The House of Representatives censured the late Roderick Butler, R-Tenn., in 1870 for taking a bribe for a military academy appointment. 

The House also censured late Rep. Thomas Blanton, D-Texas, in 1921 for inserting a document into the Congressional Record which contained obscene language.

And late Rep. Gerry Studds, D-Mass., faced censure in 1983 for having sex with a 17-year-old page. 

Those are three of the 28 Members ever censured by the House.

 Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., did not become the 29th Member slapped with censure recently.

That’s probably because Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., was one of four Republicans who joined Democrats to block a censure of Omar. And in so doing, Mills may very well have prevented himself from becoming the 30th House Member to be censured.

Censure is the second-highest form of discipline in the House. It falls between a reprimand and expulsion. Censure is more than a regular foul in a soccer game. Kind of like a yellow card, which serves as a caution. But it’s not a red card, either, which triggers ejection.

That said, censure has become a ‘thing’ in recent years on Capitol Hill. If the House were to ever consider censuring any Member, such an inquest would go behind closed doors with the Ethics Committee. An inquiry may take months.

No more. ‘Snap’ censures are now fashionable in the House of Representatives.

Here’s how it works:

Someone thinks someone says a colleague says something outrageous. So they just prep a censure measure, go over the head of the Congressional leadership by making their resolution privileged (meaning the House must consider it within two days) and, if the House votes in favor of your gambit, that Member is censured.

Done.

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., crafted a resolution to censure Omar and strip the Minnesota Democrat from her committee assignments. Mace accused Omar of using inflammatory rhetoric in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination.

During an appearance on the news outlet Zeteo, Omar claimed ‘there is nothing more effed up, than to completely pretend that his words and actions have not been recorded and in existence for the last decade or so.’ Mace’s resolution quoted from a profane social media video not produced by Omar — but reposted by her — which fired invective at Kirk.

Mace’s maneuver came as leaders from both sides tried to urge calm at the Capitol amid the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

‘Every leader has an obligation to lower the temperature right now,’ said House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, D-Calif. ‘I disagree with the retweet of one of our one of our colleagues.’

Aguilar said that Mace’s resolution to sanction Omar was not ‘helpful.’

‘Every member of Congress, and certainly the President of the United States, have a responsibility to take the temperature down,’ said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. ‘Nancy Mace wants to lecture Ilhan Omar and Democrats about civility? Are you kidding me? It’s not a serious effort. It’s an effort to drive donors into her gubernatorial campaign.’

For his part, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., didn’t try to sidetrack Mace. He declared that ‘Members have a prerogative to file privileged motions.’ 

‘What she did was outrageous and dangerous. And there has to be accountability in the House for these kinds of activities,’ said Johnson. ‘I don’t understand why she uses that kind of language.’

Mace and Omar wound up tangling over the censure resolution on X. 

‘One-way ticket to Somalia with your name on it, Ilhan Omar,’ posted Mace.

‘I am going soon, so please drop off the tickets on your way to your office. I am next door,’ retorted Omar. 

The Minnesota Democrat added that Mace was either not ‘well or smart.’ She added ‘you belong in rehab, not Congress.’

Democrats defended Omar.

‘When we are all trying to take the political temperature down, when we are all trying to work to be able to approach our differences with humanity and stand out against political violence, this is the wrong move,’ said House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass.

But lawmakers from both sides are growing weary of the censure trap.

‘Every time a Republican in this House is offended, they pile on censure resolution,’ said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. ‘I’m not here to be fighting over whatever people’s schoolyard thing is for the day.’ 

‘It’s escalation,’ said Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., of Mace’s maneuver. ‘You’ve got to remember, we’re going to be in the minority someday. We’ll be on the receiving end of this.’

Bacon added that Congress is now ‘better at shaming people versus legislating.’

Ultimately, the House never took a direct vote on sanctioning Omar. Democrats instead moved to ‘table’ or kill the resolution. That blocked an actual up/down vote on disciplining Omar. The House then voted 214-213 in favor of tabling Mace’s measure. All 210 Democrats who cast ballots voted to table. But four Republicans joined Democrats: Reps. Mike Flood, R-Neb., Jeff Hurd, R-Colo., Tom McClintock, R-Calif., and Mills.

