Category: blaze media

President Donald Trump has offered a preview of his highly anticipated meeting with New York City’s newly elected socialist mayor.

Trump’s meeting with Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani (D) in the Oval Office Friday afternoon is proving to be one of the most highly anticipated sit-downs of his second term. Trump described Mamdani, a staunch progressive and outspoken critic of the president, as “a little bit different” but remained optimistic about the meeting.

‘I give him a lot of credit.’

“He’s got a different philosophy,” Trump told Brian Kilmeade Friday. “He’s a little bit different.”

One of the focal points of Mamdani’s campaign was affordability, an issue that has also been a pillar of Trump’s administration. Although their respective solutions to address affordability are at odds, Trump maintained that the two New Yorkers are ultimately “looking for the same thing.”

RELATED: Is Trump meddling with Mamdani’s candidacy?

Photo by BG048/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

“I give him a lot of credit for the run. He did a successful run, and we all know that runs are not easy,” Trump said. “But I think we’ll get along fine. Look, we’re looking for the same thing. We want to make New York strong.”

Since his decisive victory in early November, Mamdani has continued to rail against Trump and his administration. During his victory speech, Mamdani infamously told Trump to “turn the volume up.” In response, Trump issued Mamdani a warning but commended his campaign nonetheless.

RELATED: Zohran Mamdani becomes first openly socialist mayor of New York City

Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

“Well, I was hitting him a little hard too, in all fairness,” Trump said. “It’s hard to be totally friendly to the opponent, you know. … He had some interesting opponents. But he ran a good race. I don’t know exactly what he means by ‘turn the volume up’ because ‘turn the volume up,’ he has to be careful when he says that to me.”

“I think it’s going to be quite civil. You’ll find out.”

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​Zohran mamdani, Donald trump, Trump administration, White house, New york city, New york city mayoral race, Curtis sliwa, Andrew cuomo, Nyc mayor, Eric adams, Affordability, Brian kilmeade, Politics 

The Women’s Hockey Association of Minnesota appears to be for women in name only.

The league, which touts itself as the largest women’s hockey league in the world, follows USA Hockey guidelines, which allow for the participation of men.

‘Pretending it’s OK for men to play in a women’s league insults women’s sports.’

USA Hockey allows athletes to “participate on a team that is consistent with their gender identity” in order to allegedly “help maintain a fair and safe environment.”

The policy, issued in 2021, adds that “gender identity” refers to one’s “internal psychological identification as a male or female, both, neither, or anywhere along the gender spectrum.”

Adhering to these guidelines, the WHAM has allowed at least seven different males to play among its teams, including four on a single squad.

According to Reduxx, a team in the league’s A-division called the Robins had four active male players in 2024. Kayley (Kody) Misialek, Rhea (Brady) Turner, Diana (Chris) Sulmone, and Paige (Dylan) Rainer were all listed on the team’s official roster. The team finished in second place in their division last season.

RELATED: Fathers step up to defend girls’ sports after liberal state defies President Trump — and biology

Reduxx further reported on the playing history of each of the four players, alleging that last year marked Turner’s first season competing as a female; at six feet tall, he has also played on a transgender hockey team.

Misialek has reportedly been playing women’s hockey since 2022, as has Sulmone.

Rainer allegedly played for a boys’ high school team before transitioning to co-ed teams. He also reportedly switched to the women’s league for the 2024-2025 season.

In cooperation with HeCheated.Org, the report named three more men playing in the women’s hockey league under girls’ names. This included one male who was alleged to run a venue that is labeled a “dyke and queer” bar.

RELATED: Olympics committee expected to reverse course on men in women’s sports

Two women have spoken out against WHAM’s inclusion of male players. Kelley Grotting said in February that playing against the men “feels unsafe” and is “not fun.”

“I am not a transphobe. To each his or her own, but pretending it’s OK for men to play in a women’s league insults women’s sports and creates safety issues,” she added, per Alpha News.

In October, a former college women’s hockey player said she was leaving hockey forever because men are allowed in the league in which she has played for 20 years.

“I am left to believe they do not care about my safety or the sanctity of the sport,” she explained. “I can no longer participate in a league that does not care about me.”

In response to criticisms about the league, a petition was filed in support of men in women’s athletics, started by a sports bar that exclusively shows women’s sports on its screens.

The petition said that the “safe and inclusive nature” of the league was being challenged, and therefore the community must “rally behind each individual’s right to sport, regardless of gender identity.”

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​Fearless, Transgenderism, Hockey, Minnesota, Women’s sports, Nonbinary, Sports 

On September 11, 2001, three New York firefighters raised an American flag above the wreckage of the World Trade Center. That moment was more than an image. It was a declaration that the country had buckled but not broken. That flag rallied millions, inspired enlistments, and stiffened a nation’s resolve mere hours after the most devastating attack in modern U.S. history.

In 2025, the opposite message is taking root in some of America’s cities. In Boise, Idaho, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, local leaders elevate symbolic banners that compete with, sidestep, or openly contradict the national and state standards that define shared civic space.

If we want unity, we must lead with the symbols that foster it. Because if we don’t plant our flags, someone else will.

In Boise, a blue island in a bright red state, Mayor Lauren McLean (D) kept the Pride flag flying over City Hall despite Idaho’s HB 96, a law restricting public property to the U.S. and state flags. After Attorney General Raúl Labrador (R) issued a cease-and-desist, McLean responded with a letter threatening legal action and framed her stance as “standing with my community.” The city council followed with a 5-1 vote to adopt the Pride flag as an official city emblem to get around the law.

In Minneapolis, state Sen. Omar Fateh (D) waved a Somali regional flag at an October campaign rally. Supporters defended the gesture as cultural outreach to the city’s large Somali population. Opponents saw something else: a political statement that placed clan or regional identity ahead of shared civic loyalty.

At first glance, these acts look harmless. But historians — and anyone who has studied conflict or national movements — know that flags communicate power. A flag marks territory, signals allegiance, and announces who intends to lead.

A banner raised in a civic space says something about the future of that space. It’s a symbol of conquest — in this case, conquest without firing a shot.

Minneapolis illustrates the stakes. Somali-Americans represent a large and active community, and political leaders court their votes aggressively. But clan politics from Somalia’s fractured landscape often follow families to the United States.

Analysts noted that Minneapolis’ recent mayoral race reflected clan splits, with blocs supporting or opposing Somali candidates not on ideology but lineage. That tension influences local elections and creates new pressures on civic life.

Political imagery matters when communities already navigate competing loyalties. A foreign regional flag held aloft at a campaign rally isn’t a neutral gesture; it’s an invitation to organize political power around identities that do not map cleanly onto American civic culture.

History amplifies that point. For centuries, flags have signaled triumph or defeat long before a treaty forced anyone’s hand. At Fort McHenry in 1814, the sight of the American flag still flying after a night of bombardment, energized defenders and inspired the poem that became our national anthem. At Iwo Jima in 1945, Marines raised the U.S. flag atop Mount Suribachi, transforming a brutal fight into a symbol of American resolve and shifting the morale of both sides.

Flags shape memory. They mark identity. They tell people who stands firm and who gives ground.

