Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), former President Donald Trump‘s running mate, said on Tuesday that Vice President Kamala Harris’s choice of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to join her ticket shows how “radical” and out of touch she is with struggling Americans. The comments were made to reporters in the hours after Harris made the selection final. .@JDVance on @Tim_Walz's selection as @KamalaHarris's running mate: "It just highlights how radical Kamala Harris is." pic.twitter.com/GJiVSoy3qu — CSPAN (@cspan) August 6, 2024 “My view on it is it just highlights how radical Kamala Harris is. This is a person who listened to the Hamas wing of her own party in selecting a nominee. This is a guy who’s proposed shipping more manufacturing jobs to China, who wants to make the American people more reliant on garbage energy instead of good American energy, and has proposed defunding the police just as Kamala Harris does,” Vance said. WATCH THE TRAILER FOR ‘AM I RACIST?’ — A MATT WALSH COMEDY ON DEI “They make an interesting tag team because of course Tim Walz allowed rioters to burn down Minneapolis in the summer of 2020, and then the few who got caught, Kamala Harris helped bail them out of jail,” he added, referring to Harris tweeting support for the Minnesota Freedom Fund. “So it is more instructive for what it says about Kamala Harris: that she doesn’t care about the border, she doesn’t care about crime, she doesn’t care about American energy, and most importantly she doesn’t care about the Americans who have been made to suffer under those policies.” Walz edged out Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to join Harris’ ticket. Walz and Shapiro were reportedly the final two frontrunners. Vance was asked whether he believed Harris shied away from Shapiro, who is Jewish, because of anti-Semitism. “It’s not what I believe, it’s what the Democratic leadership has said. Many, many people said repeatedly that the reason Kamala Harris was going away from the Josh Shapiro selection is because they were worried about anti-Semitism. They were worried about certain voters. They were worried about some of the leaders, and the grassroots activists, and their party wouldn’t take a Jewish nominee. I think it’s despicable. I think it’s disgusting. But that is right out of the words of many members of the Democratic leadership.” Vance said he called Walz and left a voicemail. The message entailed congratulating Walz and saying he looked forward to a “robust” conversation, Vance said. “Maybe he’ll call me back, maybe he won’t,” Vance added.

Retired tennis pro Serena Williams claims she was denied service at a restaurant in a Paris hotel, but a rep for the establishment says that’s not exactly what happened. Williams, 42, shared her version of events in a post on X. “Yikes @PeninsulaParis I’ve been denied access to rooftop to eat in a empty restaurant of nicer places but never with my kids,” she wrote on Monday, August 5. “Always a first. #Olympic2024.” After the athlete posted the complaint, a Community Notes update was added: “Serena was not ‘denied access.’ Rather, the restaurant was fully booked.” Yikes @peninsulaparis I’ve been denied access to rooftop to eat in a empty restaurant of nicer places ? but never with my kids. Always a first. ?#Olympic2024 pic.twitter.com/lEGJR5WoEn — Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) August 5, 2024 A spokesperson from The Peninsula Paris also reacted to Williams’ accusations. “Dear Mrs. Williams, Please accept our deepest apologies for the disappointment you encountered tonight. Unfortunately, our rooftop bar was indeed fully booked and the only unoccupied tables you saw belonged to our gourmet restaurant, L’Oiseau Blanc, which was fully reserved,” the restaurant’s official account posted to X on Monday.  “We have always been honored to welcome you and will always be to welcome you again. The Peninsula Paris,” a follow-up post said. WATCH THE TRAILER FOR ‘AM I RACIST?’ — A MATT WALSH COMEDY ON DEI One restaurant employee explained the situation in a statement to Variety. “When [Williams] came there were only two tables available and they had been reserved by clients of the hotel,” Maxime Mannevy told the outlet. “My colleague didn’t recognize her and feels terrible, but he told her what he would have told any other client, which is to wait downstairs in the bar for a table to become available. That was absolutely nothing personal.” The hotel also issued a statement to Today on the situation. “In response to Mrs. Williams’ tweet, for whom we have the utmost admiration and respect, as we do for all our esteemed guests; we can only reiterate our deepest apologies for her perception of tonight’s situation,” it said. The statement added, “Today, August 5th, our rooftop bar was indeed unfortunately fully booked, and the only unoccupied tables at that time belonged to our gourmet restaurant, L’Oiseau Blanc, which was also fully reserved tonight. She has always and will always be more than welcome with her family to The Peninsula.”

Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz’s COVID policies during the 2020-2021 pandemic included a stay-at-home order, required masking, school closures, and a state hotline for residents to report others who violated government guidelines. On March 25, 2020, Walz replaced his initial stay-at-home order with another one that allowed for gatherings of friends and family of 10 people or less. By July 2, he signed another executive order requiring Minnesotans to wear a face covering in indoor businesses and indoor public settings. “Right now there’s no better way to demonstrate our Minnesotan values than by wearing a mask,” he declared. That same month, the state of Minnesota implemented a hotline for residents to report violators of COVID-19 orders; it was reportedly monitored by law enforcement until November 2020. “A hotline set up by Gov. Tim Walz’s administration to monitor compliance with his 2020 stay-at-home order generated thousands of reports from Minnesotans who snitched on their neighbors for things like playing basketball in a park, walking their dogs, and throwing small parties,” Alpha News reported in July 2022. “The hotline was launched in March 2020 and law enforcement continued to monitor it until November, well after the stay-at-home order ended.” The hotline angered the state’s top Republican, Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, who tweeted, “Please take this hotline down @GovTimWalz. It’s not necessary and it’s not how Minnesotans want to treat each other. We can all show a bit of kindness to our neighbors as we manage our times and needs differently in the stay-at-home efforts.” WATCH THE TRAILER FOR ‘AM I RACIST?’ — A MATT WALSH COMEDY ON DEI Walz responded, “It is being used, and we simply want to let people be able to call and let folks know. It’s for their own good. If we see people that may not be as informed on this, it’s an educational piece.” In August 2020, the Upper Midwest Law Center filed a lawsuit on behalf of 16 Minnesota citizens, business owners, and churches, challenging Walz’s executive order mandating masks in indoor public spaces. “UMLC argued that the Governor was taking upon himself the whole legislative power of the State, but only the state legislature has the authority to enact such laws consistent with the Minnesota Constitution,” UMLC noted. In May, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that Walz’s actions were constitutional and he acted within his executive powers. Walz did not remove the statewide mask requirement until May 13, 2021, stating, “This great day is possible because vaccines have proven to be effective.” RELATED: FLASHBACK: Walz Implemented COVID Hotline To Snitch On Neighbors

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) said the quiet part out loud in a recently surfaced video, suggesting that Democrats in Congress might move to block the results of the 2024 presidential election if former President Donald Trump were to win. Raskin cited the Supreme Court’s March decision — a unanimous ruling that barred states from removing Trump from the ballot — and argued that because the Court had not acted to declare Trump ineligible to be president, Congress would have to do so on January 6 in the event that Trump won re-election in November. “Even if voters unquestionably elect Donald Trump as President, no matter the margin, and even if the election is universally accepted as free and fair, top Democrats are calling on Congress to block certification of the results, and prep for civil war,” former Rep. Lee Zelda (R-NY) posted along with the video. WATCH: Even if voters unquestionably elect Donald Trump as President, no matter the margin, and even if the election is universally accepted as free and fair, top Democrats are calling on Congress to block certification of the results, and prep for civil war. pic.twitter.com/U9QL5FZW10 — Lee Zeldin (@leezeldin) August 5, 2024 “What can be put into the Constitution can slip away from you very quickly,” Raskin said, making it clear he blamed the Supreme Court for that. “And the greatest example going on right now before our very eyes is Section III of the 14th Amendment which they’re just disappearing with a magic wand as if it doesn’t exist even though it could not be clearer what it’s stating.” “And so they want to kick it to Congress, so it’s going to be up to us on January 6th, 2025, to tell the rampaging Trump mobs that he’s disqualified,” Raskin added with a smile. “And then we need bodyguards for everybody and civil war conditions all because the nine justices, not all of them, but these justices who have, not many cases to look at every year, not that much work to do, a huge staff, great protection, simply do not want to do their job and interpret what the great 14th Amendment means.” WATCH THE TRAILER FOR ‘AM I RACIST?’ — A MATT WALSH COMEDY ON DEI Red State’s Bonchie responded to the clip, saying, “Holy crap, this is as advertised. Raskin says Congress will have to tell Trump on January 6th, 2025 that he’s ‘disqualified’ and that it’ll put the country on a civil war footing. He’s advertising plans to steal the election right out in the open.” Holy crap, this is as advertised. Raskin says Congress will have to tell Trump on January 6th, 2025 that he’s “disqualified” and that it’ll put the country on a civil war footing. He’s advertising plans to steal the election right out in the open. https://t.co/uSe5MyoCJr — Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) August 6, 2024 “I believe this is called a criminal conspiracy to commit election interference,” Trump senior adviser Stephen Miller added. I believe this is called a criminal conspiracy to commit election interference. https://t.co/YmRgXdqL6F — Stephen Miller (@StephenM) August 5, 2024 The Supreme Court did, as Raskin stated, leave the issue to Congress — but the ruling, according to ScotusBlog, also noted that Congress would have to first pass “appropriate legislation” that would allow enforcement of the 14th Amendment. Congress would also have to determine that the person in question was actually guilty of insurrection in order to enforce Section 3 — and Congress, led by Raskin himself, ostensibly already tried and failed to do just that when they impeached Trump the second time. But before disqualifying someone under Section 3, the justices observed, there must be a determination that the provision actually applies to that person. And Section 5 of the 14th Amendment gives the power to make that determination to Congress, by authorizing it to pass “appropriate legislation” to “enforce” the 14th Amendment. Nothing in the 14th Amendment, the court stressed, gives states the power to enforce Section 3 against candidates for federal office, nor was there any history of states doing so in the years after the amendment was ratified.

