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Tom Dreesen, who along with partner Tim Reid formed one of America’s first interracial stand-up comedy duos and later spent years as Frank Sinatra’s opening act, died Wednesday. He was 86.

Tom Dreesen, who along with partner Tim Reid formed one of America’s first interracial stand-up comedy duos and later spent years as Frank Sinatra’s opening act, died Wednesday. He was 86.

As has been the case lately, a Bo Bichette hit spawns at least another from the veteran infielder. On this day he finished 3-for-4 with a walk, leading the offensive attack in the Mets’ 9-1 victory over the Reds.

When it comes to booting Big Oil from California, Democrats have been as ruthless as the Terminator.

Anger and anxiety filled a packed town hall Tuesday as hundreds of Altadena residents pushed back against proposals that could transform single-family neighborhoods devastated by the Eaton Fire. Nearly 450 people attended the meeting, where residents learned that 49% of properties sold in the burn zone since the wildfire have been purchased by developers, a...

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An iconic Southern California fast food chain expanded its brand to South America with a new pop-up shop.

Majority Of Americans Say It Would Be Good For Society If More People Were Religious: Poll

Authored by Victoria Friedman via The Epoch Times,

A majority of U.S. adults (65 percent) say they believe that it would be good for society if more Americans were religious, according to a poll by Gallup.

A man prays following an Ash Wednesday Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, on Feb. 22, 2023. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Gallup's Values and Beliefs survey, released on June 16, found a substantial gap between the sexes, with 70 percent of men agreeing that more religiosity would be good for the country, compared with 61 percent of women.

By age grouping, the younger generations were least likely to agree, with less than half (49 percent) of 18- to 34-year-olds saying it would be good if more Americans had a faith, compared with 66 percent of 35- to 54-year-olds and three in four (75 percent) of those aged 55 and over.

In terms of political affiliation, the vast majority of Republicans (94 percent) thought that having more religious people would be better for the United States, followed by independents (59 percent), and Democrats (51 percent).

"Nonreligious people are the only major subgroup that believes increased religiousness would be negative (55 percent) rather than positive (27 percent) for the nation," pollsters said of the findings of their survey, conducted between May 1 and 17.

Proportion Down From 2013

While nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of Americans say that more religiosity would be good for the country, Gallup noted that this proportion is down from the 75 percent of U.S. adults who expressed the same opinion when asked by the polling firm in 2013.

This 10-point shift reflects changes in opinion in most key demographic and political groups, mostly dramatically among women, 18- to 34-year-olds, those with some college, and Democrats - with all those groups shifting opinion by negative 16 points.

The only exceptions were Catholics (up 5 percent), those with no religious affiliation (up 3 percent), and Republicans (also up 3 percent).

The decline mirrors the decrease in religious sentiment across the United States.

According to Gallup findings from March, less than half (47 percent) of Americans say that religion is "very important" in their lives. The reading has been gradually declining from 58 percent in 2012. In 1952, this proportion was 75 percent, and 70 percent in 1965.

Religion Increasing Influence

The latest survey also found that Americans see religion increasing its influence in life in the United States, with 39 percent of U.S. adults saying religion's influence is on the rise. This is among the highest readings in the past two decades, only lower than 41 percent in December 2025 and 40 percent in September 2006.

"The recent increase began after Republican Party victories in the 2024 elections, with the percentage climbing from 20 percent in May 2024 to 35 percent in December of that year," Gallup said.

"The past two readings, from May and December, have been even higher since the GOP has been in office and governing."

Commenting on the findings overall, Gallup said that "while Americans continue to believe a more religious society would serve the U.S. well, fewer hold this view than did in 2013.

"This shift has come as the percentage of Americans who are religious are, by nearly any measure, near historical lows."

Pollsters added that the findings come at a time when the Trump administration "has sought to elevate the role of religion in public life, including by establishing the White House Office of Faith, beginning government meetings with Christian prayers, and encouraging federal workers to express their faith in the workplace."

White House Faith Office

In February 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing a White House Faith Office.

The office was tasked with working alongside faith and community leaders to develop policy recommendations for combating faith-based discrimination, strengthening religious liberty, and strengthening families and marriages.

In February of this year, Trump said during the National Prayer Breakfast that there were many signs that faith was returning to the United States.

"Religion is back, now, hotter than ever before," Trump said in his speech at the Washington Hilton on Feb. 5.

