Category: blaze media

A former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee announced a campaign running for Florida’s 20th Congressional District and was immediately accused of “dismantling” black “power.”

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) was redistricted out of her previous seat and opted to run in the 20th district, which is composed of about 50% black residents.

‘DWS is everything that’s wrong with the Democratic establishment.’

In a statement released Tuesday, nearly all the DNC members from Florida condemned the decision by Schultz.

“Our party cannot credibly denounce the dismantling of black political power by Republicans while treating one of Florida’s few remaining majority-black districts as a political opportunity for an incumbent seeking a safer seat,” the statement reads.

Schultz, who has been in Congress for more than two decades, would likely win an easy contest in the general election in the left-leaning district. However, other Democrats accused Schultz of using her power to make her campaign easier.

“Debbie Wasserman Schultz is carpetbagging to FL-20, a black opportunity district instead of running in her own,” said Elijah Manley, another Democratic candidate running for Florida’s 20th district.

“DWS is everything that’s wrong with the Democratic establishment. … I look forward to retiring her from public office permanently.”

Others like former 2 Live Crew rapper and black activist Luther Campbell, who is also running for the seat as a Democrat, warned Democrats that the black community is taking notice.

“To the Florida DNC members who stayed silent — we see you too. We’re taking receipts,” Campbell wrote on social media. “Congressional District 20 is not a political opportunity seat. Black representation matters. Lived experience matters. Make sure you’re on the right side of history.”

“This decision reinforces the same message Republicans have pushed for years: that black representation does not matter,” the Florida Democrats continued in their letter. “It does matter. Representation matters. Lived experience matters.”

RELATED: USC accused of racism after minority candidates don’t qualify for gubernatorial debate — so USC makes drastic decision

Schultz ran the Democratic Party from May 2011 until July 2016, just a few months before President Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton. The late Harry Reid, a top Democratic leader, blamed Schultz for the devastating loss.

“We need a full time DNC chair and what they should do — they can take my model if they want — it’s not rocket science,” Reid said at the time. “It doesn’t take a lot of brain power to figure out what needs to be done.”

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​Black activist, Democratic national committee, Rep debbie wasserman schultz, Politics 

The Democratic National Committee got absolutely lambasted for trying to politicize the death of U.S. military members on Memorial Day in order to attack President Donald Trump.

The post included photographs of 13 Americans who died during the U.S.-Israeli joint military strikes on Iran in recent weeks.

‘It’s wrong to politicize this day. I won’t hesitate to call out my own team when we fall short.’

“Today, we honor the American heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice in Trump’s war with Iran,” the post read.

The DNC was immediately criticized, even by Democrats.

“It is incredibly distasteful to use our heroic dead for a political attack on Memorial Day. I’m a Democrat and I condemn this post by the DNC,” responded Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois.

“If we want the moral high ground, we have to be better,” replied Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.). “I fought for our country and served with those who made the ultimate sacrifice. It’s wrong to politicize this day. I won’t hesitate to call out my own team when we fall short.”

Others pounced on the disrespectful post.

“Just when you think the left can’t go any lower … Absolutely disgusting but not surprising,” replied Republican Rep. Kat Cammack of Florida.

“Yes, we honor these heroes for defending America and our allies with their lives. What we won’t do is dishonor their sacrifice by turning Memorial Day into a cheap political attack. Their memory deserves better,” wrote Sen. Tim Sheehy (R) of Montana.

“Using Memorial Day to politically exploit fallen service members is appalling and disgraceful. One of the most disgusting posts I have ever seen,” said Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters.

RELATED: The Iran war is causing another shortage — and it will directly affect every American

The DNC eventually deleted the post, but screenshots of the offensive message were widely circulated.

Trump has been seeking a peace deal to end the strikes on Iran, but the surviving members of the regime have made demands that the president has called “unacceptable” and “garbage.”

The war continues to be unpopular among Americans as the economic fallout has led to higher gas prices and increased inflationary pressure.

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​Democratic national committee, Online criticism, Offensive social media post, Memorial day, Politics 

Caitlin Clark kicked off her third professional season in the WNBA earlier this month with a mysterious back injury. Both she and Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White have repeatedly insisted that it’s minor and will not impact Clark’s season, but Jason Whitlock is suspicious.

The BlazeTV host believes that Clark’s prowess is on the decline after her body has taken a brutal beating from WNBA bullies who find Clark a threat — not because she’s “the best thing that ever happened to the WNBA,” but because she’s white and heterosexual.

The anti-Clark bias, Whitlock points out, continues off the court. In 2024, despite her dominance in her rookie season, Clark was left off of the U.S. women’s basketball team for the 2024 Paris Olympics. WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes also repeatedly criticized Clark in interviews and podcasts, questioning the legitimacy of Clark’s broken records and dismissing her success.

Whitlock can only come to one conclusion: The WNBA prioritizes its “agenda” above athletic success.

“If we have to sacrifice the popularity of women’s basketball to stay on message, to stay on agenda that this is a league dominated and controlled by black women and lesbian women and we’re hostile to white women and heterosexual women, we will sacrifice popularity, attention, ratings, everything to stay on message,” he laments.

To prove his point, Whitlock runs several clips of Clark getting brutally fouled by opponents, with the physicality so over the top that it looks like they have a personal vendetta.

And yet “no one [spoke] out,” he says, criticizing the media’s silence and, in many cases, defense of Clark’s attackers.

“The mental coupled with the physical attack on Caitlin Clark, we haven’t seen anything like it,” he sighs.

The bias against Clark, Whitlock argues, is even apparent on her own team.

“The Indiana Fever [is] not constructing a team around her to protect her,” he says, noting how Erica Wheeler — Clark’s “ride or die” who would “get physical and defend” her — was replaced by Sophie Cunningham, who he says is more effective as “an Instagram model” than “an enforcer.”

On top of that, the Fever head coach during Clark’s rookie season, Christie Sides, was replaced by Stephanie White, an “alphabet mafia soldier,” says Whitlock.

Based on his analysis, the team is more committed to “[indoctrinating] Caitlin Clark” into the WNBA’s “black and lesbian” culture than it is “[building] a team” around her.

“They didn’t put her in an environment where she can excel,” he says.

To hear more, watch the episode above.

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​Fearless with jason whitlock, Jason whitlock, Caitlin clark, Wnba, Fearless 

What began as an unconventional celebrity campaign is quickly becoming one of the most disruptive political movements in California.

