“I assure you all options are open on the southern front. They can be adopted anytime.” Summary recap: Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah’s speech went for [more…]
Category: blaze media
Teen robbers open fire on victim behind Texas Family Dollar, but victim also has a gun — and turns the tables lethally
Armed teenage robbers opened fire at a victim behind a Family Dollar in Beaumont, Texas, last week, police said.
But the victim also had a gun and turned the tables — lethally.
‘I just think that it’s sad that our babies are just dying left and right, and nobody’s doing anything.’
Police said its investigation — helped by witness accounts and video surveillance — determined that Jayson January and Brenden Earnest, both 17, as well as two juveniles acted together in a plot to rob the victim near Avenue B and Harriot last Friday, KFDM-TV reported.
All four suspects attacked the robbery target and fired shots at him, police told the station.
However, the victim also was armed and returned fire at the suspects, KFDM reported.
One of the suspects — January — was hit by gunfire and died in a grassy field near the store, the station said.
KLVI-AM reported Monday that Earnest turned himself in and was charged with aggravated robbery — but the two juveniles, ages 15 and 16, were still at large.
Earnest was being held at the Jefferson County Correctional Facility on a $1 million bond for the aggravated robbery charge as well as a $10,000 bond for unlawfully carrying a weapon, jail officials told KMBT-TV.
By Wednesday, the two juveniles also turned themselves in, police told KBTV-TV, adding that there had been warrants out for them on aggravated assault charges.
Detectives are continuing to investigate and complete their findings so the case can be submitted to the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office, KBTV said.
One woman reacting to the incident told KFDM during an on-camera interview that “I just think that it’s sad that our babies are just dying left and right, and nobody’s doing anything.” The woman asked, “What are they doing about these kids getting out of school and being in the streets during school times?” She also declared, “Something is not right here. Make it make sense.”
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Self-defense, Texas, Armed robbery, Beaumont, Fatal shooting, 2nd amend., Guns, Gun rights, Arrests, Teen robbers, Crime
CNN’s biggest nightmare is one step closer to finally coming true
CNN may be forced to move toward the middle as a result of a likely incoming brand merger.
Netflix has reportedly bowed out of a bidding war in which the company was the final barrier to a takeover of the massive entity that is CNN’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.
‘We have to start by looking honestly at ourselves.’
Paramount Skydance looks poised to take over the Warner company, and that could mean big shake-ups at CNN. Paramount’s gigantic banner controls CBS television networks, including CBS News. News junkies will recall that when Paramount acquired the Free Press, staffers were short-circuiting over reporter Bari Weiss being named editor in chief of CBS News.
If Paramount controls CNN, Weiss or someone similar could be tapped to oversee it.
Weiss’ pro-Israel, anti-child genital mutilation, and billionaire-backed media landscape has upset some of the farthest-left reaches of the news world, though she shares many liberal views. For example, she is pro-gay-marriage, but against men in women’s sports.
Many of Weiss’ disagreements with the neo-left were outlined when she vacated her role at the New York Times. In her resignation letter, she described the paper as becoming a “performance space” where stories are chosen and told in a way to satisfy “the narrowest of audiences.”
Weiss alleged she was called a “Nazi” at the paper despite being Jewish and recalled sample pieces from the Times like one that praised the Soviet Union’s space program for its “diversity.”
Weiss’ outlook on left-wing news would likely ruffle feathers at CNN if she were to take the lead. Brian Stelter, a former CNN anchor and the current chief media analyst for CNN Worldwide, shared remarks to that effect about the likely takeover in a Friday newsletter for the network.
Stelter wrote that CNN employees and viewers have “serious concerns” about whether the network would maintain its “editorial independence” if Paramount takes the reins.
However, Weiss’ approach at CBS News is seemingly noncontroversial.
“We have to start by looking honestly at ourselves. We are not producing a product that enough people want,” she said in January, per Deadline.
She also addressed ideological bias at the company, telling employees their job is to “present people with the fullest picture — and the strongest voices on all sides of an issue — and then trust them to make up their own minds.”
Still this outlook has resulted in further resignations.
Despite getting dirty looks from some liberals, Weiss is not exactly the apple of the right-wing eye, either.
Photo by Michele Crowe/CBS News/Getty Images
Weiss claims to be a “centrist,” supported the national anthem protests that occurred in the NFL, and also wants to keep abortion legal. Additionally, she admitted to voting for Republican Mitt Romney as well as Democrats Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden.
The 41-year-old has received significant mockery from comedians over the $150 million purchase of her Substack page, while conservatives like Megyn Kelly have accused Weiss of trying to “create more enemies” by labeling others “anti-Semites.”
At the end of the day, Paramount Skydance’s alleged “superior proposal” to buy Warner Bros. is all but completed, but still not finalized. If and when it is, viewers will find out which direction CNN is truly headed in.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
News, Cnn, Cbs news, Woke, Left wing, Liberal, Democrat, Republican, Skydance, Paramount, Warner bros., Politics
Tourette advocate’s BAFTA slur gets no empathy from stars
It was a perfect Hollywood moment. Perfectly revealing, that is.
John Davidson, the inspiration behind the film “I Swear,” earned an invitation to the recent BAFTA awards gala. The film chronicles the life of a man suffering from Tourette syndrome, a condition that finds the sufferer sharing cruel, involuntary outbursts.
We don’t want to spoil the film, but it’s likely China and India won’t be name-checked enough in the screenplay.
They. Can’t. Help. Themselves.
Sadly, Davidson’s inability to control his tongue tainted the early moments of the ceremony. His swears could be heard in the venue, even though he wasn’t on the stage at the time.
Host Alan Cumming apologized for Davidson’s comments early in the show, noting the cruel nature of the incurable condition. But when Davidson’s racially charged comments bled into the audio feed while black performers Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo took the stage, the reaction was hyperbolic.
Yes, the “N-word” remains a vile reminder of our bigoted past, an awful word that has earned its toxic brand. But Davidson didn’t mean to utter the foul word. He literally couldn’t help himself.
Yet the same artistic community that pleads for empathy and understanding recoiled at the moment. The story has lingered for days in the legacy media. Jamie Foxx publicly called out Davidson, while one BAFTA judge quit after the incident.
They ignored the facts of his condition and embraced their victim status, even though Davidson is the ultimate victim. The real villain is the person in charge of the show’s feed who didn’t bleep out the offending words.
May he or she never work an awards broadcast again.
The kerfuffle punished poor Davidson all over again. And instead of basking in a personal triumph — a movie that asked people to understand and forgive his tragic condition — he got a nightmare he’ll never forget …
RELATED: ‘He meant that s**t’: Actors rage after man with Tourette’s yells N-word during award show
Photos by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/WireImage (L), Dominic Lipinski/Getty Images (R)
Pine-ing away
Imagine watching your Oscar-winning wife star in a rom-com alongside a handsome leading man. That’s the reality Dave McCary faces, and it’s all his fault.
McCary is married to “Bugonia” star Emma Stone, and he’s agreed to direct her in the upcoming romance “The Catch.” Her co-star? None other than Captain Kirk himself, Chris Pine.
It’s unclear if the film will have an “intimacy coordinator” on set, but we image Pine will be more than a little nervous when he goes in for a buss. Hope he sets his phaser on, “Hey, it’s in the script” …
Inconvenient Truth 2: Electric Boogaloo
Remember when “An Inconvenient Truth” forced America to do everything possible to stop global war — we mean climate change? Or when “The Day After Tomorrow” and “Don’t Look Up” did the job? Or the dozen-plus documentaries pleading with U.S. voters to do something, anything, about global apocalypse, economic fallout be darned?
No? That’s OK. Turns out we were all waiting for this movie to change everything.
The project, based on the book “Losing Earth,” is set in 1980 and shows climate expects warning the world that something must be done, or else. Filming is set to begin shortly under director Tom McCarthy (“Spotlight,” “Win Win”).
The cast and crew are a who’s who of Hollywood, including Paul Rudd, John Turturro, Paul Giamatti, Jason Clarke, Tatiana Maslany, Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck. The latter two superstars are executive producers on the project.
We don’t want to spoil the film, but it’s likely China and India won’t be name-checked enough in the screenplay, nor any of Al Gore’s “Inconvenient” predictions …
‘View’ boo-boo
“The View” wants to be sued oh, so badly.
The dumber-than-dumb ABC show routinely creeps up to the line, only to read a few “legal notes” later to save its skin. And sadly, their collective TDS appears incurable.
The latest example?
