Category: blaze media

The White House announced the launch of a new website powered by artificial intelligence that streamlines access to services offered by the federal government.

The “America.gov” website includes a chatbot of which users can ask questions and get directed to government resources from hundreds of agencies.

‘We’re simplifying it. We’re glamorizing it. We’re making it what it should be.’

President Donald Trump signed an order directing government agencies to connect to the website on Friday.

“With America.gov, the federal government no longer stands in your way; it only stands at your service,” the president said before meeting with tech executives.

“We’re simplifying it. We’re glamorizing it,” he added. “We’re making it what it should be.”

Some of the examples included getting information about National Parks and changing one’s official name, which previously would take far longer and be more complicated.

“For the first time, there’s one place to get everything done across the entire government,” said U.S. Chief Design Officer Joe Gebbia in a video post by the White House Rapid Response account.

“It’s trained specifically on one official source of truth: the United States government,” he added.

“So thank you to all the agencies government-wide, those 29,000 websites, 800 million pages, billions of pieces of information, that are now available in one easy-to-use website for every American.”

The website is immediately available, but some agencies are still working to connect their databases for access.

A Blaze News test of the website found that it quickly and accurately provided answers to queries about submitting a Freedom of Information Act request and whether emails of government officials were available for media inquiries.

RELATED: AI chatbot encouraged autistic boy to harm himself — and his parents, lawsuit says

“We’ve become used to a government so big it makes the citizens feel very, very small,” the president added. “But with America.gov, the entire U.S. government will fit in the plan.”

Gebbia was the co-founder of AirBnb before he quit his job and joined the Trump administration as the first chief design officer of the government.

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​Artificial intelligence, President donald trump, White house, Politics 

Former president Barack Obama is talking about more than Democrats winning the upcoming midterm elections — he’s talking about changing how government and public discussions work.

And BlazeTV host Pat Gray of “Pat Gray Unleashed” is alarmed.

At the annual Salem State University Speaker Series showcase last week, Obama explained to students that “we have to redesign how the federal government, at least, works so that it can actually get stuff done.”

“And I’ll give you one example that plagued me during my presidency, and even during my presidency, I was convinced we needed to get rid of it,” he continued.

“The practice of the filibuster, which is not in the Constitution. It is a practice that was adopted almost by accident,” he added.

“How many times have we said this?” Gray interjects. “The second they’re in office, they’re going to do this. They’re going to get rid of the filibuster, something that John Thune refused to even consider. Would not do it. Wouldn’t even use the filibuster to his advantage.”

Obama went on to explain that “Dixie-crats,” or Southern Democrats, exploited this to “prevent civil rights legislation.”

“Southern Democrats were some of the worst practitioners of the filibuster, but it was rarely used,” he said.

“By the time I got to office, Mitch McConnell, who was the Senate leader on the Republican side when the Republicans took control of the Senate in 2010, essentially just rewrote the Constitution so that you had to have a supermajority to get anything through the Senate,” he explained.

“And what happens there is people start getting very cynical if they elect somebody who seems idealistic and has a great plan and then suddenly it just hits a wall, and that happens again and again and again,” he continued.

“After a certain point, people feel like, well, nobody’s listening to me,” he added.

“What’s going to change isn’t the change you want,” Jeff Fisher comments.

“Freedom of speech: You’re about to wave goodbye to it if the Democrats take office,” executive producer Keith Malinak says, before playing another clip of Obama explaining that “the reality of somebody who’s reading the New York Times is entirely foreign to somebody who’s watching Fox News.”

“We’re going to have to find ways to bridge that. And we’re going to have to create new town squares essentially where everybody is having a common dialogue with certain rules, and that becomes even more important as technology accelerates,” he went on.

“You’re about to get a fairness doctrine for social media,” Malinak comments.

“You’re talking about burning down the country,” Gray adds.

Want more from Pat Gray?

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​Barack obama, Democrats, Midterm elections, Mitch mcconnell, Freedom of speech, Filibuster, Pat gray, Blazetv show 

Naomi Watts happily celebrated her offspring with Liev Schreiber becoming the first transgender-identifying person to win a prestigious modeling award.

The celebrity couple’s child was born in 2008 with the name Samuel but later identified as Kai Schreiber before signing with IMG as a model.

‘I’m also the first trans girl to win this award.’

Watts beamed with pride alongside the 17-year-old before the ceremony for the Daily Front Row’s Fashion Media Awards on Friday in Milan, Italy.

Schreiber said he was “beyond excited” about being accepted into the modeling industry.

“I’m also the first trans girl to win this award,” the teen added.

He then said it wouldn’t have been possible for him to be a model “if it weren’t for all my sisters who paved the way for me in this industry.”

He added, “I carry that with me into every room.”

Liev Schreiber has expressed support for his son identifying as a girl.

“I don’t know what it’s like for you to be a trans dad,” he said when asked about giving advice to other parents of transgender-identifying children. “I don’t know how you were brought up. I don’t know what religion you encountered or what your spirituality is. And for me to tell you what I think about my kid feels like an overstep.”

He went on to say that raising teens is difficult whether or not they’re transgender-identifying.

RELATED: Female wrestler alleging sexual assault by trans-identifying male during match sues school

“They’re hard,” he said. “It doesn’t matter whether they’re trans or not because you’ll come out of this. But a trans teen is going to be a teen. They’re such a pain so much of the time, and Kai is as feisty and outspoken as they come.”

The couple have another male child named Alexander “Sasha” Schreiber who is an environmental activist.

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​Lgbtq agenda, Transgender agenda, Naomi watts, Celebrities, Politics 

Last week, Utah Valley University — the campus where Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated in September 2025 — released an independent 158-page after-action report concluding that university staff did not act in bad faith.

While Glenn Beck is not surprised at the report’s conclusions, he is surprised by the reactions to it.

“It’s all released, and within an hour, everybody had a verdict. … The family’s lawyer blamed the university. Parts of the left blamed Turning Point. Podcasters said, ‘The silence is the real story,’” he says.

These one-sided hot takes, he says, are proof that we have left the information age behind and entered an era that riles us up but costs us the truth.

“We were in the information age. Now we’re in the opinion and outrage age,” says Glenn. “Opinion is the currency of the day, and it is so cheap to print. Nobody ever runs out of opinions. … Facts are what’s scarce in today’s world.”

The “silence” from Turning Point and Charlie’s security that certain podcasters are interpreting as evidence of a cover-up has a very practical explanation, Glenn argues: “The family has filed notice of a lawsuit. Lawsuits make people stop talking.”

“Everybody’s going to court, and they’ve all got an attorney. That’s not silent; it’s just a blank space. And in the opinion age, somebody has to rush to fill in that silence,” he says.

But this reflex isn’t new. Glenn points to the sinking of the Titanic as the best example of how a series of ordinary gaps can turn into massive conspiracy theories.

He explains that before the ship departed, a last-minute officer change sent David Blair off the ship carrying the key to the locker that held the lookouts’ binoculars, which later forced lookouts to watch with the naked eye. Radio operators then brushed off ice warnings to send passenger telegrams, and although the ship carried enough lifeboats to meet an outdated law, it didn’t have enough seats for everyone on board.

