A rockstar and reality TV dad
Osbourne, 76, was a rock star and reality TV dad
Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne, 76, died July 22 in Birmingham, England, his family announced in a statement Tuesday.
Ozzy Osbourne was a pioneer in more than rock music. His stint on reality television set the stage for every such show that followed, ultimately winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Program for "The Osbournes."
Cut the beef
Supply constraints and high demand have driven up the cost of beef, with 100% ground beef prices in June surpassing $6 per pound for the first time since data collection started in the 1980s, according to the Labor Department. A variety of factors have crunched the nation's cattle supply over the years, including recent drought conditions that raised the cost of cattle feed and pushed ranchers to send more cows to slaughter. While costs may dip slightly once grilling season ends, experts say significant price relief could be years away.
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Speaker Mike Johnson to shut down House early amid Jeffrey Epstein drama
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, said he is shutting down House operations early this week, sending lawmakers home even sooner ahead of a five-week summer recess, as tensions over Jeffrey Epstein's case files continue to boil. Now, lawmakers will head home to their states and districts until September — and Republicans are expecting to face some scrutiny from disgruntled constituents. A Reuters/Ipsos poll taken July 15 to 16 found 69% of Americans believe the federal government is hiding details about Epstein's clients. Trump's popularity has taken a hit. Could the pressure build to next year's midterms? Potentially.
Body camera footage released after violent Florida traffic stop goes viral
A Florida sheriff has released body camera footage of a violent traffic stop in which officers were seen smashing a man's window and repeatedly punching him. The new body camera videos show officers confronting William Anthony McNeil Jr. — and punching him — after he questioned why he was pulled over and refused to get out of the car. The release comes after cell phone video McNeil recorded of his interaction with officers gained viral traction online. That footage prompted a criminal review that ended with prosecutors clearing the law enforcement officials of any wrongdoing. 'This wasn't law enforcement, it was brutality," McNeil's legal team said.
Today's talkers
Venus Williams, 45, wins in magical night for tennis
Venus Williams – the seven-time Grand Slam champion, 45-year-old icon of tennis and soon-to-be bride – ended her singles match telling jokes about health insurance. 'I had to come back because they informed me earlier this year I'm on COBRA,' she said, giggling through her on-court interview with Rennae Stubbs after a 6-3, 6-4 victory over world No. 35 Peyton Stearns at the Mubadala Citi DC Open. Williams entered this tournament as a wild card having not played on the WTA Tour since March 2024 and without winning an official match in 709 days. Was entering this tournament out of nowhere a one-off or a comeback? She wouldn't say.
Photo of the day: A 'Fantastic Four'
These four mean business. Stars Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Vanessa Kirby and Pedro Pascal attended the "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" world premiere Monday in Los Angeles. Check out USA TODAY's review of Marvel's latest flick hitting theaters Friday.
Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com.
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New York Post
27 minutes ago
- New York Post
Miranda Devine: Biden abused his authority by turning FEMA into a far-left political machine
The Biden administration abused its power by turning the entire mechanism of the federal government into a Democrat voter mobilization campaign, according to newly unearthed White House documents viewed exclusively by The Post. The worst offender was FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, under the Department of Homeland Security, which was controlled for four years by Biden's Machiavellian border buster Alejandro Mayorkas. When responding to an emergency or a natural disaster, FEMA employees were directed to make voter registration a 'key priority.' They politically targeted vulnerable people in their hour of need instead of focusing on providing federal assistance. Left-wing NGOs were brought in to 'educate' FEMA staff about 'equity and voter access for individuals affected by disaster,' says a Trump administration official. 'FEMA's job is to make sure Americans who have suffered catastrophic loss due to some disaster in their community [can access] food, water and shelter . . . Under President Biden, FEMA, like every agency, produced a plan on how they would leverage these crisis situations for political [purposes]. I can't think of anything more disgusting.' FEMA snubbed GOP FEMA employees were so fixated on voter outreach that, when they visited hurricane-ravaged Florida last October, they didn't even bother knocking on the doors of houses that had Trump signs in the yard. Instead of assisting Hurricane Milton survivors, they were instructed to 'avoid homes advertising Trump,' according to an Office of Special Counsel complaint. FEMA supervisor Marn'i Washington was fired as a scapegoat after Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called foul on the scam and The Daily Wire reported that at least 20 homes with Trump signs or flags had been skipped by FEMA and denied the opportunity of qualifying for federal assistance. It stands to reason that if FEMA's priority was getting out Democrats to vote, the last people they would want to visit were Trump supporters. The Florida scandal came on the heels of the