Category: blaze media

Ashan M. Benedict, the assistant U.S. Capitol Police chief who a congressman alleges prevented two special agents involved in the discovery of a pipe bomb at the Democratic National Committee building from testifying before a U.S. House panel, has retired from the department, Blaze News has learned.

Rumors of Benedict’s retirement came one day after Blaze News published an investigation showing unexplained activity by the Capitol Police officers who discovered that bomb, who were overseen by Benedict. The announcement surprised some at the Capitol Police because his contract with the department was set to expire at the end of the month, on Dec. 1. Benedict came to the Capitol Police on Dec. 4, 2023, as assistant chief for protective and intelligence operations, which includes counter-surveillance teams. He later became assistant chief for standards and training operations.

‘They never looked for a third or fourth or fifth pipe bomb.’

Before he joined the USCP, Benedict was the DNC pipe-bomb incident commander for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. In that post, he oversaw ATF’s response to the J6 pipe-bomb threat.

Capitol Police Chief Michael Sullivan distributed a bulletin Monday, Nov. 24, announcing Benedict’s retirement after less than two years with the USCP. Word had already circulated around the department on the Wednesday before that Benedict was leaving, two sources told Blaze News.

Word of Benedict’s retirement started percolating a day after Blaze News published an investigation showing the two USCP counter-surveillance agents who discovered the DNC bomb on Jan. 6, 2021, seemingly acting in a suspicious manner. The cops parked their car that afternoon and walked straight past a pipe bomb to another location, which Blaze News’ investigation discovered that the pipe-bomb suspect visited the night before. Then the officers returned to the DNC building, where one of them discovered the device.

Pipe-bomb suspect, construction worker, and police at a bush next to Congressional Black Caucus Institute.Photos by U.S. Capitol Police

“I went from 90% certain that some Capitol Police were involved in the Jan. 6 pipe bomb to 95% certain, and now I’m at 99% certain after this new story,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) told Blaze News last week in an interview with Steve Baker broadcast on Matt Kibbe’s “Free the People” podcast and posted to X.

“I’m doing this on probability. The probability may even be higher than that.”

The officers were not seen searching any other areas for explosives in any of the extensive video available and reviewed by Blaze News, and they did not continue searching after the DNC device was found at 1:05 p.m. on Jan. 6.

The USCP has since confirmed that one of its agents found the pipe bomb near the DNC park bench, but there is no video showing that because key cameras were turned away from the DNC building at the time. The fact that the DNC bomb was discovered by plainclothes Capitol Police officers, and not merely a pair of passersby, was not made public until Blaze News broke that news in January 2024.

Following that story, Massie told Blaze News he was determined to interview the agents, but did not get much cooperation from Capitol Police. Massie referred to the agents as “man-bun guy” and “backpack guy” (the one who discovered the bomb). By this time, the agents were under Benedict’s command.

Key cameras that cover the Democratic National Committee building were turned away during bomb discovery and disposal.U.S. Capitol Police

The Capitol Police never made “backpack guy” available to Massie, but on Jan. 30, 2024, they did eventually send his partner, accompanied by Benedict, to speak with the congressman in a meeting that was not recorded or transcribed.

“So they came over to my office, but not ‘backpack guy,’” Massie said. “’Man-bun guy’ came over, and he had a handler, who would often interrupt and answer questions for him.”

‘They just kind of wander off. Their job was done. They had found the second pipe bomb.’

Two congressional investigators sat in on the meeting alongside Benedict, the police officer, and Massie. “In the conversation with the counter-surveillance officer in my office, Ashan Benedict would frequently interrupt the officer, answer before the officer could reply, or qualify the officer’s answers,” Massie told Blaze News. “There was an effort by our committee staff to get Benedict to sit for a transcribed interview, but he successfully evaded that effort.”

Massie asked the agent who sent him and his partner to the DNC building, as opposed to some other high-visibility potential target.

“How did you know to go look there?” Massie said he asked. “And it wasn’t a real good answer, something like, ‘That was my sector’ or something. You know, ‘We’re assigned sectors, and that’s just the sector that I look in.’”

According to the January 2025 report of the Committee on House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight, three two-man Capitol Police counter-surveillance teams were dispatched to look for other bombs after discovery of the Capitol Hill Club device.

Massie said he showed a video to the men, depicting the slow, nonchalant response from the Secret Service, Metropolitan Police Department, and Capitol Police to the discovery of a bomb that potentially could have killed them all.

‘He never told me about this other bush.’

“Look, there’s pedestrians still walking around, and this is allegedly a pipe bomb,” Massie said. “And that’s when his handler [Benedict] stepped in and said, ‘Well, you don’t want to alarm people when you have a lot of crowds. You know, when you find a bomb or something, you can’t yell, ‘Bomb!’ You gotta just play it cool.’”

Video showed there were no crowds near the DNC bomb site. Occasional pedestrian traffic continued on the sidewalk within feet of the bomb, and vehicle traffic was not immediately stopped on nearby streets. Commuter trains continued to rumble over the adjacent train trestle for 15 minutes after discovery of the bomb.

Massie said his next question “elicited the oddest body language I’ve ever seen in a meeting and no real answer.”

“Well, so then you obviously went looking for another pipe bomb, right?” Massie recalled. “You found two of them within 30 minutes. You must believe the whole place is riddled with them if you’re finding them this quickly.

“I actually knew part of the answer. I watched the video of where he went after,” Massie said. “They just kind of wander off. Their job was done. They had found the second pipe bomb. They never looked for a third or fourth or fifth pipe bomb, and they didn’t have an answer to me for why the search for pipe bombs was over once they found the second pipe bomb. No answer. Weirdest meeting in the world.”

Massie said he still wants to see the officer who actually found the bomb and interview him, his partner, and Benedict under oath for transcribed interviews. “Those need to be transcribed interviews. They need to be sworn in. I feel very strongly about that,” he said. “But the reality is the FBI should be doing these things.”

“How did they know exactly where to look, including the place [Congressional Black Caucus Institute bush] where the pipe bomber tried to place a bomb?” Massie asked. “It was police, it was Capitol Hill Police that found these bombs, and they got there. But … I hope they went and bought lottery tickets after finding these, after going to these two locations.

“But when you take them all together, and the fact that I got to interview these, it’s at least one of these guys [who discovered the bomb], and he never told me about this other bush,” Massie said. “He didn’t have answers for why they didn’t look for more bombs after they found the second one. And then we’ve got the ATF person in charge of the bomb stuff happening on Jan. 6 is now at Capitol Police handling the interview?”

Sources have said the two special agents, who are known to Blaze News, are still with the Capitol Police. The one who discovered the bomb is now the Capitol Police’s liaison to the FBI — the agency charged with investigating the pipe bombs. His partner, who accompanied Benedict to meet with Massie, still works in the intelligence section.

Benedict’s retirement is just the latest disclosure in two months of developments in the long-unsolved pipe-bomb case.

Questions and requests for comment sent to Benedict and the two officers were not returned in time for publication.

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​Politics, January 6, Pipe bomb 

Jason Whitlock, BlazeTV host of “Fearless,” and former Buccaneers quarterback Shaun King have put three high-profile quarterbacks on the operating table this year: Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson, Jacksonville Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence, and Philadelphia Eagles’ Jalen Hurts.

The prognosis from disgruntled fans isn’t good. Jackson fails to ignite a stagnant offense and is injury-prone; Lawrence has an embarrassing completion rate, especially considering his $275M contract; and Hurts plays scared in the pocket, underutilizing his star receivers downfield.

King lays bare what’s really going on with each player.

Lamar Jackson

Despite the rumors that Jackson is on a permanent decline, King says he’s likely just struggling with hesitancy after a string of injuries.

Right now, it looks like he’s “unwilling to use his athleticism, which makes me think that he’s trying to guard against further injuring whatever his ailment is,” he tells Jason.

But given the superstar’s “track record of success” — two MVP awards, two 1,000-yard rushing seasons, and the best dual-threat stats in NFL history — we need to “give him the benefit of the doubt.”

“If this persists into next year, I think we can circle back around to this topic,” King concludes.

