Category: blaze media

The fallout from federal defunding hit the Corporation for Public Broadcasting so hard that it is shutting down, according to a statement from the CPB.

After years of Republican grousing about federal funding for public broadcasting, President Donald Trump took action and ended funding for the CPB and National Public Radio.

‘Despite the extraordinary efforts of millions of Americans who called, wrote, and petitioned Congress to preserve federal funding for CPB, we now face the difficult reality of closing our operations.’

“The Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced today that it will begin an orderly wind-down of its operations following the passage of a federal rescissions package and the release of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s FY 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-H) appropriations bill, which excludes funding for CPB for the first time in more than five decades,” the statement read.

The nonprofit private corporation was established by Congress in 1967 to funnel money to public radio and television stations across the country. The CPB said in its statement that its purpose was to support “educational content, locally relevant journalism, emergency communications, cultural programming, and essential services” through public broadcasting.

“Despite the extraordinary efforts of millions of Americans who called, wrote, and petitioned Congress to preserve federal funding for CPB, we now face the difficult reality of closing our operations,” said Patricia Harrison, the president and CEO of the CPB. “CPB remains committed to fulfilling its fiduciary responsibilities and supporting our partners through this transition with transparency and care.”

RELATED: After decades of promises, GOP finally defunds PBS and NPR

Photo by Zach Gibson/Getty Images

Critics of public broadcasting funding have pointed to numerous examples of left-wing bias in reporting to justify pulling back support taken from the taxpayer.

Many on the left have reacted with unhinged outrage and proclamations that Trump is plunging America into fascism.

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​Corporation for public broadcasting, War on public broadcasting, Politics, Cpb shuts down, Trump ends cpb funding 

Sean Curran, the director of the Secret Service, who was on duty during the deadly assassination attempt in Butler a year ago, almost certainly knew that his agency was planning to restore former Director Kimberly Cheatle’s security clearance when it abruptly reversed course, Blaze News has learned.

On Friday, Susan Crabtree of RealClearPolitics revealed that the USSS had quietly begun the process of restoring Cheatle’s security clearance. However, when RCP contacted the agency and revealed that Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) vehemently opposed the restoration, the agency suddenly decided that Cheatle’s security clearance would not be renewed.

Johnson spokeswoman Avery Selby told RCP that the senator’s office learned that her security clearance would not be renewed on the same day that RCP contacted the USSS about Johnson’s concerns.

Sources told Crabtree that there is no way that Curran did not know about the pending restoration of Cheatle’s security clearance.

Johnson seems grateful for the about-face. “Following the security debacle in Butler, the former director of USSS made the right decision to resign,” he said in a statement, according to RCP. “I see no reason for her security clearance to be reinstated.”

Cheatle, who was at the helm at the time of the Butler shooting, resigned in disgrace less than two weeks later after a disastrous appearance before the House Oversight Committee, where she refused to answer certain questions and even infamously blamed a major security breach on a sloped roof.

RELATED: Secret Service director resigns in disgrace 1 day after refusing accountability for worst agency failure in 4 decades

Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Blaze News has since learned that current Director Curran, one of the Secret Service agents who bravely whisked Trump off the stage to safety that fateful day, most likely knew that a restoration of his predecessor’s security clearance was in the works.

Sources told Crabtree that there is no way that Curran did not know about the pending restoration of Cheatle’s security clearance, Crabtree told Blaze News.

“Renewing Cheatle’s security clearance provides no benefit to U.S. national security of the American taxpayers but would help her land another lucrative security job at a Fortune 500 company or elsewhere,” Crabtree told Blaze News.

“It’s not a good look for Sean Curran, to say the least. If Sean Curran knew that her security clearance was up for renewal and was allowing it — it would be news and concerning if he didn’t know — than it shows he was willing to continue the status quo during a period that requires significant agency reform to continue to safeguard President Trump’s life and our continuity of government.”

Blaze News reached out to the USSS for clarification on what Director Curran knew and when, but received only the same statement given to RCP that makes no direct mention of Cheatle.

The U.S. Secret Service sponsors security clearances for all the former directors for their knowledge of operational and national security matters. The purpose for this was so the agency could maintain formal and protected communication including potentially sensitive and classified matters with former officials. Since appointed, Director Curran has been building a dynamic team of knowledgeable advisers that will help implement his vision for the agency. Additionally, Director Curran has been modernizing the intelligence apparatus within the agency. During that process, he has determined that not all former directors will have their clearances renewed.

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​Secret service, Usss, Sean curran, Kimberly cheatle, Butler shooting, Sloped roof, Security clearance, Politics 

According to filmmaker Matt Landman, geoengineering programs are spraying toxic chemicals like aluminum into our skies — and while it’s been documented that what’s in the air is hurting the bee population, it’s not just the bees that we should be concerned about.

“The number one cause of death in the United Kingdom, number one cause of death is dementia — dementia and Alzheimer’s from aluminum toxicity in the brain,” Landman tells BlazeTV host Pat Gray and producer Keith Malinak on “Pat Gray Unleashed.”

“A lot of people don’t know that fluoride is just a byproduct of melting aluminum. So fluoride and aluminum want to bond back together,” he explains.

“There’s these attacks from every angle, but at the end of the day, you should consider it complimentary because, like, why is everything out to get us? Because they are terrified of us realizing what’s going on. So they want to dumb us down to the best of their ability,” he adds.

Landman explains that this is why cholesterol is demonized — because it’s a “fatty layer of protection” for your brain.

“So, the same thing that’s happening to the humans, which is the aluminium buildup in the brain. And imagine you get aluminum buildup in the brain, and then they are ramping up these EMF frequencies. … It’s just like putting aluminum in the microwave, but it’s your brain,” he continues.

“This is why people are having neurological disorders and what have you. So, the same things are happening to the bees. There’s this bee die-off, and biologists and whatnot are dissecting bees, and they have increased aluminum in their brain,” he adds.

With the increase of aluminum in the bees’ brains and EMF frequencies nearby, the bees can’t even find their way back to the hive.

“So, the bees are dying off from the aluminum especially, right? And then Monsanto has come out with an aluminum-resistant gene. Worth mentioning is Monsanto had to hide their name, and they don’t even exist anymore,” Landman says.

He explains that Monsanto has done this because once aluminum is killing all the crops, only their aluminum-resistant seeds will grow.

“They also have a ‘Frankenbee,’ like Frankenstein bee, where the bee is Monsanto-produced, and it can live in a glyphosate, aluminum, like, toxic pesticide/herbicide environment where all the other insects are dying,” he says.

“They like to confuse us. ‘Oh, that’s pretty advanced, genetically modified, whatever, and I’m not a scientist or whatever.’ But it’s actually very simple. They’re spraying poisons on your food that would make the food shrivel up and die,” he continues, explaining that it doesn’t shrivel up and die only because it’s genetically modified.

“And then we wonder why so many people have dementia, Alzheimer’s, so many kids have autism,” he says, adding, “I mean, we’re looking at the wrong source.”

Want more from Pat Gray?

To enjoy more of Pat’s biting analysis and signature wit as he restores common sense to a senseless world, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Upload, Video, Free, Camera phone, Video phone, Sharing, Youtube.com, Pat gray unleashed, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Matt landman, Bee population, Geoengineering, Alzheimers, Autism, Dementia, Monsanto, Food poisoning, Aluminum, Fluoride 

The mother of a Cincinnati mob attack suspect told WLWT-TV that her 34-year-old son is an “honor roll” student and is “not the thug that they put out in there to be.”

The station interviewed Clarissa Merriweather outside of court Wednesday, and she defended her son, Montianez Merriweather, who’s charged with felonious assault and aggravated riot in connection with last weekend’s street beatdown caught on video.

Montianez Merriweather was ‘identified on video punching [the] victim while co-defendants are stomping the victim in the head.’

“It wasn’t like they thugs,” Clarissa Merriweather told WLWT. “My child is in school, he has five kids, he’s on the B honor roll in school.”

You can check out her interview with the station in the video below:

RELATED: US senator shares grisly photos of woman’s bruised, battered face after Cincinnati mob attack

As it happens, Montianez Merriweather was “identified on video punching [the] victim while co-defendants are stomping the victim in the head,” WXIX-TV reported, citing criminal complaints. He was arrested Tuesday.

