Category: blaze media

Traditionally, immigrants adopt the customs and culture of the natives whose country they have moved into. But as we know, progressives have flipped the script. In their warped worldview, the natives must devolve for the sake of the newcomers in the name of “tolerance and inclusivity.”

Minnesota is the perfect exhibit. After Christopher Rufo’s reporting exposed massive Somali-led fraud rings draining hundreds of millions in taxpayer funds, you would expect the mayor of Minneapolis to condemn the grift. Instead, Jacob Frey went full solidarity mode.

In a December 2 press conference, Frey vowed that city police and staff would refuse to cooperate with ICE and then switched to speaking in Somali to pledge his support to the community.

On the latest “Rufo & Lomez,” Christopher Rufo and co-host Jonathan Keeperman tear into Frey’s performance, dissecting what it really reveals about Minnesota.

“Our police, many of whom are Somali themselves, are trusted partners in keeping people safe. They will not collaborate with any federal agency around doing immigration enforcement work. Our city staff and our law enforcement will not ask the question as to whether an individual is documented or not,” said Frey.

“That’s not American. That’s not what we are about. And we’re going to do right by every single person in our cities,” he continued, before fumbling through several lines delivered in Somali.

“We love you, we stand with you, and we aren’t backing down,” he concluded.

Keeperman points out the darkly comic “synchronicity” of Frey’s stance: “The Nordic populations of the upper Midwest are engaged in the exact same sort of altruistic migration experiment … that their kinfolk are engaged in still in their Scandinavian countries.”

It’s living proof of what he’s been saying all along: “You can’t just strip people of the habits and norms of the groups that they come from.”

In other words, ethnic character travels. It’s true of the Somali-Americans who brought with them the exact same clan-based fraud and grift that is rampant back in Somalia. And it’s true of Minnesotans, who, centuries after their ancestors left Scandinavia, are still running the identical open-borders generosity script — right down to importing a Somali community now accused of massive fraud — because that self-sacrificial impulse never actually left the bloodline.

But Keeperman sees zero chance that Frey or Governor Tim Walz (D) will ever recognize the self-destructive insanity of their immigration stance. “A guy like Jacob Frey or Tim Walz simply just has to lose an election. The people of Minnesota are at some point going to just have to say, ‘We’re not going to do this any more.”’

Rufo isn’t hopeful that Minnesotans are anywhere near their breaking point, however.

Not only was Jacob Frey re-elected as mayor despite stories of Somali fraud circulating in the media for years, but the candidate who narrowly lost to him was Omar Fateh — a radicalized Somali Democrat socialist.

Fateh, Keeperman reminds us, “was committing fraud during the election to rig the Democratic primary in his favor.”

But because Minnesotans are ideologues when it comes to immigration — and can’t bear to fully confront the mess they have invited — the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party took “the gloves off” by revoking Fateh’s rigged endorsement, only to pull its punches and refuse to hammer him on the fraud because it makes people “feel too uncomfortable as white liberals in good standing,” adds Rufo.

To make matters worse, Fateh had “long-standing relationships with a number of the people who were arrested and then convicted of these fraud schemes,” he continues. “And so the fraudsters were not the downtrodden, the exiled, the marginalized. … No, these people were tightly knit with Ilhan Omar, with Omar Fateh, with Attorney General Keith Ellison.”

In sum, when Jacob Frey is “the least bad option,” it’s obvious Minnesota is nowhere near ready to address its immigration problem.

Want more from Rufo & Lomez?

To enjoy more of the news through the anthropological lens of Christopher Rufo and Lomez, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Rufo, Rufo & lomez, Chris rufo, Jonathan keeperman, Blazetv, Blaze media, Somalia, Somali fraud, Somali fraud ring, Omar fateh, Ilhan omar, Jacob frey, Jacob frey speaks somali, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Tim walz, Immigration, Assimilation 

Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas is already having to face the consequences of making outrageous statements to gain attention and prominence.

After she announced on Monday that she was running for a U.S. Senate seat, Crockett was made to answer for insulting comments she made about Latino voters. She was confronted by Jake Tapper on his CNN show, “The Lead,” on Tuesday about the comments in a 2024 Vanity Fair interview after he read a long passage to provide context.

‘I don’t believe that the people that voted for Trump believe in what they’re actually getting.’

She told Vanity Fair that Latino voters had a “slave mentality” when supporting the immigration policies of President Donald Trump.

“It almost reminds me of what people would talk about when they would talk about kind of like ‘slave mentality’ and the hate that some slaves would have for themselves,” she said in 2024. “It’s almost like a slave mentality that they have. It is wild to me when I hear how anti-immigrant they are as immigrants, many of them. I’m talking about people that literally just got here and can barely vote that are having this kind of attitude.”

Tapper pressed her to explain the comments.

“Now, about the time that that was published last year, around a million Latino voters in Texas were voting for Trump,” Tapper said. “Do they all have slave mentality?”

“No, and that’s not what that said at all, to be clear. It did not say that every Latino has that type of mentality,” she claimed.

“No, no, but the ones that vote for people who believe in strong — or Trump’s immigration policy,” Tapper interjected.

“I don’t believe that the people that voted for Trump believe in what they’re actually getting. That is number one. What Trump said is that he was going to kick out the bad guys. And that’s what I was talking about,” she responded.

Crockett went on to say that she was referring to some Latino Trump supporters regretting their vote after seeing that federal officers were also detaining migrants without criminal warrants.

RELATED: Jasmine Crockett calls Trump a ‘piece of s**t’ during rant at left-wing rally

She then tried to explain her point but ended up flustered and instead meandered in her response.

“Why is it that they believe that they can win Latinos down here? Like, I don’t understand what’s happening,” she added. “And there were people that were saying that they had fought and they had done everything the right way and that there were bad people that were coming that were doing it the wrong way. And so they were saying, ‘No, we left.’ And I mean, when you think about people that are leaving asylum, they are leaving areas and situations that they feel like are harmful to them. So yes, they’re like, ‘No, I don’t want to be in this dangerous situation.’ And that’s what I meant.”

Video of the interaction was posted to social media.

Crockett made a name for herself, partly on extreme comments she has made against the president and his supporters.

“What is happening? Like, this is not America! This is a terrible nightmare!” she said about Trump’s policies in August. “Somebody slap me and wake me the f**k up, ‘cuz I’m ready to get on with it!”

She said that she jumped into the U.S. Senate race out of a desire to mete out karma against Texas Republicans who passed a redistricting map to favor their party in the midterms.

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​Jasmine crockett, Crockett on latino trump voters, Slave mentality, Crockett for senate, Politics 

In a move championed by President Donald Trump, the Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate by 0.25% to a range of 3.5% to 3.75% on Wednesday, the third cut this year, lowering borrowing costs and giving some lift to a flagging job market.

Only three members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors voted against the cut: Stephen Miran, who wanted to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 0.5%, and Austan Goolsbee and Jeffrey Schmid, who both figured it was presently best not to have any cuts at all.

‘Available indicators suggest that economic activity has been expanding at a moderate pace.’

Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist for the financial services firm RSM US, noted in a Tuesday analysis that the Fed was faced with the “difficult choice of either aggressively fighting inflation or hoping to revive a sluggish labor market and slowing economic activity when it meets on Tuesday and Wednesday.”

Rate cuts can help boost the stock market — encouraging spending, investing, and business activity by lowering savings rate and borrowing costs. However, by increasing the supply of money, they can also exacerbate inflation.

The annual inflation rate was around 3% for the 12 months ending September, according to U.S. Labor Department data. The Fed’s inflation target is 2% over the longer run — hence the resistance to another cut by some policymakers.

“The [Federal Open Market Committee] seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the longer run. Uncertainty about the economic outlook remains elevated,” the Fed said in a statement on Wednesday. “The Committee is attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate and judges that downside risks to employment rose in recent months.”