Actor Akili McDowell, best known for his roles in the Showtime drama “Billions” and OWN network’s “David Makes Man,” has been arrested and charged with murder. The charges stem from the parking lot shooting death of Cesar Peralta, which occurred in Houston on July 20. McDowell was previously charged with theft on August 1 and subsequently arrested for murder on August 2, per The New York Post.  According to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to an incident at the parking lot of an apartment complex at 13503 North Thorntree, where they discovered an adult male pronounced dead at the scene, who was later identified as 20-year-old Peralta. The victim had sustained gunshot wounds. WATCH THE TRAILER FOR ‘AM I RACIST?’ — A MATT WALSH COMEDY ON DEI McDowell, 21, was still being held on a $400,000 bond at the Harris County Jail Facility as of Monday, per The Hollywood Reporter. The actor’s relation to the victim was still unclear as of Tuesday, and how McDowell responded to the charges is also unknown. Police say the investigation is ongoing. The actor played the character ​​Savion Williams in two episodes of “Billions.” He also had a starring role in “David Makes Man,” a coming-of-age drama about a teenage prodigy named David (McDowell) who lived in the projects in South Florida while attending a school for academically gifted students.  He is also slated to star in the movie The Waterboyz, which is about two men who choose very different paths in life. One tries to follow the rules, and the other creates chaos. McDowell, who was 16 when he was cast in “David Makes Man,” reflected on his role and the series’ message during a 2019 interview with Oprah. He said that the storyline shows that “you can be something. You don’t have to settle for what everybody may think you’re going to be. You can work to be better. And you can be better.”   

While most people struggle to decide which song to choose for their first dance, this couple had no such issues. In fact, they chose to forgo the first dance altogether and do something far more exciting. The duo loves Star Wars, so they decided to pay homage to their favorite film franchise by celebrating their matrimony with a lightsaber battle. A couple from the USA had a Star Wars-themed wedding where the newlyweds fought with lightsabers instead of having a traditional wedding dance. pic.twitter.com/eQHwhSdiXG— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) August 3, 2024 Star Wars Wedding Opts To Skip First Dance This couple opted for something different in place of a traditional, romantic first dance. This Star Wars-loving pair decided to have a lightsaber battle instead. This was no mock fight, either. The couple seemed to give it their all. The groom wielded a green lightsaber while his bride wielded the red. The newlyweds circled one another while impressively twirling their weapons. This Star Wars wedding battle was just getting started. Eventually, the bride did an impressive maneuver where she spun and attacked the groom with lightning speed. The video ends before a victor is crowned. Regardless of the winner, this was a show that the guests are sure to remember forever. What To Do Instead Of A First Dance If you don’t want to have a first dance but a Star Wars wedding lightsaber battle is not your style, there are other options. You can choose from a variety of options. For example, you can hire performers, whether they are dancers or singers. You can have a group dance instead of a partner dance. Also, you could play a game or pour a champagne tower. As these Star Wars fanatics showed us, the options are truly endless. The source of the featured image can be found here. The post Newlywed “Star Wars” Fanatics Have Epic Lightsaber Battle Instead Of First Dance appeared first on InspireMore.

'I have a yellow flag in my head'

'Schools should be a place of safety, teaching and learning'