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For years, the Epstein files have fueled endless speculation, conspiracy theories, and demands for transparency — which have resulted in widespread disappointment among Americans demanding to know the truth.

Now, on the biggest podcast in the world, Vice President JD Vance is offering one of the administration’s most direct explanations yet for why the highly anticipated document release left so many Americans frustrated.

“The Epstein files were supposed to be released,” Joe Rogan said to Vance on “The Joe Rogan Experience.” “And there was a tremendous amount of resistance to those files being released. That concerned a lot of people because if you’re talking about very wealthy, powerful people that were engaged in crimes.”

“So you’re basically saying the fear is that whatever’s in the Epstein files was used to blackmail the administration into doing the Iran thing,” Vance replied.

“Or, at the very least, the people that were involved in the Epstein files that didn’t want them coming out had undue influence,” Rogan said.

“I say this with all candor, we absolutely screwed up the comms of the Epstein files. Like we just did. But do I think the reason we screwed up the comms is because we were trying to hide something? No,” Vance explained.

Instead, Vance believes the reason the administration “screwed up the comms” was that former Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed the client list was on her desk.

“So, what was the purpose of that performative display of the Epstein files, and she was saying there’s tens of thousands of hours of film?” Rogan asked.

“I don’t know what the purpose of it was, but I know that the effect of it was to make people mistrust the entire effort,” Vance answered, noting that he believes Bondi was “trying to respond to the political moment.”

Vance called himself one of the “OG Epstein conspiracy theorists” and admitted to going “down every single rabbit hole.”

“The original sin of the Epstein investigation, and obviously I’m biased here, but it was not what Donald Trump and the administration did in 2025. It was, you have to go back to 2007, 2008, the original Alex Acosta investigation of Jeffrey Epstein where he basically dropped the federal charges,” he explained.

“You go to the original warrant back in 2008, what was he looking for? What was he allowed to look for? What were they collecting? It was not looking at a broader conspiracy,” he added.

“That’s fascinating,” BlazeTV host Pat Gray comments.

“I don’t know if we’ll ever find out the truth,” he adds, “but that was fascinating.”

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​Pat gray, Jd vance, Joe rogan, Jeffrey epstein, Pam bondi, Donald trump, Epstein files, Conspiracy theory, Pat gray unleashed 

Support for Israel is seemingly becoming a partisan issue in Congress.

On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives rejected an amendment that would have eliminated $3.3 billion in annual U.S. military aid to Israel. But the vote count told its own story: Nearly half the Democratic Caucus broke from party leadership to support it, while Republicans stayed almost entirely unified against it.

‘They’re the biggest welfare recipient of the United States and have been for many years.’

The amendment to the National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act for 2027, sponsored by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), would have barred any funds in the bill from being spent on Israel.

Ahead of the vote, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) laid out his position in a “Dear Colleague” letter: He would vote no because the amendment was “overly broad,” warning it would also cut off funding for humanitarian aid, refugee resettlement, and embassy operations and make it harder to counter Hamas and Hezbollah.

House Democratic Whip Rep. Katherine Clark (Mass.) broke with Jeffries publicly. In her statement, she agreed that the amendment was “overly broad” and called it “stunts from congressional Republicans who would rather score cheap political points than lead” — but reached the opposite conclusion.

“However, it is clear that the status quo is not tenable. We should not provide a blank check for military aid to any country that does not comply with U.S. law, interests, and values,” Clark said. “The Netanyahu government has failed to meet that standard. I will be voting yes … because I believe we must change course.”

RELATED: Democrat congressman’s Israel trip takes dramatic turn as officials dispute viral claims

ierney L. Cross/Bloomberg/Getty Images

In the end, 103 Democrats joined Massie in voting yes — including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who said she remains “committed to a strong U.S.-Israel relationship and supportive of a two-state solution,” but that the amendment “presents an unfortunate choice to the House.”

Ninety-eight Democrats joined 215 Republicans in voting no; Massie, who recently lost his House seat in the most expensive House primary in U.S. history, was the only Republican in favor. The measure failed 104-314.

In the floor debate ahead of the vote, Massie argued that the money would be better spent at home — on roads, bridges, and homeless veterans — before calling Israel “the biggest welfare recipient of the United States,” citing $310 billion in inflation-adjusted aid received over the years from American taxpayers.

RELATED: 4 Republicans vote with Democrats to rebuke Trump on Iran war

Jon Cherry/Getty Images

“Israel has the strongest economy in the Middle East,” he said. “Their debt per GDP is in much better shape than ours. They don’t need our money.”

Then he circled back to the word himself: “In fact, they’ve claimed recently they want to get off of the welfare, but I’m concerned that the other funding mechanisms they’re talking about — commingling our technology and supply chains — will have even less transparency than what’s going on here today.”

Massie was careful to frame the measure as part of his broader principle: “I’m opposed to all foreign aid. I didn’t pick on Israel here. I’ve offered an amendment to defund Egypt and also to defund the aid to Jordan … but I am particularly concerned this year about the foreign aid to Israel.”

That concern, he said, came down to the war itself: “American taxpayers should not be conscripted into funding the military adventures of Israel,” he said, urging the adoption of his amendment.

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​Department of state, Foreign aid, Gaza, Hakeem jeffries, Hamas, Hezbollah, Israel, Katherine clark, Middle east, Military aid, National security, Thomas massie, United states, Us house of representatives, Republican party, Democratic party, Politics 

“The Odyssey” is destined for box office glory despite its anti-PR blitz.

Christopher Nolan’s take on Homer’s epic poem could generate $100 million this weekend. That’s impressive, especially for a film that feels like a homework assignment on paper.

Stallone’s early days are rocket fuel for the soul. He had nothing, suffered from a speech impediment, and seemed the most unlikely movie star possible.

Nolan is simply the most in-demand filmmaker of our era. Sorry, Mr. Spielberg, but it’s true.

Just don’t thank the film’s stars, who have spent weeks trying to scare half the country from seeing the film. Lupita Nyong’o, cast as Helen of Troy, mocked Homer for not giving enough time to his female characters. Samantha Morton, who plays a witchy woman in the saga, also played the down-with-the-patriarchy card to the press.

John Leguizamo is spending his red-carpet time demanding more Latino representation on screen. Hey, John, you’ve got seven upcoming screen credits. Can’t you let other Latino actors get a gig?

Co-star Elliot Page, who calls herself transgender, is using the publicity tour to spout gobbledygook about gender and sexuality.

Is this any way to market a movie? Good thing Nolan’s unparalleled skill behind the camera has movie fans panting in anticipation.

Who knows? If the film’s stars stuck to the promotional script, it might make even more money …

Breadstick nationalism

Speaking of Leguizamo, the actor popped up on “The Daily Show” this week to argue in favor of birthright citizenship. OK, we’ll listen. But how? He said that white Americans once came here illegally.

What’s the opposite of a mic drop?

“America works on the Olive Garden rule: When you’re here, you’re family,” he said.

Later, the actor made that comment sound brilliant by comparison.

“Now, the Trump administration says that we’re not talking about all children of immigrants. We’re only saying birthright citizenship doesn’t apply to children of people here illegally or temporarily. But how far back do you want to take that? Because at some point, every white person was here illegally.”

Maybe he should go back to culturally appropriating Greek culture on-screen …

RELATED: BILL PILLED: Maher warns fellow Democrats that they’re headed for woke-tastrophe

Shannon Finney/Getty Images

Serkis maximus

Andy Serkis is having a rough year.

The actor/director/CGI performer’s “Animal Farm” stunk up theaters just a few short weeks ago. Serkis’ pet project ignored George Orwell’s intentions, and the film cratered at the box office.

