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‘BIG WIN’: Newsom’s losing streak continues as 9th Circuit Court delivers Trump more great news
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overruled a Clinton judge and delivered some bad news to California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) that might wipe the default grin off his face.
How it started
Exercising his constitutional and statutory powers, President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles on June 7, noting that the anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement riots constituted “a form of rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”
‘It is likely that the president lawfully exercised his statutory authority under § 12406(3).’
Newsom — among the many Democrats who downplayed the violence and appeared sympathetic to the rioters’ cause — asked a federal district court judge to force Trump to surrender control of the federalized California National Guard.
U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer, a Bill Clinton appointee, sided with Newsom, claiming on June 12 that Trump’s actions “were illegal — both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the Tenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.”
Newsom subsequently told Trump, “You must relinquish your authority of the National Guard back to me and back to California,” then smugly attacked the president in a press conference where he called Trump “weak.”
The governor’s gloating was cut short when the Trump administration appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and secured an emergency ruling to return command of the National Guard to the president.
How it’s going
Newsom optimistically stated on Tuesday, days ahead of the appellate court’s ruling, “I’m confident in the rule of law. I’m confident in the Constitution of the United States. I’m confident in the reasoned decision issued last week by a very well-respected federal judge. And I’m confident that common sense will prevail here.”
Common sense prevailed — just not in Newsom’s favor.
RELATED: Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass to California: ‘Look what you made us do!’
Mario Tama/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images
On Thursday, a three-judge panel of the appeals court ruled unanimously in the president’s favor, granting a stay of the Clinton judge’s order.
The appeals court concluded that “it is likely that the president lawfully exercised his statutory authority under § 12406(3), which authorizes federalization of the National Guard when ‘the president is unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States'” and indicated Hegseth’s transmittal of the order “likely satisfied the statute’s procedural requirement that federalization orders be issued ‘through’ the governor.”
‘The Judges obviously realized that Gavin Newscum is incompetent and ill prepared.’
The court also recognized that Trump had “a colorable basis” for deploying the National Guard, citing evidence that the anti-ICE rioters:
interfered “with the ability of federal officers to execute the laws”; threw objects at ICE vehicles attempting to complete a law enforcement operation; threw Molotov cocktails and vandalized property;”‘pinned down’ several [Federal Protective Service] officers defending federal property by throwing ‘concrete chunks, bottles of liquid, and other objects,’ and used ‘large rolling commercial dumpsters as a battering ram’ in an attempt to breach the parking garage of a federal building.”
To Newsom’s likely chagrin, the court noted further that “the president’s failure to issue the federalization order directly ‘through’ the governor of California does not limit his otherwise lawful authority to call up the National Guard” and that “Newsom had no power to veto or countermand the president’s order.”
Newsom, like Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and other Democrats, suggested that the presence of the National Guard was inflammatory and prompted more unrest.
RELATED: The Democrats’ key to success
California National Guard troops outside a Los Angeles federal building on June 9, 2025. Photo by David McNew/Getty Images
The appellate court was not buying what the governor was selling, noting both that “these concerns are counterbalanced by the undisputed fact that federal property has been damaged and federal employees have been injured” and that such concerns “are too speculative.”
President Trump celebrated the ruling, suggesting the decision affirms his ability to take similar action elsewhere if necessary.
“BIG WIN in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on the President’s core power to call in the National Guard!” the president wrote on Truth Social. “The Judges obviously realized that Gavin Newscum is incompetent and ill prepared, but this is much bigger than Gavin, because all over the United States, if our Cities, and our people, need protection, we are the ones to give it to them should State and Local Police be unable, for whatever reason, to get the job done.”
“This is a Great Decision for our Country, and we will continue to protect and defend Law abiding Americans. Congratulations to the Ninth Circuit, America is proud of you tonight!” added Trump.
Newsom expressed his disappointment, vowing to press forward with his “challenge to President Trump’s authoritarian use of U.S. military soldiers against citizens.”
Judge Breyer is reportedly contemplating whether to slap Trump with another injunction, restricting the president’s use of National Guard troops in Los Angeles.
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Newsom, Gavin newsom, Donald trump, Trump, National guard, Posse comitatus, National, Los angeles riots, Riots, Los angeles, California, Appealas court, 9th circuit, Politics
Democrats think they see their moment, but can they grasp it?
Democrats smell blood in the water. From the threat of a new Middle East war to proposed changes to Medicaid and food stamps, they see dozens of opportunities to regain political ground. But their own dysfunction — infighting, petty rivalries, and a stunning lack of talent — is holding them back. No rising star has emerged. No one seems capable of carrying the flag.
America faces the prospect of another foreign war, one that’s deeply unpopular and threatening to split President Donald Trump’s coalition. Polling remains limited, but a quick Washington Post survey found 45% of Americans oppose involvement. Only 25% support it.
Aside from strong polling numbers, the best news for Republicans is that Democrats remain in total disarray.
And the Democrats? Good luck finding a credible opposition voice. Is it Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, who spent her time in a Senate hearing shouting about the L.A. riots before filibustering her own line of questioning? Or maybe it’s Tim Kaine of Virginia — yes, still in the Senate nearly a decade after his dismal turn as Hillary Clinton’s running mate.
Meanwhile, trouble looms for the president’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. When Democrats describe it as a plan to gut Medicaid and food stamps while bankrupting rural hospitals to benefit corporations, support craters. But when Republicans explain the reforms — cutting off benefits to illegal immigrants, purging the deceased from the rolls, and requiring work from able-bodied men who admit to spending most of their time playing video games — voters respond differently. Those policies poll at 82%, 86%, and 72%, respectively.
Assume you’ll never persuade the 14% of Americans who apparently support Medicaid for the dead. That leaves Republicans with near-total lock on public opinion. Proposals like eliminating taxes on tips and overtime also enjoy overwhelming support. So does deporting criminal aliens. And Democrats? Their response has consisted mostly of street theater — getting arrested and setting fires in Los Angeles while waving Mexican flags. Just wait until one of their protests ends with a federal agent injured or killed.
The more serious threat to the GOP comes from inside the tent: the Senate Republican push to scrap the health care provider tax. Barring a major war, we’ll unpack that mess in Monday’s newsletter. The short version: Republicans have every political incentive to avoid this fight — and they’re scrambling to fix it before it blows up.
Republicans fear a political repeat of Obamacare — but in reverse. If Democrats manage to define the GOP’s top legislative achievement more effectively than Republicans can, they’ll seize the advantage. To prevent that, Republicans need to campaign now — and outwork the Democrats from the start. It’s a race to frame the narrative, and GOP super PACs are already buying airtime.
Aside from strong polling numbers, the best news for Republicans is that Democrats remain in total disarray. Even with the usual advantage of being the opposition party, they can’t get out of their own way. The fallout from the L.A. riots continues, and the DNC just forced out activist turned Vice Chair David Hogg in a chaotic leadership shake-up.
Then came the public resignations. Randi Weingarten — the COVID-era school-closer in chief — and Lee Saunders of AFSCME both quit their DNC committee posts, blaming the crying and dithering of Chairman Ken Martin. When union bosses start walking, it’s rarely a sign of strength.
Unless New York Democrat Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s latest branding brainstorm — the “We Are All Going to Die Bill” — magically catches fire like “Obamacare” once did, Republicans hold the upper hand.
