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Immigration and Customs Enforcement claims to have arrested an illegal alien truck driver who was issued a commercial driver’s license by New York State, reading, “NO NAME GIVEN.”

‘Allowing illegal aliens to obtain commercial driver’s licenses to operate 18-wheelers and transport hazardous materials on America’s roads is reckless and incredibly dangerous to public safety.’

In September, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) shared a photo of a New York State CDL belonging to “NO NAME GIVEN,” whom he described as an illegal immigrant. Much of the identifying information on the Real ID was redacted.

Stitt indicated that the individual was apprehended as part of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol’s enforcement actions, adding that troopers had captured 125 illegal immigrants.

ICE announced Friday that it had arrested Anmol Anmol, an alleged illegal alien from India who had been issued a CDL by New York State.

A photo of the license reads, “Anmol NO NAME GIVEN.”

The CDL appeared to match the one previously posted by Stitt, as both displayed the same issue and expiration date. Blaze News contacted ICE to determine whether the license previously shared by Stitt belonged to Anmol.

A search of the online ICE database confirmed that as of Monday afternoon, an individual named Anmol Anmol from India is being held at an ICE detention facility in Oklahoma.

RELATED: The fraud crippling American trucking: ‘Ghost’ carriers and ‘NO NAME GIVEN’ driver’s licenses issued to foreigners

Image source: Immigration and Customs Enforcement

ICE stated that OHP encountered Anmol during a routine inspection at a weigh station on I-40.

Anmol reportedly unlawfully entered the country in 2023, amid the Biden administration’s open-border crisis. He was arrested as part of a three-day enforcement operation partnership with OHP and placed in removal proceedings.

“Allowing illegal aliens to obtain commercial driver’s licenses to operate 18-wheelers and transport hazardous materials on America’s roads is reckless and incredibly dangerous to public safety. Thanks to the successful 287(g) partnership of ICE and Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Anmol Anmol is no longer posing a threat to drivers,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated.

RELATED: American trucking at a crossroads: Deadly crash involving illegal alien exposes true cost of Biden’s border invasion

Image source: Immigration and Customs Enforcement

“New York is not only failing to check if applicants applying to drive 18-wheelers are U.S. citizens but even failing to obtain the full legal names of individuals they are issuing commercial driver’s licenses to,” McLaughlin continued. “DHS is working with our state and local partners to get illegal alien truck drivers who often don’t know basic traffic laws off our highways.”

— (@)

“To see that on a driver’s license issued by a state, ‘No name given,’ and the worst part, there’s a Real ID star right up there in the corner,” acting ICE Director Todd Lyons stated during an interview with Fox News.

“You have these sanctuary states that want to go ahead and try to just make it welcoming for these people that we don’t even know who they are,” Lyons continued.

New York State Department of Motor Vehicles told Blaze News last week that the license in Stitt’s social media post “was issued in accordance with all proper procedures, including verification of the individual’s identity through federally issued documentation.”

“The individual has lawful status in the United States through a federal employment authorization and was issued a license consistent with federal guidelines,” the DMV’s statement continued. “This document was not issued under the Green Light Law. It is not uncommon for individuals from other countries to have only one name. Procedures for that are clearly spelled out in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services policy manual, and it is important to note that federal documents also include a ‘no name given’ notation.”

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Debate over Donald Trump’s tariff doctrine has turned toxic for one simple reason: Critics keep mistaking the tool for the target. The tariffs aren’t the policy. They’re the lever.

The real goal is to dismantle anti-competitive market distortions, which have strangled global growth for decades. According to a recent paper from the Growth Commission, which I chair, roughly 80% of the world’s economic drag from trade barriers doesn’t come from tariffs at all. It comes from domestic distortions that tilt markets toward protected incumbents and away from new entrants.

Trump’s trade doctrine is not a rejection of free trade. It’s a correction.

If Trump’s doctrine succeeds in forcing other nations to roll back those distortions, U.S. tariffs will fall — and global growth will surge.

Hidden barriers

What counts as an ACMD? The test is simple and pro-market: Does a policy block voluntary exchange and weaken efficiency? If it does, it’s distortionary.

These distortions take many forms: subsidies that protect national champions, licensing rules that freeze out competition, or “harmonization” regulations that entrench advantage under the guise of fairness. We propose a clear diagnostic: measure the GDP loss per capita caused by these distortions. We found three pillars that predict income performance: international competition, domestic competition, and property rights.

The results are striking. A one-point gain in domestic competition correlates with an 11.2% rise in GDP per capita. Strengthening property rights adds about 7%, and boosting international competition adds roughly 4%.

The conclusion is obvious: the fastest path to prosperity isn’t another tariff round. It’s aggressive pro-competition reform.

Where globalization went wrong

The failure of the modern trading system didn’t come from liberalizing at the border — it came from stopping there.

Since the 1990s, global institutions have trimmed tariffs but tolerated an explosion of industrial policy, subsidies, and regulatory frameworks that quietly cripple competition.

Look at the U.S. trade representative’s annual National Trade Estimate report. The latest edition runs 397 pages cataloging barriers to global growth. Fully 80% aren’t tariffs. They are behind-the-border distortions — ACMDs — doing the real damage.

Trump’s trade doctrine is not a rejection of free trade. It’s a correction. It uses America’s market access as leverage: Reduce your distortions and our tariffs go down. Refuse and face penalties. The measure of success isn’t political theater — it’s income growth. How much GDP per capita can be restored by real reform? That’s the metric that aligns incentives at home and abroad.

RELATED: Trump nails China with massive tariffs after ‘extraordinarily aggressive’ action

Photo by Dilara Irem Sancar/Anadolu via Getty Images

Reform by incentive

Future deals should include an ACMD chapter requiring competitive neutrality, limits on subsidies, and mutual recognition between trading partners. This turns tariff negotiations into something productive: a race to open markets, not close them.

The doctrine also turns inward. The Trump administration has directed federal agencies to identify and eliminate domestic rules that block competition. That matters both for credibility and growth. If America expects others to reduce distortions, it must show the same resolve at home — in health care, licensing, and sectors riddled with protectionist rules.

What companies should do

Business leaders should treat this as a once-in-a-generation opening. First, expose distortions. Identify anti-competitive market distortions and report them to the U.S. trade representative.

Second, de-risk supply chains. Avoid jurisdictions that refuse to reform. Tariffs will make them unviable.

Third, coordinate with allies. Work with like-minded firms to propose reforms where tariff relief can follow.

The incentive is powerful: Reform your markets, gain access to ours.

The strategic payoff

Reducing market distortions isn’t just about economics. Ultimately, it’s about power. State-backed distortions — especially in economies built around state-owned enterprises — fuel geopolitical coercion. They channel wealth into non-market dominance. Linking market access to ACMD reduction forms a “coalition of the willing” that ties prosperity to liberty.

Critics call tariffs blunt instruments. They’re right. But they may be the only tools sharp enough to cut through the web of distortions that standard trade talks have ignored for 30 years. If America can use its market power to unlock true competition abroad while cleaning up its own regulatory excess at home, the result will be stronger wages, higher productivity, and renewed global leadership.

That’s the promise of the Trump doctrine — not a wall of tariffs, but a bridge to freer markets and faster growth.

​Opinion & analysis, Opinion, Trump tariffs, Tariffs, Tariff policy, Free trade, Trade, Competition, Markets 

President Donald Trump was enthusiastically welcomed to Israel after brokering a historic peace deal between Israel and Hamas, leading to the release of all the remaining living hostages in the region.

