Footage shows male senior swiftly strike ball in attempt to make goal, inadvertently hitting female player directly in mouth. A female high school lacrosse player [more…]
Category: blaze media
Why everything sucks now: ‘It is not made for you anymore’
The Super Bowl halftime show featured Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, and according to BlazeTV host John Doyle, the spectacle Americans love couldn’t have been any further from being American.
“I’m suspecting that a lot of this was done simply because of what he represents as this kind of ethnically ambiguous, flamboyant thing that can be cast into the living rooms of America, the Anglosphere,” Doyle explains, pointing out that the changing demographics mean worse entertainment.
“What we’re seeing now is this kind of stuck culture where we’re just rehashing the same things over and over again for nostalgia, or we’re just making really bad stuff that people will still turn out to see because it’s something, right? A lot of that has to do literally with the changing demographics, not only of America but of the market itself,” he says.
“I mean, because of the internet, because of open borders, practically speaking, companies which are producing that kind of media no longer have to cater to the expectations or standards of a normal American audience,” he continues.
“They can put some s***ty thing in front of people who have never seen a movie before, and it’s going to blow their minds, and they’re going to get one-shotted by it, so to speak, and they’ll make a ton of money,” he adds.
Doyle believes that this is why the quality of entertainment has declined so much.
“CGI, all of that, all of this stuff, why everything sucks now, whether it’s music, movies, it is literally because it no longer has to appeal to the standards that you’ve come to expect as an American, wanting something a little bit better,” Doyle says.
“And I’m not saying that, you know, peak American culture, the best stuff we’ve ever done are, like, your old blockbusters. … I’m just saying, if everything seems like it’s just kind of getting stupider and more stale, it is because it is not made for you anymore,” he continues.
“It is made for the lower common denominators, and you’re just going to kind of have to put up with it, I suppose,” he adds.
Want more from John Doyle?
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Trump makes big appearance in Epstein files — just not the way Democrats may have hoped
When it became clear in December that the complete release of the Jeffrey Epstein files would be delayed, various Democrats suggested that President Donald Trump might be trying to conceal damning and previously unknown details about his relationship with the child sex offender.
For example, Sen. Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), a recipient of contributions from Epstein, suggested that “this is nothing more than a cover-up to protect Donald Trump from his ugly past.”
Unfortunately for Schumer and other Democrats apparently desperate for dirt on the president, one of the newly released files reveals that Trump was anything but an ally to Epstein — that he reportedly thanked law enforcement for going after the pervert and stressed the importance of also focusing on Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former lover and co-conspirator.
‘She is evil.’
A document dated April 23, 2020, details an interview conducted by FBI agents the previous year with a law enforcement official regarding his department’s investigation into Epstein in the 2000s and his personal conversation on the topic at the time with Trump.
Although his name is redacted, the document appears to indicate that the interviewee became chief of the Palm Beach Police Department in 2001.
Michael Reiter — the man who served as chief of the PBPD from 2001 to 2009 and launched the first investigation into Epstein — confirmed to the Miami Herald that he was interviewed by FBI agents in 2019 and spoke with Trump in July 2006.
Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan/Getty Images
According to the FBI’s 302 summary of its interview, the interviewee told the feds that “TRUMP was one of the very first people to call when people found out that they were investigating EPSTEIN.”
In addition to noting that he kicked Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago and that people in New York knew Epstein was disgusting, Trump told the chief that he was “around EPSTEIN once when teenagers were present and … ‘got the hell out of there.'”
Trump expressed gratitude to the interviewee for doing something about the sex offender, stating, “Thank goodness you’re stopping him; everyone has known he’s been doing this,” the FBI said in the 302 document.
Trump also mentioned Epstein’s “operative” Ghislaine Maxwell in his conversation with the chief, noting that “she is evil and to focus on her,” said the document.
Maxwell, 64, was sentenced in 2022 to 20 years in prison for her role in a scheme to sexually exploit and abuse minor girls as young as 14 with Epstein, going all the way back to the early 1990s.
An FBI official told the Herald, “We are not aware of any corroborating evidence that the president contacted law enforcement 20 years ago.”
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) said in response to the newly released document, “Trump didn’t play their game, he helped expose it. And when they couldn’t blackmail him they tried to smear him.”
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Jeffrey epstein, Esptein, Justice department, Doj, Donald trump, Pedophile, Sex offender, Palm beach, Investigation, Chuck schumer, Elites, Cabal, Pbpd, Police, Reiter, Ghislaine, Maxwell, Politics
The Fifth Circuit cracks down on the asylum excuse factory
For nearly three decades, Washington has insisted that America’s immigration chaos stems from outdated laws, insufficient authority, or humanitarian necessity.
Last week, the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals shattered that narrative.
For the first time in decades, a federal court treated immigration law as law, not a suggestion.
In Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi, a divided panel did something radical by modern standards: It enforced immigration law as Congress wrote it. The result ranks as one of the most consequential immigration rulings in a generation — and a direct rebuke to the legal fiction that has shielded millions of illegal aliens from mandatory detention for decades.
What the court actually said
The case turned on a simple question with enormous consequences: Do illegal aliens who entered the United States unlawfully — often years ago, without inspection or lawful admission — get discretionary bond hearings while in removal proceedings?
The Fifth Circuit answered no.
Writing for the majority, Judge Edith H. Jones, joined by Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan, held that any alien present in the United States who has not been lawfully admitted is, by statute, an “applicant for admission.” Congress supplied that definition in 1996.
Under the law, applicants for admission who cannot show they are “clearly and beyond a doubt entitled to be admitted” shall be detained pending removal proceedings.
“Shall” means mandatory. It leaves no room for discretionary bond hearings. It applies regardless of how long the alien has remained unlawfully in the country.
Physical presence does not confer the legal status or constitutional entitlements that accompany lawful admission, much less citizenship.
This ruling rejects the long-standing practice of treating interior illegal aliens as governed by the bond statute. As the Fifth Circuit panel made clear, that statute applies after lawful admission. It does not override Congress’ command for those who were never admitted at all.
No other federal appellate court has squarely held that mandatory detention applies not only to recent border crossers but also to long-term illegal aliens living in the interior who entered without inspection years — even decades — ago.
Long-delayed enforcement
Nothing in the Fifth Circuit’s decision turns on novel statutory interpretation. Congress enacted this framework in 1996 to eliminate incentives for evading inspection and remaining unlawfully in the United States.
What changed was not the law but the willingness to enforce it.
After the Board of Immigration Appeals acknowledged the plain meaning of the disputed section in Matter of Yajure Hurtado, DHS implemented a policy treating illegal entrants as Congress defined them: applicants for admission subject to mandatory detention.
The response was immediate and predictable. District courts across the country rushed to block the policy, issuing a wave of rulings restoring bond eligibility.
The Fifth Circuit is the first appellate court to say what should have been obvious all along: Courts do not get to rewrite immigration statutes because enforcement is politically uncomfortable.
RELATED: We escaped King George. Why do we bow to King Judge?
Photo by Pierce Archive LLC/Buyenlarge via Getty Images
Asylum is not a loophole
One of the most persistent myths in immigration discourse claims that filing for asylum legalizes illegal entry. It does not.
Congress made illegal entry a federal misdemeanor. The statute contains no asylum exception. Illegal entry remains a crime even for those who later request asylum.