In light of its goals and “the shift in the balance of risks,” the FOMC determined that a drop in the rate by 0.25% was worthwhile.

“Available indicators suggest that economic activity has been expanding at a moderate pace. Job gains have slowed this year, and the unemployment rate has edged up through September,” the Fed noted further. “Inflation has moved up since earlier in the year and remains somewhat elevated.”

The rate-cut decision on Wednesday comes months after the Fed similarly lowered its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points in September to a range of 4% to 4.25%, and after weeks of disagreement on the central bank’s 12-member policy committee regarding the prudent way forward.

Chris Brigati, chief investment officer at the financial services company SWBC, told the Financial Post ahead of the announcement that the Federal Reserve was divided on how to proceed with rate cuts in 2026 “given the delicate balance between job market weakness and still-elevated inflation.”

“There is also uncertainty about the new Fed chair, and that may also add to the central bank’s reluctance to make any major rate moves in the months leading up to Chair Powell’s term ending,” Brigati added.

RELATED: Can presidents fire all federal bureaucrats at will? Supreme Court to hear case with major implications.

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Image

In search of someone suitable to replace Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, whose term ends in May, the president has been interviewing various candidates, including Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, both members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors; former Fed governor Kevin Warsh; and BlackRock fixed-income chief Rick Rieder. Top White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett is, however, reportedly regarded as the frontrunner.

The president told reporters on Air Force One on Tuesday, “We’re going to be looking at a couple of different people, but I have a pretty good idea who I want.”

When asked in his interview with Politico the previous day whether it is “a litmus test that the new chair lower interest rates immediately,” Trump said yes and noted, “We’re fighting through interest rates.”

The Federal Reserve also released on Wednesday its regional bank presidents and governors’ quarterly set of economic projections. They anticipate a rise in the unemployment rate from 4.4% in September to 4.5% by year’s end; the GDP to grow by 2.3% in 2026; and inflation to sink, but nowhere below their 2% target.

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​Finance, Business, Interest rate, Jerome powell, Federal reserve, Fed, Money, Interest, Donald trump, Politics 

Australia will put the onus on social media platforms to limit access to children under 16 years old.

The Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 amended Australia’s reigning online safety measures and gave social media companies time to age‐restrict their platforms and “take reasonable steps to prevent Australian under 16s from having account[s].”

‘No Australian will be compelled to use government identification.’

Officially taking effect on December 10, the ban includes Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, X, and YouTube’s general platform; YouTube Kids and WhatsApp do not meet the criteria for the ban.

Australia introduced its social media minimum-age framework that included a list of criteria that would result in a platform being banned for those under 16. This included if a platform’s sole purpose, or “significant purpose,” is to “enable online social interaction between two or more end‐users.”

Or if the service “allows end‐users to link to, or interact with, some or all of the other end‐users” and “allows end‐users to post material on the service” and “meets such other conditions (if any) as are set out in the legislative rules,” it will not be available for younger Australians.

The legislation can also specify certain platforms, or classes, to not include in the ban.

Social media platforms will be responsible for enforcement, and neither children nor their parents will face punishment should they gain access. Companies face fines of up to $32 million USD or just under $50 million in Australian dollars.

RELATED: How Texas slammed the gate on Big Tech’s censorship stampede

Photo by DAVID GRAY/AFP via Getty Images

The government further defined the requirements placed upon the platforms, adding that they must “take reasonable steps to prevent” those under 16 from having accounts.

The legislation also specified that “no Australian will be compelled to use government identification (including Digital ID) to prove their age online” and that platforms must offer reasonable alternatives to its users.

According to the BBC, other countries are hot on Australia’s tail in terms of implementing their own similar bans. This includes the French government, which has begun a parliamentary inquiry into banning children under 15 years old from social media, while also implementing a “digital curfew” for those between 15 and 18.

The Spanish government has also drafted a law that would require parental consent for children under 16 to access social media.

RELATED: Conservative influencers promote Qatar as a desert paradise — but are they lying?

Photo by DAVID GRAY/AFP via Getty Images

Ruling left-wing Labour Party official Anika Wells, who serves as Australia’s communications minister (and minister of sport), said that the ban is not “perfect” and is going to “look a bit untidy on the way through.”

“Big reforms always do,” she added.

Australians under 16 will still be able to access content that is available on a website without being logged in or being a member, as there is virtually no way to prevent that without restricting access to the internet entirely.

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​Return, Social media, Facebook, X, Instagram, Tiktok, Threads, Ban, Australia, Children, Digital id, Tech 

In July, the Trump administration published America’s AI Action Plan to ensure that our country maintains supremacy in the artificial intelligence and tech industries. Now, the Department of War is launching a new initiative to fulfill these orders.

On Tuesday, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced an upgrade to the military’s use of artificial intelligence.

‘There is no prize for second place in the global race for AI dominance.’

“As technologies advance, so do our adversaries. But here at the War Department, we are not sitting idly by. Under the leadership of President Trump, America will lead the charge on this technological transformation by revolutionizing the way we win,” Hegseth said in a video announcement posted on X.

Hegseth continued: “That’s why today we are unleashing GenAI.mil. This platform puts the world’s most powerful frontier AI models, starting with Google Gemini, directly into the hands of every American warrior.”

RELATED: Trump’s AI plan prioritizes innovation over regulation

Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

GenAI.mil, the government’s “new bespoke AI platform,” and its first iteration, Gemini for Government, will be made available for all Department of War personnel.

The push for artificial intelligence has been a high priority for the government under President Trump.

“We are pushing all of our chips in on artificial intelligence as a fighting force. The Department is tapping into America’s commercial genius, and we’re embedding generative AI into our daily battle rhythm,” Hegseth said in a press release from the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office. “AI tools present boundless opportunities to increase efficiency, and we are thrilled to witness AI’s future positive impact across the War Department.”

The Department of War CTO X account posted a video promoting artificial intelligence as “America’s Next Manifest Destiny.”

“There is no prize for second place in the global race for AI dominance,” said Emil Michael, undersecretary of war for research and engineering. “We are moving rapidly to deploy powerful AI capabilities like Gemini for Government directly to our workforce. AI is America’s next Manifest Destiny, and we’re ensuring that we dominate this new frontier.”

Gemini for Government has some measures in place to secure the platform for government employees, reduce AI hallucinations, and serve as a “force multiplier.”

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​Politics, Tech, Pete hegseth, Emil michael, Ai, Artificial intelligence, Genai.mil, President trump, Department of war, Gemini for government, Manifest destiny, Ai action plan, Google gemini 

Last weekend, right after President Trump released his National Security Strategy, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Dan Caine, dropped a line at the Reagan National Defense Forum that set Washington ablaze:

“If you look back over the arc of our deployment history over the last few years, we haven’t had a lot of American combat power in our own neighborhood. … I suspect that’s probably going to change.”

Left-leaning critics immediately accused President Trump of heralding reckless isolationism and abandoning allies. A few even spun it as “war coming to American soil,” but Glenn Beck says we should all be celebrating this.

On this episode of “The Glenn Beck Program,” Glenn breaks down why President Trump “deserves a round of applause” for this brilliant America-first military strategy.

“The reason why everybody hates it,” says Glenn, is because “it is the exact opposite of what they’ve told us for 100 years we should be doing” — namely sending our troops overseas to be a global police force instead of keeping them at home.

But “America is standing in this doorway right now,” he continues. “Behind us is the chaos that we’ve just lived through … and just ahead, at least according to the National Security Strategy, is a course correction so sweeping that honestly it reads like a rediscovery of the American civilization itself.”

In short, the strategy is this: America is done hollowing herself out to police the world and is finally coming home to rebuild a safe, sovereign republic with strong borders, industry, families, energy, and unapologetic national pride.

