Category: blaze media

President Donald Trump’s opponents failed to stop him at the ballot box, so now they are attempting to neutralize his presidency in the courts.

U.S. district court judges have proven more than willing to help out in this regard, slapping the government with more nationwide injunctions in the first 100 days of Trump’s second term than were entered throughout the whole of the 20th century.

As of Wednesday, the New York Times indicated that 199 or more of the court rulings against the president’s executive actions so far this year have at least temporarily halted the Trump administration’s initiatives.

While the U.S. Supreme Court has intervened in a number of cases to reaffirm the president’s Article II powers and his exercise thereof, it’s abundantly clear that the Trump administration is tiring of what White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has repeatedly called a “judicial coup.”

The Department of Justice turned the tables on Wednesday, filing a lawsuit against the U.S. District Court of Maryland and all 16 of its judges — including its 10 authorized judges, all but one of whom were appointed by former Presidents Joe Biden or Barack Obama.

The lawsuit takes aim at an order handed down last month that automatically blocks the deportation of illegal aliens in the state whose detention is challenged by immigration attorneys.

RELATED: Clinton judge blocked workforce cuts — yet Rubio just proved with USAID that where there’s a will, there’s a way

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

If a petition for writ of habeas corpus is filed on behalf of an illegal alien detainee in or said to be in the District of Maryland, the Trump administration is automatically enjoined and restrained from removing the alien from the country or altering the alien’s legal status for at least two days.

The district court’s Chief Judge George Russell III, an Obama appointee, claimed that the May 28 amended standing order was necessary because the recent flood of illegal alien detention and removal challenges “that have been filed after normal court hours and on weekends and holidays has created scheduling difficulties and resulted in hurried and frustrating hearings.”

Chad Mizelle, DOJ chief of staff, stressed that “this obviously illegal practice cannot stand. To stop it, the Department of Justice has no choice but to sue the Maryland federal district court — and its judges — to ensure that they stop overstepping their authority in this critical area.”

Lawyers for the government noted in the lawsuit that the district court’s automatic injunction does “precisely what the Supreme Court has forbidden: make equitable relief a ‘matter of right’ in the District of Maryland.”

‘This pattern of judicial overreach undermines the democratic process and cannot be allowed to stand.’

“Defendants’ automatic injunction issues whether or not the alien needs or seeks emergency relief, whether or not the court has jurisdiction over the alien’s claims, and no matter how frivolous the alien’s claims may be,” said the lawsuit.

RELATED: Will the Supreme Court rein in rogue judges — or rubber-stamp them?

designer491 via iStock/Getty Images

The complaint notes further that the standing orders:

“violate congressional limits on district courts’ jurisdiction over immigration matters”;”disregard the procedural and substantive requirements for issuing what amounts to a local rule”;”are fundamentally inconsistent with the judicial role to resolve only concrete and discrete ‘cases’ and ‘controversies'”;rob Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations of any opportunity to contest the alien’s assertion of being “located in the District of Maryland” at the time of a habeas filing; and”can also adversely impact the operational planning necessary to coordinate a removal, especially a removal of an alien to a country that is recalcitrant about accepting the alien.”

The DOJ characterized the Maryland District Court’s automatic injunctions as “a particularly egregious example of judicial overreach interfering with Executive Branch prerogatives — and thus undermining the democratic process.”

“President Trump’s executive authority has been undermined since the first hours of his presidency by an endless barrage of injunctions designed to halt his agenda,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “The American people elected President Trump to carry out his policy agenda: this pattern of judicial overreach undermines the democratic process and cannot be allowed to stand.”

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​Department of justice, Doj, Justice department, Donald trump, Trump, Pam bondi, Pamela bondi, Maryland, Deportation, Illegal aliens, Illegal alien, Illegal immigration, Immigration, Deport, Border, Politics 

Last week, two independent nonprofits, the Midas Project and the Tech Oversight Project, released after a year’s worth of investigation a massive file that collects and presents evidence for a panoply of deeply suspect actions, mainly on the part of Altman but also attributable to OpenAI as a corporate entity.

It’s damning stuff — so much so that, if you’re only acquainted with the hype and rumors surrounding the company or perhaps its ChatGPT product, the time has come for you to take a deeper dive.

Sam Altman and/or OpenAI have been the subject of no less than eight serious, high-stakes lawsuits.

Most recently, iyO Audio alleged OpenAI made attempts at wholesale design theft and outright trademark infringement. A quick look at other recent headlines suggests an alarming pattern:

Altman is said to have claimed no equity in OpenAI despite backdoor investments through Y Combinator, among others;Altman owns 7.5% of Reddit, which, after its still-expanding partnership with OpenAI, shot Altman’s net worth up $50 million;OpenAI is reportedly restructuring its corporate form yet again — with a 7% stake, Altman stands to be $20 billion dollars richer under the new structure;Former OpenAI executives, including Muri Murati, the Amodei siblings, and Ilya Sutskever, all confirm pathological levels of mistreatment and behavioral malfeasance on the part of Altman.

The list goes on. Many other serious transgressions are cataloged in the OpenAI Files excoriation. At the time of this writing, Sam Altman and/or OpenAI have been the subject of no less than eight serious, high-stakes lawsuits. Accusations include everything from incestual sexual abuse to racketeering, breach of contract, and copyright infringement.

None of these accusations, including heinous crimes of a sexual nature, have done much of anything to dent the OpenAI brand or its ongoing upward valuation.

Tech’s game of thrones

The company’s trajectory has outlined a Silicon Valley game of thrones unlike any seen elsewhere. Since its 2016 inception — when Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Ilya Sutskever, and Greg Brockman convened to found OpenAI — the Janus-faced organization has been a tier-one player in the AI sphere. In addition to cutting-edge tech, it’s also generated near-constant turmoil. The company churns out rumors, upsets, expulsions, shady reversals, and controversy at about the same rate as it advances AI research, innovation, and products.

RELATED: Mark Zuckerberg’s multibillion-dollar midlife crisis

Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

Back in 2016, Amazon, Peter Thiel, and other investors pledged the company $1 billion up front, but the money was late to arrive. Right away, Altman and Musk clashed over the ultimate direction of the organization. By 2017, Elon was out — an exit which spiked investor uncertainty and required another fast shot of capital.

New investors, Reid Hoffman of LinkedIn fame among them, stepped up — and OpenAI rode on. Under the full direction of Sam Altman, the company pushed its reinforcement learning products, OpenAI Gym and Universe, to market.

To many at the time, including Musk, OpenAI was lagging behind Google in the race to AI dominance — a problem for the likes of Musk, who had originally conceived the organization as a serious counterweight against what many experts and laypeople saw as an extinction-level threat arising out of the centralized, “closed” development and implementation of AI to the point of dominance across all of society.

That’s why OpenAI began as a nonprofit, ostensibly human-based, decentralized, and open-source. In Silicon Valley’s heady (if degenerate) years prior to the COVID panic, there was a sense that AI was simply going to happen — it was inevitable, and it would be preferable that decent, smart people, perhaps not so eager to align themselves with the military industrial complex or simply the sheer and absolute logic of capital, be in charge of steering the outcome.

But by 2019, OpenAI had altered its corporate structure from nonprofit to something called a “capped-profit model.” Money was tight. Microsoft invested $1 billion, and early versions of the LLM GPT-2 were released to substantial fanfare and fawning appreciation from the experts.