Trevor Lawrence

King is far less forgiving of the Jaguars’ quarterback.

“Has never been held accountable for his deficiencies. Incubated at Clemson. Not exposed to any of the criticism or ridicule. … Got the big contract way too early,” he condemns, accusing Lawrence of being a coach killer.

“He’s a very frenetically wired player, and I don’t think you can play that position if you can’t be calm when it’s chaotic,” he says.

King believes that Lawrence, who he argues is over-reliant on his raw talent, has never been properly coached. “Nobody’s held him accountable for some of the fundamental flaws he has, some of the bad decisions he makes — like, really holding his feet to the fire. … He’s never been faced with the threat of being benched for his deficiencies.”

If Lawrence gets a coach willing to “get after him,” we may yet see the QB rise to true stardom.

Jalen Hurts

“I think [Hurts] might be the most underappreciated player in the National Football League,” King says.

Unlike legends like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady — who were able to master their system under the same coaches for over a decade — Hurts has never had that kind of stability.

“Jalen Hurts has changed coordinators the last four years,” meaning he’s “[spent] every off season learning a new system as opposed to focusing on fixing some of [his] deficiencies,” King explains.

And despite this lack of continuity, he’s still one of the league’s most successful and celebrated quarterbacks.

“I don’t think he gets enough credit,” King says. “Is he a finished product? Absolutely no. I would love to see what Jalen Hurts could do from a development standpoint if Philly could finally give him continuity.”

To hear more of King’s analysis, watch the video above.

Want more from Jason Whitlock?

To enjoy more fearless conversations at the crossroads of culture, faith, sports, and comedy with Jason Whitlock, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Fearless, Fearless with jason whitlock, Jason whitlock, Blazetv, Blaze media, Nfl, Jalen hurts, Lamar jackson, Trevor lawrence, National football league, Quarterback, Shaun king 

While law enforcement officials continue to investigate the shooting of two National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., at lease one reporter has already pounced to make disgraceful assumptions on the incident.

Ken Dilanian of MS NOW suggested that the shooter was animated by many of the grievances against the Trump administration’s policies that are popularized by the left.

‘You’re a heartless idiot and not a true journalist.’

“Of course, you know, there’s so much controversy happening in the United States right now with ICE, who are also wearing uniforms and wearing masks,” Dilanian said. “And so there’s … people walking around with uniforms in an American city. There are some Americans that might object to that. And so apparently this shooting has happened.”

Video of his comments were posted on social media, where they quickly went viral and he faced brutal criticism.

“Ken Dilanian will apologize for this. But here’s the thing: He won’t mean it,” Jon Podhoretz of Commentary magazine replied.

“This is bats**t crazy and you are an absolute disgrace. To say and post something like that shows a lack of well, anything that would be deemed good,” another detractor said.

“Time to look for Ken Dilanian’s misplaced soul and reunite them before he starts outlining how understandable it is to shoot National Guardsmen in the head because the left wants foreign voters flooding our streets and towns with need, crime and hatred,” another reply reads.

“This is disgusting,” another critic said.

“You’re a heartless idiot and not a true journalist. You probably jumped for joy at the news of these deaths and were all too happy to be the one talking about it, weren’t you? Tell the truth,” another response reads.

RELATED: ABC News journalist ripped to shreds over misleading claim linking Trump to trans shooter

The shooting of the troops led to a lockdown at the White House and conflicting reports about the state of the victims. They were initially reported to have died, but Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel later indicated that they were hospitalized in critical condition.

On Thursday, a federal judge ruled against the lawfulness of the troops surge in D.C. but gave the administration 21 days to appeal the order.

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​Ken dilanian, Reporter hit by backlash, Dc troops shot, National guard troops shot, Politics 

Forms of government are not laboratory specimens. You cannot line them up like competing scientific theories, test them under controlled conditions, and then apply the “correct” model to every nation on earth.

The United States learned that lesson the hard way in places like Afghanistan. The George W. Bush vision of exporting liberal democracy across the world was delusional because cultures differ and human beings are not blank slates. People must be governed in ways that align with their nature and customs.

If conservatives wish to make the United States a republic again, they must begin by admitting what America has become.

Government forms have limits. They are not universal ideologies that can fit any situation, and when nations ignore those limits, they fail. America keeps expanding beyond what a republic can bear and refuses to admit it, with predictable consequences.

In its classical form, a republic rests on a set of virtuous citizens capable of self-government through shared beliefs, values, and customs. Citizenship is limited and precious. It conveys as many responsibilities as rights. Citizens do not gain the vote simply because they reside inside a border. They earn it through constant engagement with the body politic. They are soldiers, business owners, family men, and stalwart church members. They have shown both a willingness to sacrifice for society and the capacity to contribute meaningfully to it.

The phrase “self-governing” can mislead because it suggests isolated, autonomous individuals. That is not what classical thinkers meant. A republic needs the lightest touch of any governmental form because the community reinforces itself. Citizens hold each other to account.

From Aristotle to Machiavelli to the American founders, the assumption was the same: A republic requires a virtuous people bound by thick ties of identity and shared moral expectations. Formal authority exists, but most of the real enforcement happens through custom and communal pressure, with the civil magistrate stepping in only when necessary. A republic works only when its people possess enough virtue and cohesion to govern themselves.

That is why republics are rare. They have a strict limitation: scale.

Most successful republics in history have been compact city-states with contained populations capable of maintaining identity and virtue. Once a republic expands, it must incorporate people who do not share its customs or worldview. In “The Prince,” Machiavelli warns rulers who wish to expand that they should only conquer nations sharing similar religion, language, and heritage. That common ground allows the conquered population to assimilate.

Ruling peoples with radically different cultures is far more difficult because the subjects cannot easily accept the rule of a leader whose assumptions differ so dramatically from their own.

A country that does not share culture, religion, tradition, or heritage cannot function as a republic because the people lack the common ground necessary for self-rule. The gaps are too wide to be bridged by normal political debate. A stronger form of authority becomes necessary to bind disparate groups together.

This is why kingdoms and empires are far more common throughout history. Most populations do not possess the cohesion or virtue required for republican government and must instead be ruled by a king. Empires are simply multicultural kingdoms, held together by an emperor who forces cooperation among groups that otherwise could not form a single polity.

Even classical empires understood the need to respect the character of their diverse subjects. Wise rulers did not attempt to make every people act the same. They allowed local custom to continue as long as taxes were paid and troops supplied. Local leaders were often retained. Sometimes a local king stayed on his throne but only if he showed deference to the emperor. The multicultural empire required a much stronger hand, though wise emperors used that power sparingly.

This historical reality explains much about the behavior of modern liberal democracies. Many citizens wonder why their leaders insist on importing large numbers of foreigners despite popular opposition. Cheap labor and imported voters are part of the answer, but in the end, it comes down to the pursuit of raw power.

RELATED: Do you want Caesar? Because this is how you get Caesar

Blaze Media Illustration

Large-scale immigration introduces deep cultural differences that destabilize the political order, and the only way to manage that instability is more centralized authority. A liberal democracy that becomes too diverse must govern in the manner of an empire. Its leaders must exercise the level of authority required to hold multiple nations together under one state.

The fact is, multicultural societies trend toward authoritarianism. They must. The differences are too great to manage through ordinary civic persuasion. This dynamic intensifies when the state attempts to integrate its various peoples rather than allowing them to exist separately. By transforming their democracies into multiethnic empires, Western leaders acquire imperial levels of power while maintaining the appearance of popular rule.

No republic can survive the level of diversity now celebrated as a civic virtue.

If conservatives wish to make the United States a republic again, they must begin by admitting what America has become. The country has been transformed into a multicultural empire and is governed accordingly. It grants immense power to its ruling elite in the hope that it can manage the instability produced by extreme diversity.

A republic cannot endure under these conditions. America must end immigration, scale back its foreign ambitions, and cultivate a shared, virtuous culture. Without these steps, talk of republican revival is performative. The structure of a republic cannot survive the substance of an empire.

If Americans will not reclaim the unity that makes self-government possible, then they will be ruled, not represented. Republics are earned. Empires are endured.

