Former Republican Leader Mitch McConnell reportedly announced on Thursday that he won’t seek re-election to the Senate in 2026.

In recent years, the 83-year-old senator has suffered multiple health scares, with many calling for his resignation. Over the last few years, McConnell has received medical attention for multiple falls, has been seen freezing up during press conferences, and was even spotted in a wheelchair.

Despite his long-standing service, McConnell has become a thorn in the Republican Party’s side.

McConnell has served in the Senate for over four decades after he was first elected in 1984. McConnell was also the longest serving party leader, presiding in the role for over 17 years.

McConnell announced that he would be retiring from serving as party leader in 2024 and was eventually succeeded by Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota.

Despite his long-standing service, McConnell has become a thorn in the Republican Party’s side.

McConnell has historically had a rift with President Donald Trump over the years. Most recently, the former leader voted against three of Trump’s Cabinet picks: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

It’s becoming increasingly clear that the Republican Party has outgrown McConnell, and he seems to have taken note.

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Vice President JD Vance took the stage at the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference, which began Thursday, to tout the Trump administration’s achievements within its first 30 days.

During a wide-ranging interview, Vance outlined three key accomplishments: significantly reducing border crossings, unleashing American energy, and reducing federal government waste through the Department of Government Efficiency.

‘We have to really unlock the engine of American growth.’

Vance joked that the only thing President Donald Trump has been unable to solve is CNN’s rating crisis.

“I do think that we’ve had maybe more executive orders than CNN has viewers,” he stated. “That may be the one thing I think the president has been unable to save: CNN’s ratings.”

Vance stated that thanks to Trump’s action, crossings at the border are down “well over 90%.”

“And we’re just getting started,” he declared.

Vance stated that the administration’s message to drug traffickers is to “get the hell out of our country.”

“Your free ride is over,” he added. “Unfortunately, you had President Joe Biden, who allowed you to run free over the United States of America. And Donald Trump has said you’re terrorist organizations. We’re going to go after you.”

Vance also discussed the administration’s efforts to ensure the country’s energy independence.

“[Trump] recognizes that we have to really unlock the engine of American growth. We’ve got to get back to having a growing economy that creates good jobs and high wages for the American people, and a lot of that goes back to ‘drill, baby, drill,'” Vance continued. “We’ve done more on energy under President Trump’s leadership than, I think, any administration in history. And that’s not an exaggeration.”

He noted that Trump has also already made significant progress in slashing government waste.

“I think the third thing that he’s tried to do, of course, with the help of Elon [Musk] and all the great folks at DOGE, is ask, what are we doing with all of the American taxpayers’ money and, why are we wasting so much of it on the garbage that the American people either aren’t aware that we’re spending it on or don’t want to be spending it on in the first place?” Vance said. “Why are we spending money on progressive modern art projects centered around toilets in Afghanistan? That’s actually something that your tax dollars were funding until very recently.”

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Tensions continue to rise ahead of the Canada vs. USA 4 Nations Face-Off final on Thursday night with the two teams taking personal jabs at each other off the ice.

USA’s 3-1 win last Saturday caught the eye of millions who saw three fights in the first nine seconds of the game. Two of the fights featured American stars, and brothers, Matthew and Brady Tkachuk, with Brady having revealed that the Americans texted each other before the game about their plans to have multiple fights.

On the Canadian side, fighter Brandon Hagel said he fought with Matthew Tkachuk out of national pride and then took a dig at the Americans.

“Listen, what happened the other night, I did it for the flag and not for the cameras,” Hagel said. “We don’t have any group chats going on,” he added, per OutKick.

‘Maybe their team doesn’t like each other.’

On Wednesday, Matthew Tkachuk was asked for his reaction to Hagel’s comments and suggested that maybe Team Canada doesn’t get along as well if they aren’t chatting.

“Well, I mean, maybe their team doesn’t like each other then if they don’t have group chats,” Tkachuk told reporters. “I think that’s just a player, enjoying this opportunity. So I think that our team does not care about anything that they say, and there’s been a lot of chatter and talk from individuals.”

The 27-year-old went on to say that Team USA only has one concern: the millions of fans watching and supporting them around the country. He added that the team is “very prideful,” and he feels his squad has the “opportunity of a lifetime.”

