Category: blaze media

From the moment Donald Trump announced his run for president, the Republican establishment hated his guts. In 2016, the brash New York billionaire was treated like a joke — an embarrassment degrading the political process. But as Trump gained momentum, establishment figures faced a choice: Throw in with “NeverTrump” or pretend they’d seen the light.

Some bolted to NeverTrump outfits like the Bulwark or the Lincoln Project. Others stuck around, biding their time, waiting for a chance to reclaim the party from the populists. Now that Trump defines the GOP, they’ve shifted strategies. If you can’t beat MAGA, co-opt it.

MAGA has never been a cult, despite what the detractors may say. Supporters have stood by him because he fought for the things they care about.

Trump’s first term resembled an awkward arranged marriage. He won the heart of the base and created a movement mostly detached from the GOP machine. But he lacked the institutional infrastructure necessary to govern. Running the executive branch requires armies of staffers, bureaucrats, and loyal operatives — none of which MAGA had.

That vacuum was filled by GOP establishment swamp creatures, many of whom actively opposed the president and his agenda. Key officials undermined him. Military leaders lied to his face. Despite some major victories, Trump’s presidency was defined by a constant war against a hostile ruling class.

The great Republican hope?

With outrageous legal attacks from the Biden administration raising doubts about Trump’s electability, Ron DeSantis was encouraged to step in. I like DeSantis — he’s my governor, and he has done an outstanding job, especially standing up to the COVID-19 insanity. But the truth is that DeSantis has never been a gifted campaigner. He barely scraped by in 2018 against a man later found doing meth in a hotel with a male prostitute.

Trump, whatever his flaws, is a force of nature on the campaign trail. Anyone paying attention could see that DeSantis was walking into a meat grinder.

Still, many Republicans who hadn’t declared themselves NeverTrump saw DeSantis as their chance to strike. He had a solid record and stuck closer to the establishment line. He was more disciplined, less prone to off-script rhetoric, and — most important — not under indictment.

So the donor class and the consultant class threw their weight behind him. The money flowed, the media declared him the future, and the campaign … flopped. Hard.

After DeSantis’ inevitable loss, anti-Trump Republicans were left stunned, tending to their bruised egos and looking for a new angle. Trump had survived an assassination attempt and beaten Kamala Harris. It was clear: He was the party. The idea that he could be swapped out for a more polished Republican was delusional.

Strain on the base

MAGA wasn’t going to be defeated by recycled talk about small government and lower taxes. The only remaining play was to redefine the movement from within.

Trump’s second term began with a burst of action: government agencies were shuttered, birthright citizenship was challenged, and deportations resumed. MAGA supporters were elated. Progressives were stunned. But the GOP establishment was left wondering how to reinsert itself into power.

Then came the cracks.

Trump ordered a strike on Iran at Israel’s request — only for Benjamin Netanyahu to blow off the president’s social media appeals to honor a ceasefire. Trump floated amnesty for illegal aliens working in agriculture and hospitality. The Justice Department and FBI dismissed any suggestion that Jeffrey Epstein had blackmailed elites, was murdered, or left behind a client list.

This was especially disturbing given that Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel had built their MAGA reputations by promising to expose Epstein’s secrets. Suddenly, the story changed. The fabled “client list” did not exist after all. The “truckload” of evidence amounted to nothing. Cover-up? What cover-up?

The strain on Trump’s relationship with his base was real — and that was the opening establishment Republicans needed.

RELATED: Progressive castoffs don’t get to define the right

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Enter ‘neo-MAGA’

Out of nowhere, a new class of Trump supporter emerged: neo-MAGA. Most of these operatives were DeSantis die-hards last year. Now they claim to be Trump’s most loyal defenders. They spend their time lecturing actual Trump supporters for lacking faith in a man they previously ridiculed.

In their telling, MAGA never meant ending regime-change wars — it meant launching new ones in Iran. MAGA never meant deporting illegal aliens — it was just about gang members and drug traffickers. MAGA never cared about Epstein’s client list, so don’t worry about it. Just trust the process. Trust the staff. Trust the people who said the files were real and now insist they were imaginary.

The “trust the staff” line is especially rich, considering that many of these same influencers trashed Trump’s appointment of Steve Witkoff as a negotiator for not being sufficiently pro-Israel. Now they demand blind loyalty to the very people they attacked last week.

This isn’t about loyalty to Trump. MAGA has never been a cult, despite what the detractors may say. Supporters have stood by him because he fought for the things they care about: economic populism, national sovereignty, immigration, and a restrained foreign policy. When he delivers, they cheer. When he falters, they push back.

Neo-MAGA wants to replace that dynamic with a new one — one where dissent is heresy and the old GOP agenda returns under a different label. These operatives see a chance to ride the MAGA brand back into power, reshaping it into something safer, softer, and friendlier to the donor class.

But the base haven’t forgotten. They remember who bolted. They remember who mocked them. They remember who told them DeSantis was the future. And they know that the same people now preaching unity were, until five minutes ago, rooting for Trump to fail.

Whatever disagreement exists between Trump and his base, both should beware of the interlopers trying to turn this moment into a reset for the GOP establishment. MAGA wasn’t built on loyalty to staffers or influencers. It was built on promises, and those promises still matter.

​Opinion & analysis, Donald trump, Maga, Make america great again, Make america healthy again, Maha, Lincoln project, The bulwark, Illegal immigration, Mass deportations, Immigration and customs enforcement, Ice, Ron desantis, Republican party, Establishment, Covid-19, Money, Florida, 2026 midterms, Gop, Pam bondi, Kash patel, Israel, Hamas, Iran, Nuclear program, Steve witkoff, Jeffrey epstein, Epstein list, Betrayal, Nevertrump, Neo-maga 

President Donald Trump has scored yet another win against China — as the U.S. government has successfully negotiated a mineral deal using American companies rather than relying on China for our rare earth minerals.

In 2023, the country banned exports of its own IP regarding rare earth extraction methods, waste separation methods, rare earth magnet production technology — which is used by companies like Apple, as well as for electric motors for EVs, drones, missiles, and radar.

“It is pretty significant because China produced 60% of the world’s rare earth minerals, nearly 90% of the world’s rare earth processing, and 99.9% of America’s rare earth processing,” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales explains on “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered.”

“And of course, they’re weaponizing that control of all of these rare earth minerals and semiconductors to hurt the United States,” she continues.

“It’s crazy to rely on China for things that we really need.”

“And then you had a half-dead president named Joe Biden who didn’t do s**t about any of this. And then enter President Trump,” she adds, noting that Trump signed an executive order in March with the goal of making the United States the leading producer and processor of non-fuel minerals, including rare earth minerals.

“I’d just like to say, more promises made, promises kept. Keep this one on the list. Check it off, okay, because last week the DOD spent $400 million of preferred stock in MP Materials, which operates the only rare earth minerals mine in the United States,” Gonzales explains.

“They are now the largest shareholder of the company that owns this,” she says.

Apple has also agreed to buy $500 million worth of rare earth magnets from the same company, MP Materials. Now, the company is going to expand operations and open a second domestic magnet manufacturing facility.

“President Trump successfully reducing our country’s dependence on China in just one more way. I think that’s a win,” Gonzales adds.

Want more from Sara Gonzales?

