The bosses of America’s largest teachers’ unions appear to have taken opposite stances on the recent Supreme Court ruling about LGBTQ books in school, with one saying the “expertise of trained educational professionals” should have been deferred to, while the other said, “Parents must have a say.”

On Friday, the justices decided 6-3 in Mahmoud v. Taylor that parents could opt their children out of a Maryland public school system’s lessons that contain themes about homosexuality and transgenderism if they feel the material conflicts with their religious faith. 

“Students pay the price when books are censored and educators are silenced,” National Education Association President Becky Pringle said in reaction to the decision on BlueSky. 

“Today, in the ruling on Mahmoud v. Taylor, the Supreme Court failed students. They have discounted and ignored the expertise of trained educational professionals, and harmed students in the process,” she added. “Shameful.” 

AUTHORS BLAST ‘HARMFUL’ SCOTUS RULING ALLOWING PARENTS TO OPT KIDS OUT OF READING THEIR LGBTQ+ BOOKS

The National Education Association is the largest teachers’ union in the country, presiding over 3 million members.

However, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said on Friday that parents and families should be respected.

“We have to respect all children and all families. Bad facts make bad law. Mahmoud should have been worked out on a local level, it’s a shame it went all the way to SCOTUS,” Weingarten said. “Parents must have a say about their own kids, they are our partners in education.”

SUPREME COURT TO HEAR CASE ON LGBTQ-THEMED STORYBOOKS AND PARENTS’ RIGHT TO OPT OUT

Weingarten shared similar sentiments on “The Story” in April, when the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the case.

“This is something that has to be happening at the local level and not in the Supreme Court,” Weingarten said, while also noting that the books containing LGBTQ content are not ones she would read to children.

The two teachers’ union bosses usually align in political views, having both endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.

In the past, Weingarten has pushed back on book challenges from parents. In 2023, Weingarten launched a hotline called “Freedom to Teach and Learn” to report instances of book banning and challenges against curricula.

Weingarten, the leader of the 1.7 million-member union, claimed at the time that “MAGA lawmakers have used culture wars to divide communities and other schemes that drain resources from public education.”

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Democratic New York City mayoral candidate and self-described socialist Zohran Mamdani is facing criticism over remarks made at a Young Democratic Socialists of America conference, where he urged attendees not to compromise on goals like “seizing the means of production.”

During the appearance — which was part of a 2021 YDSA winter conference — Mamdani, then newly elected to the New York State Assembly, lamented that many socialist principles remain outside the political mainstream.

“Right now, if we’re talking about the cancellation of student debt, if we’re talking about Medicare for all, you know, these are issues which have the groundswell of popular support across this country,” Mamdani says in a video to conference goers. “But then there are also other issues that we firmly believe in, whether it’s BDS or whether it is the end goal of seizing the means of production, where we do not have the same level of support at this very moment.”

NEW YORK MAYORAL HOPEFUL ZOHRAN MAMDANI SLAMS CAPITALISM ON CNN, CITES MLK TO DEFEND SOCIALISM

Mamdani went on to say that it was “critical” for people not to compromise on these less popular ideas, despite publicly asserting this week he is “not a communist.” 

“It’s critical, the way that we organize, the way that we set up our — you know, set up our work and our priorities, that we do not leave any one issue for the other, that we do not meet a moment and only look at what people are ready for, but that we are doing both of these things in tandem,” Mamdani continues in his conference address. “Because it is critical for us to both meet people where they’re at and to also organize for what is correct and for what is right, and to ensure that, over time, we can bring people to that issue.”

On Monday, the video of Mamdani speaking at the 2021 YDSA conference began making the rounds on social media.

EX-NYC MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO SAYS THERE’S ‘A LOT OF EXAGGERATION’ OVER MAMDANI FEARS

“Mamdani’s socialism nomenclature is no joke or aspiration,” billionaire Bill Ackman said in response to the video as it began appearing on social media. “It is the business plan of a movement that he is leading and, for now, winning. Don’t rely on my summary. Listen to him speak his own words.”

“Mamdani smiles like a crocodile as he says his end goal is to elect more socialists and seize the means of production,” President Donald Trump’s crypto and artificial intelligence czar added in response to the video. “Democrats have become the party of the Luigi Left, Tesla Terrorism, and Crocodile Communists.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani’s campaign for a response to these criticisms but did not receive a response in time for publication.

