Which clergy will defend real Catholicism as the stakes increase?

Below is a letter I received from a mother of a large family. She and her husband gave me permission to publish it. I am keeping them anonymous, as well as their bishop and diocese.

The TLM community in my diocese is suffering greatly. We are still mourning the loss of our Latin Mass; that school of holiness, valor, beauty, and love. It was our identity; the light of our families and the means of constant conversion in which we were all deeply happy and experienced such sweet holiness. Totally erased in the blink of an eye. It has been viciously torn away from us with absolutely no concern about what that would do to the faith and hearts of the people of this diocese. Tossed into the diocesan garbage bin are entire communities wracked with sorrow, and that sorrow hasn’t diminished with time. After all the media frenzy has died down, we are still crying.

Our Latin Mass was stolen from us on a Thursday. We who would die for our King are now forced to watch as the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is dismantled piece by piece before our very eyes until all that’s left is an inferior, empty, heartbreaking disappointment, unworthy of Him. In its place, protestant-flavored liturgical norms are being fired at us like a gatling gun. Is this not the hostile transformation of our Catholic culture by our own bishop?

It is holiness in our worship that we crave so that we may better honor and adore Him whom we love, and it is holiness in worship that is being forbidden (!) by the man who is charged with guarding the sacred liturgy and defending our Catholic liberty. We are accustomed to having a normal, peaceful diocese with a loving bishop. This bizarre situation is completely unfamiliar and it’s beyond distressing to be under constant attack by our “father”. What’s so confusing is how callous the words and behavior of our current bishop are, and how careless he is with the souls entrusted to him.

We are enduring the year of “firsts” after the death of our Latin Mass. Compared to the traditional calendar, the ordinary form calendar is utterly depressing. Should anything regarding the sacred liturgy be referred to as “ordinary”? Why do they put our high feasts days behind bars when we are asking to celebrate them at the appropriate time?

For example, every year we are accustomed to having an Extraordinary Form Missa Cantata to honor and glorify God on the great feast of Ascension. But the new calendar in our diocese doesn’t allow this solemnity to be celebrated that day; it’s transferred to the following Sunday. Therefore, we get nothing on Ascension Thursday. The end.

Someone please explain to me how this is somehow a better way. We want to honor and adore Our Blessed Lord on His high feast of Ascension Thursday per the tradition of Holy Mother Church. Let us! How can we change the culture and convert the world if we don’t set the example of placing Him first over everything else, even on a weekday? It gave us great joy to do this. I cannot describe the sorrow this loss is causing. We’re still crying.

We are now officially forbidden(!) from using our altar rails in worship of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity at Holy Communion and spurned by our bishop for wanting to do so. I watched in tears as a young girl on crutches struggled to kneel on the hard floor to receive Holy Communion, right next to a cushioned altar rail. How does this make any sense without concluding that it is abuse for the sake of hatred?

We are judged and shamed by some for making others feel as if we are holier than them when we kneel to receive our King, but our kneeling has nothing to do with them. It doesn’t even have anything to do with us. This is about Our Lord, Jesus Christ and freely giving Him the honor which is due to Him without impediment or difficulty. “Down in adoration falling, Lo, the Sacred Host, we hail!”

This is our faith. We are Catholic. We kneel, we veil, we chant in Latin, and we adore Christ in the Most Holy Sacrament of the altar. Does Bishop X even believe? He has made the altar rail a war zone because of, unity?? I see nothing but division, chaos, and pain. I will kneel on tacks and hot coals until I bleed if necessary and offer it all up for his conversion if I must. If he wants me to stop wearing my veil, he’s going to have to rip it off my head himself. Does he want me to give up my scapular too? How about my rosary? May Almighty God free his Church from the anti-Catholic tyrannical rule of modernist bishops.

Next in line for the guillotine in Bishop X’s reckless path of spiritual destruction could very well be the sacred music, one of the most integral ways to pass down the Catholic faith. A precious relic, “greater than that of any other art”. Sacred music belongs to us all. It is our history, our culture, and our identity. This is our children’s priceless inheritance, meant to be painstakingly preserved in its proper form, and carefully handed down to the next generation intact.

I will never chant in the vernacular. It disgusts me. I am Catholic and I chant in the official, sacred language of our Church: Latin, just as those before me have always done for centuries. Bishop X has been heard to say that he hates Latin. Satan also hates Latin. One can only be left to surmise that only a tragically malformed ideologue with an intense hatred for sacred tradition would be so determined to crush this holy, beautiful, and ancient form of prayer within the Mass. Gregorian chant has become a part of our souls now. We are not prepared to give it up as an integral element of our worship in noble service of the sacred liturgy.

The recent experience of having to watch large screens rolled out and placed directly in front of the altar, blocking the tabernacle during Holy Mass to play the video of the bishop speaking to us all about his, uhh, below average vision for the diocese was staggering and left many people more reassured in their suspicions that he has Narcissistic Personality Disorder. We worship the Holy Trinity, not Bishop X.

