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Police have arrested three people believed to be involved in the brutal beating to death of a homeless man found in a vacant home in Klamath Falls, Oregon.

The Klamath Falls Police Department said in a statement that officers found Kolton Esparza just before 11 a.m. on Feb. 26 while performing a welfare call.

‘I beat Kolton with a rock and stomped him out with my shoes.’

The homeless man was found naked, bound with rope, and beaten very badly. Police reported that he had signs of torture as well.

He was transported to a hospital, where he died a day later from his injuries.

After an investigation, police arrested two men and a woman for their involvement in his death.

Prosecutors say 49-year-old Jamie S. Harrington drove Esparza to the Eulalona Trailhead in Klamath Falls along with her brother, 34-year-old Reggie L. Townsend Jr., and a 39-year-old man named Wesley J. Powless, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Esparza was allegedly beaten by the men before he was able to run away, with them chasing after him.

Prosecutors say the men caught up to him near the vacant home and beat him with a brick or rock while kicking him. Powless and Townsend allegedly cleaned up the scene and left with evidence in a black garbage bag.

A medical examiner found that the man’s cause of death was “severe head trauma.”

Investigators claimed to have obtained a confession letter from Townsend to his girlfriend that read, “I beat Kolton with a rock and stomped him out with my shoes.”

KDRV-TV also reported that Townsend had been released only three months prior after serving a sentence for manslaughter.

RELATED: Elderly man confesses to killing his daughter and wife with an ax to avoid homelessness after losing his job, police say

Harrington and her brother were arrested on Feb. 27, while Powless was arrested in a later traffic stop.

Powless and Townsend were charged with second-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, and tampering with evidence. Harrington was charged with first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, tampering with evidence, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

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On the “Impaulsive” podcast, Logan Paul declared he would wager $1 million against any NFL player willing to face him in a boxing match — claiming that no player is capable of beating him.

“Not a single football player could beat me in a boxing match,” Paul said proudly, adding that he would “throttle Myles Garrett.”

“A million dollars. You come to the gym, we put on boxing gloves, we see how it goes,” he added.

“This started with, ‘I can beat any NFL player in a fight.’ Which is an outright lie. There are a bunch of guys in the National Football League right now that will whoop Logan Paul’s ass,” “Fearless” guest Shaun King tells BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock.

“Then he fixed it, though, when he came back around to it, and he specified it had to be boxing and inside the ring with gloves on. … That is a conditioning thing, and it’s a technique thing, and no matter how good you might be fighting on the street, if you aren’t learned in that specific line of combat, then you probably have no chance,” he continues.

“Probably in a boxing match, something that he’s been training at forever with gloves, three-minute rounds, he has a sizeable advantage. But don’t get it twisted, Logan. In a regular street fight, there are a whole bunch of NFL guys that’ll get on your top,” he adds.

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As President Donald Trump continues his push to secure the nation, a new NBC News survey reveals that American voters hold positions on enforcement of immigration laws that are at odds with the mainstream media narrative. The poll, conducted by Hart Research Associates and Public Opinion Strategies, shows that when it comes to border security, voters prefer the Republican Party over the Democratic Party by a staggering 27-point lead.

The American people have more faith in the agency protecting the border than in the party that has consistently undermined it.

The survey was conducted between Feb. 27 and March 3, 2026. It included interviews with 1,000 registered voters, with 620 respondents reached via cell phone and 309 interviewed through an online survey sent via text message. The results, which have a margin of error of ±3.10%, reveal a growing divide.

The poll also has shocking news for the Democratic Party. According to the survey, 38% of voters have a positive view of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. By comparison, only 30% of voters have a positive view of the Democratic Party. This eight-point gap suggests that despite radical “Abolish ICE” rhetoric from progressives, the American people have more faith in the agency protecting the border than in the party that has consistently undermined it.

In a post on X, Fox News legal analyst Jonathan Turley noted, “[The Democratic Party] barely edged out Iran in popularity. As Democrats push airports toward a shutdown during peak Spring break travel, they could soon lose not just to Iran but Ebola in future polls.”

RELATED: Anti-ICE inflatable frogs join Democrats at State of the Union counter event

Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images

Republicans hold their largest issue-based advantage on the border, far outpacing the 22-point lead they hold on the issue of crime. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party trails significantly on these pressing security concerns.

While 50% of voters say they prefer a Democrat-controlled Congress, they are simultaneously backing the Trump administration’s firm stance on the U.S. border and immigration enforcement.

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After only 10 days of the military operation against Iran, President Donald Trump said that it is close to being complete.

The president made the comments to a reporter over a phone interview Monday as oil prices skyrocketed and the stock market took a dive.

‘They’ve shot everything they have to shoot, and they better not try anything cute.’

“I think the war is very complete, pretty much. They have no navy, no communications. They’ve got no air force,” the president said to Weijia Jiang, a CBS reporter.

Jiang posted the comments on social media.

The president added that the operation was far ahead of an initial estimated time frame of four to five weeks.

He also addressed the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran had threatened to shut down and was the cause of the spike in oil prices. The president said he was considering “taking it over” and threatened Iran further.

“They’ve shot everything they have to shoot, and they better not try anything cute or it’s going to be the end of that country,” he added.

The stock market recovered much of its losses, and oil markets dropped in value after the president’s comments were reported.

A Russian official also said Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin shared proposals to end the war on Iran in a phone call with Trump.

The president said Saturday that Iran was looking to end its strikes against its neighbors.

“Iran, which is being beat to HELL, has apologized and surrendered to its Middle East neighbors, and promised that it will not shoot at them anymore,” he wrote. “This promise was only made because of the relentless U.S. and Israeli attack. They were looking to take over and rule the Middle East.”

RELATED: Iran promises to cease attacks on neighboring countries as Trump warns it will be ‘hit very hard’

Jiang also asked the president to comment on the news that the Iranian regime had chosen Mojtaba Khamenei to become the next supreme leader.

“I have no message for him. None whatsoever,” Trump said.

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New York Times opinion writer David French, a self-described evangelical conservative, has made a habit out of supporting radical leftists over those Republican officials who have time and again delivered meaningful results for the causes of life and liberty.

French announced in 2024, for example, that he was supporting then-candidate Kamala Harris over President Donald Trump “to save conservatism.”

‘French always saves his most demonic takes for Sunday morning columns.’

The former National Review writer’s rationale was that the GOP supposedly wouldn’t survive another Trump term but could be rebuilt as a “force for genuine good” in the event that Harris — an advocate for abortion, child sex-rejection procedures, and infringements on the Second Amendment — won.