Last week, Trump personally criticized Mamdani, who upset former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the NYC mayoral primary earlier this month, as a “100% communist lunatic.”

“It’s finally happened, the Democrats have crossed the line,” Trump wrote. “We’ve had Radical Lefties before, but this is getting a little ridiculous.” Trump doubled down on the communist claim this week in an interview with Fox Business, adding that, if elected, Mamdani better “behave” or risk his city losing federal funding. 

In response to Trump’s criticism of being a “communist,” Mamdani directly refuted the claim to NBC News over the weekend. 

“No, I am not,” Mamdani responded when asked point-blank by NBC’s Kristen Welker. “I have already had to start to get used to the fact that the president will talk about how I look, how I sound, where I’m from, who I am, ultimately, because he wants to distract from what I’m fighting for. And I’m fighting for the very working people that he ran a campaign to empower that he has since then betrayed.

“When we talk about my politics, you know, I call myself a Democratic socialist in many ways inspired by the words of Dr. [Martin Luther] King from decades ago, who said, ‘Call it democracy, call it Democratic-Socialism, there has to be a better distribution of wealth for all of God’s children in this country.”

Federal authorities have unraveled several schemes by the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea (DPRK) that were used to fund its regime through remote information technology (IT) work for U.S. companies, resulting in two indictments, tech and financial seizures and an arrest.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) said Monday that North Korean actors were helped by individuals in the U.S., China, the United Arab Emirates and Taiwan to obtain employment with over 100 U.S. companies, including Fortune 500 companies.

In one scheme, U.S.-based individuals created front companies and fraudulent websites to promote the legitimacy of remote workers, while hosting laptop farms where remote North Korean IT workers could remotely access company-provided laptop computers.

In another scheme, IT workers in North Korea used false identities to gain employment with a blockchain research and development company in Atlanta, Georgia, and steal virtual currency worth over $900,000.

ALLEGED CHINESE SCHEME TO INFLUENCE 2020 ELECTION FOR BIDEN BEING PROBED BY FBI, SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

Assistant Attorney General John A. Eisenberg of the DOJ’s National Security Division said the schemes target and steal from U.S. companies and are designed to evade sanctions while funding illicit programs, including weapons programs, in North Korea.

“North Korea remains intent on funding its weapons programs by defrauding U.S. companies and exploiting American victims of identity theft, but the FBI is equally intent on disrupting this massive campaign and bringing its perpetrators to justice,” Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI Counterintelligence Division said. “North Korean IT workers posing as U.S. citizens fraudulently obtained employment with American businesses so they could funnel hundreds of millions of dollars to North Korea’s authoritarian regime.”

As part of its announcement about the North Korean scheme, the DOJ unsealed a five-count indictment against Zhenxing Wang, a U.S. national living in New Jersey, who has since been arrested.

Wang and his co-conspirators, the DOJ said, obtained remote IT work with U.S. companies and generated over $5 million in revenue.

CHINESE PHD STUDENT FROM WUHAN ARRESTED SMUGGLING BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS AFTER DELETING ELECTRONIC EVIDENCE: DOJ

Also charged in the indictment are Chinese nationals Jing Bin Huang, Baoyu Zhou, Tong Yuze, Yongzhe Xu, Ziyou Yuan and Zhenbang Zhou. Taiwanese nationals Mengting Liu and Enchia Liu were also charged in the indictment.

Also indicted was U.S. national Kejia “Tony” Wang, also of New Jersey, who was charged separately.

“The threat posed by DPRK operatives is both real and immediate. Thousands of North Korean cyber operatives have been trained and deployed by the regime to blend into the global digital workforce and systematically target U.S. companies,” U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley for the District of Massachusetts said. “We will continue to work relentlessly to protect U.S. businesses and ensure they are not inadvertently fueling the DPRK’s unlawful and dangerous ambitions.”

The indictment alleges that from 2021 and through most of 2024, the defendants and other co-conspirators compromised the identities of over 80 people in the U.S. to obtain remote jobs at more than 100 companies. As a result, the victim companies incurred legal fees, computer network remediation costs and other damages and losses to the tune of at least $3 million.

Kejia and Zhenxing, along with at least four other U.S. facilitators, allegedly helped overseas IT workers with various parts of the scheme.

