Ellen Read, a Democratic member of New Hampshire’s House of Representatives, appears to have a lead foot.

Read was twice stopped for speeding down Interstate 93 in recent years — once on Dec. 2, 2024, allegedly going 107 mph, and again on June 5, 2025, allegedly going 92 mph, according to court records reviewed by the Boston Globe.

‘It isn’t diplomatic immunity.’

Read, the same leftist lawmaker who solicited the Satanic Temple’s Baphomet display at the state house ahead of Christmas 2024, apparently has some confusion over whether the traffic laws her constituents have to obey similarly apply to her.

The Democrat is urging the New Hampshire Supreme Court to permit her to appeal her speeding tickets partly on the grounds that she supposedly cannot be stopped and ticketed because of “legislative privilege.”

Read’s legal representative, Dana Albrecht, suggested in a recent petition to the state’s high court that the Democrat’s speeding before or after being at the state house is akin to a police officer or EMT flouting speed limits while rushing to an emergency.

“A law enforcement officer who exceeds the speed limit en route to an emergency is not prosecuted — not because officers are above the law, but because the conduct is analyzed in light of the official function,” wrote Albrecht, who is not an attorney. “An emergency medical technician who runs a red light to reach a patient is judged by the same functional standard.”

“The question presented is whether a sitting legislator, traveling to or from the General Court in the exercise of a privilege expressly conferred by N.H. Const. pt. II, art. 21, is entitled to the same analysis — not greater protection, but equal protection,” wrote Albrecht.

RELATED: Democrats’ Maine mess puts insiders back in charge

Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

The New Hampshire Constitution states that “no member of the House of Representatives, or Senate shall be arrested, or held to bail, on mesne process, during his going to, returning from, or attendance upon, the Court.”

New Hampshire state Rep. Mike Belcher (R) told Blaze News, “It’s a terrible misrepresentation of the provision. It exists to prevent coercion of lawmakers regarding their business. It isn’t diplomatic immunity.”

“I don’t think anyone in the general public believes that just because a state rep is traveling to or from session that they are immune to committing any violation or crime,” Major Christopher Bashaw of the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office told the Globe. “That would be absurd to think that somebody could cause an accident and kill somebody and not be held accountable.”

When pulled over in 2024 after allegedly being clocked going 107 mph in her Toyota Yaris through a 65-mph zone, Read told a deputy that she was headed home to Woburn, Massachusetts, after serving in her legislative capacity at the state house, said Bashaw.

Even though driving over 100 mph constitutes possible evidence of reckless operation, an arrestable offense, Bashaw told the Globe that Read was only issued a citation and permitted to leave.

While she was not arrested, Read — who has reportedly raked in a small fortune via mileage reimbursement claims allegedly including for days when the House was not in session, her committee had no meetings, and/or she appears to have been absent — has nevertheless framed the traffic stop and associated charges as violations of the state constitution regarding lawmakers’ unhindered travel to and from the legislature.

Last year, Read tried unsuccessfully to have the charge for the 2024 incident — where she had been found guilty of negligent driving, fined, and threatened with having her driver’s license suspended pending another speeding violation within two years — thrown out. She has kept the fight against accountability alive, however.

In April 2026, Albrecht filed a petition with the New Hampshire Supreme Court relating primarily to the June 2025 incident where a different deputy allegedly caught Read driving 92 mph in a 65-mph zone. Read allegedly berated the deputy and claimed the deputy lacked the authority to stop her, Bashaw said.

The petition, which reportedly leaned on the argument in the new filing that state lawmakers are shielded from traffic stops, was denied last month, but Albrecht subsequently filed a petition asking the New Hampshire Supreme Court to reconsider.

If the state’s high court doesn’t spare the Democrat from accountability, then she could potentially lose her license. A hearing is scheduled for Aug. 12 to assess the deferred component of her sentence in the 2024 case.

Read told Blaze News that it is “fallacious to say the case was appealed to the Supreme Court. There was a motion to VACATE to the Supreme Court because of the inability to get a fair trial in district court.”

She noted further that while the constitutional provision was mentioned in her case, “AT NO POINT has anyone anywhere attempted to argue that this provision protects the legislator from a ticket or arrest or prosecution … or even stopped up until the person is identified as a legislator on their way to session. It does not.”

According to Read, “A legislator can still be pulled over until the situation is assessed … and ticketed, arrested, or prosecuted, once they arrive at their destination and are no longer commuting to and from duties.”

The Democrat — who said her Toyota Yaris “cannot go 107 mph” — acknowledged, however, that her legal representative has argued the constitutionality of the stop “as part of the defense against a retaliatory and unsubstantiated 107-miles-an-hour reckless driving charge.”

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​New hampshire, Ellen read, Democrat, Speeding, Satanic, Politics 

Yes, you read that headline correctly.

University of California, San Francisco Chancellor Sam Hawgood appeared to suggest during testimony before the House Committee on Education and Workforce on Tuesday that some pregnancies occur in people who are not women.

‘Insane doesn’t even begin to describe this testimony.’

Throughout the hearing — titled “Training Activists, Not Physicians: The Impact of DEI on Medical Schools” — Republican lawmakers grilled officials from the University of California, Los Angeles, UC San Francisco, and the University of Illinois on the “woke ideology” that has “infected” medical schools. Republicans argued that DEI initiatives have influenced medical school admissions, hiring, curriculum, and responses to anti-Semitism on campus.

Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.) confronted Hawgood on UCSF’s “Framework for Gender and Sex Concepts in Teaching” guide that advises against using the term “pregnant women,” instead opting for “pregnant people.”

When Miller asked the difference between the two, Hawgood defended the guide as part of a curriculum designed to prepare medical students “who are facing a wide diversity of patients,” adding, “Of course, the vast majority of pregnancies are in women. And I have absolutely no problem with using the word pregnant women.”

Miller snapped back with the obvious question: “Has a non-biological woman ever had a baby?”

“A transgender person can,” Hawgood proclaimed.

RELATED: Parents speak out about transgender nightmare in Washington state

The interaction has since gone viral on social media, catching the attention of prominent conservative voices.

“Ideology corrupting science and medicine, example # too many to count,” Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wrote in reaction to the clip.

Bill Ackman, the billionaire hedge fund manager who has been in the spotlight for butting heads with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D), had just one word: “Crazy.”

Steve Guest, former special communications adviser for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), said, “Insane doesn’t even begin to describe this testimony. The emperor has no clothes. And academia still can’t see it.”

RELATED: Two women pregnant after sex with transgender inmate at female-only prison in NJ

Fox News’ Sean Hannity quoted Miller’s subsequent interaction with the Dean of UCLA’s medical school, Steven Dubinett, who refused to provide a direct answer to the question “Can someone have a uterus but not be a woman?”

Miller reacted to the exchange on X, writing, “Here’s a fun fact for Dr. Steve Dubinett: Someone with a uterus is a woman.”

Hawgood did not respond to Blaze News’ request for comment.

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​Medical schools, Pregnant women, Woke ideology, House committee, Transgender, Dei, Ron desantis, Bill ackman, Politics 

The Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office said they arrested a local mayor this week for charges that included illegal voting and other fraud.

