(The Hill) — On Wednesday, the owner of a Maine brewery announced his candidacy to replace Graham Platner as the Democratic Senate candidate after Platner faced accusations of rape and subsequently withdrew from the race.

Dan Kleban, who owns the Maine Beer Company located in Freeport, declared his interest in pursuing the nomination through a Substack post on Wednesday. Kleban had initially paused his Senate campaign last October to throw his support behind Maine Governor Janet Mills.

Governor Mills later ended her own campaign in April, citing financial constraints. This withdrawal left Platner unchallenged in the Democratic primary.

Kleban shared his motivations in the post, stating, “I’ve engaged with many Mainers over a pint in our taproom and across our community. People are exhausted with a system that’s been manipulated by corporate entities, and we’re fed up with Washington insiders and New York City consultants dictating our representation.”

He continued with a call for change, saying, “It’s time for fresh leadership in Washington, unencumbered by the establishment that has continually let us down.”

Kleban says now is the time to join the field of candidates for consideration to replace Platner after two of Platner’s ex-girlfriends came forward accusing him of rape earlier this week. 

The allegations led to more than a dozen Democratic Senators and aligned groups to withdraw their endorsement for Platner’s campaign. 

Platner’s supporters have pushed for someone with similar ideals to replace him as the Democratic nominee, although he hasn’t officially suspended his campaign. 

Kleban, who previously raised $458,786 for the Democratic primary, holds policy positions that are similar to Platner’s agenda.

“Over the next two weeks, we need an open, transparent process to select our nominee. I’m ready to fight for Mainers and bring a new generation of leadership to Washington. I believe I can unite our party and finally defeat Susan Collins in November,” he wrote in the Substack post. 

Other potential replacements for Platner include former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Nirav Shah, former state senator and executive director for the Maine branch of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Shenna Bellows and Jordan Wood, the former chief of staff to ex-Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.).

LeBron James remains undecided about his future team.

According to insider Shams Charania, James is not expected to announce his next team anytime soon. This delay is causing a ripple effect across the NBA’s free agent market, potentially prolonging the suspense for several weeks.

During this period, James intends to spend time with his family and friends while thoroughly considering his options for what would be a landmark 24th season in the NBA. Consequently, teams vying for his signature may find themselves in a state of uncertainty as they await the star player’s decision.

The list of potential suitors is also becoming more defined.

Charania has revealed that the Denver Nuggets have been eliminated from James’ choices. This development narrows the competition to five franchises: the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Golden State Warriors.

Each option comes with a different kind of appeal.

Cleveland offers the full-circle ending, Miami offers history and familiarity. Minnesota offers a ready-made contender built around Anthony Edwards. Joining Stephen Curry in Golden State offers the wildest basketball theater with two heated rivals on one team

Philadelphia has emerged as one of the more intriguing teams, with the Sixers reportedly making a serious pitch around a win-now core.

But none of that appears to be forcing James into a quick decision.

Rich Paul recently suggested the process would not move quickly, saying he did not think a decision would happen “anytime soon” or within the next few days.

That tracks with Charania’s latest reporting, which makes clear the NBA may be waiting on James longer than they would prefer as James decides which offers the closest thing to “complete happiness”

That is the difficult part for the rest of the market. James may be 41, but he remains the biggest domino available. Even at this stage of his career, he can change a team’s ceiling, alter the balance of power in either conference and force rival front offices to adjust their own plans.

The Warriors, Cavaliers, Heat, Sixers and Timberwolves can all make their cases.

James, though, still controls the clock.

And for now, the NBA is still waiting.

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Graham Platner, a Democratic contender for the Senate in Maine, has decided to withdraw from the race following a new accusation of sexual assault, adding fuel to an already blazing fire of controversies.

Despite denying the charges outlined in a Politico article, Platner stepped down after Jenny Racicot’s allegations surfaced on Monday.

In an 11-minute video on social media released Wednesday, Platner reiterated his denial of the allegations, but admitted that the overwhelming pressure led to the difficult decision to cease his campaign.