FOREIGN NATIONALS CHARGED AMID TRUMP VISA CRACKDOWN FOR SCHEME TO SMUGGLE US MILITARY EQUIPMENT INTO CHINA

For example, the allegations claim the U.S. facilitators received laptops from U.S. companies at their homes and enabled overseas IT workers to access the laptops remotely. This was done by connecting the laptops to hardware devices designed to allow for remote access — things like keyboard-video-mouse, or KVM, switches.

Kejia and Zhenxing allegedly established shell companies with websites and financial accounts to make it appear as though the overseas IT workers were affiliated with legitimate businesses in the U.S. Once established, the two allegedly received money from U.S. companies, and the funds were transferred to co-conspirators overseas.

In exchange for their services, Kejia, Zhenxing and the other four conspirators in the U.S. received at least $696,000 from the IT workers.

The DOJ said one of the companies the schemers allegedly accessed data from was a defense contractor that develops artificial intelligence-powered equipment and technology. By accessing the company’s data, the schemers were privy to International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), the DOJ said.

FEDS BUST ARMENIAN FRAUD RING ACCUSED OF STEALING $30M IN COVID, SMALL BUSINESS LOANS

The DOJ also announced that the FBI and Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) seized 17 web domains used as part of the scheme, along with 29 financial accounts holding tens of thousands of dollars, used to launder revenue for the North Korean regime.

The DOJ unveiled another part of the scheme, which resulted in a five-count wire fraud and money laundering indictment against four North Korean nationals: Kim Kwang Jin, Kang Tae Bok, Jong Pong Ju and Change Nam II.

The suspects are accused of scheming to steam virtual currency from two companies, with a value of over $900,000 at the time of the thefts, and to launder the proceeds.

All four nationals, the DOJ said, are at large and wanted by the FBI.

“The defendants used fake and stolen personal identities to conceal their North Korean nationality, pose as remote IT workers, and exploit their victims’ trust to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars,” U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg for the Northern District of Georgia said. “This indictment highlights the unique threat North Korea poses to companies that hire remote IT workers and underscores our resolve to prosecute any actor, in the United States or abroad, who steals from Georgia businesses.”

CHINESE OFFICIALS CLAIMED BEHIND CLOSED DOORS PRC PLAYED ROLE IN US CYBERATTACKS: REPORT

The indictment alleges the four defendants traveled to the United Arab Emirates on North Korean travel documents and worked as a co-located team.

Jin and Ju were also allegedly hired by a blockchain research and development company in Atlanta, and a virtual token company based in Serbia.

While hired, Jin and Ju hid their North Korean identities from their employers and provided false identification documents, the DOJ alleged.

Both defendants ultimately earned the trust of their employers and allegedly stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from them in multiple instances. The funds were then laundered and transferred to accounts held by Bok and Nam, which were allegedly opened fraudulently using Malaysian identification documents.

During the investigation, the FBI executed searches of 21 premises across 14 states that were hosting known and suspected laptop farms. During the execution, the FBI seized 137 laptops.

Bill Maher said he has a “dim” view of modern parenting and encouraged parents to be “traditional.” 

“Well, I hope you’re a traditional parent,” Maher said Monday during his “Club Random” podcast with guest Odell Beckham Jr., a three-time Pro Bowl NFL wide receiver.

Maher, who recently revealed in another episode of his podcast that he never left the Democratic Party because he was never a member to begin with, seemed disappointed in parents today. 

MAHER WARNS DEMS’ REFUSAL TO DITCH UNPOPULAR ‘WOKE’ ISSUES MAY MAKE THEM AN ‘IRRELEVANT PARTY’

“I have a dim view of modern parenting, and not that I am one, but I’m not oblivious to what it looks like because I see these little rapscallions around me sometimes when I’m out and so forth, and they have no respect for their parents,” Maher said. 

His parenting advice to Beckham, who was released by the Miami Dolphins in 2024, was blunt. 

“Don’t take any s— from your kid. It’ll make your life and the kids’ life better,” Maher said. 

He also cautioned Beckham against letting his 3-year-old son use social media. 

“When he gets a little older, keep him away from social media too much,” Maher said, acknowledging that by the time he is old enough to use social media, it “might be implanted in our brains and the robots are going to take over.” 

BILL MAHER SAYS DEMS ARE ‘DOOMED’ IF THEY WON’T STAND UP TO RADICAL ANTI-ISRAEL PROPAGANDA FROM THE YOUNG

Maher has become increasingly critical of the progressive orthodoxy of far-left or “woke” views.

