Category: blaze media

France’s riots, looting, and destruction may look like a political crisis, but BlazeTV host Steve Deace believes the problem goes far deeper than that.

What’s happening, Deace argues, is the result of “social contagions the West unleashed upon itself” and are “all now assembling in France.”

While he notes that Islam is a reason, it’s not the reason. Rather, Deace says, “It’s a galvanizer here.”

“We’re a country founded, remember, on 12 vestiges of the Christian church. And the 13th was meant to be an ecumenical colony where all the vestiges of the Christian church could feel welcome at the same time,” he explains.

“Christianity is literally the mother’s milk. Who are the people that founded the country? The Puritans founded the country. Much of what you know of it today, founded by Puritans,” he explains, noting that Puritans “were a deeply devout Christian religious sect.”

“Now, what changed was the counterculture,” he says. “And what when we talk about a counterculture, what is it countering? Christianity. That’s what it’s countering. It’s countering Christianity. New gender ethics, new sexual ethics, new criminal ethics, new child rearing ethics,” he continues.

“We’re countering the Christian ethic. That’s the culture we’re countering,” he adds.

And France is currently the most up-to-date example of what happens when you counter the Christian ethic.

In data from 2023 to 2025, it’s revealed that the spiritual state of France is abysmal.

“Over 40% of France self-identifies as Catholic. Yet only 5% attends mass monthly or more. Since your particular sect of Christianity is heavily driven by liturgical practice,” Deace explains.

“So essentially 95% of the Catholics in France are not actually Catholic,” he says, noting that even “worse,” only “1.1% of the French population is evangelical.”

“This is a nation of nearly 70 million people. Some of the most beautiful sanctuaries ever built in the history of Christendom are from there in France. So what happened? They let go of the rope,” he says.

But it’s not just France, it’s all of Europe.

“Everything’s changed in Europe as well,” Deace says. “And why? Revelation 2:5. This is what happens when the lamp goes out. And this is what will happen here if the lamp goes out as well.”

“Revival or bust,” he adds.

Want more from Steve Deace?

To enjoy more of Steve’s take on national politics, Christian worldview, and principled conservatism with a snarky twist, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Christianity, France, Islam, Riots, Blazetv show 

Silicon Valley’s self-appointed gods have money and power. They also have an almost religious faith in their own genius. They want to hack human biology, outsmart aging, and, in ever-growing numbers, cheat death. They seem less interested in the possibility that human beings need more than fancy technology and an inflated sense of their own importance.

The average tech billionaire looks in the mirror and sees an immortal deity trapped in a temporary meat suit. Some of these guys are borderline insane, even pumping their teenage son’s blood into their veins. They pop 50 custom supplement pills before breakfast and drop $35,000 on rather questionable boutique longevity clinics. They treat the human body like a dodgy software update that they can fix with enough cash and constant hacking. They are terrified of the one thing their wealth simply cannot buy: death and departure from this earth.

Good health shouldn’t be a luxury status symbol.

Enter Mark Wahlberg, the Catholic actor and fitness fanatic. A self-made businessman, he offers a markedly different vision: faith, discipline, hard work, and the belief that ordinary citizens deserve access to better health without having to sell a kidney to afford it. While the tech elite indulge their deluded fantasies of human perfection, Wahlberg is building a gym. Unlike fashionable cultural tastemakers who lecture people on how to think, speak, and live a “better” life, he forged a remarkable career doing things his own way and makes no apologies for it.

Wahlberg approaches the problem from a completely different angle. He wakes up at four in the morning to pray, hit the weights, and get a head start on an almost always hectic day. He credits his Catholic faith and a Boston priest who pulled him out of a tailspin for saving his life. The tech gurus believe they are their own creators. Wahlberg knows he answers to a higher power, which automatically makes him far more realistic about human limits.

Keeping health human

That grounding shapes his whole business model. His Municipal Gym initiative aims to bring the high-end perks of elite wellness clubs — like detailed blood analysis and high-tech recovery treatments — to regular Americans at an affordable price. Today, the modern wellness industry operates like a country club where the initiation fee is a down payment on a house. Everyday working families are left with overpriced processed food and memberships for crowded, often unsanitary gyms. Wahlberg’s setup tries to bridge that gap. Good health shouldn’t be a luxury status symbol reserved exclusively for hedge fund managers and tech CEOs who drink green juice from a gold chalice.

This whole effort comes from a guy who actually knows what it means to start at the absolute bottom, with absolutely nothing to his name. Long before he starred in blockbuster movies or built multimillion-dollar business empires, Wahlberg was a troubled kid on the dangerous streets of Dorchester. He racked up criminal charges as a teen and easily could have ended up dead or behind bars for life. He didn’t blame others for his problems, nor did he turn his life around through a government handout. Instead he took personal responsibility. He sought out mentors who refused to sugarcoat reality and set out to rewrite the entire narrative. He has been married for 17 years, has four children, and is worth about $400 million. Wahlberg embodies the American dream in every way imaginable.

RELATED: Seattle votes to ban grocery ‘surveillance pricing’. Your data shouldn’t set your food bill.

urbazon/Getty Images

Modern culture loves to give people permanent excuses for truly terrible decisions. Wahlberg’s life story rejects the victim mindset entirely. He proves that past mistakes don’t have to dictate a person’s future destination. Instead of preaching to young kids from the back of a limousine, he designs physical spaces where at-risk youth can show up and build self-respect through real effort.

The brand’s name might not be the catchiest, but it points back to the public basketball courts and golf courses of his youth. Those sacred spots were the original equalizers in American life. You showed up and played hard. Whether you won or lost, you shook hands and were thankful for the opportunity to socialize and meet like-minded people. Nobody cared who your daddy was or how much money sat in your bank account. The Silicon Valley crowd seems to have forgotten that basic principle, or deliberately rejected it. They prefer gated communities. They absolutely adore private islands and exclusive medical labs designed to keep the general public far from their impregnable bubble.

The contrast grows when you look at how both sides view basic biology. Tech moguls want to spend billions chasing a digital fountain of youth while ignoring the simplest daily habits. Wahlberg’s advice is far more practical. Get off the couch, put on pants, and start lifting heavy stuff regularly. Sure, his gym concept uses advanced testing and modern supplements, but he isn’t selling miracles that ultimately end in misery. He is sensible and brutally honest.

No excuses

That lesson hits particularly hard for young men today. Society spends an inordinate amount of time telling young men what they shouldn’t be, while offering almost no positive outlets for their natural drive. A weight room is an unforgiving environment where excuse-making gets you nowhere. As someone who spends a lot of time in these training areas, I know how intense they can be. If a man doesn’t do the work, the barbell stays on the floor, and everyone else takes note.

It helps that Wahlberg isn’t presenting himself as some genius who has all the answers. He took a massive financial beating when his investment in the F45 fitness chain went south and got delisted from the stock exchange in 2023. Most Hollywood celebrities would have buried the story under a mountain of PR spin and fake news. Wahlberg took the hit on the chin. He admitted he learned hard lessons about choosing the right business partners, and he immediately picked himself up to launch his next project. That is admirable, and it is very much the American way.

That willingness to dust off and try again is what makes his message resonate. It’s simple and effective: Go to bed early, wake up early, say your prayers, stay fit, and do your utmost to ensure your loved ones have the best life possible. While the self-anointed wizards of Silicon Valley spend billions trying to live forever, Wahlberg is giving regular people both the opportunity and a place to live better right now.

​Lifestyle, Mark wahlberg, Silicon valley, Health, Lifting weights 

Do you ever notice … how people who insist words are violence can get awfully violent with their words?

And those self-righteous ones so eager to scream and shout about diversity? Some of them have a terrible time sitting next to it.

The WNBA cannot keep presenting itself as a model of inclusion while women who disagree with its prevailing politics are treated as intruders.

Not diversity of shirts. They’re fine with shirts.

Until you wear the wrong one.

Why is it that George Carlin’s NIMBY comes right to mind?

Shirt shrift

At Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, Jen Sey and three friends wore XX-XY Athletics shirts.

