Category: blaze media

Opponents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations are thrilled over a viral video showing a priest publicly condemning ICE agents from his church.

The priest stands defiantly outside of a church bellowing against ICE and mocking President Donald Trump before his supporters applaud and clap at his speech.

‘I don’t know what god you worship, maybe an orange one, but my God is love! Now go and don’t come back!’

And it’s completely fake.

“You’re not welcome here, not today, and not on this church! I don’t know what god you worship, maybe an orange one, but my God is love!” the priest yells. “Now go, and don’t come back!”

The post was published Dec. 1 and has garnered tens of thousands of views, but it depicts events that never happened and are generated by artificial intelligence, according to PolitiFact.

The user who posted the video apparently sells courses on how to make money with AI content on social media. That user has also posted numerous videos with a similar script on several platforms, including Facebook and TikTok.

PolitiFact said AI-detecting software indicated the video was “99.9% likely to contain AI-generated or deepfake content.”

One version of the priest AI video was published on PolitiFact’s YouTube channel. A separate version with the same script was posted to the X platform as well.

RELATED: Los Angeles Democrats vote to ban ICE from using masks — DOJ issues defiant response

While that video is fake, there are some liberal church leaders who have used their religious platforms to protest against immigration. The Lake Street Church of Evanston in Illinois created a Nativity scene in which the baby Jesus was put in zip ties to depict him as being hunted by ICE.

In another protest from Saint Susanna Parish in Dedham, Massachusetts, the Nativity scene is empty, and a sign reads, “ICE was here,” implying that they dragged away the holy family. The Boston archdiocese has called for its removal, but the church is resisting.

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​Priest tosses out ice agents, Priest yells at ice agents, Priest mocks trump, Ai generated liberal video, Politics 

A Catholic church’s Nativity display criticizing the administration’s immigration policies was ordered to be removed by the Boston Archdiocese, but church leaders are trying to stall the decision.

The Saint Susanna Parish in Dedham, Massachusetts, has displayed an empty Nativity scene with a sign reading, “ICE was here,” implying that the biblical figures were dragged away for detention. There’s also a sign with a phone number people can call if they spot an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.

‘Any divisiveness is a reflection of our polarized society, much of which originates with the changing, unjust policies and laws of the current United States administration.’

Fr. Stephen Josoma said the scene is supposed to protest the poor treatment of immigrants in his community.

“That some do not agree with our message does not render our display sacrilegious, or as the cause of any scandal to the faithful,” the church pastor claimed. “Any divisiveness is a reflection of our polarized society, much of which originates with the changing, unjust policies and laws of the current United States administration.”

However, the Archdiocese of Boston has ordered it to be shut down over rules against politicizing sacred objects.

“The people of God have the right to expect that when they come to church they will encounter genuine opportunities for prayer and Catholic worship, not divisive political messaging,” read a statement from the archdiocese.

“The church’s norms prohibit the use of sacred objects for any purpose other than the devotion of God’s people,” the archdiocese added. “Regarding the recent incident, St. Susanna Parish neither requested nor received permission from the Archdiocese to depart from this canonical norm or to place a politically divisive display outside the church. The display should be removed, and the manger restored to its proper sacred purpose.”

Josoma said he wants to meet with Archbishop Richard Henning before deciding whether to follow the order.

Church parishioner Jeannie Connerney told WHDH-TV that she believed the order was not in line with statements from higher Catholic leaders criticizing the president’s immigration policies.

“The pope has condemned ICE. The American bishops have condemned ICE. I don’t know why the Archdiocese is against them,” she said.

This is not the first time the church has politicized its Nativity scene to oppose immigration policies.

RELATED: City officials back down after rejecting Nativity display at Christmas farmers’ market

In 2018, members put the baby Jesus in a cage and closed off the wise men behind a wall. Josoma said at the time it wasn’t necessarily against the Trump administration and instead referred to it as “gospel activism.”

A similar Nativity scene has been set up outside of an Illinois church, where the baby Jesus had zip ties on his hands and centurions were depicted as ICE agents, even though the gospels make no mention of Roman centurions at the manger in Bethlehem.

“It’s really important how we treat our neighbors because we find out if you read the Gospels, how we treat our neighbors is how we are treating Jesus,” said Rev. Dr. Michael Woolf of Lake Street Church of Evanston.

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​Saint susanna parish of dedham, Anti-ice nativity scene, Politicized nativity scene, Rev. steve josoma, Politics 

Before the Magna Carta, the King of England was the law. After, he was under the law. It created the principle of due process, habeas corpus protection from arbitrary arrest, and limited taxation without consent.

“Rule of law, jury trials, rights of the accused, limits on government, protection of property, accountability of leaders — all of that comes from the Magna Carta,” Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck explains on “The Glenn Beck Program.”

“That gave birth, 500 years later, to us and our ideas,” he says.

However, now all of that is changing.

“The birthplace of the Magna Carta is now thinking about getting rid of jury trials and arresting more than 12,000 people every year for what they call speech crimes — 12,000,” Glenn says.

“In 2023, Russia arrested 4,000 people for speech crimes against the Russian military for Ukraine — 4,000 in Russia, 12,000 in England. The number I saw, and we don’t have all the numbers, but the number I saw that were arrested for speech crimes in China was 120,” he continues.

“Not for violence, not for theft, not for treason — 12,000 in England for words,” he adds.

But it gets worse, as the prime minister is “floating the idea of eliminating” most jury trials.

“It’ll only be for murder, manslaughter, oh, and something else like that,” Glenn says.

“This goes against the Magna Carta, the lawful judgment of your peers. OK? That is the safeguard that stands between you and an out-of-control state. This is the first and ancient firewall against tyranny. It is what makes England, England,” he continues.

“And if England, of all places, tosses that aside, what does the word ‘free’ mean anymore? OK? What does it mean? You can’t speak, and you have no jury trial of your peers. Wait, what?” he says.

“First of all, understand this: A nation that polices speech is not free. A nation that dissolves juries is not just unfree; it’s prepping for something worse, because the entire architecture of the Western world, the liberty that we have, rests on a single radical belief,” he says, adding, “The truth does not need a king.”

Want more from Glenn Beck?

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​Free, Video, Upload, Camera phone, Sharing, Video phone, Youtube.com, The glenn beck program, Glenn beck, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Magna carta, Freedom, Freedom of speech, Taxation without representation, No kings, Due process, Russia, Ukraine, China, Hate crime, Speech crime, Speech police 

While Republicans may have suffered some defeats in the elections last month, one Republican with a proven track record is tossing his hat into the ring in New York.

On Tuesday, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman announced that he will be running for New York governor in 2026, challenging Democrat incumbent Kathy Hochul.

‘I am ready to take on Kathy Hochul and fight for our families.’

“It is official. I am running for Governor of New York. Our state is struggling with high taxes, rising utility bills, and rising crime. New Yorkers deserve a proven leader who will Put New York First,” Blakeman announced in a Tuesday morning post.

“New York needs leadership that works. I am ready to take on Kathy Hochul and fight for our families,” Blakeman added.

RELATED: Trump slams Hochul’s endorsement of ‘communist’ Mamdani: ‘No reason to be sending good money’

Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Blakeman’s announcement video touted his ties to President Trump as well as his successful track record as Nassau County executive. Blakeman’s wins include Nassau County being named the safest county in America and the successful ban of males in girls’ sports.

Kathy Hochul and her team offered a variety of responses to Blakeman’s announcement.

“Bruce Blakeman is another MAGA cheerleader running to do Donald Trump’s bidding in New York — and raise your costs. Not on my watch,” Hochul said on her personal X account.

“Meet Bootlicker Blakeman, #1 fan of Trump’s expensive tariffs. 100% MAGA, 0% committed to fighting for New York,” Hochul’s team said above an attack video on X.

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) previously announced her candidacy as well.

According to Fox News, Stefanik’s campaign said of Blakeman’s announcement: “Public polling has repeatedly shown Elise Stefanik leads Blakeman by 70% in a primary, including beating him soundly on Long Island. Elise is the strongest candidate against Kathy Hochul by a long shot.”

Trump has previously praised both Stefanik and Blakeman for their work in New York, so it is unclear who will ultimately gain his endorsement.