Life after Elon

In 2020, the now for-limited-profit company dropped its API, which allowed developers to access GPT-3. Their image generator, DALL-E, was released in 2021, a move that has since seemed to define, to some limited but significant extent, the direction that OpenAI wants to progress. The spirit of cooperation and sharing, if not enshrined at the company, was at least in the air, and by 2022 ChatGPT had garnered millions of users, well on the way to becoming a household name. The company’s valuation rose to the ballpark of $1 billion.

After Musk’s dissatisfied departure — he now publicly lambastes “ClosedAI” and “Scam Altman” — its restructuring with ideologically diffuse investors solidified a new model: Build a sort of ecosystem of products which are intended to be dovetailed or interfaced with other companies and software. (Palantir has taken a somewhat similar, though much more focused, approach to the problem of capturing AI.) The thinking here seems to be: Attack the problem from all directions, converge on “intelligence,” and get paid along the way.

And so, at present, in addition to the aforementioned products, OpenAI now offers — deep breath — CLIP for image research, Jukebox for music generation, Shap-E for 3D object generation, Sora for generating video content, Operator for automating workflows with AI agents, Canvas for AI-assisted content generation, and a smattering of similar, almost modular, products. It’s striking how many of these are aimed at creative industries — an approach capped off most recently by the sensational hire of Apple’s former chief design officer Jony Ive, whose IO deal with the company is the target of iyO’s litigation.

But we shouldn’t give short shrift to the “o series” (o1 through o4) of products, which are said to be reasoning models. Reasoning, of course, is the crown jewel of AI. These products are curious, because while they don’t make up a hardcore package of premium-grade plug-and-play tools for industrial and military efficiency (the Palantir approach), they suggest a very clever approach into the heart of the technical problems involved in “solving” for “artificial reasoning.” (Assuming the contested point that such a thing can ever really exist.) Is part of the OpenAI ethos, even if only by default, to approach the crown jewel of “reasoning” by way of the creative, intuitive, and generative — as opposed to tracing a line of pure efficiency as others in the field have done?

Gut check time

Wrapped up in the latest OpenAI controversy is a warning that’s impossible to ignore: Perhaps humans just can’t be trusted to build or wield “real” AI of the sort Altman wants — the kind he can prompt to decide for itself what to do with all his money and all his computers.

Ask yourself: Does any of the human behavior evidenced along the way in the OpenAI saga seem, shall we say, stable — much less morally well-informed enough that Americans or any peoples would rest easy about putting the future in the hands of Altman and company? Are these individuals worth the $20 million to $100 million a year they command on the hot AI market?

Or are we — as a people, a society, a civilization — in danger of becoming strung out, hitting a wall of self-delusion and frenzied acquisitiveness? What do we have to show so far for the power, money, and special privileges thrown at Altman for promising a world remade? And he’s just getting started. Who among us feels prepared for what’s next?

​Sam altman, Tech, Midas project, Openai, Chatgpt, Ai, Silicon valley, Elon musk, Return 

A shocking plot from 10- and 11-year-old girls to murder a boy and then stage his death as a suicide was thwarted when another student overheard them, police say.

Details of the plot from the group of girls at the Legacy Traditional School’s West Surprise campus in Surprise, Arizona, were released in a police report.

The girl who overheard the plot said she heard one girl say, ‘Just end him.’

Police said the four girls planned the plot during a lunch and recess on Oct. 1, 2024. The student who overheard them reported the conversation to school officials.

The plot had a role for each of the girls. One was supposed to have forged the suicide note to make it appear that the boy had committed suicide. Another girl was tasked with bringing the knife to school. Another girl was supposed to act like a lookout while the last girl would commit the stabbing.

The girl who overheard the plot said she heard one girl say, “Just end him.”

RELATED: 2 teenagers accused of shooting homeless man to death took photos of themselves with a gun, police say

Police said the girls might have been motivated to kill the boy after an alleged breakup and cheating incident.

The police report said two of the girls were aged 10 years old, while the other two were 11 years old.

The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office confirmed that the students had been charged as juveniles, and police had said they were suspended, pending expulsion.

The Surprise Police Dept. said they did not plan to release any more details about the incident.

Family members of the four children did not respond to requests for comment from KTVK-TV.

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​5th grade girl plot, Grade school murder plot, Girls plot to murder boy, Surprise az murder plot, Crime 

It only took 25 years for New York City to go from the resilient, flag-waving pride following the 9/11 attacks to a political fever dream. To quote Michael Malice, “I’m old enough to remember when New Yorkers endured 9/11 instead of voting for it.”

Malice is talking about Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist assemblyman from Queens now eyeing the mayor’s office. Mamdani, a 33-year-old state representative emerging from relative political obscurity, is now receiving substantial funding for his mayoral campaign from the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

CAIR has a long and concerning history, including being born out of the Muslim Brotherhood and named an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terror funding case. Why would the group have dropped $100,000 into a PAC backing Mamdani’s campaign?

Mamdani blends political Islam with Marxist economics — two ideologies that have left tens of millions dead in the 20th century alone.

Perhaps CAIR has a vested interest in Mamdani’s call to “globalize the intifada.” That’s not a call for peaceful protest. Intifada refers to historic uprisings of Muslims against what they call the “Israeli occupation of Palestine.” Suicide bombings and street violence are part of the playbook. So when Mamdani says he wants to “globalize” that, who exactly is the enemy in this global scenario? Because it sure sounds like he’s saying America is the new Israel, and anyone who supports Western democracy is the new Zionist.

Mamdani tried to clean up his language by citing the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, which once used “intifada” in an Arabic-language article to describe the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. So now he’s comparing Palestinians to Jewish victims of the Nazis? If that doesn’t twist your stomach into knots, you’re not paying attention.

If you’re “globalizing” an intifada, and positioning Israel — and now America — as the Nazis, that’s not a cry for human rights. That’s a call for chaos and violence.

Rising Islamism

But hey, this is New York. Faculty members at Columbia University — where Mamdani’s own father once worked — signed a letter defending students who supported Hamas after October 7. They also contributed to Mamdani’s mayoral campaign. And his father? He blamed Ronald Reagan and the religious right for inspiring Islamic terrorism, as if the roots of 9/11 grew in Washington, not the caves of Tora Bora.

RELATED: Socialist Zohran Mamdani upsets Andrew Cuomo in Democratic primary election for NYC mayor race

Photo by Madison Swart via Getty Images

This isn’t about Islam as a faith. We should distinguish between Islam and Islamism. Islam is a religion followed peacefully by millions. Islamism is something entirely different — an ideology that seeks to merge mosque and state, impose Sharia law, and destroy secular liberal democracies from within. Islamism isn’t about prayer and fasting. It’s about power.

Criticizing Islamism is not Islamophobia. It is not an attack on peaceful Muslims. In fact, Muslims are often its first victims.

Islamism is misogynistic, theocratic, violent, and supremacist. It’s hostile to free speech, religious pluralism, gay rights, secularism — even to moderate Muslims. Yet somehow, the progressive left — the same left that claims to fight for feminism, LGBTQ rights, and free expression — finds itself defending candidates like Mamdani. You can’t make this stuff up.

Blending the worst ideologies

And if that weren’t enough, Mamdani also identifies as a Democratic Socialist. He blends political Islam with Marxist economics — two ideologies that have left tens of millions dead in the 20th century alone. But don’t worry, New York. I’m sure this time socialism will totally work. Just like it always didn’t.

If you’re a business owner, a parent, a person who’s saved anything, or just someone who values sanity: Get out. I’m serious. If Mamdani becomes mayor, as seems likely, then New York City will become a case study in what happens when you marry ideological extremism with political power. And it won’t be pretty.

This is about more than one mayoral race. It’s about the future of Western liberalism. It’s about drawing a bright line between faith and fanaticism, between healthy pluralism and authoritarian dogma.