Sey, a former national gymnastics champion who founded the company, believes women’s sports should be reserved for females.

Up front. So do I.

Now, I’ve sat near people wearing things I didn’t like. Most of them said, Michigan Wolverines.

We don’t say the “M-word” in our house.

But somehow, we made it through the afternoon. Even had a beer and some laughs.

But apparently, four women wearing XX-XY shirts presented a situation that could not be resolved by watching a basketball game.

Jen and her friends wore their shirts where other people could see them. On their body.

At a public event in a sports coliseum.

How dare they?

The audacity.

Apparently, they should have worn their shirts inside their purses.

As security escorted Sey’s group up the stairs, video captured the insults and obscene gestures from many tolerant fans.

Screamed at.

“You’re disgusting!”

Several flipped them off.

Fashion fascists

Sey says some spectators told her to kill herself and said they hoped she would die. Real class.

In San Francisco.

The city of love and peace.

Security questioned the group about complaints that they were provoking other fans. How you might ask?

By wearing the shirts.

OutKick reported that the guard affirmed the shirts did not violate the Fan Code of Conduct. Duh.

They were allowed back to their seats.

According to Sey, they also received a security escort out after the game for their protection.

Of course, the league and the Valkyries both declined to comment when USA Today reached out.

I remember when the difficult part of leaving a basketball game was finding your car.

Ah, the good old days.

Quite an evening celebrating women. At a women’s basketball game.

Buy a ticket. Wear a shirt.

Receive a complimentary demonstration of why more women are afraid to speak up.

Flag fouling

Before that same game, Commissioner Cathy Engelbert condemned people using social media to “spew vitriol and hate and racism and misogyny at our players.”

She also discussed investments in player security.

Good.

Protect players.

But while you’re making your goodwill rounds, commissioner, there are a few women in the stands who could use some of that concern.

You won’t need to search their social media accounts.

Just follow the screaming to the section where women are being verbally assaulted over their clothing choice.

Meanwhile, both the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries left the floor before the national anthem and returned after it ended.

By the way, both teams walked off again before Game 2 and before Game 3. So let me try to understand this.

Players can make a disgraceful public statement through their absence.

But paying customers make a statement with a shirt and suddenly we need to discuss whether they’re antagonizing people.

Fine print

The league hadn’t answered questions about the teams walking out three games in a row. This column posts Saturday, just before Game 4. Will they continue their streak?

The league’s rulebook clearly directs players, coaches, and trainers how to conduct themselves during the national anthem.

But apparently, screw the rules.

Perhaps the commissioner is still looking for the page. Here, let me help you.

It can be found on page 75 under the “Comments on Rules” section, specifically under Section H (“Player/Team Conduct and Dress”), subsection 2.

“Players, coaches, and trainers are to stand and line up in a dignified posture along the sidelines or on the foul line during the playing of the national anthem.”

Those are fairly specific locations.

I’ve looked at a basketball court. Neither one is in the locker room.

Which raises the question.

Why is the WNBA so hostile to America and patriotism? The teams can leave during the anthem.

The commissioner can leave the questions unanswered.

But four women in the wrong shirts require immediate attention. And by the way, this wasn’t the first shirt emergency.

Storm warning

Earlier this season, Seattle Storm minority owner Celeste Keaton berated two teenage fans supporting Sophie Cunningham.

The league fined her and suspended her from five home games. But consider how far things have gone off the rails.

An owner of a women’s professional sports team confronting teenage girls for supporting a female player.

There’s a youth outreach program that could use some work.

In Atlanta, a mother and daughter at an Atlanta game were told to cover their XX-XY shirts or leave.

Notice a pattern here?

The WNBA later acknowledged that the demand should not have happened. How many times do they have to keep saying that?

You’d think that would be a fairly easy instruction to pass along to employees. “Don’t do that again.”

Four words. Fits on a Post-it.

You could put it right next to the employee schedule.

Mixed message

Meanwhile, Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve wore a shirt supporting trans kids while coaching against Indiana.

Her supporters celebrate that as advocacy. Sey’s shirt gets treated as provocation. Same method of expression.

Different politics.

Very different reception.

Apparently, the problem isn’t putting a message on cotton. It’s failing to get the message approved.

Then there’s Cunningham herself, booed and subjected to protests after speaking up for female sports.

She also took a brutal foul from DiJonai Carrington that resulted in Carrington’s ejection. While that doesn’t establish a political motive for the foul, it does belong in any honest discussion of player safety.

Where is all that celebrated room for strong, outspoken women when the outspoken woman is Sophie?

The WNBA cannot keep presenting itself as a model of inclusion while women who disagree with its prevailing politics are treated as intruders.

That is hypocrisy.

And a pregame statement condemning hate doesn’t fix it when paying customers encounter hate inside the building.

RELATED: WNBA sends shocking letter to Congress about men playing in the league — but leaves out one huge detail

Michael Reaves/Getty Images

Stuck in the middle

Instead, here we are again, at the Finals, discussing whether women supporting female sports have dressed appropriately to attend female sports.

Players, coaches, owners, and fans are entitled to political opinions. So is the woman sitting beside them.

Even if hers comes in a different font.

That’s what people do with shirts.

We’ve been putting opinions on cotton for decades.

Half the people at the airport seem to be delivering a statement from their stomach. Most of us manage to read it without summoning security.

But in the stands trying to watch an WNBA game, it’s agitating.

If your response to a shirt is to scream obscenities at the woman wearing it, I’m less interested in what’s printed on her chest than what’s coming out of your mouth.

To borrow from Stealers Wheel … clowns to the left of me.

Jokers to the right. And here we are … stuck in the middle.

With the baffling WNBA and women wondering why a league built around their sex has such trouble tolerating their opinions.

​Wnba, Lifestyle, Sports, Transgender, Lgbtq, Wnba finals, Jennifer sey, Xx-xy athletics, Gender ideology 

If the economy is as bad as everyone says, why are Americans preparing to spend nearly $1 billion on Halloween costumes for their dogs?

That’s the question BlazeTV hosts Stu Burguiere and Dave Landau are asking as headlines warn of financial strain while consumers continue to spend on nonessential purchases.

“I’m a bit confused about the economy overall,” Stu says.

“Because, you know, when you have an economy, you have millions and millions of people participating in it. Some people are going to be doing very well,” he continues.

“Some people are going to be doing very poorly. That is the situation with every economy,” he adds.

And the attitude surrounding the economy “is very negative.”

“People are very upset about the economy, stuff costs too much. Now, I would argue when you look back at the data that almost all of this rise occurred during the Biden administration, like that’s when all the prices went up,” Stu says.

“At the same time, we’ve got stock market near all-time highs. We’ve got companies going through the roof. Obviously, AI being the main function there,” he continues.

“And we have weird measures of the economy,” he adds, before saying: “Dog parents.”

“Dog parents are going to spend nearly a billion dollars on Halloween costumes this year for their dogs. Now, I got to be honest with you, like there’s definitely pictures of my dogs in Halloween costumes,” Stu explains.

“I don’t care what anybody says,” he continues. “This isn’t the Fauci show where we kill the beagles. We dress them up.”

“Yes, it’s adorable,” Dave says.

Want more from Stu and Dave?

To enjoy more of Stu and Dave’s lethal blend of wit, humor, and insightful commentary subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Dave landau, Dogs, Economy, Halloween costumes, Stu burguiere, Blazetv show 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s thoughtful and inspiring speech delivered at the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, deserves to be remembered for a long time to come, especially in an age increasingly dominated by ideological slogans and short attention spans.

The speech combines impressive erudition and soaring rhetoric with an astute, if inevitably controversial, analysis of the contemporary international scene. More fundamentally, it seeks to come to terms with the foundational virtues and principles that have defined Western civilization since its origins in Greek antiquity.

His critics were not wrong to note what he largely presupposed — that spiritedness must be guided by practical reason.

The Athens speech only indirectly addresses the biblical pole that has also informed and shaped the Western heart, mind, and soul. Given the immediate purposes of Rubio’s speech, it is somewhat understandable that his remarks seemingly set aside the invigorating tensions — but not irreconcilable differences — between Athens and Jerusalem, and between magnanimity and humility, that have given life and purpose to the Western adventure.

