Category: blaze media

Earlier this year, Google teased a new universal shopping cart that leveraged the power of Gemini to track deals on products you find on the internet and assemble them into one easy place to buy online. After months of waiting, the feature is finally rolling out to users in the United States. Here’s why you may or may not want to use it.

Approximately 87% of Americans buy products online, according to Statista. If you shop at multiple stores, though, it can be hard to juggle different accounts or keep track of price changes on the items you want. To help, Google has a new shopping tool that can watch out for price changes for you.

Google openly admits to collecting user data throughout many of its apps, including Google Shopping.

Universal Cart combines the shopping experience found in Google Shopping, Google Search, AI Mode, and Gemini into one unified system. That means any product you add from one of these disparate Google services will now show up in the same cart for checkout.

According to Google, Universal Cart tracks more than 60 billion products across the web, scanning for price changes so that it can send you notifications when items go on sale. This will be especially useful for tracking deals as we head into Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas.

Universal Cart can even analyze your credit cards saved in Google Wallet and determine if they include perks that can be used to get even better discounts on the items on your list.

While tracking deals and simplifying purchases across the Google Shopping ecosystem is the main appeal, what Google really wants you to do is to choose Universal Cart instead of navigating to each individual site to buy products. So far, it has partnered with Nike, Sephora, Target, Ulta Beauty, Walmart, Wayfair, and some undisclosed merchants on Shopify.

RELATED: Google’s data-devouring AI wants everyone’s personal information

solar22/Getty Images

This next part won’t come as a surprise, but Google openly admits to collecting user data throughout many of its apps, including Google Shopping. Sure, the Universal Cart seems like an easy solution to buying products from multiple supported stores at the same time, but it also feeds your buying habits directly to Google.

When you make purchases through Universal Cart, Google analyzes the data and monetizes it. The company may use your purchases to improve its products and to customize the ads you see online to your specific interests. So don’t be surprised if you start to see more advertisements for the products in your cart or from the online stores you visit.

For some, the trade-off for more ads may be worth the convenience of a centralized shopping cart where you throw everything into the same place and buy with a click. For others, Google’s watchful eye may be intrusive enough to drive you away. Regardless, it’s important to know exactly what Universal Cart will do with your data if you choose to trust it.

That said, if you’re a Google user and you want more personalized ads and results, you can set your shopping preferences manually. To adjust these settings, go to your Personalized Recommendations settings and select “Likes & Preferences,” followed by “Shopping preferences.” On this page, you can choose whom you like to shop for (a man, a woman, a child, or pets) and set your shopping interests to include apparel, skin care, tech gadgets, and more.

I tried to test Universal Cart myself, but it wasn’t available on my account yet. If you don’t have Universal Cart either, it will be rolling out to you before the holiday shopping season. For those who do have Universal Cart already, you can start to track and add items now. However, based on what we know about Google’s data collection habits, you may wish to just go to your favorite merchants’ websites — or even walk into a good old-fashioned brick-and-mortar store — instead.

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​Google, Gemini, Artificial intelligence, Tech 

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) resurfaced with a tearful fundraising plea after days out of the public eye.

Though she posted messages to social media, the Somali refugee had not been seen in public since federal agents raided her D.C. home on Oct. 12. With questions about her location swirling, Omar cut a campaign promo on TikTok while riding around what appears to be Minneapolis.

‘It’s going to be a very expensive and challenging time.’

In the one-minute video posted Tuesday, Omar thanks “everyone who sent $5, $10, $20,” and accuses the Trump administration of “trying to intimidate me and so many people.”

“We know that they’re running scared,” Omar says with tears in her eyes. “We’re not going to be intimidated. We’re not going to be silenced. We’re not going to be scared.”

As the video ends, Omar reiterates her appeal for financial support.

“Thank you so much again, and please continue to support us,” Omar says. “It is going to be a very expensive and challenging time.”

The clip ends with an “Ilhan for Congress” logo.

RELATED: Fraud, fraud, and more fraud: How Maine became a Somali scammer’s paradise

Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Eleven on the River, a condominium tower on the Minneapolis riverfront, appears to stand in the background as Omar cruises around what may be Minneapolis’ Cedar-Riverside area.

That district hosts both the Somali Community Outreach and Consultancy as well as the Confederation of Somali Community in Minnesota. Omar served as the confederation’s director from at least 2013 to 2017.

Omar is scheduled to appear in Minneapolis with Hasan Piker on Monday.

Homeland Security Investigations agents searched Omar’s D.C.-area residence under a warrant signed by a federal judge, according to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro. Officers seized her phone, the AP reported, and potentially also confiscated her personal passport.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin claimed in September that Omar married her brother to help him secure legal status in the U.S. Days later, border czar Tom Homan confirmed that Omar was the subject of an HSI criminal probe and said she could be denaturalized and deported if fraud is proven.

President Donald Trump went further.

“She could also go to jail,” he said Tuesday.

Omar has not yet been charged. Her office called the raid an abuse of power aimed at the president’s political enemies and said she has done nothing wrong.

Her attorneys claim there is no legitimate basis to suggest she violated any citizenship law. Investigators, however, may be reviewing Omar’s naturalization paperwork.

In response to Omar’s attorneys’ letter accusing HSI of violating the terms of the search warrant, the DOJ told Blaze News: “That letter is riddled with false allegations and inaccuracies. Our attorneys and law enforcement partners complied with all court orders and legal obligations, as they always do.”

Critics have alleged for years that Omar married her brother to game the immigration system. She has denied it, but investigators are reportedly in possession of DNA evidence that may verify the claim.

Pirro said her office is also investigating allegations of financial misconduct. Omar amended a 2024 financial disclosure form in April, citing an accounting error.

The allegations against Omar and her brother may have previously driven her to violate state campaign finance laws.

The Minnesota Campaign Finance Board found in 2019 that Omar violated state rules by routing $1,500 through her lawyer to an accounting firm to pull tax returns rebutting claims she wed her brother. She was ordered to repay $3,469.23 and pay a $500 civil penalty.

Afterward, Omar promised to comply with the findings of the board and stated: “I’m glad this process is complete and that the Campaign Finance Board has come to a resolution on this matter.”

It’s far from Omar’s only suspect financial maneuver.

Her campaign previously paid about $2.92 million to E Street Group, a consulting firm co-owned by her husband Tim Mynett. The FEC voted 6-0 in 2021 to find no reason to believe the payments converted campaign funds to personal use.

Omar’s office and the HSI did not respond to requests for comment.

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​Homeland security investigations, Ilhan omar, Minneapolis, Tiktok, Politics 

Since generative artificial intelligence arrived in 2022, analysts have warned that the AI bubble is real and that it could burst at any time. Now, we finally have proof that the end may be closer than we think, thanks to tangible data that is hard to refute.

The early days of generative AI were rife with hype and optimism, with a laundry list of promises from everyone involved, from investors to developers and all in between. Goldman Sachs said AI could boost the global GDP by 7%. Others claimed it would automate repetitive work at businesses to make employees more efficient. AI was even positioned as a lifesaving tool that will find the cure to deadly diseases, including cancer.

‘They’re losing hundreds of millions of dollars. This is most of the AI industry.’

IBM even warned, “Because of the wide-ranging applications and complexity of generative AI, many media reports might lead readers to believe that the technology is an almost magical cure-all.”

It isn’t. Or at least, it hasn’t yet. That is clear in the way that the AI developers still haven’t achieved artificial general intelligence, stopped AI hallucinations, or found reliable ways to sell AI to society, aside from having it do mundane tasks that are easier to do manually, like booking a flight or making a dinner reservation.

In fact, many of the Big AI CEOs and AI proponents are still making the same promises today — that AI will revolutionize the world — eventually. All they need is more money, more time, and more data to feed into the AI machine.

Still, the early promises were too tempting. Investors hopped aboard, dumping nearly $1 trillion globally into research and development, data center infrastructure, and snagging top talent for the frontier AI platforms to continue their work. But after years of AI giants like OpenAI and Anthropic failing to turn a profit, the AI bubble looks poised to burst at last.

RELATED: The AI bubble is about to pop. Here’s how to prepare yourself.

Charles Taylor/Getty Images

In a recent podcast, the CEO of EZPR, Ed Zitron, said he saw the financial books of a major private AI company firsthand. While he didn’t divulge the name of the company in question, he issued a dire warning: “They’re losing hundreds of millions of dollars. Hundreds of millions,” he repeated for emphasis. “This is most of the AI industry.”

