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A Florida woman was attacked and killed by an alligator while sailing on a canoe on Tuesday afternoon, according to authorities.

A husband and wife were canoeing in a 14-foot boat in approximately two and a half feet of water at the mouth of Tiger Creek near Lake Kissimmee, Florida.

‘Gator grabbed her out of the canoe. He tried to fight the gator off. We’re at the last place he saw her.’

Suddenly, the canoe drifted over a large alligator.

Citing officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, ABC News reported, “The gator thrashed and tipped the canoe over, throwing both the husband and wife into the water.”

The fish and wildlife officials said 61-year-old Cynthia Diekema of Polk County landed on top of the alligator. The husband reportedly attempted to stop the alligator attack but was unfortunately unsuccessful.

WKMG-TV obtained the radio transmission from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, which indicates that the victim’s husband attempted in vain to fight off the massive animal.

“Gator grabbed her out of the canoe,” a deputy can be heard saying in the audio. “He tried to fight the gator off. We’re at the last place he saw her. He left the paddle here where he last saw her at.”

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office helicopter, PCSO deputies, marine units, and an alligator trapper were dispatched to the scene, the commission said.

Wildlife officials revealed on Tuesday that trappers had recovered an 11-foot-4-inch alligator matching the length description of the gator involved in the fatal attack. Trappers also recovered a second alligator, up to 11 feet in length.

Diekema’s body has since been recovered.

The FWC launched a full investigation into the animal attack.

Roger Young — the executive director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission — called Diekema’s death a “devastating loss” during a press conference on Wednesday.

Young noted, “While alligator attacks resulting in fatalities are extremely rare, this tragedy serves as a somber reminder of the powerful wildlife that share our natural spaces.”

Young said of the victim’s friends and family, “Our heartfelt prayers go out to them. This is a devastating loss, and our hearts go out to everyone affected by this tragedy.”

This is the second alligator attack in the area since March. A woman suffered an alligator bite on her arm while kayaking on a canal between Tiger Lake and Kissimmee Lake.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission urges the public to “never feed an alligator and keep your distance if you see one. Swim only in designated swimming areas during daylight hours. And keep pets on a leash and away from the water.”

You can watch a local WTSP-TV newscast on the fatal alligator attack here.

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​Alligators, Animal attack, When animals attack, Alligator attack, Florida, Florida man, Florida woman, Mauling, Mauled to death, News 

The transgender sports controversy has arrived in the central coast of California, where students and parents are debating about whether to allow transgender athletes in school sports.

A 16-year-old transgender student demanded the Lucia Mar Unified School District protect him and other “queer students” at Arroyo Grande High School during a meeting of the board on Tuesday.

‘I saw a biological male watching not only myself, but the other young women undress. This experience was beyond traumatizing.’

“Hello, I am the transgender athlete who was ruthlessly slandered at the last school board meeting,” said the student, who spoke anonymously for the sake of his safety.

“I am not only here to rebuild my reputation, but also to demand that the LMU school district take real and immediate action to protect queer students from harassment we face every day. As a transgender student, I’ve been threatened and harassed on a nearly weekly basis,” he added.

“My safety has been compromised multiple times,” the student said, “and yet the students responsible rarely face consequences due to deeply flawed district policies. Worse still, the danger doesn’t only come from other students; it comes from adults in this very community.”

Here the student named several people he accused of spreading “harmful misinformation and hateful rhetoric.” He said they also handed out scripts to members of the track and field team with wording to “dehumanize” and “intimidate” queer youth at the school.

This is not just a policy issue,” he concluded. “This is a matter of basic human rights. I am demanding that the LMU school district stop standing by as the human rights of transgender people are being threatened. You must act now!”

Video of the student’s comments was posted to social media.

A female student also spoke at the meeting and asked for the district to protect female athletes from unfair competition from biological males identifying as females. In a previous statement to the board, she said that the male student was watching her and other female students undress in the locker room.

“I went into the women’s locker room to change for track practice, where I saw a biological male watching not only myself, but the other young women undress,” she said tearfully. “This experience was beyond traumatizing.”

Another speaker pointed out that the school officials were acting in accordance with California law.

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​Trans hs athlete, Lucia mar unified school district, Arroyo grande high school, California transgender, Politics 

Since at least the 1960s, North American adults have steadily become more childlike. What we call adolescence used to end at around age 17 or 18, but now we grant the right to be childish and irresponsible up until at least age 30.

And with the recent Canadian elections keeping woke crybaby Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party in power, the full emotional immaturity of older adults was on display this week.

In fancy psychological terms, this kind of blame-shifting is called having an ‘external locus of control.’

More on this below. First, we have to go back in time and set the stage.

Cursed children

It started in the late 1990s, when a children’s fantasy book series took the world by storm; the inevitable blockbuster movie franchise soon followed. In a somewhat surprising twist, fans were as eager to follow Harry Potter’s adventures on paper as in the multiplex. With each new installment, breathless news reports showed mothers and children lined up around the block to get into bookstores on publication day.

Adults were delighted to see kids this interested in reading. J.K. Rowling had cast a spell on a generation already succumbing to the lure of constant screen time — even a decade before the smartphone.

But as in many a fairy tale, the spell came with a catch. The kids who were enraptured by Rowling’s saga of child wizards and witches stayed enraptured. Instead of graduating to more sophisticated reading, they chose to remain perpetual Hogwarts students. A 10 year-old immersed in a magical fantasy world is charming; by age 30, the magic starts looking like a curse.

Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff

The most prevalent example was the tendency of fully grown adults to identify themselves by their Hogwarts “house.” For those who may have forgotten their Harry Potter lore, upon matriculation, each Hogwarts student would consult a magical “sorting hat,” which would assign them to a “house” or dormitory — Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin — based on their characteristics and abilities.

From about 2010, I started noticing 25-year-olds putting “House Gryffindor” on their social media profiles. At red lights, I’d see a car ahead of me plastered with stickers identifying their Harry Potter “house.”

The “grown-ups” were hauling themselves off to Harry Potter theme parks, throwing Harry Potter-themed house parties, and fighting with each other in cesspits like Tumblr over whose magic was better.

Don’t be ‘mean’

The slide from adulthood into adult infantilization in America has been slow enough that many older people either didn’t notice it or thought it was just a passing trend. As a young adult at the time, I found it baffling and embarrassing.

I was very much in the minority. Whenever I’d remark on how new and strange it was to see 30-year-olds publicly proclaiming loyalty to a movie series for 10-year-olds, other alleged grown-ups would tell me I was either being “mean” or “spoiling their fun.”

When I pointed out that these retorts also sounded like something a 10-year-old would say, you can imagine the response. I was half expecting to be called a booger-head by people old enough to have their own children.

