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Sex-specific education is essential to preserve America’s self-governing republic. Though many are only now rediscovering single-sex public schooling, there is still space for it to exist within the framework established by the Supreme Court’s 1996 United States v. Virginia decision, as I argue in a just-released “Provocation” for the Claremont Institute’s Center for the American Way of Life. In that decision, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ruled for the 7-1 majority that the Virginia Military Institute, a public school, must admit women.

The Bush administration sued VMI in the early 1990s, alleging that Virginia’s single-sex military school violated the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. The Clinton administration continued the case, and Virginia had to tailor its defense to the reigning civil rights framework. Since VMI’s discriminatory practices faced “intermediate scrutiny” from the courts, Virginia had to prove that its admissions policies supported practices that served important but gender-neutral educational goals.

VMI’s once-famous standards have been eroded, its core values replaced with bureaucratic boilerplate, and its culture hobbled by the artificial imposition of modern sensitivities.

Virginia asserted that men especially benefit from and are attracted to VMI’s distinctives, including its Marine-style, in-your-face “adversative” training methods, its lack of privacy, its egalitarian grooming and uniform standards, and its rigorous, stoical honor code.

After proving that its admissions policy matched its practices, Virginia had to prove that the purposes served by the adversative method were legitimate. Under our reigning civil rights ideology, however, VMI had to fight with its strongest hand tied behind its back.

VMI’s defenders could discuss only gender-neutral goals, such as increasing test scores, educational excellence, or maintaining institutional diversity. They could not mention the real reason VMI existed: to point men to a special destiny grounded in manly honor, martial valor, and public-spirited ambition.

Still, VMI prevailed in the lower courts, as the school fostered the diversity of educational offerings in Virginia and elevated the test scores of the men who attended. VMI would, as lower courts held, be “significantly different upon the admission of women,” and the school “would eventually find it necessary to drop the adversative system altogether.”

The Clinton administration appealed the case to the Supreme Court and won.

Ginsburg’s decision, from which only Justice Antonin Scalia dissented (Justice Clarence Thomas recused himself, as his son was enrolled at VMI at the time), now sets the boundaries for sex discrimination cases generally and for single-sex schooling in particular. According to Ginsburg, keeping women away from VMI’s distinctive education could be justified only by outmoded stereotypes about how women are demure, uncompetitive, and domestic.

The notion that admission of women would … destroy the adversative system and, with it, even the school, is a judgment hardly proved, a prediction hardly different from other ‘self-fulfilling prophec[ies]’ once routinely used to deny rights or opportunities. … Women’s successful entry into the military academies, their participation in the Nation’s military forces, indicate that Virginia’s fears for the future of VMI may not be solidly grounded.

All the expert testimony in the world would not shake Ginsburg’s belief that sex differences were culturally contrived, so policies based on claims about sex differences are, on this view, simply stereotypes. Surely American women would adopt the fierce attitudes of Viking shield-maidens (as they appear on television, at least) if given the chance.

“Virginia’s fears for the future of VMI” were indeed very well grounded. Using only publicly available information, my report charts how VMI is no longer what it once was. The school’s once-famous standards have been eroded, its core values replaced with bureaucratic boilerplate, its connections to tradition and the past broken, and its culture hobbled by the artificial imposition of modern sensitivities.

Excellence over equity

In principle, the Virginia Military Institute could keep the same admission standards and adversative training methods while admitting only women — perhaps just a few each year — who can meet them.

Josiah Bunting III, VMI’s president during U.S. v. Virginia, said, “Female cadets will be treated precisely as we treat male cadets. I believe fully qualified women would themselves feel demeaned by any relaxation in the standards the VMI system imposes on young men.”

Every cadet would get the same buzz cut. Every cadet would have to meet the same mile time. Every cadet would be treated the same — like dirt.

In reality, though, the logic of civil rights law would never allow VMI to admit only a tiny minority of women. Instead, future litigation would likely take low female admission rates as evidence that the standards themselves were forms of covert discrimination.

Predictably, VMI changed to pre-empt future legal action.

By the early 2000s, standards had been relaxed across the board to make physical benchmarks more accessible for women to achieve. Male cadets now must perform a minimum of five pull-ups, while one is sufficient for females. Male cadets must run 1.5 miles in 12 minutes, 30 seconds, while females get almost an additional two minutes. In 2001, female cadets were allowed to eschew buzz cuts for more feminine hairstyles. Current hair standards permit females to wear their hair down to their shoulder blades.

VMI’s experience after integration raises a deeper question: Is separation of the sexes healthy only when sanitized, or can it serve the natural differences between men and women?

Most illuminating is the change in VMI’s “Code of a Gentleman,” which was replaced by the “Code of a Cadet” in the early 2000s. In 2022, the school implemented an even more “inclusive” code.

The old code was stoical, demanded silence on private matters (finances, girlfriends), taught sturdy independence within a hierarchy (a gentleman “does not lick the books of those above” nor “kick the face of those below him”), and instilled self-control in matters relating to drink, gambling, and other vices.

VMI contributed to a military tradition dating back centuries, eschewing fads and embracing the Western and Christian traditions. A VMI gentleman was “the descendant of the knight, the crusader … the defender of the defenseless and the champion of justice.”

In contrast, under the new code, a cadet aspired to be a social worker, standing “against intolerance, prejudice, discrimination, hate, and oppression.” Nothing situates the cadet in the Western tradition, nor is anything said about justice or any intimation of self-sacrifice or courage. Instead, the new code ends with vague platitudes about ill-defined trendy terms.

A VMI cadet is a well-mannered, respectful, and properly presented individual who holds themself and others accountable for their actions and words as a valued member of the Corps. VMI standards are high for a meaningful purpose — to produce leaders of character. A cadet wears the VMI uniform with pride, always remembering and demonstrating what it means to be a VMI cadet.

The old ethos was republican. The new one is managerial. Students wrote the old code and handed it down by tradition, but it was not formalized or blessed by the administration. Officially, no one had to memorize it. Peers enforced the rules through mentoring and discipline.

Meanwhile, the Code of the Cadet is formal (written by the administration), and cadets must memorize it. The commandant’s office oversees training in the code and punishes violations in consultation with the school’s Diversity and Inclusion Office.

What was once in the hands of the cadets is now in the hands of the administration and managers. Informal oversight has disappeared in favor of formal, legalistic, and administrative demands since the student culture, allegedly a product of racism and sexism, cannot be trusted to take the lead. The diversity, equity, and inclusion revolution of the past 15 years, along with the post-George Floyd fever, has brought further changes.

Even a cursory survey of VMI’s history after U.S. v. Virginia puts the lie to Justice Ginsburg’s blithe insistence that the institution could remain substantially unchanged after the admission of women.

RELATED: Feminism weakened our military — now it’s time to fix the damage

Photo by Daniel Grill via Getty Images

Seizing the opportunity

Ginsburg left escape hatches for single-sex education, which she thought must not be based on outmoded stereotypes about how men and women are different or their various social destinies. Single-sex must be completely voluntary. The institutions must also be genuinely equal, yet sex-specific.