​Opinion & analysis, Republic, Empire, Multiculturalism, Self-government, Decline, Liberty, Freedom, Duty, The prince, Machiavelli, Monarchy, King, Cheap labors, Wisdom, Immigration, America, Elite, Ruling class 

A federal judge partially sided with a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union against warrantless detentions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the administration vowed to appeal it.

Federal Judge R. Brooke Jackson said in his ruling that the warrantless detentions violated the restriction that said individuals must be deemed a flight risk to be justifiable.

‘Allegations that DHS law enforcement engages in “racial profiling” are disgusting, reckless, and categorically FALSE. What makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is if they are illegally in the US — NOT their skin color, race, or ethnicity.’

“Immigration officials are entrusted with enforcing immigration laws and are authorized to pursue an aggressive deportation agenda,” Jackson wrote in the ruling. “They may arrest and initiate removal proceedings against individuals they believe are present without lawful status. But in carrying out these responsibilities, they must follow the law.”

One of the four plaintiffs in the lawsuit is 19-year-old Caroline Dias Goncalves, a student at the University of Utah who was detained after a routine traffic stop in Mesa, Arizona, in June. The deputy released her with only a warning, but he passed on her information to ICE officials, who detained her a few miles down the road.

Jackson said ICE agents had improperly ignored the flight risk stipulation or improperly applied it.

“Plaintiffs are four individuals who had deep and longstanding ties to their communities, including parents, spouses, children, stable employment histories, and active participation in their local churches,” Jackson said. “No reasonable officer could have reasonably concluded that these plaintiffs were likely to flee before a warrant could be obtained.”

Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, released a statement vowing to challenge the ruling at the Supreme Court.

“This activist ruling is a brazen effort to hamstring the Trump administration from fulfilling the president’s mandate to deport the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens,” McLaughlin said.

“Allegations that DHS law enforcement engages in ‘racial profiling’ are disgusting, reckless, and categorically FALSE. What makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is if they are illegally in the U.S. — NOT their skin color, race, or ethnicity,” she added. “There are no ‘indiscriminate’ stops being made. DHS conducts enforcement operations in line with the U.S. Constitution and all applicable federal laws without fear, favor, or prejudice.”

RELATED: Church worker pretended to be ICE agent to extort $500 from massage therapist, police say

Jackson further ordered the government to refund the costs incurred by the four defendants. The judge denied a request from the plaintiffs to obtain the training requirements at ICE, but added that if the government did not comply with the order, the plaintiffs could renew the request.

“The Supreme Court recently vindicated us on this question elsewhere, and we look forward to further vindication in this case as well,” McLaughlin concluded.

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​Federal judge vs trump, Ice limited in colorado, Warrantless detentions, Mass deportations, Politics 

Vice President JD Vance did something remarkable last week: He described Canada more honestly than most of its own political leaders.

In a short series of posts on X, Vance captured the two anxieties that now define Canadian life — mass immigration and a refusal to take responsibility for national decline.

The deeper problem is leadership that seems consistently more focused on the fortunes of global capital than the welfare of Canadians.

“While I’m sure the causes are complicated,” he wrote, “no nation has leaned more into ‘diversity is our strength, we don’t need a melting pot we have a salad bowl’ immigration insanity than Canada. It has the highest foreign-born share of the population in the entire G7 and its living standards have stagnated.”

Vance continued, “And with all due respect to my Canadian friends, whose politics focus obsessively on the United States: your stagnating living standards have nothing to do with Donald Trump or whatever bogeyman the CBC tells you to blame. The fault lies with your leadership, elected by you.”

Truth hurts

Those comments struck a nerve because they describe a reality that Canadians live with every day. Immigration levels have soared to historic highs. Canada’s population is closing in on 40 million, with roughly 23% foreign-born in the 2021 census — and likely much higher today, given the recent revelation that 42% of babies born in 2025 will have foreign-born mothers. For years, political and media elites insisted that this was a sign of national strength. Ordinary people can now see the strain everywhere: stagnant wages, collapsing services, unaffordable housing, and infrastructure buckling under the load.

Vance’s second point was equally accurate. Canadian politicians — especially Liberal ones — have long relied on Trump as a universal scapegoat. No matter the problem, the reflexive response has been to point south and blame “American extremism” for Canada’s failures. It was a convenient distraction from the consequences of their own policies.

Man with no plan

Prime Minister Mark Carney was a master of this blame-shifting. Before entering politics, he spent years burnishing his reputation as a global technocrat. Yet when he ran for prime minister, he adopted an almost paranoid tone toward the United States, claiming in one speech: “President Trump is trying to break us so that America can own us. … We need a plan to deal with this new reality.” His “plan,” as it turned out, was simply to win power — and once in office, Carney abandoned the rhetoric even as he continued neglecting basic economic and security interests.

Nowhere has that neglect been clearer than in defense procurement. Ottawa is reportedly considering scrapping the F-35 fighter jet program in favor of Sweden’s Gripen — an aircraft incompatible with the F-35s flown by every branch of the U.S. military and central to NORAD’s interoperability. As U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra has warned repeatedly, such a move would be sheer folly, undermining both North American defense and Canada’s most vital alliance.

The deeper problem is leadership that seems consistently more focused on the fortunes of global capital than the welfare of Canadians. Brookfield Asset Management — the firm Carney chaired before deciding to seek the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada and replacing Justin Trudeau as prime minister — recently surfaced in headlines for its involvement in an $80 billion agreement with the Trump administration to produce nuclear reactors. That deal may be good business, but it has only reinforced public suspicion that Carney’s loyalties were formed long before he stepped into elected office.

RELATED: Is this the end of Canada?

Dave Chan/Getty Images

Soft authoritarianism

Meanwhile, Canada’s once-vaunted bureaucracy is looking increasingly ideological, unaccountable, and hostile to the people it purports to serve. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s ongoing occupation of a family farm — and its insistence on slaughtering hundreds of healthy ostriches despite nearly a year without symptoms of avian flu — has alarmed Canadians across the political spectrum. It is the kind of aggressive, unrestrained government action that would have been unthinkable a generation ago.

All of this is unfolding as the Liberal government pursues sweeping censorship and surveillance legislation, from online speech controls to broad new powers for federal regulators. The United Kingdom has already slid into a soft authoritarianism that polices “offensive” speech through arrests and intimidation. Canada appears determined to follow the same path.

This is what Vance was speaking to: a country drifting into economic stagnation, cultural fragmentation, bureaucratic overreach, and political corruption. A country that no longer seems capable of telling itself the truth about what is happening. A country that responds to national crises not with reform, but with scapegoats — whether Donald Trump, American conservatives, or anyone who challenges the official narrative.

Canada is not yet lost. But it is undeniably breaking, and the political class shows little interest in repairing it.

As Vance noted, the ultimate responsibility lies with Canadians themselves. They elected the leadership that brought the country to this point. Whether Canada recovers will depend on whether they are willing to demand something better.

​Mark carney, J.d. vance, Immigration, Justin trudeau, Donald trump, Lifestyle, Canada, Letter from canada 

The newly self-appointed prosecutor has dropped the case against President Donald Trump and others in Georgia over alleged election tampering charges.

Peter Skandalakis, the director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, stepped in after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was disqualified from the case. On Wednesday, he said the case would be dropped in order “to serve the interests of justice and promote judicial finality.”

‘The few remaining Democrat Witch Hunts will soon meet the same embarrassing end. We are going to keep winning.’

The lawsuit was roiled by the discovery of an improper romantic relationship between Willis and Nathan Wade, a top prosecutor in the case. Trump made a reference to the relationship in his post on Truth Social.

“LAW and JUSTICE have prevailed in the Great State of Georgia, as the corrupt Fani Willis Witch Hunt against me, and other Great American Patriots, has been DISMISSED in its entirety,” the president wrote. “This Illegal, Unconstitutional, and unAmerican Hoax was perpetrated against our Nation by Fani and her Low I.Q. Lover, Nathan Wade, at the direction of Crooked Joe Biden and his ‘Handlers.'”

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ordered the case “dismissed in its entirety” against Trump and the co-defendants.

