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Trump blasts allies over reluctance to join Iran conflict: ‘WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!’
President Donald Trump demanded over the weekend that NATO members, Pacific region allies, and even China help the United States clear the Strait of Hormuz — through which maritime traffic has ground to a halt due to the ongoing threat of Iranian missile and drone strikes — and “make sure that nothing bad happens there.”
Trump noted that “this should have always been a team effort, and now it will be.”
‘Not a simple task.’
The response was less enthusiastic than Trump had apparently hoped, with some nations rebuffing the invitation and others kicking their decisions down the road.
“There are some countries that greatly disappointed me,” Trump told reporters during an event at the White House on Monday. “What does surprise me is that they’re not eager to help.”
Fewer than 24 hours later, Trump unpacked his disappointment on Truth Social, noting that “the United States has been informed by most of our NATO ‘Allies’ that they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, this, despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape, or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon.”
“I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one way street — We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need,” continued the president.
RELATED: Joe Kent resigns from Trump admin, says Israel forced US into Iran conflict
Vessel attacked near the Strait of Hormuz on March 11. Photo by Handout / ROYAL THAI NAVY / AFP via Getty Images.
After noting that Iran’s leadership and key defenses “are gone,” Trump said, “We no longer ‘need,’ or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance — WE NEVER DID! Likewise, Japan, Australia, or South Korea. In fact, speaking as President of the United States of America, by far the Most Powerful Country Anywhere in the World, WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!”
‘You will lose the ultimate guarantor of our freedom, which is the US nuclear umbrella.’
Trump’s latest criticism of NATO comes just weeks after the alliance’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, told his European colleagues, “If anyone thinks here again that the European Union, or Europe as a whole, can defend itself without the U.S., keep on dreaming. You can’t. We can’t. We need each other.”
Rutte said that without the U.S., European nations would need to each beef up their defense spending to 10% and build out their nuclear capability.
“In that scenario, you will lose the ultimate guarantor of our freedom, which is the U.S. nuclear umbrella. So hey, good luck,” added the NATO secretary general.
Despite Rutte’s reminder about Europe’s reliance on America and Trump’s threat on Sunday that NATO would face a “very bad future” if members didn’t assist, numerous NATO members and U.S. allies farther afield declined Trump’s invitation to commit forces in the Persian Gulf.
Kaja Kallas, vice president of the European Commission and the European Union’s foreign policy chief, told reporters on Monday that officials want to maintain their focus on Ukraine and that where Iran is concerned, their “focus is de-escalation and also freedom of navigation.”
While acknowledging the impact of the conflict and Iran’s ballistic blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Kallas stressed, “This is not Europe’s war — this situation in the region.”
Kallas noted further that the EU has Operation Aspides underway in the Red Sea — a military operation aimed at safeguarding merchant and commercial vessels — but that it won’t cover the strait as “there was no appetite from the Member states to do that.”
Stefan Kornelius, a spokesman for the German government, stated, “The government will not participate in this war,” reported Deutsche Welle. “This war has nothing to do with NATO; it is not NATO’s war.”
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius echoed this sentiment on Monday, stating, “It is not our war; we did not start it. We want diplomatic solutions and a swift end, but additional warships in the region will likely not contribute to that.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in an address on Monday that “we have to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to ensure stability” but that it “is not a simple task.”
Emphasizing that the U.K. will “not be drawn into the wider war,” he noted that Britain is working with European allies on a “viable, collective plan that can restore freedom of navigation in the region as quickly as possible.”
While reluctant to send warships, the U.K. is reportedly planning to send mine-hunting drones to help reopen the strait.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday, “We are not party to the conflict and therefore France will never take part in operations to open or liberate the Strait of Hormuz in the current context,” reported Reuters.
‘We won’t be dragged into any war of choice.’
“We are convinced that once the situation has calmed down — and I deliberately use this term broadly — once the situation has calmed down, that is to say, once the main bombing has ceased, we are ready, along with other nations, to assume responsibility for the escort system,” added Macron.
RELATED: ‘Die in your rage’: Islamist attacks and murder plots are quickly adding up
Photo by Benoit Tessier / POOL / AFP via Getty Images
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk reportedly indicated that the conflict was none of Warsaw’s business, stating his government “does not plan any expedition to Iran, and this does not raise any doubts on the part of our allies.”
Finland’s Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen told Euronews that “NATO is indeed a defensive alliance, and we won’t be dragged into any war of choice.”
“We of course have a collective interest — and I should say not only within NATO — but as the world, to have the oil flowing, to de-escalate, and that is certainly something we are calling for,” added Valtonen.
Anita Anand, Canada’s foreign affairs minister, said that Iran’s blockade was unlawful but also backed Prime Minister Mark Carney’s claim that the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes appear to violate international law.
Anand said further that there’s been no formal discussion among NATO members about Trump’s request, stating, “To our knowledge a request has not been made to NATO for the type of assistance that is being requested,” reported the Globe and Mail.
Some allies outside of NATO similarly poured cold water on the prospect of a coalition of the willing.
Australian Transport Minister Catherine King, for instance, said her country “won’t be sending a ship to the Strait of Hormuz.”
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reportedly told lawmakers on Monday that her nation had no plans to send warships to the Persian Gulf.
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Strait of hormuz, Hormuz, Iran, Iran war, Conflict, Foreign entanglements, Tehran, Europe, Europeans, Eu, President donald trump, Politics
Former Biden staffer angrily rips into Democrat-controlled cities for spiraling into chaos: ‘Is this a joke?’
A public fistfight in a ritzy Washington, D.C., neighborhood led to a former Biden staffer raging against the failures of Democrat-controlled cities on social media.
Yemisi Egbewole worked as the chief of staff to former press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, but she has since become critical of many Democratic policies.
‘Tolerating this behavior is unfair to the residents who live here and unfair to the kids themselves. We need to enforce consequences.’
On Sunday, she posted a video on social media showing a large group of what appeared to be teenagers beating down and stomping a victim at the D.C. Navy Yard.
“Blue cities need to wake up. Tolerating this behavior is unfair to the residents who live here and unfair to the kids themselves. We need to enforce consequences,” Egbewole wrote.
She went on to post another video of the unruly young people running through D.C. and criticized Councilmember Janeese Lewis George for voting against curfews that could have curtailed the fighting.
“[George] believes compassion for these children is the pathway to rehabilitation. But at this point, that kind of ‘compassion’ is just abject neglect,” Egbewole added.
“Imagine paying $3,500 a month to live in a box in the city, working all week to afford it, and when the weekend comes you can’t even enjoy it because kids are bare-knuckle beating each other outside your window,” she continued. “The city you pay taxes to does nothing. Incredible.”
She also rejected commenters who argued that the kids were acting out because of a lack of “third spaces” like skating rinks and arcades, a concept popularized by urbanist activists.
“Is this a joke? So the solution is creating more ‘third spaces’ for them to fight each other in? This is a problem that starts at home. It’s a moral and values issue. A skating rink isn’t going to fix that,” Egbewole responded.
Egbewole addressed the same issue in an op-ed for Fox News, where she warned that Democrats were wrong to avoid the crime issue.
“Refusing to address crime doesn’t protect communities of color; it leaves them more vulnerable,” she wrote in August. “The kids causing chaos aren’t the only ones who live in these neighborhoods. There are other young people who want to learn, want to grow and are watching bad behavior go unchecked.”
Two firearms were recovered in the Navy Yard altercation, and two juveniles were arrested.
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House GOP subpoenas Pam Bondi over Epstein files
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) issued a subpoena to Attorney General Pam Bondi Tuesday over her handling of the Epstein files.
The committee voted to approve the subpoena requiring Bondi to appear for a deposition over the Department of Justice’s handling of the investigation and in compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
In the subpoena, Comer said Bondi’s deposition could “inform legislative solutions” to improve the government’s response to sex trafficking and to “reform the use of non-prosecution agreements and/or plea agreements” related to sex crimes.
‘This subpoena is completely unnecessary.’
Although the subpoena refrained from harshly criticizing Bondi, it was ultimately greenlit on March 4 by committee Republicans who have expressed concerns about Bondi’s leadership.
