Category: blaze media

Mark Zuckerberg, in a 2021 presentation that seemed less a business strategy than a fever dream, rebranded his company from Facebook to Meta. He was selling a future in which we would inhabit a digital utopia, a place where the friction of the physical world, the traffic, the decay, the awkward silences, would be smoothed over by the order of code.

It was a grand vision, one that presumed that the right combination of capital and engineering can solve the human condition.

However, Meta is now quietly retreating from its all-in bet, one of the most expensive experiments in business history.

It was a $60 billion attempt to fix a reality we still prefer to the simulation.

The premise was always seductive, in the way that the shadows on the wall of Plato’s cave were seductive: a world that promised to be more pleasurable, more malleable than reality. But the metaverse, as it began to take shape, was less a hyperreal paradise than a clumsy imposition. To enter this new world, one had to strap a computer to one’s face, a set of electronic “ski goggles” that isolated the wearer, blinded him to his surroundings, and demanded a total surrender of attention. The Quest traded the ease of the smartphone, which slides effortlessly into our pockets, for a device that induced sweat, fatigue, and the vague nausea of motion-to-photon delays.

Horizon Worlds, Meta’s flagship social platform, was intended to be the bustling town square of the new digital age. Instead, it became a study in desolation. By the fall of 2022, the platform struggled to retain 200,000 monthly users, a number that seems almost tragic when weighed against the tens of billions of dollars poured into its creation. Those who did visit found a landscape populated by legless, floating torsos, cartoon avatars that managed to be both childish and uncanny. It was a ghost town, a place where the silence was amplified by the vast, empty digital architecture.

This failure was not without precedent. In the 1990s, Nintendo’s Virtual Boy promised a similar revolution and delivered only headaches and monochrome red graphics, selling fewer than 800,000 units before vanishing into the landfill of bad ideas. In the early 2000s, Second Life was briefly the darling of pundits, who prophesied we would all soon be working and shopping in its pixelated aisles; by 2010, it had faded into a niche curiosity. The pattern is clear: The cultural imagination is enticed by the idea of VR, but the human animal balks at its practice.

There is a stubborn materiality to our existence that the architects of the metaverse failed to overcome. We are embodied beings. We like the warmth of a hand, the smell of rain, the ability to glance at a screen and then look away. The metaverse demanded we leave the physical world behind, a proposition that felt increasingly dystopian.

RELATED: Inside Zuckerberg’s losing metaverse bet

David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Marshall McLuhan warned that a medium pushed to its extreme can “implode” into something else, and the metaverse seemed to hit that breaking point, an implosion in which the medium devoured its own appeal. The users did not want to be immersed in a corporate-controlled simulacrum; they wanted convenience. They wanted the blue bubble of a text message, not a virtual meeting in a boardroom rendered in low-polygon graphics.

The retreat, when it came, was swift and brutal, in the way corporate corrections often are. By 2023, a metaverse winter had set in. Disney shuttered its division; Microsoft sunset its social VR platform. The world became captivated by a new technology: generative AI. Suddenly the conversation was not about new worlds but about automated intelligence that could write our emails and paint our pictures. Meta, reading the tea leaves and the plummeting engagement metrics, pivoted. The irrational exuberance for VR gave way to sober retrenchment.

The financial markets, at times the coldest arbiters of value, cheered the death of the dream. When news broke in late 2025 that Meta would cut Reality Labs’ budget and lay off staff, its stock jumped, adding nearly $70 billion in value overnight. It was a signal that the experiment was over. The Great White Whale of tech had once again slipped away, leaving the innovators holding the harpoon, exhausted.

John Carmack, the legendary game developer who tried to steer Meta’s VR ship before resigning in frustration, noted that the company had “a ridiculous amount of people and resources” but constantly “self-sabotaged.” The metaverse was not killed by a lack of technology; the Quest 3 is a marvel of engineering. It died from a lack of human necessity. It was a $60 billion attempt to fix a reality that, for all its flaws, we still prefer to the simulation.

The retreat is less a defeat than a recalibration. Meta is now looking toward “smart glasses,” wearables that overlay the digital onto the real rather than replacing it. The form factor concedes the stubborn fact that we want to remain in the world. The dream of the metaverse, that hyperreal paradise where models replace the real, has been deferred. We have chosen to keep the goggles off, to live for now, in Baudrillard’s words, in the desert of the real.

​Tech, Vr 

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has been officially dissolved by its board of directors after Republican cuts to funding for PBS and NPR.

The CPB provided funding for public news for 58 years but was plagued by criticism from the right that it supported left-wing policies and the agenda of the Democratic party.

‘Americans will never again have to worry that a single cent will go towards CPB’s radical programming.’

The organization released a statement Monday confirming the vote for dissolution.

“For more than half a century, CPB existed to ensure that all Americans — regardless of geography, income, or background — had access to trusted news, educational programming, and local storytelling,” said CPB president and CEO Patricia Harrison.

She went on to call the vote the fulfillment of a “profound” responsibility.

“CPB’s final act would be to protect the integrity of the public media system and the democratic values by dissolving, rather than allowing the organization to remain defunded and vulnerable to additional attacks,” she added.

Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana welcomed the news and mocked the CPB.

“The Corporation for Public Broadcasting — which funneled your money to NPR and PBS to call birds, roads, and country music racist — is officially DISSOLVED,” he wrote. “Good riddance.”

Republicans had criticized public funding for NPR and PBS, while Democrats had criticized defunding efforts as deleterious for rural areas and other underserved communities.

RELATED: NPR hit with scorn over ‘insulting’ article on self-care tips for anxiety from war headlines

“Excellent news,” replied Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri.

“Now, Americans will never again have to worry that a single cent will go towards CPB’s radical programming,” Schmitt continued.

The CPB previously announced in August that it would begin winding down operations, scale down its employees, and hand out whatever funds it had left over after the Republican cuts.

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

​Corporation for public broadcasting, Cpb board dissolves, Npr defunding, Pbs defunding, Politics 

The hosts of “The View” offered a wide spectrum of responses to the arrest of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces.

