Nike promised it would “do better” after apparently getting complaints over a new ad in Boston.

The ad was part of a marketing campaign centered on the Boston Marathon, an elite annual race that took place on Monday. The simple text ad apparently sparked enough controversy with Nike that the company pulled the graphic almost immediately after putting it up.

‘We’ll use this moment to do better and continue showing up for all runners.’

The ad was featured in the window of Nike’s Newbury Street store in Boston, reportedly just a few hundred feet from the marathon’s finish line. It featured black text on a dark red background that read, “Runners Welcome. Walkers Tolerated.”

The ad was up for only about a day, according to multiple outlets like Marathon Handbook, which said it was put up on April 16 but was taken down by the following morning.

Nike was quick to apologize for the joke, saying, “We want more people to feel welcome in running — no matter their pace, experience, or the distance.”

“During race week in Boston, we put up a series of signs to encourage runners,” the company continued, according to Runner’s World. “One of them missed the mark. We took it down, and we’ll use this moment to do better and continue showing up for all runners.”

RELATED: Nike ditches wokeness in family-friendly golf ad: ‘More of this, please!’

– YouTube

Nike also released a statement to Boston.com that claimed, “We listen to the voice of the athlete.”

The media team also attached an image that appeared to be a replacement ad for the same store. The image reads, “Boston will always remind you, movement is what matters.”

Counternarratives have since emerged stating that Nike’s original messaging was not out of place given the elite level of competition at the Boston Marathon.

Jennifer Sey, a U.S. national champion in gymnastics and frequent Nike critic, said that when it comes to advertising, Nike has “one swing and a miss after another. For at least 5 years.”

“Nike can’t get anything right at the moment,” Sey wrote on X. She then called company leadership out-of-touch “egomaniacs.”

“It’s always been a douchey culture,” she added.

RELATED: Thugs rob teen of his iPhone, Nike sneakers; but boy’s family finds 1 suspect — and delivers painful payback: Cops

“This is the Boston Marathon. … Obviously, they’re going to encourage them to run,” said runner and YouTuber Rob Tolo.

“Why are we getting offended by that, bro? This is for the elite of the elite,” he added. “This is Boston, bro. I’d love to qualify for that one day.”

Commentator Jake Heyen said he disagreed with the backlash too and that Nike’s objective was to celebrate ambition and performance.

“The messaging of this ad should not be controversial, and honestly, I would respect Nike much more if they brought the sign back today with even more hardcore messaging,” he said.

Nike stock dropped by a couple of dollars per share amid the controversy on Thursday but had recovered by Friday morning.

However, shares have fallen by more than 27% in 2026, averaging out to a 17% drop since April 2025. Value peaked at nearly $80 per share last August before plummeting to just over $46 per share at the time of this writing.

The company’s all-time high was around $170 per share in 2021. Nike is currently back down to 2015 numbers.

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​Advertisements, Advertising, Backlash, Boston, Boston marathon, Fearless, Marathon, Nike, Runners, Tolerance, Woke, Sports 

The Supreme Court has agreed to weigh in on whether religious institutions must set aside their core beliefs in order to participate in a state-funded program.

The St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy case, broadly speaking, is a challenge to the Archdiocese of Denver’s requirement that families and staff support Catholic beliefs. The state takes issue with this requirement when considering whether to allow Catholic schools in the archdiocese to participate in the Universal Preschool Program.

‘Colorado promised free preschool for all, then slammed the door on families who chose a religious education for their children. After three losses in religious freedom cases at the Supreme Court, Colorado should know better.’

The archdiocese requires staff and families to sign statements to “affirm that they will support the teachings of the Catholic Church” and that “all Catholic school families must understand and display a positive and supportive attitude toward the Catholic Church,” according to Fox News.

Colorado officials, however, argue that these requirements are not inclusive of all children.

RELATED: Why the Supreme Court nuked Colorado’s ‘Must Stay Gay’ law (and what to expect next)

Helen H. Richardson/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post/Getty Images

“All participating providers — whether religious or secular — must ensure that children have equal opportunity to enroll in and receive preschool services regardless of those children’s (or their families’) religious affiliation, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, lack of housing, income level, or disability,” the state said.

The state’s universal preschool program covers all types of schools and offers 15 hours of free preschool each week in the year before the child enters kindergarten.

