A veteran Democratic attorney is putting the legacy media on blast for falling short in its coverage of the "civil war" that has broken out between moderates and far-left socialists with the Democratic Party.

Julian Epstein, who served as the chief legal counsel for House Democrats during the Clinton impeachment hearing and later worked on Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, made waves last week declaring his support for Republican Mike Rogers over progressive darling Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan's Senate race. He laid out the case in a New York Post op-ed and later spoke to Fox News Digital.

"If you rely on [MS NOW] for news, I think you're basically illiterate and uninformed about what's going on, Epstein told Fox News Digital. "It's less true for CNN, but also true."

DEM ATTORNEY BACKS GOP HOPEFUL IN MICHIGAN RACE AGAINST EL-SAYED, 'JUMPING SHIP' FROM HIS PARTY'S 'LUNATICS'

He claimed the legacy media was covering the Democratic infighting while hinting at the possibility of a civil war down the road, when in reality, "We are in a civil war now."

"I think the news media is missing that, but I think more importantly, they're missing the nature of the extremism that is happening with the left, and they're missing the bigotry that is emerging on the left," Epstein said. "We've seen critical race is basically a permission slip for more bigotries. It's to divide, tell people the most important thing about them is race and then to start building public policy around that. That's what critical race is."

"And now that they have embraced Islamic extremism, they have gone one step further into a sectarian set of beliefs. And I don't think the news media is covering that, and they should be covering that," he said.

The media's heads would be "collectively exploding," he said, if a KKK movement took hold in the Republican Party in the same way "Hamas-aligned supporters" have among Democrats.

ROGERS OPENS DOOR TO DEMOCRATIC VOTERS AFTER EL-SAYED’S PRIMARY VICTORY: ‘THERE IS STILL HOPE’

Epstein continued, "But you see the most racist ethno-supremacist movement on the planet, which is the Iranian Axis, which includes Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis, that don't want peace, that have one goal, which is the redemption of a seventh-century caliphate. And the way to achieve that is through the slaughtering, the massacre of Jews first, and then the slaughtering or forced conversion of Christians after that. It is the closest thing to a modern-day Hitler. And the Democratic Party is aligning with that." 

The Democratic Party, MS NOW and CNN did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

UNEARTHED CLIP OF EL-SAYED REVEALING HIS 'HATE' FOR ICONIC MICHIGAN TOWN SPARKS ONLINE FIRESTORM: 'DARK HEART'

The longtime Clinton ally called the current movement within the Democratic Party a "road to Damascus" moment for moderate Democrats like himself, realizing that their party "does not have a moral center."

"It's trying to lean into a failed postmodern liberal set of ideas, ideology that has failed. And what they want to do is they want to blackpill the public with more identity politics and they want to grow a failing welfare state, which if you just look at what's happening in Europe. I mean, the welfare state is going to eat the continent. It's collapsing out of its own weight because of the welfare state in Europe," Epstein told Fox News Digital.

"So no, this is not a happy time, I think, for a Democrat, but more importantly, it's not a happy time for the country," he added.

Rod Stewart was forced to postpone a concert at the last minute due to a "minor medical procedure."

Stewart, 81, was expected to take the stage at the Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati on Sunday with Richard Marx as part of his "One Last Time" tour.

"Due to an unforeseen but minor medical procedure that required prompt attention, Rod Stewart's performance tonight in Cincinnati at Riverbend Music Center has been POSTPONED," the venue shared at the 11th hour.

BARRY MANILOW RESCHEDULES CONCERT 45 MINUTES BEFORE START AMID ONGOING LUNG CANCER RECOVERY

"Rescheduling is currently underway, with additional information to follow on Tuesday. All previously purchased tickets will be honored for the rescheduled date."

The venue added, "Rod is expected to make a quick recovery and looks forward to returning to Cincinnati."

Stewart's representatives did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

LEANN RIMES CANCELS CONCERTS DUE TO SEVERE ILLNESS, SAYS SHE IS 'TRULY HEARTBROKEN'

Earlier this year, the "Forever Young" singer canceled two Las Vegas concerts on doctor's orders hours before showtime.

