Category: blaze media

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling deciding how persecution claims can be handled in asylum cases.

The unanimous decision in Urias-Orellana v. Bondi found that federal courts must defer to immigration agencies about facts being claimed by asylum seekers.

The unanimous decision says courts must accept findings from the immigration agencies unless they meet a ‘substantial evidence’ standard.

Douglas Humberto Urias-Orellana is an immigrant from El Salvador who fled to the U.S. in 2021 with his wife and his minor child after allegedly facing death threats from a drug cartel. The family’s claims were deemed by an immigration judge not to meet the persecution standard and ordered them to be deported.

Urias-Orellana sued against the deportation and called on the Supreme Court to accept his persecution claims.

Instead, the unanimous decision says courts must accept findings from the immigration agencies unless they meet a “substantial evidence” standard.

The bottom line is that asylum seekers will find it harder to challenge orders of deportation if their persecution claims are denied.

The ruling was written by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

RELATED: US Catholic bishops call on SCOTUS to shut down Trump birthright citizenship order and protect ‘human dignity’

The Alliance for Justice issued a statement prior to the ruling supporting the asylum seeker’s cause.

“In Urias-Orellana vs. Bondi, the Court could raise the bar as to how much deference courts of appeals should give to a determination by the Board of Immigration Appeals on whether an asylum seeker has been persecuted in their home country,” their statement read. “A ruling that raises the bar could mean that individuals with credible fears for their safety may be denied refuge simply because they cannot meet a higher procedural threshold.”

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​Supreme court unanimous decision, Persecution of asylum seekers, Asylum ruling for trump, Ketanji brown jackson immigration, Politics 

Weeks after Don Lemon and dozens more agitators allegedly stormed a church service in Minnesota, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon made a much-anticipated announcement.

On Wednesday, Dhillon announced that all 39 individuals suspected of disrupting the church service had been arrested as of Monday, adding an intriguing detail about a couple of the arrests.

‘Outstanding work by DOJ. You don’t get to terrorize churchgoers in America.’

“As of Monday, all 39 individuals indicted in the attack on Cities Church in MN had been arrested, two of them while abroad,” Dhillon wrote on X.

“We @CivilRights look forward to bringing justice to the victims of this attack and demonstrating our commitment to justice for all!” she continued.

RELATED: Don Lemon enters plea following January arrest in connection with Minnesota church disruption

Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

Activists stormed Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, on January 18.

Apparently among them was ex-CNN talking head Don Lemon, who previously pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to violate someone’s constitutional rights and violating the FACE Act.

Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) praised the DOJ’s persistence in this case: “Outstanding work by DOJ. You don’t get to terrorize churchgoers in America.”

Likewise, BlazeTV host Auron MacIntyre lauded the arrests, noting how easily the case could have disappeared in the news cycle.

“I appreciate the follow-through on this. Many people predicted that the administration would do nothing and with all of the other news it would have been easy to let this quietly drop out of the cycle. But they didn’t, they charged them all,” MacIntyre said.

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​Politics, Harmeet dhillon, Doj, Department of justice, Civil rights, Cities church, Cities church minnesota, Don lemon, Cnn, Mike lee, Auron macintyre, St paul minnesota, Anti ice 

Before telling employees they do not get a say in how the government uses OpenAI services, CEO Sam Altman said intelligence agencies are no longer allowed to use OpenAI as they see fit.

On Monday, Altman cited the Fourth Amendment as a reason to change OpenAI’s contract with the federal government.

‘The Department also affirmed that our services will not be used by Department of War intelligence agencies.’

Altman said the company would amend its deal to include the following text: “Consistent with applicable laws, including the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution … the AI system shall not be intentionally used for domestic surveillance of U.S. persons and nationals.”

The text added, “For the avoidance of doubt, the Department understands this limitation to prohibit deliberate tracking, surveillance, or monitoring of U.S. persons or nationals, including through the procurement or use of commercially acquired personal or identifiable information.”

Altman expressed a desire for a “democratic process” that could protect the civil liberties of Americans, while adding that the Department of War agreed to the new terms that keep his product out of the hands of the intelligence community.

“The Department also affirmed that our services will not be used by Department of War intelligence agencies (for example, the NSA). Any services to those agencies would require a follow-on modification to our contract.”

Unfortunately for Altman, his post was hit with a hard community note that claimed this was “the opposite” of what he told employees the next day.

RELATED: Gamers REVOLT over age-verify scheme subjecting users to ‘suspicious entity detection’

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

As CNBC reported, Altman told staff at an internal meeting that the company does not get a say in how the government uses OpenAI for operations.

“So maybe you think the Iran strike was good and the Venezuela invasion was bad,” Altman reportedly said on Tuesday. “You don’t get to weigh in on that.”

OpenAI does not “get to make operational decisions” regarding how its AI is used by the Department of War, the CEO added.

Altman also reportedly told his team that while the Pentagon respects his company’s expertise, the agency made it clear that the final decisions rest solely with Secretary Pete Hegseth.

RELATED: Sam Altman slams ICE in message to OpenAI employees: ‘What’s happening … is going too far’

The about-face seems even more bizarre when considering Altman’s follow-up post on X from Monday evening. In it, he described “alignment, democratization, empowerment, and individual agency” as the principles he cares most about.

At the same time he explained how AI needs to be “democratized” for the world as an open product, he wondered how he would feel if his product could have prevented an attack on U.S. soil but was not used by the government.

“I think there are real dangers coming to the world, and maybe pretty soon; I tried to put myself in the mindset of how I’d feel the day after an attack on the US or a new bioweapon we could have helped prevent.”

This is more in tune with what he told his employees on Tuesday, which also included that he hoped the government would be “willing to work with us, even if our safety stack annoys them.”

