New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) has faced intense backlash for his repeated calls to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

And the latest person to jump into the debate was someone the mayor likely never saw coming: Milwaukee Bucks forward Kyle Kuzma.

‘People cosplaying as things they don’t have the authority, the talent, or the track record to actually be.’

In a post on X, the 2020 NBA champion weighed in on an address Mamdani delivered last week in which the mayor reaffirmed his belief that Netanyahu should be arrested for serving as “the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people.”

“I agree with the ICC that Benjamin Netanyahu should be arrested and tried for his crimes,” Mamdani said in the video.

The mayor had previously pledged on the campaign trail — and reiterated in a recent interview with the New York Times — that he would seek to enforce the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant if Netanyahu were to visit New York City, which the prime minister plans to do when the United Nations General Assembly convenes in September.

Mamdani added, however, that the NYPD lacks the legal authority to execute the ICC’s warrant.

RELATED: Mamdani boycotts NYC Israel Day Parade despite attending other ethnic celebrations

Responding to the remarks, Kuzma wrote in a Sunday post, “This is 2026. People cosplaying as things they don’t have the authority, the talent, or the track record to actually be. Just for content.”

He continued by calling Mamdani “a mayor playing president.”

“Were [sic] raising a generation that learning the reward isn’t in doing the thing it’s in looking like you did the thing,” Kuzma wrote.

“Don’t fall for distractions,” he concluded.

In a follow-up post, Kuzma acknowledged the wave of personal attacks he received for criticizing Mamdani.

“X is for conversation, and in today’s age, you cannot have a conversation without being attacked if people don’t agree with what you are saying,” he said.

“But somehow, I am a Zionist because I’m pointing out things that are happening in front of everyone’s face,” he added.

In contrast, San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama liked the video posted to the mayor’s official Instagram account.

President Donald Trump also chimed in on Truth Social, dismissing Mamdani’s calls, writing, “Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States.”

The Netherlands-based ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in 2024, accusing the prime minister of war crimes, including using “starvation as a method of warfare,” as well as “crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.”

The United States has not ratified the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, and is therefore not obligated to enforce its arrest warrants.

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​Arrest warrant, Benjamin netanyahu, International criminal court, Zohran mamdani, Kyle kuzma, Donald trump, Politics 

Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is letting Dr. Anthony Fauci speak for himself through a massive collection of “diary” entries during the peak years of the COVID pandemic — and the results have been potentially disastrous for Fauci’s apparently carefully curated public image and for some of his associates.

And those associates, it appears, extend well into the fourth estate.

‘Jake clearly believes that Trump is totally nuts.’

Blaze News previously reported on the damning new documents exposing Fauci as an apparent fame-obsessed megalomaniac.

However, a name from the mainstream media also continued to appear in the more than 1,100 pages of documents: CNN anchor Jake Tapper.

“Had dinner at my home with Jake and Jennifer Tapper. Relaxed, good time. Jake clearly believes that Trump is totally nuts,” reads an entry dated October 23, 2020.

RELATED: Diaries expose Fauci obsessing over his own fame during height of COVID as millions died

Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

A review of the documents revealed a disturbing pattern of cooperation between Fauci and Tapper. For example, Fauci wrote a similar entry dated July 1, 2020, in which he explicitly describes their association as a “friendship.”

“Had dinner over Jake Tapper and Jen Tapper’s home in D.C. Terrific couple. Friendship building,” Fauci wrote, according to the documents released by Sen. Paul.

And, of course, as is the nature of many friendships in politics, this friendship apparently served some utility during the pandemic.

In the April 13, 2020, entry, Fauci recorded that he had a phone call with Jake Tapper. He wrote that “Jake wanted to make sure the interview did not cause me any problems.” Fauci had appeared on Jake Tapper’s show, “State of the Union,” the day before.

Almost exactly a month later, on May 14, 2020, Fauci recorded that there was some “confusion” related to vaccines and school closure. With regard to his messaging in the media, Fauci wrote, “Chris Cuomo and Jake Tapper are trying to clarify this in my defense on their shows.”

