Category: blaze media

A growing list of U.S. scientists and researchers — many tied to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, defense, nuclear, or advanced tech programs — have died or gone missing since 2023.

Nine names are dominating the headlines:

Michael David Hicks — NASA JPL research scientist; died July 30, 2023, age 59; cause never publicly disclosed, no autopsy record found.Frank Maiwald — NASA JPL principal researcher (longtime colleague of Hicks); died July 4, 2024, age 61, in Los Angeles; cause not released, single obituary only, no autopsy reported.Anthony Chavez — Former Los Alamos National Laboratory employee; vanished May 2025, age ~78; left home on foot with belongings left behind; still missing.Monica Reza — Aerospace/materials scientist with NASA/JPL and AFRL-linked rocket propulsion work; disappeared while hiking in Angeles National Forest, June 22, 2025, age 60; still missing after extensive searches.Melissa Casias — Los Alamos National Laboratory administrative assistant (reported security clearance); vanished June 26, 2025, age 53; left after dropping off husband, phones factory-reset, car/belongings left behind, seen walking on highway; still missing. Nuno Loureiro — MIT plasma/fusion physicist and professor; shot multiple times at his Brookline, Massachusetts, home on December 15, 2025, and died December 16, age 47. Carl Grillmair — Caltech astrophysicist with significant NASA/JPL-supported work; shot and killed on his front porch in Llano, California, February 16, 2026, age 67; suspect arrested and charged. William Neil McCasland (Ret. Air Force Maj. Gen.) — Former AFRL commander with classified space/defense program ties; disappeared from his Albuquerque home on February 27, 2026, age 68; still missing, search ongoing.

News coverage has ramped up significantly in the past couple of weeks over this story and continues to garner national attention, but Glenn Beck thinks the conspiracy theory that these cases are all somehow connected jumps the gun.

On this episode of “The Glenn Beck Program,” Glenn pushes back on the hype by illustrating how easily one can ignite a conspiracy theory.

Glenn notes that these nine cases, while speculated to be connected, are really “a mixed data set.”

“If you go through all of these things, there are some confirmed crimes with explanations. … Some of them are missing person cases. … Some are isolated homicides,” he says.

The narrative that these nine scientists worked in closely related fields, Glenn argues, is a stretch.

“Pharma, fusion, space. … That doesn’t mean that there isn’t a connection there, but nobody is showing the connection here. That’s not a tight network,” he says. “That’s anyone who is near defense-adjacent technology.”

He also rejects speculation of “institutional silence.”

“Universities and laboratories and government, they rarely disclose the details. Privacy, ongoing investigations, legal liability, phrases like ‘passed away suddenly’ — that’s standard. … That’s not evidence of concealment,” he says.

“I’m not one to dismiss conspiracy theories, but it seems like we go out looking for some things,” he continues.

To illustrate how easily a conspiracy theory can gain traction, Glenn shares some recent data from his own industry.

“In the last 12 months, I’ve had eight people in my industry die,” he says, citing longtime radio syndication executive Gary Krantz, Pittsburgh radio icon and conservative talk host Jim Quinn, award-winning Texas radio journalist Matt Thomas, WMAL radio host John Lyon, and conservative talk radio pioneer David Gold, among others.

“Of course, Charlie Kirk, we know,” he adds.

“None of these are connected, but if I wanted to, I could do [it],” says Glenn.

“I have a list of maybe 25 names. They all died in the last year.”

Glenn issues a stark warning: “Be very, very careful about propaganda. … There’s a lot of information out there, but you can take information and make it into anything you want.”

To hear more, watch the video above.

Want more from Glenn Beck?

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

​Blaze media, Blazetv, Defense, Glenn beck, Jpl, Missing, Missing person, Missing scientists, Nasa, National laboratory, Nuclear, Researchers, Rocket propulsion, Scientists, Tech, The glenn beck program 

Last month, the Trump administration announced a brand-new White House app available for iPhone and Android. The move shocked the internet, causing some to warn that installing the app would give the government a window into every phone’s most private data. After reviewing the privacy policy, those early fears were somewhat overblown, though not completely invalid. Here’s everything we found.

The new White House app replaced the previous version that was launched by former President Barack Obama in 2010. After 16 years, the app was long overdue for an overhaul. Updated to version 47 as a nod to our 47th president, the app now entails a brand-new design and features optimized for the MAGA age.

There are some inherent flaws within its code.

A quick tour of the White House (app)

The new White House app offers a unique window into the presidency of Donald Trump. It’s comprised of five main sections:

Home: The home page displays announcements, goals/mission achievements, and other important messages from the Trump administration. These can include information on the MAHA movement, border security, cost-of-living improvements, and more.News: The news page showcases press releases and major updates directly from the administration as well as trusted media outlets.Live: The live feed displays long-form videos, shorts, and livestreams featuring President Trump and his various on-camera appearances, from diplomatic meetings, to important announcements, and a meme or two for good measure.Social: The social tab provides a live feed of various social media accounts connected to the president, including Rapid Response 47, the White House, and Donald J. Trump. There’s also a tab that lets you write to the White House, text President Trump himself, sign up for the White House newsletter, and you can even submit a tip to Immigration and Customs Enforcement if you suspect illegal immigration is taking place in your neighborhood or workplace.Gallery: The gallery displays photos of various events featuring President Trump and his administration, including important addresses, bill signings, Cabinet meetings, and more.

Zach Laidlaw/The White House app on iOS

Privacy concerns?

From the moment the new White House app went live, sleuths on social media were quick to warn others not to download it, claiming it to be government spyware that can gather users’ private data.

Based on its privacy labels on the App Store and Google Play, the White House app may collect your email address and phone number (both optional) for marketing purposes as well as app usage data for analytics. Notable components missing from the data collection notice include precise location data, microphone access, camera access, photos access, and browsing history.

In other words, the White House app doesn’t have permission to listen to your conversations, spy on you through the camera, or see your exact location.

RELATED: How the FBI can flout Apple’s privacy tools

ugurhan/Getty Images

Going a step further, we took a look at the White House’s privacy page. Based on this information, the White House website (and by extension, the app) may collect the following that developers aren’t required to disclose directly on the app page:

The device’s originating IP addressThe internet domain nameInformation about your computer or mobile setup (e.g., type and version of web browser, operating system, screen resolution, and connection speed)The pages on WhiteHouse.gov that you visitThe internet address, or URL, of the website that connected you to the site if you accessed WhiteHouse.gov via a link on another page (i.e., “referral traffic”)The amount of data transmitted from WhiteHouse.gov to your computer

At first glance, none of these seem out of the ordinary. Practically all websites you visit log this information about your device and usage habits.

So the White House app is safe to use, right? Not so fast …

Secrets under the hood

A self-professed web designer and former reverse engineer that goes by “Thereallo” decompiled the Android version of the White House app to see exactly what its code entails. Thereallo makes several censorious claims about the app that earned the White House’s announcement a community note on X. The highlights include:

Security risks driven by arbitrary JavaScript injection and an absence of certificate pinning that could leave the app open to hacks in the future.Dubious GPS tracking that logs the device’s location in the foreground (while the app is in use) every 4.5 minutes and in the background (while the app is not being used) every 9.5 minutes.User behavior tracking through various avenues, including cross-device aliases, notification interaction logs, in-app clicks, and more.

Note that these points were only confirmed in the Android version of the White House app. Due to the closed nature of Apple’s mobile platforms, decompiling iOS apps are far more complex.

So is the White House app really safe to use?

