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A man who allegedly claimed to be an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer was arrested after he assaulted workers at a McDonald’s restaurant in Southern California.

Joshua Cobb, 44, walked into the La Jolla McDonald’s on Nobel Drive on Thursday at about noon and put the manager in a headlock, according to a press release from the San Diego Police Department.

‘Why do you think I’m willing to take two punches in the motherf**king face with some illegal immigrants while I make an arrest for Immigration and Customs Enforcement?’

The manager was described as a Hispanic male by Lt. Cesar Jimenez, who said that Cobb accused him of being an illegal alien.

Cobb led the man outside the restaurant while claiming he was being arrested, but the other workers came to his aid and forced Cobb to release him.

Police were able to identify and arrest Cobb, according to Jimenez, who was charged with impersonating an officer as well as battery.

The manager, Daniel Martinez, spoke to KGTV-TV and described what happened.

“He grabbed me from the back, grabbed my neck, like, really hard,” Martinez said. “So when that happened, all my co-workers jumped on him, and he let go, but after that, he just punched me on the side.”

The employees at the McDonald’s said they didn’t believe the man was an ICE officer because he frequented the fast food place, would only order sodas, and would leave a mess.

“Why do you think your 911 phone calls aren’t f**king working?” said the man police identified as Cobb. “Why do you think I’m willing to take two punches in the motherf**king face with some illegal immigrants while I make an arrest for Immigration and Customs Enforcement?”

RELATED: Church worker pretended to be ICE agent to extort $500 from massage therapist, police say

Jimenez also addressed the videos circulating online about the incident.

“There are several videos of this incident circulating online,” he said. “We understand how concerning this can be for members of our community. We want to assure residents that impersonating a law enforcement officer is a crime and the San Diego Police Department takes any reports of this nature very seriously.”

Martinez said he was not hurt during the attack.

“At that moment, my first reaction was just to protect my crew because I’m in charge of all of them,” the manager said.

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A judge sided with the city of Philadelphia in its lawsuit to restore slavery exhibits that were removed in January to a presidential home site.

President Donald Trump issued an executive order in March 2025 titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” which led to some exhibits at national monuments being taken down.

‘We encourage the City of Philadelphia to focus on getting their jobless rates down and ending their reckless cashless bail policy instead of filing frivolous lawsuits in the hopes of demeaning our brave Founding Fathers.’

The city of Philadelphia objected to the removal of slavery information from exhibits at the President’s House exhibit, where Presidents George Washington and John Adams once lived. The site is operated by the National Park Service.

The lawsuit cited a previous agreement with the NPS that said “communication and consultation” standards must be met between the parties for changes to the site.

On Monday, Senior Judge Cynthia M. Rufe ruled that the exhibits must be restored to their original state before the day of removal. She began the ruling with a quote from George Orwell’s “1984.”

The lawsuit listed the National Park Service as a defendant, as well as Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, the Department of the Interior, and National Park Service Acting Director Jessica Bowron.

“I strongly opposed the Trump administration’s decision to remove these exhibits, and I welcome the federal court’s ruling that they must be restored. … I will continue fighting to ensure these exhibits are fully restored and accessible to the public,” Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Penn.) said about the ruling.

A spokesperson for the NPS lambasted the city after the lawsuit was filed.

“All federal agencies are to review interpretive materials to ensure accuracy, honesty, and alignment with shared national values. Following completion of the required review, the National Park Service is now taking appropriate action in accordance with the Order,” reads the statement from the spokesperson.

“We encourage the City of Philadelphia to focus on getting their jobless rates down and ending their reckless cashless bail policy instead of filing frivolous lawsuits in the hopes of demeaning our brave Founding Fathers who set the brilliant road map for the greatest country in the world — the United States of America,” the statement continues.

RELATED: Actress Pam Grier gets demolished online for spewing nonsense claim about racial lynchings in Ohio on ‘The View’

Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia executive director Paul Steinke told CBS News that the removal was a “terrible day for American history.”

“The decision to do this appears to be made because the President’s House Site memorialized the nine enslaved individuals that were held there against their will by President Washington and his wife, Martha,” he said, “and this is the only federal historic site that commemorates the history of slavery in America.”

Rufe was appointed to the court by former President George W. Bush in 2002.

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Elon Musk pledged in September to help fund murals in remembrance of Iryna Zarutska, the Ukrainian woman who was randomly murdered on a public train in Charlotte, North Carolina.

One such mural has appeared in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada, as part of the Remember Iryna memorial project, led by Elizabeth Trykin. The mural measures 147 feet wide and 20 feet tall and is located near the intersection at Charleston and Las Vegas Boulevards.

‘Evil doesn’t see policy. Evil doesn’t see left or right. Evil doesn’t see any of that. Evil is just evil.’

“The project has completed over 20 large-scale murals across multiple U.S. cities, now in Las Vegas, with many more installations under way. More than 900 artists have reached out to us to participate,” Trykin said in a statement to KLAS-TV.

Musk joined in the effort after it was proposed by Intercom CEO Eoghan McCabe, who also gave $500,000 of his own money. Many on the right have decried the lack of coverage for the brutal murder and aired suspicions that a political bias was to blame.

“I will contribute $1M,” Musk said at the time.

A spokesperson for McCabe later confirmed to the New York Post that McCabe and Musk both made good on their financial pledges.

Graffiti artist Gear Duran, who painted the Vegas mural, says it’s not meant to be a partisan political statement.

“I think it’s, like, unfortunate that everybody has to make things politicized and divisive and all that stuff,” Duran said.

“What we really need is just to be able to come together and stop politicizing everything so much as far as, like, the demise of someone losing their life like that,” he added. “It’s like, why does that got to be political? It’s like, that’s just evil.”

RELATED: New butterfly species named in honor of Ukrainian woman brutally murdered on Charlotte light rail

Decarlos Brown, 34, was charged with Zarutska’s murder and could face the death penalty if he’s found guilty. The horrific attack was captured on surveillance video from the public transit system.

“Evil doesn’t see policy. Evil doesn’t see left or right. Evil doesn’t see any of that. Evil is just evil,” Duran continued. “I’m here trying to combat that, to bring awareness with this mural, just to bring some positivity and light to what happened.”

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A prominent Catholic leader took on criticism against Western culture from Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and exposed its Marxist underpinnings.

Bishop Robert Barron posted a video to the X platform where he first applauded Sec. of State Marco Rubio on his speech defending Western culture at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.

‘Your argument is, well, because cultures always change? Well, that’s a banality!’

“He was talking about the shared culture of Europe and America. He referenced gothic cathedrals and Dante and Shakespeare and even the Beatles,” Barron said.

“And his point was, we gotta get beyond just our political differences and find our sources in the great culture that unites us,” he added. “Then he took a further step that was very much in line with Pope Benedict XVI and Christopher Dawson, namely that culture is grounded in ‘cult’ — at the root of all culture is something like religion. And so he wasn’t afraid to reference the Christian faith as a key element in giving rise to the shared culture of Europe and America.”

Barron then turned his attention to Ocasio-Cortez, who tried to respond to Rubio’s speech by belittling the idea of a Western culture at all.

“I think it’s also important to note how thin that foundation is. … And so, the response that we have to have is, again, it’s material. It’s class-based. It’s common interest,” the congresswoman said.

“I was very struck by her answer. I thought it was very illuminating,” Barron responded.

“She said, ‘Oh, you know, this appeal to culture, it’s so ‘thin’ because culture is ephemeral. It’s always changing, and so we shouldn’t pay attention to the culture. We should just pay attention to the material foundations in the class struggle,'” he added.

“Well, all of that, everybody, is right out of the Marxist playbook,” Barron chuckled.