There was also a lot of speculation as to whether or not President Trump would attend Thursday night’s final at TD Garden in Boston. However, in a post to Truth Social, the president revealed he would be watching, not attending.

“I will be speaking before the Governors tonight in D.C., and will sadly, therefore, be unable to attend,” Trump explained.

The president said he would be calling Team USA, though, in an attempt to “spur them on towards victory tonight against Canada,” adding, “which with FAR LOWER TAXES AND MUCH STRONGER SECURITY, will someday, maybe soon, become our cherished, and very important, Fifty First State.”

— (@)

The 47th president even invited “Governor Trudeau” to attend his watch party.

“He would be most welcome. Good luck to everybody, and have a GREAT game tonight. So exciting!”

Canada vs. USA airs at 8 p.m. Eastern Time on ESPN, ESPN+, and Disney+.

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An arm of the Presbyterian Church in America, a conservative Reformed denomination, is repenting for posting guidance to help illegal immigrants elude detainment.

Last week, Mission to North America — a resource and mission arm of the PCA — received intense backlash on social media after people noticed a page on its website dedicated to assisting illegal immigrants to dodge authorities and immigration enforcement.

‘Encouraging folks to deceive the government is not something the church needs to be doing.’

In an FAQ section of the since-deleted resource page, the MNA advised illegal immigrants “not to carry documentation showing your country of origin” and, if contacted by immigration authorities, to “show an identity document that does not include your country of birth or citizenship.”

The page even coached immigrants on how to decrease their chances of being deported if detained.

“If you were granted parole or have been in the U.S. for less than two years and you fear returning to your home country, tell the officer you are afraid to go back,” the page said. “You should get a Credible Fear Interview as a result. If the officer denies your Credible Fear Interview, ask for the chance for an immigration judge to review your fear.”

— (@)

The page even advised people to “report raids” — which could be viewed as obstructing justice — and declared that President Donald Trump lacks constitutional authority to end birthright citizenship, an open legal question.

Zachary Groff, a PCA pastor and a member of the committee that oversees MNA, said PCA members reacted with “alarm and outcry against what is a grave error in judgment” when made aware of the resource page.

“The rank and file of the PCA is not at all pleased or supportive of what was published. People are very, very alarmed and understandably upset,” he told the Christian Post.

How did leaders respond?

After backlash accelerated, the PCA quickly deleted the resource page and issued a full apology.

“MNA’s leadership erroneously allowed the posting of content that advised undocumented persons on ways to avoid being detained by authorities,” said MNA director Irwyn Ince.

Such guidance, Ince admitted, contracts Scripture and the Westminster Confession of Faith.

“We affirm that it is our Christian duty to obey the lawful commands of the civil magistrate and be subject to their authority (WCF 23.4; Romans 13:1-4; 1 Peter 2:13-14). To counsel otherwise is a sin,” Ince explained.

“We confess that we fell short of our biblical and Confessional standard. We repent and apologize,” he said. “We also apologize for causing confusion and consternation in our church. We have removed all the previously posted information from our website.”

While repentance is biblical and good, PCA Pastor Ryan Biese, host of the PCA-focused “Westminster Standard Podcast,” said the PCA needs to take more drastic action over the “reckless” actions — including leadership changes at the MNA.

“Encouraging folks to deceive the government is not something the church needs to be doing,” Biese told the Daily Wire. “That is contrary to who we are.

“The mission of the church is to make disciples by teaching them all that Christ has commanded them and baptizing them,” he added. “None of what was on that page is involved with making disciples or baptizing people.”

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A Michigan mother who authorities said abandoned her three young children to live alone in squalor — reportedly for almost five years — could receive life in prison.

Kelli Marie Bryant, 34, was charged with three counts of first-degree child abuse. Each charge carries a maximum jail time of life in prison, WJBK-TV reported.

‘Morally, there is plenty of responsibility to go around for how this was allowed to happen.’

Prosecutors also intend to file a petition removing Bryant’s parental rights, the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said, adding that Bryant has been held in jail and was expected to be arraigned Thursday.

Deputies were called Friday to the house in the 600 block of Lydia Lane in Pontiac for a welfare check, authorities said.

The landlord contacted authorities after not hearing from the mother since December, figuring something must have happened, the sheriff’s office said, adding that the rent hadn’t been paid since October.