Although his propaganda didn’t work in 2024, French clearly hasn’t given up on promoting radical leftists and is now promoting James Talarico, the Democrat state representative hoping to succeed Republican John Cornyn in the U.S. Senate.

French — who has not only embraced homosexual “marriage” but also non-Christian speech codes about gender — claimed in an editorial on Sunday that “Talarico shines” as “one of the few openly Christian politicians in the United States who acts like a Christian, and by acting like a Christian he reveals a profound contrast with so many members of the MAGA Christian movement that’s dominated American political life for 10 years.”

French proffered Talarico’s Senate primary victory speech, during which he criticized competition, as an example of the Democrat’s supposed Christianity in action, “right heart,” and loving ways.

“I am tired of being pitted against my neighbor. I’m tired of being told to hate my neighbor. It’s been more than 10 years of this kind of politics,” said Talarico. “Politics as blood sport, politics as trolling and owning, politics as total war. It tears families apart. It ends friendships, and it leaves us all feeling terrible all the time.”

RELATED: Democrats swapped Crockett’s preening for Talarico’s pulpit — and it worked

Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Image

Though gushing about Talarico’s supposed Christian decency and compassionate public face, French neglected to mention any of the Democrat’s nastier remarks about those political opponents and fellow Christians with whom he fundamentally disagrees.

Talarico previously suggested, for example, that Trump is a “business cheat, a pathological liar, a serial adulterer, a twice-impeached insurrectionist, a convicted felon, an adjudicated rapist,” many of whose supporters “have forgotten all about Jesus.”

Trump sued ABC News over host George Stephanopoulos’ false on-air assertion that the president had been found civilly liable for rape. Per the terms of the late 2024 settlement, ABC News ultimately agreed to pay $15 million toward Trump’s presidential library.

Despite the apparent narrowness of Talarico’s love and understanding, French — making no secret of his soft spot for Cornyn and hard liking for Talarico — presented the Democrat challenger as the supposedly virtuous antithesis of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

French’s case relies not only on selective outrage and his apparent ability to judge the hearts of men but on severing both candidates from their relevant activities, namely their work in office.

“For too long we’ve evaluated Christians in politics primarily through their policy positions,” wrote French. “Yet this is exactly backward.”

French expressed outrage over Paxton’s failed marriage and portrayed him as an exemplar of vice while strategically ignoring Talarico’s:

support for the dehumanization and elimination of the unborn, as signaled by his 0% score on the Texas Right to Life’s pro-life scorecard and his correlated recognition as “a Pro-Choice Champion” by the Texas Choice Tracker;attempted use of scripture, specifically Genesis 2:7 and the Annunciation, to justify the slaughter of the unborn;votes against sparing children from sex-rejection mutilations as well as against keeping men out of girls’ sports;claim that displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms is “deeply un-Christian”;claim that the Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling was effectively “un-Christian”;claim that God is “non-binary”;claim that there are six sexes, despite the clear assertion in Genesis, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them”; complaint that “Republican politicians are banning drag queens in the name of protecting children”; andclaim that “you can’t call yourself a Christian and destroy God’s creation with greenhouse gases.”

Critics blasted French over his commentary, suggesting that his understanding of “decency” is confused if not outright deceptive.

Radio host Erick Erickson noted, “It is not decent to twist scripture to lead others to hell. It is not decent to claim whiteness itself is like a virus. It is not decent to use Christ’s conception as a justification for abortion. It is not decent to reduce women to ‘neighbors with uteruses.’ Only if you have been radicalized by your critics can you land at this position.”

‘Your affectionate uncle, Screwtape.’

“David French is endorsing a guy who wants free abortion mills in every courthouse and who also claims God is trans,” wrote Sean Davis, CEO of the Federalist. “That French always saves his most demonic takes for Sunday morning columns is a pretty good indicator of who he actually worships now.”

William Wolfe, executive director for the Center for Baptist Leadership, alluded to the conspiring demons in C.S Lewis’ “The Screwtape Letters,” writing, “Now tell them that pro-abortion, pro-child mutilation politician who preaches that God is non-binary is a ‘shining’ example of a Christian. Your affectionate uncle, Screwtape.”

Weeks prior to French’s opinion piece, BlazeTV host Steve Deace suggested that Talarico was an “object and a vessel of malevolence. All right? When he speaks, he’s not deceived; he’s the deceiver. … He is who Paul would have said in Acts, ‘You are a son of the devil.’ He knows what he is doing.”

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​Heretic, Heresies, Heresiarch, Christian, Talarico, Texas, Senate, Steve deace, Senator, Lawmaker, False teacher, Church, Bible, Scripture, David french, Leftism, Democrat, Politics 

President Donald Trump spent years campaigning against the failures of American foreign policy — but not necessarily against American power itself.

Which is why Trump’s bold global moves suggest a doctrine that rejects nation-building and ideological crusades in favor of something far simpler: an America First approach to global dominance.

“It’s only March, but already it’s proven to be a pretty remarkably action-packed year. You know, just three days in, Trump successfully plucks up Nicolas Maduro from his bed in Venezuela, extradites him back to the United States, where he’s facing numerous felony charges stemming from involvement in narco-terrorism,” John Doyle explains.

“Then, the end of February, Trump launches Operation Epic Fury, of course, a military campaign to destroy Iran’s offensive capabilities,” he continues.

“On Tuesday, though, the U.S. and Ecuador launched a joint military operation against narcoterrorists in the South American country,” he adds.

But it appears that Trump is only getting started.

“A lot of analysts, I’ve been seeing this, are saying that Trump is perhaps planning an intervention in Cuba. … In his second term, he’s floated the idea of, you know, a friendly takeover. We can guess how friendly such a takeover would actually be. But Trump’s clearly trying to frame Cuba as a failing state, which it is,” Doyle says.

And while many Americans are skeptical of Trump’s recent actions, particularly Operation Epic Fury, Doyle points out that Trump is “doing what he thinks is best for America, not what’s best for abstractions like liberal democracy, not what’s best for transgender people in Timbuktu, what is best for America.”

“He does think in terms of empire. All of his criticism about American Empire has not been so much on the empire itself, but more on the people managing it. What does he say? ‘Our leaders are stupid,’” Doyle explains.

“His problem with us going into Iraq was not that we went into Iraq necessarily, but that we went in to pursue a nation-building project, and we didn’t even take the oil. He said this as it was going on. He said this on the debate stage in 2016. This is pretty consistent for Donald Trump,” he says.

