Category: blaze media

Some of the first age verification laws are starting to roll out across the United States. One of them requires iPhone owners to take a selfie so that Apple’s AI can verify their age. Here’s which states are affected so far, plus the more intrusive measures you can expect in the future.

Although hotly contested for the privacy implications they could bring, age verification laws are looking like an inevitability across the United States. Some target specific sectors of tech, like access to AI, while others would prevent you from using your devices entirely without an ID. And chances are, you’ll be surprised to see which state is leading the charge.

If the scan fails, you are required to provide more information to complete the process.

Senate Bill 2420, signed into law by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), requires platform holders that operate online app stores to verify the ages of their users before they download apps to their smartphones. Federal District Judge Robert Pitman tried to block the bill before it went into effect in January 2026, but his efforts ultimately fell flat at the hands of Attorney General Ken Paxton, who reversed the block in June. As of today, Senate Bill 2420 is the law of the land.

It’s important to note that both Greg Abbott and Ken Paxton lost their races for Texas governor and senator during the midterms this fall, ceding control of the red state to Democrats for the first time in decades.

Like all the other age verification bills on the table right now, Senate Bill 2420 is meant to protect children and minors from harmful content accessible in apps on app stores. While it’s a noble cause, the unfortunate truth is that adult users are the ones who will have to forfeit their privacy – or the semblance of it – to prove that they’re old enough to use their devices unabated.

Now that Senate Bill 2420 is in place, Apple may require users in Texas to take a photo of themselves to verify their age. According to Apple, “your selfie is analyzed using age-estimation models that run both on-device and on Private Cloud Compute, which extends the security and privacy of your Apple device into the cloud.”

This process is meant to be completely private to ensure user data isn’t leaked, compromised, or shared outside of the verification system. “[Your photo] isn’t accessible to anyone, not even Apple,” the company claims. Once verification is complete, the image is deleted entirely with no data retention.

RELATED: How to enable the ultimate parental controls on iPhone

Organic Media/Getty Images/Getty Images

On the bright side, the selfie-based age check won’t require users to submit a valid state ID or passport in most cases. Instead, the system runs the selfie image through Apple’s Private Cloud Compute AI system to scan for adult visual traits. If the image passes the age check, you’re all set with no further action needed.

However, if the scan fails — either because your age is inconclusive from the photo or for another reason — you are required to provide more information to complete the process. Apple notes that you must either submit a photo of your credit card that includes your name or a copy of your state-issued ID with all information markers clearly visible.

Apple’s selfie-based age verification system is available on iOS 27.2 and up. Prior versions of iOS do not contain this age check provision to satisfy state laws, so you may be forced to update to the latest software in order to comply.

While selfie-based age checks are intrusive enough to cause a stir among the privacy-conscious, Apple released another document detailing even more invasive age verification measures. The document notes that some states in the future may actually require a state ID or credit card as a first measure instead of selfie verification.

In these cases, Apple says that users who refuse to verify their age will be blocked from disabling certain unnamed safety features on their devices, and they won’t be allowed to download apps rated for users 18 years old or older. The only users who will be spared are those who have had an Apple account long enough to confirm their adult status.

If you’re upset about the new age verification laws in Texas, you can thank Gov. Abbott and AG Paxton for diminishing your privacy rights on behalf of the minors they aim to defend. Then again, the people have already passed their judgment on the ruling class by shoving them out the door this past election cycle, albeit a little too late to stop Senate Bill 2420 from going into effect.

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​Age verification, Apple, Artificial intelligence, Parental controls, Privacy concerns, Privacy rights, Protect children, Texas, User data, Tech 

Philadelphia residents who helped search for a missing 10-year-old are stunned and angry after the girl’s foster mother was arrested more than a week later.

The Philadelphia Police Dept. issued the missing notice Monday for Jalayshia “Malayshia” Alford, who was last seen alive on Oct. 22 according to investigators.

Prosecutors said objects may have been used to cause the injuries and that there were signs of abuse.

On Thursday, the police announced that the girl’s remains had been found.

Assistant District Attorney Ashley Toczylowski said that a video from Oct. 26 led police to find Alford’s remains. The video showed a person removing a body from a home in West Philadelphia at about 1:53 in the morning.

“It was that video that then led law enforcement officials to a suspect vehicle, which then led law enforcement officials to find that vehicle and find a person that they wanted to speak to related to that vehicle,” Toczylowski said.

Investigators found the vehicle and discovered the girl’s remains in the trunk of the car at about 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday. It was parked at the Stonington Court Apartments in Lindenwold of Camden County, New Jersey.

A medical examiner said she died of blunt force trauma and ruled the death a homicide.

Prosecutors said objects may have been used to cause the injuries and that there were signs of abuse.

Alford’s foster mother, Carprice Williams, was charged with murder, abuse of a corpse, and other offenses, according to Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner.

RELATED: ‘Horrific, monstrous, unfathomable’: Prosecutor unveils shocking details in ‘co-parent’ torture and death of 7-year-old boy

A memorial with balloons and stuffed animals was set up for the girl Thursday evening.

“It’s heartbreaking that this is the end result,” said Malcolm Jordan, who had joined a search party for the girl. “I just wish it was a different result, man, and we just gotta do what we can to prevent this stuff from happening.”

“These balloons are just a symbol of love, the outpouring of love that we have for this baby,” another resident said.

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​Philadelphia, Missing children, Foster care, Murder, Crime 

Muslim communities are organizing politically in America, and they are not apologizing for it. Mosques in North Texas have become voter-registration hubs. In Michigan, Muslim candidates and activists have demonstrated the power of an organized constituency. The state has just elected the nation’s first Muslim U.S. senator.

What American Christians should learn from these examples is not theology. It is confidence in bringing religious commitments into public life. American Christians should pay attention. They have spent decades hearing that faith belongs in church and that explicitly Christian political action is somehow improper. That convenient rule does not seem to apply to everyone.

Christendom shaped the West, including America’s laws, customs, and understanding of human dignity. If Christians believe that inheritance is worth defending, they must speak up.

Christians must learn to fight for their faith in public. The future belongs to communities that intend to preserve their way of life, not those that apologize for having one.

America was founded by a population overwhelmingly shaped by Anglo-Protestant Christianity. That tradition formed its customs, moral assumptions, and public institutions. Several founding-era states required officeholders to profess Protestant or Christian beliefs. Georgia and New Hampshire explicitly favored Protestants. Other states adopted broader religious tests.

The U.S. Constitution was different. Article VI prohibited religious tests for federal office from the beginning. The First Amendment barred Congress from establishing a religion and protected its free exercise. Those protections did not change the basic reality: American life remained saturated with Protestant Christianity.

Yet the central cultural fact remains: Protestant Christianity shaped the country’s public life so thoroughly that its adherents rarely needed to think of themselves as a political majority. A fish does not know it is wet. When a nation’s schools, holidays, and moral vocabulary largely reflect one religious inheritance, political organization around that inheritance can seem unnecessary.

Immigration changed the balance. Catholics had been present since colonial times, as had Jews, but immigration from Ireland, Italy, Germany, and Eastern Europe expanded the numbers and influence of religious minorities. The question was unavoidable: Could a culture built around Protestant assumptions absorb growing religious diversity without surrendering its own character?

In 1958, presidential hopeful John F. Kennedy published “A Nation of Immigrants” with the Anti-Defamation League. Its vision placed immigration at the center of the American story rather than treating Anglo-Protestant culture as the country’s defining feature. Kennedy’s election as the first Catholic president in 1960 marked another transformation in the nation’s religious imagination.