“I don’t think the president has to make a decision now. Let’s see how it plays out,” Blakeman said in an interview on “Fox & Friends.”

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​Politics, Bruce blakeman, Nassau county executive, Long island, Maga, Trump, President trump, New york, New york governor, Republicans, Elise stefanik, Kathy hochul 

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) ratified legislation in January 2023 prohibiting health care providers from providing sex-altering surgeries or drugs to minors.

The law, which enraged gender ideologues and other non-straight activists, also required the Utah Department of Health and Human Services to conduct a “systematic review of the medical evidence regarding hormonal transgender treatments and provide recommendations to the Legislature.”

The HHS’ statutorily mandated review, which was completed last year then submitted in May 2025 to the legislature, painted the ruinous trans-drugs — which are also used to sterilize sex offenders — in a positive light, characterizing them as “effective.”

According to a damning new report from the medical advocacy group Do No Harm, however, the Utah review — which was conducted on behalf of the HHS by the University of Utah College of Pharmacy’s Drug Regimen Review Center — “is filled with falsehoods and serves as an aid to push harmful medical interventions as the answer to minors’ confusion, all while blatantly ignoring the associated risks.”

‘Utah legislators must not rely on a report that clearly undermines the safety and well-being of minors.’

While the executive summary for the review states that the HHS “does not take a position on whether to lift the moratorium” and the authors were not contracted to include a synthesis of the evidence they came across, the over-1,000-page review nevertheless delivers what is effectively an endorsement of sex-altering drugs for minors:

After having spent many months searching for, reading, and evaluating the available literature, it was impossible for us to avoid drawing some high-level conclusions. Namely, the consensus of the evidence supports that the treatments are effective in terms of mental health, psychosocial outcomes, and the induction of the body changes consistent with the affirmed gender in pediatric GD patients. The evidence also supports that the treatments are safe in terms of changes to bone density, cardiovascular risk factors, metabolic changes, and cancer.

Do No Harm indicated that the Utah review “deviates from established standards for systematic reviews, emphasizes the volume of evidence over its quality, relies uncritically on guidelines from self-proclaimed experts, neglects significant life-altering adverse effects, and includes input from advisers, some of whom demonstrate bias in favor of ‘gender-affirming care’ for minors.”

RELATED: ‘Not medicine — it’s malpractice’: Trump HHS buries child sex-change regime with damning report

Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Do No Harm noted, for instance, that the review glossed over some of the worst, most life-changing effects of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists, known as “puberty blockers,” and cross-sex hormones — namely infertility, sterility, and sexual dysfunction. While admitting that “infertility is a known risk,” the authors of the review didn’t bother including it as an outcome of focus in their report. The risk of sexual dysfunction, meanwhile, was apparently not mentioned once.

Extra to leaning heavily on low-quality scientific literature, much of which was observational and not trial-based, the review may have also been ideologically contaminated. After all, among the advisers who consulted on the project were Nikki Mihalopoulos, chief of the division of adolescent medicine for the department of pediatrics at the University of Utah School of Medicine, and Brooks Keeshin, a professor of pediatrics at the university. Both have written positively about “gender-affirming care” for minors in recent years.

Mihalopoulos co-authored a 2021 paper that stated, “Pediatric health care providers can play a critical role in building solutions in policy and advocacy … to improve the health of transgender/gender diverse youth. Many government entities, especially at the state and local level, actively resist efforts promoting equal rights.”

Keeshin wrote in an article published last year that “as states pass adolescent bans on gender-affirming care across the country, Utah offers a potential pathway forward in restrictive states to help maintain or open access to care.” Keeshin also suggested that some adolescents could benefit from radical sex-rejecting medical interventions.

Do No Harm concluded on the basis of these and other issues with the review that Utah lawmakers are better off turning to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ thorough and peer-reviewed report, which was released last month.

The federal HHS’ report underscored that “the harms from sex-rejecting procedures — including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgical operations — are significant, long-term, and too often ignored or inadequately tracked.”

Michelle Havrilla, Do No Harm’s director of programs, said in a statement, “This Utah Report is unreliable, unscientific, and fails to meet the standards of a systematic review.”

“The Report’s inaccuracies and bias diminish its credibility and allow left-wing activists to weaponize it for their political machinations. Utah legislators must not rely on a report that clearly undermines the safety and well-being of minors,” added Havrilla.

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​Transgender, Trans, Sex change, Gender ideology, Lgbt, Leftism, Sex change regime, Agonists, Puberty blockers, Hormone, Kids, Stop the harm, Medical, Health, Science, Politics 

Several of Apple’s top executives have left the company, and another is signaling he may jump ship.

It took just four days for four of Apple’s C-suite executives to file their resignations from the company, with three of them announcing their retirements.

‘Our approach is to help advocates leading the charge for change in Black, Hispanic/Latinx, and Indigenous communities.’

John Giannandrea, Apple’s head of machine learning and AI strategy, announced his retirement last week, with 9to5 Mac relaying that he will serve as an adviser before his full retirement in spring of 2026.

Jumping silicon ships

Giannandrea’s departure from the company’s AI department may be the canary in the coal mine and certainly points to a strategy shift moving forward. For example, several outlets, including Fortune, have repeatedly noted that Apple is fumbling and stumbling in terms of AI integration, causing employees to leave for more generous packages from competitors.

This includes design executive Alan Dye — who helped create Apple’s Vision Pro headset, iPhone X, and Apple Watch — leaving the company to join Meta.

At the same time, Johny Srouji, senior vice president of hardware technologies, also allegedly told CEO Tim Cook he is considering leaving Apple. Srouji allegedly said that if he does leave, it will likely be to go work for another company.

RELATED: Here’s how to get the most annoying new update off of your iPhone

Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunch

Retirement party

In addition to Giannandrea’s retirement, Kate Adams, Apple’s general counsel, and Lisa Jackson, vice president for environment, policy, and social initiatives, are also both retiring.

As reported by NBC News, Adams has been in charge of the Apple’s legal team as it has faced increased litigation, particularly around the iPhone App Store.

Jackson is known for her social justice approach, advancing the company’s “equity” efforts across the world — a word that was mentioned 77 times in a 2023 Racial Equity and Justice Initiative report. “Justice” appeared 107 times in the Apple document.

“Across the board, our approach is to help advocates leading the charge for change in Black, Hispanic/Latinx, and Indigenous communities. Our goal is to amplify their voices, never to substitute our own,” Jackson wrote in the report’s foreword.

NBC News claimed Jackson’s job had lost relevance under Trump’s second administration, due to the lack of focus on race politics.

RELATED: India surpasses China in Apple exports to US, up 240% from last year

Photo by Pedro Fiúza/NurPhoto via Getty Images

AI initiative

The Guardian, among others, reported that Apple has been lagging behind others in terms of rolling out its generative AI features, predominantly those intertwined with Siri.

Apple has been promising an AI-focused upgrade to Siri for more than a year but has postponed the release due to not reaching its “high-quality bar,” according to Craig Federighi, Apple’s vice president of software engineering.

Cook also said in an earnings call that the company was “making good progress on a more personalized Siri” and hopes to release it in 2026.

Amar Subramanya, Giannandrea’s replacement, is expected to fill the gaps needed around AI advancement, having previously served as the corporate vice president of AI at Microsoft. He also worked at Google as the head of engineering for Google Gemini.

“Subramanya brings a wealth of experience to Apple,” the company wrote in a press release. “His deep expertise in both AI and ML research and in integrating that research into products and features will be important to Apple’s ongoing innovation and future Apple Intelligence features.”

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Don’t dismiss Milo Yiannopoulos.

He may be provocative, but he’s right. In his recent two-and-a-half-hour conversation with Tucker Carlson, Yiannopoulos dares to speak the truth about homosexuality.

Instead of a mechanical ’cause’ such as genetics, it is more accurate to think of a set of factors that contribute to the development of persistent same-sex attraction.

It is a truth many are afraid to acknowledge, despite its firm grounding in scientific research. In fact, I found myself wondering, “Have they been eavesdropping at the Ruth Institute?”