But Merriweather has been in trouble with the law before.

In fact, Merriweather was indicted July 10 on four felony charges after investigators said he was found in possession of a stolen firearm, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. Court records indicate he was charged with carrying concealed weapons, receiving stolen property, improper handling of firearms in a vehicle, and weapons under disability, the paper noted. The weapons under disability charge stems from a 2009 felony conviction for aggravated robbery, the Enquirer added, citing documents.

But after his July 10 indictment, Merriweather was released upon posting 10% of a $4,000 bond, the paper said.

“He never should have been out,” Ken Kober, Cincinnati police union president, told the Enquirer.

Merriweather’s bond in connection with his mob attack charges was set at $500,000, the Enquirer reported. He remained behind bars Friday afternoon, according to jail records.

What’s more, a Cincinnati police detective alleged that Merriweather prior to the mob attack whispered to a “co-defendant” and then started “arguing with the victim,” WLWT said in a separate story.

The detective called Merriweather the “catalyst” for what was described as a “coordinated attack,” the station said, adding that the detective alleged Merriweather came up behind the victim and hit the victim in the side of the face — “kind of like an ambush.”

Police also noted in court that they have video from a camera mounted on a building in the area that allegedly shows Merriweather and co-defendant Jermaine Matthews, 39, chasing the victim before hitting the victim, WLWT reported.

Defense attorneys for Merriweather and Matthews insist they were struck first by the man they are accused of beating, WXIX reported in a separate story.

You can view cellphone videos of the mob attack here, here, here, here, and here.

Dekyra Vernon, 24, also was charged with felonious assault and aggravated riot in connection with the mob attack. She is alleged to have “struck [the] victim in the face with a closed fist prior to the victim becoming unconscious from the attack,” WXIX reported, citing criminal complaints. Vernon’s bond was set at $200,000, and she remained behind bars Friday afternoon, according to jail records.

All their cases go before a grand jury for indictment on Aug. 8, WXIX said.

RELATED: ‘Despicable human being!!’ Cincinnati official triggers venomous reactions to her comment about mob attack victims

(L to R) Jermaine Matthews, Dekyra Vernon, Montianez MerriweatherImage source: Hamilton County (Ohio) Sheriff

Matthews bonded out of jail after more charges were filed against him Thursday, WXIX-TV reported. Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge Michael Peck set Matthews’ bond at $100,000 during his arraignment Wednesday, the station said, adding that he returned to court Thursday on two new counts of felonious assault and one for misdemeanor assault, and the new bonds increased the total to $270,000. WXIX noted that Matthews must wear an ankle monitor and will be on house arrest.

Matthews apparently is no stranger to law enforcement, either. More from WXIX:

Matthews is a convicted felon who pleaded guilty in 2009 to two counts of cocaine possession and a single count of cocaine trafficking, court records show.

He was sentenced to three years in prison.

During each of his two separate arrests in those cases — in December 2008 and February 2009 — police said Matthews tried to swallow a bag of crack cocaine but spit it out after being shocked with a Taser stun gun.

The FBI on Monday opened an investigation into the mob attack, WXIX reported. Fox News said the incident is under investigation as a potential hate crime.

While three suspects have been arrested, a total of five have been charged — which leaves two other suspects charged in connection with the mob attack still on the loose.

BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock this week blasted Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge for how she’s handling the violence:

RELATED: Cincinnati Music Festival brawl exposes the ‘DEMONIC spirit’ of anti-white racism

Republican U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio late Wednesday shared grisly images of a woman’s face in an X post after she was beaten up and apparently knocked out cold during the mob attack.

Cincinnati council member Victoria Parks said in a Facebook comment that “they begged for that beat down!“

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​Cincinnati, Mob attack, Suspect, Mother, Repeat offender, Montianez merriweather, Clarissa merriweather, Arrest, Convicted felon, Crime 

The Environmental Protection Agency has just set off what may be the most consequential policy shift in the auto industry in over a decade.

On Tuesday, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced a proposal to rescind the controversial 2009 Endangerment Finding, the legal foundation that has been used for 16 years to justify greenhouse gas emissions regulations impacting every car, truck, and bus sold in the U.S.

If you’re concerned about start-stop technology, EV mandates, or the regulatory costs built into the price of your next vehicle, now is the time to speak up.

If finalized, this proposal would dismantle more than $1 trillion in regulatory mandates, including President Biden’s aggressive electric vehicle requirements, and restore consumer choice to a market long constrained by unelected bureaucrats. It would also put the brakes on unpopular mandates like engine start-stop systems and costly EV infrastructure requirements that automakers say have driven up vehicle prices.

Why this proposal is so significant

The Endangerment Finding gave the EPA unprecedented power to regulate six greenhouse gases under Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act. It asserted that these gases — carbon dioxide among them — posed a threat to public health and welfare, opening the door for sweeping emissions mandates on the auto industry.

Since then, the EPA has used the finding to justify a series of regulations designed to force automakers toward electric vehicles and away from gasoline-powered cars. Biden’s 2024 standards, for example, require automakers to cut tailpipe emissions in half by 2032 and predict that between 35% and 56% of all new vehicles sold will be electric within the next decade.

California and 11 other states have piggybacked on these standards with even stricter rules, including outright bans on gasoline-only cars by 2035.

Critics say these mandates amount to a de facto EV requirement that Congress never approved. They also argue that the Endangerment Finding was based on flawed legal reasoning and exaggerated climate risk assumptions.

Under Obama and Biden, the EPA “twisted the law, ignored precedent, and warped science to achieve their preferred ends and stick American families with hundreds of billions of dollars in hidden taxes every single year,” Zeldin said at the announcement, which was held at a truck dealership in Indiana.

$1 trillion at stake

According to EPA estimates, rescinding the Endangerment Finding would roll back regulations totaling more than $1 trillion in compliance costs. Automakers have spent years re-engineering vehicles to meet complex emissions targets, often passing those costs on to consumers.

The American Trucking Associations estimates that Biden’s electric truck mandate alone would have “crippled our supply chain, disrupted deliveries, and raised prices for American families and businesses.” ATA President and CEO Chris Spear welcomed the EPA’s move.

Indiana Governor Mike Braun (R), who joined Zeldin at the event, echoed that sentiment: “We can protect our environment and support American jobs at the same time.”

Legal foundations and next steps

The EPA argues that recent Supreme Court rulings — including West Virginia v. EPA and Loper Bright v. Raimondo — make it clear that major regulatory decisions of this scale must come from Congress, not federal agencies. These decisions limit the ability of the executive branch to unilaterally impose sweeping economic mandates without explicit legislative approval.

Here’s what happens next.

Public comment period: The proposal is now open for public comment until September 21, 2025. Americans, automakers, environmental groups, and industry stakeholders can weigh in via regulations.gov (Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0194).

Final rulemaking: After reviewing comments, the EPA will finalize the rule. This process must also pass through the White House Office of Management and Budget for approval.

Legal challenges: Environmental groups and states like California are expected to sue, arguing that rescinding the Endangerment Finding violates the Supreme Court’s 2007 decision in Massachusetts v. EPA, which affirmed the agency’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases.

It’s likely the issue could end up before the Supreme Court again, prolonging uncertainty for automakers and consumers.

RELATED: $8 gas: The real cost of the EV agenda

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

What this means for you

If the proposal is finalized and withstands legal challenges, it would reshape the entire automotive landscape.

The end of Biden’s EV mandate: Automakers would no longer be forced to prioritize EV production at the expense of gasoline-powered vehicles.

Lower vehicle costs: With fewer costly compliance requirements, manufacturers could pass savings on to consumers.

Restored consumer choice: Drivers could decide for themselves whether they want to buy EVs, hybrids, or gasoline-powered vehicles.

The end of California’s outsized influence: The EPA could revoke California’s ability to set stricter emissions rules than federal standards, affecting 11 other states that follow California’s lead.

However, the process will take time. Automakers must plan years in advance, and environmental groups and states are are expected to fight every step of the way.

How to make your voice heard

The public comment period gives everyday Americans a rare chance to influence federal policy. If you’re concerned about start-stop technology, EV mandates, or the regulatory costs built into the price of your next vehicle, now is the time to speak up.

You can submit your comments directly through the Federal eRulemaking Portal by searching for Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0194. Comments must be received by September 21, 2025.

