In west England, a series of hills cloaked in heather and wildflowers are the target of a national restoration project that is already seeing success. Similar to the story GNN reported on last week about the rewilding along the south coast and South Downs National Park, Sussex, volunteers are seeding old hay fields with native […] The post ‘Meadowmaker’ Flowers Herald Return of Rare Bumblebee in England After Scenic Meadows Restored appeared first on Good News Network.

News Sister Boniface Mysteries Sister Boniface Mysteries Starts Filming Fourth Season, Confirms Christmas Special Is the UK’s entire police force made up of clergy, or… By Vanessa Armstrong | Published on July 11, 2024 Credit: BBC Studios Comment 0 Share New Share Credit: BBC Studios Our prayers are answered! Today, we found out not only that the fourth installment in the Sister Boniface Mysteries has started filming, but that we’ll also get a Christmas special later this year. The show once again stars Lorna Watson as the Vespa-driving Catholic nun who solves crimes as a side hustle. [ed note: what’s the deal with pop cultural Catholics and Vespas?] Here’s the official synopsis of the upcoming special and season: Returning by popular demand, this year’s feature length festive special features the Great Slaughter Amateur Dramatics Society (GSADS) pantomime. This year it’s Cinderella and with the appointment of a celebrity director the pressure is on to deliver their biggest and best performance yet. Rehearsals commence but soon cast members start dropping like flies. Can Sister Boniface catch the killer before they strike again? Will GSADS give the public the festive theatrical treat they deserve? And, most importantly, can Sam and Felix pull off a polka in a pantomime horse? Elsewhere in the series a bucking bronco goes haywire on the set of a game show, a killer scarecrow stalks the streets of Great Slaughter, the Scottish invade, a femme fatale drops to her death in a stunt gone wrong and to top it all CC Lowsley (Robert Dawes) has arranged something called “team building.” Meanwhile Reverend Mother Adrian (Carolyn Pickles) is keeping a secret, one that could tear the Sisters lives apart as they know it… “I’m thrilled that TV’s favorite forensic nun is returning for a fourth series,” Neil Irvine, Executive Producer at BBC Studios, said in a statement. “The alchemy created by Jude, Lorna and our wonderful cast and Midlands crew continues to delight viewers worldwide. This series sees a serial killer on the loose at the Christmas Pantomime and a threat to the convent itself. I can’t wait for the audience to find out if this is the end for St Vincent’s…” In addition to Watson, the show stars Max Brown as DI Sam Gillespie, Jerry Iwu as DS Felix Livingstone, and Ami Metcalf as WPC Peggy Button. The guest cast for the upcoming season includes Les Dennis (Coronation Street), Katherine Kingsley (The Larkins), Martyn Ellis (Renegade Nell), Mina Anwar (The Sarah Jane Adventures), Ed Birch (The Witcher), and Daniel Laurie (Call the Midwife). The feature-length Christmas special is written by show creator Jude Tindall and directed by Paul Gibson. It will air in December 2024 and be available on BritBox International. Season Four will premiere sometime in 2025 on BritBox as well. [end-mark] The post <i>Sister Boniface Mysteries</i> Starts Filming Fourth Season, Confirms Christmas Special appeared first on Reactor.