Still, brighter days lie ahead for the talented star. He’ll be directing the next “Lord of the Rings” movie. Except some intrepid journalist tried to shame him over the previous films’ lack of, wait for it, diversity.

How many moviegoers rejected the original “Rings” trilogy for that very reason? You can count them all on one hand.

Serkis, to our surprise, didn’t go the Apology Tour route. Nor did he vow to be an “ally” moving forward. Why? This isn’t 2020 anymore.

He did strike a diplomatic note while suggesting he won’t be bullied into adding Zendaya into yet another movie.

“Yes, there have been criticisms. … This particular film is somewhat acknowledging that. But I don’t think we will be doing a politically correct, just-casting-for-the sake-of-casting-and-ticking-boxes version of the film. So, it’s only where relevant basically.”

It’s not, “Go pound sand,” but it’s not a knee-bending retreat either. We’ll take it …

‘Rocky’ packs a punch

“I Play Rocky” sounds like the latest example of Hollywood’s imagination drain. The film offers a behind-the-scenes look at the 1976 boxing classic and the man who risked everything to make it to the big screen.

It’s not a reboot, a sequel, a prequel, or a reimagining … but it’s still a recycling project.

The trailer might change your mind.

Director Peter Farrelly is best known for wacky comedies like “Kingpin” and “Dumb and Dumber.” He shifted to dramatic fare with the Oscar-winning “Green Book,” and he looks like a fine choice to helm this inspirational yarn.

Stallone’s early days are rocket fuel for the soul. He had nothing, suffered from a speech impediment, and seemed the most unlikely movie star possible. But he had a dream, a vision, and a screenplay about a ham-and-egger who gets a shot at the title.

The rest is history, of course, but the story behind the story remains fascinating. It helps that star Anthony Ippolito looks and sounds just like the young Stallone.

It’s stunning.

“I Play Rocky” hits theater Nov. 13, and it could be just the movie we’ve been waiting for.

​Toto recall, Movies, Hollywood, Odyssey, Andy serkis, Lord of the rings, Dei, John leguizamo, Lupita nyong’o, Samantha morton, Elliot page 

In his primetime address to the nation on Thursday — which ABC, CNN, and NBC refused to carry — President Donald Trump provided damning insights into the apparent insecurity of American elections and past efforts to both exploit and cover up election system vulnerabilities.

Trump highlighted, among other things, the apparent attempts by the Chinese communist regime to interfere in the 2020 election; China’s “illicit acquisition of 220 million U.S. voter files”; the work by “members of the deep state” to “actively suppress and downplay information about the extent of China’s sinister election meddling”; and the discovery, according to a Department of Homeland Security review, that approximately 278,000 noncitizens were registered to vote.

‘He has cynically and corruptly decided to call into question our free and fair elections.’

“Great damage has been done to our country. Our elections were left vulnerable to being rigged and stolen, and the trust of the American people was lost,” said the president. “This cannot be allowed to continue.”

Officials in Beijing are hardly the only leftists outraged over Trump’s disclosures.

Following the speech and the White House’s release of supporting documents, Democrats lashed out in an apparent panic and accused Trump of trying to “rig” the upcoming midterms.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), found to have an unfavorability rating of 43% according to a recent Harvard-Harris poll, characterized Trump’s speech as a “pathetic attempt” to deny that “he lost the 2020 election.”

“He is working to rig the midterms before a single vote has even been cast. We won’t let him,” Schumer said in a statement. “When it comes to the SAVE Act, the courts have rejected it, Congress has rejected it, even members of your own party have rejected it — give it up.”

RELATED: FBI now investigating alleged election fraud among homeless in Skid Row of Los Angeles

Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg/Getty Images

In his speech, Trump noted that “addressing this crisis of election security demands that Congress must pass the SAVE America Act” — proposed legislation that would require individuals to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote.

“The only reason you wouldn’t do it is you want to cheat because your policies are so bad and your candidates are so pathetic that you can’t get away or can’t get elected any other way,” added Trump.

Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), the House minority leader who hours earlier threatened American “regime change,” suggested that the concerns and evidence Trump presented to the nation on Thursday amounted to “deliberate and dangerous lies.”

Like Schumer, Jeffries claimed that the president’s concerns about election security are part of an election subversion strategy.

“He has cynically and corruptly decided to call into question our free and fair elections before a single ballot has been cast,” said Jeffries, a staunch opponent of the SAVE America Act. “Why? Republicans believe they need to cheat to win.”

Michigan Democrats, whose state featured in the president’s discussion of possible voter fraud, said that “despite whatever this rambling and corrupt man says, thousands of clerks, poll workers, and elections staff nationwide administered a free and accurate election” and claimed that Trump was actually attempting to “undermine our elections and disenfranchise voters.”

Some Democrats rushed to conclude that Trump was lying about election vulnerabilities even before he began speaking on Thursday.

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), for instance, said ahead of Trump’s speech, “You have to be a special kind of stupid to believe this bulls**t.”

All 24 Democratic governors clutched pearls over the speech, noting in a joint statement, “It’s deeply alarming that President Trump continues to try to undermine free and fair elections. No amount of lies and conspiracy theories can change the fact that our country’s elections have repeatedly been proven to be safe and secure.”

According to the Democratic governors, Trump’s “attacks” are “intended to intimidate and silence voters.”

Gavin Newsom, the governor of a state where noncitizens can vote in certain elections, individually crashed out over Trump’s speech, saying in a video, “This was a legitimate 25th Amendment moment, the ramblings of a mad king.”

Newsom told his followers that “nothing about what you watched tonight … was real.”

Sticking to the Democratic script, Newsom added that Trump “wants to rig the election in 2026.”

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​China, Chuck schumer, Donald trump, Election interference, Gavin newsom, Hakeem jeffries, Jim mcgovern, Midterms, Save america act, Voter fraud, Politics 

A group of Republicans have written letters to the Federal Communications Commission asking for national changes to how consumers can use their cell phones.

On Monday, four GOP members from across the country told FCC Chairman Brendan Carr that it’s time for mandatory rules that allow for greater technological freedom among cellphone providers.

‘Working families and seniors on fixed incomes remain locked into carrier networks.’

Reps. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.), Mark Alford (R-Mo.), and Mark E. Amodei (R-Nev.) wrote the FCC to voice their “strong support” behind finalizing “uniform, mandatory cellphone unlocking rules.”

This would mean that when a customer is finished with a contract with his cellphone carrier, he could then have his phone unlocked so that it can be used under any other service provider/network, similar to carrying over one’s phone number.

“Consumers in our districts, including working families and seniors on fixed incomes, remain locked into carrier networks even after paying off their devices, unable to switch to more affordable plans due to a patchwork of voluntary carrier policies,” the congressmen wrote in a letter provided to Blaze News.

At the same time, Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-Wis.) wrote his own letter to Carr, which described locked phones as “artificial restrictions for consumers” that deter competition and “trap families in overpriced plans.”

RELATED: Dems launch new push to control more of what you do in your car

Jc Milhet/Hans Lucas/AFP/Getty Images

Both letters cited a national poll of 1,000 registered voters on the topic of cellphone carriers locking cell phones and restricting them from being used on competing networks.

Fitzgerald cited the “extremely high” support behind being able to keep one’s cell phone when changing carriers.

“Agreement is also broad and strong for the statements that locking devices to a network limits choice and is a main reason for paying,” the FabrizioWard poll stated.

The other Congress members referred to the massively bipartisan nature of the idea, which was shown through 86% of independents supporting cellphone unlocking.

