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A Utah school board member announced she will not seek another term, citing pervasive corruption, and urged parents to immediately remove their children from the state’s public schools.

Christina Boggess was elected to the Utah State Board of Education in 2022 to represent District 8, which encompasses parts of Taylorsville, Kearns, and West Jordan. She announced on Friday that she plans to leave public office at the end of her term in January 2027.

‘Real change is not coming. The system is not broken — it is working exactly as the corrupt intend it to work.’

Boggess explained her reasoning behind the decision in a post on X.

“Today I declare, without apology or hesitation, that I will not seek re-election to the Utah State Board of Education. I am done lending my name, my vote, and my silence to a broken, corrupt, and morally bankrupt system that no longer serves the children or families of this state,” Boggess wrote.

She claimed there is “corruption” within the local board of education and the broader education system, adding that “nearly every decision is now driven by not-so-hidden agendas, political cowardice, financial kickbacks, and raw personal ambition — not by what is best for students.”

“I ran for this office to fight for you — your children, your values, your right to be heard. Instead, I have been forced to watch as even the loudest ‘conservative’ voices fold, trade their votes for favor and money, or abandon every promise they made on the campaign trail,” Boggess continued.

“The Republican Party platform means nothing inside those walls. The Word of the Lord means even less.”

RELATED: Universities treated free speech as expendable in 2025

Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

“Your concerns — about pornography in libraries, radical gender ideology in classrooms, the erosion of academic excellence, and the assault on parental rights — are mocked, ignored, or drowned out by the shrill demands of special interests and the timid silence of those who fear losing their seat more than losing their soul,” she added.

Boggess shared a final urgent message with parents.

“Get your children out of Utah’s government schools as quickly as possible,” she declared. “Real change is not coming. The system is not broken — it is working exactly as the corrupt intend it to work. Your children’s minds, hearts, and futures are not safe inside it.”

RELATED: School credit ‘recovery’ plans are apparently being misused for racial equity — and disadvantaging students even more

Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Boggess had previously criticized the board for refusing to sign a letter from the Trump administration that stated it would not support diversity, equity, and inclusion programs or training, KUTV reported.

During an August meeting, Boggess shared a message highlighting her Christian faith and expressing concerns about the threats of communism in America.

“What God sees in comparison to the standard He sets, I think, should horrify everyone. And I don’t know what causes some to be so fearful to walk as Jesus did and lead the way He led,” Boggess stated during the meeting. “It is odd to me that even those with a clear biblical understanding that Satan is the father of lies, that governments are corrupt, and that Satan is the ruler of this world, will also assert that publicly questioning the government narrative, their practices, and universal truth is somehow un-Christian.”

Neither the school board nor the superintendent of public instruction responded to a request for comment.

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Protests have rocked Iran since late December, and some American leaders, including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), have voiced support for the cause.

On an appearance on Fox News on Sunday night, Graham donned a black baseball cap that read: “Make Iran Great Again.”

‘I pray and hope that 2026 will be the year that we make Iran great again.’

As he put on the hat, Graham said, “I pray and hope that 2026 will be the year that we make Iran great again.”

Last Friday, President Trump warned Iranian leaders that there will be hell to pay if any protesters are killed: “If Iran [shoots] and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

RELATED: Trump says if Iran ‘kills peaceful protesters,’ the US ‘will come to their rescue’

Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Protests have reportedly broken out in more than 220 locations in 26 of the 31 provinces in Iran. According to the Associated Press, more than 20 people have been killed, and nearly 1,000 people have been arrested.

The protests began springing up in December 2025, supposedly in response to mounting economic pressures, including the collapse of the Iranian currency, a new policy that raised the price of gas, and inflation rates as high as 40%.

On Saturday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reportedly warned that “rioters must be put in their place,” but the protests have shown little sign of slowing down in the first week of 2026.

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While almost all Republicans can agree that the United States needs to halt illegal immigration, more public figures have been raising the alarm about legal immigration through the “broken” visa system as well.

Early Monday morning, President Trump reposted on Truth Social a clip of an interview with Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) talking about immigration reform.

‘We need to restructure our legal immigration system to only allow people who love America, share American values, want to add value and assimilate to America, and don’t want any free stuff.’

The interviewer asked Fine what legal changes need to be made in Congress.

RELATED: Trump DOJ slams door on welfare for illegal aliens, ends Clinton-era loophole draining taxpayer dollars

Photographer: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images

“I think immediately we need to stop it all — all legal immigration of any kind, because clearly it’s out of control. People coming here on tourist visas protesting the country; people claiming that they’re refugees but then scamming the system and going on vacation to the countries they supposedly fled from; people coming and taking American jobs,” Fine said.

He continued, “We need to restructure our legal immigration system to only allow people who love America, share American values, want to add value and assimilate to America, and don’t want any free stuff.”

Fine then referred to Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy’s Pausing All Admissions Until Security Ensured Act, which was introduced in mid-November.

The bill seeks to freeze all legal immigration until certain conditions are met, effectively forcing an open-ended moratorium on legal immigration.

When the bill was introduced, Roy said, “The problem isn’t just illegal immigration; it’s also legal immigration. While the Biden administration opened our borders and allowed millions to flood into our country, they also rubber-stamped millions more arriving through convoluted legal schemes, completely overwhelming the system.”

A White House spokesperson declined to give further comment when contacted by Blaze News.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the U.S. is moving away from funneling foreign aid funds through non-governmental organizations after criticism of fraud and incompetence.

Rubio explained that the U.S. government has used NGOs to try to accomplish foreign policy goals but that many have become far too costly and inefficient. The first benefactor of the new policy is the government of Kenya, which will receive foreign aid funds directly instead.

‘That is the model that we are breaking. We are not doing this any more. We are not going to spend billions of dollars funding the NGO industrial complex while close and important partners like Kenya either have no role to play …’

“The United States has spent billions of dollars over the years in helping with health strategies all across the world,” explained Rubio in a speech last month.

“What we learned over time, especially after coming here, is that oftentimes — and I am oversimplifying it, but this is an accurate description — what would happen is we would go to a country and say, ‘We’re going to help you with your health care needs.’ Then we would drive over to Northern Virginia somewhere, find an NGO, one of these organizations, give them all the money, tell them: ‘Go to this country and do their health care program for them,'” he added.

“That NGO would then take some percentage of that money for their overhead and administrative costs, and by the time it got down to it … only a percentage of the overall money ever actually reached the patients and the people on the ground that we were trying to help because of these costs,” Rubio said.