In Zitron’s estimation, the AI boom is fueled primarily by hype. “This is not something that’s being substantiated by revenues or returns,” he continued.

“People are starting to realize that the math does not work.”

A company called CoreWeave was hit particularly hard by AI’s poor financial performance. Unless you are deeply entrenched in the AI world, you have probably never heard of the company, but CoreWeave is a U.S.-based “neocloud” service provider. Essentially, it rents Nvidia GPUs to artificial intelligence companies and other businesses.

Unfortunately for CoreWeave, a perfect storm of $50 billion in debt, rising interest costs, and concerns over the company’s lack of profitability led to a massive drop in its stock price. CoreWeave is currently down 55% from its 52-week high. All of this makes it harder for CoreWeave to borrow more funds without a huge interest rate attached.

“CoreWeave is arguably one of the best-capitalized, best-connected, best-funded neoclouds out there,” according to Zitron. “Which means anyone raising data center debt right now is both in the toilet and being flushed at the same time.” It’s bad news, both for CoreWeave and smaller neocloud providers trying to stay afloat.

“Even if you think AI is the most important thing ever, there is a point at which this debt is unsustainable against the potential return.”

Anthropic, the maker of Claude, is also under fire after its IPO prospectus document leaked in late September. The numbers were dire, showing that the company spent $42 billion last year and only brought in $4.6 billion in revenue.

As costs continue to go up and AI providers continue to lose money, the AI industry inches closer to a total collapse. It doesn’t matter that the AI models are getting smarter and that those models can be used to build interesting things. At the end of the day, the AI platforms aren’t turning a profit, and that makes it harder to borrow more money to sustain themselves.

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​Ai bubble, Ai models, Artificial intelligence, Debt, Generative ai, Tech 

Jaime West, an Indiana Democrat running for the Fayette County Council, went viral online over a bizarre Oct. 9 candidate interview on LocalTV3.

Not only did West sloppily express loathing for Republicans and call for them to be fired in a county where President Donald Trump received 77.5% of the vote in 2024; she issued an apparent threat to her political opponents, stating, “We have guns too.”

‘It’s trebled in the last 30 seconds.’

Following widespread speculation that West was a few cards shy of a full deck or had at least been intoxicated, the Democrat appeared on “Piers Morgan Uncensored” on Monday and confirmed the latter was the case.

When asked by the British host whether she’d had a drink before her viral performance, West said, “I had a Coors Light. I had a beer.”

Morgan, apparently unconvinced, asked, “One beer or —?”

Upon reflection, West said, “Maybe a couple,” then noted that she had been nervous at the time about “going in a room full of Republicans.”

RELATED: ‘We have guns too’: Democrat plumbs new depths in INSANE interview

Still not buying West’s answer, Morgan said, “Jaime, here’s your chance to be completely honest and transparent. How many beers did you have?”

“All right,” said the Democrat, who is the registered owner of Queen Bee’s Cleaning. “Three.”

“It’s trebled in the last 30 seconds,” responded Morgan. “So do you accept you may have been a little intoxicated?”

“Not that intoxicated,” she replied. “But I do know what I’m talking about.”

The Democrat then claimed that she was completely sober for the interview underway.

Ben Ferguson, the co-host of “Verdict with Ted Cruz” who partook in the panel discussion with Morgan and West, later questioned the size of the Coors Lights that the Democrat had thrown back.

During the segment, Morgan afforded West an opportunity to rephrase or recant the provocative statements she gave in her candidate interview — including her suggestion that elements of MAGA are racist and dumb. Not only did West decline the offer, she doubled down on her previous statements.

West said, “No. I say it all the time. I’m not friends with them [Republicans]. I don’t like them. They voted for all of this that’s happening and to our country. We have a constitutional crisis!”

Ferguson, who laughed throughout the exchange, chimed in and claimed he is “now a huge advocate for candidates drinking before debates because then we might actually find out what they believe in.”

In a comment to IndyStar, West said, “Given that Republicans have held control of the state for over 20 years, it is frustrating to see so many Hoosiers continue to vote against their own interests and harbor hostility toward Democrats.”

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​Indiana, Jaime west, Midterm election, Piers morgan, Politics, Alcohol 

The sheriff of Webster Parish, Louisiana, said a 911 call reported a domestic disturbance in a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed on U.S. Highway 80 just before 5:30 a.m. Sunday.

The vehicle reportedly crashed when 44-year-old Billy McFarland allegedly jumped the female driver, officials said, adding that McFarland fled the scene before a nearby deputy arrived.

‘The homeowner apparently feared for his life and for the lives of others who were inside the residence.’

McFarland reportedly went to a residence on U.S. Highway 80 west of Minden, where he vandalized two vehicles, breaking the rear window of one and the windshield of another, officials said, adding that he then began banging on the door of the residence.

When he received no response, McFarland reportedly moved to the rear of the residence, where he climbed atop an air conditioning unit and used a pocketknife to cut through a window screen and enter the residence, officials said.

“We learned he had the knife in his hand when he came through the window,” Sheriff Jason Parker said. “The homeowner apparently feared for his life and for the lives of others who were inside the residence.”

With that, the homeowner shot and killed McFarland, officials said, adding that McFarland, of Marrero, was shot multiple times.

“We do not anticipate any charges, but we will continue to investigate and forward the results to the district attorney for review,” Parker added.

Parker said McFarland’s body has been sent to Little Rock, Arkansas, for an autopsy to determine a possible cause for the actions which led to his death, officials said.

Sheriff’s investigators also learned that McFarland had an extensive criminal history in his home area, including felonies, Parker said.

RELATED: Male allegedly breaks into Texas home in middle of night — and learns right quick why that’s a foolish idea

More than a hundred comments hit the sheriff’s office Facebook post about the incident, and they were squarely behind the homeowner. The following are but a few of them.

“What would have happened had the homeowner not had a gun?” one commenter wondered. “That’s so scary to think of.””He shouldn’t be charged. Y’all know if someone breaks into your house, they aren’t up to any good, and we have the right to defend ourselves and our homes from intruders,” another user stated. “Let him be.””And he shouldn’t be charged!!” another commenter declared. “And I pray that he doesn’t have any bad thoughts of what he did. He was protecting himself and his family.””Don’t be entering anyone’s house not welcomed, and it won’t come to this — but if you cross that line,” another user wrote. “Don’t try that in a small town.”

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​Louisiana, Home invasion, Fatal shooting, Homeowner shoots intruder, 2nd amendment, Self-defense, Guns, Gun rights, Crime 

Arizona is adding a new national park, bringing the state’s total to four.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump signed a bill into law designating the creation of Chiricahua National Park, a small park in Southeastern Arizona with some stunning views.

‘This new designation will shine a national spotlight on one of Arizona’s hidden gems.’

Previously protected as Chiricahua National Monument since 1924, the new park continues the protection of the rhyolite rock spires formed by an ancient volcanic eruption 27 million years ago.

A National Park Service press release noted visitors will be able to continue to enjoy hiking, camping, scenic drives, and viewing the rich biodiversity in the new park.

“Chiricahua’s towering rock spires, rich Apache heritage, and remarkable biodiversity make it one of America’s most extraordinary landscapes,” Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said in the press release. “This new designation will shine a national spotlight on one of Arizona’s hidden gems, creating opportunities to welcome more visitors, strengthen local economies, and share this incredible landscape with more Americans.”

In addition to the rhyolite rock spires, the park is home to balanced rocks and the historical Faraway Ranch homestead. It is also one of a shrinking number of places to see the uninhibited night sky.

RELATED: Astronomers detect unprecedented radio signal — it’s coming from a gigantic planet

National Park Service on X

“Chiricahua has been part of the National Park System for more than a century, and this new designation marks an exciting chapter in its history,” said Jessica Bowron, the comptroller exercising the delegated authority of the director of the National Park Service. “While its name is changing, our commitment remains the same: protecting this remarkable landscape and its cultural heritage while providing opportunities for visitors to experience and enjoy it for generations to come.”

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), perhaps best known for his role in the infamous “seditious six” video posted last year, introduced the bill in 2021. The bill passed the House in March and passed the Senate in September.

Sen. Kelly celebrated the passage of the bill on Tuesday.

“Today is a historic day for Arizona. Making Chiricahua a national park has been a priority of mine since I first came to the Senate, so I’m thrilled this day has finally arrived,” said Sen. Kelly.

“A bipartisan effort from the start, this is a win for the communities in southeastern Arizona and for everyone who worked to protect this extraordinary place so our kids and our grandkids can enjoy it.”