This plan is brilliant, says Glenn, because it’s not just about building the strongest military; it’s also about developing the world’s strongest economy and spirit via ending mass migration, targeting cartels, protecting God-given rights, holding allies accountable, reindustrializing the country, and becoming energy dominant.

It also outlines plans to “compete with China economically, technologically, and militarily” and calls for a sovereign Europe, which “is dying” due to “declining birth rates, uncontrolled migration, censorship, loss of identity, [and] regulatory suffocation.”

But the strategy also smartly accounts for Europe’s demise should it happen. It asserts that America is “not going to honor NATO for any country that falls,” Glenn explains. “You become a Muslim country, you’re not a NATO country. … We’re not defending you.”

Then the plans address the Middle East, declaring the “forever wars” official “over” — “not because the region suddenly became peaceful,” says Glenn, “but because America is finally strong enough strategically, diplomatically, militarily to shift from a constant crisis management to long-term stabilization.”

And finally, the strategy looks to Africa, where historically the U.S. has “[exported] ideology instead of opportunity” to the continent’s detriment, says Glenn. But this new plan essentially says, “No more lectures, no more nation-building, no more endless aid with no accountability.”

Overall, this is a “commonsense” strategy that allows America “to love itself again and to be who she should be and let everyone else be who they should be.”

“In short, it’s a blueprint for a country that wants to live again — really live again,” says Glenn.

But even though nothing about this plan is controversial, “None of the elites want [it],” he says. They’d rather continue pursuing global institutions that outrank the Constitution, border security for everyone but America, and American workers forever paying the tab for the rest of the world.

The question that needs to be answered is not whether we can get elites on board (we know the answer to that), but rather can we get the American people on board?

“Is the president reflecting the national spirit? Do we want to live again? Do we want to be relegated to the dustbin of history, or does America have other great work to do?” Glenn asks.

To hear more of his commentary, watch the clip above.

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​The glenn beck program, Glenn beck, Donald trump, National security strategy, Dan caine, America first, Blazetv, Blaze media 

You know who else loves awesome Christmas gifts? My mom! As Christmas approaches, keep these gift ideas in mind if you want to leave a lasting impression and give your mom a gift she’ll cherish for many years to come.

Here are Align’s nine Christmas gift ideas for your mom this year.

1. R. Riveter

Get a grip on this all-purpose stashing sample, a veritable holy grail of versatility. R. Riveter’s genuine, full-grain leather Otto handbag is your constant companion in waiting, ready for the office, a day out, or that elusive spur-of-the-moment weekender. Balancing size, elegance, and practicality, it gobbles essentials without looking overstuffed. Think tablets, phones, keys, and of course — speaking of overstuffed — your wallet. All from a company that stands with military families, which means each purchase helps support families who serve our country. MSRP: $268.00.

2. Oberon Design

Oberon Design

Based in Northern California, Oberon Design has a rich history of local partnerships with a focus on American craftsmanship. Founded by Brendan Smith in 1967, his company has expanded under his careful eye for more than 40 years. The team today is composed of a small group of passionate craftsmen devoted to their art and committed to producing the highest-quality leather goods. The Olivia crossbody purse features an elegant pinstripe design and the occasional “perfect imperfection” in the leather, showing the life of the cow. It offers a luxurious amount of exterior and interior space as well as a metal lock — also made in-house. MSRP: $272.00.

3. Lejon Leather Goods

Lejon Leather Goods

Founded in 1968 as Lejon Inc. by the current owner’s grandfather and father, Lejon Leather Goods has since come to be known as the premier belt manufacturer on the West Coast. John W. Shirinian, the third-generation owner of Lejon, carries on the family legacy to this day. With an emphasis on sourcing and crafting all of its products in the USA, Lejon has produced over 32 million belts in its history. The Texas, for example, sourced from American bison leather and handcrafted in Lejon’s Corona, California, factory, features a Longhorn buckle and is built to withstand the test of time. MSRP: $134.00.

4. Shamma Sandals

Shamma Sandals

In 2013, the founder of Shamma Sandals, Josh Stiles, wanted to create a company that produced minimalist sandals designed for running and other outdoor activities. Surmounting challenges over the past decade, Shamma Sandals has become the go-to sandal shop for many, including competitors in extreme sports like slack linking, Warrior Races, mountain climbing, and even marathons. Based in Santa Cruz, California, these sandals are handcrafted, sewn, and tailored to customers’ needs. The Pacific Avenue is Shamma’s minimalist rendition of the classic flip-flop. It is built to last with premium leather. MSRP: $119.95.

5. Fisher Space Pen Company

Fisher Space Pen Co.

Sitting at the intersection of NASA, the New York Museum of Modern Art, and “Seinfeld” is a humble, family-owned company with a history-making legacy. Founded in 1948 by Paul Fisher, Fisher Space Pen Company’s legacy continues to this day with Paul’s son Cary Fisher as president. The innovative sealed and pressurized ink cartridge, an impressive engineering feat, earned Fisher’s pens a spot on the NASA Apollo 7 mission in 1966. This design allows for a seamless writing experience in almost every condition — extreme temperatures, underwater, upside-down, and, of course, in space. Plus its clever Cartridge models make for a great gift. MSRP: $49.00.

6. Bend Soap USA

Cheap soaps no longer mean you’re tough and practical. All too often, they’re loaded with microplastics and chemicals. Bend’s USA-made, goat-milk offering delivers pure and creamy simplicity that won’t pollute your cells. Sustainably sourced and all natural, it boasts vitamins and nutrients that nourish even sensitive skin, instead of essential oils and other irritating chemicals. The soap leaves you smelling human-being fresh, instead of like a factory’s idea of a trending flower. MSRP: $2.15 to $5.95.

7. LMNT

You’re probably not getting enough electrolytes. And if you are, LMNT (pronounced “element”) offers some of the best. Manufactured in America, they’re free from sugar, gluten, and other fillers. Friendly to vegans and paleo or keto dieters, LMNT’s easy-dissolve, pocket- or purse-ready packets deliver the goods — good salts, that is — on the go. But the proof is in the flavors: In addition to the original citrus, which hits like the perfect margarita, LMNT’s palate pleasers span the spicy, the sweet, and the savory. Our favorites? Grapefruit, watermelon, and mango chili. Collect them all. MSRP: $45.00.

8. Nouri

If your gut isn’t healthy, you’re not either — your gastrointestinal microbiome impacts everything from immunity and hormonal function to your skin, liver, brain, and heart. Look past the pills that quietly source their “good bacteria” from somewhere overseas, and score top-quality, American-made probiotics from Nouri. The company offers a full line of precision products ranging from anti-stress and digestion to weight management, women’s health, and prenatal support — all at half the price of comparable premium brands. MSRP: $19.99.

9. Frankenmuth Woolen Mill

Frankenmuth Woolen Mill

Standing on its same 1894 foundations, Frankenmuth Woolen Mill goes above and beyond to deliver on its promise of providing premium woolen bedding for a good night’s sleep. Manufactured in Frankenmuth, Michigan, this woolen bedding is promised to offer superior quality, comfort, and durability. Why wool? On top of being all-natural, wool helps regulate your body temperature and has hypoallergenic qualities. Frankenmuth’s woolen comforter is great for those with sensitive skin and regulates the temperature at night throughout all of the seasons — perfect for a good night’s sleep. MSRP: $199.00.

Bonus: R. Riveter’s Patton

R. Riveter

R. Riveter, named after Rosie the Riveter, was founded by two military wives who bonded over their shared frustration of lacking meaningful employment opportunities due to the transitory nature of military life. Now R. Riveter creates flexible employment opportunities for women facing the same challenges, allowing military spouses to craft handbags from wherever they’re stationed. Each bag journeys across the country, connecting makers in a nationwide support network for military families. The Patton, named after George S. Patton’s wife, combines a classic look with a modern eye for functionality. MSRP: $178.00.

