President Donald Trump has ordered a review of the Smithsonian museums to examine prevailing "woke" ideologies in their exhibits and presentations. This comes as part of a broader cultural initiative to bring back national pride by uplifting American history being presented in federal institutions.

After vowing to launch a new political party, billionaire Elon Musk is reportedly reversing course to focus on his companies and potentially may support Vice President JD Vance in the 2028 presidential election, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

In yet another frantic attempt to target the Trump administration, New York Times chief White House correspondent Peter Baker seized on a local news story to challenge President Donald Trump’s claim that his militarized actions in Washington, D.C., made people feel safer dining out — insisting instead that restaurant traffic had actually declined. One problem: the story was updated only hours later to reflect that there has been an upsurge in dining out in the city. Referring to an article from WUSA 9, Baker stated, “Restaurants in DC have seen the number of diners plummet more than 25% since he sent feds into the street.” Trump claims his militarized takeover of DC has made people feel safer to go out to restaurants, but in fact restaurants in DC have seen the number of diners plummet more than 25% since he sent feds into the street. @JordanOnRecord https://t.co/Xhlkwlmdly — Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) August 19, 2025 The author of the article, Jordan Fischer, had initially tweeted, “Reservations at D.C. restaurants dropped 16% YoY the day Trump announced his police takeover. The next day, 27%. By Day 3 they were down 31% compared to 2024. It couldn’t come at a worse time. D.C. Summer Restaurant Week starts… tomorrow.” End of Summer Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships But roughly three hours later, he updated the information by admitting, “UPDATE: A big show of support for the city’s restaurant industry on Monday. Reservations were up 29% YoY as the city kicked off its annual Summer Restaurant Week. The WH is claiming vindication after owners said the takeover hurt business.” UPDATE: A big show of support for the city’s restaurant industry on Monday. Reservations were up 29% YoY as the city kicked off its annual Summer Restaurant Week. The WH is claiming vindication after owners said the takeover hurt business. https://t.co/hX9VWfbHMt — Jordan Fischer (@JordanOnRecord) August 19, 2025 The updated article, titled, “’Diners are showing up for the District’ – Restaurant reservations rally as DC Summer Restaurant Week kicks off amid federal takeover,” stated that since Trump announced he would invoke the D.C. Home Rule Act and temporarily federalized the city’s police department, “At the same time, dining and bar attendance also dropped in the city, according to interviews conducted by WUSA9 and data from the website OpenTable. Year-over-year, reservations were down over the whole week by roughly 24% on average. … Restaurant and bar owners WUSA9 spoke with this weekend said it’s clear to them the federal takeover has hurt their business.” But the article also pointed out that “Summer Restaurant Week,” an annual event sponsored by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington (RAMW), started one week later than it had in 2024. “According to OpenTable, this year’s event saw a strong opening day – reservations were up 29% year-over-year compared to the same date in 2024,” the article acknowledged. The article he linked to was updated and now says the opposite. Hilarious. NYT, what an institution. https://t.co/d5tGHtQsjK — Phil Kerpen (@kerpen) August 20, 2025 Last week, Baker ripped President Trump for his efforts to clean up crime in Washington, D.C., prompting Grabien founder Tom Elliott to spearhead an effort to raise funds challenging Baker to walk the streets of D.C. at night — unarmed. Baker posted the following statements on X: “Citing a nonexistent crime crisis, Trump plans to take over the Washington DC police and put troops in the streets of the nation’s capital. Contrary to his claims, violent crime in DC is at a 30-year low. The worst single-day crime spree in modern Washington history, of course, took place on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump issued no order to the National Guard to intervene — Mike Pence did — and later pardoned the perpetrators. Trump himself has been convicted of 34 felonies and is the first criminal elected president.” Elliott fired back on X, “I’ll personally pledge $300 for Peter to livestream himself walking the following route, unarmed, after 9 PM on any weekend night.” An hour later, he updated the challenge, noting, “Hi @peterbakernyt , we’re already up to more than a thousand dollars to a charity of your choice!” Elliott created a GoFundMe page for the effort, writing: We’re inviting New York Times reporter Peter Baker — who assures us the streets are safer than Disneyland — to take a scenic, unarmed stroll through the nation’s capital after 9 PM on a weekend night. The route? A lovingly curated “Trail of Fun” (see map) weaving through some of DC’s most “charming” neighborhoods. No security detail. No pepper spray. Just pure, unfiltered utopia. But wait, there’s more! I’ll double my pledge if Peter sends his wife in his place. Because what better way to showcase safety than letting your loved ones experience it first-hand? Elliott added more incentives: I’ve personally pledged $300 to kick things off, and many others have already offered to join in. The more we raise, the more irresistible this opportunity becomes: $500 — Peter gets a GoPro for crystal-clear night footage. $1,000 — Matching “D.C.: Safest Streets in America” T-shirts for him and his cameraman. $2,500 — We’ll buy him some gold chains so he walks in style $5,000+ — The walk expands to two nights: one weekend night and one weeknight (for “scientific comparison”). Every single dollar will be donated to the charity of Peter’s choice — so not only will this prove the streets are perfectly safe, it will also support a good cause. If Peter declines, we’ll select another high-profile believer in the “no crime crisis” narrative to take his place. RELATED: NYT Chief White House Reporter Challenged To Walk D.C. At Night After Mocking Trump