The experience of VMI after sexual integration raises a deeper question that is obscured by our reigning civil rights ideology: Is the separation of the sexes healthy only when it serves some inoffensive gender-neutral purpose? Or can it be wholesome per se, serving the innate differences between men and women and their somewhat different social destinies?

In order to test U.S. v. Virginia and force the courts to answer this question, a state should establish a VMI-type academy. Under those circumstances, the case against U.S. v. Virginia should not only reassert the record of sex differences since the original case was decided, but also show how the idea of manly honor has been deconstructed at VMI since its sexual integration, defend the public utility of manly honor specifically, and argue (within reason) for distinct sex roles as a positive good.

In its heyday, the Virginia Military Institute stood within a broader social order of single-sex schools and clubs that trained young men and women for distinct but complementary roles. As public approval for such differences waned and policy flattened them into sameness, the institutions that once shaped boys into men and girls into women faded away.

That private system once thrived — and it served the nation’s men and women well. It could do so again.

Today, it would be a radical departure from our co-ed present to create a voluntary track within the public school system for serious sex-specific education. School choice movements make such an option possible, and the declining state of boys and the immiseration of American girls make it more and more necessary.

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

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A church in Alabama was vandalized with a spray-painted message calling a Turning Point USA speaker the “Antichrist” ahead of the organization’s event at the church.

A spokesperson for the Madison County Sheriff’s Office said that Movement Church was vandalized between 5 p.m. Tuesday and 8 a.m. Wednesday.

‘Unfortunately, we have seen growing hostility toward those who stand firm in their convictions. Our hope and prayer is that this moment reminds us all that disagreement does not have to lead to destruction.’

A TPUSA event was scheduled at the church for Thursday evening.

The church’s senior pastors — Seth Adgate and his wife, Lori — told WAFF-TV that they were shocked by the vandalism but were not surprised.

“It doesn’t even really make sense to me what the messages are,” Lori Adgate said. “I honestly wish they would’ve just contacted us because I would love to hear the heart behind what they’re saying.”

The graffiti referenced Bryan Dawson, who is the keynote speaker at the event.

“Bryan Dawson serves the Antichrist” read one message, while the other read, “Beware his falsehoods.”

The couple said Erich Nelson, the owner of a local pressure-washing company, called to help remove the vandalism. Nelson is also a member of the church.

“To attack with hatred on a place of love — it’s really not going to do anything but … galvanize the love here and the mission to serve our community,” he said.

The Adgates said the vandalism was not caught on their cameras. They’re increasing the security for the event on Thursday.

“Unfortunately, we have seen growing hostility toward those who stand firm in their convictions,” Lori Adgate said. “Our hope and prayer is that this moment reminds us all that disagreement does not have to lead to destruction.”

RELATED: Church’s pro-life sign vandalized in Maine with ‘queer love’ and pro-abortion messages

Sheriff Kevin Turner released a statement about the incident.

“Acts of vandalism and intimidation have no place in our community. Every person, regardless of their beliefs or affiliations, deserves to feel safe where they worship, work, or gather,” Turner wrote.

“We will not tolerate this type of behavior in Madison County,” he added. “Our detectives are working diligently to identify those responsible and ensure they are held accountable. To the citizens of Madison County, please know that this kind of conduct is unacceptable, and we will use every available resource to bring those responsible to justice. This is not who we are as a community.”

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On Friday, October 3, at midnight, global pop icon Taylor Swift released her twelfth studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl.”

Like virtually all Swift albums, the 12-track disc went mega-viral immediately.

But not everyone is thrilled. Some can’t help but notice how far Swift has fallen since her 2006 debut as a fresh-faced, home-grown country singer. Today, the 35-year old is a global superstar known for weaving provocative themes and left-wing political posturing into her music and public persona. This latest album, with eight of its twelve tracks labeled “explicit” due to swear words, sexual innuendos, and references to drugs and other adult content, is proof that the curly-haired, sundress-clad teenager who moved to Nashville with a dream in the early 2000s is no more than a distant memory.

When Rick Burgess’ brother, Greg Burgess, listened to the album, he couldn’t help but reflect back on the day when his daughter, just 14 years old at the time, took a picture with Taylor Swift in a school gymnasium following a low-key performance. At the time, Swift had just one song out: “Tim McGraw” — the track that would soon launch her into stardom.

“The latest [album] — when I read the lyrics the other day that she wrote to her boyfriend — wow,” says Greg, disappointedly.

Rick isn’t surprised that this album is Swift’s most explicit to date. Like Miley Cyrus and Britney Spears, Taylor has taken the beaten path of marketing herself as a wholesome, family-friendly artist only to begin bending toward promiscuity and profanity as her fame grew.

It’s ironic that as these female pop stars mature from girls into women, their behavior becomes more childlike, says Rick.

Adler, producer of “The Rick Burgess Show,” who’s long been a Swift fan, can’t help but agree. “It’s like she’s a kid that just learned how to cuss. And it just feels weird and forced and odd,” he says, theorizing that Swift’s transition stems from wanting to break away from the kind of “high school breakup songs” that made her famous.

But “instead of going more mature and viewing her relationships in a more mature way, unfortunately, she’s taken a step in another direction,” he laments. “It’s a choice, and I am sad about it.”

Adler hoped that Swift’s latest album would reflect the maturity we’ve seen in her personal life with her engagement to NFL tight end Travis Kelce — a commitment we’ve never seen from the singer, whose entire musical career is fueled by her breakups with fellow celebrities.

While Rick understands an aging artist wanting to sing about more adult themes, he doesn’t think that requires being “nasty.” Whether it’s wanting a committed relationship or the highs and lows of fame, there is plenty of adult material Swift could sing about.

But her decision to succumb to profanity and sexually explicit themes is perhaps proof she’s not the creative genius she’s been made out to be.

To hear more of the panel’s discussion, watch the episode above.

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​The rick burgess show, Rick burgess, Taylor swift, Taylor swift album, The life of a showgirl, Blazetv, Blaze media, Music industry, Music, Travis kelce 

The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department has issued a bulletin with a request from the public for alleged victims of an Israeli OnlyFans model to come forward.

The bulletin said Adva Lavie is suspected to be involved in a “series of residential burglaries” of the homes of older men in Los Angeles County.

‘I think when you probably hang out with someone really powerful and someone really connected, if you piss them off, it’s problematic because they can really f**k you over.’

She allegedly posed as a girlfriend or companion on social media apps and platforms, according to the bulletin posted on Facebook.

“They’re invited into the home, and then this person ends up burglarizing their home by stealing their personal belongings, and so that would kind of be the scenario we’re looking at,” Captain Dustin Carr said to KTTV-TV.

The sheriff’s department said Lavie had been arrested previously for a similar crime in a different jurisdiction but had been released from custody.

“We want to make sure that all victims are identified, they come forward and help prosecute this case,” Carr added. “We have some information that there may be other victims as well.”

Police said there may be as many as 10 victims in the alleged scheme.

However, when Lavie spoke to the Daily Mail via telephone about the allegations, she said she was the victim of a conspiracy before she hung up the phone.

