WSJ: Is Harvard's Endowment a House of Cards?

Our friend Jerry Dunleavy published an outstanding piece Monday night for Just the News that NewsBusters readers will want to bookmark and save in perpetuity for its exhaustive compilation of links showcasing the seemingly endless list of disturbing views by communist and New York City Democrat mayoral candidate, Zohran Mamdani. At the onset, Dunleavy noted Mamdani has referred to himself as a “democratic socialist” and received backing from “so-called ‘fact-checkers’ and legacy media in denying that he is a Communist — but his oft-repeated past comments strongly contradict his denials.” Dunleavy came out of the gate strong with these examples: An investigation by Just the News shows that in tweets, speeches, and affiliations, Mamdani, at his core, holds a strong affinity for straight-up Communism: praising and campaigning with a Marxist state senator in New York; declaring that NYC needed a mayor just like a famously young Indian mayor who was a member of an explicitly Marxist and Communist Party; praising the 1917 Russian Revolution which led to the overthrow of the Czar and, soon, the establishment of the Soviet Union at the cost of millions of lives; arguing about the need to “seize the means of production” in a reference to a core Marxist principle; praising famous radical Communist figures; and much more. After quoting Mamdani’s denials he’s a communist, Dunleavy dug in, including his ties to “comrade” New York State Senator Julia Salazar, who has repeatedly called herself “a Marxist.” Mamdani has praised other avowed communists, according to Dunleavy (click “expand”): Mamdani has also repeatedly praised famous Communist figures and leaders. A tweet by him from December 2020 was especially striking, as it suggested that he believed NYC needed a Communist mayor — a job he would pursue himself just a few years later while denying that he is a Marxist. “them: so what kind of mayor does nyc need right now? me:” Mamdani tweeted as he shared a Twitter thread from the Indian Puducherry State Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) — or the CPI(M). “Comrade Arya Rajendran, age 21, new Mayor of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. She will be the youngest mayor of a major city in the world. Here she leads a detachment of Red Volunteers in @CPIMKerala. #CPIM  #LeftAlternative #Communist,” the Indian Communist Party tweeted. The profile for that branch of the Communist Party included a hammer and sickle emoji in its Twitter description. Tagged in the tweet threat was the “Official Twitter Handle of CPI(M) Kerala State Committee.” The thread Mamdani was re-tweeting contained two other tweets. “21-year-old comrade Arya Rajendran elected as the Mayor of Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation today. Congratulations comrade. #CPIM #Communist #LeftAlternative #Women #womeninleadership,” the Twitter thread also said. Dunleavy left no stone unturned, reporting out Mamdani’s views on everything from statues to supporting the sezisure of “the means of production” to praise for the Russian Revolution, “which soon ushered in Communist rule in Russia and the establishment of the brutal Communist-led Soviet Union.” To read Dunleavy’s full piece, click here.

Bryan Kohberger — arrested for the gruesome murders of four University of Idaho students — avoided the death penalty by accepting a controversial plea deal Wednesday that angered a victim's family.Kohberger, 30, is accused of murdering 21-year-old Kaylee Goncalves, 21-year-old Madison Mogen, 20-year-old Ethan Chapin, and 20-year-old Xana Kernodle on Nov. 13, 2022, at an off-campus house in the city of Moscow.Judge Hippler asked Kohberger, 'Did you on Nov. 13, 2022, enter the residence at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho, with the intent to commit the felony crime of murder?' 'Yes,' Kohberger answered. Investigators believe Kohberger stabbed the students to death with a Ka-Bar-style hunting knife, which reportedly has never been found. But investigators reportedly discovered a knife sheath near Mogen's body at the crime scene, which allegedly had Kohberger's DNA on it.Kohberger was arrested at his parents' home in Chestnuthill Township, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 30, 2022.Kohberger was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary in connection with the killings of the college housemates. However, Kohberger walked away from death row after agreeing to a plea deal Wednesday. Judge Steven Hippler began the hearing in Boise by addressing the controversy regarding Kohberger being spared the death penalty by agreeing to a plea deal. Hippler noted that he had "no inkling" of a possible plea deal until Monday and was preparing for the case to go to trial.Kohberger’s quadruple-murder trial was scheduled to begin next month, beginning with jury selection on Aug. 4 and opening statements on Aug. 18, USA Today reported."Once I learned of the defendant’s decision to change his plea in this