I really enjoy a good documentary, whether it's long or short. And if it’s about a small, niche aspect of American life - even better! Recently, I found two interesting bits of New York history that I wanted to share with you. I hope to send more of these your way in future dispatches.
The first mini-documentary begins in Georgia and travels to New York, chronicling the life of a NY Locksmith. It includes some cursing, so be mindful when you watch, but it’s a fascinating look into a specialized occupation in an extremely diverse and ever-changing city.
And the second doc is the type that breaks my heart. It’s the story of an American company, American Wood Column Corp, based in Williamsburg.
This 110-year-old company will soon shut down, but its unique history leaves an indelible mark.
This article on Ghost Towns (that still exist and have residents!) has beautiful photography. Bonus: these are open to the public!
Alright…let’s jump in…
50-year-old American missionary pilot Kevin Rideout has been released! He was kidnapped in October 2025 outside his home in Niamey, Niger, while working with the evangelical group Serving in Mission after nearly two decades in the country, but has been released and is now in U.S. custody and en route to the United States in good health. The release, a long-standing priority for the White House and U.S. Africa Command, and something we have discussed over on the Here Are The Headlines IG page, occurred under still-unclear circumstances, with uncertainty remaining about which terrorist or criminal group held him at the end of his captivity. Praise the Lord for this development!
JD Vance@JDVance
For years now, some hospitals and healthcare providers have been subjecting children to horrific, experimental treatments in service of radical gender ideologies. Today, thanks to the Wolves in White Coats report released by @HHSGov, we know why: profit. It turns out that
4:30 PM · Aug 13, 2026 · 2.1M Views
2.11K Replies · 8.34K Reposts · 39.6K Likes
BIG NEWS! Yesterday afternoon, the “Wolves in White Coats” report was released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The full title of the project is: “Wolves in White Coats: How Doctors and Hospitals Pushed and Profited from the Fraud of “Gender Medicine.” HHS commissioned it, and contributors include Aaron Kheriaty, MD, and Rachel Morrison of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, and others from groups like the Independent Women’s Forum. The report examines and exposes the huge expansion of pediatric “gender medicine” (puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries for minors) in the late 2010s and early 2020s. It argues that hospitals and providers had strong financial incentives to promote these treatments because they create lifelong patients requiring ongoing (and expensive) medical care. Also alleged is that some providers may have engaged in potentially fraudulent billing practices (think: using vague/alternative diagnostic codes) to secure insurance coverage, even some from Medicaid, that might not otherwise have been available for gender dysphoria-related care.
Some hospitals and clinics have been referred to the DOJ/HHS Office of Inspector General for possible investigation into federal law violations. Hopefully justice can be brought swiftly and fully.
EVERYBODY GET EXCITED: “Chick-fil-A is dishing up “newstalgia” with a limited fall lineup, and bringing back a sweet-and-savory classic. The move celebrates the chicken joint’s 80 years of perfecting the chicken sandwich — and adding some other classics along the way.”
Yummy in my tummy: “Starting Thursday, new versions of M&M's, Skittles and Starburst made without artificial food dyes are available to consumers on Amazon.”
JACKPOT: “A Powerball player in Illinois won the $1.04 billion jackpot Wednesday night, the game’s largest grand prize of the year.”
Disney adult dilemma: “An unabashed, unapologetic Peter Pan super fan is “harassing” the Disneyland actors portraying the beloved leader of Neverland, social media fears.”
I mean, at least she knew how to market it…: “The driver of the vehicle was arrested following the seizure of the stash of 469 kilograms (1,034 pounds) of cocaine on Wednesday, police said in a statement.”
—> Summary: “A former UC Santa Barbara student convicted of raping and sexually assaulting multiple women will spend at least three decades behind bars, capping a yearslong prosecution involving disturbing allegations of sexual violence at one of America’s top party schools. Arian Eteghaei, 24, was sentenced to 30 years to life in California state prison after a jury found him guilty of forcible rape and forcible sexual penetration, but not before authorities say he made a brazen run for freedom, bolting from courthouse custody moments after his conviction. His sentencing comes amid renewed scrutiny over sexual violence at UC Santa Barbara, which has been ranked the nation’s top party school by Niche for the past two years.”