Arrested development

Arrested emotional development is a serious, society-wide problem in America and across most of the industrialized West. In the 90s and early 2000s, we started to notice that young adults were living at home with their parents much longer, were failing to get driver’s licenses and full-time jobs, and spent a lot of time following hobbies and pursuits they developed before puberty.

And despite the insistence that the only reason for this was that it was “too hard” in “this economy” to expect an 18-year-old to go out and get an apartment, that wasn’t true. The helicopter parenting of the 90s, with its insane fixation on safetyism — this is when it became “too dangerous” for kids to walk to school — handicapped the Millennial generation and stunted their maturation.

What we might call “extended adolescence” has moved up in age brackets. Even adults of 50, 60, or 70 years today carry themselves more like what we expected from teenagers sassing back to Daddy-O in the 1950s. And the Canadian elections brought it to the fore.

Maple leaf rag

Back in January, it seemed that Canadians had finally had enough of Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party’s policies: the unchecked immigration, the forced vaccinations, the jailing and “debanking” of the Freedom Convoy protesters, the lies about nonexistent “mass child graves” at schools for Indian kids.

Trudeau’s popularity had tanked so much that he resigned. The people wanted change, but Trudeau’s replacement, Mark Carney, offered little to differentiate himself from his predecessor. Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative Party was expected to win by its highest margin in years.

That didn’t happen. Apparently Canadians were content with business as usual. Why did they throw away this chance to right the sinking ship?

Blame Trump

Trump, of course. At least, that’s the reason countless adults on social media and in the news have given for the Canadian election results.

You see, Canadians voted as they did because the American president “made” them too fearful to do anything else. He said mean things. He “scared” the Canadians. His jokes about annexing Canada and making it the 51st U.S. state, you see, were “threats.” People were “terrified” of the mean orange man, and if it hadn’t been for his “bullying,” then Canadians would have been able to put a new party in power.

Consider this chart, posted on X by Jack Posobiec. The survey found that, for Canadian voters 60 and older, “dealing with Trump” was their number one election priority.

That’s remarkable. “Dealing with” the president of another country was more important to this set than the fact that their country has turned into a Communist hellhole.

The bogeyman did it

Here are some typical “thoughts” from Canadian voters and American onlookers taken from threads on X.

“Trump cost conservatives this election.”

“TBH, I dont blame them, when the world’s leading superpower who sits on your border implies he’s going to take over your country, yeah well it might affect people’s decisions.”

“[Trump’s] interference with the Canadian elections was one of the most counterproductive acts I have ever seen a politician do.”

This is absurd. Nay, it’s pathetic. It’s babyish. It’s a child blaming his own bad decisions on some bogeyman because the child wants to escape accountability for his own behavior. Except these are alleged grown-ups.

In fancy psychological terms, this kind of blame-shifting is called having an “external locus of control.” It means that instead of taking responsibility for one’s own decisions and actions, one blames them on someone or something else. It’s a mark of arrested emotional development.

Can we have adulthood back, please?

​Josh slocum, Trump, Cluster-b, Canadian election, Mark carney, Harry potter, Psychology, Lifestyle, Intervention 

The Trump administration kicked three Democrats off of a government commission and simply locked one of them and his staff out of their offices.

The White House told the Hill that the firings were made from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which oversees product hazards, issues recalls, and sets standards for manufacturers. The CPSC was the group behind the controversy over a suggested ban on gas stoves.

‘This is an appalling and lawless attack on the independence of our country’s product safety watchdog.’

All of the three fired from the five-person commission were appointed by former President Joe Biden and had been confirmed by the U.S. Senate. They included Mary Boyle, Alexander Hoehn-Saric, and Richard Trumka Jr., the son of the late president of the AFL-CIO union.

Sources indicated to the Hill that Hoehn-Saric and his staff were locked out of the commission’s building, while the other two were notified of their firings.

William Wallace, the director of safety advocacy for Consumer Reports, issued a statement Friday decrying the action.

“This is an appalling and lawless attack on the independence of our country’s product safety watchdog,” said Wallace. “Anyone who cares about keeping their family safe should oppose this move and demand that it be reversed.”

The incident mirrored a similar action taken by the Department of Government Efficiency in February when Democrats were not allowed entry into the offices of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Democrats were outraged and called the action illegal and unconstitutional.

“For more than five decades, members of Congress from both parties have supported the role of an independent, bipartisan CPSC,” continued the statement from Wallace. “Today’s Congress must step up to defend the agency, reject this power grab, and reaffirm that our laws actually mean what they say on the page.”

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A Democrat mayor was arrested after allegedly trespassing into an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Newark, New Jersey, and the incident was captured on video.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka accused the ICE detainment center of acting in violation of local laws before he was taken into custody by Homeland Security. He has criticized the center for a lack of safety inspections and proper permits.

‘That will not stand in this state. He has been taken into custody. NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW.’

Alina Habba, the interim U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey, made a statement about the arrest on her social media account.

“The Mayor of Newark, Ras Baraka, committed trespass and ignored multiple warnings from Homeland Security Investigations to remove himself from the ICE detention center in Newark, New Jersey this afternoon,” wrote Habba.

“He has willingly chosen to disregard the law,” she added. “That will not stand in this state. He has been taken into custody. NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW.”

Baraka, who is also running for the Democratic nomination for governor of New Jersey, said his goal was to get inside the center.

“We are trying to get in, and we are going to get in today,” said Baraka to WNJB-TV. “It doesn’t matter who is inside; I think they may have detainees; they shouldn’t be in there. We allowed the courts to negotiate this when there were no detainees and just workers, GEO, and us. ICE doesn’t have a long-term lease with these folks, so GEO is completely responsible and hiding behind ICE right now.”

He claimed that officials of the detainment center were not allowing fire officials inside to inspect the center.

“Fire officials can go inside a building at any time they want to do any inspections, and they’re not allowing them in,” said Baraka. “Fire officials were here, code officials were here yesterday, and they wouldn’t let us in. And now I am here today.”

The GEO Group, which operates the center, denied the allegations and accused the mayor and others of creating a publicity stunt.

Here’s one of the videos of his arrest:

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President Donald Trump surprised the country with a new pick for surgeon general this week, announcing that he is now nominating Dr. Casey Means for the coveted position.

“Casey has impeccable MAHA credentials, and will work closely with our wonderful Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to ensure a successful implementation of our Agenda in order to reverse the Chronic Disease Epidemic, and ensure Great Health, in the future, for ALL Americans,” President Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

“Dr. Casey Means has the potential to be one of the finest Surgeon Generals in United States History,” he added.

Means and her brother, Calley Means, have risen to mainstream fame after playing a significant role in shaping the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again agenda. Before skyrocketing to fame, the Stanford-trained physician became a wellness influencer and co-wrote a book about the chronic disease epidemic with her brother, “Good Energy.”