Arcola Mayor Fred Burton, 68, spent a night in jail over the two counts of illegal voting, misuse of information, tampering with a government record, and fraudulently securing document execution, according to an indictment released Wednesday. He faces a separate indictment in connection with a city contract.

In the 2026 election where Burton took back the mayor’s office from Williams, he received 101 total votes, and she received 79 votes.

Prosecutors say Burton allegedly made two city council members sign fraudulent checks totaling at least $30,000 in 2023.

Burton also allegedly attempted to help people vote in the Arcola election despite knowing they did not live in the city, during this year’s election and the election in 2025, according to the indictment.

The mayor made headlines in April 2024 when he claimed that someone had sent him a noose in the mail as a racist threat during a contentious political disagreement. The threatening package had been sent to Burton at Arcola City Hall as he was running for his fourth term as mayor.

“I pulled out it said, ‘Get out of this race now!!'” Burton said at the time. “It’s a slap. Especially on a black man’s face that he has to open up mail like that and see something like that. I thought we were better than that as a society.”

The chief of police said they were contacting the Federal Bureau of Investigation over the incident.

“This (election) has been the most, I guess, if you will, nasty. But I won’t let that situation, that mail, I won’t let those type of racial, if you will, throwbacks, affect me in this race,” Burton added.

In June 2025, when he was on the city council, he was recorded having a tense altercation with the then-mayor of the city, Veeda Williams, and her cousin.

RELATED: Pastor arrested for allegedly forging signatures for Democratic primary

Burton is a four-time mayor of the city, serving three consecutive terms between 2018 and 2024 before being elected again this year.

All of the city council members and the city of Arcola declined to comment on the mayor’s arrest, according to KTRK.

In response to a request for comment, Burton told Blaze News: “Please know that we plan to let this process and all questions be answered in court.”

The Fort Bend County District Attorney’s office said that for just one charge of illegal voting, Burton could face between two and 20 years in prison if convicted.

Arcola is a city of about 2,000 residents. In the 2026 mayoral election where Burton defeated Williams, he received 101 total votes, and she received 79 votes.

Editor’s note: This article has been edited after publication to include a statement from Mayor Burton.

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​Voter fraud, Federal bureau of investigation, Arcola, Texas, Politics 

Foreign aid programs historically operated largely out of the public eye.

Now, according to State Department spokesperson Thomas Pigott, that era is over — and for good reason.

In an interview with Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck, Pigott explained that USAID previously “had a fundamental complete lack of accountability.”

“That’s why we wanted to bring USAID under the State Department, identify those programs,” he says.

“We would have circumstances where USAID was doing a program in a certain country that ran counter to the policy of the duly elected president of the United States, ran counter to the foreign policy in that country. You had a tremendous amount of USAID programs that were simply fueling an NGO industrial complex,” he explains.

“And this NGO industrial complex wasn’t actually addressing many of the problems we want to address, but instead was funding things that were counter to the United States,” he adds.

According to Pigott, they would fund organizations that wanted open borders and were trying to pressure the U.S. against adopting policies that would secure the border.

“So we’re addressing this and making sure that when we have programs, we’re actually having programs that further our foreign policy. It’s common sense. It’s how our system should work,” he says.

Fundamental to ensuring our foreign policy is prioritized, Pigott says, is “accountability.”

“We know where the money is going. And also, we’re able to spend it faster. If you look at our disaster response in Venezuela, for example, we are seeing a massive response to Venezuela, showing the effectiveness of a program when you have it aligned with your foreign policy and in the State Department,” he explains.

The State Department is also tackling censorship, as Pigott tells Glenn that going after the censorship industrial complex is another one of the State Department’s priorities.

“We have actually eliminated certain organizations from the beginning within the State Department that were actively censoring the American people. We’ve also taken action at the State Department for when other countries pass laws that do what’s called extra-territorial censorship,” he explains.

“So they pass a law, but their laws end up censoring American speech. That is unacceptable,” he says, adding, “So we’re going to protect freedom of speech.”

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​Censorship industrial complex, Foreign aid programs, Freedom of speech, Glenn beck, Ngo industrial complex, State department spokesperson, Thomas pigott, The glenn beck program 

Anyone who has spent time on a university campus recently has likely been forced to sit through a Native American land acknowledgment.

At Arizona State University, one plays on repeat as guests wait for graduation ceremonies to begin. Faculty in my college must sit through the ritual before we can even start business meetings.

The proper response to historical injustice is not to destroy historical evidence. It is to preserve it, study it honestly, and allow future generations to learn from it.

As you might expect, no university is handing back its land. Neither are the professors who recite these acknowledgments with the solemnity of a Marxist prayer while continuing to live comfortably on the same “tribal lands” they claim were unjustly taken.

Instead, they join celebrities such as Billie Eilish in proclaiming that “no one is illegal on stolen land” while living, working, and drawing salaries on the very land they call stolen.

Universities have perfected the art of virtue signaling. These modern sophists repeat fashionable slogans without changing their own behavior.

Until now, land acknowledgments have mostly been harmless theater, something for the larger community to mock or ignore. But the ideology behind them is no longer satisfied with symbolic gestures. It is beginning to reshape museums, archaeology, and our understanding of American history.

A new report from the Goldwater Institute by anthropologist Elizabeth Weiss argues that a movement originally intended to promote respect for Native American remains has evolved into something very different.

Instead of balancing scientific inquiry with legitimate tribal concerns, museums and universities increasingly adopt interpretations of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act that close off research, empty museum collections, and place archaeological evidence beyond the reach of scholars.

Congress enacted NAGPRA in 1990 to address genuine abuses. Archaeologists had sometimes removed human remains and funerary objects without sufficient respect for tribal beliefs. The law sought to correct those wrongs while preserving legitimate scientific research.

Sacred objects, identifiable ancestral remains, and funerary items could be returned to affiliated tribes, while materials outside those categories would remain available for study and public education.

According to Weiss, that compromise is disappearing.

RELATED: Trump’s Justice Department is shining a light on woke universities — finally

Werner Forman/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Today, institutions increasingly treat materials Congress never intended to repatriate as sacred tribal property. Weiss documents examples involving ordinary research samples, animal bones, pollen samples, carbon-dating materials, and other archaeological evidence being transferred out of scientific collections under expansive interpretations of federal regulations.

Once these materials are repatriated and reburied, many become effectively unavailable for future scientific study.

That should concern anyone who values historical inquiry.

Every generation develops better methods of studying the past. DNA sequencing, isotope analysis, and improved dating techniques have revolutionized archaeology over the past 30 years. Materials that seemed scientifically unremarkable in 1990 can yield new discoveries today.

Once those materials are permanently reburied or removed from research collections, future discoveries become impossible.

Imagine applying the same principle elsewhere.

Suppose medieval manuscripts could no longer be studied because descendants of their authors objected. Suppose Civil War artifacts disappeared into private collections because modern groups claimed a spiritual interest in them.

Historians would rightly protest that the past belongs to all humanity, not merely to those who claim the strongest emotional attachment to it.

Weiss also argues that some archaeological materials predate any historically identifiable modern tribe, making cultural affiliation itself a matter of dispute. In such cases, the objection is not merely to disrespectful handling. The objection is to the possession of artifacts at all.