Every committee Democrat voted in favor of the subpoena, as well as Republican Reps. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Michael Cloud of Texas, and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania.
RELATED: Joe Kent resigns from Trump admin, says Israel forced US into Iran conflict
Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
The DOJ called the subpoena “completely unnecessary,” arguing that Bondi has “made herself available” to lawmakers with respect to the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
“This subpoena is completely unnecessary,” a DOJ spokesperson said in a statement. “Lawmakers have been invited to view the unredacted files for themselves at the Department of Justice, and the Attorney General has always made herself available to speak directly with members of Congress.”
RELATED: Watch: Bill Clinton defends Trump in Epstein deposition video
Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images
“She continues to have calls and meetings with members of Congress on the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which is why the Department offered to brief the committee tomorrow,” the spokesperson added. “As always, we look forward to continuing to provide policymakers with the facts.”
Bondi is now called on to appear before the committee on April 14.
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Donald trump, Pam bondi, Epstein files, James comer, Epstein files transparency act, House oversight committee, Department of justice, Subpoena, Nancy mace, Tim burchett, Scott perry, Lauren boebert, Michael cloud, Doj, Politics
MAGA hat-wearing school bus driver chooses principles over job after ‘absurd’ student complaint
Dave Bonhoff is a retired police officer from Baltimore County, Pennsylvania — and until recently also was a bus driver serving the Littlestown Area School District, WHP-TV reported.
You see, Bonhoff was in the practice of donning his well-worn Make America Great Again hat while driving his route in Littlestown — a small borough just a mile or so north of the Maryland border.
‘I want to be able to express myself. I don’t want somebody to tell me, ”Well, my feelings are hurt. You got to take the hat off.”’
But one of his students complained about Bonhoff’s MAGA hat, the station said, after which his boss at Krise Transportation called him on the morning of Feb. 18.
“She contacts me and says, ‘Hey, listen, I’m going to buy you a hat, an American flag hat, because the school district has deemed that they don’t want you to wear that Make America Great Again hat,'” Bonhoff recounted to WHP.
Well, Bonhoff — also known as “Mr. Dave from Bus #73” — decided to walk away from his bus driver gig that very day, just before the afternoon drop-off, the station said.
“If that wasn’t a condition of my employment, I’d be back to work tomorrow,” Bonhoff told WHP. “I miss the kids. Those kids and I had a great relationship.”
He added to the station that “there’s nothing in this hat that says anything about partisanship. I think that saying that this hat is political is absurd. It’s patriotic.”
When a WHP reporter asked Bonhoff how he would respond to those who argue that MAGA hats are synonymous with a political figure — President Donald Trump — Bonhoff replied that they’re off base.
“I would say that making America great is what we should all strive to be,” he noted to the station. “Anybody who doesn’t want America to prosper, I take issue with them.”
Bonhoff added to WHP that Republican and Democrat presidents during their time in office — including Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton — have used the phrase Make America Great Again.
Alas, clear explanations from higher-ups regarding exactly who said what to Bonhoff appear to be in short supply.
Al Moyer, the Littlestown Area School District’s acting superintendent, told WHP that “districts need to be neutral on sensitive issues” and that Krise Transportation employed Bonhoff, not the school district.
As for Krise Transportation, it denied giving Bonhoff any ultimatums about his MAGA hat but noted a dress code policy in a section of the company handbook, the station said: “Any item of apparel with text or graphics deemed inappropriate by management (including but not limited to alcoholic beverages, drugs, tobacco/vaping, suggestive sexual images or remarks, political sentiments, or offensive statements) are prohibited.”
Bonhoff remained resolute, telling WHP that “I want to be able to express myself. I don’t want somebody to tell me, ‘Well, my feelings are hurt. You got to take the hat off.'”
Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano (R) addressed Bonhoff’s MAGA hat controversy in a statement Friday, noting that political correctness has become a “tool of intimidation,” the station said in a follow-up story:
Mr. Bonhoff is a retired police officer who continued serving his community by safely transporting children to school. Yet he was effectively forced out of his job because he wore a hat that read “Make America Great Again.” Whether someone agrees with that message is completely irrelevant. In America, citizens do not lose their First Amendment rights simply because someone else claims to be offended.
What happened here is not about “sensitivity” or “respect.” It is about the suffocating culture of political correctness that is spreading through our institutions — a culture that demands conformity, punishes dissent, and attempts to silence anyone who refuses to bow to its ideology. Political correctness has become a tool of intimidation. It is used to shame, threaten, and drive ordinary Americans out of their jobs and public life simply for expressing views that do not align with the approved narrative. That is not tolerance. That is coercion.
Mastriano added to WHP that Bonhoff was brave in holding fast to his beliefs: “Dave Bonhoff showed more courage in standing by his principles than many institutions have shown in defending the rights they claim to value. No American should ever be forced to choose between their livelihood and their constitutional freedoms.”
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‘Insulting and laughable’: Trump administration slams Joe Kent’s resignation protesting Iran strikes
President Donald Trump and his allies have come out in full force following Joe Kent’s resignation as director of the National Counterterrorism Center on Tuesday.
Kent announced his unexpected resignation in a letter to Trump, citing concerns about the United States’ military operation in Iran. Kent argued that Iran posed “no imminent threat” and that the United States was forced into the conflict on behalf of Israel, prompting backlash from the administration.
‘He had strong and compelling evidence that Iran was going to attack.’
“As a veteran who deployed to combat 11 times and as a Gold Star husband who lost my beloved wife Shannon in a war manufactured by Israel, I cannot support sending the next generation off to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people nor justifies the cost of American lives,” Kent said in the letter.
Kent’s resignation sent shock waves through the already fracturing MAGA world. Despite the outpouring of support from anti-war commentators, Kent was met with firm disapproval from Trump.
RELATED: Joe Kent resigns from Trump admin, says Israel forced US into Iran conflict
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
“I always thought he was a nice guy, but I always thought he was weak on security,” Trump said in the Oval Office Tuesday. “Very weak on security. I didn’t know him well, but I thought he seemed like a pretty nice guy. But when I read his statement, I realized that it’s a good thing that he’s out because he said that Iran was not a threat.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a much stronger statement, debunking many of Kent’s statements she said were false.
“As President Trump has clearly and explicitly stated, he had strong and compelling evidence that Iran was going to attack the United States first,” Leavitt said, pushing back on Kent’s claim that Iran didn’t pose an imminent threat. “This evidence was compiled from many sources and factors. President Trump would never make the decision to deploy military assets against a foreign adversary in a vacuum.”
RELATED: Trump’s hilarious response after intel reportedly tells him Iran’s new supreme leader might be gay
Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Leavitt went on to list Iran’s offenses against the American people, citing its sponsorship of terrorism and nuclear ambitions. Leavitt also addressed Kent’s claim that Israel forced the United States’ hand in the conflict, calling the assertion “insulting and laughable.”
“And finally, the absurd allegation that President Trump made this decision based on the influence of others, even foreign countries, is both insulting and laughable,” Leavitt said. “President Trump has been remarkably consistent and has said for DECADES that Iran can NEVER possess a nuclear weapon.”
“As someone who actually witnesses President Trump’s decision-making process on a daily basis, I can attest to the fact that he is always looking to do what’s in the best interest of the United States of America — period. America First,” she concluded.
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Donald trump, Joe kent, Karoline leavitt, Iran war, Israel, Iran, Forever wars, Maga, Politics
‘Deeply disturbing’: Florida man enters plea in monkey torture video case
A Florida man entered a plea at the beginning of the month following a particularly disturbing case involving monkeys investigated by Homeland Security Investigations.
Francisco Javier Ravelo, 36, of Coral Gables, Florida, pleaded guilty on March 2 to distributing videos depicting the torture of monkeys. Ravelo was charged in October 2025.
‘It reflects a willingness to dominate, torture, and inflict suffering without remorse.’
The Department of Justice’s press release, citing court documents, explains that Ravelo, a U.S. citizen, “created some and administered some online chat groups dedicated to the distribution and discussion of sexual and violent videos depicting monkeys being mutilated and burned, including baby and adult monkeys.”
The DOJ said Ravelo personally distributed “more than 40 of these obscene crush videos.”