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Since the commencement of Operation Epic Fury, six United States service members have been killed in the Middle East. Four of the six have now been identified.

On Tuesday, the Department of War released the identities of four Army Reserve soldiers who died on Sunday in support of the operation against Iran.

‘We will remember their names, their service, and their sacrifice.’

The soldiers died in Kuwait at the Port of Shuaiba during an unmanned aircraft system attack, according to the U.S. Army’s press release. All four were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command, Des Moines, Iowa.

RELATED: US service member death toll continues to rise amid Operation Epic Fury

The deceased were identified as: Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Lakeland, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; and Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of Des Moines, Iowa.

“We honor our fallen Heroes, who served fearlessly and selflessly in defense of our nation. Their sacrifice, and the sacrifices of their families, will never be forgotten,” said Lt. Gen. Robert Harter, chief of Army Reserve and commanding general U.S. Army Reserve Command.

“On behalf of the Army Reserve, we express our heartfelt condolences to their families and loved ones. We remain steadfast in our commitment to honoring the legacy of our fallen and supporting their teammates and families during this difficult time,” said Harter.

“Our nation is kept safe by folks like these — brave men and women who put it all on the line every single day. They represent the heart of America. We will remember their names, their service, and their sacrifice,” said Maj. Gen. Todd Erskine, commanding general, 79th Theater Sustainment Command.

ABC News reported that the other two service members’ identities are being withheld until after next of kin have been notified. They were reportedly killed in the same strike. Eighteen others were reportedly injured in the strike as well.

The incident is currently under investigation.

Capt. Cody Khork, a resident of Lakeland, Fla., enlisted as a 13P, Multiple Launch Rocket System/fire direction specialist in the National Guard in 2009. He commissioned as a military police officer in the Army Reserve in 2014. He deployed to Saudi Arabia in 2018; Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in 2021; and Poland in 2024. U.S. Army

Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, a resident of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, enlisted in the National Guard as a 92A, automated logistics specialist in 2005. She transferred to the Army Reserve in 2006 and deployed to Kuwait and Iraq in 2019. U.S. Army

Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, a resident of Bellevue, Nebraska, enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2006 as a 91B, wheeled vehicle mechanic. He had two deployments to Kuwait in 2009 and 2019. U.S. Army

Sgt. Declan Coady, posthumously promoted from specialist, a resident of Des Moines, Iowa, enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2023 as a 25B, Army information technology specialist. U.S. Army

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​Politics, Us army, Us army reserve, Port of shuaiba, Kuwait, Iran, United states, Israel, Middle east, Cody khork, Nicole amor, Noah tietjens, Declan coady, Robert harter, Todd erskine 

Amazon MGM Studios and Sony Pictures Television are so confident in their upcoming “God of War” adaptation that they’ve already ordered two seasons.

But their initial marketing push has drawn sharp criticism from the man who created the video game franchise.

‘It’s just a dumb f**king image.’

Bathroom break

Last week, Amazon unveiled the first image of Kratos — the Spartan warrior at the center of the massively popular games. In it, Kratos crouches in the woods, leaning on his haunches as he watches his son Atreus draw an arrow.

The photo was meant to stoke excitement for the live-action take on one of gaming’s most iconic characters.

For God of War creator David Jaffe, however, it caused an entirely different reaction.

RELATED: Comic calls out Peter Dinklage: ‘You were in the most offensive movie to little people ever made’

“Could you find a picture that doesn’t look like he’s s***ting in the woods?” asked Jaffe. “Because that’s what the picture looks like.”

Potty mouth

Jaffe made the comments in a video posted to his YouTube channel. In the clip, he says he’s “a little worried” about the first impression the show was making. “What the f**k is this?” he said. “It’s just a dumb f**king image.”

While Jaffe stressed that he was still confident in the show’s creative team — saying he had “absolutely no doubt it is going to be a good show” — he refused to soften his stance on the squatting Spartan.

RELATED: Robert Duvall: Hollywood ‘Apostle’ who took Jesus seriously

“Two things can be true [at once],” he said. “This can be a terrible image — and it is. It’s so bad in so many ways.”

Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival

Flush with success

God of War is not the first of Jaffe’s properties to make the jump to television. Paramount+ recently renewed its “Twisted Metal” adaptation for a third season. As co-creator of the game (with Scott Campbell), Jaffe directed four Twisted Metal games between 1995 and 2012.

Amazon has increasingly bet on video game adaptations in the streaming arms race. That strategy has delivered at least one breakout hit — “Fallout” — while several other high-profile projects remain in development.

​Prime, Align, Amazon, Prime video, Gaming, Video games, Flop, Rotten tomatoes, Television, Entertainment 

White House senior adviser Calley Means is on a mission — and he’s been leading this mission alongside Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the MAHA movement.

“So you and RFK Jr. came in with this singular mission to make America healthy again, which — I don’t think, you know, it’s like it’s not a crazy mission. Overhauling the food system is the key tenet of this, and I think — you correct me if I’m wrong — kind of your key focus,” Gonzales says.

“We’re at HHS right now. This is the largest budget of any government department in human history. We have a $2 trillion budget, and you look at that — 90% of that is chronic diseases tied to food. We in America have the highest rates of diabetes, obesity, heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s,” Means tells Gonzales.

“This is what’s costing lives. It’s what’s shortening lives. It’s what’s causing issues for day-to-day Americans. And it’s bankrupting our budget. And it’s a multitude of factors, but these are external factors that are causing this increasing rate of chronic disease, which is devastating the country, particularly our kids,” he continues.

And he points out that this chronic disease epidemic has nothing to do with a lack of pharmaceuticals, as we are “the most drugged country in the world.”

Means also explains that this is why it’s so important that RFK Jr. has such an important role in the Trump administration.

“He’s the most important person. He’ll go down as the most important person in the history of modern public health, because he’s brought light to these simple things,” Means tells Gonzales.

