Category: blaze media

Big Creek Lake is a 3,600-acre man-made reservoir that holds 17 billion gallons of water and serves as the main source of drinking water for Mobile, Alabama, and other nearby municipalities, producing roughly 60 million gallons of potable water a day.

Apparently, someone wanted to blow up the dam holding it all back.

‘We are fortunate that this device was discovered before it could cause serious damage.’

Divers conducting a routine repair at the dam hemming in the lake, which is also called the Converse Reservoir, discovered an explosive device hidden under water on Tuesday, according to Alabama’s largest water utility, the Mobile Area Water and Sewer System.

Following the discovery of an apparent grenade-type IED at the dam, the MAWSS alerted the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, reported Al.com. The sheriff’s office subsequently initiated a multi-agency response — which included FBI, Mobile Police Department, and Alabama Law Enforcement Agency bomb squads as well as the Daphne Search and Rescue Team — to secure and neutralize the device.

The Gulf Coast Regional Maritime Response and Render-Safe Team ultimately retrieved and detonated the IED.

The reservoir — public access to which MAWSS has been fighting to restrict — and the dam are federally designated critical infrastructure.

RELATED: Suspect in deadly Palisades Fire was obsessed with Luigi Mangione, critical of rich: Prosecutors

Mobile, Alabama. Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images

“Our top priority is keeping your drinking water safe,” MAWSS Director Bud McCrory said in a statement. “This is an unprecedented threat, and we are fortunate that this device was discovered before it could cause serious damage to our water supply or harm to individuals.”

“We are grateful for the professionalism and competency of our law enforcement partners — as well as the quick thinking of our contractors and divers — in identifying this device and safely destroying it,” added McCrory.

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​Dam, Drinking water, Explosive device, Fbi, Mobile alabama, Critical infrastructure, Terrorism, Terror, Bomb, Grenade, Ied, Alabama, Mobile, Big creek lake, Politics 

Fani Willis, the Democrat district attorney in Fulton County who tried and failed to throw President Donald Trump in prison, has found a new reason to rage publicly, level groundless accusations of racism, and masquerade as a victim of opposing forces.

To the chagrin of those Democrat officials and other race hustlers who demanded its veto, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) ratified legislation on Tuesday requiring nonpartisan elections for certain offices in the Peach State’s five most populous counties — Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Cobb, and Clayton — effective Jan. 1, 2028.

It’s supposedly ‘racist’ because the five district attorneys … are black female Democrats.

Candidates running to become or remain county governing authorities, tax commissioners, superior court clerks, and solicitor-generals must run in nonpartisan elections. County sheriffs are exempt.

Under the law, district attorney candidates will no longer “be nominated by a political party or by a petition as a candidate of a political body or as an independent candidate.” They will also forgo a nonpartisan primary, competing only in the general election.

During debate about the legislation in March, House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration (R) said, “The opinion from legislative counsel as it has been given to me [is] that it is constitutional and it treats certain local offices similar to how judges are classified at the local level so that partisan politics is minimized when providing basic local governmental services.”

Efstration added, “There is no Republican line and a Democrat line when entering the courthouse.”

“We’re giving voters the opportunity to rid themselves of district attorneys who are more concerned with playing partisan games than prosecuting and delivering justice,” said Republican Rep. Trey Kelley.

RELATED: Play stupid games: Tennessee GOP makes Democrats pay a heavy price for childish tantrums over redistricting

Dennis Byron-Pool/Getty Images

Democrats — evidently terrified that Georgia voters might cast ballots for individuals, not parties, when choosing officers of the law — are spewing their usual accusations and alarmist rhetoric, claiming, for instance, that the law is, according to Willis, “racist, sexist, and clearly unconstitutional.”

It’s supposedly “racist” because the five district attorneys in the affected counties are black female Democrats.

Willis said in a joint statement this week with DeKalb County DA Sherry Boston, “House Bill 369 is clearly unconstitutional, and we are appalled at Governor Brian Kemp’s decision to sign it into law. This is a blatant attempt by Republicans to give their candidates an edge in Democratic counties by hiding their party affiliation from voters.”

After hinting at their bigotry of low expectations regarding the aptitudes of voters in their counties, the Democrat duo promised to take “legal action to have this illegal bill overturned” and noted that “taxpayers will be the ones footing the bill to defend it in court.”

Charlie Bailey, chairman of the Democratic Party of Georgia, previously suggested that the purpose of the law was to enable Republicans to “hide their party affiliation and confuse voters to have a hope of competing against the five duly elected Black women district attorneys that this bill was specifically designed to target.”

Georgia Democrats received additional bad news this week concerning elections in 2028.

Kemp announced on Wednesday that state lawmakers will convene on June 17 to redraw the Peach State’s congressional maps for 2028. While Republicans currently hold nine out of Georgia’s 14 congressional districts, they could gain more ground — especially if the state corrects for recent court-ordered racial gerrymanders pursuant to the U.S. Supreme Courts’ recent Callais ruling.

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​2028, Democrat, Democratic district attorney, District attorneys, Election, Election laws, Fani willis, Fulton county, General election, Georgia, Governor brian kemp, Justice, Nonpartisan, Partisan politics, Party affiliation, Political party, State lawmakers, Politics 

As hantavirus begins to dominate the headlines, Americans everywhere are worried that we might have another pandemic on our hands.

And while the virus has a much higher fatality rate than COVID-19, Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck believes that it’s not the government’s job to step in and lock the country down if it comes to that.

“That is the logical action,” Glenn says of locking down. “But I don’t want my government telling me that anymore. I’m tired of that. I would just want to be like, … ‘I’m locking myself in.’”

“I trust nothing from the way the government works on this, especially the global government,” Jason Buttrill chimes in, noting that it seemed like the government used COVID-19 just to “exert control.”

“It’s making me to where I don’t trust anything that they do anymore because they’re going to take the most radical thing that they have, you know, in their little book, and they’re going to turn that into reality,” he continues.

And Buttrill is far from the only one who feels that way.

“You have to have trust as a society. You have to have leaders that you trust. They’ve done it to us. They have lied to us over and over and over again. And now so many of us are like, ‘You know what, I don’t believe them. … I don’t believe they didn’t come up with this,’” Glenn says.

And like Glenn, Buttrill believes it’s important to know about the virus so he can remain informed, but it’s up to him to choose how to handle it.

“I can use that information and make decisions for myself without the maximum fear campaign,” he says. “And now it feels like the media and anyone else, whether it’s a technocrat, whether it’s somebody at the CDC, whether it’s someone at the WHO, I feel like everything now is directed towards that maximum fear.”

“And instantly, my radar goes up,” he adds.

Want more from Glenn Beck?

To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​The glenn beck program, Glenn beck, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Jason buttrill, Hantavirus, Coronavirus, Covid-19, Pandemic, Lockdown, 2020 pandemic, Covid lies, Covid-19 tyranny, Covid-19 vaccines 

Kevin Warsh, the primary intermediary between the Federal Reserve and Wall Street during the 2008 financial crisis, was confirmed on Tuesday to a 14-year term as Federal Reserve governor and confirmed on Wednesday as Jerome Powell’s successor as chairman of the U.S. central bank.

