A dispute over crime policies in Aurora, Colorado, has led to the recall attempt of a newly-elected district attorney.Aurora Councilwoman At Large Danielle Jurinsky is attempting to have Arapahoe County District Attorney Amy Padden removed from office after several high-profile instances of what she says are inadequate crime policies, including the recent dismissal of charges against Solomon Galligan, an alleged registered sex offender who is accused of trying to kidnap a child on video."What has been going on over the past six months, several different things," said Jurinsky. "She has dismissed cases that absolutely should have been prosecuted. She has given out a lot of probation for felony crimes, misdemeanor crimes, crimes that should have warranted several years in prison."REPUBLICAN DA BUCKS BLUE STATE'S 'BROKEN SENTENCING' WITH TOUGH-ON-CRIME APPROACHGalligan, 33, faced one count of attempted kidnapping after he allegedly tried to snatch an 11-year-old boy from a playground at a local elementary school.Aurora police previously reported that Galligan is a registered sex offender, with his registration tied to the Pueblo County Sheriffs Office. He was found incompetent to stand trial, which in the state of Colorado, means he must be released from custody, Padden's office told Fox News Digital earlier this month."From what I understand is that I don't know how else to put it, but that Amy Padden went shrink shopping to find someone to make sure that they would say that Solomon Galligan was not fit to stand trial," Jurinsky, an Aurora native, military veteran and business owner told Fox News Digital."My knowledge of this individual is they have been found mentally incompetent multiple times on previous criminal cases in different judicial districts outside [Arapahoe County]," Ross said. "So there is a history of documented mental illness. It's not like this is a one-and-done where this person has never been on anyone's radar, and they found somebody to write them a note to say that they're mentally incompetent.""And instead of coming out and saying that Amy Padden is at least going to hold this individual in the state mental health hospital, she just makes a statement that charges are going to be dismissed, and this individual is going to be released," said Jurinsky. "She is trying to now walk that back and say that Solomon is going to go to the state mental health hospital, but not giving a timeline, not giving any information."'DEFUND THE POLICE' MECCA OF MINNEAPOLIS OVERRUN WITH VIOLENCE, FAILED LEADERSHIP': FORMER AG CANDIDATEEric Ross is the Public Information Officer for the Arapahoe County District Attorney's Office."Regarding the Galligan case, we cannot take a case to trial when a defendant has been deemed mentally incompetent," he told Fox News Digital. "We are required to adhere to state law which requires charges be dismissed. With that said, the defendant is being permanently committed to a mental institution."However, Jurinsky said Galligan's release isn't the only issue, noting that she's been observing a pattern of soft-on-crime policies since Padden took office six months ago."The situation with Kaitlyn Weaver, beautiful 24-year-old Aurora resident, was on her way home from work, broad daylight, was T-boned by a 15-year-old in this country illegally with two small children in the back of the van as well," Jurinsky noted as another example. "He stole the van from his mother. Kailtyn Weaver was killed instantly."The unnamed teen was offered a plea deal and given probation for the crime."The original charge was for vehicular homicide and the guilty plea was for Vehicular Homicide," Ross said. "Contrary to what the general public may think, vehicular homicide charges do not carry the same penalties as first or second-degree murder."He said citizens can petition their elected leaders if they want "stricter penalties for these types of cases."As for the recall, which will be formally announced Tuesday, Padden says everything is in place."We have formed our committee. We have registered it with the secretary of state. It has been approved with the county clerk," she said. "And then at that moment, we will begin raising money. We don't need a lot of money for this effort, but we will need some to print the petition packets and probably hire some signature gatherers. And then we will be well underway. I will be the first signature on that petition, and we will be underway to getting 75,000 [signatures] out of Arapahoe County."DOJ OPENS PROBE AFTER LEFT-WING DA REQUIRES PROSECUTORS TO CONSIDER RACE IN PLEA DEALSThe 75,000 mark is the threshold for officially recalling Padden. Jurinsky and her supporters have 60 days to acquire the signatures. If they succeed, Padden will have five days to decide whether she will resign, or whether she will run for her seat again.Jurinsky said she doesn't think garnering the signatures will be a challenge, and plans on hosting events and even going door-to-door as part of the effort."If you hurt somebody in the city of Aurora, I'm an Aurora City Council member," she said. "I need to be standing up for the people of Aurora. And that means protecting them. That means focusing on public safety. So I take on a lot of extra duties, if you will. And sometimes that's alone. I'm OK with that."Ross says he's reached out twice to Jurinsky seeking other examples of cases she believes were not handled properly, but has not heard back.In 2024, Aurora was also subject to a suspected Tren de Aragua gang takeover of an apartment complex, which became a rallying point for then-candidate Donald Trump's reelection bid.A spokesperson for the city of Aurora said neither the city nor its Mayor Mike Coffman, a former Republican congressman, have anything to do with the recall, and declined to comment further.Padden did not return a comment request.