The EPA will also hold a virtual public hearing on August 19 and 20, with an additional session on August 21 if needed. Details are available on the agency’s website.

The bigger picture

This isn’t just about EVs. The Endangerment Finding has been the legal backbone for every major greenhouse gas rule in the last 16 years. Rolling it back would not only upend Biden’s climate agenda but also shift power back to Congress and the states.

Supporters of the rescission say it’s about restoring accountability. Opponents, however, argue that eliminating these regulations would stall progress on climate change and undermine the transition to cleaner technologies. They vow to fight the proposal in court.

This move by the EPA could fundamentally change the future of the auto industry and the vehicles available to American drivers. Whether you support or oppose it, this proposal deserves your attention. Over the next 45 days, the agency is accepting feedback from the public — and your input can help determine whether these costly and controversial mandates remain in place or are rolled back for good.

You have a voice in this process. Make sure it’s heard.

For more information and to view supporting documents, visit the EPA’s official docket page.

​Ev mandate, Lee zeldin, Lifestyle, Auto industry, Donald trump, Cars, Align cars 

Cincinnati Councilwoman Victoria Parks has ignited outrage after posting a comment suggesting the two white victims of the Cincinnati brawl that took place last weekend deserved the brutal beating they received at the hands of a predominantly African American mob.

“They begged for that beatdown! I am grateful for the whole story,” she posted on Facebook.

“In her mind, the whole story justifies the beatdown of the man and the woman,” says BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock, who displays grisly images of the female victim following the attack. One of her eyes is a deep purple color and completely swollen shut, while her lips are puffy and bruised. The rest of her face is a sickly greenish yellow from severe bruising.

Jason calls out the glaring racism – “Black people love to say we can’t be racist [because] we have no power.”

“[Parks] is a part of the political structure of Cincinnati. She has some power,” he says, pointing out that America has also had a black president and currently has black mayors and governors all over the country.

“Fearless” contributor Shemeka Michelle agrees, “This council[woman] clearly is putting her race, her skin color, over logic and over good because how does she feel like this woman deserved that?”

The female victim, who’s been identified as Holly, was a bystander who attempted to assist a man being attacked when she was punched in the face and knocked unconscious by one of the men in the mob.

As for the man who was savagely attacked, Shemeka says she “would not be complaining” if the fight were one-on-one.

“If he had gotten a beatdown from only one guy, then hey, you just lost the fight. But when it comes to multiple people stomping you and stomping on your head, I don’t think anybody deserves that,” she says.

“I can’t understand how anybody is putting [race] over character and integrity, morals, and values. It’s just such simplemindedness. But this is where we are, and then we wonder why people are constantly bringing up the IQ of black people,” she adds.

“This is why I talk about racial idolatry so much. … Part of my mission is trying to open people’s minds to: If you interpret the world through a racial lens, it’s going to lead you to illogic,” Jason says.

“When I see a city council person who’s supposed to be the best and brightest, and she’s on the wrong side of this out of her race loyalty, I just shake my head.”

To hear more of the conversation and see footage and images from the brawl and its aftermath, watch the episode above.

Want more from Jason Whitlock?

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​Jason whitlock, Jason whitlock fearless, Blazetv, Blaze media, Cincinnati brawl, Mob attack, Racial idolatry, Racism, Jason whitlock harmony 

Funny how you never hear anyone say, “I really wish I spent more time on my phone.”

In a world that requires us to spend an increasing amount of time in front of screens, we’re all looking for ways to unplug. Products and services claiming to help us do this have become their own rapidly expanding market.

Faraday bags have many uses: protection against EMP attacks, eavesdropping, GPS tracking, and meddling NSA operatives.

There are more apps dedicated to this endeavor than can possibly be categorized, but they all have one thing in common: They all live on the very device you’re hoping to escape.

Apps can be helpful, of course — provided you have sufficient willpower. I don’t, which is why I’ve started to employ a simple, low-tech solution to keep me off my phone: a Faraday bag.

Secure the bag

What is a Faraday bag? Put simply, it’s a bag that prevents any electromagnetic fields from going in or out. That’s really it. Not only will it prevent all calls, texts, and emails from reaching your device, it will disable its GPS and bluetooth. In other words, total lockdown.

Once you retrieve your phone from its prison, everything you missed pops up just as if you’d turned it on after leaving it off for a while. Which raises the question: Why not just turn your phone off and save yourself the money?

Well, the bag has the advantage of not making you wait for your phone to boot up again before you can use it, and it also has the psychological advantage of keeping the phone out of sight. In my experience, staying off social media for an evening is much easier when the phone isn’t sitting on my desk, calling to me like Norman Osborn’s Green Goblin mask.

‘Coward! We have a new world to conquer!” (Michael Tullberg/Getty Images)

Slipping my phone and laptop into the bag and sealing it shut have really helped with the mental side of minimizing distractions. “Out of sight, out of mind,” as the saying goes.

Set it and forget it

Faraday bags have many uses: protection against EMP attacks, eavesdropping, GPS tracking, and meddling NSA operatives, for example. I don’t doubt that they are quite useful in that world, but I’ve found that simply using them to mentally unplug for a while has been worth the investment.

Speaking of investment, you’re probably wondering about the price tag on one of these bags. You can pick one up from MOS Equipment for $23, or $90 if you want it to fit your laptop as well. The other brand I’ve used is GoDark. Their bags go for $55 if you just want to stow your phone, or $130 for the laptop size. GoDark products, though more expensive, have the benefit of some waterproofing, more premium materials, and more convenient closures. Having used both brands, I haven’t noticed any difference in actual EMF blocking.

RELATED: The real spyware threat could be in your pocket

Moor Studio via iStock/Getty Images

A one-time investment

I have been warned to avoid cheap bags off of Amazon or other generic sellers. If you want a bag that will work reliably, it’s best to stick with established brands. The cost is certainly something to consider, but for many folks, a one-time purchase that will consistently help them to focus and save time is probably worth the investment.

Are you working on a bit of writing and can’t seem to focus? Put the phone in the bag, leave it under the desk, and lock in for a couple hours. Having trouble sleeping? Putting the screens away for 30 minutes before turning in has been shown to improve sleep quality. My preferred method is to put my devices into the bag before starting the bedtime routine. How will you set your alarm? Clocks are easy to find, quite cheap, and come in all shapes and sizes.

Try it for a week, and thank me later. Having tried different screen-time apps and digital timers, I’ve found that the best solution is to go as low-tech and simple as possible. Plus, if you do find yourself on the run from the NSA, the Faraday bag you’ve already got gives you a head start on gearing up for life off the grid.

​Faraday bags, Go dark bags, Mos equipment, Emp, Unplug, Lifestyle, Return, Tech 

Citing Bureau of Labor Statistics data accessed through the Federal Reserve Economic Data system, Snopes indicated that under former President Joe Biden, native-born Americans’ share of job gains from January 2024 to June 2024 was 51.7%. While native-born Americans picked up roughly 1.09 million jobs, foreign-born individuals grabbed 1.02 million jobs.

Under President Donald Trump a year later, native-born Americans accounted for 100% of non-seasonally adjusted job gains from January to June.

The U.S. Department of Labor revealed on Friday that this trend continued into last month, stating, “Wages are up, investments are pouring into our nation, and native-born workers have accounted for ALL job gains since January!

‘That’s a result of our strong immigration policy.’

According to the latest jobs numbers from the BLS, the employment of American-born workers was up roughly 383,000 last month. Meanwhile, foreign-born worker numbers plunged by 467,000.

Bloomberg noted that the imported workforce — a mix of legal and illegal migrants — is down roughly 1.7 million jobs since March.

RELATED: Blaze Media’s Julio Rosas embeds with Noem’s DHS as it slams shut South America’s illegal migration pipeline

Photo by Rebecca Noble/Getty Images

E.J. Antoni, chief economist at the Heritage Foundation’s Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget, noted that “despite [a] disappointing headline, this jobs report was best [July] ever for employment among native-born Americans, up 2 million Y/Y and annual growth 2.2 million faster than among foreign-born workers; native-born American employment is now 1.8 million above pre-pandemic level.”

Blaze News has reached out to the White House for comment.