Maduro was captured at his home in Caracas and flown out of the country alongside his wife in a daring mission on Saturday evening. On Monday, he pleaded “not guilty” in a court in New York City.

‘I think you can still celebrate that this murderous, corrupt, sadistic son of a b***h is out of Venezuela!’

Some on the left have criticized the Trump administration for the manner in which the operation was conducted. Sunny Hostin offered her critique on Monday’s episode of the talk show.

“Isn’t anyone concerned about the fact that what we’re doing is almost piracy? It’s like imperialism,” said Hostin, who claimed that the president violated international law.

“We’re going to another country, and we’re taking their natural resources for ourselves,” she added. “And on top of it, if we can do something like this, who is to say that Vladimir Putin, then, doesn’t go to Ukraine and arrest Zelenskyy?”

Hostin was referring to statements President Donald Trump made about seizing oil tankers from Venezuela and returning oil drilling assets that had been seized by the communist government and nationalized. She pointed out that Venezuela has control of nearly 20% of the world’s oil reserves, more even than Saudi Arabia.

Ana Navarro, however, said she was full of joy that Maduro’s reign was over and said Venezuelans and Cubans in south Florida were overjoyed about the arrest.

“For us, this is a very, very happy day when we see a dictator who has been part of oppressing and abusing the Venezuelan people for 25 years, when we see him in handcuffs and held to some sort of accountability, it brought me to tears,” Navarro said. “It brought me great joy.”

She added, “I think you can still celebrate that this murderous, corrupt, sadistic son of a bitch is out of Venezuela!”

RELATED: Venezuelan freedom fighter wins Nobel Peace Prize — and immediately dedicates it to Trump

Maduro is facing charges of “narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the United States.”

Video of the full segment on Venezuela can be viewed on the show’s YouTube channel.

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

​Sunny hostin on maduro, Ana navarro on maduro, Nicolas maduro arrest, Liberals on maduro, Politics 

When President Trump boycotted the U.N. climate summit, many Americans who aren’t buying the elites’ climate fearmongering were pleased, hopeful that Trump’s move might weaken the globalist plans.

But after the global elites appeared to use the president’s absence to push extreme climate policies, some are wondering if the president could have made a mistake.

“We’ve got Trump in the White House, and of course he actually boycotted the summit. We reached out to the State Department. They told us they deliberately chose not to send anybody. So there was no U.S. delegation for the first time in 30 years of these, and that made for a very interesting situation,” journalist Alex Newman tells Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck.

“And you know, a lot of Americans thought that was great. Hooray. And a lot of the climate skeptics also thought so. But some of the globalists at the U.N. conference also said, ‘Hey, this is a great opportunity, because the United States is still involved in the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, but they’re not here to obstruct passage of an ambitious deal,’” Newman explains.

“‘So let’s do some great stuff, and then when Trump is gone in three and a half years, we’ll impose that on Americans,’” he adds.

And the agreement they passed without Trump’s presence included “mention of a carbon budget.”

“They claim that four-fifths of the CO2 that humans can be allowed to emit has already been emitted,” Newman tells Glenn.

“I think the strategy for these people, Glenn, is ‘Hey, we’ve got Trump for three and a half more years. Let’s just keep our heads down. We know that he doesn’t believe us. We know that the American people don’t believe us. So let’s just not talk about it too loudly,’” he adds.

“So was this a mistake by not showing up?” Glenn asks.

“I don’t know,” Newman answers. “I know some of the people down at the U.N. summit thought this was a good opportunity for them, but you know, Trump’s not done.”

“I’ve spoken with people at EPA; I’ve spoke with people at the State Department, who have said that they are seriously considering the possibility of withdrawing from the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change,” he continues.

“We have to,” Glenn interjects.

“Yeah, that seems like a no-brainer. … In fact, before he went into the White House, he said one of the top priorities for the MAGA movement and the United States needs to be to decisively crush this climate hysteria hoax,” Newman says, adding, “So he’s really serious about it.”

Want more from Glenn Beck?

To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Camera phone, Free, Sharing, Upload, Video, 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, President trump, Climate change agenda, Climate agenda, United nations, Global elites, Climate change alarmism, Climate alarmism, Alex newman 

President Donald Trump responded with a scathing statement to a report that the 2024 failed Democratic vice presidential candidate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, was considering dropping out of his re-election campaign. Walz later confirmed he was dropping out.

Walz has been dogged by accusations of obstruction in the investigation into government relief and welfare fraud in the Somali community in Minnesota. He has denied any involvement and claimed that his administration has tried to investigate the schemes.

‘I feel certain the facts will come out, and they will reveal a seriously unscrupulous, and rich, group of ‘SLIMEBALLS.’ … NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW!’

The president mocked Walz and named other Democrats he believes are also guilty of crimes, including Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.

“Minnesota’s Corrupt Governor will possibly leave office before his Term is up but, in any event, will not be running again because he was caught, REDHANDED, along with Ilhan Omar, and others of his Somali friends, stealing Tens of Billions of Taxpayer Dollars,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

“I feel certain the facts will come out, and they will reveal a seriously unscrupulous, and rich, group of ‘SLIMEBALLS.’ Governor Walz has destroyed the State of Minnesota,” he added.

He went on to accuse California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, all Democrats, of more dishonesty and incompetency.

“NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW!” he added.

Walz said Monday that he would be unable to put all his effort into a re-election campaign that would have meant a third term, if he had won.

RELATED: Tim Walz tries to dunk on Trump and gets pantsed on social media

“Every minute I spend defending my own political interests would be a minute I can’t spend defending the people of Minnesota against the criminals who prey on our generosity and the cynics who prey on our differences,” he wrote. “So I’ve decided to step out of the race and let others worry about the election while I focus on the work.”

One poll found that Walz had a disapproval rating of 48%, and over 69% of respondents said that he needed to do more to stop fraud in Minnesota.

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

​Tim walz steps down, Walz fraud accusations, Somali minnesotan fraud, Trump vs democrats, Politics 

Art created by artificial intelligence is an attempt to reduce a society’s sense of humanity, according to one Hollywood director.

