FIRST ON FOX: SULLIVAN, ME – Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner declined to apologize both to voters and a Purple Heart recipient when asked by Fox News Digital about a deleted Reddit post where he said the wounded soldier «didn’t deserve to live.»

Platner did not respond at first when asked outside a market near his home whether he regrets making the post, which Fox News Digital reported earlier this week showed him mocking a video of Pfc. Ted Daniels taken during a clash with Taliban fighters in 2012 that ended in Daniels being shot four times and being awarded a Purple Heart. 

«I did four tours in the infantry, any attempt to say that I disrespect veterans is slanderous and offensive,» Platner said when asked follow-up questions about what he would say to any Maine voters who were offended by his post and if he should apologize to Daniels.

«Do you think you owe him an apology?» Fox News Digital asked again.

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«Do you know how many of my friends have Purple Hearts, do you know how many of my friends got wounded?» Platner responded, before adding, «yeah, a lot of them, thank you.»

Platner, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, sparked significant outrage online this week over the resurfaced Reddit post critics have said shows a lack of respect for his fellow soldiers.

«This video never gets old,» Platner posted in June 2019 using the Reddit account «P-Hustle,» which he has acknowledged owning, in reference to a viral video from the helmet Daniels was wearing while taking enemy fire.

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Maine Democratic Sen. candidate Graham Platner is facing renewed criticism over his deleted Reddit history. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

«Dumb motherf—–  didn’t deserve to live. At least his stupidity and fat a– wheezing are available for all future infantrymen to witness and hold in contempt. Poor marksmanship on the Taliban’s part is the only reason this mouthbreather made it home. He managed to make every possible s— decision possible when it comes to small unit combat.» 

Rob O’Neill, the U.S. Navy SEAL who is credited with killing Usama bin Laden, was one of many veterans to speak out in response to the post. 

«Mr. Platner was way out of line talking about a soldier that way,» O’Neill  told Fox News Digital about the controversy on Thursday.

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Graham Platner, the Democrats’ presumptive Senate nominee in Maine, holds an energy event in Ellsworth, Maine on Monday May 11, 2026. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

«This is completely barbaric,» O’Neill added. «I don’t understand. If you swear an oath to the country, it doesn’t even matter what the politics are. Every single time you fight it’s for the man next to you, it’s for the person next to you. Politics goes out the window. And to wish ill on someone like that under fire is just, you know, like I said, it is the opposite of everything I’ve ever been raised to believe.» 

Platner has previously leaned into his struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to explain the numerous incendiary social media posts that have surfaced since he announced his Senate run.

«For those of you who have read these things and been offended, have read these things and seen someone that you don’t recognize, I am deeply sorry,» Platner said in October before the post about Daniels, and other posts disparaging the military, were public.

«I’m sorry for this. Just know that it’s not reflective at all of who I am. I don’t want you to judge me on the dumbest thing I ever wrote on the internet. I would prefer if people could judge me on the person I am today.»

Daniels himself reacted to the post, telling Fox Business, «People like this don’t say stuff like this to my face.»

«It’s online, and that right there tells me, Graham, you’re a coward.»

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Platner became the Democrats’ presumptive nominee after his rival for the nomination, two-term Gov. Janet Mills, ended her campaign last month after trailing Platner in polling and fundraising.

The Democratic Senate Primary in Maine will be held on June 9, where Platner will appear on the ballot alongside Democrat David Costello to earn the right to face off against incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

Pope Leo unveiled the Vatican’s new encyclical, «Magnifica Humanitas,» warning that artificial intelligence risks becoming a tool of «domination, exclusion and death» unless governments and institutions place moral limits on the rapidly developing technology.

The Vatican is formally entering the global debate over artificial intelligence as governments and tech companies race to develop increasingly powerful AI systems with limited international regulation.

The pontiff invoked Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 encyclical «Rerum Novarum,» which addressed worker exploitation during the Industrial Revolution, arguing that AI represents a similarly transformative moment threatening human dignity.

«Today we find ourselves facing a transformation of similar magnitude, with perhaps even greater consequences,» the Pope said.

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The pope warned about increasingly autonomous weapons systems that are beyond meaningful human control. He also said AI systems could block access to healthcare, employment and security because of biased data. He compared AI governance to nuclear arms control.

«Like nuclear energy, it must be at the service of all and of the common good,» he said.