‘Born’ fallacy

At the top of the list: Yiannopoulos explains that the “born gay” idea was invented as a marketing strategy. He accurately summarizes the strategy laid out in “After the Ball: How America Will Conquer Its Fear & Hatred of Gays in the 90’s.” Treat “sexual orientation” as if it were genetic, comparable to race.

Yiannopoulos rejects the “sexual orientation paradigm” or “essentialist paradigm.” He does not believe “sexual orientation” is an inborn trait that is an “essential” feature of a person’s personality.

And he is right.

Gay is not the “new black.” There is no gay gene. The twin studies are inconsistent with the idea of a genetic “cause” of “gay.” I outlined the evidence against the “born gay” idea in my report Refuting the Top 5 Gay Myths.

A trauma response

Although “gay” is a complex of thoughts, feelings, political commitments, and much more, when people say “gay,” they most likely mean “sexual arousal template.” We have been sold the idea that a “gay” man or a “lesbian” woman has an arousal template “oriented” exclusively toward people of the same sex.

The gay activists are really saying two things combined. First, people are born with a sexual arousal template preloaded into their brains. Second, this template cannot be changed.

Yiannopoulos takes direct aim at this package deal, when he says “[homosexuality] is a trauma response.” Trauma can shape the development of a person’s arousal pathways. He cited his own case. He had a mobster father, whom he did not want to emulate. As a teenager, he was sexually abused by a priest who was kind to him.

People are born with the potential to develop a sexual arousal template that is oriented toward the opposite sex. But sometimes, something happens to derail that normal developmental process.

People who self-describe as gay, lesbian, or bisexual typically have more difficult childhoods than others. They report more adverse childhood events, including a higher likelihood of childhood sexual abuse. Many in the psychology profession deny that there is a causal connection. But people who have lived the experience will tell you otherwise.

Including Yiannopoulos.

Must stay gay?

Instead of a mechanical “cause” such as genetics, it is more accurate to think of a set of factors that contribute to the development of persistent same-sex attraction.

Yiannopoulos listed some of those contributing causes: an absent or unattractive father figure, an overbearing mother, sexual abuse. No one factor always “causes” same-sex attraction in every person. At the Ruth Institute, we have interviewed numerous people who have Left Pride Behind who report some version of this story.

Yiannopoulos and Carlson talked about the bans on so-called “conversion therapy.” They were shocked that anyone would try to regulate conversations between a client and a therapist. “Why are you keeping people gay against their will?”

You can complain all day long about Yiannopoulos. But he is right. That is exactly what these laws are doing. We at the Ruth Institute ran a campaign in June called “Must Stay Gay Is NOT Okay!” Believe me: We did not run out of things to talk about!

They discussed the upcoming U.S. Supreme Court case that will decide whether these bans violated the U.S. Constitution. The Ruth Institute submitted an amicus brief to the court in this case, called Chiles v. Salazar.

RELATED: A Christian looks back on Pride: ‘I was in hell’

Photo by: Godong/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Finding real hope

Most importantly, Yiannopoulos gives hope to people who want more for themselves than a life shaped by an LGBT identity. Therapy can help, especially if you focus on healing the part of you that was wounded. The sexual feelings change in the process.

Finally, Yiannopoulos made no secret of his personal religious conversion. He has been touched by love, the ultimate love of Jesus Christ. Interviewees have told me some version of this story again and again. In fact, I experienced it myself. Same-sex attraction wasn’t my particular problem. But participation in the hookup culture, abortion, and contraception certainly were my problems. I needed the grace of the confessional, the Eucharist, and, no doubt, the prayers of many people who loved me more than I knew.

Come to think of it, maybe Yiannopoulos and Carlson weren’t really listening in on our conversations at the Ruth Institute after all. Maybe it’s just that when people go searching for the truth, they end up in roughly the same place.

No one is born gay. No one has to stay gay. No matter what you have been through, gay is not the final word about your identity. Jesus has healed many people. He can heal you.

Milo Yiannopoulos is right.

​Lgbtq, Lifestyle, Culture, Tucker carslon, Milo yiannopoulos, Gay, Conversion therapy, The ruth institute, Countering pride 

Minnesota is not the only state facing large-scale fraud allegations involving the Somali community. A multimillion-dollar health care scandal has been uncovered in another state after a whistleblower came forward to expose the alleged corruption.

Christopher Bernardini, a whistleblower who worked at a health services contractor called Gateway Community Services from May 2018 to April 2025, told NewsNation about the alleged fraudulent billing practices he discovered during his time at the organization.

‘When I was in the US, I contributed to the financial support for the Jubaland-Somali army. To help the troops buy weapons, bullets, and food.’

“I just couldn’t fathom it — I thought we were helping people; I thought this was all on the up-and-up,” Bernardini told NewsNation in an interview. “I have a passion for helping people, and I thought that we were doing the right thing this whole time.”

Bernardini said he became disillusioned “when I saw how they were swindling people. When I had clients calling me to tell me their staff hadn’t shown up and I was told to bill those hours anyway. It just got worse and worse until I started really putting up a stink.”

RELATED: ‘Send them back’: Somalia First pitted against America First in Minnesota as Ilhan Omar attacks Trump over special status

Staff photo by Derek Davis/Portland Portland Press Herald via Getty Images

The contractor worked through MaineCare, Maine’s Medicaid program.

Bernardini claimed that documents were falsified and an electronic monitoring system was manipulated to make it appear as though staff provided services to clients when in fact the clients were never visited. Another source familiar with the company told NewsNation that times and timecards were “being manipulated to show services being provided [when] they were not.”

Nonetheless, Gateway Community Services is accused of billing for hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of taxpayer dollars.

Maine Wire investigative journalist Steve Robinson appears to have uncovered where this money could have gone.

Gateway Community Services’ founder and CEO, Abdullahi Ali, is a Somalian who moved to Lewiston, Maine, as a refugee in 2009.

According to the Maine Wire, Ali started several businesses including Gateway Community Services, which, in turn, apparently helped to raise money for his political aspirations in Somalia.

In an interview he gave to Kenyan media, Ali bragged that he managed to raise money to fund a paramilitary force he hoped to lead as president in Jubaland, Somalia.

“When I was in the U.S., I contributed to the financial support for the Jubaland-Somali army. To help the troops buy weapons, bullets, and food,” said Ali, according to the Maine Wire.

“I helped pay my share of the fund.”

Ali’s 2024 presidential campaign in Somalia was unsuccessful.

In a since-deleted response to news outlets covering this story last week, Ali reportedly wrote: “I make no apologies for building a successful business in Maine, working hard to earn a living, earning my PhD, giving back to my Maine community, and running for office in Jubaland. I am proud to contribute my hard-earned $ to support my people back home. America is a nation of laws — you cannot change facts by fabricating false stories. I am proud Somali-American.”

Maine Republicans have called for a thorough investigation.

“I demanded a full investigation when I heard initial reporting about this welfare fraud scandal last May,” state Senator Matt Harrington (R) told NewsNation.

He criticized Democrat Governor Janet Mills’ administration over the issue.

“The Mills administration has neglected obvious and credible reports of Somali-linked systemic fraud in the MaineCare system,” Harrington said. “This is an outrageous betrayal of Maine taxpayers.”

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bobby Charles called the state, with its current Democrat leadership, a “bastion of public corruption.”

Maine Democratic Party Chair Charlie Dingman released a statement, which in part reads: “Bobby Charles’ talk about burning down communities is unhinged. … I’m confident Maine people do not share Bobby Charles’s interest in demeaning or scapegoating our hardworking neighbors.”

While there does not seem to be any evidence of Charles calling for “burning down communities,” he did call on President Trump to “TORCH the CORRUPT, RADICAL, FRAUD-SOAKED, CARTEL-STYLE, TAXPAYER-MILKING Somalia-First Democrat Machine in Maine” shortly after the story first broke on December 5.

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​Politics, Somalia, Somali-american, Jubaland, Gateway community services, Abullahi ali, Mainecare, Maine, Lewiston maine, Bobby charles, Charlie dingman, Democrats, Janet mills, Matt harrington, Somalia first, Newsnation, Maine wire 

An entrepreneur says she sold 1,000 updated versions of landline phones in 72 hours.

