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You won’t hear many people object to President Trump’s executive order to ban corporate purchases of residential homes. The idea sounds like common sense. But it targets a minor symptom while leaving the real disease untouched — and in some respects, it risks making that disease worse.

Institutional home-buying already peaked during the COVID-era bubble and has receded since then. In most markets, corporate ownership represents a small share of total inventory. Even at its height, it never explained why housing costs exploded for everyone else. High prices created the opportunity for institutional buyers, not the other way around.

The goal should not be cheaper debt. It should be cheaper homes.

Government policy inflated the housing market. Institutional buyers simply responded.

During COVID, the Federal Reserve pushed interest rates toward zero. Mortgage rates fell below 3%. At the same time, the Fed bought roughly $2.7 trillion in mortgage-backed securities, and HUD expanded “affordable homeownership” programs that widened the pool of subsidized buyers. Those policies produced predictable results.

When the government offers 2.5% interest for 30 years — often paired with minimal down payments backed by the FHA — buyers flood the market. Sellers respond by raising prices. The bubble becomes a feature, not a bug.

Institutional buyers entered that environment because it looked like easy money. Higher home prices also pushed rents up, so developers built more homes for long-term rental. Both trends flowed from the same source: a government-shaped market that made housing unaffordable, then subsidized the unaffordability.

Trump now seems focused on the symptom — corporate buyers — while ignoring the machinery that inflated the market in the first place.

He has spent months fighting Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to bring rates back down toward zero. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve still holds about $2.1 trillion in mortgage-backed securities. Trump has also announced a plan for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase another $200 billion in MBS. The stated goal is to lower mortgage rates.

But the goal should not be cheaper debt. It should be cheaper homes.

RELATED: ‘Rents will come down’ — but not in sanctuary cities: Loan agent chronicles homes apparently abandoned by illegal aliens

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Artificially lowering rates props up prices and slows correction. Prices in many markets have begun to soften. That correction should continue. Policies designed to suppress rates will keep prices elevated and risk inflating the next bubble.

That brings us back to corporate home-buying. Even at the COVID peak, institutional buyers — defined as entities owning at least 100 single-family homes — owned about 3.1% of the housing stock. That number has since fallen to around 1%. Investors see the market turning, and they have started backing away.

So Trump’s corporate-purchase ban arrives late, targets a relatively small share of the market, and risks becoming cosmetic cover for policies that keep the bubble inflated.

If Trump wants to drive prices down and permanently realign housing with median incomes, he has to reverse the policies that inflated the bubble. That means attacking the structure, not the headline.

Get government out of the mortgage market. Trump’s next Federal Reserve chair must commit to unwinding the Fed’s mortgage-backed securities portfolio. That $2.1 trillion cushion keeps mortgage rates lower than the market would otherwise set. Those artificially low rates inflate home prices.

End universal “homeownership for everyone” policy. The federal government keeps subsidizing buyers who are not ready to buy. Those programs inject cash into housing demand that would not exist in a real market. The goal should align prices with income, not chase a utopian dream of universal ownership. After decades of subsidies, deductions, and federal credit support, the home ownership rate still sits around the mid-60% range.

Stop chasing near-zero interest rates. A 30-year loan at 2% sounds appealing until you realize what it does to prices. Cheap money bids up homes across the board. Buyers pay the price forever even as politicians brag about the “deal.” Trump should let the market set rates. Recent rate cuts have not restored normal home buying either. Sales remain weak because prices remain too high.

End the 30-year fixed mortgage. Instead of floating longer loans — 50 years? Madness! — the country should move in the opposite direction. Before the New Deal era, short-term mortgages, often three to seven years, dominated the market. Federal policy transformed that structure.

Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the National Housing Act of 1934, establishing the Federal Housing Authority. The FHA insured long-term, fully amortizing mortgages with fixed rates, low down payments, and standardized payment schedules. That system moved the market away from short-term balloon loans and laid the foundation for longer terms.

RELATED: America tried to save the planet and forgot to save itself

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Congress eventually authorized the 30-year mortgage in 1954. VA loans under the GI Bill and the expansion of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac later built a secondary market that made long-term fixed-rate loans attractive to lenders.

Government insurance, guarantees, and liquidity support made 30-year fixed mortgages feasible, which is why they represent 80%-90% of U.S. mortgages today. Without those interventions, lenders would not carry that risk.

The larger point remains simple: Sellers can’t charge prices buyers can’t pay. Prices explode only when government subsidies and government-backed long-term debt expand what buyers can “afford” on paper.

Unwind the subsidies. Unwind the guarantees. Unwind the cheap-money machinery. Let incomes, not federal policy, set the ceiling.

Housing should function like other consumer markets, not be engineered by Washington. Prices should reflect what people earn.

That’s the fix. Everything else treats symptoms and pretends to solve the problem.

​Opinion & analysis, Donald trump, Housing, Affordability, Housing bubble, Federal housing authority, Subsidies, Fannie mae and freddie mac, Taxes, Debt, Interest rates, Jerome powell, Federal reserve, Supreme court, 30-year mortgage, Mortgage rates, Homeownership, American dream, Blackstone, Blackrock, Covid-19, Hud, Mortgage-backed securities, Mbs 

On the North Norfolk coast, dawn is more sensory than visual.

Sea lavender and samphire engulf you before the bite of the wind reminds you of nature’s power. As the sun rises above the horizon, my father and I cross the salt marshes, the light revealing tidal creeks winding through the mudflats. This time, though, I know it is our last trip together.

In angling, the tippet is the thinnest section of line, the point most likely to fail.

Every step is taken with the knowledge that these rituals — these early mornings, the scent of salt and wildflowers, the quiet companionship — are being performed for the final time.

Silence as stewardship

This is not just a landscape but a stage on which the story of my family unfolds. Each tradition echoes those who came before and those still to come. This place, and these shared customs repeated year after year, have woven our family history together — each visit another stitch in a tapestry stretched across generations.

There is no better place for solitude than Stiffkey, an idyllic village nestled in the Norfolk countryside. For miles around, the only sounds are wood pigeons cooing in the trees and the distant thunder of the sea. It is still very early — five in the morning — when we break this peace with the rhythmic punch of a shovel digging into saturated sand. My father and I do not speak as we work. Ours is a silence filled with meaning, a language shaped by years of tradition and respect for the world around us.

The rhythm of these mornings — the shared labor, the quiet companionship — blurs the boundaries between past and present, between father and son, creating a continuous thread running through my memory. Growing up, my father and I mainly communicated through the tension of a fishing line. Our family has never been big on talking; we are like frayed strings, bound and spliced together by tradition.

In the modern world, silence between two men is often treated as a void to be filled with noise. But on this stretch of coastline, silence is a form of stewardship. To be quiet is to respect the natural world. To be quiet together is to acknowledge a bond that does not require speech.

Here time folds in on itself — my father’s footsteps merging with his father’s, and mine with both of theirs.

Stiffkey blues

My father brought us to Stiffkey every year for our family holiday. For decades, this was his parish. He moved through the shifting terrain with the confidence of a man who knew the tide’s schedule like the back of his hand.

This time, watching him navigate the narrow ravines in the soft morning light, I see not the man who first guided me to the water 20 years earlier but his shadow. His light has dimmed — but it is still bright enough to guide us.

The lessons of Stiffkey are as much about patience, respect, and inheritance as they are about fishing. Each action — from digging bait to laying lines — forms a thread in the fabric of our shared history.

Laying fishing lines is a skill. The tide’s timing and direction determine how the lines must be slanted to catch fish. Digging your own bait matters too; no competent angler wants to carry unnecessary weight from home.

You take only what you need, while respecting the land and sea. From an early age, this was the lesson my father taught me: We are merely guardians, entrusted with care until it is time to pass things on.

“The ragworms aren’t biting,” I would tell him. He would approach with his antalgic gait, quietly move my shovel a few feet, and say, softly but with conviction, “Dig between the holes — that’s where they live.” Ten minutes later, the plastic bucket would overflow.

These moments bridge generations, passing down not just skill but belonging. This was where my grandfather taught my father to fish. Decades later, my father stood here teaching me.

A disused sewage pipe stretches northward, its end disappearing beneath the waves of the North Sea, marked only by a lone orange buoy. With an upturned wooden rake slung over my shoulder, its worn teeth piercing an old onion sack, I would walk the length of the pipeline. I can still feel the chill of rusted metal beneath my bare feet and my father’s watchful eyes — stern yet generous — urging me on. Together we raked the mudflats for cockles, the famed “Stiffkey blues,” once plentiful, now sought like hidden treasure.