RELATED: AOC flaunts her historical illiteracy in ‘cowboys’ critique of Rubio’s speech in Munich

Photo by Andres Kudacki/Getty Images

“First of all, that Western culture, as Rubio invoked it, is ‘thin’? The culture that gave us all those great figures, that gave us the rule of law, that gave us respect for the rights of the individual, that gave us our democratic political system, that gave us the university system, that’s thin?” he asked rhetorically.

“And your argument is, well, because cultures always change? Well, that’s a banality!” Barron added.

“I mean, of course cultures are alive. They change and evolve. It doesn’t mean for a second we can’t identify the key elements within a culture that gives it its character. But also this, to characterize culture as ‘thin’ is a Marxist move,” he explained.

“Marx said that culture is simply an epiphenomenal superstructure on top of the economic substructure, and don’t be distracted therefore by ‘the culture.’ That’s just protecting the economics at bottom,” Barron added. “Well, again, listen to her. ‘Let’s pay attention to material conditions and to class struggle.’ Again, that’s the Marxist playbook.”

He went on to warn that Marxism is gaining popularity among politicians and cited New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) and his comments about collectivism.

“What’s worrying me, everybody, is the extent to which political leadership on the left in America is becoming unapologetically Marxist,” Barron continued.

“Might I encourage followers of Mayor Mamdani and AOC: Talk to some of them — they’re still alive, some of them — the people that fled Marxist tyranny in Europe. People laboring under it to this day in Cuba, North Korea, Venezuela, et cetera.”

RELATED: Socialist Minneapolis councilwoman calls Trump a ‘domestic terrorist’ — and proposes rental assistance over ICE surge

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

He went on to point out that religion was the first target of Marxism.

“It concerns me not just as someone who follows politics but as a bishop of the Catholic Church. Marx himself said the first critique is a critique of religion. And his political adepts followed him. The first thing the Marxist tyrannies went after in most cases was religion,” he continued.

“I am getting a little concerned that in some of these leading figures in our own politics, a Marxist philosophy is taking hold. As a religious leader, this is concerning me quite a bit,” Barron added.

“Take a look, everybody. Attend to the language. In a way, they’re telling us who they are and what they’re for. And I think that should be very concerning to everybody,” he concluded. “God bless you.”

Barron is the bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester in Minnesota.

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He may be a serial killer who wants to wear his victim’s skin, but “The Silence of the Lambs” sicko Buffalo Bill is no transphobe.

At least according to Ted Levine, who portrayed the troubled womenswear enthusiast — real name Jame Gumb — in 1991 Best Picture winner “The Silence of the Lambs.”

‘We all know more, and I’m a lot wiser about transgender issues.’

“There are certain aspects of the movie that don’t hold up too well,” the actor recently told the Hollywood Reporter. “We all know more, and I’m a lot wiser about transgender issues. There are some lines in that script and movie that are unfortunate.”

He added, “It’s unfortunate that the film vilified that, and it’s f**king wrong. And you can quote me on that.”

Basket case

At the same time, the 68-year-old Hollywood vet denied that his character was ever meant to be understood as transgender in the first place.

RELATED: ‘I wasn’t invited to those parties’: Kelsey Grammer mocks woke Hollywood hypocrisy

“I didn’t play him as being gay or trans. I think he was just a f**ked-up heterosexual man. That’s what I was doing,” Levine insisted.

Sick puppy

This interpretation was backed up by “Lambs” producer Edward Saxon.

“We were really loyal to the book,” Saxon said. “As we made the film, there was just no question in our minds that Buffalo Bill was a completely aberrant personality — that he wasn’t gay or trans. He was sick.”

Any connection to transgenderism was an oversight by the production, the producer explained.

“We missed it. From my point of view, we weren’t sensitive enough to the legacy of a lot of stereotypes and their ability to harm.”

Saxon said that given the fact those involved in the movie had “friends and family who were gay,” they thought it would be clear that Buffalo Bill is simply “incredibly sick,” not practicing some form of homosexuality.

RELATED: B is for butthead: Raunchy rapper threatens ‘bear mace’ for ICE agents

Photo by Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic

‘It rubs the lotion on its skin, or else it gets the hose again.’

Skin in the game

Levine’s remarks came as the actor reflected on the 35th anniversary of his breakout role — and the staying power of a certain famous line.

“Pain in the ass, but it’s OK. Kind of put me on the map,” Levine laughed, “But [the annoyance recently] is less so. The edges have worn off. It’s not a big deal. It’s fine.”

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Reporter Steve Cortes’ new documentary, “China’s College Takeover,” takes on the influx of Chinese nationals infiltrating American colleges and universities — which BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales notes is yet another form of immigration that needs to be put under the microscope.

“The issue of immigration is something that, once you see the issue, once you see the real problems, you can’t unsee it. It’s peeling back the layers of an onion, and it just gets worse and worse and worse,” Gonzales says.

“We are kind of the laughingstock of the globe at this point. … All of these other countries are just like, ‘Hey, hey, we’re just going to utilize and abuse their system, and we’re just going to take over,’” she adds.

“I’m sure there are times when some of the party bosses at the CCP’s buildings in Beijing just laugh to themselves. They cannot believe how willingly the United States will act as a victim, will volunteer for victimhood at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party,” Cortes agrees.

“And in this case, I think it’s absolutely outrageous that our most selective universities, our top flagship public schools across the United States are inundated with foreign students,” he says.

What Cortes finds “particularly awful” is the CCP “sending its princelings … over here so that we can educate our enemies so that many of them can spy on us and commit espionage.”

“We know that’s happening. There have been charges and convictions already. And then take those skills that they learned at some of our top schools like University of Illinois and go back to Beijing so they can make our adversary more powerful, more wealthy, and better able to continue to take advantage of the United States,” Cortes says.

“So, I’m trying to expose this, as you are, and say, ‘Enough.’ Of course, illegal immigration is a scourge to this country, but even the way we’re tolerating legal migration, including the student issue, is just inexcusable, and I think it needs to be exposed,” he adds.

Want more from Sara Gonzales?

To enjoy more of Sara’s no-holds-barred takes on 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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Millions of modern Westerners are chained up in self-imposed terrors that prevent them from living in the real world. We’re terrified of “expired” food. We consult the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website while we peer at our digital meat thermometers to make sure we hit the government-approved specific temperature that reassures us that we won’t kill our families.

You can just cook things. Do you know that? Really. You can do the same things, with the same basic tools, that humans have been doing for countless tens of thousands of years before programmable stoves, digital scales, and tenth-of-a-degree meat thermometers came along. The only thing stopping you is unnecessary fear.

There is no reason to be reliant on complicated devices and prissy little scales in order to make bread. How do you think Laura Ingalls managed it?

It’s not just cooking that’s fallen prey to modern hysteria either. Alleged adults in the 2020s are skittish about checking the oil in their car or topping up the antifreeze (if they even think it’s “safe” to do without professional supervision).

Food for thought

But I can only focus on one thing in this piece, and that’s going to be food. Between the time I was a kid learning to cook in the ’80s and today, adult Americans have retreated into a mental padded cell where they quake with overblown fears about food technique and food safety.

I come from the Before Times, a land where children walked a mile each way to school, a land where kids could ride their bikes anywhere in town as long as they were home by dark. Now we have a new traffic jam at 3 p.m. around public schools. It’s not normal. It’s also not sane, necessary, or proportionate. Today only one in 10 children walk to school. Read that again. If that sounds normal, you’re the person I’m writing for.

I was taught to use a stove for simple meals by the time I was 8. Today? Fourteen-year-olds on average have never even made a box of macaroni and cheese on the stove top. A few years later, they become 25-year-olds who complain about the cost of eating because they think — yes, really — that DoorDash is the normal way to get supper.

I’m with soup-id

I knew something was happening to adult minds back in 1991 in the staff room of Perkins Family Restaurant in Camillus, New York. It was 2 p.m., and I was struggling to stay awake for an all-hands meeting on food safety (I worked the overnight shift).

