Category: blaze media

The United States Secret Service fatally shot a man outside of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort early Sunday morning.

The USSS shot and killed the man, who was in his early 20s, after he unlawfully entered the secure perimeter at the president’s Florida resort around 1:30 a.m., according to the Secret Service.

The man, whose identity is being withheld pending notification of next of kin, was seen carrying what appeared to a shotgun and a fuel can by the north gate of the property, the Secret Service said.

RELATED: FBI forced to release damning docs revealing chilling new details on Trump’s would-be assassin

Photo by GIORGIO VIERA/AFP via Getty Images

The Secret Service said its agents and a deputy from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office confronted the man, and shots were fired by law enforcement; neither the agents nor the deputy were injured.

Notably, Trump was not at his resort in West Palm Beach at the time of the incident; he’s in Washington, D.C.

This is breaking news; updates may be added.

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

​Donald trump, Fatal shooting, Fbi, Mar-a-lago, Palm beach county sheriff’s office, Politics, Secret service, Shotgun, Usss, West palm beach 

Police said a 49-year-old staff member at a Florida high school initially acted in self-defense amid a physical fight with a female student on a bus earlier this week — but cops added that the staffer soon took things well over the line.

According to a report from the Palm Beach School District Police, the incident occurred Tuesday at William T. Dwyer High School around 2:50 p.m., which is around dismissal time, WPBF-TV reported.

‘Ms. Smith has been removed from our campus and will not return, pending the outcome of an investigation.’

A school bus driver requested the removal of an unruly student on the bus, the station said.

Shaundra Smith, a school district employee, responded and boarded the bus to speak with the student, the station said.

A short time later, WPBF said Smith asked for additional staff support and two police officers to board the bus to remove the student.

An officer observed Smith and the student throwing punches at each other, the station said, adding that officers and school administrators grabbed the student to separate her from Smith.

WPBF, citing the police report, said Smith got on a bus seat and punched the student in the face as police were restraining the student’s arms.

The station said an officer told Smith to stop, but Smith allegedly punched the student two more times.

WPBF said the officer eventually pulled Smith away from the student.

The police report notes the female student suffered cuts to the inside of her lip and a scrape on her left collarbone, the station said.

RELATED: Viral video: High schooler physically attacks teacher in front of other students — then cop gives kid brutal wake-up call

More from WPBF:

The police report acknowledged that Smith’s initial actions were in self-defense, but devolved into intentional and unnecessary infliction of physical injury to the student once the student was restrained.

Smith was arrested Tuesday and charged with child abuse without great bodily harm, the station said.

The Palm Beach County School District provided WPBF with a message that school Principal Corey Brooks sent to concerned parties about the incident:

William T. Dwyer High School families and staff,This message is to inform you that Shaundra Smith, a non-instructional staff member, was recently arrested for an incident that occurred on a school bus on campus yesterday during dismissal. Ms. Smith was charged with cruelty toward a child (abuse without great bodily harm).Ms. Smith has been removed from our campus and will not return, pending the outcome of an investigation.The safety and well-being of our students is our absolute highest priority. Any conduct that threatens the safety and well-being of our students is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. The School District holds all employees to the highest standards of conduct and is committed to a safe learning environment for all students. We always expect every staff member to meet the professional and ethical standards necessary to provide the best possible educational experience.Please understand that, as this is an ongoing investigation, I cannot share additional details at this time. If you have any information relevant to this case, please contact School Police at 561-434-8700, attention Lt. Wagner.Thank you for your continued support of William T. Dwyer High School.”

Smith during a court hearing Wednesday was ordered to have no contact with the student, the student’s family, or Palm Beach County School District property, the station said.

Smith was released from the Palm Beach County Jail on $10,000 bond, WPBF added.

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

​Florida, Palm beach, High school, Fight, Student, Punch in face, Arrest, Child abuse, Palm beach school district, School bus, Crime 

Republicans spent the 2024 campaign blaming “Bidenflation” on runaway spending and debt-driven inflation. A year into Trump’s second term, the top-line numbers look uncomfortably familiar. Even the New York Times has noticed: “For Mr. Trump, the result is a set of annual government expenses that do not appear radically different on paper compared with what he inherited in January 2025.” Sadly, yes.

The rallying cry against “Bidenflation” was probably the most prolific indictment of the last Democrat president, at least next to the canard of the “Biden border invasion.” Implicit in that allegation was a recognition that the record-high debt payments fueling a size of government that dwarfed the Obama-era leviathan (which spawned the Tea Party) were responsible for the great unaffordability crisis.

Our policies try to help consumers afford unaffordable prices by fueling more debt — which makes life more unaffordable.

The opening weeks of this administration, roughly this time last year, were dominated by Republican officials heralding Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency. Red states began forming their own DOGE committees, and every Republican clamored to have his name attached to the spending-cutting club. Someone even launched a meme coin named after DOGE.

A year later, nearly the entire debt and spending level of Biden’s final year has been codified by all but the most conservative members of Congress. The body politic barely noticed until the New York Times mentioned it this week. Trump and GOP leaders no longer talk about debt service as a driver of inflation. Worse, some deny inflation even exists.

More disconcerting: No real movement on the right even recognizes the severity of the unaffordability crisis or the record deficits still fueling it. The same way many forget Trump’s COVID spending helped catalyze the worst affordability crisis in modern American life, they have conveniently forgotten their own campaign rallies against Biden and Harris.

Like his first term, the president proposed a budget for FY 2026 that aimed to downsize bureaucracies and agencies Reagan conservatives never believed should exist. Congress writes the budget, but the president still has a veto pen. He also commands the party that controls both houses, however narrow those majorities.

Yet rather than fight for even modest spending cuts, the president worked the phones to pressure conservatives into breaking campaign promises and codifying a budget that enshrined roughly $1.6 trillion in discretionary spending, on top of mandatory spending on interest and entitlements that rises every year.

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

Artoleshko / Getty Images

Whereas the president’s budget promised to cut the Department of Housing and Urban Development nearly in half, the appropriations bill he ultimately supported increased HUD’s budget by 9%. He also supports a new housing bill that would expand HUD’s “affordable housing” programs further. He promised to trim the departments of Agriculture and Commerce by 23% and 16%, yet wound up increasing their budgets by 2% and 7% respectively. Labor, HHS, and the Small Business Administration were slated for 28%-38% cuts under his proposed budget, yet the FY 2026 bill he lobbied for and signed kept their record budgets roughly the same.

Ironically, every agency his base hates is now flush with cash and fully funded for the remainder of the fiscal year — except the Department of Homeland Security, which faces an indefinite lapse in appropriations.

Gross debt has increased by $2.6 trillion since Trump took office on Jan. 20, 2025. What happened to the concern about debt-driven inflation that the right raised relentlessly when Biden spent at these levels? Does elephant dung taste better than donkey manure? What gives?

On this trajectory, by 2030 at the latest, the public share of our debt will surpass its all-time high of 106%. That level came at the height of World War II, when debt at least aimed at victory and production. Today’s debt is unproductive. The government goes into debt to juice up private debt to produce fake things like data centers — or worse, self-perpetuating dependency. Today’s spending programs, and even the Trump tax cuts (as opposed to his first-term tax bill), do not produce more goods. They induce more demand for the same goods. In the long run, that’s inflationary.

RELATED: Washington printed promises. Gold called the bluff.

Alfexe / Getty Images

Our policies try to help consumers afford unaffordable prices by fueling more debt — which makes life more unaffordable.

Remember: We’re at the peak of the debt mountain while still sitting in the valley of an impending unemployment crisis. As the economy worsens, spending on food stamps, Medicaid, and unemployment will compound the cycle of debt, inflation, unaffordability, and dependency.

It gets worse. By reinstating earmarks, Republicans countermanded the one major spending success of the past decade forged by the Tea Party. The full-funding bill for FY 2026 that Trump signed contained $15.5 billion in earmarks.

