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Viktor Orbán has served as Hungarian prime minister for 16 consecutive years, advancing an unapologetically Christian, nationalist, “migrant-free, pro-family” agenda that he told President Donald Trump in November had kept his country “a special island of difference in a liberal ocean in Europe.”

Hungary under Orbán’s leadership has, for instance, banned LGBT propaganda targeting children; banned homosexual couples from adopting kids; opposed Ukraine’s proposed admission to the European Union; refused to implement the EU’s radical migration policies; built a barrier to keep out border-jumpers; drove bums out of public spaces; fought political interference by big-pocketed leftists like George Soros; and implemented various pro-natalist measures including tax exemptions for mothers.

‘A leader who will fight to preserve those things while also building a better future.’

For the first time in over a decade, Orbán — praised by conservatives and maligned by liberals on both sides of the Atlantic and recently threatened by Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelenskyy — now faces the real possibility of an ouster in a country European parliamentarians like to pretend isn’t a democracy.

In Hungary’s national election on April 12, voters get to choose who will fill the 199 seats of the National Assembly and, by extension, whether to grant Orbán another term.

RELATED: The collapse of conservatism nobody wants to admit

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Politico’s aggregate of recent polling data shows the prime minister’s Fidesz party lagging considerably behind the Tisza party, 49% to 39%. Several polls suggest, however, that there remain a great many undecided voters going into the weekend.

Polymarket presently puts the odds of Tisza winning at 77%.

Peter Magyar, the centrist leader of Tisza, is a former Fidesz member and government official. His party’s manifesto reportedly advocates for a more pro-EU, pro-NATO approach and commits to expediting Hungary’s embrace of the euro as its official currency.

Trump implored Hungarians on Tuesday to continue supporting Orbán, noting on Truth Social, “Highly Respected Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, is a truly strong and powerful Leader, with a proven track record of delivering phenomenal results. He fights tirelessly for, and loves, his Great Country and People, just like I do for the United States of America.”

“Viktor works hard to Protect Hungary, Grow the Economy, Create Jobs, Promote Trade, Stop Illegal Immigration, and Ensure LAW AND ORDER! Relations between Hungary and the United States have reached new heights of cooperation and spectacular achievement under my Administration, thanks largely to Prime Minister Orbán,” continued the president.

“He is a true friend, fighter, and WINNER, and has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election as Prime Minister of Hungary — VIKTOR ORBÁN WILL NEVER LET THE GREAT PEOPLE OF HUNGARY DOWN.”

Vice President JD Vance similarly threw his weight behind Orbán, characterizing the prime minister during a rally in Budapest on Wednesday as a “leader who feels real pride in this place, in its history, in its culture, and in its way of life; a leader who will fight to preserve those things while also building a better future.”

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​Viktor orban, Orban, Hungary, Europe, Donald trump, Election, Nationalism, Conservative, Ukraine, Natcon, Politics 

A Florida commercial driver’s license crackdown has revealed huge safety issues within the industry.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement recently partnered with state and federal agencies to implement a four-day investigative task force called “Operation Highway Shield.”

‘We’ve got someone who is behind the wheel that is putting lives at risk, that has no regard for safety.’

FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass spoke to reporters on Thursday and revealed the staggering numbers of violations that were discovered when they inspected approximately 3,300 drivers.

From those drivers, authorities removed 176 from service, with 42 of them cited for federal immigration violations, while another 35 drivers were arrested for criminal charges.

“Some of the driver’s license that we would find wouldn’t even have a name on the CDL,” Glass told reporters. “Literally no name. … But you got a CDL, no first name, and it even says no name given; from other states, that is not from the state of Florida.”

At the same time, another 54 drivers were relieved of service over language deficiencies. According to Fox 35 Orlando, these deficiencies were tied to federal requirements outlined in President Trump’s executive order from April of last year, titled “Enforcing Commonsense Rules of the Road for America’s Truck Drivers.” The order requires proficiency in English.

“So you’re having people with no names, operating commercial motor vehicles, but different types of endorsement running up and down your highways,” Glass explained.

RELATED: End of the road: 200,000 foreign truckers could lose their CDLs as Trump’s rule takes effect

In one instance, officials said that in the Central Florida region of Sumter County, a truck driver was accused of swerving while on Interstate 4, which passes through Tampa and Orlando.

Authorities said the driver turned out to have limited English proficiency while also exceeding the legal blood alcohol level with a 0.27. In Florida, the legal blood alcohol level for typical drivers is 0.08%. For commercial drivers, however, it is 0.04%. This means the driver was nearly seven times over the legal limit.

“The larger picture of this is that we’ve got someone who is behind the wheel that is putting lives at risk, that has no regard for safety,” Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator Derek Barrs said.

Employers can also face consequences in these instances, too, Barrs warned.

RELATED: ‘Wild, Wild West’: Trump DOT moves to shut down 550+ ‘sham’ truck driver training schools after axing 6,500

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More than 10 agencies participated in the operation, which is just a small part of the typical 100,000 inspections done in the state per year. Fox 51 Gainesville reported that about a quarter of those inspections typically result in vehicles being removed from the road due to mechanical issues and another 10% because of driver violations.

Florida currently has 23 vehicle inspection sites in the state and plans to add another near the Florida-Alabama border.

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​News, Florida, Trucking, Truck drivers, Immigration, Illegal immigration, Cdl, Commercial driver’s licenses, Politics 

Kenny Rogers had a theory. It fit neatly into a chorus. You have to know when to hold them, when to fold them, when to walk away.

Good advice in 1978; even better advice now.

Status means nothing once the cards are in the air.

Poker is everywhere. From small home gatherings to casino floors, mobile apps to livestreamed high-stakes tournaments, Americans are finding their way to the table in record numbers. But those of us who have played this game for years know something the newcomers are still discovering. Poker isn’t really about cards.

Humbling education

I first sat down at a poker table at the tender age of 18. I thought I was learning a card game. I was not. What followed was a long education in humility, one that cost me roughly $900 in unannounced tuition fees.

What makes poker genuinely beautiful is that it holds up a mirror. Every decision you make under pressure — every fold, every bluff, every moment you push your chips forward knowing the outcome is uncertain — reveals something about your character.

How do you handle loss? How do you behave when winning? Can you stay calm when the situation indicates full-blown panic? The table asks these questions relentlessly, and it doesn’t accept dishonest answers. Unlike your therapist, your mother, or literally anyone else in your life, the cards don’t care about your feelings.

Bad luck and bad play

The game also teaches patience in a culture increasingly allergic to it. You can play perfectly for hours and still lose. You can make every right decision and walk away empty-handed. Poker forces you to separate outcomes from process, a philosophical discipline that, once learned at the table, improves almost everything else in your life. I spent years confusing bad luck with bad play. Untangling those two things was worth more than any pot I ever won.

Then there’s the community. Poker draws an almost absurdly wide cross-section of humanity. Retirees, students, engineers, artists, alcoholics, virgins, insomniacs, dreamers, Dana White — all seated together, temporarily equal, governed by the same rules.

Status means nothing once the cards are in the air. I once watched a highly influential, considerably lubricated lawyer get systematically dismantled by a pimply first-year hotel management student, to the tune of $10,000. The lawyer probably had a penthouse and a driver, but that night the kid charged him more per hour than he charged his clients.

Making peace with uncertainty

What matters is how you think, how you adapt, and how gracefully you handle the inevitable bad beats life and the deck will deal you. The great philosopher Blaise Pascal argued that virtually all human misery stems from our inability to sit quietly alone in a room. Poker, perhaps paradoxically, is one of the few places where we willingly gather to do something deeply solitary together. Each player locked inside his own mind, reading the room, making peace with uncertainty — which is either profound or deeply sad, depending on the hour.