Call out radicalism

We must call out political Islam the same way we call out white nationalism or any other supremacist ideology. When someone chants “globalize the intifada,” that should send a chill down your spine — whether you’re Jewish, Christian, Muslim, atheist, or anything in between.

The left may try to shame you into silence with words like “Islamophobia,” but the record is worn out. The grooves are shallow. The American people see what’s happening. And we’re not buying it.

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​Opinion & analysis, Opinion, Glenn beck, Glenn, Zohran mamdani, Nyc, New york city, New york mayoral race, Global intifada, Antisemitism, Andrew cuomo, Cair, Council on american islamic relations, Intifada, Columbia university, Hamas 

The influencer known as “Liver King” initially fell from grace after lying about his insanely muscular physique — which he claimed was steroid-free — and now appears to have fallen further.

The YouTuber, whose real name is Brian Johnson, was arrested in Texas after challenging Joe Rogan to fight him in unhinged social media footage where he appears to be holding two guns at times. He was charged with making a terroristic threat — though it’s not clear if his arrest was directly connected to the threats.

In the social media footage, the 47-year-old was shown shirtless and wearing a fur headdress while challenging Rogan to an “honorable” fight.

“Joe Rogan, I’m calling you out. My name’s Liver King. Man to man, I’m picking a fight with you,” he said. “I have no training in jiujitsu. You’re a black belt; you should dismantle me. But I’m picking a fight with you. Your rules. I’ll come to you whenever you’re ready.”

“You never come across something like this. Willing to die, hoping that you’ll choke me out because that’s a dream come true,” Johnson continued, not even stopping his rant as cuffs were placed on his wrists.

Johnson also complained about not being allowed enough time to “s**t,” which appears to be something he enjoys talking about, as in another one of Johnson’s threat-laced rants, he claims to “take s**ts on the ground.”

“Liver King is crashing out,” BlazeTV host Alex Stein comments on “Prime Time with Alex Stein.”

“He’s cracked out,” Stein says in disbelief. “I don’t know what’s going on with you. You’re obviously on some sort of barbiturate or some sort of pharmaceutical thing that’s making you out of touch with reality.”

“It’s a sad fall from grace for the once most popular guy on social media,” he adds.

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​Video phone, Video, Free, Sharing, Camera phone, Upload, Youtube.com, Prime time with alex stein, Alex stein, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Joe rogan, Liver king, Liver king steroids, Liver king arrest, Brian johnson 

President Donald Trump made clear from the start: A nuclear-armed Iran is unacceptable. But until just recently, few paid attention. In March, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testified that while Iran had enriched a suspicious amount of uranium, it lacked a viable weapons program — let alone a bomb.

At the same time, left-wing agitators tried to spread immigration riots from Los Angeles to the rest of the country. Trump stayed focused on the domestic agenda his voters demanded. Israel’s sudden strike on Iran threatened to drag the United States into another foreign war — and derail Trump’s progress at home.

Trump knows his voters support a strong defense — but they’re tired of wasting American blood and treasure to fight foreign wars while their country falls apart at home.

Now that the U.S. has carried out a precision strike and set back Iran’s nuclear program, it’s time for Trump to return his full attention to rescuing America from Joe Biden’s open-border catastrophe.

Every presidency races against time, political capital, and public attention. Trump understood from the outset how easily foreign entanglements — especially in the Middle East — can swallow an administration.

That’s one reason the MAGA base remains loyal: Trump prioritizes domestic issues most presidents ignore while playing global policeman. Even while negotiating with Iran, Trump kept his focus on immigration. He battled leftist protesters and rogue judges at home, while keeping one eye on foreign threats.

But nearly two years after the terrorist attacks on October 7, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saw the window for war with Iran closing. Israel launched initial strikes on June 13 without American approval. Supporters insisted Israel could finish the job alone.

That was welcome news to Trump’s base, which feared any new conflict in the Middle East would derail his domestic policy blitz. But then the neoconservatives started moving the goalposts. Suddenly, it wasn’t just about airstrikes — it was about regime change.

Trump approved the use of U.S. bunker-buster bombs, believing them essential to destroy uranium enrichment sites buried deep in Iran’s mountains. U.S. forces entered and exited Iranian airspace without incident, delivering their payloads. Both sides issued conflicting reports about the strike’s effectiveness. But Trump clearly saw the operation as a means to reduce foreign policy pressure and pivot back to domestic priorities.

That pivot didn’t go as quickly as planned.

Israel and its allies quickly shifted from nuclear disarmament to full-blown regime change. Iran fired retaliatory missiles at a U.S. base in Qatar. While those strikes appeared calibrated to avoid casualties, tensions escalated.

Trump announced a ceasefire he had brokered between Iran and Israel. Both nations violated it within hours.

Netanyahu even defied Trump directly, ordering another strike while the president live-tweeted his demand for Israeli jets to turn back. They dropped their payloads anyway.

Frustrated, Trump told reporters Tuesday morning he was fed up with both countries. Israel, a close ally, had no interest in honoring its commitments. “Truth is, they have been fighting so long and so hard they don’t know what the f**k they’re doing. Do you understand that?” he said.

RELATED: It’s not a riot, it’s an invasion

Blaze Media Illustration

American and Israeli interests were never fully aligned. Israel wants regime change. It lacks the capability to do it alone. Americans don’t want a nuclear Iran, either, but they have no appetite for another long war.

Trump’s airstrike may have succeeded, but that won’t satisfy Netanyahu. He clearly hopes to drag Trump into a broader conflict.

Israel’s refusal to respect a ceasefire negotiated by its primary benefactor makes the next step obvious: walk away.

On Tuesday, Trump issued a flurry of social media posts calling for mass deportations. He got what he wanted in Iran. Now, he’s ready to exit.

Would Israel continue its push for regime change without U.S. support? Maybe. It’s time to find out. The U.S. shouldn’t fight another unpopular Middle East war for an ally that won’t keep its word.

In his farewell address after his first term, Trump listed avoiding war as one of his proudest achievements. He knows his voters support a strong defense — but they’re tired of wasting American blood and treasure to fight foreign wars while their country falls apart at home.

Republicans always promise domestic wins. They spend their political capital overseas. Trump’s first hundred days this term have been different. He’s delivered rapid-fire domestic victories. That’s where the focus belongs.

Americans don’t want more war in the Middle East — especially one waged on behalf of an ally that does not respect their president. Biden’s open-border nightmare still haunts the nation. Crime, poverty, trafficking, and collapsing infrastructure all stem from the ongoing invasion of illegal immigrants.

Whatever nuclear threat existed in Iran has been neutralized.

Now Trump must do the job he was elected to do — the job he wants to do.

Deport illegal aliens, finish the wall, and put America first.

​Opinion & analysis, Donald trump, Iran, Benjamin netanyahu, Israel, Iran nuclear program, Fordow, Bunker buster, Nuclear weapons, National security, America first, Leftists, Riots, Mass deportations, Border crisis, Open borders, Border wall, Middle east, Forever wars, Maga, Anti-war, Ceasefire, Crime, Poverty, National debt 

The Trump administration said that California was in violation of the 1973 Title IX federal civil rights law over transgender sports athletes and threatened “enforcement action” if their polices remained unchanged.

In February, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights opened an investigation into transgender athletes being allowed to compete against girls in California, and on Wednesday, Education Sec. Linda McMahon confirmed that the state was violating the civil rights law.

‘The state must swiftly come into compliance with Title IX or face the consequences that follow.’