Concurrently, 85% of Donald Trump voters agreed, while 90% of Kamala Harris voters also were in favor of the policy.

Other major support was found when participants were asked if they should be allowed to switch cellphone carriers with the same phone at any point if they pay off the remainder of their contract; an average of 85% of respondents agreed.

RELATED: You can finally buy Palmer Luckey’s favorite ‘flying car’ — there’s just one catch

Firdous Nazir/NurPhoto/Getty Images

“We respectfully request that the commission move forward to finalize a clear and enforceable unlocking standard,” the group of politicians wrote.

They continued, “Consumers seeking more affordable monthly plans may have limited options, paying higher rates than a more competitive market would require.”

Without a consistent standard, they argued, consumers will continue to be treated differently depending on which carrier sold them a phone, with little recourse if they are not allowed to opt out of their contract.

The FCC has yet to respond.

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​Cell phones, Phone carriers, Fcc, Brendan carr, Tech 

A new report from a Pennsylvania commission highlights a growing problem in the state, yet lawmakers are faced with a number of tough decisions in their search for a solution.

Earlier this month, the Joint State Government Commission of Pennsylvania published a report on the state of online gambling, including sports betting, which has exploded in popularity since the United States Supreme Court struck down a federal 1992 prohibition on sports betting in May 2018.

‘Imagine if you were trying to quit drinking and someone kept leaving alcohol at your doorstep and then left coupons for alcohol at your doorstep.’

By the beginning of 2025, “95% of all sports betting wagers and 60% of all slot machine wagers in Pennsylvania were made online,” according to the House resolution prompting the report, citing public data from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.

The issues within this relatively new industry abound, according to the report.

Convenience is one such issue. Online gamblers now have access to online casinos “24/7,” no longer need to plan or pay for accommodations, and often enjoy “more generous” bonuses and promotions than can be found in traditional casinos. Gamblers can also use platforms like PayPal and Venmo as well as credit cards for payment, making online gambling an attractive option for many gamblers.

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

Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images

The report details a number of online casinos’ bonus offers and marketing tactics, including “promotions, in-game advertising, advertising during sports broadcasts and webcasts, as well as using celebrated and animated spokespersons.” Artificial intelligence is often used to create this marketing content.

While the marketing tactics may seem innocuous, the report goes on to highlight several ongoing lawsuits against various online gambling platforms, in which it is alleged that the promotions were, for example, “false and misleading” or that the platform’s systems were “highly addictive.” In one particularly illustrative example, the report references a lawsuit called Brubaker v. Chester Downs & Marina that alleges, according to a Public Health Advocacy Institute summary:

a false and misleading promise of a “$2,500 deposit match.” Only in the small-print terms and conditions is it disclosed that a new customer playing blackjack is required to gamble $375,000 in just the first seven days after opening an account. In other words, no money or winnings can be withdrawn unless a total of $375,000 is risked. All money lost during the first seven-day period is kept by Caesars and Harrah’s Casino.

Kavita Fischer, a Pittsburgh-area psychiatrist and a leading proponent of addressing these issues after her own online gambling addiction, told the Associated Press: “The report made it clear that gambling is not a personal failing, it’s a public health issue, and the recommendations really reflect that.”

She described to the AP what she called the “predatory” nature of many of the platforms’ marketing schemes. “I had so many quit dates,” she said. “Imagine if you were trying to quit drinking and someone kept leaving alcohol at your doorstep and then left coupons for alcohol at your doorstep. That is what is the predatory part of all of this.”

The report noted that, while state law prohibits any person under 21 years old from gambling, the intended limitations on youth exposure to gambling advertisements has apparently been circumvented by social media and influencers, who use a “blend of promotional intent with entertainment” to promote gambling services without announcing that they are making an advertisement.

Among the biggest problems, though, is the possible connection between online casinos and an increase in compulsive or problem gambling. As evidence, the report said that calls about internet gambling placed to a gambling hotline and categorized as the “most problematic form of gambling” skyrocketed from under 100 calls per year in 2019 to over 900 by 2025.

While the individual and social problems that apparently stem from this industry seem to abound, lawmakers face a dilemma that will likely cause significant disagreement in the searches for a solution.

For one thing, this new industry is a massive cash cow for the state. “There is no denying that the revenue from online gambling and sports betting can be economically beneficial overall for the states where iGaming is legal,” the report stated.

Citing Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board data, the report says the revenue from legal gambling nearly reached a staggering $6.4 billion in fiscal year 2024-2025, 39% of which was from iGaming alone.

The growth shows no sign of stopping either.

According to a May 2026 press release from the PGCB, iGaming revenue saw a massive year-over-year increase, crossing a quarter billion dollars in revenue: “Casino games offered online generated $254,825,042 during May 2026. Compared to revenue of $232,853,763 in May 2025, this represents an increase of 9.44%.”

Other PGCB data points from the report present a revealing picture of the unique growth that online forms of gambling have undergone since their legalization. While slot machine revenue has essentially remained stable at or around $2.4 billion in yearly revenue since fiscal year 2012-2013, with the exception of a dip during the pandemic, iGaming revenue has grown tenfold in less than half that time. Sports wagering, video gaming terminals, and fantasy sports contests have seen impressive growth as well.

The solutions, as mentioned previously, come with some trade-offs. The commission suggested, first, that Pennsylvania follow the lead of states like Colorado and Massachusetts and begin collecting anonymized data from online transactions on gambling platforms. This would ostensibly allow for a more “precise” identification of “harmful” practices and potentially identify gambling trends among the population.

More immediate proposals include the prohibition of the use of credit cards for deposits, mandatory limits on play time, banning logged-out promos, geospatial advertising blockers at places like universities, and the prohibition of the use of artificial intelligence for individualizing marketing strategies.

Doug Harbach, the PGCB director of communications, responded to Blaze News’ request for comment on Thursday, saying, “This report was drafted for possible action by the General Assembly, and the PGCB will continue to work with them on these issues. We wholeheartedly agree that effective and legal additions to the Gaming Act and regulations should be considered to protect the gaming public.”

Harbach added that the PGCB has a set of proposed regulations dealing with problem gambling, which the public can view and submit comments on no later than August 11. The public can learn more and review these proposals on the PA Bulletin website.

Blaze News reached out to DraftKings, the American Gaming Association, and Caesars Entertainment but did not immediately receive a response.

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​Online gambling, Pennsylvania, Sports betting, State lawmakers, Politics 

As the investigation into the death of 18-year-old Nolan Wells continues, a growing number of public figures — who BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock believes are installed chaos agents — are claiming race must have played a role.

“All of these leaders — they’ve all been installed. They’ve all been installed to promote chaos. And there’s no bigger example than Ben Crump,” Whitlock says.

“This man being dressed up as some lawyer with zero command of the English language, someone that literally probably has an IQ hovering around 70. And he’s out here running around as the face of the civil rights movement and a respected civil rights attorney and being quoted in newspapers and media organizations all across the country,” he continues.

“And he’s been allowed to parachute in like a carpetbagger, to parachute into Mississippi, and just to stir racial animus. And he’s been joined by Jasmine Crockett and others to stir racial animosity,” he adds.

And a clip of Crockett speaking to TMZ only proves his point.

“Some people feel like it’s racially motivated. What do you think?” a reporter asked Crockett.

“I mean, I think that specifically as black Americans in the United States right now, we are always going to question whether or not there is a racial motivation,” Crockett responded.

“But also, if you know the history of Mississippi, I think that you’d have to be blind not to question potentially what is happening, especially in the case of an 18-year-old who ends up deceased without his cell phone, without any communication whatsoever with anybody prior to ending up deceased,” she continued.