Chiricahua, also known as the “Wonderland of Rocks,” will be the 64th national park in the United States.

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​Arizona, Law, Seditious six, Senate, Camping, Mark kelly, Politics, Donald trump 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement was roped into a murder investigation in California after a woman went missing a few weeks ago and was later found dead.

On October 4, a cousin of Jasmine Gill reported that she had gone missing, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office. The last time Jasmine was seen was on September 30 at her home in Sacramento.

The charred remains discovered in El Dorado County on October 1 were determined to be Jasmine Gill.

Jasmine’s husband, Gurinder Gill, told investigators that ICE had nabbed Jasmine when she went out to get the mail, the sheriff’s office said. However, ICE confirmed to the sheriff’s office and to Blaze News that no immigration enforcement had been conducted at that residence.

Additionally, investigators began to find “several inconsistencies in Gurinder’s statements about his wife’s disappearance,” the sheriff’s office continued. Officials also learned that the couple were in the midst of a contentious divorce and custody battle.

RELATED: College football player stabbed to death allegedly by illegal alien who was given deportation pass TWICE, sources say

Husband accused of killing wife after claiming ICE agents detained her

Meanwhile, their worst fears about the missing woman were confirmed when charred remains discovered in El Dorado County, California, on October 1 were determined to be Jasmine Gill.

Gurinder Gill, 28, was arrested on murder charges last Wednesday and booked into the Sacramento County jail, where he remains. Jail records state that he is “ineligible for bail.”

Court records note that Gill had an arraignment hearing on Friday, but do not say whether he entered a plea or retained counsel. He is scheduled to appear in court again on December 7, according to SFGate.

The Sacramento County public defender’s office told Blaze News Wednesday morning that the defendant’s name was not in its files.

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​California, Immigration and customs enforcement, Murder, Crime, Politics 

Pollsters routinely miss the mark, but some pollsters aren’t even trying to hit the target.

Just months after a polling outfit that gave Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) a false sense of momentum was exposed as a fraud — or as they put it, a “short-term social experiment” — another pollster has been outed as a phony.

‘Don’t fall for it.’

On Tuesday, the election forecasting website FiftyPlusOne confronted Wedgewood Polls — which claimed on its now-deleted website to be “a nonpartisan, online-panel survey research firm covering competitive U.S. House, Senate, and gubernatorial races nationwide” — with evidence that it had been fabricating data.

The fake pollster immediately dropped the mask, first issuing a statement on social media claiming that it was “an experimental project to demonstrate the vulnerabilities, lack of oversight, and overall low barrier to entry in the modern political polling industry,” then reportedly replying to FiftyPlusOne researchers’ request for comment with “f**k you.”

In its public statement, the fake pollster admitted that there was “no real data behind the vast majority of our releases” and boasted that “our fabricated numbers were given instant credibility across national media platforms — including being cited on air and in reporting by outlets such as MS NOW.”

RELATED: Iowa poll SHOCK: Pollster admits how it skewed key race results toward Democrats when GOP really leads

In its coverage earlier this month, MS NOW featured a Wedgewood Poll showing Democrat Jocelyn Benson with a 10-point lead over Republican John James in the Michigan gubernatorial race, reported Mediaite. Blaze News’ Poll Watch currently has Benson with a lead of 6.7 points.

“The ease with which unverified figures were absorbed into mainstream political narratives highlights a systemic breakdown in media vetting and data aggregation,” said the fake pollster, which claimed that only one of its many surveys was legitimate.

Wedgewood Polls has been turning out bogus data for months — data that have been shared by numerous publications and poll aggregators, including Decision Desk HQ, the Economist, FiftyPlusOne, Poliwave, the New York Times, 270toWin, and VoteHub.

VoteHub, for instance, included data from Wedgewood Polls in a weekly polling rundown on July 29 showing Abdul El-Sayed leading Haley Stevens in the Michigan Democratic Senate primary 46%-39%. The false polling data about Stevens evidently prickled Neera Tanden, the former director of the Biden White House Domestic Policy Council, who expressed disappointment on Tuesday that “a lot of smart people fell for the op.”

The New York Times acknowledged on Wednesday that its poll tracker “included 15 polls released by Wedgewood between June and October, some of which included multiple races.”

Decision Desk HQ included at least 17 of Wedgewood’s phony polls on its race-level polling lists and averages.

While Decision Desk HQ claimed that removing the polls has “not changed the projected seat totals or chamber control probabilities in the Senate or House,” the removal has for other outlets proven consequential.

When the Economist removed Wedgewood’s polls from its model, their results shifted in “a handful of races.” For example, “Democrats’ win probability in the Mississippi Senate race fell from 7.1% to 5.5%,” said the Economist.

BlazeTV host Steve Deace wrote, “Keep this in mind regarding the Wedgewood fake polling scam. Way back in June, Wedgewood missed the winner of the Louisiana Republican Senate primary by 18 points. 18. points. And yet months later, elite corporate media kept promoting their fake polls anyway.”

Republican Rep. Julia Letlow beat state Treasurer John Fleming 56.9% to 43.1% in the Louisiana Senate primary runoff in June. Wedgewood released a poll on June 25 showing Fleming leading Letlow 51%-47%.

Republican Rep. Abe Hamadeh (Ariz.) said of the revelation about the fake pollster, “Everything is fake! Smile and touch grass — enjoy reality and enjoy the show!”

Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts noted, “This is the second left-wing polling psy-op exposed during this election cycle. There is a coordinated effort to demoralize conservative voters and keep them away from the polls. Don’t fall for it. Your ballot is the only poll that ultimately matters. Go vote.”

Mallory McMorrow, the Michigan state senator who ran for U.S. Senate and unofficially withdrew from the Aug. 4 Democratic primary after trailing in distant third place to El-Sayed and Stevens, attributes some of the blame for the death of her campaign on a fake Wedgewood poll. She claimed Tuesday night that the late June poll showing her with only 9% adversely impacted donations and volunteer morale and prompted calls for her to drop out of the race.

“Sure, a point was proven. Polling is broken,” wrote McMorrow. “But tens of thousands of people poured their hearts, time, energy, hard-earned money into something they believed in — for a year-and-a-half, and it was treated like a game. Our volunteers gave their all. And then some. I felt like I had let so many of them down.”

“If this teaches us anything — DON’T GET COMPLACENT AND DON’T TRUST THE POLLS,” added McMorrow.

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​Poll, Fraud, Mallory mcmorrow, Abdul el-sayed, Midterm election, New york times, Politics 

Los Angeles officials appear to have made a damning concession in a filing related to the legal feud over 20,000 people identified as “likely noncitizens” who are registered to vote.

In a lawsuit filed Thursday, the Department of Justice demanded that state and L.A. County officials refrain from tabulating the vote-by-mail ballots of the individuals in question, at least for the federal election in less than two weeks. California automatically sends out a mail-in ballot to all registered voters.

‘California has not acted on the list of 20,000 suspected noncitizens or agreed to set aside their ballots. American citizens’ votes are being diluted in California.’

Earlier this month, California officials denied a similar request from the federal government and accused the government of making difficult demands to cause a political spectacle.

On Monday, the DOJ requested an emergency temporary restraining order to force officials to set aside the potentially illegal ballots, but the state’s officials are still rebelling.

California officials filed motions to oppose the emergency TRO on Tuesday — and soon after, First Assistant United States Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli posted a damning admission to the state’s cause.

“Massive concession: Los Angeles election officials just told a federal court they have no independent way to verify citizenship beyond what voters attest. (They simply take their word for it),” he posted in a statement on social media.

“Under federal law, only citizens may vote in federal elections,” he added. “Yet California has not acted on the list of 20,000 suspected noncitizens or agreed to set aside their ballots. American citizens’ votes are being diluted in California.”

Essayli pointed to a section from the motion where a Los Angeles official said officials were not “equipped” to meet the citizenship certification demands of the government in time for the election.

“The Registrar is not equipped or authorized to verify voter citizenship because it does not independently house citizenship-related information beyond the voter attestation as identified in federal and state law (such as, among other things, immigration records, travel records, naturalization records, etc.) and certainly is not equipped to do so within the election period,” the defendants wrote.

Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom of California responded through his press office on social media.

“California adheres to Federal Law passed by Congress in the 1990s [see 52 U.S.C. 20504(c)(2) (Section 5 of the NVRA)]. May want to brush up on your election law before tweeting. Perhaps Second Assistant is more apt from now on?” the official account wrote.