Powell, who was first nominated to the Federal Board of Governors by former President Barack Obama and whose term as chair ends on Friday, wished Warsh well. However, he also provided his replacement with something more valuable than a nice sentiment: examples of what not to do, or at least, what to avoid doing.

Powell has, after all, dropped the ball on numerous occasions — sometimes with catastrophic consequences for the country. Here are just four examples.

1. Don’t worry, it’s ‘transitory.’

Powell stated on March 4, 2021, in the second year of the pandemic, that inflation might increase but that it would likely be “transitory” and not enough for the central bank to raise record-low interest rates — a decision some suspect was geared toward pleasing then-President Joe Biden and thereby securing Powell’s reappointment.

‘Most of the expected GDP slowdown — from over 3% to 1.5% — was due to Powell’s blunder.’

MarketWatch’s Greg Robb noted that Powell’s wrong-headed “transitory” view of inflation — one that would define his eight years as Fed chair — precluded the Fed from raising interest rates until 2022 while the Fed was also buying up bonds “and swelling its balance sheet.”

Thanks to Powell’s mistake — which economist Mohamed El-Erian, former PIMCO chief executive, said was “probably the worst inflation call in the history of the Federal Reserve” — the Fed was consistently on the back foot.

RELATED: Your bank can shut you down overnight — here’s how to protect yourself

Elif Acar/Anadolu/Getty Images

Facing the highest inflation Americans had seen in 40 years — inflation that no longer appeared to be “transitory” — Powell ended up raising interest rates 11 times between March 2022 and July 2023, when its benchmark rate reached a range of 5.25% to 5.5%.

Powell told “60 Minutes” in a Feb. 1, 2024, interview:

In hindsight, it would’ve been better to have tightened policy earlier. I’m happy to say that. Really, it was this. We saw what we thought was that this inflation, which seemed to be mostly limited to the goods sector and to the supply chain story. We thought that the economy was so dynamic that it would fix itself fairly quickly. And we thought that inflation would go away fairly quickly without an intervention by us. That it would be transitory.

Powell leaves office with inflation well above the Fed’s 2% target for five consecutive years.

2. Betting against Trump’s tariffs, tax cuts

While reluctant initially to raise interest rates when Biden was in office, Powell previously demonstrated an eagerness to raise rates in 2018 when President Donald Trump was in office and the economy was booming.

“Every time we do something great, he raises the interest rates,” Trump said at the time. Powell “almost looks like he’s happy raising interest rates.”

The repeated hikes, which Trump blamed for coinciding stock market turmoil, were supposedly prompted by concerns that the Republican president’s tariffs and tax cuts, the latter of which were framed as a $1.5 trillion fiscal stimulus, might together contribute to inflation.

Powell stated that “fiscal policy is becoming more stimulative. In this environment, we anticipate that inflation … will move up this year.”

Economist Donald Luskin, chief investment officer for Trand Macrolytics LLC, recently noted that “there is no evidence that Mr. Trump’s tariffs in 2018 and 2019 led to any inflation at all.”

Economist and Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro wrote last year, “Powell’s audition for ‘worst Fed chair’ began shortly after his February 2018 appointment. Promising President Trump in the Oval Office a supportive posture to secure his nomination, Powell instead aggressively raised rates into the low-inflation, high-growth Trump economy. Powell wrongly believed Trump’s tax cuts and tariffs would spark inflation — they didn’t.”

Powell’s bet against Trump’s tariffs and tax cuts proved consequential.

“As Powell’s Fed hiked interest rates four times in 2018 — despite muted inflation and strong labor market gains — economic momentum slowed sharply,” wrote Navarro. “According to the Fed’s own September Tealbook, most of the expected GDP slowdown — from over 3% to 1.5% — was due to Powell’s blunder.”

“It would cost the American economy hundreds of thousands of jobs and hundreds of billions of dollars in lost economic output and tax revenues,” added the trade adviser.

3. Fed renovation scandal

Powell reportedly greenlit luxury renovations to the Fed’s Washington, D.C, headquarters that exceeded the original budget by roughly $700 million and is set to cost around $2.5 billion.

Controversy over the renovations — which include a rooftop terrace with gardens, VIP dining rooms, “premium” marble, and water features — came to a head in January, several months after U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte called for an investigation into Powell and his removal as Fed chair.

RELATED: Debit card company promises to pay your bill … sometimes: ‘Buy now, pay maybe’

Sophie Park/Getty Images

Powell said in a Jan. 11 statement that “the Department of Justice served the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas, threatening a criminal indictment related to my testimony before the Senate Banking Committee last June. That testimony concerned in part a multiyear project to renovate historic Federal Reserve office buildings.”

An activist Biden-appointed judge quashed the grand jury subpoenas in March.

“Jerome Powell today is now bathed in immunity, preventing my office from investigating the Federal Reserve,” Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney in Washington, said in response to U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg’s rulings. “This is wrong, and it is without legal authority.”

Last month, the Trump administration dropped the criminal investigation into Powell over his luxury renovation project.

While apparently off the hook, the controversy nevertheless hangs over Powell as another example of costly mismanagement.

4. Bank failures

Powell and his underlings also failed to prevent the March 2023 collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank — the third- and fourth-largest bank failures in American history, respectively.

Powell acknowledged weeks after the bank failures that the Fed’s efforts to intervene were too little, too late.

“It does kind of suggest there’s a need for … regulatory and supervisory changes, just because supervision and regulation need to keep up with what’s happening,” said Powell. “My only interest is that we identify what went wrong here … make an assessment of what are the right policies to put in place so that doesn’t happen again, and then implement those policies.”

One of Powell’s lieutenants, then-Vice Chair Michael Barr, admitted that the “Federal Reserve supervisors failed to take forceful enough action.”

A damning April 28, 2023, report on the Fed’s bungled supervision and regulation of Silicon Valley Bank — the conclusions of which Powell ultimately accepted — said that:

“Federal Reserve supervisors did not fully appreciate the extent of the vulnerabilities as Silicon Valley Bank grew in size and complexity”;”When supervisors did identify vulnerabilities, they did not take sufficient steps to ensure that Silicon Valley Bank fixed those problems quickly enough”; and”The Board’s tailoring approach in response to the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act and a shift in the stance of supervisory policy impeded effective supervision by reducing standards, increasing complexity, and promoting a less assertive supervisory approach.”

​Chairman, Department of justice, Donald trump, Federal reserve, Financial crisis, Inflation, Interest rates, Jerome powell, Joe biden, Kevin warsh, Peter navarro, Silicon valley bank, Tariffs, Tax cuts, Transitory, Wall street, Politics 

What would you do if Meta’s apps were suddenly blacked out on your phone? You can’t access Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp. Threads will never overtake X as the new global town square. The one person down the street who owns a Meta Quest can’t enjoy VR any more. It’s all gone. This is the problem facing the people of New Mexico, and it’s all thanks to a child protection case that would require Meta to collect user IDs, weaken end-to-end encryption, and change its feed algorithms, or else exit the state entirely.