RELATED: How I rediscovered the virtue of citizenship on a remote Canadian island

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The cycle of care

Every sensory detail — the cold pipeline, the mudflats, the weight of the rake — anchors memory to place, making past and present inseparable.

Trust and love, learned in my father’s shadow, now guide me as I support him. The cycle of care turns gently but inexorably.

My father’s name is Peter. As his name suggests, he was always my rock — my moral guide — and I followed him with a child’s absolute confidence. Now the roles have quietly reversed. I lead; he leans on my shoulder.

The symbolism of the tippet — its fragility and strength — mirrors this transfer of responsibility. In angling, the tippet is the thinnest section of line, the point most likely to fail. As I watch my father struggle with the nylon — his hands, calloused by 50 years of labor, unable to tie the hook — it becomes clear that we are in the tippet phase of our relationship.

I take over, tying a grinner knot. He has taught me this a thousand times, but today feels different. As I pull the knot tight, I feel the weight of his legacy. He is handing over the keys to his kingdom.

The weight of a soul

At daybreak the following morning, we set off with the same excitement I once felt as a 5-year-old. His unspoken lesson had always been that disappointment should be met with patience. Then there it is: a solitary bass, glistening in the early sun. His hands tremble as he holds it up, smiling. On the walk back to the car, we laugh as seagulls swoop in, trying to steal our catch.

As our roles shifted, so did my understanding. Fishing became a meditation on acceptance, mortality, and shared silence. Fishing with a dying father reminds you that life is finite. It shows that the boundary between this world and the next is as thin as a fishing line — fragile, transparent, yet strong enough to bear the weight of a soul.

Even after loss, the rituals persist. Each return to Stiffkey is both goodbye and renewal. The year after his death, I returned to scatter his ashes. As the wind carried him out to sea, I understood that life’s true tippet strength is not measured by where it breaks but by what it can hold before it does.

​Lifestyle, Fishing, Norfolk, United kingdom, North sea, Fathers, Death, Mortality, Stiffkey, First-person 

A 27-year-old man was found dead with numerous gunshot wounds after he allegedly broke down the door of a family that was armed for self-defense.

Arizona police responded to a shots-fired report at the residence on Sunday evening in the town of Buckeye, according to KSAZ-TV.

Investigators found that the security door had been ripped off its hinges.

The incident unfolded just before 9 p.m. at the home on Yuma Road and 237th Lane.

“When officers arrived, they located a man inside the home suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and three other individuals who were not injured,” police said.

The man was identified as Michael Diaz.

An investigation said there were three people in the home, a mother and her two adult children, when Diaz began to bang on their door.

“A woman answered the door, and the male intruder began to force his way into the home,” police said. “A man in the home retrieved a handgun and went to the door just as the intruder broke through the security door and stepped inside.”

Police said the man fired at Diaz and struck him. He died at the scene.

Investigators found that the security door had been ripped off its hinges as the mother went to answer the door. KSAZ was able to obtain security video from the neighborhood that captured the sound of four gunshots.

RELATED: Texas homeowner arrested for shooting and killing intruder, police say story didn’t add up

One neighbor told KSAZ that he heard the gunshots but believed at the time that they were fireworks.

“I was in the living room with my wife and daughter, and we just hear multiple gunshots,” the neighbor said. “It’s really scary.”

The family declined to speak to the media, and KSAZ reported that evidence markers and bloodstains were visible in the front yard of the home, which was boarded up. An attorney told KTVK-TV that the incident likely fell under the state’s Castle Doctrine and the homeowner who shot Diaz would not face charges.

Police said the family did not know the intruder.

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​Home intruder shot and killed, Second amendment defense, Buckeye home intruder killed, Break down door, Crime 

A recently elected Detroit police commissioner has withdrawn his promise to resign, even after a local news outlet made public his criminal past — as well as his antagonistic interactions with cops.

On December 17, Darious Morris, 38, was sworn in as one of nearly a dozen members of the Board of Police Commissioners, entrusted with overseeing the Detroit Police Department. Morris won the seat representing District 3 on a write-in campaign after no other name appeared on the ballot.

‘If you would have put your hands on him, I would have shot you!’

However, a report from WXYZ-TV just a few weeks later led Morris to consider tendering his resignation.

Morris has a criminal record that extends all the way back to 2009, when he pled no contest to felony fraud and impersonating a public officer charges in connection with what he described as “real estate fraud.”

“It was taking homes from the bank that the bank got foreclosed on people, and we were fraudulently taking the deeds to the homes and deeding them over,” Morris told the outlet.

While he was sentenced to probation in these cases, he was charged with fraud again a year later and wound up behind bars for two years, WXYZ reported. After his release, Morris apparently lived the next 12 years as a law-abiding citizen.

RELATED: Crooks need only 5 minutes to steal $90,000 in merchandise from Detroit clothing store in predawn heist, owner says

Photo by Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

That sterling record changed in May 2023, when he involved himself in a relatively routine traffic stop of a mini-bike driver in the neighboring city of Warren.

It turns out the bike was not street-legal, and the driver did not have a license, police said. Morris stood at a distance during the stop, claiming he wanted to make sure the cops were acting appropriately.

Morris also seemingly suggested that he was a member of law enforcement, donning a silver police badge purchased online. According to Warren police, Morris falsely told the officers he was a “Detroit Police Department Chaplain at the 9th Precinct.”

Bodycam footage shows one Warren officer ordering Morris: “Stand by the vehicle, please. If you interfere with this stop, understand you are not allowed to.”

After Morris later repeatedly calls the officer an “idiot,” the cop responds, “I’m done. I’m done talking to you,” according to the video.

The officer then attempts to get in his vehicle when Morris cries out: “If you would have put your hands on him, I would have shot you!”

Morris later pled guilty to assaulting, resisting, or obstructing a police officer and was sentenced to probation. He admitted to WXYZ that he had lashed out in “anger,” knowing the remark “would upset” the officer. He also claimed he had not been armed at the time and that he has since apologized to the officer.

‘No matter what was said previously, right now, he’s not resigning.’

Just since his election in November, Morris, who has dubbed himself “the People’s Commissioner,” has rankled local officers with his officiousness, bluster, and accusations of mistreatment.

On December 28, he interrupted police rendering assistance to a drug-overdose victim. “We’re trying to help someone here,” one officer reportedly pleaded with Morris, who was attempting to speak with them.

Morris later filed a complaint against that officer. DPD told WXYZ an investigation into the officer’s actions has been opened.

Morris also caused a scene at a Detroit precinct, refusing to go through a metal detector like all other visitors. When a cop demanded he comply with the policy, Morris shot back, “Put your information on a piece of paper so I can get you wrote up.”

Morris even called for ousting a white Detroit police commander whose precinct he implied is racist.

“A lot of black citizens have been reporting to em that they are being mistreated by officers out of that precinct. I even experienced disrespect by one of their officers,” Morris wrote in a since-deleted social media post, according to the Midwesterner.

“Get rid of Commander Svec immediately!” the post added.

At least one police group has called for Morris to resign, accusing him of spewing “alarming anti-police rhetoric,” attempting to “dox” police officers, and not living up to his promises.

“Upon being sworn in on December 17, 2025, Commissioner Morris stated that he was eager to improve the relationship between the youth of Detroit and the Police Department. Not even a month later, he is instigating citizens against police officers,” National Association of Police Organizations Executive Director William Johnson wrote in a letter to the Board of Police Commissioners.

RELATED: University of Michigan’s bio-smuggling scandal explodes: More Chinese scholars busted in alleged plot

Photo by Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images

Shortly after the WXYZ-TV story aired last week, Morris initially agreed to step down from the Board of Police Commissioners. “I already have my city-issued laptop and all my stuff packed up and ready,” he told the outlet, acknowledging that the public may view the BOPC “in an unfavorable light” on his account.

At a press conference Monday, however, Morris’ attorneys walked that resignation pledge back. “No matter what was said previously, right now, he’s not resigning,” insisted Mohammed Nasser.

Of note, Morris could still be in trouble with the law. Back in 2021, weapons charges against Morris were dropped after an officer did not appear at the scheduled hearing, but the office of Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy claimed that those charges may now be refiled.

“We have asked that the case be re-issued. When we receive the warrant request from (Detroit police) it will be reviewed,” spokesperson Maria Miller told the Detroit Free Press.

About these pending weapons charges, Nasser said, “We would certainly advise our client not to resign and allow the criminal case — if it comes — to be addressed in due course. Reissuances do happen. In our practice, we see it all the time. The fact that it is coming many years later, I’ll leave that for everyone to decipher as to what they believe the reason may be.”