But a careful reading of his October 7 address suggests that Rubio is fully aware that one foundational pole cannot thrive today without the other.

In any case, as William Galston wrote in the Wall Street Journal, Rubio’s was a serious speech that deserves a serious response, though Galston overshot in reducing it to unabashed “pagan nationalism.” He spends most of his time giving the secretary of state Thucydidean lessons in the folly of hubris.

Galston cites the disastrous Syracusan Expedition, in which 7,000 Athenian prisoners met their horrible fate in the underground pits of Sicily, and the arrogance displayed by the Athenian ambassadors during the Melian Dialogue as examples of the dangers inherent in the pagan nationalism Rubio supposedly extols.

There is indeed much of value to be discerned in contemplating those timeless Thucydidean lessons. But Galston, like a commentator in Spectator World, mistakes Rubio for the unscrupulous Alcibiades, whose flexibility of soul seemingly knew no limits. One needs to avoid polemics and take Rubio on his own terms.

As Paul Seaton points out in a particularly fine commentary on the speech in the Catholic World Report, Rubio’s remarks, however thoughtful, inspiring, and controversial, serve practical political purposes while also offering a serious analysis of the role of classical Greece in shaping Western civilization.

Speaking in Athens, Rubio understandably accentuated the Greek character of Western civilization. This one-sidedness is appropriate for the exercise of political rhetoric, though perhaps not in a more disinterested historical, political, and philosophical work of scholarly analysis. Still, political rhetoric must also be judged by its plausibility and verisimilitude.

RELATED: Marco Rubio’s spicy Greece speech left out the most crucial ingredient

Mark Schiefelbein/POOL/AFP/Getty Images

We must then be attentive to what Seaton calls the “concentric circle of audiences” that Rubio presumably had in mind. These include contemporary Greeks, whose country is now governed by a conservative government with close ties to the United States. Rubio emphasizes, perhaps inordinately, the Greek origins of democracy without noting the serious reservations the authors of “The Federalist Papers” had about Greek democracies, which too often oscillated between anarchy and despotism.

On the other hand, Rubio is surely right that Plutarch’s “Lives of Noble Greeks and Romans” helped inspire the founders’ admiration for lives lived at the service of liberty and human excellence.

Rubio’s audience also includes Europeans more broadly, particularly Western Europeans who seem to have lost what the French political philosopher Pierre Manent has called “the instinct for political existence.” Perhaps this accounts for Rubio’s rather unilateral defense of power politics, since contemporary Europeans tend to think there can be right without might, liberty without national self-respect, and even self-assertion.

Rubio is right in these circumstances to remind Europeans of the indispensable role of thumos in the life of the soul and the life of a polity worth its salt. He also ably defends the moral legitimacy of the self-governing nation-state and forcefully warns against undue and utterly debilitating Western guilt and self-hatred. He takes pointed and well-deserved aim at “outsourcing more of our sovereignty” to “global bureaucracies far beyond the reach of our control.”

Our imaginations need to be stirred by Homeric heroes, but in our civilization shaped by Socrates and Jesus, we cannot simply imitate them.

So far, so good. But in articulating the excellences of Greek civilization and its contribution to civilization simply, Rubio goes somewhat astray. His account of Greek life rightly emphasizes its agonistic character, its “fierce individuality and relentless ambition,” its “daring exploration and invention,” its “yearning for discovery, for adventure, risk and glory.” These are genuine goods, but only up to a point.

When confronted by what Tocqueville called “democratic despotism,” in which weak and ineffectual human beings lose any sense of moral agency and active civic life, these Greek virtues seem like inestimable goods.

But an “impatience with the notion of impossibility, chafing at all boundaries and limits” cannot be the final word either. Political wisdom weaves together restraint and possibility, ambition and limits, moral and civic agency with a warning against self-defeating hubris.

The “common anthropology” of the West, rightly lauded on this occasion by Rubio, indeed invokes “the idea of a natural order,” “a distinctive understanding of virtue,” the nonsubjective character of “truth, goodness, and beauty,” and “the whole tradition of natural law” to which human beings must wisely defer. The best of the Greek and Roman philosophers — Plato, Aristotle, Cicero — and a Christian thinker of the rank of St. Augustine taught us how to get this balance right.

Moderation and magnanimity, greatness and an appreciation of limits, must ultimately go hand in hand.

RELATED: This is what existential politics looks like

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In our listless and dispirited age, the secretary of state was not wrong to evoke the indispensability of thumos — “the fire of passion, strength, courage, pride,” which Rubio calls “the heart of civilization.” But his critics were not wrong to note what he largely presupposed — that spiritedness must be guided by practical reason of the kind lauded by Aristotle in Book 6 of his “Ethics.”

Our imaginations need to be stirred by Homeric heroes, but in our civilization shaped by Socrates and Jesus, we cannot simply imitate them.

In “On Duties,” Cicero insists that there can be no worthy human life or political community without a spirited defense of the precious goods at the heart of civilization itself. But in the end, the great Roman orator, statesman, and political philosopher insists that “arms” must “yield to the toga.”

What Cicero called a “spirit lofty and magnificent” values physical courage, but “domestic courage” above all. “Strength of body” must be guided by “strength of mind,” spiritedness by what Aristotle and Cicero called “right reason,” which has a place for the spirited defense of liberty and the full range of the human virtues.

Aristotle, too, amply recognizes a place for spiritedness guided and informed by practical reason. In Book 7 of his “Politics,” he presents the political liberty of the Greek cities as a judicious mean between northern peoples like the Celts, “filled with spiritedness” but “relatively lacking in thought and art,” and Asian peoples of his time who had souls “endowed with thought and art” but were “lacking in spiritedness.”

Aristotle could not be clearer: One needs to be both “spirited and endowed with thought” to be free and to govern oneself “in the best manner.” On a future occasion, this fuller account of the role of spiritedness — and its limits — might be explored by the secretary of state.

RELATED: Keeping the West’s flame burning

Gary Hershorn/Getty Images

In the eloquent and penetrating defense of heroism and duty with which Rubio’s speech culminates, he firmly differentiates the nobility of those who are “willing to die for their cause” from those who “worship death.” The heroism lauded by an older West is, he rightly insists, “wholly different from what we see, even now, for example from fanatics like the radical Mullahs of Iran, whose cult of death hails child suicide bombers as national heroes, and portrays martyrdom as an end in itself.”

There is no heroism without decency, without respect for what Rubio elsewhere calls the “natural law.” He thus points, however indirectly, to the ultimate need to bring Greek and Judeo-Christian wisdom together to do justice to the noble inheritance passed on to us by Athens and Jerusalem (and Rome).

Rubio’s reference in his talk to the “unapologetic pursuit of national power” by the United States, however, risks confusing power as an indispensable means with power as an end in itself, the fatal flaw of machtpolitik or overwrought realism.

In Athens, Secretary of State Marco Rubio returned in a most serious and suggestive way to foundational questions about the meaning of Western civilization that thoughtful citizens and statesmen avoid at their peril. There was no more fitting place to do so than in Athens, with everything it represents. Let us take up his challenge and continue the civic dialogue that can only enrich a free — and spirited — people.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in the American Mind.

​Marco rubio, Athens, Western civilization, Aristotle, Plutarch, Socrates, Judeo-christian, Jesus, Europe, Greeks, Rome, Homer, Tocqueville, Opinion & analysis 

A 44-year-old female motorist opened a porn site on her phone just minutes before causing a deadly freeway crash in Utah, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing authorities.

Christine Chao of Rosemead in Los Angeles County was driving a blue Toyota Matrix on Interstate 15 south of Salt Lake City around 2 p.m. June 12 when she opened a website “commonly used to view pornographic videos,” police discovered after searching her phone, the paper said, citing the charging document filed in Juab County (Utah) Justice Court.

‘We will miss this dear, sweet, kind, friendly man. Everyone was a friend to him.’

Chao, 44, was charged Tuesday with automobile homicide, a second-degree felony, KSL-TV reported.