The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, signed by Lyndon Johnson after Kennedy’s assassination, abolished the old national-origins quota system, radically changing who would be allowed to enter the country. Suddenly the floodgates to America were open.

Something else changed alongside the laws: the meaning Americans attached to religious liberty. Freedom of conscience, once defended in a society largely governed by Protestant assumptions, increasingly meant public institutions treating rival faiths on equal terms.

Courts extended constitutional limits on religious establishment to the states. The prohibition against establishing an official state church was now interpreted as a prohibition against favoring Christianity at all.

RELATED: Brazil’s election is a chilling warning for America

Blaze News Illustration

Liberal mainline Protestant leaders embraced this transformation. Their participation in the civil rights movement brought a conviction that public Christianity, if too closely identified with the old social order, could become an obstacle to inclusion. Others accepted the proposition that politics should be conducted in a supposedly neutral language, with Christian commitments translated into secular terms before they could be heard.

The pitch to the churches was simple — and seductive. Render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar. Christ rejected an earthly kingdom. Shouldn’t Christians be content to preach the gospel and leave the business of government to professionals? Fear of being labeled backward or intolerant made retreat even easier.

But Christ did not tell His followers to pretend their convictions had no bearing on law, education, or the common good. The idea that Christians must be politically passive because the Constitution protects religious liberty turns that liberty into a gag order.

Conservatives helped sell this bargain. Reduce the power of government, they said, and stop trying to shape the culture through politics. Conveniently, their opponents had no intention of surrendering political power. The result was a right that treated withdrawal as principle while every competing movement treated political organization as common sense. In schools, public ceremonies, and debates over the family, that retreat handed the initiative to others.

For decades, the Christian political class has mistaken the rules of a plural society for an instruction to disappear. No secular activist interprets pluralism that way. No Muslim organizer needs to. They enter the political arena as people with convictions, constituencies, and interests. Christians should quit treating those facts of political life as a privilege reserved for everyone else.

The Moral Majority showed that Christians could act collectively. So have the religious conservative organizations that followed it. Yet too often their leaders have been content to defend yesterday’s defeats rather than articulate a Christian vision of public life. They speak of “Western values” and “Western civilization” as though Christianity was an embarrassing family secret.

RELATED: The American dream now comes with upgrade fees

Blaze News Illustration

Meanwhile, a spiritual vacuum does not stay empty. Secular humanism promised to supply moral purpose without religion. Wokeness took on the character of a rival creed, complete with its own saints, heresies, and rituals of public repentance. And now Muslim communities, confident in their religious identity, are also competing for influence in the public square.

Christians should stop acting surprised. Political power will not remain unclaimed simply because they refuse to reach for it. Nor will churches recover their cultural authority by pretending that doctrine has no public consequences.

Christendom shaped the West, including America’s laws, customs, and understanding of human dignity. If Christians believe that inheritance is worth defending, they must speak up. They must organize, argue, vote, and fight politically for the institutions and moral commitments they want their children to inherit.

The lie is that doing so violates the country’s principles. The truth is that religious liberty gives Christians the same right to organize that everyone else already exercises. A faith that refuses to defend its place in public life should not be astonished when others occupy the ground it abandoned.

​Abdul el-sayed, Christianity, First amendment, Islam, Moral majority, Opinion & analysis, Protestantism, Religious liberty, Religious rights, Western civilization, John f kennedy, Christendom, American founding, Elections 

Libertarians have long called for a smaller American footprint overseas, and Austin Padgett is making the argument that Trump’s foreign policy is doing exactly that.

“The way I would generally describe libertarian foreign policy is … it’s not isolationist, but it’s non-interventionist. It’s the idea that, you know, look, we’re happy to trade with people, but if it’s not directly affecting us or really signifying a significant threat to our security, we just don’t need to be involved,” BlazeTV host Nick Freitas says.

“A lot of times libertarians have a debate as if we’re questioning whether we should create a Federal Reserve, rather than having a debate in the context of the fact that we do have a Federal Reserve,” Padgett says.

“We’re not debating in 1913,” he says.

“It’s the same thing for the empire. The empire represents a dependency,” he continues. “It’s a security dependency. Security works like a market like anything else. If the government takes over that service or your government takes over in another government’s region to provide security services, then that creates a legitimate dependency.”

This is why in order to “accomplish actual libertarian goals,” a libertarian would “have to do something along the lines of what Trump is doing.”

And what Trump is doing is “getting our allies to invest in their own militaries.”

“Japan’s building their own military for the first time in forever. We’re getting Europe to fund their defense. We’re neutering Iran so that Israel and Saudi Arabia can manage the region effectively on their own,” Padgett explains.

“And we don’t have to get tied in there because could you imagine if Iran developed missile deterrence, had the clear to finish their nuclear program, and then could you imagine in that context trying to get the U.S. military out of the Middle East? They would have a reason for a permanent balance of power,” he says.

“The real question is, how do you create the conditions that actually allows you to pull back while still maintaining a stability in the region that does facilitate the positive interactions that libertarians want, which is generally trade,” Freitas comments.

“And even if Trump isn’t as libertarian as some people might want him to be, the fact that he’s engaging in reality makes him a better person to have in office to achieve libertarian goals than even the most libertarian person you could ever imagine,” he adds.

“Making the Argument with Nick Freitas” is available on BlazeTV+, YouTube, and major podcast platforms.

Start watching Nick Freitas NOW at blazetv.com, and use the promo code NICK for $20 off your BlazeTV+ subscription.

​Libertarian, Donald trump, Austin padgett, Foreign policy, Blazetv show 

While Democrats are celebrating their midterm victories, the Council on American-Islamic Relations has been forced to suspend operations in the entire state of Florida.

CAIR made the decision to flee the state after it lost a federal lawsuit on Wednesday to reverse its designation by Florida officials as a terrorist group.

‘Florida’s new law has profoundly disturbing parallels to authoritarian states.’

“This morning, a federal court upheld Florida’s Domestic Terrorist Organization law and rejected CAIR’s attempt to stop the designations. Great win by our Solicitor General’s office and for the people of Florida!” Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier posted on social media Thursday.

CAIR says it will appeal the case.

CAIR-Florida executive director Hiba Rahim said in a statement that the group was “heartbroken” to have to shut down.

“Florida’s new law has profoundly disturbing parallels to authoritarian states, in which political leaders silence and punish dissent without due process,” Rahim wrote.

“Governor DeSantis and other officials have unilaterally branded Muslim nonprofits as ‘terrorist’ with devastating consequences for our rights, our supporters, and the communities we serve. CAIR-Florida categorically rejects Florida officials’ baseless designation of us,” Rahim continued.

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) offered a brief statement about the ruling.

“Florida is holding CAIR accountable,” he wrote on social media.

RELATED: CAIR files discrimination complaint after bacon was intentionally served to the child of a ‘visibly Muslim’ woman at McDonald’s

“The unprecedented notion that Governor DeSantis has the power to punish an American civil rights organization for its speech and unilaterally force the closure of its doors without due process is an affront to the Constitution,” reads a statement from CAIR national deputy director Edward Ahmed Mitchell.

“We look forward to appealing this initial ruling so that we can protect the rights of everyone in the State of Florida,” he added.

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​Council on american islamic relations, Federal lawsuit, Florida, Ron desantis, Politics 

One of the few Republicans who managed to keep his seat in the Texas House of Representatives through Tuesday’s bloodbath is calling on Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to rein in the powers afforded to the governor before Democrats formally take power in January.

