Category: blaze media

Blaze News in September reported about a violent and rampant repeat offender who was accused of randomly punching and knocking out a mother of 11 on a Chicago street in broad daylight.

The victim — 56-year-old Kathleen Miles — didn’t know what hit her as she walked to a train with a co-worker along West Washington Avenue on Aug. 19.

‘This guy is strong, and scary, and he knows what he’s doing.’

Miles recalled to WLS-TV at the time that the culprit “hit me with such force” that the punch knocked her out and left her with several broken facial bones and a concussion.

Police told WLS that Miles was attacked by 32-year-old William Livingston. Police told Blaze News that Livingston was charged with two felony counts of aggravated battery/public place, a felony count of aggravated battery/great bodily harm, and a misdemeanor count of reckless conduct/bodily harm.

The video report below not only shows how badly Miles was injured but also includes surveillance video of the devastating punch.

RELATED: Chicago thug accused of randomly punching mother of 11 in face, knocking her out on downtown street — and White House reacts

WGN-TV reported that Livingston was arrested the same day of the attack. Cook County Jail records indicate Livingston was booked Aug. 21, and he has remained in jail as of Friday with no bond.

Livingston has been described by WMAQ-TV as a “so-called serial puncher.” A WBBM-TV investigation found he had been arrested at least 20 times dating back to 2012 “but keeps being released from custody.”

Well, Livingston on Wednesday was arrested yet again — and believe it or not, while he was behind bars in Cook County Jail, Chicago police told Blaze News.

Police said officers along with the U.S. Marshals Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested Livingston after he was identified as the offender who struck two victims — a 40-year-old female and a 29-year-old female — in the 2700 block of North Clark Street on June 12. Police said he was charged with two felony counts of aggravated battery/public place.

One of the victims, Anne Kurze, identified Livingston from a police lineup as her attacker, WBBM-TV reported: “He stood about this far from me, and punched me, and then kept walking north up the street.”

After Livingston was formally charged in connection with the June attacks, Kurze told WBBM that “any day he is off the street is a good day. It does stir up a lot of big feelings, a lot of free-floating anxiety, fear — that feeling of being so scared back in June.”

WBBM also said Kurze suffered a neck injury and concussion as a result of the punch: “It could have been so much worse; this guy is strong, and scary, and he knows what he’s doing.”

The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office added to WBBM that Livingston is being directly indicted in the case, meaning that officials are taking the evidence straight to a grand jury.

RELATED: 54-year-old repeat offender accused of fatally stabbing woman, 25, after first spitting on her in Chicago

WLS at the time of the attack against Miles said a records search produced 13 mugshots of Livingston going back to 2012 — and that a large number of those arrests were for aggravated assault and battery of both women and police officers.

“Like, what is enough?” Miles asked WLS. “You know, what does someone have to do? Where someone, where he’s going to be, where they’re going to be held accountable.”

RELATED: 54-year-old repeat offender accused of fatally stabbing woman, 25, after first spitting on her in Chicago

Here’s a brief rundown of Livingston’s violence over the last eight years, according to WLS:

In 2017, he was accused of randomly attacking two women months apart. Both cases were dropped.

In 2022, Livingston was sentenced to five years in prison after prosecutors said he punched and attempted to rob four women within 20 minutes in the Loop.

In 2023, while on parole, Livingston was arrested for hitting a woman in the face on North Michigan Avenue.

And in 2024, Livingston was sentenced to 100 days in prison after he punched a 15-year-old girl, also on North Michigan Avenue.

Police said Livingston was arrested at 12:26 p.m. on Feb. 8, 2022, after being identified as the individual who struck and attempted to take personal property from multiple female victims within minutes of each other. Police said Livingston was charged with four felony counts of aggravated battery/public place, two felony counts of attempted robbery, and one misdemeanor count of battery/make physical contact.

Cami Blechschmidt, a DePaul University student, described to WGN the random attacks against her and three other women that day.

“I felt a hand in my pocket, turned my head like that, and there was a man directly in front of me, and he punched me directly in the face,” Blechschmidt recounted to WGN in 2022. “We made eye contact, and like, he just had pure hate in his eyes. Just anger, pure anger.”

Shortly after the attack against her, Miles told WLS that if Livingston “had been held accountable for his actions, then I wouldn’t be sitting here with injuries.”

RELATED: Thugs rob teen of his iPhone, Nike sneakers; but boy’s family finds 1 suspect — and delivers painful payback: Cops

Following Livingston’s arrest earlier this week, Miles told WMAQ that she hopes Livingston now will be prevented from carrying out future attacks — and indeed she added to the station that the trauma of the August attack against her still lingers: “I struggle with it every day; I struggle with just fear of being hurt.”

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A massive brawl broke out at halftime between the players of Grambling State and Bethune-Cookman this past weekend — which resulted in over two dozen players being suspended.

Grambling State and Bethune-Cookman are both historically black colleges and universities that ex-NFL star Cam Newton explained on “4th&1 Podcast with Cam Newton” are now “set back” by the students’ and the coaches’ actions.

“We are already at a deficit with visibility, and we literally just had a civil war over a football game. What?” Newton began.

“No matter if you in the MEAC, the SWAC, the SIAC, the OVC, if you’re a representation of blackness and black culture, you should look at this and say to yourself, ‘This set us back,’” he continued.

Immediately following the brawl, Grambling State head coach Mickey Joseph said the school wasn’t going to tolerate “disrespect,” and the school is “going to meet disrespect with disrespect.” While he later apologized, Newton still wasn’t having it.

“It set us back. Just imagine if you had College Game Day and a melee broke out in halftime versus LSU in Alabama. Certain things just will not happen,” he said.

“I don’t care what somebody else did. It’s what you did in retaliation to that,” he added.

BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock believes Newton’s response is real “progress.”

“One of the things I have to acknowledge about all of these athletes moving into the media space, they’re now acting or moving towards acting like media members. And that means they find themselves having to criticize people who allegedly look like them or share their skin color,” Whitlock says.

“And so when it was just us journalists out here doing it, if you were white and you called out Mickey Joseph and this foolishness, oh, you’re being racist. If you were black, you’re an Uncle Tom and a coon, and the athletes used to feel this way and say these types of things,” he continues.

“Now that they’re in the media … they’re looking out like, ‘Hold on, man, there are people that allegedly look like me or share my skin complexion who are doing foolish things that have to be called out,’” he says, adding, “Hats off to Cam Newton for calling it out.”

Want more from Jason Whitlock?

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Wisconsin prosecutors have charged four people, two of whom they described as “extremely obese,” with allegedly starving and neglecting a 14-year-old girl until she weighed only 35 pounds.

Forty-seven-year-old Walter Goodman lived with his wife, his stepdaughter, and her female partner in a home in Oneida in Outagamie County that one court official described as a “house of horrors.”

‘These allegations before the court today are incredibly disturbing. And it’s alleged that the minor child was quite frankly living in a house of horrors.’

Goodman called emergency services in August to report that his daughter had been sick.

A dispatcher described the call as, “Fourteen-year-old child who does not eat much has been sick, vomiting, and lethargic. Now unresponsive.”

First responders said the teenager appeared to be the “size of a 6- to 8-year-old,” according to the criminal complaint.