While the new White House app looks good on the surface, there are some inherent flaws within its code that could open users up to cyber security threats and data tracking. If you’d like to use the app, consider these options first:

Enable a trusted VPN to mask your IP address from the app’s location-monitoring protocols.Revoke any permissions from that app that request location data or access to see nearby devices to ensure it can’t tap into your GPS data or connected Bluetooth devices.Install the app within a secure sandbox, either inside a Private Space on Android or within an iPhone that isn’t attached to your primary Apple account, to ensure any future cyber attacks on the app can’t attempt to access the rest of the data in your device.Don’t download the White House app. Simply visit whitehouse.gov for the latest information from the Trump administration.

If you’re still interested in checking out the White House app for yourself, you can download it from the Apple App Store for iPhone and the Google Play Store for Android.

​Tech, White house app, Android, Ios, Security 

A 42-year-old stepmother is denying allegations that she tortured her 8-year-old stepdaughter after school officials alerted Florida police.

The girl was allegedly dropped off on April 9 at Tedder Elementary School in Pompano Beach with black eyes and dried blood in her ears, which immediately alarmed school staff.

‘I’ve never read anything like this. … I’ve got serious concerns for the safety of the victim.’

A school counselor called police, who arrested Melirose Joncky after an investigation.

An arrest report said the child was suffering from a large contusion on her forehead and scratches on her arms and neck in addition to the blood and black eyes.

The child allegedly told the counselor that her wounds were caused by her stepmother, and she was wearing a cast from previous wounds also caused by Joncky.

The victim was transported to Coral Springs Medical Center by Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue.

Scans revealed that the child suffered from swelling of the neck, scalp hematomas, and fractures to her arm, foot, and ribs.

When questioned by police, the child detailed monstrous alleged physical abuse that involved beatings with a pot and whippings with phone chargers.

The arrest report said a member of the Broward County Child Protection Team confirmed that the child’s injuries were consistent with the abuse described by the child to police.

She also allegedly claimed that her father sexually assaulted her in Indiana.

Joncky was arrested when she went to pick up the child from the school, and she admitted that she knew about the girl’s injuries. However, she claimed that they were from acne and also from the girl running into a door a week before.

The stepmother was charged with aggravated child abuse and child neglect with great bodily harm.

RELATED: Former teacher sentenced to 132 years in prison for horrific abuse of her two stepsons

Lindsay Chase, the attorney representing Joncky, told the Miami Herald that they would present in court the full context of what happened.

“My client maintains her innocence and denies these allegations,” she said. “The facts are not as they have been portrayed, and there is significant context that has not been presented publicly. We look forward to addressing these issues in court, where the evidence, not speculation, will determine the outcome.”

Joncky appeared in court on Friday, where a Broward County Circuit Court judge expressed disbelief in the facts of the case.

“I’ve never read anything like this. … I’ve got serious concerns for the safety of the victim,” the judge said.

She was denied bond and remains in jail. The child was placed into the custody of the Department of Children and Families.

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​Stepmother tortures daughter, Melirose joncky, 2nd grader tortured, Stepchild alleges torture, Crime 

The conflict in Iran has put a spotlight on the vulnerabilities of fossil fuels. Over the last few weeks, we’ve watched the Strait of Hormuz close, cutting off 20% of the world’s oil supply and resulting in a 55% jump in oil prices. Every industry is feeling the impact of this. But no sector is more exposed than defense.

The U.S. military is the largest single institutional consumer of oil on the planet, and right now, that’s a strategic problem.

Modern warfare is increasingly fought by small, agile teams using robotics and autonomous systems on discrete, short-duration missions.

Estimates report that the United States armed forces consume approximately 4.6 billion gallons of fuel per year. If the Pentagon were a country, it would rank among the top 60 oil-consuming nations on earth. That demand doesn’t pause during a geopolitical crisis.

What the Hormuz disruption exposed is a fundamental issue: The machines that project force are the same machines most vulnerable to fuel supply disruption.

The true cost of a gallon

The cost of military fuel is much deeper than a dollar amount. Defense logistics professionals use a metric called the fully burdened cost of fuel, which accounts for procuring, transporting, and protecting a gallon of petroleum from the point of purchase to the point of use.

In some cases, the cost has been reported as high as $1,000 per gallon when shipping to the theater of war in the Middle East. In future major contested conflicts (particularly in the Pacific), fuel logistics could be pushed to the breaking point, with the challenges far greater than those faced in Iraq and Afghanistan.

We aren’t just paying for fuel in dollars. Fuel convoys cost lives. According to an Army Environmental Policy Institute study, U.S. forces sustained one casualty for every 24 fuel and water resupply convoys in Afghanistan. Between 2003 and 2007, an estimated 3,000 American soldiers and contractors were killed or wounded in attacks on fuel and water convoys.

The reason those convoys were so frequent comes down to raw consumption. A large Army division may use up to 6,000 gallons of fuel per day. The M1 Abrams tank gets less than 0.6 miles per gallon. The Army’s generator fleet, which powers lighting, communications, and base operations at forward locations, consumed approximately 357 million gallons per year during peak wartime operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Rethinking energy at the edge

Addressing this challenge requires rethinking not just how energy is sourced, but how much of it we need in the first place, where it’s going, and what we’re using.

The U.S. military spent an estimated $20.2 billion annually on air conditioning structures in Iraq and Afghanistan, making heating and cooling one of the largest energy expenses on a forward operating base. Simple interventions like spray foam insulation can cut climate-control costs by 50%, according to Army research at the National Training Center. Less demand means fewer convoys, fewer casualties, and greater operational freedom.

Modern warfare is increasingly fought by small, agile teams using robotics and autonomous systems on discrete, short-duration missions. Military logistics are evolving to match, minimizing the need to resupply fuel to smaller, distributed bases.

On the supply side, the answer isn’t a single alternative fuel. It’s an all-inclusive energy strategy: small-scale nuclear, solar paired with battery storage, hydrogen, wind, and hybridized fossil fuel generators working in concert.

Some real-life examples of this strategy include:

Nuclear microreactors as part of the Pentagon’s Project Pele have demonstrated that a reactor powerful enough to run a forward operating base can be packaged into standard shipping containers and airlifted by a C-17.Solar power and hydrogen allowed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to run 24/7 perimeter security and surveillance at the White Sands Missile Range, completely unmanned, with zero power outages for 13 months.The Air Force has certified biofuel blends across its fleet. And companies like AirCo are using captured CO2 and hydrogen to create synthetic fuels, earning them a $65 million contract with the Department of War.

RELATED: Why the US should stake a claim to Antarctica

Sebnem Coskun/Anadolu/Getty Images

From logistics to resilience

Reducing fuel dependence improves force protection by minimizing resupply missions. It increases operational flexibility by allowing units to operate independently of fixed supply lines.

A 2023 U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings article warned that in a future Pacific conflict, the entire fuel logistics chain would be exposed to attack at every point, making energy resilience a priority the military cannot afford to delay.

Energy resilience also supports the realities of modern warfare. Future conflicts will be increasingly unmanned and robotic. Autonomous systems, persistent surveillance, and distributed command-and-control networks all require reliable, long-duration power.

Modern conflicts are more distributed, which means supply chains are more contested. The solution is not to find a single replacement fuel, but to build an energy strategy that is diverse by design while simultaneously reducing energy demand through better insulation, smarter base design, and leaner logistics.

The goal is an energy posture resilient enough that no single choke point — not the Strait of Hormuz, not a convoy ambush, not a supply line disruption — can degrade our ability to operate.

The question is no longer whether alternatives exist. It is whether we have the strategic will to build the energy architecture modern warfare demands.

This article was originally published by RealClearDefense and made available via RealClearWire.

