Josh Holmes remembers the warnings were as clear as day. The political strategist had just started “Ruthless,” a raucous show covering the latest news, when his Beltway colleagues cried foul. “‘Are you out of your minds?'” Holmes recalls of the steady drumbeat during the show’s 2020 launch. The critiques made sense. Holmes and his co-hosts — Michael Duncan, John Ashbrook, and the pundit known as Comfortably Smug didn’t talk like political consultants. They called themselves “the Fellas,” and, true to the name, they talked like regular guys cracking wise at the bar. Smart fellas, to be sure. But fellas nonetheless. And funny. Always funny. Their colleagues may have been right, but the public disagreed. The variety “progrum,” as they call it, caught fire despite their unorthodox style and humble roots. Now, they’ve sealed a deal with Fox News, bringing the progrum to the next level. “The conventional wisdom that has governed the industry of politics is bulls***,” Holmes tells The Daily Wire. Longtime fans, also known as “minions,” may fear the corporate partnership, but Smug says the best is yet to come. “For listeners, the only thing this means for them is you get more. More episodes. More content. More capabilities,” Smug said. “Nothing’s changing,” Holmes adds. The show’s comedy veers from ribald banter to signature games like “Dem or Journo” and “King of the Hill.” The latter pits former Republican pundits squaring off for the most unhinged social media hot takes. The competition is fierce, all the better for show prep. “Too many people in politics want to prove how smart they are all the time,” Duncan says. “If you’re not laughing, you’re going to be crying. Politics can be frustrating.” The satire practically writes itself, assuming you’re paying attention, Holmes says. “Watch the House of Representatives for 10 minutes and not have enough for a full, 30-minute comedy sketch,” Holmes says. The show’s rise coincides with the country’s shift to the Right, Ashbrook suggests. Comedy mainstays like late-night TV don’t grasp that transition, he adds, consistently avoiding liberal targets in their monologues. “Ruthless” fans crave the comedic parts of the show, a rarity with right-leaning talkers. That’s especially true when digesting some of the heavier news cycles. The show’s shocking ascent became clear earlier this year. The show joined the White House briefing room as part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to expand the pool beyond legacy outlets. Ashbrook represented the progrum with a question for spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt. There’s a practical side to their high jinks. Pre-election, GOP voters got to know Vance as not just a youthful candidate but a wisecracking dad who could hang with the boys. Other Beltway guests get to let down their guard, too, swapping jokes with the foursome and showing a fresh side of their personas. You won’t see that on C-SPAN.  “You can see these folks in an environment that isn’t staid Washington, D.C.,” Holmes says. The Pelosis, Harrises and Buttigieges often visit Jimmy Kimmel or Seth Meyers to show their softer side. Republicans get “Ruthless.” The accidental podcasters all have day jobs. Holmes, Ashbrook, and Duncan work at Cavalry, a Washington, D.C.-based public affairs and communications firm. Smug is a political consultant and hedge fund guru. Together, they’ve joined the podcast revolution at a critical moment. Both sides of the political aisle acknowledge how vital podcasts were in the 2024 presidential election. President Donald Trump dropped by “The Joe Rogan Experience” and “Flagrant” with Andrew Schulz, while future Vice President JD Vance visited “The Tim Dillon Show” and “This Past Weekend” with Theo Von. Vice President Kamala Harris infamously balked at a Rogan sitdown, much to her campaign’s eventual dismay. “Listeners see podcasts as a more realistic source of information,” Smug says, blaming traditional media outlets for that shift. People can’t trust media outlets that told them President Joe Biden was the “sharpest guy around,” he adds. “People were getting flat-out lied to, adds Holmes. The 2024 election cycle “opened people’s eyes to the way the electorate consumes information,” Duncan says. The Fellas were ahead of the curve. “The Legacy Media is entirely captured by the Left, and