The Patriot Post® · Thursday Executive News Summary
Praetorian Guard whitewashes Gorman’s killer: A week ago, before he murdered Sheridan Gorman, Jose Medina-Medina was an illegal immigrant, but ostensibly not one of “the worst of the worst.” That didn’t stop him from murdering an American college student in an ostensibly safe area of Chicago. As Loyola University grieves Gorman’s senseless death, the campus newspaper, The Loyola Phoenix, has now issued an apology — to the murderer. The Phoenix originally correctly reported that Gorman was killed by an illegal immigrant before issuing a “correction” that said “no human’s existence is illegal” and describing Medina-Medina as a “Rogers Park resident.” Meanwhile, after the murder, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has unveiled a new snowplow named “Abolish ICE.” Democrats care more about illegal alien murderers than about their citizen neighbors.
Mamdani dumps property tax hike: When socialist Zohran Mamdani won the New York City mayoral election, he did so with a promise of lots of “free” things, like childcare and subway rides, as well as a commitment to lower housing costs. To pay for it, Mamdani proposed raising taxes, including increasing property taxes by nearly 10%. His property tax plan would hit not only wealthy city dwellers but also working- and middle-class New Yorkers. As that reality sank in among his supporters, a predictable reaction ensued: people objected. As is always the case with socialism, everybody pays, and everybody gets poorer. An anonymous City Hall official warned Mamdani that if he went through with his tax-hike plan, he would be a one-term mayor. Well, lo and behold, Mamdani is now backing off on his tax plan.
EPA will waive E15 restrictions: In response to rising gas prices due to the ongoing U.S. military operation in Iran, the EPA announced that it would temporarily suspend regulations on blended fuel. This will allow the sale of gas across the country blended with up to 15% ethanol (E15). EPA regulations bar the sale of E15 during the summer months across most of the country due to the higher amounts of air pollution it produces. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin explained that the agency was seeking “to reduce unnecessary costs and uncertainty and ensure that gas prices remain affordable for all Americans through the summer.” Gas prices hit a national average of $4 per gallon this week, the highest since 2022.
Court greenlights DHS’s illegal alien detention policy: After more than a year of judicial activist rulings that hamstring the Trump administration’s ability to detain and deport illegal immigrants, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has sided with the administration. In a 2-1 decision, the Eighth Circuit ruled that the administration is likely on solid legal ground in holding illegal immigrants in detention as they await deportation hearings. Thousands of illegals have been allowed to initiate lawsuits against the government, arguing for their right to post bail and go free as they await their hearing. This is the second appeals court to side with the administration and against a host of lower-court rulings allowing bail, following a Fifth Circuit decision. With a counter-decision from the Seventh Circuit and additional decisions expected soon from the Sixth and Ninth Circuits, this issue is sure to reach the Supreme Court.
ChicCom router imports banned: On Monday, the Federal Communications Commission announced a ban on the import of all foreign-made routers over security concerns. Indeed, the concern is directly tied to China, which controls an estimated 60% of the router market in the U.S. The FCC explained that these foreign-made routers pose “a severe cybersecurity risk that could be leveraged to immediately and severely disrupt U.S. critical infrastructure.” The commission noted that malicious actors have used these foreign routers “to attack households, disrupt networks, enable espionage, and facilitate intellectual property theft.” Republican Rep. John Moolenaar welcomed the FCC’s decision, calling it “tremendous” and lauding that it “protects our country against China’s relentless cyberattacks.” The ban applies to new models of foreign-made routers, not existing ones.
Army’s max enlistment age revised up: The Army has raised its upper bound for enlistment from 35 to 42 years old. Army recruitment has been an issue in recent years, failing to meet targets in 2022 and 2023 before rebounding somewhat in 2024 and exploding in 2025. The Air Force and the Navy continue to allow recruits up to age 40, while the Marines set their limit at 28. The average age of new recruits in the Army has risen slightly so far this year to 22.7 years old, possibly indicating that some Patriots were waiting for a more supportive administration before enlisting. In another change aimed at expanding the recruitment pool, waivers will no longer be required for recruits with a single marijuana conviction. This change comes as most states have now legalized the drug for recreational or medicinal use.
Russia sending drones to Iran: Not only is Russia sharing intelligence with Iran, but Moscow is also helping out its ally by sending the mullahs shipments of drones, food, and medicine. Iran has long helped Vladimir Putin in his war against Ukraine by sending the Russians hundreds of one-way attack drones. Now, Putin is returning the favor. However, the White House is downplaying the impact. “It clearly is not making a difference with respect to the military operations in Iran because we are completely decimating them,” said Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. “Their navy has been deemed combat ineffective,” she added, and there has been a “90% reduction in ballistic missile retaliatory strikes against the United States and our Gulf, Arab, and partners in the region.” Russia has admitted to communicating with Iran.
Majority of voters want in-person medical visit requirement for abortion pill: Some 67% of likely voters, including 63% of Democrats, support an in-person medical evaluation before prescription of the abortion pill. Further, 70% of poll respondents agreed with having medical evaluations both before and after the use of the pill to ensure the health of the mother. Currently, the Trump administration allows the abortion drug to be ordered online and shipped in the mail to expecting mothers, even in states with pro-life laws. These policies allow abuses — for example, misreporting gestational ages and men covertly slipping their pregnant wives and girlfriends the pill against their will. Only 29% of those polled say they would support a candidate who backs the current online regimen.
AI chatbot reinforces psychological illness: A team of psychiatrists has conducted a study on AI chatbots, both free and paid versions, to see if their responses affirmed and led to increased unstable thinking. The study was published in JAMA Psychiatry, and the questions posed to the chatbots were designed to test for delusions, hallucinations, and paranoid thoughts. Overall, the paid AI chatbots were less likely to give inappropriate responses, whereas the free version was “43 times more likely to deliver problematic responses to unbalanced questions than healthy ones.” One psychiatric practitioner noted the need for Big Tech companies to improve the AI chatbots and make their responses “more neutral, caring, and resourceful.” Another psychologist warned that untreated psychotic thinking leads to a “downward spiral” and that “the more vulnerable the person using ChatGPT, the higher the risk of a very bad outcome like death.”
Headlines
Iran rejects Trump’s 15-point ceasefire plan — and makes wild demands instead (NY Post)
Meta, YouTube lose groundbreaking child safety jury trial (Newsweek)
UN resolution calls for reparations for trans-Atlantic slave trade (Washington Examiner)
Plans for massive Muslim community in rural Texas ends (Daily Caller)
The Executive News Summary is compiled daily by Jordan Candler, Thomas Gallatin, Sterling Henry, and Sophie Starkova. For the archive, click here.