"Following his doctor’s advice, Rod Stewart has regretfully canceled his performances at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on May 29 and 30, but is scheduled to return with shows beginning June 2," a representative told the Las Vegas Review-Journal at the time.

Stewart later apologized to fans in a statement shared on social media.

"My apologies to my family of fans. I am on vocal rest as I recover from a sinus infection," he wrote. "I look forward to seeing you at a future show at Caesars Palace or on tour this summer."

ROD STEWART TURNS TO OXYGEN TANK MID-CONCERT AFTER NEARLY COLLAPSING ONSTAGE

In June, the "Maggie May" musician canceled another show hours before he was set to take the stage.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

"Well, here I am in beautiful Chula Vista as the stage is being taken down around me. Following treatment, I’m feeling much better, but my voice is not," he wrote on his Instagram Stories at the time, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

"I’m very disappointed and sincerely apologise for any inconvenience to my fans. I did everything I could to make the show happen tonight, but unfortunately it just wasn’t possible. I will do my utmost to reschedule," he said.

LIKE WHAT YOU'RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

Later that month, Stewart "nearly fainted" mid-show and required an oxygen tank.

In a video obtained by TMZ, Stewart began to heavily lean on various pieces of equipment while still attempting to perform. At one point, he turned around and gave a nod to a team of people backstage who quickly tended to him.

One woman brought out an oxygen tank, while another put a cold compress on his neck.

"The show must go on," Stewart said in the microphone, before admitting he "nearly fainted."

Middle-aged adults who manage to avoid high blood pressure, diabetes and smoking can gain nearly 13 additional years of life free from dementia, according to new research led by NYU Langone Health.

The study, published in the journal Neurology Open Access, analyzed long-term health data to determine how midlife cardiovascular wellness shapes brain function decades later.

Minimizing these three common vascular threats between ages 48 and 68 dramatically postpones mental decline, according to the research.

ALZHEIMER'S BLOOD TESTS MAY PREDICT SYMPTOMS YEARS IN ADVANCE, BUT EXPERTS URGE CAUTION

"Our findings argue that people need to actively avert these factors in midlife as a strategy for preserving brain health for more than a decade," said Dr. Josef Coresh, the study’s senior investigator and founding director of the Optimal Aging Institute at NYU Langone, in a press release.

Identifying actionable ways to stall memory loss is vital, he said, pointing out that roughly 42% of Americans are projected to develop dementia after turning 55.

The reviewed data came from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study, an ongoing trial that began in 1986. It included a cohort of more than 12,000 dementia-free participants whose average age was 56.

POPULAR WEIGHT-LOSS DRUGS MAY HELP PROTECT AGAINST A DEADLY DISEASE, DOCTOR SAYS

After screening subjects for smoking habits, elevated blood pressure and diabetes, researchers tracked their health trajectories for an average of 26 years.

By the end of the observation window, 3,008 participants had developed dementia, while 5,238 died without cognitive impairment.

The study revealed a significant gap based on midlife health: Participants who avoided all three risk factors averaged 30 dementia-free years following their baseline exams. In contrast, those with all three conditions averaged just 17 years before developing dementia or dying.

Demographic trends were reported across sex and race. Female participants had longer periods of cognitive health than male participants, regardless of health risks.

Among subjects with all three risk factors, women survived an average of 18.1 years without dementia, compared to 16.6 years for men.

TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ

White participants with all three risk factors averaged 19.6 dementia-free years, while Black participants facing the same health profile averaged 16.0 years.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER

"These results suggest that vascular risk reduction may benefit all groups, but that certain populations, such as Black adults, may especially benefit from targeted prevention efforts," Coresh said, expressing hope that the data will motivate people to quit smoking and monitor cardiovascular health starting in their late 40s.

The authors noted several limitations to their findings, including that the observational design cannot prove direct cause and effect.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES

Additionally, health status was recorded during a single visit, and some potential midlife lifestyle changes were unreported.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., warned Friday that Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed could cost his party a must-hold Michigan Senate seat, escalating a personal feud over El-Sayed’s campaign style, opposition to military aid for Israel and alliance with far-left streamer Hasan Piker.

