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Superstar filmmaker spurns prestigious writer’s award for retreat at super-secret Bohemian Grove

Famed documentary filmmaker Ken Burns reportedly sparked highbrow drama this week after skipping out of an in-person appearance to accept an award at a prestigious writer’s conference.

Where did he go instead? An elite mens-only camp in Sonoma County.

The 2026 Sun Valley Conference — held in Idaho — had announced that the legendary filmmaker would be honored with the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference “Writer in the World” Prize.

It comes not only with accolades but a $20,000 prize. Past winners of the prestigious award include Salman Rushdie, Margaret Atwood, and Abraham Verghese.

“For almost half a century, he has told us the story of America through some of the most acclaimed historical documentaries ever made, including The Civil War, Baseball, Jazz, The Roosevelts: An Intimate History, The Vietnam War, Country Music, and The American Buffalo,” the announcement read about his honor.

The release said Burns would “talk about his passion for the documentary form and, in conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning military historian Rick Atkinson, tell us about his latest project on the Revolution,” our 250th Anniversary and more. 

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Senator Eric Schmitt Releases Damning Memo Exposing Joe Biden’s Devious Last-Minute Scheme to Leave Trump With an Even More Massive Immigration Crisis

We all know Joe Biden and his regime created the worst immigration crisis in American history in an effort to remake the population. But now, newly released information has revealed that they planned to go much further in his final days before being stopped.

As Fox News reported, Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) obtained a bombshell memo on Thursday from the Archivist of the United States as part of a special access request he made as Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Constitution.

The memo, issued in January 2025, according to Schmitt, reveals that the Biden regime planned to expand Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to more than 3 million aliens. It specifically noted that about 1.5 million Guatemalans, 600,000 Ecuadorians, 464,000 Nicaraguans, and 455,000 Venezuelans were all still eligible for TPS.

The memo also included populations from Ukraine, Sudan, and Afghanistan who could receive amnesty.

More alarmingly, the memo points out that previous court challenges had blocked many of President Trump’s attempts to terminate the protections and focuses on granting TPS relief for a particular country: Haiti.

We all know the damage many Haitians have wreaked in certain American communities, including Springfield, Ohio.

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Getting Away with Murder: Under Trump, the Buck Stops Nowhere

Having burned through billions of dollars and depleted critical munitions stockpiles, the Pentagon is running out of money.

Our money.

According to the Washington Post, the Pentagon is facing an urgent budget shortfall caused largely by the Iran war, with some critical funding accounts expected to run dry within weeks. Training, maintenance and other military priorities are reportedly being squeezed as the government struggles to sustain Trump’s escalating conflict.

Once again, the government is looking to the American people for a taxpayer-funded bailout—this time to the tune of $67 billion.

Nor is the $67 billion emergency infusion the end of it.

Trump’s fiscal year 2027 budget calls for an unprecedented $1.5 trillion in national-defense spending—a staggering increase that would pour still more money into a military apparatus that cannot account honestly for the costs of its current war, maintain its existing priorities, or keep from returning to taxpayers for another bailout.

The problem is not simply how much the war machine consumes. It is how little accountability accompanies that spending.

The government can launch a war, exhaust military resources, conceal its full costs, and return to Congress for billions more without anyone responsible being required to admit error, change course, or answer for the lives lost.

That is becoming a familiar pattern under Donald Trump.

He makes the decisions—others absorb the consequences.

He launches the war—the troops make the sacrifices, and taxpayers inherit the bill.

The Iran war is not merely another example of government waste, although the cost is already staggering. The war has already cost an estimated $80 to $100 billion, not counting its long-term economic impact, future veteran expenses, or the cost of repairing damaged military bases. Analysts estimate that the broader toll on American households could eventually reach as much as $1,000 per household.

Yet the true cost cannot be measured in dollars alone.

American service members are dying in a war Trump started without meaningful congressional authorization, without a credible plan for ending it, and without an honest accounting of what it will cost.

The Pentagon is draining resources from training, maintenance and weapons programs to keep the conflict going. Congress is being asked to supply billions more. And the American people—already struggling under the weight of debt, inflation and economic uncertainty—are expected to pay without question.

This is government without accountability.

When Trump’s decisions cost American lives, deplete military stockpiles and burn through billions of taxpayer dollars, the bill never finds its way to him. It finds its way to us, while Trump remains conspicuously insulated from the human and financial consequences of his own decisions.

That insulation from consequence is matched by a swaggering display of bluster and bravado that passes for leadership within the Trump administration.

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Hawaii’s Democrat Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke Indicted by Grand Jury on Criminal Conspiracy Connected to Alleged Payment Involving COVID 19 Testing Contract

A grand jury has indicted Hawaii Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke (D) on charges of criminal conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery, and falsifying candidate committee reports.

The allegations stem from an interaction with local businessman and lobbyist Tobi Solidum that took place in 2022.