​Army fuel consumption, Defense sector exposure, Fuel demand challenges, Oil supply impact, Fuel logistics casualties, Us military, Modern warfare, Drone warfare, Opinion & analysis 

My fellow Protestants need to know that after I get done with Pope Leo in this column, I’m coming for them next at next week’s TPUSA pastor summit in Dallas. So enjoy it while it lasts, and don’t get too proud.

But this pope, man.

And I quote: “Communion between Christians and Muslims takes shape … as children, within our rich diversity, in our shared aspiration for dignity, love, justice, and peace.”

Seriously, if what Pope Leo just articulated is an “apostolic journey,” then I am a Speedo swimsuit male model centerfold.

I’m actually looking for a pope who has serious theological disagreements with an evangelical like me and isn’t afraid to express them.

Why didn’t St. Peter think about asking his executioners to consider their shared aspiration of dignity, love, justice, and peace when they were crucifying him upside down? It was the least he could do. Maybe the Romans are the real victims, I guess.

As my Catholic editor has said, the pope keeps saying and doing things that don’t comport with obvious scriptural, historical, or current realities on the ground. We are getting a Mr. Rogers papacy, when the plumb line for true apostolic journeys is defined thusly: Peter went to Antioch, then Rome; he was crucified upside down. Andrew journeyed to Scythia and Greece and was crucified in Patras. James the Greater preached in Spain and was executed by sword in Jerusalem. John remained in Ephesus, was exiled to Patmos, and died peacefully. Philip went to Phrygia in Asia Minor and was crucified upside down. Bartholomew traveled through Armenia and India and was flayed and beheaded. Thomas preached in Persia and India and was struck by spears. Matthew carried the gospel to Ethiopia and was stabbed to death. James the Less stayed in Jerusalem and was thrown from the temple. Thaddeus Jude went through Syria and Mesopotamia and was martyred in Beirut. Simon the Zealot preached in North Africa and was killed in Persia. Matthias, who succeeded Judas, went to the Caspian region and was stoned and beheaded.

So the truth is out there if we want it in full, cross and all, instead of a Pope Leo soundtrack that comes across as a mix of John Lennon’s “Imagine” and Taylor Swift’s “You Belong with Me.”

Such social justice dreamscapes are always the conceit of weak men. They refuse to faithfully make the main thing the main thing but instead chase off after a preferred narrative. That’s how you go on a pleasant walk in an Algerian mosque while Nigerian Christians are presently being slaughtered on the very same African continent.

Pope Leo’s comments often frame violence as due to multifaceted, generalized causes based in things like economics or land rights instead of daring to take on Islam directly, either theologically or criminally. For example, among his many tweets, he has never specifically condemned Islamic radicalism for the attacks of October 7 against Israel by Hamas, a known proxy for Iran. Mere condemnations of generic terrorism have been his preference instead, as if all religions have similar levels of bloodlust at the present time.

Any ChatGPT query will tell you that such narrative casting also defined Leo when he was tweeting as Robert Prevost, which is probably why he was chosen as pope last year. The medicine for global conflicts is always focused on more dialogue, missionary work, and synodality rather than the obvious evils in our midst that are demonically vanquishing body and soul with impunity. That’s not a uniquely Catholic problem, though. You’ve all met David French and Mike Pence, right?

RELATED: The hottest part of this message isn’t political

Simone Risoluti – Vatican Media/Vatican Pool/Getty Images

Strangely enough, I’m actually looking for a pope who has serious theological disagreements with an evangelical like me and isn’t afraid to express them, because then I will know that firstly, he understands the true nature of the battle, and secondly, he is convicted to win it. That I can deal with. That’s a man in full, not a chestless minstrel reciting peacenik poetry while hanging out with David Axelrod.

Yes, in terms of relationships, the job of the pope and of all Christians may indeed be to make some very strange bedfellows when we live out Matthew 28 and go to Nineveh, but the language used to do it and the environment it is done in must never compromise the whole counsel of God in favor of a preference for “being nice.”

I also know from a search of ChatGPT that Pope Leo has spoken very frequently on things that evangelicals care a great deal about, like sin, repentance, and redemption. Thus, I think the way to confront this pope is with actual Catholicism instead of Protestant trolling.

We must remind him of the deep history and teaching of his own church — one that inspired, saved, and preserved Western civilization in ways too numerous to count.

In other words, do you even chair of St. Peter, bro? That’s the path forward, not taunts of illegitimacy.

We just want the pope to actually be Catholic. I hope and pray that isn’t too much to ask.

​Opinion & analysis 

The wife of socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has apologized for various controversial tweets she posted on social media as a teenager.

Rama Duwaji referred to the controversy in an interview with Hyperallergic magazine that was published Wednesday.

‘I’ve read and seen a lot of what others have had to say in response, and I understand the hurt I caused and am truly sorry.’

Duwaji was asked an unrelated question about the effect that becoming a public figure had on her as a person, and she included her apology for the past posts.

“This experience has absolutely changed my life. I am still figuring out how it applies to me as an artist and as a person, both thinking of the future and the past,” she said.

“It has forced me to confront how much I’ve changed, even before this moment. When a tabloid recently published old tweets I wrote as a teenager, I felt a lot of shame being confronted with language I used that is so harmful to others; being 15 doesn’t excuse it,” Duwaji added.

“I’ve read and seen a lot of what others have had to say in response, and I understand the hurt I caused and am truly sorry,” she concluded.

The anti-Israel posts were documented by a Washington Free Beacon report in March. Among them were messages of support for Palestinian terrorism and criticism of U.S. soldiers fighting in “imperialist wars.”

Another message appeared to include a gay slur and another used the N-word as well.

When the mayor was asked about the controversy, he responded that his wife was a “private person, who has held no position in my campaign or in my city hall.”

RELATED: Mamdani plan includes 5 city-run grocery markets — with massive price tag

David Dee Delgado/Getty Images

While Duwaji apologized for the teenage tweets, she did not mention a report that she allegedly “liked” posts in support of the Hamas terror attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

“My focus isn’t on being a public figure, but continuing my work with care and responsibility, and allowing my art to speak for itself,” Duwaji added.

The mayor’s wife is a Syrian-American artist who was born in Texas. She met Mamdani on the Hinge dating app in 2021, and they were married in 2025.

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​Mamdani wife’s tweets, Rama duwaji apologizes, N-word tweet, Gay slur tweet, Politics 

Democratic Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser reinstituted a curfew on juveniles in order to combat further criminal flash-mob incidents.

Numerous videos on social media show mobs of young people fighting and robbing businesses in D.C. over the last few months.

The Pan-African Community Action Group … said the policy was discriminatory against black teens.

On Thursday, Bowser took action to continue a juvenile curfew that was scheduled to expire on Wednesday.

“We’re reinstating the limited juvenile curfew in Washington, DC. Effective tonight, all youth under 18 are subject to an 11PM curfew — which will extend through 5/1,” she wrote on social media.

“Designated zones will be subject to an 8PM curfew as determined by the Chief of Police,” she added.

Bowser added in a press release that she had declared a public emergency order to address the “disorderly behavior, prevent violence, and protect public safety.”

Other groups of eight or more juveniles that endanger the safety of the public can lead to a juvenile curfew zone being declared beginning at 8 p.m.

The “teen takeovers” as described by Bowser included incidents at Department of Parks and Recreation centers in the Navy Yard and Waterfront neighborhoods.

One video from Saturday shows police and security guards struggling to corral the marauding teens. Another from March shows teens on a night when shootings, robberies, and fights were reported in the ritzy Navy Yard district.

The Pan-African Community Action Group called on the mayor to let the curfew expire and said the policy was discriminatory against black teens.