Earmarks themselves don’t drive inflation, but they create a legislative dynamic where members get bought off to vote for the leviathan spending that does. The omnibus contained 8,471 earmarks for just 535 members. It becomes nearly impossible to muster opposition when personal favors designed to ingratiate lawmakers to local interests ride along in the same bills.

No surprise, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) wound up with nearly $500 million in earmarks, the most of any member. As ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, she helped spearhead this uniparty budget that kept the status quo.

Some GOP apologists will scoff at the idea of dealing with inflation and demand we focus on other issues. They might pretend fiscal conservatism was never real.

Fine. But the next time Democrats take office, shut your mouths about spending and inflation. And don’t campaign on bringing it down.

​Inflation, Bidenflation, Trump, Economy, Affordability crisis, Gop, Republicans, Democrats, Covid, Congress, Opinion & analysis 

Last year, I lived for nearly five months in an extended-stay hotel across from a major teaching hospital in Aurora, Colorado.

It was my third extended stay there in three years. In total, I have spent more than 10 months in that community during my wife’s hospitalizations.

Disorder becomes permanent when citizens treat it as background noise.

That is long enough to know the difference between an exception and a pattern.

A sign at the city limits reads, “Welcome to Aurora — America’s City.”

At first, it seemed ironic. By the time I left, it read like an indictment.

Near the hospital, everyday life felt needlessly strained.

The grocery store lines were enormous. Entire banks of self-checkout lanes sat dark. Staffed lanes were closed, allegedly because of staffing shortages. This store belongs to one of the largest grocery chains in the country.

Resources were not the issue. Priorities were.

Basic necessities sat locked behind glass: detergent, deodorant, toothpaste. To buy them, I had to find a manager and request access.

Two armed police officers stood near the checkout lanes.

Then I reached for a bag.

Colorado charges for shopping bags. Fine. Charge for them. But none were available. I stood there with paid-for groceries and no way to carry them, scanning for an employee who could authorize the privilege of buying one.

Charge for the bag if you must. But if you charge for it, make it obtainable.

I speak Spanish well and know a few phrases in several other languages. While useful in Aurora, requesting una bolsa did not make one appear any faster.

Outside, carts sat scattered across the parking lot. Trash gathered along the curbs. Panhandlers approached vehicles at the entrance. Customers moved quickly, eyes down.

The hotel where I stayed was a national chain: key-card entry, corporate standards. The staff were decent, hardworking people. They were not hired to enforce the law. Yet I watched them physically confront individuals who slipped into the building and helped themselves to the breakfast buffet without apology and without fear of consequence.

RELATED: I came to the US legally. What we have now isn’t immigration — it’s chaos.

nzphotonz / Getty Images

When behavior is brazen, it signals confidence that no one will stop it.

Walking across the street to the hospital, I passed men and women sprawled on sidewalks, drug paraphernalia near bus stops, people shouting into empty air. While living there, I heard more gunfire than I hear during hunting season where I live in Montana.

Live somewhere for 10 months, and you start to feel the pulse of a place. It is a community living inside lowered expectations.

Standards rarely collapse in a single moment. They erode when enough people decide they are optional. At what point did we accept that this was simply how modern American cities function?

If Aurora is “America’s City,” then we no longer agree on what America means.

Years ago, my wife and I launched a prosthetic limb outreach in Ghana. I have seen clinics there operate with greater cleanliness and clearer systems than the community surrounding one of America’s premier teaching hospitals.

That is not meant to be an insult to Ghana. It is a warning to us.

Compassion and order are not enemies.

A society can care for the vulnerable and still insist on standards. In fact, it must. Compassion without structure becomes chaos, and chaos harms the very people it claims to protect.

Government exists to protect life and property. That is not partisan. It is foundational.

The reflexive answer to visible disorder is often another funding package. But public officials are not spending their own money. They are allocating earnings entrusted to them by citizens who expect order in return. When outcomes deteriorate while budgets expand, the issue is not funding. It is stewardship.

For more than 40 years, I have navigated surgeons, pain specialists, prosthetists, and hospital systems while advocating for someone who cannot afford substandard care. In those settings, standards are measurable, not merely aspirational.

One does not respect what one does not inspect. When professionals know their work will be reviewed, outcomes improve. When oversight weakens, so do results.

When an area becomes known for disorder, the mystery is not the criminals. It is the complying silence surrounding those charged with enforcing law and order. Those entrusted with authority must themselves be examined.

Advocacy is rarely glamorous or lucrative. It is repetitive, exacting, and sometimes unwelcome. But when the advocate steps away, small failures compound, and the vulnerable suffer more.

RELATED: ‘Phase one’ was quality control. ‘Phase two’ needs to be quantity control.

Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images

A healthy society requires the same vigilance from its citizens.

Unenforced borders invite unlawful crossings. Unenforced laws embolden lawlessness. Unenforced standards always open the door to mediocrity and worse.

This is not complicated. It just requires will.

As I walked past those police officers, groceries in the bags I finally managed to buy, I said plainly, “We don’t have to live this way.”

They shrugged. They did not argue.

A deserter was once brought before Alexander the Great for judgment. Asked his name, the soldier nervously replied, “Alexander.”

The general paused.

“Either change your conduct,” he said, “or change your name.”

Names imply standards. So do cities.

If a city claims to be “America’s City,” its conduct should reflect it.

We should expect more — of ourselves, of our communities, of our elected officials, and of our courts.

America is not a nation of voiceless citizens. If standards are collapsing, enough of us have abdicated oversight and responsibility.

Disorder becomes permanent when citizens treat it as background noise.

The first act of resolve is refusing to call dysfunction normal.

We do not need another commission. We need resolve.

We don’t have to live this way.

​Colorado, Aurora colorado, Urban decline, American cities, America’s city, Opinion & analysis, Trust, Law and order 

Democratic Texas state Representative and current Senate candidate James Talarico has made a practice of using his “Christian” faith and background as a Presbyterian seminarian to push progressive causes, such as abortion, LGBTQ+ rights, and gun control, among others.

Earlier this week, in an interview with Stephen Colbert on “The Late Show,” Talarico perpetuated an argument he’s presented multiple times, namely that the “religious right” mistakenly hyper-focuses on “abortion and gay marriage” — two issues, he argued, “that aren’t mentioned in the Bible” and “that Jesus never talked about.”

“Jesus gave us two commandments: Love God and love neighbor. And there was no exception to that second commandment. Love thy neighbor regardless of race or gender or sexual orientation or immigration status or religious affiliation. And it’s why I have fought so hard for the separation of church and state,” the Texas Democrat added.

BlazeTV host Steve Deace joins the host of conservative Christian voices denouncing Talarico as a false teacher, but his criticism goes far beyond relegating the progressive Christian to the realm of heretics.

“James Talarico is going to be Legion,” says Deace.

He explains the biblical pattern of Christian revival, which he believes is happening in the United States right now, regardless of whether or not America survives as a free nation.

First comes the sifting, he says, where God separates true believers from fake or lukewarm ones. Next is “the implementation of a new structure,” where God builds fresh ways of doing church outside of old, dead institutions. The final step is “mobilization.” Once His true followers are sifted and organized, God sends them out on mission to spread the gospel and make disciples locally and globally.

This revival process, Deace explains, has been repeating itself since the formation of the early Christian church.

However, the enemy has his own counterfeit pattern: First, shame people into hiding their faith, convincing them that it’s meant to be “private” between them and God. Then, push the lie of “secularization” — the idea that “there’s a neutral space where no one rules and no one is worshiped and no such space exists, ever has existed, or ever will,” says Deace. And finally, “replace” the faith altogether with an evil religion imposed by the state.

“We’re entering into this third stage now,” Deace warns.

James Talarico, whom Deace calls “an object and a vessel of malevolence,” is “not deceived; he’s the deceiver,” he says. “He is who Paul would have said in Acts, ‘You are a son of the devil.’ He knows what he is doing.”