Excerpts Young Adult Read an Excerpt From Tricia Levenseller’s The Darkness Within Us A companion novel to Tricia Levenseller’s The Shadows Between Us. By Tricia Levenseller | Published on July 11, 2024 Comment 0 Share New Share We’re thrilled to share an excerpt from The Darkness Within Us by Tricia Levenseller, a new young adult romantasy available now from Feiwel & Friends. Chrysantha Stathos has won.By hiding her intelligence and ambition behind the mask of a beautiful air-headed girl, she has become a wealthy duchess. And, once her elderly husband dies, she will have all the freedom, money, and safety she’s ever wanted.Or so she thought.A man claiming to be the estranged grandson of Chrysantha’s lecherous late husband has turned up to steal her inheritance. To make matters worse, her little sister is going to be queen and is rubbing it in her face.Chrysantha decides that the only thing to do is upstage Alessandra at her own wedding. And as for this grandson, he has to go. Never mind that he’s extremely handsome and secretive with mysterious powers… No, Chrysantha wants Eryx Demos dead, and in the end, a Stathos girl always gets what she wants. At my intake of breath, the intruder turns, as though I were the one who startled him, and draws two weapons simultaneously. The movement is so fast I can barely follow it. One moment, his hands are bare; in the next, he holds a revolver in his right hand and a wicked, serrated dagger in his left. My back hits the wall near the open washroom door, as that knife is raised to my neck while the gun presses to my temple. I don’t move; I don’t speak. I can barely breathe, for fear of the steel against my skin. He looms over me, his figure terrifyingly muscular. I can feel every hard angle of his body pressed against me. Too much of him, really, since I’m wearing so little. His expression is dangerous, murderous, and there’s something about it that I recognize in myself. A determination to do what it takes to get what he wants. “Who the hell are you?” the stranger bites out, his voice impatient and violent, yet wearied somehow as well. “Me?” I choke out, outraged. “Who are you? What are you doing in my bedroom? Unhand me at once or I shall scream for the servants!” Where are my servants? How did he get past the entire staff? My right hand is pinned between me and the wall. I try to wiggle it free. “Your bedroom?” he asks incredulously. “Yes, my bedroom.” My manor. My safe space. Invaded. Buy the Book The Darkness Within Us Tricia Levenseller Buy Book The Darkness Within Us Tricia Levenseller Buy this book from: AmazonBarnes and NobleiBooksIndieBoundTarget Since he’s armed, and I still can’t access my weapon, I try a tactful approach. “If you’re looking for a handout, you can go to the kitchens, where the staff can find some food for you.” And Kyros can give him a boot to the ass on his way out the door. Finally, my hand comes free, and I rotate my arm, bringing the pointed tip into contact with his body. The man looks down, where I’ve got silver pressed against his manhood. Hopefully he can’t tell it’s not actually a knife from his viewpoint. Still, I could do some damage with it. “Back away from me now,” I snap at him. The man scoffs, as though he finds me a trifling insect, but he releases me. He takes five steps backward, though he doesn’t lower the revolver. It’s still pointing right at my head. Now that I’ve finally gained some distance, I’m able to appraise him properly. I don’t recognize his face. It’s… stern, tanned. Handsome, even. His eyes are like daggers with sharpened edges. His lips are much too full to be reasonable. He has a round chin that cuts to a sharp jaw in a way that manages to look both boyish and manly. Hooded eyes rest beneath ragged tawny-brown hair. He looks my age, though he’s taller and definitely stronger. “Do I look like I’m in need of handouts?” he asks, his voice deep enough to negate anything boyish about him at all. I lower my eyes to take in his soiled, worn clothing—though atop it all is an impressive, floor-length black leather jacket. Then I dart back up to note the dirt streaks on his cheeks, the wild, rumpled hair, and reply, “Yes!” The man rolls his eyes. “I’ve been traveling. It took months to get here, which means I’m short on patience. Now, whoever you are, get the hell out of my house.” “I beg your pardon! I am Lady Chrysantha Demos, Duchess of Pholios, and you cannot order me to leave my own home!” At that, the man jerks up straight and does a sweep of my body. “You’re the dowager duchess? You can’t be older than…” “Nineteen,” I say. He opens and shuts his mouth a few times but finally reholsters both weapons. “They told me the old man left a widow, but I didn’t think you’d be so… young. What are you doing in the master suite?” That is it! “You do not get to barge into my manor and threaten me with weapons. You don’t get to ask me questions as though I’m some suspect when you’re the criminal. Who do you think you are?” The man cocks his head to the side. “Vander didn’t tell you?” “Tell. Me. What?” The words come through gritted teeth. If I have to pay another visit to that dreadful man, I swear I will ruin him. The intruder looks heavenward as he says, “My name is Eryx Demos. Hadrian Demos was my grandfather. I’m the new Duke of Pholios. I’ve just arrived from overseas to take up my lands and title.” My heart stops beating in my chest, and my skin goes cold. “What?” I whisper. “This is my estate, and these are my rooms,” he says, returning his gaze to me. “No,” I say, quietly at first. Then: “No! Pholios had no