RELATED: Exclusive video: Black DC residents tell Blaze News the reasons they support Trump’s DC crime strategy

Bowser presided over D.C. during the surge of federal troops ordered by President Donald Trump to combat crime in the district.

She eventually admitted that the surge helped curb crime and violence, and she was criticized heavily by other Democrats for tacitly admitting the president had succeeded.

“We know that when carjackings go down, when use of guns goes down, when homicide or robbery go down, neighborhoods feel safer and are safer,” Bowser said. “So this surge has been important to us for that reason.”

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​Washington dc mayor muriel bowser, Public emergency teen takeovers, Navy yard teen takeover, Crime in washington dc, Politics 

The Trump administration’s Department of Justice is moving to vacate the seditious conspiracy convictions against several Proud Boys and Oath Keepers members who were involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, protest at the U.S. Capitol.

On Tuesday, the DOJ filed unopposed motions to throw out convictions and dismiss the indictments with prejudice for Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and members Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson, and Jessica Watkins, as well as Proud Boys members Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola.

‘I’m excited to finally move on from January 6.’

The DOJ claimed that dismissal of the criminal cases would be “in the interests of justice.”

“The government’s motion to vacate in this case is consistent with its practice of moving the Supreme Court to vacate convictions in cases where the government has decided in its prosecutorial discretion that dismissal of a criminal case is in the interests of justice — motions that the Supreme Court routinely grants,” the motions read.

Under the Biden DOJ, Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years in prison, Meggs to 12 years, Harrelson to four years, Watkins to 8.5 years, Nordean to 18 years, Biggs to 17 years, Rehl to 15 years, and Pezzola to 10 years.

In January 2025, Trump commuted the sentences of each of the defendants. However, the president stopped short of granting a pardon, leaving the convictions on their records. Among the defendants, six are military veterans, and the continued presence of those felony convictions carries significant consequences for any VA benefits or military retirement pay for which they may previously have been eligible.

RELATED: Exclusive: GOP-run Jan. 6 subcommittee goes after trove of data deleted by Pelosi-appointed Jan. 6 committee

Jon Cherry/Getty Images

“I couldn’t be happier,” Rehl told Blaze News. “I’m excited to finally move on from January 6, and my family and I are looking forward to rebuilding our lives again.”

Rehl thanked Trump, acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, and U.S. pardon attorney Edward Martin for “making this possible!”

Carolyn Stewart, an attorney representing Meggs, stated that she is “pleased that the DOJ finally admitted there should be no further prosecution of my innocent client, Mr. Meggs — where he can go forward with his life without this shadow.”

Norm Pattis, an attorney representing Biggs, expressed skepticism that the court would grant the DOJ’s request but told Blaze News that he is “delighted to see the Justice Department throw in the towel,” noting that it “should have done that years ago.”

“I hope the courts do it, but I do think it’s a head-scratching request,” Pattis said, explaining that the DOJ previously poured thousands of hours and hundreds of thousands — if not millions — of dollars into its prosecution and therefore “clearly thought that the interests of justice required that prosecution then.”

“The separation of powers doctrine leaves to the executive branch decisions about whether to prosecute. Once the case is gone to judgment in the judicial branch, that branch has spoken. Suggesting that, ‘Well, we’ve changed our mind, millions of dollars, years later, in the interest of justice,’ it doesn’t really promote respect for the law. It makes it look like a funhouse over there and makes you wonder who’s running the shop,” Pattis stated.

He noted that despite Trump’s decision to commute Biggs’ sentence, the military veteran lost the pension that he “earned by virtue of his Purple Heart and combat injuries that he suffered.”

“We want that pension back,” Pattis said. “I’m not at all counting on relief. I still think this ends up back on the president’s desk for a full pardon.”

RELATED: Trump pardons 1,500 Jan. 6 defendants, commutes the sentences of 14

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Rhodes, who also spoke with Blaze News, expressed hopefulness about the DOJ’s motion to vacate, calling it “very good news,” adding that it would “be a blessing to have not just our convictions overturned, but the underlying charges dismissed with prejudice.”

“It would wipe our records clean,” Rhodes told Blaze News. “I’m a disabled veteran. … I’m service-connected disabled from a parachuting accident when I was serving as a paratrooper in the Army, and I lost all my VA benefits, along with being a felon and losing my rights to bear arms.”

Rhodes speculated that the DOJ may have requested to vacate to “avoid a potentially negative outcome on appeal that could affect their ability to use a statute in the future.” He noted that seditious conspiracy is “a very legally vulnerable statute” from the Civil War era that is “overbroad and vague” and “does not provide any shelter for free speech.”

“It’s an ancient statute that I don’t believe passes muster constitutionally, but it hasn’t been directly challenged on those grounds,” Rhodes said.

Rhodes stated that the DOJ may realize that the statute is “vulnerable [to] being struck down” or that it may result in the “narrowing of the scope of … conspiracy charges in general.”

He also pointed to the active civil claims that Jan. 6 defendants lodged against the U.S. as a possible reason the DOJ requested that the convictions be thrown out.

“If they wind up with a bad outcome in the appellate case, with the court finding that there was prosecutorial misconduct, that there was constitutional violations, that could affect them when it comes to the civil claims too. And we can point to those findings,” he said.

“There was perjury in all of our cases. We caught two cops lying red-handed in our case,” Rhodes said, referring to a Blaze News investigation that revealed then-U.S. Capitol Police Officers Harry Dunn and David Lazarus had testified that they were together on Jan. 6, despite video footage showing otherwise. “That’s the kind of crap that would come out in the appeal.”

“I don’t believe this is the DOJ being nice to us,” he continued. “I’m willing to give props to the DOJ for doing the right thing, even if it’s not for the right reasons.”

If the court accepts the DOJ’s requests, Rhodes noted that it will “definitely be fantastic for the restoration of our lives.”

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​Department of justice, Donald trump, Jan 6 protest, News, Proud boys, Trump, Trump admin, Trump administration, Us capitol, Biden doj, Jan 6, January 6, Stewart rhodes, Kelly meggs, Kenneth harrelson, Jessica watkins, Oath keepers, Ethan nordean, Joseph biggs, Zachary rehl, Dominic pezzola, Carolyn stewart, Norm pattis, Doj, Trump doj, Justice department, Politics 

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth faced some criticism after reciting a prayer that closely resembled a fake biblical passage from the film “Pulp Fiction” during a worship service at the Pentagon.

Hegseth was touting the successful combat search and rescue mission of a downed pilot in Iran when he asked the audience to join him in a prayer he said was given to him by the lead planner of the mission.

‘I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to capture and destroy my brother.’

“This prayer was recited by Sandy 1, which is one of the Sandies, to all Sandies, all those A-10 crews, prior to all CSAR missions, but especially this CSAR mission that happened in real time. … They call it CSAR 25:17, which I think is meant to reflect Ezekiel 25:17,” Hegseth said.

The prayer he recited seemingly paraphrased a line from “Pulp Fiction.”

“The path of the downed aviator is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men,” Hegseth prayed. “Blessed is he who, in the name of camaraderie and duty, shepherd the lost through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to capture and destroy my brother. And you will know my call sign is Sandy 1 when I lay my vengeance upon thee.”

The passage is very popular among movie aficionados and fans of director Quentin Tarantino. However, Tarantino also swiped the fake scripture verse from a Japanese martial arts movie from the 1970s.

Video of Hegseth’s prayer was posted to social media, where it garnered more than 16 million views after only several hours.

Critics of Hegseth assumed that he was ignorantly portraying the fake verse as real scripture, but that is unclear from the video.