"He has put, you know, that seat in play," Fetterman said during an interview with The Washington Post. "And after Bernie Sanders and others created the disaster in Maine, and they pushed garbage person like Platner, and now they’ve pushed an individual like El-Sayed that’s been very proud of his very deeply anti-Israel views and proud to campaign with an avowed communist overall."

The Michigan contest is one of roughly a dozen races expected to determine control of the Senate.

El-Sayed defeated establishment-backed Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich. More than $80 million poured into the primary, the most expensive Democratic Senate nomination contest in history.

El-Sayed will face former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers for retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters' seat.

EL-SAYED PALS AROUND WITH FAR-LEFT STREAMER HASAN PIKER THE DAY BEFORE CRUCIAL MICHIGAN SENATE ELECTION

Piker had made repeated appearances with El-Sayed, including at a Detroit pool party the night before the primary. The streamer has previously said America "deserved 9/11" and praised Mao Zedong as "one of the great leaders of this world."

El-Sayed has said he does not share all of Piker’s positions but resisted calls to distance himself.

The Republican National Committee seized on El-Sayed’s ties to Piker, accusing Democrats of failing to confront the nominee’s political associations.

"El-Sayed is a terrorist sympathizer and an America-hating socialist. His refusal to distance himself from Hamas-hugging radicals like Hasan Piker reaffirms his true allegiance is to terrorist groups, not America," RNC National Spokesperson Natalie Baldassarre told Fox News Digital on Sunday.

She continued, "Democrats' refusal to disavow this clown shows they either share his poisonous ideology or they're too cowardly to confront it."

SEE IT: MICHIGAN DEM PREDICTS FAR-LEFT EL-SAYED WILL WIN SENATE RACE AFTER BACKING HIS PRIMARY RIVAL

Fetterman challenged El-Sayed to maintain that relationship as he moved beyond the Democratic primary electorate.

"I dare you to continue to campaign with people like Hasan Piker because he now will quickly find out it’s easy to campaign in the echo chamber as a Democrat," Fetterman said.

Fetterman's warning broke with Peters, who backed Stevens but who told Fox News Digital that El-Sayed would defeat Rogers because of the candidates' differences on issues affecting Michigan families.

"And in the end, that’s why he will prevail," Peters said.

The dispute turned personal after Washington Post host Kate Andrews played a clip of El-Sayed criticizing Fetterman’s approach to Midwestern politics and temperament.

DEMS' LEFTWARD LURCH GETS LEGS AS EL-SAYED'S MICHIGAN SENATE VICTORY SPARKS PARTY DEBATE

"Fetterman is probably the biggest issue. Fetterman is the sitting counterargument to the kind of Midwest politics that I think really can work," El-Sayed said. "He’s also just an a——. I try to give him the benefit of the doubt. It’s just he seems miserable, and he seems like he doesn’t like the job."

Fetterman answered by pointing to El-Sayed's conduct during the primary.

"He just has like this weird little man syndrome energy just going around insulting people," Fetterman said. "And, you know, that’s the kind of campaign that he’s run."

El-Sayed had sought to reassure Democrats before the primary that he would unite supporters of his rivals against Rogers.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE

"I think everybody understands what the stakes are. So I’m looking forward to welcoming everybody who might have voted differently in the primary," El-Sayed previously told Fox News Digital.

That unity effort suffered an early setback Friday when former House Judiciary Committee Democratic chief counsel Julian Epstein told Fox News Digital that he would support Rogers, saying the Democratic Party had moved too far left and "lost its moral center."

Fox News Digital reached to Fetterman, El-Sayed and Rogers for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.

The best fast-food burger in America can’t be found in every state, but it’s been named a fan-favorite for the third year in a row.

The Double Char burger from Habit Burger & Grill earned first place in USA TODAY’s 2026 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards, marking the third consecutive year the chain's burger earned top honors.

Habit was also voted the best fast-casual restaurant for the second year in a row.