Abbott was voted out of office on Tuesday, losing decisively, 52.8%-45.7%, to Texas state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, an open-borders Democrat who has advocated taxpayer-funded health care for illegal aliens and sanctuary cities in the Lone Star State and voted against restrictions on sex-rejection surgeries on kids.

‘The grassroots can help us force action now.’

Hinojosa said in her victory speech on Tuesday, “The voters have delivered a mandate for change, and it is change they will get.”

On the campaign trail, Hinojosa signaled a desire to use gubernatorial emergency powers as soon as she takes office.

She stated ahead of Election Day, “Within an hour of taking the oath of office, I will declare a high-cost emergency in the state of Texas and issue an emergency executive order to: one, suspend the gas and diesel tax; and two, freeze electricity rates.”

Of note, once in office, she will also have the support of a Democrat-controlled Texas House of Representatives as well as a Democrat lieutenant governor, Vikki Goodwin, and a Democrat state attorney general, Nathan Johnson. However, Republicans will retain a majority in the state Senate.

While Texans of various political stripes may be amenable to a tax freeze, state Rep. Brian Harrison (R) suspects Hinojosa might wield her newfound powers for nefarious purposes.

RELATED: Democrats’ state-level takeover is staggering

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Harrison sent a letter to Abbott on Wednesday imploring the badly defeated governor to call a special session “to rein in executive emergency powers before it’s too late.”

“During this time, we Republicans still control the entirety of the Texas government, and we muse use every minute of it and every lever of power lawfully afforded to us to protect Texans against the coming four-year period of near total Democrat rule,” wrote the state representative.

Harrison suggested that owing to “Texas’s absurd (and almost certainly unconstitutional) emergency powers laws, Gov. Hinojosa will literally inherit the power to modify laws, ignore laws, or create and enforce laws — including criminal laws — on a whim!”

The state representative has a pandemic-era bill ready to go that would bar the governor from suspending or modifying statutes; torpedo emergency orders in 30 days if not ratified by the legislature; bar the governor from reissuing expired or rejected emergency orders; and subject emergency orders to expedited judicial review.

The bill would also require that an order issued by the governor or another state official that infringes on the rights of a private person must be “narrowly tailored to serve a compelling public health or safety purpose” and “limited in duration, applicability, and scope to reduce any infringement on individual liberty.”

Neither Abbott’s office nor Hinojosa’s campaign responded to Blaze News’ request for comment.

“Governor Greg Abbott has ignored my numerous requests for special sessions to pass countless conservative policy priorities, but time is really short now for him to act on this imminent threat!” Harrison said in a written statement to Blaze News. “I had no problem calling this out back in 2022 when Republicans were in power. Democrats agreed then; they should agree now.”

Harrison, who expressed hope that “the grassroots can help us force action now,” stressed the urgency of taking action as quickly as possible, noting that Hinojosa’s promised use of emergency powers “could wreak havoc on our oil and gas sector.”

The state representative also noted that Hinojosa has before her an opportunity to show consistency on the subject of emergency-power uses.

“Gina Hinojosa has publicly complained that Gov. Abbott has ‘abused’ emergency powers and told me she wants to limit them,” said Harrison. “She has an opportunity to prove she isn’t being hypocritical, and she should be forced to answer if she still believes emergency powers should be limited.”

Texas Rep. Chip Roy (D) signaled support for Harrison’s proposal, as did Florida’s Voice founder Brendon Leslie, who tweeted, “Abbott will do this if he gives a damn about his legacy.”

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​Gina hinojosa, Governor, Emergency powers, Democrat, Greg abbott, Politics, Texas 

A female was caught on video physically attacking a Jewish influencer at a Sunday free speech event at the University of Michigan — and now area prosecutors have authorized charges against the student, according to the Jerusalem News Syndicate.

Alyssa Fountain — administrative assistant with the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office in Ann Arbor — told JNS the case was submitted Monday to the office.

‘We firmly believe that disagreement is a fundamental part of free expression, but it never justifies violence.’

“We thoroughly reviewed the evidence that was submitted to us,” Fountain noted to JNS.

Fountain added to JNS that Temulun Togochog will be charged with a count of assaulting, resisting, or obstructing an officer and two counts of assault or assault and battery.

The outlet added that it sought comment from the university.

“There is no court date at this time, but a felony warrant for these charges will be issued by the court, and a court date set once she has been arraigned on the charges,” Fountain added to JNS.

The victim — Liz Benichou, who uses the handle “basedinmalibu” on X and Instagram — was apparently shoved to the ground in a violent outburst by the female student who soon was arrested and then hollered the following while in handcuffs: “I should have f**king killed you while I had the f**king chance.”

Benichou told Fox News she was hosting an open debate when a female approached, began shouting, and allegedly struck another conservative influencer in the face with her phone before turning on her.

The other conservative influencer was online creator and commentator “The Older Millennial,” also known as Joseph Anthony Redden, who was sitting at a foldout table with signs that read “Is Islam evil?” and “Is Islam compatible with the West?” Newsweek said.

The female approached the table asking, “Where’s your permit?” saying the setup was “f**king stupid” and clapping in Redden’s face and shouting, the magazine noted. Redden told police in that moment and later claimed on X that the female struck him. You can view video of that interaction here, after which the female complains about “anti-Muslim people.”

Benichou told Fox News that soon the female “came up toward me, and I told her, ‘You would not be able to do this in Iran,'” referencing freedom of speech and pointing to the Iranian government’s treatment of protesters.

Then Benichou and fellow conservative influencer Cam Higby challenged the female over women’s freedoms in Iran, the cable news network added — particularly with respect to how she was dressed and showing “skin.”

Benichou can be heard on video — as the female stands directly in front of her — asking onlookers, “Am I wrong? If she walked around like this in Iran, what would happen to her?”

“And then she just lunged,” Benichou told Fox News.

The female used both hands to knock Benichou to the ground and then tried to stomp her before a male intervened and pulled the attacker away from Benichou, video appeared to show.

“Don’t f**king talk to me like that!” the female hollered at Benichou while trying to get back to her, according to video. “You want to f**king get over here?! F**king get over here, bitch!”

The female momentarily escaped the grasp of a police officer, but the officer soon grabbed the female and got her on the ground and began handcuffing her and telling her, “Don’t resist.”

“Instant f**king karma, bitch,” one onlooker observed as the arrest took place.

Another onlooker commented, “She’s f**king rabid.”

The female asked the arresting officer, “What the f**k are you going to do to me? Because I hit a f**king dumb-ass bitch in the face?”

As the female was being escorted to a police vehicle, she continued shouting and cursing at Benichou, Newsweek said.

“I’d do it again every f**king time, you stupid f**king c**t!” video showed the female hollering before adding, “I should have f**king killed you while I had the f**king chance.”

Benichou on Monday told “Fox & Friends” she injured her lower back as a result of the attack — but that she won’t be silenced.

“It will definitely not dissuade me,” she added to the cable news network.

RELATED: ‘F**king rabid’ leftist female physically attacks conservative Jewish influencer during free-speech event at U. of Michigan: Video

Content warning: A plethora of F-bombs coming your way

Police noted to Newsweek that the attack took place during an “unpermitted political event.”

Police at the public university added to JNS on Sunday that Togochog was processed and released; the outlet said it’s unclear if she remains on campus.

What’s more, JNS said the university contacted Reawaken USA — the faith-based organization that put on the event — and requested removal of video from social media showing the attack to protect Togochog from “negative blowback,” Higby stated.