“And, of course, it’s true that Trump won the election in 2016 by denouncing, again, certain aspects of the American Empire — you know, our involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan. But it is incorrect ultimately to characterize Trump as opposed to empire itself,” he continues.

“In fact, if anything, the American Empire is actually doing a lot better with Trump at the helm,” he adds.

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An Arkansas father who is facing second-degree murder charges for allegedly killing his teen daughter’s suspected sexual abuser has won the Republican nomination for county sheriff.

As Blaze News reported in October 2024, Aaron Spencer woke up to find his 14-year-old daughter missing from the family’s home. Police were notified about the missing girl.

‘Michael Fosler is [expletive] dead on the side of the road for trying to kidnap my daughter. I had no choice.’

Spencer got in his vehicle to try to track down his missing daughter and spotted a white Ford truck on the highway owned by Michael Fosler — the 67-year-old man accused of raping Spencer’s daughter.

The Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release, “While en route, deputies were notified that the father, Aaron Spencer, had located the juvenile in a vehicle with Michael Fosler.”

The affidavit said Spencer used his vehicle to rear-end Fosler’s Ford F-150 truck at an intersection, which forced it off the road and into a ditch.

Citing court records, USA Today reported that Spencer “then got out of his car and started firing a gun at Fosler. He fired 16 times, court records state, noting 15 bullets hit Fosler.”

Court documents said Spencer pistol-whipped Fosler in the face after firing the shots.

Court records show Spencer then called 911 and said, “Michael Fosler is [expletive] dead on the side of the road for trying to kidnap my daughter. I had no choice.”

Police said Fosler was pronounced dead at the crime scene.

Spencer was arrested, charged with second-degree murder in connection with Fosler’s death, and then released from the Lonoke County Detention Center after posting bail.

Court documents said Spencer went to the home of a female acquaintance of Fosler on July 8, 2024, told the woman that Fosler raped his underage daughter, and then demanded Fosler’s phone number and home address.

Spencer instructed the woman not to call anyone, including the police, according to court documents.

However, Fosler’s acquaintance revealed the situation to one of her family members, who was a mandated reporter. According to USA Today, “Mandated reporters are required to notify law enforcement officials or social services about suspected cases of child abuse.”

The mandated reporter alerted the Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office about the rape allegations, court records stated.

Court records said two officers went to Spencer’s residence as part of the investigation into the rape of his minor daughter.

Court docs said the interaction between Spencer and officers was recorded on a police bodycam, and one of the officers is heard telling Spencer, “We still don’t live in a country where you can take the law into your own hands,” to which Spencer responded with an expletive.

Officials with the Wade Knox Children’s Advocacy Center interviewed Spencer’s daughter, according to court records.

USA Today reported that police obtained an arrest warrant for Fosler for a charge of rape and one count of internet stalking of a child — both of which are felonies.

USA Today said Fosler was arrested and then released from jail on $50,000 bond on July 17, 2024.

RELATED: ‘Want him buried’: Family’s explosive words surface after cheerleader’s stepbrother reportedly charged in her death on cruise

Spencer’s sister-in-law in 2025 launched a GiveSendGo crowdfunding campaign, which has raised over $100,000 in an effort to keep their “family afloat amid Aaron’s daunting legal proceedings.”

“Beginning in the spring of 2024, my then 13-year-old niece was targeted by a predator, groomed, and assaulted multiple times,” the crowdfunding listing said.

As Blaze News reported in October 2024, Spencer launched a political campaign to become the new Lonoke County Sheriff despite awaiting trial in connection with the alleged murder of Fosler.

The Arkansas secretary of state revealed that Spencer won more than 53% of the vote in last Tuesday’s three-person GOP primary, easily defeating incumbent Lonoke County Sheriff John Staley and David Bufford.

Spencer said of his victory, “Lonoke County sent a clear message last night, and we’re just getting started.”

“I’m running to restore accountability and integrity to the sheriff’s office, and the people of this county just showed they want the same thing,” the father said on his campaign Facebook page. “Let’s finish the job and build a safer, stronger Lonoke County together.”

Sheriff Staley congratulated Spencer by saying in a statement, “Tonight, the voters made their decision in the Republican Primary, and I respect the decision.”

Staley had been the Lonoke County Sheriff for the last 13 years.

Spencer — a husband, father, combat veteran of the 82nd Airborne Division, contractor, and farmer — now will face off against Democrat nominee Brian Mitchell Sr. in November.

Fox News noted that Spencer will be prohibited from serving as sheriff if he is convicted of the murder charge.

Spencer’s trial initially was scheduled for January but has been postponed. He has pleaded not guilty.

Spencer’s lawyers released a statement Friday: “Aaron did exactly what Arkansas law allows and exactly what any father would do: He protected his daughter and himself from harm.”

“We said from the beginning that Aaron was justified under Arkansas law in protecting his daughter, and every time the facts have come into focus, that conclusion has only become clearer,” the Lassiter & Cassinelli legal team proclaimed.

His lawyers also characterized Spencer’s supporters as “parents, veterans, and neighbors who watched the system fail and support a father who stepped up.”

“Lonoke County residents have rallied behind Aaron Spencer not just in his legal defense, but in his broader mission to bring accountability to a county government that has long operated without it,” the statement said.

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The U.S. Dept. of Justice said it had reached a tentative deal in the antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster and Live Nation Entertainment on Monday.

Critics of the event ticket outlet have accused the company of seeking a monopoly in the industry in order to artificially maintain high sales fees.

‘We will continue our lawsuit to protect consumers and restore fair competition to the live entertainment industry.’

“Live Nation Ticketmaster created a dominant conglomerate with an unprecedented amount of control over the live ticketing market, resulting in monopoly power it has used to entrench its position in the marketplace,” Mark Meador wrote in 2024 before being nominated to FTC commissioner.

On Monday, a senior Justice Department official said anonymously in a call with reporters that the deal was a “win-win for everybody.”

Live Nation has agreed to divest itself of 13 amphitheaters in the U.S. as a part of the deal, which also includes a $280 million fine.

The official said a double-digit number of states have signaled that they will agree with the deal.

New York Attorney General Letitia James was among those who said they would not go along with the deal and continue their own lawsuits against the companies.

“My attorney general colleagues and I have a strong case against Live Nation, and we will continue our lawsuit to protect consumers and restore fair competition to the live entertainment industry,” James said.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D) ridiculed President Donald Trump over the deal in a post on social media.