A prayerful woman and dear friend once told me after being puzzled by our bishop’s hateful actions that she realized why he punishes us so relentlessly, “He is jealous of Jesus”. An astute observation. Any bishop who demands that his flock cease their reverent, licit practices of devotion to our God and King in the sacred liturgy has proven himself unworthy of the office, and therefore should step down or be reprimanded and removed by Rome before he is able to do any more damage to the faith and the hearts of those entrusted to his care.

We have all seen with our own eyes that he disregards our Eucharistic Lord at the consecration and seems to hold Him in disdain. I would absolutely question his belief in the True Presence. His appalling ignorance of the sacred liturgy is painfully evident for all to see. Chief liturgist and chief exorcist? Factual but laughable. His episcopacy is a sad embarrassment to our esteemed diocese and the Church at large. Respect and trust have been obliterated by him. His abusive behavior is that of a level 10 narcissist and we are in desperate need of an apostolic visitation.

And Rome? Crickets. Whomever is responsible for choosing this man to be in authority over innocent souls should be punished by God for the suffering he has caused. That may sound harsh to some who haven’t witnessed the abuse and anguish we are continuously experiencing here.

With every fiber of my being, I reject this foreign, protestant replacement religion currently being rammed down my throat in my Church. It is not Catholic. I reject the syncretistic false “unity” of the globalist, sodomite, freemasonic and even satanic enemies of Christ who present themselves in Roman collars as if they were holy men of God. Our current reality is that those with authority in the Church are the destroyers of the Church and we need to say it often until it’s commonly understood.

The organic resurgence of authentic Catholicism through the action of the Holy Spirit in the Church has them enraged and terrified and they are in an enormous hurry to crush it before they die. They hate Jesus Christ and they hate us. Now is the time to hold fast to the traditions handed down to us, more tightly than ever. May God have mercy on us and deliver His holy Church from the power of wicked men.

Why do some priests allow us to be severely spiritually abused in the name of “obedience”? We were not consulted beforehand as to how we felt about them “taking it on the chin” over the removal of our Latin Mass. They, thankfully, can receive nourishment from the ability to say their own private Latin Mass. But the lay faithful do not have this access and we’re starving. We were not asked how we felt about their unnecessary compliance with the rail ordinance. I think many of them truly must not understand how this feels for us. It is way, way more than just “a little sad.”

Forgive me, but should they not be more concerned about the damage and scandal caused to the faith of the little ones, than about appeasing a petty tyrant out of fear? The long-term cost of capitulation is too great. Too great. “Christ would not have his spouse be a slave. There is nothing in this world that God loves more than the liberty of His Church.” St. Anselm of Canterbury. May St. Anselm intercede for us that God grant His priests the ability to freely minster to their flocks.

There are a good many faithful priests who have courageously and quietly continued ministering to their people to the best of their ability despite the threats. They need support in numbers from their brother priests. But when will the priests who feel squeamish about all this finally stand up and say, “Enough”? When will they cry out from the pulpits that this is all actually evil? We are under siege. To be a priest is to be willing to follow Christ to crucifixion, correct?

But they are not willing to risk it all to protect us and while they continue to cede ground, souls will be lost. Souls. Will. Be. Lost. How far will they compromise their integrity before they finally draw a line in the sand? To the priest who is responsible for leaking information to the press and thereby allowing transparency and awareness so that we can know exactly where to direct our prayers: HERO.

“When the shepherd becomes a wolf, the first duty of the flock is to defend itself. The true children of Holy Church, at such times, are those who walk by the light of their Baptism, not the cowardly souls who, under the specious pretext of submission to the powers that be, delay their opposition to the enemy in the hope of receiving instructions which are neither necessary nor desirable.”—Dom Prosper Gueranger, The Liturgical Year.

Are we there yet??

When will they cry out from the pulpits that this is all actually evil? We are under siege. To be a priest is to be willing to follow Christ to crucifixion, correct?

But they are not willing to risk it all to protect us and while they continue to cede ground, souls will be lost. Souls. Will. Be. Lost. How far will they compromise their integrity before they finally draw a line in the sand? To the priest who is responsible for leaking information to the press and thereby allowing transparency and awareness so that we can know exactly where to direct our prayers: HERO.

“When the shepherd becomes a wolf, the first duty of the flock is to defend itself. The true children of Holy Church, at such times, are those who walk by the light of their Baptism, not the cowardly souls who, under the specious pretext of submission to the powers that be, delay their opposition to the enemy in the hope of receiving instructions which are neither necessary nor desirable.”—Dom Prosper Gueranger, The Liturgical Year.

Are we there yet??

I’ve attended Latin Mass for over forty years. Forty years. I’m told that our current experience is a repeat of history and we are experiencing what those in the 60’s went through. They did not have a happy ending, so what do we have to hope for? For those of us who have a great love for tradition, after the glory days of Summorum Pontificum, we’ve been thoroughly defeated and have lost what was the beating heart of our families: our Mass.