“I don’t disagree with you. I mean, he is one of my own personal heroes,” Gonzales agrees.

However, while Gonzales and Means both see the importance of shining a light on the chronic disease epidemic in America and how it relates to our environment and food supply, others appear to be blinded by politics.

“Why do you think that we can’t be bipartisan about something as simple as keeping America healthy?” Gonzales asks Means.

“Trump derangement syndrome, I think, is the most pernicious and incurable condition impacting much of the American populace. It’s defining American politics,” Means answers.

“And the simple reality is Trump derangement syndrome has led Democrats to passionately defend artificial food dyes. It’s led Democrats to now be the party of ultra-processed food. It’s led Democrats to — I couldn’t believe this — passionately argue that we should maintain government funding for soda on food stamps,” he continues.

“My hope and our prayer here at HHS is this does become bipartisan,” he adds.

Want more from Sara Gonzales?

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

​Video phone, Upload, Sharing, Camera phone, Video, Free, Youtube.com, Sara gonzales unfiltered, Sara gonzales, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Chronic disease epidemic, Maha, Make america healthy again, Health and human services, Calley means, Robert f kennedy jr 

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) joined his Democrat colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee in castigating Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday, not only for her past treatment of animals but for her treatment of illegal aliens.

After characterizing the Jan. 6 protesters whom President Donald Trump pardoned as “thugs” and stressing his support for law enforcement, Tillis suggested in his self-described “performance evaluation” that he is “disappointed” with Noem because she is allegedly “running numbers that Stephen Miller wants out of the White House.”

‘Those are bad decisions made in the heat of the moment, not unlike what happened up in Minneapolis.’

“We just want numbers! We want a thousand a day, 6,000 a day, 9,000 a day, because numbers matter, right? No, they don’t matter,” added Tillis, who is not running for re-election. “Quality matters, not quantity — quality.”

Although the senator did not afford Noem an opportunity to respond at length at any point during his tirade, the secretary later noted on X that “thanks to President Trump’s leadership and the dedicated work of DHS personnel, our department has achieved historic results and made communities safer.”

Noem indicated:

Nearly 3 million illegal aliens have left the United States. [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] has arrested over 1,500 Known or Suspected Terrorists (KSTs) and more than 7,700 gang members. Fentanyl trafficking at the southern border has dropped by more than half compared to the same period in 2024. Of the more than 450,000 unaccompanied alien children lost under the Biden administration, 145,000 have been located under President Trump.

The DHS indicated in January that there were over 675,000 deportations and an estimated 2.2 million self-deportations in Trump’s first year back in office.

RELATED: Government-paid traffickers? Noem testifies Biden administration funded abuse of migrant kids

Kristi Noem. Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Tillis, adopting a tone he did not previously employ when addressing Noem’s predecessor, Alejandro Mayorkas, suggested that the immigration crackdown overseen by the secretary — in which some American citizens have been detained — has been a “disaster” and that the way she has been “going about deporting [migrants] is wrong.”

The senator cast doubt on whether the fatal shootings of anti-ICE radicals Alex Pretti and Renee Good were justifiable, then turned his attention to Noem’s admissions in her memoir, “No Going Back,” specifically her decisions to kill an “untrainable” dog and an unruly goat.

“You decided to kill that dog because you had not invested the appropriate time and training, and then you have the audacity to go into a book and say it’s a leadership lesson about tough choices!” said Tillis.

“At that same lunch hour, you killed a goat, and you killed the goat because you said it was behaving badly.”

“My point is those are bad decisions made in the heat of the moment, not unlike what happened up in Minneapolis,” said Tillis.

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​Kristi noem, Thom tillis, Tillis, Deportation, Us immigration and customs enforcement, Ice, Immigration, Illegal aliens, Trump administration, Noem, Department of homeland security, Dhs, Politics 

A World Series champion looks primed to become a member a Congress from Texas.

With popular Republican Rep. Chip Roy running for state attorney general, Texas’ 21st Congressional District is open for a new candidate to take what could be a long and pivotal role within the Republican Party.

‘This is a huge victory.’

Generational talent and Maryland native Mark Teixeira on Tuesday took home the Republican bid for the district, which encompasses northwest San Antonio.

According to KTBC, Teixeira was the only candidate to receive more than 9,000 votes, collecting almost 58,000, or 61%, among a large field of GOP hopefuls.

The 45-year-old benefited from a massive endorsement last week, though, when President Trump called Teixeira a “TOTAL WINNER, on and off the field.”

“Mark has a great wife, Leigh, and three beautiful children,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, before promoting some of the former ballplayer’s platform.

“Cut Taxes and Regulations, Promote MADE IN THE U.S.A., Unleash American Energy DOMINANCE, Keep our Border SECURE, [and] Stop Migrant Crime” were just some of the agenda items the president listed.

RELATED: Chip Roy’s political future uncertain after nail-biting Texas AG race

“This is a huge victory, and I’m truly honored to have such strong support from the people of TX-21. Thank you!” Teixeira wrote on X after his win.

“My amazing family has been by my side every step of the way. … We’re going to run a strong race and win big in November, then hit the ground running to fight for Texas families.”

The Texas district has been run by Republicans since 1979, with only three different representatives over that 47-year span: Tom Loeffler (1979-1987), Lamar Smith (1987-2019), and Roy (2019-2026).

Republicans have historically dominated the vote, too, and while the gap narrowed between 2018 and 2020, Roy increased his margin of victory each time he ran.

After winning by about 3% of the vote in 2018, he expanded that gap to about seven points in 2020. In 2022, he won by more than 25 points (+84,000 votes) and by almost 26 points in 2024 (+110,000 votes).

