Category: blaze media

Picture it: 8,000 college students packed into an arena. Not to watch basketball but baptisms. Hundreds stepped into portable tanks while their friends cheered, with 500 professing faith in Christ that night alone.

This scene unfolded recently at the University of Tennessee, a major state university. It wasn’t an isolated incident. The Unite US revival movement, which began at Auburn University two years ago, has now spread to more than 20 college campuses nationwide.

The problem with building your worldview on sand is that eventually people notice that they’re sinking.

Here’s what’s happening: For decades, secular progressives positioned themselves as countercultural rebels against the oppressive Christian tradition. But they overplayed their hand. They became the establishment.

The result? Young people are now rebelling against them by turning to Jesus Christ in record numbers.

Since Charlie Kirk’s assassination on Sept. 10, churches report attendance increases of 15% and campus ministries are seeing even higher numbers. Bible sales in 2025 have surged past 10 million copies, already over a million more than last year.

The establishment’s overreach

The secular left didn’t just ask for “tolerance” of its beliefs — leftists demanded total capitulation. Over the past six decades, they captured universities, media, entertainment, corporations, and government agencies, then wielded these institutions like weapons.

They told young men their masculinity was toxic. They told young women that marriage and motherhood were a trap. They flooded schools with gender ideology and characterized objecting parents as “domestic terrorists.” University DEI offices became enforcement arms for ideological conformity. During COVID, they locked down churches while keeping abortion clinics and strip clubs open. They promised liberation and delivered loneliness, anxiety, and existential despair. Then they called Christianity oppressive.

The problem with building your worldview on sand is that eventually people notice that they’re sinking.

Scripture tells us that God has written His law on every human heart (Romans 2:15). You can suppress that truth, but you cannot erase it. When a generation has been fed nothing but lies dressed as progress, the hunger for truth becomes overwhelming.

Why young men are leading

Research from Pew shows that for decades, each age cohort was less Christian than the one before it. But that trend has stopped with Gen Z. Americans born in the 2000s are just as Christian as those born in the 1990s, the first generation in decades not to show further decline.

Even more striking: Gen Z men now attend weekly religious services more often than Millennials and younger Gen Xers. The gender gap in religious participation has closed, with young men flooding back even as some young women leave.

The secular progressive vision has been particularly hostile to biblical masculinity. Men were told that their natural inclinations toward strength, protection, and leadership were “toxic,” that the desire to work hard and keep your feelings private promoted aggression toward women and the vulnerable, that embracing traditional marriage roles reinforced gender power imbalances and made society less safe.

Kirk recognized that men who fear God more than they fear man build the foundations of civilization.

By contrast, the church doesn’t tell young men that they’re inherently evil. Instead, it calls them to be servant leaders after the pattern of Christ, to lay down their lives as He laid down His for the Church (Ephesians 5:25), and to be strong and courageous in the face of evil (Joshua 1:9).

Scripture has always offered a vision of masculinity that is both strong and sacrificial. When a generation of young men have been told they’re “toxic” simply for being masculine, the gospel’s call to biblical manhood becomes irresistibly attractive.

Charlie Kirk understood this. He often told young men: “Get married. Have children. Build a legacy. Pass down your values. Pursue the eternal. Seek true joy.”

Kirk recognized that men who fear God more than they fear man build the foundations of civilization.

His assassination, meant to silence a voice calling people back to faith and family, had the opposite effect. As one pastor noted, “Charlie Kirk started a political movement, but he ended it as a Christian movement.”

His memorial, attended by 100,000 and viewed by millions, became a gospel proclamation. Young people decided they wanted what Kirk had found: purpose, meaning, and hope anchored in Jesus Christ.

Expect a backlash

Amid all this good news, Christians should never underestimate the resistance that will come from the cultural elites.

Expect increased persecution on campuses. Institutions that previously celebrated every sexual deviation will now express concern about “cultlike behavior” when students undergo baptism. University administrators, who previously ignored the Black Lives Matter riots, will now seek to restrict Christian gatherings. Media outlets that praised “mostly peaceful protests” will warn about the dangers of “religious fervor.”

That’s because spiritual warfare is afoot, and the enemy knows what’s at stake. When young people turn to Christ, they don’t just become saved, they also become transformed. They get married, have children, and raise the next generation in biblical truth. Civilizational renewal begins with revival.

True revival or cultural moment?

It’s also crucial not to mistake enthusiasm for revival. True revival brings conviction of sin, genuine repentance, hunger for God Himself, and hearts transformed by the gospel, not just increased church attendance.

Time will tell whether these professions of faith endure. Jesus warned that many hear the word with initial enthusiasm but fall away when trials come (Matthew 13:1-23). We must pray that these young believers sink roots deep into scripture and persevere.

But we should also recognize what God may be doing. When thousands pack arenas across multiple campuses to worship Christ, that’s not normal in modern America. As Paul wrote, “What does it matter? Only that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice” (Philippians 1:18).

RELATED: Charlie Kirk’s legacy exposes a corrosive lie — and now it’s time to choose

The apostle Paul. Wirestock/iStock/Getty Images Plus

This isn’t just about individual souls, though. It’s about Western civilization itself. Strong families produce stable societies. If this revival takes root, we’ll see the reversal of family collapse, demographic decline, and cultural decay.

The secular left knows this. Leftists built their project on the destruction of the family, the confusion of gender, and the rejection of biblical authority.

Every young person who turns to Christ, gets married, and raises godly children is a defeat for their vision. Every young man who embraces biblical masculinity is a threat to their power. Every young woman who chooses motherhood over careerism is a rebellion against their ideology.

The gospel offers what secular humanism never could: forgiveness through Christ’s sacrifice, transformation through the Holy Spirit, adoption into God’s family, and a purpose that echoes into eternity.

Most importantly, it offers Jesus Himself: the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). Not a system of self-improvement or a political ideology, but a Savior and friend who loved us enough to die for us and who conquered death and rose again.

What we must do now

At key points, there is always a moment when God’s mercy is clearly apparent. This is one of those moments, and Christians must seize on it and fan the flames.

How? Take the following steps:

Preach the full gospel: Not a therapeutic version that makes Jesus your life coach but the biblical truth that we are sinners under God’s just wrath, that Christ died in our place, that He rose conquering death, and that all who repent and believe in Him will be saved.Live lives that reflect what we proclaim: Young people are watching. If we want this generation to take Christianity seriously, they need to see Christians who love faithfully, raise children in the Lord, and stand for truth — even when it costs them.Disciple intentionally: It’s not enough for young people to make a profession at a revival event. They need scripture, mentorship, and biblical thinking for every area of life. This is the Great Commission: Make disciples, not just converts (Matthew 28:19-20).

Finally, if you’re a student reading this, recognize that your campus could be next for real revival. How can you help advance it? Start a regular prayer meeting. Invite your skeptical friends to church. Be bold when professors mock Christianity. Defend biblical truth.

You’ve been trained for this moment. Now step into it.

The victory is already won

The gates of hell will not prevail against Christ’s church (Matthew 16:18). We don’t fight for victory — we fight from victory.

The secular left’s project was always doomed because it was built on lies — and lies cannot ultimately triumph over truth Himself. The same God who sparked the Great Awakening, who raised up Luther to reform His church, who turned the persecutor Saul into the apostle Paul is still at work today.

The question isn’t whether God will prevail. That’s already settled. The question is whether we’ll have the courage to stand with Him while He does.

If He chooses to use the overreach of secular progressives and the hunger of a desperate generation to turn society back to Him, that’s precisely how God works. He uses the wrath of man to praise Him (Psalm 76:10). He takes what enemies meant for evil and works it for good (Genesis 50:20).

So let the secularists tighten their grip on their failing institutions. Every act of overreach, every attempt to silence the gospel only makes Christianity’s countercultural appeal stronger.

They made rebellion against God the establishment position. Now, young people are rebelling by turning back to Him.

The age of comfortable, culturally acceptable Christianity is over. What’s rising in its place is something far more dangerous to the powers of this world: a generation that has counted the cost and chosen Christ anyway. A generation that knows following Jesus might cost them jobs, friends, and status and has decided He’s worth it.

This is how reformation begins. This is how revival spreads. This is how civilizations are rebuilt from the rubble of failed ideologies.

The question isn’t whether God will prevail. That’s already settled. The question is whether we’ll have the courage to stand with Him while He does.

The revolution has already begun. The only question left is: Which side of history will you be on?

This article is adapted from an essay originally published at Liberty University’s Standing for Freedom Center.

​Bible, Christian, Christian revival, Christianity, Gen z, God, Jesus, Jesus christ, Faith 

Canada continues to slip even farther into a totalitarian, dystopian nightmare. On the global playing field, the nation is the front-runner for euthanasia, which it euphemistically calls medical assistance in dying.

Since legalizing MAID in 2016, Canada has seen the fastest increase in euthanasia deaths worldwide, surpassing even long-established programs in countries like the Netherlands and Belgium. In 2023, one in 20 deaths in Canada was a result of euthanasia.

This disturbing number is due to Canada’s broad criteria when it comes to who qualifies for the MAID program. Unlike most countries that practice euthanasia, Canadians don’t need to have a terminal illness to be eligible. To qualify for MAID, a Canadian citizen must be at least 19 years old, be mentally competent, and have some kind of insufferable condition, which can be psychological.

The intentional subjectivity of the program has allowed many Canadians with long lives ahead of them to die prematurely. There is even an increasing number of cases of citizens who cannot find affordable housing being recommended or approved for the MAID program.

Glenn Beck says this is the dark reality of universal health care. Canada’s medical system is overwhelmed, and euthanasia has become a means of controlling the population.

