Category: blaze media

A simple check at the airport has become a national conversation after an activist used the ultimate trick to stop his phone from being searched.

The high-profile stunt, now coming to light, has kicked off a fresh round of debate about the justified reach of government power into your personal data.

Samuel Tunick was allegedly on a federal watch list when he was stopped at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport while returning from a vacation last year.

‘It just seems like a good idea to protect my private data.’

Tunick is a known activist associated with a movement that fights against what progressives labeled “Cop City” in Atlanta. This refers to a police and fire training center that was erected in the southern city in spring 2025.

Tunick was stopped by Customs and Border Protection officers upon his return from the Dominican Republic in January 2025, the New York Times reported, and authorities wanted to search his phone.

The activist was reportedly questioned before eventually turning over the device, a Google Pixel phone.

But with the help of a security-centric operating system called GrapheneOS, Tunick provided officers with a passcode that, when they entered it, erased the contents of his phone.

“Knowing the kind of surveillance that activists have been subjected to, it just seems like a good idea to protect my private data that I don’t necessarily want corporations or governments to have access to, just out of the principle of privacy,” Tunick told the Times.

The 30-year-old is now facing federal obstruction charges for “knowingly” destroying, damaging, wasting, or disposing of digital contents for the purpose of “preventing and impairing” a government search.

Tunick told the outlet that his charges stem from the national security memo that calls for the investigation of participants in “criminal and terroristic conspiracies,” which includes organized networks and entities behind targeted campaigns of “intimidation, radicalization, threats, and violence designed to silence opposing speech.”

RELATED: Tracking device exposes Amazon’s secret plans for rare books

Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Theodore Hertzberg, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, provided the following statement to Atlanta News Now:

Obstructing federal law enforcement is a serious matter that has serious repercussions. Individuals who destroy or attempt to destroy property, including data, to prevent lawful search and seizure should expect to face prosecution and punishment for their actions.

A spokeswoman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection told the Times that her agency has the authority to search electronic devices of anyone entering or leaving the United States, regardless of citizenship, in order to enforce laws around terrorism, national security threats, and more.

She reinforced that less than 0.01% of electronic devices of international travelers’ phones had been searched in the last fiscal year.

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

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Tunick said that he was just one of “hundreds of thousands” of people in his movement and that he was initially intrigued by “Cop City” from an “environmental justice” angle.

He called it especially important when it was combined with the “concerning trend that we’ve seen over the last several years of expanding and militarizing the police at the exact time when tens of millions of Americans are demanding the exact opposite.”

Law Commentary notes that Tunick has pleaded not guilty and that the case remains pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

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​Customs and border protection, Atlanta, Samuel tunick, The fourth amendment, Tech, Search 

The sheriff’s office investigating a suspected quintuple homicide in Oregon over the weekend has given an update in the case.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office released the identities of the homicide victims found at the scene in rural Forest Grove, which is west of Portland.

‘I have not been a part of or witnessed a scene quite this complex.’

The victims were Mary Elizabeth Kimsey, 85; Rowan Karla Kimsey, 60; Stella Jade Kimsey, 26; Linsey Mae Haraldsen, 26; and Alvin Raymond Chu, 27, officials said.

According to the report, Mary was Rowan’s mother and Stella’s grandmother, Linsey was Stella’s best friend, and Alvin was Linsey’s partner.

Mary, Linsey, and Alvin reportedly lived in Portland, while Rowan and Stella lived at the property where the bodies were found.

The deceased homicide suspect, 36-year-old Benjamin Charles Parker, was Stella’s boyfriend; Parker also lived at the property, but his body was found Sunday roughly 200 miles north of the crime scene.

Parker was found dead in a car in Enumclaw, Washington, in what authorities believe is a suicide.

KOIN-TV reported that the car containing Parker’s body was found behind a Safeway grocery store.

RELATED: Suspect in ‘complex’ quintuple homicide found dead in a car — in a different state

In a news conference, sheriff’s Detective Shannon Wilde reportedly said, “Any time you have one person deceased, let alone five, that’s a logistical challenge.”

Two dogs and two cats also were found dead on the property. A third cat was found alive and treated at a veterinary clinic but was subsequently euthanized “due to the extent of its injuries.”

“I will say that in my 22 years here, I have not been a part of or witnessed a scene quite this complex involving this type of an investigation,” Sheriff Caprice Massey said, according to the Associated Press.

The five victims were discovered on Saturday after fire personnel responded to a 5:27 a.m. vehicle fire on the property in the 47300 block of NW Otis Lane.

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​Suicide, Homicide, Oregon, Bodies found, Washington state, Crime 

Abdul El-Sayed, the Islamic Democrat hoping to win an open U.S. Senate seat in Michigan, has mounted a bizarre defense of a barbaric practice that he wants American taxpayers to fund: sex-rejection mutilations for children.

On “Jesse Watters Primetime” on Fox News Monday, El-Sayed — who holds a medical degree but has seemingly never put it to clinical use — repeatedly dodged when the eponymous host pressed him with difficult questions, especially regarding medical care.

‘Abdul, Michigan’s not going for that.’

Growing visibly frustrated with El-Sayed’s evasiveness during their nearly half-hour exchange, Watters asked the Democrat flatly, “Sex changes for minors. Do you support that?”

“Look, you know, I remember having great conversations with my conservative friends about Right to Try legislation — the idea that the government shouldn’t tell you what kind of health care you should have,” said El-Sayed. “I just think the government shouldn’t tell you what kind of health care you should have, and if you’re a minor, it’s between you, your doctor, and your parents.”

“You want to ‘try’ on kids?” said the revulsed host.

El-Sayed responded, “If you disagree with that, if you disagree that health care decisions need to be made by a doctor and their parents and a patient, then I just think we agree to disagree,” neglecting to mention that under Medicare for all, which he supports, the taxpayer would effectively be made complicit in any such decision.

“But you want to put government inside a clinic or a hospital selectively,” El-Sayed told Watters.

RELATED: Sacrificing body parts and informed consent to the sex-change regime

Watters pressed the issue, asking El-Sayed whether he, as a doctor, “thinks it’s OK for a parent to slash his kid’s ding-a-ling off. You think that’s OK?”

“Do you really want to have this conversation?” responded El-Sayed. “Are you circumcised?”

Watters confirmed that he was indeed circumcised, then noted that “circumcision is different than castration.”

“It’s a problem that you think that you get to decide what happens between a parent, a doctor, and a patient,” said El-Sayed. “I’m just saying that yes, circumcision is a surgery on a kid’s ding-a-ling, so if you really want to bring that up, you can. I just think you guys are really selective.”

“That’s wacky. Abdul, Michigan’s not going for that. That is sick stuff,” said Watters.

Monday night, Michigan GOP senior communication adviser Greg Manz retweeted a clip of the exchange between El-Sayed and Watters along with a statement previously given to Blaze News: “Michigan taxpayers footing the bill for abortions and irreversible gender reassignment surgeries, even for children — it doesn’t get more extreme than that.”

The “war room” account for Republican candidate Mike Rogers called opponent El-Sayed a “conman” who “is too extreme for Michigan.”

Despite El-Sayed’s insinuation that circumcision and sex-rejection surgeries are in the same ballpark, they are worlds apart.

