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Coming off a bye week following a 69-3 drubbing at the hands of Oregon, Oklahoma State and coach Mike Gundy had to make a statement.

With Tulsa holding the ball and a 19-12 lead with under four minutes left in the game, the Oklahoma State crowd in Boone Pickens Stadium made its feelings about Gundy — the most decorated coach in the Cowboys’ history — known. ‘Fire Gundy’ chants rained down on the field, and were picked up on the ESPN broadcast, continuing chants that were kicking up sporadically throughout the game.

Gundy, a Midwest City, Oklahoma, native who has prowled the Cowboys’ sidelines since 2005, has reshaped a program that was listless before his arrival. He is 12-6 in bowl games since replacing Les Miles, who absconded for LSU after four years in Stillwater.

Oklahoma State went 3-9 last season, putting fire under his seat heading into the year. After an uninspiring 27-7 win over UT Martin to start the year, Dan Lanning’s Ducks completely dismantled Oklahoma State after some verbal sparring with Gundy during the week. On Sept. 19, Tulsa beat Oklahoma State on the road for the first time since 1951.

Teams have been quick to action with coaches so far this season, with UCLA firing DeShaun Foster and Virginia Tech parting ways with Brent Pry. While neither coach had the legacy at their respective schools Gundy has at Oklahoma State, the writing could well be on the wall in the ‘what have you done for me lately?’ college football culture. Just ask the fans who were chanting.

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President Donald Trump spent the bulk of the week in the U.K. where he inked a new tech deal, and closed out the week gearing up to attend the memorial service of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Arizona. 

During the trip abroad, Trump and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer unveiled a new $350 billion tech investment plan, which is expected to generate 15,000 jobs across the U.K. and up to 2,500 jobs in the U.S. 

Specific details of the ‘Tech Prosperity Deal’ are sparse, but officials said that the plan will invest in the development of 12 advanced nuclear reactors and that energy will go toward supplying energy needs for the U.K. and the U.S. 

‘It’s a blueprint to win this new era together. Shape it according to our shared values, and seize the incredible opportunities that are on offer,’ Starmer said. ‘We have huge new investments from Nvidia N scale, Open AI, Google, Salesforce and many more backing cutting-edge British jobs for years to come.’

The plan will accumulate $50 billion in economic value and will deliver power to as many as 1.5 million homes, according to Trump. 

Trump also touted the close relationship between the U.S. and the U.K. during a state dinner at Windsor Castle with members of the U.K.’s royal family, including King Charles III. 

‘His Majesty spoke eloquently about the bond which inspired Sir Winston Churchill — the bust is in the Oval Office right now — the beautiful bust of Winston Churchill, to coin the phrase ‘special relationship,’ but seen from American eyes, the word ‘special’ does not begin to do it justice,’ Trump said Wednesday. ‘We’re joined by history and fate, by love and language and by transcendent ties of culture, tradition, ancestry and destiny.’

Trump arrived back in Washington later Thursday and will leave for Kirk’s memorial service Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The venue holds 63,400 people and has the capacity for up to 73,000 for ‘mega-events,’ according to its website.

Kirk, 31, was killed during a stop on his American Comeback Tour Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University. Kirk’s death has also raised questions about Trump’s own security, amid two assassination attempts on Trump’s life in 2024. 

A senior administration official confirmed to Fox News Digital Friday that federal law enforcement agencies like the Department of Homeland Security released a report Thursday cautioning that they are monitoring ‘several threats of unknown credibility’ against Trump, Vice President JD Vance and others expected to attend Kirk’s memorial service. 

The assessment asserts that the memorial may be an attractive target for violent extremists or lone wolf actors due to the significant media coverage it’s expected to attract.

Meanwhile, Trump said he likely will share some remarks during the memorial service. 

‘It’s going to be big,’ Trump told reporters Monday. ‘I’m going to be at the stadium, and I guess I’ll say a few words. I don’t know, but I guess I will, but I knew him very well. He was an amazing guy. He was all about young people and getting them started.’

