This article is part of Upstream, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you. *** For a brief moment on Sunday, America was united. After the final Olympic hockey showdown between the United States and Canada went into overtime, Americans watched with glee as we beat our northern neighbors at their own game. Forward Jack Hughes, who sacrificed at least half a tooth for the win, flashed us an iconic, bloody smile, and people across the nation celebrated yet another Olympic gold. Then, in less time than it probably took for Hughes to call his dentist, the unity shattered. While the team celebrated in the locker room, President Donald Trump called to congratulate the players on their win and invite them to Tuesday’s State of the Union address. Then, Trump being Trump, he made a joke. “I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team. You do know that?” he said. If he didn’t invite the team, he said, “I do believe I probably would be impeached.” A video of the call went viral, and commentators grew gravely indignant on behalf of the women’s gold medal-winning team. But instead of criticizing Trump, the person who actually made the churlish remark, they went after the players. “The USA men’s hockey team utterly failed to meet the cultural moment,” declared a USA Today writer. “The U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team won gold — and then lost the room,” whined a columnist at the New York Times. Incredibly, Vox released a list of the winners and losers of the Olympics, fawning over Eileen Gu, an American who chose to represent communist China, as a “winner,” and declaring the U.S. men’s hockey team a “loser.” Various internet onlookers demanded that the team “do better” and “apologize for laughing.” Perhaps the funniest development was the solemn response of Twitter fan page “daily jack hughes,” which posted, “hi, honestly I am unsure of what to do with this account right now. I will figure it out eventually, but there will be no daily content happening. linked below are some important resources. lastly, f*ck ice and this administration. never stop supporting women.” These critics’ demands were many. The team must explicitly denounce Trump and his administration, refuse his invitation to the State of the Union like the women’s hockey team did (apparently for scheduling conflicts), personally apologize for Trump’s joke, and probably invent a time machine and smash the cell phone Trump called them on.  No matter that the players have been supportive of their female peers. On Sunday, Hughes said the first person he thought of after scoring the winning goal was Megan Keller, who had just cinched the win for the U.S. women’s team. Even in the video, one player can be heard chanting “two for two!” in honor of both teams’ wins. Hughes, for his part, has responded to the controversy like a champ. “They’ve got busy schedules, too,” he said of the women’s team in response to criticism of their declining the White House invitation. “Everyone is giving us backlash for all the social media stuff today.” This, he suggested, is a non-controversy. “People are so negative out there, and they are just trying to find a reason to put people down and make something out of almost nothing,” he said.  Hughes’s mother, a former hockey player herself, also refused to take the bait. “These players, both the men and women, can bring so much unity to a group and to a country,” she said. It’s not really worth arguing over to what degree President Trump’s joke was in poor taste. The U.S. men’s team could have immediately embarked on the cable news apology circuit and made a fat donation to the National Organization for Women, and it still wouldn’t have been good enough. Short of posting Luigi Mangione fanfiction, there is no way for them to redeem themselves in the eyes of progressives, for whom everything, always, is political. Of course, there were no such controversies when former President Joe Biden hosted Olympians in 2024 and 2022. For all of our faults, we conservatives tend not to compare our presidents to Nazis and demand that athletes and celebrities refrain from fraternizing with them. Not so for our counterparts across the aisle.  To the legacy media and some keyboard warriors on Twitter, there is no such thing as neutrality. “This isn’t a neutral climate,” wrote the New York Times columnist in his criticism of the men’s hockey team. “This isn’t a neutral president.” But the president is never neutral. He has always represented a particular party with its own ambitions that might be served by latching on to the good publicity of an Olympic win. What has changed is that certain figures in the media have decided that you’re only allowed to engage with one side, the “good” side, which is therefore neutral. The best you can hope for as a public figure is for no one to ask you about politics. That game isn’t as simple as hockey. If the mob comes for you, there is no way to win. *** The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire. Have an idea for Upstream? We welcome submissions; interested writers can send pitches to upstream@dailywire.com.