children. No heirs. This is some kind of horrible scam! I shall send for Vander at once.” “You do that, but he’ll tell you the same thing I just did.” Eryx places a hand on the back of his neck and cracks it. “Why wouldn’t he have told me this before?” “How should I know? All Vander told me about you was that you’re a bit—uh… simple.” Did Vander put this into motion before or after I paid him a visit about trying to steal money from me? Is this payback for putting him in his place? Or did he think me such an easy mark that he made plans to have a man of his choosing pretend to be the duke’s grandson so the two could pilfer the earnings of the estate? And I have no doubt that this is some ruse, because I know Pholios had no heirs. That’s precisely why I picked him. “Vander must have me confused with someone else,” I say. “For I can assure you I am quite competent and capable of running this estate.” “Yes, I can see you’ve made all kinds of… interesting changes.” He surveys the room with distaste. “No matter. I’m sure we can return most of this horrid furniture. Restore the room to its manly glory.” Did he just say manly glory? “You won’t be returning anything. The money I’ve spent is mine. This manor is mine. And you will not take it from me, you insolent child!” “I am eighteen,” he says through clenched teeth. A surprise, I thought him at least a year older. “Ah, my junior by a year,” I say haughtily. “I doubt that. When’s your birthday?” “November.” “You have five months on me, Duchess. That hardly warrants calling me a child.” His calm tone only infuriates me. “And yet, you’re not of age. I’m closer to twenty-one than you are, which means the estate will remain in my hands until then.” I don’t know what to believe. I don’t really even know what I’m saying anymore. The world has tilted, and I’m trying to keep from falling. Eryx laughs. “Oh, no you don’t. Listen here, vixen. This is my birthright. I bear the title of duke, whether or not I’m of age. I outrank you, dowager. We will take this matter to the king if need be, but I’m not backing down.”  “Go ahead. The king is about to become my brother-in-law.” Which really just means that I’m royally screwed. For Kallias is clearly being puppeted by Alessandra, and she’s not about to do me any favors. I called her a trollop the last time I wrote her. But the lie is worth it when I see a hitch in his calm facade. Perhaps it’s just my imagination, but for the briefest moment, I swear I see the supposed duke’s eyes change color, lightening from a deep brown to bright amber, but it must just be the light, because I blink and there is no change at all. Eryx looks impossibly more tired than when I first spotted him in the room. His fingers slide through his hair as he sighs heavily. “You picked the wrong mark,” I say. “I will see you and Vander in prison by tomorrow.” Calmly, resolutely, he extends his right hand forward, where I note for the first time that he’s wearing a ring. Pholios’s seal. How the hell did he get that? It was on Pholios’s hand when he died. Wasn’t it? Well, that at least explains how he got past the servants. At my stunned silence, Eryx says, “We can resume this argument in the morning. I’ve had a long day. I need rest.” “Well, you’re not doing it in here.” “Wouldn’t dream of it. All the pink is giving me a headache. Have a good night in this room, Duchess. It won’t be yours for much longer.” He smiles a grin that makes him seem more dangerous than before. The door bursts open, and no fewer than ten of my footmen barrel into the room in various stages of undress. This time, Eryx doesn’t grab his dagger or pistol. He just appraises the men calmly. “No need for that,” Eryx says. He steps over something on the floor on his way to the door. The footmen let him pass, awaiting my instructions. Only then do I notice that Sandros is knocked out cold on the bedside rug. In my outrage and surprise over the intruder, I’d forgotten about him completely. “Take Sandros to the connecting suite and ring for the doctor, please.” Four men carry out the order, hauling Sandros between them. Kyros turns to me. “Damasus called for us. Said that some man with the duke’s seal was walking about the manor. He had two goons with him, which is why the staff couldn’t warn you right away. Are you all right, Your Grace?” What a question. I had my perfect life, and now some man-child has come to take it away. How can he exist? He can’t exist. I specifically chose the duke because he had no children. No cousins. No one to pass the estate on to. Yet here is someone claiming otherwise. This can’t be right. This can’t be it. I killed for this! I’ve earned it. Finding some measure of calm, I say, “I will be.” If Vander and Eryx think I’m just going to hand over this estate, they are sorely mistaken. They have no idea who they’re dealing with. The pretend duke may have caught me by surprise, but starting tomorrow I will be prepared. I return my toothbrush to the washroom. My footmen shuffle out the room, but I ask if a couple of them will take watch outside the door. Just in case. Then I climb into bed, place the down pillow over my head, and scream and scream into it, until the energetic fury finally leaves my limbs. Depleted and exhausted, I turn over. This is a new obstacle I wasn’t expecting, but I will handle it just as I have everything else. Eryx the con artist will not be around for long. Excerpted from The Darkness Within Us, copyright © 2024 by Tricia Levenseller. The post Read an Excerpt From Tricia Levenseller’s <i>The Darkness Within Us</i> appeared first on Reactor.