My relationship with the game has changed considerably. In my late teens and 20s, I played with a chip on my shoulder and a point to prove, often to no one in particular. I chased losses. I overplayed hands. I mistook aggression for aptitude. The table punished all of it, ruthlessly and repeatedly.

Hard thinking

Now, in my 30s, with family plans taking shape and weekends suddenly finite, I play differently. I’m not there to conquer or to recoup some imagined debt from the universe. I sit down to enjoy the experience itself — the reading of people, the management of information, the occasional perfectly timed bluff that folds a better hand. The financial stakes matter less. The fun matters more. The conversations, the banter, the occasional expletive-laden eruption from an otherwise placid soul — this is what it’s all about.

RELATED: Parents: Let your kids out to play

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There’s a version of the poker story that gets told too often — the cautionary tale about addiction, debt, and ruin. The man who had everything, then didn’t. Those stories are real, and they deserve to be told. But the dominant experience at most tables isn’t tragedy. It’s something much more profound: a room full of people, voluntarily uncomfortable, choosing to think hard about something difficult together. That’s rare. Most of modern life is engineered to protect us from difficulty, to remove any sense of friction, to offer the path of least resistance at every turn. Poker refuses all of that. It insists on facing reality.

Perhaps that’s why the boom makes sense. We are drowning in algorithmic slop, in content tailored to our preferences and platforms designed to keep us from ever feeling the nasty sting of being wrong. The poker table is one of the last places where the feedback is immediate, honest, and occasionally brutal. You were wrong. Here is proof. Now what?

The newcomers crowding the tables will discover soon enough what the rest of us already know. The cards are almost incidental. What the table actually deals is a portrait of yourself you didn’t commission and can’t dispute. There are many paths to self-knowledge. This one just happens to have a rake and a pimply kid who will take everything you have.

​Poker, Culture, Gambling, Men, First person, Lifestyle 

Vice President JD Vance, who with second lady Usha Vance is expecting the delivery of their fourth child in July, told pro-life advocates gathered for the 52nd annual March of Life last year, “I want more babies in the United States of America; I want more happy children in our country; and I want beautiful young men and young women who are eager to welcome them into the world and eager to raise them.”

While an American baby boom might be in the cards, it certainly did not take place last year.

‘This is the choice that Americans now face, and the stakes could not be higher.’

New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveal that U.S. fertility rates dropped to an all-time low in 2025.

There were an estimated 3,606,400 births last year — a 1% decline from 2024. A plurality of babies — just over 1.11 million — were born to mothers in the 30-34 age group, which conforms to the years-long trend of women increasingly delaying family generation until older ages or putting it off altogether.

The general fertility rate, which references the average number of children born to a woman in her lifetime if she were to experience the age-specific fertility rates of a given year, was 53.1 births per 1,000 women ages 15-44. The rate has decreased by 23% since 2007, the year of the Great Recession.

Whereas the year-over-year decline in births per woman in the 15-44 cohort was 1%, the fertility rate for females ages 15-19 declined by 7% last year, dropping to 11.7 births per 1,000 females — another record low. The CDC notes that the fertility rate for teenagers has decreased by 72% since 2007 and 81% since 1991.

RELATED: 5 steps to reset your body’s clock to God’s natural design

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The total fertility rate averaged 3.7 births per woman in 1960; 2.12 births in 2007; 1.64 in 2020; and 1.6 in 2024. It fell again last year to 1.57, according to a Wall Street Journal calculation using the new CDC data.

This is particularly bad news for those keen to bequeath the nation to heritage Americans since the total fertility rate necessary for a population to maintain stability and replenish itself without requiring replacement by foreign nationals — what is referred to as replacement level fertility — is 2.1.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said last year that a rate below replacement “is a national security threat to our country.”

Total fertility rates have plummeted across the first world. In the European Union, for example, the rate reportedly dropped from 2.62 in 1964 to 1.34 in 2024. The same year, the rate in Scotland dropped to 1.25 and to 1.41 in England and Wales.

Canada became one of the developed nations suffering “ultra-low fertility” in 2024, with a total fertility rate of 1.25 kids per woman. The Canadian government credited “increased educational levels, greater participation in the labor market, changing social norms, and the widespread use of contraception” for helping drive down the number.

The U.S. Congressional Budget Office projected in a report earlier this year that the fertility rate for foreign-born women in America this year will be substantially higher than the rate for native-born women, leading the home team 1.79 to 1.53.

The report noted further that:

on the basis of recent laws, policies, and demographic trends, CBO projects that the rate of population growth will generally slow over the next 30 years, from an average of 0.3% a year in the next decade to an average of 0.1% a year from 2037 to 2056. The total population is projected to stop growing in 2056 and remain roughly the same size as in the previous year.

The CBO added that net immigration is expected “to become an increasingly important source of population growth, especially if the annual number of deaths begin to exceed the annual number of births as expected in 2030.”

Some analysts have attempted to put a positive spin on America’s dwindling fertility rate.

“Women now have better control over their reproductive lives, so there’s not as much unintended pregnancy as there used to be,” Alison Gemmill, an associate professor of epidemiology at the UCLA School of Public Health, told CNN. “Our timelines have shifted.”

According to data released last month by the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, there were an estimated 1,126,000 clinician-provided abortions last year — nearly one-third the number of the reported live births.

In addition to exerting “better control” over their God-given procreative ability, Gemmill suggested that some would-be parents are rethinking having kids in light of concerns about so-called climate change, the economy, and raising a child in a supposedly “inequitable world.”

Karen Benjamin Guzzo, a demographer at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, recently told the New York Times, “There’s been a lot of doom and gloom about the birth rate, but the decline is also a success story.”

The Heritage Foundation has, alternatively, acknowledged this bleak trend as a crisis, noting in a January report, “American family life is truly at a crossroads. One path is marked by unwed childbearing, low rates of marriage, low fertility, low commitment, and easy divorce. This path is associated with the view that family formation (or its avoidance) is primarily about fulfilling adult desires and adult needs.”

“The other path elevates the family unit as an inherent good based on the commitment and sacrifice of husbands and wives for each other’s sake and for the sake of children that their union would welcome into the world. This path is associated with the view that all life is sacred and that sees the family as a source of fulfillment for adults because they direct their energies to the good of the family unit instead of to themselves alone,” continued the report. “Underlying this view is a deep sense of gratitude in knowing that human beings are here by God’s grace and that children are divine gifts.”

“This is the choice that Americans now face, and the stakes could not be higher,” the report added.

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​Society, Civilization, Baby, Crisis, Birth, Fertility, Fertility rate, United states, Replacement, Replacement theory, Natalism, Abortion, Life, Cdc, Politics 

Leftist radicals are throwing a temper tantrum now that a San Francisco-based coffee chain has decided to remove the LGBTQ+ Pride flag from its stores.

Philz Coffee began with a single store in the Bay Area in 2003 and has since expanded to 60 stores across California and Chicago. For some time, Philz cafes have notably displayed the Pride flag, implicitly lecturing about sexuality and gender to patrons who may simply want a cup of coffee or a pastry.

‘This is a change in how our stores look, not in who we are.’

But not for long.

On Wednesday, the company confirmed that all Philz stores will soon remove Pride and other flags and decor, claiming that doing so will create “a more consistent, inclusive experience.”

“Our long-standing support of the LGBTQIA+ community is unchanged. We are working toward creating a more consistent, inclusive experience across all our stores, including removing a variety of flags and other decor. This is a change in how our stores look, not in who we are,” said the statement from CEO Mahesh Sadarangani.

“Our allyship runs deeper than what is on our walls. It shows up in who we hire, how we treat one another, and in our annual Pride Month Unity celebration,” Sadarangani’s statement continued. “… Unity is fundamental to how we operate.”