Biden administration's sluggish response to Hurricane Helene in Trump-supporting rural areas of North Carolina and Tennessee. Whether it was Hurricane Helene, the Maui wildfires, Hurricane Ian, or the East Palestine train derailment, FEMA always came up short during the Biden years. The agency's inadequate performance is more understandable when you realize that providing actual disaster relief to victims had become simply a side dish to the partisan political priorities of the Democratic Party. Every week, Post columnist Miranda Devine sits down for exclusive and candid conversations with the most influential disruptors in Washington. Subscribe here! It began the minute Joe Biden came into office, when he concocted a fake voter registration crisis by leveraging the same racial discord that he had exploited during the George Floyd riots the previous summer, claiming that 'many Americans, especially people of color, confront significant obstacles to exercising the fundamental right' to vote, including 'difficulties with voter registration, lack of election information, and barriers to access at polling places.' This was not true. In fact, voter turnout in the 2020 election of 67% was the highest recorded in the 21st century, according to the Census Bureau. Voter registration, likewise, was at a record high in 2020. 'Equity' and 'access' were euphemisms for policies designed simply to increase Democrat voter turnout by targeting demographics that traditionally vote Democrat. Biden launched his federal government-wide voter recruitment program with an Executive Order on March 7, 2021, to 'promote equity in voter access.' The date was chosen deliberately to fall on the 56th anniversary of Bloody Sunday to invoke the civil rights legacy of fighting voter suppression against black Americans. Biden announced the scheme at a breakfast in Selma, Ala., absurdly tying the Jan. 6 Capitol riot to what he claimed was a renewed struggle for voting rights. Fed turnout machine A federal lawsuit filed by nine states last August claimed that his order was drafted by progressive racial activist group Demos, which 'monitors implementation and advocates that federal agencies do more.' The EO was executed by Susan Rice, Biden's assistant to the president for domestic policy, whose primary focus was making 'equity' central to every arm of government. In 2021, she commanded all federal agencies to dream up ways to re-engineer their activities to prioritize voter turnout, especially in 'marginalized communities.' The Department of Energy, for example, targeted low-income households that qualify for federal weatherization assistance with voter registration paraphernalia before the 2022 midterm elections. The Department of Labor enlisted state workforce agencies to designate American Job Centers as voter registration agencies and coordinating exclusively with leftist 'voting rights' groups. The Department of Health and Human Services instructed federal health centers to engage in voter turnout, including 'encouraging patients to register to vote, assisting patients with completing registration forms, sending completed forms to the election authorities.' HHS also encouraged voter registration by ineligible illegal aliens who had access to health coverage through the Affordable Care Act, according to an expose by Heritage Foundation Senior Legal Fellow Hans von Spakovsky. DHS went above and beyond. A FEMA 'Strategic Plan for the Implementation of Executive Order 14019, Promoting Access to Voting' dated Sept. 10, 2021, and sent to Rice by Katherine Culliton-González, DHS officer for civil rights and civil liberties, summarized what DHS was doing to comply with Biden's EO by using disasters and emergencies to harvest voters: 'DHS has planned and begun implementing a variety of internal and external activities to promote access to voting.' The plan included 'key messaging and . . . resources to promote equity in voter access through their training preparedness initiatives for individuals impacted by a disaster or emergency event.' Also included were novel ways of harnessing 'internal resources, and points of public interface to promote equity in voter access before, during, and after a disaster or emergency event.' Registration drive Another arm of Mayorkas' empire, the Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), was enlisted for the turnout effort, with a plan to 'build up its existing efforts to facilitate voter registration for new citizens at the end of naturalization ceremonies, in coordination with governmental and nongovernmental organizations.' At 2,100 naturalization ceremonies for new Americans, DHS embedded 'voter-registration outreach,' inserting 2 million voter registration forms in 'welcome packets' and inviting only partisan left-leaning groups. Another White House document covering 'Partnerships and Outreach' showed that DHS signed 'Memorandums of Understanding' with the League of Women Voters in October 2022 and NALEO Educational Fund in February 2023, for naturalization 'ceremony support.' Another DHS outfit, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, co-hosted 'Your Vote Your Voice 'cyber-hygiene webinars' with another NGO, the Chicago-based Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL). Taxpayer resources allocated by DHS for voter turnout in 2022-2024 included 12 full-time USCIS employees, $1.9 million in print contracts, and 'costs absorbed' for a dedicated five-person team from FEMA's Individual and Community Preparedness Division. President Trump issued a new executive order in March this year to reverse Biden's subterfuge, calling on every federal agency to ensure the voter outreach schemes are dismantled. The cost of this Sovietization of the federal government is incalculable. But let's hope FEMA and the other agencies can get back to their day jobs.