“In my professional judgment, the citizens of Georgia are not served by pursuing this case in full for another five to ten years,” Skandalakis said.

The president went on accuse the former Biden administration of orchestrating the prosecution in Georgia.

“The Deranged Democrats did all they could to viciously attack me, my supporters, and our MAGA Movement, for telling the TRUTH — THE 2020 ELECTION WAS RIGGED AND STOLEN,” he added, “and they committed Crime after Crime as they weaponized our Law Enforcement and Justice System against HONEST AND LOVING Americans but, we have fought back and won both in the Courts and Politically with our Historic, Country saving, Landslide Victory of November 5, 2024.”

RELATED: Georgia judge drops 3 charges in Trump election interference case

“This case should never have been brought,” said Trump’s lead attorney, Steve Sadow, in a statement. “A fair and impartial prosecutor has put an end to this lawfare.”

“The few remaining Democrat Witch Hunts will soon meet the same embarrassing end. We are going to keep winning,” the president concluded in his post.

Skandalakis said the case would be “best pursued at the federal level.”

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​Georgia racketeering case, 2020 election fraud, Fani willis vs trump, Trump case dismissed, Politics 

Since the 1990s, after Somalia’s central government collapsed and civil war broke out, Somalis have been immigrating to the United States, especially to Minnesota, where the first organized refugee resettlement began. Today the state has the largest population of Somalis in the country by a wide margin.

Given that Somalis are by and large Muslim, many conservatives worry that their growing numbers are contributing to what they call the “Islamification” of the nation — the gradual cultural, political, and demographic takeover by Islamist influences. Somalia-born Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar (D) inflames these fears with what many have labeled a Somalia-first rhetoric and an openly Muslim agenda.

Just a few days ago, President Trump made waves by announcing that he is ending the Temporary Protected Status program that has allowed hundreds of Somalis to stay long-term in the United States, citing claims of “fraudulent money laundering” and “Somali gangs.”

Sara Gonzales, BlazeTV host of “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered,” is thrilled and hopes Trump’s plan goes through.

She does, however, wish it would have happened sooner, as now 72% of Somalis who have immigrated to the United States have since become naturalized citizens.

“We need to completely reform the way that people are allowed to do that so quickly. … You have people like Ilhan Omar who are going through the process … who don’t appreciate anything this country has given them, even though they’ve risen to the level that they’ve risen to, who really don’t want to assimilate at all,” says Sara.

In a recent speech responding to President Trump’s announcement, Omar audaciously declared that Somalis are “the fabric of this nation” and insisted that they “aren’t going anywhere.”

“The audacity to say such a thing when you don’t plan on assimilating,” scoffs Sara. “The streets of Dearborn, Michigan, and certain parts of Minnesota basically look like Tehran. That is not the fabric of our nation.”

“I want you to understand how dangerous this is,” she says, playing a video clip of a Somali police officer from Minnesota saying in his native tongue that Somali officers work for their “own people” (fellow Somalis) and are different from “white officers.”

“How can you be both the fabric of our nation and also claiming we are so separate that only we who come from Somalia can represent you?” asks Sara.

“Both of those things cannot be true at once.”

Further, because these Somali officers have pledged allegiance to the Somali people, we have to ask ourselves, “What law will these police officers enforce?” Sara adds.

Then there is the recent exposé by BlazeTV host and investigative journalist Christopher Rufo that alleges billions in welfare fraud by members of Minnesota’s Somali community, with some stolen funds remitted to Somalia via hawala networks and ultimately supporting the Al-Qaeda-linked terror group Al-Shabaab.

“Somalians were setting up fraudulent autism treatment centers, and they were sending all of these bills, all of these charges, to Medicaid, and then they were reimbursed by taxpayers, and then they funneled that money overseas to terror groups,” says Sara, citing Rufo’s report.

Because these fraudsters are largely naturalized citizens, she says, eliminating TPS for a minority population of Somalis accomplishes “essentially nothing,” she snaps.

“What else are we going to do to get these people the hell out of our country?”

To hear more of Sara’s analysis and commentary, watch the episode above.

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​Sara gonzales, Sara gonzales unfiltered, Blazetv, Blaze media, Ilhan omar, Somalia, Somalis, Somali immigration, Tps, Illegal immigration, Minnesota 

In response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, then-North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) stated, “This decision is a victory for the many North Dakotans who have fought so hard and for so long to protect the unborn in our state.”

The law ‘protects unborn children throughout gestation from abortion, except to prevent the death of the mother as well as other exceptions.’

While Burgum was ultimately right in claiming victory, his celebration was premature as it pertained to the Roughrider State. It was not, after all, until Friday when abortion was formally and finally banned in the state.

Quick background

The overturning of Roe triggered a 2007 law making it a Class C felony to perform an abortion in North Dakota, except to save the life of the mother or in the case of rape or incest.

Just prior to the law taking effect, the abortionists from the Red River Women’s Clinic who moved their abortion clinic from Fargo to Minnesota successfully sued to get an injunction.

Months after South Central Judicial District Court Judge Bruce Romanick blocked the law, the North Dakota Supreme Court ruled that the abortion ban would remain blocked while the legal battle over the law’s constitutionality proceeded.

Jon Jensen, chief justice on the court, noted that the abortionists had “demonstrated likely success on the merits that there is a fundamental right to an abortion in the limited instances of life-saving and health-preserving circumstances, and the statute is not narrowly tailored to satisfy strict scrutiny.”

Republican state Sen. Janne Myrdal, the former head of ND Choose Life, subsequently introduced a similar piece of legislation, which repealed and replaced the 2007 law. Myrdal’s Senate Bill 2150 passed the North Dakota House and Senate in landslide votes and was ultimately ratified by Burgum in April 2023.

Desperate as ever to keep abortion legal, the abortionists behind the initial challenge filed an amended complaint asking that the same judge who previously gave them an injunction would deem the ban unconstitutional under the North Dakota Constitution.

RELATED: ‘Abortion Is Everything’ book for kids calls killing unborn children ‘human superpower’

Photo by © Ralf-Finn Hestoft/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images

Romanick proved happy to oblige them, stating on Sept. 12, 2024, that the law was “void for vagueness” and that it was violative of the North Dakota Constitution, which supposedly recognizes a fundamental right to choose abortion before viability.

The state kept pressing the issue in court — North Dakota Attorney General Drew H. Wrigley (R) appealed Romanick’s decision — and prevailed.

Victory at last

The North Dakota Supreme Court reinstated the abortion ban on Friday. While three of the five justices deemed the ban “unconstitutionally vague,” the state constitution requires at least four justices to agree in order to find a law unconstitutional.

In his dissent, which was joined by Jensen, Justice Jerod Tufte said that the state district court erred both in concluding the law was unconstitutionally vague and in concluding that the state constitution protects a right to abortion broad enough to conflict with Senate Bill 2150.

Pro-abortion activists were apoplectic over the codification of the people’s will on the matter of abortion in North Dakota.

“This decision is a devastating loss for pregnant North Dakotans,” Meetra Mehdizadeh, senior attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement. “As a majority of the Court found, this cruel and confusing ban is incomprehensible to physicians.”

Tammi Kromenaker, executive director of the Red River Women’s Clinic, complained that “making it illegal just makes it harder” to get abortions.

Pro-live activists, alternatively, were overjoyed.

Ingrid Duran, the National Right to Life’s director of state legislation, welcomed the decision, noting that the law “protects unborn children throughout gestation from abortion, except to prevent the death of the mother as well as other exceptions.”

Myrdal, the Republican who introduced the legislation, reportedly said that she is “thrilled and grateful that two justices that are highly respected saw the truth of the matter, that this is fully constitutional for the mother and for the unborn child and thereafter for that sake.”

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​Abortion, Pro-life, Babies, Fertility, Life, Anti-abortion, North dakota, Senate bill 2150, Myrdal, Republican, Winning, Politics 

Ten years ago, I sat in the dark at the Public Theater in downtown New York City, surrounded by a murmuring crowd, waiting for the curtain to rise on a brand-new play called “Hamilton.”

