The 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence kicked off on Thursday in Washington, D.C., but a few Democratic states say they will not send an official delegation to the Great American State Fair.

Various state officials offered several reasons as to why they were refusing to participate, and some did not give any rationale at all.

‘Frankly, you’ll never see anything like it, and you’ll never see anything like it again.’

According to Freedom 250, which is organizing the event, all 50 states and six territories will be represented at the fair. However, some states that have declined official participation cited cost as the reason.

Here are the states that have refused to participate officially, per Newsweek:

ConnecticutIllinoisMaine Massachusetts North Carolina Oregon Rhode Island Vermont Washington

Hawaii is reportedly declining to participate as well.

Oregon’s Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek told KATU-TV that the state withdrew from the event because of “the cost of participating in the fair and growing concerns that the event in Washington, D.C., is shaping up to be a more partisan affair than originally presented.”

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, another Democrat, accused Trump of making the event partisan.

“This president routinely makes patriotism partisan and personal — and it shouldn’t be that way,” he said in an interview with the New Republic. Pennsylvania is still participating in a private capacity after pressure from U.S. Sens. John Fetterman (D) and Dave McCormick (R).

The event faced a minor setback when nearly all of the music groups and singers decided to drop out after initially agreeing to perform. Some claimed to have been misled about the nature of the celebration.

“I asked lots of questions and was assured this was a nonpartisan event that was meant to celebrate ALL 50 states,” Martina McBride wrote after pulling out.

RELATED: Trump announces ‘Patriot Games’ high school athletic competition for 250th anniversary of founding

Some of the events scheduled for Monday at the fair included a pancake-eating contest and appearances by actor Dean Cain, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, and commentator Michael Knowles.

The celebration at the Capitol will conclude on July 10 with the largest display of fireworks ever, according to Trump.

“Frankly, you’ll never see anything like it, and you’ll never see anything like it again,” he said in Dec. 2025.

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​Great american state fair, 250th us anniversary, President donald trump, National mall, Politics 

The New York Times has sunk to an all-time low after criticizing prominent conservatives’ maternity outfits — taking aim at a dress Usha Vance wore during “Story Time with the Second Lady” alongside her husband, JD Vance.

“There’s no floor. They just keep getting lower and lower. And to the extent that the New York Times actually paid someone to write a fashion critique on what White House officials were wearing during their pregnancies,” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales says on “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered.”

“This is not bad enough to critique a pregnant woman about a lot of things. They’re like, ‘We’re going to make them feel bad about what they wore,’” she continues.

The article, titled, “The Politics and Power of the Pregnancy Image,” criticizes pregnant Usha Vance, Katie Miller, and Karoline Leavitt for how they dress as pregnant women.

The New York Times commented on Usha’s “stretchy, coral dress,” explaining that it “hugs her stomach, making what she is talking about very clear.”

“After all, as second lady, her job is to represent and humanize the vice president by spotlighting her pregnancy. She is doing exactly that,” the article reads.

Gonzales laughs, “I mean, she has a giant pregnant belly. What would you like for her to do? Wear like a big paper sack?”

However, Usha wasn’t going to take the criticism lying down.

“Now that we know the political significance of my $8.75 coral maternity dress from Old Navy, can’t wait to hear about what the New York Times has to say about my elastic waistband pants and compression socks! In the meantime, enjoy my pregnancy fashion (or lack thereof) and a good story with your kids on Storytime with the Second Lady,” Usha posted in a rebuttal on X.

“Now, in, you know, typical journalism fashion for the New York Times, they don’t talk about any important things. They want to talk about Usha Vance’s maternity dress and Taylor Swift’s wedding,” Gonzales comments.

“They’re investigating not fraud, not anything that actually helps the everyday American citizen, but they did publish, ‘New York Prepares for an Event at M.S.G. Clues Point to You Know Who,’” she continues, showing the Times’ article on Swift and fiance Travis Kelce’s wedding gossip.

“There were actually two push alerts. They wasted a push alert on Taylor Swift investigation. That’s insane. Two push alerts. Imagine people being busy at work typing on their computer like, ‘Oh my gosh, I just got a news push alert. I wonder what breaking news it is,’” she adds.

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​Jd vance, Karoline leavitt, Katie miller, Maternity, New york times, Pregnancy, Sara gonzales, Taylor swift, Travis kelce, Twitter, Usha vance, Sara gonzales unfiltered 

DC Studios is finding out that being a progressive girl boss does not necessarily pay the bills.