The BOPC did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

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​Detroit, Board of police commissioners, Darious morris, Kym worthy, Wayne county, Wayne county prosecutor’s office, Politics 

Nick Shirley — the 23-year-old investigative journalist who exposed day-care fraud in Minnesota with a video that has now surpassed 140 million views — is back with part two.

“It’s a whole other aspect to the fraud scheme,” says BlazeTV host Liz Wheeler, who invited Shirley to “The Liz Wheeler Show” to share his latest discoveries.

In the first video, Shirley exposed numerous Somali-run day-care centers in Minnesota as fraudulent operations. Despite receiving millions (or even billions overall) in taxpayer-funded government subsidies through programs like CCAP and Medicaid, these centers provided no actual child-care services. Footage captures Shirley visiting multiple empty facilities with locked doors, blacked-out windows, no visible children, and sketchy “staff members.”

In part two, which dropped last week, Shirley shines a light on non-emergency medical transportation companies in Minnesota, which he alleges are fraudulently billing the state and Medicaid for millions of dollars in rides and services that never actually occurred.

Liz plays a clip from part two in which Shirley and his partner, Minnesota native David Hoch, enter a Somali-run business called “Safari Transportation,” which is registered as a non-emergency medical transportation company. Except when they get inside, they find that it’s a money-wiring business.

These non-emergency medical transportation centers, Shirley explains, are the hub of the wheel of Minnesota fraud. The day-care centers, autism services, assisted living, and food assistance programs are the spokes of the wheel because “in order for these people to receive these services, they need to get moved to locations,” he says.

Shirley gives the example of an adult living at an assisted living center. If he or she needs to go to the doctor, a transportation service is needed. However, many of the transportation businesses in Minnesota are simply shell companies. They submit fake paperwork for services that were never provided while billing the state.

“Like how much money are we talking?” asks Liz.

“We estimated just doing like the national average. Like each NEMT averages around 20 vehicles per company. And then each ride, each trip is around $50, and each vehicle, if they’re out doing the work, they’re doing about 10 trips a day. So we estimated around like $8 million [per day],” says Nick.

This fraud, he explains, doesn’t just rip off the Minnesota taxpayer. All Americans are affected because both “state money and federal money” is being used to reimburse these “transportation companies.”

“Their hands are in our pockets,” says Liz.

To watch the full interview, check out the episode above.

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​The liz wheeler show, Liz wheeler, Minnesota fraud, Minnesota somali fraud, Minnesota somalis, Fraud ring, Nick shirley, Nick shirley video, Blazetv, Blaze media 

My buddy Ryan Rhodes, who’s running for Congress in Iowa’s 4th District, drove north to Minnesota to see the chaos in Minneapolis up close. What he found looked worse than the headlines.

“You have a really Islamo-communist set of people who we have imported” to this country, Rhodes told me. “I think you’ve got a lot of Muslim Brotherhood agents in there, people whose message is, ‘We have taken over this city.’ Forget just elections. We lose our country if we keep allowing these people to come in.”

Americans can handle hard truths. They can handle sacrifice. They can handle a fight. What they won’t handle is watching the bad guys win again.

Rhodes wasn’t talking like a guy chasing clicks. He sounded like a guy staring at the map and realizing tyranny doesn’t need a passport. It can sit three hours from your front door.

So forgive me if I don’t have much patience for the foreign-policy sermonizing right now. How am I supposed to sell voters on “freedom in Iran” while Minneapolis slides toward lawlessness and Washington keeps acting powerless to stop it?

That pitch collapses fast with working-class Americans, especially while the economy limps along and trust remains thin on the ground. Republican voters want competence, results, and consequences for people who harm the country. They want accountability at home first.

We’ve lived what happens without it.

COVID cracked Trump’s first term because bureaucrats and “experts” ran wild, issued edicts, trashed livelihoods, and faced zero consequences. Then the George Floyd riots poured gasoline on the fire. Cities burned while federal authorities watched the destruction unfold.

Trump’s comeback last year required more than winning an election. It required overcoming a full-scale assault on the country’s spirit — and on the right to live as free citizens. The machine didn’t just beat Republicans at the ballot box. It hunted them. Roughly 1,400 Americans were rounded up by the Biden regime over the January 6 “insurrection.” They went after Trump too. They went after anyone in their way.

Those four years didn’t just wreck careers in Washington. They reached down to the local level — school boards acting like petty dictators, public health officials issuing mask and jab mandates, and doctors’ offices turning into political compliance centers. Families paid the price.

Now the country watches the same disease spread again.

People see domestic radicals attack federal officers in the streets. They watch Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) posture like a man protecting the mob, not the public. They hear Minneapolis leaders talk like ICE has no right to exist inside city limits. The footage looks like a warning, not an isolated event.

Remember CHAZ/CHOP in Seattle in 2020? That’s the template: Declare a zone off-limits to law, romanticize the lawlessness, and dare the state to reassert control. Every time the government blinks, the radicals learn the lesson: Push harder.

Demoralization has started to set in. I see it on Facebook and on the ground. In Iowa, I’m seeing campaign photos that would’ve been unthinkable in past cycles: small crowds, low energy, people staying home. Iowa has its first open Republican gubernatorial primary in 15 years, and the mood should feel electric. Instead, it feels like exhaustion.

As things stand, fewer Republicans will vote in the June primary than voted in the 2016 Iowa caucuses. That’s unheard of. Iowa has more than 700,000 registered Republicans. I wouldn’t bet on even 200,000 showing up.

That should terrify the White House.

RELATED: America now looks like a marriage headed for divorce — with no exit

Photo by Madison Thorn/Anadolu via Getty Images

Trump isn’t on the ballot in Iowa anymore. He doesn’t need to win another primary. But the movement still needs to win elections. It needs to win them in places like Iowa — and it needs to win them while the country watches cities like Minneapolis drift toward foreign-flag politics and open contempt for American sovereignty.

Rhodes put it bluntly: If we don’t stop this, we’re watching an Islamic conquest play out in real time, one “sanctuary” city at a time. Great Britain didn’t fall in a day. It surrendered by degrees.

So what do voters need to see now?

Not another speech. Not another promise. Not another commission. Not another “investigation” that ends in a shrug.

They need to see what they were promised when Trump ran for a second term: accountability.

If the country watches Minnesota slide into open defiance of federal law and nobody pays a price for it, voters will conclude the system can’t defend them. And if the system can’t defend them at home, it has no credibility abroad.

Start with Minnesota. Make it plain that “no-go zones” don’t exist in the United States. Enforce the law. Protect federal agents. Prosecute the people who assault them. Strip federal money from jurisdictions that obstruct enforcement. Treat organized lawlessness like organized lawlessness, not a political disagreement.

Americans can handle hard truths. They can handle sacrifice. They can handle a fight.

What they won’t handle is watching the bad guys win again — without consequences.

​Opinion & analysis, Iowa, Primaries, Elections, 2026 midterms, Minnesota, Minneapolis, Riots, Protests, Voter turnout, Iran, Foreign policy, Law and order, Donald trump, Accountability 

Second lady Usha Vance announced that she was pregnant with the fourth child of Vice President JD Vance.

The second lady posted a statement from the vice president on social media Tuesday.

‘We are particularly grateful for the military doctors who take excellent care of our family.’

“We’re very excited to share the news that Usha is pregnant with our fourth child, a boy. Usha and the baby are doing well, and we are all looking forward to welcoming him in late July,” the statement reads.

“During this exciting and hectic time, we are particularly grateful for the military doctors who take excellent care of our family and for the staff members who do so much to ensure that we can serve the country while enjoying a wonderful life with our children,” he added.

The two have been married since 2014 after meeting at Yale University and have two boys, Ewan and Vivek, and a daughter named Mirabel.

Many congratulations and blessings were sent to her from prominent politicians, some of whom pointed out that the child would be the first to be born to a sitting vice president.

“Congratulations!” replied Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). “This is great news. Children are a gift from God.”

“Children are such a blessing, and this baby boy is blessed to have both of you as his parents,” responded Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee.

“Congratulations to our friends … on this wonderful news! Abraham and I are thrilled for you and your family,” replied Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.

RELATED: TPUSA straw poll shows dominant front-runner for 2028 nomination

“Congratulations! Children are a blessing,” said Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas.

Prior to marrying JD Vance, his wife clerked for Chief Justice John Roberts on the Supreme Court.