“This makes no sense,” he said.

The compact reached with Kenya includes the Kenyan government’s agreement to increase spending on health care by $850 million over the next five years.

“So why are we hiring American and international NGOs to go into other countries and run health care systems that are parallel and sometimes in conflict with the health care systems of the host country?” Rubio continued.

RELATED: Flyer posted on Antifa-affiliated website appears to call for laser attacks on police helicopters

“If we’re trying to help countries, help the country. Don’t help the NGO to go in and find a new line of business,” he added. “So that is the model that we are breaking. We are not doing this any more. We are not going to spend billions of dollars funding the NGO industrial complex while close and important partners like Kenya either have no role to play or have very little influence over how health care money is being spent.”

He concluded, “Bottom line is if you want to help a country, work with that country.”

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Nicolas Maduro pled “not guilty” during his first appearance in a United States court on Monday.

Just days after being captured from his home in Caracas, Venezuela, Maduro appeared in a New York City court for the first time alongside his wife, Cilia Flores. During the hearing, Maduro maintained that he is a “decent man” who is innocent of the charges levied against him by the United States.

‘They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.’

“I am innocent,” Maduro said. “I am not guilty.”

Flores’ attorney also claimed that she sustained “significant injuries during her abduction” over the weekend, with journalists present in the courthouse reporting that she was seen wearing bandages on her head during the hearing.

RELATED: Maduro captured following ‘large scale strike’ in Venezuela, Trump says

Photo by Donald Trump’s Truth Social Account/Anadolu via Getty Images

Following his capture, the United States indicted Maduro in the Southern District of New York on charges of “Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States.”

“They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said of Maduro and his wife. “On behalf of the entire U.S. DOJ, I would like to thank President Trump for having the courage to demand accountability on behalf of the American People, and a huge thank you to our brave military who conducted the incredible and highly successful mission to capture these two alleged international narco traffickers.”

The operation that captured both Maduro and Flores took place in the dead of night on Saturday, and they were both then transported to New York by American officials. The operation left Americans and Venezuelans with questions as to who would govern Venezuela while Maduro — whose presidency is not recognized by many countries, including the U.S. — faces legal battles in the United States.

RELATED: ‘We’re going to run it’: Trump reveals Venezuela’s fate following Maduro’s capture

Photo by JUAN BARRETO/AFP via Getty Images

Just hours after the capture, President Donald Trump told reporters that “we’re going to run” Venezuela.

“We can’t take a chance that somebody else takes over Venezuela that doesn’t have the good of the Venezuelan people in mind,” Trump said Saturday. “We’ve had decades of that. We’re not going to let that happen.”

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A United States Postal Service worker in Florida late last month allegedly believed a kid on an electric scooter was making off with a package he had just delivered — and let’s just say the postal worker’s decision-making after that point was not the smartest.

Citing a Florida Highway Patrol report, the Pensacola News Journal said 41-year-old William White Jr. dropped off a package on Kingfisher Way in Escambia County on Dec. 27.

‘It’s not a normal porch pirate running up snatching packages that you just dropped off.’

The FHP report said a “child, whose family owns that residence, saw the package was meant for a different address,” the News Journal added.

With that, the child — a 10-year-old, according to WALA-TV — grabbed the package and put it on his electric scooter to deliver it to the correct address, the FHP said, according to the News Journal.

But when White saw the child with the package, he believed the kid was stealing it, the paper said.

“White then purposely drove the USPS vehicle towards the child and ran over the scooter,” the FHP report said, according to the News Journal. “The child was able to get into the nearby yard prior to the scooter being hit.”

White then grabbed the scooter from underneath the USPS vehicle, placed it on the truck, and then drove off after yelling at the child, the paper said, citing the FHP report.

One of the child’s family members followed White to confront him, leading to White throwing the scooter into a nearby yard on Blue Jay Way, the FHP said, according to the News Journal.

Troopers said the child suffered an ankle injury in the incident and was taken to the Studer Family Children’s Hospital in Pensacola, WEAR-TV reported.

RELATED: Atlanta police make arrest in connection with homeowner who cops say shot 2 teenage porch pirates

White was interviewed and arrested on New Year’s Eve after he returned to work, officials told WALA.

He was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, petit theft, and criminal mischief, the News Journal said.

Jail records indicate White was released later on New Year’s Eve; his bond totaled $5,500, and his next court date is Jan. 23.

Florida Highway Patrol Captain Jason King told WEAR, “This isn’t just an oops crash with a 10-year-old. This is an intentional act by a United States postal worker trying to run over a 10-year-old.”

King added to WEAR that “it’s amazing what a small conversation would do in a situation instead of jumping straight to use of force. Putting your hands on somebody, or just really escalating way past where it should have been. It’s a 10-year-old on a scooter. It’s not a normal porch pirate running up snatching packages that you just dropped off.”

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If it seems like the Democratic Party is divided — that’s because it is. Specifically Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck believes that “there are at least two different kinds of Democrats.”

“Democrats that, you know, might vote for Schumer and … don’t believe that there’s, you know, this great change coming, and they want the same kind of America that we want. There’s that Democrat, and then there’s the socialist, the revolutionary Democrat,” Glenn explains.

“Democrats became progressive in the early 20th century. And when they became progressives, they did it because the Democrats did not want a revolution. They believed in socialism, they believed in communism. Remember, this is before communism had been tried and failed over and over and over again,” he says.

The progressives had been making the case that “science was going to be able to control society,” and thus, “it would have all the answers.”

“Socialists were like, ‘Yeah, it is the right way, so let’s do it now.’ Progressives said, ‘No, we’ll get to your socialist utopia, but we’ll do it one step at a time.’ You can relate to this because how many times do we have to be Charlie Brown and our own side is Lucy with the football,” Glenn says.

“That’s exactly what I was thinking about as you were laying that out,” BlazeTV host Stu Burguiere chimes in.

“And what was the response from our side?” Glenn asks.

“Our side always said, ‘Look, we just need to win that next election. If we win that next election, we’ll move the ball down. Don’t worry, I’ll hold the ball right here so you can kick it. We just have to win that next election first,’” Burguiere answers.

“And when that was over, what did we do? We hired the world’s largest wrecking ball, Donald Trump. We’re like, ‘We’re done with that. We don’t believe you anymore,’” Glenn says.

After Trump’s first term, the Democrats then ran Joe Biden, who Glenn explains “allows all the chaos to happen.”

“The socialists want all of this chaos. They want all of this control. But so do the Democrats, the new kind of Democrat. They want control. They just want global control. They’re much more fascistic,” he says.