District manager Phil was telling us about the dangers of poultry and salmonella. You have to know there was no raw poultry in the kitchen of this restaurant ever. Every chicken product we served had been pre-cooked, which means that any salmonella had already been killed. We merely reheated plastic-bagged refrigerated food from a factory.

Phil opened a bag of fully cooked chicken and dumpling soup and poured it into the steam table. Whipping out a thermometer, he stuck it into the next pot, which already had the same soup brought to serving temperature.

“This pot is not hot enough, and if we don’t keep it up to temperature, we risk giving our guests salmonella poisoning,” he said.

I bit my hand to stop myself from responding.

In case you don’t know why this is wrong: Once poultry has been fully cooked, all salmonella gets killed. It does not “regenerate” if the temperature falls. Sure, other microbes might get a foothold, but this guy really did believe that letting chicken cool off a few degrees would magically re-salmonellize it. I wonder if he believed the old tale about how raw meat spontaneously generates flies.

RELATED: How I stopped hating guns — and embraced self-reliance

Angus Mordant/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The d’oy of cooking

As a longtime home cook, I’ve watched cookery become hystericized over the past four decades. As fewer parents cooked themselves, and as even fewer of them taught their children, I watched recipes get dumbed down. What would have taken a paragraph to explain to a person in 1985 now required 15 numbered steps: “Pour water into clear container. Bending down, use your eye to see if it hits the line that says ‘one cup.’ Then carefully pick up the cup, and tilt it so that the water falls out into the bowl. This is called ‘pouring.’”

I only slightly exaggerate. About 15 years ago, I looked up a recipe for chicken paprikash and made the mistake of reading the comments. This is a pretty accurate reconstruction:

“I made this recipe exactly as the author described, but she never told me that there were BONES in the chicken. I was appalled! I actually served my family chicken with bones inside it, and I was so embarrassed. My kids wouldn’t eat it. You should WARN PEOPLE.”

No, I don’t think this commenter was a troll. I’ve seen enough in real life to know there are millions of Americans walking around so disconnected from basic household tasks that they literally do not know that meat always comes with bones and that bones are normal.

Getting medieval

Last week, I got inspired to start baking again. That inspiration came from a YouTube channel I recommend called “Medieval Way.” The British guy behind it takes you through the simple, manual, methods of raising bread, stewing meat, and preserving foods that people did from muscle memory and common sense. And wouldn’t you know, their foodways (which were the foodways for all of us for thousands of years before the late 19th century) produce more nutritious meals than most of us eat today.

It’s a myth, and a damned scurrilous one, that a noticeable number of people died all the time in “the old days” from food poisoning because they didn’t have refrigerators or meat thermometers or the CDC. Pardon my frankness, but all humans who lived before us weren’t stupid.

I decided I was going to resume sourdough baking from natural leaven, no commercial yeast. But I also decided I wasn’t going to buy any special equipment like scales or filtered water or any of that. And I wasn’t going to measure anything.

I want to master my craft with my hands and heart and eyes. There is no reason to be reliant on complicated devices and prissy little scales in order to make bread. How do you think Laura Ingalls managed it? She learned how dough felt in the hand and gauged proper hydration and texture through feel and experience. I can too. So can you.

Maybe my project will inspire you. Here’s what I did. Don’t expect precise measurements or special tips: Get in there with your hands and learn it yourself.

For the starter

Stoneground organic whole rye flour. I’m not a hippie leftist; it’s just true that stone-ground flours without pesticides are nutritionally superior and give better results for this. Rye works faster than white flour.Water. I’m lucky enough to live on clean well water without chlorine. If you have city water, pour out a jug and set it on the counter to let the chlorine evaporate. That chemical will inhibit the bacteria and yeast you want to grow.

I put some flour in a bowl. Then I put some water in. Then I stirred it. Then I set it on the counter under a towel. Every day, I dumped half out and added back water and flour to give the nascent yeast new starch to grow on.

After a week, I wasn’t seeing much. I was on the verge of throwing it out and starting again when I lifted the towel and saw this:

Josh Slocum

That’s a thriving, frothing stew of natural yeast and accompanying bacteria that will leaven your loaf and give you a flavor you can’t get from commercial bread. It costs literally pennies and time.

For the bread

I put some all-purpose flour (again, organic, so no chemical traces to interfere) in a bowl. I added some lukewarm water. Then I dumped some of the starter in. How much? I don’t know. Maybe half a cup?

I mixed it all together and kneaded it just a few times until everything was incorporated. Tip: You don’t have to knead your dough at all if you’re willing to be patient. If you set a sourdough loaf to ferment in a room of about 60 degrees with a loose cover and wait 24 hours, the bacteria and yeast will do everything for you, and it’s better than hand kneading.

Here’s the loaf 12 hours later:

Josh Slocum

It’s only risen about 20% to 30% in size so far, but that’s because sourdough is slower than commercial yeast, and my house is on the cool side. I’m going to put it in the oven with just the oven light on to speed it up.

How long will it take to double in size? I don’t know. It might do so by 24 hours, or it might take 36 hours. The longer the fermentation, the more digestible the bread, the better the texture, and the better the flavor. Sooner or later, it will fully rise, and I’ll pop it in a preheated, covered dutch oven at 500 degrees, and I’ll get a beautiful loaf with that crisp, glass-shattering crust.

My hope is that you’ll find something — bread, cakes, roast meats, whatever you like — and just cook it. Put down your cookbook. Turn off the phone. Stop looking for a “foolproof” recipe for bolognese sauce. Stop watching step-by-step videos.

Learn it in your hands and in your mind. Even most “mistakes” in cooking aren’t fatal to the meal. We don’t have to be slaves to expert directions. None of this is arcane knowledge beyond mere 21st-century mortals. Peasants who lived quite literally on one penny a day turned out two or three meals a day for their families without any of the gee-gaws and expert hand-holding that we moderns have become dependent upon.

Just go cook things!

​Lifestyle, Cooking, How-to, Sourdough, Baking, Food safety, Intervention 

Investigators searching for Nancy Guthrie said they have a new lead relating to the suspect seen in a terrifying doorbell video last week.

Pima County (Ariz.) Sheriff Chris Nanos told CBS News that investigators believe the suspect’s clothing and face mask were purchased at Walmart, and they are trying to identify each brand.

The FBI previously described the individual in the surveillance video as a male with an average build who is about 5 feet, 9 inches to 5 feet, 10 inches tall, the news network added.

The news network said it first reported that the suspect’s backpack — identified as a black Ozark Trail Hiker — was sold exclusively at Walmart.

CBS News added that it’s not yet known if the items were purchased online or in an Arizona store — or somewhere else. Investigators have spent several days reviewing surveillance video at local Walmarts, the sheriff also told the news network.

Authorities believe Guthrie — the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie — was abducted from her Tucson home in the middle of the night, CBS News said, adding that she has been missing since Feb. 1.

Nanos called the backpack one of the most promising leads in the case, the news network reported.

More from CBS News:

Walmart has provided records of all Ozark Trail Hiker online and in-store purchases over the past several months, including sales beyond the Tucson area, to investigators, Nanos told CBS News.

CBS News has reached out to Walmart corporate offices but a spokesperson declined to comment.

Investigators believe the face mask the suspect wore is black but appears lighter on the video footage due to Nest camera’s infrared technology.

The FBI previously described the individual in the surveillance video as a male with an average build who is about 5 feet, 9 inches to 5 feet, 10 inches tall, the news network added.

RELATED: How the FBI actually got the Google Nest footage of Nancy Guthrie’s alleged kidnapper

More from CBS News:

Investigators have also collected other DNA evidence from Nancy Guthrie’s property as part of the ongoing investigation, but the results have not led to a suspect, according to Nanos.

Multiple law enforcement agencies spent hours Friday evening searching a residence less than two miles from Nancy Guthrie’s home.