Sunny Hostin read an alleged excerpt from the Epstein files that said President Donald Trump had once sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl. The claim is part of the more preposterous side of the files, wild allegations that have no credibility. Otherwise legacy media outlets would be covering it 24-7 and/or the Biden administration would have leaked it years ago.
How do we know? Later in the show, legal scholar Joy Behar coaxed Hostin to clarify her earlier comments:
I want to be very careful here because these are allegations, and President Trump has consistently — they’re unverified allegations, and President Trump has consistently denied all the allegations and any wrongdoing. BUT there was a presentation made by the FBI, and the witness stated that Jeffrey Epstein introduced her to Trump, who subsequently forced her head down and punched her in the head in response to something that she did.
Imagine if Hostin had been “very careful” in the first place.
It’s just a matter of time before someone on “The View” gets a tap on the shoulder to find legal documents in their face.
Entertainment, Culture, Bafta, Tourette’s, The view, Jamie foxx, Epstein files, Sunny hostin, Joy behar, Toto recall
18-wheeler speeding the wrong direction on highway was driven by — you guessed it
The suspected driver of the 18-wheeler filmed on Wednesday speeding in the wrong direction down a stretch of highway in Missouri has been identified as a Minnesota-based Somali migrant.
Lincoln County Prosecuting Attorney Mike Wood indicated that while he was not immediately taken into custody, Abdiasis Ibrahim Ali, 38, has been charged with driving the wrong direction on a divided highway and operating a motor vehicle in a careless manner.
‘He wasn’t able to read.’
The prosecutor noted further that a no-bound warrant for Ali’s arrest has been requested and that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been notified.
X user MolonLabeBTC shared footage on Wednesday showing a truck barreling southbound down Highway 61 — in one of the northbound lanes. The X user claimed that he began following the “foreign invader” after the truck nearly hit him “head on” and that the incident took place roughly five miles north of Troy.
Sgt. Dallas Thompson of the Missouri State Highway Patrol stated, “We were glad someone saw this yesterday and called it in to try to get resources there to get the vehicle stopped,” reported KMOV-TV.
After the driver crossed over to the southbound lane, a state trooper reportedly stopped him and conducted a roadside inspection.
“During that test, the trooper noticed he wasn’t able to read and comprehend the road signs,” said Thompson.
RELATED: Trump recognizes little girl grievously injured, allegedly by truck-driving Indian illegal alien
Sean Duffy. Photographer: Ryan Collerd/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Having been found incapable of demonstrating basic reading comprehension and proficiency in English, “the driver was taken out of service,” added Thompson.
After Ali was taken out of service, his co-driver, Abdulahi Abshir Alim — who was apparently in the “sleeper” at the time of the incident — took over, said Wood.
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy indicated that despite his apparent inability to read road signs, the driver was in possession of a Minnesota commercial driver’s license.
Duffy noted further that the driver’s carrier, Cargo Transportation LLC, is now under investigation.
Department of Transportation records indicate that Cargo Transportation is based in Hopkins, Minnesota — in what appears to be an apartment complex — and has two drivers who drove over 81,000 miles in 2024. As of Friday, the company’s USDOT status was still listed as “active.”
Blaze News was unable to reach the company for comment.
The trailer apparently hauled by the Somali is owned by Taylor Trucking Lines whose vice president said in a statement obtained by KMOV, “The driver is not an employee or contractor of Taylor Trucking Lines. He is a contractor for Cargo Transportation. The driver was fired shortly after the video was seen.”
The incident took place the day after President Donald Trump called on lawmakers to “pass what we will call the Dalilah Law, barring any state from granting commercial driver’s licenses to illegal aliens.”
The proposed legislation takes its name from Dalilah Coleman, a little girl grievously injured in a car accident that was allegedly caused by an illegal alien from India who reportedly obtained a commercial driver’s license from California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Department of Motor Vehicles.
According to the USDOT, roughly 200,000 truckers hold non-domiciled CDLs, and over 14,000 truckers have been kicked out of service for failing to meet basic language requirements since the department brought back English proficiency tests in May 2025.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Somali, Minnesota, Cdl, Driver, Semi-trailer, Trailer, Truck driver, 18-wheeler, 18 wheeler, Missouri, Department of transportation, Highway, Language, Migrant, Foreigner, Politics
‘My own employees … had downloaded software on my phone’: Kristi Noem claims Elon Musk helped expose spyware inside DHS
Though the Department of Homeland Security has achieved some success in deporting illegal aliens, it has always been met with resistance — both on the street and in the department itself.
In an interview with podcaster Patrick Bet-David this week, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem revealed the depth of some of the problems her department has been facing and the people who have helped her fight the alleged corruption.
‘They helped me identify that some of my own employees in my department had downloaded software on my phone and my laptop to spy on me.’
“You wouldn’t even believe what I’ve found since I’ve been in this department,” Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said on the “PBD Podcast” this week.
“I just found the other day a whole room on this campus that was a secret SCIF — secure facility — that had files nobody knew existed. So we just happened to have an employee walk by a door and wonder what it was and started asking questions. We went in there. There was individuals working there that had secret files that nobody knew about on some of these most controversial topics.”
RELATED: Democrat senator rages when Noem dares to enforce the law
“Now I’ve got that turned over to attorneys, and we’re getting to the bottom of what exactly happened there.”
Noem also claimed that her devices were compromised but that Elon Musk’s tech team helped expose the software that was compromising her privacy.
“Elon and his team were extremely helpful to me. They helped me identify that some of my own employees in my department had downloaded software on my phone and my laptop to spy on me, to record our meetings. They had done that to several of the politicals.”
“Unbelievable,” Bet-David said as she recounted the story.
Noem stressed that they would still probably have that software installed had it not been for Musk and his team. As a result, she said, “One of the things I need to do and continue to do is partner with technology companies and experts to bring them in and help us.”
“I always believed when people talked about the deep state before that it existed. I never would have dreamed that it was as bad as it is.”
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Politics, Kristi noem, Elon musk, Secretary noem, Spyware, Politicals, Careers, Patrick bet david, Pbd podcast, Department of homeland security, Dhs
9 must-have devices for detecting leftist threats in your area
A recent story in Wired celebrated the culture of “maker resistance,” casting hobbyists and hackers as neighborhood sentinels guarding against federal immigration enforcement.
All over the country, makers are 3D-printing thousands of whistles to help people on the ground alert others to nearby ICE activity. But the whistles are far from the only tools being used to respond to the surge of federal agents. Protesters are DIY-ing a wide array of gadgets like camera mounts, mobile networking gear, and handheld eye washers to clear away pepper spray, tear gas, and irritants used to quell protests.
For a conservative audience that supports the rule of law and ICE’s work, the story reads less like grassroots resilience and more like a blueprint for obstruction dressed up in DIY chic.
A pocket unit that emits a courteous chime when declarations of moral purity rise in direct proportion to personal insulation from consequences.
The federal government is charged with enforcing immigration law enacted by Congress. ICE agents are not an invading army; they are civil servants tasked with carrying out policies shaped through democratic processes. That fact rarely survives the romantic renderings of resistance culture.
Muddled makers
The maker movement itself has long embodied ingenuity and independence. In another era, that spirit wired towns, built radios, and launched small businesses. Today, the same tools that once fueled invention are repurposed to shadow enforcement and surveil federal agents.
The technical skill is undeniable. The intent is harder to defend. When creativity shifts from creation to confrontation, the balance between citizen and state tilts toward disorder.
Supporters frame these efforts as mutual aid. Critics see something more troubling: a normalization of defiance against lawful authority. The line between observation and obstruction blurs quickly in tense moments. A mesh network that alerts neighbors to approaching agents may also alert traffickers. A whistle meant to warn a family may also warn a fugitive. Technology is neutral; its consequences are not.
RELATED: Zohran Mamdani: NYC’s pimp mayor
Wally Skalij/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Early-warning ingenuity
There is also an irony worth noting. Many of the same voices that champion strict regulation in speech, commerce, firearms, and energy now celebrate decentralized networks designed specifically to evade oversight. Authority is applauded when convenient and denounced when it isn’t.
Still, the celebration of gadget-driven resistance invites a certain tongue-in-cheek response. If protest culture can engineer mesh nodes, mobile camera rigs, and tactical “mutual aid” kits, perhaps the rest of the country should respond in kind.
After all, this is a nation that can detect a tremor thirty miles beneath the Pacific shelf, triangulate a hurricane from orbit, and deliver neighborhood-by-neighborhood pollen counts to your phone. Surely we can apply that same early-warning genius to the domestic climate.
