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Last year, I took a stand against the Pulaski County School District in Kentucky when the district tried to silence me for speaking out against its unlawful political advocacy. Today, I’m proud to announce a resounding victory for free speech.

The district has agreed to a consent decree admitting it blocked me from its social media page and censored my voice. The district has also been ordered to pay $30,000 in attorneys’ fees to cover the costs of my legal battle and must train staff on First Amendment principles to prevent future violations.

When government entities like school districts use social media platforms to push their agendas while silencing critics, they erode the foundation of free expression.

This win, secured with the help of the Liberty Justice Center, sends a clear message: Government entities, including public school districts, cannot suppress dissent without consequences.

Taxpayer-funded censorship

The trouble began on August 11, 2024, when Pulaski County Schools used its official social media pages and website to lobby against Amendment 2, a ballot measure to advance school choice in Kentucky. As an advocate for educational freedom, I criticized the district for using taxpayer-funded platforms to engage in political advocacy — something clearly prohibited under Kentucky law.

In response, the district froze comments on its posts and temporarily blocked me from its social media page. It was a blatant attempt to silence criticism and stifle debate — a textbook violation of the First Amendment.

Sadly, Amendment 2 was defeated at the ballot box in November, denying Kentucky families greater educational options — at least for now. School districts like Pulaski County, by breaking state law to campaign against the measure and silence critics like me, put their thumbs on the scale to sway the outcome. Their actions may have undermined the democratic process in 2024, but this legal victory ensures they won’t get away with such tactics in the future.

I wasn’t about to let their censorship slide. With support from the Liberty Justice Center, we sent demand letters to the district on August 14 and August 26, 2024. The pressure worked. The district removed the offending posts and unblocked me. But it stopped short of promising not to censor others in the future.

That’s when we decided to take the district to court. On January 15, we filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, alleging that Pulaski County Schools violated my First Amendment rights by punishing me for my views.

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

Eightshot Studio via iStock/Getty Images

This case was never just about me. It was about every American silenced by a government official for speaking the truth.

Public school districts don’t belong to superintendents or school boards. They’re funded by taxpayers and accountable to the public. When officials censor dissent or block critics, they violate the core principles that make self-government possible.

The First Amendment protects free and open debate. It doesn’t exist to shield bureaucrats from scrutiny.

Our legal strategy centered on a 2024 Supreme Court ruling — Lindke v. Freed — which made clear that public officials using social media in their official capacity cannot block users based on viewpoint without violating the Constitution.

That ruling changed everything. It gave us the legal leverage to hold Pulaski County accountable.

A win for free speech

While this victory may be personal, its implications are far-reaching. Social media has become a public square, where ideas are debated and policies are scrutinized. When government entities like school districts use these platforms to push their agendas while silencing critics, they erode the foundation of free expression.

My case sets a precedent that other districts across the country should heed: You cannot hide behind a “block” button to avoid accountability. The First Amendment applies online just as it does offline.

I’ve spent years fighting for educational freedom, advocating policies that empower parents and students. The defeat of Amendment 2 was a setback, but the fight for school choice continues. None of this work is possible without the freedom to speak out. Pulaski County Schools thought it could shut me up. Instead, the district amplified the message that censorship won’t be tolerated.

The $30,000 in attorneys’ fees is a signal that those who violate free speech will pay a price. The mandatory First Amendment training ensures the district’s staff will think twice before trying to silence anyone else. And the consent decree puts them under a judge’s watchful eye, ensuring compliance.

Don’t be afraid

This win wouldn’t have been possible without the Liberty Justice Center, whose legal team fought tirelessly to defend my rights and the rights of every American to speak freely. The center’s work, grounded in the Supreme Court’s recent ruling, shows that the law is catching up to the realities of the digital age. Government officials can no longer hide behind vague policies or technicalities to suppress dissent.

The Constitution is clear, and so is the message from this case: Free speech is non-negotiable.

