Category: blaze media

North Carolina’s State Board of Elections extended voting hours for three Democrat-heavy precincts and two that swung for President Donald Trump. The board also denied requests from three other counties, two of which swung hard for Trump in 2024.

The State Board of Elections voted Tuesday to extend voting at five precincts in Columbus, Hertford, Lenoir, and Wilson Counties after what Executive Director Sam Hayes called “technical glitches.” No unofficial results will post anywhere in the state until the last site closes at 8:15 p.m., the board said.

‘These are not indications of malicious activity, and the processes are in place to respond to each scenario.’

Three of those five precincts that got extra time Tuesday went for Kamala Harris by at least 68% in 2024, according to North Carolina State Board of Elections data.

Tabor City received the longest extension. The computer system at the South Williams precinct in the Tabor City Courthouse crashed temporarily, according to the Columbus County elections director. Workers switched to an emergency backup, and no voters were turned away, the director said. The precinct has been allowed to remain open for 45 extra minutes.

In Kinston, printer problems held up the opening of the K8 precinct at Holloway Recreation Center for “about 45 minutes,” Lenoir County Elections Director Kristie Smith told the board, Neuse News reported.

The board of elections eventually gave Lenoir County’s affected precinct an extra 30 minutes of voting time.

Hertford County received two extensions for 25 minutes at Como Fire and Rescue and 30 minutes at the Murfree Center in Murfreesboro. Wilson’s city recreation building got 15.

RELATED: Scanners down, ballots ‘already submitted’: RNC plays whack-a-mole on Election Day to protect the vote

Peter Zay/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Anyone who arrives after 7:30 p.m. at the five sites will cast a provisional ballot, per state law.

Hertford is a left-leaning jurisdiction. The county broke 62.9% for Kamala Harris in 2024.

Harris also won Wilson, albeit by a much thinner margin. Columbus went for Donald Trump by 66.6%, and Lenoir broke for him by around 53%, according to NCSBE results.

At the precinct level, things swing a bit further in Democrats’ direction, based on that same 2024 voting data.

Harris won Kinston’s K8 precinct by a whopping 94.3% for Harris. The former vice president also won Como’s and Murfreesboro’s affected precincts by around 70% each.

Trump did win south Williams by 63.5%, however.

The State Board of Elections denied Gates, Watauga, and Wilkes Counties’ requests for extended voting times, according to the News & Observer. Trump previously won Wilkes and Gates by 79.3% and 60.3% respectively, while Watauga broke 52% in Harris’ favor.

In Gates County, the person with the building key showed up late and delayed the start of voting, according to the Carolina Journal. A computer problem also delayed voting by at least 20 minutes in Wilkes County, and a voter had to be escorted in Watauga, which caused a similar delay, according to the outlet.

Hayes told reporters the issues were routine and nothing to be concerned about.

“During every election, minor disruptions arise such as power outages, tabulator issues, printer jams, longer lines than previously anticipated,” Hayes claimed, according to the News & Observer.

“These are not indications of malicious activity, and the processes are in place to respond to each scenario,” Hayes said.

The North Carolina State Board of Elections did not immediately respond to Blaze News’ request for comment.

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​Election, Kamala harris, North carolina, State law, Politics, Donald trump 

Early exit polling results were released by many outlets on Election Day, and the results showed an unhappy electorate that wasn’t terribly enthusiastic about voting for Democrats.

The results showed voters were beaten down by inflation and not too happy about the direction of the country.

‘Voters across parties express concern about affording everything from gas to groceries to utilities.’

CNN exit polling showed that the top concern for 39% of voters was the economy. Another 32% said their top concern was “democracy,” while 14% said it was immigration.

Health care, foreign policy, and crime rounded out the next three concerns at 8%, 4%, and 3% respectively.

CNN found that Trump had only a 38% approval rating and a 62% disapproval rating.

However, Democrats are not that much more popular, according to NBC News exit polling. Only 43% of respondents said they had a favorable view of Democrats, while 38% said they had a favorable view of Republicans.

And 16% said they had a favorable view of neither party.

CBS News reported that only 25% of exit poll respondents said they were “enthusiastic” or “satisfied” about the direction of the country.

Thirty-seven percent said they were “dissatisfied” with the direction of the country, while another 38% said they were “angry.”

Forty-four percent said that their financial situation was worse than two years ago. Only 38% said it was about the same, while 18% said it was better than two years ago.

“Voters are feeling it in their pocketbooks,” CBS summarized. “They are more than twice as likely to say their finances are worse rather than better, based on early exit polls. Voters across parties express concern about affording everything from gas to groceries to utilities.”

The exit polling appeared to corroborate a previous warning from pollster Frank Luntz.

“I’m still skeptical. In the end, Republicans are less likely to participate. They’re less likely to believe the polls are happening. I’m most interested in turnout,” he said in a recent segment with CNN. “They’re polling how the electorate overall feels and not polling the people [that] are actually going to participate.”

RELATED: NBC polling analyst finds MASSIVE problem for Democrats ahead of Election Day

NBC chief data analyst Steve Kornacki voiced similar skepticism about the popularity of Democrats.

“Voters out there who disapprove of Trump, aren’t happy about where the economy is, inflation, are they willing to take the next step and vote for Democrats given how unpopular Democrats are as a party?” Kornacki asked.

“Or does that keep the Democrats from fully capitalizing on what otherwise for them is a very promising political climate?” he added.

NBC reported that exit poll interviewers were going to be talking to voters outside of over 450 polling locations in 15 battleground states for the U.S. Senate elections.

The national exit polling sample will likely include more than 75,000 voters questioned at polling locations, via phone, and in online interviews.

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​Election day, Exit polls, Us senate, Midterm elections, Politics 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news. I know we all want the election madness to end — at least those of us who are not political consultants, pollsters, potential candidates, and reporters — but it is not over on November 3.

In fact, it is just beginning. Because Election Day no longer decides anything: It is merely the dividing line between one political campaign and the next.

I will be glad when Election Day has come and gone, but I’m not so naive as to believe that the vitriol will subside on Nov. 4.

Even worse, elections are no longer about policy or about determining the future of the country. Instead they have become one of two things: either a referendum on President Trump or a verdict on whose ads were most effective in destroying the opposition candidate.

Let’s skin the last skunk first. Political advertising as a general rule is the reason decent American citizens all despise politics — the dark art of getting elected.

Dirty ads are nothing new. We all remember the Willie Horton ad that helped get George H.W. Bush (R) elected president over Gov. Michael Dukakis (D) in 1988, and there are numerous other examples through the years, including LBJ’s famous “Daisy” ad that aired only once, linking his opponent to the threat of nuclear war.

But in general, dirty ads used to be a relatively small part of a campaign, held in reserve as a last desperate measure to save a flailing campaign or a single kill shot to disable a flailing opponent permanently. Not any more. These days, with the addition of named but virtually anonymous super PACs in the mix, the dirty ads air continuously from Labor Day till Election Day, with one aim only: to damage, undermine, and ultimately destroy the reputation of the opposition candidate.

Here in Montana, it wasn’t unusual in years past for candidates to run dignified campaigns that stressed issues and positive values. But those days may be over. And we’ll find out whether dirty politics pays off.

The campaign of Democrat Sam Forstag for the House seat being vacated by Rep. Ryan Zinke has been nothing but disgusting. The advertising being run on his behalf has smeared Republican candidate Aaron Flint with reckless disregard for the truth. One of the ads essentially asks, “Why do you think they call him For Sale Flint?” “They” don’t bother to answer, so I will. “They” call him that because Forstag’s supporters are making the claim without evidence.

Oh sure, the ads are well made and will probably convince some voters that Aaron Flint is corrupt, but there is no evidence other than that he takes campaign contributions from companies that Forstag opposes. But accepting lawful campaign contributions is not evidence that a candidate is for sale and never has been. In my opinion, such ads making baseless claims ought to disqualify the candidate they are backing. At the very least, they ought to make voters wary of candidates who manipulate voters with demagogic rhetoric and empty words.

RELATED: If Republicans can’t get Wyoming right, what are they fighting for?

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Has Aaron Flint responded in kind? To an extent, yes, by pointing out that Forstag is not just a smokejumper as he portrays himself, but also a paid lobbyist for left-wing groups such as the ACLU. But Flint’s ads were launched well after Forstag’s started airing, and thank goodness they were, because without firing back, Flint would have been allowing his opponent to gain the upper hand by taking the low road. And here’s the key difference: Forstag’s ads are guessing about Flint’s supposed future behavior, whereas Flint’s ads are just stating facts about Forstag’s actual past behavior.