Fox News’ Caitlin McFall contributed to this report. 

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And then there were four.

The No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, No. 2 Las Vegas Aces, No. 4 Phoenix Mercury and No. 6 Indiana Fever have punched their tickets to the 2025 WNBA semifinals. If the first round was any indication, the semis should by exciting. Three of the four first-round series went to a decisive Game 3 and were won by a combined 10 points. (There were three first-round Game 3s total in the last four years.)

The semifinals tip off on Sunday and will move to a best-of-five (2-2-1) format. The 2025 WNBA Finals will be a best-of-seven (2-2-1-1-1) format for the first time in league history.

The journey to the title continues on Sunday. Here’s a look at the semifinal round of the 2025 WNBA playoffs, including projected starting lineups, head-to-head records and X factors for each matchup:

No. 1 Minnesota Lynx (34-10) vs. No. 4 Phoenix Mercury (27-17)

Minnesota won the regular-season series vs. Phoenix, 3-1.

Minnesota Lynx starting lineup

Head coach: Cheryl Reeve

6 Bridget Carleton | F 6′ 2′ – Iowa State
8 Alanna Smith | F 6′ 4′ – Stanford
10 Courtney Williams | G 5′ 8′ – South Florida
21 Kayla McBride | G 5′ 11′ – Notre Dame
24 Napheesa Collier | F 6′ 1′ – UConn

Phoenix Mercury starting lineup

Head coach: Nate Tibbetts

0 Satou Sabally | F 6′ 4′ – Oregon
2 Kahleah Copper | G 6′ 1′ – Rutgers
4 Natasha Mack | C 6′ 4′ – Oklahoma State
8 Monique Akoa Makani | G 5′ 11′ – Cameroon
25 Alyssa Thomas | F 6′ 2′ – Maryland

Why Minnesota Lynx could win

The Lynx are battle tested. After trailing the scrappy Golden State Valkyries by 17 points in Game 2 of the first-round series, the Lynx didn’t panic. Instead, they clawed their way back to complete an epic comeback and swept the Valkyries by winning the clincher on the road. It not only highlighted Minnesota’s experience, maturity and wisdom, it also showed the Lynx will stop at nothing to reach their championship goal. Minnesota returned six players from last year’s WNBA Finals roster, tying the Liberty, Dream and Aces for the most continuity. And they’re fueled by their ‘belief in each other,’ Cheryl Reeve said, and the ‘power of friendship,’ Co-Defensive Player of the Year Alanna Smith added. ‘We have the experience of hard games. We’ve been tried and tested. Especially last year we went through (the Finals) and have our core team back,’ Napheesa Collier said. Watch out everyone. The Lynx are coming for what was ‘stolen’ from them.

Why Phoenix Mercury could win

The Mercury dropped Game 1 against the defending champion New York Liberty in devastating fashion after forward Alyssa Thomas missed a game-winning layup in the final seconds. Phoenix regrouped and rattled off back-to-back wins to dethrone the defending champions and eliminate the Liberty from the postseason. The Mercury’s league-leading bench scored 20 points in Game 3, led by 13 points from Sami Whitcomb and four points from DeWanna Bonner, who hit a big shot to extend Phoenix’s lead to five points in the final minute. The Mercury flexed their defensive muscles in the win, outrebounding the Liberty 49-33, and can disrupt the Lynx if they can carry that aggression into the semifinals.

X factor: Mercury’s Big 3

The Mercury are 15-0 this season when their Big 3 forward Alyssa Thomas, forward Satou Sabally and guard Kahleah Copper score 10 or more points each, and they were spectacular in the Game 3 win. Thomas had her ninth triple-double of the season and fifth in the playoffs with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. Sabally recorded a double-double with a team-high 23 points, 12 rebounds and three assists and Copper added 12 points and nine rebounds. The veteran core is the key to taking down the league-leading Lynx.