Cat Goetze, the creator behind Physical Phones, says most people hate that technology has taken over their attention span, and has sold $120,000 worth of product through her idea to bring back landline phones.

‘People don’t memorize people’s phone numbers anymore.’

“I started Physical Phones because I realized most people don’t actually hate technology,” Goetze said on “Fox & Friends First.”

Goetze is selling physical phones that mimic rotary phones, the handheld phones of the 1990s, and the phones that hung from the wall in most homes in the 1970s and 1980s. However, they don’t work by plugging into a phone jack; rather, they are powered by a rechargeable battery/USB, and connect to modern smartphones via Bluetooth.

“People don’t memorize people’s phone numbers anymore, so we built this really awesome feature in where I’m connected via Bluetooth right now,” she told the Fox hosts. “If I pick up my physical phone and I press star, it activates Siri, so I can just say, ‘Call Mama’ … and it’ll go ahead and call her.”

RELATED: Uber launches autonomous rides in Dallas, Texas, with partner Avride

Photo by: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Goetze says that in 2023, she “hacked a Bluetooth antenna into a pink landline phone simply because taking calls while twirling my finger [in] a curly cord made me smile.”

In her recent appearance, as well as on the company’s website, Goetze stated that young people “shouldn’t be forced to choose between tossing your iPhone in the ocean and spending eight hours a day doomscrolling.”

The idea is that any video or audio call that comes through the connected cell phone — including from WhatsApp, FaceTime, or Snapchat — goes to the landline-esque phone to help users resist the allure and temptations of their smartphone.

“It’s actually the young people who have never actually had a landline phone that are the most excited,” Goetze remarked. “They’re the ones who have this nostalgia and this craving for a simpler time because they grew up with smartphones.”

RELATED: Trading cubicles for crops: One couple’s ‘Exit’ from the corporate grind

Photo by H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock/Getty Images

Readers may remember the NoPhone, the original answer for those who are against using a smartphone entirely or wanted to rid themselves of being attached to a device. The item looks like a smartphone but has zero functionality whatsoever.

Launched in 2014, the original NoPhone sells from $15 to $21. A newer version, called the “NoPhone Selfie Update,” is listed for $23. The updated version says customers are “able to make real-time selfies,” as it comes with a mirror stuck to it.

AT&T currently offers landline connections ranging from $59 to $72. Verizon offers its own set of landline options as well.

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​Return, Phone, Cell phones, Rotary phones, Landline, Iphone, Tech 

It was once fashionable to speak of Ethereum as a “world computer,” a phrase that suggested a certain noisy, industrial utilitarianism. The idea was that every instruction, every transfer of value, every digital breath would be executed publicly and redundantly by a global network of nodes, a process that was transparent, unstoppable, and, as it turned out, prohibitively slow.

Although Ethereum in 2015 aimed at radical transparency, it is now engaged in a great transformation, an architectural renovation carried out while the building is still occupied. Ethereum is remaking itself not with more computing power, but with the mathematics of shadows: zero-knowledge proofs.

Ethereum replaces personal trust with mathematical guarantees, accountability without surveillance.

The central tension of the digital age has always been this trilemma: how to remain secure and decentralized while scaling to meet a global demand. Ethereum’s answer is to turn to an innovation in cryptography: the zero-knowledge proof, a protocol that allows one party to prove a statement is true without revealing why it is true, or indeed revealing any other information at all. It is a way to convince a stranger that you know a secret without ever telling him the secret itself. This property, which borders on the magical, is being woven into the very foundations of the network.

The heavy lifting of transaction execution is leaving the main stage. The Ethereum roadmap, in a phase titled the “Surge,” dictates that most activity will now occur off-chain, on Layer-2 networks known as rollups. These rollups bundle thousands of transactions, execute them in the dark, and generate a succinct validity proof, which is then posted back to Ethereum’s main layer. The main chain, once the sweating engine of the network, is now a high-security court, a judge that need not hear the testimony, only see the irrefutable mathematical certificate of the verdict.

Instead of a world computer, Ethereum is becoming a “world settlement layer,” an anchor for off-chain environments. To facilitate this, the network has introduced “blobs,” an inelegantly named but vital innovation of the Dencun upgrade. Blobs are temporary data, a cheap lane on the highway for rollup trucks, allowing vast amounts of information to be posted without clogging the passing lane. The new Fusaka upgrade promises to expand this capacity further, raising the gas limit and introducing PeerDAS, a system where nodes sample data rather than storing it. It is a move toward a system where the network holds everything, but no single participant must hold more than a fraction.

RELATED: Bitcoin billionaire will serve time after British police broke down her door and arrested her in bed

Photo by Vince Mignott/MB Media/Getty Images

But the most radical application of this new approach lies in the “Verge,” a suite of upgrades intended to make the network “stateless.” The ambition is to allow a user with a basic laptop, or even a phone, to verify the chain. Through the use of Verkle trees — cryptographic accumulators that replace more cumbersome data structures — proofs of state become tiny, manageable things. Verification is broadened, flattening the hierarchy of nodes. In this future, we need not trust institutions or even the “full nodes” of the blockchain priesthood, but rather trust the math and verify the proof.

There is a detachment to this logic that appeals to the cypherpunk instinct. The implications are deeply social. In the classical world, trust was intimate; it required knowing a reputation, a face, a history. Ethereum replaces this personal trust with mathematical guarantees. It is a vision of accountability without surveillance. This affordance is particularly relevant in the realm of privacy, an area where the unblinking transparency of the blockchain has long been a liability.

The Privacy Stewards of Ethereum, a group operating within the Ethereum Foundation, have outlined a roadmap that seeks to make privacy a “first-class feature.” They speak of “private writes” and “private reads,” of enabling users to interact with the ledger without leaking their identity or intent. They reject the idea that scaling requires the sacrifice of privacy and posit that one might gain a degree of invisibility while the system enforces the rules so strictly that cheating becomes computationally impossible.

One could prove one is a unique human without revealing one’s name, or prove a vote was counted without revealing the ballot. It is a shift from universal transparency to a society of secret handshakes, where transparency is selective and discretionary.

Of course, the Ethereum roadmap has risks. There is the question of “gas limit politics,” the danger that the specialized hardware required to generate zero-knowledge proofs will reintroduce centralization by another name. There is the fragility of the new cryptography itself, the fear that a breakthrough in quantum computing could render these mathematical castles defenseless. There is the ever-present tension between the ideal of a decentralized network and the reality of complex governance.

Yet, the momentum is undeniable. The integration of a zkEVM at Layer 1, an implementation of the Ethereum Virtual Machine that generates proofs of the blocks themselves, represents the capstone of this overhaul. It is an attempt to scale to the level of global finance, to process hundreds of thousands of transactions per second, without utilizing trusted servers.

Ethereum aims to renovate digital society in real time, to reconcile the conflicting desires for scale, security, and privacy through a reliance on “moon math” that has suddenly, quietly become infrastructure. Ethereum is betting that cryptographic truth can substitute for consensus. It is moving toward a global notary that sees everything and nothing, verifying the unseen with absolute precision in a ballet of proofs, harmonizing to a music we are only just beginning to hear.

​Tech, Ethereum 

The city of Seattle’s progressive ideology is set to clash with Islam during the FIFA World Cup next June.

Lumen Field in Seattle is scheduled to host six World Cup games in 2026, and the city’s organizing committee is planning a special gay-pride game for June 26.

‘The match-up of two countries where it is illegal to be gay is actually a “good thing” for the Pride Match.’

Announced in October, the committee is dubbing the game the “Seattle Pride Match” and has even procured gay art from fans through a contest meant to be used in Seattle’s “citywide celebration.”

However, after the World Cup draw finally happened on Friday to determine the tournament groups, the gay game is likely to run into ethical problems after it was decided who the two combatants will be.

The June 26 game will showcase a Group G matchup between two Muslim nations where homosexuality is prosecuted: The Islamic Republic of Iran and Egypt.

RELATED: ‘Equality’ in pay and ‘everything’ bar for women’s sports opens in Seattle

Photograph by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

In Iran, same-sex relations are criminalized, with punishments ranging from flogging to the death penalty, according to Amnesty International.