Despite her long list of credentials and advocacy for a truly healthy America, conservatives are skeptical of the nomination — accusing Means of being a “psyop.”

“I first heard about Calley Means through Joe Rogan and Tucker Carlson,” Steve Deace of the “Steve Deace Show” says of Casey’s brother. “If Joe Rogan and Tucker Carlson are now places where the CIA goes to drop psyops, by the end of today, close of business, you guys are all going to be receiving a ‘goodbye cruel world’ note from me.”

“I saw a lot of those posts in my social media feed yesterday. Now, I’m not against investigating these people, vetting these people, but you know, we’ve talked a lot about vindication and the thirst trap of vindication,” Deace continues, noting that he understands why people are suspicious.

“When you’ve been marginalized for as long as people like you guys have, you kind of have an embedded identity because of that, and the temptation is to view bandwagon jumpers as suspicious and traitors,” he explains.

And unless the MAHA movement can realize they don’t need to be so afraid of everything and everyone, the MAHA movement won’t last long.

“At some point, you have to move beyond perpetually grieved and frustrated. I’m just telling you, in this world, you cannot govern without aligning with people who weren’t there with you from the start, and you’re going to have to risk being betrayed,” Deace explains.

“Just like, ‘Hey, if you want to get married, if you want to find the right one, you’re going to have to risk getting your heart broken,’” he adds.

Want more from Steve Deace?

To enjoy more of Steve’s take on national politics, Christian worldview, and principled conservatism with a snarky twist, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​The steve deace show, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Make america healthy again, Make america great again, Maha, Maga, Calley means, Casey means, Robert f kennedy jr, Rfk jr, President donald trump, Trump administration, Surgeon general, Steve deace show 

Bill Gates appears desperate to convince the world of his magnanimity and of his fellow billionaire Elon Musk’s maleficence.

Gates, 69, recently went on a liberal media tour, telling late night script-reader Stephen Colbert, the New York Times Magazine, the Financial Times, and other outfits reflexively receptive to his preferred narrative all about his intention to spend $200 billion on philanthropy before closing down the Gates Foundation — which underwent a name change in January in the wake of reporting about Gates’ relationship with child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and then the billionaire’s divorce.

According to the New York Times Magazine, this potential charitable giving is especially important after the Trump administration’s termination of programs at the U.S. Agency for International Development that Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized “did not serve, (and in some cases even harmed), the core national interests of the United States.”

Gates, whose foundation’s relationship with USAID has been likened to a “money-laundering scheme — one that ‘cleans’ both wealth and power for people like Gates while sustaining thousands of projects, employees, and placeholders in organizations that rely entirely on a circular flow of public funds” — suggested to the Financial Times that diseases such as measles, HIV, and polio could see a massive resurgence as a result of the USAID cuts championed by Musk.

Elements of the scientific community have furnished Gates with hypotheticals and estimates to lean on. For instance, a preprint study published by the Lancet and amplified by Nature, despite its lack of peer review, suggested that a:

complete cessation of US funding without replacement by other sources of funding would lead to dramatic increases in deaths from 2025-2040: 15.2 (9.3-20.8) million additional AIDS deaths, 2.2 (1.5-1.9) million additional TB deaths, 7.9 million additional child deaths from other causes, 40-55 million additional unplanned pregnancies and 12-16 million unsafe abortions.

“The picture of the world’s richest man killing the world’s poorest children is not a pretty one,” said Gates.

‘They were put in the woodchipper.’

“I’m not even sure the administration understands what is going on in the field because we do have, for the first time in 25 years, we have more children dying,” continued Gates. “Instead of it going down, it’s now going up. And unless we reverse pretty quickly, that will be over a million additional deaths.”

Gates suggested that while his foundation will spend roughly $10 billion a year on global health, with a focus on vaccines and maternal and child health, this private philanthropy would not make up for the American taxpayer dollars saved through USAID cuts.

The Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, began exposing in December that USAID had blown taxpayer funds on anti-American, leftist causes and radical initiatives.

The administration discovered, for example, that the USAID previously blew:

$45 million on DEI scholarships in Burma;
$1.5 million “to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities”;
$6 million to “transform digital spaces to reflect feminist democratic principles”;
$19 million for two separate “inclusion” programs in Vietnam;
$2 million on sex-change activism in Guatemala;$20 million for a “Sesame Street” show in Iraq;
$2 million for “activity to strengthen trans-led organizations to deliver gender-affirming health care” in Guatemala;
$37.7 million to study HIV among “sex workers (SWS), their clients, and transgender (TG) people” in South Africa; and
$1 million to assist disabled people in Tajikistan to become “climate leaders.“

“Unfortunately, you know, there was a weekend where it was decided they [USAID] were criminals and they were put in the woodchipper, and so we lost a lot of capacity there. Now, we can get it back,” Gates told Colbert. “Eventually, Congress is the one who will have the final word on this.”

Gates suggested to the New York Times Magazine that he is counting on Congress to once again undermine the Trump agenda where funding is concerned but realizes “the cuts are so dramatic that even if we get some restored, we’re going to have a tough time.”

The billionaire also expressed confidence that future administrations will not similarly cut back foreign aid, noting that he sees it “as a four- to six-year interruption.”

Elon Musk, responding to another interview where Gates claimed the DOGE would cost two million lives, wrote, “Gates is a huge liar.”

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​Bill gates, Elon musk, Usaid, Agency for international development, Globalism, Globalist, Attack, Gates foundation, Gates, Musk, Politics 

President Donald Trump’s National Institutes of Health is reportedly working on a health study concerning the February 3, 2023, train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that resulted in toxic chemical spills.

On Thursday, the Trump administration’s leading health officials joined Fox News to discuss their efforts to deliver on the president’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.

‘President Trump and I have never forgotten the people of East Palestine, and we will never stop fighting for the cleanup effort in this community to be completed.’

NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya told host Bret Baier that the agency has partnered with Vice President JD Vance to conduct a health study for the residents of East Palestine.

“The study that most people don’t know about that the NIH has been doing — we’ve been working with Vice President Vance to look at a study and find answers for people affected in East Palestine by that train disaster that happened during the Biden administration,” Bhattacharya said.

“Shockingly, the NIH had not asked that question,” he continued. “But what I’m looking forward to is that we’re going to address the health questions and the health needs of the American people with excellent, gold-standard research.”

In February, Vance visited East Palestine on the second anniversary of the disaster.

“President Trump and I have never forgotten the people of East Palestine, and we will never stop fighting for the cleanup effort in this community to be completed,” Vance wrote in a post on X. “We are with you for the long haul.”