Spencer Pratt, whose home was destroyed during the Pacific Palisades Fire, has emerged as an unlikely challenger to Los Angeles’ political establishment — and his relentless viral campaign targeting Mayor Karen Bass is gaining serious traction.

And BlazeTV host Pat Gray is seriously impressed with what Pratt has accomplished so far.

“If you’ve not been following the mayoral race in Los Angeles, it has really heated up. It’s unbelievable what’s happening with Spencer Pratt,” Gray comments.

“The guy has run a brilliant campaign with these creative ads that have gone viral all over the place, and it seems like there’s a new one every day,” he says.

“And I really hope he wins because Los Angeles used to be a beautiful city, a great place to visit. I’m sure it was a great place to live. But look at it now. I mean, he pointed out some of the issues with the feces in the street and the homeless encampments,” he adds.

In the aftermath of Pratt’s creative ads, Bass is facing increasingly critical questions from the media about the state of the city.

“When you talked to Jake Tapper in 2023, you said that your goal was to end street homelessness in L.A. by 2026. It’s now 2026,” a reporter on “60 Minutes” said to Bass in an interview.

“And we haven’t ended it,” Bass interrupted, laughing.

“And we’re not close to ending it,” the reporter interjected, asking, “How were you so off?”

“Well, basically, when I said that, it was at the beginning of my term. I am very committed to achieving that goal. I didn’t anticipate some of the bureaucratic barriers that I would experience, but I am prepared to take those on now,” Bass responded.

“So,” Gray comments, “What she is saying is, ‘I’ve really sucked up until this point, but I’m going to be great.’”

In another part of the interview, Bass championed the “42,000 units of affordable housing” she has fast-tracked, claiming, “It still takes a couple years.”

“So basically the policy of L.A. city and L.A. county was we could accept street homelessness as long as we were building. We didn’t anticipate the problem metastasizing,” she continued.

Bass went on to claim that they “know what we need to do now to end street homelessness.”

“We need to end the failed policies of the past, which is, ‘All we’re going to do is focus on building. And we are going to ignore street homelessness.’ That is what the city and the county has done for years,” she explained.

“That’s insane,” Gray comments.

“If you buy into that, wow, you’ll get what you deserve,” he adds.

Want more from Pat Gray?

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​Karen bass, Spencer pratt, Los angeles, Mayor, Campaign ad, Republican, Democrat, Pat gray unleashed 

A Florida female who was arrested earlier this year for allegedly urinating on Airbnb furniture is making headlines again after a similar accusation.

Back in March, Nicolette Keough, 31, was arrested on two counts of felony criminal mischief, WEAR-TV reported.

‘It goes to show that people will stoop to new lows these days to make money. And that’s a problem.’

Arrest reports said Keough urinated on furniture in two downtown Pensacola Airbnb homes, according to the station. She reportedly caused thousands of dollars in property damage, WEAR said, adding that she allegedly uploaded videos of the incidents to an adult website.

Keough was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $5,250 bond, the station said.

But now Keough is behind bars again following a similar accusation.

She was hit last week with a felony charge of property damage worth over $1,000, WEAR said in a new story.

In reference to the new charge, the owner of another Pensacola Airbnb on April 24 told police videos show Keough — who stayed at his residence last year from Aug. 31 to Sept. 11 — urinating on furniture inside the home, the station said.

Videos given to Pensacola Police reportedly confirm the allegations, WEAR said.

The total estimated property damage comes out to $17,395, the station said, adding that the breakdown is:

blue coral chair: $500king-size mattress: $4,000twin mattress: $2,900leather sofa: $5,195sleeper sofa: $4,800

Keough appeared in court Thursday, and a judge set her bond at $10,000, the station said. But Keough will remain in Escambia County Jail, WEAR reported, since her bond was revoked for violating bail conditions over a battery arrest in mid-March.

Keough is due next in court June 9 for a bond revocation hearing, WEAR said, adding that she’ll then appear June 12 for the property damage charge.

RELATED: ‘Chunk of hair’ allegedly found on smashed windshield; cops say it resembles fatal hit-and-run victim’s hair — and case turns

Police told the station that while they believe there haven’t been new incidents since Keough’s first arrest in March, more charges for previous incidents are possible.

“These are incidents that happened around the same time frame,” Officer Mike Wood told WEAR. “It’s just that the owners are just now finding out about it and reporting it to us.”

Wood added to the station that Keough is “being very cooperative with us when she’s confronted — and that’s how we know there [are] probably going to be some more properties involved.”

If Keough is released on bond, WEAR said the judge ordered her to stay off social media.

Officer Wood added to the station that Keough’s motivation for these incidents is money: “It goes to show that people will stoop to new lows these days to make money. And that’s a problem.”

Wood also told WEAR that “social media platforms, even adult sites, have rules. And if they had a rule that something like this was not permitted, that would help a lot. Because then people are not able to make money doing this type of thing. And hopefully that would put a stop to this. But right now some of these sites are permitting this sort of thing, and these people are making money, and that’s a problem.”

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​Airbnb, Female, Florida, Furniture, Pensacola, Repeat offender, Criminal mischief, Arrest, Crime 

Alabama Republicans immediately called for an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court after losing a redistricting battle at a three-judge panel of a federal court.

Republicans are trying to reinstate a 2023 congressional map that would allow them the possibility of picking up a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Democrats claimed the new map would send Alabama back to the ‘1950s and 60s.’

On Tuesday, a U.S. district court in Alabama sided against the map and ordered the state to use a map with two majority-black districts.

“Ultimately, we cannot see our way clear to requiring Alabamians to cast their votes in the 2026 elections under a districting plan tainted by intentional race-based discrimination,” read the ruling.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall released a statement after the ruling.

“I am disappointed, but not at all surprised, that the three-judge panel has again struck down Alabama’s blandly unobjectionable congressional map that has been in place for decades,” wrote Marshall.

“I find nothing in the U.S. Supreme Court’s vacatur order of May 11 that would provide a basis for this outcome; thus, we will immediately appeal this decision to the Supreme Court,” he added.

Rep. Shomari Figures, one of the Democrats representing a black-majority district in Alabama, praised the ruling but said Democrats were prepared to continue fighting at the Supreme Court.

“I am pleased with the Court’s decision, but this case is still not over,” he wrote.

“Although we expected the Court to reach this decision given the overwhelming evidence, we fully expect the State to immediately appeal the decision to the Supreme Court,” Figures added. “This is a significant step in the right direction, but there is still a long way to go before this fight is settled.”