To stay on the straight and narrow and avoid being duped by people like Talarico, Deace gives a piece of advice: “If sin and repentance and redemption are nowhere in their message, it doesn’t matter what else they say. … That is not the gospel. It is not. It’s a husk. Jesus called it a whitewashed tomb. The heart and soul of the gospel, the battle that was waged over your soul, and it is now being waged over your heart and mind, is because of sin, repentance, and redemption.”

“Guess what was completely and totally missing from James Talarico’s message? Sin, repentance, and redemption. So guess what you just heard none of from James Talarico? The gospel.”

To hear more, watch the episode above.

Want more from Steve Deace?

To enjoy more of Steve’s take on national politics, Christian worldview, and principled conservatism with a snarky twist, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Steve deace, Steve deace show, Blazetv, Blaze media, Deace, Talarico, James talarico, Progressive christianity, Heresy, False teacher, Stephen colbert 

Eight years ago this month, Norma McCorvey died in a Texas nursing home, far from the cameras and courtrooms that once made her the most famous anonymous woman in America. There were no placards, no protests, no press.

She may be gone, but her name endures. The world knew her as “Jane Roe,” the plaintiff whose case redrew the legal landscape and reshaped the conscience of a nation.

Her story reflects a familiar pattern: individuals raised to symbolic status, then discarded once the moment passes.

Her beginnings weren’t marked by power, but by poverty and disorder. Born in rural Louisiana and raised in Texas, she grew up in a home shaped by absence and anger. Her father left early. Her mother battled alcoholism. Punishment was common; tenderness was rare. By adolescence, she had run away, fallen into petty crime, and entered state custody. Order came through institutions rather than through a steady home. Survival, not stability, shaped her youth.

Adulthood brought little relief. She married at 16 and left soon after. Her first child was taken and adopted by her mother. A second was placed for adoption. By 21, she was pregnant again — alone and impoverished, with few options and little guidance.

Alone and impoverished

Texas law allowed almost no abortions. Friends suggested that she claim rape to qualify. The claim failed. Through a chain of referrals, she met two young attorneys seeking a pregnant woman willing to challenge the statute. She agreed. She wanted an abortion. Instead, she became the primary figure in a legal battle she neither directed nor fully understood.

The case moved slowly. She never attended the hearings. She gave birth and placed the baby for adoption. When the Supreme Court ruled in 1973, she wasn’t celebrating. She later said the decision meant little to her at the time. The country changed. Her circumstances did not.

Yet the ruling transformed American life. Abortion became both a protected right and a permanent point of conflict. Clinics multiplied. Protest lines formed. The decision that bore her pseudonym ushered in a legal order under which millions of unborn children would be terminated. In the first half of last year alone, even after the overturn of Roe v. Wade, nearly 600,000 abortions occurred, averaging more than 3,000 each day. The scale is sobering.

An unexpected turn

In the years that followed, McCorvey worked around abortion clinics and publicly supported abortion rights. She spoke for the cause and lived within its orbit, lifted and used by larger forces.

Public relevance did not bring private peace. Her personal life remained unsettled. Addiction, loneliness, and fractured relationships followed her into middle age.

Then, in the mid-1990s, an unexpected turn.

While working at a Dallas clinic, she encountered pro-life volunteers who spoke with steady kindness. They addressed her not as a symbol but as a person. Conversation replaced confrontation. One day, she paused before a poster showing fetal development. The image stayed with her.

Soon after, she left her job.

RELATED: Bernard Nathanson: Abortion architect who found mercy in Christ

Sydney Morning Herald/Antonio Ribiero/Getty Images

Won by love

In 1995, she was baptized into evangelical Christianity in a backyard swimming pool. In her 1997 memoir “Won by Love,” McCorvey described the experience as a turning point, one that reshaped both her public advocacy and her private life.

Three years later, she entered the Catholic Church, a decision widely covered at the time by both secular and religious press. Her public stance changed. She described her role in Roe v. Wade as the greatest mistake of her life. She marched, protested, and testified, urging Americans to reconsider what the nation had embraced.

Her conversion drew admiration from some and skepticism from others. In a 2020 documentary, “AKA Jane Roe,” previously recorded interviews surfaced in which McCorvey suggested that financial incentives had influenced aspects of her pro-life advocacy.

The claims reignited debate over the sincerity of her conversion. Friends and clergy who knew her well disputed that account, describing a woman who prayed daily and took her faith seriously. The tensions remain unresolved. Human lives rarely fit neat narratives.

What remains clear is that her life traced a restless search for belonging and forgiveness. She was not a simple figure. At times blunt and belligerent, at others wounded and weary, she carried deep contradictions. She stood at the center of a historic decision, often seeming invisible within it.

Familiar terrain

Her story reflects a familiar pattern: individuals raised to symbolic status, then discarded once the moment passes. She served as a standard-bearer and later a cautionary tale — celebrated, contested, and set aside. Rarely was she treated as a person.

For Christians, this terrain is not unfamiliar. Scripture offers no flawless heroes, only flawed men and women redirected by grace. David fell. Peter denied. Paul persecuted. Grace did not erase their past; it changed their course.

No honest telling can minimize the consequences of Roe v. Wade. The decision reshaped law, medicine, and family life. McCorvey’s participation in that moment remains a grave part of her legacy.

Yet Christian faith insists that no life lies beyond redemption. The gospel does not deny sin; it denies that sin has the final word.

In her later years, friends described a woman quieter and gentler, less concerned with public approval and more attentive to eternity. She spoke of regret. She spoke as someone who looked back on what she had represented and felt the weight of it.

Eight years on, Norma McCorvey’s life resists easy telling. History will continue to debate her. Movements will continue to claim her. In the end, judgment belongs to God, who sees what no one else can.

​Faith, Norma mccorvey, Roe v. wade, Jane roe, Abortion, Pro-life, Lifestyle, Christianity, Converts 

Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado complimented the U.S. Senate campaign of Texas Democrat James Talarico — and even delivered a humorous jab at his opponent, Democrat U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett.

Boebert appeared alongside Talarico on “Real Time with Bill Maher” Friday, talking about everything from faith to Talarico’s infamously pulled Stephen Colbert interview. Boebert also extended a compliment to the congressman, noting that his Senate candidacy has been impressive and joked about giving him a leg up ahead of the primary against Crockett.

‘My concern is not for my campaign, it’s for the Constitution.’

“I do want to congratulate you on the success so far in your campaign,” Boebert told Talarico before adding, “Maybe I should endorse Jasmine Crockett so you could do a little better!”

Talarico, Maher, and the crowd laughed in response.

RELATED: Crockett hits back, says Colbert is full of it: ‘They just didn’t want to air it

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Boebert also set the record straight in the aftermath of Talarico’s interview with Colbert, noting that Crockett’s analysis — that the federal government had nothing to do with the decision to pull the interview — was correct.

“It wasn’t President Trump that canceled your segment,” Boebert said. “This is one area where Miss Crockett is correct. This was a decision by the network. They didn’t want to have her on, possibly. They didn’t want to have that equal time.”

Boebert added, “But I also think that the way it was aired — I mean you got over five million views. You raised 2.5 million dollars in 24 hours, so it was a pretty big success for you.”

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

Photo by Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images

Talarico and Boebert also sparred over the pulled Colbert interview, with the Texas Democrat claiming it was a top-down order from President Donald Trump.

“My concern is not for my campaign, it’s for the Constitution,” Talarico said.

“Right, but it wasn’t the president who said ‘Do not allow this to air …'” Boebert replied. “It was equal share time. It was already in the rules. And that network said, ‘We do not want to have the equal share. We don’t want to fulfill that part of the rule.'”

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

​Donald trump, Lauren boebert, James talarico, Jasmine crockett, Stephen colbert, Bill maher, Texas primary, Texas democrat primary, 2026 primary, Senate primary, Politics 

Liberal leadership often leads to higher gas prices and higher profit margins for oil merchants, a digging expert is saying.