RELATED: Former MLB All-Star calls out Disney Cruise Line for having a ‘man dressed as woman’

Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images

Teixeira, a first baseman, entered the major leagues with the Texas Rangers in 2003 and finished with the New York Yankees in 2016. Upon joining the Yankees in 2009, he signed a massive $180 million contract. His tenure with the team was plagued by injuries.

Teixeira was a three-time All-Star, a five-time Gold Glove Award winner, and a World Series champion in 2009.

Rep. Roy is now in a runoff after coming in second place with 32% of the vote in the Republican primary for Texas attorney general. He will go head-to-head against Mayes Middleton — who had 39% of the vote — in May, since neither won a majority.

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​News, Sports, Mlb, Baseball, Texas, Congress, Republicans, Gop, Primary, San antonio, Politics 

On Tuesday at a press conference held at the Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art & Storytelling, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) covered the advancement of the universal child care program 2-K.

The conference was opened by a lesbian mother and member of New Yorkers United for Childcare, who said, “We want to stay in New York City, and 2-K will make the difference. We want to raise our kids in a city that looks like us, that has the values that we share.” She emphasized, “We see diversity as the greatest strength of New York City”

‘We’re just getting started!’

Mamdani thanked Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) for her foundational role in the program’s progress.

The program will provide free child care for 2-year-olds in New York City to any family, regardless of “immigration status,” a press release from Mamdani’s office said.

RELATED: Founder of Minneapolis autism center admits to paying kickbacks to Somali families in $6 million scam

Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Taxpayers will reportedly fork out more than $36,000 per tot for Mamdani’s free 2-K pilot program, which is around $13,000 more than the average cost of private child care, city officials acknowledged Tuesday.

Earlier this year, Hochul committed more than $1.2 billion to support early childhood care and education in New York City, including $73 million to fund the first set of free 2-K seats. That investment will grow to $425 million next year. By fall 2027, 2-K is expected to serve approximately 12,000 children across all five boroughs, with the goal of reaching every 2-year-old in the city at full implementation.

RELATED: Iranian state TV hijacked with Trump, Netanyahu message urging citizens to ‘seize control’

The governor evinced excitement about the advancement of 2-K.

“2-K is coming, NYC! Proud to work with @NYCMayor to make this a reality. And we’re just getting started!” Hochul said on X.

Critics warn of the gates that could be unlocked to fraud. Nick Sortor reposted a video on X criticizing Mamdani, which accumulated over 1 million views.

“This is going to be freaking LOADED with fraud,” Sortor said. “REFUSE TO SEND FEDERAL DOLLARS, 47! We do NOT want to fund Mamdani’s fraud!”.

However, Mamdani shows no signs of slowing down. “This is just the beginning. Universal child care is within reach — and we’re making it happen,” he said.

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​Camera phone, Free, Video phone, Sharing, Upload, Video, Youtube.com, Politics, Mamdani, Nyc, Nyc mayor, Illegal immigration, Illegal immigrants 

A pair of machete-wielding females beat up a Georgia homeowner in a robbery attempt late last month, but authorities said the victim grabbed a gun and shot both of the suspects with a single round.

Deputies with the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to Grove Mobile Home Park in Douglas on Feb. 21 concerning individuals who were shot, authorities said.

But the homeowner ultimately grabbed a shotgun and fired a single round, which struck both suspects, officials said.

Arriving deputies found two adult females — 35-year-old Stephanie Ann Nicole Castillo and 27-year-old Elisabet Gaspar — in a home with apparent gunshot wounds, officials said.

Emergency Medical Services rendered aid at the scene, officials said.

Deputies determined the shooting occurred at a different home after Castillo and Gaspar — who were allegedly armed with a machete — attacked the homeowner.

The victim told deputies Castillo and Gaspar arrived at the residence with the intent to commit a robbery.

RELATED: Police shoot New Jersey man who allegedly charged them with machete — then find gruesome scene inside his home

Image source: Coffee County (Ga.) Sheriff’s Office

A lengthy physical struggle ensued, officials said, adding that the homeowner was beaten and assaulted.

But the homeowner ultimately grabbed a shotgun and fired a single round, which struck both suspects, officials said.

After Castillo and Gaspar were taken to Coffee Regional Medical Center for treatment and medically cleared, officials said they were taken into custody and transported to the Coffee County Jail.

Castillo and Gaspar both were charged with two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of armed robbery, and one count of home invasion in the first degree, authorities said.

The sheriff’s office said aggravated assault involves attacking someone with a deadly weapon or something capable of causing serious injury and carries a penalty of one to 20 years in prison per count.

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​Georgia, Coffee county sheriff’s office, Armed robbery charges, Aggravated assault charges, Home invasion, Self-defense, Beating, 2nd amend., Guns, Gun rights, Shooting, Douglas, Mobile home park, Crime 

They used to mock him as a talking head. They said he wasn’t “serious.” On Monday at the Pentagon podium, Pete Hegseth looked deadly serious — a war secretary in command, unapologetic and unbowed, taking the fight to Iran and to the Beltway class that never wanted him there in the first place.

For half a century, American wars have been fought on two fronts: the enemy overseas and the narrative at home. Presidents have lost the second front before they lost the first. Hegseth made clear that he has no intention of repeating that mistake.

Hegseth is treating the media as terrain, not as background. He understands how quickly a negative narrative can harden into conventional wisdom, and he intends to contest it.

Joined by Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, he gave a comprehensive rundown of the opening days of Operation Epic Fury. The unprecedented multinational campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran has already removed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and much of the top layer of government and military leadership.

Hegseth delivered a no-nonsense overview in his pugnacious style, while Caine smoothly supplied operational detail. The language was blunt and steeped in the Pentagon’s effects-based, systems-focused lexicon of war: synchronized, focused, deliberate, precise, lethal.