Consider the following prototypes. Currently seeking investors.
1. Calm before the outrage monitor
A wristband calibrated to tremble whenever emotional intensity outruns factual content.
It hums peacefully at food banks and flood cleanups, then begins to vibrate like a malfunctioning espresso machine the moment a megaphone appears and nuance slips quietly out the side door.
Engineers report one prototype briefly achieved low orbit during a campus forum after the phrase “this is violence” was applied to a seating chart.
2. Virtue-signal radar
A pocket unit that emits a courteous chime when declarations of moral purity rise in direct proportion to personal insulation from consequences. The indicator slides from blue to amber, then bright red once self-righteous certainty reaches escape velocity.
In beta tests, it rang like cathedral bells when someone began, “As I stand here on stolen land.”
3. Aesthetic alarm
If you’re attempting to gauge ideological intensity, hair, wardrobe, and visual branding provide surprisingly reliable data. Developers are currently refining the aesthetic alarm, which activates when political identity is communicated primarily through costume, accessories, and hair shades normally reserved for highlighters.
It measures symbolism per square inch. A recent firmware update allows it to distinguish between genuine individuality and curated outrage aesthetics, though field reports suggest the two often arrive looking remarkably similar.
4. Radical credentials authenticator
Verifies whether an anti-capitalist has a trust fund or whether a housing activist owns property.
5. Consensus individualist counter
Counts how many people in a given room have independently arrived at identical opinions about every major issue. Particularly useful in university settings and progressive book clubs.
6. Platform purity gauge
Detects lectures on digital colonialism delivered from an iPhone while using two-day shipping to order the works of Noam Chomsky.
7. Oppression Olympian scoreboard
Ranks competitors in real time as new marginalized identities are introduced mid-conversation. Features an automatic podium update when a previously undisclosed condition alters the standings.
8. Therapist’s fingerprints analyzer
Identifies the precise moment unresolved personal grievances become public policy positions.
9. Transference detector
Detects when a policy disagreement begins to carry the emotional voltage of a Thanksgiving argument about authority that predates the current administration by at least 15 years.
In a country built by barn-raisers, radio tinkerers, and backyard engineers with coffee cans full of bolts, answering gadgets with better gadgets feels almost patriotic.
Wired magazine, Lifestyle, Leftists, Protestors, Ice, Tech, Technology, Humor
Damning texts expose elementary school assistant principal in cross-country prostitution scheme with porn star: Feds
A highly compensated New York City elementary school assistant principal is accused of operating a cross-country prostitution scheme, according to multiple reports.
Bond Ng, 47, was arrested Sunday and charged with enticing a person to travel in interstate commerce to engage in prostitution, according to the New York Post.
‘It’s arguable that the defendant groomed her.’
Ng was released on a $150,000 bond. As part of his release conditions, Ng must stay away from the public school where he works and wear a GPS monitor, and he’s restricted from leaving New York City.
Ng is an assistant principal at P.S. 16 in the Corona neighborhood of Queens. Ng earns $173,029 a year, according to public payroll records.
Ng is the supervisor in charge of “testing, school safety, technology, transportation and trips, school aides,” according to the school’s handbook for students and families for the current academic year.
The New York Daily News reported that Ng touched down at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City last Friday after a trip to Cartagena, Colombia. Ng was flagged for a second inspection.
Homeland Security officers recovered two of his cell phones containing what the Daily News described as “damning text messages” between him, a porn star, and the “porn star’s clients.”
Citing a federal criminal complaint, the New York Times reported that Ng told investigators he was the “manager” of a woman who appeared in pornographic online videos.
The Times noted that Ng informed authorities that he arranged meetings between the Los Angeles-based porn star and her “fans” in New York, including at his luxury apartment in the neighborhood of Long Island City.
The complaint filed in Brooklyn Federal Court stated that Ng would pretend to be the adult entertainer when communicating with potential clients.
In one text message, Ng gave a prospective client a price quote of $2,000 per hour with the porn star, along with additional fees for specific sex acts or a filmed encounter, according to court records.
“My rate is 2K lover,” Ng wrote in a text message to a potential client, according to the complaint.
Prosecutors said Ng asked the porn star to fly from Los Angeles to New York to have sex with a prospective client in December 2025, but the woman was hesitant to travel because of the cold weather.
However, Ng told the adult film star that the client wanted to meet her for more than seven hours and had already paid him $10,000 for the sexual experience, according to the criminal complaint.
Prosecutors revealed that Ng texted the porn star a list of the clients and meetings that he had arranged for her, including the type of sex and the amount of money to be paid for the illicit encounters, which totaled over $20,000.
The complaint noted that the porn star arrived in New York on Dec. 28, then flew back to Los Angeles on Dec. 30, but not before texting Ng: “Thank you for letting me use your apartment.”
The Times said Ng communicated with potential johns as far back as 2021.
Sources told the Daily News that the porn star is not a minor.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Amzallag said in court Tuesday that there was an investigation into whether Ng is part of a broader human trafficking operation because he took multiple short trips to Colombia, according to amNY.
Amzallag also hinted that Ng may have been “more coercive than we originally thought,” and added, “It’s arguable that the defendant groomed her.”
Ng’s defense attorney Michael Schneider declared, “The crime he’s charged with, I have to say in my 28 years as a federal defender, I have never seen prosecuted.”
New York state Sen. Jessica Ramos (D), who represents District 13 in Queens, said she was “deeply disturbed by the serious allegations outlined in the federal complaint involving an assistant principal in our community.”
A parent of an 8-year-old student at P.S. 16 told the New York Post, “This is very dangerous for the kids. I’m angry about it. He should never be around kids, and he should never come back here.”
The Post obtained a letter sent by the school to parents that said Ng had been “reassigned” and banned from the school premises pending the outcome of the investigation.
A spokesperson for the New York City Department of Education declined to offer a comment and referred questions to federal authorities, the Post said.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York did not immediately respond to Blaze News‘ request for comment.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Bond ng, Prostitution, Grooming, Human trafficking, Crime, Elementary school assistant principal, New york city, Queens, Federal investigation, Porn star
Boston Bruins players cave over Trump phone call: ‘Certainly sorry’ — ‘we should have reacted differently’
The two Boston Bruins players who represented the United States at the 2026 Olympics have succumbed to media pressure.
Seemingly every player from Team USA’s gold medal-winning men’s hockey team is facing a struggle session from local reporters who are asking them why they laughed at a joke made by President Trump.
‘Certainly not reflective of how we feel and look at them and their accomplishments.’
When the president called the men’s locker room after they defeated Canada 2-1 on Sunday, he invited the team to the State of the Union as well as to the White House before making a wisecrack about also inviting the women’s gold medal team.
“We’re going to have to bring the women’s team,” the president joked, adding that he “probably would be impeached” if he didn’t.
Since then, the league-wide hunt for unauthorized laughter has commenced, and some players are starting to show cracks in their armor.
Bruins players were seemingly the first to show significant regret for laughing with the president, starting with goalie Jeremy Swayman. The Team USA backup goalie called it an “incredible honor” to attend the State of the Union but then told reporters that the team should have had a different reaction to the phone call.
“We should have reacted differently,” Swayman said from the locker room on Wednesday. “We know that we are so excited for the women’s team. We have so much respect for the women’s team, and to share that gold medal with them is something that we’re forever grateful for.”
The Alaskan added, “Now that we’re home, we get to share that together forever and see the incredible support that we have from the USA and sharing this incredible gold medal.”
On Thursday, it was more of the same from Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy, a 28-year-old New Yorker who also suited up for the United States.
McAvoy said he was “certainly sorry for how we responded to it in that moment,” before qualifying that there were “things that just happened really quick there.”
The longtime Bruin told reporters that the relationship between the men’s and women’s teams is incredibly strong, and their reaction to the president’s joke was “certainly not reflective of how we feel and look at them and their accomplishments.”
On the subject of his visit to the White House, McAvoy revealed he had always told himself that such an opportunity was one he would never miss.
“Just the history of that building, the history of this country. You know, if I get a chance to go to … I was certainly going to go.”
RELATED: NJ governor crushed with boos at Devils game before honoring Team USA hero Jack Hughes
Trump’s remarks have caused a meltdown among sports reporters, who have incessantly sought comment from the male and female athletes in question.
In response, Team USA women’s captain Hilary Knight lectured her countrymen during interviews this week, describing the backlash as being a “teaching point.”