Nicholas Reaves, senior counsel at Becket and attorney for the families and preschools, told Blaze News, “Colorado promised free preschool for all, then slammed the door on families who chose a religious education for their children. After three losses in religious freedom cases at the Supreme Court, Colorado should know better. The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that states cannot exclude families from government benefits because of their faith. We’re confident the Court will say the same thing here and put a stop to Colorado’s no-Catholics-need-apply rules.”

Families in the case remain hopeful that the Supreme Court will side with their appeal.

“All we want is the freedom to choose the best preschool for our kids without being punished for our faith,” Dan and Lisa Sheley, Catholic parents of seven and Becket clients in the case, said in a statement provided to Blaze News. “Colorado promised families a universal preschool program, then cut out families like ours because we chose a Catholic education. We pray the Supreme Court will remind Colorado that universal means everyone.”

“Colorado is punishing young religious families. In a state that loudly preaches inclusion, it’s shocking to see Colorado go out of its way to exclude families like mine,” Erika Navarrete Nagle, a Catholic mother of three whose children attend St. Mary’s, told Blaze News. “I hope the Supreme Court will make it clear that no family should be targeted for what they believe.”

The Supreme Court will hear arguments for this case in the fall.

Editor’s note: The author attended St. Mary Catholic Parish and School.

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​Becket, Catholic, Catholic beliefs, Catholic parish, Colorado, Colorado officials, Denver, Government benefits, Politics, Religious exceptions, Religious freedom, Scotus, St mary catholic church, Supreme court, Universal preschool program 

A “planned fight between two young” individuals on Monday led to a mass shooting where at least two people were killed, say North Carolina police.

Winston-Salem police said on social media that the fight began at about 9:52 a.m. at Leinbach Park, which is only about 400 yards away from Jefferson Middle School on Sally Kirk Rd.

‘Several individuals — both victims and suspects — have been identified and located.’

While police were on their way to the park to respond to the fight, a shooting broke out.

Police said several people shot at each other, and later the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation confirmed that at least two people had died in the incident.

“Several individuals — both victims and suspects — have been identified and located. Due to the number of people involved, efforts are ongoing to account for everyone. At this time, some of those involved in the incident are juveniles,” said police.

The shooting led to lockdowns at several schools.

WGHP-TV reported a massive police presence in the area, with many businesses and streets closed down as the investigation continues.

Police called for the community not to use personal drones in the area to avoid interfering with police drones searching for other possible suspects and victims.

RELATED: VIDEO: Heroic high school principal saves the day, stops shooter in his tracks

Although police said schools were returning to their normal schedule, some parents showed up to pick up their children.

This is a developing story.

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​Mass shooting, Winston salem north carolina, Middle school shooting, Fight leads to lethal shooting, Crime 

Another progressive, anti-Israel Democrat is set to be sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives after the pro-Israel lobbying firm AIPAC accidentally boosted her campaign.

Democrat Analilia Mejia won the New Jersey special election last week to replace former Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill, who was elected governor in November 2025. Mejia is expected to be sworn in Monday afternoon, allowing Democrats to regain one seat after being down a vote following Sherrill’s resignation last fall.

This miscalculation was unprecedented for the lobbying group.

In the lead-up to the race, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee dumped millions of dollars into the Democratic primary against former Rep. Tom Malinowski for criticizing the Israeli government. The campaign attempted to liken Malinowski’s track record to President Donald Trump’s immigration policy, successfully ousting the congressional hopeful.

But in eliminating Malinowski’s candidacy, AIPAC inadvertently boosted Mejia, whose criticisms of the Jewish state go much further.

RELATED: Did AIPAC accidentally elect the next Squad member?

Adam Gray/Bloomberg/Getty Images

AIPAC likely calculated that its ad campaign would boost Democratic Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, a staunchly pro-Israel candidate in the overcrowded primary. Instead, the group elevated Mejia, who echoed the criticisms of Congress’ most progressive members and accused the state of Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.

“Congress must end the blank check for Trump and Netanyahu,” Mejia said in a post on X on April 10. “The United States must include Lebanon in a real ceasefire and stop giving Israel a blank check to escalate. From Cuba to Venezuela to Lebanon, we must end wars of choice. This war must end now.”

This miscalculation was unprecedented for the lobbying group. AIPAC has enjoyed a string of successful primaries, booting candidates who did not sufficiently support Israel or Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This includes several former “Squad” members like Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush, who both lost their primaries to AIPAC-funded candidates.

