The lowest gas prices in the nation are in states led by Republicans, according to price data released by AAA on Friday. On June 26, 2025, AAA reported that the national average cost of a gallon of Regular was $3.90. All 15 states with the lowest gas prices for a gallon of Regular have at least a Republican governor or a Republican-controlled legislature. What’s more, in 12 of those 15 states, the GOP is in full control with both a Republican governor and legislature. None of the 15 states with the lowest gas prices are fully-controlled by Democrats. And, in two of the three states with mixed leadership (#9 Kentucky and #12 Kansas), Republican have super-majorities in their legislatures and, thus, can override vetoes by their governors. North Carolina (#14) has a Democrat governor and a Republican legislature. The fully-Democrat-controlled state with the lowest average cost of a gallon of gas ($3.66) is Minnesota, coming in at number 16. In contrast, the state with the lowest price at the pump in the nation is Indiana ($3.28), which has fully-Republican leadership. Nearly half (11 of 23) of the fully-Republican states have gas prices below $3.60 a gallon. None of the 14 fully-Democrat states have an average price that low. Three states have gas prices of more than $5.00 a gallon: Washington ($5.24), California ($5.49) and Hawaii ($5.51). All three have both Democrat governors and legislatures. Under the leadership of a Democrat mayor, the Nation’s Capital (Washington, D.C.) has a higher average cost of gas ($4.17/Gallon) than all but seven states. The trend is consistent with that of a similar CNSNews analysis of state governors performed roughly six months earlier and published December 2, 2025. At that time, four of the five states with the highest gas costs were run by Democrat governors. The lone exception, Nevada (#5), had a Republican governor, but Democrats controlled the legislature. Additionally, seven of the ten states where pump prices were the highest were led by Democrat governors. When the District of Columbia, run by Democrat Mayor Muriel Bowser, was added to the mix, eight of 11 had Democrat leaders.  

Despite launching back on November 15 when it chose to identify as MS NOW, the artist formerly known as MSNBC has been making programming changes with a March announcement about a daytime overhaul and now word on Friday from Variety’s Brian Steinberg about its weekend shows. Incredibly, two shows and six hours are being wiped out in favor of more taped podcasts. Steinberg said this move – which will see “expanding…use of a popular Saturday-night program from Crooked Media” in the Pod Save America bros “as well as podcasts hosted by MS NOW mainstays Nicolle Wallace and Chris Hayes” – is a flashback to its past when MSNBC would turn over hours of weekend programming to Dateline reruns and, yes, Lockup. The Weekend: Primetime is seeing its three-hour show come to an almost immediate end. Despite having premiered in May 2025, the show is being made comfortable so it can die with dignity after Saturday with liberal co-hosts Antonia Hylton, Elise Jordan, Ayman Moyheldin, and Catherine Rampell seeing their time together come to an end. It’s particularly tough for the far-left, pro-Islamist Moyheldin as this marks at least the third cancelled show since he joined the network in 2011 as a dual correspondent for MSNBC and NBC. Maybe he could go back to Al-Jazeera. This will mean MS NOW live programming will end at 6:00 p.m. Eastern, but Steinberg said “the network will continue to be staffed for breaking news” with Richard Lui ostensibly waiting in the wings as he’s done being “on standby” “for many years.” At some point this year, the other cancellation is the three-hour, weekend afternoon show Alex Witt Reports, but news will continue on the network from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern as Hylton will take that slot at a to-be-announced date. Steinberg said in his story that, along with Moyheldin, Catherine “I’m not an activist! I’m a journalist” Rampell and faux Republican Elise Jordan “are expected to stay with MS NOW.” However, that will not be the case for Witt, whose shows have been a go-to for many of our hit supercuts from Bill D’Agostino and Notable Quotables. Steinberg revealed Witt “will depart later in the year.” He said it will be the end of an era of sorts as Witt “has kept a news presence at the network since 1999” and sever “one of MS NOW’s last ties to its early history” despite having remained on weekends for decades as “nothing else…put on” their “schedule drew bigger or more reliable numbers than her.”

The Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos may have instituted free market reforms to the lefty newspaper’s opinion section, but its obsession with injecting climate change drivel into news coverage remains intact. This time, the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool algae nonstory is getting the eco-treatment. Post climate reporter Sarah Kaplan released an idiotic take June 25 on the paint peeling and algae bloom currently plaguing the iconic pool, “Why Trump’s algae problem is much bigger than the Reflecting Pool.” It showed up in Friday's paper on the front of the Metro section. She railed that Trump “has overlooked the real cause of unsightly — and often dangerous — algal blooms,” which given her history, had to be “pollution and climate change.” It couldn’t possibly have anything to do with vandals allegedly damaging the foam sealant by cutting one of the liners in the pool as the U.S. National Park Service suggested just a day after Kaplan’s piece went live, right? Talk about timing!  But what more can you expect from the same Kaplan that arbitrarily preached the intersectionality of climate change as being a “racial justice problem” in 2020? Apparently, anything on any given day could be a climate problem by Kaplan’s metrics, which of course she blames on humanity: Meanwhile, rampant human development has increased the amount of fertilizer and sewage produced by farms and cities, and severe storms intensified by the warmer atmosphere are causing more of these pollutants to run off into local waterways — providing algae with the nutrients they need to grow. What in the Paul Ehrlich is this nonsense?  Kaplan proceeded to tie her wild overarching hypothesis to the current Lincoln Memorial mess: “Algal blooms have long thrived in the Reflecting Pool, thanks to stagnant, shallow water enriched by pollution and warmed by sweltering D.C. summers.” In Kaplan’s eco-centric worldview, Trump’s sin was that his $14 million “refurbishment” project “didn’t address the pollution that is the root cause of algal growth, said Hans Paerl, an aquatic ecologist at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.” This is all meaningless conjecture, of course, especially since the vandalism investigation has already seen suspects arrested and NPS Deputy Director Frank Lands confirming damage to the pool’s lining in a June 24 court filing. Scientists have even suggested that poor paint choices (dark blue paint) could have led to greater heat absorption to create the ideal conditions for algal blooms. Not exactly a slam-dunk case of ManBearPig did it! The media writ large have tried to embellish the pool algae into becoming the scandal of the century. NewsBusters Media Editor Bill D’Agostino just released a study showing that TV News networks spent a whopping seven hours of news coverage on the pool algae. Specifically, MRC analysts looked at all reflecting pool coverage on major left-wing cable (CNN and MS NOW) and broadcast networks (ABC, CBS and NBC) between June 14 and June 22, 2026. In just that nine-day period, the story received 411 minutes and 38 seconds of coverage, or an average of over 45 minutes per day. The Post, in a unique case, just tried to make the issue stick from a different, climate-obsessed angle. Instead of covering any real news, the media thought it was more important to obsess over algae in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. This is why no one trusts the media anymore. pic.twitter.com/Ij8QctyVN6 — MRC NewsBusters (@newsbusters) June 23, 2026 Here’s a suggestion for Kaplan and the rest of the media talking heads: Stop trying to make the Lincoln Pool algae the next “Watergate” scandal. It’s not happening. NewsBusters Media Editor Bill D'Agostino contributed to this report.

In their new book, Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan devote considerable attention to the Trump administration’s efforts to influence Smithsonian exhibits.  On a Morning Joe segment on Friday, Haberman misleadingly framed it as Trump and his allies “wanted to leave their imprint on what art Americans can see." Haberman highlighted one flashpoint: an Amy Sherald exhibition slated for the National Portrait Gallery that included “Trans Forming Liberty,” a painting depicting the Statue of Liberty as a trans woman.  According to Haberman, internal discussions and pressure from figures like Vice President JD Vance and Rep. Carlos Gimenez led to concerns, prompting Sherald to pull the show over fears of “artistic control.” But contrary to Haberman's alarmist claim that Trump controls "what Americans can see," Americans remain free to view Sherald’s work, and that of any other artist, in countless venues (including the internet) without any interference from the Trump administration. Americans can see the woke Sherald painting right now on the cover of The New Yorker. Private museums and galleries can (and likely will) compete to display the painting—perhaps with the marketing hook of “The Painting Donald Trump Banned!” But neither Sherald nor any artist has an entitlement to the Smithsonian’s taxpayer-funded imprimatur and national platform. The segment’s narrative conveniently overlooked how the Smithsonian, under leaders they tout, like Lonnie Bunch, founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture [NMAAHC], and later overall Smithsonian Secretary, long advanced left-leaning perspectives on history, race, and culture, including during the Obama and Biden presidencies. No media elitist objected. Morning Joe Denounces Trump’s Smithsonian 'Takeover'—Ignores Years of Left-Leaning Displays Under Obama and Biden pic.twitter.com/ThGD7C9ZHx — Mark Finkelstein (@markfinkelstein) June 26, 2026 Consider just a few examples from the Obama and Biden eras: The NMAAHC’s “Talking About Race” portal featured a chart titled “Aspects and Assumptions of Whiteness and White Culture in the United States.” It listed traits such as “objective, rational, linear thinking,” “hard work,” “delayed gratification,” and the “nuclear family” as hallmarks of “white dominant culture.” The museum quietly removed it after widespread backlash. Upon