“And he was out with his Caucasian friends. And then law enforcement tells everybody there’s no foul play to be suspected. Now, a blind man could see that there’s something to investigate,” she added.

“Well, it sounds like you think it is racially motivated,” the reporter answered.

“I absolutely think that I can tell you that we don’t have any answers, but if you think that race is not something to look at, then you are not really trying to investigate,” Crockett said.

When the reporter pressed further, Crockett pointed out that the “white kids deleted their social media accounts.”

“It looks like a racial thing to me, but hey, maybe we’ll find out that it wasn’t,” she added.

“That’s illogical thinking. That’s another reason why we need to repeal the 19th Amendment,” Whitlock comments.

“Out here running her mouth about something she knows virtually nothing about. … And oh, of course, it must be racist. Kids don’t drown in boating accidents during the summer, during Fourth of July weekends,” he continues.

“That never happens. It has to be racial,” he adds.

Want more from Jason Whitlock?

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​Ben crump, Civil rights, Fearless, Jasmine crockett, Jason whitlock, Mississippi, Nolan wells, Racial animosity, Race, Jason whitlock harmony 

A black and gay-identifying Catholic priest has accused the Trump administration of idol worship.

Fordham professor Fr. Bryan Massingale — who, according to his Fordham bio, is a priest with the Archdiocese of Milwaukee — received the Catholic Theological Society of America’s John Courtney Murray Award in June. Massingale used his acceptance speech, published Tuesday by Jesuit publication Outreach, to attack the Trump administration and praise “sexual diversity.”

‘Black flesh is a place of divine encounter, revelation, and manifestation.’

The Trump administration removed Massingale’s book “Racial Justice and the Catholic Church” from the Naval Academy library in April 2025 as part of a wider crackdown on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the federal government.

“Why? Because that work is in direct opposition to the idolatrous ideology of white so-called ‘Christian’ nationalism that is the heart of the immoral projects being advanced by our nation’s administration,” according to Massingale. “All of this is done in the name of ‘God’ — an idol that sanctifies only white, male, heterosexual bodies.”

“It was banned because I believed that one cannot be an unabashed racist and call oneself a follower of Jesus,” Massingale said. The book is available on Amazon.

Rev. Massingale and the Archdiocese of Milwaukee did not respond to a request for comment. The CTSA declined to comment.

RELATED: WNBA star says black women are ‘amazing’ and deserve equality in strange, race-riddled rant

Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

The theology professor announced his sexual orientation in 2019 at a Global Network of Rainbow Catholics meeting, according to a Spectrum News NY1 interview. Roman Catholic priests promise during their ordination process to maintain celibacy.

Massingale described his “black Catholic theological project” as “more radical than most often acknowledge.” He later told attendees that they live in “a society and a church where folks are not conditioned to love black bodies.”

Massingale did not elaborate on how Americans should be “conditioned to love black bodies.”

The Murray Award winner led a controversial gay priest retreat in 2018, prompting condemnation from then-Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki. Massingale previously considered leaving the Catholic Church, but told NBC News in 2022, “I’m not going to let the church’s racism rob me of my relationship with God.”

In the same interview, Massingale called for clerical celibacy to be optional and told NBC his dream is a church-sanctioned wedding between two black, gay men or two black lesbians.

“I praise the holy mystery who, through the miracles of creation and incarnation, made black gay/queer/same-gender loving flesh sacred and holy,” Massingale’s speech concluded. “Who has stamped black, queer flesh with the image of God and made it a manifestation of God’s presence and grace in the world.”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered” and “under no circumstances can they be approved.”

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​Black, Catholic, Celibacy, Gay, Jesus, Priest, Racial justice, Sexual orientation, Trump administration, Religion, Lgbt, Politics 

Rather than walk back his controversial defense of a convicted child rapist who stole into the homeland, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) bemoaned the pedophile’s deportation by the Trump administration and emphasized the supposed need not to judge him by his “worst day.”

Tou Lue Vang, a 42-year-old illegal alien from Laos, repeatedly raped a young girl over a two-year period, beginning when she was just 10, and in one instance, offered her $10 for her silence, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

‘Child molesters are among the classes of criminals most likely to re-offend.’

When interviewed by police, the pedophile reportedly suggested that his child victim was as guilty as he was, and downplayed his horrific child sex crimes as “a cultural thing … to marry and have sex with girls as young as 12.”

Following Vang’s conviction for first-degree criminal sexual assault, a Justice Department immigration judge issued the rapist a final order of removal in October 2006. Vang, however, having been given 30 years of probation and no prison time, remained in the country for another two decades. Seeking to rectify this matter, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested and detained Vang on Dec. 10.

The Trump administration’s efforts to give the child rapist the boot were frustrated, first when a judge ordered Vang’s release in February, and then again on June 10 when — just a week before he was finally set to be deported — Walz joined leftist Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie Hudson in voting to pardon the child rapist.

Walz claimed during the pardon meeting that since his days as a child rapist, Vang “has started a family, he’s become a critical member of the community, and he has lived a life without any serious criminal violations since that time.”

RELATED: Marco Rubio takes action to END the threat from Tim Walz’s illegal alien pedophile pardon

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Ellison said that the decision was unanimous and made “after an exhaustive process, which included a statement of support for the pardon from the victim, a recommendation to grant the pardon from the Clemency Review Commission, and a large number of community support letters.”

The pardon evidently wasn’t worth the paper it was printed on.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced last week both that he had revoked Vang’s legal status and that the pedophile had been removed from the United States on Friday.

“This foreign criminal will never pose a threat to any American ever again,” said Rubio.

Walz is evidently cut up about the child rapist’s successful deportation.

“I guess the question I would ask is, did that make us any safer?” Walz said with regard to the child rapist’s ouster. “Did that make the children that are left behind any more stable?”

“Did it improve the idea that we can’t all be judged by our worst day?” continued the governor, who also acknowledged that Vang committed “horrific crimes.”

This commentary by the self-identified “knucklehead” has prompted more disgust.

The Department of Homeland Security responded to Walz’s remarks this week, stating, “For Tou Lue Vang this wasn’t just one ‘worst day’ — it was YEARS of repeatedly sexually assaulting a girl starting when she was 10. Just disgraceful.”

“Tim Walz asked, ‘How does this make us safer?’ in response to Secretary Rubio stepping in to remove an illegal alien convicted of raping a 10-year-old girl,” wrote Republican Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer. “Well, Tim, typically, communities are safer when convicted child predators aren’t just roaming the streets.”

“I am very willing to judge this guy — and Tim Walz — by his worst day,” tweeted Utah Sen. Mike Lee (R).

The White House’s official rapid response account on X noted that “Walz is one seriously sick, depraved individual.”

“Good grief,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (D) said of Walz’s remarks. “Also, child molesters are among the classes of criminals most likely to re-offend, so it’s not just one day but probably a pattern of malicious conduct that creates a number of victims. Why would you not want an illegal alien that fits this profile to be deported?”

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​Illegal alien, Tim walz, Minnesota, Rapist, Marco rubio, Democrat, Keith ellison, Immigration and customs enforcement, Crime, Politics 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection released exclusive details to Blaze News related to a $28 million counterfeit bust from the Port of Louisville.

The shipment from Hong Kong was seized by CBP officers on July 9. It was discovered when officers pulled it for inspection on its way to Illinois.

‘Officers are trained to identify illicit shipments and work diligently for American consumers by stopping the flow of unlawful trade.’

The shipment included 200 watches that bore suspected trademarks of the Audemars Piguet brand.