The real show came during the Q&A. Hegseth demonstrated the value of national media experience. He understands that journalists don’t just observe war. They shape it. Reporters like to cast themselves as neutral, hovering above the battlefield rather than operating inside it. But they are players, whether they admit it or not.

That tendency showed up in the very first question: “What is our exit strategy here, and when will it be deployed?” “Exit strategy” carries baggage — Clinton after Mogadishu, then the quagmire in Iraq. Hegseth said he would “never hang a time frame” on U.S. operations and stressed that the commander in chief sets policy and timelines.

The administration’s priority is victory — not optics, not schedules, not narrative management. Victory.

Hegseth also dismantled what he called a “typical NBC sort of gotcha-type question” about expected troop levels. Preset troop limits, timetables, acceptable loss benchmarks — these become anchors for the press and handholds for the enemy.

Vietnam offers a cautionary tale. President Lyndon Johnson’s arbitrary troop “ceiling” boxed him in. Even when communist forces were shattered during Tet and opportunities opened, Johnson’s self-imposed limits narrowed his options. When the moment came, he could not move quickly enough.

RELATED: Trump’s Iran week: The hidden wins you didn’t hear about

Photo by Mandel NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

That history explains Hegseth’s refusal to get pinned down on numbers and metrics. Say too much publicly, and the enemy listens. Say too much, and the press locks you into a storyline you can’t escape.

President Trump has made the same point by refusing to rule out “boots on the ground,” preserving options if contingencies arise. Reporters hate ambiguity. In wartime, ambiguity keeps the enemy guessing.

Hegseth also grasps what some journalists rarely admit: Many in legacy media treat war coverage as opposition work. They question plans and policies as a default posture, amplify anonymous critics, hunt for classified information, and publish it.

This tension is as old as the republic. During the Civil War, General William Tecumseh Sherman called reporters “gossips” and “paid spies” and court-martialed Thomas Knox of the Cincinnati Commercial. In Vietnam, the conflict was fought as much in headlines as in the field. Today, reporters chasing clicks can manufacture controversies — real or imagined — that distract from the mission.

Hegseth is treating the media as terrain, not as background. He understands how quickly a negative narrative can harden into conventional wisdom, and he intends to contest it. The battlefield stretches from Tehran to the briefing room — and Hegseth just signaled that he plans to dominate both.

​Pete hegseth, Iran, Israel, Boots on the ground, Legacy media, Us iran conflict, Operation epic fury, Opinion & analysis, Media bias, Iran war, Corporate media, Left-wing media bias, Donald trump 

While many people have had their attention turned to the Middle East in the past week, the United States military has continued its mission of protecting the western hemisphere, launching joint operations in another South American country after arresting Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela in early January.

On Tuesday, U.S. forces launched joint operations against designated terrorist organizations in Ecuador, U.S. Southern Command announced in a press release.

‘Together, we are taking decisive action to confront narco-terrorists who have long inflicted terror, violence, and corruption on citizens throughout the hemisphere.’

U.S. Southern Command described the operations as a “powerful example of the commitment of partners in Latin America and the Caribbean to combat the scourge of narco-terrorism.”

“Together, we are taking decisive action to confront narco-terrorists who have long inflicted terror, violence, and corruption on citizens throughout the hemisphere,” the press release added.

RELATED: ‘Start driving north’: US tourists stranded in Mexico after slaying of top cartel boss ‘El Mencho’ sparks chaos

Drugs seized in the joint operation carried out since January of last year. U.S. Embassy of Ecuador

“We commend the men and women of the Ecuadorian armed forces for their unwavering commitment to this fight, demonstrating courage and resolve through continued actions against narco-terrorists in their country,” said Marine Gen. Francis L. Donovan, commander of U.S. Southern Command.

The press release included video footage from the operation. The video shows some shots of helicopters lifting off, and some aerial footage shows a group of men gathering around or loading into a helicopter.

The announcement of the operations in Ecuador was nearly contemporaneous with another large drug bust that resulted from the cooperation of U.S., Ecuadorian, and Europol forces, according to the U.S. Embassy of Ecuador.

This joint operation, which had reportedly been carried out since January 2025, reportedly successfully dismantled the transnational drug trafficking organization Hernán Ruilova Barzola, linked to the Los Lobos cartel. Los Lobos emerged as Ecuador’s largest drug trafficking organization in recent years following the assassination of the leader of a rival gang in 2020. By June 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned Los Lobos as the country was engulfed in increasing violence, according to a press release at the time.

Authorities successfully apprehended 16 suspects, including a high-value target, and “significant quantities of cocaine and cash.”

The embassy lauded the conclusion of the operation as an “important milestone in disrupting the operations and finances of narcoterrorists, directly contributing to the security of the United States.”

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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced the United States has killed an Iranian who plotted to kill President Donald Trump.

During a Wednesday Pentagon briefing, Hegseth gave reporters the latest military actions with respect to Operation Epic Fury, just days after the United States first struck Iran alongside Israel on Saturday.

‘We are fighting to win.’

“Yesterday, the leader of the unit who attempted to assassinate President Trump has been hunted down and killed,” Hegseth said.

“Iran tried to kill President Trump, and President Trump got the last laugh.”

RELATED: Lindsey Graham feverishly demands ANOTHER Middle Eastern conflict: ‘Fly with Israel’

Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images

Hegseth also announced that the United States struck and successfully sunk an Iranian warship with a torpedo, emphasizing the operation’s successful takedown of the Islamic state’s navy.

“An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters,” Hegseth said. “Instead it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death. The first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War II.”

“Like in that war, back when we were still the War Department, we are fighting to win.”

RELATED: US service member death toll continues to rise amid Operation Epic Fury

Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images

Hegseth reiterated the United States’ objectives to debilitate Iran’s military capabilities, in particular its nuclear ambitions.