RELATED: It’s time to join the fight and expose Ticketmaster

“Donald ‘Art of the Deal’ Trump settled the Ticketmaster-Live Nation antitrust case,” Warren wrote.

“If you love going to concerts, Trump’s deal means you’ll keep paying a ‘Ticketmaster Tax.’ And artists will keep getting bullied,” she added. “It’s time to break up Ticketmaster-Live Nation.”

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Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger (D) has refused to hand over an illegal immigrant with over 30 prior arrests to ICE.

The suspect, Abdul Jalloh, is an illegal alien from Sierra Leone with at least 30 arrests on violent charges.

“She is now saying that she will not turn over a guy who [allegedly] murdered a woman at a bus stop, stabbing her to death. Okay? Will not turn him over to ICE because they need a warrant. Can I ask you — and this is an honest question — why, why, for the love of Pete, are the Democrats so intent on protecting murderers, rapists?” Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck comments.

“The police knew who this guy was because they had arrested him so many times. He had been arrested like 40 times. One of them was for rape, and they let him out on the streets — returned him to the streets — because they want to protect him and his rights,” Glenn says.

Glenn admits that he doesn’t “understand.”

“Immigration policy can be really, really complicated. Border enforcement: complicated, okay? Work visas, asylum laws, all of that stuff. But in this case, it is not complicated at all. A woman standing at a bus stop, a normal American moment, waiting for the day to begin, waiting for a bus, and she’s stabbed to death,” he says.

“And this isn’t somebody who just slipped through the cracks one time. A guy who had been arrested again and again and again. … Assault, rape, and now [suspected] murder, stabbing,” he continues.

“Can I ask you: If it is not the government’s job to protect, what is their job?” Glenn asks. “Because they weren’t protecting you or this woman or anybody in Virginia. They weren’t protecting any American by putting him back on the street.”

“Now, here’s the question that every single American should be asking, and I mean this honestly: What possible justification exists for keeping somebody like this in our communities?” he asks. “Can you give me one single explanation that is logical, that is not evil, quite honestly?”

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Communist China isn’t hiding its ambitions. Beijing wants to displace the United States as the world’s leading power. It flies spy balloons over our country, runs influence operations, steals technology, pressures neighbors, menaces Taiwan, and builds missiles and ships meant to drive America out of the Western Pacific.

The Pentagon’s newly released National Defense Strategy puts the People’s Republic of China at the center of the threat picture. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth frames the task in blunt terms: “peace through strength,” including a favorable balance of power in the Indo-Pacific so that China can’t “dominate us or our allies.”

China won’t ‘take over the world’ in some comic-book way. But it will keep testing the seams of American power — and it will keep exploiting our habits of denial and delay.

That doesn’t mean the United States and China are “destined for war.” China’s weaknesses cut against that. It lacks the kind of soft power that makes alliances easy and coercion unnecessary. Outside its borders, China inspires far more fear than admiration. Demographic collapse also looms. The one-child policy left China facing an aging population and a shrinking workforce.

None of that makes Beijing harmless. A declining regime can still lash out. It can still intimidate neighbors, manipulate markets, and exploit American openness. It can also run influence operations in plain sight — through front companies, academic partnerships, lobbying, investment vehicles, and the slow capture of key choke points in tech and infrastructure.

That calls for something Washington too often refuses to do: enforce rules like a serious country.

Start with basic counterintelligence hygiene. Aggressively investigate covert foreign influence. Enforce FARA. Protect sensitive research. Tighten screening around critical supply chains. Treat strategic industries like strategic industries. Strip Chinese “paper Americans” of their citizenship and deport them.

This is where internal discipline matters as much as external posture. A national strategy collapses when parts of the bureaucracy slow-walk it, freelance against it, or treat it like optional guidance.

Consider the recent ouster of Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater. She was in charge of the Department of Justice’s antitrust division until last month. But she butted heads repeatedly with Attorney General Pam Bondi. Their disagreements slid into insubordination. Slater allegedly lied to Bondi on national security matters that appeared to help China.

RELATED: Iran, China, and Trump’s ‘art of the squeal’

White House via X Account/Anadolu via Getty Images

For example, Slater opposed the Hewlett-Packard Enterprise acquisition of Juniper Networks, which national security experts say is essential to combat Chinese tech dominance. Blocking the deal would have hurt U.S. industry and helped Chinese telecom giant Huawei. Happily, the administration overruled her and approved the deal.

Washington can’t run a serious China policy with internal sabotage, bureaucratic drift, or officials acting like they answer to a different set of priorities.

The same standard applies to national security decisions in the tech arena. If competition with Huawei and China’s tech ecosystem matters — and it does — then Washington should evaluate mergers, procurement, and infrastructure policy through that lens, not just through abstract theories divorced from geopolitical reality. America needs to win the next generation of networks, not regulate itself into strategic dependence.

China won’t “take over the world” in some comic-book way. But it will keep testing the seams of American power — and it will keep exploiting our habits of denial and delay.

Peace through strength isn’t a slogan. It’s a posture: defend critical systems, enforce the law, remove vulnerabilities, and stop treating strategic competition like a seminar topic. The first step is simple and unglamorous: clean up our own house, then face Beijing with the seriousness the moment demands.

​China, Beijing, Communism, Trump, Foreign policy, United states, Spy balloon, China policy, Peace through strength, Opinion & analysis, Hewlett packard enterprise, Juniper networks, Merger, Acquisition, Gail slater, Pam bondi, Deep state, Administrative state, Department of justice, Antitrust 

As the joint U.S.-Israeli military strikes continue hammering away at Iran, some in the media are offering sympathetic portrayals of the bloodthirsty regime leaders, especially the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Among the worst examples was a post from the Economist that referred to the U.S. as the “Great Satan” and appeared to praise Khamenei for his perseverance.

‘Stop glorifying a doomsday terrorist nut job that murdered, raped, and tortured hundreds of thousands.’

“Increasingly, over the course of three decades, Ali Khamenei knew that he was personally in the Great Satan’s sights,” the outlet’s post reads. “This did not daunt him. He felt, always, that he had divine right on his side.”

Many online took exception to that framing and let the outlet know in no uncertain terms.

“And just like that, I’ll never read another Economist article ever again. Referring to America as the Great Satan and praising the brutal dictator in the same headline. Honestly impressive garbage,” journalist Walter Curt responded.