He recently said Democrats need to “do something” about “The View,” and called out Whoopi Goldberg when she said that life for Black Americans is the same as the plight Iranian women face living under their country’s regime.

Maher also recently agreed with Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., who said that Democrats’ defense of the Los Angeles anti-ICE protests would be “good for Trump,” and additionally praised Democrats for moving “back to sanity” after The New York Times took a more “sensible liberal, not crazy woke” stance on transgender issues. 

Rosie O’Donnell is sharing her two cents when it comes to Lauren Sánchez and Jeff Bezos’ lavish, three-day Italian wedding.

On Monday, O’Donnell took to Instagram and shared side-by-side photos of Sánchez with “then and now” printed at the bottom.

“The BEZOS wedding. It turned my stomach seeing all these billionaires gathering in the gross excess of it all, the show of it. Is Oprah friends with Jeff [Bezos]. Really – how is that possible. He treats his employees with disdain. By any metric he is not a nice man,” O’Donnell’s caption began.

CHARLIZE THERON TAKES DIG AT BEZOS WEDDING WHILE MIA FARROW CELEBRATES HIS CHARITABLE EX-WIFE

She continued by attacking Sánchez’s appearance and praising Bezos’ ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott.

“And his fake fem bot wife. Who looks like that? Why would he choose her? After the salt of the earth MacKenzie. Sold his soul is what it looks like from here. The devil is smiling at all his conquests,” she concluded.

O’Donnell shared that she continued her commentary about Bezos’ wedding on her Substack account.

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On her Substack account, O’Donnell wrote, “Bezos was raised by a single mother. He knows exactly what he does. So do all of his guests. Posing for photos forgetting themselves. In their designer outfits. Ready for a ‘Vogue’ cover. A spot on ET. More worthless performative nonsense.”

She mentioned the Trump administration and how citizens have “become numb to gross excess. We have learned to tolerate it.” 

JEFF BEZOS, LAUREN SÁNCHEZ CELEBRITY WEDDING GUESTS TAKE VENICE BY STORM

“Celebrity worship. Devoid of humanity… As we worship the ones hurting us. Numbly asking for nothing. In an American stupor. Of [our] own making,” O’Donnell continued. 

Representatives for the newlyweds did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The couple were married Friday, June 27, on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore with A-list stars packing the guest list. 

Orlando Bloom, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Tom Brady and Sydney Sweeney were just a few of the stars in town for the Amazon founder’s wedding.

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O’Donnell isn’t the only celebrity who has taken aim at the Bezos-Sanchez wedding. 

Charlize Theron voiced her thoughts on Saturday while hosting the fifth annual Block Party for her Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project on the Universal Studios backlot.

Before diving into immigration policy issues, the Oscar-winner slammed the Bezos bash and its attendees.

“I think we might be the only people who did not get an invite to the Bezos wedding,” Theron told the crowd, per The Hollywood Reporter. “But that’s OK because they suck, and we’re cool.”

Households have been urged to send in meter readings ahead of the energy price cap falling by 7% on Tuesday.

The typical household bill for those who have still not signed up to a fixed tariff will drop by £129 to £1,720 per year when the regulator’s new price cap, which sets the limit on how much firms can charge customers per unit of energy, comes into force.

This is £660 (28%) lower than at the height of the energy crisis at the start of 2023, when the government implemented the energy price guarantee.

However, prices remain elevated, with the upcoming level £152 (10%) higher than the same period last year.

The price cap does not limit total bills because householders still pay for the amount of energy they consume.

While around 35% of domestic customers are now signed up to a fixed deal that they have actively sought out – and which is not governed by the price cap – approximately 22 million households in England, Wales, and Scotland are still on the energy price cap.

It is these households that should read their meter by the end of the month to make sure they benefit fully from lower energy prices from July 1.

Failing to do so leaves the risk of paying the higher pre-July 1 rate for energy used in the form of estimated bills.

Research for the comparison site Uswitch suggests that a fifth of households (20%) without smart meters have not submitted their meter readings in the last three months, and 6% have not done so for a whole year.

Uswitch calculated that homes on a standard price cap tariff with average usage are expected to spend £63 on energy in July compared with £113 in June, due to a combination of cheaper unit rates and lower usage over the summer.

It urged households to sign up to a fixed deal while prices remain competitive, and said there were 10 fixed deals available, which were cheaper than the July price cap – the cheapest offering savings of around £145 for the average household.