McMahon called on California to “voluntarily agree” to reverse the policies or face “imminent enforcement action” from the federal government, according to the Los Angeles Times.

“Although Governor Gavin Newsom admitted months ago it was ‘deeply unfair’ to allow men to compete in women’s sports, both the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation continued as recently as a few weeks ago to allow men to steal female athletes’ well-deserved accolades and to subject them to the indignity of unfair and unsafe competitions,” McMahon said.

“The Trump Administration will relentlessly enforce Title IX protections for women and girls, and our findings today make clear that California has failed to adhere to its obligations under federal law,” she added. “The state must swiftly come into compliance with Title IX or face the consequences that follow.”

On Friday, parents in Costa Mesa protested against transgender competition and presented a petition with tens of thousands of signatures to the CIF, which governs high school competitions.

Chino Valley Unified School Board President Sonja Shaw, who has been a vocal activist against the transgender policies, praised the statement from the Education Department.

“CIF and CDE were warned. Over and over,” Shaw said to the Times. “But instead of listening, they laughed. They smirked. They mocked parents and anyone that stood for the truth and let our daughters be mocked, sidelined, and erased. They handed girls over to an ideology that stole their privacy, safety, and achievements. Now, they’ve been federally exposed as lawbreakers.”

Trump has previously used the threat of pulling federal money from states in order to persuade them to comply with his executive orders, but California officials have rebuffed such threats on the basis that the state is a net contributor to the federal government.

“Californians pay the bills for the federal government,” Newsom said on social media earlier in June. “We pay over $80 BILLION more in taxes than we get back. Maybe it’s time to cut that off.”

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​Ed dept vs california, California violates title ix, Trump transgender athletes, Trans athletes in ca, Politics 

Happy NBA draft day! By the end of the night, the Dallas Mavericks, who won the first overall pick, will have almost certainly signed Cooper Flagg — Duke’s 18-year-old forward and the projected No. 1 overall draft pick.

Flagg isn’t even officially in the NBA yet, and already he’s widely adored.

“Everybody loves Cooper Flagg,” says Jason Whitlock.

According to Jason, “he’s being welcomed into the NBA with open arms” by everyone — from “the all-time greats to the guys currently playing,” even LeBron James.

Why, then, does Flagg’s WNBA equivalent, Caitlin Clark, get so much hate?

Jason says the answer lies in the “difference between men and women.”

“Fearless” contributor Steve Kim agrees. There “ain’t no hatin’-ass Shaniquas” in the NBA, he says.

“Who is more derisive, more backbiting and more … hateful of women in the workplace or in social settings than other women?” he continues.

“Add that to the fact that these women are incredibly spiteful, jealous, with a sense of entitlement,” and it’s obvious Caitlin Clark didn’t have a prayer of getting the same warm welcome Flagg is currently receiving, he adds.

Jason agrees: “There’s no insecurity among black male basketball players. They’re not threatened by Cooper Flagg; they don’t feel like their legacy is being diminished by welcoming Cooper Flagg into the NBA family.”

As an example of this, Steve points to caucasian basketball legend Larry Bird, whose “most impactful words of praise” came from none other than black basketball players. “In that era, [black players] probably praised Larry Bird more than anybody,” he says.

Unfortunately, when it comes to “black women, there’s insecurity as it relates to white women,” says Jason. And with “lesbian women, there’s insecurity as it relates to heterosexual women.”

Given the WNBA is heavily populated by black lesbian women, Caitlin Clark, who’s white and heterosexual, was doomed from the get-go.

The hate she receives, however, isn’t just coming from inside the league. Outside forces are working to pour fuel on the Clark hatred fire as well.

“There are literally videos on TikTok and all these other social media outlets where black women — not players but black women — are literally lecturing other black men: ‘We have to stand up for Angel Reese; you cannot cheer for Caitlin Clark,’” says Steve.

To hear more of the conversation, watch the episode above.

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​Fearless, Fearless with jason whitlock, Jason whitlock, Caitlin clark, Wnba, Nba, Cooper flagg, Dallas mavericks, Blazetv, Blaze media, Nba draft 

A vice mayor of a small city in Los Angeles County is facing more and more calls for resignation after she posted a video calling on all the “cholos” to defend their turf against federal agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The Los Angeles Police Protective League excoriated Cynthia Gonzalez for encouraging violent criminal gangs to protect their “turf” against federal agents after violent rioting in Southern California.

‘Her actions are deplorable and potentially illegal. She should resign, and she should be prosecuted if what she called for broke the law.’

As Blaze News previously reported, Gonzalez posted the video and deleted it after public outrage, but a copy survived and was circulated on social media.

“Not for nothing, but I want to know where all the cholos are at in Los Angeles!” she said in the video.

“You guys tag everything up, claiming hood, and now that your hood’s being invaded by the biggest gang there is, there ain’t a peep out of you!” she continued.

Gonzalez specifically named the 18th Street gang as well as the Florencia 13 gang, which the LAPPL identified as criminal gangs whose members had attacked police officers, sometimes lethally. The vice mayor implied that the gangs weren’t doing their part to join protesters in opposing ICE.

“The 18th Street and Florencia street gangs are notoriously dangerous Los Angeles-based criminal enterprises,” LAPPL said in part. “They rule their ‘turfs’ through intimidation, violence, and murder, and finance their operations through the sale of narcotics and illegal firearms, prostitution, and protection rackets.”

The LAPPL went on to accuse her of putting police officers and other law enforcement professionals at greater risk through her video.

“Her actions are deplorable and potentially illegal. She should resign, and she should be prosecuted if what she called for broke the law.”

Gonzalez confirmed that the FBI had visited her over a video posted to TikTok and said that she needed an attorney. Those posts were also deleted.

The city of Cudahy released a statement distancing itself from the comments but did not condemn them.

“The city of Cudahy is aware of recent comments made by Vice Mayor Cynthia Gonzalez on social media,” the statement reads. “The comments made by the vice mayor reflect her personal views and do not represent the views or official position of the city of Cudahy.”

RELATED: House Republicans investigating CHIRLA nonprofit over alleged role in ICE rioting

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security condemned the video in their statement.

“The comments made by the Vice Mayor of Cudahy, CA, Cynthia Gonzalez, are despicable. She calls for criminal gangs — including the vicious 18th Street gang — to commit violence against our brave ICE law enforcement,” the department wrote on social media.

A senior ICE official also criticized the vice mayor.

“Vice Mayor Cynthia Gonzalez calling for the vicious 18th Street Gang and others to fight federal law enforcement on the streets of Los Angeles is disgusting,” the official said to KTTV-TV.

“A roving gang of murderers, rapists and drug peddlers are not going to protect American communities,” the official added. “ICE and federal partners are working to protect public safety every day, contrary to the lies spread by disingenuous elected officials.”

Sources told Fox News that there was a federal investigation into the video.

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave a fiery response to reports in the mainstream media that contradicted the claim that Iran’s nuclear capabilities had been “obliterated” by an audacious U.S. military strike.

He made the comments next to President Donald Trump during a media briefing at the NATO summit in the Netherlands on Wednesday. Trump had said that the mission was completely successful and that it would take decades for Iran to recover the same nuclear capabilities.

‘The instinct of CNN, the instinct of the New York Times, is to try to find a way to spin it for their own political reasons, to try to hurt President Trump or our country.’

“There’s a reason the president calls out fake news for what it is,” Hegseth said. “These pilots, these refuelers, these fighters, these air defenders — the skill and the courage it took to go into enemy territory flying 36 hours on behalf of the American people and the world to take out a nuclear program is beyond what anyone in this audience can fathom.”