“Our events are intended to create a space for peaceful conversations surrounding faith, ideas, and differing belief systems,” Reawaken USA stated, according to JNS. “We firmly believe that disagreement is a fundamental part of free expression, but it never justifies violence.”

However, the university in an updated statement Thursday said, “Reports that the University of Michigan requested the removal of video footage of this incident from social media are inaccurate. The university has no knowledge of any such request made by university officials or anyone acting on its behalf.”

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​Crime, University of michigan, Charges, Physical attack, Politics 

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom says he will commute the sentences for all California prisoners on death row.

The historic decision will be one of the last of his administration since he has been term-limited out of office.

‘Faithfulness to our values is measured by how we act when it is most difficult to uphold them. For me, this is one of those instances.’

Newsom cited moral reasons for the decision in a lengthy statement Thursday.

“I firmly believe that state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California’s values, undermines the foundations of our legal system, and diminishes each of us,” Newsom said in the statement.

“This decision is among the most difficult of my career, not because I doubt its necessity for our state but because I know its announcement may surface excruciating memories for victims’ families,” he added.

Newsom waited until after Election Day to make the announcement. Governor-elect Xavier Becerra (D) won the election easily against Republican Steve Hilton.

There are currently 548 people on death row in California, making it the largest death-row population in the Western Hemisphere, according to Newsom. They will now have a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The state has also not executed anyone for two decades.

“We can now let these offenders die in obscurity while we forever remember and honor their victims,” Newsom continued. “Faithfulness to our values is measured by how we act when it is most difficult to uphold them. For me, this is one of those instances.”

RELATED: Gavin Newsom RAGES in expletive-ridden rant against Joe Rogan: ‘Well done, tough guy!’

Newsom has hinted that he is exploring a run for president in 2028, but he has said he will back off if Kamala Harris mounts another run for president.

“I wouldn’t do that to her. I wouldn’t do that to you. I wouldn’t waste everyone’s time,” Newsom said to CNN’s Jake Tapper as they both tried to fly-fish. “Who needs that?”

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​Gavin newsom, Death sentence, Capital punishment, California, Politics 

Democrats spent the campaign talking about affordability and health care. But now that the votes are in, BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales says their priorities are becoming much clearer — and they have little to do with either.

“Now you guys are going to be shocked to hear, although all of these radical Democrats who campaigned on, ‘they just want to lower the cost of everything and they’re the ones to do it,’ and ‘they just want good health care,’ and ‘they just want to help the working class’ … you’re going to be shocked to hear they are already letting the masks slip,” Gonzales says.

“We’re already getting a preview of what life is going to be like in the next couple of years under communist Democrat rule,” she continues.

“Their number one issue is to take down President Trump and everyone surrounding him. They promised they would weaponize the judicial system against us. And I kept saying like, ‘Guys, this is a preview. They’re saying the quiet parts out loud, maybe we should believe them,’” she adds.

Democrat Rep. Robert Garcia, who is likely to be the next chairman of the House Oversight Committee, even posted the message “lawyer up” on X.

“And he wasn’t the only one,” Gonzales says, noting that Ron Wyden simply posted “Supoenas,” on X, and Gavin Newsom wrote, “We cannot just turn the damn page on Donald Trump’s corruption. We must expose the grift, hold those responsible accountable.”

“Gosh, if I didn’t know any better, I would think that maybe they didn’t want to lower costs and, you know, fix health care after all. Maybe, just maybe, it’s been all about the authority and control,” Gonzales says.

“Maybe, just maybe, they want to weaponize everything against us, like they just had it under Joe Biden,” she adds.

But it’s not just the weaponization of the government that Republicans have to look forward to.

“Tonight, DEI is back as America celebrated diversity and inclusion. Likely three black governors, the first Latina governor in Texas, the first Muslim-American senator, the first gay senator. I love this America,” United States Rep. Ro Khanna said in a video clip posted to social media.

“Oh boy,” Gonzales comments. “I really want to know who my senator likes to sleep with.”

“It’s a ridiculous thing to say. It’s a ridiculous way to govern. But now it’s back,” she adds.

Want more from Sara Gonzales?

To enjoy more of Sara’s no-holds-barred takes on news and culture, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Democrats, Midterms, Donald trump, Lawfare, Dei, Blazetv show 

A former elementary teacher in New Jersey pleaded guilty to a child sex crime after authorities alleged she gave birth to a baby fathered by one of her students when he was just 13 years old.

Laura Caron, a 36-year-old former elementary teacher, pleaded guilty Oct. 28 to the charge of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child with sexual conduct.

‘I wasn’t groomed or raped or manipulated by her. She never initiated anything. I started everything.’

The Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement that Caron’s plea deal calls for a five-year New Jersey state prison sentence, but she is not scheduled to be sentenced until Jan. 8, 2027.

Caron also must forfeit her teaching license and all future public employment.

Following her prison sentence, Caron must register on the Megan’s Law Offender Registry and is subject to parole supervision for the rest of her life.

Before her sentencing, Caron will be evaluated at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Avenel for “classification to determine whether she is deemed repetitive and/or compulsive, which could impact her sentence.”

As Blaze News previously reported, Caron was arrested in January 2025 and initially charged with sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, and endangering the welfare of a child.

At the time, Caron was a fifth-grade teacher at Middle Township Elementary School in the community of Cape May Court House.

Police said Caron engaged in a years-long inappropriate relationship with the student beginning when he was just 11 years old and in her fifth-grade classroom.

The victim’s mother allowed her children to stay overnight at Caron’s home.

An affidavit states that the children’s father “explained that it began with one or two nights a week and eventually the children stayed with Caron permanently, from 2016 to 2020.”

WPVI-TV reported that the then-13-year-old victim fathered a baby with Caron in 2019.

The father of the baby was not immediately known following the birth.

However, the victim’s father reportedly made an eyebrow-raising post on Facebook in December 2024 that raised questions about the child’s paternity. The victim’s father pointed out that there was an uncanny similarity in appearance between himself, his son, and Caron’s young daughter.

Court TV reported that the superintendent saw the post, flagged it, and began an investigation — then when detectives interviewed the victim, he confirmed that he was in a sexual relationship with Caron and that he was the father of her child.

Based on interviews with the victim, prosecutors estimated that Caron had sexually abused the student a total of 416 times, according to Court TV.

RELATED: Ex-mayor convicted of child sex crimes walks free after 90 days — judge admits key mistake he made in sentencing

Despite the allegations, the former student publicly defended Caron in February 2025 and demanded that prosecutors drop the charges against his former teacher.

“They need to drop all charges,” the former student told the Daily Mail. “I wasn’t groomed or raped or manipulated by her. She never initiated anything. I started everything.”

He continued, “If it was up to me, she wouldn’t have been in jail. It’s been six or seven years. I’m 19, about to be 20.”

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​New jersey, Child sex crimes, Teacher-student sex scandal, Baby, Crime 

The first high-profile resignation from the Trump administration after the midterm massacre has struck at the Justice Department.

Harmeet Dhillon headed up the Civil Rights Division and reorganized the division in order to focus on Second Amendment and religious rights, college discrimination against Asians and white people, and opposing diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.

‘We changed it, and that’s what we came here to do. And it’s done.’

The resignation was first reported by Bloomberg Law.

“Today, I accepted the resignation of Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who led the Civil Rights Division with conviction the past 18 months,” said Attorney General Todd Blanche in a statement on social media.

“She has defended the civil liberties of every American and enforced the law without fear or favor,” he added. “The Department is grateful for her dedicated public service, and we wish her every success in her future endeavors.”

