Category: blaze media

Earlier this year, a nasty exploit plagued iPhone in what was called the “biggest iPhone threat in 19 years.” Unfortunately, several months later, that exploit is still causing trouble, and it is joined by another vulnerability, all aimed to steal money from some of the financial apps on your phone.

The two exploits are called Coruna and DarkSword, respectively. We covered both of them here on Blaze News, so you may have heard these names before. Both of them were problematic earlier this year, but a new report reveals that they are still plaguing users.

The easiest way to thwart bad actors is to keep your phone updated with the latest bug fixes and security patches.

Macworld describes the exploits as two sides of the same coin: “DarkSword/Coruna is a dual-edged hacking toolkit. DarkSword attacks WebKit and JavaScriptCore to access iOS’s SpringBoard that [manages] app launch and the Home screen. Coruna is the payload used to steal crypto wallet information.”

Together, the exploits are aimed directly at crypto wallets stored on users’ iPhones. Censys, the cybersecurity company that discovered the ongoing issue, got ahold of some of the data that an undisclosed hacker stole via these exploits. Among the recovered data from real victims, Censys found “11 victim recovery phrases, 179 device loot directories, and a 75-account control-plane roster.”

That is proof enough that these exploits are still dangerous to vulnerable users.

In addition to the collected data, Censys found evidence that another hacking group — this time based in China — is actively using the exploits to attack victims, though the report doesn’t say who or where.

So far, Censys found that bad actors using the exploits are targeting only 18 different crypto wallets, but several of them are popular in the United States. These include Coinbase, MetaMask, Trust Wallet, Exodus, Bitpie, imToken, Phantom, Uniswap, and OKEx.

RELATED: Your iPhone has state-of-the-art security features. Law enforcement has a new way to disable them.

Hleb Usovich/Getty Images

The good news is that there are ways to protect your device and, by association, your crypto wallets.

Apple patched DarkSword earlier this year, but the fix only works if you have the correct software downloaded and installed on your device. To check, open the Settings app on your iPhone and tap “General,” followed by “Software update.” If the number that appears is iOS 26.3 or higher, you’re safe. If your device is running a lower version of iOS 26, or if you’re still on iOS 18 from the previous year, your crypto wallet could be in danger. Update your phone to the latest version available now.

As for Coruna, this exploit mostly affected older devices from iPhone 5s to iPhone 11. If you still have one of these devices, make sure you have updated it to any of these iOS versions or better, depending on the model of your phone:

iOS 26.3.1 iOS 18.7.5 iOS 16.7.14iOS 15.8.6 iOS 12.5.8

Both exploits have also been fully addressed on the newest version of iOS 27 that launched this fall. Along with optimal protection from bad actors, iOS 27 comes with a number of interesting features, including the new Siri, better parental controls, and a more accessible Visual Intelligence.

Although these exploits are still rearing their ugly heads, the easiest way to thwart bad actors is to keep your phone updated with the latest bug fixes and security patches. This way, even if there is a problem, Apple can address it on your device as quickly as possible and keep your data safe.

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​Iphone, Security, Bugs, Virus, Malware, Crypto, Tech 

Democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York has come to the rescue of Abdul El-Sayed.

The firebrand leftist has dumped $1 million into helping El-Sayed’s effort to keep a Michigan U.S. Senate seat blue against Republican Mike Rogers. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) did not seek re-election in 2026.

‘I look forward to working with Abdul … to build a politics that is free from the corrupting influence of corporate money.’

It’s the latest sign that Democrats are worried that the race is too close in the final weeks of the campaign.

“I’m not waking up on November 4 wishing I did more to combat the smears aimed at Abdul,” AOC said in a statement to the New York Times. “I’m leaving everything I can on the field.”

The Times indicated it was an unusually large donation from a member of the House to support a U.S. Senate candidate.

Winning in Michigan is key to Democrats’ hopes to retake control of the Senate from Republicans.

It may also be another example of Ocasio-Cortez trying to raise her national profile in anticipation of a possible presidential run in 2028.

AOC joined El-Sayed in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on Thursday. She also previously campaigned for El-Sayed in the Senate primary and when he ran for governor. Both El-Sayed and Ocasio-Cortez are considered to be in the extreme socialist fringe of the Democratic Party.

She raised $4.7 million in the third quarter, according to her financial filings, and has $17.4 million in cash going into October.

“Once he’s in Washington, I look forward to working with Abdul to guarantee health care as a human right for all Americans and to build a politics that is free from the corrupting influence of corporate money,” she said, according to USA Today.

RELATED: Ocasio-Cortez gets hammered online over embarrassing mistake during CNN town hall

El-Sayed’s victory over Rep. Haley Stevens in the Democratic primary was seen as a victory for the far-left fringe against the establishment of the party. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York had backed Stevens, who lost by a narrow margin.

In recent polling for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028, Ocasio-Cortez was tied with Pete Buttigieg in third place with 9%.

El-Sayed has a slim lead over Rogers, according to Blaze News’ Poll Watch.

Michigan Senate polls 2026: El-Sayed vs. Rogers

Michigan Senate polls 2026: El-Sayed vs. Rogerspollwatch.theblaze.com

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​Abdul el-sayed, Alexandria ocasio-cortez, Democratic socialist, Us senate, Politics 

On Friday, just days after Katie Zacharia’s debut as White House press secretary, a White House senior official informed Fox News’ Peter Doocy that she is “transitioning out” of the role.

The New York Times, citing three people familiar with the matter, subsequently reported that Zacharia had been fired.

‘Welcome to the world of Trump.’

The White House did not immediately respond to Blaze News’ request for comment.

On the eve of her ouster, Zacharia had a particularly rough interview with Sean Hannity in which the Fox News host grilled her about failing the bar exam. President Donald Trump had referred to Zacharia as “an attorney” in his post announcing her appointment.

Zacharia explained that she graduated from law school the same week she got married and that she and her family soon afterward migrated to communist China. Before moving to China, she sat for the bar exam since she was already pre-registered and she wanted to avoid having “withdrawal status.”

Hannity also pressed her about her “widely panned” 14-minute debut, in which she answered only three questions.

Trump told reporters on Friday that Zacharia, whom he regards as a “nice person,” was being treated “pretty nastily” and that he told her, “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want. She said, ‘This is a lot tougher.’ I said, ‘Welcome to the world of Trump.'”

“Katie is off to a start that — the news has been so nasty to her. I’ve never seen anything like it, actually,” said Trump.

Although the president indicated that he would ultimately leave the decision up to Zacharia, he recalled telling her, “Honestly, if I were you, I’d reconsider. You think about it, but I would reconsider.”

RELATED: Katie Zacharia takes podium for the first time as press secretary — and Trump reacts

Jim WATSON/AFP/Getty Images

Zacharia, who was named to the role last Friday, was the seventh woman in a row to head the White House press secretary office.

It’s presently unclear who will take over for Zacharia following her five-day tenure.

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​Donald trump, Karoline leavitt, Katie zacharia, Press secretary, White house, Politics 

Kid Rock says critics on both sides of the political divide don’t want him working with Eminem.

The outspoken Trump supporter recently announced a collaboration with his longtime friend and fellow Detroit musician, who can’t stand the president. But after receiving backlash over the pairing, Kid Rock announced that Eminem would no longer appear on the track.

‘It will probably not make you very happy to hear …’

Hate mile

There was a catch, however.

Kid Rock (Robert Ritchie) and Eminem (Marshall Mathers) go back decades, long before politics put them on opposite sides of the Trump divide.

Eminem hammered Trump in a 2017 freestyle, the first of several public attacks over the years that followed.

Eminem was originally set to appear on “7 Sins,” a track from Kid Rock’s upcoming album, “Halfway 2 Jesus.” But on Wednesday, Kid Rock announced a change.

“There’s been some people on the internet and whatnot, like there always is, that don’t seem to be too thrilled about my old friend of almost 40 years, Eminem, doing a song with me on my new album,” Kid Rock said in a video.