Angela Craigs lifelong best friend took the stand Monday as the Colorado murder trial of dentist James Craig entered its second week, telling jurors that the mother of six was never the kind of woman who gave up easily."She wasnt a risk-taker. She wasnt manipulative," Nicole Harmon told the court. "And she never said anything ever about wanting to die."Dr. James Toliver Craig, 47, is charged with first-degree murder in the March 2023 death of his wife, 43-year-old Angela Craig. Her cause of death was determined to be lethal doses of cyanide and tetrahydrozoline.DENTIST ACCUSED OF POISONING WIFES SHAKE SAID HE GAVE HER 'TOO MUCH PROTEIN': CO-WORKEROn March 9, 2023, approximately one week before the 43-year-old was pronounced brain-dead, Angela texted Harmon asking for help checking her blood sugar. When she arrived, she found Angela curled up."She hadnt eaten. She couldnt stand," Harmon said, telling the jury that James had made his wife a shake that morning.When the friend texted and asked what was going on, she testified, James brushed it off."Post-COVID," he texted. "Not diabetes."Not once, she told jurors, did he mention poison."Angela never knew what was killing her," the witness said. Harmon shared that she and her husband, Mike, had known the Craigs since the 2000s.Angela was hospitalized for five days. Through Angela's prolonged hospital stays, Harmon said that she never expressed that she wanted to die.FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON XHarmon's testimony went back to 2019, when the witness said James made a confession to her and her husband.He told them in 2019 that he planned to inject himself with a lethal substance and had drugged Angela first so she wouldnt stop him.David Gelman, a criminal defense attorney who has been following the case, told Fox News Digital that the drugging incident could help the prosecution "because it shows that James was predisposed to drugging Angela before.""It required intent and thought. The same motive that the prosecution has now for James," he said. "That is an aspect I would really hammer if Im the prosecution."SIGN UP TO GET THE TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTERJames also admitted to the Harmons that he, in 2019, was dealing with a "sexual addiction," and told them that he was in therapy, she testified.Angela, her friend said, never brought it up. Harmon testified that she sent Angela a message later: "Im sorry. I didnt know you were dealing with this."Angela replied: "You werent there when I needed you."COLORADO DENTIST'S ALLEGED INTERNET SEARCH HISTORY TAKES CENTER STAGE AS MURDER TRIAL BEGINSFrom that moment, the decades-long friendship fractured."She was angry," Harmon said. "Really mad at her life and how it was turning out. And I was OK with that. I was OK with her taking it out on me."Gelman said the years-long gap in communication between Angela and her best friend doesnt undermine the witnesss reliability."It doesnt hurt her credibility. She can only testify by what she has observed and her conversations with Angela," he said. "Obviously, she is not privy to the inner workings of the marriage with James since the relationship fractured, but her credibility is still intact since she was not confused or crossed up on the stand."The longtime friend testified that Angela never opened up about the inner workings of her marriage."She had all the chances," the witness said. "She never told me. She didnt want me to see her husband differently."READ THE INCIDENT REPORT APP USERS, CLICK HEREGET REAL-TIME UPDATES AT THE FOX NEWS TRUE CRIME HUBInvestigators alleged in court documents obtained by Fox News Digital that, in the weeks before his wifes hospitalization and death, James used a dental office computer to search for "undetectable poisons" and how to obtain them (later purchasing arsenic and cyanide by mail), "how many grams of pure arsenic will kill a human" and "is arsenic detectable in an autopsy?"Alongside these online searches, investigators alleged he made YouTube queries such as "how to make poison" and "Top 5 Undetectable Poisons That Show No Signs of Foul Play."Fox News Digital has reached out to James Craig's lead attorney, Lisa Fine Moses, for comment.