RELATED: ‘Staged armed robberies’: 11 Indian nationals catch visa fraud charge amid conspiracy allegations
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
U.S. law defines “animal crushing” as “actual conduct in which one or more living non-human mammals, birds, reptiles, or amphibians is purposely crushed, burned, drowned, suffocated, impaled, or otherwise subjected to serious bodily injury.”
“In his first term, President Donald J. Trump signed the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act into law to end animal crushing,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “If you are involved in this sadistic activity, we will prosecute you.”
U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida said: “Deliberate cruelty to animals is one of the clearest red flags. It reflects a willingness to dominate, torture, and inflict suffering without remorse. The defendant didn’t merely view this material. He created and administered online groups devoted to it and distributed dozens of obscene animal torture videos. That conduct fuels a market built on brutality.”
HSI New Orleans, HSI Pensacola, the local U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division investigated the case that led to Ravelo’s guilty plea, according to an ICE press release.
Ravelo faces a maximum penalty of seven years in prison.
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End of the road: 200,000 foreign truckers could lose their CDLs as Trump’s rule takes effect
Approximately 200,000 foreign truck drivers will no longer be able to renew their commercial driver’s licenses following the Department of Transportation’s final rule that took effect on Monday.
The DOT’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced the final rule, “Restoring Integrity to the Issuance of Non-Domiciled Commercial Drivers Licenses,” in February to prevent “unqualified foreign drivers” from operating big rigs and buses on American roadways.
‘Under President Trump’s leadership, we are putting the safety of the driving public first.’
A press release from the FMCSA noted that in 2025, non-domiciled drivers caused 17 fatal crashes and 30 deaths.
The announcement followed a nationwide audit that found “systemic non-compliance” in the issuance of non-domiciled CDLs in several states.
The final rule’s key provisions include limiting non-domiciled CDLs to foreign nationals with H-2A, H-2B, and E-2 visas. It also terminated Employment Authorization Documents as acceptable proof of eligibility. Additionally, it required state licensing agencies to verify the eligibility of foreign nationals through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements system.
RELATED: Foreigners want to drive a big rig? They’ll need more than work authorization papers, Duffy says.
Sean Duffy. Photographer: Ryan Collerd/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Therefore, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients, asylum seekers, Temporary Protected Status holders, and those relying solely on work authorization documents are no longer eligible to obtain a CDL.
Foreign nationals who no longer meet these qualifications may continue to drive as long as their current license remains valid. However, they will not be able to renew their licenses once they expire.
Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Washington Post estimated that the final rule, which took effect on Monday, will impact about 200,000 CDL holders.
“For far too long, America has allowed dangerous foreign drivers to abuse our truck licensing systems — wreaking havoc on our roadways. This safety loophole ends today,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated during February’s announcement of the final rule. “Moving forward, unqualified foreign drivers will be unable to get a license to operate an 80,000-pound big rig. Under President Trump’s leadership, we are putting the safety of the driving public first. From enforcing English language standards to holding fraudulent carriers accountable, we will continue to attack this crisis on our roads head on.”
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‘Nobody’s history is perfect’: Democrat Muhammad Casim loses election in historically blue district
In a major upset, a Republican has finally made an inroad in what was once considered a safe Democratic county in Virginia.
Democratic candidate Muhammad “Sef” Casim lost a special election for a vacant seat on the Prince William Board of County Supervisors to Republican Jeannie LaCroix following a precipitous loss of support from his own party.
‘I want to make clear that the foolishness of my actions during my college days did not translate then, and most definitely does not indicate now, any prejudice or hatred I hold towards the Black community.’
On March 10, LaCroix received 1,694 (43.73%) of the votes compared to Casim’s 1,436 (37.07%). Democrat Pamela Montgomery, a write-in candidate who launched her campaign barely one week before the election, drew from Casim’s votes, though how many is unclear, according to WJLA.
Casim faced calls from his own party to back out of the race after past social media posts, which he described as “offensive to the Black community,” resurfaced during his campaign.
Chair at-Large Deshundra Jeffersonpwcva.gov
Prince William County Republican County Chairman Jacob Alderman called for the immediate withdrawal of support for Casim, posting screenshots of many of Casim’s past posts and reposts, which he described as “a disturbing pattern of racist, misogynistic, antisemitic, anti-Christian, and anti-American views.”
The posts, which come from X, all appear to be from over a decade ago, with many of them dated between 2012 and 2015.
Posts include Casim allegedly writing or reposting other accounts saying: “Never call a tiger ‘tigga.’ Only tigers can call themselves ‘tigga’”; “This girl’s fav match going on, No dangerous Hindu male”; “the person below is a dirty slut”; and “Heading ot [sic] VCU in the morning with my N***a.”
Casim wrote an apology on Facebook on February 28: “Nobody’s history is perfect and I am no exception. 14 years ago I had made social media posts that were disrespectful and posted a reference to my friend using a term that is quite frankly, offensive to the Black community. There is no excuse for this and I deeply apologize. I want to make clear that the foolishness of my actions during my college days did not translate then, and most definitely does not indicate now, any prejudice or hatred I hold towards the Black community.”
Potomac Local reported that several Democratic elected officials called on Casim to step away from the race over the “racist, xenophobic, and misogynistic” remarks.
Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chair Deshundra Jefferson issued a separate statement on March 2 criticizing Casim’s past remarks — and his apology. “I am deeply disgusted by the past comments Sufiyan Casim made — as well as his lack of responsibility and accountability. No apology should start with the words, ‘Nobody’s history is perfect and I am no exception,’ as it dismisses the pain that one’s words have caused,” Jefferson stated.
LaCroix will assume the role of Woodbridge District supervisor following the election upset, which was triggered after former Supervisor Margaret Franklin won election to the Virginia House of Delegates 23rd District in January.
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Whitlock slams Oscars DEI rules after Michael B. Jordan speech: ‘This is programming’
As Hollywood continues to embrace diversity mandates — which couldn’t have been more clear at the 96th Academy Awards — the film industry is sending the wrong message about merit and inspiration.
“The Academy Awards came up with new criteria for how to win or be eligible to even win the Best Picture nominee,” Whitlock says, noting that potential winners had to meet DEI requirements.
“At least one of the lead actors or significant supporting actors submitted for Oscar consideration is from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group in a specific country or territory of production,” read some of the Representation and Inclusion Standards of the Academy Awards.
“At least 30% of all actors not submitted for Oscar consideration are from at least two underrepresented groups which may include women, racial or ethnic group, LGBTQ+, people with cognitive or physical disabilities, or who are deaf or hard of hearing,” reads another guideline.
“This is all programming. This is all brainwashing. This is all a reflection of unreality,” Whitlock says, before playing a clip of Michael B. Jordan, who won the award for Best Actor.
“I stand here because of the people that came before me. Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Jamie Foxx, Forest Whitaker, Will Smith. And to be amongst those giants, amongst those greats, amongst my ancestors, amongst my guys,” Jordan said.
He then added, “I just want to say thank you for everybody in this room that has something to do with my success.”
“You know, he rattles off this group of black actors,” Whitlock comments, pointing out that when it was his dream to be a great sportswriter, he didn’t choose his heroes based on skin color.
“What — you’re telling me that in 2026, the only people that can inspire black kids are other black people? I just — I don’t get this. This is so limiting,” he continues. “White people get to be inspired by any and everybody. There’s a white kid, right now, today, that’s sitting around saying, ‘Hey, I want to be like LeBron James.’”
“They get access to be inspired by whatever human being is on the planet. Their options for inspiration are limitless. We’re telling black kids, subtly and straightforwardly, that the only people that can inspire you are other black people,” he adds.
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Jasmine Crockett defends bodyguard as nonviolent after he pulls gun in police standoff
Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D) says her deceased security guard who faked his identity was a committed employee who respected others.
Diamon Mazairre Robinson was living for years under the alias “Mike King” and had served on Crockett’s security team “for years,” according to Crockett’s team. Robinson was shot and killed by Dallas SWAT last Wednesday after a standoff in the parking garage of a children’s hospital.
‘What we’re now learning about his past doesn’t fit the person we came to know as Mike King.’
Robinson is seen on police dashcam video fleeing law enforcement before refusing to come out of his car in the parking garage. Detectives negotiated with Robinson for more than an hour before he came out of his car.
