“Harry Potter” author JK Rowling said that even if she had the authority to have an actor removed from the upcoming HBO television series based on her best-selling books, she would not do it over ideological differences. “I don’t have the power to sack an actor from the series and I wouldn’t exercise it if I did,” the billionaire author wrote on X in response to an article about Paapa Essiedu supporting rights for people who identify as transgender. “I don’t believe in taking away people’s jobs or livelihoods because they hold legally protected beliefs that differ from mine.” I don’t have the power to sack an actor from the series and I wouldn’t exercise it if I did. I don’t believe in taking away people’s jobs or livelihoods because they hold legally protected beliefs that differ from mine. pic.twitter.com/nKcAl3gcvO — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 5, 2025 Several celebrities from “Harry Potter” projects, both past and present, signed an open letter declaring their belief that the historic Supreme Court of the United Kingdom ruling that the definition of a woman is determined by biological sex was wrong. Eddie Redmayne, star of the spin-off prequel franchise “Fantastic Beasts,” signed the letter, as did Essiedu, who will portray Severus Snape in the upcoming HBO series. Katie Leung, an actress from the original films, also added her name. “We the undersigned film and television professionals stand in solidarity with the trans, nonbinary and intersex communities who have been impacted by the Supreme Court ruling on April 16,” the open letter says. “We believe the ruling undermines the lived reality and threatens the safety of trans, non-binary and intersex people living in the UK,” it said. “Film and television are powerful tools for empathy and education, and we believe passionately in the ability of the screen to change hearts and minds. This is our opportunity to be on the right side of history.” On Saturday, Rowling had reacted to the open letter with another X post. “In light of recent open letters from academia and the arts criticising the UK’s Supreme Court ruling on sex-based rights, it’s possibly worth remembering that nobody sane believes, or has ever believed, that humans can change sex, or that binary sex isn’t a material fact,” the author wrote. “History is littered with the debris of irrational and harmful belief systems that once seemed unassailable,” she continued in the lengthy post. “As Orwell said, ‘Some ideas are so stupid that only intellectuals believe them.’ Gender ideology may have embedded itself deeply into our institutions, where it’s been imposed, top-down, on the supposedly unenlightened, but it is not invulnerable.” “I wonder if they ever ask themselves how they got here, and I wonder whether any of them will ever feel shame,” she concluded. Rowling has been an outspoken critic of radical left-wing gender theory for years. She has refused to back down even as critics came after her, and she’s lost fans because of it. In light of recent open letters from academia and the arts criticising the UK's Supreme Court ruling on sex-based rights, it's possibly worth remembering that nobody sane believes, or has ever believed, that humans can change sex, or that binary sex isn't a material fact. These… — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 3, 2025

Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders took a big step toward protecting her state from the Chinese Communist Party and other nefarious foreign agents. She signed a bill demanding representatives acting on behalf of hostile foreign adversaries such as the People’s Republic of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea register publicly, disclose who bankrolls them, and spell out exactly what they are doing in Arkansas politics. Although this foreign-agent registration is the first statute of its kind in the country, other legislatures should explore similar laws as a defense against hostile foreign actors and their agents covertly swaying policy or political activities at the state level. Our country is facing a new kind of warfare waged through manipulation, money, and misinformation. Our adversaries are well-funded and coordinated, working relentlessly to sow division and destabilize our society. They’re attacking at the state and local level more and more, hiding behind layers of nonprofits and advocacy groups. Take Students for Justice in Palestine, for example – a shadowy group that played a prominent role in riling up violent mobs on college campuses last year. This group and others like it (Within Our Lifetime, Jewish Voice for Peace, Palestinian Youth Movement, etc.) routinely accept secret money, raising concerns about potential support from hostile foreign actors. Some of these organizations are not even registered as nonprofits, and alarmingly, many pro-Hamas groups have established local chapters on college campuses and receive funding from student activity fees. The CCP perfected this playbook long ago. There are Confucius Institutes embedded on college campuses masquerading as language centers while disseminating the Party’s propaganda. Other groups such as Code Pink echo CCP talking points, attacking American energy policy and championing topics that align with China’s geopolitical objectives. Research has shown that the CCP’s influence stretches far beyond college campuses. It targets state pension funds, critical infrastructure, farmland near military bases, and even municipal procurement of drones and surveillance tech. Every contract, endowment, or protest it bankrolls is another opportunity to steal American intellectual property, map supply chains, and erode public trust. It’s no surprise the Federal Bureau of Investigation has labeled the Chinese Communist government a “grave threat to the economic well-being and democratic values of the United States,” and national security agencies from some of our top allies have warned the CCP is engaging in the most “sophisticated theft of intellectual property and expertise in human history.” Arkansas has taken the first step in combating this foreign interference. The law will shine a spotlight on every foreign‑funded front group operating in the state. Agents who fail to register face stiff penalties; those tied to hostile nations risk even higher fines. DustyPixel. Getty Images. The new law also strengthens campaign finance disclosure laws, exposing individuals and organizations seeking to undermine democratic values through covert influence operations. The law is singularly focused on hostile foreign actors; international businesses and lobbyists representing allied nations are unaffected. It is encouraging that this effort is also a part of a larger “Communist China Defense” suite of bills from Governor Sanders, with proposals to divest state resources from China and ban land purchases near critical infrastructure. These measures are a timely reminder that safeguarding our communities begins in the statehouse, not just in Washington. Other legislatures should move quickly to adopt similar protections and fortify America’s democracy and sovereignty against those determined to erode them.  * * * Joe Gebbia is the CEO and Founder of State Shield, an organization dedicated to educating state leaders and uniting state and federal efforts to combat the growing threat the Chinese Communist Party poses to America’s security, supply chains, and core values. The views in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

An Israeli airstrike left the main airport in Yemen’s capital, which serves as “a central hub for the Houthi terrorist regime,” fully disabled on Tuesday, according to the Israeli Defense Forces. On Tuesday morning, the IDF issued a warning in Arabic for all individuals to immediately evacuate Sana’a International Airport and its surrounding areas. About one hour later, IDF fighter jets struck the airport and other infrastructure in Houthi-controlled Sana’a, Yemen. The retaliatory strike comes as Israel and the United States continue attacks on Houthi terrorists, who continually shot ballistic missiles at Israel and attacked more than 100 international cargo ships, tankers, and naval vessels following Hamas’ October 7 assault on Israel. The strike “dismantled Houthi terrorist infrastructure at the main airport in Sana’a fully disabling the airport,” according to the IDF. Flight runways, aircraft, and airport infrastructure were struck in the attack. According to the IDF, the airport “served as a central hub for the Houthi terrorist regime to transfer weapons and operatives” and was used for “terrorist purposes.” “This underscores the Houthi terrorist regime’s brutal exploitation of civilian infrastructure for terrorist activity,” the IDF said in a statement, per Israel War Room. The IDF said the strike on Sana’a Airport was a direct response to a missile fired by the Houthis that landed near Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport, injuring six people and temporarily halting flights. The IDF said the missile was not intercepted due to a technical malfunction, noting that its systems typically maintain a 95% success rate against missiles launched from Yemen. “Over the past year and a half, the Houthi terrorist regime has been operating under Iranian direction and funding, in order to target the State of Israel and its allies, undermine regional stability, and disrupt global freedom of navigation,” the IDF said. “The IDF is determined to continue operating, at any distance, against all threats posed to the citizens of the State of Israel.” Following the strike, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that the Iranian regime that it will “bear direct responsibility for any attack by the Houthi tentacle against the State of Israel.” TRUMP TO VISIT SAUDI ARABIA, QATAR, AND UAE IN FIRST MIDDLE EAST TRIP THIS TERM The IDF also targeted Al Imran Concrete Plant north of Sana’a, which the IDF says the Houthis use to build underground tunnels and terror infrastructure, as well as several central power plants in the Sana’a area. According to the IDF, the Houthis exploit energy infrastructure for terrorist purposes. TRUMP TO WORLD: STOP BUYING IRANIAN OIL — OR ELSE “This strike further degrades the Houthi regime’s economic and military buildup capabilities,” the IDF said. “The strikes were carried out with prevision, and steps were taken to mitigate harm to civilians and civilian infrastructure.” The strikes were approved by the Commanding Officer of the Israeli Air Force and the IDF’s Chief of the General Staff. The IDF also struck Houthi infrastructure in Yemen on Monday, including the Hudaydah Port which it claims is used for the transfer of Iranian weapons and military equipment as well as the “Bajil” Concrete Plant, described by the IDF as a “significant economic resource for the Houthis” and is used for the construction of “underground tunnels and terrorist infrastructure for the terrorist regime.” The IDF struck Houthi infrastructure in Yemen on Monday, May 5, including at the Hudaydah Port as well as the “Bajil” Concrete Plant. (IDF) During Monday’s strike, around 20 Israeli Air Force fighter jets dropped 50 munitions on dozens of Houthi targets. The strike, which was coordinated with the United States, marked Israel’s sixth airstrike on the group since July 2024 in response to over 400 attacks by the Iranian-backed Houthis during the war. It was the first such strike since President Donald Trump took office. HOW TRUMP AND RUBIO PUT AMERICA FIRST IN 100 DAYS In March, Trump declared that “Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon, from this point forward, as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of IRAN.” He added that Iran would be held responsible and “suffer the consequences, and those consequences will be dire.” Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth warned last week that Iran would “pay the consequence” for providing “lethal support” to the Houthis. The United States has been conducting weeks of airstrikes on the Houthis in response to the group’s more than 100 attacks on international cargo ships, tankers, and naval vessels following Hamas’ October 7 assault on Israel. Since March, over 800 Houthi targets have been hit, resulting in the elimination of hundreds of fighters and leaders, and Houthi ballistic missile launches and suicide drone attacks are down 69% and 55% respectively, Fox News reported.

