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Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) said he thinks progressive influencer Hasan Piker should be banned from the United States after the United Kingdom blocked his visit with fellow commentator and his uncle, Cenk Uygur, TMZ reported on Wednesday.The MAGA lawmaker was walking on Capitol Hill when a TMZ reporter asked Fine to comment on Piker's entry to the country being revoked over the weekend. The two were scheduled to speak at the SXSW London Festival but were turned away "because of their criticism of Israel," The BBC reported."Well I don't think he should be allowed into America, so I think that's a good start," Fine said. The TMZ reporter responded and asked Fine, "What about freedom of speech?""People have freedom of speech but I think when you're a terrorist you should be held responsible for that," Fine said. "And I think he's clearly a supporter of terror. He's a walking billboard for the problem of birth tourism. He was brought here by his Turkish family, they had him, then they took him home, made him hate America, then sent him in to torment us. The guy's a horrible human being and I wouldn't let him into my country if it was up to me, so I don't blame them."Piker, who is an American citizen, has condemned Islamophobia and been an outspoken critic of MAGA and the Trump administration. He has a large social media following, primarily through streaming on Twitch and weighing in on political topics. He frequently discusses social issues and engages in debates with commentators across the political spectrum.The reporter pushed back again and suggested that "banning him from a country is [a] pretty crazy step for someone who is expressing his opinion.""And by the way, they're allowed to do that," Fine said.When the reporter pressed the Republican again on freedom of speech, he repeated his talking point."He promotes Muslim terror, so I think they're making the right decision," said Fine, making the unsubstantiated claim. "I'm surprised they did it but I think they did the right thing."Rep. Randy Fine tells @hicharliecotton that Hasan Piker should not only be banned in the UK... but also in the U.S. ???? pic.twitter.com/G5nvjz0C9R— TMZ (@TMZ) June 3, 2026

Actor Richard Gere described how America was facing a dark time in history and called President Donald Trump a "maniac," according to reports on Wednesday.Gere was speaking at the Oslo Freedom Forum in Norway with Thor Halvorssen, a Venezuelan-Norwegian human rights activist, and discussed politics, history and freedom, The Daily Beast reported. The actor, who has criticized Trump in the past, revealed a dark parallel between the current United States and the past."We’re living in the darkest moment that I’ve experienced on this planet," Gere told the audience.“How is this even possible? Because we went to sleep. We didn’t care. We didn’t vote. We didn’t really listen,” Gere said.He believes he also "didn’t do enough work to skillfully convince people around me, close to me, not close to me, that this was insane to elect this person as president of the United States."And in his comments, Gere described how on the "first day, this guy dismantled almost everything that was good about the U.S. government and the U.S. people."He warned that people must act — before it's too late.“We have to see the cues, this dictatorship of the monsters, how quickly it happens," Gere said. "We have to be vigilant."He referenced a trip to Dachau, a Nazi concentration camp in Germany, and what he walked away thinking about after the visit and seeing an exhibit that showed "the transformation of German society and German government and how quickly it happened there.""Good people turned into monsters," said the Golden Globe-winning performer."But you see how quickly our world can be taken from us if we fall asleep. And we have to see the cues," he added, saying that people must be aware of how fast "this dictatorship of the monsters" can happen."We can’t sit back and go, ‘Ah, life is good. I’m fine. You know, I’ve got food. I got money. Blah blah blah. I got my house. I got another car. I’m thinking about this. I’m OK. I know he’s a bad guy, but it’s OK,'" Gere explained."But it’s not OK. It’s not OK. It’s never OK," he said.Richard Gere with a word.. pic.twitter.com/joMqYz3ETe— Loni Love (@LoniLove) June 3, 2026