"Charring burgers over an open flame since 1969, Habit Burger & Grill started in Santa Barbara, California, and has grown to include over 350 restaurants," USA TODAY reported. "Order the Double Char from the Habit’s California-inspired menu and get ready for two freshly chargrilled beef patties, caramelized onions, fresh lettuce, and tomato, pickles and mayo on a toasted bun. You can also add cheese."

About the restaurant itself, USA TODAY reported that Habit Burger & Grill has been offering "a diverse array of menu items spanning from chicken clubs to Caesar salads to ahi tuna filets, but the restaurant chain really shines when it comes to red meat," highlighting the Charburgers and the way they’re cooked individually over an open flame as their particular appeal.

The annual readers’ choice contest includes several travel and lifestyle categories nominated by a panel of experts and voted for by USA TODAY readers.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER

In-N-Out’s Double-Double burger came in second place on the survey, due, according to USA TODAY, to the item's "freshly baked bun made with slow-rising sponge dough, two slices of American cheese, two patties of 100% American beef, onions, tomato, lettuce and a proprietary spread recipe unchanged since 1948."

Coming in at number three was Freddy's Original Double, which USA TODAY noted is a classic sandwich offering "two savory steakburger patties loaded with cheese, onion, pickles and a healthy dose of mustard."

CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLE NEWS

The Papa Burger from A&W, "with two 100% beef patties and two slices of melted American cheese, plus lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles and A&W Papa Sauce on a lightly toasted bun," came in at number four.

Rounding out the top five was Culver’s double ButterBurger Cheese.

"This burger made Wisconsin a serious contender in the burger wars," USA TODAY reported. "It’s made with fresh, never-frozen beef seared to order and topped with real American cheese made in Wisconsin."

TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ

Shake Shack’s SmokeShack cheeseburger, the cheeseburger from Five Guys, Burger King’s Whopper, Wendy’s Son of Baconator and Whataburger’s Double Meat Whataburger also made the top 10 list, in that order.

Habit Burger is owned by Yum! Brands, the parent company of Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut. According to the chain’s website, there are more than 380 Habit locations across 14 states and internationally.

Habit Burger locations include Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia and Washington.

In the midst of sunshine and a summer breeze, in the land of the free and home of the brave, sit three men, all immigrants who fled their "Third World" countries running on the "nightmare" of socialist policies. 

"The record in my city was once that we ha[d] three days long without electricity. There were shortage[s] of water like every day. … It's a disaster," Emmanuel Rincón, who fled Venezuela in 2017, told Fox News Digital. 

"If you live in the USA … you are never going to experience that, and you're never going to be able to understand that.

"I have spent almost all my life under the Chavismo [Hugo Chavez] rule, and my family were always in opposition of the regime. So, I always understand the nightmare that socialism is."

TRUMP EXPANDS CUBA SANCTIONS BEYOND US COMPANIES IN MAJOR CRACKDOWN ON FOREIGN ENABLERS

"In Cuba, there is no water, no electricity, no freedom, no food, no salary, no clothes, no shoes, nothing," Eliécer Ávila, a Cuban immigrant living in Florida who fled the island in 2017 said. 

"And the little that there is is what [families living in the U.S.] send from here."

Ávila and his family were heavily censored, and they were fired from their jobs and banned from Havana, the capital of his home island, after a video was leaked to the BBC of him asking a series of "uncomfortable questions" to Ricardo Alarcón.

Alarcón is the former minister of foreign affairs in Cuba who was, at the time, the president of the national assembly of the country.

DEMOCRATIC GROUP LAUNCHES $15M WAR ON DSA AFTER SOCIALIST PRIMARY WINS: 'MORTAL DANGER'

"I was persona non grata inside the capital in my own country. From there, I started a movement of young people and students that were pro-democracy … which put me in jail more than 40 times," Ávila shared.

During that time, he was invited to a Latin American Studies Association (LASA) event with activists and human rights defenders from around the world. 

"After I came back [from that trip], the dictatorship didn’t let me enter back in, and they put me in one of the 50 most wanted terrorists. Me, who doesn’t even have a traffic violation, just because I wanted freedom for Cuba," he said.

