María Teresita Armstrong-Matta

Hive Bakery in Flower Mound, Texas, an award-winning two-time Food Network Champion, sparked national attention with a viral Facebook post criticizing MAGA and expressing embarrassment with the country's direction.

The bakery stated, it was "not wanting to celebrate the 4th this year," and declared, "We're embarrassed, afraid, and disappointed in what this country has become," USA Today reported Thursday.

The post claimed rational conservatives have abandoned the MAGA movement, while remaining supporters wish harm on the bakery.

Additionally, Hive Bakery created limited-edition "Distress Sugar Cookies" featuring an upside-down American flag and the phrase "Under Distress."

The merchandise sold out online immediately.

Owner Hailey Popp posted an Instagram video titled "Rage Baiting the Rage Baiters" showcasing hostile phone calls and social media reactions she received.

Despite criticism, the bakery reported record demand, "We’ve been SLAMMED today and baking all afternoon to accommodate the demand. Thanks so much, guys!!!" Hive Bakery posted on July 8.

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FIFA President Gianni Infantino faces mounting pressure to resign after overturning a red card for US striker Folarin Balogun following President Donald Trump's personal intervention.

Trump contacted Infantino requesting a review of the suspension, which FIFA's Disciplinary Committee subsequently reversed two days before US's match against Belgium, despite claiming to act independently, reports Keith Rathbone for The Conversation.

The decision produced questions about Infantino's close relationship with Trump, who awarded him the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize in December 2025.

The scandal prompted calls for resignation from Sky Sports presenter Jeff Stelling, German manager Jürgen Klopp, and former England captain Gary Lineker.

"UEFA officials have reportedly been discussing possible alternatives to Infantino," writes Rathbone.

European lawmakers demanded an investigation.

However, Infantino, who became FIFA president as an anti-corruption reform candidate in 2016, has become increasingly authoritarian and less transparent.

He maintains strong support from African and Asian confederations and appears positioned to secure an unprecedented fourth term.

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Former Republican strategist Rick Wilson shared his speculations for MAGA ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

In a recent Substack post, Wilson wrote that MAGA cannot win a fair midterm election fight and plans to resort to cheating.

"Let me tell you a secret about the MAGA movement that isn’t a secret at all, because they keep saying it out loud: they know they can’t win a fair fight in November," Wilson wrote.

The former GOP operative argued, despite MAGA's financial backing from tech and media ecosystems, Republicans recognize electoral vulnerability given an unpopular president, economic instability, and the Iran war.

Drawing on his experience as a GOP operative, Wilson explained, "I know how that room smells when the numbers go south, and all the culture war garbage in the world won’t fix it."

"It smells like fear, and fear in that party has exactly one output: cheat harder."

He emphasized Democrats have 90 days to shift from running a campaign to running a "midterm operation," a critical distinction for countering Republican plans.

Wilson urged Democrats to win decisively enough that MAGA cannot cheat its way back to power.

He characterized the upcoming midterms as "an actual contest over whether elections in this country still decide who holds power," noting that Republicans have already mobilized with control of the Court, federal agencies, financial resources, and electoral infrastructure.

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MAGA actor James Woods made his X account private on July 9, a day after an anti-MAGA account posted that Woods had faced accusations of predatory behavior.

The account lockdown came as the anti-MAGA account @MAGAts_Exposed resurfaced a claim that Woods approached actress Amber Tamblyn and a friend at a restaurant, offering to take them to Vegas when she was 16.

When Tamblyn said she was 16, Woods allegedly responded, "Even better."

Tamblyn detailed the incident in a Teen Vogue open letter and later published a New York Times op-ed titled "I'm Done With Not Being Believed."

Woods denied the accusation at the time.

Additionally, actress Elizabeth Perkins carried a sign reading "James Woods #MeToo" at a 2017 rally, reported the Daily Mail.

Woods has not publicly explained his account lockdown.

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Elon Musk abruptly canceled a heavily promoted live interview with CNBC moments before it was set to air on Friday, leaving the network scrambling.

Anchor Scott Wapner and correspondent Julia Boorstin were set to conduct what was billed as Musk's first television interview since SpaceX went public.

Boorstin announced the postponement at the Allen & Co. gathering in Sun Valley, Idaho.

"Yeah, we were expecting to start an interview with Elon Musk right now at noon Eastern. We just got word that he has to postpone," Boorstin explained, adding the network hopes Musk reschedules.

The cancellation occurred as SpaceX shares declined nearly 3% to approximately $148, falling below the stock's record-breaking opening price of $150 on June 12 and its IPO price of $135.

Boorstin noted planned discussion topics included Grok 4.5, the AI model Musk's company launched Wednesday, and SpaceX's pricing strategy amid rising component costs.

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Reactions flooded social media Friday following news of former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's divorce from her husband, Bryon Noem.

Bryon's alleged affair and "bimbofication" fetish were reported in April.

Noem's mother, Corinne Arnold, provided additional details to The Daily Mail, disclosing that Bryon moved out of their Castlewood, South Dakota, home. She also described events after Kristi discovered his reported "secret double life" online.