Deputies found three siblings — a 15-year-old boy and two girls, ages 13 and 12 — living in squalor, the sheriff’s office said.

Garbage was piled as high as four feet in some rooms, authorities said, adding that mold and human waste were found throughout the home. What’s more, a toilet was found overflowing, and feces were found in a bathtub, authorities said, adding that the scene was processed by an evidence technician dressed in a hazmat suit.

Image source: Oakland County (Mich.) Sheriff’s Office, composite

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said Bryant lived in the home with four children in 2019 and moved out with one in 2020, according to WJBK, which added that Bryant left behind the other children to live by themselves for almost five years.

In an earlier story, WJBK said the children would have been just 11, 9, and 8 when they started living alone.

They survived on food their mother or a stranger left on the porch each week, authorities said, adding that the mother didn’t leave toilet paper or personal hygiene items. The sheriff’s office said the children had not attended school since the abandonment, and they passed time watching TV or playing games. The boy slept on a mattress on the floor while the girls slept on pizza boxes, the sheriff’s office said.

“Morally, there is plenty of responsibility to go around for how this was allowed to happen. However, these three kids were entrusted to the care of their mother, Kelli Bryant,” McDonald said, according to the station. “And the evidence suggests that she effectively abandoned them to a revolting pit of refuse and squalor.”

‘All three children expressed fear about what their mother’s response would be if they left the home.’

McDonald said the child Bryant took with her ended up living with the children’s father, WJBK reported.

When deputies first entered the home, the three children hid in separate rooms and were afraid to come out initially, the station said. Once the children emerged, deputies said they were overstimulated just by being outdoors, WJBK said. Since their mother left, the two girls never left the home once, WJBK said, adding that the boy left only to touch grass and check the mail.

The children were taken to a hospital for evaluation, authorities said, adding their clothing was soiled and their hair matted. Their toenails were several inches long, which made it difficult for them to walk, the sheriff’s office said.

“At the hospital, the children struggled with completing basic hygiene tasks like flushing a toilet and brushing their teeth because they had not done it in years,” McDonald said, according to the station.

McDonald added to WJBK that the children were too scared to leave the house: “The defendant instructed the kids that they were not to answer the door or leave the house. All three children expressed fear about what their mother’s response would be if they left the home.”

The station added that McDonald said that “it was unbelievable what they were living with for years. Unbelievable. It wouldn’t be, surroundings where you would want any living creature or animal or particularly human beings. I mean, these kids, not to have even basic hygiene tools. And I guess what stands out the most for me is no, no, love.”

The children are now with a relative who McDonald said didn’t know what they were going through, WJBK said.

You can view a video report here about the charges.

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President Donald Trump is quite literally draining the swamp, and Sara Gonzales of “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered” has physical evidence.

A map of homes for sale in the D.C. area reveals that listings are skyrocketing and prices are falling as former government employees leave the city and its surrounding suburbs in droves.

Under Joe Biden, the swamp experienced “incredible growth,” says Sara: “Housing and Urban Development – they boosted that 12.7%; the Treasury grew 12%; the Energy Department grew almost 17%; the State Department grew almost 20%; the EPA grew almost 12%.”

“When I say incredible growth, I don’t mean that as a good thing, by the way,” she notes.

However, as of last week, 275,000 federal workers were laid off, 75,000 of whom chose President Trump’s buyout option.

Many of these government employees, Sara explains, were touted by the Biden administration as proof of employment growth.

“That’s not real growth at all. That’s just our money funding what they’re doing,” says Sara.

BlazeTV contributor Matthew Marsden can’t help but wonder what America would look like right now if Donald Trump hadn’t won the election and his ingenious Department of Government Efficiency didn’t exist to root out the rampant corruption.

“The country would be over,” he says, adding that what Trump and the DOGE are doing by slashing government agencies is only necessary because Democrats drove the country to a precipice with their egregious spending.

Donald Trump “was ready because he saw the writing on the wall,” says Sara, pointing to his administration’s preparedness and the speed with which they’re transforming the nation.

Marsden says that what the administration has accomplished is nothing short of miraculous. Not only did President Trump’s team run a successful campaign, which is incredibly difficult to do, but it simultaneously fought multiple lawsuits and developed the plan we’re seeing unfold more and more each day.