Hegseth accused the mainstream news outlets of being politically motivated in their reporting of the leaked assessment, which said the nuclear program had only been delayed by months, not years.

“The instinct, the instinct of CNN, the instinct of the New York Times, is to try to find a way to spin it for their own political reasons, to try to hurt President Trump or our country. They don’t care what the troops think. They don’t care what the world thinks. They want to spin it to try to make him look bad based on a leak. Of course, we’ve all seen plenty of leakers. And what do leakers do? They have agendas. And what do they do? Do they share the whole information or just the part that they want to introduce?”

RELATED: Oil and stock markets have surprising reaction to Iranian attack on US bases

He went on to explain that the report contradicting the president’s claim was based on a leak of an assessment that had low confidence and limited evidence.

“And when they introduce that preliminary report that is deemed to be a low assessment — you know what a low assessment means? Low confidence in the data in that report,” said Hegseth.

“And why is there low confidence? Because all of the evidence about what was just bombed by 12 30,000 pound bombs is buried under a mountain, devastated and obliterated. So if you want to make an assessment of what happened at Fordow, you better get a big shovel and go really deep. Because Iran’s nuclear is obliterated, and somebody somewhere is trying to leak something to say, ‘Oh, with low confidence, we think maybe it’s moderate.’ Those that dropped the bombs precisely in the right place know exactly what happened when that exploded,” he continued.

“And you know who else knows?” Hegseth added. “Iran.”

He concluded by arguing that the fact that Iran went to the negotiation table after the strike was proof that its nuclear enriching capabilities had been significantly destroyed.

Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire agreement between Iran and Israel has been undermined by continued strikes from both combatants. An Israel Defense Forces official has said that the operations in Iran have likely set back its nuclear programs by “years” but added that it was too early to tell completely.

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Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani is one step closer to becoming the first Muslim mayor of New York City after former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) conceded Tuesday night, telling supporters at an election-night gathering that Mamdani “won.”

“This is important for New Yorkers to understand what’s happening here. You’re about to elect a dyed-in-the-wool socialist who actually wants to bring socialism to New York City, and he’s telling you right up front,” BlazeTV host Pat Gray comments.

Mamdani, who is a socialist rapper turned politician, has even proposed government-run grocery stores.

“Grocery prices are out of control. The cost of eggs and milk has skyrocketed. Some stores are even using dynamic pricing, jacking up the cost over the course of a day depending on what they can get away with. It doesn’t need to be this way,” he said in a video posted to social media.

“I will create a network of city-owned grocery stores. It’s like a public option for produce. We will redirect city funds from corporate supermarkets to city-owned grocery stores whose mission is lower prices, not price gouging,” he continued.

“These stores will operate without a profit motive or having to pay property taxes or rent, and will pass on those savings to you,” he added.

“Good luck,” Gray says, astonished. “At least with Cuomo, you know what you’re getting, and it’s not going to be good, but it’s not that disaster.”

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Fitness influencer Brian “Liver King” Johnson threatened to physically assault Joe Rogan in several bizarre videos posted online, according to police in Texas.

The Austin Police Department received a report around 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday that a popular internet personality was allegedly making threats against Rogan on social media.

The Austin Police Department informed Blaze News: “Brian Johnson, known online as ‘Liver King,’ had made threats against Joe Rogan on his Instagram profile.”

Detectives with the APD determined that Johnson was “traveling to Austin while continuing to make threatening statements.” Rogan and his family live in Austin.

Detectives contacted Rogan regarding the online threats, to which the podcast star told authorities that he had “never had any interaction with Johnson.” Police said Rogan considered the posts to be “threatening.”

Based on Rogan’s input and the detectives’ investigation, police considered the threats to be legitimate, so they obtained an arrest warrant for Johnson.

Officers located Johnson at the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Austin at approximately 5:59 p.m. on Tuesday. Police noted that they took the raw meat fitness influencer into custody without incident.

The Austin Police Department said the investigation remains ongoing.

According to jail records from the Travis County Sheriff’s Office, Johnson was charged with one count of making a terroristic threat causing fear of imminent serious bodily injury — a Class B misdemeanor.

Johnson was released on Wednesday from the Travis County Jail on a $20,000 bond, according to KSAT-TV.

RELATED: Spotify finally reveals how many listeners Joe Rogan has — his audience is gigantic

Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

The Liver King — who has nearly 3 million followers on Instagram — posted a video of him being arrested and taken into a police cruiser in handcuffs outside of the hotel.

Before his arrest, Johnson posted several strange videos on Instagram mentioning Rogan.

In one bizarre and lengthy Instagram video posted on Tuesday, Johnson is talking about Rogan while filing his nails because he doesn’t want to “scratch” the face of the UFC commentator if they fight, while new-age meditation music plays in the background.

Johnson is also seen telling his staff to deliver a box with Rogan’s face on it to his comedy club — Comedy Mothership. Johnson said the box contains DVDs from the “John Wick” movie franchise.

Johnson tells his two sons that he is about to “lose his man privileges.” He calls someone on his staff to “mobilize” everyone and to record his imminent arrest. As he is recording the video, police sirens can be heard from outside.

Johnson tells his family that he changed the Wi-Fi password to “F**k you Joe Rogan.”

Johnson is heard seemingly breaking down in tears as he leads his family in a prayer circle.

In a video shared on Monday, a shirtless Johnson armed with two gold firearms while dancing and wearing a wolf pelt and head said, “Joe Rogan, I’m calling you out. I’m picking a fight with you. I have zero training in jiujitsu. You are a black belt. You should dismantle me.”

Johnson said in a different video, “Joe Rogan, we don’t have to make videos to pretend anymore. All of this is happening. We’re coming to you. I’ve challenged you, man to man, to a fight. Honorable. … You can hold the hand of somebody that you love because you’re going to need to remember that feeling. You’re going to need something to fight for, because I have my family to fight for, and that I’ll die for. And you’re a black belt, [but] you’ve never come across something like this. [I’m] willing to die, hoping that you’ll choke me out.”

In another bizarre video recorded in a shower while administering a coffee enema to himself, the Liver King tells his viewers that he didn’t threaten to kill anyone.

RELATED: Spotify CEO explains why streaming giant doesn’t edit Joe Rogan’s podcast, but stresses even the ‘No. 1 podcast’ has to abide by new misinformation policies

In December 2022, the Liver King confessed to his millions of followers on social media that he uses steroids to help him get his enormously muscular physique. Previously, the Liver King credited an “ancestral lifestyle” and a diet of raw animal organs as his secret to building massive muscles naturally. Johnson regularly refuted accusations that he used steroids to gain his hulking mass.

Leaked emails from a doctor revealed that Johnson had been a heavy steroid user and had been injecting approximately $11,000 worth of steroids and human growth hormone every month.

In the same month, Rogan called out Johnson on an episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience” with guest Derek Munro — host of the “More Plates More Dates” podcast.

“There’s no way you can look like that in your 40s,” Rogan said of Johnson’s physique. “I mean, he’s preposterously jacked.”

“This is dumb, man. You ran a con game, and you got busted,” Rogan said to the Liver King. “It’s unfortunate that you feel terrible. I’m sorry you feel bad. But that’s just what happens when you get caught lying.”

Rogan also claimed that Johnson was “front row” at one of his comedy shows in Las Vegas and at a UFC fight.

“He was trying really hard to get on the podcast,” Rogan added. “And he’s been trying really hard now. He contacted a few friends of mine.”

In May 2025, Netflix released a documentary about Johnson titled “Untold: The Liver King.”

