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Mamdani-linked Platner adviser’s history with nude photos surfaces ahead of crucial Senate primary
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A Democratic Party campaign strategist who recently went viral for doing damage control for Graham Platner amid his public sexting scandals has past writings that include comments about sending and receiving «nudes» and a footnote in a puberty guide for boys that he wrote, which referenced using images of his own penis.
Morris Katz, an up-and-coming New York City Democratic Party campaign strategist credited with being a major factor in New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s electoral upset last year, wrote on the Medium blogging platform in 2019, amid a separate Democratic Party sexting scandal, that he had both «sent» and «received nudes.» Katz also authored a 2020 puberty guide for boys that included, on page 17, a footnote saying that he initially considered using «images of my penis» to illustrate puberty before the publisher said it was inappropriate.
The resurfaced writings have drawn scrutiny over the last week from Maine Republicans after Katz was accused of trying to contain the fallout from the sexting scandal involving Platner that he exchanged sexually explicit messages with multiple women early in his marriage on Kik, an anonymous messaging app that has faced scrutiny over predatory behavior and child-safety concerns.
HOW MUCH BAGGAGE WILL DEMOCRATS ACCEPT FROM MAINE’S GRAHAM PLATNER?
The irony has not gone unnoticed by Republicans in Maine, who argue Katz’s past writings add another bizarre layer to a Platner campaign already struggling to move past allegations involving numerous scandals revolving around the candidate’s judgment.
Morris Katz, 27, has been widely credited with helping New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani complete his upset victory last year against Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa. (Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Jason Savage, executive director of the Maine Republican Party, told Fox News Digital that the combination of Platner and Katz is «like a sort of weird horror story,» arguing that both men appear unable to recognize «the guardrails of decency.»
«Morris Katz thinking that he was going to call up and intimidate Genevieve McDonald shows how bad his judgement is — he was never going to succeed at that and the fact he didn’t have the instincts to know better is just the first red flag of many for him,» Savage told Fox News Digital. «The combination of Morris Katz and Graham Platner is this weird horror story where neither one of them really understands the guardrails on decency. Neither one of them can recognize when there is a boundary.»
A Republican strategist, who is from rural Maine but wanted to remain anonymous when speaking to Fox News Digital, said the Katz controversy shows national progressive operatives are using Maine as a testing ground for an outsider-backed campaign that could ultimately weaken the seniority and resources incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins has delivered to struggling communities across the state.
‘MAINE’S MAMDANI’: MAINE GOP CHIEF ISSUES WARNING ABOUT NEW CHALLENGER LOOKING TO OUST SUSAN COLLINS
«This guy [Katz], who is unbelievably strange, comes in from out of state and tries to get this horribly flawed guy, like limping, pleading across the finish line. That is so arrogant,» the GOP strategist said. «The arrogance that it takes to come in and say, ‘I’m an out-of-state progressive socialist here to make some money off a flawed candidate bleeding in the polls,’ and then try to take that away from the people who really need it, you’re going to take away what Susan Collins has done and will be able to do for these people.»
Susan Collins (left) and Graham Platner (right). (Graeme Sloan/Getty Images ; Sophie Park/Getty Images)
Platner’s campaign has been dogged by controversies since he emerged as a progressive challenger in Maine’s closely watched Senate race against incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
Some of the most recent firestorms have centered on reports alleging Platner was abusive to an ex-girlfriend and that he exchanged sexually explicit messages with multiple women early in his marriage on the platform Kik. Platner’s wife, Amy Gertner, reportedly disclosed the messages to campaign officials during an internal vetting process, and the campaign has acknowledged the messages existed while arguing the matter was addressed privately between Platner and his wife.
SENATE CANDIDATE GRAHAM PLATNER SENT EXPLICIT TEXTS TO MULTIPLE WOMEN WHILE MARRIED, WIFE SAYS: REPORT
The controversy intensified after reports that Platner still had an active profile on Kik, an anonymous messaging app that has faced criticism from child-safety groups and law enforcement officials. The profile reportedly featured a shirtless mirror selfie of Platner with a towel around his waist, which Republican staffers later appeared to mock outside the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee by showing up in towels.
Republican staffers, including National Republican Senatorial Committee staffers, protest outside the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C., wearing towels to mock Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner’s reported Kik profile photo. (Nicholas Ballasy/Fox News Digital)
Platner had already faced scrutiny over a tattoo that critics identified as a Nazi-linked symbol, which he later covered up. Platner has said he was unaware of the symbol’s association with Nazis when he got the tattoo years ago, although McDonald has contested he has been aware of its meaning for some time.