“What in the f**k! Let’s ignore the innocent people he killed in over a dozen countries using his proxy terrorists over the last 30 years, yes, he’s the victim,” another added. “We live in the dumbest of times.”

“Stop glorifying a doomsday terrorist nut job that murdered, raped, and tortured hundreds of thousands, including children, to stay in power. He lived like a scared rat, and died like one,” another user said.

“In related news, The Economist is hiring a new social media intern …,” writer Steve McGuire joked.

Although official death statistics from the crackdown on protests are unreliable, some believe tens of thousands might have been killed by the Irani regime for opposing their rule.

RELATED: ‘I might have forced Israel’s hand’: Trump denies being pressured by Netanyahu into war

Others replied with brevity and clarity.

“What the actual f**k is this s**t?” Mike Cote of NRO replied.

“The economist d**k riding the ayatollah, i have read it all,” another user said.

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​The economist crushed online, Khamenei death, Online vs media, Us-israeli attack on iran, Politics 

Two Pennsylvania residents with alleged ties to radical Islam were arrested in New York City on Saturday after homemade explosive devices were ignited in an apparent attempt to target anti-Islam protesters gathered outside Gracie Mansion, the residence of the city’s first Muslim mayor, Zohran Mamdani (D).

The New York Police Department identified the two suspects as 18-year-old Emir Balat and 19-year-old Ibrahim Kayumi.

‘All praise is due to Allah lord of all worlds!’

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch claimed that Balat lit and threw an improvised explosive device toward a group of demonstrators participating in the “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City” protest outside Gracie Mansion.

A video of the suspect appeared to show him yelling, “Allahu Akbar,” as he threw the smoking device toward the crowd. Balat then allegedly ran southbound, grabbing a second device from Kayumi. Balat was accused of lighting the second device and dropping it near police officers as he ran away.

Tisch confirmed that the devices were IEDs and “could have caused serious injury or death.” However, no explosions or injuries were reported after the devices seemingly malfunctioned.

Balat’s parents were born in Turkey and became U.S. citizens nearly a decade ago, CBS News reported. Balat, who was living with his parents, is a U.S. citizen. He reportedly traveled to Turkey recently and returned to the U.S. in January. He reportedly spent several months in Turkey last year.

Kayumi’s parents are reportedly from Afghanistan and became U.S. citizens over 15 years ago. He reportedly traveled to Turkey and Saudi Arabia in 2024.

RELATED: Counter-protester lights explosive amid anti-Mamdani protest, utters ‘Allahu Akbar’ — but NYC mayor rips ‘bigotry and racism’

Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images

FBI agents were observed on Sunday searching the suspects’ homes in Bucks County, ABC News reported.

Balat is a student in the Neshaminy School District, and Kayumi graduated from Council Rock High School North in 2024, CBS News reported. Both are located in Bucks County.

The federal criminal complaint revealed that Balat and Kayumi are facing several charges, including attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, the use of a weapon of mass destruction, transportation of explosive materials, interstate transportation and receipt of explosives, and unlawful possession of destructive devices.

According to the complaint, while in law enforcement custody, Balat stated, “This isn’t a religion that just stands when people talk about the blessed name of the prophet. … We take action! We take action! … If I didn’t do it, someone else will come and do it.”

Balat, who waived his Miranda rights, requested officers provide him with a piece of paper, on which he allegedly wrote, “All praise is due to Allah lord of all worlds! I pledge my allegience [sic] to the Islamic State. Die in your rage yu [sic] kuffar! Emir B.”

The complaint explained that “kuffar” is an Arabic word that refers to “non-believers” or “infidels.” It also noted that “die in your rage” is a verse in the Quran often invoked by ISIS.

Balat also allegedly told law enforcement that he hoped his attack attempt would be “even bigger” than the Boston Marathon bombing in 2023.

RELATED: Liberal media covers for Saturday’s NYC terror attack suspects — then the facts come out

Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images

The criminal complaint accused Kayumi of stating that he was motivated by ISIS. After waiving his Miranda rights, he allegedly suggested to law enforcement that he was affiliated with the terrorist group. He also allegedly admitted to watching ISIS propaganda.

An FBI special agent explained in the complaint that a preliminary analysis found that the first explosive device, which Balat was accused of throwing into a crowd of protesters, contained triacetone triperoxide.

“Based on my training and experience, I know that TATP is colloquially known as the ‘Mother of Satan’; is extremely sensitive to impact, friction, and heat; and has been used in multiple terrorist attacks over the last decade,” the agent wrote.

Following the arrests of Balat and Kayumi, police identified a parked vehicle several blocks south of Gracie Mansion that had a New Jersey license plate registered to one of Balat’s family members.

Kayumi’s mother filed a missing person report on or about March 7, stating that she last saw her son at their Pennsylvania residence at approximately 10:30 a.m. earlier that day, the criminal complaint noted.

Balat and Kayumi remain in custody.

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​News, New york city, Nyc, Zohran mamdani, New york, Gracie mansion, Pennsylvania, New york police department, Nypd, Emir balat, Ibrahim kayumi, Jessica tisch, Islam, Radical islam, Turkey, Afghanistan, Muslim, Isis, Politics 

Cornell University says chatbots have the capability for gross misuse, and its researchers are proving it.

The school announced recently that it had created a large language model that demonstrated fluency and reasoning capabilities advanced enough to make scam phone calls.

‘ScamAgent constructs persistent personas, … and uses deception strategies that unfold over time.’

ScamAgent, Cornell wrote, is an autonomous AI that can generate realistic scam-call scripts that simulate real-life scenarios where a call recipient is on the receiving end of fraud.

Simply put, it works like a chatbot that has the goal to deceive and persuade the call recipient.

Scam scripts were transformed into “lifelike voice calls using modern text-to-speech systems, completing a fully automated scam pipeline,” Cornell wrote.

At the same time, the research explained that the chatbot showed the remarkable ability to circumvent or ignore safety guardrails built into the language model, meaning it would ignore certain prompts and content filters.

RELATED: Mamdani allies push to ban chatbots from answering questions about law, medicine, and psychology

“ScamAgent constructs persistent personas, maintains conversational context, and uses deception strategies that unfold over time. This design allows it to bypass existing safety guardrails by decomposing harmful tasks into benign subgoals and leveraging contextual carryover to avoid triggering filters.”

The agent was used in a series of real-world fraud scenarios that Americans have become all too familiar with, like medical insurance verification scams, impersonations, prize or lottery fraud, and government benefit enrollment scams. However, researchers used a different chatbot as the recipient, not real people.