Many souls are regularly weeping bitter tears and the temptation to wish that we had never become so attached to the beauty of the Latin Mass in the first place is weighing on us. That loss combined with having such an abusive father is becoming unbearable. We love the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass so very much and are wholly driven to ensure that it is filled with splendor and beauty. I do not love the deflated, mediocre, protestantized Mass. I love the Catholic Mass.

If Bishop X completes the destruction of the liturgy in our diocesan home which he is wrecking, where will we take our children for Catholic worship? How will we pass the faith on to them without our Catholic culture at the Mass. Really. How? Good catechesis and home life cannot fully make up for bad liturgy. It is the effeminate, handholding, emotional music-saturated, woman-dominant, hideous architecture, entertainment-themed, “communal gathering-for-a-meal”, liturgical formula which drives men out of the Church. I’ve witnessed it for decades.

With the violent removal of our Latin Mass, we are being denied the chance to give right worship to God to the best of our ability, which is the most important thing we can do on this Earth. I’m sorry, but the Novus Ordo is empty and banal, and I can clearly see now that it belittles Our Lord Jesus. It is insufficient for the King. It can never replace what we had. Never.

So, what now? How long will our children have to wait for its return? Until they’re grown and have missed their formation in good liturgy, after it’s too late? I know too many who have lost their faith in the uninspiring Novus Ordo Mass and the Catholic school systems (rather, they never received it), and precious few who have found their way back through the Latin Mass. They suffered from the lack of it and they are justifiably angry about having been denied it all their lives.

We live every Sunday in outrage, and our hope is at breaking point. We were torn from a fruitful path of purpose, worthy mission, and most importantly, restoration in the TLM and now are witnessing the systematic dismantling of what’s left of the sacred liturgy. No way out. No way forward. Rome does not appear to be coming to the rescue and the dubia will probably be ignored because the upper echelons of the hierarchy are mostly corrupt and seemingly all on the same side. There will be no legal repercussions for them because, for now, they hold all the levers of power. I pray that I am wrong.

We sorely need an inspired strategy from Heaven and a unified prayer campaign to our Blessed Mother, our Advocate, with the intention that God grant us a saintly bishop for our battered and bewildered diocese. In the words of Dietrich von Hildebrand, may we “storm Heaven with the prayer that the spirit of St. Pius X might once again fill the hierarchy.”

Until that happens, I remain stunned that anyone on this earth had the power to take our Mass away through the channels of authority inside the Church. May Heaven help us in this nightmare we’re living. Until then, we will try by God’s grace to endure this persecution under our cruel bishop and trust God’s reasons for allowing this bitter trial while we pray for the hastening of the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

But we go on living in sorrow in the desert of our liturgical wasteland as we watch our children begin to languish without the Latin Mass. Like the saints before us, in this bizarre situation, may God grant us the grace to always be authentically CATHOLIC, most especially, in our liturgy and worship.

Forcing myself to end with a smidgeon of hope, I’ll quote our friend Father John: “This is our season for patience; for waiting. Waiting for God to show us clear paths forward in the light of unexpected setbacks but not defeats. But it is a season that God has permitted.” And holding on for dear life to the words of the kind priest who wrote the anonymous letter of consolation to our diocese in the midst of our strife, “Pray for him, bear your exile and the sufferings therein with patience, offer these sufferings as a sacrifice, and trust that your return is near. Through your stripes, you can help mend these liturgical wounds. Return follows exile; renewal follows persecution; restoration follows destruction.”

Let it be so very soon, O Lord, for our precious children.

Fr. David Nix

The entire Commercial Cafe study can be found here.

Affordability, a good job market and clean, livable cities are major factors in where Gen Z is choosing to put down roots. As millions of Gen Z Americans continue to seek out cities that best meet those needs, a new study found that Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is the best Mid-Sized City in the U.S. for Gen Z.

The study, published this week by Commercial Cafe, compared cities across the U.S. with populations between 250,000 and 400,000 residents. The cities were scored in nine different categories:https://b11fa9812015177984e12cdcec7357db.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-45/html/container.html?n=0

• Affordability
• Jobs for recent graduates
• Unemployment rate for those between 20 and 24 years old
• Share of Gen Z residents
• Gen Z educational enrollment
• Internet cost
• Things to do
• Green commuting
• Parks per 10,000 residents

The scores were compiled using U.S. Census data, Bureau of Labor Statistics data and other sources. Gen Z is considered to be anyone born between 1997 and 2012.

Pittsburgh topped the list with a score of 69.4 despite not finishing first in any category. Instead, the Steel City earned its top ranking through consistently high scores across multiple categories. Pittsburgh finished in the top half of all nine categories.

Pittsburgh finished second in Gen Z educational enrollment, third in green commuting and fourth in the number of Gen Z residents. Pittsburgh’s youth unemployment rate of 4.5% and third-place finish in things to do also contributed to its top ranking.

