Author: Karen Givens

Kay Granger, the Fort Worth Republican who served in Congress for nearly three decades and broke multiple barriers for women in Texas politics, has died at 83, prompting tributes from leaders across the party and beyond. Kay Granger died Sunday at age 83, and Republican leaders quickly noted her long service and steady focus on committee work. She left a mark as a practical conservative who preferred the mechanics of governance over television spectacle. Her death brings attention to a career built on local roots and national responsibility. Granger made a string of firsts in Texas politics, becoming the first…

CNN routinely justified major constitutional infringements and helped authoritarians in federal and state governments with narrative control on lockdowns and social distancing. From a Republican viewpoint, the pandemic era exposed how media outlets can shape not just opinion but policy outcomes, often tilting toward centralized authority. The coverage around lockdowns and social distancing didn’t just report events, it framed them in a way that made sweeping government action seem inevitable. That framing mattered because it changed what policy options felt politically possible. CNN routinely justified major constitutional infringements and helped authoritarians in federal and state governments with narrative control on…

The story follows a teenage girl who reached Spanish soil after a dangerous sea crossing, while her younger brother drowned and their mother vanished amid chaotic scenes involving massive crowd movements. The teenage girl made it through the waves to Spanish territory. Her little brother did not, drowning in the Mediterranean, while their mother disappeared in the chaos when tens of thousands of people. The image of a single survivor against such loss captures the human cost of risky migrations across busy sea lanes. These crossings often happen at night or in crowded conditions, with flimsy boats and limited safety…

City-run grocery experiments are collapsing in multiple places, and New York’s plan to open five municipally owned stores selling produce and meat at 30% below market risks repeating the same mistakes while wiping out immigrant-owned corner stores that keep neighborhoods fed and employed. Chicago paid more than $13 million of taxpayer money to bring seven grocery stores to underserved neighborhoods, and all seven closed on Saturday, July 25 with no warning to shoppers. Cleveland’s city-owned market shut in April, and Kansas City, Kansas invested about $7 million in a downtown grocery that folded in December. These aren’t isolated flukes; they…

The Russian Embassy in Rome on Monday blamed Ukraine for a deadly weekend bombing at a Moscow restaurant, calling it an attempt to intimidate the Italian community in Russia and raising fresh concerns about civilian safety and diplomatic fallout. The attack at a Moscow restaurant over the weekend left deaths and injuries and immediately drew a diplomatic statement from the Russian Embassy in Rome. The embassy singled out Ukraine for responsibility and framed the blast as aimed at putting pressure on Italians living or working in Russia. That public accusation shifts the incident from a local tragedy to a matter…

A quick look at a New Hampshire warehouse where mining waste in 1-ton bags sits under a giant American flag, hinting at the domestic stakes around recovering critical elements and rebuilding supply chains. Inside a large New Hampshire warehouse, a giant American flag dominates one wall above rows of heavy white sacks. Those 1-ton bags contain mining waste that holds metals and minerals tied to electronics, clean energy components, and other technologies key to the modern economy. The sight of the flag is more than decoration; it signals the idea that what sits in those bags has national significance. Recovering…

Russian planes dropped eight powerful glide bombs in a span of 90 minutes on residential districts of the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, killing one person and wounding dozens of others. The attack on Zaporizhzhia was brutal and calculated, striking homes and neighborhoods where civilians live. Eight glide bombs in 90 minutes is not random; it is designed to terrorize and inflict maximum civilian harm. Local emergency services were overwhelmed by damage and casualties, and pictures from the scene showed mangled buildings and frantic rescue efforts. This kind of strike makes clear that the Kremlin continues to use long-range precision…

A crowd of critics and supporters of Indiana guard Sophie Cunningham gathered inside and around the Target Center on Sunday following her public stance on transgender participation in women’s sports. The scene at the Target Center felt charged and disciplined at the same time, with people on both sides making their presence known. Fans, demonstrators and curious onlookers filled lobbies and concourses, talking loudly but mostly staying orderly. Security staff managed entrances and movement without major incident. Sophie Cunningham, identified as an Indiana guard, has become a focal point in an ongoing cultural and sports debate about who should compete…

Democrats in Montana face a simple choice: keep a weak nominee and likely lose, or step aside to give an independent a real shot at the seat. Democrats in Montana are stuck with a nominee who is polling poorly, short on cash, and unlikely to beat Republican incumbent Kurt Alme this November. Independent Seth Bodnar looks competitive in head-to-head surveys, but his path to victory depends on Alani Bankhead leaving the ballot. “If she doesn’t get out, it’s done,” a top Democratic Party operative told The Washington Post. The numbers and the timing have put the party in a tight…

Democratic objections to giving President Trump more tariff authority is slowing Senate consideration of a Russia sanctions bill and preventing a potentially unanimous vote to support Ukraine. The Senate is stuck in a procedural grind because Democrats are tying broader trade authority to a straightforward Russia sanctions measure. Republicans see this as needless obstruction at a moment when unity matters for Ukraine and for confronting Russian aggression. Lawmakers who want to act quickly argue that sanctions and trade policy are separate tools and should not be bundled together for political leverage. For conservatives, the principle is simple: stand with allies…