“As I said Monday, the mission is laser focused,” Hegseth said. “Obliterate Iran’s missiles and drones and facilities that produce them, annihilate its navy and critical security infrastructure, and sever their pathway to nuclear weapons.”

“Iran will never possess a nuclear bomb,” Hegseth added. “Not on our watch. Not ever.”

Hegseth did not elaborate on sensitive details or estimated timelines, but Trump has notably predicted a four- or five-week operation in the Gulf.

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In late February, the Paramount Skydance acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery was officially announced in a $110 billion deal after Paramount outbid Netflix.

BlazeTV host John Doyle celebrates the news as a massive win for American patriots.

Warner Bros. “owns everything from Harry Potter to HBO … Batman, DC Comics, Cartoon Network, [and] CNN,” he says, cheering the fact that “right-wingers and key Trump allies Larry and David Ellison” will now be the top dogs at a historically left-wing company.

Television programming, Doyle explains, is “somewhat indicative of the state of the American consumer’s mind — their soul, even.”

“It is far better in the hands of people who are expressly sympathetic to the patriot cause rather than being allowed to be acquired by people who are obviously subversive and hostile to it,” he notes.

While Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros is “one of Hollywood’s most dramatic takeover battles in recent years,” the implications “[extend] beyond entertainment,” Doyle says.

“This is political in nature. … The left recognizing this is in total shambles, which is awesome,” he quips.

Several prominent Democrat politicians and officials, most notably Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and California Attorney General Rob Bonta, have publicly decried the merger as a potential “antitrust violation,” citing risks of reduced competition, higher prices for consumers, job losses, and undue concentration of media power in light of the Ellisons’ alliances.

“They would say absolutely nothing when Netflix was the main contender. They had no interest in invoking antitrust laws to break up monopolies. This is literally only because they recognize this to be a threat to their cultural hegemony,” Doyle declares.

“They are being threatened culturally, and they’re trying to sell that in terms of higher prices … [but] American families would be willing to pay more money for not having their kids just stumble across content that’s about sexualizing them and grooming them.”

The left can frame the merger however it wants, but at the end of the day, “all this means is that media is going to stop being deliberately subverted,” says Doyle. “We’re going to stop lying to people and trying to inundate them with just completely disordered propaganda.”

But will it also shape the culture in a conservative direction?

Doyle says yes, but not the way the left is framing it. If Paramount “just [tells] the truth,” he contends, culture will be “right-wing by nature of that.”

“We are winning. We gave up on our little stint in Hollywood. We gave up on trying to make freaking movies. Now we are just going to buy the people who make movies and tell them, ‘Hey, cut it out with the gay stuff,’ and then just like that, we have the American golden age,” he chuckles.

To hear more, watch the video above.

Want more from John Doyle?

To enjoy more of the truth about America and join the fight to restore a country that has been betrayed by its own leaders, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

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Storage is one of the most vital components in a smartphone, and when you run out, it can completely break your user experience. You can’t download new apps, you can’t take any more photos, you can’t receive text messages, and your apps may even crash or refuse to open. Now you have two choices — upgrade to a new phone with more storage, or take advantage of the storage purging features built into iOS and Android.

Check the storage on your phone

Before you do anything, you’ll need to check the storage capacity on your device to see how much storage is taken and how much is still available. As a general rule of thumb, it’s a good idea to leave at least 10%-20% of the storage on your device unused so that your operating system and apps have plenty of room to expand and shrink as data comes and goes.

Although apps are some of the biggest storage hogs, other items can also contribute.

To check the storage capacity on iPhone, open the Settings app, tap “General,” and then open “iPhone Storage.” Here, you’ll find a chart that includes a breakdown of everything that’s downloaded to your device, including apps, music, photos, iCloud Drive files, messages, iOS itself, and system data.

Screenshots by Zach Laidlaw/iPhone 17 Pro Max on iOS 26

For Android, the process will look a bit different depending on your device. Samsung Galaxy users can navigate to the storage capacity page by opening the Settings app. Then scroll down, tap “Device care,” and select “Storage” from the menu.

Screenshots by Zach Laidlaw/Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 on Android 16

It’s easier for Google Pixel users. Simply open the Settings app and select “Storage.” From here, you’ll see a clear breakdown of your downloaded files, including games, apps, images, trash, audio files, videos, documents, the operating system, and temporary files.

Screenshots by Zach Laidlaw/Google Pixel 10 Pro XL on Android 16

Although these pages look different depending on your phone’s make, model, and OS, the purpose is the same — to clearly show which files are taking up the most storage on your phone so that you can target them for archival or deletion.

Free up storage on your phone

Now that you know which apps and files are taking up the most space, you can do something about it. Both iOS and Android offer ways to offload or delete unused apps and files so that you can free up space for more important things.

RELATED: How to put your text messages on the strongest privacy setting

On iOS, tap “Enable” in the “Offload Unused Apps” section. This will essentially remove unused apps from your phone while keeping their data and settings in the cloud, ensuring you can re-download these apps at any time if you need them. Later, if you decide you don’t want to archive apps any more, you can disable this feature again by simply going to Settings > Apps > App Store, and uncheck “Offload Unused Apps.”

Screenshots by Zach Laidlaw/iPhone 17 Pro Max on iOS 26

On Samsung Galaxy, tap “Unused apps” at the bottom of the page. On this screen, you can easily archive apps to reclaim a bit of storage or uninstall them to take back even more space. Unarchived apps will still show up as grayed-out icons in your app drawer; simply tap on one to redownload the app and its data when you need it. Uninstalled apps, however, will have to be completely reinstalled and set up to use them again.