Home affordability just hit a 17-year low, which means the dream of homeownership remains unattainable for the average person. Amid a cost-of-living crisis, saving enough for a downpayment and then affording a monthly mortgage payment has become a Sisyphean task—and radical leftist policies are to blame. Adding up the monthly cost of principal and interest on a mortgage, property taxes, and insurance amounts to half the average wage earner’s monthly take-home pay. That would be a stretch even in good economic times, but it is downright impossible when the prices of necessities such as food and energy have exploded over 20% and 50%, respectively, in less than four years. When people are already borrowing on credit cards just to pay for groceries, spending half your income on housing just is not doable. Even scarier, the cost to own a home in about one-third of the country requires more than 60% of the average wage earner’s take-home pay: more than twice the recommended guideline. But the problem is also widespread: In 98.8% of counties nationwide, homes are less affordable than their respective historic averages. Today’s stratospheric homeownership costs and the frozen housing market resulted from the fatal combination of record-high home prices and rising interest rates. Both factors are the result of the radical Left’s big-government agenda. Forty-year-high inflation was created by a profligate Congress and White House spending trillions of dollars that the nation did not have. In 2020, the year before the radical Left took control of the federal government, prices rose just 1.4%. Just 18 months later, prices were rising almost that fast in a single month. Just as the predictable result of government overspending was inflation, so, too, was the rise in interest rates that followed. The sheer size of the multitrillion-dollar deficits of the last several years caused prices and interest rates to jump significantly. That means you not only need to borrow more when buying a home, but you will pay more interest on the loan too. The result is a monthly mortgage payment on a median price home that’s twice as high as it was in January 2021. Ordinarily, high sale prices would entice home builders to construct more houses and increase their profits. But inflation has driven up the input costs for building a home to record highs, eating away at homebuilders’ profit margins. That means fewer new homes are being added to the market. Simultaneously, many existing homeowners have a huge incentive not to sell: They can’t afford to lose their ultralow interest rate. Millions of people got mortgages or refinanced loans at around 2% or 3% in 2020 and 2021. Selling their home today means losing that interest rate in exchange for one at 7% or 8%. Since that’s prohibitively expensive in many cases, sometimes doubling the monthly mortgage payment, homeowners are locked in with the golden handcuffs of yesterday’s low interest rates. That means fewer existing homes are being added to the market, in addition to the shortage of new homes. The situation is so bad that home sales have plummeted to the lowest level of the 21st century, even below the numbers seen during the government-imposed lockdowns of 2020, when it was illegal just to go home shopping in many states. Today’s housing market would be painful enough if it happened in a vacuum, but the policies of the radical Left have made virtually every aspect of life more expensive, not just homeownership. This has created a divide between those who were fortunate enough to buy a home before the radical Left implemented their agenda and the rest of America who seem doomed to rent forever. The only way to change that bleak fortune is to reverse the public policies that got us here. Before the dream of homeownership can be restored, the big government nightmare must end. Originally published by Restoring America The post How the Radical Left Wrecked the Housing Market appeared first on The Daily Signal.