But instead of seeing the string of small failures that led to a catastrophic one, many “tried to make it into a conspiracy,” says Glenn.

Even though the “dots” substantiating a conspiracy theory are often “real,” “the line between them is not.”

That’s how he interprets the buzz around UVU’s report. And while hyperfixation on conspiracy theories is understandable to Glenn — because “a plot means somebody is in charge; catch him and it can’t happen again” — he knows they rarely lead to the truth.

“The truth is harder. Nobody’s driving sometimes. … It’s just ordinary people doing ordinary jobs, leaving a small hole, and that’s how Charlie Kirk gets killed,” he says.

To hear more, watch the video above.Want more from Glenn Beck?

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​Charlie kirk, Conspiracy theories, Glenn beck, Turning point usa, Utah valley university, Blazetv show 

Lindsay Clancy’s lawyer made a stunning argument Tuesday in the first hearing since her mistrial earlier this month.

At Clancy’s murder trial that took place over the summer and ended in a mistrial Sept. 4 with a deadlocked jury, her attorney Kevin Reddington did not dispute that his client strangled her three young children to death in 2023.

‘Where is the admission? Where does she say that she did this?’

In fact, the Associated Press reported at the time that “both sides agree she killed her children,” but Clancy’s defense argued that she wasn’t criminally responsible for their deaths because she was suffering from postpartum psychosis.

However, Reddington argued Tuesday that there wasn’t enough evidence to prove that Clancy, now 36, killed her three children, the AP said.

“This entire case is based on speculation,” Reddington said Tuesday, according to the outlet, which added that the lawyer tried to persuade Judge William Sullivan — the same judge who presided over the first trial — to acquit Clancy, a former labor and delivery nurse.

More from the AP:

There is, Reddington contended, not enough evidence “that this woman killed those children.” He pointed to matters ranging from her condition when she was found, badly injured and bleeding in the yard outside her home, to her lack of memory of what happened when she woke up in a hospital. At the first trial, her now ex-husband and first responders testified that they arrived at the house and discovered she had tried to kill herself right after killing the children.

“Where is the admission? Where does she say that she did this?” Reddington asked, going on to recap his arguments that she also was psychotic and delusional at the time of the children’s deaths. He didn’t offer any alternative theories or evidence about who might be responsible.

Prosecutor Shanan Buckingham called Reddington’s argument “laughable,” the AP reported, as she pointed out evidence presented during the original trial. In court papers filed Monday, prosecutors recapped their arguments that there was enough evidence to convict Clancy, the outlet noted.

The prosecution stated that Clancy knew her actions were wrong when she used exercise bands to strangle 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan Clancy, the AP said. The prosecution also maintained that Clancy schemed to get her husband out of the house that evening by sending him to pick up medicine for one of their children and dinner for the family, the outlet added.

Judge William Sullivan didn’t immediately decide, the AP said, and no trial date was set.

However, Sullivan concluded Tuesday’s hearing by saying attorneys should be prepared on Nov. 2 for picking a new trial date.

RELATED: Lindsay Clancy murder trial hits huge speed bump (UPDATE)

Prosecutors haven’t yet decided if they will retry Clancy, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz said after the hearing, the outlet said.

They could choose to retry her on first-degree murder charges or seek to try her only on lesser charges, including second-degree murder or manslaughter — or drop the case entirely, the AP reported.

“We are going to do what we can for the children,” Cruz told reporters outside court, the outlet said. “That is what this case is about.”

Clancy’s attorneys also have asked the judge to dismiss the criminal case, the AP said, adding that they have argued that the judge should have dismissed one juror who favored a murder conviction after the jury foreperson complained that he refused to listen to the law on reasonable doubt. The jury was split 11 to 1 in Clancy’s favor, the outlet said.

The holdout juror, Michael Desronvil, has said through his lawyer that he had no doubts about his stance, the AP said.

Desronvil told Fox News’ “Hannity” in a brief video statement Monday that “the whole focus has been on me, but we want to reel everything back and put the focus on the three angels,” meaning the children, the outlet noted.

About a dozen Clancy supporters, most dressed in pink, stood outside court Tuesday waiting for her to arrive, the AP said.

Clancy remains charged with murder and is expected to stay at a psychiatric hospital until her case is resolved, the outlet said, adding that she could have been sentenced to life in prison if convicted of murder — but if acquitted, the judge could have ordered her confined to a mental health facility.

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​Lindsay clancy, Hearing, Murder trial, Mother kills children, Massachusetts, Lawyer, Postpartum psychosis, Crime 

Crude oil exports in the Middle East rebounded in September as the Iranian regime continued to lose its control over the Strait of Hormuz.

Nineteen very large crude oil carriers carrying about 38 million barrels exited the strait just last week, according to data from a Kpler report on Monday.

‘You are preventing them from getting access to money that they will use to try and kill Americans and others around the world and their own people.’

The report said crude oil exports from the Middle East had recovered to about 80% of pre-military operation levels in February.

About 20% of the global oil supply is transported through the Strait of Hormuz, which was nearly completely closed off by the Iranian regime after U.S.-Israeli strikes began in late February.

In August, U.S. officials told Axios that military operations had successfully targeted and eliminated Iranian assets in their effort to keep the Strait of Hormuz shut down.

“That sucker is open. The Iranian response is very mild,” said President Donald Trump in a phone call to the news outlet at the time. “They don’t want us to go back at them. That’s the whole ball game. The rest doesn’t matter.”

The Iranian regime has apparently tried to use spiking gas prices to pressure the Trump administration into caving to its demands to end the military conflict.

Iran is facing its own financial pressure after the Rial, the country’s currency, crashed even farther on Tuesday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi indicated that leaders were speaking with mediators from Qatar in order to resume talks with the U.S. about a possible peace deal.

Trump has predicted that Iran is waiting to see the results of the midterm elections before approving a peace deal, but he also threatened to drive Iran “into hell.”

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised the U.S. economic embargo against Iran in comments Monday on Fox News.

“When you’re denying them money through oil sales and sanctions, you’re not just punishing them,” Rubio said. “You are preventing them from getting access to money that they will use to try and kill Americans and others around the world and their own people and build weapons and threaten the world and ultimately break out to a nuclear weapon program.”

RELATED: Trump threatens to drive Iran ‘into HELL’ — and predicts when peace deal will be reached

Economic expert and Blaze Media contributor Carol Roth said in comments to Blaze News that the oil transport work-around was a welcome relief but still a fragile solution.

“If this work-around is sustainable in the short-run, we could [see] some relief pop up at the gas pumps within weeks,” she said. “If it is sustainable for longer, that could lead to even more relief, which impacts not only consumers directly via gas and other energy prices, but also flows through the broader economy.”

Roth added that American consumer sentiment has plunged downward as a result of the effects of the conflict with Iran.

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​Gas prices, Middle east, Strait of hormuz, Politics, Donald trump, Iran 

The left has made its favorite formula clear: Stop talking about the wrongdoing and start questioning the people who confront it.