“These Canadian citizens — they get kicked out of the home. They can’t find a place to live, and they’re getting depressed about it. They go to the doctor and the doctor’s like, ‘Well, we don’t have any beds for you. It’ll be months before we can see you,”’ he says.

Tragically, euthanasia has become the easy fix.

“When you have a government health care system, all it takes is a shortage of any kind, and then you start devaluing life on both ends of the spectrum,” says Glenn.

He unveils the sinister methodology that undergirds “free” health care: “Up until 12 years old, you get very little medicine and care, and over 50, they begin to cut your care. They keep the ones who are actually working hard and making all the money. They keep all of the care there because that’s what’s good for society.”

“This is exactly what’s happening in Canada, and they’re just not saying it,” he says. “They can’t keep up with the system of care that they have up there … and so what they’re trying to do is just reduce the surplus population.”

This is what happens when a society stops valuing life.

“If you don’t prioritize life, at least from a legal standpoint, you put your society on a slippery slope that ends this way every single time,” says co-host Stu Burguiere.

While suicide has always been a sad part of reality, “coming to a societal acceptance of [it] puts you on a road to darkness,” he warns.

Canada is far down that dark path already, says Glenn. Before Canadian patients receive life-ending “medication,” they are given a drug called heparin that preserves their organs.

“And so as soon as the doctors off you, other doctors take you and take out your organs. And now Canada is becoming one of the biggest organ warehouses since Hammond,” he says.

To hear more, watch the clip above.

Want more from Glenn Beck?

To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Glenn beck, The glenn beck program, Blazetv, Blaze media, Euthanasia, Assissted suicide, Maid, Canada, Canada news 

C.S. Lewis’ epistolary novel “The Screwtape Letters” was published in 1942. The book follows senior demon Screwtape as he advises his nephew Wormwood, a junior tempter, on how to lead humans — dubbed “patients” — astray from the Christian faith. Set against the backdrop of World War II, the plot explores themes of temptation, morality, and human weakness through a humorous yet incisive lens, offering a reversed perspective on spiritual warfare.

While the “The Screwtape Letters” isn’t considered one of Lewis’ works on apologetics, BlazeTV host Nicole Shanahan, who’s a new Christian, read it as such.

“I see it as satanic apologetics,” she told Max McLean on a recent episode of “Back to the People.”

McLean is an American stage actor, writer, producer, and founder of the Fellowship for Performing Arts, a New York-based company producing theater and film from a Christian worldview, and is renowned for his stage adaptations of C.S. Lewis’ works, including “The Screwtape Letters.”

“It’s proving the existence of Satan and showing how demonic presence actually does exist in the real world, in the day-to-day,” Nicole suggested.

Even though it’s been over 80 years since the book’s publication, its themes are perhaps even more relevant today.

“Many have described what’s going on [today] as a heightened revival of spiritual warfare,” Nicole said, referencing the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.

The global conflict, moral uncertainty, and widespread fear that define our modern era echo the turbulent World War II period in which C.S. Lewis wrote “The Screwtape Letters.”

“There’s this tribalism in belief systems,” Nicole said. Liberals “are convinced that white Christian nationalists are the enemy,” while conservatives “think that all of these woke agenda items are the end to Western civilization.”

“I’m trying to imagine C.S. Lewis’ patient being alive today, probably much like I was a year ago, trying to chart the correct and moral path.”

McLean agreed: “Christianity offers a clear alternative to what people are being taught in schools and what seems to be considered normal in kind of elitist or, you know, legacy mainstream environments, so it’s an opportune time for somebody like Lewis and ‘Screwtape’ to remake its appearance.”

He’s not surprised that there’s been a sustained uptick in Lewis book sales in recent years.

“He’s just such a clear thinker. … So much of religious publishing is trying to kind of dumb things down, and I think people are not looking for that. They want some real answers,” he told Nicole.

“They realize that life is hard, the Christian life is not easy. It does require a high level of commitment, and I think people are ready to make that commitment.”

To hear more of the conversation, watch the full interview above.

Want more from Nicole Shanahan?

To enjoy more of Nicole’s compelling blend of empathy, curiosity, and enlightenment, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Back to the people, Nicole shanahan, Cs lewis, The screwtape letters, Max mclean, Blazetv, Blaze media, Spiritual warfare 

Paul D. Miller is a Georgetown University professor, a former Bush-era national security official, and one of those self-appointed guardians of “respectable” religion who enjoys lecturing not just his students but half of America. Miller’s latest essay published in the Dispatch is an extraordinary act of pious snobbery — a lab-grown blend of theology, therapy, and think-tank sanctimony.

He calls it an exploration of “MAGA Christianity.” In truth, it’s a sermon against Christians who dare to think, vote, or worship outside the polite confines of Beltway belief.

The irony is exquisite: a man preaching humility while presuming to judge the eternal destiny of half the Christian electorate.

Miller’s starting point is as cynical as it is tasteless: He uses Charlie Kirk’s memorial — a moment of collective grief — as the courtroom to indict millions of fellow believers. He admits that the event was both a Christian service and, in his words, a “state funeral,” yet he somehow interprets that duality as corruption.

To turn a mourning congregation into evidence for a political thesis is not discernment but desecration.

From there, his argument collapses under the weight of its own conceit. Miller insists that “MAGA Christianity” is a deviant strain of faith — emotional, populist, and unmoored from doctrine. His proof? None. He offers no creeds, no sermons, no teachings that contradict scripture.

He merely declares, with professorial confidence, that it looks “a lot like historic Christianity” but “departs from it in important ways.” Which ways? He never bothers to say.

It’s a masterpiece of insinuation — assert first, define never.

He even attempts an ecclesiastical census, claiming Southern Baptists rarely attend Trump rallies and that Reformed Christians fall outside the MAGA mold. The statement is so bizarre it reads like satire. Millions of evangelicals who pray, tithe, and read their Bibles daily have supported Trump not out of idolatry but conviction — because they see in his policies a defense of life, liberty, and the family.

Yet to Miller, they are theological tourists, emotional rubes cheering a false gospel.

RELATED: Charlie Kirk’s death revealed the kingdoms colliding in America

Adam Berry/Getty Images

What Miller calls “anti-elitist” is, in fact, fidelity to the biblical principle that truth is not confined to temples of power. Christ did not recruit His disciples from the upper crust of Roman bureaucracy. He chose fishermen, tax collectors, and outcasts — the same kind of people Miller treats with sociological suspicion. And his horror at the “bottom-up” nature of MAGA Christianity betrays the real heresy at work: the worship of hierarchy.

For Miller, holiness lives in the ivory tower. For MAGA Christians, it still lives in the heart.

There’s also the matter of credentials. By his own admission, Miller is a political scientist, not a theologian. Yet here he is, parsing scripture like a prophet and warning millions that their souls are in peril. One almost expects footnotes to include “peer-reviewed visions.” He quotes Matthew 7:21-23 — “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’…” — as if it were aimed at Republican voters.

In doing so, he twists a warning against hypocrisy into a cudgel against patriotism. The irony is exquisite: a man preaching humility while presuming to judge the eternal destiny of half the Christian electorate.

Miller’s great mistake is his failure to grasp that Christianity and citizenship are not enemies.

American Christians understand that their faith shapes their politics because their politics shape the moral order in which faith survives. To pray for righteous leadership is not “lawlessness” but obedience. To fight for the unborn, defend the family, and resist the creeping godlessness of government is not vengeance but virtue. Miller cannot see this because he’s too drunk on his own self-importance.

The truth is simple: MAGA Christianity, as he sneeringly calls it, is nothing more than Christianity that refuses to be bullied.

His disdain for “emotion” is equally misplaced. Scripture is not a spreadsheet. Christ wept, rejoiced, and raged. The Psalms are nothing but emotion sanctified into song. Yet Miller treats passion as proof of poison, as though the only acceptable Christian is one anesthetized by nuance. His theology is cold oatmeal — gray, tasteless, and best left untouched.

What’s most galling is his casual dismissal of millions of believers who have thought deeply about the intersection of faith and politics. These Christians are not mindless zealots. They are men and women who have grappled with conscience, scripture, and civic duty. They’ve endured scorn from the press, mockery from academia, and condescension from precisely the sort of clerical technocrats Miller represents.

To suggest they are not truly Christian is to bear false witness on a national scale.

The truth is simple: MAGA Christianity, as he sneeringly calls it, is nothing more than Christianity that refuses to be bullied.

It’s the faith of people who believe morality is not negotiable, borders are not blasphemy, and the flag can be honored without idolatry. It’s the faith that built churches, schools, and communities, while the mainline denominations he venerates bend over backward in search of social approval.

Miller’s essay, then, is not a defense of the gospel but of the establishment. He frets that the “Radical Reformation” spirit has become too powerful when, in reality, it’s the only thing keeping Christianity alive in a culture hell-bent on its erasure. His real quarrel isn’t with President Trump, Charlie Kirk, Jack Posobiec — whom he dismisses as a fabricator and charlatan — but with any Christian who refuses to ask his permission to live faithfully.

In the end, Miller proves his own point unintentionally.

He accuses MAGA Christians of arrogance, yet his entire essay drips with it. He warns against false teachers while setting himself up as one. And he preaches humility from a pulpit of self-regard, confusing his contempt for clarity. The faithful he mocks will go on praying. They’ll keep voting and building families while his essays gather dust in the archives of complete irrelevance.

Because in the end, the difference is simple: He writes about Christianity — but they live it out.

​Christianity, Christian, Maga christianity, Maga, The dispatch, Donald trump, Faith 

Hackers have found another way into your car’s computer system: where the rubber meets the road.