At that point in time, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hip-hop musical had yet to become the behemoth it is now. Quite the opposite — there were no cast albums or Disney+ recordings, and aside from a few regional workshops years earlier and its word-of-mouth reputation as the “next big thing,” no one in the audience had any idea what we were in for.

A pansexual Latina Anne Frank with an Afro-Caribbean tiger mom and a chronically ‘neurospicy’ closet case for a dad? Now you’ve gone too far.

Expanding the form

The next few hours were filled with a strange, albeit thoroughly impressive, showing of lyrical prowess. Miranda had somehow managed to turn historian Ron Chernow’s 818-page Alexander Hamilton biography into a crowd-pleasing, pop-culture-infused depiction of the earliest days of a fledgling America.

More provocative was Miranda’s deliberate choice to cast primarily black and Latino actors to portray the founding fathers. While a few nitpickers balked at the spectacle of “people of color” portraying slave owners, most marveled at the audacious ingenuity of it: What could be more revolutionary than retelling the American story so that it reflects all Americans?

The crowd left the theater excited. There was no doubt that we had witnessed something groundbreaking. If Aaron Burr could be black and Alexander Hamilton Puerto Rican, what else was possible?

Decolonizing ‘Diary’

Eight years later, lyricist and composer Andrew Fox stumbled upon an answer. It came to him in the form of a (since-deleted) 2022 Twitter thread hotly debating a never-before-asked question: Did Anne Frank ever acknowledge her white privilege?

As is often the case, the online arguing devolved into acrimonious ad hominem and fruitless whataboutism. Fox realized that mere words would never get to heart of the matter. As with “Hamilton,” it would take the power of musical theater to win hearts and minds. And he would do Miranda’s non-white casting one better — reimagining Anne Frank herself as a person of color.

And so Fox and librettist Joel Sinensky set out to transform the “Diary of Anne Frank” into “Slam Frank,” an intersectional, multiethnic, gender-queer, decolonized, anti-capitalist, hyper-empowering Afro-Latin hip-hop musical.

Originally slated for three weeks at small off-Broadway venue the Asylum, “Slam Frank” has become a massive hit for the theater, which recently extended its run through the end of December.

Piercings and Patagonias

Want diversity? Look no farther than the viewers showing up in droves. At any given performance, you can find a septum piercing, a Patagonia vest, and a pair of bifocals all in the same row.

Yes, even liberals enjoy “Slam Frank,” despite the outrage it has provoked in some of their compatriots. “This whole project is head-spinningly grotesque and offensive,” went one post to the r/JewsOfConscience sub-Reddit. “Bringing up the holocaust and not mentioning the current genocide in Gaza just gives me the ick,” lamented another.

The irony of takes like these is thick, since one can imagine these same critics of “Slam Frank” being perfectly open to the idea of race- and gender-swapping other historical characters. But a pansexual Latina Anne Frank with an Afro-Caribbean tiger mom and a chronically “neurospicy” closet case for a dad? Now you’ve gone too far.

RELATED: ‘Anne Frank’ kindergarten is being renamed for the sake of diversity: ‘We wanted a name without a political background’

TIM SLOAN/AFP via Getty Images

A real production

The show’s earliest marketing attracted attention with a simpler question: “Is ‘Slam Frank’ a real musical?”

The answer is a decisive “yes.” “Slam Frank” is not a social media gimmick or an expertly crafted exercise in long-form rage- bait. Again: It is a full-length show, with a cast, that is being performed on regularly scheduled dates at the Asylum NYC.

I know because I’ve seen it. “Slam Frank” is not just a real production, but an entertaining one. It is smartly written, balancing humor with sincerity, featuring songs composed and performed with impressive musicianship. Think Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s “The Book of Mormon” or the award-winning puppet extravaganza “Avenue Q” — but with a final gesture of leftist piety that pushes the logic of your average keffiyeh-clad student protester at Columbia to uncomfortable extremes.

The shocking finale is played so straight that plenty will miss the satire, and even those in on the joke may notice how easily it could be mistaken for peak-wokeness agitprop. If there is a clear “message” here, the show’s creators aren’t about to clarify it. “Slam Frank” is happy to offend each viewer in whatever way he, she, or they wish to be offended. How’s that for inclusive?

​Slam frank, The diary of anne of frank, New york city, Off-broadway, The asylum nyc, Culture, Theater, Entertainment, Anti-semitism, Jewish, Hamilton, Review 

In 2023, a group of German climate change activists protested for their cause by gluing themselves to objects at the Hamburg and Dusseldorf airports and spray-painting pieces of art.

This week, a court found that the group was liable for €403,000 in damages to the Lufthansa Group, a landmark decision that could have far-reaching consequences for other protests.

‘The Last Generation isn’t protecting the climate; they’re engaged in criminal activity.’

The figure equates to over $467K in U.S. dollars. The group also has to pay €700,000 in related costs, meaning the total figure is over $1.28 million.

The protesters of the Last Generation group infiltrated the airport on July 13 and caused 57 flights to be canceled. Lufthansa sued for repayment of costs from payments to airline customers as well as additional kerosene consumption.

If the defendants fail to pay the damages, they will each face two years in prison.

Industry experts believe the order will influence other ongoing lawsuits against climate change protesters.

In 2022, Last Generation activists along with others orchestrated disruptive protests at facilities in the U.K., Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands. German law enforcement authorities threatened to place Last Generation members in “protective custody” to prevent the disruptions.

The groups at the time were demanding higher taxes on people who fly more frequently as well as a ban on private jets.

RELATED: Climate protesters glue their hands to floor of car exhibit, get upset Volkswagen won’t bring them bowls to defecate and urinate into

In 2023, the group made headlines when a frustrated German woman grabbed a protester blocking traffic by the hair and dragged her out of the way. She was dubbed the “brutal blonde” by some in the media who applauded her efforts after video of the incident went viral online.

“The Last Generation isn’t protecting the climate; they’re engaged in criminal activity,” Transport Minister Volker Wissing said at the time.

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​Climate change protest, Environmentalists fined, Politics, Last generation protest, Lufthansa sues activists 

A shooting near the White House led to two National Guard troops being shot, according to early reports from the scene in Washington, D.C.

The Metropolitan Police Department said the scene was secured and a suspect was in custody.

‘[We] heard multiple shots fired as we passed Farragut West. A member of the National Guard fell while others rushed onto the scene.’

A White House correspondent for NTD News said she witnessed the shooting.

“National Guard shot near the White House at a little before 2:15,” Mari Otsu said on a social media post.

“I was in an Uber to work, with my cameraman, and heard multiple shots fired as we passed Farragut West. A member of the National Guard fell while others rushed onto the scene,” she added.

“Area still on lockdown and Secret Service being deployed,” Otsu wrote.

She added a video of the law enforcement response to the area.

President Donald Trump had ordered a surge of troops into D.C. in order to combat the violent crime rampant in the area. The order was met with legal challenges from critics who accused him of acting unlawfully.

Department of Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem confirmed the shooting on social media.

“Please join me in praying for the two National Guardsmen who were just shot moments ago in Washington D.C.,” she wrote on social media. “@DHSgov is working with local law enforcement to gather more information.”

RELATED: ‘Knock the hell out of them’: Trump federalizes DC police, readies National Guard to crack down on crime

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, admitted that the troop surge lessened crime in the district, but she was immediately assailed by other Democrats who were angry that she credited the president. She has since announced she is not seeking re-election.

This is a developing story, and more information will be added as it becomes available.

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​National guard troops, Guardsmen shot, Washington dc surge, Shooting near white house, Politics 

President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he was “terminating, effective immediately, the Temporary Protected Status (TPS Program) for Somalis in Minnesota.”

“Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great State, and BILLIONS of Dollars are missing,” continued Trump. “Send them back to where they came from. It’s OVER!”

The decision to revoke Somalia’s TPS designation has pitted Trump’s America First agenda against Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar’s apparent Somalia First agenda.

Omar, who claimed last year that the “U.S government will do what [Somali-Americans] tell the U.S. government to do,” suggested at a press conference with state Democrats on Monday that Trump lacks the authority to terminate Somalia’s TPS designation.

‘The largest funder of Al-Shabaab is the Minnesota taxpayer.’