A ballot by Mills against tabling would have reversed the final tally to 214-213. That means the House would have proceeded immediately to the actual vote to censure Omar. But Mills’ vote with the Democrats froze Mace’s effort.

It’s unclear if Mills based his decision on self-preservation. But had the House censured Omar, it would have undoubtedly triggered a resolution by Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, to sanction Mills.

Casar’s resolution accused Mills of assault – which Casar denies. It also alleged that Mills improperly received the Bronze Star when he served in the Army. But once the House diffused the Omar measure, Casar withdrew his plan for Mills.

Flood explained his vote to table.

‘I’m going to vote in ways that support the Ethics Committee,’ said Flood. ‘If we were to pursue a censure action against this Representative, that should be referred to the Ethics Committee. It should be investigated. There should be due process. There should be a back and forth before you issue a censure.’

Mace excoriated her Republican colleagues who voted to table.

‘They didn’t stand with Charlie Kirk. They didn’t stand with the millions of Americans mourning his death. They stood with the one who mocked his legacy. They showed us exactly who they are. And we won’t forget,’ said Mace in a statement.

But censure is now en vogue.

The House censured no members between Studds in 1983 and late Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y. in 2010. But five Members have felt the weight of censure since 2021.

The House voted to censure Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., for posting a cartoon video depicting him killing Ocasio-Cortez.

Republicans then began returning the favor.

The House voted to censure former Rep. and now Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., for how he handled the Russiagate investigation. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., faced censure for her comments after Hamas attacked Israel. The House censured former Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., for pulling a false fire alarm. And the House voted earlier this year to censure Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, for heckling President Trump during his State of the Union speech. 

Members have embraced censure lately. Those censured have characterized it as a ‘badge of honor.’ They’ve fundraised off censure. Their colleagues have even engineered a pep rally in the well of the chamber to drown out the House Speaker when he issues the censure.

This probably won’t be the House’s last dalliance into the realm of censure.

‘It just seems like every week or so we want to censure somebody for something,’ lamented Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Tex., who is no fan of Omar. ‘A lot of people say a lot of stupid stuff around here.’ 

This is Congress. So you can bet that someone will say some ‘stupid stuff’ soon. And unless lawmakers can restore some calm, there will be another effort to censure someone else any day now.

In the end, Disney and ABC had absolutely no choice but to rehire Jimmy Kimmel.

The reason the late-night host is returning to the air tonight is that this whole thing has been an utter PR debacle for ABC, and more personally for Disney chief Bob Iger, who even got whacked by his predecessor as CEO, Michael Eisner, accusing him of bowing to ‘out-of-control intimidation.’

I don’t think I’m going out on a limb in saying that Iger’s reputation is shattered forever.

The company became the poster child as a high-profile opponent of free speech — a deadly label for a news organization like ABC.

So the ‘indefinite’ suspension is over.

I could sniff that things were moving in this direction when I learned the two sides were talking. And when Disney asked Kimmel for a second meeting the other day, I knew the only question was which day he’d be back.

Let’s revisit the dumb and inaccurate comment that got Kimmel in trouble. And remember, like Stephen Colbert, he is so vociferously anti-Trump that he surrendered half his audience:

‘We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.’  

First, it was beyond tone-deaf, with feelings rubbed so raw over Charlie Kirk’s assassination. And the killer is not ‘MAGA,’ just another crazed lunatic who said he was acting out of ‘hatred’ for Kirk, but also sympathetic to gays and transgender people like his roommate and romantic partner.

At the same time, there was pressure from the FCC, with Chairman Brendan Carr blundering by saying he would act on Kimmel if ABC didn’t. Even Carr’s allies, like Ted Cruz, said he sounded like a mob boss by declaring ‘we can do it the easy way or the hard way.’

Nice little network you got here – be a shame if anything happened to it. Carr walked it back the next day.