Figures had previously claimed the new map would send Alabama back to the “1950s and 60s in terms of Black political representation in the state.”

RELATED: VIDEO: Ocasio-Cortez makes humiliating mistake while telling New York to take on the South

“We’ve seen it from Republicans across the country — their goal is to eliminate every opportunity district for an African American candidate in the country,” Figures added in a separate comment.

Marshall expressed confidence that the Supreme Court would side with Republicans.

“This is a very fluid situation, and I will do my best to keep the People of Alabama apprised of our efforts,” he added. “Know this — in my mind, it is not a matter of whether we win this case, only when.”

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​Redistricting battle, Us supreme court, Midterm elections, Politics, Alabama 

There is a particular horror that attaches to threats you cannot see. In the days before Iran’s centrifuges exploded in Natanz, when they were spinning faster than their operators knew, when the gauges read normal and the logs looked clean, the malware was already there, silently acting. This condition is that of modern national security: the ambient, permanently contested digital terrain on which something is always happening, mostly out of sight.

AI accelerates this condition, introducing compression into cyber conflict, a shrinking of the intervals that give defenders room to think.

By the time anyone understood what was happening, it was over.

The interval between the disclosure of a vulnerability and its exploitation, already punishingly short, shortens further. The interval between reconnaissance and attack, between a phishing message and a compromised credential, between a software flaw and a working exploit, all contract. The U.K.’s National Cyber Security Centre judged in 2025 that AI-enabled tools would, within two years, improve adversaries’ ability to exploit known vulnerabilities. By May 2026, Google’s Threat Intelligence Group reported a transition from tentative, experimental AI use in attack workflows to industrial-scale deployment, describing what it believed to be the first observed case of a zero-day exploit developed with AI assistance, built for a mass exploitation campaign.

The current moment shares an administrative dimension with earlier military revolutions. The decisive advantage in modern conflict has repeatedly been the capacity to see, sort, prioritize, and act across complex systems faster than the enemy. What is new is the degree to which that capacity is now embedded in software owned by private firms. Sovereignty in the cyber domain is exercised not only through ministries and militaries but through cloud identity systems, software supply chains, security vendors, and the access policies of model providers. When NATO describes cyberspace as contested at all times, it is describing a condition in which the terrain is mostly private property.

The relevant change in technology is agentic AI: systems that pursue objectives, use tools, spawn sub-processes, and take actions in the world with low human involvement. In offensive terms, this architecture compresses the cost of moving through each stage of an attack. The merely competent can now operate more coherently and at greater scale. Researchers at the University of Illinois demonstrated that teams of AI agents could exploit zero-day vulnerabilities, achieving 42% with five attempts on a benchmark of recent flaws, outperforming both open-source scanners and single models working alone. Anthropic and Carnegie Mellon found that frontier models equipped with a cyber toolkit could compromise more than half of 10 simulated business-sized networks.

The barriers to relatively autonomous cyber workflows are rapidly coming down.

RELATED: Big Tech handed the keys to America’s military?

Igorodenkoff/Getty Images

A bureaucracy of bots

A great deal of tacit expertise that once lived in specialist communities, in the accumulated institutional knowledge of people who understood how systems broke, has been translated into natural language interfaces, structured workflows, and reusable tool chains. Cyber capability becomes less the possession of a rare craft elite and more the product of workflow orchestration over commodity tools. In Anthropic’s account of an alleged AI-orchestrated espionage campaign, the operation relied overwhelmingly on open-source penetration-testing utilities and custom orchestration, with novelty concentrated in integration rather than exotic malware.

The imagination of cyber warfare has long been organized around elegance, exemplified by Stuxnet’s nearly surgical precision and the operatic complexity of a state-sponsored zero-day. What is actually emerging looks more like a very fast, very patient bureaucracy. The ENISA 2025 threat landscape found that AI-supported phishing represented more than 80% of observed social-engineering activity. The FBI reported that malicious actors were using AI-generated voice messages to impersonate senior U.S. officials. The losses from AI-enabled business email compromise exceeded $30 million in the 2025 complaint data.

AI does not unilaterally favor offense or defense; it amplifies existing asymmetries. Offense gains most where systems are poorly patched, identity is weak, or social engineering can bypass procedure. Verizon’s 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report found that exploitation of vulnerabilities grew to 20% of known initial access vectors, up 34% from the prior year, with a median remediation time of 32 days and only 54% of edge-device vulnerabilities fully remediated during the year. Mandiant found that one PAN-OS vulnerability spread from disclosure to exploitation by more than a dozen groups within two weeks. However, AI-enabled defense can also make disciplined organizations faster at moving from vulnerability discovery to verified remediation, more capable of turning telemetry into action, and better at maintaining the unglamorous processes on which security relies.

Can freedom survive?

States confronted by permanent digital vulnerability can feel pressure to centralize visibility, broaden preemption, and extend exceptional controls in the name of protection. The joint guidance issued in 2026 by the Five Eyes agencies on agentic AI systems spent considerable energy on accountability: explicit human oversight, incremental deployment, strong governance, clear delineation of which agents may do what, where, and under whose authentication. This guidance presupposes institutional cultures capable of following it.

AI is already changing cyber conflict by shrinking the interval between knowledge and action, making ordinary weaknesses more dangerous, and shifting national security toward a contest over who can govern complex socio-technical systems with the greatest speed and discipline. The centrifuges in Natanz spun faster than their operators knew and then did not spin at all. The lesson was that the attacker had more time inside the system than the defenders knew, and by the time anyone understood what was happening, it was over.

Speed of interpretation determines speed of repair. The new tools available to both sides are faster, and the intervals are getting shorter. The question of whether liberal societies can build a security order that is effective without becoming opaque remains open.

​Tech, Ai, Bot, Iran, Security 

Tom Kean Jr. — one of former New Jersey Gov. Thomas Kean’s twin sons — secured a seat in Congress in 2022 after serving for two decades as a Republican state senator. He is now running for re-election to represent the Garden State’s 7th Congressional District.

While Kean, whom President Donald Trump endorsed last May and touted as a “Tremendous Advocate of our America First Agenda,” has urged constituents in social media posts to vote for him, he hasn’t voted on their behalf in Congress since March 5, missing over 100 roll-call votes.

‘I understand the need for public transparency.’

Amid mounting speculation about his disappearance from work and public life, the 57-year-old Republican released a statement in late April thanking his “constituents and colleagues for their patience” as he addresses “a personal medical issue.”