The indictment alleges Solidum offered Luke a $35,000 bribe in connection to a company he recommended to the state for a COVID-19 testing contract he was connected to.

Also included in the indictment were Solidum, former state representative Ryan Yamane (D), Ford Fuchigami, an official with Hawaii’s Transportation Department and Democrat political advisor, and Leo Asunción, a former official for Hawaii’s public utilities commission.

Fox News reports:

In January 2022, with his client’s contracts set to expire soon, Solidum met with Luke at a steakhouse and allegedly gave her two $5,000 checks made out to her campaign committee Friends of Sylvia Luke, according to prosecutors.

“By next week, we’ll have 35, so it will be halfway to our 70,” Solidum allegedly told Luke, promising to give her $70,000, according to the indictment.

“Oh wow,” Luke allegedly replied, adding, “That’s terrific,” according to the documents.
Luke admitted to accepting the two $5,000 checks, but denied taking more than that and also denied any money influencing her lawmaking.

“I never granted special favors to a contributor,” she said in a social media post, adding that she “prized integrity and honesty above all throughout her career.”

The following charges were handed down:

  • Sylvia Luke was indicted for criminal conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery, and falsifying candidate committee reports, and bail was set at $80,000.
  • Tobi Solidum was indicted for four counts of conspiracy to commit bribery and three counts of bribery, with no bail set.
  • Ford Fuchigami was indicted for conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery, use of false statements and obstruction of justice, and bail was set at $80,000.
  • Ryan Yamane was indicted for conspiracy to commit bribery and bribery with bail set at $150,000.
  •  Leo Asunción was indicted for falsifying candidate committee reports, use of false statements, and obstruction of justice with bail set at $80,000.

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Slate: 3rd Circuit Ruling Gives SCOTUS ‘Cover’ to Find Constitutional Protection for AR-15s

Slate lamented in a column on July 24 the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit striking down New Jersey’s “assault weapons” ban and claimed it gives SCOTUS “cover” to strike down such bans more broadly.

Breitbart News reported that the Third Circuit’s ruling was handed down on July 17, 2026. In that ruling, the majority made clear that the state’s ban failed to survive the Bruen (2022) test, which is a two-tiered test examining the historicity and tradition of firearms and firearms regulation in America.

The majority opinion for the 3rd Circuit decision was written by Judge Ariana Freeman, a Biden appointee. This fact was not lost on Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern, as the astounded duo noted that Freeman is a “progressive appointee” who ruled that the millions of AR-15s in circulation prove they are in “common use for self-defense” and therefore protected by the Second Amendment.

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Worse Than Graham Platner? Troubling Personal Questions Emerge for Maine’s New Democrat Nominee for Senate – And He May Be Ineligible to Run

The Maine Democratic Party may have just nominated a candidate who may be worse than the nominee previously forced out of the race, and there are even questions about whether he’s eligible to run.

As The Gateway Pundit reported, Platner dropped out of the Maine Senate race earlier this month amid explosive r*pe allegations.

The Democrats in Maine overwhelmingly voted for Platner – knowing he had a Nazi tattoo – and knowing that he sexually assaulted women he dated.

Now, they have officially nominated Troy Jackson as Platner’s replacement during a convention. But if Democrats were expecting a smooth ride for their new would-be Collins conqueror, they were sorely mistaken.

First, Jackson may not be eligible to run to start with. As pointed out by GOP Rep. James White, Maine has a “sore loser” law that says a candidate who runs for one office and loses cannot run for another office in the same cycle.

Jackson previously ran for governor before dropping out.

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Instagram to Ban Creeps Filming Harassment Videos with Meta Smart Glasses

Instagram has announced a new policy prohibiting videos captured with Meta smart glasses that feature harassment of strangers in public spaces, targeting creeps who film pranks and pickup attempts without clear consent. Meta’s smart glasses have picked up the nickname “pervert glasses” due to their misuse.

Business Insider reports that Instagram head Adam Mosseri revealed the platform’s crackdown on certain types of content filmed using Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses in a recent Instagram story response. The new policy specifically targets videos showing harassment of unsuspecting individuals in public locations, including the controversial pickup artist videos and prank content that have proliferated on social media platforms.

“If you’re posting content that is taking advantage of people and harassing them, like a lot of these pickup line kind of videos that we’ve heard of and seen, then we’re going to take the content down,” Mosseri stated. “We don’t want people to be surreptitiously taking videos of other people and harassing them and then posting them on our platform. So we’re trying to fight that every way we can.”

The policy change comes after increasing concerns about the misuse of Meta’s smart glasses technology for creating questionable content. There is a growing trend of videos appearing on TikTok and Instagram Reels where content creators film themselves executing pranks on service industry workers while wearing the glasses. These pranks often cross the line into harassment territory, with examples including incidents where creators spray fart spray into candles at retail stores and then ask employees to smell them.