What Kimmel said wasn’t the worst thing ever uttered on the air, and maybe in a month it would have passed unnoticed. But not so soon after the targeted assassination.

With that kind of blatant government pressure, ABC caved and took Kimmel off the air as he was about to tape last Wednesday’s show – and was said to be preparing an even tougher monologue about the Kirk killer. Again, he failed to read the electronic room.

It was downhill from there.

For anyone who believes in free speech – and that includes some Democrats who don’t agree with Kirk on just about anything–Disney and ABC were now the enemy.

Howard Stern, Kimmel’s closest friend – their families vacation together – said yesterday he had canceled his Disney+ subscription, as did Robin Quivers. After conferring with Kimmel, he said on his first live show since the suspension:

‘When the government says, ‘I’m not pleased with you, so we’re going to orchestrate a way to silence you,’ it’s the wrong direction for our country. It isn’t good.’

Stern called the suspension ‘horrible’ and ‘outrageous’ for such a ‘big talent… You can’t support this kind of a move. I don’t care whether you like Jimmy or not. It’s about freedom of speech. If ABC wanted to fire Jimmy because they didn’t like him, or he had low ratings — they didn’t want to fire him. They’re being pressured by the United States government. We can’t have that, not if we’re going to have a democracy.’

Howard has an awful lot of followers on Sirius XM that would take their cue from him. 

Some 400 celebrities signed an ACLU letter calling this ‘a dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation.’ These include Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Robert De Niro, Jane Fonda, Selena Gomez, Tom Hanks, Olivia Rodrigo, Ben Stiller, Jamie Lee Curtis, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael Keaton, Regina King, Diego Luna, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Natalie Portman, Maya Rudolph, Martin Short and Kerry Washington.

This is the kind of thing that Hollywood really cares about, the bold-faced names.

Kimmel is said to be concerned about the jobs of dozens of producers, staff members and contractors who would lose their livelihoods if the show was deep-sixed.

Disney made a point of saying in its statement that Kimmel was suspended because ‘we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive.’ But ‘thoughtful’ conversations led to Jimmy’s return.

Whether you like Kimmel or not, no company can withstand that kind of pressure, even if it goes against the wishes of Donald Trump, who celebrated the suspension.

Now here’s the challenge Kimmel and Disney/ABC faced.

The suits had already been urging Kimmel to tone down the attacks against Trump. But Kimmel, who has hosted the program since 2003, and parlayed that into Oscars-hosting gigs, has always insisted on his independence. He’s arguably the most famous face at the network.

I played a small role in this last year by asking Trump about Kimmel after the Oscars, and the candidate slammed him, escalating their feud. Jimmy even took a swipe at me (horrors).

So perhaps with a wink and a nod, Kimmel has now agreed to tone things down a tad and the brass has agreed to let him basically say what’s on his mind.

Jimmy Kimmel is the only clear winner in this.

Everyone else – Disney, Bob Iger, Brendan Carr, ABC – is unmistakably a loser and will forever be branded, fairly or otherwise, as cowardly opponents of free speech.

And hey, ratings for tonight’s show should be through the roof. 

President Donald Trump will highlight the ‘return of American strength’ in his second administration during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly Tuesday, while delivering ‘blunt’ and ‘tough talk’ about the ‘failures of globalism,’ a White House official told Fox News Digital.

The president is scheduled to deliver his first address of his second administration at the UN General Assembly in New York City Tuesday just before 10 a.m.

A White House official gave Fox News Digital an exclusive preview of the president’s address.

‘President Trump has effectively restored American strength on the world stage,’ a White House official told Fox News Digital. ‘His historic speech at the United Nations General Assembly will highlight his success in delivering peace on a scale that no other president has accomplished, while simultaneously speaking bluntly about how globalist ideologies risk destroying successful nations around the world.’

The president is expected to highlight his successful efforts to negotiate peace around the world—specifically, Armenia and Azerbaijan; Thailand and Cambodia; Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo; among others.

The president is also expected to highlight his strikes against narcoterrorists from Venezuela.