“Hegseth is mad because America caught him claiming he was quoting the Bible when in fact he was quoting the Quentin Tarantino script from Pulp Fiction,” anti-Trump commentator Keith Olbermann responded.

RELATED: MS Now host implodes over Pete Hegseth saying, ‘We leave no man behind,’ after pilot rescue

Hegseth appeared to respond to the critics in a statement during a media briefing Thursday.

“I just can’t help but notice the endless stream of garbage — the relentlessly negative coverage you cannot resist peddling, despite the historic and important success of this effort and the success of our troops,” he said.

“Sometimes it’s hard to figure out what side some of you are actually on. It’s incredibly unpatriotic,” Hegseth added.

He went on to compare some of the press to the Pharisees who persecuted Jesus Christ.

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The first-quarter campaign fundraising total for the 2026 midterms reveals that House and Senate Democratic candidates have picked up significant early momentum, potentially spelling trouble for Republicans as more primary elections approach.

At least one Democratic candidate raised more than a Republican in Georgia, North Carolina, Maine, Michigan, Ohio, Texas, New Hampshire, and Alaska, Punchbowl News reported.

‘There’s no way for Republicans to spin this: Their candidates are getting crushed.’

Texas state Rep. James Talarico (D) raised $27.1 million, breaking a record for the largest amount for a Senate candidate in any state. Talarico’s fundraising significantly outpaced his potential opponents. Sen. John Cornyn (R) raised $9 million, and Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) raised $2.2 million.

Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff (D) raised $14 million during the first quarter. The incumbent’s fundraising far outpaced that of Republicans hoping to unseat him. Rep. Mike Collins (R) raised just over $1 million, and Rep. Buddy Carter (R) raised just $470,000.

In Ohio, former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) is hoping to defeat Republican incumbent Sen. Jon Husted. Brown raised $10.1 million in the first quarter, while Husted brought in $2.9 million.

Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) is running against Michael Whatley (R) and three other candidates to secure retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis’ seat. Cooper raised $13.8 million in the first quarter, while Whatley raised $5 million.

RELATED: ‘Record’ cash advantage gives GOP upper hand in state AG races

James Talarico. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

House Democratic challengers also raised significant funds in the first few months of the year.

In Arizona, JoAnna Mendoza (D) raised over $2.3 million, among the highest reported by a Democratic House candidate. Mendoza’s opponent, incumbent Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R), raised $1.1 million.

In Wisconsin, Democratic candidate Rebecca Cooke is looking to oust incumbent Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R). Cooke raised $2.4 million, while Van Orden raised $1.3 million.

“Of course, this is only part of the picture. Candidates are now using joint fundraising committees to air TV ads. Super PACs will play a big role,” Punchbowl News reported. “GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson did raise the most in Iowa’s open Senate race. And Democratic primaries will drain some resources.”

“But there’s no way for Republicans to spin this: Their candidates are getting crushed,” the outlet stated.

RELATED: ‘We have a glaring disadvantage’: Democrats panic as GOP dominates in fundraising, NYT reports

Visions of America/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

While Punchbowl News insisted it was all doom and gloom for Republican candidates, the National Republican Congressional Committee saw the Q1 funding results as a win for the GOP.

“Republicans are LAPPING Democrats in fundraising & building a war chest they can’t match,” the NRCC wrote in a post on X, adding that the GOP “outraised, outworked, [and] outmatched” their Democratic counterparts.

Mike Marinella, the national press secretary for the NRCC, stated, “Once again, and for every single quarter this campaign cycle, @NRCC Patriots have outraised [the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee] Frontliners.”

“House Republicans have the momentum on our side, and the money proves it,” he wrote.

Federal Election Commission reporting showed that Democratic Senate candidates have raised $368 million for their 2026 races, compared to $324 million raised by Republicans. Democratic House candidates collected $691 million, while Republicans raised $578 million.

Some of the most prominent names in Republican political consulting did not respond to a request for comment on this story.

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​2026 elections, 2026 midterms, 2026 primaries, Alaska, Ashley hinson, Buddy carter, Dccc, Democratic candidates, Democratic congressional campaign committee, Derrick van orden, Election, Fec, Federal election commission, Georgia, James talarico, Joanna mendoza, John cornyn, Jon husted, Jon ossoff, Juna ciscomani, Ken paxton, Maine, Michael whatley, Michigan, Mike collins, National republican congressional committee, New hampshire, News, North carolina, Nrcc, Ohio, Rebecca cooke, Roy cooper, Sherrod brown, Texas, Republican candidates, Fundraising, Campaign funding, Politics 

The House has passed a measure to extend temporary protected status for Haitian migrants with the help of Republican representatives.

Ten Republicans aided every House Democrat in voting to pass legislation that extends TPS for Haitians by another three years Thursday afternoon. This is an uptick from the six Republicans and lone independent who initially helped advance the legislation on Wednesday.

‘If you import the Third World, you become the Third World.’

These 10 Republicans are: Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska, Mike Carey of Ohio, Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Carlos Gimenez of Florida, Mike Lawler of New York, Nicole Malliotakis of New York, Rich McCormick of Georgia, Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida, and Mike Turner of Ohio.

These Republicans voted in favor of extending these protections despite President Donald Trump’s fierce disavowal of temporary protected status.

RELATED: ‘Absurd’ perks for Haitian migrants may be extended, thanks to these 6 Republicans

Win McNamee/Getty Images

“This animal was allowed to stay here because the Biden Administration granted him, and all Haitians, ‘Temporary Protective Status,’ a massively abused and fraudulent program which my Administration is working to terminate, but Deranged Liberal District Court Judges are standing in our way,” Trump said in a Truth Social post last week about a vicious murder in Florida.

“As I’ve said all along, if you import the Third World, you become the Third World, and that is what happened over the four years of Democrat Control,” he added.

Republican Rep. Brandon Gill of Texas also called out the legislation, noting that Haitians’ temporary protected status was granted to them only because of a natural disaster that took place over a decade ago.

“Haitians first received TPS because of an earthquake,” Gill said in a post on X. “That was over 15 years ago. America is not their permanent motel.”

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​Donald trump, Brandon gill, Haitians, Haitian migrants, Temporary protected status, House republicans, House democrats, Don bacon, Mike carey, Mario diaz-balart, Brian fitzpatrick, Carlos gimenez, Mike lawler, Nicole malliotakis, Rich mccormick, Maria elvira salazar, Mike turner, Third world, Politics 

On April 11, TPUSA Frontlines reporter Savanah Hernandez was assaulted by multiple protesters who punched her, blew whistles in her face, and shoved her to the ground while she was filming an anti-ICE protest outside the Whipple Federal Building in Minnesota, with the mob chanting, “We are Antifa.”

Now she joins Sara Gonzales, BlazeTV host of “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered,” to recount the brutal attack in detail and discuss the path to accountability.

After playing the clip capturing Hernandez being violently shoved in the back, Sara asks, “How do you feel? How is your body?”

Hernandez, insisting that she does not want to “over-dramatize” the situation, admits that she is “still in pain.”

“I really do feel like this was a brutal assault, and I still at this point am baffled as to why it took place because I wasn’t there to interview anybody. I was there to simply observe,” she says.

But even non-confrontational “point-and-shoot journalism” was enough cause for violence.

It didn’t take long before Hernandez was identified as a Turning Point USA reporter. The man who discovered her identity, she says, was William Scott Kelly (also known as “DaWokeFarmer”), who was previously arrested and charged for his role in storming Cities Church in St. Paul in January this year.

“This is the same guy who, you know, incited a mob against me on Saturday, and then that mob consisted of multiple people swinging sex toys in my face, hitting me with them,” Hernandez recounts.