With oil prices once again dropping, it may surprise many to know that while Democrats traditionally are harsher on the oil industry, they actually end up making those companies more money, while the average American’s pocket gets lighter.

‘The left always is looking to punish.’

Dan Doyle, president of fracking company Reliance Well Services, said that when pipelines and other drilling technology are limited by Democrats, it is the consumer who suffers.

“Profitability is a little bit better under Democrats than Republicans,” Doyle told Return in an exclusive interview. “Trump is very tough on oil prices, you know, because he’s using them this time to get gas prices lower. So he’s really pressuring to bring those oil prices down.”

President Biden shutting down the Keystone XL pipeline his first day in office was just one example of Democrat-led moves that increased the cost of daily living for Americans, Doyle explained.

“You shut the pipelines down, it just makes it more expensive. Now you’re bringing it over the roads,” he asserted. “Now you’re putting this stuff over the road or in train cars.”

Doyle referred to the Lac-Mégantic train disaster in Canada in 2013, when a runaway train carrying crude oil derailed and killed 47 people in an explosion.

Comparing that to pipeline safety, Doyle said, “There could be a leak, but let me tell you, if there’s a leak, you know it immediately and it gets cleaned up.”

RELATED: America won’t beat China without Alaska

Your browser does not support the video tag.

Doyle asked readers to simply check out the oil prices under Democrat leadership versus Republican.

“Under Obama back in [2013-2014] and, I believe, later, oil was routinely at $100. So you take CPI and you adjust it for inflation. … That’s twice what it is right now.”

Doyle was actually estimating conservatively. According to data from the Energy Information Association, a government agency, the price per barrel was $98.99 under Obama in January 2012; when adjusted for inflation using the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index inflation calculator, that equates to $142 per barrel in January 2026.

Under President Trump, oil prices have never gone over $73.15 (January 2025), whereas the previous three presidents have peaked at far higher prices. President George W. Bush had prices skyrocket to $128.08 in July 2008. President Obama’s top price was $108.80 in April 2011, while President Biden’s peak price was in June 2022 at $113.77.

As of November 2025, the U.S. crude oil purchase price was just $58.13.

“People that are a bit marginalized or either struggling, you know, two jobs, three jobs, they don’t need to be paying these artificially or politically — not necessarily artificially, but politically — [inflated] costly bills.”

RELATED: Inside China’s plan to beat the US at big tech forever

Photo courtesy Dan Doyle

Doyle spoke at a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, for then-candidate Vice President JD Vance in 2024. During that speech, the oil entrepreneur argued against claims that his industry is causing environmental damage and spoke on the “war on fracking” that started under President Obama’s administration.

Doyle explained that this was the start of the “punishment” his industry has received under Democratic Party rule. Doyle laughed about that punishment in his interview with Return, but got very serious when it came to who actually suffers.

“The left always is looking to punish. … They care more about punishing with the pricing, and all that ends up doing, really, is driving the price up for the consumer, whereas, you know, the people at the top are just taking a little bit of a hit on their profit margin. So it’s actually tougher for the oil billionaires under Republicans.”

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

​Return, Oil, Gas, Gas pipelines, Fracking, Trains, Obama, Republicans, Democrats, Tech 

In less than two weeks, two deadly shootings — both allegedly by transgender-identifying biological males. One was a school rampage in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, that killed eight people, and the other a targeted family attack during a youth hockey game in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, where two of the alleged shooter’s family members were left dead.

BlazeTV host Stu Burguiere wonders if we’re dealing with a “trans shooter epidemic.”

“We’ve done this story … over and over and over and over and over and over and over again,” he says.

It’s usually one of two scenarios, he says: “You have some person who’s a crazy sort of leftist that winds up getting into the trans ideology world” and becomes “very defensive of it to a violent extent, like we saw with the Charlie Kirk situation,” or “you have a situation where the person is just a crazy leftist and starts going out and killing people because of their mass confusion in their life.”

But what’s the root cause of this kind of violence?

On this episode of “Stu Does America,” Stu dives into a study that might provide some insight into that question.

“Obviously, all [transgender-identifying] people are not murdering others. We do, though, see a disproportionate amount of people who are involved in this ideology … that are involved in violent acts,” he says, citing trans-identifying biological female Audrey Hale, who killed six children and three adults at an elementary school in Nashville in March 2023, and Tyler Robinson, the alleged assassin of Charlie Kirk, who was romantically involved with a transgender-identifying male.

Stu wonders why of all the “fancy letters” in the LGBTQIA2+ alphabet, it is transgender-identifying individuals who seem more prone to violence.

The answer may lie, at least partially, in how different sexual identities answer the question: “Is disagreement violence?”

Stu cites a study from PsychFORM, which examined how transgender-identifying respondents answered that question compared to gay-identifying respondents.

“About 15% to 18% of gay people say, ‘Yeah, you know, any disagreement, I see as violence.’ … The number for trans people is 100%. 100% of trans people in this poll said that disagreement equals violence,” Stu exclaims.

The study also tested another question: “Is reasoned disagreement permissible?”

According to the chart, roughly 18% of gay-identifying respondents answered no, compared to over 90% of trans-identifying respondents.

“If you’re looking for an explanation to understand what’s going on in that realm when it comes to violence and trans people, look no farther than that chart,” says Stu.

Want more from Stu?

To enjoy more of Stu’s lethal wit, wisdom, and mockery, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Stu does america, Stu burguiere, Trans shooters, Transgenderism, Trans violence, Blazetv, Blaze media 

Rural health care in America faces a host of chronic challenges: high costs, limited access, and aging infrastructure. For millions of families across the heartland, these problems aren’t abstract — they determine whether patients can see a doctor, reach a hospital, or receive timely care close to home.

By expanding flexibility, encouraging innovation, and meeting rural communities where they are, policymakers have begun to confront the unique realities of rural health care.

More than 60 million Americans — nearly one in five — live in rural areas where patients routinely travel long distances only to find fewer doctors, hospitals, and clinics available to serve them.

Under-resourced communities face over-sized health challenges. Nowhere is this more evident than in rural America, where higher rates of chronic disease, premature mortality, and addiction persist compared to the rest of the country.

In recent months, the Trump administration and Congress have advanced a set of reforms — largely overlooked in the national debate — that directly address long-standing disparities and structural weaknesses in rural health care, and they could meaningfully strengthen care delivery in these communities, improve health, and save lives.

The most significant of these efforts is the Rural Health Transformation Program, established last year in President Trump and the Republican Congress’ signature One Big Beautiful Bill Act. This $50 billion program represents the largest investment ever dedicated specifically to rural health, far exceeding the scale of prior grant programs. States that receive awards can use these resources to modernize and stabilize their rural health systems.

The program allows states to invest in innovative care models tailored to rural realities — whether expanding outpatient capacity, strengthening the health care workforce, or upgrading aging facilities. Instead of imposing a one-size-fits-all approach, the program gives states the flexibility to design reforms that reflect local needs and constraints.

Although media attention has shifted elsewhere, the White House and congressional leaders should continue to emphasize the long-term importance of this investment. The program addresses a foundational weakness in America’s health system and delivers tangible support to rural communities that have too often been left behind.

As part of the recently enacted FY 2026 appropriations legislation, Congress also extended Medicare telehealth flexibilities through December 31, 2027, delaying a return to statutory barriers that once limited access to telehealth services. Telehealth allows patients to connect with specialists, receive mental health services, and manage chronic diseases without traveling hours for an appointment.

In communities facing persistent provider shortages, telehealth has become not a convenience but a lifeline — a bridge over miles of empty road, connecting rural patients to care that would otherwise remain out of reach.

The FY 2026 appropriations legislation also reauthorized the Acute Hospital Care at Home initiative, which allows eligible patients to receive hospital-level care in their own homes. This approach reduces costs, eases pressure on rural hospitals with limited capacity, and improves patient satisfaction. For small hospitals struggling to keep beds staffed and doors open, Acute Hospital Care at Home offers a practical way to deliver high-quality care while preserving local access.