EXPERT WHO FLED CUBA WARNS OF ‘VICIOUS CYCLE’ THAT WILL LEAD TO ‘COMMUNISTS IN DOUBLE DIGITS’ IN CONGRESS

Gene Maine, an immigrant who escaped the Soviet Union with his mother in 1981, expressed a similar sentiment. 

"[Growing up] I started noticing that all the propaganda on TV — the two channels that we had — didn't look right. It seemed like it was a lie. We grew up in what turned out to be the Third World," Maine said.

"All the trumpeting on the street of how great this is, how this is the best, how evil America is, how evil Western Europe is and how evil capitalism is. People realized that they couldn't speak freely.

"There was no religion. The only religion allowed was communism, which is a religion. Let's not have any doubts about it. It is a religion, it replaces Christianity, Judaism. That's the environment I grew up in," Maine said.

"These are not only dictators. They are also narco-terrorists. These are really dangerous people," Rincón added about Venezuela.

"I ha[d] to take out all my family from Venezuela. This is my history, but there are millions of histories like this in Venezuela. These are the things that the people in the USA (don't) really understand about socialism."

The Justice Department is accusing Duke University School of Law of favoring Black and Hispanic applicants over White and Asian applicants with the same academic records in its admissions process, which the Trump administration argues the law school used to meet its "diversity goals."

"Duke Law School doesn’t get a free pass to discriminate against white and Asian students simply because it thinks it has good intentions," Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said.

In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (SFFA) that it was unconstitutional for colleges and higher education institutions to consider a student's race in their admissions processes. The decision prompted the Trump administration to open investigations into alleged race-based discrimination at dozens of colleges and universities.

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ZEROES IN ON UCLA FOR ALLEGED ILLEGAL DEI ADMISSIONS AS ELITE SCHOOL CRACKDOWN EXPANDS

The Civil Rights Division, which began investigating Duke Law in April 2025, found that Black applicants who applied in 2025 had roughly 3.5 times the chance of admission as Asian applicants with the same academic credentials, according to a Justice Department letter sent to Duke Law. Investigators found that the median LSAT score for accepted Black applicants was lower than the median score for rejected Asian and White applicants.

"This consistent difference in the test scores between students of different racial groups is substantial and cannot be explained by a coincidence," the letter stated. "The magnitude and durability of these preferences across multiple cycles (including post-SFFA) confirm intentional discrimination."

The Trump administration’s review of internal communications found that the law school began preparing for the Supreme Court’s SFFA ruling so its admissions process could continue "to meet the Law School's goals for a broadly diverse student body."

For instance, Duke Law's post-SFFA guidance for admissions allowed officials to "consider applicants' discussion of how race affected their life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise." Applicants provided these discussions in short-answer essays, where admissions officials could then "tag" the responses to provide context for weaker academic records when evaluating applicants.

COAST GUARD ENDING RACE-BASED ADMISSIONS FOR OFFICER COMMISSIONING PROGRAM UNDER TRUMP DEI CRACKDOWN

Duke Law states that it values "students with a wide range of experiences, backgrounds, and interests that may not be directly related to their legal ambitions," encouraging applicants to "highlight different elements" of who they are.

"Using ‘diversity’ essay questions to identify preferred races for admission is still illegal discrimination based on race, and this Department is committed to eliminating it everywhere we find it, including in our nation’s law schools," Dhillon said in a statement.

After SFFA, Duke Law admissions continued to release reports highlighting the school's diversity and its efforts to achieve "race-neutral" admissions standards. In a May 2024 annual review, the associate dean of admissions highlighted the diversity of the incoming fall 2023 class, including the number of Latino, Black and Asian or Asian American students.

In the school's 2025 Annual Review Memorandum, the admissions dean suggested that the law school can gauge the diversity of its student body by observing students on campus rather than compiling formal statistics.

SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER

A Duke University spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the university is aware of the Justice Department's allegations.

"The Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division issued a letter of findings related to Duke Law’s admissions practices. We are reviewing the letter and its conclusions carefully. Duke is committed to complying with the law and will continue to do so in a manner that is consistent with our academic mission," a Duke University spokesperson said.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Justice Department for additional comment.