To my fellow advocates, parents, and citizens: Don’t be afraid to speak out. When you see a school district or any government entity overstepping its bounds, call it out. The First Amendment is your shield, and cases like mine show that it still has teeth. Pulaski County Schools learned that lesson the hard way. Let’s make sure others don’t have to.

​Opinion & analysis, School choice, First amendment, Freedom of speech, Advocacy, School board, School district, Kentucky, Pulaski county, Censorship, Blocked, Consent decree, Free speech, Election, Ballot initiative, Lindke v. freed, Supreme court, Unconstitutional 

A gunman clad in tactical gear was shot dead after ambushing U.S. Border Patrol agents outside a federal annex facility in Texas — just days after a police officer was shot in the neck while responding to a suspicious person near an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Alvarado, Texas.

The Department of Homeland Security said an armed man opened fire at the entrance of the U.S. Border Patrol sector annex in McAllen on Monday morning. The gunman was wearing tactical gear and wielding a rifle, according to Fox News.

‘The Department has zero tolerance for assaults on federal officers or property and will bring the full weight of the law against those responsible.’

The suspect – identified by authorities as 27-year-old Ryan Luis Mosqueda – engaged in a deadly firefight with Border Patrol agents and local police.

McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez said at a news conference that Mosqueda was “loaded for bear” and that “another rifle and other assaultive weapons” were discovered in the suspect’s vehicle.

Rodriguez noted that the suspect shot dozens of rounds of ammunition at law enforcement officers.

Two local police officers and one Border Patrol employee were injured in the firefight, and all three were transported to the hospital.

Rodriguez said an officer with the McAllen Police Department was struck in the knee, but the police chief added that the cop was in stable condition and would be “fine.”

Meanwhile, Mosqueda was shot and killed by Border Patrol agents and local police officers.

RELATED: Republicans clash with Democratic lawmakers defending violent anti-ICE rioters

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As far as a motive, Rodriguez said, “There is not enough known.” However, he added, “When someone drives onto a parking lot and opens fire, there is some premeditation involved.”

A local law enforcement official and a source familiar with the matter told CNN that the suspect’s vehicle was spray-painted with the phrase “Cordis Die,” which is a main antagonist in the “Call of Duty” video game. Law enforcement noted that the vehicle had Michigan license plates and that Mosqueda was connected to an address in Michigan.

The FBI said it is leading the investigation.

An FBI spokesperson told Newsweek, “The FBI is the lead investigative agency, and we will continue working with our local, state, and federal partners to ensure the safety of this community. Since this is still a developing incident, no further information will be shared at this time. Once there is additional information to publicly release, we will do so.”

RELATED: Trump orders ICE to ramp up deportations in Dem-controlled cities following MAGA backlash over selective pause on raids

The National Border Patrol Council – the union that represents Border Patrol employees – stated, “We are thankful for the prayers for our agents and personnel. Targeted violence will not be tolerated and will be dealt with swiftly. Justice will be served. Our agents and law enforcement partners will not back down.”

The White House said it is aware of the Border Patrol shooting and that it is “working with the appropriate federal agencies to get to the bottom of what happened.”

When asked if Democrats need to “tone down their rhetoric” following Monday’s attack on Border Patrol agents, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt replied, “We certainly call on Democrats to tone down their rhetoric against ICE and Border Patrol agents who are, again, everyday men and women.”

Leavitt called on Democrats to meet with Border Patrol agents.

“These are honorable Americans who are just simply trying to do their job to enforce the law,” Leavitt said during the press briefing. “They go home to their families every night just like we all do, and they deserve respect and dignity for trying to enforce our nation’s immigration laws and to remove public safety threats from our communities.”

RELATED: Illegal alien suspected of wielding weed whacker at ICE agents is called a ‘father’ and ‘victim’ by local outlet

Monday’s shooting at the Border Patrol sector annex comes only days after a local police officer was shot in the neck near an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Alvarado, Texas.

The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that officers with the Alvarado Police Department were responding to a call regarding a “suspicious person” near the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Prairieland Detention Facility around 10:56 p.m. on July 4.