“My doctors continue to assure me that my recovery will be complete and that I will be back to the job I love very soon,” said Kean. “I expect to return to a full schedule and be at 100 percent. I take my responsibilities seriously and have a strong record of showing up and delivering, which makes this absence all the more difficult.”

Neither Kean nor his campaign have revealed the nature of the medical issue. His office did not respond to Blaze News’ request for comment.

“Nobody knows what’s going on,” Mary Melfoi, the Republican clerk of Hunterdon County, told Politico. “I’ve never seen a lid on anything tighter in my life.”

“Everybody’s hopeful that whatever’s going on is being addressed and he’s going to come back,” continued Melfoi. “But we’re not going around saying ‘Who do you think we should replace him with?'”

RELATED: Democrat voters in Georgia want nothing to do with Trump-hating ex-Republican

Serhiy Morgunov/Global Images Ukraine/Getty Images

Although apparently still actively trading stocks, Kean wasn’t seen or heard from for nearly another month after issuing the April statement. This continued absence prompted Democrats to increasingly like their chances of flipping the seat — an apparent “toss-up” even before he took a leave of absence — that Kean took in the last election with 51.8% of the vote.

Zoe Heath, Democrat chair of Sussex County, said that some of her fellow travelers figure Kean is doomed to lose, noting that “some Democrats are being incredibly cocky about this.”

Tina Shah, an anti-ICE liberal supported by the Hindu America PAC and Indian American IMPACT who is among the Democrats vying to face off with Kean, evidenced a willingness to politically exploit the Republican’s absence.

“What we are being assured is that his team is carrying the torch,” Shah said during a debate earlier this month. “But we elected Tom Kean Jr., not his team.”

Kean finally piped up last week, reaching out to a handful of Republican allies and telling the New Jersey Globe in a May 21 phone interview, “My doctors are confident that I’m on the road to a full recovery.”

The congressman claimed that his medical issue would not affect his cognitive health, that he is not expected to suffer any long-term effects or chronic health complications, and that he plans to “return to voting and to the campaign trail” sometime in the next couple of weeks.

“I understand the need for public transparency, and I appreciate the support of my constituents,” added Kean.

The Globe reported that Kean also spoke last week with Hunterdon County GOP Chairman Gabe Plumer, who said the congressman “sounds great and energized.”

Sussex County Republican Chairman Joseph LaBarbera also received a call from the absent congressman last week.

“I asked him if he needed anything,” LaBarbera told the Times. The chairman recalled Kean replying, “Just your prayers.”

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​Congress, Gop, Hunterdon county, Medical, New jersey, Republican, Trump, Politics 

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky has filed for a political campaign in 2028 but says he has not decided whether to run.

Massie, a self-identified libertarian, lost the Republican primary campaign for Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District to Ed Gallrein, a Navy SEAL veteran backed by President Donald Trump.

‘This allows me to raise funds to continue my political operations supporting my position.’

“I filed with FEC for the 2028 House race,” Massie wrote on his social media account on Tuesday.

“This allows me to raise funds to continue my political operations supporting my position as a current office holder and as a potential candidate for federal office,” he added. “I haven’t made a final decision about which office to seek, if I run.”

The Republican campaign for the 4th Congressional District was the most expensive primary election for a House seat ever.

Gallrein is likely to easily win the seat in the heavily Republican district.

“The uniparty in D.C. finally found someone willing to be a rubber stamp for globalist billionaires, endless debt, foreign aid, and forever wars in failed candidate and Lindsey Graham donor Ed Gallrein,” Massie said about his competitor.

Gallrein accused Massie of “burning every bridge” in Washington and voting against the president’s political agenda.

RELATED: Thomas Massie’s viral Epstein poll reveals stunning top belief: He lives

Massie has been in office since 2012 and called the primary election an “inflection point” for the entire country. He also blamed campaign donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee for turning what he said would be an easy victory into a loss for him.

“He was a bad guy. He deserves to lose,” Trump said about Massie.

Despite Massie’s recent loss, his supporters still have hope for his political future. Even during his concession speech the night of the primary, the crowd encouraged him to run for president in 2028.

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​House race, Kentucky, Libertarian, Politics, Republican, Thomas massie 

A crowd gathered on Memorial Day in Escondido, California, to pay their respects to a proud American, MAGA supporter, and Army veteran who was viciously assaulted outside his “Trump House” last week — and has since died.

Kerry Sheron, the 69-year-old owner of the “Trump House,” died on Sunday, police confirmed. Deputy District Attorney Ross Garcia indicated Sheron suffered severe injuries in the seemingly unprovoked attack four days earlier.

‘Kerry was a Trump supporter, but he was a patriot first.’

“It was a single punch to the jaw,” Garcia said, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. “The victim then falls to the floor, and there are subsequent hits to the victim’s head area.”

A bystander who intervened during the apparently violent confrontation was also injured.

Thomas Caleb Butler, a 32-year-old neighbor, was quickly identified as the suspected assailant and arrested. He has been charged with attempted first-degree murder, abuse of elder or dependent adult likely to produce great bodily harm or death, making criminal threats, and misdemeanor domestic battery, jail records show.

Butler pled not guilty on Friday, but prosecutors are now considering whether to amend the charges in light of Sheron’s death. Butler is scheduled to appear in court again a week from Wednesday.

“I feel a lot of pain in my heart,” Sheron’s wife, Maria Moreno, said, according to KUSI.

“I want my husband back,” she also said, according to KYMA. “I want my husband because that was my partner, a beautiful man.”

RELATED: Suspect in brutal beating of Trump supporter in San Diego identified as neighbor — and victim’s medical update is devastating

2024 Trump rally in Coachella, California. Mario Tama/Getty Images

Dozens of friends, neighbors, and others of good will paid tribute to Sheron on Monday. Some held signs while others waved flags or dropped off flowers.

“Kerry was a Trump supporter, but he was a patriot first, and when people would come and spew anti-Trump stuff at him, he didn’t let it bother him,” said longtime friend Jim Gillie, according to the Union-Tribune.

“He’d just say, ‘They have a right to freedom of speech, and so do I.'”

Yousef Miller, a member of the North County Equity and Justice Coalition, joined the memorial to stand for free speech in the community and against political violence.

“I believe no one should be harmed for their politics,” Miller said, according to the Union-Tribune. “I’m standing here with my brothers and sisters, even though we have different politics, to say the same thing: Never harm one another, just disagree and move on.”