Egypt is known to use its “debauchery” laws to prosecute gay acts, and while homosexuality is not explicitly illegal, the country used anti-prostitution laws to convict a man for sending nude photos to another man on the gay-dating app Grindr in 2017, according to the Guardian.

The Seattle organizers, who are not affiliated with FIFA, said they are already preparing the area’s gay businesses to prepare for the influx of fans.

“We’re working with small businesses so the region’s LGBTQ+-owned enterprises are ready to benefit from the tournament’s unprecedented visitor surge,” said Hedda McLendon, the committee’s senior vice president of legacy, according to Newsweek.

Seattle also organized a committee specifically for the Pride match, calling it the Seattle Pride Match Advisory Committee. A member of that of that group, Eric Wahl, reportedly stated on social media that “the match-up of two countries where it is illegal to be gay is actually a ‘good thing’ for the Pride Match.”

RELATED: Major League Soccer lifts ban, allows fans to display Antifa-adopted ‘Iron Front’ flag during games

Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty images

The activism does not stop at gay pride for the Seattle group. It will also celebrate Juneteenth for one of the games. Juneteenth was first recognized by President Biden to celebrate the end of slavery annually on June 19.

A Group D match between the United States and Australia will take place in Seattle that day.

“Having the U.S. Team playing in Seattle on Juneteenth creates a high-visibility, high-responsibility moment to introduce hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide to Juneteenth and to create benefit for local Black-owned businesses and arts and cultural organizations,” the organizers said on their website.

For that match, the group created another committee called the Juneteenth Advisory Committee.

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​Fearless, Soccer, World cup, Gay pride, Woke, Seattle, Lgbt, Pride night, Islam, Muslim, Iran, Egypt, Sports 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has effectively torpedoed President Donald Trump’s peace plan.

After his meeting on Monday with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and French President Emmanuel Macron — who reportedly suggested last week that the U.S. might “betray” Ukraine — Zelenskyy reportedly told reporters that Kyiv will not cede any territory to Russia.

‘A lot of people are dying. So it would be really good if he’d read it. His people loved the proposal.’

“We have no right to give anything away — not under our laws, not under international law, not under moral law,” said Zelenskyy, reported the New York Post. “Russia is, of course, insisting that we give up territory. We, of course, do not want to give up anything — that is precisely what we are fighting for, as you are well aware.”

Zelenskyy, whom Trump accused in February of “gambling with the lives of millions of people,” added, “To be honest, the Americans are looking for a compromise today.”

Russia, which has slowly captured additional territory over the past year, presently occupies around 20% of the entire country and most of the Donbas — including all of the Luhansk region, most of the largely Russian-speaking Donetsk region, much of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, and parts of the Sumy and Kharkiv regions.

Under the Trump administration’s initial 28-point peace plan, embraced by Moscow but rejected by Kyiv and European leaders,

the U.S. would recognize Crimea, Luhansk, and Donetsk as de facto Russian; Kherson and Zaporizhzhia would be divided along the current line of contact; Russia would cede other territories under its control outside the five regions; and Ukrainian forces would abandon the part of Donetsk Oblast currently under their control, leaving it as a demilitarized buffer zone.

RELATED: European leaders gossip about US amid apparent efforts to torpedo Trump’s Russia-Ukraine peace deal: Report

Photo by Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu via Getty Images

Trump has long maintained that Kyiv will have to make some territorial concessions to bring an end to war that has resulted in millions of casualties. In August, for instance, the president said that while the U.S. seeks to negotiate for some of the Russia-occupied territories back for Ukraine, inevitably “there will be some land swapping going on. I know that through Russia and through conversations with everybody.”

On Monday, Zelenskyy suggested that he and Trump see things differently, stating that Trump “certainly wants to end the war. … Surely, he has his own vision. We live here, from within we see details and nuances, we perceive everything much deeper, because this is our motherland.”

‘It gets to a point where it’s not a democracy anymore.’

Trump said in an interview with Politico on Monday that while he credits the Ukrainian people for their bravery in defending their homeland, Russia is presently in the stronger negotiating position and “size will win, generally.” Accordingly Ukraine has to “play ball,” suggested the president, who was uncertain about whether Zelenskyy had even bothered to read the latest peace proposals.

“That’s as of yesterday. Maybe he’s read it over the night,” said Trump. “It would be nice if he would read it. You know, a lot of people are dying. So it would be really good if he’d read it. His people loved the proposal. They really liked it. His lieutenants, his top people, they liked it, but they said he hasn’t read it yet. I think he should find time to read it.”

Zelenskyy indicated this week that he will provide Washington with his views on the current U.S. peace plan — which has reportedly shed eight of the original points Zelenskyy characterized as “anti-Ukrainian” — on Tuesday night but not until he discusses with European leaders the “reparations loan and security guarantees” he regards as critical to the peace process.

When asked what would happen if Zelenskyy rejected the deal, Trump said, “He’s gonna have to get on the ball and start accepting things.” As for the European leaders who appear keen to involve themselves in the process, Trump said, “They talk but they don’t produce, and the war just keeps going on and on.”

Trump noted further that it’s time now — 18 months after Zelenskyy’s term was originally scheduled to end and in the midst of an ever-worsening corruption scandal involving Zelenskyy’s administration and close allies — for a Ukrainian presidential election.

“It’s been a long time,” said Trump.

“I think it’s an important time to hold an election. They’re using war not to hold an election, but I would think the Ukrainian people would, should have that choice. And maybe Zelenskyy would win. I don’t know who would win. But they haven’t had an election in a long time. You know, they talk about a democracy, but it gets to a point where it’s not a democracy anymore.”

Zelenskyy said in a statement on Tuesday, “We are committed to a real peace and remain in constant contact with the United States. And as our partners in the negotiating teams rightly note, everything depends on whether Russia is ready to take effective steps to stop the bloodshed and prevent the war from reigniting.”

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​Ukraine, Peace plan, Peace deal, Kyiv, Moscow, Russia, War, Donald trump, Putin, Zelensky, Zelenskyy, Ukrainian war, Politics 

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) announced a new executive order on Monday, taking action against radical Islam.

DeSantis issued an order designating the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations as foreign terrorist organizations.

‘CAIR was designated as an unindicted co-conspirator by the United States Government in the largest terrorism-financing case in American history.’

The order, which took immediate effect, argued that the Muslim Brotherhood is a “transnational network with a long history of engaging in or supporting violence,” noting that the group created Hamas in 1987. It stated that the U.S. designated Hamas as a foreign terrorist organization in 1997 and that the group was responsible for 1,200 murders on October 7, 2023.

DeSantis’ order explained that the Palestine Committee, a group affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, founded CAIR in the U.S. in 1994.

“CAIR was designated as an unindicted co-conspirator by the United States Government in the largest terrorism-financing case in American history, and the court found ‘ample evidence to establish the association[]’ of CAIR with terrorist organizations,” the order read, citing United States v. Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development.

RELATED: Gov. Abbott talks redistricting victory, action against CAIR with Glenn Beck

KHALIL MAZRAAWI/AFP via Getty Images

“Florida agencies are hereby directed to undertake all lawful measures to prevent unlawful activities by these organizations, including denying privileges or resources to anyone providing material support,” DeSantis stated.

DeSantis’ order follows similar executive action from Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) in November.

RELATED: No Sharia law in Texas: Abbott draws a hard line against radical Islam

Greg Abbott. Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images

CAIR issued a statement declaring that it plans to file a lawsuit against DeSantis’ designation, accusing the governor of “serving the Israeli government over serving the people of Florida.”

“Like Greg Abbott in Texas, Ron DeSantis is an Israel First politician who wants to smear and silence Americans, especially American Muslims, critical of U.S. support for Israel’s war crimes,” CAIR National and CAIR-Florida said in a joint statement. “Governor DeSantis knows full well that CAIR-Florida is an American civil rights organization that has spent decades advancing free speech, religious freedom, and justice for all, including for the Palestinian people. That’s precisely why Governor DeSantis is targeting our civil rights group with this unconstitutional and defamatory proclamation.”

CAIR plans to hold a press conference on Tuesday to announce details of its forthcoming lawsuit against the state of Florida.

