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Grammy-nominated singer Regina Spektor effortlessly silenced pro‑Palestine protesters with a sharp yet nuanced response at her concert in Portland, Oregon.

Multiple loud hecklers attempted to hijack Spektor’s concert on Saturday by spouting pro-Palestinian talking points. However, the Russian-American singer-songwriter calmly and effectively shut down the feeble attempts to derail her music show.

‘This is not an internet comment section. I know that you are mistaking my show for a YouTube video.’

The Jerusalem Post reported that the political outbursts erupted 10 songs into Spektor’s concert at the Revolution Hall in Portland.

Someone in the crowd screamed, “Free f**king Palestine!”

Video of the incident shows another concertgoer yelling, “Free, free Palestine! Say it! Say it!”

The disturbance caused Spektor to halt her performance.

Spektor responded by saying, “You’re just yelling at a Jew.”

“I don’t know what he thinks he’s doing,” Spektor told the audience, according to Fox News.

The audience began to clap in favor of Spektor.

Spektor added, “I really appreciate the security.”

Spektor noted, “We had a really hard time last night when I said, ‘Shalom aleichem,'” which is a Hebrew phrase that means “peace be unto you.”

Some concertgoers shouted, “Am Yisrael Chai,” which translates to “the people of Israel live.”

RELATED: Macklemore leads ‘F*** America!’ chant at pro-Palestinian concert

Photo by Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images

The lights at the venue turned on to locate the hecklers, and Spektor asked, “Where are you?”

“I thought this was different than the internet,” Spektor said. “This is real life.”

After another outburst, Spektor retorted, “You can leave the show if you want. This is not an internet comment section. I know that you are mistaking my show for a YouTube video.”

However, another pro-Palestinian heckler reignited the debate by saying, “I’m watching dying children. That hurts.”

“I think you should go because this is not the place for that conversation. I’m a real person who came here to play music. If anybody wants to walk out, this is your chance. Does anybody else want to take a walk? You can,” the singer said, according to the music blog Stereogum.

A handful of audience members are seen leaving the music venue.

Spektor — a Jewish woman who immigrated to the United States from the former Soviet Union when she was a child — informed the audience, “The only reason I even speak English is because I came here to escape this s**t. I only speak English because I came from a country where people treated Jews as othered, and I’m being othered here, and it sucks.”

She continued, “It would be nice if one of my family’s generation didn’t have to go to a new country and learn a new language.”

A majority of the crowd was overwhelmingly supportive of Spektor.

RELATED: Watch: Anti-Israel protesters walk out on Jerry Seinfeld’s Duke commencement speech, boo Jewish comedian, wave Palestinian flags

Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc for Superfly Presents

Shortly after the October 7 massacre of Jews by Hamas terrorists, Spektor voiced her support for the people of Israel.

“I will not be indifferent to the suffering of Jews and Palestinians… I will keep hope and peace within myself and send love towards you… Am Yisrael Chai,” Spektor wrote on Instagram in October 2023.

According to Fox News, Spektor also stated, “My tears are endless but my heart has enough room… Room for murdered, raped, and kidnapped innocent Jews. Room for bombed innocent Palestinians suffering and dying in Gaza. Fury at Hamas whose mission is exterminating Jews while hiding behind Palestinian human shields.”

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Spektor said of the massacre, “If you’ve devalued Jewish life so much that mourning murdered Jewish children at a festival, raped women, and the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust has offended you — leave.”

The singer criticized the Israeli government while defending the nation and its citizens.

“Israeli government is NOT its people, like any other government on earth,” she stated. “Netanyahu does NOT speak for all Israelis, or all Jews living across the world.”

“In the Middle East, Israel is the ONLY democracy with a chance to vote/protest/change its government,” Spektor continued. “The ONLY land where LGBTQ people are able to live safely. The ONLY land which doesn’t mandate women’s dress or behavior.”

On the anniversary of the October 7 Hamas terror attacks, Spektor performed at a pro-Israel gathering in New York City.

RELATED: Genocide Joe has to go: Pro-Palestine supporters chant ‘Death to America!’ in Michigan, demand ‘entire’ US system be eliminated

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Shane Tamura, 27, was seen getting out of a black BMW with an M4 rifle moments before he allegedly stormed the NFL headquarters in New York City and killed one NYPD cop and three civilians.

Tamura then allegedly turned the gun on himself, leaving behind a suicide note revealing that he targeted the NFL headquarters because he blamed the league for a football-related brain injury — despite not having played football since high school.

“Please study brain for CTE. I’m sorry. The league knowingly concealed the dangers to our brains to maximize profits. They failed us,” the note read.

“What’s the left-wing response to this?” BlazeTV host Stu Burguiere asks. “Because I know they’re going to supposedly get mad about football; they’re going to get mad about guns, right? But I mean, a police officer died.”

Burguiere points out that the left favors Zohran Mamdani for NYC’s next mayor, who, like many leftists, is in favor of defunding the police. Not only that, but Mamdani’s top aide, Julian Gerson, lauded the alleged murderer of the United Healthcare CEO, Luigi Mangione.

“Mangione is adored not only because he dared to target a leader of one of the most vile, self-enriching industries darkening our society today, but because he dared to defy the stasis of nihilistic rejection,” Gerson wrote in a social media post last December.

“The question is not whether he was right or wrong,” he continued. “It’s how many others he has shaken loose.”

But the left’s love for chaos isn’t all that Burguiere finds alarming as violence continues to ravage the streets of New York.

In a segment on CNN, reporter Erin Burnett called Tamura “possibly white.”

“Possibly white? In theory, any person could be ‘possibly white’ before you’ve seen them,” Burguiere says. “We did have images, though, of the guy. Definitely not white.”

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A Virginia city councilman was lit on fire during a confrontation with a man who now faces attempted murder charges, according to police.

Republican J. Lee Vogler of the Danville City Council was injured in the attack at his workplace at about 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Danville police said.

‘Political differences or personal grievances should never escalate to violence. We condemn this heinous act in the strongest possible terms and call for swift justice.’

Witnesses said that a man entered the place of business and confronted Vogler before tossing the flammable liquid on him. Vogler and the suspect left the building whereupon the suspect lit him on fire and fled from the scene.

Vogler was given medical aid by the Danville Fire Department and Danville Life Saving Crew before he was airlifted to a regional medical facility. The extent of his injuries has not been released to the public.

Police said they stopped the suspect’s vehicle just a few blocks away from the scene and arrested him. He was identified as Shotsie Michael Buck Hayes, a 29-year-old man.

Investigators said that Hayes and Vogler knew each other, and their dispute was of a personal nature.

The Virginia Young Republicans released a statement condemning the attack and called for prayers for Vogler and his family.

“The Young Republican Federation of Virginia is shocked and deeply saddened by the brutal attack on our friend, fellow young Republican, and dedicated public servant, Councilman Lee Vogler,” the statement read.

“Our prayers are with Lee, his family, and the entire Danville community as he receives treatment. Lee has been a tireless advocate for his city and for the Commonwealth, and we know the strength of his spirit will carry him through this difficult time,” they continued.

“Political differences or personal grievances should never escalate to violence. We condemn this heinous act in the strongest possible terms and call for swift justice,” they added. “We urge all Virginians to join us in keeping Lee and his loved ones in their thoughts and prayers.”