Nanos told CBS affiliate KOLD that the activity was the result of following up on “a lead that led to a search warrant and no arrest.” Authorities did not release other details on what led them there or what, if anything, may have been found.

The FBI on Tuesday released video and images from a security camera at Nancy Guthrie’s front door; an FBI press release said the man was armed.

A post on the X platform from FBI Director Kash Patel stated that authorities had been working “to recover any images or video footage from Nancy Guthrie’s home that may have been lost, corrupted, or inaccessible due to a variety of factors — including the removal of recording devices. The video was recovered from residual data located in backend systems.”

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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) — whose name has been bandied about as a possible 2028 presidential contender — took issue over the weekend with some of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s remarks at the Munich Security Conference.

Rather than successfully critique anything Rubio said on Saturday, Ocasio-Cortez instead exposed more of her historical illiteracy.

Rubio’s speech

Vice President JD Vance enraged a crowd of European officials last year at the Munich Security Conference by calling out their suppression of popular political movements and ideas, crackdown on religious liberties, and ruinous mass migration policies.

While pointed, Vance’s criticism of Europe’s censorious and self-destructive ways was constructive and imbued with the hope that Western nations across the Atlantic might return to the values they once shared in common with the United States.

‘Rubio’s speech was a pure appeal to “Western culture.”‘

In a less-scathing sequel to Vance’s speech, Rubio discussed on Feb. 14 the deep civilizational bonds that he figures the U.S. and Europe still share, the opportunity for concerted renewal, and the way forward to a “new century of prosperity.”

“We are part of one civilization — Western civilization,” said Rubio. “We are bound to one another by the deepest bonds that nations could share, forged by centuries of shared history, Christian faith, culture, heritage, language, ancestry, and the sacrifices our forefathers made together for the common civilization to which we have fallen heir.”

Rubio noted further that the U.S., under President Donald Trump, has embarked on the “task of renewal and restoration, driven by a vision of a future as proud, as sovereign, and as vital as our civilization’s past.”

“While we are prepared, if necessary, to do this alone, it is our preference and it is our hope to do this together with you, our friends here in Europe,” added the secretary.

Whereas Europeans couldn’t stomach Vance’s speech on-theme last year, the audience gave Rubio a standing ovation following his speech on Saturday.

Bucking the revisionism

While Europeans were receptive to the secretary’s discussion of civilizational inheritance and common responsibility, Ocasio-Cortez apparently had trouble with one of Rubio’s passing remarks.

During a softball interview at the Technical University of Berlin on Sunday, Ocasio-Cortez cited Rubio’s speech as evidence of the “ascent of the right even in places like Munich.”

“Marco Rubio’s speech was a pure appeal to ‘Western culture,'” said the congresswoman, employing scare quotes in reference to Western culture.

RELATED: ‘Qualm your t*ts’: Ocasio-Cortez makes embarrassing mistake while defending Don Lemon — and the ridicule is hilarious

Cornado sets out on his expedition for Quivira in 1540. Getty Images.

“My favorite part,” continued Ocasio-Cortez, “was when he said that American cowboys came from Spain. I believe the Mexicans and descendants of African slaves — enslaved peoples — would like to have a word on that.”

In his speech, Rubio stated:

Our expansion into the interior followed the footsteps of French fur traders and explorers whose names, by the way, still adorn the street signs and towns names all across the Mississippi Valley. Our horses, our ranches, our rodeos — the entire romance of the cowboy archetype that became synonymous with the American West — these were born in Spain. And our largest and most iconic city was named New Amsterdam before it was named New York.

Ocasio-Cortez’s critics were quick to point out that horses and cowboy culture were, as Rubio suggested, a European export to North America — including to New Spain, which ultimately became the home of Ocasio-Cortez’s would-be fact-checking, Spanish-speaking Mexicans.

‘Your IQ is lower than the temp in my freezer.’

While ancient horses once roamed North America, they apparently went extinct around 10,000 years ago. The species hitherto unknown to the native population was, however, reintroduced to the continent by Spaniards and other Europeans in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer sailing under the Spanish flag, imported the first horses the continent had seen in thousands of years on his second voyage to the New World in 1493. Twenty-six years later — and after decades of Europeans breeding horses in the Caribbean, where Ocasio-Cortez’s family hails from originally — the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés brought 16 horses to what is now Mexico.

With continued European exploration and expansion, horses were ultimately bred and spread across the continent, and mastered by European settlers and Indians alike. The corresponding horseman culture also didn’t appear ex nihilo.

Although it also references the Irish “Cau-boys” of the High Middle Ages, Fort Worth’s Sid Richardson Museum notes in its relevant overview that “cowboy culture in the American West can be traced to the Spanish tradition of the vaquero.”

“Derived from the word vaca (Spanish for cow), the vaqueros would become renowned for their skills and adaptability as Spain expanded their North American empire westward from what is now Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico to the Franciscan missions in California by the late 1700s,” noted History.com.

Normalcy advocate Robby Starbuck responded to Ocasio-Cortez, writing, “Yeah literally every culture learned the cowboy trade from Spanish vaqueros. I’m sorry that your IQ is lower than the temp in my freezer.”

John Daniel Davidson, a senior editor at the Federalist, quipped, “Just wait till she finds out where Mexicans came from.”

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​Munich speech, Munich security conference, Marco rubio, Rubio, Jd vance, Alexandria ocasio-cortez, Aoc, Retard, Retardation, History, Illiteracy, Leftism, Vaqueros, Cowboy, Spanish, Horse, Horses, Politics 

The “deep state” — the hidden network of unelected bureaucrats, intelligence officials, military leaders, and other insiders who secretly control government policy regardless of who is elected — has long been written off as a conspiracy theory.

But BlazeTV host Liz Wheeler says seven recently declassified documents from Richard Nixon’s 1975 grand jury testimony are evidence that the deep state doesn’t just exist — it’s been forcefully active for decades.

On this episode of “The Liz Wheeler Show,” Liz interviews Newsmax chief Washington correspondent James Rosen about the bombshell he helped bring to light.

Rosen, author of the 2008 book “The Strong Man: John Mitchell and the Secrets of Watergate,” has been digging into this story for over 30 years. He explains that the seven newly unsealed pages from Nixon’s secret 1975 grand jury testimony finally confirm one of the most explosive (and deliberately buried) scandals of the Nixon era: the Moorer-Radford espionage affair.

Back in 1971, top military leaders felt ignored by President Nixon and his adviser Henry Kissinger. They were upset that big foreign-policy decisions were being made without them.

In response, the Joint Chiefs of Staff launched a secret spying operation inside the White House. They used a young Navy yeoman named Charles Radford to steal thousands of top-secret documents.

“He took a copy of every document that came across his vision. What he couldn’t copy, he memorized. He dove through waste baskets and burn bags. He literally rifled the briefcases of Henry Kissinger while he slept on overnight flights,” says Rosen.

“It’s estimated that this yeoman stole 5,000 classified documents from the National Security Council over a year’s time, 1970 to ’71, in wartime, and delivered those documents to the Joint Chiefs of Staff through the admirals,” he adds.

When these ultra-sensitive documents Radford had stolen started appearing in newspaper columns just days after high-level meetings, Nixon’s “plumbers” — which Rosen describes as a White House “special investigative unit” — quickly traced the leaks back to Radford and the Pentagon spy ring.

The White House was stunned to discover that the U.S. military had been running an espionage operation against its own commander in chief during wartime.

“[The Senate Armed Services Committee] held classified closed-door hearings, but everybody involved had good reason to want to let the matter drop, and ultimately nothing was done,” says Rosen.

For starters, Nixon didn’t want to publicly “vilify” the military during the Vietnam era, when returning veterans were already facing widespread scorn and being labeled “baby killers,” Rosen explains. Further, Attorney General John Mitchell reminded Nixon of his own administration’s secret operations, making a full-blown scandal risky for everyone.