​Align, Lifestyle, Gifts for mom, Christmas, Mom, Christmas gifts, Gift ideas 

The Trump administration’s Department of Housing and Urban Development blames rising housing and rental prices on the surge in immigration under Biden.

HUD published the “Worst Case Housing Needs: 2025 Report to Congress” in November, a biennial report that analyzes problems impacting low-income renting families. It defines renters with worst-case needs as those who do not receive government housing assistance and spend more than half of their income on rent or live in severely inadequate conditions, or both.

‘The unchecked illegal immigration and open borders policies allowed by the Biden administration continue to put significant strain on housing, pricing out American families.’

HUD argued that the uptick in immigration caused increases in housing demand and, in turn, prices.

“Between 2021 and 2024, the foreign-born population of the United States increased by more than six million — the largest such increase over such a short period in American history. The foreign-born population now stands at more than 53 million individuals, making up the highest share of the American population in history,” HUD reported.

The department stated that the country’s foreign-born population has grown by 20 million since 2000, representing a 40% increase.

In some regions of the U.S., such as California and New York, immigrants account for up to 100% of the rental growth and over 50% of all owner-occupied growth, HUD added. Nationwide, immigration accounts for two-thirds of rental demand growth, according to the department.

The median monthly housing cost for renters in 2021 was $1,184, increasing nearly 17.5% to $1,391 in 2023, according to the report.

RELATED: DHS Secretary Kristi Noem partners with HUD to end government-funded housing for illegal aliens: ‘The gravy train is over’

Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

“The growth in households attributable to noncitizens was 13% between 2019 and 2023, compared to 7% between 2015 and 2019. This further demonstrates that noncitizen households are playing an increasing role in the household growth that is straining the affordable housing supply,” the report read.

HUD’s report cited several other contributing factors to the affordable rental crisis, including demand-side housing subsidies and the decline in marriage.

RELATED: Liz Warren hustles Trump with a housing bill from hell

President Donald Trump, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner. Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner told Fox News Digital, “The unchecked illegal immigration and open borders policies allowed by the Biden administration continue to put significant strain on housing, pricing out American families.”

“These policies have plagued America’s housing market, but in President Trump, Americans finally have a leader fighting to restore sanity to American immigration policy,” he added.

Turner stated that in 2025, HUD has supported one million homebuyers, including through first-time buyer and refinancing programs. He has called on the Federal Reserve to cut rates to continue the momentum toward affordability.

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​News, Housing and urban development, Hud, Scott turner, Housing, Housing market, Housing affordability, Affordability, Illegal immigration crisis, Illegal immigration, Immigration crisis, Immigration, Renters, Politics 

Powerlifter and strongman competitor Morgan Irons says gender testing and identification checks are necessary to keep women’s sports for women only.

Irons’ remarks came after a male athlete, Jammie Booker, recently defeated nine female competitors to win the coveted title of “World’s Strongest Woman” at the 2025 Official Strongman Games.

‘He basically said he really hoped that I would be at this next competition …’

In an exclusive interview with Fearless, Irons said that not only does Booker have an obvious and unfair advantage, but he allegedly has been trash-talking female competitors in their own sport.

Irons said she had been messaging with Booker in a sort of mentor role, offering advice and generic chatter, before their communications soured.

“I generally just try to be a positive person, and that’s what I got initially from Jammie in the beginning,” Irons explained with a smile. She said Booker had left positive remarks on her videos, telling her she is amazing and offering congratulations.

“But then it quickly just turned really sour,” Irons said, recalling that she started to realize something strange about Booker. “I realized that, ‘OK, this isn’t all adding up to me,’ and I had already had questions myself.”

When she decided to discuss this with people around her, Irons said she was advised not to say anything to avoid looking foolish or “like a bigot” if she was wrong.

Following up on her suspicions, Irons said she checked to see what Booker was doing from time to time in terms of competitions. It was then that she learned Booker had reportedly taken a hard turn and leaned into the idea of unabashedly beating women at their own game.

RELATED: Male powerlifter disqualified after becoming ‘World’s Strongest Woman’

“Jammie had some brazen words for me and some other athletes along the way,” Irons revealed. She alleged that Booker was verbally letting it be known that he wanted to beat the other women — and beat them soundly.

“He basically said he really hoped that I would be at this next competition so that he could beat me and beat all the other top women in the sport, currently,” Irons explained. “And I just find that odd. You know, you’re less than a year in, and what do you want to do? You want to go after the women at the top?”

Fearless reached out to Booker to confirm whether or not he had made these or similar remarks or expressed any hostility toward his competitors. He did not respond.

Negative remarks did not just allegedly come from Booker. But as has become typical with women who don’t wish to compete against men, Irons said she received a flurry of sarcastic comments on her social media videos like “work harder.”

This would, of course, require Irons to somehow overcome biology itself.

The comments are “just … it’s a slap in the face,” Irons said.

RELATED: Conservative political group fined $95K after correctly identifying male athletes competing with women in Australia

Photo by GAIZKA IROZ/AFP via Getty Images

While Booker was promptly stripped of his title of strongest woman, Irons urged that this should be the last time this sort of situation should be allowed to happen, advocating medical testing.

The athlete firmly rejected the idea that there would be “genital checks” to confirm sex, a method Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) once said would result from barring men from women’s sports. Instead, Irons championed cheek swabs for a DNA test and having to provide identification.

While she recognized that many states allow for one’s gender to be legally changed, Irons laughed that it is still shocking that every time she enters a competition, there is no ID check.

Irons relayed that it is essential to protect women’s sports, not just for now but for athletes in the future.

“You have to speak up. You just have to. Not even just for yourself, but for the next generation of women,” she said. “We’ve sat back and we’ve let this happen for so long, and that’s why we’re in the situation that we’re in. … It is women’s fault in a way that we’ve let it get to this point.”

Remarking on the entirety of the situation, former national champion gymnast Jennifer Sey has cemented herself in the position that there can be zero tolerance for the idea that men can compete in women’s sports.

She stated to Fearless that the blame should be put on the men who want to crush women in their own athletics.

“The gall to enter a competition for women to be the strongest woman in the world as a dude. Like, the arrogance and the dismissiveness of actual women required to do that — it’s just disgusting. It’s gross,” she added.

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A middle school teacher in Utah faces 22 criminal charges stemming from accusations that she sexually abused a young student, according to authorities. The alleged victim revealed the moment he realized he was at the “point of no return” regarding his reported relationship with the seventh-grade teacher.

Alisha Marie George, 40, is charged with attempted rape and four counts of forcible sodomy, first-degree felonies; 12 counts of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony; distributing pornographic material, a third-degree felony; and four counts of unlawful kissing of a child, a class A misdemeanor, KSL-TV reported.

‘[The boy] reported that he viewed George as a “mother figure” who was “always there for him.”‘

Citing court documents, KSL reported that the alleged victim told investigators he met George when he was 12 years old and in the seventh grade. At the time of her arrest late last month, George taught an honors language arts class at Hawthorn Academy in West Jordan, KSL added.

The court docs say the boy told police he had developed a “tight relationship” with George the following year when “he was struggling in his home life, and George offered to keep an eye on him.”

“[The boy] reported that he viewed George as a ‘mother figure’ who was ‘always there for him,'” according to court documents, which added that prosecutors claim George “used her position of trust to prey upon and groom a middle school child.”

“The victim recounted that he was struggling when the defendant offered to help him, offering to drive him to and from school and assist in taking care of him when his mother was bedridden,” prosecutors said, according to court docs.

Prosecutors stated, “[She] used this as an opportunity to engage in sexual acts with [the boy] from December 2023 through July 2024.” The alleged abuse began when the victim was 13 years old, KTVX-TV reported, citing charging documents.