X factor: Lynx guard Natisha Hiedeman

Hiedeman has provided the Lynx instant energy off the bench. The Sixth Player of the Year candidate averaged 18.6 points, 4.4 assists and two steals in the final five games of the regular season and carried that momentum into the first round of the playoffs, where she put up 18 points in Game 1 and followed that performance up with seven assists in Game 2. Coach Cheryl Reeve said Hiedeman is ‘playing at a different level’ and ‘playing her best basketball this season.’ The Lynx will need every bit to hoist the WNBA trophy.

Minnesota Lynx vs. Phoenix Mercury semifinal schedule

Game 1: Mercury at Lynx, Sunday, Sept. 21 | 5 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Game 2: Mercury at Lynx, Tuesday, Sept. 23 | 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Game 3: Lynx at Mercury, Friday, Sept. 26 | 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN 2)
Game 4 (if necessary): Lynx at Mercury, Sunday, Sept. 28 | TBD (TBD)
Game 5 (if necessary): Mercury at Lynx, Tuesday, Sept. 30 | TBD (TBD)

No. 2 Las Vegas Aces (30-14) vs. No. 6 Indiana Fever (24-20)

The Fever won the regular-season series vs. the Aces, 2-1

Las Vegas Aces starting lineup

Head coach: Becky Hammon

0 Jackie Young | G 6′ 0′ – Notre Dame
1 Kierstan Bell | F 6′ 1′ – Florida Gulf Coast
3 NaLyssa Smith | F 6′ 4′ – Baylor
12 Chelsea Gray | G 5′ 11′ – Duke
22 A’ja Wilson | C 6′ 5′ – South Carolina

Indiana Fever starting lineup

Head coach: Stephanie White

0 Kelsey Mitchell | G 5′ 8′ – Ohio State
1 Odyssey Sims | G 5′ 8′ – Baylor
6 Natasha Howard | F 6′ 3′ – Florida State
7 Aliyah Boston | C 6′ 5′ – South Carolina
10 Lexie Hull | G 6′ 1′ – Stanford

Why the Las Vegas Aces could win

Two words. A’ja Wilson. Wilson has been borderline unstoppable, claiming Co-Defensive Player of the Year, with her fourth MVP award likely coming next. Wilson scored more than half of the Aces’ points in their 74-73 Game 3 win over the Seattle Storm to secure Las Vegas’ seventh consecutive semifinal appearance, finishing with 38 points, five rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks. Her 38-point performance tied her playoff career high and marked her sixth career 30-plus-point playoff performance, tied for third most in WNBA history. ‘It didn’t matter who guarded her. Tonight she was just on a heater,’ Aces head coach Becky Hammon said. Indiana won the regular-season series over the Aces, but the teams last faced each other in late July and Hammon said the Fever ‘haven’t seen the real Aces yet.’

Why the Indiana Fever could win

The Indiana Fever continue to do the unthinkable. After getting blown out by the Atlanta Dream in Game 1, the gritty Fever went on to win the next two games, capped by a gutsy last-minute comeback in Game 3. It was Indiana’s first playoff series victory in a decade. The Fever have been resilient after losing five players Chloe Bibby (left knee), Caitlin Clark (right groin), Sydney Colson (left knee), Sophie Cunningham (right knee) and Aari McDonald (right foot) for the season. Their do-or-die mentality has kept their Cinderella season alive. Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell has led the charge, averaging 23 points in the first-round series vs. the Dream. The Fever’s defense fuels their offense, and if Indiana can get some stops and get out in transition, it can make things difficult for the Aces.