— (@)

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​News, Florida, Ron desantis, Desantis, Greg abbott, Abbott, Texas, The muslim brotherhood, Muslim brotherhood, Society of muslim brothers, Council on american islamic relations, Council on american-islamic relations, Cair, Islam, Politics 

A nine-time convicted felon opened fire on a man and woman outside a Florida home early Sunday morning, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said.

Deputies responded around 2:15 a.m. to a report of two people who had been shot in the 3100 block of 11th Street Court East in Bradenton, officials said.

‘The title of this video is exactly what is wrong with our country: “9-time convicted felon.” There should’ve never been a second time.’

When deputies arrived, they found a 32-year-old woman with a gunshot wound to her face and a 41-year-old man with a gunshot wound to his chest, officials said.

Both victims were taken to a hospital, officials said. The woman was later listed in stable condition, and the man’s injury was determined to be minor, officials said, adding that he has since been released.

The sheriff’s office said the shooter fled the scene prior to deputies’ arrival.

RELATED: Florida creep, out on bond after allegedly exposing privates to girl, masturbating, saying ‘It’s big, isn’t it?’ caught again

An investigation identified the suspect as 26-year-old Exzavion Richardson, officials said, adding that he was located in a vehicle several blocks away and detained during a traffic stop.

Multiple witnesses positively identified Richardson as the man who came to the residence looking for someone he claimed owed him money, officials said.

Witnesses reported that Richardson shot the male victim and then shot the female victim who also was standing outside the residence, officials said.

Richardson is charged with two counts of attempted murder, home invasion robbery, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, officials said. Jail records indicate he’s being held with no bond.

As for his criminal history, court records indicate Richardson has at least two battery convictions and multiple convictions for lewd and lascivious behavior, WFLA-TV reported. Jail records indicate Richardson stands 6’3” and weighs 205 pounds.

Commenters under WFLA’s video report about the shooting were not happy the suspect was back on the streets after so many run-ins with the law:

“Lock up the judges that released him as accomplices to the crime,” one commenter wrote.”The title of this video is exactly what is wrong with our country: ‘9-time convicted felon.’ There should’ve never been a second time,” another commenter noted.”Where’s Vlad the Impaler when you need him,” another commenter wondered.”Only nine times; that’s practically a clean record,” another commenter stated sarcastically. “I mean, he didn’t kill the woman — just shot her in the face. Give him probation. 10th time is a charm, right[?] He will change smh.””This dude either has a huge growth on his 4head or someone hit a Grand Slam on it,” another commenter observed.

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​Repeat offender, Convicted felon, Florida, Shooting, Arrest, Attempted murder charge, Home invasion robbery charge, Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon charge, Crime 

If Democrats seem extreme now, wait until they adopt ranked-choice voting. Some activists inside the party want exactly that — a reform that would push presidential nominations even further left and force establishment figures to navigate an ideological gauntlet to win.

Multiple reports indicate that Democratic Party activists and elected officials are pressuring the party to adopt ranked-choice voting for its 2028 presidential primaries. Axios notes that the push has grown serious enough that top party officials met in late October with advocates including Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), pollster Celinda Lake, and representatives from FairVote Action.

Ranked-choice voting would pour accelerant on a process already pulling Democrats further left.

Such an effort fits a long pattern: For decades, Democrats have shifted presidential nominations away from party leadership. On ranked-choice voting specifically, several states already use it — Maine and Alaska among them — along with deep-blue cities such as New York, Minneapolis, San Francisco, and Seattle.

Ranked-choice voting takes multiple forms, but New York City’s model illustrates the dynamic. Voters rank up to five candidates. If no candidate wins an initial majority, the last-place candidate drops out, and those voters’ second-choice votes are redistributed. This “loser leaves” process continues until a candidate secures a majority.

Assuming rational behavior, Democratic voters would likely rank candidates from more extreme to less extreme. That pattern would advantage the leftmost candidates again and again as lower-preference votes transfer upward.

This structural boost would encourage both supply and demand for extreme candidacies. Candidates on the ideological edge would have more incentive to run. Voters who prefer them would have more influence. Ranked-choice voting’s supporters tout this expanded participation as a virtue.

Offering voters multiple choices would foster coalition-building. Knowing the race may go to multiple rounds, candidates would angle for second- and third-choice votes. The horse-trading once done in old convention “smoke-filled rooms” would unfold publicly through a series of ranked ballots.

But the key question is simple: Why would ranked-choice voting necessarily supercharge extremism inside the Democratic Party? Because the system rewards voters for casting marginal votes — and among today’s Democrats, “marginal” means “further left.”

The party’s ideological shift is measurable. In Gallup’s 2023 polling, 54% of Democrats identified as liberal — an all-time high. Support for democratic socialists in major-city mayoral primaries shows how rapidly the party’s activist base has moved left. In 1995, the liberal share of the party was 25%, roughly equal to conservatives. Three decades later, conservatives make up just 10% of Democrats.

Exit polling confirms the trend: In 2024, 91% of self-identified liberals voted for Kamala Harris; only 9% of conservatives did.

Extrapolate from this trajectory, and the danger becomes even clearer. Extreme candidates increasingly win Democratic primaries in major cities. Those cities dominate statewide Democratic politics. And in closed primaries, only Democrats vote — meaning the hyper-engaged activist left already sets the terms of competition. Ranked-choice voting would amplify that influence. The same voters who nominated democratic socialists in New York and Seattle would wield disproportionate power in a presidential contest.

RELATED: Democrats are just noticing a long, deep-running problem

Photo by RYAN MCBRIDEDON EMMERTDON EMMERTKENA BETANCURROBYN BECKANGELA WEISSROBYN BECKROBYN BECKROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images

Consider how the 2020 Democratic primary might have played out under ranked-choice voting. Joe Biden — an establishment candidate favored by moderates — would have faced a field dominated by Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg, Tom Steyer, and others to his left. Ranked-choice voting would have forced him through a gauntlet designed by the party’s most ideological voters.

This trend is not new. In 1972, George McGovern reshaped Democratic nominating rules and then benefited from the changes. Since then, the party has repeatedly weakened its establishment’s role (with key exceptions). Ranked-choice voting would accelerate that shift dramatically.

With moderates now only 36% of the party, according to Gallup, how could they resist a move toward ranked-choice voting? More importantly, which remaining moderate or establishment Democrat could survive a ranked-choice system dominated by the party’s left wing?

Ranked-choice voting would pour accelerant on a process already pulling Democrats further left. The only question is how long it takes for the party to adopt it — and how long the party can remain viable nationally if it does.

​Opinion & analysis, Elections, 2028 election, Primary elections, Democrats, Democratic party, Democratic socialists, Bernie sanders, Elizabeth warren, Zohran mamdani, New york city, Seattle, Ranked-choice voting, Extremism, Leftists, Left-wing, Polls, Gallup poll, Joe biden 

Zohran Mamdani, the mayor-elect of New York City, has provided a number of strong indications that he might be every bit as radical in office as his critics feared in the lead-up to the mayoral election.

On Sunday, for instance, the Democratic Socialist conflated “immigrants” with illegal aliens, stressed that New York will always be a “city for all immigrants,” and identified ways that people can “stand up to” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Last week, Mamdani suggested that he will end the clearing out of homeless encampments in the city.

Mamdani’s personnel decisions similarly hint at what is to come.

‘The optics and reality here point to a potential erosion of public safety in New York City.’

Until Freedom, an identitarian activist group, recently announced that its leaders had been “chosen to serve on Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani’s transition team on committees for public safety and criminal justice respectively.” In addition to one of the radical co-leaders of the 2017 Women’s March, Tamika Mallory, Mamdani brought aboard Mysonne Linen — a 49-year-old convicted armed robber who has made no secret of his racial animus and once suggested that all of the black Americans in President Donald Trump’s “circle” are “coons.”

According to the New York Daily News, Linen was found guilty in July 1999 of robbing multiple cab drivers in the Bronx. A prosecutor indicated at the time that Linen was among the thugs who held up cabbie Joseph Eziri in 1997 and smashed him with a beer bottle. Another cabbie, Francisco Monsanto, identified Linen as the thug who held him at gunpoint on March 31, 1998, stealing a ring and cash.

