The Minnesota Vikings are standing firm after facing heavy criticism for adding two male cheerleaders to their 2025 Minnesota Vikings Cheer (MVC) squad. In a statement to Newsweek, the team defended the decision, noting that male cheerleaders have been part of past Vikings teams and are common in collegiate and professional cheerleading.
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Thursday the reinstatement of the Task Force on Safer Childhood Vaccines—one day before he was due to respond to a lawsuit alleging he failed to create the panel as required by law.
President Donald Trump thanked Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko for the release of 16 prisoners, urging him to release an additional 1,300 prisoners.
The federal government is on track to cut roughly 300,000 civilian employees by the end of 2025, marking a 12.5% reduction in staffing since January, according to Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor. He told Reuters Thursday that 80% of departures are expected to be voluntary, while the remaining 20% will result from firings.
Gun control activists are using the August 8, 2025, shooting near Emory University to renew calls for a statewide red flag law in Georgia. The attack, carried out with stolen firearms, left DeKalb County Police Officer David Rose dead before the suspect, identified as Patrick Joseph White, took his own life.
Danish Member of the European Parliament Anders Vistisen has accused Brussels of merging its climate and migration agendas into a single policy designed to expand migration into the European Union. Vistisen, chief whip for the populist-nationalist Patriots for Europe group, pointed to an EU-funded program titled the “Enhanced Anticipatory Response to Climate-Induced Displacement,” which he says is a tool to bypass border controls under the guise of humanitarian climate action.
China’s ambassador to South Korea, Dai Bing, publicly praised the leftist government of President Lee Jae-myung for targeting conservative and anti-communist voices. Dai’s remarks came after Lee labeled peaceful anti-China demonstrations as “hate rallies” and amid reports that police are investigating conservative activists for political expression.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a decisive mandate overturning California’s “one-gun-a-month” firearm purchase restriction. The August 14, 2025, mandate enforces a prior ruling that found the law unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. This decision marks a significant legal victory for gun rights advocates in one of the most restrictive states in the country.
California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) announced that the state will launch a legislative package that will allow it to undertake a redistricting effort.