X factor: Aces’ bench

The Aces always have a chance with Wilson on the floor, but the three-time MVP will need some help if they want to win their third WNBA championship in four years. Wilson, Jackie Young (14 points) and Chelsea Gray (12 points) combined for 64 of the Aces’ 74 points in their Game 3 win, which is not sustainable as the Aces go deeper into the postseason. Six-time All-Star Jewell Loyd leads the second unit and will be key in taking a load off the Aces’ Big 3. Loyd had 14 and 13 points in Game 1 and Game 2, respectively, but was held to four points on four shot attempts (2-of-4 from the field, no 3-point attempts) in over 29 minutes of play in Game 3. That can’t happen moving forward.

X factor: Aliyah Boston

Boston will likely have the difficult task of guarding A’ja Wilson, her fellow South Carolina alum. Boston has faced her fair share of physicality this season, but she must help the Fever shore up the interior defense to keep Wilson and company out of the paint. The Fever gave up 56 points in the paint in their Game 3 win over the Dream, including 40 alone in the first quarter, a WNBA playoff record.

Las Vegas Aces vs. Indiana Fever semifinal schedule

Game 1: Fever at Aces, Sunday, Sept. 21 | 3 p.m. ET (ABC)
Game 2: Fever at Aces, Tuesday, Sept. 23 | 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Game 3: Aces at Fever, Friday, Sept. 26 | TBD (ESPN2)
Game 4 (if necessary): Aces at Fever, Sunday, Sept. 28 | 3 p.m. ET (ABC)
Game 5 (if necessary): Fever at Aces, Tuesday, Sept: 30 | TBD (TBD)

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Envisioning the UFC event that’s set to take place at the White House next summer no longer depends on imagination.

UFC CEO Dana White provided renderings of the event to FOX News during an interview that amounted to a sneak peek. One image shows the White House in the background and a massive octagon in which the competitors fight (that weighs 15,000 pounds, per White) in the foreground.

White, speaking Sept. 19 with Bret Baier on FOX News Channel’s ‘Special Report,’ said that “… my vision for this thing is we have this big arch, as you can see, with the lighting grid. Because what I want is the White House in the back. And then when you shoot – when the fight goes around to the other side, you’ll see the Washington Monument in the background.’’

White said under 5,000 people will be seated in that area, but renderings show another area White says will accommodate tens of thousands more people.

“Yeah, we can fit 85,000 people over there,’’ White told Baier. “We’re going to have a stage where music – you know, we’ll have bands playing all day. And then people will be able to bring blankets and, you know, lay around and watch the fights.

“We’ll have – we’ll have screens up everywhere for everybody. We’re literally going to take over Washington, D.C., that week. We’re going to do the weigh-ins there. We’re going to have. … That’s what we’re talking about, yeah. And – and we’ll have fan events all week. We’re going to do our expo there. And just a total Washington, D.C., takeover.”

UFC at the White House renderings

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Clayton Kershaw received a rousing standing ovation from the home crowd Friday night after he was pulled in the fifth inning of his final regular-season start at Dodger Stadium.

Kershaw, who announced Thursday he would be retiring at season’s end, became emotional as he acknowledged the crowd on his way back to the dugout. The three-time Cy Young Award winner was embraced by his teammates upon his arrival.

He gave up 4 hits and two runs in 4.1 innings, striking out six, before exiting the game against the rival Giants.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts indicated in an interview on Apple TV during the top of the fourth inning that he was monitoring Kershaw’s performance closely.

“I’m watching him closely,” Roberts said. “… Given the emotion of yesterday, he’s not as sharp (tonight). The pitch count (70) is higher than we would like.”

Roberts wanted to get him through the fifth inning, if possible.

Several of Kershaw’s former teammates were spotted at Dodger Stadium for the pitcher’s final regular-season home start. The former players in attendance included Andre Ethier, Austin Barnes, Russell Martin and AJ Pollock.

Kershaw’s childhood friend and Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford was also in attendance for the game.

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Reed was found dead hanging from a tree on the Delta State University campus on Sept. 15. Cleveland Police Department officials said the Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy and determined the cause of Reed’s death was hanging and concluded the action to be suicide. Cleveland Police Department added that final toxicology results are ongoing and could take two to four weeks to finish, according to a statement, via the Clarion Ledger, part of the USA TODAY Network.