Social media users responded critically to both the divorce and the revelations.

Attorney Tom Ryan commented on X, "The MAGA Family Values cry has always been a fraud."

Newsmax White House producer Marisela Ramirez posted on X, "I feel like there had to be an alternative to 'final blow'."

Progressive attorney Frank D. Russo shared on Bluesky, "The latest from the clown car of the Trump regime."

"Where do they find all of these people? This is pathetic," he added.

Liberal commentator "Patty" questioned on Bluesky, "Kristi Noem divorcing husband what happened to staying together for Christian values?"

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A new analysis found finance professionals declared the stock market is being increasingly driven by President Donald Trump's temperament rather than rational capital allocation.

Politico's analysis reported investors abandoned traditional earnings and cash flow analysis, instead obsessively speculating about which companies will gain or lose Trump's favor.

Firms are systematically forecasting which industries will benefit from White House policies, weighing which CEOs have presidential access and whether announcements could transform company prospects overnight.

Henrietta Treyz, co-founder of Veda Partners, told Politico, "I've been doing this for 20 years; I've never seen it like this."

Her clients regularly ask which specific sectors, particularly copper mining and polysilicon production, will gain the administration's attention.

Finance expert Luigi Zingale warned this is unsustainable, explaining, "We're no longer trying to figure out what is the next good allocation of capital, we're trying to figure out what is the allocation of capital most favored by President Trump."

"It's a terrible sign of not only the market, but the economy."

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FBI Director Kash Patel responded defensively to criticism from MS NOW's Hayes Brown regarding his expensive leisure activities, partly funded by taxpayers.

In his op-ed, Brown highlighted Patel's extensive personal time during official travel and cited an internal schedule from his Italy trip obtained by The New York Times. The document revealed long periods for "personal time" and "cultural activities."

The article includes an editorialized image of Patel, 46, surrounded by an expensive BMW, a golf bag, snorkeling gear, an FBI jet, and a jet ski.

Patel reacted angrily on X, suggesting his jet ski is gold-plated and cursing at the publication: "Your job is to lie. Mine is to protect the American people, and business is good!"

Brown cautioned, Patel's lavish lifestyle could make him a target for frustrated Republicans seeking easier alternatives to criticizing Trump directly.

“He runs the risk of becoming a lightning rod, drawing down the wrath of every frustrated Republican who knows it’s much easier to savage the people around Trump than aiming at the president himself,” Brown wrote.

Patel has also faced scrutiny for allegedly using FBI jets to attend his girlfriend's music performances in Nashville, for his behavior in the 2026 Winter Olympics and for snorkeling at the Pearl Harbor Memorial in Hawaii.

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President Donald Trump fired the remaining three members of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, or EAC, just months before the midterm elections, according to Reuters.

The action follows a landmark Supreme Court decision overturning 90 years of precedent, granting Trump near-unlimited power to dismiss agency heads, even those Congress designed to be independent with merit protections.

The EAC assists states in administering elections and provides guidance on voting procedures.

According to Blanco, Trump and his associates have spent the past year discussing ways to circumvent the EAC regarding voting machine system updates and changes.

The move coincides with Trump's broader push to impose strict federal oversight of state mail-in voting procedures and investigate election workers nationwide.

Trump continues to promote conspiracy theories about the 2020 election being rigged against him.

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A part-time conductor on Chattanooga's Incline Railway was fired over remarks he made to passengers during a Fourth of July ride, according to Chattanooga's Times Free Press.

The Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority, or CARTA, dismissed the conductor the same day a passenger shared video of the incident, which the news outlet described as xenophobic.

The video was captured and initially posted on TikTok by passenger Nathan Scherer, who was visiting from Florida with his father, Charles, according to WRCB of Chattanooga.

"To the very, very few Americans in here, happy Independence Day," the conductor, later identified as Jack Peterson, said over the train intercom.

As the clip continues, a passenger tells him to shut up.

"To the rest of you, welcome to the greatest country on the face of the planet, and if you disagree, you can leave," Peterson said.

CARTA published a statement Monday saying a customer shared the video the same afternoon and that Peterson, a seasonal summer employee, was fired that day, The Times Free Press reported.

“Those remarks were unacceptable, and they do not reflect the values of CARTA, the Incline Railway, or the people who work here. [Peterson] will not work for CARTA or the Incline Railway again," wrote Scott Wilson, CARTA's chief of staff, in an email shared by WRCB of Chattanooga. "[Peterson] will not work for CARTA or the Incline Railway again."

"I want to apologize directly to the passengers who experienced this and to everyone who has seen the video and felt its sting. It should never have happened," Wilson continued.

However, the agency later signaled the door was not fully closed.

In a fuller statement, CARTA said its chief executive, Charles Frazier, reached out to Peterson to discuss whether there was a path back to employment.

Peterson defended the remarks.

"I'm very patriotic it was the USA's Independence Day. I was celebrating with my fellow Americans (native or non-native). I truly do believe we are the greatest country on earth. My statement about if you dont like the country and dont believe we are the best then you can leave is a freedom of the ISA that many other countries do not have. It is not a racist or xenophobic thing to say. If you dont believe in making this country better then why are you here?"