Even Rahm Emanuel sees it. “We’re in the most serious existential crisis with Donald Trump both at home and abroad — and with the biggest political opportunity in a decade,” the former Obama chief of staff and possible 2028 contender complained this week. “And the DNC has spent six months on a firing squad in the circle and can’t even fire a shot out. And Trump’s world is a target-rich environment.”
Yes, it is. But you still have to take the shot.
Blaze News: DNC plagued by infighting and incompetence, leaving Democrats desperate for cash
BlazeTV’s Sara Gonzalez: Trump derangement final boss Ilhan Omar claims Somalia is better than America
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Opinion & analysis, Politics
Caitlyn Jenner gets tipsy in Israel during attack
75-year-old Olympic gold medalist Caitlyn Jenner flew to Tel Aviv to be the guest of honor at a Pride parade — but all that came to a screeching halt when Iranian missiles began to pierce the sky.
When Jenner was moved to a bomb shelter instead of the parade, Israeli influencer Regev Gur snapped a photo of himself and the famous transgender athlete, posting it to X with the caption, “What did you do during the alerts? Because I’m drinking wine with Caitlyn.”
Jenner is shown in the photo holding a glass of wine up next to the influencer while in the bunker, but BlazeTV host Dave Landau doesn’t see it as a good thing.
“It’s wine o’clock somewhere, apparently in Tel Aviv while you’re getting bombed,” Landau says, dripping with sarcasm.
“The former Olympian, who’s 76 — you wouldn’t have guessed that,” he continues, “captioned via Instagram Friday with a picture of missiles, adding, ‘There is not a place I’d rather be than with the brave people of Israel. God, please continue to shield and protect us.’”
1/4 Black Garrett finds the timing of the missiles to be suspicious, as it was just as the Pride celebration was set to begin.
“Why would Palestine blow them up at that time?” he asks, alluding to Palestine’s strict laws against homosexuality.
“I’d say this is the most woman thing he’s ever done,” he continues, adding, “making a very bad situation about himself.”
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The MAGA divide over Israel is a test of maturity
The recent clash between Tucker Carlson and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) over the Israel-Iran conflict isn’t just a Twitter skirmish. It’s a proxy battle highlighting a deeper divide within the MAGA movement. That divide cuts to the heart of competing worldviews, and I’ve spent much of this week on my show trying to make sense of it through a biblical lens.
This internal debate isn’t a problem. In fact, it’s a strength. You’ll see it across Blaze Media on a wide variety of questions. Glenn Beck champions critical thinking and challenging assumptions. We don’t all walk in lockstep — nor should we. On this issue alone, you’ll hear wildly different takes across the network. That diversity makes us better.
We live in a time that punishes discernment. Critical thinking doesn’t just get ignored — it gets attacked. And yet I’ve never seen so many people hungry for truth.
We’re also better off when we allow that debate to happen within ourselves.
When I first became a Christian, I devoured everything I could find about church history and theology. I loved Augustine. Then I read Calvin and agreed with him — even where he contradicted Augustine. Then I read Luther, who opposed both of them — and I agreed with him, too. What now?
That tension never goes away. Pick up a Tim Keller book, and the same thing happens. If he wrote it before 2005, it’s probably excellent. If he wrote it after, it probably isn’t. So is Keller good or bad? Right or wrong?
I care about truth more than just about anyone I know. But early in my journey, I learned a hard lesson — delivered, oddly enough, by one of my favorite childhood films “WarGames”: “The only winning move is not to play.”
So do I have to pick Tucker or Cruz? Do I have to vote someone off the island?
Nope. If someone’s right in the moment, I’m with them. If they’re wrong — even if they were right 10 times before — I’m not. It’s not personal. It’s principled. That’s the only way I’ve found to avoid losing my mind, becoming a tribalist, or slipping into flat-out idolatry.
We live in a time that punishes discernment. Critical thinking doesn’t just get ignored — it gets attacked. And yet, I’ve never seen so many people hungry for truth.
That hunger forces us to work with unlikely allies.
Take Naomi Wolf. For three decades, she belonged to a political world I deeply opposed. She worked for the Clintons and trafficked in feminist nonsense. But during COVID, when the lies were thickest, she told the truth. She fought the right fight, at the right time, on the right side. That mattered more than her résumé. That’s what discernment looks like. Personality cults don’t interest me.
RELATED: Which will it be, America? God, greed — or the grave?
KvitaJan via iStock/Getty Images
Same with Donald Trump. In 2015, his campaign tried everything to hire me. I almost said yes. But then I did everything I could to stop him from winning. Yet the morning after his victory, I said something on my show that might be the most important thing I’ve ever said on-air: “The country has spoken. NeverTrump is dead and never coming back.”
I wanted what was best for the country. And at that moment, that meant helping Trump succeed. How could I help?
You won’t think that way if you’re obsessed with defending your narrative at all costs — especially if that narrative floats untethered from the Word of God.
You won’t love your neighbor. You’ll straw-man your opponents. You’ll never consider the possibility you’re wrong.
Look around. Just days ago, Israel versus Iran wasn’t on our radar. Now, people have already retreated to their corners and locked in their positions — on a conflict that could reshape the lives of millions.
Maybe we should stop. Breathe. Listen.
Maybe, before we harden into another round of generational mistakes, we should consult God — and one another.
Let’s reason together. It’s not weakness. It’s wisdom. And we need more of it.
Opinion & analysis, Israel, Iran, Maga, America first, Wargames, Truth, Donald trump, Glenn beck, Elections, Nevertrump, Debate, Dissent, Naomi wolf, Reason, Discernment, Prayer, God’s word, Feminism, Leftism, Democrats, Republicans, War
No apologies: A Christian case for America before Israel
On June 15, Christian author Owen Strachan tweeted, “As an evangelical Christian, I stand with Israel without shame or apology.” This is, of course, an expression of support for the nation of Israel in its current conflict with Iran. Since Strachan tied his support of Israel to his identity as an “evangelical Christian,” he apparently sees a theological connection between Christianity and support for Israel (though he did not explain his reasoning here).
I quoted Strachan’s statement with my own tweet, which read, “As an American Christian, I stand with America.”
Christians should desire (and pray for) the good of all nations, especially their own. They should seek the good of their people.
I intended this statement to distance myself from support for Israel. But I did not mean that I support Iran. Rather, I meant that I do not desire to publicly stand for a foreign nation, and I do not want my home nation getting involved in unnecessary international conflicts.
I especially do not want Americans fighting in more wars.
As a Presbyterian minister, I affirm a doctrine known as the spirituality of the church. This means that the church’s mission is primarily spiritual. It follows that the church as an institution should not make political statements, except on occasions when the church is asked by the civil magistrate or when the church petitions the magistrate in extraordinary cases (see Westminster Confession of Faith 31.4).
I also seek to avoid preaching politics from the pulpit, unless by that we mean preaching Christian duties relating to the civil government. Though I am a minister (serving in the Presbyterian Church in America), I speak to this issue as a citizen and not from my office as a pastor.
However, my theological knowledge informs my opinion on this matter, and I hope it is helpful for guiding other Christians.
Israel and the Bible
There are two theological issues that arise from the question of support for the nation of Israel. The first is the relationship of Israel to the Bible.