Traffic was slowed down because of construction, and Chao hit a Mazda 3, which then hit a Buick Enclave in front of it, the Times said, citing prosecutors allegations.

A passenger in the car Chao hit was in critical condition when officers arrived and later died, the paper said, citing court records.

Police found no brake marks that would have indicated Chao tried to stop before crashing, and she admitted to officers that she caused the accident, the Times added, citing the records.

Police got a warrant to search her phone and found that she had opened a pornographic website less than two minutes before the crash, the paper said.

“An examination of the phone pursuant to the warrant showed that [Chao] had accessed the website xvideos.com less than two minutes before the crash occurred,” KSL reported, citing charging documents. “This website is commonly used to view pornographic videos.”

Chao was not arrested at the scene, Utah Highway Patrol spokesperson Zachary Randall said in an email, the Times noted.

Her next court date is scheduled for Nov. 17, prosecutors told the paper.

The victim was Scott LaVar Lichfield, 66, the Times said, citing Randall. Litchfield lived in Fillmore, Utah, with his wife and “loved and adored” playing Santa Claus, the paper added, citing his obituary.

“We will miss this dear, sweet, kind, friendly man,” the obituary read. “Everyone was a friend to him.”

RELATED: Pornhub flees Texas after SCOTUS ruling, citing free speech and costs — but it’s hiding the malevolent truth

What’s more, Litchfield’s obituary said he and his wife celebrated their 39th wedding anniversary the day before he died; he is survived by five children.

“The very best thing he loved was just being with his children and grandchildren. He would see a grandchild and say to them, ‘Come give me a hug.’ He loved them so very much. He read to them, watched movies with them, played chess, and built legos. They all loved their Papa/Pop Pop,” the obituary stated.

“He loved and adored playing Santa Claus. He even looked like him. He had so many little kids over the years come up to him wherever we were at and smile shyly or ask him if he was Santa. One time a little boy came up to him at a hotel and said to him, ‘Santa, are you on vacation?’ Oh, he loved that,” his obituary added. “He even had a red winter jacket to keep the magic alive all winter.”

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​Deadly car crash, Utah, California, Freeway, Porn site, Automobile homicide, Phone, Crime 

It should be utterly embarrassing that the United States, a global leader in cutting-edge technology, still has election practices that are no better than those in many third-world nations. Election officials in Los Angeles recently admitted in federal court that they possess no independent means of verifying whether the people on their voter rolls are U.S. citizens. They simply take the voter’s word for it.

The Justice Department this week charged 28 noncitizens in the Golden State with election crimes, including voting. Eleven of the defendants were arrested.

The evidence that noncitizens appear on rolls and sometimes vote is no longer theoretical.

Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter’s response was direct: “This Department of Justice will not look the other way while noncitizens vote in federal elections. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for California and L.A. County.”

Governor Gavin Newsom’s office replied that California follows the National Voter Registration Act’s 1990s self-attestation rules. That is precisely the problem. The law that currently governs federal registration treats citizenship as a matter of personal declaration rather than documentary fact. In a state with millions of noncitizens, that is an invitation for error at best and fraud at worst.

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act was written to close the gap by requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register and photo identification to vote. Currently stalled in the Senate, the SAVE Act is not radical. It is the minimum standard most other developed democracies already enforce. Its failure to become law is not the result of technical mystery. It is the result of political choice.

The evidence that noncitizens appear on rolls and sometimes vote is no longer theoretical.

A reported software glitch in New Jersey added roughly 6,600 self-declared noncitizens to the rolls. The state’s later review found that about 340 cast ballots. Iowa’s secretary of state identified 277 noncitizens registered; 35 of them cast ballots counted in the 2024 election. Ohio found 137 people who had twice confirmed noncitizenship to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and were on the rolls anyway. A grand jury indicted several for illegal voting across multiple cycles.

RELATED: Kamala’s voter-roll freakout hits blue states hard

Mario Tama/Getty Images

Federal prosecutors continue to bring cases — 16 aliens charged in North Carolina, New York, and Idaho for illegal voting and false claims of citizenship, among others. These are not internet rumors. They are findings by secretaries of state and federal charging documents.

Critics respond that the numbers are small relative to total ballots and have never swung a statewide or national election. That is true in most races and irrelevant to the principle. Every illegal vote cancels a legal one. In close local contests — school boards, city councils, state legislative seats — a few dozen votes can decide outcomes.

When California is handed a list of 20,000 suspected cases and declines to sequester the ballots or conduct a prompt, transparent review, it is not protecting election integrity. It is prioritizing the administrative convenience of self-attestation over the statutory requirement that only citizens vote in federal elections.

Officials who minimize the issue are part of the problem. Newsom’s office described the 28 California charges as “0.0001% of California voters” and argued that raising the issue near an election “sows distrust.” Meanwhile, Los Angeles County attorneys have called the federal list “unreliable” and said there is “no basis” for the claim of widespread problems.

Election administrators in other states also try to muddy the waters, saying that noncitizen voting is “vanishingly rare,” “infinitesimal,” or so uncommon that aggressive verification is unnecessary. These statements treat any documented instance as a rounding error rather than a violation of law.

RELATED: Republicans cannot serve two masters on immigration

Kent NISHIMURA/AFP via Getty Images

The remedy is straightforward and has been long available. Documentary proof of citizenship at registration closes the self-attestation loophole. Photo identification at the polls confirms that the person casting the ballot matches the registrant. Systematic comparison of voter rolls against federal immigration databases, followed by prompt removal of confirmed noncitizens, keeps the lists clean.

States that have implemented elements of this approach — Wyoming, Kansas, and others — have not collapsed into chaos. The extra administrative work is well worth the price of a system in which citizenship is a prerequisite rather than a suggestion.

Immigration enforcement does not stop at the border. It includes the recognition that the right to vote is reserved for citizens. When officials treat noncitizen registration and voting as an acceptable residual cost of motor-voter convenience, they are making a policy choice that dilutes the franchise of the people who live under the laws those votes enact.

Election integrity is not a mystery. It requires the political courage to require proof, to clean the rolls, and to pass the SAVE Act. The alternative is continued reliance on trust alone in a system that California’s own federal prosecutor has shown cannot verify the most basic eligibility requirement. Citizens are entitled to better.

​California, Election integrity, Immigration enforcement, Justice department, Noncitizens, Us citizens, Illegal voting, Los angeles, Trent mccotter, Save act, New jersey, Voting machines, Opinion & analysis 

A 47-year-old woman was arrested on murder and attempted murder charges after she intentionally caused a car accident, police say.

On Tuesday, the Pike County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on Facebook that officers responded to a vehicle collision on U.S. route 54 near Atlas Hill in Illinois on July 24.

‘Her plan was to kill all three of them. … Her plan was to kill herself, and she was afraid of dying alone.’

Three occupants of a passenger vehicle crashed head-on into a semitruck pulling a trailer.

The occupants of the Toyota RAV4 were transported to different hospitals, where one passenger died from her injuries.

After an investigation, police determined that the driver, Jamie Rhode of Griggsville, had purposely steered into the semitruck in an attempt to kill the two passengers and herself.

The passenger who died was identified as 73-year-old Cherie K. Wells of Pittsfield, who was Rhode’s mother.

The other passenger was identified as Rhode’s teenage son, who was injured but survived.

Pike County Sheriff David Greenwood told People magazine that Rhode had just picked up her mother from a nursing home before she drove into the truck.

“Her plan was to kill all three of them,” Greenwood said. “Her plan was to kill herself, and she was afraid of dying alone.”

RELATED: Video shows police PULLING 39 illegal aliens from trailer that caught FIRE while fleeing from police

The driver of the semitruck was not injured.

Rhode was booked into the Pike County Jail on Tuesday.

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​Car accident, Illinois, Intentional crash, Crime 

Nearly five years ago, Congress ordered the federal government to develop technology that could prevent you from operating your vehicle if the car determines that you are impaired.

But the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — the agency responsible for deciding how that technology must work — has yet to issue regulations. It hasn’t even formally proposed them.