As Robinson reached for a handgun, law enforcement can be heard hearing yelling, “Don’t do it!” However, he still pulled the pistol, and officers fired when the pistol appeared to be raised. Robinson was later pronounced dead at the scene.
Despite Robinson having lived for years under a fake identity, with multiple weapons charges and stolen government plates, Rep. Crockett still came to his defense in a press release.
“As a former public defender, I’ve always believed people are more than the worst thing they’ve ever done. I believe in redemption. The man we knew showed up with respect, care, and commitment to protecting others,” Crockett wrote in an X post, while sharing an official statement.
RELATED: Jasmine Crockett claims she was ‘targeted’ and cheated out of the Senate by Republicans
After Crockett’s team explained it had “followed all protocols” and were approved to use the security “vendor,” the press release said, “This situation reiterates the need for Capitol Police to provide security for members of Congress, especially under this administration’s new normal of inciting attacks on those who dare speak out.”
Robinson was then described as someone who used legal “loopholes without malice,” with Crockett’s team saying they were “unable to locate any violent offenses” in his criminal history.
Dallas Police Deputy Chief William Griffith told reporters on Monday that Robinson pretended to work for nonexistent federal agencies. This included the “special dignitary police.”
“That agency does not exist within the federal government,” Griffith said. “So that’s who he portrayed to be. … So there was no actual federal agency that he worked for that existed.”
Authorities also revealed that Robinson had posed as a federal officer for the fake agency, produced identification cards for it, and had two active felony warrants from 2017 for theft. Additionally, he had a parole violation, two vehicles with stolen government plates, and multiple stolen firearms, one of which was the gun he pulled during the police standoff.
RELATED: SWAT team kills Jasmine Crockett’s fugitive security guard after suspect pulls gun on police
Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images
“He’s very good at hiding his true identity,” Griffith added, noting it took one to two weeks of investigative work to determine who Robinson was.
Still Crockett’s team — referring to Robinson as Mike King — said there was “never any reason to suspect he wasn’t who he held himself out to be.”
“He never endangered our team, worked diligently, coordinated with local enforcement, and maintained positive relationships throughout the community,” the press release went on. “What we’re now learning about his past doesn’t fit the person we came to know as Mike King.”
Neither Crockett nor her team responded to Blaze News’ request for comments.
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‘I can do anything I want with it’: Trump confirms he’s eying another country for the ‘taking’
The U.S. under President Donald Trump has decapitated both the Venezuelan and Iranian regimes. Trump confirmed on Monday that he now has his sights set on another country.
When asked whether the “next” country up was Cuba and whether the approach taken will “look like Iran or Venezuela,” Trump said, “Can’t tell you that. I can tell you that they’re talking to us. It’s a failed nation. They have no money. They have no oil. They have no nothing. They have nice land. They have nice landscape, you know. It’s a beautiful island. I think they have great people.”
‘They’re a very weakened nation.’
After extolling the entrepreneurial spirit of the Cuban people and noting that many expatriates would love to visit the communist-controlled island, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, “All my life I’ve been hearing about the United States and Cuba. ‘When will the United States do it?'”
Trump said he believes he will have “the honor of taking Cuba. … That’s a big honor.”
When asked to clarify what such a takeover might look like, the president said, “Free it, take it — I think I can do anything I want with it, if you want to know the truth. They’re a very weakened nation.”
Cuba’s electrical grid completely collapsed on Monday. The Cuban Ministry of Energy and Mines noted in social media posts on Tuesday that efforts were still under way to restore electric systems around the country.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said that the impact of the American-imposed oil blockade, which has been in effect for months, “is tremendous.”
RELATED: Cubans torch communist headquarters in protest of blackouts and food shortages
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel at an “anti-imperialist” protest in front of the U.S. embassy in Havana.
Trump issued an executive order on Jan. 29, accusing the Cuban government of “extraordinary actions that harm and threaten the United States” and signaling that any nation that directly or indirectly sells oil to Cuba will have its exports to the U.S. slapped with additional tariffs.
In addition to prompting Mexico to suspend energy shipments to Cuba and cutting off the flow of Venezuelan oil to Havana, the U.S. has reportedly seized shipments bound for the island and intercepted vessels searching for fuel in the Caribbean Sea.
Cuba’s energy crisis and worsening food shortage have exacerbated internal tensions and prompted protests. On Friday, for instance, protesters reportedly burned and ransacked a local communist party building — an incident Díaz-Canel suggested was the result of “distress” caused by the U.S. blockade.
U.S. and Cuban officials have been negotiating over the the fate of the island, four sources said to be familiar with the talks told the New York Times. The U.S. has reportedly signaled to the Cubans that the Trump administration might be satisfied with Díaz-Canel and some regime elders faithful to the murderous ideals of Fidel Castro getting the boot and the Cuban people figuring out the next steps.
“Direct conversations with the United States are about finding, through dialogue, solutions to the differences that exist between the two countries,” Lianys Torres Rivera, Cuba’s chief of mission to the U.S., told Politico. “The conversations are not about Cuba’s internal affairs — our constitutional system, our political model, our social and socialist economy which we Cubans have built.”
On Sunday, Trump told reporters on Air Force One, “We’re talking to Cuba, but we’re going to do Iran before Cuba,” adding that “people have been waiting 50 years” for possible action on the Cuban front.
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Interventionism, Western hemisphere, Cuba, Communism, Collapse, Donald trump, Cuban, Regime change, Takeover, Golden age, Manifest destiny, Politics
‘Rogue’ Biden judge blocks critical pieces of RFK Jr.’s vaccine reform
A federal judge appointed by former President Joe Biden obliged medical establishmentarians on Monday, blocking three critical elements of the Trump administration’s vaccine reform.
Brian Murphy — a Boston-based U.S. district court judge who previously barred the Trump administration from swiftly deporting illegal aliens — paused Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s reconstitution of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the federal panel whose vaccine recommendations become official policy at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
‘How much embarrassment can this Judge take?’
In addition to freezing out Kennedy’s ACIP appointees prior to their planned discussion of COVID-19 vaccines this week, Murphy also halted the health secretary’s reform of the child vaccination schedule as well as Kennedy’s May 2025 directive rescinding the recommendation that pregnant women and healthy kids get the COVID vaccine.
The shake-up
As of early 2025, all 17 members of the ACIP were Biden appointees.
Some of the members were brazen partisans. Oliver Brooks, for instance, made a habit of donating to Democrat candidates, including failed presidential candidate Kamala Harris, and called for research to be “intentionally antiracist.” Noel Brewer, a 2020 Biden donor, similarly demonstrated a DEI-lensed preoccupation with race.
Most members had collected small fortunes in consulting fees and research support from some of the very pharmaceutical giants whose products the panel had recommended, prompting questions about the members’ loyalties and commitment to public health.
RELATED: FDA finally admits COVID-19 vaccine killed kids: ‘This is a profound revelation’
JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images
Kennedy noted in a June 9 article, “The committee has been plagued with persistent conflicts of interest and has become little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine.”
“It has never recommended against a vaccine — even those later withdrawn for safety reasons,” continued Kennedy. “It has failed to scrutinize vaccine products given to babies and pregnant women. To make matters worse, the groups that inform ACIP meet behind closed doors, violating the legal and ethical principle of transparency crucial to maintaining public trust.”
On June 10, Kennedy announced that he had canned all 17 members of the ACIP, accused the panel of “malevolent malpractice,” and vowed to appoint “highly credentialed physicians and scientists who will make extremely consequential public health determinations by applying evidence-based decision-making with objectivity and common sense.”
Medical establishmentarians melted down over the removal of the Biden holdovers.
Susan Kressly, who was the president of the American Academy of Pediatrics at the time, said, “We are witnessing an escalating effort by the administration to silence independent medical expertise and stoke distrust in lifesaving vaccines.”
Their fury was compounded when Kennedy announced whom he was appointing to the newly vacant panel — experts such as Dr. Robert Malone, an early pioneer in messenger RNA technology, and Dr. Cody Meissner, a professor of pediatrics at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth who ruffled feathers in 2021 by criticizing ruinous mask mandates for children.