“With his signature bushy beard, hardcore workouts, and a diet that raised more than a few eyebrows (hello, testicles), Brian Johnson rose to internet stardom preaching the virtues of ‘ancestral living’ — a lifestyle built on core tenets that include eating whole foods, getting outside, and rejecting modern comforts,” according to Netflix. “Millions of people followed — but eventually, accusations of hypocrisy led to a public reckoning.”

RELATED: Joe Rogan said hippies, musicians thanked him for endorsing Trump because they were afraid of being attacked

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The Houston Police Department released bodycam footage last week showing what authorities said was an officer fatally shooting a motorist who attempted to grab a gun from his waistband.

‘He’s got a gun — look out, look out! Shots fired, shots fired!’

Police said in a press release that officers were dispatched to the North Freeway around 3:45 p.m. May 17 regarding a car accident involving three vehicles.

Two of the vehicles remained at the site of the crash, but one of the vehicles fled the scene, according to police.

Officers with the Houston Police Department located the alleged hit-and-run vehicle, a green SUV, in a vacant parking lot in Houston, according to bodycam video.

The bodycam video shows an officer approaching the man sitting in the driver’s seat of the green SUV with the door open. The cop informs the motorist that video shows his vehicle was just involved in a car accident. Police said the motorist didn’t comply when officers tried to detain him.

The officer asks the driver, “You didn’t want to provide your information? You know it’s state law to do that, right?”

RELATED: Crazy bodycam video shows suspect trying to flee cop on a lawnmower, getting tased — and it only gets worse for him

Image Source: Houston Police Department

The driver asks the officer, “[Who] did I hit?” The officer near the driver’s side of the vehicle responds, “I’m not going to debate about it with you, OK? What we’re going to do is put you in handcuffs, we’re going to put you in a back seat, we’re going to move your car over there with the other two cars that were involved in the crash, OK?”

Suddenly, the motorist is seen in the police bodycam footage pulling up his shirt and grabbing an object from his waistband.

“As the officers attempted to detain the driver of the green SUV for the crash investigation, the driver lifted his shirt up, reached for a visible gun in his waistband, and pulled out the weapon,” the Houston Police Department stated.

An officer is heard on the bodycam footage screaming, “Hey, whoa, whoa!”

A cop yells, “He’s got a gun — look out, look out! Shots fired, shots fired!”

Video shows a second officer apparently firing at the suspect from the rear of the vehicle.

Indeed, Houston Police said in a press release that “two HPD officers then discharged their duty weapons more than once, striking the suspect.”

The man is then seen unresponsive, motionless, and slumped over in the driver’s seat of the vehicle.

Police said officers attempted to administer lifesaving measures to the man until Houston Fire Department paramedics arrived. However, the suspect was pronounced dead at the scene.

The police bodycam footage shows one of the officers removing a gun from the suspect’s hand.

Neither police officer appeared to be harmed, according to the video.

RELATED: Police bodycam video shows Florida man offering cops alcohol during car chase that ends with suspect getting tased

Content warning: Graphic video:

The Houston Police Department’s Special Investigations Unit, the Internal Affairs Division, and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office are investigating the deadly police shooting.

Houston Police Assistant Chief Christy Smith named the deceased suspect as Michael Dziedzic.

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Billionaire Palmer Luckey is dipping his toe into the financial sector with a banking venture focused on helping tech entrepreneurs.

The company is known as Erebor, yet another entry in Luckey’s portfolio that follows the Thiel-world pattern of referencing lore from the tales of J.R.R. Tolkien. Just as Anduril is a reference to a character’s sword, and Palantir to a magical seeing stone, Erebor refers to the mountain in “The Hobbit” where the dragon Smaug hoards his gold away from would-be slayers and thieves.

While the moniker is not final, according to the New York Post, the venture is serious in its ability to reshape banking forever.

Deliberate federal interference in the nascent crypto banking market provoked the very crisis the feds purported to solve.

Luckey is partnering with Joe Lonsdale, a venture capitalist who co-founded Palantir Technologies and other software companies. Together, they will help tech startups build their businesses instead of maximizing returns like a traditional bank, insiders told the Post.

The key difference is that Erebor will work with stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency tied to relatively stable assets like the U.S. dollar or gold. This is done to limit the volatility of a coin without sacrificing its benefits, creating investment opportunities far in excess of simply purchasing and holding, say, Bitcoin.

Even the president is working with stablecoins, particularly USD1, which is attached to the U.S. dollar.

RELATED: Big Tech execs enlist in Army Reserve, citing ‘patriotism’ and cybersecurity

Joe Lonsdale, at the Montgomery Summit in Santa Monica, California, on Wednesday, March 8, 2017. Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The Post reported that Erebor was born out of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in 2023, caused by a slew of management errors, “investment missteps, market volatility, and regulatory changes,” according to Investopedia. The Biden administration ended up guaranteeing all deposits into SVB, despite the bank’s ruin.

But as Castle Island founding partner Nic Carter explained last year, deliberate federal interference in the nascent crypto banking market provoked the very crisis the feds purported to solve. “Biden bank regulators made it impossible for banks serving a particular legal industry to operate,” Carter wrote. “And in doing so, they actively caused the collapse of certain banks, namely Silvergate and Signature. These banks did not die by suicide but by murder. This remains a gigantic scandal, and no one has ever faced any responsibility for it.”

It is unknown who else is involved with the launch of Erebor; it is still in its early stages and has no public start date. Luckey’s representative did not immediately respond to Blaze News’ request for information regarding founders or key development points.

In that regard, Lonsdale’s venture firm 8VC has led a $225 million fundraising round, which will reportedly be used to meet federal regulatory requirements that are necessary for starting a bank, not for backing deposits.

Luckey is not expected to hold an executive role or be involved in day-to-day operations, but he would be adding “bank operator” to his laundry list of titles, which include defense contractor and handheld-gaming manufacturer.

RELATED: Who’s stealing your data, the left or the right?

The tech titan has increasingly been involved in larger-than-life projects, including advanced technologies for U.S. military equipment. His open-to-debate style has caused him to become a darling of the Silicon Valley class, and his prominent criticisms of Facebook/Meta (he has since buried the hatchet with Mark Zuckerberg) have helped his image as a palatable billionaire, a dynamic with echoes of Mr. Burns and his one-time rival Arthur Fortune.

“Cryptocurrency is so powerful and investable because it’s the most advanced tech ordinary Americans can use right now amongst themselves to create and grow wealth,” said James Poulos, Blaze Media’s editor at large.

“But it’s still not clear how exactly to transition the U.S. from a dollar backed by American global, economic, and military dominance to one backed by computational power,” he added. “While stablecoins weaken the ability of regular people to use Bitcoin free from government pressure and control, they strengthen the ability of Washington and Silicon Valley to transition the dollar stably away from the unsustainable ‘money printer’ model toward a dollar backed by energy itself, in the form of watts used to power compute. That’s why a bank like Erebor is basically inevitable.”

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If detention wasn’t scary enough for illegal immigrants, President Donald Trump is preparing an off-the-grid facility aptly named “Alligator Alcatraz” to house some of the most violent illegal aliens in America.

The facility is being constructed in Florida’s “Alligator Alley” on a 30-square-mile property in the Everglades called the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, home to a “virtually abandoned airport.” The facility will house 5,000 beds for criminal illegal immigrants.

“The governor tasked state leaders to identify places for new temporary detention facilities. I think this is the best one: as I call it, ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’” Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said in a promotional video on X.

Uthmeier said the location presents “an efficient, low-cost opportunity to build a temporary detention facility” because even if they tried to get out, they’d have a hard time surviving.