Officers located the suspicious individual, who they said appeared to be carrying a firearm.

“As the first responding officer attempted to engage the person, multiple suspects opened fire on the officer,” the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office stated.

The suspects fled the crime scene, but officers from the Alvarado Police Department, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, and neighboring agencies took several armed suspects into custody.

Police said an officer was struck in the neck and was flown to the Harris Methodist Hospital Ft. Worth. The officer was treated and released, according to the statement.

The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office said the motives of the suspects are “unclear” at this time.

Blaze News requested a comment from the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office and the Alvarado Police Department but had not received a response by the time of publication.

Anyone with information regarding the shooting is urged to contact the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office at (817) 790-0910.

As Blaze News reported last month, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland, Oregon, had been attacked multiple times.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Saturday, “We are closely monitoring the attacks on DHS detention facilities in Prairieland, TX, and Portland, OR, and are coordinating with the USAOs and our law enforcement partners. The Department has zero tolerance for assaults on federal officers or property and will bring the full weight of the law against those responsible.”

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated last week, “Our heroic ICE law enforcement officers are facing a nearly 700% increase in assaults against them. If you obstruct or assault our law enforcement, this administration will hunt you down and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

RELATED: Sheriffs in Democratic strongholds partner with ICE to back Trump’s deportation surge

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Would Disney’s latest flop, “Elio,” have been saved if the company made the film “lame and gay” instead of just lame? Some of its creators seem to think so.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, “Elio” was originally conceived as a story about a lonely, bullied 11-year-old gay boy who gets whisked away by spacefaring aliens to represent humanity in the “Communiverse” — an intergalactic version of the United Nations. In the original version, Elio’s ability to empathize with outsiders, shaped by his own struggles as a bullied homosexual, helps him save the universe from hostile invaders.

If ‘Elio’ teaches Disney anything, it’s this: Wokeness isn’t a narrative. It’s a trend. And it’s over.

But that version never saw the light of day.

After disappointing test screenings and intervention from Pixar’s chief creative officer Pete Docter — the force behind hits like “Toy Story,” “Up,” and “Inside Out” — the studio sidelined the film’s openly gay director, Adrian Molina, and toned down the “queer-coding.” According to one Pixar artist, “Studio leaders were constantly sanding down these moments in the film that alluded to Elio’s sexuality.”

Gone was the scene where Elio designs clothes from pink trash and holds “trash-ion shows” for crabs. The male crush poster? Removed. The environmentalist bent? Dialed back. What’s left is a generic misfit who rises to the occasion — not by discovering his sexual identity but by finding courage and strength.

Predictably, the movie tanked. Despite a rumored $250 million budget, “Elio” grossed just $21 million in its opening weekend. Critics panned the film as derivative and dull. Pixar, once hailed for original storytelling and cross-generational appeal, recycled old tropes and slapped them onto a limp narrative.

As Federalist writer Gage Klipper put it: “Elio, crushed under the weight of its derivative storytelling and animation, might as well have been an umpteenth sequel. The viewer walks in and, within moments, already knows he’s seen this film a thousand times.”

So would making Elio “lame and gay” instead of just lame have saved the movie?

Of course not. A more flamboyantly queer lead might have offered marginal character development — but at the cost of turning yet another kids’ movie into a vehicle for ideological affirmation. And audiences have already seen that show. Multiple times.

Just look at “Lightyear” (2022) and “Onward” (2020). Both featured brief LGBTQ references — a kiss in one, a lesbian reference in the other. These scenes had zero impact on plot or character. They were token gestures meant to signal virtue. But even that was enough to stigmatize both films as woke propaganda, unfit for children and alienating to mainstream audiences.

Executives at Disney and Pixar likely concluded that “Lightyear” and “Onward” flopped because of the gay content. That’s why they stripped it from “Elio.” But “Elio” failed for the same reason those other films did: weak characters and lousy storytelling.