RELATED: Trump’s economic numbers look good so far, but you wouldn’t know from reading the news

Douglas Rissing / Getty Images

Finally, although Congress has not yet enacted it into law, lawmakers are working to reauthorize the Rural Health Care Services Outreach Program. This program supports community-based efforts to expand access to care, strengthen coordination among providers, and address persistent service gaps. Its grants help rural health systems collaborate across institutions and tailor solutions for populations that too often fall through the cracks.

Taken together, these reforms do not promise a quick cure — but they do offer a realistic treatment plan. They don’t strengthen rural health care because it’s easy; they make it easier because rural health care must be strong. While these efforts will not eliminate every challenge rural communities face, they are designed to deliver tangible improvements that deserve recognition.

By expanding flexibility, encouraging innovation, and meeting rural communities where they are, policymakers have begun to confront the unique realities of rural health care. Yet as the news cycle moves on, these achievements risk being overlooked. Policymakers in both Congress and the executive branch should resist the urge to rush to the next challenge and instead highlight the significance of these steps in the right direction.

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

​Rural heathcare, One big beautiful bill, Healthcare, Healthcare costs, Rural america, Rural americans, Rural hospitals, Opinion & analysis, Donald trump, Health and human services 

Americans reportedly send six billion text messages per day, with 81% of U.S. users relying on the built-in messages app on their phones instead of alternatives like Telegram and WhatsApp. If you’re still sending SMS messages, though, you could be leaving yourself open to unwanted threats and security risks. Here’s how and why you should enable RCS messaging on your phone right now.

A brief history of RCS

RCS, short for Rich Communication Services, is the new gold standard text messaging platform that has officially replaced SMS and MMS. It was created all the way back in 2008 by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association, a unified organization consisting of popular cell service providers, including AT&T and T-Mobile, among many others.

RCS didn’t receive broad appeal, however, until Google purchased a company called Jibe Mobile in 2015, which specialized in RCS technology. Google went on to integrate RCS directly into the Google Messages app on Android by 2020, making it the premiere messaging service on Samsung Galaxy phones, Google Pixel devices, and more.

After years of pressure from Google, Apple finally adopted RCS into iPhone in 2023, replacing SMS as the fallback option while maintaining iMessage as its proprietary messaging service.

RCS is meant to unify the text messaging experience across iPhone and Android.

It’s important to note that SMS and MMS are still supported on most devices today, but they’re not nearly as secure, capable, or reliable.

Benefits of RCS

RCS is meant to unify the text messaging experience across iPhone and Android. While iPhone users who text other iPhones will still default to iMessage, Android users who text other Android devices or iPhones will send messages through RCS. These new RCS-style messages come with several benefits that will be very familiar to iMessage users on iPhone while making texts better for Android users overall.

Encryption: For starters, RCS messages between Android phones are end-to-end encrypted, keeping your conversations safe and private from anyone who might want to take a peek, including your carrier or the government. Apple’s version of RCS is currently unencrypted, but a future software update is expected to enable end-to-end encryption later this year.Read receipts: It’s nice to know when someone actually saw the text you sent, right? RCS supports read receipts that indicate when a text message has been delivered and when it was read, along with a nifty date stamp.Group messaging: Group message threads have long been a point of contention for iPhone and Android users. With RCS, users can now name the group, see who’s typing with typing indicators, and even leave emoji reactions for all to see.Media files: Finally, RCS supports high resolution images and videos, making it easier to share photos and other content in their original quality instead of relying on the grainy, compressed MMS images of the past.

An RCS warning

While RCS is safer, more private, and simply better than SMS, the service’s ability to send hi-res imagery makes it easier for scammers to send spam messages to a broader group of people. In fact, the emergence of RCS is partly responsible for the growing degree of spam texts in the U.S.

That shouldn’t deter you from switching to it, though. The benefits of RCS far outweigh its deterrents. It’s also the future of text messaging standards, meaning it will be supported and receive security updates for the long haul, far beyond SMS and MMS.

If you receive too many spam text messages while using RCS, check out our anti-spam text guide. This will banish scammers from your messages app for good.

How to enable RCS on iPhone and Android

It’s fairly easy to enable RCS on both iPhones and Android devices. Before you go looking for these settings, though, note that RCS activation is contingent on your carrier allowing RCS onto its network. Some carriers have been slower than others to enable the service, so if it’s not available on your device yet, it will be in the future. Most carriers are on board, though, so you probably won’t have any trouble.

RELATED: Amazon’s Ring is running a spy ring from your home. Here’s how to turn it off.

Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

To enable RCS on iPhone, open the Settings app. Scroll to the bottom and tap “Apps.” Then scroll to the middle of the page and tap into “Messages.” Near the lower half of the screen in the “Text Messaging” section, you’ll find “RCS Messaging.” Tap on that, toggle RCS Messaging on, and you’re done!

Screenshots by Zach Laidlaw

To enable RCS on Android, you’ll first need the official Google Messages app. At the time this article was published, Google Messages is the only messaging app on Android that fully supports RCS’ full list of features, including end-to-end encryption. Inside Google Messages, tap on your profile picture in the top right corner. Then tap on “Messages settings.” “RCS chats” is right at the top. Dive into that menu, toggle RCS chats on, and you’re ready to go. On this page, you can also customize your RCS experience, by either enabling or disabling some of the features mentioned above.

Screenshots by Zach Laidlaw

Enable RCS now

Text messaging technology has come a long way since the days of flip phones, T9 keypads, and other ancient artifacts of the early 2000s. If you’re not using RCS already, you’re basically inviting your carrier to read your texts, your phone is more vulnerable to cellular network attacks, and your phone number could even be stolen and swapped into another device by a criminal. You can prevent all of this and enjoy a better texting experience by enabling RCS today. There’s really no reason not to.

​Tech, Rcs, Text, Phones 

The pivotal question of what will follow the crack-up of the liberal international order dominated the highest levels of European politics at the recent 2026 Munich Security Conference.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio gave his own forceful answer, following Vice President JD Vance’s provocative speech last year. Rubio delivered an equally spirited address that issued an ultimatum: Rationalizing collapse and weakness is no longer the policy of the United States — and it should no longer be Europe’s policy either. America has no “interest in being polite and orderly caretakers of the West’s managed decline,” he said.

Alliances should be made, renewed, or even disbanded depending on whether they help secure America’s interests in the present.

Instead, Rubio urged a reformation of the “global institutions of the old order” to defend and strengthen the key pillars of Western civilization.

The problem in Rubio’s mind was that the 20th-century web of international alliances, designed to counter the Soviets in the wake of two devastating world wars, took on a life of its own. Its keepers began putting the preservation of their supranational relations “above the vital interests of our people and our nations.”

Institutions such as the United Nations have utterly failed to protect national interests, and they simply have no answers to the most pressing problems in international affairs today. Instead, they actively encourage deindustrialization, mass migration, and shortsighted climate policies, causing a loss of confidence in the very sources that have supplied the West’s vitality for centuries.

To counter this, Rubio proposed that the U.S. partner with Europe to lead a “reinvigorated alliance … that boldly races into the future.” It will focus on “advancing our mutual interests and new frontiers, unshackling our ingenuity, our creativity, and the dynamic spirit to build a new Western century.” If the West wants to safeguard and promote its historic ways of life, then an international realignment is inescapably necessary.

The themes Rubio articulated were also the subject of this year’s “Budapest Global Dialogue,” an annual conference put on by the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs and the Observer Research Foundation. This year’s gathering focused on what HIIA President Gladden Pappin presented as the choices currently before the world: endless conflict that’s likely to spin out of control or the emergence of a foundation for long-term security, peace, and prosperity.

Keynote speakers and panelists agreed that continuing to prop up a decaying international order was not a viable option. Though necessary for its time, it is clearly inadequate in a world that looks far different from the one that featured creeping death in the form of the USSR. As Rubio recently told a gaggle of reporters before his address in Munich, “The old world is gone.” He noted that nations must re-examine their roles in our “new era in geopolitics.”

