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The Android operating system is all about customization and user choice, but if you own a Samsung Galaxy phone, you’re getting ready to have one less option for texting your friends and family. Samsung recently announced that the official Samsung Messages app is shutting down this summer, and you will need to migrate to an alternative by the deadline.

Phasing out Samsung Messages

Although Google offers its core apps (colloquially known as GApps) on most Android devices for free, Samsung also has its own versions that come preloaded on its Galaxy phone lineup. One of those apps is Samsung Messages.

Samsung didn’t explicitly reveal why it is closing down its messaging app.

Billed as a simple text messaging app, Samsung Messages has long been the place where Galaxy owners send SMS and MMS to friends, family, co-workers, and anyone else with a phone number. That all changed in 2021 with the launch of the Galaxy S21 series. Those were the first phones in Samsung’s lineup to trade Samsung Messages for Google Messages, leading to all subsequent models launching with Google as the default texting option.

This year, Samsung is finally closing the loop, as it plans to shut down Samsung Messages entirely in favor of Google Messages, with a vague end-of-service deadline set for July 2026.

The end of Samsung Messages is a net benefit for users

Although it might be a pain for some users who have still hung on to the aging messages app, the shutdown and migration to Google Messages are actually a good thing. As we covered earlier this year, Google Messages is one of the only text messaging apps on Android that supports Rich Communication Services, the new texting gold standard that replaced SMS and MMS.

In case you need a quick refresher: RCS is better than antiquated texting tech because it offers end-to-end encryption for increased security between Android users (with iPhone encryption coming soon), cross-platform read receipts, improved group messaging features, and support for higher-res media files.

RELATED: RED FLAG: FBI says these apps let China suck up your personal data

Dragos Condrea/Getty Images

All in all, RCS is simply better, and since Samsung Messages doesn’t support it, Google’s version seems like a no-brainer.

How to set Google Messages as your default messaging app

Whether you still use Samsung Messages as your daily texting app or you’re not sure which app is set as your default, here’s how to check your settings to ensure that Google Messages is set up correctly:

Make sure Google Messages is downloaded and installed on your device. You can grab the app from the Google Play Store if you need it.Open the Settings app on your Samsung Galaxy device.Scroll down and tap “Apps” near the bottom of the page.Select “Choose default apps” at the top.Tap “SMS app.”Make sure the Google Messages app — the one with a blue messages icon and a white background — is selected.

Screenshots by Zach Laidlaw/Galaxy Z Fold7 on Android 16

Some caveats to consider

Before you do anything else, there are a few caveats to the shutdown that you should know:

Users on older Galaxy devices running Android 11 or lower will not be impacted by the switch. You can continue to use the same text messaging app unabated.Users on Android 12 or 13 may need to manually change the Messages app on their dock from Samsung Messages to Google Messages once the switch is complete. Everyone else will see Google Messages in their dock automatically once the switch is made.Samsung Messages will still be accessible and functional for emergency use for all users, even after the shutdown window has closed.

The reason Samsung Messages is shutting down

Samsung didn’t explicitly reveal why it is closing down its first-party text messaging app after all these years. However, there are a couple of possible reasons for the switch.

First is RCS support. Google doesn’t necessarily own the technology behind this new messaging standard, but it has championed the solution since bringing it to Android in 2019. More importantly, Google’s acquisition of Jibe Mobile in 2015 — an RCS company — gave it the foundation to sidestep carriers that drag their feet on enabling RCS support, in the same way that Apple subverted carriers with its own iMessage service on iOS. Through Google Messages, Google can control RCS features and adoption throughout the entire Android ecosystem and ensure a consistent experience across devices.

Second, Samsung and Google have grown closer in their partnership over the years, working together on huge projects like the Wear OS reboot in 2021, as well as the Samsung Galaxy XR headset that launched late last year. The switch to Google Messages is just another example of the companies collaborating to centralize and strengthen the Android ecosystem amid the growing threat that is Apple.

​Tech 

If the United States is serious about giving citizenship to worthy immigrants, we also need to be serious about revoking it from the unworthy.

More than 800,000 immigrants became American citizens in FY2024, and a comparable number are expected in FY2025. There are more than 25 million naturalized American citizens — about half the foreign-born population. I welcome those who followed the rules and took the Oath of Allegiance in good faith.

But many didn’t. That’s where denaturalization comes in.

Becoming an American citizen is a privilege, not a right.

The question of revoking citizenship from immigrants is part of a broader debate about what membership in our national community means — a debate made especially urgent by the waves of mass immigration the political class has allowed into our country over the past 50 years.

A vigorous, ongoing, and unapologetic commitment to denaturalization is an important part of the effort to restore integrity to U.S. citizenship. It is not about restricting citizenship gratuitously, but about demonstrating that becoming an American citizen is a privilege, not a right.

Historically, the number of people denaturalized has been quite low. From 1990 until the first Trump administration, fewer than a dozen immigrants a year on average lost their citizenship through a civil or criminal court process.

The most notable targets were not ordinary fraudsters but war criminals, terrorists, and human rights violators who lied on their applications.

The focus broadened in the first Trump term. The Justice Department created a unit devoted to investigating and litigating denaturalization cases, and the number of cases grew to around 40 per year.

An increase in denaturalizations actually first started under Obama due to technological advancements, and the effort has been stepped up even further in Trump’s second term.

Last year, the Justice Department issued a memo promising, among other things, that “the Civil Division shall prioritize and maximally pursue denaturalization proceedings in all cases permitted by law and supported by the evidence.” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the part of the Department of Homeland Security that handles such matters, has set a target of referring 100 to 200 possible cases per month to the Justice Department.

The immigration game

Our relatively easy citizenship process is generally a good thing. Whether the number of newcomers each year is high or low, the goal for admitting foreigners should be their full absorption into American society.

This is not the way citizenship is handled in, say, the Persian Gulf states, where large foreign majorities are not part of the political community and never can be. In a republic like ours, however, the chief goal of immigration must be to turn newcomers into Americans.

Though it also involves a lot of paperwork, becoming a citizen is not like getting a driver’s license or opening a bank account. A better analogy is that the immigrant is “marrying” America, or being “adopted” by her. Such an arrangement should not be entered into lightly, but once consecrated, it should not be dissolved lightly.

If the candidate for citizenship lied or was never eligible for naturalization to begin with, the relationship must be annulled. A federal court ruling on the issue didn’t use the metaphor of annulment, but the parallel is clear:

Setting aside naturalization for failure to comply with the particular prerequisites to the acquisition of citizenship is not a punishment; it merely represents an undoing of that which should not have been done in the first place.Even now, the number of denaturalizations is lower than you might think, given how pervasive fraud is in every corner of our immigration system

Under current law, the reasons for denaturalization must predate the acquisition of citizenship rather than be based solely on conduct after the swearing-in ceremony, however repellent that conduct might be.

Conduct after naturalization can be considered, but only as evidence that the applicant was lying when he took the oath of citizenship. For instance, if you became a Nazi or communist shortly after naturalization, you were likely lying when you swore to “support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”

But even during World War II, the Supreme Court held the government to such a high standard of proof that the Justice Department found it difficult to denaturalize Nazis. In response, Congress enacted a provision that affiliation with a group that would have precluded naturalization within five years of becoming a citizen is prima facie evidence that the person was not attached to the principles of the Constitution when he took the oath.

This provision has never been challenged in court, mainly because it has seldom, if ever, been used. But it might end up in court soon if certain congressional proposals succeed.

For instance, in response to the revelations of widespread fraud by Somali-born naturalized citizens, Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) introduced the SCAM Act to facilitate denaturalization. The bill would expand the five-year window to 10 years and widen the offenses that could lead to denaturalization.