To enjoy more of Sara’s no-holds-barred take to 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, Free, Upload, Camera phone, Sharing, Video phone, Youtube.com, Sara gonzales unfiltered, Sara gonzales, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals, President trump, China, Rare earth minerals deal, Maga, Maga mandate 

President Donald Trump is among the Republicans who have long sought to terminate federal funding for National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service, a pair of outfits whose unmistakable ideological bias and imbalanced coverage at taxpayers’ expense have rankled conservatives. The call to defund the liberal networks goes back at least as far as the Nixon administration.

On May 1, Trump ordered the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to cut off the liberal propaganda networks’ direct and indirect funding, noting both that “Americans have the right to expect that if their tax dollars fund public broadcasting at all, they fund only fair, accurate, unbiased, and nonpartisan news coverage” and that “no media outlet has a constitutional right to taxpayer subsidies.”

The president’s order was, however, vulnerable to legal challenges — especially since Congress holds the power of the purse.

To ensure the success and permanence of this defunding effort, the White House proposed that Congress cancel funding to public broadcasting for fiscal years 2026 and 2027. In addition to the proposed $1.1 billion in cuts to the CPB, the White House also requested that lawmakers cancel over $8 billion to various leftist projects disguised as foreign aid programs.

‘Washington has a spending problem, and we have to start making cuts.’

House Republicans ultimately obliged the president, delivering most of his desired cuts late Thursday night. None of the Democrats’ amendments were adopted. A promise to voters decades in the making was finally delivered.

In the run-up to the vote in the House of Representatives, an Office of Management and Budget official seized on the historic nature of the cuts. In a statement to Blaze News, the official said, “Conservatives have been calling to defund NPR and PBS for decades. President Trump delivered in six months. Not only that, this package cuts billions in wasteful foreign aid that has been spent on projects including $4 million for ‘sedentary migrants’ in Colombia, $643,000 for LGBTQI+ programs in the Western Balkans, $833,000 for ‘transgender people, sex workers, and their clients and sexual networks’ in Nepal, and many more.”

— (@)

“The Trump administration is committed to putting America first and restoring fiscal sanity,” continued the OMB official. “This recissions package is a huge step in the right direction.”

Russ Vought, director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, told Steve Bannon’s “War Room” on Thursday that the pending passage of the rescissions package and the defunding of the CPB in particular would be a “historic victory.” After all, it is the first successful presidentially proposed rescissions package since fiscal year 1999.

RELATED: Vance casts tiebreaking vote to advance DOGE cuts after Republicans defy Trump

Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

The U.S. Senate voted 51-48 on Trump’s requested cuts in an early Thursday-morning vote just hours after Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) emphasized that “reining in waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government is a priority shared by President Trump and by Senate Republicans.”

Thune noted further when teeing up the rescissions package that it was a “small but important step toward fiscal sanity that we all should be able to agree is long overdue.”

When asked ahead of the Senate vote whether lawmakers might water down the DOGE cuts, Florida Rep. Greg Steube (R) expressed hope to Blaze Media that Republicans would see it through, stressing that “Washington has a spending problem, and we have to start making cuts.”

‘Conservatives have been calling to defund NPR and PBS for decades. President Trump delivered in six months.’

Although the House already voted in favor of the cuts in a 214-212 vote last month — where Republican Reps. Mark Amodei of Nevada, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Nicole Malliotakis of New York, and Mike Turner of Ohio voted in opposition — the small changes made in the Senate still needed to be voted on by the House.

The package passed the House again by a narrow margin late Thursday night, this time of 216-213. Once again, both Fitzpatrick and Turner voted against passing the cuts.

Trump pledged to sign the package into law at the White House on Friday afternoon. “Congratulations to our GREAT REPUBLICANS for being able to accomplish so much, a record, in so short a period of time,” he posted to Truth Social Friday morning.

RELATED: Sparing taxpayers from funding leftist propaganda

NPR CEO Katherine Maher. Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP via Getty Images

Trump’s success — which has enraged Democratic lawmakers and NGOs — will have a major impact at NPR and PBS.

A spokesman for PBS, which has over 330 member television stations, indicated earlier this year that the organization receives 16% of its funding directly from the federal government each year.

While NPR claims that less than 1% of its annual operating budget comes in the form of grants directly from the CPB and other federal sources, the programming fees paid by CPB-funded public radio stations to NPR have been one of its primary sources of revenue.

Blaze News previously reported that consolidated financial statements show that the organization secured over $96.1 million in “core and other programming fees” in 2023, $93.2 million in 2022, $90.4 million in 2021, and $92.5 million in 2020.

That tap has now been turned off for at least two years.

Katherine Maher, president and CEO of NPR, said in a statement obtained by Blaze News after the Senate vote, “Public radio is a lifeline, connecting rural communities to the rest of the nation and providing lifesaving emergency broadcasting and weather alerts. It cannot be replaced, so it is essential that its funding be sustained.”

Blaze News has reached out to PBS for comment.

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​Rescissions, Rescission, Funding, Npr, Pbs, Leftist propaganda, Usaid, Government, House, Senate, Donald trump, Politics, Trump administraiton 

If you spend an inordinate amount of time online — doomscrolling, podcast-hopping, and trading theories with your pals on Signal — you might be fixated on every twist in the Jeffrey Epstein saga. Or maybe you’ve convinced yourself that the transgender sports fight doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of American politics.

That would be a serious mistake.

Conservatives are finally acting like revolutionaries, while prominent Democrat mayors are screeching and sobbing in the streets.

You’d be missing the most significant conservative revolution Washington has seen in decades — maybe ever.

Start with sports. The right’s victory in pushing back transgender ideology on this front marks a turning point. Not just because it helps women’s athletics. Not even because it polls well.

It matters because it’s the first real cultural win for truth over lies I’ve seen in my adult life. And without that kind of victory — without truth — nothing else can be fixed.

It might feel strange or even deflating to call broad public agreement on something so obvious a “major victory.” But consider what has happened.

Picture a living Joseph Stalin stepping to a podium and admitting: Yes, the mass graves are real. The people already knew — they had lived it. But for years, they were forced to lie or risk losing their livelihoods.

That’s what Americans experienced just last year. We lived under a giant, state-sanctioned falsehood.

This country has a habit of moving on too quickly from moral failure. But conservatives shouldn’t forget what it felt like to endure the Democrats’ four-year crusade.

Welfare rolls soared. Government job numbers got a boost — from foreign workers. White men ages 50 to 65 could not get hired. The border stood wide open. And crime? It was tolerated, even sanctified, as if letting it happen was an act of charity.

In the six months since his inauguration, Donald Trump has sealed the border. On a shoestring budget, his administration launched raids up and down the country, striking fear into the hearts of illegal immigrants nationwide to the point that we’re seeing serious self-deportations.

The White House fired or bought out more than 100,000 federal bureaucrats, made the largest tax cut in U.S. history permanent — even with a geriatric Senate that still leans on liberal Republicans — and proved that America can hit its enemies hard without getting dragged into nation-building.

That same tax cut included $75 billion for interior immigration enforcement. Just two weeks ago!

Think about this: The Republican Party has held the White House and both chambers of Congress three times since before 9/11, an atrocity committed by illegal aliens. This is the first time the GOP has used that power to deliver real results.

During the previous two trifectas, Republican leaders pursued amnesty.

Amnesty!

Over the past six months, this administration has forced NATO to bow, won case after case at the Supreme Court against activist judges who imagine themselves kings, and finally pulled the plug on PBS and NPR.