Stephen Miran, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, told CNN that “since the president took office, he [has] created about 2.5 million jobs for Americans, whereas we’ve eliminated about a million jobs for foreign-born workers. That’s a result of our strong immigration policy, of our strong border policy keeping America safe.”

“Eventually the outflow of foreign workers in these data were bound to show up in the establishment surveys, as they finally did this morning,” added Miran.

The jobs report indicated further that in July, 73,000 new jobs were added; the unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.2%; the labor force participation rate was 62.2%; and the “federal government continued to lose jobs.”

Following the release of the latest jobs report, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.) stated, “Unlike during the Biden administration, when taxpayers were forced to pay for millions of new bureaucrats while watching their grocery and gas bills skyrocket, President Trump’s economy is freeing the private sector to create new jobs with more financial security for American families.

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​Bls, Bureau of labor statistics, Labor, Jobs, Immigrants, Deportations, White house, Bureau of labor, Labor department, Winning, Migration, Workers, America first, Politics 

Tensions have continued to rise between President Trump and Chairman of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell since Trump’s visit to the bloated construction project at the Fed’s headquarters last week. Trump’s criticism of Powell’s leadership and refusal to lower interest rates has led to some heated exchanges between the two leaders.

On Friday morning, Trump posted two messages directly calling out the chairman of the Federal Reserve: “Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell, a stubborn MORON, must substantially lower interest rates, NOW. IF HE CONTINUES TO REFUSE, THE BOARD SHOULD ASSUME CONTROL, AND DO WHAT EVERYONE KNOWS HAS TO BE DONE!”

‘I believe that the wait and see approach is overly cautious, and, in my opinion, does not properly balance the risks to the outlook and could lead to policy falling behind the curve.’

In another Truth Social post, Trump lashed out again: “Too Little, Too Late. Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell is a disaster. DROP THE RATE! The good news is that Tariffs are bringing Billions of Dollars into the USA!”

A Wednesday press release recounted a vote on monetary policy. While nine members of the committee voted to “maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 4-1/4 to 4-1/2 percent,” this decision was not unanimous. Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller dissented from this action, preferring to lower the federal funds rate by 1/4 percentage point. This, however, is still far below the rate cuts that Trump is aiming for.

RELATED: Jerome Powell’s luxury Fed is failing the American people

Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images

On Friday, Board member Waller explained his dissent from the majority “wait and see” approach, calling it “overly cautious” and claiming it “does not properly balance the risks to the outlook and could lead to policy falling behind the curve.”

Bowman, likewise, gave a statement on Friday explaining her dissent: “I see the risk that a delay in taking action could result in a deterioration in the labor market and a further slowing in economic growth.”

Trump’s aggressive tariffs have stimulated the economy and have secured many trade deals. However, Powell has reportedly said that this short-term success is not indicative of long-term stability. “We’ve learned that the process will probably be slower than expected,” Powell said. “We think we have a long way to go to really understand exactly how” the tariffs will affect inflation and the economy.

The Federal Reserve Board declined Blaze News’ request for comment.

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​Politics, Trump, Jerome powell, Jerome powell vs trump, Federal reserve, Christopher waller, Michelle bowman, Tariffs, Interest rates 

Seed oils.

You’ve probably heard they’re really bad, but I bet you don’t know why. If you do, or think you do, I bet it’s because of the disgusting way they’re produced — you may have seen that stomach-turning video of canola oil being made — and the fact that they’re a totally novel form of fat humans have no real history of consuming.

Yet here we are guzzling huge quantities of them in pretty much every kind of processed food you can think of.

Forefather knows best

Seed oils are everywhere now, in large part because they’re cheap to make, but also because we’ve been told, wrongly, that they’re actually much better for us than the fats our ancestors ate since the dawn of time, especially animal fats.

The logic behind that claim — we’ve been eating the wrong fats for 200,000 years until corporations came along and magically gave us the right kind — doesn’t pass a basic sniff test, but there’s also a growing body of scientific research to back up our sensible prejudice.

Everything about this olive oil is authentic, down to the local village men and women who harvest the olives and press and bottle the liquid.

Last week, I talked about the book I consider to be the best book ever written on diet and nutrition, Weston A. Price’s “Nutrition and Physical Degeneration.”

Price makes a simple argument: The transition to modern industrial diets has been a disaster for human health. He was making this argument in 1939, when the very first factory foods like refined-wheat products and canned goods were becoming widespread, many decades before supermarket shelves were filled with the kind of ultra-processed slop we’re familiar with today, like Twinkies and Froot Loops and microwave pizza and Hot Pockets.

A worthless byproduct

Seed oils were one of the first true industrial foodstuffs. Whenever modern humans have eaten seeds, they’ve eaten very small quantities of seed oils, but it required modern machines and chemistry to extract them in large quantities and produce horrible oceans of the stuff: high-pressure mechanical pressing, neutralizing, bleaching, deodorizing, and so on.

One of the first commercial seed oils was crystallized cottonseed oil, which you almost certainly know as Crisco. Oil was extracted at high pressure from cottonseeds and then hydrogenated using a metal catalyst to produce a solid seed-based alternative to animal shortening.

Cotton producers loved this new process, because it made a worthless byproduct of cotton manufacturing into a valuable commodity. What was once fit only to thin paint and lubricate machinery (if not just thrown away) became something people would stick in their mouths and eat.

When I put it like that, it sounds kind of evil, and I suppose it is. We really shouldn’t be eating this stuff.

Soy-faced

I won’t bore you too much with the science of seed oils. You can look it up, if you want to: why polyunsaturated fats — the main constituent of seed oils, and especially so-called omega-6s — are toxic and how the manufacturing process makes these fats even more so; the way seed oils interfere with the metabolism and make us put on weight, as well as their tendency to have estrogenic effects.

RELATED: Bear Grylls ditches vegan diet, explains why he now embraces carnivore lifestyle: ‘The biggest game-changer’

Delbert Shoopman/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

I’ll mention one set of findings, though, before I move on. A 2020 study of soybean oil (the most widely consumed seed oil in America) showed that not only did it make mice fat, it also disrupted the same region of the brain — and in a similar fashion — as Alzheimer’s disease.

Soybean oil also interfered with the production of oxytocin, the so-called “love hormone,” which governs social interaction and bonding. I recently suggested on X that maybe the reason everyone in America is so tense these days is because they eat a thousand times more soybean oil than they did a century ago. I wasn’t joking.

Crushing it

So what about olive oil? I often get asked this. Is olive oil a seed oil? No, it isn’t. Olive oil is a fruit oil, actually. And while it contains some polyunsaturated fatty acids like seed oils, it mostly contains monounsaturated fatty acids, which are different in important ways, most notably their stability.

The extraction process is simple and non-toxic — literally, you just crush olives. What’s more, olive oil contains a wonderful array of unique plant compounds with some pretty miraculous effects.

Maybe the simplest way to understand what’s so good about olive oil, beyond its delicious taste, is to note that it’s been consumed for thousands of years, and those people who consume lots of it, like the Italians, display remarkable longevity, vim, and lust for life.

When it comes to beneficial health effects, science is showing there’s virtually nothing olive oil can’t do. Here’s one study that shows olive oil helps your body produce more testosterone, by allowing the testes to absorb more cholesterol. Here’s another that shows consuming three tablespoons of olive oil a day slows physical aging. And here’s one that shows how a compound in olive oil called hydroxytyrosol helps you to lose weight. Magic.

The good stuff

One of the main problems with supermarket olive oils is quality. You get what you pay for, and the bargains are often adulterated: cut, like cheap drugs, with inferior substances. That means seed oils. This is a problem you get with other oils too, perhaps most notably the hipster and keto dieter’s favorite, avocado oil. A study from a few years back showed that 82% of avocado oil sold in the US was rancid or adulterated.

Here’s a solution: Accept that you’re going to have to pay if you want a good product, and then go straight to the source.

Selo Olive

I go to Croatia for my olive oil. Not literally, but you know what I mean. My friend Martin Erlic founded Selo Olive on his family plantation in Dalmatia during the pandemic. Everything about this olive oil is authentic, down to the local village men and women who harvest the olives and press and bottle the liquid while they sing their local songs and laugh and joke in that inimitable Mediterranean way. “Selo” means “community” or “village” in Croatian, and it takes a community to make Selo’s olive oil.