“I think when you probably hang out with someone really powerful and someone really connected, if you piss them off, it’s problematic because they can really f**k you over,” she said.

RELATED: Squatters take over multimillion-dollar mansion in Hollywood Hills and rent it out to OnlyFans model, realtors say

Others working in the adult entertainment industry accused her of robbing them as well.

“She decided to pretty much rob basically every person in that group, essentially anything marked with a designer label,” said Cody Steele, who accused her of stealing items from his Airbnb.

Lavie was described as a female adult with a height of 5’7″, a weight of 104 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. She is known to drive a black Porsche SUV and a white Mercedes-Benz sedan.

Police said she also goes by the name Mia Ventura, Shoshana, or Shana.

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Hi, I’m Lauren Fix, longtime automotive journalist and a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers. Welcome back to “Quick Fix,” where I answer car-related questions you submit to me.

Today’s question comes from Paul in Pennsylvania.

Hi Lauren:

What is the deal with flood-damaged cars?

Should I take a chance? The deals sound great, but am I buying a nightmare?

Great question, Paul, and I think this is something a lot of people get confused about.

Remember Hurricanes Rita and Katrina? Combined, they resulted in some 500,000 flood-damaged cars, many of which ended up on the used market.

I’ll say now the same thing I said then: Don’t buy a car with flood damage. It’s not worth the risk.

Why?

Number one, there is no warranty. I don’t care if the car is brand new, you lose your warranty right out of the box. No manufacturer is going to stand behind it. And they can tell if the car is flood-damaged; even if it’s not obvious upon inspection, the insurance companies will report it.

Secondly, water can do unseen damage to a car’s passive safety features. This includes airbags, forward collision warning, even seat belts.

If the water got into the base of the car, like where your feet go onto the carpet, that could rot out everything underneath — including the various computerized sensors that keep these safety features working.

Even worse, corrosion from water could actually cause an airbag not to deploy or deploy with no reason. Not good.

The third thing that people often fail to consider is the health hazards a flood-damaged car can present. If its in the ductwork, you’re breathing it: anything from mold to mildew to E. coli.

Think about it: You don’t know where the car was. It was underwater, yes, but was it salt water? Sewer water?

Now — if you suspect a car you’re looking at is flood-damaged, the best thing to do is take it to an ASE-certified technician. If he confirms the damage, walk away. No matter how good the deal may seem, you do not want that car.

Even without a mechanic, there are a few tell-tale signs to look for.

Excessive air freshener: If they’ve doused the car with perfume in the interior … yeah, that’s a clue they’re covering something up. Rust in weird places: Rust is never good, of course, but in some places on a car it’s understandable. In other places — on the hood hinges, for example — it’s a very bad sign. Moisture in the fuse box: If you see any signs that water’s gotten under that plastic cover, that means it’s been in a flood.

Finally, watch out for “washed” titles. Unscrupulous sellers will move a title from state to state to try to hide flood damage or a car’s totaled status. Don’t rely on the title alone; companies like Carfax can help protect.

Ultimately, its better to trust your gut than to snap up a too-good-to-be-true deal. Flood-damaged cars are nothing to play around with, and they can be very dangerous.

Got a car-related question? Email me at getquickfix@pm.me.

​Align cars, Quick fix, Lauren fix, Lifestyle, How to, Cars, Used cars, Flood damage, Hurricane katrina, Hurricane rita, Title washing 

California Democrat gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter made a huge mistake when she threw a fit on air with a local reporter who was asking her simple questions — because it’s not the first time Porter has acted out.

And those wronged by her are taking the opportunity to pile onto her worsening PR crisis.

Now, footage from 2021 has resurfaced of an interview Porter did with Politico.

“Politico is like, ‘We’ve been waiting. We’ve been waiting to release this. Now is our moment,’” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales says, before playing a clip of Porter screaming at one of her staffers during the interview for getting in her shot.

“Get out of my f**king shot,” she yells at the staffer, who can be seen wearing a mask in the background of the virtual meeting with Politico.

Her staffer then pulled down her mask and said she wanted to tell Porter that what she was talking about was “actually incorrect.”

“Okay. You also were in my shot before that. Stay out of my shot,” Porter responded.

“So, this was not the first time, by the way,” Gonzales comments, laughing.

“We’ve got another clip of her bullying staffers, and I want you to pay very close attention, because … you can see the anger bubbling within her. And then there’s a moment where she turns off her camera, and I just, I’m really worried about her staffers in that moment,” she continues.

When Porter resurfaces, one of her staffers can be seen running to get out of the shot in the background.

“I just feel like we need to check on those staffers and make sure that they didn’t end up mysteriously missing because if so, I think I know who killed them,” Gonzales says.

Even worse, texts from 2022 have resurfaced where Porter berates and lets go of a staffer for failing to take a COVID-19 test, despite exhibiting no signs of illness. The staffer explained to Porter that after her friend was murdered, she was going through a difficult time and slacked off a little — but Porter wouldn’t hear it.

“I cannot allow you back in the office, given your failure to follow office policies,” Porter wrote via text to her staffer, Sasha.

“I understand. Thank you for the last two years and all that I have learned. I hate to have disappointed you in the manner, as I know it isn’t an excuse I had found out my friend from the navy had been murdered and my head was not in the best place. Not an excuse, but the reasoning for the lack of forethought. I appreciate everything this office has done for me,” the employee wrote.

“Well, you gave me Covid. In 25 months, it took you not following the rules to get me sick. My children have nobody to care for them,” Porter responded coldly.

“I think your children owe Sasha a thank-you, because any moment that they don’t have to spend with your miserable ass is probably greatly cherished,” Gonzales says. “They should write her a thank-you card and send her a bouquet, Sasha, for getting you sick.”

However, that’s not even the worst of it.

According to divorce records, Porter also “frequently abused” her ex-husband “verbally” and threw “toys, books, and other objects” at him during their marriage. She once even poured scalding-hot mashed potatoes on his head during a fight.

“This is who wants to be in charge of the state of California,” Gonzales says. “Guys, they are not sending their best.”

Want more from Sara Gonzales?

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

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Markets reacted negatively to an announcement from President Donald Trump Friday that the U.S. would nail China with a massive hike in tariffs.

The president said he was responding to “extraordinarily aggressive” action taken by the third-largest trading partner to the U.S., behind Canada and ahead of Germany.

‘It is impossible to believe that China would have taken such an action, but they have, and the rest is History. Thank you for your attention to this matter!’

Trump posted the statement on Truth Social just ahead of the stock market close.

“It has just been learned that China has taken an extraordinarily aggressive position on Trade in sending an extremely hostile letter to the World, stating that they were going to, effective November 1st, 2025, impose large scale Export Controls on virtually every product they make, and some not even made by them,” the president wrote.

He went on to call the plan a “moral disgrace” and said the plan was “obviously” devised by Chinese leaders years ago.

“Based on the fact that China has taken this unprecedented position, … starting November 1st, 2025 (or sooner, depending on any further actions or changes taken by China), the United States of America will impose a Tariff of 100% on China, over and above any Tariff that they are currently paying,” he added. “Also on November 1st, we will impose Export Controls on any and all critical software.”