Yet something very similar is happening in parts of American archaeology.

The irony is obvious. Universities constantly tell the public to “follow the science.” But here, scientific investigation increasingly yields to political pressure and ideological fashion.

Museums were once expected to preserve evidence, not remove it from public view. Archaeologists were trained to ask what the evidence reveals, not what contemporary activism permits them to say.

Weiss argues that Arizona provides an especially important case study because of its extraordinary archaeological heritage. For generations, Arizona museums and universities helped reconstruct thousands of years of Southwestern history through careful excavation, preservation, and analysis.

As more collections become inaccessible and more materials are removed from research, that work becomes increasingly difficult — and in some cases impossible.

The problem extends beyond archaeology.

Universities have increasingly adopted a philosophy that treats history primarily through oppression and colonization. Land acknowledgments are one visible expression of this worldview. They present contemporary Americans as perpetual beneficiaries of historical injustice while implying that present-day institutions possess diminished moral authority because of the past.

The White House has criticized Smithsonian leadership for teaching a politicized version of American history. It often feels as if America’s enemies hired professors and museum curators to spread anti-American propaganda at taxpayer expense.

RELATED: College professors want your child’s soul. Here’s how you can stop them.

More likely, they did not have to do a thing. They can simply sit back and watch as the radical left undermines what is beautiful in America and replaces it with the intersectionality grid.

This outlook changes how universities approach nearly everything they teach.

Rather than ask, “What happened?” they increasingly ask, “Whose narrative should prevail?” Rather than preserve evidence so future generations can investigate it, they prioritize symbolic acts of moral repair over continued inquiry.

That’s backward.

The proper response to historical injustice is not to destroy historical evidence. It is to preserve it, study it honestly, and allow future generations to learn from it.

Science and history are not enemies of respect. They are among the greatest tools we possess for understanding those who came before us.

Ironically, the universities that require faculty and students to affirm the importance of “decolonizing knowledge” often become less interested in knowledge itself.

Once political symbolism becomes more important than evidence, museums cease to function as museums. They become instruments of ideological education.

In 2020, faculty in my college were encouraged to begin “decolonizing” our curriculum. Yet this same college remains ever vigilant against any apparent Christian bias in my classes.

The solution is not to repeal NAGPRA or ignore legitimate tribal concerns. Congress intended a balance between respect for Native American communities and the preservation of scientific inquiry.

That balance should be restored.

As Weiss argues, current regulatory interpretations have moved well beyond the statute’s original purpose and placed important areas of archaeological research at risk.

Universities should be places where evidence is preserved, competing interpretations are debated, and history is pursued wherever the facts lead.

Instead, many have embraced a politics of symbolism that values moral performance over intellectual discovery.

Land acknowledgments are easy. Preserving the archaeological record for future generations is much harder.

One is an empty ritual to appease intersectional ideology.

The other is the actual work of a university.

​Arizona state university, Native american artifacts, Marxists, Goldwater institute, Nagpra, Heritage, Opinion & analysis, Land acknowledgment, Archaeology 

More than half of all states in the USA have distracted driving laws that either prohibit texting while driving or limit smartphone usage to hands-free mode when behind the wheel. With smart glasses on the rise, some states are looking to lump these wearable gadgets in with the same handset restrictions, and Democrat stronghold Illinois is poised to be the first to limit smart glasses on the road under House Bill 4843.

Distracted driving is a notable problem in the United States. According to the latest stats from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 315,167 people were injured in distracted driving cases and 3,208 were killed in 2024. These numbers are in spite of distracted driving laws that already exist in most states today.

The bill is waiting to be signed by Gov. Pritzker.

Still, Democrats love to add laws to the books, and this one is no different. Sponsored by Illinois state Reps. Michael J. Kelly (D) and Angelica Guerrero-Cuellar (D) and Illinois state Sen. Ram Villivalam (D), House Bill 4843 serves as an amendment to the Illinois Vehicle Code.

The bill includes a number of various changes; chief among them, however, is the addition of two new device categories that fall on the distracted driving list.

The longer arm of the law

The first is AI pins. While these aren’t widely popular yet, AI pins are wearable gadgets — which are usually clipped to a shirt or worn around the neck on a pendant or on a band around the wrist — that come packed with generative AI built in. These devices are typically used to record, save, and analyze conversations, such as work meetings, phone calls, or conversations with friends.

These devices are almost always display-free, making them a dubious choice for a distracted driving bill. I’m finding a hard time seeing how AI pins could divert a driver’s attention from the road or why drivers would use one in their car in the first place, but perhaps Illinois is just covering its bases in case AI pins suddenly gain new distraction-worthy features in the future. For now, these aren’t that big of a problem for anyone on the road.

RELATED: Google wants your health data. Here’s how to choose wisely

Zach Laidlaw

The second device category in the bill includes smart glasses. This is a tricky segment, because there are several different types of smart glasses, some of which pose a bigger threat to drivers than others:

AI smart glasses, like the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2, are equipped with cameras for the glasses to see what you see and record footage, as well as a microphone and speakers for audio and voice commands. These do not have a heads-up display that could block the driver’s view or divert their attention while operating a vehicle.Heads-up-display smart glasses, like the Meta Ray-Ban Display, do come with a display embedded directly in the lenses. HUD glasses can display different types of information directly in your line of sight, such as messages and notifications, potentially causing all kinds of distractions that could get drivers into trouble on the road. While these glasses pose a bigger driver threat and could possibly warrant a ticket if caught using them behind the wheel, they aren’t as widely available for purchase quite yet.Finally, AR/VR glasses and goggles use embedded displays to change the world you see in front of you or put you into a different digital world entirely. These types of glasses obviously have the largest distraction potential, and they shouldn’t be used inside a motor vehicle.

According to the bill, smart glasses of all kinds (it doesn’t call out any specific type, so we can assume that all fall into this category) and AI pins will be restricted to hands-free usage while driving. These devices can also be used when the vehicle is stopped and in neutral or park. Otherwise, drivers are prohibited from engaging with these gadgets, just like their smartphones.

House Bill 4843 is currently waiting to be signed by Illinois Democrat Gov. JB Pritzker. Illinois is the first state to pursue this legislation, but other state lawmakers will likely hop on board if and when smart glasses grow in popularity.

​Driving, Safety, Ai, Smartphone, Smart glasses, Illinois, Jb pritzker, Car, Tech 

A former Tennessee police officer allegedly admitted to having an affair with another officer and filming their sexual activities before leaving the force.

Lisa Vidrios is a former U.S. Marine and worked at the San Diego Police Dept. before transferring to the Metro Nashville Police Department in 2022.

She also admitted that children were present in the building during the four incidents.

An investigative report said Vidrios had a sexual relationship with an unnamed 18-year veteran of the police force. The report, which was obtained by WKRN-TV, cited several videos found on Vidrios’ phone, as well as text chains and images.

At least one of those videos showed her engaging in the sexual activities in her office at Madison Middle School while school officials talked outside her door. She also admitted that children were present in the building during the four incidents.

She also had sex with the officer in his police car when it was parked at an abandoned hospital, and at various other locations.