In the weeks leading up to the opening weekend for “Supergirl,” star Milly Alcock sparked online chatter with her consistent interviews in which she explored the “LGBT” inspiration of the film, while repeatedly stating her character is likely bisexual — and it did not work out.

‘I have many queer friends, so honestly I’m kind of honored.’

Clip slip

During what turned out to be an awful opening weekend, yet another clip of Alcock addressing wild fan theories circulated, from a lesser-known interview she did at a fan event in Brazil. In the clip, Alcock is asked about embracing Supergirl as a queer icon, a theme that reporters have consistently hammered the actress about at events and red carpets.

“I have many queer friends, so honestly I’m kind of honored. I’m honored that that’s happening,” Alcock replied with her signature giggle.

She went on, “I think because she doesn’t live inside the binary of what we think a woman should be, that is what makes her so special and so exciting and so new.”

She may transcend every binary, but Hollywood still lives inside one: hit or flop. “Supergirl” seems headed straight for the latter, with a very disappointing $38 million domestic opening. Coming in well below expectations, “Supergirl” had a whopping $170 million budget, according to Deadline, and bowed out to “Toy Story 5,” which took in $70 million despite it being its second weekend.

RELATED: ‘Supergirl’ star proclaims character is ‘probably’ bisexual and definitely doesn’t need a man

Craig T Fruchtman/Getty Images

No love

Alcock explaining that her Kryptonian character would “do what she’d want to do” in regard to her sexuality was yet another nail in the coffin that likely turned away audiences, including father-daughter moviegoers.

At a New York City premiere, Alcock embraced how the film “doesn’t center around any sort of love” or “romance” at all and focused on how much gay fans can relate to her character. She called “Supergirl” a “really great representation of what a modern woman can be.”

In London, the 26-year-old also noted that it was “beautiful” for the movie not to be “centered around a man” and “not centered around love at all.”

This was followed by Alcock saying that the character would “probably go both ways,” meaning Supergirl is bisexual, according to the actress.

To top it off, Alcock pinpointed Christian dads as her most frequent online harassers.

RELATED: ‘Supergirl’ Milly Alcock’s most fearsome foe? Christian dads

David Jon/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Pictures

Consolation prize

Female-led superhero movies have let studios down over recent years, with “Supergirl” having one of the worst openings in the 2020s, but not the worst.

“The Eternals” (2021) and “The Marvels” (2023) both did better than Alcock, with $71 million and $46 million respectively, but “Supergirl” did manage to outperform movies like the abysmal “Madame Web” (2024) that garnered just $15 million.

The possibly bisexual superpowered girl was seen by far more people than “Wonder Woman 1984” (2020), which made just $16 million, and “Birds of Prey” (2020), the Harley Quinn film that made $33 million.

However, the “Wonder Woman” film was released deep into COVID-19 restrictions in December 2020.

“Birds of Prey” had no excuse, though.

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​Supergirl, Milly alcock, Woke, Progressive, Girl boss, Lifestyle, Entertainment 

This past Father’s Day weekend, an article on fatherhood in the New York Times went viral.

However, it wasn’t about a great father. It was about a woman who transitioned and calls herself a father.

“You might be thinking, ‘Really? In the year of our Lord 2026, this is what the New York Times is talking about? I thought we were over this madness. I thought we realized and successfully stigmatized roping kids into being sources of affirmation for gender delusion,’” BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey says on “Relatable.”

The headline reads, “To my daughter, my gender was never complicated.”

The article contains cartoons to help describe the relationship between “father” and daughter, including one where the daughter asks, “How long did you have breasts for Dad?”

“What a tragic, tragic line for a child to utter. The daughter is later shown at school with friends where a friend says, ‘You can’t grow a beard. You’re a girl.’ And the daughter responds, ‘My dad did, and he was a girl,’” Stuckey explains.

“And this is supposed to prove that this is super simple. Or maybe it proves that it is so delusional that a child who still believes that there is a fat man that can circle the universe in one night, fit down their chimney, and put presents under the tree like that. They believe it because they believe all kinds of fantastical things,” she continues.

But the New York Times isn’t the only publication to do the opposite of celebrating fatherhood.

“There was also this piece in the Toronto Star: ‘A modest proposal: Why it’s time to abolish Father’s Day,’” Stuckey says, pointing out that the article is a bit of a “bait and switch.”

In the article, the author laments the pressure put on children to buy gifts, claiming that the real gift is quality time.