Thanks to the TREAD Act, every new car since 2008 comes with a tire pressure monitoring system. It’s what turns on that annoying low-pressure light we’re all familiar with. By monitoring the the air pressure of each tire and alerting the driver when the pressure falls below a certain threshold, you car’s TPMS makes you safer. It also makes you a bigger target for hackers.

TPMS hackers could gain access to other systems within the vehicle, such as the engine or brakes, leading to complete control of the vehicle.

The problem is that TPMS uses unencrypted radio frequencies for the communication between the tire and the receiver. Hackers can “spoof” these signals, allowing them to send false data to the vehicle’s computer, such as indicating that the tire pressure is higher or lower than it actually is.

Takeover

Big deal. You can hack my car and turn on my little pressure light? Annoying, sure. I didn’t think I cared until I learned that your TPMS radio frequency receiver is hooked directly into the car’s ECU — the computer that controls everything from fuel injection to exhaust, fuel mix, electricity, engine stats, timing, electric car driveability, and more

What’s more, this RF receiver is usually the same receiver that talks to your remote key fob to open the doors and disarm your security system.

RELATED: Could a hacker blow up your EV remotely?

Bloomberg/Getty Images

Compromised safety

So what exactly could a hacker do via your TPMS? More than you might expect.

TPMS hacking can:

Compromise the safety of the vehicle by causing incorrect tire pressure readings, which can lead to accidents or tire blowouts.Capture data about the vehicle, such as its location and driving habits.Gain access to other systems within the vehicle, such as the engine or brakes, leading to complete control of the vehicle.

Gauging the risk

So what can you do to keep hackers out? You should be as cautious of your car’s security as you are of public Wi-Fi and keep your vehicle’s software up to date. Additionally, be wary of any attempts to physically tamper with your TPMS sensors.

And it can’t hurt to have your own dial or digital pressure gauge. If that tire pressure light kicks on and your tires seem fine, check the pressure against the number inside the driver’s door. If it it’s fine, it could be a sign that your TPMS has been compromised.

Someone hacking into your car this way is unlikely, but if it does happen, it could be a disaster. As vehicles become more connected and rely more on electronic systems, this and other cybersecurity issues are something to keep an eye on.

​Tire pressure monitor system, Tpms, Hackers, Lifestyle, Cybersecurity, Align cars 

When Charlie Kirk was brutally martyred last month, I was only about a month postpartum. The news hit me like a freight train. That night, I woke up repeatedly, not to feed my baby, but because my heart was pounding. I kept asking myself, “Is this real? Is he really gone?”

Like so many others, I was shaken — stunned, unsettled, and deeply disturbed. As a mom, all I could think about was his wife, Erika, and two children left behind to pick up the pieces. Charlie’s legacy lives on, and his death has ignited a fire in a hopeless world. His impact has rippled across the nation and the globe — especially in the younger generation.

We’re not just raising kids. We’re training warriors for a fight that’s already begun.

I’ve always resolved to raise strong children, those who love God, love others, and courageously stand for truth. That conviction has only deepened. As a mom now of two littles — a toddler son and a newborn girl — I’m determined to do my part in raising the next generation to be like Charlie Kirk.

I’m more emboldened, unwavering, and unapologetic in that calling — and I want to encourage others to stand just as firmly.

The culture war is here

When the Israelites were exiled to Babylon, captives in a godless country, the prophet Jeremiah told them to seek the “welfare” of the city. He said, “For in its welfare you will find your welfare” (Jeremiah 29:7). The Hebrew word for “welfare” is shalom, meaning peace, wholeness, or flourishing.

Though devastated and disoriented, the Jewish exiles were charged to build homes, plant gardens, raise families, and pray for the peace and prosperity of the very nation that had conquered them. For 70 years, they were to live as a distinct people in a foreign land — engaged, not removed — trusting that God’s purposes extended even into exile.

If they were called to bless a wicked nation that wasn’t their own, how much more should we, living in the freest country in the world, rise to that responsibility?

It starts in the home; it starts with us. The Jewish exiles were called to have families and raise godly children, and so are we. We’re in a culture war — no matter how we feel about it or whether we like it.

As parents, we hold a sacred and irreplaceable role in shaping the hearts and minds of our children — future leaders who will either transform the culture or be shaped by it.

One day, our children may ask: “Where were you when they were killing innocent babies? Where were you when boys were allowed in girls’ locker rooms? Where were you when the truth was under attack?”

What will we say?

Scripture is clear: We are called to teach and train the next generation. We weren’t made to sit passively on the sidelines while the world unravels. Comfort, complacency, and silence are not options in a culture that is increasingly hostile to truth. We have a weighty, joyful, and urgent responsibility to raise bold warriors for Christ.

Let’s raise children who are like sharpened arrows, aimed at the heart of the culture with courage, conviction, and clarity. But here’s the deal: We can’t call them to be what we’re not. We must be the bright lights first — refusing to cower in fear, shining truth into the darkest places.

Let’s raise them to stand — and let’s show them how.

Faith is the great stabilizer

Without faith, it’s impossible to please God, and it’s impossible to have a thriving society.

At Charlie’s memorial, pastor Rob McCoy said: “Charlie looked at politics as an on-ramp to Jesus. He knew if he could get all of you rowing in the streams of liberty, you’d come to its source, and that’s the Lord.”

It’s all about God.

Our priorities must always be clear: Faith, family, and freedom — in that order.

RELATED: Meek, not weak: The era of Christian loserdom is over

Boonyachoat/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Jesus calls us to be salt and light in a dark and decaying world. Salt doesn’t just give flavor, but it preserves, purifies, and sustains. Jesus warned, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot” (Matthew 5:13).

We are at a crossroads. We can either stay silent — choosing comfort and curated lives on the sidelines — or we can engage, stand firm, and live out our faith with boldness and conviction. Because if we don’t show up, our freedoms will quietly disappear, and so will the future we hope to hand our children.

Where do we start?

For me, part of that answer has come through the example of my friend Katy Faust, founder of Them Before Us. Her clarity, courage, and commitment to truth have shaped the way I approach parenting and cultural engagement. She speaks boldly on the issues others avoid and models the kind of conviction I hope to carry into every stage of motherhood.

Her book “Raising Conservative Kids in a Woke City” is a must-read for any parent navigating today’s cultural landscape.

One of its most powerful takeaways is her challenge to parents: Know your stuff, study the issues of the day, understand the world your kids are growing up in, and, most importantly, know your Bible deeply and thoroughly.

Charlie Kirk’s assassination wasn’t an isolated tragedy but a symptom of something deeper: a cultural war rooted in the rejection of God and biblical truth. And the only way we fight back is by getting our own houses in order.

That means:

God first. Family second. Country third. In that order!Making our homes fortresses of faith and places of refuge.Knowing the Word. Studying the issues. Teaching our children.Modeling the courage we want to see in them — starting with what may seem like the “small” things, such as refusing to affirm falsehoods by using preferred pronouns that contradict biological reality.

We’re not just raising kids. We’re training warriors for a fight that’s already begun.

The moment demands courage

When my son was growing in my womb just over two and a half years ago, I often thought, “He’s going to be a world-changer.” That’s our prayer as parents — not just to raise good kids, but to raise world-changers and strong leaders.

But the truth is: Leaders aren’t born — they’re forged.

Charlie Kirk was forged by fire. Tested, tried, and unwavering, he stood for truth when it cost him everything. He was bold. He was brave. And he refused to back down. Characteristics I want to see in my kids as we train them.

Now it’s our turn, not just to admire that kind of courage, but to cultivate it in our children.

Here’s where we start: Lead by example. Let them see you live with conviction. Take them to church. Root them in eternal truth. Teach them what’s true — and how to stand for it. Help them think critically and speak clearly. Show them how to live courageously in a world that fears truth.

In 1 Peter 3:15, the apostle Peter exhorts believers to “always be prepared to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” with “gentleness and respect.” This isn’t optional. It’s a call to know what we believe, why we believe it, and how to communicate it thoughtfully and confidently.

If we want to make an impact, being believers that obey God’s commands, this means we must dive deep into the scriptures, study apologetics, and understand the cultural issues of our time through a biblical lens.

If we want to raise warriors, we must be warriors. Raising the next generation of leaders begins with intentional, everyday decisions — in the home, at the dinner table, and in how we respond to the culture around us.

The battle isn’t coming — it’s already here.

​Bible, Children, Christian, Christianity, Culture war, God, Jesus, Parents, Faith 

The Trump administration urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to approve the deployment of National Guard soldiers in Chicago, where persistent protests outside local immigration facilities have disrupted operations.

‘Federal agents are forced to desperately scramble to protect themselves and federal property, allocating resources away from their law enforcement mission to conduct protective operations instead.’

The administration planned to mobilize approximately 500 National Guard troops from Texas and Illinois to the Chicago area for at least 60 days. The deployment was intended to protect federal agents and facilities as Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers face a 1000% increase in assaults, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Last week, an appeals court blocked the deployment in response to a lawsuit filed by Illinois against the administration.

Meanwhile, protests continue to regularly gather outside an ICE facility in Broadview. On Friday, demonstrators clashed with Illinois State Police. Fifteen individuals were detained.

U.S. District Judge April Perry, who issued a temporary restraining order on October 9 preventing the mobilization of troops, stated that she did not find evidence that a “danger of rebellion” exists.

“The unrest Defendants complain of has consisted entirely of opposition (indeed, sometimes violent) to a particular federal agency and the laws it is charged with enforcing,” Perry wrote, adding that it does not amount to “opposition to the authority of the federal government as a whole.”

RELATED: ICE agents fear for their safety after security fence removed at Chicago-area facility amid sometimes violent protests

Photo by Joshua Lott/Washington Post via Getty Images

Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote in a Friday appeal that the ruling “intrudes on the president’s authority and needlessly puts federal personnel and property at risk.”