Citing charging documents, the New York Post reported that the teacher “made out” with the student during Christmas break that year, after driving him home from a trip to the movie theater with other teachers and students.

The student, now 15, informed investigators that George told him “not to tell anyone,” which the boy then “realized he was ‘at the point of no return,'” according to court documents.

The court documents say, “[The boy] expressed that he felt like he and George were ‘in a relationship’ and said that if he spoke with other females at school, George would become angry with him.”

Charging documents say the teacher and student had their last sexual encounter in July 2024 in George’s car.

On his birthday later that year, George reached out to the student, but he reportedly told her not to message him again and blocked her on social media, court documents note.

The alleged victim told police that his first sexual experience was with his teacher, according to court documents.

The alleged victim described George as a “monster” because “at a time in his life when he needed someone the most, [she] stepped up but took advantage of him,” court docs say.

RELATED: Ex-teacher’s aide at Christian school assaulted boy, sent nudes to him and friends, got ‘flirty’ when he was 12: Court docs

After the teacher’s arrest on Nov. 25, “multiple students reported to the police department that they, too, had been groomed by [George] or observed the inappropriate behavior that [she] engaged in with students,” investigators said, according to the court documents.

Law enforcement noted that George could face more charges if additional victims are discovered.

George is being held at the Salt Lake County Jail without bail, according to jail records.

A spokesperson for Hawthorn Academy told Blaze News that George has been placed on administrative leave, and her access to school buildings and systems has been revoked. The spokesperson added to Blaze News that the kindergarten-to-ninth-grade school is fully cooperating with law enforcement and that its highest priority “continues to be the safety and well-being of our students.”

It appears that all references to George have been scrubbed from the school’s official website.

However, an archived school website biography of George from 2021 reads: “I am Mrs. George. This is my 13th year of teaching AND at Hawthorn. I have been here since the school was built and love being an EAGLE!”

According to the deleted bio, George taught seventh-grade language arts and was the adviser for the student government and peer leadership class.

The bio states: “I have been married for 14 years to my amazing husband, Jeremy, and we have two precious little girls.”

George said that teaching is her passion and something she has wanted to do since she was a “little girl.”

The biography concludes: “I love to watch kids learn, and middle school is the best!”

The West Jordan Police Department did not immediately respond to Blaze News’ request for comment.

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First, it was AM radio — now it’s FM too.

Imagine starting your car and realizing that what you can — or can’t — hear has already been decided for you. The same tech giants that censor your posts, curate your newsfeeds, and impact your online experience now want to control what plays through your vehicle dashboard.

Congress must act to guarantee that all broadcast radio remains standard equipment in vehicles, ensuring that free access to information doesn’t become a premium feature.

Tesla recently confirmed it will remove FM radio from its base Model 3 and Model Y vehicles. Just days later, General Motors doubled down on plans to eliminate Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, opting instead for proprietary systems designed with Big Tech partners.

Individually, these sound like technical upgrades. But together, they represent a fundamental shift: handing over more control of your car to corporations. We’ve seen this before in our social media feeds, search results, and app stores. Now, the same algorithms and corporate interests that decide what you see and hear online are coming for your radio dial.

Walled garden

For generations, the car radio has been the great equalizer — free, local, and open to all. It delivers news, weather alerts, and community updates instantly, no subscription or data plan required.

Even today, the majority of drivers still prefer to listen to terrestrial radio while in the car.

But as vehicles become software platforms — with their own digital ecosystems — automakers are rewriting the rules.

By removing AM and FM radio and blocking third-party apps like CarPlay and Android Auto, they funnel drivers into closed environments where they alone decide what content is available.

Safety first

This is about safety as well. When the power goes out, when cell towers fail, and when internet connections drop, broadcast radio keeps transmitting. It remains the backbone of America’s Emergency Alert System — reaching 272 million listeners every week.

FEMA, the Department of Homeland Security, and emergency managers nationwide all rely on AM radio as critical communications infrastructure. In fact, seven former FEMA administrators from both parties have urged Congress to safeguard AM radio, citing its unmatched reliability and essential role in the success of the National Public Warning System.

But the stakes go beyond emergencies. Broadcast radio remains democracy’s most accessible platform. Local news stations serve communities too small for cable bureaus or newsrooms. Faith-based programming reaches congregations across denominations. Foreign-language broadcasts connect immigrant communities. Agricultural reports guide farmers making real-time decisions. High school football gets the same airtime as professional sports. These aren’t premium features available to subscribers.

They’re free, open, and available to anyone with a radio — until automakers decide they’re not.

RELATED: AM radio still saves lives — but will automakers listen?

Gary Leonard/Getty Images

Gatekeeper playbook

We know what happens when platforms consolidate control over content distribution. Algorithms replace editorial judgment. Subscription tiers determine access.

Content that doesn’t serve corporate interests gets deprioritized or excluded entirely. Tesla’s FM removal isn’t an isolated decision. GM’s CarPlay elimination isn’t a technical preference. These are coordinated moves toward a future where your dashboard operates like your smartphone — except you can’t choose a different car as easily as you can switch apps.

The difference is critical: When you’re behind the wheel, access to information isn’t just about convenience. It’s about safety, civic engagement, and the free flow of ideas in a democratic society.

Congress to the rescue?

The AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act would require automakers to include AM radio in all new vehicles at no extra cost. With support from more than 315 House members and 61 senators, it’s one of the most bipartisan efforts in Washington today. Yet, as Tesla and GM’s announcements show, time is running out.

Congress must act to guarantee that all broadcast radio remains standard equipment in vehicles, ensuring that free, over-the-air access to information doesn’t become a premium feature. The automotive industry will argue this is about “consumer choice” and “technical optimization.” Don’t be fooled. It’s about controlling a captive audience and deciding what tens of millions of Americans will hear every day. Lawmakers need to pass the bill. And the public needs to push back.

Call your representatives and tell them to support the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act. Make your voice heard before automakers take it away.

​Lifestyle, Car radio, Tesla, Gm, Am radio, Fm radio, Congress, Fema, Align cars 

The conservative legal outfit American Center for Law and Justice filed a federal lawsuit on Monday against a public school district in New York after a teacher allegedly subjected seventh graders to pornographic materials on multiple occasions.

The complaint, filed on behalf of two parents and their minor children, alleges that “under the guise of an art lesson,” Bridgette Gates — a teacher with the Watertown City School District who “resigned as an art teacher, … was rehired as an English teacher, and remains on administrative leave,” according to Syracuse.com — intentionally exposed around 100 students to “pornographic and sexually explicit imagery over a two-week period in September 2025, without providing any advance notice to parents or offering an opportunity to opt out.”

‘It’s almost criminal.’

According to the complaint, Gates directed her students at Case Middle School to visit the gallery on the Keith Haring Foundation website using their school-issued Chromebooks during class time.

At the time of publication, the gallery contained various sexually explicit images and images of bodily mutilation, including multiple cartoons and paintings depicting men masturbating; a cartoon depicting a man with a fist-tipped penis; a cartoon depicting a man being choked by his penis; a painting mocking the martyrdom of St. Sebastian, depicting him with an erection and impaled by multiple airplanes; a painting of a character with a mouth in the place of an anus; and a painting of a penis wearing a wig.

The deviant agitprop was created by Keith Haring, a hallucinogenic drug-abusing homosexual activist who died of AIDS-related complications in 1990.

A spokesperson for the Haring Foundation told Artnet that it is aware of the conservative group’s response to the alleged incident at the school and acknowledged that some of Haring’s images may be inappropriate for some audiences.

The lawsuit alleges that Gates acknowledged that “some of the images were inappropriate” yet told her 12- and 13-year-old students to “ignore them and be mature.” Gates allegedly continued showing the images to kids despite signs of unease and resistance.

