Happy Sunday, and welcome to the RedState Weekly Briefing — where we take a quick look at the week’s most viewed stories in case you missed any of them. What do you suppose caught people's attention in this busy, celebratory week? Grab a cup of coffee (or something stronger if you're so inclined) and sit down with this 21st-century Weekend Edition of your favorite (online) publication.

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#1 - EXCLUSIVE: New Bodycam Video From Paul Kessler Murder Scene Contradicts Defense's Claims — by Jennifer Van Laar

Alnaji, one of the leaders of a pro-Hamas contingent protesting against Israel in Thousand Oaks, California, on November 5, 2023, crossed two major thoroughfares to confront Kessler, who'd had the audacity to stand on a corner opposite Alnaji's group and wave an Israeli flag. As words were exchanged, Kessler took out his phone to video Alnaji, at which time Alnaji "decked" Kessler, according to an eyewitness.

Ron Bamieh, Alnaji's attorney, claims his client acted in self-defense and is “not a violent man. He was at a rally exercising his right to protest, a tragic chain of events followed.” He says, “Mr. Kessler approached the crowd and yelled at demonstrators to ‘stop beheading babies.’ When he turned toward Mr. Alnaji — phone pointed at him — Mr. Alnaji swiped at the phone with his hand, which was holding a megaphone. He inadvertently struck Kessler on the side of the head. Kessler then fell, striking his head on the pavement.”

#2 - With ‘Supergirl’ Officially Dead on Arrival in Theaters, We Perform an Autopsy to Show What Happened — by Brad Slager

This unimpressive reaction is reflected in the performance of the film over the weekend. The summer blockbuster films are often front-loaded draws, with Thursday sneak previews and Friday premieres pulling in large audiences. So Saturday returns can generally see a drop in the 12-25 percent range. “Supergirl” saw ticket sales plunge by over 41 percent on Saturday, and then 15 percent from that lowered figure on Sunday. That is a film not only failing to generate word-of-mouth favorability, but also a sign of repelling ticket buyers.

Beyond this, suggesting that American fanboys and critics depressed ticket buying was off base. Just look at the international markets to see that this movie was not playing abroad either. Last week, expectations were that the foreign box office would be around $40 million, but it managed only $30 million. More telling is that in not one single country did “Supergirl” land in the #1 position. This is a sign of an inferior product.

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#3 - Whoa: A Sacramento Insider Wore a Wire in Dana Williamson/Gavin Newsom Probe — by Jennifer Van Laar

Back in November 2025, when we learned that California Gov. Gavin Newsom's former chief of staff, Dana Williamson, had been indicted on dozens of felony corruption charges, one thing that stood out to me was that one woman at the center of the scheme "to divert approximately $225,000 in funds" from then-HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra's dormant campaign account wasn't charged with a crime. Named as co-conspirator 2 in the indictment, Alexis Podesta had taken over Williamson's book of business, including the Becerra account, when Williamson went to work for Newsom. 

Now we know the possible reason why: according to Williamson's attorney, MacGregor Scott, Podesta was wearing a wire as far back as June, 2024. Scott said, "Alexis wore a wire, and Dana did not."

That would also explain why there was a detailed transcript of a June 2024 conversation between Podesta and Williamson related to a lawsuit the state brought against Williamson's former client, Activision. Williamson is charged with making false statements to investigators based on that conversation, in which she fed Podesta information about the state's moves. She also orchestrated a settlement and had the state's Chief Counsel fired after counsel objected to the governor's interference.

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#4 - Hot Takes: John Cornyn Casts Shade at Americans Supporting the SAVE America Act—and It Boomerangs on Him — by Jennifer Oliver O'Connell

Unlike his other soon-to-be departing colleagues who have chosen rage and burning the house down over cooperation with President Donald Trump's agenda, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) is making a pretense at statesmanship, using his X account to wax philosophic and pontificate about matters before the United States Senate and the nation. 

But Cornyn can't hide his bitterness over being primaried after 24 years of holding the Senate seat. Cornyn's posts and reposts on X reveal the festering well burbling underneath. Like this clear shot at Early Vote Action founder and election integrity activist Scott Presler, who was instrumental in helping to primary Cornyn.

Grifter https://t.co/Nu22P8OXGp

— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) June 11, 2026

#5 - Rogue USAF Major's Speech Garners Progressive Praise, but I Don't Think They've Thought This Through — by streiff

This is not the left's first rodeo in encouraging the military to disobey, or outright refuse orders from an administration which the left opposes. During Gulf War 2.0, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius demanded that generals "push back" against Defense Secretary Don Rumsfeld's efforts to "transform" the military.

This only runs one way. When Marine Sergeant Gary Stein made disparaging comments about Barack Obama on Facebook, he received an other-than-honorable discharge and had editorials written against him. When General Stanley McChrystal and his staff made disparaging comments about Obama and his senile vice president in what they thought were private conversations, he was forced to retire. Marine Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Scheller was court-martialed, dismissed from the service, and fined for criticizing the Abbey Gate fiasco.

More to the point, I don't think the partisans of Major Watson have fully considered what it means to have large numbers of armed and trained men who are free to refuse to obey orders received from their commander-in-chief. I also think the left has really underestimated the number of officers and men who oppose their worldview. 

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