The president was responding to an announcement from Chinese officials on Thursday that they were imposing export controls on rare earth minerals and technology. The new tariff imposition would bring the total tariff burden for Chinese products to 140%.

RELATED: Trump slaps India with 25% tariff — in an attempt to influence Russia

Photo by JIM WATSONPETER KLAUNZER/AFP/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Stock market futures took a modest dive, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq indicator dropping by 3.6% and the Dow Jones slipping by 1.9%, or about 900 points.

Cryptocurrency, on the other hand, plummeted after the tariff post, with the value of Bitcoin dropping by as much as 10% at one point. Other cryptocurrencies dropped between 20% and 40%.

“It is impossible to believe that China would have taken such an action, but they have, and the rest is History,” Trump concluded. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

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A Venezuelan opposition leader was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for her fight against the authoritarian regime led by Nicolas Maduro.

María Corina Machado is a 58-year-old industrial engineer who has been in hiding since 2024, when Maduro’s allies declared his re-election victory despite cries that the contest had been rigged.

‘I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!’

After receiving the award, Machado surprised many by dedicating it to President Donald Trump for his efforts in opposing the Venezuelan government.

“This recognition of the struggle of all Venezuelans is a boost to conclude our task: to conquer Freedom,” Machado said in a message on social media.

“We are on the threshold of victory and today, more than ever, we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our principal allies to achieve Freedom and democracy,” she added.

“I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!” Machado concluded.

Machado is married to a constitutional lawyer and is a mother to three children, but the regime has accused her of being a fascist and terrorist for opposing their communist schemes.

“She is receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy,” said Joergen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

RELATED: Liberals pounce to defend drug cartels after Trump reveals strike on drug-running gang members near Venezuela

Photo by Jesus Vargas/Getty Images

Trump has been campaigning for the Nobel Peace Prize on the basis that he has negotiated many state conflicts in his second term.

“They will never give me a Nobel Peace Prize. It’s too bad. I deserve it, but they will never give it to me,” the president lamented in February while meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Others have argued that the value of the prize was significantly diminished when it was awarded to then-President Barack Obama for no discernible reason.

Apart from Obama, three other U.S. presidents have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

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In an interview with Fox News’ Martha MacCallum, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz indicated that the Trump administration is considering offensive action against some of the gang elements that currently control large portions of Haiti. Waltz said the United Nations Security Council has approved “a mandate and rules of engagement to go on offense against these gangs.”

‘Unlike the past, we’re going to go on offense.’

The U.N. approved a “Gang Suppression Force” on September 30 in an attempt to increase support for Haitian forces working to combat the gangs and support infrastructure in the country. Waltz stressed the importance of combatting these gangs as part of the Trump administration’s wider efforts against criminal elements in the Caribbean.

“These gangs are in coordination with all of these transnational groups. They’re shipping drugs, money, weapons. They’re destabilizing the entire region,” Waltz said.

RELATED: A war on Venezuela would be a war on reality

Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The U.N. has been involved in security in Haiti since 2023, when 400 Kenyan police officers were sent to the country in an effort to support police operations and secure critical infrastructure. Since then, things have gotten worse, with gangs now controlling around 90% of the capital city of Port-au-Prince and over 13,000 people killed by gang violence since 2023.

This new U.N. resolution will increase the number of U.N. personnel to just over 5,500 and will include military as well as police presence. The real difference, however, is a shift in focus from defense and protection to proactive measures to combat gang activity.

Under the new resolution, U.N. forces are cleared to conduct “intelligence-led targeted, counter-gang operations to neutralize, isolate, and deter gangs that continue to threaten the civilian population.” Ambassador Waltz summed it up by saying, “Unlike the past, we’re going to go on offense.”

This move is the latest by the Trump administration to target international criminal activity throughout the Caribbean region. In February, President Trump designated certain drug cartels as international terrorist organizations. In September, the U.S. Navy deployed a task force to the South Caribbean, forcing cartels to shift their activity to overland routes. So far, the U.S. military has carried out four lethal strikes on cartel ships reportedly carrying drugs in the Caribbean.

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Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman has alleged that online gaming platform Roblox has not protected children from abhorrent content.

Coleman filed a lawsuit on Monday, claiming that Roblox has allowed minors to be exposed to “animated bloody” content surrounding the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

‘We constantly monitor all communication for critical harms.’

The lawsuit, posted by Fox News Digital, accuses the massive online gaming community of operating under insufficient guardrails in terms of denying children access to certain materials. This includes violence, sexually explicit materials, and alleged “Charlie Kirk ‘assassination simulator[s].'”

Blaze News previously reported that as of Q2 2024, Roblox had a claimed 79 million active daily users, an increase of almost 15 million from the same time in 2023. This included approximately 58% of its user base being under 16 years old, which equates to at least 46 million children.

The alleged assassination simulators “began popping up on Roblox, allowing children as young as 5 years old to access animated bloody depictions of the September 10 shooting,” the lawsuit stated.

Roblox could easily “require users to verify their age and their parents’ consent by virtually any mechanism, including merely asking for these data,” the legal document continued. “Doing so would create at least some restriction on the content available to users under 18 years old.”

RELATED: ‘Ginger ISIS member’ has terror plot thwarted by Roblox user: ‘I cannot agree with the term terrorist’

– YouTube

“As such, child predators can — and do — establish accounts to pose as children,” Kentucky wrote.

In response to the lawsuit, a Roblox spokesperson told Blaze News that the company welcomes the opportunity for a direct conversation with the Attorney General about the topic. However, the company also said that some of the parties involved are seeking financial gain.

“The attorney general’s lawsuit is based on outdated and out-of-context information,” Roblox said. “We believe together we can increase safety not just on Roblox, but on all platforms used by kids and teens. The AG’s office is partnering with plaintiff’s attorneys, who we believe have misrepresented matters to seek financial gain.”

The spokesperson added, “Roblox has taken an industry-leading stance on age-based communication and will require facial age estimation for all Roblox users who access our communications features by the end of this year. Roblox does not allow image sharing via chat, and most chat on Roblox is subject to filters designed to block the sharing of personal information. We constantly monitor all communication for critical harms and swiftly remove violative content when detected and work closely with law enforcement.”

Roblox pointed to more information about its efforts to implement age verification, which undoubtedly would confirm a user’s age, but also could deter platform usage altogether.

This includes verification through selfie-videos, the aforementioned “facial age estimation,” ID, or verified parental consent.

RELATED: Kids ‘cosplaying as ICE agents’ and performing raids on ‘illegals’ in Roblox game

— (@)

The sheer volume of Roblox users makes any enforcement incredibly difficult to pull off without pre-existing barriers to entry, monitoring, or filtration systems. This brings up further issues surrounding digital ID, including, for example, the exposure of children’s likenesses.

At the same time, gamers are constantly finding new ways to develop ridiculous scenarios on the platform, such as performing ICE raids or in-game protests. There also exists the threat of bad actors grouping together to discuss crimes or make terror plots.

Roblox told Blaze News that it includes rigorous text chat filters to stop inappropriate contact with minors.

Additionally, the company said that while it started as a “platform for children,” 64% of the user base is now over 13 years old.