RELATED: Ninth Circuit Court SLAPS DOWN Newsom law restricting ICE operations

He also responded via social media to the first lawsuit filed by the Justice Department over the possibly ineligible voters.

“This is a sad, desperate attempt by Trump to use his politicized Justice Department to try to suppress California voters just three weeks before Election Day,” the governor said.

“Courts have made clear the federal government has no role in running state elections,” he added. “We will defend free and fair elections in the Golden State and call out every authoritarian attempt to undermine our democracy.”

While California is very left-leaning, there are some competitive congressional races that could help determine whether Democrats seize control of the House.

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​Gavin newsom, Voter rolls, Election fraud, California, Politics 

When you pop the hood of a new pickup truck, there’s something you won’t find any more: the oil dipstick.

General Motors has confirmed that its new sixth-generation 5.7-liter and 6.6-liter V8 engines, coming to the 2027 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500, will no longer have a conventional dipstick. Instead, drivers will check the oil level on a digital display inside the truck.

I still check my tires with a pressure gauge, even though my vehicles have tire-pressure monitoring systems.

I’ve been working on cars for decades, and I think this is a mistake.

Checking your oil is one of the simplest and most important things you can do to protect your engine. You pull out the dipstick, wipe it clean, reinsert it, and pull it out again. In seconds, you know whether your engine has enough oil. You can also see what the oil looks like.

You don’t need to start the engine, navigate a touchscreen, or trust a sensor.

What’s wrong with the old-fashioned way?

GM claims its new electronic system is designed to simplify ownership. It monitors oil levels, warns drivers when they’re too low or too high, and even tells them how much oil to add.

And according to a GM engineer interviewed by Pickup Truck + SUV Talk, packaging was part of the decision: Additional fuel-injection hardware made it difficult to accommodate a traditional dipstick tube.

But here’s my problem. When do you most want to check your oil? Before you start the engine.

The 2027 Silverado owner’s manual instructs drivers to park on level ground, leave the engine idling at normal operating temperature, and select the oil-level display on the infotainment screen.

Think about that. You have to run the engine before you can perform a manual oil-level check.

My co-host on “The Drive,” automotive analyst Karl Brauer, has dealt with this problem firsthand. His 2009 and 2012 Porsche 911s had electronic oil-level systems that required him to warm up the engine, park on level ground, and work through a series of menus.

Karl raised a question during a recent episode that gets right to the heart of the problem: What if your engine develops an oil leak overnight?

Suppose a gasket fails and oil drains out while your truck is parked. With a dipstick, you can check the level immediately, before starting the engine.

GM says its electronic system automatically warns drivers about low oil. But the owner’s manual requires a warm, running engine for an accurate manual oil-level reading. Whether the system can warn you about oil lost overnight before you start the engine remains unclear.

I would prefer to have a dipstick so I can check for myself.

RELATED: BLINDED BY THE LIGHTS: Can Washington finally save American drivers from headlight hell?

NurPhote/Getty Images

Sensors aren’t infallible

I have owned vehicles with electronic oil-level systems, including an Audi RS5, and I didn’t like giving up that simple mechanical check.

Karl also recalled owning older BMWs that repeatedly displayed low-oil warnings even though the oil level was fine. The sensor was the problem.

A malfunctioning sensor can give you a false alarm. The more troubling possibility is a faulty reading that fails to alert you to a genuine problem.

That doesn’t mean GM’s new system is unreliable. The technology hasn’t been in customers’ hands long enough to establish that. But an electronic sensor introduces another component that can fail, and there is no longer a physical dipstick to double-check it.

Know what’s under your hood

I’m a firm believer that every driver should understand the basics of vehicle maintenance.

Before my children started driving, I made sure they knew how to check their oil, tire pressure, and other essential fluids. I wanted them to understand what was happening mechanically rather than simply waiting for a warning light.

I still check my tires with a pressure gauge, even though my vehicles have tire-pressure monitoring systems. I compare the reading with the recommended pressure on the driver’s doorjamb.

Technology can be an excellent backup. But I don’t want it to be my only source of information.

To be clear, GM isn’t eliminating the dipstick from every 2027 Silverado and Sierra. The 2.7-liter TurboMax four-cylinder and 3.0-liter Duramax diesel will retain theirs. It’s the new V8s that lose the familiar yellow-handled tool.

Maybe the electronic system will prove to be convenient and reliable. I certainly hope so.

But I have to wonder what we have really gained by eliminating a device that costs very little, rarely fails, and lets an owner check a critical engine fluid without even turning the key.

Sometimes the simplest technology is still the best.

​Chevrolet silverado, Duramax diesel, Engine protection, General motors, Gmc sierra, Mechanical check, Oil check, Oil dipstick, Oil level, Sensor technology, Touchscreen navigation, Pickup truck, Auto industry, Lifestyle, Automotive 

The Trump administration has deployed a new weapon in the war on fraud: vigilant Americans.

Last week, Vice President JD Vance called on citizens to join him in “taking the pledge to protect Americans from fraudsters” and to condition support for political candidates on their willingness to similarly make this commitment.

‘Going to keep a lot of people honest.’

Joined in the Oval Office on Tuesday by Vance and other members of what he dubbed the “untouchables,” President Donald Trump wedded an incentive program to this anti-fraud campaign.

Under the new Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program, citizen whistleblowers, including journalists, can receive a bounty ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 for information leading to criminal fraud charges as well as a potential 1% commission for recovered funds.

“If it’s $10 million, $200 million, $400 million — we’re giving a 1% commission to that person,” said Trump.

The president noted further that in the event of a dispute over who deserves a particular bounty, he will weigh in as arbitrator.

The Justice Department said that whereas most existing government whistleblower programs don’t issue rewards until after the criminal matters are resolved, this program “rewards whistleblowers at a much earlier stage of prosecution.”

RELATED: Trump administration breaks record cleaning up Social Security files in HUGE fraud-prevention move

President Donald Trump shakes hands with Nick Shirley. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images.

Whistleblowers are asked to go to america.gov/fraud and submit tips pertaining to federal health care offenses or fraud on programs or benefits administered by federal agencies. Tips are reviewed by the Treasury Department, then referred to the relevant federal office. If the information leads to charges or the recovery of money stolen by fraudsters, qualifying whistleblowers may be rewarded for their efforts.

Trump said that this program “is going to keep a lot of people honest.”

Vance said that the program already has one bounty claimant: investigative journalist Nick Shirley.

The president celebrated Shirley’s successful efforts to expose fraud, including the unflattering light he shone on alleged fraud in the now-infamous Quality Learing Center and other taxpayer-subsidized, Somali-run day-care facilities in Minnesota.

“Partially as a result of Nick’s work, since I took office, 115 Minnesota fraudsters have been arrested and charged,” said Trump.

The president further highlighted that Shirley’s efforts to date have been so effective that “California recently passed the Stop Nick Shirley Act, an outrageous attempt to crush free speech and to stop the corruption from being exposed.”

The young man is reportedly getting a $10,000 bounty for his efforts.

“The Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program (WHIP) offers everyone the opportunity to be part of the solution, help expose fraud, and be rewarded quickly for their efforts,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement. “I urge all Americans to use this program and play an active role in bringing fraudsters to justice.”

“From day one of my administration, we’ve waged an unprecedented war on corruption and fraud, and will not let our country be looted and plundered by thieves, and pirates, and foreign fraudsters — and, basically, scum,” said Trump.

According to the White House, an estimated $260.7 billion in fraud has been uncovered since January 2025 and $72 billion in fraud has been stopped per year as the result of actions taken by the administration.

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​Fraud, Jd vance, Donald trump, Nick shirley, Justice department, White house, Minnesota, Politics 

Oprah Winfrey has spent roughly four decades helping Americans discover who they really are. Apparently, the job isn’t finished.

Next April, the 72-year-old former talk-show queen will descend on the Las Vegas Sphere for “AHA,” a four-performance extravaganza featuring music, poetry, storytelling, and what its promoters call the ultimate “aha” moment.

What happens when you look inside and don’t find any light? What happens when your ‘authentic self’ turns out to be selfish, foolish, or cruel?

Winfrey calls the production the culmination of her life’s work.

Culmination is an interesting word.

After 25 seasons of “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” a magazine, a book club, her own television network, countless spiritual teachers, wellness programs, podcasts, and several decades of encouraging Americans to discover their authentic selves, one wonders what remains to be discovered.

Have Winfrey’s followers finally accumulated enough wisdom? Will the great journey toward self-actualization at last be complete? Or is there another missing piece of the human soul that requires an enormous LED screen to locate?