Sheron’s house has been festooned with pro-America, pro-Trump, and pro-military memorabilia for years, but police have not confirmed any motivation for the attack.

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​Army veteran, Escondido california, Political violence, Politics 

President Trump’s latest effort to lower prescription drug prices is drawing fierce criticism from the hosts of “The View,” even after the administration partnered with billionaire Mark Cuban on the TrumpRX.gov initiative.

“I think honestly, by this point, President Trump could cure cancer and Democrats and crazy libs would still be against it. They’d be like, ‘But let me tell you why cancer is good, actually,’ because they’re just so unhinged,” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales comments.

“Like they have terminal cases of TDS,” she adds.

After billionaire Mark Cuban and President Trump teamed up to promote TrumpRX.gov, Joy Behar called the president a “dog.”

“First of all, you lie down with dogs, you wake up with fleas,” Behar said.

“And you know, I like Mark Cuban,” she continued. “I’ve always liked him, but this is a mistake. And once Trump puts his name on prescriptions, we’re all going to die, OK?”

“He is a failed businessman,” Sunny Hostin chimed in. “And if you heard what he said, he said, ‘We both want to make people wealthy.’ He didn’t say, ‘So I should pay 10 times more.’”

“It means, to me, that there’s something in it for him. This is not a well-intentioned person,” she continued, explaining that he’s only doing it “to make money.”

Behar then interjected to compare the Scandinavian health care system to America’s.

“I don’t understand how people watch this unironically. Like, how do people show up in the middle of the day or whenever the hell this is filmed and unironically spend their time going and listening to these dumb b****es talk over each other?” Gonzales comments.

“‘Donald Trump is the devil,’” she mocks, adding, “like, oh my gosh.”

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​Sara gonzales, Joy behar, Donald trump, Mark cuban, Sunny hostin, The view, Trumprx, Sara gonzales unfiltered 

Pope Leo XIV urged European leaders on Monday to get in gear and address the continent’s demographic crisis by reinforcing the family and affirming the dignity of human life.

The pope’s call to action comes amid a severe demographic collapse that threatens not only Europe’s social and economic stability but the cultural identities and destinies of various nations.

‘A rejection of the Christian inspiration of the founding fathers of the EU institutions has led to a time of drastic sterility.’

The number of live births in Europe per 1,000 persons in 1970 was 16.4. By 2024, the crude birth rate had fallen to 7.9.

According to Eurostat, the European Union’s total fertility rate — the average number of kids born to a woman over her lifetime — stood at 1.34 live births in 2024. Of the children born that year, nearly one in four have a foreign-born mother.

The fertility rate necessary for a population to maintain stability and replenish itself without requiring replacement by foreign nationals — what is referred to as replacement-level fertility — is 2.1.

Even when factoring in Europeans’ replacement by foreigners, statisticians project the EU’s population will fall by 11.7% between now and 2100 — from roughly 452 million to 399 million. Among the countries expected to thin out are Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Poland, projected to suffer population declines of 19.3%, 24%, 30.1%, and 31.6%, respectively.

RELATED: Conservatives are afraid to talk about the real marriage problem

Sean Gallup/Getty Images

In his address this week to European officials, including members of the European Parliament’s Intergroup on Demography, Pope Leo stressed that the continent’s demographic crisis “stands as a crucial juncture for the anthropological, social, and economic future of Europe.”

Echoing his predecessor, Pope Francis, Pope Leo said that Europe is not becoming the “old continent” because “of its glorious history, but because of its advancing age.”

After emphasizing that “children are the future,” Pope Leo noted that “a rejection of the Christian inspiration of the founding fathers of the EU institutions has led to a time of drastic sterility, not only because too many have been deprived of the right to be born, but also because there has been a failure to pass on the material and cultural tools that young people need to face the future.”

In addition to faulting the Europeans for increasingly abandoning their Christian roots, the pope reprimanded them for Trojan-horsing the means of their demographic demise into policies advertised as “family-friendly” — policies that he said “simultaneously promote discrimination against motherhood, exalt abortion as a right, and undermine the very foundation of the desire to start a family.”

To both address the demographic challenge at hand and counter the “two extremes of excessive state intervention and individualism,” the Roman pontiff noted that Europeans must respect and promote the central place of the family — which “is founded on marriage between a man and a woman” — and apply the principle of subsidiarity.

“Only a fresh springtide for the family can transform the winter chill of our aging populations,” said the pope.

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​Abortion, Birth rate, Demographics, Europe, European union, Family, Fertility, Policy, Pope leo, Replacement, Vatican, West, Politics 

I’ve been thinking about how often we encounter the word “premium.”

It used to mean something materially better: better leather, better denim, better craftsmanship, richer ingredients, more care. Now it usually means smoother software, cleaner interfaces, fewer inconveniences, more optimization.

I’m not particularly worried about AI replacing meaningful creative work because I suspect it may end up clarifying what creativity actually is.

But in the AI era, the meaning of the word may flip again. When flawless synthetic output becomes infinite and nearly free, reality itself starts becoming premium.

Man vs. machine

I was having lunch with a group of conservative thinkers the other day when the topic of AI came up. After a brief discussion about the impact on the workforce and the broad and possibly revolutionary effects it may bring, someone turned to me and asked how I thought it might impact my work as a writer and photographer.

I said something to the effect of the following.

I am not particularly worried about AI — at least not for myself. For others, definitely. For the world as a whole, yep. But for myself and my work? No.

Why? Because I think AI will have a strangely asymmetrical impact. The more something already resembled machine output — efficient, predictable, frictionless, synthetic — the more vulnerable it is now that actual machines can produce it at scale. But anything trying as hard as possible not to seem machine-made will become more valuable than ever.

For all the photos and videos that were overly surreal or trying to be as smooth and perfect as possible, the jig is up. AI will do it better and easier. There will be no need for glossed-up photos or videos that look unreal and appear like cheap visual candy. Eventually — and we are already seeing it — this style and whole aesthetic will be completely unwanted and thought of as one of the most egregious examples of what is now known as AI slop.

For the cheap writing with no meaning and no purpose, the words that exist only to fill the page, it’s over. It’s the same story for anyone who has spent recent years trying to perfect the art of being a human Wikipedia page without any heart or humanity. All of this stuff will be replaced by AI.

Essentially the skills that are basically humans just attempting to act like, or perform the functions of, computers will be less valuable than ever.

RELATED: Going to Europe on my own at 14 was an adventure. Can today’s kids ever feel as far away from home?