"Thankfully, as we gather today, there are many signs that religion is coming back. Now, it's no longer signs.

"It's just coming back; it's coming back so strong. You know, your churches are filling up."

President Donald Trump bows his head during the National Prayer Breakfast at the Washington Hilton in Washington on Feb. 5, 2026. Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images Tyler Durden Wed, 06/17/2026 - 21:45

San Francisco Giants team members committed the unpardonable sin of daring to think for themselves on Pride Night.

A day after advancing to a Republican runoff, megachurch pastor Jackson Lahmeyer suspended his congressional campaign on Wednesday amid a flirtatious texting scandal with a former Miss Oklahoma.

Los Angeles voters could soon decide whether noncitizens should have a path to voting in city and school board elections.

Clinton was one of several Democratic figures who has avoided directly commenting on the Maine candidate's scandals.

The 45-year-old doesn’t see a second U.S. Open win as “life-changing” as he prepares to compete at Shinnecock Hills in this year’s tournament.

The hottest topic in baseball is whether it’s OK for MLB players to have Bible verses written on their rainbow-inspired hats when the team is celebrating Pride Night. Appearing as a guest on “The Will Cain Show” on Wednesday, former MLB pitcher Roger Clemens suggested players should be able to vote whether they wear the...

Gavin Newsom is presumed innocent. He hasn't even been charged with anything yet — though he claimed earlier this week that federal agents have been questioning his relatives and associates.

Cloud has moved on from New York. Not that she necessarily had the choice.

From no worries to day to day to there’s still time, the USMNT's messaging around Christian Pulisic’s left calf injury has gotten more pessimistic.

A family-owned raisin company is distancing itself from one of its heirs after his arrest over a string of racist and antisemitic outbursts in the Pacific Palisades. In a statement Wednesday, Lion Raisins denounced the conduct of family scion Bruce Lion, 64, following reports detailing his repeated verbal attacks against Jewish neighbors. Lion’s home in the...

COVID Origins, Lab-Leak Accountability, And The Next Pandemic Threat

The Hudson Institute hosted Dr. Steven Quay on Monday afternoon for a discussion on COVID-19 origins, during which he presented genetic evidence from his new book, The Code as Witness, arguing that the virus originated through gain-of-function research in a Chinese lab.

Years later, there has still been no accountability for what Quay argues was a Chinese lab leak that killed more than one million Americans and caused U.S. economic damages in excess of $18 trillion. Nor has there been a unified U.S. government consensus on the lab-leak theory, let alone on potential consequences for China or Dr. Anthony Fauci.

In the roughly one-hour discussion, which was opened by Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), a leading voice for stronger oversight of high-risk biological research, Quay, a Hudson senior fellow, said features encoded in the virus's genetic material point directly to lab manipulation rather than natural zoonosis.

Quay warned that irresponsible and unregulated gain-of-function research is accelerating globally and could produce pathogens far deadlier than the one that caused COVID.

Last week, Outgoing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard declassified a set of internal intelligence slides documenting a long-running US program that has funded a global network of biolabs that handle dangerous pathogens - including dozens in Ukraine.

Returning to Quay's discussion at Hudson, he pointed to several genetic features he says are difficult to explain by natural evolution alone, making it impossible. These include the furin cleavage site, the virus's early optimization for human ACE2 receptors, the ORF8 gene, restriction-enzyme patterns, and the rapid D614-to-G614 mutation.

Hudson Senior Fellow David Asher, drawing on decades of national security and intelligence work at the State Department, spoke with Quay about the confluence of the U.S. government and scientists who censored the lab-leak theory.

Asher told Quay that, years after the pandemic, there is still no formal COVID commission that gives the American people a clear understanding of where the virus came from, who should be held responsible, or a unified government consensus on the virus.

The Quay-Asher discussion then shifted to the biosecurity policy. They spoke of the urgent need for accountability, biosafety reform, and risk reduction as gain-of-function research accelerates globally.

Even with no clear federal government consensus on COVID origins, a recent YouGov poll demonstrated sharp partisan divides among the American people: 80% of Republicans and 47% of Democrats say the virus came from a Chinese lab. Meanwhile, 66% of Republicans and 26% of Democrats think it is definitely or probably true that the virus was released on purpose.

The American people demand accountability. It is time for a COVID commission.

Tyler Durden Wed, 06/17/2026 - 21:20