Category: blaze media

There has been a lot of panic, among the conservative commentariat especially, over the growing desire among younger white Americans to receive representation as a collective political bloc. At some level, that reaction is understandable. Race is not the healthiest fixation when it comes to identity.

But the way conservatives have responded to this trend is deeply misguided.

The only way to lower the salience of race is to stop importing ethnocentric cultures and to eliminate political carve-outs for minority communities already here.

For decades, whites have watched every other group in America successfully demand political action as a bloc from both the left and the right. Democrats build their entire coalition around racial grievance, but even conservatives regularly address the needs of minority communities as collective groups. Despite their hostility to “identity politics,” Republicans eagerly cater to it — just not for their core constituency, white Americans.

If conservatives genuinely worry about the rise of white identitarianism, they should stop lecturing young white Americans and start addressing the behavior of the communities they currently pander to.

First, it helps to define terms. “Race” and “ethnicity” are often treated as interchangeable, but they are not. Race is a broad macro category, while ethnicity operates at a more granular level. Swedes, Italians, Irish, and French are all considered white. Ethiopians, Nigerians, African Pygmies, and Somalis are all considered black.

These categories matter, but ethnos is often a more organic and useful way to understand group behavior.

Ironically ethnocentrism varies widely across populations and tends to be particularly low among white Europeans and their descendants. A society composed primarily of people of European extraction, even with some immigration, tends to be relatively tolerant and open. New arrivals who may initially carry ethnocentric instincts are less able to sustain them when they lack a large co-ethnic base.

Assimilation follows naturally under those conditions.

Identity is also not binary. It consists of nested loyalties that rise or fall in importance depending on scale. In small societies, tribe or ethnos dominates. As civilizations expand and absorb new members, identity shifts toward broader categories — often religion or nationality.

White Americans once lived in sharply defined ethnic enclaves. Irish, Italian, Dutch, and German neighborhoods were common. In some cases, the U.S. government actively broke up German-language communities, forcing children into English-speaking schools. Over time, those European ethnoses dissolved into a shared American identity.

That process breaks down when the government imports large, concentrated populations that share a common ethnicity and have not gone through the same scaling process. These groups face no incentive to abandon ethnocentrism because they can successfully deploy it. Co-ethnics ensure access to jobs, education, marriage, and community without assimilation.

In a system where one group must compete on pure individual merit while others are allowed to operate on collective ethnocentrism, tribalism wins. Once it proves effective, the salience of race explodes. When young whites see every other group using the winning strategy, the question becomes unavoidable: Why are we the only group forbidden from doing so?

The problem is not just that tribalism works. The system has been actively rigged against white males.

RELATED: How anti-fascism became the West’s civil religion

Blaze Media Illustration

Jacob Savage’s recent article “The Lost Generation” detailed the extent to which universities, media institutions, and corporations have systematically excluded white men. The piece gained attention partly because it came from the left, but conservatives like Jeremy Carl and Heather Mac Donald have been warning about the same dynamics for years.

Whites — especially young white men — are barred from advocating as a group. At the same time, they are punished as a group. Telling them identity politics is immoral while allowing explicit anti-white discrimination guarantees a predictable response.

The conservative establishment’s answer has been a vague denunciation of ethnocentrism that somehow applies only to whites. Conservatives pay lip service to opposing identity politics while courting explicitly racial organizations. They speak seriously to black, Indian, Hispanic, and Jewish advocacy groups and treat their leaders as legitimate representatives.

Donald Trump recently hosted the American Hindu-Jewish Congress at Mar-a-Lago to discuss combating bigotry. You will not see a dinner honoring representatives of a “White American Congress” to discuss anti-white discrimination — despite overwhelming evidence that such bias is widespread.

That double standard is too obvious for young whites to ignore forever.

If conservatives were serious about halting the rise of collective white identity politics, they would stop scolding young whites for noticing reality. They would confront systemic bias in academia and corporate hiring. To its credit, the Trump administration has signaled an intent to act — but far more is required.

RELATED: Culture’s great subversion machine has broken down at last

Blaze Media Illustration

A serious response would include an immigration moratorium and aggressive prosecution of ethnic cartels. And yes, every tech department staffed entirely by one ethnic group is not evidence that “there were no qualified white applicants.” Conservatives should lecture blacks, Indians, Hispanics, and Jews about ethnocentrism with the same intensity they reserve for whites.

If for no other reason, whites actually vote Republican. Most of the other groups do not.

If conservatives truly fear the rise of collective white politics, they should reduce the number of ethnocentric populations young whites are forced to compete against on pure merit. The only way to lower the salience of race is to stop importing ethnocentric cultures and to eliminate political carve-outs for minority communities already here.

In short, show young whites they can succeed without tribalism by actually punishing the tribalism practiced by everyone else. Summon the courage to confront the behavior you claim to fear — in the groups already practicing it.

​Conservative movement, Race, Ethnicity, Assimilation, American conservatives, Opinion & analysis, Identity politics, White people, Ethnocentrism, Tribalism, Jacob savage, The lost generation, Jeremy carl, Heather mac donald, American hindu-jewish congress, Donald trump, Jews, Germans, Irish, Dutch, Italians, Indians, Chinese 

As the journalist who exposed the rampant Somalian fraud in Minnesota, Nick Shirley, pointed out, he has “ended” Governor Tim Walz’s career after the governor announced he would not be seeking re-election following the media attention.

And BlazeTV host Stu Burguiere couldn’t be happier.

“I think it’s a really positive thing for the nation, for our world. He should go somewhere where we don’t have to see him anymore. Now, his family seems to love him, … but the bottom line here is that he sucks, and I’m glad he’s out of my life,” Stu says, happily.

“Minnesota has to come first — always. Today, I’m proud of the work we’ve done to make Minnesota the best place to live and raise kids,” Walz wrote in a post on X, to which Stu interjects to laugh, “Especially if you need day care.”

“I’ve decided to step out of the race and let others worry about the election while I focus on the work,” Walz added.

And Stu is not surprised that the left’s attempt at pushing what they thought was a more masculine man on the American people failed.

“Someone pointed this out, and I think it’s a great observation, that Tim Walz is the idea that, like, a leftist DEI person would have of what a manly man from the Midwest was, right? Like this person that in their head they’re like, ‘Wow, that guy, he coaches football,’ right?” Stu comments.

Stu also points out that the Harris-Walz campaign also ran an ad that made this belief of theirs crystal clear.

The ad focused on the saying “man enough,” where a group of men talked about what made them “man enough” — like cooking their steak “rare” — before pivoting to what political beliefs they’re “man enough” to hold.

