Pro-life Americans — and anyone who doesn’t think taxpayer funds should be used to provide abortions — has a reason to celebrate after the latest US Supreme Court decision. The high court’s conservative majority sided with South Carolina in its attempt to exempt abortion provider Planned Parenthood from the state’s Medicaid funding. Specifically, the decision determined that patients who receive Medicaid assistance aren’t in a position to sue the state in order to receive a preferred provider. The Hill provided additional details: The law says that “any individual” insured through Medicaid “may obtain” care from any qualified and willing provider. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the majority that Medicaid recipients do not have the right to sue to enforce that provision. In a statement Thursday, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) praised the ruling. “Seven years ago, we took a stand to protect the sanctity of life and defend South Carolina’s authority and values – and today, we are finally victorious,” he said. The ruling paves the way for the state to prevent Planned Parenthood from receiving funding through Medicaid. The ruling only applies to South Carolina, where abortion is already outlawed after six weeks of pregnancy, but could be a template for other states. The decision sparked significant social media reaction, including widespread praise from those who agree with South Carolina’s position: Murder if they must but don’t make those who don’t murder pay for it. — Marla (@MarlaBartoli) June 26, 2025 That’s a win for life! Why would PP even need Medicaid funding to begin with? — Conservative Forum (@CForumGA) June 26, 2025 BREAKING: The Supreme Court has ruled in a 6-3 decision in the Medina v. Planned Parenthood case that state Medicaid programs can DEFUND Planned Parenthood. Huge breakthrough for the cause of life. Planned Parenthood should absolutely NOT receive a dime of taxpayer money. H/T:… pic.twitter.com/766TeWvwC2 — Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) June 26, 2025 Politico also provided some details from the recent decision: “Doubtless, this language speaks to what a State must do to participate in Medicaid, and a State that fails to fulfill its duty might lose federal funding. Doubtless, too, this provision seeks to benefit both providers and patients,” Gorsuch wrote. But he said the provision lacked “unambiguous ‘rights-creating language’” that would allow patients to sue in federal court. Gorsuch suggested the federal government could penalize a state for violating the guarantee that Medicaid patients can visit any qualified and willing provider. The Trump administration seems unlikely to do that, but a future administration might. Gorsuch, a Trump appointee, also said Planned Parenthood could attempt to challenge the ban directly under state law, rather than trying to sue under a federal civil rights statute, as it did in this case. That statute, passed in 1871, allows people to sue state officials who violate the “rights, privileges or immunities” guaranteed by law or the Constitution. All three of the court’s liberal justices dissented. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, painted the majority’s decision as part of a century-and-a-half-long “project of stymying one of the country’s great civil rights laws.” Jackson, a Biden appointee, accused her conservative colleagues of adopting “a narrow and ahistorical reading” of the civil rights law and of resisting “the natural and obvious … reading” of the Medicaid statute. Here’s a brief recap of the development, per NewsNation:

One of President Donald Trump’s key foreign policy positions has long been that other NATO member nations must begin to pay their fair share of the costs disproportionately carried by the US. While most of those countries have responded with their own promises to increase the share of their GDP they spend on defense, there’s been one notable holdout. And during this week’s NATO summit, Trump made it clear that Spain’s refusal to pony up extra money would not go unnoticed. Here’s how the Daily Wire covered the president’s remarks: “You’re the only country that is not paying. I don’t know what the problem is,” Trump said at the NATO summit in The Hague when questioned about Spain’s refusal to go along. “You know what we’re gonna do? We’re negotiating with Spain on a trade deal. We’re going to make them pay twice as much. And I’m actually serious about that,” the president added. NATO members agreed to increase defense spending from the current 2% level to 5% of their country’s gross domestic product by 2035. Spain was the only member that rejected this target, arguing that it would strain the country’s extensive welfare state. “We fully respect the legitimate desire of other countries to increase their defense investment, but we are not going to do it,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said before the summit. The bold rhetoric aimed at Spain in recent days has drawn some attention on social media: Spain is going to pay more $$$ in trade or they will pay 5% to NATO for defense. That’s the choice. — floridanow1 (@floridanow1) June 25, 2025 Trump just handled the press at the NATO Meeting. Spain you are going to pay. pic.twitter.com/sBO4Y9J4wI — Corky Swift (@CorkySwift2) June 25, 2025 President Trump: Spain is a very LOW PAYER! “People have to be very careful with what they say, because their mouth could get them into trouble.”#Trump #Spain #NATO pic.twitter.com/ILh9uVuRjv — ZoieZoe (@zoiezoe3186) June 20, 2025 The president had kind words for the remaining member nations for their agreement to increase funding to the 5% level. Politico covered some of the other remarks Trump made in his NATO address: The president also used his platform to defend his decision to strike Iran’s nuclear sites as an unequivocal success. He also lashed out at media outlets that reported on intelligence assessments which suggested Iranian capabilities were set back mere months. Trump heralded NATO’s adoption of a new spending goal for members to devote 5 percent of gross domestic product to defense over the next decade as “a monumental win for the United States, because we were carrying much more than our fair share, quite unfair actually.” But rather than grousing about the past, Trump reveled in his own catalytic role in helping to rebalance the alliance. “They said, ‘You did it, sir, you did it,’” Trump said. “Well, I don’t know if I did it, but I think I did.” Here’s some additional coverage of his address, per Fox News:

Democrat darling Rep. Jasmine Crockett is now, very unwisely, targeting the First Lady of the United States — over her citizenship, of all things. During a Congressional hearing on Wednesday, Rep. Crockett took aim at Melania, implying that maybe she did not get into the country legally. Watch for yourself here: DOESN’T ADD UP: @RepJasmine takes aim at @MELANIATRUMP as House lawmakers debate immigrant visas. The progressive lawmaker claims the visa that the first lady received when she came to America is reserved for people like Albert Einstein, saying, “the math ain’t mathin’ here.” pic.twitter.com/39aKCtBSlE — Fox News (@FoxNews) June 26, 2025 At the heart of Rep. Crockett’s argument here is the EB-1A — or ‘Einstein visa’ — which is given to individuals who prove extraordinary in their field of expertise. It’s a very good and elite visa program aimed at bringing the best and brightest immigrants to our nation. And, it’s the one that Melania Trump was given to obtain residency in the United States. The Hill noted: The Washington Post has reported that Trump in 2001 was given a green card via the elite EB-1 program. The program has been used by people such as academic researchers and multinational business executives, as well as people who have demonstrated “sustained national and international acclaim,” according to the Post. Grok explained: The Einstein Visa, officially known as the EB-1A visa, is a U.S. employment-based, first-preference immigrant visa designed for individuals with extraordinary ability in fields such as sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics. It is nicknamed the “Einstein Visa” because it was notably granted to physicist Albert Einstein in 1932, allowing him to stay in the U.S. after fleeing Nazi Germany. The visa leads to a green card, granting permanent residency in the United States. Now, for some reason Rep. Crockett is suggesting that Melania Trump was either not acclaimed enough or intelligent enough to rightfully qualify for such a visa. Both of which are incredibly ignorant assumptions of Rep. Crockett, who obviously didn’t do her research before going on this rant against our First Lady in Congress. This X user pointed out: 1) melania has always been a reputable fashion designer 2) jasmine claims that melania’s modeling career has been trashy or pornographic, yet melania won the Jana Look award in 1992 for modeling. 3) she speaks 6 different languages. And not just “familiar” with how to order off… — mary bartkowski (@marybartkowski1) June 26, 2025 Specifically, Melania Trump was granted the EB-1A visa for her many achievements in the fashion and modeling industry. Newsweek reported: Before applying for her visa, Melania Trump appeared on the cover of British GQ and had appeared in other U.K. and U.S. magazines. Melania Trump first arrived in the United States in 1996, initially on a tourist visa before transitioning to a series of work visas for skilled professionals, according to her attorney. At the time, she was pursuing a modeling career in New York City and met Donald Trump at a party in 1998, a connection that significantly elevated her public profile. The year the future first lady obtained legal residency, 2001, only five people from her home country of Slovenia got green cards through the EB-1 program, according to State Department statistics reported by The Washington Post. Not only is Melania Trump intelligent and classy, but she was a high-profile model with a laundry list of well-earned achievements behind her when she earned her visa. And, she isn’t even the first model to be given this same visa. Grok provided examples: Yes, other models have received the EB-1A visa (often called the “Einstein Visa”) for their work in modeling, though specific names are less frequently publicized due to privacy and the niche nature of immigration records. One notable example is Shera Bechard, a Canadian model and former girlfriend of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, who was granted an EB-1A visa. Her credentials included being named Miss November in Playboy magazine and starting an online photo-sharing trend called “Frisky Friday,” which contributed to her recognition in the field. The EB-1A visa is not exclusively for academic or scientific achievements; it applies to individuals with extraordinary ability in the arts, which includes modeling if the applicant can demonstrate sustained national or international acclaim and meet at least three of the ten USCIS criteria, such as major media coverage, commercial success, or high-profile recognition. Immigration attorneys note that models can qualify by defining a narrow field of expertise (e.g., high-fashion modeling) and providing evidence like magazine covers, major campaigns, or testimonial letters from industry leaders. If Rep. Crockett would have done just a teeny bit of research, she would have known all that and wouldn’t have just made a fool of herself for attacking the validity of FLOTUS’s citizenship in Congress. In Jazzy’s own words, it’s her own “math that ain’t mathin’” here… Jasmine Crockett says “the math aint mathing” on Melania but NOBODY wants immigration advice from someone whose “English aint ENGLISHING.” — Jimmy Failla (@jimmyfailla) June 26, 2025

Prog has teamed up with Marillion to produce this exclusive t-shirt celebrating the 30th anniversary of Afraid Of Sunlight

Communist Zohran Mamdani, in the lead for New York City mayor, will tax New Yorkers even more to give healthcare to people here illegally, who violated our laws. NY’s Coverage for All bill would give provide $11 billion to start for illegal alien healthcare while citizens pay. In California, even Gov. Newsom has talked about […] The post Zohran Plans to Tax Citizens More to Pay for ‘Free’ Illegal Healthcare appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

America First Legal (AFL), in partnership with Ashbrook, Byrne, Kresge & Flowers, won the case of Dr. Scott Gerber, a law professor, settling with Ohio Northern University (ONU). He is fully reinstated and completely vindicated. They claimed he was a threat to faculty, staff and students because of his objections to racist DEI programs. Gerber […] The post ONU Tried to Destroy a Professor Who Didn’t Bow to DEI, But They Lost appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

 It is with sad news that we convey that Rick Hurst has passed away at the age of 79.  Best known for portraying Cousin and Deputy Cletus Hogg with dumbfounded phrase, "flapjacks on a ferris wheel," he was a very versatile actor who began his career in the early 1970s interestingly as a police officer in Sanford and Son and Deputy Haynie in The Partridge Family.  He graduated from Tulane University with a bachelor's degree in psychology and theater in 1968, then achieved a master of fine arts degree in acting from Temple University in 1970.He is the father of Ryan and Collin Hurst with Ryan earning his name on the screen in Disney's Remember the Titans and Collin being known for Dark Roast and Return of the Killer Shrews.  While we invite you to follow Rick's work in imdb, his most recent works were in 2016 in the television short title B My Guest and Return of the Killer Shrews.