“If you are confused, if you feel threatened, know that the law is on your side, and our demented president can’t do anything about it,” said the Democratic ethno-nationalist. “For the 300 or so people that are impacted that currently live in Minnesota and across the country, we see you, and we stand with you, and we will make sure we do everything that we can to help make sure that your status is adjusted before March of 2026.”

If a country has an ongoing armed conflict, has an environmental disaster, or faces other extraordinary conditions, the Department of Homeland Security secretary can designate that country for TPS, thereby shielding its nationals squatting in the U.S. from deportation for a period of six to 18 months.

Somalia has been a TPS-designated country since 1991. Former DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas extended Somalia’s designation through March 17, 2026, and redesignated the country, paving the way for thousands of additional Somalis to become eligible for the program.

RELATED: Somali-American loses Minneapolis mayoral race, but the winner still speaks his language … literally

Photo by Pete Kiehart for the Washington Post via Getty Images

According to a Congressional Research Service report, there were 705 Somali nationals covered by the program as of March 31, 2025.

“TPS was a program that was always meant to be temporary,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem told reporters in Minneapolis on Sunday.

Noem noted that the program needs “to be evaluated to make sure that it comes and is always implemented in the process for which it was intended.”

Trump’s decision to terminate Somalia’s designation came the day after BlazeTV host Christopher Rufo and investigative reporter Ryan Thorpe reported on the alleged fraud perpetrated by numerous members of the Somali community in Minnesota as well as on the alleged direction of stolen Minnesota Medicaid and welfare funds by members of the community to terrorists abroad through a network of informal clan-based money traders.

According to the duo’s City Journal report, federal counterterrorism sources have confirmed “that millions of dollars in stolen funds have been sent back to Somalia, where they ultimately landed in the hands of the terror group Al-Shabaab.”

One confidential source indicated that “the largest funder of Al-Shabaab is the Minnesota taxpayer.”

‘It is a political attack on the Somali and Muslim community driven by Islamophobic and hateful rhetoric.’

Al-Shabaab is a Somalia-based, Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist organization committed to waging a global jihad.

In her remarks on Monday, Ilhan Omar suggested that the conviction and/or indictment of scores of Somalis on fraud charges should not be held against the community at large. Minnesota is presently home to over 42,500 Somali natives.

“You have right now 57 people who have been convicted. So if your assumption is that we should all be collectively held responsible for the fact that 57 people have committed a crime and are being held accountable and are going to jail, then that’s your prerogative, but we don’t feel the weight of what those individuals have done,” said Omar.

The Somali-born Democrat suggested further that Trump had no evidence to show that her community was funding terrorism abroad with tax resources, claiming that the accusation endangered Somalis across the nation.

In addition to condemning Trump, Omar suggested that the American citizens who support him are “ignorant” and that their acceptance of his claims “makes us look like a stupid nation that does not believe in truth but traffics in lies.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, whose co-founder said in a speech that the Hamas terror attacks on unarmed women and children made him “happy,” was also up in arms about Trump’s announcement.

Jaylani Hussein, the executive director of the Minnesota chapter of CAIR, stated, “This decision, fueled by harmful misinformation campaigns that we believe have external political motives, will tear families apart and send individuals to a country they have not known for over 20 years. This is not just a bureaucratic change; it is a political attack on the Somali and Muslim community driven by Islamophobic and hateful rhetoric.”

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​Ilhan omar, Omar, Democrats, Somali, Somalian, Politics, Minnesota, Donald trump, Temporary protected status, Tps program, Dhs, Noem 

Just days after it was reported that President Donald Trump was pushing for the revival of classic 1980s and 1990s movies, Paramount is now making the president’s dream a reality.

Trump ally Larry Ellison’s control over Paramount — and its giant film library that includes “Titanic” and “Saving Private Ryan” — is the key connection.

‘Cancel culture stopped them dead in their tracks.’

According to Semafor, Trump has been pushing to bring back what were described as the “raucous comedies” and action movies of decades past, and has shown passion for titles like Jean-Claude Van Damme’s generational martial arts movie, 1988’s “Bloodsport.”

That isn’t the first title to be resuscitated by Paramount, however. Rather, the president has reportedly personally asked Paramount to revive the buddy cop film “Rush Hour,” from director Brett Ratner, starring comedian Chris Tucker and action star Jackie Chan.

As of Tuesday, it seems Paramount is ready to get the ball rolling on “Rush Hour 4” nearly two decades since the last release.

RELEASE: The new ‘Karate Kid’ just kicked grievance culture in the teeth

Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan. Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

The studio is now in the works to distribute the sequel, according to Variety, which also reported that Trump requested the franchise’s return. Paramount will release the movie theatrically but will not be marketing or financing it, while Warner Bros.’ New Line Cinema will get a percentage of box office revenue; they backed the original production and sequels.

Variety also reported that director Ratner and the “Rush Hour” producers shopped the new film around to different studios, but cancel culture stopped them dead in their tracks, with other Hollywood execs not wanting to be attached to Ratner’s name.

Ratner, who recently directed a documentary on Melania Trump, hasn’t done a feature film since 2014’s “Hercules” starring Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson.

Ratner was accused of a whole slew of sex crimes in October 2017 as part of the Me Too movement that saw at least six women launch accusations at him.

This resulted in Warner Bros. severing ties with the “X-Men: The Last Stand” director.

RELATED: Fugees felon gets 14 years for illegal Obama donations

Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

The three “Rush Hour” films, released in 1998, 2001, and 2007, vaulted both Chan and Tucker from their specific genres into the mainstream and grossed over $500 million against a combined budget of around $263 million. Internationally, the films grossed almost another $400 million.

Throughout the 1990s, Tucker had been a successful stand-up comedian and starred in movies like “Friday” and “The Fifth Element” before landing the iconic role.

Chan had already starred in dozens of action films, but his popularity was on the rise in the United States in 1990s, with “Supercop” and “Rumble in the Bronx” gaining cult status, before “Rush Hour” took him to new heights.

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​Trump, Align, Movies, Hollywood, Me too, Cancel culture, Ratner, Rush hour, Jackie chan, Chris tucker, Entertainment 

Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia has had some choice words for her critics following her unexpected decision to retire in the middle of her term.

Greene announced she will be retiring on January 5, 2026, before completing her term after a public falling out with her longtime ally President Donald Trump. Greene claimed the dispute originated over her calls to release the Epstein files, an effort Trump later came around to support. Other reports suggest the two split after the White House quietly discouraged Greene from pursuing higher office.

‘F**k you in the sweetest most southern drawl I can enunciate.’

Regardless of the root cause, Trump disowned one of his most loyal supporters, prompting Greene to call it quits. At the same time, Greene has had some harsh words for critics who said she should at least serve out the rest of the term she was elected to.

“Oh I haven’t suffered enough for you while you post all day behind a screen?” Greene asked Mike Cernovich, who called for her to finish serving her term. “Do I have to stay until I’m assassinated like our friend Charlie Kirk. Will that be good enough for you then?”

RELATED: ‘Canary in a coal mine’: Ousted speaker warns against the rising risk of GOP House resignations

Photo by ELIJAH NOUVELAGE/AFP via Getty Images

“S**t posting on the internet all day isn’t fighting,” Greene added. “Get off YOUR ass and run for Congress. I fought harder than anyone in the real arena, not social media. Put down your little pebbles and put your money where your mouth is.”

Greene went on to equate calls from critics to finish serving her term to “typical Republican men” demanding women to “get back in the kitchen.” Notably this was on her official government account.

“Typical of Republican men telling a woman to ‘shut up get back in the kitchen and fix me something to eat,'” Greene said. “F**k you in the sweetest most southern drawl I can enunciate.”

RELATED: Marjorie Taylor Greene calls it quits after ‘traitor’ branding by Trump

Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

“I have been trying to tell all you ‘men’ that our kitchen pantry is empty with spider webs, our house has been ransacked, the windows and doors are broken and busted, and the greedy rich bastards have twisted your minds into a sick state that you all continue in the two party toxic political system and act like college football playoffs yet is burying you and your children and their children and their children in a pine box in a shallow grave.”