Asylum also does not create a “right to remain.” It is discretionary relief from removal.
Federal law allows an alien to apply for asylum after illegal entry. That provision does not cure inadmissibility, erase criminal violations, or entitle the applicant to release from custody.
When an alien crosses the border illegally — between ports of entry — the alien violates federal law and becomes inadmissible for lack of valid entry documents. That inadmissibility triggers expedited removal.
The law allows an alien to request asylum after unlawful entry, but it does not legalize the entry, erase inadmissibility, or prevent removal. In this posture, asylum is defensive. The alien raises it after DHS initiates removal proceedings, and the alien receives it, if at all, as discretionary relief — not as a right to remain.
Aliens who enter without valid documents remain inadmissible and subject to detention or removal.
Mandatory detention applies to many asylum seekers. Under the statute:
Illegal entrants go into expedited removal unless they establish a credible fear.When an alien claims credible fear, the alien remains detained pending final adjudication.Release runs through limited DHS parole authority, not judicial bond hearings.
The Supreme Court confirmed this framework in Jennings v. Rodriguez (2018), holding that the statute mandates detention and does not allow courts to invent bond hearings where Congress declined to authorize them.
Law on the books vs. law in practice
The detention statute does not suffer from ambiguity. The conflict lies elsewhere.
Congress criminalized unlawful entry without exception. Congress also enacted the asylum provision through the Refugee Act of 1980, permitting any alien “physically present” in the United States or arriving at the border to apply for asylum regardless of manner of entry. That provision does not exempt such individuals from prosecution, detention, or removal. It does not repeal the detention mandate.
The Refugee Act incorporated aspects of the U.N. Refugee Convention and Protocol, including Article 31’s discouragement of “penalization” for unlawful entry in limited circumstances. Article 31 does not prohibit detention, prosecution, or removal. It confers no right to unlawful entry or release pending adjudication. Nothing in the treaty framework — or U.S. law — displaces Congress’ mandatory detention commands.
RELATED: Federalism cannot be a shield for sanctuary defiance
Photo by John Moore/Getty Images
Over time, however, executive agencies — and sometimes courts — expanded a limited non-penalization principle into a broader immunity regime. Officials treated asylum eligibility as a basis to avoid detention, delay removal, and suspend enforcement mandates Congress never repealed.
That is not discretion. It is dereliction. It nullifies the statute Congress enacted.
Until Congress revisits asylum law or alters treaty commitments, that structural tension will invite exploitation — regardless of what the detention statute requires.
Why this ruling matters
By enforcing the law as written, the Fifth Circuit restored a foundational principle of sovereignty: Illegal entry does not generate superior legal rights.
The dissent warns that enforcing the statute could produce large-scale detention. That warning is not a legal argument. It is a policy objection rooted in disagreement with the statute Congress enacted.
This ruling binds only Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi — for now. Other circuits have signaled resistance. A split is coming. Supreme Court review seems likely.
When that moment arrives, the court will face a question it has avoided for years: Does immigration law mean what it says — or only what politics permits?
The Fifth Circuit has answered.
For the first time in decades, a federal court treated immigration law as law, not a suggestion.
Fifth circuit, Immigration, Border security, Asylum, Court of appeals, Trump administration, Asylum seekers, Us border, Opinion & analysis, Immigration and customs enforcement, Deportation
FBI releases terrifying video of masked and allegedly armed individual in Guthrie case
The Federal Bureau of Investigation sought help from the public to identify an individual they say was armed when he tampered with the cameras at Nancy Guthrie’s home before her disappearance.
The mother of NBC News journalist Savannah Guthrie went missing from her home in the Catalina Foothills neighborhood of Tucson, Arizona, weeks ago. According to the FBI, she was last seen at the residence on Jan. 31.
‘The video was recovered from residual data located in backend systems.’
On Tuesday, the FBI released video and images from a security camera from the missing woman’s front door. An FBI press release said the man was armed.
A post from FBI Director Kash Patel said the video had been recently recovered.
“Over the last eight days, the FBI and Pima County Sheriff’s Department have been working closely with our private sector partners to continue to recover any images or video footage from Nancy Guthrie’s home that may have been lost, corrupted, or inaccessible due to a variety of factors — including the removal of recording devices,” he wrote on the X platform. “The video was recovered from residual data located in backend systems.”
The 84-year-old woman is considered a vulnerable adult because she has a heart condition that requires daily medication, she has a pacemaker, and she has difficulty walking.
The FBI is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to Guthrie’s return, as well as the arrest and conviction of anyone “involved” in her disappearance.
This is a developing story.
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Nancy guthrie disappearance, Nancy guthrie update, Video from guthrie disappearance, Suspect in guthrie kidnapping, Crime
Olympic skier who wrote ‘F**k ICE’ in snow now says he is victim of ‘hate and vitriol’
Olympic freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy is shocked by the amount of backlash he is receiving.
Kenworthy, a silver medalist for the United States at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, made a post last week showing his followers how to contact the Senate in order to complain about Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
‘Maybe that’s the price you pay for speaking up and using your platform.’
Kenworthy provided a sample script that his followers could use, which included, “Innocent people have been murdered, and enough is enough. We can’t wait around while ICE continues to operate with unchecked power in our communities.”
The hyperbolic narrative was just one part of Kenworthy’s post, however, as the attached photo read, “F**k ICE,” written in the snow. While it is not clear how it was written, or if it was a digital edit, the positioning of skis around the yellow text implied that it was made with urine.
On Monday, Kenworthy made a follow-up video explaining that while he now competes for Great Britain — stating he does so to honor his mother — he is still half American and loves the United States.
“I care about the U.S., and I care about what’s happening there,” the 34-year-old stated.
What followed, though, was the skier saying that the intense backlash he has faced from the post was likely a product of him “speaking up.”
“A lot of the messages have been awful; people telling me to kill myself, threatening me, wishing that they’ll get to see me blow my knee or break my neck during my event, calling me slurs. Like, it’s insane,” he continued. “And maybe that’s the price you pay for speaking up and using your platform. And so maybe this video is just going to invite more hate and vitriol, but I think it’s important to say what we feel and stand up for what we believe in and stand up to injustice.”
RELATED: Olympic ski jumpers may be injecting their penises with acid to jump farther
At the same time, the Olympian said that everyone has the freedom to “love the U.S. and be proud to be an American” while still thinking “it can be better” and “improve.”
Without ever mentioning the nature of his anti-ICE photo, Kenworthy went on to say that he does not support ICE and believes the agency is “absolutely evil and awful and terrifying.”
This was followed by a bevy of claims, such as American citizens “have been murdered in the street, executed in the street, and the officers are essentially acting with, like, impunity because their identities are covered.”
“There’s no accountability. It’s really scary,” he continued, claiming ICE is “racially profiling people, rounding up black and brown folks, and kidnapping them, putting them in unmarked vehicles with no arrest warrant, no probable cause.”
Kenworthy added, “They’re being held without any sort of due process. It’s crazy. It’s scary.”
Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
The skier, born in Essex, England, concluded that the “majority” of those being apprehended by the federal agency are “good” and “hardworking people” who are “nonviolent and have no criminal history and just came to the U.S. seeking a better life.”
Kenworthy described this as “literally the foundation story of the U.S.”