So yes, I will be glad when Election Day has come and gone, but I’m not so naive as to believe that the vitriol will subside on Nov. 4.

The partisan divide has become seemingly unbridgeable, and no matter what the results are on Tuesday, the temptation for politicians (and yes, for the rest of us) to paint political opponents as motivated by greed or stupidity will continue unabated. Nothing will change. If Republicans lose seats, Democrats will proclaim that America has repudiated Trump. If Republicans gain seats, Trump will claim vindication. And if the results are mixed, both parties will somehow manage to declare victory.

So as you are watching the election returns, consider this: Maybe it’s about time we think about what kind of results we want to see beyond who wins and who loses. Those are important, but even more important is restoring dignity to the electoral process itself.

It is not corrupt politicians we need to worry about; it is a corrupt system that encourages division, discord, and deceit. And it won’t go away unless voters stop rewarding the tactics they profess to despise.

This article was originally published by RealClearPolitics and made available via RealClearWire.

​American citizens, Election day, Election results, Nuclear war, Political ads, Political advertising, Political division, President trump, Super pacs, Realclearpolitics, November 3, Midterm elections, 2026 midterms, Opinion & analysis 

The fight to keep boys out of girls’ sports is heading for a major test at the ballot box — and the results could change everything. Founder and CEO of XX-XY Athletics Jennifer Sey is hopeful that the blue states potentially affected might be ready to finally draw a line.

“There’s ballot initiatives on November 3 in two very blue states, Washington and Colorado, where I live. If they pass their two ballot initiatives to protect girls’ sports, it’ll be the first time in blue states that there are laws specifically defining the category,” Sey tells Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck.

“In Washington it’s polling really well,” she explains. “I know that. In Colorado we had polling going in, and that informs our articulation of the initiative, and we got 20% more, 25% more signatures than we needed to get on the ballot. We don’t have polling right now, but going in to get the ballot initiative secured, we had very positive polling, 60%, 70%.”

“I mean, this is a unifying issue,” she adds.

“Let’s say it wins by 60%,” Glenn says. “What do you think that does to that 40%? That is going to set their hair on fire.”

“If we win in one of these deep-blue states, it could start a cascade of other blue states doing ballot initiatives, I hope,” Sey replies.

“If we win, though, I don’t think it will be over, because you’re right, the 40% or the ones who lost are going to be outraged. And just because there’s a law doesn’t mean they’re not going to keep doing what they’re doing, which is allowing boys to compete in girls’ sports,” she continues.

“But there will be a boundary, and we will have recourse when it happens. And it is happening in Washington. It happens all the time,” she adds.

In fact, it’s happening right now with a boy named Logan Mihailoff, who switched from the boys’ cross country team to the girls’ at CAS High School in Washington.

“He went from placing bottom of the pack to making the podium every time,” she says.

“So I think Washington has a great shot. I think in Colorado we have a shot. I’m nervous; I won’t lie. But I think we do have a really good shot,” she adds.

“I think the tide is turning,” Glenn says. “I think we’re in this weird place. You know, the tide is turning, but the left is becoming so angry, so angry and so vicious.”

“I think people are alerted to the crazy on the other side, and they say, ‘I don’t want to be associated with that,’” Sey agrees. “And it’s not a cascade, but one by one, little by little, I think cracks are being made, and I think people are distancing themselves from that side of things.”

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​Glenn beck, Jennifer sey, Womens sports, Transgender, Ballot initiative, Blazetv show 

Affordability is consistently rated voters’ number one concern in the midterms, but you don’t hear much about it from Republicans.

There is good reason for this. Messaging on the economy and cost of living is tricky: The administration and this Congress have an impressive record to run on and statistics that show people are better off now than they were two years ago. However, making that case risks alienating voters who are dissatisfied with their own economic circumstances and frustrated by easily observable metrics — like the price of gas and groceries — that suggest the economy is treading water at best.

Blue states show what happens when governments are free to make democratic socialist policies reality.

Yet conservatives should not give up and let Democrats sell their half-baked socialist ideas as the real path to great affordability. The opposite is true. Conservatives know that those policies contributed to the economic misery of the Biden administration and that if they gain power, they will only make economic recovery harder.

That’s why conservatives must first acknowledge that geopolitical energy shocks are eroding good progress on prices and then lean into showing where the cost of living in the United States remains the biggest problem and explain why.

This new ad by Independent Women’s Voice and Unleash Prosperity Now does just that. It zeroes in on a chart built from data from the American Presidential Project and World Population Review, exposing the relationship between high cost of living and areas that voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.

What it shows is that the higher the concentration of Harris voters, the higher the cost of living — while red areas that most supported Trump enjoy the greatest levels of affordability.

Voters should recognize that those relationships aren’t an accident: States like California, New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts have pursued high regulation, high tax, high spending policies, and those Democratic policies make life more expensive.

Of course, Americans generally are frustrated by the price of gas and blame U.S. actions in Iran. Yet federal policy and the international scene don’t explain why gas is $6.28 on average in California and just $3.84 in Texas. Nor does it explain why gas prices under Democrats when there was no war were nearly as high as they are now.

Electricity prices tell a similar story, with California residents paying $27.04 per kilowatt-hour while Texans pay $9.79.

Same with housing: The average California house costs a jaw-dropping $761,538 compared to $296,424 in Texas. Sure, part of that is attributable to California’s unrivaled natural beauty, but it also reflects policy decisions that have made the state uniquely and needlessly expensive.

Blue states embrace restrictionist policies not just on energy, but on housing and business climates that make it more expensive for businesses to operate and citizens to live. Heavy regulations, high minimum wages, and union rules make everything cost more.

RELATED: The drama doesn’t end on Election Day

Moor Studio/Getty Images

Blue states tax their citizens more and have bloated government bureaucracies that discourage innovation and slow everything down. Blue states have also disproportionately tolerated fraud, crime, and illegal immigration, which burden state governments and taxpayers, as well as diminish the quality of life.

That’s why affordability is such a big problem, particularly in blue states. And it’s those same policies — and worse — that Democrats running for Congress and governorships are proposing today, and which would inevitably send America in the wrong direction.

In contrast, this administration and Congress have advanced policies designed to make life more affordable for everyone. Every taxpayer benefits from the provisions in the Working Families Tax Cuts that enabled people to keep more of what they earn, whether it was tips, overtime shifts, Social Security benefits, or higher child tax credits and lower overall rates. This administration has made herculean efforts to eradicate waste, not just by ending fraud but by ripping out departments, programs, and systems that made waste and fraud systemic.

While Americans are just starting to see the benefits of such efforts, the media works to obscure how these reforms will pay dividends for years to come. But most voters know that these efforts are worthwhile, especially compared to how Democrats who had a choice either chose to turn a blind eye to this waste, or were themselves corrupt or incompetent.

Affordability is a messaging battle the GOP should be fighting now and must continue to fight to prevent Democratic policies based on promised freebies without any sound way to pay for them or any thought to the harms they would trigger. Those promises are a gift-wrapped box filled with poisonous snakes: appealing on the outside, but dangerous once opened.

Blue states show what happens when governments are free to make democratic socialist policies reality — and far from advancing affordability, it’s a road that leads to skyrocketing costs and less livable communities. The GOP should ensure voters recognize this reality.

This article was originally published by RealClearPolitics and made available via RealClearWire.

​2026 midterms, Blue states, Democratic socialism, Democrats, Election, Gas prices, Grocery prices, Housing costs, Illegal immigration, Red states, Republicans, Opinion & analysis 

Lindsay Clancy’s prosecutors said Monday they want her to stand trial again for the murders of her three young children — but it isn’t yet clear what charges Clancy would face at a retrial, WBZ-TV reported.

Defense attorney Kevin Reddington in Clancy’s first trial acknowledged that she killed her children — 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan — in their Duxbury, Massachusetts, home in January 2023, WBZ said.

‘When you have jurors, you expect that jurors are going to be honest in their disclosure to the court about their background.’

But Clancy pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, and Reddington argued that his client wasn’t criminally responsible because she was overmedicated and suffering from postpartum psychosis, the station added.

Prosecutors disagreed, saying Clancy knew right from wrong and planned to strangle her children, WBZ said.

The prosecution also maintained that Clancy schemed to get her husband out of the house that evening her children were killed by sending him to pick up medicine for one of their children and dinner for the family, the Associated Press said.