“If your problem is materialism, that’s one thing. Or you just think it’s, you know, a made-up reason to buy Hallmark cards, that’s fine,” she says, adding, “But the title, we need to abolish Father’s Day, or we need to abolish Mother’s Day, another thing that I’ve heard in the past due to some undue burden that’s just perpetuating this idea that celebrating fathers and positive fatherhood is not something that we need to do.”

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​Fatherhood, Fathers day, New york times, Relatable, Gender transition, Children, Family, Allie beth stuckey, Relatable with allie beth stuckey 

For the first time in more than 40 years, privately developed nuclear reactors are switching on in America.

On June 4, Antares Nuclear’s Mark-0 reactor went critical at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory. Valar Atomics followed on June 18, producing heat from a reactor core inside a tentlike structure in the Utah desert. The Department of Energy called it “the rebirth of America’s nuclear industry.”

‘Nuclear in America has been defined for too long by delays, by companies that said they would and then didn’t. … Today is the first of those commitments delivered.’

President Trump has long been skeptical of large traditional reactors, saying they tend to get “too big and too complex and too expensive.” But he bet big on small modular reactors, pledging to “approve new reactors” and “slash the red tape.”

In May 2025, Trump signed four executive orders and set a deadline: at least three new small reactors online by July 4, 2026 — the nation’s 250th birthday.

The Department of Energy’s Reactor Pilot Program followed, fast-tracking 11 new designs and sidestepping the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s traditional licensing process, which previously took more than 20,000 hours to complete. Oversight was placed with the Energy Department instead.

Antares CEO Jordan Bramble put the stakes plainly: “Nuclear in America has been defined for too long by delays, by companies that said they would and then didn’t. We said criticality in 2026, electricity production in 2027, and power to the warfighter in 2028. Today is the first of those commitments delivered on the schedule we set.”

Chief nuclear officer at Ocean Atomics Nick Touran summed up the pace: “We haven’t done anything this fast, basically ever.”

RELATED: Oil industry warns Trump about gas price SHOCK coming soon: Report

Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images

The reactors look nothing like today’s massive plants, which average 44 years old. Radiant’s design uses small nuclear fuel balls — its chief nuclear officer compared them to gobstoppers — built to be mass-produced and deployed anywhere from military bases to disaster zones. A third reactor still needs to go critical before July 4 to fulfill the president’s pledge.

This month, the Trump administration also announced $17.5 billion in loans to build 10 large-scale conventional nuclear plants using Westinghouse technology. Construction is targeted to begin by 2030.

Idaho National Laboratory Director John Wagner made the bigger ambition clear: “The goal was never just criticality. The goal is 400 gigawatts of nuclear capacity by 2050.”

Critics aren’t sold. Edwin Lyman of the Union of Concerned Scientists called the race “essentially an exercise in public relations,” warning that slashing regulations undoes decades of safety lessons. “This is taking us back to the 1950s, and that is not progress.”

The program skipped public comment periods and environmental reviews — which the DOE said were unnecessary.

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​Blaze news, Executive orders, Nuclear capacity, Nuclear reactors, Censors, Trump administration, Energy, Nuclear energy, Politics 

Two of the conservatives on the Supreme Court have sided with the three liberal justices to rule against the president’s decision to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook while a lawsuit continues.

President Donald Trump has been trying to fire Cook since 2025 after she was accused of committing mortgage fraud through evidence gathered from the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

‘Today’s decision is an unprecedented incursion on the executive branch.’

On Monday, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh ruled against the president being allowed to fire Cook while the litigation continued. Four other conservative justices dissented.

“Not only the fact of independence but also the appearance of independence is key to the Federal Reserve’s design,” wrote Roberts in the majority opinion.

He went on to assert that the president had not followed due process in firing Cook, which he indicated should have included offering an explanation for her removal, allowing her to respond, and setting up a deadline for the response. However, he also said in a footnote that the president could fire Cook if he tried again and followed due process.

The president responded in a post on Truth Social.

“The Cook Lawsuit, having to do with her suitability in sitting on the Board of the Federal Reserve, was sent back by the Supreme Court on a strictly procedural basis,” Trump wrote, “we will take appropriate action immediately to make sure that someone who has committed wrongdoing will not be making vital decisions concerning the Welfare of the United States of America!”

Roberts said the ruling was necessary to maintain the independence of the Federal Reserve and to assuage the public.

