The Dictatorship

Platner’s primary win leaves some Democratic women with a tough choice

Published

1 day ago

July 6, 2026

Platner’s primary win leaves some Democratic women with a tough choice

Christmas. 5, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT

The Democratic groups built to elect women have spent decades hoping to unseat Maine’s five-term Republican senator, Susan Collins. Now, they have a real shot — and to take it, they will have to help a man dogged by allegations about his treatment of women get elected to the U.S. Senate.

The man is Graham Platner, the oysterman and political newcomer whose profile has rocketed to national attention, driven by the combination of his unorthodox background and magnetic stage presence.

That appeal, however, has been shadowed by his conduct toward women. Platner has been accused of writing derogatory posts on Reddit about women and victims of rape (he has apologized for those commentsand asked voters not to judge him by “the worst thing I said on the internet on my worst day 14 years ago”). He has admitted to sexting women other than his wife early in his marriage (which, he said, spurred him to seek counseling). And he has been accused by past girlfriends of demeaning them, including at least one accusation that he physically threatened her, which he has denied.

None of it has been enough to stop his campaign. On June 9, he won Maine’s Democratic primary in a landslide.

That has left Democratic women in Maine with a choice that, for some, feels like a compromise no matter how they make it: line up behind a man accused of mistreating women, or withhold their support and risk handing a sixth term to the senator many blame for the loss of federal abortion rights.

“Susan Collins is someone who has talked for decades, you know, in her career in the Senate about reproductive rights, has been supported in the past by Planned Parenthood,” said Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. “And there is this deep sense of betrayal posed, post the Kavanaugh vote, that she did not stand up when it really mattered.”

Collins voted in 2018 to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Four years later, he was part of the conservative majority that overturned Roe v. Wade. That vote — a raw wound for many women in Maine and beyond — has become a centerpiece of Platner’s attack ads.

“Susan Collins told us she would protect Roe v. Wade,” a narrator says in one recent ad, which hit airwaves after Platner won Maine’s primary. “She was wrong. Now she won’t even admit she was wrong.

But for some women, the messenger is not unburdened either.

“Women have been put in a terrible position,” said Walsh. Women “who care both about reproductive freedom but also have strong beliefs about issues around sexual harassment, sexual violence, misogyny … the kind of behavior that we’ve been hearing about from him — it’s a terrible position women have been put in.”

Platner’s campaign did not respond to MS NOW’s request for comment for this article.

For some abortion rights advocates, Platner — who supports codifying abortion rights in federal law and covering reproductive care under Medicare for All — has become the best available vehicle for a closely divided Senate that many hope will expand abortion access nationally after Dobbs. Last week, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund endorsed him after supporting Maine Gov. Janet Mills earlier in the primary. At a news conference, the fund’s president and CEO, Alexis McGill Johnson, characterized Collins as “a fair-weather feminist,” and voiced confidence that Platner would be a strong supporter of abortion rights in the Senate.

A person at Planned Parenthood Action Fund familiar with the endorsement process told MS NOW that it “felt important” for the organization to back Platner both on the week of the four-year anniversary of the Dobbs ruling and on the heels of Collins’ recent defense of her vote for Kavanaugh. The person, who was granted anonymity by MS NOW to speak freely about the endorsement process, added that Platner sat for an interview with officials at the national organization as well as the board of the local Planned Parenthood before PPAF decided to back him, and that those conversations convinced officials he was worthy of their endorsement.

“Susan Collins has caused a lot of damage,” the person said. “Women have died [due to abortion bans]are going to continue to die, and so for us, there’s just wasn’t an option to not be involved here.”

But Collins’ record was only part of it. Asked whether Platner’s controversies gave the group any pause, the staffer would only say that McGill Johnson emphasized in a direct conversation with Platner the “trust” women place in the organization, and that she asked “for some reassurance around certain things, and he gave us that.”

Not everyone is reassured.

“On one hand, I kind of laugh,” said Darcy Halvorsen, a lifelong Democratic organizer and voter in Maine, of PPAF’s Platner endorsement. “He’s never run for office before, he’s never held an office … he’s never even held a town council seat. And so I kind of laugh because it’s like, how can you be a ‘reproductive champion’? He really hasn’t done anything for choice.”

Other reproductive rights advocacy groups seem to be having a harder time squaring what they see as the need to oust Collins with Platner’s own checkered past. Reproductive Freedom for All — which announced a $23.5 million midterms strategy last week, including backing some Democratic candidates — declined to comment on the Maine Senate race in response to MS NOW’s inquiries. A staffer with All in Action Fund, the political arm of the reproductive justice organization All* Above All, told MS NOW the organization has yet to determine whether it will endorse Platner, due in part to his controversies.