Actor Jeff Daniels said in a new interview he hopes that Republicans who voted for PresidentDonald Trump will lose a lot of money."But when Mitch [McConnell] started stacking the courts 25 years ago, I said it on your show once, they can see it coming," Daniels told Nicolle Wallace in an episode of her podcast "The Best People." "The new America that is diverse and treats everyone with equality and respect and dignity, you know, kind of like Jesus did. We're ready for that.""And Mitch and company could see it coming. They were going to be the minority, so they just started and then here we are, and now you got it, and now you're losing money," Daniels added.AMERICA 'NOT SMART ENOUGH' TO KEEP TRUMP AWAY FROM WHITE HOUSE, MSNBC ANALYST SAYS"I hope you're losing tons of money, those of you who thought this would be OK," Daniels went on. "My question is, what are you guys going to do about it?"Wallace responded, highlighting howTrump won Michigan, and decried the president's tariffs."I mean, Michigan voted for Trump this time again," Wallace said. "I mean, the tariffs are going to hurt your neighbors, they're going to hurt."Daniels agreed, saying that he thinks Trumps tariffs will be what ends up damaging the 47th president the most.PRO-TRUMP SHOP OWNER BACKS SCHUMER ON TARIFFS: 'THIS HAS TO BE RECTIFIED'"Which I think, at the end of the day, that's what's going to do it," Daniels said. "Wait a minute, the grocery bill is what? $180 more? I can't get that car that we have to have unless I pay another $8,000. What? Who do I blame for that? Who do I see about that?' One person."Wallace said the country has seen a loss of "decency" over wanting more affordable goods."And I feel like some of the conversations we've had over the last 5-6 years were about this tug, not between right and left, but between decency and maybe if it's about the cost of things, decency became a luxury. There's something about decency being the sort of collateral damage, the thing we lose over wanting cheaper eggs," she said."Do you think it was ever really aboutcheaper eggs?" Wallace asked Daniels."Well, I think at the end of the day it would be about just the price of eggs, did it go up or down, because that's what he told me he was going to lower the price of eggs or my grocery bill," Daniels said.He went on to call the president a "snake oil salesman."Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Daniels for further comment.

A man with the deadliest form of brain cancer has no signs of the disease after taking an experimental drug.Ben Trotman was 40 when he was diagnosed in 2022 with glioblastoma, the most aggressive cancerous brain tumor. Patients typically live an average of 15 months after diagnosis, and the five-year survival rate is just 6.9%.Trotman was referred to The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery at University College London Hospitals (UCLH), where he was treated by consultant UCLH medical oncologist Dr. Paul Mulholland, as detailed in a press release.ANCIENT 'PHARAOH'S CURSE' FUNGUS SHOWS PROMISE IN KILLING CANCER CELLSAs the only person enrolled in a trial that ultimately closed due to lack of patients, Trotman received a medication called ipilimumab, a targeted immunotherapy treatment.Ipilimumab is an antibody that binds to a protein on immune cells (T cells), keeping cancer cells from suppressing the immune system so it can then attack and kill the cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute.Trotman also received radiation and chemotherapy. More than two years later, his quarterly scans show no signs of cancer."It is very unusual to have a clear scan with glioblastoma, especially when he didnt have the follow-up surgery that had been planned to remove all of the tumor that was initially visible on scans," his oncologist, Mulholland, said in the release."We hope that the immunotherapy and follow-up treatment Ben has had will hold his tumor at bay and it has so far, which we are delighted to see."Two months after receiving the ipilimumab, Trotman married his wife, Emily. In April 2025, they welcomed their daughter, Mabel."Getting this diagnosis was the most traumatic experience we were grappling with the fact that Ben had gone from being apparently perfectly healthy to having months to live," Emily Trotman said in the release."Had we not met Dr. Mulholland, that would have been it for us. We felt we had a lucky break in an otherwise devastating situation."Ben Trotman added, "We obviously dont know what the future holds, but having had the immunotherapy treatment and getting these encouraging scan results has given [us] a bit of hope.""We are focused on rebuilding the life we thought we had lost and enjoying being parents."Mulholland and his team have now opened another clinical trial for patients who have been newly diagnosed with glioblastoma.CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTERSixteen patients will be recruited for the trial, which is sponsored by UCL. The treatment will be administered at the NIHR UCLHs Clinical Research Facility and the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, according to the press release.The patients will receive ipilimumab before proceeding to standard treatments that may include surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy."The crucial element of this trial is that patients will have their immune system boosted by the drug before they have any other treatment, when they are fit and well enough to tolerate the immunotherapy," Mulholland said in the release.The Win-Glio trial nicknamed "Margarets Trial" is funded by the efforts of Dame Siobhain McDonagh, sister of Margaret McDonagh, a London woman who died of glioblastoma in 2023 and was treated by Mulholland.For more Health articles, visitwww.foxnews.com/healthBen said he is "delighted" that the new trial is moving forward with the same immunotherapy drug he received."It will give people newly diagnosed with glioblastoma some hope."