In another surprising entry, on July 26, 2020, Fauci appears to say that he fed questions to Jake Tapper to correct the narrative about testing as COVID deaths spiked. The entry is worth quoting at some length:

5th Day in a row for 1000 deaths/day. Brett Giroir on Tapper (State of the Union) talking bulls**t about testing with Jake pressing him. I gave Jake some questions to ask him. Mark Meadows on This Week with George Stephanopoulos saying that public health measures are not working and we will have to rely on interventions such as vaccines and therapeutics. This is his way of backing out of a failure and trying to get an “October Surprise.” Heads up for him trying to push an early approval of vaccine or even influencing the decision about convalescent sera, which actually do not look too good right now.

Fauci is scheduled to give testimony before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on Wednesday morning.

CNN declined to provide a comment to Blaze News. Representatives for Jake Tapper likewise declined to comment.

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​Anthony fauci, Cnn, Jake tapper, Rand paul, Politics 

A 30% grocery markdown?

That is the pricing framework that will guide the city’s five government-owned grocery stores, democratic socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced during a press conference Monday.

‘Our five city-run grocery stores will set prices for this core set of goods at 30% below typical retail prices.’

Standing in front of shelves stocked with produce in a Brooklyn warehouse, Mamdani addressed the sharp rise in grocery prices over the past several years, citing a 30% increase since 2019.

To offset that increase, the mayor announced “a collection of essential staples that will be predictably 30% cheaper at all five of our city-run grocery stores.”

The discount will apply to items including fresh produce, meat, seafood, and “20 other essential items like cheese, milk, and bread,” Mamdani said, adding that prices will be set once per month to eliminate week-to-week fluctuations.

“Once a month, our five city-run grocery stores will set prices for this core set of goods at 30% below typical retail prices. No exceptions.”

The mayor has repeatedly pledged — both on the campaign trail and since taking office — to open one of these stores in each of the city’s five boroughs. The first location is expected to open in the Bronx by the end of 2027, with the remaining four stores slated to be operational by the end of his four-year term, including one in East Harlem.

Mamdani also said the city-run grocery stores would not sell cigarettes, alcohol, lottery tickets, or hot food, which are typically among the most profitable products for bodega and convenience store owners. The move is intended to address concerns that the mayor’s initiative could undercut privately owned stores in the surrounding areas.

RELATED: Mamdani plan includes 5 city-run grocery markets — with massive price tag

“We know that a lot of what drives revenue for these bodegas, grocery stores, those are things that make it possible for them to continue to operate. Those are not things we have any interest in competing for,” Mamdani said.

Former Mayor Eric Adams (D) has been a vocal critic of the initiative, arguing that Mamdani’s plan would “devastate the local bodegas and local stores and the local supermarkets where they employ people,” calling it “not the right thing to do.”

Grocery executive John Catsimatidis, the owner of Gristedes and D’Agostino Supermarkets, has also bashed the proposal. In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Catsimatidis predicted the mayor’s program “would collapse our food supply, kill private industry, and drag us down a path toward the bread lines of the old Soviet Union.”

Under the current proposal, the city would own the property and cover the costs of construction, rent, and property taxes. A private operator would partner with the city to manage the stores’ day-to-day operations, including sourcing products, stocking shelves, and maintaining customer service.

Mamdani is now seeking private operators to run the stores, inviting applicants with grocery management experience to take part in the city’s government-owned retail experiment.

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​Mayor zohran mamdani, New york city, Politics 

In preparation for Anthony Fauci’s subpoenaed Senate testimony on COVID origins and response set to begin this coming Wednesday, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) released portions of the embattled doctor’s personal diaries and related emails/documents, highlighting his private doubts about a natural origin, discussions of deleting records, and personal reflections on fame.

On today’s episode of “The Glenn Beck Program,” Glenn dove into the diaries of the “egomaniac monster” and shared what he believes will happen in the upcoming hearing.

Glenn’s head writer and researcher Jason Buttrill begins by reading some of the most jaw-dropping quotes from Fauci’s diary, starting with his admission that the virus, contrary to what the public was told, was not of natural origin.

“On January 26, 2020, Fauci writes in his diary, ‘Now, we know the market was not the source … it was the amplifier,”’ Jason reads, recalling how “anyone that disagreed with natural origin was [called] an idiot and … shamed.”

“A week later, he convenes a call with 12 scientists. You want to know how many of them thought that it was natural origin spillover from animals? Out of those 12, only two,” he adds, noting how despite the heavy skepticism, “the consensus … from all the academic papers was that no, this is natural origin.”