This article is part of Upstream, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you. *** “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” which aired the final episode of its first season on Sunday, has become incredibly popular, even among many conservatives who are otherwise critical of George R.R. Martin’s “Game of Thrones” universe. Movie reviewer The Critical Drinker called it “probably the best show on TV right now.” Many on the Right have long accused “Game of Thrones” of being dark and nihilistic and subverting traditional notions of heroism. Prequel “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” lacks those flaws: Its protagonist, Dunk, is a clearly good person who sets out on a hero’s journey. While he’s not perfect, he’s strong and good-hearted. As he travels throughout the world, he meets compelling side characters, overcomes adversity and danger, and becomes a better, wiser person in the process. As is typical for HBO, the series is brilliantly shot, acted, scored, and so forth. The story is well written, and you get a real sense of the characters even when they have limited screen time. Some of the more childish humor doesn’t land well, but my primary critique of “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” is a good one to have: It was too short. The show is excellent, and its message is a lot more complex than it may seem. (Warning: This article contains spoilers for Season 1 of “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.”) After the death of Dunk’s mentor and surrogate father, Arlan of Pennytree, Dunk decides to compete in a tournament. On his way, he meets a boy with a shaved head who calls himself Egg. Egg, innocent but suspiciously well-informed about the world, wants to squire for Dunk. Dunk, however, encounters a problem: None of the lords remember who Arlan was, let alone will vouch for Dunk’s claim to be a knight — nobody, except for Prince Baelor Targaryen, the wise, even-tempered, and honorable heir apparent to the Iron Throne. With that settled, Dunk prepares to compete. When Baelor’s nephew Aerion attacks a puppeteer over a play, Dunk leaps to her defense. Aerion’s guards subdue Dunk, but before they can do him any harm, Egg reveals himself to be Aerion’s younger brother Aegon. Dunk now has to fight for his very life: He must find six champions to fight in a trial by combat against Aerion and his six. Unexpectedly, Baelor takes Dunk’s side over that of the rest of his family because, despite the political considerations, he’s convinced of the righteousness of Dunk’s cause. Dunk prevails, only for Baelor to be accidentally slain by a blow to the head from his own brother, Maekar, the father of Aerion and Egg. In the aftermath, Dunk agrees to take Egg on as his squire, and the two head out on the road together to future adventures. What complicates things is that Dunk’s story may all be built on a lie. The show strongly hints Dunk was never knighted by Arlan. That means that he had no right to take Egg on as a squire, no right to compete in the tournament, and no right to demand a trial by combat. Had he not told that lie, none of the events surrounding the tournament would have happened, and Baelor and the others who died in his defense would still be alive. I did not like this theory at first because I felt it besmirched Dunk’s character and the righteousness of his cause. And in one sense, it does. But in another sense, it makes the character all the more compelling. It shows that heroism is not the sole province of the morally unblemished. If Dunk did lie, he did the wrong thing — yet it was his moral courage that got him into trouble. Regardless of whether he was one or not, Dunk still did what any true knight should have done by defending a woman from Aerion’s cruelty. Egg did the right thing by standing by Dunk and rallying men to his side. And Baelor did the right thing by putting his life on the line to defend Dunk against Baelor’s own family. The prince’s demise is a blow to the royal family and to the whole realm, and Dunk personally feels guilt for his part in depriving the Seven Kingdoms of what would have been a great king. And yet, Dunk doesn’t take the understandable path of wallowing in his own culpability. He does the only thing he can do: try to live his life in a way that makes Baelor’s sacrifice worth it. And the best way he can do that is to shape Baelor’s good-natured but impressionable nephew Aegon into a virtuous man. The message of “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms“ is this: A hero is not a perfect person. A hero is an imperfect person who chooses to do the right thing anyway. In the short term, heroes are not always rewarded, no matter if you’re Baelor Targaryen or Ned Stark of “Game of Thrones.” But even so, it’s still important to do the right thing — both for its own sake and because it inspires the people watching you to follow in your footsteps. In our own fallen, imperfect world, that’s a lesson that’s both aspirational and applicable. While George R.R. Martin is no conservative, his writing speaks to timeless human principles and nature that conservatives accept and liberals reject. “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” is doubtless a more traditional story than is typical for Martin. And yet, it still explores what he describes as the key theme of his work: the human heart, in conflict with itself. On that topic Dunk the Lunk, thick as a castle wall though he is, has a lot to teach us. * * * Stephan Kapustka is a writer at the American Spectator. Follow him on X @SteveKapustka. The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

A bride who was filmed dancing at her wedding reception while undergoing treatment for cystic fibrosis has gone viral. “CF doesn’t stop no party ✨” was Dannika Evans’ opinion when she posted the video to her TikTok account, where she was doing her best to dance while wearing a special oscillation vest with a nebulizer […] The post Bride Goes Viral on Wedding Night Dancing While Doing Vital Cystic Fibrosis Treatment (WATCH) appeared first on Good News Network.