While many speculated that she resigned over the devastating results of the midterm elections, Dhillon dispelled the rumors in comments to Fox News Digital.

“I wasn’t asked to resign,” she said. “I resigned three weeks ago, and [White House chief of staff ] Susie [Wiles] asked me to please wait until after the midterms.”

Fox reported that Dhillon had submitted her resignation formally on Thursday, according to a letter the outlet obtained.

Dhillon says she wanted to return to private practice after accomplishing “everything” she had sought to do at the Civil Rights Division.

“We changed it, and that’s what we came here to do. And it’s done,” she said of the transformation at the division.

Hundreds of workers at the Civil Rights Division left during her time there.

“I think there was some denial and they had crying sessions together,” Dhillon had said of the workers leaving. “Frankly, it was shocking to them. They had unhappy hours. It was, like, a lot of drama and handwringing.”

RELATED: DOJ files ‘first-of-its-kind’ lawsuit against red-state school district for allegedly pushing gender transition behind parents’ backs

Dhillon was asked if she believed President Donald Trump would pardon her and other officials in the administration, in the event of Democrat investigations.

“I have no idea. I haven’t ever discussed that with him, asked for it,” she replied. “And I have done nothing, in my opinion, that would require that, but, you know, that’s up to the president.”

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​Harmeet dhillon, Trump administration, Midterm elections, Politics, Department of justice 

The tech stock market took a major dive on Thursday, following a Democrat landslide during the midterms. So far, $2.8 trillion has been wiped off the board, and the dive could continue amid left-wing calls to shut down the AI industry.

A quick glance at the stock market ticker shows all of the major tech giants in the red. AI leaders — like Nvidia, Microsoft, Google, and SpaceSXI — dropped anywhere between 1%-8% in valuation across the board. The crash overshadowed the losses witnessed during COVID, marking the fastest stock market drop in U.S. history.

Pausing AI development would have significant ramifications on the US economy, cybersecurity, and American dominance, not just in AI but as a world power.

The market was already volatile leading up to the midterm elections, losing and gaining trillions over the course of several days. However, this latest bout was brought on by an ominous call from a sitting Democrat to pause AI development, while others want to criminalize anyone who defects.

On Wednesday, Rep. Yassamin Ansari of Arizona laid out her ideal plan for the Democrat takeover on her X page. She wrote:

Top of the Democratic agenda on day 1 needs to be a pause on advanced AI development, regulation of this out of control industry, and a ban on artificial superintelligence.

In the comments section, users on both sides of the aisle sounded off, imploring Ansari to reconsider.

One man wrote, “I have stage 4 terminal lung cancer. The only way for me to not die soon is advancement in therapies, which can be accelerated at an unbelievable pace with the use of AI.”

Another said, “So stupid. Let’s slow down advancing technology. Do you think China is slowing down? You sound like the retards in Europe.”

Even former Democrat and current independent Michael Shellenberger chimed in, daring cheekily, “Why stop there? There’s still the whole Internet that needs censoring!”

RELATED: Top lab’s financial data shows the AI bubble is about to pop, says controversial analyst

Rawpixel/Getty Images

Pausing AI development would have significant ramifications on the U.S. economy, cybersecurity, and American dominance not just in AI but as a world power. Many of the most dangerous security threats — like the PHP meltdown — were discovered using American frontier models, and without these, other nations will find these exploits and use them against us without any means to defend ourselves. Not to mention, we would miss out on countless AI-assisted innovations and discoveries that haven’t even been thought of yet.

Still that hasn’t stopped Democrats from calling for AI’s demise. Ansari is just one loud voice echoing this sentiment on social media, joining bigger names like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who actually wants to criminalize AI development with up to 20 years in prison for anyone who violates his new bill.

Naturally, the stock market isn’t reacting well to what could be the end of AI as we know it. Then again, given the latest fluctuations, this could just be a temporary setback before the market rebounds as cooler heads prevail.

It’s hard to say where this will lead next, but Blaze News is keeping an eye on this developing story, and we will provide further updates as we learn more.

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​Crash, Stocks, Stock market crash, Stock market, Artificial intelligence, Democrats, Tech 

When a country welcomes an overwhelming number of people from different cultures, those men and women no longer feel any need to become part of the nation they have joined.

BlazeTV host Nick Freitas and British commentator Rafe Heydel-Mankoo have both seen this transform Western countries — and it all started with a melting-pot message.

“I grew up in a time where we heard constantly through education, even through conservative educational institutions, that we are a nation of immigrants. ‘We’re a nation of immigrants’; that got hammered into us,” Freitas says.

“There’s an element of truth to that,” he continues. “But from 1607 to 1776, we were English colonies. And if you look at the vast majority of our immigration, it came from the British Isles.”

Freitas points out that those immigrants were almost exclusively Protestant.

“The assimilation was incredible because it was almost as if everyone understood what they were coming to and the purpose for which they were coming,” he explains.

However, “all of a sudden,” the United States has had “mass importation over the last, arguably, 60 years.”

“We started to mass-import people from vastly different cultures. That it was almost like we were commanded to believe that no, that this is who we’ve always been,” Freitas explains.

“And if you don’t believe that, if you don’t believe that America is nothing more than a propositional civilization, well, then you’re a racist or you’re a xenophobe or you’re a bigot,” he adds.

Mankoo has seen this happening in Britain as well.

“It’s to our fault that we have, for too long, self-flagellated about Britain’s past and Britain’s history. And you need to have a very robust promotion of what you believe is the prevailing, unifying culture,” he tells Freitas.

“But unfortunately,” he continues, “I don’t think assimilation is possible any longer in the United Kingdom, because we have imported such vast numbers of peoples from culturally incompatible lands that they now have enclaves large enough that they never need to engage with wider society.”

“Their daily lives pass with little to no engagement with anybody else,” he adds.

“Making the Argument with Nick Freitas” is available on BlazeTV+, YouTube, and major podcast platforms.

Start watching Nick Freitas NOW at blazetv.com and use the promo code NICK for $20 off your BlazeTV+ subscription.

​Nick freitas, Assimilation, Immigration, Britain, United states, Rafe heydel-mankoo, Blazetv show 

Yesterday New York Attorney General Letitia James appointed veteran federal prosecutor Jacqueline Kelly to lead a criminal investigation into allegations that seven Cornell University students sexually assaulted a young woman at a fraternity house in 2024.

Whatever the outcome of the investigation, the allegations have already prompted broader cultural commentary about what’s wrong with young men today. Writing for the Institute for Family Studies, Leonard Sax argues that too many boys are no longer taught how to behave like gentlemen.

Boys receive endless lectures on what they should not be, while the cultural manual for positive male behavior remains suspiciously short on practical guidance.

Sax’s central point is difficult to quarrel with: Boys should be taught self-control, and a decent man does not take advantage of a drunk or vulnerable woman. But as an explanation for what has gone wrong between young men and women, “teach them to be gentlemen” only gets us so far.

What would Cary do?

Teaching a young man 19th-century chivalry to navigate 21st-century sexual politics is like handing a soldier a musket to fight a drone strike. Modern courtship has become an administrative nightmare, and telling men to just be better behaved misdiagnoses the larger breakdown.

The modern American male operates in a culture that demands traditional performance while actively rejecting traditional roles. He’s encouraged to open doors, organize every outing, pay for expensive dinners, start every conversation, and project unshakable confidence. Minutes later, he discovers that following his grandfather’s romantic playbook can come off as patronizing. The rules shift depending on who sits across the table.