The 37-year-old was married with children at the time and said in a department video that her husband was also a member of the Metro Police Department.

“We have three children together — ages 6, 4, and 1 years old — and we love spending time as a family and doing everything we can throughout the city of Nashville,” she said.

There is no indication of the marital status of the other officer, and his identity was not released. The report indicated that he could not be interviewed because he filed for an injury on duty pension.

Vidrios agreed to a settlement where she was found in violation of conduct unbecoming a department employee and underwent a 30-day suspension. She resigned from the force after the suspension.

RELATED: ‘High-risk’ pedophile fired by New York city after ‘horrific’ new allegations involving 12-year-old girl

A spokesperson for the mayor’s office released a brief statement about the report.

“The mayor is consistent: Our first responders are held to the highest standard. When they don’t meet that, it’s not acceptable,” the statement reads.

A district spokesperson deferred to the police department and said no students or staff were aware of the situation.

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​Inappropriate relationship, Police officer sex, Cheating allegations, Tennessee, Crime 

After the United States’ 250th anniversary on July 4, 2026, Americans have an opportunity to look beyond the celebration and toward the coalition that will carry the American experiment through its next 250 years.

One of the most significant political developments of the past decade has been the steady movement of Hispanic voters toward conservative principles. Across the country, Hispanic Americans are rejecting the assumption that they belong permanently to one political party. Instead, many are embracing values centered on faith, family, entrepreneurship, and individual liberty.

The recent realignment among Hispanic voters can become more than a temporary political trend.

For conservatives, however, demographic movement alone is not enough. If the conservative movement hopes to build a lasting coalition, it must stop treating Hispanic voters as a constituency that receives attention only during election season.

For too long, political outreach to Hispanics has consisted of translated advertisements, a few campaign appearances, and promises made in the final weeks before Election Day.

A durable partnership requires year-round engagement. Conservatives need to invest in permanent community organizations, local leadership development, and sustained economic messaging focused on issues that directly affect working families.

Lowering the cost of living, reducing unnecessary regulations, encouraging entrepreneurship, and expanding economic opportunity all resonate deeply in Hispanic communities, where small-business ownership and upward mobility remain central aspirations.

The alignment between Hispanic voters and conservative principles is not merely political. It is cultural.

Faith is a cornerstone of life for many Hispanic families. Religious belief, community involvement, and commitment to strong family structures continue to shape daily life and personal values. These traditions align naturally with a worldview that emphasizes personal responsibility, civic engagement, and the institutions that strengthen communities.

The entrepreneurial spirit is equally powerful.

Hispanic Americans start businesses at remarkable rates, creating jobs, building wealth, and contributing to local economies. Policies that reward hard work, protect private enterprise, and expand economic freedom speak directly to those experiences.

For many families, support for constitutional government and individual liberty is rooted in personal history.

Countless Hispanic Americans arrived in the United States after witnessing economic collapse, political instability, or authoritarian rule in parts of Latin America, particularly in countries that embraced socialist or communist systems.

Their experiences offer a powerful reminder that America’s founding principles are not abstract ideals. They are safeguards against the failures that have plagued other nations.

America’s 250th anniversary presents an opportunity to tell a fuller story about the nation’s past and future.

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

Will Oliver/EPA/Bloomberg/Getty Images

The American story has always been one of people from different backgrounds uniting around a common set of ideals. Hispanic Americans are not newcomers to that story. They are helping write its next chapter.

Many legal immigrants and first-generation Americans possess a profound appreciation for the opportunities available in the United States. They understand the extraordinary freedoms this country provides because their gratitude is rooted in lived experience.

That perspective is especially valuable at a time when political discourse often emphasizes division and identity politics over unity and patriotism.

America does not need competing tribal factions organized around race, ethnicity, sex, or other demographic categories. It needs a coalition of citizens committed to preserving the principles that have sustained the republic for two and a half centuries and passing them on to future generations.

The conservative movement has an opportunity to help build that coalition.

But it must recognize that the recent realignment among Hispanic voters can become more than a temporary political trend. It can become a permanent feature of American politics if conservatives acknowledge and cultivate the deeper convergence of values already taking shape.

We should look beyond the next election cycle and toward the next century.

If the United States is to remain a beacon of freedom for another 250 years, it will need a coalition united not by blood or ethnicity but by a shared commitment to faith, family, capitalism, and the founding ideals of the republic.

Hispanic conservatives may prove central to that American renewal.

​Democrats, Hispanic voters, Americans, Conservatives, Midterm elections, America 250, American dream, Opinion & analysis 

While people get arrested every day in Europe for “offensive speech,” America’s First Amendment remains a safeguard against criminalizing the vast majority of speech — certainly the kind that could be deemed offensive by certain groups.

Except in Fort Worth, Texas, apparently. A cop by the name of Sarah Stogner went viral last month after videos captured her telling Christian street preachers that they could be cited for “offensive speech” if their preaching offended attendees at a local Pride parade.

On a recent episode of “Come and Take It,” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales reviewed the shocking footage and made a case that First Amendment violations should be fireable offenses.

Sara begins by playing the viral video of the interaction between Stogner and the evangelists.

“If someone is offended by your talking, then we have a problem,” Stogner stated, threatening to write a ticket if they didn’t comply.

“Wait, you’re going to ticket us for offensive speech?” one shocked preacher pushed back.

“Yes, absolutely. … It’s called disorderly conduct,” Stogner responded.

“No, disorderly conduct has to be accompanied by conduct,” another preacher retorted, before explaining that he was a retired federal law enforcement officer.

Sara is flabbergasted by the interaction.

“Try reading the First Amendment. … If there are any to be clear on, that is the one that you, as a cop, should be super clear on,” she comments. “And by the way, this is the epitome of why it was written actually: to keep tyrannical dictators from forcing us to keep our mouths shut about topics they didn’t want us discussing.”

Unfortunately, the situation got worse for the street preachers, who approached another cop at the festival to inform him of Stogner’s unconstitutional threat.

But he doubled down. “It depends on what you’re saying and who’s offended,” he clapped back.

“If you make fun of somebody, if you call them certain words and they feel offended by that, unfortunately that is —” he continued before one preacher cut him off by presenting a hypothetical.

“So, if I say, ‘You’re a faggot,’ and they get offended, you’re gonna cite me?” he asked, emphasizing that he would make “no threats.”

“That is a Class C ticket, unfortunately,” the cop replied.

“It depends on what you’re saying and who’s offended? I must have missed that in the Bill of Rights. Is there a footnote that I’m unaware of?” Sara asks, shocked.

The interaction then took an even wilder turn when the preachers asked the male cop about misgendering someone.

“If a biological male comes up to me who says he’s a woman, and I say, ‘Sir,’ and he gets offended, is that a citable offense?” one preacher asked.

“We’re talking gray area right now,” the cop replied.

“If they come up and say, ‘Hey, I’m offended by that,’ and you continue to do that, well, then that’s just becoming offensive to them,” he continued, suggesting that he’d give a “warning” and then move to “potential” consequences if the offensive language didn’t stop.

“So, what if I’m offended by what they say? … Will they get cited? I’m offended by all of this. I’m offended by seeing half naked men run around with children. I am deeply offended by that,” the preacher retorted.