RELATED: The real danger isn’t immigration — it’s the refusal to become American

Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

That is why the flags flown on public property matter now. McLean’s use of the Pride flag isn’t just about “love is love.” It supplants the symbol that binds Idahoans across differences. Fateh’s regional Somali flag isn’t simply cultural pride; it injects external political identities into municipal politics and signals a shift in who claims influence over public life.

Americans can shrug at this trend or take it seriously. Civic symbols either unite a people or divide them. A city hall flagpole should unify, not segment communities into competing camps. A political rally should appeal to voters as Americans, not as factions drawn from overseas allegiances.

The answer is not outrage or retaliation. The answer is clarity: reclaim civic symbols that express shared loyalty to a shared country. Fly the U.S. flag. Fly state flags. Encourage communities to celebrate their heritage while affirming the nation that binds them together.

A nation confident in itself does not surrender its symbols. It presents them proudly — on porches, at city halls, and at the center of public life. America’s strength begins with the values and commitments those flags represent.

If we want unity, we must lead with the symbols that foster it. Because if we don’t plant our flags, someone else will.

​Opinion & analysis, Flags, Pride flag, Boise, Boise pride, Boise mayor lauren mclean, Leftism, Conquest, Tribalism, Minnesota, Minneapolis, Omar fateh, Somalia, Somali flags, National anthem, Old glory, 9/11 

Before Republican lawmakers passed their funding bill to reopen the government last week, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) slipped in a provision that paved the way for senators — and only senators — targeted by the Biden FBI’s Arctic Frost operation to squeeze the government for taxpayer cash.

Lawmakers in the House, some of whom were also victims of the previous administration’s lawfare, unanimously rejected the provision, taking steps to repeal it earlier this week.

‘What did I do wrong?’

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), among the senators eligible to sue for a payday of at least $500,000, stopped the repeal in its tracks on Thursday, prompting chatter about personal enrichment among some of his colleagues.

The provision

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) published damning documents last month revealing that in its years-long campaign to find “anything they could to hook on Trump, put Trump in prison,” the Biden FBI not only subpoenaed records for over 400 Republican individuals and entities but secretly obtained the private phone records of numerous Republican lawmakers.

Thune introduced a provision into the continuing resolution that reopened the government to enable senators whose phone records were “acquired, subpoenaed, searched, accessed or disclosed” without his or her knowledge to file a civil lawsuit against the government inside the next five years for at least $500,000 plus legal fees for each instance of a violation.

Senators would be able to take legal action if at the time their records were seized, they were a target of a criminal investigation; a federal judge issued an order authorizing a delay of notice to the senator in question; the government complied with the judge’s order; and the subpoena was faithfully executed.

The backlash

The provision caused bipartisan outrage in the House.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he was “very angry” about the provision, stressing that it had been slipped in at the last minute without his knowledge.

RELATED: A payout scheme for senators deepens the gap between DC and the rest of us

Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images

“We’re striking the provision as fast as we can, and we expect the Senate to move it,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) told CNN. “We believe there’s a fairly sizeable growing majority over there that believes that they should strike it.”

Democrat Rep. Joe Morelle (N.Y.) said that this kind of “one-sided get-rich scheme at the expense of taxpayers is why Americans are so disgusted with this Congress.”

Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.), who indicated that the provision was “probably the most self-centered, self-serving piece of language” he had ever seen, introduced a resolution to appeal the provision on Nov. 12.

“Nobody in the House supported this language,” Scott said on Wednesday ahead of the vote on his resolution. “This language did not go through any committee in the Senate, did not go through any committee in the House, and could never be passed and signed into law if it was discussed openly.”

“For the people who are saying it’s $500,000, I want the American citizens to know this: It’s not $500,000. It’s $500,000 per account per occurrence,” continued Scott. “We have one senator — one — who maintains that this provision is good and is currently saying that he is going to sue for tens of millions of dollars.”

Scott appears to have been referring to Sen. Graham, who said in a recent Fox News interview that he would sue “the hell out of these people” for “tens of millions of dollars.”

Scott added that it was right to open up the government but wrong to put “language in the bill that would make themselves individually wealthy.”

The House passed the Georgia Republican’s resolution in a unanimous 426-0 vote.

Graham’s blockage

U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) requested unanimous consent on Thursday for the Senate to follow suit, claiming the provision was “unprecedented in American history.”

Others across the aisle were reportedly warming to the idea of killing the legislation, including Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley — among those whose communications were targeted by the Biden FBI — who stated, “I had my phone tapped, so I’m all for accountability, don’t get me wrong, but I just, I think taking taxpayer money is not the way to do it. The way to do it is tough oversight.”

Desperate to protect the provision, Graham blocked the motion.

“What did I do wrong?” said Graham, who argued that the surveillance of his communications was unlawful and that he deserved a right to have his day in court. “What did I do to allow the government to seize my personal phone and my official phone when I was Senate Judiciary chairman?”

According to reports, federal investigators accessed Graham’s phone records. No allegations to date indicate that investigators appropriated Graham’s phones.

While Democrat senators attempted to paint the taxpayer-funded payback as unsanctioned by their leadership, Graham reportedly extracted from Thune an admission that the provision had been discussed with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).

“So this wasn’t Republicans doing this,” said Graham. “This was people in the Senate believing what happened to the Senate need never happen again.”

In hopes of alleviating concerns about self-enrichment, Thune proposed on Thursday changing the provision such that any damages awarded under the law would be forfeited to the U.S. Treasury. His corresponding resolution was blocked by Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.).

Graham underscored on Thursday, “I’m going to sue.”

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​Lindsey graham, Graham, Senate, Thune, Heinrich, Mike johnson, Austin scott, Payout, Payday, Arctic frost, Fbi, Politics 

A female accused of tossing a cup of hot coffee on the manager of a Michigan McDonald’s earlier this month finally gave herself up and appeared before a judge.

Casharra T. Brown, 48, of Saginaw surrendered to police last Friday on an outstanding warrant authorities had issued for her nine days earlier, MLive.com reported.

‘F**k you, b***h! Catch that hot-a** coffee!’

That same Friday, Brown appeared before Saginaw County District Judge M. Randall Jurrens for arraignment on one count of assault and battery, the outlet noted.

The charge is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 93 days in jail and a $500 fine, MLive reported. The outlet previously reported that police submitted paperwork to the Saginaw County Prosecutor’s Office requesting a felonious assault charge against the suspect.

Jurrens freed Brown on a $5,000 personal recognizance bond, the outlet said; one bond condition is that she’s barred from entering McDonald’s restaurants.

On the morning of Nov. 4 at the McDonald’s at 3700 Dixie Highway in Buena Vista Township, Brown wanted a refund for two sandwiches after placing an online order, Buena Vista Township Police Detective Russ Pahssen told MLive.

The outlet said the McDonald’s manager gave Brown a coffee and tried to de-escalate the situation while Brown claimed she had been there for more than an hour. The interaction reached an impasse, MLive said, and the manager told Brown to have a great day as she turned and walked away from the counter.

The female customer removed the lid from the coffee cup, threw the contents at the manager, and yelled, “F**k you, b***h! Catch that hot-a** coffee!” as she exited the restaurant, according to video of the encounter without redacted audio. The manager can be heard screaming after the hot coffee struck her body.

The following video report aired before Brown surrendered to authorities.