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Pope Leo XIV leads a vigil for peace inside St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on April 11, 2026. (Gregorio Borgia/AP)

The pope said disarming AI alone is not enough and called on governments and institutions to «build» systems rooted in trust and human dignity. Recalling devastating floods in Peru, he said rebuilding means restoring trust and hope.

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Pope Leo XIV leads the Angelus prayer from the window of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican on March 1, 2026, warning that escalating violence in the Middle East risks becoming an «irreparable abyss.» (REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane)

The pope also laid out the church’s broader argument about humanity and technology.

«The person bears within him- or herself a freedom, an interiority and a vocation to love and worship that no machine can replace,» he said.

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The Vatican is attempting to insert moral theology into a largely secular technological arms race.

«Stay awake,» the pope urged, warning humanity not to surrender moral judgment to machines.

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill and Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., met with the families of detainees being held at a migrant detention facility that critics say should be shut down amid «unacceptable» conditions and an ongoing hunger strike.

Kim and Sherrill, both Democrats, have asked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for access to the Delaney Hall center in Newark, where hundreds of illegal immigrants are being held.

«I’m back at Delaney Hall with @GovSherrillNJ and other members of the NJ delegation to meet with families of detainees and listen to community advocates,» Kim wrote Monday on X. «We’re working together to make sure they’re heard and to speak out with them. Delaney Hall must be shut down immediately. ICE cannot be allowed to continue operating in this way.»

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Fox News Digital has reached out to ICE for comment.

A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson said Kim personally called Secretary Markwayne Mullin, and that he was allowed in the facility to conduct his congressional oversight responsibilities. However, the spokesperson criticized Sherrill over he appearance at the detention center. 

«Governor Sherrill’s visit to Delaney Hall is nothing more than a political stunt on Memorial Day when visitation is currently suspended due to riots outside the facility,» the spokesperson told Fox News Digital. «Yesterday, approximately 125 agitators surrounded Delaney Hall Detention Facility, many carrying anti-ICE signs and Antifa flags. They formed a human chain around entrances to the facility and set up barricades, blocking all entries and exits.»

On Sunday, protesters clashed with authorities outside the privately run facility — which was revamped as an immigration detention center last year — where some detainees have gone on a hunger strike to protest allegedly poor conditions inside.

Sherrill said she was «deeply disturbed» by the conditions inside Delaney Hall, noting that she has always opposed private detention facilities and advocated against them.

«I will continue to call for the closure of Delaney Hall because of reports like these,» she wrote Sunday on X. «I have contacted ICE to gain access to the facility and my office remains in close coordination with our federal delegation and with advocates, and I commend their continued oversight and work to hold DHS accountable.»

Kim and Rep. Rob Menendez, D-N.J., arrived at Delaney Hall on Sunday but were denied entry. Critics of the facility allege that detainees endure squalid conditions and mistreatment from staff.

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The Delaney Hall Facility building is shown in this image. (StateCourt.org)

«In sum, Delaney Hall is dangerous for those being detained, their loved ones, and all who care about immigrants’ rights, fundamental constitutional freedoms, and democracy,» the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey said in February. «Yet in the face of these cruel conditions, community members and families have united in fierce opposition to Delaney Hall’s existence and the abuse of human beings therein.»

All detainees are provided with 3 meals a day, clean water, clothing, bedding, showers, soap, and toiletries, «DHS said. 

«Illegal aliens also have access to phones to communicate with their family members and lawyers,» the agency said. «Certified dieticians evaluate meals. In fact, ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens.»

«It is a longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care from the moment an alien enters ICE custody,» the statement continued. «This includes medical, dental, and mental health services as available, and access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care. For many illegal aliens this is the best healthcare they have received their entire lives.»

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Democrats have repeatedly called for Delaney Hall to be closed. In May 2025, protesters — including three congressional lawmakers and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka — gathered outside the facility and clashed with authorities. They allegedly rushed past security through the gates, which had opened to allow an ICE bus inside.

U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., faces a federal three-count indictment for allegedly assaulting, resisting and impeding federal law enforcement officers that day. She allegedly shoved and struck officers to prevent the arrest of Baraka.

At the time, then-Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin categorized some of the detainees inside Delaney Hall as «murderers, terrorists, child rapists and MS-13 gang members» while questioning why the lawmakers continued to advocate for them.