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WaPo 'smear' of highly-decorated Iraq war veteran, Senate candidate omits critical info

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WaPo 'smear' of highly-decorated Iraq war veteran, Senate candidate omits critical info

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EXCLUSIVE: The Washington Post is facing a backlash after the media outlet quoted three experts to cast doubt on the validity of a bullet wound sustained in Afghanistan by a top Republican Senate candidate, but omitted the trio’s ties to the Democratic Party.

Former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy, who is running to unseat Democrat Sen. Jon Tester, went to the emergency room after a reported fall in Montana’s Glacier National Park in 2015. Sheehy was asked about a bullet found in his arm during the visit and told a National Park ranger that he had accidentally shot himself with a Colt .45 revolver — but Sheehy recently revealed that he actually suffered the injury while serving in Afghanistan in 2012.

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Sheehy told the Washington Post that he never reported it to his superiors to avoid an investigation, telling the outlet that he was unsure where the bullet came from. He said he did not report the incident in an effort to protect his former platoonmates.

The Post, which began the report by claiming Sheehy left the bullet in his arm “as evidence of his toughness,” spoke with several individuals who called Sheehy’s story into question. Public records reviewed by Fox News Digital reveal these same individuals combined have donated thousands of dollars to the Democratic Party.

FMR NAVY SEAL RIPS BIDEN’S AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL AFTER MARK MILLEY GRILLED ON CAPITOL HILL: ‘ABJECT FAILURE’

Sheehy served in Iraq, Afghanistan, South America, and the Pacific region, receiving the Bronze Star with Valor for Heroism in Combat and the Purple Heart Medal. (Tim Sheehy for Senate)

Upon looking at an X-ray of the wound, which was provided to the Post by Sheehy, Joseph V. Sakran, a Johns Hopkins trauma surgeon and longtime Democrat donor, raised questions about the Republican Senate candidate’s story. Sakran told the Post that Sheehy’s wound “probably depicts a bullet, but it is not possible to tell what type of weapon it came from nor the age of the wound.” 

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Sakran previously worked as a Democrat staffer, serving as a health policy fellow for Democrat Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H. Filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) reveal the doctor has a long history of contributing to the campaigns of Democrat candidates up and down the ballot, including giving at least $21,000 to groups such as the Hillary Clinton Victory Fund, Hillary for America, the Democratic National Committee (DNC), and Biden for President.

Sakran’s website calls him a “nationally recognized activist coalition builder” and said his “activism first achieved national recognition when he founded Doctors for Hillary.”

DONALD TRUMP ENDORSES ‘AMERICAN HERO’ TIM SHEEHY IN BATTLEGROUND SENATE RACE

Sakran has also made public comments against former President Donald Trump, who endorsed Sheehy for the Montana Senate in 2024. Sakran wrote on Jan. 6, 2021 that the former GOP president “left an undeniably dark Stain on U.S. History.” Additionally, White House visitor logs reveal that Sakran has made at least four visits to the Biden White House.

“We aren’t shocked the Washington Post chose to cite known Democrats for their smear piece against decorated combat veteran Tim Sheehy,” a Sheehy for Montana spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement. “These are the same people that pushed the Democrats’ Russian hoax and pretend every day that President Biden is mentally fit and that our border isn’t in crisis. Tim Sheehy will defeat Jon Tester this November and will join President Trump, so we can drain the swamp for good.”

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Former President Donald Trump endorsed Tim Sheehy for the Montana Senate in 2024. (Sheehy for Senate)

The outlet spoke with another expert, former Air Force attorney Rachel VanLandingham, who questioned Sheehy’s hesitancy to report the incident. She said she believes it to be “very unlikely a years-old potential ricochet injury would compel naval investigators to open any kind of investigation based on a park ranger’s report.” 

VanLandingham has made multiple donations to ActBlue and Hillary for America, records show. Additionally, she has referred to Trump as a “terrorist recruiting poster child.”

VanLandingham, who said she is currently a registered Democrat but finds “both parties extremely problematic,” told Fox News Digital in an email that her political views never came up in conversation while contributing to the piece.