Books Five Books About Five Fantasy Books Featuring Class Difference Romance These novels craft compelling romances — perfect for reading between episodes of Bridgerton! By Markelle Grabo | Published on February 25, 2026 A Fragile Enchantment cover art by Kelly Chong Comment 0 Share New Share A Fragile Enchantment cover art by Kelly Chong Dearest gentle reader, if you’re anything like me, you’re anxiously awaiting the release of Bridgerton Season 4 Part 2 after binge watching all of Part 1 (despite promising to pace yourself this time). Episodes should be released weekly to avoid this problem but, alas, I’m just an author, not a streaming executive. At least while we wait for Sophie and Benedict to grace our screens again, we have books to fill the void. We have fantasy books featuring class difference romance, to be exact, where the characters are divided by society but not what lies in their hearts. In my opinion, there’s nothing more compelling than lovers who refuse to bend to class expectations and are determined to be together against all odds. Not only does this make for a dashingly romantic story, but the writer can explore complex themes like class privilege, power dynamics, and what ultimately connects us as humans. (Or non-humans. This is a fantasy novel rec list, after all.) I’m a writer exploring such themes. My upcoming gothic fantasy, The Redwood Bargain, features a sapphic romance between a kitchen maid and the noble lady she’s agreed to impersonate in a deadly bargain with a forest creature. It’s a love letter to those who yearn, but also a story about power—who wields it and in what ways, and how the choices made by the powerful can irrevocably change the lives of those caught in the fallout. If that sounds intriguing, then you’ll love these five fantasy books also featuring class difference romance: A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft In this romantic fantasy, magical dressmaker Niamh is commissioned to design the wardrobe for a royal wedding, only to find herself caught in a scandal when her undeniable chemistry with the groom, Kit, makes her the target of a gossip columnist.   Featuring a Regency-England inspired fantasy setting with queer representation; a gossip columnist akin to Lady Whistledown; and a nuanced, swoon worthy grumpy/sunshine forbidden romance, A Fragile Enchantment checks so many boxes for fans of Bridgerton. Yet Saft takes things a step further by giving the gossip columnist motivations beyond, well, gossip. As unrest brews amid the working class, the mysterious writer blackmails Niamh to help uncover the royal family’s secrets, which threads themes of social inequality, political intrigue, and court drama into this dreamy tale. The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall In this swashbuckling queer fantasy, genderfluid pirate Florian and the high-born Lady Evelyn Hasegawara hail from completely different worlds but are nevertheless drawn together as they set sail on the pirate ship, Dove. Florian is part of the crew while Evelyn is a passenger on her way to a dreaded arranged marriage, but they share a yearning to defy their given roles in life. Amid a turbulent voyage, they fall in love and orchestrate a daring escape.  Florian and Evelyn’s romantic arc plays an essential part of the novel’s critique of colonialism and imperialism as well as its exploration of gender and identity, with each character helping the other learn important truths about the world and themselves. The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea is for those who are enjoying Bridgerton season 4’s foray into class commentary but would like to wade into deeper waters.  An Arcane Inheritance by Kamilah Cole Class difference romance doesn’t always have to involve royalty/nobility. In the modern dark academia fantasy, An Arcane Inheritance, the societal division between rivals-to-lovers Ellory and Hudson is centered on wealth and family history. They attend the same elite university, but Ellory is an immigrant and a scholarship student, while Hudson is a legacy student from a wealthy Connecticut family.  Something I love about their slow-burn romance is that even though Ellory and Hudson begin as academic rivals, as soon as they partner up to investigate the university’s occult origins, their barriers begin to break down, and any outside forces trying to keep them apart are no match for the strength of their connection. Cole does a great job portraying the complexities of Hudson’s privilege, and Ellory discovers she has more in common with him than she thought. But since mystery lies at the heart of this story, I won’t spoil any of that here.  