The New York Times reporter Jonathan Swan revealed”one of the hardest chapters” to write in his new book with Maggie Haberman was about the murder of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, due to his strong personal bond with the conservative influencer.

Swan discussed the friendship during an interview on Meghan McCain’s podcast on July 15.

“I would just have interesting conversations with him,” Swan said. “I just found him a very insightful person who obviously had his hands in all kinds of things.”

He said he spoke with Kirk frequently, including the day before he was shot and killed at a TP USA event at Utah Valley University last September.

“I run that conversation through in my head like, all the time,” Swan said.

Swan went on, saying he and Kirk would pick each other’s brains all the time. He said one of Kirk’s finest qualities was he was a curious guy, and he said his marriage to Erika Kirk seemed to make him an even more well-rounded individual.

“I think he changed a lot in the last 18 months of his life,” Swan explained. “I think he was connecting with his faith in a deeper way, I think he was exploring other points of view in a different way, I think being married had a big effect on him. He was less of a sort of knee-jerk kind of culture warrior.”

Swan said he and Haberman wrote about the day President Donald Trump found out Kirk died in their book on the president’s return to the White House. He said a “distraught” Barron Trump was the one who broke the news to his father about Kirk’s slaying, which immediately rattled the president and everyone in his inner circle.

“It was like a zombie town in the West Wing that day,” Swan said.

He added the Republican Party is still reeling from Kirk’s death because he was the “best fundraiser of his generation.”

Watch above via the Citizen McCain podcast.

Jason Cohen contributed to this report. 

The post Jonathan Swan Heaps Praise on ‘Very Insightful’ Charlie Kirk, Reveals Close Relationship first appeared on Mediaite.

Siri AI is the biggest feature of Apple's upcoming suite of updates. Whether you're running iOS 27, macOS 27, or even watchOS 27, the thing that you'll likely notice first (assuming you're running a compatible device) is that Siri is much smarter now, and even more capable than it was in previous versions. If the beta previews have been any indication, this really is the biggest upgrade Apple has ever given Siri.

But it seems that the company isn't limiting itself to the upgrades it already announced. As it continues beta testing these new updates, and with them, Siri AI itself, Apple seems to be tinkering with its new AI-powered assistant, quietly planting new features that beta testers need to discover for themselves. One such feature? A new Siri AI menu that appears whenever you highlight text in macOS 27.

How Siri AI's hidden menu works in macOS 27

As reported by MacRumors, this new menu appears whenever you select text in macOS 27. When you do, you'll see a floating menu in the top left of your highlighted text. If you move your cursor over it, the menu expands to reveal options, such as "Proofread," "Rewrite," "How does this sound?" and "Edit with Siri." You can also ask Siri AI to pull out key points from the text, or summarize it completely. Depending on the text, you might see other options, too: If you highlight a text from a friend, Siri AI might show you contact info; if the text contains a date, Siri AI might prompt you to create a Calendar entry. It plays into Siri AI's contextual awareness, which is part of Apple's mission to make its assistant more useful in specific scenarios.

The thing is, this menu is disabled by default, as least as of macOS 27 developer beta 3 and public beta 1. Apple did not include it in the release notes, either; instead, a Redditor stumbled upon it, and shared instructions for turning it on on r/MacOSBeta.

How to enable Siri AI's menu in macOS 27

Keep in mind, this feature, as with macOS 27 as a whole, is in beta testing. MacRumors says that the feature does not always work, so you may run into odd bugs or glitches after turning it on. Still, if you're already running the beta and are curious, this is an interesting feature to explore.

To try it out, you'll need to open your Mac's Terminal app. Then, paste and run the following command: sudo mkdir -p /Library/Preferences/FeatureFlags/Domain && sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/FeatureFlags/Domain/WritingTools LightweightUI_macOS -dict Enabled -bool true

You'll need to restart your Mac for the feature to take effect. But once you do, you should see the menu whenever you highlight text—albeit with some possible hiccups. If the feature is too unstable at this point, or you simply don't like it, you can undo it by pasting the following command into Terminal: sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/FeatureFlags/Domain/WritingTools LightweightUI_macOS -dict Enabled -bool false

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President Donald Trump seemed to get a frosty reception Sunday from the crowd at the World Cup men’s soccer final between Spain and Argentina.

Flanked on either side by his wife Melania Trump and FIFA president Gianni Infantino, the president was briefly shown on the big screen at the conclusion of Jennifer Hudson’s rendition of the National Anthem — and seemed to get boos from the capacity crowd at MetLife Stadium. Though the boos were only somewhat audible on the Fox Sports broadcast feed (which can be briefly seen starting at the 2:07 mark of the clip below, additional video circulating social media from inside the stadium seemed to confirm a negative crowd reaction.