RELATED: The culture war isn’t a distraction — it’s the main front

Photo by DAVID MCNEW/AFP via Getty Images

Even the queerness in those earlier films seemed less like sincere inclusion and more like a cynical marketing ploy — a way to gin up press during peak woke culture. While it may not have delivered blockbuster numbers, the controversy generated buzz.

That trick doesn’t work anymore.

In 2025, the political moment has passed. The original version of “Elio” would have been as embarrassing as Marvel’s “Ironheart” — the new Disney+ series about a young black woman who builds her own Iron Man suit of armor so she can steal money and become famous. Maybe that premise sounded edgy in 2022, but now it just looks desperate and dumb.

If “Elio” teaches Disney anything, it’s this: Wokeness isn’t a narrative. It’s a trend. And it’s over.

Whatever moral high ground advocates claimed — about representation, equity, and tolerance — was always more about pandering to activists than elevating art. Audiences saw through it then, and they definitely see through it now.

Pixar’s former magic lay in telling universal stories. That’s the vision Pete Docter championed. But his colleagues and subordinates ignored it, instead giving audiences mediocrity wrapped in buzzwords. Unsurprisingly, audiences walked away.

Maybe now, finally, the message will stick.

​Opinion & analysis, Disney woke, Disney plus, Elio woke bomb, Pixar woke bomb, Woke hollywood, Elio, Gay agenda, Lame and gay, Ironheart, Wokeness, Lightyear, Onward, Federalist, Lesbians 

The Claremont Institute kicked off its “Golden Age Agenda” in San Diego on Saturday by honoring Vice President JD Vance with its 2025 Statesmanship Award.

The conservative think tank appears to regard Vance, who is far and away the front-runner in the 2028 Republican nomination contest, according to a recent Emerson College Polling survey, as best positioned and dispositioned to carry on President Donald Trump’s project of “American renewal and greatness.”

Vance provided additional insights into what his leg of the race might look like should he be handed the baton, as well as into the nature of the left.

RELATED: Exclusive: Vance on Mamdani: ‘Who the hell does he think that he is?’

Ahead of the vice president’s remarks, however, Ryan Williams, the institute’s president, reflected on President Donald Trump’s selection of Vance to be his running mate — a decision that was made nearly a year ago and just days after the attempted assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Williams emphasized that Trump’s “gutsy pick” broke the mold of conventional Republican vice presidential selections, as the decision appeared to be motivated not by improving the president’s chances of winning Ohio nor by reassuring the establishment.

If anything, Vance actually terrified the establishment, as evidenced by various deep-pocketed Republican donors’ open denigration of the Appalachian populist and Rupert Murdoch’s reported lobbying campaign to dissuade Trump from picking Vance.

RELATED: Rubio, Vance outline the ‘work of a generation,’ next steps for the American renewal: ‘This is a 20-year project’

Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images

Williams suggested that Vance was instead chosen because of who he is and what he stands for.

Vance is a “premier advocate” “for a transformative course correction after years of middle American economic stagnation, a bipartisan blindness on the importance of secure borders and sovereignty, and a return to prudence and strategic clarity in foreign policy,” said Williams.

What’s more, “Vance’s story is an American story — a kid rising from tough family circumstances in middle America; serving his country honorably in the Marines and then making his way in law and business; becoming a senator from his home state and then ascending to the vice presidency. This kind of success and political ascent is really only possible in America.”

After expressing gratitude for the award as well as to both the institute and his wife, Vice President Vance — fresh off casting the tiebreaking vote in the Senate last week to pass the president’s “big, beautiful bill” — provided a survey of the political landscape.

Vance noted that rather than learn their lesson after their trouncing at the polls in the 2024 election, the Democrats have embraced the politics that alienated so much of the electorate, as evidenced by Democrats’ support for “33-year-old communist” Zohran Mamdani in the New York Democratic primary.

‘They hate the people in this room.’

Whereas Trump’s victory in 2024 was “rooted in a broad, working- and middle-class coalition, Mamdani’s coalition is almost the inverse of that,” said Vance.