Male circumcision simply involves the removal of the foreskin covering the tip of the penis, but so-called feminizing genital surgery — the sex-rejection procedure performed on confused male victims’ genitals — is a complicated and horrific procedure.

RELATED: El-Sayed’s mom worked for designated terror group that financed bin Laden ahead of 9/11: Report

Bob Riha, Jr./Getty Images

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, in this procedure,

the testicles are cut off; the skin along the shaft of the penis is separated from the penile tissue and preserved to construct a fake vagina; a portion of the glans of the penis along with some blood vessels and nerves are fashioned into a fake clitoris; a space is hollowed out between the bladder and the rectum; the skin that once encased the victim’s penis is turned inside out and put into the space; the urethra is shortened; the “scrotal skin is rearranged and used to surgically construct a labia majora”; and a temporary catheter is shoved into the victim’s bladder.

The sex-rejection procedure that is performed on females is also a complicated affair that requires multiple mutilations, including the removal of skin, fat, nerves, arteries, and/or veins from other parts of the body and a lengthening of the urethra to construct a fake and nonfunctioning penis.

El-Sayed won’t take a stand against such procedures, but most Americans think they’re unconscionable.

According to a nationwide Gallup poll conducted in May, 57% of U.S. adults believe that “changing one’s gender” is morally wrong. A 2026 SLU/YouGov Poll conducted in Missouri found that 67% of voters opposed sex-rejection medications for minors and 73% opposed sex-rejection surgeries.

A February 2025 Pew Research Center survey found that 56% of American adults want to make it illegal for health care professionals to provide minors with sex-rejection “medical care.” A Washington Post-KFF poll found in 2023 that 68% of Americans oppose puberty blockers for trans-identifying kids ages 10 to 14, and nearly 60% opposed hormonal treatments for teens ages 15 to 17.

El-Sayed has repeatedly vowed to “fight to expand Medicare to cover all necessary health care” and “extend it to every single American from cradle to grave without premiums, copays, or deductibles.” He has acknowledged that this scheme will not only require higher taxes but would pay for so-called “reproductive rights” and “gender-affirming care.”

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

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​Abdul el-sayed, Jesse watters, Medicare for all, Michigan, Politics, Us senate, Health care, Transgender 

Laken Snelling, a former University of Kentucky cheerleader who was arrested after her newborn son was found dead in a closet at her home, has pleaded guilty to charges related to the infant’s death.

During a Friday hearing, Snelling pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter, abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported.

‘I deprived him of oxygen.’

WKRC-TV reported, “Prosecutors recommended 10 years in prison for first-degree manslaughter and one year for each of the other three charges.”

The judge has discretion to impose the sentences concurrently or consecutively, according to WKRC.

A Fayette County grand jury indicted Snelling in March.

Snelling, 22, pleaded not guilty to all four charges in April.

The Herald-Leader, citing a police citation, reported that officers were dispatched to Snelling’s Lexington home at 10:30 a.m. Aug. 27, 2025, for a report of a “deceased infant.”

Court documents WKYT-TV obtained said police discovered an infant’s remains wrapped in a trash bag inside a closet at her home.

In a Snapchat group chat that Snelling was part of, her roommates discussed hearing unusual noises on the morning of Aug. 27.

One roommate sent a message around 4 a.m. saying she heard a loud noise that sounded like something had fallen, according to court documents.

Court documents also revealed that a second roommate said she heard the noises as well and noted that the clamor was forceful enough to knock a picture off the wall.

Another roommate said the noises lasted about an hour, according to court docs.

Shortly before 9 a.m. Aug. 27, Snelling sent a message in the group chat stating that the noise was her passing out, court records said.

Court documents added that Snelling told her roommates she hadn’t been feeling well and planned to get examined by a doctor.

The Herald-Leader reported that roommates found “a blood-soaked towel on the floor and a plastic bag containing evidence of childbirth” inside Snelling’s room, the police citation said.

As Blaze News previously reported, Snelling told police she gave birth to a baby around 4 a.m. on Aug. 27, but the infant “fell into the floor of her bedroom.”

According to the affidavit, Snelling informed investigators that she did not believe the baby boy was breathing or alive, and she passed out approximately 30 minutes later.

When Snelling awoke, she “quickly got up” and saw “the baby turning blue and purple,” the affidavit stated.

Snelling said she believed the baby “to be dead and wrapped the baby up like a burrito and laid next to it [on] the floor because it gave her a little comfort in the moment,” court documents said.

The arrest record said Snelling “admitted to concealing the birth by cleaning any evidence, placing all cleaning items used inside of a black trash bag, including the infant, who was wrapped in a towel.”

Snelling, a former University of Kentucky student-athlete, was arrested in August 2025 in connection with her infant’s death.

Snelling, a former STUNT team member of the University of Kentucky, withdrew from the school after her arrest.

RELATED: Mother confesses to killing her newborn because of ‘expenses,’ enlisting daughter to help dispose of baby still crying inside trash bag: Prosecutor

The Kentucky Medical Examiner’s Office determined the baby was born alive, and his cause of death was asphyxia by undetermined means.

However, Snelling recently dropped a bombshell court confession about her baby’s death.

“I was under a lot of emotional stress, and my baby came unexpectedly. And instead of helping him, I ended his life. And afterwards, I cleaned up and didn’t tell anyone,” a tearful Snelling told Fayette County Circuit Court Judge Diane Minnifield, according to a video of the hearing posted by Court TV.

“I ended his life,” Snelling admitted to the judge.

When asked by Judge Minnifield how she ended his life, Snelling confessed: “I deprived him of oxygen.”

The judge asked Snelling why she was pleading guilty to the tampering of physical evidence charge, and she responded, “I put the towels in a plastic bag.”

Snelling said of the concealing the birth of an infant charge, “I didn’t tell anyone after.”

“It’s very tragic, and it’s very sad, and I hate that we can’t fix that,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Kimberly Henderson Baird said, according to WLEX-TV. “But we did the best we could. We talked to the family to let them know what the offer was. So there was a lot involved in this case.”

Baird said of Snelling, “I think she has a great deal of remorse.”

Snelling is scheduled to appear in court Oct. 16 for a sentencing hearing.

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​Cheerleader, Guilty plea, Infant, Manslaughter, Newborn killed, University of kentucky, Crime 

The Women’s National Basketball Association is struggling to define the very category it was created to promote, and BlazeTV host Steve Deace couldn’t be less impressed.

“Something called the Women’s National Basketball Association is having a deep probing conversation of what the term ‘woman’ means. It’s not right-wing parody. It’s not a Babylon Bee spot. It’s not a meme. It’s not a troll,” Deace tells XX-XY Athletics founder Jennifer Sey.

“This is literally what is occurring right now,” he continues, adding, “Make sense of it, please.”

“They’re not discussing what a woman is. They’re discussing how do we get through this without doing anything,” Sey tells Deace. “That’s what they’re discussing.”

“They’re in a panic, and they’re going, ‘How do we say something but do nothing?’ That’s basically what they’re talking about,” she adds.

While other leagues have made it clear that they will not be allowing men in women’s sports, the WNBA remains one of the last leagues with a clear “agenda.”