He guaranteed the community that the environmental cleanup would be completed, calling it “a tragedy and a shame” that the Biden administration failed to finish the effort.

Former President Joe Biden took a year to visit the town after the disaster.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s preliminary data in 2023 found that “concentrations for nine of the approximately 50 chemicals measured were relatively high in comparison to the levels considered safe for lifetime exposure.”

“Overall, if ambient levels persisted for these chemicals, they could pose health concerns, either individually (e.g., acrolein, a known respiratory irritant) or cumulatively. Thus, subsequent, spatiotemporal analysis was pertinent,” the report added.

In September, a federal judge approved a $600 million settlement between Norfolk Southern, the company that operated the train, and East Palestine residents.

Less than two weeks ago, an Ohio jury determined that Norfolk Southern would be responsible for paying the entirety of the settlement, finding that GATX, the company that owned the derailed train cars, will not have to assist with paying the settlement.

“For more than two years, Norfolk Southern has paid the costs related to the derailment while acknowledging and acting on our own responsibility for the accident. Our belief has always been that GATX shares in that responsibility and should also be held to account,” Norfolk Southern stated.

GATX said it was “pleased with the trial outcome,” adding that the jury’s decision “affirms what we have known for some time: Norfolk Southern alone is responsible for the derailment and resulting damage in East Palestine.”

The NIH did not respond to Blaze News’ request for comment.

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​News, Donald trump, Trump, Trump administration, Trump admin, National institutes of health, Nih, Jay bhattacharya, East palestine derailment, East palestine, Ohio, Make america healthy again, Maha, Politics 

A Michigan father forced his 11-year-old daughter to assist with a home invasion — and then ditched her when the homeowner returned, according to the prosecutors.

Andre Stephon-Curtis Broadenax — a 29-year-old from Detroit — has been charged with first-degree home invasion, second-degree home invasion, larceny in a building, receiving and concealing a motor vehicle, inducing a minor to commit a felony, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

‘Right now, you could have just lost your life and your child’s, so it’s really sad.’

On May 2, Broadenax was arraigned and received a $75,000 cash/surety bond with a GPS tether and was placed on house arrest. However, Judge William McConico on Monday increased his bond to $150,000 during a bond redetermination hearing.

Around 8:43 p.m. April 29, Broadenax reportedly arrived at a Detroit home in a stolen car, which allegedly belonged to a 52-year-old Dearborn Heights man.

The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement that Broadenax “forced entry into the 75-year-old victim’s home” with his 11-year-old daughter in tow.

The dad reportedly “forced his 11-year-old daughter to assist him with the home invasion.”

However, Broadenax allegedly fled the crime scene on foot — without his little girl — when the homeowner returned to his residence.

Detroit Police officers caught up with the suspect and arrested Broadenax shortly after he tried to escape, according to prosecutors.

A longtime resident, David Bridges, told WXYZ-TV that “me being a father of eight kids, I can’t see me using none of my kids to actually break into a house or do anything to harm another person because it’s wrong.”

The neighbor added, “Right now, you could have just lost your life and your child’s, so it’s really sad.”

Broadenax’s probable cause conference is scheduled for May 14, and the preliminary examination is scheduled for May 21.

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Scottish parliament has banned men from women’s restrooms in a swift move after its Supreme Court upheld accurate definitions of gender in a recent ruling.

The parliament building, known as the Holyrood, declared bathrooms designated “male” or “female” will refer to biological sex only, as opposed to the gender identity and/or delusion of any individual.

The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body made the announcement after the U.K. Supreme Court upheld a definition of sex from the 2010 Equality Act.

“This examination of the language of the EA 2010, its context and purpose, demonstrate that the words ‘sex,’ ‘woman’ and ‘man’ in sections 11 and 212(1) mean (and were always intended to mean) biological sex, biological woman and biological man,” the court noted in an 88-page ruling.

‘It will exclude us and segregate us in the heart of Scotland’s democracy.’

Presiding officer Alison Johnstone said the move was to ensure “confidence, privacy and dignity” for staff and visitors. The SPCB declared the changes were to be immediate and that they were practical and made at a “minimal cost.”

Three more existing public restrooms will be designated as gender-neutral bathrooms, in addition to female-only and male-only bathrooms, among other accessibility- and disability-related bathrooms.

Johnstone said it was important to take such steps after the latest ruling and added that parliament needed to fulfill its legal responsibilities sooner rather than later.

“Such clarity is an important element in offering all individuals confidence, privacy and dignity when using our facilities,” she explained. “Everyone working in, or visiting, Holyrood should feel welcome in the building and be confident there is a suitable facility for them.”

Tess White, a conservative politician and minister for women and equalities, pressured the leader of the country, known as the first minister, to implement the same rules nationwide.

“If the Scottish Parliament can respond to the Supreme Court judgment so swiftly, there is no excuse for [First Minister] John Swinney to keep dragging his heels.”

White continued, “He must instruct all public bodies to uphold the law immediately instead of pandering to gender extremists.”

Predictably, pro-trans activist groups in Scotland were not pleased with the decision.

The Scottish Trans and Equality Network called the decision “rushed, unworkable and exclusionary,” according to the BBC.

Manager of the organization Scottish Trans, Vic Valentine, who uses “they/them” pronouns, claimed not to be able to “understand why this decision has been described as one that will bring ‘confidence, privacy and dignity’ to everyone.”

Valentine claimed it would not bring any of those things for transgender people, but that it would cause segregation in Scotland’s most important institutions.

“It will not do so for trans people. It will exclude us and segregate us in the heart of Scotland’s democracy.”

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Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.) explained in an op-ed in the Daily Caller why he denied the use of committee funds for committee Democrats to travel to El Salvador to advocate the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

Congressional Democrats have been clamoring to go on a taxpayer-funded trip to the Central American country to highlight the plight of Garcia, an accused MS-13 gang member and human trafficker who was deported to El Salvador’s mega-prison for gang members while he had a stay of deportation to that country.

Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) was the first to go to El Salvador and speak with Garcia, but other Democrats have said they intend to travel there as well. It was reported House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told House Democrats to stop the trips, but his office denied those reports.

Green said he was proud to be the first committee chair to tell Democrats if they wanted to go to El Salvador, they would have to pay their own way.

“As more details come to light, Democrats planting their anti-immigration enforcement flag on his case has become even more repugnant. We now know that Abrego Garcia’s current wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, filed for a protective order against him in 2020. In the request, Vasquez Sura said that Abrego Garcia told her former mother-in-law, ‘[E]ven if he kills [his wife] no one can do anything to him.’ The violence Vasquez Sura details in the request is shocking and heartbreaking,” Green wrote.