That last one? A Republican campaign promise for decades. No one ever meant it — until now.

The White House just passed a tax law that allows companies to put $10,000 or $10 billion into building industrial infrastructure — and write 100% of it off on their taxes.

The administration made colleges rescind fake records set unfairly by men competing in women’s sports — and offer apologies to those women who were wronged.

It froze tens of millions of dollars of taxpayer funds headed to liberal universities and sued them for racial discrimination.

Former CIA director and Russiagate hoax ringleader John Brennan is fuming on TV. Top staff for Joe Biden are on video pleading the Fifth Amendment to hide potentially criminal activity in the last administration.

The White House has completely redrawn America’s trade regime. There are tariffs across the board, with harsher penalties for countries flooding cheap garbage manufactured by near-slave labor into U.S. markets. So far, few countries have risked any sort of retaliation, and our country’s economy has yet to suffer any serious consequences.

Birthright citizenship — long treated as sacrosanct in political debate — is finally on the chopping block. And few Americans are remotely bothered about it.

This administration has also taken on the vaccine-industrial complex. For the first time ever, the Department of Health and Human Services is investigating the explosion in autism rates.

When Big Pharma corporatists in white coats pushed back, the administration didn’t flinch. It fired them from the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Fired.

President Trump also did what no Western leader would: He called out the South African government’s campaign of land seizures and government-incited murder. While Pretoria wraps itself in the legacy of Nelson Mandela, it has driven a once-prosperous nation to ruin. Trump opened the door to the Boers without apology.

Meanwhile, polls are up among Hispanics and black men. Up! While the internet-obsessed kvetch endlessly that the president didn’t break court orders to unseal names of the accused on Epstein Island, a CNN poll this week found Republican approval for him rose two points to 88%. At the same time, a Quinnipiac Poll found that the number had risen three points to 90%. Ninety percent!

In the culture, conservatives have the top comedians and some of the coolest actors. Conservatives have finally realized they don’t need to defend the American institutions that loathe the right — they need to train their fire on those institutions.

Conservatives are finally acting like revolutionaries, prominent Democrat mayors are screeching and sobbing in the streets, and when violent left-wing mobs try to barricade police stations, the police open the doors and charge out — then mock them. When 11 kitted-up, armed, and masked Antifa members launched a terror attack on a Texas detention center for illegal aliens, they were routed, hunted down, and arrested by police. Not special forces — frontline cops and agents.

Democrats and their allies are scattered, demoralized, and afraid. The influence of Hollywood and the corporate media is at an all-time low. They are cringey.

So set aside the Signal chat and step away from social media. This is the moment so many have been waiting for — we’re living in it. And we’re not tired of winning.

Blaze News: ‘Democrats clearly weren’t prepared’: Blaze News contributor schools libs on border crisis in fiery hearing

JD Vance: Rekindling statesmanship to secure America’s golden future

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Editor’s note: The headline of this article has been edited after publication.

​Opinion & analysis, Politics 

A quiet but dangerous conflict is brewing within President Trump’s foreign policy team — a battle between the true red America First voices who made his first term successful and the same old neoconservative ideologues who have derailed U.S. diplomacy for decades.

Heightened by the bombing of Iran, this clash made headlines again earlier this month. This time, it was over botched negotiations over the return of Americans currently held by the socialist Venezuelan government.

Marco Rubio’s hatred of Latin American socialism is clear, but that shouldn’t come at a strategic cost to our country.

Trump’s special envoy Richard Grenell, a realist to his core, was on the verge of brokering a deal that would have secured the release of imprisoned Americans in exchange for Chevron’s continued operations in Venezuela. It was classic Trump diplomacy: bold, transactional, results-oriented.

But Secretary of State Marco Rubio intervened. The State Department made a much less attractive and watered-down proposal to repatriate 250 Venezuelan aliens in exchange for the American prisoners. The interests of the U.S. oil industry were completely ignored.

Wires were crossed, and the talks collapsed.

Two critical lessons

Two lessons are evident: The first and most obvious is that Grenell is responsible for talks with Venezuela and that he is the only U.S. figure Venezuela trusts — a point that shouldn’t be undermined.

The second is that Trump’s transactional diplomacy, represented by Grenell, works — when it’s allowed to. We’ve seen this with Steve Witkoff’s trips to the Middle East and the president’s own handling of NATO.

The Venezuelan government wants to negotiate with Grenell and Grenell alone — and for good reason. He speaks the language of leverage, not lectures. As special envoy, he has built a diplomatic channel that has delivered in the past. In January, for example, Grenell secured the release of six Americans, a great achievement.

RELATED: Biden did that? No, it’s Marco Rubio making gas prices skyrocket this time

Photo by PEDRO MATTEY/AFP via Getty Images

In contrast, Venezuela all but refuses to communicate with Rubio. They see him as persona non grata. His methods, based on intervention and blunt force, are bound to fail.

This is particularly true now that we live in a world where U.S. dominance is not guaranteed. And as the United States has isolated Venezuela, the Latin American nation has been pushed deeper into Beijing’s orbit.

Oil exports to China, for example, have surged since Chevron’s license to operate was canceled in May. In turn, Venezuelan exports to the U.S. and its capitalist allies have cratered.

The strategic cost

Rubio’s hatred of Latin American socialism is clear, but that shouldn’t come at a strategic cost to our country. This isn’t a diplomatic blunder. It’s a threat to U.S. energy security and a betrayal of Trump’s promise to bring down prices at the pump.

We want Venezuelan oil and gas to head to the U.S. Gulf Coast, not Beijing. We need to protect the Monroe Doctrine, which says that no outside power should have a foothold in the Western Hemisphere.

The importance of energy security cannot be overstated. For an administration elected in large part on its promise to cut gas prices, it is a big mistake to turn our backs on Venezuela’s hydrocarbon reserves, the largest on earth.

Doing so increases American dependence on Canadian oil — not a smart move as we fight a trade war with Prime Minister Mark Carney — and on suppliers in a volatile Middle East, where Iran still looms large.

This is not to mention that the policy of isolation is damaging to Chevron, a champion of the American oil industry.

Under its former special license, Chevron was pumping out nearly a quarter of a million barrels of oil per day. This went straight to thirsty refiners on the U.S. Gulf Coast, which depend on Venezuela’s unique heavy crude oil. That lifeline has been cut, and it’s American consumers who will pay the price.

Grenell understood this and so wrapped Chevron’s status into his negotiations, a deal that put American interests first. Rubio, on the other hand, prioritized an ideological pursuit of regime change over American energy security.

President Trump should intervene.

He praised Grenell’s successful negotiations in January and should make clear that Venezuela policy is not for Rubio to decide. The goal is clear: Bring our citizens home, restart Chevron’s work, and reassert U.S. influence in our own hemisphere.

Renew Grenell’s leverage

Grenell, with renewed powers, should return the United States to a policy of strategic engagement. That’s what America First really looks like. That’s the approach to foreign policy promised to us in 2024. That’s the MAGA way.

It’s time to put the neocons back in the box and go back to the bold, pragmatic diplomacy that made Trump’s first term — and will make his second — a victory for everyday Americans and a triumphant return to common sense.

​Opinion & analysis, Venezuela, Donald trump, Sanctions, Marco rubio, Richard grenell, Chevron, Oil and gas, Prices, Gasoline, China, Exports, Imports, Maga, America first, Monroe doctrine 

Over the past several months, Hollywood has been pushing Pedro Pascal as its next big thing.