And BlazeTV host John Doyle points out that this couldn’t be more accurate than in the leftist portrayal of Chris Hansen and his famous investigations into online child predators in the new Hollywood film “Primetime.”

Rather than focus on the heroism of his exposes and the lives he saved, the film “deconstruct[s] his motives and make[s] the story really about how he was just driven by ego or fame.”

One motive for making a film like this, Doyle believes, is that the “left wants to take men who are successful and deconstruct them and tear them down.”

“I mean, Chris Hansen is a hero. He catches the predators,” he says.

“They want to make the conversation really about your response or your reaction to the bad behavior rather than the conversation being about the bad behavior itself,” he continues, “You see this with literally everything.”

Doyle points out that when murder or crime statistics regarding different races are brought up, the left ignores the crime and focuses on “racism.” When terrorism is brought up, the left focuses on “Islamophobia.”

“Literally any issue, this is what these people do. The real problem is always how you are responding or reacting to the bad behavior,” he says.

In the film, the attention is diverted away from the man who was trying to meet a child to engage in a sex crime.

“We are now made to feel like Chris Hansen is the weird person here for having this kind of fixation,” Doyle explains.

“So, again, never about the bad behavior itself, always about the reaction to the bad behavior,” he says.

“We see these shots of Chris Hansen literally lurking in the shadows as if he is a predator hunting his prey. That is what it is doing,” he continues. “So it’s implying that, you know, he is preying on the predator the same way that the predators are preying on the kids.”

“It’s this kind of moral relativism where it’s like, ‘Oh dude, yo, who’s the real predator?’ This kind of thing,” he adds.

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​Hollywood, Chris hansen, Leftism, To catch a predator, John doyle, Blazetv show 

The NCAA got one step closer to achieving its President Trump-aligned rule changes this week.

For months, the president has been pushing sweeping adjustments to college athletics that would limit transfers, payments, and eligibility for athletes.

‘It will not only save college sports, it will save the colleges themselves.’

On Monday, the Senate passed the Protect College Sports Act of 2026 in a 77-22 vote, with the bill sponsored by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

The vote came months after Trump’s executive order that urged national action on the issue in April and received support from legendary college coaches.

While the legislation does favor the historic college institutions in some regards, it also benefits student-athletes.

The bill prohibits schools, conferences, and the like from restricting student-athletes from entering into name, image, and likeness agreements; students must report any NIL compensation to their school that is greater than $600.

Other big changes come in the form of limiting player and personnel movement. Student-athletes are allowed only one transfer during their eligibility, or they otherwise face having to sit out for a year.

The five-year eligibility window would also change, effectively upending the redshirt system and replacing it with a fixed eligibility window. Under the bill, five calendar years of eligibility would be initiated at the start of the academic year after the athlete has turned 19 or the day the athlete first enrolls full-time in college, whichever comes first.

For coaches, football personnel cannot become the head football coach at a different institution during the same season.

The bill still faces a battle in the House in order to become law and will likely have to wait until after the midterm elections. However, the president still called the Senate vote “a really big deal.”

“It will not only save college sports, it will save the colleges themselves,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Congratulations to Randy Levine, President of the New York Yankees, and all of those who worked with him, on a job well done!”

RELATED: ESPN’s Pat McAfee gets death threats over Trump comments. There’s just one problem — he didn’t say them.

Other changes in the bill would prohibit Division 1 conferences from “reducing the number of varsity or Olympic sports teams that a member institution must sponsor,” with schools that make $80 million in athletics revenue prevented from reducing the number of roster spots for sports that they provided in 2024-2025.

Student-athletes also get a 10-year window after eligibility to come back and finish their degree, and schools must provide the same grant-in-aid amount as when they were student-athletes.

As well, agent endorsement contract fees are capped at 5% under the bill, and school spending on athletes is capped at $50 million annually.

RELATED: NY Giants quarterback labeled ‘insane’ over pregame comments — almost no one knew he was quoting the Bible

Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images

The NCAA has boasted about the Protect College Sports Act on its website, insisting it will “level the playing field” nationwide.

The NCAA says it supports “sustainable, fair revenue sharing,” protecting women’s and Olympic sports, and “reasonable” transfer limitations.

The Big Ten Conference also issued a statement Monday: “We look forward to the next steps to passage as we continue to support the act as passed by the Senate.”

The Hill reported the bill as granting the NCAA sweeping federal antitrust protection that would shield it from lawsuits, with Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) claiming it will only perpetuate exploitation.

“What this bill does, at its core, is protect a system of exploitation,” Murphy said, per CNN. “This bill protects the billions of dollars that coaches and executives are making by suppressing compensation for some of the most highly valued athletes in the world.”

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said the bill seeks to serve “the large, wealthy interests that have been controlling college sports for a long time.”

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​Ncaa, College sports, Trump, Ted cruz, Sports 

An unknown assailant vandalized the constituent office of Republican Sen. Susan Collins in Biddeford, Maine.

A message in red spray-paint seen Monday read “TRUMP” on one door and “WHORE” on another. An image of the tagging, shared by Maine Assistant Senate Republican Leader Matt Harrington, comes amid a heated midterm campaign in the state.

‘Senator Collins and her staff will not be intimidated.’

Democrat U.S. Senate nominee Troy Jackson has repeatedly suggested that Collins is “owned” by President Donald Trump, despite Collins’ reputation as a political moderate.

“Who has she served? She’s served Donald Trump,” former Maine Senate President Jackson said at the emergency nominating convention in July, when he replaced controversial candidate Graham Platner.

Immediately prior to the vandalism, Jackson ratcheted up accusations of subservience against Collins.

“Donald Trump owns her,” Jackson told reporters in Portland over the weekend, according to C-SPAN footage cited by Spectrum News.

By Monday, Collins’ office was defaced.

“Vandalism is unacceptable,” Sen. Collins’ chief of staff, Katie Brown, said in a statement. “Senator Collins and her staff will not be intimidated. Our Biddeford constituent service office remains open, and we will continue serving the people of Maine.”

RELATED: Graham Platner’s replacement has history of violence, unearthed police report reveals

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The paint was cleared later that same day, according to the Portland Press Herald.

“What has the world come to? This is disgusting, disappointing and it’s not the Maine I grew up in,” Harrington said on X. “Do better.”

Despite Jackson’s earlier rhetoric, he also condemned the vandalism on Monday.

“There’s no place for this in Maine,” Jackson said in a statement. “Vandalism and intimidation are wrong, full stop. Senator Collins and her staff should be able to do their jobs without anyone defacing their office, and I condemn whoever did this.”

Jackson’s slapdash effort to topple Maine’s five-term Republican senator has been an uphill battle. In 1988, Jackson’s longtime domestic partner, Lana Pelletier, told police that Jackson “pushed her around” after a fight with another man, though both she and Jackson now deny that he was violent with her that night.

Public polling averages still have Jackson up by one to two points, though Collins has consistently overperformed relative to polling. Collins was expected to lose to Democrat challenger Sara Gideon in 2020, but ended up retaining her seat by 8.6 points on Election Day.