According to a press release from Crump’s office, Reed’s family has raised concerns after receiving conflicting accounts and incomplete information about the circumstances of his tragic death.

“Trey’s death evoked the collective memory of a community that has suffered a historic wound over many, many years and many, many deaths. Peace will come only by getting to the truth,” the press release read. “We thank Colin Kaepernick for supporting this grieving family and the cause of justice and truth.”

Kaepernick played in the NFL for six seasons. His decision in the 2016 season to kneel during the national anthem to protest social injustice and police brutality sparked national debate.

The former quarterback hasn’t played in the NFL since the 2016 season. Kaepernick filed a grievance against the NFL, alleging collusion against him. The two parties reached a settlement in 2019.

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President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda is a bold roadmap for American renewal, aggressively implementing conservative ideas to drive economic growth and energy self-sufficiency. It’s squarely focused on delivering for what Trump terms the ‘forgotten Americans’ — the working men and women whose interests have long been ignored by elites from both political parties. This agenda is exactly what Trump ran on last year. Yet today, a group of Democrat trial lawyers are trying to short-circuit Trump on issue after issue — working to achieve through lawfare what they failed to at the ballot box.

Weaponizing the law against political opponents — known as lawfare — is most commonly associated with the actions of the FBI against President Trump during the Obama and Biden years. We now see this playbook being used by activist attorneys to systematically block key elements of the Trump agenda from being enacted – all while collecting big legal fees.

Most recently, lawfare has come for an executive order Trump signed in August that aims to democratize access to alternative assets in 401(k) plans. The EO aims to allow the 90 million-plus everyday Americans who save for retirement through traditional 401(k) plans to invest in assets typically reserved for the wealthy and well-connected – namely, private equity and cryptocurrencies. These investments have regularly outperformed the public stock market and help diversify investors’ portfolios, which many believe are too heavily exposed to the ‘Magnificent 7’ Big Tech stocks. This is why major investors like large state pension funds tend to hold around one-third of their assets in private market investments.

The order directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to reexamine fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and propose rules that could include a legal safe harbor for plan sponsors choosing to include high-quality alternative investment options. A few days later, the DOL rescinded Biden-era language that had discouraged such options, opening the door for American savers to these asset classes, which are typically limited to so-called ‘accredited investors,’ with high income and net worth.

Yet trial lawyers are already plotting lawsuits to cancel this reform before it can start, and aim to win a big payday in doing so. As a prominent plaintiffs’ lawyer stated recently to Bloomberg Law: ‘I would joke and say that I hope employers add alternative investments, because I have some kids I need to put through college.’ Indeed, unless the Trump administration insists on strong rulemaking and clear safe harbor in place, these lawyers plan to use the court system to extract multimillion dollar settlements that benefit themselves, while denying average Americans the wealth-building tools that have long been reserved for the elite.

On energy, President Trump made a decisive move with his executive order unleashing American energy, encouraging exploration on federal lands, eliminating burdensome electric vehicle mandates, revoking outdated climate-related directives, and streamlining permitting processes. Yet, environmental trial lawyers have mounted a fierce counteroffensive, using lawfare to hold up these vital changes, resulting in delays that keep energy prices higher, stifle job growth in America’s heartland, and prolong reliance on America’s adversaries for energy resources.  

The pattern continues with Trump’s drive for a smaller, more efficient federal workforce. In March, he signed an executive order to address workforce efficiency, instructing agencies to terminate collective bargaining agreements – some of which were signed in the final days of the Biden Administration to hamstring President Trump. Labor union lawyers have deployed lawfare to preserve the entrenched system and challenge the order in multiple federal courts, securing court stays. Their efforts delay essential efficiencies, perpetuating a bloated federal workforce that drains taxpayer dollars and slows government responsiveness.