“Woman wants to be president? Well, I hope she has the guts to look me right in the eye and accept my full-throated endorsement,” one man featured in the campaign ad said, adding, “because I’m man enough to support women.”

“If your vision of what men are is that ad, you think that’s going to work, well, yeah, you picked Tim Walz,” Stu laughs. “Unbelievable.”

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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.

​Video phone, Camera phone, Sharing, Free, Upload, Video, Youtube.com, Stu does america, Stu burguiere, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Tim walz, Kamala harris, Harris walz campaign, Man enough ad, Masculinity, Minnesota fraud, Somalian fraud, Governor tim walz, Nick shirley 

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. momentarily interrupted Wednesday’s White House briefing, revealing his hilarious ringtone.

Kennedy and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins were flanked by other administration officials to announce new and improved dietary guidance for Americans. Reporters and attendees erupted in laughter when Kennedy’s phone rang during the briefing, revealing a duck quack sound effect.

‘Kennedy grinned and quickly silenced his phone.’

While Kennedy’s phone let out some quacks, Rollins quipped that “duck is also high in protein.”

“Duck is a good thing to eat, everybody,” Rollins said.

RELATED: Trump administration finds a creative new way to mock Democrats amid shutdown

Kennedy grinned and quickly silenced his phone, continuing the press conference and addressing the latest changes in health standards from the department.

Kennedy reaffirmed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s amended childhood vaccine schedule, which minimized the number of required immunizations for kids.

Kennedy and his MAHA team also unveiled a new food pyramid that focuses on whole foods, protein, healthy fats, whole grains, and fresh produce. Kennedy’s updated dietary guidance also urges Americans to stay away from “ultra-processed” and refined foods.

“The new guidelines recognize that whole, nutrient-dense food is the most effective path to better health and lower health care costs,” Kennedy said. “Protein and healthy fats are essential and were wrongly discouraged in prior dietary guidelines. We are ending the war on saturated fats.”

RELATED: Vance makes Jeffries a hilarious promise if Democrats end the shutdown

Will Oliver/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images

“If a foreign adversary sought to destroy the health of our children, to cripple our economy, to weaken our national security, there would be no better strategy than to addict us to ultra-processed foods,” Kennedy said.

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President Donald Trump said in a statement on social media that he is moving to ban institutional investors from buying single-family homes and that he wants Congress to “codify” the ban into law.

The president has made easing the housing crisis a goal of his second term, and many have pointed to institutional investors as a large source of the problem.

‘People live in homes, not corporations.’

In a post on Truth Social Wednesday, Trump mentioned banning institutional housing purchases and hinted at other solutions to ease the housing crisis.

“For a very long time, buying and owning a home was considered the pinnacle of the American Dream. It was the reward for working hard, and doing the right thing, but now, because of the Record High Inflation caused by Joe Biden and the Democrats in Congress, that American Dream is increasingly out of reach for far too many people, especially younger Americans,” he wrote.

“It is for that reason, and much more, that I am immediately taking steps to ban large institutional investors from buying more single-family homes, and I will be calling on Congress to codify it,” the president added. “People live in homes, not corporations.”

Trump did not provide details about these “steps” in the post.

He went on to say that he would discuss the policy at a speech in Davos, Switzerland, during the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum.

Housing prices skyrocketed during the pandemic, when interest rates were lowered to encourage economic activity and many Americans moved to larger homes to take advantage of work-from-home policies. While interest rates have returned to historic averages, housing prices continued to climb, albeit at a slower pace.

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Many have blamed companies like BlackRock for purchasing single-family homes as part of their investment portfolios, but some say institutional investors make up a small portion of the market.

Others say that encouraging more housing construction would lower housing costs by easing regulations and increasing supply to meet the demand.

BlackRock’s stock slid by 2.3% in the wake of the announcement.

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​Trump on housing, Ban on institutional investors, Housing crisis, Corporations buying homes, Politics 

The far-left mayor of Minneapolis forcefully demanded that federal immigration agents leave his city after a fatal shooting of a woman who obstructed an operation and drove her vehicle into an agent.

Mayor Jacob Frey of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party immediately called for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to leave in the wake of the shooting and reiterated his demand in a media briefing.

‘They are already trying to spin this as an action of self-defense. Having seen the video myself, I want to tell everybody directly: That is bulls**t!’

“I have a message for ICE. To ICE, get the f**k out of Minneapolis!” said Frey.

“We do not want you here. Your stated reason for being in this city is to create some kind of safety, and you are doing exactly the opposite. People are being hurt. Families are being ripped apart. Long-term Minneapolis residents that have contributed so greatly to our city, to our culture, to our economy are being terrorized, and now somebody is dead,” he added.

“That’s on you. And it’s also on you to leave,” Frey said. “It’s on you to make sure that further damage, further loss of life and injury is not done.”

He identified the deceased protester as a 37-year-old woman, and the DHS said she was a U.S. citizen. Frey put the blame for the shooting on ICE, but Homeland Security Assistant Sec. Tricia McLaughlin contradicted that version of events.

“ICE officers in Minneapolis were conducting targeted operations when rioters began blocking ICE officers and one of these violent rioters weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them — an act of domestic terrorism,” she wrote in a statement.

Video on social media caught the incident and shows the moment she hit the gas and the shots rang out.

“He used his training and saved his own life and that of his fellow officers,” McLaughlin added. “The alleged perpetrator was hit and is deceased. The ICE officers who were hurt are expected to make full recoveries.”

RELATED: Anti-ICE rioter’s deadly mistake: Woman allegedly tried to run over federal agents before she was fatally shot

Frey addressed the statement from the DHS and called that version “bulls**t.”

“They are already trying to spin this as an action of self-defense. Having seen the video myself, I want to tell everybody directly: That is bulls**t!” said Frey. “This was an agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying, getting killed.”

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In the ongoing effort to make America healthy again, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other members of the Trump administration gathered for a special press conference on Wednesday to announce a major overhaul of dietary guidelines

The guidelines, promoted under the simple command to “eat real food,” introduce a “new pyramid” that prioritizes protein, dairy, healthy fats, and fruits and vegetables over whole grains, which is essentially an upside-down version of the conventional food pyramid most people are familiar with.

‘These guidelines replace corporate-driven assumptions with common-sense goals and gold-standard scientific integrity.’

“These guidelines replace corporate-driven assumptions with common-sense goals and gold-standard scientific integrity,” Kennedy said at the press conference.

He added that they will “revolutionize our nation’s food culture and make America healthy again.”