Glenn and Jason both speculate that Fauci’s public insistence on a natural origin was self-protective because U.S. funds (under his watch) had gone to the very type of research that could have caused a lab leak in Wuhan.

“We had a law that said you can’t do [gain of function research]. … Come or hell or high water, he would find a way to do it, and then he covered it all up,” says Glenn, “so the guy who is literally, I believe, responsible for millions of dead … knew it, and he just felt it was too important to let the law stop them, so he found a way around it.”

But perhaps the most shocking entries from Fauci’s diary highlight his inflated ego despite the growing global death toll.

According to the released files, at one point Fauci wrote, “One person said that Tyra Banks was sexy, but that I was even more sexy than she was.”

“Another 1,200 dead this morning … but on the bright side, I’m the sexiest man alive,” Glenn mocks. “I mean, it’s just horrible.”

Jason follows with another cringeworthy entry: “Press still hot and heavy about me. Multiple stories per day directly or indirectly involving me.”

Glenn highlights another entry where Fauci wrote about being invited to participate in the reality show “Dancing with the Stars.”

“Can you maybe pay attention to the millions that are dying?” he scoffs.

Glenn and Jason then recall the InStyle magazine cover from the magazine’s September 2020 issue, featuring Fauci sitting by a pool, wearing sunglasses and a smug look on his face.

“It’s absolutely grotesque,” says Glenn.

“And now reading these diaries and knowing how infatuated he was with all the attention and fame,” Jason sighs.

Glenn notes that since Biden’s broad pardon already shields Fauci from any prosecution for past actions or false statements, he cannot be charged for what he did or said years ago. However, if he is asked the same questions again this week and simply repeats his old answers — now contradicted by new evidence — that would constitute a brand-new false statement under oath, which the pardon does not cover.

Glenn speculates that Fauci’s enormous ego will not allow him to admit he previously lied (even though such an admission would be legally safe under the pardon), leaving him only one practical option: “plead the Fifth.”

“If he pleads the fifth, we know he was lying,” he says.

To hear more, watch the video above.

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​Glenn beck, Anthony fauci, Covid-19, Rand paul, Blazetv show 

Former President Joe Biden appeared to admit that he was releasing classified information while speaking to a ghostwriter for his memoir published in 2017, CBS News reported.

About 70 hours of audio recordings of the former president were released Monday after a protracted legal battle by Biden’s attorneys to try to keep them private.

‘It’s time to reopen matters that Biden and his enablers would prefer to remain closed.’

The recordings were included in special counsel Robert Hur’s report investigating Biden’s handling of classified documents. The report was released Feb. 2024, and Hur did not recommend charges.

“Some of this may be classified. … So be careful. I’m not sure. … It’s not marked classified, but —” Biden said in one section.

In another audio section he says, “The next thing I have here is, um, this is classified.”

Hur described Biden in a manner that substantiated accusations that he was losing his mental faculties. He said Biden often forgot facts and would fumble painfully through conversations.

“All right — what was I going to ask you? Something else … uh … um. Oh gosh. I can’t think of anything else,” he said at one point.

The release of the audio tapes is a great victory for the Oversight Project of the Heritage Foundation.

“These tapes never should have been hidden,” Oversight Project President Mike Howell said in a statement to Blaze News.

“Special counsel Hur’s investigation was a complete controlled demolition to let Biden off the hook. It’s time to reopen matters that Biden and his enablers would prefer to remain closed,” he continued.

RELATED: Trump slams ‘Crooked Politician’ Biden over attempt to block release of interview

“Our team is reviewing the Biden tapes now. We will be out with various bombshells,” said Jeff Clark, the vice president of litigation at Oversight Project. “But I want to make this point right now. The tapes make clear that Biden disclosed massive amounts of classified information to his ghost writer Marc Zwonitzer.”

The memoir is titled “Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose.”

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​Biden tapes, Joe biden, Special counsel, Oversight project, Politics 

In an update to the Seattle shooting that took three lives Sunday evening, it turns out the initially arrested suspect is just 15 years old — and police now are saying there were two other suspects: one who died at the scene and was an acquaintance of the teenage arrestee, and another unknown suspect, the Associated Press reported.

“Based on the evidence at the scene, investigators believe” the 15-year-old “and one of the deceased engaged in a gunfight with at least one other unknown suspect,” according to a document filed in juvenile court in Seattle, the AP said.