The first trial ended with a hung jury on Sept. 4 with one juror holding out, believing Clancy was guilty, while the other 11 believed she was not guilty of murder.

In a twist, Reddington argued in late September that there wasn’t enough evidence to prove Clancy killed her three children.

However, in a civil lawsuit, Clancy’s lawyers said she admitted to killing them, WBZ noted.

More from the station:

At a hearing in Plymouth Superior Court Monday, prosecutor Jennifer Sprague said for the first time that Clancy will likely stand trial again, though it is not yet known what she would be charged with.

“This would be a retrial,” Sprague said, adding that the prosecution has not yet decided “how that will look.”

Sprague told Judge William Sullivan she did not want to set a trial date until he ruled on outstanding motions in the case.

Reddington, however, said he wants to know what charges his client will face — and added that the “elephant in the room” is Sullivan’s approaching retirement, WBZ reported. In addition, Reddington said he wants Sullivan to be the trial judge, the station noted.

“Why do we not know if the next trial is going to be murder in the first degree or a lesser charge or no charge?” Reddington said, according to WBZ. “They don’t need to wait for that to determine if they’re going to take a run on her again on first-degree. I have to know logistically if it’s going to be triple homicide first-degree or something else.”

The station added that if prosecutors decide to retry Clancy on lesser second-degree murder charges, she could opt between a jury trial or a judge issuing a ruling.

“I am not going to have this woman sit incarcerated for the next year, or two, or three,” Reddington said, according to WBZ. “I want a trial. And I want it with you, and I want it this spring.”

Sullivan said he is leaning toward March as a realistic date for a second trial, the station reported, adding that the date will be discussed at the next hearing on Nov. 16.

Prosecutor Sprague also argued for the government’s motion for a gag order, saying Reddington has made “calculated” statements that could impact the public’s perception of the case — and thereby taint the jury pool for a potential retrial, WBZ said.

Laura McConnell argued for the defense against the gag order, the station said, saying that because Clancy hasn’t given interviews, Reddington acts as her voice — and a gag order would take that away.

WBZ said Sullivan took the matter under advisement and didn’t issue a ruling Monday.

RELATED: Lindsay Clancy’s lawyer makes stunning argument in first hearing since recent mistrial

In addition, Reddington argued on a motion to preserve records related to the holdout juror, referred to in court as “Juror Doe,” the station said.

“When you have jurors, you expect that jurors are going to be honest in their disclosure to the court about their background,” Reddington said, according to WBZ.

Then things got heated when Reddington referred to the holdout juror by name, the station said:

“I’m going to stop you right there,” Sullivan said.

“No. You’re not going to stop me,” Reddington responded.

“I am,” Sullivan said. “Because there’s no need to bring out that juror’s name.”

Reddington then argued that the holdout juror’s name is “all over the internet,” as he has given interviews, WBZ said, adding that Redding also told Judge Sullivan the holdout juror has “got more face time than I do.”

Reddington also alleged that the holdout juror was scrolling on his phone during deliberations, the station reported, adding that Reddington added that “I have evidence that this man was not honest” on his jury form.

Clancy’s attorney alleged that the holdout juror didn’t disclose that he had an abuse prevention order against him and failed to disclose a 2021 arrest, WBZ reported.

Prosecutor Sprague asked for the motion to be denied “on its face,” the station said, since allowing the motion would be “potentially opening the door” into examining all jurors’ actions and statements.

Judge Sullivan did not rule Monday on the motion related to the holdout juror, WBZ noted.

Clancy remains in custody at Tewksbury State Hospital under psychiatric care, the station said, adding that she is paralyzed and in a wheelchair after jumping out of a window the night her children were killed.

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​Child murders, Lindsay clancy, Massachusetts, Mother kills children, Murder charges, Postpartum psychosis, Prosecutors, Second trial, Trial, Crime 

The Trump administration has been cleared Tuesday to demand that election workers set aside and wait on counting ballots cast by suspected noncitizens.

Last month, the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security cautioned election officials about potential criminal liability regarding the counting of ballots cast by suspected noncitizens. In California, this would result in the sequestration of roughly 20,000 mail-in ballots.

Accordingly, the Trump administration can resume telling state election officials to set aside suspect ballots.

Various labor unions and liberal advocacy groups including the Service Employees International Union and the NAACP sued in hopes of blocking the Trump administration’s efforts to ensure that foreigners weren’t putting their thumbs on the scale of the midterms elections.

U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson, a Biden appointee, obliged the liberal plaintiffs on Friday, blocking the Trump administration from demanding that election officials nationwide not process ballots cast by suspected noncitizens. Her temporary restraining order was to last until Nov. 13.

On Monday, a three-judge Ninth Circuit panel put a halt on the Biden judge’s temporary restraining order, finding that the government had “established a likelihood of success on the merits.”

However, a few hours later, that ruling was vacated and Mary Murguia, an Obama appointee serving as chief judge on the Ninth Circuit, ordered that the case be reheard by a full Ninth Circuit panel — a decision that law professor Jonathan Turley said “hampers the Administration’s efforts on election integrity.”

In a 6-5 vote decided midway through Election Day, the Ninth Circuit reinstated its earlier ruling lifting the restraining order on the Trump administration. Murguia was among the dissenting judges.

Accordingly, the Trump administration can resume telling state election officials to set aside suspect ballots and telling those officials that failure to do so could result in federal prosecution.

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​Election day, Justice department, Trump administration, Election integrity, Noncitizen, Ballots, Midterms, Politics 

Republican voters in New Hampshire were thrilled on Tuesday to find four-time Super Bowl champion Rob Gronkowksi encouraging them to vote on Election Day.

Videos on social media showed Gronkowski taking photos with his fans and waving the U.S. flag at motorists.

‘It doesn’t matter what side you’re voting for; it just matters about you coming out and voting.’

Other former sports stars seen at polling places included boxer Floyd Mayweather, Red Sox All-Star Kevin Youkilis, and Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola.

Gronkowski interacted with voters and fans near a campaign tent in Bedford for Turning Point USA, the organization founded by the late activist Charlie Kirk.

TPUSA chief operating officer Tyler Bowyer posted videos of the former New England Patriots player on social media. Mayweather was also spotted near a TPUSA tent in Hudson, according to WMUR.

Despite media speculation that the sports figures were there on Turning Point’s behalf, someone close to TPUSA’s Election Day activities told Blaze News that the organization was not involved in Gronk’s appearance.

On Tuesday, New Hampshire Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte posted a photo of herself with Gronkowski and his girlfriend, Camille Kostek, in Bedford.

“The air is brisk and the people are just so wonderful, and [I’m] just taking pictures with everyone that are coming out here to vote,” said Gronkowski to WFXT-TV.

“It doesn’t matter what side you’re voting for; it just matters about you coming out and voting,” he added.

RELATED: MAGA-haters say ‘Trump curse’ hit Jaxson Dart with reportedly season-ending injury

Gronkowski has not been overly outspoken about his political beliefs. He has said that he preferred visiting the White House under President Donald Trump over the visit under former President Barack Obama. But that’s because Obama restricted the players’ access, while Trump let them roam about the White House.

Obama also told Gronkowski to keep his shirt on at the White House event.

In 2024 Gronkowski enthusiastically backed Elon Musk’s suggestion to simplify the tax code.

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​Election day, New england patriots, New hampshire, Rob gronkowski, Turning point usa, Politics 

As election returns roll in, political analysts will undoubtedly focus on the deep partisan divisions over the cost of energy, the Iran War, support for Israel, and immigration. Most of it will predict two more years of gridlock between Congress and the White House.

Whatever the balance of power in Congress, a new consensus could emerge on homelessness. The conditions are ripe: a Republican administration dedicated to better outcomes for both the homeless and the public and Democrats incentivized to show their constituents that they are no longer ignoring a crisis at its worst in blue strongholds like Seattle and San Francisco.

The only results that matter are whether Washington finally stops counting dollars spent on homelessness and starts counting the people it helps escape it.

Even so, change won’t come easily. Expecting a Democratic takeover in Congress, the homelessness activists who brought us billions in wasteful spending and worsening outcomes are already urging lawmakers to undo the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s performance-based funding reforms.

Most people recognize that homelessness should not be a red or blue issue. The two primary causes of homelessness — severe mental illness and substance use disorder — impact most Americans in some way. Homelessness happens to black and white Americans, young and old, in big cities and small towns.