“You folks will probably be happy to hear that he’s no longer on ‘7 Sins.'”

But Rock quickly added some bad news for all those politics-obsessed busybodies: Rapper Lil Wayne will replace Eminem on “7 Sins,” while Eminem will appear on another song, “Heal My Faith,” on the same album.

“It will probably not make you very happy to hear that Eminem is still on the album. He’s just on another song now,” Kid Rock said, pointing to his updated track listing.

Kid Rock had recently said that despite their political differences, he still respects Eminem, as well as artists like Taylor Swift, for standing up for what they believe in.

RELATED: GUITAR HERO: Metallica front man puts music before political ‘bulls**t’

Potty-mouthed pals

“We said years ago, we said, ‘Man, let’s not let politics divide us.’ And we never did. And so when I asked him to be part of this … he totally got it,” Kid Rock told Fox News in an interview.

“Two little foul-mouthed white rappers from Detroit maybe could set a good example for the rest of this country,” he added.

Ritchie called Eminem a “class act” and said political differences are part of what makes the United States a great country. He added, however, that he doesn’t believe artists should turn their concerts into political events.

Metallica singer James Hetfield recently expressed a similar sentiment, telling fans in Las Vegas that his band wanted to bring people together to forget about the outside world, rather than make them pay to hear a political discussion at a rock concert.

RELATED: Trends come and go, but Randy Travis is ‘Forever’

Mazur/WireImage/Getty Images

Nature is healing

Ritchie and Mathers reportedly met in Detroit’s rap scene in the early 1990s. Despite some initial friction, the two grew to respect each other.

Kid Rock’s 1998 breakout album, “Devil Without a Cause,” eventually sold more than 14 million copies and featured a then-little-known Eminem on the song “F*** Off.” The two have not collaborated on a released track since.

In his 2018 song “The Ringer,” Eminem admitted he had been “watchin’ my fan base shrink to thirds” following his attacks on Trump.

In his original 2017 freestyle, Eminem drew a line “in the sand,” effectively telling fans they had to choose between him and Trump. But in “The Ringer,” he appeared to have second thoughts, asking, “Was it even worth it?”

Eminem has continued to criticize Trump, although his political commentary has become less central to his music.

Kid Rock, meanwhile, has increasingly embraced both his Christian faith and conservative politics, the latter reflected in songs like “We the People.”

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​Kid rock, Donald trump, Marshall mathers, Eminem, Entertainment 

A 16-year-old male fatally shot three children and a teacher at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, Thursday afternoon before a parent shot the gunman dead, OregonLive reported, citing police.

Police said the fatally shot children were ages 5, 8, and 11, the outlet reported, adding that a 7-year-old student and a 54-year-old teacher were critically injured and taken to St. Charles Medical Center for treatment.

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) praised school staff, parents, and first responders, along with the community member ‘who heroically intervened to stop further loss of life,’ Fox News reported.

Oregon Live added that a parent of a student or students at the school pursued the teen inside the school after seeing him blast through locked doors with a long gun, and the parent “engaged” and killed the suspect just before police entered the school.

State and local officials credited the parent’s actions with preventing further loss of life, the outlet said.

One source told Fox News that the bystander “definitely prevented more deaths.” Federal law enforcement sources added to Fox News that the bystander has a concealed carry permit.

“Looks like the shooter has been neutralized — possibly shot by a father at the school,” emergency dispatchers said in Broadcastify audio, the New York Post reported.

Officers arrived within three minutes of the first emergency call, Fox News said, adding that moments later, an officer reported that a “community member” had shot the suspect.

“Our officers entered the building and confirmed the suspect was dead,” Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said during an evening news conference, according to Fox News. “They cleared the school to ensure there were no additional threats and then rendered emergency aid to the victims.”

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) praised school staff, parents, and first responders, along with the community member “who heroically intervened to stop further loss of life,” Fox News reported.

“Your actions carry a heavy emotional burden, and I just want you to know that my thoughts are with you as well,” Kotek added, according to the cable news network.

RELATED: ‘Heroic’ bystander who fired at gunman suspected in deadly shooting at Idaho In-N-Out shares how he prepared for the danger

Krantz said investigators did not yet know how far the shooter had gone inside the school or if he knew anyone at the school, Fox News said, adding that police were also looking into whether the teen previously attended Silver Rail Elementary.

More from Fox News:

The first emergency call came at 12:59 p.m. from a person in a vehicle who reported being shot at multiple times by someone carrying a long gun, Krantz said. Dispatchers then received dozens of calls reporting that a shooter had entered the school.

Dispatch sent an alert summoning all law enforcement at 1 p.m. Responding officers directed the school to lock down at 1:01 p.m., and the first officers arrived at 1:02 p.m.

Officers found five people dead at the scene, including the shooter. All victims’ families had been notified, Krantz said.

Bend police, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, Redmond police, Oregon State Police, and federal law enforcement partners evacuated the building room by room.

Students and staff were transported on school buses to Journey Church to reunite with families and guardians, the cable news network said, adding that the process was still under way at the evening briefing.

Silver Rail Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in the Bend-La Pine school district, Fox News said, adding that the school enrolled 459 students during the 2024-2025 school year.

All Bend-La Pine schools, activities, and athletic events were canceled Friday, the cable news network said.

Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Steven Cook said crisis counselors would be available at the Central Library for students, families, employees, and anyone in the community needing support, Fox News reported, adding that authorities said they planned to hold another news conference Friday afternoon.

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​Fatal shootings, Oregon, Elementary school, 2nd amendment, Good guy with a gun, Teen gunman, Crime 

“The View” crew blew a gasket over Shane Gillis’ “Saturday Night Live” monologue mocking scantily clad gym gals. At the same time, they dabbled in actual misogyny.

Even by “View” standards, it was peak hypocrisy.

Biden, the actor said weeks before the president melted down during his final debate, was ‘sharp as a tack.’

The hosts trashed Katie Zacharia, who by most accounts had a rough debut as the new press secretary. She’s a Republican, so she’s fair game to “The View.” And that’s fine. We expect the show’s partisanship to trump any “girl power” collegiality.

It’s baked into the nutty cake.

Except the hosts suggested that Zacharia slept her way into the position. Co-host Alyssa Farrah Griffin asked how she “got through the door” to become the new press secretary.

“I’ll tell ya how she got through the door,” Sara Haines said, sparking laughs from the oh-so-feminist crowd and co-hosts.

Titter-titter. Chuckle-chuckle. What’s more empowering than women insisting other women got work through sexual favors sans proof? Let’s hope Gillis doesn’t riff on Kamala Harris’ early days in politics. He might get canceled yet again …

Conspiracy bleary

The truth is out there, but you’ll need a Hulu subscription to find it.

Director Ryan Coogler’s “X-Files” reboot landed on the streamer this week. The project stars Danielle Deadwyler and Himesh Patel, taking over for Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. The actors play entirely new characters in the series, but it looks like Mulder and Scully will make appearances along the way.

Imagine the new conspiracies the show can tackle! The government spreads massive lies about a China-born infection … a foreign country teams with a political rebel to win an election … a U.S. president’s cognitive decline is hidden for four straight years.

Or the show could bring in the son of the Smoking Man. We’ll see …

Did he stutter?

Well, that was awkward.

Michael Douglas has done it all in his 82 years, at least from a Hollywood perspective. Oscars. Acclaim. Nepo baby-ism. What a life.

What hasn’t he done? Sit with someone willing to debunk his boilerplate Democrat views. He got that chance, finally, when Joe Rogan read him, and his audience, the riot act on progressives gone wild.

An open border? No honest primaries for year after year? And, most specifically, they covered up for a president who clearly had some form of dementia.

You know the thing.

Rogan was on a roll, but the most awkward element of their exchange dealt with Biden’s obvious decline. Why? It wasn’t long ago when Douglas was part of the Biden cover-up.