Trump arrived in Israel to find newspapers praising the peacemaker, roaring applause and standing ovations in the Knesset, and even some attendees wearing MAGA-style hats celebrating the “peace president.” The 20 remaining living hostages were returned to their families on Monday.

‘I got my life back thanks to you.’

For the first time in over two years, Hamas no longer holds any living hostages thanks to Trump’s historic peace deal.

“After two harrowing years in darkness and captivity, 20 courageous hostages are returning to the glorious embrace of their families, and it is glorious,” Trump said in his address to the Knesset. “Twenty-eight more precious loved ones are coming home at last to rest in this sacred soil for all of time. … The sun rises on a Holy Land that is finally at peace.”

RELATED: ‘Who the hell cares?’ Trump veers off script, urges Israeli president to pardon Netanyahu

Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Trump met with all the families of the hostages following their release, many of them recounting the horrors that took place on October 7, 2023. The hostages also expressed overwhelming gratitude for Trump’s peace deal, saying if it were not for him, they might not be alive.

One hostage told Trump about meeting, for the first time, his 14-month-old daughter, who was born while he was in captivity.

“I got my life back thanks to you and your staff,” the freed hostage told Trump. “I came back here, met my baby girl when she was already 14 months old, and now, life is full.”

“Your name will be remembered for generations,” another hostage family said.

RELATED: ‘BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!’ Trump brings an end to another bloody war ahead of Nobel Prize announcement

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Trump later greeted Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Sharm El Sheikh, where regional leaders will finalize the peace deal during the International Gaza Peace Summit.

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A powerful nor’easter storm crashed onto the shores of New Jersey over the weekend and continued raging Monday, but Governor Phil Murphy (D) was nowhere to be seen during the disaster preparation.

The term-limited Democrat governor was missing in action Saturday as the state prepared its emergency response, leaving the lieutenant governor to fill the role of acting governor.

‘Governor Murphy and first lady Tammy Murphy are out of state this weekend to attend a close family friend’s wedding in Europe.’

Democrat acting Governor Tahesha Way, whom Murphy appointed to be lieutenant governor in 2023, declared a state of emergency on Saturday night ahead of the storm. A press release asked residents to prepare for flash flooding, sustained winds of up to 60 mph, and heavy rain.

“Starting on Sunday, a dangerous coastal storm will begin to move past our state with extreme weather conditions for several counties, especially those on the Shore,” Way said in the press statement.

“I urge all New Jerseyans to exercise caution, monitor local weather forecasts and warnings, stay informed on evacuation protocols, and remain off the roads unless absolutely necessary.”

RELATED: New Jersey’s Democrat governor appears to admit harboring illegal immigrant in his garage — challenges feds to come ‘get her’

Lieutenant Governor Tahesha WayPhoto by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

The acting governor issued a state of emergency for all 21 counties in New Jersey “out of an abundance of caution.”

The New York Post reported that Murphy and his wife, Tammy, would be in Europe for nearly a week starting on October 9.

“Governor Murphy and first lady Tammy Murphy are out of state this weekend to attend a close family friend’s wedding in Europe. The governor has been in close communication with his team and emergency response officials regarding the nor’easter storm impacting the East Coast,” Murphy spokesman Tyler Jones told the Post early Sunday evening.

Jones reportedly did not elaborate on whether Murphy and his wife planned to cut the trip short in light of the storm. He is expected to return Tuesday, October 14.

The governor’s exact whereabouts in Europe are unknown.

Neither Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli nor his Democratic opponent, Mikie Sherrill, have apparently spoken on X about the governor’s whereabouts, though both accounts were actively posting over the weekend.

Blaze News contacted Murphy’s office and the Sherrill and Ciattarelli campaigns for comment

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​Politics, Phil murphy, New jersey, Jack ciattarelli, Mikie sherrill, Europe, Governor, New jersey governor, Tahesha way, Disaster response 

As the world seems to grow darker by the day, many Christians find themselves wondering if we’re living in the end times. They look to the book of Revelation, where chronicled prophecies — many of which center around Israel and the Middle East — give us a window, albeit a blurry one, into the final days before Christ returns.

One theory that has emerged is that the current turmoil in the Middle East, including the events of October 7, aren’t merely political but actually mirror ancient biblical battles such as those between the Israelites and the Philistines.

Conservative author, filmmaker, and political commentator Dinesh D’Souza delves into this idea in his new documentary, “The Dragon’s Prophecy.” Weaving together on-site reporting, interviews (including with figures like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu), and archaeological discoveries, the film suggests that the same evil forces that fought against God’s people in the Bible are still at work today — just in new forms.

On a recent episode of “The Glenn Beck Program,” Dinesh joined Glenn to explain in his own words what the dragon’s prophecy is and why we would be wise to pay close attention to it.

“In the book of Revelation, 12, there is a depiction of a dragon, representing the devil, going to war against a woman, representing Israel, and the woman is pregnant, representing the Messiah,” D’Souza explains.

Satan, knowing he cannot win the ultimate battle, opts to kick God where it hurts most by targeting His most “cherished creation”: mankind. We see this in Genesis when the serpent leads Adam and Eve into sin, ushering all forms of darkness into the cosmos and necessitating the sacrifice of Jesus.

“I think for the same reason, the devil targets the Jews and the Christians — the Jews because they are the original chosen people,” says D’Souza. “And so the devil’s agenda is really simple: Drive them out of their ancestral homeland from the river to the sea and also put a big Islamic victory arch right on top of their holiest site, which was the site of the Solomonic temple.”

This vitriol for the Jews is also channeled toward Christians, whom scripture describes as “spiritual Israelites,” he explains. “And so the devil is like, ‘I hate them too. I will persecute and harass and destroy the Christians no less than the Jews.”’ We see this happening today in the growing hostility toward Christians and Christian beliefs in the West.

Although President Donald Trump has miraculously facilitated a peace deal between Israel and Hamas, much conflict remains unresolved. And even if all the details of the negotiation are ironed out, it still doesn’t change the spiritual reality that undergirds this age-old conflict.

“Hamas in Arabic means something like force or strength, but in Hebrew, interestingly, the word means violence and destruction,” says D’Souza, noting that in the Hebrew Bible, the word “ḥāmās” is used repeatedly to describe wrongdoing, injustice, and brutality.

“The Bible in Hebrew, it literally says things like, ‘Lord, save me from the men of ḥāmās’ or ‘ḥāmās dwells in the dark places of the earth,”’ he tells Glenn.

But there’s another uncanny connection: The colors of the Palestinian flag mirror those of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in Revelation 6, where white represents conquest, red represents war and bloodshed, black represents famine or economic collapse, and green represents death.

D’Souza notes, “There are so many of these connections. … You have to step back and reconsider if you are even understanding what’s happening in front of you in the widest and sort of deepest possible light.”

Glenn, who has watched “The Dragon’s Prophecy,” says, “It is worth pondering because it shows you where we might be right now.”

To hear more of the conversation, watch the clip above.

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Four people are dead and at least 20 people are injured after a shooting at a bar on the South Carolina coast early Sunday morning, officials told the Associated Press.

A large crowd was at Willie’s Bar and Grill on St. Helena Island when arriving sheriff’s deputies found many people with gunshot wounds, the AP said. St. Helena Island is just north of Hilton Head Island.

‘Our prayers are with the victims, their families, and everyone impacted by this horrific act of violence.’