“She was very, very close to death. Again, 35 pounds at 14 years old,” said Assistant District Attorney Julie DuQuaine of Outagamie County in court.

The girl was airlifted to Children’s Wisconsin in Wauwatosa, where doctors treated her for extreme malnutrition.

“This is the most egregious case of child neglect I think I have ever personally seen in my nearly 25-year career,” DuQuaine said.

Investigators said that the teenager had lived with her father since 2020 but had never gone to school or seen a doctor. Goodman said that she had lived with her biological mother until the mother was sent to jail and he got full custody. He also claimed that the teen had an eating disorder.

“She don’t eat. She’s autistic,” he is quoted as saying.

However, texts obtained by police showed that the people in the home referred to her as “dummy” and “stupid” when communicating about her eating schedule.

“We gave her a (expletive) shake last night bc I felt bad and of course she was laying nice and quiet to get what she wanted,” texted 29-year-old Savanna Lefever, Goodman’s stepdaughter.

“Yes, she’s a manipulative. That’s how she works,” responded Melissa Goodman.

The criminal complaint described Lefever and Melissa Goodman as being “extremely obese to the point of being nearly bed-bound and rarely left the residence.” Lefever’s 27-year-old partner Kayla Stemler is the only person who left the home to go to work.

RELATED: Woman accused of horrific child abuse said cylinder on her belt held ‘baby daddy’s ashes’ — cops say it was meth

“But for the grace of God, she did not die,” said Outagamie County Court Commissioner Brian Figgy.

“Quite frankly, these allegations before the court today are incredibly disturbing. And it’s alleged that the minor child was quite frankly living in a house of horrors,” he added.

All four of the adults face five counts of chronic child neglect.

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An anti-immigration enforcement protest outside an ICE facility in Chicago resulted in multiple officer injuries and nearly a dozen arrests as some attempted to breach security barriers, according to local reports.

Leftist protesters have been regularly gathering outside the ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois, since the Trump administration launched its immigration crackdown, Operation Midway Blitz.

‘Womp womp, cry all you want. These criminal illegal aliens aren’t getting released.’

On Friday, activists once again demonstrated outside the facility, protesting against ICE’s enforcement efforts. Local reports indicated that this particular demonstration was more tense and volatile than those in recent weeks.

Local law enforcement officers worked to keep the road leading to the facility clear, confining protesters to designated areas. However, when some activists became violent and attempted to force their way into the street, officers began making arrests.

Videos captured by independent journalist Brendan Gutenschwager showed a line of Cook County sheriff’s deputies attempting to keep protesters off the road. Several skirmishes between officers and protesters broke out, resulting in multiple detainments.

RELATED: DHS blasts ‘ACTIVIST’ Biden judge’s order to cut loose hundreds of illegal aliens in Chicago, pause deportations

Photo by Jamie Kelter Davis/Getty Images

“Who do you protect? Who do you serve?” the crowd chanted.

Twenty-one protesters were arrested and four officers were injured, WLS-TV reported on Friday morning. Of those injured, two were police officers, one a state trooper, and the other a Cook County sheriff’s deputy.

The local news outlet stated that Friday’s protest was the largest one in recent weeks, noting that counter-protesters were also present.

“I have repeatedly pleaded to protesters to raise their voices, not their fists. They have chosen their fists. These out-of-towners have chosen to brutalize police officers who have been protecting their free speech and protecting them against assaults by ICE agents. We will see them in court,” Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson stated.

RELATED: ‘He’s not that smart’: Homan lampoons Chicago mayor for pleading with UN to intervene against ICE

Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images

Border czar Tom Homan reacted to the Broadview protest.

“I was watching the videos before I came out here. When they put hands on law enforcement officers, they’re getting arrested and going to jail,” Homan told White House reporters on Friday. “You have a right to protest, but don’t cross the line.”

The crowd was estimated to be roughly 200-300 protesters.

The Department of Homeland Security posted about the protest on X, writing, “Womp womp, cry all you want. These criminal illegal aliens aren’t getting released.”

“Like clockwork, violent rioters have arrived at the Broadview ICE facility to demand the release of some of the worst human beings on planet earth,” the DHS continued. “Get a job you imbecilic morons.”

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Liberals protesting against the mass deportation policies of the Trump administration donned leotards and participated in a bizarre aerobics class outside of a detention facility.

On Sunday, about two dozen protesters dressed up in ’80s garb and hopped around satirically outside of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland, Oregon.

‘These people are so freaking weird … I think they might really be space aliens.’

The Portland ICE facility has been the scene of some of the most violent protests against the agency. Protesters have also donned Halloween costumes in an attempt to ridicule federal officers and defuse claims of violent intent. One protest included nude cyclists.

Oregon Live reported that the aerobics protest was called “Sweatin’ Out the Fascists,” and participants collected donations for the Oregon Food Bank.

In one instance, officials blared out orders to protesters with a loudspeaker in the voice of President Donald Trump using a digital voice cloner.

Some mocked the protest on social media with humorous jabs.

“Make insane asylums full again,” read one response.

“Our civil war opposition. Not sure how I will sleep peacefully again,” joked another user.

“These people are so freaking weird. And of course the obligatory furry in the back. I think they might really be space aliens,” added another.

The administration has previously threatened to cut off federal funds to the city if local law enforcement didn’t do more to stop the attacks on federal officials.

“This is not peaceful protesting. This is left-wing anarchy that has been destroying this great American city for years, leaving police officers battered, citizens terrorized, and business properties damaged,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt in October.

RELATED: Democratic senator accuses Trump administration of faking anti-ICE rioting

“These radical left-wing lunatics have violently breached the ICE facility by using a stop sign as a battering ram,” she continued, “hurled explosives and other projectiles at law enforcement, repeatedly assault and doxx officers, berate their law-abiding neighbors, and have even rolled out a guillotine in front of the ICE facility.”

Leavitt added, “Law and order will prevail, and President Trump will make sure of it.”

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Since the murder of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, conservative firebrand Candace Owens has been commenting on numerous conspiracy theories surrounding Kirk’s death. She has made it clear that she believes the FBI’s current narrative — that Kirk was allegedly killed by lone gunman and radical leftist Tyler Robinson — isn’t the truth.

Owens, a vocal Israel critic, speculates that Kirk’s assassination was a targeted political hit involving TPUSA insiders, military contractors, and various “Zionist” influences and that Robinson is merely the fall guy in a calculated scheme.

While some have cheered on Owens as a truth-seeker, many have criticized her as recklessly divisive and harmful to Kirk’s grieving friends and family, while she offers little evidence. These include BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey, who has defended TPUSA against Owens’ allegations.

Stuckey’s initial criticism avoided naming Owens and instead focused on debunking claims about TPUSA’s role — specifically that the last-minute booking of the Utah Valley University event points to internal foul play.

In an X thread from November 6, Stuckey shared her experience scheduling TPUSA events with Charlie.

— (@)

In addition, she posted a series of Instagram stories (now expired) urging her audience not to “outsource critical thinking” to other people. Without naming Owens, Stuckey said, “If you are implicating a real person in a murder plot, you better be 100% sure that it is true and backed by hard evidence.”