“Unfortunately, there’s not much on our side to do anything,” the cop stated.

“It’s actually not a gray area at all. This isn’t hard. It’s not brain surgery. You are allowed to speak freely even if someone is offended. This isn’t Europe,” Sara says.

She highlights the glaring bias when it comes to “offensive speech.”

“You guys want to protect the debauchery, but any time a Christian is offended by the debauchery, you can’t do anything about that,” she declares.

Sara expresses disappointment in Fort Worth PD’s response to the Trinity Pride Fest incident.

While the department acknowledged that Sgt. Sarah Stogner (and officers) made inaccurate statements about citing people for “offensive speech,” they seemed to place more emphasis on clarifying that the citation was for a bullhorn noise ordinance violation rather than speech content. They also announced they would provide First Amendment refresher training to officers.

Sara scoffs at the idea of a “refresher” course on something as basic as the First Amendment. “It should just be a fireable offense to be that ignorant of the law,” she states.

It appears Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division Harmeet Dhillon may agree that stronger action is warranted.

On July 10, she posted:

To learn more and watch the disturbing footage, check out the episode above.

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​Come and take it, Sara gonzales, First amendment, Texas 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the production of gold coins bearing the image of President Donald Trump for the nation’s 250th anniversary.

The new coin shows the president’s image with the words “In God we trust” and “1776-2026” for the semiquincentennial celebration.

‘It’s cute, not a bad picture, but it’s very cute that he gave me a coin. … It was very unusual, but I was honored by it.’

“As America commemorates 250 years of independence, the @usmint will begin striking this new $1 gold coin to honor the enduring legacy of liberty and a lasting symbol of patriotism,” Bessent posted on his social media account.

“Featuring President Trump, it celebrates the strength of American values, and the promise of a nation dedicated to preserving freedom for all,” he added.

While the president’s supporters were thrilled, his critics were outraged and registered their histrionics on social media.

“North Korea called and said you’re embarrassing yourselves,” left-wing activist Joanne Carducci replied.

“Ridiculous and un-American. The American people deserve a president who cares more about putting money in people’s pockets than he does about putting his face on people’s money,” Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) said.

“Congratulations, we’ve entered the end stages. Eliminate the penny, plug the nickel, and make some commemorative gold coins nobody can afford,” GOP Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky responded. “I feel sorry for the folks who will be sold worthless knockoffs of this by the usual grifters.”

“This is a violation of Federal Law, you creepy bootlicking sycophant. The dishonorable, egomaniacal, orange demagogue is still living. … Another American national disgrace from a Trump Epstein Administration that makes a daily occurrence of national disgraces,” boxing promoter Lou DiBella replied.

“Are you really being serious here????” former tennis star Martina Navratilova responded.

“You realize you’re going to be nothing more than a s**t stain of history in two and a half years time,” another detractor said.

RELATED: Outrage erupts over new passport celebrating America’s 250th — and guess whose image is on it

The president called the coin “cute” when asked about it on Fox Business.

“It’s cute, not a bad picture, but it’s very cute that he gave me a coin,” he said, in reference to Bessent. “That’s very unusual from what I understand. … Yeah, a gold coin and a silver coin. It was very unusual, but I was honored by it.”

The coin will not contain any actual gold. It will be minted in Philadelphia and is expected to be available in the fall.

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​President donald trump, Us mint, Gold coin, Treasury secretary scott bessent, 250th us anniversary, Liberal outrage, Politics 

Netflix quickly found itself in a deep hole on Wednesday as reactions to one of its movie descriptions quickly spiraled out of control.

A viral post from Tuesday afternoon picked up a lot of steam for its content, and in less than 24 hours it had been seen by millions of users on X.

‘The most amazing synopsis of all time.’

Going, going, ‘Gone’

The post in question is about the 1939 classic film “Gone with the Wind,” which takes place at the end of slavery in the United States in the 1860s.

“The Netflix description of Gone With The Wind is the most amazing synopsis of all time,” the X post states.

On its website, Netflix lists the movie as “Romantic, Epic,” and “Critically Acclaimed,” but it also sends a different message to viewers about its content.

“A 1939 American Civil War epic known for its racism,” the description says, despite being rated “G” for general audiences, meaning all ages.

Then, Netflix directs viewers to look into Black Lives Matter for more information.

“To learn more about Black lives in America, search ‘Black Lives Matter,'” it reads.

Blaze News can confirm Netflix’s website still featured the description at the time of this writing.

RELATED: Disney warns viewers ‘The Muppet Show’ is ‘offensive content’ that has a ‘harmful impact’

Image by Blaze News via Netflix.com (screenshot)

Rotten tomatoes

Reactions were swift, reaching millions of viewers across the globe.

“Needs to change,” X owner Elon Musk said early on Wednesday. That post was seen by more than 1.5 million users.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz (R) reacted to the description more than once, saying both times, “This is RIDICULOUS.”

At the same time, “Gone with the Wind” is treated far more gently on IMDB, where it sports an 8.2/10 rating. There, the movie is described as a “turbulent romance” that takes place “during the Civil War and Reconstruction periods.”

There is no direct claim that it is a racist movie, however.

Disclaimers written through the eyes of progressives for modern audiences is not new for streaming platforms; Disney+ was raked over the coals several times in recent years for how it was treating its classic content.

This included beloved cartoons like “Pinocchio,” “Dumbo,” “Fantasia,” “Lady and the Tramp,” “The Aristocats,” and “The Jungle Book,” which received the following warning: “This program is presented as originally created. It may contain outdated cultural depictions.”

RELATED: Disney Plus streaming platform includes trigger warnings for ‘Pinocchio,’ ‘Lady and the Tramp,’ and more. The warning is for ‘outdated cultural depictions.’

Perpetual do-gooders

Not even the Muppets were safe from the perpetual do-gooders at Disney either. In 2021, the company went into a diatribe in the description for “The Muppet Show” that featured claims like, “This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures.”

It continued, “These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now.”

Disney also acknowledged its “harmful impact” but urged audiences to “learn from it and spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together.”

Even classic PlayStation game “Tomb Raider” got similar treatment in 2024, when a re-release warned about “offensive depictions of people and cultures rooted in racial and ethnic prejudices.”

Netflix did not respond to a request for comment.

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​News, Gone with the wind, Netflix, Racism, Entertainment 

Lindsey Graham’s death marks the end of one of the most consequential — and controversial — careers in modern Republican politics.

And while many conservatives loved to hate him while he was alive, BlazeTV host John Doyle believes that few knew how much the longtime South Carolina senator actually accomplished for their movement.

“You may remember September 27, 2018. If you were online that day, you already remember exactly where you were. Brett Kavanaugh is being potentially confirmed to be a Supreme Court justice, and it’s not looking good,” Doyle begins.

“He’s dying on live television. There are accusations from that woman … doing the crocodile tears, and we all had to just pretend that OK, yes, believe all women. So true. Republicans on the committee are looking like hostages,” he recalls.

“And then the man the Tea Party spent, like, a decade trying to primary just leans into his microphone and has a little bit of a patriot go-off moment. He says, ‘This is the most unethical sham since I’ve been in politics,’” he continues, referencing Lindsey Graham.