As NHTSA itself noted, stopping a vehicle in a traffic lane could create ‘significant unintended consequences.’

And now the NHTSA has acknowledged the problem that should concern every driver: The technology isn’t reliable enough.

In a February report to Congress, NHTSA said current impaired-driving detection systems have yet to demonstrate the precision, speed, and reliability necessary for a federal mandate. The agency said current detection technology around the legal alcohol limit has an “unacceptably high” error rate.

How high are the stakes?

NHTSA estimates Americans take roughly 227 billion driving trips annually. According to the agency, even technology that achieved 99.9% detection accuracy could still produce millions to tens of millions of instances each year in which a system either incorrectly prevents or limits a sober driver from operating a vehicle — or fails to stop an impaired driver.

That is the part of the so-called “kill switch” debate that deserves much more attention.

Road kill

In 2021, Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed by President Joe Biden on November 15 of that year. Section 24220 directed the Department of Transportation, through NHTSA, to establish a federal motor-vehicle safety standard requiring advanced drunk- and impaired-driving prevention technology in new passenger vehicles.

The stated goal is obvious and worthwhile: preventing deaths and injuries caused by impaired driving. Nobody is arguing that drunk driving is acceptable, and nobody wants innocent people hurt by someone who should not be behind the wheel.

The question is what happens when the government requires a machine to decide whether you should be allowed to drive.

Section 24220 contemplates technology that can passively monitor driver performance and identify possible impairment, detect a driver’s blood alcohol concentration at or above the legal limit, or combine the two approaches.

Then comes the important part. The technology must be capable of preventing or limiting vehicle operation when impairment is detected.

That is considerably more consequential than another warning light on the dashboard.

Moving violation

Critics call Section 24220 the “kill-switch law.” The term is provocative, so let’s be precise about what the law does and doesn’t say.

It does not create a universal remote-control button that allows the police or federal government to shut down every American’s car. It does not prescribe one camera, one algorithm, or one specific technology. And it does not require a vehicle suddenly to switch itself off while traveling down the interstate.

The final federal standard — if and when NHTSA can devise one — will determine how the requirement actually works.

But the law explicitly calls for technology capable of preventing or limiting vehicle operation, and NHTSA is already studying what should happen once impairment has supposedly been detected.

The agency acknowledges that preventing a vehicle from moving before a trip begins is one thing. Intervening after the vehicle is moving is considerably more dangerous. As NHTSA itself noted, stopping a vehicle in a traffic lane could create “significant unintended consequences.”

You think?

Wrong turn

This is where the debate stops being theoretical. Suppose the system determines that you are impaired when you’re sober. Can you override it? How quickly?

What happens when you’re trying to get to work? Pick up your child? Reach a medical appointment? Respond to an emergency?

NHTSA says it is trying to minimize false positives that could restrict sober drivers. But its latest report also acknowledges that it currently knows of no technology that comes close to the necessary accuracy while minimizing both false positives and false negatives.

Most of the technologies it reviewed remain in early stages of research and development or were not designed for use inside production vehicles.

Passive breath and touch sensors are still being developed. Camera-based driver-monitoring systems may use eye movements, facial characteristics, or vehicle behavior to infer impairment. NHTSA is still working on something even more fundamental: how to create objective tests proving that these technologies work reliably enough to become a federal safety standard.

In plain English, Congress ordered the mandate before regulators had a proven technology capable of fulfilling it.

U-turn?

Congress originally directed NHTSA to issue the final standard by November 15, 2024.

That didn’t happen.

The law allows the Department of Transportation additional time if the secretary determines that a standard meeting of federal motor-vehicle safety requirements cannot yet be issued. NHTSA has continued its research and reporting to Congress instead.

As of 2026, the government’s regulatory agenda still lists advanced impaired-driving technology at the pre-rule stage. NHTSA is analyzing the comments it received after its 2024 Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

There is therefore no date on which every new car suddenly acquires this technology. There isn’t yet a final standard to comply with.

Once a final rule eventually is issued, the law generally calls for the requirement to take effect two to three years later.

That gives regulators time. They should use it.

RELATED: Welcome to the new traffic stop, where it’s your word against AI’s

NurPhoto/Getty Images

No blank check

Drunk driving kills people. Technology that reliably prevents an intoxicated driver from taking a car onto the road could save lives.

But a congressional mandate doesn’t make immature technology reliable.

NHTSA’s own research now confirms the central problem. A system empowered to restrict vehicle operation must operate with extraordinary accuracy because even a tiny error rate multiplied across hundreds of billions of trips can create an enormous number of mistakes.

Before Washington requires this technology in every new passenger vehicle, drivers deserve answers.

What exactly will trigger an intervention? What will the vehicle do? What happens if the system detects supposed impairment after you’re already moving? Can a sober driver override a false reading? How will manufacturers prove their systems work? Who is responsible when they don’t?

Nobody wants a drunk driver on the road. Nobody wants to end up in “kill-switch jail” because the computer got it wrong either.

​Kill switch, Congress, Nhsta, Lifestyle, Law, Privacy, Drunk drivers, Tech, Technology, Automotive 

Muslims may be allowed to practice their religion in the United States, but Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck says that it can never go farther than that.

“[A] young accounting student in Iran has just been sentenced to death,” Glenn begins, explaining that she was put in solitary confinement for three months after being found protesting.

“Rights groups say they beat her during the arrest. Then they put her into solitary confinement for about three months, pressed her for a confession, and denied her the lawyer of her choosing,” he explains.

She was sentenced to 12 and a half years by the revolutionary court “for acting against national security.”

“Did she kill pregnant people? No. Was she acting violent? No. She was taking to the streets and protesting, and they’re going to execute her,” Glenn says.

And what was her crime?

“She insulted the prophet,” Glenn says, pointing out that the United States is also executing someone — though for a much different reason.

“We’re going to execute somebody who injured 32 and killed 13, including a pregnant woman, in the name of his prophet. So she didn’t murder. There’s no theft, no violence. Words,” he says.

“And by the way, this is not a rogue judge. Iran’s penal code says it plainly. Anyone who insults the prophet of Islam shall be sentenced to death,” he continues.

“The court didn’t break the law. The court is following the law. This is what Sharia law looks like when it holds the gavel,” he adds.

Which is why, Glenn says, Sharia can never hold court in America.

“The moment a religious rule is enforced by the state or by a mob that thinks it’s doing the state’s work, it stops being your faith and starts being my master,” he says. “That’s why Sharia law cannot exist in the Western world.”

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​Iran, Muslims, Sharia law, Execution, Glenn beck, Blazetv show 

Former ESPN reporter Britt McHenry was reportedly forced to resign from the State Department after a bizarre confrontation caught on video at an NBA game.

Videos obtained by TMZ show McHenry at the Washington Wizards game on Wednesday tossing a drink at a fan and then blowing a kiss at the fan twice as she leaves the section.

‘It was an unfortunate situation, and that’s why drinks were thrown.’

A source familiar with the matter told Page Six that McHenry was asked to resign as press adviser for the U.S. State Department on Thursday and that she had just been promoted to another position earlier that day.

“She was promoted and fired within 24 hours,” the source said to Page Six.

A spokesperson for the State Department told Page Six the department would not comment on internal personnel matters.

YouTuber Andrew Fenichel posted a video saying that he was with McHenry at the game and claimed that the other fan had been making misogynistic and inappropriate jokes about the players.

“It was an unfortunate situation, and that’s why drinks were thrown,” he said.

He said that McHenry ended up leaving and that he watched the rest of the game from another section.

Fenichel also felt the need to explain that he is “not MAGA” despite his friendship with McHenry.

Other witnesses told Page Six the rowdy fan tossed a drink at McHenry first and that fans then booed and chanted, “Get her out!”

RELATED: Fox Nation’s Britt McHenry reveals that she has a brain tumor

McHenry claimed in 2017 that she was fired from ESPN over her conservative views and later sued Fox News over alleged repeated sexual harassment from a co-host. They settled the case, and she left Fox Nation.

The Wizards won the home opening game 128 to 116.