The owner of the business, Andrew Brooks, said in a video statement on Facebook that the suspect had a five-gallon bucket full of flammable liquid. He said that Vogler was “awake and talking” but was on the way to a burn treatment center.

RELATED: 40-year-old man allegedly shot and set on fire after woman finds him in bed with her daughter in Philadelphia

Hayes was charged with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated malicious wounding.

Others condemned the attack, including the chairman of the Virginia Democratic Party, Lamont Bagby, and former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.).

“Our prayers go out to Danville City Councilman Lee Vogler who was violently attacked at his workplace earlier today. We pray for a swift recovery for Lee and peace to be on the entire Danville community,” said Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

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A redistricting feud has broken out amongst Democratic state lawmakers against Republicans and President Donald Trump after a proposal by Texas officials that may lead to five seats flipping to the Republican column.

The Republican Party of Texas released a redistricting proposal on Tuesday that many critics called gerrymandering in order to strengthen Republican power in the U.S. House of Representatives.

‘The 2026 election is being rigged. California won’t sit back and watch this happen.’

The Democratic Party opposed the plan vehemently.

“From the beginning of this broken process, Texas Republicans’ only objective has been to follow orders from D.C. party bosses desperate to try and save House Republicans’ teetering majority,” said Julie Merz, the executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom fired back at Texas and implied that California might do the same in order to counteract the actions of Texas lawmakers.

“Donald Trump asks for 5 seats and [Texas Gov.] Greg Abbott automatically bends the knee. The 2026 election is being rigged. California won’t sit back and watch this happen,” he wrote on social media.

Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California hopped on the bandwagon to say redistricting California could lead to the deletion of the district for state Rep. Kevin Kiley, a popular Republican.

“Hope it’s worth it! Say goodbye to Kevin Kiley and 5 other CA Republicans,” he wrote on social media.

Republican Vice President JD Vance fired off a missive in the debate by pointing out that California is already stacked against Republican representation.

“The gerrymander in California is outrageous. Of their 52 congressional districts, 9 of them are Republican. That means 17 percent of their delegation is Republican when Republicans regularly win 40 percent of the vote in that state. How can this possibly be allowed?” he wrote in a message on social media.

RELATED: Resurfaced video of Democrat admitting the real reason leftists want immigration is going viral

Other states are also considering redistricting their maps ahead of the midterm elections.

Historically, the opposition party gains seats in Congress in a midterm election after the Oval Office changes hands, but Republicans hope to maintain their control over the House and Senate in 2026.

If Democrats are able to seize control of either chamber of Congress, they will be far more able to get in the way of Trump’s political agenda.

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Amid ongoing speculation, former Vice President Kamala Harris decided to clear the air and unveil the next step in her political career.

Following her disastrous presidential campaign, in which President Donald Trump defeated her in every swing state and in the popular vote, Harris was frequently floated as a gubernatorial candidate in her home state of California. But after some “deep reflection,” Harris announced Tuesday that she would not seek to serve as governor of the Golden State.

‘For now, my leadership — and public service — will not be in elected office.’

“Over the past six months, I have spent time reflecting on this moment in our nation’s history, and the best way for me to continue fighting for the American people and advancing the values and ideals I hold dear,” Harris said in a statement posted on X.

Harris dubbed herself a “devout public servant,” pointing to her career not only as vice president, but also as a California attorney general and United States senator.

RELATED: Kamala Harris already scheming for her next office: ‘I am staying in the fight’

— (@)

“In recent months, I have given serious thought to asking the people of California for the privilege to serve as their Governor,” Harris said. “I love this state, its people, and its promise. It is my home. But after deep reflection, I’ve decided that I will not run for Governor in this election.”

RELATED: Kamala Harris has reached out to universities for her next scheme — and social media responds with hilarious ridicule

Photo by Chris duMond/Getty Images

Harris went on to say that although she has “extraordinary admiration and respect” for people who commit themselves to public service, she feels that the government and institutions have “failed the American people, culminating in this moment of crisis.”

“As we look ahead, we must be willing to pursue change through new methods and fresh thinking — committed to our same values and principles, but not bound by the same playbook,” Harris said. “For now, my leadership — and public service — will not be in elected office.”

“I look forward to getting back out and listening to the American people, helping elect Democrats across the nation who will fight fearlessly, and sharing more details in the months ahead about my own plans,” Harris added. “In the United States of America, power must lie with the people. And We, the People must use our power to fight for freedom, opportunity, fairness, and the dignity of all. I will remain in that fight.”

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The Federal Reserve of the U.S. disappointed many hopes when Chairman Jerome Powell announced Wednesday that the Fed would keep interest rates the same despite pressure to lower them.

President Donald Trump has been hammering away at the Fed to lower rates, but Powell, whom Trump has nicknamed “Too Late,” has said that the president’s tariff policies have made the federal banks cautious about dropping rates too early.

‘We have seen steady employment numbers, a solid retail sales report, and the first print of Q2 GDP came in above expectations.’

Earlier on Wednesday the economy was reported to have grown at 3% in the period between April and June, a strong indicator that a recession is not in the near future. That was higher than expected and boosted hopes that the Fed might lower rates.

“‘Too Late’ MUST NOW LOWER THE RATE. No Inflation! Let people buy, and refinance, their homes!” wrote the president on Truth Social.

Powell has set a 2% threshold for inflation at which he would be comfortable dropping interest rates, but in April the consumer price index hit 2.3%, and it climbed to 2.7% in June. The next CPI report will be released in August.

Some noted that two of the Fed governors, Christopher Waller and Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman, voted in favor of lowering rates, which was a surprising dissent from the majority opinion.

Economic expert and Blaze Media contributor Carol Roth wrote in a statement to Blaze News that the split decision by the Fed likely meant that the organization is considering dropping rates the next time the governors meet.

“The Fed has been consistent about telegraphing its intentions ahead of time, so it is no surprise that the Fed held their target interest rates steady. However, with two dissents from Fed governors Waller and Bowman, the odds of a September rate cut are likely to increase in the days ahead,” she wrote via email.

“The biggest challenge to a Fed rate cut today was actually good economic news. That is, we have seen steady employment numbers, a solid retail sales report, and the first print of Q2 GDP came in above expectations,” she added. “It is difficult to make the argument that the Fed’s monetary policy is holding back the economy when solid economic data continues to come out.”

RELATED: Trump rips into Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not lowering interest rates and suggests he’ll be fired soon

Trump has also criticized Powell for a renovation at the Federal Reserve headquarters that has ballooned to cost more than $2.5 billion. Some in his administration have called for Powell to be investigated for possible fraud in the renovation, and others have called for his resignation. On Thursday Powell and the president met with news cameras rolling at the worksite and seemed to calm some of the controversy.

Powell was first nominated to the chairmanship by Trump in his first term. The president has since indicated many times that he would like to fire Powell, and the chairman has responded by saying that he would not step down if asked by Trump.

“We’re never going to be influenced by any political pressure,” said Powell in April. “People can say whatever they want. … That’s not a problem, but we will do what we do strictly without consideration of political or any other extraneous factors.”

The Federal Reserve does not determine mortgage rates directly but indirectly, by setting the federal funds rate by which commercial banks borrow money.

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CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard appear to have rattled some cages with their recent revelations about the genesis of the Russia collusion hoax.

