Salem News Channel

Everyday Patriotism: Driver Fixes Flag & Shows True Love Of Country

An Amazon driver’s simple act of untangling and saluting a veteran family’s American flag went viral, showcasing everyday respect for the military, the flag, and the belief that this remains the best country on earth.

Standing Up For Women's Rights in the WNBA

The discussion surrounding women's rights in the WNBA has gained significant attention, particularly with the emergence of star player Caitlin Clark. The conversation centers on the league's identity and inclusivity, especially as it pertains to transgender athletes. Despite the WNBA's collective bargaining agreement stating only biological women are eligible to play, it lacks a clear definition of "woman" and policy on transgender eligibility. This ambiguity has led to debates, including former NBA players declaring their intent to join the WNBA. The situation has sparked outrage and calls for clarity, with some arguing the league is not entertaining enough and risks alienating its audience. The broader issue underscores a tension between inclusivity and the preservation of women's sports, highlighting the need for definitive policies that respect both the integrity of women's sports and the rights of transgender individuals. The WNBA's handling of this matter will significantly impact its future and the perception of women's sports.

GOP Nominates SNC's Michele Tafoya For MN's U.S. Senate Seat

Michele Tafoya, the GOP nominee for Minnesota's U.S. Senate seat, discusses her candidacy and the pressing issues facing the state. Tafoya emphasizes the importance of addressing high taxes, overregulation, and fraud in state programs. She criticizes her opponent, Democrat Peggy Flanagan, for ignoring these issues and failing to acknowledge the state's financial scandals. Tafoya also highlights the impact of these problems on Minnesota's economy and quality of life, stressing the need for new leadership to restore the state's spirit. She plans to focus on agricultural concerns, foreign relations, particularly with China, and improving the nation's education system if elected. Tafoya's campaign aims to mobilize Minnesotans to vote and bring much-needed change to the state.

Trump Heads To California, Nevada To Rally GOP Support Ahead Of Midterms

President Donald Trump is making a rare trip to California and Nevada as he looks to build support for Republicans ahead of November’s midterm elections. Trump is scheduled to attend a Republican National Committee dinner at his golf club near Los Angeles before traveling to Las Vegas, where he is expected to deliver remarks focused on the economy. The president is using the Western swing to draw contrasts between his administration’s policies and those of Democrats as Republicans fight to maintain control of Congress. The trip also comes days after authorities arrested a California man at Trump’s golf course. Officials said the man was carrying ammunition and had a firearm inside his vehicle. Trump’s visit to two Democratic-leaning states comes as both parties intensify campaigning ahead of the November elections.

Georgia High School Shooting Leaves Student Wounded, Teen Suspect In Custody

A teenage suspect is in custody after a shooting at Warner Robins High School in Georgia left another student wounded Wednesday afternoon. Authorities say a group of students was inside a school bathroom when a verbal altercation between two ninth-graders escalated into a physical fight. One student was shot around 2:15 p.m., prompting a major law enforcement response to the campus. A school resource officer quickly reached the wounded student and applied tourniquets until emergency crews arrived. The student was taken to a hospital with injuries that authorities say are not life-threatening. The teenage suspect fled the school following the shooting but was captured about an hour later in a neighborhood roughly half a mile from campus. Officials say the arrest was made without further incident. Warner Robins High School is closed to students Thursday and Friday. District officials say crisis counselors will be available as students and staff return to campus.

Minnesota Father Suspected Of Killing Wife, Daughter And Relative

Minnesota authorities say a 41-year-old man who killed his wife and their 7-year-old daughter at a home daycare is also suspected of killing a 78-year-old relative in a separate attack. Police say the man stabbed his wife and daughter at a home in Hopkins where his wife operated a daycare. He then fatally shot himself. No other children at the daycare were physically harmed in the attack. As authorities investigated the killings, police in nearby Burnsville announced that a 78-year-old woman described as a close relative of the suspect had also been found dead at a home where she and the man had been living. Investigators believe the deaths are connected. Authorities are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the three killings.

