A female tennis player says she is retiring from the sport because of its “hostile” culture that has resulted in death threats, insults, and poor self-esteem.

Destanee Aiava announced she is leaving the sport at the end of the season, after having peaked at No. 147 in the world in 2017, when she was just 17 years old.

‘… a culture that’s racist, misogynistic, homophobic and hostile to anyone who doesn’t fit the mould.’

The Australian departed with a scathing post on her Instagram page, criticizing her soon-to-be former sport for taking away her family, her health, and her self-worth.

“2026 will be my final year on tour playing professional tennis,” the 25-year-old wrote.

After asking if everything she sacrificed for the sport “was actually worth the cost,” the tennis player listed all the reasons she has kept playing over the years despite of her distress, concluding, “In other words tennis was my toxic boyfriend.”

“It also took things from me,” she continued. “My relationship with my body. My health. My family. My self worth. Would I do it all again? I really don’t know.”

Then Aiava got even more direct and a lot more vulgar:

“I want to say a ginormous f**k you to everyone in the tennis community who’s ever made me feel less than.”

RELATED: Liberal reporter frustrates American tennis stars by asking the same tired question

“F**k you to every single gambler who’s sent me hate or death threats. F**k you to the people who sit behind screens on social media, commenting on my body, my career or whatever the f**k they want to nitpick,” Aiava went on.

The tennis player, who is of Samoan descent, launched into criticisms of her sport, seemingly giving it every negative label she could.

“And f**k you to a sport that hides behind so-called class and gentlemanly values. Behind the white outfits and traditions is a culture that’s racist, misogynistic, homophobic and hostile to anyone who doesn’t fit the mould. “

Aiava broadened her explanation in an interview with Australia’s “ABC News Breakfast” and host Catherine Murphy.

RELATED: ‘I don’t think that’s relevant’: American tennis star shuts down reporters fishing for anti-Trump answers

“I experienced a lot of racism from parents, people I was playing; just comments at the back of the court and even to this day, I’m still getting racist comments [in] DMs and everything. So yeah, it just, it was never-ending,” Aiava told the host. She added that when she was a young girl who was simply “doing her best,” she faced “constant comments that are racist” as well.

Aiava expanded on her body issues as it relates to tennis, which she said were based on the people around her and “seeing other girls in this sport.”

She noted that she has always had issues with food, and being “not really surrounded by many women” like herself, her bad relationship with food only got worse.

The tennis player concluded by agreeing with the host when asked if governing bodies in tennis need to “fight harder for female players.”

Aiava blamed the governing bodies for prioritizing making money from major tournaments over the needs of tennis players.

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​Fearless, Tennis, Racism, Australia, Women’s sports, Misogyny, Hate speech, Sports 

WikiLeaks published tens of thousands of leaked emails from the personal account of John Podesta, former President Bill Clinton’s chief of staff, in late 2016.

The decentralized army of sleuths that subsequently combed over the leaked emails found not only damning insights into Hillary Clinton and her doomed presidential campaign but odd messages about pizza, hot dogs, ice cream, and other foods.

‘842 occurrences of the word pizza, which seems like a lot.’

The recurring references to food in non-culinary contexts prompted some to theorize that they were code words related to pedophilia and human trafficking — a theory that the mainstream media and so-called fact-checkers emphasized was “dangerous,” “fake news,” and, in essence, a “moral panic.”

New York Magazine, one of the publications that strenuously criticized the so-called Pizzagate theory nine years ago, suggested in the wake of the new Jeffrey Epstein documents’ release that “pizza” might be a code word, after all.

Dan Brooks, writing for New York Magazine, noted that the latest trove of Epstein files published by the Department of Justice “contains 842 occurrences of the word pizza, which seems like a lot. By comparison, the word hamburger appears only 190 times, while the phrase ‘sex with children’ appears 20 times.”

Brooks admitted that “some of the pizza-related material seems pretty weird.”

RELATED: Gov. Pritzker’s cousin steps down at Hyatt over Epstein relationship

Photo by Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

Not only did Epstein appear to have automated alerts reminding him to deliver a certain individual pizza, but he was asked on more than one occasion if individuals could have a “quick pizza” together in his absence.

