The Supreme Court on Monday ordered a New York court to reconsider a challenge of a state requirement that employers provide health insurance plans covering abortions. In an unsigned order, the high court said the case should be reviewed again in light of a previous ruling that Wisconsin discriminated against a Catholic charity by denying it a state tax exemption. BREAKING: The Supreme Court just ruled in favor of nuns fighting New York’s abortion mandate. The ruling orders New York courts to reconsider whether the state can force religious organizations to pay for abortions. pic.twitter.com/Gt5EPg5DOi — LoriWindham (@LoriWindham1) June 16, 2025 From the Associated Press: The New York case poses a similar issue because the state exempts religious employers if their purpose is to spread religious values and they primarily employ and serve people of their faith. But religious groups that serve and employ people regardless of their beliefs don’t qualify for the exemption. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany and other church groups challenged the rule. It’s the second time the nation’s highest court has sent the case back to New York courts. Last year, the New York Court of Appeals upheld the regulation after taking into account the Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling in 2021 in favor of a Catholic foster care agency in Philadelphia that refused to work with same-sex couples because of its religious opposition to same-sex marriage. In 2017, a group of Catholic and Anglican nuns, Catholic dioceses, Christian churches, and faith-based social ministries challenged New York’s mandate. https://t.co/YnDyMmVlm5 — LoriWindham (@LoriWindham1) June 16, 2025 “Gov. @GovKathyHochul tried to force Catholic nuns in New York to fund abortions as part of ’employee healthcare.’ This wanton abuse of religious freedom was unconstitutional and the Supreme Court, thankfully, intervened. Kudos to SCOTUS,” the New York Young Republican Club stated. Gov. @GovKathyHochul tried to force Catholic nuns in New York to fund abortions as part of “employee healthcare.” This wanton abuse of religious freedom was unconstitutional and the Supreme Court, thankfully, intervened. Kudos to SCOTUS. https://t.co/KrqAQCzziw — New York Young Republican Club (@NYYRC) June 16, 2025 NBC News reports: In a separate action Monday, the court also took up a case from New Jersey arising from the state’s investigation of anti-abortion pregnancy centers that provide guidance to pregnant women. The technical issue is whether the state can enforce subpoenas against First Choice Women’s Resource Centers Inc., which runs five centers, seeking information about donors. First Choice says the subpoena violates its free speech rights and freedom of association under the Constitution’s First Amendment. The New York case revolves around a regulation issued by New York in 2017 that requires employer-provided health insurance plans to include abortion coverage in certain situations, including in cases of rape and incest. It includes a religious exemption that applies to institutions but does not extend to religious-affiliated groups that serve the general public, such as those that provide food to low-income people. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany and other organizations sued, saying the exemption is so narrow it violates the Constitution’s First Amendment, which protects the free exercise of religion. In addition to Catholic entities, Lutheran, Episcopalian and Baptist groups are also among the challengers.

The Trump Organization unveiled the brand-new “Trump Mobile” cell phone on Monday – which provides a new mobile phone plan, along with a $499 smartphone that is set to launch later this year.

Dozmary Pool, a small natural lake situated on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, England, is one of the region’s most evocative and mysterious sites. Its history stretches from the Mesolithic era to the present day, and it is steeped in folklore, legend, and tales of the supernatural. The pool’s reputation as a place of haunting and […]

Comedian Bill Maher went off on Sean Penn, who was a guest on his “Club Random” podcast uploaded to YouTube on Sunday, for his refusal to dine with President Donald Trump despite having met with Cuban dictator Fidel Castro and Venezuelan Marxist President Hugo Chavez. During their conversation, Maher said, “But you do, I hope, think I did the right thing to have dinner with him.” “Absolutely, you’re so smart,” Penn said, but then clarified he would not accept a dinner invitation from Trump. “Really, you meet with f***ing Castro and Hugo Chavez, but not the President of the United States?” Maher shot back. “I saw good results come out of some of those things,” Penn said of meeting with the controversial world leaders. “I just personally wouldn’t trust anything that was said in the room [with Trump], including the personality.” “It’s like saying, ‘I don’t want this medical test because I don’t want to know.’ I want to know,” Maher replied. Penn also said he wished Maher’s dinner with Trump had not been perceived as “successful.” “Well, it was less successful because I never stopped saying all the things I’ve always said about him,” Maher responded. “It would’ve been successful if he had somehow seduced me into supporting him, so it wasn’t successful.” Maher has been under attack from leftists for dining with Trump. He said earlier this year that while he “didn’t go MAGA,” all of the things he disliked about Trump’s more public persona had been “absent” when they met in person. “And I know as I say that, millions of liberal sphincters just tightened. ‘Oh, my God, Bill, you gonna say something nice about him?’ What I’m gonna do is report exactly what happened. You decide what you think about it, and if that’s not enough pure Trump hate for you, I don’t give a f***,” Maher said of the meeting, as The Daily Wire previously reported. “I don’t remember exactly what we were talking about, but it must have been something with the 2020 election because I know he used the word ‘lost,’ and I distinctly remember saying, ‘Wow, I never thought I’d hear you say that,’” Maher added. “He didn’t get mad. He’s much more self-aware than he lets on in public.” “Everything I’ve ever not liked about him was — I swear to God — absent, at least on this night with this guy,” the “Real Time” host said. “He mostly steered the conversation to, ‘What do you think about this?’ I know: your mind is blown. So is mine.” “A crazy person doesn’t live in the White House,” he added. “A person who plays a crazy person on TV a lot lives there, which I know is f***ed up. It’s just not as f***ed up as I thought it was.”