Biden, the actor said weeks before the president melted down during his final debate, was “sharp as a tack.” Douglas even cited Biden’s “stutter” excuse that mysteriously appeared over the past few years after decades in D.C.

Douglas appears to be legitimately “sharp as a tack,” thank goodness. Let’s hope he took away some lessons from the exchange …

RELATED: Shattered by socialism: ‘Escaping Venezuela’ offers a warning for Mamdani’s America

Yamil Lage/Getty Images

Laugh track

Chuck Lorre blames a Hollywood writers’ strike for the end of democracy.

Sort of.

He framed it that way in his new book, a memoir called “Sitcom.” After all, Lorre has made more than a few modern classics, from “The Big Bang Theory” to “Two and a Half Men.”

Credit where credit is due.

The far-Left Deadline.com pressed Lorre on that hyperbolic phrasing, tied to the 2007-2008 WGA strike that helped spark a crush of new reality showcases.

Like “The Apprentice,” starring Donald Trump, he insinuated. Except Lorre might be bad at math, since “The Apprentice” debuted in 2004.

The strike, he said, “brought about these enormously profitable, cheap-to-produce reality shows … and that ultimately led to a show like ‘The Apprentice,’ which probably would never have seen the light of day had it not been for that.”

Who knew a reality show could end the greatest nation on earth?

Either way, Lorre could ask Young Sheldon for help on his math skills …

Air ball

What the world doesn’t need is another John Oliver. One is one too many, culturally speaking. But former NBA star Blake Griffin sees the far-left HBO host as a model, of sorts, for his new sports-themed late-night show.

“The Stepback with Blake Griffin” soon bows on Amazon and YouTube, with Griffin hailing Oliver as his role model.

The funniest part? Someone thinking late-night TV is the future and itching for a seat at the table.

​Biden, John oliver, Katie zacharia, Michael douglas, Press secretary, Sara haines, Saturday night live, Shane gillis, Joe rogan, The view, Entertainment, Hollywood, Movies, Tv, Culture, Toto recall 

A man entrusted with prosecuting bad guys in New Jersey is accused of being a bad guy himself.

Brian Richard Fitzgerald, a 51-year-old deputy attorney general in the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, has been arrested and charged with three felonies in connection with alleged child sexual abuse material.

At least one ‘image mentioned in the probable cause was a prepubescent female. That image was actual CSAM, not AI-generated.’

According to a press release from the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, a search warrant was executed at Fitzgerald’s home in Lower Makefield Township, Pennsylvania, on Thursday after the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children received a tip about a user on the messaging app Discord who had allegedly sent an “illicit image” on July 10.

An investigation into that tip “linked the account and associated internet protocol addresses” to Fitzgerald’s residence. Once there, law enforcement discovered “prompts and scripts” that helped create pornographic images of children using artificial intelligence, the press release claimed.

Investigators also determined that Fitzgerald had allegedly engaged in Discord chats under the username “thegentlemanpervert_2160_07833.” In these chats, he “admitted to making multiple illicit images using artificial intelligence and sharing them with other users,” the press release claimed.

The accusations against Fitzgerald do not involve just images generated by AI. The press release claims that Fitzgerald also received and sent via social media explicit images of “real children.”

Manuel Gamiz Jr., director of communications for the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, confirmed to Blaze News that at least one “image mentioned in the probable cause was a prepubescent female. That image was actual CSAM, not AI-generated.”

RELATED: Sex-positive no more: Why this sexologist changed her mind on porn

simpson33/Getty Images

Citing the probable cause affidavit, Gamiz told Blaze News that the alleged AI-generated CSAM depicted “pubescent females (approx. mid to late teens.)”

Fitzgerald has been charged with three felonies: possession of child sexual abuse material, dissemination of photos or film of child sexual abuse materials, and criminal use of a communication facility. The offense date listed on the court docket is July 10.

Magisterial District Judge Corryn Kronnagel set bail at $2 million with 10% surety. Fitzgerald is scheduled to appear in court again on October 27.

No attorney for Fitzgerald was named on the court documents.

A spokesperson from the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office said in a statement to Blaze News: “Our office is aware of the charges that have been filed against an employee of the Division of Law. We are cooperating with our partners in the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office and are taking appropriate action with respect to his employment.”

Bucks County District Attorney Joe Khan stated: “No one is above the law, least of all someone entrusted with upholding it. Our office will pursue these cases aggressively and hold offenders fully accountable, regardless of their profession or title.”

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​New jersey, Child sexual abuse, Pennsylvania, Crime, Politics 

Although unable to void the Second Amendment, Democrats in Washington state appear keen to make it costly and difficult for residents to exercise this unalienable right.

As the result of legislation introduced last year by a Seattle-based Democrat, passed by the state legislature in party-line votes, then ratified by Democrat Gov. Bob Ferguson, Americans in the Evergreen State will soon have to pay for the supposed privilege of shopping for a firearm.

‘If you have to ask for permission, it’s not a right.’

House Bill 1163, which Ferguson characterized as a “common sense” reform, created a permit-to-purchase system for firearms in Washington. Starting May 1, 2027, prospective buyers must first obtain a five-year permit through the Washington State Patrol.

In order to secure a permit, applicants must submit personal information including their name, email, phone number, address, driver’s license or state ID number, race, and sex to a state firearms background check program, along with a complete set of fingerprints and a recent certificate of completion of a certified firearms safety program or proof of exemption.

Not only must Washington residents jump through these hoops — they must pay to do so.

RELATED: Democrats don’t just want to take your firearms. They want your kids’ BB guns too.

CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP/Getty Images

According to the Washington State Patrol’s “Permit to Purchase Portal,” the cost of a new permit — which includes the fingerprint processing fee — is $126. The cost of renewal is $90, and to replace an expired permit is $126.

Costs associated with the firearm training mandated by the permit process are not factored into this total.

It could take up to 30 days for eligible applicants to receive their permit. Individuals who are denied a permit to purchase a weapon will not have these fees refunded.

While the WSP estimated that the program could cost over $20 million in the 2027-2029 budget cycle, a state fiscal analysis suggested that the corresponding fees might offset the cost of implementation during the same period, reported the Washington State Standard.

After Gov. Ferguson gave this shakedown the greenlight, the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action stated that the permit-to-purchase program “establishes an illegal government registry of firearm owners and their personal information.” However, the group added that the program “will do nothing to address Washington’s crime problem, but it will make firearm ownership nearly unobtainable, both practically and financially.”

Republican state Sen. Phil Fortunato previously emphasized that “this is not just bad policy; it’s unconstitutional.”

“The government cannot convert a fundamental right into a privilege that must be bought, licensed, and approved by bureaucrats,” continued Fortunato. “If you have to ask for permission, it’s not a right.”

Franklin County Sheriff Jim Raymond, among the many enduring critics of this program, told the Center Square last month, “I think this is insane.”

“It’s another level of control,” added the sheriff, who figures the program may ultimately face a legal challenge.

William Kirk, president of Washington Gun Law, suggested to “The Ari Hoffman Show” last month that legal action hasn’t been taken because Washington residents must first be impacted by the law. Once it takes effect, he anticipates that legal action will be taken by “some private entity Second Amendment organizations, your Second Amendment Foundations, Gun Owners of America, things like that.”

Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank stated after Ferguson signed H.B. 1163 into law that the program was unconstitutional and his office “will not enforce it.”

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​Second amendment, Washington, Democrats, National rifle association, Guns, Constitution, Bob ferguson, Politics 

The Federal Trade Commission is reportedly taking its first hard look at online sports betting. According to the Washington Sun, political appointees and career staff are reviewing sportsbooks such as FanDuel and DraftKings, most likely over deceptive advertising. DraftKings says it hasn’t received a civil investigative demand (the FTC’s version of a subpoena), and FanDuel says it hasn’t heard a word from the agency.

Prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket reportedly aren’t part of the review. Yet three out of four Americans consider them gambling, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.