WaPo/ABC Poll: It's Not Just 'Elite' Dems That Want Biden Out of the Race

Biden's Fundraising Currently Rated 'Disastrous'

New York Times national religion correspondent Elizabeth Dias and national politics correspondent Lisa Lerer joined The Daily Show temp hosts Desi Lydic and Jordan Klepper on Comedy Central on Wednesday to promote their new book, The Fall of Roe: The Rise of a New America. It was a mournful time for all as they mused about “radicalized” Republicans and how “horrified” they are about the book's subject. Lydic claimed that, “we enjoyed your book very much and also were thoroughly horrified by all of it, obviously. But so many Americans felt, kind of, blindsided when Roe v. Wade was overturned, and yet you walk us through every step of the way. This was not an overnight, shocking decision. This was decades in the making.” She then invited them to “walk us through some of that.”     Dias summarized that “for 50 years, the anti-abortion movement tried so hard, right? They made it their life's work, generational commitment, to try to overturn Roe. This was a moral commitment for them, for them, the greatest moral calling of their lives. And they were not successful until about ten years ago, something changed. And we've taken to calling it, this was the last decade, the final decade of the Roe era in American life.” She also declared that pro-lifers “had new tactics, new strategies, and they really radicalized along with the Republican Party, and did what many Americans thought unimaginable, which was overturning Roe v. Wade.” Who radicalized? Democrats used to say they were for “safe, legal, and rare” abortions, but now they are for them anytime, anyplace, anywhere. The fact-checkers like to say that late-term abortions are rare and almost exclusively done for medical reasons, but surveys show that isn’t true. One study, from a pro-abortion professor, claimed “data suggest that most women seeking later terminations are not doing so for reasons of fetal anomaly or life endangerment.” Nevertheless, Lydic asked, “Where do we go from here? I mean, are women going to have to run for president and have presidential immunity in order to legally have an abortion? Is that where we are?” Lerer was more neutral: Well, I mean, it is worth pointing out that many of the most prominent figures in the anti-abortion movement are women… There's no magic wand. You know, President Biden talks about restoring Roe. There's no way to do that without a margin in the Senate that feels almost impossible unless they overturn the filibuster and then all agree on what that looks like, which, as we know about the Senate, that's an extremely high bar to clear. So, there is no easy answer here. There's not some, like, thing that can snap back in place and Roe returns. I think the country is in for many more decades of wrangling over this issue.” Trying to end on an optimistic note, Lydic stated, “We so appreciate all of the work you are doing and you being on here tonight. We’re still hopeful that there will be, your next book, The Rerise of Roe.” While Lydic mourns the demise of Robe and suggests women run for president, simply to have an abortion, it should be pointed out that Lydic struggles to even define what it is that makes someone a woman. Here is a transcript for the July 10 show: Comedy Central The Daily Show 7/10/2024 11:26 PM ET DESI LYDIC: We enjoyed your book very much and also were thoroughly horrified by all of it, obviously. But so many Americans felt, kind of, blindsided when Roe v. Wade was overturned, and yet you walk us through every step of the way. This was not an overnight, shocking decision. This was decades in the making.  Walk us through some of that. This was decades in the making. Walk us through some of that. ELIZABETH DIAS: You mean the secret plan to overturn Roe v. Wade? LYDIC: Yes. Yes. DIAS: There was one. For 50 years, the anti-abortion movement tried so hard, right? They made it their life's work, generational commitment, to try to overturn Roe. This was a moral commitment for them, for them, the greatest moral calling of their lives. And they were not successful until about ten years ago, something changed. And we've taken to calling it, this was the last decade, the final decade of the Roe era in American life. They had new tactics, new strategies, and they really radicalized along with the Republican Party, and did what many Americans thought unimaginable, which was overturning Roe v. Wade. … LYDIC: Where do we go from here? I mean, are women going to have to run for president and have presidential immunity in order to legally have an abortion? Is that where we are? LISA LERER: Well, I mean, it is worth pointing out that many of the most prominent figures in the anti-abortion movement are women. That there is a strategy to put women at the front of the movement. I think, you know, I've asked a lot of abortion rights activists, like, that very question. What happens now? It took 50 years for Roe to fall. How many years does it take for it to return and nobody knows.  There's no magic wand. You know, President Biden talks about restoring Roe. There's no way to do that without a margin in the Senate that feels almost impossible unless they overturn the filibuster and then all agree on what that looks like, which, as we know about the Senate, that's an extremely high bar to clear. So, there is no easy answer here. There's not some, like, thing that can snap back in place and Roe returns. I think the country is in for many more decades of wrangling over this issue. LYDIC: Well, we so appreciate all of the work you are doing and you being on here tonight. We’re still hopeful that there will be, your next book, The Rerise of Roe.