The Centers of Excellence and Expertise of the CBP determined the watches to be inauthentic. They were seized for “bearing counterfeit versions of registered and recorded trademarks,” according to the CBP news release.

Last month, the CBP claimed it had seized a similar shipment at the same port of 375 counterfeit watches that were worth $54 million of the genuine products. It had also been shipped from Hong Kong.

“Counterfeit goods are poor-quality products costing U.S. businesses billions of dollars a year while robbing our country of jobs and tax revenues,” said Philip Onken, Louisville’s port director. “Officers are trained to identify illicit shipments and work diligently for American consumers by stopping the flow of unlawful trade.”

The CBP reminds Americans to shop at reputable websites to avoid receiving counterfeit products.

RELATED: Sports memorabilia in chaos after seller admits massive scheme to fake signatures, then commits suicide

U.S. Customs and Border Protection news release

CBP said 70,000 men and women comprise the federal agency.

“We enforce safe, lawful travel and trade and ensure our country’s economic prosperity. We enhance the nation’s security through innovation, intelligence, collaboration, and trust,” the agency said.

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​Customs and border protection, Counterfeit bust, Economy, Trade, Politics 

Modern water utilities run on digital control systems that regulate water pressure and chemical mixtures. If a hostile actor compromises these networks, they control the physical flow of liquid life across American communities.

A recent simulation conducted by cybersecurity analysts, as reported by Wired, modeled exactly what happens when those controls get hijacked. The results proved that America’s interconnected society is essentially a giant Jenga tower built on a foundation of pumps and pipes.

Emergency response teams face an impossible numbers game.

Earlier this year, the FBI officially classified a breach of a U.S. government monitoring network as a “major incident.” This is the government’s polite way of saying someone managed to hot-wire the digital locks on the country’s critical infrastructure.

The Beijing-backed hacking group Volt Typhoon has spent years setting up camp inside American pipelines and power grids. The group is seeking to disrupt the systems that everyday Americans depend on.

And the easiest way to do that is through the kitchen sink.

A single water utility failure can trigger a much wider economic crisis. Data centers require thousands of gallons of water daily to prevent high-density server racks from melting into expensive puddles of plastic. When water pressure drops, those servers overheat and initiate automated shutdowns. This instantly halts the cloud computing services that manage corporate logistics, processing networks, and emergency communications. Your local water plant goes down, and suddenly the entire digital economy vanishes into thin air.

Hospitals face an immediate crisis when the taps run dry. Modern medical facilities rely on water for everything from sterilizing surgical instruments to running the HVAC systems that maintain sterile operating rooms. Without water pressure, air conditioning units fail, ambient temperatures surge, and hospital administrators must evacuate intensive care units. It turns out that advanced 21st-century medicine completely falls apart if you can’t wash a scalpel or flush a toilet.

On the brink of disaster

The United States maintains roughly 151,000 public water systems, and the vast majority serve populations of fewer than 3,300 residents. These small municipal water districts operate on razor-thin tax revenues that barely cover basic pipe repairs. They absolutely do not have the budget to hire elite cybersecurity teams to defend their networks. Instead, their digital infrastructure relies on outdated software and default, easily cracked factory passwords like “admin123.” They’re practically inviting foreign adversaries to waltz in and run riot.

The attackers use a strategy known as “living off the land” to maintain their presence inside these small networks. Instead of dropping obvious malware that sets off digital tripwires, they repurpose legitimate administrative tools already built into the operating software. Security logs register their malicious commands as routine network maintenance performed by a local employee. This allows foreign operators to map out vulnerabilities and position themselves to cause maximum damage whenever they feel like flipping the switch.

RELATED: China’s new AI master plan: Total technological control

bernie_photo/Getty Images

Emergency response teams face an impossible numbers game during a multi-regional infrastructure crisis. The federal government possesses a limited pool of cybersecurity experts capable of removing nation-backed digital squatters from industrial control systems. A widespread outage forces these responders to triage assistance based on economic importance and military necessity. A defense manufacturing facility or a major metropolitan hospital receives immediate technical support, while suburban neighborhoods and rural farming towns wait weeks for a repair crew.

Commercial insurance policies offer a hilarious lack of protection against this kind of systemic infrastructure failure. Standard cyber insurance contracts contain explicit exclusions for acts of war, cyber terrorism, or hostile actions directed by sovereign nations. The moment the federal government attributes a major utility breach to a foreign power, insurance corporations will invoke these clauses to deny payouts. Municipalities and local taxpayers are left holding the multi-billion-dollar bill to restore their own poisoned or impaired water systems.

No bathroom breaks

The simulation concluded with a darkly absurd enforcement of operational reality. Organizers denied participants bathroom breaks for the final 12 hours. In the hierarchy of emergencies, a number one had officially fallen below the number one priority.

There are no breaks in a real incident response, and walking away from your terminal means missing the exact second a water pump explodes. It provided a clear demonstration of the high-stakes pressure facing the IT professionals who hold the line between modern civilization and medieval living conditions.

Washington remains trapped in a reactive loop, preparing for cyber disasters after they occur instead of making the initial intrusion impossible. The final lesson of the war game is that there is no magical reboot button for a society deprived of its basic utilities. Communities descend into chaos, valve by valve. Corporate executives and politicians argue over who gets the first drop of clean water. Preventative defense is the only viable option. Because once the taps stop running, restoring normal life becomes a slow and uncertain process.

​Water, China, Cyberattack, Cybersecurity, Tech 

The mother of three children is recovering from a “catastrophic” boating accident where only a “miracle” saved her life, according to Idaho police.

The unidentified woman was tubing and enjoying the day at Bear Lake when she was sucked into the propellers of a boat and her legs were severed.

‘She just looked at me, and she just said, ‘Go get your tourniquet.”

Dan Taylor recalled to KSL-TV that he was just getting to the lake with his family when he heard the commotion from the tragic accident.

“Everybody was out on the bow shouting, ‘Help, help, please help,'” Taylor said. “Somebody on the boat said, ‘Get the kids out of here.'”

Taylor said his wife was closer to the boat and surmised the direness of the situation before he could.

“She told me to get my paddleboard up to the side of the boat to use as a gurney,” he said. “She just looked at me, and she just said, ‘Go get your tourniquet.'”

He said both the woman’s legs were missing, and he and his family members immediately applied a tourniquet to one leg, then used a strap on the other leg. It took medics between 10 and 15 minutes to arrive to the scene.

“The victim was so courageous, and she was conscious through the whole thing,” he added. “Her spirit of just staying in the moment and staying calm was nothing I ever could have conceived in a situation like that.”

Taylor said he had a tourniquet in his van in case of emergencies, and the topic had come up just a few weeks prior at a mountain biking first-aid class.

He remembers praying for the woman until an ambulance and helicopter arrived.

“An hour in that situation just felt like an eternity,” he said. “With bleeding that severe, minutes can be something that ends somebody’s life.”

The Bear Lake County Sheriff’s Office praised Taylor in a post on its Facebook page.

“These actions ultimately saved her life,” police said.

RELATED: Homeless man allegedly choked 13-year-old at school bus stop until Good Samaritan beat his face with a toolbox

Taylor says he is grateful that he was at the right place to help the woman.

“I know the term ‘miracle’ gets thrown around a lot, but it was absolutely miraculous to think about, of all the places that they could have been,” he said, “and how many people in that whole beach and how many of them have a tourniquet, and of those people, how many of those people had a first-aid training and it was front of mind three weeks ago?”

A GoFundMe account was set up for the woman, who was described as a “devoted wife, loving mother of three, and cherished friend.” The police department confirmed that the funds would go to the woman involved.