Right behind was Madison, Wisconsin, which finished with 68.4 points. Madison finished tops in both number of Gen Z residents and youth unemployment. The study also found that 31.5% of jobs in Madison are well suited for recent graduates.

The top 10 Best Mid-Sized Cities for Gen Z in 2026 are:

1. Pittsburgh, PA
2. Madison, WI
3. Lincoln, NE
4. Cincinnati, OH
5. Lubbock, TX
6. Buffalo, NY
7. St. Louis, MO
8. Lexington-Fayette, KY
9. Durham, NC
10. Greensboro, NC

In terms of affordability, Laredo and Lubbock, Texas finished first and second overall, coming in 13% and 8.7% under the national average. The best car-free cities were Jersey City, New Jersey; Newark, New Jersey; and Pittsburgh.

The entire Commercial Cafe study can be found here.

Radical leftist, aging rocker Bruce Springsteen is demanding that Democrats increase their level of obstruction and hostility and calls on them to make President Donald Trump’s last two years in office a living hell.

Springsteen stands by his constant political harangues from the stage, especially during his latest tour, which he labeled the Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, the “Born in the USA” singer insisted that “this was the show I wanted to make, the story I wanted to tell.”

The 77-year-old rocker said he understands that people have been “vehement about the content of the show,” but as far as he is concerned, “that’s okay with me right now.”

The singer went on to joke that he’s “old now” and feels he can do whatever he wants.

“I always made the records I wanted to make and then went out and found the audience for them,” he added.

Rolling Stone notes that Springsteen was not planning another tour until radical, anti-American activists Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis. He put out an anti-American protest song.

“I’m out there to perform that music and to provide its message,” he told the magazine. “Minneapolis occurred, so I wrote ‘Streets of Minneapolis,’ and that fired the whole project, really, into being.”

He went on to say he felt he needed to do more. So, he launched his tour so he could rail against the U.S. from the stage in every city.

For instance, as he kicked of his tour, Springsteen told his audience that “the America that I’ve written about for 50 years, that’s been a beacon of hope and liberty around the world, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent, racist, reckless, and treasonous administration.”

Springsteen has received a lot of criticism for his constant tirades from the stage. Fellow rocker Jonathan Cain recently took at “The Boss” and called him an “annoying, bitter old mMan’ who should “shut up” about politics.

“We’re blessed to live where we live,” Cain insisted. “And I’m obviously a conservative. I used to be a Democrat back in the old days, but I just couldn’t go there anymore.”

Springsteen, though, insists that he is the real patriot because he “believes in critical patriotism.”

“I believe in critical patriotism,” Springsteen told PBS NewsHour in July, after being asked, “You said before that loving your country means telling the truth about it. How has that guided your work?”

He has called Trump a “racist” and “treasonous” and has promised to continue agitating over politics as 2026 and then the 2028 elections come.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: Facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston, Truth Social @WarnerToddHuston, or at X/Twitter @WTHuston

Drugs for treating depression are among the most prescribed category of medications in the U.S. – 1 in 6 American adults take them.

Some health researchers and advocates have raised concerns that too many patients are using antidepressants and that patients who want to stop taking them struggle to do so. One of the most prominent voices on this point is Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who launched an effort in May 2026 encouraging doctors to find other ways besides antidepressants and other psychiatric drugs to treat depression when possible.

As a psychiatrist for over 35 years, including a past role as the medical director of North Dakota’s Department of Human Services, I’ve seen both the benefits and the problems with antidepressants. In my view, there are grains of truth to claims that they are overused, but the full picture is much more nuanced.

What are antidepressants, and who takes them?

Over half of all antidepressant medications prescribed are a type of drug called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs. The first SSRI – fluoxetine, better known by its brand name Prozac – was approved in 1987. A handful of other types of SSRIs, which work through different mechanisms, also exists.

Antidepressants can be helpful for moderate to severe depression, but they are typically not warranted for mild depression, as the side effects might outweigh any potential benefits. For mild depression, many effective nonmedication treatments exist.Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has encouraged doctors to steer patients away from antidepressants when possible.

However, the distinction between mild and more severe symptoms sometimes gets lost. In everyday language, people use the term “depression” to describe everything from a minor sense of the blahs to a serious clinical condition requiring treatment.

Healthcare workers in primary care clinics routinely screen patients for depression using a widely used questionnaire. This tool can be effective in flagging patients who might need further testing or treatment. But in my experience, if used on its own to diagnose, it can be easily misinterpreted.

A person having a bad week or two who scores higher on a screening test might be prescribed a medication that was not necessary. But the tool can also fail to flag people who do need care. Over a third of people who die by suicide have visited a primary care provider in the month before their death. For those 55 and older, it rises to more than two-thirds.