RELATED: What’s Greenland to us?

Photo by Alessandro Rampazzo/AFP via Getty Images

The urgency of this project has been amplified by the European Union’s various machinations against popular government. Its censorship machine is attempting to export the EU’s liberty-denying laws to America and other Western nations. Unsurprisingly, the problem of censorship, which has been a chief focus of Vice President Vance, took up much of the conversation of the opening-night panel.

Headlined by Sarah B. Rogers, the U.S. undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, and Balázs Orbán, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s political director, panelists discussed the countless issues stemming from the EU’s Digital Services Act. It uses “trusted flaggers” like HateAid — an organization funded by the German government — to censor online speech, including that of Americans.

Pappin and other participants also noted the myriad problems stemming from unchecked globalization. Nations happily traded away the most basic elements of sovereignty for a mess of pottage in the form of lower prices on select goods. This was justified using free-market language, in which attaining the highest GDP possible seemingly became the summum bonum of political life. Former Trump administration official Andrew Peek termed this problem “economics without politics.”

In the United States in particular, key supply chains were mostly shipped out of the country, the folly of which was fully exposed during the COVID debacle. The U.S. essentially followed a systematic deindustrialization plan as we helped build up other countries, especially China.

China’s rise didn’t happen solely due to its sheer geographic size or population. It occurred because the Clinton administration and Western leaders decided the best way to fend it off was by inviting the Chinese into the heart of the world’s economic system. This was a catastrophic choice that helped hasten the collapse of the old order.

Now, China is by far the world leader in many positive economic indicators. The country is also looking to become the world’s first electrostate, adding another gigawatt of capacity to its grid every year.

Meanwhile, the United States is facing mounting problems with our electric grid, which will be further exacerbated by the construction of data centers and older plants going offline. No nuclear power plants were built in the U.S. between 1996 and 2016. Additionally, as noted in a Department of Energy report last year, utopian green energy mandates have helped bring the U.S. closer to the brink of a full-blown energy crisis.

RELATED: America won’t beat China without Alaska

Photo by Simon Bruty/Anychance/Getty Images

Though the conference featured discussions on other pivotal topics — especially the promise and peril of artificial general intelligence — there wasn’t a dedicated panel on immigration. But that didn’t stop speakers from addressing the topic. Alexandre del Valle, a professor at France’s IPAG, called mass Islamic immigration to Europe a long-term bomb. And in a keynote address that served as a campaign speech of sorts, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó celebrated the fact that illegal migration to Hungary is nonexistent.

Szijjártó also devoted time to underscoring the stakes of the upcoming Hungarian parliamentary elections. The April 12 contest will feature a rather personal battle between current Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Péter Magyar, who resigned from Fidesz in 2024 and then joined TISZA, the Respect and Freedom Party. The campaign billboards and posters I saw plastered around Budapest, which were nearly all pro-Orbán, showed Magyar gladly acquiescing to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s insistence to send Hungarian armaments to Ukraine.

Fidesz is asking voters if they want to keep Orbán’s government in power or elect those who would sacrifice the country’s blood and treasure in war. President Trump clearly wants the former. During Rubio’s trip to Budapest after his Munich speech, he said that the American president is “deeply committed” to Orbán’s victory in April.

As the Trump administration sees it, the path forward is clear: maintaining alliances when political goals and traditions are shared, as is the case between Hungary and the United States. And as Rubio was careful to point out in Munich, when alliances become strained, renewal through strategic thinking that connects means and ends is essential. One such example is Elbridge Colby’s recent discussion of the creation of NATO 3.0, in which U.S. allies bear more of the financial burden.

What won’t work, however, is elevating prudential considerations to the level of principle, as world leaders and bureaucrats have done far too often in recent decades. They have frozen in amber the specific circumstances of the second half of the 20th century, thinking that those paradigms must forever dictate how nations should act. But as Dhruva Jaishankar, the executive director of the Observer Research Foundation America, pointed out, the ballroom in which the 2026 Budapest Global Dialogue was held was built in 1896. Five international orders have come and gone in that time.

Contrary to the Anne Applebaums of our foreign policy elite class, who have helped drive the West into a ditch, the Nazis aren’t marching just over the horizon, and Vladimir Putin isn’t the reincarnation of Adolf Hitler. Alliances should be made, renewed, or even disbanded depending on whether they help secure America’s interests in the present. As Daniel J. Mahoney is fond of saying, it isn’t always Munich 1938. Serious leaders acknowledge current realities and marry their rhetoric to actions that will lead to peace, prosperity, and the good of the West — and the good of America above all.

Editor’s note: A version of this article appeared originally at the American Mind.

​Marco rubio, Munich security conference, New world order, Old order, Ussr, China, Usa, Foreign policy, Eu, Nato, Russia, Opinion & analysis, Donald trump 

The United States and its allies are facing a defining moment in history — one Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck believes most people don’t yet fully recognize.

However, one man who does recognize this moment is Marco Rubio, who laid out Glenn’s feelings precisely in a recent speech at the Munich Security Conference.

“What Rubio was talking about this weekend was this system has failed, and Donald Trump is going a completely different direction, and we will lead the way … but you have to restore common sense,” Glenn explains.

“You cannot keep doing the same thing over and over again. This system doesn’t work, and we all know it. Just we’re the first ones to admit it,” he adds.

And in order to make a change going forward, Glenn believes we need to look at the real history of Western civilization instead of the “woke” version.

“I like history. I know what history means. And when it comes to Western civilization, how could you make the case that it’s worth letting go? You could only make a case if you’ve been carefully taught that Western civilization means nothing except bad things,” he says. “And you’re misinformed on that.”

This is why Glenn says that “we’re already in World War III.”

“We’re fighting World War III. You just don’t know it yet. Islam is on the move. And what is their target? Western civilization. … And they occupy those countries, which they’ve been trying to do for a thousand-plus years. They occupy those countries. They now have nuclear weapons. And if they occupy those countries, you no longer have what built us,” Glenn explains.

“May I suggest that we understand that times have changed, and we want our country to survive, and we want the Western civilization to survive. … We see the world is changing and has changed, and we adapt so we don’t lose who we are. We do it in a different way. We do it in a better way,” he continues.

And that better way, Glenn says, is to “hold our values and what made us a country in the first place.”

“Let’s remember those things. Let’s restore those things, and then let’s adapt those to today’s issues and problems. I think that’s what Rubio was saying. And he was challenging Europe, and at the same time, he was reminding America: This is what Donald Trump is challenging America to do as well,” he explains.

“We’re going to do it. Join us,” he adds.

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.

​Sharing, Upload, Video, Video phone, Free, Camera phone, Youtube.com, The glenn beck program, Glenn beck, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Marco rubio speech, President trump, Western civilization, Save the west, Real history, History, Conservative 

A high school in Virginia suspended over 300 students for walking out of class for an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protest, and many on social media have applauded the action.

On February 13, students at Woodbridge High School marched off of campus in solidarity with others across the nation who ostensibly disagree with ICE operations ordered by the Trump administration.

‘Good. They’re there to learn, not protest ICE doing their jobs.’

A letter from principal Heather Abney to parents of students said that the district did not endorse the walkout and that students who left campus without permission would be punished according to their regular code of behavior. A total of 303 students were suspended for three days.

Some of the students reportedly went to a nearby shopping center after leaving campus, others went home, and some returned to the campus later. Administrators said that some of the students who returned to the school caused a disturbance as well.

WDVM-TV reported the 303 students suspended from the school on Thursday comprised about 11% of the student population. Officials warned that more protests would meet with the same punishments.

Many on social media praised the school for imposing consequences on the students’ unruly actions.

“That is the best news I’ve heard all day!!!! Finally a school district that knows and enforces the rules,” read one response.

“Schools need to enforce rules consistently. Leaving class without permission disrupts learning and comes with consequences, even if the cause feels important to the students,” said another user on X.

“Good. They’re there to learn, not protest ICE doing their jobs,” said another detractor.