The landmark case against Meta

In 2023, the New Mexico Department of Justice, led by Democrat Attorney General Raúl Torrez — a former senior adviser to President Obama’s DOJ — opened an investigation into Meta over claims that its platforms failed to “protect children from sexual abuse, online solicitation, and other harms.” The plaintiff collected documents and testimony from former Meta employees who corroborated these accusations, confirming that children were virtually put in danger when using Meta’s social media apps.

If the state can’t get it, the federal government will try instead.

In March 2026, Meta was found guilty by a jury in a New Mexico court for “misleading consumers about the safety of its platforms and endangering children,” resulting in the violation of the state’s consumer protection laws as outlined under the Unfair Practices Act. As part of the penalty, Meta was ordered to pay a maximum fine of $5,000 per violation, leading to a grand total of $375 million. By May 2026, the New Mexico courts handed down additional remedies, including a $3.7 billion fine and strict demands outlined in Torrez’s official statement. These include:

age verification requirements for users to access Meta’s apps;child-friendly content feed algorithms;a reduction on end-to-end encryption to better track adult predators;warning labels that alert users of the dangers Meta apps pose to children;permanent bans for adult users who target children;appointment of an independent watchdog to monitor Meta’s compliance.

Meta fought back, saying that the remedies were “so broad and burdensome, that if implemented it might force Meta to withdraw its apps entirely.” The company has vowed to appeal the verdict.

If the ruling sticks

Meta now finds itself in a precarious position, and so does the New Mexico government.

RELATED: Democrat bill would force you to give Big Tech your ID just to use your phone — or the internet

Man_Half-tube/Getty Images

If Meta complies with the restrictive guidelines requested by the attorney general, one of these will happen:

Meta can build a custom version of its apps to assuage the New Mexico courts, an option that is expensive and very unlikely. With this option, all users in New Mexico will be forced to show an ID to access these apps, and their security and privacy will be compromised due to weakened end-to-end encryption that lets the government spy on user activity under the guise of predator identification and child protection.Meta can integrate Torrez’s demands into its platform for all users — the more likely option, if the company chooses to remain in business in New Mexico. This will have a broad impact on users around the United States, as everyone will be required to show an ID to use Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp, and end-to-end encryption will become virtually meaningless on Meta’s platforms.

If Meta pulls out of New Mexico, users in this state will no longer have access to their favorite Meta apps, and the New Mexico DOJ will be the one to blame for its overreaching remedies. That said, users could still theoretically access these apps after a statewide exodus by using a VPN with the geolocation set to a neighboring state.

The money game

There’s another potential consequence of the case that Torrez may have missed. Meta has reportedly invested $2.5 billion in New Mexico since 2016, creating more than 1,000 new jobs, funding public schools, and handing out grants and scholarships while it builds new data centers to power the future of AI. If Meta is no longer allowed to support its apps in New Mexico, the company may also decide to move its other projects to a state that isn’t trying to wield authoritarian control over its business.

Unfortunately for Meta, even if it manages to outmaneuver New Mexico’s child protection ruling, it has a much harder road ahead, as multiple bills from both sides of the aisle — including Democrats’ Parents Decide Act and Republicans’ GUARD Act — aim to make age verification a standard part of access to devices, AI chatbots, and the internet. If the state can’t get it, the federal government will try instead.

​Tech 

A husband and wife were arrested for attacking a Florida mom who had disciplined her 4-year-old son in public, according to a police arrest report.

The mother told police her child was misbehaving and spat in her face, so she responded by smacking him once in the mouth and also on the side of his torso, according to WPLG-TV.

The victim’s shirt was ripped off, leaving her wearing only a bra.

That’s when 66-year-old Terry Williams allegedly intervened and told her she could not hit her child. He claimed that he worked for the Florida Department of Children and Families.

The woman said he walked away after she told him to leave her alone.

That’s when the man’s wife, 63-year-old Mary Thalia Williams, “aggressively” approached the woman and tried to talk to her about child discipline.

The woman said Mary Williams got between the mom and her car and would not allow her to leave.

An altercation began after the woman tried to slide Mary Williams away from her car. She responded by scratching and choking the victim.

The woman told police she felt as if she was close to passing out.

During the fight, Mary Williams grabbed the victim’s shirt, and her husband also joined in, grabbing the victim’s shirt and her hair. The victim’s shirt was ripped off, leaving her wearing only a bra.

Mary Williams also allegedly got into the car, turned it off, and stole the victim’s car keys.

A witness told police that the victim didn’t appear to be fighting but only trying to escape from the fight.

“They were on both sides, and they were just grabbing her, and they were ripping the scrub shirt off of her,” the witness said to WPLG.

The couple was ultimately arrested, and Mary Williams was charged with burglary and simple battery, while Terry Williams was charged with battery. Police said neither of the two work for DCF.

RELATED: Teens’ story claiming they were attacked unravels after cops find their damning video posted to social media, police say

Mary Williams was held on a $5,000 bond, while Terry Williams was released after posting a $2,500 bond.

When a reporter confronted Terry Williams about the witness account of the fight, he responded, “Wow, really? Interesting.”

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​Husband wife arrested, Child discipline, Florida couple arrest, Battery and burglary, Crime 

The debate over the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger has the competition question backward. Critics in Washington are asking whether the two railroads are too big to combine, fearing a monopoly.

However, if we are serious about rebuilding American industry, strengthening the middle class, and winning on the global stage, this merger deserves to be judged by what it actually delivers for workers, consumers, and the economy.

Competition in the modern economy means ensuring that American industries have the scale and integration needed to compete where it matters

Freight rail is one of the last sectors in America that consistently delivers high-quality, middle-class jobs without requiring a four-year degree. Rail workers earn up to 40% more than the national average. These are real careers that actually create things.

Union Pacific has already signed a jobs-for-life agreement with SMART-TD, the nation’s largest railroad union, which has endorsed the deal. The companies’ amended filing also projects that 1,200 net new union jobs will be added by year three of the combined company, on top of those existing protections.

Then there is industrial capacity. Politicians on both sides of the aisle have sought to bolster America’s production capacity. A better-connected freight rail system does a lot to further this goal. It means more goods moving across the country, more demand for domestic production, and steadier employment for the workers who keep that system running.

The consumer case for this merger is straightforward. Rail shipping costs less than trucking, and those savings work their way through the supply chain. The company’s amended Surface Transportation Board application projects $3.5 billion in annual savings for shippers, driven largely by diverting more than 2 million truckloads of long-haul freight to rail.

Critics will say the merger is anti-competitive. That argument misreads the competition. U.S. freight rail does not run in a closed market. This is an end-to-end combination of two railroads that currently operate on opposite sides of the Mississippi.

Combining them would let the new company compete against heavily subsidized trucking and global logistics companies at a scale no individual railroad can match on its own.

Trucking, for example, relies on publicly funded highways, while railroads maintain their own infrastructure at private expense. Meanwhile, China is building integrated national logistics systems designed to dominate global trade flows.