“And that agenda is not women’s basketball. It’s politics,” Sey says. “That’s all it is. It’s woke politics. That’s their agenda. It’s a joke. The whole league is a joke.”

And if you look at it from a financial perspective, it makes even less sense.

“They’ve never made money in 30 years. They’re totally subsidized by the NBA. They have a chance right now to actually make money. They have a golden goose in Caitlin Clark. They won’t lead with her. They won’t market her,” Sey explains.

“Little girls are showing up across the country. They’re buying her jersey. They’re buying tickets. It’s like they don’t want to run this like a business. They just want to be in the politics,” she says.

“Not to mention all the behind-the-scenes shenanigans. I mean, half of them are married to each other. Like this is not a legitimate business. It’s a clown car,” she adds.

The league is digging itself into a hole, and it could pull itself out of it, but Sey tells Deace that it won’t.

“I think the only sensible thing they can do is to stand up and say, ‘This is the WNBA. We were wrong. It’s not about inclusion. This is elite female athletes, and it’s female athletes only,’” she explains.

“And you know what would happen, Steve, if they did that? It would be two weeks of noise from the activist class, and then it would be over, and they’d get back to basketball,” she continues, adding, “But they won’t do it because they’re not in this for basketball.”

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​Jennifer sey, Steve deace, Wnba, Caitlin clark, Transgender, Men, Womens sports, Blazetv show 

Marriage rates in the United States have reached historic lows. To compound matters, about one-third of Americans who say “I do” file for divorce. Watching this crisis unfold is depressing enough. Watching corporate marketers turn family dissolution into a luxury consumer category makes it darker still.

Let me be extremely clear: Some marriages are absolute disasters, full of physical violence and emotional cruelty. Escaping a truly toxic partner is a matter of self-preservation, and some people need guidance in finding the best way out.

Transforming the end of a supposedly sacred union into a curated social media event makes something solemn feel frivolous.

The problem begins when divorce itself becomes a product to brand, package, and sell, a disturbing transformation now taking hold in America and beyond.

Splitsville

A painful family breakdown now functions as online content. Unhappy spouses transform personal misery into podcasts and book deals. Sponsored Instagram posts and paid Substack subscriptions follow. What used to be a private nightmare quickly becomes a lucrative career pivot.

When a 20-year marriage ends after months of screaming matches over unpaid bills, social media feeds instantly reframe the wreckage as a fabulous spiritual awakening. Deep personal isolation gets repackaged as radical independence. Selling the family home to pay legal retainers becomes a chic minimalist aesthetic. The destruction of a household becomes definitive proof of personal growth. It’s gross, but not entirely unexpected.

In 1969, California Governor Ronald Reagan signed the nation’s first no-fault divorce bill, intending to eliminate perjury and blackmail from courtroom proceedings. He later called it one of his greatest political regrets, having failed to foresee how a legal tweak would morph into a multibillion-dollar lifestyle industry. Reagan meant well, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Eliminating the legal stigma of divorce was a much-needed civil reform. Nobody should be forced to endure flying fists or endless tongue-lashings just to satisfy a local pastor. Financial autonomy and genuine safety are good things. Eliminating the seriousness of divorce is an entirely different matter.

The stakes change completely when children enter the legal equation.

RELATED: Matthew Perry, child of divorce

Mike Pont/Getty Images

Kids suffer most

For a 35-year-old spouse, signing divorce papers might feel like being rescued from an active war zone. For a 6-year-old, it means packed suitcases, split holidays, and perpetual background noise from two stressed-out parents arguing over child support checks.

Longitudinal studies show that children raised in divorced households are less likely to graduate from high school and score lower on academic exams. They also show higher rates of anxiety and greater risk of suicide. Girls from broken homes also have an increased risk of teenage pregnancy, and boys are more likely to be incarcerated. Many children are resilient, that is for sure. But resilience comes from necessity, not necessarily choice. Barely keeping your head above water while running on pure adrenaline is no way to spend your formative years.

These realities make the current commercialization of family breakups feel utterly revolting. Divorce parties are at an all-time high, with Las Vegas leading the global trend for customized “single again” weekend packages complete with tailored cakes and bottle service.

Everyone remains free to live as they wish, and walking away from a destructive marriage may well justify popping champagne. The problem lies with the public broadcasting and the celebration of failure. Transforming the end of a supposedly sacred union into a curated social media event makes something solemn feel frivolous. When a major domestic tragedy becomes photogenic fodder for online engagement, it’s perfectly reasonable to raise an eyebrow (rather than a glass of bubbly).

Nothing to celebrate

We must be able to hold two simple facts in mind at the very same time. Divorce can be an essential escape route from abuse. Divorce also inflicts massive emotional and economic costs on everyone involved. Defending a person’s legal freedom to walk away from a contract doesn’t require pretending that breaking up a family is a triumph.

The fundamental flaw in the modern divorce economy is not that professionals are paid to help people sort out the practical consequences when a marriage ends. Human misery has created administrative employment since ancient Rome. The problem is watching tech platforms and marketing agencies incentivize people to treat marital separation as a desirable milestone.

When a bitter custody battle goes viral on TikTok, content creators have a financial incentive to escalate the drama for their audience. Influencers build subscriber bases on continuous conflict. They turn private litigation into serialized public theater. Millions of viewers tune in every day, gradually coming to believe that ending a marriage is no different from ending a job.

This dynamic reveals a deep sickness, and the explosion of the breakup market reflects an increasingly broken society.

Marriage is far from perfect, and pretending otherwise is delusional and disingenuous. Nevertheless, it remains a vital human institution built on sacrifice and mutual duty. A husband and wife separating, even if they come to hate each other, represents a genuine tragedy. The end of a marriage calls for introspection and self-reflection, not a shameless victory lap for strangers on the internet.

​Divorce, Influencers, Marriage rates, United states, Content creators, Love and marriage, Children, Big tech, Divorce parties, Lifestyle 

Former students of a performing arts teacher in Warren, Michigan, are saying that he had regularly crossed boundaries with his students after his arrest on Aug. 18.

37-year-old Mark Michael Sharrow is a teacher at the Warren Consolidated School of Performing Arts, which is a nationally recognized magnet school for students in grades 9 through 12.

Investigators allegedly found sexually explicit videos of children on Sharrow’s phone.

He was initially arrested for a charge of third-degree criminal sexual conduct from Houton Lake, according to the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office.

“What we had uncovered in the course of our investigation was accusations that involved former students after they had graduated,” said John Bernia, a school superintendent.

Sharrow’s home and phone were searched following his arrest. Investigators allegedly found sexually explicit videos of children on Sharrow’s phone and also discovered methamphetamine and LSD at his house.

He was charged with five counts of aggravated possession of child sexually abusive material, five counts of using a computer to commit a crime, one count of possession of methamphetamine, and one count of possession of a Schedule 5 controlled substance and LSD.

A judge set Sharrow’s bond at $1 million cash or surety during his arraignment hearing on Wednesday.

Warren Consolidated Schools released a letter to parents and staff about the arrest and indicated that Sharrow was on administrative leave when he was arrested.

“I want to thank the young people who reported difficult information to members of our staff. It is never easy to bring forward serious information, and the bravery of these individuals is commendable,” the letter stated.

