A 36-year-old mother was charged with manslaughter after her 18-month-old son died in April after choking on unpopped popcorn kernels at her Long Island apartment.

Prosecutors believe Olivia Bithorn was drinking vodka in the bathroom of her unit in Merrick after giving the bag of kernels to her son, Luke Russell Jr., and his 3-year-old sister.

‘Everyone in her life had basically written her off except her husband, who was … trying to make sure she had a place to live and was staying sober.’

The little girl alerted the mother after the boy became unresponsive.

“Her son was blue and cold to the touch,” said Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly, who appeared to get emotional at the details.

“They estimate, allegedly, he was dead for over an hour before 911 was called,” she added.

Donnelly said Bithorn was getting sick in the bathroom because she drank too much alcohol. An empty bottle of Tito’s vodka was found at the apartment.

“It’s an accident if you leave the room for a few minutes … but it’s criminal if you actually give your child these kernels to eat and not be present if something happens,” she added.

Prosecutors said Bithorn had a long history of alcohol abuse and put her children at risk because of her drinking problem. She cycled in and out of rehab programs for years, crashed a car, and even disappeared for three days at one point.

She had separated from her husband of three years while battling alcoholism.

“Everyone in her life had basically written her off except her husband, who was trying to, even though they’re separated, trying to make sure she had a place to live and was staying sober,” Donnelly added.

RELATED: Homeless man makes ‘horrific’ discovery near dumpster at Los Angeles parking lot, police say

Her estranged husband was in court but declined to comment as he left.

Merrick is a small hamlet of about 22,000 residents on the south shore of Long Island.

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​Alcoholism, Baby death, Choking, Long island, Manslaughter, Mother, Crime 

There are moments when an entire ideology reveals itself to the American public — not in a faculty seminar, not in a university land acknowledgment, not in a mandatory “inclusive excellence” module administered by a deputy assistant associate vice provost of DEI, but on a basketball court.

Caitlin Clark being struck in the throat by Alyssa Thomas was one of those moments.

DEI, whether it appears as decolonizing, social justice, critical race theory, BLM activism, or ‘inclusive excellence,’ is not a path to justice. It is a catechism of resentment.

The WNBA later decided the incident was a “non-basketball act,” a useful clarification for those of us who had not noticed that punching a player in the throat is not among the standard fundamentals of the game. Dribbling, passing, shooting, rebounding — yes. Throat strikes — apparently, no.

The referees, however, seemed to be conducting an advanced seminar in nonintervention. They saw nothing. Or more precisely, they saw what everyone else saw and did not think it required interruption.

The WNBA reviewed the play and assessed Thomas a Flagrant Foul 2 with a one-game suspension. Fever guard Sophie Cunningham has publicly said Clark is being targeted and that the league and refs are not protecting her. Meanwhile, Clark’s presence has coincided with major WNBA attendance and ratings growth.

This is where the Caitlin Clark story becomes larger than basketball.

For years, America’s universities have devoted themselves to replacing character formation with grievance formation. Students are taught, with all the solemnity of medieval theologians but none of the metaphysical seriousness, that the world is divided into oppressor and oppressed, privileged and marginalized, white and non-white.

Every inequality of outcome receives the same explanation: whiteness. Every frustration becomes resentment. Every failure gets assigned a villain.

This curriculum does not produce justice. It produces vice.

It teaches envy and calls it “equity.” It teaches resentment and calls it “consciousness.” It teaches contempt for one’s neighbor and calls it “liberation.” It tells young people that the chief moral fact about another person is skin color, then professes shock when people begin treating one another accordingly.

Enter Caitlin Clark.

The WNBA has long existed less as a product of overwhelming public demand than as an institutional cause. It was the league America was instructed to support. Like many progressive projects, it was sustained not by market interest but by moral instruction: Watch this. Celebrate this. Subsidize this. Affirm this.

Then, something embarrassing happened.

RELATED: The latest violent attack on Caitlin Clark exposes the WNBA’s real problem

Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

A player arrived whom the public actually wanted to see.