it is a disease. They’re fundamentally incapable of getting over that disease,” Ashbrook says. Journalists “care more about what rich people in New York think about them than they do about how the rest of the country views them … will they course correct? I always thought they would, but it’s only gotten worse.” “They’re living in a society that does not exist in America beyond their X feed,” Holmes adds. The Left has been begging to find their own Rogan since November 5, forgetting that the ex-“Fear Factor” host leaned to the Left before Democrats forgot their core principles, like free speech. “There are very funny Democrats in this country. ‘Saturday Night Live’ was the funniest thing on the planet, staffed and written by Democrats,” Ashbrook says. But now, “they’re not allowed to be funny. They’re handcuffed by the Left.” Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of HollywoodInToto.com. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at HollywoodInToto.com. The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem slammed Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell in a Friday morning press conference in the southern city, accusing him of “risking people’s lives” after he doxxed ICE agents. Noem showcased some of the criminal illegal aliens, including rapists and murders, captured in the Nashville area before warning that left-wing politicians have sided with illegal aliens and in some cases, even endangered federal law enforcement. “One of the open border politicians is right here in this state and right here in this city, and I’m specifically calling out the mayor of Nashville,” Noem charged. “Freddie O’Connell has gone after our ICE individuals and agents who work with HSI,” she said, referring to Homeland Security Investigations. “He’s openly doxxed them, revealed them to the public, and encouraged people to go against them and their efforts to clean up the streets of Nashville.” “What the mayor is doing to this city is shameful. What he needs to do is participate with us and make sure that he is helping us enforce the rule of law,” Noem said of the Democrat mayor, also accusing him of playing politics and “risking people’s lives.” Noem’s statements came after O’Connell doxxed the names of ICE agents involved in raids in Nashville, which The Daily Wire revealed resulted in the capture of 196 illegal aliens, 96 of whom had criminal histories or pending criminal charges beyond illegally entering the country. The city’s mayor said that the doxxing was done by accident, but one DHS official charged that there was “zero chance it was a mistake.” The DHS Secretary also told The Daily Wire that she blames the rhetoric of liberal politicians and leftist organizations for the rise in assaults against ICE officers. “It’s the rhetoric of elected officials, of leaders, of leftist organizations and the media. When they don’t tell the truth, there’s consequences to that,” Noem said. “When they don’t talk about the facts of what’s happening out on our streets and what the American people need, then it gets distorted and the information is used in a way that can undermine what the rule of law is.” A small group of leftist protesters gathered outside of the Homeland Security Investigations building where Noem held her press conference. A meager crowd of leftist demonstrators showed up to protest DHS Sec. Noem’s Nashville press conference, where she showcased some of the murderers and rapists captured by ICE. I’m here for @realDailyWire pic.twitter.com/y9Ncv809mI — Spencer Lindquist ?? (@SpencerLndqst) July 18, 2025 Noem also told The Daily Wire at a Thursday night press conference that it will refer those who dox ICE agents to the Department of Justice for prosecution. “We will detain these individuals if the law allows and it’s up to the Department of Justice if they decide to prosecute … doxxing very much exposes them and their families up to dangerous situations,” Noem said. “We’ve had many of our ICE officers, CBP officers who’ve been victimized, their families have been threatened and attacked.” “Any elected official, anybody who does this on purpose and causes harm or brings harm to them and their families  … they will be referred to them and the Department of Justice has indicated that they will prosecute them where it is appropriate,” she went on to say.