“What do socialists want? They want to control schools. Socialist communists. They want to control schools but so do the authoritarians. They want to control schools. They want a communist system where all the means of production are owned by the people through the state,” he continues.

While these two separate factions begin to look more and more alike, the Democrats still “need the illusion of America.”

“They want the Fed. Do you think the socialists want the Fed? No. The socialists don’t want the WEF. They don’t want just a restructured social order. They want a completely restructured social order. The Democrats, the authoritarian, they want friends in the media. They want friends in tech. Do you think the socialists want friends in the media?” Glenn asks.

“They’ll drag those people out in the streets and beat them to death so fast. And they’ll do the same with the people in tech,” he continues. “OK, that’s what will happen. That’s the difference. You have revolutionaries and then you have politicians.”

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New York City’s newly sworn-in Democratic Socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani, has already started taking steps to advance his radical agenda by selecting an anti-private-property extremist to lead the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants.

Mamdani announced on January 2 that Cea Weaver would join his team, noting that she had previously led Housing Justice for All, a coalition of groups representing tenants and homeless New Yorkers, and its sister organization, the New York State Tenant Bloc.

‘Private property including any kind of ESPECIALLY homeownership is a weapon of white supremacy.’

Mamdani credited Weaver for helping to pass “landmark legislation that closed loopholes landlords used to raise rents and push apartments out of stabilization.”

“Now she’ll work with us to hold landlords accountable and ensure New York City tenants are living in safe, clean homes,” Mamdani wrote.

Following Weaver’s appointment, an undated video resurfaced on social media of the activist discussing her goal to eliminate private property ownership.

“I think the reality is, is that for centuries we’ve really treated property as an individualized good and not a collective good,” Weaver stated in the video. “And transitioning to treating it as a collective good and towards a model of shared equity will require that we think about it differently. And it will mean that families, especially white families but some [people of color] families who are homeowners as well, are going to have a different relationship to property than the one that we currently have.”

RELATED: ‘Money hungry Jews’: Mamdani appointee abruptly quits after her anti-Semitic online posts resurface

Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images

Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon reacted to the resurfaced video of Weaver.

“I don’t think so,” Dhillon wrote. “We have federal housing laws that trump any collective Marxist fantasies.”

Weaver once urged Americans to “elect more communists” in a 2017 post on her now-deactivated X account, the New York Post reported.

She also called to “seize private property.”

“Private property including any kind of ESPECIALLY homeownership is a weapon of white supremacy,” Weaver reportedly wrote in 2019.

RELATED: Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs accuses NYC Mayor Mamdani of anti-Semitism after his first day in office

Zohran Mamdani. Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images

Weaver has previously expressed support for freezing rent, writing in a January 2025 post on Bluesky, “There are lots of things the mayor CANT [sic] do on housing, but freezing the rent is one of the only things they can unilaterally do for 2.4 million New York renters. Policy plans are great, so is a rent freeze.”

According to New York City’s Tenant Protection Cabinet, 65% of the city’s residents are renters.

Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

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​News, Cea weaver, Zohran mamdani, Mamdani, Kathy hochul, New york city, Nyc, New york, Property ownership, Homeownership, Private property, Tenants, Renters, Communism, Communist, Democratic socialism, Democratic socialist, Socialism, Socialist, Politics 

With everything on the line, a Catholic priest’s blessing may have changed the outcome of the NFL playoffs on Sunday.

The Pittsburgh Steelers hosted the Baltimore Ravens at Acrisure Stadium for “Sunday Night Football” with the season on the line. The game would decide who topped the AFC North and the final playoff spot.

‘The Catholic community in Pittsburgh is very strong.’

A perfect, dramatic ending was set up for the last game of the season, after the Steelers went ahead 26-24 with a late touchdown. After blocking their opponent’s extra point, the Ravens converted a pivotal fourth-down play to get into position for a 44-yard game-winning field goal.

However, kicker Tyler Loop pushed the ball right, and the Ravens lost in dramatic fashion.

Just after the game, NBC commentators Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth decided to sprinkle some Catholic lore on the ending and revealed that a priest may have been involved in the missed field goal.

At 6:15 p.m. local time, Tirico revealed, a priest was seen “spreading holy water” in the Steelers’ defending end zone, where the kick was missed.

“The Catholic community in Pittsburgh is very strong … and down at that end zone, Tyler Loop misses the … field goal … and allows the Steelers to win,” Tirico explained.

“So it’s not Tyler Loop’s fault,” Collinsworth laughed.

RELATED: Pope Leo calls out gambling addiction and ‘demographic crisis’ in Vatican meeting

The priest in question has since been named by local outlets as Father Maximilian Maxwell. Maxwell currently serves as the prior of Saint Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. According to WJCL, the Steelers have held their training camp at the college since 1966.

At the same time, Benedictine Military School in Savannah, Georgia, was quick to claim Fr. Maxwell as one of its own and proudly boasted on the school’s Facebook page.

“Check out former Benedictine Military School theology teacher Fr. Maximilian Maxwell blessing the Pittsburgh Steelers’ football field with holy water before the game Sunday night!” the school wrote.

Following the dramatic ending, Steelers defensive lineman Cameron Heyward was asked about the potential blessed outcome.

“I’m not gonna ask questions,” Heyward said, per WJCL. “The good Lord made a good decision tonight. I’m thankful, and we keep moving on.”

RELATED: New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan resigns; pope appoints his replacement

Photo by Mark Alberti/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

On the other side of the ball, Ravens players still kept their faith, particularly Loop, who said he will be leaning on his religion to get him through the tough moment.

“I had written down a little prayer before the game. … Faith is a big part of my life and right now I’m reading the book of Romans, and in Romans 8 it says God works for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.”

Loop continued, “Ultimately, I’m here to love on the guys around me. I’m here to try and have their back … reminding myself that ‘hey, God’s got my back even when stuff sucks.'”

Ravens running back Derrick Henry told reporters that he advised Loop to keep his faith and trust in God’s plan.

“I just told him the story after this is gonna be great for him because God put him in this position to use him as an example,” Henry revealed.

The Steelers will host the Houston Texans in Pittsburgh on January 12.

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U.S. Secret Service personnel captured a 26-year-old man who allegedly attacked the Cincinnati home of Vice President JD Vance early Monday morning.

Hamilton County Justice Center records indicate that the suspect, William DeFoor, has been charged with criminal trespass, criminal damaging or endangering, obstructing official business, and felony vandalism.