Former DNI James Clapper indicated that he would “lawyer up.” Ex-CIA Director John Brennan went on MSNBC to once again play the victim, claiming this was just the president’s effort to “try to get back at those individuals who have criticized him openly and publicly in the past.” Former Secretary of State John Kerry, among those present at the 2016 meeting where Obama reportedly got the ball rolling on the hoax, remains in virtual hiding, having locked his tweets on X ahead of President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January.

Among the deep-staters now barking and on the defensive is Susan Miller, an ex-spy who was with the CIA for 39 years. As can be expected with spies, she does not appear to be exactly as advertised.

On the latest leg of her recent media tour, Miller — a good friend of former Obama official and Democratic megadonor Caroline Kennedy — focused on painting Gabbard as a liar and on denying the damning new evidence about the Obama administration’s manufacture of the Russia collusion narrative.

Last week, Gabbard published the newly declassified House Intelligence Committee majority staff report concerning the development of the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment — the document that set the stage for years of Russia-collusion smears, two congressional impeachments, and multiple arrests.

The report found that the Obama administration’s ICA, produced by the CIA, NSA, and FBI under the auspices of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence:

misrepresented reports that vociferous Trump critic and then-CIA Director John Brennan had ordered the publication of “as reliable, without mentioning their significant underlying flaws”;”ignored or selectively quoted reliable intelligence reports that challenged — and in some cases undermined — judgments that Putin sought to elect Trump”;violated analytic standards when citing British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s dossier — a political opposition research report paid for in part by the Clinton campaign that Brennan included in the ICA despite high-level credibility concerns and internal opposition;propped up the narrative that Russian President Vladimir Putin “aspired” to help Trump win on “one scant, unclear, and unverifiable fragment of a sentence” from a “substandard report” that CIA officers initially omitted but were ordered by Brennan to include despite protest;failed to consider alternative explanations of Putin’s intentions indicated by intelligence that was actually reliable; was written by five CIA analysts handpicked by Brennan; andwas rushed out by Brennan “in order to publish two weeks before President-elect Trump was sworn in.”

The DNI noted in a thread on X that the newly released documents “detail a treasonous conspiracy by officials at the highest levels of the Obama White House to subvert the will of the American people and try to usurp the President from fulfilling his mandate.”

RELATED: Trump’s CIA director has bad news for Hillary Clinton regarding alleged ‘treasonous conspiracy’

Photo by Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic

Gabbard suggested that the evidence directly points to former President Barack Obama “leading the manufacturing of this intelligence assessment.”

“The director of national intelligence and the White House are lying, again,” Miller said in a recent NBC News interview.

“It is clear that Trump and his followers have a script they want to follow, despite the facts.”

‘We ignored all of it.’

Miller, who retired in 2024 and still has her security clearance, denied a number of the House report’s findings, claiming, for instance, that Brennan neither pressured nor micromanaged her team; that the evidence-based suggestion that Brennan fabricated intelligence about the 2016 election to undermine Trump was “baseless”; and that the task force examined every angle.

The counterintelligence expert who has openly likened President Donald Trump to a “dictator” suggested further that the drafters of the assessment maintained political neutrality, telling NBC News: “There were people that hated Trump that wanted us to find that Trump was complicit. And there were those that loved Trump. They wanted us to find nothing. And we ignored all of it.”

Miller, doing her apparent best to seed a narrative charitable to Obama cabalists on cable news, suggested to CNN that the intelligence her team relied on was “extremely sound, and it was verified,” and that the assessment’s findings were “not at all” based on the Steele dossier. She claimed, however, that former FBI Director James Comey got his way to incorporate the Clinton opposition research into the ICA, but only after the bureau threatened not to endorse the assessment.

‘I indeed did not write the ICA.’

There has been a lack of clarity in recent media reports about Miller’s actual role with regard to the ICA.

Investigative reporter Matt Taibbi told Blaze News that he was “a bit skeptical about this media tour and … curious about her exact role with the ICA.”

CNN identified her as “an author of the agency’s 2017 intelligence report on Russian election meddling.” NBC News said she “helped oversee the 2017 intelligence assessment on Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.” According to Mustang News’ recent puff piece, “she authored the initial report proving the Russians interfered in the 2016 election in an attempt to sway the presidential election in Donald Trump’s favor.”

By contrast, a source familiar with the assessment told Blaze News that “Susan Miller was not an author of the 2017 ICA.”

The suggestion by this reputable source serves to justify Taibbi’s skepticism.

When pressed for comment, Miller told Blaze News, “My team and I at CIA wrote a CIA analysis about Russian influence on the election.”

RELATED: Obama and Brennan set to reap the whirlwind: Gabbard refers evidence of ‘years-long coup’ to DOJ for criminal probe

Photo (left): Kevin Dietsch/Getty Image; Photo (right): Ethan Miller/Getty Images

“This was a CIA report, briefed to Trump by our then-director, and by me to the Senate and congressional intelligence committees. The DNI used that report as the basis for the ICA,” continued Miller. “I indeed did not write the ICA, but the ODNI used my report as the basis for theirs.”

The Justice Department’s new task force aimed at investigating “potential next legal steps which might stem from DNI Gabbard’s disclosures” might eventually achieve a better understanding of Miller’s role in what Gabbard has referred to as a “treasonous conspiracy.”

Miller told the Guardian, another stop on her denial tour, that she has secured D.C.-based attorney Mark Zaid to represent her.

Neither the CIA nor the DOJ responded by deadline to Blaze News’ requests for comment.

When asked about Miller and whether the president would like to see her investigated in connection with the ICA, White House spokesman David Ingle said in a statement to Blaze News, “Thanks to President Trump and Director Gabbard’s leadership, the American people can finally see the Russia, Russia, Russia collusion narrative for what it really was — a total hoax and political witch hunt to snub President Trump’s historic first term in office.”

Ingle added, “The White House is appreciative of Director Gabbard’s commitment to transparency and effort to end the weaponization of government against American citizens.”

Miller has clearly secured the admiration of fellow deep-staters. She received the CIA Director’s Award for Extraordinary Fidelity and Essential Service four times after she apparently helped with the Russia collusion hoax and is set to receive the International Spy Museum’s Hidden Hero Award in November.

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President Donald Trump issued a forceful statement announcing high tariffs on the country of India and offered his rationale for the punishing trade tax.

The president celebrated a recent report declaring that the tariffs had brought in $150 billion in government revenue in just a few months of increased tariffs on many U.S. trade partners. On Wednesday, he hit India with one of the larger tariff burdens.

‘Their Tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the World, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country.’

“Remember, while India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their Tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the World, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country,” the president wrote on Truth Social.

“Also, they have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia’s largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE — ALL THINGS NOT GOOD!” he added.

“INDIA WILL THEREFORE BE PAYING A TARIFF OF 25%, PLUS A PENALTY FOR THE ABOVE, STARTING ON AUGUST FIRST,” he concluded.

The U.S. purchases $87.4 billion of goods from India, while it sells $41.8 billion in goods to India. This makes India the 10th largest trade partner for the U.S., while the U.S. is the top trading partner for India, which gives Trump a lot of leverage in tariff negotiations.

Economic expert and Blaze Media contributor Carol Roth said in a comment to Blaze News that the administration seems to have many different motives driving tariff negotiations.