Episode Description: This week on The Optimist Daily’s Weekly Round-up, Karissa and Arielle explore two unexpected environmental heroes: a pinecone-inspired wildfire sensor called Pyri, and the misunderstood but essential role of vultures in ecosystem health. Discover how design students in London are helping prevent devastating fires with biodegradable tech and how Bulgaria’s ambitious rewilding project is reviving Europe’s rarest vulture species. From the power of biomimicry to the hidden brilliance of “ugly” animals, this episode is a love letter to nature’s resilience and innovation. The Optimist Daily is a project of the World Business Academy. Donate link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/donate-to-support-the-optimist-daily/?gift=Y%20http:// Transcript: Theme music Karissa Hello and welcome to The Optimist Daily’s Weekly Roundup. I’m Karissa. Arielle And I’m Arielle, and we’re working hard to put solutions in view and optimism in movement. Karissa Well, welcome back. We are here again with another episode of the pod to share the solutions from Optimist Daily this week. Arielle Yes. And if you don’t have enough of us and you want some more solutions in your life, then definitely sign up for our daily newsletters so that you can get all of the solutions straight to your inbox. Karissa Yeah. And you can follow us on socials we are on basically everything. So go ahead and give us a follow and get solutions in your news feed. Arielle We are @OptimistDaily on everything except for X—that is @OdeToOptimism, O-D-E-T-O optimism. We also really, really, really appreciate financial support, so you can become an Emissary and find out how to do that on our website. But if money is tight, we totally get that, and non-financial support is equally as valuable. Sharing this pod with your loved ones, with friends, shooting an article off to someone—that would be a huge help for us. Karissa Absolutely. Let’s get into the solutions of the day. But first, Arielle, how are you doing? Arielle I’m doing pretty well, but I will say that there is something bothering me, so I’m going to go straight into my “I’m an Optimist, But…” Karissa Yeah, let’s hear it. Arielle OK, I’m an optimist, but I’ve been feeling really weird about what seems like a resurgence of ultra-thinness as the beauty ideal. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been noticing more and more online and on socials, people celebrating dramatic weight loss. And the term “heroin chic” keeps popping up again. And it’s like a little bit of a return… or a big return to skinny worship. It just feels like we’re sliding backwards. Have you noticed this as well? Karissa Uh, yeah, absolutely. I’ve definitely seen this online and like you’re saying, there’s a lot of, like, major weight loss celebrations with, you know, kind of a trend of weight loss medications like Ozempic and such. Yeah. And yeah, just like the heroin chic aesthetic, which shouldn’t be an aesthetic at all. Arielle It’s a horrible title for one as well. So unhealthy. Karissa Yeah. But I’ve noticed that as well, and it’s definitely made me feel… ugh. Arielle It’s disheartening to see people who might have been on the more voluptuous side, who were really at the forefront of body positivity or body neutrality, and they have also… you know, fallen into this skinny-worshipping beauty ideal. But what worries me even more than that is how quickly the beauty standard keeps shifting. Just when it felt like we were actually embracing body positivity—or at least leaning into body neutrality—suddenly we’re back to romanticizing extreme thinness. I… I don’t know. It’s dizzying and it’s exhausting. And I just think about me as a young girl. And I… I also grew up with these trends, and I internalized them as goals. And I think about the younger generation growing up now trying to figure out what’s quote-unquote beautiful when the rules are changing every year. So I’m an optimist, but this is bothering me. And as an antidote to that, I’ve revisited a couple Optimist Daily articles that offered a different way of looking at things. So, from body positivity—which does encourage you to love your body, which I also feel… I don’t know, a little bit mixed about because it feels like it’s so much pressure to force yourself to love your body in a society that has taught you to criticize it all the time—what I did really like was when we shifted into being at peace with your body. And that’s more the body neutrality thing, focusing on what your body does and not how it looks. Karissa Yeah. Arielle That I can get behind because realistically, there are days that I don’t feel particularly confident in my body. And yeah, I don’t like how I look necessarily, but I do appreciate it for carrying me through life and work and being strong when I need to. Karissa That’s such a great point, and especially in this society we’ve all grown up in. It’s just natural for us to criticize our bodies. So I totally get what