The Hill
27 minutes ago
- The Hill
Los Angeles officials, Penske trucks decry federal agents' use of vehicle in immigration raid
LOS ANGELES (KTLA) — An immigration raid at a California Home Depot has raised the temperature on simmering tensions in Los Angeles. Video posted to social media shows what appears to be a squad of federal agents loading into a Penske truck, with the video's caption saying the scene was recorded at 6:40 a.m. The Office of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass decried the raids and stipulated that such federal actions are prohibited by a recent court ruling. 'For months federal agents have been masking themselves and now they're using rental trucks to conduct their seemingly discriminatory raids – these tactics are dangerous,' the Mayor's Office said in a statement. 'The Federal court of appeals made clear that it is unconstitutional in this country to racially profile people and snatch them from worksites. The City is gathering information about these reported raids and considering all legal options. Tactics like this are un-American and we will never accept these terrorizing ploys as a new normal.' The United Farm Workers said the labor union is also worried about a possible violation of the court's order. 'While more investigation is needed, we have serious concerns that the federal govt may be in violation of the federal judge's July TRO,' the union wrote on social media. Additionally, Penske criticized federal agents for using their trucks in a prohibited manner. 'Penske strictly prohibits the transportation of people in the cargo area of its vehicles under any circumstances,' the company said in a statement posted to social media. 'The company was not made aware that its trucks would be used in today's operation and did not authorize this. Penske will reach out to [the Department of Homeland Security] and reinforce its policy to avoid improper use of its vehicles in the future.' Federal officials, however, criticized the company for what they perceived to be hypocrisy. The Department of Homeland Security shared a screenshot of a Fox News story that mentioned a human smuggling ring had utilized Penske trucks. 'Care to remind the American people what Penske said when this happened? Silence speaks volumes,' DHS wrote. 'The brave agents of [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and [Customs and Border Protection] will continue carrying out their mission to protect Americans.' Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli also chimed in, intimating that despite the court's ruling, immigration raids could increase in coming days. 'For those who thought immigration enforcement had stopped in Southern California, think again,' he said on social media. 'The enforcement of federal law is not negotiable, and there are no sanctuaries from the reach of the federal government.' DHS officials said the raid resulted in the arrest of 16 people from Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras, and Nicaragua who were living in the country illegally.
The Hill
27 minutes ago
- The Hill
Comer: Clintons should think ‘long and hard' about defying subpoena
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) on Wednesday urged former President Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to comply with a subpoena requesting their testimony detailing their connection to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. 'If someone doesn't comply with a subpoena, we've seen it happen in the past, in both my committee, as well as on the Jan. 6 committee, when the Democrats had the majority, and you can hold them in contempt of Congress, and with a Republican attorney general, that's something that I think that the Clinton legal team is going to think long and hard about,' Comer said during an appearance on NewsNation's 'The Hill.' 'You're not going to have a lot of sympathy, probably from the Trump DOJ, if the Clintons failed to comply with a bipartisan, congressionally approved subpoena, which is what that was,' he added. Comer said bipartisan support is going to make it hard for the former president to dodge the congressional investigation. 'Obviously, when you subpoena a former president, your odds aren't the best at getting them in if you look at history. But what makes this different is this subpoena was approved in a bipartisan manner by a subcommittee vote,' the chair told anchor Blake Burman. 'So you had Democrats and Republicans on the record voting to subpoena that whole list you showed and there were Republicans and Democrats on that list. In addition to those subpoenas, I also subpoenaed [Attorney General] Pam Bondi for Epstein files,' he continued. In recent weeks, the Trump administration has been facing intense backlash over how it has handled information related to Epstein, the convicted sex offender who died in 2019. The backlash has come from both MAGA faithful and left-wing progressives. Comer has taken the lead in a lengthy committee-led investigation. The Kentucky lawmaker told Burman that 'at the end of the day, I've been ordered by Congress to take the lead in this investigation, and we expect to get everything that we could legally get.'