“As always, we cooperate fully and work closely with law enforcement and the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office,” the letter continued.

RELATED: Police find hundreds of thousands of child porn files after man drops memory card at store

A former student of the school told WXYZ-TV that the arrest was not surprising because Sharrow’s behavior with the students had raised red flags.

“I wasn’t fully shocked. We all thought he was weird with students,” said Mary Bonkowski, who graduated just a few months ago from the school.

She said she was glad that officials took the accusations seriously.

“I’m very glad that they had the courage to say something, because that’s extremely difficult, especially because you don’t know if you’re going to be believed,” she said. “I mean, historically, a lot of these things have been swept under the rug, so I’m glad that they finally listened and that it was taken seriously.”

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​Child porn, Methamphetamine, Performing arts, Teacher, Crime 

By now, most Americans have figured out that the push for the SAVE America Act is performative — perhaps even more than the usual Washington standards.

Republicans have a closing window of unified control of the House, Senate, and White House. Yet the structural advantages Democrats spent decades building remain largely untouched outside temporary executive action. The SAVE America Act is one way to answer that problem with basic election rules such as voter ID and limits on mail-in voting.

John Thune understands leverage perfectly well. It is time for Republicans who say they want this bill to pass to prove they do, too.

Elections remain vulnerable to the same disputes over identification, mail voting, and administration that Republicans have spent years denouncing, while other institutional fights — immigration enforcement and reform of the FBI among them — remain unfinished. If Republicans lose unified control without locking in durable changes, a future Democrat administration can reverse much of what has been done by executive order.

Despite what the D.C. consultant class says, Republican success in the midterms will hinge on base motivation. Voters need something to vote for. Democrats are already portraying Republicans as the party of their own DEI: data centers, the Epstein class, and the Iran war.

Fair or not, those are political anchors. Without a positive agenda, the charge will stick.

The consultant class responds with the usual sermon about unity, which in practice means: Get in line and do what leadership says. But voters do not want WWE. They want UFC.

The Republican Party is already in an internal fight over what it will become after Trump, and only one side seems willing to use leverage. Some will call that destructive infighting. But the fight is already happening, and it will shape the party for decades. The question is not whether Republicans should have an internal struggle. It’s whether conservatives intend to participate in it as effectively as the senators and institutions working against them.

Recent Senate fights make the point. Republicans have held up ICE funding to block an Anti-Weaponization Fund and delayed Attorney General Todd Blanche’s confirmation. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) used leverage to extract millions for Alaska nonprofits.

Politics is, at bottom, the acquisition and use of leverage. The Senate’s left-wing Republicans understand that. The right too often makes threats it will not carry out — and loses.

The real show is not on the Senate floor. It is in the bank accounts.

The money controlled by Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, led by Tim Scott (R-S.C.), explains more than another ideological taxonomy ever could. Hundreds of millions of dollars flow through leadership-aligned committees and outside groups from interests that want something from Washington. That money becomes both carrot and stick: protect friendly incumbents, discipline troublesome ones, and keep conservative senators talking rather than acting.

RELATED: Drain the swamp? Meet the refill.

Sam Wolfe/Bloomberg via Getty Images

That’s how Thune and Scott can go on television praising the SAVE America Act while the leadership machine supports senators who stand in its way. My friends and I call this the head pat: Give conservatives a little rhetorical affection while making sure nothing they want actually happens. And it works. All the time.

The same network is lining up behind Senator Darline Graham Nordone (R-S.C.), rather than original SAVE America Act co-sponsor Ralph Norman. The scale is enormous. As of June 30, the Thune-aligned Senate Leadership Fund reported $238 million cash on hand, while its allied network, including One Nation, said it had raised more than half a billion dollars for the midterms. Those are obscene sums for a party that increasingly presents itself as the vehicle of working-class voters.

More important, the money is not politically neutral. It is a mechanism for deciding which senators get protected, which challengers get starved, and which legislative priorities receive serious attention.

Some of that war chest will protect senators most resistant to the SAVE America Act. Leadership gives them money and political lifelines while they deny the bill a vote. Those dollars do not come with strings attached for Republican voters. They come from donors and industries that need things from the Senate.

That is the leverage SAVE America Act supporters have ignored. If leadership can use money and floor time to reward compliance, conservatives can make leadership pay a price for blocking their priorities. Until they do, they have not begun to fight.

The absence of pressure is itself revealing. If leadership truly regarded passage of the SAVE America Act as a must-have priority, it would be using every institutional tool at its disposal to find votes and impose costs on holdouts. It is not.

The Senate made the problem obvious on August 8. Instead of forcing a vote on the full SAVE America Act, it took up a narrower photo-ID bill from Senator Jon Husted (R-Ohio). It failed 52-46. Then, that same morning, Thune filed cloture on the CLARITY Act crypto bill — a leadership priority that could consume much of the Senate’s limited September floor time before the midterm campaign takes over.

Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), one of four Republicans who refuses to back the SAVE America Act, said the quiet part out loud: Unless its supporters find 60 votes, “they know it’s dead, and so all this is theater.” Thune says the Senate is “bound by arithmetic.” But arithmetic is not an alibi. Leadership chooses where to spend its money, floor time, and pressure.

So stop asking nicely.

RELATED: How Kamala Harris accidentally sold the SAVE America Act

Christian Bruna/Getty Images

Senate leadership routinely holds unrelated priorities hostage to get what it wants. Republicans who actually want the SAVE America Act should do the same. When the Senate returns in September, it will face a college sports bill, Thune’s CLARITY Act, and the National Defense Authorization Act. Those are leverage points.

A team sport works only if everyone is playing the same sport, wearing the same jersey, on the same field. Senate leadership is not behaving like it is on your team. Treating it as though it is only guarantees another round of speeches, cable hits, and failure.

The base needs to see a cage fight. Give the people what they want.

Refuse to hand leadership what it wants until the SAVE America Act gets an up-or-down vote at a 51-vote threshold. That is the same kind of hostage-taking the Senate’s left flank uses successfully. Thune understands leverage perfectly well. It is time for Republicans who say they want this bill to pass to prove they do, too.

​Attorney general, Ice, John thune, Lisa murkowski, Majority leader, Midterms, Save america act, Senate, Ice funding, Immigration, Thom tillis, Opinion & analysis 

America may be entering a period of extraordinary economic opportunity. Artificial intelligence could drive a wave of investment, construction, productivity, and growth. The question is whether ordinary Americans will own enough of that growth to benefit from it.

That makes tax policy about more than rates and revenue. If Washington wants Americans to build wealth, it should make it easier to own appreciating assets — stocks, funds, homes, and businesses — and keep more of the gains they earn over time.

Building wealth requires more than rising wages. Americans need the ability to acquire assets, hold them, and benefit from compounding over decades.

President Donald Trump is reportedly looking for new policy wins ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, including capital gains reform. The White House and congressional allies are considering indexing capital gains for inflation and creating a new exemption for certain home sales, reportedly including homes worth $2 million or less.

Both ideas move in the right direction. They would let Americans keep more of the returns on investments they have held for years and reduce tax penalties that can discourage people from selling appreciated assets.