Filling in for moderator Whoopi Goldberg because she had COVID again, ABC co-host Joy Behar was close to flying the American flag upside down on Thursday’s edition of The View. She was distressed by the growing list of Democrats speaking out against President Joe Biden by revealing their experiences with his mental decline and calling for him to exist the race. “President Biden is fighting right now for his political future,” Behar lamented at the top of the show. She was particularly irritated with actor George Clooney for exercising his First Amendment right to speak out via his New York Times op-ed: George Clooney wrote an op-ed in The New York Times claiming that after he saw Biden's condition at the recent fundraiser he doesn't think he's up for the gig. George Clooney! Couldn't he tell them that in person, for God's sake? He has to write an op-ed piece? “And Obama’s former speech writer Jon Favreau claims he's not the only one. Watch!” she exclaimed ahead of clip of CNN; so angry she slapped her hand on the table (included in embedded video). “I don't think they understand what's at stake yet. I really don’t,” she vented after the clip. “When you see that these two people, Trump, the convicted felon is neck and neck with a man who actually saved the economy. The World Bank said last month that the U.S. economy under Biden is boosting up the entire global economy right now. Why doesn't George Clooney mention that in his op-ed piece?!”     A few minutes later, staunchly racist and anti-Semitic co-host Sunny Hostin (the descendant of slave owners) agreed with Behar’s outrage at Clooney, insisting that criticism of Biden should be done outside of public view. “I don't like that George Clooney did this. I don’t like that George Clooney aired this dirty laundry to the world,” she declared. “I think that these conversations are happening. I think they should be happening because our democracy is at stake, but they should be happening privately with the commander-in-chief, who we should have the utmost respect for.” Hostin argued that Biden deserved to have the criticism hidden because, “This is a man who saved the soul of our country and this is the man who has a record that he can stand on.” She then whined that the media supposedly wasn’t attacking Republicans enough. Behar’s temper flared in an argument versus the tag team of pretend independent Sara Haines and faux conservative Alyssa Farah Griffin after they expressed resentment of the put-your-head-down-and-shut-up attitude of Democrats like Behar: HAINES: As a Democrat – Well, actually, as an independent who votes Democrat mostly I'm ashamed that they're telling us to put our head down and shut up. I think it's disgusting. FARAH GRIFFIN: Anti-democratic. BEHAR: Well, but there's this pile-on about the guy. Let's say he does run. They'll use all of these negative attacks on him in their stupid ads that they’re going to start running. FARAH GRIFFIN: It's democracy. He should be able to win and defend it. BEHAR: It harms the guy. It harms him a lot. “You know what people don’t understand? You're not just voting for a president; you’re voting for a Supreme Court. You're voting for an administration,” Behar shouted. “Biden is dragging the entire ticket down,” Farah Griffin warned. From there, the conversation descended into a cacophony of crosstalk and then a commercial break. The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: ABC’s The View July 11, 2024 11:02:42 a.m. Eastern JOY BEHAR: President Biden is fighting right now for his political future. Democratic National Committee chair Jamie Harrelson ANA NAVARRO: Harrison. SUNNY HOSTIN: Harrison. BEHAR: I know. Harrison, of course. Is still in Biden’s corner but he’s losing more high-profile support. George Clooney wrote an op-ed in The New York Times claiming that after he saw Biden's condition at the recent fundraiser he doesn't think he's up for the gig. George Clooney! Couldn't he tell them that in person, for God's sake? He has to write an op-ed piece? And Obama’s former speech writer Jon Favreau claims he's not the only one. Watch! [Slaps the table in frustration] [Cuts to video] JON FAVREAU: Every single person I talk to at the fundraiser thought the same thing except people working for Joe Biden, or at least they didn’t say that. (…) 11:03:56 a.m. Eastern BEHAR: People don’t – I don't think they understand what's at stake yet. I really don’t. When you see that these two people, Trump, the convicted felon is neck and neck with a man who actually saved the economy. The World Bank said last month that the U.S. economy under Biden is boosting up the entire global economy right now. Why doesn't George Clooney mention that in his op-ed piece?! I'm mad at George Clooney right now even though we dated. I wish. (…) 11:08:30 a.m. Eastern SUNNY HOSTIN: I don't like that George Clooney did this. I don’t like that George Clooney aired this dirty laundry to the world. I think that these conversations are happening. I think they should be happening because our democracy is at stake, but they should be happening privately with the commander-in-chief, who we should have the utmost respect for. [Applause] BEHAR: And that goes to all of them. That goes for all of them. HOSTIN: Right. This is a man who saved the soul of our country and this is the man who has a record that he can stand on. I will also say this; what the media is not talking about is the Republican platform. (…) 11:32:48 a.m. Eastern SARA HAINES: As a Democrat – Well, actually, as an independent who votes Democrat mostly I'm ashamed that they're telling us to put our head down and shut up. I think it's disgusting. ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: Anti-democratic. BEHAR: Well, but there's this pile-on about the guy. Let's say he does run. They'll use all of these negative attacks on him in their stupid ads that they’re going to start running. FARAH GRIFFIN: It's democracy. He should be able to win and defend it. BEHAR: It harms the guy. It harms him a lot. FARAH GRIFFIN: But it's not our job to protect him. BEHAR: You know what people don’t understand? You're not just voting for a president; you’re voting for a Supreme Court. You're voting for an administration. FARAH GRIFFIN: Biden is dragging the entire ticket down. [Crosstalk] (…)