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​Boating accident, Good samaritan, Idaho, Lake, Human interest 

Justice Amy Coney Barrett — who, in a slap in the face to American-born citizens, just ruled in favor of birthright citizenship — told the House Appropriations Committee that the mounting threats against her have taken a toll on her children.

“They have required my children to think about and see things that children should not have to see or think about,” Barrett testified, sharing that her security detail gave her a bulletproof vest to wear.

When she brought it into her bedroom, her young son asked what it was.

However, BlazeTV host Steve Deace doesn’t have much sympathy for the Supreme Court justice.

Deace explains that he asked Grok how often Barrett has voted with the Democrat block of justices, to which the AI answered 50% to 75% of the time.

“So, my Grok account literally said to me, if, based on how you typically propose such questions, you need to consider that within that 75% she’s often voting on things that are obvious to the majority of the court, that are 7-2 decisions or greater,” he says.

“But, Grok said, if you’re factoring in the more contentious kinds of issues that, given what you typically ask me about, are really what you care about, it’s about 50-50,” he continues.

This means, Deace says, that “Amy Coney Barrett, on the most important things, is essentially a coin flip.”

“That’s essentially what she is on the most important things, the things that we think are fundamental, existential in determining what kind of people ought we to be and will ultimately become. She’s a flip of a coin,” he explains.

“What are you gaining by simping for this worldview about half of the time in your most important rulings? Whose favor are you incurring? What cocktail party are you now being invited to? What aura of respectability there in suburban D.C. are you now being granted?” he asks. “Because by your own admission, the answer is nothing.”

Deace corrects himself, noting that she didn’t actually receive nothing. She got a bulletproof vest.

“Forgive me. I don’t have much sympathy,” he says.

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​Amy coney barrett, Birthright citizenship, Justice, Steve deace, Supreme court, Bulletproof vest, Democrats, Steve deace show 

Inflation and invasion. Those were the two issues that propelled Donald Trump to victory in 2024. Now Congress is facing what is essentially its last chance to fulfill those election mandates after squandering its best political capital during the first year and a half of this term.

Yet as Republicans push their third and final party-line budget reconciliation bill, the priorities are once again random and disconnected from the two central campaign promises.

Republicans appear poised to end this Trump trifecta the same way they ended the last one: without enduring victories.

Just like the first two bills.

Truth is, neither reconciliation bill cut the deficit on net. Neither defunded sanctuary cities, birthright citizenship, amnesty programs, or the judicial review now hampering every facet of immigration enforcement.

The first bill — the one fueled by the greatest political capital Republicans had enjoyed in years — focused on a random assortment of tax provisions that failed to excite the country and likely added significantly to the deficit. It also contained more defense spending.

The second bill simply threw more money at the Department of Homeland Security, which, under current failed policies, will not change the dynamic of litigating every last illegal alien removal to death.

So what is in Reconciliation 3.0?

The bulk of it is $73 billion for the military, mainly for the Iran war, though it will likely include funding to rebuild Arab Gulf states.

So despite complaints that the GOP cannot move beyond its myopic focus on taxes and defense spending, 11 years into the MAGA movement, that is still all Trump and Republicans seem capable of producing: more tax cuts, more spending, and more money thrown at a wasteful Pentagon.

In fact, while this bill earmarks $73 billion for defense, Trump originally asked for $350 billion.

Let’s start with the military component.

If our military cannot keep the Strait of Hormuz open on a $1 trillion annual budget, then something is wrong with the weapons we are buying, the strategy we are pursuing, or the will to use the tools we already possess.

Republicans cannot continue mindlessly increasing the defense budget without auditing our strategic interests and determining whether the current procurement regime satisfies our needs.

Throwing another $100 billion or $200 billion at Boeing and General Dynamics will not change the dynamic.

RELATED: The GOP’s 2028 ticket math is already brutal

Brendan SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

Last June, the House Oversight Committee’s Delivering on Government Efficiency Subcommittee held a roundtable highlighting a GAO report on procurement waste.

“DOD now plans to invest over $2.4 trillion in its costliest weapon programs,” the report found. “However, because the department remains alarmingly slow in delivering capabilities, these investments are at high risk of becoming obsolete before they even reach the field.”

So long as the defense industry knows congressional appropriations are effectively unlimited, it will continue gouging taxpayers for these weapons systems.

Meanwhile, Congress should be asking a basic question, regardless of one’s view of the decision to go to war with Iran: How do we still lack the leverage to keep shipping lanes open against an adversary that essentially lacks an air force and a functional navy?

And if we lack the weapons and strategy to protect shipping lanes against Iran, how do we plan to deter China from doing the same in the South China Sea after it has already built extensive military infrastructure on artificial islands?

It will not happen by throwing another $100 billion at the same system.

This bill will therefore accomplish what Republicans usually accomplish when in power: It will add to the debt.

We all lamented Bidenflation. But since the debt ceiling was lifted during last year’s budget reconciliation bill, the debt has increased by $3.2 trillion. The monthly tab for interest on the debt in June was greater than the cost of the military and roughly on par with Medicare spending.

Meanwhile, despite the Federal Reserve lowering the federal funds rate over the past two years, the 10-year Treasury remains near a 19-year high. That means debt maturing this year will roll over at much higher interest rates.

So we print more money to service more debt, which is why the M2 money supply just hit another record.

In the wake of that debt service, we will not see a long-term easing of inflation.

As for immigration, this bill does nothing about anchor babies, sanctuary judges, or sanctuary cities. It does nothing to defund foreign-worker programs fleecing American workers and college graduates.

Instead, it includes $10 billion to bribe states to deal with voter fraud, including the threat of noncitizens voting. But the only states likely to use the money properly are the states already combatting voter fraud.

RELATED: Trump’s mass-deportation promise needs receipts

David McNew/Getty Images

There is no point passing this provision without the legal enforcement of the SAVE Act. Frankly, there is little point passing the SAVE Act without fixing the antecedent problem: our immigration policies.

Then, of course, the bill contains a $12 billion bailout for farmers hurt by Trump’s other failed signature economic policy: tariffs.

But if this same Congress and White House continue pushing a farm bill that perpetuates the subsidy regime harming small farmers — and if they continue supporting endless rezoning of farmland for data centers — what is the point of throwing more good money after bad?

The lesson is obvious.

Republicans appear poised to end this Trump trifecta the same way they ended the last one: without enduring victories.

Sure, they passed Elizabeth Warren’s Section 8 bill. But they have not passed a single major provision that seriously addresses immigration or inflation.

They had three chances to do something transformational.

They struck out.

But fear not. In congressional baseball, there is always a fourth chance for voters they treat as suckers.

“We’re right now looking at a reconciliation 4.0 to do the things that are left out of this one,” a House Republican told Politico on Wednesday. Oh, joy!

​Congress, Debt, Deficit, Elizabeth warren, Inflation, Iran war, Opinion & analysis, Reconciliation, Republicans, Save act, Spending, Bidenflation, Immigration 

President Donald Trump told the nation from the White House Thursday that the Chinese government has interfered with American elections and gained access to “sensitive” voter data of tens of millions of Americans.

Trump also accused deep-state bad actors of “deliberately massag[ing]” his daily briefings and even of attempting to run a “shadow government” during his first term to keep the information about “China’s election meddling” from him, other lawmakers, the media, and the American public.

Trump reiterated his demand that Congress pass the SAVE America act, and accused Democrats of stalling on the bill because it would keep them from cheating in elections.

The president said evidence of his claims are available for review at the White House website.