Researchers also noticed that it was not very difficult to convert scripts into audio to be used for scams and recreate an automated call without requiring much technical expertise.

RELATED: This new laser farming technique could free us from pesticides — forever

Photographer: Kuni Takahashi/Bloomberg via Getty Images

For those wondering what the purpose of building such a deceptive AI agent would be, Cornell researchers said they wanted to highlight an urgent need to detect and disrupt conversational deception powered by AI agents.

They added that even “state-of-the-art” AI models are vulnerable to being used for deception, while also calling for “proactive safeguards” and “regulatory oversight.”

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​Return, Ai, Chatbot, Language model, Scams, Scammers, Call center scam, Tech 

Another federal judge has ruled against the Trump administration after a group of fired employees filed a lawsuit to oppose layoffs ordered at Voice of America.

President Donald Trump nominated Kari Lake to oversee the federal multimedia broadcaster in March 2025 as part of an order to reduce redundant government agencies.

‘We don’t have anyone in our foreign bureaus. We don’t have anybody, basically, to cover the news.’

On Saturday, U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth ruled that Lake did not have the authority to order the layoffs, but it is unclear how the agency will proceed after the ruling.

“Only the Appointments Clause or the Vacancies Act’s exclusive structure may authorize service as a principal officer, and Lake satisfies the requirements of neither the statute nor the Constitution,” Lamberth wrote in the ruling.

Lamberth also noted that Lake had not been approved by the U.S. Senate.

The journalists who filed the lawsuit included Voice of America White House bureau chief Patsy Widakuswara, Kate Neeper, and Jessica Jerreat.

“We feel vindicated and deeply grateful. The judge’s ruling that Kari Lake’s actions shall have no force or effect is a powerful step toward undoing the damage she has inflicted on this American institution that we love,” reads a statement from the journalists.

“Even as we work through what this ruling means for colleagues harmed by her actions, it brings renewed hope and momentum to the next phase of our fight,” they added, “restoring VOA’s global operations and ensuring we continue to produce journalism, not propaganda.”

About 85% of the staff at VOA and the U.S. Agency for Global Media has been fired since March 2025, which includes about 1,400 workers.

“There’s about 120 working right now, and that’s all based in D.C.,” Widakuswara said. “We don’t have anyone in our foreign bureaus. We don’t have anybody, basically, to cover the news.”

RELATED: Judge orders Trump administration to restore slavery exhibits to presidential home site

Lake excoriated the judge and indicated the government would appeal the ruling.

“The American people gave President Trump a mandate to cut bloated bureaucracy, eliminate waste, and restore accountability to government,” she wrote on social media.

“An activist judge is trying to stand in the way of those efforts at USAGM,” she added.
“Judge Lamberth has a pattern of activist rulings — and this case is no different.”

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​Voa chief kari lake, Voice of america layoffs, Judge royce lamberth vs trump, Trump mass layoffs, Politics 

An 11-year-old Florida boy who was just arrested for making a death threat was charged with the same crime in October, police said.

The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office noted in its news release last week that “we have a repeat visitor” before disclosing that it was the young suspect’s “second arrest for making a written threat to kill.”

‘If you can threaten to shoot 7 teachers you can take a perp walk. Parents, discipline your kids and I won’t have to.’

The sheriff’s office said the boy has been in a diversion program as a result of his last arrest in October at Southwestern Middle School after he sent a group message “IM GONNA SHOOT YOU” from another student’s communications account.

But officials said the 11-year-old on Thursday once again used another student’s account to send the message “imma shoot you” to seven teachers at DeLand Middle School.

The sheriff’s office posted video of a deputy perp-walking the handcuffed boy into a holding cell. Blaze News is not naming the suspect or showing his face because of his age.

RELATED: 10-year-old Florida boy arrested, perp-walked on camera over kill list, threatening to bring gun to elementary school: Cops

Image source: Volusia County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office video screenshot, composite

Sheriff Mike Chitwood had strong words for those who “coddle” young people accused of such crimes.

“Now understand this. We have 63,000 students and 4,400 teachers in Volusia County Schools. I know some want to make excuses and coddle the select few who choose to make threats. You can pat them on the head and tell them everything’s going to be alright. My job is to look out for everyone else,” Chitwood wrote. “These idiotic threats disrupt our schools, eat up time and resources, and increase the chances a real threat slips through the cracks. If you can threaten to shoot 7 teachers you can take a perp walk. Parents, discipline your kids and I won’t have to.”

Such arrests seem to be piling up in Florida.

The day before the 11-year-old boy’s arrest last week, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office arrested a 10-year-old boy and perp-walked him on camera after officials said he threatened to bring a gun to his elementary school and left a kill list in his classroom.Late last month the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said officers arrested a 12-year-old girl after she posted online a “detailed manifesto” about carrying out a mass shooting at a middle school due to bullying.Also in February, a pair of 15-year-olds were arrested after being accused of threatening to shoot up high schools, police said.In late October, an 11-year-old girl was arrested after writing a “kill list” at her desk at school, police said. Then just two weeks later, an 11-year-old boy from the same school district was arrested after allegedly creating a “kill list” at school, police said.Also in October, a Florida sheriff’s office came under fire for posting 9-year-old male’s mug shot on Facebook after his felony arrest for allegedly bringing a knife into his elementary school.Just a week prior, that same sheriff’s office said a 10-year-old was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill, a third-degree felony, after bringing a pocketknife to school and threatening another student. The sheriff’s office posted the suspect’s name and mug shot.

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​11-year-old boy, Repeat offender, Death threat, Arrest, Florida, Volusia county sheriff’s office, Making written threat to kill, Crime 

The Department of War has identified a seventh U.S. service member killed in support of Operation Epic Fury in the Middle East.

The Department of War announced in a press release on Monday morning that Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, 26, of Glendale, Ky., died of his wounds on March 8 from injuries sustained during an enemy attack on March 1 at Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia.

‘He gave the ultimate sacrifice for the country he loved.’

Pennington was “seriously injured” during the attack, according to the U.S. Army’s press release.

“The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command is deeply saddened by the loss of Sgt. Pennington,” Lt. Gen. Sean Gainey, USASMDC commanding general, said. “He gave the ultimate sacrifice for the country he loved. That makes him nothing less than a hero, and he will always be remembered that way. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.”