you’re saying, Arielle, and I wish it wasn’t like that, but… Arielle Yeah. I mean, hopefully we can still create a space for people to just… exist without all this pressure. But even just talking about it does make me feel a little bit better. So do you have something that you want to get off your chest? Karissa Yeah. So I’m an optimist, but the wildfire smoke in the area where I live in the Central Valley of California—it’s making me very pessimistic for a number of reasons. One, it means there’s a wildfire going on. There’s one a little bit north of me, I know, in the Mount Shasta area. It’s wildfire season, of course, with everything being dry. So it’s really scary to think about. But I think something we don’t think about as much when it comes to these natural disasters… people in the direct line of fire are more affected and will have heavier weights to carry as they navigate going through the disaster and the aftermath, but people far away—like miles and miles away—can feel effects of things like wildfires because the smoke drifts down even further than the central point. Wildfire smoke… it makes me tired, for one, it makes the sky super gloomy and the air hard to breathe. You know, with climate change, the threat is rising so much here in California especially, and all over the world. Arielle Yeah… hopefully there’s a solution that we can turn to… Karissa Yeah. And I actually have a solution to share today that could help prevent wildfires. Arielle Yes, go for it. Karissa This solution really caught my eye and turned my pessimism into a little bit of optimism. My solution today is called Tiny fire detector inspired by nature could transform wildfire prevention. And early detection is becoming more crucial than ever. But advanced systems like satellites and thermal imaging are often too expensive for middle-of-nowhere regions. So enter Pyri, which is a new low-cost, environmentally friendly wildfire detector—the size of a pine cone. And it’s also similar in appearance. It was developed by a team of design engineering graduates in London. Pyri blends simplicity, sustainability, and science together. Arielle How exactly do they make it and how does it work? Karissa Well, it’s primarily made from wax and charcoal composites, which are materials that blend seamlessly into the natural environment and leave virtually no footprint. Once they’re deployed in fire-prone areas, the sensors can sit undisturbed for years without maintenance. When they’re exposed to fire, internal heat-sensitive triggers melt, releasing a low-frequency signal that alerts authorities. Arielle This is amazing. Catching wildfires as early as possible is crucial for mitigating the damage. Karissa And it’s great because the inspiration for Pyri comes directly from nature itself. The name is actually derived from pyriscence, the scientific term for the way some species adapt to fire. Pine cones from certain trees, for instance, only release their seeds after high heat melts the resins sealing them shut. So the founders took inspiration from how nature already responds to fires to create their invention. Arielle I did not know that about pine cones, so that’s really interesting. But it’s also another reminder that sometimes inspiration from something so simple and so natural is the greatest solution. Karissa Yeah, for sure. And Pyri’s ribbed, pinecone-like structure isn’t just symbolic—it’s practical. It protects the sensor from impact, especially when dropped from the air over difficult terrain. So that’s pretty cool, because a pine cone itself is also pretty tough. And the team also wanted the devices to remain invisible to both people and wildlife. Actually, the team said that they’ve already lost one in the wild, so they might be doing too well in terms of camouflage. Arielle That’s great. OK, so I know you mentioned a bit about how the device is environmentally friendly, but I’m thinking that sensors have to use some kind of battery, right? Is there a special technology they’re using to make sure the whole product is sustainable—especially if one of the devices gets lost again or even burned up in the fire? Karissa Yeah, so Pyri’s creators are committed to ensuring that their technology is safe for the environment. The team has avoided using rare earth metals and lithium-ion batteries in favor of organic electronics. And while the trigger technology remains confidential because it’s pending patent approval, the group is focused on ensuring that even when the device is burned, it won’t harm the surrounding ecosystem and will leave no trace. Arielle Huh. Brilliant! Wildfires move so quickly—it’s great that this device will sustainably and quickly catch the flames. Karissa Yeah. I mean, wildfires can spread at speeds of up to 14 mph, so it makes every moment critical. Actually, according to a 2020 study by the Australian National University, even a one-hour reduction in response time could reduce large fire frequency by 16 percent. And other recent