So the affair was hushed up. Radford and the involved admirals were quietly reassigned to remote posts; the Pentagon liaison office was dissolved; and no charges were filed. Brief classified Senate hearings in 1974 fizzled out amid the Watergate storm.

Rosen, who first detailed this from Nixon’s 1971 White House tapes in his 2002 Atlantic article “Nixon and the Chiefs,” says these seven newly declassified pages from Nixon’s 1975 grand jury testimony add the former president’s own sworn account of the betrayal.

It shows unelected military leaders actively undermining an elected president over policy disagreements — proof, he argues, that the deep state isn’t a modern myth but a decades-old “beast.”

Check out the full eye-opening interview above.

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​The liz wheeler show, Liz wheeler, James rosen, Nixon, Watergate, Blazetv, Blaze media, Deep state 

A partial shutdown of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security entered its third day Monday, leaving thousands of Transportation Security Administration agents and other essential workers without pay as they continue performing critical duties at airports nationwide.

The funding lapse, which began early Saturday, stems from a breakdown in negotiations between congressional Democrats and Republicans over proposed restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations.

‘This is getting very old, and we’re hoping this is not going to become the new normal.’

Even WPRI in Rhode Island noted Democrats’ role in the shutdown: “The Department of Homeland Security officially shut down on Saturday after Democrats refused to fund it. They want new restrictions on ICE agents following the deadly shootings of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis.”

The shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti have intensified tensions surrounding immigration enforcement. Democrats have insisted on new limits on DHS funding, while Republicans have accused them of holding up critical funding to secure policy concessions.

RELATED: Government shutdown looms after Democrats tank key DHS vote

TSA screeners, deemed essential personnel, are required to report for duty despite the funding lapse.

Reporting from T.F. Green International Airport in Rhode Island, WPRI’s Sophia Szabo said TSA agents are still recovering from a 43-day government shutdown last year.

“That’s a long time to work without a paycheck,” Szabo said, noting lawmakers have roughly two weeks to reach a deal before another missed pay period.

The impact on workers is mounting.

“This is getting very old, and we’re hoping this is not going to become the new normal, but it does seem that it’s going in that direction,” a union representative for TSA agents in New England said. “A lot of the officers are very anxious because we’re in the middle of winter, and now we’re going to have to choose between paying for heat and paying for food and rent if the checks don’t come through in the next couple of weeks. Because in two weeks, in the next pay period, we’re only going to have half a check, and so choices are going to have to be made — and we shouldn’t be put in this position again.”

RELATED: ‘We do not support ICE’: Speedway gas station sparks backlash after booting Border Patrol boss

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Szabo added that staffing shortages have worsened since the previous shutdown.

“According to a union representing TSA agents across New England, there has been a significant shortage of these agents since that last shutdown, and they’re already struggling to recruit more,” she reported.

The shutdown affects agencies within DHS, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Coast Guard, and the Secret Service.

Congress is currently in recess until Feb. 23, leaving a narrow window to resolve the impasse before broader operational impacts emerge.

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​Politics, Dhs, Government shutdown, No pay, Tsa, Tsa agents, Airport, Democrats 

Robert Selden Duvall has died at the age of 95, according to a statement from his wife.

The iconic actor was best known for his roles in “The Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now.”

‘To the world, he was an Academy Award-winning actor, a director, a storyteller. To me, he was simply everything.’

Duvall’s wife posted a statement on Facebook Monday saying that he had died the day before.

“Yesterday we said goodbye to my beloved husband, cherished friend, and one of the greatest actors of our time. Bob passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by love and comfort,” Luciana Pedraza, the actor’s fourth wife, wrote.

“To the world, he was an Academy Award-winning actor, a director, a storyteller. To me, he was simply everything. His passion for his craft was matched only by his deep love for characters, a great meal, and holding court,” she added.

A statement from his public relations agency said he died “peacefully” at his home in Middleburg, Virginia.

Duvall was nominated seven times for an Academy Award and won Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role as Mac Sledge in the 1983 film “Tender Mercies.”

He was also known for being openly conservative and campaigned for several Republicans including John McCain and Rudy Giuliani.

“What a double standard,” he said about feminists. “They witter on about having the vote and then elect a guy like Clinton because he’s good-looking and puts through women-friendly policies.”

RELATED: Gene Hackman’s death riddled with suspicion

“For each of his many roles, Bob gave everything to his characters and to the truth of the human spirit they represented,” his wife continued.

“In doing so, he leaves something lasting and unforgettable to us all,” she added. “Thank you for the years of support you showed Bob and for giving us this time and privacy to celebrate the memories he leaves behind.”

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​Rubert duvall dead, Iconic actors die, Conservative hollywood celebrities, Robert duvall’s politics, Politics 

A group of 10 students in California caused a controversy after spelling out a controversial word with letters on their T-shirts last week.

The students were originally part of a photo celebrating the class of 2026, but then decided to pull a prank that they may end up regretting.

‘A small group of students made the poor decision to publicly spell out a message.’

Originally, more than 20 students wore coordinated T-shirts for a photo in the bleachers at Redwood High School, located southeast of Fresno, California, in the Visalia Unified School District.

Surrounded by a crowd of their peers, the students spelled, “Always Legit, Class of 2026,” with each student having a single letter on the chest.

According to Your Central Valley, some of the students then rearranged themselves for a different photo during the school event.

Seven students spelled out the word “faggots,” utilizing a “6” T-shirt in place of a “G” when spelling the word. Another student sat to the left wearing a “2” T-shirt, while two students sat three rows behind in the photo. All of the students were criticized for smiling or placing their arms around each other in the picture.

RELATED: Dad says former math teacher and coach sent 15-year-old daughter nude selfie

School officials sent out an apology letter to families that same night, KFSN reported, saying the school prides itself on respect, integrity, and leadership.

“Good afternoon, Ranger Families, I am writing to inform you about a recent incident in which a small group of students made the poor decision to publicly spell out a message that was derogatory and disrespectful,” the letter read.

The school added that “this behavior is unacceptable” and “does not reflect who we are as a school community.”

In a statement to Your Central Valley, Visalia Unified Superintendent Kirk Shrum indicated that the district was made aware of students who coordinated to “spell out a hateful, homophobic slur.”

RELATED: 2 Florida 15-year-olds accused of threatening to shoot up high schools

Photo by John Moore/Getty Images

“This is unacceptable behavior, and this matter is being thoroughly investigated, and appropriate action will be taken,” Shrum went on. “Every student deserves to feel respected, protected, and valued on our campuses. We will continue working to ensure our schools are places where dignity, belonging, and accountability guide our actions.”

On Friday evening, Visalia Unified School District announced that it had taken “appropriate disciplinary action” against the students for spelling out a “hateful” slur.

It has also been noted that some of the students were reportedly members of the school student government.

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​News, Slur, Censorship, High school, California, Lgbt, Gay agenda, Politics 

The country presently has 27 GOP state attorneys general and 23 Democrat state AGs — counting the Democrat-appointed lesbian activist in Hawaii. Republicans are fighting to maintain their dominance in the top legal offices across the country, the majority of which they have controlled since 2015.

There are 30 state attorney general seats on the ballot this November — 16 of which are presently occupied by Democrats and 14 of which are occupied by Republicans.

The Republican Attorneys General Association, whose support wasn’t enough to spare former Virginia AG Jason Miyares from losing his re-election bid last year, announced on Friday that it raised “a record $29.3 million across all entities last year” — the most that any AG organization has reportedly ever raised in a calendar year.

‘Four of the Toss-up AG races are in states that were considered presidential battlegrounds in 2024.’

“In 11 months, RAGA raised nearly $30 million for the first time ever,” RAGA Executive Director Adam Piper said in a statement. “However, we must shatter previous fundraising records to ensure we protect battleground incumbent seats and pick up winnable seats.”