RELATED: Woman allegedly tossed coffee at mom and her infant over dog leash dispute — and is now facing deportation

Pahssen shared video of the assault on Facebook to gain the public’s help in identifying the assailant, MLive said, adding that the detective said Brown was identified as the culprit within minutes.

While Pahssen at the time told MLive that the manager suffered minor burns, the outlet said Pahssen later indicated that the McDonald’s manager was wearing enough layers to prevent her skin from being burned.

MLive said it contacted defense attorney Paul M. Purcell about the case, but he declined to comment.

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​Mcdonald’s, Michigan, Buena vista township, Hot coffee, Arraignment, Misdemeanor, Assault and battery charge, Freed, Viral video, Crime 

Did Donald Trump secretly plan this fight over the Jeffrey Epstein files to lure Democrats into another political trap? No. I don’t believe he did. I know people close to the president who were frustrated over the summer when he abruptly shifted from promising the files’ release to calling it a “distraction” and a “hoax.” I said at the time on my show that the switch was the first major misstep of Trump 2.0.

But I understand why the 4D-chess theory is so tempting now. It looks like a setup. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) spent months attacking Trump over Epstein. Then we learned that Jeffries may have accepted donor requests from Epstein after Epstein’s first sex-offense conviction. And a Democrat from the Virgin Islands — Epstein’s district — was literally taking dictation from Epstein on what questions to ask in a congressional hearing.

The 2026 midterms are coming fast. If the GOP wants to avoid another preventable disaster, it had better stop rehearsing the same script.

Those are facts, not theories.

The deeper truth, though, has nothing to do with strategy. American politics follows two patterns, and both showed up again this week.

First, Republicans pre-emptively surrender. Always.

Watch Democrats tell soldiers to ignore orders while Trump follows every instruction a federal judge hands him. His restraint isn’t Romney-level, but the Republicans around him shrink the space for any real fight. That’s why Attorney General Pam Bondi is developing a well-deserved reputation for overpromising and under-delivering.

RELATED: The right message: Justice. The wrong messenger: Pam Bondi.

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Second, Democrats always overreach when Republicans fold.

We saw it in 2018 when Republicans gave up on repealing Obamacare and lost 40 House seats for their cowardice. The pattern continued in 2020, as Democrats pushed their false god evangelism into insane absolutism — on “fortifying” elections, on arresting Trump, on forcing people into taking the poisonous jab, on transitioning kids. It was mark of the beast stuff, and voters wanted no part of it.

The latest example came this week, when Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) answered a question from a friendly reporter about why Democrats never pursued the Epstein files when they had the chance by snapping, “What is [Trump] hiding?” The Senate had just voted almost unanimously to release those files, and instead of revealing Trump, former Bill Clinton hack Lawrence Summers stood exposed for his ties to the sex offender, seeking his counsel as “wingman” in an effort to seduce the daughter of a high Chinese Communist Party official.

RELATED: ‘Swamp protects itself’: Republicans shield Epstein-texting Democrat — allegedly to save Cory Mills’ hide

Anna Rose Layden/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Both parties cling to their worst instincts. Republicans surrender too easily. Democrats push too far. And no politician in modern history has been buoyed more by his opponents’ excesses than Donald Trump.

So once again, Republicans hold the advantage on the Epstein files — at least for the moment. But early signs suggest they may squander it. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Pam Bondi appear ready to narrow or redact the release into something the base will see as betrayal. If that happens, Democrats won’t need to win the argument. Republicans will beat themselves.

The 2026 midterms are coming fast. If the GOP wants to avoid another preventable disaster, it had better stop rehearsing the same script.

A little discipline — and a little courage — would go a long way.

​Opinion & analysis, Jeffrey epstein, Epstein files, Congress, Republicans, Democrats, 2026 midterms, Donald trump, Pam bondi, Chuck schumer, Hakeem jeffries, Stacey plaskett, Lawrence summers, Mike johnson, Courage, Justice department, Transparency 

The search for truth has always required something very much in short supply these days: honesty. Not performative questions, not scripted outrage, not whatever happens to be trending on TikTok, but real curiosity.

Some issues, often focused on foreign aid, AIPAC, or Israel, have become hotbeds of debate and disagreement. Before we jump into those debates, however, we must return to a simpler, more important issue: honest questioning. Without it, nothing in these debates matters.

Ask questions because you want the truth, not because you want a target.

The phrase “just asking questions” has re-entered the zeitgeist, and that’s fine. We should always question power. But too many of those questions feel preloaded with someone else’s answer. If the goal is truth, then the questions should come from a sincere desire to understand, not from a hunt for a villain.

Honest desire for truth is the only foundation that can support a real conversation about these issues.

Truth-seeking is real work

Right now, plenty of people are not seeking the truth at all. They are repeating something they heard from a politician on cable news or from a stranger on TikTok who has never opened a history book. That is not a search for answers. That is simply outsourcing your own thought.

If you want the truth, you need to work for it. You cannot treat the world like a Marvel movie where the good guy appears in a cape and the villain hisses on command. Real life does not give you a neat script with the moral wrapped up in two hours.

But that is how people are approaching politics now. They want the oppressed and the oppressor, the heroic underdog and the cartoon villain. They embrace this fantastical framing because it is easier than wrestling with reality.

This framing took root in the 1960s when the left rebuilt its worldview around colonizers and the colonized. Overnight, Zionism was recast as imperialism. Suddenly, every conflict had to fit the same script. Today’s young activists are just recycling the same narrative with updated graphics. Everything becomes a morality play. No nuance, no context, just the comforting clarity of heroes and villains.

Bad-faith questions

This same mindset is fueling the sudden obsession with Israel, and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in particular. You hear it from members of Congress and activists alike: AIPAC pulls the strings, AIPAC controls the government, AIPAC should register as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The questions are dramatic, but are they being asked in good faith?

FARA is clear. The standard is whether an individual or group acts under the direction or control of a foreign government. AIPAC simply does not qualify.

Here is a detail conveniently left out of these arguments: Dozens of domestic organizations — Armenian, Cuban, Irish, Turkish — lobby Congress on behalf of other countries. None of them registers under FARA because — like AIPAC — they are independent, domestic organizations.

If someone has a sincere problem with the structure of foreign lobbying, fair enough. Let us have that conversation. But singling out AIPAC alone is not a search for truth. It is bias dressed up as bravery.

RELATED: Antifa burns, the media spin, and truth takes the hits

Photo by Philip Pacheco/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

If someone wants to question foreign aid to Israel, fine. Let’s have that debate. But let’s ask the right questions. The issue is not the size of the package but whether the aid advances our interests. What does the United States gain? Does the investment strengthen our position in the region? How does it compare to what we give other nations? And do we examine those countries with the same intensity?

The real target

These questions reflect good-faith scrutiny. But narrowing the entire argument to one country or one dollar amount misses the larger problem. If someone objects to the way America handles foreign aid, the target is not Israel. The target is the system itself — an entrenched bureaucracy, poor transparency, and decades-old commitments that have never been re-examined. Those problems run through programs around the world.

If you want answers, you need to broaden the lens. You have to be willing to put aside the movie script and confront reality. You have to hold yourself to a simple rule: Ask questions because you want the truth, not because you want a target.

