More than three decades have passed, yet Dean Cain remains firm in his belief that Superman’s values perfectly capture the essence of the American way of life.

In the role of a lifetime, Cain donned the superhero cape for ABC’s popular series “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” becoming the face of Superman for millions across the United States.

Interestingly, Cain’s journey to Hollywood was almost a coincidence. Initially, he set his sights on a professional football career, even signing with the Buffalo Bills in 1988. However, fate had different plans, as a severe knee injury sidelined his NFL ambitions before the season began.

In recent years, Cain has stepped into the spotlight not just for his acting but as a vocal conservative. He freely critiques the Hollywood scene, often challenging the status quo in the entertainment industry.

“We’re the most giving, most compassionate nation in the history of mankind. And so, for me, it is truth, justice, and the American Way, and I believe in the American Way. We’re not perfect, we are always striving for a more perfect union, but I love this country,” Cain expressed to Fox News Digital.

“There’s no place like the United States of America. And so I’m 100% in on keeping this republic, as Benjamin Franklin said, ‘a republic if you can keep it.’ And we’ve had some ups and downs as of late. I’m very happy with the current administration, and I think we’re headed in the right direction.”

Cain argues that Hollywood is on the ropes and its woke chickens have come home to roost.

“Well, Hollywood’s kind of died … I mean, when I first started … there were three networks back then. My dad was a film director, so I knew everything about the business being around him. He said, ‘You can be an actor in television or you can be an actor in film’ … you had to pick one. That’s changed. 

“Then there was a time where you had to be a television actor to become a film actor. George Clooney. Johnny Depp. And then it was make a sex tape and you get a shot to make a movie. That was the Kardashian thing.”

“But it’s changed in that it has become very woke in that sense. It’s hurt the box office. Hollywood’s dying. I left Hollywood three years ago. Nobody lives in California anymore. Everybody leaves. The last movie I shot in California, I wrote, produced, and directed, and I shot it in California. 

“I just shot a movie in Alabama, I just got back from a movie in Texas. You know, it’s everywhere else. Hollywood’s behind the curve. And the ability to make these smaller independent films has been wonderful.”

He continued, “And all these different platforms to put things on, it’s always changing, it’s always evolving. Right now, I like the direction it’s in, because I think we’re coming out of the woke epic, if you will. And we’ll look back at this time and go, that was stupid. I hope we do.”

Cain argues that it is Superman’s small-town American values that make him a meaningful character.

“At the time, he was supposed to be the best part of America. He was hope. He was raised by a small-town couple with small-town American values, and that’s why he was the most moral guy on the planet. 

“There’s other versions of Superman where he was raised in Soviet Russia, and became this horrible, awful thing. And there’s other versions that have him as sort of a Jesus figure. I like the idea of him being raised with small-town American values because I happen to think they’re the best.”

Cain put his money where his mouth is when it comes to Hollywood, recently relocating to the Silver State.

“So the reason I left California was politics. It was the horrible regulations, the onerous taxes, it was insane. California … I could see it going off a cliff. Nevada, my parents had moved here two and a half years before I did, and they were loving it. They were having a great time, they weren’t paying state income taxes, prices for everything were so much lower. I was like, man, this seems great.”

He explained, “It’s the entertainment capital of the world, there’s sports, there are concerts, there is everything in the world here. I love it. And there’s a film industry here as well.”

Now that Cain has found a new home, his career may be pulling him in an entirely different direction.

“I got a chance to meet with Governor Lombardo. I think he’s done a fantastic job here. I have been asked to run for Senate here. I’ve been asked for governor here. If I think I can make Nevada better, perhaps I’ll do it, but I don’t want to be a politician, which is the exact thing that would make me or somebody like [Nevada third Congressional district nominee] Marty O’Donnell run for politics. 

“We were supposed to be citizen politicians, not career politicians, and so if I thought I could come in, do some good for this state of Nevada and for this country, I would do it and get out.”

He added, “If I feel like I can help people, I think that should be the metric for why people get into politics. Unfortunately, I think they get into politics for power, for money, and for prestige. I don’t need any of those things.”