In January, the Trump administration dealt those clinging to the status quo another upset, modifying the childhood immunization schedule.
RELATED: The Conspiracy Instinct
Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Whereas previously, the CDC recommended that kids get vaccines for 18 diseases — loading them up with twice as many doses as their European counterparts — the Trump administration reduced its list of vaccination recommendations for all children to jabs for the following 11 diseases: diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis (whooping cough), Haemophilus influenzae type B, pneumococcal conjugate, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, human papillomavirus, and chickenpox.
The lawsuit
The American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical groups sued the administration in July over its termination of COVID vaccine recommendations for healthy kids and pregnant women, then amended their complaint to incorporate challenges to the ACIP shake-up and changes to the immunization schedule updates.
‘We will keep appealing these lawless decisions.’
Judge Murphy echoed the plaintiffs’ talking points in his ruling on Monday and said, “There is a method to how these decisions [about which vaccines to make available through insurers and government programs] historically have been made — a method scientific in nature and codified into law through procedural requirements. Unfortunately, the Government has disregarded those methods and thereby undermined the integrity of its actions.”
Murphy questioned the qualifications held by the majority of current ACIP members but spared his fellow Biden appointees who previously served on the panel from such scrutiny.
He also said that the ACIP, as currently staffed, violates Congress’ requirement that such committees “be fairly balanced.”
Murphy, opting for stays over injunctions, stayed Kennedy’s appointments of new ACIP members, all votes taken by the new ACIP members, and the January changes to the childhood immunization schedule.
The response
The medical groups behind the lawsuit celebrated Murphy’s ruling.
Andrew Racine, president of the AAP, called it “a historic and welcome outcome for children, communities, and pediatricians everywhere.”
“This decision effectively means that a science-based process for developing immunization recommendations is not to be trifled with and represents a critical step to restoring scientific decision-making to federal vaccine policy that has kept children healthy for years,” added Racine.
“Today’s ruling is a win for public health and reaffirms that national vaccine policy should be guided by rigorous, evidence-based science, not politics,” said Jason Goldman, president of the American College of Physicians. “Scientific consensus and overwhelming evidence demonstrate that vaccines are safe and effective.”
The HHS said that it will appeal the ruling.
“We look forward to this judge’s decision being overturned just like his other attempts to keep the Trump administration from governing,” wrote HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche noted, “We will keep appealing these lawless decisions, and we will keep winning. The question is, how much embarrassment can this Judge take?”
Dr. Robert Malone said that the “rogue judge” had “inserted himself between the elected executive branch and its constitutional authority to govern.”
Malone, who faced years of abuse for questioning the safety of mRNA vaccines and the severity of COVID-19, emphasized that “the political timing of this ruling is impossible to ignore” and that “the practical consequences of Monday’s ruling are serious.”
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Acip, Vaccine, Vaccination, Big pharma, Pharmaceuticals, Maha, Make america healthy again, Health, Science, Clotshots, Jab, Vaccine schedule, Robert f kennedy jr, Rfk jr, Rfk, Hhs, Politics
The new censorship doesn’t say ‘no’ — it says ‘no one can see it’
Free speech isn’t dying in one dramatic moment. It’s getting shaved down in two different ways — both deliberate, both dangerous.
The first track is blunt-force censorship. It looks like platform bans, coordinated deplatforming, demonetization — and in some countries, handcuffs.
The First Amendment requires vigilance — and a culture and an infrastructure that respect not only the right to speak, but the ability to be heard without invisible manipulation.
When Joe Rogan reacted to reports that more than 12,000 people in the United Kingdom had been arrested over social media posts, he said the U.K. has “lost it.” Hyperbolic? Maybe. But the concern is real. Americans still recoil at the idea of police knocking on someone’s door over a tweet. In parts of Europe, that line keeps moving.
Take the arrest of Irish comedy writer Graham Linehan over posts criticizing trans activists. Agree with him or not, the point stands: Government shouldn’t referee online speech disputes. Speech that would receive constitutional protection in the United States is treated elsewhere as a criminal offense. That isn’t progress. It’s just regression dressed up as “social responsibility.”
We aren’t immune in the United States. We just do it differently.
The First Amendment still blocks direct government suppression in most cases. But a parallel system has grown up alongside it — one where Big Tech companies act as speech gatekeepers. They decide who can speak, who gets heard, and who disappears into digital exile. You may have the right to talk, but if you can’t reach anyone in the modern public square, what does that right mean?
That’s the predictable result of handing global communication infrastructure to a handful of corporations with opaque rules and shifting political winds. Platforms remove accounts, throttle content, suspend monetization, and slap “misinformation” labels on disfavored opinions. The rules move, enforcement varies, and appeals are a black box.
Jeff Dornik, founder of Pickax, a fast-growing platform branding itself as a free-speech alternative, puts it bluntly: “You can’t have freedom of speech without freedom of reach. It’s quite literally written into the First Amendment: ‘abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.’ If you limit reach, you abridge speech.”
That brings us to the second track — subtler and arguably more insidious.
It’s algorithmic manipulation. It’s the Overton Window nudged by code instead of Congress. It’s the illusion of free speech paired with the quiet denial of reach.
Dominant platforms defend themselves by insisting they support “freedom of speech.” Ask conservatives who’ve watched Big Tech suspend them, kneecap their businesses, or bury their content, and they’ll translate it the same way: Say what you want — we decide who sees it. Freedom of reach is optional at best.
Algorithms decide what trends, what goes viral, and what gets buried on page six of your search. They shape perception, reward some views, starve others, and then hide the rulebook. Users adapt. They soften language and avoid topics entirely. They self-censor — not because they got banned, but because they learned the cost of crossing invisible lines.
RELATED: The European Commission wants your free speech. Elon Musk is in the way.
Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Dornik argues that algorithms can be more corrosive than outright censorship: Instead of punishing speech the powers-that-be don’t like, they dangle engagement and monetization to train creators to censor themselves — “essentially getting you to rewire your own brain.”
“Almost all of the Big Tech platforms are using algorithms to manipulate us,” Dornik says. “The byproduct of this form of censorship is that it’s almost impossible to create community.”
He’s not wrong about the incentive structure. When creators wake up to find engagement cut in half after an unpopular opinion, they get the message. Stay inside the narrative. Don’t challenge the consensus. The window narrows — not because voters demanded it, but because code enforced it.
That’s why the free-speech debate can’t be reduced to arrest statistics. It’s about who controls visibility. It’s about whether speech is meaningfully free when distribution gets manipulated behind the scenes.
America still has the strongest constitutional speech protections in the world. But constitutional protection is only part of the story. Culture matters. Platform design matters. Incentives matter. When creators depend on systems that can quietly demonetize or suppress them, speech becomes conditional.
That’s the gap platforms like Pickax say they want to fill: no shadow bans, no algorithmic throttling, no opaque moderation. The feed is chronological and long-form content is encouraged. Creators own their content, and monetization is simple and direct.
Pickax held a launch event on February 24, with an all-day livestream featuring many of its creators. Dornik called it more than a rollout: “One of our primary missions with Pickax is to build human-to-human connections. We do this by eliminating the computer-driven algorithms … allowing our users to become the algorithm.”
RELATED: California’s next dumb tech idea: Show your papers to scroll
Photo by Samuel Boivin/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Skeptics will say alternative platforms stay niche or ideological. Maybe. But the fact that they keep gaining traction tells you something: People sense the digital public square has been curated, filtered, and sanitized in ways that don’t feel organic.
Free speech has always been messy. It has always included opinions we dislike and arguments we reject. Far from a flaw, that’s the system as it is supposed to work.
The alternative is a world where governments arrest people for posts — and corporations erase dissent with code. One is loud and authoritarian. The other is quiet and corporate. Both undermine open discourse.
The First Amendment is not self-executing. It requires vigilance — and it requires a culture and an infrastructure that respect not only the right to speak, but the ability to be heard without invisible manipulation.
No algorithms and no more shadow bans. No “reach dropped — try boosting.”
If we lose that fight, we won’t lose it all at once. We’ll lose it post by post, throttle by throttle, until only approved voices remain.