A study published on Friday revealed just how many times reporters and anchors on cable news outlets CNN and MSNBC referred to the violent protests and riots in Los Angeles as “peaceful.” The Media Research Center (MRC) evaluated coverage of the protests — targeting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and attempting to prevent them from carrying out raids — on the two major left-leaning cable networks ranging from June 7 to June 11, 5:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. ET. During that time, as rioters burned cars in the streets and threw cinder blocks at law enforcement, the protests were called “peaceful” some 211 times. According to the study, CNN aired more than half (123) of those mentions and the other 88 were seen on MSNBC’s coverage. Fox News anchor Dana Perino brought up the study with former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany on “America’s Newsroom” on Monday, and the two discussed the obvious disparities between what people saw playing out in Los Angeles and what CNN and MSNBC were saying about it. WATCH: CNN & MSNBC referenced the anti-American LA riots as “peaceful” over 200 times.@kayleighmcenany and @DanaPerino to discuss our latest study on @FoxNews pic.twitter.com/ltAwz97vv8 — Media Research Center (@theMRC) June 16, 2025 “The Media Research Center shows that between June 7th and 11th, CNN and MSNBC had a reference to the protests as ‘peaceful’ 211 times — as if they were trying to really make the — drive that point home,” Perino said. “Yeah, and I actually saw this pivot in real time where it was ‘peaceful, peaceful, peaceful,’ and then on that Sunday afternoon the cars were burning, there were scooters being tossed onto the hoods of police cars, and all of a sudden that ‘peaceful’ adjective made its way out of the coverage, at least temporarily,” McEnany replied. A report from MRC’s Newsbusters cited several examples from CNN and MSNBC noting that multiple personalities had used the term during the studied timeframe. “The intention, it seems, is to lump in violent rioters and peaceful protestors,” Brian Stelter said on June 9 on CNN. Two days later, CNN anchor Erin Burnett said, “There were some incidents of violence. There were specific individuals involved in that. By and large, peaceful protest.” On June 11, MSNBC’s Chris Hayes said, “Donald Trump can try to turn the military into a partisan tool, mobilizing the National Guard and even the Marines against peaceful protestors.” The same day, anchor Nicolle Wallace added, “Donald Trump referred to those peaceful protestors exercising their First Amendment rights as insurrectionists.” According to the MRC, the only statements that were evaluated for the purposes of the study were those made by anchors, reporters, and guests who were supposed to be “non-partisan.”

In stark contrast to the battle cries of antisemites, and now the loud chorus of pundits defending Iran and its terror network, our message as Christians is this: preserve Israel and all she defends. As friends of Israel — of freedom, democracy, human rights, holy and ancient tradition — our prayers in her defense must overwhelm the rockets aimed at her annihilation. Right now, Israel’s enemies are loud. So her friends need to be louder. Because once again, Israel stands on the verge of destruction. The Iranian regime has openly and repeatedly vowed to annihilate the State of Israel. Since the October 7 terror attacks, Iran-backed terrorists have wreaked havoc, ruining their own country, Yemen, and others, while targeting Israeli civilians from afar. When their terrorist friends again launched dozens of rockets at Israel recently, with one landing at Ben Gurion Airport, at least eight individuals were seriously wounded. Over the weekend, Iran launched more missiles at Israel — and not at military targets, but as is typical for Iran, at innocent civilians and young children. And now, Iran has reached the brink of producing nuclear weapons. This is not a theory. This is a very real, existential threat. We must say it clearly: there will be no second Holocaust. No more helplessness. No more October 7 massacres. With Iran as unhinged as ever before, the State of Israel was reborn for such a time as this — to be a refuge, a free nation with the ability to protect and defend the Jewish people. Israel has the moral and sovereign right to defend itself against those who seek its destruction. We must stand in solidarity with our Jewish brothers and sisters — not only because of shared values, but because of a shared God who calls us to be a light in the darkness. I am incredibly thankful for leaders like President Trump, who have stood firmly with Israel in its time of need. This is beyond politics and policies; this is about moral clarity. As followers of Christ, we are called to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, to stand against injustice, and to take action, proving that when we say, “Never again,” we mean it. Our congregation and global partners have chosen to support the people of Israel by investing in the Northern Galilee Emergency Hospital, by donating to the construction of 800 safe houses throughout the Eshkol region, and by building other bomb shelters, civil defense centers, and psychological treatment centers throughout the country. But if you cannot donate funds, donate your voice to amplify our message of peace. This is also a pivotal moment for Iran, particularly Iranian Christians. The global church must lift them up in prayer and find ways to support them right now. Perhaps this is the beginning of the end of the tyranny and violence they have faced in their own country. We pray that the freedom to preach the Gospel there will finally be possible and that Christians can practice their faith within Iran without fear. As Christians, Scripture guides us more than any fleeting opinion of man. In Genesis 12:3, we read this about the historic nation of Israel: “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” So, our mandate is clear, and we must state it clearly: We will always stand side by side with our Jewish brothers and sisters, and we will always have their backs. * * * Pastor Jentezen Franklin is the senior pastor of Free Chapel and was recently appointed to President Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission. Each week, his television program, Kingdom Connection, is broadcast on major networks all over the world. He is also a New York Times best-selling author of several books. The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.