RELATED: Trump administration overhauls childhood vax schedule. Here’s the downsized version

Screenshot of government website

“For decades, we’ve been fed a corrupt food pyramid that has had a myopic focus on demonizing natural healthy saturated fats, telling you not to eat eggs and steak, and ignoring a giant blind spot: refined carbohydrates, added sugars, ultra-processed food,” Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary said.

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said, “A healthy meal is within reach for all American families. These new dietary guidelines are a framework which is meant to be customized to meet the needs, the preferences, and the financial status of all American families.”

The inverted pyramid is the result of many studies conducted by the government to challenge the current paradigm and address our nation’s health problems. The guidelines were published in multiple documents, including a series of appendices that is over 400 pages long.

Some users on social media joked that HHS was copying a “South Park” bit in which scientists, at the behest of character Eric Cartman, “flip the pyramid” to reveal the “true” nutritional standards.

The old food pyramid originated in Sweden in the 1970s and was later adapted by the United States Department of Agriculture in 1992.

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Smashing Pumpkins lead singer Billy Corgan says he was approached by government entities during the George W. Bush administration.

According to the singer, he is familiar with several instances of musicians being compromised and protected by the industry due to their willingness to play ball.

‘I’ve been approached by elements of the US government.’

The Smashing Pumpkins were among the most popular bands in the 1990s, with three records achieving at least platinum-selling status and 1995’s “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness” reaching diamond status.

Now, among other ventures, Corgan hosts “The Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan” podcast and recently had writer Conrad Flynn as his guest. The pair discussed dark influences in Hollywood culture, which led Corgan to reveal that he himself had been approached by the government in past decades.

Siamese scheme

“At different times, I’ve been approached by elements of the U.S. government to be involved in things that were just way above my pay grade,” he explained. “I’ve never talked about them in any depth publicly, but I’ve had experiences where I would find myself in a room with people and think, ‘Why are they talking to me?’ It was something out of, like, ‘Eyes Wide Shut,'” Corgan said, referring to the movie about the occult.

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Corgan explained that his experiences led to interactions with government officials hoping to capitalize on his influence.

“All I can say is I’ve experienced supernatural things and I’ve experienced things where I’ve had elements of the U.S. government reach out to me because they somehow want to hook my influence, which is not that great, into whatever they’re after.”

Chart of the deal

This led the singer to speak on the music industry, which is “certainly [his] area of expertise,” while adding the notion that “there are elements in popular music where people have been compromised, knowingly.”

“They were offered kind of a Faustian bargain. Pick door No .1 and we’re going to push you to the moon. … There are people who are protected, and they get every benefit of that protection, and I know it because I know the game, because I’ve lived it. And there are other people where they just, they decide to press a button and throw them off the ship.”

Some of these musicians may have been dumped for bad behavior, Corgan admitted, but in “other cases,” he said, it was likely because “they won’t do the bidding that people want them to do.”

RELATED: Corporation for Public Broadcasting dissolved by board after 58 years of funding PBS and NPR

Photo by Catherine McGann/Getty Images

Disarmed

The culmination of political influence on music — particularly rock music — resulted in the severe lack of edgy rock artists since the turn of the millennium.

“Here we are 25 years into the 21st century, and rock couldn’t be less of an influence on the on the social political order,” Corgan continued, noting how influential the genre was in the second half of the 1900s.

“Does anybody think that that’s kind of strange? That somebody decided to push a button somewhere and make sure that people like myself don’t say certain things any more?”

Corgan soon cut the conversation short, telling his guest he was not willing to directly state what he was asked and by whom.

​Music, Rock music, Smashing pumpkins, Cia, Government operation, Psyop, Us government, Entertainment 

A Democrat representative in the Georgia House has resigned her position, as she now faces a federal charge in connection with alleged COVID relief fraud.

On Monday, federal prosecutors filed charges against former state Rep. Karen Bennett, claiming she lied to secure nearly $14,000 in COVID funds.

Bennett also allegedly withheld that she was receiving $905 weekly from a church ‘the entire time she was claiming PUA benefits.’

According to court documents, Bennett, who owned a physical therapy business called Metro Therapy, applied for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance funds in May 2020, stating that she had been unable to go to her place of employment since April 10 because of quarantine and other COVID-related restrictions.

She was subsequently approved.

Between March and August 2020, she then posted certifications claiming that, aside from the $300 she received each week for her political position in the Georgia General Assembly, she earned no other income, court documents said.

However, according to prosecutors, Bennett served in an administrative role at Metro Therapy and worked from a home office, allowing her to continue earning a paycheck “throughout the pandemic.”

“She was able to continue working as usual from her home to support Metro Therapy throughout the pandemic, and the therapists who provided actual services to clients were able to continue their work after a brief disruption,” prosecutors asserted in charging documents.

Bennett also allegedly withheld that she was receiving $905 weekly from a church “the entire time she was claiming PUA benefits,” court documents said.

In all, Bennett raked in $13,940 in fraudulent PUA and other federal funds, prosecutors alleged. She has been charged with one count of making false statements.

RELATED: Georgia Democrat indicted for alleged pandemic relief fraud

greenleaf123/Getty Images

In court Monday, Bennett waived the indictment, pled not guilty, and posted bail. The AP indicated that many federal defendants who waive their indictments often eventually plead guilty.

On Thursday, four days before charges were filed, Bennett officially resigned her seat representing District 94, which includes parts of DeKalb and Gwinnett Counties. She was first elected in 2012.

Bennett also submitted a letter of resignation to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. The letter, dated December 30, made no mention of possible criminal charges and gave no explanation for her departure.

Instead she wrote: “I am proud of the work accomplished by the Georgia General Assembly when we came together to advance policies that strengthened our state and improved the lives of all Georgians. Serving in this capacity has truly been a labor of love and one that I will miss.”

A spokesperson from Bennett’s former assembly office declined a request for comment from Blaze News. Bennett did not respond to a request for comment from the Georgia Recorder, and her attorneys did not respond to a request for comment from the AP.

Bennett is now the second Georgia Democrat accused of fraudulently obtaining COVID relief funds. Last month, state Rep. Sharon Henderson was arrested after she allegedly pocketed nearly $18,000, claiming she had been a substitute teacher in 2020, even as prosecutors say she had not worked in that capacity since 2018.

Henderson was charged with two counts of theft of government funds and 10 counts of making false statements — yet she still remains in office.

Just before Christmas, Henderson posted a note to social media, requesting donations to a crowdfunding account that she says will help her as she continues “seeking justice after recent events.”