That is the only way this country ever gets clarity on foreign aid, influence, alliances, and our place in the world. Questioning is not just allowed. It is essential. But only if it is honest.

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​Aipac, Israel, Foreign aid, Truth seeking, Debate, Opinion & analysis, American israel public affairs committee, Truth, Good faith, Bad faith 

Boo-hoo, Lucy Liu.

The veteran actress is in the awards season mix for “Rosemead,” the tale of an immigrant grappling with a troubled teenage son. That means she’s working the press circuit, talking to as many media outlets as she can to promote a possible Best Actress nomination.

No more peeks at Erivo’s extended, Freddy Krueger-like nails or Grande waving away a helicopter overhead as if it were about to swoop down on them.

If you think political campaigns are cynical, you haven’t seen an actor push for a golden statuette. That may explain why Liu shared her victimhood story with the Hollywood Reporter.

Turns out the chronically employed star (123 acting credits, according to IMDB.com) hasn’t been employed enough, by her standards.

I remember being like, “Why isn’t there more happening?” … I didn’t want to participate in anything where I felt like they weren’t even taking me seriously. How am I being given these offers that are less than when I started in this business? It was a sign of disrespect to me, and I didn’t really want that. I didn’t want to acquiesce to that … I cannot turn myself into somebody who looks Caucasian, but if I could, I would’ve had so many more opportunities.

Liu has had the kind of career most actors would kill to duplicate. That doesn’t play on the identity politics guilt of her peers though. Nor is it fodder for a “woe is me” awards speech …

Rest for the ‘Wicked’

That’s a wrap!

The “Wicked: For Good” press push got the heave-ho earlier this week when star Cynthia Erivo reportedly lost her voice. Co-star Ariana Grande pulled out of her appearances in solidarity.

Yup. Not remotely suspicious.

The duo made way too many headlines last year during their initial “Wicked” press tour. Why? It was just … weird. Odd. Creepy. The stars’ emaciated appearance didn’t help, but their kooky, collective affect was off-putting, to be kind.

Even the Free Press called out the duo’s sadly emaciated state.

They trotted out more of the same for round two, and someone had the good sense to yank them off the stage before the bulletproof sequel hit theaters Nov. 21.

No more peeks at Erivo’s extended, Freddy Krueger-like nails or Grande waving away a helicopter overhead as if it were about to swoop down on them.

Any publicity is good publicity, right? Not when it’s wickedly cringe …

RELATED: ‘Last Days’ brings empathy to doomed Sentinel Island missionary’s story

Vertical

Face for radio

John Oliver thinks it’s 1985.

HBO’s far-left lip flapper is furious that the Trump administration stripped NPR of its federal funding. Who will ignore senile presidents and laptop scandals without our hard-earned dollars?

Think of the children!

Never mind that Americans have endless ways to access news, from AM radio to TV, satellite, cable, and streaming options. Heck, just pick up a $20 set of rabbit ears, and you’ll get a crush of local TV stations in many swathes of the country.

You have to live in a bunker a hundred feet below the earth to avoid the news.

Oliver, to his credit, put his money where his mouth is. Or at least, your money. He set up a public auction to raise cash for NPR stations.

Why? Because we’re all going to croak without it. That’s assuming you didn’t die following the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the lack of net neutrality.

“Public radio saves lives. The emergency broadcast system. Without it, people would die.”

A second-rate satirist might have a field day with anyone pushing the “you’ll die without X, Y, or Z” card. Alas Oliver doesn’t warrant that ranking …

‘Running’ on empty

Rising star status ain’t what it used to be.

Glen Powell seemed like the next Tom Cruise for a hot minute. Handsome. Affable. Unwilling to insult half the country. He stole a few moments during “Top Gun: Maverick” and powered a mediocre rom-com — 2023’s “Anyone but You” — into a $220 million global hit.

So when Hollywood handed him the keys to the “Running Man” remake, the industry assumed he had finally arrived. Give him his “I’m on the A-List” smoking jacket.

That’s until the remake’s opening weekend numbers came in. Or rather trickled in. That $16 million-plus haul just won’t cut it.

Now Powell’s next film is under the microscope. The project dubbed “Huntington” just got a last-minute name change to “How to Make a Killing.” The film follows Powell’s character as he tries to ensure he’ll inherit millions from his uber-wealthy family. That’s despite getting cast out of the clan’s good graces.

The movie now has a Feb. 20 release date, hardly a key window for an A-lister like Powell.

Then again, his time on the A-list may have already expired.

​Hollywood, Entertainment, Lucy liu, Culture, Wicked, Ariana grande, John oliver, Donald trump, Toto recall 

During the final hours of the shutdown fight earlier this month, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) slipped a toxic provision into the continuing resolution that reopened the government. The clause created a special pathway for select senators to sue the federal government, bypass its usual legal defenses, and claim large payouts if their records were subpoenaed during the Arctic Frost investigation.

The result? About eight senators could demand $500,000 for every “instance” of seized data. Those instances could stack, pushing potential payouts into the tens of millions of taxpayer dollars. That is not an exaggeration. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has all but celebrated the prospect.

Graham said he wanted ‘tens of millions of dollars’ for seized records while victims of weaponization still face shattered lives.

No one else would qualify for compensation. Only senators. Anyone who spent years helping victims of political weaponization — often pro bono, while prestige law firms chased billable hours — can see the corruption in plain view. The message this provision sends on the central Trump-era promise of accountability could not be weaker: screw the people, pay the pols.

The surveillance of senators was wrong. It should never have happened. But senators did not face what ordinary Americans endured. Senators maintain large campaign accounts to hire top lawyers. They operate out of official offices, armed with constitutional protections such as the Speech and Debate Clause. They do not lose their homes, jobs, savings, or businesses. Thousands of Americans did. Many still face legal bills, ruined livelihoods, and ongoing cases. They deserve restitution — not the politicians who failed them.

Graham helped push this provision forward. As public criticism grew, he defended it. On Sean Hannity’s show the other day, he said: “My phone records were seized. I’m not going to put up with this crap. I’m going to sue.” Hannity asked how much. Graham replied: “Tens of millions of dollars.”

Democrats will replay that clip across every battleground in the country going into an uphill midterm battle in 2026.

Graham embodies the worst messenger for this fight. He helped fuel weaponization long before he claimed victimhood. He urged the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to pass the Steele dossier to the FBI. As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he did nothing to slow the Justice Department and FBI as they pursued political targets. He even supported many of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees who later embraced aggressive lawfare tactics. If anyone owed restitution to victims, Graham sits high on the list.

RELATED: Trump’s pardons expose the left’s vast lawfare machine

Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

Fortunately, enough Republicans recognize the political and moral disaster of funneling taxpayer funds to senators while real victims remain abandoned. The House advanced a measure today to repeal the provision. Led by Reps. Austin Scott (R-Ga.) and Chip Roy (R-Texas), the House forced the Senate to address in public what it attempted to smuggle through in private.

Thune defended the measure in comments to Axios. He argued that only senators suffered statutory violations and said the provision was crafted to avoid covering House members. He did not explain why any House member who was illegally surveilled should receive no remedy.

The Senate leader also claimed the financial penalty would deter a future Justice Department from targeting lawmakers, citing the actions of special counsel Jack Smith. His emphasis on “future” misconduct glossed over a critical fact: The provision is retroactive and would cover past abuses.