One email said, “I wanted to let you know that the crew really enjoyed the pizza today. Thank you for letting us do that.”

Another message from a redacted sender stated, “This is better than a Chinese cookie! Let’s go for pizza and grape soda again. No one else can understand.”

Additional emails carry subject lines such as “The Pizza Monster!” and include more peculiar uses of the word.

“You mean radiating a soft glow with the look of bliss and excitement. Yeah, that’s the pizza…” one message reads.

“These recent Epstein materials do make the financier seem strangely interested in pizza and unusually committed to having it delivered to other people,” added Brooks.

There are also recurring references to “pizza and grape soda” in the child sex offender’s texts and emails.

Despite the strangeness of the exchanges, a photograph in a text conversation between Epstein and his urologist appears to indicate that on at least one occasion, they were actually discussing pizza and grape soda.

While there has been plenty of speculation in recent weeks about the pizza references, particularly because they appear in both the Epstein and Podesta files, the term “cream cheese,” which appears 196 times throughout the Epstein messages, has also raised eyebrows.

In one exchange, a participant wrote, “Lol, I don’t know if cream cheese and baby are on the same level,” alongside discussions of scheduling activities that some observers say raise further concern. The phrase also appears in other unsettling contexts, including “cream cheese baby.”

The use of cheese and pizza imagery in reference to pedophilia and child abuse is not limited to so-called Pizzagate conspiracy theorists.

In 2020, the Telegraph, a U.K.-based newspaper, reported that a parents’ group working to curb the dissemination of child sex abuse material online allegedly found that cheese and pizza emojis were being used as stand-ins for “CP,” meaning “child porn.”

The founder of the group, a London woman identified only as India, indicated that in some cases, individuals using the emojis shared images of children scraped from parents’ social media accounts.

“There are pictures of little boys aged 5 or 6 on the beach in their swimming trunks and chances are that picture was taken by their parents on their holiday,” said India. “Somehow that picture has gotten into their hands.”

Brooks, prickled by recent declarations by Redditors and others that at least one core Pizzagate claim might have been accurate all along, stated, “If Epstein and his friends did use pizza as a code word for sex, that wouldn’t mean that the original Pizzagate conspiracy theory was correct — even if it was also the case that pizza was a sexual code word in the Podesta emails.”

After spending the bulk of his article entertaining the possibility that “a syndicate of pedophiliac celebrities, financiers, and their urologists,” equipped with code words, committed “unimaginable acts of cruelty,” Brooks spends his final paragraphs attacking those who made similar claims nearly a decade ago.

The NY Mag contributor suggested that such “conspiracists” — not the allegedly vampiric cosmopolitan elites who might refer to their preferred victim types with fast-food references — are “one of the most terrifying forces in 21st-century America.”

Having turned his ire away from the dead pedophile and his associates to those Americans searching for justice and accountability, Brooks concluded his article by smearing American democracy as a “well-documented conspiracy of morons.”

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Vaccine manufacturers such as Pfizer made record profits pushing experimental drugs during the pandemic that were nowhere near as “safe and effective” as marketed.

Although their vaccines allegedly left some Americans badly injured and allegedly killed others, Big Pharma giants were largely protected from civil lawsuits as the result of special liability protections that were repeatedly extended by the Biden administration.

‘When it comes to vaccines, and in many cases the COVID vaccine, the rules are rigged.’

Republican Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) introduced legislation last week that would amend the Public Health Service Act to strip the liability shield from vaccine manufacturers.

“If a drug hurts someone, you can sue the company in court,” said Paul, a licensed doctor of medicine. “You can hold them responsible through the normal legal process. But when it comes to vaccines, and in many cases the COVID vaccine, the rules are rigged: You’re funneled into a federal no-fault program that limits damages, restricts your options, and — in many cases — leaves people without real justice. That’s cronyism.”

Presently, persons seeking compensation for injuries sustained as the result of a covered vaccine must file a petition with the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, which is touted as a “no-fault alternative to the traditional legal system for resolving vaccine injury petitions.”