Vance expressed gratitude to the U.S. Secret Service and the Cincinnati police and noted, “As far as I can tell, a crazy person tried to break in by hammering the windows.”

‘We try to protect our kids as much as possible.’

The vice president indicated that he and his family were not home at the time of the “attack” as they had already returned to the national capital. While the Vance family was in Cincinnati last week, they reportedly left on Sunday afternoon.

Two law enforcement officials who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity indicated that the Secret Service heard a commotion at the house around midnight and found that an individual had not only vandalized a Secret Service vehicle parked in the driveway but had smashed a window and was attempting to steal into the house.

RELATED: ‘Something historic’: CNN analyst GOBSMACKED by how Vance polls against Nikki Haley, others

Photo by Oliver Contreras-Pool/Getty Images

According to an arrest report obtained by WLWT-TV, the suspect — who has since been taken into custody by the Cincinnati Police Department — was spotted both by a USSS agent as well as on security footage damaging four windows along with the vehicle.

USSS spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said that the suspect was detained shortly after midnight.

Court documents indicate that DeFoor pleaded guilty in April 2025 to two counts of vandalism after he inflicted over $2,000 worth of damage to a Ohio interior design company, reported WXIX-TV. DeFoor was sentenced to two years of treatment at a mental health facility and ordered to pay $5,550 in restitution.

There has been an outpouring of support for the vice president in the wake of the incident. While many have signaled relief the Vance family is OK, others have questioned how a miscreant could get so close to their home in the first place.

In the wake of the incident, Vance emphasized that “we try to protect our kids as much as possible from the realities of this life of public service,” and he intimated that the news media shouldn’t circulate images of his home with holes in the window.

This is hardly the first time that a maladjusted individual has descended on one of Vance’s residences.

In April, a mob of liberals rallied outside the vice president’s Washington, D.C., residence, vilifying him and calling him a “fascist” as well as “America’s Himmler,” referring to the architect of Nazi Germany’s so-called “final solution,” Heinrich Himmler.

One month earlier, another mob of liberals assembled outside Vance’s Cincinnati home to protest actions taken by the Trump administration.

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The Department of War is ramping up its efforts to punish Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona over his involvement in what President Donald Trump and his administration have described as a “seditious” video.

At Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s direction, the department is set to cut Kelly’s military retirement pay for an alleged “pattern of reckless misconduct,” namely the video of Democrat lawmakers calling for servicemen to disobey “illegal orders” from the president. The DOW also issued a letter of censure to Kelly, which “outlines the totality of Captain (for now) Kelly’s reckless misconduct.”

‘Kelly’s status as a sitting United States Senator does not exempt him from accountability.’

“Six weeks ago, Senator Mark Kelly — and five other members of Congress — released a reckless and seditious video that was clearly intended to undermine good order and military discipline,” Hegseth said in a post on X. “As a retired Navy Captain who is still receiving a military pension, Captain Kelly knows he is still accountable to military justice.”

“And the Department of War — and the American people — expect justice.”

RELATED: ‘Ridiculous charade’: Bill O’Reilly torches Democrat senator over ‘seditious’ political stunt

Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Hegseth justified the response by arguing that Kelly’s prominence as a senator does not give him special privileges, citing specific articles Kelly may have violated.

“Captain Kelly’s status as a sitting United States Senator does not exempt him from accountability, and further violations could result in further action,” Hegseth said. “These actions are based on Captain Kelly’s public statements from June through December 2025 in which he characterized lawful military operations as illegal and counseled members of the Armed Forces to refuse lawful orders.”

“This conduct was seditious in nature and violated Articles 133 and 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, to which Captain Kelly remains subject as a retired officer receiving pay.”

RELATED: Pentagon says court-martial possible for Sen. Mark Kelly after Trump calls him a ‘traitor’ for ‘seditious’ video

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Kelly fired back at Hegseth, calling him unqualified and accusing him of targeting lawmakers for simply opposing the administration.

“Over twenty-five years in the U.S. Navy, thirty-nine combat missions, and four missions to space, I risked my life for this country and to defend our Constitution – including the First Amendment rights of every American to speak out,” Kelly said in a post on X. “I never expected that the President of the United States and the Secretary of Defense would attack me for doing exactly that.”

“Pete Hegseth wants to send the message to every single retired servicemember that if they say something he or Donald Trump doesn’t like, they will come after them the same way,” Kelly added. “It’s outrageous and it is wrong. There is nothing more un-American than that.”

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For decades, the United States focused its counterterrorism efforts on the Middle East and Asia. Meanwhile, a dangerous convergence of international terrorism and transnational crime took root much closer to home. Across Latin America — centered in Venezuela — hostile networks quietly expanded. The Trump administration has finally acted. How the United States manages Venezuela’s transition to legitimate leadership now carries direct national security consequences.

The media frames U.S. action against Venezuela as a narco-trafficking problem. The threat runs far deeper.

Allowing hostile powers to entrench themselves in the Western Hemisphere threatens not just economic interests but national survival.

Hezbollah, backed by Iran, began building a Latin American presence as early as the mid-1980s. What started as fundraising and money laundering in the tri-border area of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay grew into a sprawling criminal-terrorist network. That network carried out devastating attacks in Argentina during the 1990s. Over time, Hezbollah expanded into recruitment, training, and operational planning, embedding itself across the region.

The threat escalated sharply in 2012, when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad forged a strategic alliance with Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chávez. That partnership gave Iran a state sponsor in the Western Hemisphere and dramatically expanded its reach. Iran gained the ability to move money, oil, and personnel throughout the region and even established drone-production capabilities inside Venezuela.

U.S. law enforcement recognized the danger. The Drug Enforcement Administration launched Project Cassandra to investigate Hezbollah’s evolution into a global crime syndicate. The DEA tracked cocaine shipments from Latin America through West Africa into Europe, the Middle East, and the United States. Investigators uncovered a network believed to generate roughly $1 billion annually through drug trafficking, weapons smuggling, and money laundering.

The Obama administration later curtailed Project Cassandra in pursuit of a nuclear agreement with Iran. That decision left much of the criminal-terrorist infrastructure intact. Its consequences persist. Hezbollah-linked networks still operate across the region with minimal interference.

Under Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela functioned as both a failed state and a logistical lifeline for Iran. The regime facilitated the movement of operatives and equipment throughout Latin America and beyond. In return, Iran supplied Venezuela’s oil sector with blending materials and refining equipment, helping Maduro evade sanctions and cling to power.