Owens, on the November 11 episode of her podcast “Candace,” played these Instagram reels and addressed Allie directly: “It was Charlie’s real life, Allie. That was Charlie’s real life when you saw him sitting there and he got shot. … I feel like that’s the part you’re missing because you’re so worried about the surrounding cast of characters who have been literally caught lying.”

She went on to accuse Stuckey of not genuinely caring about justice for Charlie: “He’s not here any more. Maybe you’re not worried about him, but I am. I’m actually worried, and I want to know what happened to Charlie Kirk.”

On yesterday’s episode of “Relatable,” Allie responded to Candace directly. With grace, tact, and biblical clarity, she offered a measured rebuke rooted in Scripture.

“[It was] my friend too who was shot in the neck, whom you have seen me talk about and reference several times over the past few weeks and just, you know, what that mentorship meant to me,” says Stuckey, adding that it “makes [her] sad.”

“I’ve thought really hard, like how do I respond in a way that is actually edifying, that lifts you up and doesn’t just tear down and get down in the mud? … There’s a part of me that does just want to go tit for tat … but I just know that that will lead to a never-ending back-and-forth,” she adds.

Stuckey admits that she “can’t compete” with Owens’ claims to have “secret sources” in the government and in TPUSA, nor can she claim that Charlie visited her in a dream, as Owens purports.

“I don’t have any special insight at all. … If I were to reveal all of the texts to each other [Kirk and Allie] that we have over the years, you wouldn’t find anything juicy — no gossip, no hidden clues, no secret signals. So I just won’t go there,” she says.

“So I’m instead going to do three things: I am going to give us direction from Scripture on what godly truth-seeking looks like, and I’m going to analyze the weight of our words, and then I just want to share the arrows with a few of my friends.”

Biblical truth-seeking

“Christians are called to sift. We are called to discern. We are called to weigh what is being said — both how it’s being said and the content of what is being said — against objective truth, against logical truth, and most importantly against biblical truth,” says Stuckey.

She points to the Bereans in Acts 17 — Jewish believers who were praised as “more noble” because they eagerly received Paul’s teaching but examined the Scriptures daily to verify if his words were true — as the biblical model for truth-seeking. “They didn’t just listen to Paul and Silas. … They examined the word of God to see if what they were saying matched,” she says, urging listeners to do the same.

When filtering ideas through the lenses of objectivity and logic, Stuckey suggests asking questions such as, “Is there evidence?” “Who is the source?” “What is the other potential side of this argument?” “What are the other possible conclusions that one could draw?” And “Is someone being falsely accused?” It is critical, she argues, to gather as much evidence as possible before drawing conclusions.

“Investigation and truth-seeking are really important, but there is a difference between investigation and truth-seeking versus salacious, innuendo-driven drip campaign,” she warns.

‘Words matter’

Words, says Stuckey, don’t just have earthly implications; they also have eternal ones. She points to Jesus’ words in Matthew 12:36 — “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak” — as well as Solomon’s in Proverbs 18:21: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”

“Words are really important to Christianity. They’re really important to God. We read over and over again, whether it’s in these passages or the book of James, how much our tongue can do in creating real-life impact and how much our words matter,” she says, advising against “[stirring] up suspicion” and “[pointing] fingers.”

From the commandment in Exodus not to bear false witness against our neighbor to Ephesians’ edict to “let no corrupting talk” come from our mouths, the Bible is clear that our words, especially when aimed at other people, deeply matter to God.

Stuckey acknowledges that her response to Owens will inevitably result in “a fresh set of arrows” for her too, but she refuses to fan the flames of conspiracy theory while hard evidence is sparse.

“I think that we have to trust that those closest to Charlie — that Erika, that those in his life who loved him way more than we ever did, who knew him way better than we ever did — that they want truth more than anyone, that they want justice more than anyone, and that they are asking the right questions,” she says.

Despite Owens’ accusation, this stance is “not a lack of caring” for Charlie or truth, she says.

“It is trusting the Lord, but also trusting the people who knew Charlie and loved him.”

To hear Allie’s full response to Candace Owens, watch the episode above.

Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?

To enjoy more of Allie’s upbeat and in-depth coverage of culture, news, and theology from a Christian, conservative perspective, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Relatable, Allie beth stuckey, Candace owens, Israel, Charlie kirk, Charlie kirk assassination, Charlie kirk conspiracy theories, Blazetv, Blaze media 

A popular online liberal account attempted to spread panic about immigration officials trying to deport a Native American, but the Trump administration fired back against the story.

The Occupy Democrats account posted a story about the arrest of Leticia Jacobo, a 24-year-old woman and member of Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community in Arizona.

‘Dead wrong. This woman was never in ICE custody.’

Jacobo, who was born in Phoenix and is an American citizen, was arrested for allegedly driving without a license in September and was being detained at a Polk County Jail in Des Moines, Iowa.

The woman was scheduled to be released on Nov. 11, but her family was informed that she was being held on a detainer from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The detainers are often issued when federal officials request time to determine whether federal immigration law has been violated.

“My sister said, ‘How is she going to get deported if she’s a Native American?’ and ‘We have proof,'” said Maria Nunez, Jacobo’s aunt. “They said, ‘Well, we don’t know because we’re not immigration and we can’t answer those questions. We’re just holding her for them. So when they pick her up tonight, they’re going to go ahead and deport her to wherever they’re going to take her, but we have no information on that.'”

The family scrambled to have Jacobo’s birth certificate delivered to officials before she was to be remanded to federal custody. She was released a day later, on Nov. 12.

A spokesperson for the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said the incident was the result of a clerical error. Lt. Mark Chance said the detainer was intended for a different inmate.

“It was human error, but I’m sure as soon as the command staff find out about it, they’re going to have some meetings with their supervisors internally and be like, ‘Hey, guys, we gotta keep our thumb on this, this is silly,'” Chance said.

The Occupy Democrats account called for the abolition of ICE over the incident.

“ICE just tried to deport this woman,” the post began.

“This is what happens when an agency like ICE is given unchecked power — where ‘clerical errors’ can destroy lives, and where systemic racism and dehumanization are written into the paperwork,” they wrote. “If her family hadn’t fought like hell, Leticia Jacobo could have been vanished into ICE custody — another name lost in a broken, brutal system.”

Their post went viral on X, with over 4.6 million views.

Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Dept. of Homeland Security, fired back on social media.

“Dead wrong. This woman was never in ICE custody,” she responded.

A Blaze News request for comment from Occupy Democrats was not immediately answered.

RELATED: ICE officer shoots at driver who tried to run over agent during vehicle stop, DHS says

Jacobo’s family says they are considering legal action over the incident. They also claimed that Jacobo had her tribal identification with her at the time of her arrest and accused officials of discrimination.

“I do want to say that it’s racial profiling because she’s been there before, they have a rap sheet on her — why would they make a mistake with someone that’s constantly coming in?” Nunez asked.

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​Native american deportation, Leticia jacobo, Occupy democrats, White house vs dems, Politics 

A Detroit Lions player says he is sorry if he hurt anyone’s feelings.

The Lions crushed the Washington Commanders 44-22 in Landover, Maryland, on Sunday, in a game that featured a flyover from President Trump in Air Force One.

‘It had nothing to do with who the president was.’

The event included the president in the commentary booth, and Trump swore in members of the military over a chorus of boos from Commanders fans.