Since I hold to Reformed theology, I understand the church to be “the Israel of God” (Galatians 6:16). It is not that the church replaced Israel, but that the church is the new Israel. Those who believe in Jesus Christ are the true spiritual sons of Abraham.
As the apostle Paul wrote, “If you are of Christ, then you are the seed of Abraham, heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29, my translation). As such, Christians inherit all the promises made to Abraham in the Old Testament.
Jews who have rejected Christ have been cut off from the covenant with God, and Gentiles (non-Jews) who have believed in Christ have been “grafted in” to God’s “olive tree,” which is His covenant (Romans 11:17). There is debate even among Reformed Christians as to the future of the Jews (Romans 11:25-26).
Regardless, I believe the modern nation of Israel will bow before King Jesus as part of His inheriting all nations (Psalm 2:8).
Reformed theology differs from the popular “dispensationalist” theology, which affirms that there are two peoples of God and that the promises in the Old Testament are for ethnic Israel (a view most famous for the pre-tribulation rapture).
While there are many variations of dispensationalism today, all proponents see strong discontinuity between the Old and New Testaments and thus discontinuity between Old Testament Israel and the church. As such, they believe that many of the promises in the Old Testament, including the land promise (e.g., Genesis 15:18-21), continue for modern Jews.
This explains why dispensationalists often express widespread support for modern Israel.
On the contrary, Reformed theology understands the land promise to be spiritually fulfilled in Christ, who has dominion over all nations (Matthew 28:18-20). This is how Paul understood the land promise, as he spoke of “the promise to Abraham [and] to his seed that he would be heir of the world” (Romans 4:13, my translation).
All of that is to say that as a Christian, I have no special relationship to the modern nation-state of Israel. I do not wish Israelis harm but hope they become Christian, which is my hope and prayer for all nations. That is also my prayer for all of Israel’s enemies.
Christians and America
This raises a second theological issue arising from the question of support for Israel, which is how Christians should relate to their own country.
I see a lot of errors on this topic, exemplified by many comments on my tweet that basically communicated, “As a Christian, I stand with Christ and no earthly nation.” But I believe this is a completely unbiblical approach to the subject.
It is not that a Christian should endorse everything his or her nation’s government does. Of course not. But we should support our nation.
It is true, as Paul says, that as Christians “our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20). But that is not our only citizenship. While believers are united to Christ, who reigns in heaven — and that is our destination upon death — we are still earthly citizens while we remain in the body. This is why Paul also commands us to “be subject” to our civil authorities (Romans 13:1; cf. 1 Peter 2:13).
God instituted civil government for our good. If a nation’s government is following God’s design, it will also protect the church and uphold righteousness in the nation. So Christians should have a healthy loyalty to their earthly nations, especially if that nation has a rich Christian history (as America does).
Ordo amoris applied
Christians are dual citizens, and their earthly citizenship is good. This is part of the Reformed doctrine of the two kingdoms. We must not over-spiritualize this world by rejecting the goodness of God’s creation, including nations.
Nations and civil government are good, although corrupted by sin.
Yet even though nations are corrupted, Christians should still support their earthly nations. Christians should desire (and pray for) the good of all nations, especially their own. They should seek the good of their people. As an American, this is why I support America first and foremost. My loyalty is not to Israel or Iran or any other foreign nation. My earthly loyalty is to the United States of America. And as long as that does not conflict with my ultimate loyalty to Jesus Christ, then I will support America.
This is part of the Christian tradition’s teaching on the ordo amoris, cited recently by Vice President JD Vance. There is an order of love that starts with one’s own family, and it prioritizes one’s nation before that of other nations. This is part of how Christians fulfill our Lord’s teaching to “love your neighbor” (Matthew 22:39).
America’s first and greatest president, George Washington, warned against entangling “alliances” in his 1796 farewell address. Yet too often America has been dragged into foreign wars because we did not listen to the father of our nation.
Our people pay taxes and die for the interests of other nations, including Israel.
I say no more. I wish Israel and Iran well, and I pray for peace between them. But I want what’s best for my people. And involvement in foreign wars is bad for my fellow Americans.
Christianity, Christian, Israel, Iran, God, Reformed theology, Dispensationalism, Left behind, Faith
Trump admin. to intervene on behalf of New Jersey family trying to stop government seizure of 175-year-old farm
A New Jersey family trying to save their 175-year-old farm from being seized by a local government is getting support from the Trump administration.
The Cranbury city government announced its intention to seize the 21-acre farm through eminent domain in order to build low-income apartments, but the Henry family is resisting.
‘The Biden-style government takeover of our family farms is over.’
On Tuesday, Agriculture Sec. Brooke Rollins said the power of the federal government would intercede in the case on the side of the family.
“On the phone with Andy Henry of Highland Ranch in Cranbury, NJ. The city govt has approved seizing his 175-year-old family farm via eminent domain for affordable housing units,” wrote Rollins.
“Whether the Maudes, the Henrys or others whom we will soon announce, the Biden-style government takeover of our family farms is over,” she added. “While this particular case is a city eminent domain issue, we @usda are exploring every legal option to help.”
Andy Henry says he has received many multimillion-dollar offers for the farm, but he has denied all of them.
“Didn’t matter how much money we were offered,” Henry said. “We saved the farm no matter what. We turned down all the offers to preserve the legacy for our family, city, and even state.”
In April, he received a letter from the Cranbury Township Committee telling him that he can either accept an offer or the farm would be taken by eminent domain.
RELATED: 5 Things You Need To Understand About Eminent Domain
Eminent domain is a power of the government that is enumerated in the U.S. Constitution, but its application has been significantly expanded, improperly according to critics, to include seizures that indirectly benefit the government through increased taxes.
“My family sacrificed on this land for 175 years,” Henry added. “All the other farms disappeared. We did not. We will not.”
He says he will fight the township at every step to keep the farm.
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New jersey family farm, Brooke rollins vs cranbury, Family farm eminent domain, City farm seizure, Politics
One bad order could undermine Trump’s strongest issue
Thank God President Trump walked back his misguided order to grant de facto amnesty to illegal alien farm workers. Now he needs to kill the policy for good.
Trump won in 2016 — and again in 2024 — on two core promises: lower the cost of living and stop the third-world invasion of the United States. Since he shows no interest in cutting deficits in a way that might restore pre-COVID price levels, immigration remains the battlefield that will define his presidency. And unless he corrects course, he risks failure on that front too.
No more half measures or donor-driven compromises. No more weakness. Only total war on the policies, programs, and pipelines that keep America under siege.
To his credit, Trump moved quickly to shut off the surge at the southern border during his first week in office. But he did the same in 2017, and the long-term results didn’t last. A future Democrat administration will simply escalate. If Biden brought in 10 million, the next one will aim for 20 million.
Temporary border control and modest deportation numbers won’t solve the crisis. Fewer than a million removals over a four-year term won’t reverse the demographic or economic damage — especially while legal immigration, foreign student visas, and guest worker programs continue at record highs.
Unforced errors
Trump must go beyond symbolic border enforcement. That means neutralizing judicial interference through must-pass legislation — or ignoring illegitimate court rulings outright. He should authorize maritime deportations using ships, suspend most of the 1.5 million foreign student visas — especially from China and Islamic countries — and permanently empower states to enforce immigration law.