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who uses the title "Secretary of War" under a Trump executive order, initiated a strict crackdown this week.

During a naval ship visit, Hegseth discovered too many soldiers received beard exemptions, CNN reported.

According to the report, Pentagon leadership subsequently held meetings emphasizing Hegseth's close monitoring of beard policy compliance and other workplace changes, with pressure from political appointees to accelerate implementation.

While beards have historically been restricted in the military, with exceptions for religious or medical reasons, Hegseth seeks to minimize these exemptions.

The policy could disproportionately harm Black service members, who are particularly susceptible to pseudofolliculitis barbae, a painful condition where shaved hair curls back into skin, CNN reports.

Under Hegseth's directives, commanders can discharge military personnel requiring shaving waivers after one year of medical treatment for the condition. Additionally, Hegseth enforced changes to Equal Employment Opportunity law, including presumptions of innocence for complaint subjects.

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Former Homeland Security official Miles Taylor warned of an alleged plot to manipulate the midterm elections, with President Donald Trump's "boyhood pal" Peter Ticktin at its center.

Ticktin, an 80-year-old Florida lawyer who met Trump in the 1950s at a military academy, urged the president to declare a national emergency based on unsubstantiated claims of foreign election interference in the 2020 election, Newsweek reports.

Ticktin claims proof will emerge once Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro cooperates, Newsweek added.

Taylor argued in an analysis posted on his Substack, some people speculate the Trump administration offered Maduro leniency in exchange for admitting having intervened in the election.

Ticktin already drafted an executive order to declare such an emergency, CNN reported earlier in the week.

"If this guy, Ticktin, wants Trump to declare a 'national emergency,' let’s be prepared for the president to declare one – and be ready ourselves to say within seconds that it’s a farce," Taylor wrote.

“It's our expectation that the president will undertake more illegal and unconstitutional actions to steal the midterms. He will dispute the outcome if his side loses, even if the loss is decisive and beyond dispute. And he will – in all likelihood – try to prevent the peaceful transfer of power to the political opposition. After all, he’s done it before. But this time we’re better prepared to fight it. And we need to stand together.”

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Celebrity podcaster Joe Rogan expressed intense anger at President Donald Trump over the war in Iran during a conversation with right-wing British politician Rupert Lowe.

Despite endorsing Trump in 2024, Rogan criticized the president for breaking a key campaign promise to avoid new wars.

Speaking to Lowe, Rogan argued most people oppose the conflict except for Israel supporters, and he repeatedly used profanity when describing Trump's decision to go to war with Iran, The Daily Beast reported.

"Most people are horrified by the idea, because Trump was elected [and] one of the pillars that he stood for, apparently, was that he doesn’t want any more wars,” Rogan said.

His outburst followed Trump's announcement that a three-week ceasefire with Iran had ended.

This marks another instance of Rogan criticizing Trump's Iran policy.

According to the Daily Beast, Rogan previously called the war "insane" and claimed people felt "betrayed" shortly after it began.

The contrast is notable given that Rogan and Trump appeared comfortable together at an Oval Office press conference where Trump announced eased restrictions on psychoactive medications in April.

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President Donald Trump's ambassador to the Holy See demanded an apology and help identifying the source of a leak that portrayed U.S. officials as intimidating Pope Leo XIV over his criticism of the Iran war.

Brian Burch, the ambassador to the Holly See, personally contacted Vatican Cardinal Christophe Pierre with the request, reports The New York Times.

The incident stemmed from a January Pentagon meeting between Burch and Pierre.

Reports allege U.S. officials threatened the Vatican, which Burch called "grossly mischaracterized," and suspected the claim originated from Vatican sources as an attack on the United States.

Pierre denied the reports, and the Vatican acknowledged details were exaggerated. The Pentagon also denied issuing threats.

The leak hunt occurred amid Trump's public criticism of the pope as weak on crime and Vice President JD Vance's theological challenges to papal doctrine on just-war principles.

Burch, a conservative Catholic activist and father of nine, maintains Trump and the pope share aligned goals.

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Republican Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley demanded FBI Director Kash Patel provide detailed information about his use of FBI aircraft for personal travel and the FBI's purchase of BMW vehicles, MS NOW reported Thursday.

Patel's use of FBI aircraft for personal travel and the FBI's purchase of BMW vehicles were initially reported in December, according to the outlet.

Grassley, Iowa's senior senator, directly questioned Patel, "For each trip where you used an FBI aircraft for personal travel, have you reimbursed the FBI as required by law?"

He also demanded Patel explain why the FBI purchased BMW vehicles instead of standard Chevy Suburbans.

This marks a notable shift in tone from Grassley, who previously defended Patel publicly.

Patel, a MAGA loyalist and former House Republican intelligence staffer, has faced a rocky tenure as FBI director, with allegations of personal aircraft use for pleasure trips and limited workplace availability.

A bombshell Atlantic report depicted Patel as frequently intoxicated and paranoid. Patel has denied all allegations and sued The Atlantic for $250 million over the story, according to Reuters.

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