Censorship, Free speech, Social media, First amendment, Overton window, Uk, Big tech, Opinion & analysis, Arrests, European union
Axe-wielding thug allegedly threatens Florida car-wash employees — then 1 victim violently turns the tables on him
An axe-wielding male allegedly threatened a pair of car-wash employees in Ocala, Florida, last week — but one of the victims managed to violently turn the tables on him.
Marion County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the Tidal Wave Auto Spa on SW 95th Street Road over a reported disturbance around 8:30 p.m. March 8, officials said.
‘I timed [it] so that once he lowered [the axe], that’s when I shot the takedown.’
Upon arrival, deputies said they found an 18-year-old victim restraining 36-year-old Bryce Thayer.
The investigation revealed that Thayer approached two employees at the car wash as they were closing, officials said.
Thayer was told to leave the property, officials said, but Thayer became angry and approached the two victims in a threatening manner while wielding an axe.
Officials said the 18-year-old victim lunged at Thayer in an attempt to disarm him and was able to get him on the ground. The second victim then was able to remove the axe from Thayer’s grip, officials said, and the 18-year-old victim restrained Thayer until deputies arrived.
Leodan Pino, 18, told WOFL-TV that his instincts took over amid the unnerving ordeal.
“I hear some screaming, someone yelling something,” Pino told the station. “Something along the lines of, ‘Where’s my wife? I can’t find my wife.’”
Pino added to WOFL that he knew he had to act.
“I timed [it] so that once he lowered [the axe], that’s when I shot the takedown,” Pino told the station. “I got on top of him, and I controlled the situation.”
WOFL reported that one of the car-wash workers — presumably Pino — hit Thayer in the face several times to disorient him.
Thayer was taken into custody, officials told the station, and he was found in possession of drug paraphernalia — a glass pipe believed to be a methamphetamine pipe.
He faces two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill and a drug paraphernalia charge, WOFL said.
Thayer was taken to the Marion County Jail, and bail was set at $65,000, the station reported.
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Crime thwarted, Florida, Marion county sheriff’s office, Arrest, Axe, Disarmed, Ocala, Car wash, Self-defense, Fighting back, Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill charge, Tidal wave auto spa, Drug paraphernalia charge, Crime
Is the GOP’s hyper-fixation on the SAVE Act allowing a much darker threat to fester?
The SAVE Act, which would require individuals to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections, is currently stalled in the Senate. Republicans, led by President Trump and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), are adamant on pushing it through, as it prevents noncitizen voting.
But is the GOP so hyper-fixated on passing it that it’s glossing over an even bigger threat?
According to Blaze Media’s Daniel Horowitz, the answer is yes.
“All you hear going into this new week is ‘the Save Act, the Save Act.’ Do you see what minutia that is when you look at the magnitude of what we’re facing just with Islamic immigration?” he asks.
On this episode of “Conservative Review with Daniel Horowitz,” the no-nonsense conservative analyst breaks down why the SAVE Act is actually a distraction from more pressing immigration issues.
“We basically let in … several million people that believe in at least civilization jihad, don’t like America, cultivate a climate where you have several hundred thousand people that downright support terrorism as a form of fulfilling their jihad,” says Horowitz.
In light of this looming threat, the SAVE Act is “so small potatoes,” he argues, calling it “an idolatrous bill“ that ignores the real problem.
“It’s illegals being counted in the census, noncitizens being counted in the census, bringing in mass waves of people that become citizens and legally vote Democrat. That is a much bigger issue than the actual illegal voting,” Horowitz declares.
“Having Hezbollah, Hamas, Shabab, and Al-Qaeda-supporting Muslims in the millions in this country is a much bigger deal than the freaking SAVE Act,” he continues.
But stricter vetting isn’t the answer, he says.
Citing his interview with former Muslim Danny Burmawi, Horowitz contends that Islam is “not a religion” so much as it’s “a state” with its own “system of governance.”
Unlike in the Middle East, where governments often have to limit or modify strict Islamic practices to keep the state functional and avoid total dysfunction, Muslim immigrants in the West are free to express support for jihad and terrorism.
“We’re trying to run our state, and they’re able to actually implement a full unfettered, unadulterated Islamic state within the confines of our state. And that’s how you have a greater concentration of jihad now in the West than you have even in the East,” says Horowitz.
Instead of focusing on the SAVE Act, he argues that the GOP’s attention should be fixated on “[shutting] off the new flow” of Muslim migrants and denaturalizing and deporting those here legally who support foreign terrorists.
“The Constitution is not a suicide pact,” he declares. “States are going to have to say no to mass migration — illegal and legal.”
To hear more of Horowitz’s in-depth breakdown, watch the full episode above.
Conservative review, Conservative review with daniel horowitz, Daniel horowitz, Save act, Muslim migration, Jihadists, Blazetv, Blaze media
Joe Kent resigns from Trump admin, says Israel forced US into Iran conflict
Retired Green Beret veteran Joe Kent has resigned from his post as director of the National Counterterrorism Center Tuesday, citing his disapproval of the United States’ strikes in Iran.
Kent said Iran posed “no imminent threat” to the United States and that the U.S. instead became involved in the conflict due to pressure from Israel. Kent also said continuing to serve in the administration would violate his conscience, especially after losing his “beloved wife Shannon in a war manufactured by Israel.”
‘This echo chamber was used to deceive you.’
“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” Kent said in a letter addressed to President Trump. “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”
“As a veteran who deployed to combat 11 times and as a Gold Star husband who lost my beloved wife Shannon in a war manufactured by Israel, I cannot support sending the next generation off to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people nor justifies the cost of American lives.”
RELATED: Trump’s hilarious response after intel reportedly tells him Iran’s new supreme leader might be gay
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Kent praised Trump’s foreign policy from his 2016, 2020, and 2024 campaigns, saying that during those campaigns, Trump understood that wars in the Middle East “were a trap” that cost American lives. He also applauded Trump’s killing of Qasem Soleimani and defeat of ISIS in his first term but says his administration has since been lobbied and persuaded by “high-ranking Israeli officials” who sought out a war with Iran.
“Early in this administration, high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media deployed a misinformation campaign that wholly undermined your America First platform and sowed pro-war sentiments to encourage war with Iran,” Kent told Trump. “This echo chamber was used to deceive you into believing that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, and that should you strike now, there was a clear path to a swift victory.”
“This was a lie and is the same tactic the Israelis used to draw us into the disastrous Iraq war that cost our nation the lives of thousands of our best men and women,” Kent added. “We cannot make this mistake again.”
RELATED: ‘Die in your rage’: Islamist attacks and murder plots are quickly adding up
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Kent signed off with a warning to Trump, urging him to “reverse course” in the war with Iran.
“I pray that you will reflect upon what we are doing in Iran, and who we are doing it for,” Kent said. “The time for bold action is now. You can reverse course and chart a new path for our nation, or you can allow us to slip further toward decline and chaos. You hold the cards.”
“It was an honor to serve in your administration and to serve our great nation.”
Blaze News has reached out to the White House for comment.
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How to be bored — and 4 more real-world skills you can give your kids
Recent research appears to confirm what many older people have been noticing for years: Younger generations are falling behind on cognitive skills. Measured IQs are dropping, and abilities like verbal fluency and nonverbal reasoning are declining as well.
If we’re going to reverse this decline in the young, parents and older adults are going to have to do what you might call “re-parenting.” We’re going to have to teach young people some basic skills.
Thank God for Mrs. McGonnigle. She sat with me during lunch for an entire week doing flash cards until I had my times tables burned into my brain.
These are skills that we largely seem to have absorbed by osmosis in our youths. For a number of reasons, these younger generations haven’t.
Digital deprivation
It’s not that kids are being born with fewer “hard-wired” smarts than before; it’s not that raw intelligence at birth is declining. Instead, it looks environmental, and the biggest culprit appears to be the “the rapid integration of digital technology into education.”
Bioinformatics researcher Shibasis Rath does a good job of putting complicated studies into plain English in his article “Is Gen Z the first generation less intelligent than their parents?”
The research in both Europe and the U.S. finds that younger generations show noticeable declines in their ability to reason abstractly, to solve novel problems on their own, and to engage in numerical/mathematical reasoning.