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​Trump administration, State department, Sports, Video, Politics 

Illegal aliens do not have due process rights that entitle them to bond hearings during deportation proceedings, according to a pivotal ruling from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Trump administration has been fast-tracking removal proceedings in order to fulfill the president’s promise of mass deportations.

‘Big win in the Fifth Circuit on mandatory detention for illegal aliens, a principle codified in 1996 legislation but ignored by the deep state for decades.’

That effort got a significant boost from a split ruling Friday that found illegal immigrants are not due their Fifth Amendment rights because they have not been admitted into the United States.

The lawsuit arose out of the detentions of three illegal aliens in Texas who were refused a bond hearing. None had criminal histories, according to the American Immigration Council.

Judge Cory Wilson wrote the majority opinion in the 10 to 7 ruling.

“Because Petitioners have never been admitted to the United States, due process does not entitle them to additional proceedings beyond what Congress has provided before they may be detained pending removal,” Wilson wrote.

“Big win in the Fifth Circuit on mandatory detention for illegal aliens, a principle codified in 1996 legislation but ignored by the deep state for decades,” responded James Percival, the general counsel for the Department of Homeland Security.

Politico called it the “most consequential ruling yet” in support of the president’s deportations plan.

The American Immigration Council called the decision an “affront” to the Constitution.

RELATED: Federal court SLAPS down New York and hands victory to Trump and ICE

“The principle at stake here is simple: If the government wants to detain someone, it has to explain why depriving them of their liberty is necessary,” said AIC litigation attorney Rebecca Cassler.

“And anyone who is detained has the right to ask a judge for review of that detention. Instead, this ruling allows the government to lock people up when detention plainly serves no purpose, and without any way to challenge it,” she added.

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​Mass deportations, Immigration, Politics, Illegal immigrants 

Humanitarian aid will be arriving for the residents of a Ukrainian city thanks to the efforts of first lady Melania Trump.

The first lady said in a press release Friday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to cease military action in the city of Oleshky and allow a civilian evacuation.

‘What she wants to do is save children, and that’s her focus. … She wants to see babies come back to their families.’

“The situation in Oleshky is dire. Oleshky is a front-line war city on the brink of disaster. Oleshky’s remaining population is comprised primarily of elderly residents who urgently need medical attention, medicine, food, and clean water,” she said in the press release.

“The people of Oleshky have limited electricity, live amid mined roads, and endure regular military attacks,” she added. “It was abundantly clear that without my intervention, the possibility to bring humanitarian aid into the city and to evacuate the elderly would be impossible.”

The limited ceasefire will begin Thursday.

President Donald Trump responded to the agreement during a question-and-answer period with reporters in Washington, D.C.

“What she wants to do is save children, and that’s her focus,” he said. “Both sides are cooperating with her, so she’s doing a very good job.”

“She wants to see babies come back to their families. And that’s between Russia and Ukraine,” he added.

The first lady also said in her press release that the evacuation would allow people to leave for Russia as well as other parts of Ukraine.

“I have also secured an impartial American media organization to accompany and document Russian and Ukrainian teams on the ground throughout the process,” she added. “This will play a significant role in ensuring that the wishes of each family are faithfully respected.”

RELATED: The cartels are learning drone warfare from Ukraine

The war has been ravaging Ukraine since Russia invaded in Feb. 2022.

Oleshky was captured by Russia on its first day of the invasion and has been occupied since then. At one time it had about 24,000 residents.

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​Melania trump, Ukraine war, Russia, Politics 

From WNBA players leaving the court before the national anthem to LeBron James stretching through it — BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock sees a troubling pattern in professional basketball.

“This has been a bit of a tradition in the WNBA — teams not being on the court for the national anthem,” Whitlock explains, noting that while they have a list of excuses as to why they skip it, he believes it doesn’t actually have anything to do with them.

“The predominant number of WNBA players and teams do not want to be on the court during the national anthem. That’s been going on since Colin Kaepernick, since it became a fad and a trend. I think it’s a mistake,” he says.

And LeBron James has been doing it as well.

“LeBron James has a little tradition of his own that is getting more attention at the beginning of this NBA season because Game 1, night one in Madison Square Garden, his new team, the Philadelphia 76ers, are playing at Madison Square Garden against the defending champions,” Whitlock explains.

“During the national anthem,” LeBron has been “doing some sort of stretching routine, some sort of golf-swing routine, some sort of free-throw or jump-shot routine during the national anthem.”

While Whitlock notes that as an older man, LeBron likely does need more warm-up time, he also believes “there’s something bigger going on.”

“What we’re seeing from LeBron James, what we’ve seen and have seen from the WNBA, is a lack of gratitude,” he says, explaining that this points to a lack of wisdom.

“As you get wise, you understand the routine of the national anthem. And you understand the mentality of gratitude. The Bible is a story that should hammer home to people like, man, we got a lot to be grateful for. No matter what country we’re living in, we have a lot to be grateful for,” Whitlock says.

And you don’t have to agree with everything the country has done in order to be grateful for what it has given you.

“We have a lot to be grateful for,” Whitlock says, “but when you live in a secular society, people aren’t filled with gratitude.”

Rather, he says, “they’re filled with complaint.”

“And even someone like LeBron James, who was born to a single mother, who — the mother was 16 years old — born in the ghetto, born into poverty, not knowing his father, was able to rise up to be a billionaire with a wife, with three kids, live in mansions scattered all across America, all across the globe,” he explains.

And Whitlock believes they’re sending out a “smoke signal” in order to let “black people that have a complaint with America” know they’re “on their side.”

“And so,” he says, “instead of expressing gratitude of any kind during those two minutes, they got to let off a complaint.”

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​Jason whitlock, Lebron james, Wnba, National anthem, Gratitude, Blazetv show 

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) has faced several long-running allegations involving her immigration history, citizenship, and marriage to her former husband — who is believed by many to be her brother.

BlazeTV host Liz Wheeler breaks down the allegations that the Trump administration may be pursuing, starting with allegation number one.

The first allegation is that Ilhan Omar’s father, Nur Omar Mohamed, “lied on his asylum application — that he came to the United States through a refugee program intended to give safe passage to the people of Somalia who were being targeted by the Siad Barre regime in Somalia.”

“It was a violent Marxist genocidal regime. Nur Omar Mohamed claimed he was fleeing that regime. What he failed to disclose allegedly on his asylum application is he was actually part of that regime. He was a member of that regime,” Wheeler explains.

“He was a colonel in the regime’s army, likely specializing in propaganda, and he just failed to mention that,” she continues.

“That, of course, would have disqualified him from being granted asylum here in the United States,” she adds.

“Allegation number two,” Wheeler explains, “is that Ilhan Omar falsified her birth date on an official document.”

“Now, if this is true, this would be something that she did. This would not be a crime by her father. And the crime would be false statements or fraud on immigration paperwork,” she says.

Allegation number three is that “if Ilhan Omar’s father was not naturalized, then Ilhan Omar could not have derived naturalization from him, which she herself — this is a point worth making — she herself has been the one who has claimed that that’s how she obtained citizenship, is she derived it from her father.”

“Now, if he was not naturalized at all, if she just made that claim, then she would be lying. The crime there would be illegal procurement of citizenship or fraud misrepresentation in the naturalization process,” Wheeler says.

And the strangest allegation is number four, which is “that Ilhan Omar married her brother to get him a green card.”

“I think the feds are looking into this, because what other reason would there be for them to officially obtain her DNA?”

“Why else would they obtain it officially if not to compare it to Ahmed Elmi, her second husband, who is alleged to be her brother?”

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​Ilhan omar, Brother, Allegations, Dna, Citizenship, Blazetv show 

The Justice Department is reviewing allegations that Corey Lewandowski, a former top adviser to then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, used his power for personal financial gain.

The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General referred its investigation of Lewandowski to the Justice Department after examining his role in the DHS’ $220 million advertising campaign. The probe later widened to allegations that Lewandowski shook down a company pursuing government contracts while he served as Noem’s top adviser.

‘If they’re not going to be honest, they have to be prosecuted.’

Lewandowski has not been charged with a crime related to this investigation and denies wrongdoing.