Knight also called the joke “distasteful and unfortunate,” before saying the male players had a “lapse” in judgment by laughing at Trump’s remarks.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Sports, News, President trump, Team usa, Nhl, Hockey, Women’s hockey, Women’s sports, Olympics, 2026 winter olympics, Boston bruins, Politics
This coast-to-coast rail merger could cut your expenses
Government micromanagement has throttled economic growth for decades. The latest example came when the Surface Transportation Board deemed the Norfolk Southern-Union Pacific merger application incomplete and rejected it without prejudice. That decision delays what would be the first uninterrupted transcontinental railroad in American history — a privately financed project that could strengthen supply chains, boost growth, and improve American competitiveness without costing taxpayers a dime.
For now, that vision sits on hold.
A stronger rail network would help stabilize the supply chain while lowering costs for producers and consumers alike.
The STB said the 7,000-page filing lacked several key materials, including a full market-impact analysis with traffic projections. Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific now must fill in the gaps and refile.
That setback does not decide the larger question. Rail mergers have recovered from early regulatory obstacles before, and the STB’s ruling on completeness says nothing definitive about the underlying merits of this merger.
In May 2021, for example, the STB rejected CSX’s application to acquire Pan Am Railways as incomplete. Two months later, CSX resubmitted the application, and the board accepted it. The combined railroad later expanded shipping options, lowered freight costs for shippers, and supported regional growth.
Opponents of the present merger nevertheless treat the incomplete ruling as a final victory. It is not. It is a procedural delay, not a substantive rejection. And history shows that rail mergers of this kind can generate real economic benefits.
Today, shipping goods across the country by rail often means navigating a patchwork system of freight lines, transfer points, and carriers. Businesses must coordinate among multiple operators just to move a product from one coast to the other.
That fragmentation imposes real costs. It slows delivery, raises uncertainty, and forces businesses to protect themselves with larger inventory buffers and wider shipping windows. Those costs do not disappear. Businesses absorb some of them, and consumers pay the rest.
Farmers, manufacturers, and other suppliers feel that pressure most acutely. Many already operate on thin margins. Add shipping delays and higher freight costs, and those businesses face hard choices: eat the loss, cut investment, or raise prices.
That is why the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger matters.
A stronger rail network would help stabilize the supply chain while lowering costs for producers and consumers alike. It also would mark the first time companies attempted to create a true transcontinental rail line without asking taxpayers to foot the bill.
RELATED: The railroad that could unite — and revive — America
Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images
The competitiveness argument matters too. A USDA study found that wheat grown in 2022 cost more to ship by rail to western ports in the United States than in Canada, even across comparable distances. Canada produces far less wheat than the United States, but its less fragmented rail network gives its exporters an advantage. American farmers, by contrast, compete from a structurally weaker position because the U.S. rail system remains broken into discontinuous lines.
That disadvantage carries real consequences. When uninterrupted, rail can move freight at costs up to 60% lower per ton than other transportation modes. A more seamless coast-to-coast rail network would narrow the gap between American producers and their foreign competitors.
Critics argue that the merger would reduce competition in shipping. That view is too narrow. Freight competition does not occur only within rail. Shippers compare rail with trucking, barges, pipelines, and air cargo. A stronger rail network would not eliminate those alternatives. It would complement them. In a resilient supply chain, businesses need multiple transportation options, not fewer.
An efficient rail system would make the entire freight market stronger by giving shippers another dependable, lower-cost tool for moving goods.
The task now is straightforward: Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific should complete the review process quickly and responsibly. The precedent exists for a successful resubmission after an incomplete ruling. If that happens here, Americans will gain the kind of privately financed infrastructure upgrade the country badly needs.
Opinion & analysis, Union pacific, Norfolk southern, Railroad, Merger, Transportation, Shipping, Infrastructure, Canada, Transcontinental railroad, Economy, Surface transportation board, Traffic, Consumer prices
Rep. Chip Roy’s WARNING about the Islamification of America
BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales and Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) are among those leading the charge against not just a radical Islamic takeover in Texas — but the rest of the nation.
And it’s never been more important that they succeed.
“It is a really big problem, not just in this state or your home state of Texas and my home state of Texas, but in this entire country. And I’m very, very concerned that there are a lot of sleeper cells that are here because of the Biden administration being asleep at the wheel for four years,” Gonzales tells Roy.
And Roy couldn’t agree more.
“Under the First Amendment, you can believe what you want you to believe. But this is a political movement. It’s an ideological movement. The Muslim Brotherhood has a plan,” Roy tells Gonzales.
“That plan is on full display in Dallas-Fort Worth as ground zero.”
“We have no-go zones where women don’t want to go, in Arlington, in Richardson, in suburbs of Dallas-Fort Worth. That is part of their plan to Islamify Texas in our country. That is a political and ideological movement that is not square with the First Amendment. And we should treat it as such,” he continues.
“We should resist it. We should fight it. We should stand up on our Judeo-Christian values,” he adds.
And while standing up for our values against insidious ideologies like Islam is clearly important, the alternative is devastating.
“If we stand together for revival, a revival of faith and a revival of freedom, that faith is our Judeo-Christian principles, our Christian beliefs, and our dedication to freedom. Then we will win, and we’ll have the greatest century in our history,” he explains.
“If we recoil and let people hide behind the First Amendment to radically Islamify our country, if we back away from freedom and the ability of Americans to live without being under the thumb of government, then we will lose,” he continues.
“Those are the issues,” he adds.
Want more from Sara Gonzales?
To enjoy more of Sara’s no-holds-barred takes on news and culture, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
Camera phone, Free, Sharing, Upload, Video, Video phone, Youtube.com, Sara gonzales unfiltered, Sara gonzales, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Texas, Islamify, Islamification, Islamification of america, Sharia law, Chip roy
Notre Dame pro-abortion radical out as leader after students’ and bishops’ pressure campaign
The University of Notre Dame in Indiana announced last month that pro-abortion radical Susan Ostermann had been appointed to lead the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies.
The administrative elevation of an activist whose secular ministry is fundamentally at odds with the moral teachings of the Catholic Church and the school’s corresponding pro-life position proved intolerable to Notre Dame’s members and supporters — including the cleric invested with the power to prohibit the institution from identifying as Catholic.
‘A win for consistency, clarity, and common sense.’
The sustained protest by scholars, supporters, alumni, and clergy — including 15 bishops and two archbishops — appears to have paid off.
Keough School of Global Affairs Dean Mary Gallagher, the administrator who reportedly first made the appointment, announced in a letter on Thursday to students and faculty that Ostermann “has decided not to move forward as director.”
“I am grateful for her willingness to serve and for the thoughtfulness with which she approached this decision,” wrote Gallagher.
Gallagher suggested further that the activist — who has dehumanized the unborn, downplayed the dangers of abortion, equated childbirth without the option of abortion as “violence,” worked with an organization that seeks to enshrine pro-abortion policies around the world, and vilified the pro-life movement — is a “respected scholar” whose “research and teaching reflect the intellectual rigor and interdisciplinary excellence at the heart of both the Lieu Institute and the Keough School of Global Affairs.”
RELATED: Norma McCorvey: Reluctant Jane Roe who answered to higher judge
Photo by ROBERT CHIARITO/AFP via Getty Images
Ostermann said in a statement included in Gallagher’s letter that “the focus on my appointment risks overshadowing the vital work the Institute performs, which it should be allowed to pursue without undue distraction,” reported the Irish Rover.
She noted further that “it has become clear that there is work to do at Notre Dame to build a community where a variety of voices can flourish.”
The announcement comes two weeks after Bishop Kevin Rhoades of the Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend condemned Ostermann’s appointment, underscored that her views and activism were disqualifying, and told the university to “rectify this situation.”
Following the news that Ostermann had thrown in the towel, Bishop Rhoades expressed gratitude “to all the members of the Notre Dame community and beyond who, out of love for Notre Dame, expressed their opposition to the appointment.”
‘The Bishop did not urge us to sit silently and watch our Lady’s University fall before our eyes.’
“The reason I opposed the appointment is because the appointment of persons to leadership positions at a Catholic university is an act of institutional witness, a mission-governance issue,” wrote Rhoades.
“Clearly Notre Dame is reaffirming its fidelity to a core truth of Catholic social teaching that is central to the Church’s commitment to integral human development.”
Mary FioRito, senior fellow at the Catholic Association, said in a statement obtained by Blaze News, “Professor Susan Ostermann’s decision not to accept the position of director at the University of Notre Dame’s Liu Center is a win for consistency, clarity, and common sense.”