The heart of the partisan divide on homelessness is how to solve the problem. Republicans want to spend less on ineffective and inefficient programs and refocus on drug addiction and mental illness treatment. Democratic activists insist that the current Housing First model (the provision of permanent supportive housing without treatment or sobriety requirements) is working and want to spend more on it.

No matter who is in office, the situation on the ground has changed. Americans across the political spectrum, who have seen the effects of a decade of increasing homelessness in their neighborhoods, are no longer inclined to take the activists at their word.

Our recent report brings hope that, if both parties work together for commonsense reform, they can achieve what the taxpayers and voters really want, which is to alleviate the suffering on America’s streets. Across the country, we can help more people get off the street and rebuild their lives, while ensuring federal and state governments eliminate waste and spend taxpayer money efficiently.

The report shows that most of the homelessness funding from the federal government is spent on inputs: how many beds facilities have, how many people they have hired, how many homeless people check into their facilities.

RELATED: The case for optimism on Election Day

Sergey Shambulin/Getty Images

But the local entities that distribute federal funding do a poor job of tracking outcomes, especially considering the amount of money spent. How many people are getting jobs? How many people walk out with better health or are able to return to their families having beaten their addiction? No one can say. Meanwhile executives at ineffective homelessness nonprofits make more money than ever, while the homeless languish.

This is where Republicans and Democrats can come together. President Trump has emphasized the need for outcomes in federal homelessness funding, with a particular focus on treatment for addiction and mental illness, economic self-sufficiency, and public safety. Meanwhile Democrats concerned about protecting the less fortunate should see targets in the nonprofit executives getting rich at taxpayer expense and victims in the homeless people they exploit.

And before anyone says it, yes, this can be done. Daniel Lurie, the mayor of San Francisco, is hardly conservative, but he has offered some of the same outcome-based reforms as Trump, notably mandated treatment, street enforcement, and a rollback of low-barrier harm reduction. To achieve this, Lurie has had to reject the radical demands of homeless activists in his own city. If he and Trump can align on anything, lawmakers in Washington ought to be able to do the same.

As Washington considers voting outcomes on Wednesday morning, more than 745,000 Americans will have spent the night on the streets. For them, the only results that matter are whether Washington finally stops counting dollars spent on homelessness and starts counting the people it helps escape it.

​Opinion & analysis, Homelessness, Bipartisan 

A former University of California San Diego doctoral student pleaded guilty to murdering her best friend’s 6-week-old baby and injuring his twin brother. The woman previously made a chilling admission that “from a very, very young age” she had a compulsion to “hurt kids.”

Nicole Virzi, 32, initially had been charged with capital murder with the possibility of the death penalty.

‘From a very, very young age, I don’t know what it is, but I always had this urge — almost like a compulsion I can’t control — to hurt kids.’

However, Virzi agreed to a plea deal last week, and she opted to plead guilty to charges of third-degree murder, aggravated assault, and two counts of endangering a child’s welfare, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Virzi now faces a minimum of 35 years and a maximum of 80 years in state prison.

Allegheny County (Pa.) Deputy District Attorney Emma Schoedel said the plea deal was made to honor the wishes of the victims’ family, according to the New York Post.

“Although this office was committed to pursuing this case to trial and its ultimate conclusion, after continued and ongoing consultation with the family and considering the best interest of the community and its protection, we agreed to offer the above plea and sentence,” the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement, according to NBC News.

“This was a horrific case in which Virzi used her trusted relationship with the Roberts/Katz family to place herself in a situation where she could commit her horrendous acts,” the district attorney’s office said in a statement. “Throughout the criminal justice process, the Roberts/Katz family has continued to endure crushing emotional pain and grief.”

Virzi did not speak during the plea hearing; however, her defense attorney Tina Miller said: “No words of apology would be sufficient.”

Virzi, of San Diego, traveled to Pittsburgh in June 2024 to visit her then-best friend, Savannah Roberts.

According to the criminal complaint obtained by WTAE-TV, Virzi was babysitting Roberts’ infant Leon Katz while the baby’s parents took Leon’s twin brother to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Children’s Hospital.

The complaint said the twin, Ari Katz, suffered an injury to his genital area, which Virzi pointed out.

While she was babysitting Leon, the 6-week-old sustained head injuries, the complaint said.

Virzi told investigators she left Leon to get a baby bottle from the home’s kitchen and then heard the infant screaming, according to the complaint.

“She told police that when she returned, the baby was on the floor and out of a bouncer seat,” WTAE reported.

Leon was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Medical scans determined that Leon had “a severe skull fracture to the left side of the head, along with multiple brain bleeds,” according to Virzi’s arrest report.

“The injuries sustained by both [twins are] consistent with having been sustained as a result of child abuse, as these are inflicted injuries that are not natural and not accidental,” a doctor told police, according to the complaint.

Leon’s death was ruled a homicide caused by “blunt force trauma to the head,” NBC News reported, citing the criminal complaint.

RELATED: Ex-University of Kentucky cheerleader who admitted killing her newborn baby learns fate — judge delivers brutal reality check

Virzi later made a harrowing admission during a 13-hour interrogation.

“So when I was alone with [Leon] I shook him a couple times — hard,” Virzi said during the interrogation, according to the criminal complaint. “And I dropped him a couple times — hard.”

WTAE reported, “Virzi continued to tell a detective that, at one point, she flipped the infant upside down on the bathroom tile floor.”

Virzi told detectives, “Something just came over me. I couldn’t control. I’m telling you this because I can’t keep lying about it.”

Virzi then made another chilling confession.

“From a very, very young age, I don’t know what it is, but I always had this urge — almost like a compulsion I can’t control — to hurt kids,” Virzi stated.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Roberts said in a statement that she had “no intention of leaving [Virzi] alone with the boys,” but she was forced to leave because of Ari’s injuries.

“It is unfathomable to me how anyone, particularly someone I considered family, could see baby Leon, and shake, drop, and throw him to the ground, torturing him for their own pleasure,” Roberts stated. “I never suspected Nicole would perpetrate child abuse for even a second.”

Roberts continued, “Now, I struggle to make even basic decisions about Ari’s care for fear that I could make a choice that inadvertently causes him harm.”

NBC News reported that Roberts wrote a letter to Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Jill E. Rangos that read:

Nicole’s actions have fundamentally changed me as a person, and I feel unrecognizable from the Savannah I used to be. I could’ve never imagined that a person, let alone my best friend, was capable of the cruelty or violence Nicole displayed.

One of the most enduring impacts of Nicole’s crimes is that my own self-confidence is forever shattered, and I’ll never forgive myself for failing to protect my babies from this monster.

Roberts said being Ari’s mother brings her “more joy and comfort than anything in my life ever has” but added: “Yet as Leon’s mom too, every milestone, accomplishment, and birthday that Ari reaches is shadowed by the realization that Leon should be experiencing just as much of life, by his brother’s side.”

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​Dead baby, Baby murder, Murder, California, Pennsylvania, Crime 

The first results of the midterm elections are a mixed bag for Republicans and Democrats.

While Republicans were able to flip the governor’s seat for Guam, Democrats flipped the island’s delegate seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

‘Hopefully that’s an indication for things to come!’

Guam is a U.S. territory and as such has a delegate in the House but does not have a vote on legislation. The island also does not have any representation in the U.S. Senate.

Democrat candidate Alicia Anne Garrido Limtiaco defeated incumbent Republican Del. James Moylan 51% to 48.8%, according to VoteHub.

Del. Moylan won the 2024 election by six percentage points over the Democrat at the time, meaning support flipped from Republicans by a margin of eight percentage points. On the other hand, turnout for presidential election years is usually much higher than for midterm elections.

Republican Vicente Anthony “Tony” Ada defeated Therese M. Terlaje for the governor’s office by about three percentage points in the latest results on Tuesday. The Democrat conceded the election.

President Donald Trump celebrated the Republican victory in the governor’s race.

“Guam, which has always been considered strongly Democrat, just had an early call for a REPUBLICAN Victory in the top spot, Governor — Congratulations to Tony Ada!” he wrote on Truth Social.

“Also, the Republicans have the Majority in the State Senate. Wow, hopefully that’s an indication for things to come!” he added.

Guam has a unicameral legislature, rather than a House and Senate, but Republicans will hold a narrow one-vote majority next term.

Democrat Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero has been in office for the last eight years and was term-limited in 2026.