Clark did not require an ideological sales pitch. She did not need a campus office to explain her importance. She did not need a seminar on representation and patriarchy. She could shoot from the logo. She could pass as if she had seen the play unfold three seconds before everyone else. She brought eyes to the league, filled arenas, moved merchandise, and made casual fans care.

That is precisely the problem.

The DEI imagination can handle excellence only when it can be absorbed into its preferred categories. If Clark’s success could be explained as “white privilege,” the story would be safe. But basketball is a cruelly empirical game. The ball either goes in or it does not. The pass either arrives or it does not. The defense either stops her or it does not. No diversity consultant can revise the box score.

Clark’s excellence is infuriating because it is visible. It is not a theory, a grant proposal, or a paragraph in a strategic plan. It is the fruit of natural ability disciplined by relentless work.

Even family support, private schooling, and access to good coaching do not manufacture Caitlin Clark. They may provide opportunity. They do not produce logo threes, court vision, and competitive fire. Many athletes have access to lessons. Few can do what Clark does.

That fact is intolerable to a culture that has taught itself to scoff at diligence, fortitude, self-control, patience, hope, faith, and love. The old virtues are too demanding because they require personal responsibility. DEI prefers a more comforting doctrine: Your failures are someone else’s fault, your anger is moral insight, and your neighbor’s success is evidence of systemic injustice.

We have seen this moral theater before.

After George Floyd died under the knee of Derek Chauvin, the image played endlessly across America. Universities made it the centerpiece of institutional repentance. Faculty meetings became revival services for Black Lives Matter. Professors who had never shown much interest in moral absolutes suddenly discovered original sin, provided it could be located in “whiteness” rather than in the human heart.

The radicals had their icon. They had their liturgy. They had their marches. They had their administrative decrees.

But what happens when the image does not serve the approved narrative? What happens when the visible act is not a white officer restraining a black man but a black WNBA player striking a white superstar in the throat?

Suddenly, the moral machinery becomes less efficient. The referees miss it. The league responds later. The commentators explain. The defenders contextualize. The public is asked not to notice too much.

But we do notice.

We notice that Clark is not merely guarded. She is battered. We notice that punishment often comes after public outrage rather than during the game. We notice that the league seems oddly embarrassed by the very player who has made it more relevant than ever. We notice that when excellence appears in the wrong demographic package, the apostles of equity become strangely tolerant of abuse.

RELATED: Caitlin Clark gets fist to the throat as WNBA primed to explode: ‘She’s a straight white basketball player’

Justin Casterline/Getty Images

This does not mean every foul against Clark is a racial incident. Basketball is physical. Stars get hit. Great players attract aggressive defense.

But the pattern surrounding Clark has become hard to ignore, and so has the ideological atmosphere in which it is interpreted. When a society is trained to see whiteness as a moral defect, it should not be surprised when white excellence is treated as something to be punished rather than admired.

DEI has trained institutions to cultivate suspicion, bitterness, and selective compassion based on skin color and sexuality. It has trained people to blame their problems on abstractions rather than repent of their vices. It has trained the public to redistribute honor and resentment according to race.

Its hope is not in virtue but in power, not in truth but in control, not in love of neighbor but in the forced rearrangement of social goods around resentment.

Caitlin Clark has become the face of DEI abuse because she exposes the lie. She shows that excellence is not reducible to privilege. She shows that work counts. She shows that talent must be disciplined. She shows that the public will still respond to greatness when it sees it.

And for that, she must be punished.

The throat strike was not merely a foul. It was a parable. It showed what resentment does when it cannot refute excellence. It tries to silence it, intimidate it, and make it pay for existing.

We should learn the lesson. DEI, whether it appears as decolonizing, social justice, critical race theory, BLM activism, or “inclusive excellence,” is not a path to justice. It is a catechism of resentment.

It does not teach us to love our neighbor. It teaches us to hate by skin color.

The answer is public rejection of DEI in all its forms.

​Caitlin clark, Critical race theory, Equity, Opinion & analysis, Sophie cunningham, Whiteness, Wnba, Black lives matter, Racism, Diversity equity inclusion, Lesbians, Derek chauvin, George floyd 

Last week, the Supreme Court voted for the federal government’s ability to remove protections for citizens of Haiti and Syria — and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) isn’t having it.