That defense cannot survive daylight. Repeal requires 60 Senate votes, and not a single Democrat will fight to preserve a payout for Graham. Republicans should not try either. Efforts to strike the measure need to begin immediately. Senators — especially Thune — should commit to an up-or-down vote. If they want to send tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds to Graham, they should do it in public, with the country watching.

Washington already reeks of grift and self-dealing this year. If senators protect this provision, that smell will spread nationwide.

​Opinion & analysis, Senate, Republicans, Lawfare, John thune, Lindsey graham, Sean hannity, Mike johnson, Special treatment, Weaponization, John mccain, Justice department, Russian collusion, Senate judiciary committee, Fairness, Austin scott, Chip roy, Public vote, Restitution, Payouts, Lawsuits, Populism 

On Monday afternoon, a pregnant mother was walking her 9-year-old son home from his Chicago school when a group of kids started chasing after the mother and son, calling them names and taunting them.

In video footage of the attack, the children were beating the mother and her son against a fence outside the school and dragging them to the ground before the pair were taken to the hospital.

“It’s a very sad story. Anytime you see a mother trying to protect her child and then being totally beaten by a group of children, that is one of the most unfortunate things that you could witness,” Pastor Corey Brooks tells BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock on “Fearless.”

However, Brooks noticed something interesting when he looked at all the news footage surrounding the incident.

“One of the things that I’ve noticed as I looked through a bunch of video footage and I’ve looked at a lot of interviews is that there’s only one father that I’ve seen that’s been present, and that’s the father who was standing behind the sister that was beaten,” Brooks explains.

“I know that father because they’re members of my church. I know the young boy that was beaten because they’re in our after-school program. His grandmother is also a part of our church. So, I’m very familiar with that family,” he continues.

“But one of the sad things about it is that none of these other fathers of these children who beat this woman have spoken out or said anything. I’ve seen interviews with the mothers, with some of their children, but no fathers,” he adds.

And this is not just an issue in Chicago, but black families everywhere.

“I think that is a major problem that we’re faced with in our community, the lack of presence of fathers,” he says. “And anytime you get to a point to where the kids can get it, it’s a sad day.”

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A Florida woman who was apparently angry over a dog being walked without a leash reacted outlandishly and may be deported after police investigated the incident.

The altercation unfolded on Friday morning when Nina Jaaskelainen confronted a mother outside of a home on Quail Nest Lane in Volusia County according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office. Video of the altercation was posted to social media.

Jaaskelainen even mocked and ridiculed the mom as she recorded.

Kelly Brisell told WESH-TV that she was walking with her 11-month-old son, Owen, and her dog named Ponce.

“She started screaming at us,” Brisell recalled. “I ignored her. She kept saying it, and I said, ‘I don’t have a leash,’ and kept walking. Then she looked at Ponce, walked up, and threw her coffee on him.”

At one point, Jaaskelainen warned that her own dog had previously killed another dog.

She then tossed cold coffee on them, according to the police.

“It was all over my clothes and all over him,” Brisell added. “It was over his eyes, nose, and temple. Thank God the coffee wasn’t hot.”

Jaaskelainen even mocked and ridiculed the mom as she recorded.

“You just threw coffee on my child!” Brisell yelled on the video.

“Good!” Jaaskelainen replied.

The woman was charged with two counts of battery, but investigators eventually determined that she was also in the country illegally. Jaaskelainen, who had no prior criminal history, is being held on an ICE detainer and is facing deportation.

RELATED: Democrat fires staffer accused of posing as immigration attorney at ICE facility

The woman is originally from Finland.

“Had she not done that, we would have all went about our day. It could have been an exchange of words, and I would have left and probably never saw her again,” Brisell added. “The way she escalated it changed everything.”

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​Deportation, Illegal alien from finland, Coffee tosser deported, Nina jaaskelainen, Politics 

Wouldn’t it be a bitter irony if Republicans lost the midterms — maybe even in conservative red states — because Democrats outmaneuvered them on the dangers of the AI data-center boom? The left now warns voters about land seizures, rising electric bills, water shortages, and Big Tech’s unchecked power. Meanwhile, Republicans stay quiet as Trump himself champions the very agenda voters increasingly fear.

During the Biden years, Republicans attacked Big Tech censorship, digital surveillance, Agenda 2030 land-grabs, and the artificial online culture reshaping young Americans. Every one of those concerns now intersects with the data-center explosion — energy demands, land use, power monopolies, and the rise of generative AI — but the political right barely whispers about it.

Republicans can channel AI toward focused, beneficial uses and away from a dystopian model that erodes civic life. Voters already want that shift.

Democrats don’t make that mistake. They see a potent electoral weapon.

Georgia hadn’t elected a Democrat statewide since 2006. Yet Democrat Peter Hubbard defeated a Republican incumbent on the Public Service Commission by 26 points by hammering “sweetheart deals” GOP officials granted hyperscale data centers. Voters in the state face repeated rate hikes linked to the massive energy demands of Big Tech facilities.

“The number-one issue was affordability,” Hubbard told Wired. “But a very close second was data centers and the concern around them just sucking up the water, the electricity, the land — and not really paying any taxes.”

He wasn’t exaggerating. In 2022, Georgia’s Republican legislature passed a sales-tax exemption for data centers. In 2024, a bipartisan bill attempted to halt those tax breaks, but Gov. Brian Kemp (R) vetoed it. Voters noticed — and punished the GOP for it.

Georgia now surpasses northern Virginia in hyperscale growth. Atlanta’s data-center inventory rose 222% in two years, with more than 2,150 megawatts of new construction under way. It’s no mystery why Democrats flipped two PSC seats in blowouts.

Republicans lost because they defended crony capitalism that inflated energy bills, devoured land, and fed an AI industry conservatives once warned about. If Kamala Harris had pushed the data-center agenda as aggressively as Trump now does, Republicans would be in open revolt. But Trump’s support silences the conservative grassroots and leaves Democrats free to define the issue.

Virginia tells the same story. Democrat John McAuliff flipped a GOP seat by attacking Big Tech’s land-grab and the rising utility costs tied to data-center expansion. He blasted his opponent for profiting while family farms vanished under the footprint of hyperscale development. He became the first Democrat in 30 years to carry the district.

At the statewide level, Democrat Abigail Spanberger won the governor’s office by arguing that AI data centers must pay their “fair share” of soaring energy costs. She framed the issue as a fight to protect families from Big Tech’s strain on the grid.

New Jersey voters heard similar warnings as they faced a 22% electric rate increase. Democrat Mikie Sherrill defeated Republican Jack Ciattarelli by double digits after blaming part of the spike on hyperscale energy demand. She pledged to declare a state of emergency to halt increases and require data centers to fund grid upgrades.

This pattern repeats in reliably red states.

Indiana saw dozens of new hyperscale proposals, yet not a single Republican official pushed back. Ordinary citizens blocked one of Google’s planned rezonings near Indianapolis. Liberal groups — like Citizens Action Coalition — filled the leadership vacuum and demanded a moratorium on new data centers, calling it a fight against “big tech oligarchs that are calling all the shots at every single level of government.”

