The U.S. Senate has approved President Donald Trump’s first and only nominee to the Boston-based federal appeals court. Until recently, most of the justices on this court were chosen by Democrats and often rejected his policy proposals.
The Republican-led Senate voted 52-46 along party lines to make Joshua Dunlap, a conservative lawyer from Maine who often worked on conservative legal cases, a life-tenured judge on the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
As of Thursday, that court was the only one of the 13 appeals courts without any active judges appointed by Republican presidents. That has helped make district courts in New England a popular place for Democratic state attorneys general and advocacy groups to file cases against Trump’s agenda.
In his first term, Trump didn’t name any judges to the 1st Circuit. At the start of his second term, he almost lost the chance to choose one when his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, put forth a nomination to fill a seat that U.S. Circuit Judge William Kayatta had held.
But Biden couldn’t get Julia Lipez confirmed as his candidate before he departed office. Kayatta, who Democratic President Barack Obama appointed, formally became a senior in October 2024, just days before the presidential election that delivered Trump back to the White House.
In July, Trump chose Dunlap, a partner at the legal firm Pierce Atwood, to fill the open position. He said that if the Senate confirmed him, he would “fearlessly defend our Constitution.”
Dunlap got his bachelor’s degree from Pensacola Christian College and then went to Notre Dame Law School, where he graduated in 2008. During law school, he worked as an intern with what is now known as the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal rights nonprofit.
As a lawyer, he has worked on cases that have challenged Maine’s paid family and medical leave program, the state’s campaign finance rules, and the use of ranked-choice voting to run the state’s elections.
This is the second judge approved this week.
The U.S. Senate also confirmed a former clerk for conservative Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and the late Antonin Scalia to be a judge on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Republican-controlled Senate voted 52 to 45 in favor of Eric Tung, a partner at Jones Day. This made him the first judge President Donald Trump selected for the San Francisco-based appeals court during his second administration.
His confirmation brings the total number of judges Trump appointed to the 9th Circuit from 2017 to 2020 during his first term to 10. This weakens the power of Democratic appointees, who have long held sway on a court that was previously
thought to be the most liberal of all the federal appellate courts.
There are currently 16 Democratic appointees and 13 Republican appointees on the 9th Circuit, including Tung. In July, Trump nominated Tung to fill the seat that U.S. Circuit Judge Sandra Segal Ikuta had held. She stated in March that she would step down when a successor was named.
When Trump announced Tung’s nomination, he called him a “Tough Patriot” on social media and said he would preserve the Rule of Law in the “most RADICAL, Leftist States” like California, Oregon, and Washington. These are three of the nine states that the 9th Circuit has jurisdiction over.
Tung is a partner at the law firm Jones Day in Los Angeles. Before that, he was a federal prosecutor and worked for the U.S. Department of Justice.
Tung worked as a clerk for Gorsuch twice: once when he was on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals and again after Trump confirmed him to the Supreme Court in 2017. He had also worked for Scalia, who passed away in 2016.
Representative Jasmine Crockett’s latest complaint about Republicans has landed with a thud, and for good reason. In a recent rant, she declared, “It is so rich that the Republicans believe in small government, and this is the biggest government that I’ve ever seen.”The line was meant to sting. Instead, it exposed a stunning contradiction and left Democrats once again looking like they are spinning in circles, recycling talking points that collapse under the weight of their own logic.
For decades, Democrats have been the champions of expanding government. They push for bigger budgets, more programs, and new agencies. From healthcare mandates to sprawling climate packages, their answer to every problem is the same: let Washington do more and spend more.Now, in an almost comic twist, Crockett is pretending to be shocked by the size of government. The irony is impossible to miss. Her party engineered much of the bloat she now criticizes.From Biden’s trillion-dollar spending packages to the alphabet soup of new agencies tasked with regulating every aspect of life, Democrats have grown the federal footprint to historic levels.For Crockett to suddenly feign outrage is like an arsonist complaining about the size of the fire they just set.
While Crockett whines, President Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are actually doing something about it. Their plan is straightforward: cut waste, fraud, and abuse across federal programs. That inevitably means shrinking government size—fewer unnecessary agencies, fewer overlapping offices, and fewer taxpayer dollars burned on nonsense.