When I got my first bottle of Selo, I couldn’t believe the difference from every other olive oil I had ever tried.

The color, the aroma, the consistency — and of course the taste. This is the real deal. I don’t think I could ever glug anything else on a Greek salad or grilled sardines or make a delicious olive-oil bulletproof coffee with an inferior brand that hadn’t been hand-picked by grizzled babushkas.

Once you visit the Selo, you won’t ever want to leave.

​Olive oil, Lifestyle, Seed oil, Maha, Health, Croatia, Selo olive, Provisions 

Proving conservatives right again, a newly released study conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research shows that California experienced massive job loss since enacting a $20 minimum wage across the state.

AB 1228 was passed by the California assembly in September 2023, establishing the state’s “Fast Food Council” to set and change the minimum wage — which was previously $16 an hour. The bill was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom (D) in April 2024.

“Who could have guessed that this would have happened?” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales says on “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered.” “The fast-food industry, by the way, actually lost 18,000 jobs since the minimum wage hike in April 2024.”

This represents a 3.2% decline in that sector compared to others in different states.

“When you decide they all have to make $20 an hour, you remind the employer that those people are now no longer needed,” BlazeTV host Stu Burguiere says, adding, “And this is before we even get into robot chefs, which are obviously not far away.”

“I mean, who could have suspected the employers were not going to pay $20 an hour to flip burgers, right?” Gonzales mocks.

“It’s a terrible policy, whichever way you slice it, but you may, I don’t know, feel sympathy or something for the person who was driven out of a job, the 18,000 people who were driven out of fast-food jobs, if I ever felt like I was getting good service from any of these places. But to Stu’s point, it’s like I would probably rather have the app or the thing where I do it myself, because … any time I go to the restaurant industry these days, it’s like people are rude,” she continues.

“I don’t think you should have been making $20 an hour to be rude and get my order wrong,” she adds.

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Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan issued a lengthy explanation Thursday after she skipped key Israel votes to make an appearance on Stephen Colbert’s show.

Slotkin missed several votes on Wednesday, including two resolutions that would have blocked additional military aid to Israel. Rather than joining her colleagues for the vote, Slotkin spent Wednesday afternoon in New York to tape her appearance for “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” which sparked outrage among American voters.

In an attempt to address the disappointment and disapproval felt by her constituents, Slotkin clarified her position on the vote and explained away her absence.

‘I owe it to my state to make clear where I stand.’

“Last night I unfortunately missed a vote series on two Joint Resolutions of Disapproval regarding the sale of weapons to Israel,” Slotkin said in a statement on X. “I have struggled with this Joint Resolution of Disapproval more than any previous votes in the nearly two years since Hamas initiated the attacks on October 7. I represent a state with a large Arab and Muslim population and a large Jewish population. And over these last two years, few issues have been as raw as this one.”

RELATED: Democratic senator appears on Colbert show after missing key Israel votes

Photo by Paul Sancya – Pool/Getty Images

“I have therefore worked very hard to call balls and strikes based on my experience and the facts on the ground, even as most people fall firmly into one side or another, and are often reluctant to consider new information. I owe it to my state to make clear where I stand: Had I made it back for the vote yesterday, I would have voted yes to block offensive weapons to Israel based on my concerns over lack of food and medicine getting to civilians in Gaza.”

RELATED: Cory Booker lashes out against colleagues during Senate floor freak-out: ‘It’s time for Democrats to have backbone’

Photo by JACQUELYN MARTIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Slotkin reaffirmed her support for the state of Israel, but she also criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for behaving as if “there are no limits to what they can do while receiving U.S. support.”

“I believe a message has to be sent,” Slotkin said. “Should similar votes on offensive weapons come up in the future, I will take them on a case-by-case basis, with the hope of important humanitarian course corrections. I continue to support the U.S.-Israel security relationship and sale of defensive weapons such as the Iron Dome.”

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​Elissa slotkin, Stephen colbert, The late show with stephen colbert, Senate democrats, Bibi netanyahu, Benjamin netanyahu, Israel, Palestine, Gaza, Donald trump, Trump administration, Foreign aid, Israel aid, Politics 

The topic of marriage is a contentious one, as the stat that 50% of marriages end in divorce is commonly repeated, leaving those looking to pursue one of life’s greatest adventures with a question mark seared into their minds.

However, times are changing, and divorce rates are going down.

“The good news about all of this is that that stat is ancient and it doesn’t really apply to society any more. This is a really good thing,” BlazeTV host Stu Burguiere says, before pulling up a chart that shows that divorce rates have steadily gone down since their peak in the 1970s.

“The only decade where marriages have stayed together at a better rate than the 2010s is the 1950s,” Stu says.

“Consider the culture around us and all the negatives that we talk about on a day-to-day basis. That’s a really positive development. And there are some of those in our society that we shouldn’t just look past,” he adds.

Married-parent families also steadily dropped since the 1970s, but the trend reversed in 2012, going from 64% to 66%.

“Now, that’s just a slight uptick. It’s not a massive one, but the fact that the falling has stopped is really positive. And a little bit of an upturn makes you think, ‘Hey, maybe there’s something positive going on there as well,’” Stu says.

“When you have a kid who was raised in a two-parent family instead of a one-parent family, they’re much less likely to commit crimes. They’re much more likely to finish high school. They’re much more likely to get through college. They’re much more likely to hold down a job. They’re much more likely to get married,” he continues.

“All these outcomes wind up being positive for society,” he adds.

Want more from Stu?

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

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Pizza delivered in five minutes through underground tunnels by 100mph robots. It sounds like bad science fiction. It’s not. It’s happening in Austin this September.

Pipedream Labs just announced the city’s first “thing pipe” network — 24-inch underground tunnels filled with autonomous robots called “Otters” that carry 40-pound payloads at highway speeds for 25 cents per delivery. CEO Garrett Scott calls it “hyperlogistics.” The rest of us should call it inevitable.

If Pipedream delivers on its promises, Austin will become the first city where physical goods move at internet speeds.

A series of tubes

The system sounds deceptively simple. Rapid Fulfillment Centers connect to unmanned Portal kiosks through underground pneumatic networks. Customers order through an app. Robots grab items from inventory. Compressed air shoots them through tubes faster than most cars travel. Products arrive at neighborhood kiosks in minutes, not hours

The economics are brutal for traditional delivery. Uber Eats charges restaurants a commission of up to 30% plus delivery fees. Pipedream charges 25 cents total. A single human driver earning minimum wage costs more per hour than hundreds of robot deliveries. The math isn’t close.

Austin makes perfect sense as a testing ground. The city’s explosive growth has created permanent traffic gridlock. Delivery trucks clog narrow streets built for horses, not commerce. Construction projects multiply delays. Weather shuts down traditional delivery entirely. Underground networks bypass every surface-level problem.

The new pneumatic

The technology exists today. Pneumatic tube systems have moved documents through buildings for decades. Amazon’s fulfillment centers already use robots for inventory management. Compressed air propulsion powers factory automation worldwide. Pipedream isn’t inventing new physics. It’s combining proven technologies in revolutionary ways.

The infrastructure requirements seem daunting until you examine the details. Twenty-four-inch pipes require smaller excavation than water mains or subway tunnels. Modern boring machines dig faster and cheaper than ever. Austin’s limestone geology simplifies construction compared to cities with bedrock or water table issues.

Forty miles of pipe and 100 Portal nodes represent a massive initial investment. But the payoff timeline is measured in months, not decades. Every successful delivery generates immediate revenue. The network becomes more valuable as it expands. Each new Portal increases utility for existing users.

Rental-based economies

The business model transcends simple delivery. Rental-based economies become practical when items arrive in minutes. Need a power drill for an hour? Order one, use it, return it to the same Portal. The economics shift from ownership to access. Physical goods behave like digital subscriptions.

RELATED: USPS celebrates 250 years as it hemorrhages billions — are taxpayers on the hook?

Paul Weaver/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Local businesses gain massive advantages. Small restaurants compete directly with chain delivery times. Neighborhood pharmacies match Amazon’s convenience. Independent retailers access instant fulfillment without warehouse investments. The network levels playing fields tilted toward corporate giants.