Competition in the modern economy means ensuring that American industries have the scale and integration needed to compete where it matters: across continents and against state-backed rivals.

RELATED: The potential Union Pacific merger risks upsetting America’s rail industry

Brandon Bell/Getty Images

A transcontinental rail network strengthens that position by expanding reach, improving efficiency, and connecting American producers to broader markets.

Washington has spent years promising to reshore manufacturing, secure supply chains, and cut dependence on foreign adversaries. Delivering on those promises requires infrastructure that is capable of supporting domestic production at scale.

You cannot rebuild American industry without the ability to move raw materials to factories and finished goods to markets quickly and cheaply. Freight rail is central to that goal. It is more fuel-efficient than trucking and more cost-effective for bulk commodities. Shifting long-haul freight from highway to rail also reduces accidents.

Rail accounts for a fraction of the fatalities and injuries per ton-mile that trucking does, and fewer heavy semis on interstates mean safer roads for everyone.

A stronger rail network is not a threat to workers or to competition. It is what both of those things depend on. Judge this merger by whether it makes the American economy stronger. Judge it by whether working people get something out of it. On both counts, the answer is yes.

Guaranteed union jobs, lower costs for shippers, and a supply chain that finally runs coast to coast on American rails. That is the kind of industrial investment this country keeps saying it wants. Policymakers who care about the future of the country should support it.

​American industry, Economy, Trucking, Union pacific, Norfolk southern, Railway, Railway merger, Union pacific merger, Global markets, Opinion & analysis 

Florida Rep. Maria Salazar (R) and her some 20 Republican co-sponsors of a massive amnesty bill have put President Trump in a terribly awkward position. In truth, it is more than just awkwardness; it is political malpractice.

The fanfare around the amnesty bill, the Dignity Act, has begun a process of division and distraction going into a crucial midterm cycle.

Merely floating the idea of amnesty results in more illegal immigration to the US border.

The Dignity Act is dominating conversations surrounding the trajectory of immigration enforcement under the Trump administration and forcing the question of whether the administration supports it.

Last week, CBS News peppered border czar Tom Homan with loaded questions about the supposed need for providing legal status for illegal aliens in the United States. After trying to put the question away, Homan responded, “There’s discussions going on. I’m involved with some and not others, but I’m not going to get ahead of the president on this.”

Discussions of amnesty in the Trump administration? The internet exploded, and it’s largely still exploding. Given the low level of deportations conducted to date, some 340,000 in FY2025 according to recent estimates, many political observers are starting to question whether the mass deportation program will be fulfilled at the scale advertised.

This low number, in addition to the lack of explicit opposition to the Dignity Act from the Trump administration, has led many people to reasonably believe that amnesty discussions are on the table. Republicans pushing amnesty is nothing new, after all. Additionally, the co-sponsors of the Dignity Act largely are all endorsed for re-election by President Trump.

What we are witnessing appears to be strategic ambiguity. Salazar and her allies are hitting the media circuits claiming that somehow the Dignity Act is not amnesty. That claim has rightfully been ridiculed, but they remain insistent that a square peg is a circle.

RELATED: The Dignidad Act is a complete betrayal of Republican voters

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Meanwhile, the White House has carefully avoided criticizing the bill by name, instead choosing to rule out amnesty of any type. Take another Homan quote, for example: “I said from day one, I’ll say it again … President Trump said amnesty is off the table. I support that. I don’t think amnesty should be on the table.”

Having known Homan for years, I know that he genuinely opposes amnesty. But in this environment, supporters of the president’s promised immigration agenda need to hear that the White House considers the Dignity Act to be amnesty. Without that explicit rejection, the ambiguity will be perceived as tolerance.

Of course, it is not the White House’s job to denounce every last bill that pops up in Congress. But the unfortunate truth is that the Dignity Act is out there and has captured enough attention that it is a subject of an intense debate that, if left untended to, will only dampen midterm turnout.

That’s one reason why what Salazar and her ilk have done is so damaging. Shilling for amnesty will be taken seriously unless explicitly denounced, putting the White House in a position it should not be in.

Salazar’s damage gets worse. Take for example what Homan said during his CBS interview that did not receive any meaningful attention: “I would love Congress to do some things. My concern right now is that a lot of the successes we’ve had, unprecedented success, is based on executive orders, which can certainly be turned around by the next president.”

What Homan was referring to are border security laws to prevent a future Democrat administration from doing the exact same thing that Biden did and demanding amnesty in exchange for turning off another invasion.

How do I know? Well, I worked with Homan to help put together H.R. 2, otherwise known as the Secure the Border Act of 2023, during the Biden years. That bill was purely defensive in nature. It closed loopholes that the Biden administration weaponized to let 10 million plus cross the border.

RELATED: Funding is useless if Democrat judges can still hold ICE hostage

Nathan Posner/Anadolu/Getty Images

While it is true that President Trump didn’t need new laws to secure the border, it is also true that President Newsom, Ocasio-Cortez, or Comey won’t need new laws to open it again. We could find ourselves in the exact same negotiating posture as before: trade border security for amnesty, the very same trick that President Reagan fell for in historic fashion.

Any serious person who has worked in the immigration space knows that merely floating the idea of amnesty results in more illegal immigration to the U.S. border. During the Obama years, illegal aliens were flowing across with smiles on their faces and bragging about the “permisos” they had to cross due to Obama. As Biden readied to enter the White House, illegal aliens flooded the border for the same reason.

With news emerging that the U.S. border may not be as completely zipped tight as we hoped, Salazar’s advertising for amnesty can predictably result in more illegal aliens deciding to roll the dice and head north.

For all these reasons and more, the wise thing for both political and national sovereignty reasons is for the Trump administration to respond to Salazar’s push with an explicit and unmistakable denunciation.

A skeptical base needs to see strength on the immigration issue. Clearing up any confusion on this matter would go a long way toward restoring trust and keeping the president’s strongest base of supporters together going into the midterm elections.

​Trump, Dignity act, Dignidad act, Representative maria salazar, Illegal immigration, Tom homan, Border security, Ice, Mass deportations, Opinion & analysis 

Seattle residents are asking why a career criminal with 28 arrests and 13 convictions was allowed to walk the streets before allegedly kidnapping and raping a 15-year-old girl.

Joshua V. Kowalczewski, 36, allegedly lured the girl from a school bus stop in the Northgate neighborhood and dragged her into nearby woods, where he sexually assaulted her.

Kowalczewski was allowed to enter Seattle’s ‘Drug Prosecution Alternative’ diversion program just one week before he allegedly raped the teenage girl.

He was later captured when firefighters saw him defecating on the sidewalk after he burned clothing that was connected to the attack, according to police.

The man was charged with first-degree rape and second-degree kidnapping.

A judge set Kowalczewski’s bail at $1 million after prosecutors argued he was a threat to public safety given his criminal past. That criminal past included convictions for the following:

DUI;Theft;Assault;Drug possession;Criminal trespassing;Violating protection orders; andPossessing burglary tools.