This sort of treatment of art is “always a prelude to fascism,” the director also warned.

‘That is always the prelude to fascism.’

No ifs, ands, or bots

While accepting an honor from Variety at its 10 Directors to Watch and Creative Impact Awards, filmmaker Guillermo del Toro continued his recent onslaught against the use of artificial intelligence for art.

“Be kind, be involved, and believe in your art,” del Toro said, emphasizing that when art is minimalized, bad times are ahead.

“In a time where people tell you art is not important, that is always the prelude to fascism. Always. When they tell you it doesn’t matter, when they tell you a f**king app can do art, you say, ‘Well, if it’s that easy and if it’s that unimportant, why the f**k do they want it so bad?'”

The director answered his own question, warning that the reduction of art to a line of code removes a certain degree of humanity.

“The answer is because they think they can debase everything that makes us a little better, a little more human. And that, in my book and in my life, includes monsters.”

RELATED: Guillermo del Toro stops awards show music to drop ‘F**k AI’ bomb

Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images

Monster high

Del Toro’s tirade came on the heels of similar remarks last month at the 2025 Gotham Film Awards, where he made a point of announcing that his widely praised “Frankenstein” was “willfully made by humans for humans.”

After praising the movie’s “designers, builders, makeup, [and] wardrobe” teams, the director paused and added, “F**k AI.”

The 61-year-old — one of the most prominent Hollywood power players to speak out against the dangers of AI — also hinted at why he prefers to work in the horror/fantasy genre: “Sometimes the world gets so complicated, you can only explain it with the power of monsters.”

“We are in a time like that right now,” he added.

RELATED: The Oscars will leave TV — and may never come back

‘Death’ wish

Despite his anti-AI stance, del Toro is far from a techno-phobe.

In 2023, he praised Japanese video game auteur Hideo Kojima’s “paradoxical creation” and his ability to “break the barrier between cinema and games.”

Del Toro appears as the character Deadman in Kojima’s 2019 game “Death Stranding,” as well as its 2025 sequel.

​Align, Ai, Artificial intelligence, Art, Hollywood, Director, Fascism, Entertainment 

The Department of Homeland Security has publicly called out Hilton Hotels over what DHS says was an organized act of obstruction against immigration enforcement.

The agency posted screenshots showing the well-known hotel chain had “maliciously” canceled reservations for DHS officials at a Minneapolis-area location.

‘Why is Hilton Hotels siding with murderers and rapists to deliberately undermine and impede DHS law enforcement from their mission to enforce our nation’s immigration laws?’

“NO ROOM AT THE INN!” reads a statement from DHS on social media.

“[Hilton Hotels] has launched a coordinated campaign in Minneapolis to REFUSE service to DHS law enforcement. When officers attempted to book rooms using official government emails and rates, Hilton Hotels maliciously CANCELLED their reservations. This is UNACCEPTABLE,” the agency continued.

“Why is Hilton Hotels siding with murderers and rapists to deliberately undermine and impede DHS law enforcement from their mission to enforce our nation’s immigration laws?” the statement concluded.

One of the screenshots of the email responses included a statement from the hotel specifically citing the presence of ICE agents as the reason for the cancellation.

“We have noticed an influx of gov reservations made today that have been made for DHS, and we are not allowing any ICE or immigration agents to stay at our property. If you are with DHS or immigration, let us know as we will have to cancel your reservation,” the email read, according to the screenshot.

In an email statement to Blaze News, a spokesperson for the hotel chain responded to the accusations.

“Hilton Hotels serve as welcoming places for all,” the statement reads.

“This hotel is independently owned and operated, and the actions referenced are not reflective of Hilton values,” the spokesperson added. “We are investigating this matter with this individual hotel and can confirm that Hilton works with governments, law enforcement, and community leaders around the world to ensure our properties are open and inviting to everyone.”

RELATED: Postal worker allegedly tried to help detainee escape from ICE — and was on duty at the time

Some on social media responded by saying they would cancel their Hilton reservations and avoid the chain.

Blaze News has also reached out for comment from the Hampton Inn in Lakeville.

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

​Hilton hotels vs ice, Ice obstruction, Dhs calls out hilton hotels, Immigration and customs enforcement, Politics 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested murderers, rapists, and other violent offenders over the first weekend of the new year, according to a press release exclusively obtained by Blaze News.

The Department of Homeland Security recently announced “a historic 120% increase in manpower,” stating that it has added over 12,000 new ICE officers and agents following a successful recruitment campaign that received over 220,000 applications.

“With these new patriots on the team, we will be able to accomplish what many say was impossible and fulfill President Trump’s promise to make America safe again,” the DHS stated.

A DHS press release highlighted 15 “worst of the worst” criminal illegal aliens arrested by ICE over the first weekend of the new year.

‘Over the weekend, ICE arrested murderers, stalkers, rapists, and gang members.’

Jose Cano-Cruz, a Mexican national, was previously convicted of homicide and aggravated stalking in Muscogee County, Georgia.

RELATED: Leftist radicals doxx ICE agents with ‘WANTED’ flyers in Pennsylvania

Jose Cano-Cruz. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Waheed Allah Mohammad, an Afghan national, was convicted of attempted murder and first-degree assault in Monroe County, New York. A 2009 NPR report stated that the then 22-year-old admitted to stabbing his 19-year-old sister, whom he reportedly described as a “bad Muslim girl” for trying to leave her family to start a new life in New York City.

Waheed Allah Mohammad. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

ICE agents nabbed Carlos Danilo Barrera, a known Florencia 13 gang member from El Salvador. He was previously convicted of second-degree murder in Los Angeles, California.

Carlos Danilo Barrera. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Federal immigration officials detained Ruben Pulido-Cortes. The Mexican national was convicted of rape in Queens, New York.

Ruben Pulido-Cortes. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Leonel Rodriguez-Garcia, from Mexico, was also picked up by ICE agents over the weekend. He was convicted of kidnapping in Kern County, California.