‘To ensure the movement progresses, it’s evident it must do so without me, prompting the suspension of our campaign,’ he explained.

He clarified that ending the campaign should not be seen as ‘an admission of guilt,’ but rather a consequence of power structures being dismantled by influential figures.

Platner added that ‘large forces’ were working against him ‘to accuse [me] of the worst thing a person could do,’ blaming the ‘corporate media’ and ‘political establishment’ for releasing it.

‘Accusations are supposed to be the beginning of things, not the end.’ 

Platner says the process to replace him needs to be ‘open, transparent and democratic’ and to reflect the will and values of people who supported him. He also lashed out at Democratic leaders in Washington, DC.

‘People in DC need to stay in DC,’ Platner said. ‘Decisions should not be made by people in places of political power.’

Maine Democrats have accused Platner of trying to choose his replacement as frantic liberals wait to see if he drops out.

Executive director Devon Murphy-Anderson accused Platner and his team of trying to ‘put his thumb on the scale’ in the choice to replace him.

‘We have repeatedly reiterated to Graham Platner’s team that they have no role in determining our US Senate nominee, nor in determining what this process looks like,’ she said in a video posted to social media. 

Murphy-Anderson said that ‘unfortunately, Graham Platner’s team has repeatedly reached out in an attempt to put their thumb on the scale of what this process looks like.’

Platner’s team denied the accusation and said they wanted no part in the process, just to make sure that those who voted and volunteered for him were included. 

He said he wasn’t leaving the race because of the false allegations but ‘because they are being used by the political establishment to put structural pressure on us.’ 

State law includes a provision for Democrats to replace Platner before the general election. The state Democratic Party held an emergency meeting Wednesday, where more than 100 state committee members signed off on holding a nominating convention, in the event of Platner’s withdrawal.

The new accusations were by far the most graphic and caused Platner’s campaign to come tumbling down. He lost one endorsement after another, and national Democratic groups said that they would not invest any money into the race if he remained the nominee. 

That prompted the party to hunt for a pick to replace him on the ballot.

Former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, epidemiologist Nirav Shah, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, and former congressional candidate Jordan Wood are among those being floated by party insiders as potential picks.

Jackson publicly backed allegations against Platner and called on him to exit the race, saying, ‘There is no place in our politics for sexual violence. Not in our party, not in any party. Graham Platner must withdraw from this race today.’

However, rumors have swirled about ‘troubling information’ regarding Jackson’s behavior.

Jackson has filed paperwork for an exploratory committee for a US Senate campaign, and even emerged  as a potential victor over Collins, 49 percent to 44 percent per one poll conducted after the latest Platner revelations.

Racicot, 41, told the outlet she had an on-and-off relationship with Platner for more than two years before the night when he showed up to her rural Maine home uninvited in 2021. 

Racicot, as well as fellow Platner ex Lindsey Fifield, sat down with CNN to discuss their alleged experiences with him as a partner as well. 

Racicot told Politico that she and Platner exchanged messages the night of the attack and she told him not to come over, but later that evening, she heard him letting himself into her unlocked house.

Platner came upstairs to where she was sitting on the couch and appeared to be ‘blackout drunk’ when he ignored her protests and started ‘grabbing my pelvis and being really forceful of me.’

‘I had been telling him these words, like: ‘No, don’t,” she told Politico. ‘And, the look on his face and realizing what was happening, I just realized that, like, I am in a situation where there’s no consent here.’

Racicot claimed that she tried to get away from Platner by going to her bedroom, but he followed her inside and had sex with her against her will. She said he ejaculated inside her despite her asking him not to because she was not on birth control. 

The alleged victim said that she went to the bathroom to clean herself up, and when she returned, Platner was already asleep. The following morning, she confronted him about the encounter, but Platner said he couldn’t remember. She asked him to leave and never contact her again.

Platner, 41, said in a video statement on Monday: ‘I wanted to directly address the troubling, serious, and false allegations against me. Any accusation of nonconsensual behavior is categorically false.’