Prosecutors said that Kowalczewski was allowed to enter Seattle’s “Drug Prosecution Alternative” diversion program just one week before he allegedly raped the teenage girl.

The suspect initially denied ever talking to the girl, according to detectives, but then later admitted that he approached the girl because he thought she was “hot.” He also allegedly admitted asking her to go the woods but denied assaulting her.

The girl was treated at the Seattle Children’s Hospital and given a sexual assault examination.

RELATED: Thug who brutally raped 94-year-old in broad daylight had just been released after other rape charge was dropped, police say

The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office said it pursued rape charges instead of child rape charges because under Washington law, rape charges carry harsher penalties.

The office also explained that it was difficult under state law to hold a suspect based on misdemeanor charges.

“Prosecutors are bound by the sentencing guidelines from state lawmakers; that’s what judges go off of when they make determinations,” communications director Casey McNerthney said. “It’s pretty difficult to hold somebody on a misdemeanor in some instances.”

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​Child kidnap and rape, Seattle child rape, Woke criminal enforcement, Homeless crime, Crime 

FBI Director Kash Patel dropped a major bombshell on X this week when he posted that Arcadia, California, Mayor Eileen Wang has been charged with acting as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China in the United States.

“Mayor Wang admitted to acting as a foreign agent from at least 2020 through 2022 — promoting PRC propaganda in the U.S. and acting at PRC’s direction to promote their interests. She has agreed to resign from office and plead guilty,” Patel explained.

“FBI and our federal partners continue to move aggressively to root out this kind of influence in American institutions all over the country,” he added.

Between 2020 and 2022, Wang and her then-fiancé, Yaoning “Mike” Sun, ran a Chinese propaganda website called U.S. News Center, which aimed to publish pro-Beijing content and punish dissidents.

BlazeTV host Stu Burguiere jokes that the situation is “suboptimal” for a mayor.

“You kind of want them to be an agent for your city,” he says.

“It actually says on her website, she’s the daughter of proud immigrants who came to California seeking the American dream,” co-host Dave Landau points out.

“I will say, part of the American dream is making money in illicit fashion. So she’s checked that box off,” Stu says.

“That is the Somalian-American dream,” Dave jokes.

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​American dream, Arcadia california, Blazetv host, Chinese spy, Dissidents, Fbi, Illegal agent, Mayor eileen wang, Prc propaganda, Somalian american dream, Stu and dave do america, Us news center, Probeijing content, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals 

An infamous serial murderer and rapist said that taxpayer-funded digital tablets allowed him to watch pornography and receive a topless photo from a 22-year-old German psychology student.

That’s just one account in a City Journal investigation into a “digital equity” program pushed by Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom to ensure prisoners had access to the Bible. And also porn.

Amador told the Journal that he alternates between watching short clips of his ‘family at the beach’ and pornography delivered in 30-second clips.

Officials told the Journal that the tablets were “tightly controlled education tools” to provide inmates “access to the Bible, education, and re-entry resources that actually reduce crime.”

The investigation found dozens of death-row inmates who said the tablets allowed them access to pornography as well as sexually explicit conversations.

The program under the Newsom administration tossed $189 million of taxpayer funds to ensure criminals had free access to porn and the Bible online.

Robert Maury, an infamous rapist and serial murderer from the 1980s, did not mention the Bible but told the Journal that a German student sent him topless photos in the hope that he would share his story with her for a psychology class project.

Maury was known as the “tipster killer” because he would call a crime tip line and give law enforcement authorities tips about his crimes before he was captured.

Another serial killer named Samuel Amador told the Journal that he alternates between watching short clips of his “family at the beach” and pornography delivered in 30-second clips.

He said guards try to stop sexually explicit texts when they see them but that inmates figure out how to “get around their bulls**t.”

One inmate named Nathaniel Ray Diaz allegedly used a tablet to talk with a girl for hours and sexually exploit her. Diaz is facing new charges related to the alleged child exploitation and was already in Avenal State Prison for sex crimes against a 12-year-old girl.

RELATED: ‘Sadistic’ PA man sexually assaulted and cut 13-year-old girl at California motel after grooming her on Discord, feds say

Douglas Eckenrod, a former California parole operations director, told the Journal the Diaz case was just the tip of the iceberg.

“I would bet my pension that there’s a vast amount of childhood pornography on the tablets,” Eckenrod said. “There are probably several thousand [children] that are currently being groomed.”

He went on to say that California is simply empowering criminals to groom more victims through the tablets.

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​Child exploitation, Digital equity, Gavin newsom, Tablets for prisoners, Politics 

Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt saw his support surge in the first polling since his impressive performance in the contest’s first debate.

Support for Pratt has more than doubled, according to the Emerson College Polling/Inside California Politics poll, as compared to March.

The gains made by the top 3 candidates appeared to be from voters who had been undecided, previously at 51% in March.

The former reality TV star had his support jump to 22% after previously garnering only 10%. The 12-percentage-point jump is the highest among all candidates in the poll.

Incumbent Mayor Karen Bass still holds on to the top spot with 30% and saw her support grow from 20% in March. Socialist-aligned Democrat Nithya Raman also made big gains, with 19% support after getting only 9% in March.

The gains made by the top three candidates appeared to be from voters who had been undecided, previously at 51% in March. In the most recent poll, only 16% said they remained undecided.

Pratt pummeled both the incumbent mayor and Raman during the debate last week and mocked their claims that homelessness had decreased because of their liberal programs.

“The reality is, no matter how many beds you give these people, they are on super meth. They are on fentanyl. The DEA statistic says 93% of this is a drug addiction problem,” Pratt said during the debate.

“I will go below the Harbor Freeway tomorrow with [Raman], and we can find some of these people she’s going to offer treatment for,” he added. “She’s going to get stabbed in the neck!”

Raman, a city councilwoman, appeared unprepared for some of the questions and stumbled in her attempt to differentiate herself from Bass, her former ally.

RELATED: LA Times gets scorched for trying to disqualify Pratt for mayor — because his home burned down in Palisades fire

Pratt has also been able to score a fundraising victory by beating all other candidates in donations thus far in the campaign.

Prediction market Kalshi recently had Raman’s chances to win the mayoral rate plummeting from a high of 64% all the way down to 14%.

The race is technically nonpartisan, and the primary election will be held on June 2. If any candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, that candidate will be declared the next mayor. However, if no candidate earns more than 50% of the vote in the primary, the top two vote-getters will advance to the general election in November.

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​Spencer pratt, La mayor polling, La mayor karen bass, Nithya raman, Politics 

After platforming James Talarico, “The View” is facing an investigation by the FCC for potentially breaking the “equal time” political rule that requires non-news shows to give equal time to opposing political views.

While Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck isn’t a fan of “The View,” he’s not sure that Trump’s FCC’s investigation will prove “The View” broke any rules.

“If you are a news show, you don’t have to have both sides on, because it’s news. It’s breaking every day. It’s changing every day. We have a hard enough time booking guests for a subject. Imagine having to book a guest that has the opposite view of everything you just are covering,” Glenn explains on “The Glenn Beck Program.”