Ken Langone, the billionaire founder of Home Depot, recently said of President Donald Trump, "I think hes got a good shot at going down in history as one of our best presidents ever."Thats high praise from one of Americas most successful entrepreneurs, and well-deserved. President Trump is on a roll; as Langone said, "like it or not, this guy is getting things done Hes acting presidential."Hes right. ButTrump could do more. Truly consequential presidents have a signature issue that leaves our country profoundly better off. FDR created our nations safety net, for instance, while Ronald Reagan ended the decades-long Cold War by defeating the Soviet Union.TRUMP'S BORDER MIRACLE: FROM BIDEN'S CHAOTIC IMMIGRATION CRISIS TO 'ALL QUIET' IN RECORD TIMETo join their ranks, Trump needs to more broadly address his signature issue and fix our dysfunctional immigration system. Its a big lift, but history has shown this president is willing to go where others fear to tread. President Trump should return to the immigration overhaul he proposed in his first term. Many of the proposals, like ditching the diversity lottery, were popular, but Democrats refused to play ball. Since then, Democrats have been clobbered in an election where their unpopular backing of open borders and illegal immigration became the second-most important campaign issue. They might be open to a deal. Meanwhile, the presidents supporters applaud the drastic decline in illegal border crossings and his tougher stance on deportations, but the public overall is beginning to sour on Trumps immigration crackdown. President Trumps approval rating on immigration is dropping; according to Real Clear Politics polling, he has gone from solidly in the black on the issue to now underwater. Trumps deportation sweeps have been vilified by Democrats and the legacy media; Americans are worried the White House is going too far.Republicans claim they support legal immigration. They need to show the country they are serious, by working with the White House to draft policies that attract and keep the best and the brightest from around the world, that provide a legal solution for the millions living in our country illegally and that supply the seasonal workers we need.LIZ PEEK: DEMOCRATS IGNORE TRUMPS IMMIGRATION PLAN AT THEIR PERILReforms must eliminate benefits and work opportunities that attract illegal entrants and stop rewarding the politicians who gain from undocumented persons living in their states.The GOP should drive this overhaul, or the next Democratic president will simply open the border again, as Joe Biden did, and our country will once more be overrun with people who do not pay taxes and who pose an undue burden on the communities who welcome them. All these issues are manageable; and the solutions can be sold to American voters. The priority is not to squash immigration, but to eliminate illegalimmigration.CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINIONProducing comprehensive immigration reform and pushing it through Congress will be contentious. Though in the past Democrats favored border security and other common-sense approaches, now they do not support any restrictions on illegal immigration and even advocate for criminals in the country illegally. They have long believed that Hispanics support them on this, but recent trends suggest that is not true. A recent survey found that Hispanic men, for instance, are abandoning Democrats in droves.Here are critical elements of the program, which changes who gets in and who is allowed to stay.:Immigration reform has routinely failed to make it through Congress as both parties historically have campaigned off this "wedge" issue. Today, President Trump has the clout, the credibility and the guts to push for change.Democrats are in the dumps; helping to craft a bipartisan agreement on one of our nations biggest problems might begin their recovery. Both sides would benefit, as would the country.CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM LIZ PEEK

Despite taking blame for the alcohol industry's global slump, new data reveals that Gen Z adults are actually drinking more not less than before.According to drinks data and analytics provider IWSR, zoomers ranging from legal drinking age to age 27 (LDA+) increased their alcohol consumption from 66% in April 2023 to 73% in March 2025, indicating they haven't changed their habits as a result of healthy lifestyles or cultural trends as initially suspected."Alcohol usage among LDA+ Gen Z adults has increased significantly from April 2023 lows, and there is evidence that the propensity to go out and spend more is recovering among this group challenging the received wisdom that this generation is abandoning alcohol," Richard Halstead, Consumer Insights COO, said per a press release on the findings.NEW STUDY REVEALS THREATS TO THE CLASS OF 2025. FIXING THEM SHOULD BE JOB NO. 1 FOR AMERICAThe findings suggest that lower alcohol consumption seen in recent years may have been less about cultural shifts and more about financial constraints. In fact, the members of the generation were most likely to agree with the statement, "I am actively choosing to drink more."Zoomers in the U.S. aren't alone either. In addition to participation rates among American Gen-Zers rising from 46% to 70% between April 2023 and March 2025, respectively, IWSR reports drinking rates are rising in other countries.In the United Kingdom, Gen Z alcohol participation rose from 66% to 76%. In India, the number climbed from 60% to 70% and, in Australia, the percentage went from 61% to 83%.MORE SENIORS ARE USING CANNABIS THAN EVER BEFORE DESPITE HEALTH RISKS, RESEARCH SHOWSHalstead said Gen Z's behavior has large economic implications. Meaning, as more young adults become established in the workplace and mitigate their cost-of-living concerns, their alcohol consumption tends to respond accordingly."We know that beverage alcohol consumption correlates with disposable income, and Gen Z came of age during a cost-of-living crisis. Rising prices have been especially acute in bars and restaurants places that appeal most to Gen Z drinkers," he said."With every year that passes, more Gen Z drinkers are entering the workforce, and those already in the workforce are typically earning more. I think we should expect that, as their incomes rise, they will drink more often just as Millennials did before them."He added that the findings suggest the industry's decline is more "cyclical" than longstanding.