Within 10 years after taking the oath, if the new citizen joins a foreign terrorist organization, defrauds the government, or commits an aggravated felony or an espionage offense, those facts would be considered prima facie evidence that at the time of taking the oath, the person was not of good moral character, was not attached to the principles of the Constitution, and was not well disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States — all bars to citizenship.

In other words, commission of the crimes would be evidence that offenders were never eligible for citizenship in the first place, so their acquisition of citizenship would be considered void.

One way to minimize the issue of denaturalization is to do a better job at the front end and not approve applications from unworthy people. To this end, USCIS has resumed neighborhood investigations into certain applicants, “reviewing their residency, moral character, loyalty to the U.S. Constitution, and commitment to the nation’s well-being.”

This is obviously labor-intensive, but it’s better to reject the citizenship applications of liars, fraudsters, and criminals than to try to denaturalize them after the fact.

RELATED: The homicidal empathy of the left’s immigration policies

John Moore/Getty Images

Taking citizenship seriously

Increased focus on denaturalization is but one front in the broader campaign to restore the integrity of American citizenship. President Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order — declaring that children born to illegal aliens, tourists, foreign students, and other nonresidents should not be citizens — was recently argued before the Supreme Court, which is expected to issue its ruling this summer.

The administration is also moving forward on an initiative to restrict birth tourism — where pregnant women enter on visitor visas specifically so their children will obtain automatic U.S. citizenship. This is designed to put some teeth in a regulation issued during the first Trump term requiring consular officers to deny visas to pregnant women whose primary purpose in coming to the U.S. is to obtain citizenship for their child.

Other changes necessary to restore the meaning of citizenship have not received the same attention. Foreign-language ballots, for instance, are an absurdity. Why even require candidates for citizenship to pass an English-language test if the core sacrament of our civic religion can be conducted in Korean, Spanish, or Armenian?

New citizens swear to “absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen.” But that part of the oath is legally meaningless since the Supreme Court in the Afroyim decision ruled that taking away someone’s citizenship for expressions of dual citizenship was unconstitutional.

While restoring the value of citizenship is not an issue confined to immigration, mass immigration exacerbates it in every way. Denaturalization would simply not be as pressing an issue if annual legal immigration were dramatically reduced. A smaller flow of new immigrants, and the consequent reduction in the number of applicants for citizenship, would reduce the number of mistakes and thus the need for denaturalizations.

As with almost every concern regarding immigration, part of the answer is always less, please.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in the American Mind.

​American citizens, Birth tourism, Birthright citizenship, Mass immigration, Us citizenship, Denaturalization, Legal immigration, Supreme court, Immigration system, Trump, Opinion & analysis 

While BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales tries to give other parents the benefit of the doubt when it comes to their child-rearing approaches, there’s one style she cannot overlook: digital parenting.

“I just have a big problem with this generation of parents that are farming their parenting out to screens,” she says. “They’re essentially letting screens raise their children.”

While there is a movement within the parenting world to reduce — and even eliminate screens — in their children’s lives, iPad kids are still a big issue.

On this episode of “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered,” Sara speaks with three-time Billboard country artist, host of “Backwoods Wisdom,” and author of “Ain’t No Wi-Fi in the Woods” Buddy Brown, who has become a vocal advocate for screen-limited, nature-immersed childhoods.

Brown says that he was inspired to write his new book because so much of children’s literature today is “trash.” That’s why “Ain’t No Wi-Fi in the Woods” is deliberately wholesome and nostalgic.

“It’s the illustrator from ‘Winnie-the-Pooh.’ I mean, we went all the way, and it really came together great,” he says.

Sara shares Brown’s enthusiasm for resisting the digitization of parenting.

“We go out to a restaurant … and I look around, and everyone’s on the iPhones and on the iPads, and it makes me sad. It makes my heart sad for this generation of children who don’t understand the human connection like some of the kids who do not just live on screens,” she says.

Brown agrees, stressing the importance of parents being “intentional.”

“One of the things that we made our kids do from the time they were about 4 years old, which is very early, but we made them look at the waiter and order … and what that did was it just gave them that ability to not be afraid of adults, to make eye contact, which so few kids do now,” he shares.

Sara notes that so many older children, even teenagers, seem unable to communicate outside of their devices.

“All they’re doing is scrolling, and they’re typing stuff to their friends … and they’re not actually getting real human companionship. And I just worry what that does not just to their brains but just to their psyche in general,” she laments.

Brown concurs and adds another concern to the list: their futures. One day these screen-addicted kids will grow up and need the social skills necessary to thrive in the real world but will find that they simply don’t have them.

Parents who resist the urge to placate their children with screens will reap the benefits later, he encourages. “Fast-forward 15, 20 years, [your kids] are going to be standouts in whatever they’re doing. … They’re going to thank you later on.”

To hear more of the conversation and get the inside scoop on Brown’s new book — including the wilderness guide it features — watch the video above.

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.

​Aint no wifi, Backwoods wisdom, Buddy brown, Digital parenting, Human connection, Intentional parenting, Ipad kids, Sara gonzales, Sara gonzales unfiltered, Screen addiction, Social skills, Wilderness guide, Real world skills, Blazetv, Blaze media 

Millions over budget and years behind schedule have become defining features of the U.S. defense industrial base, and this dysfunction is colliding with a radically different character of war.

Asymmetric, robotic, and growingly autonomous systems are tactics being employed today by our adversaries. The shift in global security erodes the traditional advantages of scale, time, and mass that America’s defense industrial base was designed to deliver.

It also exposes an acquisition system that cannot move at the speed of relevance.

The fusion of established and startup contractors is the best strategic framework to reshore American manufacturing and reinvigorate our nation’s defense industrial base.

Rewiring these trends will depend on a new posture — one that should be defined by partnerships that marry the scale and sustainment power of established manufacturers with the speed and rapid system iteration of smaller but highly capable companies.

The influx of venture capital into defense technology has given rise to bold, disruptive upstarts that are leveraging agile, product-led engineering, operator-centric design, and best practices from the commercial ecosystem.

New, smaller companies like Palantir and Anduril rapidly iterate their systems and build breakthrough technologies on their dime — well before the U.S. government’s lengthy requirement-writing process plays out.

At the same time, established manufacturers like Lockheed Martin and Boeing have reignited their innovation arms and reprioritized significant resources to meet the modern needs of the Department of War.

Innovation without scale is as risky as the other way around. That’s why the fusion of established and startup contractors is the best strategic framework to reshore American manufacturing and reinvigorate our nation’s defense industrial base. When they are brought together, this business model creates real results.

General Dynamics Land Systems and Epirus, for example, have partnered to develop two mobile counter-UAS systems for short-range air defense and critical asset protection. Lockheed Martin and Hadrian have inked an agreement to increase production of critical parts for missile systems. Northrop Grumman has invested in Firefly Aerospace to accelerate production of Firefly’s launch vehicle. The list goes on.

These partnerships represent the epitome of American industrial excellence. Importantly, they also align with Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Warfighting Acquisition System by prioritizing the best practices from commercial technology development, AI integration into military technology, cloud-based architectures and system modularity, scalability, and software-driven upgradability.

Pairing establishment know-how and production capacity with startup integration cycles supports the War Department’s vision for rebuilding our military and is a tangible step the industry can take — and is taking today — to shorten the time between prototype development and operational deployment.

RELATED: The US military needs to adapt to modern warfare

USAF/Getty Images

America’s competitive edge always has come from partnerships: between industry and government, between commercial and defense innovation bases, and between engineers and operators. The next era of defense technology development demands the same alignment.