Since being cast in Marvel Studio’s next multimillion-dollar franchise-launching film, “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” Pascal has been inescapable. From his heavily publicized appearance at the Cannes film festival to mainstream media cover stories fawning over the actor, he’s playing America’s golden boy.

The single, middle-aged star’s harmless schtick is a massive threat to masculinity.

At 50 years old, Pascal has built a unique cult of personality around himself.

In a recent Vanity Fair article, he is described by internet fans as “Daddy or Zaddy, meaning he’s a handsome, stylish older man they can imagine dominating them in a way they would not object to.” The article goes out of its way to make Pascal seem nonthreatening, often referring to him as “weird” and “sensitive,” describing how he was bullied in middle school for his artistic interests.

Pascal has tried to earn woke points for himself in Hollywood by being the stereotype of a social justice warrior. He has made his Latino heritage a huge part of his identity. In interviews, Pascal has expressed his desire for more “blind casting,” a term associated with increasing diversity quotas and changing the races, genders, and sexualities of pre-established characters.

Pascal is also no stranger to the LGBT movement.

He played the bisexual character Prince Oberyn Martell on the hit series “Game Of Thrones.” Additionally, he supported his sibling, Lux Pascal, when he came out as a transgender woman. When asked about his own sexual identity, Pascal has remained intentionally silent.

This allows fans of all genders and sexualities to be part of his target audience. His use of “gay slang,” language that is heavily influenced by LGBT culture, has also teased fans into thinking he may not be heterosexual.

RELATED: All in the family: Hollywood golden boy Pedro Pascal’s loony leftist pedigree

Joe Maher/Getty Images

Much of Pascal’s success has come from his roles in major franchises, like “Star Wars” and “Gladiator.” He’s nearly impossible to avoid, with rumors constantly circling about where he might appear next. After Disney announced it would be rebooting the “Indiana Jones” franchise, fans speculated that Pascal might be cast to play the titular role.

Brands can’t get enough of him and are anxious to include him in every upcoming project. But the single, middle-aged star’s harmless schtick is a massive threat to masculinity.

In the past, the biggest male stars were men like Harrison Ford, Cary Grant, and Sean Connery. They were defined by their strength, their suits, and their occasional ability to make women swoon.

Pascal, on the other hand, is known for his androgynous fashion choices, including when he wore thigh-high boots and short shorts to the Met Gala. He is also known for opposing traditional, brawny male archetypes, as other celebrities like Dakota Johnson have described him as a “soft boy.”

Pascal has given up his masculinity for the sake of Hollywood’s praise. He’s not the only star to have done this, with other male actors like Ryan Reynolds playing into similar tropes to gain attention. They aren’t just playing the humorous, eccentric male leads anymore. Rather, they’re going out of their way to stifle their male attributes in order to please liberals.

Men’s mental health has become a huge issue in America.

Currently, men account for nearly 80% of all suicides in the United States. Among racial and ethnic groups, young white men have one of the highest rates of suicide in the U.S., and they account for nearly 70% of all suicide deaths in the country.

There are many factors that increase the risk of suicide, and mental health is a complicated topic. However, for all of Hollywood’s talk about equity and inclusion, it has gone out of its way to make masculinity look unattractive.

Young white men are constantly called racists, oppressors, or misogynists. Feminists have turned man-hating into a trend, as women increasingly post TikToks that make fun of their husbands and boyfriends. Other women have even joined the “Why I Would Never Date a White Guy” trend, giving superficial reasons for why they are ruling out young, white males from their dating pool.

Pascal has done everything possible to distance himself from the “oppressive male” label that leftists use to destroy men. His constant focus on his own racial identity and aligning himself with LGBT activism are ways for him to atone for his masculinity.

Worse, his plays at androgyny suggest that he is trying to subvert normal male expectations entirely.

Hollywood loves Pascal, and it’s doing everything it can to make that painfully obvious. Hollywood’s desire for him to be the film industry’s heartthrob reveals that they are finished with traditionally masculine actors. Even once-powerful figures like Robert De Niro and Will Smith have allowed themselves to be susceptible to the film industry’s calls. They have bent their knees to woke agendas, sacrificing their stoicism in the process.

Young white men in America are at risk. They deserve to have good leaders. While that starts in households, classrooms, churches, and their communities, they also come from the culture. Celebrities shouldn’t be afraid to hide their masculinity, but they should showcase what makes it great.

We don’t need any more “Zaddys,” we need men of virtue.

​Pedro pascal, Masculinity, Culture war, Manhood, Lgbtq agenda, War on men, Hollywood 

Rumors have picked up in recent weeks about Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s future. Some expect President Trump to fire him. Others think Powell may step down on his own. Either way, the speculation points to a larger problem: Powell and the Fed have lost touch with the realities facing ordinary Americans.

Powell’s refusal to lower interest rates, despite direct pressure from the White House, is just the start. The deeper issue is the Fed’s glaring hypocrisy. It preaches fiscal restraint while spending lavishly — most notably on a $2.5 billion office renovation.

The Fed has become increasingly disconnected from the needs of the American people.

This kind of waste raises serious questions about the Fed’s credibility. How can the central bank warn the public about debt and overspending while burning billions on luxury upgrades?

The Federal Reserve has spent years warning about the dangers of excessive government debt. It insists higher interest rates are necessary to curb inflation and keep the economy from overheating. The message is simple: Control spending or risk a financial crisis.

But the Fed doesn’t follow its own advice.

While millions of Americans struggle with high prices, ballooning mortgages, and record credit card debt, the Fed overspent $700 million on a top-to-bottom renovation of its D.C. headquarters. The upgrades include a rooftop garden and decorative water features.

Yes, water features.

The hypocrisy is hard to ignore. The same institution that lectures the public on fiscal discipline is more than happy to greenlight luxury amenities for itself. If the Fed believed a word of its own rhetoric, it would lead by example.

Instead, it spends like a bloated federal agency while scolding taxpayers for doing the same. Its calls for restraint ring hollow — and Americans know it.

Failure to lead

The Fed’s primary role is to ensure the stability of the financial system and provide guidance to the U.S. economy. Yet, it has shown no willingness to practice the same fiscal restraint it urges on the rest of us.

If the Fed were truly concerned about the nation’s financial health, it would have used this money for something more productive — like investing in programs to reduce debt, support economic growth, or ease the burden on taxpayers.

RELATED: Vought slams Fed Chair Powell over ‘grossly mismanaged’ luxury renovations

Vought slams Fed Chair Powell over ‘grossly mismanaged’ luxury renovations. Anna Moneymaker / Staff via Getty Images

Time for accountability

Instead, the Federal Reserve has chosen to prioritize its own image and comfort. The $2.5 billion renovation comes at a time when the economy is struggling to recover from the pandemic’s effects, high inflation, and rising debt. While the Fed continues to push for higher interest rates, making borrowing more expensive for businesses and consumers, it’s simultaneously indulging in luxuries that most Americans would never dream of.

Jerome Powell’s refusal to lower interest rates is just one symptom of a larger issue within the Fed. The institution has become increasingly disconnected from the needs of the American people. The American people need a Federal Reserve that leads by example — one that practices the fiscal responsibility it preaches to others.