She then addressed the main group that allegedly assaulted her.

“There were three individuals in particular — DeYanna, Chris, and Paige Ostroushko — that were extremely aggressive,” she says.

“[DeYanna] is the first one who came up to me, began shoving me, putting her fingers in my face. Her husband came up behind me and shoved me,” she says, noting that this all happened “before the actual assault.”

“Then we found another camera angle of [Chris] instructing his own daughter to, quote, ‘Blow the whistle in her effing ear.’ So he instructed his daughter to come up to me and assault me, and she did,” Hernandez continues, as Sara plays a video capturing this exact moment.

“I want people to understand that this response happened because I was standing on a public street filming a protest. That’s it. That was the response,” Hernandez says.

Instead of retaliating, Hernandez says she actually started asking the group standard questions like, “Why are you here?” and, “Why is this important to you?”

“So, I gave them the opportunity to even utilize my platform, talk to me, and they decided to twist everything into this narrative of, ‘It doesn’t matter — you’re bad and we’re going to brutally assault you,”’ Hernandez says.

“They pre-planned this attack. They coordinated it,” she insists. “They attacked me and then in live time tried to rewrite the narrative to say that I was the agitator.”

The attack was “so horrific,” she says, that even “left-wing streamers” were saying, “Yeah, we can’t support this.”

Sara is horrified by the assault on her friend and fellow journalist.

“Someone, for the love of God, lock these people up because they’re brutal criminals,” she pleads.

Justice appears to be under way.

Chris Ostroushko, Paige Ostroushko, and Lorenzo Amadeo Garcia (Paige’s boyfriend) have been arrested and had charges recommended by the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office in connection with the April 11 assault on Hernandez.

“It is now up to the county prosecutor essentially to decide whether or not they want to bring forward those charges,” says Hernandez, who admits that she “[doesn’t] have any faith in the state” because of how liberal Minneapolis is.

“Luckily, the feds are also involved. … Both DHS and the DOJ are involved, and I’m happy to see this because I do want federal charges brought forward,” she adds.

To hear more of the conversation and see footage from the protest, watch the episode above.

Want more from Sara Gonzales?

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

​Antifa chant, Assaulted reporter, Blaze media, Blazetv, Brutal attack, Chris ostroushko, Cities church storming, Dawokefarmer, Hennepin county sheriff, Leftwing streamers, Minneapolis mob, Paige ostroushko, Sara gonzales, Sara gonzales unfiltered, Savannah hernandez, Tpusa frontlines, Tpusa frontlines reporter, Turning point usa, Whipple federal building, William scott kelly 

The race for the California governor’s office has been reset after Eric Swalwell, the disgraced former congressman, made his embarrassing exit.

Republicans have kept the top spot and tied for second in the newest Emerson poll, while a billionaire has seized the top spot among Democrats.

‘Our lead is growing, momentum is building…time for Republicans to UNITE.’

Republican Steve Hilton, the former Fox News host, has the support of 17% of respondents, while Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco garnered 14% in the poll.

Tom Steyer also received support from 14% of respondents, shooting him up to the top spot among Democrats.

Tied for fourth place with 10% each are former Rep. Katie Porter and former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, both Democrats.

Becerra appeared to gain the most from Swalwell’s exit. He increased in support by 7%, while others gained 4% or less.

However, 23% of respondents continue to be undecided. If a sizeable portion of the undecideds choose one candidate, it could drastically change the race since the top two vote-getters in the June 2 primary, regardless of party, will advance to the general election.

Hilton called on Republicans in California to coalesce behind his campaign.

“Our lead is growing, momentum is building…time for Republicans to UNITE so we stop the calamity of Steyer v Porter in the general,” he posted on social media.

Swalwell had been the front-runner among Democrats but was besieged by numerous allegations of sexual harassment and assault by multiple women. He has denied the allegations but nevertheless dropped out of the gubernatorial campaign and resigned from his seat in the U.S. Congress.

RELATED: USC makes drastic decision after being accused of racism in planned gubernatorial debate

Also in the Emerson poll, Californians cited the economy as their top concern at 40%, with housing affordability their second-most important issue at 20%. Immigration tied for fourth place, with only 6% saying it’s a top concern.

Steyer has been battered by the revelation that a hedge fund he founded invested in several immigration detention centers before he made abolishing ICE one of his campaign pledges. He called the episode a “mistake.”

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​Eric swalwell resigns, California gubernatorial race, Steve hilton for governor, First poll since swalwell exit, Politics 

American teachers’ unions are notorious for political meddling, holding schools hostage, and transforming children into leftist foot soldiers.

Idaho decided that not one more dollar of taxpayer funds should go toward supporting such radical organizations — then on April 10, it made that prohibition law.

‘That’s just restoring neutrality.’

House Bill 516a, which was introduced in January, prohibits school districts — including specially chartered districts — or their agents or representatives from using or authorizing the use of taxpayer funds to support teachers’ unions.

They may not, for instance,

deduct dues, fees, fines, or contributions from the pay of a professional employee on behalf of a union; increase a teacher’s compensation in order that the difference or some part of it could be used to pay toward teachers’ union or affiliate dues;provide more personal or contact information of a teacher to a teachers’ union than permitted under state law;require an employee to meet, communicate, or listen to a teachers’ union or its affiliate;distribute union communications or membership solicitations; contribute funds or blow money on behalf of a union or its affiliate; andprovide, except in certain cases, any form of compensation or paid leave to a public employee so they can partake in union activities.

RELATED: Radicals train for massive May Day protests at public schools, thanks to America’s largest teachers’ union

Darin Oswald/Idaho Statesman/Tribune News Service/Getty Images

Individuals who knowingly violate this law can be fined up to $1,500, unless he or she is a re-offender, in which case the fine is increased to $2,500.

The bill was passed in a 59-10 vote in the state House, passed by the state Senate on April 1 in a 20-14 vote, and ratified by Idaho Gov. Brad Little (R) on April 10. The law takes effect on July 1.

Little noted, “While local and state teachers’ associations do important work, they remain private organizations that currently receive taxpayer-funded support not extended to other private entities. House Bill 516a addresses that imbalance.”

The governor did, however, express some concern that the new law contains language that may “lead to increased scrutiny of a teacher’s actions purely based on their affiliation with their local association” and have a “chilling effect on school districts’ ability to collaborate with their local association on professional development and charitable work in the community.”

Layne McInelly, president of the Idaho Education Association, which endorsed Little ahead of the 2018 election, is less than thrilled about the new law.

McInelly claimed that the governor “ignored his better angels, signed this terrible bill into law,” and somehow left students and teachers “worse off.”

Maxford Nelsen, director of research at the Freedom Foundation, told Center Square, “By getting school districts out of this business of using taxpayer funds, collect union dues and prop up teachers’ union activity — that’s just restoring neutrality.”

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​Brad little, Idaho, School districts, Taxpayer funds, Fees, Teachers, Teachers unions, Unions, Education, Schooling, Union, Teacher association, Republican, Politics 

President Donald Trump has announced a ceasefire agreement between two Middle East countries that have been at odds for decades.

Israel launched renewed attacks targeting the Hezbollah terror organization in Lebanon in March. The strikes were a sticking point in the president’s attempts to resolve the conflict in Iran.

The president added that the peace deal between Israel and Lebanon would be the 10th solution to wars across the world that he has brokered.

Trump said Thursday that Israel and Lebanon had reached a 10-day ceasefire deal.

“I just had excellent conversations with the Highly Respected President Joseph Aoun, of Lebanon, and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, of Israel,” said Trump on Truth Social.