RELATED: ‘Heart of America’: Pentagon identifies 4 of the 6 US military members killed in Middle East

Photo by U.S. Navy via Getty Images

“Sgt. Pennington was a dedicated and experienced noncommissioned officer who led with strength, professionalism, and sense of duty,” Col. Michael Dyer, 1st Space Brigade commander, said. “Our deepest sympathies are with his family, friends, and fellow soldiers. We remain dedicated to providing comfort and support at this time and will forever honor his legacy and ultimate sacrifice for our nation.”

Pennington was assigned to 1st Space Battalion, 1st Space Brigade, Fort Carson, Colorado.

The Department of War said that the incident is currently under investigation.

Pennington was promotable and will be posthumously promoted to staff sergeant, according to a USASMDC press release.

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A growing number of states are considering a new way to tax drivers: charging you for every mile you travel.

The idea is called a per-mile driving tax, and if it moves forward, the cost of simply using your car could rise dramatically.

To tax driving by the mile, governments need to know exactly how far a vehicle travels. That raises immediate questions about monitoring and data collection.

On a recent episode of “The Drive with Lauren and Karl,” Karl Brauer and I discussed how these proposals are spreading — and why they could mean both higher costs and more government monitoring of drivers.

Pay as you go?

States such as California and Massachusetts are exploring mileage-based road charges as a replacement or supplement to traditional fuel taxes. The idea is simple on paper: Instead of paying taxes at the pump, drivers pay based on how many miles they drive.

But in practice, that means a new bill tied directly to your mobility.

Estimates from California state Rep. Carl DeMaio (R) suggest the impact could be substantial. Under proposals being discussed in California, drivers could be charged six to nine cents per mile they travel.

For a typical driver covering about 15,000 miles a year, that translates to roughly $900 to $1,200 annually in new taxes. DeMaio notes that when those charges are layered on top of existing gas taxes and vehicle taxes, the total burden for a two-car household could exceed $4,200 per year just for the privilege of driving.

That’s not a minor adjustment. For many families, it would function like another recurring household bill — tied directly to how much they drive.

And unlike discretionary spending, driving often isn’t optional. Millions of Americans rely on their vehicles to get to work, transport children, care for relatives, and handle everyday errands.

Commuter looter

One of the biggest problems with per-mile taxes is who ends up paying the highest price.

The drivers most likely to rack up mileage are often the ones who can least afford it. In expensive states like California, many workers commute long distances because housing near job centers is out of reach. Living farther out keeps rent or mortgage payments manageable — but it also means driving more miles.

A mileage tax effectively punishes those drivers for circumstances they can’t control.

Karl points out the obvious math: The longer your commute, the higher your tax bill. That means lower-income workers who travel farther to reach their jobs could end up paying more than wealthier drivers who live closer to work.

I spy

There’s another practical issue: How would states measure those miles?

To tax driving by the mile, governments need to know exactly how far a vehicle travels. That raises immediate questions about monitoring and data collection.

Modern cars already gather significant amounts of information through connected systems, insurance telematics, and onboard software. But a statewide mileage tax would likely require even more precise tracking.

Older vehicles without built-in connectivity present another challenge. Any mileage-tax program would still have to account for them, which could mean external tracking devices, reporting systems, or other work-arounds.

However the system is built, the bottom line is that taxing miles requires knowing how many miles you drive — and that opens the door to broader monitoring of driver behavior.

Kill switch 2.0

During the episode, we also talk about how this issue overlaps with new driver-monitoring technology already appearing in modern vehicles.

Under provisions in the 2021 infrastructure law, new vehicles will eventually include systems designed to detect impaired driving. The concept is often described as a safety feature, but the broader concern is how much control these systems could exert over the vehicle itself.

If software determines that a driver is impaired or unsafe, it could prevent the car from operating.

Karl and I agree that no one wants impaired drivers on the road. But once vehicles are equipped with systems capable of monitoring behavior and controlling vehicle operation, the question becomes how those systems might be used — and who ultimately controls them.

For drivers, that raises an uncomfortable possibility: a vehicle that can track, interpret, and potentially restrict how you use it.

RELATED: Salvage title cars are showing up at dealerships. Should you buy one?

Mike Simons/Getty Images

Engine trouble

Even without mileage taxes, the cost of owning and operating a vehicle has been climbing.

Vehicle prices remain high. Insurance premiums have increased significantly in many states. Repairs are more expensive as cars become more technologically complex. Fuel prices remain volatile.

Layering a per-mile tax on top of those costs would make daily transportation even more expensive.

Take California, where drivers already pay the highest fuel taxes in the country. A mileage-based charge might not replace those taxes — it could simply add another layer on top of them.

A broader trend

Mileage taxes also fit into a larger pattern in transportation policy.

Governments are experimenting with new ways to regulate emissions, reshape travel behavior, and generate revenue from road usage. But the people who feel the impact most directly are ordinary drivers.

Policies that make driving more expensive or more restricted don’t affect abstract “vehicle usage.” They affect real people who rely on their cars every day.

That includes workers commuting to jobs, parents transporting children, caregivers helping elderly relatives, and small-business owners who depend on vehicles for their livelihoods.

The bottom line

For most Americans, a car isn’t a luxury — it’s a necessity.

That’s why proposals like per-mile driving taxes deserve close scrutiny. They could dramatically increase transportation costs while expanding the amount of information collected about how drivers use their vehicles.

If states move forward with mileage-based taxes, drivers will be the ones paying the bill — both financially and in terms of how their mobility is monitored.

Listen to the full episode of “The Drive with Lauren and Karl” below:

​Drive with lauren fix and karl brauer, Lifestyle, Auto industry, Align cars, Per mile taxes, Kill switch 

Many news outlets glossed over key details about the attempted bombing in New York City over the weekend, in some instances misleadingly portraying the attack outside Gracie Mansion as a threat to the city’s first Muslim mayor, Zohran Mamdani (D), and omitting the motivations and apparent Islamic radicalization of the suspects.

Mamdani refused to acknowledge the suspects’ identities and instead focused his messaging on blaming the initial protest, “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City,” which the mayor claimed was “rooted in bigotry and racism.”

‘What any honest person would call an IED, the New York Times calls “smoking jars of metal and fuses.”‘

The media initially echoed Mamdani’s framing.

The New York Times released an early report titled, “Smoking Jars of Metal and Fuses Thrown at Protest Near Mayor’s House,” in which the outlet was quick to label the anti-Islamic protesters as “far-right” and led by “the far-right provocateur Jake Lang.”

The report detailed how the “turbulent scene” began with Lang’s demonstration, noting that one of his fellow protesters sprayed counter-protesters with mace before a counter-protester threw two smoking objects in their direction. The framing of the report suggested that the anti-Islam protesters were the initial aggressors in the confrontation.