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ESPN sideline reporter Laura Rutledge went viral this past December when she had to press Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert to answer her postgame questions — and BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock is impressed with her refusal to give up.

Herbert initially brushed off the reporter when she approached him, saying, “I’m trying to celebrate with my team.”

Rutledge wouldn’t take no for an answer and pressed him further, eventually pulling some answers out of the quarterback.

“Steve, I know you’ve covered a lot of sporting events. Have you ever seen that level of rudeness directed at a reporter? I just, that was incredible. She deserves a Purple Heart,” Whitlock asks BlazeTV contributor Steve Kim on “Fearless.”

“I have a question for those who were coming out and piling on Justin Herbert, who probably played the most physically taxing game I’ve seen any quarterback [play] this year. He’s probably banged up. He’s probably drugged up with all the pharmaceuticals, right, to get him out there,” Kim says.

“If that was a black quarterback, would those people dare have the same type of words for Justin Herbert like they would, let’s say its Lamar Jackson, and I’m just using him in this example,” he continues.

“I think Justin Herbert, being a white quarterback, it takes off some of the restrictions in terms of criticizing that particular athlete. I believe that Justin Herbert was banged up. He really doesn’t feel like talking, but at the end he said, ‘You know what? This is my job, I did it,’” he adds.

Whitlock sees both sides.

“I don’t blame her for not following protocol; as a reporter, that’s not what you do. Overtime game, it’s decided late, there’s an interception, and then you just go into scramble mode, and you just do what’s necessary to get the job done,” Whitlock chimes in.

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A Toledo, Ohio, male is accused of a long list of violent acts against a pregnant woman he held in his home against her will over the course of two days last week, WTOL-TV reported, citing court documents.

Jamere Jones, 25, barricaded a door to hold the woman — who was 21 weeks pregnant at the time — inside his home on Dec. 30 and 31 while he “assaulted her, strangled her, threatened to shoot her with a rifle, and to set her on fire.” He also raped her multiple times, the station said, citing court documents.

A judge set Jones’ total bond at $590,000 and ordered him to have no contact with the victim and to have no weapons, WTOL said.

In addition, Jones allegedly poured rubbing alcohol on the woman’s head and used a lighter to threaten to set her on fire, WTOL reported, adding that he also allegedly pointed a loaded rifle at her chest and threatened to kill her and then himself.

Jones also beat the woman with his hands, a belt, a chain, and a hammer, the Blade reported, citing an affidavit. He also strangled her multiple times — at least once to the point that she lost consciousness, after which he’s accused of raping her, the Blade said.

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The victim was hospitalized, WTOL said.

Warrants for Jones’ arrest were issued Thursday, and he was arrested Monday, the Blade reported.

Jones is charged with three counts of kidnapping, three counts of rape, three counts of felonious assault, one count of strangulation, two counts of causing a risk of physical harm via strangulation, and one count of domestic violence, WTOL reported.

A judge set Jones’ total bond at $590,000 and ordered him to have no contact with the victim and to have no weapons, WTOL said, adding that the judge also set a preliminary hearing for him next Wednesday.

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​Ohio, Arrest, Jailed, Kidnapping charges, Rape charges, Strangulation charge, Domestic violence charge, Pregnant victim, Beating, Death threat, Crime 

A woman has been shot in the face by federal agents and killed after ramming them with her car, according to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security.

Protesters initially claimed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers had shot the woman as she was driving away from them.

‘This is the direct consequence of constant attacks and demonization of our officers by sanctuary politicians who fuel and encourage rampant assaults on our law enforcement.’

DHS Assistant Sec. Tricia McLaughlin released a statement contradicting the claims of the protesters.

“Today, ICE officers in Minneapolis were conducting targeted operations when rioters began blocking ICE officers and one of these violent rioters weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them — an act of domestic terrorism,” McLaughlin said in a statement on social media.

She said an ICE officer fired defensive shots after fearing for his life and the safety of the public.

“He used his training and saved his own life and that of his fellow officers,” she added. “The alleged perpetrator was hit and is deceased. The ICE officers who were hurt are expected to make full recoveries.”

Local reports said anti-ICE protesters began to curse and yell at the officers after the incident as they tried to secure the scene.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, immediately called for all ICE agents to leave the city in the wake of the shooting.

“I am aware of a shooting involving an ICE agent at 34th Street & Portland,” he wrote on social media. “The presence of federal immigration enforcement agents is causing chaos in our city. We’re demanding ICE to leave the city immediately. We stand rock solid with our immigrant and refugee communities.”

RELATED: Hilton Hotels cuts loose hotel location accused of refusing to host ICE agents

McLaughlin went on to blame anti-ICE rhetoric for the shooting.

“This is the direct consequence of constant attacks and demonization of our officers by sanctuary politicians who fuel and encourage rampant assaults on our law enforcement,” she said. “These men and women who are simply enforcing the law on the books are facing 1,300% increase in assaults against them and an 8,000% increase in death threats.”

This is a developing story.

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​Minneapolis ice surge, Ice shoots woman in face, Ice shooting, Jacob frey vs ice, Politics 

Meta says it deleted ads off its platforms to get rid of scams, not hide them.

A review of internal documents, however, spurred allegations that Meta was attempting make certain ads “not findable” to government regulators.

‘To suggest otherwise is disingenuous.’

According to a report by Reuters — which said it reviewed the docs — Meta began deleting possible fraudulent ads from its search function after Japanese regulators were upset over obvious scams on Facebook and Instagram that pushed fake celebrity product endorsements or investment schemes.

Reuters said that, according to the documents, Meta feared Japan would force the company to verify the identities of its advertisers.

In order to test Meta’s work on “tackling scams,” Japanese regulators allegedly used the search function on Meta’s “Ad Library” to seek out fraudulent ads; the library acts as a “comprehensive, searchable database for ads transparency,” the company states on its website.

This “simple test,” as described in documents, was allegedly the avenue Meta took to make good with the regulators. Documents purportedly showed that Meta identified the top keywords and celebrity names that the Japanese were searching to find fraud, and then deleted ads that appeared fraudulent.

RELATED: OOF: Mark Zuckerberg’s losing metaverse bet cost Meta $77B

Photo by Arda Kucukkaya/Anadolu via Getty Images

The deletions made certain content “not findable” for “regulators, investigators, and journalists,” Reuters claimed.

A few months later, a Meta memo allegedly stated that “less than 100” of the unwanted ads had been discovered in the last week of a testing period, “hitting 0 for the last 4 days of the sprint.”