RELATED: NBC polling analyst finds MASSIVE problem for Democrats ahead of Election Day

Guamanians also voted for numerous offices in their local legislature. Voters told Guam News they were concerned most about the lack of tourism and the rising cost of living.

On social media, news of the flipping election led to a flurry of jokes referring to comments made by Democrat Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia in 2010 that the island might tip over and capsize if the population grew too large.

There were 59,146 voters registered in Guam for the 2026 general election, according to Marianas Press.

Poll Watch: 2026 midterm polls, averaged

Poll Watch: 2026 midterm polls, averagedpollwatch.theblaze.com

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​Midterm elections, Us house, Donald trump, Guam, Politics 

The Republican National Committee’s Election Integrity team is fighting back against chaotic polling place disruptions.

Ballot scanners went down in Westchester County, N.Y., when polls opened Tuesday morning, and a Northern Virginia voter reportedly showed up to vote and was told he already had. Across America, the RNC’s Election Integrity team is tackling chaos at the ballot box.

‘This would not have been caught if we had not gone in person.’

In Westchester, voters are filling out paper ballots and dropping them into orange emergency bags. The county’s scanners refused deposited ballots just after the polls opened at 6 a.m., according to CBS New York.

County Executive Ken Jenkins blamed a printing problem that left ballots unreadable to the machines, according to the outlet. The state Board of Elections pointed instead to a programming change made to a contest in one municipality after the county’s equipment had been tested.

Jenkins assured voters that a bipartisan team will investigate.

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) said every scanner in the county had a problem, and whether “the ballot or the machine” was to blame was unknown.

“Every ballot will be counted. Stay on line and vote. Do not leave the polling place without voting,” Lawler posted.

The RNC said it had deployed extra observers in Westchester and that both Republicans and Democrats were seeking a joint court order to move ballot counting to the County Board of Elections rather than a local polling place.

The stakes are high for Lawler. His re-election race against Democrat Cait Conley in New York’s 17th District is one of the most closely watched in the country, and the district covers most of northern Westchester. Blaze News’ Poll Watch has Lawler leading his opponent by just a tenth of a point.

“Long-established emergency ballot procedures have been implemented, where completed ballots are secured, under bipartisan control, and will be counted,” the New York State Board of Elections said in a statement, according to CBS New York.

RELATED: Florida voters: Has your polling station moved?

Andrew Leyden/NurPhoto/Getty Images

The RNC said it had resolved a polling place problem in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, a county Scott Presler reminded followers “ran out of paper in 2022.” This time around, one precinct was missing a scanner-attached ballot box, according to a voter’s account shared by Presler.

“7:45 am Butler Township Luzerne County District 8,” the voter wrote. “The scanner box for my district was not available, so they put my ballot in a holding box in the other scanning machine. I was assured it would be scanned as soon as the scanning box arrived.”

“A scanner was there, but it was not attached to a box that the ballots would fall into,” the voter wrote.

The RNC posted, “ISSUE FIXED,” on X about two hours after Presler flagged the problem.

“The RNC flagged the polling-place concern with the Luzerne County Bureau of Elections and made sure it was resolved,” RNC Election Integrity posted at noon.

The Department of Justice said Tuesday it would send monitors to Luzerne County as part of its first-ever effort to monitor elections across all 50 states. Westchester and Georgia’s Fulton County are also on the DOJ’s watchlist, alongside Fairfax and Prince William Counties in Northern Virginia.

The RNC is piling on with additional observers as fast as it can get them to polling stations.

“We will have extra observers present to monitor the tabulation of ballots affected by the scanner issues,” the committee posted.

The RNC’s team also intervened in Ohio, where a bomb threat caused polling location Beverly Elementary School to be closed. Following RNC action, the school has been reopened for voting.

Northern Virginia suffered from an even stranger issue. Kaylee McGhee White claimed she and her husband checked in at their polling place Tuesday morning, only to be told he had already voted.

“Showed up, checked in, were immediately told a mail in ballot had already been submitted for my husband,” McGhee White wrote in an X post. “I cannot overstate how important it is to show up today. This would not have been caught if we had not gone in person.”

Poll workers eventually told her husband they had to cancel the mail ballot before he could vote in person, she said.

“We of course have no way to verify that this is what they did. But we did our part and showed up, and he was able to submit his ballot in person,” McGhee White posted.

McGhee White also claimed on X that the RNC’s Election Integrity team called her husband within five minutes of the initial complaint.

The integrity team is working feverishly to ensure voters are able to submit their ballots on Election Day.

“The RNC will NEVER stop fighting to protect the vote. See an issue? REPORT IT,” the committee posted.

The Department of Justice and the RNC Election Integrity team did not immediately respond to Blaze News’ requests for comment.

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​Department of justice, Election day, Election monitors, Mike lawler, Republican national committee, Scott presler, Politics 

It takes a pretty radical candidate to make a Democrat cross party lines and endorse a Republican whom she recently accused of being a “racist.”

But that’s exactly what’s happening in Michigan, where Rep. Haley Stevens has withdrawn her support for Democrat Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed and thrown her backing behind Republican Mike Rogers.

“Unlike in Texas, you have Democrats who … of their own volition are realizing how dangerous this guy is and turning against him, like Democrat Congresswoman Haley Stevens, who ran against him and now says she is not supporting Abdul,” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales explains, before playing a clip of Stevens endorsing Rogers.

“Hey, Michigan. As you may have seen, our Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, Abdul, said that I was no longer welcome in his campaign and that I should stay away. And he’s right. And that’s why I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate today,” Stevens said.

“I don’t belong in Abdul’s campaign. I do not stand with Hasan [Piker], who gets trafficked on our college campuses. A dear friend of mine earlier today was saying that education is on the ballot, and she’s absolutely right. And what our students see, what our children see, and who we are as Michiganders is not hate,” she added.

“You would think it would take a pretty radical guy for a Democrat in the state of Michigan to decide to endorse a Republican,” Gonzales comments. “Like, that’s crazy.”

“Even CNN and MSNBCs of the world were like, ‘This is probably not a great alliance.’ Like, why are you cozying up to a guy that outwardly hates America and says that America deserved 9/11? That’s kind of a bad look,” she continues.

However, plenty of Democrats are not happy with Stevens’ withdrawal of support — especially Hasan Piker, whom Stevens had cited as a reason for being unable to endorse El-Sayed.

“There are plenty of others out there in the Democratic Party coalition who oppose our ideology, who oppose our worldviews, who oppose us, but at least they keep quiet, with the full knowledge that we are an important part of this coalition. Perhaps the most important part of this coalition,” Piker said in a recent stream.

“What the f**k were you thinking? You absolute moron,” he said of Stevens. “You think people are going to hear this and go, ‘Well, that does make a lot of sense. I too hate Hasan Piker.’ What are you, f**king nuts? She became such a Republican that she lost IQ points. Did you get John Fetterstroked? What the f**k is going on?”

Piker also called her a “petulant child.”

But Piker isn’t the only one lashing out at Stevens. Democrat James Carville also went on a rant against the Democrat, calling her no better than a “used condom.”

“Your political career is over. If you think that these Republicans are going to treat you as anything other than what they view you as, and that is, let me just break the news to you, a used condom,” Carville said.

“The Democrats don’t even think you’re worth a used condom. But that’s about where you are. You made your bed. Sleep in it,” he added.

“This is how they treat you,” Gonzales says.

“They have absolutely no morals or values or principles on which they stand. They just intend to use your morals and values against you. They don’t believe in country over party. They believe in the ends justify the means,” she adds.

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​Haley stevens, Hasan piker, James carville, Mike rogers, Abdul el sayed, Blazetv show 

A growing number of young conservative men are taking beloved pop-culture characters and reclaiming them on their own terms — and unsurprisingly liberals are not taking it well.

The first was Anakin Skywalker, the famous good guy turned super villain who young men on the right are beginning to align with based on the world’s rejection of young white men in favor of third-world immigrants.

The latest example is “Malfoid,” a female reimagining of Draco Malfoy that was deliberately created to appeal to traditional masculinity rather than progressive identity politics.

“Over the last several months, we’ve seen this very strange kind of happening online where some of the biggest franchises in entertainment, whether it’s ‘Star Wars,’ ‘Harry Potter,’ other franchises,” BlazeTV host John Doyle explains.

“These are now being reimagined by young guys on the right who are taking characters once celebrated by liberals and turning them into symbols of something completely opposed to the values of just contemporary society,” he continues.

