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Chris Rock Compares ‘Wokeness’ to Salem Witch Trials: ‘Half a Joke’

By News Here - 13:07

Comedian and filmmaker Chris Rock drew what he called a “half a joke” comparison between “wokeness” and the Salem witch trials, arguing both went too far in hunting for offenders.

Rock appeared on Saturday’s edition of The Interview — a David Marchese-hosted New York Times podcast.

While discussing Rock’s upcoming film, Misty Green, Marchese asked the director about the theme of forgiveness.

Describing a “nameless” and “canceled” friend of his, Rock recalled, “Another friend of mine was like, ‘How can you be friends with that person?’ I was like, ‘If you’re only friends with your friends when they’re good, they’re not your friends.'”

Emphasizing that while that line of thinking “doesn’t mean condoning abusive behavior,” Rock launched into his hot take.

“The problem with ‘wokeness’ — and don’t get me wrong, it is great that marginalized people have a voice; it is great to advocate for anybody that feels marginalized — but the problem is we’re in the Old Testament right now,” he explained. “The Old Testament has no forgiveness. The Old Testament didn’t work, so they had to write a remix called the New Testament.”

After Marchese noted that some say the “Woke 1.0 era, which refers to the immediate post-George Floyd era, was ‘crazy,'” Rock elaborated:

Again, it’s great to help those that need help. We need more of that. The problem is when you institutionalize it. That’s the problem.

So, my half a joke — the Salem Witch Hunts. I’m sure the first three witches they caught were actually f*cking witches. But then you open up a witch office, and now you gotta start lying. Now, you gotta f*cking make sh*t up ’cause you got overhead.

He added, though, that he’s “glad that all of this stuff happened” because “it needed to happen.”

Earlier this month, Rock disclosed that while he’s no “fan” of President Donald Trump, “It’s weird when somebody gets one thing right, and the one thing almost clears them of all their other sins. The news is fake. He got that right.”

Watch above via New York Times.

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Pete Hegseth Goes on a Steph Curry-Like 3 Point Barrage in Remarkably Athletic Video

By News Here - 12:07

(Photos via: AP Photo/Jeremias Gonzalez and @TRadabaugh on X)

Say what you want about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth… the guy has a pretty smooth jump shot.

The video evidence is clear after Hegseth was captured putting on a Stephen Curry-like performance from downtown on Saturday, with the defense secretary nailing nine out of 10 three-pointers in an X clip posted by senior adviser Tami Radabaugh.

Her post showed Hegseth bombing away from the top of the arc inside the Air Force Arena in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Hegseth started off by hitting his first shot, before his second one rimmed out.

“Ahhh,” Hegseth groaned.

But he then got into “the zone.” Hegseth nailed his next eight shots — with most of them swishing through the nylon — while sporting a white Air Force shirt, blue shorts, and what appeared to be a grey-ish pair of low-top Under Armour shoes.

Hegseth’s long-range bombardment ended with him swishing the final shot home, turning around, and walking away with his right index finger held triumphantly towards the sky; any self-respecting NBA fan would recognize it was a clear homage to Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird’s iconic celebration in the 1988 Three Point Contest.

. @secwar shooting hoops (yes, 9 of 10, one take) @af_academy Clune Arena following morning PT with cadets ahead of the Air Force vs. Navy football game. pic.twitter.com/HaRXiDtIoo

— Tami Radabaugh (@TRadabaughDOW) October 3, 2026

“I hope you got that on tape,” Hegseth quipped as he strutted away.

His shooting performance was especially impressive when you remember how had it went for then-President Barack Obama back in 2013. During an Easter event, Obama only hit 2 out of 22 shots while shooting around with some kids, with ABC News reporting it was a “series of painful misses and air balls.”

A series of painful misses and air balls.

Hegseth’s hooping coincided with him going to Colorado to speak to about 3,500 cadets and make the honorary coin toss before the Air Force-Navy football game.

It also comes a few days after Hegseth went on a blistering rant against the mainstream media, declaring it was littered with anti-American “haters” who peddle “fake news” about the military.

Hegseth — while delivering his State of the Force address at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia — said reporters chase negative stories because they are addicted to seeing their headlines plastered across cable news. He also claimed most journalists crave dirt because they loathe President Donald Trump more than they love the country — a blinding hatred he said puts America’s soldiers in danger.