Conservative podcaster Candace Owens is scheduled to appear at a panel alongside Russian media figures and politicians under U.S. and European Union sanctions for supporting Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine at a major event in St. Petersburg on Thursday.The right-wing conspiracy theorist, who has seen her popularity rise as she’s openly feuded with other conservative luminaries such as Erika Kirk and Laura Loomer, has lavished praise on Russia in X posts over the past week for its “Christian heritage and expression” and “family-friendly” amenities. Owens is scheduled to appear on a panel at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum entitled, “A Big Family, A Big Reach: New Demographics and Narratives for Media Leaders.”The appearance puts her on the same stage as Alexander Zharov, who was directly appointed by President Vladimir Putin to lead the Russian state’s mass media arm and is currently under U.S. sanctions as an official of the Russian government, and Anna Kuznetsova, a deputy chair of the Duma, a house of the Russian parliament, who is also on the State Department’s sanctions list.“By speaking at this forum, she’s actively aligning herself with an event that exists to push the interests of the Russian state,” said Hannah Gais, a senior researcher at the Southern Poverty Law Center who monitors Russia and the far right.The panel, which features “influential figures with large families” who produce “content that focuses on family values,” highlights a longstanding obsession in Russia with population collapse, Gais said, noting that the theme has long attracted far-right actors from the United States and Europe.Gais told Raw Story that Owens’ presence helps the Russian state show that it can build bridges with the U.S far right.“An aspect of any kind of soft-power effort, so to speak, would be to push your own messaging, whether it be Russia as a partner in the ‘war on wokeness,’ which is one framing that certain reactionaries or partners in protecting Christian civilization like to emphasize — those are talking points that would serve the interests of the Kremlin,” Gais said.Russian state media reported Owens' participation in the panel at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, but she has not publicly announced it. Requests for comment submitted by Raw Story through the contact form on Owens' website were not returned.Meanwhile, the British-American manosphere influencer Andrew Tate and his brother, Tristan, arrived in Moscow on Tuesday, sparking speculation that they too will attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, which begins Wednesday.Owens’ social media posts have largely presented her visit to Russia as a family sight-seeing trip, but on Sunday Vladimir R. Legoyda, a spokesman for the Russian Orthodox Church, posted photos on his Instagram account of a media interview with Owens for Spas TV. The outlet is currently under sanction by the European Union for “spreading disinformation and propaganda in support of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.”The interview has not yet been broadcast, but Owens confirmed her participation in a reply to a detractor on X, writing, “Please share a link when it drops in case I miss it! Was a great discussion.”Owens has vocally criticized Israel’s attacks on Gaza and ongoing bombardment of Lebanon — including resharing a post as recently as May 30 showing Israeli aerial attacks in Lebanon — but has remained largely silent on Russia’s war in Ukraine and targeted attacks on civilians.Other Russian panelists scheduled to share the stage with her who are under sanctions for spreading disinformation about the war in Ukraine and praising Putin include Yuliya Baranovska, a television presenter, who was sanctioned by the European Union for, among other things, “publicly promoting Russian war crimes such as the forced deportation of Ukrainian children.”Kuznetsova, the deputy at the Duma, is similarly under sanction by the European Union, along with the U.S. Treasury Department, while a 2024 Voice of America report flagged her playing an instrumental role in a propaganda campaign to falsely accuse Ukrainian medical teams of harvesting organs from children. The conspiracy theory has been used by Russia to deflect from its responsibility for relocating at least 20,000 children in what the U.S. State Department under former President Joe Biden described as “systematic efforts to suppress Ukraine’s identity, history and culture.”The Russian intelligence service, known by its acronym FSB, has long courted foreign media figures in an effort to generate positive news stories, often using the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum as an arena for cultivating potential assets.Nomma Zarubina, a 35-year-old woman who pleaded guilty in February to lying to the FBI about her role as a Russian spy, worked with an FSB handler who encouraged her to cultivate contacts with American journalists, according to a federal court documents. Zarubina’s handler instructed her to attend the 2021 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, “and asked her to find journalists who would be willing to publish positive stories about the event and Russia.”A screenshot retrieved from her phone by the FBI revealed the results of her efforts: contact information for a German public broadcasting journalist.Owens has thumbed her nose at critics, such as her former boss, Ben Shapiro who accused her in a piece at the Daily Wire of going to Russia “to visit her friends, ideological handlers, and sponsors.”Whether Russian intelligence services directly engage Owens or not, her pro-Russia messaging already appears to align with Kremlin interests. Posting about a cat she ostensibly planned to adopt, Owens wrote: “Deep down I know she will never be loyal to me and she will always report back to the Kremlin, but I will love her nonetheless.”Whether there’s an espionage connection or not, Gais said Owens represents a segment of the U.S. far right that already shares overlapping interests with the Kremlin.“This has been an ongoing trend on the far right, from Tucker Carlson to the alt-right,” Gais said. “Candace Owens is following in a long line of right-wingers who have gone to Russia and see it as an ally in a conflict that they see as civilizational and existential in the West against liberalism.”