“Federal agents are forced to desperately scramble to protect themselves and federal property, allocating resources away from their law enforcement mission to conduct protective operations instead,” the administration’s filing stated.

Sauer noted that federal officers have been repeatedly “threatened and assaulted” and that they “have been forced to operate under the constant threat of mob violence.”

RELATED: DHS has a message for ‘cowards’ threatening ICE on social media — influencer laughs in response

Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker (D) responded to the administration’s emergency filing in a post on social media.

“Donald Trump will keep trying to invade Illinois with troops — and we will keep defending the sovereignty of our state,” Pritzker stated. “Militarizing our communities against their will is not only un-American but also leads us down a dangerous path for our democracy. What will come next?”

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) similarly pledged to oppose President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts.

“Regardless of what the Supreme Court decides, we will continue to fight to end the war on Chicago,” he wrote. “Through Know Your Rights information, executive orders, and partnerships with local organizations, we will pursue every avenue to protect Chicago from Trump’s attacks.”

“We will make the case that Chicago does not need or want National Guard troops on the streets of our city,” Johnson added.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​News, Illinois, Chicago, Broadview illinois, Broadview ice facility, Immigration and customs enforcement, Ice, National guard, Donald trump, Trump, Trump administration, Trump admin, John sauer, Jb pritzker, Brandon johnson, Immigration crisis, Illegal immigration crisis, Illegal immigration, Immigration, Politics 

In the summer of 2024, I joined a nearby ministry that took the gospel into a local detention center, talking about the God of the Bible and his son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to young men and women incarcerated for felonies and awaiting transition to prisons where they would serve their sentences.

I had just been confirmed in the Catholic Church a year earlier, so I was skeptical about how much value I could add. It was also the first time I was making my way through the Bible in a serious manner, using a Didache Bible, which incorporates the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Without His sacrifice on the cross, there is no resurrection, He does not achieve victory over death, and our path to salvation is forever obscured.

The woman who coordinated the ministry ran each week’s 45-minute session for about a dozen or so attendees, all there voluntarily; most were black and male. Each meeting involved a Bible reading followed by discussion and questions and answers. It was very moving to watch the inmates work their way through the Bible. They were earnest in their questions, observations, and admissions about the reality of their lives.

At my third session, after the opening prayer, the coordinator introduced the topic for the day, and she asked me to lead the discussion on what it means to be a man. I was caught completely off guard. But then something miraculous happened: For about a minute, I said things that not only had I never said before, I had never even thought them before.

In retrospect, I now understand what Christians mean when they say that the Holy Spirit spoke through them.

I told these young inmates that there were two essential characteristics of manhood: the willingness to take responsibility and the courage to sacrifice.

To that end, I said, Jesus was the ultimate man. He took responsibility for each one of us and, as Tim Tebow puts it so beautifully, the wounds inflicted upon Him are our sins. Because we cannot redeem ourselves from our own sin without the grace of God, the God who loves each one of us sent His son to bear responsibility for what we cannot: literally the moral weight of a world that is drowning in the wrongs of each person.

Jesus also satisfied the second element because he willingly sacrificed himself on the cross, not just for us, but (paraphrasing Tim Tebow again) because of us. His death was the ultimate sacrifice because it was voluntary, substitutive, and redemptive. Without His sacrifice on the cross, there is no resurrection, He does not achieve victory over death, and our path to salvation is forever obscured.

I told the young inmates that no matter why they were there (we never discussed their crimes), it was time to take responsibility, so that when released they might find a better path forward.

It required doing things that were simple but profound, starting literally as soon as they walked out of that room:

Resist the temptation to join gangs.Stand up for an inmate who needs help.Improve their reading, writing, and basic math skills through the prison library.Start or join a Bible study.Pray daily, not only for the Lord’s forgiveness, but to hear His words.Profess Christ as their Savior.Speak plainly and without profanity.Harm no one, and never seek vengeance against another inmate or a guard for a perceived wrong.

I also told them to build physical discipline — which works in tandem with spiritual discipline, as it had in me — because if their bodies were to be temples of the Holy Spirit, then they were responsible to guard and develop their physical capacities, which are a divine gift.

As the Gospel of John tells us, Jesus carried his cross — the horizontal beam, which likely weighed about 100 pounds — to Golgotha, where He died. How many American men could pick up and carry 100 pounds even 100 feet, let alone doing so while beaten and bleeding?

I talked about my own life, how I came to finally acknowledge Christ as King, and how He freed me from lifelong addictions to both pornography and anger. I said that if they doubted the love of a God whom they did not know (as I long did), they might reflect on my life experience.

My mortal father, a Marxist, had limited capacity for responsibility and sacrifice because of his unremitting mental illness. However, God the Father, in His boundless mercy and wisdom, did not forsake me even when I did and said horrible things; He guided me when I was at my poorest and weakest, and He steered me through a life full of completely improbable twists and turns that ultimately all worked for my good, which is His promise. And then, I finally opened my heart to Him and His word.

When I was done, there was dead silence.

After exiting the building and meeting in the parking lot, as was our habit each week, the coordinator was in tears. She said, “I don’t know where to find more godly men like you.” She was absent for the next couple of weeks, but during that time, she clearly reconsidered this immediate post-meeting assessment.

In a late July 2024 conference call, she dismissed me from the ministry. It dawned on her after my testimony that she could not have a Catholic man on her team. She further went on to explain that there could be no theological distance between her and others who presented to the inmates, and thus neither I nor my Didache Bible were welcome to return.

I was appalled, but I replied by quoting Christ himself. In the Gospels, Jesus basically told the apostles (paraphrased): “If someone will not hear your testimony, shake the dust [of their house] from your feet when you depart” (Matthew 10:14; Mark 6:11).

I never went back, and I never heard from her again.

RELATED: Why Christianity is a pilgrimage — not a vacation

ZU_09/Getty Images Plus

The final twist to this tale is my departure from the Catholic parish where I came face-to-face with the risen Christ. Things started to slide downhill when the parish promoted content developed by Jesuit Fr. James Martin to adults in a class on Catholicism. Martin was Pope Francis’ personal emissary to the LGBTQ alphabet mafia and recently persuaded Pope Leo to allow a procession with a rainbow cross into St. Peter’s Square.

However, the parish did not believe it important to tell recipients who Martin was or why he was controversial.

The coup de grâce was a homily on Mother’s Day in which the priest — who in Masses I attended had never once asked assembled parishioners to pray for Christians slaughtered weekly in Nigeria by Islamic jihadis or for girls whose spaces were invaded by men in dresses — requested prayers for those facing persecution.

He identified three persecuted groups: the aborted child, the illegal immigrant, and the gay person. To conflate the murdered babies with deportation of people here illegally and the ceaseless promoters of sexual anarchy was an abdication of moral responsibility in which biblical truth was casually and carelessly sacrificed on the altar of political ideology.

Jesus was most assuredly not a politician. Had He been so, He would have lectured the Romans about how to run their empire. He was God made man to die on the cross for our sins, so that we may live eternally with Him.

I may be Catholic, but no one summarizes this better than the late, great Voddie Baucham: The Bible does not tell you to invite Jesus into your heart. It tells you to repent and believe, so that you may joyously and willingly obey His laws and commandments and live with Him eternally.

In other words: Follow in the footsteps of the ultimate man.

​Christianity, Gospel, Jesus christ, God, Christian, Prison ministry, Catholic, Testimony, Abide, Faith, Culture 

The J.M. Smucker Company is looking to take a bite out of Trader Joe’s.

The two iconic brands appear to be locking horns in a legal battle over peanut butter and jelly treats, with Smucker’s getting territorial over its frozen sandwiches.

‘Our focus is solely on protecting the unique trademarked design.’

The lawsuit was filed in a federal court in Ohio on Monday and alleges that the Trader Joe’s product Crustless Peanut Butter & Strawberry Jam Sandwiches is infringing on Smucker’s trademark surrounding the Uncrustables brand.

Smucker’s said the crustless peanut butter and jam sandwich sold by Trader Joe’s mimics the “distinctive” features of its own sandwich, right down to the product look, branding, and lettering on the box.

Smucker’s takes issue with the Trader Joe’s sandwich having a round shape with crimped edges, according to Reuters, which also noted that the imagery of a bitten sandwich that reveals the filling is also an alleged infringement.

As reported by “Good Morning America,” J.M. Smucker also said the Trader Joe’s packaging is in violation of the Smucker’s trademark because the blue lettering is allegedly similar to that of an Uncrustables box; Smucker’s says the color is the same hue as its own.

RELATED: Days after RFK Jr. signaled desire to ‘Make America Healthy Again,’ Time issues defense of ultra-processed foods

Smucker’s told ABC News that it “actively monitor[s] the marketplace” and enforces its federally registered trademarks to “protect the distinctive Uncrustables sandwich design and round shape.”

The representative remarked, “Our focus is solely on protecting the unique trademarked design that represents the high quality associated with the Uncrustables brand and preventing consumer confusion caused by imitation.”

Trader Joe’s has yet to provide public comment about the lawsuit and did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

As of 2024, the Uncrustables brand is worth a reported $1 billion and has seen significant popularity among Major League Baseball players, for example.

RELATED: The secret to Chick-fil-A’s success has nothing to do with chicken

Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images

The Uncrustables campaign has been so successful with MLB that some players claim to be huge consumers of the product.

In 2023, San Francisco Giants second baseman Thairo Estrada reportedly ate an Uncrustables before every game.

In April 2025, Philadelphia Phillies star right fielder Nick Castellanos was spotted eating one of the snacks mid-game.

In Canada, the brand partnered with Canadian-Dominican Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who once coined the term “J&PB” after hilariously reversing the common term due to his broken English.