“It appears that the administration wants to make more rapid progress on trade, and where discussions or negotiations have stalled out, putting out a larger number has worked in many cases to pressure the counterparty to come back to the table,” Roth wrote.

RELATED: Trump continues to bash Fed chair after inflation report; Powell calls for independent probe into renovation accusations

“There also seems to be a focus on putting pressure on India’s economic relationship with Russia that the administration is trying to both telegraph and ultimately to work on lessening the interdependence between those nations, particularly when it comes to energy and defense products,” she added.

Amit Basole, an economics professor at Azim Premji University in India, said a trade deal with the U.S. was “crucial” for India.

“India is a large country, but its purchasing power is not very high,” Basole said. “We need jobs very badly, particularly in manufacturing and more productive sectors. Indian companies need export markets to grow and create these jobs.”

“WE HAVE A MASSIVE TRADE DEFICIT WITH INDIA!!!” Trump added in another post.

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Ask a MAGA supporter what the biggest threat to the Make America Great Again movement is, and there’s a good chance he’ll say Democrats or progressivism.

But according to Andy Roth, president of the State Freedom Caucus Network, that’s incorrect. It’s the fake Republicans running red states whom we should be concerned about.

On a recent episode of “Blaze News: The Mandate,” Roth joined Jill Savage and Blaze News editor in chief Matthew Peterson to expose how RINOs are sabotaging MAGA internally.

“Red states, almost all of them literally, are governed by Democrats that have an R after their name because they live in districts that are very red. They want to get into office, and they know they can’t have a D after their name, so they put an R after their name, get elected, and then vote like Democrats,” Roth says.

He points to states like South Carolina, Idaho, Montana, and South Dakota as examples of red states with RINO leadership.

“It’s one of the most under-reported stories, I think, in the country,” he says.

Thankfully, the State Freedom Caucus Network is working overtime to address this issue. The conservative organization supports the creation of freedom caucuses in state legislatures across the U.S. These caucuses, modeled after the House Freedom Caucus in Congress, are groups of Republican state lawmakers who push for limited government, fiscal responsibility, and conservative policies such as opposing federal overreach, promoting election integrity, and resisting certain social policies.

“When we have … a state freedom caucus, we come in there, and we contrast ourselves with these fake Republicans so much to the point where the voters are like, ‘Wait, I guess I have a squishy Republican for a state rep or a state senator because this freedom caucus is speaking the truth,’” Roth tells Jill and Matthew.

And it’s working. Roth points to Wyoming as an example. “In Wyoming, we had only eight members in our freedom caucus, but they quickly doubled to 16, and now they’re in charge of the Wyoming House,” he says. “The speaker is a Freedom Caucus member; the pro tem [pro tempore] is a Freedom Caucus member.”

As a result, “For the first time ever, [Wyoming] passed the property tax cuts, universal school choice,” and “banned noncitizens from voting.”

“We have the model. We know how it works. We just need to do it in all 50 states,” Roth says.

“Is Wyoming indicative of a trend you see across the country?” asks Peterson, who’s hopeful a freedom caucus might find its way to Texas, the state he and Jill call home.

“We need another election cycle in Texas before we can do anything here, but Texas needs a freedom caucus, and the country needs a Texas Freedom Caucus,” Roth says.

“It feels like you can mess with Texas right now, and I don’t want that to happen,” Jill says.

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

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​Blaze news | the mandate, Jill savage, Matthew peterson, Blazetv, Blaze media, Freedom caucus, Rinos, Republican in name only, Wyoming, Fake republicans, Andy roth, State freedom caucus network 

Through sweeping crackdowns, President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice has reportedly set an all-time record in prosecutions of illegal immigrants — a stunning reversal from the open-border era of former President Joe Biden.

According to a new report, Trump’s Justice Department had a record-breaking month for criminal prosecution of illegal aliens in June — notching more than 3,000 cases last month.

‘If you’re coming here illegally to live and work, being in a federal penitentiary for two years isn’t going to allow you to do that.’

The Washington Times reported that Trump’s DOJ set a record by filing more than 3,000 illegal re-entry cases in June alone — targeting illegal aliens who were deported but were caught when they attempted to sneak back across the border anyway.

Also in June, DOJ prosecutors filed 3,200 cases for simple illegal entry — while not a record high, the number was significant. The figure made up over 50% of all Border Patrol arrests last month, setting a record for prosecution rates. The Trump DOJ numbers are staggering compared to the Biden administration’s open-border era, when prosecution rates never hit 1%.

Citing Justice Department data, the Austin American-Statesman reported that federal prosecutors filed 7,660 illegal re-entry cases during the first three months of this year, compared to 4,312 cases filed during the first three months of 2024 and 3,670 during the first three months of 2023.

The U.S. Department of Justice said that it is “using all available investigative and prosecutorial tools” to fight the “invasion of illegal immigration.”

RELATED: ‘Despicable’: DHS unloads on left-leaning outlet for suggesting illegal alien pedophiles had a ‘cultural misunderstanding’

Photo by BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images

Jonathan Fahey — former assistant U.S. attorney in Virginia and the acting director at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in President Trump’s first term — told the Washington Times that these cases have a very high rate of conviction.

“They’re a great way to get a conviction, a great way to get a criminal off the street, and a great way to remove them from the country in an expeditious way,” Fahey explained.

Andrew “Art” Arthur — a former immigration judge — told the Washington Times, “If I get deported, I get deported. I go back and try again. But when it comes to prosecutions, now you’ve got a federal conviction. … If you’re coming here illegally to live and work, being in a federal penitentiary for two years isn’t going to allow you to do that.”

‘President Trump has created the most secure border in the history of the nation, and the data proves it.’

RELATED: ICE deports illegal immigrant wanted for human smuggling that led to the deaths of 3 minors

The crackdown on illegal immigration has had a profound effect on encounters with illegal aliens.

Earlier this month, the White House noted that U.S. Border Patrol encountered 6,070 illegal immigrants at the southern border in June — a record-setting low that is 15% lower than the previous record set in March.

Tom Homan — Trump’s border czar — said earlier this month, “As a matter of fact, the total number of encounters is less than half of a single day under Biden on many days. Also, none of the 6,070 were released into the U.S. ZERO.”

“President Trump has created the most secure border in the history of the nation, and the data proves it,” Homan declared. “We have never seen numbers this low. Never.”

The White House proclaimed, “The number of ‘gotaways’ — illegal immigrants who escaped into the country undetected — was 90% lower compared to the same month last year.”

The White House estimates that this fiscal year is “on track to see the fewest illegal immigrant encounters in five decades.”

RELATED: Feds dismantle huge human smuggling ring that funneled 20,000 Guatemalan aliens into US, leaders face death penalty

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BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock believes that black people in America are under a mass psychosis led by demonic forces that’s creating racial division, spurring conflict, and ultimately giving them what they see as a free pass to take out their frustration on white people.

“It’s going to trigger some people — the fact that I’m even referencing the black KKK — but we’re going to talk about it today because it’s quite necessary. The black fatigue is at an all-time high,” Whitlock says on “Fearless.”

After several recent attacks on white people by black people — including the shooting of InfoWars reporter Jamie White, the murder of Austin Metcalf allegedly by Karmelo Anthony, and the viral Cincinnati Music Festival attacks — Whitlock claims that “the white KKK has been replaced by a black KKK.”

