'bold economic agenda'

WIPE OUT

'Statue of Liberty, but black and trans'

'appears to be shifting'

'This decision should serve as a wake-up call to CAA'

Movies & TV Peacemaker Peacemaker Opens Season Two With a Hilarious Retcon in “The Ties That Grind” Peacemaker is clearly making some progress… was. He was making some progress. By Emmet Asher-Perrin | Published on August 22, 2025 Image: Warner Bros. Comment 0 Share New Share Image: Warner Bros. Now that the DCU is squarely underway with the success of Superman, we’re going to hang out and chat about Peacemaker! Recap Image: Warner Bros. We start with a brief recap of what occurred in season one, but when we get to the point where Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks) calls her mom for reinforcements, she asks Waller to send the Justice Gang. This time, as Peacemaker (John Cena) and company take an injured Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) off the field, he snaps “You’re late” to Guy Gardener (Nathan Fillion), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), and three more silhouetted figures who are very likely Mr. Terrific, Superman, and Supergirl. In the dead of winter, Eagly demands to be taken out, but it’s too cold; Peacemaker opens the door to the quantum dimension in his dad’s old house where he currently lives, and Eagly flies away to an area Chris has never seen. He opens a new door with the same code and emerges in a large mansion, and sees his father (Robert Patrick) alive and well, who behaves in a manner shockingly kind toward him. Chris runs away back to his own universe. Six months on everyone is having a rough go of it; Adebayo’s wife has left her, Peacemaker is still considered a villain by everyone, and Harcourt has been blackballed from covert agencies. Chris interviews with the Justice Gang and meets Guy, Hawkgirl, and their benefactor Maxwell Lord (Sean Gunn), but hears them making fun of him and ignoring his answers to interview questions, not realizing that their mics are still on. Chris goes to visit Harcourt and find out how her interview went (she got diagnosed with toxic masculinity by a psychiatrist), but really wants to talk about how they went on a boat together recently, got drunk, and hooked up. She tells him it doesn’t matter because she’s not interested, so he heads back home in a huff. After doing a bunch of cocaine, he pulls together a large orgy, and sits dazed amongst the action. John Economos (Steve Agee) is doing work for A.R.G.U.S. and gets a call from Adrian Chase (Freddie Stroma), who just wants to talk, and calls him every day. Turns out that Economos’ job is spying on Chris, which gets complicated when Agent Sasha Bordeaux (Sol Rodriguez) calls about a sensor ping—Chris has entered the quantum room. Economos goes to check it out and gets a picture of the room, but pretends he saw nothing except the orgy. Bordeaux has been put on this case by Rick Flagg, Sr. (Frank Grillo) who is aware that Chris killed his son during Operation Starfish. He’s been keeping an eye on him ever since, and orders this mission upgraded to Priority One, saying he wants someone else added to the job because he doesn’t trust Economos. At the same time, Harcourt goes to a bar and starts a brawl after a man harasses her, and Chris enters the quantum room high. He makes it to the other door and walks through the mansion. When he goes outside, a truck pulls up to the house—it’s his brother Keith (David Denman), who never died. He and Auggie and Chris are a superteam together in this universe, and he sits with them both as they reminisce about things Chris did as a kid. Once they’re in bed, Chris keeps looking around the house, and finds a picture of him and Harcourt together. He’s suddenly confronted by this universe’s version of him, who attempts to chase him down and murder him. Chris escapes to the quantum room, with alternate Peacemaker following. At home, Harcourt gets beat up and thrown out of the bar; she lies on the asphalt, staring up at the moon and smiling. In the quantum room, Chris fights alt-him, and accidentally triggers a little jetpack that smashes the guy into a spike on the ceiling. Alt-universe Peacemaker is dead. Commentary Image: Warner Bros. While fully admitting that I can’t stand being this kind of person, I got excited as soon as Adebayo said “Justice Gang” and I realized we were about to witness an all-out retcon. It’s funnier in this iteration, too! Sorry, Guy and Kendra’s banter is a better tonal fit. Also, calling in Clark and Kara because Waller tells them