Established contractors and newer startups are not competitors in this race, and there is no need for them to offer competing visions for the future of defense. On the contrary, they share a mission as the co-architects of deterrence.

When America’s established defense contractors and new, cutting-edge startups work together, scale meets speed and innovation meets integration.

This is the industrial base the moment demands and the one we should focus on building together.

This article was originally published by RealClearDefense and made available via RealClearWire.

​American manufacturing reshore, Ground combat solutions, Palantir, Defense contractors, Lockheed martin, Us defense industry, American military, Opinion & analysis 

U.S. Senator Jon Ernst (R-Iowa) recently obtained access to Biden-era Small Business Administration communications revealing a “potential cover-up obscuring $90 million in taxpayer funds Biden officials gifted to Planned Parenthood,” America’s largest abortion provider and a leading supplier of sex-rejection hormones.

According to the pro-life lawmaker, Biden officials at the SBA — allegedly operating under the direction of former top SBA lawyer Peggy Hamilton — used the code word “Benghazi” to refer to discussions of Planned Parenthood and its receipt of forgivable COVID-era Paycheck Protection Program loans in the wake of congressional objections to those very loans and demands for greater transparency.

‘Just when we think the Democrats’ extremism can’t get more shocking.’

The use of a wholly unrelated term — the name of the Libyan city where four Americans were savagely murdered by Islamists in 2012 — is believed to have been employed strategically to ensure that future congressional or public record requests wouldn’t turn up the relevant and possibly damning documents regarding the funding of Planned Parenthood, a potential violation of the Federal Records Act.

“What does Benghazi have to do with Planned Parenthood? It appears the Biden SBA used it as a code name to hide the $90 million in taxpayer funds they gifted to the abortion provider,” Ernst said in a statement on Tuesday.

“This potential cover-up demands answers.”

In her letter asking acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to open an investigation into the matter, Ernst raised the possibility that the Biden White House may have been involved in the alleged effort to conceal official federal records and highlighted numerous emails sent by Hamilton in which “Benghazi” appears to have been used as a stand-in for the abortion giant.

In one instance, Hamilton made clear her intended meaning, writing, “Can I schedule a meeting so we can decision Benghazi (Planned Parenthood)?”

RELATED: ‘Baby could just die’: Left-leaning media omits key detail in outrage over pregnant Florida mom’s court-ordered C-section

Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

“Recipients and respondents in the SBA email chains knew Planned Parenthood was not in or even remotely related to Benghazi, yet by continuing the email chain and scheduling meetings, it appears several Biden political appointees, and some SBA employees, were knowingly concealing or attempting to conceal their records relating to Planned Parenthood,” Ernst stated in her letter.

She added, “With the records detailed here, and many more I’ve obtained, perhaps now we know why the Biden administration did not want to share its Planned Parenthood records with Congress.”

“Just when we think the Democrats’ extremism can’t get more shocking, we see the lengths they’ll go to in protecting the Big Abortion industry,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said in a statement. “They knew letting Planned Parenthood help itself to taxpayer-funded COVID loans was illegal — so they tried to cover their tracks using, of all things, the national horror of Benghazi.”

These revelations come just months after the SBA issued letters to 38 affiliates of Planned Parenthood demanding proof that they were eligible to receive millions of dollars in PPP loans. The agency noted that affiliates found to have provided fudged or false eligibility certifications may face “severe penalties, including repayment of the loan, ineligibility for loan forgiveness, and possible referral for civil or criminal penalties.”

SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler said in a statement, “Planned Parenthood Federation of America was never eligible to receive a dime in pandemic-era relief from taxpayers. As part of the review under way, not only will we expose the Planned Parenthood affiliates who took advantage of the American people — we will take every necessary step to force every bad actor to pay them back.”

Planned Parenthood did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

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​Abortion, Abortion provider, Benghazi, Covid loans, Eligibility, Ernst, Fraud, Joni ernst, Marjorie dannenfelser, Paycheck protection program, Planned parenthood, Ppp loans, Sba loans, Small business administration, Susan b anthony, Taxpayer funds, Todd blanche, Politics 

A strange criminal case got even more bizarre when the suspect of a gas station shooting appeared to confess in a video on social media.

Shantay Lashay O’Donnell, 46, of Virginia was caught on surveillance video allegedly pulling out a gun at the Columbia, Maryland, gas station and pulling the trigger.

‘I shot that man because he has a demon spirit, and he laughed in my face and thought it was funny. I bet he ain’t laughing now.’

Police said she was trying to rob the store but left without anything in the April 24 incident, as reported previously by Blaze News.

The 65-year-old worker was transported in critical condition to the Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. Police released video of the shooting in an attempt to get public help to find the woman.

In the days following the shooting, O’Donnell allegedly posted a video confessing to the crime and laughing about the victim.

“I’m the one that did the shooting at the gas station,” she said in the video.

“I shot that man because he has a demon spirit, and he laughed in my face and thought it was funny. I bet he ain’t laughing now,” she added.

She went on to say that she was “getting ready to rob something right now” and claimed she didn’t pay for anything but stole what she needed.

Days later, O’Donnell was arrested more than 300 miles away in Johnson City, New York, after Binghamton police identified her through a license plate reader at another gas station.

She was charged with the illegal possession of two guns and is awaiting extradition to Maryland or Virginia.

O’Donnell is expected to face first- and second-degree attempted murder charges in Maryland, as well as other charges.

RELATED: Mother, pregnant teen daughter, and son found ‘brutally’ murdered — one nearly decapitated, police say

Howard County police spokesman Seth Hoffman said the “incredibly brazen” shooting was atypical.

“We have robberies and some thefts in gas stations where somebody may imply a weapon or show a weapon but not use it, and they usually leave with something,” he said. “Here, we have somebody who just shot and left with nothing.”

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Social media confession, Gas station shooting, Shooting security video, Shantay o’donnell, Crime 

Many Americans today feel as if home ownership is a pipe dream. The prices, even for modest homes, are just too steep.

But why? What’s the real reason homes have become so unaffordable?

The answer is multifaceted, says Glenn Beck.

No doubt the broken economy is part of the problem. “We have to fix the fraud,” he urges. “The latest numbers from the GAO, the Government Accounting Office, is that they estimate that our government loses between $233 billion and $521 billion every year based on fraud between 2018 through 2022.”

However, there’s another factor most are unwilling to grapple with: Our expectations have increased.

In the 1950s — “the golden era of America,” says Glenn — the average size home for a family of four was “983 square feet.” Today, it’s “2,500 square feet.”

“If I told you you could afford a modest home of that size (under 1,000 square feet) and raise your family in it, would you take it?” he asks.

But the main driver behind the skyrocketing price of homes, he says, is the increase in land prices.

“Why is land so expensive?” Glenn asks. “Because our government made it that way” through “zoning laws, permits, restrictions, [and] endless layers of EPA approval.”

“We didn’t run out of land. We restricted the access to the land,” he emphasizes.

Add to that the immigration boom, which led to “an overwhelming demand for homes,” and you get the situation we’re in today.

But America has been in a similar predicament before and survived it, says Glenn. After WWII, millions of soldiers returned home eager to buy homes and start families, resulting in a housing shortage “far, far worse in many ways than what we’re facing today.”

Our answer back then was simply to build faster.

“Homes were built in days, not months — days,” says Glenn, noting that “the GI Bill,” “the interstate highway system [opening] up the land that had never been reachable before,” and “the government [getting] out of the way” are what allowed this to happen.

“Prices rose at first because everybody needed a home, and then they stabilized because supply caught up with demand,” he continues.

But today, things are different.

Instead of “unleashing builders,” we’re “restraining them”; instead of “expanding supply,” we’re “constraining it,” says Glenn.

