We’ve got a new, fun interactive series called Worst Media Take of the Week, where you — our loyal NewsBusters visitors and MRC supporters — get to vote on which leftist journalist or celebrity had the worst media take of the week.   Much appreciation to all who voted last week via NewsBusters and the MRC’s various social media sites (Facebook, Instagram and X.com).   The results of the Worst Media Take of the Week are in and the winner is… Whoopi Goldberg! The co-host of ABC’s The View routed the competition with 78 percent of the vote! Goldberg took first place for claiming it’s worse to be a black person in America than to live in Iran. Former CNN anchor Jim Acosta finished in second place with 16 percent of the vote. MSNBC analyst Eugene Robinson finished dead last with 6 percent.  The following is a montage of all the nominees:      WINNER (78 percent of the vote)   Whoopi Goldberg: It’s Worse to Be Black in America Than Live in Iran Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin: “I think it’s very different to live in the United States in 2025 than it is in Iran.”Co-host Whoopi Goldberg: “Not if you’re black!”— ABC’s The View, June 18.   SECOND PLACE (16 percent of the vote)   Jim Acosta Bashes Trump’s “Kim Jong-Un Birthday Parade”  “The President of the United States is a danger to this country. Full stop….Even people in the Republican party were afraid to show up at his birthday parade, the dictator Kim Jong-Un birthday parade that he tried to have….One of the images I took away from the weekend that really stayed with me were those military veterans....who had fought in World War II and said, ‘we defeated fascism the last time. I’m here to do it this time.’”— Former CNN anchor Jim Acosta at Center for American Progress, June 17.   THIRD PLACE (6 percent of the vote)   Eugene Robinson: “No Mandate” For Trump’s “Proto-Fascism” “You had 5 million people in demonstrations around the country against what President Trump is doing. What it brought to mind to me was a number that….Joe Scarborough mentioned earlier, 1.5 percent. That was the margin between the 77 million votes that Donald Trump got and the 75 million that Kamala Harris got. And it’s not this overwhelming mandate for proto-fascism.”— MSNBC analyst Eugene Robinson on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, June 17.   Thanks again to all who participated!    Funded by James P. Jimirro

While oil markets had been showing fear of a possible retaliatory attack from Iran, the missile attack on U.S. bases actually elicited a positive response.Iran issued a very limited and almost symbolic response when it fired 11 missiles against bases in Qatar and Iraq on Monday. No one was hurt, and some reports say Iran informed Qatar ahead of time.'The market is pricing in a scenario where things de-escalate gradually.'Crude oil markets had ramped up their futures prices after tensions escalated in the Middle East and put oil trade at risk, but after seeing the scale of the response from Iran, markets responded positively and futures prices dropped.U.S. crude oil dropped by 4.1%, and Brent crude oil prices — a global benchmark — fell by 4.35%, according to a CNBC report.The Dow Jones meanwhile jumped by 300 points, signaling a positive response to the attacks.The markets likely saw the limited attack as a de-escalation of tensions, as Iran signaled that it needed to save face but did not want to antagonize the U.S. any further.Brent had previously jumped by over 5% as a result of the U.S. strike on Iran's nuclear capabilities.“The market is pricing in a scenario where things de-escalate gradually,” said Rystad Energy geopolitical analyst Jorge Leon to CNBC.RELATED: Rubio warns Iran against 'suicidal' closing of Strait of Hormuz; Vance says retaliation will be met with 'overwhelming force' Leon went on to warn that Iran could still roil global markets if it chose to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a key trade waterway.“The worrying thing is that the other extreme scenario where there is a threat to close the Strait of Hormuz is still realistic,” he said. “Things could go south very, very rapidly.”On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Iran that such a move would be "suicidal" because closing the strait would hurt the U.S., but it would also damage other countries that would turn on Iran. About 20% of oil trade, or 20 million barrels, flows through the strait, according to the Energy Information Administration.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