PASCAL PAVANI/AFP/Getty Images

Great divide

Certainly, there will be a great divide, and surely many people will continue to enjoy the AI slop. They will watch the videos on Facebook not knowing or even caring if they’re computer-generated. They will listen to AI music and be content, like the driver of the cab I recently took in Italy. There will be people who actually prefer the machine-made over anything human.

But for those of us who value personality, judgment, taste, eccentricity, and genuine presence, all things human will become more valuable than ever.

In a world of infinite fake perfection, the real will become more valuable. The unedited image will become premium. A film photograph is not just an image file floating around a server farm somewhere; it is the physical residue of a real moment. Light literally struck a strip of chemical-coated film and permanently altered it. Someone had to choose the frame, press the shutter, and live with the result.

Proof of life

The faceless information-spewer is finished. Once machines can produce infinite competent text, competence itself becomes cheap. What those who care will seek out instead is the evidence of a particular consciousness. In the age of AI, the most valuable thing a creator can offer is proof that a real human being was here.

I’m not particularly worried about AI replacing meaningful creative work because I suspect it may end up clarifying what creativity actually is. It’s not just the domain of painters or novelists but of anyone with the courage to put something of themselves into their work, something that resists the eerie, frictionless perfection of the AI age.

The more we are immersed in that perfection — the more inescapable it becomes — the more people will hunger for signs of actual life — that “handmade” quality of something one human creates for another.

That will be premium.

​Men’s style, Books, Lifestyle, Culture, Family life, The root of the matter, Ai, Art 

Robots and artificial intelligence may not be as popular as some think, and a new viral video proves it.

An X user is hoping robots do not revolt against him after he posted a video with the caption, “The greatest video I’ve ever seen.”

‘The lifeless clanker carcass just laying there.’

The clip stems from an event at an alleged customizable robot store in China, called Future Era.

The Shenzhen, China, event showed a robot wearing a white outfit, grooving on stage in an attempt to mimic Michael Jackson. As one of Jackson’s biggest hits — “Billie Jean” — played, the robot glided around, copying the late pop star’s dance moves.

About five seconds into the footage, the robot already found itself stumbling over a pair of steps, but it eventually recovered. After struggling with the moonwalk, the humanoid bot attempted to walk up the stairs again, but this time it fell, permanently.

The bot’s corpse laid motionless for about 10 seconds as the upbeat music continued to play. The crowd remained completely silent in the dystopian moment until a stagehand approached the bot’s lifeless body, grabbed it by the collar, and ceremoniously dragged it off stage.

The video has been viewed over 5.3 million times at the time of this writing.

RELATED: ‘Yes, I will devote myself’: Korean monks initiate Chinese robot that could actually spy on them

“This is the greatest video I’ve ever seen,” the caption read. “No notes. The lifeless clanker carcass just laying there. No crowd reaction, anything. Just Billie Jean. Until its lifeless shell is shamefully dragged off. Purely amazing.”

Despite the joy the video seemed to bring viewers, at least one person was offended by it, writing on X, “imagine feeling so threatened by a robot you start using newly made slurs against it.”

However, the overwhelming sentiment showcased a growing level of robot fatigue, as the fumbling bots are being pushed out into society at a rapid pace around the world. The rising “anti-clanker” movement is showing a greater appetite for violence against machines seemingly designed to replace human beings. Readers have already seen the bots chase wild boars and be welcomed into monk orders, among other bizarre situations.

RELATED: The FCC just banned foreign-made routers — here’s which ones might be stealing your data

CFOTO/Future Publishing/Getty Images

However, this bot — which is likely a Unitree G-1 — is not exactly the technological advancement that China promoted in February. At the time, bots showed advanced martial arts capabilities and choreography in a video that was allegedly free from special effects and was meant to show off new capabilities regarding coordination and fault recovery.

It seems there may be more work to be done, however, after one of the $13,500 robots was defeated by exactly two steps in the viral video.

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​Artificial intelligence, Return, Robots, Unitree, Viral video, China, Tech 

Several teammates of New York Giants star quarterback Jaxson Dart came to his defense over the long weekend.

Dart sparked headlines when he introduced President Donald Trump at a rally in New York on Friday, and even though his comments lasted less than a minute, his appearance was enough to set the internet ablaze with reactions.

‘Locker Room is fine.’

Giants linebacker Abdul Carter was among the first in the league to react early Saturday morning, initially saying that he thought the video of his teammate at the Trump rally was created by AI.

“Thought this s**t was AI, what we doing man,” Carter asked. However, by the evening, Carter wrote on X that he and Dart were “good” after having a discussion.

“We spoke earlier as Men. Yall can keep yall narratives,” Carter explained.

However by that time, Boston Globe reporter Ben Volin had already taken Carter’s words and come to the conclusion that Dart had “divided his locker room.”

That comment did not sit well with Giants offensive lineman Jermaine Eluemunor.

RELATED: Actress Ilana Glazer attacks women’s sports advocate Riley Gaines: ‘You’re just stealing money’

“Locker Room is fine,” the 6’4″ guard wrote on X. He then told the Globe reporter he should keep his attention on his local NFL team.

“Focus on New England,” Eluemunor added.

Four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Marlon Humphrey of the Baltimore Ravens voiced his point of view on Sunday evening, calling the online hate toward President Trump fabricated.

“The fake Trump hate funny to me,” he wrote. “Majority voted for him but everybody seem to hate him lol … Somebody lying.”

These remarks mirror similar comments Humphrey made in February 2025, when he wrote on X, “I’m confused how everyone appears to ‘hate’ Trump but he won the presidency … Some of yall lying.”

Humphrey also remarked in 2024 that Trump “took a bullet for America.”

RELATED: FIFA president reveals why World Cup tickets are so expensive — because they can be

Meanwhile, another of Dart’s teammates came to his defense over wild claims that have circulated online for a year. Wide receiver Darius Slayton responded to a claim made by former NFL player Aqib Talib, who said on a podcast that Dart uses the N-word. Talib was referring to a viral video from 2025 where Giants running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. prank calls his teammates to jokingly tell them “good night.”

One response in the video has been rumored to be Dart and has been used in countless compilation videos asserting he said the N-word. However, Slayton rejected the assertion, saying it was not the young quarterback on the other side of the phone.

“The video talib referring to ain’t even Jax talking. This tweet pure cap,” Slayton said. Some Giants fans have claimed it was teammate Tyler Nubin on the phone, but the identity of the speaker is unclear.