“This is why the most important number is not the price of a home. It is the ratio between a home price and income,” he explains. “In 1960, the average cost was two times the average annual income. Today it’s over five times.”

“That’s the difference between opportunity and exclusion; that’s the difference between a young family starting a life and one stuck renting indefinitely.”

Today, we’re a nation that believes more in “obstruction” than “building” — a nation that cares more about the “planet” than “people.”

Once upon a time, “the country believed that growth was good, expansion was good, opportunity was something that you created, not something that you rationed,” says Glenn, “and somewhere along the way, that whole mindset of America changed.”

“We didn’t lose the land. We didn’t lose the resources. We’ve lost the will. And until that changes, this doesn’t get fixed,” he warns.

Contrary to popular belief, the American dream isn’t dead, he insists. It’s simply on pause until we can fix the long list of issues barring many Americans from buying homes.

While we have little control over fraud, government regulation, and land prices, we do have control over our own mindsets. Glenn urges his listeners to remember that the American dream isn’t about status — “it’s about freedom and opportunity and hard work and faith and building a life with the people that you love.”

“Let’s remember what it means to actually be happy,” he pleads.

Want more from Glenn Beck?

To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Affordability, American dream, Demand, Economy, Fraud, Glenn beck, Home ownership, Immigration boom, Land prices, Obstruction, Supply, The glenn beck program, Zoning laws, Epa approval, Blazetv, Blaze media 

Why is the National Education Association encouraging students to skip school?

Yesterday was May 1 — May Day — and across the country, activists staged coordinated demonstrations under the banner of “no work, no school, no shopping.”

These are sweeping political claims, touching on immigration policy, cultural debates, and national partisan conflicts.

The National Education Association — with roughly 3 million members, making it the largest labor union in the United States — was among the organizations supporting the effort. On its website, the NEA offers organizational resources for participants, including a “solidarity toolkit.”

May Day? Mayday!

The union frames May Day as part of a long tradition of labor activism, tracing its roots to the late 19th-century movement for the eight-hour workday.

Broadly speaking, that’s true.

But May Day also carries a more complicated legacy. Over the course of the 20th century, it became closely associated with socialist and communist movements worldwide, and in the United States it has often re-emerged as a vehicle for broader political protest.

That broader agenda is evident in some of the demands the NEA highlights.

Among them:

“Stop the billionaire takeover and rampant corruption of the Trump administration.”“Stop the attacks on our communities, including policies targeting immigrants, people of color, Native people, people with disabilities, and those who identify as LGBTQ+.”

These are not narrowly labor-oriented concerns. They are sweeping political claims, touching on immigration policy, cultural debates, and national partisan conflicts.

Mission creep

Which raises a more basic question: What does this have to do with the NEA’s stated purpose?

The organization describes its mission as “to advocate for education professionals and to unite our members and the nation to fulfill the promise of public education to prepare every student to succeed in a diverse and interdependent world.”

Encouraging participation in a day of protest framed explicitly around “no school” sits uneasily alongside that mission. And May Day is just the tip of the iceberg

According to a new report from watchdog group Defending Education, teachers’ unions have spent more than $1 billion on political activity since 2015 — including roughly $669 million at the federal level and $336 million at the state and local levels.

Some of that spending aligns with what most people would expect. In California, for example, unions spent more than $20 million backing Proposition 15, a 2020 ballot initiative that would have raised taxes on commercial properties to increase funding for public schools and community colleges. The measure ultimately failed.

But much of it extends far beyond that.

RELATED: ‘Eco-Socialism’ now! Inside Sunrise Movement’s ‘revolution’ playbook

Defending Education | Robert Gauthier/Getty Images

PAC mentality

Defending Education’s report highlights tens of millions directed toward major Democrat-aligned groups, including:

$32 million to Senate Majority PAC.$25 million to House Majority PAC.$60 million to the State Engagement Fund, a progressive funding hub that supports state-level campaigns and advocacy.$44 million to For Our Future, a Democrat-aligned organizing group focused on voter turnout and elections.

At the state level, unions have also poured money into targeted political fights — opposing school choice initiatives, backing candidates, and influencing local school board races.

In California, union spending has extended into high-profile contests as well. The California Teachers Association’s PACs spent $1.8 million opposing the 2021 recall of Gavin Newsom and committed millions more to a 2025 ballot measure related to election policy.

The same report also points to funding for organizing groups like the Midwest Academy, which describes itself as “committed to providing organizers with the practical skills needed to address the challenges of forging change in a system rooted in white supremacy.”

It has received $1.7 million from the NEA since 2015 and has helped produce activist training materials tied to sustained protest efforts.

Out of school

Teachers’ unions have always played a role in politics. When that role is tied directly to classrooms — teacher pay, school funding, working conditions — the connection is clear.

But as their spending and activities expand into broader political organizing, electoral campaigns, and now protest mobilization, that connection becomes harder to define.

Unlike most political organizations, teachers’ unions are funded by member dues — payments that many educators make as a practical requirement of their profession. That makes their political activity qualitatively different from a typical advocacy group or PAC.

The question isn’t whether unions should — or can — be entirely “apolitical.” It is whether their current scope reflects the priorities of the educators who fund them — and the students they have pledged to serve.

​Culture, Donald trump, Education, Lifestyle, National education association, No kings, Public schools, Socialism, Teacher’s unions, May day, Counterrevolution 

Pope Leo XIV announced appointments of U.S. bishops that some characterized as being anti-Trump after a public feud with the administration.

Among the appointments were bishops that had criticized the attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, as well as the strengthening of immigration enforcement.

‘We are a diverse nation with people from all over the world. Diversity is a good thing. Diversity is of God.’

Washington Auxiliary Bishop Evelio Menjivar previously claimed that immigration enforcement had caused fear in immigrant communities.

“The federal government has pursued a ‘shock and awe’ campaign of aggressive threats and highly visible operations of questionable legality that go far beyond mere immigration ‘enforcement,'” he said.

Menjivar has been named as the new bishop for the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston in West Virginia.

Father Robert Boxie III has been named as the new auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Washington, but he previously defended policies on diversity.

“In a lot of ways we have made great progress, but in so many ways, I feel like we’re regressing,” Boxie said in an interview with OSV News in 2025.

“It’s really frustrating — especially this moment that we’re living in. The attacks on ‘DEI’ — I don’t even know what that means anymore. It’s a term that’s been hijacked. It means a lot of things to a lot of different people.”

He went on to defend diversity as central to the U.S. and to the Catholic Church.

“I think at its core, it’s what America is all about. We are a diverse nation with people from all over the world. Diversity is a good thing. Diversity is of God,” he continued. “And the fact that it’s been turned into something negative — or something that should be avoided or not talked about — just flies in the face of who we are as Americans.”

RELATED: Vatican finally responds to Trump’s invitation for Pope Leo to join Board of Peace

A third bishop referred to the rioting at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 as “sickening unrest.”

Others rejected the framing of the appointments as having any political dimensions at all.

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​Pope leo vs trump, Bishop appointments, Anti immigration bishop, Catholics vs trump, Politics 

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton fired back at the ActBlue Democratic donation organization after it filed a lawsuit Friday accusing him of violating the Constitution.

Paxton filed a lawsuit last month accusing ActBlue of illegally accepting donations forbidden by campaign laws. The portal has faced similar allegations from Republicans for years.

‘It is retaliation against constitutionally protected political speech and association, and it is exactly what the First Amendment forbids.’

The ActBlue lawsuit accused Paxton of violating the organization’s First and Fourteenth Amendment rights of the Constitution.