Biddeford Police Chief JoAnne Fisk confirmed that an investigation into the incident has been opened, but no suspects have been named, the Bangor Daily News reported.

State Sen. Harrington and the Biddeford Police Department did not respond to requests for comment from Blaze News.

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​Maine, Susan collins, Troy jackson, Trump, Vandalism, Politics 

The investigation into former special counsel Jack Smith has led to allegations that he was trying to swing the presidential election of 2024.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said a legal whistleblower revealed that Smith had obtained 4,782 checks from Americans who donated to President Donald Trump and pro-Trump entities between 2019 and 2023, often in small amounts.

‘Every member on this committee ought to be outraged for what happened to their constituents. Which one of my Democratic colleagues will join me in that outrage?’

Grassley directly challenged Smith to address the allegations while he testified before Congress on Tuesday.

“No matter what you say, there’s no legitimate basis for what you did,” said the veteran Republican, according to a transcript in his press release.

“Donations to Republican groups wasn’t necessary to your investigation, which is proved out by the fact it wasn’t mentioned in your public report. Now, the Justice Department and FBI will forever possess thousands of people’s addresses, phone numbers, banks, bank account numbers, bank routing numbers, and copies of their true signatures,” Grassley said.

Republicans on the committee posted an image of some of the checks with the personal information redacted.

“Every member on this committee ought to be outraged for what happened to their constituents. Which one of my Democratic colleagues will join me in that outrage?” Grassley asked.

Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas accused Smith of trying to rig the presidential election.

“Jack Smith is a deranged partisan fanatic,” Cotton posted on social media. “He is one of the worst abusers of lawfare in history. He secretly seized GOP lawmakers’ phone records for one reason: to try to swing 2024 and help Democrats win.”

For his part, Smith said he did not remember those particular subpoenas but defended his investigation against claims of political bias.

“Yes, we acquired financial information. As I sit here right now, I cannot recite to you every subpoena we issued,” said Smith. “I can tell you why we issued subpoenas, and it was to conduct a criminal investigation of one of the most serious crimes that’s ever happened in our nation’s history. I had a duty to collect facts.”

RELATED: AZ grand jury indicts Republicans over effort to overturn 2020 election, including Giuliani, Meadows, and Jenna Ellis

Smith was berated by Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana during his questioning about his collecting toll records of phone calls from members of Congress.

“You make me want to throw up in my mouth!” said Kennedy.

Smith obtained two indictments against the president through his special investigation. One had to do with Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and his alleged unlawful retention of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.

Both were dismissed after Trump was elected in 2024.

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​Chuck grassley, Donald trump, Jack smith, Politics, Tom cotton 

Netflix’s upcoming “Narnia” adaptation is leaving BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey with some concerns, especially considering the original author C.S. Lewis’ work has helped shape her to be the Christian she is today.

“His work really exists like in the backdrop of my mind,” Stuckey says, explaining that his work “drew [her] heart and [her] mind into wanting to understand Christianity better.”

“When you understand what he is trying to articulate when it comes to the battle of good and evil, the creation of the earth, the eternal plan of redemption that God is carrying off without a hitch, then those seemingly small and mundane descriptions in ‘The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,’ they really just, they catch you,” she continues.

“And C.S. Lewis has an incredible way of doing that. And so I really care about this adaptation. I really care about how people are introduced to C.S. Lewis’ work,” she adds.

However, she doesn’t believe director Greta Gerwig is the right one to make the introduction.

While Stuckey admits that Gerwig is “very talented” and has directed films like “Little Women” and “Barbie,” she is now making headlines for “creating Narnia as what she describes as a rock opera.”

“And she’s cast Meryl Streep … as the voice of Aslan. He is the lion, if you don’t know, and he is the creator. He’s the one true king of Narnia. He is kind of the Christ character in C.S. Lewis’ fantasy series,” she explains.

Gerwig explained her reasoning as wanting “someone who was profound but not pretentious, who had gravitas but not morose self-seriousness. Someone who could communicate depth and pathos as well as joy and delight.”

“But Meryl Streep is a woman,” Stuckey says. “And Aslan is portrayed as a ‘he’ through this series. And it’s important.”

“Now I think there’s going to be a lot of guesses about whether or not this is some kind of message about transgenderism or gender fluidity or feminism. I don’t know. I don’t know. I mean, it is a strange choice when you think about a woman voicing a male character and continuing to be called male,” she continues.

“I don’t know if that is the political point that she’s trying to make, or if she’s just trying to do what a lot of artists do, and that’s blur lines and do things that don’t make sense,” she adds.

Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?

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​Allie beth stuckey, Aslan, Christianity, Cs lewis, Greta gerwig, Meryl streep, Blazetv show 

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases under Anthony Fauci funded deadly gain-of-function research on coronaviruses at the likely Chinese epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, SARS-COV-2 was apparently not the first deadly virus that created panic in the former NIAID director’s office.

‘I believe all of this is important for bio defense.’

According to a journal entry obtained by Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and published by Just the News, Fauci privately expressed terror upon learning that his agency had supported a U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases experiment that took Ebola — a deadly virus with a case fatality rate ranging from 25% to 90% in recent outbreaks — and aerosolized it, thereby making it airborne.

Fauci appeared to be more concerned about what damning insights the killer form of Ebola provided into a relevant vaccine than about his agency’s role in the production of an airborne plague.

In a journal entry dated March 7, 2016, Fauci wrote that he was informed “about a crazy situation where USAMRIID did an aerosolized challenge of Zika in NHPs and showed that the VSV vaccine did not protect (no surprise). However, they showed that although the 2 control animals died and 16 of 20 vaccinated animals died, there was more inflammation in the lungs of the vaccinated animals – implying that vaccination is bad.”

Fauci accused “those guys at USAMRIID” of being “idiots.”

RELATED: First domino to fall? Fauci’s ‘consigliere’ pleads GUILTY to role in COVID cover-up

A doctor administers a serum to a patient with the Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. BENEDICTION MURHABAZI/AFP/Getty Images

Two days later, Fauci wrote that he had a teleconference with officials from the White House, the CIA, the National Intelligence Authority, the Pentagon, and the Department of Health and Human services “regarding an experiment that the USAMRIID did that challenged [nonhuman primates] with aerosolized Ebola to see if the [vesicular stomatitis virus] vaccine protected. Obviously, it did not. Stupid experiment.”

The two unvaccinated primates in the experiment’s control group did not have inflammation in the lung, but Fauci noted that the “vaccinated animals had necrosis, inflammation and fibrin in the lungs.”

After highlighting the finding that Ebola vaccination was apparently a liability in this case, Fauci stated, “This should have been a classified experiment. The foolish DOD people send the data to the FDA and then circulated as FYI to various embassies including to those in West Africa where we are about to engage on a much larger DSD vaccine trial for Ebola.”

“The embassies in West Africa (Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone) as you might expect went bonkers since it looks like we’re going to vaccinated [sic] people with the dangers [sic] vaccine,” added Fauci.