“So that’s the rule. Now, ABC claims that ‘The View’ is a news show,” he says.

“I don’t watch ‘The View.’ I never have watched ‘The View.’ I have only watched the clips of ‘The View,’ because, for the love of everything that is good and sacred, little baby Jesus cannot save my soul from darkness if I watch that thing every day,” he continues.

“So I don’t know for sure, but from the clips that I have seen over the years, I would say that’s a news show,” he adds.

Glenn notes that he’s not “supporting ABC,” but he is “supporting the truth” as he understands it.

“If what they talk about most of the time is the news of the day, I would consider that a news show,” he says, pointing out that it’s his “understanding that Jimmy Kimmel is also considered a news program.”

“That’s not a news program. I did one search. How many politicians has Jimmy Kimmel had on his show in the last 60 days? And the answer was one. What is the balance of his show? The balance of his guests are Hollywood,” he continues. “It’s an entertainment show, not a news show. That one clearly doesn’t qualify.”

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​Abc, Blaze media, Blaze news, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Blaze podcast network, Blaze podcasts, Blazetv, Entertainment show, Equal time rule, Fcc investigation, Glenn beck, Jimmy kimmel, News show, Opposing political views, The blaze, The fcc, The glenn beck program, The view 

Vice President JD Vance, who chairs the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, announced on Wednesday the first major steps to compel states to crack down on Medicaid fraud nationwide.

During a press conference Wednesday on anti-fraud initiatives, Vance declared that the Trump administration would be “very aggressively” encouraging states to take fraud concerns more seriously.

‘So these letters are the first step, the first effort to try to force these states to get serious about prosecuting fraud.’

He explained that the U.S. Medicaid system is run like 50 separate systems.

“The federal government pays most of the Medicaid money, but then each of the individual states actually administers the Medicaid program,” Vance stated.

Despite the federal government generously funding Medicaid Fraud Control Units, responsible for detecting and eliminating fraud, some states are not using them, Vance stated. He highlighted his point by providing examples.

Vance stated that Hawaii, a state that has received billions of taxpayers’ dollars through the Medicaid system, had not made a single fraud conviction or indictment “over the last few years.”

“That means that if you’re committing fraud in Medicaid in Hawaii, at least up until now — hopefully now they’re going to take it seriously — you have had effectively free rein from the government of Hawaii to commit as much fraud as you want,” Vance stated. “That is a complete disgrace.”

RELATED: Walz tries to take credit for raids on day cares in Minnesota — and Kash Patel humiliates him

JD Vance. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Vance explained that New York, which has a $100 billion Medicaid program, has had only nine indictments over the last year.

The vice president compared New York, a Democratic-led state, to Indiana, a Republican-led state. He noted that despite Indiana having only a third of New York’s population, it has pursued more than four times as many indictments during the same period.

Vance stated that the federal government is withholding $1.3 billion in Medicaid reimbursements to California. He said that the state has “not taken fraud very seriously,” resulting in California and American taxpayers being defrauded.

RELATED: ‘No amount of fraud is too big or too small’: Vance’s anti-fraud task force targets every crook stealing from taxpayers

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Vance announced that 50 state Medicaid programs would be receiving a letter requiring them to demonstrate that they are “effectively and aggressively prosecuting” fraud. If they fail to do so, their anti-fraud units will no longer receive federal funds.

“We encourage people to work with us. We want to help you use technology and other tools to get rid of the fraud, to get to the root of the fraud. We want to help you,” Vance stated. “But we can only help these state programs if those state programs are willing to help themselves. So these letters are the first step, the first effort to try to force these states to get serious about prosecuting fraud.”

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​News, Jd vance, Vance, Task force to eliminate fraud, Fraud, Medicaid, Medicaid fraud, Medicaid fraud control unit, Medicaid fraud control units, Hawaii, New york, Indiana, California, Politics 

A 33-year-old Chicago male who’s accused of telling a 13-year-old he likes “little boys and girls” before shoving and holding the victim against a wall has been sentenced, CWB Chicago reported.

Devontay Kenny on February 24, 2025, followed the 13-year-old boy down West Division Street in Humboldt Park, the outlet said.

Court records indicate Kenny has several felony convictions for narcotics-related charges as well as a 2017 conviction for aggravated robbery, the outlet said.

Kenny repeatedly tried to get the victim’s attention, saying he likes “little boys and girls,” the outlet added, citing court filings.

But when the boy refused to stop, prosecutors said Kenny grabbed the boy by the sweater with both hands and pushed him against a brick wall to keep him from moving away, the outlet said.

After a struggle, the victim broke free and ran to a nearby convenience store for help, the outlet said.

When witnesses confronted Kenny, officials said he tried to convince them he was the boy’s uncle, the outlet said.

RELATED: Thug carjacks a grandmother as her 6-year-old grandson looks on. But crook soon gets his comeuppance.

Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune

Kenny pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful restraint in connection with the incident, the outlet said, adding that prosecutors dropped child abduction and aggravated battery charges.

On Monday, Judge John Lyke handed down Kenny’s sentence: six years in prison, the outlet said.

As you might imagine, Kenny has had other run-ins with the law.

In fact, just one week before the incident with the 13-year-old boy, Kenny was placed on a nighttime curfew with an electronic monitoring bracelet after police said he was distributing heroin and cocaine, the outlet said, citing court records.

However, prosecutors dropped those drug charges three weeks after Kenny was charged with assaulting the 13-year-old boy, the outlet said.

What’s more, court records indicate Kenny has several felony convictions for narcotics-related charges as well as a 2017 conviction for aggravated robbery, the outlet noted.

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​Arrest, Sentence, Devontay kenny, Chicago, Attempted kidnapping, Drug charges, Jailed, Unlawful restraint, Aggravated battery, Crime 

Hundreds of students waving U.S. and Chinese flags greeted President Donald Trump in Beijing as he stepped off Air Force One for his historic visit to China on Wednesday.

Also in attendance to greet the president was Chinese Vice President Han Zheng as well as Foreign Affairs Vice Minister Ma Zhaoxu. Trump will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at a pivotal time in the ongoing war in Iran.

‘We used to be taken advantage of for years with our previous presidents. And now we’re doing great with China.’

The president arrived with a large entourage that included tech billionaire Elon Musk, who had a falling out with Trump last June before restoring their relationship recently.

The visit to China is a first for a sitting U.S. president in nearly 10 years, when Trump visited last.

“We’re the two superpowers,” Trump said to reporters at the White House before departing on the trip. “We’re the strongest nation on Earth in terms of military. China’s considered second.”

The president went on to say that he didn’t think they would discuss Iran much because the war is “very much under control.”

Along with Musk, the president brought a large group of business leaders that included Jensen Huang of Nvidia, Tim Cook of Apple, Larry Fink of BlackRock, and others from the following companies:

Boeing;Goldman Sachs;Meta;Micron;Qualcomm;Illumina;Mastercard;Visa;Cargill;Citi;Cisco;Coherent; andGE Aerospace.