Border Patrol holding centers in the San Diego area remain over capacity despite the Biden administration’s claim that it is clamping down on the influx of illegal crossings at the southern border, the New York Post reported.The news outlet revealed that holding facilities in the region are at 150% capacity as of Tuesday morning. Based on internal agency data leaked to the Post, the centers are equipped to detain only 1,000 individuals but are currently supporting 1,500 illegal immigrants.Meanwhile, the administration announced that it plans to shut down ICE’s largest detention center in Dilley, Texas, which can hold 2,400 criminal illegal aliens. According to the administration, Biden’s June 4 executive order was designed to crack down on illegal crossings; however, the action includes many exemptions. One of the biggest loopholes is that the White House announced separate directives for the San Diego sector. Just days after the executive order was slated to take effect, Border Patrol agents in Southern California were told to release illegal aliens from most Eastern Hemisphere countries into the interior of the U.S., a memo obtained by the Washington Examiner revealed. Foreign nationals from more than 100 countries, except for Russia, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Moldova, and Kyrgyzstan, are to be issued a notice to appear and released on their own recognizance. Individuals from the more than 100 Eastern Hemisphere countries are more difficult to deport because their governments do not typically cooperate with U.S. deportation flights.Manny Bayon, National Border Patrol Council president for the San Diego sector, told the Post that San Diego’s holding centers are still over capacity because illegal aliens who cross unlawfully into the region have a better chance of being allowed to stay in the country.One Border Patrol agent told the news outlet that agents are seeing illegal aliens from “all over the world.”“China, India — there’s a lot of Indians, there’s just like a s***-ton — and Central Americans,” the agent stated.Since Biden’s executive order took effect, the administration has allowed more than 30,000 illegal immigrants to enter the U.S., according to a report from the Post.“Thousands are still released by the day,” a source told the news outlet. “They get their [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] appointment and they’re gone in the wind. You think they’re going to show up when they know they don’t have a legitimate claim? Of course not.”Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

A federal judge’s renewed order to monitor Jan. 6 probationer Daniel Goodwyn’s computers for alleged “disinformation” — already struck down once in 2024 — is headed back to the U.S. Court of Appeals. Senior Judge Reggie Walton of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on July 10 denied an emergency stay of his order to monitor Goodwyn’s computer, claiming his new mandate addresses the objections originally made by the Court of Appeals. Defense attorney Carolyn Stewart filed an appeal a short time later with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, saying Judge Walton’s ruling does not follow the law and violates Goodwyn’s constitutionally protected right to free speech. “The judge's reasons don’t meet the standard required of computer use in or directly related to the crime, and particularly the Appeals Court's order for ‘least restrictive means’ and constitutional protections,” Stewart told Blaze News. Walton’s new monitoring order is the latest salvo in a war first triggered by Goodwyn’s March 2023 appearance on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” on Fox News. The judge accused Goodwyn of going on national television and spreading false information about Jan. 6 and minimizing his conduct that day. Goodwyn, 35, of San Francisco, drew Walton’s ire at his sentencing hearing several months later when he tried to correct the judge’s own misstatements about Jan. 6. “… To suggest that the only people who died that day were Trump supporters, that is just not true,” Walton said, according to the official court transcript. Goodwyn tried to interject but was quickly slapped down. “You are digging a hole for yourself,” Walton told him. “Keep on digging.” In fact, the only people who died at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 were Trump supporters. Ashli Babbitt, 35, of San Diego, was shot and killed by U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd as she climbed through a broken window at the entrance to the House Speaker’s Lobby. Rosanne Boyland, 34, of Kennesaw, Georgia, was beaten in the head and ribs with