A modern man needs Cary Grant’s courtly manners, the emotional intelligence of a licensed therapist, and the legal liability instincts of a seasoned corporate risk manager. He executes all three roles flawlessly, yet still gets ghosted before he reaches home.

Opening a car door used to be the heavy lifting. A young man walked up to a front porch, met a father, took a young woman to dinner, and generally knew what sort of ritual he was participating in. Today, that same man exchanges text messages for three weeks with a profile picture. Too often, the person looks little like the photo or has no intention of ever leaving her couch. He repeats this digitized vetting process with other profiles while she does the same.

Society preserved the grand rhetoric of traditional romance while methodically destroying many of the social environments that made it functional.

‘An efficient livestock market’

The average guy no longer competes only against the man next door. He competes inside a technological marketplace built around endless choice and rapid judgment. Dating apps turned intimate selection into something resembling an efficient livestock market. A man gets sorted in seconds according to his looks, height, job, hairline, and ability to write a witty caption.

A steady, loyal, hard-working guy can disappear instantly because his vacation photo is poorly lit. Somewhere in a studio apartment, a fantastic potential husband is getting swiped past because he doesn’t own a yacht or a golden retriever.

Research actually confirms part of the absurdity. A 2025 study of more than 5,000 swiping decisions found physical attractiveness overwhelmingly more important to initial selection than intelligence, occupation, height, or biography. Other research using Hinge data found users spent only seconds examining potential matches before deciding whether to proceed.

This is not an environment designed to reveal character.

Contradictory instructions

Meanwhile, much of the advice aimed at young men consists of contradictory instructions. Be confident, but avoid looking arrogant. Show vulnerability, but never act needy or overly emotional. Take charge of planning, but don’t seem controlling. Pay the bill, but don’t imagine generosity entitles you to anything.

Boys receive endless lectures on what they should not be, while the cultural manual for positive male behavior remains suspiciously short on practical guidance.

A guy has to survive digital screening before he gets a chance to show basic decency in person. He arranges the evening, coordinates the logistics, dodges conversational landmines, and prays his natural humor translates into audible laughter. Then the bill arrives, landing with the weight of a court judgment.

He filled out the application, passed the preliminary background check, paid for the refreshments, and now waits patiently for a call that may never arrive.

The conversation around chivalry also tends to focus on what men must bring to the transaction. In an era that screams for complete gender equality, many of the old expectations placed on men remain remarkably durable. Initiate. Plan. Impress. Pay. Be confident. Absorb rejection gracefully.

RELATED: This government just launched a dating app — face scan and digital ID required

Xavier ROSSI/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images

Whose standards?

Women are perfectly entitled to have standards for the men they date. Men are entitled to standards too. Yet male preferences are often treated as evidence of entitlement while female preferences are defended as healthy boundaries. Equality usually implies a two-way street. Modern dating can feel more like a one-sided audition.

And then we wonder why young men increasingly want nothing to do with it.

Too many parents and far too many schools abandoned their duty to teach boys what adulthood requires, leaving algorithm engineers and online shock jocks to fill the vacuum. Pornography offers a distorted view of intimacy, while internet gurus preach bitter, transactional warfare, casting the dating market as a battlefield and the average woman as an enemy to be manipulated and dominated.

Sax is right about one important thing. Boys need standards. They need restraint. They need to learn that strength includes the ability to govern themselves, especially around women who are vulnerable.

But a gentleman needs a culture in which gentlemanly behavior makes sense.

When traditional paths are branded toxic, modern dating advice contradicts itself, and courtship increasingly takes place through apps designed around instant judgment and endless alternatives, young men should not surprise us by retreating.

I believe the gentleman still exists. America remains full of decent, honest young men who would gladly step up if given the chance.

Whether the modern dating world knows what to do with them is another matter.

​Cornell university, Dating apps, Modern dating, Sexual assault, Men and women, Dating, Courtship, Chivalry, Cornell seven, Letita james, Lifestyle 

Democrats not only won majorities in both chambers of the U.S. Congress but took control of numerous statehouses and the majority of governors’ mansions across the country.

By Wednesday evening, the nonprofit State Navigate had tallied the flip of at least 11 state legislative chambers from Republican to Democrat, the formation of six new Democratic trifectas, and the busting of five Republican trifectas.

‘This wave is attributable to the economy and to people’s dissatisfaction with the president.’

Republicans lost control in the Arizona House and Senate, the Georgia House, the Michigan House, the New Hampshire House and Senate, the North Carolina House, the Pennsylvania Senate, the Texas House, and the Wisconsin Assembly and Senate — all where they previously enjoyed majorities, according to MultiState and the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee.

Democrats now have supermajorities in the Colorado House and Senate, Delaware House, Maine Senate, Nevada Assembly, New Hampshire House, New Mexico House, New York Senate, and Vermont House and Senate.

While there are hundreds of races still outstanding, the DLCC claimed that 483 seats had been flipped in legislative state elections as of Thursday afternoon.

RELATED: Iran conflict was ‘crucial’ factor in Republican rout: Exit polls

Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto/Getty Images

State Navigate noted that “most of the gains Democrats have made on the state legislative level thus far are in districts Donald Trump won in 2024.”

Five governorships have also flipped from Republican to Democrat: Georgia, Iowa, Nevada, Ohio, and Texas.

Whereas previously, there were 24 Democrat and 26 Republican governors, the National Conference of State Legislatures anticipates that there will now be 30 Democrat and 20 Republican governors.

Chaz Nuttycombe, executive director of State Navigate, told the Guardian, “This wave is attributable to the economy and to people’s dissatisfaction with the president — probably about 80%, 85% of what’s carrying this is that.”

“And the rest is maybe attitudes toward state government and incumbency in general. There’s large anti-incumbent resentment, mostly toward incumbent Republicans,” added Nuttycombe.

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​Midterm elections, Governor, Legislature, Democrat, Republican, Politics 

Karl Schlenker knows firsthand that prisoners can change through the love of Jesus Christ, even hardened criminals facing life behind bars.

Schlenker went from a church-going husband and father of three to an inmate in an Ohio prison. He turned aggressive as both a survival method and a reflection of his personal pain, years of clinical depression, and PTSD from past trauma lurking within.

‘I have instant credibility with these guys … almost every one of them will come up and say, “You don’t come across like an inmate at all,”‘ he says.

His salvation came via volunteers from Kairos Prison Ministry, a nonprofit that just celebrated its 50th anniversary. The ministry serves nearly 500 prisons and communities in 37 states and 13 countries.

Schlenker is more than just one of many prisoners touched by the ministry. He’s a committed volunteer bringing his redemption story to others.

Smelling fear

“We need to look at people in prison and see that they’re human beings,” Schlenker tells Blaze Lifestyle. He recalls his first encounter with the ministry, watching 28 volunteers enter his Ohio prison armed with cookies and an open mind.

He could smell the fear on some volunteers, likely first-timers attempting to reach those who had given up all hope.

“They had no idea what was really going to happen and how they’d be received,” he says of the new volunteers. Schlenker connected with a college professor from Ohio State, also making his first foray into the ministry’s work.

“He was a highly intelligent person with a huge heart,” he says. “He put me at ease very quickly … I still wasn’t sure what the weekend was going to hold. I had this reputation for being a nasty kind of person.”

It didn’t happen immediately, but Schlenker eventually opened up during a long weekend of conversation, listening exercises, and prayer. Now he does the same for those incarcerated in New Hampshire, the state he currently calls home.

The hope of second chances

Kairos has taught him about forgiveness and the hope of second chances. He also brings unique experience to the task at hand.