This was apparently applauded by the Japanese government, and Japan did not end up forcing advertiser verification.

Meta then reportedly added the deletion tactics to its “general global playbook” to be deployed against, as Reuters described, regulatory scrutiny in other markets like the U.S., Europe, Australia, and more. The alleged playbook was a strategy to stall regulators and prevent advertiser verification requirements, the report claimed.

A Meta spokesperson has since called the allegations disingenuous, and argued that Meta deleting fraudulent ads off its platforms is a good thing, not bad.

Meta spokesman Andy Stone told the outlet that there is nothing misleading about removing the scam ads from the library. “To suggest otherwise is disingenuous,” he insisted.

RELATED: 2025 is so over and so is virtual reality

Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images

“Meta teams regularly check the Ad Library to identify scam ads because when fewer scam ads show up there that means there are fewer scam ads on the platform,” Stone added.

On top of claiming that verifying advertisers is “not a silver bullet,” Stone said that chasing down scam ads is a job that will “never end.”

Verification “works best in concert with other, higher-impact tools,” the spokesman noted. “We set a global baseline and aggressive targets to drive down scam activity in countries where it was greatest, all of which has led to an overall reduction in scams on platform.”

Meta also claimed that it has seen a 50% decline in user reports of scams over the past year.

Return reached out to Meta for additional comments. This article will be updated with any applicable responses.

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​Return, Meta, Facebook, Scams, Instagram, Japan, Japanese, Tech 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly told lawmakers that the Trump administration has aspirations to purchase Greenland from Denmark, tempering rumors that officials are considering forcibly seizing the island.

‘The United States is eager to build lasting commercial relationships that benefit Americans and the people of Greenland.’

During a closed briefing on Monday, Rubio and other administration officials briefed lawmakers about the operation to capture Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and the plans for the country’s future, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Citing individuals said to be familiar with the recent briefing, the WSJ stated that Rubio “played down the idea that the U.S. could seize Greenland by force.” The report claimed that administration officials refused to rule out the possibility of an invasion.

However, the outlet noted that U.S. and European officials have reported no indications that the Trump administration is preparing for a military invasion of the self-governing Danish territory.

President Donald Trump told reporters on Sunday, “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and the European Union needs us to have it — and they know that.”

RELATED: ‘Very sick too’: Trump sets sights on more countries after successful Venezuela operation

Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images

“President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it’s vital to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated. “The president and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the U.S. military is always an option at the commander in chief’s disposal.”

Trump expressed interest in purchasing Greenland during his first term. He has insisted that controlling the island is essential for protecting the Arctic from Russia and China.

RELATED: JD Vance visits Greenland to make the case for annexation: ‘We can’t just bury our head in the sand’

Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images

“The United States is eager to build lasting commercial relationships that benefit Americans and the people of Greenland,” a State Department spokesperson told Blaze News. “Our common adversaries have been increasingly active in the Arctic. That is a concern that the United States, the Kingdom of Denmark, and NATO Allies share.”

The spokesperson added that Trump is committed to the United States’ relationship with Greenland, underscored by his decision to designate Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry (R) as special envoy.

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​News, Greenland, Marco rubio, State department, Department of state, Donald trump, Trump, Trump administration, Trump admin, National security, Jeff landry, Denmark, Russia, China, Arctic, Politics 

After more than 30 years since pleading guilty to espionage that reportedly compromised several United States assets during the Cold War, an infamous Central Intelligence Agency officer has died in prison.

Aldrich Ames died on Monday, according to the Bureau of Prisons website.

Ames claimed he needed the money simply to pay debts and relieve ‘financial troubles, immediate and continuing.’

Ames was held in the Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland, where he was serving a life sentence without parole.

Ames, a career CIA agent, was arrested in 1994 on espionage charges years after he began cooperating with KGB agents in 1985. The information he provided to the Soviets is thought to have directly contributed to the compromising of several CIA and FBI sources, some of whom were executed after their discovery.

RELATED: Unveiling ‘Big Intel’: How the CIA and FBI became deep state villains

Photo by Jeffrey Markowitz/Sygma via Getty Images

Over nearly a decade, Moscow paid him $2.5 million in exchange for betraying state secrets to the Soviets during and after the Cold War. Ames claimed he needed the money simply to pay debts and relieve “financial troubles, immediate and continuing.”

“Well, the reasons that I did what I did in April of 1985 were personal, banal, and amounted really to kind of greed and folly. As simple as that,” Ames said in an interview archived by the National Security Archive at George Washington University, according to Fox News.

“I knew quite well, when I gave the names of our agents in the Soviet Union, that I was exposing them to the full machinery of counterespionage and the law, and then prosecution, and capital punishment, certainly, in the case of KGB and GRU officers who would be tried in a military court, and certainly others, that they were almost all at least potentially liable to capital punishment,” he added. “There’s simply no question about this.”

Ames’ wife, Rosario, was sentenced to 63 months in prison on charges of assisting his espionage.

Ames was 84 years old at the time of his death.

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​Politics, Aldrich ames, Moscow, Cold war, Cia, Fbi, Intelligence, Espionage, Rosario ames, Soviet union, Cumberland maryland, Bureau of prisons 

As America celebrates its 250th year, the very organization planning the celebration has now been accused of spreading “progressive propaganda.”

On Tuesday, America250 made a post praising former President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his novel list of “freedoms.”

‘Celebrating the socialist campaign positions of FDR as fundamental to American history was not what I expected when I hit the follow button.’

In a graphic, the post says, “On this day in 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt outlined four universal freedoms people the world over ought to enjoy.”

“Spoken during a moment of uncertainty, the Four Freedoms helped define what America stood for — and continues to stand for,” the post reads.

While the list starts with freedoms generally familiar to all Americans, specifically freedom of speech and freedom of worship, FDR also added a couple of novelties: “freedom from want” and “freedom from fear.”

RELATED: Soros-tied No Kings protesters plot to sabotage US Army’s 250th anniversary parade

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images

The Federalist’s Brianna Lyman called out what she called America250’s “progressive propaganda”: “‘Freedom from Want’ is not a constitutional freedom nor a natural right. It was invented by FDR and his socialist cohort to justify welfare expansion and redefine rights as government grants — flying directly in the face of what America *actually* stands for.”

“Making up a right like ‘Freedom from Want’ — and then pretending like this is a core American value, is shameful revisionist history from America250,” Lyman added.

At the end of the series of graphics, the America250 post says, “President Roosevelt spoke them. Norman Rockwell painted them. We will strive to live them.”