The Obama administration announced plans in early 2015 to begin testing Ebola vaccines in Africa and conducted Ebola vaccine trials in Africa well into 2016. Fauci publicly stated at the time, “A safe and effective vaccine will undoubtedly be a critical tool.”

In his journal, Fauci bemoaned the lack of secrecy about the Pentagon’s “bioterror related experiments using a variety of Ebola vaccines to determine their efficacy against aerosolized challenge with people,” then suggested that government researchers should refrain from publishing such experiments “since they could indicate a vulnerability.”

Fauci concluded the March 9, 2016, entry by writing, “I believe all of this is important for bio defense, but has little to do with naturally emerging Ebola outbreaks. Nonetheless, the idea that the vaccine can do harm is now causing people a great deal of concern.”

According to NIAID documents released by Sen. Paul, Fauci’s agency funded at least one of the Ebola aerosol experiments.

Paul noted, “The study was conducted at the Army’s infectious disease institute at Fort Detrick under a NIAID task order, an engineered exposure that drove the virus deep into the lung in a way natural infection would not. NIAID helped craft the study design. Its own internal report later confirmed: ‘NIAID provided funds.'”

Screenshot of NIAID documents

That “internal report” was attached to an email sent to Fauci by Michael Kurilla on March 18, 2016, in response to a request from Fauci. “This originated with concerns that NIAID undertook studies that should have been classified (or perhaps even never conducted),” Kurilla wrote.

In a March 10, 2016, email to an underling at NIAID, Fauci noted that he “almost fell off [his] chair” when the Pentagon admitted at the multi-agency that it funded the experiment with NIAID.

Fauci subsequently demanded more information about his agency’s involvement with the experiments, telling subordinates in a March 11 email, “No one will get hurt if they made a mistake, but then they told me the truth. If someone does not tell me the truth and I find out they did not, then they are gone.”

Last month, Fauci’s former senior adviser and longtime acolyte David Morens pleaded guilty to his role in the attempted cover-up of federal records pertaining to the origin of the COVID-19 virus and to a clandestine initiative to restore U.S. funding to the infamous Wuhan Institute of Virology.

The NIAID, USAMRIID, and a legal representative for Fauci did not respond to Blaze News’ requests for comment. Kurilla could not be reached for comment.

Sen. Paul told Just the News, “Americans deserve to know what kind of risky research their taxpayer dollars are funding. It is clear additional oversight is needed into what Dr. Fauci’s institute was paying for long before COVID.”

Dr. Richard H. Ebright, a molecular biologist at Rutgers University, told Blaze News that the Ebola aerosol experiments were unjustified:

Ferret models of Ebola virus infection by the intramuscular route and the intranasal route already had been performed and published. There was no legitimate justification for performing an animal study — especially an extremely costly primate study — of Ebola virus infection by aerosols in an aerosol chamber. The fact that the NIAID funded and DOD performed this redundant, pointless, and extremely costly study underscores the over-funding, excess capacity, and waste in U.S. bioweapons-agents research and the opportunities for reductions in over-funding, excess capacity, and waste in U.S. bioweapons-agents research.

Ebright added that Fauci’s “main reaction to the study was that its existence and its results needed to be classified, in order to prevent policymakers and the public from learning about its existence and drawing conclusions from its results.”

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​Ebola, National institute of allergy and infectious diseases, Anthony fauci, Pentagon, Virus, Politics, Covid-19 

The vast majority of approved H-1B beneficiaries since 2022 are from India, government data shows.

Although the Trump administration is pumping the brakes on the tech-heavy visa program with a new executive order, there are still city-sized numbers of Indian workers getting new visas each year.

A whopping 77,673 Indians were approved for initial employment in 2022.

Between 2022 and 2025, official government data shows a shocking number of visas were approved for Indian workers.

In fiscal year 2022, that number was 320,791, according to numbers from United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. For 2023, the number decreased to 279,386. But for 2024, the number went back up to 283,397, before stagnating at 283, 772 for 2025.

As well, Indian nationals represent the vast majority of H-1B recipients, accounting for at least 70% of beneficiaries each year: almost 73% in 2022, over 72% in 2023, 71% in 2024, and approximately 70% in 2025.

Chinese people represent the second-most H-1B approvals in each year, but only account for between 11.7% and 12.5% of the total. Canada and the Philippines are the next-highest contributors, but their share is just over 1% each.

RELATED: ‘He got afraid’: Former employee of alleged H-1B fraudster reveals what happened after Sara Gonzales exposé

While these numbers include both extensions and new approvals, the number of Indians acquiring initial employment in the U.S. each year is still staggering and makes up the majority of foreign workers.

A whopping 77,673 Indians were approved for initial employment in 2022, representing almost 59% of all initial H-1B visas. Chinese workers were second at just under 19,000 or 14.3%

Initial employment visas were given to almost 69,000 Indians in 2023 (57.9% of total), while more than 80,000 received approval for initial employment in 2024 (57% of total).

To the Trump administration’s credit, the number dropped to 57,747 in 2025, a 50% share.

In terms of gender, from 2022 to 2024, the vast majority of Indian workers getting visa approvals were men. Each year the share of Indian men getting H-1Bs was at least 75%; the 2025 data did not report on the gender split.

RELATED: ‘He got afraid’: Former employee of alleged H-1B fraudster reveals what happened after Sara Gonzales exposé

David McNew/Getty Images

Vice President JD Vance recently echoed the administration’s position on H-1B visas, saying that the White House was not going to let corporate America “lay off American workers so you can replace them with cheap foreign labor.”

Vance linked to a fact sheet that boasted some of the administration’s accomplishments and intentions when it came to the program and the job market.

The Trump administration stated that it wanted to improve interagency coordination and enhance “scrutiny of H-1B visa applications.”

The document touted the renewal of a $100,000 fee for “certain alien H-1B visa applications,” which it said had reduced IT outsourcing by the largest firms by 92%.

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​India, H-1b, Foreign workers, Tech, Politics 

Friends and fans alike have rushed to honor the man they knew as Richard Belding, the principal on the hit 1990s teen sitcom “Saved by the Bell.”

Actor Dennis Haskins, best known for playing Mr. Belding from “Good Morning, Miss Bliss” in 1988 all the way through “Saved by the Bell: The New Class” in 2000, passed away on Sunday in Burbank, California. He was 75 and had been suffering from Parkinson’s disease for the past eight years, the New York Times reported.

‘Dennis was the biggest kid on the SBTB set. If you knew him, you loved him.’

Fellow “SBTB” cast members took to social media to remember their friend.

Mario Lopez, who played handsome jock A.C. Slater, wrote:

Heartbroken to hear about my old friend Dennis Haskins. He played the principal, but Dennis was the biggest kid on the SBTB set. If you knew him, you loved him — and if there was karaoke, you knew Dennis was getting on that mic! I’m grateful for the laughs, the memories, and the friendship we shared all these years. Rest easy, my friend. You’ll always be part of our Bayside family.