Bar owner Willie Turral was inside the restaurant — which was full of patrons there for a high school alumni gathering — when he heard shots “in bursts” outside, the AP said, adding that Turral said the reaction was “screaming and panic and fear.”

The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that it received reports about the shooting shortly before 1 a.m.

“Upon arriving at the scene, deputies made contact with a large crowd of people, several of which were suffering from gunshot wounds,” the statement reads. “It was learned that hundreds of people were at the location when the shooting occurred. Multiple victims and witnesses ran to the nearby businesses and properties seeking shelter from the [gunshots].”

More from the sheriff’s office:

The circumstances of this incident are still under investigation. At this time, we know that at least 20 people were injured. Four were transported to area hospitals in critical conditions and four victims were pronounced deceased at the scene. Names of victims will not be released at this time. The Beaufort County Coroner’s Office may release additional information regarding the deceased victims pending notification of their next of kin.

The sheriff’s office added that it is “investigating persons of interest.”

RELATED: VIDEO: 3 dead, multiple victims injured in North Carolina mass shooting; suspect reportedly flees by boat

Turral said his bar was hosting an alumni event for Battery Creek High School in Beaufort, which is about 10 miles northwest of St. Helena Island, the AP reported.

Republican U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (S.C.) posted on X that she was “COMPLETELY HEARTBROKEN to learn about the devastating shooting in Beaufort County. Our prayers are with the victims, their families, and everyone impacted by this horrific act of violence.”

The AP said about 5,000 or more Gullah people living on St. Helena Island trace their ancestry to enslaved West Africans who worked rice plantations in the area before being freed at the time of the Civil War.

Willie’s Bar and Grill advertises itself as serving authentic Gullah-inspired food and describes itself on its website as “not just a restaurant but a community pillar committed to giving back, especially to our youth,” the AP added.

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When self-proclaimed “backwoods Navy Seal wizard hermit” Chadd Wright walked into Joe Rogan’s studio, he didn’t have a script or a plan — just a prayer. And their Spirit-led gospel conversation ended up reaching millions.

“I’m very passionate about the faith that I’ve been given,” Wright tells BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey, explaining that he also owns a company called the 3 of 7 Project that’s committed to helping others grow physically, mentally, and spiritually.

“I listened to you on Joe Rogan’s podcast, and I said, ‘I like this guy,’” Stuckey tells Wright. “Because you were so persistent in sharing the gospel and so clear. I was just so drawn in to the whole conversation.”

“What was it like sharing the gospel on such a huge stage?” she asks.

“I was definitely scared as a cat going in there,” Wright answers.

“I’ve done a lot of crazy stuff in my life, both through being a SEAL and then through ultra-endurance sports. But that’s just like a different type of challenge that, you know, is hard for me. … And so, I was scared going in there, but Joe was very welcoming,” he explains.

“He’s the one that led into that conversation around faith and why I believe the way I believe. I didn’t have to force that. He led us into that,” Wright tells Stuckey.

“I’m not an intellectual type, and the Holy Spirit took over and allowed me to say the things that I said. Truly … I didn’t have any of that pre-prepared,” he adds.

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President Donald Trump once again has gone off script, this time during his historic address to Israel’s Knesset on Monday.

Trump traveled to Israel Sunday to deliver remarks and celebrate the landmark peace deal the administration brokered between Israel and Hamas. During the speech, Trump admitted he went off script when he urged Israeli President Isaac Herzog to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust.

‘Who the hell cares?’

“Hey, I have an idea,” Trump said. “Mr. President, why don’t you give [Netanyahu] a pardon?”

Trump promptly received another standing ovation from the Knesset. Notably, the majority of the Knesset share a political affiliation with Netanyahu, who is part of the right-wing Likud party.

RELATED: ‘BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!’ Trump brings an end to another bloody war ahead of Nobel Prize announcement

Photo by Evelyn Hockstein – Pool/Getty Images

“That was not in the speech, as you probably know,” Trump added. “But I happen to like this gentleman right over here, and it just seems to make so much sense. Whether we like it or not, this has been one of the greatest wartime presidents. Cigars and champagne, who the hell cares?”

Trump has previously expressed support for pardoning Netanyahu, who he says is the victim of a legal “witch hunt.”

“Such a WITCH HUNT, for a man who has given so much, is unthinkable to me,” Trump said in a Truth Social post in June. “He deserves much better than this, and so does the State of Israel. Bibi Netanyahu’s trial should be CANCELLED, IMMEDIATELY, or a Pardon given to a Great Hero, who has done so much for the State.”

RELATED: Democrats feign outrage as Trump administration shutdown layoffs hit: ‘They seem to be enjoying it’

Photo by Saul Loeb – Pool/Getty Images

“Perhaps there is no one that I know who could have worked in better harmony with the President of the United States, ME, than Bibi Netanyahu,” Trump added. “It was the United States of America that saved Israel, and now it is going to be the United States of America that saves Bibi Netanyahu. THIS TRAVESTY OF ‘JUSTICE’ CAN NOT BE ALLOWED!”

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​Donald trump trump administration, Peace president, Peace deal, Ceasefire, Israel, Hamas, Palestine, October 7, Benjamin netanyahu, Knesset, Isaac herzog, Pardon, Witch hunt, Likud party, Politics 

President Donald Trump successfully brokered a peace last week in the Gaza Strip, bringing an end to the bloody, two-year war between Israel and Hamas terrorists that claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people and prompted political unrest across the world.

The European members of the Nobel Peace Prize committee opted on Friday not to recognize this triumph of life-saving diplomacy or the peaceful resolutions that the American president previously secured between other warring nations, including Azerbaijan and Armenia and India and Pakistan.

While the Nobel Prize Organization is loath to recognize the good work that Trump is doing, others much closer to home appear to be paying attention.

‘Trump is still more popular now than he was eight years ago.’

According to the RealClearPolitics poll average, President Trump is presently outperforming former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama in terms of second-term job approval.

As of Oct. 13, President Trump’s job approval rating was 45.3%.

At the same point in their respective second terms, Obama — then arming Islamic terrorists in Syria and facing heat for his Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservative groups — had a rating of 44.4%, and George W. Bush — then dealing with the political fallout of Hurricane Katrina and a seemingly interminable war in Iraq — had a rating of 39.5%.

RELATED: Oops! The man they call a ‘threat to democracy’ just made peace again

Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

Pollster Nate Silver’s approval tracker alternatively shows Trump with an average approval rating of 43.9% and a disapproval rating of 52.3% as of Oct. 13.

According to the Silver Bulletin, the historical daily approval polling average for Obama on Oct. 13, 2013, was 44.41%, and the approval average for George W. Bush on Oct. 13, 2005, was 40.12%.

Silver indicated that Trump, whose rating has apparently not taken a hit from the Democrats’ government shutdown or his administration’s recent layoffs of federal workers, is outperforming himself, noting, “Trump is still more popular now than he was eight years ago.”

An Oct. 9 Quantus Insights poll had Trump’s job approval rating even higher than indicated by the RealClearPolitics poll average or Silver’s average — at 47% approving with 51% disapproving. While a slim majority, 53%, signaled disapproval for his handling of the economy, 68% of voters said they supported his Gaza peace plan.

Blaze News has reached out to the White House for comment.

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President Trump told members of a White House roundtable on Wednesday that he would designate Antifa a foreign terrorist organization.