“ActBlue is trying to take me down,” Paxton responded on social media. “I sued the fundraising platform for deceiving Americans by lying about its donation processes that allow fraudulent and foreign donations. I will hold those who break the law accountable.”

ActBlue’s chief legal officer, Lawrence Oliver, made the case against Paxton.

“Ken Paxton has spent more than two years using the power of his office to investigate, harass, and sue ActBlue,” Oliver wrote in a statement.

“The timing of Paxton fighting for his political life in his run for a U.S. Senate seat and his use of the Attorney General’s office to attack ActBlue should not be lost on anyone. He is wasting taxpayer dollars to benefit his political ambitions,” he added.

“That is not law enforcement,” Oliver concluded. “It is retaliation against constitutionally protected political speech and association, and it is exactly what the First Amendment forbids.”

Among the claims made against Paxton was that his investigators tried to use an American Express gift card on ActBlue in an attempt to show the ease with which illegal donations could be made. Although they failed three times, ActBlue alleges that Paxton hid these facts from the Texas court.

RELATED: Texas AG Paxton accuses Democrat donation portal ActBlue of illegally funneling foreign money into US campaigns

ActBlue also reposted a message from a Democratic activist against Republicans on social media.

“Let’s be clear about something: the only reason Republicans are targeting ActBlue is that they want to destroy the Democratic Party’s ability to raise money from small-dollar donors,” the post reads. “It’s a completely bulls**t attack, and people in glass houses should not throw stones.”

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​Ken paxton vs actblue, Actblue free speech, Actblue fraud, Democratic donations fraud, Politics 

A compromise between the Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Public Schools led to the city agreeing to bus students to the “International Workers’ Day” protest.

Activists across the world are joining in the May Day celebrations and protests while advocating for political causes across the left-wing spectrum.

‘The future belongs to the youth, and so they’re going to have to pick up the mantle and take it up,’ Queen Weiner said.

That includes some of the students of the Chicago public school systems thanks to the teachers’ union.

The union was demanding that staff and students have the entire day off so they could join the protests, but they agreed instead on busing students out for “field trips” to protest.

The union got other concessions, including an agreement for zero retaliation against those who chose to participate in the protests.

“The fight for justice, dignity, respect, and the blood, sweat, and tears that were shed and the justice that workers endured to sacrifice,” said Don Villar, the secretary and treasurer of the Chicago Federation of Labor.

Protesters will march to Daley Plaza after a rally in Union Park.

Queen Weiner, a retired member of the teachers’ union, told WTTW-TV that she showed up to the protest to battle billionaires.

“I’ve been fighting in the struggle for a long time,” Weiner said. “And, you know, the future belongs to the youth, and so they’re going to have to pick up the mantle and take it up.”

Some parents were not as enthused as Weiner was about the time off from instruction.

“We are already seeing kids all over the district that are not being pushed to their standards. Taking another day from instruction for them is not beneficial for the kids,” one parent of a CPS student said to WGN-TV.

Others were upset that the children were being placed in a “high-risk situation” at the protests and some said there should have been parental input in the decision.

RELATED: Video shows brawl after high school walkout protester allegedly hit pro-ICE man — and the man is charged with child abuse

The Kids First Chicago nonprofit said some parents were upset at the loss of instruction time.

Queen Weiner went on to say she hoped the students and teenagers were encouraged by the protest to “know that the fight never stops.”

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​Chicago teachers union, May day celebrations, Chicago public schools, Parents angry at teacher unions, Politics 

A debate over the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran nearly ended in fisticuffs on a CNN panel between Scott Jennings and a liberal commentator on Thursday.

Adam Mockler of the liberal MeidasTouch Network pointed to inflation and higher gas prices to argue that the decision to attack Iran has been a failure for the Trump administration.

‘Do you have the attention span of a gnat? Is that what you have?’

Jennings argued that the war has been successful insofar as it has significantly set back Iran’s program to gain nuclear weapons. Others on the panel argued that the U.S. was the aggressor in the war, while ignoring Iran’s previous attacks.

“I mean honestly they have been at war with us for 47 years,” said Jennings.

“We all know that Scott Jennings is more than happy to defend a war with a country that starts with the letters I-R-A that we are currently failing that is going to put us trillions and trillions of dollars more in debt,” Mockler responded.

“I was only a few years old while you were in the administration defending prior endless wars. Now this war is failing,” he added.

“Eight weeks is endless to you? Do you have the attention span of a gnat? Is that what you have?” Jennings laughed.

“I debated you on TV four to six weeks ago, and you said we were weeks away from it. Now you’re making condescending remarks because you can’t defend the fact that this war is not going your way,” Mockler pressed on.

“Not going your way?” Jennings repeated, exasperated.

“Name one political concession!” Mockler continued.

“Get your f**king hand out of my face! First of all,” Jennings said sternly.

CNN host Abby Phillip stepped in to calm the panel down.

“I’m not going to have this guy’s hand in my face,” Jennings added. “Honestly.”

Mockler went on to jab at Jennings in a post on social media.

“MAGA beta male with low emotional control and high cortisol CRASHES OUT on young man preoccupied with war,” he wrote along with a video of the altercation.

RELATED: Scott Jennings obliterates liberal spin on Charlie Kirk: ‘The evidence here is overwhelming!’

Also in the mix was Geraldo Rivera, who countered with his own experience covering a previous attack on U.S. soldiers by Iran.

“In 1983, I was in Beirut when the Marine Corps barracks was blown up by a suicide bomber sponsored by the Iranians. Two-hundred-thirty Marines died,” he said.

Kat Abughazaleh, a progressive journalist who ran unsuccessfully for Congress, replied by suggesting that the murder of 230 Marines had a statute of limitations.

“That’s awful, that’s terrible, but it’s not 1983,” she said.

CNN published 10 minutes of the debate, including the altercation between Jennings and Mockler on its YouTube channel.

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​Scott jennings video, Jennings vs adam mockler, Us-israeli strikes on iran, Heated cnn debate, Politics 

When another alleged would-be assassin set his sights on President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, the room was full of journalists across the political spectrum.

And despite the threat on Trump’s life, BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales believes their coverage of the event has only continued to prove the media’s bias and hypocrisy.

“You would think that when he was almost assassinated again and they were there to witness it, that maybe they might be able to fairly and accurately cover the story, but no, actually, they can’t,” Gonzales says.

“That’s actually just how bad they are and how evil they are. They just, in true arrogant, narcissistic fashion, they just wanted to make it about them,” she continues, before playing a clip of CBS News’ Weijia Jiang.

“This is a room full of reporters. So, I know you’ve already seen the president’s tweet. My apologies, his post on Truth Social,” Jiang said at the WHCD after the attempted assassination. “And law enforcement has requested that we leave the premises consistent with protocol.”

“I said earlier tonight that journalism is a public service because when there is an emergency, we run to the crisis, not away from it. And on a night when we are thinking about the freedoms in the First Amendment, we must also think about how fragile they are,” she continued.

“I saw all of you reporting, and that’s what we do,” she added.

“‘Our job is so dangerous,’” Gonzales comments, mocking Jiang. “‘It’s all about us. … Our freedoms are under attack. The right for us to do our jobs is under attack.’”

“Actually, lady, the reason that we are in the position that we are in, where people are after the president as much as they are, is because you guys continue to misrepresent and distort reality and stir up a bunch of little activists who go on to then try to murder Donald Trump,” she continues.

“So, I’m just not having it from you. I’m really not,” she adds, pointing out that just moments before the attempted assassination, a journalist on CNN said that Trump “figuratively” wants “journalism dead.”

However, the coverage only got worse as the week went on.

“This one is going to take the award for the most disingenuous piece of s**t reporting from the most insufferable and arrogant excuse for a news anchor there is: Norah O’Donnell from ‘60 Minutes,’” Gonzales says.