“As an explicitly Catholic university, Notre Dame owes its students and faculty ‘truth in advertising,'” continued FioRito. “Ostermann’s public advocacy of legal abortion would have overshadowed the good work of the Liu Center and significantly hampered its ability to form students.”
Catholic and conservative student groups — including Notre Dame Right to Life, Knights of Columbus Council 1477, and the Militia of Immaculata — were planning to hold a prayerful protest Friday evening where they would urge Rev. Robert Dowd, the president of the university, to rescind the appointment and “exercise his authority to enforce Notre Dame’s Catholic mission.”
Sophomore Luke Woodyard, co-organizer of the planned demonstration, stated, “The Bishop did not urge us to sit silently and watch our Lady’s University fall before our eyes; he gave us a clear call to action.”
Notre Dame Right to Life President Anna Kelley told the Observer on Thursday that in light of Ostermann’s decision, students will still assemble on Friday but for “a prayerful procession in gratitude of the recent decision” and in thanks “for the true Catholic identity of Notre Dame.”
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Catholic, Church, Bishop, University, University of notre dame, Notre dame, Indiana, South bend, Catholic church, Abortion, Pro-life, Eugenics, Susan ostermann, Ostermann, Politics
‘Want him buried’: Family’s explosive words surface after cheerleader’s stepbrother reportedly charged in her death on cruise
Anna Kepner — a “bubbly, funny, outgoing” 18-year-old Florida high school cheerleader — was found dead in her cabin on a cruise ship in November. Now, court documents reportedly indicate that her 16-year-old stepbrother has been charged with homicide in connection with her death — and Anna’s family wants justice.
CBS News reported that attorneys for Thomas Hudson, the biological father of the 16-year-old stepbrother, wrote in a Feb. 20 emergency filing: “According to social media from the Kepner family, on February 3, 2026, the Petitioner/Father’s son, TH, was charged by the United States Attorney in the Southern District of Florida for the [redacted] and homicide of Anna Kepner.”
‘I know Anna fought. I know she fought for her life, so it’s rough. It’s rough.’
The filing is part of a custody dispute between Hudson and Shauntel Kepner, the parents of the 16-year-old stepbrother, CBS News said. Hudson petitioned for custody of his 9-year-old daughter, whom he shares with Shauntel, his ex-wife; Hudson’s daughter primarily resides with Shauntel and Christopher Kepner — the biological father of Anna, the victim.
“There has been a significant and unanticipated change in circumstances that requires the immediate transfer of sole time sharing and parental responsibility,” the petition said, according to Gray News.
The reported homicide case against the 16-year-old male and custody battle for the 9-year-old girl are happening simultaneously.
Here is how the family members are connected:
Anna Kepner — 18-year-old high school cheerleader found dead aboard the Carnival Horizon cruise ship in November. TH — Anna’s 16-year-old stepbrother, reportedly charged with homicide in federal court in connection with her death. He is listed as “TH” in court documents because, as a minor, he has not been publicly named. Christopher Kepner — Anna’s biological father. He is married to Shauntel Hudson. He also is TH’s stepfather. Shauntel Kepner — Biological mother of TH. She shares a 9-year-old daughter with her ex-husband, Thomas Hudson. She is now married to Christopher Kepner. Thomas Hudson — TH’s biological father. He is seeking emergency custody of his 9-year-old daughter, whom he shares with Shauntel.
On Tuesday, WESH-TV said it obtained a court document noting that the Kepner family wants Anna’s 16-year-old stepbrother “buried.”
“Immediately after the cruise, the respondent/mother and Chris Kepner expelled [the minor] from their household, and neither has seen [the minor] since then,” the court document stated.
The court document added, “Social media from the Kepner family has indicated that they want the ‘nails in the coffin’ of [the minor], and that both the Kepner family and the respondent ‘want him buried.'”
CBS News reported that there is an ongoing case against Anna’s stepbrother “currently under seal” and that Miami federal Judge Beth Bloom is presiding over it.
The 16-year-old stepbrother appeared at a Feb. 6 hearing in Miami federal court, according to CBS News.
Neither the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida nor the FBI have responded to Blaze News‘ requests for comment.
As Blaze News previously reported, Anna Kepner went on a trip aboard the Carnival Horizon cruise ship, which departed Nov. 2 from Miami for a six-day Caribbean vacation.
According to ABC News, Anna went on the cruise with her grandparents, father, stepmother, siblings, and step-siblings.
Anna’s grandmother, Barbara Kepner, told ABC News, “The two younger girls stayed with the parents, and then the three teenagers, they decided amongst themselves they wanted to stay in the room together.”
The grandmother noted, “But we had a larger room, and we made it very clear that at any time if they weren’t getting along, they didn’t want to be together, we had an extra bed in our room that they could come to.”
On Nov. 7, Anna was found dead, wrapped in a blanket and covered with life vests.
NBC News previously reported that the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office determined Anna’s time of death was 11:17 a.m. Nov. 7.
The Carnival Horizon cruise ship, which has a maximum capacity of nearly 4,000 passengers, returned to Port Miami on Nov. 8.
A source informed ABC News in November that Anna’s death may have been caused by asphyxiation from a bar hold — a chokehold maneuver in which the arm is pressed across the neck. The source noted that there were two bruises on the side of Anna’s neck.
WTVJ-TV reported that a court document filed in early December stated, “The 18-year-old daughter was found asphyxiated under the bed in the room which she shared with TH. The actions of the unsupervised TH are currently under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
Krystal Wright, Anna’s aunt, told WOFL-TV in November, “I know Anna fought. I know she fought for her life, so it’s rough. It’s rough.”
Christopher Kepner cryptically told People magazine in November that he wanted his stepson to face consequences but did not appear to directly blame him for Anna’s death.
“I do not stand behind what my stepson has done,” Christopher stated.
He declared, “I want him to face the consequences. … I will be fighting to make sure that does happen.” But Christopher also indicated, “I cannot say that he is responsible, but I can’t decline.”
However, Christopher pointed out, “He was the only one … in the room, and the FBI has an ongoing investigation in which they will have to provide the evidence to say that he did do it or did not do this.”
Anna was set to graduate from high school this year and had aspirations of joining the U.S. Navy after graduation and later becoming a K-9 police officer, according to her obituary.
Anna’s obituary describes her as a Christian whose “faith blossomed as beautifully as her smile.”
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Murder, Anna kepner, Anna kepner case, Anna kepner murder, Cruise ships, Cruise deaths, Homicide, Crime, Stepbrother, Charged
The Tucker-Huckabee clash missed the real crisis
The aftermath of the viral Tucker Carlson-Mike Huckabee interview has, for me, included the privilege of private conversations with both men, as well as an on-air discussion with Huckabee on my show.
I want to give both men every benefit of the doubt, because I have genuine affection for each of them and respect the lifetime of contributions both have made to the cause. But whether their nearly two-and-a-half-hour clash clarified anything or merely deepened the confusion likely depends on the eye of the beholder.
God initiates covenants. We break them. Then we depend on God’s mercy to bail us out.
Still, let me offer a spiritual clarification as Christians think through the issues now in front of us. My fear is that in arguing over modern Israel, we will become so determined to win secondary battles that we lose sight of the primary truths that govern all of us.
The stakes are not small. If believers drift too far off course, the consequences are damning in the most literal sense.
So we should begin here: You cannot determine whether the current state of Israel is a reconstitution of covenant Israel merely by examining the nation’s behavior. If you have read the Old Testament and tried to compile a list of Israel’s greatest hits in covenant faithfulness, you will not end up with anything resembling a list of bangers like most of Led Zeppelin’s catalog.
From the beginning, the pattern ran the other way. Moses went up Mount Sinai to receive the first words God ever wrote by hand and came down to find the chosen people in the middle of a pagan orgy. After that came the familiar cycle: disobedience, judgment, repentance, deliverance, and then disobedience again — with slavery and captivity poured in for good measure.
Carlson and Huckabee can argue Israel’s borders all they want, but it should surprise no one that the nation never fully possessed the borders outlined in Genesis 15. As with so many things, human beings are terrible at obedience. We always have been.
That is the lesson. God initiates covenants. We break them. Then we depend on God’s mercy to bail us out.
The Jews did not attain a level of holiness that compelled God to bring forth the Messiah. Quite the opposite. Israel had hit bottom, spiritually and temporally. So God initiated yet again, through Christ Jesus, reminding humanity once more that we are utterly lost without Him.