The British-American will compete in the Men’s Freeski Halfpipe qualification at the Winter Olympics on February 19, which begins at 4:30 a.m. ET.
The finals will air February 20 at 1:30 p.m. ET.
This is the same event as Hunter Hess, the American skier who recently walked back his comments regarding disagreements he has with U.S. policy. Hess said that “it’s a little hard” to be representing the United States and that he had “mixed emotions” about it.
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News, Sports, Sking, Olympics, 2026 winter olympics, Italy, United states, Great britain, Ice, Dhs, Immigration, Politics
Woman fatally shoots 15-year-old home invader; cops arrest his fleeing alleged accomplice — who gets even more bad news
A Mississippi woman fatally shot a 15-year-old home invader over the weekend — and police later arrested his alleged accomplice.
Jackson police told WAPT-TV that two males wearing ski masks broke into a unit at the Park at Inverness apartment complex on Ridgewood Road around 2:30 a.m. Sunday.
‘To be honest, they got what they deserved.’
Police told the station that the woman in the unit, fearing for her safety, grabbed a handgun and fired multiple rounds, hitting one of the masked males.
The masked male fell to the floor and later died, and his body was partially inside the apartment when police and investigators arrived. The coroner confirmed that he had been shot several times, WAPT said.
The second suspect who fled the scene — identified as 18-year-old Quintavion Myles — was located and arrested the same day, WLBT-TV reported.
The fatally shot suspect was identified on Sunday afternoon as 15-year-old Kaden Young, WLBT added.
The woman involved in the shooting was taken to police headquarters for questioning and later released, WAPT reported, adding that authorities said the shooting might be justifiable under the state’s Castle Doctrine law.
RELATED: Top 5 of 2025: Women who fought back when coming face-to-face with crooks
Myles was booked into the city holding facility, WLBT reported.
Myles appeared in court Monday, WLBT said in follow-up story, and while he was granted a $150,000 bond for burglary of an occupied dwelling, he was denied bond on a murder charge.
Jackson Police Chief Tyree Jones told the station why Myles also was charged with murder: “As a result of their conspiracy to allegedly take this crime on their hands or to be involved in this crime, there’s a result of a loss of life. And by them acting in concert together, they’re both being, or they could both be held responsible for whatever happens.”
The police department plans on sending its findings to the Hinds County District Attorney’s Office to consider whether they can be presented to a grand jury, WLBT said.
Jones added to the station that this crime should serve as a warning to young people.
“These things have to be considered when our youth are making decisions,” he told WLBT. “You would hate to use this as a story to tell our youth about, but here we are. We’re having to use this as a story to our youth to show them … this is what can potentially happen if you make the wrong decisions.”
Tre Ingram, a resident of the Park at Inverness, told WAPT he has little if any sympathy for Myles or Young.
“To be honest, they got what they deserved,” Ingram told the station. “They broke into her house. She had the right to defend herself.”
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2nd amend., Crime thwarted, Fatal shooting, Gun rights, Guns, Home invasion, Jackson, Mississippi, Murder charge, Self-defense, Crime
Your private data is on the dark web. Protect yourself before you’re targeted.
Password leaks are nothing new in the digital age, where hackers constantly look for ways to steal personal data, but this latest bombshell is the worst since the massive data breach in 2024 that exposed up to 26 billion login credentials worldwide. Here are the details and what you can do to keep your accounts safe.
Millions of login credentials exposed
In late January, a cybersecurity researcher at ExpressVPN stumbled upon a database containing 149,404,754 unique logins and passwords for a wide range of accounts, including Google, X, iCloud, Outlook, and more. The cloud repository was publicly available and unprotected, giving clever internet sleuths unbridled access, as long as they knew where to look. While most of the login data consisted of average consumer accounts, there were also some credentials that belonged to undisclosed government officials, signaling a potential national security risk if any of those accounts led to confidential information. Lastly, the researcher found some data pointing to banks, crypto wallets, and other financial services.
You’ll need to set up a system to protect your identity.
It’s important to note that the uncovered database is not a new data breach in itself. However, the compiled information is likely the result of a breach in the past.
Was your information included in the database?
The dark web is bursting with stolen information, and thanks to the great data leak of 2024, chances that at least one of your accounts is out there for bad actors to find is probable. They called it “the mother of all breaches” — a digital mass exposure event containing 26 billion records around the globe, including login credentials, Social Security numbers, bank account numbers, email addresses, and tons more. Virtually everyone on the planet was wrapped up in the chaos.
Fast-forward to 2026. Whether or not your data was nestled in this newly discovered database is irrelevant, because at some point in time, your data was exposed, and it’s probably still out there, waiting to be exploited.
How to protect yourself and your stolen data
The good news is that there are several things you can do to shore up the security on your accounts and keep a watchful eye out for any suspicious activity.
RELATED: How to stop Microsoft from letting the government see everything on your computer
Photo Illustration by Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Tips to keep your passwords safe, no matter what
The first thing you’ll want to do is take back control of your login credentials and passwords. To be safe, follow these quick tips:
Always use a complex password composed of a string of numbers, letters, and characters. Avoid common words or phrases. The more nonsensical the password is, the better. This makes your passwords more difficult to guess or hack with brute-force tactics.Keep your passwords in a trusted password manager. Apple and Google both include native password managers in iOS and Android. If you’re not using these already, now is a great time to start.Change your passwords regularly (every three to six months), especially for your most important accounts, like your bank and email addresses.Always enable 2FA when available. This ensures that the person logging into your account needs your password and your phone to get through.Enable passkeys on every account that supports them. Passkeys are more secure than typical passwords, nullifying phishing scams, brute-force access, and server breaches.
Ways to protect your identity
Second, you’ll need to set up a system to protect your identity. While it’s a little trickier to interrupt an active identity theft attempt, there are some things you can do to detect a problem as soon as it strikes.
Monitor your credit score with a free credit score app. Some apps, like Credit Karma, give you regular score updates and will tell you when a new line of credit has been opened in your name, a telltale sign of bad actors trying to leverage your good credit.Enlist the help of an identity theft protection service. These companies monitor the web for you, scanning every nook and cranny for fraudulent activity carried out with your information.While you’re at it, a home title fraud protection service may also be a good idea to make sure that bad actors don’t try to steal the deed to your property. It’s crazy, but it happens, and homeowners usually don’t know about it until it’s too late.
Never assume you’re safe
There have been so many private information breaches in recent history that you should never assume you’re safe or exempt. Your personal and private data is out there, it is accessible, and it could be exploited at any moment. Instead of waiting for the shoe to drop, take the steps above to ensure that you, your accounts, and your credentials are always up to date and protected. After all, it’s easier to thwart cyber criminals up front than it is to undo the damage done after a successful hack.
Tech
‘Vindication’ for Trump administration: Appeals court greenlights end of deportation protections for 90,000
A federal appeals court ruled on Monday that the Department of Homeland Security can end Temporary Protected Status for three countries, marking a significant immigration enforcement victory for the Trump administration.
The 9th U.S. Court of Appeals unanimously determined that the DHS can end deportation protections for roughly 90,000 immigrants from Nepal, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
‘TPS was never designed to be permanent, yet previous administrations have used it as a de facto amnesty program for decades.’
The decision overturned a December order from District Judge Trina Thompson of San Francisco.