The usual objection is that capital gains reform is a giveaway to the rich. But IRS data cited by Americans for Tax Reform show that 74% of tax returns reporting capital gains come from households with incomes below $200,000. Millions of Americans own stocks through brokerage accounts, mutual funds, and retirement plans. The tax code should not treat long-term wealth building as something reserved for the affluent.

Inflation makes the problem worse. A taxpayer can owe capital gains tax even when part of the apparent gain simply reflects a dollar that has lost purchasing power. Indexing gains for inflation would make the tax apply more closely to real economic profit rather than paper gains created by rising prices.

Housing presents a second opportunity. Expanding or exempting capital gains treatment for certain home sales could encourage more owners to put appreciated properties on the market. Many older Americans remain in homes that no longer fit their needs, in part because selling can result in a sizable tax bill.

RELATED: Big Tech gets the network. You get the bill.

Baona/Getty Images

Reducing that penalty could make downsizing more attractive and free larger homes for younger families. It wouldn’t solve the housing shortage — America still needs to build more homes — but it could help the existing housing stock move to people who need it.

The broader principle is more important than either proposal. Building wealth requires more than rising wages. Americans need the ability to acquire assets, hold them, and benefit from compounding over decades. Ownership is how economic growth becomes personal.

The White House should therefore think bigger than a handful of tax tweaks. The next phase of Trump’s economic agenda should aim to turn more Americans into owners.

A serious capital gains overhaul could encourage people to invest, save, start businesses, sell homes when it makes sense, and accumulate wealth over time. If the coming AI boom creates enormous new fortunes, ordinary Americans should have a better chance to own a piece of it — not merely watch Sam Altman get richer.

​America, Artificial intelligence, Economic growth, Tax code, Tax policy, Wages, Investments, Economy, Housing crisis, Opinion & analysis, Donald trump 

A recent picnic in the park turned violent when a child allegedly called a transgender-identifying person named Leanne Lawson a name he didn’t like — and he reacted by allegedly hitting the child.

Rather than expressing regret, he doubled down in multiple follow-up TikTok videos, arguing that anyone who uses certain language toward him should expect a violent response.

“So I was just minding my business here in Lewis Park, just having a little picnic, you know, just minding my own business, having a picnic. And then this group of kids came up and started hassling me,” Lawson began in the first video.

“Talking s**t to me, calling me a t*****,” he explained.

“They used words they weren’t supposed to, and I smacked one of them upside the head. And yeah, they didn’t like that,” he added.

In a second video, he continued, saying, “I smacked a couple kids upside the head for saying words they shouldn’t be saying.”

“But I’m going to be honest with you: It wouldn’t have mattered if they were kids. Anybody talks to me like that now, and I’m going to react like that. Any person that starts using language that requires me to justify my existence for just sitting there, eating some charcuterie in the f**king park,” he said.

“I’m going to smack them upside the head,” he added.

“Sir … are you denying that you are a t*****?” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales comments.

“You’re not fooling anyone,” she adds.

Lawson even posted a follow-up video, explaining that the “kid’s mom came up and apologized” to him.

“This kid’s mom came up and like, ‘I’m so sorry about my son,’ and I was just like, ‘Yo, your son better not talk crazy like that or he’s going to get his head knocked off.’ Like, I didn’t lie about what I did,” he said.

“Who could have predicted that maybe trans and mentally ill people could be violent, right?” Gonzales asks. “Like, boy, we’ve never seen that happen before.”

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​Sara gonzales, Leanne lawson, Transgender, Tiktok, Trans, Woman, Mental illness, Violence, Blazetv show 

The thought of China making it to the moon likely left a lot of Americans with an uneasy feeling.

To make matters worse, the communist giant was primed to make a first-of-its-kind discovery.

China’s boots-on-the-ground mission was set for 2030.

The China National Space Administration’s Chang’e‑7 has taken aim at the moon’s south pole, where the darkest and most barren parts of the surface are located. Particularly, China has focused on the Shackleton Crater, whose large rims provide permanently shadow regions where researchers believe water ice could exist.

Chang’e‑7’s launch, complete with lander, rover, and mobile probe, was scheduled to take place before the end of August, but China’s entire lunar exploration roadmap has now been blown out of the water after the space program officially delayed its launch on Sunday.

The Chinese government announced that the Chang’e-7 mission has been delayed until at least 2027.

“Based on the principles of safety, reliability, and infallibility, after comprehensive analysis and judgment, the Chang’e-7 mission does not meet the launch conditions and cannot be implemented in the scheduled window this year,” the space administration said, per a translation.

And so far, at least, the United States government has not made any comment on the momentous development.

No reason for the delay was provided by Beijing, but the most circulated scenario has been that Typhoon Narra and its 45 mph winds were the cause for disruption.

Singapore outlet the Straight Times reported that 54,000 Chinese were displaced by rising flood waters, including more than 8,000 being moved to emergency shelters.

RELATED: LIFE ON MARS? Bizarre formation in NASA photo sparks red planet conspiracy theory

CN-STR/AFP/Getty Images

Ars Technica reported on a typhoon warning center that warned the storm is expected to persist for several days, preventing workable launch conditions at China’s Wenchang site. This would cause the Chinese space authorities to miss their launch window to hit the underside of the moon.

This now puts China’s entire timeline into question, as Chang’e‑7’s mission was the crucial first step toward getting more robots, and eventually humans and engineering and military equipment, onto the moon’s surface.

Chang’e-8, another probing mission, was set for 2029, while China’s boots-on-the-ground mission was set for 2030. Beijing had stated that it had its space station “steadily in orbit” to serve as a platform for its manned lunar landings.

These steps would have put the communist nation’s preparatory framework ahead of the United States’ Artemis program but still would have had its manned-landing come after NASA’s.

RELATED: Vast secrets hide below the moon’s surface — and China is about to find them out before we do

CN-STR/AFP/Getty Images

Now China finds itself at risk of falling permanently behind America’s Artemis program.

After the Artemis II flyby, Artemis III will serve to monitor the lunar surface for future landings while testing U.S. systems associated with the fourth mission. Artemis III has a window of 2027, now the same as Chang’e-7.

Artemis IV astronauts have a goal of landing on the moon in “early 2028” to establish permanent residency on the satellite.

The Chinese shake-up now could put NASA and team USA considerably ahead of China, whose lunar landers were said to be large and impressive.

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​China, Chang’e-7, Nasa, Artemis, Tech, Moon 

A Thursday night WNBA game between the Atlanta Dream and the Los Angeles Sparks was briefly interrupted when one fan gave the players a blast from the recent past.

Strangely enough, green dildos were thrown onto WNBA courts last season in the middle of games. Now a fan is bringing the viral trend back by launching yet another sex toy onto the court.

In a video of the incident, Sparks star Cameron Brink kicked the toy away after it dropped in front of Jihyun Park, who was in the middle of a free throw. Dream star Angel Reese then pointed out the perpetrator, who was trying to flee the scene of his crime.

Security was able to stop the man from leaving, but BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock doesn’t see the trend going away anytime soon.

“I’m saying this in all seriousness. I have a source that says that will not be the last dildo thrown in the WNBA games as we close out the regular season and that dildos may start appearing in other sports,” Whitlock says, stifling laughter.