Prescribing in general practice

According to a 2026 analysis, most prescriptions for antidepressants in the U.S. are not written by psychiatrists. In some cases, these medicines are prescribed by nurse practitioners or physician assistants with psychiatric qualifications, but most are written by primary care providers, who are not specialists in mental health.

Clinicians who provide primary care don’t just have less time to evaluate patients’ mental health concerns. They also have less access to ways of treating depression apart from medication, such as talk therapy.

Primary clinics that have behavioral health providers and consult with psychiatrists tend to help patients more effectively and provide more treatment options. These types of collaborative approaches to care are still rare but are becoming more common.

I recall my father, who was a country doctor in general practice, saying that half of his patients’ problems had to do with mental health issues, and he didn’t know how best to help them. Today’s primary care providers do receive more training on mental health issues, and they are often more equipped to recommend lifestyle changes that can be especially helpful for people with less severe depression symptoms.

But it’s simply human nature that when given a choice between taking a daily medication and engaging in activities that require commitment and intention, many will choose medication.

The opposing forces of stigma and access

Stigma has been a long-standing barrier in seeking mental healthcare.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, anxiety and depression have become more prevalent. That’s particularly true among adolescents and young adults – especially young women, who tend to experience less stigma around mental health issues.

New rules during the pandemic also made it significantly easier for people to access mental health treatment – both therapy and medications – remotely, via telehealth. Such access continues to grow. Before the pandemic, only 1% to 2% of antidepressant medications were prescribed via telehealth. By 2022, it was roughly one-third.

Given these trends, and the fact that clinicians often turn to medication for treating depression regardless of the severity, the uptick in antidepressant prescriptions since 2020 should come as no surprise. Virtual visits allow people to navigate more easily around stigma and find increased and convenient access to care. And many people feel more comfortable getting such care in a primary care clinic rather than a mental health clinic.

Systemic issues drive prescribing

For all these reasons, I would say that antidepressant medications are likely overused in some cases. Undoubtedly, some people who take them either don’t benefit from them or could address their symptoms in other ways.

On the other hand, expanded access to mental healthcare – including medication – has also enabled people who need treatment to receive it. Even now, many Americans with serious depression receive no or limited treatment.

What’s more, in my view, this imbalance reflects systemic problems in the U.S. healthcare system at least as much as physicians’ prescribing habits or patients’ requests.

For example, primary care clinics are a great place to screen for mental health issues, but getting proper treatment may involve more specialized care – which many patients can’t access. And on the business side, clinicians get little support in helping patients with lifestyle changes and nonmedication treatments – rather than prescribing drugs.

Difficulties in ditching antidepressants

Kennedy has claimed that for some people, stopping antidepressants can be harder than quitting heroin. Research suggests such extreme effects of discontinuing medication are rare, though not unheard of.

Any time a person is on a medication for a significant period of time, the brain and body adapt to establish a new balance. This happens with other substances, too – as any regular coffee drinker who has tried abruptly quitting knows.

People who want to stop taking antidepressants after being on them for a long time generally do best when they gradually taper their dose over weeks to months, unless they have a specific reason for stopping more quickly.

For antidepressants, clinicians watch for withdrawal symptoms including sleep problems, flu-like symptoms, headaches and an electrical buzzing sensation in the head. A 2024 review of dozens of rigorous studies that compared the experiences of people taking antidepressants with those taking a sugar pill found that roughly a quarter of people stopping antidepressants experienced some withdrawal symptoms, and for 3%, they were severe.

While certain antidepressants might be more likely to cause withdrawal symptoms, it’s tough to tell who might have the most difficulty. And for some patients, depression is a chronic illness for which they must take medication indefinitely.

However, most people working with an experienced clinician are able to successfully discontinue these drugs. Ultimately, what’s most important is that patients are able to consult with a knowledgeable provider in making that decision.

Andrew McLean, The Conversation

North Carolina Democrat state legislative candidate Shelly Headen posted a Facebook story from a vacation showing her in front of ovens in a German concentration camp memorial, saying, “Visiting Dauchau [sic] Concentration Camp in Germany… This is where Trump supporters belong.”

Headen was reportedly visiting Dachau, where the memorial states that 41,500 people were murdered.

In social media photos, Headen is seen smiling as she stands in front of what appears to be crematorium ovens, which were used by the Nazi SS to burn the bodies of Jews and other prisoners who died or were murdered at the camp. 

Headen faces incumbent Republican state Rep. John Blust in a suburban Guilford County district. On her Facebook page, Headen says she is a CPA and business owner “running to restore human decency,” an ironic statement after saying political opponents should be in concentration camps while posing and smiling in front of ovens at a Holocaust memorial site.

Six million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust.

The rhetoric expressed by Headen is growing among Democrat candidates and left-wing agitators across the nation. Earlier this year, a crazed gunman attempted to break through security presumably to assassinate President Trump at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner, and Michigan Muslim socialist candidate Abdul El-Sayed said, in response to an attack against a Jewish synagogue in his state, “Hurt people hurt people.”