Screenshots by Zach Laidlaw/Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 on Android 16

For Google Pixel, tap “Free up space.” On the next screen, you’ll see a list of duplicate files and unused apps. Choose which one you want to purge, select the files to uninstall, and confirm. Note that if you want to archive an app instead of deleting it, you will need to go back to the main Settings page and select “Apps.” Choose the app you want to archive from the menu and tap the “Archive” icon.

Screenshots by Zach Laidlaw/Google Pixel 10 Pro XL on Android 16

More ways to free up phone storage

Although apps are some of the biggest storage hogs, other items can also contribute to inflated storage numbers — photos, videos, music, PDFs, and various documents. The easiest way to get these off of your device’s local storage is to upload them to a cloud service, but wait! Before you jump to that next step, there are specific ways to handle these properly. Keep an eye out for more guides on how to back up your photos, videos, and music, all coming soon.

​Tech 

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) endured a brutal electoral blow Tuesday night after her opponent James Talarico secured the nomination in the Texas Senate Democratic primary.

Talarico, a more moderate Democrat, decisively won the nomination, dashing Crockett’s aspirations for higher political office. With 80% of the vote tallied on Wednesday morning, Talarico sailed through with 53.1% of the vote, while Crockett brought in just 45.6%, according to the New York Times.

Talarico’s win may indicate a shift toward a more moderate platform.

Despite Talarico’s decisive win, Crockett was quick to blame election fraud.

“We’re about to file a lawsuit to keep the voting polls open,” Crockett said. “… I can tell you now that people were being disenfranchised.”

RELATED: ‘Maybe I should endorse Jasmine Crockett’: Lauren Boebert jokes with, praises James Talarico amid heated Texas primary

Bob Daemmrich/Texas Tribune/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Talarico embraced the blue-dog Democrat campaign style, pitching himself as a Christian and appealing to working-class voters. Crockett, on the other hand, exemplified progressivism in full force, modeling herself after Squad members like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).

Despite Crockett’s appeal to the progressive faction of the left, Talarico’s win may indicate a shift toward a more moderate platform within the Democratic Party.

RELATED: 3 contentious Texas primaries that hang in the balance

Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Talarico will now face off against either Attorney General Ken Paxton or incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in November.

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Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has long been a cheerleader for U.S. military interventions and/or U.S.-orchestrated regime changes around the globe in countries such as Afghanistan, Cuba, Iraq, Libya, Russia, Syria, and Venezuela. Iran appears, however, to have been a priority target for the senator.

Graham expressed great satisfaction when the U.S. and Israel resumed their bombardment of Iranian targets on Saturday, suggesting that “the biggest change in the Middle East in a thousand years is upon us” and that “if the ayatollah goes down, historic peace advances.”

After adding to reporters on Tuesday that regime change in Tehran opens “a gateway to peace,” Graham animatedly indicated that he first wants to see the U.S. intervene militarily in another Middle Eastern nation.

‘Settle the score, even the account.’

“One thing to President Trump, in case you’re watching. In 1983, Ronald Reagan sent Marines and sailors to try to police and deal with the Lebanese civil war,” said Graham. “They were at the end of the runway. Hezbollah attacked the Marine barracks, killed 220 Marines, 18 sailors, and wounded 100 others. Ronald Reagan, who I admire and love, withdrew and never did anything about it.”

The senator suggested that President Donald Trump should settle the 43-year-old score.

“I’m calling on President Trump today: Join Israel to attack Hezbollah. Avenge the Marines. America never forgets,” said Graham, identifying alleged Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps “assets” in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, as potential U.S. targets.

RELATED: Poll: GOP voters’ lukewarm support for Iran strikes significantly lower than past conflicts

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Tuesday that Beirut “must understand that Hezbollah is dragging them into a war that is not theirs.”

Israeli forces have in recent days seized control of additional strategic positions and exchanged fire with Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon.

The Israel Defense Forces indicated that they have bombed numerous Hezbollah targets across the country and assassinated numerous hostile officials, including Abu Hamza Rami, the commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the Lebanon sector.

Graham, who is running for re-election in America, implored Trump to “come up with a new operation called ‘Semper Fi.’ Fly with Israel and go after Hezbollah who has American blood on its hands.”

“Not only take the mothership of Iran down,” continued the senator, “also take the proxy of Hezbollah. Settle the score, even the account.”

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) was among those who criticized Graham over his warmongering, stating, “Lindsey hasn’t seen a fist fight that he hasn’t wanted to turn into a bombing raid. So I just take it with a grain of salt, dude.”

BlazeTV host Auron MacIntyre wrote, “Yeah, this is going well.”

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Rep. Dan Crenshaw, the only Texas Republican incumbent not to receive President Donald Trump’s endorsement in this election cycle, lost his re-election campaign on Tuesday, according to unofficial results.

Crenshaw, who was hoping to secure a fifth term in Texas’ 2nd Congressional District, was defeated in the primary race by state Rep. Steve Toth (R).

Toth ‘has stepped up to the plate to challenge one of Congress’s biggest RINOs, Dan Crenshaw.’

Toth received just under 57% of the vote, securing a majority and avoiding a runoff election.

Hours after polls closed on Tuesday, Toth declared victory, posting a video on X and stating: “Big thanks to the voters of Congressional District 2. I will work hard for all of you.”

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) endorsed Toth ahead of the race, writing in a post on social media, “Steve faithfully served the people of Texas in the Texas House of Representatives, championing our Texas values of liberty, limited government, and constitutional governance.”

“Steve is an unwavering fighter for school choice, fiscal responsibility, and the next generation of Americans. Washington needs bold leadership and representatives who will stand up for Texans at every turn,” Cruz continued. “Steve has the experience, the courage, and the conviction to do just that. I’m honored to support his campaign and urge voters in Texas’s 2nd Congressional District to join me in electing Steve Toth to Congress.”