‘Regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting, but mindful of the political reality it will inflict, we are taking the time to reflect on the best path forward for the state that I love, the people that I love, the movement I belong to, and the goal of defeating Susan Collins,’ he added. 

‘Those were the goals when I launched this campaign, and they remain my goals today.’

The married Iraq war veteran faced an immediate wave of left wing backlash, including from top Democratic lawmakers who pulled their support.

Representative Ro Khanna of California posted on X: ‘I’ve been very clear that sexual assault or violence against women is a red line. These allegations are very serious and credible. Graham Platner should drop out from the race. I am withdrawing my endorsement.’

Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona posted: ‘The allegations against Graham Platner are troubling and deeply serious. I am rescinding my endorsement.’

Left-wing streamer Hasan Piker, who is highly influential among Gen Z, said during his live stream: ‘That is curtains. That is the trifecta. Okay, that is the trifecta of a reliable allegation. It’s holy shit … I believe this, this accusation. I believe this allegation.’

If Platner dropped out of the race, Maine Democrats would have a short window of time to nominate a replacement for Platner, until 5pm on July 27.

He canceled a handful of events on Sunday and Monday, and additional reporting has indicated that he may have fallen short of his Q2 fundraising goals.

Racicot did not use the term ‘rape’ in her description of the encounter with Platner to Politico, but she did use it in a set of email conversations with a therapist when she referred to the incident as ‘sa/rape’, also using the abbreviation for sexual assault. 

Racicot had previously described instances of ‘reckless and unsettling’ behavior by Platner in an interview with the New York Times.

‘When I saw the old comments that he made online,’ she said, ‘I recognized a version of him that I had experiences with.’

The latest allegation is the most graphic, but Platner’s campaign has been plagued with scandals since last fall.

Another ex, Lyndsey Fifield, described several instances of physical intimidation she experienced from Platner to the Times.

Fifield, who worked for the conservative Heritage Foundation, said the two were in a ‘two-year, on-again, off-again relationship.’

Despite insisting that he ‘never hit me, he never punched me,’ Fifield said that Platner could become aggressive, particularly when alcohol was involved.

She told The Times he would regularly grab her by the shoulders — sometimes leaving marks — and once pulled her from a taxi by her wrist during an argument.

Fifield also recalled an incident in which he twisted her arm behind her back, pushed her into a bedroom, and held the door shut, telling her to stay there until she was ‘calm.’

Reflecting on the encounter, Fifield said, ‘It hurt,’ but also told the Times, ‘It didn’t cause an injury, it didn’t break my arm.’

Fifield also noted in her conversations that Platner would also speak about ‘rape’ in an odd and disturbing way.

‘He said this a lot: If anybody ever broke in here, I would rape them,’ she recalled, he added the act would be not be in ‘a sexual way, not in a gay way.’

‘He was like, I would rape them to show them that I’m dominant,’ Fifield said.

She also described how he kept an AR-15 lying around his Washington DC apartment and would sharpen an ax while watching television.

A third woman, a Maine Democrat who asked the Times not to be named, described the candidate as charismatic at times but also prone to heavy bouts of drinking.

She said she felt like ‘collateral damage to the world that is his.’

Democrats are hoping that Platner – an oyster farmer and Marine veteran dubbed one of the ‘rugged guys’ in the 2026 midterms – can win back working-class voters.

He’s looking to upset Republican Senator Susan Collins, but is facing major backlash from members of his own party who fear more scandals could emerge after the salacious texts were revealed.

Platner has faced numerous scandals since last fall, including the revelation of a Nazi tattoo that he has since covered up. Fifield also told the Times that Platner knew what the tattoo meant and called it ‘my Totenkopf.’

Fifield explained to the Times that Platner clearly stated his unit saw themselves as killing machines and drew a parallel with the Nazi Schutzstaffel, or S.S.

‘They literally, deliberately, selected it because it was relevant to their military unit,’ she said.

Controversial Reddit posts also emerged during the course of the campaign, which Platner himself has described as including ‘homophobic slurs, anti-LGBTQ+ jokes and sexually explicit stories denigrating gay men’ to the Advocate last year.