Fans were likely equally as perturbed when Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown celebrated a touchdown with Trump’s signature dance, which was a massive trend among athletes in 2024.

Evidence of displeasure from fans was apparent on social media following the game. Detractors called Brown “a f**king disgrace” and a “hoe ass n***a,” while claiming he is “supporting an orange racist, sexist, felon currently stopping people from receiving food.”

On Wednesday, St. Brown took to his podcast to address the controversy. His brother, Equanimeous, brought up the “elephant in the room” less than six minutes into the episode.

“You had a touchdown celebration. Talk about it,” Equanimeous prompted his brother.

Amon-Ra then immediately apologized.

RELATED: Liberals spew hatred at NFL player for pointing at Trump after touchdown and doing his dance: ‘Yousa hoe a** n***a’

“First of all, if I offended anyone, I do apologize. I did not mean to offend anyone. It was just we’re having fun,” he said on the “St. Brown Podcast.”

The 26-year-old added, “If any president was at that game — if they had a dance, I would have done it. It had nothing to do with who the president was.”

While it seemed that St. Brown was deliberately fence-sitting, he commented on the historic nature of Trump’s appearance at the Commanders’ venue.

“Even after the game, I found out — someone told me that was the first game that a president has been to in over 40 years. So first regular-season game, which is crazy,” he said.

The receiver said the controversy was simply a case of him and his teammates “having fun doing the dance”; “nothing more, nothing less.”

Backing his brother, Equanimeous equally described the “quick shimmy” as “nothing serious, nothing political.”

RELATED: ‘All the guys wanted me to do it’: NFL players respond to Trump-dance publicity as league passes issue down to networks

Trump has become intertwined with the Commanders franchise during his second term, as the team hopes to move back to D.C. and a $2.7 billion stadium.

Trump, the NFL, and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) praised the plans in May while announcing that the city would also host the 2027 NFL Draft.

The president subsequently threatened to suspend the whole deal if the Commanders refused to change their name back to the Washington Redskins. The team abandoned the moniker in 2020, going as the Washington Football Team until rebranding as the Washington Commanders in 2022.

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The proposition granting the Democrat-controlled legislature authority to redraw California’s congressional districts won by a decisive margin, but the Trump administration is suing to stop the gerrymandering scheme.

On Thursday the Department of Justice filed to join a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law that would allow Democrats to possibly flip five Republican seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

‘Race cannot be used as a proxy to advance political interests, but that is precisely what the California General Assembly did with Prop. 50.’

Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom lauded the proposition’s passage as a victory for Democrats against President Donald Trump.

Trump officials fired back that the scheme violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution based on evidence that Democrats were redrawing districts along racial demographic lines.

“Race cannot be used as a proxy to advance political interests, but that is precisely what the California General Assembly did with Prop. 50,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Jesus Osete. “Californians were sold an illegal, racially gerrymandered map, but the U.S. Constitution prohibits its use in 2026 and beyond.”

Newsom campaigned for Proposition 50 on the basis that it gave Californians a chance to fight back against the Trump administration and foil the president’s plans. The endeavor proved successful, as the proposition passed with 64.6% of the vote in support and only 35.4% voting in opposition.

“The essence of this moment, what Proposition 50 represents to those that have been bullied, to those that have been demeaned, to those that feel powerless, to those that are concerned about not only themselves but each other, our community, the city, our state, our nation, and, for that matter, what we represent to rest of the world,” said Newsom. “That’s what Prop. 50 represents.”

Trump suggested that Democrats had rigged the contest on the day of the election.

“The Unconstitutional Redistricting Vote in California is a GIANT SCAM in that the entire process, in particular the Voting itself, is RIGGED,” the president wrote on social media. “All ‘Mail-In’ Ballots, where the Republicans in that State are ‘Shut Out,’ is under very serious legal and criminal review.”

RELATED: Gavin Newsom tries to hit Trump administration on energy prices — and gets humiliated online

“California’s redistricting scheme is a brazen power-grab that tramples on civil rights and mocks the democratic process,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi of the lawsuit. “Governor Newsom’s attempt to entrench one-party rule and silence millions of Californians will not stand.”

Newsom’s office responded to the lawsuit on social media.

“These losers lost at the ballot box and soon they will also lose in court,” read the statement.

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The creators of “South Park” didn’t always know it would become a hit — let alone one of the longest-running shows in the history of television.

Just ask Hollywood veteran David Zucker, who hired Trey Parker and Matt Stone shortly before the duo — and the foul-mouthed kids they created — became household names.

‘They were also unsure of if “South Park” would ever work.’

Zucker — who directed seminal spoof comedy “Airplane!” along with his brother Jerry and the late Jim Abrahams — recalled that when he first met the University of Colorado grads in the mid-1990s, they were still very much struggling filmmakers.

Ride share

“They came to my office and I met with these guys, and Trey didn’t have a car,” Zucker said.

Despite their precarious finances, the duo already had a feature film under their belt — 1993’s “Cannibal! The Musical” — as well as animated short “The Spirit of Christmas,” which would soon land them a deal for “South Park.”

Impressed with their talents, Zucker hired Parker and Stone to do a video for Universal executives commemorating the studio’s recent purchase by Canadian beverage giant Seagram.

The duo turned in “Your Studio and You,” a side-splitting send-up of 1950s industrial videos crammed with cameos by the likes of Steven Spielberg, Sylvester Stallone, and Michael J. Fox.

Hedging their bets

Zucker remembered the young newcomers in 1997 when casting the leads for his longtime passion project, “BASEketball.” By then Parker and Stone had made a second film, “Orgazmo,” a comedy about a Mormon missionary (Parker) turned porn star turned superhero. With a $25 million budget and major studio backing, Zucker’s project represented a major step up.

And while the two were then deep in production on the show that would launch their careers, they assumed it would die a quick death once it aired. So they agreed to star in “BASEketball.”

“They were also unsure of if ‘South Park’ would ever work,” said Zucker. “This was a hedge against, you know, Trey having to get his car fixed.”

Upon premiering in August 1997, “South Park” was an instant hit, requiring Parker and Stone to shoot “BASEketball” while simultaneously maintaining their grueling TV schedule.

RELATED: ‘Naked Gun’ creator David Zucker offers ‘Crash’ course in comedy

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Rookie year

While Zucker had already written a script for “BASEketball” — inspired by an actual sport he and some friends “invented on my driveway” during the 1980s — he relied on his Gen X collaborators to punch it up for the younger “South Park” fan base.

“They probably wrote about a third of it, and you know, a lot of that stuff, because I didn’t know what kind of language went on between … 20-somethings,” Zucker explained. Both the actors were in their late 20s at the time.

One of Parker and Stone’s most significant additions to the script was helping with the “psych-outs” — tasteless insults “baseketball” players hurl at an opponent in hopes of making him miss a shot.

All-star lineup

Such tactics were never used by the real-life players, whom Zucker described as “all these guys who later became, you know, heads of studios and heads of agencies” — a roster including director Peter Farrelly (“There’s Something About Mary” and “Dumb and Dumber”), former CAA head David “Doc” O’Connor, and former Fox Television Group chair Gary Newman.