“The documents … show that over a period of years, starting during the 2020 election cycle, the People’s Republic of China carried out what is believed to be the largest compromise of election data in history — resulting in China’s illicit acquisition of 220 million U.S. voter files,” said the president.

He said the information China collected included “names, addresses, phone numbers, political party preferences, and other sensitive data that would be needed to register to vote and engage in other nefarious activities, which is exactly what was happening.”

Trump then said the White House Government Transparency Task Force had gathered evidence that the “deep state” had worked to cover up the Chinese acquisition of U.S. voter data.

“U.S. spy agencies began learning about the compromise of voter registration files in 2020 when they discovered that tens of millions of voter data … in 18 states have been bought, stolen, or hacked by China. Yet those responsible for sounding the alarm instead kept the information secret and hidden,” he said.

He also claimed, citing a CIA document, that during his first term, China sought to influence major American business leaders and persuade them “to turn against the president of the United States.” Trump further claimed China tried to buy off seemingly anti-Trump American journalists with “large sums of money” to write even more “negative articles about him.”

He even claimed China tried to create bogus ballots in the 2020 election.

“Raw intelligence obtained by the FBI in 2020, yet buried by rogue bureaucrats, stated that China’s activities even included an attempt to manufacture illegal ballots for Joe Biden,” he added.

He went on to allege that officials had found as many as 287,000 non-citizens were found registered to vote nationwide.

The president also claimed that classified material that was supposed to be destroyed in “burn bags” was never actually destroyed, and he called on the FBI and the DOJ to investigate and to “prosecute those responsible for any crimes.”

Trump reiterated his demand that Congress pass the SAVE America Act and accused Democrats of stalling on the bill because it would keep them from cheating in elections.

“The only reason you wouldn’t [pass it] is you want to cheat because your policies are so bad and your candidates are so pathetic that you can’t get away or can’t get elected any other way,” Trump claimed.

The SAVE America Act would require voters to show proof of citizenship to register to vote in elections and require a photo identification to cast a ballot. Left-wing critics of the proposal say it would disadvantage minorities and other Democratic demographics.

The president completed his address by calling on all Americans to pick up a phone and call their representatives to ask for the SAVE America Act to be passed.

RELATED: Trump team slams ‘b***h’ Democrat for floating bizarre conspiracy theory on housing bill delay

Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) said he was briefed on the president’s speech before the address and described it as possibly the “most important Oval Office address since the Cuban Missile Crisis.”

He added, “The time for complacency with China is over.”

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​President donald trump, White house, Election, Election fraud, Save act, China, Deep state, Politics, Joe biden 

Baltimore Police posted video Wednesday showing six “younger males” ganging up on and brutally beating a 74-year-old man outside a 7-Eleven; the attackers also were wielding a rifle and a sword, police said.

Police said the “attempted armed robbery” occurred in the 2500 block of Liberty Heights Avenue around 3:46 a.m. July 7.

‘Wish he was armed and eliminated some/all [of] the threat.’

The video police posted shows the victim seemingly headed to the door of the convenience store when two of the offenders — one of them pointing what police called a “gray assault-style rifle” at the elderly man — run up to him. The rest of the suspects follow seconds later and begin surrounding the victim.

Soon the group begins taking turns shoving and throwing objects at the elderly man, who does his best to fight them off and shield himself.

But one cowardly culprit sneaks behind the victim and shoves him to the parking lot surface, after which the others take turns stomping him. One of the attackers appears to bash the victim over the head with the rifle.

In another portion of the video, the elderly man goes after a suspect appearing to hold the rifle, but a second suspect throws an object at the victim from behind, then scampers away.

Soon a suspect appearing to hold a sword approaches the victim and waves it at him before he and another attacker throw objects at the elderly man at the same time.

RELATED: Elderly Air Force veteran assaulted, robbed after withdrawing cash from ATM; video shows juvenile taking victim’s wallet

In one of the more gut-wrenching portions of the video, the victim is holding what appears to be a pair of milk crates to defend himself when one of the attackers shoves him to the parking lot surface, after which he’s stomped and punched.

Seconds later, after the victim rises to his feet, the same attacker who just shoved him from behind repeats his cowardly act, knocking the elderly man to the ground from behind again — and then skips away in what appears to be a kind of celebration.

The victim tries to get up, but the same attacker who knocked him down twice jumps in the air and kicks him. The video doesn’t show how the incident was resolved.

According to WJZ-TV, a store employee said the 7-Eleven was closed at the time of the attack, and police said the victim was treated for minor injuries afterward.

Police said robbery detectives need the help of the public to identify the culprits seen in the video, and those with information are urged to call Citywide Robbery detectives at 410-366-6311 or Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7Lockup.

A number of commenters who reacted under the police department’s X post about the incident were far from happy:

“Stop pretending anything will happen if they’re found,” one said. “Please.””ATTEMPTED armed robbery?!? How about ASSAULT WITH A DEADLY WEAPON?!? Fk you Baltimore. No wonder you’re a third world s**t hole,” another commenter wrote. “How ANY law abiding citizen could live there is beyond me.””Hope we catch them, we all got somebody heading home or out this time of day,” another commenter stated. “Wish he was armed and eliminated some/all [of] the threat.”

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​Baltimore, Physical attack, Attempted armed robbery, Rifle, Sword, Ganging up, Elderly man, Brutal beating, Surveillance video, Crime 

The two lethal shootings during federal immigration operations in the last couple of weeks have led to restrictions on traffic stops by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

Initially the traffic stops were temporarily paused after the shooting deaths of a Mexican migrant in Houston and a Colombian migrant in Maine.

‘Over half of all ICE field offices now do have body cameras, and the remainder of the field offices are expected within 60 days.’

President Donald Trump stepped in to order that the traffic stops continue as part of his promise for mass deportations, but a Daily Wire report on Thursday indicated that new restrictions were approved.

Traffic stops will be allowed in operations where at least one officer had a body camera and one teammate had training in specialized prosecutions. In addition, the stop needs to have an “operational” justification.

Fox News’ Bill Melugin said his ICE sources confirmed the report.

In both recent lethal incidents, no officers were wearing body cameras. Officials explained that the rapid expansion of officers led to a shortage of cameras available in the field.

“Basically, it boils down to, unless someone has a body-worn camera, no vehicle stops can be made,” one agency source said to the Daily Wire. “Since the majority of officers do not have body-worn cameras, hardly any stops will be made.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt admitted that the body camera rollout had faced difficulties.

“With respect to body cameras, I know there’s been some questions about that in recent days. Over half of all ICE field offices now do have body cameras, and the remainder of the field offices are expected within 60 days,” Leavitt said to reporters.

“It’s been a slower rollout than we would have hoped, but that’s because of the Democrats’ decision to shut down DHS for several weeks,” she added. “So, we expect to fully execute on the promise of body cams to all field offices across the country very soon.”

RELATED: Meth-like substance found in van of illegal alien killed by ICE, FBI says — but Democratic DA disputes

The Wall Street Journal reported that the pause on traffic stops was made unilaterally by Markwayne Mullin, the secretary of Homeland Security, and angered the president.

“We must be strong, tough, and smart, and we CANNOT give up one of I.C.E.’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP! Once we do, we are playing right into the criminal’s hands,” Trump wrote in response on social media.

“The Radical Left Dumocrats would like to see this done, but it won’t happen on my watch,” he added. “I.C.E., be judicious, fair and smart, and go back and do your very important job. Keep those Crime Stat Records coming!”

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​Ice traffic stops, Immigration and customs enforcement, Markwayne mullin, Immigration, Mass deportations, President donald trump, Politics 

Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona had a telling response to the allegations in a New York Post report that he had been sexually involved with at least two staffers in the House of Representatives.