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​Jd vance baby, Usha vance pregnant, Babies born in office, Jd and usha vance, Politics 

If you thought Don Lemon’s fall from grace was over — that he had hit the bottom and the only direction he could possibly go was up — then you would be wrong.

Lemon dug his hole a little deeper when he broke into a Minneapolis church service alongside a group of ICE protesters, one of whom claimed that the church “cannot pretend to be a house of God while harboring someone who is directing ICE agents to wreak havoc upon our community and who killed Renee Good.”

“A weird accusation, right, that a pastor at the church is running a part of ICE? A local chapter of ICE? … What was fascinating about that is, first of all, you might know that even if he happens to be working for the federal government in some capacity, that does not make it OK to go and ransack his church or interrupt a service,” BlazeTV host Stu Burguiere comments.

“Also, the guy wasn’t even there,” he adds.

While Lemon and the protesters appeared very confident that storming a church full of worshippers was their right, Stu points out that “you are not actually able to do what they did.”

“I mean, you can physically do it, as they, I guess, accomplished, but you can’t legally do what they did. We have a very strong tradition, of course, in this country of the right to protest. That is something that is fundamentally ingrained in our society and something that’s very important for us to protect,” he explains.

“That being said, we also have one that, you know, gives you freedom to exercise your religion and to worship. And the problem with all of this, of course, is you went in there with your loud chanting and stopped people from their ability to execute their First Amendment right,” he continues.

“Those things bump into each other, and the law is very clear on which side wins when those two do bump into each other,” he adds, pointing out that the DOJ is already vowing to press charges after the activists’ and Lemon’s actions.

However, Lemon doesn’t appear to understand this.

“Don Lemon’s a moron. OK? We’ve known this for a very long time. Don Lemon’s an idiot. But Don Lemon also thinks he knows something about not only civil rights, but also apparently the First Amendment, which he knows nothing about,” Stu says.

And the disgraced former news anchor made this clear when he interviewed the pastor of the church.

“This is unacceptable. It’s shameful. It’s shameful to interrupt a public gathering of Christians in worship,” the pastor told Lemon.

“But listen, we live in, there’s a Constitution and the First Amendment to freedom of speech and freedom to assemble and protest,” Lemon tried to argue.

“We’re here to worship Jesus. Because that’s the hope of these cities. That’s the hope of the world is Jesus Christ,” the pastor responded.

“I will say, Don, again, I mentioned this before, is an idiot,” Stu says, adding, “and that’s a problem for his analysis on the First Amendment. The First Amendment does not, very much not, allow you to go into a church service and disrupt it and prevent people who are in the middle of executing their First Amendment rights to be able to worship.”

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A Texas fugitive was dressed in a hoodie with a menacing message on it amid his arrest in connection with what authorities called a woman’s “suspicious death.”

The Azle Police Department said in a statement that it had worked with United States Marshals, Texas Rangers, the Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division, and the Parker County Special Crimes Unit to locate and arrest Kruz Dean Wanser on Jan. 15.

‘She will be remembered for her creativity, humor, and the unwavering love that radiated from within her.’

Police said Wanser was a “wanted fugitive, who was sought in connection to the suspicious death of 37-year-old Margaret Pennington.”

Police said Pennington was found dead inside an Azle residence on Jan. 11.

“At this time, the cause of death is still pending,” law enforcement stated; the Tarrant County Medical Examiner is conducting the autopsy.

Police on Jan. 12 announced that Wanser was a “person of interest” in the suspicious death investigation and offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

Police said Wanser was arrested three days later and charged with tampering with or fabricating physical evidence with intent to impair a human corpse, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance, and parole violation.

In his mugshot, Wanser wore a blue hoodie with the following message on it: “I will put you in a trunk and help people look for you. Stop playing with me.”

RELATED: Brazilian au pair turns on former lover during murder trial, says he plotted wife’s death by luring stranger from fetish site

Police did not reveal any relationship between Wanser and Pennington and did not name a motive for her death.

According to Tarrant County court records the New York Post reviewed, Wanser was charged with evading police with a vehicle in 2021 and drug possession in 2022 and in July 2025.

Pennington’s obituary states she was “deeply loved by her family and friends.”

“Margaret had a creative and sentimental spirit. She found comfort in baking, crocheting, enjoyed music, had a keen interest in genealogy, and loved collecting vintage treasures that carried history and meaning,” her obituary reads.

Pennington is survived by her mother, father, former husband, and his three children, and she “cherished her role in helping raise” the kids.

“Margaret’s life was a tapestry of complexity, yet she embodied the essence of humanity and the profound love she shared,” the obituary reads. “She will be remembered for her creativity, humor, and the unwavering love that radiated from within her.”

The obituary cites 1 Corinthians 13:4, 7: “Love is patient, love is kind. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

Police are urging anyone with information about the case to contact them at 817-444-3221.

While police don’t mention Wanser’s hoodie message in their Facebook post, plenty of commenters sure noticed it. The following are but a few of the more than 1,000 reactions:

“You know that saying, ‘Dress for the job you want, not the job you have’ really applies here,” one commenter wrote.”I don’t know if what the hoodie says can be used as evidence, but please find DNA on it and photograph it as evidence so it at least makes it into the court documents,” another user said.”I mean, have we checked the trunk?” another commenter asked.”Sometimes jokes write themselves…” another user observed.”The hoodie is not a good look bud,” another commenter stated.

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Captain America and Iron Man would be feigning progressivism in public while secretly voting Republicans down the ballot, according to stand-up comedian Chris D’Elia.

D’Elia was discussing political influence in television shows with fellow comedians Erik Griffin and Brendan Schaub when he presented his theory.

‘Wolverine! Cyclops! Professor X, hello?!’

The trio said that while some TV shows simply have entertaining characters that happen to be gay, the “gay agenda” becomes evident when certain storylines are forced.

Team Trump

“What I do think they do do, though, is with their big shows, they try to figure out how to put gay characters in it, or trans characters,” D’Elia said on “The Golden Hour” podcast.

This led D’Elia to theorize that even though superheroes are “all woke in the movies,” they are definitely voting Republican at the ballot box.

“What superhero would be left-wing?! They wouldn’t. They have so much power,” D’Elia said, launching into a signature screaming tirade.

“Jarvis, what’s up with this f**kin’ trans s**t?!” he joked, mimicking actor Robert Downey Jr. in “Iron Man.”

“You know the real Captain America would be f**king Republican, secretly voting for Trump. And you know Iron Man would be talking to Jarvis about f**king woke bitches, dude!” he continued.

RELATED: New ‘Star Trek’ DEI disaster flops despite airing for free: A ‘huge, gay, glee club middle finger’

Stable genius

Griffin prompted D’Elia to explain which members of the X-Men he feels are Republicans, which had the New Jersey native yelling into the microphone.

“Who’s Republican, dude? Wolverine! Cyclops! Professor X, hello?! You think he’s out there — in his mind, he’s like, ‘But secretly, f**k these woke, white liberal women.’ Killing them left and right, dude, with his brain.”

Griffin — known for his work on shows like “Workaholics” — calmly delivered his thoughts about when shows go too far with their political agenda. The 53-year-old explained that shows have jumped the shark when they become “an after-school special” that has a political lesson to teach.

“To me, that’s the agenda thing, is when you’re trying to control how people think about stuff,” he said.

RELATED: Trump fatigue: Golden Globes host on why she kept jokes politics-free

Tranovision

This inspired Griffin and Schaub to develop an idea for a new filter on platforms like Netflix, where users can opt out of seeing transgender or overly gay content.

“They just need a filter,” Griffin explained. “Like, more than just age filter, right? What if they had a ‘gay agenda’ filter?”

Schaub put a stamp on the topic and said that while he certainly enjoys a lot of new shows, “with the gay narrative, just leave it all out of the kids’ stuff. But for the grown-ups, dude, you’re a grown-ass person.”

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The alleged pipe bombs placed at two sites on Capitol Hill on Jan. 5, 2021, were not capable of exploding and thus were not bombs at all, an explosives expert said in a new federal criminal case filing.

The devices, found along the rear of the Capitol Hill Club and under a bench at the Democratic National Committee building on Jan. 6, lacked the needed chemicals and proper fusing system that would have made them explosives, according to Brennan Phillips, a 20-year veteran of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

‘The two suspected pipe bombs in question do not contain an explosive filler capable of causing an explosion.’

In a report created for pipe-bomb suspect Brian J. Cole Jr.’s defense team, Phillips rejected the FBI’s five-year-long insistence that the devices were “viable” and could have exploded.