Venezuela also issued hundreds of passports and national IDs to individuals from the Middle East, including figures linked to Hezbollah. Those documents allowed operatives to travel freely under new identities, posing a direct threat to U.S. and regional security. The ability to move undetected across borders remains one of the most valuable tools available to terrorist organizations, and Venezuela provided it willingly.

Recognizing the gravity of the threat, the Trump administration took unprecedented steps. After imposing an oil blockade and designating the Maduro regime a foreign terrorist organization, U.S. authorities captured Maduro to face justice in the United States.

For the first time in a century, the Western Hemisphere now anchors the U.S. National Security Strategy. The Trump administration’s corollary to the Monroe Doctrine commits the United States to denying non-hemispheric powers — including Iran, Russia, China, and Turkey — the ability to position forces or control strategic assets in the Americas.

RELATED: The pernicious myth that America doesn’t win wars

Photo by AFP via Getty Images

Evidence of coordination with America’s adversaries is not speculative. Russia’s Foreign Ministry openly acknowledged Venezuela as a strategic partner, citing what it called the “deliberate escalation of tensions” around a friendly nation. Russia arms Venezuela’s military, built a Kalashnikov rifle factory inside the country, and protects key installations with S-300 surface-to-air missile systems.

China played a parallel role. Beijing became Venezuela’s largest oil customer and financed more than $60 billion in projects. Roughly 7% of China’s oil imports came from Venezuela, propping up the Maduro regime while fueling China’s economy.

As left-wing governments across Latin America gave way to more pro-American leadership, Venezuela’s isolation only increased its value to hostile powers. It became a forward operating base against the United States.

Consider the implications. Iranian ballistic missiles — capable of inflicting serious damage even without nuclear warheads — stationed in Venezuela would sit on America’s doorstep. Add Russian or Chinese nuclear capabilities, and the risk escalates from strategic challenge to strategic catastrophe.

Allowing hostile powers to entrench themselves in the Western Hemisphere threatens not just economic interests but national survival. The fusion of terrorist and criminal networks inside Venezuela posed a clear and present danger that demanded decisive action.

The United States must remain firm in its commitment to a secure, sovereign hemisphere. Ignoring threats in our own back yard invites disaster. And the regime in Tehran understands that reality better than most — nervously, right now more than ever.

​Opinion & analysis, Venezuela, Nicolas maduro, Donald trump, Monroe doctrine, Donroe doctrine, Oil, Iran, Russia, China, Drugs, Drug war, Maga, Hugo chavez, Project cassandra, Middle east, Jihad, National security 

Over the weekend, the Trump administration successfully captured Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. In the hours and days following the successful operation, Trump suggested that Venezuela is only the start of his efforts to retake control of the Western Hemisphere.

Talking to the press aboard Air Force One on Sunday night, President Trump set his sights on two more countries that he says need to be reined in.

‘Sounds good to me.’

“Colombia is very sick too. Run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States. And he’s not going to be doing it very long, let me tell you,” Trump said to reporters aboard Air Force One.

RELATED: ‘We’re going to run it’: Trump reveals Venezuela’s fate following Maduro’s capture

Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Trump suggested that the president of Colombia runs “cocaine mills and cocaine factories,” but they will not be running for much longer.

When asked if there would be an operation in Colombia to cut off the alleged drug trafficking and corruption, Trump told reporters, “Sounds good to me.”

Trump added that Cuban leadership has “only survived because of Venezuela” when asked if similar operations were planned in the country.

Similarly President Trump on Sunday added that “we need Greenland for national security.”

“If you take a look at Greenland … you have Russian and Chinese ships all over the place,” Trump said.

On Monday morning, Trump reiterated the message that the United States needs Greenland for “national security.” Trump lightly mocked Denmark’s handling of the territory, saying, “You know what Denmark did recently to boost up security in Greenland? They added one more dog sled. It’s true!”

The United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer has signaled his disapproval of Trump’s push for Greenland. Starmer told the BBC Monday that “only Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark” should “decide the future of Greenland.”

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​Politics, Air force one, President trump, Venezuela, Maduro, Trump administration, Trump, United states, Cuba, Colombia, Greenland, Keir starmer 

Investigators in Arizona said a homeowner and his family member confronted an individual after 1 a.m. Friday after discovering knife damage on two of their vehicles, InMaricopa.com reported.

With that, the person reportedly advanced toward the homeowner while holding a knife, the outlet said.

‘I love it! That’s justice!!! He definitely found out!’

Unfortunately for the person reportedly holding the knife, the homeowner was holding a gun — and used it.

When Maricopa Police officers arrived at the scene on West Thornberry Lane in Homestead, they found an individual shot in the leg, the outlet said.

That person was taken to a hospital and was awaiting surgery as of Friday morning, police told InMaricopa.com.

RELATED: Armed male allegedly stalking his ex forces entry into her Florida home. But victim’s husband is there — and also has a gun.

Image source: Maricopa (Ariz.) Police

Turns out that officers later found other cars in the area with similar knife damage, police added to the outlet.

The homeowner who pulled trigger is not being charged with a crime, as it appears he was acting in self-defense, the outlet noted.

However, the wounded person is facing charges, InMaricopa.com said, adding that the investigation remains ongoing.

Commenters reacting to the outlet’s story on Facebook appeared solidly behind the homeowner’s actions.

“F’d around and found out,” one commenter said.”Lucky it was only his leg shot. Just saying. Good for the homeowner!” another user noted.”I mean, torturing my horse would get death — so why wouldn’t touching my vastly improved horse replacement that, at one time, took years of my life to pay for and develop into a usable vehicle?” another commenter quipped.”I love it! That’s justice!!! He definitely found out!” another user declared.”Sounds like the criminal deserved it — but will probably still sue homeowner for his injuries,” another commenter predicted.

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​2nd amend., Arizona, Cars vandalized, Homeowner, Homestead, Knife, Maricopa police, Self-defense, Shooting, Wounded, Crime 

Antifa first rose to mainstream prominence during the summer riots of 2020. While how the group managed to recruit so many young people has remained a mystery to most Americans, domestic security expert Kyle Shideler knows its methods well.

“So as to the psychological perspective, you know, you talk about those mug shots. There’s almost, like, if you look at, over the course of 2020, there’s almost like a ‘faces of meth’ campaign,” domestic security expert Kyle Shideler tells BlazeTV hosts Christopher Rufo and Jonathan “Lomez” Keeperman on “Rufo & Lomez.”