RELATED: Unhinged 49-year-old female caught on video tossing coffee on McDonald’s worker enters her plea in court

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LGBTQ+ activists have not taken the news well.

“It would be a huge mistake because the gay population won’t stand for it,” one unidentified individual told KRON. “We will boycott this place if that’s the case.”

“What’s the experience that Philz Coffee is selling? What is it that makes them distinctive? And the focus on the flags, the focus on Pride, that really has been an important part of what Philz Coffee is all about,” Berkeley professor Ann Harrison said, according to KGO.

Customer Todd Varney called the decision “pretty rotten” and speculated that it may have come as the result of “big money at the top.”

SF Pride Executive Director Suzanne Ford seemed to suggest the decision was part of a larger ongoing “global” effort against “queer” people. “There’s also a real frustration that comes with being a queer person right now — feeling like you want to respond to every headline, but not always knowing where your energy and bandwidth are best spent,” Ford said. “… It may seem small, but removing a Pride flag sends a message, and for many in this neighborhood, it feels like another blow right at home.”

A Change.org petition indicated that Philz “team members and customers” no longer feel “supported” by the company. “The Pride flags within the stores hold deep meaning and value to both staff and visitors, symbolizing that these locations are safe and welcoming spaces for all individuals, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity,” it said.

Sadarangani became CEO in 2021 after private equity firm Freeman Spogli & Co. bought Philz from founders Phil Jaber and his son, Jacob Jaber. Freeman Spogli & Co. also own other chains such as Popeyes and El Pollo Loco, according to the New York Post.

It is unclear when the flags will be removed.

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​Philz, Philz coffee, San francisco, Lgbtq, Pride, Pride flag, Politics 

New polling from Pew Research shows a massive contrast in opinions about Israel between younger Republicans and their older allies.

The polling, conducted in late March, additionally showed not only the typical divide between conservatives and liberals with regard to support of Israel, but also a growing, unfavorable view of Israel and President Donald Trump’s ability to handle relations with Israeli leaders.

‘Across all US adults, 60% have an unfavorable view of Israel.’

While the majority of Republicans still have a favorable view of Israel, younger party members are currently showing the lowest level of support of any demographic.

For Republicans over 50, just 24% have a “very/somewhat unfavorable” opinion of Israel. That number is 57% for the 18-49 age group, up seven points in just one year, and showing a glaring 33-point difference within the party.

Democrats are more unified about their dislike of Israel. Just four points separate the two age groups, averaging out to an 80% negative view of the country overall.

Across all U.S. adults, 60% have an unfavorable view of Israel, up from 53% in 2025, Pew Research reported.

When it comes to confidence in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the sentiment among young Republicans remains the same. When asked if they have confidence in Netanyahu to “do the right thing regarding world affairs,” just 25% of Republicans 18-49 have some or a lot of confidence, while 58% said they have “not too much” or none at all.

RELATED: MEMBERS ONLY: Pro-Palestine posting no problem with ‘penis,’ claims fired Kate Beckinsale

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Republicans over 50 are confident in Netanyahu by a net of 66%, with just 30% having a net negative level of confidence in him. This demographic has the most confidence in Prime Minister Netanyahu.

At the same time, more than 75% of Democrats have little or no faith in the Israeli leader’s ability to do the right thing.

Moreover, according to the poll, Republicans have the biggest contrast in opinions when it comes to the importance of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

RELATED: Israel ramps up attacks on Middle East target despite US-Iran ceasefire

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In terms of those who said the conflict between Israel and Hamas is important to them personally, Republicans over 50 years old found it important most often at a rate of 69%. That was 12 points more than the second-highest group, which was Democrats over 50 years old.

Republicans ages 18-49, however, were the demographic most likely to say the conflict was not personally important to them at 41%, seven points higher than Democrats of the same age.

In the end, Republicans were far more likely than Democrats to have confidence in President Trump’s handling of the United States’ relations with Israel, with nearly three-quarters either somewhat or very confident in him.

More than 80% of Democrats polled said they were not too confident or not at all confident in Trump’s handling of the situation.

The survey was conducted March 23-29 and involved 3,507 U.S. adults.

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​News, Polling, Israel, Netanyahu, Trump, Palestine, Hamas, Republicans, Liberals, Democrats, Conservatives, Polls, Politics 

Conspiracy theories are swirling after several prominent U.S. scientists and defense researchers with ties to classified aerospace, nuclear, and UFO projects died or mysteriously vanished under suspicious circumstances in recent years.

Rumors about cover-ups, assassinations, and even stranger theories are ramping up, and now even mainstream outlets are beginning to take notice.

On a recent episode of “Pat Gray Unleashed,” Pat, Keith Malinak, and Jeffy watched and reacted to a recent segment from Fox News host Will Cain, who laid out seven of the most striking cases and asked the obvious question: Are these incidents connected, or is this just a tragic coincidence?

Cain presented the following cases of scientists and defense researchers who died or disappeared under suspicious circumstances:

Carl Grillmair: Caltech astrophysicist who worked on a NASA-supported space telescope project and infrared systems; “shot and killed at his home just two months ago.”Frank Maiwald: Senior scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab; “died nearly two years ago, but his cause of death has never been made public.”Monica Reza: NASA/JPL-connected aerospace scientist; disappeared while hiking in California last summer.William McCasland: Retired Air Force major general who formerly commanded the Air Force Research Lab and oversaw classified aerospace R&D; vanished from his home in February 2026. He had a direct professional connection to Monica Reza through funding her earlier materials research project.Melissa Casias: Worked an administrative role at Los Alamos National Lab with security clearances; has been “missing since last summer.”Anthony Chavez: Longtime Los Alamos National Laboratory employee; disappeared while out for a walk in May 2025.Nuno Loureiro: MIT plasma and fusion physicist; shot and killed in December 2025 at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts, after answering the doorbell.

Cain noted the overlap in their sensitive research ties, pointing out the same handful of institutions — NASA, Air Force Research, Los Alamos Laboratory — and asked: “Could they be connected, or is this something else entirely?”

Pat calls the entire situation “bizarre” and reacts with his trademark skepticism. To hear his full take and what he thinks might really be going on, watch the episode above.

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​Pat gray, Pat gray unleashed, Blazetv, Blaze media, Ufo, Nasa, Los alamos, Missing scientists 

Students have always enjoyed flaunting revolutionary politics — the posters, the slogans, the Che Guevara T-shirts.

Like gender fluidity and ultimate frisbee, these radical affectations often don’t survive graduation. It’s a tale as old as time: One day you’re shouting into a bullhorn; the next, you’re typing on Slack.

Members also earn ‘rays’ on a Sunrise patch as they progress through the ranks — a visible marker of participation and standing within the organization.

What does endure, however, is the sophisticated political machinery designed to harness this youthful fervor and put it into action.

‘Political revolution’

This week, watchdog group Defending Education published internal documents outlining a coordinated push for political upheaval from one of the country’s most visible youth activist organizations.

The Sunrise Movement is a 501(c)(4) environmental organization that describes itself as “a movement of young people fighting to stop the climate crisis.”

But slides leaked to Defending Education from a March 17, 2026, membership meeting reveal a highly structured and strategic operation calling for a “political revolution” and “structurally chang[ing] the foundations of this country” — language that goes well beyond climate advocacy.

The message is as simple as it is sobering: The goal is not reform, but replacement.

The revelation here is not the Sunrise Movement’s rhetoric. “Revolution” is already central to the group’s public-facing language; its homepage describes itself as part of a broader climate revolution. What the slides add is clarity: That “revolution” is not just metaphor, but a program laid out in concrete terms, from pressure campaigns and mass noncooperation to institutional targeting.