Instead, Trump recently unveiled a set of policies that undermine those very goals.
He announced continued access for Chinese nationals to U.S. universities — just as a spy ring was uncovered at the University of Michigan. He expanded his support for white-collar visas for Indian nationals and revived his “golden visa” scheme, which allows wealthy Chinese Communist Party elites to buy their way into U.S. citizenship.
Worst of all, Trump issued an order halting removals of illegal aliens working in farming and hospitality. He later reversed course — but the damage was done.
In pushing for more illegal labor, Trump handed leftists a talking point they had already lost. He lent moral weight to one of their core claims: that America needs illegal immigrants to do the “jobs Americans won’t do.” That argument, long peddled by George W. Bush, John McCain, and the donor-class GOP, was the very reason millions turned to Trump in the first place.
Ten years after calling for a moratorium on illegal immigration and a drastic cut to legal migration, Trump now echoes the talking points he once dismantled. If he keeps this up, he won’t just squander his mandate — he’ll cement the invasion he was elected to stop.
Five points Trump should heed
You can’t re-onshore manufacturing and offshore the workforce. Trump champions tariffs to bring jobs home — but what good is that if those jobs go to foreign nationals here illegally? Patriotism means putting Americans to work on American soil — not just moving the factory.This isn’t about labor shortages. It’s about labor suppression. Trump wants more white-collar visas even as tech jobs disappear. He supports handing green cards to foreign students. This isn’t policy — it’s donor-class economics wrapped in populist branding.You can’t modernize with AI while subsidizing human labor. Trump wants to “win the AI arms race” with China. Great. Start by automating farm work instead of importing cartel-affiliated field hands. Cheap labor delays innovation — and the status quo keeps us dependent.The welfare state distorts the labor market. Trump refuses to shrink entitlements and yet complains that Americans won’t work. Maybe that’s true — but the welfare state is the push, and illegal labor is the pull. Cut both, and you raise wages and get people off the couch.Illegal labor invites cartel exploitation. Agricultural guest labor provides the perfect cover. In 2019, an exposé by the Louisville Courier Journal revealed how Mexican farm workers served as mules for the Jalisco New Generation cartel. One man, Ciro Macias Martinez, groomed horses by day at Calumet Farm — and ran a $30 million drug ring by night.
The cash-based, transient, and legally vulnerable workforce offers a logistical gold mine for transnational criminal organizations. Cartels use job scams to traffic humans, set up safe houses, and move product. Rural communities lack the law enforcement resources to push back. The result: strategic sanctuary zones for America’s most dangerous enemies.
RELATED: Trump shrugs at immigration law — here’s what he should have said
Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
When Trump says these workers are “hardworking” and “not criminals,” he ignores the obvious fact that every illegal alien is a criminal. Amnesty for farm workers isn’t just a policy mistake — it’s an operational gift to America’s foreign adversaries.
No room for ambiguity
Trump knows immigration is his strongest issue. The polls prove it. But if he wavers, even slightly, on mass deportations or illegal labor, he opens the door for his political enemies to sow doubt — and for cartel operatives to sow chaos.
He reversed the farm worker carve-out. Now he must bury it. Then, he needs to go farther. No more half measures. No more donor-driven compromises. No more weakness. Only total war on the policies, programs, and pipelines that keep America under siege.
His base expects it. The country needs it. The future depends on it.
Opinion & analysis, Donald trump, Illegal immigration, Illegal aliens, Farmers, Restaurants, Cheap labors, Agriculture, Cartels, Human trafficking, Mass deportations, Polls, Scams, Republicans, Democrats, Amnesty, Jobs americans won’t do, Artificial intelligence, Automation, Economy, Congress, Courts, Injunctions, Judicial overreach, Judges, States rights, George w. bush, John mccain
Black Americans destroy Whoopi Goldberg’s claim that life for blacks is ‘the same’ as for Iranians
The women of “The View,” who lead arguably some of the most privileged lives in the world, got into a heated debate this week when co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin elaborated on the many human rights violations perpetrated under the Ayatollah’s regime in Iran.
Those include executions of gay people and the imprisonment of women who dare to venture outside without their hair covered.
“Iranians literally throw gay people off of buildings,” Griffin said, before Goldberg laid into her.
“Let’s not do that, because if we start with that, we have been known in this country to tie gay folks to the car. Listen, I’m sorry, they used to just keep hanging black people,” Goldberg said.
“In the year 2025 in the United States, it is nothing like if I step foot wearing this outfit into Iran right now,” Griffin said.
“It is the same,” Goldberg responded, and when Griffin attempted to argue, Goldberg responded, “Not if you’re black.”
BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock of “Jason Whitlock Harmony” couldn’t be less surprised that Goldberg holds such a view, and neither can his panel.
“Delusion is a stronghold, and oftentimes when you are too well fed for too long, you forget what actual hunger feels like,” BlazeTV contributor Delano Squires comments.
“My initial thought, and it’s not my strongest, but why is this on TV? Who is funding this? This is a level of delusion and a conversation so far removed from reality. Why is this on television, and why are corporations and advertisers supporting this?” Whitlock chimes in.
“It just frustrates me because it is allowed to be on TV when it’s so far-fetched and ridiculous. I don’t, as a black person, walk around every day feeling like I even compare to these women or people in these other countries, and Whoopi knows this, and she understands this, but yet she’s allowed to push this type of rhetoric,” Shemeka Michelle agrees.
“So for Whoopi to be able to push this narrative on national TV, ABC should be ashamed of themselves,” she adds.
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Corrupt cops, silent press: Legacy media ignores Capitol Police’s decades of corruption
The corporate media has earned a reputation for ignoring, downplaying, or outright denying stories that challenge its ideological leanings — from the lab-leak theory of COVID-19 to the obvious decline in President Joe Biden’s mental and physical fitness. These stories eventually became impossible to deny. But in many cases, the recognition came too late to matter.
So far, that reckoning hasn’t come for the United States Capitol Police.
‘The corruption persists because of what they know about bad Congress members and their bad behaviors.’
For years, allegations of corruption have dogged the USCP. Yet, local and national media outlets continue to turn a blind eye — even after an officer with a scandal-ridden history was named interim chief of the department.
Last year, Blaze News investigative reporter Steve Baker published a detailed exposé uncovering deep-rooted misconduct within the USCP. His report alleged theft of government funds, perjury, fraud, and forgery involving high-ranking officers. Among the most damning revelations: Former Captain Sean Gallagher and two lieutenants under his command reportedly participated in a 2010 overtime scam.
Gallagher allegedly forged his supervisor’s signature on overtime forms, according to a 2012 internal investigation by the department’s Office of Professional Responsibility. He later claimed the forgery “never resulted in personal gain.” That revelation built on a 2014 National Journal report about the overtime abuse, though the earlier article did not name the officers involved.
Despite the seriousness of the allegations and the clarity of the documentation, Baker’s story received little to no attention from other media. Not even Washington-based outlets like the Washington Post or WUSA9 reported on the claims.
“Why is it that Blaze Media has done an exclusive on multiple cases of Capitol Police corruption, and the other media — especially the local media, who should be holding local agencies accountable — are ignoring the story?” Baker said in an interview.