Earlier this month, a U.S. military strike blew apart a Venezuelan drug boat in the southern Caribbean, leaving nearly a dozen suspected Tren de Aragua narcoterrorists dead. And last week, the president announced that the U.S. military had carried out its second kinetic strike on Venezuelan drug trafficking cartels.

Also last week, the president announced that he ordered a lethal strike on a vessel allegedly linked to a designated terrorist organization conducting narcotrafficking in the U.S. Southern Command’s area of responsibility. That strike left three narcoterrorists dead.

‘Intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking illicit narcotics, and was transiting along a known narcotrafficking passage en route to poison Americans,’ Trump posted to his Truth Social announcing the strike.

The president is also expected to highlight his ‘Operation Midnight Hammer,’ which marked the largest B-2 operational strike in history and represented the United States’ move to deliver a decisive blow against Iran’s nuclear program back in June.

Trump’s historic precision strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites hit their targets and ‘destroyed’ and ‘badly damaged’ the facilities’ critical infrastructure—an assessment agreed upon by Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Israel, and the United States.

Trump is also set to detail his work to ‘deliver historic peace deals in decades-long conflicts,’ the official told Fox News Digital.

Meanwhile, the president’s speech will also feature ‘some blunt, tough talk about the failures of globalism.’

‘This will include the global migration regime, energy and climate, and how these ideologies pushed by globalists are on the verge of destroying successful nations,’ a White House official told Fox News Digital.

The president is also expected to discuss America’s position as a ‘defender of western civilization.’

‘As the president delivers peace in major conflicts around the world, what has the United Nations been doing?’ the official said.

After his speech at the United Nations, the president is expected to have meetings with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy; the president of Argentina, Javier Milei; and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

The president is also scheduled to have a multilateral meeting with leaders from Qatar, Jordan, Turkey, Pakistan, Indonesia, Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.  

Jurors in Fort Pierce, Florida, are expected to begin deliberations Tuesday on the federal criminal charges brought against Ryan Routh, the man accused of attempting to assassinate then-presidential candidate Donald Trump at his golf course in Florida last year.

Routh, who has been representing himself in the federal criminal trial, ended his defense after less than a day on Monday. He called only three witnesses, and told U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon that he would not be taking the stand to testify in his own case, a notion he had previously considered. 

Both the prosecution and defense formally rested their cases at 2:20 p.m., and Cannon ordered the court to reconvene for closing arguments Tuesday at 9 a.m.

Prosecutors and Routh will take turns presenting their closing arguments to jurors, followed immediately by jury deliberations, Cannon said, before instructing the jury on the deliberation process.

Cannon instructed jurors to consider whether prosecutors met the standard for conviction on each of the five federal charges against Routh. The 59-year-old has pleaded not guilty to all counts, which include attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer, and multiple firearms offenses.

A verdict in the case could come as early as Tuesday or Wednesday, pending the length of the closing arguments and the deliberation time needed. If convicted, Routh could face a maximum of life in prison.

The closing arguments come after Routh rested his case after just hours of presenting arguments to jurors. He called only three witnesses, and did not introduce new evidence.

His ‘pro se’ defense starkly contrasts with the prosecution’s, which spent nearly two weeks carefully and extemporaneously making its case against Routh to a jury in Fort Pierce, Florida.

In that span, jurors heard from 38 witnesses and reviewed hundreds of exhibits — text messages, call logs, bank records, and cellphone data — linking Routh to the alleged gun purchase and placing him near Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach in the weeks before the alleged attempted assassination.

Shortly before the defense rested, Cannon asked Routh if he had any more motions for acquittal. He said he did not.

A German shop owner in the northern city of Flensburg posted a sign on Wednesday that Jews are banned from entering his store, sparking outrage among state officials in Schleswig-Holstein.

Hans-Velten Reisch, the 60-year-old owner of the store that sells Gothic-Utensils and technical literature, posted a sign that reads, ‘Jews are banned from entering here! Nothing personal. No antisemitism. Just can’t stand you.’