The ‘event contract’ pitch

Prediction markets insist they aren’t gambling. You’re not placing a bet, they say. You’re trading an “event contract”: buy a contract on whether something will happen, and if you’re right, it pays out a dollar. Buyers and sellers set the price. The platform takes a fee instead of betting against you, which the companies say makes them a different animal from a sportsbook.

Maybe so. But a platform that lives on fees still needs people to keep trading.

Reuters/Ipsos surveyed 4,506 adults from Sept. 30 to Oct. 5. In the results, 75% called prediction-market wagering gambling, even though only 7% had ever used one to bet money. Every category drew more opposition than support:

Prediction markets on…

Oppose

Support

U.S. military actions

65%

8%

Government policy announcements or decisions

63%

9%

Election results

60%

13%

Professional sports

43%

29%

Unsure and skipped responses aren’t shown.

Markets on world events have already drawn insider trading charges. The CFTC has accused a U.S. Army soldier of buying more than 436,000 “yes” shares on whether Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro would be out by Jan. 31, 2026, and pocketing more than $400,000.

Opposition to election markets crossed party lines: 61% of Republicans and 69% of Democrats were against them.

Earlier polling found the same thing. A February survey by Siena Research Institute and St. Bonaventure University, released in April, found that 65% of Americans want prediction markets held to the same state rules as sportsbooks when users can profit on sports outcomes. Among men 18 to 49, it was 73%.

Kalshi objects

Kalshi told Fortune, “It’s not hard to bias a poll, and this poll is biased.” The company objected to what it called leading questions about betting on war and noted it doesn’t offer war markets.

The poll described prediction markets as a way to wager money on real-world events, then asked separately about elections, military actions, government policy, and sports. Kalshi can quarrel with that framing. But the questions said “U.S. military actions,” not “war.”

The sportsbooks sell event contracts, too

FanDuel and DraftKings have launched prediction markets of their own: FanDuel Predicts and DraftKings Predictions.

In states where FanDuel runs a licensed sportsbook, Predicts sticks to things like stock indexes and economic data. In states where it can’t run a sportsbook, it sells sports contracts. That includes California and Texas, and FanDuel’s own state guide lists Predicts in both. DraftKings has done the same.

Sports is where the money’s going. Pew Research Center found combined monthly trading on Kalshi and Polymarket more than doubled between May and July, from $26 billion to $53 billion, with sports driving most of the jump. Pew counts each contract at its $1 payout, not what traders paid for it.

These contracts run through federally regulated exchanges, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has sued at least five states, including New York and Illinois, arguing that it alone gets to regulate them. Courts are still sorting out whether federal rules beat state gambling laws. None of that explains why the FTC would leave prediction markets out of its review.

Prediction markets have had their own advertising trouble. In June, the Wall Street Journal reported that Polymarket paid people to post videos of fake bets and fake wins on near-copies of its website. They were reportedly told to keep quiet about being paid.

Monica Vaca, who spent more than two decades as a consumer protection attorney at the FTC, told the Sun that allegations like these sit squarely within the agency’s core work and would justify investigating every platform involved.

Keeping customers betting

The New York Times reported last month that DraftKings used AI to find gamblers likely to bet more, and lose more, once they got free bets and bonuses. The Times drew on internal documents and interviews with more than 40 former employees. DraftKings disputes it, saying offers follow how actively customers use the platform, not their losses.

A gambler suing FanDuel says he lost $1.5 million with the company, then got a personalized Thanksgiving video from Bryce Harper through the FanDuel host who handled perks for big spenders. Harper later said he never knew FanDuel would use the video that way and never consented.

The industry says the broader harm is overstated. Joe Maloney, president of the Sports Betting Alliance, pointed the Sun to a Progressive Policy Institute study that found credit scores in states with legal sports betting have moved in line with the rest of the country.

Gambling at the White House

The Trump administration has largely welcomed the industry. At this summer’s UFC event on the South Lawn, Stake, an online casino and sportsbook, was a sponsor. Polymarket branding sat right alongside it while users traded millions of dollars on the fights.

Not every conservative is on board. Jon Schweppe, a former senior policy adviser at the FTC now with the American Principles Project, has compared sportsbooks to Big Tobacco, Big Tech, and Big Pharma. One of the Sun’s sources described a generational split among Republicans: Older officials wave it off, while younger appointees see an industry tearing up families.

The FTC’s review is still preliminary, and its scope could change. If the agency is worried about deceptive gambling ads, it ought to follow the ads, whatever the company calls the bet.

​Tech, Gambling 

Joe Rogan — the influential podcaster who prompted many a conniption on the left by endorsing President Donald Trump on the eve of the 2024 election — has explained to a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat precisely why he kicked the Democratic Party to the curb.

Just weeks after slamming Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders (I) for bending the knee “to the Democratic establishment,” Rogan suggested to actor Michael Douglas on Wednesday that America’s political duopoly breeds a tribalism that causes some people to “ignore all the craziness that our side is doing because it’s our side.”

‘I didn’t like any of that stuff.’

Rogan stated that the craziness on the left, particularly on the issue of illegal immigration, became too much for him to ignore.

“First of all, the open border was insane,” said Rogan. “It was insane to just not only leave the border open but give people instructions on how to get in, and also transport them to cities, and then put them up in hotels.”

“It was really clear that a game was being played,” continued Rogan.

Rogan speculated that Democrats may have engineered the border crisis for cheap labor, to import new voting blocs, and/or to increase population numbers ahead of the next census in order to strategically secure additional congressional seats.

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

“Yeah, yeah,” responded Douglas — an outspoken Democrat who poured cash into former President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection bid, donated to Hillary Clinton’s second doomed presidential campaign, supported Michael Bloomberg’s unsuccessful presidential bid in 2020, and threw a campaign fundraiser for former President Joe Biden in 2024.

“If you want me to be a Democrat while you’re just letting people fly in from the open border, I’m like ‘Hey! Fix that!’ It seems crazy to have 10 million people of unknown origin enter into your country over a period of [four years],” added Rogan.

With Douglas unable or unwilling to raise any counterpoint, Rogan proceeded to condemn the Democratic Party’s apparent aversion to holding competitive presidential primaries.

“This whole thing is supposed to work a very specific way,” said the podcaster. “And if it’s like, ‘We have to win, so we’re just going to push that aside, and here’s your candidate!’ What the f**k are you doing? That’s not how it’s supposed to be done, and if you want me to vote for that — I’m not going to vote for that. That seems crazy. That seems dangerous.”

Rogan appears to have been referring to the anointing of Kamala Harris as the Democrat nominee in 2024 without having an open primary.

The podcaster further faulted Democrats for gaslighting the nation about Biden’s cognitive decline, their “f**king defund the police stuff,” their apparent willingness to free criminals, and their authoritarianism during COVID.

“I didn’t like the whole COVID vaccine mandatory thing that they were pushing for those four years,” said Rogan. “I didn’t like the coercion. I didn’t like keeping people from flying. I didn’t like any of that stuff. It was all crazy. And to me, that’s what that group stood for.”

Douglas finally spoke up, noting that these reasons account for why Rogan rejected the Democrats in 2024. He then asked where Rogan stands now.

While the podcaster did not denounce Trump or the GOP as he previously had Sanders and the Democratic Party, he lamented Trump’s decision to engage Iran militarily, suggesting it was incongruent with the president’s anti-war message on the campaign trail.

pollwatch.theblaze.com

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​Joe rogan, Democratic party, Bernie sanders, Michael douglas, Donald trump, Kamala harris, Elections, Border crisis, Politics 

Billy Crystal recently said he has stopped talking to God. “No, ’cause I don’t trust Him,” he told CBS correspondent Tracy Smith. His home burned in the Pacific Palisades fire, and his longtime friend Rob Reiner and Reiner’s wife, Michele, were murdered.

Suppose you were sitting across the table when he said it. What would you say?

We arrive at someone’s sorrow with conclusions before we’ve heard their story. We deliver our answers and leave. They’re still grieving, and now they may also feel guilty for struggling.