“We saw today the Supreme Court make a decision that is putting so many people’s lives in jeopardy. And I just came back from a rally with 1199 as I stood alongside a number of Haitian New Yorkers who are concerned about what this means for their status in our city,” Mamdani began in a video statement.

“And frankly, this city, the one that we love, is one that has been built by so many from so many different parts of the world. And that includes our Haitian brothers and sisters, our Syrian brothers and sisters. And we stand here ready to be in solidarity with all of those who are concerned by today’s decision,” he said.

“Now, what that means when it comes to our city is if you are worried about what this means for your status, if you’re worried about what this means for your family, I would encourage you to call our Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs hotline,” he added.

“Notice when the Supreme Court goes on their side, you absolutely must positively follow it. But if it doesn’t go their way, well, then they have all kinds of NGOs that come out of the woodwork to subvert,” Glenn comments.

“Is New York part of the United States or not? Because I’m fine with it. Cut it off … not one federal dollar goes to New York City. I am fine with that,” he continues.

Glenn points out that behind Mamdani is a flag, but it’s not the American flag.

“I just saw a rainbow flag behind him … so he’s got that flag,” Glenn says, explaining that the mayor is threatening “rebellion.”

And President Donald Trump appears to be taking notice.

“The Communists are finally making their move. I’ve been waiting and preparing for this for a long time,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

“I mean, that makes me happy,” Glenn adds.

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​Glenn beck, Zohran mamdani, Supreme court, New york city, Immigration, Haiti, Syria, Asylum, The glenn beck program 

The Alaska Supreme Court has delivered the final blow to Republicans’ efforts to keep a Senate challenger by the same name as incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan (R) off the ballot.

In a short order handed down Monday, the court affirmed a ruling from a superior court that Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. must appear on the Aug. 18 primary ballot for U.S. Senate.

‘The only reason he is running is to deceive voters and manipulate Alaska’s election system.’

“The 6/26/2026 order of the superior court directing the Division to include appellee Sullivan as a candidate for United States Senator on the primary election ballot is AFFIRMED,” the order said.

The court remanded the matter to the Division of Elections to determine how J. Sullivan should be listed on the primary ballot.

“A full opinion will be issued at a later date,” concluded the order.

Nate Adams, a spokesperson for Sen. Sullivan, released a statement on the ruling: “We’re disappointed in the court’s decision, because, as the sham candidate Dan J. Sullivan’s lawyers made clear in their legal arguments, the only reason he is running is to deceive voters and manipulate Alaska’s election system.”

“However, we are encouraged by the fact that the Director of the Division of Elections will be able to use her expertise to differentiate between the Petersburg fraud and the incumbent — Senator Dan Sullivan — to the benefit of Alaska voters,” Adams added.

J. Sullivan’s campaign expressed approval of the decision in a statement, saying, “We are grateful for the Alaska Supreme Court’s careful and timely attention to this important expedited matter, and its decision to affirm Judge Matthews’ well-reasoned, thorough order vacating the Division’s unlawful decision to exclude me as a candidate. We expect that the Division will act in full compliance with existing Alaska ballot design law in its preparation of the ballots.”

RELATED: Alaska court reinstates Senate candidate sharing incumbent’s name

A 69-year-old retired teacher, J. Sullivan reportedly registered as a Republican earlier this year and entered the race to oust Sen. Sullivan on May 29, just before the deadline for filing.

He has faced accusations from Sen. Sullivan of coordinating with Democrat operatives to sabotage the senator’s chances of re-election. Sen. Sullivan told CNN earlier this month that J. Sullivan’s candidacy was effectively a Democrat effort to “cheat” and confuse voters in order to increase Democrat challenger Mary Peltola’s odds of winning.

“Democrats recruited a guy by the name of Dan Sullivan. He is a liberal progressive. … He’s donated to Peltola,” Sen. Sullivan said.

He added, “His campaign logo, his letterhead, his website, all had my campaign logo that I’ve had for 13 years.”

In response to J. Sullivan’s candidacy, the National Republican Senatorial Committee and Alaska Republican Party filed complaints with the Federal Election Commission and the state’s Division of Elections, respectively.