The Tennessee Star’s Tom Pappert commented, “Celebrating the socialist campaign positions of FDR as fundamental to American history was not what I expected when I hit the follow button.”

According to the America250 website, the “nonpartisan” U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission was established by Congress in 2016 to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

While it is not clear who runs the social media accounts, notable figures on the commission include several members of Trump’s Cabinet, Democrat and Republican congressmen and senators, and 16 private citizens.

The chair of America250, Rosie Rios, was appointed by President Joe Biden and previously served in both the Obama and Biden administrations in some capacity, according to her biography.

Former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama and their spouses are listed as “honorary national co-chairs” of America250.

America250 did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

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​Politics, America250, Fdr, Franklin d roosevelt, Progressive, Norman rockwell, President roosevelt, Joe biden, Rosie rios, Obama, Bush 

Popular culture loves its image of Norsemen shivering in fur pelts, raiding British monasteries, and braving the icy North Atlantic. Yet while Vikings struggled to survive on the thawing margins of Greenland, a far richer and more formidable maritime power flourished thousands of miles away in the tropical warmth of southern India.

That power was the Chola Empire.

A modern golden age remains within reach — provided we do not cripple ourselves with fear of the very conditions that have so often underwritten human prosperity.

At its height between 985 and 1044 A.D., the Cholas projected force on a scale that made Viking longships look like backyard skirmishers. Their ships were technological marvels — floating fortresses capable of transporting cavalry, infantry, and weeks of provisions across vast distances.

The Cholas mounted a major naval expedition against the Srivijaya Empire, a dominant maritime power based in what is now Indonesia and the Malay Peninsula. This was an amphibious assault conducted thousands of miles from home ports, a logistical achievement comparable to modern naval operations. The Cholas toppled rulers, secured the vital Malacca Strait, and guaranteed safe passage for merchant guilds trading from the Middle East to China.

On land, they maintained a standing army that included thousands of war elephants.

Their wealth also found expression in stone. The Great Living Chola Temples — now recognized as UNESCO World Heritage sites — stretch across southern India and neighboring islands. Built without modern machinery, these monumental structures relied on elephants to haul massive stones from distances of up to 60 miles.

Chola society possessed abundant labor, food, and wealth. The question is why.

What enabled a civilization to generate the immense caloric and economic surplus required to build stone monuments and launch armadas across the Indian Ocean? A large part of the answer lies in climate — specifically, global warming.

The rise of the Chola Empire coincided with the Medieval Warm Period, which lasted roughly from 900 to 1300 A.D. This relationship between warmth and human flourishing is inconvenient for the modern climate-industrial narrative, which treats rising temperatures as an unqualified catastrophe.

Warmth strengthens tropical monsoons, the lifeblood of agrarian economies like the Cholas’. Recent scientific research confirms that fluctuations in the Indian summer monsoon shaped agricultural output and the rise and fall of major dynasties. Indian civilization flourished during the Roman Warm Period, fractured during the Dark Ages Cold Period, and reached new heights under the Cholas during the Medieval Warm Period.

The Chola Empire was sustained by the very kind of warming modern activists describe as an “existential threat.”

RELATED: ‘Green Antoinettes’ live large, preach small

ajijchan via iStock/Getty Images

In the Cauvery Delta — the empire’s heartland — this favorable climate transformed the region into the “Rice Bowl of the South.” Three harvests a year became common. Granaries overflowed. Revenues surged.

That surplus freed labor from subsistence farming and redirected it toward imperial ambition. Chola trade guilds thrived, exporting textiles, spices, and grain to the Chinese Song Dynasty — another civilization that prospered during this warm epoch.

Today, we find ourselves in another warming phase, emerging from the depths of the Little Ice Age that ended in the mid-19th century. Global crop yields have repeatedly reached record highs. India has re-emerged as a major grain exporter. The planet is experiencing a measurable “greening” effect as higher atmospheric carbon dioxide levels fertilize plants and warmer temperatures expand cultivable land.

Yet, we are told to feel guilty.

Coal, oil, and natural gas — fuels that protect humanity from the elements and power modern economies — are vilified. Environmental extremists implicitly argue for a colder world, despite the historical record showing that colder periods brought famine, disease, and social collapse.

The Chola Empire stands as a reminder of what human ingenuity can achieve when the climate cooperates. Its ships sailed on prosperity sustained by warmth. Its temples rose from a society rich in calories and confidence. Its civilization commanded respect across continents.

We face a similar opportunity today. A modern golden age remains within reach — provided we do not cripple ourselves with fear of the very conditions that have so often underwritten human prosperity.

​Opinion & analysis, Climate change, Global warming, India, Chola dynasty, Chola empire, Vikings, Medieval, Asia, China, Harvest, Wealth, Environmentalism, Green new deal, Crop yields 

Nick Shirley, a 23-year-old conservative YouTuber and independent journalist, gained national attention in late December 2025 after posting a viral 43-minute video titled, “I Investigated Minnesota’s Billion Dollar Fraud Scandal,” in which he visited several Minneapolis childcare centers — primarily Somali-run — and claimed they were empty or inactive despite receiving millions in federal and state government funding.

Shirley’s footage showed locked doors, blacked out windows, and no visible children during his visits despite public payment records, sparking national scrutiny, federal investigations by the FBI and DHS, a temporary freeze on childcare funding to Minnesota (and briefly nationwide), and political fallout — most notably Gov. Tim Walz (D) dropping his re-election bid.

On yesterday’s episode of “The Glenn Beck Program,” Shirley told Glenn that the Minnesota day-care fraud he exposed doesn’t even scratch the surface. If we want to see how deep the corruption really goes, there are several people who absolutely must be investigated.

Shirley’s first thought when he uncovered that massive fraud scheme was, “If millions — quite literally billions — of dollars is being given to these day-care centers, how come the government doesn’t know that the money is being spent here?”

More digging revealed the answer: “They’re all in on it,” he says.

“They just announced today the U.N. ambassador of Somalia is involved in all of this,” adds Glenn.

But he’s certainly not the only one with blood on his hands.

Tim Walz’s exit is almost certainly an evasion of deeper scrutiny or accountability for the fraud scandals. Glenn and Shirley agree that he must be investigated regardless.

But a Walz probe is just the beginning. “Everyone involved over at the capital in Minnesota and the DHS who was cutting the checks [needs to be investigated],” says Shirley.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who’s known for her advocacy for childcare funding, tops his list of people who need to be immediately investigated. “She has photos of her outside of ‘Quality Learing Center,”’ he says.