“My political views did not, and have never, come up in conversation with this reporter during this particular interview, nor in any others; again, my expertise is viewed is neutral, I hope, and I want to keep it that way,” VanLandingham said. “I have publicly criticized President Biden and certainly Secretary of Defense Austin in the past, and would doso [sic] again if my professional judgment deems it warranted.”

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She also added that she was appointed by President Trump’s last Secretary of Defense to the Military Justice Review Panel as evidence that she is known as “an unbiased, straight-shooting military law expert unafraid to speak her mind.”

Despite claiming she is “neutral” and that her “analyses are not based on politics, but on the law and facts,” a Fox News Digital review found several examples of VanLandingham attacking Trump and his supporters. 

“Trump is a terrorist recruiting poster child. Tx for making America less safe & w/ less real power!” she wrote in 2017.

In 2020, VanLandingham also wrote that “Trump’s call to label Antifa ‘domestic terrorists’ is dangerous.”

“Yeah welcome to the party I felt that way when racist thuggish Trump and his domestic & foreign enablers won the electoral college in 2016 – and that way during glorification of our deeply racist nation at Charlottesville the next year. Yesterday was not a surprise. Pathetic, yes” she wrote on January 7, 2021, the day after the January 6 Capitol riot.

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After contributing to the Post report, VanLandingham painted Sheehy as a “deeply flawed hero whose fitness for office is highly questionable,” in an April 6 post on X. The attorney has been a vocal supporter of Biden, calling his decision to select Vice President Kamala Harris as his running mate an “excellent” decision.

Vanlandingham shared a USA Today op-ed in 2021 from David Rothkopf, a vocal Biden supporter who has called Trump a “greater” threat to the United States than al-Qaeda. The op-ed was titled, “Trump and his supporters are dangerous enemies of American democracy.”

The Post also spoke with the director of the Military, Veterans & Society program at the Center for New American Security, Katherine Kuzminski, who said she “believed it was highly unlikely that a civilian hospital would report a years-old bullet wound to the Navy or that anyone would fear such a report would result in an investigation,” according to the report.

Kuzminski, who got a picture with Biden and the first lady in 2023 and has made multiple visits to the Biden White House, wrote in a 2016 post on X that Trump “is no Republican.”

She also said it was “unfair” for Republicans to criticize the military’s focus on diversity, telling the Hill in May 2023 that “if what we’re afraid of is Vladimir Putin thinking poorly of our military readiness because we enable pronouns, all we have to do is look at the outcomes on the battlefield that the Russian army is facing right now.”

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Sakran, Kuzminski, Tester’s campaign, Johns Hopkins Hospital, and the Navy did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.

The entrance to The Washington Post corporate building in Washington D.C. (ERIC BARADAT/AFP via Getty Images)

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., blasted the WaPo article as a “politically motivated smear.”

“A ridiculous, politically motivated smear,” Cotton wrote in a post on X. “Sheehy has a decorated record of service and he’ll fight Biden’s disastrous policies. That’s why the Washington Post is attacking him—they know he can win.”

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After publication of this story, a Washington Post spokesperson told Fox News Digital: “The Washington Post sought a variety of perspectives for this story to ensure a balanced account. We stand by our reporting and reject any notion of unfairness in our approach.”

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San Francisco, CA

Vigil held for 2-year-old girl killed in SF Mission Bay crash

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Vigil held for 2-year-old girl killed in SF Mission Bay crash


Walk SF and Families for Safe Streets held a vigil Monday evening to honor a 2-year-old girl who was struck and killed by a driver Friday night in San Francisco’s Mission Bay neighborhood.

The crash happened just before 9 p.m. at Fourth and Channel streets near Oracle Park. Police said the child’s mother was also injured and taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The driver remained at the scene, and authorities said drugs or alcohol are not believed to be factors.

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Community heartbroken

Community members gathered at the intersection Monday to light candles and lay flowers. Among them was the Howard family.

“We’re just heartbroken and sad,” said Hidelisa Howard.