Sphere of influence

This is familiar territory for Winfrey. As early as 2001, she was charging $185 for all-day Live Your Best Life workshops. Two years later, she brought the program to Seattle, where 2,700 admirers assembled for seven hours of inspirational instruction.

A reporter covering a 2003 session in Seattle described a spiritual revival, complete with a congregation and a preacher wearing diamonds and high heels.

In 2014 came an eight-city arena tour called “The Life You Want Weekend,” with spiritual advisers, exercises in self-discovery, and corporate sponsors. Another arena wellness tour followed in 2020.

So there is nothing particularly surprising about Winfrey selling enlightenment in Las Vegas. The Sphere is a perfectly plausible venue for her particular brand of uplift.

Nor is there anything inherently hypocritical about charging people to help them improve themselves. The more interesting question is what Winfrey has been teaching all these years and whether her extraordinary life actually supports it.

The preacher girl

Oprah Winfrey is a remarkable American success story.

Born in rural Mississippi in 1954, she endured poverty, instability, and sexual abuse before becoming one of the most successful broadcasters in television history. Her rise required tremendous determination, but determination alone doesn’t explain it.

Winfrey possessed an extraordinary gift for communication. She could listen to a stranger with such apparent concentration that millions of people watching at home felt included in the conversation. She understood instinctively where the emotional center of a story lay. She could coax a confession, recognize a moment of vulnerability, or make a famous person seem briefly ordinary.

The origins of that talent are worth examining.

Oprah grew up in the Baptist church. Her grandmother taught her to read, using the Bible among other texts. By the age of 3, Oprah was standing before congregations reciting verses about the Resurrection.

The women in the front pews told her grandmother that the little girl was gifted. Winfrey heard this often enough that she began to believe it.

Her Christianity was no casual inheritance. In a 2015 interview with AARP, Winfrey recalled being baptized around 8 years old, after agonizing for days over whether she was prepared to renounce sin.

“And, my God, did I take it seriously!” she recalled.

Indeed, she described herself as “a zealot who irritated every one of my third-grade friends.” Her classmates had a nickname for her: “the preacher girl.”

Soon she was performing poetry and sermons in churches around Nashville. In an interview with the Academy of Achievement, Winfrey traced her broadcasting career directly to those childhood performances.

But Christianity gave Winfrey more than her first audience.

A child of God

By her own account, Christianity gave Winfrey the confidence to imagine a future radically different from the one her circumstances seemed to promise.

At 14, after years of sexual abuse, Winfrey became pregnant. She has spoken about the shame and despair she experienced, including thoughts of ending her life. In that same AARP interview, she recalled turning to God in her desperation. If she was going to die, she reasoned, God would have to take her life. Otherwise, she would live and somehow find a way through.

She survived. Her baby, born prematurely, did not.

What stands out in her account is that she didn’t describe suddenly discovering some unsuspected reservoir of inner strength. She described appealing to God.

Growing up without a father had made the preacher’s assurance that God was her Father especially powerful. She took it literally. Jesus, she reasoned, was her brother.

In a 2015 podcast appearance, Winfrey explained that believing she was a child of God, and that she could do all things through Christ, gave her confidence even when she felt alone and unloved. She credited that relationship with God for helping make her the person she became.

From Christ to ‘Christ consciousness’

Winfrey has never disavowed the Christian faith of her childhood. When explaining how she survived those early years and became who she is, she continues to credit the old-fashioned Christianity she grew up with.

But the eclectic, New Age-inflected spirituality of higher consciousness, personal truth, and divinity within the self that she has since built into a billion-dollar empire represents a very different theology from the one expressed in Philippians 4:13.

Perhaps its clearest expression came in 2008, when Winfrey hosted a series of online seminars with spiritual writer Eckhart Tolle, whose book “A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose” she had selected for her book club.

During the seminars, Winfrey recalled hearing a preacher describe God as jealous when she was in her late 20s. The idea troubled her. How could an all-loving, omnipresent God also be jealous? She said the experience began a search for something beyond doctrine. She had finally come to understand Jesus as a teacher of “Christ consciousness,” a way of awakening to a divine presence within.

It’s easy to see the appeal of this more accommodating Jesus. But one wonders how well such a theology would have served that desperate, lost 14-year-old.

RELATED: Your body isn’t God: Jen Hatmaker’s New Age lies exposed

Emma McIntyre | Getty Images

The gift of self

Transformation in Christ famously requires a kind of death. The ultimate victory comes at the price of surrender.

The gospel according to Oprah offers an altogether different revelation: You already possess everything you need to become your best self.

Winfrey was unusually well equipped to preach it. She knew the power of personal testimony and understood how a painful experience could become a story of transformation. Her television program had long featured confessions, reconciliations, and dramatic changes of heart. Increasingly, these became lessons in how to live.

And there is much to admire in her message. Self-examination, gratitude, and the effort to overcome destructive habits are worthwhile pursuits. Nor is there anything dishonest about charging for guidance.

But the promise of self-discovery has a peculiar problem: How do you know when you’ve discovered enough?

Somewhere within you is a truer, better, more fulfilled version of yourself. A book helps you glimpse it. A guru reveals another obstacle. A workshop uncovers another wound. You experience an awakening, only to discover that another breakthrough awaits.

There is always another aha moment.

The way and the truth

Christianity’s central revelation, by contrast, concerns something that has already happened: Christ came, died, and rose. Believers may spend their lives struggling to understand and live according to it, but they aren’t waiting for Christianity’s next installment.

And Christianity makes demands that Winfrey’s therapeutic spirituality tends to soften. It insists that truth exists independently of our preferences, and that some of our desires may be wrong.

What happens when you look inside and don’t find any light? What happens when your “authentic self” turns out to be selfish, foolish, or cruel?

These questions are particularly awkward in Winfrey’s case.

She knows where she found the strength to survive. What is less clear is whether the spirituality she now offers millions could have provided the same strength.

Perhaps Winfrey is a prophet who misunderstands herself.

She preaches the dignity of the individual, the possibility of redemption, the power of hope, and the conviction that suffering need not determine one’s future. Her own life is persuasive evidence for these truths. Yet the faith she credits with making that life possible located its source outside herself.

For decades, Winfrey has told Americans that the answers are already inside them. Next April, they can finally discover those answers on one of the world’s largest LED screens.

Tickets start at $145.

​Las vegas sphere, Oprah winfrey, Spiritual teachers, Christianity, New age, Self-help, Christ consciousness, Christian living, Lifestyle, Culture, Faith 

Conservatives say they believe in competition. So why on earth do we tolerate a political system in which one man effectively picks our candidates before voters have a chance to examine them?

Friedrich Hayek understood why monopoly is dangerous: “Our freedom of choice in a competitive society rests on the fact that, if one person refuses to satisfy our wishes, we can turn to another. But if we face a monopolist we are at his absolute mercy.” That principle applies to political candidates as surely as it does to products. Competition forces people to earn our support. Coronations teach them that our votes are theirs by right.

Trump’s terrible endorsements are not a minor blemish on an otherwise beloved political figure. They are a debilitating obstacle to rebuilding the right.

Instead, Republican voters have been handed one establishment dud after another, especially in states where the GOP should have the freedom to nominate a fighter. Then, when the general election arrives, we are ordered to fall in line because the Democrat is worse. That is a political monopoly, and it is killing the conservative movement.

Consider the 22 Senate contests this November in states Donald Trump carried in 2024. The incumbent Republicans include Dan Sullivan in Alaska, Tom Cotton in Arkansas, Jim Risch in Idaho, Roger Marshall in Kansas, Ashley Moody in Florida, Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi, Pete Ricketts in Nebraska, Jon Husted in Ohio, Mike Rounds in South Dakota, Bill Hagerty in Tennessee, and Shelley Moore Capito in West Virginia. South Carolina has an appointed incumbent, Darline Graham, seeking a full term.

The other nominees include Barry Moore in Alabama, Mike Collins in Georgia, Ashley Hinson in Iowa, Andy Barr in Kentucky, Julia Letlow in Louisiana, Mike Rogers in Michigan, Kurt Alme in Montana, Michael Whatley in North Carolina, Ken Paxton in Texas, and Harriet Hageman in Wyoming.

How many of these 22 are Ron DeSantis-tier conservatives? How many would fight the interests that actually control Washington? How many would champion an immigration moratorium, end vaccine liability immunity, oppose government subsidies for Flock surveillance cameras and data centers, or take a machete to federal spending? How many would even answer those questions without consulting a donor?