“There’s not that much waiting for them other than alligators and pythons,” he said. “Nowhere to go. Nowhere to hide.”

“I’m sure that the left will come back and say, ‘But it’s expensive. It’s like $450 million a year,’ they’re saying, ‘to maintain.’ However, if you contrast that to, say, the Roosevelt Hotel over in New York City that they were housing all of these illegals,” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales comments, “that just cost New York City taxpayers about $575,000 a night.”

“By the way, these were human traffickers, child abusers, gang members,” she continues. “Laken Riley’s killer, there.”

“And crime being committed in the hotels,” comedian Derek Richards chimes in. “They were talking about people being raped in the stairwells and the rampant drug use.”

“If they complain about the $450 million it’s going to cost, we sent them to El Salvador and you didn’t want that, did you? So take your pick: El Salvador or alligator heaven,” BlazeTV contributor Matthew Marsden adds.

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After Karmelo Anthony was indicted for first-degree murder in connection with the fatal stabbing in April of Texas high school star athlete Austin Metcalf, a high-profile Anthony spokesman reacted Monday by calling for a fight against “white supremacy” and blasting “bigots” and “racists.”

Dominique Alexander — president of Next Generation Action Network — posted on X: “To the racists, the bigots, and those filled with hate who’ve targeted Karmelo, his family, and even myself — you do not intimidate us. We are not backing down.”

‘I look forward to the forthcoming trial. But it will never bring my son back.’

Alexander also asked Anthony supporters to “stand with us in the fight against white supremacy” as the case against him moves forward and added, “This case is yet another example of what it means to be Black in America, where even our self-defense is questioned, scrutinized, and politicized.”

RELATED: Karmelo Anthony advocate blasts ‘disrespectful’ father of Austin Metcalf for showing up at Anthony family news conference

Dominique Alexander. Photo by Montinique Monroe/Getty Images

Frisco police arrested Anthony and charged him with first-degree murder after Metcalf was fatally stabbed April 2 at a track meet at Kuykendall Stadium. Anthony reportedly told police, “I did it,” in reference to the stabbing after Metcalf allegedly put his hands on Anthony in an effort to get the suspect to leave from under a tent. Anthony has been claiming self-defense.

While Anthony is black and Metcalf was white, Metcalf’s father — Jeff Metcalf — early on urged those on social media to not use his son’s death to stir up political and racial divisiveness, WFAA-TV reported.

RELATED: Karmelo Anthony, charged with murder, will get HS diploma in ‘moment of dignity’ — but won’t walk commencement stage: Report

“This is not a race issue. This is not a black and white issue. I don’t want someone stepping up on their soapbox trying to politicize this. Unless you were there, unless you saw it: Don’t spread gossip,” Metcalf noted, according to the station.

Well, many observers have made it a black and white issue. In fact, some Anthony defenders went viral just days after Metcalf’s killing for doing just that.

An unidentified female in a video infamously said, “Rosa Park[s] days is [sic] over. You cannot think that you can move somebody out of a seat that you don’t own and think that it’s gonna be OK. And you can’t determine how I’m gonna retaliate on you when [you] put your hands on me in an aggressive manner. Austin Metcalf got exactly what he deserved — point blank, period.”

Bishop Talbert Swan — who has been covered more than a few times by Blaze News over the years — offered the following April 6 reaction to the Anthony-Metcalf controversy: “Y’all said 17 yr old Kyle Rittenhouse was justified in killing two people with an AR-15 because he felt threatened. 17 yr old Karmelo Anthony was defending himself when he killed Austin Metcalf with a knife and y’all think he deserves to go to prison. I wonder whyTE.”

Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis on Monday announced the first-degree murder indictment against Anthony, noting that the defendant was 17 years old at the time of the fatal stabbing, as was Metcalf. You can view Willis’ video announcement here.

KTVT-TV reported that Anthony — now 18 — could face a sentence of 5 to 99 years or life in prison if he’s convicted. The DA’s office said 17-year-olds are considered adults in the Texas criminal justice system.

Anthony on April 14 was set free from jail and granted house arrest as a judge reduced his bond from $1 million to $250,000.

RELATED: Father of suspect in fatal stabbing of HS star athlete Austin Metcalf says his son ‘was not the aggressor’ in confrontation

Anthony’s GiveSendGo fund as of Wednesday sits at over $538,000.

Anthony’s defense attorney Mike Howard released a video statement after the indictment, KTVT reported, during which he said, “We expect that when the full story is heard, the prosecution will not be able to rule out the reasonable doubt that Karmelo Anthony may have acted in self-defense.”

The station said the next step will be assigning a trial judge who will set a first appearance court date; KTVT noted that the first appearance “could be days, weeks, or months down the road.”

Willis in his indictment announcement added, “We’re also mindful of Austin’s family, and everyone who loved him. Please keep them in your thoughts — and, if you’re willing, in your prayers as well.”

Jeff Metcalf stated, “I am pleased that we are moving forward. With the first-degree murder indictment, it now goes into the court system. I fully believe that justice will be served for Austin Metcalf. I look forward to the forthcoming trial. But it will never bring my son back,” KTVT reported.

BlazeTV host Auron MacIntyre had the following to say about the state of the criminal case and Alexander’s “white supremacy” reference: “The fact that Anthony and his family have claimed victimhood, even in the face of the incredible forgiveness offered by Austin Metcalf’s father, says it all. It is a sad truth that the narratives about ‘white supremacy’ taught to many minorities in the U.S. through the educational system and media quickly become a blank check for violence against white Americans.”

Editor’s note: This story has been edited after publication to include a comment from BlazeTV host Auron MacIntyre.

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​Karmelo anthony, Collin county district attorney, Fatal stabbing, Austin metcalf, Dominique alexander, First-degree murder indictment, Crime 

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sparred this week with a Democratic member of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health who evidently could dish it out but couldn’t take it.

Kennedy was ultimately asked to take back a conclusion he reached on the basis of facts about New Jersey Democrat Rep. Frank Pallone’s receipt of millions of dollars in campaign contributions from the pharmaceutical industry.

Pallone used his time Tuesday during the hearing concerning the Department of Health and Human Services’ 2026 budget to attack Kennedy, suggesting he is a purveyor of a pseudo-scientific agenda that threatens the lives of the American people.

“Mr. Secretary, the science is not on your side. I just really think that people are going to die as a result of your actions and congressional Republicans’ actions,” said Pallone.

One of Pallone’s biggest themes was that Kennedy’s work lacked transparency. However, when the health secretary attempted to provide answers, Pallone shut down the dialogue.

“You have made a number of major decisions about vaccines. And … there’s been no public comment process or public accountability on that either. What are you afraid of?” asked Pallone. “I mean, with regard to vaccines, are you just afraid of receiving public comments on proposals where you just think these are fringe views that are contrary to the views of most scientists and that the public comments will reflect this?”

Kennedy responded, “We have a public process for regulating vaccines. It’s called the ACIP committee, and it’s a public meeting.”

At the mention of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, Pallone noted that Kennedy had fired the Biden appointees on the panel.

RELATED: How Big Pharma left its mark on woke CDC vax advisory panel — and what RFK Jr. did about it

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Kennedy canned all 17 Biden administration appointees on the ACIP earlier this month, stressing in a corresponding op-ed that “the committee has been plagued with persistent conflicts of interest and has become little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine.”

Data provided on OpenPaymentData.CMS.gov, a site managed by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, indicates Kennedy’s concerns were not misplaced, revealing just how cozy some of the former members were with the organizations whose products they were tasked with scrutinizing.

