Author: Darnell Thompkins

Kristi Noem left the Department of Homeland Security and handed leadership to Markwayne Mullin, touted a set of enforcement achievements, faced personnel and optics controversies, and is moving into a new hemispheric security role while Republicans gauge what comes next. Kristi Noem posted a farewell statement on X as she handed over the reins at the Department of Homeland Security to former Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin, who was sworn in the same day. In her post she thanked President Trump “for entrusting me to lead the department leading the fight to Make America Safe Again.” The move closes one chapter…

Former CIA Director John Brennan told a cable panel he trusted Iran over President Trump amid conflicting accounts about U.S.-Iran communication, sparking sharp reactions and follow-up reporting that complicated the narrative. On a recent MSNBC panel, John Brennan said he believed Iran over the president when the two accounts about talks diverged. The exchange took place during a discussion on whether Washington and Tehran were actually in contact, and it raised immediate eyebrows because Brennan is a former director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Brennan’s public siding with a regime that has chanted “Death to America” for decades surprised many…

More than two-thirds of Americans support reinstating the abortion pill’s in-person medical visit requirement, the longtime Food and Drug Administration safety protocol that was jettisoned during recent policy changes, and that public backing matters for how we approach patient safety and regulatory standards. Voters across the country are signaling a clear preference for restoring a commonsense safety step that had been standard for years. From a Republican viewpoint, this is about protecting patients and upholding sensible medical oversight, not about creating unnecessary barriers. The idea that a medication with potential complications can be prescribed without an exam feels out of…

The Pentagon has revised its press-access rules after a federal judge blocked the previous policy, shutting the long-standing Correspondents’ Corridor and planning a new workspace on Pentagon grounds while announcing an appeal. The announcement came from Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, who confirmed the Department moved quickly to comply with the court order while signaling it will challenge the decision. The most visible change was not more access but a new arrangement for reporters: the old corridor is closed and a workspace outside the building will be set up. In public remarks Parnell said, “The Department always complies with court orders…

Summary: An 18-year-old Loyola student was fatally shot near campus; a 25-year-old illegal Venezuelan migrant has been arrested, and a Chicago alderwoman’s comments minimized the killing. An 18-year-old Loyola University Chicago student, Sheridan Gorman, was shot dead while walking with friends along the lakefront near campus. Police arrested 25-year-old Jose Medina-Medina, described as an illegal Venezuelan migrant, and charged him in the killing. The city’s response has focused more on calming political narratives than on calling out the violence and the person who pulled the trigger. Sheridan was a college freshman from Yorktown, New York, doing what college freshmen do:…

Republicans are watching a lively primary season unfold while warning that big government never stops asking for more, and this piece looks at the political energy and the fiscal pressures that follow. The primary calendar has kicked off with a burst of activity and sharper lines between candidates vying to represent conservative values. Voters are showing up energized, and that turnout is translating into clear demands for smaller government, lower taxes, and tougher stances on regulation. Campaign rhetoric now mixes culture issues with budget discipline, and Republicans are framing the debate around returning power to citizens instead of expanding the…

Recent polling, gathered just days before the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Watson v. RNC, shows an overwhelming majority of voters oppose counting mail ballots that arrive after Election Day, and the court signaled clear skepticism about allowing late-arriving ballots. The Supreme Court’s questions on Monday made it obvious that justices worry about the legal and practical consequences of accepting ballots after Election Day. That skepticism aligns with a poll completed shortly before the oral arguments showing most voters do not want election results stretched past the deadline. For many Americans, Election Day is a firm cutoff that preserves…

The Trump administration has moved to close the “Correspondents’ Corridor” at the Pentagon, a long-used workspace for military reporters, setting up a clash between access and security that is now playing out in Washington. The Pentagon’s long-standing workspace known as the “Correspondents’ Corridor” has been a familiar spot for journalists who cover the Defense Department. For years that area served as a hub where reporters could gather, trade tips, and quickly reach uniformed officials for on-the-spot questions. The decision to shutter it is straightforward but symbolic, because it touches both practical routines and press access expectations. Defense Department officials announced…

An 18-year-old Loyola freshman was killed near the lakefront in Chicago after an encounter with a masked gunman, and the suspect — a 25-year-old Venezuelan immigrant with prior contacts with authorities — now faces murder and weapons charges amid sharp criticism of border and sanctuary policies. Sheridan Gorman, an 18-year-old freshman at Loyola University Chicago, was shot in the head while trying to flee a masked attacker near Tobey Prinz Beach around 1:30 a.m. She later died. The accused, identified as 25-year-old Jose Medina, had been detained at the border in May 2023, released, then arrested and released again after…

A powerful flood event struck Hawaii, the worst in roughly two decades, sweeping entire homes off foundations, nudging cars into streets and leaving interiors and surfaces caked in thick, reddish volcanic mud. The storm dumped huge amounts of water in a short period, turning familiar streets into roaring channels and sending debris downstream with little warning. Many neighborhoods found their basements, living rooms and kitchens layered in the distinctive rust-colored mud that comes from volcanic soils. Emergency crews and neighbors moved quickly to rescue people trapped in rising water and to pull cars from current-swept driveways. Several homes were ripped…