RELATED: Favoritism, cover-ups reveal culture of corruption in US Capitol Police leadership
U.S. Capitol Police Acting Chief of Police Sean Gallagher. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
That silence has consequences. As media scrutiny wanes, institutional accountability weakens — and careers flourish despite serious allegations.
On June 2, the U.S. Capitol Police announced Gallagher would serve as interim chief. Despite the prior disciplinary record, Gallagher has continued to ascend the department’s ranks. The appointment drew immediate criticism from within the agency.
The U.S. Capitol Police Labor Committee, which represents officers on the force, issued a rare rebuke, stating Gallagher “fails to meet the standard of trust and integrity required” to lead. Their public opposition stirred some interest among local reporters, but national media coverage remained scarce.
Departing Chief J. Thomas Manger defended the promotion, arguing Gallagher’s familiarity with the department outweighed past controversy. “If they pick someone from the inside, they’re going to know what our mission is,” Manger said before retiring. He accused the union of orchestrating a “smear campaign.”
Still, the union’s resistance had an effect. Within days, the department appointed Michael Sullivan, former acting police chief in Phoenix, to take over the USCP permanently.
‘It has far-ranging implications. The Capitol Police are charged with protecting every member of Congress. And yet no one wants to cover it.’
But for Baker, the deeper problem remains unaddressed.
“These cops know where all the bodies are buried,” he said. “The corruption persists because of what they know about bad Congress members and their bad behaviors.”
RELATED: Capitol Police name permanent chief hours after union slams controversial interim pick
Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Baker pointed to former Assistant Chief Yogananda Pittman, who was accused of intentional inaction during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol protests. She later landed a chief position at the University of California, Berkeley.
Too often, he said, officers with serious black marks on their records go on to secure law enforcement jobs elsewhere — thanks, in part, to systemic failures in reporting misconduct.
“All of these bad actors in law enforcement, when they have these types of disciplinary actions against them, that is supposed to be reported to a national database called the Lewis Registry,” Baker explained.
The Lewis Registry serves two critical functions: alerting prospective employers of past disciplinary actions and making such records accessible to defense attorneys if an officer testifies in court.
In Baker’s view, the Capitol Police scandals should concern more than just local watchdogs or city beat reporters.
“This is not just a local D.C. story,” he said. “It has far-ranging implications. The Capitol Police are charged with protecting every member of Congress. And yet no one wants to cover it.”
The U.S. Capitol Police, the Washington Post, and WUSA9 did not respond to Blaze News’ requests for comment.
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God’s justice doesn’t sleep — and the Supreme Court just proved it
In a landmark 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Tennessee’s ban on so-called gender-affirming care for minors. Wednesday’s ruling in United States v. Skrmetti affirms the state’s authority to protect children from irreversible medical interventions, declaring that such laws do not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
Tennessee’s Senate Bill 1 prohibits medical providers from prescribing puberty blockers, administering cross-sex hormones, or performing surgeries on minors for the purpose of treating gender dysphoria. With this ruling, the court established a powerful precedent, strengthening similar laws in more than two dozen states and shielding them from federal interference.
The Supreme Court now affirms what parents, pastors, and pediatricians have known for years: Children deserve protection — not ideological exploitation.
This is more than a legal or political victory. It’s a profoundly spiritual one.
Judgment in Pride Month
The timing of the court’s decision — handed down in the middle of Pride Month — is impossible to ignore. For years, the month of June has been co-opted to celebrate sexual perversion and radical gender ideology. Parades, corporate campaigns, and cultural rituals now elevate confusion and self-expression above truth and morality.
But God’s timing often intersects with the idols of a wayward culture.
Just as He once shattered the authority of Egypt’s gods through plagues and humiliated the pagan deities of Canaan through Israel’s victories, He now confronts the false gods of modern America. The gods of Pride Month have names: self-worship, mutilation, and moral relativism.
This ruling, like Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization before it, arrived in a season when the world celebrates rebellion. But God never abdicates. He acts — often decisively.
The right to protect children
Justice Clarence Thomas, writing in concurrence, emphasized the state’s legitimate interest in protecting children from unproven and dangerous procedures. “States could reasonably conclude,” he wrote, “that the level of young children’s cognitive and emotional development inhibits their ability to consent to sex-transition treatments.”
Thomas reminded the nation that legislatures — not courts — are charged with protecting the vulnerable. The Constitution allows states to say no to radical experiments on children. That’s common sense. That’s moral responsibility.
RELATED: Matt Walsh’s crusade pays off: SCOTUS protects Tennessee kids from gender mutilation
Photo by Jason Davis/Getty Images for The Daily Wire
The court’s ruling also reinforces policies advanced by the Trump administration, which has taken steps to push back against transgender mandates. The court now affirms what parents, pastors, and pediatricians have known for years: Children deserve protection — not ideological exploitation.
‘The least of these’
At its core, this decision defends “the least of these” (Matthew 25:40). In Matthew 10:42, Jesus declares, “And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones … truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”
Advocates of transgender medicine call their approach “compassionate.” But compassion doesn’t mutilate. It doesn’t sterilize. It doesn’t tell children they were born in the wrong body.
Real compassion tells children the truth: They are fearfully and wonderfully made. God knit them together in their mother’s wombs (Psalm 139:13-14). He doesn’t make mistakes.
The lie that “God got your body wrong” devastates young minds. Puberty blockers, double mastectomies, and genital surgeries don’t bring peace. They usher in trauma, regret, and permanent damage.
By upholding these bans, the Supreme Court gives children the gift of time — time to grow, to mature, and to embrace their God-given identities without the pressure of irreversible decisions.
Tear down the idols
Now comes the charge to the church. This moment demands courage.
American culture has erected new high places. Gender ideology sits at the top. It demands worship, conformity, and silence. But like King Josiah, who tore down the altars of Baal, or Gideon, who smashed the Asherah poles, Christians must act.
Now is not the time for retreat. Now is not the time for timidity. The culture may roar, but the God of heaven still rules.
The Supreme Court’s ruling reminds believers that God still moves. He has not abandoned America. He still defends the innocent. He still topples idols.
Faithfulness bears fruit
Galatians 6:9 tells us not to grow weary in doing good. This ruling is the harvest of those who prayed, labored, and stood firm when the world called them hateful. Their perseverance bore fruit — in law, in policy, and in culture.
Let this be a turning point.
Let this be the moment when the nation remembers who created it. Let this be the moment when the church reclaims its voice. Let this be the moment when truth reasserts itself — and children are protected from those who would harm them in the name of progress.
America is not forsaken. God is still at work, and His purposes will prevail.
Opinion & analysis, United states v. skrmetti, Supreme court, Transgender agenda, Trans, Gender affirming care, Castration, Mastectomy, Children, Rights, Tennessee, Aclu, Church, God, Justice, Health care
Supreme Court justice FURIOUS; claims ruling ‘abandons transgender children’
In a major victory for those who care about the physical and mental health of America’s youth, the Supreme Court voted 6-3 to uphold Tennessee’s Senate bill, which prohibits medical providers from providing puberty blockers and hormones for a minor’s sex change operation.
“If this had gone the other way,” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales says, “I cannot even explain how horribly disastrous that would have been for this country and for the next generation who has been sterilized and mutilated up until this point.”
The ruling will now give states the right to determine whether or not they will allow these transgender operations.
“Thank God they can all agree on something as simple as, ‘We should not be mutilating children,’” Gonzales says.