“Abrego Garcia was ordered to be removed by a federal judge in 2019, and earlier this year was returned to El Salvador,” Green continued. “The judge who ordered Abrego Garcia to be removed also stated he could not be sent to El Salvador (or Guatemala — the decision is unclear), because the judge believed Salvadoran gang Barrio 18 posed a potential threat to his life. But was it because perhaps — Abrego Garcia feared Barrio 18 because he may have been a member of their greatest rival.”

On account of the growing evidence of Garcia’s criminality while he was in the U.S. illegally, Green called Democrat attempts “to provide aid and comfort to an illegal alien, and potential MS-13 gang member, accused wife-beater, and possible human trafficker” and wanting to use “taxpayer money to do so” “simply beyond the pale” and “reprehensible.”

Green said he was proud to be the first committee chair to tell Democrats if they wanted to go to El Salvador, they would have to pay their own way.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Senate Democrats during Thursday’s hearing multiple times that Garcia would not be returning to the United States because he had no right to be in the country.

— (@)

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​Politics 

A group of 26 opponents crossed team lines to get baptized together just days before they would become adversaries on the field.

Student athletes from Jacksonville State, Liberty University, Sam Houston, and Western Kentucky University decided to get baptized before the Conference USA women’s softball tournament. What made the event more interesting, though, was that the event was not planned, nor were their appearances predetermined.

WKU is hosting the CUSA softball tournament and organized a religious event beforehand called the “Worship on the Hill.”

The WKU Fellowship of Christian Athletes put on the event in partnership with a local church in Bowling Green, Kentucky. At the service, 29 college students were baptized. This seemingly inspired attendees from the Jacksonville State softball team, who were in attendance after having just played WKU to finish the season. WKU players had invited their opponents to the church.

The next day, players from Jacksonville State contacted the WKU players and asked them to help set up another baptism event and invite others to join. The event ended up hosting players from multiple teams in town for the tournament, a spectacular feat given that they are all set to compete against one another in the most important games of their lives, to date.

“On May 5th, we witnessed 29 baptisms at WKU on South Lawn. Several CUSA softball players attended the event, but they had to leave early, so they missed witnessing the baptisms,” the Fellowship of Christian Athletes wrote on Instagram.

“But God wasn’t finished with them. They were so moved by Worship On The Hill that the next evening on May 6th, 26 COLLEGE ATHLETES crossed from death to life and were baptized in a hotel pool.”

The video showed a number of female athletes receiving baptism at the event, which was surprisingly promoted by several of the schools directly on their social media pages.

‘You could sense the Lord in the room.’

“For the most part, the Lord just stirred on their hearts that night,” WKU FCA Director David Byrd told Sports Spectrum. “As they left and we were on the heels of the event, we thought this was another great event where God moved. Come to find out, He wasn’t done.”

“What made it really special is these softball players have been competing against each other all year,” Byrd added.

The organizer said the competitive spirit was not present while the women were at the church and that rather a feeling of calmness permeated throughout.

“It was peaceful. You could sense the Lord in the room.,” he concluded.

Liberty University is by far the favorite heading into the conference tournament, leading the conference with a 45-11 (23-3) record this season, eight games ahead of Jacksonville State and Western Kentucky.

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​Fearless, Faith, Christianity, Baptism, Baseball, Ncaa, Women’s sports, Softball, Sports 

On April 29, a 12-foot bronze statue of a plus-size woman named “Grounded in the Stars” was unveiled in Times Square, New York City. The artist, Thomas J. Price, said it was meant to “confront preconceived notions of identity and representation” and “encourage empathy.”

Jill Savage of “Blaze News | The Mandate” isn’t buying it. “It’s so beautiful,” she says sarcastically.

But Jill knows she’s not the only one cringing at this woke gesture. To get the pulse of the Blaze audience, she took to X and posted:

— (@)

On this episode of “Blaze News | The Mandate,” Jill shares the best responses.

Blaze Media’s very own Steve Baker responded with:

KyleH replied with this hilarious comment:

And finally, G’s response:

“It seems like a more fitting statue in a way than the one in the movie,” laughs Blaze News editor in chief Matthew Peterson.

In all seriousness, though, historically, monuments have commemorated achievement. Peterson points to the Theodore Roosevelt equestrian statue from outside the American Museum of Natural History that New York City removed in 2020, claiming it symbolized colonialism and racism. Never mind Roosevelt’s contributions to conservation, global explorations, and leadership.

Compare that to Price’s statue.

“Why is that statue there? It’s there to condemn you. It’s the opposite of ennobling,” says Peterson.

“It’s a really dangerous thing when you start to not only pull down the good statues but put up things that are ugly and that are making you condemn yourself. It’s a very evil, wicked thing they’re doing,” he adds.

To hear his solution to restoring beautiful art in our country, watch the episode above.

Want more from ‘Blaze News Tonight’?

To enjoy more provocative opinions, expert analysis, and breaking stories you won’t see anywhere else, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Blaze news tonight, Blaze news the mandate, Jill savage, Matthew peterson, Nyc, Times square, Nyc bronze statue, Blaze media, Blazetv, Statues, Art, Beauty 

President Donald Trump took aim at an MSNBC host over her criticism of his tariff policy and said the progressive network should be taxed and penalized as a mouthpiece of the “Democrat Party.”

Stephanie Ruhle, host of “The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle,” predicted that the president’s trade war would backfire on him after he announced a trade deal with the United Kingdom that Trump called a “great deal for both countries.” He also admitted that the final details of the deal were yet to be hammered out.

‘I just watched an exhausted, highly neurotic Stephanie Ruhle spew LIES.’

“I’m not saying Donald Trump has changed what he thinks in his heart, but he’s backed into a corner and he needs to get off this crazy tariff train, and he knows it,” Ruhle said while appearing on the “Morning Joe” show.

“Look at the cargo ships coming into Seattle, the port of Los Angeles, pick the port, we’re getting fewer and fewer ships with less and less cargo,” she continued. “And unless he turns this around, three weeks from now, you walk into a store, and we’re going to have a COVID-like supply chain crisis, and Trump is looking for an exit.”

The president lashed out at Ruhle from his social media account and accused her of having a low intelligence.

“I just watched an exhausted, highly neurotic Stephanie Ruhle spew LIES about Tariffs, as do many others, in order not to give me the Victory that they all see coming,” he wrote on Truth Social.

“Few people know Stephanie Ruhle, but I do, and she doesn’t have what it takes. Our Deal with the United Kingdom yesterday was AMAZING for both Countries and, in addition to everything else, British Airways just ordered $10 Billion Dollars worth of new Boeing planes,” he added.

The deal with the U.K. left in place a 10% tariff but lowered the tariff on some goods including automobiles, steel, and aluminum imports to the U.S.

“We’re going to make a fortune with Tariffs, only smart people understand that, and Stephanie was never known as a ‘High IQ’ person,” Trump continued.