RELATED: Elementary school teacher allegedly possessed thousands of files of child sex abuse material

Photo by Adam Glanzman/Bloomberg via Getty Images

After learning of the content in late September, concerned parents contacted the teacher, school administrators, and local law enforcement.

Stephanie Boyanski, a plaintiff as well as the parent of one of the plaintiff students, told WWNY-TV in September, “It’s almost unbelievable.”

“It’s almost criminal,” said Heather Trainham, another parent.

Plaintiff parent Jessy Roberts noted that her son “knew it was inappropriate, but he wasn’t sure if he should speak out or not, because they’re of authority.”

‘Schools are not free to override that authority or to “correct” the family’s moral instruction.’

In the face of parental backlash and concerns raised at school-board meetings, Gates was reportedly placed on paid administrative leave, the assignment link was removed from Google Classroom, and the district admitted to parents that students had “come across inappropriate content.” There was, however, no apology from the district.

The ACLJ sent a letter on Nov. 21 to Larry Schmiegel, superintendent of the school district, stating that “because of the District’s lax monitoring of its curriculum and teachers, and its deliberate choice to shield the teacher from accountability, the harm done to Mses. Boyanski and Roberts’ children is irreparable and ongoing.”

The legal group demanded that Gates be issued a formal reprimand; that the school adopt a policy not to show children sexually explicit content without parental notification and to provide an opt-out if future curriculum includes such content; and to provide counseling for kids impacted by the images — and provided the district with a Dec. 1 deadline to act.

The lawsuit filed this week requests that the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York declare that the school violated parents’ First and 14th Amendment rights; bar the district from repeating its error; require the district to implement age-appropriate safeguards; and award damages for the alleged constitutional violations.

The district did not respond to Blaze News’ request for comment.

“Parents should not be forced to choose between public education and their family’s values. The Constitution draws a bright line: Parents, not the state, decide how and when their children are introduced to sexual content,” the ACLJ said in a release. “Schools are not free to override that authority or to ‘correct’ the family’s moral instruction through compulsory exposure to explicit material. When officials discard that line, the courts must restore it.”

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On Friday, December 5, podcaster Tim Pool reported that an unknown vehicle approached his recording studio in remote West Virginia and fired several shots into the complex.

— (@)

According to his testimony, which has yet to be confirmed by law enforcement, no one was injured, and the security team handled the situation.

John Doyle, BlazeTV host of “The John Doyle Show,” was deeply disturbed when he heard this news. If Pool, who is “one of these disaffected Occupy Wall Street liberals who saw that the left went too far,” is being targeted, what does that mean for actual conservatives?

Although he still identifies as center-left, Pool mostly interviews people who have been branded right-wing figures. But just having open conversations has put a giant red target on his back. Friday wasn’t even the first time Pool has been the victim of political targeting. In fact, he relocated his studio back in 2022 after a series of swatting incidents as well as doxxing and death threats made recording unsafe.

The raw truth, says Doyle, is that the people targeting Tim Pool don’t care that he’s a moderate; they don’t care that he’s just engaging in dialogue. The fact that he deviates from their radical left-wing agenda justifies violence in their eyes. Far right, center right, center left — it all needs to be exterminated.

Even so, many continue to argue that discourse is the answer and that “eventually, we can sort of talk our way out of this whole situation and cooler heads can prevail.”

“I, unfortunately, am not so optimistic these days,” says Doyle.

“I have a very sort of, like, Boomer-vindicated position, which is that I don’t think that the ‘innocent Democrat’ is even something that we can conceive,” says Doyle.

He acknowledges that “unity is very popular,” but “calling for unity is something you do when there’s sort of, like, an equal playing field.”

But “you actually can’t call for unity if you’re the one who’s on the back foot, if you are the one with little to no representation, if you are the one who’s being attacked and killed,” Doyle counters.

While he’s not calling for more division, he is urging accountability — not for the moderates, even though they’re enablers — but for the people who spawn and spread these radical ideologies that say it’s okay to celebrate assassinations and attack people like Tim Pool.

“Those are the people I’m talking about. I want no unity with those people.”

To hear more, watch the episode above.

Want more from John Doyle?

To enjoy more of the truth about America and join the fight to restore a country that has been betrayed by its own leaders, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

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With the deadline to extend Obamacare subsidies fast approaching, Republican lawmakers are leading the charge.

Former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act has been the focal point of health care discussions on Capitol Hill as ACA subsidies are expected to expire at the end of the year. These are the same subsidies Senate Democrats cited as the basis of their record-breaking shutdown.

The Republicans’ legislation blocks funds for ‘gender transition procedures’ and abortions.

In response, several Republicans introduced their own legislation, including the Health Care Freedom for Patients Act penned by Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Mike Crapo of Idaho.

With just weeks until these subsidies lapse, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (S.D.) will hold a vote on that key legislation on Thursday.

RELATED: Senate Democrats insist the shutdown was ‘definitely’ worth it despite fully surrendering to Republicans

Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

The Crapo-Cassidy bill would allow the Obama-era subsidies to lapse, instead boosting funds for health savings accounts. Eligible adults under the age of 50 would receive $1,000 deposited into their HSA while those between the ages 50 and 64 would get $1,500.

It would also fund cost-sharing reduction payments and provide eligible Americans the option to purchase “bronze” or “catastrophic” health care plans. Notably the Republicans’ legislation blocks funds for “gender transition procedures” and abortions.

Although Republicans are expected to vote for the legislation, it is unlikely to pass due to the 60-vote filibuster threshold. Assuming all 53 Republicans vote in favor of the bill, at least seven Democrats would have to cross the aisle for the legislation to pass the Senate.

RELATED: Democrat senator makes stunning admission about Obamacare failures

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Other Republicans, like Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, are also introducing alternative health care bills. Scott introduced his More Affordable Care Act alongside Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger (Texas), who spearheaded the companion bill in the House.

Scott and Pfluger’s bill would create Trump Health Freedom Accounts, redirecting federal subsidies traditionally sent to insurance companies to these HSA-style accounts held by individual Americans. The bill would also establish a Health Freedom Waiver Program, allowing states to broaden their health plans and expand competition to offer fairer prices.

At this time, there is no vote scheduled for Scott’s legislation.

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​John thune, Mike crapo, Bill cassidy, Rick scott, August pfluger, Senate republicans, Senate democrats, House republicans, House democrats, Healthcare, More affordable care act, Affordable care act, Donald trump, Barack obama, Obamacare, Aca subsidies, Government shutdown, Politics 

A 26-year-old South Carolina mother was arrested Monday morning after being accused of a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old boy in a vehicle while her three children were present, WBTW-TV reported.

Lake City Police charged Aladrian Chandler with second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor, the station said.

‘Disgusting. … And to do it with your children in the vehicle and take away their innocence?!?!’

Chandler acknowledged a sexual encounter, WBTW said, citing a police report — but she denied having intercourse and said she believed the boy was older than he told her.

The station said the report indicates the boy told officers that he and Chandler met while she was delivering food, and they exchanged phone numbers and began texting each other. The alleged incident occurred Nov. 16, WBTW reported.

Police began investigating two days after the alleged incident after Chandler reported that a gun had been stolen from her vehicle, the station said.

The report added that during the investigation, Chandler gave police a written statement saying the boy took the gun out of her car when she went to a friend’s house to talk about how the boy had been talking to her, WBTW reported.

Florence County Detention Center records indicate Chandler remained behind bars Wednesday morning on no bond.