“Naturally, this has made a lot of people very angry because in their mind, only they get to reimagine what these characters were supposed to be for, what these franchises are supposed to be about, the new DEI sequels and revamps and so on,” he adds.

This, Doyle explains, begins with the artist who “spawned Malfoid,” a reimagined female version of Harry Potter’s Draco Malfoy.

“People were asking this [artist] to make a version of Malfoy that was trans or lesbian, and the artist completely refused, and they were like, ‘I drew this to make guys yearn again,’” Doyle says.

This “Malfoid” is meant to appeal to “the sensitive young man.”

“And so, those who stand in opposition to the young men … they absolutely despise all of this stuff,” Doyle says, noting that now young men are the ones who want a family and are embracing “traditional attitudes.”

“You can kind of see this with both the ‘Harry Potter’ and the Anakin stuff that, you know, even though on one side you have this guy who fights against the dark lord and then with Anakin, you know, he becomes the dark lord, central to both is literally just having a wife that loves and supports them and having a family,” he explains.

“And all of this is in the wake of literally decades of the young, straight, white male being demonized, being talked about as a threat, something to be dealt with,” he adds.

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​Anakin skywalker, Draco malfoy, Harry potter, Malfoid, John doyle, Young men, Blazetv show 

European countries are facing another suspected cyberattack — this time affecting dozens of grocery stores in a hit to the EU’s food supply.

Concerns have continued to grow as another cyberattack affected the cooling units in a number of grocery stores across multiple countries in Europe.

‘They are a deliberate attempt to disrupt our food supply chain and undermine consumers’ confidence in it — a warning that we must take seriously.’

The attacks, which hit stores on Monday, affected a number of supermarkets in Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg, Estonia, and Ireland, according to multiple sources.

The affected stores include Ahold Delhaize and Colruyt in Belgium and Luxembourg and ICA and Coop in Sweden. IKEA also had one store affected in the attack, according to CNBC.

The attack caused temperatures to rise in refrigerator and freezer units, forcing some stores to dispose of spoiled food.

An ICA sales manager reportedly told Reuters that all of her store’s freezers reached 50 degrees Celsius — over 120 degrees Fahrenheit — as a result of the attack.

RELATED: 11 MILLION accounts breached as new cyberattack rocks this popular gaming company

Wiktor Dabkowski/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The European Commission has reportedly shown increased concern about the digital threats, which have proved to be extremely disruptive.

“They are a deliberate attempt to disrupt our food supply chain and undermine consumers’ confidence in it — a warning that we must take seriously,” EU commissioner for agriculture Christophe Hansen told CNBC. “The repeated occurrence of these cyberattacks is deeply concerning.”

According to ABC News, a spokesperson for the Delhaize chain told reporters that an “IT incident” had affected a number of stores primarily in Belgium but also in Luxembourg.

“In the affected stores, the range of fresh and frozen products is temporarily somewhat limited. Our distribution centers are operating normally, and there has been no disruption to deliveries to our stores,” spokesperson Sarah De Meester told ABC.

The attack follows a similar cybersecurity incident in France last month in which around 700 of the country’s roughly 10,000 supermarkets — including leading chains like Intermarché, Carrefour, Coopérative U, E.Leclerc, and Monoprix — were affected, according to Cyber Breaches.

The investigation into the nature of the attack and the suspected perpetrators is ongoing.

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​Food supply chain, Grocery stores, Tech 

Someone could use their iPhone to eavesdrop on your real-life conversations. A little-known feature called Live Listen makes it possible for anyone to leave their phone in a room and stream whatever you say to a pair of AirPods. You can disable this feature on your iPhone now, but thwarting others is more complicated.

Live Listen isn’t a new feature in iOS. In fact, it’s been on your iPhone since 2014, at least in some form. When it launched, it only worked in tandem with a pair of hearing aids wirelessly connected to the host iPhone. Compatibility was limited by design, but then again, Apple didn’t yet have wireless earbuds of its own to make it more accessible, so hearing aids were the target device for the first several years.

Even though Live Listen is disabled on your iPhone, that doesn’t stop somebody else from using Live Listen on their iPhone.

Live Listen is simple. Meant to help the hearing impaired, it uses the connected iPhone as a remote microphone to relay the sound it captures to a connected pair of hearing aids on the other end. The hearing aids then receive that sound and relay it directly to the wearer’s ears to help them hear better.

So instead of forcing someone with a hearing impairment to get closer to what they want to hear — the TV, a radio, another person — they can sit their phone down beside the sound and let it pump audio back to the hearing aids for easy listening.

Apple eventually brought this technology to its wireless earbuds after it launched the AirPod series in 2016. Since then, Live Listen hasn’t received much more attention, but it’s always been there, ready to stream a conversation to a connected listening device on demand.

Like any helpful feature, Live Listen can be used for good, and it can also be abused. For instance, someone could leave their phone in a room where an important conversation is taking place and listen in from a distance through a pair of connected AirPods.

AirPods have a Bluetooth range of 30 to 100 feet, depending on who you ask. That means someone could potentially listen to a conversation from up to 33 yards away, turning it into a long-range spy tool that is hard to detect. Live Listen can even generate transcripts of the conversations it hears, making it even more dangerous.

RELATED: This new iPhone update can warn you if you’re about to get scammed

tolgart/Getty Images

Live Listen is buried deep in the Settings app, relegated to a place where few would find it, unless they know where to look. Even now, it could be enabled, ready to start listening at the push of a button. That doesn’t mean it will start to record on its own though. There are a couple of requirements that must be met before Live Listen hears conversations.

The first thing you need is a pair of connected hearing aids, AirPods, or compatible Beats wireless headphones. Live Listen will not work with other third-party hardware. Second, you have to add the Live Listen icon to your Control Center setup and press it to activate. Without that, you can’t start a listening session.

Ultimately, without these two things, Live Listen is rendered useless and harmless. Still, for extra peace of mind, you might want to disable Live Listen to make sure it doesn’t run amok, either from a bug or some unknown exploit.

To disable Live Listen, open the Settings app on your iPhone and tap “Accessibility.” Choose “Audio & Visual” in the “Hearing” section, followed by “Live Listen.” Turn the “Remote Control” option off so that the toggle is grayed out. Now Live Listen can’t be activated from Control Center or through any other method.

Live Listen Settings on iOS 27.2/Zach Laidlaw

Keep in mind that even though Live Listen is disabled on your iPhone, that doesn’t stop somebody else from using it on their iPhone. Theoretically, someone could still leave their device behind and listen to your conversations, and since there isn’t a notification or alert to indicate when Live Listen is active, you won’t even know when it’s happening.

The best you can do is be aware of your surroundings. Take note of any iPhones you find unattended in places where important conversations are conducted — an office, bedroom, church, etc. The microphone on an iPhone needs to be relatively close to a speaker — within three to 15 feet — to clearly pick up what someone says, but it can capture muddled audio that’s good enough for a recording from even farther away.

Live Listen is similar to another audio detection feature coming to some Apple Watch models soon. Part of Apple’s growing Apple Intelligence suite, Audio Intelligence, includes Siri Recap, which monitors your surroundings for conversations that it can turn into “high-level notes” you read on Apple Watch or iPhone. Unlike Live Listen, Siri Recap doesn’t keep a recording to replay later, but it will write a summary of the conversation it heard, all transcribed with Apple’s Private Cloud Compute AI platform.

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​Privacy concerns, Spying, Iphone, Apple, Privacy, Privacy and security, Tech 

On the latest episode of “The Drive,” my co-host Karl Brauer and I discussed something that should concern anyone who has ever climbed into a driverless car.

Waymo, the autonomous ride-hailing company owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet, is putting Chinese-built vehicles on American streets.

Regulators should be able to explain exactly why Waymo’s Chinese-built vehicles are different — and what testing supports that conclusion.

These aren’t experimental cars hidden away on a test track. Waymo’s new Ojai robotaxi, built on a platform supplied by Chinese automaker Zeekr, is already carrying passengers.

Now, there’s nothing inherently wrong with a car being built overseas. Americans have been buying foreign-made vehicles for decades.

But China presents a different set of concerns. Washington has spent years warning about the national security risks associated with Chinese connected-vehicle technology. And that raises a question: If Chinese automotive technology is considered dangerous enough to restrict, why are we allowing Chinese-built vehicles into America’s growing driverless fleets?

Karl put it rather bluntly. “How about a Chinese computer driving you?”

Well, there’s an important distinction. The vehicle may be built in China, but Waymo says the computer doing the driving is American. Whether that is enough to settle the security question is another matter.