“The rule of law demands that when executive officials exceed their authority, they must be held to account,” Thompson wrote, claiming that DHS’ termination of TPS for Nepal, Honduras, and Nicaragua was “unlawful.”
The appellate court found that the lower court erred, stating that the Trump administration is likely to succeed in its argument regarding DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s decision-making process, adding that the decision was neither “arbitrary nor capricious.”
“Specifically, the government can likely show that the administrative record adequately supports the Secretary’s action, that the TPS statute does not require the Secretary to consider intervening country conditions arising after the events that led to the initial TPS designation, and that the Secretary’s decision not to consider intervening conditions does not amount to an unexplained change in policy,” the appellate court wrote.
SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images
Honduras and Nicaragua joined the TPS program in 1999 after Hurricane Mitch, and Nepal joined in 2015 following a 7.8 magnitude earthquake.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem responded to the court’s decision in a post on social media, calling it “a win for the rule of law and vindication for the U.S. Constitution.”
RELATED: Trump’s DHS rolls back more of Biden’s immigration handouts for foreign nationals
Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images
“Under the previous administration, Temporary Protected Status was abused to allow violent terrorists, criminals, and national security threats into our nation,” Noem continued. “TPS was never designed to be permanent, yet previous administrations have used it as a de facto amnesty program for decades. Given the improved situation in each of these countries, we are wisely concluding what was intended to be a temporary designation.”
The Trump administration has moved to terminate TPS for numerous countries as part of its immigration enforcement efforts. TPS protects foreign nationals from deportation when temporary conditions in their home countries, such as ongoing armed conflicts and environmental disasters, prevent their safe return. TPS beneficiaries can obtain employment authorization to work in the U.S. during their stay. There are currently 15 countries designated for TPS.
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News, Kristi noem, Department of homeland security, Dhs, Trump administration, Trump admin, Temporary protected status, Tps, Illegal immigration crisis, Illegal immigration, Immigration crisis, Immigration, Nepal, Honduras, Nicaragua, Politics
Skier Hunter Hess changes tune after saying he has ‘mixed emotions’ about representing USA: ‘I love my country’
American skier Hunter Hess now says the United States is a great country.
Hess, from Bend, Oregon, has seemingly responded to intense backlash he received for saying that “it’s a little hard” to represented the United States at the Olympics.
‘There is so much that is great about America, but there are always things that could be better.’
On Friday, Hess told reporters that he had “mixed emotions” about wearing the red, white, and blue, saying, “Right now, I think, um, it’s a little hard. There’s obviously a lot going on that I’m not the biggest fan of and I think a lot of people aren’t.”
Hess said that instead he felt he was representing his friends, family, and things in the United States that “align with my moral values.”
“Just because I’m wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the U.S.,” he added.
These comments sparked huge backlash across the country; even the president took to his social media platform to call Hess a “real loser.”
“U.S. Olympic Skier, Hunter Hess, a real Loser, says he doesn’t represent his Country in the current Winter Olympics. If that’s the case, he shouldn’t have tried out for the Team, and it’s too bad he’s on it,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
On Monday, Hess appeared to walk back his remarks in a post to his Instagram page.
RELATED: Italy minimizes politics during Olympics opening ceremony: ‘No woke garbage’
“I love my country,” the 27-year-old wrote alongside an American flag emoji.
“There is so much that is great about America, but there are always things that could be better. One of the many things that makes this country so amazing is that we have the right and the freedom to point that out,” he continued.
Along with a picture of himself smiling, Hess also wrote in the caption that “the best part of the Olympics is that it brings people together, and when so many of us are divided we need that more than ever. I cannot wait to represent Team USA next week when I compete.”
“Thanks to everyone for their support,” he finished.
The skier’s response has already fallen flat for some.
“Wow pls shut the f**k up,” boxer Jake Paul wrote on X. “From all true Americans[:] If you don’t want to represent this country go live somewhere else.”
RELATED: Olympic boxer Imane Khelif admits to having male genes, but sends message to Trump: ‘I’m not trans’
Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Super Bowl-winning quarterback Brett Favre shared a statement from actor and writer David Kano that read, “If you don’t want to rep the USA, then give up your spot to someone who does.”
Hess will compete in the men’s freeski half-pipe qualification at the Winter Olympics on February 19, which begins at 4:30 a.m. ET.
The finals will air February 20 at 1:30 p.m. ET.
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Sports, Usa, Skiing, Olympics, United states, Patriotism, Woke, Italy, Winter sports, Trump, Politics
Teacher at all-girls Catholic school had months-long sexual relationship with student: Police
A former teacher at a New Orleans all-girls Catholic school has been accused of having a months-long sexual relationship with a student, according to police. The mother of the alleged victim reportedly discovered the purported illicit relationship after her daughter’s behavior changed, authorities said.
Teddi Page, 29, had been a biology teacher at the Academy of the Sacred Heart until being terminated after scandalous accusations surfaced.
‘When our school became aware of a recent concern about one of our employees, we took the matter very seriously and immediately followed our safety protocols.’
Page was arrested and charged with prohibited sexual conduct between an educator and a student, which is a misdemeanor under Louisiana law.
According to jail records, Page was booked Thursday morning and was out of custody Friday on a $15,000 bond.
WWL-TV reported, “Prosecutors requested a restraining order against Page, but the magistrate judge denied the request, noting the student is 18 years old, and the relationship was described as consensual.”
In court documents, the student said she and the teacher had sex multiple times, according to WWL.
The alleged victim told investigators the sexual encounters occurred at several locations, including Page’s home and inside a vehicle parked behind a restaurant, according to court documents.
The alleged illicit relationship was discovered through social media, according to authorities.
Citing the arrest warrant, WVUE-TV reported that the alleged victim’s mother “discovered the relationship when she looked at an old phone that was still logged into her daughter’s social media accounts.”
The police affidavit stated that the mother noticed changes in her daughter’s behavior, including a short temper and locking herself away on a family vacation so she could make a video call to Page, according to NOLA.com.
The mother discovered texts between Page and the alleged victim and images of them nude and kissing, the affidavit read.
The alleged illicit relationship began last August, according to police.
The police affidavit stated that during classroom introductions that month, the then-17-year-old student told investigators she felt a “spark” between herself and Page, NOLA.com reported.
The teacher and student then engaged in “personal and intimate” conversations for the next two months, police stated.
In November, when the student was 18, Page kissed and had sex with the alleged victim at her apartment and in the victim’s vehicle, according to the police affidavit.
WDSU-TV obtained a statement from the Academy of the Sacred Heart that states: “When our school became aware of a recent concern about one of our employees, we took the matter very seriously and immediately followed our safety protocols.”
Page was terminated, escorted off the campus, and a formal criminal report was filed with the New Orleans Police Department, according to WDSU.
The school told WDSU that Page’s references and background check were “favorable,” and there were no red flags when she was hired.
The Academy of the Sacred Heart issued the following statement regarding Page’s arrest:
Student safety is fundamental to our school. Faculty, staff, and students receive safety training, including maintaining healthy boundaries, and are urged to report safety concerns to the administration. When our school became aware of a recent concern about one of our employees, we took the matter very seriously and immediately followed our safety protocols. The employee was escorted off campus, and her employment was terminated. We then referred the matter to the New Orleans Police Department. We continue to fully cooperate with law enforcement. Any employee must undergo a thorough background check and provide references before being hired at our school. The references and background check for this former employee were favorable, and there was no indication of any problematic issues in her past. We are supporting the student and her family who have come forward and are providing resources and counseling for our students who may be upset about these developments.