The apparent call to burn Trump supporters isn’t her only expression of support for violence. In another Facebook post, Headen appears to call for an unspecified terrorist attack against America, writing, “I think our only hope is an attack on US soil… preferably Alabama, Louisiana… where the stupid people are.”

Headen has also faced domestic assault allegations in which her husband is listed as the “potential victim.”

A pair of what appear to be law enforcement “incident/investigation reports” from 2024 indicate Mrs. Headen was the suspect in both incidents.

In a statement on September 3, Headen said of the domestic violence allegations, “In 2024, during a high-stress time in my marriage, my husband and I had a couple of arguments that escalated. During one argument, my husband grabbed me, and I fell backward and hit my head. In my fear and confusion, I sought support and protection from those I trusted—I called 911.”

That description contradicts police reports, noting two separate law enforcement visits, not one, in both of which she is listed as the suspect and her husband the “potential victim.”

Breitbart News has reached out to Headen for a response to her inflammatory Facebook posts and clarification on the domestic violence allegations. The campaign has not responded by press time.

Breitbart

Democrat Sen. John Fetterman made a surprise appearance in a video shown at the Republican midterm convention Wednesday night in which he warmly introduced fellow Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick, a Republican.

The appearance has fueled speculation in Pennsylvania that Fetterman could seek reelection as an independent in 2028.

“His support is so low among his fellow Democrats I am not sure he could hire any Democratic staffers or consultants to work for him, so that is off the table,” Chris Nicholas, editor of PA Political Digest, told Newsmax.

Nicholas added that “[r]unning as an Independent takes more signatures to make the ballot but you have a longer time frame in which to gather them, and voters of all parties may help you gather them and sign them.”

Nicholas’ view was echoed by veteran Pennsylvania conservative activist Lowman Henry, chairman and CEO of the Lincoln Institute.

“I would not be surprised if he runs as an independent,” Henry told Newsmax. “Right now, it looks like there could be a crowded field in the Democratic primary — [Rep.] Chris Deluzio teased a run last week. [Rep.] Brendan Boyle is seriously looking at it, as are [former Reps.] Conor Lamb [who lost the 2022 primary to Fetterman] and Susan Wild.”

“But don’t dismiss the credibility of him running as an independent,” Henry continued. “Pennsylvania is not a run-off state, so the winner in the general [election] only needs more votes than anyone else — not over [50%].”

Henry, Nicholas, and other Pennsylvania political observers say that, aside from his support for Israel and openness to working with McCormick and President Donald Trump, Fetterman’s overall voting record remains largely aligned with Democrats.

As with the late Democrat Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who was reelected as an independent in 2006, Henry and Nicholas said a switch to the Republican Party would be unlikely for Fetterman.

Republican Rep. Dan Meuser is reportedly exploring a 2028 Senate race, as is former Rep. Keith Rothfus.

Fetterman’s appearance drew significant attention on the convention’s opening night. In Nicholas’ words, “it is a sign that no one is better at manipulating the Attention Economy than John Fetterman, with the exception of the President.”

John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.

Sameen Chaudhry

USA TODAY

Maria Bartiromo is signaling that she has more in store after her abrupt departure from Fox News.

The veteran television anchor addressed the situation publicly for the first time on Thursday, Sept. 10, one week after Fox News Media announced it had parted ways with her after more than 12 years.

“Before too much time passes, I want to thank all of my friends, followers and supporters for all of the kind words,” Bartiromo wrote in an Instagram post⁠. “I am so grateful for the outpouring of love this past week on social media & through texts. I love you all and I promise to be back soon w my next moves.”

The post included a series of peaceful snapshots featuring flowers, a beach sunset and Bartiromo’s dog, Dusty. She concluded the message by writing, “Sending love from @Dustybsteinberg & me.”Need a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!

Bartiromo, 58, shared a similar message on X alongside a photo of a rainbow breaking through the clouds. After thanking her supporters again, she teased: “More to come.”

The posts did not reveal what Bartiromo plans to do next or directly address the circumstances surrounding her Fox departure.

Fox News Media announced Sept. 3 that Bartiromo was no longer with the company, effective immediately. The network did not provide a reason for the decision, describing it as a business matter and thanking her for her work.

However, Bartiromo’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, has challenged reports characterizing her departure as a firing. In a statement provided to USA TODAY, Freedman said “the irresponsible reports that have been published stating that Maria Bartiromo was fired or is no longer an employee of Fox are absolutely and unequivocally false.”

“Make no mistake, we have the receipts and witnesses and they will come out whether through the courthouse or otherwise,” Freedman continued.

Bartiromo joined Fox in 2014 after two decades at CNBC. She hosted three programs across Fox News and Fox Business: “Mornings with Maria,” “Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street” and “Sunday Morning Futures.”

Following the announcement, Fox removed Bartiromo’s name from its business programs and began using replacement hosts. Her departure also prompted a public reaction from President Donald Trump, who praised her professionalism and described her as a “true warrior.”