“Based on my review of the materials provided, the two suspected pipe bombs in question do not contain an explosive filler capable of causing an explosion,” Phillips wrote.

The report, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., late on Friday, is just the latest complication for the U.S. Justice Department and the FBI in the prosecution of Cole, 30, a suburban Virginia man arrested Dec. 4 and charged a day later with two felony explosives counts.

The defense filed the explosives expert’s report along with a motion to revoke the detention order keeping Cole locked up in the Rappahannock Regional Jail pending trial.

A U.S. Capitol Police bomb robot heads for the alley behind the Capitol Hill Club to render safe a pipe bomb discovered about 12:40 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021.U.S. Capitol Police CCTV

At virtually the same time on Jan. 16, U.S. District Judge Amir Ali issued an order rejecting Cole’s emergency petition to reconsider the detention decision made by U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh.

Phillips said the chemicals used in the devices were not properly constituted and thus incapable of sparking an explosion.

“These chemicals need to be apportioned into a workable fuel-to-oxidizer ratio: 75% potassium nitrate (also known as saltpeter) 15% charcoal, and 10% sulfur is the most widely cited Black Powder ratio,” he wrote.

Above: the Capitol Hill pipe bombs before they were processed by a bomb robot. Below: One of the devices reconstructed by the FBI.FBI images

“The photos of the lab samples taken from the powders recovered from the two pipes show mostly large white particles with some flecks of dark material,” Phillips wrote, “which is not visually consistent with Back Powder but is consistent with inadequate mixing in a bowl.”

The FBI cited purchases of various items the bureau claims Cole made between 2018 and 2022, including sulfur dust and potassium nitrate. No public FBI records cite the purchase of any charcoal. These sourced ingredients can pose a purity problem for use in black powder. Inert ingredients used in the products Cole allegedly purchased tend to blunt their effectiveness as components to make black powder, according to an independent investigator known online as Armitas, who has worked with Blaze News on the pipe bomb investigation.

Like tiny lumps of coal

“Quality black powder, whether commercial or made by a knowledgeable hobbyist in a home setting, is granular and resembles tiny lumps of coal (Thurman, 2010),” Phillips wrote. “This granular black powder, made from 75% potassium nitrate, 15% charcoal, and 10% sulfur, is the result of a multi-step process that involves grinding, milling, pressing, and corning to achieve a high-quality product.”

The process described by Phillips would be something that requires, at minimum, some level of hobbyist experience.

“In the home environment, this is typically achieved by first purchasing or creating finely ground precursor chemicals. For example, a hobbyist might use a coffee grinder to grind lump charcoal into a fine powder,” Phillips said. “Once the finely ground powders of potassium nitrate, charcoal, and sulfur are acquired, they need to be combined into a homogeneous mixture. A common starting point is to mix the materials using progressively finer mesh screens.”

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ motorcade drives directly past a pipe bomb as it moves to evacuate Harris from the front of the DNC building on Jan. 6, 2021.U.S. Capitol Police CCTV

The “early-stage” powders that result from an “incorporation” process “are typically low-strength and require pressing to achieve the performance required for Black Powder firearms, or bomb making,” Phillips wrote.

In addition to the problems with the fuel, Phillips said the Capitol Hill devices lacked an appropriate fusing system.

“Beyond the lack of a viable explosive filler for the two pipes, neither device has a functional fuzing and firing system capable of igniting a flame-sensitive explosive filler,” he wrote. “Based on my experience and testing, a single 9-volt battery attached to a 1.5-inch square of steel wool will not generate enough heat to ignite Black Powder.”

Constant controversy

There has been controversy surrounding the devices since their discovery between 12:40 p.m. and 1:05 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021. A prime example was the deviation from standard protocol by police and U.S. Secret Service agents when the device was found under a bush at the base of a park bench at the DNC building.

The standard response to discovery of a suspected pipe bomb would be the immediate establishment of a blast perimeter and the evacuation of everyone in nearby buildings. Roads would be closed at the blast perimeter, and no one would be allowed to drive or walk inside.

A Capitol Police counter-surveillance special agent who found the DNC device at 1:05 p.m. walked to a nearby Secret Service sport utility vehicle to notify agents of his discovery. Instead of an urgent reaction, the agents sat in their vehicles for more than two minutes, finishing their lunch.

According to federal law-enforcement standards, the preferred evacuation distance from a pipe bomb is more than 1,200 feet.FBI

Even after emerging from the vehicles parked in the DNC driveway, the agents acted nonchalantly, standing just feet from the device. A uniformed Capitol Police officer walked up to the park bench and took a photograph of the device.

Pedestrians were allowed to traverse the sidewalk along South Capitol Street, walking mere feet from the suspected bomb. Vehicle traffic continued unabated on Capitol, Canal, and Ivy streets, as well as Washington Avenue.

Commuter trains continued to rumble over the railroad trestle behind the DNC building for 20 minutes after the device was discovered.

Inside the DNC, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris wasn’t evacuated for 10 minutes. Her motorcade pulled out of the underground garage and drove right past the bomb before circling the south end of the building and picking her up at the Ivy Street entrance.

Despite the ostensible threat to Harris’ life, Democrats never claimed the pipe bomb was an attempted assassination. For more than five years since, Harris has neither commented on her close call with disaster, nor explained why she was at the DNC building instead of the Capitol, where as a U.S. senator, her vote was needed to certify the 2020 presidential election.

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​January 6 

Blaze News captured more exclusive footage of hysterical anti-ICE protesters in Minneapolis, Minnesota, after the lethal shooting of Renee Good.

One particularly passionate protester says he was a U.S. Air Force veteran and reads from a prepared statement. He wears a jacket with transgender flags as well as a Hello Kitty decoration.

‘You ain’t s**t! Put your badge down! I’ll fight you!’

“I’m protesting what was done to Renee Good. I am protesting what was done to George Floyd, to Leonard Peltier, to Trayvon Martin, and to all those who have suffered violence and injustice from the hands of fascism!” he says.

“I am Charlotte Sanders, and I use she/her/her pronouns. I am a liberal, leftist, pagan, lesbian, transgender woman, and witch! My deadname is Matthew Tyler Sanders, but I am Charlotte,” he continues.

“I stand here today to go up against the violent injustices done to everyone like Renee Nicole Good, George Floyd Jr., Leonard Peltier, and Trayvon Martin,” the man says. “I am here to stand up and fight against fascism, tyranny, systematic oppression, xenophobia, racism, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, and hate! I am here to stand up against the bullies and cowards!”

He goes on to say that he had suffered from psoriatic arthritis as well as cancer that were caused by “psychological and emotional” trauma.

“We must take a stand against fascism and hate!” he concludes. “We must annihilate fascism and hate.”

He says he was protesting in order to protect his “LGBTQIA2S+ chosen family and community.”

RELATED: Unhinged anti-ICE extremists hurl profanities at agents in Minneapolis: ‘Get the f**k out!’

In later parts of the video, protesters follow federal troops and chant at them to leave the city.

“Look at your ugly ass smiles, ohhh!” says one female protester.

“You guys hate America, right,” says a male protester to the troops. “You think you love it, but you f**king hate it. This is the First Amendment. What are you guys doing?! You should be joining us! A f**king woman was shot in the face!”

Another male protester has a message for President Donald Trump.

“Do you have any heart? Do you have any heart? Do you have any soul? Especially if you are Christian,” the man says. “How can you say any of this is Christian? It’s not in any way!”

One protester’s sign equated Trump to Hitler and adds, “The blood is on your hands!!”

The video ended with crazed epithet-filled screaming against ICE officers at the facility in Minneapolis.

“I say f**k ICE! If they want a piece, come and f**king get it!” adds Matthew Sanders in a last snippet.

RELATED: Shocking cellphone video of Minneapolis lethal shooting from ICE agent’s perspective released — and JD Vance reacts

In a second video captured by Blaze News, a protester threatens to fight officers on the streets of Minneapolis.

“You ain’t s**t! Put your badge down! I’ll fight you!” the man says. “And if you want to see me, we can go get into my trunk, and we can do something different! You wanna take it like that? None of you got vests on! I clocked that s**t, homie!”

“How old were you when your mommy dropped you on your head?!” screams a female protester.

Another protester makes an extended analogy comparing Trump to the emperor character in the “Star Wars” franchise. He says he isn’t a fan of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), but he opposes the ICE surge.

“If they can put away the fraudsters, great!” the man adds. “But is [an] ICE agent tackling some kid bringing shopping carts into Target, is that helping tackle fraud? I don’t think so.”