Leonel Rodriguez-Garcia. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Uriel Segovia-Leon, a Mexican national, was convicted of battery resulting in serious bodily injury in Lake County, Indiana.

Uriel Segovia-Leon. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Federal agents arrested Duane Alando Spence from Jamaica. His criminal history includes a conviction for aggravated battery resulting in great bodily harm in Miami, Florida.

Duane Alando Spence. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Patricio Hernandez-Gomez, a Mexican national, was convicted of first-degree unlawful imprisonment in Perry County, Kentucky. He was sentenced to five years in prison.

Patricio Hernandez-Gomez. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

ICE arrested Mexican national Yessenia Monserrat Monje-Orozco. Her criminal history includes convictions for possession of prohibited ammo and a controlled substance, as well as vehicle theft in San Luis Obispo, California.

Yessenia Monserrat Monje-Orozco. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Thinh Troung Nguyen, a Vietnamese national, was previously convicted of armed robbery in Lexington, Oklahoma.

Thinh Troung Nguyen. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Federal agents arrested Esteban Reyes-Cortes, an illegal alien criminal from Mexico. He was convicted in Tallahassee, Florida, for battery and disorderly conduct and in Decatur, Georgia, for entering an automobile with intent to commit theft.

Esteban Reyes-Cortes. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Jose Antonio Poblete-Velasquez, from Chile, was convicted of burglary in Ventura, California. According to the Irvine Police Department, officers observed Poblete-Velasquez and an accomplice distract an elderly shopper at a grocery store to steal her wallet and phone. Police were surveilling the Chilean national following reports of a separate incident where credit cards from a stolen wallet were used to make several fraudulent purchases.

Jose Antonio Poblete-Velasquez. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Immigration agents captured Luis Alberto Medel-Miranda, a Mexican national who was previously convicted for driving while impaired in Rockingham County, North Carolina.

Luis Alberto Medel-Miranda. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Kevin Ruiz-Gonzalez, an illegal alien from Honduras, was convicted of criminal possession of a weapon in Bronx, New York.

Kevin Ruiz-Gonzalez. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

ICE also nabbed Harvy Gomez-Alaniz, from Nicaragua. He was previously convicted of evading arrest or detention in San Antonio, Texas.

RELATED: Making a list and checking it twice: ICE’s year-end roundup of the most heinous illegal alien invaders

Harvy Gomez-Alaniz. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

“The first year of the Trump administration marked record-breaking progress in removing criminal illegal aliens, and DHS will be doubling down on those accomplishments in 2026 with our more than 12,000 new officers and agents,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated. “Over the weekend, ICE arrested murderers, stalkers, rapists, and gang members.”

President Donald Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem “unleashed ICE to get criminal illegal aliens off our streets and out of our country,” McLaughlin added.

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

​News, Immigration and customs enforcement, Ice, Department of homeland security, Dhs, Illegal immigration crisis, Illegal immigration, Immigration crisis, Immigration, Tricia mclaughlin, Politics 

Hot on the heels of a highly publicized dinner with Donald and Melania Trump, Elon Musk will continue his work with the federal government through a new agreement that will affect the daily workflows of Department of War employees.

Last July, Musk’s xAI entered a $200 million contract with the Pentagon to adopt advanced AI capabilities for sectors like national defense. Now, both the DOW and xAI are shedding light on some of the details surrounding their partnership in other areas.

‘xAI will make available a family of government-optimized foundation models.’

In late December, the DOW announced its internal AI platform would be expanded to include xAI for “frontier-grade” capabilities.

“This initiative will soon embed xAI’s frontier AI systems, based on the Grok family of models, directly into GenAI.mil. Targeted for initial deployment in early 2026,” a press release stated.

This will enable the “secure handling” of “Controlled Unclassified Information” in the daily workflows of government employees, who will also gain access to “global insights” on X, which will allegedly provide a “decisive information advantage.”

However, there is no indication what those insights include.

RELATED: DOGE didn’t die — it moved to the states

Photo by Didem Mente/Anadolu via Getty Images

The xAI company announced in its own statement that it would be providing access to its AI models, “agentic tools, research platform, and API,” unlocking real-time insights.

The systems can be embedded into the daily work of the DOW’s some 3 million military and civilian employees, “from the Pentagon to the tactical edge.”

“xAI will make available a family of government-optimized foundation models to support classified operational workloads,” the press release added.

The DOW has also entered into contracts with other advanced technology companies like EdgeRunner AI and Palmer Luckey’s Anduril.

RELATED: Gavin Newsom ridicules Elon Musk over his trans-identifying son — and Musk responds

Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

The expanded partnership between the DOW and Musk came just days after xAI announced a new artificial voice generation application.

The Grok Voice Agent API operates essentially as a search engine optimizer that acts as a voice for a chatbot. The company released a series of sample voices, which “speak dozens of languages, call tools, and search realtime data.”

The product is currently being rolled out in Teslas to relay vehicle status, search directions, and control navigation.

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

​Return, Ai, Artificial intelligence, Elon musk, Federal government, Trump administration, Dow, Department of war, Tech 

A Florida man wearing a lace bra, a G-string thong, and fake breasts was caught trespassing at a construction site, according to police. However, authorities said the bizarre situation escalated when a deputy discovered something alarming under his prosthetic silicone breasts.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd began his Monday morning briefing by stating: “Now occasionally I bring you stuff that you just can’t believe, that you’ll never get over, that may even scar you for life.”

‘Can you imagine? He’s mad at us for trying to find out why he’s wearing lace bras with guns and G-strings or G-somethings.’

According to the affidavit provided to Blaze News by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, a deputy encountered 39-year-old Matthew Zaccarino of Altamonte Springs at a construction zone around 1:19 a.m. Dec. 14.

The affidavit states Zaccarino’s vehicle was parked on private property with signs posted that read: “No Trespassing.”

A deputy made contact with Zaccarino, “who was standing next to the vehicle’s open passenger-side door and putting on female clothing (bra and panties),” the affidavit said.

Judd added, “We see this dude wearing a red lace bra, with prosthetic silicone breasts. Then we noticed he’s wearing a G-string — showing off the boys. You know what I mean?”