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“I was thinking about heartbroken parents, someone who cannot get their daughter back,” said John Howard.

The intersection is designated as part of San Francisco’s 2022 High Injury Network, identifying streets with the highest concentration of severe and fatal traffic crashes. Speed cameras were recently installed in the surrounding neighborhood.

Jodie Medeiros, executive director of Walk SF, called the crash a tragedy, noting a previous fatal collision involving a child at Fourth and King streets several years ago.

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Traffic intensifies

Parents in the area said traffic has intensified with nearby events and development.

“We love having people here in the neighborhood, and it’s brought a lot of life to the area,” said Hidelisa Howard, who lives nearby. “But at the same time, we have people coming in from out of the area. They’re not familiar with the streets, they’re running the lights, they’re running the crosswalks.”

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District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey said the intersection has been problematic.

“Sometimes people go too fast. I don’t know that this was the issue here, but we need to do everything we can to make our neighborhoods and our streets safer,” Dorsey said.

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On Monday, crews with the SFMTA repainted crosswalks and re-timed traffic signals at the intersection.

“It just feels like there’s so many young children in this neighborhood that there should be improvements made to the way that the traffic flows around here,” said Aanisha Jain, a San Francisco resident.

 

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Denver, CO

Denver bans federal law enforcement officers from covering their faces, DHS says it won’t comply

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Denver bans federal law enforcement officers from covering their faces, DHS says it won’t comply


Denver city leaders unanimously passed a ban on all officers, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, from wearing face coverings while detaining or arresting people. That law also requires officers to wear visible identification.

It’s the second sweeping ordinance against federal officers in Denver in just a few days. Last Thursday, Mayor Mike Johnston signed an executive order banning federal immigration agents from operating on city property without a judicial warrant.

An federal immigration agent on Feb. 5, 2026 in Minneapolis.

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Stephen Maturen / Getty Images


 It also directs Denver police, deputies and fire personnel to investigate reports of violence and criminal behavior.

The Department of Homeland Security responded calling the executive order “legally illiterate,” adding, “no local official has the authority to bar ICE from carrying out federal law on public property … and while Mayor Johnston continues to release pedophiles, rapists, gang members, and murderers onto their streets, our brave law enforcement will continue to risk their lives to arrest these heinous criminals.”

DHS didn’t mince words when responding to Denver’s new face coverings ban either, saying in part, “To be crystal clear: we will not abide by a city council’s unconstitutional ban. Our officers wear masks to protect themselves from being doxxed and targeted by known and suspected terrorist sympathizers. Not only is ICE law enforcement facing a more than 1,300 percent increase in assaults against them, but we’ve also seen thugs launch websites to reveal officers’ identity.”

On the other hand, the Denver City Council didn’t mince words when it approved the ban.

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“It’s very disturbing to me, as an American, to see masked agents on the street,” said Councilman Kevin Flynn who represents District 2. “I don’t know what the best way is to enforce our immigration laws, but I think I know the worst way when I see it.”

“I said all along, this was a slam dunk,” added Councilman Darrell Watson of District 9.

Last month, a federal judge struck down a California law prohibiting federal agents from wearing masks. But, the city council says it made sure its ordinance is enforceable.

You have to treat all law enforcement the same,” said City Council President Amanda Sandoval. “So, our sheriffs can’t have masks. Our State Patrol can’t have masks. And federally you can’t have masks. And we delineate that within the ordinance which, that’s where California got the issue.”

Sandoval said she was monitoring the legal process and comparing the two ordinances to ensure they would be good to go.

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Although the city council believes the ordinance is constitutional, the Denver Police Department says it’s still working to determine what implementation could look like, and provided this statement to CBS Colorado:

“Our Safety departments are working with the City Attorney and bill sponsors to determine what implementation could look like. Of utmost importance is discretion and prioritizing de-escalation when encountering these situations. Our goal is to apply this ordinance in a way that builds trust and transparency without putting officers, deputies, or the public at risk.”

Coupled with the city’s new executive order, Sandoval believes Denver now has the necessary guidelines in place.