“Conservative media started cutting, you know, Lindsey Graham 2.0 highlight reels. Literally, in my first-ever video in October 2018, I covered this story, and I called this man based,” he adds.

Kavanaugh then got confirmed, despite the slogan “Believe all women” being repeated by feminists all over the country.

“In a room on camera with a Supreme Court seat on the line, the senator willing to torch 20 years of his kind of, like, bipartisan reputation — that was Lindsey Graham,” Doyle says.

“Everyone on that committee had the same microphone, and one guy chose to use it, and that was Lindsey Graham,” he adds.

Not only that, but for the last two years, Graham chaired the Senate Budget Committee.

“Graham was the gatekeeper. He shepherded the big, beautiful bill through unanimous Democrat opposition and some genuinely ugly, you know, GOP infighting. Then came this year’s reconciliation package, funding immigration enforcement, literally the largest increase in funding ever for the rest of Trump’s term. And sitting on his desk the day he died,” Doyle explains.

“All of that was moving. All of that was in progress, and it was because of this guy’s effort,” he says. “Who’s going to chair that committee now? Who’s going to fill that vacuum? Is it going to be somebody who’s actually more effective? Is it going to be somebody who’s more loyal to Trump and his agenda and his party?”

While Doyle admits there are many things he did not agree with Graham on, he does believe the senator was effective and ultimately stood for America.

And those laughing about his passing don’t realize why they’re actually laughing.

“You know, it’s easy to piss on a guy’s grave. It’s harder to be so effective that you can inspire people to want to piss on your grave,” Doyle says. “That’s my point.”

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​Believe all women, John doyle, Lindsey graham, Supreme court, Tea party, Donald trump, Conservative, The john doyle show, Brett kavanaugh 

A Marine veteran running for Florida’s 5th Congressional District is being condemned for his threatening comments against President Donald Trump.

William Upham released a video statement calling the president the Antichrist and saying that he “must be killed.”

‘William Upham is no longer a Marine and does not represent our values or ethos.’

Upham is running as a write-in candidate, surprisingly as a Republican. The seat is currently held by Rep. John Rutherford, also a Republican.

The Marine Corps issued a statement indicating that he had been discharged for medical reasons in May 2025.

“The comments made by Upham are a direct violation of the oath he swore to uphold and are not in keeping with the service’s values,” the Marine Corps added in the post on social media.

Upham served from June 2021 until September 2025 and achieved the rank of first lieutenant, according to reporting from Task & Purpose. The outlet also noted that threatening the president is a crime punishable by up to five years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine.

“I’ve come to the realization that our country is broken. We are led by a president who’s the enemy of God, and President Trump will never bring us together like God intended,” Upham says in the video.

“There is no doubt in my mind that the president of the United States, Donald J. Trump, is the Antichrist. He is a false messiah, and he is your enemy, and he must be killed,” he adds.

RELATED: ‘We’re gonna hang him from the Statue of Liberty’: ANOTHER man arrested for alleged threats to kill Trump

Acting U.S. Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao called the comments “unacceptable” in a post on social media.

“William Upham is no longer a Marine and does not represent our values or ethos,” he added.

Blaze News reached out to the Florida GOP for comment.

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​Marine veteran, President donald trump, Threatening the president, Us marine corps, William upham, Politics 

Barely 24 hours after the Department of Homeland Security quietly ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to stand down on vehicle stops nationwide, President Donald Trump did a U-turn.

Trump overturned the pause on Wednesday, and according to sources familiar with the matter, he was furious.

‘Radical Left Dumocrats would like to see this done, but it won’t happen on my watch.’

Trump made the call himself, first on Truth Social, writing that “we CANNOT give up one of I.C.E.’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!”

He added that the “Radical Left Dumocrats would like to see this done, but it won’t happen on my watch” and that the agency should “be judicious, fair and smart” going forward.

The reversal capped a chaotic 24 hours. The DHS sent officials word via email on Tuesday pausing all vehicle stops “immediately” and instructing officials “to prioritize other existing operational methods, outside of vehicle stops, to conduct immigration enforcement activities,” according to ABC News, which reviewed the email.

By Wednesday morning, the White House confirmed with Fox News that Trump had overturned the memo, calling it an internal directive that didn’t reflect broader policy.

Border czar Tom Homan downplayed the original pause on Fox News, insisting the DHS just wanted to review the recent shootings and any training gaps.

“It’s not a policy change; it’s a temporary pause,” Homan said, adding that the decision was made by “the secretary along with leadership at ICE.”

RELATED: ICE slams the brakes on vehicle stops nationwide: Report

Graeme Sloan/EPA/Bloomberg/Getty Images (L); Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images (R)

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin was already under pressure before Trump weighed in. Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said she spoke to Mullin Monday night and personally urged him to halt “non-urgent vehicle stops.”

Once Trump’s reversal went public, Mullin didn’t directly address whether stops would actually resume. Instead, he pivoted to attacking Democrats, writing on X that DHS’ “#1 goal is to keep our officers safe and get criminals OFF our streets,” and telling anyone in the country illegally to “LEAVE NOW.”

The whiplash traces back to the fatal shootings of two men during ICE enforcement operations in the last week: Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston on July 7 and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine, on Monday. A third man died Tuesday in Florida after being struck by a tractor trailer while fleeing federal agents, according to authorities.

In the wake of the shootings, the DHS also pledged to rapidly deploy body cameras to ICE officers nationwide.

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​Border czar, Department of homeland security, Fatal shootings, Florida, Immigration and customs enforcement, President trump, Tom homan, White house, Politics 

Americans are increasingly worried about skyrocketing housing costs, declining birth rates, and a generation of young adults struggling to reach traditional milestones. But according to BlazeTV host Steve Deace, those problems are merely symptoms of something much bigger.

“There’s a lot of things that we are pointing to in our culture right now as symptoms, and we’re at many times trying to do symptom masking,” Deace says on the “Steve Deace Show.”

While the reaction to a symptom is often just to treat it and “provide a patient or in this case a culture immediate relief,” the issue is that the underlying disease is not actually being treated.

One symptom America is facing is that the percentage of men and women getting married and owning a home by the age of 30 has declined from more than half the country in the 1960s to just 12% today.

“In 1950, that was half of the country. In 1962, the number actually went up to more than half. That was 52%. 1970, relatively stable, 48%. 1980, we start to see a little bit of slippage now, 45%. But the 80s held things still,” Deace explains. “The ’80s did a great job of treating symptoms.”

While Deace notes that he loves Ronald Reagan, “the ’80s gave us amnesty.”

“And the immigration policy that is threatening to wreck America today … its origin, its genesis, is the Reagan amnesty of ’86,” he says, explaining that Reagan also signed the 1986 vaccine indemnity act.

“That put us on the very path we’ve been on with Big Pharma ever since,” he says.

And now, only 12% of Americans are getting married and buying homes by the age of 30.

“You could get a $500,000 mortgage, 30-year fixed rate, for $2,100 bucks a month in America in 2021. Today that amount is $3,200 a month on average,” he says.

But it’s not just housing costs and immigration.