Judd said the deputy believed the situation was “highly unusual.”

Zaccarino told the deputy he was on his way to a “costume party,” according to Judd.

However, when the deputy pressed him about the costume party, Zaccarino couldn’t answer the question, Judd said.

The affidavit states that Zaccarino was “unable to provide a location, direction, or identify individuals who would be present” at the supposed party.

The affidavit also states the deputy issued several lawful commands for the suspect to stop moving, but he “refused to comply, removed his bra and silicone breast prosthesis, and began reaching inside the vehicle.”

At that time, the officer handcuffed the suspect.

Sheriff Judd stressed that these kinds of strange encounters can be extremely dangerous for officers.

RELATED: WATCH: Florida man says he ‘teleported’ into stolen BMW, blames ‘X-Men,’ thanks cop for rescuing him from ‘aliens’

According to the affidavit, the deputy was looking down at the bra and breast prosthesis and noticed a “loaded H&K 9mm firearm under the items” on the passenger-side floorboard near where Zaccarino was standing.

“Such loitering and prowling occurred under circumstances that warranted justifiable and reasonable alarm for the safety of people or property in the vicinity,” the deputy wrote in the affidavit.

Zaccarino then clammed up and refused to talk to law enforcement, according to Judd.

“Can you imagine? He’s mad at us for trying to find out why he’s wearing lace bras with guns and G-strings or G-somethings,” Judd stated.

“Oooh, it was ugly. It was so ugly,” Judd remarked.

Zaccarino was arrested and charged with armed trespass, resisting without violence, and loitering and prowling.

According to Polk County Sheriff’s Office jail records, Zaccarino was released on a $6,250 bond.

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

​Sheriff grady judd, Grady judd, Polk county sheriffs office, Florida man, Florida crime, Weird news, Florida, Crime 

When the White House unveiled the Presidential Walk of Fame, which features a portrait of former President Joe Biden replaced with the image of an autopen, one reporter was especially excited to see it.

“Every time I walk by it, I laugh to myself because I helped the president decide whether or not he should hang that photo of the autopen in Joe Biden’s spot,” Daily Caller White House correspondent Reagan Reese told BlazeTV host John Doyle at AmFest.

“I interviewed the president in August. I sat down with him for an hour in the Oval Office, and in the middle of the interview, he says, ‘Have you seen the work I’m doing in the Rose Garden?’ I’m like, ‘No, Mr. President, I haven’t,’” she continues.

That’s when the president decided to show her.

“I walk out to the Rose Garden with him, and he’s showing me everything, and we walk back inside and he has assistants on hand, and he says to them, you know, ‘Go show Reagan the portraits; get Reagan the portraits,’” she tells Doyle.

“So in walk his assistants, and they have these giant gold frames, and it’s George Washington, it’s Abraham Lincoln, it’s Ronald Reagan, who I told the president I’m named after. And I say, ‘Mr. President, are you going to hang Joe Biden’s portrait?’ And he was like, ‘All right, show her,’” she explains.

The president then had his assistants show her the photo of the autopen.

“He’s like, ‘I want to hang this photo in the place of Joe Biden’s portrait. Do you think I should do it?’ And I was like, ‘I think it would be very you, sir. I think you have to do it,’” she recalls.

“And he was like, ‘I think I will,’” she adds.

Want more from John Doyle?

To enjoy more of the truth about America and join the fight to restore a country that has been betrayed by its own leaders, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Upload, Video, Camera phone, Free, Video phone, Sharing, Youtube.com, John doyle, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Autopen scandal, Reagan reese, President trump, Joe biden, Joe biden presidential portrait, The presidential walk of fame, The trump administration, The john doyle show 

A Utah school board member announced she will not seek another term, citing pervasive corruption, and urged parents to immediately remove their children from the state’s public schools.

Christina Boggess was elected to the Utah State Board of Education in 2022 to represent District 8, which encompasses parts of Taylorsville, Kearns, and West Jordan. She announced on Friday that she plans to leave public office at the end of her term in January 2027.

‘Real change is not coming. The system is not broken — it is working exactly as the corrupt intend it to work.’

Boggess explained her reasoning behind the decision in a post on X.

“Today I declare, without apology or hesitation, that I will not seek re-election to the Utah State Board of Education. I am done lending my name, my vote, and my silence to a broken, corrupt, and morally bankrupt system that no longer serves the children or families of this state,” Boggess wrote.

She claimed there is “corruption” within the local board of education and the broader education system, adding that “nearly every decision is now driven by not-so-hidden agendas, political cowardice, financial kickbacks, and raw personal ambition — not by what is best for students.”

“I ran for this office to fight for you — your children, your values, your right to be heard. Instead, I have been forced to watch as even the loudest ‘conservative’ voices fold, trade their votes for favor and money, or abandon every promise they made on the campaign trail,” Boggess continued.

“The Republican Party platform means nothing inside those walls. The Word of the Lord means even less.”

RELATED: Universities treated free speech as expendable in 2025

Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

“Your concerns — about pornography in libraries, radical gender ideology in classrooms, the erosion of academic excellence, and the assault on parental rights — are mocked, ignored, or drowned out by the shrill demands of special interests and the timid silence of those who fear losing their seat more than losing their soul,” she added.

Boggess shared a final urgent message with parents.

“Get your children out of Utah’s government schools as quickly as possible,” she declared. “Real change is not coming. The system is not broken — it is working exactly as the corrupt intend it to work. Your children’s minds, hearts, and futures are not safe inside it.”

RELATED: School credit ‘recovery’ plans are apparently being misused for racial equity — and disadvantaging students even more

Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Boggess had previously criticized the board for refusing to sign a letter from the Trump administration that stated it would not support diversity, equity, and inclusion programs or training, KUTV reported.

During an August meeting, Boggess shared a message highlighting her Christian faith and expressing concerns about the threats of communism in America.