Blaze News did find several videos on YouTube appearing to be re-creations of Kirk’s assassination within the video game.

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A debate between the gubernatorial candidates in Virginia turned into a humiliating defeat for Democrats after their nominee refused to withdraw her endorsement of scandal-ridden attorney general candidate Jay Jones.

Democrats have been shoved into an untenable position after leaked texts showed Jones had wished violence on his political opponent as well as his children.

‘Would it take him pulling the trigger? Is that what would do it? And then you would say he needs to get out of the race, Abigail?’

Republican gubernatorial candidate Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears used the issue as a cudgel to hammer away at Democrat Abigail Spanberger during their debate Thursday at Norfolk State University. Spanberger vehemently denounced the comments but tried in vain to derail the conversation and instead attack Sears.

“Abigail, when are you going to take Jay Jones and say to him, ‘You must leave the race’? He has said that he wants to murder his political opponent, and not only that, but his political opponent’s children,” Sears said.

Spanberger tried to filibuster the question without answering, but it only prolonged her embarrassment.

“We are all running our individual races. I believe my opponent has said that about her lieutenant governor nominee, and it’s up to every person to make their own decision. I am running my race to serve Virginia, and that is what I intend to do,” Spanberger eventually said.

Sears pressed on.

“I’m wondering why my opponent won’t say, beyond it’s abhorrent and disgusting, why she won’t say it is not OK and that he must leave the race because Jay Jones advocated the murder, Abigail, the murder of a man,” Sears said.

“Would it take him pulling the trigger? Is that what would do it? And then you would say he needs to get out of the race, Abigail? You have nothing to say?”

Spanberger’s comment appeared to mimic a statement from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi when she avoided the issue in a CNN interview Wednesday.

“She has to do what she has to do. She’s going to be governor. She’s running very well,” Pelosi said of Spanberger. “Her race is her race, and her state is her state, and it’s up to her.”

Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin continued the criticism of Spanberger on social media.

“Abigail Spanberger continues to stand behind her running mate who wanted to see a man and his children murdered,” he wrote. “Abigail, you had your chance to show courage and moral clarity and you failed.”

RELATED: Democrat Jay Jones cancels fundraiser amid growing backlash over violent texts about GOP rival and his kids

Headlines after the debate extended the embarrassment for Spanberger, and video from the debate has already been turned into a devastating campaign advertisement.

Spanberger has had the financial and early polling advantage on Sears in the race, but the emergence of the text scandal in the wake of the horrific assassination of Charlie Kirk may tip the scales.

The texts have prompted many to call on Jones to abandon his campaign, but so far, he has not relented.

“I’ve told you this before,” read the Jones text. “Only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy.”

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Americans were told that the infamous pipe bomb was planted on January 5 and found just moments before the first breach of the Capitol on January 6.

However, that narrative is now crumbling.

“You have access now to information that says that this narrative that came from law enforcement originally, this is not true,” BlazeTV host Liz Wheeler says to John Solomon, editor in chief of Just the News.

“Kash Patel has always had his doubts about what happened on January 6. And now that he’s got access to what are known as prohibited case files and other drives of evidence that Congress had never accessed before, we’re beginning to see that the narrative doesn’t hold up,” Solomon tells Wheeler.

– YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

While the FBI’s initial narrative claimed that the pipe bombs were planted by unidentifiable figures the night before, there’s no phone tracking in the time frame that matches the action of the person on video.

“And so over the last six months or so, some people in Congress like Barry Loudermilk, the chairman of the subcommittee, looking at it, starting to wonder, ‘Was that a head fake? Was there something different to look at? Was this a training episode?’” Solomon explains.

“You start opening up the possibilities of things that you didn’t think about in the original analysis when it was so clean and cut and the FBI gave us a nice cookie cutter of what they thought the storyline was,” he continues.

Now, FBI Director Kash Patel has been coming out with new information, like the lab report.

“The lab report shows that both of these bombs were not likely to have been active, meaning they would not have likely exploded with the triggers that were on them,” Solomon tells Wheeler. “And they use language like, ‘If they had been properly assembled, they would have exploded, but it doesn’t look like that.’”

Expert Fred Whitehurst, Solomon recalls, explained that the report had “a lot of problems in it” and was “made to make it sound like these bombs were dangerous and terrible and those bad Donald Trump people probably planted them.”

“There are two key things,” he tells Wheeler. “There doesn’t appear to be a lot of black powder in the bomb. That would be the propellant for the bomb exploding and putting out dangerous material and shrapnel towards people.”

“And then two, if these were planted 16 hours in advance, the bomb maker had an only one hour timer on it. So if you planted them 16 hours earlier, that timer is gone in an hour. What happened?” he continues.

However, that’s when the “real bombshell” came.

“There was a witness who found the Republican National Committee bomb and that witness says there is no chance that bomb was planted 15, 16 hours before,” Solomon tells Wheeler.

The witness noticed that there were 20 minutes left on the timer for the bomb before she alerted the police.

“Now none of that fits the 15-hour narrative that the FBI had long bestowed upon the American public,” Solomon says. “And by the way, that narrative comes from the Capitol police from their video footage.”

“So it starts with the Capitol police,” he adds.

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Bob Ferguson, the Democrat governor of Washington state, signed a bill in May that would have compelled Catholic priests to break the seal of confession or face up to 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine.

Catholic bishops in the Evergreen State fought back — and came out victorious on Friday with the reinforcement of the Trump Justice Department.

Background

Senate Bill 5375, as ratified by the self-identifying Catholic governor and scores of other Democrats in the legislature, required any person operating in an official supervisory capacity with a nonprofit or a for-profit organization who has “reasonable cause to believe that a child has suffered abuse or neglect” to notify law enforcement or the Department of Children, Youth, and Families.

‘Priests should never be forced to make the impossible choice of betraying their sacred vows or going to jail.’

The law mandated, however, that no one except for members of the clergy had to report abuse when that information was obtained solely as a result of a privileged communication.

“SB 5375 modifies existing law solely to make members of the clergy mandatory reporters with respect to child abuse or neglect,” U.S. District Judge David Estudillo noted in his July ruling. “However, other groups of adults who may learn about child abuse are not required to report. Parents and caregivers, for example, are not mandatory reporters.”

Estudillo noted further that a parallel piece of legislation that went into effect on July 27 also exempted university attorneys from divulging child abuse information if it has something to do with their clients.

RELATED: Christian counselors fight for freedom of speech before the Supreme Court

Washington State Gov. Bob Ferguson (D). Photo by JASON REDMOND/AFP via Getty Images

“A law is not neutral if the government ‘proceeds in a manner intolerant of religious beliefs or restricts practices because of their religious nature,'” Estudillo noted. “Here, clergy were explicitly singled out.”

Not only was the law discriminatory, it would have both invited the government into the confessional and put priests at risk of automatic excommunication.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church maintains that “every priest who hears confessions is bound under very severe penalties to keep absolute secrecy regarding the sins that his penitents have confessed to him” and “can make no use of knowledge that confession gives him about penitents’ lives.”