The trip had been delayed because of the Iran war.

“I have a great relationship with President Xi,” Trump said to reporters in the Oval Office. “We’re doing a lot of business, but it’s smart business. We used to be taken advantage of for years with our previous presidents. And now we’re doing great with China. We make a lot of money with China.”

The president’s trip to China will last until Friday.

RELATED: California mayor abruptly RESIGNS — after admitting to spying for China

There will be an official welcome ceremony on Thursday with Jinping.

The president also forcefully rejected a peace plan offered by Iranian officials on Monday, calling it “garbage” and “unacceptable.” He went on to assert the ceasefire was “on life support.”

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​Trump visits china, Trump vs xi jinping, Elon musk, Business leaders, Politics 

The fact that marriage in America is on the decline is concerning, but few people understand how deep the problem goes.

Recent data shows the dismal marriage numbers in the United States. The percentage of married couples, average age at which couples are marrying, and number of children are all in catastrophic decline. The numbers represent a dramatic collapse in the institution that serves as a foundation for successful civilizations.

Conservatives will often place the blame on a lack of individual virtue, and there is plenty of truth to that claim, but the most important factors are baked into the structure of our society in a manner that Republicans are terrified to address.

Once birth control and abortion made pregnancy a choice instead of an inevitability, everything shifted.

When a movement refers to itself as “conservative” you would think the preservation of marriage would be its top priority. However, when marriage does receive any attention from conservative pundits and politicians, it is in the form of glib advice directed at young men telling them to get out of their parents’ basement and stop playing video games.

Part of the marriage problem is certainly the lack of initiative on the part of young males, but this is also the easiest and most cowardly attempt to explain away the issue. Our culture encourages placing the blame on young men, who are one of the few groups that can be attacked without consequence. The real answers require taking on far more sacred cows.

When conservatives are feeling a little more adventurous, they will admit that some aspects of our economy are antithetical to family formation.

The fact that the average age of first-time homeowners is pushing past 40 signals how difficult achieving stability for young families has become. College is now required for even the most entry-level jobs, and the cost keeps exploding, consuming the capital that once went into a starter home.

The costs of health care and food continue to skyrocket so that most households require two incomes, forcing mothers to work, while the price of child care also increases rapidly. The economic issues are real and important, but even they do not tell the whole story.

Love, duty, and honor are all factors that hold our social bonds together, but it is dependence that makes them necessary in the first place and continues to undergird them when everything else falls away.

RELATED: Adults are refusing to grow up, and their children are paying the price

Matt Stroshane/Walt Disney World Resort/Getty Images

Modern people do not like to hear this fact because they believe that maximizing freedom and independence is the ultimate good, but there is a point at which autonomy rips society apart.

Men are, of course, dependent on many things, but women, due to their biological vulnerability, were always directly dependent on men.

Women are physically weaker, less aggressive, become pregnant, must care for children, and regularly need the direct intervention of others to ensure their safety and security. Women could not work outside the home while pregnant or raising children, so they remained dependent on their husbands’ income.

People will have sex — we are hardwired to pursue it — so the reality was that women and men needed to get married early to secure the safety of mothers and their children. Family formation was part of the rhythm of life. It was largely unavoidable, and this kept marriage rates among young people relatively high.

Once birth control and abortion made pregnancy a choice instead of an inevitability, everything shifted. Single women became a larger part of society, and the state expanded its reach to provide them with broader physical and economic protections.

The newly emancipated woman needed her own stream of income, and corporations were more than happy to provide it. Women doubled the labor pool, driving down wages. In large bureaucratic organizations, where compliance is key, the more agreeable nature of women is considered an asset in a way that it would not be in a more entrepreneurial economy.

Advantages were built into every level of our system to help elevate women due to the perceived biases that existed when mothers were expected to stay home. Universities gave priority to women, who now earn more degrees than men. Corporations gave hiring priority to women, who now make up a majority of their workforce.

Government assistance and scholarship programs were established to ensure that working mothers did not fall through the cracks. It is not that women stopped getting married — every female must be married at some level — they simply became dependent on the men running the government and corporations instead of traditional husbands.

Women do not date men who earn less than they do, even if they think of themselves as independent. Deep down, females know that in the modern world, income signals status and status means protection.

RELATED: Universal basic income is a dangerous delusion

Blaze Media Illustration

Even in our hyper-feminist culture, women still know they could become mothers at any time and naturally seek out protection and stability. The push to elevate women in education and hiring meant that the percentage of well-paying jobs going to men shrank. This resulted in men being systematically removed from the pool of attractive marriage prospects.

Dwindling prospects for both education and career have already set young men on the path to downward mobility, but the lack of prospects for marriage was the nail in the coffin. These changes, coupled with the one-sided nature of divorce and child custody law, means that many men no longer see a reason to bother dating.

Women initiate 70% of divorces in the United States. The truth is that women who do not need men do not marry when they are young and are far more likely to divorce if they do.

To be clear, this is not to absolve men of their responsibility. Both sexes made this mess, both sexes are to blame, and both will need to do hard work to fix the problem.

Men must have the drive and vitality to make something of themselves, no matter what situation they find themselves in. But in the rare instances where conservatives are even willing to address the marriage crisis, they save all their criticisms for young men because they are the culturally approved target.

There are no easy answers to the chaos that modernity has visited on the dating and marriage landscape, but the structural issues are real, and telling men to “get it together” does nothing to change that. Until conservatives are willing to be as honest with women as they are with men about our situation, nothing will improve.

​Marriage decline america, Birth control abortion, Divorce rates, Birth rates, Marriage rates, Fertility crisis, Conservatives, Women in the workplace, Opinion & analysis 

President Donald Trump’s nominee to replace Jerome Powell as the chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve was approved by a vote in the U.S. Senate Wednesday.

56-year-old Kevin Warsh, a lawyer and financier, becomes the wealthiest chairman of the Fed after the Republican-controlled Senate voted 54 to 45 to confirm him.

‘He will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best!’

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) was the only Democrat to vote in favor of Warsh’s confirmation.

Warsh is expected to support the president’s demand to lower interest rates despite his previous opposition to dropping rates. He has justified his change of heart by arguing that artificial intelligence will so drastically increase productivity that it will give the Fed room to lower rates.

“I have known Kevin for a long period of time, and have no doubt that he will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best,” Trump said on social media in January. “On top of everything else, he is ‘central casting,’ and he will never let you down.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said Warsh had “sucked up to Donald Trump to snag his dream job” at the Fed.

“The Senate should not be aiding and abetting Donald Trump’s illegal takeover of the Fed by installing his chosen sock puppet as chair,” she added. “It’s an invitation for corruption and for economic catastrophe. We have the power to stop it, and we should be using that power.”

The president has intensely criticized Powell for refusing to lower rates.

“We should have the lowest interest rate anywhere in the world. Jerome Powell has done a terrible job. And frankly, I don’t think he could do a worse job. He’s called everything wrong,” Trump said to reporters in July.