ICC’s decision comes amid growing concerns the team is being influenced by members of a notorious gang in IndiaCricket’s international governing body has suspended Canada over what it described as “serious breaches of its membership obligations”, dealing the latest blow to an organization that critics say has become a “laughing stock” within the sport.The suspension also comes amid growing concerns that one of Canada’s fastest-growing sports is being influenced by members of a notorious gang that operates with impunity from an Indian prison cell. Continue reading...

Business leaders and industry groups are waiting for clarity and follow-up from the Trump administration on promises it made during the China summit earlier this month, according to new reporting. The White House assured that a "board of trade" would help relieve Chinese and American tariffs, but it's still "ironing" out the plan, "a signal the clarity industry is searching for is unlikely to come all at once," Politico reported. Ed Brzytwa, an executive for the Consumer Technology Association, said industry groups don't know what kind of products will see reduced tariffs. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer "hasn't been clear about it, neither have the Chinese," he told Politico. Trump has "three and a half months to get this thing up and running," Wendy Cutler, a former senior U.S. trade negotiator, told Politico. She was looking ahead to Chinese leader Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to Washington in September. "There will be pressure to show progress, given how few deliverables came out of this last summit meeting," Cutler said. An anonymous White House official told Politico, "further details to come" on the plans that came out of the summit. "The administration looks forward to engaging more with the business community on this historic policy that reflects our commitment to better manage trade between the U.S. and China," the official said, according to Politico.

President Donald Trump took to Truth Social over the weekend to attack Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson while Johnson was at the Vatican meeting with Pope Leo XIV, calling the Democratic mayor "useless" and urging someone to inform the pontiff of that fact."Someone should explain to the Pope that the Mayor of Chicago is useless, and that Iran cannot have a Nuclear Weapon!" Trump wrote, signing the post with his full name and title: "President DONALD J. TRUMP."Johnson had shared photos of the meeting on X, describing it as "one of the most awe-inspiring and humbling experiences of my life." He called Pope Leo XIV "a magnificent human" and said he was honored to share time with him.Trump's post drew attention not only for its attack on a sitting mayor's audience with the head of the Catholic Church, but also for the jarring pivot to Iran nuclear policy in the same sentence, a rhetorical non sequitur that nonetheless reflects two of the administration's persistent preoccupations.The post comes as Trump has frequently used Truth Social to target Democratic mayors of major cities, framing urban governance failures as emblematic of broader Democratic dysfunction. Johnson, for his part, has been an outspoken critic of the administration's immigration policies and federal funding cuts to cities.The Vatican meeting appeared to be part of a broader multi-faith prayer gathering, according to Johnson's office. Trump was not among those in attendance.

Truck was carrying Afghan families returning Pakistan when it overturned, official saysA truck overturned in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, killing 18 people on board including 10 children, a provincial official told Agence France-Presse.Deadly traffic crashes are common in Afghanistan, due in part to poor roads after decades of conflict, dangerous driving and a lack of regulation. Continue reading...

New digital marking system is aimed at reducing human errors but many students say it has resulted in wrong gradesA national outcry has erupted in India after more than 400,000 students requested copies of their answer sheets amid mounting complaints of errors in the marking of the country’s most important school-leaving examinations.Within days of the grade 12 exam results being issued, students began reporting marking discrepancies they linked to a new digital marking system. Continue reading...