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This well-coordinated effort shows the threat to Trump’s agenda from those trying using the courts to override the will of the American voter. These trial lawyers, motivated by both ideology and profit, seek to accomplish through the courts what they couldn’t in the 2024 election: Stop Trump at any cost. Our movement’s challenge is to fight back, reclaiming policy-making from the courts and restore it to the people’s representatives.

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Former Vice President Kamala Harris revealed in her upcoming book, ‘107 Days,’ that then-President Joe Biden rattled her right before she went head-to-head with then-candidate Donald Trump on the debate stage.

Biden reportedly called Harris as she sat in a hotel room preparing for the only debate of her abbreviated campaign. He apparently wanted to wish her luck — and to scold her.

The then-president said, ‘My brother called. He’s been talking to a group of real power brokers in Philly,’ according to an excerpt of the book in The Guardian. He then allegedly asked if Harris was familiar with several people related to the matter, which she was not.

‘His brother had told him that those guys were not going to support me because I’d been saying bad things about him. He wasn’t inclined to believe it, he claimed, but he thought I should know in case my team had been encouraging me to put daylight between the two of us,’ Harris wrote in the book, according to an excerpt of the book in The Guardian.

Biden then went on to talk about his past debate performances, leaving Harris confused, ‘angry and disappointed,’ according to The Guardian. She was upset that her boss had called before a critical moment in her political career and made ‘it all about himself.’ Harris added that Biden was ‘distracting me with worry about hostile power-brokers in the biggest city of the most important state.’

Then-first gentleman Doug Emhoff apparently noticed his wife was in distress and advised her to ‘let it go’ before facing off against Trump.

While Harris avoided criticizing Biden during her campaign, she has used her upcoming book to shed light on the tensions between them as she took his place as the Democratic presidential nominee. Harris’ book is set to hit shelves on Sept. 23, but it has already sparked conversations about the 2024 election cycle.

In another section, Harris said while ‘it’s Joe and Jill’s decision’ became a mantra ahead of the 2024 election cycle, she said it was ‘recklessness,’ rather than ‘grace,’ according to an excerpt released by The Atlantic.

”It’s Joe and Jill’s decision.’ We all said that, like a mantra, as if we’d all been hypnotized. Was it grace, or was it recklessness? In retrospect, I think it was recklessness. The stakes were simply too high. This wasn’t a choice that should have been left to an individual’s ego, an individual’s ambition. It should have been more than a personal decision,’ Harris wrote.

Harris also revealed in her book that then-Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was her ‘first choice’ as running mate, not Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. However, she said it was ‘too big of a risk’ because the campaign was ‘already asking a lot of America: to accept a woman, a Black woman, a Black woman married to a Jewish man.’

Fox News Digital’s Deirdre Heavey and Greg Norman contributed to this report.

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Recently, Rebecca Taibleson appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee for her confirmation hearing to a Wisconsin-based seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, a key step toward further solidifying President Trump’s strong judicial legacy. In choosing Taibleson, Trump selected a standout from a highly qualified field. She’s not only a seasoned prosecutor and sharp legal thinker, but she’s a proven defender of the Constitution and conservative values.

Taibleson spent over a decade as a federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, putting violent criminals behind bars. She doesn’t just theorize about public safety–she delivers it. She handles complex appeals and knows how to write strong legal arguments, and she wins cases and protects communities. Every day in her career, she applies the law with clarity, discipline, and purpose.

Most importantly, in her role as the co‑chief of the Appellate Division of that U.S. Attorney’s office for nearly a decade, not only did Taibleson imprison violent and dangerous criminals who were terrorizing the community, she ensured they stayed there. There are too many weak judges who free criminals when they should rot in prison for their crimes. Rebecca Taibleson is not one of them.

Her credentials speak for themselves. She clerked for the late, great Justice Antonin Scalia and then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh. She embraced a constitutionalist philosophy early in her career and never wavered. At her Senate confirmation hearing, she made it crystal clear: judges must interpret the law as written, not how they wish it were written. Judges must not rewrite laws based on personal views or political trends. She follows the original public meaning of the law and honors the Constitution.