I asked that question on my radio program because someone we know may eventually trust us enough to say the same thing. A neighbor who buried a child. Someone who prayed beside a hospital bed and went home alone. Would we hear their anguish or immediately start preparing our answer?

I’ve spent 40 years caring for my wife, Gracie. Her suffering began before I met her. Over her lifetime, she has endured 98 operations and the loss of both legs. Along the way, people have told us what we should believe, how we should feel, and what God was evidently trying to accomplish. Some never acknowledged the weight of what we carried.

Rush Limbaugh used the phrase “drive-by media” to describe reporters who rushed into a story, stirred things up, and moved along, leaving others to deal with the damage. Are we in danger of engaging in drive-by ministry?

We arrive at someone’s sorrow with conclusions before we’ve heard their story. We deliver our answers and leave. They’re still grieving, and now they may also feel guilty for struggling. It costs considerably more to pull up a chair.

Job’s friends managed that at first. They sat silently beside him for seven days because they saw how greatly he suffered. Most of us struggle to give someone seven uninterrupted minutes.

Scripture makes room for anguish. David asks in Psalm 13, “How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?” Those words are in our Bibles. We ought to be able to hear them from someone sitting in our living rooms. David ultimately recalls God’s steadfast love, but the psalm lets us hear his sorrow along the way.

I learned something about the cost of coming near in a dusty prosthetic clinic in Ghana. Through Standing With Hope, the ministry Gracie envisioned after losing her legs, we’ve provided prosthetic limbs in Ghana for more than 20 years.

RELATED: Before pride drives the tractor through the fence

Photo by Peter Rosenberger

On an early trip, a young Nigerian man arrived wearing a prosthesis. Our team was occupied, so I sat down with him. We didn’t share a language, and I couldn’t find an interpreter. With gestures, I asked him to remove his prosthesis and the liner covering his residual limb.

The smell hit me like it had reached out and slapped me. My eyes watered, and a friend sitting several feet away backed up. I feared an infection, but I found no visible wound. He hadn’t properly washed his limb and liner, and my attempts to explain what he needed to do weren’t getting us anywhere.

I understood that he was Muslim. This was not terribly long after September 11. For all I knew, he could have been an enemy of my faith or my country. I didn’t know. What I knew was that he was missing a leg, needed help with his prosthesis, and had come to our clinic.

So I found clean water, soap, and a towel and demonstrated how to wash his limb and liner. At first, my eyes watered from the smell. As I washed his limb, I began to weep over what Christ had done for me.

My own stench was far worse. And mine wasn’t coming off with soap and water. It required His blood.

I could barely keep myself together. I had come to help put legs on people, and there I sat, overwhelmed by the mercy Christ had shown me.

Sitting with someone in anguish can leave us feeling helpless. Physical or emotional trauma makes us uncomfortable. We want to explain something, fix something, or give them something to do. Their grief may outlast everything we know to say.

RELATED: Gavin Newsom invoked Nietzsche. I thought of ‘Blazing Saddles.’

Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Jesus stood at Lazarus’ grave and wept. He knew He was about to raise him, yet He wept. That ought to shape how we approach someone whose sorrow has spilled into words that trouble us.

I want grieving people to know Christ. I want them to know the Savior who bore our sin and rose from the dead. And when I speak of Him, I want to remember how patiently He has dealt with me.

I cannot make sense of why Billy Crystal’s home burned or why his friends were killed. But hearing his words makes me want to pull up a chair and ask, “Tell me about your friends.” Then listen long enough to hear the answer.

That takes time. It may cost us more than we expected. Forty years beside Gracie have taught me that some suffering will still be there when the conversation ends. But Christ has given us ample reason to keep showing up.

He didn’t drive by. He entered.

​God, Opinion & analysis, Trust, Palisades fire, Rob reiner, Billy crystal, Murder, Faith, Christianity 

AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile have dominated the mobile carrier space for decades. While smaller MVNOs pop up from time to time, even these rent their service from the Big Three. Rarely does an entirely new carrier show up to challenge the status quo, but that’s exactly what SpaceX plans to do with its upcoming mobile carrier alternative.

Elon Musk is a man of many companies. At age 24, he co-founded his first venture, called Zip2. Similar to the Yellow Pages phone books of yesteryear, it used the brand-new internet of 1995 to create a directory that made it easier for users to search for and find local businesses online. While it doesn’t sound impressive by today’s standards, the company caught the attention of computer heavyweight Compaq, which acquired it for $305 million before the new millennium.

After decades of dominance by AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, it’s good that consumers may finally have a fourth viable carrier.

Musk has been building things ever since. He went on to co-found popular payment company PayPal, artificial intelligence giant OpenAI, automotive phenom Tesla, and spacefaring juggernaut SpaceX, among other smaller ventures. Needless to say, the man has a very diverse resume stacked with names that all changed society.

SpaceX, in particular, has been one of Musk’s more flexible companies, serving as a catch-all for various sub-brands and services, like the artificial intelligence company SpaceXSI (formerly SpaceXAI, and simply xAI before that) that powers Grok, national security service Starshield, and a low-Earth-orbit satellite internet provider, Starlink.

Starlink has already proven to be a reliable internet service provider, even in hard-to-reach locales like Antarctica and, one day, maybe even Mars. Up until recently, Starlink only had authorization to provide high-speed broadband internet to users, but now the service is poised to expand.

In a blog post on the SpaceX website, the company unveiled two major milestones for a new venture dubbed Starlink Mobile.

SpaceX announced an agreement to acquire a nationwide low-band spectrum license portfolio of up to 14 megahertz of paired spectrum in the 800 MHz band. This prime low-band spectrum addresses one of the key remaining technical gaps that will pave the way for Starlink Mobile to become a major mobile carrier in the US.

In other words, SpaceX is on the cusp of launching a full-fledged satellite-based mobile carrier service for phones. The only thing standing in the way is official FCC approval. Luckily, we won’t have to wait long, as the FCC is expected to vote on the matter on October 29.

As for the second milestone:

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) also approved Starlink Mobile’s Gen2 constellation application this week, authorizing SpaceX to launch 15,000 satellites that are optimized for 2 GHz spectrum globally. The V2 Starlink Mobile satellites will deliver more than 100 times the bandwidth of our current generation, bringing high-speed service directly to unmodified devices anywhere in the world.

Historically, the 2 GHz spectrum is reserved for connections that require long range and permeability through hard surfaces, making it extremely versatile for a wide range of applications. Since it excels at passing through walls, Starlink Mobile should theoretically be more stable in areas that usually trip up existing carriers, like underground spaces boxed in by concrete, valleys surrounded by steep hills, large structural buildings with lots of metal, and more.

RELATED: Starlink needs a reality check

Matteo Della Torre/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Meanwhile, the fact that Starlink Mobile is supported by Musk’s Starlink satellite network should allow the carrier to cover larger regions with fewer drops in service, and it should also work internationally in any region that allows Starlink to operate. For now, that includes most of the United States, South America, Europe, Australia, and more.

Of course, all of this remains to be seen. Starlink is a well-tested service, having been around since 2018, but that doesn’t automatically mean the cellphone carrier will be just as good. Call quality, signal strength, and random drops will all need to be tested before Starlink Mobile is deemed a success.

Starlink’s internet service is also generally more expensive than other brands, so Starlink Mobile will need to find a competitive pricing model if it really wants to go against the Big Three.

Ultimately, after decades of dominance by AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, it’s good that consumers may finally have a fourth viable carrier that doesn’t reuse the same old towers or recycle the same technologies found here on Earth.

Starlink and Starlink Mobile are just two of Elon Musk’s extraterrestrial business ventures. Earlier this year, he announced broader plans to put a city on the moon that will serve as a hub to launch Earth-orbiting data centers and even launch rockets bound for Mars.

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​Att, Elon musk, Fcc, Openai, Spacex, Starlink, Tesla, Verizon, Tech 

A mother of a 12-year-old student at Rayburn Middle School in San Antonio, Texas, said he texted her to pick him up from school over alleged comments from a teacher.