“This is a protest of the heat that Sophie Cunningham’s been taking and the whole transgender issue,” he continues. “I’m seriously saying that, because I was told by this source yesterday … ‘dildos will fly tonight,’ and they did,” he explains.

“And they say they’re not going away,” he adds.

Steve Kim notes that Reese was on top of it.

“I’ve seen political assassination attempts where people weren’t that adamant about pointing out the shooter,” Kim says.

“It’s really too bad she wasn’t in Dallas back in ‘63. We would have found out who killed JFK,” he adds.

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​Jason whitlock, Wnba, Angel reese, Steve kim, Dildo, Blazetv show 

The U.S. Supreme Court sided Monday with President Donald Trump against a collection of Democrat-controlled states who sued to oppose his executive order restricting mail-in ballots.

The highest court of the land found in a partisan 5-3 ruling that the states did not have standing to sue against the president’s order and overturned a lower court order to block the restrictions in 23 states.

‘Only Democrat politicians and operatives would be upset about lawful efforts to secure American elections.’

“This internal directive does not regulate the States’ voter registration processes,” read the order from the Supreme Court. “Nor does it impinge on the States’ authority ‘to create and enforce a legal code’ for elections.”

However, the majority ruling warned that not all measures taken by the executive to implement the order will be necessarily lawful.

“On that score, time will tell,” the majority said.

The court’s three liberal justices dissented from the ruling.

The executive order from March directed the Department of Homeland Security to tabulate a list of citizens eligible to vote. It then called on the U.S. Postal Service to only accept ballots from people on the list.

U.S. attorneys general from several Democrat states sued to stop the order on the basis that it would disenfranchise some voters who could vote lawfully.

“Only Democrat politicians and operatives would be upset about lawful efforts to secure American elections and ensure only eligible American citizens are casting ballots,” read a statement from White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson in April.

In her dissent Monday, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson accused the president of seeking to “foment chaos ahead of the November elections.”

Justice Sonya Sotomayor said the ruling only “postpones” the adjudication of the president’s order.

“Today’s decision does not address whether the President’s attempts to interfere with States’ administration of the November 2026 elections are lawful,” wrote Sotomayor in a dissent joined by Justice Elena Kagan.

RELATED: Appeals court unanimous in pivotal ruling on undated or misdated mail-in ballots

“Nor does it suggest that the Executive Branch has any constitutional or statutory authority to implement the President’s directives,” they added.

New York Attorney General Letitia James agreed with Sotomayor in her own statement on the ruling.

“This decision is a painful setback, but it will not be the final word,” she wrote. “The right to vote is sacred, and no administration should be allowed to put that right in jeopardy by making it harder for eligible voters to cast their ballots.”

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​President donald trump, Us supreme court, Executive order, Mail in voting, Politics 

Anti-white agitpropist Karen Attiah appears to have gotten the last laugh with the Washington Post, despite dancing on the grave of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk after he was assassinated last September.

A private labor arbitrator, Sarah Miller Espinosa, has ordered Jeff Bezos’ newspaper not only to hire back Attiah but to compensate her with back pay and lost benefits.

‘We cannot tolerate the risk your performance poses to The Post.’

According to the Sept. 11, 2025, termination letter that Attiah shared online, the Washington Post fired Attiah for “gross misconduct.”

“Your comments on social media regarding the death of Charlie Kirk violate The Post’s social media policies, harm the integrity of our organization, and potentially endanger the physical safety of our staff,” said the letter. “Among other requirements, the Company-wide social media policy mandates that all employee social media postings be respectful and prohibits postings that disparage people based on their race, gender or other protected characteristics.”

The paper flagged two posts Attiah made on the liberal X knockoff Bluesky just hours after Charlie Kirk’s death.

In the first, she wrote, “Refusing to tear my clothes and smear ashes on my face in performative mourning for a white man that espoused violence is…. not the same as violence.” In the second, she wrote, “Part of what keeps America so violent is the insistence that people perform care, empty goodness and absolution for white men who espouse hatred and violence.”

Attiah also wrote: “For everyone saying political violence has no place in this country… Remember two Democratic legislators were shot in Minnesota just this year. And America shrugged and moved on”; and “If anything, the rush to coddle violent white men is self-protective — that we know they are not used to feeling vulnerable and mortal — and will react violently out of fear. And we will all suffer.”

RELATED: The truth did not kill Jason Arday

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

“The poor judgment exhibited by your public comments regarding Charlie Kirk arise against the backdrop of documented performance concerns, which have been raised with you,” said the Post’s termination letter. “Given these concerns, and in light of your recent unacceptable Bluesky posts, we cannot tolerate the risk your performance poses to The Post.”

When faced with potential consequence over her actions, Attiah masqueraded as a victim.

Attiah claimed in a Substack post that she was fired for “speaking out against political violence, racial double standards, and America’s apathy toward guns.”

After suggesting that she was “being silenced” for doing her job, the agitpropist proceeded to smear Kirk again, accusing the dead father of two of, among other things, attacking black women “as a group” and endangering academics by “putting them on watch lists.”

Attiah, a member of the Washington Post Guild, filed a challenge to her firing and retained the representation of the Democracy Defenders Fund, co-founded by former Obama official Norm Eisen. Eisen and the rest of the legal team claimed in a Sept. 24 letter to the Post that Attiah “spoke truthfully and forcefully about matters of vital public concern, and her performance is worthy of praise — not condemnation — for speaking difficult truths at a challenging time.”

The matter was ultimately decided on Aug. 20 in arbitration.

Espinosa, the arbitrator, stated that the interpretation that Attiah’s posts disparage white men “is unsupported by the actual words, as well as the context, of the Grievant’s posts”; that “the Washington Post failed to establish the Grievant engaged in gross misconduct”; and the paper lacked a good and sufficient cause to fire Attiah.

Eisen said of the order, “The Post tried to pass off retaliation as discipline, but the rule of law has exposed it for what it truly is: wrongful termination. This is a landmark decision for every journalist who refuses to be silenced.”

Attiah said, “This decision confirms what we’ve said from the start: I was doing my job as an opinion journalist, and doing that job is not misconduct.”

A spokesperson for the Post told Blaze News that the paper respects the arbitration process and declines to comment further.

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​Washington post, Charlie kirk, Anti-white, Turning point usa, Politics 

A prostitution sting in Ohio nabbed the owner of the San Francisco 49ers, whose family is worth billions of dollars, according to police.

46-year-old Jed York was arrested at about 9:30 a.m. on Sunday morning at the Wheat Hill Mobile Home Community in East Palestine.

York agreed to donate the $160 confiscated during the arrest to the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force.

Police say York responded to a known prostitution website in Columbiana County, Ohio, and ordered up a prostitute for $140, according to the New York Post.

While on the way to meet what he believed to be a prostitute for a sexual tryst, York was instead arrested by an agent from the Mahoning Valley Human trafficking Task Force.

A representative for the trailer park said in a statement on Facebook that York was pulled over at the business, but that the trailer park was not part of the prostitution sting.

“This news of this arrest in our quiet community is just as shocking to us, as to the rest of you,” the trailer park manager added. “While we support law enforcement in their efforts. We really have no other knowledge of the situation.”