Minister for Energy Consumers, Miatta Fahnbulleh, said: ‘Working families will keep more money in their pockets this summer, with the average household’s monthly energy bill falling by £11. This will be a relief to billpayers across the country.

‘Those families are at the heart of our plans to bring down bills for good. The only way we can do that is by reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and making the UK a clean energy superpower, protecting consumers from the impact of events beyond our borders.

‘We are also taking action to make sure vulnerable households are protected from the rollercoaster of energy prices by expanding the £150 Warm Home Discount to 2.7 million more households, building an energy market that puts consumers first, and upgrading millions of homes so they are cheaper to heat.’

Uswitch energy spokesman Ben Gallizzi said: ‘Customers who don’t have a smart meter should submit their readings before or on Tuesday 1 July, so their supplier has an updated – and accurate – view of their account.

‘There’s a lot of uncertainty about global energy costs at the moment, which has led industry experts to predict a rise in energy bills and in the price cap this autumn.

‘But households can get ahead of this possible price hike by fixing at cheaper rates now. Currently, there is a range of fixed deals available that are around £145 cheaper than the July price cap for the average household.

‘If you can switch to a deal cheaper than the July price cap, now is a good time to make the change. We urge customers to run an energy comparison as soon as possible.’

Ofgem has also reminded households that they do not have to pay the price cap, saying ‘there are better deals out there’.

The fall in energy costs will come as a relief for households, who suffered through an ‘awful April’ of bill rises, including Ofgem’s last 6.4% price cap increase.

Under-pressure households have also been hit with the biggest increase to water bills since at least February 1988, alongside steep rises across bills for council tax, mobile and broadband tariffs, as well as road tax.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

The VOA is perhaps DOA.

At least that’s the interpretation of Kari Lake.

Lake ran unsuccessfully for governor of Arizona in 2022. She ran for the Senate in 2024 and lost.

So President Trump appointed Lake to lead the U.S. Agency for Global Media.

KARI LAKE DECLARES US AGENCY FOR GLOBAL MEDIA ‘ROTTEN TO THE CORE,’ SETS 2026 SHUTDOWN GOAL: ‘A BOONDOGGLE’

The worst thing in broadcasting is dead air. And that may be the goal of Lake – a former Arizona TV news anchor.

“It’s really like a rotten piece of fish,” said Lake before a recent House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing. “And it’s best to just scrap the whole thing and start over.”

She plans to edit the influence of VOA and other government media such as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcast Networks.

“We need to modernize. I don’t think doing 1990s television is effective anymore,” said Lake.

The hearing marked the first time Lake testified before lawmakers since President Trump tapped her for the position. She told lawmakers that Chinese spies infiltrated the VOA’s Mandarin service. And Russian spooks nearly made the payroll at Radio Free Europe.

“This is not the voice of America. This is the voice of America’s enemies,” said Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky.

Democrats say curbing VOA silences the U.S. from transmitting news and truthful information into enemy territory.

Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., was apoplectic at the Trump Administration’s plans to cancel many of the government’s radio and TV broadcasts abroad.

“My God. It’s the worst and most stupid thing that we could do in foreign affairs,” fumed Sherman. “That’s our soft power. That’s our effort to bring freedom of information and hopefully democracy to the entire world. That’s how we explain ourselves in dozens of different languages. And for them to gut it? In terms of our influence in the world, Voice of America and its sister broadcasters is more important than an aircraft carrier.”

EXCLUSIVE: KARI LAKE SAYS VOA’S PERSIAN NEWS SERVICE ‘RISING TO THE OCCASION’ AMID IRAN-ISRAEL CONFLICT

Sherman reiterated his concerns about diminishing soft power at the hearing, adding that changes to the VOA lineup may appeal to a special audience abroad.

“I think Putin would be very happy,” said Sherman about the Russian leader. “Bombs are powerful. Truth is more powerful.”

But it’s not just Democrats who fret about the static on the government airwaves.

Rep. Young Kim, R-Calif., says unwinding Radio Free Asia cedes power to China and North Korea.

“We have let go of journalists that have spent decades building their credibility and trust with our audiences,” said Kim. “Without reporting from the outside world through VOA and (Radio Free Asia), most North Korean civilians only see the United States as the bad guy.”

Kim feared the U.S. couldn’t “win in the information domain.”

Lake recently canned 639 Global Media employees. She says her orders come from the top.

Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., the top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, asked what sort of “review” she did to pare back VOA and other services.