Germany’s largest daily newspaper, Bild, reported on Thursday that Reisch defended his anti-Jewish sign. He told the paper that ‘I watch the news every evening. And when I saw what the Jews were doing in the Gaza Strip, I lost my temper and printed out the poster.’

Israel launched a defensive war against the Hamas terrorist movement in Gaza after Hamas slaughtered over 1,200 people on October 7, 2023, including American citizens. 

Reisch said the police told him on Wednesday evening that he has to take down the poster. 

The Schleswig-Holstein Minister of Culture Dorit Stenke and Gerhard Ulrich, the state’s controversial antisemitism commissioner, took Reisch to task for his reported antisemitism, issuing a joint statement on the state government’s website.

‘A sign that denies Jews access to a store is a frightening signal and an attack on the principles of our free coexistence,’ Stenke said in the statement. She continued, ‘We cannot allow such things to continue in our society and must take decisive action against it together. Antisemitism is a threat to our democracy and must not be tolerated in any form.’

Ulrich said, ‘We must stand together against every form of antisemitism,’ adding, ‘The fight against antisemitism is a special responsibility that we bear as Germans.’

The State Prosecutor launched an investigation against Reisch for incitement of hatred. Ulrich filed a criminal complaint for incitement of hatred against Reisch. A total of five criminal complaints were filed against Reisch, according to Bild.

‘Antisemitic hate speech like this not only hurts those affected, but also disrupts public peace. The Flensburg incident, with its contemptuous rhetoric, is fatally reminiscent of the Nazi hate speech against Jews,’ said Ulrich.

The outbreak of Jew-hatred in Flensburg is another example of the growing antisemitism in Schleswig-Holstein, the state officials said. In 2024, 588 antisemitic incidents were documented, an increase of 390 percent over 2023.

Ulrich, however, has faced accusations that he has contributed to anti-Jewish and anti-Israel sentiments when he previously served as the Protestant Church’s Bishop for northern Germany.

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the associate dean of the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights organization named after the legendary Nazi hunter, warned about Ulrich’s alleged antisemitism in December 2022. Cooper urged Schleswig-Holstein‘s government to dismiss Ulrich, claiming he ‘is unfit to denounce the very antisemitism that he unfortunately legitimized and helped to spread in the mainstream of German society.’

The former bishop has said, ‘The name ‘Israel’ is burdened with the horror and misery of this Middle East war.’ He also compared Israel’s security fence with the now-defunct Berlin Wall, suggesting Israel needs to dismantle its security fence.

The anti-terrorist fence has saved the lives of thousands of Israelis from Palestinian terrorists coming from the West Bank (also known as the biblical region of Judea and Samaria), according to counter-terrorism officials in Israel.

President Donald Trump praised Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk’s legacy Sunday, calling him a ‘martyr for American freedom.’

‘I know I speak for everyone here today when I say that none of us will ever forget Charlie Kirk, and neither will history,’ Trump said to the tens of thousands of supporters gathered to celebrate the life of Charlie Kirk at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

Trump spoke of Kirk’s passion for mobilizing young conservatives, his unwavering devotion to the country, and the movement he leaves behind. The president described Kirk as a ‘missionary with a noble spirit,’ saying the 31-year-old conservative activist played a decisive role in helping him win the 2024 election.

‘He didn’t deserve this and our country didn’t deserve this,’ Trump said, adding that Kirk’s assassination was an attack on American democracy. 

Trump has survived two assassination attempts.

The president also said he would honor Kirk at the White House by presenting his family with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. 

Trump’s speech, which also highlighted his administration’s core priorities, followed those of Kirk’s widow, Erika, and several high-ranking members of his administration. 

Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard were among some of Trump’s Cabinet that spoke at the memorial service. 

At the end of his speech, Trump shared the stage with Erika Kirk and hugged her as ‘God Bless America’ played across the stadium, marking the conclusion of the memorial service. 

Kirk was assassinated Sept. 10 during an outdoor event at Utah Valley University. The gathering was the first stop on TPUSA’s planned American Comeback Tour. 