—> Summary: “Florida teen Sophia Cover is safe and on her way home two weeks after she wandered off in the middle of the night without explanation and wasn’t heard from for more than 10 days before popping up at a friend’s house in New Jersey, some 1,200 miles away. ‘I don’t even know if there are enough words to express the gratitude I feel right now,’ the 16-year-old’s father, Rick Cover, posted on Facebook Wednesday with a video collage showing him and Sophia smiling widely while on their way back to Florida.
‘Today, I’m sitting on a plane, bringing Sophia home. After everything that has happened, just being able to look over and see her sitting beside me is something I will never take for granted,’ he said.”
—> Summary: “A California judge in the Bay Area released an illegal immigrant who had been in custody on burglary charges one day before prosecutors say he murdered a 68-year-old retiree in his Martinez neighborhood. Marcos Iriarte-Valdez had a prior criminal record and was facing burglary charges stemming from at least two incidents elsewhere in Contra Costa County, just east of San Francisco, when a judge in the Democratic-majority county ordered him released. The Department of Homeland Security told Fox News Digital it placed an immigration detainer on Iriarte-Valdez Sept. 23, 2025. The DHS said that Valdez was from Venezuela with citizenship in Spain.”
✨“Sixty cats and kittens have now been rescued from an abandoned sailboat that was found anchored off a beach in Washington state, police said.” (CBS)
✨“A person in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic has been fined $5,255 for using a foghorn to wake a sleeping polar bear, local officials said Thursday.” (CBS)
She’s gonna get a picture one way or the other: “A Colorado mom had her son “arrested” for not listening to her pleas to take a back-to-school photo on his first day of fifth grade.”
1040 – King Duncan I of Scotland is killed in battle by his cousin Macbeth, who succeeds him as king.
1385 – Battle of Aljubarrota: Portuguese forces under King John I defeat the Castilian army.
1457 – The Mainz Psalter is published (one of the earliest printed books with a complete date and printers’ names).
1791 – Traditional date of the Bois Caïman ceremony in Saint-Domingue (Haiti), which helped spark the Haitian Revolution.
1795 – U.S. President George Washington signs the Jay Treaty with Great Britain.
1842 – The Second Seminole War is declared over by U.S. Army Colonel William Worth.
1848 – The Oregon Territory is established by the U.S. Congress.
1851 – John Henry “Doc” Holliday is born in Griffin, Georgia.
1880 – Construction of Cologne Cathedral (Germany) is officially completed after more than 600 years.
1900 – International (Allied) forces enter Beijing to suppress the Boxer Rebellion.
1909 – The Indianapolis Motor Speedway hosts its first motorized event (motorcycle races).
1917 – China declares war on Germany and Austria-Hungary during World War I.
1920 – The 1920 Summer Olympics officially open in Antwerp, Belgium (first use of the Olympic flag and Olympic oath).
1935 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Social Security Act into law.
1936 – Rainey Bethea is hanged in Owensboro, Kentucky — the last known public execution in the United States.
1941 – British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt issue the Atlantic Charter.
1947 – Pakistan gains independence from the United Kingdom (Independence Day).
1948 – Idaho’s “Beaver Drop” program parachutes beavers into remote wilderness areas.
1959 – The American Football League (AFL) holds its first official organizational meeting.
1969 – British Army troops are deployed on the streets of Northern Ireland, beginning Operation Banner.
1971 – St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson throws the first no-hitter of his career.
1975 – The Rocky Horror Picture Show premieres in London.
1980 – Workers at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland, begin a strike that launches the Solidarity movement.
1980 – Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale are nominated for a second term at the Democratic National Convention.
1994 – Venezuelan terrorist Ilich Ramírez Sánchez (“Carlos the Jackal”) is captured in Sudan by French agents.
2003 – A massive blackout hits the northeastern United States and parts of Canada, affecting about 50 million people.
2005 – Helios Airways Flight 522 crashes in Greece, killing all 121 people on board.
2010 – The inaugural Youth Olympic Games open in Singapore.
2015 – The United States reopens its embassy in Havana, Cuba, after 54 years.
2021 – A magnitude 7.2 earthquake strikes Haiti, killing more than 2,200 people.
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