Amy Coney Barrett’s Mail-Ballot Mess Meets A Vault-Toilet Rescue

2:30 AM Fireworks A Red Card, And A Tricorn Hat

Today-in-music-history run. Dawn’s Big Three is teed up at the very end of the hour, with Dawn ready to take over at 10 AM with Trump accounts, market bells, and the next round of news.

Soccer Is the Socialism Of Sports

The 9 AM hour opens by continuing the 2028 political argument: before Republicans ask movable voters to join their side, Nick and Shawn say the first task is convincing them not to vote for socialism. After the break, the crew returns to JD Vance’s Bill Maher appearance, this time focusing on Vance’s answer about 2020, tech censorship, media suppression, and what it means to say an election is “rigged” without claiming every loss comes from ballot fraud. The debate gets an oddly perfect real-time twist when the YouTube feed drops during a censorship conversation. The Cut Sheet then moves fast through a North Charleston teen takeover video showing police officers attacked, a broader argument about parents and youth accountability, and a joking fight over YouTube chat bans and First Amendment claims. Dave Chappelle’s CNN Fourth of July appearance gives the crew another sharp turn, as Chappelle answers a patriotism question by pointing back at CNN and saying he understands why Trump gets mad at the network. Nick and Shawn argue that CNN expected a very different answer and got caught by its own setup. The hour’s final stretch runs through an anti-communism montage, self-described democratic socialists, DSA audio, Darializa Avila Chevalier’s old posts, and the crew’s warning that people should be taken seriously when they say what they believe. We also cover a Door Dash driver accused of killing a suburban Amazon worker, an 11-year-old named Avory Woolery saving a man from drowning,

Massachusetts, You Are To Blame

The Cut Sheet rolls into the 8 AM hour with the Pennsylvania booth fight still front and center. Nick, Dawn, Shawn, and Harry argue that Shapiro’s refusal to participate in the Great American State Fair is politically revealing, while Fetterman and McCormick’s bipartisan save gives Pennsylvania a display without taxpayer money. The crew connects the controversy to a broader question about Democrat governors, patriotism, and whether Shapiro is trying to protect his standing with the party’s left flank ahead of 2028. The conversation then turns to Wes Moore, socialist primary wins, and the way some Democrats try to dodge labels while the party’s activist base keeps pushing farther left. Dawn points out that Maryland is going big for America 250 while Pennsylvania initially sits out, which makes Shapiro’s decision look even worse. From there, the show shifts to a German World Cup fan who breaks down in tears after experiencing American kindness, giving the crew a chance to push back against the constant foreign and legacy-media narrative that America is dangerous, cold, or cruel. Philadelphia’s delayed Fourth of July fireworks become the next fight, as the crew reacts to complaints after the show finally goes off around 2:30 AM following storms. Nick questions why ordinary city chaos draws less outrage than late fireworks, while Dawn explains the real weather risks and cost of rescheduling. The hour closes with JD Vance on Bill Maher, where the crew discusses immigration raids, deportation messaging, worksite enforcement, border apprehensions, and Maher saying his 2028 vote is in play.

This Land Belongs To Only Me

Hour two opens with Crystal Cave jokes, stalactites, stalagmites, and a reminder that the Ben to the Shore Bike Tour is coming up on July 26 to support families of fallen and injured first responders. That leads into one of the heaviest local stories of the morning: the death of Pennsylvania State Trooper Michael Pahira Jr. Nick lays out the report that the truck driver charged in the crash, Michael Bon, is a Haitian national who entered through a Biden-era parole program, later lost status, remained in the country, and still received a Massachusetts CDL. The crew reacts with anger to the crash, the immigration status issue, the CDL process, and the way some outlets describe the suspect as a “Massachusetts man.” Dawn raises the question of how someone whose status is revoked keeps a commercial license, while Shawn argues that English road signs and driver communication are not political talking points but basic safety issues. Nick rejects the idea that this debate is rooted in bigotry and keeps the focus on public safety, border enforcement, and accountability after a preventable death. The hour lightens with holiday heat talk, Nick’s golf-course complaints, Dawn’s Midwest wedding trip, cooling towels, watermelon contests, Joey Chestnut jokes, and a new list of America’s most patriotic states. Nick and Shawn challenge the survey’s ranking system, saying patriotism should be judged by love of country rather than numbers that can be tilted by civic-service categories. Harry Mays joins late in the hour for Cut Sheet chaos, where soccer gets roasted, Trump’s FIFA call becomes a bit, and the crew unloads on Josh Shapiro for Pennsylvania’s missing America 250 booth before Fetterman and McCormick step in.

The Midterms Are A Final Exam

We start the morning with Nick Kayal back live on a Monday after the Fourth of July holiday, joined by Dawn Stensland, Shawn Farash, Phil Almquist, and Jimmy Kelly. Shawn immediately brings patriotic theater into the studio with a tricorn hat from Colonial Williamsburg, a mock land acknowledgement, and a full America 250 mood that sets up the morning’s larger theme. Nick previews the show’s main lanes: the midterms as a final exam, Josh Shapiro’s national spotlight, an update on a fallen Pennsylvania state trooper, a new patriotism ranking, Americans socializing less, and Harry Mays with the Cut Sheet. Dawn’s first news run centers on dangerous weather after overnight alerts, torrential rain, flooding, fog, and power outages across the region. She tracks the PECO strike, New Jersey heat deaths, Philadelphia police making arrests after protesters try to burn a large American flag with accelerant, and lawsuits tied to alleged toxic exposure at the former Frankford Arsenal complex. We also get updates on a Northeast Philadelphia barricade, the death of a Marsh Creek paddleboarder, and a CDC investigation into Cyclospora cases before the crew turns a gross health story into a ridiculous prop bit. The hour’s Big Take argues that the midterms are no longer just another political fight, but a test of whether America turns toward socialism or pushes back. Nick points to Democrat support for open borders, sanctuary cities, birthright citizenship, and candidates like Zohran Mamdani, AOC, Bernie Sanders, and Darializa Avila Chevalier as proof that the party’s leftward move is real. Dawn and Shawn respond by ripping the George Washington desk moment, Shapiro’s attempt to sound moderate on CNN, and what they see as a party now controlled by the very socialist and communist forces it refuses to reject.