A spokesperson for the Northside Independent School District said the district is investigating a claim that a teacher threatened to call immigration officials and police on students.

‘The district takes this report very seriously, and the substitute teacher has been suspended from all district assignments pending the outcome of a thorough investigation.’

A student reported on Oct. 6 that the unnamed substitute teacher made the threats to misbehaving students and referenced Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the threat.

The district has suspended the teacher while investigating the veracity of the allegations, spokesperson Barry Perez said to KSAT-TV.

The accused instructor was hired in Aug. 2024, and no previous complaints had been made against the substitute, according to the district.

A mother of a 12-year-old student told WOAI-TV that he texted her about the incident from school.

“He let me know that a substitute teacher threatened the classroom that he was going to call the police and ICE,” Amanda San Miguel said.

“He was scared. I got a text message from him. He wanted to be picked up early and I said, ‘No, what’s going on?'” she added.

She said she thought her child just wanted to come home early, but later received a call from the principal confirming the incident.

“It is true, and when she said that my heart just dropped, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, let me get in the car and go down there,'” she said.

She said she was enraged by the incident.

RELATED: More than 100 outraged community members denounce elementary school teacher over 2-word post about ICE

“Campus administrators took steps to immediately remove the substitute while they investigated the allegation,” Perez said, according to My San Antonio.

He also confirmed that school officials had spoken with the parent of the student involved.

“The district takes this report very seriously, and the substitute teacher has been suspended from all district assignments pending the outcome of a thorough investigation,” the district said.

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​Texas, Immigration and customs enforcement, Immigration, Education, Politics 

I’m a Jew who lives in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and nobody on my block can tell. I don’t wear a kippah. I don’t keep Shabbat. On a Saturday afternoon, I can walk down Eastern Parkway without standing out.

Many of my neighbors don’t have that luxury. Their hats, coats, and tzitzit identify them from a block away. Those visible signs of Jewish life also make them targets in a city long considered one of the best places in the world to be Jewish.

New York already publishes hate-crime figures. It should also examine the rhetoric behind those crimes.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani says he wants to protect them. On September 29, he released New York City’s first Strategy to Combat Antisemitism. Parts of the plan deserve credit. It directs $1 million to security at vulnerable houses of worship, doubles “hate-prevention” grants to $6.4 million, and expands eighth-grade visits to the Museum of Jewish Heritage. Synagogues struggling to pay for guards, cameras, and locks need the help.

But the 33-page strategy has a glaring blind spot: It never confronts the anti-Semitism that increasingly uses the word “Zionist” as a substitute for “Jew.”

The report’s concrete examples of anti-Semitic violence are Charlottesville in 2017, the Tree of Life synagogue massacre in 2018, and the Poway synagogue shooting in 2019. All were horrific. None happened in New York City. The document acknowledges that anti-Jewish crime increased after October 7, 2023, but does not examine the role of anti-Zionist agitation in that increase.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, the share of anti-Semitic incidents in New York City involving Israel or Zionism rose from 5% in 2022 to 37% in 2023 and 58% in 2024. Yet the mayor’s plan never addresses the relationship between anti-Zionist rhetoric and attacks on Jewish New Yorkers.

It also declines to adopt a definition of anti-Semitism. The city says it can fight hatred “without needing to adopt a definition for this specific form of hate.” The report discusses competing definitions, then leaves the decision unresolved. That is convenient when some of the most poisonous language comes from activists on the mayor’s side of the political divide.

In Crown Heights, we have heard that language firsthand. Last year, a group called Crown Heights Bites Back distributed free groceries near Utica Avenue and Eastern Parkway. It also distributed flyers warning that “Zionist white supremacists” would “kill us, exploit us, raise our rents and evict us.” At a vigil for Gavin Cato, whose 1991 death preceded the Crown Heights riots, masked activists from the group shoved a Jewish man. The group also praised the murder of two Israeli embassy staffers.

The accusation has spread beyond my neighborhood. Nerdeen Kiswani of Within Our Lifetime claimed that “Zionist landlords” exploited black communities to fund settlements in Palestine. Brooklyn Democrat district leader Carmella Charrington compared a family property dispute to Israeli activity in the West Bank, even though the state attorney general’s office had described the underlying matter as an inheritance dispute. In Chelsea, flyers opposing a public-housing redevelopment denounced a “Zionist occupation”; others attacked “Talmudists” and “Rothschilds.” The same reporting documented both sets of accusations.

The housing grievance is especially perverse because Hasidic families struggle with rising costs, too. The borough president’s housing analysis identifies Borough Park and South Williamsburg among Brooklyn’s most rent-burdened neighborhoods. Some young Chabad families have moved to Brownsville because they cannot afford Crown Heights. Some Hasidic developers have grown rich in Brooklyn real estate. So have many others.

RELATED: Our enemies burn Israel’s flag. Our friends plant it.

Michal Fludra/NurPhoto/Getty Images

But the anger rarely lands on a developer. It lands on the man in the black hat waiting for the bus.

The ADL found that Orthodox Jews were victims in 36 of the city’s 69 anti-Semitic assaults in 2024, though they constitute about one-fifth of New York City’s Jews. Mamdani’s own report recognizes that visibly Jewish New Yorkers bear a disproportionate share of attacks. It never grapples with the local rhetoric that can turn a neighborhood housing complaint into an accusation against Jews as a group.

The strategy itself warns that anti-Semitism thrives on conspiracy theories that blame Jews for society’s troubles. What, then, should the city call the claim that “Zionists” are responsible for a family’s rent?

The political difficulty is plain. City Hall rolled out the plan with support from progressive Jewish organizations, including Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, Bend the Arc, and J Street’s local chapter. The rent-and-Zionism rhetoric comes from parts of the same political world. Naming it would require Mamdani to criticize allies as well as enemies.

He can do so when he chooses. In December, after an incoming staffer’s old posts about “money hungry Jews” surfaced, he accepted her resignation. When offensive Chelsea flyers appeared, City Hall denounced them.

RELATED: Mamdani boycotts NYC Israel Day Parade despite attending other ethnic celebrations

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

But when Jewish Insider asked about Charrington, a Democrat district leader elected with progressive backing, the mayor refused to answer three times. His office later condemned her conspiracy rhetoric as anti-Semitic but did not say whether she should remain in party leadership. The condemnation was welcome. The refusal to confront her position was revealing.

City Council Member Eric Dinowitz, an ally who praised the plan’s education and prevention measures, said it missed an opportunity to confront the overlap between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism. He was right. That omission leaves a serious hole in an otherwise useful effort.

New York already publishes hate-crime figures. It should also examine the rhetoric behind those crimes, including attacks that connect Jewish identity to Israel or blame Jews for housing costs. And the city’s new prevention money should reach Crown Heights, Williamsburg, and Borough Park, where visibly Jewish residents have suffered assaults.

Mamdani should come to Crown Heights and say the words himself: Blaming Hasidic Jews for your rent is anti-Semitism. If he cannot say that much, no 33-page strategy will close the gap between his promises and the lives my neighbors lead.

​Adl, Antisemitic, Antisemitism, Brooklyn, Conspiracy theories, Grants, Israel, Jew, New york city, Orthodox jews, Palestine, Public policy, Rhetoric, Security, Synagogues, Violence, Zionism, Residents, Zohran mamdani, Opinion & analysis 

A few months in Manhattan have made me part of the city’s bubble. I pay $3 for the subway, worry about rent and groceries, and rarely think about the cost of filling a gas tank. Then I went home to South Jersey and saw the price posted outside a station. I had almost forgotten what the rest of the country pays to get around.

New York City makes that easy. Apartment renters and subway riders experience housing, transportation, and energy policy differently from families who drive to work, take their children to school, and run errands by car. Nine in 10 Americans say they drive at least sometimes. They cannot simply stop paying attention to the price of gasoline.

The election is November 3, and voters won’t grade fuel prices on a curve just because the occupant of the White House has changed.