The roundtable discussion, which included reporters who have covered Antifa street violence in Portland and Seattle for years, led to the president saying, “Let’s get it done.”

‘We’ve been treating Antifa like a local crime issue.’

While Trump designated the group a domestic terrorist organization in late September, no such formal designation officially exists in U.S. law. The president did direct all “relevant executive departments” to use their authorities to disrupt and investigate Antifa operations, but escalating the group to an FTO comes with a wider array of enforcement options.

First, providing any material support or resources to an FTO is a federal crime with a prison sentence of at least 20 years. Any bank, person, or organization that provides funding to an FTO is subject to a federal investigation, and any financial institution that becomes aware that it “has possession of, or control[s]” FTO funds and fails to intervene would face a $50,000 fine per violation.

The designation also opens up any noncitizen to possible deportation, if ties to Antifa are found. Aliens can also be determined to be inadmissible to the United States if they are found to be in connection with or in support of any FTO.

RELATED: Concrete action the feds, states, and citizenry can take right now to stop the madness

A man is arrested after a shootout with anti-fascist activists on August 22, 2021, in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Mathieu Lewis-Rolland / AFP) (Photo by MATHIEU LEWIS-ROLLAND/AFP via Getty Images)

Executive Order 13224, signed by President George W. Bush in September 2001, blocked the ability of those connected to FTOs to make transactions related to property.

The FTO designation also unleashes the Treasury Department, giving the Office of Foreign Assets Control the ability to freeze assets and block use of assets of any organization found to be working with terrorists.

“All property and interests in property of designated individuals or entities that are in the United States or that come within the United States, or that come within the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked,” the executive order states.

Additionally, labeling Antifa an FTO allows for surveillance of any “foreign powers” and their “agents” at a lower threshold than the average U.S. citizen.

This is where the possible downside of designating Antifa as an FTO comes into play. Spying on foreign governments, foreign factions, or a “foreign-based political organization, not substantially composed of United States persons” could lead to all sorts of diplomatic issues, as well as civil rights problems.

RELATED: Leftists try to shut down Turning Point USA at Rutgers for criticizing Antifa professor

Journalist Nick Sortor (2nd R) holds an American flag as he speaks during a roundtable about Antifa in the White House on October 8, 2025. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

The risk of political weaponization in the future is also of grave concern, considering how federal entities have already been seemingly used against Trump.

First Amendment issues could also arise, and the designation raises questions as to whether expressing support for Antifa’s stated beliefs, past or present, online would prompt a federal investigation.

Blaze News national correspondent Julio Rosas, who attended the Antifa roundtable, says the FTO designation would be a great move to dismantle the support Antifa has overseas.

“This movement is not just a problem in our country. Antifa is very active in the U.K., France, and Germany, to name a few places,” Rosas told Blaze News. “Due to its decentralized nature, Antifa relies on support groups that work towards their same goals.”

Blaze News senior politics editor Christopher Bedford stated that freedom of speech and civil liberties must be protected but added, “We’ve been treating Antifa like a local crime issue when they are, in fact, enacting political terror.”

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Former ESPN anchor Sage Steele was among those in 2021 forced to take the COVID-19 vaccine in order to keep her job — but after complying and getting the shots, her employer let her go anyway.

Steele was taken off the air following a podcast appearance on “Uncut with Jay Cutler,” where she called vaccine mandates “sick” and “scary.”

“You’ve had this long career, this illustrious career, and it came to a point when truth was on the line, and you took a risk,” BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey says to Steele.

“I had been suspended, punished at ESPN in 2021. As we tape this, exactly four years ago I was suspended and in bed, sobbing and scared to death of what was next,” Steele explains.

“I was suspended for speaking up about being forced to take the COVID vaccine in order to keep my job at Disney. … I had to be fully vaccinated by September 30, 2021, or else, and I waited until the very last second, and I had prayed about it,” she continues.

While Steele was against taking the shots, the pressure she felt as a mother with bills to pay was too much, and she decided to comply.

“I was ready to walk away, but as the sole wage earner with three kids and an ex and alimony and all those things, I felt like I had to make the choice to do it to keep my job. I still struggle with that. I feel like I caved,” she explains.

“So, I did it, and I complied, and then I talked on a podcast about it,” Steele tells Stuckey, noting that she went on the podcast immediately after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, so she was extra angry.

“I said, ‘I think it’s sick and wrong for any employer to force an employee to do something to their bodies that they don’t want to.’ Pretty simple. I said, ‘But I love my job, and I need my job.’ And here we are,” she tells Stuckey.

“And that was the beginning of the end,” she adds.

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Americans are accustomed to innovation improving their lives. From smartphones to artificial intelligence, breakthroughs keep coming — and most of them happen in the United States, where freedom fuels invention. But across the Atlantic, the story is very different. Europe’s regulators have built a bureaucracy that smothers creativity.

The lesson is simple: Innovation thrives where government steps back, not where it rules from Brussels.

Europe doesn’t need more commissions or consultations. It needs courage to scrap bad laws and let innovation breathe again.

A recent analysis from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation drives home the point. All seven of the world’s trillion-dollar tech firms are American. Europe can claim only 28 companies worth more than $100 billion. Over the past decade, European firms raised about $426 billion — $800 billion less than their U.S. counterparts.

Rather than learn from failure, Brussels tightened its grip — proving again that when regulators fail, they regulate harder. Their Digital Markets Act and Copyright Directive saddle companies with costly mandates that make life harder for both innovators and consumers.

EU regulators insist that their rules ensure fairness, transparency, and competition. In reality, they’re strangling convenience and driving users crazy.

Take Google Maps. Because of DMA rules, Europeans can no longer click directly into expanded map views. As one user complained on Reddit, it’s become “a severe pain in the butt.” The new restrictions also hobble tourism. Google Search can’t link directly to airlines or hotels, forcing travelers through clunky intermediaries that waste time and money.

The Copyright Directive makes things worse. It tells search engines to display only “very short” snippets of news articles — without defining what that means. Bureaucrats promise to judge “the impact on the effectiveness of the new right,” which means nothing. By contrast, American courts have long recognized that snippets are fair use and help people find what they need. U.S. policy treats information as a public good; the EU treats it as a privilege controlled by the state.

The damage goes beyond search results. The EU now forces Apple and other “gatekeepers” to make their devices interoperable with third-party software — a costly demand that undermines engineering efficiency. Features like iPhone-to-Mac mirroring and real-time translation could disappear from European markets because of it.

As Cato Institute’s Jennifer Huddleston noted, “The real-time translation feature would be immensely helpful in Europe with so many languages; however, the consequence of European regulation is that it might not be available.”

RELATED: Can anyone save America from European-style digital ID?

Photo by Lab Ky Mo/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

And when companies don’t comply fast enough, Brussels slaps them with massive fines. Apple got hit with 500 million euros (around $580 million), Meta with 200 million euros (around $232 million) — punished not for misconduct but for trying to innovate.

The EU now says it will review whether the DMA “achieves its objectives of ensuring contestable and fair digital markets.” That’s bureaucratic code for “we might make it worse.” Meanwhile, the Copyright Directive’s vague language grows even more dangerous in the age of AI, where machine learning depends on large-scale data use that Brussels can’t seem to comprehend.

Europe doesn’t need more commissions or consultations. It needs courage to scrap bad laws and let innovation breathe again. If Brussels wants to compete with America, it should stop punishing success and start trusting its own entrepreneurs. A lighter-touch approach has worked for the United States — and it could save Europe from technological irrelevance.