a hardened walking stick wielded by Metropolitan Police Department Officer Lila Morris, minutes after she collapsed at the mouth of the Lower West Terrace Tunnel. Her cause of death is hotly disputed between the medical examiner — who said acute amphetamine intoxication — and the Boyland family’s forensic pathologist — who said the death was from manual asphyxia. Benjamin Philips, 50, of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, died after collapsing from a stroke just after 1 p.m. Kevin Greeson, 55, of Athens, Alabama, died from a heart attack, although some claim he was struck by a police munition before collapsing. Goodwyn was charged in a superseding indictment on Nov. 10, 2021, with felony obstruction of an official proceeding, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building. Security video shows Goodwyn entered the building through the Senate Wing Door at 3:32 p.m. and spent 36 seconds inside the Capitol. On Jan. 31, 2023, Goodwyn accepted a plea bargain for one misdemeanor count of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, a charge carrying a maximum penalty of one year in prison. Judge Walton sentenced Goodwyn to 60 days behind bars followed by a year of supervised release. In his formal judgment issued June 15, 2023, Walton made monitoring of Goodwyn’s computer a special condition of his release from custody. Attorney Stewart filed an appeal of the computer monitoring provision on June 30. On Feb. 1, 2024, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reversed Walton’s order, vacating the computer monitoring provision. In the court’s per curiam ruling, Judges Gregory Katsas, Naomi Rao, and Bradley Garcia said Walton “plainly erred” by not considering whether the monitoring “was ‘reasonably related’ to the relevant sentencing factors and involved ‘no greater deprivation of liberty than is reasonably necessary’ to achieve the purposes behind sentencing.” The Court of Appeals sent the case back to Walton for “further proceedings.” It warned that if he sought again to impose computer monitoring on Goodwyn, he would need to explain his reasoning, develop the record in support of the decision, and ensure it is in accordance with sentencing guidelines and constitutional protections. Stewart argued that computer use would have had to be a part of the trespassing crime of which Goodwyn was convicted. He “did not use a computer to do anything illegal before, on, or after January 6,” she said. Stewart said the ongoing battle is really about suppressing constitutionally protected speech. Goodwyn was at the Capitol on Jan. 6 on behalf of the news website StopHate.com. He has contributed to several Jan. 6 documentaries that Walton and the U.S. Department of Justice have classified as “extremist media.” In a May filing with the court, Stewart included an attachment with examples of police use of force on Jan. 6 to counter Walton’s stated belief that no police used excessive force on protesters that day. “I have seen no evidence that would indicate to me — and I have seen hours and hours of the videos of what took place that day — I have seen nothing that would indicate that the police did anything that would indicate they were acting excessively,” Walton said at Goodwyn’s 2023 sentencing. In her filing, Stewart cited the vicious beating of Victoria C. White, 42, of Rochester, Minnesota, who was struck in the head and face more than 40 times with a steel riot stick and fists by MPD inspector Jason Bagshaw and other police officers. She is suing MPD for $2 million for what the lawsuit describes as illegal deadly force. Stewart also detailed the case of Derrick J. Vargo, 34, of Greenbrier, Tennessee, who was pushed from a high ledge on the Northwest Steps by a U.S. Capitol Police officer when he tried to unfurl a Trump flag just after 2 p.m. that day. Vargo fell some 20 feet, shattering his ankle and leaving him unable to do favorite activities such as skydiving. He is suing the U.S. Capitol Police. She featured protester Joshua M. Black, 48, of Leeds, Alabama, who was shot in the face with a Capitol Police projectile at 1:06 p.m. after the deputy police chief bellowed into the radio for grenadiers to “launch, launch, launch!” Black bled profusely onto the concrete. Anger over the shooting resonated through the West Plaza crowd the rest of the afternoon. “The Court wanted to add itself as a content and viewpoint censor for Mr. Goodwyn without legal cause, while only hearing the misinformation and partial truths that the DOJ and legacy media disseminate,” Stewart wrote in a May court filing. Stewart has referred to Judge Walton as the “Ministry of Truth.” Walton’s new monitoring order largely repeats his previous statements accusing Goodwyn of using social media to push “false narratives” and continuing to “deny responsibility for his actions.” The order is imposed “to ensure that he does not traffic in any content that inspired the conduct that he and others engaged in on January 6, 2021,” the judge wrote. Walton also asserted that Goodwyn “has been treated for mental health issues in the past that appear to have contributed to his decision to engage in criminal conduct.” Stewart said that statement is false. Goodwyn has high-functioning autism, which is not a mental illness, she said. “Our sentencing memo addressed his autism and relying on social cues and signals, such as police allowing building entry,” Stewart told Blaze News. “The memo made clear it is not a mental illness.”