Malice by Heather Walter Malice is a sapphic retelling of “Sleeping Beauty” that follows the POV of the “evil sorceress”—known as Alyce in this version. The nobles who pay her to brew hexes also deem her a monster, but not the beautiful (and cursed) Princess Aurora. She wants Alyce to be proud of her gifts. But Aurora is meant to wed the prince who saves her with true love’s kiss, not a commoner. But could Alyce be the one to lift Aurora’s curse and keep her from dying on her twenty-first birthday? You’ll have to read Malice (and its sequel, Misrule) to find out, but I love the complexity, beauty, and darkness surrounding Alyce and Aurora’s romance. Alyce is as villainous as the world pushes her to be, and her and Aurora’s views as women from different backgrounds are satisfyingly challenged and reshaped by their love affair and the events of the duology.  Liar’s Kingdom by Christine Calella It’d be remiss of me not to include a “Cinderella” retelling in a list inspired by Bridgerton season 4, so let’s end with Liar’s Kingdom, in which the girl who fits the glass slipper is not actually the girl the prince met at the ball.  In this twist on a fairy tale classic, Ell decides to let Prince Bayard believe she is the mystery girl he’s fallen in love with to escape her cruel stepfamily. Yet while Ell is drawn to Bayard’s kindness, she can’t ignore his dashing best friend, Maxim. Romance isn’t the novel’s dominant force, but Ell’s newly privileged place at court as Bayard’s betrothed grants her opportunities to advocate for castle servants and the less fortunate. She, Bayard, and Maxim begin the novel with assumptions about one another that are proven to be more nuanced, and I think readers will see a lot of Sophie in Ell’s journey of healing and empowerment.[end-mark] Buy the Book The Redwood Bargain Markelle Grabo Buy Book The Redwood Bargain Markelle Grabo Buy this book from: AmazonBarnes and NobleiBooksIndieBoundTarget The post Five Fantasy Books Featuring Class Difference Romance appeared first on Reactor.

'How Do You Not Stand?'

Democrats' Spanberger Strategy Tells You Everything You Need to Know About Them

And if we're lucky, maybe the secret to extraterrestrial life too.

Predictably, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel was not a fan of President Trump’s Tuesday State of the Union address, but even by his standards, Kimmel went off the rails. Kimmel began by declaring, “It was an angry speech. The theme of tonight's speech was all foreigners are murderers. And Trump just—he said zero illegal aliens have been allowed into the United States on his watch, but the door is always open to those who come in legally to be his next wife. So, that's something. He bragged about ending DEI, he bragged about kicking two million people off food stamps. It was like a Christmas message from the Grinch.”   Jimmy Kimmel rants "It was an angry speech... It was like a Christmas message from the Grinch. Trump applauded the efforts of a World War II vet who liberated an internment camp, at the same time he is building new ones here in the United States." (1/4) pic.twitter.com/RcxwpfDzx7 — Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) February 25, 2026   Sticking with the immigration theme, Kimmel also compared the Japanese occupation of the Philippines in World War II to Trump’s America, “Trump applauded the efforts of a World War II vet who liberated an internment camp, at the same time he is building new ones here in the United States.” Further on in his monologue, Kimmel reacted to Trump declaring he saved America from Democrats, “Whew. I have to say, Trump's dementia really makes me miss Joe Biden's dementia. It was a much friendlier dementia. Here's the real state of the union, okay. We have a nutjob wannabe king who’s doing everything he can to censor opinions he doesn’t want to hear. He has his goons arresting, incarcerating, and killing American citizens. He's cut funding for cancer research and children's hospitals while he rakes in literally billions of dollars for himself and his family.”   Kimmel also claims "We have a nutjob wannabe king who’s doing everything he can to censor opinions he doesn’t want to hear. He has his goons arresting, incarcerating, and killing American citizens. He's cut funding for cancer research and children's hospitals while he rakes in… pic.twitter.com/1ytOurzlZS — Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) February 25, 2026   He added, “He's coming after our right to vote. He's protecting pedophiles and won't explain it. He's lining the pockets of billionaires. All the while neglecting the sick, the poor, the hungry, in the name of Jesus, by the way, who you can read all about in a Donald Trump edition of the God Bless the USA Bible that is made in China, available for $99.99. That is the state of the union, okay?” Kimmel and his audience then doubled down on applauding the gold medal-winning Olympic women’s hockey team for not being in attendance, “There were some positive moments tonight. The golden boys from Team USA Hockey were in the house. They stopped by the White House this afternoon to give Insane Gretzky yet another medal he did not win. I'm sure he kept that one, too. The U.S. women's hockey team declined Trump's disingenuous invitation to the State of the Union tonight, and because they did, they got an even better offer from none other than Flavor Flav who wrote, ‘If the USA women's hockey team wants a real celebration and invite, I'll host them in Las Vegas, do some nice dinners and shows and good times.’”   