RELATED: Mother chaperoned junior high dance — then had a baby with her daughter’s teen date: Court docs

Image source: Lake City (S.C.) Police

A number of commenters under WBTW’s Facebook post about the incident were taken aback by the accusations against the mother of three:

“People are getting sicker and sicker,” one commenter wrote.”What the hell!!!” another user exclaimed.”Real classy,” another commenter noted. “People make me sick.””Pedophilia at its finest,” another user observed. “Disgusting. … And to do it with your children in the vehicle and take away their innocence?!?! How shameful and sickening.”

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Though Department of Homeland Security officials continue to bravely execute their deportation mandate, they have been met with a great deal of threats against their safety. In fact, a recent high-profile incident is only the latest example of what has reportedly been an 8,000% increase in death threats against immigration enforcement officials.

On Tuesday, twin brothers were arrested in Abescon, New Jersey, after allegedly issuing death threats to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in general and to a high-profile DHS spokeswoman in particular, according to a DHS press release.

‘We are NOT afraid of you.’

The pair are accused of calling on people to “shoot ICE on sight” on social media.

They also allegedly threatened to hang DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.

RELATED: Illinois, Gov. Pritzker have released almost 1,800 violent illegal aliens back onto the streets in defiance of ICE, DHS says

Ricardo Antonio Roman-FloresDepartment of Homeland Security

“Let this be a warning to anyone who dares threaten or attack our brave law enforcement officers,” said acting ICE Director Todd Lyons. “We will find you, we will arrest you, and we will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law. We are NOT afraid of you.”

“The extreme rhetoric of the news media, sanctuary politicians, and activists is leading directly to our law enforcement officers facing an 8,000% increase in death threats against them. If you threaten our law enforcement or DHS officials, we will hunt you down and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

RELATED: This Southern sanctuary city is next on the list for federal immigration law enforcement

Firearms and ammunition found at the scene of the arrest. Department of Homeland Security

Emilio Roman-Flores is charged with unlawful possession of an assault weapon, possession of prohibited weapons, conspiracy terroristic threats, criminal coercion, threats, and cyber harassment.

His twin brother, Ricardo Antonio Roman-Flores, is charged with conspiracy terroristic threats.

The pair were held at Absecon Police Department upon their arrest. Both are United States citizens.

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U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes — a foreign-born, Biden-appointed, lesbian judge who previously worked as a lawyer to fight the first Trump administration’s immigration policy — decided in March to indefinitely block the enforcement of the second Trump administration’s ban on transvestites in the military, suggesting it likely violated their constitutional rights.

Reyes, formerly of the Feminist Majority Foundation, suggested in her March 18 ruling that the “Military Ban is soaked in animus” and that it was her responsibility as a judge to keep the executive branch at heel, despite acknowledging the “pernicious” nature of judicial overreach.

On Tuesday, a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit handed the administration a big win: a 2-1 decision staying Reyes’ order and greenlighting enforcement of the ban.

‘We’re done with that s**t.’

Citing the Supreme Court’s June 6-3 ruling in United States v. Skrmetti, which upheld Tennessee’s ban on sex-rejecting genital mutilations and sterilizing puberty blockers for minors, U.S. Circuit Judges Gregory Katsas and Neomi Rao — both appointed by President Donald Trump — ruled that War Secretary Pete Hegseth’s ban on trans-identifying military members likely did not violate the U.S. Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause or trigger any form of heightened scrutiny.

“In Skrmetti, the Supreme Court held that a law prohibiting the use of hormones to treat gender dysphoria in minors ‘classifies on the basis of medical use’ and thus does not discriminate based on either sex or transgender status,” Katsas wrote for the majority. “The same reasoning would seem to cover the Hegseth Policy, which classifies based on the medical condition of gender dysphoria.”

Even if the policy contained a classification triggering some form of heightened scrutiny, Katsas emphasized that “decades of precedent establish that the judiciary must tread carefully when asked to second-guess considered military judgments of the political branches.”

RELATED: ‘Not medicine — it’s malpractice’: Trump HHS buries child sex-change regime with damning report

Photo by Daniel Knighton/Getty Images

Katsas noted further that the policy was “likely constitutional because it reflects a considered judgment of military leaders and furthers legitimate military interests,” such as cost issues, unit cohesion, and military readiness.

Trump noted in his Jan. 27 executive order titled “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness”:

Consistent with the military mission and longstanding DoD policy, expressing a false “gender identity” divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service. Beyond the hormonal and surgical medical interventions involved, adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual’s sex conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life.

The Pentagon subsequently released guidance stating that “military service by Service members and applicants for military service who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria is incompatible with military service,” and took steps to begin giving those with gender dysphoria the boot.

Katsas suggested that Reyes’ claim that the Pentagon’s policy did not advance legitimate interests was more or less baseless — that she:

“gave no sound reason for overriding the Secretary’s considered judgment”;premised her claim that “medical studies now overwhelmingly conclude that gender dysphoria is highly treatable” on a “declaration from one doctor who simply stated, in one sentence and without citations, that ‘gender dysphoria is highly treatable'”; and”downplayed evidence of greater mental-health issues faced by transgender individuals.”

The dissenting judge on the panel, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, lashed out at her colleagues, claiming in a 27-page dissent — which reads like a work of LGBT activist literature — that the majority’s decision “makes it all but inevitable that thousands of qualified servicemembers will lose careers they have built over decades, drawn up short by a policy that would repay their commitment and service to our nation with detriment and derision.”

“The majority grants this stay in the face of all evidence to the contrary,” continued U.S. Circuit Judge Cornelia Pillard. “We should not accord deference to the military when the Department itself carelessly relied on no more than blatant animus.”

According to Pillard, the Pentagon’s decision to oust gender-dysphoric individuals from the military was “based on nothing more than negative attitudes about transgender identity.”

She also clutched pearls about various comments from elements of the Trump administration, including War Secretary Pete Hegseth’s May 6 remarks stating, “No more dudes in dresses; we’re done with that s**t.”

“Because the Hegseth Policy is openly fueled by animus towards transgender people and defendants have not shown that it is based on military considerations, it fails even the most deferential form of equal protection review,” wrote Pillard.

Following the appellate court’s ruling, Hegseth shared a cartoon to social media depicting him kicking a bearded man in a dress out of the Department of War. The transvestite depicted in the cartoon is holding a box containing a book titled “DEI Military” and an LGBT flag.

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It may sound like an unlikely match — an evangelical Hollywood veteran producing a musical about a teenage Catholic saint. But for “Frasier” star Kelsey Grammer, the story of St. Bernadette Soubirous — a young French girl who reported multiple apparitions of the Virgin Mary between February and July 1858 at a grotto in the village of Lourdes — proved impossible to forget.

“You can’t turn your back on this,” said Grammer last week at Chicago’s Athenaeum Center for Thought & Culture, where he and some cast members previewed the American debut of “Bernadette: The Musical.”

‘I wanted to be part of it because the simple beauty of this young lady who told the truth and stuck to it through amazing pressure, she earned her sainthood.’

“This young girl had a … stick-to-itiveness and tenacity that can only come from the innocence of a child,” Grammer continued. Already a hit in France, the show depicts the young Bernadette persisting in her claims despite skepticism from townsfolk and the local priest.

“That energy in the face of pure innocence becomes a really interesting battle,” said Grammer.

Soubirous subsequently became a nun, dying at 35. She was canonized in 1933. The site of the visitations is now the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, a popular pilgrimage site for believers seeking miraculous healings.

Simple beauty

Introducing a selection of songs from the musical, Grammer emphasized the connection he felt to the project.

“I wanted to be part of it because the simple beauty of this young lady who told the truth and stuck to it through amazing pressure, she earned her sainthood,” he said.

“Man’s search for faith on this planet is part of why we’re here. Part of our understanding of being a human being is to figure out where we fit in the universe and what our relationship is like to the creator of that universe, and I’m delighted to be here to take the story further for people.”