“I have instant credibility with these guys … almost every one of them will come up and say, ‘You don’t come across like an inmate at all,’” he says.

He previously used some of what he learned while still in that Ohio prison. He had angered several fellow inmates by using a gang member’s phone. He was approached in the bathroom by three thugs eager to punish him for what he had done. Except Schlenker didn’t defend himself.

“I will not fight you,” he told them. He was brutally beaten all the same, leaving him permanently scarred and urinating blood for days.

“I didn’t raise a fist in anger,” he recalls. Two of the three later apologized for what they had done to him. One of the attackers, a lifer, later renounced his gang ties and helped sway other inmates toward a more productive path.

“That transformation within him was unbelievably powerful,” he says. ”He was a big, strong, powerful human being, and he became a loving, tender person.”

RELATED: The day I preached Christ in jail — and everything changed

menonsstocks/Getty Images Plus

The power of faith

Kairos Prison Ministry CEO Evelyn Lemly says the group shows the power of faith even in the worst of circumstances.

“Sometimes we think of God being so distant. He actually is so present,” Lemly says. Her work with the group reveals patterns that show the power of the volunteers’ approach.

“I hear the stories over and over and over again,” Lemly adds. “’I never felt like I was worthy. I never felt that I was lovable … then a group of people showed up and demonstrated what the love of Jesus is all about.”

Kairos takes a spiritual big tent approach to its work.

“We don’t represent a denomination. We represent all denominations … it’s about believing in Christ,” she says.

The Kairos Prison Ministry has a global footprint, but it’s not in every prison.

“I wish we could say every prison opened the doors for us … there are lots of different reasons why not … ‘We don’t have the time. We don’t have space. We don’t do programs like this,’” she says.

Schlenker says he takes a simple approach to his Kairos prison duties. He introduces himself, shows his name tag, and shares what they have in common.

“I know exactly how you’re feeling right now … when I was in the state of Ohio as a guest, I had a number just like all of you do,” Schlenker says.

What happens next can make all the difference, a message he shares with every “guest” he meets.

“I became a different person through that experience. If you’re open and receptive and willing, the same thing will happen for every one of you,” he says.

​Interview, Lifestyle, Kairos prison ministry, Christian living, Crime, Ptsd, Redemption, Faith 

In the wake of Tuesday night’s blue wave that left the GOP shell-shocked and conservatives reeling, BlazeTV host Steve Deace has a blunt message for his audience: “Go harder.”

“I’m not wearing black today for a funeral. I’m wearing it because it’s time to raise the black flag. To quote Andrew Breitbart: ‘War,’” he says.

As devastating as the midterms were, they delivered a clarifying warning every patriot needs to hear, says Deace: “We are a culture deeply at war within itself and two difficult cultures warring among themselves.”

He acknowledges that there are real problems inside the GOP and the Trump administration, but only the people in the room can fix them. For conservative Christians, the assignment is different.

“Here’s your call to action this morning after what you just heard,” says Deace. “It’s not to whine; it’s not to lament; it’s not to get another anonymous screen name online; it’s not to check out; it’s not to quit.”

“Your job now is to America even harder.”

That doesn’t mean louder outrage, more keyboard warring, or waiting for someone else to fix the party. It means intensifying the concrete, daily work that actually sustains a culture — starting with the things only you control.

“You will go to church Sunday harder. You will listen to the sermon harder. … You’ll repent harder. You’ll pray harder. You will love your spouse harder. … You’ll love your children harder. You will work harder,” Deace implores.

“If you’re an activist, you will activate harder. You will tailgate this weekend harder. You will Christmas harder. You will Thanksgiving harder. You will ‘Merica even harder.”

This is the Christian’s way of going to war, Deace argues.

“We don’t roll over. We are the people of the stone was rolled away. … We don’t black-pill. … If you’re a Christian, it’s never over.”

Midterms, he says, handed conservatives the “energizing, mobilizing” gift of “clarity.”

“We can only control what we can control, and what we can control is caring and sharing our traditions and heritage and legacies as Americans even harder,” he declares.

“As Charlie once said to me before he got murdered … ‘Go hard,’ so what I’m saying to you … is your job now after [midterms], whatever you’re doing as an American, is to go harder.”

To hear more, watch the video 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.

​Culture war, Midterm elections, Steve deace, Blazetv show 

British comedian Russell Brand was found guilty of rape and three counts of sexual assault on Thursday. The jury deliberated for eight hours over two days, according to the AP.

Brand is accused by six women of rape and sexual assault during a period when he was one of Britain’s top performers.

‘If I want something … I will determinedly, resolutely, remove anything that’s in the way, until I possess the object of my desire.’

The 51-year-old has denied the allegations and claimed that all the encounters were consensual. He said he was addicted to sex when he was younger.

“My entire life has been consumed by these events, these allegations, these accusations,” he said to jurors during his testimony.

“Brand used his influence, status, and fame to exploit and sexually offend against women,” said Andy Furphy of London’s Metropolitan Police. “As his profile grew, so too did his sense of entitlement.”

The comedian was convicted of raping a fan at his home in 2009.

The woman said they met after one of his comedy shows and that she went home with him and consented to sex. However, he went on to anally rape her, causing her physical injuries, she said. She claimed she told him to stop but that he ignored her pleas.

Another conviction involved the sexual assault of a woman during a birthday party in London in 2004.

He was acquitted of other allegations of sexual assault.

Prosecutors cited a quote from Brand’s memoir, “My Booky Wook,” as evidence in court.

“If I want something — whether it’s a job or a woman — I will determinedly, resolutely, remove anything that’s in the way, until I possess the object of my desire,” he wrote in the 2007 book.

His attorneys argued that the victims had gone to police only after a Channel 4 documentary aired anonymous accusations against Brand in 2023.

Judge Joel Bennathan rejected Brand’s request for bail so that he could spend time with his three children. Bennathan said the chance of Brand fleeing before sentencing was too great.

“I regret the hardship caused to the children, of course,” said the judge. “But the hardship has been caused by serious criminal offending by their father.”

Some legal experts said he could face a lengthy prison sentence for the offenses, with a chance at life in prison.

RELATED: Russell Brand: Christian or New Ager?

Brand’s wife had testified for him as a character witness in the trial that lasted four weeks.

In recent years Brand sought the spotlight less and became a wellness and spiritual influencer. He has quoted the Bible and said he converted to Christianity.

Critics accused him of using the Bible to shield himself from rape allegations.

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​Russell brand, Sexual assault, Britain, Politics, Rape 

In September, Donald Trump asked Republicans gathered in Dallas to pretend he was on the ballot in November. “Because in a way, I am on the ballot,” he told them.

I was at the American Airlines Center for the Republican midterm convention. It was a handsome production. Speaker after speaker praised Trump, invoked “common sense” over “crazy,” and celebrated his conquest of a party whose leaders once regarded him as an intruder. The crowd loved it. The old establishment had learned its lines.

Trump won over Republican voters. He never quite won over the lukewarm Republicans they sent to Washington.

On Tuesday, voters took Trump at his word. Oh, boy, did they ever.

Democrats seized commanding majorities in the House and Senate, winning seats in Republican strongholds including Texas, Kansas, and South Carolina. Trump had promised a political realignment on the scale of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal or Ronald Reagan’s revolution. What he achieved looks increasingly like a temporary rearrangement of loyalties.

It didn’t have to be this way.

In 2016, Trump spoke for Americans tired of a Republican establishment devoted to free trade, foreign adventures, and its donors. In 2024, he promised to protect workers, revive manufacturing, secure the border, and put American interests first. He won the White House twice with an argument that the old GOP had failed to understand — and still does.