“It’s more likely that a woman in her 40s will be married and pregnant than a woman who is 19 for the first time in American history,” Deace says, explaining that this “sadly fits into the overall trend line.”

“Fifty years ago in this country, it was way more likely a 19-year-old woman was going to be married with a kid than a 42-year-old woman was going to be having a kid. Way more likely. And when you throw in these other cultural trends now, it is more likely a 30-year-old man will still be living at home with a parent than living in a home with a wife and a kid,” he says.

“This is death-of-a-culture stuff,” he continues, adding that this is the “disease.”

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​Americans, Big pharma, Declining birth rates, Housing costs, Immigration policy, Marriage rates, Mortgage rates, Ronald reagan, Steve deace, Steve deace show 

Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger is facing another harrowing battle, this time one having to do with his health.

The man known for heroically piloting a damaged passenger plane into the Hudson River and saving 155 lives 17 years ago is now fighting Alzheimer’s disease.

‘I am in the beginning of this long journey.’

“I recently found out I have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. It is early stage,” said the 75-year-old in a statement. “For now, this means a name may not come easily to me, I forget a story I have recently told, or I don’t sleep as well, but I am in the beginning of this long journey.”

He said he was speaking out in hopes of encouraging other families dealing with the disease.

“This new phase of my life has challenged what it means to be of service. And the answer is to speak up,” he continued. “It is my hope that by sharing this, other families living in the shadows with this disease will feel they too can step forward.”

Sullenberger’s story was dramatized in the 2016 hit movie “Sully,” which was directed by Clint Eastwood and starred Tom Hanks as the hero.

The Jan. 2009 incident that stemmed from a plane hitting numerous birds on takeoff and losing both of its engines has since been dubbed the “Miracle on the Hudson.”

Sullenberger has spoken many times about his actions on that fateful day.

“I think about not only what we did but what everybody else did,” he said to ABC News on the 10th anniversary of the water landing. “All the pieces had to come together. This group of strangers had to rise to the occasion and make sure that they saved every life.”

RELATED: Air Canada CEO to resign after outrage over English-only statement on death of 2 pilots

Sullenberger had been described by the passengers as very calm as he helped them exit the plane, but he has since revealed otherwise.

“I think people with certain temperament gravitate toward certain jobs and flying is certainly one of those, and I think the training and the experience we develop tends to make us more that way,” he explained.

“It develops in you an ability to summon up from somewhere within this ability to create a sense of calm, a professional calm,” he added. “But we weren’t calm. We couldn’t be calm. The stress was too intense, but we had that focus … to be able to do the job in spite of how stressful it was.”

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​Alzheimers disease, Hero, Politics, Chesley sullenberger 

A 33-year-old Canadian female is accused of slapping a teenage girl wearing pro-Trump clothing on a boardwalk in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey, earlier this month — and now the suspect is in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The accused — Kaitlyn E. Tracey — was recording on her phone July 3 when she approached the teen and her friends, NJ.com reported, citing court documents.

‘I need help.’

The teen was wearing sweatpants containing the words “Trump” and “ICE,” the outlet reported. Police said Tracey “began yelling at the female juvenile over patriotic colored sweatpants with political wording.”

Police added that Tracey “was then seen on video striking the juvenile female, once to the body and once to the face, with an open hand. The female suspect then left the scene without being identified.”

Police department detectives conducted an investigation, and police said they identified Tracey on July 6 as the suspect in connection with the incident.

Tracey was charged with simple assault, endangering the welfare of a child, harassment, and obstruction, police said, adding that Tracey early on Monday was taken into custody without incident, processed, and transported to Ocean County Jail.

NJ.com, citing court papers, reported that Tracey is a Canadian citizen who entered the United States with a passport in 2024.

Indeed, NJ.com added that a man who identified himself as Tracey’s husband said Tracey is being turned over to ICE.

Blaze News on Wednesday morning checked ICE records, which show Tracey is in ICE custody at its Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark, N.J.

RELATED: Washington State U. punishes instructor, staffer charged with beating up Trump-supporting student of color wearing MAGA hat

Image source: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

NJ.com said court records indicate Tracey is scheduled for an Aug. 4 court appearance.

“I need help,” Matthew Geroni said in a video posted to TikTok, according to NJ.com. “I need my wife. I don’t want her to get hurt.”

The New York Post reported that Geroni is an American citizen who married Tracey “a little over three years ago” and has been sharing his wife’s story with his 140,000 followers.

The paper added that Tracey had been living in Asbury Park with her husband.

More from the Post:

Geroni didn’t mention Tracey’s alleged assault of a teen girl that led to her arrest during his public plea, instead claiming the entire situation was being taken out of context.

He created a GoFundMe page for his wife’s legal expenses but was forced to take it down a short time later after a “Facebook group of MAGA supporters” mass-reported it, he said. […]

Geroni, who routinely posts videos mocking Republicans, described himself as the “Clown of Asbury Park” and the “Jester of the Jersey Shore.”

He claimed cops told his wife to leave the boardwalk after the alleged assault because they didn’t have enough to charge her before Tracey later turned herself over to police after an arrest warrant was issued.

Tracey’s attorney, Francis R. Hodgson, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday, according to NJ.com.

NJ.com added that the victim was not injured and that her age is redacted in court documents.

Police said, “We would like to thank the Asbury Park Police Department, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, The 11th District of the Toronto Police Service, and the United States Custom and Border Protection Intelligence Team for their assistance during this investigation.”

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​Boardwalk, Canada, Crime, Ice, Immigration and customs enforcement, New jersey, Point pleasant, Police, Slap, Teen girl, Politics 

Director George Lucas isn’t too concerned with what audiences think.

As one of the pioneers of computer-generated imagery, Lucas says he’s heard the same complaints his whole career, and he’s applying that experience to artificial intelligence too.

‘That’s progress, it’s the future.’

Galaxy brain

Lucas’ core thesis is on what makes a movie a movie, and in his opinion, it isn’t the technology surrounding the production that makes the story; it’s the idea itself.

The 82-year-old cited many iconic directors and even those on film foundations as some of the biggest supporters and detractors of his beliefs, and in a recent interview, he focused on the latter.

“I’ll never do digital,” Lucas’ peers tell him, because “Lawrence of Arabia” was shot with film. “And I say, ‘No, it’s cinema. It’s the moving image. That’s what it is. It’s not a technology, it’s an idea.'”

Lucas advanced digital graphics significantly with his company Industrial Light & Magic, which he founded all the way back in 1975. Today, Lucas sees the argument against AI as similar to those he faced for using the latest and greatest technologies in his career.

“Artificial intelligence means it’s much easier for us to make movies,” Lucas told A Rabbit’s Foot. “It’s very much like sitting here saying, ‘Well, I believe the horse and the buggy is really where it’s at. These cars, they break down, they need gas, there’s all kinds of problems with them and pretty soon they’ll be making them into tanks, and then they’ll be killing people. It’s terrible.'”

Lucas, fairly black-pilled, added, “There’s nothing you can do about it.”

“That’s progress, it’s the future.”

RELATED: White House rips into ‘left lunatic’ Mark Hamill for posting image of Trump in grave

Roger Ressmeyer/CORBIS/VCG/Getty Images

Jedi mind trick

Lucas described AI as something that shouldn’t be used as a scapegoat either. Rather, the creator is still responsible for whatever he puts out.