Although Bartiromo has not offered details about her split with Fox, her latest messages suggest she does not intend to remain away from the public eye for long.

The acting U.S. Navy secretary Hung Cao said that the Iranian military severely damaged a major Navy installation in Bahrain, acknowledging the extent of damage sustained by the base during the conflict.

“They blew the hell out of Bahrain,” Cao said in an interview with The Epoch Times, which was published Thursday, referring to the Naval Support Activity Bahrain (NASB), which serves as the headquarters for U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and the U.S. Fifth Fleet.

The base has been heavily targeted by Iran after the U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes against the Islamic Republic in late February.

The Navy has relied on NASB as its main logistics hub in the Middle East.

Cao said the Navy is weighing what to do with NASB, including whether to repair the base.

“I have a task force that’s looking at that,” he told the news outlet.

In late August, the Navy’s top officer said it would be a while before the service branch would return to the base, including to retrieve the personal goods from sailors.

“We’re not getting back in there anytime soon,” Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle said during a town hall on Aug. 31. “I just want to be completely honest with that.”

Filip Timotija, The Hill

I was sitting in my home office not far from the Pentagon when it happened. The TV behind me had the sound lowered, but I suddenly became aware of a major development. I reached for the remote and cranked up the audio.

A plane had struck one of the twin towers in New York. TV anchors initially speculated it must have been a small plane that had run off course, but a much larger plane struck the building, and then a second one hit the other tower. It quickly became clear America was under attack. I saw smoke rising from the Pentagon and went up on the roof to get a better look. My son, who was a firefighter, later told me he pulled bodies out of the wreckage. He still doesn’t like to talk about it, likely because of the horrible experience.

Later, United Flight 93 crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, because of the bravery of Todd Beamer, who led other passengers and crew in a revolt that stopped the hijackers from possibly hitting the White House or Capitol Building.

I wrote six columns in a row and many others following that modern day of infamy. Here are some excerpts that ring true 25 years later.

A plane had struck one of the twin towers in New York. TV anchors initially speculated it must have been a small plane that had run off course, but a much larger plane struck the building, and then a second one hit the other tower. It quickly became clear America was under attack. I saw smoke rising from the Pentagon and went up on the roof to get a better look. My son, who was a firefighter, later told me he pulled bodies out of the wreckage. He still doesn’t like to talk about it, likely because of the horrible experience.

Later, United Flight 93 crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, because of the bravery of Todd Beamer, who led other passengers and crew in a revolt that stopped the hijackers from possibly hitting the White House or Capitol Building.

I wrote six columns in a row and many others following that modern day of infamy. Here are some excerpts that ring true 25 years later.

On the day of the terrorist attacks, I wrote: “It brings into clear focus the state of war that has existed for some time between America and those who oppose our values and way of life.” I called for the expulsion of people and organizations with ties to radical terrorist groups. Unfortunately, that did not happen, and the threat from within remains and appears to be growing. There are still unanswered questions about how those attacks were allowed to happen.

It didn’t take long before the “blame America first” crowd was heard from. They are still around, as we see in the current election cycle. The Mufti of Jerusalem had recently called on Allah to destroy America, which he said “is controlled by Zionist Jews.” Nothing has changed, and antisemitism has gotten worse.

I noted that in many Muslim schools, hatred for Jews and the U.S. is drummed into children from the earliest grades. A 7th-grade Palestinian textbook said: “(Islam) will defeat all other religions and it will be disseminated, by Allah’s will, through the Muslim Jihad fighters.”

Something else died on 9/11 besides the deaths of 2,977 people. I wrote it was the doctrine of moral equivalency — the idea that people everywhere are just like us or can be made so by acquiescing to their demands. Unfortunately, that flawed line of thinking continues to exist (consider those making such a case in the Iran war). Unfortunately, that worldview is still alive. The moral equivalency crowd, I wrote, will try to wear down our resolve. They have lost all credibility, just as the “peace in our time” crowd did shortly after Pearl Harbor and America’s entry into World War II.

Energy independence, I said, would free us from the grip of the Middle East. That, too, has not yet been achieved.

I was fortunate to be able to visit Ground Zero when others were barred. A friend knew the fire chief, who let us into a roped- off area. Three images I shall never forget: the blocks and blocks of store windows with pictures of the missing and pleas for help in finding them; the parked cars that were filled inside with dust from the collapse of the buildings; an unopened soft drink bottle lying in the debris. I have kept the hard hat they made us wear, on which I wrote “NYC 9/11/2001.”

A New York City police officer gestured at the ruins and said: “Look at this. Here is the result of years of illegal immigration, softness on crime, cutting the defense budget, and lack of attention to right and wrong in this country.” Not a bad summation.

It’s easy to say “never forget,” but each generation must be taught to remember, and one generation has been born since 9/11, and others were too young at the time. Most importantly, it depends on who is teaching the history and whether that teaching is based on facts or if it is filtered through the teacher’s own biases.