“The so-called manifesto is a stunning thing to read, Mr. President. He appears to reference a motive in it. He writes this quote, ‘Administration officials, they are targets.’ And he also wrote this, ‘I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.’ What’s your reaction to that?” O’Donnell asked Trump in an interview.

“Well, I was waiting for you to read that, because I knew you would. Because you’re horrible people. Horrible people,” Trump responded. “Yeah, he did write that. I’m not a rapist. I didn’t rape anybody.”

“You should be ashamed of yourself reading that because I’m not any of those things,” he added.

“We all know what you’re doing,” Gonzales says, referencing O’Donnell. “He knows what you’re doing.”

“Stop embarrassing yourself,” she adds.

Want more from Sara Gonzales?

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​Activists, Assassination, Bias, Blazetv, Cbs news, Correspondents dinner, First amendment, Hypocrisy, Journalism, Journalists, Media, Reporting, Sara gonzales, Trump, Weijia jiang, Whcd, White house, Cnn, 60 minutes, Norah o’donnell, Cole allen, Trump assassination attempt, The blaze, Blaze news, Blaze podasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Sara gonzales unfiltered 

As the 2026 primaries ramp up, Democrats may be forced to embrace a scandal-ridden candidate most infamously known for an apparent Nazi tattoo.

Maine’s Democratic Senate primary flew into a tailspin after Gov. Janet Mills dropped out of the race this week, leaving Graham Platner as the presumptive nominee.

‘He’s a blind date for the Democratic Party.’

Platner pitched himself to voters as a blue-collar veteran, but his talking points were quickly overshadowed by a myriad of scandals, including some politically incorrect comments about black people and, of course, the alleged Nazi tattoo. Notably, Platner has since gotten the tattoo covered up.

“I think this is a democratic rebellion against Chuck Schumer and the Democratic Senate establishment,” Democratic strategist Len Foxwell told Blaze News. “We know that Chuck Schumer’s name is mud among rank-and-file Democrats who feel that neither he nor his leadership have been nearly effective enough in counteracting the policies and the rhetoric of this president.”

The frustration with Democratic leadership may be the driver behind the embrace of Platner, who, despite the Nazi controversy, is speaking to an audience that feels disenfranchised by the establishment. These same scandals would be disqualifying for most political candidates, but several Democrats have already begun making excuses for Platner’s political missteps.

RELATED: Once-favored Democrat suspends Senate campaign, opening door for extremist Graham Platner

Photo by Sophie Park/Getty Images

“He’s been very clear about the fact that he went into combat on behalf of the United States,” Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said in an interview with Punchbowl. “He went through a really rough period, PTSD-type period, and he has himself said that there are lots of things he’s done and said that he completely regrets. And I do believe people should have second chances and that people can learn from their mistakes.”

Even though Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer recruited Mills himself, he is now hesitantly backing Platner as the presumptive nominee to face off with Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine.

“After years of allowing Trump’s abuses of power, Senator Collins has never been more vulnerable and we will work with the presumptive Democratic nominee Graham Platner to defeat her,” Schumer said in a joint statement with Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York.

Prominent progressive commentator Adam Mockler was pressed about Platner’s controversial past. CNN’s Abby Phillip listed out some of Platner’s offenses and asked Mockler if it would be acceptable if a Republican candidate were caught in the same scandals.

“I think we’re entering a new era,” Mockler said. “And we’ll see what the base wants. We’ll see who wins when the actual election happens. But for the past decade, Democrats have been unified by our opposition to Donald Trump, and now, Graham Platner has a forward-looking message.”

RELATED: Mocking Jesus and the Virgin Mary? Scandal strikes again for Maine Democrat Senate candidate with ‘Nazi’ tattoo

Sophie Park/Getty Images

Although it’s hard to imagine a political landscape where Democrats willingly overlook Platner’s baggage, Foxwell argues that Platner’s appeal is not just pragmatic but also genuine.

“They are more inclined to lash out at the establishment and to take a risk on a blind date, which I believe Graham Platner is,” Foxwell said. “I believe he’s a blind date for the Democratic Party, and he has enormous political upside. He is a strong, natural political athlete, but he is by no means the safest candidate to send against Susan Collins in November. He has a lot of baggage, and Susan Collins is going to have a massive amount of money at her disposal to reinforce those negatives to the electorate.”

“Susan Collins is obligated to make this race against Graham Platner, and Graham Platner’s path to victory is all about making the race about Susan Collins and Donald Trump,” Foxwell added. “Victory is going to go to the one who is ultimately successful.”

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​Donald trump, Len foxwell, Graham platner, Chuck schumer, Susan collins, Maine, 2026 primary, Senate primary, Janet mills, Nazi tattoo, Reddit, Chris van hollen, Adam mockler, Cnn, Senate democrats, Senate republicans, Politics, Kirsten gillibrand, Abby phillip 

With just one month until California’s gubernatorial primary election, the latest polls show the race is still anyone’s game. The big question now is whether Democrats’ failure to rally their support behind a single candidate will result in a disaster for the party.

‘The stakes are so incredibly high.’

California’s primary election operates on a nonpartisan basis. This means that the two candidates who receive the most votes advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation.

Several polls have shown Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and former Fox News host and small business owner Steve Hilton — both Republicans — leading the pack. If California Democratic voters remain split in the primary, there is a chance that Bianco and Hilton could advance as the top two candidates to the general election.

A CBS poll conducted from Apr. 23 to 27 showed that 26% of California voters remain undecided. However, it revealed growing support for Democrats Tom Steyer, a climate advocate and businessman, and Xavier Becerra, a former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary, who may be emerging as the Democratic Party’s front-runners.

Fifteen percent of those polled said they would likely vote for Steyer, while 13% selected Becerra. Former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter received 9% of the vote, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and former California State Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa received 4%, and California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond received 1%.

The latest poll showed Hilton securing the most support, with 16% of the vote. Bianco trailed with 10%.

RELATED: Democrats narrow field in California’s crowded gubernatorial race to avoid primary disaster

Tom Steyer. Mario Tama/Getty Images

Alternatively, a poll conducted over the same period by Gudelunas Strategies, sponsored by California Is Not For Sale, showed Becerra with a growing lead — nine points ahead of Steyer and one point ahead of Hilton.

Democrats started the primary with eight high-profile candidates. The field narrowed slightly after former State Controller Betty Yee and disgraced former U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell dropped out of the race.

RELATED: Democrats narrow field in California’s crowded gubernatorial race to avoid primary disaster

Xavier Becerra. Mario Tama/Getty Images

Rusty Hicks, the chair of the California Democratic Party, previously urged more Democrats to end their bid in hopes that a clear front-runner will emerge.

Hicks told the Guardian on Friday that the state’s open primary “needs to be revised and repealed.”

“The current system we have does not work,” he said.

“The stakes are so incredibly high,” Hicks continued. “We have democracy itself under attack, and the United States [is no longer] the beacon of hope for democracies around the world the way it once was.”

California will begin sending mail-in ballots out to voters by May 4.

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​News, California, California governor, California gubernatorial race, Chad bianco, Steve hilton, Tom steyer, Xavier becerra, Rusty hicks, Politics 

A video of a man walking around in a Ku Klux Klan robe in Rhode Island shocked many into believing racism was making a resurgence — but police say it was something else entirely.

The video shows the man skulking around a gazebo on Main Street in West Warwick at about 2 a.m. Monday and went viral on social media.

‘It’s weird because I know there’s racism around here, but not like that. That’s a whole different level of racism.’