If the Fed cannot demonstrate fiscal discipline, it must be held accountable. That starts at the top. Powell needs to go.

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​Opinion & analysis, Opinion, Federal reserve, Fed chair jerome powell, Jerome powell, Jerome powell vs trump 

Divorce rumors began swirling around the Obamas in January of this year when Michelle was mysteriously absent from several high-profile events, including former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral and President Donald Trump’s inauguration. Speculation that former President Barack Obama was having an affair with Jennifer Aniston only fanned the flames.

The gossip died down for a while, but last month, Michelle’s odd comments expressing her objection to being called “Mrs. Obama” and claiming she was glad she didn’t have a son because he would’ve been too much like Barack reignited the rumors.

In an effort to quell the whispering, Barack joined Michelle and her brother on their joint podcast, “IMO,” on July 16, but instead of putting the chatter to rest, they made it worse.

Glenn Beck plays the clip of their awkward attempt to prove their love and commitment.

“There hasn’t been one moment in our marriage where I thought about quitting my man,” Michelle said. “I have become a better person because of the man I’m married to.”

“Okay, don’t make me cry now,” Barack responded.

If that exchange wasn’t forced enough, the kiss Barack gave Michelle when he walked into the podcast studio is plenty telling. It was barely a “peck on the cheek.”

Pat Gray, who joins Glenn, not only thought their exchange was painfully awkward, but he also noticed that Michelle contradicted herself. Back in 2022 during an interview promoting her book “The Light We Carry,” Michelle candidly shared that there was an entire decade during their marriage when she “couldn’t stand” Barack — a statement at odds with her recent claim that she’s never even considered leaving him.

At this point, Glenn is certain: The Obamas are “not doing good.”

To see the footage of Michelle and Barack’s painful exchange, watch the clip above.

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​The glenn beck program, Glenn beck, Michelle obama, Obamas, Obamas divorce, Divorce rumors, Jennifer aniston, Barack obama, Barack jennifer aniston, Imo podcast, Blazetv, Blaze media 

A major sports memorabilia seller reportedly tossed a grenade into the industry through a lengthy Facebook post and then committed suicide.

A post in an autographs group attributed to 45-year-old Brett Lemieux dropped dizzying details about a decades-long scheme to counterfeit signatures on sports memorabilia in order to profit from the sales.

‘I wish I had the exact dollar number of money taken in from this and I’ll go to my grave never knowing. I kept this secret from everyone.’

The post was published on Wednesday, the same day that Westfield Police released a statement confirming that they had raided a property as part of an investigation into counterfeit memorabilia on Tuesday. Police then raided a second property Wednesday and found a man dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Sports Collectors Digest reported that property records connected a raid location to Lemieux.

The post said that Lemieux had sold $350 million worth of items through his company named Mister Mancave. It described the scam as an “addiction.”

How many items can I sell and give a front of a huge company. I did it for years. Purchased millions of dollars of legit items. Mixed it until [name withheld] found the hologram connect. Then I had the bank roll to buy even more. Do more signings. Every one item from a signing turned into 10,000. And it was certified. 95% of the [Patrick] Mahomes and Aaron [Judge] on the market are sold by me. Basically every autograph sold in the last 25 years you should have it looked at. It’s fake and someone sold it to you other than me. I wish I had the exact dollar number of money taken in from this and I’ll go to my grave never knowing. I kept this secret from everyone.

While some are skeptical about the claims made in the post regarding the scale of the counterfeit scam, others say even a fraction of the numbers would toss the industry into chaos.

“I was addicted. It was a rush. I wanted out. But the money was too good. I can make [$]100,000 in a week if I wanted to. The fact that not one dealer that knew what we were doing to the industry, or when I took their exclusive, no one ever picked up a phone to confront me. That baffled me,” the post read.

RELATED: Fake Masters jackets, Beatles signatures, and a Kardashian photo named in fraudster’s memorabilia scheme worth up to $550K

“I told multiple dealers I will ruin you and your exclusive. They knew better,” it continued.

On Thursday, Cllct said the person found dead in the police raid had been identified as Lemieux.

“If he made and sold that much, the autograph industry would have been crushed,” said one autograph dealer to Cllct.

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently dealt a crushing blow to families affected by deadly childhood diseases by denying promising treatments. All caring Americans should greet this decision with disgust. Not only is the decision disgraceful, but it’s also politically hypocritical.

Bureaucrats should not let political agendas or indecision get in the way of potentially lifesaving decisions when parents of terminally ill children are more than willing to take the risk.

Earlier this month, Democrats claimed that forcing able-bodied people to work and shortening enrollment periods for the “Un-Affordable” Care Act would kill people — a prime example of “Chicken Little” hyperbole without facts.

Politically driven agendas

What is factual, however, is that one of their own could actually be responsible for real deaths. The FDA, under the leadership of Dr. Vinay Prasad — a Bernie Sanders supporter — just denied two lifesaving treatments for children with rare diseases, despite these treatments having passed through the Trump administration’s approval process.

Dr. Prasad, a self-identified “lifelong progressive Democrat,” is the FDA’s chief medical and scientific officer and the director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. With an extensive research background, particularly in oncology, he is clearly qualified for his position. He has even rejected efforts from pharmaceutical companies to push COVID-19 vaccines for anyone over the age of 12, citing sound “patient freedom” science.

But he needs to go — and not just because socialists shouldn’t be in the Trump administration (or any U.S. government position). His ideology denies kids who are on the verge of dying the opportunity to live.

Children don’t have time to wait

Earlier this month, Prasad rejected two potential treatments for devastating childhood diseases: Duchenne muscular dystrophy and Sanfilippo syndrome.

The life expectancy for a Duchenne patient is 22 years. In the process, it destroys a child’s muscles and causes neurological deficiencies.

Sanfilippo syndrome, often called “childhood Alzheimer’s,” is fatal. Few children live beyond their early teens, accompanied with cognitive, functional, and muscle decline.

Take Sadie, for example, a little girl who is currently battling Sanfilippo syndrome. Her website, “Saving Sadie Rae,” tells her story. She is an adorable, perky little fairy princess, adored by her family (and her Instagram fans) and is in the process of dying from Sanfilippo.

Her parents are loving, dedicated caregivers, and her mother is on a mission to encourage the FDA to reverse its decision that, to parents like Sadie’s, is a blinking red light that says, “We don’t care about your kid.”

Although the FDA has delayed its final decision until at least next year, Sadie’s parents, along with others, are painfully aware: Their kids don’t have time to wait.

Duchenne and Sanfilippo parents are just regular people. They aren’t doctors or lobbyists. They’re ordinary people facing an unimaginable situation, and they’re desperate for hope. They want the FDA to move forward with promising treatments.

Bureaucratic backlog kills

In a recent conversation I had with former FDA Associate Commissioner Peter Pitts, who works closely with the Duchenne muscular dystrophy community, he expressed frustration with the agency.

In recent years, the FDA has thankfully begun to listen more carefully to the parents of children with orphan diseases, meaning that they are rare but devastating. This does not throw regulatory science out the window, but gives a voice to parents willing to accept higher risks for what the FDA might view as tertiary benefits of new therapeutics — because the alternative and end point is early death.