For example, former ACIP member Edwin Jose Asturias apparently collected around $54,000 from pharmaceutical companies, including $20,705 in what appear to be consulting fees.

Among the companies that paid Asturias what appear to have been consulting fees were Pfizer and Merck Sharpe & Dohme LLC, a bio-pharmaceutical subsidiary of the company whose pneumococcal vaccine Capvaxive the committee voted to recommend in October.

‘You were the leading member of Congress on that issue.’

Blaze News previously reported that Asturias also appears to have received millions of dollars in research support from Big Pharma, including over $3.1 million from Pfizer and over $730,000 from the British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline LLC.

“I fired people who had conflicts with the pharmaceutical industry,” Kennedy told Pallone.

Despite his supposed desire for answers, Pallone interrupted Kennedy in order to resume attacking him.

When subsequently questioned by Republican Rep. Neal Dunn (Fla.) about how he intended to restore public trust in the health establishment, Kennedy volunteered a quick answer, then tore into Pallone.

RELATED: Kennedy has Big Pharma ads in his sights — and he’s not the only one mulling a crackdown

Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Protect Our Care

“Congressman Pallone, 15 years ago, you and I met. You were, at that time, a champion for people who had suffered injuries from vaccines. You were very adamant about it. You were the leading member of Congress on that issue,” said Kennedy. “Since then, you’ve accepted $2 million from pharmaceutical companies in contributions — more than any other member of this committee.”

According to OpenSecrets, Pallone has received over $2.2 million from the pharmaceuticals/health products industry and over $5 million from health professionals since 1989.

Just last year, Pallone received over $15,000 in campaign contributions from PACs and individuals linked to Johnson & Johnson and $21,200 from individuals at Amneal Pharmaceuticals.

“Your enthusiasm for supporting the old ACIP committee, which was completely rife and pervasive with pharmaceutical conflicts, seems to be an outcome of those contributions,” added Kennedy.

Colorado Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette rushed to Pallone’s defense, claiming that Kennedy was “impugning Mr. Pallone” and had implied that “Mr. Pallone would not fight for vaccine victims because he took money from the pharmaceutical industry.”

Pallone similarly suggested that Kennedy’s words should be “taken down.”

After Subcommittee Chair Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) suggested DeGette’s point of order was valid, Kennedy said with a smirk that his remarks “are retracted.”

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Several unions are calling on the Los Angeles City Council to vote for a rent moratorium on the basis that deportation operations have severely shut down business activity.

The community groups say that businesses have been crippled by the loss of workers as well as consumers who are fearing detainment from Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

‘Fear has taken a toll on our society and our local economy.’

On Tuesday, representatives of the Los Angeles Tenants Union held a press conference with the Coalition of Labor Union Employees and the SEIU to demand the rent moratorium.

“We know that many tenants will not be able to pay their rent come July 1,” said Kenia Alcocer of LATU, who said she is also an illegal alien.

“Why? Because this militarization of our communities, this occupation of our community, this terrorizing of our communities have closed down businesses, have taken away street vendors, have separated families — and then people cannot pay their rent,” she added. “They have barely the minimum to survive.”

In a statement on social media, President Donald Trump accused officials in Los Angeles and other cities of being the “Democrat Power Center” that uses “Illegal Aliens to expand their Voter Base, cheat in Elections, and grow the Welfare State, robbing good paying Jobs and Benefits from Hardworking American Citizens.”

One Los Angeles resident who identified himself only as a “concerned community member” told KCAL-TV that the ICE operations had hurt businesses.

“Our businesses are struggling. Entrepreneurship is at a standstill,” the man said. “Fear has taken a toll on our society and our local economy.”

KCAL said L.A. Mayor Karen Bass did not respond to a request for comment.

RELATED: Illegal alien activist group demands Phoenix end ‘racist’ police stops on broken taillights and tinted windows

Daniel Yukelson of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles says the moratorium will hurt rental property owners.

“Over 85% of rental property owners in the city of Los Angeles are independent moms and pops who, for the most part, are already struggling to pay their bills,” he told KABC-TV. “I understand that people are very scared, and rental property owners are very sympathetic to that. But as I said, you know, property owners are very dependent on receiving timely rent payments just to make ends meet.”

Democrats and other critics of the president’s increased deportation operations have opposed those efforts in the streets and in the courtrooms, with some success.

“These Radical Left Democrats are sick of mind, hate our Country, and actually want to destroy our Inner Cities — And they are doing a good job of it!” said Trump on Truth Social.

Blaze News has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security as well as the Department of Housing and Urban Development, but neither responded in time for publishing.

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U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York (D) was hospitalized Wednesday morning, according to a statement from his spokesperson.

The 74-year-old had a health episode while at the gym on Wednesday, but he has returned to work.

“Leader Schumer was at the Senate gym this morning and got lightheaded. Out of an abundance of caution, he went to the hospital to be treated for dehydration and is now back at work in the Capitol,” read the statement from Schumer’s office.

“He wants to remind everyone to drink some water and stay out of the heat,” the spokesperson added.

The East Coast is currently undergoing an extended heat wave, with temperatures in the D.C. area reaching above 90 degrees. There have been a number of deaths attributed to the heat wave already.

RELATED: Former Clinton campaign manager says Democratic Party is ‘really depressing’ and without a leader or message

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Democrats have been reeling from accusations that they hid the deteriorating health condition of former President Joe Biden, leading critics to demand that policies be changed to force older politicians to step down.

This is a developing story, and additional information may be added.

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On Monday, the U.S. Marshals Service Middle District of Florida stated that its two-week initiative, Operation Dragon Eye, had three key objectives: saving missing children, providing them with services, and deterring bad actors.

‘Many of these kids have painful, disastrous situations, but at least today we’ve rescued them, and we now can work towards recovery.’

The USMS announced that along with 20 federal, state, and local government agencies, the Tampa Bay area mission recovered 60 “critically missing” children, or “those at risk of crimes of violence or those with other elevated risk factors such as substance abuse, sexual exploitation, crime exposure, or domestic violence.”

RELATED: ‘Nowhere to go, nowhere to hide’: Florida will have ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ for illegal aliens up and running in days

Photo by ANDRI TAMBUNAN/AFP via Getty Images

The operation also resulted in the arrest of eight individuals who are facing charges including human trafficking, child endangerment, narcotics possession, and custodial interference. Their bonds ranged from no bond to $250 million.

During a Monday press conference, Attorney General James Uthmeier noted that the initiative was the “largest child rescue operation not just in Florida’s history, but in the United States’ history.”

He explained that some of the children recovered were the victims of trafficking.

“Many of these kids have been through painful, disastrous situations, but at least today we’ve rescued them, and we now can work towards recovery,” Uthmeier said.

RELATED: Florida sheriff makes clear to radicals that riots won’t go their way: ‘We will kill you’

Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

The minors, ranging from 9 to 17 years old, were provided with medical and psychological care, nourishment, and appropriate placement.

U.S. Marshal William Berger stated, “I have to curtail my enthusiasm because of the sensitivity of the victims involved in this operation, but the successful recovery of 60 missing children, complemented with the arrest of eight individuals, including child predators, signifies the most successful missing child recovery effort in the history of the United States Marshals Service; or to my knowledge, any other similar operation held in the United States.”

Callahan Walsh, the executive director of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, said that the operation’s success was “a testament to what’s possible when agencies unite with a shared mission to protect children.”

“We’re proud to have supported the U.S. Marshals Service and our partners in Florida to recover these missing children and provide critical support to those who need it most. NCMEC is honored to stand alongside these teams and will continue working tirelessly to help make sure that every child has a safe childhood,” Walsh added.

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