On July 1st, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) officially stopped providing foreign assistance. This marks the formal and sudden end to the nations primary aid agency since 1961.In the daily drama of the sudden sea change in how America approaches the world, it is worth taking a step back to see the big picture. As a foreign service officer with USAID for 11 years, I understand the sadness and the post-mortems. Foreign assistance saved millions of lives and improved millions more through programs to reduce the worst of global poverty, improve health, education and nutrition. Far from being the "criminal organization" and "ball of worms" described by Elon Musk, my colleagues were overwhelmingly smart, hardworking, dedicated and apolitical. But we should also keep in mind the opportunity to build a much better system. The truth is USAID punched way below its weight. The system to design, procure and manage programs was a disaster. A colleague of mine at USAID tracked his time by 15-minute increments for two years, found that he spent 2% of his time on what he deemed meaningful work, and quit. He had a point. Even the best staff had a hard time reaching their potential in a system shot through with endless contradictory demands, absurd levels of clearances and paperwork and no easy way to differentiate between high and low-impact programs.As the State Department hires staff and builds systems, it has an unprecedented opportunity to do aid differentlyand better. It should avoid rebuilding the same bloated machine that forced highly trained and dedicated staff to misdirect their energy. A system that created excessive dependency on a small cottage industry of aid contractors as innovative private and social sector groups simply couldnt understand let alone handle the spaghetti bowl of rules and regs. Simplicity and focus must be the guiding principles. We need a system that is lean, entrepreneurial, and growth-focusedone that harnesses the private sector and helps countries take the final step toward self-reliance.FIRED STATE DEPT BUREAUCRATS REPORTEDLY USING THEIR REGIME CHANGE SKILLS TO SABOTAGE TRUMPHeres how to do it:First, aim higher. Too many USAID programs chased marginal improvementsslightly boosting subsistence farming or delivering short-term services. These were well-intentioned but not transformational. The pathway to the kind of takeoffs that turned the west and much of Asia into economic powerhouses is dynamic economies, not better subsistence farming. Programs had too many components, were too complicated, too expensive, and delivered too little. Instead, the State Department should adopt the Millennium Challenge Corporations approach of focusing programs on the key barriers to improved education, health and private sector growth. Private philanthropy and small non-profits can manage village and household level programs. Only the US government has the power to address policy reform and systematic change in partner countries. This would bring foreign assistance practice in line with USAIDs own economic growth strategy, which said, "The success of a few firms or communities is not enough. The goal is growth that affects thousands of firms and millions of people." The State Department can help foreign assistance finally live up to its own stated goals.Second, make innovation the norm. America is indisputably the world leader in innovation. One small USAID program, Development Innovation Ventures (DIV), returned an estimated $17 for every $1 spent. Why? Because it avoided top-down solutions, instead fielding the best ideas from those on the ground, trying and testing new things. The State Department should build on DIVs legacy. Create a vetted list of proven, cost-effective interventions. Give them a procurement fast track. Similarly, building on the success of Operation Warp Speed during the first Trump administration, the administration could publish a list of highly desirable innovations it wants created and is willing to pay for new medicines for highly infectious diseases, for example using advanced market commitments to incentivize academia and industry to dedicate resources for new cures. If something works, use itdont bury it in red tape.CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINIONThird, pay for results, not just effort. Development work is hard. After all, America struggles to end the worst of poverty in our own country despite decades of effort. But we should incentivize success. Just because a program has a noble intention doesnt mean it actually achieves its goals. The truth is most USAID programs paid implementers simply for doing a program, regardless of if it worked. The State Department should flip the script. When direct government partnerships arent feasible, let non-profits and firms compete to pitch solutions. Then tie at least part of their payment to results. This wont work in every case, but it does cut paperwork, encourages experimentation, and ensures public money goes to what actually works. Aid contractors can still competebut only if they can prove they deliver results on the ground.Fourth, support the private sectorbut stop trying to plan it. US foreign assistance has long talked about the importance of private sector development, but approached it as planners not entrepreneurs. Too often USAID "supported" the private sector by trying to pick winners rather than focusing on setting the stage for entrepreneurship and investment of all stripes. Thirty-five years out from the end of communism, it is time for the US government to get away from planning growth. Instead, we should reduce risk for first movers, work with scale-ready firms, and let markets decide what works.This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. We can build an aid system that works: one that partners with reformers, focuses on transformative growth, promotes innovation, rewards results, and gets Washington out of the way.