CBS has released a report detailing the FBI’s intensified surveillance of Hezbollah sleeper cells in the United States — and the timing of their release could not be more curious.Kyle Shideler, a senior analyst for the Center for Security Policy, is well-versed in these sleeper cells and has a theory as to why the FBI is warning Americans about them.“One of the things to pay attention to is the tricky semantics of sleeper cells," Shideler tells BlazeTV host Jill Savage and Blaze News editor in chief Matthew Peterson. "When you’re talking about a sleeper cell, are you talking about a group of terrorists who completely blend in with the American mainstream, are not otherwise observable, and then just one day receive a coded radio message and go blow things up?”“That’s usually not how it works. I’m not saying it can’t happen, but typically what we see from cells inside the United States linked to terror groups is that they’re actually very active. They’re usually engaging in propaganda, they’re engaging in fundraising, they’re engaging in recruitment, especially when you’re talking about Hezbollah,” he continues.These sleeper cells, Shideler explains, like to “buy up U.S. military hardware like night vision goggles” and ship them out of the country.“So do you think the CBS report is a genuine scoop, or is this a strategic leak linked to something larger going on?” Peterson asks Shideler.“My instinct is it’s a strategic leak,” Shideler responds. “Someone inside the FBI or the DOJ either wants to make sure that everybody knows that they’re doing their job, which part of your job is not letting everybody know what you’re doing, so fail on that part.”The other reason they might have strategically leaked this information is to “play into a narrative that if Donald Trump should decide to act, we are likely to be hit here.”“I think that’s the subtext to the timing of the leak,” Shideler says.And while most Hezbollah sleeper cells are “fundraising and propaganda cells,” Shideler believes there is cause for concern, as there’s “good evidence that many of them do have some level of military training.”“What they would be capable of could vary broadly,” Shideler warns. “Anything from large-scale vehicular IEDs to small-scale small arms attacks, suicide vest bombings, anything in between.”Want more from 'Blaze News | The Mandate'?To enjoy more provocative opinions, expert analysis, and breaking stories you won’t see anywhere else, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Police in Michigan said the mother of the suspect accused of opening fire at a suburban Detroit church on Sunday is a member of the church — and that the suspect attended services there in the last year.Wayne Police in a news release said they received multiple 911 calls just after 11 a.m. Wayne is about a half hour southwest of Detroit.'We are grateful for the quick actions of the church’s staff members.'A witness told police he saw the suspect driving erratically in a silver SUV in the parking lot of CrossPointe Community Church after which the suspect parked the vehicle. The suspect — a white male wearing camouflage clothing and a tactical vest — was retrieving guns from his car and headed to the church, police said.Police said minutes later, more calls poured in — this time saying the suspect was firing shots and that a church member driving a pickup truck hit the suspect.Senior Pastor Bobby Kelly Jr. told the Detroit News that the church member actually drove over the suspect: "He was run over by one of our members who saw this happening when he was coming into church."What's more, the gunman shot at the vehicle repeatedly, Wayne Police Chief Ryan Strong told the Detroit Free Press at a news conference Sunday evening. Police told Blaze News that this photo shows the vehicle that a church member used to hit the shooting suspect. The shooting suspect reportedly fired repeatedly at the vehicle.Photo by Emily Elconin/Getty ImagesUpon hearing the gunfire, police said the church security team locked the church's front doors and exchanged gunfire with the suspect outside. Police said a member of the security team shot and killed the suspect. First responders pronounced the suspect dead after performing life-saving measures, police said.One member of the church's security team was shot in the leg and taken to a hospital, where he was last listed in stable condition after a successful surgery, police said. The wounded security team member did not fire a weapon at the gunman, Deputy Chief Finley Carter III told Blaze News, adding that he was one of three security team members involved.Kelly told the Detroit News the attacker didn't enter the church building, but several shots were fired into the church. Carter added to Blaze News that police haven't yet determined how many rounds the gunman fired. No other church members were hurt, the Detroit News added.Police said an investigation has identified the shooting suspect as 31-year-old Brian Anthony Browning of Romulus, Michigan. Romulus is about 12 minutes south of Wayne.Police said the suspect was armed with an AR-15-style rifle and had more than a dozen fully loaded magazines as well as a semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.The suspect's mother is a member of the church, police said, adding that he attended services there two or three times over the course of the last year.Police said a search warrant was executed at the suspect's residence where additional rifles, several more semi-automatic handguns, and an additional large amount of ammunition were seized and confiscated.Police said the suspect had no previous contacts with Wayne police or criminal history — but police added that the investigation suggests he may have been suffering a mental health crisis. Deputy Chief Carter added to Blaze News that the image of Browning shown above is not a mug shot but rather his driver's license photo.Police also said in its news release that there is no evidence that the act of violence was connected with the Middle East conflict.In addition, police confirmed that a livestream video of church members reacting to gunfire indeed shows Sunday's incident: A Wayne resident on Monday recalled to Blaze News the sounds of the shooting, noting that what actually was happening wasn't immediately apparent to him."I heard everything," the man recounted to Blaze News on the condition of anonymity, adding that "I was in my backyard and heard loud noises coming from the church."The resident — who was just a few hundred feet from the church — added to Blaze News he "thought it was construction" and "then I go to my job and see police cars." He added that he later learned the details of the shooting and that it was "really sad.""I know people who go to the church," the man told Blaze News, adding that they're dealing with some trauma but are managing it. Police said about 150 people were at a special Vacation Bible School service when the suspect began shooting, the Detroit News said, adding that Strong said more children than usual were in attendance.“We are grateful for the quick actions of the church’s staff members, who undoubtedly saved many lives and prevented a large-scale mass shooting,” Strong told the Detroit News. “I would add that the church parishioners and staff members were trained in responding to emergency situations, which also saved lives.”Strong told the Detroit News the suspect's motivation is not yet clear.Church members launched a security team about 10 years ago in the wake of violence committed at other places of worship around the country, Kelly added to the Detroit News while noting that CrossPointe hadn't received threats of violence.Kelly added to the Detroit News that children in attendance Sunday were "doing good" and that members were being mutually supportive: "We will be convening our leadership to put a formal plan in place for the aftermath." It isn't clear when the church will resume holding services.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The week of June 16, 2025: Indigestible food taxes, the dollar, SALT, auto, drones, and much, much more.

He Sleuthed It Out: Keith Olbermann Claims Trump Only Bombed Iran Because 'He Has Lost America'

Nebraska Meatpacker Stunned: Americans Will Work 'Undesirable' Jobs If You Pay Them Like Humans

Will Iran See a 'Return of the King?'

Wesley Hunt Shatters Whoopi Goldberg's Claim About Black People Having It Worse Than Iranian Women

New: Despite Iranian Retaliation, Trump Doesn't Want More US Military Engagement in Middle East