“2026 is the largest election year for AG races, and RAGA is well positioned for another banner year,” added Piper.

Among the incumbent Republican attorneys general now running or poised to run for re-election are:

Tim Griffin of Arkansas;James Uthmeier of Florida;Chris Carr of Georgia;Raúl Labrador of Idaho;Brenna Bird of Iowa — who received a $1 million donation from the RAGA on Dec. 31;Kris Kobach of Kansas;Mike Hilgers of Nebraska; andDrew Wrigley of North Dakota.

Whereas Ohio’s Dave Yost is ineligible to run again due to term limits, several other GOP incumbents are creating openings because they have their eyes set on different prizes.

RELATED: ‘Going to get someone killed’: Democratic AG shocks with talk about shooting ICE agents in ‘stand your ground’ Arizona

Georgia AG Chris Carr. Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Alabama AG Steve Marshall and Texas AG Ken Paxton are running for the Senate — Marshall for the seat of Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), who is running for governor, and Paxton to deny Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) a fifth term.

South Dakota AG Marty Jackley is running for Congress. Oklahoma AG Gentner Drummond is running for governor of his state.

Louis Jacobson at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics suggested in an analysis late last year that “of the 2025-26 AG races, seven states have competitive AG races: five Toss-ups, plus a Leans Republican and a Leans Democratic seat each.”

“Democrats will largely be playing defense: All five Toss-up races are currently held by Democrats, with at least two of them open-seat races, and potentially more to come open if additional incumbents run for a different office,” continued Jacobson. “Mirroring the national partisan split, four of the Toss-up AG races are in states that were considered presidential battlegrounds in 2024.”

Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, and Wisconsin were identified as toss-up AG races. Jacobson suggested further that Carr (R) was well-positioned in Georgia.

“The remaining states with AG races this cycle include 10 Safe Republican seats, 3 Likely Republican seats, and 11 Safe Democratic seats,” added Jacobson.

While the races in Maryland, Nevada, Ohio, and Wisconsin are attracting significant national and donor attention, the contests in Iowa and Kansas — where Kobach is once again battling Democrat challenger Chris Mann — are fast becoming two of the most closely watched, reported MultiState.

Mann reportedly out-raised Kobach last year. Nevertheless, the incumbent had more cash on hand to kick off this election year.

Bird has managed to raise over $2 million for her re-election campaign — more than double what her Democrat challenger, Nate Willems, has netted. The Des Moines Register reported, however, that Willems has fared far better in terms of fundraising than his state’s former Democrat AG, Tom Miller, who lost to Bird in 2022.

The race in Texas is similarly garnering national attention, though much of the present heat surrounds the Republican primary on March 3.

The candidates who will face off Tuesday in a debate moderated by BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey are:

Aaron Reitz, the Paxton-endorsed former assistant attorney general who has promised to “destroy the left” if elected;Rep. Chip Roy, an antagonist of Paxton who has Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s endorsement; Mayes Middleton, a Texas state senator who has characterized himself as proud supporter of President Trump and the America First agenda and has been endorsed by Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas); andJoan Huffman, a Texas state senator who enjoys the support of various police unions and has been endorsed by National Fraternal Order of Police Vice President Joe Gamaldi.

The debate airs at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

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​Midterm election, Midterm elections, Midterm, State attorneys general, Attorney general, Ken paxton, Chris carr, Kris kobach, Miyares, Tim griffin, Labrador, Brenna bird, Mike hilgers, Raga, Attorneys, Politics 

“People have the right to not be poisoned. Sounds really common sense, but unfortunately, there are a lot of companies in the food industry that do not agree,” BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey says.

That’s why the Florida Department of Health has taken matters into its own hands by launching the Healthy Florida First initiative. Spearheaded by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, first lady Casey DeSantis, and Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo, this program independently tests common food products for contaminants — such as heavy metals, pesticides like glyphosate, and other toxins — to promote transparency, accountability, clean food systems, and informed choices for families.

The results of Florida’s testing have revealed contaminants in many everyday foods like candy, breads, and even baby formulas.

On this episode of “Relatable,” Allie sits down with Casey DeSantis to discuss some of the most shocking findings.

Baby formula

“When we got the [baby formula] results back, we were very startled and obviously disquieted by the fact that there was 17 out of 24 that came back with problematic levels of arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury,” DeSantis says, noting that after 2025 Consumer Reports data revealed contamination in several name brand baby formulas, many companies’ products “still [have] problematic contaminants.”

Some of those brands include top-sellers, like Enfamil and Similac — both of which had multiple varieties test positive for contaminants such as arsenic, mercury, cadmium, and lead.

“[Heavy metals] don’t just leave the body easily, right? … Unfortunately, what our surgeon general in Florida has said that you have a definite increased risk of cancer over the course of your lifetime if you’re consuming this early in life,” DeSantis tells Allie.

“It is not fair to any mother to go into a store, to have to sit there and wonder which option is better than another when all of it should be safe.”

Bread

Several top brands of bread were found to contain a chemical called glyphosate, which is one of the most commonly used weed killers worldwide.

“It’s Roundup. … It kills plants, and so there’s no reason why any of that should be in any product that we’re consuming,” DeSantis says.

Florida Surgeon General Dr. Ladapo, she says, has warned that consuming glyphosate can cause problems “at the cellular level with your microbiome.”

But even more disturbing are the label warnings on Roundup, she says, which caution users to avoid all skin contact skin and inhalation.

“There’s all of these problematic things with being in close proximity to glyphosate. [It’s] probably safe to assume that it’s not good in the food supply in bread,” DeSantis says.

And yet, testing from the Healthy Florida First initiative detected glyphosate in 6 out of 8 popular brands, including Nature’s Own, Dave’s Killer Bread, Wonder Bread, and Sara Lee.

Candy

Most people know that candy isn’t the healthiest food choice, but many have no clue that in addition to the high sugar levels, many top candies contain arsenic — a known human carcinogen.

Florida’s Department of Health tested 46 top candy products and found that 28 (60%) had detectable levels of arsenic in them. Some of those include Laffy Taffy, Nerds, SweeTarts, Jolly Ranchers, Twizzlers, Kit Kat, Snickers, Skittles, and Sour Patch Kids, among several others.

DeSantis gives a real-life example of how drastically this can impact a child.

“Our analysis found that if you eat more than 96 Nerds over the course of a year, for a child, you are exceeding the allowable threshold of arsenic for a child. … It’s realistic to assume that children are eating more than 96 individual Nerds. When you look at a box that you get in a movie theater, there’s 8,000 Nerds in it,” she says.

Crunching the numbers: Eating a full box of Nerds (8,000 pieces) would expose a child to more than 83 times the yearly safe limit of arsenic set by Florida’s Department of Health — just from that one movie-theater treat.

The occasional piece of candy isn’t concerning, DeSantis says. “It’s the consumption in aggregate that is very problematic.”

“That has to be taken into account, and that has to be disclosed to parents so that they can make better decisions,” she adds.

To hear more, watch the full episode above.

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To enjoy more of Allie’s upbeat and in-depth coverage of culture, news, and theology from a Christian, conservative perspective, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Relatable, Casey desantis, Blazetv, Blaze media, Florida department of health, Joseph ladapo, Healthy florida first, Glyphosate, Heavy metals, Baby formula, Allie beth stuckey, Relatable with allie beth stuckey, Relatable podcast 

The latest statistics show the U.S. economy is improving steadily, particularly in the shift from government employment to private-sector jobs and toward new hires going to native-born Americans instead of immigrants. Opinion polls, however, show Americans are displeased with the current state of the economy, and young people are turning toward socialism.

The smart course for the Republicans would be to pass major reforms to shrink the welfare state and cut federal spending and regulation instead of mildly reducing scheduled increases.

The concerns about the economy reflect three major factors: one, stubborn economic distortions caused by longtime government policies; two, the lingering effects of acute Biden-presidency price inflation; and, three, dishonest media reporting.