Those specifically injured by one of the experimental COVID-19 vaccines — which were in many jurisdictions required to remain employed, eat in public, stay in school, or visit loved ones — must file a petition with the related Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program.

RELATED: Finally: Vaccine guidelines that make sense for parents

Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Parents, legal guardians, and legal representatives of those individuals who were killed by the vaccines — the U.S. Food and Drug Administration admitted in December that “at least 10 children have died after and because of receiving COVID-19 vaccination” — can file on behalf of the decedents.

The catch is that suffering an injury or dying around the time of the receipt of a COVID jab “is not sufficient, by itself, to prove that an injury is the direct result of a covered countermeasure.”

Since there is a high bar for proving causation, few Americans’ petitions are successful.

‘Pharma giants are hiding behind legal protections to avoid being sued.’

CICP data shows that as of Feb. 1, a total of 14,102 COVID-19 claims have been filed, 10,944 alleging injuries or death from COVID-19 vaccines and 3,158 alleging injuries or death from other COVID-19 countermeasures.

Of the total, 6,556 were rejected outright. Of the 6,649 for which decisions were made, only 93 claims were found eligible for compensation — and of the 93, only 44 petitioners have actually received compensation.

Sen. Paul’s End the Vaccine Carveout Act, which was co-sponsored by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and serves as a companion bill to the legislation of the same name introduced in the House in July by Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), would reform the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program by allowing vaccine-injured individuals or the legal representatives of those killed by vaccines to pursue direct civil action in state or federal court without having to first try their chances at the no-fault federal system.

Presently, vaccine-injured Americans are generally required to file a petition through VICP before seeking judicial relief. The Republican bill would eliminate that barrier to possible justice.

The bill would also exclude COVID-19 vaccines from the definition of “covered countermeasures,” thereby ending the immunity shield that has for years protected vaccine manufacturers, distributors, and administration from vaccine injury claims.

Lee stated, “Pharma giants are hiding behind legal protections to avoid being sued by Americans experiencing serious vaccine side effects.”

“Many of these patients were forced to get vaccinated or lose their jobs during the pandemic and are now dealing with permanent and very serious complications,” Lee continued. “Our bill will end these unconstitutional vaccine carveouts so that all Americans can receive the justice they deserve and hold Big Pharma accountable.”

Weeks after the 2024 presidential election, former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra extended the liability shield for COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers through Dec. 31, 2029.

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I recently ran a rather grueling race in Cape Town, a city ranked the world’s most stressful place to visit. By the end of my stay, I understood why.

Race morning brought cold Atlantic air. Table Mountain stood like a fortress. The scene was impossibly beautiful. Then the warnings began.

Julius Malema, the deranged leader of the openly Marxist Economic Freedom Fighters, has led crowds in chanting ‘Kill the Boer,’ the Afrikaans term for farmer.

“Stay where the crowds are after you finish,” an organizer told us.

A gray-haired runner, tying his never-before-worn Asics, gave me a knowing look, the kind that said “enjoy yourself, but stay alert.” The gun fired. We surged forward. And Cape Town revealed itself in fragments.

The route hugged the ocean. Waves crashed against huge rocks. Sunlight rippled across the bay. Spectators shouted encouragement from spotless sidewalks. Cyclists zipped by in neon helmets. In Sea Point and Camps Bay, Cape Town looks effortlessly affluent: palm trees, clean promenades, and cafés filled with people sipping espressos. You could be forgiven for thinking the warnings were overstated. They weren’t. If anything, they were understated.

Razor wire on the Riviera

South Africa’s “Mother City” lives with staggering levels of violent crime. Armed robberies are frequent. Carjackings happen in broad daylight, averaging more than four an hour. Drivers slow at traffic lights but leave space ahead, ready to bolt. Doors lock automatically. Security companies advertise response times the way pizzerias advertise delivery. Sexual assault remains widespread, not just among women but also among children. In the Western Cape alone, nearly 2,000 sexual offenses against minors were recorded in a single quarter last year. The numbers are sobering; the anxiety is constant.

Security is everywhere. High walls ring homes like fortresses. Electric fencing hums overhead. Razor wire catches the light. The message needs no translation.