case, it was important that I take the plea as soon as possible," the judge said. Judge Hippler tackled the sensitive topic of Kohberger making a plea deal to avoid the death penalty, which has enraged at least one of the victims' families. "This court cannot require the prosecutor to seek the death penalty, nor would it be appropriate for this court to do that," Hippler explained, according to the Associated Press. “Court is not supposed to, and this court will never, take into account public sentiment in making an opinion regarding its judicial decisions in cases," Hippler declared. "I always will make decisions based on where the facts and the law lead me, period."Loved ones of the murder victims cried as Judge Hippler read the names of the slain college students, the AP said. Judge Hippler asked Kohberger, "Did you on Nov. 13, 2022, enter the residence at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho, with the intent to commit the felony crime of murder?”“Yes,” Kohberger answered.An unemotional Kohberger calmly confessed to killing the four college students before pleading guilty. Judge Hippler said Kohberger will be sentenced at 9 a.m. July 23.In 2023, a judge entered a not-guilty plea on Kohberger's behalf after the suspect stood silent when asked to provide a plea.RELATED: Court docs say DNA of Idaho murder suspect found on knife sheath. College roommate frozen in shock coming face-to-face with killer. Expert profiler believes Bryan Kohberger is an incel. Prosecutors notified the victims' families of the plea in a letter, according to ABC News. “This resolution is our sincere attempt to seek justice for your family,” prosecutors wrote in the letter. “This agreement ensures that the defendant will be convicted, will spend the rest of his life in prison, and will not be able to put you and the other families through the uncertainty of decades of post-conviction appeals.”Prosecutors added, "Your viewpoints weighed heavily in our decision-making process, and we hope that you may come to appreciate why we believe this resolution is in the best interest of justice."Steve Goncalves — the father of Kaylee Goncalves — said his family had "never even considered" a plea agreement. "It was described to me as, like, due diligence," Goncalves told ABC News in a separate story. "We're going to, like, look at this option, see if it could fit."The distraught dad added, "At the least, justice starts with an interview of the families to ask them what justice is. And we didn't get that."RELATED: Chilling details revealed in Idaho college murders case — including frantic texts from roommates and new DNA evidence Photo by August Frank-Pool/Getty ImagesThe Goncalves family blasted the plea deal and the local prosecutor's office. "The death penalty is merely an illusion in the criminal justice system," the family said in a statement released Tuesday. "When available, it serves as a bargaining tool for the state, and when rarely applied, it’s never enforced due to a highly inefficient appellate process. The notion that someone can plead guilty to a crime and still face years of appellate delays reveals a systemic failure."The family continued, "The Latah County Prosecutor’s Office’s treatment of our family during this process is something I wouldn’t wish on anyone."The family claimed that the prosecutor's office "branded" them as "adversaries.""Four wonderful young people lost their lives, yet the victims’ families were treated as opponents from the outset," the family stated. They added that the prosecutor's office "mishandled" the plea deal and argued that it was rushed. The statement concluded, "Our family is frustrated right now, and that will subside, and we will come together as always and deal with the reality that we face moving forward. Once again, we thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers!"Just hours before the hearing, the Goncalves family also slammed Moscow Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson for making a "deal with the devil." "Right here, right now, we dig our heels into the earth and carve a line deep in the dirt," the family said in a statement on Facebook. "This ain’t justice, no judge presided, no jury weighed the truth. Thompson robbed us of our day in court. No negotiations, no jury of our peers, not even the pretense of cooperation and fairness."The statement continued, "Cowardly men, gutless men, they scatter like roaches when the battle closes in. And Thompson? He’s retiring on this deal, his shadow slithering toward the exit, leaving only the stench of his betrayal. No spine, no shred of honor. He didn’t have the basic decency, the plain human courage, to face the families, to meet our eyes and ask, 'How do we make an offer that works?' Instead, Thompson cut his deal with the devil, his negotiations didn’t require anything other than a simple guilty plea."The family accused Thompson of failing to "shield the innocent."The father of Xana Kernodle also opposed the deal, the New York Times reported. However, some of the families of the victims have been supportive of the plea deal to end this chapter of their nightmare. Madison Mogen's family said they support the plea agreement “100%,” according to NBC News. The family's attorney read a prepared statement outside the courthouse after the hearing, "We lost our Maddie, our kind, loving, vivacious, and caring daughter, full of purpose and promise. We are grateful for the gift of her life, and we have grieved the loss of that life during each of these 962 days."Stacy Chapin, the mother of Ethan Chapin, supported the plea agreement, according to KGET-TV. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Furious infighting by Democrats has broken out in California, where the governor is being attacked by liberal members of his own party over laws meant to increase the supply of housing in the state.Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom is getting assailed by state lawmakers after he forced the passage of a law to bolster the construction of low-income housing by allowing developers to pay nonunion wages to laborers. While Democrats have a supermajority in the legislature, opposition to the bill from pro-union lawmakers erupted in outrage against the governor.'I just cannot begin to explain how incredibly inappropriate and hurtful this is.'"I just enacted the most game-changing housing reforms in recent California history," said Newsom on Monday. "We're urgently embracing an abundance agenda by tearing down the barriers that have delayed new affordable housing and infrastructure for decades. Let’s get building, California."Newsom was also able to lower environmental standards for housing that have strangled construction for decades, according to critics.Labor advocates angry over Newsom's laws filled a hearing with "mocking, yelling, and storming out" to show their opposition, according to a Politico report.“Anyone who believed this would not cause a giant explosion — they were living in la-la-land,” said San Francisco political consultant Todd David.“To have legislation that is this large and this significant be forced through at the 11th hour … seems pretty absurd to me,” said state Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, a Democrat. “I just cannot begin to explain how incredibly inappropriate and hurtful this is.”She went on to say that it was “incredibly insensitive” for Newsom to push for the labor law at a time when federal immigration raids were targeting “blue-collar workers who are Latino.”Trade union lobbyist Scott Wetch accused Newsom of “contemplating a law to suppress wages" for the first time in California since the Jim Crow era.Kevin Ferreira, a construction trades council executive director, said the bill would compel their workers to "be shackled and start singing chain gang songs.”RELATED: Judge DENIES Newsom emergency request to halt Trump order for military in Los Angeles Some said the actions by the governor brought into question how he could move on to national aspirations after betraying his base in California.One union leader accused California Democrats of kowtowing to pressure from Newsom in the same way that Republicans are caving to demands from Trump.“California Democrats are crying foul that legislators and senators are passing things that they don’t even know the effect of that aren’t in line with their constituents that are just being shoved down their throats by Donald Trump,” said California Labor Federation leader Lorena Gonzalez to the Los Angeles Times.“And those same legislators in California are allowing that to happen to themselves," she added.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Despite having already navigated some major obstacles like platform delistings and court battles, extraction RPG Dark and Darker is finding itself in one of its toughest spots yet. The last few days have been difficult for the game, with Steam player counts dropping to alarmingly low levels and fans bombarding it with negative reviews after a controversial update. Now, in a series of messages to the community, Dark and Darker’s game director has apologized for his “extreme approach to problem-solving” and acknowledged there have been “inconsistent decisions and shallow responses to feedback.” Continue reading Dark and Darker lead apologizes for "inconsistent decisions" as the RPG slumps MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best RPGs, Best multiplayer games, Best fantasy games

What do the excellence of 2025’s biggest RPGs in Stellar Blade and Expedition 33 have in common with the adrenaline-pumping fun of Rematch? Well, all three (and more triple-A games) are part of Fanatical’s latest Mystery Box Bundle, which will net you some fresh Steam keys alongside the chance to score some of 2025’s biggest hits. Continue reading Believe it or not, you could get Expedition 33 and Stellar Blade for just $1 MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Stellar Blade review, Best soulslike games, Best RPG games

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