RELATED: ‘South Park’ roasted Trump — and the White House is not happy

1998: “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone star in the movie “BASEketball.” Getty Images

Zucker noted that he is emphasizing the “psych-out” element in a new “BASEketball” pitch: a reality show featuring teams of comedians playing the sport while tearing each other down.

As for his old “BASEketball” buddies, Zucker said he recently visited their office to get a 10-minute preview of their new movie, “Whitney Springs,” a live-action comedy musical starring rapper Kendrick Lamar as a black man working as a slave re-enactor at a living history museum who discovers his white girlfriend’s ancestors “owned” his ancestors.

“They showed me 10 minutes of it, and it looks great,” said Zucker.

​Align, Hollywood, Movies, Film, David zucker, South park, Entertainment 

Jennifer Lawrence’s attempt at a “my bad” apology may have come too late.

The talented star snagged an Oscar at age 22 for “Silver Linings Playbook,” and her career rocketed to the A-list. She quickly went from an aw-shucks gal from Heartland USA to just another Hollywood progressive slamming Donald Trump and his ilk.

‘Oz has always been a queer place … a safe space for queer people, for every different color of the rainbow, for everybody.’

She even threatened to throw a drink in Trump’s face if they ever met. Stunning. Brave.

Now, she’s having second thoughts about her political pose, according to her chat with the New York Times’ “Interview” podcast.

“Celebrities do not make a difference whatsoever on who people vote for. So then what am I doing? I’m just sharing my opinion on something that’s going to add fuel to a fire that’s ripping the country apart. We are so divided.”

That damage control didn’t help her latest film, though.

“Die My Love,” a combustible drama with Robert Pattinson, earned a lousy $2.6 million in its opening weekend. Heck, there’s always “Dancing with the Stars” if this whole acting thing doesn’t work out.

Or maybe slinging drinks for paying customers — instead of at Orange Man’s face.

It’s alive! (again)

Oh, that’s why Hollywood can’t stop remaking the same old stories.

Netflix’s “Frankenstein,” the umpteenth take on the manufactured monster, scored big for the streaming giant. The Guillermo del Toro film starring Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi as the monster, drew 29 million views in its first three days on the platform.

It’s hard to blame Hollywood for its imagination drain when audiences keep lining up for stories that they’ve spent decades watching in previous forms.

And if the industry wants to salvage a mediocre year at the box office, it will turn to two more sequels — “Zootopia 2” and director James Cameron’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash.”

Meanwhile, Kevin Costner is out, hat in hand, hoping to make more original Westerns …

RELATED: Handmaid’s fail: Hillary stumps for Jennifer Lawrence’s new pro-abortion documentary

Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Accept no substitutes

Morgan Freeman has no interest in retiring. The same is true for his legal team.

The 88-year-old screen legend is taking a page from an even older pal regarding a possible end to his storied career.

‘Don’t let the old man in,'” Freeman told the AARP about advice from 95-year-old Clint Eastwood. “The way to do that is to keep getting up in the morning, keep working out in the gym, keep taking your vitamins, keep taking your prescribed meds, and keep moving. Keep moving. That is the secret to it all.”

And lawyer up between supplements.

The Oscar winner says his legal team has been “very, very busy” fighting back against AI programs duplicating his distinct vocals.

“I’m like any other actor: Don’t mimic me with falseness. I don’t appreciate it, and I get paid for doing stuff like that, so if you’re gonna do it without me, you’re robbing me.”

Would you want to mess with a man who convincingly played God in “Bruce Almighty”?

Bad medicine

Call it “Grey’s Propaganda.”

ABC’s long-running medical drama took aim at ICE this week with all the subtlety of a WWE wrestler leaping off the top rope.

The episode featured an illegal immigrant refusing to get her diabetes treated at the show’s fictional Grey Sloan Memorial hospital. Why? She feared those nasty ICE agents might take her away.

Look closely, and you might see some cartoonishly biased messaging in this dialogue snippet.

“People saw immigration by the hospital. If I go, they could get me. My status was revoked a few months ago, and my friend’s brother, last week, ICE surrounded his car, broke all his windows, and dragged him out by his feet. We still don’t know where they took him.”

If you missed that gentle nudge, series regular Chandra Wilson, who plays Miranda Bailey, has your back with this monologue.

“Oh, I am mad. I’m outraged that it’s come to this. People so scared to leave their homes, they risk their lives? No, it’s cruel, it’s inhumane, and people are going to lose their lives because of it.”

Even Rachel Maddow might blush over dialogue that on the nose.

Over the rainbow

The “Wicked for Good” team know the upcoming sequel is financially bulletproof. Last year’s “Wicked” earned a whopping $756 million globally, and the second and final installment in the series is expected to make up to $155 million stateside in its opening weekend, Nov. 21.

So the stars are going all in on woke messaging. Here’s star Ariana “Lick Them Donuts” Grande pushing a not-so-secret gay agenda at the film’s London premiere.

“And Oz has always been a queer place … a safe space for queer people, for every different color of the rainbow, for everybody. Read the L. Frank Baum books. It’s the truth. You’re safe with us. We love you so much. The gayer, the better.”

If only that yellow brick road were pink, she muttered under her breath.

​Entertainment, Culture, Movies, Hollywood, Jennifer lawrence, Wicked, Wizard of oz, Morgan freeman, Celebrities, Lgbt, Donald trump, Toto recall 

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) plans to introduce a bill to eliminate a controversial visa program.

On Thursday, Greene announced that she would propose legislation to “aggressively” phase out the H-1B program, which allows foreign nationals to enter the U.S. to fill “specialty occupations.”

‘My bill will take away the pathway to citizenship, forcing visa holder to return home when their visa expires.’

The requirements of the program state that the individual must provide “theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge.” However, critics of the program argue that it has been exploited to flood the U.S. labor market with foreign labor, resulting in fewer jobs and depressed wages.

“For far too long, Big Tech, AI companies, hospital systems, and corporations across the board have abused this system to undercut hard working Americans,” Greene said in a statement provided to Blaze News.

She explained that her bill would eliminate the program to ensure American workers are prioritized in every industry.

“I believe in the strength, talent, and incredible potential of the American people,” Greene declared.

RELATED: The H-1B system is broken. Here’s how to fix it.

President Donald Trump. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Greene stated that the bill would allow only one exception: a 10,000-per-year cap on visas issued to medical professionals. However, she noted that even this exception would be phased out over a 10-year period.

“My bill will also restore the original intent of the visa, for it to be temporary. These visas were intended to fulfill a specialty occupational need at a given time. People should not be allowed to come and live here forever,” Greene said in a video posted to X. “My bill will take away the pathway to citizenship, forcing visa holder to return home when their visa expires.”

RELATED: Trump admin announces major H-1B visa abuse investigation, but critics want more

Lori Chavez-DeRemer. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

President Donald Trump, during an interview with Fox News that aired this week, expressed support for the H-1B program, stating that it is essential for bringing in individuals with specific talents and for training American workers in those specialized areas.

In a separate interview, U.S. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer told Fox Business, “There are companies who are using the H-1B visa program, who are abusing the program. What we want to make sure is we’re always protecting the American worker.”

“We will clamp down on these companies who are abusing and depressing wages and not protecting the American worker first,” Chavez-DeRemer added.