Pope Leo XIV arrived in the papal summer retreat of Castel Gandolfo on Sunday, July 6 to start asix-week vacation, giving the hilltop town back its most illustrious resident after Pope Francis stayed away during his 12-year pontificate.It has been widely reported that Pope Leo will be using part of his vacation to begin drafting his first encyclical. These are important teaching documents for the Roman Catholic Church and sometimes they teach that the current pontiff can be very right, very wrong, very smart or simply not very good at this particular part of his duties. Most Catholics have high hopes for this first missive. Still, who doesnt need editors to help with my suggestions?The new pope has been very measured, calm and careful in the months since his election on May 8. It has to be the most dizzying of ascents and upon arrival as head of the Vatican, a confrontation with the broadest range of problems for any religious leader, and most political ones, on the planet. So Pope Leo taking things slowly and cautiously is a relief.CARDINAL DOLAN DESCRIBES POPE XIV AS 'CITIZEN OF THE WORLD,' WILL BUILD BRIDGES WITH TRUMPAn encyclical is a big deal for practicing Catholics who assume encyclicals are intended to be read, studied, and the occasion of a prayer for discernment. The audience is assumed to be primarily Catholics everywhere, but Pope Leo has to be aware that the secular press from supportive to hostile will also be looking the first one over very carefully.Here are some suggestions from an American Catholic his age which means we share a lot of culture, from network television, movies and music to the transition that followed Vatican II. (If Leo had to learn the Mass in Latin in order to be an altar boy only to have that chore tossed out as soon as it was accomplished and replaced with the English script, he will have perfect pitch for millions of Catholic seniors young and old seniors alike.)When he does begin to do interviews, if he chooses long form sit-downs with respectful journalists, the pope will go a long way to making the promise of his papacy real. Those interviews should focus on the encyclical if one issues before he does his sit-downs with reporters at least a few of whom, American Catholics hope, will be American. Curiosity about a new pope is always acute. It is off the charts about the first American pope.So will curiosity be about the encyclical, which is a reason to hope that it is (1) written in clear, concise English and then translated by the Vaticans best Latin scholars into the official language of the Church and (2) relatively short.If the pope writes in English, not only will he be using his native tongue and thus be as certain as he can be that hes conveying his meaning, it will be a huge hit with the English-speaking peoples of the world, especially the Americans, especially Midwesterners, and most especially Chicagoland Catholics. Some inside baseball phrases for Americans would be a nice touch.The more concise the encyclical, the less susceptible it is to misleading excerpts and agenda-driven reporting. Even with the reach of the internet, hundreds of millions of people who have not read it will be told by others what it says and what it means.As with discussions of Supreme Court decisions, the second-hand reports are usually at best incomplete and at worst intentionally misleading. In this new age of AI-driven deep fakes, dont be surprised if subtlety-altered encyclicals instantly appear. The Vatican press office might want to assure that the real deal has arrows pointing to it. Simultaneous distribution to many of the worlds major outlets would be another guardrail.So in English and relatively concise. I hope as well that it is not overtly political in the sense of the left-right spectrum that dominates most of the West where Leos letter will not be subject to suppression. If he encourages religious liberty, great! If he speaks to the need to care for life from conception to natural death, great! If he wants to encourage the flock to read and reflect on the Beatitudes, great!If he wants to encourage Catholics to renew their commitment to the confessional, bravo! (The decline in the practice of this Catholic sacrament is pronounced, but its revival would have to begin with the direction to bishops and priests to make it a priority above all but the other Sacraments.CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINIONPope Leo XIV could even begin with an appeal for vocations to the religious life which are needed everywhere, but especially in his homeland.But pray he has already decided hes not going to do immigration and especially that hes not going to disparage capitalism or America as his predecessor was fond of intimating.Catholics believe the Church is divinely ordained and can never fail. But it can and frequently does stumble. The road back from a divided and disillusioned Church in America begins with finding the good in the United States and praising it. Now that would be a welcome change from the past dozen years.And