“When you see a pointy hood and two eyeballs staring at you, I mean what the hell else is it?” local Ryan Fitzgerald said. “It didn’t look like the boogeyman. It looked like the KKK to me.”

He added, “It’s weird because I know there’s racism around here, but not like that. That’s a whole different level of racism.”

The hooded man was also caught on surveillance video from a business named Candy’s Curiosities & Vintage. The owner said the video upset her.

“It churned my stomach to watch that,” said Leslie Letourneau.

The video made national headlines and led to an investigation from the West Warwick Police Dept. Only days later, police said the jig was up.

It turns out the video was recorded by Fitzgerald and his brother Sean.

In a press release Friday, police said they had dedicated “significant investigative resources” to the incident and determined that the brothers had “orchestrated the event in an effort to generate attention on social media and in the news.”

RELATED: Activists rage over racist vandalism at Sacramento school. The district says it was a hoax.

The brothers admitted the scheme and provided evidence that they alone were responsible for the incident, according to police. The brothers told WJAR that Ryan wore the robe while Sean filmed him.

They also denounced the KKK, and police found no evidence that the two had any affiliation with the group.

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​Kkk robe and hood, Ku klux klan, Viral video, Racial hoax, Politics 

On April 28, at a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on the Biden administration’s use of the 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (which protects access to abortion clinics and other facilities), Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) grilled abortion advocate Jessica Waters and pulled no punches about what “reproductive health care” really means.

The clip of their back-and-forth has gone viral for its powerful exposure of the grim realities of abortion.

On a recent episode of “Pat Gray Unleashed,” Pat and the panel played the footage and reacted to Gill’s genius questioning strategy.

“You’re an advocate for abortion, for abortion policy. What’s your favorite type of abortion?” Gill asked.

Waters euphemistically replied, “I am an advocate for patients having access to the full realm of reproductive health care.”

But Gill doubled down and asked the question again.

When Waters responded that she does not have a preferred method of abortion, Gill launched into a list of different abortive procedures, which he graphically described.

“The first type is called a suction abortion. This is when the cervix is dilated and a strong suction 29 times the power of a household vacuum cleaner tears the baby’s body apart and sucks it through the hose into a container. Do you prefer that method?” he asked, calling the procedure “gruesome.”

“What about this one?” he continued. “This one is called dilation and curettage. After dilation of the cervix, a sharp looped knife is inserted into the uterus. The baby’s body is cut into pieces and extracted often by suction. Do you prefer that method?”

Waters answered Gill’s questions by saying that she “[stood] by her former testimony” and reiterating that she is “an access to reproductive health care advocate.”

“You don’t want to talk about abortion itself. Why is that? Is it because it’s uncomfortable to talk about? It should be uncomfortable,” Gill followed up before dropping a third and particularly barbaric procedure.

“How about this one? It’s called dilation and evacuation. Forceps are inserted into the uterus, grabbing and twisting the baby’s body to dismember him or her. If the head is too large, it must be crushed in order to remove it. You prefer that method?” he asked.

Calling abortion “barbaric and evil,” Gill continued, “How about this one? It’s called the saline injection. It’s when a 20% salt solution is injected through the mother’s abdomen into the baby’s amniotic fluid. The baby’s skin is burned off. The baby ingests the solution and dies of salt poisoning, dehydration, and hemorrhaging of the brain. Do you prefer that method?”

“I would prefer to talk about the subject of the hearing,” Waters replied.

“This is the subject of the hearing. This is about protests outside of abortion clinics. I’m asking you about abortion,” Gill stated. “ I wouldn’t want to talk about this either if I were you because it is barbaric and evil.”

While Pat and his co-hosts were sickened to hear the horrific details describing abortion procedures, they acknowledge the genius of Gill’s questioning tactics.

“Yes, incredibly difficult to hear and really tough to talk about. But powerful. I mean, that was expertly done,” says Pat.

Not only did Gill force Waters to face the dark reality of what she advocates for, but it also spread necessary awareness.

“That’s on the congressional record forever now,” says Keith Malinak.

“People need to understand what happens during these procedures,” Pat argues.

To see the clip of Gill and hear more of Pat’s commentary, watch the video above.

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To enjoy more of Pat’s biting analysis and signature wit as he restores common sense to a senseless world, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Abortion advocate, Abortion clinics, Biden administration, Blaze media, Blazetv, Face act, House judiciary subcommittee, Jessica waters, Pat gray, Pat gray unleashed, Rep brandon gill, Reproductive healthcare, Texas 

Kirk Bangstad, the twice–failed Democratic candidate who owns the Minocqua Brewing Company in Wisconsin, turned his fantasizing about President Donald Trump’s death into a marketing strategy.

That strategy appears to have been short-sighted in light of federal law enforcement’s recent interest in the blubbering brewer and his incendiary remarks.

How it started

Bangstad vowed in January to give fellow travelers “free beer, all day long, the day he dies,” then made clear in remarks to reporters and subsequent posts that he was referring to Trump, whom he unsuccessfully attempted to block from the 2024 presidential ballot in Wisconsin.

‘The FBI and Secret Service together followed up on information received.’

In the months since, the brewer has hyped his proposed Trump-death celebration, selling voodoo dolls bearing the faces of Trump administration officials and “I wish it was free beer day” T-shirts.

Bangstad — who derided Charlie Kirk immediately after the Turning Point USA founder’s assassination, circulated a wanted poster for a federal agent, and called for “regime change” in the U.S. — appears to have crossed a line on April 25 where federal law enforcement is concerned.

Less than an hour after an attempt was made on the president’s life at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Bangstad wrote, “Well, we almost got #freebeerday. Either a brother or sister in the Resistance needs to work on their marksmanship or he faked another assassination to get a a [sic] positive news cycle. We’ll never know. Regardless, we stand at the ready to pour free beer the day it happens.”

RELATED: Trump’s enemies keep reaching for the gun

Nathan Howard/Getty Images (L); Apu Gomes/Getty Images (Center); President Trump via Truth Social/Anadolu/Getty Images (R)

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin and Democratic candidates apparently keen to distance themselves from this particular fellow traveler rushed to condemn Bangstad’s rhetoric as “dangerous and unacceptable.” They were, however, far from the only people paying attention.

How it’s going

On Thursday, Bangstad claimed that he had been contacted both by the U.S. Secret Service and the FBI, then shared a transcript of an alleged voicemail from a USSS agent on Facebook, including the agent’s alleged name and phone number. Bangstad proceeded to tell his followers, “Call this number and ask this secret service agent to stand down and honor his oath to his country.”

In a video the woke brewer uploaded hours later regarding an alleged in-person visit from law enforcement officials, Bangstad again instructed his followers, this time with tears streaming down his cheeks, to inundate the alleged USSS agent with calls.

Bangstad — who was ordered to pay a six-figure sum for defamation in 2023 — reassures his followers in the video that if he should disappear, “it’s because these guys did it, not because I did it.”

He also reiterates through tears that he had apparently doxxed an agent: “And then I copy-and-pasted the voicemail that I was left by the Secret Service, and I pasted that guy’s phone number, and I said, ‘Call this phone number, everybody, and remind this federal agent, remind this federal agent that he has an oath that he took to his country and that he shouldn’t break his oath.'”

He adds, crying, that “this s**t shouldn’t happen to anybody,” that the “federal government shouldn’t be coming after anybody,” and that he wasn’t detained on Thursday but likely only because he’s white.

In closing, he tells his followers that “everyone has to fight their own way.”

In a statement on Friday afternoon, Bangstad continued playing the victim and accused federal agents of trying to intimidate him. He added, “Under no circumstances was the post I made last Saturday, which had me trending nationally on X by Monday, threatening to Trump (notice I didn’t say President Trump).”