the NMAAHC’s 2016 opening under Obama (with Bunch at the helm), Justice Clarence Thomas—the second Black Supreme Court Justice—was conspicuously absent from exhibits celebrating black historical figures. His only initial mention linked him to Anita Hill’s accusations. Conservatives, including Sen. Tim Scott, decried the omission; a more balanced display with Thurgood Marshall came later. The Smithsonian actively supported the New York Times’ 1619 Project, including a 2019 NMAAHC symposium featuring Nikole Hannah-Jones. Elements of its reframing—placing slavery and systemic oppression at the center of the American story—were reflected across exhibits. These were not neutral presentations. They reflected deliberate choices about “what art Americans can see” and how U.S. history is framed, backed by federal funding and institutional prestige. Bunch’s dual role amplified that influence across the entire Smithsonian complex. Trump has been seeking to counter what his administration views as divisive, ideologically driven content in favor of more unifying, exceptionalism-celebrating portrayals. Whether one agrees with every decision, the idea that only one side was previously “leaving their imprint” is the real fiction.  Morning Joe’s selective outrage highlights a classic liberal-media double standard—celebration of left-leaning curation for years, outrage when conservatives push back. Here's the transcript. MS NOW Morning Joe 6/26/26 6:54 am EDT MIKA BRZEZINSKI: You go into deep detail about the takeover of the arts, this dramatic situation with the Smithsonian, and then I wanna get to tech titans. But why, why the art and culture, the, the incursion into art and culture, why does that play into the themes that you're putting together in this book? MAGGIE HABERMAN: So one of the things that we were really struck by last year was how early on Trump and his advisors and allies wanted to leave their imprint on what art Americans can see, on what defines US history.  And there was this executive order, I think it was March of last year, that was essentially dictating what could be shown at the Smithsonian, which is this massive, very revered, congressionally funded, network of museums all around Washington. And there, there's a number, of museums and research libraries and so forth.  This was, this was deeply impactful within the Smithsonian central itself. It is led by the first ever black secretary, Lonnie Bunch. He was the co-founder or founder of the African American Museum, several years ago. It was, it was one of his definitive works.  And this was about how slavery is talked about. This was about how US history is talked about. And it really is shaping the culture for, for many, many years forward, with the possible threat of losing funding.  And so, we got very deep inside these Board of Regents meetings, one of which involved the cancellation or the future cancellation of an Amy Sherald exhibit. And Amy Sherald, is a, a renowned artist. She had, done a portrait of Michelle Obama, and she had an exhibit that was supposed to be coming to Washington, and it was, featured  several paintings, but one was the Statue of Liberty as a trans woman.  And we got inside this meeting on June 9th, where the Vice President and much more aggressively, Carlos Gimenez, a Congressman from Florida, were demanding the head of the National Portrait Gallery, where this was going to be shown, should be fired.  There, someone at one point, JD Vance leaves the room, and one of his young aides sits next to, or near, John Roberts, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, who presides over these meetings. And he holds up an iPad and he flips through it and he says, "This is also going to be a problem." He points to that image and says, "This isn't what Americans want to see."  And this became a huge flashpoint at the Smithsonian. Amy Sherald ultimately pulled her exhibit because she didn't want any sense that there was artistic control over it. It does define how you are seeing Trump and the White House try to put an imprint on all aspects of American life.

PBS’s (formerly taxpayer funded) News Hour program had some news you could use Tuesday evening -- a monologue from the author of  "The Queer Face of War: Portraits and Stories from Ukraine.” Co-host Geoff Bennett: It has been more than four years since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. And while the war has affected the daily lives of nearly all Ukrainians, life has been especially challenging for members of its LGBTQ community. Author and photojournalist J. Lester Feder’s recent book chronicles some of those lives. Here's our conversation with him. The “conversation” was actually a four-minute leftist monologue interspersed with shots of trans people, perhaps for the best, since PBS’s questions would have surely been cringeworthy, given the channel’s documented commitment to transgender propaganda. J. Lester Feder, Author, "The Queer Face of War: Portraits and Stories from Ukraine": My name is J. Lester Feder. I'm a reporter that's primarily been a foreign correspondent. And I'm the author of "The Queer Face of War: Portraits and Stories from Ukraine." LGBT people have been targeted in wars in well-documented ways going back at least as far as World War II. But we don't have a lot of stories about what actually happened to them, because, in most wars, it hasn't been safe for LGBT people to speak publicly. So, when the war in Ukraine began, I immediately went over there to begin interviewing people to find out what issues they might be having. And we were particularly concerned, because Russia had used so much anti-LGBT propaganda, that they might be targeting queer Ukrainians on the ground. Was there a way to work Donald Trump into this profile of “queer Ukrainians” in the military? Indeed there was. Author J. Lester Feder on PBS: "It's really important for marginalized groups to be able to serve in the military because it is a way of demonstrating that there is an ability to bear the full weight of citizenship and therefore they're entitled to the full rights as citizens." pic.twitter.com/35sNIRqbys — Clay Waters