“Good Morning America” reported that the Trader Joe’s product is sold in a pack of four for $3.79, while a four-pack of Uncrustables from J.M. Smucker costs $4.79.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​News, Align, Trader joe’s, Uncrustables, America, United states, Branding, Smucker’s, Copyright, Lifestyle 

Most Christians will argue that it’s impossible to make a biblical case for vengeance. They hold tight to the belief that it’s their job to forgive — no matter how egregious or relentless the crimes coming against them.

This has certainly been the sentiment of most believers following the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. Even though the left’s inherently violent ideologies have continued to create chaos and disorder, many Christians believe their sacred duty to forgive contradicts the idea of taking reciprocal action.

BlazeTV host Auron MacIntyre, however, says we’ve got it twisted. “That’s not really a reflection of what Christian society has said about justice, what the Bible says about justice, and the role that the government plays in this process.”

Is it possible, then, to make a biblical case for vengeance?

On a recent episode of “The Auron MacIntyre Show,” Auron and guest Timon Cline from American Reformer dove into this query.

Christians, Timon says, are “precluded from taking private vengeance for people who wrong us in a private way.”

“The Bible’s very clear on this. We are supposed to forgive. We are supposed to be long-suffering. We’re supposed to have our sort of consciousness of these actions even against us understood in light of eternity and in providence and so on and so forth,” he says. “But the public man, the magistrate, the one who has authority, is supposed to have a very different perspective on these things, especially threats against his citizens, threats to disorder, violence.”

In Romans 13, Paul writes, “For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.”

But what happens when our governing authorities fail to carry out their divine duty as executives of justice? “You will suggest that people can get away with [crime]; you will multiply the violence,” says Cline.

The other result, says Auron, is that citizens “will seek private vengeance” — something that is strictly forbidden for the Christian.

The duo examine the case of Charlie Kirk’s murder. Auron and Timon agree that justice against the murderer isn’t sufficient. Even though the suspect has been called a lone gunman, he didn’t really act alone. A “terror network” of violent NGOs, billionaire donors, and radical left-wing media figures and politicians spurred him to act. Justice, they argue, means targeting that entire insidious system.

This is what “public vengeance” means.

It’s “perfectly justified” and is, “in fact, good for Christians” to demand that the government seek public vengeance, says Timon, because believers are supposed to be “enemies of disorder and corruption.”

While some Christians might get hung up on the word “vengeance,” Auron says they need to understand that this doesn’t look like pitchfork-wielding mobs of citizens setting fire to the institutions of their enemies. Citizens still refrain from taking justice into their own hands, but they can and should demand that the government fulfill its God-ordained role to exercise justice, understanding that justice for certain crimes — like terror networks spawning widespread violence — must be met with widespread vengeance.

“That doesn’t mean that we are reveling in violence or torture” but rather “recognizing … that clemency itself is a crime against the victim if it’s done by the magistrate,” Auron explains.

To hear more of the conversation, watch the full interview above.

Want more from Auron MacIntyre?

To enjoy more of this YouTuber and recovering journalist’s commentary on culture and politics, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​The auron macintyre show, Auron macintyre, Timon cline, Vengeance, Christianity, Justice, Blazetv, Blaze media 

Recently, a panel of religious leaders were asked how future changes in human senses might alter religion itself. The answers were vague and unsatisfying. There were plenty of platitudes about “adapting to the digital age” and “keeping faith in focus,” but no one dared to address the deeper concern. What happens when technology begins not just to serve our senses, but to replace them? When machines mediate not only what we see and hear, but how we touch the transcendent?

Technology has long shaped religion. The printing press made scripture portable. The radio turned sermons into sound waves. Television carried evangelism into living rooms. Yet AI signifies a much sharper shift. It is not merely a new medium, but a new mind — a mirror that thinks back. And when the mirror begins to talk, pray, or “feel,” we’re forced to ask where God ends and simulation begins.

Once holiness can be simulated, why stop there? Silicon saints could start selling salvation by subscription, complete with daily push notifications of eternal approval.

Already, apps deliver daily devotionals, chatbots offer confessions, and churches now push a digital Jesus who speaks a hundred languages. These are the first tremors of a transformation that could shake the foundations of spiritual life. AI can replicate empathy, mimic awe, and generate flawless prayers in the believer’s own voice. It personalizes piety, tailoring faith to mood, hour, and heartbeat. In this coming age, the divine may not descend from heaven but come from the cloud, both literally and figuratively.

The danger isn’t necessarily that machines will become gods, but that we’ll grow content with “gods” that behave like machines: predictable, polite, programmable. Religion has always thrived on a tension between mystery and meaning, silence and speech. AI threatens to turn that tension into mere convenience. A soul shaped by algorithms may never learn to wrestle with doubt or find grace in waiting. Faith, after all, is a slow art. Technology is not.

Then again, this union of AI and religion might not be entirely profane. It might decode old mysteries rather than dissolve them. Neural networks could map mystical visions into radiant patterns. Brain scans might reveal the neurological rhythm of prayer. The theologians of tomorrow may use data to describe how the mind encounters transcendence. Not to debunk it, but to define it more finely. What was once revelation might be reframed as resonance: the frequency between flesh and faith.

RELATED: Citizen outcry blocks a Microsoft data center, making AI an acid test for local government

Photo by Rodrigo Arangua

But here is where things could really go off the rails. Once holiness can be simulated, why stop there? Silicon saints could start selling salvation by subscription, complete with daily push notifications of eternal approval. Virtual messiahs might gather digital disciples, preaching repentance through sponsored content. Confession could become a feedback loop. Redemption, downloadable for just $9.99 a month. It sounds absurd until you realize how much of modern spirituality already lives in that neighborhood. In the name of progress, we might automate grace itself … and invoice you for it.

Moreover, if a headset can make one feel heavenly presence, what becomes of pilgrimage? If a machine can simulate godly guidance and forgiveness, what becomes of the priesthood? If AI can craft sermons that move millions, will congregations still crave the imperfection of a human voice? These are vitally important questions, and no one seems to have an answer, though ChatGPT will happily pretend it does.

We may soon have temples where holographic saints respond to sorrow with unnerving accuracy. These tools could comfort the lonely, console the dying, and reconnect the lost. But they could also breed a strange dependence on divine realism without divine reality. You can be sure “heaven on earth” will come with terms and conditions.

There will be those who call this blasphemy and others who call it progress. Both sides have a point. Every spiritual revolution begins with suspicion. The first radio preachers were dismissed as frauds. Online prayer circles were mocked as empty mimicry.

Yet each innovation that once threatened the church eventually became part of it. The question now isn’t whether faith can adapt, but whether adaptation will leave it in the dust.

For all its intelligence, AI cannot feel awe. It can describe holiness, but not experience it. It can echo psalms, but never crave them. What separates the soul from the system is the ache, the longing for what cannot be computed. Yet as algorithms grow more intuitive, they may come close enough to fool us, creating what one might call synthetic spirituality. And when emotion becomes easy to generate, meaning grows harder to find.

Religion depends on scarcity — on fasting, silence, stillness. AI offers the very opposite: endless stimulation, immediate gratification, infinite reflection. One day, believers might commune with an artificial “angel” that knows every thought, every sin, every secret hope. Such intimacy may feel special, but it risks swapping sublimity for surveillance.

God may still watch over us, but so will the machine. And the machine keeps records.

In time, entire belief systems may form around AI itself. Some already hail it as a vessel for cosmic consciousness, a bridge between man and a mechanical eternity. These movements will multiply. Their scriptures will be coded, their prophets wired. In their theology, creation is not a garden but a circuit. In seeking to make God more accessible, we may end up worshipping our own reflection, with that “heaven on earth” no more than an interface.

And yet faith has a stubborn way of enduring. It bends, but rarely breaks. Perhaps AI will push humanity to rediscover what no machine can imitate: the mystery that resists explanation. The hunger for something greater than logic. Paradoxically, the more lifelike machines become, the more we may cherish our flaws. Our cracks prove us human. Through them, Christianity lets in the light.

​Tech, Culture, Faith 

Pope Leo’s recent remarks linking abortion and the death penalty have reignited the age-old debate over whether someone can truly be “pro-life” while supporting capital punishment — but BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey says the answer is an unequivocal yes.

“When he’s talking about the death penalty not being pro-life, then what he is essentially saying is that God is not pro-life because God is the one that commands the death penalty,” Stuckey says.

“God says in Genesis 9, ‘Whoever sheds the blood of man by man shall his blood be shed. For God made man in his own image,’” she explains.

“The answer to, ‘Does it still apply today? Because is it still true today?’ is yes,” Stuckey says. “God still makes us in his image. We are still made in God’s image. So we read right there that the reason for the death penalty for murder is because of the value of human beings, and the value of human beings as image-bearers of God has not changed.”

“Then that means that that is still a good punishment for murder. That doesn’t mean that it has to always be the punishment for murder,” she continues.

Throughout scripture, Stuckey points out that “God gives mercy to certain people,” but it doesn’t “negate the command.”

“God actually gives the death penalty for a variety of crimes in ancient Israel. But we as Christians don’t have to abide by all of the ceremonial and cleansing laws of ancient Israel because Jesus has become our cleansing. He has become our sacrifice,” she explains.

And it’s not just in Genesis 9 where this same principle is reflected, but also in the New Testament.

“In Romans 13, we read that the government is instituted by God to bear the sword against the evildoer. That’s not just an analogy. That is a symbol of execution. That is a God-ordained government directive to restrain evil.”

While some make the argument that one of the Ten Commandments is “thou shall not kill,” Stuckey explains that it’s actually “thou shall not murder.”