However, not every justice was pleased with the outcome.
“The majority contorts logic and precedent to say otherwise, inexplicably declaring it must uphold Tennessee’s categorical ban on lifesaving medical treatment so long as ‘any reasonably conceivable state of facts’ might justify it … the Court abandons transgender children and their families to political whims,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor said in response to the Court’s decision.
“They’re accusing you of doing the thing that they are doing,” Gonzales says. “Because to contort logic, you must claim that it is a life-saving medical treatment. It is not a life-saving medical treatment to chop off a perfectly healthy body part.”
“To try to define it as such is actually contorting logic itself. We don’t do this with anyone else,” she continues. “If a child goes to the doctor, and they say, ‘I want to chop off my arm.’ ‘Why?’ ‘Because I feel like I was supposed to be born with no arm.’ The doctor doesn’t say, ‘OK honey, we’ll just get out the saw and just saw it right off.’”
“Nobody says that for anything other than this crazy a** s**t,” she adds.
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Partially undressed man found in back seat of car with 15-year-old girl he met on Snapchat, police say
Texas police said they arrested a man for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old he met on Snapchat after seeing him get out of a car with the girl while partially undressed.
On Monday, a bystander called police to report a suspicious car at a park on the west side of San Antonio, according to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office. When police responded, they said they saw the man step out of the back seat of the car.
Gonzales admitted to police that he had met the teenager through Snapchat and Instagram.
Police said he was wearing shorts but that his underwear had fallen to the ground.
He then drove away, and police said they witnessed him disregard two stop signs. When they pulled him over, they discovered a 15-year-old in the car with the man they identified as 30-year-old Nathan Gonzales.
Gonzales admitted to police that he had met the teenager through Snapchat and Instagram and had been communicating with her for a long period of time. He claimed that he did not know she was 15 years old.
He was charged with continuous sexual assault of a child and booked at the Bexar County Jail. He was given a bond of $125,000.
A video on the Facebook page from the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office shows Gonzales in police custody.
Experts warn parents against allowing children to be on social media unsupervised because of the prevalence of online sexual predators on social media sites.
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NASCAR driver calls Mexico City a ‘s***hole’ — immediately sent to ‘cultural sensitivity’ training
A NASCAR driver was too honest about his experience in Mexico while hosting a livestream, and now his team feels he needs re-education.
Carson Hocevar, currently the 20th-ranked driver in the NASCAR Cup Series, was preparing for the Viva Mexico 250 race in Mexico City and was livestreaming himself using a driving simulator to practice the track. Blaze News reviewed the livestream video on X, where it was posted by a user.
With the question from a viewer “are u a fan of the track” visible on screen, Hocevar began describing his experience in Mexico City, and it was his description of the lack of safety in the city that landed him in hot water.
‘[If] it wasn’t so easy or feel so locked down like you can’t leave anywhere, it’d be a great experience.’
Hocevar began by saying that if “the travel was better, if getting here was easier, if you felt safer getting to and from everywhere,” it would be a much better experience — but he did not stop there. The driver unleashed even more descriptors of the trip that were holding him back from having a good time.
“If it wasn’t such a s***hole, if the track limits were a little better enforced, if it was gonna be a little bit better of a race and it wasn’t so easy or feel so locked down like you can’t leave anywhere, it’d be a great experience. It’d be an absolutely great experience. If you take all those out, it’s unbelievable.”
FEATURED: UFC fighter vows never to fight in ‘s***hole’ Mexico again
The 22-year-old admitted “the track itself is fun” and that the venue is a “great park.”
However, it did not take long for Carson’s racing team, Spire Motorsports, to conspire with NASCAR for a hefty fine of $50,000 and a bevy of excuses from the team as to why the young driver’s comments were unnecessary.
In a press release, Spire Motorsports said Hocevar’s fine would be split between the Mexican Red Cross, a nonprofit battling childhood malnutrition, and “local NGOs that improve education, health, and housing in 22 Mexican states.”
Carson is now also subject to “mandatory cultural-sensitivity and bias-awareness training,” with the racing team citing the word “respect” written on their cars as a reason for the training.
“Carson Hocevar’s recent comments made during the livestream fell short of that standard,” the team wrote.
FEATURED: Is the Mexican president ENCOURAGING riots in America?
Carson Hocevar drives during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Viva Mexico 250 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on June 14, 2025, in Mexico City, Mexico. Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images
Hocevar issued a groveling apology on his X page less than two hours later, doing a complete 180-degree turn on his previous remarks about the city.
“Whoa everybody, the truth is the truth,” the driver stated.
“You guys want me to be me? It was me who said it and it was me who apologized after actually taking the time to explore the city and feel the passion of every fan in attendance,” Hocevar continued. “I appreciate the opportunity to learn and I knew before this weekend what respect means to this organization and I didn’t meet the standard so I got what I deserved.”
On top of “learning these lessons in the public eye,” Hocevar said he brought negative attention to his team and chalked it up to “growing up in front of” the fans. “I’m just me. I’m trying,” he said.
“It just doesn’t always go the way I want and I bring a lot of this on myself,” Hocevar concluded.
NASCAR has some legitimacy in their reactions, sports reporter Alejandro Avila told Blaze News. At the same time, “sending the man to their version of ‘re-education’ camp is ridiculous.”
Avila added, “Just fine him behind closed doors or let it go.”
Hocevar’s no. 77 car finished 34th out of 37 drivers in Mexico City, with just two drivers not finishing the race.
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Viral video garnering sympathy for ICE detainee gets crushed by stunning community note
Critics of the deportations ordered by President Donald Trump made a story go viral that tried to garner sympathy for a migrant scooped up in a deportation operation, but the story went up in flames after the truth came out.
The video shows a migrant who was going to self-deport but instead gets detained by federal agents as his pregnant wife looks on in tears and begs them to stop.
‘Wow. US is really turning into a facist [sic] country.’
The story was meant to show the heartlessness of the Trump administration and the mass deportation policy.
“ICE abducted Justin Chung on June 12th. He had plans to self deport but ICE abducted him & put him in a concentration camp w/ terrible conditions before he got a chance to leave America, he had a flight booked and everything,” the post reads. “His wife, Neftali, is 6 weeks pregnant.”
It garnered more than 7.1 million views and elicited strong responses against President Donald Trump.
“Wow. US is really turning into a facist [sic] country,” reads one response.
“Destroy ICE and every person who worked for them must be reprogrammed,” reads another reply.
“America is literally all the worst things in the world,” said another detractor.
A community note then unraveled the campaign.
The note detailed that as a teenager, Chung had joined a gang and was convicted of murder and attempted murder. He was sentenced to 82 years in prison but served only 14 years. He married a U.S. citizen in Oct. 2023 but was notified by ICE to report for deportation on June 12. He was detained unexpectedly as he was preparing for voluntary departure from the U.S.
RELATED: Trump shakes up leadership at ICE after disappointing pace of mass deportations
In 2022, he spoke to KTLA-TV to ask the governor for a pardon in order to avoid deportation. He had been checking in with ICE at that time.
Chung was reportedly brought to the U.S. from South Korea when he was 2 years old, according to the Korea Daily. After release from prison, Chung had worked to mentor at-risk youth and spoke out on gang prevention.