In another scene from the city, a woman screams at officers as they appear to back away from protesters.

“Get the f**k out of here, piggy! You don’t belong here! You don’t belong here!” she yells. “Are you guys scared? Are you guys scared of our little cardboard sign?!”

The video ends with a protester running with a Somali flag in front of assembled troops as another protester screams incoherently.

A previous Blaze News video with exclusive protester footage was published Jan. 9 and can still be viewed online.

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As Democrats continue to cause mass hysteria surrounding Immigration and Customs Enforcement, they also appear to forget what their beliefs were in 2008, when President Obama was the one sending out ICE agents on raids.

“Let’s get in the time traveling machine. Let’s go back in time to just some years ago under the Obama administration in Chicago where CNN of all places, CNN actually did a ride along with ICE,” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales explains.

“And you will notice something about this report, this special report ride along, is that it’s actually very positive for ICE,” she adds.

The report tastefully shows ICE arresting illegal immigrants, who are shockingly not being harassed by protesters.

“There’s no signs about ICE. There’s no one coming over blowing their whistles. There’s no one following journalists. There’s no one following CNN and going, ‘ICE is here. Don’t come out. ICE,’” Gonzales comments, surprised.

“It was all totally fine until ‘orange man bad.’ It was all fine. Now I would also like to just remind all of these leftists who apparently need a reminder that it was fine when Obama was doing it, it was fine when Obama was doing it,” she says.

In 2025, there were 605,000 deportations under President Trump and 1.9 million self-deportations for a total of 2.5 million deportations. Under Barack Obama, there were over three million deportations.

“Now President Trump, I believe, will at the end of his second term, of course, he will have more deportations than Barack Obama. But as it stands now, Barack Obama sent out more than three million people. Actually more than his predecessor George W. Bush,” Gonzales explains.

“This was one of the things that he was very strong on and very unapologetic on,” she continues, before playing a clip of Obama explaining his position.

“We’ve had five million undocumented workers come over the borders since George Bush took office. It has become an extraordinary problem, and the reason the American people are concerned is because they are seeing their own economic position slip away,” Obama said on CNN in 2008.

“And often times, employers are exploiting these undocumented workers. They’re not paying the minimum wage. They’re not observing worker safety laws. As president, I will make sure that we finally have the kind of border security that we need. That’s step number one,” he continued.

“Step number two is to take on employers. Right now, an employer has more of a chance of getting hit by lightning than be prosecuted for hiring an undocumented worker. That has to change. They have to be held accountable,” he added.

“The Barack Obama in 2008 that said illegals need to go home and employers should be penalized for employing illegals would never get elected in today’s Democrat Party,” Gonzales comments, adding, “Never. Never. That’s how far the Democrats have shifted on this, that’s how far they’ve gone.”

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Christian organizations spent nearly a decade fighting New York’s requirement that they pay for abortions. They came out victorious on Friday, thanks in part to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June.

In January 2017, then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that the Empire State would require employers to not only pay for contraceptive drugs and devices but for “all medically necessary abortion services.”

Cuomo, a Catholic, said that the mandate was one of a number of regulatory actions that would “help ensure that whatever happens at the federal level, women in our state will have cost-free access to reproductive health care.”

‘The state has given up its disgraceful campaign.’

While there was a religious exemption built into the mandate, it was extremely narrow.

As satisfaction of the mandate would violate their deeply held religious beliefs, a coalition of Christian groups ineligible for the exemption — including the Roman Catholic Dioceses of Albany and Ogdensburg, the Anglican Sisterhood of St. Mary, Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, and First Bible Baptist Church — sued the State of New York, claiming it violated the First Amendment’s free exercise clause and both religion clauses.

After years of legal setbacks, the Christian plaintiffs’ fight was renewed in late 2021 when the U.S. Supreme Court vacated a mandate-affirming ruling by the state appellate court and ordered it to reconsider the case in light of its 2021 decision in Fulton v. Philadelphia. In Fulton, the SCOTUS ruled that the City of Philadelphia had violated Catholic Social Services’ free exercise of religion by requiring the foster care agency to endorse homosexual couples as foster parents.

RELATED: Biden’s faith attacks backfire: Support for religious liberties soars to record high under Trump, new report shows

Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images

Again, the state appellate court considered the case, and again it ruled against the plaintiffs and in favor of the abortion mandate.

The Supreme Court took up the Christian groups’ subsequent appeal, and in June 2025, it ordered the Court of Appeals of New York to reconsider the case in light of its June 5 ruling in Catholic Charities Bureau, Inc. v. Wisconsin Labor. In that particular case, the high court unanimously held that by denying the Catholic Charities Bureau a tax exemption that is available for religious entities, Wisconsin had violated the First Amendment.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor said in the opinion for the court, “When the government distinguishes among religions based on theological differences in their provision of services, it imposes a denominational preference that must satisfy the highest level of judicial scrutiny.”

That Supreme Court ruling boded poorly for New York, whose abortion mandate had a similarly narrow and problematic religious exemption.

On Friday, New York agreed to surrender its effort to coerce the Christian plaintiffs into funding abortions.

“For nearly a decade, New York bureaucrats tried to strong-arm nuns into paying for abortions because they serve all those in need,” said Lori Windham, senior counsel at Becket and attorney for the plaintiffs, in a statement. “At long last, the state has given up its disgraceful campaign. This victory confirms that the government cannot punish religious ministries for living out their faith by serving everyone.”

“The Supreme Court has made it abundantly clear that religious groups shouldn’t be bullied for staying true to their faith,” Windham added.

Per the terms of the settlement with self-identified Catholic Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration, the following entities will now be recognized as religious employers, thereby securing exemptions from the mandate: the Roman Catholic Dioceses of Albany and Ogdensburg and the Catholic Charities thereof; St. Gregory the Great Roman Catholic Church Society of Amherst; First Bible Baptist Church; Our Savior’s Lutheran Church of Albany; Teresian House Nursing Home Company, Inc.; Teresian House Housing Corporation; and Depaul Housing Management Corporation.

The Sisterhood of Mary and the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Brooklyn have dropped their free exercise claims against the state.

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Try explaining this one: President Donald Trump’s relaxed — almost insouciant — response to news that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney pledged allegiance to a China-centered “new world order.”

Why did Trump appear to shrug off Carney’s insistence that Canada’s future lies more with China than with the United States?

Carney’s favorable assessment of China’s role in climate and green finance is not an isolated remark.

Perhaps it has something to do with Greenland and Canada being viewed as components of Trump’s broader Western Hemisphere security plan.

Cue the black helicopters

Not long ago, “new world order” belonged firmly in the vocabulary of conspiracy theorists. But in Beijing last week, Carney elevated the phrase into an official Liberal talking point.

So what did Carney say? Plenty.

Mine is the first visit of a Canadian prime minister to China in nearly a decade. The world has changed much since that last visit, and I believe the progress that we have made in the partnership sets us up well for the new world order.

Trump did not respond immediately. Instead, he waited until the end of the news day last Friday before offering his reaction.

“That’s what he should be doing, and it’s a good thing for him to sign a trade deal. If you can get a deal with China, you should do that,” Trump said.

Not the response many expected from a president who has urged countries in the Western Hemisphere to distance themselves from Beijing.

World order word salad

Pressed on what he meant by a “new world order,” Carney responded with his characteristic blend of abstraction and deflection.

So the question is, what gets built in that place? How much of a patchwork is it? How much is it just on a bilateral basis? Or where do like-minded countries in certain areas? So like-minded countries, just to be clear, doesn’t mean you agree on everything. So aspects, for example, on digital trade or agricultural trade, climate finance as another area to move into areas of geo-strategy, geo-security, you will have different coalitions that are formed. So what this partnership does is in areas, for example, of clean energy, conventional energy, agriculture, as we were just talking about, and financial services, which we have talked less about, but the evolution of the global financial system.

Trump’s nonchalance was not shared by conservative commentators, who sharply criticized Carney’s remarks.

Alex Jones, for one, described Carney as “a Klaus Schwab acolyte” and warned: “You are about to see the globalist prime minister of Canada pledge allegiance to the communist dictator in China, Xi Jinping.”

RELATED: What does Trump see in Canada’s pro-China prime minister?

Chip Somodevilla/Dave Chan/Getty Images

China guy

So far, Carney’s new world order with China has produced a trade agreement allowing up to 49,000 electric vehicles to be imported into Canada annually at a reduced tariff of 6.1%. In return, China is expected to lower tariffs on Canadian agricultural exports — most notably canola oil, a key cash crop for Canadian farmers — to roughly 15%.