RELATED: ‘Mass slaughter’: Trump moves to help Nigerian Christians under attack

NurPhoto/Getty Images

Gang warfare

A few hours before I arrived in the so-called cultural capital, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the deployment of soldiers to help fight criminal gangs, a clear sign that police can no longer contain the violence.

And violence is everywhere. Between April and September last year, an average of 63 people were murdered each day. In parts of the Western Cape, especially around Cape Town, gang warfare has become part of daily life. Children are caught in crossfire. Streets fall under the influence of savage syndicates. The gangs, armed with high-powered weapons and machetes, have grown bolder. Why wouldn’t they? Ramaphosa himself noted that soldiers aren’t trained for community policing. Their deployment now underscores the depth of the crisis.

In Gauteng province, illegal miners known as zama zamas run riot. Armed and operating in abandoned shafts, they have built criminal networks around illicit gold extraction. Residents describe intimidation, forced displacement, and operations typical of paramilitary units, not opportunistic gangs.

Existential threat

Ramaphosa has called violent crime “the most immediate threat to our democracy.” He’s right. It is. When criminal groups control territory, extract revenue, and outgun police, the problem is no longer confined to law enforcement. In truth, it becomes a contest over authority itself — an existential struggle South Africa knows all too well, a divided nation once again on edge.

These divisions didn’t appear overnight. Apartheid enforced separation with clinical precision. Its architects portrayed the system not as hatred but as “separate development,” claiming that divided populations couldn’t share power without conflict.

Whites were a small minority, and universal suffrage meant irreversible political defeat. Afrikaners carried the memory of previous conflicts, including the concentration camps in which thousands of their women and children died. They watched postcolonial upheaval unfold elsewhere in Africa and reasoned that without firm control, the country would descend into all-out anarchy.

Set aside outrage and judgment for a moment, and the logic reads as cautious, defensive realism. They believed strict separation would prevent barbarity, preserve a functioning economy, and protect a vulnerable minority from domination. In their minds, it was a matter of survival, not ideology. It’s easy to dismiss the apartheid movement as pure racism, a low-IQ explanation that fits neatly on a placard. But it overlooks the deeper dread that shaped it.

Farmers under siege

History didn’t end with apartheid’s fall. The country remains marked by mistrust, hatred, and absolute terror. Last year, President Trump suggested that white farmers were facing vicious reprisals. Violence against farmers is real and terrifying for those who live beyond the reach of towns and patrols. Farm attacks — home invasions, assaults, and killings — occur with regularity. Many farmers live far from towns or patrols, isolated and vulnerable when attackers strike.

Julius Malema, the deranged leader of the openly Marxist Economic Freedom Fighters, has led crowds in chanting “Kill the Boer,” the Afrikaans term for farmer. Thousands raise their hands like guns as they echo the refrain. Supporters describe it as a chant from the struggle era. Others, a little more grounded in reality, hear something far more dangerous. They hear language that calls for genocide. After all, what is being proposed is the elimination of people defined by a particular skin color. When I asked a white taxi driver whether such fears were exaggerated, he answered without hesitation: “No.”

At the crossroads … again

South Africa is a beautiful country, arguably one of the most beautiful places on earth. Yet it can feel deeply intimidating, largely because it is. A tension hangs in the air, present even in the quietest moments. In many communities, it’s considered reckless not to keep multiple loaded firearms at home, ready to be used at any moment, day or night. Safety is discussed in near wartime terms. Even a simple trip to the store can feel like a roll of the dice, especially for white families.

Does South Africa have the capacity to weather the mounting unrest? I hope so, but I wouldn’t bet on it. A nation intimately familiar with bloodshed once again stands at a crossroads.

​South africa, Lifestyle, Tourism, Africa, Violence, Crime, Apartheid, Letter from south africa 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is fighting to get the gay Pride flag recognized at the same level as the U.S. flag in the eyes of the federal government — which would give it similar protections as the American flag, military flags, and POW/MIA flags.

“The Trump administration’s removal of the Pride rainbow flag from the Stonewall National Monument is a deeply outrageous action that must be reversed. It’s an effing disgrace,” Schumer began.