Bryson DeChambeau has committed to playing in the third round of The Open, despite initially threatening to withdraw following a dispute over a two-stroke penalty.

The American golfer considered an unexpected withdrawal after his impressive second-round score of 66 was adjusted to 68 at Royal Birkdale. Officials accused him of violating the rules by allegedly improving his lie on the fifth hole, sparking his frustration.

While DeChambeau’s agent, Brett Falkoff, had not dismissed the option of his client withdrawing, the golfer has confirmed his participation. He will take the tee at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, determined to close the three-stroke gap between him and leader Lucas Hubert.

Expressing his sentiments on social media, DeChambeau, 32, remarked: ‘Obviously disappointed with the ruling. I don’t agree with it, but it is what it is. This fires me up. Onto the weekend. Let’s get it.’

The incident is set to be one of the most memorable in the long history of the Open Championship. After being informed post-round that a potential breach had been caught on television, DeChambeau demanded to return to the scene of the controversy via buggy, where he heatedly confronted two rules officials.

DeChambeau was visibly irate as he protested his innocence against what was later clarified by chief referee Grant Moir as an ‘inadvertent improving of the area’ behind his ball. 

Footage of the original incident showed DeChambeau wading through the long grass before planting his right foot directly behind his ball – an act that flattened the fescue and would have allowed an easier backswing.

After failing to satisfy officials that there had been no improvement to his lie, DeChambeau demanded to Daily Mail Sport photographer Kevin Quigley to ‘stop taking pictures’ before embarking on a further 30-minute discussion with tournament bosses in the scorers’ hut. 

Eventually, he emerged with a greeting of ‘how’s your evening’ to more than 50 waiting reporters before making no further comment on his way to the driving range, where he signed an autograph for a single waiting fan. He stayed until 10.30pm with no confirmation from his camp that he would play the next day.

Falkoff added: ‘The only comment I’ll make is that they just felt that he was not careful enough in walking around a sensitive area around his golf ball, so that he improved his swing path when the swing path was not even anywhere near the grass.’

DeChambeau will return on five under par, three behind Herbert, who equalled the lowest ever round at a major with a 62 – later matched by Sam Burns, who sits in a tie for fifth on five under, alongside DeChambeau.

Chief referee Moir said: ‘Bryson has been penalized two strokes for inadvertently improving the area of his intended swing, so intended backswing on the 5th hole when he was playing his second shot.

‘Ruling 1 restricts what a player may do to improve any of the protected conditions affecting the stroke, and this includes the area of the player’s intended swing. So an improvement means to alter one or more of the conditions affecting the stroke so that the player gains a potential advantage for the stroke.

‘Now, I’ll stress that this applies even when the action is accidental, as it was in Bryson’s case.’

The astonishing episode came after DeChambeau had apparently silenced Sir Nick Faldo’s pre-tournament barb that he brought ‘zero strategy’ to links courses. By carding scores of 67 and 66, prior to the latter being downgraded to a 68, he has established himself as a serious contender here. Now, his pursuit will draw even more attention after such a fevered conclusion to his second round.

While he was bashing balls after dark on the range, Herbert was reflecting on the round of a lifetime – he almost broke the major record outright only to miss a five-footer at the last. Having missed the cut three times in five previous cracks at the Open, the Australian, 30, ripped Birkdale to shreds in the favourable morning conditions.

Attention was only routed to the LIV after he completed the front nine in just 28 strokes. Thereafter he was followed by galleries three-deep.

‘One of my earliest golf memories was my dad waking me up to watch Chad Campbell in the first round in the 2009 Masters because it looked like he had a really good chance to shoot 62 and break the record at that time,’ Herbert said.

‘I sort of thought, if one kid gets woken up by their parents to watch me finish this round because that’s the record being broken, that would be so cool, and it would tickle me pink. I hope it happened. I hope some kid’s disappointed that I shot 62 and didn’t hole that putt on the last.’

Herbert will doubtless draw popular support, helped partly by having an English caddie, Nick Pugh, who is distinctive for his huge beard. As a quirk, he was also ordained as a means of officiating Herbert’s wedding last year.