The New Orleans Police Department did not immediately respond to Blaze News‘ request for comment.
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Teddi page, Teacher arrested, Teacher sex scandal, Teacher student sex scandal, Louisiana crime, Louisiana, Crime, New orleans
Anti-fraud GOP candidate for Minnesota governor suspends campaign after daughter’s savage murder
Former St. Cloud City Councilman Jeff Johnson, a Republican candidate for governor in Minnesota, suspended his campaign on Monday after his 22-year-old daughter was savagely stabbed to death.
The Republican Party of Minnesota confirmed Johnson was dropping out and stressed that the group is “heartbroken by the tragic loss of Dr. Jeff Johnson’s daughter, who was killed in a violent crime Saturday night in St. Cloud.”
“There are no words that can adequately express the sorrow we feel for Jeff and his family,” continued the Minnesota GOP. “The loss of a child is unimaginable, and our thoughts and prayers are with them as they grieve this devastating tragedy.”
The City of St. Cloud Police Department indicated that officers responded on Saturday evening to a report of a medical emergency at the apartment of Johnson’s daughter, Hallie Marie Tobler, where they found her dead with multiple stab wounds.
‘Join us in lifting up the Johnson family.’
Dylan Tobler, her 23-year-old husband, was also found at the scene with life-threatening injuries that police believe to have been self-inflicted. Although initially taken to St. Cloud Hospital for treatment, police indicated Dylan Tobler — who is now in stable condition — will later be transported to the Stearns County Jail, “where he will be held for court on charges related to the homicide.”
Stephen M. Katz/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
Last month, Dylan Tobler pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in connection to a June 2025 incident in which he choked his wife, reported the Duluth News Tribune.
By Tuesday, Johnson’s campaign page had been stripped down to its header.
The former councilman, who served for two terms in the 2010s, announced his candidacy for governor in March 2025, vowing to tackle Minnesota’s fraud and crime problems, keep businesses from fleeing the Gopher State, work with federal agencies to combat illegal immigration, and stand up to radicalism from the left.
“Quite frankly, Minnesota has been operating in full crisis mode under Gov. Tim Walz for years,” Johnson said at the time in an interview with the St. Cloud Times.
The Minnesota GOP asked for residents of the state “to join us in lifting up the Johnson family during this incredibly painful time.”
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Crime, Murder, Dylan tobler, Hallie tobler, Tobler, Jeff johnson, Minnesota, St. cloud, Politics, Tim walz, Killing, Stabbing
‘Impossible to deal with’: Pete Hegseth reveals the real culprit behind defense contractor delays
War Secretary Pete Hegseth has made it his mission to slash through red tape and streamline defense production. But in order to do that, Hegseth says the Pentagon needs to take a look in the mirror.
Blaze News traveled with Hegseth as he visited defense contractors like Anduril and General Dynamics during his “Arsenal of Freedom” tour Monday, hammering the importance of overcoming burdensome production delays. In order to embolden the hardworking men and women who build America’s arsenal, Hegseth told Blaze News the Pentagon needs to take the first step.
‘There’s mazes of requirements.’
“A lot of the hang-up has been us,” Hegseth told Blaze News. “So we’ve got to look at ourselves first. The way we do business — we’ve been impossible to deal with.”
“A bad customer who, year after year, changes our mind about what we want or what we don’t want, and then we make little, small technological changes, which makes it more difficult for them to produce what they need to produce on time. So we have to fix our own house first: provide clarity, simplify the system, allow more people to access it, give that steady demand signal.”
Whether it’s building warships or acquiring the latest technologies for autonomous underwater vehicles, Hegseth acknowledged how often these projects often fall far behind schedule and go way over budget. In an attempt to combat this, Hegseth noted several DOW deals with defense companies like Raytheon, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin that facilitate investment because “they know we’re going to be buying in the future.”
“That’s groundbreaking stuff. Our department’s never done that. … That’s just good business. We haven’t operated … that way before.”
RELATED: Putting God back in ‘degraded’ US Chaplain Corps: Hegseth axes pagan codes and New Age guides
Like all other government agencies, Hegseth also pointed to bureaucracy and regulations as major hindrances for these defense companies.
“There’s mazes of requirements that this department has traditionally put on different systems and platforms that are impossible to navigate, and by the time you navigate them, you’re five years behind the actual technology,” Hegseth told Blaze News.
“We’re going to companies and saying tell us what you can do based on the parameters of what kind of capabilities we’re looking for. … Let’s tailor it accordingly.”
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Pete hegseth, Department of war, Anduril, Defense contractors, General dynamics, Maine, Rhode island, Bureaucracy, Pentagon, Defense production delays, Red tape, Shipbuilders, Raytheon, Lockheed, Politics, Arsenal of freedom
Massie drops bombshell after review of unredacted Epstein files, helps put name to alleged co-conspirator
Roughly six weeks past the deadline to publish all of its files on child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the Justice Department released over 3 million additional pages in response to the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
While the documents provide new insights into Epstein, his degeneracy, and his international network of affluent allies, they are rife with redactions. Lawmakers have, however, been afforded the opportunity to review the unredacted files in person at the DOJ after giving 24 hours’ notice.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who with Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna (Calif.) rushed to inspect the files at the first available opportunity in hopes of identifying “the men who Jeffrey Epstein trafficked women to,” revealed on Monday that he came across “the names of at least six men that have been redacted that are likely incriminated by their inclusion in these files.”
‘Give the DOJ a chance to say they made a mistake and over-redacted.’
While Massie indicated that it was prudent to identify the men from the House floor or in a committee hearing — where he would be protected from civil lawsuits over perceived defamation or libel — he told reporters that “at least one is a U.S. citizen, at least one is a foreigner, and the other three or four have names I’m not sure if they’re foreign or U.S.”
“One is pretty high up in a foreign government,” added Massie.
Khanna, addressing reporters jointly with the Kentucky Republican, chimed in to note that “one of the others is a pretty prominent individual.” The Democrat suggested there may be more questionably redacted names, stressing they had only scratched the surface with their two-hour review.
Photo by Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
The Kentucky Republican noted, “I would like to give the DOJ a chance to say they made a mistake and over-redacted and let them unredact those men’s names.”
‘It wasn’t unredacted until tonight.’
The DOJ seized upon the opportunity to make some adjustments.
Massie noted later on Monday that the DOJ had unredacted both “an FBI file that LABELS two individuals as co-conspirators” and “a file that lists several men who might be implicated.”
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed that the DOJ unredacted former Victoria’s Secret CEO Lex Wexner’s name from a 2019 FBI document identifying him as a possible co-conspirator in Epstein’s sex-trafficking case. He noted that Wexner’s name appears “thousands of times” elsewhere in the Epstein files and stated, “DOJ is hiding nothing.”
“This is significant because Kash Patel testified to Congress that FBI had no evidence of other sex traffickers,” Massie said in response. “This is FBI’s own 2019 document listing Wexner as coconspirator in child sex trafficking. It wasn’t unredacted until tonight.”