That remains true whether you believe the modern state of Israel is a prophetic extension of Old Testament Israel or not. We must not lose that point, and its implications are not remote, theoretical, or merely historical.
Many Americans, after all, love to read our own national story in providential terms. Fine. Then how are we doing with the whole “endowed by their Creator” business in the Declaration of Independence?
RELATED: Trump’s Iran gamble: Peace Prize or Persian Gulf firestorm
Photo by Tajh Payne/US Navy via Getty Images
Do we know what a gender is? No.
Do we know what a border is? No.
Do we know what a baby is? No.
Do we know what a marriage is? No.
Do we know what a family is? No.
Do we know what a law is? No.
Do we even know our own heritage, customs, and traditions? No.
Sure, people will stand and sing “God Bless America” at the next sporting event, maybe even with tears in their eyes. Then many of them will settle back into their seats and applaud while the world burns around them, so long as someone keeps scratching their bellies.
That is idolatry.
For by grace you have been saved through the free gift of faith — and not by your own doing, lest anyone should boast.
So once again, it is revival or bust. That is why I keep saying it and why I keep praying it. There is no other road to the only promised land that finally matters.
Usa, Israel, Tucker carlson, Mike huckabee, Jews, Christians, Old testament, Opinion & analysis
Taking a cruise to Mexico? Here’s what you need to know amid cartel chaos
Some cruise lines decided to bypass stops in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, this week due to ongoing violence in the country following the death of cartel leader Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes.
Oseguera, a 59-year-old drug lord who led the Jalisco New Generation cartel, was killed by the Mexican army during a security operation over the weekend in the town of Tapalpa. Six other cartel associates were also killed in the raid.
‘We’ve made the decision to shift itineraries on a handful of sailings to bypass Puerto Vallarta for the next few weeks.’
Oseguera’s death sparked violence in the streets from his apparent supporters, who set fires to vehicles and blocked roads in western Mexico.
The U.S. briefly issued a shelter-in-place order for tourists in certain parts of Mexico, including Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta, Ciudad Guzmán, Tijuana, Chiapas, and Michoacán. That order was lifted on Tuesday.
Carnival Corporation told Blaze News that it had altered itineraries to skip stops in Puerto Vallarta.
“Our team has been monitoring things in Mexico throughout the week, and cruise tourism has continued to operate normally across most of the country. That said, we’ve made the decision to shift itineraries on a handful of sailings to bypass Puerto Vallarta for the next few weeks,” Carnival Corporation said. “Our cruise lines are directly notifying affected guests and travel advisors.”
Photo by Yilmaz Yucel/Anadolu via Getty Images
A spokesperson for Norwegian Cruise Line also stated that the company had bypassed a scheduled stop in Puerto Vallarta.
“The safety and well-being of our guests, crew, and the communities we visit are always a top priority. Due to ongoing security operations and the recent U.S. travel warning issued for select areas in Mexico, Norwegian Bliss’ scheduled call to Puerto Vallarta on Feb. 25, 2026, has been canceled. We are closely monitoring the ongoing situation and any additional itinerary updates for ships scheduled to call to Mexico in the near future will be communicated directly with impacted guests,” the spokesperson told Blaze News.
Photo by Ulises Ruiz / AFP via Getty Images
Royal Caribbean told Blaze News on Wednesday that “the safety and security of our guests and crew are always our top priority” but that there had not been any changes to the cruise line’s visits.
“Should there be, we will contact impacted guests and travel agents directly,” the company said.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Cruise, Cruise line, Carnival cruise, Royal caribbean, Norwegian cruise line, Puerto vallarta, Mexico, Cartels, El mencho, Nemesio oseguera cervantes, Drug trafficking, Drug lord, Politics
Defending Education gives parents tools to fight leftist indoctrination
Many parents assume the battles over “woke” education are largely settled — that whatever excesses defined the last few years have been corrected and that schools have moved on.
Recently uncovered internal curriculum guidance from Maryland’s largest school district suggests otherwise.
Eighth-grade students were shown graphic, politically charged material about Immigration and Customs Enforcement during a geography lesson.
The documents reveal that Montgomery County Public Schools encourage teachers to center lessons on white supremacy, racial and gender identity, and the need for students to engage in “resistance to and liberation from” existing social structures. These guidelines were discussed at a recent PTA meeting and outline what the district calls the “Characteristics of Anti-Bias/Antiracist Curriculum.”
Teachers are instructed to emphasize themes of injustice, racism, oppression, implicit bias, and inequity across subject areas — an approach that reframes education not simply as the transmission of knowledge, but as a moral project aimed at reshaping how students understand society and their place within it.
Left alone, this might have remained a quiet local issue — noticed by a handful of parents, discussed briefly, and eventually absorbed into the bureaucratic background noise of a large school system. Instead, the documents became public.
That’s because of Defending Education, a national grassroots nonprofit that helps parents and communities understand what is being taught in schools — and advises them on coordinating a local response when academic instruction drifts into political or ideological advocacy.
Founded in 2021 by free speech advocate Nicole Neily, Defending Education operates according to a model of indirect activism, emphasizing transparency, documentation, and resources over directives. Parents, Defending Education argues, know their schools better than any national group ever could. What they often lack is access to internal materials, legal context, and a sense of whether what they’re seeing is isolated — or part of a broader pattern.
As the organization puts it in its Empower resources:
Knowledge is power. If you walk into a meeting confident that you know what you’re talking about, you’ll be more effective.
That principle underlies most of Defending Education’s work: Collect primary documents, explain what they mean in plain language, and allow families to decide for themselves how — and whether — to act.
Why the Montgomery County case matters
According to Defending Education, the Montgomery County guidance reflects a broader trend: Controversial frameworks are often introduced not as standalone courses, but as values meant to permeate instruction across subjects, grade levels, and disciplines.
In a press release, Paul Runko, senior director of strategic initiatives at Defending Education, said the language in the MCPS materials should concern parents who were told such frameworks were not entering K-12 classrooms:
This internal guidance from Montgomery County Public Schools looks and sounds a lot like Critical Race Theory, despite repeated assurances to parents nationwide that CRT is not in K-12 schools.
Lessons framed around “resistance to and liberation from white supremacy” — and that ask students to “challenge the current social order” — risk dividing students and indoctrinating them into far-left ideology rather than upholding the American ideal that individuals are judged by their character and achievements, not the color of their skin.
Not an isolated case
The Montgomery County documents are not an anomaly. They are one of many examples Defending Education has uncovered across the country in recent months, spanning classroom instruction, curriculum design, and civil rights enforcement.
Recent cases include:
Minnesota (Hermantown Middle School):
Eighth-grade students were shown graphic, politically charged material about Immigration and Customs Enforcement during a geography lesson, including claims of people being “dragged, beaten, tased, and shot.” The lesson asked students to consider whether ICE had “gone too far” and tied immigration enforcement to President Trump’s campaign promises. School officials defended the material as aligned with state standards. Portland, Oregon:
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights opened an investigation into Portland Public Schools following a Title VI complaint filed by Defending Education. The complaint alleges millions in taxpayer dollars were diverted to race-exclusive programs associated with the district’s Center for Black Student Excellence, potentially violating federal civil rights law.
Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Across these cases, Defending Education functions less as a protest group and more as an institutional clearinghouse. Its work includes:
Collecting internal documents and guidance through parent tips and public-records requests; Publishing primary materials so parents can judge content for themselves; Explaining education law, civil rights rules, and parental rights in accessible language; and Providing tools for local engagement with school boards and administrators.
In practice, Defending Education operates as a kind of relay between local parents and a national platform. It gathers tips from families, obtains internal materials through public-records requests, and publishes primary documents so parents can see exactly what schools are saying and doing — often in their own words.
The organization then provides legal and policy context around those materials, helping families understand whether what they’re seeing is routine, questionable, or potentially unlawful.
How to get involved
Parents can explore Defending Education’s Empower resources to understand basic education law, parental rights, and common curriculum frameworks; follow the organization’s reporting to see whether local concerns mirror national trends; or submit tips and documents when something doesn’t seem to align with what schools have publicly promised.
Some parents go further — connecting with others in their district, attending school board meetings more prepared than before, or using Defending Education’s materials to frame questions in ways administrators are more likely to answer. Others simply want reassurance that they’re not imagining patterns that feel hard to name. In either case, the organization’s premise is the same: You know your school best — but you shouldn’t have to navigate it blind.
Defending education, Public school, Crt, Critical race theory, Wokeness, Education, Provisions
3 contentious Texas primaries that hang in the balance
With the Texas primaries fast approaching, candidates are scrambling to pitch a last-minute winning message to voters.