investments reflect this urgency. The Biden-Harris administration allocated $15 million for new fire weather observation systems, and Google pledged $13.1 million for its FireSat project, which will monitor wildfires via satellite. But many under-resourced regions still lack access to high-tech tools or funding like this, so Pyri’s affordable and low-maintenance solution could help fill that gap. Arielle Yeah, we know all too well that affordable monitoring equipment is key to prepare for natural disasters. We saw that recently again with the tragic Texas flood, where… Karissa Mhmm. Arielle …there are discussions about how more flood warning equipment could have potentially saved more lives. Karissa As we face more threats from climate change, we need to adapt and work on having the best monitoring and warning systems in place. So I’m pretty optimistic about the work of Pyri. Arielle Yeah, me too. What’s in the future for Pyri? Is it ready for a large-scale rollout? Karissa Uh, well, not quite yet. But when it is, initial customers may include forestry, agriculture, and utility sectors in the U.S., though there is some interest that has come from abroad—so it could definitely be a worldwide solution. And the startup also recently won a James Dyson Award… Arielle Nice. Karissa …and plans to launch small-scale pilot tests this year, with a commercial rollout targeted for 2027. Also, some future developments of Pyri will be to incorporate artificial intelligence to assess whether triggered alerts are truly fires, by combining sensor signals with real-time weather and satellite data. Pyri’s compact, camouflaged sensor might just offer the head start communities need to protect lives and landscapes. Arielle Well, thank you for sharing this, Karissa. I do love when we have an episode that has a shared theme. So my solution also has to do with protecting our environment and protecting ourselves as a whole ecosystem that works together. On the Optimist Daily and also on other outlets that share sustainability or conservation news, rewilding projects that feature cute animals are usually highlighted—so animals that we find endearing, like bears or elephants or something. But when I saw this title come up this week, it really made me smile because it’s a success story about an animal that I think we humans don’t think very highly about: vultures! Karissa Uh, yeah, I guess we don’t really have a lot of vulture appreciation. Arielle No, there are no warm fuzzy feelings for vultures. They’re not cute—they’re pretty gruesome-looking, to be honest, and they’re often perceived as dirty and ugly. I think they’re actually depicted as villains in some movies and stuff like that. Karissa Yeah, I was thinking that. Arielle I honestly didn’t think much of them until I came across… There’s this podcast that I really like to listen to. It’s called Radiolab, and they have an episode called Corpse Demon that revealed just how important vultures are for everyone on Earth, basically. Their stomach acid is strong enough to neutralize anthrax and other dangerous pathogens. They have this incredible immunity that lets them eat what almost no other animal can stomach. They feed exclusively on carcasses, which means they help prevent the spread of disease—and without them, rotting animals can become serious public health risks. Karissa Arielle, this goes back to your pessimism earlier—because no matter what your body looks like, even if you’re a quote-unquote “ugly” vulture, you can do some amazing things with your body and should be grateful for what it can do. Arielle Huh. Yeah, so true. Karissa I’m already liking the direction this solution is going. I guess vultures are kind of like the sanitation workers of the world! I remember hearing that a single vulture can clean up a carcass in just a few hours. Arielle Yeah, pretty gross—but also impressive. So the title of the article I’m talking about is Europe’s sky scavengers return: the ambitious rewilding project reviving vultures in Bulgaria. The work is specifically centered in the rugged terrain of the Balkan Mountains, where two species—the Griffon Vulture and the Cinereous Vulture—had actually gone locally extinct for decades. But thanks to a huge EU-backed conservation effort, they’ve been successfully reintroduced. Karissa That sounds so cool. I’ve only ever really heard about reintroducing wolves or maybe bison. How did they pull this off? Arielle It’s taken years of work. The reintroduction started back in 2010 for Griffon Vultures and 2018 for Cinereous ones. Conservation groups like the Fund for Wild Flora & Fauna and Green Balkans have teamed up with international partners like the Vulture Conservation Foundation. And here’s the big news: for the first time ever, Bulgaria has now reintroduced the Bearded Vulture—that’s Europe’s rarest vulture species. That means the country is now home to all four native vulture species once again. Karissa That’s amazing. It’s not just about saving one