Defending Education

Path to a ‘New System’

The goal: “Eco-socialism, [a] multi-racial democracy, and Green New Deal legislation.”

A section titled “On the Road to Revolution” lays out a path to a “New System” — including passing Green New Deal policies and “ending the billionaire 2-party system.”

The slides also describe a strategy of “repolarizing” the country. One passage calls for “get[ting] majority of society out in the streets and an explosion in voting,” arguing that “we need to repolarize society” to move people away from what it describes as a “(corrupt) system” and toward a new one with “more democracy.”

Target: Hilton

The materials also outline how that shift is meant to occur in practice — through a sequence of escalating actions tied to specific campaigns.

It begins with a March 28 No Kings event and builds toward a May 1 national strike. In between: sustained pressure.

A slide titled “Hilton to May Day” points to coordinated economic disruption, including efforts to target “ICE enabler” Hilton Hotels over its alleged ties to immigration enforcement. Tactics listed include public boycotts, so-called “wide awake actions,” and coordinated booking and canceling of hotel reservations — designed to impose financial and reputational costs.

Defending Education

‘Dawn’ to ‘Dusk’

The slides also lay out what the group calls its internal “culture” — a set of guiding principles members are expected to adopt. The language reads less like loose organizing advice and more like a shared creed: “Nothing about us without us,” “Motivate the base, isolate the opposition,” and “It is our duty to fight for our freedom, it is our duty to win.” The effect is to define not just tactics, but a common vocabulary and moral framework for participants.

Another section details a tiered membership structure, with clearly defined ranks — “Dawn,” “Morning,” “High Noon,” “Afternoon,” and “Dusk” — each tied to specific benchmarks: recruiting new members, completing actions, attending meetings, and undergoing training. Advancement comes with increasing responsibilities, access, and internal status.

Members also earn “rays” on a Sunrise patch as they progress through the ranks — a visible marker of participation and standing within the organization. The structure resembles a formal pipeline, designed to scale participation and develop organizers over time.

‘Full Dictatorship’

The presentation outlines three possible futures, each portraying the current system as compromised and the stakes as existential — conditions that, in the materials’ framing, justify escalation.

The most extreme — “Full Dictatorship” — imagines Donald Trump consolidating power, using the military against opponents, and restricting speech.

The function is clear: Escalation isn’t optional. It’s required.

Defending Education

Defending Education

Defending Education, formerly Parents Defending Education, has focused on political activity in schools — curriculum, student protests, and institutional ties to advocacy groups.

Defending Education was founded in 2021 amid a surge of parental backlash to politicized curricula and school policies. The group uses public records requests, whistleblower tips, and document releases to surface what it describes as ideological activism inside education systems.

RELATED: Defending Education gives parents tools to fight leftist indoctrination

In recent years, it has zeroed in on the overlap between student organizing and outside advocacy groups — arguing that protests framed as grassroots are often supported and shaped by national networks. The Sunrise materials, it says, fit that pattern.

The Sunrise Movement has been linked to student walkouts, including protests tied to immigration enforcement. What the newly released slides add, Defending Education argues, is a clearer picture of how that organizing is structured and scaled.

“While calls for a ‘political revolution’ by left-wing activist groups are not unique, these coordinated plans to put economic and social pressure on universities … should raise serious concerns,” said Rhyen Staley, director of research at Defending Education.

“Our academic institutions should be places of higher learning … not weaponized or punished to achieve a ‘structural change’ to the political foundations of this country.”

Defending Education

Pushing left

Founded in 2017, the Sunrise Movement helped drive the Green New Deal into the political mainstream through protests, sit-ins, and youth mobilization.

The Sunrise Movement operates as a decentralized network of local “hubs,” many based on college and high school campuses. That structure has allowed it to scale quickly — turning student energy into coordinated national campaigns.

Since its founding, the Sunrise Movement has proven itself an effective pressure group within Democrat politics, helping push climate policy from the margins to the center of the party’s agenda. Its early backing of the Green New Deal helped turn what was once a fringe proposal into a defining litmus test for progressive candidates.

The group also played a visible role during the 2020 election cycle, applying sustained pressure on Joe Biden and his campaign to adopt more aggressive climate positions. While not all of its demands were met, Sunrise and allied activists helped shape the administration’s climate framework — demonstrating that its model of protest plus pressure can move policy, not just headlines.

Its strategy has consistently blended electoral pressure with direct action. What the newly released slides suggest is a continuation of that model, but with a more explicit emphasis on escalation and institutional leverage.

For a generation told that it is inheriting a world on the brink, the climate is the cause. For groups like Sunrise Movement, the target is something more immediate: the system itself.

What emerges is not just a campaign for the planet, but a bid to reshape political power around a broader program of systemic change.

​Lifestyle, Culture, Defending education, Culture war, Sunrise movement, Activism, Environmental activism, Radical politics, Education, Counterrevolution 

A man convicted for raping an elderly woman and tying her up will spend decades in prison after Ohio police were able to find one thumbprint from the crime scene.

Columbus police said they were called to the Eastmoor neighborhood on Jan. 13 on reports of a rape.

‘This is the nightmare every woman fears. I cannot think of a worse set of facts.’

The 87-year-old woman told police that she awoke to find a man in all black and wearing a ski mask standing over her. He raped her and then tied her up before leaving her in her kitchen.

It took her about three hours to free herself, and then she discovered that he had stolen her car from a detached garage.

Detectives said they were able to identify a suspect through a thumbprint that was found on a bottle of disinfectant wipes. The suspect lived only a few blocks away from the victim.

They arrested 31-year-old Miguel Rodriguez Rolon two days later.

Family members of the victim said she used a walker to get to the court stand and testified against Rolon.

He was found guilty in March of two counts of rape, one count of kidnapping, and one count of aggravated burglary. He was sentenced to at least 84 years in prison.

RELATED: Thug who brutally raped 94-year-old in broad daylight had just been released after other rape charge was dropped, police say

Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Chris Brown excoriated Rolon and called his crime “completely evil” during sentencing.

“It is completely evil to rape an 87-year-old woman. This is the nightmare every woman fears. I cannot think of a worse set of facts,” Brown said. “You’re the reason we build prisons in this country.”

Her family said she still faces a long rehabilitation process, but they are happy that justice was served in the case.

Rolon will also have to register as a Tier III sex offender.

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​Miguel rodriguez rolon, Rape of elderly man, Ohio elderly rape, Rapist gets 84 years in prison, Crime 

U.S. Special Forces recently rescued a pair of downed airmen in Iran. As the stories begin to be disseminated, many in the audience — but sadly, not all in the West, or in America — will listen and read with awe, pride, and patriotism. Most will do so at least until the next exciting event comes along.

Where does the moral imperative of ‘no one is left behind’ come from?

The day after the rescue, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated President Donald Trump and the Americans who pulled off this daring, high-risk mission. Netanyahu said, in part:

All Israelis rejoice in the incredible rescue of a brave American pilot, by America’s dauntless warriors. This proves that when free societies muster their courage, and their resolve, they can confront seemingly insurmountable odds, and overcome the forces of darkness and terror. This rescue operation reinforces a sacred principle: No one is left behind.

The prime minister’s words were appropriate and inspiring. He stated, as have other early reporters, that the Israelis and Americans share “a sacred principle: No one is left behind.” But so far, has anyone — including Netanyahu — made an effort to convey what I suggest to be the single most important piece of information relevant to this — or to any — rescue mission?

Where does the moral imperative of “no one is left behind” come from?

It comes directly from the Book of Genesis. There we read — no less than four times — that God created man in His own image.

In these passages, mankind is said to bear the Imago Dei, the image of God. This means that the individual person, regardless of status, wealth, merit, or demerit, possesses inherent value and dignity. That is why in the West — where the Jewish and Christian scriptures historically were foundational — our rock-solid commitment has been to ensure “no one is left behind.”