“They terrorize their own neighborhoods and intimidate people from speaking against them, and they terrorize their own community and own people who want to speak honestly about what’s going on. And then they occasionally — and I say occasionally, but too frequently — do violence against white people when given the opportunity and the chance,” Whitlock says.

“And none of this is on accident,” he continues. “People want a racial divide. People want racial conflict. People want black and white people pitted against each other so that we can’t really examine the real problem.”

But Whitlock believes the blame belongs at a higher level than just the black community.

“We have to identify what the problem is. And I’m going to identify the source,” he says.

“Who’s in control of the money? Who’s financing a culture where it’s acceptable to be a part of the black KKK? Who in Hollywood, in corporate America, is financing the degeneracy, the violence, the debauchery, the profanity?” he asks.

Whitlock has also noticed that the mob mentality that accompanies many of these attacks on white people, like the attack at the Cincinnati Music Festival, is similar to how inmates behave in prison.

“Their behavior is the exact same as the behavior that it takes to survive in prison. So the white man, because of popular culture, because of music, because of television, you can’t watch a TV show without some sort of subtle messaging that the white man, the evangelical white man in particular, is the most evil person on the planet and needs to be destroyed,” he explains.

“So the white man is in the crosshairs,” he says.

“He’s public enemy number one.”

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Police have arrested three of the five charged suspects in connection with the Cincinnati mob attack caught on video over the weekend — and one of the arrestees reportedly was out on bond for weapons charges when the street beatdown took place.

The arrestees so far are: 39-year-old Jermaine Matthews, 24-year-old Dekyra Vernon, and 34-year-old Montianez Merriweather, WXIX-TV reported. The two other charged suspects have not been named.

‘He never should have been out.’

Merriweather and Vernon were booked Tuesday afternoon into the Hamilton County Justice Center on charges of felonious assault and aggravated riot, WXIX said, citing jail and court records. Matthews was booked into the county jail just after 1 a.m. Wednesday on charges of aggravated riot and assault, the station reported.

Merriweather was “identified on video punching [the] victim while co-defendants are stomping the victim in the head,” while Vernon “struck [the] victim in the face with a closed fist prior to the victim becoming unconscious from the attack,” WXIX reported, citing criminal complaints. Details on Matthews’ case had not yet been filed in the court record, the station said.

RELATED: Street takeover thugs beat up 7-Eleven worker who tries to keep them from looting store. But he’s no match for mob of 50.

The Cincinnati Enquirer said Vernon’s bond was set at $200,000. Hamilton County court records show she has no prior criminal convictions in the county, the paper reported in a separate story.

Merriweather’s situation is a bit more complicated, shall we say.

It turns out he was indicted July 10 on four felony charges after investigators said he was found in possession of a stolen firearm, the Enquirer reported. Court records indicate he was charged with carrying concealed weapons, receiving stolen property, improper handling of firearms in a vehicle, and weapons under disability, the paper noted. The weapons under disability charge stems from a 2009 felony conviction for aggravated robbery, the Enquirer said, citing documents.

But after his indictment just two weeks ago, Merriweather was released upon posting 10% of a $4,000 bond, the paper said.

“He never should have been out,” Ken Kober, Cincinnati police union president, told the Enquirer.

Merriweather’s bond in connection with the mob attack charges against him was set at $500,000, the Enquirer reported.

As for Matthews, his bond was set at $100,000, the paper said — although he later was charged with felony assault, as well, and a bond for that charge will be discussed at a Thursday hearing.

Matthews apparently is no stranger to law enforcement, either. More from WXIX:

Matthews is a convicted felon who pleaded guilty in 2009 to two counts of cocaine possession and a single count of cocaine trafficking, court records show.

He was sentenced to three years in prison.

During each of his two separate arrests in those cases — in December 2008 and February 2009 — police said Matthews tried to swallow a bag of crack cocaine but spit it out after being shocked with a Taser stun gun.

The FBI on Monday opened an investigation into the mob attack, WXIX reported. Fox News said the incident is under investigation as a potential hate crime.

Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa A. Theetge told NewsNation Monday she anticipates more people will be charged over the mob attack and said “anyone who put their hands on another individual during this incident in an attempt to cause harm will face consequences.”

In the main cellphone video of the early Saturday morning mob attack, a man dressed in a white shirt and black pants is chased into the street and knocked down before multiple attackers repeatedly punch and kick and stomp him over the course of nearly a minute amid hooting and hollering.

‘The level of attack on this man? Completely unjustified.’

Then, a woman in a blue dress is seen apparently trying to intervene on behalf of the beaten-up man, but she’s punched in the back of her head by another female — and seconds later, a male punches her in the face, knocking her flat on her back on the street. (It appears the video may not be viewable unless you’re signed into X.) A disturbing close-up of the woman’s face shows her eyes wide open and body motionless before a few people try to help her up.

A set of three other videos appear to show the same beatdown from different vantage points — and additional victims are seen, as well. (Again, the clips may not be viewable unless you’re signed into X.)

One that lasts 23 seconds shows three other men knocked to the surface of the same street. Then, one attacker leaps and lands his body atop one of the male victims — pro-wrestling-style — while the victim is still lying on the street surface. Afterward, a laughing, smiling male pulls the attacker away.Another video that lasts 12 seconds shows what appears to be the same victim from the 23-second video getting pummeled from behind and knocked to the ground as a voice is heard saying “sleep him again!” The victim is then dragged by his foot into the middle of the street.The third video — which lasts one minute and 14 seconds — appears to show what preceded the beatdown in the main video. It shows the man dressed in the white shirt and black pants — who was beaten up in the first video — squaring off with a male in a red shirt and black shorts who would soon take part in the mob attack. It appears to show the man dressed in the white shirt and black pants making physical contact with the male in the red shirt and black shorts — and then it’s on.

An additional Facebook video appears to show even more of what occurred prior to the mob attack. It depicts what seems to be a verbal argument and minor scuffle that was on its way to calming down, and then the man dressed in the white shirt and black pants seems to lightly slap the face of the male in the red shirt and black shorts, which — as noted above — leads to the beatdown.

However, BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock on Monday stated on “Jason Whitlock Harmony” that he’s heard the argument that the man dressed in the white shirt and black pants — a white man — “started it” by making physical contact with the male in the red shirt and black shorts — a black man, and that was justification for the mob attack.

“That’s ridiculous to me,” Whitlock said. “The level of attack on this man? Completely unjustified.”

RELATED: Victim brutally beaten by gang of bike-riding thugs speaks out: ‘I’m thankful to God that it was only as bad as it was’

BlazeTV contributor Shemeka Michelle agreed, telling Whitlock the attack was “definitely unjustified. When they tried to show the video of the guy in the red being pushed and acting as if that was justification. … But for all of these people to jump in — and it wasn’t just men jumping in; there were women jumping in as if they were men.”

Whitlock on Sunday posted a message on X calling out the mob attack, saying that “this behavior and lack of national outrage are unsustainable. It’s unsustainable. The anti-white bigotry at the root of this behavior must be addressed. Sickening.”

NewsNation reported that Police Chief Theetge blasted bystanders, noting that despite the preponderance of people with cell phones out and recording the beatdown, only one person called 911.

“For all those people recording with cell phones and for us to only get one call is unacceptable in this city,” Theetge added, according to the outlet.