RELATED: Stop feeding Big Tech and start feeding Americans again

Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Republican leaders, meanwhile, worked to ban states from regulating AI at all. This summer they attempted to insert a sweeping prohibition into the budget reconciliation bill that would bar states from regulating data-center siting or AI content for 10 years. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) now seeks to attach the same language to the FY 2026 defense authorization act. President Trump backs the provision.

Instead of ceding the issue to the left, Republicans should correct course. They can channel AI toward focused, beneficial uses and away from a dystopian model that erodes civic life. Voters already want that shift. A new University of Maryland poll found residents believe — by a 2-1 margin — that AI will harm society more than it helps. More than 80% expressed deep concern about declining face-to-face interaction, the erosion of education and critical thinking, and job displacement fueled by AI.

Capital expenditures cannot sustain the current pace of expansion, and public patience with Big Tech’s demands is running out. The political party that recognizes these realities first will earn the credit. Right now, the party that once defended property rights, community values, and human-centered technology is getting lapped by the party that partnered with Big Tech oligarchs to censor Americans during COVID.

Republicans still have time to lead. But they won’t win a fight they refuse to join.

​Gop, Democrats, Midterms, 2026, Data centers, Ai, Big tech, Opinion & analysis, Artificial intelligence, Wired magazine, Virginia, Georgia, Brian kemp, Taxes, Tax exemption, Land grabs 

The rise of transgenderism among young girls was studied intensely and deemed a social contagion by Abigail Shrier in her incredible book “Irreversible Damage,” and BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey believes it’s a similar story for young men — though the catalyst is different.

“It’s not true today that most of the boys and men who identify as the opposite sex do so because they have gender dysphoria that they were born with or that they developed as a child. But today it is, I believe, mostly due to pornography,” she explains.

“It is due to a sexual fetish that they have developed over time, that there is now a very real algorithmic pipeline via Pornhub and other porn sites that push young men to seek more and more exciting dopamine hits,” she continues.

Stuckey recalls the editor of Reduxx magazine, Genevieve Gluck, finding a link between pornography and the rise of transgenderism, which Stuckey describes as the “fetish of wanting to be feminized as a man, wanting to be submissive as a man.”

“So it’s true that these men who want to go into girls’ locker rooms, who want to go into girls’ bathrooms, are not doing so because they really think that they were born in the wrong body, but because they’re perverts. Those are the exact opposite kind of men that you want infiltrating women’s spaces,” she continues.

“Of course, you don’t want any man doing that, but especially not a man who is a sexual deviant in every way and who actually gets off on humiliation — humiliation for themselves and humiliation for women and girls. This kind of sissification porn actually depicts women as objects and depicts women as just things to be degraded and humiliated,” she adds.

While transgenders and their enablers will claim it’s about feeling uncomfortable in their own skin and slap the label of “gender dysphoria” on these men, it has nothing to do with biological sex at all — and everything to do with sexual fetish.

One subset of hardcore fetish pornography is “furry porn,” which oddly appears to have been a favorite of both Trump’s would-be assassin and Charlie Kirk’s assassin.

“I do not think it’s a coincidence that both of these men who are suspected as the killers of these top, you know, conservative, one politician and one activist, were also allegedly addicted to this kind of pornography and obsessed with transgenderism,” Stuckey says.

Trump’s would-be assassin was allegedly using they/them pronouns online and had an account on Deviantart — where he seemed especially drawn to scantily clad images of muscular male-looking bodies with female heads.

“So right away, this should sound the alarms for you of something satanic,” Stuckey says.

“I think about Mark 5 when Jesus heals a man with a demon, and this person goes by the name of Legion, or the demons go by the name of Legion … and when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him, out of the tombs, a man with an unclean spirit,” she explains.

When Jesus spoke to the unclean spirit, he asked him, “What is your name?” And the spirit replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.”

“Even though he is one in this body, goes by a multiple pronoun, goes by we. Now, I’m not saying that this Legion is necessarily possessing all of these people who go by they/them. I am saying unapologetically that it is demonic,” Stuckey says.

“That you cannot be a they, that you cannot be a them, that you cannot be a we. Subverting reality is demonic. Denying biological truth is demonic. Satan loves it. Why?” Stuckey asks, answering, “Because he is the father of lies.”

Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?

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​Video phone, Video, Upload, Free, Camera phone, Sharing, Youtube.com, Allie beth stuckey, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Fetish culture, Pornography evil, Demonic, Transgender, Lgbtqia agenda, Furries, Trump assassin, Charlie kirk assassin, Relatable with allie beth stuckey 

A federal judge sided Thursday with the attorney general in Washington, D.C., who sued against the National Guard deployment ordered by President Donald Trump.

The president ordered a deployment of troops into D.C. to quell the violent crime rampant in the area, but many on the left have accused him of militarizing the streets in order to intimidate his political opponents.

‘This unprecedented federal overreach is not normal, or legal. It is long past time to let the National Guard go home — to their everyday lives, their regular jobs, their families, and their children.’

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb ruled that the president had exceeded his presidential authority but gave the administration 21 days to appeal the ruling.

Cobb said that Trump could not deploy troops for “non-military, crime-deterrence missions in the absence of a request from the city’s civil authorities.”

“Normalizing the use of military troops for domestic law enforcement sets a dangerous precedent, where the President can disregard states’ independence and deploy troops wherever and whenever he wants — with no check on his military power,” D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb said after the ruling.

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller excoriated the ruling.

“Judicial despotism is one of the gravest hazards we face to the functioning and endurance of our Republic,” he wrote on social media. “No district judge can steal for himself the powers of the Commander-in-Chief.”

The president has sent National Guard members to other cities to combat crime and faced other challenges in court from his opponents and local government officials.

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said Schwalb’s lawsuit was “nothing more than another attempt — at the detriment of D.C. residents — to undermine the president’s highly successful operations to stop violent crime in D.C.”

RELATED: DC Dems are furious at Mayor Bowser for admitting Trump’s troops are lowering crime

“This unprecedented federal overreach is not normal, or legal. It is long past time to let the National Guard go home — to their everyday lives, their regular jobs, their families, and their children,” Schwalb added.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser admitted that the surge had helped decrease violent crime in the district, but she was widely criticized by other Democrats for saying it publicly.

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​Trump dc surge, National guard surge, Federal judge vs trump, Troop surge, Politics 

With increased national focus on the trucking industry, federal and state authorities are stepping up efforts to crack down on illegal truck drivers to address concerns about road safety and national security.

A one-day operation last week in Texas led to the apprehension of 31 illegal alien truck drivers, according to Republican Governor Greg Abbott’s office.

‘When illegal immigrants break the law and illegally drive on our roads, they endanger the lives of countless Texans and Americans.’

The joint commercial vehicle enforcement operation on November 11 in Wheeler County along I-40 involved multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Texas Department of Public Safety, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the governor’s office reported on Wednesday.

Law enforcement officers inspected 105 vehicles as part of an effort to identify suspicious commercial driver’s licenses. DPS troopers referred 31 drivers to ICE after they were unable to verify their lawful presence in the U.S., despite presenting CDLs.

“It was determined that all 31 individuals were in the country illegally,” the governor’s office reported, noting that most of the licenses were issued by California, with none issued in Texas.