“If you look at his electoral performance, precinct by precinct, what you see is a left that has completely left behind the broad middle of the United States of America. This is a guy who won high-income and college-educated New Yorkers, and especially … young, highly educated New Yorkers, but he was weakest among black voters and weakest among those without a college degree. That’s an interesting coalition,” said the vice president.

RELATED: Vance: Trump’s growth plan ditches cheap labor for real jobs that will fuel American greatness

Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

After pointing out the various contradictions manifest on the left, Vance underscored that the elites-championed coalition of “Islamists, gender studies majors, socially liberal white urbanites, and Big Pharma lobbyists” is not bound together by shared affinities — not even the ideas of Thomas Jefferson or Karl Marx — but by hatred.

“They hate the people in this room. They hate the president of the United States. And most of all, they hate the people who voted for that president of the United States in the last election in November,” continued Vance. “This is the animating principle of the American far left.”

While careful not to conflate everyday Democrat voters with the American far left, Vance said the label accurately applies to the party’s leadership, who are “arsonists” willing to “make common cause with anyone willing to light the match.”

‘There is something about Western liberalism that seems almost suicidal or at least socially parasitic.’

The vice president further suggested Mamdani is a perfect mascot for the Democratic Party, as he “captures so many of the movement’s apparent contradictions in a single human being” and is “not trying to build prosperity. He’s trying to tear something down.”

After faulting the left for lacking a positive vision for the future, Vance discussed ways of maximizing American prosperity and continuing to usher in the “golden age” promised by Trump on Jan. 20.

The vice president noted that by employing the “stick” that is tariffs and the “carrots” that are lower taxes and fewer regulations, the administration hopes to make it easier to save, invest, build businesses, work dignified jobs, and support a family in the United States.

Vance made abundantly clear that this work under way to bring about American renewal is not another liberal project that treats the U.S. as an economic zone and an “idea” with an infinitely replaceable population.

RELATED: ‘Woke right’ smear weaponized by liberal interlopers against MAGA conservatives, populists — and Arby’s?

Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

“We are not just producers and consumers,” said Vance. “We are human beings made in the image of God, and we love our home, not just because we earn a living here but because we discover our purpose and our meaning here.”

“Every Western society, as I stand here today, has significant demographic and cultural problems. There is something about Western liberalism that seems almost suicidal or at least socially parasitic. It tends to feed off of the healthy host until there’s nothing left,” continued the vice president.

“They’ve gotten awfully good at tearing things down, but they haven’t gotten good at building back.”

‘This country is not a contradiction.’

After hammering themes of disorientation, disenchantment, and disaffiliation and emphasizing the importance of social cohesion and satisfying the “obligations that we have to our fellow countrymen,” he then identified a number of remedies, many of which the Trump administration is presently pursuing, including defending American sovereignty by securing the border and protecting citizens from “unfair foreign taxes” and “preserving the basic legal privileges of citizenship” like voting or access to state-run benefits programs. He indicated that the government must also avoid entangling Americans “in prolonged, distant wars.”

Vance noted further that citizenship in the 21st century not only means respecting American heritage but necessarily building upon it “together as one American family” — to advance “groundbreaking innovations and to leave homes, and libraries, and factories that our descendants will look at someday and feel a sense of awe.”

“This country is not a contradiction,” he concluded. “It’s a nation of countless extraordinary people across many generations. It’s a land of profound ingenuity and tradition and beauty, but more importantly, it’s our home.”

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​Jd vance, Vance, Nationalism, Conservatism, Populism, Onshoring, Claremont institute, Claremont, America first, Conservative, Politics 

Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan was indicted by a federal grand jury in May on charges of concealing a person from arrest and obstruction of the law.

Dugan — who has been characterized by Democratic lawmakers both as a courtroom hero and as a victim of the Trump administration — is desperate to avoid going to trial for allegedly helping Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, an illegal alien from Mexico charged with three misdemeanor counts of battery, get away from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Dugan, whose actions on April 18 were largely caught on courthouse cameras, evidently figured the Supreme Court’s ruling in Trump v. United States condemned by Democrats last summer was her ticket out of trouble.