If one doubts this assertion, look no further than the military traditions in the non-West — though some in the non-West have adopted Western military values (if not civil values in certain cases), particularly in the Far East.

The reality has been, historically, that outside of the West where the cultural understanding of the Imago Dei was foundational, individual persons were valued only insofar as they were of some use to the community, society, or the state.

In the military context, it was perhaps not surprising that in the Korean conflict, the Soviet military placed rescue as a low priority for its MiG-15 pilots.

Among the many danger signs in the West for decades has been the adoption and implementation by governments of ideas and practices grossly antithetical to the scripture-based teachings of individual dignity, which flow from the image of God in man — from abortion and euthanasia to the depriving of liberty of conscience and freedom of religion.

RELATED: I saw the sky light up over Dubai. The real shock came next.

AFP/Getty Images

The neo-Marxist-based diversity and cancel culture movements have contributed their share to this destructive trend.

So while most once-traditional markers of the West are losing ground, the “sacred principle” expressed by Prime Minister Netanyahu, for now, remains compelling among certain Western militaries, especially America and Israel.

This no-one-left-behind principle was prominently displayed in the air for the first time during the Korean conflict, by which time technological advances made combat rescue a realistic option. The foremost technological advance for this mission was the same type of aircraft that rescued our two Airmen in Iran — the helicopter.

During World War II, as my mentor, friend, and noted air power historian Dr. Earl H. Tilford Jr. wrote, “An aircrew member downed behind enemy lines was virtually certain of capture or death.” But in Korea, a few years later, the young U.S. Air Force’s Air Rescue Service demonstrated with employment of its H-5 and H-19 helicopters and SA-16 amphibian fixed-wing aircraft that combat air rescue was viable.

It was also in Korea that the Air Rescue motto and the Rescue culture were born. Every Rescue member understood that should the unthinkable happen to a U.S. or U.N. airman, and he was forced to leave his aircraft over enemy territory or the adversary’s waters, Rescue crews would risk their lives to fulfill their motto, “That Others May Live.”

But to return to the moral imperative once more. As I wrote in 2020:

In one rescue attempt in December 1969, a total of 336 sorties were flown in support of one F-4 navigator downed near Tchepone, Laos. One pararescueman died, several others were wounded. Of 10 helicopters damaged in the operation, five never flew again. As [Tilford] wrote, “Yet no one asked if the life of one man was worth all the effort.” The question was unnecessary.

The question was not required because the Western culture of the day — though it was beginning to fade — affirmed the inherent dignity of the individual, created in the image of God.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published by RealClearDefense and made available via RealClearWire.

​Iran war, Moral imperative, Airmen rescue, Pararescue, Operation epic fury, Trump, Israel, Benjamin netanyahu, U.s. special forces, Opinion & analysis 

For decades, we have been told that we may not be able to end abortion, but we can reduce it. Political reality requires patience. Incremental laws, strategic compromises, and careful coalition-building will, over time, bend the curve downward.

Fewer abortions this year than last. Fewer still the next. This is what we’ve been told, but the numbers are not bending in the right direction.

The same movement that insists on the humanity of the unborn defends strategies that refuse to treat that humanity as legally binding.

In 2020, the United States saw roughly 930,000 abortions. By 2024, annual abortions had surpassed 1 million again. Monthly averages have continued to rise, moving from roughly 88,000 per month in 2023 to nearly 100,000 per month by 2025 — estimated at over 1.1 million abortions a year.

This is not the trajectory we were promised.

Even in a post-Dobbs world — after decades of work, millions of dollars, and countless political victories — abortion remains not only legal in much of the country, but increasingly accessible.

According to the standard used to justify compromise, the results of our efforts have been thoroughly unimpressive.

If compromise is justified because it reduces abortion, what happens when it does not? If the entire framework rests on pragmatic outcomes, then those outcomes must be honestly measured. If they fail, the justification collapses with them.

The central question, though, was never whether compromise works. The central question is whether compromise is obedience.

Scripture is not silent on this. “To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (James 4:17). That statement assumes that what is right is already understood — and then confronts the refusal to act on it.

That is where the abortion debate now stands.

RELATED: At its core, the abortion debate is very simple

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

For decades, the pro-life movement has argued — rightly — that the unborn child is fully human. Not partially or potentially human. Not a life that becomes valuable later. A human being, made in the image of God, from the moment of conception.

And yet, that premise is not applied in law.

Equal justice is withheld. Justice is knowingly delayed. Entire classes of human beings are acknowledged in rhetoric and denied in practice — through heartbeat bills, 20-week bans, and fetal pain bills.

The same movement that insists on the humanity of the unborn defends strategies that refuse to treat that humanity as legally binding.

To know that a child is fully human and yet defend a legal framework that allows that child to be killed is not a lesser evil. It is a greater evil — because it is compounded.

Scripture goes further. When knowledge increases, so does accountability. When leaders teach truth, they are bound to it. And when they fail to act on what they teach, they do not merely err — they invite judgment.

We have been told to evaluate abortion policy on outcomes alone. But Scripture does not separate outcomes from obedience. It ties them together. God does not bless disobedience because it is politically strategic.

When disobedience is institutionalized — when it becomes the operating principle of a movement — the results should not surprise us.

RELATED: The collapse of conservatism nobody wants to admit

Blaze Media Illustration

Abortion does not decrease under compromise because compromise is not a neutral tool. It is a moral decision. It trains a culture to tolerate the very evil it claims to oppose. It teaches legislators to delay what they confess is urgent. It forms a people who say that the unborn are fully human, while structuring their laws as though they are not.

This is why the numbers do not tell the story we were promised. Not because the strategy was insufficiently refined, but because it was fundamentally misaligned. The issue is not that we have failed to compromise enough. It is that we have compromised at all.

God does not require political feasibility. He requires obedience.

Obedience does not ask how much injustice can be tolerated while we make progress. It asks what justice demands — and then establishes it.

Until that shift is made, the pattern will remain. More laws, more campaigns, more assurances of progress — and the same or worse results. Not because we lack the power to change it, but because we refuse to apply what we already know to be true. Until we do what is right, we should not expect the numbers to change — because God does not bless disobedience. He judges it.

That is why we must fight to establish equal justice under the law for our preborn neighbors — not by regulating abortion, but by abolishing it.

​Abortion, Roe v wade, Dobbs v. jackson, Pro life, Scripture, Obedience, Republicans, Political compromise, Opinion & analysis 

The approval of a $6 billion data center in a Missouri city led voters to kick out four members of the city council who were running for re-election.

The four incumbents lost by a wide margin to their challengers, and the council was unable to meet Wednesday evening because of a lack of quorum.

‘This data center fight has struck this community to the core and really, honestly ignited a community-driven effort here.’

The council approved of the data center project on March 30 by a vote of 6 to 2, and three of the incumbents who lost their elections had voted in favor of the data center.

“I think when the people in leadership are not listening, it shows that democracy is a solution to them ignoring their constituents,” said Gabe Cotton, a voter opposed to the data center, to KTVI-TV.

Opponents accused city officials of violating transparency laws before approving the plan by CRG Clayco to build on a 360-acre property near Highway 67.

“This data center fight has struck this community to the core and really, honestly ignited a community-driven effort here,” said Dan Moore, one of the candidates who defeated an incumbent in the election. “People are awake now, and we’re not going to let this continue on anymore.”

Festus City Administrator Greg Camp argued that the data center would bring new opportunities for the city from increased tax revenue.

“It’s unlike anything that any of these, certainly the city, or any of those institutions, have ever seen before,” Camp said.

The results of the election must be certified before they are official.