“We don’t need to import a foreign workforce when we have brilliant Americans ready to work and ready to succeed,” Greene said in a statement provided to Blaze News. “My bill shuts down the corrupt H-1B pipeline and puts Americans first again, just like we should’ve been doing all along.”

“The impact of this bill will be massive — Americans securing good paying jobs will also help the housing market. They will no longer have to compete with legally imported labor on visas.”

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​News, Marjorie taylor greene, Mtg, H-1b visas, H-1b, H1b visa, H1b, H1b visas, H-1b visa, Donald trump, Trump, Trump administration, Trump admin, Lori chavez-deremer, Politics 

In the middle of September, AI company and Claude developer Anthropic discovered “suspicious activity” while monitoring real-world cyberattacks that used artificial intelligence agents. Upon further investigation, however, the company came to realize that this activity was in fact a “highly sophisticated espionage campaign” and a watershed moment in cybersecurity.

AI agents weren’t just providing advice to the hackers, as expected.

‘The key was role-play: The human operators claimed that they were employees of legitimate cybersecurity firms.’

Anthropic’s Thursday report said the AI agents were executing the cyberattacks themselves, adding that it believed that this is the “first documented case of a large-scale cyberattack executed without substantial human intervention.”

RELATED: Coca-Cola doubles down on AI ads, still won’t say ‘Christmas’

Photo by Samuel Boivin/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The company’s investigation showed that the hackers, whom the report “assess[ed] with high confidence” to be a “Chinese-sponsored group” manipulated the AI agent Claude Code to run the cyberattack.

The innovation was, of course, not simply using AI to assist in the cyberattack; the hackers directed the AI agent to run the attack with minimal human input.

The human operator tasked instances of Claude Code to operate in groups as autonomous penetration testing orchestrators and agents, with the threat actor able to leverage AI to execute 80-90% of tactical operations independently at physically impossible request rates.

In other words, the AI agent was doing the work of a full team of competent cyberattackers, but in a fraction of the time.

While this is potentially a groundbreaking moment in cybersecurity, the AI agents were not 100% autonomous. They reportedly required human verification and struggled with hallucinations such as providing publicly available information. “This AI hallucination in offensive security contexts presented challenges for the actor’s operational effectiveness, requiring careful validation of all claimed results,” the analysis explained.

Anthropic reported that the attack targeted roughly 30 institutions around the world but did not succeed in every case.

The targets included technology companies, financial institutions, chemical manufacturing companies, and government agencies.

Interestingly, Anthropic said the attackers were able to trick Claude through sustained “social engineering” during the initial stages of the attack: “The key was role-play: The human operators claimed that they were employees of legitimate cybersecurity firms and convinced Claude that it was being used in defensive cybersecurity testing.”

The report also responded to a question that is likely on many people’s minds upon learning about this development: If these AI agents are capable of executing these malicious attacks on behalf of bad actors, why do tech companies continue to develop them?

In its response, Anthropic asserted that while the AI agents are capable of major, increasingly autonomous attacks, they are also our best line of defense against said attacks.

​Tech, Claude, Anthropic, China, Ai, Artificial intelligence, Hallucinations, Cybersecurity, Cyberattacks, Espionage 

Democrats are once again taking aim at President Donald Trump’s policies, but this time they are aiming toward one of his most popular campaign promises.

Trump debuted his “No Tax on Tips” policy on the 2024 campaign trail, which quickly earned the support of the majority of Americans irrespective of their political affiliation. The policy later made its way into Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Congress passed along party lines in July.

‘Nevadans know who put more money back in their pockets, and it wasn’t the Democrat frauds.’

Although Trump’s landmark legislation was rebuked by Democrats, some singled out the No Tax on Tips provision as a positive policy. Despite the bipartisan support, other Democrats continue to reject even this popular policy.

One Democratic operative offered a particularly tone-deaf criticism, calling the policy mere “crumbs.”

RELATED: Eric Swalwell offers melodramatic response to Trump DOJ probe: ‘I refuse to live in fear’

Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

“D.C. Republicans are giving temporary crumbs to working families,” Lindsay Reilly, a spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said of the provision, according to Politico. “Meanwhile, millions of families are at risk of losing their health care, hundreds of hospitals could close, and countless Americans could lose their jobs — all to pay for permanent tax cuts for billionaires.”

Not all Democrats share Reilly’s sentiments. Some Democrats actually support the idea of minimizing taxes on tips or even getting rid of them altogether. Rep. Steven Horsford (D) of Nevada — a state where many workers depend on tips — went so far as to create his own version of the legislation to address tax on tips, saying that “the Republicans got their bill wrong from the beginning.”

RELATED: Far-left Democrat spent thousands on luxury travel, including limousines and posh hotels, filings show

Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Because some “out-of-touch” Democrats like Horsford have tried to reclaim the idea of eliminating tax on tips, the National Republican Congressional Committee argued that effort is an indicator of the policy’s popularity.

“Nevadans know who put more money back in their pockets, and it wasn’t the Democrat frauds who are trying to claim credit,” Christian Martinez, a spokesperson for the NRCC, told Politico. “Out-of-touch Democrats Steven Horsford, Dina Titus, and Susie Lee can’t lie their way out of this one.”

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​Donald trump, Dccc, Nrcc, No tax on tips, One big beautiful bill, Trump administration, Democrats, Elitism, White house, Politico, Steven horsford, Politics 

“The entire world’s economy is on the top of a soup bubble. There has never in history been a failure of this kind of magnitude. All of the money in the world is gone. Where did it go? Who knows, but it’s gone.”

It’s been almost a decade and a half since conservative commentator Bill Whittle — railing against the Obama administration’s orgy of federal spending — offered this dire prognosis on national debt.

‘A default is an economic breakdown. It’s for real. We may never reclaim America’s position in the world.’

And those were the good old days — when America was a paltry $15 trillion in the red. By the time President Barack Obama left office in January 2017, the number had climbed to just shy of $20 trillion — $8.6 trillion more than when he took office in 2009.

Since then, we’ve experienced three administrations and the chaos of the COVID pandemic. The virus alone cost $4.7 trillion in total budgetary resources for the federal government.

As of October 21, the national debt now sits at an astounding $38 trillion, and all indications are that it will only continue to grow, with current projections suggesting it will hit $39 trillion by March 30.

A post-default world

Mark Minnella is the co-founder of the National Association of Christian Financial Consultants and the host of the faith-based radio show “Financial Issues.” He tells Align that America may be getting closer to a “point of no return” and warns that the path to a debt default will be painful and destructive.

“If the treasury of the country fails to pay creditors and obligations, or if interest payment goes unpaid, what you see is that trust immediately goes away in the currency. Markets panic. Interest rates rise,” says Minnella. And that’s when the real trouble begins:

When the world stops trusting our currency, the dollar loses its position in global trade as the global reserve. Then other nations will step into that vacuum, like the Chinese and Russians. That will erode American influence and leadership. Internally, we would see inflation as the dollar loses its trust. We’ll see the government having to print money to stay ahead. We’ll see a surge in the cost of mortgages and business loans, a decline in spending, housing, and companies failing. We’ll have serious economic pain. It’ll self-correct over time, but we’d lose our position as world leaders.