Chinese car, American brain

Waymo’s Ojai is based on a vehicle manufactured by Zeekr, which belongs to China’s Geely Holding Group. Zeekr supplies the underlying electric vehicle. Waymo installs its own autonomous driving technology, including the cameras, sensors, computing equipment, and software that allow the car to navigate without a human driver.

According to Waymo, the vehicles arrive from China without connectivity hardware or autonomous-driving sensors. The company installs its own equipment in Mesa, Arizona.

Waymo says it does not share American passenger data, vehicle information, or autonomous driving technology with Zeekr. Nor, according to the company, does Zeekr receive Waymo’s source code, algorithms, or artificial intelligence models.

Those are significant assurances, but they leave an obvious question: Who independently verifies that the entire vehicle, including its underlying electronic components, is secure?

The Polestar problem

Consider what happened to Polestar.

In June, the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security denied the electric vehicle maker authorization to sell vehicles in the United States beginning with the 2027 model year.

Polestar can continue selling its remaining earlier-model inventory and servicing the vehicles of existing customers. But under the current ruling, it cannot introduce new 2027-model-year vehicles into the American market.

Why? Federal restrictions on connected vehicle technology associated with countries considered national security threats.

Polestar is headquartered in Sweden, but it is controlled by interests associated with China’s Geely group and its founder, Li Shufu. And Geely also owns Zeekr, the company supplying Waymo’s robotaxis.

Think about that. One Geely-linked automaker has been blocked from selling future models in America over connected vehicle security concerns. Another is supplying cars for Waymo’s growing robotaxi fleet.

There is an important difference between the two. Polestar uses connected technology that falls under federal restrictions. Waymo says it replaces the relevant systems with American-developed hardware and software.

But a modern car is more than its navigation system or the computer that drives it. Electronic control units manage everything from braking to battery performance, and those components communicate with one another. Securing the autonomous driving system is one thing. Making sure the underlying vehicle is secure is another.

That is why independent inspection of the complete vehicle matters.

Only connect

During our discussion, I recalled an experience at an international automotive test event.

I was preparing to drive a Chinese-made vehicle when a representative from Volvo approached and asked to ride along. Before we started, he told me to turn off my phone’s Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

I asked why.

He explained that the vehicle could automatically attempt to connect with my phone, making it easier to access features such as contacts, messages, and navigation.

Sure enough, when we started the car, a notification appeared indicating that it couldn’t connect to my phone.

Now, automatic phone connectivity isn’t unique to Chinese vehicles. American, European, Japanese, and Korean cars offer similar conveniences. But the experience reminded me just how easily we allow our cars access to information that once stayed on our phones.

Think about what a connected vehicle may know: where you travel, when you leave home, where you work, and which destinations you visit regularly. Depending on the vehicle and the permissions you grant, it may also interact with your contacts, messages, and other personal information.

Most of us barely think about these permissions any more. We just want the navigation to work and our music to play.

But an autonomous vehicle adds another layer of complexity. It depends on sophisticated cameras, sensors, computers, and communications systems to operate. Who controls that information? Where does it go? And who can access it? Those questions deserve answers regardless of which country manufactured the vehicle.

Closing the door

Washington has already taken steps to restrict connected vehicle technology linked to China and Russia.

In January 2025, the Commerce Department finalized rules restricting certain connected vehicle systems and components. The restrictions begin applying to certain software in model-year 2027 vehicles, with additional hardware restrictions scheduled for model year 2030.

But two senators from opposite parties believe those protections don’t go far enough. Michigan Democrat Elissa Slotkin and Ohio Republican Bernie Moreno introduced the Connected Vehicle Security Act of 2026, which would go farther by restricting vehicles manufactured in China, rather than focusing only on Chinese-controlled connected technology.

The bill passed the Senate Commerce Committee in July and has attracted broad bipartisan support. But an effort to fast-track it through the full Senate stalled in September over an objection from Kentucky Republican Rand Paul.

The sticking point is a provision that would restrict automakers with more than 15% Chinese ownership. Mercedes-Benz, despite being a German company with American factories, has nearly 20% Chinese ownership through passive investors. Paul argued that the bill could unfairly prevent Mercedes from selling cars in the United States.

Moreno has acknowledged the problem and said he is working on changes to protect companies such as Mercedes-Benz and Volvo. With no agreement reached before the Senate’s election recess, the legislation will have to wait until lawmakers return in November, according to the Associated Press.

For Waymo, the existing rules remain in place. Its Chinese-built robotaxis can continue operating provided they comply with federal connected vehicle requirements.

Politicians aren’t the only ones concerned by this. Missy Cummings, an autonomous vehicle researcher at George Mason University, has called for independent examination of the vehicles to establish what equipment is actually inside them.

In an October 29 report by Phoenix-based television news outlet Arizona’s Family, Waymo said its finished robotaxis contain no Chinese software or connectivity and that Zeekr cannot communicate remotely with the vehicles or send software updates. The company also said its vehicle platforms undergo rigorous security audits.

But the report did not establish whether the complete Chinese-built vehicle had undergone independent hardware security testing or whether the results of any such examination had been made public. That seems like a question worth answering. If the vehicles are as secure as Waymo says, independent verification would offer additional reassurance.

RELATED: 6 modern car technologies that make driving worse

Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

Convenience has a cost

I understand the attraction of autonomous cars. For someone who can’t drive because of age, disability, or some other limitation, a reliable robotaxi could provide tremendous independence. For everyone else, there is the convenience of getting where you need to go without worrying about parking or finding a designated driver. Those are real benefits.

And this isn’t exclusively a China problem. American automakers and technology companies also collect enormous amounts of vehicle and driver data. Consumers deserve clear explanations of what is collected, how long it is retained, and who can access it.

But when vehicle components have connections to a country the U.S. government considers a national security threat, the questions become more serious. I’m not suggesting that Waymo has been caught sending Americans’ personal information to China. There is no evidence presented here establishing that.

What worries me is whether the safeguards are sufficient — and whether anyone independent of Waymo has thoroughly verified them.

If Washington considers Polestar’s Chinese connections serious enough to block its future vehicle sales, it owes American drivers a clear explanation of why Waymo’s Chinese-built robotaxis meet the government’s security standards.

Maybe Waymo has solved the problem by installing its own technology. But shouldn’t we verify that before putting thousands more of these vehicles on American streets?

Because when you climb into a driverless car, you’re trusting more than the computer behind the wheel. You’re trusting everyone who helped build it.

​Alphabet company, Autonomous vehicles, Data privacy, Driverless cars, Federal regulations, National security, Waymo robotaxi, Chinese automaker, Lifestyle, Waymo, Polestar, Zeekr, China, Russia, Auto industry, Consumer data, Geely holding group, Automotive 

Companies that worked with the Trump administration may soon find themselves squeezed between Congress and the White House. Democrats preparing for possible control of the House have discussed investigations into businesses and other organizations connected to the administration. A lawful contract, permit, or grant could still become the subject of a hearing.

The pressure goes both ways. The Trump administration will still control federal contracts, permits, and grants. An executive who tries to appease a Democrat committee chairman could wind up the subject of a scathing Truth Social post — or in court fighting to preserve a government agreement.

For a large contractor, losing one department’s business is painful. For a small company that depends on a single federal customer, it could be fatal.

CEOs who see themselves in the line of fire should use the weeks before the new Congress convenes on January 3 to prepare. Forget the holiday lull. Strengthen the balance sheet, map the legal risks, protect the brand, and make sure core stakeholders hear from you.

Here are four ways to do it.

1. Inoculate yourself against criticism

A CEO’s job includes looking around corners. That means insurance, cash reserves, and operational backups. It also means getting legal counsel, government affairs, and communications executives in the same room before an angry lawmaker makes the company a national story.

Ask four questions:

What can we say publicly, and what must we leave to counsel?Who is likely to chair the committees that oversee our industry, and are we on their radar? Update that assessment weekly through January 3 and daily thereafter.Which audiences most need to hear from us — and through which channels?Who can speak credibly about our record? Executives and lobbyists count, but so do employees, customers, and community leaders who have known the organization for years.

Then rehearse the answers. Don’t let an improvised post or a stupid brand mistake become Exhibit A.

2. Keep yourself solvent

Money solves a lot of problems. A healthy balance sheet can help a company weather a canceled contract, a consumer boycott, or a years-long fight with a regulator that suddenly isn’t friendly.