He has referred to Powell as a “knucklehead” and a “stupid guy” and has accused him of committing fraud while overseeing a billion-dollar renovation of the Fed’s offices in Washington, D.C.

Powell has denied the allegations and tried to defend the Fed against charges of politicization.

“We’re never going to be influenced by any political pressure,” Powell said in April 2025. “People can say whatever they want. … That’s not a problem, but we will do what we do strictly without consideration of political or any other extraneous factors.”

RELATED: Trump bashes Fed chair after inflation report drops: ‘He’s a knucklehead. Stupid guy.’

Some have argued that Warsh will not be able to significantly change the policy at the Federal Reserve by himself, as the interest rates are determined by a full vote of the Fed governors.

On Tuesday the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that inflation had spiked to 3.8%, likely as a result of increasing oil prices from the war on Iran.

Warsh is married to Jane Lauder, the billionaire heiress to the Estee Lauder fortune.

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​Jerome powell replacement, Kevin warsh, Federal reserve chair, Fed interest rates, Politics 

Democrat state Rep. Justin Pearson is already back in the news after a video of the Tennessee politician calling a state trooper a “stupid motherf**ker” went viral.

But in the latest video, Pearson appears to be a changed man.

In a video from a graduation ceremony, Pearson thrashes around, dancing on stage in front of a cross, leading BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock to comment that it appears Pearson has “caught the Holy Ghost.”

“I’m almost speechless, Jason, and I speak for a living,” Anthony Walker tells Whitlock, calling Pearson’s actions “performative.”

And Walker does not believe Pearson has “caught the Holy Ghost.”

“Evidence of the Holy Spirit truly in your life and transforming you is going to be a transformed life. Your conversation is going to be different. Your conduct is going to be different. Your whereabouts, where you choose to go, is going to be different. Something will be evident that you used to behave in a sinful manner,” he explains.

“So it’s performance, and you know, unfortunately, we live in a performance-rewarding society,” he adds.

Shemeka Michelle is in agreement.

“It is performative. It is an act. And he failed,” she says, noting that the audience is applauding in the video.

“Most of them are probably women who just don’t have the discernment that’s necessary to be able to sniff out a fraud. He’s a fraud. Plain and simple,” she adds.

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​Anthony walker, Blaze media, Blaze news, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Blaze podcast network, Blaze podcasts, Blazetv, Blazetv host, Democrat, Evidence, Fearless with jason whitlock, Fraud, Graduation ceremony, Holy ghost, Holy spirit, Jason whitlock, Jason whitlock harmony, Justin pearson, Performance, Shemeka michelle, State trooper, Tennessee, The blaze, Viral 

“Come with me if you want to live …”

That line from 1991’s “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” proved ironic in more ways than one.

Author Glenn Reynolds begins his new book, ‘Seductive AI,’ by citing this forgotten thriller.

A T-800 robot (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) tries to protect Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) from the looming AI revolution. They both know humanity’s survival depends on her son living long enough to lead the human resistance.

The “Terminator” franchise remains Hollywood’s biggest red flag against the rise of AI. The all-powerful Skynet future is coming, and humanity may crumble as a result.

Wait … is that on screen or off?

The “Terminator” franchise isn’t the only time Hollywood warned us what could happen if we let AI grow unchecked. The following films offered their own predictions on how computer-generated intelligence could bring society to its knees — or simply leave us so disconnected that we don’t even bother with fellow humans.

Looking back, these disparate films have become scarier than Freddy, Jason, or Art the Clown … combined.

‘Her’ (2013)

– YouTube

Who wouldn’t fall in love with an AI software that sounded like Scarlett Johansson? This sci-fi parable stars Joaquin Phoenix as a lonely soul on the cusp of divorce. He decides to give his computer’s operating system a female voice (Johansson), and the two begin a digital courtship.

Naturally, the main character’s love life suffers as a result. He feels increasingly comfortable confiding in “Samantha,” even though she’s not flesh and blood.

“Her” underwhelmed at the box office, but its prescient look at computer-based romance has taken on an ominous tone given recent headlines.

‘Ex Machina’ (2015)

– YouTube

A computer programmer (Domhnall Gleeson) wins the chance to spend a week with a scientist (Oscar Isaac) who has created a near-perfect AI robot named Ava (Alicia Vikander). The programmer’s task? Determine if he can tell if the robot is real or synthetic by challenging it to the best of his abilities. What neither man realizes is that Ava has a surprise or two in store, using the unsuspecting humans for her own selfish purposes.

Wait, robots can be selfish?

The film’s minimalist effects proved sublime (and Oscar-winning), but the sophisticated storytelling is the main attraction. Once more, artificial humans pose a genuine threat to our species, at least on a small but significant scale. That leaves us vulnerable to our baser instincts.

RELATED: ‘Crawl’: Killer gators make for gruesome guests in overlooked creature feature

Paramount Pictures

‘M3GAN’ (2022)

– YouTube

This slick horror-comedy has the perfect solution for a young girl dealing with the loss of her parents. At least on paper.

Meet M3gan, a sophisticated AI robot designed by Cady’s aunt (Allison Williams). The creepy bot is meant to give Cady support through her pain. M3gan is almost too good to be true, until it starts lashing out at anyone it thinks is trying to hurt the grieving girl.

No computer program can replace a loved one, and the healing process requires more than a few cute AI prompts. That’s the serious side of “M3GAN,” a genre romp with a decidedly nasty sense of humor. The film became an unlikely smash, partly because it hit theaters just as AI’s real potential started to emerge.

The sequel, “M3GAN 2.0,” bombed by betraying the story’s core themes and, perhaps, reminding us how close to reality this franchise became in just three short years.

‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ (1968)

– YouTube

“I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

The best science fiction stories transport us years, if not decades, into the future. Director Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece delivered the ultimate AI warning, an avuncular program named HAL designed to do our bidding.

We all know HAL has other plans, turning this space yarn into a cautionary tale like few others.

‘Blade Runner’ (1982)

– YouTube

The line between humans and replicants blurs beyond recognition in this sci-fi stunner that bombed during its initial release. Harrison Ford, tasked with erasing androids who pose a threat to humanity when they go rogue, is torn when he meets Sean Young’s beguiling character.

She’s beautiful, even intoxicating. But is she human? We know Rutger Hauer’s villainous character is all nuts and bolts, but his soulful dialogue suggests an AI creation of consequence.

The film doesn’t reflexively take humanity’s side, leaving us with uncomfortable questions about our tech-centric future.

‘Colossus: The Forbin Project’ (1970)

– YouTube

Author Glenn Reynolds begins his new book, “Seductive AI,” by citing this forgotten thriller. The film features a supercomputer built to prevent nuclear war, a noble mission that soon goes sideways. The bot becomes sentient, reaches out to its Russian counterpart, and decides it knows what’s best regarding the fate of humanity.

The film’s chilling coda must have seemed like pure fantasy at the time. No longer.

​Entertainment, Culture, Ai, Tech, 2001: a space odyssey, Blade runner, Her, Movies, Reviews, Recommendation