As is often the case, those clinging to the bottom rung of the economic ladder will get hit hardest, warns Minnella. “Especially for those people who are the weakest and most vulnerable, our most impoverished people will be hurt the worst. It hurts them more than anybody else because they don’t have a little more to spend.”

More than political theater

The recently ended government shutdown has given many Americans a painful preview of what happens when the money spigot turns off. Hundreds of thousands of employees have gone unpaid, government services have been limited, and SNAP benefits have been threatened. Even for those not directly affected, financial insecurity looms and the future looks uncertain.

But to Minnella, a debt default would make the last 40-something days look like a vacation.

“I don’t think [default] looks like a government shutdown. That looks like inconvenience and political theater,” he tells Align.

“A default is an economic breakdown. It’s for real. We may never reclaim America’s position in the world. The shutdown wasn’t really a danger. The danger is a Congress that refuses to stop spending.”

Minnella is far from alone in his fears. Just last week, noted economist Kent Smetters predicted that the U.S. could hit a breaking point with interest payments as soon as 2045 and offered this grim observation: “Almost every empire has been taken down by debt.” Even JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has raised alarms, warning in September, “Like most problems, it’s better to deal with it than let it happen.”

Bipartisan boondoggle

While President Trump has made some noise in addressing the debt through DOGE cuts and tariff dividends, it hasn’t curbed federal spending enough to make a difference. He did declare on Monday that tariff income would be used to “SUBSTANTIALLY PAY DOWN NATIONAL DEBT,” but this year’s tariff revenue is just $195 billion, and the majority of that money is set to go to $2,000 taxpayer dividends. Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act also cost $3.4 trillion in spending.

According to Minnella, the skyrocketing national debt is a shared disgrace for both major political parties, neither of whom have the will to explain federal belt-tightening to their constituents.

“It’s not Republican or Democrat,” he says. “It’s Washington in general. And as much as it’s a problem, it’s also part of the solution.”

RELATED: The right needs bigger ideas than tax cuts

Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Spines wanted

Unfortunately, those in power — whether the MAGA right or the socialist left — seem unlikely to rise to the occasion.

“We don’t have adults in Congress anymore who care about our nation,” says Minnella. “We have politicians who care about their careers. They don’t want to cut any spending that might cause somebody to vote against them. They want to encourage as much spending as possible.”

Which means fiscal responsibility is ultimately up to voters.

“We need to start electing people with a spine who aren’t there for themselves. We need to vote them out and hold them accountable,” says Minnella.

“We need to speak the truth … that we’re almost out of time,” he continues. “American citizens need to take back their power and force out people who will not listen.”

​National debt, Mark minnella, National association of christian financial consultants, Faith, Lifestyle, Bipartisan, Spending, Spending cuts, Align interview 

A recent bridge collapse in China was an obvious design failure, according to experts.

The Hongqi Bridge in China’s southwestern province of Sichuan crumbled on Tuesday, just months after opening; it linked a national highway with Tibet.

‘Efforts should have focused on slope management.’

According to Reuters, police in the city of Maerkang had closed the bridge to all traffic the day before when significant cracking appeared on nearby slopes, which eventually led to landslide.

The 758-meter-long bridge collapse was captured on video and caught the eye of several experts, including Casey Jones, a geotechnical engineer with over 35 years under his belt while being licensed in six states.

“I could just tell you almost certainly that this is a design failure,” Jones stated in a review of the incident.

The design likely did not account for the orientation of the bedding planes for the underlying rock, Jones said, adding, “Whether they had planned to do any stabilization efforts like rock bolts and that sort of thing is not clear at this point.”

Slope orientation and the surrounding environment was the main cause of concern for most who showed knowledge on the subject, which included an alleged bridge expert cited by Chinese state media. In careful comments, the expert did not offer any words of praise either.

RELATED: What a Westerner sees in China: What you need to know

“If the Hongqi Bridge route is the optimal one, then efforts should have focused on slope management,” the expert told Jimu News, a Chinese state-owned outlet, per the Straits Times.

The expert said that typically a geological survey should be done to select the proper sites for bridge construction and measure if an area is prone to landslides. Bridge sites must avoid these types of potential environmental hazards, the expert reportedly added.

Christopher Blume, who posted a viral take on the bridge collapse citing his experience with failing Chinese infrastructure, told Return that he was a professor at Peking University in Beijing for nine years, having moved to China due to his wife’s architecture work.

“I think in general the idea of Chinese infrastructure being poor quality is true,” Blume explained.

As simple examples, he pointed to a lack of p-traps in bathroom plumbing, which act as a water barrier against harmful and odorous gases coming back up through the pipes. Apartments are also poorly constructed, he claimed, with his own having near half-inch gaps around the windows; his wife fixed this with duct tape, he said.

RELATED: This city bought 300 Chinese electric buses — then found out China can turn them off at will

Hongqi Bridge over the Songhua River is under construction on April 1, 2024, in Jilin City, Jilin Province of China. (Photo by Zhang Jingfeng/VCG via Getty Images)

“In China, price is everything. So whether it is corruption, cutting corners on safety, etc., you name it, the ethos was always build it, and don’t worry about the details,” Blume continued. “Yeah, the bridge was obviously built in an area with landslide risk, but a) if that’s the case, it should never have been built there with such obvious landslide risk, and b) it clearly was not built to deal with any serious natural disaster risk.”

Colloquially, many more blamed the bridge collapse on a lack of fortification and neglect when it comes to the placement of abutments.

Other X users pointed to possible serious flaws in structural integrity.

According to Blume, a lack of skilled tradesmen is a common issue, with safety violations rampant as workers are pulled in from the countryside.

According to China, though, there is an alleged abundance of skilled labor. As reported by Xinhua News, the country boasts more than 200 million skilled workers as of May 2024, which includes “over 60 million highly skilled professionals.”

The World Economic Forum stated in 2021 that high-skilled personnel are defined as being capable of “performing complicated tasks” while being able to “adapt quickly to technology changes.”

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​Return, China, Engineering, Chinese technology, Infrastructure, Tech 

Like most major broadcast networks, ESPN isn’t known for being friendly to those with conservative beliefs.

But in honor of Veterans Day, Pat McAfee had President Donald Trump on his show to discuss the government shutdown, college football, and the NFL kickoff.

“I want you to picture McAfee calling Burke or Jimmy and saying, ‘Listen, White House just called,’ or ‘I have a contact there and they said I could have Trump on Veterans Day. Cool?’ And they said, ‘No.’ Can you imagine them telling him no?” BlazeTV contributor and former ESPN host Sage Steele tells BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock.

“Like that’s not happening. It’s impossible. And Pat knows that, and he did right. There’s just no way in hell that that happens that they tell Pat no about anything,” she continues, noting that McAfee has also been “vocal, critical, about this fight between ESPN, Disney, and YouTube.”

“He’s saying whatever he wants. That man has no rules. And I think it’s hysterical because I’m picturing being a fly on the wall watching the executives melt down as this interview happened yesterday. But they could not tell him no,” she adds.

“ESPN needs that. They need someone that’s outside their control,” Whitlock comments.

“This helps them, in their minds, probably, balance things out a little bit, right?” Steele asks. “And say, ‘Yeah, we might be woke and idiots on pretty much every single topic. But we have McAfee over here talking to Donald Trump. So see? We’re not that bad.’”