“What God sees in comparison to the standard He sets, I think, should horrify everyone. And I don’t know what causes some to be so fearful to walk as Jesus did and lead the way He led,” Boggess stated during the meeting. “It is odd to me that even those with a clear biblical understanding that Satan is the father of lies, that governments are corrupt, and that Satan is the ruler of this world, will also assert that publicly questioning the government narrative, their practices, and universal truth is somehow un-Christian.”

Neither the school board nor the superintendent of public instruction responded to a request for comment.

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

​News, Utah, Christina boggess, Utah state board of education, School, Education, Diversity equity inclusion, Diversity equity and inclusion, Dei, School board, Politics 

Protests have rocked Iran since late December, and some American leaders, including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), have voiced support for the cause.

On an appearance on Fox News on Sunday night, Graham donned a black baseball cap that read: “Make Iran Great Again.”

‘I pray and hope that 2026 will be the year that we make Iran great again.’

As he put on the hat, Graham said, “I pray and hope that 2026 will be the year that we make Iran great again.”

Last Friday, President Trump warned Iranian leaders that there will be hell to pay if any protesters are killed: “If Iran [shoots] and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

RELATED: Trump says if Iran ‘kills peaceful protesters,’ the US ‘will come to their rescue’

Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Protests have reportedly broken out in more than 220 locations in 26 of the 31 provinces in Iran. According to the Associated Press, more than 20 people have been killed, and nearly 1,000 people have been arrested.

The protests began springing up in December 2025, supposedly in response to mounting economic pressures, including the collapse of the Iranian currency, a new policy that raised the price of gas, and inflation rates as high as 40%.

On Saturday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reportedly warned that “rioters must be put in their place,” but the protests have shown little sign of slowing down in the first week of 2026.

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

​Politics, Iran, Khamenei, Protests, Economic crisis, Make iran great again, Fox news, America, Trump, President trump, Lindsey graham, Senator lindsey graham 

While almost all Republicans can agree that the United States needs to halt illegal immigration, more public figures have been raising the alarm about legal immigration through the “broken” visa system as well.

Early Monday morning, President Trump reposted on Truth Social a clip of an interview with Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) talking about immigration reform.

‘We need to restructure our legal immigration system to only allow people who love America, share American values, want to add value and assimilate to America, and don’t want any free stuff.’

The interviewer asked Fine what legal changes need to be made in Congress.

RELATED: Trump DOJ slams door on welfare for illegal aliens, ends Clinton-era loophole draining taxpayer dollars

Photographer: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images

“I think immediately we need to stop it all — all legal immigration of any kind, because clearly it’s out of control. People coming here on tourist visas protesting the country; people claiming that they’re refugees but then scamming the system and going on vacation to the countries they supposedly fled from; people coming and taking American jobs,” Fine said.

He continued, “We need to restructure our legal immigration system to only allow people who love America, share American values, want to add value and assimilate to America, and don’t want any free stuff.”

Fine then referred to Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy’s Pausing All Admissions Until Security Ensured Act, which was introduced in mid-November.

The bill seeks to freeze all legal immigration until certain conditions are met, effectively forcing an open-ended moratorium on legal immigration.

When the bill was introduced, Roy said, “The problem isn’t just illegal immigration; it’s also legal immigration. While the Biden administration opened our borders and allowed millions to flood into our country, they also rubber-stamped millions more arriving through convoluted legal schemes, completely overwhelming the system.”

A White House spokesperson declined to give further comment when contacted by Blaze News.

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

​Politics, Legal immigration, Illegal immigration, Visas, Randy fine, Chip roy, Pause act, Immigration 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the U.S. is moving away from funneling foreign aid funds through non-governmental organizations after criticism of fraud and incompetence.

Rubio explained that the U.S. government has used NGOs to try to accomplish foreign policy goals but that many have become far too costly and inefficient. The first benefactor of the new policy is the government of Kenya, which will receive foreign aid funds directly instead.

‘That is the model that we are breaking. We are not doing this any more. We are not going to spend billions of dollars funding the NGO industrial complex while close and important partners like Kenya either have no role to play …’

“The United States has spent billions of dollars over the years in helping with health strategies all across the world,” explained Rubio in a speech last month.

“What we learned over time, especially after coming here, is that oftentimes — and I am oversimplifying it, but this is an accurate description — what would happen is we would go to a country and say, ‘We’re going to help you with your health care needs.’ Then we would drive over to Northern Virginia somewhere, find an NGO, one of these organizations, give them all the money, tell them: ‘Go to this country and do their health care program for them,'” he added.

“That NGO would then take some percentage of that money for their overhead and administrative costs, and by the time it got down to it … only a percentage of the overall money ever actually reached the patients and the people on the ground that we were trying to help because of these costs,” Rubio said.

“This makes no sense,” he said.

The compact reached with Kenya includes the Kenyan government’s agreement to increase spending on health care by $850 million over the next five years.

“So why are we hiring American and international NGOs to go into other countries and run health care systems that are parallel and sometimes in conflict with the health care systems of the host country?” Rubio continued.

RELATED: Flyer posted on Antifa-affiliated website appears to call for laser attacks on police helicopters

“If we’re trying to help countries, help the country. Don’t help the NGO to go in and find a new line of business,” he added. “So that is the model that we are breaking. We are not doing this any more. We are not going to spend billions of dollars funding the NGO industrial complex while close and important partners like Kenya either have no role to play or have very little influence over how health care money is being spent.”

He concluded, “Bottom line is if you want to help a country, work with that country.”

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

​Marco rubio vs ngos, Non-governmental organizations, Foreign aid fraud, State sec marco rubio, Politics 

Nicolas Maduro pled “not guilty” during his first appearance in a United States court on Monday.

Just days after being captured from his home in Caracas, Venezuela, Maduro appeared in a New York City court for the first time alongside his wife, Cilia Flores. During the hearing, Maduro maintained that he is a “decent man” who is innocent of the charges levied against him by the United States.

‘They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.’

“I am innocent,” Maduro said. “I am not guilty.”

Flores’ attorney also claimed that she sustained “significant injuries during her abduction” over the weekend, with journalists present in the courthouse reporting that she was seen wearing bandages on her head during the hearing.