“Any change in that scheme must come from Congress, not the courts,” Roberts continued. “That is why we cannot accept the government’s contentions in this case. To do so would allow the president to remove a member of the Federal Reserve at any time, for any reason, without any notice before, and without any judicial check after.”

Justice Clarence Thomas called the arguments for the independence of the Federal Reserve unconstitutional.

“Today’s decision is an unprecedented incursion on the executive branch,” Thomas wrote in the dissent.

“Many do not share the court’s rosy appraisal of the past century. But if the court prefers an independent Federal Reserve Board, then its issue is not with the president but with the Constitution,” he added.

RELATED: Warsh approved to replace Powell as Federal Reserve head — and even 1 Democrat supports him

Cook responded in a statement Monday that accused the president of acting out of political motivation.

“It was an attempt to remove me on a manufactured pretext because I refused to bow to political pressure and continued to set interest rates based only on what would best serve the American people,” she wrote.

She has denied the allegations and has not been charged with any crime.

While the president has been demanding that the Federal Reserve lower interest rates, he has backed off on that campaign after some metrics showed inflation climbing to 4%.

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​Federal reserve, Mortgage fraud, Supreme court, Politics, Lisa cook, Donald trump 

The alleged victim of a recent physical attack outside a Texas bar said her assailants yelled “free Karmelo” — and now three females face assault charges, the Dallas Express reported.

The alleged “free Karmelo” exclamation presumably was in reference to Karmelo Anthony, a black male who earlier this month was sentenced to 35 years in prison for murdering Austin Metcalf, a white male, at a high school track meet in April 2025.

‘Any credible threat, any attempt to organize violence, and any effort to intimidate members of the community will be taken seriously and investigated appropriately.’

Ciarrianne Fuller, 21, and Alana Mumphrey, 25 — both of Longview — and Dejae Shalyn Brown, 26, of Pittsburg, were listed in Gregg County Jail records on warrants for assault causing bodily injury, the Express said.

Fuller was arrested Tuesday, the Longview News-Journal reported, adding that Brown and Mumphrey surrendered to law enforcement and were booked into jail Thursday afternoon; all three were released on $20,000 bonds.

The Express said a woman publicly identified on social media as Sammie Lee alleged that several females attacked her after leaving Whiskey J’s in Longview during the overnight hours of June 20 into June 21.

According to the Express, Lee alleged in her public post that the females shouted “free Karmelo” and said they planned to target “the smallest white girl they could find.”

Lee said she had not interacted with the three females prior to the assault, the News-Journal reported, adding that Lee posted photos on social media showing her injuries.

The Express said it asked the Longview Police Department for additional comment and clarification regarding if investigators have confirmed Lee’s allegation that the suspects yelled “free Karmelo” — or if they’ve uncovered any motive for the alleged assault — but the paper said it didn’t immediately receive a response from police.

RELATED: ‘You can’t look me in the eyes, but you can stab my f**king son?!’ Austin Metcalf’s dad humiliates Karmelo Anthony in court

Longview Police Department spokesperson LaDarian Brown did say police are in communication with the FBI about the case because of online conversations “concerning retaliation, division, and attacks between members of our community,” the News-Journal reported.

“Any credible threat, any attempt to organize violence, and any effort to intimidate members of the community will be taken seriously and investigated appropriately,” Brown added, according to the News-Journal.

Racial tensions have surrounded the Karmelo Anthony case since its beginnings more than a year ago:

Shortly after Metcalf’s stabbing death, Anthony supporters went viral on social media, with one declaring that “Austin Metcalf got exactly what he deserved — point blank, period.”A high-profile Anthony spokesman reacted to Anthony’s indictment last year by calling for a fight against “white supremacy” and blasting “bigots” and “racists.”At the start of Anthony’s murder trial early this month, the prosecution dismissed all prospective black jurors — and one of the prospective black jurors acknowledged he’d have a “hard time putting a brother in jail.”After Anthony’s murder conviction, Democrat U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas threw shade at the Metcalf family, saying that “black women, especially black women who have black male children, live in fear and agony every single day — a fear and agony that, I promise you, the Metcalfs probably never spend a day living that way.”In addition, a white-hating agitator claiming Anthony was “legally lynched” is a criminal, disgraced ex-judge.

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​Assault, Texas, Longview, Bar, Physical attack, Karmelo anthony, Free karmelo, Race, Racial tensions, Arrests, Crime, Austin metcalf 

In a recent demonstration, the Muslim community of Dearborn, Michigan, took to the streets, marching and chanting in a way that has renewed many Americans’ concerns about immigration in this country.