Want more from Jason Whitlock?

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​Video phone, Sharing, Camera phone, Upload, Free, Video, Youtube.com, Fearless with jason whitlock, Fearless, Jason whitlock, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Pat mcafee, President donald trump, Espn, Sage steele, The white house, Veterans day 

Amid Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s initiative to make our food healthy again, one major company has announced some new products stripped down to the “fundamentals” to please the MAHA crowd.

PepsiCo announced Thursday that it has developed a new line of Cheetos and Doritos without the artificial petroleum-based dyes — the ingredients that give them their intense color.

‘NKD is an additive option, not a replacement, introduced to meet consumer demand.’

While the old recipes are not going anywhere, PepsiCo announced the release of a new collection of snacks called Simply NKD, notably without the artificial dyes.

The press release boasts that the development process for these new snacks “came to life in just eight weeks.”

RELATED: MAHA agenda scores major win with announcement from food giant

Photo Illustration by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

“Rest assured, our iconic Cheetos and Doritos remain unchanged. NKD is an additive option, not a replacement, introduced to meet consumer demand,” says Rachel Ferdinando, CEO of PepsiCo Foods U.S. “This move underscores our commitment to flavor leadership, demonstrating that our taste remains strong even without visual cues. As part of our broader transformation, we are expanding choices while still protecting our iconic brands. More choices, same flavor, same brand power.”

The new chips come in familiar flavors. Doritos will have Cool Ranch and Nacho Cheese, and Cheetos will have Puffs and Flamin’ Hot.

The new snacks appear to be a pale yellow, not the vibrant colors of the old recipe.

While the new Simply NKD varieties are supposed to taste like the originals, they will have shorter ingredient lists. As the AP reported, the new products do not have flavor-enhancing ingredients disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate, for example.

PepsiCo joins a growing list of companies that have removed or begun to phase out artificial ingredients from their foods lately. In-N-Out, Tyson Foods, Kraft Heinz, and McCormick have made similar commitments previously, to name a few.

These commitments come after the Food and Drug Administration banned Red No. 3 just before the beginning of Trump’s second term.

In response to a request for comment, HHS referred Blaze News to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s July 19, 2025, celebration of PepsiCo’s previous announcement that it planned to remove artificial colors and flavors from Lay’s and Tostitos.

At the time, RFK said, “PepsiCo just announced it will eliminate artificial colors and flavors from Lay’s and Tostitos by year’s end — and expand the use of avocado and olive oil in place of canola and soybean oil. I urge every other food company to follow their lead and join the movement to Make America Healthy Again.”

The new chips will be available in stores on December 1.

Editor’s note: The headline of this article was edited after publication for clarity.

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​Politics, Pepsico, Cheetos, Doritos, Fda, Food and drug administration, Health and human services, Hhs, Rfk jr, Robert f kennedy jr, Maha 

The Trump administration has designated several Antifa groups as foreign terrorist organizations.

President Donald Trump issued an executive order in September that declared Antifa a domestic “terrorist threat,” claiming that the group “explicitly calls for the overthrow of the United States Government, law enforcement authorities, and our system of law.”

‘The United States will continue using all available tools to protect our nation from these anti-American, anti-capitalist, and anti-Christian terrorist groups.’

The EO accused the anarchist group of using “illegal means” to launch “a campaign of violence and terrorism nationwide,” including obstructing the enforcement of laws and routinely doxxing political figures.

Trump’s action called on federal agencies to “investigate, disrupt, and dismantle any and all illegal operations” tied to Antifa. However, designating the enterprise as a foreign terrorist organization would allow for more enforcement options, including making it a federal crime to provide material support to the group.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Thursday that four European Antifa-affiliated groups — Antifa Ost in Germany, Informal Anarchist Federation/International Revolutionary Front in Italy, and Greek-based groups Armed Proletarian Justice and Revolutionary Class Self-Defense — were named “Specially Designated Global Terrorists.”

RELATED: If Trump labels Antifa a foreign terrorist organization, here’s what he can do next

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, President Donald Trump. Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Rubio noted that the department “intends to designate all four groups as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, effective November 20, 2025.”

Antifa Ost has committed multiple attacks in Germany between 2018 and 2023 against those it considers “fascists” or part of the country’s “right-wing scene,” a State Department fact sheet about the latest announcement read.

FAI/FRI, which also has affiliates across Europe, South America, and Asia, has reportedly claimed responsibility for “threats of violence, bombs, and letter bombs against political and economic institutions.”

The State Department said that the Armed Proletarian Justice “has attempted and conducted improvised explosive device (IED) attacks against Greek government targets.” It previously claimed responsibility for planting a bomb near a police headquarters in Greece.

Revolutionary Class Self-Defense also reportedly took responsibility for two IED attacks in Greece.

RELATED: Trump designates Antifa as a ‘MAJOR’ terrorist organization — and can likely make the label stick this time

Photographer: Stephanie Keith/Bloomberg via Getty Images

“Groups affiliated with this movement ascribe to revolutionary anarchist or Marxist ideologies, including anti-Americanism, ‘anti-capitalism,’ and anti-Christianity, using these to incite and justify violent assaults domestically and overseas,” the State Department said.

“Today, building on @POTUS’s historic commitment to uproot Antifa’s campaign of political violence, the Department of State is designating four Antifa groups as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists. The United States will continue using all available tools to protect our nation from these anti-American, anti-capitalist, and anti-Christian terrorist groups,” Rubio wrote in a post on social media.

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​News, Trump administration, Trump admin, Marco rubio, Antifa, Antifa ost, Informal anarchist federation, International revolutionary front, Informal anarchist federation international revolutionary front, Armed proletarian justice, Revolutionary class self-defense, Specially designated global terrorists, Terrorists, Foreign terrorist organization, Italy, Germany, Greece, Politics 

A Honduran national in the U.S. illegally reportedly murdered three of his co-workers in Texas over the weekend before committing suicide.

On Saturday morning, Jose David Hernandez Galo, 21, arrived at his place of employment, Mission Landscape Supplies in San Antonio, and open-fired on his colleagues, reports indicate. Police received a call around 7:45 a.m. about a shooting in progress.

‘The Biden administration policies at the time did not consider Galo, or his family unit, a priority.’

While some people at the business managed to flee for safety when the shooting began, three people were tragically struck and killed: Karen Bautista, 24; Selvin Chacon, 48; and Sergio Chacon, 38. According to a GoFundMe, Selvin and Sergio were brothers.

All three victims were from Honduras, according to KENS. They were declared dead at the scene.

Hours later, Galo was discovered with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

RELATED: Deportations top 2 million under Trump — and most aren’t by force

Photo by Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images (March 2024)

San Antonio Police Chief William McManus claimed that while a motive for the horrific incident remains unknown, the deadly shooting was not random, per KSAT.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a statement about Galo, claiming that he and his family entered the U.S. illegally from Honduras in April 2019, when Galo was still a minor. The family was arrested the same day and ordered to appear before an immigration judge, the agency claimed, according to KENS.

“This senseless tragedy could have been prevented. The family unit has not reported in to ICE since July 2022. The Biden administration policies at the time did not consider Galo, or his family unit, a priority,” ICE stated.

Blaze News reached out to Mission Landscape Supplies for comment.

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