The chief also ripped those who posted videos of the attack on social media given that the clips don’t show the full context of it, NewsNation said: “That social media post and your coverage of it distorts the content of what actually happened and makes our jobs more difficult.”

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Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle collaboration has not only taken over internet discourse for its sensuality — but also because it’s a young blonde woman clad in denim who is proud of her blue eyes and blonde hair, which she cheekily calls her “jeans.”

While BlazeTV host Steve Deace is well aware that the sensuality behind the ad is a sin, what he finds interesting is that those who have not only gone beyond sin but normalized it are the most outraged by the ad.

“A devolution in our day, is we have gone from sinfulness, I believe, to demonic influence. And the difference between the two … is that our sinfulness takes the natural desires, instincts, ambitions, and talents that God gives us and seeks to exploit them beyond the boundaries God put in place for them to be best practiced and utilized,” Deace says.

“What American Eagle is capitalizing is, by today’s standards, somewhat tame, although other eras would have been greatly more offended,” he explains, though he notes that even if “you’re on the wrong side” of that particular debate, the debate still centers around morality and God.

“Demonic influence is no longer when we seek to exploit the natural talents, desires, ambitions, and instincts that God gives each of us, but we now deny them. And this is now where we go the other way,” he says.

While conservatives might debate each other over whether or not the ad is too sensual to show, the left has already promoted and surpassed sinful sensuality — but oddly draws the line when it comes to Sydney Sweeney.

“The spirit of the age that has promoted that sensuality, its simps, its acolytes, are now condemning this Sydney Sweeney ad. How do you make sense of this?” Deace asks.

“It’s too salacious, but at least it’s hetero. That’s exactly why the spirit of the age is losing its mind. ‘How dare you do anything even if it is sensual,’” he mocks, “Even if it is what in other eras would have been considered perversion.”

“‘How dare you do anything that points to objective truth, objective good, and objective beauty?’” he adds.

Executive producer of the “Steve Deace Show,” Aaron McIntire, agrees.

“As you pointed out, the real enemy that we are up against, the real opponents on this mortal coil that we’re up against, they certainly feel like they are attacked, like they’re being attacked. They certainly see this as some sort of cultural shift, and they don’t like that. They don’t like it when they’re not in control,” he says.

“The spirit of the age would rather enslave you than kill you. I’ve always said that. And the moment that they start to feel like, ‘We’re not as close to enslaving you,’ or ‘We don’t have as much control as we thought,’ they start to throw fits,” he adds.

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The World Economic Forum seized on the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to realize its founder’s proposed “great reset” of capitalism — a progressive liberal plot initially hatched in opposition to the “shareholder capitalism” championed by Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman.

The technocratic globalist organization’s initiative was, however, exposed and torpedoed in recent years, thanks in part to President Donald Trump and so-called conspiracy theorists.

Weeks before he stepped down on bad terms as chairman of the WEF, Klaus Schwab noted in an April 1 letter to BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, failed U.S. presidential candidate Al Gore, and the forum’s other deep-pocketed trustee board members, “I am deeply convinced that in today’s special context the forum is more important and relevant than ever before.”

In the wake of Schwab’s departure and the failure of his “great reset,” it appears that the WEF is now playing the long game — working to shape the minds of today’s youth in order to reshape the world of tomorrow.

Fellow travelers stateside appear more than keen to join forces.

Randi Weingarten announced on Friday that the American Federation of Teachers — which claims to have 1.7 million members — is partnering with the WEF “to create a curriculum that will lead to good jobs and solid careers in U.S. manufacturing.”

‘Americans aren’t going to stand for it.’

“The goal of education should be to cultivate the skills necessary to succeed in our rapidly changing world, not to create good test-takers,” said Weingarten. “That will require our education system to move beyond stifling accountability models that narrow what teachers can teach; condemn kids to low-quality, high-stakes standardized tests and excessive test prep; and do nothing to improve learning.”

RELATED: America’s largest teachers’ union declares war on the Trump administration, will use kids as foot soldiers

Alex Wong/Getty Images

Weingarten made the announcement at the 2025 AFT convention, where the union also adopted a number of radical resolutions, including resolutions in support of statehood for the District of Columbia; in opposition to the Trump administration’s detention and deportation of foreign radicals on student visas; in support of the advancement of gender ideology in schools, for “gender-affirming medical care,” and for boys in girls’ sports; and in support of working with Black Lives Matter and other radical groups to fight efforts by conservatives and parental advocacy groups to rid schools of woke propaganda.

— (@)

The AFT has not yet disclosed the details of the planned curriculum; however, critics suspect the objective will be more of the same from both the union and the forum — ideological uniformity, institutional capture, and the advancement of a progressive liberal agenda.

“This partnership is straight from a dystopian nightmare,” Corey DeAngelis, a senior fellow at the American Culture Project and a visiting fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research, told Blaze News. “It’s just what we need: the globalists running the education system for the entire United States.”

“Americans aren’t going to stand for it,” continued DeAngelis, who is convinced this will push more Americans out of the public school system. “We don’t want Randi Weingarten raising our kids. We don’t want the globalists raising our kids.”

‘The great reset is still ongoing.’

While it is presently unclear precisely what role the WEF will play in the development of the curriculum, it appears that the AFT will at the very least lean on the forum’s imagined authority to advance its climate agenda.

In a resolution adopted at the convention titled “Climate-smart and sustainable schools,” the union cites the claim by the World Economic Forum “that ‘urgency is our only savior’ when talking about the climate crisis.”

With this imagined urgency in mind, the union resolved to integrate a climate-focused curriculum to “facilitate comprehensive energy reduction, decarbonization, sustainability and indoor air quality projects,” and noted that education on the supposed risks of climate change can be a “powerful driver for more sustainable development, including a transition to greener societies.”

“They basically want to destroy industry,” said DeAngelis. “They’re pushing this crazy climate-change hysteria agenda, and they’re trying to use the school system to achieve the World Economic Forum’s goals.”

Alvin Lui, president of the parental rights advocacy group Courage Is a Habit, told Blaze News, “The sustainable development goals that the WEF pushes [are] all about gender and identity; it’s all about income redistribution. … It’s about climate change-ism. It’s everything that we’re trying to get out of school, get out of our culture.”

“The great reset is still ongoing; tearing down America is still ongoing. And how do you do that? You get into their organizations,” said Lui.

“Parents are not going to know that their children are consuming WEF curriculum because it’s going to be hidden,” continued Lui. “They’re not going to say, ‘Hi, this curriculum is from the World Economic Forum.’ It’s going to say, ‘This is going to prepare your child for the global workforce. It’s career readiness.'”

Reflecting on the track records of the WEF and AFT, Lui suggested that the likely goal of their curriculum will not be to produce effective graduates but rather useful idiots.

“When they go into the workforce, they’re not going and saying, ‘Hey, I want to work at Jaguar so that I can climb the corporate ladder,’ or ‘I can make this position and get this promotion,'” Lui said, singling out Jaguar as an example of a robust brand recently blown up by woke hires. “They’re going and saying, ‘Jaguar is not inclusive enough. Jaguar doesn’t focus on human rights. They’re don’t have inclusive enough bathrooms.'”

DeAngelis suggested that the WEF will ultimately serve as another aid for Weingarten to “brainwash our kids into her socialist ideology.”