“We are clearly and narrowly focused on leaders who are committed and fighting for access to reproductive health,” the person said, adding that they also weigh concerns around “integrity and track record.”

Some groups have drawn a harder line. One day after The New York Times published a report in June in which one of Platner’s ex-girlfriends accused him of physically threatening her while they were dating, the National Organization for Women sent an email blast urging voters in Maine to elect Mills in the primary, despite the fact she suspended her campaign in April.

“Feminists who have been working so hard for gender equality and the Equal Rights Amendment have seen this script before — the qualified woman is passed over, the Democratic party rallies around the damaged male ‘star,’ and we are told to be quiet about it for the greater good,” NOW’s statement said. “If a woman had even a fraction of Platner’s record, she would have been forced out on day one.”

Kathy Bonk, the president of the Maine chapter of NOW, said she cast her ballot for Mills, and suggested that the “progressive wing of the Democratic Party” was to blame for “pushing” candidates like Platner “without vetting them.” “If they did vet them and they had that background on women, that’s even worse,” she said.

How a candidate with Platner’s record got that far, that fast, is itself a source of recrimination. The Wall Street Journal reported that Dan Moraff, a progressive strategist and the architect of Platner’s campaign, spurned the typical weekslong background-check process in favor of a faster and more cost-effective option. The fast-track research, the Journal reported, did not uncover many of the controversies that later engulfed Platner’s campaign.

For some, it highlights a more pervasive problem with how male politicians treat women. “It crosses all political parties,” said Deidre Malone, the president of the National Women’s Political Caucus, which endorsed Mills early in the primary season. “When you look at, you know, Platner, but you look at also Eric Swalwell, you look at Tony Gonzales, you know, Cory Mills — I mean, every party, it seems like has some type of scandal associated with either sexual harassment or something … that is inappropriate.” Swalwell, a California Democrat, and Gonzalesa Texas Republican, both resigned from Congress this spring amid sexual misconduct allegations. Both, along with Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., faced House Ethics Committee investigations.

Halvorsen cast her primary ballot for Platner during early voting — before the extramarital sexting allegations became public.

Asked if she plans to vote the same way in the general election, Halvorsen said she is considering not voting for the first time in her adult life.

“It’s really, it’s damning, I think, of a candidate,” she said. “I wonder about what else, what else there is? Is there going to be something else? Is another woman going to come forward?”

Kevin Frey contributed to this report.

Sydney Carruth is a breaking news reporter covering national politics and policy for MS NOW. You can send her tips from a non-work device on Signal at SydneyCarruth.46 or follow her work on X and Bluesky.

Julianne McShane is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW who also covers the politics of abortion and reproductive rights. You can send her tips from a non-work device on Signal at jmcshane.19 or follow her on X or Bluesky.

The Dictatorship

TRUMP CARD: WORLD CUP CHEATS FOR USA?

Published

4 hours ago

July 7, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

SEATTLE (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump intervened on behalf of star U.S. forward Folarin Balogun, whose red-card suspension was lifted in a decision that allows him to play in a World Cup match against Belgium on Monday.

A single red card can completely change a World Cup match. Here’s why it’s the most feared punishment in soccer. Produced by Nandini Gupta

Balogun, the American leader with three goals in the tournament, received a red card for stepping awkwardly on the right ankle of Tarik Muharemović of Bosnia-Herzegovina in a 2-0 round of 32 win on Wednesday, triggering an automatic one-game suspension.

FIFA announced Sunday that the suspension had been lifted for the round of 16 match, an extraordinary move that triggered praise from Trump and outrage from Belgium’s team. It appeared to be the first time since 1962 that a red card during a World Cup didn’t result in a suspension.

Trump called FIFA president Gianni Infantino after the game asking FIFA review the red card, according to a person familiar with the call who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

“Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!” Trump said in a statement on social media.

The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) said it was “astonished,” and Belgium coach Rudi Garcia mocked FIFA’s action.

“I didn’t know that in the offices of FIFA the fifth of July was the first of April in Europe,” Garcia said through a translator in an April Fools’ Day comparison. “The Belgian federation does not defend itself, it does not protect the national team. She defends football in general, she defends her integrity, her ethics. I think it’s the first time in the history of the World Cup that there is this kind of decision.”