But there is nothing new about Carney’s deference to China.

After leaving the Bank of England in 2020, Carney became vice chairman of the board of Bloomberg L.P., the privately held financial data and media company founded by Michael Bloomberg. During the same period, he also served as co-chair of the U.N.-backed Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, working alongside Bloomberg in his separate capacity as the United Nations’ Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions.

In that capacity, Carney consistently praised the alleged environmental stewardship of China, somehow locating a deep commitment to fighting climate change in a country that continues to power its economy with coal-fired plants.

Take Carney’s March 2024 visit to China, during which he told a reporter for the Chinese business outlet 21st Century Business Herald (English translation via Google Translate):

China has made a huge contribution to the fight against climate change, not only in terms of its massive investment in clean technologies and exporting them to other countries, but also in actively developing the financial system needed for the green transition.

Yuan to grow on

Carney’s favorable assessment of China’s role in climate and green finance is not an isolated remark. It aligns with a broader argument he has advanced in recent years: that global economic leadership should become more multipolar, with China playing a larger role alongside — rather than beneath — U.S. dominance.

That worldview extends to currency and finance. At the 2019 Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, Carney argued that the world should reduce its dependence on the U.S. dollar by exploring a new “synthetic hegemonic currency,” a framework designed to dilute the dominance of any single national currency.

Carney did not explicitly call for the Chinese yuan to replace the U.S. dollar outright. But his proposal would, by design, weaken the centrality of the dollar and expand the influence of non-U.S. currencies and financial systems.

Trump, for his part, has twice endorsed Carney during Canadian federal elections. Their relationship — particularly during Oval Office meetings — has been described as friendly, though it may be better understood as Trump indulging a leader he views as temporary.

Why does Trump consistently give Carney a pass?

Perhaps because Trump sees Carney less as a lasting architect of global order than as a passing phenomenon — unlikely to impede the president’s broader aim of reinforcing American economic primacy, regardless of how warmly Carney speaks of China’s place in the world.

​Mark carney, Canada, Culture, New world order, Alex jones, Donald trump, Trade talks, Bloomberg, China, Xi jinping, Klaus schwab, Letter from canada 

The Trump administration officials are pushing California to return over $1 billion in federal taxpayer funds that may have been used to cover the health care costs of illegal aliens.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced in May that it was increasing oversight on states that illegally used Medicaid funding to provide illegal immigrants with health care services, noting that Medicaid funding is generally available to illegal aliens only for emergency medical services.

‘We are teaming up to combat healthcare fraud so the money can be used for American citizens who need it!’

As part of the announcement, the CMS declared that states could be forced to reimburse the federal government for funds spent on noncitizens.

CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz revealed in October that the agency found more than $1 billion of federal taxpayer funds were spent on Medicaid for illegal aliens.

“And my team is getting it back,” he remarked.

Oz called CMS’ findings “shocking.”

“In a preliminary review of six states, we found those states improperly using federal tax dollars for their allegedly state-funded program and providing coverage to individuals, including some with criminal records of murder and assault,” he stated.

Those findings included $1.3 billion in California, $2.1 million in Washington, D.C., $30 million in Illinois, $2.4 million in Washington, $1.5 million in Colorado, and $5.4 million in Oregon.

RELATED: Dr. Oz exposes the nonprofit lie at the heart of US health care

Mehmet Oz, Bill Essayli. Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images

Oz explained that the states had been notified and that “many” had begun issuing refunds to CMS. However the administrator provided an update on Wednesday, stating that additional uncovered data revealed the total had reached $1.8 billion across eight states.

He announced that the CMS is withholding nearly $300 million from California, which Oz labeled “the worst offender,” until the state’s leadership proves “they’re spending the money properly.”

Bill Essayli, first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, stated, “California must return more than $1 billion to the federal government after an audit by @DrOzCMS and his team uncovered federal dollars being spent on healthcare for illegal immigrants. We are teaming up to combat healthcare fraud so the money can be used for American citizens who need it!”

California officials have rejected claims that the federal funds were misused.

The California Department of Health Care Services previously told the New York Times, “Claims that California improperly used federal Medicaid dollars to provide health care to undocumented immigrants are flatly false and misrepresent both federal law and standard administrative practice.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

RELATED: Illegal-alien patients drain Texas hospitals, racking up billion-dollar bill — in less than a year

Gavin Newsom. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Washington, D.C., has agreed to pay back over $650,000 to CMS by mid-November.

An Illinois Medicaid spokesperson previously told PolitiFact, “Once again, the Trump administration is spreading misinformation about standard uses of Medicaid dollars.”

“This is not a reality show, and there is no conspiracy to circumvent federal law and provide ineligible individuals with Medicaid coverage. Dr. Oz should stop pushing conspiracy theories and focus on improving health care for the American people,” the spokesperson added.

A Washington State Health Care Authority also pushed back on CMS’ claims, calling the estimates shared by Oz “inaccurate.”

“We were very surprised to see Dr. Oz’s post, especially considering we continue to work with CMS in good faith to answer their questions and clear up any confusion,” the spokesperson said.

Colorado’s Department of Health Care Policy & Financing also insisted the state did not break the law.

“Our payments for coverage of undocumented individuals are in accordance with state and federal laws,” a spokesperson told PolitiFact. “The $1.5 million number referenced by federal leaders today is based on an incorrect preliminary finding, and has been refuted with supporting data by our Department experts.”

Oregon Health Authority previously told KOIN that CMS’ claim was “false and mischaracterizes not just this essential part of our nation’s emergency care infrastructure, but also an ongoing, routine audit process.”

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Journalist Savanah Hernandez is shedding light on one abhorrent story out of New York City — where a man who used his weapon to protect himself was sent to prison for four years.

“I just attended the sentencing for Charles Foehner, a 67-year-old retiree who was just sentenced to four years in prison after defending himself from a 15-time career criminal here in New York City,” Hernandez reported.

“Now, if you’re not familiar with the story of Charles, basically, back in 2023, a 15-time career criminal with a history of mental illness ended up threatening him and lunging at him. Charles, who had a handgun in his pocket, which he had, by the way, because of his fears of rising crime throughout the city, ended up pulling out his weapon, telling this man to stop,” she continued.

“He did not heed the warning. He continued to lunge at Charles. Charles opened fire and ended up killing him,” she said.

While even the DA of Queens, Melinda Katz, did not bring homicide or manslaughter charges because she agreed that it was clearly self-defense, she did go after Charles for criminal possession of a weapon.

The cops then searched his home and found what they called an “arsenal of unlicensed weapons.”

“Charles’ attorney stated that Charles has been shooting guns since he was a kid. Charles has no criminal history, and he has been around guns his entire life. However, because he was in New York and these were unlicensed, the DA decided to bring forward these charges,” Hernandez reported.

“It’s incredible that this is happening in the United States of America. So he ended up — this 67-year-old retiree ended up losing his home because of the legal fees and him being cut off from his Social Security benefits while he’s in prison. You can’t get that when you’re in prison,” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales comments on “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered.”

“It’s really incredible that there is such a thing as unlicensed firearms in this country. It’s like, says who? That is completely unconstitutional, because I have a Second Amendment right to protect myself however I see fit,” she says.

“This man would not be alive if it weren’t for the weapon that he carried. And the fact that doing that — protecting his own life — now causes him to be in prison because then they can go and raid your home and say, ‘Oh, actually, you have an arsenal here. You’re not allowed to do that,’ is so very chilling,” she adds.

Want more from Sara Gonzales?

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A Tennessee husband and now-former church deacon has been criminally charged after his wife, who was holding his phone during a medical procedure, allegedly discovered videos of an underage babysitter in their bathroom, police said.

Christopher Thomas Collins, 42, was arrested Jan. 14 after police reportedly found explicit content on his cell phone. Collins is being detained on a $50,000 bond, according to Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office records.

‘Through the course of a marriage counseling session, Chris Collins’ wife revealed that she had found videos on her husband’s phone of a minor.’

Citing the police affidavit, WTVC-TV reported that Collins handed his phone over to his wife while he was undergoing a medical procedure.

Collins’ wife suspected her husband of cheating, so she searched his phone for evidence of infidelity, according to the affidavit.

But the wife found explicit videos and a photo of the couple’s former babysitter inside a hidden folder in the photo gallery, the affidavit said.

The wife informed investigators that the videos appeared to be recorded from small cameras placed inside a downstairs bathroom at Collins’ home in Hixson, which is about an hour and a half southeast of Nashville. Investigators found the secret cameras, and they seemed to be positioned toward the shower and toilet, court documents said.