The DOJ standards recommend against identifying unindicted co-conspirators unless they have been charged with the same conspiracy by way of unsealed criminal complaint or information. The document Massie referred to alleges that Wexner was a co-conspirator of Epstein.
Wexner stated in July 2019 that he had long since severed any connection with Epstein and “would not have continued to work with any individual capable of such egregious, sickening behavior as has been reported about him.”
“When Mr. Epstein was my personal money manager, he was involved in many aspects of my financial life. But let me assure you that I was NEVER aware of the illegal activity charged in the indictment,” added Wexner.
Department of Justice
Blaze News has reached out to the Wexner Foundation for comment.
‘They’re trafficking girls all across the world.’
The Epstein Files Transparency Act permits the DOJ to redact portions of records that:
“contain personally identifiable information of victims or victims’ personal and medical files and similar files the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy”; depict child pornography; “would jeopardize an active federal investigation or ongoing prosecution, provided that such withholding is narrowly tailored and temporary”;”depict or contain images of death, physical abuse, or injury of any person”; or”contain information specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy and are in fact properly classified pursuant to such Executive order.“
Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Florida Democrat who also reviewed the documents on Monday, concluded that there are “lots of co-conspirators,” reported CNN.
“I mean, it’s disgusting,” said Moskowitz. “There are lots of names, lots of co-conspirators, and they’re trafficking girls all across the world.”
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Jeffrey epstein, Esptein, Thomas massie, Department of justice, Justice department, Doj, Child sex trafficking, Sex trafficking, Billionaire, Cabal, Pedophile, Cult, Epstein, Torture, Sex, Degenerate, Evil, Politics
Whites not included? Texas Democrat urged certain racial groups to unite against ‘same oppressor’
A video of Democratic Texas state Rep. Gene Wu has resurfaced on the internet this week in what one large social media account called a “mask off” moment for the lawmaker.
In a December 31, 2024, episode of “Define American with Jose Antonio Vargas,” Wu, an immigrant who was born in China, openly urged minority racial groups to unite against their “same oppressor.”
‘Because we are the majority in this country now.’
In the video, entitled “In This Texas District, 1/3 of Residents Are Undocumented,” Wu was asked about different racial groups’ relationship to each other and particularly the relationship between Asians and Latinos.
“It’s not just Latinos. It’s not just Asians. It’s not just African-Americans. It’s everybody. Right? We, our country and the forces that be, the powers that be, have spent tremendous time, effort, and money to make sure that those groups are never united, that they always see each other as enemies, as competitors, without ever realizing that they share one thing in common: that their oppressors all are the same,” Wu responded.
“The oppression comes from one place,” he quickly added.
RELATED: Exclusive: GOP lawmaker wants Congress to take — and pass — a basic civics exam
Without explicitly saying who these “oppressors” are, Wu made it easy to read between the lines: “I always tell people the day the Latino, African-American, Asian, and other communities realize that they share the same oppressor is the day we start winning. Because we are the majority in this country now. We have the ability to take over this country and to do what is needed for everyone and to make things fair.”
“Shame on him,” Elon Musk said in response to the clip of Wu, who was first elected to Texas House District 137 near Houston in 2012.
The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh pointed out the rhetorical double standard between Republicans and Democrats, referencing a more recent controversy in which President Trump shared a meme some decried as racist: “So I’m supposed to be outrage[d] about an Obama monkey meme while Democrat elected officials are labeling the entire white race ‘oppressors’ and openly plotting to conquer and subjugate us? Trump can post all the memes he wants. I really don’t care at all.”
The resurfaced video has since garnered nearly 14 million views on X.
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Politics, Gene wu, Texas, Texas representative, Democrats, China, Legal immigration, Houston, Define american, Matt walsh, Elon musk
Exclusive: GOP lawmaker wants Congress to take — and pass — a basic civics exam
Republican Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas is looking to hold lawmakers to a higher standard, Blaze News learned.
Hunt introduced a bill Monday that would create a new constitutional amendment requiring members of Congress to pass a basic civics test before taking their oath of office, according to bill text obtained exclusively by Blaze News. Hunt, who is running for Senate, noted his Congressional Civics Act would simply insist elected officials pass the same civics test foreigners are required to take in order to become naturalized citizens.
‘When history is forgotten, it is destined to repeat itself.’
“As leaders, we swear an oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic — an oath I take seriously,” Hunt told Blaze News.
“We must ensure that those entrusted with the highest level of American leadership fully understand that oath.”
RELATED: Trump blasts mass migration from ‘failed’ foreign countries in fiery rebuke: ‘Minnesota reminds us’
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Although naturalized citizens have a near perfect pass rate, just one in three Americans are able to pass the same test, according to a national survey conducted by the Institute for Citizens & Scholars. Notably, applicants need to get only 12 out of the 20 multiple choice questions correct, totaling just 60%.
“This bill would require American representation to demonstrate their knowledge of the Constitution and American history,” Hunt told Blaze News.
“That understanding is essential to protecting the foundation of American values,” Hunt added. “When history is forgotten, it is destined to repeat itself.”
Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images
If the amendment is ratified, the exam would consist of 25 questions drawn from a pool of 100 questions that cover constitutional literacy and American history. The passing standards would be set by Congress for each 10-year census term.
Until the amendment is ratified, the legislation requires that members pass the civics exam before being assigned to a committee, starting in the 120th Congress. The bill would also provide for the public release of test results for all members who manage to successfully complete the exam.
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Wesley hunt, Texas, Texas senate race, John cornyn, Ken paxton, House republicans, Republican primary, 2026 primary, Donald trump, Citizenship test, Civics exam, American values, Constitution, Oath of office, Politics
Jason Whitlock: Super Bowl ‘has fallen’ after worst halftime show ever
According to BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock, if you missed Super Bowl 60 this weekend, you didn’t miss much.
Whitlock believes that the “Super Bowl has fallen,” and it’s not just because the game between the Patriots and the Seahawks featured a slow loss.
“The entire Super Bowl halftime, the agendas related to the National Football League — the entire thing has fallen on its face,” he says, pointing out that perhaps the worst part was the halftime performance put on by Bad Bunny, which was entirely in Spanish.
“Bad Bunny will forever be remembered as the worst Super Bowl ever. … Nothing happened in this Super Bowl, other than Bad Bunny’s ridiculous Super Bowl halftime deal. And it will be forever remembered as the worst Super Bowl halftime and the worst Super Bowl ever,” Whitlock says.
However, he says, leftists appear to believe that what they witnessed was an incredible and brave performance.
“I get it. The leftists are all over social media right now, ‘Oh, it was amazing, the vibe, oh, the vibe was incredible,’” Whitlock mocks, pointing out that none of them could understand a “word that Bad Bunny said,” calling the artist a “Spanish-speaking mumble rapper.”
The show also featured Hispanic men and women drinking and “gyrating.”
“This was an embarrassment. … They’re just gyrating all over each other while Bad Bunny mumble raps in the background. And you have white liberals, and liberals everywhere, because they hate Donald Trump, and because they want to troll Donald Trump, this is seen as a positive,” Whitlock says.
“Here’s what the leftists want you to believe: that there is some sort of love that can be born from hate,” he continues. “They want you to believe that love can be founded on hate.”
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Mom with child in tow accused of shooting toward sushi server. What allegedly triggered her is far from your average motive.