York was initially arrested on charges of engaging in prostitution as well as possession of criminal tools, but the prostitution charge was reduced to disorderly conduct.

He was ordered to pay a fine of $1,150 and to serve two days in jail after pleading no contest.

York also agreed to donate the $160 confiscated during the arrest to the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force.

A spokesperson for the NFL told Forbes only that the league was “aware of the matter, which will be reviewed under the personal conduct policy.”

RELATED: Owner of adult bookstores in Texas allegedly ran prostitution and money laundering ring

The 49ers told Forbes the incident was a “legal matter” that was resolved and the team would not be providing any further comment.

The York family is believed to be worth about $8.5 billion, primarily from the valuation of the team.

Jed York is originally from Youngstown, Ohio. He is married to Danielle Belluomini and has two sons with her.

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​Prostitution sting, Billionaires, Nfl, San francisco 49ers, Football, Crime 

Some residents of Gary, Indiana, have been without electricity for weeks, and many in the black community are rushing to blame racism and discrimination.

Deadly storms knocked over electricity poles and brought damaging flooding to northeast Indiana, including Gary, and initially knocked out power for about 300,000 residents.

‘It’s full of black people. We the blackest city out here, so they don’t want to check on us.’

While the Northern Indiana Public Service Company has been working to return power to customers, it has been hampered by violence targeting utilities workers.

On Aug. 14, restoration efforts were paused after a utility truck was damaged by gunfire. No injuries were reported.

“These aren’t simple repairs,” said Melody Birmingham, an executive at the parent company of NIPSCO. “These are lines that ordinarily take us, and systems that ordinarily take weeks or months that we are trying to accomplish in days or weeks.”

She rejected accusations that NIPSCO was neglecting the city because a majority of its population is black.

“We have areas that are probably affluent where we still have customers out as well. … This has nothing to do with race or any type of division,” said Birmingham, who is black. “It’s really a matter of where the storm hit.”

Among the most prominent voices blaming racism are Dr. Bernice King, the daughter of the late Martin Luther King Jr.

“What is happening in Gary, Indiana, raises a deeper question about whose communities are treated with urgency,” she wrote on social media Monday.

“Black communities have too often been expected to endure neglect, absorb the consequences, and keep surviving,” she added. “No community should have to prove that its families are worthy of immediate care. Our communities deserve more than survival. Black communities deserve to be valued.”

Others are speaking out to the media.

“We know why they not coming out here though. I mean it’s obvious, you know, it’s obvious” said one resident named Amara to BreakThrough News.

“It’s full of black people. We the blackest city out here, so they don’t want to check on us.”

RELATED: Black man blamed racism for arson at his home that killed 2 — until an accomplice speaks up

Some residents signed onto a class-action lawsuit against the company for allegedly neglecting the area and setting up the conditions for far worse damage from the storms.

Six adults and one boy were killed as a result of the storms, according to the state Department of Homeland Security.

NIPSCO indicated that it was close to returning power to most Gary residents sometime this week.

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​Racism, Indiana, Natural disaster, Storms, Politics 

The Democrat candidate for one of two U.S. Senate seats for Texas was seemingly caught spreading misinformation about an emergency incident at an Amazon warehouse.

James Talarico was campaigning at a church when he referred to an incident at an Amazon warehouse in which an employee died.

‘Lying isn’t very Christian. And that’s what you’re doing here because that’s not what happened.’

He posted a video of his comments to social media on Sunday to spread the message against corporate greed.

“An Amazon worker died in one of Amazon’s warehouses. And as he lay dying, management told the other workers: ‘Turn around. Don’t look. Get back to work.’ Get back to work? That was a human being. That was a child of God,” Talarico claimed.

“Sacrificed on the altar of corporate greed,” he added.

An Amazon employee did die after collapsing at an Oregon facility in April in Troutdale, Oregon, and that story has been used by Democrats and other activists to attack capitalism, though Amazon has specifically denied allegations about it.

Amazon responded to a Blaze News request for comment by directing to a previous statement about the incident, denying the “misinformation” being spread online.

“Sadly, one of our teammates collapsed during his shift from what we now understand as a pre-existing medical issue. When our onsite team was notified, three CPR certified team members, including two from our on-site safety team, provided CPR and deployed an automated defibrillator until emergency medical services (EMS) arrived shortly after.”

The statement went on to say that the area was cordoned off while the company’s safety teams and EMS cared for the worker. Unfortunately, the employee passed away.

And in contrast to criticism casting Amazon as cold and heartless in its response, the company outlined steps taken to protect the man’s privacy and to care for the other workers at the warehouse.

“Shortly after this event occurred, employees were sent home with pay for the rest of the day,” they added. “When we resumed operations the following day, any employee who requested time off was given that time, and onsite grief counselors were provided to anybody who chose to come to work and needed them.”

Many online found Talarico’s politicization of the man’s death to be inappropriate and crass, especially as the Democrat regularly cites Christianity in his campaign.

“Lying isn’t very Christian. And that’s what you’re doing here because that’s not what happened,” said one critic.

RELATED: James Talarico shamelessly panders on Karmelo Anthony verdict — on NY-based radio show

“Total LIE about the actual events. Do you EVER tell the truth??” said another.

“You don’t turn someone’s distress into a sideshow Talarico,” responded one detractor. “You allow medical personnel and others qualified to handle the situation and ask everyone else to leave the scene. And it’s also exactly what the first responders tell you too. And another reason you are unfit to serve in our senate.”

Amazon has been hounded by critics pointing out that its workers are twice as likely to be injured as non-Amazon workers. Another report found that Amazon warehouses had 30% more injuries than the industry average in 2023.

The company responded to the criticism by noting Amazon had invested $2.5 billion in increased safety standards.

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​Amazon, Capitalism, James talarico, Texas, Us senate, Politics 

President Donald Trump has threatened to punish Canada with 50% tariffs on automotive and steel imports after the country’s leaders rejected his trade deal offer.

In a post on Truth Social on Monday, he cited Canada’s tariffs on farms and said the situation was no longer sustainable. The new tariffs will go into effect on New Year’s Day, 2027, the president said.

‘We’re all in … everyone’s in for an economic war.’

“On January First, 2027, Tariffs on all Cars, Trucks, both large and small, Automotive Parts, and Steel, will be increased to 50%. Build in the U.S. and there are ZERO TARIFFS,” wrote the president.

“Canada will be treated like a State no longer!” he added. “On Trade, and in other ways, also, they are among the worst Nations in the World to deal with. They feel entitled, and yet, WE DON’T NEED CANADA, THEY NEED US!”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford responded defiantly to the tariffs.

“He underestimates Canada. We’re all in,” Ford said. “Up here, we’re at a fever pitch, everyone’s in for an economic war. They know they’re going to have to sacrifice.”

On Friday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney walked away from talks with the Trump administration on trade, and the U.S. responded on Saturday by immediately imposing 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian products.

Carney said Canada would retaliate with reciprocal tariffs beginning Sept. 8.

Ford went on to threaten to cut off energy and materials from Ontario to the U.S.

“I’ll cut them off,” Ford said in reference to critical minerals. “You won’t get a grain of sand out of Ontario.”