RELATED: Why the kids are not all right — and Boomers still pretend nothing’s wrong

Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Despite denying responsibility — he claimed at the time he didn’t need to commit the crimes because he was making money writing music for rappers such as Lil’ Kim — Linen was ultimately convicted on three counts of robbery, weapons possession, and possession of stolen property. Although he faced up to 25 years in prison, he was released on parole in July 2006.

Linen, still denying his guilt and complaining about “white supremacy,” later co-founded Until Freedom with Mallory and Linda Sarsour — the Islamic activist who told fellow radicals earlier this year to “abolish Israel.”

On the transition page for the mayor-elect, who said in 2020 that the NYPD “is racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety,” Linen is listed among the radical leftist members of Mamdani’s committee on the criminal legal system.

Until Freedom said in response to the appointment, “This is a testament to our decades of work advocating on behalf of black and brown communities and our expertise in gun violence prevention, legislative advocacy, and criminal justice reform. We are building something different.”

The news that an apparently unrepentant convict will advise New York City’s incoming mayor did not sit well with Benny Boscio, president of the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association, who told the New York Post, “It is both disheartening and deeply disturbing that individuals who are convicted felons and have a history of breaking the law are being given the opportunity to help shape the future of New York’s criminal justice system.”

“The men and women who risk their lives every day to enforce the law have been shut out from this process entirely,” added Boscio.

“It’s just another appointed adviser that has a questionable past, which is in line with some of his other recent appointees who were anti-police and establishment,” retired NYPD Chief of Department John Chell told the Post. “The optics and reality here point to a potential erosion of public safety in New York City.”

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​New york city, Zohran mamdani, Crime, Democrat, Democratic city, New york, Leftism, Mysonne linen, Convict, Politics 

Democrat Rep. Jasmine Crockett (Texas) put the rumors to rest and finally announced her bid for the U.S. Senate with a campaign video that will make Americans laugh now — and may leave Republicans laughing later.

Crockett has reportedly been weighing whether to continue serving Texas in the House of Representatives or to pivot and pursue higher office in the Senate. The rising star of the Democratic Party finally made her decision official on Monday, the last day to file for the 2026 race.

‘She’s a very low-IQ person.’

In the highly anticipated announcement, her campaign released a video of Crockett stoically looking off into the distance, blinking slowly, then crossing her arms and smiling briefly. The video has been edited to have a vintage, film-like effect reminiscent of prominent politicians who came before her.

But rather than outlining her campaign promises or articulating her vision for Texas, Crockett stands there with a voice-over of President Donald Trump repeatedly berating her for being “low-IQ.”

RELATED: CNN brutally fact-checks Jasmine Crockett for peddling debunked ballroom hoax

Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

“How about this new one they have, their new star, Crockett?” Trump says in the video. “How about her? She’s the new star of the Democrat Party, Jasmine Crockett. They’re in big trouble.”

“You have this woman, Crockett, she’s a really low-IQ person,” Trump says. “I watched her speak the other day, and she’s definitely a low-IQ person. … She’s a very low-IQ person.”

While the highlight reel of Trump’s insults against Crockett is hilarious, it may prove to be a mistake many other Democrats have made to their detriment.

RELATED: Jasmine Crockett’s jaw-dropping defense of criminals: ‘They literally are trying to survive’

Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images

Democrats have a habit of focusing their entire campaigns on defining themselves as the anti-Trump choice rather than actually focusing on a set of policies their voters might find compelling.

During the 2024 presidential election, former Vice President Kamala Harris tailored her campaign to be about Trump and not about the American people. Partly as a result, voters rejected her resoundingly.

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​Donald trump, Jasmine crockett, Texas, Texas senate race, Collina allred, 2026 primaries, Texas democrat, Low iq, House democrats, Senate democrats, Politics 

Director David L. Cunningham brought some old-school Disney magic to his latest project.

The Hollywood veteran recalled how Walt Disney often appeared on camera to personally introduce the projects closest to his heart, putting his unmistakable stamp on them.

‘By taking out the hardship and the risk, you diminish the courage that Mary and Joseph had, their faith, and so much of the sacrifice.’

So when Cunningham envisioned a fresh, authentic take on the Christmas story, he wondered if another icon could do the honors. And, as fate would have it, his producing partner knew Kevin Costner personally.

The busy film legend agreed to join the project, with one caveat.

“He insisted on bringing his story into it … and the pieces fell together,” Cunningham tells Align.

‘Unifying celebration’

“Kevin Costner Presents: The First Christmas,” debuting Dec. 9 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC before hitting Hulu the following day, does more than put the Christ back in Christmas.

The special lets Costner share some personal anecdotes regarding the earliest days of his acting career, including how he participated in a Christmas story production with less than Hollywood-style results.

He improved over time, of course.

“The First Christmas” introduces us to Mary and Joseph, a young couple facing incredible hardships along with the most important pregnancy … ever.

“The intent was to try and find a unifying celebration of the story,” Cunningham says. “Let’s all get behind what matters the most. Jesus was brought into this world in this amazing way. … The goal wasn’t to put a spin on something but to revisit the ancient texts and try to honor it as much as possible.”

Not too ‘cozy’

“The First Christmas” pushes past misconceptions about the holiday, blending polished dramatic beats with commentary bringing critical context each step of the way. That approach worked well with the material, the director says, comparing the expert commentary to “miniature podcasts” that pop in between dramatic elements.

“We didn’t want a theological, wag-your-finger thing,” he notes, but he also wanted to remove the “cozy interpretations” many have of the Nativity.

“By taking out the hardship and the risk, you diminish the courage that Mary and Joseph had, their faith, and so much of the sacrifice,” he says.

“There’s nothing wrong with having the cozy little Nativity, with the angels looking on, but let’s go back and revisit this and say, ‘Hey, what does the Scripture say and why?’”

The special features “talking head” interstitials from voices stateside and beyond, echoing Christianity’s global reach and impact.

“The West doesn’t have the corner on the [Christian] market,” Cunningham says, noting a spiritual rise in Brazil and other nations in recent years.

Sticking to the text

Cunningham is no stranger to faith-based productions, starting with one of his earliest projects: 2001’s “To End All Wars.” The film recalled the fact-based story of Japanese POW camp captives who embraced God to both endure and forgive their captors.

Those experiences have given him insight into Christian projects that connect with the masses and, more importantly, ring true.

“When a biblical movie works, it sticks to the text,” he says with a chuckle. “It also helps to have people who are leading the charge who believe in it.”

Cunningham studied faith-based films in film school, noting how the industry “lost the plot” over the years regarding Christian projects.

“We felt as Christians that somehow entertainment and Hollywood was of the devil. We didn’t want anything to do with it,” he says. “We just walked away from one of the most influential platforms there is.”

RELATED: 12 American-made Christmas gift ideas

Russell Moccasin

Cinematic revolution

That, of course, has changed dramatically over the past 20-odd years, from “The Passion of the Christ” to 2023’s “Sound of Freedom.” The clunky, low-budget stories of the recent past have been replaced by slick, soulful projects that reflect both faith and a dramatic upgrade in craftsmanship.

He name-checks “The Chosen” creator Dallas Jenkins and Jon and Andrew Erwin for being part of this cinematic revolution.

Cunningham also used his personal experiences to help inspire and shape “The First Christmas,” echoing what Costner brought to the project. He recalls his own days as a young father, with all the fear and uncertainty that came along with it.

“I’m walking out the door with this child. … We had a car seat ready to go,” he says of his earliest hours as a parent. “Can you imagine a young couple in a cave when infant mortality was through the roof? Now you’re being born into this world that’s incredibly brutal and cruel. You’re a young couple, and by the way, that’s the Son of God.

“No pressure,” he says.

​Entertainment, Abide, Faith, Abc, The nativity, Kevin costner, Kevin costner presents: the first christmas, David l. cunningham, Television, Christmas, Align interview 

More than two months have passed since President Trump unveiled his Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict — arguably the most consequential Middle East peace initiative in decades.

Foreign policy insiders predicted failure. Yet since October 10, the plan has held through volatility and uncertainty, confounding critics of the president, Israel, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel deserves a fulsome defense from everyone committed to law, order, and truth.