The charismatic Kirk, known for his signature debates on college campuses, sat beneath a white tent emblazoned with the slogan ‘Prove Me Wrong,’ taking open-mic questions from a crowd of thousands. 

Moments later, a single shot ended his life.

In the wake of his death, many Americans are learning for the first time of the unlikely rise of the young activist who vaulted from obscurity in suburban Illinois to become a defining voice for a generation of conservatives and one of the movement’s most formidable power brokers.

At 18, Kirk dropped out of community college to co-found TPUSA. By his mid-20s, he became the youngest speaker at the Republican National Convention in 2016 and a household name in conservative circles. By 31, he commanded a $95 million political empire, galvanized millions of followers online and established a direct line to Trump.

His widow, Erika, has vowed to carry on the energetic movement that indisputably reshaped conservative youth politics. TPUSA recently announced she would assume the roles of CEO and chair of the board.

Andrew Kolvet, executive producer of ‘The Charlie Kirk Show,’ said TPUSA has received more than 62,000 requests to establish new campus chapters in the two weeks since Kirk’s assassination — a surge that would add to its existing network of 900 nationwide.

‘For all the fans of ‘The Charlie Kirk Show,’ we will see you Monday,’ Kolvet said during his remarks at the memorial service. ‘Until then, buckle up — here we go,’ he added, vowing to continue Kirk’s mission.

Last week, Kolvet told Fox News Digital that he has ‘personally received hundreds of offers to work’ for TPUSA. 

Thousands gathered Sunday to pay tribute to Turning Point USA (TPUSA) founder Charlie Kirk, whose memorial service drew one of the largest public turnouts for a private citizen. 

The organization told Fox News Digital that approximately 90,000 people attended the service, with roughly 70,000 bringing the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, to capacity. 

Another 10,000 people gathered at the nearby Desert Diamond Arena, a designated overflow venue, according to estimates provided by TPUSA. Additionally, another 10,000 people watched Kirk’s memorial service from nearby viewing areas.

Taken together, the turnout underscored the event’s extraordinary scale.

Earlier estimates provided by law enforcement officials placed the attendance number around 200,000.

Headlined by political heavyweights, conservative media figures and religious leaders, the memorial service ranks as one of the largest public gatherings ever organized for a private citizen. 

The service for Kirk was broadcast across every major U.S. television network, according to White House Communications Director Steven Cheung. 

And while memorials take many forms, from intimate ceremonies to massive public gatherings, Kirk’s service highlighted the unique intersection of politics, media and faith that defined his public life.

Similar outpourings have marked the deaths of cultural icons before. Elvis Presley’s death in 1977, for instance, drew an estimated 80,000 people to the streets of Memphis for his funeral procession, though only a few hundred were admitted inside. 

In June 2016, approximately 14,000 people attended a service for legendary heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali in Louisville, Kentucky. Additionally, thousands more watched virtually via live streams. 

In 1968, two massive services were held for Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in Atlanta, one at Ebenezer Baptist Church and then another at Morehouse College. And an estimated 150,000 people gathered to watch King’s funeral procession travel between the two locations, with more inside each venue. 

Kirk was assassinated Sept. 10 during an outdoor event at Utah Valley University. The gathering was the first stop on TPUSA’s planned American Comeback Tour. 

The charismatic Kirk, known for his signature debates on college campuses, was in the middle of taking open-mic questions from a crowd of thousands before a single shot ended his life.

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump announced that Dr. Ben Carson will be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, noting that there will be a ceremony at the White House to honor him.

‘Congratulations Ben. He didn’t know this. He didn’t know it. I hope he’s happy,’ Trump said after making the announcement at the conclusion of his remarks at the American Cornerstone Institute’s Founders’ Dinner on Saturday.

Carson, who founded the ACI, served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development during Trump’s first term in office.

Carson, a former neurosurgeon, ran for president when Trump mounted his first successful White House bid, but ultimately dropped out and backed Trump in 2016.