As of October 14, the national average for regular gas stood at $4.33 a gallon. California topped $6, and several other states exceeded $5. New Jersey, where I grew up, averaged about $4.29 a gallon. Even where prices are lower, a family’s weekly fill-ups eat into money needed elsewhere.

For years, Republicans hammered President Biden over gas prices. Motorists slapped “I Did That” stickers bearing his face on pumps. Looking at that station in South Jersey, I realized Republicans now face a similar reckoning. The election is November 3, and voters won’t grade fuel prices on a curve just because the occupant of the White House has changed.

The administration has moved to ease energy rules. For example, the EPA has repealed vehicle greenhouse gas standards. But regulations alone cannot explain the price at the pump. The conflict around the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted oil markets, and years of delayed infrastructure projects have constrained domestic capacity. A proposed diesel export ban would create its own problems rather than solve the underlying shortage.

Yet the White House has offered little comfort to motorists. Trump called higher gasoline costs a “very inexpensive price” to pay for what the United States had done in Iran. Energy Secretary Chris Wright pointed to the end of the summer driving season and weaker demand as reasons to expect prices to fall. Seasonal demand may ease, but families still need to drive in October. They need relief, not reassurance that summer is over.

Gas prices cannot be waved away until the next news cycle. They present a real political problem for Republican incumbents in November. Democrats bear responsibility for decades of energy restrictions that have hindered pipelines and domestic production, but Republicans now govern in Washington. Voters have every right to demand results from them.

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

Id-work/Getty Images

Democrats have made public transit, walkable cities, and climate policy central to their energy vision. Republicans have sold a different promise: Families should have the freedom and means to live in safe communities, raise children, and drive the pickup truck or minivan that fits their lives. Expensive gasoline makes that promise harder to keep.

From my Manhattan apartment, gasoline prices can look remote. For parents in Pennsylvania, Ohio, or Michigan, driving is neither a luxury nor a political statement. They cannot skip the trip to work or the school pickup because the pump reads $5. A city dweller may be able to substitute a subway ride. Most suburban families cannot.

The administration can point to two possible long-term gains. Trump has promoted a long-planned Alaska gas pipeline, although financing and other details remain unresolved. And four senators from both parties have introduced permitting reform intended to speed construction of energy infrastructure. Those are potentially useful moves, not substitutes for lower prices today. Nor should a natural gas project be confused with an immediate fix for gasoline.

RELATED: Democrats can’t erase the price shock of the Biden years

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call Inc./Getty Images

The administration has made progress rolling back regulations and encouraging domestic production. Yet Americans still face the costs of delayed projects, inadequate infrastructure, and international instability. The president cannot control every oil shipment or every price sign. He can explain what the government is doing to expand supply, make projects easier to build, and reduce costs over time.

Republicans have spent years arguing against climate mandates and forced dependence on electric vehicles. Opposition alone will not persuade a family paying more to get to work. The affirmative case is straightforward: Americans should decide how to heat their homes, power their businesses, and travel, while government clears obstacles to producing abundant, affordable energy.

I had to leave Manhattan to remember what a gallon of gas costs. Millions of Americans do not have that luxury. They see the cost every time they pull into a station. Republicans who want their votes in November had better see it, too.

​Climate policy, Electric vehicles, Energy policy, Fuel prices, Gas prices, Public transit, White house, New york city, Biden, Trump, Iran war, Midterms, Americans, Diesel prices, Opinion & analysis 

Where was James Talarico — and why isn’t his campaign offering a clearer explanation?

The Texas Democrat’s two-week absence has been explained away as “the flu,” which has set off alarm bells for BlazeTV host Steve Deace, co-host Todd Erzen, and executive producer Aaron McIntire.

“This is so obviously disqualifying, no matter what the truth is,” Erzen says.

“If Talarico somehow wins in Texas, I have to reevaluate a lot,” he adds.

“I haven’t even considered the broader statement angle about what it means for the state of Texas,” Deace agrees. “But that is an excellent point, and I think you’re exactly right. It’s an absolute watershed moment for the state of Texas, for sure.”

“There’s no way that a simple flu knocks somebody out. And the campaign has nothing to say,” he continues.

“Something smells rotten in the state of Denmark here, gentleman,” he adds.

Erzen points out that if it really was “a flu,” the Democrats wouldn’t be letting it go to waste. Instead, they “would be using it to max effect.”

“Yeah, get a flu vaccine and everything else,” Deace agrees.

But even the flu excuse, McIntire says, was “calculated.”

“Everything is calculated. And when they allow this to go on, to enter the bloodstream, to enter the public consciousness, and they’re just fine with people just throwing this out there and all their explanation is, ‘Oh, it was a flu,’” he says.

“That’s calculated. Which means whatever it actually was … assuming it’s not the flu, which that would be incredible because Todd is absolutely right there. If it was a severe flu where he was really on death’s door, they would be beating the drum for vaccination. They would be pounding some sort of issue, some sort of wedge they could make,” he continues.

“But they’re not doing that. So, this is calculated one way or another. And the silence is calculated as well,” he says, “which makes you wonder what indeed actually happened here.”

Deace agrees, adding, “Any time a campaign or a politician is fine with the narrative that they’re completely incompetent … it means that what’s true is worse.”

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.

​James talarico, Flu, Steve deace, Texas, Senate, Blazetv show 

The U.S. Dept. of Justice is seeking an emergency injunction against California over 20,000 “likely noncitizen” people on the state’s voter rolls.

U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Dept. requested that California segregate any ballots from those registered voters in order to preserve election integrity.

‘We filed an emergency court action against California seeking to ensure that noncitizens who received ballots in California do NOT vote in the upcoming election.’

The administration filed the lawsuit after Californian officials denied the request.

“This is of serious concern because California automatically mails ballots to every active registered voter on its voter rolls, whether a voter has requested a mail ballot or not,” Blanche said in a post on social media.

“California has refused to comply and intends to facilitate noncitizens in voting, which is a violation of federal law,” he added. “So, today we filed an emergency court action against California seeking to ensure that noncitizens who received ballots in California do NOT vote in the upcoming election.”

California Secretary of State Shirley Weber responded she had “serious doubts” about the accuracy of the allegations and requested information about “the underlying data and methodology” so that her office could analyze the “vague and unsubstantiated allegations” from the Department of Homeland Security.

She went on to claim that a similar effort in Nevada did not find one noncitizen among a list of 16,000 likely noncitizen voters provided by DHS.

“If the federal government possesses proof that certain registered voters in California are ineligible, we will welcome the opportunity to review that evidence and any supporting data or methodology,” she added.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta also criticized the administration’s demands.

“Mail ballots are already in most voters’ hands, and Election Day is less than three weeks away,” he posted in a statement on social media.

“Every count, recount, hand count, lawsuit, and audit has found that there’s no widespread voter fraud in the U.S.,” he added. “The Trump Admin’s last-minute demands are meritless, and we look forward to making our case in court.”

RELATED: Man given legal status under Obama illegally VOTED in at least 15 elections, DHS claims

California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, expressed outrage over the lawsuit in a statement on social media.

“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,” he posted.

“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.”

Voters in California will decide the state’s next governor in the November election, as well as the fate of 14 propositions. Some key congressional races will also help determine which party controls Congress.

“Election integrity is a top priority for Americans and the Justice Department,” Blanche concluded.

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​California, Voter fraud, Election integrity, Gavin newsom, Department of justice, Politics 

A recent viral video asked a question that most Georgians never even imagined they would have to come up with:

Why are there patrolling robot dogs with Indian accents all over the place?

‘These thieves tried to get away from the robot.’

A video on X showed a robot security dog with bright lights at an apartment complex in Atlanta, adding that it seemed to “speak in Indian accents to the residents.”

With nearly 2 million views, the clip is just one of many of its kind noticing that the machines have “Indian accents” or are “Indian controlled.”

The answer to where the robot came from is a lot easier to field than pinpointing the source of any accents.