Supporters of the data centers say that critics are exaggerating their detrimental effects and argue that they’re critical for the U.S. to stay in the artificial intelligence race.

RELATED: ‘We are totally unprepared’: Bernie Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez propose law to shut down future AI data centers

“Banning data center construction is absurd and completely unacceptable. We need commonsense rules that protect consumers from rising energy bills, but stopping progress altogether — and losing to China — is the wrong approach,” said Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) on social media Thursday.

“Americans shouldn’t see their energy or water bills go up, but we also can’t afford to lose the computer race to China. We’re in a new Cold War, and sidelining data center development risks ceding our technological edge,” he continued.

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​Festus missouri, Data center vote, City council voted out, Data center opposition, Politics 

Four Texas teens kidnapped a high school student and tortured him after a dispute over a girl, police records say.

The Houston Chronicle identified the suspects — all 17-year-olds — as Jose Rojas-Alvarado, Oscar Armando Santiago-Martinez, Angel Lemus-Perez, and Carlos Roberto Oliva-Villeda.

The affidavit said the suspects threatened to kill the alleged victim and harm his family and friends if he contacted the police about the reported encounter.

Court records show that all four suspects have been charged with aggravated kidnapping with a deadly weapon and engaging in organized criminal activity — both first-degree felonies.

Citing an arrest warrant, KVUE-TV reported that the alleged victim departed Del Valle High School with three of the four suspects and went to a nearby gas station on Feb. 19.

The alleged victim told police that the suspects — whom he had been friendly with for approximately two years — invited him to go and get food, the affidavit said.

However, the affidavit also said the suspects drove past the restaurant and instead drove the alleged victim to Rojas-Alvarado’s home, where the student said he had previously visited.

The alleged victim told investigators that he and the suspects were in the garage of the home talking for about an hour and a half before they instructed him to sit in a chair in the middle of the room, where he had his hands and legs restrained with duct tape, according to the affidavit.

“Two of the suspects left, with Rojas-Alvarado returning with a gun,” KVUE reported. “He then allegedly pressed the gun to the victim’s head and told him not to move as the other suspects began restraining him in the chair with duct tape.”

The affidavit said the suspects took turns hitting the alleged victim with aluminum baseball bats, belts, and a walking cane while Rojas-Alvarado held him at gunpoint.

Police said the alleged victim told them that Lemus-Perez heated a box cutter with a lighter and pressed it against his chest, while Rojas-Alvarado forced him to drink from a bottle of clear alcohol.

The alleged victim informed investigators that Rojas-Alvarado threatened to cut off his toe with the box cutter if he didn’t drink the alcohol from the bottle, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit said Rojas-Alvarado grabbed a chainsaw and a machete while the suspects threatened to cut off his body parts. However, the alleged victim said Rojas-Alvarado was unsuccessful in starting the chainsaw.

RELATED: Woman thought she was buying a puppy — instead she’s lured into an ambush, shot, set on fire in likely revenge killing: Cops

The purported victim said Rojas-Alvarado told him he was being beaten and tortured for talking to his girlfriend, the affidavit revealed. The alleged victim said Rojas-Alvarado ordered him to stay away from his girlfriend.

The affidavit said the suspects threatened to kill the alleged victim and harm his family and friends if he contacted the police about the reported encounter.

The alleged victim told investigators that Rojas-Alvarado deleted his and the other suspects’ contact information from the teen’s phone, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit said the suspects cut the alleged victim loose from the chair and then dropped him off at an unknown location.

KVUE reported that police obtained a search warrant and discovered evidence at the residence of Rojas-Alvarado that corroborated the alleged victim’s claims.

According to KVUE, police noticed contusions and redness on the alleged victim’s thigh consistent with blunt force trauma, as well as irregular marks on his chest, back, and abdomen.

During follow-up interviews with detectives, Santiago-Martinez, Lemus-Perez, and Oliva-Villeda admitted to planning the alleged attack a week prior and then coordinating and carrying out the purported confrontation, KVUE stated.

KVUE reported that Santiago-Martinez and Oliva-Villeda confessed to threatening, beating, and holding a toy gun to the head of the alleged victim.

The four suspects were arrested.

The Del Valle Independent School District provided the following statement to KEYE-TV:

Del Valle ISD is aware of the reports of an off-campus incident that resulted in the arrests of former DVISD students. The incident is being actively investigated by the Travis County Sheriff’s Office. The district does not have further information at this time. The safety of our students and staff is our top priority, and we will continue to monitor this incident. We will always communicate with the school community when there are impacts to the school environment.

J’Kaideon Mitchell, a student at Del Valle High School, told KEYE, “I thought it was insane, especially at our school. It’s just crazy how strong that person would have to be to report it and just stay alive, honestly.”

The investigation is ongoing.

The Travis County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to Blaze News‘ request for comment.

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​Texas, Kidnapping, Torture, Teens, Assault, Crime 

Hollywood actor George Clooney criticized President Donald Trump for threatening to destroy Iran, and the White House fired back with a humorous response on social media.

The actor and director was speaking to about 3,000 high school students in Italy on Wednesday when he said the president’s threat would constitute a war crime if he followed through on it.

‘You can still support the conservative point of view, but there must be a line of decency, and we must not cross it.’

“Some say Donald Trump is fine. But if anyone says he wants to end a civilization, that’s a war crime,” Clooney said. “You can still support the conservative point of view, but there must be a line of decency, and we must not cross it.”

The president posted the message on his Truth Social account on the day of a deadline he had set for Iran to stop blocking ship traffic across the Strait of Hormuz.

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” he posted on Tuesday morning.

“47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!” he added.

Many other critics called for the president to be removed from office via the 25th Amendment for the threat to end a civilization. That evening, however, the president announced that a ceasefire had been reached with Iran after they both agreed generally to pause the conflict for two weeks.

Assistant to the President and White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung fired back at Clooney in a post on the X platform.

“The only person committing war crimes is George Clooney for his awful movies and terrible acting ability,” he posted.

Oil prices dropped after the announcement of the ceasefire, but the agreement appeared to be on shaky ground after Iran accused Israel and the U.S. of violating the terms only a day later.

RELATED: Weeks after hosting ritzy fundraiser for Biden, George Clooney calls for his replacement: ‘It’s devastating to say it’

Clooney went on to express his concerns about the U.S. possibly leaving NATO.

“I’m worried about NATO,” the actor said. “It has ensured that Europe, but also the rest of the world, has been safe. Dismantling an institution like this worries me. Aside from many mistakes, I believe the U.S. [with NATO] has also done many extraordinary things that have stood the test of time.”

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​George clooney vs trump, Trump war crimes, Civilization end threat, Iran us israel ceasefire, Politics 

It’s been nearly five years since the Walt Disney Company leaned into the corporate vogue of diversity, equity, and inclusion across its theme parks.

Now, some parkgoers think they’re hearing something different — something familiar.

‘The sound of the trip starting for real.’

DEI dream

Back in 2021, Disney confirmed to Newsweek that it would phase out the classic greeting, “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls,” from announcements at Magic Kingdom. In its place came a more neutral line: “Good evening, dreamers of all ages,” part of a broader push to make park language more “inclusive.”

At the time, the change was treated as small but symbolic — another piece of Disney’s effort to align itself with the cultural priorities of the moment.

Now, a clip circulating on X suggests the company may be quietly loosening its grip on that approach. In the video, a monorail announcement clearly addresses riders as “ladies and gentlemen” while instructing them to hold the handrail — a phrase that, until recently, had been scrubbed from official park language.

Old times

No announcement has been made. No policy has been reversed, at least publicly.

But at a place like Disney, where every word is scripted and nothing is accidental, even a small change can signal something larger.