“You see them at their first arrest, and they’re kind of fresh-faced and relatively normal-looking, and you see them in the next one and the next one and the next one, and by the end of it, you know, five years later, they’re unrecognizable. Clearly hard living, drugs, homelessness, and the like,” he continues.

“This is part of that affinity-group structure is to suck people in so that the group becomes their only social outlet. … So they get these masses of people out into the streets, and then the goal is to try to get them to engage in some criminal act, right, to get them to step over the line and then bring them further into the group,” he explains.

When they successfully get these college students to commit even just a small crime that could land them in jail, that’s when they organize their “jail support.”

“You pay their bail. You tell them how much you care about them and how the movement’s going to take care of them. They get out of jail, and now they’re, you know, more tightly bound to the group. And that’s what we saw all through 2020,” Schideler says.

“And that’s what these things are really for,” he explains. “The large-scale mass-movement protests, from the point of view of Antifa, it’s to slowly weed through and bring people further and further along into radicalization to be willing to do more and more radical things.”

Want more from Rufo & Lomez?

To enjoy more of the news through the anthropological lens of Christopher Rufo and Lomez, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Video phone, Sharing, Camera phone, Upload, Video, Free, Youtube.com, Rufo & lomez, Rufo, Chris rufo, Christopher rufo, Jonathan lomez keeperman, Jonathan keeperman, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Antifa, 2020 riots, Faces of meth, Radicalization, Leftists, Liberals, Radical leftists, Left wing violence 

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) announced in September that he would run for a third term, stating, “I’m staying in the fight — and I need you with me.”

Evidently Walz had neither the requisite fight nor the support to stick it out.

The failed vice presidential candidate announced on Monday that he won’t seek a third term after all.

“I have every confidence that, if I gave it my all, I would succeed in that effort,” said Walz. “But as I reflected on this moment with my family and my team over the holidays, I came to the conclusion that I can’t give a political campaign my all.”

‘They want to poison our people against each other.’

“Every minute I spend defending my own political interests would be a minute I can’t spend defending the people of Minnesota against the criminals who prey on our generosity and the cynics who prey on our differences,” added Walz. “So I’ve decided to step out of the race and let others worry about the election while I focus on the work.”

A recent KSTP-TV/SurveyUSA poll of 578 registered voters found that 69% believe Walz needs to do more to stop fraud in Minnesota. According to the poll, Walz’s disapproval rating was 48%.

Incredible graft has taken place in the Gopher State under Walz’s nose, including the the student aid fraud plaguing Minnesota’s publicly funded schools as well as the historic fraud allegedly committed by members of the Somali community in relation to coronavirus relief funding and taxpayer-subsidized day-care facilities.

RELATED: Tim Walz’s nightmare continues as HHS shuts off $185M to Minnesota amid allegedly ‘fake’ Somali day care centers

Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images

The Trump administration and Congress have launched investigations into the apparent widespread fraud that has taken place in Walz’s back yard, and some officials have called for Walz to resign.

Walz claimed that he is “passing on the race with zero sadness and zero regret” and suggested both that he is confident a fellow traveler will run for governor and that he will “find ways to contribute to the state” after he leaves office in January 2027.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) reportedly met with Walz on Sunday evening. Two individuals briefed on their conversation told the New York Times that Klobuchar is considering jumping into the race to succeed Walz.

Blaze News has reached out to Klobuchar’s office for comment.

Walz used up a great deal of room in his Monday statement criticizing President Donald Trump and his allies, suggesting they want to make Minnesota “a colder, meaner place. They want to poison our people against each other by attacking our neighbors. And, ultimately, they want to take away much of what makes Minnesota the best place in America to raise a family.”

The governor cited as an example of this supposed cruelty the Trump administration’s pause on child-care payments to Minnesota.

Department of Health and Human Services Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill announced on Dec. 30 that funds from the Administration for Children and Families — $185 million of which the Gopher State receives yearly — were being paused as the result of “shocking and credible allegations of extensive fraud in Minnesota’s child-care programs.”

“We believe the state of Minnesota has allowed scammers and fake day cares to siphon millions of taxpayer dollars over the past decade,” added O’Neill.

While acknowledging that fraud in the state government was a legitimate concern and that the “buck stops with [him],” Walz suggested that Republicans were somehow making his “fight harder to win.”

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​Tim walz, Walz, Minnesota, Somali, Somalian, Democrat, Leftist, Guvernatorial, Klobuchar, Senate, Fraud, Scandal, Day care, Politics 

For conservatives, January 2025 felt like an auspicious moment to be alive. Donald Trump sat atop the world with a bully pulpit larger than any media outlet and the power to drive virtually any narrative he chose. Yet instead of using that power, we spent the year arguing over the power the GOP supposedly lacked.

Almost no legislation was passed. Many of the most transformational policies Trump enacted through executive action now sit mired in the courts.

Where is our Mamdani?

Fast-forward to January 2026. The economy looks grim. Democrats are crushing Republicans in special elections. It feels like a different universe.

Republicans tend to operate on a familiar two-year cycle. After a victory, the first year involves explaining why campaign promises cannot be fulfilled. The second year, ending in November elections, turns into defensive posturing: As disappointed as voters may be, they must remember that Democrats represent instant political death.

The implication stays constant. Voters must dutifully back the GOP, ignore the fact that Republicans currently hold power, and politely bypass the primary process out of fear of weakening resistance to Democrats.

As we enter the new year, we have reached the “rally around the GOP to stop the Democrats” phase of the cycle once again.

But reality intrudes. No matter how faithfully the base rallies, Republicans will likely lose in November because of the economy. Absent a dramatic national reset, Democrats will retake the House, probably with a substantial majority.

That makes the present moment decisive. With trifecta control still intact for now, Republicans must use what power they have to improve daily life, enact changes harder to undo, and reinforce red-state America so the coming blue wave does not obliterate the remaining red firewall.

Whether Republicans break free from their familiar cycle of election-failure theater comes down to the answers to these six questions.

1. Will the red firewall hold?

Republicans will likely lose the House and surrender residual power in battleground states such as Georgia and Arizona. Independents have abandoned the GOP, and that trend will accelerate as economic conditions worsen.

The question is whether Republicans will give their voters something worth turning out for. Base turnout alone will not flip purple territory, but it could stop the bleeding deep into red states and keep races such as the Iowa and Ohio governorships out of reach.

This past year made clear that Republicans are losing races they never should have had to defend. A deeper economic downturn would push that line even farther.

2. How toxic do AI data centers become — and will Republicans notice?

By the end of 2025, opposition to data centers surged across ideological lines. Communities worry about water use, power strain, housing values, and secondary effects.