Platner also apologized after old Reddit posts resurfaced in which he made a series of inflammatory comments about rape, race, political violence, police, rural Americans and military veterans. Platner has said his views have changed and that some of his past comments reflected a darker period in his life after military service.
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More recently, Platner denied allegations from a former girlfriend who accused him of abusive behavior, calling the claims politically motivated. His campaign has accused critics and national media outlets of focusing on private matters and personal attacks rather than the issues affecting Maine voters.
Fox News Digital reached out to Katz, the Platner campaign, Fight Agency, Mamdani’s team and McDonald for comment.
sex crimes, fund raising, zohran mamdani, republicans, campaigning
Supreme Court upholds Mississippi mail-in ballot law, legal experts analyze implications
The Supreme Court issues a 5-4 decision upholding Mississippi’s law allowing mail-in ballots to be counted post-election day if postmarked by the deadline. ‘Fox News Sunday’ anchor Shannon Bream and former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo dissect the ruling, highlighting it as a setback for Republicans challenging such state laws. They explain states retain significant discretionary power over election procedures, with potential for congressional oversight.
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Justice Samuel Alito cautioned on Monday that the Supreme Court’s decision to allow ballots received after Election Day to be counted could lead large sections of the public to view elections as illegitimate.
While Alito had legal concerns with the majority’s ruling, arguing that they misinterpreted when the «electorate’s choice» occurs, he closed his dissent by issuing a practical warning. Allowing late-arriving ballots to determine the outcomes of elections long after Election Day will, according to Alito, severely damage the trust Americans place in their electoral system.
«Not only is today’s decision inconsistent with statutory text, legal context, historical practice, and precedent; it also threatens to produce lamentable consequences,» he wrote. «The majority’s holding spawns a slurry of troubling election-law questions and risks further undermining Americans’ confidence in election integrity.»
SUPREME COURT RULES ON MAIL-IN BALLOTS RECEIVED AFTER ELECTION DAY
Justices of the US Supreme Court pose for their official photo at the Supreme Court in Washington, DC on October 7, 2022 (Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images)
Alito went on to describe a hypothetical scenario where the outcome of a presidential election hinges on a single state that allows late-arriving mail ballots to be counted. In the scenario described by the justice, one candidate leads by 15,000 votes on election night only for the opposing candidate to slowly gain votes and, a few days before electors are scheduled to vote, pull ahead by just under 100 votes.
«If the apparent winner the morning after the election ends up losing due to late arriving ballots, charges of a rigged election could explode,» Justice Brett Kavanaugh also noted during the case’s oral arguments.
Alito didn’t simply claim that the ruling could affect how people view elections; he argued that it could open the door for fraud.
SUPREME COURT RULES ON MAIL-IN BALLOTS RECEIVED AFTER ELECTION DAY
The US Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on, April 1, 2026. President Donald Trump is fighting to end automatic citizenship for children born to parents who are in the country unlawfully or on temporary visas, part of his broader crackdown on undocumented immigrants and a change that could overturn more than a century of legal precedent. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
«Today’s decision leaves open opportunities for voter fraud that may further undermine Americans’ faith in the integrity of this country’s elections. Diverse sources have recognized that mail-in ballots increase the potential for fraud,» Alito continued. «In 2005, a committee chaired by former President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James Baker found that absentee voting was ‘the largest source of potential voter fraud’ in American elections.»
While instances of voter fraud carried out using mail-in ballots have been recorded, there is no evidence that widespread fraud occurred in the 2020 or 2024 presidential elections.
Democrats, meanwhile, argue that allowing states to process ballots that are postmarked by Election Day but arrive afterward, is essential to ensuring that all eligible voters have a say in who governs them.
SUPREME COURT RULES ON MAIL-IN BALLOTS RECEIVED AFTER ELECTION DAY
Washington, DC – July 27 : Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) poses for portraits on Capitol Hill on Thursday, July 27, 2023, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images) (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
«I’m relieved the Supreme Court is not interfering with Washington’s mail-in ballot system,» Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., wrote on X. «If you work a shift job, have young kids, or live out in the woods, you can’t just knock off for the day to go stand in line at a polling place. For decades, Washington’s secure vote by mail system has made it easy for these folks to participate in democracy and make their voice heard.»
The majority, however, did not address whether or not allowing late ballots to be counted was good policy, stating that such a consideration is outside the scope of what the court has authority to rule on.
«Finally, plaintiffs assert that requiring ballots to be received by Election Day protects election integrity and increases voter confidence in election results,» Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote. «As we have said time and again, however, policy arguments are properly directed to legislatures, not courts.»
voter fraud concerns, politics, elections disputes, voting, supreme court
INTERNACIONAL
La lectura potencia el cerebro más que el ejercicio, el sueño o la cafeína, afirma una nueva investigación
Un nuevo estudio sobre lectura y actividad cognitiva sostiene que la alfabetización no se limita a descifrar textos, sino que reconfigura funciones mentales como la memoria, la atención, el procesamiento del lenguaje, el razonamiento e incluso el reconocimiento de rostros, según plantea Falk Huettig, investigador principal del Instituto Max Planck de Psicolingüística.