Michigan Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel dropped all charges against seven University of Michigan students on Monday, a twist that shocked defense attorneys after Nessel had pushed for felony charges against the anti-Israel protesters. The seven students faced misdemeanor charges of trespassing and felony charges of resisting and obstructing police stemming from an anti-Israel protest on Michigan’s campus last year, The Detroit Free Press reported. The courtroom, which was packed with people supporting the anti-Israel students, erupted in cheers and chants of “Free Palestine” when it was announced that the charges had been dropped. Last September, Nessel pushed for the felony charges against the students, which could have put them behind bars for up to two years if they had been convicted. The attorney general alleged that the protesters used “physical force to counter” police officers who were attempting to clear them out of the area. Nessel, who is Jewish, was pressured to recuse herself from the case last month as critics alleged that she was biased against Muslims. Nessel said that a letter from the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor defending her amid the accusations influenced her decision to drop the charges. The Democratic attorney general claimed that the letter — which said that Nessel “has a strong history of uplifting those in both the Muslim and Arab American communities” — was inappropriate. “We have learned that a public statement in support of my office from a local nonprofit has been directly communicated to the court,” Nessel said. “The impropriety of this action has led us to the difficult decision to drop these charges.” The defendants, Oliver Kozler, Samantha Lewis, Henry MacKeen-Shapiro, Michael Mueller, Asad Siddiqui, Avi Tachna-Fram, and Rhiannon Willow, were also surprised by the decision and will now walk away from the charges in this case. Lewis, who said she faces charges in a separate case over another protest, mocked the attorney general, saying that “the possibility of recusal was going to be so embarrassing for Nessel that she just couldn’t bear it.” “And so while all of us, and that includes all of you, refused to cower, she did. And that just goes to show that the bullies and badges and the top pig are just cowards,” Lewis told a group of her supporters. The University of Michigan called in police to break up an anti-Israel encampment on its campus last May as university leadership faced calls to push back on antisemitism at the school. Michigan was one of the numerous universities where anti-Israel students set up camp in the spring of 2024, disrupting campus life and forcing schools to ask law enforcement for help in dispersing the protesters.

And this is exactly why I love Phil Mickelson

'It was the parents' choice'