To ordinary Americans, this is common sense. To Crockett and her Democratic colleagues, it’s heresy. They depend on bloated programs and federal handouts to keep their voter coalitions satisfied.Yet when Republicans act to streamline government, Democrats flip-flop between claiming it’s authoritarian to dismantle bureaucracy and complaining that Republicans preside over “the biggest government ever.”This is where Crockett’s comment truly shines—in showing how badly Democrats are flailing. They constantly contradict themselves, performing what critics call “loop backs.” When one argument fails, they circle back to its opposite without embarrassment.They screamed for years that Trump was dangerous because he wanted to strip power from federal agencies. Now they accuse him of overseeing an oversized government.They opposed his tax cuts as reckless, only to later admit the economy grew. They attacked his border enforcement as cruel, only to now acknowledge illegal immigration is out of control under their own watch.
Crockett’s line is just the latest in this pattern of loop backs. She inadvertently admitted the truth—that government is too big—but failed to realize she was also condemning her own party.Crockett wants voters to believe Republicans are hypocrites for talking about small government. But in fact, Republicans are the only ones taking meaningful action to rein it in. By mocking the very effort to cut waste, she only highlights the Democratic Party’s addiction to bureaucracy.
Her rant also reveals something deeper: Democrats are running out of coherent attacks. With Trump delivering tangible wins—lower taxes, stronger borders, and now a campaign to slash government waste—Democrats are left shouting contradictions that even their own base struggles to take seriously.
The American people can spot hypocrisy when they see it. They know Democrats have long been the party of big government, and they know Trump is working to reverse that trend.Crockett’s attempt to flip the script only invites ridicule. She mocked Republicans for shrinking government while admitting it’s too large. She tried to score points but instead landed in a pile of her own contradictions.This is why voters increasingly view Democratic messaging as hollow. Every complaint sounds more like projection than principle. Crockett’s “biggest government I’ve ever seen” line may have been intended as an insult, but it reads as a confession.
Meanwhile, Trump and his allies are delivering results. Democrats can’t admit their failures, so they resort to confusion tactics, hoping nobody notices their contradictions.But people notice. Independent voters are especially sensitive to government waste, and Crockett’s comment only underscores how out of touch Democrats are. The more they try to spin, the more obvious their flailing becomes.Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s complaint about “the biggest government I’ve ever seen” was supposed to sting Republicans. Instead, it made her the punchline.She belongs to the party that grew government beyond recognition, yet now wants to pretend she’s shocked by its size. While Trump and DOGE are cutting waste and shrinking bureaucracy, Crockett and her colleagues are looping back into contradictions, exposing their intellectual bankruptcy.
She belongs to the party that grew government beyond recognition, yet now wants to pretend she’s shocked by its size. While Trump and DOGE are cutting waste and shrinking bureaucracy, Crockett and her colleagues are looping back into contradictions, exposing their intellectual bankruptcy.
Democrats wanted to land a punch. Instead, Crockett swung in a circle and hit her own party in the face.
The Nest in the Garage
I thought it would be just another ordinary morning—an in-and-out trip to grab the old red toolbox. Nothing more. But that day, I opened the garage door and stepped into a secret that had been growing in silence, right under our noses.
The garage wasn’t my domain. That space belonged to my husband, cluttered in a way only he understood. Tools hung on the wall, half-used paint cans stacked like forgotten relics, and a single bulb flickered above—casting everything in a hesitant, quivering light.
But something was different that morning. I couldn’t say what, exactly. Just a pull. Like something was… waiting.
I passed the shelves, stepping around a sagging box of Christmas lights and a collapsed camping chair. Then I saw it.
In the farthest corner, wedged behind the old cabinet, was something large—too large. At first, I thought it was a collapsed tarp or a dust-covered drop cloth. But then it moved. Not a full shift—just a tremble. A twitch. Like it was breathing.
I took a step closer. The air felt colder, and the silence in the garage deepened, as if the walls were holding their breath.
Then I saw it for what it was.
A nest.
Not a simple cobweb, not some light webbing spun in a corner. This was constructed—a dense fortress of silk, grime, and something that looked like cotton pulled into sinew. It stretched across the cabinet and onto the wall, a ghostly mass threaded like a living quilt.
And it was alive.
Tiny spiders moved across its surface like sentries on patrol. Some darted inside folds of silk; others sat unmoving, as if guarding the place. Then I saw the eggs—clusters of them, glistening white, tucked into crevices. Dozens. Maybe hundreds. Waiting.