“What we’ve reviewed was an executive order March 14th by the man who’s in charge of the executive branch. Hs name is Donald Trump,” said Lake.

APPEALS COURT BACKS VOA OVERHAUL KARI LAKE SAYS WILL ‘MODERNIZE’ AGENCY: ‘HUGE VICTORY FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP’

She then held up a photo of the president and showed it to lawmakers facing her on the dais.

Democrats contend that’s exactly the problem as the president and Lake try to redesign American government broadcasters.

“I see why Mr. Trump put you in this position. He doesn’t want a free press,” scolded Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Penn. “You are a propaganda machine for the Trump Administration.”

Democrats piled on.

“I’m also concerned about your ability to promote American democracy given your background backing dictators,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash.

Other Democrats highlighted Lake’s controversial political history and how she questioned the results of both races.

“You have been sanctioned twice for providing false information to courts. Isn’t that true? Yes or no?,” asked Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., the former mayor of Phoenix.

“I was brave enough to fight our shoddy elections. And the courts have not caught up,” fired back Lake.

TRUMP ORDERS THE DISMANTLING OF GOVERNMENT-FUNDED, ‘PROPAGANDA’-PEDDLING MEDIA OUTLET

“The American people cannot believe a word you say,” said Stanton. “You lost, fair and square. Instead of conceding, you embarrassed yourself and our state by lying again and again for years, blaming everything under the sun for your loss except for your own toxic politics. You lie about that election to this very day.”

After Lake’s dual political losses, Stanton had a request of Lake.

“Will you do us all a favor and run it back and run again?” he asked.

Lake encountered more friendly questioning from Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich. He asked about potential messages U.S. Global Media could broadcast around the world.

“What do you think some of the most important stories and tenants about America that need to be told that haven’t been getting told?” asked Huizenga.

“I think that just the history of this country and what this country is about. Our freedoms. Our liberties. Our Bill of Rights,” stated Lake.

“Maybe the founding of our country?” suggested Huizenga.

“The founding of our country and especially this year with 250 years,” responded Lake, noting that July 4, 2025, is the semi-quincentennial of the U.S.

“That would seem to me a pretty big story to tell,” added Huizenga.

A BIG, BEAUTIFUL WEEKEND ON THE HILL: ‘EVERYBODY HAVING FUN YET?’

Congress commissioned VOA during the Cold War to beam news behind the Iron Curtain. But today, Republicans question its necessity. Especially when people now get news from their phone.

“Goddangit, it’s not very efficient,” said Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn.

“It’s a relic,” declared Lake.

“Yes ma’am. It’s a Cold War relic,” agreed Burchett.

VOA fired dozens of staff in its Persian division. But restored some programming as tensions rose between Iran and Israel – culminating in the recent U.S. airstrikes. But the VOA’s Persian service used to broadcast 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Even though VOA bolstered some reporting amid the crisis, it was a fraction of the work the organization used to do.

“From my understanding the VOA operation is pretty much gone,” observed Kim at the hearing.

“No. It’s not gone. We’re doing what is statutorily required,” replied Lake. “The statutory minimum.”

That means VOA and other services are but a husk. Congress will prepare spending bills for the entire federal government over the next three months. What lawmakers decide to do with funding for VOA and Global Media will foretell the future of the organizations. And if the microphones fall silent for good.

One day before NHL free agency begins, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Vegas Golden Knights struck gold on a blockbuster trade. 

The Maple Leafs dealt All-Star forward Mitch Marner to the Knights, ESPN reported Monday. 

Marner was about to test free agency for the first time, but this is expected to be a sign-and-trade. Marner’s new deal has a $12 million average annual value, per ESPN.

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In return, the Leafs are getting center Nic Roy, who just finished his sixth year in Las Vegas and eighth overall in the NHL after spending his first two with the Carolina Hurricanes. Roy scored 15 goals and dished out 16 assists for 31 points in 71 games for the Knights during the 2024-25 season. 

Meanwhile, Marner finished his six-year restricted deal with the Maple Leafs, the team he grew up rooting for as a Markham, Ontario, native. Marner’s deal was a salary-cap hit per season at $10.9 million.

BRUINS EYEING SHOCKING REUNION WITH FRANCHISE LEGEND AFTER STANLEY CUP SUCCESS: REPORT

The 28-year-old tallied 741 points over his nine years with the organization, including 102 last season with 27 goals and 75 assists over 81 regular-season games. 