“When the Trump administration ripped the Pride flag down, it was a direct attack on this community. An attempt to chip away at hard-won civil rights. So today we’re fighting back and taking action,” he continued.

“I am introducing legislation to designate the Pride flag as a congressionally authorized flag in America. And that means it can be flown here and everywhere else. And no one, no one, no one can take it down,” he added.

“Wow, tackling the big issues of the day,” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales comments on “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered,” annoyed. “Thank you, Chuck Schumer, for doing the heavy lifting to help out average Americans.”

“You’re not doing anything to get rid of all of the illegal criminals that are in our country. In fact, you’re fighting it at every turn. You’re not doing anything to address inflation. It was the Republicans that did that. You’re not doing anything to protect children from harm,” she continues.

“You are not doing anything to make Americans’ lives better. But thank God you’re fighting over a flag. … It’s actually despicable how disgusting these people are,” she adds, pointing out that Democrats weren’t this defensive and loving of gay people all that long ago.

“Schumer himself was against gay marriage back in the day. He even voted in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, which of course defined marriage as one man and one woman. They were all in agreement on that,” she adds.

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​Sharing, Video, Video phone, Camera phone, Upload, Free, Youtube.com, Sara gonzales unfiltered, Sara gonzales, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Pride flag, Chuck schumer, Pride, Stonewall national monument 

Celebrities should not be claiming they live under fascism while attending a film festival with a private security detail, actor Jamie Kennedy stated this week.

Kennedy, a staple in Hollywood who has starred in the “Scream” franchise and made appearances in hit shows like “Entourage,” called out Hollywood celebrities over their constant description of the United States as an authoritarian state.

‘Let’s adhere to the laws of what we have, right? Get rid of criminals.’

Kennedy hopped on to Tuesday’s episode of the “Trying Not To Die” podcast hosted by Jack Osbourne, son of late rockstar Ozzy Osbourne.

A self-proclaimed “tired” Kennedy said he has become fed up with Hollywood elites preaching against Immigration and Customs Enforcement from exotic locations.

“People are protesting ICE. OK. And I understand the situation is, it’s a crazy situation. But when you have actors from the red carpet of an award show at the Beverly Hilton — I’m talking about all of them — and they’re on there saying all of this stuff about, ‘We’re under a fascist regime. We’re in authoritarianism,’ bro!” Kennedy exclaimed in disbelief. “It’s insanity.”

Kennedy pointed to celebrities at film festivals who are heckling from behind the safety of armed guards.

“You can’t say you’re under authoritarian rule when you’re literally being authoritarian. You can’t say from the f**king back of, like, 20 MMA Secret Service agents that are protecting you.”

Osbourne jumped in, adding that if the celebrities were actually living under “an authoritarian government,” they “wouldn’t be able to say” their piece.

RELATED: Two ‘I’ agencies, one Democratic double standard

The 55-year-old Kennedy begged celebrities to “get on the front lines” and away from the Sundance Film Festival if they care so much about current events. He was likely referencing Hollywood elites making extreme statements about ICE in January, which included actor Edward Norton comparing the agency to the “gestapo.”

The Sundance attendees even broke from their festivities for a 10-minute protest at one point.

“You’re protesting the people that are trying to, in theory, they’re basically just trying to get rid of the criminals. Is it a perfect system? No! But I’m not there. But basically, let’s adhere to the laws of what we have, right? Get rid of criminals.”

Kennedy wondered how certain celebrities could justify calling the police when they are in danger since they are consistently denigrating law enforcement.

“What I’m just saying is, like, people haven’t got a taste of the whole world to understand how good we have it in this country,” Kennedy added. He then asked celebrities to “shut the f**k up!”

Immigration and documentation

Citing a recent poll, Osbourne said that over 60% of Americans are in favor of how ICE is operating, in spite of what “the news is throwing” at them. “It’s definitely more than that,” Osbourne said, revealing the polling was from a left-wing source.

After showcasing extensive knowledge in law enforcement and firearms, Osbourne came out against illegal immigration, saying “absolutely” to the idea that a swath of criminals were let in during the Biden administration, when millions of immigrants poured across the border illegally.