My count is maybe four decent conservatives and no genuine superstars. Feel free to dispute my rankings. The larger scandal is that Republican voters rarely got a serious contest in which to test these candidates and force them to take positions on the issues that count.

The reason is Donald Trump’s primary endorsements and the Republican establishment that treats them like royal decrees.

No, the president has not canceled elections. He didn’t need to. His endorsements routinely settle them in practice. Ballotpedia reported a 97% primary success rate for his endorsed candidates as of July, with every endorsed congressional candidate who had faced a primary by then advancing. That is a remarkable record for a man who claims to oppose the swamp.

Sometimes a stronger conservative alternative ran and lost. Sometimes the endorsement deterred a challenge in the first place. Either way, candidates escaped the serious ideological cross-examination they should have faced. They learned to court Trump instead of courting conservative voters.

Montana supplies the most outrageous example. Sen. Steve Daines withdrew from his re-election bid minutes before the filing deadline, just after U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme filed for the seat. Trump endorsed Alme almost immediately. With no time for other Republicans to enter, the primary was effectively over before it began. Call that a coincidence if you like. To me it looks like a backroom succession plan that stripped Montana conservatives of a meaningful choice.

RELATED: Democrats may ride a blue wave on a red script

Id-work/Getty Images

Does Alme support an immigration pause? Would he end vaccine liability immunity or subsidies for data centers? Would he actually stand in the way of runaway spending? Those questions should have been contested in a primary, not left to be answered after a nominee was already installed.

The consequences extend beyond conservative principles. North Carolina Republicans rallied behind Michael Whatley, Trump’s choice for an open Senate seat, only to see him struggle badly against Roy Cooper in the general-election campaign. This is a state Republicans have carried in every presidential election since 1980 except 2008. An endorsement is no substitute for a candidate who can persuade voters.

Even where Republican nominees survive November, what then? Hinson, Sullivan, and the rest are supposed to lead the fights conservatives actually care about. On what evidence? Where were the primary debates on spending, immigration, government surveillance, and corporate welfare that might have forced their hands?

Trump’s terrible endorsements are not a minor blemish on an otherwise beloved political figure. They are a debilitating obstacle to rebuilding the right. We cannot claim to oppose a ruling class while allowing one man to decide which members of that class get another six years in power.

RELATED: Pray for the country. Then do your part.

Imagedepotpro/Getty Images

I am not writing this to relitigate every lost primary in 2026. I want to know what conservatives intend to do before the 2028 cycle begins.

Recruitment and organizing start well before Election Day. If prospective challengers assume Trump will automatically bless the incumbent RINO or an establishment favorite for an open seat, many will never bother running. And the people who claim to speak for the grassroots will shrug and tell us to vote Republican anyway.

That problem needs an answer on November 4, the morning after these midterms, not when the next slate of candidates has already been anointed. Find and recruit challengers. Demand debates. Make candidates state their positions. Stop treating the president’s endorsement like a substitute for the judgment of the voters who built this movement.

And yes, the same standard should apply to the 2028 Republican presidential primary. Even a candidate we like should have to sweat through hard questions about electability, the failures of GOP leadership, and why the next Republican trifecta would accomplish more than the last.

Thomas Sowell wrote that “competition does a much more effective job than government at protecting consumers.” Conservatives understand that when discussing monopolies in the marketplace. If we refuse to apply it to the politicians who govern us, we deserve every political dud we get.

​Conservatives, General election, Michael whatley, Monopoly, Montana, North carolina, Politicians, Primaries, Roy cooper, Thomas sowell, Voters, Opinion & analysis, Donald trump 

A violent criminal who had been convicted of rape and was on the run was found dead in San Diego, police say.

Merle Wakefield, 69, was being supervised on California’s conditional release program when officials got a tamper notice from his monitoring device on Sept. 25.

‘As long as the state keeps releasing sexually violent predators into our neighborhoods, families are one tampered ankle monitor away from this. These people don’t belong anywhere near our communities.’

When the officials arrived at his workplace in Rancho Bernardo, they found the GPS device, but Wakefield was gone.

Nearly a month later on Monday at about 9:30 a.m., San Diego police responded to a report of a dead body and found human remains in a riverbed in San Diego.

The San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the remains as Merle Wakefield. His cause and manner of death will be determined by an autopsy.

The rapist’s remains were found about 20 miles south of the location where he was last seen.

Wakefield had been convicted of rape as well as lewd acts with a minor under 14, along with eight other convictions and 20 arrests.

He was granted conditional release in Nov. 2024.

It’s unclear how Wakefield died.

San Diego police said they are continuing to investigate the man’s death.

RELATED: California man allegedly coerced 21 children to produce sex videos via online apps, FBI says

San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond criticized the state of California after Wakefield vanished.

“The unfortunate reality is that what happened with Merle Wakefield could have happened at any time,” Demond said.

“As long as the state keeps releasing sexually violent predators into our neighborhoods, families are one tampered ankle monitor away from this. These people don’t belong anywhere near our communities. They belong locked up in a secure state facility. Period.”

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​Ankle monitor, California, Rapist, Sexual predator, Crime 

The timing couldn’t be better.

Just as an Anthropic safety researcher resigned over the company’s irresponsible behavior and another researcher warned that AI developers are creating systems with a 10% chance of killing all humans in the next decade, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel is enthusiastically lobbying our medical system to entrust AI to become our primary physicians.

Now, as a physician who has practiced internal medicine for nearly 30 years, I appreciate Emanuel’s enthusiasm. I really do. But he is simply wrong.

When it comes to our best and worst moments in life, we will always want another person with us.

Let’s begin with his recent essay in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the flagship journal of internal medicine. Citing “studies” showing AI-only medical care is likely to be better than physician-alone or AI-physician hybrid care, Emanuel identifies five AI-superior areas: eliciting medically relevant information; establishing a differential diagnosis; specifying diagnostic testing; prescribing guideline-concordant treatment; managing chronic diseases.

But the devil is in the details.

First, none of the studies Emanuel cites meets the gold standard: a randomized, double-blind, multicenter, placebo-controlled trial with hard clinical end points. Instead, he relies largely on small observational studies, simulated clinical cases, and meta-analyses. Each has limitations that complicate any attempt to draw definitive clinical conclusions.

If anything, these studies raise more questions than answers. This is no problem if Emanuel’s assertion is that we need to perform more studies. However, when he repurposes his JAMA articles into a jaunty Atlantic Monthly essay, he insists that cautious medical minds are “ignor[ing] available evidence and could hold untold numbers of Americans back from better health.”

My question to Emanuel is, in light of his low-quality studies, what sound, available evidence?

Second, Emanuel seems enamored with algorithms. Established clinical pathways can provide valuable, evidence-based guidance for evaluating symptoms, treating disease, and determining the standard of care. But experienced physicians know that clinical judgment cannot be reduced to an algorithm.

Our patients and their problems are not simply algorithmic. Every day, physicians encounter complexities and confounders, curveballs, and exceptions. We need more than book knowledge and flowcharts. Open-mindedness, intuition, and common sense — all of which are born of experience.

Emanuel strikes me as one of the rationalists that stirred up philosopher Michael Oakeshott’s ire. The rationalists are those who worship at the altar of technical knowledge (knowledge of experts that can be written in a book), yet blithely dismiss indispensable practical knowledge (knowledge gained by life and experience). It seems good in theory, but it all falls apart in practice.

RELATED: You can medicate despair. You can’t manufacture meaning.

Merovingian/Getty Images

Third, Emanuel has great confidence in consensus statements and practice guidelines. These are recommended diagnostic paths or treatment plans offered by august bodies of medical deliberation or the best available evidence. Sadly, most of this evidence is moderate to weak at best.

As Abba Eban once observed, “A consensus means that everyone agrees to say collectively what no one believes individually.” While AI draws from an immense fund of knowledge, physicians (while using AI) can add wisdom that asserts purifying qualifiers such as “it depends” or “up to a point.”

If Emanuel’s further criticism is that human beings are hampered by their propensity for error, is it not error-laden human knowledge that informs artificial intelligence? Inadvertently and ironically, the muddled human condition is baked into artificial intelligence.

Finally, Emanuel seemingly forgets about the human touch. Surely, as a capable oncologist, he recalls moments when he pushed away from the computer, took off his glasses, leaned forward, and truly engaged with the patient. At that moment of profound and unfettered intentionality, the luminous wonder of the physician-patient relationship came vibrantly alive.