this is an end-of-the-world deal, and this version of Superman seeing that field of bodies? He’s unwell. Even after they try to explain everything, you know he’s just chugging cocoa miserably. What’s going on with Harcourt is honestly what I’m most interested in here. James Gunn only ever seems able to write one female character fully at a time (maybe two, when we get lucky?), and my biggest gripe with the first season was that Harcourt was barely a full person. Adebayo was all there and fantastic, but that only made the lack of characterization around Harcourt stand out—and yes, I know she’s very deliberately walled off and stoic, but you can still make those characters interesting! They do this for men all the time. That said, if they focus in on Harcourt while Adebayo takes a back seat, I’ll still be real annoyed. Harcourt getting “diagnosed” with toxic masculinity is simultaneously hilarious and tragic. It’s like the psychiatrist runs right up to the edge of the point and then leaps over the entirety of it. On paper it feels like it makes sense, but it’s so important to remember: No man on earth has to deal with what Harcourt deals with every time she sits down to have a beer. The anger and love of violence that we see on her off-hours is deliberately triggered over and over again by men who can’t let her drink a fucking Bud Light in peace, Chris included. The enjoyment of the fight, that comes after. (The smile is beautiful, let Jennifer Holland cook like this more often.) I feel like we’re bound to see some arguments claiming that she went looking for that fight, which again, misses the point entirely: Even if she did, the point is that Harcourt knows there are countless places in world where she simply isn’t allowed to exist in a neutral state. That’s the issue. Just because Chris has been working on himself doesn’t mean he’s the right match for her, or that she wants a match in the first place. Hopefully, the show keeps that in mind as we continue, now that alt-universe Harcourt is in the picture. The Justice Gang interview is great here, not for the cameos, but for continuing to show the ways that Chris Smith often doesn’t fit the shape of this world, even when he’s trying. (Which runs adorably parallel to Adrian calling Economos every day?) Obviously killing your dad doesn’t fix everything magically; now he’s got to do the real work of divesting himself of all the terrible things his dad instilled in him, and that’s going to take… I mean, forever, in a way. Peacemaker was forty when he finally got away from his abuser. That’s a deep hole to climb out of. I do like the suggestion that the alternate universe isn’t perfect by any means; the other Peacemaker nearly murders Chris without even bothering to ask who this guy is or what’s going on. Auggie still has hints of callousness about him, and Keith is clearly the balance between his younger brother and father whether he wants to be or not. As we reach deeper into that universe, I’m hoping the shine dulls if you’re paying attention. Also, there’s the Rick Flagg, Sr. of it all. Yeesh. Keeping the Peace (Thoughts and Asides) Image: Warner Bros. The new opener is set to Foxy Shazam’s “Oh Lord,” and has a far more dour vibe than season one’s jam, dance included. Love ending with everyone stacked in a pile. It’s foreboding, even if it is intended more metaphorically. Genuinely, the most impressive skill Peacemaker possesses is his ability to pull together an orgy with so many people that quickly. It was nice to see an array of body types/sexual orientations/interactions, but that was the thing I got stuck on. Chris Smith speed dialing the local orgy crowd, high on cocaine, and everyone shows up? Imagine if your DnD group was that ready to go. This is the second time on this show that someone has shown a colleague inappropriate photos when they meant to show them a work related thing, so I’ve got to assume that this is either James Gunn’s greatest personal fear, or it’s happened to him a lot. “Hot People Save Hot Planets” is an objectively great thing to put on a shirt, where can we all get one? My favorite part of the episode, hands down, is Chris griping that Guy Gardener talked about him sucking dick like it’s a bad thing when “that’s fucking a compliment!” Because it is! (Also, gimme a break, you expect us to believe that Guy Gardener has never sucked a dick before…) Okay, that’s it for this week. Tune in next time![end-mark] The post <i>Peacemaker</i> Opens Season Two With a Hilarious Retcon in “The Ties That Grind” appeared first on Reactor.

News Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles You Have More Chances to See Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles—and Its Sequel!—on the Big Screen Never underestimate turtle power. By Molly Templeton | Published on August 22, 2025 Screenshot: New Line Cinema Comment 0 Share New Share Screenshot: New Line Cinema Cowabunga time isn’t over. The 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film was supposed to get just a two-night 35th anniversary re-release in theaters—but you demanded more. Deadline reports that Fathom Events has extended the film’s run for a whole ’nother week. And what’s more, the sequel is coming: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze will skate into theaters in March 2026. The Secret of the Ooze does not star Elias Koteas, so I never watched it. It does, however, star a young Paige Turco as April O’Neil. Turco is perhaps better known in these times as beleaguered mom Abby from The 100. TMNT II also stars the excellent character actor François Chau as Shredder. You may also know Chau as The Expanse’s Jules-Pierre Mao, or as Walter in The Tick, though he has also been in an episode of just about everything. Vanilla Ice also appears. The New York Times was dry but not quite negative about The Secret of the Ooze, with Janet Maslin writing, Purists may complain that the Turtles fight less, clown more and stray too far from their beloved sewers. But for anyone else these are definite improvements, as are the more varied settings, the upgrading of the Turtles’ friend April O’Neil, the presence of at least one actor (David Warner) whom parents in the audience stand a chance of recognizing, and the treatment of Ninja fight scenes as the playful dance sequences that they essentially are. If the Turtles insist on remaining a mainstream box-office attraction, at least they’ve now had the decency to make a mainstream movie. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Their second cinematic outing was directed by Michael Pressman, who also directed Vanilla Ice’s related video for “Ninja Rap.” (He has since gone on to direct episodes of an incredible list of lawyer and/or cop dramas, including Law & Order, Blue Bloods, Elementary, The Closer, and also Weeds.) Secret of the Ooze writer Todd W. Langen has only a few other credits, but they include the first TMNT movie and a few episodes of The Wonder Years. You can catch TMNT in theaters through August 28th. Presumably one should watch the sewers for news of the sequel’s anniversary screenings.[end-mark] The post You Have More Chances to See <i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i>—and Its Sequel!—on the Big Screen appeared first on Reactor.

The Advancing American Freedom Foundation (AAF) is urging the Trump administration to make trade negotiations with India dependent upon the country respecting religious liberty. The Trump team is in talks with the South Asian nation and has hit the country with tariffs over its decision to continue buying Russian oil. “The United States must condition any trade deal with India on repealing anti-conversion laws and respecting religious minorities,” the conservative policy shop said in a statement.  AAF, founded by former Vice President Mike Pence and led by former executive director of Heritage Action Tim Chapman, explains in its policy agenda that it is guided by the idea that, “that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” The Trump administration has tied its foreign policy to support for principles like free speech and fair elections as articulated by Vice President JD Vance at the Munich Security Conference in February.  “In Congress, the appropriate committees should conduct corresponding investigations, ensuring that any foreign aid to India is conditioned in keeping with the International Religious Freedom Act,” AAF said in a statement. President Donald Trump brought up the issue of religious liberty with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his first term in 2020.  “We did talk about religious freedom, and I will say that the prime minister was incredible on what he told me,” Trump said to journalists at the time. “He wants people to have religious freedom, and very strongly.” AAF accuses India’s government of persecuting religious minorities including Christians through anti-conversion laws and shielding violent vigilantes. According to the Religious Liberty Commission of the Evangelical Fellowship of India, anti-Christian violence and persecution quadrupled in the country over the last decade and is on pace to set a record of incidents of anti-Christian violence and intimidation this year. In June, a Christian family was reportedly driven from their home and village located in the state of Chhattisgarh by a mob after they refused to convert to Hinduism. In April, approximately 45 people from almost a dozen Christian families were also reportedly threatened, attacked, and removed from their homes in Chhattisgarh.  “They showed no mercy to elderly, women and children. The assault was ruthless,” a caretaker for the wounded Christians in Chintalnar remarked. For example, in the northern India state of Uttar Pradesh, people who convert on an individual basis can be imprisoned for as long as five years and fined 15,000 Indian rupees ($180), and mass conversions can carry a punishment of up to 10 years in prison and 25,000 rupees.  The Catholic Bishops Conference of India has publicly criticized law enforcement in India for failing to prosecute a member of Maharashtra state’s legislature who said those who attacked Christian missionaries should be rewarded financially.  “We should keep prizes for those who bash up missionaries coming to convert people. Rs 5 lakh (500,000 rupees or $5,756 USD), should be declared for the first person thrashing such a missionary, the second one to be given Rs 4 lakh (400,000 rupees or $4,605 USD), while the third one to be given Rs 3 lakh (300,000 rupees or $3,454 USD) as prizes,” the legislator reportedly said.  India is not the only country under fire for how it handles religious freedom. Members of Congress recently heard chilling testimony about Pakistan’s handling of mob violence against Christians, Sikhs, and Hindus.  The White House and Embassy of India in the District of Columbia did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Daily Signal. The post EXCLUSIVE: Policy Group Urges Trump to Get India to Respect Religious Liberty appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Virginia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger condemned a sign comparing her black Republican opponent’s stance on transgender bathrooms to racial segregation. “Abigail condemns this repulsive display,” Libby Wiet, Spanberger’s press secretary, told The Daily Signal in a statement Friday. “It’s racist, abhorrent, and unacceptable.” The candidate herself took to X with another statement Friday. “Many Virginians remember the segregated water fountains (and buses and schools and neighborhoods) of Virginia’s recent history,” she wrote. “And no matter the intended purpose or tone and no matter how much one might find someone else’s beliefs objectionable, to threaten a return of Jim Crow and segregation to a Black woman is unacceptable. Full stop.” A protester held the sign outside a meeting of the Arlington County School Board Thursday night, ahead of an expected speech from Winsome Earle-Sears, the Republican in the race. The sign reads, “Hey Winsome, if trans can’t share your bathroom, then blacks can’t share my water fountain.” While the protester behind the sign said it was satirical, she defended the comparison. “I’m disgusted, but not surprised,” Earle-Sears said in a post on X. “This is the ‘tolerant’ left Abigail Spanberger defends.” “I’m the sitting lieutenant governor, second in command in the former capitol of the Confederate States,” the black Republican nominee added. “I’m an immigrant, a Marine, and above all, a human being. There is no place for this disgusting hatred in our commonwealth. Anyone who doesn’t condemn this sign is complicit in approving it.” Glenn Youngkin, the state’s Republican governor, said the sign revealed “the hypocrisy of the liberal Left on display again.” “Winsome is so much bigger than this idiocy,” he added. Segregation Message Satirical, Protester Says The protester who held the sign told the local Fox News affiliate that her message had been satirical. “It was satire meant to provoke conversation around the absurdity of prejudice,” she said. “If anyone thinks we are actually supporting separate drinking fountains based on race, they are mistaken. In the same way, that drinking fountains should be usable by all races, bathrooms should be nondiscriminatory.” Virginia Scope reporter Brandon Jarvis first shared a photo of the sign, and he also shared the front of the sign. The front of the sign, which can be found in the second photo of this tweet: https://t.co/Kqvz4cFvCx pic.twitter.com/iR5z4cYC9b— Brandon Jarvis (@Jaaavis) August 21, 2025 The Transgender Bathroom Issue Two recent flashpoints have underlined questions about males using the girls’ room and vice versa. Five Northern Virginia school districts—including Arlington County Public Schools—have policies allowing boys who identify as girls to use girls’ restrooms and vice versa. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights found these policies in violation of Title IX, a federal law banning discrimination on the basis of sex. On Tuesday, the department cut off all federal funding from these five districts, except funding by reimbursement. “States and school districts cannot openly violate federal law while simultaneously receiving federal funding with no additional scrutiny,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said. “The Northern Virginia school divisions that are choosing to abide by woke gender ideology in place of federal law must now prove they are using every single federal dollar for a legal purpose.” Loudoun County Public Schools, one of the five school districts in question, moved to punish three boys who expressed shock at seeing a girl in the boys’ locker room at Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn. The girl, who identifies as a boy, had filmed the encounter, even though that violates the district’s privacy policy. The school system did not investigate her, but instead brought claims against the boys under Title IX. On Friday, the school district found two of the boys guilty of sexual harassment and sex-based discrimination, imposing a 10-day suspension. The school district has temporarily lifted the suspension while the boys appeal the finding. Transgender issues played a large role in the 2021 gubernatorial election, which Youngkin and Earle-Sears (as the lieutenant governor candidate) won. In May 2021, a 15-year-old male student forced a girl to commit sex acts in the girls bathroom at Stone Bridge. The school district moved the male student to Broad Run High School, where he then sexually assaulted another girl in a girls restroom in October of that year. The Loudoun County Juvenile Court had found the perpetrator “not innocent” of charges of forcible sodomy and forcible fellatio. The student also pleaded “no contest” to charges of abduction and sexual battery on Oct. 6. Earle-Sears has championed the case of “the Loudoun 3” and condemned the Northern Virginia school districts’ policies, while Spanberger positions herself as an advocate for the LGBTQ community and received the endorsement of the transgender activist group the Human Rights Campaign. The post ‘RACIST AND ABHORRENT’: Spanberger Condemns Sign Comparing Black Republican’s Stance on Trans Bathrooms to Segregation appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is demanding Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg hand over documents from his company about its AI policies toward minors. The move comes after an explosive report from Reuters that detailed how an internal Meta Platforms document permitted Meta chatbots to engage children in “conversations that are romantic or sensual.” “Big Tech companies masquerade as stewards of innovation when they are really motivated by power and profit. That’s why they’ve stooped to using our kids as guinea pigs to test their latest tech. How long will Congress allow companies like Meta to get rich off exploiting their youngest, most impressionable users?” Hawley told The Daily Signal.  In his letter, Hawley stated that the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, which he chairs, will investigate whether Meta’s AI products enable crimes toward children and whether the company misled the public or government regulators about its AI tools. “To take but one example, your internal rules purportedly permit an AI chatbot to comment that an eight-year-old’s body is ‘a work of art’ of which ‘every inch . . . is a masterpiece—a treasure I cherish deeply.’ Similar conduct outlined in these reports is reprehensible and outrageous—and demonstrates a cavalier attitude when it comes to the real risks that generative AI presents to youth development absent strong guardrails. Parents deserve the truth, and kids deserve protection,” Hawley wrote in the letter.  The Missouri senator has demanded that Meta produce by Sept. 19 relevant documents including the company’s “GenAI: Content Risk Standards” and several forms of risk reviews and incident reports. Having served in the upper congressional chamber since 2019, Hawley has become famous for his cross-examination of prominent witnesses in the Senate. In 2024, Hawley accused Zuckerberg of harming teenagers with his digital products. “Your own study says that you make life worse for 1 in 3 teenage girls. You increase anxiety and depression. You are here testifying to us in public that there is no link,” Hawley told the Meta CEO at the hearing. In April of this year, Missouri senator brought ex-Facebook employee Sarah Wynn-Williams before the Crime and Counterterrorism subcommittee to testify about Meta’s relationship with China. Hawley previously served as Missouri Attorney General and as a clerk for Chief Justice John Roberts on the Supreme Court. Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Signal. The post Hawley Demands Documents From Zuckerberg appeared first on The Daily Signal.