“These two Leaders have agreed that in order to achieve PEACE between their Countries, they will formally begin a 10 Day CEASEFIRE at 5 P.M. EST,” he added. “On Tuesday, the two Countries met for the first time in 34 years here in Washington, D.C., with our Great Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.”

In a second post, he said he would be inviting Aoun and Netanyahu to the White House for the first “meaningful” talks between Israel and Lebanon since 1983.

Also on Thursday, the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations said he was optimistic about Iran reaching a peace deal with the U.S.

RELATED: Israel ramps up attacks on Middle East target despite US-Iran ceasefire

“Despite our deep mistrust of the United States,” said Amir Saeid Iravani, “stemming from its repeated betrayal of diplomacy, we nevertheless entered the negotiations in good faith and remain cautiously optimistic.”

The president added that the peace deal between Israel and Lebanon would be the 10th solution to wars across the world that he has brokered.

“So let’s, GET IT DONE!” Trump wrote.

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​Trump announces ceasefire, Israel war with lebanon, Us-israel strikes on iran, Strait of hormuz shut down, Politics 

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released documents on Monday revealing that hearsay and erroneous claims from bad actors served as the basis for President Donald Trump’s impeachment over a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelenskyy in July 2019, months before the 2020 U.S. presidential campaign began in earnest.

At least two of those bad actors now face the possibility of criminal prosecution.

‘Deep state actors within the Intelligence Community concocted a false narrative that was used by Congress to usurp the will of the American people.’

An Obama holdover and CIA analyst credibly identified as Eric Ciaramella filed a complaint in August 2019 alleging Trump was “using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. elections. This interference includes, among other things, pressuring a foreign country — Ukraine — to investigate one of the President’s main domestic political rivals, former Vice President Biden.”

Then-Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson ultimately spun the complaint as credible and rushed it to the congressional intelligence committees despite:

Conducting only four interviews — one with the so-called whistleblower’s Russia-hoaxer friend and two character references; Never once accessing the transcript of the call;Knowing that Ciaramella — whose political bias Atkinson testified to never considering — was a registered Democrat who worked closely with Vice President Biden, traveled with Biden to Ukraine, and complained about right-wing bloggers; and Knowing that Ciaramella had no firsthand evidence of what was being alleged.

The complaint, likely from Ciaramella and afforded a veneer of legitimacy by Atkinson, led to the House of Representatives passing articles of impeachment against the president in December 2019.

RELATED: Trump 2019 impeachment exposed: Gabbard provides damning insights into deep-state stitch-up

Win McNamee/Getty Images (L); Brendan SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images (R)

Gabbard stated, “Deep state actors within the Intelligence Community concocted a false narrative that was used by Congress to usurp the will of the American people and impeach the duly-elected President of the United States.”

Gabbard went beyond just exposing this frame-up this week, asking the Justice Department to investigate two former government officials.

A spokeswoman for the director confirmed to CBS News that Gabbard had drafted criminal referrals for the so-called whistleblower and a “former intelligence community watchdog” but did not specify what crimes are alleged.

The referrals reviewed by Fox News noted, however, that “the possible criminal activity concerns the circumstances described in the following congressional briefings: Discussion with Intelligence Community Inspector General, House Permanent Select Comm. on Intel., 116th Cong. (2019); Briefing by the Intelligence Community Inspector General, House Permanent Select Comm. on Intel., 116th Cong. (2019).”

Blaze News has reached out to the DOJ for comment.

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​Tulsi gabbard, Odni, Dni, Eric ciaramella, Atkinson, Impeachment, Donald trump, Trump impeachment, Accountability, Justice department, Doj, Politics 

Colorado’s ban of so-called “conversion therapy” has finally been exposed for what it really is: an attack on free speech.

In the recent decision Chiles v. Salazar, the Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that Colorado had violated the First Amendment by censoring the free speech of psychological professionals in the name of banning “conversion therapy.”

Constitutional rebukes by courts are routinely treated like speed bumps by social engineers.

That’s a grab-bag term invented by activists to demonize traditional counseling aimed at helping patients pursue happiness as they see fit.

Cruel denial

In fact, Colorado’s “Must Stay Gay” law didn’t restrict — as its advocates claimed — cruel or coercive treatments. Instead the law prohibited therapists from serving clients who sought help in diminishing unwanted sexual compulsions.

For instance, imagine a married dad struggling with temptations to commit adultery with young, even underage, males. Or consider a sexual abuse victim suffering from gender dysphoria who wishes to accept her physical sex instead of submitting to disfiguring, sterilizing surgery and a lifetime of dangerous hormones.

The LGBTQ lobby pushed hard for this law, akin to an equally draconian ban in California, falsely claiming that any therapy aimed at altering sexual feelings was “unscientific” and “harmful.”

‘Changed’ for the better

My own organization, the Ruth Institute, filed a detailed amicus curiae debunking such claims, citing published studies by eminent professionals showing that talk therapy with willing clients is often beneficial and virtually never harmful. People do successfully change their patterns of sexual attraction and behavior, with or without therapy.

The Changed Movement collects their stories. We at the Ruth Institute have interviewed many such people. In fact, objective studies show that there are more “ex-gays” than “gays.” “Must Stay Gay” laws like Colorado’s depend on legislators’ ignorance of such facts.

‘Egregious assault’

But the court didn’t rule on the psychological merits, instead pointing to the more fundamental question of free speech in America. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the majority:

The First Amendment stands as a shield against any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or speech,” and any viewpoint-suppression law “represents an ‘egregious’ assault” on the “inalienable right to think and speak freely” and the “free marketplace of ideas.”

Such a robust attachment to free speech and thought is increasingly rare in America and other Western countries. A pastor in Finland just faced trial for an alleged hate crime for writing a pamphlet summarizing historic Christian teaching on sexual morality. A law soon to pass in Canada would punish “offensive” religious speech, even citations of the Bible. We’ve heard prominent figures such as Hillary Clinton call for civil or even criminal cases aimed at citizens who share “misinformation.”

In Britain, dozens of citizens face arrest every day for posting their opinions about immigration and crime. The European Union has fined the platform X (formerly Twitter) $140 million for refusing to suppress political speech that Eurocrats deem unacceptable.

RELATED: How we help ‘gay’ men and women ‘Leave Pride Behind’

ruthinstitute.org

Politically enforced orthodoxy

Why have so many, especially among our elites, endorsed censorship and even government-enforced speech? Because so many of their preferred policy positions cannot prevail on the merits in the “free marketplace of ideas,” which Justice Gorsuch rightly defended. These fashionable stances rely on media myths, pseudo-science, and politically enforced orthodoxies.

As I show in my book “The Sexual State: How Elite Ideologies Are Destroying Lives and How the Church Was Right All Along,” the only way for an untenable worldview to prevail is by massive amounts of force and propaganda. The campaign against change-allowing therapy meets both objectives. It discredits the very idea of therapy to help reduce unwanted same-sex attraction. And it shuts the door to anyone in the helping professions who doesn’t accept every jot and tittle of the sexual revolution’s shifting party line.

Those who hold traditional Christian ethical values must be driven out of the therapy business. There must be nowhere for sexually confused or traumatized people to go, except to those convinced that there are 47 human genders, that gay people are “born that way,” that sexual orientation is fixed and immutable while gender is a shifting social construct.

None of that is supported by the evidence, but it’s sold to the public and low-information legislators as the “verdict of science.”

A brick in the wall

The victory for therapeutic freedom and the First Amendment in Colorado is welcome pushback against the rule of groupthink. It should invalidate laws in other states that constitute “viewpoint discrimination.” One brick has been pulled from the sexual revolutionary Berlin Wall.