“Finally the adults are taking charge,” read another response. “Protest on your own time.”

RELATED: Video shows brawl after HS walkout protester allegedly hit pro-ICE man — man was charged with child abuse

Others questioned whether cutting the students from school was an effective punishment for cutting school.

The Prince William County Police Department provided some traffic control for the protest and supervised the students for safety.

The Trump administration has deported about 675,000 illegal aliens in the first year of the president’s second term, and another 2.2 million are estimated to have self-deported.

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

​Anti-ice high school walkout, Suspensions at woodbridge high school, Student protesters punished, Anti-ice protests, Politics 

Nearly half of Americans now refuse to identify as either Democrat or Republican. According to a recent Gallup poll, independents make up a record 45% of the electorate, yet our political system continues to operate as though this plurality doesn’t exist — until now.

Both major political parties are facing widespread public dissatisfaction, with 58% of Americans viewing the Republican Party unfavorably and 61% expressing unfavorable views of the Democratic Party. As confidence in the parties erodes, 2026 is shaping up to be the year that we see a handful of independents elected to Congress, disrupting the balance of power in Washington.

Independents need only three to five seats to fundamentally transform American politics.

For politically homeless voters, this moment calls for supporting credible independent candidates where they can actually win, especially in congressional districts where neither party is delivering for its constituents.

While the Gallup poll shows the increase in independent self-identification metrics, which have been sitting at around 40% since 2011, there is a convergence of two major trends that make this moment in politics ripe for independents.

The first major trend is the rise of Millennials and Gen Z as a central voting bloc. 2026 will be an election in which younger Americans make up a sizeable portion of the electorate, with projections currently holding that Millennials and Gen Z will account for over half of voters by 2028.

Millennials are now well into their 30s, many serving in executive and senior leadership roles in politics and business, including prominent voices such as Vice President JD Vance and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D). Together, Millennials and Gen Z are becoming one of the most influential forces in the electorate.

Unlike their predecessors, these two generations are far more likely to identify as independent. Many have never belonged to a political party in the first place. Younger independents are focused on issues like affordability, which both parties are failing to address. They gravitate toward candidates from either party who appear to be invested in their issues.

The second trend is the broader integration of AI systems into everyday life — including politics. AI is the great leveler, much like the printing press fundamentally altered information systems and power structures centuries ago. It will be a game-changer in a similar way, and it’s a major reason why an independent movement in 2026 can make more progress than past efforts.

RELATED: Republicans and Democrats are in revolt — for very different reasons

Douglas Rissing/Getty Images

The two-party system, like the taxi industry before Uber disrupted it, represents an entrenched but flawed model that has resisted reform. AI provides the tools to completely bypass the old system, rather than slowly reforming it from the inside. Technology now democratizes campaign infrastructure, voter outreach, and message distribution pathways for alternatives that were previously impossible without massive institutional backing.

Americans are hungry for more options at the ballot box. We can customize what we watch, what we drive, even which type of peanut butter sits on our shelves. Yet when it comes to politics, those options narrow dramatically. As the two major parties continue to struggle to meet the moment, voters’ appetite for credible alternatives is only growing stronger.

In the private sector, we would call it a clear product-market fit. If there were two brands that people clearly rejected, competition would naturally emerge in the market. The same logic applies to politics. Recent polling from the Independent Center Voice discovered that 76% of voters would likely vote for “strong, well-funded independent candidate.”

For far too long, the conversation among independents has fixated on electing a third-party candidate to the White House. They’ll find more luck channeling their dissatisfaction, frustration, and growing disillusionment toward Congress, where institutional change is more enduring. It’s in congressional races — not presidential ones — that the independent movement will be felt first.

Independents need only three to five seats to fundamentally transform American politics. With growing concentrations of independent and “no party preference” voters across key districts, the foundation for change is already in place.

The real question is no longer whether the independent movement will arrive, but whether the political system is prepared to respond.

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

​Third party candidate, Gop, Democrats, Republicans, Gen z, 2026 midterms, Trump, Opinion & analysis, Independents, Elections, Disruption, Politics 

The latest Epstein file dump, which included an additional 3 million documents along with roughly 2,000 videos and 180,000 images, prompted widespread public shock and outrage over its revelations of Epstein’s apparent connections to prominent figures worldwide as well as grotesque but unverified accusations of child sacrifice and satanic rituals.

While the file release has not resulted in any new criminal charges or prosecutions, Christians, says BlazeTV host Rick Burgess, can walk away with one certainty: We’re getting closer to the end times.

“What we’re seeing right now in our society is foreshadowing of the end times,” the “Strange Encounters” host warns.

Rick says the reign of the antichrist will be preceded by a movement toward “globalization.”

“If you’re not watching these globalists right now, you better keep an eye on them. … I believe the Epstein files show us Satan working his plan,” says Rick.

The convicted sex offender, who he believes was “demon-possessed,” built a dark empire composed of “great influencers” — “celebrities,” “royals,” “politicians,” and “the super intellectual” — who “come from everywhere,” he says.

Citing Daniel 7, Rick reminds us that the “antichrist will be an outstanding orator, an intellectual genius, a military leader without parallel in human history, a shrewd, calculating, manipulating politician, and the ultimate religious charlatan.”

“If you look at the clientele in the Epstein files, it’s all there. It’s all there,” he declares.

“Do you really think these men with all this influence … need Epstein to go help them get dates? Are you kidding me? You think they have a problem getting dates with the wealth, the intellect, the celebrity, the power that they all have?” Rick asks.

“No — they’re going after something that is crude; they’re going after something that is depraved; they’re going after underage girls for their jollies. That’s wicked. That’s evil.”

The level of depravity in Epstein’s child sex trafficking ring, he says, goes far beyond the typical temptation and sin we see in “a bachelor party that got out of hand” or even seeking out “adult women prostitutes.”

These are people who “want to sexually abuse a child,” he says, noting that this kind of wickedness has long been “an underlying part of paganism.”

“If you go to paganism, you find sexual lewdness. You find young boy and young girl prostitutes … and you find, ultimately, the sacrifice of the innocent child because there’s nothing more wicked than that. And all of that we’re seeing as these Epstein files come out,” says Rick.

This combination of unmitigated evil and powerful elites from all over the world is a sure sign that end times are drawing nearer, he says.

“When you look at Epstein’s files and you look at what’s going on with all these influential people, they represent the characteristics of the spirit of antichrist — not the person, because he’s not been revealed yet, but the spirit of antichrist, putting together what antichrist is going to need.”

To hear more, watch the full episode above.

Want more from Rick Burgess?

To enjoy more bold talk and big laughs, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Strange encounters, Rick burgess, Strange encounters with rick burgess, Blazetv, Blaze media, Epstein, Jeffery epstein, Spiritual warfare, Christianity, Epstein files, End times, Antichrist 

Michigan police said one person has been arrested in connection with the gruesome discovery of the remains of three elderly men in the basement of a Detroit home.

Police were called to the home on Edsel St. Wednesday at about 1 p.m. on a report of a missing person, when they were approached by a man who said he had been attacked at a nearby home.

‘They were left in a basement area covered in old, dirty clothing, and one person was covered in a carpet.’

When they went inside the home on Edsel, they found the three bodies in the basement.

“When units finally got inside, the minute you opened the door, you can see the blood, it’s just a horrific scene,” said First Assistant Chief Charles Fitzgerald.

“Not to go into too much detail on it, but we believe at this point they all met the fate of blunt-force trauma. There were some stab wounds on a couple of them,” he added. “They were left in a basement area covered in old, dirty clothing, and one person was covered in a carpet.”

The family of one of the victims identified him as Norman Hamlin, a 66-year-old military veteran. The other two victims were identified as 65-year-old Mark Barnett and 72-year-old William Barrett.

Neighbors near the home said it was a known drug house.

“There’s some speculation, that I don’t like to get into too much, that possibly some drugs were used in the location,” Fitzgerald said, noting that nothing was found in that regard.