During the playoffs, Marner only scored twice, but he had 11 assists for a total 13 points in 13 games for Toronto.

Marner was the fourth overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft by the Maple Leafs, and he’s been worth that first-round selection given his production output each season. But as Toronto continues to search for that Stanley Cup Final run, a prime contributor on the offensive end moves on to start a new chapter elsewhere in the league.

The Knights, led by veteran head coach Bruce Cassidy, won the Cup during the 2022-23 season — just six years after its inaugural season as an expansion franchise. They actually went to the Stanley Cup Final during that 2017-18 campaign under Gerard Gallant’s leadership. 

Vegas went 50-22 last season, but ultimately had the same fate as Toronto, losing in the second round. The Knights fell to the eventual back-to-back Western Conference-champion Edmonton Oilers, who fell to the Florida Panthers once again in the Stanley Cup Final.

Marner now joins top talent like Jack Eichel, Mark Ston, Tomáš Hertl and more next season. 

And with the Marner question answered, the Maple Leafs can focus their priorities elsewhere with free agency beginning at noon on July 1. 

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This is a special edition of the Fox News True Crime Newsletter. 

GUILTY: Bryan Kohberger accepts plea deal in Idaho student murders case.

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The latest court filing in President Donald Trump‘s lawsuit against Paramount Global signals a settlement is potentially in reach, possibly before the July 4th holiday weekend. 

Lawyers for both parties requested a pause of all proceedings “until July 3, 2025,” according to Monday’s filing. 

“The Parties respectfully submit that good cause to stay all proceedings exists because the Parties are engaged in good faith, advanced, settlement negotiations,” the lawyers told a Texas judge.

Paramount did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital‘s request for comment. Representatives for Trump’s legal team declined to comment. 

CBS BLASTS TRUMP’S LAWSUIT AS ‘MERITLESS’ DESPITE RECENT $15 MILLION SETTLEMENT OFFER

Last week, it was reported that a mediator suggested a $20 million settlement that would include $17 million towards a presidential library in addition to paying legal fees and airing public service announcements on all Paramount networks about combating antisemitism. Trump previously rejected Paramount’s $15 million settlement offer, demanding at least $25 million and an apology, something Paramount wasn’t willing to give. 

“President Trump is committed to holding those who traffic in fake news, hoaxes, and lies to account,” Trump attorney Ed Paltzik told Fox News Digital in a statement last week. “CBS and Paramount targeted the President in an attempt to harm his reputation while committing the worst kind of election interference and fraud in the closing days of the most important presidential election in history. President Trump will pursue this vital matter to its just and rightful conclusion.”

’60 MINUTES’ KAMALA HARRIS INTERVIEW AT CENTER OF TRUMP LAWSUIT RUNS AFOUL OF CRONKITE-ERA CBS GUIDELINES

Last October, Trump sued CBS News and Paramount for $10 billion over allegations of election interference involving the “60 Minutes” interview of then-Vice President Kamala Harris that aired weeks before the presidential election (the amount later jumped to $20 billion).

The lawsuit alleges CBS News deceitfully edited an exchange Harris had with “60 Minutes” correspondent Bill Whitaker, who asked her why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasn’t “listening” to the Biden administration. Harris was widely mocked for the “word salad” answer that aired in a preview clip of the interview on “Face the Nation.” 

However, when the same question aired during a primetime special on the network, Harris had a different, more concise response. Critics at the time accused CBS News of deceitfully editing Harris’ “word salad” answer to shield the Democratic nominee from further backlash leading up to Election Day.

The raw transcript and footage released earlier this year by the FCC showed that both sets of Harris’ comments came from the same response, but CBS News had aired only the first half of her response in the “Face the Nation” preview clip and aired the second half during the primetime special. 

CBS News has denied any wrongdoing and stands by the broadcast and its reporting.

Shari Redstone, Paramount’s controlling shareholder who recused herself from settlement discussions in February, made clear that she wanted to settle Trump’s lawsuit in hopes of clearing the pathway for Paramount’s multibillion-dollar planned merger with Skydance Media, which needs approval from the Trump administration’s FCC. 

There has been newsroom drama in recent months involving Redstone’s efforts to “keep tabs” on the network’s reporting of Trump, at least until the merger closes. That led to the abrupt resignations of “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens, who claimed he could no longer maintain editorial independence, in April, and CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon in May.

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