Garcia wouldn’t respond when asked about a possible appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport or whether he thought Trump impacted FIFA’s action.

“In order to safeguard the legitimate rights of all participating teams and to protect the fundamental principles of fair play in our sport, both at this FIFA World Cup and at future editions of the tournament, the RBFA is investigating all potential options,” the Belgian federation said in a statement.

American players learned of Balogun’s availability when social media posts started popping up during the 10-minute bus ride Sunday morning from their hotel to training at the University of Washington’s Husky Soccer Stadium, where they were greeted by Dubs II, the university’s Alaskan Malamute.

Balogun’s red card had been one of the World Cup’s most controversial and consequential decisions. Brazilian referee Raphael Claus didn’t initially signal a card but showed Balogun red after a video review.

“If you look at the foul, it was just zero intent at all,” U.S. star Christian Pulisic said. “I felt like there was much worse ones that went on this tournament.”

The U.S. Soccer Federation learned of FIFA’s action in a message sent by FIFA in its portal at 10:31 a.m. EDT.

“The implementation of the match suspension is suspended for a probationary period of one year,” FIFA announced. “If Folarin Balogun commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement.”

U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino applauded FIFA’s move.

“We were punished enough against Bosnia-Herzegovina to play with 10 men (for) 30 minutes in a decision that was completely unfair,” he said.

Pochettino, who played for Argentina in the 2002 World Cup, was not surprised Trump decided to call Infantino.

“I came from a culture, Argentina or Europe, that football, soccer is a religion, more than the religion,” he said. “If we go keep going, pushing on, maybe one step more tomorrow you will see that the sport is magic, that the sport is amazing, is so powerful, unite people, unite a country like us.”

England coach Thomas Tuchel wondered whether more decisions going forward could be challenged, whether yellow cards could be overturned for England’s Declan Rice and France’s Michael Olise.

“We can now debate endlessly: I think it’s not a yellow card,” he said. “Where does this end? Where does it stop?”

Balogun’s three goals included a go-ahead strike against Bosnia. He matched Landon Donovan in 2010 for the second-most goals by an American in a World Cup, behind only Bert Patenaude’s four in the initial tournament in 1930.

A 25-year-old who plays for Monaco, Balogun scored 13 Ligue 1 goals last season and has 12 goals in 30 international appearances. He was born in Brooklyn to Nigerian parents who were living in London and in 2023 opted to change his national team affiliation from Englandwhich he had represented at the under-21 level.

“He strikes fear into a lot of defenders,” Richards said.

The host U.S. is seeking to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002. The Americans lost in the round of 16 to Ghana in 2010, Belgium in 2014 and the Netherlands in 2022. They failed to advance from the group stage in 2006 and didn’t qualify for the 2018 tournament.

The USSF didn’t make Balogun available for comment Sunday, but Balogun posted on social media a picture of himself in front of U.S. fans and overlaid with music of Michael Jackson’s pop single “Bad.”

On Friday, Balogun said he thought a yellow card instead of red “would have been fair.”

FIFA said its decision relied on Article 27 of disciplinary committee rules.

“The judicial body may decide to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure,” the rule states. “By suspending the implementation of the sanction, the judicial body subjects the person sanctioned to a probationary period of one to four years.”

FIFA in November deferred the final two games of a three-match ban for Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo for a red card against Ireland in a World Cup qualifier, allowing him to play at the start of the World Cup.

Argentine defender Nicolás Otamendi and Ecuadoran midfielder Moisés Caicedo in April had one-game bans deferred for red cards in qualifiers, also allowing them to be available for World Cup openers.

Brazilian midfielder Garrincha received a red card in the 83rd minute of the 1962 semifinal against host Chile for kicking an opponent but was allowed to play in the final against Czechoslovakia after a lobbying campaign that included support from Chile President Jorge Alessandri. Brazil won the final for its second straight title.

“What about the next red card? What happens then?” Norway coach Ståle Solbakken said. “Is there going to be some committee somewhere that is going to take that card away? It’s a bad, bad, bad, bad, bad decision that will hurt the World Cup.”

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Price reported from Washington, D.C.

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AP Soccer Writer James Robson in Atlanta and AP Sports Writers Andrew Destin in Seattle, Jim Vertuno in Austin, Texas, and Stephen Whyno in East Rutherford, New Jersey, contributed to this report.