Something deep and primal clenched inside me. I couldn’t scream. I didn’t move. I just watched—paralyzed by the realization that we had lived next to this. With this.
When I finally moved, I didn’t walk—I ran. Out the garage, through the yard, clutching my chest like I could rip the crawling sensation out from under my skin.
It took an hour before I could speak.
When I brought my husband back, I half-expected to be dismissed. He laughed at first—until he saw it. His face drained of color.
The nest was bigger than I realized. Fine strands reached into shelves, laced around jars, formed eerie patterns across the ceiling. This wasn’t a new arrival—it had been there, expanding silently. Thriving.
Suddenly, every ignored cobweb made sense. Every flicker of movement I chalked up to nerves. We hadn’t just missed the signs. We had lived among them.
He called an exterminator that night. When they arrived, even the technician took a long breath before stepping inside. He described it as a “colony”—a word that made my skin crawl all over again.
They dismantled it with practiced precision. Sprays, scrapers, suction tubes. The nest came down in heavy chunks. The eggs were sealed and removed. And yet… something lingered.
Long after they left, I couldn’t go near the garage. For weeks, I found myself glancing toward it every time I walked past. Even now—months later—my hand hesitates on the door handle. The exterminator swore it was gone. But I’m not sure the fear ever leaves once it’s made a home inside you.
What Lurks in the Corners
I’ve come to realize something since that day. We think of our homes as sealed worlds—places we control, clean, and curate. But that’s a fantasy. The wild doesn’t knock. It doesn’t wait. It finds cracks in the walls, holes in our routines, and thrives where we never think to look.
That nest wasn’t just a freak incident. It was a reminder.
A reminder that life doesn’t care about boundaries, that nature doesn’t need permission to reclaim forgotten places. We like to believe the unfamiliar is “out there.” But sometimes, it’s already inside. Waiting. Growing.
And all it takes to discover it… is opening the wrong door on the right morning.
What I uncovered in the garage wasn’t simply a nest. It was a quiet invasion. An ecosystem built beside our daily lives, invisible until it wasn’t. It taught me that even in the most ordinary spaces, the **extraordinary—sometimes terrifying—**is always a possibility.
Now, every shadowed corner carries a question. Every silence feels a bit too loud. Because behind the walls of our comfort, something else might be living—patient, hidden, and closer than we dare to imagine.
Daytime Star Jennifer Robyn Bernard Passes Away at 62
Jennifer Robyn Bernard, the actress who brought depth and heart to one of General Hospital’s most beloved characters, has sadly passed away in San Jacinto, California.
Best remembered for her portrayal of Terry Brock during the show’s golden era in the 1980s, Bernard leaves behind a legacy that continues to resonate with fans of daytime television.
A Face of Daytime Drama’s Golden Age
During her six-year run on General Hospital, Bernard helped define a generation of soap storytelling. At a time when the series captivated millions daily, she stood out—not for flashy dramatics, but for her honest, heartfelt performances.
Terry Brock, the character she played with quiet strength and vulnerability, became a favorite not just because of the scripts, but because of the soul Bernard poured into every scene.
Her presence on screen was magnetic yet understated, a rarity in a genre known for its over-the-top theatrics. She reminded audiences that even in a world of amnesia plots and love triangles, real emotion still mattered.
A Quiet Farewell
According to a report from TMZ, Bernard was found deceased in her California home earlier this week. As of now, the cause of her death has not been publicly disclosed. She was 62.
News of her passing has rippled through the soap opera community, prompting an outpouring of remembrance from fans, castmates, and industry colleagues who recall her professionalism, kindness, and the sincerity she brought both on and off screen.
More Than a Role
While Bernard stepped away from television after her time on General Hospital, her performances have endured through reruns, fan tributes, and decades of nostalgia. For many, she represents a time when soaps weren’t just entertainment—they were daily rituals, lifelines, and reflections of real emotional complexity.
Her contribution to that legacy is irreplaceable.
Gone, But Not Forgotten
Jennifer Robyn Bernard’s death marks the end of a quiet chapter in soap history—but her memory continues to live in the hearts of those who watched her grow Terry Brock from a supporting role into a character with lasting depth. She didn’t just act—she connected. She made people feel seen, understood, and moved.
In an industry that moves fast and forgets easily, Jennifer Robyn Bernard won’t be forgotten.
Her light, though gone, still flickers warmly in the memories of those she touched.