Osbourne, originally from London, said he did not think it was fair for illegal immigrants to skip the process he and others have gone through. This included a lengthy visa process, 10 years with a green card, and a citizenship test, he explained.

RELATED: ‘Cosby Show’ actress on disgraced former boss: ‘Separate the creator from the creation’

Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for EJAF

Hollywood homeless

The two men spent significant time discussing the conditions of Los Angeles and Hollywood, particularly as it pertains to taxation and homelessness.

“There’s not just bodies in the street, bro. It looks like they’re dead,” Kennedy explained, adding that he has seen people using heroin in broad daylight.

“We have to use common sense because the psychos have taken over,” he said.

Osbourne shared his own stories, saying that his children go to a school that is mere feet from a homeless encampment under a bridge that he has complained about numerous times. The podcaster was baffled at the conditions near the school due to the sheer amount he pays in taxes.

“No one’s going to change,” he said of California’s elites. “And it comes down to the fires. Didn’t the fires teach you that?”

Osbourne then offered the following conclusion about woke celebrities: “Half these people at the f**king awards, all their houses burned to the ground because of f**king stupid people in charge,” yet they are still playing along.

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​News, Immigration, Homeless, Los angeles, Celebrities, Hollywood, Film festival, Sundance film festival, Border, Ice, Illegal immigration, Politics 

Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas is taking aim at late-night talk show host Stephen Colbert for pulling an interview with her opponent.

Colbert lashed out at President Donald Trump after CBS pulled an interview with James Talarico, another Democratic candidate running for Senate against Crockett, citing new FCC guidelines. While Colbert pointed the finger at the government, Crockett was quick to push back on the narrative, insisting that the federal government had nothing to do with the decision to pull Talarico’s interview.

‘This was because of a fear that the FCC may say something to them.’

“We did receive information suggesting that the federal government did not shut down the segment, number one,” Crockett said.

“That is my understanding that the federal government did not shut this down, and we will do an official statement once we get another official statement that we anticipate is going to be coming from Paramount,” Crockett added. “So we will read what they say, and then we’ll go from there.”

RELATED: Stephen Colbert melts down after CBS pulls interview with Democrat just months before his show ends

Photo by Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images

Crockett’s assessment was counter to CBS’ official statement, which claimed that Colbert’s show was “provided legal guidance” by the FCC.

“The show was provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule for two other candidates, including Rep. Jasmine Crockett, and presented options for how the equal time for other candidates could be fulfilled,” the statement read. “THE LATE SHOW decided to present the interview through its YouTube channel with on-air promotion on the broadcast rather than potentially providing the equal-time options.”

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr reiterated these guidelines in late January, reminding networks of their “obligation” to provide candidates equal airtime.

“For years, legacy TV networks assumed that their late night & daytime talk shows qualify as ‘bona fide news’ programs — even when motivated by purely partisan political purposes,” Carr said in a post on X. “Today, the FCC reminded them of their obligation to provide all candidates with equal opportunities.”

RELATED: Trump says Colbert is to blame for his show’s cancellation — but adds Kimmel and Fallon are next

Bob Daemmrich/The Texas Tribune/Bloomberg via Getty Images

As CBS’ statement said, Colbert opted to post the interview on social media rather than broadcasting it live on the program in order to work around the FCC’s new guidance requiring shows to provide competing candidates equal time on air. Although Crockett has been on Colbert’s show multiple times, she noted that she “did not get a request” to appear on his show.

“It is our understanding that Colbert, either Mr. Colbert or CBS, decided that they just didn’t want to air it,” Crockett said of the Talarico interview. “And this was because of a fear that the FCC may say something to them and that there may have been advice to just have me on and then they could clear the issue.”

“It was my understanding that someone somewhere decided we just don’t want to do that and instead, we’re going to just do it this way.”

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​Stephen colbert, Fcc, Cbs, Brendan carr, Donald trump, James talarico, Jasmine crockett, Senate democrats, Texas, Texas primary, Democrat primary, 2026 primary, Equal time, Politics 

A trio of armed robbers ran headlong into bad luck last week when their plot to steal a victim’s watch during what was supposed to be an in-person sale was thwarted after the victim’s gun-toting uncle saw the crime unfolding and opened fire, police in Texas said.