bird—it’s a full restoration of the vulture ecosystem. Arielle Yes. And what’s really special is that the Balkan Peninsula connects European vulture populations with those in North Africa and Turkey. So it’s like this critical bridge for biodiversity and gene flow. These birds don’t recognize borders, of course. They’re long-distance fliers—some of them migrate thousands of miles—so having this corridor restored really matters. Karissa Yeah, absolutely. And I can imagine it’s not just a “release them and hope for the best” type of situation, right? Arielle No, not at all. Each bird release involves a whole support system: habitat restoration, ongoing tracking, community education. Some of the vultures are even fitted with high-tech sensors that track their geolocation and body position. So if a bird stops moving or behaves abnormally—maybe due to injury or poisoning—teams can intervene quickly. Karissa Well, poisoning… I feel like that’s probably a big issue, especially for scavengers that are kind of eating anything. Arielle Unfortunately, it’s still a major threat. Some farmers poison carcasses to kill predators like wolves, but vultures end up eating them too—and the effect is devastating. That’s why part of this effort includes the BalkanDetox LIFE project, which works to detect poison use, improve law enforcement, and educate the public about why it’s so dangerous—not just for wildlife but for people too. Karissa It’s so encouraging to hear about this kind of collaboration across different sectors. There are scientists, communities, and governments all working together to make this happen. Arielle And legally, the EU Birds Directive has been crucial. That’s a law that’s been around since 1979, and it protects all 500 bird species in the EU. It requires countries to safeguard breeding grounds and restrict harmful practices as well. It’s one of those behind-the-scenes policy wins that’s really helping species like vultures take flight again—literally. Karissa Well, I love this story. It’s such a good reminder that we don’t have to love every animal’s aesthetics to appreciate their role in our ecosystems. Vultures may not be adorable, but they’re definitely essential. Arielle Totally. And now that we know how hardcore their immune systems are—and how efficient they are at disease prevention—maybe we can start seeing them with a little more “awe” instead of “ew.” Granted, they are weird—but they’re wonderful. And they’re back in the skies of Europe, where they belong. So we’re really happy about that. Karissa I know we had a lot of other great solutions on the Optimist Daily this week, and I felt honestly so optimistic from a lot of the headlines we had. Arielle Yeah, I feel the same. Some of those headlines include: 8 weekend rituals successful people embrace to recharge and thrive, Barbie debuts first doll with type 1 diabetes, boosting visibility and inclusion, Lisbon leads Europe with first citywide reusable cup system, and 10 eco-friendly kitchen appliances to make your home greener. Karissa And we also had Crossbreeding corals to save Miami’s reefs: a bold new strategy against climate change, Too hot to handle? How to exercise safely when the temperature rises, Before you hit the road: 5 things to unplug before vacation, and A new study could change Alzheimer’s treatment by unlocking the brain’s sugar code. Arielle Well, hopefully that gives you enough optimistic reading material for the weekend. Karissa Yeah, and I’m looking forward to being back next week with even more solutions for our listeners. So have a great weekend, everyone! Arielle and I will be back next week. Arielle Until then, bye! Karissa Bye!The post Podcast Transcript July 18, 2025: From pinecones to predators: Wildfire tech and the misunderstood vulture first appeared on The Optimist Daily: Making Solutions the News.

We’re living in a time of spiritual deception permeating the Church to the level where the Word of God is being seriously compromised, causing Christ-followers the inability to discern truth from lies, and between good and evil.As the Apostle John wrote, “I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray” (1 John 2:26).Below is an eye-opening look at what Christians are accepting and believing as biblical truth in today’s culture and how to recognize the errors.Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/Joaquin Corbalan

'Please pray for the families'

Lutnick is set to be interviewed by Daily Caller Editor-in-Chief Dylan Housman

'I just don't understand'

'Those are pretty basic questions'

The Trump administration is asking California law enforcement for data on their migrant detainee population, as the sheriffs of Los Angeles and San Francisco are indicating they won’t be playing ball. The Department of Justice (DOJ) issued requests to sheriffs of several major California counties on Thursday, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, for lists […]

'This place and these people are my community'