After Alaska Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom (R) requested an investigation into J. Sullivan’s eligibility, Carol Beecher, the director of the Division of Elections, concluded that J. Sullivan had not filed a genuine “good-faith” candidacy and instead sought to confuse voters by placing two candidates with nearly identical names on the ballot.

J. Sullivan appealed the division’s decision to the Superior Court, where Judge Thomas Matthews affirmed that he met all the qualifying criteria set out by the Constitution and therefore Alaska could not impose an additional requirement on his candidacy. The court further concluded that J. Sullivan’s alleged motives or political affiliations did not bear on his constitutional eligibility to seek office.

The state appealed the decision to the Alaska Supreme Court, which again ruled in favor of J. Sullivan — officially solidifying his place on Alaska’s Aug. 18 nonpartisan primary ballot.

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​Dan sullivan, Us senate, Politics, Alaska 

An elderly Air Force veteran was assaulted, injured, and robbed after withdrawing cash from an ATM in Pearland, Texas, earlier this month — and cellphone video shows a juvenile taking the victim’s wallet.

A KHOU-TV video report shows the end of the June 19 attack outside a Walgreens, with the victim lying on the ground in a parking space in front of the store.

‘How scary!! I know where this was. I go there when I come into town. But …’

The 79-year-old veteran told the station he thought withdrawing cash from an ATM inside the store was safer. However, he added to KHOU that he suspects he was being watched.

The elderly victim told the station he was jumped as soon as he walked out of the store and that he’s thankful he suffered only minor injuries.

Pearland police on Tuesday confirmed that the suspect seen in a video the department took down from its Facebook page has been identified as a juvenile, and “the investigation is ongoing as officers work to take him into custody.”

Police added that the video was removed because the suspect is a juvenile.

Officers on June 19 responded to a robbery investigation at the Walgreens located in the 11600 block of Shadow Creek Parkway in Pearland, police said.

The investigation revealed that a 79-year-old man had just completed a cash withdrawal from a nearby ATM when he was returning to his vehicle, police said.

At that time, police said, an unidentified black male wearing a white shirt and black pants approached the man who had just withdrawn cash and assaulted him, causing bodily injury.

Police said the suspect stole the victim’s wallet and the cash he had just withdrawn.

Detectives soon identified and arrested two additional suspects involved in the robbery:

Donte Belle, 30, of Houston, was identified as the driver of the getaway vehicle, and he was charged with aggravated robbery, police said.Demondtra Moore, 23, of Houston, was identified as the alleged lookout, and he also was charged with aggravated robbery, police said.

The Special Investigations Unit of the Pearland Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division is continuing to investigate this case, police said.

A handful of people commented on the KHOU video showing the end of the attack. The following are a few reactions:

“Throw those punks away,” one commenter said.”Damn, I wished that man was armed,” another user wrote.”How scary!! I know where this was. I go there when I come into town. But …,” another commenter exclaimed.

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​Aggravated robbery, Pearland, Texas, Atm, Walgreens, Elderly victim, Air force veteran, Suspects arrested, Juvenile suspect at large, Crime 

For generations, homeowners have been told that paying property taxes is simply the price of owning a home. But Florida voters may soon have a chance to change that.

A proposed ballot amendment would remove an estimated 60% of homeowners from property tax rolls, a move supporters say would provide long-overdue relief and strengthen private property rights.

“Of course, they’re pushing back on the other side of this. And talking about Oviedo, a bedroom community outside Orlando, has been trying to build a new police station for a decade, but now with this property tax situation, they may not even have a police department to put in the new station,” BlazeTV host Pat Gray explains on “Pat Gray Unleashed.”

“They might have to merge with the county,” he says.

However, Gray is hopeful that Oviedo’s concerns may be ignored.

“In November, Florida voters decide on a ballot amendment that would remove roughly 60% of Florida residents from property tax rolls,” he says. “That’s amazing.”

“Why isn’t that happening in Texas?” he asks.

“Because our governor is a follower,” executive producer Keith Malinak answers.