Democrats have begun embracing that resistance as Trump elevates data centers and tech interests as pillars of his economic agenda. Will this issue fracture Republicans’ coalition or even force a break with Trump?

3. What will Republicans do with health care?

Democrats engineered a trap that forces Republicans to address health care, the single largest driver of deficits, inflation, and household pain.

Obamacare made unsubsidized insurance unaffordable for most Americans. Democrats then timed the expiration of expanded subsidies to land on Trump’s watch, ensuring that voters blame him rather than the law’s architects.

Anything Trump does — or refuses to do — will be pinned on him. That reality argues for pushing a genuinely free-market repeal-and-replace that lowers costs. History suggests that outcome remains unlikely. I’m not holding my breath, anyway.

4. Will Trump finally ignore a lawless court?

Could a powerless judge issue a ruling so egregious that it would prompt Trump to defy it at long last?

I am not holding my breath on that one, either.

RELATED: The courts are running the country — and Trump is letting it happen

Photo by Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images

5. Will Trump clear the decks on his promises dating back to 2015?

Democrats will likely control one or both chambers for the remainder of Trump’s term. Regardless of strategy, they probably win the midterms.

That means Trump has nothing to lose by executing fully on his original agenda now. Immigration moratoria, judicial reform, welfare devolution, bans on the Council on American-Islamic Relations and Antifa — these changes should be forced through every “must-pass” bill available.

An all-out approach carries policy upside and political clarity.

6. Will Trump stop making bad primary endorsements?

This year’s primaries matter far more than the general election. They will determine whether red states have leaders willing to defend their prerogatives when Democrats reclaim federal power.

If Trump continues endorsing lackluster governors and candidates such as Byron Donalds in Florida, Greg Abbott in Texas, and Brad Little in Idaho, conservatives will have nowhere to retreat when figures like Zohran Mamdani dominate national politics.

RELATED: Trump’s agenda faces a midterm kill switch in 2026

Photo by Amir Hamja-Pool/Getty Images

Mamdani’s takeover of New York and his appointment of Ramzi Kassem — a 9/11 al-Qaeda defense lawyer — as chief counsel drew outrage on the right. At his inauguration, Mamdani declared, “We’ll replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism.”

Rather than merely lamenting how Marxists consolidate power in deep-blue America, conservatives should let that example ignite action where they actually govern. If the left can floor the gas pedal in its strongholds, why can’t we?

Where is our Mamdani?

This moment demands urgency. GOP power has become a “use it or lose it” proposition. Trump must finally become the right-wing disruptor his supporters were promised.

If he cannot — or will not — then Republicans deserve to go the way of the Whigs.

​Opinion & analysis, 2026 midterm election, Donald trump, Democrats, Republicans, Blue wave, Red states, Red firewall, Federal courts, Health care, Affordability, Zohran mamdani, Democratic socialism, Artificial intelligence, Ai data center, Populism, Georgia, Arizona, Costs, Rinos doing rino things, Republicans in name only, Byron donalds, Greg abbott, Brad little, Whigs 

Scott Adams, the creator of the “Dilbert” comic strip and a frequent defender of President Donald Trump, revealed in May 2025 that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, it had metastasized to his bones, and he was not long for this world.

“The disease is already intolerable,” said Adams. “So if you’re wondering, ‘Hey Scott, do you have any good days?’ Nope. Nope. Every day is a nightmare, and evening is very worse.”

‘What happens next is between me and Jesus.’

While Adams had run out of good days, good news was on the horizon.

The 68-year-old cartoonist revealed on the Sunday episode of his show, “Real Coffee with Scott Adams,” that he is converting to Christianity.

In November, Adams requested Trump’s help in securing the prostate cancer drug Pluvicto for which his health care provider had apparently approved his application but “dropped the ball in scheduling the brief IV to administer it.”

Trump and members of his administration indicated they were “on it” and apparently intervened on the cartoonist’s behalf. However, Adams’ potentially life-changing treatment was postponed last month on account of his radiation treatment.

Last week, Adams noted on his show that “the odds of me recovering are essentially zero.”

In addition to suffering paralysis below the waist, Adams indicated that he is struggling to breathe on account of ongoing heart failure.

Days after telling his audience that January will probably be “a month of transition one way or the other,” Adams made clear on Sunday that the imminent changes in his life were not all of a medical nature.

RELATED: Christian, what do you believe when faith stops being theoretical?

Photo by Bob Riha, Jr./Getty Images

“Many of my Christian friends and Christian followers say to me, ‘Scott, you still have time. You should convert to Christianity.’ And I usually just let that sit because that’s not an argument I want to have,” said Adams. “I’ve not been a believer. But I also have respect for any Christian who goes out of their way to try to convert me because how would I believe you and believe your own religion if you’re not trying to convert me?”

‘You’re never too late.’

Evidently the efforts of Adams’ friends were not in vain.

“You’re going to hear for the first time today that it is my plan to convert,” said Adams. “So I still have time. But my understanding is you’re never too late. And on top of that, any skepticism I have about reality would certainly be instantly answered if I wake up in heaven.”

Adams — who has long wrestled with questions about God and has been critical both of religion and atheism in his writing — notified his Christian friends that he does not require any more apologetics and has embraced what appears to be Catholic philosopher Blaise Pascal’s argument for believing in God.

“I am now convinced that the risk-reward is completely smart. If it turns out that there’s nothing there, I’ve lost nothing but I’ve respected your wishes, and I like doing that,” said Adams. “If it turns out there is something there and the Christian model is the closest to it, I win.”

“Argument made, argument accepted,” added Adams.

In the wake of his announcement, Adams wrote on X that while he appreciates the outpouring of support and questions, “What happens next is between me and Jesus.”

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​Faith, Religion, Christ, Christianity, Christian, Scott adams, Dilbert, Death, Mortality, Salvation, Trump, Conversion, Politics 

Each January, I dust off the crystal ball and offer my top 10 predictions for the year ahead. If you want to see how last year’s fared, you can find them here.

Now, on to what I expect to see in 2026.

Trump rallies a demoralized base, but, barring a massive economic boom, history and opposition energy prevail.

1. China and the U.S. effectively swap Venezuela for Taiwan.

I predicted this weeks ago on Glenn Beck’s final Wednesday Night Special on Blaze TV, and the early contours are already visible following President Trump’s arrest of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.