Videos of the scene in Dearborn, Michigan, a town which has found itself near the center of the national debate about immigration due to its high concentration of Muslims, began emerging Sunday morning.

‘There are no American flags, but there are flags of many other countries.’

The march was described as an “Ashura procession.”

In a video originally posted by Brendan Gutenschwager and later circulated by other accounts, hundreds of Shia Muslims can be seen marching down the street, making hand gestures and salutes, chanting, and waving a number of flags.

RELATED: Comedian infiltrates Dearborn, Michigan — and the stories he returns with are WILD

None of the flags, as some people observed, were American flags. All appeared to be foreign flags, some of which have words written in a foreign script.

Many observers were distressed by this demonstration of apparently unassimilated Muslims who have gained a foothold in America.

Ned Ryun, the CEO of American Majority, wrote, “If you look at this and don’t immediately conclude that mass remigration must happen, and happen quickly, you are a moron guilty of suicidal empathy.”

Replying to Ned Ryun, Elon Musk voiced similar thoughts on the video and made a chilling observation: “There are no American flags, but there are flags of many other countries. Those whose loyalty is to another country over America are, by definition, traitors and must be expelled immediately.”

Gad Saad addressed President Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, saying, “Does this concern you at all? If yes, what are the remedies?”

Eric Daugherty pointed out that this is not what assimilation looks like: “TERRIFYING: Dearborn Michigan just went maximum Islam, flooding the streets and making clear they’re here to conquer, not assimilate. This is why Islam needs to be repelled! Islamist flags waving, THEY WANT TO END THE WEST.”

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​President trump, Secretary of state, Secretary of war, Politics, Muslims, Dearborn michigan 

Republicans in Alaska were dealt a significant blow Friday after a court intervened to keep a Senate challenger on the ballot.

The Superior Court for the State of Alaska in the Third Judicial District has ruled that Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a challenger to Republican incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, must be restored to the primary ballot for U.S. Senate.

‘The Division’s application of a “good-faith” test to Mr. Sullivan’s declaration of candidacy is not supported by the US Constitution, Alaska statutes, or the Division’s implementing regulations.’

Judge Thomas Matthews held that the Alaska Division of Elections unlawfully imposed a “good-faith” candidacy requirement on J. Sullivan — a requirement that does not appear in the U.S. Constitution, Alaskan statutes, or division regulations.

J. Sullivan, a 69-year-old retired teacher, reportedly registered as a Republican earlier this year and entered the race to oust Sen. S. Sullivan on May 29, just before the deadline for filing.

In response, the National Republican Senatorial Committee and Alaska Republican Party filed complaints with the Federal Election Commission and the state’s division of elections, respectively.

After Alaska Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom (R) requested an investigation into J. Sullivan’s eligibility, Carol Beecher, the director of the Division of Elections, concluded that J. Sullivan had not filed a genuine “good-faith” candidacy and instead sought to confuse voters by placing two candidates with nearly identical names on the ballot — deeming him ineligible to seek the office of senator.

He has also been accused of coordinating with Democrat operatives. Sen. S. Sullivan told CNN earlier this month that J. Sullivan’s candidacy was effectively a Democratic effort to “cheat.”

J. Sullivan appealed the division’s decision to the Superior Court, where Judge Matthews ruled in his favor.

RELATED: Will the real Dan Sullivan please stand up? Alaska GOP works to keep another Dan Sullivan off the open primary ballot

Matthews affirmed that J. Sullivan met all the qualifying criteria set out by the Constitution, and therefore Alaska could not impose an additional requirement on his candidacy. The court further concluded that Sullivan’s alleged motives or political affiliations did not bear on his constitutional eligibility to seek office.

“The Division’s application of a ‘good-faith’ test to Mr. Sullivan’s declaration of candidacy is not supported by the U.S. Constitution, Alaska statutes, or the Division’s implementing regulations. As such, the Division’s decision to exclude Mr. Sullivan from the primary ballot is without a legal basis,” Matthews determined.

Matthews argued that ballot design — not exclusion — is the proper remedy for concerns over voter confusion.

“The Division may also design the ballot to facilitate fairness, simplicity, and clarity. But those tools are different from the complete exclusion of a candidate.”

The state has appealed the decision to the Alaska Supreme Court, with oral arguments scheduled for Monday. Unless the state high court intervenes, J. Sullivan will appear on Alaska’s Aug. 18 nonpartisan primary ballot.

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​Politics, Us senate, Alaska, Dan sullivan