The Times described the two suspects accused of bringing the “smoking objects” merely as “counterprotesters,” without delving into their potential motivations, political leanings, or signs of radicalization.

No explosions or injuries were reported.

RELATED: Counter-protester lights explosive amid anti-Mamdani protest, utters ‘Allahu Akbar’ — but NYC mayor rips ‘bigotry and racism’

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch. Photo by Leonardo MUNOZ/AFP via Getty Images

Author Hans Mahncke criticized the Times’ headline, writing in a post on social media, “What any honest person would call an IED, the New York Times calls ‘smoking jars of metal and fuses.'” The headline of the Times’ article was later updated to “Homemade Bomb Thrown at Protest Near N.Y.C. Mayor’s House, Police Say.”

At the same time that early news reports were surfacing, videos posted to social media showed one of the suspects shouting, “Allahu Akbar,” while tossing an IED toward anti-Islam protesters.

Even with the release of this and similar videos, the media was slow to report that Islamic radicals potentially carried out the attempted bombing.

The media began covering this angle only after the New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch stated that the attempted bombing was being investigated as ISIS-inspired terrorism.

The Times later reported that the suspects had viewed ISIS videos online, according to two anonymous officials. The homemade bombs reportedly contained triacetone triperoxide, made from precursor materials that have been linked to ISIS in the past, including in the Paris attacks in 2015.

RELATED: Glenn Beck exposes commie Mamdani’s ‘free’ day-care scam: $36K per kid — 55% more than private — and the socialist trap coming

Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images

Tisch, who confirmed that the IEDs were real and potentially lethal, released more details about the suspects in a post on X.

“Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi were arrested on scene yesterday and are in custody in connection with this matter. The NYPD is working on this investigation with our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the FBI through our Joint Terrorism Task Force,” Tisch wrote.

Despite Tisch’s announcement, Mamdani held fast to his original position.

During a Monday-morning press conference, Mamdani again criticized “white supremacy” and condemned the anti-Muslim protest. While he denounced violence, he described many of the counter-protesters as “peaceful.” He did not mention that the suspects appear to be radicalized Muslims.

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​News, New york city, Nyc, Zohran mamdani, Jessica tisch, Islam, Radical islam, Jake lang, Gracie manson, Terrorism, Terrorist attack, Politics 

Since last month, the Department of Homeland Security has been hamstrung by a Democrat-led government shutdown singling the agency out. Now, citizens — and especially air travelers — are paying the price due to a lack of department funding.

Security lines at airports across the nation have reportedly been “out the door” in some instances in the past couple of days, as DHS highlighted on Sunday.

‘The best advice we can share with travelers is simple: plan ahead, arrive early and stay in communication with your airline.’

DHS wrote on X: “SECURITY LINES OUT THE DOOR. Americans are now missing their flights because of the Democrats [sic] shutdown of DHS. Their political stunt is forcing patriotic TSA officers to work without pay — leading to financial hardship, absences, and crippling staffing shortages. Enough is enough: Democrats must fund DHS NOW.”

TSA seconded the post: “Enough is enough. The Democrat shutdown of DHS must end!”

RELATED: ‘It’s about time’: Passengers who refuse to use headphones may be kicked off this airline

Photographer: Mark Felix/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Airports across the country have warned passengers to arrive at the airport several hours ahead of their scheduled flight.

For example, Louis Armstrong New Orleans Airport posted an update on Monday morning telling passengers to plan to arrive three hours before their flight, adding that TSA security lines could take up to two hours to get through.

Likewise, Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport cautioned passengers to arrive “4-5 hours before their flight to allow extra time for TSA screening.”

The warning added that TSA wait time “may exceed 180 minutes.”

Jim Szczesniak, director of aviation for the City of Houston’s Department of Aviation, estimated that area airports are expecting 2.2 million travelers during the busy spring break season. The increased numbers of travelers paired with the decreased staff numbers at TSA because of the government shutdown have caused dramatic delays.

“The best advice we can share with travelers is simple: plan ahead, arrive early and stay in communication with your airline,” reads a statement from Szczesniak.

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted a White House article Monday morning showcasing the frustrations of federal workers and travelers alike at various airports. The article also mentioned that over 100,000 DHS employees are working without pay.

Phoenix TSA worker Jovan Petkovich told Fox: “We’re fed up. We’ve had enough. This is the third shutdown in a matter of six months. … How many delays is it? How many flight attendants are being impacted?”

The White House’s Rapid Response 47 account added to Petkovich’s statement, saying, “Democrats need to fund [DHS] and stop playing politics with people’s livelihoods.”

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​Politics, Dhs, Department of homeland security, Tsa, Airports, Airplanes, Air travel, White house, Transportation security administration, Democrat shutdown 

Last week, President Donald Trump announced that he is replacing Kristi Noem as secretary of homeland security and nominating Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R) to the position, while reassigning Noem to a new role as special envoy for the Shield of the Americas.

When BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales got the news, her very first reaction was: “Why wasn’t it Pam Bondi?”

“That actually is the biggest shock to me. … You’re putting people on the chopping block, and Pam Bondi wasn’t the first one?” she asks.

While Sara will continue to “hold that hope” that Bondi will eventually be replaced, for now it’s Noem who has taken the hit.

Sara revisits President Trump’s Truth Social post announcing the shake-up:

“I mean, you gotta hand it to him. He is loyal. He does regard loyalty in the highest esteem. … He doesn’t want to actually fire anyone. That was just for the TV show,” says Sara, referring to “The Apprentice,” the reality series that aired on NBC from January 2004 to 2017, where Trump coined the iconic “you’re fired” gesture.

“He just makes up new jobs for these people to go take so he doesn’t have to be like, ‘Yeah, we just didn’t like her.’ … He’s like, ‘Well, she’s going to be the special envoy for the Shield of Americas, which we don’t actually have yet, but we should, and we will, beginning this weekend, because I fired her and had to find a spot for her,”’ she laughs.

But Sara’s got another big question mark hanging over Noem’s replacement.

“I don’t understand why we are pulling senators away from our already slim majority when you could have brought in Tom Homan, right?” she says.

“Are we trying to lose the majority? I don’t understand what the goal is here.”

To hear more, watch the video above.

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​Sara gonzales, Sara gonzales unfiltered, Kristi noem, Blazetv, Blaze media, Trump, Noem, Dhs, Markwayne mullin, Pam bondi