“MSDNC has become the Voice of the Democrat Party, and they should be treated as a Political Advocate with all of the Taxes and Penalties therefrom,” he added. “Their Ratings are terrible, but [Comcast CEO] Brian Roberts and his crew should be forced to TELL THE TRUTH.”

Trump has said that he is in negotiations with numerous countries over his across-the-board tariffs. Supporters of the tariff policy say the tariffs will raise federal revenue while at the same time incentivizing manufacturing to return to the U.S. Some economists have criticized his tariffs as destructive to established businesses while alienating trading partners.

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Hundreds of convicted murderers in Michigan may soon be resentenced after the state supreme court ruled that imposing an automatic life sentence on “late adolescents” amounted to unconstitutionally “cruel” punishment.

Back in April, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled 5-2 to ban an automatic life sentence for defendants who committed first-degree or felony murder at the age of 19 or 20. The court made a similar ruling about 18-year-olds in 2022. Michigan does not have the death penalty.

’19- and 20-year-old late adolescents are more similar to juveniles … than they are to older adults.’

Writing on behalf of the all-Democrat majority, Justice Elizabeth Welch stated in the decision that the brains of 19- and 20-year-old murderers were too immature to receive the same sentence as older adults.

“As a class, 19- and 20-year-old late adolescents are more similar to juveniles in neurological terms than they are to older adults,” Welch wrote. “There has long been a scientific consensus that, in terms of neurological development, there is ‘no meaningful distinction’ between a 17-year-old and 18-year-old individual. … But the lack of meaningful distinction does not stop at age 18.”

The majority opinion expressed optimism that these murderers “are capable of significant change” and have “greater prospects for reform.”

The majority also claimed that the automatic life sentence violated the Michigan state constitutional ban on “cruel or unusual punishment,” a marked distinction from the prohibition in the U.S. Constitution against “cruel and unusual punishment.”

Moreover, the majority of justices agreed with plaintiffs that by nature of their youth, young killers given an automatic life sentence unfairly receive longer sentences than older offenders who commit the same crime later in life. Welch called these sentences “harsh and disproportionate.”

The majority made clear that the ruling applies to anyone automatically sentenced to life without parole for a murder committed when the defendant was 19 or 20. According to estimates, there are nearly 600 such convicted murderers currently in Michigan prisons, nearly half of them in Wayne County, home of Detroit, alone.

Jose Burgos, who served 27 years behind bars after he was sentenced for murder at 16, believes that automatic life sentences for young murderers are “horrible.”

“As a juvenile lifer, as a child who went to prison, was [given] a life without parole sentence, I knew that the only way we were going to change that is that somebody who experienced that was going to have to come out here and explain to the people, explain to the state of Michigan, explain to this country, how horrible it is to sentence children to life without parole,” said Burgos, who now advocates for “fair sentencing” for young offenders.

‘These are all First-Degree Murder cases where these defendants were lawfully convicted.’

Not everyone is as enthusiastic about the decision. The two dissenting justices, the only Republicans on the Michigan Supreme Court, argued that the majority focused too much on the offender and too little on the victim.

“While I recognize that it makes some sense to consider characteristics of the offender in an as-applied challenge, such as that here,” wrote Chief Justice Elizabeth Clement, “I believe the majority unjustifiably allows such considerations to loom so large in its analysis that the majority downplays the gravity of first-degree murder.”

Justice Brian Zahra joined Clement in the dissent.

County prosecutors added that the ruling will revictimize grieving families.

Midland County Prosecutor J. Dee Brooks, president of the Michigan Prosecuting Attorneys Association, claimed:

We’ve listened to survivors say they need certainty and finality in the sentences of the convicted criminals who took the lives of their loved ones. They have described the retraumatization that results from the never-ending litigation of these cases.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, a staunch Democrat, made a similar statement:

As has been the case with the MSC for years now, they do not seem to care about the plight of victims and the survivor families. These are all First-Degree Murder cases where these defendants were lawfully convicted. And we intend to be thoughtful and fair to each of these defendants. The WCPO is going to need a substantial amount of extra resources to be able to follow the dictates of the Court and do the right thing.

All 600 or so murderers must be reassessed on a case-by-case basis. In some cases, prosecutors will once again request a life sentence without parole. Others will be given a defined sentence of somewhere between 25 and 60 years.

Maya Menlo, an assistant youth defender with the Michigan State Appellate Defender Office, confirmed that resources will be devoted to resentencing these convicted murderers but argued that the expense is worthwhile.

“Yes, there will be court resources spent on resentencing these individuals, but the savings and the potential to avoid needless, inhumane incarceration is massive,” said the female defender.

Worthy described the six-month timeline given by the court to complete this reassessment process as “untenable.”

“The MSC gave us six months to review over 400 Wayne County cases,” she said. “Justice cannot be fair with this timeline. We intend to be thoughtful in evaluating these cases.”

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​Detroit, Kym worthy, Life sentence, Michigan, Murder, Supreme court, Wayne county, Without parole, Politics 

The decades-long dispute between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir region has resulted in numerous bloody skirmishes and three full-fledged wars — in 1965, 1971, and 1999. In the wake of a horrific terrorist attack in the southern part of Indian-administered Kashmir last month, fighting has resumed and threatens now to embroil the two nuclear powers in another major war.

When pressed on Thursday to comment about the Trump administration’s concern “about the potential for nuclear war between India and Pakistan,” Vice President JD Vance told Fox News’ Martha MacCallum that while concerned and keen on de-escalation, the U.S. is “not going to get involved in the middle of war that’s fundamentally none of our business and has nothing to do with America’s ability to control it.”

“Look, we’re concerned about any time nuclear powers collide and have a major conflict,” said Vance. “What we’ve said, what Secretary Rubio has said, and certainly [what] the president has said is we want this thing to de-escalate as quickly as possible.”

Tensions once again came to a head between India and Pakistan on April 22 when terrorists massacred 26 people, mainly Indian tourists, near Pahalgam, a town in the southern part of Indian-administered Kashmir.

‘It’s a shame.’

Indian officials believe that the group claiming responsibility for the massacre, the Resistance Front, is actually a proxy for the Pakistan-based jihadist terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba, reported the New York Times.

President Donald Trump stated in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attack, “The United States stands strong with India against Terrorism. We pray for the souls of those lost, and for the recovery of the injured.”

While India did not publicly blame the Pakistani government massacre, New Delhi nevertheless responded with missile strikes on alleged terrorist training sites in Pakistan while also reportedly arresting thousands of people in Kashmir.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif claimed that India’s May 6 (local time) strikes amounted to a “heinous act of aggression [that] will not go unpunished.”