“A map for residents to understand predictability, and that’s what I always want, is what can the residents be able to rely on.”

There are exemptions in place for the ban, for example: during an active undercover operation, when gear is required for physical safety, and for personnel performing SWAT duties.

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Seattle, WA

Joey Daccord makes 35 saves as Seattle Kraken earn 2-1 win over Hurricanes

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Joey Daccord makes 35 saves as Seattle Kraken earn 2-1 win over Hurricanes


SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – MARCH 02: Andrei Svechnikov #37 of the Carolina Hurricanes shoots the puck during the second period of a game against the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena on March 02, 2026 in Seattle, Washington.  (Christopher Mast / NHLI / Getty Images)

Joey Daccord made 35 saves and the Seattle Kraken survived a 6-on-4 penalty kill for the final 90 seconds for a 2-1 victory over the East’s top team in the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night.

Kaapo Kakko and Ben Meyers each scored in the second period for the Kraken as they managed to beat a Hurricanes team that has the second-best record in the NHL, trailing only the Colorado Avalanche. The Kraken are now in a playoff spot by five points as they hold the No. 3 seed in the Pacific Division with 22 games to play.

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Nikolaj Ehlers scored the only goal of the night for the Hurricanes late in the second period, but Seattle was able to withstand Carolina’s offensive push in the final period to secure a second straight victory.

The Hurricanes are always a high-volume shooting team and Daccord faced plenty of chances. Carolina had 83 shot attempts to just 31 for the Kraken. Shots on goal were 36-15 in favor of the Hurricanes as well, but scoring chances were just 20-13 in Carolina’s favor as Seattle did a good job limiting the danger of the shots sent at Daccord.

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It was an eventful but scoreless first period between the two teams, with Carolina owning a 13-7 edge in shots. All three goals would come in the second.

Adam Larsson – who assisted on both goals for Seattle – deflected an Alexander Nikishin into the neutral zone to start a two-on-one rush chance for Kakko with Berkly Catton in support as Kakko ripped a shot through the armpit of Carolina goaltender Frederik Andersen for a 1-0 lead.

Kakko said he wanted to make the pass to Catton, but the lane was covered by Shane Ghostisbehere, so he elected to shoot.

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The Kraken earned a power play chance three minutes later on a tripping call against Eric Robinson. Carolina completely neutered the man-advantage for the first 90 seconds before the Kraken appeared to extend the lead.

With 15 seconds left on the power play, the Kraken rushed into the Hurricanes’ zone with Kakko finding a streaking Jaden Schwartz open on the back door for an easy finish behind Andersen. However, Carolina successfully challenged the goal for a missed offsides on Shane Wright that wiped out the goal.

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But the Kraken still managed to extend the lead soon after.

Jacob Melanson continues to be a spark plug for Seattle and helped restore the momentum immediately after the disallowed goal. On the shift coming out of the power play, Melanson delivered a big hit and connected with Adam Larsson on a breakout pass that sparked a rush. Ben Meyers crashed toward the net and was able to finish off his own rebound on a pass from Freddy Gaudreau to officially make it a 2-0 lead.

Melanson didn’t even get an assist out of the sequence, but was a big part of creating a goal for Seattle.

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After being extremely sharp defensively all night, Carolina finally pounced on an opportunity the Kraken were unable to turn away. Vince Dunn was just unable to control a loose puck in front of Seattle’s net as it landed on the stick of Nikolaj Ehlers instead, who snapped a shot past Daccord to make it a 2-1 game with 90 seconds left in the second period.

The Hurricanes took 32 shots in the third period as they attempted to find a tying goal, but only nine made it to Daccord, and he stopped them all. 

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Eeli Tolvanen was called for Seattle’s first and only penalty of the night – a holding call after breaking his stick – with 90 seconds left to play. With Andersen on the bench for a six-on-four chance for Carolina, Daccord stopped all three shots he faced to close out the win for Seattle.

The Source: Information in this story came from FOX 13 Seattle reporting.

MORE KRAKEN NEWS FROM FOX 13 SEATTLE

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