The suspect was described as a 27-year-old black man and was detained on Thursday. He had a connection to the victims, according to police, as well as a criminal history that included carjacking, armed robbery, felony firearm, and fleeing from police.

“It was a brutal scene inside, just awful,” Fitzgerald said.

RELATED: Video shows wild car chase after rescue of 11-year-old from alleged kidnapper and torturer

One of the neighbors said Hamlin was a good man but had fallen into drug use.

“He got involved in the wrong way and actually seemed to have set up a safe environment for people to come over and use,” said Joel Bond to WDIV-TV. “Of course, as we know, that’s dangerous. You don’t know who’s coming into your house.”

The man who approached the police told them he had been hit in the head twice with a hammer, but that appeared to be unrelated to the three deaths.

Hamlin was a Marine veteran who had served in the Persian Gulf War and was the owner of the home.

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

​Detroit triple murder, Elderly men bludgeoned to death, Brutal crime scene, Detroit murders, Crime 

We live in a world where self-absorption reigns supreme. Accordingly, the concept of self-denial is incomprehensible to most and anathema to others. Yet this is what Lent means. It is the most countercultural idea in America — and indeed in the entire Western world. That’s because we’ve lost our moorings, which are grounded in Christianity.

The dominant culture celebrates self-indulgence, not self-denial. Drug users are only one example.

Like any virtue, self-denial atrophies if it is not practiced. And the results of atrophy are inauspicious for everyone.

The streets of New York abound with smoke — the sweet smell of marijuana is everywhere. This is also true in many urban areas, as the pace of legalization quickens. Some, like the editorial board of the New York Times, which supported legalization, are now shocked to learn that a record number of Americans are hooked on drugs, jamming hospitals and driving recklessly. Habitual users are psychotic, functioning like zombies. Their nonstop vomiting should be a wake-up call, but it isn’t. This is the cost of “liberation.”

The dominant culture also celebrates gambling, yielding similar results.

Not only can we bet on games, we can bet on each play. Bookies have been replaced by phones, and allegiance to the home team is waning, as the only thing that matters is winning. Some ballparks, like the home of the Washington Commanders, even have betting stations for fans too bored to simply watch the game. A growing number of young men are addicted to gambling, finding themselves deeper in debt. This is the cost of “liberation.”

Many young women choose sex to satisfy their craving for self-indulgence. If they wind up pregnant, they find their “solution” at a Planned Parenthood clinic. Young, promiscuous men are just as irresponsible, looking to medical technology to rid themselves of their self-induced diseases. This is the cost of their “liberation.”

Self-denial is admittedly not easy, and it is more difficult in societies that glamorize self-indulgence. But it is a virtue that actually does liberate.

One way to show people that we love them is by making sacrifices that redound to their benefit. Making sacrifices requires a degree of self-denial — giving up something to aid someone else. Mother Teresa could not have comforted those in her employ without great sacrifice, and it was her capacity for self-denial that allowed her to prevail.

Like any virtue, self-denial atrophies if it is not practiced. And the results of atrophy are inauspicious for everyone. A society that views self-denial as oppressive is nurturing narcissism, not selflessness. Yet that is what we are doing, led, as always, by the ruling class.

Self-indulgence is not only self-destructive; it is ultimately antisocial. We are all affected by those who allow their appetites and passions to conquer them, and that is why it is incumbent on those who occupy positions of moral authority — clergy, parents, and teachers — to welcome Lent, regardless of their religious convictions.

This essay originally appeared at Catholicleague.org.

​Catholic, Lent, Lifestyle, Culture, Christianity, Catholic league, Faith 

Steven Spielberg and his wife, Kate Capshaw, have left California and moved to Central Park West in Manhattan as politicians argue whether a billionaire tax will hurt the Golden State.

The legendary director became a resident of the Empire State as of Jan. 1, according to a Los Angeles Times report.

‘The billionaire class cannot have it all. This nation belongs to all of us.’

Spielberg’s relocation is sparking more fears about a tax proposal that has already driven out other billionaires, including Peter Thiel and others.

“Steven’s move to the East Coast is both long planned and driven purely by his and Kate Capshaw’s desire to be closer to their New York-based children and grandchildren,” said spokeswoman Terry Press to the Times.

The one-time tax has not yet qualified for the ballot, but if it passes, it would go into effect in 2027. It would apply to residents worth $1 billion or more.

The debate over the union-backed tax has led even some Democrats to back off from the proposal. Opponents say it will drive billionaires out of the state and potentially cripple tax revenues.

Although Spielberg denied that the billionaire tax has anything to do with his exit, he left the state just in time to avoid the tax, which would apply to those who were residents of California on Jan. 1, 2026.

Spielberg is estimated to be worth about $7.1 billion, which means he’d have to pay the state of California about $355 million if the tax passed.

His move was first reported by the New York Times.

Among those pushing the bill is independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who visited Los Angeles to advocate for it.

“Enough is enough,” said Sanders. “The billionaire class cannot have it all. This nation belongs to all of us.”

RELATED: LA Times gets obliterated online for scolding people wanting to leave high-tax California

Spielberg’s spokeswoman also refused to indicate whether he had any opinion on the possible tax.

Spielberg is known for numerous popular movies including “Schindler’s List,” “Jaws,” “Jurassic Park,” “Saving Private Ryan,” “Catch Me if You Can,” and the “Indiana Jones” franchise.

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

​Steven spielberg leaves california, Billionaire tax in california, Tax on billionaires, Wealthy abandon california, Politics 

Newly released police bodycam video from a 2024 alleged hazing incident at a University of Iowa fraternity house has been going viral.

A short clip of the incident posted on X was nearing 52 million views Friday evening, while a YouTube video clocking in at over an hour has eclipsed 250,000 views as the weekend commences.

‘We finally found a pledge class that isn’t the worst ever.’

The video shows dozens of shirtless pledges from the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity — some of them covered in ketchup and blindfolded — in a dark basement as police and firefighters converge on the bizarre scene after a fire alarm was activated, KCRG-TV reported.

RELATED: Oregon U. official reportedly says ‘go f*** yourself if you voted for Donald Trump.’ He’s also a hazing prevention speaker.

“This is the police department! This stops here! Who’s in charge?” one officer asks in the video, after which a voice is heard saying, “They’re upstairs.”

Another official asks the group as a flashlight shines on them, “Does anyone want to be forthcoming about what’s going on?”

But they’re mum on the matter.

“Looks like we have quite a bit of hazing,” one official is heard saying in the bodycam video.

One male wearing a white Iowa hoodie — and apparently drinking a beer and vaping — is seen in the raw clip apparently making life difficult for police at the scene.

RELATED: Unhinged student who flipped Turning Point USA table gets arrested and faces 5 charges

Image source: University of Iowa Police bodycam video screenshot, redacted

“You got f**kin’ nothin’,” he tells officers at one point. In another segment he tells a cop, “You guys can f**kin’ leave, how ’bout that?” and “there’s no hazing.”

Officers found 56 pledges in two dark rooms during the incident, KCRG said.

“They’re just messin’ with them,” one male, another apparent non-pledge, tells an officer after being asked what had been going on.

While no one appeared to reveal specifically who was in charge, the station did say the pledges “responded in unison” that no one was there against their will.

KCRG said prosecutors charged one arrestee with interference with official acts, but the charge was later dropped.

The University of Iowa suspended Alpha Delta Phi until the summer of 2029, the station said, adding that three fraternities presently are under suspension.

The “Circling Back” podcast, however, expressed quite a different perspective on the bodycam video, as one podcast participant noted, “We finally found a pledge class that isn’t the worst ever.”

The podcast crew also remarked that the frat pledges seemed decidedly less interested in obeying “actual law enforcement” than their frat leaders: “These guys need to be celebrated.”

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

​University of iowa, Campus police, Campus safety, Fraternity, Hazing, Viral video, Arrest, Alpha delta phi, Suspended, Crime