RELATED: Maduro captured following ‘large scale strike’ in Venezuela, Trump says

Photo by Donald Trump’s Truth Social Account/Anadolu via Getty Images

Following his capture, the United States indicted Maduro in the Southern District of New York on charges of “Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States.”

“They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said of Maduro and his wife. “On behalf of the entire U.S. DOJ, I would like to thank President Trump for having the courage to demand accountability on behalf of the American People, and a huge thank you to our brave military who conducted the incredible and highly successful mission to capture these two alleged international narco traffickers.”

The operation that captured both Maduro and Flores took place in the dead of night on Saturday, and they were both then transported to New York by American officials. The operation left Americans and Venezuelans with questions as to who would govern Venezuela while Maduro — whose presidency is not recognized by many countries, including the U.S. — faces legal battles in the United States.

RELATED: ‘We’re going to run it’: Trump reveals Venezuela’s fate following Maduro’s capture

Photo by JUAN BARRETO/AFP via Getty Images

Just hours after the capture, President Donald Trump told reporters that “we’re going to run” Venezuela.

“We can’t take a chance that somebody else takes over Venezuela that doesn’t have the good of the Venezuelan people in mind,” Trump said Saturday. “We’ve had decades of that. We’re not going to let that happen.”

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

​Donald trump, Cilia flores, Venezuela, Marco rubio, Pete hegseth, Southern district of new york, Pam bondi, Department of justice, Doj, Politics, Nicolas maduro 

A United States Postal Service worker in Florida late last month allegedly believed a kid on an electric scooter was making off with a package he had just delivered — and let’s just say the postal worker’s decision-making after that point was not the smartest.

Citing a Florida Highway Patrol report, the Pensacola News Journal said 41-year-old William White Jr. dropped off a package on Kingfisher Way in Escambia County on Dec. 27.

‘It’s not a normal porch pirate running up snatching packages that you just dropped off.’

The FHP report said a “child, whose family owns that residence, saw the package was meant for a different address,” the News Journal added.

With that, the child — a 10-year-old, according to WALA-TV — grabbed the package and put it on his electric scooter to deliver it to the correct address, the FHP said, according to the News Journal.

But when White saw the child with the package, he believed the kid was stealing it, the paper said.

“White then purposely drove the USPS vehicle towards the child and ran over the scooter,” the FHP report said, according to the News Journal. “The child was able to get into the nearby yard prior to the scooter being hit.”

White then grabbed the scooter from underneath the USPS vehicle, placed it on the truck, and then drove off after yelling at the child, the paper said, citing the FHP report.

One of the child’s family members followed White to confront him, leading to White throwing the scooter into a nearby yard on Blue Jay Way, the FHP said, according to the News Journal.

Troopers said the child suffered an ankle injury in the incident and was taken to the Studer Family Children’s Hospital in Pensacola, WEAR-TV reported.

RELATED: Atlanta police make arrest in connection with homeowner who cops say shot 2 teenage porch pirates

White was interviewed and arrested on New Year’s Eve after he returned to work, officials told WALA.

He was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, petit theft, and criminal mischief, the News Journal said.

Jail records indicate White was released later on New Year’s Eve; his bond totaled $5,500, and his next court date is Jan. 23.

Florida Highway Patrol Captain Jason King told WEAR, “This isn’t just an oops crash with a 10-year-old. This is an intentional act by a United States postal worker trying to run over a 10-year-old.”

King added to WEAR that “it’s amazing what a small conversation would do in a situation instead of jumping straight to use of force. Putting your hands on somebody, or just really escalating way past where it should have been. It’s a 10-year-old on a scooter. It’s not a normal porch pirate running up snatching packages that you just dropped off.”

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

​Florida, United states postal service, Usps, Porch pirate, 10-year-old, Delivery, Package, Electric scooter, Crime 

If it seems like the Democratic Party is divided — that’s because it is. Specifically Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck believes that “there are at least two different kinds of Democrats.”

“Democrats that, you know, might vote for Schumer and … don’t believe that there’s, you know, this great change coming, and they want the same kind of America that we want. There’s that Democrat, and then there’s the socialist, the revolutionary Democrat,” Glenn explains.

“Democrats became progressive in the early 20th century. And when they became progressives, they did it because the Democrats did not want a revolution. They believed in socialism, they believed in communism. Remember, this is before communism had been tried and failed over and over and over again,” he says.

The progressives had been making the case that “science was going to be able to control society,” and thus, “it would have all the answers.”

“Socialists were like, ‘Yeah, it is the right way, so let’s do it now.’ Progressives said, ‘No, we’ll get to your socialist utopia, but we’ll do it one step at a time.’ You can relate to this because how many times do we have to be Charlie Brown and our own side is Lucy with the football,” Glenn says.

“That’s exactly what I was thinking about as you were laying that out,” BlazeTV host Stu Burguiere chimes in.

“And what was the response from our side?” Glenn asks.

“Our side always said, ‘Look, we just need to win that next election. If we win that next election, we’ll move the ball down. Don’t worry, I’ll hold the ball right here so you can kick it. We just have to win that next election first,’” Burguiere answers.

“And when that was over, what did we do? We hired the world’s largest wrecking ball, Donald Trump. We’re like, ‘We’re done with that. We don’t believe you anymore,’” Glenn says.

After Trump’s first term, the Democrats then ran Joe Biden, who Glenn explains “allows all the chaos to happen.”

“The socialists want all of this chaos. They want all of this control. But so do the Democrats, the new kind of Democrat. They want control. They just want global control. They’re much more fascistic,” he says.

“What do socialists want? They want to control schools. Socialist communists. They want to control schools but so do the authoritarians. They want to control schools. They want a communist system where all the means of production are owned by the people through the state,” he continues.

While these two separate factions begin to look more and more alike, the Democrats still “need the illusion of America.”

“They want the Fed. Do you think the socialists want the Fed? No. The socialists don’t want the WEF. They don’t want just a restructured social order. They want a completely restructured social order. The Democrats, the authoritarian, they want friends in the media. They want friends in tech. Do you think the socialists want friends in the media?” Glenn asks.