Lark Voorhies, who played social butterfly and fashionista Lisa Turtle, said:

Knowing Dennis Haskins for almost 40 years has been one of the truest blessings of my life, which makes losing him hurt so deeply. We shared so much history together from our earliest days, and through it all, he remained a fabulous person, a loyal friend, and someone with such a kind, gentle heart. I am truly heartbroken by his passing and will miss his warmth and laughter more than words can say. Rest in peace Dennis, you will always hold a special place in my heart.

Dustin Diamond, who played nerd Samuel “Screech” Powers, preceded Haskins in death. Diamond died of lung cancer in 2021.

RELATED: ‘Saved by the Bell’ star Dustin Diamond dies at 44

Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images

“SBTB” alumni are not the only ones grieving the loss of Haskins.

Longtime Fox Sports commentator Tim Brando called Haskins a “dear friend” of 30 years. “He was a wonderful soul, and like so many actors on shows of that kind busting his chops to remain a working actor, but having been in such a strong role as Principal it wasn’t easy,” Brando recalled.

“Just a charming man with. Huge heart.”

TV nostalgia X account Blaze Binges shared an endearing clip of Haskins from the show, claiming, “Saved by the Bell was sacred in my house.”

Another fan wrote: “To say ‘Saved By the Bell’ was a big part of my childhood would be an understatement. Rest peacefully, Dennis Haskins. And thank you.”

Reports indicate that Haskins was as friendly and charming in real life as his on-screen persona, Mr. Belding. According to the NYT, he grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee, got married and divorced, and eventually made his way to Burbank.

Kimberly Snow, once a bartender where Haskins was a regular, eventually became his caretaker. “A lot of people thought he owned it, but he didn’t,” Snow recalled of Dimples Karaoke, now closed.

“He just loved the place and its people.”

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​Actor, Saved by the bell, Politics 

Sometimes I wonder what younger men talk about in 2026.

Then I think about my own youth in my 20s and 30s. What did my friends and I talk about? Music, mostly. At least with my crowd. What bands you liked. What new groups you were listening to.

Why is a female broadcaster telling me about returning punts? I returned punts on my JV football team in high school, and it was terrifying. She has never returned a punt.

Films were another topic. The latest movies by Scorsese or Tarantino. There were video games, of course. And books occasionally. And more esoteric pursuits: Computer stuff. Martial arts. Learning to surf.

And then the perennial topics: sports, politics, jobs, women.

The day the music died

Nowadays, music has faded in importance to most men. Movies also seem less popular and not as important.

Politics has become a dangerous subject. Nobody is talking about that in a casual way — not with people they don’t know.

Dating is also a difficult topic of conversation. Women seem to be outdoing men in education, employment, and almost everything else. They really don’t need us any more. And they know it.

A respite in sportsball

But then there’s sports. That’s one topic getting more popular with men.

Sports is safe to talk about. It’s an easy subject to introduce. It’s something men of all ages seem to have an instinctual interest in.

Most importantly, it’s an area where masculinity is not criticized. In sports, men can do “men” things. They can be violent (football). Or graceful (basketball). Or analytical and strategic (baseball).

A safe harbor

Sports remain a place of sanctuary for guys. To become deeply involved in a “Monday Night Football” game is like a separate state of consciousness where you are momentarily shielded from the anxieties of the day.

A good football game has a satisfying narrative. There’s a beginning, a middle, and an end. The competition is real. The result is conclusive. What happened happened. When it’s done, it’s done.

There’s no changing the outcome afterward. No manipulating the statistics or who gets the credit.

A family affair

A love of sports is something you can pass on to your children. You can create family traditions around it.

Unlike most things in modern life, sports institutions remain connected to their histories. Consistency is valued. Conservation is a virtue.

If your grandfather took you to Fenway Park to see the Boston Red Sox, you might do the same with your grandchildren. Which is a great point of pride in Boston.

RELATED: Is college even fun any more?

Chip Somodevilla/Archive Photos/Getty Images

The bookie is on your phone

Unfortunately, anything with this much cultural significance and historic value will inevitably be subverted by the powers that be.

One obvious example: online gambling, which has been permanently attached to every kind of sporting event. Point spreads are now the first talking point when discussing an upcoming game. Even if you don’t gamble yourself, the constant presence of sports betting brings an aura of darkness and exploitation to what should be wholesome entertainment.

It’s nice that they have a “Gambling-is-ruining-my-life” hotline. But what would be even better is for sports gambling to be illegal, as it was for almost my entire lifetime.

Sideline reporters

Another vector of attack: the presence of women in areas of sports that should rightly be the domain of men.

Throughout the sporting world, we see women inserted into male competitions as referees, commentators, coaches, and trainers.

Why is a female broadcaster telling me about returning punts? I returned punts on my JV football team in high school, and it was terrifying. She has never returned a punt. I want to hear from someone who’s done it and knows what it feels like.

Hurting the children

Another alarming development: the transformation of sports into a potential career path for children, who find themselves involved in grueling training routines before they have reached their teens. And this despite coaches, pro athletes, and ex-players urging kids not to begin life-altering training too early.

An entire industry has emerged to develop “future sports stars” from an early age. Never mind the damage to their bodies and the delusional parents who fall for these scams. These kids will be so burned out that they’ll never want to play sports again.

Don’t get too comfortable

All of which is to say: Sports is a precious resource for men. It keeps us sane. It makes us happy. Think about the joy we have experienced in recent weeks from the beginning of the new NFL season.

But we can never get too comfortable. We must remain diligent and protect sports culture from subversion and profiteering. If sports is what we love, sports is what we should fight for.

​Female broadcaster, Monday night football, Sports betting, Sports and politics, Lifestyle, Sports, Culture, Men, Football, Blake’s progress 

An armed home invasion in Florida backfired last week as a man renting a Airbnb shot one suspected intruder and fought the other.

Fort Lauderdale Police officers responded to the scene near Northwest 19th Avenue and Eighth Street around 6 p.m. Thursday, WSVN-TV reported.

‘I just heard the shots, maybe at least 10, and then everybody went running.’

Two males were carrying guns when they broke into the home while the renter was inside, investigators told the station, adding that the renter tried to fight off the perpetrators and shot one of them in the torso in what cops are calling an act of self-defense.

Police said the armed intruders fled the home on foot and left a bloody trail behind, the station reported, adding that a chair splattered with blood was visible at the scene.

A 911 dispatcher said the shot intruder “had an AR, and the complainant shot him. Apparently there were five or six people in a truck that fled the area that were with the gentleman who got shot,” WSVN reported.

Detectives told the station they later found the wounded intruder — identified as 18-year-old Dareon Publien — a short distance away; he was suffering from gunshot wounds to the upper torso.

Police later apprehended his accomplice — identified as 25-year-old Sean Ian Thompson — as well, WSVN reported.

RELATED: Armed thug tries to rob victim pumping gas. But perp chooses the wrong victim to violate.

“I just heard the shots, maybe at least 10, and then everybody went running,” area resident Arthur Butler Junior told WSVN.

Publien was taken to a hospital, where he underwent surgery and was listed in critical but stable condition Friday morning, the station said.

WSVN said that after Publien is released from the hospital, he will be taken to the Broward County Jail and face the same charges as Thompson: attempted felony murder and home invasion with a firearm.