“Our so-called press makes Iranian state media look reasonable,” Hegseth said. “Our media’s shameful lust for political retribution blinds them to the consequences of reckless, so-called reporting. So-called journalists, juiced up on Trump Derangement Syndrome, think fighting against our president, but they’re really undermining you.”

He also announced there were “no fatties” left in the Defense Department.

On a lighter note, watch his shooting video above.

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Fox Host Says She Doesn’t Respect ‘Soft Woke’ Caitlin Clark After She Liked a Taylor Swift Post and Talked About ‘White Privilege’

By News Here - 12:07

Fox News political analyst Lisa Boothe dished she isn’t the “biggest fan” of Caitlin Clark because the WNBA star tries to act like she’s apolitical… but will still occasionally reveal her true left-leaning nature.

Boothe said she won’t be buying Clark’s Indiana Fever jersey anytime soon during a Friday segment on Outnumbered, in which the panel talked about Clark’s new Nike signature sneaker selling like hot cakes. It is one of the few things going well for Nike right now, after the company reported a brutal earnings report on Thursday and has seen its stock price crater 80% in the past five years.

“The reason why I’m not the biggest Caitlin Clark fan is she’s sort of soft-woke,” Boothe said. “She liked a post from Taylor Swift endorsing Kamala Harris, she’s made comments about white privilege to reporters… either don’t take a lane at all, or take a lane. So I don’t really actually respect her.”

Boothe added, “If you’re trying to appeal to conservatives, go with Sophie Cunningham.”

She was referring to Clark’s Fever teammate, who has become a MAGA darling in recent months after telling ESPN she did not support men who have transitioned playing against women athletes. Some left-leaning fans and colleagues have criticized Cunningham for it, including one coach who took a not-so-subtle shot at Cunningham by wearing a shirt declaring “Trans Kids Belong.” Cunningham has seemingly shrugged off the criticism and went about having fun, like when she jumped on a bar top and started belting a country tune in August.

As for Nike, the company’s latest earnings report showed revenue was down 4% to $11.2 billion, and its sales in China dropped 26% year-over-year. And perhaps most concerning for investors, Nike projected revenue will continue to dip heading into 2027.

Earlier on Friday, Fox and Friends co-host Lawrence Jones offered the company a simple solution: “Maybe they should just start loving America again.”

That came right after co-host Brian Kilmeade pointed out critics have said Nike’s demise is due largely to the “woke stunts” the company has pulled over the last decade. Critics have said those moves include making Colin Kaepernick a prominent pitchman, canceling production of a “Betsy Ross Flag” shoe in 2019, and partnering with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

Watch above.

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Lifehacker

Why I Think the Apple Watch Series 12 Is Worth the Upgrade

By News Here - 11:54

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When Apple releases a new watch, it’s not always worth upgrading. Last year’s Series 11 only had a few barely noticeable features to recommend it over the 10, and we said it’s probably one to skip if you’re happy with your current watch. But the Series 12 is different, and this one is worth the upgrade no matter which Apple Watch you’re coming from.

Apple Watch Series 12 (GPS, 42mm)

$399.00 at Amazon

One of the biggest reasons to upgrade is that the Series 12's new processor (called, confusingly, the S11 chip) can support some features older Apple Watches can't. That's why only the new models are getting step counts, for example; Apple chose to implement those in a way that only the new hardware can calculate. Whenever there's a break in software compatibility, it makes sense to get the newer model. I'd expect more features are coming in future years that will be back-compatible with the 12 but not earlier models.

The heart rate sensor is a big upgrade

Apple upgraded the hardware on the back of the watch that optically reads your heartbeats. (This new sensor is in both the Series 12 and the Ultra 4.) I’ve tested its accuracy, and found it’s substantially better than the sensors in previous Apple Watches like the Series 10 and 11. If you train by heart rate during workous, or if you use heart rate data after the fact to evaluate and plan your training, the upgrade is worth it.

Apple claims it provides the most accurate heart rate of any wearable. I tested that claim and can partially agree: It’s as good as Garmin’s top-of-the-line sensor. I wouldn’t say it’s better than Garmin’s, but the two are tied in my book for the best wrist-worn sensor. (Chest straps are better than any wrist-based system, of course.)