Following the policy announcement, Business Insider discovered that at least two major accounts belonging to pickup artists who filmed themselves approaching women while wearing Meta glasses had been deactivated. Both accounts previously boasted followings exceeding one million users. A Meta spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider that these accounts were removed for violating the new policy regarding harassing content filmed with the smart glasses.

However, details about the policy’s enforcement mechanisms remain unclear. Meta has not provided specific information about what exactly constitutes a violation under the new rules or how the company plans to systematically identify and remove offending content.

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ARRESTED: Intern at NATO Headquarters Faces Charges of Espionage in Belgium – Canadian Woman With Chinese Origin Also Suspected of Links to Criminal Organization

NATO infiltrated.

In Belgium, home of the military headquarters for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), police made an arrest with geopolitical significance.

A ‘Canadian woman ​of Chinese origin’, an intern at ‌NATO’s military headquarters, has been detained on spying charges, Belgian prosecutors said today (25).

Reuters reported:

“’She is suspected of spying ​on behalf of a third country and of ​being a member of a criminal organization’, the ⁠Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement.

The woman ​worked as an intern at NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied ​Powers Europe (SHAPE) in the Belgian city of Mons, the statement said. It did not provide further details of her identity or the country ​or organization she is suspected of spying for.”

NATO’s headquarters do the planning and carrying out all operations of the transatlantic military alliance.

“The suspect had come to the attention of SHAPE’s security services, who reported ​her to Belgian ​intelligence officials, ⁠according to the prosecutors’ statement. Investigators searched the suspect’s home and her workplace at SHAPE, and ​she was placed under arrest on Friday.

A ​SHAPE spokesperson said ⁠there was no indication that NATO or SHAPE operational readiness, command and control arrangements or ongoing tasks had been affected.”

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UK’s National Crime Agency Launches Investigation Into Itself over Leaked Financials of Farage’s Reform Party

Britain’s equivalent of the FBI has launched an investigation into itself after financial details of members of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party were leaked to the press.

Following accusations of illegally leaking banking information relating to Reform UK, including transactions involving deputy leader Richard Tice, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said on Friday that it has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) for investigation, The Telegraph reported.

Earlier this month, a report from the Sunday Times accused Reform leader Nigel Farage of having failed to publicly declare financial support from longtime ally George Cottrell in the year leading up to the 2024 snap election, during which Mr Farage was mostly retired from frontline politics. While the party has denied that Farge broke any rules, questions have been raised, given Cottrell’s previous conviction for wire fraud in the United States and the alleged failure of Reform to declare the donations to the parliament.

Additionally, The Guardian revealed that Cottrell had also provided a brief loan of £80,000 to TisunInvestments, the real estate firm owned by Reform MP Richard Tice. Cottrell’s mother was also revealed to have donated £1 million to Tice’s think tank Britain Means Business, of which half was donated to Reform by Tice.

The transactions were reported flagged to the NCA under its suspicious activity report (SAR) scheme, which requires banks to flag large transactions.

However, Mr Tice said he was only made aware that the transactions had been flagged after he was approached by journalists from The Guardian, who also knew of other transactions from different bank accounts. He claims they would have been able to access such information only through leaks from the National Crime Agency.

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DHS: Govt. has issued $84B in civil fines to illegal aliens who remain in U.S. after receiving final orders of removal

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it has already issued more than $84 billion in civil fines to illegal aliens who remain in the United States after receiving final orders of removal.

According to the agency, federal authorities have levied over 103,000 total fine notices against non-citizens and illegal aliens since the start of the Trump administration’s crackdown. The dynamic relies on “revived statutory penalty authorizing fines of up to $998 per day” for individuals who refuse to voluntarily depart the country after a deportation order becomes final.

The statutory framework permitting civil monetary penalties for failure to depart was originally established under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996.

However, according to analysts, the provision was rarely utilized by prior administrations due to the reality that most of these individuals subject to removal lacked the assets to pay. To overcome these challenges, the DHS and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have reportedly “overhauled the enforcement framework.”

Under rules enacted in mid-2025, federal authorities eliminated a mandatory 30-day notice of intent, authorized immigration officers to mail direct fine notices via standard mail and shortened the window for individuals to contest or appeal penalties to just 15 business days.

Individual penalties issued under the policy are now much more steep, accumulating daily up to the five-year statutory limit, which can yield total personal fines exceeding $1.8 million per individual. To collect on these debts, the federal government has employed an approach involving civil lawsuits filed by the DOJ in federal district courts, wage garnishment, seizure of tax refunds and partnerships with private debt collection agencies.

Officials emphasize that these measures are intended to incentivize compliance with federal court orders, describing the financial penalties as an alternative to voluntary departure.

Alongside the financial measures, the Trump administration has structured an exit mechanism tied to its “CBP Home” app. Under current regulations, undocumented individuals who agree to self-deport using the app are granted complete forgiveness of all accrued civil fines, provided with a free return flight to their country of origin and issued a $2,600 exit bonus.

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