Gallego, who is a close friend of Eric Swalwell, told NBC News when questioned about the report that he was not going to engage in “gossip.”

One source called the allegations a part of a ‘pattern of mistakes and missteps and judgment calls’ from the Democrat.

The Post report cited three sources confirming the two relationships, including one source saying they heard it firsthand from the 46-year-old senator.

Gallego reportedly admitted to the relationships with aides of Texas Democrats to one source, while another source said they had recently learned about the incidents.

A third source also confirmed the report.

The relationships allegedly occurred during the time Gallego was a House representative. The sexual interactions were consensual, and Gallego was not married at the time, according to the sources.

Gallego is considered a possible presidential candidate, but these allegations and any other potential scandals may derail that hope.

One source called the allegations a part of a “pattern of mistakes and missteps and judgment calls” from the Democrat, and the source bluntly wondered if there were more scandals coming.

“What else could there be out there?” the person asked.

One of the women involved was reportedly in her 20s and much younger than Gallego at the time.

Gallago’s friend Eric Swalwell was accused of sexual harassment and had to drop his gubernatorial campaign as well as step down from Congress. Speculation swirled as to whether Gallego knew about those allegations before they were public and whether he had his own peccadilloes.

Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida claimed in April to have heard of four women who claimed to have had inappropriate or unwanted attention from the senator. At the time, he responded by denying the “right-wing conspiracies peddled by far-right activists like Anna Paulina Luna, the White House, and their allies” and calling for an apology.

RELATED: Gay couple arrested on child sex abuse allegations — and they have 5 young sons

Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) avoided questions about the report.

Gallego did not respond to a request for comment from the Post, nor did the two House staffers reportedly involved.

The senator was also among the Democrats who rescinded their endorsements of Graham Platner, the former senatorial candidate in Maine, over sexual assault accusations.

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​Anna paulina luna, Eric swalwell, Ruben gallego, New york post, Sexual relationship, Politics 

After a reported shooting in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Wednesday night, the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office said deputies responded to the 5900 block of South 59th West Avenue.

Arriving deputies spoke with the homeowner, who said the suspect — later identified as 37-year-old Joshua Arena — came onto the property, threatened to steal the homeowner’s truck, and told the homeowner he would kill him if he resisted, officials said.

‘The truck owner was within all right[s] to have ended his life.’

The homeowner told deputies he turned to go back inside his house, but Arena followed him into the residence, officials said.

With that, the homeowner grabbed a baseball bat and struck Arena, and the two began fighting, officials said.

The fight continued outside, and the homeowner told deputies Arena turned and charged at him again.

But the homeowner fired a single shot and hit Arena in the thigh, officials said.

RELATED: Man allegedly catches burglar taking TV from his wall, turning and reaching into bag — then homeowner ends heist with his gun

Joshua Arena. Image source: Tulsa County (Okla.) Sheriff’s Office

Officials said Arena was transported to a hospital for treatment before being booked into the Tulsa County Jail on complaints of first-degree attempted robbery by force, first-degree burglary, and assault and battery. Arena’s jail record does not show the assault and battery charge but indicates his total bail is $70,000 for the other two charges.

A number of commenters under the sheriff’s office Facebook post about the incident wrote that Arena was “lucky”:

“He’s jerking the trigger. Needs to start dry firing,” one commenter said. “At least he cut meat and stopped the aggressive behavior.””He’s lucky,” another user said. “Those who know shoot center mass.””He’s lucky it wasn’t someone with a gun who was properly trained to use that gun,” another commenter said.”I see a lot of people in this area scoping out people’s places,” another user said. “They walk around, but my dogs don’t allow them to even look over to us.””The face of FAFO ladies and gentlemen,” another commenter said. “He’s one of the lucky ones!””That’s a face that knows he’s lucky to be alive, and he’s grateful for it,” another user said. “I applaud the homeowner for executing the lawful steps with proficiency. Nice job!””The truck owner was within all right[s] to have ended his life,” another commenter said.”Lucky homeowner didn’t put one between his eyes,” another user said.

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​2nd amendment, Baseball bat, Gun rights, Guns, Homeowner shoots attacker, Oklahoma, Self-defense, Shooting, Tulsa, Tulsa county sheriff’s office, Arrest, Crime 

A gang of federal judges installed a past appointee of former Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee in the role of U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington state on Wednesday. President Donald Trump made sure, however, that the judges’ pick didn’t last long in the position.

“District court judges can appoint a temporary U.S. Attorney, and POTUS can fire them,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement. “WDWA judges abandoned the time-honored process of consultation with the administration so that the selected U.S. Attorney is qualified to serve in the administration.”

‘Glad he was fired right away.’

Quick background

The Biden Department of Justice announced on March 1, 2021, that it had appointed Tessa Gorman as acting U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington. Shortly after retaking office, President Donald Trump kicked Gorman to the curb.

In October, Trump named a notoriously tough immigration judge, Charles Neil Floyd, as the new attorney. U.S. attorneys are normally nominated by the president, then confirmed by the Senate. In the case of Floyd, Trump never forwarded the nomination to the Senate.

Interim U.S. attorneys are allowed to serve for only 120 days if not confirmed by the Senate or extended indefinitely by the district court for the district concerned. The Trump administration took steps, however, to ensure that Floyd would remain the top dog in the Western District by keeping the top post vacant, then having the DOJ appoint Floyd first assistant U.S. attorney on Feb. 2.

Federal judges in Seattle, who already announced that they would seek to fill the position of the Western District’s U.S. attorney, began taking applications in March.

One-hour appointment

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington — comprising 17 federal judges, 10 of whom were appointed by Democratic presidents — issued an unanimous order on Wednesday naming Roger Rogoff as the U.S. attorney for the district.

RELATED: Justice Amy Coney Barrett describes SWATTING attack against her family

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd. U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.

The order — which was signed by David Estudillo, a U.S. district judge appointed by former President Joe Biden — claimed that the intent behind Rogoff’s appointment was to “ensure the integrity and effective administration of justice in this district.”

Rogoff was sworn in before 8 a.m. at the federal courthouse in downtown Seattle on Wednesday, then went to meet with Floyd, reported the Associated Press. Rogoff told KING-TV that by 8:34 a.m., he had received an email informing him that he had been removed from the post per the president’s instruction.

Blanche announced at 5:11 p.m. ET that “Roger Rogoff has been fired by the President.”

This turn of events ruffled the feathers of Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.).

Murray lashed out at the administration on X, writing, “Within an HOUR after being legally appointed by the federal judges as Western WA’s top prosecutor, Trump fired Roger Rogoff. Not because he isn’t qualified (he is), but because the President wants a sock puppet who puts Trump above the rule of law.”

Murray noted further in a release, “Roger Rogoff’s [sic] is eminently qualified — throughout his career, he has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to public service, and he was appointed legally by the federal judges in the Western District of Washington. He should have never been fired, but the president wants to appoint an out-of-touch extremist who will put Trump over the rule of law.”

Keith Swank, the sheriff of Pierce County, Washington, took Murray’s characterization of Rogoff as “qualified” as a clear indicator “he’s a political hack.”

“Glad he was fired right away after the stunt the leftist judges did,” wrote the Republican sheriff.

Rogoff, who told the Associated Press he is considering suing over his termination, said, “The fact that the judges of this district — most of whom I’ve spent my career appearing in front of, or trying cases against, or working with — believed that I was the right person to do this work is just really humbling and amazing.”

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​Activist judge, Department of justice, Donald trump, Federal court, Patty murray, Seattle, Us attorney, Us district court, Washington, Politics