De acuerdo con la investigación, la lectura actúa como uno de los potenciadores cognitivos más poderosos y con efectos cada vez mejor documentados. La alfabetización transforma la manera en que las personas procesan el lenguaje, organizan la atención, usan la memoria, razonan e incluso reconocen rostros.
Huettig sostiene que la lectura recibe menos atención que otros factores asociados al rendimiento mental, como el sueño, el ejercicio, la nutrición, el manejo del estrés, la cafeína o la neuroestimulación.
El estudio reúne trabajos de psicología, lingüística, neurociencia y educación para ordenar esa investigación en una sola explicación. Su tesis central es que leer y escribir no son herramientas neutrales, sino prácticas que transforman de forma profunda la mente.
Uno de los hallazgos más llamativos del estudio aborda el reconocimiento de rostros. Una idea extendida en neurociencia planteaba que, como la lectura es una adquisición cultural reciente, su aprendizaje podría ocupar parte de redes visuales más antiguas, incluidas las dedicadas a identificar caras.
Huettig rebate esa hipótesis. Sostiene que aprender a leer puede afinar esas redes, en vez de restarles capacidad, al aumentar la sensibilidad ante rostros y otras categorías de objetos visuales.
Esa propuesta se apoyó en estudios con adultos alfabetizados y analfabetos en India. Según el investigador, esas pruebas confirmaron que las personas alfabetizadas reconocían mejor los rostros que las analfabetas.
El estudio también rechaza la idea de que la alfabetización sea una meta que se alcanza de una vez y para siempre. Huettig afirma que la competencia lectora sigue desarrollándose después de que una persona aprende a leer con fluidez.
A su juicio, la práctica continuada automatiza y refina esos subprocesos y su coordinación. Esa evolución, añade, hace que las personas alfabetizadas miren el mundo con un filtro distinto al de quienes no leen o lo hacen menos.
Huettig añade que solo una minoría alcanza los niveles más altos de lectura crítica en evaluaciones internacionales como las pruebas PISA. También subraya que el tipo de textos importa, porque llegar a esa lectura avanzada exige contacto regular con materiales complejos y habilidades sólidas de pensamiento crítico y razonamiento.
En el debate sobre formatos, Huettig describe un panorama menos tajante. Señala que metaanálisis previos detectaron una comprensión lectora inferior en pantallas, aunque atribuye parte de esa diferencia a la autorregulación del lector.
Su explicación es que muchas personas consideran el papel un soporte más apropiado para la lectura seria y, por eso, ajustan su conducta y su esfuerzo mental de otra manera. Aun así, advierte que la investigación disponible no respalda la conclusión simplificada de que el papel siempre ofrece mejores resultados que lo digital.
Sobre los audiolibros, el investigador reconoce beneficios parciales. Explica que pueden exponer a vocabulario poco frecuente, construcciones gramaticales complejas y estructuras narrativas elaboradas, pero remarca que el conjunto completo de ventajas de la lectura solo se obtiene con el texto escrito.
De cara a padres y educadores, Huettig cuestiona la tendencia a simplificar en exceso los textos para adaptarlos a un vocabulario más reducido o a una menor destreza gramatical entre los jóvenes. También alerta sobre una dependencia excesiva de puntuaciones de legibilidad generadas por personas o por inteligencia artificial, así como del autocorrector para buscar palabras o gramática “mejores”.
Su propuesta apunta en sentido contrario: dar prioridad a la buena escritura, a una prosa memorable y a un lenguaje complejo y poco común para sostener y fortalecer la alfabetización. El trasfondo, según plantea, es que está en juego mucho más que una destreza escolar.
El estudio cierra con una advertencia sobre el lugar de la escritura en los próximos años, en un contexto marcado por teléfonos inteligentes, aprendizaje en línea e inteligencia artificial generativa. Huettig compara el posible destino del texto escrito con medios que pasaron de uso general a interés de nicho.
Si la alfabetización sigue cayendo a escala global, el investigador prevé que también podrían deteriorarse las habilidades que hoy miden las pruebas de inteligencia. Aunque futuras tecnologías lleguen a aliviar parte de esa pérdida, considera poco probable que compensen por sí solas ese retroceso.
Alfabetización,Georgia,Educación,Escuela primaria,Tercer grado,Estudiantes,Niñez,Lectura,Docente,Crisis educativa
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