“If you look at everything, whether it’s COVID or anything, religious stuff, that you’ve seen DeSantis stand up for … Abbott goes, ‘Oh, the water seems fine. I guess now I’ll jump in,’” Malinak says.

“So, maybe this will happen,” he adds.

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​Florida, Governor, Greg abbott, Oviedo, Pat gray, Property taxes, Ron desantis, Texas, Pat gray unleashed 

The arrest of two suspects during San Francisco’s Trans March led to police clashing with marchers who were trying to free the suspects, according to police.

The two suspects were arrested, three marchers were arrested, and two of the police officers were injured while trying to deal with the crowd.

‘People were dancing, children were running around. It was just joyful. And suddenly the police came running. Some of them had their guns drawn, batons out.’

Police said the two were seen vandalizing property with spray paint and that one suspect had assaulted and spray-painted another marcher. When they attempted to arrest the suspects, marchers surrounded them and obstructed the officers in an attempt to free the suspects.

A woman who witnessed the melee Friday told KRON-TV that the police should have let the suspects go rather than fight back against the marchers.

“I’m crying because it was just so shocking to see such a peaceful, beautiful event just be basically run over by police out of nowhere over somebody spray-painting,” said the woman, who wanted to be known by the name Missy.

She said she went to the march with her transgender-identifying child before the police ruined it.

“People were dancing, children were running around. It was just joyful. And suddenly the police came running. Some of them had their guns drawn, batons out,” she added.

Two people were arrested on suspicion of obstruction of police, and three were arrested for alleged vandalism and assault.

“I get that in large crowds police have a heightened sense of awareness and reaction and all of that, but the guy was spray-painting. I just don’t feel it was necessary,” the woman added.

The San Francisco Police Dept. released a statement about the incident:

The SFPD always respects individuals’ First Amendment rights to protest; however, criminal activity will not be tolerated in San Francisco. Additionally, the SFPD is unwavering in its support for the LGBTQ+ community and will continue to protect and serve every community in San Francisco.

One livestreamer recorded himself screaming at police officers and demanding to know why they would arrest transgender-identifying people in the transgender district.

RELATED: California taxpayers are funding gender transition services for homeless illegal aliens: Report

Missy was upset that the police tried to arrest people committing crimes instead of standing by transgender-identifying marchers.

“We don’t need our police officers being unpredictable,” she added. “We need them to stand side by side with us.”

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​Lgbtq community, San francisco, Trans march, Vandalism, Obstruction of justice, Politics 

The pastor of the New Hope Community Church in Palatine, Illinois, says that he isn’t backing down from preaching the truth after LGBTQ+ activists showed up to protest.

The protesters are angry at messages the church has posted on its digital sign that refer to Pride Month, and they want the church to stop.

‘That gives us the chance to share God’s truth. I wish they’d come every day so we can have conversations.’

One of the messages reads, “We love you enough to tell you the truth,” while another reads, “Ditch Pride, embrace humility.”

“Our goal was to let other residents of Palatine know what this church preaches and that Palatine is better than that,” said Paul Dombrowski of the Northwest Suburban Pride Network to WLS-TV.

“It is important to stand up for those in our community who are being marginalized and who are being ostracized clearly in this way,” said Chelsea Laliberte Barnes, a member of a group named Liberal Moms of the Northwest Suburbs.

Some said they were concerned about the messages because the church is near a school.

The WLS news video report showed that one protester held up a sign reading, “Hate has no home here,” while a report from LGBTQ Nation called the messages “hateful.”

Members of the church came out to defend the innocuous messages and discuss the issue with the protesters.

James Pittman Jr., the pastor of the church, said they would not change their messaging and added that he welcomed the protests.

“That gives us the chance to share God’s truth. I wish they’d come every day so we can have conversations,” Pittman told WLS.

RELATED: NY Pride group disbands after founder is arrested for disgusting alleged crime with minor

The pastor explained that the church’s digital messages would often reflect the season, such as Christmas or Easter, but in June they refer to Pride Month.

WLS noted that LGBTQ activists had also tried to get Palatine city officials to fly a Pride flag outside of city hall but had been rebuffed.

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​Christianity, Church, Lgbtq, Pride month, Protest, Politics