“This guy was operating on at least three levels,” says Marsden. “This has been absolutely brilliant.”

The rate at which the nation is turning in a positive direction is also proof of how “hamstrung” Trump was in his first term.

“There’s something about two assassination attempts” and “34 felony charges and 91 indictments … that I think just crystallizes things for you,” says Sara.

And as for the former federal employees fleeing D.C., she has one request: “Move to California or New York or Oregon, not Texas.”

To hear more of the conversation, watch the clip above.

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To enjoy more of Sara’s no-holds-barred take to news and culture, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

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In case you weren’t aware, Jason Whitlock is no fan of LeBron James. In fact, he heavily blames the Lakers’ power forward for ushering in the NBA’s toxic “player empowerment movement” that popularized team-hopping in search of championships. James’ pandering to the woke left only served to intensify Jason’s scrutiny.

In a strange turn of events, however, Jason finds himself actually agreeing with James on one subject.

When Doug Gottlieb, the head men’s basketball coach at the University of Wisconsin Green Bay, was asked back in the summer of 2024 if James’ son, Bronny James, was good enough to start for his team, he gave the following answer:

“He would compete to start, but while I like how he moves the ball and defends, he wouldn’t be my point, and my wings are bigger, and without seeing him with us, I think it would be hard for him to start TBH.”

Fast-forward several months, and now Green Bay is having an abysmal season.

LeBron, seeing an opportunity to troll his son’s naysayer, responded to the team’s record with the following statement:

— (@)

“I gotta defend LeBron James,” Jason admits. “I have zero problem with LeBron clapping back months later now that the results are in.”

He also thinks Gottlieb is making a mistake by being both a college basketball coach and the host of a talk radio show.

“It’s going to lead to things like this little beef between serious basketball influencers,” he says, noting that these kinds of verbal scuffles distract from coaching.

Even if Gottlieb’s scouting report on Bronny was accurate, his focus should be on Green Bay, which is currently in the throes of a “major rebuilding effort.”

Doug has “got to step away from the radio show and focus on this rebuilding job,” says Jason.

“If I was him, I might just go back to being a talk show host. You win every game there,” jokes “Fearless” contributor Steve Kim.

To hear more of the conversation, watch the clip above.

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President Donald Trump’s administration has made a continuous effort to give local and alternative media access to the White House newsroom, which has historically been dominated by legacy media.

During the local media row hosted Wednesday by the White House, Blaze News learned just how many media outlets were given a seat at the table.

‘At the local media row, families in living rooms across the country were able to hear directly from top administration officials.’

The local media row hosted four national radio outlets, 11 local radio stations from 11 different states, and two local TV affiliates that broadcast to 34 states across the country, according to a breakdown of the event obtained exclusively by Blaze News. In sum, a total of 73 radio interviews were held, reaching roughly 60 million viewers and listeners across America.

“President Trump is leading the most transparent administration in history,” White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly told Blaze News. “On day one, he signed an executive order to promote free speech and end the weaponization of government, and his administration restored over 400 press passes previously revoked by the Biden administration.”

Americans who tuned in to the local media row were able to hear from over a dozen administration officials and Cabinet secretaries like Energy Secretary Chris Wright, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, border czar Tom Homan, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

‘It’s essential to our team that we share President Trump’s message everywhere and adapt our White House to the new media landscape in 2025.’

“At the local media row, families in living rooms across the country were able to hear directly from top administration officials, including several Cabinet secretaries, thanks to President Trump’s commitment to restoring transparency and sharing updates with the American people far and wide,’ Kelly added.

The local media row is just the latest installment of the White House’s commitment to widening the tent of media access beyond traditional legacy media.

Just days after Trump was inaugurated, Leavitt unveiled the “New Media” seat reserved in the White House press briefing room in order to incorporate alternative media outlets that have been denied access in the past.

“It’s essential to our team that we share President Trump’s message everywhere and adapt our White House to the new media landscape in 2025,” Leavitt said during her debut briefing.

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​Donald trump, Trump administration, Anna kelly, Karoline leavitt, White house, White house press briefing, Legacy media, Media bias, Alternative media, New media, Lee zeldin, Tom homan, Chris wright, Local media, Local media row, Media transparency, Joe biden, Biden administration, Politics, Media