The allegations involve personal financial profit tied to contracts established during Noem’s tenure as DHS secretary, a source told CBS News. The OIG shared its findings with the Justice Department in recent weeks. Fox News described the referral as “criminal.”

Lewandowski served at the DHS as a special government employee and acted as Noem’s senior adviser and de facto chief of staff. He left the department in March after President Donald Trump removed Noem as secretary following questions about her lavish spending and Lewandowski’s role in choosing contractors.

Current DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin testified at his March confirmation hearing that the inspector general was reviewing the advertising contract.

RELATED: Slotkin’s lawfare warning will outlast Trump

Getty Images

The probe is also examining allegations that Lewandowski demanded money from GEO Group, a company pursuing unrelated government contracts, in exchange for lobbying for its interests in Washington.

A Lewandowski spokesperson denied that account in March.

“This is absolutely false and did not happen — Mr. Lewandowski never demanded any payment or compensation from the GEO Group, at any time,” the spokesperson said.

Noem publicly acknowledged that she personally approved the ad contracts and said Trump was aware of her involvement. Trump said otherwise after her removal.

“I wasn’t thrilled with it,” Trump told reporters at the time. “I spent less money than that to become president. I didn’t know about it.”

Under Noem, contracts, grants, and funding obligations above $100,000 required her personal written approval, according to CBS. Some officials said the policy created significant backlogs, especially within the Federal Emergency Management Agency and disaster relief funding generally.

Trump addressed the investigation Thursday.

“I heard something about it, but I don’t know exactly what it is,” Trump told reporters. “All I know is I want my people to be honest, and if they’re not going to be honest, they have to be prosecuted.”

“I will never do anything to stop the prosecution of someone who’s dishonest,” Trump said.

He went farther in remarks reported by Fox News.

“They are stealing from me,” Trump said. “So I want my people to be honest. And if they’re not honest, I’ll have my DOJ go and do whatever they have to do.”

Lewandowski’s attorney, Adam Trigg, responded in a statement posted to Lewandowski’s X account.

“Mr. Lewandowski has not been contacted by the Justice Department regarding any investigation, and he denies any wrongdoing when he was proudly serving his country in a voluntary capacity,” Trigg said.

Longtime Trump ally Roger Stone weighed in on X.

“I hired him. Probably the biggest mistake I ever made. He’s a talentless piece of human garbage.”

Lewandowski managed Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign until he was fired that June. He later advised Trump’s 2020 and 2024 campaigns.

No inspector general report has been made public.

The Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security, and Lewandowski’s lawyers did not respond to requests for comment.

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​Corey lewandowski, Justice department, Markwayne mullin, Politics, Department of homeland security, Kristi noem 

Political attack ads are nothing new, but Vivek Ramaswamy’s latest one in Ohio’s gubernatorial race takes things to a whole new level.

The ad features Amy Acton’s own mother urging voters not to elect her.

“My name is Donna Arthur, and I’m Amy Acton’s mother. I worked at Children and Family Service Association, building one of the first two sexual abuse programs in America. I love my daughter, but when I saw her lying about her opponent, it’s not easy for a mother to say this, but Amy has a serious problem,” Arthur began in the ad.

“She is a liar. She lies about her past. She says she grew up living in a tent. None of that is true. She’s lied her entire life. My daughter needs help, and she can’t help you if she needs help herself,” she claimed.

“People can change, but first they have to tell the truth,” she continued. “And my daughter still isn’t doing that. Don’t vote for people who lie. Don’t let her become your governor.”

“If you think she’ll make your life better, you’re fooling yourself. It will only get worse,” she added.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen an ad like that before. It’s brutal,” BlazeTV host Stu Burguiere says.

“It’s very powerful,” co-host Dave Landau agrees.

“And you even listen to her, even though she comes off like a woman who you’d have at Christmas that you would ignore,” he adds.

Stu points out that despite the “powerful” ad, there are “complications” to the backstory.

“Reporters are very upset about this. Like they immediately have taken sides in this inter-family dispute. You can say we shouldn’t air these inter-family disputes in the middle of a campaign. That’s a plausible opinion if you want,” Stu says.

“But what’s interesting about what the media has done,” he adds, “is they’ve just immediately embraced Amy Acton’s side of the story, right?”

Stu plays a clip of Ramaswamy addressing the ad, admitting that it is “an ad from our campaign.”

“And the thing that I want to say is that I would love for this race and this election to be about the substantive issues that impact Ohioans. And unfortunately, Amy Acton has been hiding from those issues. She won’t debate me,” he explained.

“She doesn’t allow cameras at her events. And I think her record of continuously, certainly during this campaign, I would say spreading some defamatory, disparaging lies about me and my family that does deserve to be scrutinized,” he continued.

“I’ve never met Amy Acton, which is a regret. I wish I’d met at least my opponent. I’ve also never met her mother. She was not compensated. I asked my team that question because we’ve got the question,” he added.

“Now look, there is a complicating circumstance,” Stu comments. “I did want to bring this up because I think it’s an important part of the story. The reason why there’s all this outrage is the split between Amy Acton and her mom is a terrible, terrible story.”

“Including claims of abuse. The claim was that Amy Acton was abused by her stepfather, and basically the mom sided with the stepfather,” he adds.

“Well, there’s three sides to every story, Stu,” Dave says.

“There’s one side, another side, and then there’s the truth,” he adds.

​Amy acton, Vivek ramaswamy, Attack ad, Ohio, Governor, Blazetv show 

Generative AI development moves faster than other tech categories, with new major models coming out several times a year. Google was starting to fall behind, with its last frontier model launching in February, but not any more. The brand-new Gemini 4 Argon is finally here, and this is how it stacks up against the competition.

Google has been falling behind the other frontier AI platforms after it missed its own deadline to launch Gemini 3.5 Pro, which was teased at Google I/O for release in June. Instead, it has been riding on 3.8 Flash, a newer but lighter-weight version of Gemini, to serve as its flagship model. While this is fine for most people who use Gemini for general queries, the Pro version is meant to measure the cutting-edge capabilities of the latest AI models — something Google simply didn’t have.

Critics see Argon as a return to the frontier, with Google finally competing against the other leading AI giants again.

Analysts even started to question whether Google Gemini was still a frontier model, since its capabilities were no longer on the leading edge of development. CEO Sundar Pichai disagreed in July, reportedly claiming that Google is still at “the frontier level of where the frontier will be when Gemini 4 comes out.”

And now Gemini 4 Argon is here.

Taking cues from OpenAI and Anthropic, Google made Gemini 4 Argon available only to a limited number of “trusted cyber defenders” when it was released at the end of September. However, nearly a month later, Argon is available to the public, specifically for Google AI Pro and Google AI Ultra subscribers.

Replacing Gemini 3.1 Pro from February 2026, Gemini 4 Argon is a high-end reasoning model built to handle complex tasks. On its website, Google lists several major real-world use cases for the new model. According to the company, ”teams at Google, across enterprises, and in the research community have already been using Argon to land significant impact across fields” including:

engineering, where Argon excels at solving complex problems and optimizing software code for better performance. Google used the new model to adjust the way Chrome handles live webpages when switching between tabs, panels, and floating windows, resulting in smoother performance with fewer crashes.business and enterprise, where Argon is especially useful in refining workflows for those in the legal, finance, and science industries. Based on user testimonials, Argon is great at reasoning with complex research data and maintaining context across long projects.cybersecurity, where Argon can discover and patch unknown bugs and vulnerabilities. According to Google, Argon identified and repaired gaps that exposed sensitive data in government and health care infrastructure.high-tech industries, where Argon can make it possible to achieve novel discoveries in quantum computing, nuclear fusion, and life sciences. For example, it is already being used to research rare diseases and advance quantum computing development.

RELATED: This team accidentally let AIs loose to attack companies — and won’t share how bad the problem is

Jorm Sangsorn/Getty Images

Gemini 4 Argon competes directly with OpenAI ChatGPT-6 Astra, Anthropic Claude Opus 5.5, and the new Meta Muse. In a head-to-head test, MindStudio claims that Argon:

placed slightly behind Muse at writing code.fell behind Claude and Muse in terminal command-line tasks.dropped behind the other newest models in general knowledge.lagged behind Claude and ChatGPT in generating 3D graphics.outperformed the rest when handling business, legal, and financial tasks.