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​Donald trump, Bibi netanyahu, Benjamin netanyahu, Aipac, Pro-israel, Anti-israel, Analilia mejia, Mikie sherrill, Tom malinowski, Tanesha way, Zionism, Zionist, House democrats, Progressives, Jamaal bowman, Cori bush, Iran war, The squad, Squad members, Politics 

Frederick Douglass claimed the Declaration of Independence for black Americans in 1852. Martin Luther King, Jr. did it again in 1963. Now, Reverend Al Sharpton wants to give it back.

At the National Action Network’s 35th Anniversary Convention this month, Sharpton proclaimed that America’s 250th anniversary “is not our celebration.” He called it “crazy” for black Americans to wear a birthday hat at someone else’s party. He is wrong, and the history he is invoking actually proves it.

The Declaration of Independence is not a monument to what America was. It is a promise about what America must become.

On July 3, 1776, slavery was ubiquitous and unquestioned. Slaveholding was as old as civilization itself. No government on earth was organized around the belief that all men were created equal. Theocracies, monarchies, and feudal regimes were the sum and substance of the world’s political order.

On July 4, 1776, that changed forever.

The Declaration did not resolve the contradiction of slavery. But it detonated it. From that moment forward, every American who held another in bondage was standing in direct defiance of the nation’s stated founding principle. That tension could not hold. And it didn’t.

What Sharpton omits is telling. Among the 28 grievances in the Declaration, the very first targeted the slave trade. Virginia, yes, slaveholding Virginia, had attempted to severely limit the slave trade through taxation. The king vetoed it. Jefferson called that out by name. Jefferson also drafted the provisions of the Northwest Ordinance that permanently banned slavery across more than five future states, and he signed the federal law that finally ended the slave trade. History is more complicated than the caricatures some prefer.

Even the Founders, too weak to live up to their own ideals, knew what they were doing was wrong. Jefferson wrote that he shuddered at the thought of a just God bringing retribution on the nation. Washington emancipated his slaves upon his death. The founding generation set a fuse. The Civil War was the explosion. Over 600,000 men died to settle the discussion around slavery. That would not have been possible without Independence Day.

Sharpton is not wrong to name the hypocrisy of the founders. But he is completely wrong about what July Fourth means. The suffragettes rewrote the Declaration to include themselves. Frederick Douglass wielded it as a sword against slavery. King stood on it at the Lincoln Memorial. The civil rights movement, the women’s movement, and nearly every subsequent push for equality in American history have returned to that founding document as their source and authority.

The Declaration of Independence is not a monument to what America was. It is a promise about what America must become. For those whose ancestors were enslaved and oppressed, it is not someone else’s birthday. It is the origin of their liberation.

The 250th anniversary is almost upon us. All Americans, especially those whose families fought hardest and waited longest to claim its promise, should mark it well.

​Al sharpton, Americas 250th anniversary, Black americans, Declaration of independence, Frederick douglass, Slavery, Opinion & analysis 

Five people were wounded, including three students, in a shooting near the University of Iowa early Sunday morning — and Iowa City Police have released photos showing persons of interest.

Police said they responded at 1:46 a.m. to a report of a large fight in the 100 Block of East College Street — and that arriving officers heard gunfire.

Police said no arrests have been made, but there is no known ongoing threat associated with the incident; the department is continuing to investigate.

Police said in a separate post that the scene of the shooting was in downtown Iowa City.

Police said they have identified five victims in the shooting: One is in critical condition, and the other four victims are in stable condition.

NBC News said video circulating on social media appears to show a confrontation before the shooting that seemed to involve a large group of people. The news network added that several people could be seen punching and kicking others while bystanders urged them to stop.

NBC News added that it’s unclear when the gunfire commenced, but additional video on social media shows a large crowd fleeing.

RELATED: Male, 31, fatally shoots 8 children execution style; 7 were his own kids: Report

Police said no arrests have been made, but there is no known ongoing threat associated with the incident; the department is continuing to investigate.

Police also posted photos on its Facebook page showing persons of interest associated with the shooting as part of the department’s ongoing investigation.

RELATED: Masked men open fire after storming into Chick-fil-A; 1 dead, 6 injured; manhunt under way

Persons of interest. Image source: Iowa City Police, composite

Police said those with information about the individuals in the photos are asked to contact Detective Cade Burma at cburma@iowa-city.org or 319-356-5275.