Two teenagers from Stone Bridge High School (SBHS) in Loudoun County, Virginia, have been punished after the district’s Title IX office determined they had discriminated against a transgender-identifying female by expressing discomfort at her presence in the boys’ locker room. The Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) suspended the boys, who are both rising juniors, for 10 days based on their statements in a video recorded earlier this year, ABC’s 7News reported. In the video, which was shot by the trans-identifying female in the boys’ locker room, the two boys can reportedly be heard saying, “There’s a girl in here? … Why is there a girl? … I’m so uncomfortable around a girl. … Female – bruh – get out of here.” Following a complaint from the trans-identifying student, the LCPS’s Title IX office concluded that the two boys committed sexual harassment and sex-based discrimination, according to their attorney, Josh Hetzler. Hetzler said the school district notified the boys and their families on Friday. On top of the 10-day suspensions, the teens are being punished with a no-contact order prohibiting them from communicating with or approaching the transgender-identifying girl. The boys are also required to meet with school administrators to determine a corrective action plan, according to Hetzler. End of Summer Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships Although the boys, one of whom has since changed schools, are facing this punishment, the girl, who violated school policy by filming in the locker room, has not faced any repercussions. A parent of one of the suspended boys told 7News, “[We’re] absolutely floored that they came back and branded my son responsible for sexual harassment and sex based discrimination with no solid evidence whatsoever,” going on to express concern about how these accusations would impact their son’s future. “We’re talking about scarring him for life by a biased process that’s supposed to protect fairness, but it’s shocking. It’s wrong, and it should terrify every single parent.” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon discussed the situation on Fox News’s “The Falkner Focus.”  “This is kind of the opposite of what we’ve been hearing the most about, which is mainly boys in girls’ locker rooms,” McMahon said. “And that just shows that kids are uncomfortable. This is just common sense. Boys should not be in girls’ sports and vice versa– and in their private places.” McMahon added that school districts violating the law, which she suggested was the case with LCPS, run the risk of losing federal funding through the Department of Education. Loudoun County Public Schools has long faced scrutiny over its far-left and occasionally illegal practices to the point that the district attempted to file a gag order on 7News journalist Nick Minock, who has reported on many of the controversies. The school system is currently facing backlash over its controversial Policy 8040, which many parents– including those of the recently suspended boys – have criticized as favoring transgender-identifying students’ rights over the privacy of individuals. The LCPS’s Policy 8040 provides guidelines to ensure that, among other things, “Students will be allowed to use the [restroom] facility that corresponds to their consistently asserted gender identity.” The Trump administration’s Department of Education is currently threatening to pull federal funding from LCPS after its school board voted to ignore the order to revise its bathroom policies. “The only trans policy you don’t promote is transparency,” one parent said at a recent school board meeting.

Overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, NATO scrambled two German warplanes after Russia launched missiles and drones at a Ukrainian city near the border with Romania, a NATO member. The Russian missiles and drones targeted an area less than a mile from Romania’s border, Fox News reported. The Romanian government said that two German Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft were flown out “to monitor the air situation” as part of NATO’s Enhanced Air Policing. No Russian missiles or drones crossed over into NATO territory. Russia also targeted Ukraine’s northern Sumy region on Tuesday night in an attack that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said wounded 14 people. “A family with wounded children – 5 months, 4 years, and 6 years old – sought assistance after the attack. In Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, a glide bomb strike damaged five apartment buildings, and at least three people still remain under the rubble,” Zelensky posted on X early Wednesday morning. “The rescue operation continues. There was also a treacherous strike on a gas distribution station in the Odesa region. Shelling also targeted the Chernihiv, Kharkiv, and Poltava regions. In total, more than 60 drones and a ballistic missile were used.” Zelensky added that Russia’s attacks “only confirm the need to put pressure on Moscow, the need to impose new sanctions and tariffs until diplomacy is fully effective.” Last night, a drone strike on Okhtyrka in the Sumy region injured 14 people. A family with wounded children – 5 months, 4 years, and 6 years old – sought assistance after the attack. In Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, a glide bomb strike damaged five apartment buildings, and at… pic.twitter.com/TWRPo4Po6F — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 20, 2025   The attack is just the latest in a major Russian offensive that has taken place as President Donald Trump attempts to get Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to work out a peace deal. Earlier this week, Russia launched its largest attack of the month shortly after Zelensky and other European leaders met with Trump at the White House to discuss a potential path to peace with Russia. On Monday night and into Tuesday morning, Moscow fired 270 drones and 10 missiles at Ukraine, with at least 40 drones and four missiles striking in Ukraine’s central Poltava region, ABC News reported. End of Summer Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships Despite Putin’s continued aggression, President Trump still believes Russia and Ukraine can reach a peace agreement and end the bloodshed. Trump set up a one-on-one meeting for Putin and Zelensky, scheduled to take place in the next two weeks. The president also said he would be willing to step in for a trilateral meeting with Putin and Zelensky if the Ukrainian leader wants him to. Following his meeting with Putin last week, Trump said he wanted more than a “mere Ceasefire Agreement” between Russia and Ukraine, writing on Truth Social that “it was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up.” Trump vowed to provide security guarantees for Ukraine if Kyiv reaches a deal with Moscow, but he promised that U.S. troops would not be on the ground in the country. The president also left the door open to the United States providing air support for Ukraine if a peace agreement is reached.

The Washington Post got slammed after it published a report attacking Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for the security personnel protecting his family. “Hegseth’s expansive security requirements tax Army protective unit,” the Post headline claimed, followed by a report about Hegseth’s “unusually large personal security requirements.” The article referred to Hegseth’s family residences in Minnesota, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C., while using the typical leftist media tactic of quoting numerous anonymous sources. The Post painted a conspiratorial picture to target Hegseth, quoting an unidentified “CID official, who like some others spoke on the condition of anonymity citing a fear of reprisal.” That nameless official claimed, “I’ve never seen this many security teams for one guy. Nobody has.” The story went on to say that the Post “withheld several sensitive details gathered in the course of reporting this article, including the size of Hegseth’s protective details and the precise locations where they are assigned.” End of Summer Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships It quoted another anonymous person claiming, “We have complete inability to achieve our most basic missions,” adding that “people familiar with the matter” alleged that when Hegseth became Defense Secretary, “a call went out for many more” agents to protect his family. “One person characterized the figure as ‘400 and going up.’ Another said it’s ‘over 500,’” The Post reported. Finally, in paragraph 14, the Post acknowledged, “Shortly after Hegseth was nominated to become defense secretary, a bomb threat was made against his home in Tennessee.” But that was immediately followed by this: “Hegseth, 45, a former National Guard officer and Fox News personality, was among Trump’s most polarizing Cabinet selections, and his tenure thus far has been mired in tumult.” “CID protection has on occasion extended to Pete Hegseth’s and Jennifer Hegseth’s former spouses to protect the children, two of the officials said. Two other officials called this arrangement unusual. Another said it was something they had never seen before in their many years at the agency,” the Post reported. Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell harshly criticized the Post, writing on X: In the wake of two assassinations attempts against President Trump, ICE agents facing a 1000% increase in assaults, and repeated threats of retaliation from Iran for striking their nuclear capabilities, it’s astonishing that the Washington Post is criticizing a high-ranking cabinet official for receiving appropriate security protection, especially after doxxing the DHS Secretary last week. Any action pertaining to the security of Secretary Hegseth and his family has been in response to the threat environment and at the full recommendation the Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID). When left-wing blogs like the Washington Post continue to dox cabinet secretaries’ security protocols and movements, it puts lives at risk. In the wake of two assassinations attempts against President Trump, ICE agents facing a 1000% increase in assaults, and repeated threats of retaliation from Iran for striking their nuclear capabilities, it’s astonishing that the Washington Post is criticizing a high-ranking… https://t.co/39SfiZOyPo — Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellUSA) August 20, 2025 Defense Department Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson echoed, “By publishing details about Secretary Hegseth’s security protocols, the Washington Post is actively putting him and his family in danger for clicks. These ‘reporters’ are disgusting.” By publishing details about Secretary Hegseth’s security protocols, the Washington Post is actively putting him and his family in danger for clicks. These “reporters” are disgusting. https://t.co/1rVpxlRdk8 — Kingsley Wilson (@PressSecDOD) August 20, 2025 “This is a shameful story,” John Podhoretz, editor of Commentary, posted. “I can’t believe it was published. If there are threats to a cabinet secretary’s life and family, protection is not only acceptable but necessary to safeguard the workings of our government, no matter what your ludicrous sources claim. Just to follow up a little: Ask anyone with security details if it’s some kind of exciting reward to have a security detail. It’s not. It’s intrusive, agents are omnipresent, and it makes living life harder, not easier.” Just to follow up a little: Ask anyone with security details if it’s some kind of exciting reward to have a security detail. It’s not. It’s intrusive, agents are omnipresent, and it makes living life harder, not easier. — John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) August 20, 2025 Tom Fitton of Judicial Watch declared, “Leftists running @WashingtonPost and Deep Staters at Pentagon complain and disclose details about security for @SecDef @PeteHegseth  (including his children and family). Another dangerous targeting story from the Left WPOST on Trump Cabinet. (They just ran a targeting piece on  @Sec_Noem.) Does the WPOST want to get Trump Cabinet officials killed, @JeffBezos ?” Leftists running @WashingtonPost and Deep Staters at Pentagon complain and disclose details about security for @SecDef @PeteHegseth (including his children and family). Another dangerous targeting story from the Left WPOST on Trump Cabinet. (They just ran a targeting piece on… — Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) August 20, 2025