‘I heard bang, bang, bang, and I heard yelling, straight yelling.’

Mayor Katie Wilson said at a news conference that the arrested 15-year-old was being held in juvenile detention for investigation of firearms violations and first-degree assault ahead of a Monday afternoon court appearance, the outlet reported.

Authorities earlier Monday said they’re still looking for an additional suspect but could not rule out the possibility that individual was among those killed, the AP added.

“We are trying to identify who that person is,” Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes said, according to the outlet.

Investigators initially believed two suspects were shooting at each other, the AP said, adding that police said late Sunday night it wasn’t clear if any of the shooting victims were involved in the confrontation between the two shooters.

More from the outlet:

The dead were described as two men, ages 19 and 44, and a woman, 56.

The four wounded included a 2-year-old boy, who was in satisfactory condition Monday. The others — two men, ages 23 and 27, and a woman, 39 — were discharged, a hospital spokesperson said.

CBS News said the shooting took place around 6 p.m. near the Seattle Center, a popular tourist spot that includes the Space Needle and the sports arena that’s the home of the Seattle Kraken and Seattle Storm. The news network added that the area was filled with attendees of the annual Bite of Seattle food festival.

RELATED: 3 killed, 4 wounded in shooting at Seattle food festival; 1 suspect arrested, the other still on the loose

David Ryder/Getty Images

Witnesses told KING-TV they heard sounds resembling firecrackers and people fleeing the area and diving for cover.

“I heard bang, bang, bang, and I heard yelling, straight yelling,” a witness noted in the KING interview.

Adya Sengupta told the station she took cover in the Seattle Armory and that Seattle Fudge brought dozens of bystanders into the storefront to shelter in the event center.

“Inside the Seattle Armory was crazy; within seconds, maybe 60-plus, people had flooded the doors inside, all running toward that back corner with Seattle Fudge,” Sengupta added to KING.

CBS News said the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives indicated Sunday night that several of its agents were at the scene and that Seattle police would lead the investigation. The news network added that Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson (D) said the state SWAT team also responded at the request of Seattle police.

A candlelight vigil was planned Monday night at the center’s International Fountain, the AP reported.

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​Fatal shooting, Police, Seattle, Suspect at large, Teen suspect arrested, Crime 

On Saturday, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) released a large batch of emails Anthony Fauci, the architect of the government’s coronavirus response, sent to himself as a diary. In one of the entries, Fauci wrote about accusations made in a book co-written by BlazeTV host Steve Deace.

Fauci railed against the book and its authors, Deace and Todd Erzen, his “Steve Deace Show” co-host, in a diary entry from the height of the coronavirus pandemic period. His criticisms were without evidence, as Fauci admitted that he did not even deign to read it.

‘Notice he never disputes anything we wrote. The bestselling book has more footnotes than pages, and it’s all been proven true.’

“Two authors named Steve Deace and Todd Erzen wrote a book about me entitled ‘Faucian Bargain’ – The most powerful and dangerous bureaucrat in American history,” Fauci wrote in the entry released by Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rand Paul.

“It is a cheap paperback of 179 pages which I will not even read but it contains the same sort of nonsense that the other conspiracy theorists have been saying about me,” Fauci wrote.

“It is really getting worse and worse in the number of crazy people who are buying into this conspiracy theory and so now we have the book by Robert F Kennedy junior and this book by these two guys as well as a number of right wing columnists,” he added.

Deace noted the diary entry release and fired off a scorching response on social media.

“This is quite possibly the greatest compliment of my entire career I will ever receive, to have annoyed the demonic little elf himself,” he posted.

“And notice he never disputes anything we wrote. The bestselling book has more footnotes than pages, and it’s all been proven true,” Deace added.

Deace reiterated his comment to Blaze News.

“Without question this is the single greatest honor of my career,” he wrote.

RELATED: In ‘Faucian Bargain,’ Steve Deace and Todd Erzen ask questions of Fauci the media won’t

The other Fauci diary entries released show the former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director gleefully tracking all of the glowing praise he received from the fawning mainstream media.

The book was published in 2021, and the writers provided evidence they believe showed Fauci had become the “most powerful and dangerous bureaucrat in American history.”

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​Anthony fauci, Coronavirus response, Mainstream media, Steve deace, Politics