Taibleson also knows how to stand her ground. During one of the most brutal nomination fights in recent memory, she stepped up and testified in support of her former boss Brett Kavanaugh, a nomination fight for which I helped lead the charge as Chairman Chuck Grassley’s chief counsel for nominations on the Senate Judiciary Committee. While the left smeared and attacked, Rebecca Taibleson didn’t flinch. She stood firm in defense of the rule of law and the truth. That moment proved her courage and character.

She also served in President Trump’s solicitor general’s office — the top government appellate advocates. She fought and won legal battles at the Supreme Court. She defended Trump administration policies on immigration, religious liberty, and constitutional limits. She didn’t just serve under President Trump, she helped him win. Her record shows loyalty, competence, and backbone.

Some groups have raised concerns—and even opposition before they had a chance to watch her testimony at her Senate confirmation hearing. Some are fair points; most are not. They wanted someone else. They’re circulating misleading claims and ignoring facts. They’re criticizing a nominee who far exceeds the standard for confirmation. President Trump and his team reviewed many good candidates. Like with any nominee, they balanced all the pros and cons. While no nominee is ever perfect, Rebecca Taibleson proved through her long record and unflinching public testimony that she is outstanding. She has a proven track record of being bold and fearless.

Taibleson handled her confirmation hearing exactly the way a strong nominee should. She didn’t dodge questions or pander. She answered directly and confidently and laid out her commitment to textualism, originalism, and constitutionalism. She emphasized the separation of powers and reminded the Senate that judges don’t make policy. Elected officials do.

On precedent, she spoke with clarity. She said Dobbs v. Jackson controls abortion law, and she will follow it. She refused to play politics with hot-button issues, but she left no doubt about her commitment to the Constitution.

She also promised to bring civility and discipline to the bench. She won’t use opinions to take swipes at parties, public officials, or opposing views. She respects the role of the judiciary and knows the difference between law and politics. She pledged to uphold judicial restraint.

Taibleson’s background shows real-world depth. Early in her career, she worked with Israel’s national emergency medical, disaster, ambulance, and blood bank service Magen David Adom during the Second Intifada. She helped defend civilians from terrorist attacks. That experience gave her a deeper understanding of law, national security, justice, and what is at stake for Western civilization. It also showed her values: courage, service, and loyalty to free societies under attack.

Taibleson has answered the questions raised by her detractors from the left and the right. She addressed every issue and demonstrated exactly why she belongs on the Seventh Circuit. Her hearing and record proves her fitness. She showed strength, clarity, and deep legal knowledge. And she put to bed any concerns.

President Trump built the best judicial legacy in a generation. He transformed the Supreme Court into the first constitutionalist Court in 90 years. He reshaped the federal judiciary with principled, constitutionalist judges. He made those choices carefully, and he made the same careful decision here. Rebecca Taibleson fits that mold. She brings real experience, proven loyalty, and a first-rate legal mind.

The Senate must confirm this bold and fearless judicial nominee. She earned this seat by standing up when it counted. She served President Trump with distinction and fought for her country in the courts. She prosecuted criminals and protected communities. She embraces originalism and the rule of law.

President Trump chose right. The Senate must finish the job.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers are going to the postseason for a 13th consecutive season.

The defending World Series champions clinched a spot in the playoffs via the Philadelphia Phillies’ 8-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night. For good measure, Los Angeles defeated the rival San Francisco Giants a short time later to improve to 87-67 this season and remain atop the NL West with the San Diego Padres now sitting 4 games back.

Dodgers’ playoff matchup if season ended Friday, Sept. 19

The Dodgers would host the New York Mets in an NL wild card series. The Padres would travel to play the Chicago Cubs.

The Milwaukee Brewers and the Philadelphia Phillies would have a bye.

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