President Donald Trump said Tuesday in response to the news of India’s military operation against Pakistan, “It’s a shame,” adding, “I just hope it ends very quickly.”

‘What we can do is try to encourage these folks to de-escalate a little bit.’

Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted later on May 6 that he was monitoring the situation closely and echoed Trump’s hope that “this hopefully ends quickly.”

In recent days, India and Pakistan have reportedly traded artillery fire and drone strikes. Sharif claimed Wednesday that the Pakistani military had shot down five Indian jets.

“We can’t control these countries,” Vance, who was in India at the time of the terrorist attacks, told MacCallum. “India has its gripes with Pakistan. Pakistan has responded to India. What we can do is try to encourage these folks to de-escalate a little bit.”

“Our hope and our expectation is that this is not going to spiral into a broader regional war or, God forbid, a nuclear conflict,” continued the vice president. “We’re worried about these things, but I think the job of diplomacy — but also the job of cooler heads in India and Pakistan — is to make sure this doesn’t become a nuclear war.”

According to the Federation of American Scientists, Pakistan and India have 170 and 180 nuclear warheads, respectively.

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​Jd vance, Vance, India, Pakistan, War, America first, Isolationism, Donald trump, Nuclear, Nuclear war, Politics 

The Amtrak Office of Inspector General released the findings of a bombshell investigation on Wednesday, revealing “the largest employee conspiracy our office has ever investigated.”

According to the OIG, at least 119 Amtrak employees participated in “a widespread scheme,” conspiring with New York health care providers to defraud the company’s health care plan out of over $12 million.

‘The sheer volume of employees who cavalierly participated in this scheme to steal Amtrak’s funds suggests not only a serious lapse in basic ethics, but a troubling workforce culture, at least in the Northeast region, in which blatant criminal behavior was somehow normalized.’

The investigation stated that the fraud occurred between 2019 and 2022 and involved 28 now retired or resigned workers. Another 30 employees departed from Amtrak for “other reasons.”

However, the majority of the 119 alleged crooked workers are reportedly still with Amtrak, a company that has never turned a profit since its creation in 1971 and leans on taxpayer funds to cover its losses.

The office said, “The OIG’s findings on 61 remaining active employees were given to Amtrak for consideration of appropriate administrative disciplinary action.”

“A dozen employees have been criminally charged in the case, and seven have pleaded guilty, pending sentencing,” the OIG stated.

Amtrak Inspector General Kevin Winters noted that he hopes the investigation will serve as a deterrent for other employees and health care providers.

“The sheer volume of employees who cavalierly participated in this scheme to steal Amtrak’s funds suggests not only a serious lapse in basic ethics, but a troubling workforce culture, at least in the Northeast region, in which blatant criminal behavior was somehow normalized,” Winters remarked.

The OIG launched the investigation after an agent observed “unusual billing patterns.” Upon further review, the office discovered that three New York-based providers with a high number of Amtrak employees as patients had submitted “questionable billings.”

The employees reportedly “accepted cash kickbacks from three health care providers in exchange for the use of their insurance information, and in some cases, that of their dependents.”

“The providers used the employee-provided information to file fraudulent and questionable medical claims for services that were never provided or not medically necessary. In total, Amtrak’s health care plan was billed over $16 million and paid out more than $12 million during the scheme,” the OIG reported.

Amtrak told Fox News Digital it has taken “significant steps” to address the fraud.

“Like many employers, Amtrak calls on medical benefit providers and insurers to do more to identify suspicious activity and stop medical insurance fraud,” the company stated. “Amtrak strongly condemns this reprehensible act that occurred between 2019 and 2022 and is taking swift action with all active employees involved in the investigation.”

“While we continue to work closely with the OIG to identify and stamp out fraud, we also continue to work on other initiatives to address this issue,” the statement continued. “Amtrak has implemented various measures to enhance fraud prevention and empower employees to report suspected wrongdoing. These efforts include increasing oversight and strengthening efforts to eliminate fraudulent schemes.”

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​News, Amtrak, Amtrak office of inspector general, Oig, Office of inspector general, Medical insurance fraud, Fraud, Insurance fraud, Kevin winters, Politics 

Democrats are furious at President Donald Trump for saying that he will shut down the Digital Equity Act signed into law by former President Joe Biden.

The president said Thursday that he wanted to end the program signed into law in 2021, which spent billions ostensibly to expand internet access to underserved communities.

‘The Biden/Harris so-called “Digital Equity Act” is totally UNCONSTITUTIONAL. … I am ending this IMMEDIATELY, and saving Taxpayers BILLIONS OF DOLLARS!’

“I have spoken with my wonderful Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, and we agree that the Biden/Harris so-called ‘Digital Equity Act’ is totally UNCONSTITUTIONAL,” wrote Trump on Truth Social.

“No more woke handouts based on race!” he added. “The Digital Equity Program is a RACIST and ILLEGAL $2.5 BILLION DOLLAR giveaway. I am ending this IMMEDIATELY, and saving Taxpayers BILLIONS OF DOLLARS!”

Some of the funds allocated for the bill have already been handed out, including to some red states like Kansas, Alabama, and Arkansas. Defenders of the bill deny the president’s allegation that it is racist and claim that the legislation hardly even mentions race, according to the New York Times.

Democrat Sen. Patty Murray of Washington state, who authored the bill, expressed her outrage at the suggestion.

“It is absolutely insane that resources meant to help red and blue communities—everyone from local school districts and libraries to workforce training programs and Tribes—close the digital divide will be illegally blocked because the President doesn’t like the word equity,” wrote Murray.

“Americans are sick and tired of extremist right-wing culture wars being forced down our throats,” she added. “Republicans will have to explain to their constituents why this Republican administration doesn’t believe their local library should get funding to help seniors navigate telehealth options or why middle schoolers in rural districts shouldn’t get laptops.”

Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts (D) similarly excoriated the president over the threat.

“Congress passed the Digital Equity Act to help ensure that all Americans could participate equally in the online world. This illegal action will hurt our economy, our schools, our seniors, and our democracy. We will fight back against it,” he wrote.

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​Trump vs digital equity, Digital equity act, Trump cut biden law, Racist biden law, Politics 

A “hostile” mob swarmed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Thursday morning in Worcester, Massachusetts, as the federal immigration officers attempted to make an arrest.

Worcester Police Department stated that its officers arrived on the scene around 11:13 a.m. after receiving a call that “a federal agent” was “surrounded by a large group of about twenty-five people.”

‘It appeared that she was going to run in front of the moving vehicle, and officers took her into custody.’

The department’s statement noted that it also received a call from an individual who claimed that ICE agents were “refusing to show a warrant to the crowd.”

“Worcester Police officers responded to preserve the peace and prevent anyone from being injured,” the department wrote.