As Rath writes:
A large analysis of nearly 400,000 American adults tested between 2006 and 2018 found declines in verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning, and matrix reasoning — key markers of fluid intelligence, or the ability to solve novel problems. Spatial reasoning showed modest improvement, but overall composite scores fell, with the sharpest declines among young adults aged 18 to 22.
What does the research suggest is the biggest culprit? Anyone who has watched a smartphone generation struggle with basic tasks will not be surprised.
Those interested in digging into the data can read some pertinent studies here and also here. To summarize, research on intelligence, measured by IQ and other tests, used to find a consistent upward trend over time. This is called the “Flynn Effect.”
From the 1930s to about 2000, researchers found IQs and mental skills rising in each subsequent generation. But then it flattened out. Worse, though, the curve started to decline around 2010; this was just a few years after the introduction of the smartphone.
Many people remarked that giving young people phones that let them outsource their thinking to a machine would lead nowhere good. But the pushback was, and is, loud and boisterous. Those who made such warnings were called “Luddites” and “Boomers.”
Math muddle
Well, it did happen. Think about how you’ve noticed that younger people are confused about how to deal with cash at stores. If they key in the wrong amount, they don’t know how to make change. This means they can’t do the simple arithmetic in their heads that people my age (51) and thereabouts do automatically. They don’t even know how to do simple subtraction on paper, because schools teach “new math.”
If you want to go down a nightmare rabbit hole of what public school math instruction looks like, start here.
This problem with math is mirrored in the ways reading is taught today, like using the discredited “whole language” approach instead of phonics. The series “Sold a Story” tells the tale in a compelling way.
If you still don’t believe today’s young people are floundering and adrift without basic skills, check out this demonstration from a college classroom. Before you watch this short video, understand that it’s not from a bottom-tier community college. These are Duke University students who have no idea which direction is north and who struggle, and fail, to read a simple road map.
The professor in that video is fighting the good fight with humor as he tries to skill-up his college students with the kind of knowledge older generations had by third or fourth grade. But he can’t do it alone. Teachers can’t do it alone, because the problem doesn’t start at school — it starts at home.
Phoning it in
It starts with parental mistakes. Not malice, not abuse, just honest mistakes. This is hard for parents to hear. Heck, it’s hard in 2026 for anyone to hear that they made a mistake or made the wrong choice. But we have to face the truth if we’re going to do better by our kids.
The first and biggest mistake was giving children smartphones at all. And no, they don’t “need” them. If a child needs to be able to call his parents wherever he is, a flip phone will do that without the collateral damage of instant access to violence and pornography right in Johnny’s pocket.
But it’s not just the obscene and damaging internet content that’s the problem. It’s deeper. When Johnny has a GPS system, a calculator, an AI “write my email” program in his hands, he’s going to use them instead of his brain.
So what are we to do? It’s time to be “old-fashioned” again. Wise parents will put their youngsters back in time and take away the digital crutches that have stunted their growth.
1. How to be bored
Take that smartphone away. No child 16 or under should have a smartphone. If you’re not willing to do this, close this tab and stop reading, because you’ve already decided you’re not going to help your kid grow. Yes, other kids, and other parents, will point out to your kid that “you’re the only one who doesn’t have one.” This is an excellent opportunity to impart that timeless parental wisdom: “If every kid jumped off a bridge …”
For Gen X kids, boredom was the training ground of childhood — the quiet stretch of time that forced you to invent games, pick up a book, wander outside, or simply learn how to be alone with your own thoughts.
2. How to read a map
Buy your child a map of your city, and then expand to an atlas of your state. Sit down and show your kid how to read the map’s instructions (the legend that explains symbols), and plot out the route from your house to your kid’s school. Then have your child plot a route from his school to whatever his favorite destination in town might be. This has to be done by hand, writing down steps by hand, on real paper. Yes, it matters. No, typing doesn’t form the same neural connections. Then keep going to more complicated routes.
3. How to memorize math facts with flash cards
Does your daughter struggle with math? Does she have a hard time with arithmetic? It’s time for flash cards.
In third grade, I was the only kid in class who struggled to memorize his multiplication tables. Thank God for Mrs. McGonnigle. She sat with me during lunch for an entire week doing flash cards until I had my times tables burned into my brain. This kind of rote memorization is the nonnegotiable, must-have building block for moving on to long division, algebra, and more.
4. How to get places without a chauffeur
This one’s easy, and it will save you time: Stop driving your kid to school and everywhere else he wants to go. If school is a mile away, he can walk. I did, and most of you reading did too.
No, it’s not true that it’s “mostly too dangerous in these modern times.” That’s only true in some areas, but even parents in safe neighborhoods have fallen prey to hysteria; they won’t even let their kids ride bikes until sunset. Reverse that.
5. How to cook
Teach them basic cooking.
Not by directing them to a website with GPS-style “turn-by-turn” steps and directions — by showing them and getting them to put their hands on the mixing bowl and the stove along with you. You don’t need detailed recipes to teach basic cooking like pasta, grilled sandwiches, meat loaf, and other home staples.
Gen Z thinks DoorDash is “how food happens.” Teaching them kitchen skills will give them better physical health, it will save them money, and it will show them how much more affordable (and tasty) food can be. If you need a reference cookbook, I recommend the “Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook” (a 1980s version if you can find it). The book explains basic techniques in food preparation that make sense and all fit together.
RELATED: Cooking is easy; it’s our modern anxiety that makes it hard
The Print Collector/Getty Images
Parents: I know it’s not easy. You’re swimming against a huge cultural and commercial tide that wants to swallow your kids’ minds and money. Tech companies don’t want to improve your kids’ quality of life — they want them dumbed down and dependent, and they’re doing a very fine job. Only you can stop this.
It will be lonely for a lot of you. Other parents will think you’re that kooky, crunchy mom or the too-strict dad. All your kids’ friends will poke fun if your daughter doesn’t have an iPhone. Yes, I’m afraid those things will happen.
But so what? You can handle this. Yes, you can. You know you can, because you know that you did when you were growing up.
You can turn this into a lesson for your children too. Model good responses for them. Be confident in how you let silly jabs roll off your back. Explain that there’s value and confidence in knowing how to help yourself. Yeah, your kids will roll their eyes a few times. But in 10 or 15 years, they’ll say, “Thanks, Mom and Dad.”
Lifestyle, How-to, Culture, Skills, Maps, Flash cards, Parenting, Boredom, Big tech, Intervention
One crash, one derailment — and Congress still can’t follow the data
After a midair collision and a train derailment, Congress faces a simple test: Will it follow the evidence?
In aviation, the Senate’s ROTOR Act would mandate improved aircraft surveillance technology after last year’s deadly midair collision involving a military helicopter and a passenger jet. Yet earlier this month, the House failed to advance the bill after Pentagon opposition — sidelining broader use of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, a system that likely would have prevented that tragedy.
Rail risks being locked into prescriptive labor mandates, while aviation safety is undermined by incomplete adoption of proven technology. Neither sector is getting what it needs.
At the same time, a group of senators reintroduced the Railway Safety Act, branding it “data-driven” while again pushing minimum crew mandates — despite no empirical evidence that larger crews reduce accident rates — in response to the 2023 East Palestine derailment.
The impulse is understandable. When tragedy strikes, Washington acts. But acting quickly is not the same as acting on evidence.
If safety is truly the goal, Congress needs to ask a harder question: What actually reduces risk?
The data point in a clear direction. Human error dominates transportation accidents. And the most consistent safety gains in modern transport have come not from adding more people into systems but from improving system design, automation, and structured safety management.
Human error is the core problem
In 2024, roughly 40,000 Americans died in motor vehicle crashes — far outpacing most developed countries on a per-capita basis, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
By contrast, aviation and rail — sectors that have embraced automation and safety management systems — post dramatically lower fatality rates. Commercial aviation in developed countries now experiences fatal accidents at rates below 0.1 per million departures. Federal Railroad Administration data show train accident rates have fallen 33% since 2005, with derailments down significantly and human-factor incidents continuing to decline.
The lesson is straightforward: When systems are designed to reduce human error, safety improves.
RELATED: Female Black Hawk pilot didn’t follow orders before horrific crash: Report
Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Automation works — with caveats
Fully autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicle systems have posted lower crash rates in controlled environments. These results require continued scrutiny and larger data sets, but the direction is clear: Reducing reliance on human reaction time reduces collisions.