Ex-Officer Accused Of New Orleans Mass Shooting Plot Released

A former police officer accused of planning a mass shooting targeting Black people in New Orleans has been released from custody after a Louisiana grand jury declined to indict him. Christopher Gillum, 45, was arrested in Florida in April while authorities said he was traveling toward Louisiana with a handgun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Investigators alleged Gillum had expressed threats to harm Black people and was planning a mass shooting. His arrest came just before the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, although authorities never publicly identified the event he was allegedly targeting. The investigation involved the FBI and law enforcement agencies in Louisiana, Florida and North Carolina. Gillum was extradited to Louisiana and held without bond on a state terrorizing charge. However, a grand jury declined to indict him in June after determining there was insufficient evidence to move forward with the charge. Officials said jurisdictional issues complicated the case because the alleged threat was made in North Carolina and Gillum never entered Louisiana until after his arrest. Gillum is not currently facing charges in another jurisdiction. Louisiana officials say his family has taken him to an out-of-state treatment facility.

Tate Brothers Face Detention Hearing As They Fight U.K. Extradition

Social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate are due in federal court in Miami Thursday as a judge considers whether they should remain behind bars while fighting extradition to the United Kingdom. U.S. Magistrate Judge Lauren Louis is expected to hear arguments from federal prosecutors and attorneys for the brothers before deciding whether they should remain in custody or be released during an extradition process that could last months. Prosecutors argue the Tates pose a flight risk and a danger to the community. The brothers were arrested July 18 and have remained at the Federal Detention Center in Miami. British authorities are seeking their extradition over allegations of rape and sex trafficking. The brothers have repeatedly denied wrongdoing. Thursday's hearing is expected to mark the first time the Tates have left the federal detention center since a brief court appearance two days after their arrest.

Deadly Midwest Storms Leave Hundreds Of Thousands Without Power

Severe storms sweeping across the Midwest have killed at least two people and left hundreds of thousands without electricity as tornadoes, destructive winds and flash flooding battered the region. More than 650,000 customers in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia were without power Wednesday afternoon as utility crews worked to restore service and first responders cleared debris and flooded roads. In Indiana, a 4-year-old boy was killed when a tree fell onto a home. Authorities were also investigating whether the storms caused a house explosion that killed another person. In Ohio, officials said a person experiencing a medical emergency died after flooding prevented first responders from reaching them. The severe weather follows powerful storms that swept through the Chicago area earlier in the week, bringing tornado warnings and widespread travel disruptions. Cleanup and power restoration efforts remain underway across several states.

ICE Says Guatemalan Man’s Death Went Unreported After Release From Custody

U.S. immigration officials say they did not publicly disclose the death of a Guatemalan man who suffered a seizure while detained at New Jersey’s Delaney Hall because he was released from ICE custody after being hospitalized. Jose Chajon-Raxon suffered the seizure July 19, one day after he was processed into the privately operated immigration detention facility in Newark. The Department of Homeland Security says he was taken to a hospital and formally released from ICE custody on July 22. DHS says ICE was not subsequently notified that Chajon-Raxon had died. Officials did not provide details about when he died or whether he had been discharged from the hospital before his death. The case comes after ICE changed its policy earlier this year and stopped publicly reporting deaths that occur within 30 days after a detainee is released from custody, reversing a policy adopted under the Biden administration. New Jersey Democratic Rep. Rob Menendez has criticized the change, arguing it creates a loophole that allows ICE to avoid scrutiny when someone dies shortly after being released. DHS says ICE remains committed to transparency regarding deaths that occur while people are in its custody.

Hasan Piker is a Hypocrite

El-Sayed Hates American Traditions

An exclusive CNN K-File investigation delves into Michigan's Democratic Senate nominee, Abdul El Saed. The investigation uncovered over 100 videos on his YouTube channel that were made private before his Senate campaign. CNN reviewed archived transcripts, revealing controversial topics such as replacing the Second Amendment's right to bear arms with a constitutional right to health care, dismissing concerns about the southern border, and questioning the ethics of football. El Saed cited reasons like air pollution and PTSD among veterans for discouraging Fourth of July fireworks. His campaign asserts these videos do not reflect his current beliefs. While some videos were deleted, a February 2023 podcast episode on football ethics remains online. This investigation highlights El Saed's past commentary and the selective deletion of content, raising questions about his stance on various American traditions and institutions.

How Were The Polls So Wrong About Francesca Hong?