It is the second time in as many months that Trump has drawn boos at a major sporting event in the New York-New Jersey area. In June, the president was heavily jeered as he was shown to the crowd on the big screen during the singing of the National Anthem.

Trump is slated to be on the field during the postgame ceremony to award the trophy to the winning side. He has enjoyed a close relationship with Infantino — who created and awarded him the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize in late 2025.

The president was interviewed by Fox Sports ahead of Sunday’s match, and seemed to lean towards predicting an Argentina victory.

“I would say that it’s hard to bet against [Lionel] Messi,” Trump said. He added, “He’s great.”

Watch above via Fox Sports.

The post Trump Appears to Get Booed at World Cup first appeared on Mediaite.

Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum pressed Democratic Socialists of America co-chair Gustavo Gordillo on his gripe New York City landlords make a 12% return on their investment; Gordillo did not specify whether it was annually or not — but either way, he said it was too much during a Friday appearance on The Story.

“How much should they make? What’s fair for the landlord to make, if you don’t like 12?” MacCallum asked.

“They’re complaining that 12 is not enough, and we don’t think that anyone should have a constitutional right to double digit returns on their investment,” Gordillo argued.

MacCallum was clearly dumbfounded by his answer.

“No one should have a double digit return on their investment?” she asked.

“No one has a right! That’s not in the Constitution.,” Gordillo fired back.

“What are you talking about?!” the perplexed anchor said.

He tripled down on his remark before saying landlords are “crying” about New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani implementing rent freezes. MacCallum responded by saying some landlords are “lousy” and others are good, but they’re all trying to make a profit on their investment.

It’s also unclear where Gordillo is pulling his stats from, because most rent-measuring sites have NYC pegged at about a 5% annual return for landlords. His appearance on Fox News comes after a handful of socialist candidates won Democratic primaries over the last month.

Two of those candidates in New York — Darializa Avila Chevalier (D) and Claire Valdez (D) — are card-carrying DSA members, just like Mamdani; the mayor backed both Chevalier and Valdez in their primaries. Beyond their shared economic beliefs, both agree with Mamdani ICE needs to be abolished.

MacCallum told Gordillo on Friday she wasn’t loving the anti-capitalist rhetoric she was hearing.

“I just think that the idea that no one should make a double digit profit is the antithesis of the desire to like, you can be anything you want to be in New York.” she said.

Watch above.

The post Fox News Anchor Clashes With Democratic Socialist Co-Chair Over Landlord Gripe: ‘How Much Should They Make?’ first appeared on Mediaite.

Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) leapt into the race for Lindsey Graham’s Senate seat Saturday — a day after President Donald Trump gave his “Complete and Total Endorsement” to the deceased lawmaker’s sister Darline Graham Nordone. 

Norman appeared to ignore president’s endorsement of Nordone, touting his own “America First” credentials.

“For years, Senator Lindsey Graham fought hard to save America and defend South Carolina. Now, President Trump needs another proven America First conservative in the U.S. Senate to deliver on those America First priorities,” Norman said.

“We need to send a fighter to who will stand with President Trump, keep South Carolina RED, hold the majority in the U.S. Senate, and deliver results to our families.”

Norman has been a fairly strong supporter of Trump since he entered the House of Representatives in 2017. He has dubbed Trump a “phenom,” said his tariff plan last year was “good for the country,” and supported the Trump-backed SAVE America Act, which would require ID to vote in federal elections.

Despite his pro-MAGA views, Trump opted to back Graham’s sister Friday.

“It was my Honor to welcome now Senator Darline Graham Nordone (The sister of the Late, Great Lindsey Graham!), from the Wonderful State of South Carolina, into the Oval Office,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “We have known each other for a long time — She is a spectacular person, and a true American Patriot.”

Trump continued:

Lindsey was one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known, and his sister shares his deep love of our Country, and the State of South Carolina. During her visit, I asked Darline, for the Good of our Nation, to run for the U.S. Senate in the Special Republican Primary on Tuesday, August 11, 2026.

I hope Darline does this, in that there would be nobody better to honor the legacy of her beloved brother, Lindsey. Darline, who comes from an absolutely incredible family, has been a WINNER all of her life and, should she accept, has my Complete and Total Endorsement in the Special Election for U.S. Senate in South Carolina — SHE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN. RUN, DARLINE, RUN! President DONALD J. TRUMP.

Nordone was sworn in Tuesday as her brother’s temporary replacement.

Businessman Mark Lynch is the only other Republican to officially enter the race before Norman, but there is speculation several others will join in soon. Those names include Rep. Nancy Grace (R-SC), Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette (R), and ex-Governor and Rep. Mark Sanford (R-SC).