please, nothing about President Trump. Read the room Pope Leo, please. You dont need to single out the president. Lots of Catholic commentators like to do so. You dont have to. At all.Hugh Hewitt is a Fox News contributor, and host of "The Hugh Hewitt Show," heard weekdays from 3 pm to 6 pm ET on the Salem Radio Network, and simulcast on Salem News Channel. Hugh drives America home on the East Coast and to lunch on the West Coast on over 400 affiliates nationwide, and on all the streaming platforms where SNC can be seen. He is a frequent guest on the Fox News Channels news roundtable hosted by Bret Baier weekdays at 6pm ET. A son of Ohio and a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Michigan Law School, Hewitt has been a Professor of Law at Chapman Universitys Fowler School of Law since 1996 where he teaches Constitutional Law. Hewitt launched his eponymous radio show from Los Angeles in 1990. Hewitt has frequently appeared on every major national news television network, hosted television shows for PBS and MSNBC, written for every major American paper, has authored a dozen books and moderated a score of Republican candidate debates, most recently the November 2023 Republican presidential debate in Miami and four Republican presidential debates in the 2015-16 cycle. Hewitt focuses his radio show and his column on the Constitution, national security, American politics and the Cleveland Browns and Guardians. Hewitt has interviewed tens of thousands of guests from Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Kerry to Republican Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump over his 40 years in broadcast, and this column previews the lead story that will drive his radio/ TV show today.CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM HUGH HEWITT

"Golden Bachelor" alum Gerry Turner is certain the show's new lead, Mel Owens, will be "cheating himself" if he decides to pursue his controversial plan of cutting contestants who are "60 and over.""I think it would be unfortunate, and I really think he will have a change of heart in this. I think he will see the grace and the charm of women who are over 60 and the confidence they carry, and I think he'll have a change of heart," Turner, 73, told Fox News Digital of Owens who recently took fans by surprise when he admitted his plans to eliminate any woman on the show who is over 60 years old."The people that I met in my season, I go through them, and it's like, they're all a gift. To have gotten to know them Each and every one of them [brought] some unique characteristics to the show, unique characteristics to life."'GOLDEN BACHELOR' MEL OWENS SETS STRICT AGE LIMIT FOR CONTESTANTS DESPITE PRODUCER PUSHBACK"The age thing ignore the number, deal with the person," Turner added.During an appearance on the "In The Trenches" podcast in June, Owens, 66, opened up about the age limitations he allegedly requested ahead of casting."It's blind up until they get out of the limo. But they asked me, 'What's your preferences?' So, I just said 45 to 60, just being honest," he said. "And then the process went, and I was selected, right? And then we had lunch with the executive producer. I said, 'You know, if they're 60 or over, I'm cutting them.' 'Oh Mel, you can't, you know, this is not the 'Silver Bachelor.' Its the 'Golden Bachelor.' He goes, 'But they're going to be hot, dont worry about it. Don't worry about it.'"Additionally, Owens said he expects the contestants to all be in good shape.WATCH: GOLDEN BACHELOR' GERRY TURNER SAYS NEW LEAD WILL BE CHEATING HIMSELF IF HE CUTS WOMEN 60 AND OVER"I had no resume, but they asked me, what is my, like, my profile?" Owens said. "Well, they got to be fit because I stay in shape. [They] should work out and stuff. And I told them, you know, try to stay away from the artificial hips and the wigs, you know, that kind of stuff, right?"Well, I don't think there are going to be artificial hips or wigs there, right? Because I know there's amazing women out there."Turner said he's confident ABC wouldn't cast a lead who is that "shallow."'GOLDEN BACHELOR' STARS GERRY TURNER AND THERESA NIST DIVORCING 3 MONTHS AFTER TELEVISED WEDDING"His comments about anybody that's had a hip replacement or has a wig or anything like that, I really don't believe that the ABC producers in casting, particularly casting that I have a high level of confidence with, I don't think they would be casting a person who has that shallow of a perspective. I think some of [Owens' comments] requires some context, and it may have been taken out of context and so forth.""But bottom line is, I hope he does look at it differently because if he doesn't, I think he'll be cheating himself."During the first season of the show, the ladies vying for Turners heart were between 60 and 75 years old. Turner married contestant Theresa Nist shortly after the finale, but the couple got divorced three months later.LIKE WHAT YOURE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSDespite the failed relationship, Turner is grateful for his experience