This center, which has repeatedly been mocked for missing the “n” in what is supposed to say “Learning,” was one of the main day-care centers featured in Shirley’s exposé. Extensive video footage shows a nearly empty parking lot, locked doors, and no visible activity despite the center receiving millions in funding and being licensed for dozens of kids.

Another person who needs to be investigated, says Shirley, is Omar Fateh, the Somali-American Democratic Socialist and Minnesota state senator who snagged a shady DFL endorsement in Minneapolis’ mayoral race through a rigged convention, only to have it stripped over vote irregularities.

“[Fateh] had a brother-in-law or some family member who was in charge of one of the day cares that had also been receiving $2 million, and they actually had so many violations they shut down the day care; then the next day they reopened,” says Shirley. “That guy was about to become mayor.”

“And so all these people are in on the fraud. They all know it’s happening,” he reiterates.

“Well, somebody clearly had to. You can’t have that much money rolling around. A lot of people knew,” Glenn agrees.

To hear more of the interview, watch the video above.

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​The glenn beck program, Glenn beck, Nick shirley, Minnesota, Tim walz, Minnesota fraud, Omar fateh, Ilhan omar, Somalis, Somalia, Somali fraud, Blazetv, Blaze media 

Personally I think springtime is the best time to start something new — after all, the sunshine gets warmer, everything is budding and greening up, and my energy level is definitely higher than it is right now, in the “bleak midwinter.”

Nevertheless January 1 looms large. We’re less than a week into the new year, a time that practically begs us to turn over a fresh page, a new leaf.

The idea is putting my daily meeting with God on my calendar as a nonnegotiable appointment.

So let’s talk about how to use 2026 to improve your relationship — with your creator.

Because that is unquestionably the most important task on our to-do list. Full stop.

How to do that? Well some things never change. God gave us an instruction manual, and immersing ourselves in that should be our absolute highest priority. This includes:

reading the Bible by ourselves;reading the Bible with others;studying the Bible by ourselves;studying the Bible with others;memorizing the Bible by ourselves (you can do this with others too, but it’s really more of a solitary pursuit);reading what other people have written about the Bible; andlistening or watching other people teach the Bible (priority one is your weekly sermon by your own pastor — after that, my highest recommendation is the treasure trove of sermons John MacArthur left behind, covering all the New Testament books as well as many Old Testament books and topics).

And of course along with immersion in the Word, which involves absorbing things God wants us to learn and act upon, He also welcomes us into His very presence. We are invited to bring our worship and gratitude to Him in prayer as well as our every request and concern, big or small.

Yeah, it always comes back to those two things.

Prayer and the Word.

And now here are some suggestions about how to prioritize these most important of life activities, now that 2026 is underway …

The morning meeting

I read this idea this year on Substack (if anyone can remind me of who suggested it, please comment, and I’ll update with the link), and it hit me hard. Probably because I find too much of the day slipping away from me even though I’m not bound to external employment hours, and I know I need to take better control of my time. I’m still wasting too much sand!

The idea is putting my daily meeting with God on my calendar as a nonnegotiable appointment. You can make this appointment any time of the day that works for you, but I do think morning is preferable if you can swing it. This meeting can be as long or brief as this stage of your life requires, but give it a hard start time and a hard stop time (of course you can always tweak this as life changes).

A meeting requires an agenda. You can make a general agenda for all meetings, or you can prepare a separate agenda for each daily meeting. Right now I’m working with an ambitious general agenda, but giving myself grace to skip some items if need be. Here’s my meeting agenda:

1. Read-through-the-Bible time

No, I’m not doing it in a year. I’m doing a three-year plan, because I want to savor what I’m reading and avoid the “check-it-off-for-the-day” mindset.

I used Biblereadingplangenerator.com to create exactly what I wanted to cover — the Bible chronologically as it happened, with the prophets intertwined with other Old Testament passages where they fit chronologically, and the New Testament letters in the order they were written.

I removed Psalms and Proverbs from the plan, then added them back in at a rate of one per day (one Psalm, one chapter of Proverbs). This is because I’ve learned that I need to really slow down to savor the depth and wisdom contained in these two books.

Another benefit of taking three years for this is I have time to read and analyze the study notes in my Bible or even look up other commentary perspectives.

A final part of this agenda item: reading through books about the books of the Bible I’ve completed (this falls under the general category of “reading what other people have written about the Bible”).

2. Daily Bible chunks

There’s probably a more elegant way to say that. But the point is, since read-through-the-Bible time stays in each book of the Bible for quite awhile, I want to dip my toe into other sections as well on a regular basis. Here’s how I’ll divide it up by each day of the week this year, reading generally shorter sections of each book (I use my study Bible’s book outlines to guide me):

Monday – Torah/OT history (Genesis through Song of Solomon, but minus Psalms and Proverbs, since I’m already in them daily)Tuesday – OT prophets (Isaiah through Malachi)Wednesday – GospelsThursday – ActsFriday – Paul’s lettersSaturday – other EpistlesSunday – Revelation

Notice the emphasis on the New Testament, since my foundational Bible reading will be mostly Old Testament for at least two years!

3. Devotional

If I’m working through a devotional, here’s where I’ll do that.

4. Memorization

I’m trying something new this year! I want to memorize whole big chunks of the Word. I think I’m going to start with the tiny book of Jude, where the topic is false teaching. Very relevant for 2026, I believe.

I’ll study it first before beginning to memorize, a verse or two at a time. I’m planning to do this with my mini-discipleship group, so there’ll be at least two of us working our way through it.

5. Other reading or training

I’ll try to work my way through my enormous “books I’d like to read” list during this time as well, since I have countless spiritually enriching titles collected but not yet read. Or I’ll watch videos I’ve been saving to work through, like Stand to Reason’s excellent apologetics series.

6. Throne room time

This is where we gratefully accept His gracious invitation to come directly to the foot of His throne with all our prayers.

I’ve always tried to systemize my prayers, keeping lists and focusing on different people and needs on different days, but I’ve never journaled my prayers. The reason I’m excited to do this now is this — I’m excited to crack open my new five-year prayer journal.

The idea of this is to write out a prayer (or prayers) for each day, then after a full year of filling the journal, we circle back and fill it out a second year and a third and a fourth and a fifth — reviewing the previous year’s entry as we do.

I can’t wait to see how God works in my life as I review prayers I prayed a year earlier!

RELATED: How to bring Charlie Kirk’s vision to life — starting in your own family

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

A few final thoughts

So that will be my morning meeting in 2026. I will devote a couple of hours to it every day. After all, I’m in the season of life where I can devote more time to this most worthy endeavor, and I’m excited to make that commitment.