“My husband has lived a changed life after serving time for a crime he committed in his youth,” wrote Neftali Chung in a post on GoFundMe. “Deporting him would destroy our family.”
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Trump issues major ultimatum to Iran and sets a new deadline
President Donald Trump said Thursday that he would make the decision whether to attack Iran in the next two weeks as negotiations continue over the nation’s nuclear enrichment program.
The announcement came as Israel was engaged in a military campaign to strike at the nation’s nuclear facilities.
‘There’s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future.’
Trump has repeatedly pronounced his goal to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, and he excoriated former President Joe Biden’s efforts to pay billions to Iran in the endeavor.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt read a statement from the president at Thursday’s media briefing.
“Regarding the ongoing situation in Iran, I know there has been a lot of speculation amongst all of you in the media regarding the president’s decision-making and whether or not the United States will be directly involved,” Leavitt said.
“In light of that news, I have a message directly from the president,” she added, reading the message.
“Based on the fact that there’s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks,” read the message from the president.
Photo by Idrees Abbas/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
The announcement might have been intended to quell fears after a Wall Street Journal report said Wednesday that the president had approved an attack on Iran but that he was waiting for the final order to allow for negotiations.
“I have ideas on what to do, but I haven’t made a final — I like to make the final decision one second before it’s due,” said Trump to reporters Wednesday.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been making overt threats against the U.S. and warning that Americans would regret the decision to enter into a war with Iran.
“The US entering in this matter [war] is 100% to its own detriment. The damage it will suffer will be far greater than any harm that Iran may encounter,” wrote Khamenei on social media Wednesday.
“It was already suspected that the US was involved in the malicious move carried out by the Zionist regime, but considering their recent remarks, this suspicion is growing stronger day by day,” he continued in a second post.
Israel’s war on Iran has entered into its seventh day. Operation Rising Lion has led Iran to issue retaliatory missile strikes on Israel.
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Whitlock: Sophie Cunningham’s ‘barbie brawl’ makes Caitlin Clark and Fever title contenders
Jason Whitlock was thrilled with the Indiana Fever’s offseason acquisitions. The team, which already boasts basketball goddess Caitlin Clark, signed veterans Natasha Howard and DeWanna Bonner as well as WNBA draft Makayla Timpson, among others.
However, the player Jason was most excited about was Sophie Cunningham, the sharpshooting guard traded from Phoenix Mercury.
“When they signed Sophie Cunningham, I was like, ‘Oh that’s a championship move,”’ he says. Although Sophie’s short stint with the Fever has been injury-ridden, she’s nonetheless proved a solid defender, adding grit and clutch shooting to complement Caitlin Clark’s playmaking.
During the Fever’s June 17 matchup against the Connecticut Sun, however, Cunningham was ejected in the final minute when she committed a flagrant-2 foul on Jacy Sheldon, pulling her to the ground during a fast break, which was seen as retaliation for Sheldon’s earlier flagrant-1 foul on Caitlin Clark.
While critics condemned the foul as reckless and evidence of lack of discipline, fans reveled in the scuffle, arguing that the retaliation was protective loyalty to Caitlin Clark. Jason falls in the latter category.
“She’s exactly — exactly — what the Indiana Fever needed; she’s what Caitlin Clark needed. She is the energy button; she is the toughness; she is the enforcer that the Indiana Fever desperately needed,” he says. “I feel more confident today than at any point that the Indiana Fever have a real chance at winning the championship.”
Cunningham tackling Sheldon with 46 seconds left in the game when the Fever were up by several points was perceived as unnecessary retaliation by many, but Jason says the move was meant to “put everybody in the WNBA on notice: We’re not remotely scared.”
“She snatched Jacy Sheldon by the back of her hair to let the entire league know we’re not punks here,” he says. “They needed an enforcer on this team,” and Sophie — “the most fearless girl in the WNBA” — is the perfect person to do it.
Even if the foul was unnecessary, it was nonetheless “a championship moment” because it was “a tone-setting moment,” he says, arguing that going forward, Caitlin Clark will know someone “has [her] back.”
“This will be a rallying cry and a confidence boost to the Indiana Fever,” Jason predicts. However, it will also likely “put a bit of a bullseye on the Indiana Fever’s back.”
He speculates that Dallas Wings’ DiJonai Carrington and Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese will be looking to “get spicy” the next time they face off against the Fever. While Cunningham’s play set the right aggressive tone for the remainder of the season, it also set the team up to “get tested.”
To hear more of Whitlock’s commentary and see the footage of Cunningham’s tone-setting foul, watch the video above.
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ICE facility in Portland under daily siege by Antifa militants as riots spread
PORTLAND, Ore. — The City of Roses is no stranger to seeing large portions of its local population rioting in the streets for any reason, big or small. In the aftermath of the anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement riots in Los Angeles, Antifa militants in the Pacific Northwest have mobilized to show solidarity.
Keeping true to tradition, the participants in these events are not simply content with giving speeches and marching around before calling it a day. The crowds are encouraged, in person and on social media, to take part in “direct action” to take the fight to the second Trump administration. In Portland, that “direct action” has resulted in besieging the ICE facility located on the south side by the Willamette River.
After holding the driveway for a few hours, the Antifa crowd was easily repelled within a few minutes.
The ICE facility has been targeted many times before this recent round of unrest. The building and the officers defending it were targeted during the 2020 Black Lives Matter riots, in addition to the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse and various Portland Police Bureau precincts.
The entire public entrance for the ICE location is now boarded up to prevent further damage. Graffiti calling for the death of federal agents and President Donald Trump covers the walls.
On Thursday, Antifa activists gathered at Elizabeth Caruthers Park before marching a few blocks to their target. The crowd gathered on the driveway, blocking federal vehicles from entering or leaving. The Federal Protective Service announced multiple times that if the crowd did not move, they would be subject to arrest and crowd control munitions. The rioters booed and jeered at each announcement.
Portland police officers on bicycles and squad cars passed by the scene a few times but did not intervene.
RELATED: Antifa mobilizes in the Pacific Northwest to attack DHS locations and agents
Julio Rosas/Blaze Media
When someone threw a large firework into the perimeter, federal agents moved outside to clear the crowd from the driveway. While some of the Antifa agitators fought back, most scattered in the face of tear gas, flash-bangs, and pepper-balls being shot at them.
After holding the driveway for a few hours, the Antifa crowd was easily repelled within a few minutes.
RELATED: Kids ‘cosplaying as ICE agents’ and performing raids on ‘illegals’ in Roblox game
The Department of Homeland Security stated on Thursday that at least five Antifa rioters “were arrested on various charges including assault on federal law enforcement. … Secretary Noem’s message to the rioters is clear: you will not stop us or slow us down. ICE and our federal law enforcement partners will continue to enforce the law. And if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
While the initial wave of riots has died down in Los Angeles, the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration has finally given the far left an excuse to create chaos in some of the nation’s most progressive cities.
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Politics
East Palestine not forgotten: Vance confirms Trump admin will study fallout of nightmarish train disaster
Vice President JD Vance visited East Palestine, Ohio, on the second anniversary of the Feb. 3, 2023, Norfolk Southern train disaster, which darkened the sky over the village with hazardous chemicals, poisoned the surrounding environment, and threatened the health of nearby residents.
