Happy Friday!

And Bastille Day greetings to our French friends.

Huh? Secret Service Has No Idea Who Brought Cocaine Into White House … and Is Done Looking

The Secret Service rushed members of the House Oversight Committee into a highly secured SCIF Thursday to tell them what they found about who brought cocaine into the West Wing.

The answer: “We don’t know and we’re done trying to find out.”

Astonishingly, the same Federal government that spent two years plucking old grandmas out of a crowd of hundreds of thousands can’t seem to isolate who among the few score possible suspects left their cocaine behind in one of the most secure places on the planet. What’s more? They’ve given up trying. I wrote more about it in, “The Secret Service Must Do Better Than ‘Well, We Gave It a Shot.’”

16-Year-Old Swimmer Booted Off Her Team for Protesting Dudes in the Women’s Locker Room

16-year-old Abbigail Wheeler was dismissed from her YMCA swim team in Springfield, Illinois, accused of “hate speech” for not wanting biological males in the women’s locker room. She and a teammate had put up signs reading “Women’s Rights,” “Biological Women Only,” and “SafeSport” to alert other girls there were two biological men lurking about.

Wheeler told Fox & Friends First: “I went to my coach and gladly told him that I was a part of this, and he said that it was probably not the best option for me to swim with the swim team that night and that the YMCA staff would follow up with my family.”

According to Wheeler’s dad, they asked the YMCA to have the males change elsewhere, but were rebuffed.

Wheeler is being praised by swimmer-turned-advocate for women Riley Gaines for speaking up at such a young age.

“To be only 16 years old and being in the position that you’re in, faced with what you were faced with and standing up for yourself and ultimately standing up for others. You are a megaphone for your teammates,” she said.

Maybelline Uses Bearded Men to Pitch New Make-Up Products

Don’t expect Wheeler to become a Maybelline model … unless she grows a beard. Yes, Maybelline is raising plucked eyebrows for using bearded men to pitch two new products.

Make-up artist and “Maybelline Partner” Ryan Vita is shown in two new promotional videos applying lipstick. Last week, make-up artist Zak Taylor was used to push a new eyelash product.

California Assembly Democrats Don’t Want Stricter Penalties for Child Traffickers

The California Senate in a unanimous, bipartisan vote voted to make trafficking minors a “serious felony.” A no brainer that would put the Golden State in line with a vast majority of other states in dealing with the trafficking of children.

However, the bill failed in the California Assembly Public Safety Commission when every single Democrat on the committee abstained. They did not even have the courage to openly vote “no.” According to Just the News, committee Democrats would not even speak to explain their decision.

The bill is still eligible for reconsideration, so it’s not dead yet. Californians, contact your reps! Make sure they are either on board or make them explain why they don’t think the enslavement and abuse of children is a “serious felony.”

Member of the California State Assembly:

“You can choose a team. Pick pedophiles, or children” pic.twitter.com/1A3EwDOevQ

— TheBlaze (@theblaze) July 13, 2023

Tennessee Soccer Coach Accused of Drugging and Sexually Assaulting Boys is … an Illegal Alien

A horrible story all around. A soccer coach in Tennessee named Camilo Hurtado Campos was arrested and charged with drugging and raping at least ten boys. He’s also accused of filming the assaults. Police are concerned the number of victims may be much higher.

Now comes word that Campos is in the country illegally. Said Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn, “Until our border is secured, every town is a border town, and criminals will continue to have free rein throughout the nation.”

Meanwhile, kudos to the local restaurant that helped crack the case. They found a cellphone apparently left behind by Campos, and when they went to try to figure out who owned it, they uncovered the incriminating files and contacted authorities.

Hollywood Actors Go on Strike, Joining Writers, Shutting Down Productions

Hollywood actors have gone on strike for the first time since 1980. The SAG-AFTRA guild, representing some 160,000 thespians, voted to stop emoting after contract talks broke down with the likes of Disney, Netflix and Warner Brothers. The actors are seeking, among other things, higher base compensation, particularly when it comes to streaming and other digital technologies, along with safeguards around the use of artificial intelligence.

Writers went on strike several weeks ago over many of the same issues. With yesterday’s vote, the lights go out on all union productions that hadn’t already shut down because of the writers strike. (Yeah, I know. Some of you are pulling out the world’s tiniest violins.)

According to Hollywood Reporter, this is the first double strike since 1960.  

I wonder. Given Disney’s run of box office bombs, is a production shutdown good news or bad news?

Meanwhile, Newsweek has a story that claims strange things are happening in theaters showing Sound of Freedom. Technical difficulties, AC breaking down. Theaters being forced to evacuate. The film shut down midway through. Coincidence? Or is there, as some suspect, a coordinated effort to slow the film down?

Adam Aron, CEO of AMC Theaters, attacked the rumors of a deliberate effort to harm the film.

Really bizarre FUD floating around Twitter that we are suppressing attendance for Sound of Freedom. Yesterday we showed that movie 3,000 times at our 570 U.S. theatres and more than 100,000 people watched it @AMCTheatres. Misinformation on Twitter is astonishing. Bots? Haters?

— Adam Aron (@CEOAdam) July 8, 2023

If you see the movie and experience any strangeness, please let us know at [email protected].

Along The Stream

The Stream‘s Tom Gilson takes on the so-called “Sparkle Creed.” Read “No Sparkle in This Darkness.”

Al Perrotta is the Managing Editor of The Stream, chief barista for The Brew and co-author, with John Zmirak, of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration. You can follow him at @StreamingAl at GETTR, Gab, Parler, and now at TRUTH Social.