I’ve written a few other pieces to help you plan, execute, and enjoy this most marvelous time of the day:

A basket of GodQuiet time 101 (although your morning meeting does not have to be quiet!)Creating space for God

With the year just beginning, there is nothing more important to lock in for 2026 than your time with God.

Happy (and God-centered) new year to all of you!

A version of this article previously appeared on the She Speaks Truth Substack.

​God, Bible, Bible study, Christian living, Lifestyle, Prayer, Faith 

Police in Clovis, New Mexico, said they received a 911 call just after 12:30 a.m. Friday from a residence in the 2500 block of East 7th Street.

The caller — a 20-year-old male — stated that he was shot by someone who broke into his home and that he also shot the person who broke in, police said.

It was the second fatal shooting that week in Clovis, which is about three and a half hours east of Albuquerque.

The caller added that he and a female were hiding in a closet, police said.

Police and emergency medical services responded to the scene, police said.

The male caller suffered a gunshot wound and was taken to Plains Regional Medical Center, police said.

A second male — identified as 20-year-old Keilyn Parker — also was in the home and had been shot. Parker was taken to Plains Regional Medical Center but didn’t survive his injuries, police said.

The Major Crimes Unit has been activated to investigate this event, police said.

Those with information about this incident are asked to call the police department’s nonemergency line at 575-769-1921, police said, adding that information can be provided anonymously through the tip411 program, accessed by going to www.police.cityofclovis.org. Anonymous tips also can be provided to the Curry County Crime Stoppers at 575-763-7000, police said.

RELATED: Gun-wielding male kicks down door of home, opens fire at homeowner. But his target is armed too.

Image source: Clovis (N.M.) Police Department

It was the second fatal shooting that week in Clovis, which is about three and a half hours east of Albuquerque.

Police said they received a 911 call around 3:30 p.m. Dec. 29 about a 15-year-old male with a gunshot wound. Police said officers and EMS personnel responded to the scene, and the teen was taken to Plains Regional Medical Center, but he did not survive.

The police chief in a later Facebook post said the teen and his friends were playing with guns in a bedroom, and a witness said one of the juveniles was handling a gun that was believed to be unloaded when it discharged.

Following the shooting, the victim’s friends fled the residence and took the reported firearms with them, police said. The shooter was identified as a 16-year-old, police said. A warrant was filed in district court for involuntary manslaughter, minor in possession of a handgun, tampering with evidence, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, police said.

The teen was arrested around 6 p.m. Dec. 31 and booked into a juvenile detention center, the Albuquerque Journal reported.

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​2nd amend., Self-defense, Clovis, Crime thwarted, Fatal shooting, Gun rights, Guns, Home invasion, New mexico, Police, Break-in, Crime 

Democrats bear clear responsibility for Minnesota’s spiraling federal program payment scandal. Either they failed to conduct meaningful oversight of billions in public funds over many years — or they conducted none at all. Their early response to the scandal explains why: They subjected its perpetrators to an unconscionably low standard of scrutiny.

What began as a fraud investigation into federal programs meant to feed poor children has expanded rapidly. During the pandemic, a nonprofit called Feeding Our Future became the centerpiece of what federal prosecutors described as the largest COVID-era fraud scheme, involving roughly $300 million. That scandal soon widened to include fraud in autism services and housing programs. Now investigators allege that day-care centers billed taxpayers for caring for nonexistent children — one facility even displaying signage with a misspelling of “learning.”

No criminal enterprise of this size and duration emerges unless its participants believe they will not face consequences. Democrats let the fraud happen.

As revelations mount, consequences follow. Former vice presidential nominee Tim Walz abruptly abandoned his bid for a third term as Minnesota’s governor. Yet nothing suggests the full scope of the scandal has come into view, either geographically or financially.

The estimated cost continues to climb. Last summer, a federal prosecutor put the total at more than $1 billion. Just last month, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson warned the figure could reach $9 billion — and that estimate covers only the schemes already uncovered. As trials proceed, new defendants emerge, and plea deals surface, the total is likely to rise farther.

Instead of demanding answers, Democrats rushed to deflect scrutiny. In Seattle, newly elected mayor and self-described democratic socialist Katie Wilson inserted herself into the controversy by issuing a statement “on the harassment of Somali childcare providers” and posting a hotline number for alleged “hate crime” victims — before any comparable fraud investigation had even begun.

Minnesota Democrats adopted the same playbook. They framed oversight itself as “racism,” attempting to shut down inquiry by exaggeratedly embracing the broader Somali community from which many of the fraudsters came. That rhetorical move does more harm than good. It links an entire community to criminal activity — something Democrats appear not to mind if it shields them politically.

Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan illustrated the tactic in a video statement delivered while wearing a hijab: “I am incredibly clear that the Somali community is part of the fabric of the state of Minnesota.” Flanagan, notably, is also running for the U.S. Senate in 2026.

The symbolism revealed more than intended. Democrats did not merely treat the Somali community as “part of the fabric” of Minnesota. They treated fraud perpetrators as apart from the fabric — exempt from scrutiny, audits, and accountability.

RELATED: ‘More corrupt than Minnesota’: Trump mocks Newsom after launching California fraud investigation

Photo by MAURO PIMENTEL/AFP via Getty Images

Local reporting points to warning signs stretching back more than a decade. Yet Democrats allowed massive federal programs to operate under standards so lax that fraud flourished unchecked.

Despite their rhetoric of inclusion, Democrats effectively segregated oversight itself. They refused to apply basic accountability to billions in taxpayer dollars. At minimum, that constitutes gross incompetence.

The underlying reality is simpler. Democrats let the fraud happen. Whether through neglect or willful blindness, they allowed these programs to operate without serious supervision while evidence of abuse accumulated.

Fraud on this scale does not persist without a sense of impunity. That impunity may have grown gradually through years of nonexistent audits and rubber-stamped claims. Or it may have been reinforced more explicitly. Either way, no criminal enterprise of this size and duration emerges unless its participants believe they will not face consequences.

The precise nature of Democrat culpability remains to be determined. Was it incompetence? A DEI mindset that discouraged scrutiny? Political quid pro quos? Tim Walz’s sudden exit from the governor’s race suggests that the answers may prove damaging.

What is already clear is this: Minnesota’s fraud scandal did not happen in spite of Democratic governance. It happened because of it.

​Opinion & analysis, Minnesota, Fraud, Somali fraud, Minneapolis, Corruption, Democratic party, Democrats, Daycare, Tim walz, Katie wilson, Peggy flanagan, Hijab, Diversity equity inclusion