The average inflation rate during the Biden administration was 5%, nearly double the current rate. Real, inflation-adjusted average weekly earnings in private-sector jobs decreased by 4% while Biden was in office. Home prices rose by 37.4%, sparking a housing affordability crisis. Publicly held federal debt increased by one-third, igniting the price inflation.

That has changed dramatically in just one year. “Since President Trump took office, headline inflation has been running at 2.4% (much lower than 3% inherited from Biden) and core inflation has been running at 2.4% (much lower than 3.3% inherited from Biden),” the White House stated correctly last month.

Slowing inflation does not lower prices however. It only reduces the increases. The Biden-era price rises were worst in basic necessities, and the only way to moderate that is for wages to rise. Fortunately, that is starting to happen.

Employment numbers confirm a positive movement from part-time work to full-time work and away from the government into the productive private sector. “Initial jobless claims in the U.S. fell by 9,000 from the previous week to 198,000 on the week ending January 10,” the second-lowest number of job losses in two years, and initial unemployment claims by federal employees rose by more than one-third, Trading Economics reports.

The movement from part-time work to full-time employment in better jobs that pay more and include benefits is of course a highly positive trend. “In December, the number of part-time jobs declined by 740,000, while full-time employment shot up by 890,000,” Unleash Prosperity notes.

Labor productivity in the nonfarm business sector increased by 4.9% in the third quarter of last year, with output rising by 5.4% and hours worked increasing by 0.5%. Manufacturing-sector labor productivity and output are rising markedly after declining during the Biden administration. Overall U.S. industrial production has increased, rising 0.4% month-over-month in both November and December, and manufacturing output rose by 0.2% in December.

Continued improvements in employment and private-sector productivity are the real solution to the affordability crisis. In light of those trends, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta raised its estimate of fourth-quarter annualized real Gross Domestic Product growth to an impressive 5.3%. In addition, mortgage interest rates are down to their lowest level since 2022.

Naturally, the regime media are desperately trying to spin all this good news into a mythical calamity, to cast doubt on the conclusively proven value of market-empowering reforms. “CNN, true to form, immediately tried to make a relatively good report out to be a bad one in a January 13 X post: ‘U.S. inflation remained at 2.7% in December, underscoring persistent cost of living challenges,’” Newsbusters reports.

When inflation was an awful 6% in February 2023, CNN characterized it as good news, saying, “U.S. inflation is still high, but it’s falling. Last month’s Consumer Price Index measured 6%, down from January’s 6.4%,” as Daily Wire reporter Cabot Phillips noted in an X post. Coverage by all the regime media has reflected this bias.

While just under a year’s worth of economic reforms and (disappointingly mild) efforts to hold the line on inflation are showing real progress, the previous four years did major damage to the private, productive sectors of the U.S. economy. It will take some time for the public to feel the full benefit of the policy changes they voted for in 2024.

RELATED: The debt bomb is ticking, and DC spent the blast shield

Artoleshko / Getty Images

Although people should hardly be surprised that Trump and the Congress have not yet fully reversed the economic destruction of the prior four years, poll numbers indicate an impatience that reflects the media’s spin: “Most, 64%, say [Trump] hasn’t gone far enough in trying to reduce the price of everyday goods,” CNN reports.

Trump and the congressional Republicans understandably feel a strong urge to be seen as doing everything possible to fix the economy, though the only thing that will really unleash American prosperity is a full retrenchment of the enormous federal welfare state that Obama and Biden did so much to expand.

Democrats understandably view the economic stagnation that they themselves caused as a terrific political opportunity that could restore them to majority rule in Congress, with a chance to impeach Trump multiple times and block desperately needed reforms to shrink the government.

The smart course for Republicans would be to pass major reforms to shrink the welfare state and cut federal spending and regulation instead of mildly reducing scheduled increases. That would accelerate the economic improvements we are already seeing. It would also make the recent reforms permanent, given that a Democratic congressional majority would not be able to reverse them, given Trump’s veto power.

Those moves would benefit the American people greatly.

The wise course for the Democrats would be to sit back, go quiet, and let the public reject an ineffectual GOP in this November’s elections.

Many decades of American politics have taught us what is most likely to happen: Neither party will do the smart thing, much less the right thing.

​Trump, Economy, Gop, Midterms, Economic numbers, Inflation, Biden, Price increases, Cnn, Media, Republicans, Opinion & analysis 

Democrats and legacy media have put forth several mischaracterizations and even flat-out lies about the GOP’s latest election integrity bill.

The House passed the SAVE America Act Wednesday with unanimous Republican support and with even one Democrat, Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas, joining the GOP. The bill would put in place basic election integrity requirements like providing proof of citizenship and photo ID to register and vote in federal elections.

‘If you buy a 6-pack of beer you have to show an ID.’

The bill is now in the Senate, where Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah is leading the effort to pass the legislation.

Although this proposal seems commonsense to most Americans, Democrats have caused a firestorm of hysteria and misconception. Here is the truth behind Democrats’ most common rebuttals.

RELATED: 4 Senate Republicans evading MAGA’s pressure campaign to prevent noncitizens from voting

Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images

1. ‘It’s already illegal!’

The SAVE America Act aims to protect ballots from election fraud, particularly from illegal aliens and noncitizens. Democrats are quick to point out that it is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in elections, and those Democrats who are willing to admit that noncitizens voting does occasionally happen insist it takes place at a negligible rate.

This is partially true. It is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in American elections, and when it does happen, estimates show it occurs less than 1% of the time. But even if the rate is extremely low, it’s not zero. And while many elections are decisive victories, some are decided by razor-thin margins, making every ballot count.

RELATED: Lone Democrat joins all Republicans to pass landmark election integrity bill barring noncitizens from voting

Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

In the 2024 election, former Republican Rep. John Duarte of California was unseated by Democrat Adam Gray by just 187 votes, chipping away at a historically thin GOP advantage in the House. But it’s not just local elections that are decided by such narrow margins. In 2020, former President Joe Biden won several swing states by just thousands of votes, including Georgia by 11,779 votes and Arizona by just 10,457 votes.

There’s no way to know if any of those votes were cast fraudulently, which is precisely the problem. Americans should have total confidence that every ballot counted in an election is a legitimate vote that reflects the political will of a United States citizen. The SAVE America Act would help do just that.

2. ‘Jim Crow 2.0’

Democrats are no stranger to playing the race card, claiming that requiring photo ID somehow unfairly affects minorities. Perhaps most notable of them all is Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, who unabashedly likened the SAVE Act to Jim Crow-era rules.

“I have said it before and I’ll say it again, the SAVE Act would impose Jim Crow type laws to the entire country and is dead on arrival in the Senate,” Schumer said in a statement earlier this month. “It is a poison pill that will kill any legislation that it is attached to. If House Republicans add the SAVE Act to the bipartisan appropriations package it will lead to another prolonged Trump government shutdown.”

RELATED: Stopping the steal: Sen. Lee, Republicans demand Election Day integrity ahead of SCOTUS fight over ‘rolling’ ballot counts

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Apart from Schumer’s soft bigotry of low expectations, his claim is simply inaccurate. The SAVE America Act offers a wide range of acceptable documents to prove citizenship, including a valid U.S. passport, a REAL ID that indicates citizenship, a U.S. military identification card that shows birthplace in the U.S., a birth certificate or other equivalent naturalization documents, and even some tribal IDs like the American Indian card.

Presenting a photo ID is also already a requirement to vote in some states as well as for countless other activities and purchases, including boarding a plane and casting a vote as a member of Congress.

“If you buy a 6-pack of beer you have to show an ID,” Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee joked in a post on X. “End this racism.”

3. ‘It’s an attack on women!’

Another claim Democrats have repeatedly made is that the new requirements disproportionately impact women who have changed their names after marriage. Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said that the name change “creates a real problem” for her, implying that the legislation is the GOP’s latest attempt to suppress women’s votes.