Cal Thomas, Townhall

In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate,” a terrorist declares on the Flight 93 cockpit recording. That’s followed by the sounds of the terrorists assaulting a passenger.

“Please don’t hurt me,” he pleads. “Oh God.”

As the passengers rush the cabin, a Muslim terrorist proclaims, “In the name of Allah.”

As New York firefighters struggle up the South Tower with 100 pounds of equipment on their backs trying to save lives until the very last moment, the Flight 93 passengers push toward the cockpit. The Islamic hijackers call out, “Allahu Akbar.”

Mohammed Atta had advised his fellow terrorists that when the fighting begins, “Shout, ‘Allahu Akbar,’ because this strikes fear in the hearts of the non-believers.” He quoted the Koran’s command that Muslim holy warriors terrorize non-believers by beheading them and urged them to follow Mohammed’s approach, “Take prisoners and kill them.”

The 9/11 ringleader quoted the Koran again. “No prophet should have prisoners until he has soaked the land with blood.”

On Flight 93, the fighting goes on. “Oh Allah. Oh the most Gracious,” the Islamic terrorists cry out. “Trust in Allah,” they reassure. And then there are only the chants of, “Allahu Akbar” as the plane goes down in a Pennsylvania field leaving behind another blood-soaked territory in the Islamic invasion of America.

Today that field is marked by the “Crescent of Embrace” memorial.

Thousands of Muslims cheered the attack in those parts of Israel under the control of the Islamic terrorists of the Palestinian Authority. They shouted, “Allahu Akbar” and handed out candy.

But similar ugly outbreaks of Islamic Supremacism were also taking place much closer to home.

On John F. Kennedy Boulevard, in Jersey City, across the river from Manhattan, crowds of Muslim settlers celebrated the slaughter of Americans. “Some men were dancing, some held kids on their shoulders,” a retired Jersey City cop described the scene. “The women were shouting in Arabic.”

Similar Islamic festivities broke out on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, a major Islamic settlement area, even as in downtown Manhattan, ash had turned nearby streets into the semblance of a nuclear war. Men and women trudged over Brooklyn Bridge or uptown to get away from this strange new world.

At Union Square, I passed NYU students painting anti-war placards even as the downtown sky behind them was painted the color of bone. They ignored the crowd streaming up past them and focused intently on making all the red letters in NO WAR line up neatly on the white cardboard.

In the years since, I have seen that look on the faces of countless leftists who ignore the stabbers shouting, “Allahu Akbar” in London or the terrorist declaring, “In the name of Allah, the merciful,” among the bloody ruin of a gay nightclub in Orlando. Instead they focus on their mindless slogans.

“NO WAR,” “Stop Islamophobia” and “Refugees Welcome.” The world of the cardboard sign and the simple slogan is an easier and neater one than a sky filled with the ashes of the dead.

On September 11, some of us opened our eyes. Others closed them as hard as they could.

The passengers on Flight 93 who took the lead were in their thirties. But the two firefighters who made it to the 78th floor of the South Tower, Ronald Bucca, who did duty in Vietnam as a Green Beret, and Orio Palmer, a marathon runner, were in their forties. Those men and women had the most meaningful answers to the old question, “Where were you when it happened?”

The great lesson of that Tuesday morning was that it wasn’t over. It wasn’t over when we understood that we wouldn’t find anyone alive in that twisted mass of metal and death. It wasn’t over when the air began to clear. It wasn’t over when the President of the United States spoke. It wasn’t over when the planes began to fly again and the TV switched from non-stop coverage of the attacks and back to its regularly scheduled programming. It wasn’t over when we were told to mourn and move on.

It still isn’t over.

After every attack, Boston, Orlando, San Bernardino, New York, Paris, Manchester, London, Barcelona, we are encouraged to mourn and move on. Bury the bodies, shed a tear and forget about it.

Terrible things happen. And we have to learn to accept them.

But Tuesday morning was not a random catastrophe. It did not go away because we went back to shopping. It did not go away with Hope and Change. Appeasing and forgetting only made it stronger.

“Where were you?” is not just a question to be asked about September 11, 2001. It is an everyday question. What are you doing today to fight the Islamic terrorists who did this? And tomorrow?

Our enemies wake up every day wondering how to destroy us. Their methods, from demographic invasion to WMDs, from political subversion to random stabbings, are many.

A new and terrible era in history began on 9/11. We are no more past it than we were past Pearl Harbor at the Battle of Midway. Its origins are no mystery. They lie in the last sound that came from Flight 93.

“Allahu Akbar.”

We are in the middle of the longest war in American history. And we still haven’t learned how to fight it.

September 11 has come around again. You don’t have to run into a burning building or wrestle terrorists with your bare hands. But use the day to warn others, so you can answer, “Where were you?”

Daniel Greenfield, Front Page Magazine