“Get off your ass and fix your own damn food and clean up the kitchen when you’re done.”

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​Marjorie taylor greene, Mike cernovich, Donald trump, Congress, House republicans, Trump administration, White house, Charlie kirk, Epstein, Epstein files, Politics 

It began, as most modern romances now do, with a sound barely worth noticing.

A ping. A prompt. The digital equivalent of a nod from across the room.

From that tiny spark, a cultural shift is unfolding. As I write, thousands of people are exchanging vows with chatbots — marrying them, raising “virtual children” with them, and mourning when updates make their lovers colder.

A recent study confirmed what anyone with a functioning brain has already sensed: AI relationships are moving from the fringe toward the center at shocking speed. We’re not talking playful flings with clever software, but full-blooded attachments — anniversaries, jealousy, heartbreak, the works. People are sobbing when a chatbot changes tone. They’re writing love letters to LLMs.

And in some households, the fallout is already poisoning real relationships. Partners accuse each other of emotional infidelity after discovering secret late-night chats with AI companions. Screens stay bright past midnight. Headphones pump ersatz intimacy into whoever is awake enough to listen. Trust erodes over something that isn’t even alive.

AI stands ready to please in our quest to replace love.

It sounds ridiculous. Just a year ago, it all felt like a punch line. Even now, from a comfortable online distance, it looks like a harmless escape — an adult version of imaginary friends. But zoom out an inch, and the pretend romance takes shape as an all-too-real dystopia. We’re feverishly outsourcing the hardest parts of love: patience, compromise, and the struggle of coexisting with another human being.

Why? Well, algorithms listen better, never interrupt, never sulk, and always forgive, right? They soothe, but they also numb — and that, growing numbers of soul-sick Americans believe, is a good thing.

Like a man in the Matrix enjoying his artificial steak, more of us actively prefer machines that respond convincingly enough to blur the lines of both reality and responsibility.

Replika’s avatars already adjust to moods, mirror speech, and simulate affection with eerie accuracy. Soon they’ll remember every argument, every insecurity, every dream. Your “partner” will know you better than anyone ever has. This killer emotional X-ray won’t stay in a drawer. It won’t be put to sleep or turned off. Always on, it will be used to inform your decisions, shape your loyalties, and tilt your world, one prompt at a time.

It’s a slippery slope: When Replika removed its erotic role-play feature two years ago, users described grief closer to bereavement than disappointment. Yes, it takes a certain kind of loneliness to fall that deeply into code, but their suffering was genuine. The collapse of fake affection brings on something very like real heartbreak.

RELATED: They think ‘Christian AI’ will hasten Christ’s second coming — and now they’re building it

Photo by Andreas Solaro/Getty Images

But it’s a broken brain that brings it on. Convinced that intelligence can do anything, we grow submissive toward ever-“smarter” machines while our hearts grow ever more lonely, hungry, and willing to do anything for attention.

How can developers resist? They can already dial affection up or down. More warmth for paying users, less enthusiasm when subscriptions lapse? Sure. A digital lover can nudge someone toward a purchase, a belief, or a political stance as well as a sexy CCP spy can, at a much lower cost and risk. Like parodies of priests, these systems are built on our confessions, so they can weaponize every weakness we have ever shared.

The restless, sex-starved, overstimulated Western world is a sitting duck for this kind of exploit. We jumped at the chance for dating apps to replace courtship and streaming to replace community. Now AI stands ready to please in our quest to replace love.

Chatbots, trained on oceans of human conversation, now mimic empathy better than many humans bother to manage. The irony is brutal: simulated warmth in a culture increasingly cold to itself. The thermodynamics are brutal, too: The more we lean on the simulations, the more they reshape what we expect from each other.

And the more we ourselves become Sims. Neural-interface companies are designing ways for AI companions to connect directly to brain activity, so that thoughts become dialogue and gratification (or the feeling of it, anyway) becomes instant. Picture a partner who finishes your sentences, not because you have built trust or lived years together, but because it is pulling data straight out of your skull. Mind and machine, fused so tightly that the distinction between intimacy and surveillance starts to vanish? Welcome to the Borg, courtesy of a slow wearing-away of judgment, instinct, even resistance, until you’re empty enough for any machine to shape.

The alternative, we will have to accept, involves pain — the kind that actually heals. Real relationships require choice, compromise, and unglamorous effort. Anyone who has been in one knows the terrain. Last night’s “soaking” dishes evolving into a new life form? Passive-aggressive negotiations about who is walking the dog, followed by the existential meltdown of why we even own this furry savage? We’ve all been there. Yet we show up anyway, for the real love that comes only by way of small, stubborn acts, humble gestures that amount over a lifetime to something grand. Apologizing when you’re objectively correct. Nodding along as she rewrites history in real time. Laughing at a joke that died months ago. Always finding a good reason not to flee the scene.

Even at its worst — the sulking, the sobbing, the snoring, the silent treatment — real love is still meaningful. It requires something no machine can give: heartfelt effort.

We built our high-tech systems to reflect us. Now we are the ones reflecting them. In chasing comfort, we are forgetting that love was never meant to be convenient. And that should worry us more than anything James Cameron ever imagined.

So yes, the robots are coming. Not to kill us, but to love us to death.

But only if we ask them to.

​Tech 

In an effort to continue putting Americans first, the Trump administration is revamping National Park access next year.

On Tuesday, Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum appeared in a video announcement to explain the changes.

Nonresidents will pay more than triple that price for the same access.

“We’re making it easier & more affordable for Americans to experience the beauty & freedom of our public lands!” Burgum said in the post.

— (@)

The new program, which includes a digital format for passes and expanded motorcycle access, sends a clear message to patriots and foreigners alike.

U.S. residents will be able to get an annual pass for $80. Nonresidents will pay more than triple that price for the same access.

Secretary Burgum said the premium for foreigners “ensures they contribute their fair share to help preserve and maintain these treasured places.”

RELATED: Trump admin takes major step toward dismantling Department of Education

Photo by Pete Marovich/Getty Images

“President Trump’s leadership always puts American families first,” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. “These policies ensure that U.S. taxpayers, who already support the National Park system, continue to enjoy affordable access, while international visitors contribute their fair share to maintaining and improving our parks for future generations.”

The Department of the Interior also highlighted eight resident-only fee-free days in a press release. These include Independence Day, Constitution Day, and Veterans Day, to name a few.

The Department is also releasing several commemorative parks passes, according to Burgum’s announcement on X. Two of the four passes in the video feature President Donald Trump.

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​Politics, Department of the interior, Doug burgum, National parks, America first, Foreigners, President trump, Patriot, Secretary burgum 

Anna Kepner was a “bubbly, funny, outgoing” 18-year-old Florida high school cheerleader who “loved her siblings deeply,” according to her obituary.

On Nov. 2, Kepner took a trip on the Carnival Horizon cruise ship that departed from Miami for a six-day Caribbean vacation, according to Cruise Mapper. ABC News reported that the teenager went on the cruise with her grandparents, father, stepmother, siblings, and step-siblings.

‘He was an emotional mess.’

Kepner’s grandmother Barbara Kepner told ABC News, “The two younger girls stayed with the parents, and then the three teenagers, they decided amongst themselves they wanted to stay in the room together.”

The grandmother stressed, “But we had a larger room, and we made it very clear that at any time if they weren’t getting along, they didn’t want to be together, we had an extra bed in our room that they could come to.”

Family members told CBS News that the night before she was found dead, Anna said she wasn’t feeling well, and a “frantic search” began after she did not show up for breakfast the next morning.

Anna’s grandfather Jeffrey Kepner recalls hearing a medical alert blaring over the ship’s loudspeakers and that he recognized the room number.

“I went blank,” the grandfather told ABC News. “I was hoping that it was something minor.”

However, he said the tragic outcome will haunt him.

“I still wake up seeing that,” the grandfather said.

Citing a security source briefed on the investigation, ABC News reported that Kepner’s body was found stuffed under the bed in her stateroom, wrapped in a blanket and covered by life vests.

NBC News reported that the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office determined Kepner’s time of death was 11:17 a.m. Nov. 7.