ACI’s website states that ‘Dr. Carson is ensuring there is an organization fighting for the principles that have guided him through life, and that make this country great: Faith, Liberty, Community, and Life.’ 

Carson is supporting U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., for re-election.

In a post on X earlier this month, Carson declared that Graham ‘has been a steadfast conservative leader for South Carolina and our nation and I’m pleased to endorse him for re-election.’

Carson was one of the people who spoke at the memorial service honoring slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Arizona on Sunday.

For more than a decade, Google operated like a digital cartel, whether it was rigging markets, crushing small businesses, or silencing conservative voices with zero consequences. The company used its monopoly over online advertising to manipulate prices, dictate who can compete, and control who gets heard. But finally, we have a president and a Department of Justice with the spine to take Google on. And it’s not a moment too soon.

Recently, the DOJ dropped a bombshell: a sweeping proposal to rip apart Google’s monopolistic chokehold on the ad tech market. The plan? Force Google to sell its ad exchange, open-source its core auction system, and, if that doesn’t work, force the company to sell off its publisher ad server entirely. On top of that, the DOJ is demanding oversight and profit disgorgement to make sure Google doesn’t just rebuild its empire in the shadows.

This is not ‘regulation’ as some would have you believe. In fact, this is long-overdue antitrust law enforcement for the Big Tech giant which has run rampant in suppressing opposing voices to leftist causes.

For years, Google abused its monopoly power to destroy competitors and rig the system in its favor. It has been allowed to act with impunity, thanks in no small part to Obama’s pathetic antitrust amnesty, which allowed Big Tech to consolidate power without fear of consequences. That era of looking the other way while Silicon Valley crushed innovation and censored conservative political dissent is over.

This latest action from the DOJ is more than justified. It’s necessary. Google controls both sides of the digital advertising market, between the tools publishers use to sell ads and the exchanges advertisers use to buy them. It’s rigged and corrupt. And it’s exactly the kind of anti-competitive garbage that breaks capitalism and destroys the marketplace of ideas.

Let’s not forget who gets hurt the most: small businesses, independent media outlets, startups that are trying to build something new, and conservatives’ ability to speak freely. Google has systematically snuffed out anything it can’t control and punished anyone who dares to compete or disagree. Whether it’s demonetizing content or flat-out censoring dissenting voices, Google showed it doesn’t just want to win the market. It wants to control the narrative.

Now, with the rise of generative AI, the threat is even bigger. If Google is allowed to monopolize this space like it did with ads and search, it won’t just dominate markets. It will dominate the truth itself. They already manipulate what you see. With AI, they’ll manipulate what you think. That should terrify every freedom-loving American.

So yes, this crackdown is long overdue. But it’s not just about punishing Google. It’s about setting a precedent. It’s about restoring real competition. It’s about protecting American innovation, safeguarding our economy, and defending the principles that make America great, as President Trump says.

The DOJ’s proposed remedies are tough, but they can be tougher if necessary. No half-measures or easy exits. If Google is broken into pieces to restore fairness, then break it up, piece by piece. And if other Big Tech monopolists are watching, they better get the message: The era of consequence-free empire building is over. The Trump administration will ensure Big Tech’s monopolistic power is dismantled board by board, with the antitrust dream team of FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, FTC Commissioner Mark Meador, and Gail Slater, the DOJ’s assistant attorney general for antitrust.

We are not standing by while a handful of unelected tech oligarchs run this country from behind a curtain of code and censorship. Not anymore.

Break them up. Make it stick. And don’t stop until the free market is actually free from Google’s chokehold again.

Grief mingled with resolve Sunday afternoon as friends, family and conservative heavyweights gathered at a packed State Farm Stadium in Arizona to honor the life of Charlie Kirk. 

From emotional tributes to playful stories, to spiritual calls and political pledges, here are the top moments from his memorial service: 

1. President Donald Trump calls Charlie Kirk a ‘martyr for American freedom’ 

President Donald Trump concluded Kirk’s memorial service with remarks honoring the Turning Point USA (TPUSA) founder, intertwining themes of politics and Christianity.