The bots residents are likely running into are from Atlanta-based company Undaunted, which has dozens of security dogs patrolling the city.

According to a report from Atlanta News First in May, Undaunted had already deployed bots to more than three dozen commercial and residential properties in the city in just one year. Reuters noted in August that more than 120 robodogs were being put into service.

The ANF report said apartment complexes and properties have been rife with car break-ins, loitering, and other illegal activity that has been deterred by the patrolling security.

“I love it,” one resident told the local channel.

A local property owner also said the dogs provide visibility in hard-to-reach areas that conventional surveillance cannot see.

“They can go behind bushes and into areas that, generally, our monitoring controls don’t reach,” she said.

RELATED: Flock slashes 1 in 6 jobs — as outcry builds to take down its whole camera network

“These thieves tried to get away from the robot,” Undaunted CEO Bryan Dinner told ANF. “What they didn’t know is that there are three robots on this property.”

Indeed, the bots are being spotted regularly by residents, but their presence comes with a hefty price tag.

Undaunted’s website explains its “plug-and-play robotic” guards cost $3,333 per month for its base package, which comes with two robotic guards, two charging stations, and monitoring for eight hours per day, seven days a week.

Add-ons can get the customer longer monitoring hours and additional robots.

Those live agents residents are noticing are Undaunted’s “live operators,” who intervene via audio, alert police, and notify customers, the company says.

RELATED: ‘A nightmare for individual liberties’ — Josh Hawley unveils sweeping new anti-Flock legislation

However, the CEO told Reuters in August that while the company can provide security at about half the cost of traditional humans, it will not physically intervene and does not come equipped with weapons.

“We are never going to put offensive weapons on our robots,” Dinner told ANF.

Blaze News reached out to Undaunted to ask if any of its live agents are located overseas or are employed through H-1B visas, but did not get a reply.

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The most popular podcaster in the world weighed in on the bitter debate over a joke about women dressing like “whores” at the gym.

Shane Gillis talked about his experience going to the gym in New York City during his monologue for his third time hosting “Saturday Night Live.”

‘I have no problem with women dressing like that. Have fun. God bless you. If you have a great body, especially, show it off to the world. Who cares?’

“I haven’t been to the gym in so long, I didn’t know women just dress like whores now? Look, I’m sorry. There’s no other way to describe it,” Gillis said.

“Have you seen it? I’ve seen it. The shorts. Have you seen the shorts?” he added. “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. For real, don’t look because they are filming. I’m in the background of like 10 TikToks right now.”

Many on the left were outraged at the joke they said was misogynistic. Among those was comedic actor Dan Levy, who said in a video on Instagram that the joke would lead to more sexual assaults against women.

Joe Rogan defended Gillis, who is his friend and has appeared on Rogan’s podcast numerous times, on the Thursday episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience.”

First, he pointed out that the subject of the joke was Gillis himself, not the women at the gym.

“The joke is on Shane, ’cause the joke is that he looks like a creep in the background of all these TikToks, watching these ladies that are wearing nothing doing these exercises,” Rogan said.

“I’ve seen ladies at the gym that wear essentially sheer pink, really small shorts with no underwear on, and they’re doing deadlifts. And when they’re bending over, they’re sticking their vagina with the thinnest of cloth out into the air!” he added.

“Oh, I knew one of them was pregnant before she did. I’d say you’re about six weeks!” digital content creator Cody Tucker joked.

Rogan offered a serious defense of the joke and his friend.

“Real misogyny actually exists. … Real men who hate women do exist,” he said. “And so, when you see a guy joking around about a woman dressing like a whore, you connect it to horrible thoughts, like horrible actions. Real, actual evil men that — ’cause there’s a lot of men that genuinely hate women. Shane Gillis is not one of them. And he’s a great guy. It’s just a joke.”

RELATED: Actor MELTS DOWN over jokes about women in Shane Gillis’ ‘SNL’ monologue

He went on to say that he didn’t care what women wore to the gym.

“I have no problem with women dressing like that. Have fun. God bless you. If you have a great body, especially, show it off to the world. Who cares?”

Spotify reportedly renewed its contract with Rogan, worth an estimated $250 million. His show is the top podcast in Spotify’s chart, with over 18 million followers. He has another 21.1 million followers on his YouTube channel.

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

The Muslim Democrat running for Michigan’s open seat in the U.S. Senate did not do well under pressure when questioned again about ties between his family and the Muslim Brotherhood.

In a video posted Wednesday, Abdul El-Sayed appeared outraged that NBC News anchor Tom Llamas continued to ask him to clarify whether he and his family support the terrorist group in light of comments made by his maternal half-sister, Eman Abdelhadi, on social media.

‘Are you serious? … Do you think, you think, are, are you, are you insinuating that somehow I was lying?’

The X posts from Abdelhadi include:

“Had an amazing talk with my mom about her activism in the Muslim Brotherhood during the early 70s while she was in college #respect.””My family has long been MB, but I’ve always felt that it has navigated the political sphere poorly/destructively.””Although I lean towards the Leftists; conversations with my #MB family in Egypt revealed respect for individual liberties & secular state.”

Although the posts were written more than a decade ago, El-Sayed has been unable to fully explain them.

“These tweets have emerged now,” said Llamas, who read the content of some posts. “Can you just explain it?”

“Yeah, Tom. It’s funny to me,” El-Sayed responded, visibly irritated.

“I was born in 1984 down the street in Rochester Hills,” he added. “I was raised here in Michigan, went to the University of Michigan, rebuilt the health department in the city, led the health department in this county. And you want to ask me about what was happening in Egypt in 1970? Are you serious?”

“I get it, but you were asked a question, and you gave an answer —” Llamas said before getting interrupted.

“This is kind of like the same. Yeah. I’m telling you, like, I have no ties. We have no ties,” El-Sayed rambled.

“So your mother had no ties?” Llamas asked.

“I’ve never had these conversations with my mother. I wasn’t raised by my mother,” he replied.

“So you were unaware —” Llamas asked.

“But, but, but I’m just telling you that, like, you’re using hearsay evidence from a tweet. It’s … not serious. It’s just not serious,” El-Sayed stammered.

“But you’ve also gone after the president for truthfulness,” Llamas said. “So when people ask you a question, they all do expect the truth.”

“And do you think, you think, are, are you, are you insinuating that somehow I was lying?” El-Sayed stammered.

“I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking you,” Llamas replied.

“And I’m telling you I was not,” El-Sayed angrily responded.

RELATED: WATCH: 9/11 hero’s father narrates powerful ad against Abdul El-Sayed

After a debate last Thursday against Republican Mike Rogers, El-Sayed similarly snapped at a reporter who asked about the different standards he has for President Donald Trump and for Hasan Piker, an anti-American radical who campaigned with El-Sayed earlier this year.

“That’s a serious question?” El-Sayed shot back with obvious disdain.

“Well, Donald Trump is the president of the United States, which means he has significant power, including holding the nuclear football. And when he makes war, which he has the power to do, it’s a very different thing than a streamer in California. I’m not sure if that’s clear to you, but like, when it’s the president of the United States, who is literally the most powerful person in the whole world, to equate the most powerful person in the world with a streamer in California seems to me to be just a little — I’m not going to use the word — but silly.”

El-Sayed’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

Rogers has hammered away at El-Sayed by using El-Sayed’s own extremist statements and positions.

Former President Barack Obama has signed up to campaign for El-Sayed, which many critics take as a sign that Democrats are worried that their candidate won’t be able to cross the finish line.

The race is pivotal in deciding which party will control the U.S. Senate after the midterm elections.

The contest is still very tight in the last month of before the election, as can be seen in the Blaze News Poll Watch average of polling below.

Michigan Senate polls 2026: El-Sayed vs. Rogers

Michigan Senate polls 2026: El-Sayed vs. Rogers pollwatch.theblaze.com

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​Muslim brotherhood, Abdul el-sayed, Michigan, Us senate, Politics, Mike rogers