood pressure medication, said Saratoga County Sheriff Jeffrey Brown.  Last year, first responders arrived at the Dylewskis’ apartment in response to Joycelynn, who was having trouble breathing. She was pronounced dead at the hospital from a combination of those factors, according to the Times Union. Initially, both Matthew and his wife were charged with five counts of endangering the welfare of a child, for each of their five kids, according to CBS 6 Albany. The Dylewskis’ four surviving children were placed with relatives, and a protective order was issued so the parents are not allowed to contact them until 2038. New York State Senator Jim Tedisco (R, C-Ballston Lake), Assemblyman Matt Simpson (R, C-Adirondack), and Saratoga County District Attorney Brett Eby advocated for “Joycelynn’s Law” on June 23. This new legislation’s purpose was to increase the maximum prison sentence for criminally negligent homicide of a child to 20 years to life, according to the New York State Senate. “Joycelynn Dylewski deserved a happy childhood and to grow up and reach her full potential in a loving home,” Tedisco said. “The sentence these individuals got under the current law is not justice for Joycelynn.”  

The Zohran Mamdani-led socialist takeover of New York City is not sitting well with a lot of Democrats.  New York Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday expressed disappointment with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for blowing up the Democratic party by endorsing democratic socialist candidates against long-time incumbents. “Some of the candidates that he has supported are individuals who do not understand the politics of New York City, the cultural differences from district to district, who have not been part of the history and the struggle of some of these districts, and are relatively new to the body politic,” James told CNN.  The Democrat, whose high-profile legal investigations against the Trump family made her a national figure, said some of the Mamdani-backed candidates don’t really understand the Big Apple.  “All of us are a little frustrated with the Democratic Party. But you don’t blow it up. That’s what MAGA has done,” James added.  It’s a notable shift in tone for the attorney general, who passionately backed and campaigned for Mamdani against Andrew Cuomo in the contentious Nov. 2025 election. “He is a leader fighting for a better future for this city, and he, like me, knows what it’s like to be attacked, to be called names, to be threatened, to be harassed,” James said a month before the election, according to NBC.  “I see the courage that is embodied in Zohran, and that’s why I am supporting him,” she said.  On Tuesday, all three socialist candidates backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani won their Democratic primaries for U.S. House in New York on Tuesday night, including two far-Left candidates who knocked out incumbent Democrats, The Daily Wire previously reported.  In New York’s 10th congressional district, former New York City comptroller Brad Lander cruised to victory over incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman, who faced intense and increasing scrutiny for his pro-Israel views. In New York’s 7th district, New York State Assemblymember Claire Valdez won her race with about 56% of the vote, and in the 13th district, leftist community organizer Darializa Avila Chevalier defeated incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat, chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, by less than four percentage points.  The results highlight the growing tide against capitalism in New York and progressive precincts nationwide.  “When Zohran won, it was a sign of what could happen and what was possible,” the Sunrise Movement, a left-wing activist group, said in response to Tuesday night’s results. “Young people have taken over New York City and we are going to Congress. Young people, who are unapologetically Democratic-Socialist. Tonight marks the end of the bought out, boomer establishment Democrats.” In a social media post, the group added, “WATCH OUT CHUCK SCHUMER!! YOUNG PEOPLE HAVE TAKEN OVER THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY!!!”  Schumer, the highest-ranking Democrat in America, has shrugged his shoulders over the political earthquake, insisting his rapidly evolving party is a big tent that welcomes moderates, progressives, and even socialists. In the Oval Office, President Trump piled on, calling the Senate Majority Leader, who is Jewish, “100% Palestinian.”  “In fact, I’ve asked for a beautiful, silk outfit to be sent in the Palestinian tradition. I’m going to send it to him as a birthday present,” Trump said. “It’s the greatest transformation of a political ideology I’ve ever seen.”   TRUMP: “Chuck Schumer has become 100% Palestinian. In fact, I’ve asked for a beautiful, silk outfit to be sent in the Palestinian tradition. I’m going to send it to him as a birthday present.” pic.twitter.com/Z7iNMv9OEE — Bruce Snyder (@realBruceSnyder) June 24, 2026

Soon-to-be U.S. Congresswoman Darializa Avila Chevalier told Jen Psaki that her own financial struggles in New York City motivated her to run for Congress, but the Daily Wire found that Chevalier spent the last seven years as a professional student.  When asked why voters should choose her to represent them in Congress this November, Chevalier told Jen Psaki, “I am someone who felt deeply abandoned by the establishment politics that far too often see my community as merely a statistic …  someone who had to live with the question of whether I can even afford to stay in the city I love Darializa Avila Chevalier told Jen Psaki that her own grapples with affordability motivated her to run for Congress. Chevalier is in the seventh year of her PhD program at CUNY in NYC. pic.twitter.com/PFMLu1V6YJ — Brecca Stoll (@breccastoll) June 24, 2026 The Daily Wire reviewed Chevalier’s financial disclosures and found that the candidate, who built her platform around affordability for the working class, reported income almost entirely from taxpayer-supported institutions.   Chevalier collected $88,027.27 in 2025 and $46,747.65 in 2024. The largest source of income for Chevalier comes from the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, which receives its revenue almost entirely from government grants. Last year, the organization reported $55,159,731 in revenue, with $55,159,400 coming from government contributions. That left the remaining $331 coming from private donations.      Her other sources of income came from higher education fellowships and stipends, which, like the Neighborhood Defender Service, are almost exclusively taxpayer-funded. City University of New York primarily receives its revenue from New York State, New York City taxpayers, and government grants. If elected to Congress, Chevalier would receive a 97.73% pay increase from taxpayers when she begins to collect Congress’s standard $174,000 salary. As a congresswoman, Chevalier has declared she will promote socialist values as a proud member of the Democratic Socialists of America. In an interview with a newspaper published in the Dominican Republic, Chevalier told a reporter that democratic socialism seeks to “save the nation” and that the real dangers do not come from socialism but the extreme concentration of wealth in the hands of a few, as it produces “abysmal economic inequality that can destroy society.”  In the past, Chevalier has called for “seizing the means of production,” increasing taxes on corporations, and a universal basic income that would allow all citizens to receive a set, unconditional cash payment without work requirements attached. She also proposes a federal job guarantee, which would ensure employment to anyone unable to find work in the private sector.  The congresswoman has previously called for abolishing police and prisons. In a recent interview, Chevalier was unable to explain why she thinks someone who is convicted of murder should not go to jail.  “What we do is that we then put people behind bars in incredibly traumatizing conditions in a context where they cannot actually reflect on the harm that they caused or feel any remorse on that because they’re just trying to survive inside, and they’re being re-traumatized day after day after day while inside,” she argued.