A St. Louis mother is facing multiple felony charges after police say she fired a gun inside a Kirkwood, Missouri, sushi restaurant amid an argument with staff last week, KTVI-TV reported.
Kirkwood police told the station the shooting took place just before 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.
‘You’re going to get it.’
Police said Aaliyah N. Moorehead, 31, told officers she believed restaurant staff were rude to her and her family when they arrived, KTVI reported, adding that Moorehead was with her 9-year-old child.
Moorehead also said she used a translation feature on her AirPods to determine that the cooks made racial and derogatory comments in Spanish about her and her family, the station said.
Police said Moorehead also got upset over what she described as an issue with her order, KTVI said. A server offered to correct the order, but Moorehead began swearing at the server and was asked to leave, the station noted.
Moorehead then threw a bowl of soup at the server, hitting him and others nearby, authorities told KTVI.
The server moved a chair between himself and Moorehead, the station said, adding that she grabbed the chair and threw it.
Moorehead then took out a 9mm Glock handgun, threatened the server, and fired a shot in his direction, police told KTVI, adding that Moorehead’s 9-year-old was walking between Moorehead and the server at the time.
Police told KMOV-TV that Moorehead said, “You’re going to get it,” before firing the shot.
The bullet missed the server, went through a refrigerator, and struck a wall, KTVI said, adding that no one was injured.
Police said the restaurant manager told officers the suspect drove away in a white SUV, and officers located the vehicle soon after and detained those in the car, KTVI said.
After reviewing the restaurant’s security video, police identified the SUV’s occupants as Moorehead, her 9-year-old child, and another adult woman, KTVI said.
Police told KMOV the entire incident was captured on surveillance video and that Moorehead admitted to firing the gun.
The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Moorehead with first-degree assault, armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon, endangering the welfare of a child, and first-degree property damage, KTVI said.
Moorehead was still behind bars Tuesday morning at the St. Louis County Justice Center; jail records do not show a court date.
KTVI said Moorehead is being held on a $150,000 cash-only bond.
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Restaurant, Shooting, Missouri, Kirkwood, Airpods, Spanish, Derogatory remarks, Cooks, Handgun, Threat, Assault, Armed criminal action, Unlawful use of a weapon, Property damage, Jailed, Arrest, Sushi, St. louis county, Translation, Crime
The real villains aren’t in the movies. They’re looting America’s welfare system.
Somali pirates. Dead people “billing” taxpayers. Foreign terror networks thriving on Medicaid scams. Hackers stealing identities to collect benefits.
That lineup sounds like an over-the-top Hollywood heist movie. Americans now read versions of it on the front page.
Americans should treat this caper as a wake-up call. Elected leaders should treat it as an emergency.
Federal prosecutors charged 78 Somali immigrants with allegedly stealing more than $1 billion from taxpayers. National outlets noticed, including the see-no-immigrant-evil New York Times. Prosecutors also say suspected Medicaid fraud in Minnesota may top $9 billion, with new allegations and evidence surfacing by the day.
Hollywood can’t compete with numbers like that. In “Die Hard,” the crooks chased $640 million. Danny Ocean’s crew in “Ocean’s 11” made off with a mere $160 million. Minnesota’s real-life scammers allegedly went after far more, and they exploited programs meant to help the vulnerable.
Americans should treat this caper as a wake-up call. Elected leaders should treat it as an emergency: Prosecute the thieves, close the loopholes, and change the incentives that let fraudsters treat public benefits like an ATM.
For perspective, the fraud under investigation approaches the size of Somalia’s entire government budget and equals roughly 12% of Somalia’s economy, based on recent estimates. Minnesota’s Somali population equals about 0.5% of Somalia’s population and about 2.5% of the Twin Cities metro. Yet prosecutors say a small number of people allegedly moved sums that rival major industries back home.
Worse, investigators say some stolen money went overseas. In the Feeding Our Future case and related investigations, federal prosecutors have alleged that some proceeds flowed to al-Shabaab, a terrorist group the United States has targeted for years. If those allegations hold, taxpayers didn’t just fund fraud. They helped bankroll an enemy.
Minnesota’s scandal also exposes a national contradiction. Washington wages war abroad, welcomes refugees at home, and writes checks through the same federal programs that criminals can exploit — while the national debt nears $39 trillion.
Minnesota’s political class added its own layer of absurdity. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D) built a profitable career calling America racist. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D) delivered his re-election victory speech in Somali just days before the scope of these cases made headlines. Symbolic gestures came easy. Basic oversight did not.
Gov. Tim Walz (D) still owes voters answers. Did incompetence drive this disaster, or did indifference do the work? Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem argues both played a role. Reports now suggest state employees blew the whistle years ago about lax controls and sloppy management. Voters heard little of it when elections still hung in the balance.
RELATED: Trump has the chance to end the welfare free-for-all Minnesota exposed
Photo by: Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Walz reportedly knew about major fraud risks as early as 2020. His administration later resumed funding after recipients sued, accusing the state of racism. The Walz administration also handed an “outstanding refugee award” in 2021 to a woman now charged in connection with fraud — facts that undercut today’s alibis.
Federal investigators deserve credit. The Departments of Justice and Treasury have pursued these cases aggressively. House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) has opened another congressional probe. Prosecutions matter, but prevention matters more.
A new law President Trump signed this summer aims to make fraud more difficult to pull off. It requires states to recheck eligibility for able-bodied adults on Medicaid every six months instead of annually. For the first time, it also forces states to absorb more of the cost when they let fraud run rampant.
Those reforms should move quickly from paper to practice. States, red and blue, should implement them immediately. Fraudsters thrive on delay, confusion, and political excuses.
Taxpayer fraud deserves full prosecution. Political leaders who enable it deserve accountability too — whether they turned a blind eye, ignored whistleblowers, or refused to enforce the law. Every state in the Union should move now, or Minnesota’s scandal will spread.
Opinion & analysis, Minnesota fraud, Somali fraud, Tim walz, Jacob frey, Ilhan omar, Somalia, Feeding our future, Al-shabaab, Racism accusation, Hollywood, Die hard, Ocean’s 11, New york times, Corruption, Welfare, Medicaid, Scam, Kristi noem, Refugees
Free speech in Britain is worse than you think
If you want to see where contemporary speech regulation leads, look to Britain.
My country, the birthplace of the common law tradition and parliamentary liberty, now arrests thousands of its citizens each year for “offensive” speech. Much of what Americans still debate as hypothetical has already hardened into policy here.
While commentators work to enforce elite consensus, perceptions of two-tier policing have fueled public anger.
This did not happen overnight, nor did it require a dramatic constitutional rupture. It emerged gradually, through well-intentioned laws, bureaucratic definitions, and institutional habits that now govern what may be said, by whom and about whom. For Americans who assume such restrictions could never survive contact with the First Amendment, Britain offers a sobering corrective.
Catalog of grievance
The roots of this crisis can be traced to the Equality Act 2010, which laid the groundwork for today’s restrictions on speech. The act provides a legal definition of “protected characteristics,” making it unlawful to discriminate against individuals on the basis of attributes such as sex or race.
The act outlines core areas — race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, and gender reassignment — which form the foundation of modern hate-crime legislation. Crimes deemed to be motivated by prejudice or hostility toward individuals with these characteristics can result in longer prison sentences. Yet because prejudice and discrimination are inherently subjective and difficult to quantify, hate-crime legislation erodes the principle of equality before the law.