The Code of Canon Law — cited in the May 18 complaint filed by Archbishop Paul Etienne of the Archdiocese of Seattle, Bishop Joseph Tyson of the Diocese of Yakima, and Bishop Thomas Daly of the Diocese of Spokane — similarly underscores the inviolability of the sacramental seal, noting further that a “confessor who directly violates the sacramental seal incurs a latae sententiae — automatic — excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See.”

A month after the bishops filed suit, the Trump DOJ intervened in the case, stressing that SB 5375 “deprives Catholic priests of their fundamental right to freely exercise their religious beliefs, as guaranteed under the First Amendment.”

Victory

On Friday, the state of Washington settled the case, agreeing to make permanent a Biden judge’s July injunction blocking the law.

The federal court handling the case further recognized that the Democrat law had infringed upon the Catholic bishops’ free exercise of religion in violation of the First Amendment and may also have infringed upon their rights under the U.S. Constitution’s Establishment Clause and the Church Autonomy Doctrine.

Mark Rienzi, president and CEO of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which served as co-counsel in the case, said in statement obtained by Blaze News, “Washington was wise to walk away from this draconian law and allow Catholic clergy to continue ministering to the faithful. This is a victory for religious freedom and for common sense.”

“Priests should never be forced to make the impossible choice of betraying their sacred vows or going to jail,” added Rienzi.

“Preventing abuse and upholding the sacred seal of confession are not mutually exclusive — we can and must do both,” stated Jean Hill, executive director of the Washington State Catholic Conference. “That’s why the Church supported the law’s goal from the beginning and only asked for a narrow exemption to protect the sacrament.”

The WSCC added that “priests have been imprisoned, tortured, and even killed for upholding the seal of confession. Penitents today need the same assurance that their participation in a holy sacrament will remain free from government interference.”

Blaze News has reached out to Ferguson’s office for comment.

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With no end in sight for the government shutdown, President Donald Trump’s administration is turning up the heat on Democrats.

The Office of Management and Budget has officially begun issuing reduction-in-force notices that will lead to “substantial” layoffs across several federal agencies, an OMB spokesperson told Blaze News. OMB Director Russell Vought also confirmed the layoffs in a post on X Friday, saying, “The RIFs have begun.”

‘Every day it’s actually getting worse for them.’

Vought originally directed agencies to begin drafting RIF notices back in September in anticipation of the government shutdown. Trump also signaled on Thursday that mass layoffs and program cuts were imminent, warning that Democrats would get “a little taste of their own medicine.”

“We’re only going to cut Democrat programs, I hate to tell you,” Trump said during the Cabinet meeting Thursday.

RELATED: White House dares Democrats with nuclear response to looming shutdown

Annabelle Gordon/Bloomberg via Getty Images

“Chuck Schumer proclaimed this morning that every day gets better for them,” Trump said. “No, every day it’s actually getting worse for them, and they’re having a rebellion in the Democrat Party because they want to stop.”

Although Democrats have continued to dig their heels in, Republicans have remained unified behind the president, arguing there’s nothing to negotiate. Going into the 10th day of the shutdown, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) made his media rounds on Friday by attending several pressers throughout the day, even joining the House Freedom Caucus for its historic, first-ever press call.

During the call, Johnson also hinted that Congress may be considering another rescissions package and that lawmakers will be hearing more “in the days to come.”

RELATED: Most Democrats vote against bill boosting security funds for politicians following Kirk assassination

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

As of this writing, Democrats have voted to keep the government closed over a half dozen times since the September 30 funding deadline lapsed. The Republican-led funding bill Democrats have so heavily protested is a clean, nonpartisan CR that keeps the government open at the current spending levels, with the exception of increased funding for security following Charlie Kirk’s assassination.

In contrast, the Democrats’ funding bill boasts a $1.5 trillion price tag, aiming to reverse virtually every legislative accomplishment Republicans secured with Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Even with competing legislation, Congress has reached a stalemate, with both the House and the Senate out of session until Tuesday.

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​Russ vought, Donald trump, Russell vought, Office of management and budget, Shutdown, Schumer shutdown, Chuck schumer, Hakeem jeffries, Mike johnson, John thune, Trump administration, Mass layoffs, Rifs, Rif notices, Cabinet meeting, Democrat agencies, Government shutdown, Government funding, Congress, One big beautiful bill, Charlie kirk, House democrats, House republicans, Senate democrats, Senate republicans, Politics 

“Hollywood has the best moral compass.” —Harvey Weinstein.

“I ain’t raising my kids in this town.” —George Clooney.

OK, the second one isn’t a direct quote, but it’s close enough. The Oscar winner recently admitted a key reason he left La-La Land after marrying his legal eagle bride Amal.

The All-American Halftime Show will bring something that hasn’t been part of football’s biggest day for a long time: patriotism.

The actor told Esquire about his bucolic life on a farm in France and why it’s a better fit for his young family.

“They have a much better life [in France]. I was worried about raising our kids in L.A., in the culture of Hollywood. I felt like they were never going to get a fair shake at life.”

What, no nepo baby plans?

Crime. Homelessness. Drugs. Lack of opportunity. Yes, the greater Hollywood area is no place to raise a family, and Clooney almost says it verbatim. Better yet, maybe if California stopped voting in hapless Democrats, its big cities might be more family-friendly?

Less than zero (stars)

Somebody had to say it.

Author and raconteur Bret Easton Ellis is sharing what no one in Hollywood will. The critical devotion to “One Battle After Another,” a cinematic love letter to violent radicals, is all about the film’s hard-Left, anti-ICE politics.

It’s kind of shocking to see these kind of accolades for — I’m sorry, it’s not a very good movie — because of its political ideology, and it’s so obvious that’s what they’re responding to, why it’s considered a masterpiece, the greatest film of the decade, the greatest film ever made. Because it really aligns with this kind of leftist sensibility.

He makes a solid point. The film features silly, cartoonish characters, gaping plot holes, and endless sympathy for terrorists. But it’s anti-ICE (without ever mentioning the acronym). Thus the raves.

And, Elllis predicts, the film will age badly. And soon. We’ll see. The only chance it doesn’t win Best Picture is if its momentum peaks too soon or enough anti-ICE attacks occur so that even woke Hollywood wakes up at last …

Pot, meet kettle

Jimmy Kimmel is probably sore he didn’t get an invite.

Some big-name comedians, including Bill Burr, Louis C.K., and Aziz Ansari, are taking heat for performing at a Saudi Arabian comedy festival. The regime is hardly immune to human rights abuse, and good luck roasting the royal family from any given stage.

So when Ansari showed up on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” the host decided to grill him like Woodward and/or Bernstein.

“People are questioning why you would go over there and take their money to perform in front of these people,” Kimmel began. “They murdered a journalist [Jamal Khashoggi]. These are not good people over there.”

Ansari defended himself, saying he was speaking to a repressed gathering and it “could push things in a positive direction.”

What the “Parks and Recreation” alum should have said after that was, “Hey, why did you malign MAGA unfairly and never come close to apologizing?”