Kimmel also doubles down on cheering the women's hockey team not being there "The U.S. Women's hockey team declined Trump's disingenuous invitation to the State of the Union tonight and because they did, they got an even better offer from none other than Flavor Flav." As for… pic.twitter.com/CnTsr5RCvt — Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) February 25, 2026   Unfortunately for Kimmel, his effort to turn the women’s team into a symbol of the liberal resistance hit a snag, which he tried to explain away, “In his speech tonight, Trump claimed the women's team would be coming to the White House soon, whether they like it or not.” Later, Kimmel welcomed the cast of Pod Save America and asked, “Were you surprised by anything? Are we allowed even to be surprised anymore?”   Pod Save America's Tommy Vietor claims "There wasn’t a big moment. I mean, I think the Medal of Honor presentations were emotional and powerful and good on those service members for their heroism. But I think the discussion will probably be the hockey team, right? I mean, there… pic.twitter.com/WhcQI3vZ4D — Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) February 25, 2026   Tommy Vietor didn’t think the speech was particularly memorable, “It was largely kind of a paint-by-numbers State of the Union. There wasn’t a big moment. I mean, I think the Medal of Honor presentations were emotional and powerful, and good on those service members for their heroism. But, I mean, I think the discussion will probably be the hockey team, right? I mean, there wasn't a big moment.” However, Dan Pfeiffer thought it would be a wise idea to trash even these parts of the speech, “He was kind of like fascist Oprah out there. Like, ‘You get a medal, you get a medal!’” If offering up bad hot takes was an Olympic sport, Pfeiffer would have won the gold medal. Here is a transcript for the February 24-taped show: ABC Jimmy Kimmel Live! 2/25/2026 12:00 AM ET JIMMY KIMMEL: What a speech it was. I can't believe America missed an all-new Will Trent for this one. It was—it was angry, right? It was an angry speech. The theme of tonight's speech was all foreigners are murderers. And Trump just—he said zero illegal aliens have been allowed into the United States on his watch, but the door is always open to those who come in legally to be his next wife. So, that's something. He bragged about ending DEI, he bragged about kicking two million people off food stamps. It was like a Christmas message from the Grinch. Trump applauded the efforts of a World War II vet who liberated an internment camp, at the same time he is building new ones here in the United States. … Whew. I have to say, Trump's dementia really makes me miss Joe Biden's dementia. It was a much friendlier dementia. Here's the real state of the union, okay. We have a nutjob wannabe king who’s doing everything he can to censor opinions he doesn’t want to hear. He has his goons arresting, incarcerating, and killing American citizens. He's cut funding for cancer research and children's hospitals while he rakes in literally billions of dollars for himself and his family. He's coming after our right to vote. He's protecting pedophiles and won't explain it. He's lining the pockets of billionaires. All the while neglecting the sick, the poor, the hungry, in the name of Jesus, by the way, who you can read all about in a Donald Trump edition of the God Bless the USA Bible that is made in China, available for $99.99. That is the state of the union, okay? There were some positive moments tonight. The golden boys from Team USA Hockey were in the house. They stopped by the White House this afternoon to give Insane Gretzky yet another medal he did not win. I'm sure he kept that one, too. The U.S. women's hockey team declined Trump's disingenuous invitation to the State of the Union tonight, and because they did, they got an even better offer from none other than Flavor Flav who wrote, “If the USA women's hockey team wants a real celebration and invite, I'll host them in Las Vegas, do some nice dinners and shows and good times.” See, maybe that should be the new tradition. If you win gold, like, you know how you win the Super Bowl, you go to Disneyland. You win gold, you get a weekend in Vegas with Flavor Flav. And by the way, maybe he’ll even get you a neck clock, okay? In his speech tonight, Trump claimed the women's team would be coming to the White House soon, whether they like it or not. … KIMMEL: Were you surprised by anything? Are we allowed even to be surprised anymore? TOMMY VIETOR: It was largely kind of a paint-by-numbers State of the Union. There wasn’t a big moment. I mean, I think the Medal of Honor presentations were emotional and powerful, and good on those service members for their heroism. But, I mean, I think the discussion will probably be the hockey team, right? I mean, there wasn't a big moment. JON LOVETT: No. DAN PFEIFFER: He was kind of like fascist Oprah out there. Like, “You get a medal, you get a medal!”