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The Senate floor has once again become the arena for lawmakers’ political theater. This time, Democrats put their infighting on full display.

Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey erupted at his Democratic colleagues during a heated tirade Tuesday, accusing Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota of being “willing to be complicit” with President Donald Trump.

“This, to me, is a problem with Democrats in America right now, is we’re willing to be complicit to Donald Trump,” Booker said during a floor speech Tuesday.

‘There’s a lot of us in this caucus that want to f**king fight.’

Booker’s outrage was sparked after Klobuchar and Cortez Masto sought to pass by unanimous consent a package of bills that included grants for police departments. Booker tried to offer an amendment that would alter the distribution of grants across states in response to Trump’s executive order freezing all federal funds related to DEI programs.

RELATED: Senate narrowly confirms Trump lawyer despite Republican defectors

“The Democratic Party needs a wake-up call,” Booker said.

“And what are the very people here elected to defend the Constitution of the United States saying? ‘Oh, well, today let’s look the other way and pass some resources that won’t go to Connecticut, that won’t go to Illinois, that won’t go to New York, but that will go to the states he likes,'” he went on.

“That is complicity with an authoritarian leader who is trashing our Constitution,” Booker added. “It’s time for Democrats to have a backbone. It’s time for us to fight.”

RELATED: Mike Collins launches campaign to flip key swing state Senate seat

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Notably, Booker did not put up a strong fight. Despite his indignation, Booker ultimately did not formally object to the two bills, and they passed with unanimous consent.

“There’s a lot of us in this caucus that want to f**king fight,” Booker said as he left the Senate floor. “And what’s bothering me right now is we don’t see enough fight in this caucus.“

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President Trump gave reporters new information as to why he stopped associating with infamous sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, the president was asked about Epstein taking some of his employees from Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s prized resort and golf course in Palm Beach, Florida.

Trump said on Monday that Epstein betrayed him years ago by hiring multiple people who had worked at the Florida resort. On Tuesday, Trump confirmed that at least some of them were young women.

‘I think that was one of the people. He stole her.’

A reporter asked, “Were some of the workers that were taken from you — were some of them young women?”

Trump at first replied that he did not want to say before eventually confirming.

“Well, I don’t want to say, but everyone knows the people that were taken. And it was the concept of taking people that work for me is bad. But that story’s been pretty well out there. And the answer is yes. They were.”

The reporter then asked what kind of roles the young women had while working for Trump.

“In the spa. Yeah. It’s people that work in the spa,” the president clarified before boasting about the great amenities at the Mar-a-Lago spa. “People were taken out of the spa — hired by him. In other words, gone. And other people would come and complain, ‘This guy is taking people from the spa.'”

Trump said he “didn’t know” that Epstein was poaching his employees and confronted him over the issue afterward.

“I didn’t know that. And then when I heard about it, I told him. I said, ‘Listen. We don’t want you taking our people.’ Whether it was spa or not spa, I don’t want him taking people. And he was fine. And then not too long after that, he did it again, and I said, ‘Out of here.'”

Immediately after those remarks, a female reporter asked the president about one of Epstein’s victims.

RELATED: Trump blasts Democrats on Epstein files during Scotland trip: ‘The whole thing is a hoax!’

“Mr. President,” the reporter began just before 2 p.m., “did one of those stolen, you know, persons, did that include Virginia Giuffre?”

Giuffre had claimed in a 2016 deposition that Epstein’s partner in crime, Ghislaine Maxwell, trafficked her after picking her up from Mar-a-Lago. According to the Washington Post, Giuffre said her father had worked in the maintenance department at Mar-a-Lago and got her a “summer job” as a locker room attendant.

“I don’t know. I think she worked at the spa. I think so,” Trump responded to the question. “I think that was one of the people. He stole her. And by the way, she had no complaints about us, as you know.”

Giuffre said in the deposition that Maxwell wanted to hire her as a “traveling masseuse,” which eventually led to her allegedly being instructed to have sex with people even though she was 16 and 17 years old.

RELATED: Trust the FBI? Not until it tells us about Thomas Crooks

Virginia Roberts Giuffre, with a photo of herself as a teen. Emily Michot/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images.

Trump had famously said in 2019 that he “wasn’t a fan” of Epstein and that he had a “falling-out with him” about 15 years prior.

Recently, White House communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement, “The fact is that the president kicked him out of his club for being a creep,” referring to Epstein.

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In accordance with President Donald Trump’s demands, the Senate is chipping away at the massive backlog of nominees. This time, Republicans narrowly confirmed former Trump lawyer Emil Bove, but some familiar names have once again bucked their party.

Bove was officially confirmed for a lifetime appointment to serve as a judge on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Tuesday night. Although Republicans hold 53 seats in the Senate, Bove was confirmed in a narrow 50-49 vote after Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine voted against the Trump nominee.

‘That’s gotta be rough, being publicly unmasked and emasculated like that.’

While Murkowski and Collins didn’t publicly comment about their disapproval of Bove, several Democrats did.

In a drawn-out floor speech, Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey said Bove’s confirmation marked a “sad day for the judiciary.”

RELATED: Mike Collins launches campaign to flip key swing state Senate seat

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

“By confirming Emil Bove, my Republican colleagues once again failed their constitutional duties and put loyalty to Donald Trump over the good of our country,” Booker said in his social media post.

At the same time, Trump allies like the Federalist’s Sean Davis celebrated Bove’s confirmation as yet another political win for the country.

“Congrats to Emil Bove on his confirmation, and condolences to Ed Whelan and everyone else on the fake right who definitely weren’t being paid and directed to run a smear campaign against Bove to prevent his confirmation,” Davis said in a post on X. “That’s gotta be a tough pill to swallow after spending years threatening conservative lawyers that their careers would be over if they defended Trump or J6ers from left-wing lawfare.”

RELATED: One Republican’s rhetoric is even starting to spook pro-Israel groups

Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

“That’s gotta be rough, being publicly unmasked and emasculated like that, and realizing that everyone now knows you were all bark and no bite,” Davis added. “Oof. Oh well!”

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As President Trump concluded his trip to Scotland, he took a moment to praise the media members who were in attendance, in a rare moment of mutual appreciation between the press and the president.

Trump’s trip featured varying successes, including when he secured a massive trade deal with the European Union that saw tariffs placed on the foreign trading body that will now “completely accept” American auto and industrial standards, according to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

Another win for Trump came when he opened a new course at Trump International Golf Links Aberdeen in Scotland. Following an impressive swing from the tee box, Trump gave the media some rare compliments.

‘We’re going to try to get things straightened out, for the world.’

Wearing a white and gold “USA” hat, Trump thanked the press in attendance.

“Thank you, everybody — and thank you to the media,” Trump began, making sure not to repeat his most famous tagline.

“The media has been terrific, believe it or not. See? I didn’t use the word ‘fake news’ one time. Not one time!”

The president continued, “Today, they’re not fake news. Today, they’re wonderful news. I just want to thank you. They’ve treated us really well, and they respect what we’ve done.”

“Really, at a level you rarely see nowadays, so I really, very much appreciate it.”

There was one media member who was seen as impolite, however, and caused enough commotion to garner moans and groans from his colleagues.