It was impossible not to be charmed by that tale, even as the novelty was quickly accompanied by Burns, the American Ryder Cupper and Scottie Scheffler’s closest mate.

We are better used to Burns’s challenges for majors – the 29-year-old was seventh at the Masters and runner-up at the US Open last month. He putts like a machine and is on the cusp of his breakthrough, but here’s another detail: his daughter was born three days early on July 3, and had she arrived on the due date he would have swerved this tournament. As it transpired, he only decided to play last Friday.

Out of that rush, he has soared. His birdies on each of the final three holes matched Herbert’s 62, with the flourish of holing his last from a nasty bunker on the 18th. Unlike Herbert, a history buff who felt a record was possible from the third hole onwards, Burns didn’t know he had tied it until he left the course.

Detailing his late decision to play, he said: ‘I think it was probably last Friday (that he made the call). I thought there was zero percent chance of competing but my agent was like, ‘I’m just going to sign you up just in case’. I had a bunch of conversations with my wife, and she encouraged me to come over here and play, and here we are.’

At six under lurk Cameron Young and Jackson Suber, with Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm poised two further behind. The latter received a conduct warning after lobbing a club on the 15th hole of his 67. Matt Wallace, Bob MacIntyre and Alex Fitzpatrick lead the British charge at four under.

As for Rory McIlroy, he is driving well but his 67 was modest progress in the easier morning conditions. He will resume seven behind, but there will at least be some consolation from knowing the calibre of player that fell below the projected cut at one over par.

They included the winners of the past two majors – Wyndham Clark and Aaron Rai – as well as the hyped home challenges of Justin Rose and Matt Fitzpatrick. Rose could blame a bad neck; Fitzpatrick was left to bemoan a series of unlucky bounces and an inconveniently-placed bush on the sixth. His younger brother Alex might spare him some tips for next time.

Those stories all had certain amounts of merit during a chaotic day, and each was resoundingly eclipsed by how it ended.

CHICAGO (WLS) — In the heart of Chicago’s Loop, patrons at a local Taco Bell found themselves hesitating about their usual picks as warnings circulated about a cyclosporiasis outbreak. The concern centers on shredded iceberg lettuce, a common ingredient at select Taco Bell locations, now under scrutiny.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration traced the problematic lettuce back to a farm in Mexico. This farm is a supplier for Taylor Farms, responsible for provisioning not just Taco Bell but a variety of other establishments as well.

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Local diner Colten Sheehan, wary of the news, consciously opted out of any meal that included lettuce during his visit on Friday.

“I stayed away from the lettuce,” Sheehan remarked. “Didn’t want to take any chances, so it was fries and burritos for me.”

As another patron, Raniya Evans, recounted, the alert on her social media feed was enough to deter her from ordering altogether.

“Before I ordered, I was on the Taco Bell app, and then I got a notification from Tik Tok, so I just opened Tik Tok,” Evans said. “So I was like I’m not even going to take the chance.”

Illinois Taco Bell locations are not among those in five states where health officials have warned consumers not to eat Taco Bell shredded iceberg lettuce. The states identified are Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia.

The Food and Drug Administration has identified the lettuce as one potential source of a cyclosporiasis outbreak that has sickened thousands of people.

Alonso Zaragoza, who lives in the Belmont-Cragin neighborhood, said he has been sick for nearly a week and does not know where he contracted the parasite.

“I had all of the symptoms: sweats, chills, the diarrhea, a little bit of vomiting,” Zaragoza said.

Zaragoza said he does not believe he can determine where he became infected.

“I didn’t go to Michigan and eat in a Taco Bell over there, right, and even if I did, it doesn’t mean that that’s where I got it from cuz I went to Michigan on Saturday, you know, to visit some friends, and we didn’t eat over there,” he said.

Taco Bell said in a statement that “The affected ingredient has been removed from our supply chain nationwide.”

Taylor Farms said it is “voluntarily removing all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico from the U.S. market” and added that “No other Taylor Fresh Foods products” are affected.

Despite those actions, some consumers remain skeptical.

When asked how confident he was that the company had addressed the issue, one customer responded: “Not too confident.”