It should be noted that in the same clip of Talib referencing the prank call, the former player said that he has white friends who use the N-word, which he is “cool” with.

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​Fearless, Politics, Football, Nfl, Donald trump, Jaxson dart, Sports 

A male teenager was arrested in connection with a stabbing that occurred on campus after a high school graduation Friday in Daly City, California. Daly City is just minutes south of San Francisco.

The teen was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, police told KTVU-TV.

‘We understand this news is deeply upsetting for our students, families, staff, and community.’

The Daly City Police Department told the station that officers responded at 4:30 p.m. for a report of an active fight involving multiple individuals. The stabbing occurred at Westmoor High School, the station added.

Arriving officers found a 21-year-old victim suffering from non-life-threatening stab wounds, KTVU said, adding that the victim was taken to a hospital for treatment.

A 15-year-old boy was identified as the stabbing suspect and was arrested, the station added.

Police said no other injuries were reported in connection with the fight, KTVU said, adding that officers recovered at the scene the weapon used in the stabbing but did not describe the weapon in detail.

The violence was captured on cellphone video.

RELATED: Mugger slashes teen in face, steals his phone — but victim grabs knife from mugger and fights back in brutal fashion: Report

Westmoor High School Principal Victor Zou issued a statement saying school officials “are cooperating fully with law enforcement. We understand this news is deeply upsetting for our students, families, staff, and community. Our thoughts are with all those impacted by this incident,” KTVU said.

Zou’s statement didn’t indicate whether the suspect is a student but did say the victim has no relationship with the school district, the station added.

More from KTVU:

KTVU has received videos of violence on campus from separate sources. The chaotic moments of a fight breaking out on an outdoor basketball court are captured. One video shows a person on the ground being attacked by a group and someone coming to their defense. The person who came to the defense is also attacked.

Later in the video, two people who are fighting are pulled apart. One of them appears to be bleeding profusely from their face and torso. By the end of this video, police arrive on the scene and chase people involved in the fight on foot.

Someone can be seen trying to intervene to break up the fight. There are plenty of bystanders, some are wearing their caps and gowns.

Other videos show different angles. One person in the background can be heard saying, “Get these punks out of our school.” Others can be heard calling for some type of security intervention.

Police are asking those with more information about the incident to contact them at 650-991-8169, the station said.

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​Stabbing, California, High school graduation, Daly city, Arrest, Police, Crime 

The overturning of Roe v. Wade was supposed to mark a turning point for the pro-life movement — but according to Seth Gruber, it exposed just how compromised many pro-life leaders really are.

And BlazeTV host Steve Deace could not be more disappointed.

“How is it possible after its greatest victory — the overturning of Roe — that the pro-life movement has lost so much substantial ground? How is this possible?” Deace asks Seth Gruber on the “Steve Deace Show.”

“I mean, brother, it’s so heartbreaking,” Gruber responds, explaining that the reason the pro-life movement isn’t more successful is because it has been “compromised.”

“Many RINO Republicans and … tragically, many pro-life organizations who take donor dollars from sweet little Christian grandmas who want to end abortion … are actively working against the aims of ending abortion — of criminalizing abortion,” he tells Deace.

“It’s just many pro-life establishment leaders and organizations who are too dumb or compromised to grasp what the lay Christian absolutely understands without having to think about it,” he continues.

Like Deace, Gruber had high hopes after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, but it unfortunately did not “awaken the spiritual energy and motivation of Christians and pro-life organizations in purple and red states to just go out there and criminalize it.”

And not only is abortion not criminalized, it’s getting worse.

“There are more babies getting murdered on an annualized basis every 12 months in the land of the free and the home of the brave, Steve, than there were being killed at an annual rate in the 10 years leading up to the overturning of Roe v. Wade,” he says.

However, those numbers are “just based off of what’s being reported,” as “states are not required to report their abortion data.”

“Thanks to Clinton, it’s nearly impossible to track real abortion data when it comes to the RU-486 abortion pill, which, according to Planned Parenthood’s own numbers, accounts for 70-plus percent of the total abortions,” he explains.

“700,000-plus babies every 12 months being murdered, and their bodies are flushed down toilets,” he says.

“Those abortion pill numbers are not being reported,” he adds.

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​Abortion, Planned parenthood, Pro-life, Roe v. wade, Seth gruber, Steve deace, Steve deace show 

U.S. Central Command, which has been blockading the Strait of Hormuz since April 13 with the support of multiple carrier strike groups and guided-missile destroyers, conducted “self-defense strikes” on Monday in southern Iran.

According to CENTCOM spokesman Cpt. Tim Hawkins, the strikes targeted missile launch sites and Iranian boats attempting to emplace mines and were executed with the aim of protecting American troops from “threats posed by Iranian forces.”

‘I laugh at all of the Dumocrats, RINOS, and Fools.’

Explosions were reported along the coast hemming the Strait of Hormuz and in the Iranian city of Bandar Abbas, reported Reuters.

Hawkins said that CENTCOM nevertheless continues to use restraint during the ongoing ceasefire with Iran that was brokered on April 8.

America’s latest kinetic action against Iranian targets took place nearly 90 days into the war and amid peace talks, which President Donald Trump hinted in recent days are progressing.

Trump announced on Saturday that he had a “very good call” with the leaders of Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates regarding Iran and a memorandum of understanding pertaining to peace.

RELATED: Thousands more American troops stationed in Middle East this Memorial Day as peace with Iran looms on the horizon

Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Dan Snow/US Navy/Getty Images

“An Agreement has been largely negotiated, subject to finalization between the United States of America, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the various other Countries, as listed,” said Trump, adding that the agreement, if ratified, would result in the opening of the Strait of Hormuz.

This announcement of a possible forthcoming agreement — which reportedly involves a 60-day ceasefire extension, a reopening of the strait, and a plan for future negotiations regarding Iran’s nuclear program — greatly distressed hawks as well as some Israelis.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), for instance, said he was “deeply concerned” about the alleged deal with Iran, noting that a result favoring the Iranians “would be a disastrous mistake.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) concern-mongered about “a deal that is perceived to allow Iran to survive.” He also added that “Iran being perceived as having the ability to terrorize the Strait in perpetuity and the ability the inflict massive damage to Gulf oil infrastructure is a major shift of the balance of power in the region and over time will be a nightmare for Israel.”