“Millions of Texans drive on our highways, roads, and streets every day,” Abbott stated. “When illegal immigrants break the law and illegally drive on our roads, they endanger the lives of countless Texans and Americans.”

RELATED: Trump DOT hammers Gov. Shapiro, threatens to pull millions after state hands CDL to ‘suspected terrorist’ illegal alien trucker

Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images

“This joint state and federal operation along one of the nation’s longest transcontinental highways removed illegal drivers and unsafe vehicles from Texas roads,” Abbott continued. “While liberal states like California issue licenses to illegal immigrants and risk the lives of Americans, Texas will work with our federal partners to maintain safe roads and apprehend illegal immigrants to protect our communities.”

Meanwhile, in Oklahoma, Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) has similarly launched efforts to remove illegal immigrant truckers from the roads.

RELATED: Oklahoma ICE sting busts 34 illegal alien truck drivers, others with rap sheets

Photo by George Rose/Getty Images

He provided an update in early November about Operation Guardian, which has also conducted enforcement along the I-40 corridor, noting that it has already resulted in the arrest of over 100 illegal alien truck drivers.

“For the second time in just the past month, the state of Oklahoma and ICE have banded together to bolster public safety along Oklahoma’s highways, identifying and apprehending illegal aliens who are in the country illegally and have been recklessly issued a commercial driver’s license by states like California, Illinois, and New Jersey,” said Marcos Charles, the executive associate director for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations. “Many of the illegal aliens arrested behind the wheel of an 80,000-pound tractor trailer can’t even read basic English, endangering everyone they encounter on the roads.”

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​News, Texas, Greg abbott, Abbott, Kevin stitt, Stitt, Oklahoma, Immigration and customs enforcement, Ice, Texas department of public safety, Texas dps, Illegal immigration crisis, Illegal immigration, Immigration crisis, Immigration, American trucking industry, Trucking industry, Trucking, Commercial driver’s licenses, Cdls, Cdl, Commercial driver’s license, Politics 

An anonymous complaint against a small cross in the yard of some Christian homeowners has led to a community development district paying out nearly a quarter of a million dollars.

Wayne and Bonnie Anderson were notified on April 1, 2019, that their 1-foot white cross was in violation of yard decoration standards at The Villages.

‘In law, there has to be harm — what’s the harm? What’s behind all this? Something sinister, I guess.’

“I thought it was an April Fool’s Day joke,” Wayne Anderson said. “We call it a religious icon; they call it yard art — like the same with pink flamingos.”

He says that someone anonymously complained, and the Village Community Development District 8 began to fine him $25 for each day that he refused to take the cross down.

“The last I heard it was $44,000 for us,” he said.

“It’s not hurting anybody — there’s no harm,” Anderson added. “In law, there has to be harm — what’s the harm? What’s behind all this? Something sinister, I guess.”

The community district filed a lawsuit against the couple, and more than five years later, a judge ordered the district to settle with the couple. The district agreed to pay $173K in court costs and legal fees, as well as $70K for the Andersons.

And the cross gets to stay in the yard.

RELATED: California parents file lawsuit to stop curriculum that makes kids pray to Aztec gods

“Quarter of a million dollars nearly — over the little white cross,” Wayne Anderson said. “Can you believe that?”

WOFL-TV said the community district did not respond to requests for comment. The report noted that other crosses had popped up in the same neighborhood.

“This should never have happened, and it should never happen again,” Anderson added. “In the end, we get to display [it] as is our constitutional and God-given right.”

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​Tiny cross complaint, Cross lawsuit, The villages lawsuit, Wayne anderson, Politics 

Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Masino told BlazeTV’s Glenn Beck that the company was trying to correct for lighting and comfort when it presented its redesign.

Masino was at the center of controversy in August when the old country store was blasted for changing its logo, branding, and interior design. Customers particularly took issue with the removal of the country man sitting on a chair next to a barrel, as well as the barrel itself, leaving just black “Cracker Barrel” text on a yellow background.

‘Were you surprised you weren’t fired?’

Beck sat down with Masino inside a Cracker Barrel, tucked away in a corner booth along with the company’s senior vice president of store operations, Doug Hisel. During the hour-long conversation that saw Masino almost shed tears at one point, the CEO expressed anxiety about agreeing to the interview due to feeling that her position throughout the ordeal had been misconstrued.

“I want to set the record straight,” she said. “I want people to know that this is the brand that they’ve always known and loved, and that our job is to take care of it and just set it up for the next 55 years.”

Beck cut the noise and directly asked, “Were you surprised you weren’t fired?”

“I feel like I’ve been fired by America,” Masino replied.

“That’s probably worse,” Beck noted.

The CEO explained that her intentions were only to help Americans love the brand, “the way I love this brand … the way everybody who works here.”

Pointing to the some 70,000 employees at Cracker Barrel, Masino said she knows the responsibility she has on her shoulders and that she must ensure her employees are taken care of, and in turn are able to put a roof over their head and food on their table.

“My job is to make sure that Cracker Barrel helps them do that,” she added.

RELATED: Cracker Barrel saves its old-timey decor — but will we settle for a Potemkin past?

Cracker Barrel CEO Finally Addresses ‘Woke’ Rebrand Controversy | The Glenn Beck Podcast | Ep 275

Surrounded by classic Americana synonymous with the store, Beck asked the execs about the disconnect in terms of the rebranding; Masino rejected that there was ever a plan to remodel.

“Was [the rebrand] ever intended to get rid of all this?” Beck asked, kindly referring to the bleakly remodeled restaurants that were shown online.

“I think a lot of people think that Doug and me and other people sit around are like, ‘Let’s remodel Cracker Barrel.’ Nothing could be further from the truth,” Masino claimed.

The real reason for the recalibration, she cited, were customer experiences that described visits as being “real dark” and not being able to read the menu. She then recalled not one but two stories where she spotted customers using a stadium cushion while eating at the restaurant.

“I love your food; I love it here, but your chairs are so uncomfortable,” she remembered one man telling her.

“That’s really where it all started,” Masino said. “How do we make the stores more comfortable?”

“How do we get the right balance of investment, of comfort, of nostalgia, of the tradition that everybody knows and loves here? But in a way, that’s easy for our teams to take care of,” she went on.

Masino said it was her expectation that customers would take issue with the presence of too many booths, but “it wasn’t that. It was the black and white and the decor.”

“So that’s why, when people got upset about it, we were like, ‘Oh gosh, that’s not the intention. We can revert them,'” she added.

RELATED: Cracker Barrel folds again, tells customers they ‘don’t need to worry’

Glenn Beck (L) interviews Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Masino (M) and Doug Hisel (R), senior vice president of store operations. Image courtesy Blaze TV / Glenn Beck

Beck was able to extract a lot of the boardroom reasoning behind the branding blunder from the CEO. Masino told him that the remodeled stores in question were all company-owned and have since been reverted back to their original design, save for four in Florida that are dealing with permitting laws; but the company is working on that.

During this line of questioning, Beck pointed out that he could feel Masino’s genuine nature and that she was “hurt deeply” and “personally” from the backlash the company received.

“You’re so human, and you’re fighting it. Why?” Beck asked.

“I don’t know,” Masino replied, appearing to tear up. At this point, Hisel jumped in to reassure Masino that she is a good person, doing her best.