The plan has done more than reduce the fighting. It has underscored Israel’s actual aims from the start: Eliminate Hamas, free the hostages, and ensure that Gaza never again serves as a launchpad for mass murder — not destroy the Palestinian people.

Still, the “genocide” libel endures. It may be the most destructive falsehood leveled against Jews in modern history.

Less than three months after the October 7, 2023, terror attacks, South Africa — a country collapsing under corruption and poverty — accused Israel of genocide at the International Court of Justice. That case continues, with a final ruling unlikely before 2028.

Meanwhile the libel spreads. Radical activists, anti-Western NGOs captured by ideological agendas, pseudo-intellectual academics, and hollow institutions such as the International Association of Genocide Scholars push it relentlessly.

IAGS illustrates the problem. It requires nothing more than a $30 fee to join. The group has been flooded with frivolous “members,” including Adolf Hitler, Darth Vader, and Emperor Palpatine, along with a host of non-experts. Yet major media outlets still treat its anti-Israel resolutions as credible, impartial assessments of genocide — the gravest crime in human history.

This campaign demands a serious response. Legal experts and clear-minded observers should dismantle the genocide libel once and for all. The arguments are so straightforward that only bad faith can obscure them.

After the October 7 massacre — which, proportionally, represented the loss of roughly 50,000 American lives — Israel acted in self-defense against an enemy openly committed to exterminating every Jew in the country. Calling Israel genocidal in this context is not simply wrong. It inverts reality and rewards Hamas.

Israel also facilitated massive humanitarian aid to Palestinians throughout the war — more than 2 million tons since the fighting began. That record alone destroys the claim of genocidal intent. No nation at war has ever delivered aid on that scale to a population governed by its enemy.

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Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Israeli forces have fought with precision to reduce civilian casualties while targeting Hamas operatives. The challenge has been immense. Hamas hides behind civilians, embeds fighters in hospitals and schools, and uses civilian infrastructure as shields. Even so, Israel repeatedly issued advance warnings of airstrikes and troop movements to limit harm. Genocidal regimes do the opposite: They hunt civilians and slaughter them deliberately. Gaza has seen none of that conduct from Israel.

The International Court of Justice should weigh these facts carefully when it rules in the South Africa-Israel case. Israel’s position is strong, which explains why radical actors want to rewrite the rules of genocide to fit their narrative.

The Genocide Convention remains a respected, almost sacred document. It should guide the final judgment. Attempts to stretch or dilute it through political lawfare threaten justice itself.

For now, Israel deserves a fulsome defense from everyone committed to law, order, and truth. The future of international law, counterterrorism strategy, and the conduct of modern warfare may hinge on how the world judges Israel’s actions. The stakes could not be higher.

​Trump, Gaza, Hamas, Benjamin netanyahu, Israel, Peace plan, Opinion & analysis, Israel-hamas war, Ceasefire israel hamas 

An estimated 80% of people hate their jobs. They fantasize about quitting in a blaze of glory, hurling their lanyards across the office like a frisbee, and riding off into the sunset to raise goats, bake sourdough, or at least remember what eight hours of sleep feels like.

Sean Carlton was one of them.

‘Nobody wakes up one morning ready to raise animals and turn them into food.’ Change begins with one thing you can actually change. Lower one bill. Learn one skill.

The difference is that he didn’t stay. Two years ago, he and his wife, Alexys, walked away from their corporate careers and bought an acre of land in West Virginia. The experience also prompted Carlton to write “Exit Farming: Starving the Systems That Farm You” — a book that reads like both a confession and a call to arms.

The Carltons didn’t step into a new job, but into a new way of being. They rolled the dice with no promise of a soft landing, and in doing so they exposed something uncomfortable: Many of us aren’t trapped by circumstance so much as by the stories we tell ourselves about what we are allowed to want.

Sean Carlton

Questioning ‘normal’

Carlton is no professional commentator or pundit. “Exit Farming” is a cri de coeur from the American cubicle.

So when asked what exactly he means by “systems that farm you,” he doesn’t reach for theory. He answers with the simplicity of a man who finally recognized the shape of his own confinement.

“Systems farm people by taking more from you than they give back while convincing you this arrangement is normal,” he says.

Work dictates your hours. Debt dictates your decisions. Health care dictates your fears. Even your phone becomes, in his words, “the delivery system for apps that track you, profile you, and sell what they learn.”

It might sound melodramatic. It isn’t. It’s simply Monday morning in America, with millions waking up already weary of the hours ahead.

Slow and steady

But Carlton insists the way out is rarely a dramatic jailbreak. It’s the slow, steady act of starving the system’s influence. You “bring one thing at a time back under your control.” Lower an expense. Learn a skill. Build a sliver of income that doesn’t depend on a single institution. These small shifts break the spell. Every small act of independence starves a machine that has grown used to feeding on your time, your attention, your identity, even your sanity.

Of course, independence comes with a price, and Carlton tallies it honestly and without self-pity. One of the most striking sections in the book addresses the loss of family once he stepped off the expected path. Not through screaming matches or slammed doors, but through slow erosion: “Phone calls got shorter. Conversations turned tense.”

Disapproval had less to do with the specifics of his life than the simple fact that he no longer fit the template.

When asked how Americans can balance honoring their families with refusing to, as he puts it, “participate in systems that drain your energy and compromise your values,” his answer is as clean as it is compelling: “If a relationship survives you making choices that improve your health, your time, or your stability, then it survives. If it falls apart the moment you stop living the way they prefer, then it was already conditional.”

It’s a hard truth, but Carlton refuses to dress it up. Long before any institution closes a door on us, we’ve already built the cell ourselves. The ancients understood this well: People cling to the comfort of captivity, obeying expectations set by those who would rather see them worn down than transformed.

RELATED: An artist and farmer cultivates creativity

Stacy Tabb

Work with consequences

There’s also a spiritual undercurrent to his critique of modern work culture. Carlton never lapses into sermonizing, but his diagnosis reads like a measured moral warning. Modern work “follows you home,” he notes. It takes evenings, weekends, and whatever fragments of peace remain. It erodes sleep, attention, and the mental steadiness that previous generations recognized as the bedrock of a healthy life.

Americans worship productivity with almost religious devotion, even though the devotion always seems to cost them more than they can spare. Two-thirds of the workforce is burned out, but the cult of busyness marches on. Another day, another dollar … but also another headache, another email chain, and another reminder that coffee can only do so much.

When asked whether “exit farming” is a return to older ideas of work and stewardship, he rejects romantic myth-making. “Exit farming isn’t about finding something spiritual,” he says. “It’s about doing work where the consequences are real.” If you don’t feed the animals, “they suffer and then they die.” If you don’t tend the crops exactly as needed, the season is lost before it begins. Nothing waits for permission. Nothing reschedules itself for your convenience. This realism is its own kind of grounding. And you don’t need a farm to reclaim it, but only work that doesn’t demand the erosion of dignity as its hidden price of admission.

Grow one thing

The final question in the book’s conversation is the one most Americans are actively wrestling with: What about those who feel trapped? Trapped between institutions they no longer trust and a life of greater self-reliance that feels too big, too frightening, too foreign?

Carlton’s reply is the opposite of theatrical bravado. “Nobody wakes up one morning ready to raise animals and turn them into food.” Change begins with one thing you can actually change. Lower one bill. Learn one skill. Grow one thing you eat often. Build one dependable relationship. Reduce one vulnerability. These are small, almost humble acts. But they mark the beginning of a life that no longer runs on someone else’s terms.

Over time, he says, these small adjustments stop being adjustments. They become a different kind of life, one that is sturdy enough to withstand the failures of the systems around it.

That’s the heart of “Exit Farming.” It isn’t about rejecting society or romanticizing hardship, but about reclaiming stability in a country where stability has become a cruel joke. It’s not about storming out in some “Office Space” fantasia with a baseball bat.

It’s about one couple choosing a different path and showing that others could do it too. Not through dramatic destruction, but through the refusal to be drained of the very things that make a life worth living — time, purpose, and peace.

​Align interview, Exit farming, Lifestyle, Sean carlton, Work, Homesteading