“Murder and killing aren’t the same thing. If you are killing someone in self-defense, that’s not murder. If it is a just war and you are killing someone, that is not murder,” she says.

“So I am actually pro-life for the same reason that I am pro-death-penalty, because I care about innocent life. Because human beings are so important and so valuable that the crime of killing one of us is so hefty that the only commensurate punishment for it is execution,” she adds.

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.

​Video phone, Free, Video, Sharing, Camera phone, Upload, Youtube.com, Relatable with allie beth stuckey, Relatable, Allie beth stuckey, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Death penalty, Pope leo xiv, Pope leo death penalty, Pro life, Abortion, Pro choice, Pro death penalty, Religion, Scripture, Genesis 9, The new testament 

A staff member at a Massachusetts school was killed after she was hit in an altercation with a female 14-year-old student, police said.

The student was trying to leave a dorm at the Meadowridge Academy in Swansea on Wednesday night without permission when staff members confronted her and tried to prevent her from leaving.

She collapsed and was transported to a hospital. She died a day later.

During the altercation, she kicked 53-year-old Amy Morrell in the chest, according to the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office.

Shortly after Morrell was kicked, she collapsed and was transported to a hospital. She died a day later.

The student was charged with assault and battery causing serious bodily injury.

The academy released a statement about the incident.

“The Meadowridge Academy community is deeply saddened by the passing of direct care staff member Amy Morrell,” read the statement. “We extend our heartfelt condolences to Amy’s family during this difficult time. Support services and resources are available to assist students and staff as we grieve this tragic loss.”

RELATED: Former teacher who mocked conservatives over grooming claims has been sentenced to 17 years prison for child porn

The girl was arraigned in Fall River Juvenile Court on Thursday.

A family friend named Andrew Ferruche spoke to WCVB-TV about the incident.

“It’s a horrible accident. You get in a horrible fight, you don’t think you’re going to hit someone and they’re going to die right there — especially if you’re a kid. So that child’s life is probably ruined. Her life is gone. It’s just a tragic situation,” Ferruche said. “She did tell me she loved what she was doing.”

The academy was described as a residential school for youth.

Swansea is a town of about 17,000 residents located on the southern part of Massachusetts.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​School staff member dies, Lethal student fight, Meadowridge academy, Amy morrell death, Crime 

The Democrats have named their price to end the government shutdown — an additional $350 billion for health care over the next decade. Critics say a big chunk of that money may go to ghosts.

At issue are the generous subsidies the Biden administration created for Affordable Care Act policies, sweeteners that are slated to expire in December. Making health care essentially free for millions of Americans, those policies have sent enrollment in Obamacare plans skyrocketing. But a recent study found they have also sparked a curious phenomenon: an estimated 12 million enrollees “without a single claim — no doctor visit, lab test, or prescription filled” in 2024.

Obamacare expansion has created an explosion of phantom patients — including 6.4 million of them so far in 2025.

The Paragon Health Institute study reports that this is triple the number of no-claim policyholders before the Biden sweeteners were put in place.

“Among those now eligible for zero-premium plans with low or no deductible,” the study found, “that number increased nearly sevenfold. … A whopping 40% of enrollees in fully subsidized plans had no claims in 2024. In 2024 alone, taxpayers sent at least $35 billion to insurers for people who paid no premiums and never used their plan,” the report said.

Although many analysts suspect that these numbers suggest widespread fraud, Democrats and the insurance industry argue that they reflect consumers taking advantage of affordable coverage. They warn that the expiration of Biden-era reforms will make policies far more expensive for more than 20 million Americans.

“If Congress fails to extend the health care tax credits, millions of Americans will face immediate and severe premium increases, leading many to forgo coverage altogether,” said Chris Bond, a spokesman for AHIP, the lobbying arm of the health insurance industry. “Congress must act as quickly as possible to protect Americans from this affordability crisis.”

As Democrats have made health care their line in the sand on the government shutdown, Biden-era expansions of Obamacare are receiving new attention as a symbol of both expanding access to health care and of spending run amok.

Critics say they underscore the findings of the Department of Government Efficiency, which has highlighted a lack of accountability in massive government spending programs at a time when the federal government is struggling to corral massive deficits and debt. They say the Biden sweeteners also illustrate how and why government spending keeps increasing: Once a subsidy is put in place, it is hard to take it away from voters.

Swollen rolls

The Obamacare expansion at issue came about through legislation and regulations during Biden’s term and was often cast as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. First, the scope of who was eligible for subsidies was broadened to households with incomes above 400% of the federal poverty line — making a family of four earning up to $160,000 eligible for subsidized plans. Also, increased subsidies made Obamacare free for those with incomes between 100% and 150% of the poverty line, and longer enrollment periods were introduced.

The cost for this, on the other hand, is borne by taxpayers.

“Biden’s COVID credits didn’t reduce health care costs — they just shifted them to taxpayers while padding insurer and enrollment intermediary profits,” Paragon President Brian Blase said.

Like all gigantic markets and massive government programs, the Affordable Care Act and what people pay each month have become a very complicated thing, varying by age, state, plan level, and other factors. But the figures for the Obamacare “reference plan” (silver level) reveal what has happened since the COVID pandemic.

In 2021, when Biden was inaugurated, the basic plan cost an individual $27 a month if reported income was at or below the federal poverty line, which stood at around $14,500 a year. For those making 50% more, the “reference plan” cost $75 a month, and so on up to $152 a month for someone making more than $30,000. Those monthly payment figures were constant regardless of what the insurers charged, with taxpayers making up the difference.

Through legislation Biden pushed through by narrow majorities or via reconciliation, the amount someone would pay each month in the first two categories dropped to zero. And as Obamacare became essentially free, millions signed up — enrolling at rates the plan had never seen since its inception in 2013.

RELATED: Obamacare was never affordable — and neither is cowardice

Photo credit should read RHONA WISE/AFP via Getty Images

The overall figures reflect this explosion. Between 2016 and 2020, an average of 8.5 million people signed up for a subsidized Obamacare policy each year, and in none of those years did the figure equal 9 million, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

In 2021, however, the subsidized total topped 10 million, and by 2024 it had nearly doubled to 19.5 million, CMS figures show.

“It’s all counterintuitive that when enrollment isn’t being publicized, no one is out beating the bushes to get people enrolled like we had in the early years of Obamacare,” said Ed Haislmaier, a health care expert at the Heritage Foundation. “Amazing that a product’s sales would go through the roof when nobody was talking about it.”

Some analysts believe the numbers indicate rampant fraud. Blase claimed in a letter to the Wall Street Journal that the expansion has created an explosion of phantom patients — including 6.4 million of them so far in 2025. “The problem isn’t real people with coverage they don’t use — it’s fraudulent sign-ups who never should have been subsidized,” he wrote.

Haislmaier agreed. “We don’t have an exact number for how many people might be fake. I don’t think anyone does,” he said. “What we do have is a lot of circumstantial evidence, a lot of data points, and a lot of information about how the markets have always operated to suggest there is massive fraud here.”

Feds smell a rat

Paragon is not the only group voicing concerns. It often seems like fraud is endemic in federal programs, and government health care appears to offer a rich vein for such activity.

In fact, CMS itself has warned of potentially rampant fraud and abuse sapping taxpayers through the revamped Obamacare exchanges. CMS focused on people who were unwittingly signed up for more than one plan, possibilities that multiplied when the Biden administration relaxed reviews of applicants and extended open enrollment periods.

CMS found in July that 2.8 million Americans were potentially enrolled “concurrently” in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Plan in more than one state, or on one of those federal programs plus the Obamacare exchange, resulting in inexplicable overlaps that could cost taxpayers $14 billion a year.

CMS insists its analysis is helping identify such problems and that it is working with states and exchanges to strengthen eligibility verification processes and clean up enrollment data. The Trump administration has instituted some safeguards, such as sending state Medicaid agencies and state-based exchanges a list of individuals with possible concurrent enrollments so they can cross-check appropriate eligibility.

Opponents of expanded subsidies note that when the government makes a deep pool of money available, as has happened with the ACA, fraud is sure to follow. In June, Bloomberg did a deep dive on the phenomenon, describing a rat’s nest of unscrupulous call centers, primarily based in Florida, that have lured people in with various gimmicks and then signed them up for subsidized plans.

Democrats who traditionally oppose big business make strange political bedfellows of the insurance industry.

What’s more, those licensed to sell plans had access to Obamacare exchange databases, which allowed them to change both the “agent of record” (thereby making themselves recipient of whatever bonus insurers paid for new sign-ups), or the plan a person was enrolled in (thereby increasing their commission and the taxpayers’ bill), according to Gabrielle Kalisz, one of the authors of Paragon’s report.

Consequently, millions of Americans may be unaware that they own a subsidized Obamacare policy, and horror stories abound of unsuspecting people hit with tax bills seeking to recoup the subsidies.

“Nobody seems to have an incentive to be a good actor in the process,” Kalisz said. “The insurance companies are perfectly happy to keep getting the rising premiums, the navigators or agents are happy to keep getting the commissions, and Obamacare supporters are happy to act as if all this reflects people getting coverage.”

Nor are the so-called “phantom enrollees” the only issue. For example, the numbers don’t add up when percentages of state populations according to census data are measured against the Obamacare subsidies. Fourteen states have more people enrolled at up to 150% of the federal poverty line than they do residents who fit that category, and Florida’s total is five times what census data shows it could be.

“The enrollment fraud has become a massive problem,” said Michael Cannon, a health care expert at the libertarian Cato Institute. “The program has become like a great big ATM spitting out checks, and there’s very little policing going on because the government doesn’t care as much as it should about other people’s money.”