Consider Booz Allen Hamilton. In January, the Treasury Department canceled all 31 of its contracts with the consulting firm, citing the theft and disclosure of confidential taxpayer information by a former Booz Allen employee. The IRS said the breach affected approximately 406,000 taxpayers, including Donald Trump. Booz Allen’s shares plunged on the news.

For a large contractor, losing one department’s business is painful. For a small company that depends on a single federal customer, it could be fatal.

Diversify revenue now, favoring work rooted in continuing public needs rather than a politician’s goodwill. Governments still move troops, review drugs, and approve mergers when party control changes. Nonprofits should broaden their base of individual donors, foundations, and earned income so that one canceled grant does not sink the mission.

RELATED: Congress had the receipts. Katherine Maher had amnesia.

Horacio Villalobos#Corbis/Getty Images

3. Choose your words wisely

For the next 90 days, much about the coming Congress will remain unsettled. Don’t pretend otherwise in public. Stick to what you know on podcasts and social media, and think twice before accepting an interview without understanding the journalist’s subject and approach.

Instead, speak regularly with the people who depend on your organization: customers, employees, investors, donors, and partners. Use the channels you already have. If you speak to the press, trade and regional outlets may reach those audiences more effectively than a national political shouting match.

Trade editors want expertise and practical answers. Your stakeholders want to know what you provide, how you treat them, and whether you have a plan. Give them more of that and less punditry on subjects outside your expertise.

4. If you’re called in, know your stuff

The big open secret about congressional hearings is that they are designed to showcase the lawmakers, not the witnesses. Members want clips for their voters and donors, and they will hammer the table until someone gives them one.

In 2023, the presidents of Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania gave careful, lawyerly answers to questions about calls for the genocide of Jews on their campuses. Their evasiveness became the story. Anyone facing a hostile committee should remember that the most technically cautious answer may be the most politically disastrous.

Know the facts cold. Practice being grilled. Prepare for everything from your opening statement to hostile follow-ups, facial expressions, and the moment you leave the hearing room. You are walking onto someone else’s battlefield.

RELATED: Andrew Cathy gave NBC the Chick-fil-A apology tour nobody asked for

Paras Griffin/Getty Images

Candor can help, too. At a 2008 hearing on aid for Detroit automakers, lawmakers asked whether executives would work for $1 a year. Ford’s Alan Mulally replied, “I think I’m OK where I am.” Scott Monty, Ford’s digital director at the time, told me on my show that the communications team initially panicked — until it saw the public’s reaction to Mulally’s plain speaking. Mulally later agreed to the $1 salary if Ford accepted federal aid.

This, too, shall pass

Washington has changed hands before. No need to hyperventilate. Companies that were close to one administration have come under scrutiny from the next. The political temperature may fall after the midterms, but another presidential race is only two years away.

You cannot control whether Congress targets your organization. You can control whether your records are in order, whether your finances can take a hit, and whether the people who count on you still trust you.

Remember the advice about outrunning a bear. You don’t have to be the fastest. You just have to be better prepared than the witness sweating — sorry, sitting — beside you.

​Congressional hearings, Government grants, Public trust, Trump administration, Public relations, Ceo, Legal risks, Democrats, Lawmakers, Harvard, University of pennsylvania, Washington, Businesses, Opinion & analysis 

President Donald Trump revealed on Tuesday that the U.S. will end roughly $4 billion in aid to Israel by year-end.

According to the president, “they don’t need it” and he doesn’t need the grief from Democrats such as Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan who have attempted to use American aid to Israel as a wedge issue.

‘We give them more than anybody else.’

Since World War II, Israel has been the largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid. According to a 2025 Congressional Research Service report, the U.S. has provided Israel with $174 billion — in non-inflation-adjusted dollars — in aid and military defense funding.

Although America and Israel do not have a mutual defense pact, the Obama administration signed a 10-year Memorandum of Understanding in September 2016 committing the U.S. to annually providing Israel with $3.8 billion in security funding.

Extra to the pledged amount, the U.S. committed plenty of additional funds to Israel following the Oct.7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks.

For example, Congress passed and former President Joe Biden signed an emergency aid package in April 2024 that carved out $3.5 billion in foreign military financing for Israel; $1.2 billion for Israel’s laser defense system, Iron Beam; and $4 billion in defense appropriations for missile defense through Iron Dome and David’s Sling.

RELATED: ‘Fire will rise’: Muslim pundit promises ‘reckoning’ if Abdul El-Sayed loses — and also if he wins

Kent NISHIMURA/AFP/Getty Images

Trump told “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday that “we were giving them $4 billion, we are, but it gets cut off at the end of the year.”

“Why? Because they don’t need it,” said Trump.

The president added, “Why should we suffer the slings from lunatics like an El-Sayed when [Israelis] don’t need it?”

An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll published in July found that 58% of Democrats and 51% of Jewish Democrats believe the U.S. is “too supportive of the Israelis.” Roughly two in 10 Republicans said the same.

The Pew Research Center revealed the same month that American views of the Israeli people and the Israeli government have grown more negative in recent years. As of July, 42% of U.S. adults held a negative view of Israelis and 62% held a negative view of the Israeli government.

El-Sayed and other radicals in the Democratic Party have attempted to exploit this growing animus on the campaign trail.

“It’s a bad talking point because you can say, ‘Why don’t we give everyone $4 billion?'” said Trump. “Israel’s our number one. We give them more than anybody else, and they no longer need it. We’ve been doing it for years. I’ve been doing it. But Israel is a very thriving country. They don’t need it.”

The president credited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the defunding idea and claimed that the two of them agreed to terminate the yearly sum “months ago.”

The White House did not immediately respond to Blaze News’ request for comment.

It’s unclear if Trump was referencing the annual $3.8 billion pledged in the MOU — which expires in fiscal year 2028 that starts on Oct. 1, 2027 — for the U.S. federal government. He suggested, however, that the $4 billion figure was in reference to “military aid or cash.”

Trump emphasized, however, that Israel can still “buy whatever they want” from the United States.

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​Israel, Donald trump, Benjamin netanyahu, Foreign aid, Military aid, Politics 

A young internet prankster thought it would be funny to trick a hardworking father into believing he’d stolen money from him. Instead the stunt backfired — and the father, who was in his Red Baron employee uniform, won.

BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales believes that thanks to the internet, the cruel attempt to humiliate an ordinary working dad turned into a major win for the victim, with strangers donating more than $500,000 to help his family.

Even his employer, Red Baron, has joined in celebrating him.

“I understand the pitfalls of the internet. Like the internet is great for a lot. Social media is great for a lot, but it also is just like a cesspool,” Gonzales says.

“And you know, I think that we have to take the good and the bad with it, especially with some of the things that the younger generation is putting out there for clicks,” she adds, noting that the “bad” of the internet are these “stupid TikTok trends” where people prank strangers.

Among those trending pranks is approaching a stranger and tricking them into pulling out their phone. When they succeed, they play the Apple Pay sound to “make it sound like they just took money from their Apple Cash, their Apple Wallet.”

“And then it’s like, ‘Haha, that’s so funny that I just tricked you into thinking that I just stole money from you.’ And um, it’s just really gross. I just think it’s really gross to do to people. And there was this one that went viral,” she explains.

In the viral exchange, the father yelled at the young internet prankster, explaining that he “can’t even pay [his] mortgage” and has “four kids at home.”

“You never know what someone is going through. And I think pranks are funny, but to pretend you stole money from someone is just not funny. It’s just objectively not funny, especially to do a stranger who you don’t know,” Gonzales says.

However, while the intent was to embarrass the Red Baron worker, those who’ve seen the viral video have been “greatly moved.”

“A hard worker, part of the working class. He’s just trying to pay his bills for his family, and he’s sacrificing a lot to do that. He’s sacrificing time with his kids to do that. He’s going through a hard time,” Gonzales says.

“I mentioned the internet is sometimes a cesspool, but the internet is also sometimes really, really awesome because someone created a GoFundMe for this gentleman, and he’s now raised over half a million dollars,” she continues.

“I donated to it,” she adds, pointing out that even Red Baron, his employer, is “leaning into it.”

Red Baron posted on social media: “He’s still here. He’s got a fan club. Including us,” alongside a graphic that reads, “Employee of the month nominations are closed. You know why.”

“I hope he can use that money to spend a little bit more time with his kids and his family,” Gonzales says.

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.

​Blazetv show, Red baron, Tiktok, Prank, Gofundme