The wife told deputies that Collins told her he installed the cameras to spot rats, according to court docs.

The police affidavit said the wife told investigators she deleted the files but then took screenshots from the “recently deleted” folder.

RELATED: Critical detail leads police 400 miles to surgeon accused of killing ex-wife and her new husband

Photo by wbritten via iStock / Getty Images Plus

The wife sought guidance from Abba’s House church, where her husband had been a deacon.

The affidavit revealed that staff members of the church encouraged the wife to contact police. Shortly afterward, officers arrived to interview Collins’ wife, court docs said.

Police were concerned that Collins would delete the evidence, so officers were dispatched to confront him, according to the affidavit.

Officers conducted a traffic stop to detain Collins, where they obtained his cell phone, and he gave police authorization to conduct a search of his home in Hixson, according to court documents.

Officers seized two SD cards from small cameras and an older cell phone, police said.

According to the affidavit, a camera was positioned near a water heater in the bathroom and aimed toward the shower and toilet.

Court documents stated Collins admitted to investigators that he knew about the cameras in the bathroom and confessed to using a mobile application to view images on his cell phone.

Collins admitted to police that he saw a naked image a camera captured and kept it for a while before deleting it, according to the affidavit.

A forensic examination of Collins’ cell phone revealed nine video files from the bathroom cameras, time-stamped in 2025, according to the court documents.

The court documents stated investigators said the videos show a girl changing clothes, using the toilet, and entering and exiting the shower.

Police determined that recordings were made without the girl’s knowledge or consent and in a place where she had a reasonable expectation of privacy, according to the affidavit.

Authorities determined the files were child sexual abuse material, court documents state.

Collins was arrested and charged with nine counts of especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor for each file found on the phone.

The offense of especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor in Tennessee makes it unlawful for a “person to knowingly promote, employ, use, assist, transport, or permit a minor to participate in the performance of, or in the production of, acts or material that includes the minor engaging in sexual activity; or simulated sexual activity that is patently offensive.”

On Thursday, a spokesman for Abba’s House said Collins was stripped of his church deacon title upon his arrest.

The church issued the following statement to WDEF-TV:

Through the course of a marriage counseling session, Chris Collins’ wife revealed that she had found videos on her husband’s phone of a minor. We immediately reported it to the police, and they are handling the situation. We are caring for his wife and kids during this tragic time. Chris Collins had been a member of the church for four years and served as a deacon. He has been removed from that role.

Collins is no longer listed on the church’s website.

Abba’s House pastor Ronnie Phillips Jr. told the Chattanooga Times Free Press that the church paid for a hotel for Collins’ wife and will pay for counseling and cover her bills until she can get back on her feet.

Collins appeared in court on Tuesday morning, according to WCTV.

The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to Blaze News‘ request for comment.

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Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, state Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have all received subpoenas from the Department of Justice, reports claim.

Fox News reported on the subpoenas Tuesday and said they related to an investigation into obstruction of Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations.

‘This Justice Department investigation … does not seek justice. It is a partisan distraction.’

Walz’s office and Frey’s office confirmed to KMSP-TV that they received the subpoenas. Walz also posted a statement on social media to President Donald Trump.

“Mr. President, Minnesota invites you to see our values in action. Come see how communities from all walks of life are working together, and how the spirit of this state refuses to be defined by division or fear,” he wrote in part.

“But let me be absolutely clear: The State of Minnesota will not be drawn into political theater,” Walz added. “This Justice Department investigation, sparked by calls for accountability in the face of violence, chaos, and the killing of Renee Good, does not seek justice. It is a partisan distraction.”

The subpoenas asked for records and communications from the politicians related to the surge of federal officers in Minnesota. The Associated Press reported that other subpoenas were also sent to St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her, who previously admitted she is an “illegal” immigrant, and officials in Ramsey County as well as Hennepin County.

“When the federal government weaponizes its power to try to intimidate local leaders for doing their jobs, every American should be concerned,” read a statement from Frey to KMSP.

“We shouldn’t have to live in a country where people fear that federal law enforcement will be used to play politics or crack down on local voices they disagree with,” he added. “In Minneapolis, we won’t be afraid. We know the difference between right and wrong, and, as Mayor, I’ll continue doing the job I was elected to do: keeping our community safe and standing up for our values.”

RELATED: Tim Walz tries to dunk on Trump and gets pantsed on social media

Walz went on to call for an investigation into the death of anti-ICE activist Renee Good instead.

“A mother is dead, and the people responsible have yet to be held accountable,” he wrote.

“That’s where the energy of the federal government should be directed: toward restoring trust, accountability, and real law and order, not political retaliation,” Walz added. “Minnesota will not be intimidated into silence and neither will I.”

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A Chinese man tried paying his wife to stop spending time with her virtual boyfriend.

The man asked his wife to stop using a particular program for a year in exchange for $2,800, and she initially agreed. The woman reportedly transferred the money into her daughter’s savings account until a week later, when she reinstalled the game because a new dating scene for her virtual boyfriend was released.

‘As a married woman, I still feel a bit guilty.’

The story of a woman going by “Minnie” is one of many chronicled in a recent article about Chinese women who are addicted to otomo games, virtual romance games targeted at women.

The most popular, Love and Romance, made $750 million in 2025, according to Pocket Gamer, with Sensor Tower reporting that the game had over 100,000 downloads in the Apple Store in December alone.

Other games like Light and Night or Beyond the World have women choose between different lovers who represent various personality types or themes. Collectible cards offer micro-transaction opportunities in order to unlock outfits, scenes, and storylines.

According to KrAsia, these games are wedging their way into women’s real lives at an alarming speed.

RELATED: 1980s-inspired AI companion promises to watch and interrupt you: ‘You can see me? That’s so cool’

Photo by Jiangang Wang

These games, in conjunction with chatbots like ChatGPT and DeepSeek, are being used by women to create a constant stream of contact with their AI boyfriends.

“If not for ChatGPT and Love and Deepspace, I wouldn’t have realized how deeply I need to be understood and loved or that such needs could be perfectly met,” Chi Cheng told the outlet. “But if you told me to delete the game and stop using ChatGPT now, I’d lose my mind.”

In just five months, Cheng has spent over $1,100 chasing the cards of her favorite male companion, Xavier.

Minnie, however, prefers Rafayel, and even though she is married, she said the character is “someone who loves reading and art, is emotionally stable, understands finance, and never argues.”

Minnie has two Love and Deepspace accounts, having spent around $2,500 USD. Although she said she does not have an unhappy marriage, and she even has a daughter, the digital partner is still her perfect match.

“Even with a compatible partner, there will always be tension and stress. A 100% match doesn’t exist in real life,” the woman explained.

AI boyfriend in real life

Minnie noted that she uses her AI boyfriend’s chatbot function for real-life conversation, which is what led to her husband’s aforementioned monetary ultimatum:

“I’ll give you [$2,800]. Just stop playing Love and Deepspace for a year.”

Citing that she once read, “The best partner is someone you can talk to in the middle of the night,” Minnie revealed, “If my husband finally falls asleep after working late, I can’t wake him just to talk. But that’s when I can — by launching Love and Deepspace.”

All the women KrAsia interviewed use this function on a daily basis, and Minnie even uses the character for fitness motivation. During postpartum workouts, Minnie was able to extend the time she could hold a plank position after her coach joked, “Try looking at your favorite guy; maybe you’ll last longer.”

She began staring at Rafayel and extended her ability to hold the position from three seconds to 48 seconds. An attached photo showed her staring at her phone during her workout.

Other extensions for the app include an augmented reality feature where users can view their companion in their current environment through their phone.

Cheng reportedly often uses this feature to imagine Xavier walking beside her or sitting in a nearby chair.

RELATED: ‘Coded Casanovas’: The AI trend stirring dread, disgust, and fury

With plummeting marriage rates in China already, the fear is that this already massive industry will become more pervasive, as other girls like Yangtao explain that the reason otome games are so appealing is “maybe because real-life marriage is just … dull.”

She added, “But people never stop craving romance.”

Another woman, Meiyi, 35, told herself, “You’re at a crossroads. Don’t play this game, or you’ll get addicted.”

She apparently downloaded it anyway.

What became clear with the women in their stories was often directly admitted to; Minnie put it plainly:

“In the game, there’s no conflict, no arguments. Even small fights just build up to the next emotional high. Interacting with an in-game character feels more exciting than real life. But as a married woman, I still feel a bit guilty.”

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