Another recent controversy stemmed from revelations that Platner texted other women sexually while married, and the discovery of a shirtless profile on Kik.

Platner has not denied the texts or the profile, describing the stories as ‘gossip’ and he and his wife have reaffirmed ‘a very happy marriage.’ 

Some Democrats, notably, have soured on him. Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman told CNN: ‘What kind of a creep has been on a platform like Kik, sending a dozen explicit messages – and who knows what else.’

Vermont’s Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts’ Elizabeth Warren have backed Platner despite all of his scandals.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters last month that he met with Platner during the candidate’s visit to DC, adding, ‘we’re going to beat Susan Collins and take back the Senate.’

Collins, the only Republican in the race, holds an independent streak that makes her both loved and feared.

She also represents an endangered species: a Republican who represents a state traditionally carried by the Democratic presidential nominee.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated on Wednesday that an undocumented immigrant, accused of murdering his coworker within a Michigan food processing facility, should not be granted release back into the public.

Valmir Djempsley, aged 20 and hailing from Haiti, faces charges related to the June 30 incident where he allegedly killed 21-year-old Brandon Eduardo Velasquez Chavez at the Clemens Food Group plant located in Coldwater.

The incident reportedly unfolded during a conflict between the two men, leading to Djempsley allegedly pursuing Chavez with a knife and stabbing him in the back. Djempsley claimed Chavez had headbutted him during their argument.

Chavez tragically succumbed to his injuries at the scene despite efforts from first responders to save his life. According to local reports, prosecutors highlighted that Djempsley was actively on a work visa during the time of the incident.

Djempsley entered the United States illegally through Texas in 2024, DHS said, and was subsequently released into the country by the Biden administration. He was charged with murder and has pleaded not guilty. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has filed a detainer request for Djempsley with local authorities.

“This illegal alien barbarically stabbed his coworker to death,” said acting DHS Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. “This murderer was released into American communities by the Biden administration. If it weren’t for the reckless open border policies of the Biden administration, this criminal never would have been in our country in the first place, and his victim would still be alive. 

“We have lodged a detainer asking Michigan to not release this dangerous criminal from jail without notifying ICE.”

At the time of the killing, the men were arguing over Chavez using one of Djempsley’s knives, according to an affidavit obtained by the Sturgis Journal.

Djempsley was denied bond and is being held in the Branch County jail.

“The defendant at the time of this crime was a guest in our country. He should have been on his best behavior, but instead, he spilled the lifeblood of another human being,” a Branch County prosecutor said in court. 

“This is the most serious violation known to humankind.”

Iran has announced plans to shut the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation to the recent US strikes on its territory. Tehran has pledged to launch two retaliatory attacks for every American target hit, as reported in a recent analysis.

Following President Trump’s declaration on Wednesday signaling the end of the cease-fire with Iran, Tehran cautioned against his renewed threats to attack. This warning came after a series of reciprocal strikes took place on Tuesday.

According to a source close to Tehran, as reported by Iran’s Press TV, “Trump will achieve nothing with his latest threats, and risks losing both the Strait of Hormuz and any leverage in negotiations for a final agreement.”

In an initial counteraction to America’s offensive against Iran’s coastal military facilities near the Strait of Hormuz, the Iranian military claims to have targeted 85 military locations throughout the Middle East overnight.

The American airstrikes followed Iran’s attacks on three vessels attempting to navigate through the Strait of Hormuz without authorization. Tehran has insisted on its complete control over this crucial oil transit passage as outlined in the memorandum of understanding.

With the aggression renewed, traffic along the Strait of Hormuz has fallen to a near halt, with only a handful of ships daring to cross on Wednesday.

The key trade route, which saw more than 130 ships cross daily before the war, had seen 108 ships cross the strait during the holiday weekend, according to maritime tracker Kpler.

As tensions remain high, Iranian officials dared the US to carry out more attacks against the Islamic Republic and try to take the Kharg Island oil hub, warning that such moves would result in American casualties.

“Come—we are waiting for you—and we promise that not a single American soldier will return alive,” Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesperson for the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee wrote on X.