Delivery goes underground

The implications for urban planning are staggering. Delivery trucks disappear from residential streets. Parking requirements shrink when fewer people need cars for errands. Commercial real estate transforms when location matters less than network access. Zoning laws written for truck-based logistics become obsolete.

Residential architecture adapts accordingly. New homes include built-in delivery drawers connected to building-level Portal access. Apartment complexes install central receiving stations. The mailbox evolves into a two-way logistics portal. Physical goods flow in and out like email.

Underground networks operate regardless of weather. Reduced packaging needs less cardboard and plastic. Consolidated deliveries eliminate thousands of individual trips.

Swift and brutal

The social changes run deeper than convenience. Elderly residents access fresh groceries without leaving home. Disabled individuals gain independence through instant delivery. Rural areas connect to urban logistics networks. Geographic inequality diminishes when distance becomes irrelevant.

The competitive response will be swift and brutal. Amazon’s drone program suddenly looks outdated. FedEx and UPS face existential threats. Traditional retailers must adapt or die. The logistics industry transforms overnight when atoms move like bits.

Regulatory challenges loom large. City governments must approve underground construction. Safety regulations need updating for high-speed robot networks. Zoning laws require revision. But economic pressure overwhelms bureaucratic resistance. Cities that delay lose competitive advantage.

The scalability question remains open. Austin’s relatively flat terrain and cooperative local government provide ideal conditions. Dense urban areas with complex underground infrastructure face bigger challenges. But success in Austin proves the concept for nationwide expansion.

The security implications deserve consideration. Underground networks resist natural disasters and terrorist attacks better than surface infrastructure. But they create new vulnerabilities. Cyber attacks on automated systems could shut down entire cities. Physical access to tunnels enables sabotage.

Aggressive timeline

The labor displacement is undeniable. Thousands of delivery drivers lose their jobs immediately. Warehouse workers face increasing automation pressure. Trucking companies shrink. However, new jobs will likely arise in network maintenance, portal management, and robot programming. The transition creates both winners and losers.

I reached out to CEO Garrett Scott for comment on these implications. None was offered. Perhaps he’s too busy building the future to explain it.

The timeline feels impossibly aggressive. September launch for a completely new infrastructure category? Most city projects take years to approve, let alone complete. But Austin’s tech-friendly culture and streamlined permitting process make rapid deployment possible.

The physics are sound. The economics are compelling. The technology exists. The only question is execution speed. If Pipedream delivers on its promises, Austin will become the first city where physical goods move at internet speeds.

Underground robot networks sound insane until you examine the alternatives. Traffic gridlock worsens daily. Delivery costs skyrocket. Traditional logistics systems break under growth pressure. Pipedream’s solution suddenly seems inevitable rather than impossible.

The future of logistics just went subterranean. The only surprise is that it took this long.

​Pipedream, Start-up, Austin, Delivery, Amazon, Pneumatic tubes, Lifestyle, Tech, A series of tubes 

Democrat Sen. Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) tried his best on Thursday to paint President Donald Trump as a hypocrite. Unlike other false Democratic narratives, Schumer’s latest didn’t last very long.

The New York Democrat told reporters during a press conference on the president’s August 1 deadline for trade deals, “Just now, the White House announced construction of a $200 million White House ballroom that will begin in September.”

“A $200 million ballroom!” continued Schumer, who was found in a recent Economist/YouGov poll to have a favorability rating of 23%. “Where did this money come from? Did Congress appropriate? I don’t think so.”

While Schumer clearly lacked critical information about the newly announced ballroom — an initiative he deemed “confounding” — he proved more than willing to rush to conclusions.

“It’s almost like DOGE was never about waste at all. It was about cutting services to help Trump and his billionaire buddies. It seems that DOGE was all about making cuts on Americans to fund their ballroom. Was that what DOGE was all about?” said Schumer, adding that the purpose of the new White House ballroom was so that Trump “can eat his cheeseburgers in there in luxury.”

Contrary to Schumer’s suggestion — which helped draw attention to the initiative — the new ballroom will not be a cost to the American people but rather a gift.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt noted on Thursday that “for 150 years, presidents, administrations, and White House staff have longed for a large event space on the White House complex that can hold substantially more guests than currently allowed. President Trump has expressed his commitment to solving this problem on behalf of future administrations.”

RELATED: Leftists rage over Trump’s latest patriotic installment at the White House

Rendering of planned White House ballroom by McCrery Architects. White House.

Leavitt indicated that the 90,000 square-foot addition will be designed by McCrery Architects — a Washington, D.C.-based firm specializing in civic, religious, and institutional projects — and made large enough to seat 650 people. The East Room of the White House currently seats only 200 people.

‘I was always a great real estate developer, and I know how to do that.’

Work on the project will be overseen by Clark Construction and commence in September. The new structure will stand on the site where the East Wing presently sits.

“President Trump and other donors have generously committed to donating the funds necessary to build this approximately $200 million structure,” said Leavitt.

Rendering of planned White House ballroom by McCrery Architects. White House.

Trump said in a recent interview with NBC News that the project would be “his gift to the country.”

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles stated, “President Trump is a builder at heart and has an extraordinary eye for detail. The president and the Trump White House are fully committed to working with the appropriate organizations to preserve the special history of the White House while building a beautiful ballroom that can be enjoyed by future administrations and generations of Americans to come.”

“I was always a great real estate developer, and I know how to do that,” said Trump.

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Harvard University and the American Association of University Professors want a federal court to stop the government from canceling $2.5 billion in research funding.

At first glance, it’s easy to scoff. Harvard’s endowment rivals the GDP of some small countries. But this fight isn’t just about Harvard. It’s about all of us.

Harvard seems to think it’s entitled to its billions regardless of behavior, like a moody teenager who thinks rent is a form of oppression.

Sure, it’s satisfying to watch the crowned kings of academia scramble like undergrads who forgot their term paper was due. But a deeper question sits beneath the schadenfreude: Do universities have a constitutional right to taxpayer money?

Harvard seems to think so. Alongside the AAUP, the university now argues that the First Amendment guarantees not just academic freedom — but a government check to fund it. Far from a defense of liberty, that’s a tenured aristocracy demanding tribute.

How to ask for billions without blushing

Let’s unpack Harvard’s argument, delivered in the tone of someone explaining basic arithmetic to a particularly dim goat.

First, the school declares: “We have academic freedom! We have free speech! We can study whatever we want!” No argument here. Harvard’s academics are absolutely free to study whatever they like — whether it’s training lions to walk on treadmills or teaching Chinese prostitutes to drink responsibly. (Yes, those are real grant-funded projects.) I’ll defend their right to pursue this nonsense on their own dime. But not with mine. And I’ll laugh at the absurdity while I do it.

Then comes the second move: “Our research helps society! Public health, military innovation, science, the arts — we deserve this funding because we’re helping you.” That’s when the argument starts to stink like a dorm fridge in May.

Here’s the reality: The Trump administration didn’t yank Harvard’s funding on a whim. The government pulled the plug because Harvard refused to address well-documented anti-Semitism on campus. Federal officials raised the alarm. Harvard responded with a shrug and a memo.

Now the university’s shocked — shocked! — that the spigot might be turned off.

The New York Times reported Tuesday that Harvard is willing to pay up to $500 million to settle with the federal government — similar to Columbia’s deal. The final sticking point? Whether Harvard will agree to ongoing oversight for accountability, as Columbia did, or claim such monitoring violates its sacred “academic freedom.” That’s the scam again: invoking freedom while demanding taxpayer cash.

You don’t get to be elitist and entitled

Harvard runs on a $6 billion annual budget. Its endowment tops $50 billion. When ordinary people need money, they eat leftovers and cancel Netflix. Harvard, richer than many nations, sues the federal government to argue that taxpayers owe it funding for what it calls “scientific progress.”

That “progress” now includes climate grief workshops and studies on the emotional burdens of white women named Karen.

No one is saying universities can’t pursue intellectual flights of fancy. The question is whether they’re entitled to do it with your money — and without accountability.

At this point, “federally funded research” needs an asterisk. It used to mean real science. Now you have to squint: Is this about curing cancer or building better weapons — or is it just another DEI hustle dressed in a lab coat?

This is what happens when academia stops serving truth and starts serving itself.

Consequences for all!