For added perks, Argon offers industry-leading tokens for longer responses, and it is much more affordable than the competition until December, when prices for output will double.

Perhaps the thing that normies like us will care about most, though, is that Gemini 4 Argon boasts a much smaller 15% hallucination rate than other platforms on the AA-Omniscience test. This knowledge gauntlet asks AI models 6,000 questions from various academic and industry sources to uncover data gaps. For comparison, GPT-6 Astra had a 51% hallucination rate on the same test. That’s not to say that Argon won’t hallucinate at all, but it is nice to see companies making progress in this contested area.

Ultimately, critics see Argon as a return to the frontier, with Google finally competing against the other leading AI giants again, pulling ahead in some areas and falling behind in others. But at the very least, Google’s frontier AI status is no longer in question.

Gemini 4 Argon is available now for paying Google AI Pro and Google AI Ultra subscribers. It joins Google’s other Gemini models, including 3.5 Flash-Lite, 3.8 Flash, and 3.1 Pro. Unfortunately, if you’re a free Gemini user, you won’t have access to Argon any time soon. In fact, Google recently reduced free access to include only 3.5 Flash-Lite, while paying customers on the lowest AI Plus tier only get access to 3.5 Flash-Lite and 3.8 Flash.

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​Artificial intelligence, Gemini, Gemini ai, Chatgpt, Claude, Openai, Anthropic, Google, Tech 

President Donald Trump has made no secret of his contempt for the Minnesota Democrat who has long gone by the name “Ilhan Omar.” He stated in November, for example, that “she should go back” to her native Somalia — an African nation Trump has characterized as “decadent, backward, and crime ridden.”

In light of new revelations about the criminal investigations into the congresswoman, Trump demanded her immediate resignation late Thursday evening and announced, “She will not be legally allowed to be a Member of this August Body from this point forth.”

Some people found something

Homeland Security Investigations agents searched the Somali-born ethno-nationalist’s D.C.-area residence on Oct. 12 under a warrant signed by a federal judge, according to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro.

‘She used a fake name to be sworn in.’

As part of this search — which a DOJ spokesperson confirmed to the New York Times was part of an “ongoing federal criminal investigation” and the congresswoman characterized as an “abuse of power” — officers reportedly seized her phone and potentially also her personal passport.

The DOJ generated additional waves on Wednesday with a court filing that appears to indicate that “Ilhan Abdullahi Omar” is an alias and that the congresswoman’s real name is actually “Ilhan Nur Said Elmi.”

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to Blaze News’ request for comment.

A source familiar with the investigation subsequently confirmed to the New York Post that “Omar” is not the congresswoman’s “real name.”

RELATED: Ilhan Omar resurfaces for first time since federal raid in tearful cash grab

This would suggest that her birth name may have been Elmi — the very same surname as Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, the British-Somali national reportedly identified by numerous Somalis as the Democrat’s alleged brother.

It’s universal practice — even in Somalia — for a sister to share a surname with her brother. The issue in the congresswoman’s case is, however, that she was legally married to Elmi from 2009 until 2017.

Abdihakim Osman, a self-identified friend of the congresswoman, claimed to the Daily Mail in 2020 that the congresswoman had confirmed that Elmi was her brother and that she married him so he could remain in the United States.

The congresswoman previously denied the allegation that she married her brother, calling it “absolutely false and ridiculous.”

It is possible that Elmi may simply have been her married name. The New York Post has, however, obtained a marriage certificate for Leila Nur Said — a Somali woman believed to be the congresswoman’s sister — that lists “Nur Said Elmi” as her father.

A purported expert claimed to the Post that the congresswoman’s late father, Nur Omar Mohamed, had “misrepresented himself as a refugee” to American authorities and was actually a military commander in “Siad Barre’s military regime.” He allegedly also went by the name of Nur Said Elmi.

The congresswoman’s office said in a statement to Blaze News, “The congresswoman’s name has always been Ilhan Omar. Any claim suggesting otherwise is categorically false and has no basis in fact.”

Family matters

Though the Minnesota congresswoman has long dismissed the allegations about marrying her brother, when asked this week by MS NOW’s Chris Hayes whether she is related to Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, she responded with uncertainty, stating, “Not to my knowledge.”

RELATED: Hypocrisy-maxxing: Here’s how the Democrats now melting down over Ilhan Omar raid reacted to Mar-a-Lago raid

Trump said in a Truth Social post on Thursday, “It was just revealed that Ilhan Omar’s name is not Ilhan Omar, the one she used to get elected and sworn into Congress, but rather, it’s an entirely different name, Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, and that her last name is, incredibly, also the exact name of her brother, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, the person they said she married and had children with.”

While the congresswoman married Elmi, she had multiple children with a man named Ahmed Hirsi, whom she married in a 2002 Muslim ceremony, legally married in 2018, and divorced in 2019.

After suggesting that he didn’t buy the congresswoman’s “not to my knowledge” response to Hayes, Trump said, “Because she used a fake name to be sworn in, I assume she must IMMEDIATELY resign from Congress.”

“Please inform the Speaker of the House of Representatives, James Michael Johnson, that the Dumocrat Party has just conceded her seat. Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, her real name, has openly admitted to FRAUD,” added the president.

Omar said in response to Trump’s statement, “The pedophile protection party’s president is laundering right-wing conspiracy theories through the most corrupt DOJ in American history. Whenever the news turns bad, this creep reaches for one name: mine. So let’s make it crystal clear. My name has always been Ilhan Omar.”

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​Ilhan omar, Donald trump, Fraud, Deportation, Congress, Politics 

Two former senior FBI officials have been indicted and surrendered to authorities on Friday in connection with Hunter Biden’s infamous laptop, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office press release.

46-year-old Nikki Cole Floris of Alexandria, Virginia, and 56-year-old Bradley Benavides of Aiken, South Carolina, are alleged to have lied in congressional testimony in 2023.

‘No one is above the law, and we will hold accountable all who obstruct the truth.’

The now-defunct Foreign Influence Task Force of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which Floris and Benavides had been a part of, led the FBI’s mission to combat foreign influence on the 2020 election.

Both Floris and Benavides testified before Congress that the FITF was not involved in the investigation into Hunter Biden’s laptop, the criminal complaint claims.

FBI Director Kash Patel said on social media, “Documentary evidence, contemporaneous communications, and witness accounts contradict their testimony.”

Benavides testified that he had learned about the Biden case from Wikipedia, but records allegedly showed that he had been regularly talking about the case with FBI officials up to the 2020 election.

Floris had also allegedly spoken with FBI officials in the FITF and others about Hunter routinely for more than a year.

Patel claimed that Floris had also texted that she was “basically running a shadow government” across the FBI. A screenshot of the text was posted to social media by House Republicans.

“Lying to Congress by anyone strikes at the heart of our democratic system­­, but when senior FBI agents lie to Congress believing they are above the law, it’s time to bring the hammer of justice down on them,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro.

“When senior officials entrusted with safeguarding our nation’s security choose deception over duty, they undermine the very institutions they swore to uphold,” she added. “Today’s action makes clear that no one is above the law, and we will hold accountable all who obstruct the truth.”

RELATED: Hunter Biden denies running ‘rug pull’ crypto-scam based on laptop — after it CRASHES

Both Floris and Benavides appeared in a federal court in Washington, D.C., on Friday.

Floris’ attorney called her a “patriot” in court and implied that the government was bringing up the charges just ahead of the election in order to influence public opinion.

Benavides was a section chief with the FITF from 2019 through the 2020 election, and Floris was a deputy assistant director and “functional head” of the FITF from 2019 until 2022, the complaint said.

“Lying to Congress by senior FBI officials strikes at the heart of our system. No one is above the law,” said Patel on social media.

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​Hunter biden laptop, Federal bureau of investigation, 2020 election, Politics