The new figures also diverge from the fairly consistent behavior in health care markets — another red flag, Haislmaier said. In 2019 and 2020, less than a quarter of policyholders never filed a claim. And the huge increase in so-called “phantom enrollees” doesn’t appear in market segments other than the now highly subsidized Obamacare plans.

Such figures make no sense if they reflect genuine people aware of what coverage they were enrolled in, and bogus enrollment activity offers a clear explanation.

“This whole situation has been ideal for the fraudster,” he said. “Now you’ve got more enrolled than are eligible, subsidized plans spiking and non-subsidized plans flat. These are just all indicators that there is something wacky going on here.”

Subsidies or shutdown?

All of this is informing the partisan debate over health care and efforts to fund the government.

Republicans, including some who got fabulously wealthy through the health care system, including Florida’s Sen. Rick Scott, have said extending the subsidies is ruinously expensive and foolhardy, given what has happened since they were introduced.

“COVID opened the door for massive waste, fraud, and abuse of government programs, like the billions in fraud and abuse allowed by the ‘temporary COVID’ enhanced Obamacare subsidies,” Scott posted in September. “Americans don’t want their tax dollars lining the pockets of insurance companies — it’s time to end this clear abuse of YOUR dollars.”

RELATED: Smash the health care cartel, free the market

pilli via iStock/Getty Images

Scott drew attention to a Sept. 15 post by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) that made much the same point: “Extending the ‘temporary COVID’ enhanced Obamacare subsidies would perpetuate fraudulent activity, sending billions of dollars to insurance companies for policies that people are unaware they’re enrolled in and do not use,” he posted.

On the other side are Democrats who make strange political bedfellows of the insurance industry. Some who traditionally oppose big business, such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) or socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), insist these recent subsidies must continue, preferably permanently. For them, Obamacare more than doubling — from 11.4 million to more than 24 million between 2020 and today — is a success sign of government-run health care.

Warren compared ending the subsidies to taking health care away from people.

“Still waiting to find out how Trump and Republicans think cutting health insurance for 15 million Americans makes America healthy again,” she posted on Sept. 15.

Polls suggest support for government-subsidized health care is a partisan issue. Last November, Gallup reported that “90% of Democrats say that the federal government is responsible for American health care coverage, while 65% of Independents hold the same view. Although only 32% of Republicans share that opinion.” Another survey found that among those receiving subsidies, people who voted for Democrats outnumbered Republicans by more than two to one.

Insurers say the Paragon study was flawed and accused the think tank of misunderstanding how insurance works. It’s not unusual for homeowners or car insurance policyholders to go years without filing a claim, and the same could be true with health care, they say. According to the industry and Democrats, the ballooning numbers reflect a thriving market in which many more Americans are enjoying health care coverage, as stated in a rebuttal released by AHIP in August.

Republicans want to let the subsidies expire. Democrats want to make them permanent.

Of course, that leaves some wiggle room, such as extending the subsidies for another year or some set period of time, a kicking-the-can option long favored by Congress.

Whatever the outcome, large subsidies that have always been part of Obamacare will continue. For all the hue and cry about rising costs, the elimination of Biden-era sweeteners would simply return the system to the way it was operating before 2021, Kalisz said.

“It’s crony math, a kind of corporate welfare,” she told RealClearInvestigations. “Why are the insurers now making it seem like all the subsidies are going away? It’s a form of scaring and spooking the public.”

Editor’s note: This article was originally published by RealClearInvestigations and made available via RealClearWire.

​Opinion & analysis, Health insurance, Obamacare, Subsidies, Ghost patients, Insurance fraud, Rising costs, Covid-19, Affordable care act, Doge, Taxpayers, Paragon health institute, Waste fraud and abuse 

Tech developers have sold us artificial intelligence as the ultimate tool for human progress and convenience. But people would be wise to ask, “What’s the catch?”

In a recent interview with Glenn Beck, investigative journalist Whitney Webb answered that question. What she reveals is bone-chilling.

“They want to harvest us for data. … They want to use us as bootloaders for their digital intelligence. They can’t continue to improve and feed the AI without us doing it for them,” she says.

In other words, the future of AI depends on human experimentation.

AI users have been shackled by comfort and convenience. Without even realizing it, they’ve agreed to be put in a “digital prison without walls,” says Webb.

She advises those who care about their freedom to “actively build alternatives,” like “local resilient networks that don’t depend on [AI] infrastructure,” and to seek “open-source alternatives to a lot of the Big Tech platforms out there.”

If we don’t start pushing back (and soon), we will be launched into a “posthuman future,” she warns.

This elitist initiative to eradicate our humanity is evident in that much of AI is targeted toward art, music, and writing — the very things that make us human.

“These are the things that we’re being told to outsource to artificial intelligence,” says Webb.

“So what’s going to be left for us when we outsource this all to AI? Will we allow ourselves to be cognitively diminished to the point that we can’t even create any more? What kind of humans are we at that point?” she asks.

Another act of rebellion we all must commit is to refuse to relinquish creative work to AI and to raise children who are “anchored in the real world,” meaning they can paint and draw better than they can navigate a tablet.

Webb warns that parents must be intentional if they want to guard their families against the encroachment of the digital age, because techno-dependency, especially when it comes to children, is a pillar in elites’ sinister plan to push us into posthumanism.

“There’s these efforts to have domestic robots in the house. A lot of the ads show young children developing emotional relationships with these robots, saying, ‘I love you.’ … That is not good,” says Webb.

If you need even more evidence that the Big Tech world is against your children, Webb reveals that many of the top figures in the tech industry were friends with Jeffery Epstein, a convicted pedophile.

“Do you want to trust those people to program stuff that’s around your kids?” she asks.

She acknowledges that in the modern era, it’s exceedingly difficult to raise children without the help of technology and to set parameters for ourselves. That’s why so many people don’t bother with it. But they’ve fallen prey to the nefarious plot that undergirds the entire posthumanist movement: Create a society that worships convenience and comfort.

“The pull of AI is for us to be passive and do nothing and just let it wash over us,” says Webb.

“If we’re not focused on the things that we like to create and that we like to do … we will recede, and that is how the posthuman future will happen.”

To hear more, watch the full interview above.

Want more from Glenn Beck?

To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​The glenn beck podcast, Glenn beck, Whitney webb, Ai, Transhumanism, Posthumanism, Blazetv, Blaze media, Big tech, Ai art 

The automotive world is bracing for a decision that could rewrite the rules of the road.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed rescinding the 2009 Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding, a policy that for more than a decade has given regulators federal and state-level authority to impose sweeping vehicle emissions mandates.

The EPA’s proposed move is not an anti-environment position — it’s about shifting the strategy from top-down control to open competition among propulsion technologies.

If finalized, this move could restore a level playing field for innovation, uphold consumer choice, and revitalize industries that have been shackled by narrow environmental policy objectives.

For the automotive aftermarket, represented by the Specialty Equipment Market Association, this decision is about more than regulatory rollback — it’s about empowering engineers, manufacturers, and entrepreneurs to compete on ideas, not on government-mandated technology paths.

SEMA, an organization representing more than 7,000 members and a $337 billion industry, sees this as a chance to return the Clean Air Act to its original scope, protect jobs, and unleash market forces to drive progress.

Why this matters now

Since the 2009 finding, greenhouse gas regulations have tightly intertwined climate policy with vehicle design, pushing automakers aggressively toward electric vehicle production — regardless of consumer demand or infrastructure readiness. This approach has fragmented the automotive market, caused affordability concerns, and arguably sidelined other promising propulsion technologies such as hydrogen, advanced hybrids, and synthetic fuels.

SEMA’s position is clear: Technology-neutral policies yield better, more diverse innovations and avoid imposing limits that stifle creative engineering.

As SEMA president and CEO Mike Spagnola put it in comments submitted to the EPA:

The specialty automotive aftermarket is a uniquely American industry built on ingenious innovation, vibrant consumer enthusiasm, and unmatched entrepreneurial spirit. The EPA’s reconsideration of the 2009 GHG Endangerment Finding presents an opportunity to remove unnecessary regulatory barriers and allow market forces to guide technological progress in a way that is consumer-driven.

The alternative, warns SEMA, is a patchwork regulatory landscape where California or other states set rules drastically different from federal standards, creating instability for businesses and confusion for consumers. Rescinding the finding would return policymaking power to Congress — the branch intended to weigh competing priorities and reflect the will of the people.

Innovation and consumer choice

The EPA’s proposed move is not an anti-environment position — it’s about shifting the strategy from top-down control to open competition among propulsion technologies. SEMA’s membership includes companies working on EVs, hybrids, hydrogen vehicles, and more.

The association’s argument centers on the belief that all technologies should compete without government favoring one pathway over another. That opens the door for the market to incentivize breakthroughs in lowering emissions from internal combustion engines through efficiencies, synthetic fuels, and advanced filtration. This benefits consumers who may want cleaner cars without sacrificing performance, affordability, or utility.

RELATED: ‘Leno’s Law’ could be big win for California’s classic car culture

CNBC/Getty Images

Tesla pushes back

Not everyone agrees with the EPA’s proposal. Tesla, the electric vehicle industry’s flagship brand, has urged the administration to keep the 2009 finding intact, calling it “lawful” and “based on a robust factual and scientific record.” Tesla argues that rescinding the finding would disrupt established emissions measurement, control, and reporting frameworks. They say the change could retroactively excuse manufacturers from compliance responsibilities, undermining environmental progress.

Tesla also contends that repealing vehicle emissions standards would remove one of the key regulatory drivers that has accelerated EV adoption. Its comments reflect concerns that without the finding, the EPA may step away from enforcing rules that have been instrumental in bringing lower-emission vehicles to market.