Are we to be convinced that this relationship doesn’t matter? That it is simply an expendable byproduct in a life’s journey through sickness and health? The iconic 19th-century godfather of medicine, Dr. William Osler, would be aghast at such an assertion. “The good doctor treats the disease,” he once insisted. ‘The great doctor treats the patient who has the disease.”

RELATED: Now they’re saying the AIs built ‘secret civilizations’ — the truth is far worse

Ole_CNX/Getty Images

Perhaps the studies will come. Perhaps, at some point, artificial intelligence will demonstrably outperform physicians (or even physicians aided by AI), and we who practice will need to bow to our computerized overlords as they, like C-3PO, dispense medical wisdom with their soothing metallic voices and remarkable programmed empathy.

But I’m not convinced.

There is a story of a man openly weeping in a massive crowd upon hearing of the death of President Franklin Roosevelt in 1945. A nearby reporter approached him and asked if he personally knew the president. “No, I didn’t know President Roosevelt,” he answered. “But he knew me.”

When it comes to our best and worst moments in life, we will always want another person with us. Someone who can help us, who cares about us, and who knows us.

Artificial intelligence is a wondrous tool, but it doesn’t know us. Find a good physician who does.

​Ai, Doctors, Physicians, Anthropic, Jama, Internal medicine, Studies, Atlantic monthly, Evidence, Human connection, Common sense, Experience, Algorithm, Michael oakeshott, Knowledge, Consensus, Abba eban, Opinion & analysis, Ezekiel emanuel 

I spent 24 years enforcing immigration law. I know what government looks like when officials stop taking enforcement seriously. In June, I wrote in Lyceum that Belfast’s riots exposed a collapse of public trust and that lawful enforcement offered the peaceful way to restore it. France has now delivered another warning.

On October 17, masked rioters looted businesses and set fire to public buildings across France. Police made more than 2,400 arrests, and nearly 1,000 officers were injured, seven of them seriously. Cities imposed curfews. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez acknowledged that police had failed to anticipate the scale of the unrest and offered to resign. President Emmanuel Macron refused his resignation and publicly condemned the violence.

Publish the data regularly, explain what the numbers show, and let citizens judge. If the numbers support the policy, why hide them?

French officials blamed ultra-left militants and opportunistic looters. The protests began in September over the cost of living and deteriorating schools. More than half a million people marched on Oct. 17, most of them peacefully. I accept those facts. I do not accept that the government’s explanation ends the inquiry. Officials who admit they failed to anticipate what happened on their own streets should expect the public to ask tougher questions.

Start with the government’s own immigration figures. France issued about 377,000 first residence permits in 2025, up 9.2% from 2024, according to revised Interior Ministry figures. Permits issued for humanitarian reasons rose 56.8%. The increase is partly explained by protection for people fleeing conflict in Afghanistan and Ukraine. But who calculated the effects on the communities expected to absorb them?

Consider the schools, where the protests began. France’s 2026 plans eliminated more than 3,000 existing teaching positions in certain categories even as the Education Ministry budgeted thousands of other posts. Teachers complained about vacancies, and students described classes of 32 to 36. The ministry points to a historic decline in enrollment. I take it at its word. That makes it all the more important to show how officials reconcile nationwide enrollment projections with the needs of particular neighborhoods.

Who weighs residence permits against available classrooms, housing, local services, and employment? Who decides where resources will follow the people who arrive? If officials have made those calculations, publish them. A government that can count permits can explain their second- and third-order consequences. If it does not ask those questions, it cannot expect the public to believe it cares about the answers.

RELATED: Employee at French GameStop store goes viral in heroic ‘battle’ against rampaging rioters

David Sepeau/Hans Lucas/AFP/Getty Images

Here is another test. France publishes residence permits by nationality, including the numbers issued to Moroccans and Afghans. After the riots, the Interior Ministry reported arrests, but I have not seen a comparable public breakdown of who was arrested. Publish the numbers and let the public assess them. Silence is no substitute for evidence.

Spain has felt its own pressures. In 2025, an assault on an elderly man in Torre Pacheco became the spark for several nights of anti-migrant clashes. In April this year, Madrid opened an extraordinary program to regularize undocumented migrants, originally expected to reach about half a million people. Housing protests intensified, and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called a snap election for November 29. I read these events as a bill coming due for political leaders who must answer for their decisions.

Belfast offered a more immediate example. On June 8, a man was stabbed, and a Sudanese asylum seeker was charged with attempted murder. Mobs then set fire to homes and a city bus. Lists of addresses supposedly belonging to immigrants circulated online. Police brought in reinforcements from Great Britain and used plastic bullets.

Attacking people because of where they live is a crime, and no immigration policy excuses it. But governments cannot ignore demands for public order and then profess surprise when disorder follows. I made that argument in Lyceum, and I stand by it.

Poland chose a different response. In March 2025, it suspended most asylum applications from people crossing its border with Belarus, strengthened border enforcement, and maintained a visible security presence. On October 18, Prime Minister Donald Tusk defended that policy, emphasizing border control and the removal of people who violate Polish law.

RELATED: Macron watched France burn — then blamed the ‘French people.’ Trump: ‘The migrants have taken over.’

Benoit Tessier/POOL/AFP/Getty Images

Poland has not escaped demonstrations. Anti-immigration marches took place in more than 80 cities in July 2025, and police separated marchers from counterprotesters. But I have not found riots on the scale of Belfast or France. Critics note that the OECD put Poland’s foreign-born population at only 2.2% in 2023. The country also hosts more than a million refugees from Ukraine, and human rights groups challenge its asylum restrictions. Poland proves neither that every restriction works nor that it has settled every concern. It does show a government acting openly on a question voters have pressed it to answer.

Americans should learn from this. Enforcement can rebuild trust; secrecy corrodes it. The Oversight Project sought deportation statistics from the Department of Homeland Security. According to an October 9 Daily Caller report, DHS supplied a fully redacted summary of voluntary departures. I called that a slap in the face, and I meant it.

France should explain its arrests and immigration decisions. The Trump administration should publish the deportation figures it uses to defend its record. Both governments ask the public to trust them. Publish the data regularly, explain what the numbers show, and let citizens judge. If the numbers support the policy, why hide them?

​Collapse of trust, Immigration policy, Masked rioters, Peaceful protests, Emmanuel macron, Dhs, Rioters, France, Poland, Opinion & analysis, Donald trump, Belfast 

Last weekend, hundreds of thousands of people across France marched in protest of living costs and deteriorating public services. Those marches were quickly overtaken by violent, masked groups who looted shops, set cars and buildings on fire, and clashed with police in cities including Paris, Marseille, Lyon, and Limoges.

Even though more than 2,000 people were arrested, police largely failed to contain the chaos in several cities.

But that chaos and destruction, says Glenn Beck, had “nothing to do with the schools” or any other valid grievance.

It has everything to do, he argues, with the budget the French Parliament was scheduled to vote on yesterday, although it ended up being postponed to a later date.

“The street was sending Paris a message before the vote, and the government is now stuck in a trap with no good door,” says Glenn.

He explains how cutting spending infuriates the mob because it means fewer services, but not cutting spending worsens the debt crisis, which also infuriates the mob.

“If they vote it down, the lenders get nervous and the interest rates climb. Then the borrowing costs rise. Then the jobs disappear, and everything costs more, which is exactly what the people are marching about in the first place, so either way somebody loses,” he says.

The best-case scenario, says Glenn, is they “agree on a budget” and vow to “pay this loan back,” even if it means financial constraints. If the meeting “falls apart,” however, he predicts a snowball effect, where lenders raise France’s borrowing costs, the government has to borrow even more just to cover its bills, rates climb farther, and the debt spiral spreads pressure across Europe while France’s ability to fund basic services keeps shrinking.

“That’s Italy. That’s Greece. That’s Germany, and it’s already starting. Their borrowing costs went up this month, and France now pays more to borrow than either of them,” says Glenn.

The third potential outcome is what will happen if the budget falls apart and nobody does anything about it. In this scenario, the European Central Bank will either step in with harsh conditions that make daily life even harder and fuel more unrest — or break its own rules to bail France out, which signals that the rules no longer matter and spreads the crisis further.

This should matter to Americans, says Glenn, because America is teetering on the same debt trap as France — spending more than it earns. And if lenders lose confidence in the U.S. the way they’re losing confidence in France, Americans will feel it in higher mortgage rates, higher car payments, and job losses.

To hear more, watch the video above.

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​Debt crisis, France, Glenn beck, Blazetv show 

British comedian Jimmy Carr was asked to comment on the outrage over Shane Gillis’ gym joke, and his response was absolutely hilarious.