Local officers described the scene as “chaotic,” noting that “several federal agents from various agencies” were attempting to arrest a female.

ICE agents placed the female in a vehicle and tried to leave the scene, but the mob thwarted their efforts, according to police.

“The crowd was unruly, and several people were putting their hands on federal agents and Worcester officers in an attempt to keep the vehicle and the arrestee from leaving,” the local department stated.

One protester, described as a “juvenile female,” stood in front of ICE’s vehicle with “a newborn baby in her arms.”

“Officers told her that she was endangering the child and that she needed to move. Eventually she complied and gave the newborn to someone else,” the police said. “The infant was not injured.”

The female was ultimately placed under arrest after she “ran after the vehicle and kicked the passenger’s side of it.”

“It appeared that she was going to run in front of the moving vehicle, and officers took her into custody,” the department stated.

The female was charged with reckless endangerment of a child, disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest.

A 38-year-old woman was also arrested amid the neighborhood melee after police accused her of pushing multiple officers as they attempted to detain the juvenile female. She also allegedly “threw an unknown liquid substance” at law enforcement. The woman was charged with assault and battery on a police officer, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, disorderly conduct, and interfering with a police officer.

The Boston Herald reported that the woman is a school committee candidate.

Worcester Police Department Lt. Sean Murtha described the crowd as “hostile,” noting that two individuals were arrested “as a result of their behavior.”

Neighbor to Neighbor and LUCE Immigrant Justice Network, immigration advocacy groups, accused ICE of targeting a “local immigrant family, including a grandmother, mother, and their two children, one 16-year-old daughter and one 1-year-old infant,” the Boston Herald reported.

They claimed that ICE detained the family’s father on Wednesday “without presenting a judicial warrant.” ICE agents returned on Thursday to detain the “elderly woman with a warrant,” the groups stated.

“As the situation escalated, the residents, fearing the abduction of yet another immigrant family, responded to the threat of agents attempting the arrest,” the groups said. “Residents formed a circle around the local family, chanting and yelling, furious and horrified about yet another targeted attack on the immigrant community in Worcester, which makes up almost a quarter of the city’s population.”

City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj, who was on the scene when the incident unfolded and reportedly attempted to block the arrests by creating a “human circle,” descended into frantic hysterics while confronting a Worcester Police officer.

“You arrested her and threw her on the ground,” Haxhiaj yelled.

She reprimanded the officer for arresting the juvenile, suggesting the police should have instead asked one of the residents to “hold her and contain her.”

Haxhiaj screamed, “This is what we talk about!”

“That’s a use of force that’s unnecessary,” she continued. “No, it’s not emotional! It’s real.”

She accused the officers of being “disrespectful” and claimed that the arrested suspect was “banged on the floor.”

“I’m trying to protect my constituents,” Haxhiaj declared.

Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty, a Democrat, stated that he was “disturbed” by the incident.

“As someone who prides themselves on leading a welcoming city, I am devastated to hear about the separation of a family, especially with Mother’s Day around the corner. The fear of ICE tearing a family apart is the worst nightmare of so many in our city,” Petty said. “I have asked the City Manager for a full report of the incident. We were not notified by ICE about the detainment. Simply put, we cannot have this happen in our community.”

ICE did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

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​News, Immigration crisis, Immigration, Illegal immigration crisis, Illegal immigration, Massachusetts, Worcester massachusetts, Immigration and customs enforcement, Ice, Worcester police department, Politics 

The U.S. Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought joined “The Glenn Beck Program” on Friday morning to discuss President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” with Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck.

Trump’s budget bill proposes reducing non-defense discretionary spending by $163 billion, which the White House has stated will “gut[] a weaponized deep state while providing historic increases for defense and border security.” The budget would increase defense spending by 13% and Department of Homeland Security appropriations by 65%.

‘We are living in a world where we don’t have the ability to have unlimited tax cuts.’

“We’re working through,” Vought told Beck, noting that the House had “basically passed” a budget with $1.5 trillion in savings and $4.5 trillion in tax relief.

“We’re right there with them, trying to get it done,” he continued. “I think it would be a big savings. We could go north of that.”

Vought stated that the administration aims to seize the “historic opportunity” to extend tax cuts and ensure the “highest reforms to mandatory spending since the 1990s.”

He hopes the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the House Committee on Ways and Means will pass the proposed budget next week.

— (@)

Beck noted that the nation’s interest-rate debt is more considerable than the defense budget.

Vought replied, “We have $36 trillion in debt,” adding that the country is paying roughly $1.1 trillion per year in interest costs.

On Wednesday, Trump stated that the administration was “making great progress on ‘The One, Big, Beautiful Bill.'”

“Our Economy is doing well, but it’s going to BOOM in a way never seen before. We are going to do NO TAX ON TIPS, NO TAX ON SENIORS’ SOCIAL SECURITY, NO TAX ON OVERTIME, and much more. It will be the biggest Tax Cut for Middle and Working Class Americans by far, and it is time for Main Street to WIN,” he wrote in a post on social media.

In a separate post on Friday, he addressed the “TINY” proposed tax increases on the wealthy.

“The problem with even a ‘TINY’ tax increase for the RICH, which I and all others would graciously accept in order to help the lower and middle income workers, is that the Radical Left Democrat Lunatics would go around screaming, ‘Read my lips,’ the fabled Quote by George Bush the Elder that is said to have cost him the Election. NO, Ross Perot cost him the Election! In any event, Republicans should probably not do it, but I’m OK if they do!!!” he stated.

Beck questioned Vought about Trump’s statements concerning raising taxes on the rich, calling it “a little scary.”

“We should be going the other way. Shouldn’t we?” he asked.

Vought replied, “I think the president ran on a set of tax proposals that he’s been very excited about … designed towards the working class that we, from an economic standpoint, also believe are really critical to getting more and more of labor force participation out of this part of the economy.”

“We are living in a world where we don’t have the ability to have unlimited tax cuts,” he said.

Beck asked Vought whether going back to the 2019 budget would be a feasible option.

“Why can’t we just reset and say, ‘We’re going back to that budget?'” he asked.

“We’re trying to do that with the budget that you saw, that we sent out,” Vought responded. “This is essentially what that budget represents. It’s an effort to go back — non-adjusted for inflation — it goes back to 2017.”

“It’s the 35% cut for most programs when we account for maintaining infrastructure and veteran spending,” he added.

Vought told Beck that he is optimistic that the administration will secure “the largest mandatory savings ever, or adjusted for inflation, since the 1997 balance budget agreement.”

He is also confident the administration will achieve a “much smaller bureaucracy.”

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​News, Glenn beck, Russell vought, Russ vought, Economy, Budget, Donad trump, Trump, Trump administration, Trump admin, Politics