He won over Republican voters. He never quite won over the lukewarm Republicans they sent to Washington.

Trump returned to office with majorities in both houses. On paper, he commanded a governing party. In practice, House and Senate leaders accommodated him when his agenda suited theirs and balked when it didn’t. As often as not, they seemed more interested in managing Trump than in carrying out the political transformation their own voters had endorsed.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act was a genuine achievement. It extended tax provisions and committed billions to border enforcement and ICE. Mitch McConnell and John Cornyn voted for it. But tax cuts have been Republican doctrine for generations, and border enforcement was hardly alien to the party. Their votes proved a willingness to cooperate, not a conversion to Trump’s governing philosophy.

Trade was the harder test. Trump’s tariffs collided with the party’s old free-trade commitments. McConnell joined Democrats in opposing emergency tariffs on Canada. House Republicans broke ranks, too. Under the red caps, old convictions survived.

The SAVE America Act offered a different kind of failure. The House passed it; the Senate would not muster the 60 votes to advance it. Democrats supplied the decisive opposition, but Republican leaders still could not get a major priority across the finish line. Not that they tried very hard.

A congressional majority is an opportunity, not a magic wand. Turning one into legislation takes more than issuing demands.

The same problem dogged Trump’s reliance on executive orders. A few policies found their way into legislation; others remain vulnerable to the next president’s pen. If the promised transformation could be reversed with a signature, how much had Republicans really built?

RELATED: Republicans need to be honest about why we lost

Adam Gray/Getty Images

Congressional leaders failed their own voters. But Trump hardly made their job easier. He could dominate headlines, threaten political careers, and extract declarations of loyalty. He mistook intimidation for leadership and obedience for conviction. He knew how to make Republicans fall in line. Getting them to march toward a common destination was another proposition altogether.

He also squandered political capital on spectacles his allies were left to defend. The Kennedy Center needed repairs; Trump decided it needed his name. Then came the proposed triumphal arch near Arlington. Then Lake America. Republicans defended monuments to presidential vanity while voters worried about groceries and gasoline.

And what about the Iran war?

The case against the Iranian regime is not difficult: its nuclear ambitions, support for international jihad, and more than 40 years’ worth of threats to U.S. forces and allies. Trump had arguments that deserved a serious hearing. If only he had made them. He offered a perfunctory explanation of the campaign’s objectives in April. But announcing a war and celebrating its progress are no substitute for persuading Americans that its costs are necessary and its ends attainable.

The political consequences were plain. An NBC exit poll found that 63% of voters considered military action against Iran the wrong decision, while 74% said the war was a major or crucial factor in their congressional vote. CBS found opposition among about a quarter of Republican voters. Pew Research Center identified rising fuel prices as a leading concern about the conflict. Those figures do not explain every lost seat. They do expose the limits of commanding loyalty without earning consent.

RELATED: Trump’s 2024 coalition was a loan. The bill just came due.

Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Trump once boasted he could shoot somebody on Fifth Avenue without losing voters. Perhaps personal devotion could survive that imaginary crime. An expensive war in the Middle East was another test entirely. A president who promised to end futile foreign adventures owed Americans more than bluster and assurances that all was going splendidly.

And the economic promise? Trump said life would get cheaper. Americans went to the polls worried about food, fuel, and the future. Having insisted that he was on the ballot, he cannot credibly disown the result after the election went sideways.

Trump changed the Republican electorate and shook some exhausted orthodoxies. Those changes may endure. But a realignment must also change what politicians do when their leader is absent, or when following him becomes inconvenient. It must be enacted, defended, and handed on.

In Dallas, Republicans knew how to celebrate Trump. Their leaders never demonstrated that they knew how to make his revolution stick. Trump, for his part, never demonstrated that he could lead them there.

He conquered the Republican Party. Neither he nor its leaders quite knew what to do with the conquest. What a waste.

​American interests, Donald trump, Election results, Executive orders, Food prices, Free trade, Iranian regime, John cornyn, Middle east, Midterm convention, Mitch mcconnell, New deal, Republican party, Ronald reagan, Save america act, White house, Opinion & analysis 

Abdul El-Sayed shares more in common with former President Barack Obama than just a Saracen name and Democrat politics: both have been credited with at least one identity-politics first.

It appears, however, that El-Sayed’s first — his election as the first Muslim to the U.S. Senate — qualifies only because one of Obama’s provocative assertions has been dismissed as a slip of the tongue.

‘A historic turning point for American Muslim political engagement.’

First Muslim

Overlooking or perhaps rewarding his radicalism and “anti-white racial hatred,” Michiganders voted on Tuesday to seat El-Sayed in the U.S. Senate.

The Democrat decisively defeated former Rep. Mike Rogers (R), a win that was not only consequential in terms of Democrats’ conquest of the U.S. Senate but — according to radicals, foreigners, and the liberal media — historic because of his religious identity.

In his victory speech, the Democrat introduced himself as Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed and gave praise to Allah in Arabic. He then boasted that he had proven wrong an alleged doubter who told him “a Muslim was unelectable.”

Linda Sarsour — the Islamic activist who told fellow radicals last year to “abolish Israel” — was among the many radicals who touted El-Sayed’s election as historic. She told Democracy Now, “To elect the first Muslim American to the United States Senate is no easy feat in a country that has the most powerful people spewing anti-Muslim hate.”

Nihad Awad, the national executive of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, congratulated El-Sayed on “making history as the first American Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate and for defeating both anti-Muslim hate and the anti-Palestinian lobby in the process.”

“Dr. El-Sayed’s victory represents a historic turning point for American Muslim political engagement and a historic defeat for the politics of hate,” added Awad.

RELATED: Last-minute dirty tricks: Michigan voters reportedly being told they can’t split their ticket as Democrats defect for Rogers

MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

Obama, not just the ‘first gay president’?

In his heyday, Obama was credited with multiple firsts besides being the first American president with a noncitizen father and the first president born in Hawaii.

For his support of homosexual “marriage,” Newsweek celebrated the former president with a cover story in 2012 calling him the “first gay president.”

Years earlier, he was widely celebrated as America’s first black president — even though Bill Clinton was previously conferred that title for displaying, according to author Toni Morrison, “almost every trope of blackness: single-parent household, born poor, working-class, saxophone-playing, McDonald’s-and-junk-food-loving boy from Arkansas.”

A supposed slip-up in an interview with ABC’s “This Week” just prior to the 2008 presidential election prompted some Americans to suspect that then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) was also the first Muslim serving in the U.S. Senate.

In the Sept. 7, 2008, interview, Obama said to George Stephanopoulos, “You’re absolutely right that John McCain has not talked about my Muslim faith, and you’re absolutely right that that has not —”

“Your Christian faith,” Stephanopoulos interjected.

“My Christian faith,” said Obama.

While Obama’s “Muslim faith” remark was written off as a flub, he provided skeptics with additional fodder, specifically his reported recollection of the opening lines of the Arabic call to prayer and recital “with a first-rate accent”; his repeated defense of Islam; his Islamic heritage; and his assertion in a June 28, 2007, speech that America was no longer just a Christian nation but also a “Muslim nation.”

Despite speculation and numerous fact-checks about Obama’s faith, Obama has long maintained that he is a Christian, “rooted in the Christian tradition.”

Obama’s professed faith means that El-Sayed might, after all, be the first openly Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate.

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​Barack obama, George stephanopoulos, Linda sarsour, Abdul el-sayed, Muslim, Christianity, Faith, Senate, Midterms, Politics