RELATED: Tuesday’s must-watch primaries: The races that will determine if America First takes over in 2026

Dan Crenshaw. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images

Some of Toth’s supporters have accused Crenshaw of opposing President Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again agenda.

Mark Ivanyo, the executive director of Republicans for National Renewal, stated, “@SteveTothTX has stepped up to the plate to challenge one of Congress’s biggest RINOs, Dan Crenshaw. Crenshaw has stood against MAGA consistently and held out as a stalwart of the Liz Cheney wing of the GOP that has done so much damage to our country.”

RELATED: Dan Crenshaw brushes off apparent death threat as ‘hyperbole’ as ethics complaint looms

Photographer: Sharon Steinmann/Bloomberg via Getty Images

U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) endorsed Crenshaw last week, crediting him for doing “a lot behind the scenes” “to help weed out the public corruption in Washington.”

An internal poll from Crenshaw’s campaign released in November showed the incumbent with a 28-point lead over Toth, according to a press release.

At the time the polls closed in Texas, 7:00 p.m. local time, bettors on Kalshi Markets gave Crenshaw a 68% chance of winning the election. Less than two hours after polls closed, those predictions swung in Toth’s favor with nearly 99% odds.

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The list of possible successors to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) was whittled down somewhat in Tuesday’s primary elections.

On the Republican side, Rep. Chip Roy (R), an antagonist of Paxton who had Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz’s endorsement, faced off with Mayes Middleton, a Texas state senator who characterized himself as a proud supporter of the America First agenda; Aaron Reitz, the Paxton-endorsed former assistant attorney general who promised to “destroy the left” if elected; and Joan Huffman, a Texas state senator supported by various police unions.

‘I’d like to come home to Texas.’

Roy, who led the pack in a Texas Politics Project Poll taken last month, said in a video statement on Tuesday afternoon, “There’s a lot of important issues, and as a former federal prosecutor and the former first assistant attorney general — someone who’s been in the battle fighting for you — I’d like to come home to Texas and be your attorney general.”

The congressman came home for a relatively disappointing performance, trailing Middleton throughout the night.

With over 91% of the expected votes in, Middleton had secured 39.2% of the vote, while Roy had 31.6% as of Wednesday morning, reported NBC News. Huffman and Reitz secured 15% and 14.2% of the vote, respectively.

RELATED: Trump-endorsed candidate wins Senate primary in key battleground state

Mayes Middleton. Photo by Montinique Monroe/Getty Images

As neither of the top two Republican candidates obtained more than 50% of the vote, they must go head-to-head on May 26 in a primary runoff election.

Just before midnight, Middleton — a seventh-generation Texan and father of four who was endorsed by numerous conservative groups including the Texas Family Project, Moms for America Action, and the True Texas Project — wrote on X, “1st Place! Thank you to conservatives across Texas for your trust, your vote, and for giving us incredible momentum going into the runoff.”

Middleton pledged in his campaign to “lead the charge to secure our border, protect Texas kids, ensure fairness in girls’ and women’s sports, protect Texas taxpayers and consumers, ensure strict election integrity, and root out waste, fraud, and abuse from our government.”

Reitz congratulated Roy and Middleton, noting, “They ran strong campaigns, I respect them both, and they earned their place in the next round. I wish them both well.”

On the Democrat side, Nathan Johnson, a litigator and composer who contributed scores to the anime series “Dragon Ball Z,” competed for his party’s nomination against former Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski and Anthony Box, an Army veteran, former FBI agent, and attorney.

With 92% of the votes counted, the Associated Press reported that Johnson led Jaworski and Box by over 20 percentage points with 47.9% of the vote, just shy of the 50% necessary to avoid a runoff on May 26. Jaworski reportedly had 26.7% of the vote as of early Wednesday, while Box had 25.4%.

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Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) faced a primary rematch against firearms influencer Brandon Herrera for Texas’ 23rd Congressional District seat on Tuesday — and will have to face him yet again.

Gonzales, who narrowly defeated Herrera in a 2024 runoff race, will once again battle Herrera in a runoff election on May 26 after neither candidate received more than 50% of the primary vote on Tuesday.

As of Wednesday morning, unofficial election results showed Gonzales with roughly 41.6% of the vote and Herrera with 43%.

‘I think the voters in Texas are going to speak pretty loudly.’

The incumbent’s re-election campaign came under scrutiny in September when one of his staffers, Regina Santos-Aviles, committed suicide by setting herself on fire. Allegations soon surfaced that Gonzales and Santos-Aviles had been having an affair.

While Gonzales dismissed the claims as smear tactics, some Republican lawmakers called on him to resign after explicit text messages he allegedly sent to Santos-Aviles were leaked to the public in late February.

Gonzales has refused to step down, stating, “What you’ve seen is not all the facts.”

Gonzales secured endorsements from several Republican politicians, including President Donald Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson (La.), Rep. Steve Scalise (La.), and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (Minn.). Trump reposted his endorsements on Friday, but notably omitted Gonzales.

RELATED: Tuesday’s must-watch primaries: The races that will determine if America First takes over in 2026

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

Herrera, Gonzales’ most prominent competitor, received endorsements from several Republican members of Congress, including Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (Fla.), Rep. Eli Crane (Ariz.), Rep. Chip Roy (Texas), and Rep. Lauren Boebert (Colo.).

Rep. Mike Haridopolos (R-Fla.) predicted ahead of the primary election that Gonzales would lose.

“I think the voters in Texas are going to speak pretty loudly. And I would guess that his days are numbered in Congress,” Haridopolos stated.

RELATED: 3 contentious Texas primaries that hang in the balance

Brandon Herrera. Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Herrera’s internal poll showed him receiving 45% of the vote, up 24 points ahead of Gonzales.

At the time the polls closed in Texas, 7:00 p.m. local time, bettors on Kalshi Markets gave Herrera a 95% chance of winning the election.

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