​Opinion & analysis, Opinion, Eu, European union, Red tape, Bureaucracy, Bureaucrats, Bureaucratic red tape, Eu bureaucrats, Surveillance, Big tech, Brussels, Apple, Facebook, Meta, Google maps, Regulation, Fines 

Communist China’s secret SIM farms in the United States are tied to a series of hoax SWAT raids that targeted numerous conservative political figures, according to an eye-opening report from Blaze News investigative journalists Steve Baker and Joseph M. Hanneman.

These dangerous hoax raids have impacted high-ranking individuals, including a senior U.S. Secret Service official, members of Congress, such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), and conservative political commentators, like Tim Pool.

‘The intent behind these attacks is clear: to kill, injure, and silence key voices.’

Author and freelance columnist Larry Alex Taunton was among the many individuals targeted in these hoax SWAT raids. In March, Taunton captured surveillance footage of three officers, rifles drawn, attempting to enter his home while he was in bed.

“Nineteen men in body armor arrived at my home under the cover of darkness and pointed automatic weapons into my house. But for my very alert German shepherd, my wife and I might have been killed and perhaps a police officer or two. (I was armed),” Taunton told Blaze News, adding that people who saw the surveillance footage were “horrified.”

Taunton expressed skepticism that the raid was connected to China, though he noted that the FBI had informed him the agency suspected “it was directed by foreign agents.”

“On the other hand, they seemed to think my ‘swatting’ was related to my efforts to expose the corruption of [the United States Agency for International Development]. That made sense given what happened in the weeks leading up to my swatting,” he stated.

— (@)

Taunton explained that he had recently spoken on Steve Bannon’s “WarRoom” about how the USAID “was running a massive human trafficking op running from South America, through the Darién Gap, straight up to the U.S. border.”

A few weeks later, while in Cairo, Taunton claims he “had a dramatic standoff” with police in Egypt outside of a USAID facility.

“But China?” Taunton questioned. “I know it is said the Chinese play the long game, but I don’t see the connection to my swatting unless they were somehow recipients of USAID monies.”

RELATED: Exclusive: China behind massive nationwide SIM farm network that directly threatens American critical infrastructure

Photo by David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

When asked whether he believes the hoax SWAT raids are an act of war, Taunton replied, “If done by a foreign power, yes. At the very least, it is attempted murder by proxy.”

He called it “both true and troublesome” that a source told Blaze News that the only reason the SIM farm in New York City was taken down was because a senior Secret Service official had been the target of a bogus SWAT raid.

“Otherwise, this investigation would have never been initiated,” the source stated.

According to that quote, Taunton said, “The feds were going to do nothing in my case nor that of others.”

“That’s a problem,” he remarked.

Sean George, also known on X as Beard Vet, told Blaze News that the hoax SWAT raid on his residence on March 16 “stole our peace” and has forced “constant vigilance for 7-8 months now.”

“China’s SIM farms reveal a coordinated attack, not random. It’s a national security crisis demanding urgent action from the government,” he said. “If it’s confirmed that China’s SIM farms fueled the swattings, then it was 100% an act of asymmetric warfare.”

“We need justice and President Trump must prioritize dismantling these networks, possible sanctions and revoke all visas from Chinese nationals,” George added.

RELATED: China rules the resources we need to build the future. Now what?

Photo by Bob Chamberlin/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Dustin Grage, a columnist for Townhall, and his family were also victims of a bogus swatting attempt in March. Grage told Blaze News that the attacks should be “a top national security priority,” noting that “it’s not surprising that China might be behind these attacks.”

“They have the most to lose under a Trump presidency,” Grage stated. “Considering I was one of the leading voices exposing Tim Walz’s ties to the CCP, it makes sense I’d be targeted. Like others who’ve been attacked, our work was instrumental in helping elect President Trump.”

Those targeted by these hoax swatting attempts generally agree that they constitute domestic terrorism, Grage added.

“If it’s discovered that a foreign entity is behind them, I don’t see how anyone could argue it’s not an act of war,” he continued. “When a foreign power targets and endangers American lives on our own soil, that’s exactly what it is.”

“While I’m not an expert on how this SIM card network went undetected for so long, I do know that it must be stopped,” he said. “With the assassination of Charlie Kirk, we’ve reached a point where all threats to political voices must be treated as serious acts of violence. The intent behind these attacks is clear: to kill, injure, and silence key voices.”

Grage called on the Trump administration to “send a clear message that this will not be tolerated.”

A White House official told Blaze News, “The administration is closely monitoring this issue and has assured that appropriate resources are focused on addressing the matter. This is an ongoing investigation, and we have nothing additional to share at this time.”

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​News, Swat, Swatting, Swatting attacks, China, Sim farms, Sim farm bust, Larry alex taunton, Sean george, Dustin grage, Sim farm, Politics 

A pair of males who had been on parole and probation are behind bars after allegedly committing the same crimes that got them in trouble with law enforcement previously.

First up is 21-year-old Anthony Cheeks, who was charged with robbing passengers on a Chicago train line — after he had completed parole for robbing a passenger on that same train line, CWB Chicago reported.

‘You know, I shoot m***********s!’

The outlet said Cheeks was accused of robbing a 38-year-old man’s backpack on a Red Line train Sept. 5.

Then, just six days later, Cheeks and accomplices approached a 47-year-old man aboard a Red Line train at the 47th Street station, CWB Chicago noted, citing prosecutors.

Cheeks allegedly demanded the victim’s bottle of Tito’s vodka, and when the victim refused, Cheeks allegedly put his hand in his pants to suggest he had a gun, the outlet said.

“You know, I shoot m***********s!” he allegedly warned before taking the vodka bottle and punching the victim in the face, chest, and head, CWB Chicago reported.

Transit video cameras recorded both incidents, and both victims identified Cheeks in a photo lineup, the outlet said.

As it happens, court records show Cheeks got a four-year prison sentence in 2024 for mugging a 66-year-old man the year prior — again, aboard a Red Line train — and Cheeks recently completed parole in that case, CWB Chicago said.

But Judge Antara Rivera ordered Cheeks detained on robbery and aggravated battery charges for last month’s incidents, the outlet noted. Cook County Jail records indicate Cheeks was booked on Sept. 16, and he remained behind bars Friday on no bond; his next court date is listed in jail records as Tuesday.

RELATED: Panhandler pushes 82-year-old woman face-first to ground, breaking her knee, after she wouldn’t give him money, officials say

Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune

Next up is 22-year-old Kyir Walker, who’s accused of taking a phone at gunpoint and then transferring nearly $1,200 to himself — while on probation for stealing phones and transferring money to himself, CWB Chicago reported in a separate story.

Prosecutors said Walker and an accomplice took victims’ phones and banking apps to drain their accounts outside the Nike Store in the 600 block of North Michigan Avenue in 2024, the outlet said.

In one case, a 20-year-old lost $500 through his Chase app, CWB Chicago reported, adding that in another case, a 37-year-old lost $2,000 through Bank of America after Walker allegedly grabbed the victim’s phone under the pretense of a donation request. That victim later received taunting text messages from the offenders, prosecutors said, according to the outlet.

Both victims identified Walker in photo lineups, CWB Chicago said, and officers took Walker into custody last year after recognizing him while working a Cubs game.