Jail records indicate only Thompson is behind bars as of Tuesday morning.

Police told the station they aren’t looking for more suspects and are trying to determine if the armed home invasion was random or targeted.

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​Florida, Broward county sheriff, Self-defense, Arrest, Home invasion, Guns, Gun rights, Shooting, Crime thwarted, Crime 

Vice President JD Vance believes “woke is dead,” and he thinks recent conduct from Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico demonstrates the point.

In an episode of conservative Vince Coglianese’s podcast that aired on Tuesday, Vance sorted through white and black pills pertaining to the midterm election, which is now only five weeks away.

‘Democrats are literally running away.’

Vance acknowledged the recent rightist doom-saying about the election, boosted in part by recent polls indicating that the Democrats have a serious edge in multiple races. However, the vice president emphasized that the country “is not going to be saved by what Thomas Paine would have called sunshine patriots.”

“You have got to get in there and win these races and make it possible for Republicans to deny a bunch of crazy communists from having positions of power in the United States of America,” said Vance. “It’s just that simple.”

Vance further suggested that the situation may not be as bleak for Republicans as some think, recalling polls from fall of 2024 that indicated that then-Vice President Kamala Harris was going to trounce President Donald Trump and that the Democrats were going to maintain control of the U.S. Senate.

In a Reuters/Ipsos poll published in late September 2024, Harris led Trump 47% to 40%, while an NBC News national poll showed Harris leading Trump 49% to 44%. Trump ultimately defeated Harris in a landslide, securing the popular vote and 86 more Electoral College votes than the Democrat.

RELATED: Exclusive: ‘We all got in by lying’: Hidden camera shows Talarico’s pastor rejecting Christ’s virgin birth, other foundational Christian beliefs

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

While optimistic that the pollsters may be wrong again, Vance noted there are nevertheless “headwinds” and that seldom does a party that controls the House, the Senate, and the White House maintain its trifecta through the midterm election.

“It almost never happens, but this is very different,” said Vance. “Number one, we have a very unique president. Number two, we have a bunch of crazy people running on the other side — yes, people who are promising not to lower your prices or to make your life better. They’re promising to trans your kids and steal all your property. Like, that is not what the American people want out of their government.”

On the topic of the “lunatics” Republicans must work to deny power, two Democratic names came up: Abdul El-Sayed, who is running for the U.S. Senate in Michigan, and Talarico, who is running against Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Coglianese noted that “Talafreako” appears to be “spending all of his time running away from every insane position he’s ever expressed around with a camera” and referenced recently published undercover footage revealing the radicalism and heresy at the Democrat’s church in Austin, Texas.

“This is what I think a particular type of hyper-progressive does to Christianity,” said Vance. “They don’t actually believe in the Resurrection. They don’t believe that Jesus died as an atonement for human sin. What they believe is that Christianity can possibly be a useful tool to acquire political power. So they strip your religion of all of its meaning, of all of its truth, and wear it as a skin suit — and they try to trick people into voting for them.”

“That’s what Talafreako is fundamentally engaged in,” added Vance.

The vice president once again identified a silver lining: Whereas Talarico was previously proud of his theological, economic, and moral radicalism, now when “you turn on the TV … you would think James Talarico is basically a Republican, maybe a moderate Republican — but you would have no idea if you’re just a normal Texas voter watching his advertising who this guy is.”

Although Talarico’s election-time moderation could be read as naked opportunism and deceit, Vance suggested instead that it means “we’ve won the argument.”

“When you’ve won the argument so thoroughly that the other side is pretending they agree with you on the issues just to get elected, the result is not the black pill,” said the vice president.

“The reason I’m super optimistic about just the nature of the country long-term is we have won the argument. Woke is dead. The Democrats are literally running away from things that they said two years ago in an effort to gain political power. That’s cynical. It’s ridiculous. But the fact that we won the argument is a very good first step.”

Talarico — who had a five-point lead over Paxton in a September Texas Public Opinion Research poll and was tied with Paxton in the new Republican-sponsored Stratus Intelligence poll — recently walked back his previous claims that there are six genders and that “God is nonbinary,” as well as his support for male transvestites playing in girls’ sports.

A lesbian chaplain at Talarico’s church in Austin was recently shown in undercover footage claiming that while Talarico has publicly pivoted about God being “nonbinary,” “he’ll change his tune back to where he was” if elected.

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​Christianity, Faith, Heresy, James talarico, Jd vance, Kamala harris, Ken paxton, Midterm election, Polls, Politics 

While some reporters follow the facts wherever they lead, others start with a story they want to tell and work backwards from there.

And former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt explains that it’s the latter more often than the public realizes — but BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales has had it happen to her and is well aware.

In a recent interview with Sean Hannity, Leavitt described a common media tactic: A reporter develops a negative narrative about the Trump administration, finds loosely connected sources willing to validate it, and publishes the story even after receiving direct denials from people who were actually in the room.

“They, you know, believe they are arbiters of the truth and doing the country a great service, but they are clearly slanted and biased against the president,” she told Hannity.

“This is how fake news is manufactured, for your audience to understand,” she continued. “You’ll have a hack journalist who comes up with a narrative on their own that they think is true about the president or the White House, and they love the palace intrigue stories.”

Leavitt explained that “batting down fake stuff” was about 90% of her job.

“They’ll find a source who has no idea what they’re talking about, was not in the room, doesn’t even work at the White House, maybe worked on the campaign as a volunteer staffer for one day. And they’ll say, ‘A source close to President Trump told us this,’” she said.

“Like, who’s your source? Because I was in the room, so I’m a better source than them. And I’m telling you, this did not happen,” she added.

Leavitt went on to say that the reporters would then respond that they “really trust” that source and would “still write it” anyways.

“All they need is two sources,” she said. “One to say that happened. Another for them to call and say, ‘I heard this happened.’ And that person will say, ‘Yeah, that probably sounds right.’ And then the story’s written, and you can have the White House aggressively on the record pushing back, and they’ll still print.”

“That’s how things get written. They just seek to get a bad narrative, and they’ll find anyone who helps them push that narrative,” she added.

“I know it sounds crazy that they would just come up with a narrative and then try to approach people to corroborate that narrative that they just made up,” Gonzales says.

“Sounds crazy, but Karoline is 100% correct,” she adds.

Gonzales reveals that reporters have reached out to her with a political bias attempting to spin a story, revealing one recent text conversation she had with a reporter at Politico.

“No thanks, I’m going to pass on that,” she says. “I don’t need to engage with you, I know what this is. I always know what it is.”

“The mainstream media is trash,” she adds.

Want more from Sara Gonzales?

To enjoy more of Sara’s no-holds-barred takes on news and culture, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​White house, Karoline leavitt, Donald trump, Mainstream media, Sara gonzales, Fake news, Blazetv show 

Visual Intelligence was introduced to iPhone with iOS 18, but unless you had the right phone or knew where to look, you probably didn’t even know it was there. Or what it does. This year, the feature makes the jump into the Camera app for easier access. Here’s how to find it and put it to use.