One of last year’s quieter stories involved China’s mounting unrest and economic instability. As Beijing grows more desperate, its pressure to resolve Taiwan increases. One way to avoid a world war over Taiwan involves a tacit bargain: The United States consolidates influence in its own hemisphere while China moves on Taiwan.

Venezuela holds the world’s largest crude oil reserves and has been sending nearly 80% of its exports to China. What America would lose in technology via Taiwan, it could gain in energy via Venezuela. Each superpower gains leverage, ideally enough to trade rather than fight. Regional hegemony comes first for both.

2. At least one sitting elected official claims communication with non-human intelligence.

The UFO/UAP psychological operation escalates in 2026. Steven Spielberg’s return with “Disclosure Day” only adds cultural fuel. The stage is set for someone “respectable” to come forward and give the narrative new legitimacy.

3. The Buffalo Bills defeat the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LX.

This season has defied prediction. With young and inexperienced teams dominating the standings, the door is open for a veteran squad to rev up. Josh Allen remains arguably the best football player on the planet. Why not Buffalo?

4. Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” tops the box office.

An A-list director, an all-star cast, and a July release give Nolan’s adaptation a decisive edge over “Avengers: Doomsday,” which won’t arrive until Christmas. Add superhero fatigue and Marvel’s audience-alienating woke escapades, and the path clears.

5. Clarence Thomas or Samuel Alito retires.

Ideally both do.

This prediction will anger people I love and respect, but the future of the republic outweighs hurt feelings. Conservatives cannot afford a Ruth Bader Ginsburg-style miscalculation with hostile midterms looming.

6. Pam Bondi does not survive the year as attorney general.

Frankly, she should not have survived last year.

7. Trump’s foreign policy marginalizes the dissident right.

In 2025, figures such as Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, and Nick Fuentes capitalized on anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic tropes, conspiracism, and the grievances of young men in desperate need of a dad and a direction.

That window narrows fast as Trump reasserts American power abroad. An “America Only (except Islam)” MAGA faction collapses once Trump himself acts aggressively on the world stage. It turns out that building a brand on hating Israel gets harder when Trump is the one moving the chess pieces.

Try growing an audience by calling Trump a schmuck anywhere outside BlueSky. Good luck.

RELATED: Trump’s agenda faces a midterm kill switch in 2026

Douglas Rissing via iStock/Getty Images

8. The Trump administration blocks the Netflix-Warner Bros. merger.

Trump will not allow Netflix — the most ideologically aggressive streamer in the industry — to consolidate Apple-scale control over pop-culture IP.

9. Trump engineers a split midterm decision.

Trump will nationalize the midterms around his presidency and agenda, not congressional Republicans. He rallies a demoralized base, but, barring a massive economic boom, history and opposition energy prevail.

Republicans narrowly hold the Senate. Democrats narrowly flip the House.

10. We make this happen.

​Opinion & analysis, 2026 midterms, 2026 predictions, Senate, House of representatives, Congress, Donald trump, Netflix, Warner bros., Merger, Pop culture, Avengers: doomsday, The odyssey, Marvel studios, Christopher nolan, Apple, Venezuela, Taiwan, America first, Foreign policy, Glenn beck, China, Oil, Uap, Ufo, Psyop, Clarence thomas, Samuel alito, Pam bondi, Tucker carlson, Candace owens, Nick fuentes, Israel, Maga, Nefarious movie, Buffalo bills, Philadelphia eagles 

Fraud investigations are closing in on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), but the scandal reaches beyond any single official.

Minnesota’s election system itself now stands exposed, revealing vulnerabilities that undermine transparency and public confidence.

Election officials cannot plainly explain how the system blocks ineligible voting, and voters have every reason to doubt it.

Recent reporting has drawn renewed attention to just how permissive Minnesota’s election framework has become. The state allows voters to “vouch” for up to eight other individuals at the polls. That practice requires no voter identification and relies entirely on personal attestation. Even on its own, that policy raises serious concerns. Combined with broader governance failures and ongoing fraud investigations, it becomes a glaring liability.

Minnesota’s approach to immigration and identification compounds the problem. In 2023, Walz signed legislation allowing illegal aliens to obtain driver’s licenses.

In most states, such a policy would trigger heightened election safeguards to prevent misuse. Minnesota has no voter ID requirement at all, leaving a dangerous gap between immigration policy and election administration.

Supporters frame these policies as efforts to expand access and remove barriers to voting. But access without accountability produces disorder. Confidence in elections depends on clear rules governing eligibility, verification, and identification. Remove those guardrails, and public trust erodes.

Those vulnerabilities came into sharp focus during an October hearing of the Minnesota House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy Committee. On a recent episode of my “Election Protection Project Podcast,” I spoke with state Rep. Patti Anderson (R), the committee’s vice chairman, about her exchange with state Elections Director Paul Linnell.

Anderson repeatedly asked a basic question: Could illegal aliens use driver’s licenses issued under the Walz-signed law to vote?

Linnell refused to give a clear answer.

That exchange exposed Minnesota’s core problem. Election officials cannot plainly explain how the system blocks ineligible voting, and voters have every reason to doubt it. A system without basic safeguards can’t be trusted.

RELATED: Tim Walz’s nightmare continues as HHS shuts off $185M to Minnesota amid allegedly ‘fake’ Somali day care centers

Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Moments like this expose the weakness of claims that voter ID is “unnecessary.” In 2023, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D) opposed a bill requiring photo identification at the polls, arguing that identity is already verified during registration and that ID requirements could suppress turnout. Minnesota’s experience shows why that argument fails. Loose rules invite confusion, abuse, and doubt. Safeguards such as voter ID protect confidence rather than diminish it.

Americans understand this instinctively. A 2024 Pew Research Center survey found that 81% of U.S. adults support requiring voters to show government-issued photo identification, reflecting broad bipartisan support for common-sense safeguards. These measures help ensure that election outcomes remain credible.

Minnesota’s lack of safeguards is especially troubling as the state heads into a critical election year. Voters deserve assurance that their elections will be administered competently and that only eligible citizens can cast ballots.

Election integrity should never be treated as a partisan issue. It forms the foundation of self-government. Without clear rules, accountability, and transparency, the democratic process itself suffers. Minnesota still has the opportunity to restore trust by implementing voter ID and reinforcing citizenship requirements before voters return to the polls.

​Opinion & analysis, Tim walz, Minnesota, Minneapolis, Fraud, Investigation, Elections, Election integrity, Voter id, Daycare, Somali fraud, Transparency, Public trust, Corruption, Democrats, Illegal aliens, Driver’s licenses, Pew research center, Texas public policy center