RELATED: Canada declares independence from Liberal censorship — with Donald Trump’s help

— (@)

As Trump was leaving the golf course, a reporter yelled, “Mr. President, what will you say next to Benjamin Netanyahu?”

Other media members were aghast at the question, likely due to the high levels of cordiality between the media and Trump at that point in the day, but the president answered the question anyway.

“We’re going to try to get things straightened out, for the world,” Trump replied.

As cameras flashed, one man is heard saying, “Come on!” in response to the question, with the White House response team eventually writing on X that “the Fake News just can’t help themselves.”

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“Conspiracy theory” is the go-to smear against those of us who questioned any aspect of the government’s authoritarian response to the COVID-19 pandemic. But as the great Austrian economist Murray Rothbard once observed, the smear serves one purpose: to divert the public’s attention away from the truth.

“An attack on ‘conspiracy theories,’” Rothbard writes in “The Anatomy of the State,” means that the subjects of a regime “will become more gullible in believing the ‘general welfare’ reasons that are always put forth by the State for engaging in any of its despotic actions.”

The democratization of information means that censorship just doesn’t work as well as it used to.

“A ‘conspiracy theory,’” he continues, “can unsettle the system by causing the public to doubt the state’s ideological propaganda.”

The more I dig into the origins of the COVID pandemic, the more “despotic” our state seems to become — and the more “conspiratorial” I get.

Unsettling the system

I am trying to put together the final pieces of the puzzle of what I consider among the greatest public policy scandals of my lifetime — not only who did it, but more importantly, why would they do it?

A few months ago, I spent a day with Matt Taibbi, the iconoclastic muckraker and “Twitter Files” reporter, for the latest episode of my BlazeTV investigative series, “The Coverup.”

As he dug through the trove of emails and texts, Taibbi discovered the conspiracy to blacklist and silence Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, the subject of the first episode of “The Coverup” and now the head of the National Institutes of Health. Taibbi soon learned that the same tactics and tools — and even many of the very same deep-state actors — have their fingerprints all over both the Russia collusion hoax and the COVID cover-up.

A precedent for censorship

Recently released documents from Director of National Security Tulsi Gabbard reveal that the so-called Russia collusion hoax wasn’t just wrong — it was deliberate. The Obama administration orchestrated the fabrication, pushing U.S. intelligence agencies to leak a report suggesting Vladimir Putin had helped Donald Trump steal the 2016 election.

That leak, repeated endlessly by the press, fueled a national narrative branding Trump’s presidency as illegitimate — despite those same agencies having already dismissed the claim.

This kind of manipulation would be outrageous if it weren’t so familiar.

Five years after the COVID lockdowns stripped millions of Americans of basic liberties, we’re still uncovering how the deep state used propaganda to silence dissent. Throughout the pandemic, scientists and doctors raised alarms about the damage lockdowns would cause — and did cause. Some of the world’s most respected experts signed the Great Barrington Declaration to oppose the government’s heavy-handed response.

But the public never heard from them. Bureaucrats and media allies moved swiftly to smear, suppress, and sideline these voices using one of the oldest authoritarian tactics: control of information.

In fairness, public health agencies didn’t have to twist many arms. The legacy media followed their lead willingly — even when the guidance contradicted itself or defied basic logic.

But unlike the days of Project Mockingbird, when the CIA could shape coverage by nudging the New York Times or CBS, controlling the old guard wasn’t enough. The rise of social media — decentralized, fast-moving, and open to anyone with a computer or phone — posed a new challenge. The administration needed a more aggressive strategy to dominate the narrative.

Strong-arming social media

In episode 5 of “The Coverup,” I ask Taibbi how they pulled it off. As one of the first journalists to dig into the Twitter Files, Taibbi exposed the machinery behind the censorship regime. Americans suspected that platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube were suppressing dissent during COVID. But the Twitter Files confirmed what many feared: They weren’t acting alone. They took orders from the FBI directly.

And these weren’t polite requests, either. When the government “suggested” something, tech companies treated it as a command.

It all traces back to — surprise, surprise — the Russia hoax.

In 2017, Congress hauled tech executives into hearings and accused them of letting Russian disinformation run wild. Essentially, they were given an offer they couldn’t refuse: Allow the government to play a role in content moderation or prepare to be regulated into submission.

RELATED: On the 9th anniversary of Russiagate, the hoax is finally crumbling

Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

Their surrender gave U.S. intelligence agencies de facto control over what Americans could say online. The feds told platforms which posts to delete, which users to silence, and how to suppress the rest. You could post your opinion — as long as no one could see it. “Shadow bans” became the preferred method of censorship: clean, quiet, and deniable.

The silver lining

Thanks to Taibbi — and a handful of journalists who still value truth over access — we now see how the government sold Americans on fiction. Russia hacked the election. COVID came from a bowl of bat soup. Question either and you’d vanish from the digital public square.

Millions believed these lies. And under their influence, they did real damage — locking down schools, closing businesses, and sowing doubt about fair elections.

But truth has a way of leaking out.

It’s taken time, but the lies are unraveling. And that’s the silver lining. In a world where information moves faster than censors can keep up, suppression doesn’t work like it used to. So long as we have truth-tellers willing to dig and defy — like Taibbi — the regime won’t have the last word.

We won’t get fooled again.

Episode 5 of “The Coverup” premieres Thursday, July 31.

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Yesterday, in yet another act of mass violence, a gunman identified as Shane Tamura killed four people, including an NYPD officer, and critically wounded another in a shooting at 345 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan before taking his own life.

“You’re going to hear all kinds of things,” says Glenn Beck. “You’re going to hear ‘more gun control,’ yada yada yada. But will we ever talk about the real issues here?”

The real issue, he explains, is not guns but mental illness, which Tamura had a “history of.”

According to a handwritten note found in his pocket, Tamura targeted the office building on Park Avenue specifically because the National Football League headquarters are located there.

“He wanted to express his grievance with the NFL,” says Glenn.

Tamura claimed to suffer from chronic traumatic encephalopathy — a degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head trauma.

Thus far, police have found no evidence to confirm whether Tamura had CTE, but it was confirmed that he played football in high school.

In his suicide note, Tamura requested that his brain be studied.

“This is a tale of insanity,” sighs Glenn. It’s “a tale of evil, a tale of broken minds, a tale of innocence destroyed in the place where it was least expected, a skyscraper in New York turned slaughterhouse and a Monday night that turned to mourning.”

And it’s no isolated tale. Around the same time as Tamura’s murderous rampage, another gunman killed three people and injured three others in the valet area and parking lot of the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada. The suspect was shot by police and taken into custody in critical condition.

While “no motive has been determined so far,” it’s clear that “we have an epidemic of mental illness in this country,” says Glenn.

Just a couple of months ago, Glenn experienced this personally when he and his wife were in Manhattan.

“A black guy on a bike rides towards us, and he begins to circle us on his bike on the sidewalk … all the while looking me right directly in the eye and pointing with one hand, the other on the handlebars, saying, ‘I’m going to kill me a white man today,”’ Glenn recalls.

“Luckily, he noticed that I had two armed security people behind us. He recognized maybe they might kill a black man on a bike today. He rode away. The man was clearly unstable.”

“We have become a society that has gone into madness. … How much more madness will it take before we stand up and say enough is enough?”

To hear more of Glenn’s commentary and analysis, watch the episode above.

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