Mark Herman, Precinct 4 Constable of Harris County, described what went down during a news conference; his remarks begin just before the 14-minute mark.

‘Why would you go meet someone you don’t know to try to sell something in a parking lot?’

Herman said the victim was attempting to sell his watch and agreed to meet the buyer around 8 p.m. Thursday outside a Costco in the 26940 block of Northwest Freeway. The location is in Cypress, which is about 30 minutes northwest of Houston.

But the buyer had no intention of paying for the watch. Instead, he brought two other people with him, and they ended up pulling guns on the victim in an attempt to rob him, Herman said.

While they ended up taking the watch, Herman said the victim’s uncle walked out of the Costco, saw the robbery happening, and opened fire.

In fact, Herman said the uncle ended up shooting two of the three suspects before they all fled the scene.

Two of the suspects — ages 17 and 18 — were hospitalized, Herman said, adding that one of them had surgery, and both are expected to survive. Herman said aggravated robbery charges will be filed against both of them.

The third suspect — age 16 — also was arrested and charged with aggravated robbery and turned over to juvenile authorities.

Police said multiple firearms as well as the stolen property were recovered during the investigation.

RELATED: Concealed carrier delivers swift justice when Chicago thugs allegedly approach him — and one pulls gun, demands his property

KRIV-TV’s video report indicated that it’s not known if the uncle came with his nephew for the transaction or if he just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

In the end, Herman cautioned against such in-person transactions — even when they’re in public places, noting “how much more public can you get” than outside a Costco.

“Why would you go meet someone you don’t know to try to sell something in a parking lot?” Herman noted during the news conference. “Why even put yourself in that position?”

He added that there have been cases in which strangers come to houses for transactions — and “now they know where you live.”

“Don’t do it,” Herman warned, adding that “for a few hundred dollars you’re risking your life” and that “it’s all common sense.”

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​Crime thwarted, Texas, Uncle, Defending others, Defending family, Arrests, Watch sale gone wrong, Costco, Harris county constable precinct 4, Cypress, Crime 

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) is laying out two stark options to close the city’s fiscal year 2027 budget gap: raise taxes on high earners and corporations or increase property taxes.

During his preliminary budget presentation, Mamdani framed the first option as “the most sustainable and the fairest path,” calling for “ending the drain on our city and raising taxes on the richest New Yorkers and the most profitable corporations.”

‘There is no third option of failing to balance the budget’

But he warned that this path depends on cooperation from Albany and Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul.

“If we do not go down the first path,” Mamdani said, “the city will be forced down a second, more harmful path. … We would have to raise property taxes.”

The mayor acknowledged that New York City’s property tax system is “broken,” but emphasized that it is currently the only tax that the city has the authority to raise on its own.

RELATED: ‘F**king mess’: Zohran Mamdani fails first major test as filth piles up on city streets

Photo by Stephani Spindel/VIEWpress via Getty Images

“What I am showcasing to New Yorkers is that there is one tax the city can raise,” he said. “It is a broken property tax system. We do not want to do so. … We want to work with Albany to ensure that we resolve this fiscal crisis by addressing the structural roots of it.”

Mamdani described a property tax increase as a “last resort,” stressing that the city is legally required to balance its budget — a mandate that dates back to the fiscal crisis of the 1970s, when New York City was pushed to the brink of bankruptcy.

RELATED: Zohran Mamdani’s Soviet dream for New York City

Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

“There is no third option of failing to balance the budget,” he said.

“This is something that we do not want to do,” Mamdani said, “and this is something that we are going to utilize every single option to ensure does not come to pass.”

If Albany does not approve higher taxes on wealthy residents and corporations, Mamdani said the city could be forced to raise property taxes by a staggering 9.5%.

Hochul is opposed to raising property taxes.

“I’m not supportive of a property tax increase,” she said at a press conference in Manhattan this week. “I don’t know that that’s necessary, but let’s find out what is really necessary to close that gap.”

The message is clear: If the state doesn’t act, homeowners and commercial property owners could pay the price.

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​Politics, Mamdani, Nyc, New york, New york city, Tax plan