Steps on the watch face are a nice plus

I wouldn’t buy a new Apple Watch just for the step count, but it’s a nice upgrade and one I deeply appreciate. I can add a step count complication to my watch face (I have it in a corner of the Modular face right now) and I have step count pinned to my Smart Stack.

If you don’t upgrade, you use use a third-party step counter to provide a complication for your watch face. But it’s nice that Apple finally has this feature built in. Apple says its step counts are the most accurate; I’ll be testing that claim soon.

Readiness and recovery HRV are another nice extra

The Apple Watch was always capable of measuring HRV, but until the Series 12 (and Ultra 4), it didn’t use the RMSSD version, which is most useful for gauging how stressed or recovered you are. (Instead, it used the SDNN version that can provide some information about cardiac health; the newer Apple Watches can do both.)

This means you can now get an overnight HRV reading that matches the kind of data you can get from the Oura ring or Whoop. I find HRV useful in monitoring how stressed or fatigued I am, so if you already wear an Apple Watch, it’s nice to be able to get that data from the watch instead of needing a second device. Apple has added a readiness score that uses HRV to tell you how “ready” you are for the day.

What I’m less excited about in the Series 12

Besides the features above, Apple has announced a few things that it’s using as selling points for the Series 12, but I wouldn’t put too much weight on these. Some are software features, like a small upgrade to Workout Buddy and a big upgrade to the Health app on the phone; you don’t need a new watch for these. Others are actually tied to the watch, but they wouldn’t be a reason to upgrade, at least for me personally. They include:

Siri AI

There’s a new AI-based version of Siri, and it’s available on the watch. It can do a few things better than the old Siri, like searching your messages and emails, but it seems to have gotten worse in some respects. I wrote about my experience trying Siri AI on the watch; I got plenty of delays and errors that negated any small benefit of the new algorithm. I suppose it will get better over time, but right now, it's not very good.

Rewind and recaps

Apple touted two features on the new watches that feel a little more creepy than useful to me: Live Rewind, which gives you a text transcription of whatever audio it heard in the last 15 seconds; and Siri Recaps, which summarize meetings. Despite Apple’s assurances about privacy, it’s still a feature that's always listening to you and to bystanders who didn’t consent to be rewound or recapped. This feature isn’t live yet on my watch, so I can’t comment on what it’s like to use—but I’m not exactly thrilled about the idea.

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JD Vance Pounces on Protester Heckling Campaign Speech: ‘That Guy Is a Democrat Plant!’

By News Here - 13:07

Vice President JD Vance laid into a protester, calling him a “Democrat plant” and a “clown” as he was heckled multiple times during a speech in Florida.

During a campaign event in Lakeland, Florida on Thursday, Vance was repeatedly heckled by protesters in the crowd and he stopped his speech multiple times to respond directly to them.

While Vance was praising Sen. Ashley Moody (R-FL) and drumming up midterm support for her, a man could be heard screaming through the applause.

“We got a clown over here, ladies and gentlemen,” Vance said after attempting to get back into his speech several times.

The crowd responded by going into a “USA!” chant.

When the chanting died down, Vance accused the heckler of being a “Democrat plant” and declared he was being kicked out.

The vice president said:

You always have to laugh at these protesters because that guy, you know, he pretends like he just broke out into an emotional protest, but he made sure to bring a cell phone at the end of a pole. Ladies and gentlemen, that guy was nothing more, as we know this is not a representative voter from the state of Florida, that guy is a Democrat plant. He wants to raise your taxes and release illegal aliens on the streets of Florida. Well, we kicked him out just like we’re gonna kick out the rest of the Democrats who want to do the exact same thing.

After booting the one heckler, Vance was interrupted again by a female protester.

While talking about Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), who is running for governor, a woman repeatedly yelled, eventually earning boos from the crowd. Vance brought his speech to a halt again, though this time he noted to the audience what the heckler was yelling at exactly, while working his way back into the Donalds pitch.

“Now what what that woman is yelling is that she wants left wing bureaucrats in control of your schools, but Byron thinks you oughta be in charge of your kids’ schools,” Vance said.

Watch above via CSPAN.

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