“President Trump just wanted to deliver a message that this community will not be forgotten, will not be left behind, and we are in it for the long haul in East Palestine,” Vance told locals in the village’s firehouse.
Vance confirmed Thursday that the Trump administration is returning in search of answers and results.
Vance joined the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya Thursday in announcing a five-year, $10 million research initiative to “assess and address” the health fallout from the derailment.
According to HHS, this multi-disciplinary series of studies will seek to understand the health impacts of chemical exposures on short- and long-term health outcomes, “including relevant biological markers of risk”; monitor the community’s health in order to take preventative measures and support their health care decisions; and connect community members with relevant experts and officials in order to properly address their health concerns.
‘We basically nuked a town with chemicals so we could get a railroad open.’
When the Norfolk Southern freight train consisting of 141 packed cars, nine empty cars, and three locomotives derailed in East Palestine in early 2023 due to a failed wheel bearing, 38 cars, 11 containing hazardous materials — including vinyl chloride, benzene residue, hydrogen chloride, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, ethylhexyl acrylate, and isobutylene — went off the tracks.
RELATED: Who is bankrolling the anti-MAHA movement?
Photo by US Environmental Protection Agency / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
For fear that the fires engulfing the wreckage might trigger a “catastrophic tanker failure,” railroad emergency crews conducted a vent and burn of five tanks of vinyl chloride, producing hydrogen chloride and phosgene gas — the latter of which was used to kill soldiers en masse in World War I.
The resulting columns of smoke that drifted over the village, which forced 2,000 residents to flee their homes, formed what the National Transportation Safety Board called a toxic “mushroom cloud.”
After the controlled burn and amid reports of thousands of dead fish and dying livestock, hazardous materials specialist Silverio Caggiano told WKBN-TV, “We basically nuked a town with chemicals so we could get a railroad open.”
The NTSB indicated in a June 2024 report that the decision to execute the controlled burn “was based on incomplete and misleading information provided by Norfolk Southern officials and contractors. The vent and burn was not necessary to prevent a tank car failure.”
Not only was the decision misguided; it was ruinous.
Thousands of local creatures were killed, nearby waters were heavily contaminated, and possibly cancer-causing airborne toxins were sent into the air across multiple states well beyond.
Blaze News previously reported that the Environmental Protection Agency’s preliminary data in 2023 found that “concentrations for nine of the approximately 50 chemicals measured were relatively high in comparison to the levels considered safe for lifetime exposure.”
“Overall, if ambient levels persisted for these chemicals, they could pose health concerns, either individually (e.g., acrolein, a known respiratory irritant) or cumulatively. Thus, subsequent, spatiotemporal analysis was pertinent,” added the report.
RELATED: JD Vance joined liberal Twitter knockoff Bluesky. Things went off the rails REALLY fast.
Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images
East Palestinians reported various health issues in the wake of the derailment, including headaches, gastrointestinal illness, and respiratory and skin irritations.
Owing to the nature of the chemicals and the duration of their exposure, many in East Palestine feared that there could also be long-term health impacts, especially on mothers and children.
The vice president said in a video shared to social media on Thursday that despite significant concerns from those in the area impacted by the derailment, the Biden administration “refused to do anything to actually study the effects of these long-term exposures on the people of East Palestine. Well, now we have a new president and a great new secretary of health and human services.”
‘Once again, this administration is showing the American people what true leadership looks like.’
“The people of East Palestine have a right to clear, science-backed answers about the impact on their health,” said Kennedy.
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences indicated that it will distribute the committed $10 million in tranches of $2 million a year over the next five years for one to three awards. Experts have until July 21 to submit research proposals in hopes of securing funding.
NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya teased the initiative last month, telling Fox News’ host Bret Baier he was looking forward to addressing “the health questions and the health needs of the American people with excellent, gold-standard research.”
The initiative was celebrated by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R), Republican Sens. Bernie Moreno and Jon Husted, and Republican Reps. Mike Rulli and Dave Joyce.
“This funding will enable the people of East Palestine to have the peace of mind that comes from knowing that any potential for long-term health effects will be studied by the scientists at the National Institutes of Health,” said DeWine. “I thank President Trump, Vice President Vance, and Secretary Kennedy for their commitment now and into the future.”
“Once again, this administration is showing the American people what true leadership looks like — putting Americans first,” said Rulli.
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LA Dodgers block ICE agents at stadium after campaign to pressure team to condemn deportations
The Los Angeles Dodgers released a statement that they had denied access to their stadium parking lot to agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement after calls to speak out against deportations.
Online influencers and some in the mainstream media had mounted a pressure campaign after noticing the baseball team had not made a statement against ICE deportations after the rioting in Los Angeles.
‘This is an organization inextricably linked with the community, so people are wondering, why are they now tone-deaf and falling short?’
On Thursday, local media reported that ICE agents were seen at the stadium, prompting a small anti-ICE protest to respond to the incident. Some speculated that the team was cooperating with federal authorities on aiding with deportations.
KABC-TV captured video of dozens of masked federal agents at the staging area just outside of Gate E at the stadium.
The team responded on social media very soon after.
“This morning, ICE agents came to Dodger Stadium and requested permission to access the parking lots,” read the statement. “They were denied entry to the grounds by the organization. Tonight’s game will be played as scheduled.”
They also posted the statement in Spanish.
“Forty percent of the Dodgers fans are Latino, but the team has been silent as protests against ICE have raged in their city. Now, some folks are talking boycott,” reported Sam Stein of MSNBC.
“The Dodgers, where a young Chicano like myself saw themselves, birthed one of the most, if not the most, dedicated fan base,” wrote CNN journalist Nick Valencia. “This is an organization inextricably linked with the community, so people are wondering, why are they now tone-deaf and falling short?”
RELATED: California city terminates agreement with ICE as Los Angeles rioting continues into 4th day
In 2023, the Los Angeles team faced significant pressure from the other side when they decided to honor the anti-Christian LGBTQ group named “the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence” with a community service award during a game. Hundreds of protesters forced the team to cancel the event, but counterpressure from the left led to the team apologizing and reinviting the group.
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Elon Musk responds with 3-word message after SpaceX Starship rocket explodes into massive fireball
Video cameras captured the moment that a SpaceX Starship rocket exploded into a fireball at the Starbase facility in Texas on Wednesday evening.
The company said in a statement on social media that the rocket known as Ship 36 was preparing for its 10th flight test when it experienced a “major anomaly” while on the test stand.
‘Our Starbase team is actively working to safe the test site and the immediate surrounding area in conjunction with local officials.’
“A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted for,” SpaceX said.
“Our Starbase team is actively working to safe the test site and the immediate surrounding area in conjunction with local officials. There are no hazards to residents in surrounding communities, and we ask that individuals do not attempt to approach the area,” the company added.
Musk appeared to respond to the explosion in a three-word message on X, the social media platform he also owns.
“Just a scratch,” he wrote.
He also retweeted a post reading, “RIP Ship 36,” with a meme about the explosion.
Critics on the left have accused Musk of ignoring deleterious effects from his space endeavors on the local community. Others said that his joining the Trump administration at the Department of Government Efficiency was motivated by the opportunity to undermine agencies that were regulating his companies.
Musk has since ended his time at DOGE and returned to managing his companies, which have been the subject of violent protests and vandalism from the left.
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