“They’ll drag those people out in the streets and beat them to death so fast. And they’ll do the same with the people in tech,” he continues. “OK, that’s what will happen. That’s the difference. You have revolutionaries and then you have politicians.”

Want more from Glenn Beck?

To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Sharing, Camera phone, Free, Upload, Video, 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, Stu burguiere, Stu does america, Left vs left, Progressives vs democrats, Socialists vs democrats, Joe biden, Chuck schumer, Antifa, Radical leftists 

New York City’s newly sworn-in Democratic Socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani, has already started taking steps to advance his radical agenda by selecting an anti-private-property extremist to lead the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants.

Mamdani announced on January 2 that Cea Weaver would join his team, noting that she had previously led Housing Justice for All, a coalition of groups representing tenants and homeless New Yorkers, and its sister organization, the New York State Tenant Bloc.

‘Private property including any kind of ESPECIALLY homeownership is a weapon of white supremacy.’

Mamdani credited Weaver for helping to pass “landmark legislation that closed loopholes landlords used to raise rents and push apartments out of stabilization.”

“Now she’ll work with us to hold landlords accountable and ensure New York City tenants are living in safe, clean homes,” Mamdani wrote.

Following Weaver’s appointment, an undated video resurfaced on social media of the activist discussing her goal to eliminate private property ownership.

“I think the reality is, is that for centuries we’ve really treated property as an individualized good and not a collective good,” Weaver stated in the video. “And transitioning to treating it as a collective good and towards a model of shared equity will require that we think about it differently. And it will mean that families, especially white families but some [people of color] families who are homeowners as well, are going to have a different relationship to property than the one that we currently have.”

RELATED: ‘Money hungry Jews’: Mamdani appointee abruptly quits after her anti-Semitic online posts resurface

Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images

Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon reacted to the resurfaced video of Weaver.

“I don’t think so,” Dhillon wrote. “We have federal housing laws that trump any collective Marxist fantasies.”

Weaver once urged Americans to “elect more communists” in a 2017 post on her now-deactivated X account, the New York Post reported.

She also called to “seize private property.”

“Private property including any kind of ESPECIALLY homeownership is a weapon of white supremacy,” Weaver reportedly wrote in 2019.

RELATED: Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs accuses NYC Mayor Mamdani of anti-Semitism after his first day in office

Zohran Mamdani. Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images

Weaver has previously expressed support for freezing rent, writing in a January 2025 post on Bluesky, “There are lots of things the mayor CANT [sic] do on housing, but freezing the rent is one of the only things they can unilaterally do for 2.4 million New York renters. Policy plans are great, so is a rent freeze.”

According to New York City’s Tenant Protection Cabinet, 65% of the city’s residents are renters.

Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

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

​News, Cea weaver, Zohran mamdani, Mamdani, Kathy hochul, New york city, Nyc, New york, Property ownership, Homeownership, Private property, Tenants, Renters, Communism, Communist, Democratic socialism, Democratic socialist, Socialism, Socialist, Politics 

With everything on the line, a Catholic priest’s blessing may have changed the outcome of the NFL playoffs on Sunday.

The Pittsburgh Steelers hosted the Baltimore Ravens at Acrisure Stadium for “Sunday Night Football” with the season on the line. The game would decide who topped the AFC North and the final playoff spot.

‘The Catholic community in Pittsburgh is very strong.’

A perfect, dramatic ending was set up for the last game of the season, after the Steelers went ahead 26-24 with a late touchdown. After blocking their opponent’s extra point, the Ravens converted a pivotal fourth-down play to get into position for a 44-yard game-winning field goal.

However, kicker Tyler Loop pushed the ball right, and the Ravens lost in dramatic fashion.

Just after the game, NBC commentators Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth decided to sprinkle some Catholic lore on the ending and revealed that a priest may have been involved in the missed field goal.

At 6:15 p.m. local time, Tirico revealed, a priest was seen “spreading holy water” in the Steelers’ defending end zone, where the kick was missed.

“The Catholic community in Pittsburgh is very strong … and down at that end zone, Tyler Loop misses the … field goal … and allows the Steelers to win,” Tirico explained.

“So it’s not Tyler Loop’s fault,” Collinsworth laughed.

RELATED: Pope Leo calls out gambling addiction and ‘demographic crisis’ in Vatican meeting

The priest in question has since been named by local outlets as Father Maximilian Maxwell. Maxwell currently serves as the prior of Saint Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. According to WJCL, the Steelers have held their training camp at the college since 1966.

At the same time, Benedictine Military School in Savannah, Georgia, was quick to claim Fr. Maxwell as one of its own and proudly boasted on the school’s Facebook page.

“Check out former Benedictine Military School theology teacher Fr. Maximilian Maxwell blessing the Pittsburgh Steelers’ football field with holy water before the game Sunday night!” the school wrote.

Following the dramatic ending, Steelers defensive lineman Cameron Heyward was asked about the potential blessed outcome.

“I’m not gonna ask questions,” Heyward said, per WJCL. “The good Lord made a good decision tonight. I’m thankful, and we keep moving on.”

RELATED: New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan resigns; pope appoints his replacement

Photo by Mark Alberti/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

On the other side of the ball, Ravens players still kept their faith, particularly Loop, who said he will be leaning on his religion to get him through the tough moment.

“I had written down a little prayer before the game. … Faith is a big part of my life and right now I’m reading the book of Romans, and in Romans 8 it says God works for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.”

Loop continued, “Ultimately, I’m here to love on the guys around me. I’m here to try and have their back … reminding myself that ‘hey, God’s got my back even when stuff sucks.'”

Ravens running back Derrick Henry told reporters that he advised Loop to keep his faith and trust in God’s plan.

“I just told him the story after this is gonna be great for him because God put him in this position to use him as an example,” Henry revealed.

The Steelers will host the Houston Texans in Pittsburgh on January 12.

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

​Fearless, Nfl, Football, Catholic, Priest, Pittsburgh, Prayer, Faith, Religion, Sports