How Were The Polls So Wrong About Francesca Hong_

Medicaid Changes Coverage For Transgender Minors

President Donald Trump's administration said that Medicaid will stop paying for gender-affirming surgeries and hormone treatments for transgender minors and the state Children's Health Insurance Program won't pay for the treatments for those under 19. The announcement is the latest in a series of policies from the administration aimed at transgender people that began the day Trump returned to office last year. The policy is to take effect Oct. 13. It is not clear how much taxpayer funding is going to cover gender-affirming treatments for transgender youth now. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services did not respond to questions about the policy on Tuesday. At least 27 states have already banned gender-affirming care for those under 18. Even in states that haven’t, many major hospitals have stopped providing some of the treatments. And gender-affirming surgeries for minors are rare. Puberty blockers and hormone treatments are more common. The policy calls for Medicaid and CHIP to continue to pay for mental health treatment for transgender minors but phase out coverage of hormone treatments that are used both to block puberty and to produce sex-related physical changes for those already receiving them as of April 2027. Trump said in a social media post Tuesday that he directed Dr. Mehmet Oz, the CMS administrator, to make the change. “We are not going to pay for our innocent children to undergo these barbaric surgeries and practices, which result in unthinkable and irreversible harm to their young bodies,” Trump said in his post. Advocates for LGBTQ+ young people look at it differently. GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders legal director Josh Rovenger said the rule “is putting up barriers between parents and their ability to make the best medical decisions for their children” and would face a legal challenge. “The Trump administration is terrorizing trans youth and their families with these kinds of actions, and it has to stop,” Human Right Campaign President Kelley Robinson said in a statement. HRC is already suing the administration for efforts to bar gender-affirming care coverage under federal employee benefit plans. The American Medical Association and most other major medical organizations support access to gender-affirming care, though the American Society of Plastic Surgeons said earlier this year that it found “insufficient evidence” that the benefits of chest, genital and facial surgeries on minors experiencing gender dysphoria — or the unease a person may have because their assigned gender and gender identity don't match — outweigh the risks. The administration has already announced it would cut off Medicaid and Medicare funding for hospitals that provide gender-affirming care for minors, along with barring transgender athletes from sports competitions for girls and women and blocking people from being able to choose male, female or X to designate their sex on passports. It also released a report last year urging therapy only for transgender youth and not broader gender-affirming health care. Most of the changes have faced legal challenges. The U.S. Supreme Court let the administration's passport policy stand and allowed states to enforce the sports bans. A lower court ruled against the administration's declaration that called the treatments unsafe and ineffective. A challenge over the policy targeting hospitals is still pending.

Daycare Shooting Turns Deadly In Minnesota

HOPKINS, Minn. (AP) — A man killed his partner and their child at a Minnesota home daycare Wednesday before taking his own life, police said. Authorities said six other children were at the daycare in Hopkins, but none were injured, and all have been reunited with their parents. Hopkins Police Chief Brent Johnson said another parent called police after witnessing the attack while arriving to drop a child off at the home. Johnson declined to say how the victims were killed or what weapon was used. Johnson said police believe the two adults who died owned the daycare.

Army Helicopter Crash Kills 2 In Central Texas

Officials say an Army Apache attack helicopter crashed in a central Texas field, killing both people on board and sparking a wildfire that forced several homes to be evacuated. Officials from nearby Fort Hood announced the AH-64 Apache helicopter had crashed Wednesday. A spokesman for the Bell County Sheriff’s office confirmed that both occupants died. No cause of the crash was immediately announced. Fort Hood’s criminal investigation division is leading the crash investigation.

Defense In Charlie Kirk's Assassination Say Shooter Hit 'Intended Target'

Lawyers for the man charged with killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk say he shouldn't be eligible for the death penalty because the shooter "hit the intended target” during the assassination last year at a Utah event attended by thousands of people. Defendant Tyler Robinson's attorneys say prosecutors have not proven that others who attended Kirk's event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10 were endangered by the shooting — a potentially aggravating factor under state law that would make it a capital crime. The defense lawyers also disputed claims that Robinson targeted Kirk over his political views. Prosecutors alleged that Robinson told his roommate that he killed the activist because he “had enough of his hatred." But the defense said that was not enough to prove what could have motivated Robinson, after searches of his apartment, computers and telephone failed to produce anything beyond that one statement. The arguments were contained in documents filed late Tuesday as the defense tries to block the case from proceeding to trial. Prosecutors last month presented what they call “overwhelming” evidence against Robinson, including DNA tests that tie him to the suspected murder weapon and apparent confessions by the defendant. His defense attorneys during that hearing questioned the reliability of the prosecution's evidence, but they didn't offer any alternative theories for Kirk's assassination. The defense made no mention of DNA in Tuesday's filing. Robinson has not yet entered a plea in the case. He turned himself in a day after Kirk was killed. Closing arguments in the preliminary hearing are scheduled for Sept. 1. Judge Tony Graf will then decide if the case can proceed to trial and on what charges.