Now, as any professor who has read a syllabus knows, consequences are real. They show up in bold print next to the plagiarism policy. And it turns out that federal grant contracts contain cancellation clauses — the equivalent of the government saying, “If you breach the terms or act unethically, we reserve the right to cut you off.”

Apparently, “repeated and unaddressed anti-Semitism” qualifies. As it should.

This is not oppression. This is not censorship. This is accountability — a word that causes visible hives in most faculty lounges.

RELATED: Redistribution comes for Harvard — and it’s glorious

Photo by Bloomberg/Getty Images

Leftist academics are ready to refuse federal money to any Christian college that believes marriage is a union between a man and a woman. It would be defunded before you could say “diversity audit.” But Harvard seems to think it’s entitled to its billions regardless of behavior, like a moody teenager who thinks rent is a form of oppression.

Earn back our trust

As a professor who still believes that the university should be a place for the pursuit of wisdom and virtue (quaint, I know), I’ll be watching this case with great interest. If the court rules that Harvard is entitled to public money regardless of conduct, we’ll have affirmed the rise of a new aristocracy — one not of nobility by blood but of arrogance by credential.

But if the court affirms that funding comes with responsibility, that anti-Semitism cannot be tolerated, and that ideological corruption of science disqualifies one from public support, then it’s possible we’ve found the beginning of reform.

Until then, if Harvard wants to study whether male prostitutes in Vietnam are self-actualizing through tourism, the school can absolutely do that. Just not with my tax dollars. In fact, Harvard might be paying back $500 million. That’s a lot of zeroes.

​Opinion & analysis, Opinion, Harvard, Harvard university, Harvard trump suit, Trump harvard, Donald trump, Presidenti trump, Trump 

About a year ago, I went into Walmart with my friend Kevin to pick up fuel for our oil lamps. Refurbishing and using antique kerosene lighting is a hobby we share. Kevin also collects and rehabilitates radio sets from the 1920s through the 1960s.

When you turn on one of Kevin’s art deco hardwood radios, the dial glows and the tinny AM voice comes through after about 30 seconds of warm-up. When I light my kerosene lamps room by room in winter, they literally light my way and heat the room. For us, the pleasure is not in polishing and displaying antiques as an exhibit, but in using the appliances for the job they were made to perform.

Watching ‘Little House on the Prairie,’ I clapped along with Ma and Carrie when Pa installed a hand pump for the water well in Ma’s kitchen.

This shopping encounter happened in a Walmart in a part of New York state we hadn’t been to before. It had an unfamiliar layout. We walked up to a blue-smocked staffer in her early 20s and asked her where to find the fuel.

“What’s kerosene?” she asked.

Fuel me once

How do you respond to this? I didn’t know. We just quickly told her it was a kind of fuel and walked away because there was no possibility this young woman would be able to help us. Eventually, we found it on our own through the kind of contextual knowledge this young employee was missing (it was near the paint section because it’s in the same family of chemicals).

This is one very small, and you may think inconsequential, example of an enormous social problem. Young people don’t know much of anything about the ordinary world, how it works, what it’s made of, and how to get things accomplished.

No, this is not just the perennial complaint of the old about the young. It’s not “just how it’s always been.” I’m 50, which puts me in Generation X. Like other young people, I felt very modern, very “with it,” and much cleverer than my mother or grandmother when I was young.

But not to the degree that Millennials and Generation Z feel.

Off the cliff

There is a cliff drop between Generation X and everyone who came after them; a sharp divide unlike anything we saw between generations beforehand. As a kid, I knew (and enjoyed much of) the music, culture, and movies that my mother and my grandmother grew up with. They played their music on the record player, and their favorite shows re-ran on TV.

Notice that. A “record player” and “re-runs on TV” were equally familiar to my grandmother, my mother, and me. Not so today. There are young people today who have no idea what an “iPod” was, a piece of music tech that was ubiquitous just a decade ago.

We no longer have any shared culture in the West because arts, music, “content,” and information are delivered through millions of “microchannels” on personal, handheld devices. And the brand name and operating system of these devices change every couple of years now, instead of every couple of decades.

Busy signal

Here’s another anecdote. When I first told this story about 10 years ago, even my age-contemporaries thought I was exaggerating. It doesn’t seem so outlandish now.

Years ago, I was talking online about old rotary dial telephones. I posted pictures of the classics, as well as a picture of a 1950s black desk set I own. I expected that younger people would be curious, that they’d think they were cool, and would ask how they worked. That’s how I reacted when I was their age and my grandmother told me about butter churns and crank telephones on party lines.

Nope. The reaction from them was a combination of insouciant dismissal (“lol/lmao” and “hopelessly laughing emoji”) and disgust. Yes, disgust. These young people weren’t interested, let alone charmed, by clever old devices. They thought there was something embarrassing, and maybe even a little bit prurient, about them. I remain shocked at this attitude.

Virtual inanity

But it’s not just the content and the ideas that we don’t share. It’s also the physical world. The level of electrification, automation, and digitization of everything all the time has become so extreme that young people born in this age have a warped perspective. The tasks they consider “hard,” the tasks they think require a digital device, leave me speechless pretty much everyday.

Here are some examples:

Remote controls for the air conditioner that’s five feet away (so you don’t have to get up), which has led to …… air conditioners and similar appliances that depend entirely on remote controls, with no buttons on the device itself. Lose the remote? Lose the entire appliance.Remote controls for light switches (because flipping a plastic toggle switch takes effort and that’s not even counting the strain of walking all the way to the wall).Calculator apps on phones for the simplest arithmetic, like making change from a $20 bill when the sale is $16.50 (math is, like, super hard).GPS navigation to get to destinations in your own town that you’ve been to three dozen times.Automobiles that “correct” your steering and braking, that give you a visual overlay grid on a reverse camera to back up, and that won’t let you select the gear range or torque because “traction control” is “smarter” than you. (This is why I have a harder time getting up my snowy driveway in a modern car than in one of my old reliables.)

RELATED: Cold plunge: How I survive winters in the sticks

Mladen Antonov/Getty Images

App-less aptitude

These are only the tip of the iceberg. By themselves, without any other context, they probably seem like no big deal. But they are symptoms of a radically different model of reality shared by Millennials, Gen Z, and no doubt generations to come. Young people are shockingly unaware of the way the physical world works, how matter is transformed into useful materials, how to fix even simple devices, and how to figure out getting from A to B — or cook a meal — without an Android or Apple application.

This is not their fault. But young people are increasingly helpless; it’s a fact even though they don’t like hearing it. What makes it harder is that many of us who are older can see the problem, and we could help them fix it, but they’re resentful if anyone older hints that they didn’t get the answer right or that they’re lacking a skill.

About 10 years ago, I tried to help a flustered young cashier who got turned around when he typed in the wrong cash amount in his register. I remembered being a cashier, and I knew there was no reason to have to call a manager, or even get out a calculator, every time you mis-keyed.

It was obvious he didn’t know how to “count back up” to the original cash amount, so I offered to show this frustrated young man how to do it.

“My mom taught me this trick when she used to work at a 7-11, and I’ve used it ever since,” I said.

The dagger stare I got in response shut me up, and it wasn’t the first time I’d gotten such a reaction. Since then, I tend to look away and pretend nothing is happening.

Learning from ‘Little House’

Of course, they shouldn’t need my rudimentary advice to begin with. So how did we get here? Lack of parental instruction as well as the appalling nonsense schools “teach” in place of useful skills are partly to blame.

But I think the main problem is a fundamental alienation from the physical world. Digital, app-based technology has insulated our kids from hands-on experience — and it’s made them shockingly incompetent at tasks we used to take for granted.

As a boy, I remember being fascinated with outdated or simple technology that I read about in books or saw on TV. Watching “Little House on the Prairie,” I clapped along with Ma and Carrie when Pa installed a hand pump for the water well in Ma’s kitchen. For the first time in her life, she didn’t have to hand-carry water in a bucket from outside. But how did that device work?

By playing around with parts and reading books, I learned about differential air and fluid pressure. Now, I understood the basics of pneumatics and hydraulics. This helped me understand how brakes worked on cars and locomotives and how pilots were able to control the huge wings and flaps on jumbo jets. All that came from investigating why Caroline Ingalls’ “old-fashioned” water pump works.