Primary elections are set to take place March 3, leaving Republicans and Democrats with just days to edge out their competition. Here is everything you need to know about the three major primaries that have taken center stage.
1. Ken Paxton vs. John Cornyn vs. Wesley Hunt
Felix/Bloomberg via Getty Images, Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images, Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images
The three-way primary giving Republicans a headache has been the GOP Senate race with Sen. John Cornyn, the establishment-backed incumbent, fending off Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt. Cornyn and Paxton had already been facing off in the bitter primary before Hunt decided to throw his hat in the race.
Hunt’s ambitions are not expected to go far, but his candidacy is forcing the GOP to pour more resources into a race that ought to be a slam dunk.
In a two-way race between Cornyn and Paxton, the attorney general has maintained a narrow 2.3 point average lead. Three-way polls show Hunt pulling a significant portion of the vote from both candidates, with one survey showing 36% support for Paxton, 34% for Cornyn, and 26% for Hunt.
If none of the candidates are able to secure at least 50% of the vote, the Republicans will be forced into a runoff, draining more valuable resources Republicans could otherwise spend in tougher races. Notably, President Donald Trump has refrained from endorsing any of the candidates.
2. Jasmine Crockett vs. James Talarico
Photo by Alberto Silva Fernandez/Getty Images, Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for MoveOn
While Republicans duke it out in the Senate primary, their Democratic counterparts are also trying to find their footing.
Tensions reached a boiling point after Stephen Colbert’s show decided not to air on TV an interview with state Rep. James Talarico, pointing the finger at the Trump administration and the FCC’s “equal time” regulations. Rep. Jasmine Crockett sought to set the record straight, claiming her challenger’s interview was actually canned due to a decision from Colbert or the network, saying they didn’t want to have her on the show.
Crockett has become a rising star for the progressive faction of the party, while Talarico has branded himself a blue-dog Democrat with a Christian upbringing.
Although Talarico’s attempts to moderate would likely give him an advantage in the general, Crockett has maintained an average of a three-point advantage against her primary opponent. It’s also worth noting that polls predict that no matter the nominee, both Crockett and Talarico would have the best shot of securing the Senate seat going up against Paxton.
3. Tony Gonzales vs. Brandon Herrera
Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images, by Scott Stephen Ball for The Washington Post via Getty Images
The House primary that has recently become the center of controversy has been in Texas’ 23rd congressional district between incumbent Rep. Tony Gonzales (R) and gun YouTuber Brandon Herrera.
Herrera came within striking distance of unseating Gonzales in 2024, but Gonzales narrowly managed to maintain his House seat. Gonzales’ odds at re-election are now looking slimmer than ever after a massive scandal broke, derailing his campaign and bringing calls of resignation from his Republican colleagues.
RELATED: ‘Desperate rage’: Republican accuses lawyer of ‘blackmail’ amid affair rumors linked to staffer’s suicide
The nightmare began when Gonzales’ former staffer Regina Santos-Aviles tragically took her own life by setting herself on fire in the backyard of her Uvalde home back in September. A month after her horrific passing, reports began to surface alleging that Gonzales had had an affair with Santos-Aviles.
These allegations resurfaced after new text messages were turned over to the media that appear to confirm the affair. The most recent set of alleged text messages seem to show Gonzales pressuring Santos-Aviles to send explicit photos as well as asking about her favorite sexual position.
This sparked a massive rebellion within the GOP with mounting pressure for Gonzales to resign. Notably, Trump has not yet rescinded his endorsement of the Texas Republican.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Donald trump, Texas, Texas primary, Tony gonzales, Brandon herrera, Regina santos-aviles, Jasmine crockett, James talarico, Stephen colbert, Fcc, Texas senate primary, Texas senate race, Wesley hunt, John cornyn, Ken paxton, House republicans, House democrats, Senate republicans, Senate demcorats, Politics
VIDEO: Park rangers kick foreigners out of famed La Jolla Cove for throwing rocks at protected sea lions
A family of foreigners visiting California were kicked out of the famed La Jolla Cove in San Diego after they were caught allegedly harassing the sea lions.
Visitors and tourists to the cove are warned to avoid the sea lions, but unruly behavior has led some activists to call on the state to shut down access to human beings in order to protect the animals.
‘Why shouldn’t I give you a citation for kicking an animal?’
On Sunday, San Diego photographer Jim Grant said he witnessed one such incident and recorded a San Diego City park ranger kicking out a group of people from the Cove.
“He was giving a really, really stern warning to a couple of kids about throwing things,” said Grant to KNSD-TV. “Finally he told the mother, ‘Woman in the brown jacket, come to the top of the stairs.'”
The video shows the mother interacting in broken English with the ranger.
“Where are you guys from?” the ranger asks.
“China,” the mother says.
“China? In China, do you guys throw dirt at the animals too?” he asks.
“Why shouldn’t I give you a citation for kicking an animal?” the ranger asks later on.
He decided not to give the family a citation but did follow through with kicking them out of the Cove.
Grant said he’s never seen anyone kicked out of the Cove in decades of shooting photos there.
The woman got off easy. Harassing sea lions is a violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and carries a punishment of up to $30,000 per violation and up to one year in prison.
“The Cove is not your personal petting zoo, and it’s not the wild, wild west. There are federal regulations that are put there for a reason,” Grant added.
In July 2024, video captured at the Cove showed sea lions charging at beachgoers and causing a panic. Experts said that they were not actually chasing people but were likely just looking for a suitable place to mate.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
La jolla cove sea lions, Marine mammal protection act, Chinese people harass animals, Chinese kicked out of la jolla, Crime
The next fight over freedom will run through AI models
When it comes to artificial intelligence, the Trump administration has made its position clear: America will not choke innovation with red tape.
That instinct is understandable and, in many ways, correct. AI is moving fast, and heavy-handed regulation could do real damage. If the United States cripples its own companies, China will gladly take the advantage. And no one on the right wants blue-state politicians using AI rules to smuggle “woke” ideology into the next generation of powerful models.
The goal should be straightforward: Build an American AI future in which freedom is embedded from the start, and constitutional guardrails shape the systems that will increasingly shape us.
As White House AI adviser David Sacks recently put it, “We don’t like seeing blue states trying to insert their woke ideology in AI models, and we really want to try and stop that.”
Fair enough.
But what happens when resistance to bad regulation hardens into resistance to any regulation at all?
That question is now surfacing in Utah, where the White House is reportedly opposing a Republican-sponsored AI transparency bill. The fight may sound parochial, but it raises a much larger question: Do conservatives have the discipline to protect constitutional liberty in the AI age?
Utah isn’t California
The Utah proposal is not a European-style crackdown. It would not impose speech codes, mandate ideological compliance, or try to centrally plan the AI economy.
At its core, the bill focuses on transparency and accountability. It would require frontier AI companies to disclose serious risks, plan for safety in advance, report major problems, and protect whistleblowers who raise alarms.
That’s far from radical.
If the administration’s AI strategy is to stop progressive states from embedding political orthodoxy into algorithms, Utah’s bill does not belong in that category. The measure is about making sure the companies building extraordinarily powerful systems acknowledge the risks up front and take responsibility when things go wrong.
Treating that effort as if it were blue-state social engineering confuses two very different problems. There is a real difference between using AI regulation to enforce ideology and asking powerful firms to level with the public about systems that could reshape society.
The myth of an ‘unregulated’ AI market
Another uncomfortable truth lurks beneath this debate: AI is not operating in anything like a free-market vacuum.
The European Union has already enacted its sweeping AI Act. That regulatory regime will not stop at Europe’s borders. American companies that operate globally will feel its force, and American users will feel the downstream effects.
If the United States adopts a posture of total federal non-engagement, it will not preserve a neutral market. It will hand the regulatory initiative to Brussels.
That would be a serious mistake. Europe does not regulate with American constitutional principles in mind. It regulates through a bureaucratic worldview that prizes centralized control over freedom. If Washington refuses to establish clear guardrails rooted in our own constitutional tradition, foreign regulators and multinational firms will fill the void.
Power without constitutional guardrails
AI is quickly becoming part of the infrastructure of modern life. These systems increasingly shape how information flows, how public opinion forms, and how daily choices get nudged.
That is power.
We have already watched major corporations use private power to shape public life. Social-media companies moderated, suppressed, and curated speech in ways that tilted public debate. Large firms adopted ESG frameworks that embedded political priorities into lending, hiring, and investment. In both cases, powerful institutions pushed ideological outcomes without a vote being cast or a law being passed.