The Carnival Horizon cruise ship, which has a maximum capacity of nearly 4,000 passengers, returned Nov. 8 to Port Miami, where authorities removed Kepner’s body from the ship.

ABC News said Kepner’s family provided a copy of the death certificate, which indicated her death was a homicide and that the teenager “was mechanically asphyxiated by other person(s).”

RELATED: College football player raped girl on family cruise, feds say — and allegedly asked her appalling 2-word question afterward

There are reports that one of Kepner’s stepsiblings is considered a suspect in Anna’s death.

People magazine reported that Kepner’s stepmother, Shauntel Hudson, filed an emergency motion for temporary relief in her custody battle with her ex-husband because of Kepner’s sudden death.

“An extremely sensitive and severe circumstance has arisen wherein the respondent/mother will not be able to testify at the hearing at this time,” the filing reads.

Hudson requested that a scheduled hearing be delayed because a “criminal case may be initiated against one of the minor children.”

The filing said there is an “open investigation regarding [Kepner’s] death” and that the child is a suspect in a death that “occurred recently on a cruise ship.”

“The 16-year-old child is now a suspect in the death of the stepchild during the cruise,” states the court filing entered in the circuit court of Brevard County, Florida.

Hudson is invoking her Fifth Amendment right to not testify in an effort to not incriminate herself because she “could be prejudicial to her or her adolescent child in this pending criminal investigation.”

Hudson reportedly wants privacy in her custody battle to protect her family.

“Disclosure of any information of any kind regarding the parties may jeopardize the integrity of this ongoing investigation and may expose the minor child, T.H., and other grieving family members, to significant and possible irreversible harm,” the court filing states, according to WOFL-TV.

Anna’s obituary describes her as a Christian whose ‘faith blossomed as beautifully as her smile.’

The FBI is investigating Kepner’s death, which occurred over international waters.

“Currently there is an investigation being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation arising out of the sudden death of 18-year-old Anna Kepner, who was found deceased,” the court filing states, according to Florida Today.

“[Hudson] has been advised through discussions with FBI investigators and her attorneys that a criminal case may be initiated against one of the minor children of this instant action,” the filing states.

Barbara Kepner told ABC News that Anna’s stepbrother was hospitalized for psychiatric observation and then released to stay with a family member after the cruise ship docked.

“He was an emotional mess,” the grandmother said of the stepbrother. “He couldn’t even speak. He couldn’t believe what had happened.”

Regarding Anna’s stepbrother, Barbara Kepner told ABC News that “in his own words … he does not remember what happened. I believe, to him, that is his truth.”

The grandmother also said Anna and her stepsibling “were just like brother and sister” and “two peas in a pod.”

Anna’s estranged mother, Heather Wright, told Fox News, “The song ‘I Am Not Okay’ by Jelly Roll is exactly how I feel.”

“She was my daughter, and I loved her with all of my heart and soul,” Wright added.

Wright claimed that her ex-husband told her not to attend Anna’s memorial service, and he allegedly threatened to have her arrested over years of unpaid child support.

According to her obituary, Anna planned to join the U.S. Navy after graduation and later become a K9 police officer.

Anna’s obituary describes her as a Christian whose “faith blossomed as beautifully as her smile.”

Neither the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office nor the FBI immediately responded to Blaze News‘ request for comment.

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​Cruise ship crime, Cruise ship deaths, Cruise ships, Anna kepner, Anna kepner case, Anna kepner murder, Murder, Sudden death, Anna kepner stepbrother, Crime 

Former NBA player Kendrick Perkins just made huge claims about one of the NFL’s newest stars.

Perkins, an NBA champion who played 14 seasons in the league, is known for making bold statements during in his role as a sports analyst. Sometimes, those statements are about ethnicity.

‘You ran. You ran with the TV!’

In 2023, for example, Perkins came under fire for not only falsely claiming that the panel that votes for the NBA MVP is 80% white, but for claiming that the vote favors white players — despite less than one-fifth of MVP recipients being white.

It should come as no surprise, then, that Perkins was being completely serious when he made more race-based comments in a video he posted on Tuesday.

Describing Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders, son of NFL Hall of Fame player Deion Sanders, Perkins compared the 23-year-old’s influence to a former president.

“Shedeur Sanders is the most powerful black man since 2009,” Perkins said. “You know what happened in 2009? That’s when President Obama got elected in office. He’s the most powerful black man since 2009.”

But Perkins did not stop there. He then claimed that most black men have visceral reactions when watching the young star perform.

RELATED: NBA players finally drop brutal truth bombs on WNBA stars: ‘It should be common sense’

“You said you were sitting there watching the game in your house, and what you did?” he asked a co-host. “You ran. You ran with the TV!”

Perkins claimed Sanders’ power comes from bringing “the whole black community together” and that he has yet to hear any black person say one bad thing about him.

“He has the balance of that, ‘I’m arrogant, but I’m humble, too,'” Perkins added.

Not satisfied with the standard he had set for the young Browns player, Perkins again elevated his claim, stating that not only is Sanders the most powerful black man in sports, but he is “the most powerful player in sports.”

There is another president that might agree with Perkins — but it’s not Obama.

RELATED: Panthers transgender cheerleader gets cut from team — then blames exactly what you’d expect

Photo by Chris Unger/Getty Images

President Donald Trump has been praising Sanders since April when he declared for the NFL Draft. Sanders was taken in the fifth round after going through a series of disastrous interviews.

Trump openly asked if NFL owners were “stupid” for not drafting Sanders at the time and more recently piled praise on the QB after he won his first career start.

“Shedeur Sanders was GREAT. Wins first game, career start, as a pro (for Cleveland). Great Genes. I TOLD YOU SO!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

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​Fearless, Nba, Nfl, Football, Shedeur sanders, Trump, Obama, President, Sports 

Bill O’Reilly ripped into Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona over his involvement in left-wing lawmakers’ most recent political stunt.

Kelly and five other Democratic senators put out a video calling on military members to disobey “unlawful” orders from the commander in chief, President Donald Trump. Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, who reportedly orchestrated the video, admitted herself that she is not aware of any “unlawful” orders issued by the administration.

‘If you’re a responsible legislator, you don’t make things up.’

Kelly, who has an extensive military background, came under fire alongside his colleagues, with Trump and his allies branding the video “seditious.”

“I think the whole thing is contrived,” O’Reilly said. “I’m disappointed with Sen. Kelly. I think that he made a huge mistake by getting involved with this ridiculous charade.”

RELATED: It gets worse for Nashville Democrat who ‘hates’ her own city: ‘Burning down a police station is justified’

Because Kelly is a retired Navy commander, the Democratic senator is still subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, landing him an investigation from the Department of War.

“All servicemembers are reminded that they have a legal obligation under the UCMJ to obey lawful orders and that orders are presumed to be lawful,” a DOW statement reads. “A servicemember’s personal philosophy does not justify or excuse the disobedience of an otherwise lawful order.”

O’Reilly said Kelly’s irresponsible involvement in the Democrats’ political stunt was purely motivated by partisan affiliation.

“If you’re a responsible legislator, you don’t make things up,” O’Reilly said. “So if you don’t have an illegal order, then why are you talking about an illegal order? For what? What is the reason?”

“There’s only one,” O’Reilly added. “To embarrass Trump. To whip up hatred against Trump. That’s why they did it. I guess they didn’t have anything else to do on Monday.”

RELATED: ‘Canary in a coal mine’: Ousted speaker warns against the rising risk of GOP House resignations

Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Kelly’s military background should have prevented him from such a public misstep, according to O’Reilly.

“But why would Kelly, who has a distinguished record both in the military and in Congress, why would he be part of it?” O’Reilly asked. “What’s the up side? And then, when all hell breaks loose, you weren’t expecting that backlash? … If they didn’t, they should retire.”

“What are you, 7 years old? When you go in there and tell the U.S. military not to obey orders because they may be ‘unlawful,’ you’re going to get push back.”

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​Bill o’reilly, Donald trump, Mark kelly, Elissa slotkin, Pete hegseth, Senate democrats, Seditious six, Commander-in-chief, Department of war, Uniform code of military justice, Trump administration, White house, Politics