Skip to content

Articles by The Washington Times AI News Desk

Miss District of Columbia USA Kara McCullough, center, reacts with fellow contestants after she was crowned the new Miss USA during the Miss USA contest Sunday, May 14, 2017, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Ex-Miss North Carolina says Christian faith cost her the crown

Former Miss North Carolina USA Brittany Boltinhouse says she believes her conservative Christian faith and political views played a role in the pageant organization's decision to strip her of the title just weeks before she was set to compete nationally. Boltinhouse said, "I think and believe that my title was ripped from me because of my beliefs." She described herself as a proud member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a supporter of President Trump, though she said she does not know for certain whether her political stance factored into the decision.

August 8, 2026
Gas prices are displayed at a Sinclair gas station along Interstate 70, Thursday, July 23, 2026, in Golden, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Gas prices won’t drop until this happens, Trump says

Gas prices are still 36% higher than before the U.S.-Iran war started. Here's when President Trump says relief could finally come -- and why he's vowing to prosecute anyone who leaked claims the military is running low on ammunition.

August 7, 2026
Comedian Jeff Dye reacts before the ceremonial first pitch prior to a baseball game between the San Francisco Giants and the Philadelphia Phillies, Monday, April 14, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Comedian Jeff Dye blasts comic for scrawling insult on his Tesla

Comedian Jeff Dye said he caught fellow stand-up performer Laura Kightlinger scrawling an insult across his Tesla's windshield after the two performed on the same comedy show, and he says the moment was caught on his car's built-in security cameras.

August 7, 2026
Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter Freedom during an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Enes Kanter Freedom declares himself 2027 WNBA prospect, cites eligibility rules

Former NBA center Enes Kanter Freedom said he is declaring for the 2027 WNBA Draft, saying he has examined the league's eligibility rules and believes they make him eligible. "My team and I have carefully examined the WNBA's eligibility criteria and governing framework surrounding self-identification and inclusion," the former basketball player said. "Based on the current guidelines, I can and am officially declaring my eligibility for the upcoming WNBA draft in April 2027."

August 7, 2026
Torchbearer Jason Arday carries the Olympic Flame on the Torch Relay leg between Sutton and Merton, in London, July 23, 2012. (Joe Giddens/LOCOG/PA via AP)

Cambridge professor resigns amid probe into plagiarism, credentials

Jason Arday, who became the youngest Black professor in the University of Cambridge's history, resigned Wednesday hours after the university opened a fresh investigation into his academic credentials, capping weeks of plagiarism accusations that unraveled one of British academia's most celebrated success stories. One academic commented that Arday was hired "to be the face of DEI" at the university.

August 7, 2026
Andrew Tate, left, watches his brother Tristan speak, outside a police station in Voluntari, Romania, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)

Tate brothers’ lawyers seek release from Miami jail

Lawyers for social media personalities Andrew Tate and Tristan Tate asked a federal judge Friday to release the brothers from a Miami jail while they fight extradition to Britain on charges that include sex trafficking.

August 7, 2026
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani leaves a funeral service for fallen U.S. Army Sgt. Angel Sarah Rampersad, who was killed in the ongoing war between the U.S. and Iran, in the Queens borough of New York on Friday, July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy) ADDITION: Prepends Angel to full name

Mamdani booed off stage at Staten Island police event

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani got a hostile reception from the one borough that never warmed to him, drawing sustained boos and chants of "get out of here" less than a minute into his remarks at a Staten Island police event.

August 6, 2026
Olivia Rodrigo performs during the Glastonbury Festival in Worthy Farm, Somerset, England, June 29, 2025. (Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP, File)

Olivia Rodrigo teams with Planned Parenthood as abortion pill faces FDA review

Pop star Olivia Rodrigo toured a Planned Parenthood facility in Los Angeles and taped a series of advocacy videos with the organization this week, timed to promote her upcoming all-women music festival benefiting the nonprofit and other left-wing groups. "Even just walking around, seeing all the people doing various jobs here, it's just so inspiring," Rodrigo said. "They're all united in this common mission."

August 6, 2026
Burritos and tacos. File photo credit: sockagphoto via Shutterstock.

Burrito price fight splits GOP as midterms loom over affordability

A viral gripe about the cost of a burrito has turned into an open feud among conservative commentators over how the GOP should talk about affordability heading into the midterms. The fight started Wednesday when Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet relayed a complaint from a college student: "A burrito shouldn't cost $20." Kolvet added that the frustration was rooted partly in pandemic-and Biden-era inflation, but that "the lived experience is the same: It just feels like basic things cost too much."

August 6, 2026