That would have shut Kimmel up …

RELATED: Bad Bunny: Learn Spanish if you want to understand my Super Bowl performance

Photo by: Will Heath/NBC via Getty Images

Patriots win

I guess we don’t have to learn Spanish in four months after all.

Turning Point USA is planning an alternative Super Bowl halftime show so that viewers don’t have to settle for Bad Bunny’s anti-Trump, anti-border-control shctick during the big game.

Now gridiron fans have a plan B for the game. The All-American Halftime Show will bring something that hasn’t been part of football’s biggest day for a long time: patriotism.

Details are scarce regarding the talent, but it’s another sign that right-leaning Americans are fed up with the nonstop messaging coming out of the left (and the institutions the left has captured) …

Noah’s no-no

Give Trevor Noah some credit. He’s consistent. Consistently unfunny, to be exact.

The far-left comedian is always up for a challenge. They said “The Daily Show” was unsinkable. To which new host Noah said “hold my beer” — and promptly drove off 1 million viewers.

Noah’s latest trick? Find the funny in the gruesome public assassination of Charlie Kirk.

Now, gallows humor is a legitimate form of comedy, and sometimes dark humor can be a way to process grief. (See the Onion’s 9/11 issue, for example.)

But Noah’s attempt at comedy failed on two basic levels.

“You have to admit, that is an incongruous, funny thing that happened,” quipped the oh-so-clever comic. “You are there, on stage, and you’re like, ‘Let me tell you why people should have guns,’ wa-pahhh.”

First of all, supporting the Second Amendment is hardly equivalent to condoning wanton gun violence. If Kirk’s brutal murder “proves” anything, it’s that there will always be deranged souls willing to resort to violence.

And the comment itself — which hundreds of witless online wags made before Noah — barely qualifies as a joke. Which is on brand, we’ll give him that …

​Entertainment, Culture, Hollywood, George clooney, Super bowl, Turning point usa, Donald trump, Toto recall 

Dominion Voting Systems, the Canada-based company that was accused of helping throw the 2020 election to President Joe Biden, has been sold to Scott Leiendecker, the founder and chairman of the Missouri-based company Liberty Vote.

Leiendecker, a former Republican election director of the St. Louis City Board of Election Commissions who also serves as CEO of the election technology company KnowInk, said in a statement that Liberty Vote’s “mission is rooted in American values and committed to transparency, independent audits, and verifiable paper records.”

Liberty Vote has acquired Dominion, which will move all of its operations to the United States. The website for Dominion now also redirects to the Liberty Vote site.

Nevada’s Democrat Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar has given him the stamp of approval.

In the spirit of President Donald Trump’s March 25 executive order titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections” — which insists upon a voter-verifiable paper record — Liberty Vote will apparently also prioritize the use of hand-marked paper ballots and third-party auditing to bolster election security.

According to the Daily Caller, Leiendecker conditioned the deal on dropping a number of outstanding defamation lawsuits against prominent conservatives as well as the One America News Network.

Although Dominion machines have had issues in the past — Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson admitted last year, for instance, that there was a nationwide “programming” issue with those Dominion voting machines that allowed access for people with disabilities — critics alleged in the wake of the 2020 election that Dominion manipulated votes in its electric terminals to help elect Joe Biden.

RELATED: Honor system? More like fraud system

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

For instance, former federal prosecutor Sidney Powell suggested, without providing evidence, on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” that Dominion software was “where the fraud took place, where they were flipping votes in the computer system or adding votes that did not exist.”

The platforming of such claims proved costly for Fox News, which agreed to pay $787.5 million in April 2023 to settle its defamation lawsuit with Dominion. In August, Newsmax reached a $67 million settlement with the company but maintained that its coverage was “fair, balanced, and conducted within professional standards of journalism.”

Dominion has in recent months reached settlements with other outfits and individuals who raised concerns about the 2020 election, including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani in late September and Powell in June.

Leiendecker told the Daily Caller that remaining litigation with MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell will be dropped per the terms of the acquisition agreement.

While Leiendecker is a Republican and has made a goodwill gesture to the conservatives targeted by his new acquisition, Liberty Vote officials signaled to Axios that he is ultimately a neutral actor, noting that Nevada’s Democrat Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar has given him the stamp of approval, characterizing Leiendecker as “open, honest, and transparent.”

Blaze News has reached out to Aguilar to confirm his support for Leiendecker.

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Many football fans complain that Shedeur Sanders is a nepo baby — someone who has achieved prominence due to family connections (nepotism) rather than merit. They argue that his famous father, Deion Sanders, has laid a golden path for him, leading Shedeur to undeserved success.

Whether it was installing him as the starting quarterback at Jackson State University and later at the University of Colorado Boulder, where Deion ensured Shedeur was named the team’s quarterback without competition, or leveraging his own fame to secure high-profile NIL deals and public endorsements for Shedeur, Deion has consistently paved the way for his son’s success in football and beyond.

Maybe it worked for a while, but now that Shedeur is in the NFL playing for the Cleveland Browns, it seems Daddy’s influence is beginning to backfire, as it becomes clear that Shedeur isn’t the superstar Deion has made him out to be.

On October 7, the Browns traded first-string quarterback Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals, pushing rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel to first string and Shedeur to second string. But during a press conference, head coach Kevin Stefanski avoided directly naming Shedeur as the clear QB2 behind Gabriel.

When asked by a reporter if Shedeur would now be the backup quarterback, he said, “I’ll let the week play out, make a decision later on that.”

For a few days, there was speculation that Bailey Zappe, who plays on the Cleveland Browns’ practice squad, could be promoted to the QB2 spot over Shedeur, but earlier today, Stefanski officially named Sanders as the backup quarterback behind Gabriel.

Even still, his hesitancy speaks volumes.

Jason Whitlock, BlazeTV host of “Fearless,” reads between the lines: The Browns don’t have a ton of faith in Shedeur Sanders.

“This is a no-win situation. If [Shedeur] succeeds, everyone’s gonna say, ‘Why didn’t he play to begin with?’ But if he fails, it’s like, ‘Well, they put him in a position to fail,”’ contributor Steve Kim says. “I think Stefanski’s in a real catch-22 here.”

Jason sees Stefanski’s reluctance to immediately confirm Shedeur as the number two quarterback as “an indictment of Shedeur Sanders and an indictment of the Browns organization.”

“What it really says is, ‘We shouldn’t have kept this guy,”’ he says.

“They’re keeping Shedeur out of some sort of political or fear factor or some other agenda other than what’s best for [the Browns’] roster.”

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

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​Fearless, Fearless with jason whitlock, Jason whitlock, Shedeur sanders, Deion sanders, Cleveland browns, Nfl, Nepo baby, Nepotism, Blazetv, Blaze media, Joe flacco 

Dr. Oz is the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services administrator for President Trump, and he’s joining Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck on “Glenn TV” to debunk the left’s lies surrounding the current government shutdown.

“It is really reprehensible, what the Democrats are doing,” Oz tells Glenn. “This has been a process, this continuing resolution process, whether you like it or not, that’s gone on for a long time.”