As of Friday afternoon, the post with the alleged name and phone number of a USSS agent remains available on the Minocqua Brewing Company Facebook page.

An attorney for Bangstad did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

The U.S. Secret Service and the FBI said in a joint statement to Blaze News, “The U.S. Secret Service follows up on perceived threats against the President of the United States or any one of our protectees. The FBI and Secret Service together followed up on information received and conducted further investigative steps, which included a voluntary interview with the individual. This is an ongoing matter, and we do not have further comment.”

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​Charlie kirk, Dangerous rhetoric, Defamation, Donald trump, Fbi, Federal law enforcement, Kirk bangstad, Minocqua brewing company, Regime change, Secret service, Us secret service agent, Victim mentality, White house correspondents dinner, Intimidation, Wisconsin, Democrat, Bangstad, Brewer, Woke, Politics 

An American tech company is being sued by the Department of Justice for allegedly discriminating against U.S. workers.

Instead of hiring Americans, the company allegedly favored hiring workers with temporary visas, going to bizarre lengths to prevent U.S. workers from being able to properly apply for its vacant jobs.

‘Employers cannot use the PERM sponsorship process as a back door for discriminating against US workers.’

Cloudera is a software company based in Santa Clara, California, that predominantly stores data and was started in 2008 by former engineers from Google, Yahoo, and Facebook.

In a lawsuit filed on Tuesday, the DOJ said the company violated the Immigration and Nationality Act by intentionally discriminating against Americans.

The federal lawsuit said the company “upended its normal hiring process and did exactly what the law prohibits. … Cloudera did not consider the applications some U.S. worker candidates submitted because the company earmarked certain jobs for workers on temporary employment visas.”

Cloudera was accused of posting openings for at least seven jobs — paying between $180,000 and $294,000 per year — that asked U.S. applicants to submit applications to a dedicated email address. However, the address did not accept messages from external email accounts, and applicants simply received an error message in response.

RELATED: Tesla unveils its driverless future — but you’re only invited if you comply with these rules

Therefore Cloudera did not have any record of a person applying for particular roles, the DOJ stated.

The alleged end result was Cloudera attempting to fill the roles with temporary foreign workers through the permanent labor certification process, while “repeatedly” telling the Department of Labor that it couldn’t find any qualified American workers.

“Employers cannot use the PERM sponsorship process as a back door for discriminating against U.S. workers,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon. “The Division will not hesitate to sue companies who intentionally deter U.S. workers from applying to American jobs.”

The DOJ said an American worker alleged discrimination after attempting to apply to Cloudera via the designated email address but “received a bounce-back notification.”

Cloudera spokeswoman Hannah Fairbanks said in a statement to Blaze News that the company is “proud to hire American workers.”

“We do not discriminate against U.S. workers — or anyone — on the basis of citizenship status. We take the DOJ’s allegations seriously, and from the start, we have cooperated fully with the DOJ’s investigation, which stems from a recruiting email account that was simply not working as intended,” she continued.

“We believe the government’s claims misunderstand both our hiring processes and our intent, and we will address the matter through the appropriate legal channels. Cloudera is committed to fair, lawful, and open recruitment practices, and we will continue to cooperate with the DOJ as we work to resolve this matter. Because this is now pending litigation, we cannot comment further at this time.”

RELATED: Data centers are devouring the electrical grid. Is a crash around the corner?

Cloudera co-founder Amr Awadallah. Anthony Kwan/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Cloudera is charged with one count of discrimination in hiring: deterring U.S. workers; one count of discrimination in hiring: failing to consider U.S. workers; and one count of discrimination in hiring: failing to hire U.S. workers.

Cloudera had a reported revenue of $869.3 million for fiscal year 2021 and was sold that October in an all-cash deal for approximately $5.3 billion.

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You come at the King of Pop, you best not miss.

When critics condemned the new Michael Jackson biopic for ignoring the sexual abuse allegations that haunted the late pop star, audiences had a simple retort: Beat it.

The upstart politician uncorked a banger ad campaign that shredded current California leaders for crushing the City of Angels.

Last weekend, they packed in theaters to give “Michael” a monstrous $97 million stateside haul.

The chasm between critic and general audience has never been bigger.

Now, with those gaudy numbers in hand, Lionsgate is teasing a sequel. And yes, there’s so much left to share about Jackson’s life. That “marriage” to Lisa Marie Presley. The plastic surgery mania that left the singer looking radically different and shockingly frail.

The reliance on surgical anesthetic as a sleep aid, a habit that eventually killed him. Oh, and the numerous court cases and allegations saying he preyed on children.

That’s enough for a whole franchise, but given the Jackson family is still holding the keys to the saga, we’ll have to wait and see if any or all of the above finally gets a close-up …

‘Witch’ watch

Imagining. Reimagining. Rebooting.

Heck, just call it what it is. A desperate attempt to squeeze every ounce out of a horror franchise. We recently learned a “new” “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” film is in the works, with the director promising a fresh take on the property.

Let me guess … this time around the human pruning will be emissions-free.

Now, a movie that defined “lightning in a bottle” is coming back. The 1999 found-footage shocker “The Blair Witch Project” caught everyone off guard. The film’s sneaky marketing even tricked some viewers into believing it was a documentary.

The $60,000 flick ultimately became one of the most profitable films of all time — followed by two of the most underwhelming sequels of all time.

Despite this track record, the pitch for another “imagining” of the film (Lionsgate’s word, not ours) is heading to the Cannes Film Festival.

Let’s hope the project’s $10 million budget allows for someone to hold the camera steady …

Ding-a-ling

We thought “Jeopardy” champions were supposed to be smart.

Recent winner Jamie Ding wrapped an epic run on the venerable game show, and he used his 15 minutes of fame to bash … Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

First, he played the “as an immigrant and person of color” card. Wow, we’ve never seen that on our TV screens before. Stop the presses!

But even after 31 consecutive wins, Ding apparently can’t tell the difference between himself and the average undocumented Tren de Aragua member.

Maybe we can help: “What is illegal immigration?”

RELATED: Jimmy Kimmel: It’s not ‘my job’ to make you laugh

NurPhoto/CBS Photo Archive/Kevin Winter/NBC/Getty Images

Jihad to be there

“The Daily Show” isn’t the dumbest program on TV. That dishonor goes to “The View.” But this week, Comedy Central’s creaky fake news flagship threatened to steal the dunce cap from Whoopi and crew with a segment featuring Muslim comedian Mo Amer.

Amer whitewashed reality to both talk up Muslim achievement (fine, good!) and distract from the unrelenting headlines about radical Islamists (bad!). And of course, he wrapped by calling Americans racist for noticing the latter. Naturally.

“So stop using lazy tropes to divide people so you can bomb other countries, creating even more refugees, making you more upset at Muslims in America being doctors or engineers, lawyers, or selling you street meat out of delicious halal carts!”

Memo to Amer: It’s not so much the Muslim doctors who get under Americans’ skin — it’s the Jew-hating, terrorist ones. Although to be fair, some enterprising immigrants manage to pull off both careers.

And by the way, if you’re going to appear on “The Daily Show,” you might want to tell an actual joke or two. You never go the full Kimmel …

As seen on TV

Why does it take reality-show stars to fix our problems? The country elected Donald Trump twice to address the issues ignored by too many politicians, like our porous southern border. Now, “The Hills” alum Spencer Pratt is trying to do the same for Los Angeles.

The upstart politician uncorked a banger ad campaign that shredded current California leaders for crushing the City of Angels.

This is one sequel Hollywood desperately needs — “The Reality-Show Star Strikes Back.” Given the Golden State’s recent history, though, it might never get greenlit.

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