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

The Dictatorship

How the White House Rose Garden and its plantings have changed over the past century

Published

12 hours ago

July 6, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

How the White House Rose Garden and its plantings have changed over the past century

President Donald Trump’s two makeovers of the White House Rose Garden, including converting its lawn into a patiohave drawn recent attention to one of the nation’s most iconic gardens.

The garden has seen many changes over the years; presidents and first ladies have planted, removed, redesigned and even fully revamped it. Here’s a look at how the Rose Garden and its plantings have evolved.

Ellen Wilson and then Jackie Kennedy make changes

This undated image provided by the Library of Congress shows the original White House rose garden in Washington, designed by George E. Burnap in 1913 and planted in 1914 during the Woodrow Wilson administration. (Library of Congress via AP)

The Rose Garden was established by President Woodrow Wilson’s wife, Ellen Wilson, who worked closely with landscape architect George Burnap, in 1913. It replaced Edith Roosevelt’s Colonial Garden, planted 11 years earlier. Before that, greenhouses occupied the space.

The original Rose Garden remained close to its roots for nearly half a century until 1961, when President John F. Kennedy and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy brought in their friend and Cape Cod, Massachusetts, neighbor, Rachel “Bunny” Mellon, to oversee a redesign.

Mellon, a horticulture expert, worked closely with landscape architect Perry Wheeler and White House Head Gardener Irwin Williams on plans for the new Rose Garden, aiming to create an outdoor room where press conferences, meetings with dignitaries and ceremonies could be held. It was installed the following year.

The space included an expansive central lawn, inspired by the croquet-match passage in Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland,” with magnolia trees planted at each corner. Roses, interplanted with culinary herbs, spring-blooming bulbs, seasonal annuals and young Katherine crabapple trees, flanked the lawn in 12-foot-deep borders.

Since then, the space has hosted many historic events and has become known as a place where presidents deliver important speeches to the American people.

The garden evolves with new plants

Flowers bloom in the rose garden of the White House in Washington on April 19, 1963. (AP Photo/JR)

Mellon’s style favored classic, muted tones, reflected in the roses she selected. But the crabapples turned out to be a misstep. As they matured, they became so large that they shaded the sun-loving roses they were intended to complement.

In 2003, some of those trees were removed to allow sunlight to reach the failing roses. Over the years, various perennials were added and replaced. Dying roses were removed, and the remaining trees continued to grow.

Boxwood shrubs bordering the beds became threatened by boxwood blight disease, and the lawn developed drainage issues that prompted frequent replacements.

The remaining trees’ roots had grown so large that it became difficult to plant annuals in the borders without disturbing them. In addition, as walkway repairs became necessary, portions had been replaced, piecemeal, with various slabs.

A 2020 restoration brings new roses and various upgrades

Marine One, with President Barack Obama aboard, is framed by flowers in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, on April 9, 2010. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Then in 2020, first lady Melania Trump commissioned two architectural firms, Perry Guillot, Inc., of Southampton, New York, and Oehme van Sweden & Associates of Washington, D.C., to work with the Committee for the Preservation of the White House and the National Park Service to address those concerns and return the garden to its 1962 aesthetic.

They removed and relocated the remaining crabapple trees, and replaced the dwindling plantings with pastel-colored roses, including the white, tall shrubby “White House Rose,” the cream-colored “JFK Rose,” the white hybrid tea rose “Pope John Paul II,” and the “Peace Rose,” a smaller tea rose with a pale yellow center and light pink edges.

The team also upgraded the garden’s infrastructure, adding electricity for TV appearances and uniform, 36-inch-wide limestone walkways to accommodate wheelchair access and comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The shrubs were replaced with blight-resistant NewGen boxwoods.

Pavers replace the grass

President Donald Trump, far right, joins a luncheon on the patio in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on May 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

In 2025, President Trump revamped the space again, this time replacing the central lawn with a white limestone patio. He added solar-powered lighting, tables and umbrellas, and bronze statues of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton.

He has hosted dinners on the patio, and has called the space the Rose Garden Club.

And on the perimeter, the roses continue to bloom.

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Jessica Damiano writes regular gardening columns for The Associated Press. She publishes the Weekly Dirt Newsletter. Sign up here for weekly gardening tips and advice.

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For more AP gardening stories, go to https://apnews.com/hub/gardening.

The Dictatorship

PHOTOS…

Published

12 hours ago

July 6, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

President Donald Trump commemorated the 250th anniversary of America’s independence after storms prompted a roughly two-hour evacuation of the National Mall, with severe weather disrupting celebrations in several East Coast cities. People in cities including Chicago and New York celebrated with fireworks and music.

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This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.