‘Our greatest evangelist for American liberty became immortal,’ Trump said of Kirk. ‘He’s a martyr for American freedom,’

The president credited Kirk for helping him win the 2024 election by inspiring young voters across the country. 

Trump also described the moment when his staff told him that Kirk was shot during a TPUSA event. He said that he was in the middle of a meeting in the Oval Office and called the revelation ‘surreal.’

‘He didn’t deserve this and our country didn’t deserve this,’ Trump said, adding that Kirk’s assassination was an attack on American democracy. 

Trump has survived two assassination attempts.

The president said he would soon honor Kirk at the White House with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. Following his remarks, he shared the stage with Kirk’s widow, Erika, and hugged her while ‘America the Beautiful’ played across the stadium.

2. Erika Kirk gives tearful speech honoring her late husband’s legacy, forgiving his killer 

Kirk’s widow, Erika, received a standing ovation ahead of her speech honoring her late husband’s legacy. She evoked scripture during her remarks and referred to her husband as ‘my Charlie’ and his death as a ‘total surrender’ to ‘God’s will.’

As she wiped away tears, Kirk shared with the crowd what she experienced in the hours following his death. ‘I saw the wound that ended his life,’ Kirk said, adding that she experienced ‘a level of heartache that I didn’t even know existed.’

Kirk, who was tapped to lead TPUSA, said her husband’s death has sparked a revival in faith. She galvanized the audience to go to church and to reconnect with Christ.

‘Being a follower of Christ is not easy, it’s not supposed to be,’ Kirk said, adding that she forgives the man who took her husband’s life. 

‘I forgive him because that is what Christ did,’ she said behind heavy tears.

Kirk, who is a mother of two young children, said she will miss her husband. 

‘I will miss him because our marriage and our family were beautiful,’ she said, adding, ‘and it still is.’

3. A crowd of who’s who of high-level political figures

In addition to TPUSA executives, conservative media giants and religious leaders, Kirk’s memorial service also included tributes from several high-ranking Trump administration officials. 

Vice President JD Vance credited Kirk, in part, for his current role in the Trump administration and vowed to support the TPUSA movement. 

‘You ran a good race, my friend, I love you,’ Vance said. ‘We’ve got it from here.’ 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard were among some of Trump’s Cabinet that spoke at the memorial service. 

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, Deputy Director of the FBI Dan Bongino, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin and Kelly Loeffler, head of the Small Business Administration, also were in attendance. 

Additionally, billionaire Tesla and Space X CEO Elon Musk was seen sitting next to Trump during part of the memorial service. 

4. Frank Turek shares a firsthand account of Kirk’s final moments

Christian author Frank Turek recounted witnessing Kirk’s final moments on the way to the hospital after the Sept. 10 shooting at Utah Valley University. 

‘Charlie’s been like a son to me,’ he said, noting that he was only a few feet away when Kirk was assassinated. 

Turek described running with the security team toward the SUV. 

‘No father would stand back and go, no, you just take my son. Take him. I’ll meet you at the hospital. I got into the back of the SUV,’ he said. ‘Charlie’s so tall, we can’t close the door,’ Turek explained, adding that the TPUSA security team drove ‘all the way to the hospital with the door open.’

He said that during the car ride he kept yelling, ‘Come on, Charlie! Come on! Come on!’ He said that he was looking down at Kirk when he realized that the 31-year-old husband and father had died. 

‘His eyes were fixed,’ Turek said. ‘He wasn’t looking at me. He was looking past me right into eternity. He was with Jesus already. He was killed instantly and felt absolutely no pain.’

5. Tens of thousands of people in one of the largest public services ever held

Approximately 90,000 people gathered for Kirk’s memorial service, TPUSA confirmed to Fox News Digital. 

About 70,000 mourners filled State Farm Stadium to capacity, while another 10,000 joined from overflow venues, including Desert Diamond Arena and other nearby viewing points. 

The turnout marked one of the largest public memorial services in recent years. 

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton and Sophia Compton contributed to this report.