Pitts continued:

The question of “what is the risk tolerance” of this community has been made abundantly clear by the community itself — parents are willing to accept higher risks to potentially provide less suffering and longer life for their children. That begs the question whether Dr. Prasad’s well-known dislike of the pharmaceutical industry — often in lockstep with Democrat talking points — has trumped the wishes of the disease community — and with callous disregard for the quality of life for children suffering with Duchenne or Sanfilippo syndrome. That’s almost too awful to comprehend.

Although the developer of the Sanfilippo treatment claims it has “robust” confirmation of efficacy, FDA bureaucrats fussed about its manufacturing procedures, which the company says are unrelated to the quality of the gene therapy.

Is this genuine concern or just an excuse?

RELATED: HHS surmounts obstacles set by Democrat-appointed judges, gives thousands of bureaucrats the boot

Photo by Trigga via iStock/Getty Images

Similarly, when rejecting the Duchenne cell therapy, the FDA insisted that the biotech company provide more “substantial evidence of effectiveness.” But the real evidence that matters is that children and young adults are suffering and dying without treatment.

Technology, bioengineering, and gene therapy are blessings of hope for every family and patient suffering from orphan diseases.

Give kids their one chance

Bureaucrats should not let political agendas or indecision get in the way of potentially lifesaving decisions when parents of terminally ill children are more than willing to accept the high risk under President Trump’s “right to try” initiative or any other FDA-approved protocols. They pray these treatments will help their children, but they fully understand that they might also only benefit future children with these diseases.

That level of selflessness should be considered by the FDA when making these decisions.

Parents of children with fatal orphan diseases have written the FDA an unequivocal permission slip. Perhaps under new leadership at the Medical and Scientific Office, it will finally take this hall pass and run with it — on behalf of children who can’t.

​Opinion & analysis, Opinion, Fda, Fda approval, Food and drug administration, Bureaucratic red tape, Life saving care, Right to try, Regulation, Bernie sanders, Vinay prasad, Medicine, Progressives, Patient freedom, Covid-19, Muscular dystrophy, Fatal, Illness, Children, Peter pitts 

On Thursday the Wall Street Journal released a story which purports to show that Donald Trump wrote Jeffrey Epstein a raunchy 50th birthday greeting for a book Ghislaine Maxwell put together. Trump has strongly denied the reporting and has threatened to sue the outlet.

Conservatives are rallying to Trump’s defense, calling the reporting into question. Vice President JD Vance laid into the Journal, saying, “Forgive my language but this story is complete and utter bulls**t. The WSJ should be ashamed for publishing it,” in a post on X.

‘This is not how Trump talks at all. I don’t believe it.’

— (@)

Vance further called on the Journal to provide the actual proof: “Where is this letter? Would you be shocked to learn they never showed it to us before publishing it? Does anyone honestly believe this sounds like Donald Trump?”

Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk also called the report into question. In a post on X, Kirk said, “This is not how Trump talks at all. I don’t believe it.”

— (@)

After the Journal’s report was published, Human Events senior editor Jack Posobiec cast doubt on any link between Trump and Epstein’s sordid schemes. Posobiec said in a post on X, “If Trump was in the Epstein files it would have been released a decade ago and there wouldn’t have been any need to make up a fake Russian hooker dossier.”

In a different X post Posobiec also questioned the Journal’s reporting: “Trump doesn’t talk like this at all. And this was several years before Epstein was originally arrested.”

— (@)

Former Fox News host Megyn Kelly also doubted the voracity of the reporting, stating on X, “This is the dumbest attempted hit piece I’ve ever read.”

While mainstream media outlets are continuing to find ways to try and tie Trump to Jeffrey Epstein, conservatives are not buying it. After the Russia collusion hoax, baseless impeachments, and more from Trump’s initial run for president, conservatives are openly calling “bulls**t” on the media’s reporting as they rally to Trump’s defense.

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​Jeffrey epstein, Donald trump, Ghislaine maxwell, Wall street journal, Charlie kirk, Jack posobiec, Megyn kelly, Jd vance, Politics 

For years, parents have been wary about letting their children sit in front of the TV, not knowing what they will be exposed to and not having the time to monitor their kids’ content. From the endless stream of woke nonsense to sensory overload slop from the likes of “CoComelon” and others, families have been at a loss for quality, kid-friendly content and have had no place to turn.

Luckily, parents can now rest assured that their kids will only be exposed to wholesome, family-friendly content with KidsTV, Inc.’s new streaming platform, HopscotchTV.

Founded by Ross Greenberg and Dave Harvilicz, who sought to find a solution to the lack of safe and high-quality kids’ content for their own children, HopscotchTV is committed to delivering meaningful, engaging, and trusted entertainment for families.

‘As parents, we wanted a platform we could trust — one that brings back the timeless shows we loved as kids while offering new stories that spark imagination and learning.’

In a key partnership with WildBrain, the home of a vast library of kids’ and family content, HopscotchTV provides a platform for franchises like “Strawberry Shortcake,” “Inspector Gadget,” “Sonic the Hedgehog,” “Danger Mouse,” “Paddington Bear,” and “Super Mario World,” among many others.

RELATED: Your kids’ iPhones may be the most dangerous things they own

On top of that, HopscotchTV is including an exciting expansion of the beloved educational series “Liberty’s Kids,” timed to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary next year.

“As parents, we wanted a platform we could trust — one that brings back the timeless shows we loved as kids while offering new stories that spark imagination and learning,” said Greenberg, co-founder of KidsTV, Inc. “HopscotchTV is our answer: a place where families can share in the joy of classic cartoons and look forward to fresh, meaningful content.”

“We’re passionate about creating a space that’s both nostalgic and forward-thinking. With HopscotchTV, we’re not just streaming shows — we’re building a community where kids can explore, laugh, and learn, and parents can feel confident in what their children are watching,” added Harvilicz.

Offering an introductory annual subscription at $49.99, HopscotchTV can be downloaded on the App Store and is compatible with major streaming devices, including Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, and mobile.

The service is designed to be kid-safe, ad-light, and easy to navigate, ensuring a seamless experience for viewers of all ages.

​Tech, Retro, Kids cartoons, Kids tv, Hopscotch tv, Wildbrain, Ross greenberg, Dave harvilicz, Family content 

Pastor John MacArthur passed away on July 14 at 86 years old, leaving an indelible mark as a faithful expositor of God’s word.

MacArthur’s unwavering commitment to preaching the gospel led him to take a bold stand against cultural and political pressures — including those imposed on California by Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom.

“Some people don’t know that he has actually been a boil on the back of Gavin Newsom for a very long time,” BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey reflects on “Relatable.” Before Newsom was the California governor and closing down churches in California — which MacArthur also fought against — the pastor debated him on “Larry King Live.”

“I’m a practicing Catholic. I got married in the church,” Newsom said to MacArthur. “I don’t see what we’re doing in terms of advancing the bond of love and monogamy and extending that to families, families of same sex, in any way, shape, or form takes away anything from the church or the sanctity of the union that my wife and I have.”

“I would just like to ask the mayor, as a practicing Catholic, do you believe the Bible is the word of God?” MacArthur asked.

“With respect, I guess I do,” Newsom answered, after trying to deflect by explaining that he didn’t want to “get in a theological debate.”

“Well, then the Bible says when God created man, he said one man, one woman, cleaved together for life. That’s a family. Jesus in the New Testament reaffirms that. All the writers of the Old and the New Testament affirm it. Adultery, bestiality, homosexuality was punishable by death according to the Old Testament law because it was so serious in those early years, because it literally shattered the hope of civilization,” MacArthur countered.