The same logic applies in aviation and rail.
Automation now governs the vast majority of routine commercial flight operations. Positive train control has sharply reduced train-on-train collisions and overspeed derailments.
Consider last year’s midair collision. Broader, uninterrupted use of ADS-B In and Out would have provided precise real-time traffic awareness to pilots and controllers. The technology exists to prevent exactly this type of conflict, a point highlighted in the BlazeTV documentary “Countdown to the Next Aviation Disaster,” which presaged the January 2025 Reagan National Airport tragedy. Yet expanded deployment has failed to advance despite bipartisan Senate support.
In rail, meanwhile, some lawmakers are moving in the opposite direction — toward mandates for more personnel.
Symbolic safety vs. structural safety
The East Palestine derailment stemmed from a mechanical failure — an overheated bearing — not a shortage of crew members. There were three crew members on board.
Adding personnel would not have prevented a bearing from overheating. Predictive maintenance systems, sensor networks, and better data integration are the tools designed to catch precisely that kind of failure.
Yet the RSA would codify minimum crew requirements across freight rail operations, regardless of route, cargo type, or level of automation.
This isn’t primarily about risk analysis. It reflects political incentives.
Organized interests exert concentrated influence. Diffuse beneficiaries — consumers, shippers, taxpayers — do not.
Labor interests can organize to protect jobs. The Pentagon can block safety rules it opposes. But the public — which wants safer transportation — is too diffuse to mobilize around specific, technical policy choices. The result is a grab bag of special-interest “safety” measures rather than coherent, risk-targeted reform.
RELATED: Trucks destroy roads, but railroads — yes, rail! — can save taxpayers billions
Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Focus on what works
Freight railroads in the United States are privately funded and capital intensive, investing billions annually in track upgrades, advanced detection systems, and predictive maintenance. Rail remains one of the safest ways to move goods over land because sustained technological improvement compounds over time.
By contrast, the Federal Aviation Administration — a government-run system — has struggled to modernize needed surveillance and air-traffic technologies at speed and at scale. In civil aviation, the FAA has deployed ADS-B across controlled airspace, dramatically improving traffic surveillance and situational awareness. But gaps remain where some defense aviation actors are not required to fully transmit or receive ADS-B data.
Rail now risks being locked into prescriptive labor mandates, while aviation safety is undermined by incomplete adoption of proven collision-avoidance technology. Neither sector is getting the policy it needs.
As Congress considers the RSA, lawmakers should prioritize provisions that directly reduce accident probability. Decades of transportation data point to a consistent lesson: Safety improves when systems are engineered to anticipate and correct human limitations — not when policymakers assume more humans automatically mean more safety. One-size-fits-all crew mandates don’t meet that test.
Nor should Washington abandon expansion of ADS-B and other proven collision-avoidance technologies. The system exists to prevent the very type of tragedy we witnessed. It shouldn’t take another collision for Congress to act.
The evidence isn’t ambiguous. Technology-driven risk reduction works. Symbolic mandates do not. If lawmakers are serious about safety, they need to focus on what demonstrably prevents accidents — and have the discipline to follow the data.
Train crash, Plane crash, Congress, East palestine disaster, Midair collision, Railroads, Faa, Opinion & analysis, Derailment, Derailing trains, Rotor act, Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast, Transportation, Safety, Technology, Automation, Human error, Rail safety act
Former NY middle school teacher allegedly ran ‘prostitution parties’ at his home — and his nickname was ‘Major Hands’
A former middle school teacher was arrested for allegedly running prostitution parties at his home in a suburb of Rochester, New York.
Investigators cited emails from 66-year-old Eric Simpson showing that he charged people for the parties at his home on Canandaigua Road in Macedon from 2021 until Dec. 2025, according to a press release from the Western New York District of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
‘Mr. Simpson was subject to a required background check and employment screening, including fingerprinting and a check of the New York State Sex Offender Registry.’
Prosecutors said the home was utilized for “commercial sex transactions” between numerous sex workers and clients.
“Simpson regularly promoted, managed, and carried on prostitution parties, arranging to have commercial sex workers present and available to perform commercial sex acts with himself and with those he invited to the parties,” the press release reads.
Prosecutors said Simpson was known as “Major Hands.”
In addition to the parties, prosecutors said Simpson “promoted, established, and carried on” meetings between prostitutes and their clients at the home even when he was not present.
In the marketing emails the former teacher sent out, he advertised the number of prostitutes that would be at his home, often refer to them by name, and would indicate where people could park to attend the parties, according to prosecutors. He would direct customers to negotiate “donations” to the “dancers.”
A statement from the North Rose-Wolcott Central School District indicated that he worked there as a technology teacher from August 2024 until he resigned in January 2026.
“As with all employees, Mr. Simpson was subject to a required background check and employment screening, including fingerprinting and a check of the New York State Sex Offender Registry, which came through with approval from the New York State Education Department,” the district said.
“The charge against Mr. Simpson involves alleged conduct that occurred outside of his capacity as an employee of the District, and we have no reason to believe an investigation would involve his work with North Rose-Wolcott,” the district added. “However, the District will fully cooperate with law enforcement in their investigation if asked. The safety of our students, staff, and community is our top priority.”
The Gananda Central School District also said he worked there as a substitute teacher from September 2020 to June 2022 and from September 2022 to August 2024 as a middle school computer science teacher.
An online listing for the home indicates that it has six bedrooms.
Simpson was released by U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy after arraignment on conditions that were not disclosed.
Macedon is a small town of about 9,000 residents located on the Erie Canal between Rochester and Syracuse.
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Eric simpson prostitution charges, Prostitution parties in macedon, Middle school teacher prostitution, Macedon near rochester, Crime
Miss your flight? TSA chaos at your gate? Thank a Democrat.
If you’ve flown out of a Texas airport lately, you’ve felt it: longer security lines, missed flights, and mounting frustration. Texans aren’t alone. Airports across the country are snarled, especially as spring break gets under way.
Why the hassle? Democrats in Washington have refused to fund the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration, causing mayhem at the departure gate. The fallout is hitting travelers first.
As this shutdown drags on, more employees are calling off or quitting for steadier work — which only worsens staffing shortages and delays.
This marks the third funding lapse in six months. Instead of doing their job, Democrats are using the DHS as leverage to undermine President Trump and stall the work Americans elected him to do.
The consequences are immediate. More than 95% of TSA employees are working without pay during this shutdown. Many have taken second jobs to cover basic bills. At the same time, the TSA has cut staffing, which means fewer screeners and longer lines — even as the security mission stays the same.
In Texas, wait times have reportedly reached three hours at some airports over the past week. That translates into real costs: lost time, missed flights, and families stranded because Congress can’t pass a basic funding bill.
And this chaos could end overnight. Congress could fund the government and get the DHS back to work. Instead, Democrats are choosing disruption — and putting national security at risk — to block Trump’s mandate to secure the border, end illegal immigration, and Make America Safe Again.
TSA employees have seen this movie before. During the 43-day shutdown in 2025, some slept in their cars to make ends meet. As this shutdown drags on, more employees are calling off or quitting for steadier work — which only worsens staffing shortages and delays.
RELATED: Spring break blues: DHS highlights outrageous airport conditions amid Democrat shutdown
Mark Felix/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The TSA isn’t the only agency taking the hit. The Coast Guard, housed within the DHS, has more than 7,000 employees going without pay and roughly 3,000 furloughed. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has furloughed about 65% of its staff. FEMA is also feeling strain as its Disaster Relief Fund drains, threatening the agency’s ability to support state and local recovery efforts.
This shutdown burdens Americans, weakens our security, and undercuts the people responsible for protecting the nation.
President Trump and Republicans won in 2024 with a clear mandate. DHS employees are trying to carry it out. Congress should not sabotage them.
Enough. Democrats must stop holding national security hostage and fund the DHS now. Anything less betrays the American people.
Tsa, Dhs, Government shutdown, Trump, Democrats, Gop, Democrat shutdown, Missing flights, Airports, Coast guard, Opinion & analysis, Transportation security administration, Department of homeland security, Delayed flight