The productive conversation concluded with a brief mention of Hisel and Masino reaffirming that “everybody is welcome at Cracker Barrel.”

“It’s America’s store,” Hisel said. “Come as you are. If you play checkers, we can do pancakes and country fried turkey. Come as you are.”

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​News, Cracker barrel, Woke, Americana, Dei, Politics 

While most rappers and Hollywood celebrities have spoken out against President Donald Trump, one of them is bravely standing for his actions. And who it is is shocking, to say the least.

“I would like to thank President Trump for prioritizing this issue and for his leadership on the global stage in calling for urgent action to defend Christians in Nigeria, to combat extremism, and to bring a stop to violence against those who simply want to exercise their natural right to freedom of religion or belief,” rapper Nicki Minaj said.

Minaj also called the violence against Nigerian Christians not only a “growing problem in Nigeria,” but in “many other countries across the world” that “demands urgent action.”

“I want to be clear: Protecting Christians in Nigeria is not about taking sides or dividing people. It is about uniting humanity. Nigeria is a beautiful nation with deep faith traditions. … When one’s church, mosque, or place of worship is destroyed, everyone’s heart should break just a little bit,” she continued.

“And the foundation of the United Nations, with its core mandate to ensure peace and security, should shake,” she added.

“Has Nicki Minaj always been a Trump supporter?” BlazeTV host Pat Gray asks on “Pat Gray Unleashed.”

“God bless her,” executive producer Keith Malinak adds.

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​Free, Upload, Video phone, Sharing, Video, Camera phone, Youtube.com, Pat gray unleashed, Pat gray, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Nicki minaj, Christian, Christianity, Christians in nigeria, Celebrity politics, Nicki minaj supports trump, President trump, President donald trump, Nigerian christians 

Abortions are described as a “uniquely human superpower” in a new kids’ book meant for children as young as 5 years old.

The book, titled “Abortion Is Everything,” was created by Amelia Bonow, an activist who is also responsible for the “Shout Your Abortion” campaign.

‘The book is marketed to children from 5 to 8, with the goal of explaining abortion in kid-friendly language. This isn’t just propaganda. It’s grooming.’

A post on the group’s social media page proudly marketed the book, according to the Live Action pro-life group.

“Parents, caregivers, and educators who work with children have long been searching for a tool to talk with kids about abortion, especially given the volume of political noise currently surrounding the issue,” reads a post on Instagram.

The book intends to describe how an abortion feels and why people have them.

“With accessible, inclusive language, ‘Abortion Is Everything’ frames abortion as the actualization of a uniquely human superpower: our capacity to imagine the future and make choices that lead us towards the life we envision,” the post reads. “Abortion is a tool that allows human beings to shape our destinies, and which has shaped the entire world around us.”

The Live Action group strongly condemned the effort in a post on social media.

“The founder of ‘Shout Your Abortion’ is now targeting kids. With a children’s book. Promoting abortion,” the post reads. “The book is marketed to children from 5 to 8, with the goal of explaining abortion in kid-friendly language. This isn’t just propaganda. It’s grooming.”

RELATED: Missouri man admits to kidnapping pregnant girlfriend at gunpoint to force her to have abortion

Photo by Chris Polk/E! Entertainment/NBC via Getty Images

“The abortion industry has long tried to indoctrinate children into their pro-abortion agenda,” the group continued on its website. “This book, presenting abortion as human empowerment, is just the latest example.”

The political fight over abortion has moved to the state level after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the decision establishing federal abortion rights in the historic 2022 Dobbs decision.

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​Abortion kids book, Abortion debate, Dobbs decision, Pro-life movement, Politics 

A former teacher in Kentucky — who was accused of asking her underage lover to kill her husband — has learned her fate for sexually assaulting a jailed minor.

In April, 28-year-old Elena Bardin was arrested and initially charged with three counts of sexual abuse, solicitation of murder, and distribution of obscene material, according to a court records citation People magazine obtained. Following her arrest, Bardin was hit with three counts of unlawful transaction with a minor.

‘I know you say you’ll take care of him, but shouldn’t someone else do it so suspicion is miles away from you?’

Kentucky State Police said in an April statement that Bardin “solicited a male juvenile at the Adair Juvenile Detention Center to kill her husband.”

But a jury acquitted Bardin of the charge of soliciting the teen to murder her husband.

However, in September, Bardin was convicted of one count each of first-degree sexual abuse, unlawful transaction with a minor, and distribution of obscene material to a minor.

People said the defendant’s estranged husband, Michael Bardin, and the alleged victim both testified against Bardin for the prosecution.

Last week, a judge sentenced Bardin to four years in prison for first-degree sexual abuse, 10 years for unlawful transaction with a minor, and 12 months for the distribution of obscene material to a minor; the sentences are to be served concurrently. Bardin also was ordered to register as a sex offender for 20 years, according to Court TV.

During sentencing, Circuit Judge Samuel Spalding noted there were 193 pages of “letters, pictures, and everything else,” which he described as “juicy.”

“The letters you sent … they were juicy, they were things you’d see in a triple-X movie, and completely inappropriate, obviously, and I think you know that, for a young man that age,” Judge Spalding stated, according to WKRC-TV.

Spalding continued, “And for an educator, it was incumbent upon you to set a better example. I will say, though, the 193 pages of letters, pictures, everything else, it depicts a very intelligent and articulate young woman who was clearly articulating her thoughts and desires to this kid.”

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Bardin — a reported mother of a 5-year-old girl — had been an English teacher at the Adair County Juvenile Detention Center, where the victim was detained.

The Kentucky State Police said, “Evidence also revealed that Ms. Bardin had subjected the juvenile to illegal sexual contact and provided him with sexually explicit images of herself.”

Citing testimony from Bardin’s supervisor at the juvenile detention center, the judge added that the former teacher had been warned to end the relationship and stay away from the teen. Judge Spalding reportedly stressed that the student had been moved to another section of the detention center.

“And, ma’am, not only did you not heed that advice and stop, it looks to me like you actually doubled down on the behavior after that, and that is concerning,” Spalding alleged.

Prosecutors accused Bardin of having a sexual relationship with the 17-year-old student who was detained at the juvenile facility.

The Kentucky State Police stated, “On March 27, 2025, the Adair Juvenile Detention Center conducted a routine search of juveniles’ living units where letters and explicit material were found in a male juvenile’s possession sent by an Adair County School teacher assigned to the facility.”

The Union-Bulletin reported, “According to prosecutors, in one of the letters confiscated by investigators, Bardin talks about oral sex and having sex in the boy’s cell.”

“I hope you enjoyed that. I did,” Bardin reportedly wrote in a letter to the minor, according to the Union-Bulletin.

Another letter written by Bardin allegedly said, “I know you say you’ll take care of him, but shouldn’t someone else do it so suspicion is miles away from you? IDK, I’m going to miss you so (redacted) bad tonight. You look so handsome today, love. I love you.”

In April, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported that the Adair County school district listed Bardin — with her first name spelled “Elana” — as a teacher at the Adair Learning Academy, which is part of the Adair Youth Development Center.

The youth development center operates in conjunction with the regional juvenile detention center, the Herald-Leader said, citing the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice. Adair Superintendent Jason Faulkner told the paper that Bardin was an employee of the district and that she had been terminated.

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