After other prominent voices expressed their concerns stateside and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered them some reassurances, Trump stated early on Monday, “I laugh at all of the Dumocrats, RINOS, and Fools who know nothing about the potential deal I am making with Iran, things that haven’t even been negotiated yet.”

The president clarified that “it will only be a Great Deal for all or, no Deal at all — Back to the Battlefront and shooting, but bigger and stronger than ever before — And nobody wants that!”

In addition to emphasizing that the peace process was a “very complex puzzle,” Trump said that the Middle Eastern leaders on his Saturday call should sign onto the Abraham Accords to normalize relations with Israel.

Later on Monday, the president noted that “the Enriched Uranium (Nuclear Dust!) will either be immediately turned over to the United States to be brought home and destroyed or, preferably, in conjunction and coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran, destroyed in place or, at another acceptable location, with the Atomic Energy Commission, or its equivalent, being witness to this process and event.”

Iranian officials were similarly evasive about a possible deal.

“It is correct to say that we have reached a conclusion on a large portion of the issues under discussion,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baqai said on Monday. “But to say that this means the signing of an agreement is imminent — no one can make such a claim.”

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​Donald trump, Iran, Us central command, Military, War, Strait of hormuz, Tehran, Israel, Ted cruz, Lindsey graham, Conflict, Peace, Politics, Benjamin netanyahu 

Florida just became the first state to seriously challenge the surrogacy industry after a gay couple living in France contracted with a woman in Florida to be their surrogate.

The couple petitioned the Broward County court for early parental rights.

While Judge Marlon Weiss granted their petition, he questioned whether surrogacy is constitutional, claiming it violates the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery.

“Judge Marlon Weiss argued that if unborn children are legally entitled to personhood, then they cannot legally be part of a contractual arrangement that treats them as property,” BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey explains on “Relatable.”

In November, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier moved to intervene after the child was born, also calling the practice unconstitutional.

“Today, registered sex offenders and foreigners — including Chinese nationals — buy thousands of babies from U.S. surrogacy companies. This modern day slavery is morally wrong, endangers children, and threatens national security. It must be stopped,” Uthmeier wrote in a post on X.

“It is akin to slavery,” Stuckey agrees. “Like, if we genuinely believe that the unborn are human beings, it follows that buying and selling them is slavery.”

“And that is what is happening during surrogacy, especially when it is the surrogacy that is by two men, because you have to purchase the eggs of one woman and rent the womb of another woman. And so, you are purchasing half of the DNA of that child from the genetic mother,” she says.

And this is why Stuckey believes it’s “a form of trafficking.”

“I’m not saying all of those children will literally after birth be harmed or be trafficked or be abused in some way, but it is a way of commodifying women’s bodies and children. It is. It is a way of saying, ‘I don’t care what you have to go through. I want this child,’” she says.

Stuckey recalls an interview she once did with a woman named Brittney, who had previously carried a baby for a gay couple.

“She was then diagnosed with cancer when she was about 20 or so weeks pregnant, and the couple urged her to abort her child, and she didn’t want to have an abortion,” Stuckey explains, noting that the couple wanted her to get an abortion because the child was going to be born premature.

“She did end up giving birth, and the child died. She did end up, you know, having chemotherapy. But the dads, one of whom was biologically related to this baby, didn’t even show up at the hospital — not to check on her, not to hold the baby,” she says.

“I’m telling you, that kind of story is so common. Many times in these surrogacy contracts, these women are obligated to say they will get an abortion if the intended parents want an abortion,” she continues.

“I think that happens far more often than we realize,” she says. “These babies have no rights.”

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​Allie beth stuckey, Child trafficking, Surrogacy, Ethics, Reproductive rights, Pregnancy, James uthmeier, Slavery, Relatable 

In his essay for We Are the Mighty, Stephen Ruiz declared that President Ronald Reagan’s 1984 Memorial Day speech observing the interment of an unknown Vietnam service member at Arlington National Cemetery “healed scars.”

“We write no last chapters,” Reagan told the crowd, Ruiz recalled. “We close no books. We put away no final memories. An end to America’s involvement in Vietnam cannot come before we’ve achieved the fullest possible accounting of those missing in action.”

‘The Vietnam Unknown never heard such cheers.’

More from Ruiz’s essay:

A decade after the final U.S. troops left Vietnam on March 29, 1973, some service members who fought in Southeast Asia couldn’t forget the harsh treatment that fellow Americans heaped upon them. Some were spat on while others received the middle finger or were called “baby killers.” They served their country and were blamed for the United States not defeating the North Vietnamese.

Reagan realized old wounds can’t go unattended. Two years after the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., Reagan used his oratorical gifts to promote a better understanding of what Vietnam veterans endured.

The president continued a tradition from past wars and awarded the Medal of Honor to the Vietnam Unknown. That nice moment was not enough for Reagan. He reached out to military families residing in a continual, painful limbo because of a loved one MIA. Reagan told them that a grateful nation understood their plight.

“They live day and night with uncertainty, with an emptiness, with a void that we cannot fathom,” Reagan said, Ruiz recalled.

The author noted that Reagan’s speech added references to President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address — and that volunteers read nearly 58,000 names on the Vietnam Veterans Wall in 1982 over the course of three days.

Ruiz also noted that Reagan read from a newspaper article about a restaurant dinner former Marines shared and that a group of college students — “some of them likely still in diapers when the first U.S. troops arrived in Vietnam in 1965,” Ruiz wrote — mingled with them, then applauded them as the veterans left the eatery.

Ruiz remembered that Reagan, reading from the newspaper article, quoted one former Marine’s response: “The whole week, it was worth it just for that.”

RELATED: Stories Behind the Stars: On a mission to honor every American who died in WWII

“The Vietnam Unknown never heard such cheers,” Ruiz added in his essay. “In so many ways, wars never end for those who knew someone MIA. So many unanswered questions remain, threatening to expose a deep sense of loss always lingering just below the surface.”

The author added that “in 1984, Reagan was acutely aware of that.”

In his speech, the president said of the unknown soldier, “About him we may well wonder, as others have: As a child, did he play on some street in a great American city? Or did he work beside his father on a farm out in America’s heartland? Did he marry? Did he have children? Did he look expectantly to return to a bride?”

In conclusion, Reagan noted, “Today, we simply say with pride, ‘Thank you, dear son. May God cradle you in His loving arms.'”

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​Ronald reagan, Vietnam war, Arlington national cemetery, Speech, Stephen ruiz, Unknown solidier, We are the mighty, 1984, Memorial day