‘Jesus made a difference’

Grammer has made no secret of his Christian faith. In 2023 he starred as Pastor Chuck Smith in “Jesus Revolution” — a role he said helped him find peace with God in the face of his own past struggles, which included drug and alcohol addiction as well as the murder of his younger sister in 1975. “Jesus made a difference in my life,” he told USA Today while promoting the movie. “That’s not anything I’ll apologize for.”

Speaking alongside show director Serge Denoncourt and fellow lead producer Pierre Ferragu, Grammer recalled being introduced to “Bernadette: The Musical” by his friend Fr. Mark Haydu, former international director of the Patrons of the Arts at the Vatican Museums.

RELATED: Kelsey Grammer says he still supports Donald Trump

Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images

Mic drop

Grammer said he was particularly moved by the “mic drop” moment in which Bernadette finally convinces her priest of the truth of her visions.

The vision tells her, “Tell them you’re speaking to the Immaculate Conception.” … She goes to the priest, and he asks “Who is it?” She says the Immaculate Conception, and he falls to his knees and is convinced. Because in her own limited history of faith, she does not know what they would even mean.

Grammer remains one of Hollywood’s most unapologetic and outspoken conservatives. A longtime Tea Party supporter and climate change skeptic, he has repeatedly endorsed President Donald Trump and spoken proudly about his beliefs. As he told the Times earlier this year, “It’s great to have somebody who actually means what they say [in office].”

“Bernadette: The Musical” will begin its nationwide tour in February 2026 at the Athenaeum Center in Chicago and is slated to tour at least 13 major cities.

​Entertainment, Musicals, Chicago, Kelsey grammer, Lourdes, St. bernadette, Faith, Catholicism, Culture 

A video has gone mega-viral after a Wisconsin Cinnabon worker, Crystal Wilsey, was recorded shouting racist slurs, including the N-word, at a Somalian husband and wife.

The video showed Wilsey cursing at the customers, at one point even saying, “I am racist and I’ll say it to the whole entire world. Don’t be disrespectful.” However, in an unedited version of the video, the husband can first be heard asking Wilsey if “sexualizing your body makes you a better person.”

When Wilsey asks if she is being recorded, the wife responds, “I’m going to record you, yes.”

There are then cuts in the video, before it escalates to the woman calling the couple the N-word. While many viewers were angry that she used the slur, the response online has been divided.

But BlazeTV host Stu Burguiere knows where he stands.

“Not the best moment anyone’s ever had in a Cinnabon,” Burguiere tells CBN’s Dan Andros on “Stu Does America.”

Despite the Somalian couple being accused of starting the altercation, Burguiere believes there’s “never an excuse to lose control of yourself.”

“What I’m kind of interested in here, more than anything else, is the reaction of some online who are basically saying it’s wrong that she was fired from this job, which obviously she was immediately,” he says.

“It’s ‘wrong’ because that’s basically cancel culture in action. Is this cancel culture, Dan?” he asks.

“There’s cancel culture and then there’s play stupid games, win stupid prizes. And what happened here is the latter. Like, let’s just think about your job here. You are making delicious cinnamon rolls that smell yummy … and it’s like, this is your job,” Andros says.

“Your job is to give someone a little taste of Cinnabon happiness. You know, cinnamon roll goodness and deliciousness and with a smile on your face. … Isn’t it that the customer’s always right? They might be jerks, they might be saying rude things, they might be in a hurry, they might complain,” he continues.

“Just smile. You’re getting paid,” he adds.

However, not everyone feels the same way as Burguiere and Andros, as Crystal has raised over $100,000 on GiveSendGo after her firing.

“She’s a representative of a company, in the same way that if I went into, you know, a Sbarro, and they were like, ‘By the way, can’t stand those Jews,’ I would say that person should lose their job,” Burguiere explains.

“Not because I love cancel culture,” he continues, adding, “because they’re representing your business.”

“They have an absolute right to fire you,” Andros chimes in.

Want more from Stu?

To enjoy more of Stu’s lethal wit, wisdom, and mockery, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Video, Upload, Free, Camera phone, Sharing, Video phone, Youtube.com, Stu does america, Stu burguiere, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Dan andros, Racist, Racism, Racist cinnabon worker, Cinnabon employee fired, Viral video, Viral video cinnabon, Somalian immigrants 

Thomas Sowell’s warning fits the digital age with brutal precision: There are no solutions, only trade-offs. When governments regulate technology, they seize your privacy first. Every “safety” mandate becomes an excuse to collect more personal data, and the result is always the same. Bureaucrats claim to protect you while making you more vulnerable.

Age-verification laws illustrate this perfectly. Discord’s recent breach — more than 70,000 stolen government ID photos taken from a third-party vendor — shows how quickly privacy collapses once platforms are forced to gather sensitive data.

Millions of citizens should not be forced to trade away privacy because policymakers refuse to acknowledge the risks.

To comply with the U.K.’s new Online Safety Act, Discord began collecting users’ documentation. That data became a target, and once breached, attackers reportedly demanded a multimillion-dollar ransom and threatened to publish the stolen IDs. Discord failed to monitor its vendor’s security practices, and thousands paid the price.

Age-verification mandates require digital platforms to confirm a user’s age before granting access to specific content or services. That means uploading government IDs or submitting to facial scans. The stated goal is child safety. The actual effect is compulsory data surrender. These laws normalize the idea that governments can force citizens to hand over sensitive information just to use the internet.

Centralized data collection creates a jackpot for cybercriminals. As the Discord breach proves, one compromise exposes thousands — or millions — of users. Criminals can sell this information, reuse it for identity theft, or weaponize it for blackmail. The problem isn’t a one-off failure. It is structural. Age verification mandates require platforms to create consolidated databases of personally identifying information, which become single points of catastrophic failure.

The libertarian Cato Institute captures the problem: “Requiring age verification creates a trove of attractive data for hackers that could put broader information about users, particularly young users, at risk.”

Governments may insist that the Discord breach was an outlier. It wasn’t. Breaches of sensitive information are predictable in systems designed to aggregate it. Even if the motives behind the U.K.’s age-verification regime were noble, undermining privacy to advance those aims is a trade-off free societies should reject. That is why the Online Safety Act triggered an outcry far beyond the U.K.

And, as usual, legislative mandates fail to achieve their stated goals. Days after the OSA took effect, VPN downloads surged as users — including children — bypassed verification systems. Laura Tyrylyte, Nord Security’s head of public relations, told Wired that “whenever a government announces an increase in surveillance, internet restrictions, or other types of constraints, people turn to privacy tools.” Predictably, age-verification laws encourage evasion instead of compliance.

RELATED: The UK wants to enforce its censorship laws in the US. The First Amendment begs to differ.

mikkelwilliam via iStock/Getty Images

The pattern is simple: Age-verification laws degrade privacy, heighten the risk of identity theft, and fail to keep minors off restricted platforms. They make the internet less safe for everyone.

Meanwhile, policymakers remain determined to spread these mandates in the name of protecting children. The U.K. pioneered the model. Many other governments followed. Twenty-five U.S. states have adopted similar laws. The list grows each month.

But governments cannot treat data breaches as acceptable collateral damage. Millions of citizens should not be forced to trade away privacy because policymakers refuse to acknowledge the risks. The result of this approach will be more surveillance, more breaches, more stolen personal data, and a steady erosion of civil liberties.

Privacy is the backbone of liberty in a digital world. Thomas Jefferson’s warning deserves repetition: “The natural progress of things is for government to gain ground and for liberty to yield.”

Age-verification mandates accelerate that progress — and citizens pay the price.

​Opinion & analysis, Online safety act, Cato institute, Thomas sowell, Government, Privacy, Identity theft, Discord, Crime, Age verification, Risk, Vpn, Virtual private network, Surveillance, First amendment, Censorship, Control, United kingdom, Kier starmer, Civil liberties, Thomas jefferson