Nothing suggests AI will escape those pressures.
RELATED: If AI isn’t built for freedom, it will be programmed for control
gorodenkoff / Getty Images
The companies building frontier systems carry their own assumptions, incentives, and cultural biases. If those assumptions get baked into foundational models — and those models then get integrated into education, finance, media, hiring, and governance — ideological influence will move from the margins to the infrastructure of society.
Yes, clumsy central planning would hurt innovation and weaken America’s position against China. But the answer cannot be blind faith that market incentives alone will protect liberty. That asks a great deal of institutions that have already shown a willingness to steer political and cultural outcomes in their preferred direction.
The real challenge is making sure extraordinary technological power develops inside a framework that respects constitutional rights, individual liberty, and personal autonomy.
A pro-liberty AI framework
The Trump administration is right to resist ideological manipulation in AI models and to oppose sweeping regimes that would handicap American innovation while China races ahead.
But someone will shape the boundaries of this technology. The only real question is whether those boundaries reflect American constitutional principles or the preferences of foreign regulators and corporate boards.
Red states such as Utah should be treated as allies in that effort, not obstacles. They can serve as proving ground for approaches that protect transparency, due process, free expression, and individual autonomy without strangling innovation.
Artificial intelligence will shape the next century more than any single statute. Total non-engagement may sound pro-growth, but in practice it leaves the foundational rules of the AI era to someone else.
The goal should be straightforward: Build an American AI future in which freedom is embedded from the start, and constitutional guardrails shape the systems that will increasingly shape us.
Ai, China, Usa, Liberty, Ai regulations, Artificial intelligence, Opinion & analysis, Donald trump, Utah, Legislation, Woke ai, Leftism, Red states, Blue states, Brussels, European union, Free speech, Censorship, David sacks, Free market, Transparency
After years infiltrating child exploitation rings, expert reveals an even DARKER American underworld
Jared Hudson is a former Navy Seal, a devoted Christian, a current Republican candidate running for the U.S. Senate seat in Alabama, and the founder of Covenant Rescue Group, a nonprofit dedicated to combatting human trafficking and child exploitation through law enforcement training; operations to rescue victims and arrest perpetrators; and advocacy.
On a recent episode of “Strange Encounters,” Hudson joined Rick Burgess to dive into today’s darkest headlines — Epstein, child exploitation, cultural depravity, and political corruption — and ultimately connect them to the bigger reality of spiritual warfare.
During their conversation, however, Hudson told Rick something that genuinely shocked the BlazeTV host: After years of infiltrating the child exploitation industry, there’s an even darker underworld operating in the United States.
Since Covenant Rescue Group kicked off in 2019, Hudson and his team have seen things most of us can’t even begin to imagine.
“I mean, we’ve seen guys having sex with 18-month old babies — their own children,” he says.
And yet, Hudson says his work in D.C. politics has shockingly exposed him to even deeper levels of depravity.
“I feel [depravity] more now in the politics side that I’ve gotten involved in running for U.S. Senate than I do in the child exploitation side,” he told Rick, who was taken aback by this declaration.
“You just said that you have sensed demonic activity [in politics] more … than you’ve even seen in Covenant Rescue with human trafficking and child exploitation. So, why would that be?” he asks.
Hudson explains that dealing with child exploitation, while undeniably monstrous, is in some ways easier because it’s still “taboo” and widely opposed.
“Look at the outcry from both sides of the aisle on this Epstein stuff, right?” he says.
Even though there are fringe groups that want to destigmatize pedophilia by pushing it “into a sexual orientation,” by and large, “we are, as a society, not past protecting children,” he explains.
Hudson compares that to the D.C. swamp, which runs on “partiality.”
“Everybody within politics, even if they disagree with exploitation or whatever, they show partiality,” Hudson says.
And where partiality thrives, so does depravity, he explains, citing James 3:16-17: “For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”
“Career politicians, even if they claim to be Christians, they sell access … and they’re partial to donors,” Hudson says, arguing that these politicians disregard those who “can’t write [them] a max donation check,” “support a super PAC,” or “put [them] on a platform that’s going to reach a 100,000 people.”
“They’re partial to their club as opposed to the people they’re elected to represent. And you have a bureaucracy that’s in place, and you have these elitists that are in place that think that they can buy … your position, buy you, buy access to you … and own [you],” he explains.
This kind of systemic corruption isn’t occasional or confined to certain groups — it’s baked into the structures and normalized at every level.
“It’s across the board for everything — congressmen, even the president,” Hudson says.
“Everything’s for sale,” Rick echoes.
To hear more, watch the full episode above.
Want more from Rick Burgess?
To enjoy more bold talk and big laughs, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
Strange encounters, Strange encounters with rick burgess, Blazetv, Blaze media, Rick burgess, Jared hudson, Dc corruption, Spiritual warfare
Washington’s red tape machine finally met some sharp scissors
Affordability has become a problem for nearly every American. Inflation and the rising cost of living keep chewing through paychecks, and the old markers of the American dream — home ownership, small-business ownership, a secure retirement — feel farther out of reach than they have in years.
Some people respond by demanding more government involvement in daily life. President Trump has taken the opposite view: The government should step back.
Success will not come only from repealing rules. It will come when regulators stop seeing entrepreneurs as problems to manage and start seeing them as partners in growth.
Within days of returning to office, Trump signed two major executive orders aimed at saving money for business owners and taxpayers alike: Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation and the much-discussed DOGE initiative. Their core principle was simple: For every new federal regulation, agencies should eliminate 10 old ones.
One year later, the results are real.
I have spent that year on the front lines of the fight against unnecessary regulation as a regional advocate in the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy. Congress established the office in 1976, but it has taken on renewed life under the current administration.
My team and I have spent the past year meeting with small-business owners — many still trying to recover from the economic damage of the COVID lockdown era — to identify ways the federal government can serve as a partner instead of a roadblock.
Nationwide, our team has met with more than 12,000 businesses.
The full report is available publicly, but the top-line results from the past year are straightforward:
We flagged more than 300 regulatory issues for federal regulators.We helped influence changes to 23 federal regulations affecting millions of businesses.We saved small businesses nearly $110 billion in unnecessary regulatory costs.
That last number is significant, but it also shows the scale of the broader problem. Federal regulation costs the U.S. economy more than $3 trillion a year by some estimates — roughly 12% of GDP. Much of that burden falls hardest on smaller firms that cannot absorb legal and compliance costs the way large corporations can. Meanwhile, the Code of Federal Regulations has swollen from a few thousand pages decades ago to more than 180,000 pages today.
For small businesses, that kind of regulatory sprawl is not an abstraction. It is a threat.
Big companies can keep in-house counsel, compliance officers, and HR departments on payroll. A family business, a contractor, or a startup working out of a garage cannot. Excessive regulation tilts the playing field toward the largest players and against the very people most likely to create new jobs and local wealth.
For too long, federal rulemaking has treated small-business owners as an afterthought. We once heard that giant firms were “too big to fail.” Today, many small businesses face a different reality: they are becoming too small to succeed.
RELATED: Republicans and Democrats are in revolt — for very different reasons
Douglas Rissing/Getty Images
One of the most effective tools we have built to push back is the SBA’s Red Tape Hotline — 1-800-827-5722 — which allows small-business owners to speak directly with federal staff about regulatory burdens and offer suggestions for reform. Through that hotline, we have heard from thousands of people we could not have reached in person.
Our broader goal is to improve the regulatory climate for every business owner in the country. But even saving a mom-and-pop shop a few billable hours with an attorney can make a real difference.
In one especially memorable case, SBA staff helped a toy company in Mississippi clear a shipment through Customs and Border Protection in time for December — literally saving Christmas for that business.
The philosophy behind this work is the same one that guided me as mayor of Riverton, Utah, where I recently completed two terms. Riverton has grown because we kept taxes, fees, and regulations low enough for businesses to thrive. Companies came, jobs followed, and the city’s sales-tax revenue doubled during my time in office. Watching that same pro-growth approach work at the national level has been deeply rewarding.
Still, this is only a first down, not a touchdown.
Success will not come only from repealing rules. It will come when regulators stop seeing entrepreneurs as problems to manage and start seeing them as partners in growth. If we can make that shift, we can do more than trim costs. We can make the American dream attainable again.
Government regulations, Red tape, Small businesses, Entrepreneurs, American dream, Affordability, Regulatory costs, Small business administration, Opinion & analysis