The Menendez brothers are one step closer to walking free as the California parole board prepares to evaluate their cases individually, beginning on Thursday. Lyle, 57, and Erik, 54, were initially sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 1996 for murdering their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in 1989 inside their Beverly Hills home. The brothers have justified the fatal shootings, claiming they endured sexual abuse from their father that went on for several years. A Los Angeles judge resentenced both brothers to 50 years to life in May, making them eligible for parole. Now, a panel of parole officers will hear each case individually to determine if either of the brothers poses an “unreasonable risk of danger to society.” Depending on the outcome, this could lead to Erik and Lyle being released, but not right away, according to the Associated Press. Even if the convicted murderers are granted parole, their cases will next be passed to the chief legal counsel, who has 120 days to review them. The next step involves California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom affirming or denying their parole within 30 days. If Newsom affirms it, then the Menendez brothers would be able to leave prison.  The cases had received renewed interest after several high-profile entertainment projects were released, including a Netflix docuseries. End of Summer Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships Judge Michael Jesic said he had given the case “long thought.” While the judge described Lyle and Erik’s crime as “absolutely horrific,” he added that, in his opinion, they’ve been rehabilitated while incarcerated for the past three decades. “Life without parole gives an inmate no hope, no reason to do anything good. And I give them a lot of credit. It’s remarkable what they did when they had no hope of getting out,” Jesic said. Former Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, often described as “the godfather of progressive prosecutors,” initiated the resentencing process before losing his re-election bid to Nathan Hochman. In March, the new DA filed a motion to withdraw the resentencing petition, saying the self-defense claims were nothing but “lies.”  “The Menendez brothers have failed to come clean with the full extent of their criminal conduct, their cover-up, their lies and their deceit,” Hochman said in May. Public opinion is mixed on whether the Menendez brothers should be granted parole, with some arguing that Eric and Lyle have paid their debt to society and others insisting that some of the most incriminating details of the case are being undervalued. 

On Saturday, August 23rd, at exactly 2:06 a.m. EDT, a rare black moon will grace the skies, and it won’t come back around for nearly three years. A black moon is the third new moon in a season of four new moons, and it only appears once every 33 months. This current season began on June 20th or 21st, depending on the time zone, and it will end on September 22nd. There have been new moons on June 25th and July 24th. After this weekend’s black moon, there will be one more on September 21st. New moons—or in this case, black moons—happen when the moon passes between the sun and Earth, with the illuminated side facing away from us, making the surface invisible. So, we can’t see it with the naked eye. Without the brightness of the moon, stargazing is extra spectacular, especially for those looking towards the Milky Way Galaxy. The timing of the lunar event is also helpful if you’re hoping to watch the end of the Perseid meteor Shower, which will likely have its finale on Saturday and could drop about 25 meteors per hour. This story’s featured image is by Patrick Pleul/picture alliance via Getty Images. The post “Black Moon” Rising: What To Know About This Weekend’s Rare Lunar Event appeared first on InspireMore.