“He’s representing the state,” he continued, speaking about Newsom. “He’s coming back and saying, ‘I’m a Catholic, and somehow this fits into my Catholicism.’ And I’m saying, ‘Well, what’s your authority, then?’”

“Absolutely right,” Stuckey comments. “Gavin Newsom brought up his Catholicism as a justification for, you know, saying that he’s okay with gay marriage. And then John MacArthur very expertly said, ‘Okay, well, we’ve got a shared authority there. Let’s see what scripture has to say about it.’”

“As I said, John MacArthur was really a thorn in Gavin Newsom’s side for a long time,” she adds.

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President Donald Trump forcefully denied a report in the Wall Street Journal that he wrote a friendly letter to Jeffrey Epstein along with an image drawn for his 50th birthday.

Trump threatened to sue the Journal and referenced other lawsuits he had filed and settled with other news outlets since ascending to the Oval Office for the second time in January.

‘I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women. It’s not my language.’

The letter reportedly obtained by the Journal included a lascivious drawing of a nude woman with words used to depict breasts and pubic hair.

“This is not me. This is a fake thing. It’s a fake Wall Street Journal story. I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women. It’s not my language. It’s not my words,” Trump said to the Journal.

He also threatened to file a lawsuit against the Journal if they published the story about the letter.

“I’m gonna sue the Wall Street Journal just like I sued everyone else,” he added.

The letter was reportedly dated 2003.

“Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret,” Trump wrote to Epstein, according to the report.

RELATED: Former Israeli prime minister responds to accusations that Israel orchestrated Jeffrey Epstein ‘blackmail ring’

The Journal report says that Trump also wrote an imagined conversation between himself and Epstein.

The president had grown more impatient in recent weeks, with a rift growing among some of his followers who were demanding more information from the Epstein case. He called the effort a hoax orchestrated by Democrats and said the case was closed.

“Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this ‘bulls**t,’ hook, line, and sinker,” Trump wrote.

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​Trump epstein story, Trump vs wsj, Epstein documents, Trump note to epstein, Politics 

Omar Fateh is not only the first Somali-American and Muslim state senator, but he’s now gunning to be Minneapolis’ next mayor — and his plans appear to be copied right out of the radical leftist playbook from New York City’s socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani.

“Everyone keeps asking me, ‘Omar, why aren’t you doing more videos?’” Fateh said in a video uploaded to social media.

“As a state senator with a second full-time job and a kid on the way, I just haven’t been able to find the time. I’ve also been fighting for you, passing things like tuition-free college for working-class families, rideshare protections for our Uber and Lyft drivers, and the legalization of fentanyl testing strips,” Fateh continued.

Fateh went on to list the ways he plans to “make an affordable Minneapolis that works for everyone.”

First, he plans to “build a Minneapolis that working people can afford to call home.” Second, he wants to protect the city “from a hostile White House.” And third, he wants to “diversify” the city’s “public safety response.”

Fateh plans to accomplish his goals by increasing the minimum wage to $20 by 2028, incentivizing new construction and passing “rent stabilization to stop price gouging.”

“Protecting all of our communities from Donald Trump means not letting MPD interact with ICE,” Fateh explained in his social media campaign video, adding that “47% of calls to MPD can be diverted to a nonpolice response.”

Fateh is also a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.

“So, this is sweeping the nation right now,” BlazeTV host Pat Gray says on “Pat Gray Unleashed.”

“And remember, we had the story yesterday that in the last nine years, George Soros has given $37 million to these kinds of candidates,” executive producer Keith Malinak explains.

“This is a different level than we’ve been experiencing in New York City or even Minneapolis. This is worse,” Gray adds.

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California deputies responded just before 6 a.m. Monday to a residence in Taft regarding a reported burglary in progress, officials told KGET-TV. Taft is about 45 minutes southwest of Bakersfield.

RELATED: Robbers break into home, but resident grabs gun and fires at suspects — leaving 1 dead and 1 wounded: Sheriff

Image source: Kern County (Calif.) Sheriff’s Office

The Kern County Sheriff’s Office told the station that the homeowner confronted an alleged burglar in his backyard in the 300 block of Montview Avenue.

‘We have the right to defend ourselves.’

The alleged burglar — whom investigators later identified as 36-year-old Felix Cortez Villasenor — was said to have charged at the homeowner while holding an unknown object, KGET said.

The homeowner also was holding an object — a gun.

Deputies said the homeowner shot Villasenor, the station reported.

The sheriff’s office said Villasenor was airlifted to Kern Medical and was in the intensive care unit as of Tuesday, KGET said.

He was absentee-booked into the Kern County Jail on suspicion of first-degree burglary — and on an outstanding misdemeanor warrant, the station said.

RELATED: 5 armed thugs force their way into residence, but gun-toting homeowner isn’t about to back down

The sheriff’s office told KGET that investigators will submit the case to the Kern County District Attorney’s Office for review.

Anyone with information about this case is encouraged to contact the sheriff’s office at 661-861-3110 or call Secret Witness at 661-322-4040, the station said.

One commenter under KGET’s Facebook post about the incident implored, “Protect everything you own.”

In reaction to the incident, an area gun store owner told Blaze News on the condition of anonymity that “our stance is that we have the right to defend ourselves. If that firearm was registered to him, and he was the owner, and he was in fear for his life, he has every right to defend himself.”

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​Crime thwarted, California, Taft, Guns, Gun rights, 2nd amend., Self-defense, Shooting, Homeowner shoots intruder, Wounded, Alleged burglary, Crime, Hospitalization 

A harrowing story of bounty hunters pouncing on a mother of three children and detaining her illegally was completely undone when the feds investigated and found the mom at a shopping center in Bakersfield.

Left-wing activists had begun to make the claims of Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon into a cause to show the inhumane and cruel treatment of illegal aliens, but that effort has blown up in their faces.

‘We don’t know where she is now. … But we do know that this is not how our country is supposed to function.’

Calderon’s family said that she was kidnapped on June 25 from the streets of Los Angeles by masked men who were armed with guns.

They said they received a call from her saying she had been taken to a warehouse in San Ysidro where many others were being detained. She claimed that she was being forced to sign self-deportation documents. The family said they believed the men were bounty hunters.

Activists and union members championing her cause held a tearful press conference in front of a McDonald’s on June 30 to pressure the Trump administration to reveal where Calderon was being detained.

“She was taken back to an unmarked van along with other travelers who were also insisting on their rights and taken to a warehouse where she was only given water,” claimed an Immigrant Defenders Law Center attorney who represented the family. “A warehouse where she was not given food. A warehouse where men and women were held together. A warehouse without any law enforcement employee, without any official there present.”

Immigration and Customs Enforcement responded to the claims in a statement on social media on July 1.

“KTLA fell for a HOAX. This woman was never arrested or ‘kidnapped’ by ICE. If the media would have bothered to ask — ICE does not employ bounty hunters to make arrests,” the statement reads. “This bizarre tale about being picked up by bounty hunters, taken to an unmarked warehouse without access to food, water, or an attorney were clearly fabricated.”

One of the family’s attorneys said they still did not know where Calderon was at the time.

“We don’t know where she is now, if she is in ICE custody or CBP custody, or in a warehouse held by vigilantes,” the attorney said. “But we do know that this is not how our country is supposed to function.”