The absurdity of Warren’s claim is self-evident. Married women often obtain documentation with their new names for other processes that require identification, such as purchasing alcohol or opening a bank account. In addition, women are not limited to producing birth certificates, but also may provide other forms of acceptable ID, such as a passport or a REAL ID.

RELATED: Lone Republican defies Trump, votes to tank the SAVE Act

Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Even in the rare case that a woman’s ID is not updated with her new legal name, the SAVE America Act explicitly allows for name changes in documentation. The legislation requires states to establish fallback procedures for voters who have changed their names due to marriage, divorce, adoption, or another reason.

The reality is that none of the proposed requirements are novel or restrictive. They are simply common sense.

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In a recent interview with Bryan Tyler Cohen, former President Barack Obama was asked about the existence of aliens during a “speed round” of questions, and Obama made a shocking statement.

“They’re real,” Obama told Cohen quickly.

The clip quickly went viral, sparking renewed questions about what the former president knows and what he has previously said about UFOs and extraterrestrial life.

‘Statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there’s life out there.’

Obama clarified to Cohen that he has never actually “seen them” himself and dismissed long-running Area 51 conspiracy theories, saying that the government is not actively hiding aliens, unless agents somehow managed to conceal that information from the president of the United States.

But this was not the first time Obama publicly addressed the issue.

RELATED: ‘Who put them there?’ Scientists struggle to explain UFO-like objects captured in 1950s astronomy photos.

Image credit: YouTube screenshot

In 2021, during an appearance on “The Late Late Show with James Corden,” Obama was pressed about UFOs.

“There are some things I just can’t tell you on air,” Obama said.

Though the exchange began lightheartedly, Obama shifted to a more serious tone.

“What is true, and I’m actually being serious here, is that there’s footage and records of objects in the skies that we don’t know exactly what they are,” Obama said. “We can’t explain how they moved, their trajectory. They did not have an easily explainable pattern. And so, you know, I think that people still take seriously trying to investigate and figure out what that is.”

President Donald Trump has also fielded questions about aliens on multiple occasions, including during an interview with podcast host Joe Rogan.

“I interviewed jet pilots that were solid people — perfect, great pilots, great everything. And they said, ‘We saw things, sir, that were very strange, like a round ball, but it wasn’t a comet or a meteor,’” Trump said. “‘It was something, and it was going four times faster than an F-22.’”

“There’s no reason not to think that Mars and all these planets don’t have life,” Trump added.

These previous statements from both presidents are notably similar in tone, acknowledging unexplained aerial phenomena while stopping short of confirming extraterrestrial life, making Obama’s comment to Cohen all the more noteworthy.

However, Obama has since attempted to give more context to his declaration that aliens are “real.”

RELATED: Pentagon psyop exposed: Military reportedly cooked up tales of alien technology in weapons cover-up

Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

A day after the interview, Obama made a clarifying post on Instagram, saying he was “trying to stick with the spirit of the speed round.”

Obama then delivered a gut punch to the community of UFO believers, saying, “Statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there’s life out there. But the distances between solar systems are so great that the chances we’ve been visited by aliens is low, and I saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us. Really!”

Studies show that the American people remain curious about the UFO phenomenon. A 2025 poll from NewsNation/Decision Desk HQ surveyed 521 Republicans, 559 Democrats, 349 independents, and 18 “other” voters and found that 44% of Americans believe the government is concealing UFO information. Twenty-eight percent disagree, while another 28% remain unsure.

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As the search for Savannah Guthrie’s mother stretches into its third week, the “Today” host released a video update over the weekend — with an urgent appeal to anyone who might know her mother’s whereabouts.

Nancy Guthrie, 84, was reported missing on February 1 after a member of her church noticed she was not at the usual service and later notified her family. While police have been investigating some evidence, there are still no positive leads to her whereabouts, two weeks after her disappearance, CNN reported Monday morning.

‘And we believe in the essential goodness of every human being. And it’s never too late.’

On Sunday, Savannah Guthrie released a second video appealing to anyone who knows where her mother is, including in particular the masked man who was caught on doorbell camera footage, which Guthrie likewise posted on her Instagram.

In the most recent video, which Guthrie captioned “Bring her home. it’s never too late to do the next right thing,” she said:

It’s been two weeks since our mom was taken, and I just wanted to come on and say that we still have hope and we still believe. And I wanted to say to whoever has her, or knows where she is, that it’s never too late, and you’re not lost or alone. And it is never too late to do the right thing. And we are here. We believe. And we believe in the essential goodness of every human being. And it’s never too late.

RELATED: ‘Today’ host Savannah Guthrie’s mother, 84, vanishes from home after missing church; police warn: ‘We have a crime scene’

Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images

CNN reported that investigators have still not identified a motive for Guthrie’s disappearance.

However, a glove found near Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson, Arizona, residence appears to visually match a glove seen in the doorbell camera footage. DNA from the glove is being examined to try to identify a suspect in the case, according to CNN.

Any DNA found on the glove will be run through the FBI-managed Combined DNA Index System, which is a national database of over 19 million offender profiles.

The Hill reported that the FBI is encouraging those with tips to reach out to 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department also said last Wednesday that individuals can submit tips at 88-CRIME or 520-351-4900.

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Sports broadcaster Stephen A. Smith says he is a fiscal conservative but a social liberal.

For those reasons, the ESPN personality says he is not completely opposed to running for office, but it would be as a Democrat.

‘I couldn’t see myself running as a member of the GOP.’

The 58-year-old critiqued policy from both of the last two administrations during an interview with “CBS Sunday Morning” and host Robert Costa, remarking that he has “no desire to be a politician.”

“Zero. I have no desire to run for office,” he told Costa. But when asked if he would “run for president,” Smith revealed that the door is still open.

“I’m not ruling it out because I’d love to be on the debate stages against some of these individuals that think they’re better suited to run the country, because I think that the American people deserve to listen to and hear from somebody who genuinely cares about making life better for them instead of yourself.”

RELATED: ESPN fatigue: Stephen A. Smith pushes vaccines, racial drama, and no real journalism

When asked which party’s banner he would fly, Smith said he would run as a Democrat chiefly because of the fact that he is more left on social issues.

“I couldn’t see myself running as a member of the GOP. I’m a fiscal conservative. I can’t stand high taxes, but I’m a social liberal in the same breath because I believe in living and let live. I pay attention to the desolate and the disenfranchised. Yes, I like strong borders. That’s absolutely true. We never needed open borders, but we don’t need it to be completely closed either. We’re a gorgeous mosaic.”

The sports analyst criticized both President Biden’s and President Trump’s policies during an extended version of the interview, calling out Biden’s open-border policies.

“The borders needed to be closed. [Trump] was right to do that, but only because Biden opened them,” he explained.

Smith’s criticisms of Trump mainly focused on deportations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which he described as “grabbing people up [and] snatching people off the streets.”

RELATED: Jason Whitlock: Stephen A. Smith is a part of a controlled ‘clown show’

Smith took issue with the targets of the agency and claimed the Trump administration had previously characterized enforcement as “going after the criminals,” only to then enforce immigration laws against “anybody who crossed the border illegally.”

The interview touched on a lot of different topics, including racism. At one point during the interview, Costa noted that Smith’s broadcasting style had garnered him the nickname “Screaming A. Smith.” The analyst quickly retorted.

“White men are all over the place screaming all the time. They don’t call them screaming whatever,” Smith declared. “Matter of fact, they call them passionate, and they never associate the word ‘anger.’ But somehow they do that with me despite this fact that I smile a lot. A lot of reasons to be happy.”

On the subject of race, Smith later noted that he does not believe racism is “as prevalent as some on the left would like us to believe.”

Smith said he does believe that the vast majority of Americans judge each other on the content of their individual character rather than skin color.

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