and hopes Owens can take a page from his playbook."If he treats each and every one of them with courtesy and respect and is a good listener, pays attention to them and so forth, and ignores their age number, I think it'll be fine," said Turner. "Everyone that gets thrown into this situation has to find their own way. I was fortunate enough, I had very good mentoring on the show. I had people that carefully moved me through some of the pitfalls that maybe Mel hasn't quite avoided as much because I remember specifically being told just, Gerry, ignore the age thing, that 'You'll really find beautiful women of all ages in the show.' And I think he will as well."These days, Turner who was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer last year has found love again and is living life to the fullest.WATCH: GOLDEN BACHELOR GERRY TURNER GUSHES ABOUT HIS NEW LOVE, SAYS SHE MAKES LIFE 'EVEN BETTER"I decided that I wasn't going to say no to anything," Turner said of his change in perspective after his diagnosis. "Anything that came along, any trip, any chance to have fun, anything that I could do, I was going to take it on. Because I felt myself, even before the diagnosis, I was starting to get to that couch potato point where it was a little nicer to sit at home and do nothing than go out and fight whatever challenge it was to travel. And that's really been quite a change for me."CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER"So now something comes along, I say yes to it," he added. "I'm going to go. I'm going to do. So every day is a gift."Turner, who recently started dating Indiana native Lana Sutton, said he's "happy" with where his life is taking him now."She has more energy than I do. She needs less sleep than I do. I really think she's a more logical thinker than I am, which I think that's a lot. But the nice part is we think and we approach things very similarly, so we don't have any conflicts as we're trying to make decisions and so forth. We generally arrive at the same place, sometimes not the same way, but usually the same place.""With Lana now in the picture, she makes [life] even better. It's so good to have a partner that understands and is in it with you 100% and so forth. So it took me a while to get to this point, but I'm pretty happy with where I am."

While Trey Hendrickson has still yet to be paid, first-round pick Shemar Stewart remains a holdout due to a rookie contract dispute.The reason behind Stewarts holdout revolves around the language within his deal, but Cincinnati Bengals executive Duke Tobin made himself quite clear about how he feels heading into the start of training camp."I think Shemar needs to be here," Tobin told reporters. "Im not going to blame Shemar. He is listening to the advice he is paying for. I dont understand or believe or agree with the advice, but Im not the one paying for it. If I felt we were treating him unfairly as it relates to all the other draft picks in this years draft, then maybe it would be a different story. But we are not. I dont really understand where things are there."CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COMStewart, the 17th overall pick back in April, left the final day of mandatory minicamp, where he wasnt participating in on-field workouts, due to his rookie contract not being signed.The Texas A&M product said that he didnt want to be a distraction to his teammates while his contract dispute was ongoing.EX-NFL STAR THROWS COLD WATER ON SHEDEUR SANDERS' BROWNS STARTING QB HOPES"Im 100% right," he told reporters at minicamp regarding his contract. "Im not asking for nothing yall (the Bengals) have never done before. But in yall case, yall just want to win arguments (more) than winning more games."The Bengals are reportedly trying to change the way their first-round rookie contracts are done, which would allow the team to void future guarantees. Stewart doesnt feel his contract language needs to be different, with Pro Football Talk pointing out Amarius Mims, the teams first-round pick last year, not having that language in his deal.Stewart was a higher pick than Mims as well.Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said he had "good communication" with Stewart before leaving camp.Bengals owner Mike Brown commented on the situation as well, calling Stewarts situation "a very peculiar thing.""Its not about money. Its about the guarantee in the case of if he were to do something contrary to the discipline levels of the league," Brown said to reporters. "I dont think thats going to happen ever. Thats whats holding it up. Its never happened as long as I can remember."His agent wants it to be if he acted in a terrible fashion this is all hypothetical something that rises to the level of going to prison, wed be on the line for the guarantee."If we get a player who does something unacceptable, guess what? I dont want to pay him."Bengals training camp begins on July 23.Follow Fox News Digitalssports coverage on X, and subscribe tothe Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.