For longtime visitors, it’s not really about the phrasing itself. It’s about what it represents: a return to tradition — or at least a pause in the steady rewriting of it.

RELATED: Lindsey Graham spotted holding bubble wand at Disney World during shutdown

No place for ‘ladies’

Various Disney-centric sites have stated that the removal of “ladies and gentleman” from park experiences was actually a bigger blow than it seemed. Inside the Magic called it the most recognized part of the vital experience that leads Disney fans into the theme park.

Disney Dining called the phrase “the sound of the trip starting for real,” noting its specific cadence made it memorable to park goers.

That Park Place reported that it took just a year for Disney to start treating gendered language like a bygone era, with progressive ideology becoming part of Disney’s internal training philosophy. The outlet cited diversity and inclusion manager Vivian Ware, who reportedly said cast members were being taught to avoid saying “ladies and gentlemen” and “boys and girls.”

Instead, the outlet stated, they were taught to say, “Hello, everyone,” or, “Hello, friends.”

The language shift wasn’t the only obvious change to standards at Disney, either.

RELATED: BOX OFFICE KRYPTONITE: ‘Supergirl’ star flames fans ahead of premiere

Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service/Getty Images

Mixed-up mouse

In 2023, Disney partnered with a man who claimed to be “gender fluid” in order to promote a Minnie Mouse-themed clothing set that included a red dress, yellow pumps, and red hair bow.

Earlier that year, an employee at Disneyland, who appeared to be a man in a dress, was seen greeting little girls at the salon and dress shop called the “Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.”

Align reached out to Disney Parks to ask when the gendered language was brought back into the attractions and the reasoning behind the policy change, but did not receive a reply.

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​Align, Woke, Disney, Theme parks, Dei, Diversity, Gender, Gender activism, Disney world, Entertainment 

While many are happy that the Trump administration was able to rescue two military members from the conflict in Iran, at least one MS Now host is furious at some words used about that rescue.

Lawrence O’Donnell complained in a monologue on his show that War Secretary Pete Hegseth used the phrase, “We leave no man behind,” while praising the military operation.

‘That is, of course, the old-school version of the idea, back when only men flew American military planes.’

O’Donnell cited President Donald Trump, who explained that 155 aircraft and hundreds of military personnel were included in the operation to rescue a colonel who had ejected from an F-15 fighter jet.

“Donald Trump had said the Iranians couldn’t possibly do that. Donald Trump said they had no air defenses in Iran, and they humiliated Donald Trump by proving him wrong — by shooting down his planes, shooting down two of his planes,” O’Donnell said.

“The pilot of that plane was rescued within hours of the shoot-down. The still-unnamed, seriously injured colonel had to hide for 48 hours before the rescue team could find him and save him without losing any other military personnel in that very risky mission,” he added.

“They did lose two rescue planes worth $100 million each that they had to leave behind in Iran and destroy as they were leaving,” O’Donnell said. “And today at the White House, that brilliant rescue was described by the secretary of defense … as a long-standing American military rule of never leaving anyone behind.”

He aired the video of Hegseth saying, “We leave no man behind,” to reporters.

“That is, of course, the old-school version of the idea, back when only men flew American military planes,” O’Donnell continued. “General Dan Kaine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, put it this way: ‘We leave no one behind.’ The general knows, unlike Pete Hegseth, that that could have been a woman they were trying to rescue, and it might be a woman the next time.”

He went on to accuse Hegseth of ignoring the history of thousands of military members, including the late John McCain, who were left behind in previous American conflicts.

RELATED: Dem Rep. Katie Porter says increasing abortions would help Americans deal with inflation

O’Donnell also claimed that Trump had gone “insane” and that he was not a Christian “in any real sense.” He also said the president should be removed from the Oval Office under the 25th Amendment.

The liberal host was ridiculed by many online, not the least of which was the Republican National Committee.

“Btw what is a woman, @Lawrence?” the RNC responded.

Video of O’Donnell’s breathless rant is available for review on the MS Now YouTube channel.

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​We leave no man behind, Lawrence odonnell vs hegseth, Hegseth sexist, Sec of war pete hegseth, Politics 

A knife-wielding male was caught on surveillance video issuing death threats — he was heard twice saying, “I’ll kill you in the name of Allah” — to another man in the driveway of an Ohio home in the middle of the night last weekend.

Anthony Tyrone Jessie Long, 23, was arrested and charged with aggravated menacing and aggravated trespassing after Warren County Sheriff’s deputies were called to a Franklin Township home just before 1:30 a.m. Sunday for a reported suspicious person, WXIX-TV reported, citing sheriff’s office records.

‘Hey bud, you knocking on the door?’

A woman told dispatchers that a male was walking around the front of the property and knocking on the door while holding a knife and threatening to kill her husband “in the name of Allah” before chasing after the couple’s daughter, who had just arrived in the driveway, the station said.

“We knew our daughter would just get out of the car and come right in,” the woman told WXIX in the aftermath, adding that “we were too afraid that the guy was going to do something to her.”

Surveillance video shows the suspect at first kneeling and bowing his head on the driveway. Soon the dad approaches the suspicious person and asks him, “Hey, bud, you knocking on the door?”

With that, the male walks toward the dad and twice tells him, “I’ll kill you in the name of Allah.”

The dad then retreats toward the house and yells for his daughter to drive away.

RELATED: Machete-wielding male takes hostage at bank he robs, threatens killings, DA says. It comes to deadly end when cops catch him.

The daughter was able to get away, WXIX reported, and the suspicious person fled in a car.

When deputies got to the scene, the victims showed them surveillance video of the incident, the station said.

About 15 minutes later, Clearcreek Police were dispatched to a traffic stop near Bunnell Hill and State Route 122; a caller claimed they were being followed by a driver — and that the driver tried to ram the caller’s car, WXIX said.

With that, the person who called 911 led the driver to a Clearcreek Police station where officers detained the driver, identified as Long, as the driver matched the description of the suspicious person wanted for threatening the Franklin Township family, the station noted.

Deputies returned to the Franklin Township residence, and the family showed them video of the suspicious person with a knife — and the knife matched the one found in Long’s possession, WXIX said.

Long was taken to the Warren County Jail, and jail records on Thursday afternoon indicate he’s still behind bars. The station said Long is being held on a $1,500 cash-only bond for the Clearcreek incident as well as a $75,000 bond for the Franklin Township incident; his next court date is April 23.

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​Ohio, Franklin township, Knife, Arrest, Death threats, Warren county jail, Clearcreek, I’ll kill you in the name of allah, Crime 

The Canadian federal government under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau legalized medically assisted suicide nationwide in 2016.

As critics predicted, the state-facilitated suicide program — referred to as medical assistance in dying — was grossly liberalized in a short of period of time, maximizing both the number of accepted rationales and the number of those killed.

The province of Alberta appears keen to rein in Canada’s sick experiment and protect its would-be victims, especially ahead of the Carney government’s planned MAID eligibility expansion next year.

Background

In its first year, MAID offed 1,108 Canadians. That number tripled the following year, and by 2021, the number of Canadians killed by their government had climbed to over 10,000 in a single year.

‘MAID should not be a substitute for robust health care.’

The Canadian government revealed in its latest MAID report that a total of 16,499 people were euthanized under the program in 2024, accounting for over 5% of all deaths in Canada that year. Of those euthanized, at least 4.4% nationally were not terminally ill. In Alberta, the number was 4.6%.

By the end of 2024, the number of Canadians who have died through MAID crested 76,000.

Originally, MAID applicants had to be 18 or older and suffering from a “grievous and irremediable medical condition” causing “enduring physical or psychological suffering that is intolerable” to them.

Within years, the country’s eugenicist-founded health care system had given the green light to effectively execute those struggling with anxiety, autism, depression, economic hardship, PTSD, and other survivable issues.