Norman announced he was running during an appearance on Fox News.

Watch above via Saturday in America.

The post MAGA Lawmaker Announces South Carolina Senate Run in Crowded Field for Lindsey Graham’s Seat first appeared on Mediaite.

Two U.S. service members have been killed in an Iranian strike on an airbase in Jordan, U.S. Central Command announced Saturday.

“On July 17, two U.S. service members in Jordan were killed in action as U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) and partner forces defended against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks. Additionally, one service member is currently missing. Four American service members were medically evacuated to Jordanian hospitals. They have since been discharged. Other personnel who were evaluated for minor injuries have returned to duty,” the report said.

CENTCOM added, “Out of respect for the families, CENTCOM will withhold additional information, including the identities of the fallen warriors, until 24 hours after the next of kin have been notified.”

The news broke after Iran issued a chilling warning for people to “stay away” from American military bases in the region amid an escalation in the conflict.

Fox News’s Lucas Tomlinson reported from Tel Aviv:

We’ve just learned from the U.S. Military central command in charge of all U.S. Forces in the Middle East that two American service members have been killed and one is still missing after an Iranian missile attack on a base in Jordan.

Additionally, we’ve learned that four American service members were wounded. They were transferred to Jordanian hospitals and have since been discharged.

This all coming last night after at least two intermediate-range ballistic missiles fired from Iran hit a base in Jordan not long of after U.S. Air force personnel had arrived, part of president Trump’s reinforcements, F16 squadron, as well as an F35 squadron.

Of course, U.S. Air force personnel are deployed throughout the Middle East, have been heavily focused on the two U.S. Navy aircraft carrier strike groups in the Arabian sea.

The Air Force isn’t as public about where it deploys its forces, but Jordan is a major hub, along with bases here in Israel, also Qatar, UAE and, of course, in Saudi Arabia.

President Donald Trump has not yet commented on the news out of the Gulf.

This is a breaking story and has been updated.

The post BREAKING: Two U.S. Troops Killed and One Missing After Iran Strikes Base in Jordan first appeared on Mediaite.

CNN’s Dana Bash was thrown for a loop by President Donald Trump’s media company selling “quicker access” to his Truth Social posts, and she flat-out asked, “How is this not insider trading?”

Bash spoke with CNN senior reporter Dave Goldman on Friday’s Inside Politics for a report on the latest move by Trump’s media company.

“President Trump’s media company is going to start selling Wall Street firms faster access to Truth Social posts, including the president and his son’s [posts]. It appears to be yet another example of the Trump family profiting off of his presidency,” Bash said before bringing Goldman on.

Goldman explained that Truth Social is selling access to a service known as its API which provides “instant access to high-speed trading machines.” Companies can essentially pay for faster access to posts on Truth Social, including from the president who often makes policy announcements there.

Goldman reported:

Those are the kind of machines that really make money on Wall Street. And we’re talking about when we’re talking about high speed, we’re talking about milliseconds, right? And those milliseconds can make millions of dollars for Wall Street firms and really put retail investors like you and me at a disadvantage. Now we know that President Trump makes news and really announces policies, often before his own administration knows that it’s coming, on Truth Social. And so by selling instant access to that, Wall Street can make more money by buying or selling, depending on what President Trump is saying. Now, the company has a statement about this. It says that until now, “no official integrated api has existed and firms that prioritize tracking influential Truth posts have relied on manual monitoring.” That’s crucial. “Truth API closes the gap for organizations that place a premium on immediate, verified access to information.” So basically, this is the company saying, yes, we acknowledge that people are buying and selling stocks based on what the president says on Truth Social. And now we’re going to sell even faster access to it so that the company can make money.

“I think this is one of those moments where I have to ask you the bottom line question that probably everybody watching is asking, how is this not insider trading?” Bash asked, throwing her hands in the air.

Goldman noted that other social media platforms provide similar services and Trump’s media company is looking for a way to bring in cash.

He said:

Yeah, it’s legal. And this isn’t the only company that’s doing this. X, owned by Elon Musk, and Meta, others either offer for free or sell high speed access to the data that’s available on their platforms. But here’s the key. President Trump owns the platform that he’s making news on. And so by selling access to it, he is thereby making money. Remember, he owns 41% of the parent company, Trump Media, which owns Truth Social. And the company could use some money, Dana, because it only made $3 million in ad revenue last year. It lost, get this, $711 million in operating losses. This is not a profitable company, and they’re looking for ways to make some money.

Watch above via CNN.

The post ‘How Is This Not Insider Trading?’ Dana Bash Thrown for a Loop By Trump Selling Wall Street ‘Quicker Access’ to Social Posts first appeared on Mediaite.