Water is wet

I don’t think young people today are even aware that underneath the sleek gray and black exteriors, most of their modern appliances are just gussied up versions of Ma’s pump.

These machines do actual work beneath their displays. Water is real, it’s not an LED picture of water. Heat comes from fire or electrical resistance, not from NuFire 2.0 Your Fireplace App (™). You can put a touchscreen on a washing machine (dear God, can we stop that?), but it still works on principles of water pressure, pumps, hydraulics, and torque from a spinning electromagnetic motor.

The physical, three-dimensional world is real, and our lives depend on it. What’s going to happen when the majority of adults in charge of our economy, our military, and the old folks’ homes we’ll end up in don’t understand anything?

We are already seeing people who will run out of the house and call the fire department, letting their house burn, before they’d even consider grabbing a box of baking soda and putting out the grease fire before it engulfs the kitchen.

You know how I know this? Because I have young friends who have no idea that putting water on a grease fire only spreads the burning grease but that smothering it with bicarbonate of soda will safely put it out. I’m telling you the truth. Friends, this was considered basic, nonnegotiable, have-to-have-it, practical knowledge for kids when I was eight.

How much worse is it going to get?

​Lifestyle, Generation x, Home repair, Appliance repair, Little house on the prairie, Education, Intervention 

Youth is a powerful gift — one that comes with boundless energy, an insatiable hunger for change, and an idealistic desire to make the world better. It is a gift that has the potential to reshape society for the better, but it is also the most vulnerable to manipulation.

Every generation has those who seek to co-opt the passion of the young for their own ends — and the consequences can be catastrophic. From the Nazis to Maoist China, from Rwanda to recent movements here in America, the youth have often been used as tools in the pursuit of power and destruction.

History is filled with examples of youth movements that have been co-opted for evil ends. Don’t let your generation be another example.

In 1933, a generation of young Germans, eager for a sense of purpose and meaning, was indoctrinated into Nazi ideology. They were told they could be part of something greater, that they could bring about change. And they did — by joining the Hitler Youth. They spied on their families, disrupted their churches, and helped push the Nazi agenda forward, ultimately playing a role in one of the most horrific genocides in history.

Similarly, in Maoist China, the Red Guards — a youth-led movement — were manipulated into attacking intellectuals, destroying historical artifacts, and sowing chaos across the country. They were sold the idea that they were fighting for justice and social change. What they were really doing was aiding an oppressive regime.

— (@)

In 1994, youth militias were once again the driving force behind unimaginable violence during the Rwandan genocide. Hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives in just 100 days, as young people were used by leaders to further their own violent ambitions.

More recent history saw a similar pattern with Black Lives Matter in 2020. The youth took to the streets, driven by a desire for justice. Yet, despite their good intentions, the movement became marred by violence and destruction. The true purpose was lost, and the cause was hijacked by forces that used it to gain power, rather than to create lasting change. While using the youth as their pawns, BLM’s self-avowed Marxist leaders lined their own pockets.

History repeats itself

These examples demonstrate how the passion and idealism of youth were hijacked by those with ulterior motives. And it’s happening again today.

The young people today, with their passion for justice and change, are the ones who can reshape our future. But you must be vigilant. Don’t let anyone manipulate you into believing that the easy answers are the right ones. Don’t let them twist your passion into a tool for their own ambitions.

RELATED: Make college great again: Trump ‘has the spine’ to declare war on woke universities

Photo by Kena Betancur / Contributor via Getty Images

People who couldn’t fix the system themselves are now looking to you. They will tell you they need your help to make things right. But what they really want is your energy, your idealism, and your hope so they can use it to further their own agendas.

Great power, greater responsibility

Your ability to shape the world comes with responsibility. Your passion is the light the world desperately needs — but it is also the light that others will try to extinguish or twist for their own purposes. You must protect it. That responsibility requires the courage to walk away from popular movements that promise change but deliver only destruction.

History is filled with examples of youth movements that have been co-opted for evil ends. Don’t let your generation be another example. Guard your passion. Protect it from those who would twist it into something that will mar history textbooks. Use your energy to build, not to tear down. Remember that the right kind of change is the one that builds, uplifts, and heals — it is never destructive.

The future is yours to shape, but it requires discernment, rooted in truth, and guided by wisdom. Don’t let others use you. Stand firm, stay true to what is right, and the world will be better for it.

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​Opinion & analysis, Opinion, Youth, Youth protests, Woke 

Epstein’s egregious crimes were ongoing for decades, but not one political administration went after him. And after unwavering media criticism of President Trump’s handling of the Epstein files, JD Vance decided to remind the country of what inaction truly looks like.

“There’s an interesting thing about this case that the American media seems to totally ignore. For four years under Joe Biden’s Department of Justice, the media didn’t give a damn about the Epstein files or about the Epstein case,” Vance said.

“For 20 years, you had Obama and George W. Bush’s Department of Justice go easy on this guy. They didn’t fully investigate the case. They didn’t show any curiosity about the case. And now, Donald J. Trump is asking his Department of Justice to show full transparency. And somehow that’s a criticism of Donald J. Trump, and not Barack Obama and George W. Bush,” he added.

BlazeTV host Jill Savage is impressed with Vance’s handling of such a delicate situation.

“He’s actually going through and turning this back on the establishment, because this isn’t something that has just come up in the last six months. You guys, this is something that has been going on for years and years and years,” she tells BlazeTV host Matthew Peterson on “Blaze News: The Mandate.”

“The way that he went through and actually, rightfully so, put some blame on even W. Bush and Obama, it’s not just a Trump issue,” she adds.

“Well, what happened here,” Peterson replies, “is that the right, or the Bondi, you know, DOJ sort of came out and then balked a little bit, and there was a pause, right? And so they threw a punch, but it was sort of a half-hearted punch, and that got the left excited.”

“So the Democrats all of a sudden thought, ‘Oh, we finally have something.’ It took them a while,” he says.

“And then this was like the uppercut, you know, just right to the chin, saying, ‘Wait a minute, you guys want to talk about Epstein? You didn’t want to talk about Epstein for years. We actually are. You can screw off,’” he continues. “So, a very powerful turn of the frame.”

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​Sharing, Free, Camera phone, Upload, Video, Video phone, Youtube.com, Blaze news the mandate, Blaze news, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blazetv, Jill savage, Matthew peterson, Jeffrey epstein, The trump administration, Epstein files, Obama, George w bush, Barack obama, Bill clinton 

The Lebanon Police Department found that a police officer had sexual relations with a grade school teacher in her classroom while he was on duty, and the officer resigned soon after.

The department report said that Brian Gilley, who had been assigned as a D.A.R.E. officer at Castle Heights Elementary School, initially denied having sex with teacher Shelby Moss but later confessed.

‘It was a mistake, and it will never happen again.’

The internal investigation found that the incident occurred in Sept. 2024, after hours on the school property. Gilley admitted that there might have been students on the campus at the time.

There is no bodycam footage of that incident, according to WZTV-TV.

However, the outlet obtained video from the body cam that captured some of his flirtatious conversation with the teacher. They also obtained screenshots of the texts that the officer and the teacher sent to each other but reported that “some are too salacious to show.”

The report said that the teacher was married at the time of the relationship.

Gilley had asked for leniency at a hearing in April.

“I know I’ve done wrong, but I’ve also impacted that community in so many ways,” Gilley said. “It was a mistake, and it will never happen again.”

The teacher was given a two-day suspension, and she resigned in May.

RELATED: Ohio high school teacher tried to arrange sex with 14-year-old through undercover agent he believed to be child’s mother, FBI says

The incident was reported to the Tennessee State Board of Education, which will review for possible additional consequences.

“We need to make sure we’re reinforcing with parents that their child will be safe and protected and not exposed to bad situations,” said J.C. Bowman, the executive director of Professional Educators of Tennessee.

Lebanon Police Department Chief of Police Mike Justice released a statement about the incident.

“The policy violations also included being untruthful during the inquiry. These facts were presented during a POST decertification hearing. While Gilley’s actions did not align with our department’s standards or policies, the conduct was not criminal in nature, did NOT involve children, and did NOT occur in the presence of children or in the classroom,” Justice said in part.

Gilley is banned from working as an officer in Tennessee.

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​Police sex teacher, Dare cop sex with teacher, Lebanon police dept, Lebanon grade school, Crime