In total, there are nine protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. Although not all meet the legal threshold for hate crime, these categories are embedded across workplace training, education, and public services.
Institutionalizing them frames certain groups as uniquely vulnerable to harm, encouraging institutions to treat speech as a risk to be managed rather than a liberty to be protected, and confers a durable victim identity. Through the lens of identity politics, victimhood becomes a proxy for moral authority. Unsurprisingly this logic expands rather than contracts. Campaigns to add further protected traits — such as menopause, misogyny, or afro hair — reflect a constantly growing catalog of grievance.
12,000 arrests a year
This mindset has enabled some of the most restrictive internet-speech enforcement in the Western world. Each year, roughly 12,000 Britons are arrested for online communications deemed “offensive.” In widely reported cases, individuals have received custodial sentences for social-media posts seen by only a handful of people, or have been arrested for deliberately provocative but nonviolent acts. In another case, a man received a lengthy prison sentence for possessing music classified by authorities as “right-wing.” The cumulative effect has been chilling: Free expression now exists largely at the discretion of the state.
Even when not explicitly codified, the logic of victimhood drives these censorious impulses. Nowhere is this clearer than in the evolving concept of Islamophobia — a concept that Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, has pledged to “reform.”
With opinion polls faltering, Starmer finds himself electorally dependent on a sizable Muslim voting bloc. He must reassure the public that Britain remains a liberal democracy — one in which citizens are free to criticize, offend, and mock religion. The state’s response has been semantic rather than substantive. Islamophobia is now being reframed as “anti-Muslim hatred,” defined in draft guidance as:
Engaging in or encouraging criminal acts, including violence, vandalism, harassment, or intimidation — whether physical, verbal, written, or electronic — directed at Muslims or those perceived to be Muslim because of their religion, ethnicity, or appearance.
Although this definition is non-statutory and not legally binding, it is likely to encourage further self-censorship around legitimate discussion of Islam. A similar effect followed the adoption of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims’ definition of Islamophobia. The Labour Party and numerous public bodies — including more than 50 local councils, some governing Muslim-majority areas such as Bradford, Birmingham, Rochdale, and Leicester — have adopted it.
RELATED: Pakistani cousin marriage has no place in UK
Bloomberg/Getty Images
Hiding behind ‘Islamophobia’
These same regions have long faced serious criminal scandals, including the sexual abuse of young girls by grooming gangs disproportionately composed of men of Pakistani origin. Official inquiries have documented how institutional reluctance to address these crimes — often citing fear of being perceived as “Islamophobic” — contributed to prolonged failures of safeguarding.
As someone who has written extensively about the cultural practice of cousin marriage, I must ask: Does pointing out the well-documented link between consanguinity and elevated risk of congenital disorders now qualify as “hostility”?
Rather than encouraging honest debate, further definitional expansion risks reinforcing institutional silence. In recent years, National Health Service materials have presented first-cousin marriage in notably neutral or positive terms, while academic journals have warned that criticism of female genital mutilation can shade into racism — sometimes proposing euphemistic language in place of the word “mutilation” itself.
This kind of top-down enforcement rarely sits well with voters. Public frustration grows when large numbers of young male asylum seekers are housed in already strained cities, while criticism of immigration policy is constrained by speech codes. No amount of central planning can engineer a harmonious multicultural society. Rebranding Islamophobia as “anti-Muslim hostility” will not resolve these tensions. It instead grants the state wider discretion to interpret — and restrict — speech.
Expansion of civil claims
The revised guidance goes further, characterizing anti-Muslim hostility as “the prejudicial stereotyping and racialization of Muslims as a collective group with set characteristics.” Like all attempts to police expression, the language is subjective and elastic. What happens if one agrees with MI5 that Islamist terrorism represents the most significant national-security threat? Or if one cites court data showing disproportionate Muslim representation in grooming-gang convictions?
The guidance also gestures toward institutional liability, warning against the “creation or use of practices and biases within institutions.” This invites an expansion of HR enforcement and civil claims based on indirect discrimination. Recent employment-tribunal cases — some involving substantial settlements for “injury to feelings” — illustrate how these standards already operate in practice.
Britain already restricts expression where Islam is concerned. Although blasphemy laws were formally repealed in England and Wales in 2008, they continue to function de facto. In one recent case, a man who burned a Quran was charged with “offending the religious institution of Islam” — an offense unknown to statute. (He later won on appeal.) When prosecution proceeds on improvised grounds, it is not difficult to imagine future cases brought under the banner of “anti-Muslim hostility.”
This is the endpoint of multiculturalism: ad hoc speech regulations shaped by cultural sensitivities and sustained by mass immigration. While commentators work to enforce elite consensus, perceptions of two-tier policing have fueled public anger.
There should be no such thing as a hate crime — only crime. Conditions are likely to worsen before they improve. Open borders and cultural relativism have become default assumptions across much of the West, yet they sit uneasily with the rule of law and freedom of expression.
If you want to see where contemporary speech regulation leads, look to Britain. Americans would be wise to do so while these questions are still debated in theory — rather than enforced in practice.
Uk, Great britain, Free speech, Kier starmer, Lifestyle, Islam, Letter from the uk
Tunnel to underground bunker discovered in New Mexico neighborhood where crime surged after renters moved in, police say
Residents of a previously serene Albuquerque neighborhood are criticizing city officials’ response to the surge in crime allegedly related to renters that built an underground bunker.
The neighbors say there was a rise in stolen cars, stolen packages, and other nuisances after the newest renters moved in. Some of the incidents have been caught on video.
‘There was concrete. There were bricks inside. It was pretty large. That was built into the backyard of the house that led into the joining arroyo.’
The Esquibels have been in the neighborhood for several years but noticed the change in the last year.
“We moved here originally because we loved it,” Alandra Esquibel said to KOAT-TV. “We thought the location was great.”
The couple caught one person urinating near their property through surveillance video.
“You could see them coming in with bags, thuggish and homeless people,” Joshua Esquibel said.
Police records show that there were nearly 50 calls to the neighborhood in the last year before code enforcement discovered a tunnel leading to an underground bunker.
“It was a large dug-in tunnel network. It had support structures,” said Commander Chris Patterson of the Albuquerque Police Department. “There was concrete. There were bricks inside. It was pretty large. That was built into the backyard of the house that led into the joining arroyo.”
Police believe the bunker was being used by criminals as a hideout.
“There’s definitely some auto thefts that we’ve been able to track back to it,” Patterson continued. “Some property crimes, porch packages being stolen from porches, luggage items taken from people’s cars, so some auto break-ins. And then obviously we think there’s probably also a drug nexus as well.”
Despite all of the incidents, the renters were allowed to stay at the home.
The Esquibels and others question why city officials haven’t used a provision that allows them to condemn a property that has three criminal acts in the span of three months.
A code enforcement official said the division did not trigger the nuisance ordinance because it did not know about the police calls.
The tunnel has been filled in, but the residents worry there will be more crime if the renters aren’t moved out.
“This community is super scared because of the fact that they’re still there,” Alandra Esquibel said. “Maybe they’re renting out the bunker? I have no idea.”
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Albuquerque police, Tunnel and underground bunker, New mexico crime surge, City officials ignore crime, Crime