RELATED: Canada’s conservative challenger Pierre Poilievre wins big on Joe Rogan’s podcast

Mininyx Doodle/Getty Images

Persons suffering solely from a mental illness will be eligible for MAID beginning March 17, 2027.

Alberta takes action

Alberta Attorney General Mickey Amery, who is also the justice minister of the ruling United Conservative government, introduced legislation last month — the Safeguards for Last Resort Termination of Life Act — that would “increase oversight, introduce necessary safeguards, and provide greater clarity around eligibility requirements for medical assistance in dying … in the province.”

The bill would, among other things, prohibit MAID in Alberta for: persons under 18; persons whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness; individuals lacking the capacity to make their own health care decisions; and advance requests.

It would also prohibit euthanasia for individuals whose natural death is not reasonably foreseeable; restrict the display of MAID propaganda; empower health practitioners and institutions to refuse participation in the euthanasia regime; and bar Alberta health professionals from referring individuals for MAID eligibility assessments outside the province.

The legislation would also introduce penalties for doctors and nurses who violate the proposed provincial rules.

“Canada has the fastest growing death rates in the world when it comes to MAID. Far from being an option of last resort, MAID is now the fifth leading cause of death in Canada,” Amery told the Alberta Legislature last week. “The country is currently projected to reach its 100,000th death by MAID in June, becoming the first nation in the modern era to measure its total assisted deaths in the six figures, more than the totals of any other jurisdiction with some form of legal, doctor-assisted death.”

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said in a statement, “Those struggling with severe mental health challenges need treatment, compassion and support, not a path to end their life at what may be their lowest moment. In Alberta, a patient whose sole underlying condition is mental illness will not be eligible for MAID.”

‘The state refusing to fund and provide a killing service is the baseline.’

Rebecca Vachon, health program director for the Canadian think tank Cardus, said in a statement, “We support the adoption of these enhanced protections for Albertans and urge all legislators to work collaboratively to implement them.”

While the Catholic Bishops of Alberta underscored that “the Church teaches that ‘euthanasia and assisted suicide are always the wrong choice,'” they similarly characterized the bill as an important step in the right direction, stating, “A just society is one that protects the vulnerable, upholds the dignity of every person, and chooses to accompany them in times of illness and dying. The Alberta government is taking some significant steps that respect these necessary values.”

Gabrielle Peters, a disabled writer and co-founder of Disability Filibuster, recently noted in a piece for the Macdonald-Laurier Institute,

The state refusing to fund and provide a killing service is the baseline we build from. Without that, there is simply no foundation. If disability — and only disability — makes one killable, then why would a state build the infrastructure, policies, and programs necessary to support disabled life? Particularly when one is an expense and the other represents considerable cost-saving?

Some euthanasia advocates have joined state media in framing the life-affirming legislation in negative terms.

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association, for instance, suggested that the legislation “would significantly restrict access to medical assistance in dying … and undermine constitutionally protected rights.”

Michael Trew, Alberta’s former chief addiction and mental health officer, recently wrote that the bill “amounts to taking away choice from many who are fully competent” and that “this loss of choice INCREASES pain and suffering.”

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The Republican lieutenant governor of Texas says his party is going to have a tough time in the midterm elections unless Republicans stop bickering among themselves.

Dan Patrick was speaking about the expensive battle between two Republicans for one of the state’s seats in the U.S. Senate, according to the Texas Tribune.

‘We’re going to have a tough time holding the Texas House.’

Patrick said that whoever loses the runoff election on May 26 between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton must endorse the winner or risk losing the seat — and possibly turn over control of the Senate to Democrats.

And if the candidates continue criticizing each other, they’ll even imperil Republican control of the state House as well, he added.

“Get over it and come together as one,” said Patrick. “We’re going to have a tough time holding the Texas House.”

President Donald Trump had already weighed in on the issue in March when he said on social media that he would eventually make an endorsement in the race and that the other candidate must drop out for the good of the party. So far, he has not publicly endorsed either Cornyn or Paxton.

A loss of Republican control of the U.S. House would deeply jeopardize Trump’s ability to continue passing his agenda in the latter end of his second term. It may even lead to another impeachment.

Patrick admitted that the Texas Senate, where he officially presides, is in safe hands, but added that Cornyn and Paxton must help keep the Texas House in Republican control.

Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows appeared to respond to Patrick on social media.

“We will not lose the Texas House,” Burrows said. “We will fight to retain every Republican seat. I look forward to the fall campaign where we get to talk about Texas’ prosperity under Republican leadership; and, I trust the voters of Texas to continue to vote for conservative government up and down the ballot!”

Texas House Democratic Campaign Chair Rep. Christina Morales took the opportunity to swipe at Patrick and the GOP.

“Dan Patrick is telling Republicans they’re in trouble in November, and for once, he’s telling the truth,” said Morales.

RELATED: Trump to intervene in Texas’ Senate race, anoint his preferred candidate

“Dan Patrick and Texas Republicans have spent years pleasing Trump, catering to corporations, and rewarding their wealthy donors while Texas families can’t afford groceries, can’t trust the power grid, and can’t access basic healthcare,” she added in part. “Their voucher scam is defunding our neighborhood schools. Our communities are being torn apart by Trump’s ICE raids that Republicans refuse to stand up against.”

Republicans got a boost in their effort to keep the U.S. House in their control on Tuesday when a Trump-endorsed candidate won a special election to fill the Georgia seat vacated by Marjorie Taylor Greene. While Democrats did not win the long-shot election, they seem to have made some inroads in the state.

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A California man pleaded guilty on Monday to stealing millions of dollars in taxpayer funds through his participation in a prescription drug fraud scheme, the Department of Justice reported.

Paul Richard Randall, a 66-year-old man from Orange County, has admitted to submitting nearly $270 million in fraudulent claims to Medi-Cal, California’s version of the federal Medicaid program, from May 2022 to April 2023.

‘This guilty plea should send a message that this administration — consistent with the president’s war on fraud — will not turn a blind eye while criminals fleece taxpayers.’

As part of his plea agreement, Randall confessed that he and his alleged accomplices took advantage of Medi-Cal by exploiting a policy change. The government program suspended the requirement for health care providers to obtain prior authorization before delivering services and medications for reimbursement while transitioning its prescription drug program to a new payment system.

Randall billed Medi-Cal millions of dollars each month for dispensing high-reimbursement, non-contracted, generic drugs through a pharmacy, including some pain medications. One such medication was Folite tablets, a vitamin available over the counter.

The DOJ contended that of the $270 million billed, Medi-Cal paid more than $178 million for 19 drugs that were either medically unnecessary, not provided to the patients, or both.

The funds provided by Medi-Cal were laundered to a third party to pay kickbacks to Randall and his alleged co-schemers.

RELATED: Vance’s task force shutters 221 hospices in ‘fraud king’ Gavin Newsom’s California

Leon Neal/Getty Images

Randall has been in federal custody since June 2025 and pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. He faces up to 30 years in prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for August 3.

One of Randall’s accomplices, Kyrollos Mekail, a 37-year-old from Moreno Valley, pleaded guilty in August 2024 to two counts of health care fraud. Mekail is awaiting sentencing.

A second alleged co-conspirator is charged with two counts of health care fraud.

RELATED: The Medicaid fraud problem is not going away

J. David Ake/Getty Images

“This defendant used a public health program as his personal piggy bank,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said of Randall. “This guilty plea should send a message that this administration — consistent with the president’s war on fraud — will not turn a blind eye while criminals fleece taxpayers.”

“Thanks to the leadership of President Donald Trump, the Department, working closely with the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, is supercharging efforts to take down every fraudster and bring them to justice,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said.

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