Gillis has been excoriated by feminists and others on the left for saying that some women dress like “whores” at the gym during his monologue on “Saturday Night Live” on October 10, 2026.

‘Shane is very clearly a lovely man. And he’s trying to make people laugh. That’s a joyful thing. Look at the intent, not the content.’

Carr often posts video of his interactions with his audience on social media from his stand-up appearances and decided to post his opinion on the Gillis outrage.

“What are your thoughts on the Shane Gillis controversy?” an audience member asked.

“Shane Gillis? If that’s what passes as controversy, great!” Carr responded, which elicited laughter from the crowd.

“The weird thing about that is, I say worse things than that every day. And also, I think intent is much more important than content,” he added.

“Shane is very clearly a lovely man. And he’s trying to make people laugh. That’s a joyful thing. Look at the intent, not the content. Don’t take it out of context. He’s a great f**king guy. Great guy, great comic,” Carr said.

Carr got a lot of applause for his statement. He went on to make a fat joke at Gillis’ expense.

“I think, though, the controversy probably means that he won’t be able to go to the gym for a while,” he said, laughing. “I don’t think that’s going to be a massive problem for him lifestyle-wise.”

Carr’s video garnered more than 2.6 million views after he posted it on Monday.

RELATED: Joe Rogan pounces on uproar over Gillis joke about women dressing like ‘whores’ at gyms

Others have pointed out that Gillis’ joke was ultimately meant to ridicule Gillis at the gym.

“Look, I’m sorry, there’s no other way to describe [it]. Have you seen it? I’ve seen it. The shorts. Have you seen the shorts? Those neon, they’re like artificial bait-colored. And the wrinkles go around the cheeks and all combine at the butthole. And don’t look! You’re not allowed to look,” Gillis said to the “SNL” audience.

“For real, don’t look because they are filming. I’m in the background of like 10 TikToks right now,” he added.

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​Saturday night live, Shane gillis, Joe rogan, Comedy, Politics 

Transgender-identifying people are protesting a law in Kansas by following it — with “bearded, burly” women who identify as men.

In one incident on Aug. 8, the protest caused the manager of the Long Branch Lagoon Water Park in Dodge City to scream and help children leave the bathroom and changing area.

The reporter referred to the action as ‘malicious compliance.’

The new SB 244 law restricts people from using a bathroom designated for a gender that doesn’t match their gender assigned at birth.

Following the law led to the self-described “bearded, burly men” having an “uncomfortable” conversation with police where they had to describe their bodies and genitals, according to a report from a transgender-identifying reporter.

The report showed a picture of the three women wearing yellow shirts that read “SB244 Compliance Crew,” which refers to the transgender law.

The reporter referred to the action as “malicious compliance.”

Others were a part of the protest and made similar bathroom visits at a zoo, a library, a museum, and other parks. The group’s press release claimed that neither the police involved in the water park incident nor the manager knew about the law.

“Segregating people by suspected genitalia does nothing to improve public safety; it does quite the opposite by opening Kansans up to sexual harassment and discrimination,” said one of the women at the Dodge City protest. “At no point should anyone be asking anyone else what genitals they have in public.”

The transgender activist group also claimed that the law had unequal outcomes for different transgender-identifying folks.

“Trans feminine people face the brunt of the KS Legislature’s demonization while trans masculine folks are infantilized and characterized as non-threatening,” the group states on its website, according to LGBTQ Nation. “We believe it’s important to use that relative advantage to work for change.”

RELATED: DOJ files ‘first-of-its-kind’ lawsuit against red-state school district for allegedly pushing gender transition behind parents’ backs

The transgender-identifying activists are plotting more protests against the Kansas law.

“I’ve got some ideas rattling around in my head,” said Charles Osman, who created the SB244 Compliance Crew.

Osman says there’s a reason the activists are targeting areas away from the metropolitan areas of Kansas.

“They almost exclusively vote Republican,” Osman told the Lawrence Times. “And almost nobody knows about this law out in rural areas.”

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​Transgender, Bathroom law, Kansas, Protest, Politics 

The French are no strangers to protests that go sideways. After all, the nation is on its fifth republic since 1792.

Nevertheless, the rally on Saturday planned by the General Confederation of Labor and various other leftist outfits — a rally that quickly devolved into an orgy of destruction — proved to be too much for the French authorities to handle.

‘There’s a lot of tinder for the flame.’

Luke Foster, assistant professor of government at Hillsdale College, provided Blaze News with insights into what has changed and what France is up against.

Throughout the West but perhaps most acutely in France, the old left that was historically focused on issues affecting the working class has increasingly been displaced by the “new left, which is much more about sexual and racial politics,” said Foster.

This shift appears to have taken place midway through the 20th century.

In “Explaining Postmodernism,” Stephen Hicks, formerly of Rockford University, observed that in response to the “crisis of socialism,” “much of the Left changed its official ethical standard from need to equality” and began “concentrating their efforts on the special issues of women and of racial and ethnic minorities.”

RELATED: Macron watched France burn — then blamed the ‘French people.’ Trump: ‘The migrants have taken over.’

LFI leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon. JEFF PACHOUD/AFP/Getty Images

This is certainly the case in France, where instead of relying on and weaponizing the resentment of French workers, the new left is increasingly leaning on easily mobilizable immigrants and the children of immigrants to help “channel revolutionary pressure,” said Foster.

This comports with what French conservative activist Thaïs d’Escufon has observed in her homeland.

D’Escufon previously told Blaze News:

What started as student protests, mainly led by the far left, has turned into ethnic riots that are spiraling out of control. Immigrants have become the street-level enforcers of the far left, spreading chaos, looting, vandalizing, stealing, and setting things on fire. It is an unholy alliance.

French leftists of all sorts were out in force over the weekend. For example, the suspect arrested in connection with the torching of the historic town hall in Limoges has been identified as a member of the ultra-left.

Foster noted, however, that the riots were undeniably “immigrant-dependent,” using at least the language and the symbols of Islamist politics and flying in some cases the Palestinian flag as well as the colors of North African countries, including Algeria and Morocco.

This foreign presence was no coincidence. Leftist organizers clearly intended to weaponize migrant resentment from the outset.

Saturday was the 65th anniversary of the 1961 Paris massacre, where French police lethally cracked down on Algerian demonstrators. A website promoting French protests on Saturday explicitly referenced the incident, claiming that the “racism” that supposedly animated the violence against “peaceful Algerians” in 1961 is “still used to divide” today.

The choice to hold the protests Saturday plays “to Algerian grievance politics, which are very powerful in France,” said Foster.

“Something like particular local grievances about the way the schools are being run can very quickly turn into an ethnically and religiously motivated attack on the state and the country as a whole,” added Foster.

The professor noted that “ground zero” for the so-called student protests that culminated in the riots on Saturday was unsurprisingly Saint-Denis, a poor and violent area that has a large “North and West African immigrant presence.”

Saint-Denis — where an estimated one in three residents was an immigrant as of 2024 — also happens to be the political proving ground for the France Unbowed movement, or LFI, and the immigration-centered “new France” envisioned by LFI leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

Mélenchon and other leftists “are pouring oxygen on the fire and giving it a kind of rhetorical ideological framework,” said Foster.

Foster noted that Mélenchon and the LFI are explicitly committed to an electoral strategy of uniting students and other young people to Islamist politics in order to “unravel the current regime and political system and build something new.”

Mélenchon, a presidential candidate for the 2027 election, is a poster boy for the new left. He has long downplayed Islam as a national security threat, advocated for the “creolization” of France, rejected the integration of migrants, and called for the decriminalization of illegal immigration as well as for a capitalism-destroying revolution.

Mélenchon urged his followers earlier this month to join the so-called protests and subsequently joined labor groups in condemning police for doing their jobs when things went south.

While critical of the looting, Mélenchon stated after the riots Saturday left thousands of businesses gutted and hundreds of police injured, “I support the youth and student movement and their demands.”

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

Between Mélenchon’s apparent strategy and the character of the rioters, it appears that both President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron were right.

While Trump, who claimed that “what’s happening in France is nothing less than out-of-control mass migration,” has advocated for France to close its borders and take control “before it is too late,” Macron blamed the riots on “seditionists from far-left fringe groups,” and his administration imposed nightly curfews.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu credited the curfews with achieving a semblance of calm in recent days.

“Tonight, new curfews will be decided where the situation requires it,” said Lecornu early on Tuesday.

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​France, Emmanuel macron, Donald trump, Paris, Algeria, Politics