Judge Shelley Sutker-Dermer last November sentenced Walker to a two-year “second chance probation” after he pleaded guilty to two counts of theft from person, the outlet said, adding that Walker was required to complete 40 hours of community service and earn his GED; if successful, his convictions would be wiped from his record.

But prosecutors said Walker around 4 a.m. May 11 of this year approached a 23-year-old man from Crown Point, Indiana, in the 600 block of North Clark and allegedly displayed a gun, ordered the victim to unlock his phone, and used it to Zelle $1,190 to an account identified as “BBOYS,” CWB Chicago said.

Once again, the victim later picked Walker out of a photo lineup, the outlet said, citing police reports. Officers took Walker into custody near Wrigley Field on the evening of Oct. 2 when they recognized that he was wanted in connection with the May armed robbery, CWB Chicago added. Judge John Hock ordered Walker detained on Oct. 3.

Walker remained Friday in Cook County on no bond; his next court date is Oct. 17, jail records indicate.

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Allie Beth Stuckey, BlazeTV host of “Relatable,” recently debated 20 liberal Christians on the newest installment of Jubilee’s popular “Surrounded” series.

The format is simple: Stuckey sits at a small table in the middle of 20 self-identified “progressive Christians” and makes four claims. Then, one by one, her debate opponents rush to a chair opposite Stuckey and debate her until a majority of the debate participants vote that person out. The process repeats for each of Stuckey’s claims.

Here are the topics that Stuckey debated:

The Bible says that marriage is only between one man and one woman.Abortion is a grave moral evil.Empathy can be toxic and lead to sin.Progressivism and Christianity are at odds.

Before the debate, Stuckey revealed that Charlie Kirk — the greatest debater of our time — offered her sage advice on how to win this Jubilee debate.

“I wanted to cancel this debate, because it was right after Charlie died and the day before his memorial. But then I remembered that this was the last real conversation CK and I had. He was such a good friend,” Stuckey wrote on X. “I took your advice, Charlie. Thanks for everything.”

In text messages, Kirk advised Stuckey that “it’s very important every time they make a claim” to question “is that biblical?” and “by what standard [do] you believe that?”

“You have them up against a wall — they will TRY and get you on a major difference of something prescriptive vs. descriptive — MOST of the ugly stuff of the Old Testament is DESCRIBING not PRESCRIBING to us. Very important difference,” Kirk wrote in one text message.

Kirk, who participated in a Jubilee debate himself, also advised Stuckey of the “best two questions to ALWAYS ask.”

“What do you mean by that exactly?”What biblical evidence do you have to support that?”

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While Microsoft just scrapped plans for a massive data center in Caledonia, Wisconsin, due to local pushback regarding environmental concerns, a multitude of other data center construction projects riding the general push to terraform the modern human environment in the U.S., and abroad, are proceeding apace.

“Based on the community feedback we heard,” Microsoft said in a statement reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “we have chosen not to move forward with this site.” The community feedback, however accurate, was filtered through several layers of local and regional government zoning bodies including Caledonia Plan Commission, which is advising Microsoft go ahead with a separate data center nearby. The second site occupies 244 acres and would see the compound situated near a local power plant.

The push toward more and more power is one of several critical environment components in the seemingly endless project to expand data centers everywhere. Increasingly, we’re seeing tech giants like Microsoft and Google locate projects near existing power plants or just opting to build their own on site. The strain on the grid is reflected in surging electrical rates around the U.S.

People can still have some sway … if they can get informed and insert themselves into local discussions.

If we take Oregon as an example, we see some interesting and contradictory trends. On the one hand, Oregon has long prided itself at the citizen and local-government level on “doing the work” to ensure some reasonable environmental protection. It hasn’t been a total success; citizens and small businesses have bent over backwards since the 1970s to make accommodations. Isn’t it curious, then, with respect to the question of who pulls the strings in the state, to observe that electrical rates for most citizens have gone up 50% in the last few years? That price hike will continue. Estimates vary, but it appears that Oregon is devoting approximately 11% of its power generation to big tech data centers.

RELATED: Taliban accused of shutting off internet to ‘prevent immorality’: ‘An alternative will be built’

Photo by Mohsen Karimi/Getty Images

We’ve written about terrifying water consumption surrounding data centers. The numbers are difficult to pin down, but even moderate estimates show the centers running through enormous amounts of fresh water. What goes a bit undiscussed are the chemical residues inherent to data center operations, and here again, the push to more tech and more cash leaves little chance for scientists to get a handle on the various impacts — human, animal, and long-term environmental, including life cycle.

The search, such as it is, for a balance between industrial processes and environmental regulations has never quite worked. We probably shouldn’t hold much hope regarding the particularly disturbing chemical output of so-called PFAS that’s native to data center operations. These are the so-called forever chemicals: “Pfas are a class of about 16,000 chemicals most frequently used to make products water-, stain-, and grease-resistant,” the Guardian recently noted. “The compounds have been linked to cancer, birth defects, decreased immunity, high cholesterol, kidney disease, and a range of other serious health problems.”

PFAS are present in data centers. No one agrees just how much. We know the water and gaseous outputs of the operations will go somewhere, for good or for ill. And politicians know that, just as with previous industrial-environmental disasters, they’ll likely be moved on through the revolving gov-corp-media door by the time the real bill comes due.

Invisible PFAS didn’t quite make the cut in “Eddington,” Ari Aster’s stinging satire of the local politics of big data centers, but they’re the icing on a disturbing cake served up to towns all over America: Colossal flows of fiat cash swamp the interests and voices of citizens so divided in ideology that they can’t mount a coordinated pushback. If you throw enough money at local officials, they’re going to give in. The AI boom has seen capitalization like never before, so there’s plenty to paper over pesky environmental regs. As shown in Caledonia, however, people can still have some sway … if they can get informed and insert themselves into local zoning, impact, building, and resource discussions.

​Tech 

History is not indoctrination — or is it?

How many people know that the scriptures were cited by our founders more than Locke, Montesquieu, and Blackstone combined? Students learn that James Madison is the father of the Constitution, but do they know that he would likely have failed unless he had promised a bill of rights to Pastor John Leland?

My frustration with the lack of education boiled over with the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

Does today’s generation realized that the pilgrims were literally a church plant and that the Mayflower Compact was modeled after a church covenant?

It’s more likely they believe that America was formed under secular influences with just a tiny tip of the hat to a generic god for good measure.

The doctrine of the separation of church and state, they assume, is to purge religion from the civic arena at the behest of Jefferson and the Constitution. Most are shocked to learn that this doctrine originated with a politically engaged pastor, Roger Williams. He had been banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for his religious beliefs and threatened with deportation back to England, where he would certainly be imprisoned. Instead, he fled north with the assistance of the Native Americans, where he founded Providence. Williams derived this concept from Isaiah 5, likening the vineyard to the church, the wild grapes to the world, and the hedge to the wall of separation.

As a pastor in the Ohio legislature, hardly a day goes by that the uninformed do not criticize my engagement in the political sphere without any awareness that the top signature on the Bill of Rights was a pastor who also happened to be the first speaker of the House.

My frustration with the lack of education boiled over with the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

I met Charlie at the National Association of Christian Lawmakers conference last December. He was grateful for the work that I had done in Ohio on the SAFE Act and Save Women’s Sports and emphasized the power of pastors being engaged. He understood our American heritage and preached the power of God’s people being engaged.

My colleagues observed that he was a unique blend of Rush Limbaugh and Billy Graham. But in a nation increasingly unaware of its own heritage, his bold proclamations elicited hate, anger, and violence from the uninformed.