When Visual Intelligence launched in 2024, it was actually an iPhone 16 series exclusive. Within the next year, support trickled down to iPhone 15 to bring more users into the fold. Naturally, every new iPhone newer than that also received the feature, including the brand-new iPhone 18 Pro Max, which we reviewed here.

It’s a neat tool.

As the name implies, Visual Intelligence uses AI to help users decipher the world around them through the camera lens of an iPhone. With a photo, it can speak text out loud, like on a restaurant menu or inside a book; translate foreign languages you might come across while abroad; and use AI to understand objects. It’s a neat tool for those times you encounter something in public and you want to know more about it.

Previously to invoke Visual Intelligence, you had to either hold down the Camera Control button on the side of compatible iPhones or summon it with an icon hidden away in Control Center. Needless to say, it was easy to miss unless you knew exactly where to look. The latest iOS 27 update hopes to change that, as Visual Intelligence is now baked directly into the main Camera app.

RELATED: Not all new iPhones are worth it. This one blows them all away.

iPhone 18 Pro Max Models/Apple

Now when you open the Camera app, you’ll find a new “Siri” tab to the right of the main “Photo” screen. Swipe left to reveal a brand-new interface with the Siri logo in place of the on-screen camera button. Point your camera at an object, tap the button, and Siri will generate a response that pops down from the top of the display to explain what you’re looking at.

Alternatively, tap the comment box in the bottom left corner of the display to take a photo of the object in front of you and immediately launch into a chat thread about that object. Here, you can ask Siri questions about the object or, in my case, argue whether or not Siri actually got the object right. More on that in a second.

If you want to find similar objects for reference or to purchase, tap the photo with the magnifying glass on the bottom right corner of the screen, and Siri will launch a pop-out menu with results from connected apps, like Google, Amazon, Walmart, the Shop app, and TikTok.

Visual Intelligence Camera on iOS 27/Getty Images

Overall, Visual Intelligence is handy, but it’s not perfect. While I was snapping an image of my Google Nest Wi-Fi router, Siri mistook it first for an Apple HomePod and then a router made by another brand. It did eventually get it right, though, so that’s the important thing.

On the flip side, it immediately identified my Apple Magic Keyboard and Apple Magic Mouse. For whatever reason, it seems to understand Apple-branded products quite well.

Your mileage may vary.

Visual Intelligence is available in the Camera app on compatible devices running iOS 27. That means you’ll need to update to the latest software to access it this way. If you’re on iOS 26, you can still reach Visual Intelligence, but you’ll have to hold down the Camera Control on the side of your phone or bring it up in Control Center. If you don’t have a Camera Control button (with the exception of Apple iPhone 16e models), then your phone likely doesn’t have Visual Intelligence at all.

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​Artificial intelligence, Ios, Iphone, Tech 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has detained yet another Cumberland County, Maine, corrections officer.

Dannick Massamba-Bankela, who was detained on Tuesday, is the fifth noncitizen Cumberland County corrections officer detained by ICE since April 2025, highlighting a controversial hiring pattern in the jurisdiction. Previous arrests generated tension between Sheriff Kevin Joyce and the ICE office in Scarborough, Maine.

‘Illegal aliens have no place in our communities, especially in positions of law enforcement.’

Massamba-Bankela, who migrated from the Republic of the Congo, was ordered to report to Scarborough’s ICE processing facility on September 19. Protesters, who gather daily across the street from the ICE building, showered the detainee with support.

“It’s not his fault that the U.S. government delays forever in scheduling these asylum interviews,” Massamba-Bankela’s lawyer, Christina Corbaci, told Maine Public. “So what is a person supposed to do? He’s putting down ties. He’s moving forward with his life. He’s integrating into the community exactly like we ask immigrants to do, fully.”

As of Monday, Massamba-Bankela is being held at Wyatt Detention Center in Rhode Island, according to ICE’s detainee locator. The Congolese national was previously held at Massachusetts’ Plymouth County Correctional Facility, according to the Maine Wire.

The five detained corrections officers in Cumberland County hailed either from the Congo or Angola. Some entered the U.S. on tourist or student visas before claiming asylum. At least one, Angolan national Emanuel Ludovic Mbuangi Landila, illegally entered the country via the southern border in 2019, the Bangor Daily News reported, citing the Department of Homeland Security.

Sheriff Joyce claimed that the four officers detained prior to Massamba-Bankela displayed work authorization sufficient for their employment with Cumberland County. Massamba-Bankela’s lawyer told Maine Public that her client also possessed valid work authorization.

Work authorization does not override a visa overstay or legalize an alien’s presence in the country, according to ICE.

RELATED: Retiree radicalism: Behind the scenes with Maine’s anti-ICE activists

Benjamin Roberts/Blaze Media

The ICE facility in Scarborough is not a detention center. At least two of the affected corrections officers were processed by agents there and either transferred to permanent custody elsewhere or, in the case of illegal entrant Landila, released on bond.

Landila was detained on January 21, released on bond in February, and ultimately returned to his training program by April, according to the Portland Press Herald. He remains subject to removal pending a final asylum decision.

All five of the detained men were hired by Democrat Sheriff Kevin Joyce, who first took office in 2010. He is running for re-election.

“I guess if you’re not the card-carrying, you know, U.S. citizen, then you must be illegal. Because that’s what they told me is he’s illegal — and he’s definitely not a criminal,” Joyce said in January after Landila’s arrest. “So what part of him is illegal? I don’t know.”

“This was a show of force, a show of whatever they were trying to do with seven people,” Joyce said.

The Maine Criminal Justice Academy dropped English reading and writing tests as a requirement for certification in 2024, shortly before the county’s spate of noncitizen hiring.

After that requirement was cut, Joyce claimed to have hired over 20 immigrants as corrections officers in just one year.

RELATED: Mexican national accused of sexually assaulting woman on Mackinac Island

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Though the county doesn’t sponsor visas, it also doesn’t screen for citizenship or legal status. The job posting states that applicants must be “authorized to work for ANY employer in the U.S.,” but doesn’t inquire about green cards, an applicant’s right to remain in the country, or pending asylum/immigration decisions.

The Cumberland County jail faced a severe staffing shortage prior to its noncitizen hiring spree.

“Under President Trump and Secretary [Markwayne] Mullin, ICE is restoring law and order. Illegal aliens have no place in our communities, especially in positions of law enforcement,” a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told Blaze News. “Being in detention is a choice. We encourage all illegal aliens to take control of their departure with the CBP Home App.”

Maine isn’t the only state that allows noncitizens to serve in the prison system. Texas employs about 1,600 foreign nationals in its prison system, according to the Houston Chronicle.

“The United States is offering illegal aliens $3,000 and a free flight to self-deport now. We encourage every person here illegally to take advantage of this offer and reserve the chance to come back to the U.S. the right, legal way to live the American dream,” the DHS said. “If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return.”

Cumberland County, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, and Massamba-Bankela’s legal representative did not respond to requests for comment.

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​Department of homeland security, Detention center, Immigration, Maine, Politics, Immigration and customs enforcement