“The whole idea is you’re a human being, you’re responsible for what you say and what you do, and if you’re doing something that’s illegal, you should be punished for that. Whatever you do, you should be recognized. It’s just like real life.”

In that same vein, Lucas assured readers that audiences don’t know what they want to see in film.

Lucas cited Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, and Steven Spielberg as sources and friends he trusts with constructive criticism. Potential viewers, not so much.

“I don’t like focus groups,” Lucas said. “The audience doesn’t know what they want to see.”

RELATED: What are the odds? America’s birthday is full of incredible coincidences

Screen Archives/Getty Images

Jar Jar defender

However, much of the disdain seemingly comes from the reaction from studios who, when they hear the audience doesn’t like a character, “take the wrong message.”

“They let the audience actually make the movie,” the director explained. “Of course, now they go crazy with that. Now, it’s all about what the fans think. That isn’t how you make the movie. You make a movie by finding someone that knows how to make movies, that has a story to tell and is passionate about it.”

Lucas juxtaposed this with criticism about “Star Wars,” which he said has seen significant blowback time and time again over the introduction of children’s’ characters.

“Oh, that’s terrible. Jar Jar Binks is terrible!” Lucas said, mocking his critics. “Everyone said the same thing about R2-D2 and C-3PO. At the beginning, there was a huge push for me to get rid of C-3PO, and then in the third one, people said the same thing about Ewoks.”

“We want to see an adult movie!” Lucas recalled being told.

While the downfall of the post-Lucas “Star Wars” films may be from not ignoring similar audience demands, in response to whether or not he is bothered by his later films not connecting with adults, he simply said, “Well, it’s a kids’ movie.”

“It’s always been a kids’ movie.”

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​George lucas, News, Star wars, Artificial intelligence, Entertainment, Ai 

The fire that ravaged a 173-year-old Brooklyn church last month has been determined to be incendiary, meaning it was deliberately set.

Fire marshals announced the determination Tuesday, adding that the investigation remains ongoing.

‘Now we understand it is intentional, which brings another layer of grief to myself, as well as the congregation and the community.’

The New York Daily News had previously reported, citing FDNY sources, that the FDNY and NYPD were investigating the incident as a possible case of arson.

A person of interest was seen walking around South Bushwick Reformed Church shortly before a fire erupted around 1:20 p.m. on June 19. A three-alarm fire was then triggered, causing nearly 200 first responders to rush to the scene.

The church was empty at the time, according to the FDNY.

By 3:35 p.m., firefighters had managed to bring the flames under control, yet the church had sustained significant damage, including the collapse of the steeple into the roof.

As of Wednesday morning, no arrests have been made.

A GoFundMe was created by the church shortly after the tragedy to, as Pastor James E. Steward II wrote, raise money for “emergency stabilization of the property, temporary worship space, replacement of damaged equipment and furnishings, community outreach ministries, architectural and engineering assessments, and restoration and rebuilding efforts.”

As of Wednesday morning, the church has raised almost $16,000, with a fundraising goal of $26,000.

RELATED: Church is cool again — and Gen Z men are leading the way

“Now we understand it is intentional, which brings another layer of grief to myself, as well as the congregation and the community,” Steward told CBS News.

“Whoever is responsible for this ultimately has to answer to God,” he added.

South Bushwick Reformed Church was built in 1853 and declared a city landmark by the Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1968. Under landmark classification, the LPC “must approve in advance any alteration, reconstruction, demolition, or new construction affecting the designated building.”

The church was one of only eight surviving wooden landmarked houses of worship in the entirety of New York City, with the congregation itself dating back to Dutch settlers in the 17th century.

South Bushwick Reformed Church, Brooklyn, New York, circa 1975.Edmund Vincent Gillon/Museum of the City of New York/Getty Images

In the weeks following the fire, church leaders fought to preserve as much of the landmark as possible, hoping portions of the remaining structure could be stabilized and incorporated into a future restoration.

The Department of Buildings had moved toward demolishing the remaining structure, but that effort was paused Tuesday after the DOB granted the church’s request for a hold on demolition through Saturday, according to the Bushwick Historic Preservation Association.

The pause gives the church time to try to save its fellowship hall, a church extension built in 1881 as a Sunday school building.

“In an incredible reversal of fortune, WE JUST SECURED A HOLD ON THE DEMOLITION!” the group wrote in an Instagram post Tuesday. “This morning, the DOB reached out giving us another chance and this time our submission was accepted.”

The church “finally put together a team of engineers and contractors and came up with a plan to stabilize the rectory side of the building in a way that wouldn’t endanger workers on site,” DOB press secretary Andrew Rudansky said.

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​Church, Fire, Investigation, Politics, New york city 

A political aide to former reality TV star Spencer Pratt revealed just how far his campaign went to compete in the heavily Democrat-leaning electorate for Los Angeles mayor.

Pratt narrowly missed the cutoff to compete in the runoff election, but he has vowed to continue his fight to save Los Angeles from socialist policies and politicians.

‘It was an experiment in completely upending the traditional politico paradigm, so we didn’t have any political advisers. It was just me and Spencer.’

In an interview with Christopher Rufo on the “Rufo & Lomez” podcast Tuesday, Pratt’s creative director, Gabriel Mann, revealed the unorthodox steps they took in the campaign to spread his message.

“There was no help — we begged people for help with our ground game — so we had to create our own,” Mann said on BlazeTV.

“And you know what we did? We spent, I think, $100,000 paying the Bloods and the Crips. I’m not joking. Totally aboveboard, totally legal. We paid the Bloods and the Crips to go do ballot harvesting for us in their neighborhoods,” he said.

“And that was the one thing that Spencer did that I think shocked a lot of people. I mean, we’re in South Central, and we were partying,” Mann added.

“What was their response to you guys?” co-host Jonathan “Lomez” Keeperman asked.

“Tremendous!” Mann replied.

Keeperman joked that the South Central residents were not likely to be high-propensity voters.

“They’re not, but the people who showed up, the people with whom we interfaced, they’re very engaged, and some of them — I had this 52-year-old mom come up to me in South Central, and she was like, ‘My daughter is hooked on crack, and I cannot get anybody to help me. She’s out on the streets. I can’t get her home. I have no support,'” Mann said.

“She was like weeping, and I grabbed her by the arm and [said], ‘Come talk to Spencer. We’re gonna figure this out,'” he added.

The video closes out with scenes of Pratt talking to the woman and comforting her over her daughter’s plight.

RELATED: TMZ tries to nuke Spencer Pratt’s mayoral campaign — and gets bitten in the Bass

“I know a lot of people try to portray their campaign as grassroots, but, I mean, this was legitimately grassroots. … It was an experiment in completely upending the traditional politico paradigm, so we didn’t have any political advisers. It was just me and Spencer,” Mann said.

Since the jungle primary election, Pratt published a video setting out all the evidence of possible election fraud.

The entire podcast video with Mann can be viewed on the YouTube channel for Rufo and Lomez.

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​Ballot harvesting, Los angeles mayor, Election fraud, Spencer pratt, Christopher rufo, Politics