He noted that Canada provides electricity for about 1.5 million homes and businesses.

“He can kiss my ass as far as I’m concerned,” Ford added.

“We need to throw everything and the kitchen sink at him. He’s arrogant, he’s cocky.”

RELATED: Trump says Canada is considering his offer to become the 51st state of the US

Canada is one of the largest trading partners of the U.S., but the U.S. depends far less on Canadian imports than our neighbor to the north depends on U.S. imports.

About 59% of Canada’s imports come from the U.S., while only 12.6% of U.S. imports come from Canada.

The Trump administration also launched a new campaign Monday to cripple Iran through economic sanctions in order to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz completely.

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​Canada, Donald trump, Doug ford, Economic war, Mark carney, Tariffs, Trade war, Politics 

Karmelo Anthony, who savagely murdered 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a high school track meet last year, appealed to have his conviction and corresponding 35-year prison sentence thrown out.

Anthony’s attempt to forgo the legal consequences of his actions is off to a rocky start.

‘Im gonna lick there blood off the blade.’

After District Judge John Roach Jr. — who presided over Anthony’s trial — was recused last week from overseeing subsequent steps of the case, Anthony’s lawyers made their play for a new trial before retired Judge Michael Chitty, who replaced Roach.

With the push for a new trial came new character evidence about the killer and his victim — evidence from police reports, school records, and cellphone data that was previously withheld owing to what prosecutor Bill Wirskye referred to as a “gentleman’s agreement” between prosecutors and the defense.

According to court documents referred to in court and reviewed by CBS News, hours before killing Metcalf, Anthony allegedly sent a text message stating, “I’m lowk on the verge.”

RELATED: James Talarico shamelessly panders on Karmelo Anthony verdict — on New York-based radio show

That same morning, the killer’s ex-girlfriend notified a staff member at Centennial High School that Anthony was “engaging in stalking behavior, to include, but not limited to, driving by her home and refusing to allow her to end their relationship,” said prosecutors.

Prosecutors also highlighted text messages where Anthony allegedly admitted to punching girls in the face and committing burglaries; discussed robbing someone for $300; threatened to vandalize a house because of a “grudge”; and told a friend, “Imma shoot the school up tmr” “with my blick.”

According to a message thread between Anthony and his ex-girlfriend presented in court, Anthony allegedly wrote, “I like punching people”; “when get mad I see red”; “when I get mad I blackout”; and “when I get mad I can’t control myself.”

Prosecutors also alleged that Anthony had not only repeatedly threatened to murder his ex-girlfriend but in one instance allegedly texted her, “When I stab sb im gonna lick there blood off the blade,” reported KXAS-TV.

This sharing exercise was a two-way street, and some allegations about Metcalf and his brother were likewise revealed.

Metcalf and his twin brother, Hunter, were once caught spray-painting racist remarks and sentenced to 12 months of juvenile probation. The documents also raised allegations about Metcalf using racial slurs in school, swearing at a teacher, discussing bringing a gun to school, bullying at least two other students, and texting provocative statements.

On Saturday, Judge Chitty denied the defense’s retrial without elaboration.

“Our commitment to our client has not changed,” said Russell Wilson, an attorney for Anthony, reported the Associated Press. “We will continue to advocate vigorously on his behalf through every lawful avenue available.”

The defense will reportedly continue an appeal in the Fifth Court of Appeals.

Blaze News did not immediately receive a response from Wilson.

Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis stated, “We respect, and expected, the court’s decision denying the motion for a new trial.”

“The jury’s guilty verdict stands, and we remain confident in the process. Every defendant has the right to appeal, and our thoughts and prayers remain with the Metcalf family in the painful wake of last week’s hearing,” added Willis.

The Stand With Karmelo Coalition said in response to the ruling,

We continue to maintain that serious constitutional and legal errors denied Karmelo Anthony the fair trial to which he was entitled. The restrictions placed on public access to his trial raised fundamental Sixth Amendment concerns. The defense made consequential decisions throughout the trial in reliance upon an agreement with the State concerning the evidence that would — and would not — be introduced, only to have the State change its position at a critical point in the proceedings. And we maintain that errors in the jury instructions impaired the jury’s consideration of the issue at the very heart of Karmelo’s defense: whether he acted in self-defense.

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​Crime, Karmelo anthony, Austin metcalf, Politics, Murder, Racism 

The thought of China making it to the moon likely left a lot of Americans with an uneasy feeling.

To make matters worse, the communist giant was primed to make a first-of-its-kind discovery.

China’s boots-on-the-ground mission was set for 2030.

The China National Space Administration’s Chang’e‑7 has taken aim at the moon’s south pole, where the darkest and most barren parts of the surface are located. Particularly, China has focused on the Shackleton Crater, whose large rims provide permanently shadow regions where researchers believe water ice could exist.

Chang’e‑7’s launch, complete with lander, rover, and mobile probe, was scheduled to take place before the end of August, but China’s entire lunar exploration roadmap has now been blown out of the water after the space program officially delayed its launch on Sunday.

The Chinese government announced that the Chang’e-7 mission has been delayed until at least 2027.

“Based on the principles of safety, reliability, and infallibility, after comprehensive analysis and judgment, the Chang’e-7 mission does not meet the launch conditions and cannot be implemented in the scheduled window this year,” the space administration said, per a translation.

And so far, at least, the United States government has not made any comment on the momentous development.

No reason for the delay was provided by Beijing, but the most circulated scenario has been that Typhoon Narra and its 45 mph winds were the cause for disruption.

Singapore outlet the Straight Times reported that 54,000 Chinese were displaced by rising flood waters, including more than 8,000 being moved to emergency shelters.

RELATED: LIFE ON MARS? Bizarre formation in NASA photo sparks red planet conspiracy theory

CN-STR/AFP/Getty Images

Ars Technica reported on a typhoon warning center that warned the storm is expected to persist for several days, preventing workable launch conditions at China’s Wenchang site. This would cause the Chinese space authorities to miss their launch window to hit the underside of the moon.

This now puts China’s entire timeline into question, as Chang’e‑7’s mission was the crucial first step toward getting more robots, and eventually humans and engineering and military equipment, onto the moon’s surface.

Chang’e-8, another probing mission, was set for 2029, while China’s boots-on-the-ground mission was set for 2030. Beijing had stated that it had its space station “steadily in orbit” to serve as a platform for its manned lunar landings.

These steps would have put the communist nation’s preparatory framework ahead of the United States’ Artemis program but still would have had its manned-landing come after NASA’s.

RELATED: Vast secrets hide below the moon’s surface — and China is about to find them out before we do

CN-STR/AFP/Getty Images

Now China finds itself at risk of falling permanently behind America’s Artemis program.

After the Artemis II flyby, Artemis III will serve to monitor the lunar surface for future landings while testing U.S. systems associated with the fourth mission. Artemis III has a window of 2027, now the same as Chang’e-7.

Artemis IV astronauts have a goal of landing on the moon in “early 2028” to establish permanent residency on the satellite.

The Chinese shake-up now could put NASA and team USA considerably ahead of China, whose lunar landers were said to be large and impressive.

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​China, Chang’e-7, Nasa, Artemis, Tech, Moon