Ali Akbar Velayati, Iran’s former foreign affairs minister, warned that Tehran “has its finger on the trigger” and will not “remain silent” under any provocation or humiliation.

Despite the repeated threats, Trump maintained that all-out war would not reignite because the US will always be able to hit Iran harder.

“I don’t think it’s going to start again. I think it’s going to go very quickly,” he told reporters in Ankara.

“They hit a couple of ships, and so we hit them much harder. When they hit, we hit 10 times harder, you know. We hit much harder than they do,” he added.

“I think anything that happens is going to be over very quickly, and we’ll only … make it safer, including for oil; oil is going to be very free, very easy, and easy, and it’s going to happen very fast,” he said.

The renewed fighting leads the Iran conflict into its fifth month after the president initially claimed it would only last a few weeks.

Sherrone Moore’s former executive assistant, who also had a personal relationship with him, has initiated legal action against the University of Michigan. This comes four months after she discreetly stepped down from her role within the athletics department.

On Wednesday, Paige Shiver and her legal team submitted a lawsuit in a Washtenaw County court, as reported by the Daily Mail. The suit contends that the university is deliberately withholding documents related to a $12 million investigation into the incident.

Shiver’s lawsuit, which demands access to specific records and seeks punitive damages, alleges that the institution breached the Freedom of Information Act. This follows the termination of the football coach for engaging in an improper relationship with her.

“Filing this initial FOIA lawsuit was crucial for our client to ensure that the truth and facts are revealed,” stated her attorney, Andrew M. Stroth, in an interview with the Daily Mail.

University spokesperson Paul Corliss has refrained from commenting on the matter.

Moore was fired in December after leading the Wolverines for two seasons following Jim Harbaugh’s move to the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers.

He was accused of confronting Shiver, with whom he had been having an affair, and blaming her for his firing. Authorities said she had previously ended the affair and spoken to school officials about it.

The coach was accused of barging his way through Shiver’s door, grabbing butter knives and scissors before threatening to kill himself. The 40-year-old father of three was arrested and charged with home invasion and stalking as well as breaking and entering. 

Moore pleaded no contest to trespassing and malicious use of a telecom device and was placed on probation in April for 18 months.

Shiver did not attend the hearing and released a statement saying the sentence ‘does not reflect the harm done to me.’

The plea deal came after attorney Ellen Michaels planned to aggressively challenge how police gathered and shared information to get an arrest warrant. She argued that police didn’t disclose that Moore and Shiver had a working relationship that involved calls and text messages.

Attorney Julie Murphy sent the university a series of FOIA requests, including the investigative file related to Moore’s firing, from February to June and each was denied by the school.

‘This public university paid Jenner & Block $12 million to investigate the Sherrone Moore scandal and the abuse, Title IX and Title VII violations within the athletic department and Schembechler Hall, yet now refuses to release the investigation’s findings,’ Stroth said.

Shiver and her legal team claim school officials are ‘arbitrarily and capriciously’ breaking the law by not providing the records related to Jenner & Block’s investigation. 

‘The lawsuit filed today demands transparency and accountability from the University of Michigan, President Grasso and the Board of Regents,’ Stroth added in his statement on Shiver’s behalf.

In the suit, Shiver claims that during her employment at the school, she was ‘discriminated against and subjected to a hostile work environment on the basis of her sex, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Michigan law including Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act.’

The legal action looks set to spark the next lengthy and expensive controversy for the embattled school, which is still reeling from Moore’s very public scandal.

It also comes just four months after Shiver quietly left her position in the athletics department in the wake of the scandal. 

Back in March, a department spokesperson told the Daily Mail that Shiver’s contract expired and she no longer works for Wolverines athletics. The spokesperson did not offer any more details on her departure from the program.

Shiver, 32, had been a visible part of the Wolverines football program as Moore’s executive assistant. She’s also the daughter of Bears scout Jeff Shiver, who has been a constant presence with the historic NFL team since 1987. 

After dismissing Moore, Michigan has since hired former Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham to take over the storied football program.