Police added that the persons of interest have been numbered to assist in the sharing of information.

In addition, those with video also can contact Detective Burma, police said, adding that tips can also be submitted anonymously through Iowa City Crime Stoppers, which is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information about this incident that leads to an arrest.

Crime Stoppers tips can be submitted via the P3 Tips app online at iccrimestoppers.org or by phone at 319-358-TIPS (8477), police said, adding that all tips and calls are held in strict confidence and anonymity is guaranteed. Individuals providing information are not required to reveal their identity to collect a reward, police also said, noting that a CASE #2026003915 also was provided.

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​Iowa city, Iowa city police, Persons of interest, Shooting, Students wounded, University of iowa, Mass shooting, Crime 

Failed vice presidential candidate Tim Walz tried and failed to take a swipe at Vice President JD Vance during his announcement of a new political super PAC on Monday.

The Minnesota governor said the Small Town PAC is intended to boost the campaigns of Democrats in rural areas of the country.

‘If Democrats want to win in more places, we’ve got to start showing up in more places.’

“Republicans like JD Vance like to portray their small-town neighbors as petty, resentful, and small-minded. I disagree. I think the problem facing small towns are Republicans like JD Vance,” said Walz to Politico.

Vance was propelled into politics after the success of his memoir titled “Hillbilly Elegy,” which documented his travails among poor, white communities in Kentucky and Ohio. He memorably paid homage to his mother and “mamaw” during his speech at the Republican National Convention in 2024.

Walz had given up his hopes of re-election as governor after being accused of helping cover up the massive fraud committed by some members of the Somali community in Minnesota. He has denied the allegations.

“We’re going to show up in small towns, organize in places too many people have given up on, and build power with the folks who call these places home,” said Walz on social media Monday. “If Democrats want to win in more places, we’ve got to start showing up in more places.”

He told Politico that he was going use the super PAC to seek “some teachers, some nurses, some laborers, vets, and young people in small towns across the country who can represent their communities better than Silicon Valley can.”

RELATED: Tim Walz says Democrats need to be ‘meaner’ and ‘bully the s**t out of’ Trump

Walz was ridiculed by many in January after he warned that Minnesota was “at war” with the federal government after President Donald Trump ordered a surge of federal troops to enforce immigration law.

“I’ve issued a warning order to prepare the Minnesota National Guard,” Walz added. “We have soldiers in training and prepared to be deployed if necessary. I remind you, a warning order is a heads-up for folks.”

That federal operation was ended after two anti-ICE protesters were killed during incidents with federal troops, and local leaders reached an agreement with the Trump administration to pull out the troops.

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​Tim walz vs jd vance, Small town super pac, Walz super pac, Democrats in rural regions, Politics 

This week, Yale gave a glimpse of the left’s plan for celebrating America 250: by sulking through it.

The Yale Political Union invited left-wing Twitch streamer Hasan Piker to campus for a talk titled “End the American Empire.” That tells you almost everything you need to know about elite culture in 2026. One of America’s most storied universities now hands the microphone to a professional internet loudmouth so he can trash the country that made his whole career possible.

In one booking, Yale managed to capture the reigning pathology of the elite leftist, grievance-peddling, globalist scolds: embarrassment about America and indulgence of countries with body counts in the tens of millions.

America does not promise equality of outcome; it delivers equality of opportunity, whether your ancestors came on the Mayflower or landed at Ellis Island with just the clothes on their backs.

In case you missed it, Piker’s major takeaway at Yale was: “The fall of the USSR was one of the greatest catastrophes of the 20th century.” Sadly, Piker isn’t alone, and the intent of these hall monitors of American guilt couldn’t be clearer: Stop with the fireworks, the parades, and the idolizing of Jefferson and Franklin. Put on your black, mourn communism, and pine for a return to Stalin.

Before we turn off Twitch and tune out Yale, we must understand their rhetorical trick: The ideal of communism, they say, is just and righteous. That makes its downfall in the USSR (and everywhere else it’s ever been tried) tragic.

The reality is bleaker. Communism’s supposed ideal is unattainable. People differ in ability, ambition, discipline, and desire. Any system that insists on equal results must override individuality, and that only happens at the tip of a spear. Today’s champions treat the millions killed under communism as an inconvenient footnote, along with the predictable enrichment of a ruling elite and the familiar rise of tyranny.