This is the fruit of deconstruction and post-structuralism in America. When one generation stops teaching our history and the next generation starts rewriting it, we shouldn’t be left wondering why our youth are disconnected and disaffected.

The Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act is my response to ensure that each generation can enjoy the benefits of learning the source of liberty as told by our founding fathers.

America’s educators who understand these truths know that hate groups like the Freedom from Religion Foundation lurk in the shadows ready to prey on them with lawsuits designed to silence and intimidate them. One superintendent informed me that it was, in fact, a violation of the First Amendment to teach the impact of religion on America. It’s not, of course, but I couldn’t convince him of the truth.

RELATED: Bring God back to schools — before it’s too late

imagedepotpro/iStock/Getty Images Plus

During our first committee hearing on the Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act, opponents asked why we only mention Christianity in the bill. The answer is simple: All faiths are equally free — but not all faiths contributed equally to ensure that freedom.

One Democrat retorted that our founding fathers used generic monikers for deity so that all could interpret God to be who they imagined Him to be. He was insulted that I wrote, “If we were to remove Christianity from American history, we would have no American history.”

Rather than taking my word for it, I suggested that he consult the founding fathers.

John Adams wrote to Thomas Jefferson on June 28, 1813, “The general Principles, on which the Fathers Achieved Independence, were the only Principles in which, that beautiful Assembly of young Gentlemen could Unite, and these Principles only could be intended by them in their Address, or by me in my Answer. And what were these general Principles? I answer, the general Principles of Christianity, in which all those Sects were United.”

The Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act simply affirms that teaching the positive impact of Christianity on American history is consistent with the First Amendment and is not a violation of the doctrine of the separation of church and state.

Teachers should be free to teach the truth. My hope is that Charlie is smiling down on this legislation and realizes that the impact he made will outlive him for generations to come.

​Charlie kirk, Ohio, God in schools, Christian education, American history, Founding fathers, Charlie kirk american heritage act, Faith 

The fragrance of revival has been drifting like incense across the nation ever since the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, . This feeling took physical form yesterday when 6,500 women from all over the country gathered in Allen, Texas, for Allie Beth Stuckey’s Share the Arrows conference.

After a day filled with worship led by Francesca Battistelli and lots of encouraging talks from some of the most prominent voices in conservative evangelicalism, including Alisa Childers, Jinger Vuolo, and Katy Faust, Allie took the stage to close out the event with a speech on something we desperately need if we want to keep this revival burning: bravery.

“Whether we die surrounded by our children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren or whether we die young as a martyr, like Charlie, may it be said of us: she was brave for the Gospel until her final breath,” Allie declared.

While bravery is certainly a difficult road, we have “seven reasons” to be brave, she said.

1. Jesus was brave.

Although Jesus was fully God, he was also fully man, which means he needed bravery, Allie explained. He faced persecution, loss, grief, and pain, but because of his unparalleled love for humanity, He faced a criminal’s brutal death with courage.

Allie emphasized, “Jesus modeled godly bravery for us when he went willingly to the cross, even though he dreaded the pain that he would have to endure.”

In Matthew 16:33, Jesus encourages believers to face their own inevitable tribulation with bravery: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

How do we take heart in today’s modern world? We do what Christ followers have always done in the face of trial: “We do what God calls us to do, even when it’s painful, even when it’s unpopular, even when it’s scary, even when it requires sacrifice, even when we lose friends and we lose family and we lose jobs,” Allie affirmed.

2. The Holy Spirit empowers us to be brave

For Christians who fear they don’t have the courage to be brave, Allie reminded them that bravery comes not from our own strength but from the power of the Holy Spirit.

She noted, “When Jesus leaves this Earth, when he ascends to be at the right hand of the Father, he says, ‘I’m not leaving you alone. I’m leaving you with a Helper.’”

We were given the Holy Spirit because God, who created us, knows our limitations. “God made you not enough. He made you fallible. He made you finite so that you depend on Him,” Allie stated. This dependence isn’t just for salvation; it’s for the trials we face every day. But through the power of the Spirit, we can face our giants with courage.

3. God commands us to be brave.

God’s call for our bravery echoes in Scripture’s most repeated command: “Do not fear.”

In Isaiah 41:10, God tells us why we can be brave: “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

In Matthew 10:28, He reminds us that while our bodies can be killed, our souls are His: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.”

Whether facing literal death or the loss of human approval, Christians stride in bravery, anchored by God’s eternal strength.

Allie asserted, “The fear of the Lord is how we live, not the fear of man.”

4. God, not man, determines our day of death

To Christians who fear death, Allie reminded them that God numbers our days before we’re even born. To step out in bravery doesn’t change this.

God “is never looking down and wondering, ‘how did that happen?’” she said. “The tragic day that Charlie was assassinated – God had already pre-ordained that day to be the day that Charlie went to glory before Charlie was born.”

Quoting Scottish Presbyterian evangelist John Gibson Paton, who brought the Gospel to pagan tribes on islands in the Indian Ocean despite extreme hostility, Allie read: “I realized that I was immortal until my master’s work with me was done. The assurance came to me, as if a voice out of Heaven had spoken, that not a musket would be fired to wound us, not a club prevail to break our bones, not a spear leave the hand in which it was held vibrating to be thrown, not an arrow leave the bow, or be made ready to be loosed against us, without the permission of our Father in Heaven.”

“The day of your death is determined by God, so be bold,” Allie urged.

5. The day of victory is determined by God

Isaiah 25:8-9 tells us that “[God] will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth…It will be said on that day, ‘Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.’”

We can be brave because this is the future we look forward to, Allie encouraged.

6. Bravery is the Christian heritage

For millennia, brave Christians have carried the good news of Jesus to the ends of the earth, fearlessly facing persecution, martyrdom, and cultural hostility.

Allie gave the example of Sabina Wurmbrand – a Jewish-born Christian missionary, evangelist, and human rights advocate, who boldly preached the gospel during the brutal Stalinist era in Romania. The wife of a pastor, Sabina helped run her husband’s underground ministry amid communist persecution. Even though she faced imprisonment, slave labor, and surveillance for her evangelism, she continued sharing the message of Jesus Christ with oppressed believers, Soviet soldiers, and even prison guards – many of whom came to faith through her witness. After Sabini and her husband fled to America, they founded Voice of the Martyrs, an organization dedicated to supporting persecuted Christians worldwide by providing Bibles, aid, and advocacy.

Sabini’s story is one of many Christians whose bravery emboldened them to preach the gospel fearlessly despite persecution, imprisonment, and the shadow of death. In her memoir, she wrote, “Courage is not the absence of fear but the will to do what is right in spite of it.”

“That is our heritage as Christians,” Allie proclaimed.

7. The Gospel is worth it

“All of us are called to take risks for the gospel,” Allie stressed.

It doesn’t always look like starting a podcast or running for office. Standing up for Jesus is the work of stay at home moms and CEOs alike.

“The body of Christ and the kingdom of God is built on the unseen and unsung radiant obedience of Christians who believe with everything in them that the Gospel is worth it,” Allie concluded.

In a world craving courage, Allie’s charge at Share the Arrows ignited a spark, urging every woman present to embrace the fearless legacy of Christian bravery and carry the gospel’s light, no matter the cost.

Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?

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With no end in sight to the government shutdown, President Donald Trump’s administration is putting Democrats in an unenviable position.

Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought announced Friday that the administration has officially begun issuing reduction in force notices, laying off over 4,200 government workers across several key departments, like Treasury, Health and Human Services, and Homeland Security. As the government approaches its third week of the shutdown, Democrats are left weighing their options.

‘The easiest way to stop this is for five [Democrats] to come to their senses.’

These layoffs come as no surprise. Vought previously threatened Democrats with mass layoffs just days before the September 30 funding deadline. Still, Democrats are feigning surprise.

“Here’s what’s worse: Republicans would rather see thousands of Americans lose their jobs than sit down and negotiate with Democrats to reopen the government,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement. “The way forward is simple: Stop the attacks, come to the table, negotiate, and reopen the government. Until Republicans get serious, they own this — every job lost, every family hurt, every service gutted is because of their decisions.”

RELATED: ‘PAY OUR TROOPS’: Trump unveils creative solution to minimize military’s shutdown pain

Photo by Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images

Democrats blocked the Republican-led funding bill that would have kept the government open and operating at virtually the same funding levels.The GOP’s bill was a simple, clean, 90-page continuing resolution with no partisan anomalies, save a bipartisan line item that would boost security funds for lawmakers following Charlie Kirk’s assassination.

Rather than voting alongside Republicans to keep the government open, Democrats decided to introduce their own $1.5 trillion spending bill that would reverse major legislative accomplishments achieved in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill. Democrats also insisted on immediately renegotiating healthcare subsidies from the Affordable Care Act, though these aren’t set to expire until the end of the year.

Democrats are in the minority in both the House and the Senate.

RELATED: White House deploys nuclear option amid Democrat-induced shutdown stalemate

Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

Senate Democrats have stubbornly voted no over a half dozen times on reopening the government. One senior Democratic aide told CNN that the party will not concede short of “planes falling out of the sky.”

“The pressure thus far hasn’t moved them at all,” Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) told Blaze News during a press call hosted by the Republican Study Committee. “They seem to be enjoying it.”

“I don’t think anybody in the White House takes any pleasure in this at all,” Johnson told Blaze News. “I’ve spoken to the president about this myself. Of course, I’ve spoken to Russell Vought as well. They’re in an unenviable position.”

“The easiest way to stop this is for five [Democrats] to come to their senses in the Senate and join Republicans to reopen the government.”

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In his opening salvo, the esteemed Scott Yenor righteously scrutinizes the travesty of single-sex education at the Virginia Military Institute. Yenor lays bare the deleterious effects that forced sex integration has had on honor, cohesion, and the society into which graduates of the school march. What he emphasizes less, however, is how the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Virginia fundamentally changed the nature of VMI’s military character and the essential path to reclaiming same-sex spaces for military officer formation.

The key part of Yenor’s essay is his call to create new institutions like VMI — schools that would force a legal and cultural reckoning over sex in education and the military. It’s a persuasive argument because red-state governors already hold the power to act. They can challenge entrenched institutions and build new ones that reflect their citizens’ values.

The modern obsession with sex equality may be the clearest example of how civilian ideology corrupts military formation.

A governor such as West Virginia’s could establish a military academy with full higher-education credentials and an attached ROTC program to train future officers. Its character must be ironclad — steeped in discipline, animated by a warrior ethos, and set apart from the civilian world its graduates would swear to defend.

While offering a four-year degree is necessary to attract those with talent who are willing and able to lead and thrive, this status must not infringe on the mission of the next VMI. This new academy must seek to minimize the distinction between the academic and military spaces to the greatest extent possible. This does not mean that cadets should take exams in body armor, but rather that their college experience should produce elite warrior leaders.

Every class, extracurricular, and academy event should directly relate to the military profession. This would almost certainly mean smaller course offerings, fewer Division I athletics, and fewer civilian professors without military experience. Above all, like VMI, West Point, and the Naval Academy, a student hierarchy (or chain of command) must be the definitive experience of academy life.

The cost of integration

The modern obsession with sex equality may be the clearest example of how civilian ideology corrupts military formation. As Yenor argues, new military academies must be all-male to restore the ideal of masculine virtue and preserve the integrity of a space insulated from the social fashions and ideologies of civilian life.

Male-only environments aren’t just valuable for education — they’re indispensable for building effective military units. The case for single-sex academies rests on a simple truth: Men must train as they fight, and the continuity between those two worlds determines whether they win.

Scholarship from the 1990s first identified how gender integration erodes cohesion and readiness within combat formations. Subsequent physiological studies reinforced the point, finding that women experience higher injury rates and markedly greater attrition in strenuous training environments. Such outcomes in the formative stages of a soldier’s career have profound implications for the design of academies that are meant to cultivate endurance, resilience, and mutual reliance.

The operational record echoes these concerns. The U.S. Army Special Operations Command’s “Women in ARSOF” report revealed deep dissatisfaction among operators, with nearly 4 in 5 saying that integration undermined effectiveness. More conclusively, a 2015 Marine Corps study demonstrated that all-male units outperformed mixed-gender counterparts in speed, lethality, and cohesion.

These findings matter for academies, for they are the crucibles where young men forge the habits of trust and shared hardship that define combat units. If integrated units struggle to match the performance of male-only formations, then academies designed on an integrated model risk instilling the very fissures that later compromise unit effectiveness on the battlefield.

Passing the Ginsburg test

Much of this effort can be accomplished outside of Washington, D.C., but that does not obviate the need for the federal government to adopt policies that will protect male-only military spaces from inevitable legal challenges.

Sec. Pete Hegseth could direct the Department of War to issue a new regulation barring women from ground combat roles. Because their prior exclusion was rooted in departmental rulemaking rather than congressional statute, Hegseth would have authority to act at the direction of the president.

Without decisive national direction, any new academy would stand vulnerable to the same scrutiny that undid VMI’s traditions.

Congress could intervene to block or codify such a policy, but absent legislative action, executive authority would control. Even a layman’s reading of U.S. v. Virginia reveals that such bold policy action is a necessary precondition to building the kind of alternate institutions Yenor identifies as necessary to rebuild sex-segregated education in the military.

Under the heightened “exceedingly persuasive justification” standard, Virginia had to convince the Supreme Court that excluding women from VMI was both essential and well-founded. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg disagreed. She pointed to the military’s decades-long inclusion of women in federal service academies as proof that VMI’s male-only model lacked a factual basis. In her view, Virginia’s justifications were speculative and failed the constitutional test she applied.

RELATED: Female veteran says Pete Hegseth is RIGHT about women in the military

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The real lesson of U.S. v. Virginia isn’t that single-sex military education is unconstitutional. It’s that such institutions can survive only when their structure aligns with national policy. Ginsburg’s reasoning hinged on the fact that by 1996, women already served in the academies and the armed forces, making VMI’s stance seem outdated. For new male-only academies to endure, they must rise alongside a broader policy shift that treats sex-segregated combat preparation not as exclusion, but as essential to military effectiveness.

Yenor is right that cultural renewal will require state leaders who are willing to build institutions that resist prevailing orthodoxies. Yet even more important is the recognition that law follows policy. Without decisive national direction, any new academy would stand vulnerable to the same scrutiny that undid VMI’s traditions.

The path forward, then, lies in building academies with an unambiguous martial ethos, supported by federal policies that make male-only formation not only culturally defensible but also constitutionally secure. Only then can the United States produce the kind of warrior men upon whom its survival ultimately depends.

Editor’s note: A version of this article was published originally at the American Mind.

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