Two weeks later on Thursday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office released a statement confirming that Calderon had been arrested.

The statement said federal officials began investigating the claims made by Calderon, who was identified as a 41-year-old illegal alien from Mexico. They began a search for the woman on July 3 and were able to locate her just two days later.

Calderon was found at a shopping plaza in Bakersfield.

Prosecutors say video surveillance from a Jack in the Box of the alleged kidnapping and phone records proves that Calderon invented the entire story. They said that she intended to produce fabricated photo “evidence” of her “rescue” from detainment and hold a rally on July 6 to garner more sympathy and donations.

RELATED: Black man blamed racism for arson at his home that killed 2 people — until an accomplice allegedly told police it was a scam

The feds cite a GoFundMe donation page set up by Calderon’s daughter that has since been deactivated.

If convicted, the woman faces five years in federal prison for a conspiracy charge and five years in federal prison for a charge of making false statements to an officer.

Calderon is a mother to three and had lived in California for over 20 years. She is a member of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment activist group.

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​Illegal alien kidnapping hoax, Yurianna calderon kidnapping, Bounty hunters vs illegals, Illegal alien kidnap hoax, Politics 

A Mexican transgender asylum seeker was released from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility after an order from a district court judge.

U.S. District Court Judge Amy Baggio, who was appointed by President Joe Biden in 2024, ordered the release of a 24-year-old Mexican male asylum seeker who claims to be female.

‘OJM was detained for over a month simply for legally seeking asylum.’

The migrant, known only as “O-J-M” according to Fox News, was arrested outside a Portland courtroom in June before being transferred to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington.

The migrant’s case for asylum came with shocking claims from his legal team about his origins in Mexico.

Judge Baggio ordered O-J-M’s release from the all-male detention facility because he was allegedly deprived of liberty without proper procedural safeguards.

A different judge had previously granted a government request to dismiss the migrant’s asylum case, which was based on alleged death threats and assaults while he was in Mexico.

OPB reported in June that when the migrant sought asylum at the port of entry on the California-Mexico border, it was claimed that Mexican drug cartels “threatened to kill her because O-J-M is a transgender woman.”

“Fearing for her life, she fled and sought asylum in the United States in September 2023,” a court filing reportedly read. Fox News also reported that the migrant claimed he was “abducted and raped by cartel members.”

Death threats were not the reason for the release, however.

RELATED: ICE accuses media of peddling ‘FALSE narrative’ about non-criminal deportations

O-J-M’s attorneys from the nonprofit Innovation Law Lab claimed they were not granted access to their client and were not told of his whereabouts, violating due process standards. The Biden-appointed judge agreed and ordered O-J-M’s release.

“OJM was detained for over a month simply for legally seeking asylum. Seeking asylum is lawful, and a human right,” Innovation Law Lab wrote on Instagram. “This is a huge victory for our trans and immigrant communities in Oregon,” it added.

The organization then claimed, “President Trump’s anti-transgender executive order forced her into a men’s facility, and into solitary confinement for her own safety, adding layers of cruelty to an already unconstitutional detention.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told OPB in June that “ICE is now following the law and placing these illegal aliens in expedited removal, as they always should have been.”

“If they have a valid credible fear claim, they will continue in immigration proceedings, but if no valid claim is found, aliens will be subject to a swift deportation,” DHS noted.

Blaze News requested more details about O-J-M and his case, but DHS representatives were unable to provide further information.

RELATED: WATCH: Blaze Media writers to testify before Congress about NGOs’ suspected role in child exploitation and ICE evasion

Northwest ICE Processing Center on May 2, 2025 in Tacoma, Washington. Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images

As for Judge Baggio, she has experience on the bench for the Multnomah County Circuit Court and even helped free a Guantanamo Bay detainee from Afghanistan when she was an assistant federal public defender.

Time reported in 2012 that Nazar Gul was swept up by U.S. forces during a nighttime raid in Afghanistan. Gul had worked as a security guard for the government and was allegedly staying with a man who had ties to the Taliban.

He was sent to Guantanamo Bay and subsequently released in 2007 without charges.

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​News, Legal battle, Oregon, Washington, Biden, District judge, Deportations, Asylum seekers, Immigration, Politics 

The White House released numerous details about the president’s medical condition on Thursday after questions arose from photos showing swelling in his ankles and bruising in his hand.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the president had noticed some minor swelling in his legs in recent weeks and sought a medical assessment.

‘The president remains in excellent health.’

“The president underwent a comprehensive examination, including diagnostic vascular studies. Bilateral lower extremity intravenous Doppler ultrasounds were performed and revealed chronic venous insufficiency,” said Leavitt, “a benign and common condition, particularly in individuals over the age of 70.”

The president is 79 years old.

She went on to say that there was no evidence of “deep vein thrombosis or arterial disease” and that all results from testing, including an echocardiogram, were “within normal limits.”

Leavitt addressed images that were being posted online of the president’s hand, which prompted some critics to accuse the White House of hiding a serious health issue.

She indicated that the images of Trump’s hand showed “minor soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin.”

RELATED: Biden doctor refuses to testify on the ‘conspiracy’ to conceal the former president’s cognitive decline

“The president remains in excellent health,” Leavitt concluded.

Many contrasted the transparency of the White House under Trump with the now-confirmed collaboration between Democrats and the media to keep former President Joe Biden’s deteriorating health from the public.

That controversy has dogged Democrats even after Biden left the Oval Office, as Republicans are beginning to cast doubt on the legitimacy of pardons and other official documents signed by autopen rather than the personal signature of the ailing former president.

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Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas dropped a bomb on Democrats’ denials about the autopen scandal and argued that many of the decisions ascribed to the former president could be “null and void.”

Cruz made the statements on his podcast as congressional Republicans continue their investigation into claims that former President Joe Biden’s health condition prevented him from officially making decisions attributed to him by staff.

‘An unelected aide running an autopen does not have the power to grant a pardon under the United States Constitution.’

Biden has come out to publicly address the controversy and deny the allegations, but Cruz argues that his denial actually undermines his argument.

“I think the Trump White House needs to go through the records … and examine what specifically has a paper trail that showed Biden signed off on the specific action. And those that there is no paper trail, that there is no evidence … those are null and void,” said Cruz.

He cited an explanation made by Biden and his aides to the New York Times on the process of issuing pardons by autopen.

“Mr. Biden did not individually approve each name for the categorical pardons that applied to large numbers of people, he and aides confirmed,” the Times reported.

Rather than individually consider each case, Biden drew up criteria for pardons, and the Bureau of Prisons provided a list of people who met the requirements he set out. The staff then signed the pardons through autopen, which they saw as a “routine procedure,” according to the account in the Times.

Cruz argues this means that the pardons were improperly signed and should be challenged.

“Those have no legal force, and my recommendation to [Attorney General] Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice is they should look specifically at the most vulnerable and devise and implement a legal challenge to challenge these,” Cruz added, “and make clear that an unelected aide running an autopen does not have the power to grant a pardon under the United States Constitution.”

RELATED: NBC News is getting annihilated on social media over absurd defense of Biden autopen scandal

Biden has forcefully lambasted the accusations.

“They’re liars. They know it. They know, for certain. I mean, this is — look, what they, they’ve had a pretty good thing going here. They’ve done so badly,” he said to the Times.

“They’ve lied so consistently about almost everything they’re doing,” he added.

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