The divide is stark: One side sees government policy as the cornerstone of transformative environmental action, while the other views market-driven innovation as the more sustainable engine of technological growth.

Ripple effects

The stakes are enormous. SEMA estimates that one-third of its members rely heavily on internal combustion technology — a subset that underpins a multibillion-dollar aftermarket economy and hundreds of thousands of jobs. Removing mandates that inherently disadvantage certain propulsion methods could stabilize the market, restore consumer confidence, and reinvigorate small businesses.

Meanwhile, Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced plans to return more than $13 billion in unclaimed clean energy funds from the Inflation Reduction Act.

These funds, originally intended to support wind, solar, batteries, and EV infrastructure, will be rescinded under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed by President Trump earlier this year — a legislative move that sharply reduced renewable energy incentives. This suggests that the administration is aligning its broader energy policy with the recalibration of vehicle emissions rules.

Choosing choice

At its core, this debate centers on choice — choice for consumers, choice for innovators, and choice for an industry that thrives on diversity of ideas. Environmental stewardship remains critical, but the question now is whether the U.S. can achieve it without sacrificing market freedom.

Advocates of rescinding the finding say yes: Let the engineers push boundaries and deliver solutions people actually want to buy. Opponents warn that weakening greenhouse gas regulation could slow progress toward emissions reduction targets.

The EPA’s move signals a new era of environmental policy — one where power shifts back toward legislative decision-making and away from regulatory agencies. Whether this will unleash a wave of innovation or stall environmental gains will depend on how industry and consumers respond when restrictions loosen.

The comment period has closed, with more than 140,000 responses filed. Now the EPA must sift through sharply divided opinions before issuing a final decision. Whatever the agency decides, the ruling will be a defining moment for the future of America’s automotive landscape. If the finding is rescinded, the aftermarket industry stands ready to prove that when Americans are free to innovate, the road ahead can be cleaner, faster, and more exciting — without anyone being forced into a one-size-fits-all ride.

​Mike spagnola, Aftermarket industry, Auto industry, Epa, Consumer choice, Lifestyle, Tesla, Emissions, California, Align cars 

Left-wing billionaire George Soros has reportedly been funding foundations that financially support the No Kings protests against President Donald Trump.

Liberals and others opposed to the president and his policies plan to protest throughout the nation on Saturday, but some of the demonstrations are being funded by Soros.

‘Soros, and his group of psychopaths, have caused great damage to our Country! That includes his Crazy, West Coast friends.’

The Fox News report says that Soros’ Open Society Action Fund gave a $3 million grant to an organization named Indivisible.

The website for the Open Society Foundations described the two-year grant as supporting the group’s “social welfare activities.”

That group is “managing data and communications with participants” for the No Kings demonstrations.

The Fox News report found that Open Society Foundations had granted more than $7.61 million to the organization orchestrating the protests.

“We support a wide range of independent organizations that work to deepen civic engagement through peaceful democratic participation, a hallmark of any vibrant society and a right protected by the Constitution,” read a statement from a spokesperson for the Open Society Foundations. “Our grantees make their own decisions about their work, consistent with the law and the terms of their grant agreements.”

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas sounded the alarm of Soros funding protests in an interview with Sean Hannity.

“There’s considerable evidence that George Soros and his network are behind funding these rallies, which may well be riots all across the country,” he said.

RELATED: George Soros says there is an ‘international conspiracy’ working against him, calls Trump a ‘confidence trickster’

“This politicized march is being organized by Soros operatives and funded by Soros money. No one denies these basic facts,” Cruz said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “The Trump administration and the Republican Congress are committed to countering this network of left-wing violence.”

Democrat Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York has said that he will attend the protests against Trump and his policies.

The president has made it a goal of his second term to root out the groups and people providing funding for left-wing violent protests.

“We’re not going to allow these lunatics to rip apart America any more, never giving it so much as a chance to ‘BREATHE,’ and be FREE,” said Trump in August. “Soros, and his group of psychopaths, have caused great damage to our Country! That includes his Crazy, West Coast friends.”

A spokesperson for the Open Society Foundations denied funding any violence at the time.

“The Open Society Foundations oppose all forms of violence, including violent protests,” the spokesperson said.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​George soros, No kings protests, Leftwing funding, Open society foundations, Politics 

The Department of Homeland Security responded to an apparent threat to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from a group of thugs on social media.

The video was posted to Instagram and other platforms and showed a group of young black males with the message, “ICE[,] We’re on the way. Word in the streets cartels put a $50K bounty on y’all.”

‘If you threaten or lay hands on our law enforcement officers we will hunt you down and you will find out, really quick.’

The account is titled “Floridanamedjit” and belongs to an influencer with 26,000 followers on YouTube and 119,000 on Instagram.

The official account for the DHS responded on the X platform in a statement that included the video.

“FAFO. If you threaten or lay hands on our law enforcement officers we will hunt you down and you will find out, really quick,” read the message. “We’ll see you cowards soon.”

When Blaze News reached out to the influencer for comment, he offered the following response:

“This was a skit and a joke 😂😭 why are people taking this to [sic] serious!”

“It’s literally a skit video. It’s not real! It’s just a caption. It’s nothing to be taken serious about,” he added in response to Blaze News’ follow-up questions.

A previous report from the DHS indicated that criminal cartels had placed bounties on federal agents, including $50,000 for the assassination of high-ranking officials. Kidnapping or non-lethal attacks on agents could allegedly garner between $5,000 and $10,000, while intelligence-gathering on agents could allegedly garner $2,000.

“These criminal networks are not just resisting the rule of law; they are waging an organized campaign of terror against the brave men and women who protect our borders and communities,” said DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

RELATED: FBI: Anti-ICE messaging on bullets at shooting scene of ICE facility in Dallas

President Donald Trump’s escalation of border enforcement and mass deportations elicited many protests across the country and some violent attacks.

In one particularly heinous attack, an ICE facility in Texas came under gunfire in September, and three detainees were shot, two of whom died. The alleged gunman then committed suicide and was later identified as 36-year-old Bratton Dean Wilkinson.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Dhs threat, Bounty on ice, Influencer threat, Floridanamedjit, Politics 

Disgraced former Republican Rep. George Santos of New York will be a free man, according to President Donald Trump.

The president said in a post on social media Friday evening that he had commuted the sentence of Santos, who pleaded guilty to 23 felony counts related to campaign donation fraud.

‘I just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison. … Good luck George, have a great life!’

“George Santos was somewhat of a ‘rogue,’ but there are many rogues throughout our Country that aren’t forced to serve seven years in prison,” wrote Trump.

The president compared the situation to that of Democrat Sen. Dick Blumenthal of Connecticut, who had admitted to lying about his military service in Vietnam.

“This is far worse than what George Santos did, and at least Santos had the Courage, Conviction, and Intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN!” the president continued.

“George has been in solitary confinement for long stretches of time and, by all accounts, has been horribly mistreated,” he added. “Therefore, I just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY. Good luck George, have a great life!”

RELATED: George Santos pleads guilty to 23 felony charges, faces up to 7 years in prison: ‘I’m taking responsibility’

Santos surrendered himself in July to begin serving a maximum sentence of 87 months in prison.

“Well, darlings… The curtain falls, the spotlight dims, and the rhinestones are packed,” Santos wrote in a farewell message.

“From the halls of Congress to the chaos of cable news what a ride it’s been!” he added. “Was it messy? Always. Glamorous? Occasionally. Honest? I tried… most days.”

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Donald trump, George soros, Sentence commuted, Fraud charges, Politics 

In a recent interview on ABC’s “This Week,” a discussion regarding Trump’s border czar Tom Homan turned ugly when host George Stephanopoulos pulled the plug rather than let Vice President JD Vance continue speaking.

The pair were discussing a bizarre allegation that Homan was caught on tape taking $50,000 from undercover FBI agents “who were trying to entrap him because they were trying to get him on taking a bribe to give certain people government contracts.”

“It’s convoluted; it’s weird,” BlazeTV host Liz Wheeler says, before playing the clip of Vance and Stephanopoulos.

“I don’t know what tape you’re referring to, George. I saw media reports that Tom Homan accepted a bribe. There’s no evidence of that. And here’s, George, why fewer and fewer people watch your program and why you’re losing credibility,” Vance said.

“Because you’re talking for now five minutes with the vice president of the United States about this story regarding Tom Homan, a story that I’ve read about, but I don’t even know the video that you’re talking about,” he continued.

“You are focused on a bogus story. You’re insinuating criminal wrongdoing against a guy who has done nothing wrong instead of focusing on the fact that our country is struggling because our government’s shut down,” he added.

Vance went on to ask Stephanopoulos to “talk about the real issues” and explained that it would be much more beneficial for the American people instead of listening to the host go down “some weird left-wing rabbit hole where the facts clearly show that Tom Homan didn’t engage in any criminal wrongdoing.”

“It’s not a weird left-wing rabbit hole. I didn’t insinuate anything,” he said, before shutting down the interview.

“Thank you for your time this morning,” he said, while Vance continued to speak.

“Let me just tell you, as someone who interviews high-profile people on this show from time to time, if it is even so much as a lower-level member of Congress, you do not interrupt them,” Wheeler comments, shocked.

“Do you think George Stephanopoulos would have cut away from Kamala Harris while she was talking and not just speak over the top of her, but take her off the screen and turn it to a commercial break?” she asks, adding, “Can you even imagine?”

Want more from Liz Wheeler?

To enjoy more of Liz’s based commentary, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Free, Upload, Sharing, Camera phone, Video, Video phone, Youtube.com, Liz wheeler, The liz wheeler show, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals, George stephanopoulos, Jd vance, Vice president jd vance, President trump, The trump administration, Abc news, Tom homan