That’s no ideal to which to strive. And its failure should be openly and widely celebrated — as it has been by its own repressed peoples as much as by those of us who are free and watching from afar.

That is the rhetorical trick. When leftists discuss communism, they speak in the language of ideals. When they discuss America, they speak only in the language of failures.

The ignorance is difficult to miss. America does not promise equality of outcome; it delivers equality of opportunity, whether your ancestors came on the Mayflower or landed at Ellis Island with just the clothes on their backs. Opportunity, even, for people getting paid to play video games on livestreams.

Of course, America has experienced its failures. The Declaration of Independence said all men are created equal, but the Constitution constricted that promise. America’s bloodiest days weren’t akin to Stalin’s great purge of political enemies; it was a civil war to see the promise of freedom all the way through. As communist regimes have been crushed under economic and cultural failure, America is on a never-ending, constant march closer to its stated ideals. Not perfectly. Not easily. But undeniably.

So where did this American pessimism come from? There have always been socialists at the fringes — figures like Mr. Piker are just the most visible version of an old idea. The real danger is the left’s rank and file, who have, over the last 50 years, made vilifying America a key cultural issue.

There must be something in the water during anniversary years. As the 1976 bicentennial arrived with genuine patriotic fervor, it exited with a people divided by two sharply different visions. While tens of millions of Americans celebrated with fireworks and flag-waving, Jimmy Carter rode to the White House on a platform of regret. He and his followers decided that America could lead only by apologizing and expressing doubt about the moral legitimacy of our system.

With Carter’s election win, the American left transformed. Instead of reading this as a desire for calm after years of turmoil, the American left increasingly interpreted it as a rejection of patriotism itself.

Yale’s decision to engage Hasan Piker is the legacy of that 50-year shift. Yale has surrendered its right to proudly boast of 25 graduates who served in the Continental Congress and five who signed the Declaration of Independence. And Twitch? It’s contributed less to society than the cheap plastic fork in your takeout order. As in 1776, patriots will prevail. So let the Yalies sneer and Twitchers scold. The rest of us will wave the flag, light the fireworks, and celebrate the country that gave those folks the freedom to complain in the first place.

​America, Communism, Elite culture, Hasan piker, Twitch, Yale, Opinion & analysis 

A veteran Washington, D.C., police officer was allegedly caught sending horrendous messages to a person he believed to be a 15-year-old male.

Lt. Matthew Mahl was placed on administrative leave at the D.C. Metro Police Department after being arrested on Tuesday in Harford County, Maryland, on charges of sexual solicitation of a minor and two counts of child porn solicitation.

‘It really is a horrific tragedy when we think about the impact that this could have on young people.’

Mahl, 47, had been the head of the Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit of MPD before he was elected to head the union, officially called the Labor Committee of the Fraternal Order of Police, in 2016.

He is accused of seeking to have sex with a person he believed to be a male teenager after meeting them on the Reddit online platform in a thread titled, “r/GayYoungOldDating.”

Mahl acknowledged that he believed the person’s age to be 15 on multiple occasions in the online conversations, charging documents claimed.

Mahl sent sexually explicit photos and messages to the person in an exchange that lasted about a month, according to prosecutors. He also allegedly acknowledged that he was an officer and could face serious consequences if caught.

“I have it all to lose,” he allegedly wrote.

He was arrested after police say he traveled to Harford County in hopes of meeting the teenager, who was actually an undercover officer.

MPD said they were not aware of the initial investigation into Mahl.

“The allegations in this case are extremely disturbing, and in direct contrast to the values of the Metropolitan Police Department,” read a statement from the department. “MPD’s Internal Affairs Division will investigate violations of MPD policy once the criminal investigation concludes.”

On Wednesday, Mahl was ordered to remain in jail without bail.

Prosecutors referred to him as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” during the bail hearing.

RELATED: Video shows teens cut up Pride flags at bar during Pride Month — hate crime charges followed

Turnaround rape crisis CEO Amanda Rodriguez called the allegations “awful” in a statement to CBS News.

“These are individuals that the kids should be able to put their trust in. So it’s not just a tragedy, it really is a horrific tragedy when we think about the impact that this could have on young people trusting those that they really often need … for their own safety.”

She added, “We need to hold folks in law enforcement and, again, in these other higher areas of authority to a level to ensure that that trust is always able to be there.”

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​Gay head of police union, Solicitation of a minor, Washington dc police officer, Child porn solicitation, Political, Matthew mahl, Politics