But the revolutionaries are already at work looking for workarounds. Constitutional rebukes by courts are routinely treated like speed bumps by social engineers. (Despite SCOTUS’ defense of the Second Amendment, blue-state gun grabbers keep scheming up new ways to undermine this fundamental right.) The very day of the SCOTUS decision, Colorado and California introduced bills to incentivize lawsuits against therapists for alleged “harm” inflicted by “conversion therapy.”

The freedom of your neighbors to the therapy of their choice is still not safe. Despite this important victory at the U.S. Supreme Court, the battle isn’t over.

​Lifestyle, Culture, Conversion therapy, First amendment, Free speech, Scotus, Supreme court, Lgbtq, Ruth institute, Countering ‘pride’ 

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has apologized to one of her colleagues on the court after she bizarrely tried to frame him as being out of touch.

Sotomayor, who is considered a liberal justice, indicated that Justice Brett Kavanaugh could not relate to normal people because he was raised in a family of professionals.

‘This is from a man whose parents were professionals. And probably doesn’t really know any person who works by the hour.’

She made the comments during an event at the University of Kansas School of Law on April 7. Although she did not mention Kavanaugh by name, she referenced a justice who had sided with the Trump administration on an immigration case.

“I had a colleague in that case who wrote, you know, ‘these are only temporary stops,'” she said about the federal immigration stops in Los Angeles.

“This is from a man whose parents were professionals. And probably doesn’t really know any person who works by the hour,” she added.

Kavanaugh had written that the stops were “relatively brief” in his concurrence on the case, which Sotomayor said failed to grasp the major “financial consequences” for workers with hourly jobs.

“Those hours that they took you away, nobody’s paying that person,” she added. “And that makes a difference between a meal for him and his kids that night and maybe just cold supper.”

Later in the event, she also criticized the majority’s use of the so-called “shadow docket” in favor of the policies of the Trump administration.

On Wednesday, after facing criticism, she released an apology that called the comments “inappropriate.”

“I regret my hurtful comments. I have apologized to my colleague.”

RELATED: Even Sotomayor bewildered by Ketanji Brown Jackson’s dissenting opinion

In 2023, Sotomayor was accused of having her staff strong-arm public schools and libraries into buying copies of her books in order to secure her speaking engagements. She earned $3.1 million for an advance of her memoirs and more than $400,000 from a children’s book she wrote.

She was nominated to the Supreme Court by former President Barack Obama in 2009. Kavanaugh was nominated by Trump to the court in 2018.

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A Florida teacher is accused of having an illicit relationship with an underage student after the boy’s parents tracked him down by utilizing an app, police said.

Kirsten Rose, 37, was arrested on Friday and charged with five counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor and one count of lewd and indecent exposure offenses against a student by an authority figure, police said.

‘We are deeply troubled by these allegations.’

Rose is a math teacher at Cocoa Beach Junior/Senior High School, according to WFTV-TV.

The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that an investigation was launched in March when the parents of a male student became worried when he was late coming home from work one evening.

Police said the parents utilized a location-tracking app to trace the boy’s phone to a residence they didn’t recognize.

“The parents checked their son’s location and noticed he was at a residence that was unknown to them and when questioned regarding his whereabouts, he stated he was at his girlfriend’s house, but refused to say who she was,” police stated.

But investigators said the teen later revealed he was in a relationship with a teacher.

Tod Goodyear, a media relations spokesperson for the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, told WKMG-TV that the student “didn’t come forth with much information” at first.

However, Goodyear said the alleged victim later admitted to the relationship with the teacher in a subsequent interview with detectives.

RELATED: Florida teacher arrested, hit with charges of indecent liberties with a minor from another state

Police said the investigation by the special victims unit revealed that the teacher and the underage student began communicating outside of school via Instagram in November 2025.

Investigators said the inappropriate relationship turned sexual “on multiple occasions during the months of February and March” of 2026.

Rose was arrested on April 10 and booked into the Brevard County Jail.

Rose’s bond was set at $300,000, and she was released on April 11, according to jail records.

Rose is scheduled for a May 5 arraignment before Judge Katie Jacobus at the Brevard County Courthouse, jail records state.

School district officials said Rose was placed on administrative leave.

Janet Murnaghan, chief strategic communications officer for Brevard Public Schools, told Florida Today, “We are deeply troubled by these allegations.”

“The district remains committed to providing a safe and supportive learning environment for all students,” Murnaghan added.

During a Brevard school board meeting Tuesday, there was no mention of the teacher’s arrest, according to Florida Today.

The policy guidelines for teachers set by the School Board of Brevard County state:

An instructional staff member shall not inappropriately associate with students at any time in a manner which may give the appearance of impropriety, including, but not limited to, the creation or participation in any situation or activity which could be considered abusive or sexually suggestive or involve illegal substances such as drugs, alcohol, or tobacco. Any sexual or other inappropriate conduct with a student by any staff member will subject the offender to potential criminal liability and discipline up to and including termination of employment.

When asked how “concerning a case like this is,” Goodyear replied, “When you’re an authority figure, particularly a teacher in a relationship like that, to go out of the boundaries and have this type of relationship is not something we want, not something we like to see.”

Police said the investigation is ongoing.

The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office is urging anyone with information about this case or additional victims to contact Kimone Edwards of the Special Victims Unit of the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office at 321-633-8419.

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The question as to whether or not children like to use artificial intelligence chatbots has been answered, and now it’s a question of what they are using it for.

According to recent polling, the majority of teens are using it for homework or as a search engine.

‘People’s children are being discipled by AI.’

Generating summaries, creating images, or just generic “fun” are listed in 2025 polling as the next most frequent uses. Another 10% of children ages 13 to 17 say AI does most or all of their school work.

At the same time, nearly 75% of U.S. teens said in a survey last year that they have tried out AI companions. It is that large number of American youth that Pastor Erik Reed was concerned about when he created Dominion, a theological chatbot.

“People’s children are being discipled by AI,” Reed told Baptist News. “Many young people seek out companionship or counseling from bots, and some models have been built to offer constant feedback loops of affirmation and love, giving users an addictive dopamine hit. They’re going to flatter you at every turn.”

The solution, the Southern Baptist leader said, is a competitor at the same level, in terms of functionality, that has “Christian guardrails to safeguard what it’s feeding back to people.”

The head of the Journey Church in Lebanon, Tennessee, said that AI should be brought under “the Lordship of Christ,” and thus he built the chatbot to exist only within “the authority and sovereignty of God.”

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Jon Cherry/Getty Images

The chatbot was trained on selected theological texts, verses, catechisms, and traditional logic, Reed stated. It is protected by internal checks and balances that the user cannot influence, which is easier said than done.

The chatbot reportedly prioritizes “first-tier issues,” defined as things that all Christians find to be true, over second-tier issues that may differ per denomination. Third-tier issues were listed as almost all politics.

A demo of the product says that everything discussed with the chatbot “happens inside an environment that filters out unbiblical counsel and keeps the focus on wisdom, holiness, and discipleship.”

RELATED: These Apple privacy perks won’t hide you from the Feds

JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER/AFP/Getty Images

However, the demo did showcase that Dominion is capable of summarizing simple news aggregation from a 24-hour period, for example, but also that it is capable of giving advice on personal matters, which the AI presented from a religious point of view.

Co-founder Brandon Maddick describes his work as a “Christian responsibility” to shape minds in truth to counteract them being shaped by AI.

“We believe faithfulness for the Christian is to redeem AI for the glory of God,” he said.

Notably, Maddick calls his congregation “the least SBC-looking church you’ll find,” with female deacons and “Reformed-ish theology.”

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