“One of the things we addressed, I think, quite successfully, is the fraud, waste, and abuse in Medicaid. In fact, some of the points you make like money going towards illegal immigrants — again, it’s not that you’re paying for it in California; it’s that folks are being taxed in Mississippi and Texas and Florida, and that money is being shipped to California,” Oz explains.

“We stopped that. We’re not going to reverse that. And we’re certainly not going to reverse it for seven weeks of continuation so we can actually have more negotiations,” he says, noting that Medicaid and Medicare are only getting hurt by shutting down the government.

“These programs, we struggle to keep open when you have a shutdown of this nature. This is high-stakes poker, and it’s unfair, and frankly, the Democrats don’t have many chips anyway,” he adds.

Glenn notes that some Democrats are now asking whether or not illegal immigrants will be helped in the emergency room — even in life-or-death situations where the patient may have a gunshot wound.

But Oz says that question distorts the truth, explaining that there’s a law that will protect illegal immigrants.

“You will get the care you need, especially if it’s lifesaving care. You’re in trouble if you don’t provide that care. So this is not about that at all. This is about giving benefits to illegal immigrants,” Oz explains.

“Again, I’ll pick on California because it’s such an obvious case. … If you’re on Medicaid in California and you’re an illegal immigrant, you are getting free dental care. It’s just not fair to the American people,” he says.

“It’s not like the citizens of California are paying for that. We’re footing most of the bill at the federal government, which we tax every one of the other 49 states and then we pay California to make up for the fact that they’ve decided to fund illegal immigrant health care,” he adds.

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First lady Melania Trump has joined forces with an unexpected foreign leader to lead a crucial humanitarian effort in a war-torn region.

During a press conference Friday, Mrs. Trump announced her partnership with Russian President Vladimir Putin to reunite Ukrainian children with their families. So far, eight children who were displaced by the war were reunited with their families in just the last day or so, she indicated. The first lady also confirmed that she remains in communication with Putin to continue the effort.

‘I hope peace will come soon. It can begin with our children.’

“A child’s soul knows no borders, no flags,” Trump said.

“We must foster a future for our children which is rich with potential, security, and complete with free will,” she added. “A world where dreams will be realized rather than faded by war.”

RELATED: Trump teases shutdown consequences for Democrats: ‘A little taste of their own medicine’

Photo by Contributor/Getty Images

During her address, the first lady recounted the initial letter she wrote to Putin in August 2024, raising concerns about the children who were separated from their families due to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.

“Since then, President Putin and I have had an open channel of communication regarding the welfare of these children,” Trump said.

Over the last three months, both Ukraine and Russia have participated in several “back-channel meetings” that Trump says have all been “in good faith.”

“Each child has lived in turmoil because of the war in Ukraine,” she said, speaking about the eight children who were reunited this week. “Three were separated from their parents and displaced to the Russian Federation because of frontline fighting. The other five were separated from family members across borders because of the conflict.”

RELATED: Drones shut down airports in NATO countries as suspicion falls on Russia

Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Mrs. Trump also said that Russia has agreed to work alongside officials to return children who have turned 18 since their displacement.

“Again, this remains an ongoing effort,” Trump said. “Plans are already under way to reunify more children in the immediate future. I hope peace will come soon. It can begin with our children.”

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The drums of war are echoing across the Caribbean. U.S. warships patrol the southern sea lanes, and squadrons of F-35s wait on standby in Puerto Rico. Strike lists are reportedly being drafted in Washington. The question is not whether the United States can act but whether it should. And more importantly: Who is the real enemy?

All signs point to Venezuela, long a fixation of neoconservatives who see regime change as a cure-all. For years, some in the Republican Party have argued that Venezuela sits at the center of Latin America’s drug trade and that military action is overdue.

A legitimate campaign to combat drug cartels must not morph into another regime-change crusade.

That narrative is convenient — but false. Venezuela is not a cartel state, and this is not a war on drugs.

A tale of two narco-states

In September, the Trump administration made two moves that reshaped the regional map. It added Venezuela to its annual list of major drug-transit and production countries and, for the first time since 1996, decertified Colombia as a U.S. partner in the war on drugs.

That decision was deliberate. It acknowledged what U.S. policymakers have long avoided saying: Colombia, not Venezuela, is the true narco-state.

Colombia remains the world’s leading producer of cocaine. From Pablo Escobar’s Medellín empire to the FARC’s narco-financing, traffickers and insurgents have repeatedly seized control of state institutions and vast territories. At their height, these groups ruled nearly half the country. Decades of U.S. intervention under “Plan Colombia” have failed to stem coca cultivation, which remains near record highs.

Venezuela, by contrast, has never been a major coca producer. Its role is mostly as a minor transit corridor for Colombian cocaine en route to global markets. Corruption is real — particularly within elements of the military, where networks of officers known as the “Cartel of the Suns” have profited from trafficking. But those are rogue actors, not the state itself.

Unlike Colombia, Venezuela has never seen cartels seize entire provinces or build autonomous zones. The country’s economic collapse has weakened state control, but it hasn’t transformed Venezuela into another Sinaloa or Medellín.

Regime-change fever returns

Despite this, Washington appears to be edging toward confrontation. Naval buildups and targeted strikes on Venezuelan vessels look increasingly like the opening moves of a regime-change operation.

The danger is familiar. Once again, the United States risks being drawn into a war that cannot be won — one that drains resources, destabilizes the region, and achieves nothing for the American people. The echoes of Iraq and Afghanistan are unmistakable. Those conflicts cost thousands of American lives and trillions of dollars, only to end in retreat and disillusionment.

Americans have every reason to demand a serious, coordinated strategy against the cartels that flood our communities with cocaine and fentanyl. But targeting Venezuela misreads the map. Only a fraction of the hemisphere’s narcotics pass through Venezuelan territory — and the country produces no fentanyl at all.

If Washington wants to dismantle the cartels, it must focus on the coca fields of Colombia and the trafficking corridors of Mexico, not Caracas.

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Photo by Hu Yousong/Xinhua via Getty Images

No exit

A U.S. invasion of Venezuela would be a disaster. The Maduro regime has already begun arming civilians. Guerrilla groups operate in both urban and jungle terrain. The population is hostile, the geography unforgiving, and the odds of a prolonged insurgency high.

The opposition, eager for power, would have every incentive to let American soldiers do its fighting — then disavow the costs.

A war would not remain confined to Venezuelan borders. It would destabilize Colombia, Ecuador, and Brazil, and unleash a wave of migrants heading north. The fall of Saddam Hussein set off migration patterns that reshaped Europe for a generation. A conflict in Venezuela could do the same to the United States.

Limited airstrikes would achieve little beyond satisfying the egos of Washington’s most hawkish voices. A full-scale invasion would create a power vacuum ripe for chaos.

The real test

President Trump faces a critical test of restraint. Interventionists inside his own administration will press for action. He must resist them. A legitimate campaign to combat drug cartels must not morph into another regime-change crusade.

America has paid dearly for those mistakes before. It should not make them again.

​Opinion & analysis, Donald trump, Venezuela, War, Nicolas maduro, Gulf of america, Drug trafficking, Drug cartels, Caracas, Navy, Colombia, Cocaine, Fentanyl, Regime change, Neoconservatives, Anti-war