‘This, however, is not a civil case.’

Citing the court’s determination that the president “may not be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers, and he is entitled, at a minimum, to a presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts,” lawyers for the Milwaukee judge claimed in a May 14 motion to dismiss the case that “the government cannot prosecute Judge Dugan because she is entitled to judicial immunity for her official acts.” Dugan’s lawyers suggested further that her prosecution violates the limits of federal power under the 10th Amendment.

A federal judge suggested otherwise this week.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Joseph recommended on Monday that Dugan’s motion to dismiss be denied and torpedoed the Milwaukee judge’s arguments for dismissal one by one.

RELATED: Courthouse footage spells trouble for Wisconsin judge accused of helping illegal alien evade ICE

Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images

“It is well-established and undisputed that judges have absolute immunity from civil lawsuits for monetary damages when engaging in judicial acts,” wrote Joseph. “This, however, is not a civil case. And review of the case law does not show an extension of this established doctrine to the criminal context.”

‘Trump says nothing about criminal immunity for judicial acts.’

“Does judicial immunity shield Dugan from prosecution because the indictment alleges she violated federal criminal law while performing judicial duties? The answer is no,” wrote Joseph.

The federal judge underscored that there is “no firmly established absolute judicial immunity barring criminal prosecution of judges for judicial acts.”

Joseph also made mince meat out of Dugan’s attempt to use Trump to avoid criminal prosecution for alleged improper conduct within her courtroom.

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“While Dugan asserts that Trump simply extended to the president the same immunity from prosecution that judges already have, this argument makes a leap too far. Trump says nothing about criminal immunity for judicial acts,” wrote Joseph.

“And in Fitzgerald, while the Supreme Court looked to the historical jurisprudence regarding civil judicial immunity, the Court was clear that the grant of absolute immunity for civil damages for ‘outer perimeter’ acts of the president was due to the ‘special nature of the president’s constitutional office and functions,'” added Joseph.

Joseph further recommended that the court declines Dugan’s invitation to dismiss the indictment on the canon of constitutional avoidance.

RELATED: Trump fighting ‘unconstitutional power grab’ by Obama judge who reopened the floodgates

Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images

While the U.S. magistrate judge made abundantly clear that Dugan’s motion to dismiss has no legs to stand on, the decision rests with U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman.

As Blaze News previously reported, Adelman is a Clinton-appointed U.S. district judge and a former Democratic state senator with a history of attacking President Donald Trump, claiming, for instance, that the president makes no effort “to enact policies beneficial to the general public” and behaves like an “autocrat.”

Dugan, relieved of her duties as a judge in April by the Supreme Court of Wisconsin, was originally scheduled to go to trial later this month, but Adelman took the trial date off the calendar last month pending the outcome of her motion to dismiss.

“We are disappointed in the magistrate judge’s non-binding recommendation, and we will appeal it,” Dugan attorney Steven Biskupic said in a statement obtained by the Associated Press. “This is only one step in what we expect will be a long journey to preserve the independence and integrity of our courts.”

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​Hannah dugan, Wisconsin, Immigration and customs enforcement officials, Ice, Department of justice, Felony, Evasion, Aiding, Illegal alien, Illegal immigration, Milwaukee, Dugan, Politics 

It’s been two weeks since the United States bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities as part of Operation Midnight Hammer, and thus far, it’s been quiet — no World War III, no involvement from Russia or China, no unrest in surrounding Arab nations, and no unrest on American soil. On the contrary, a ceasefire has been reached between Iran and Israel, and despite initial violations, it’s holding.

While many are surprised at the lack of aftermath, Mark Levin isn’t. The aftereffects many isolationists feared were never even in the cards, he says.

“The radical isolationists were dead wrong. They predicted a regional war,” but “the Arabs are behind Israel, even if they can’t actually say it. They predicted World War III. … Obviously, that didn’t happen. … They predicted actual intervention by Russia and China, who sat on their hands. They did absolutely nothing.”

“I think it’s been proven now that what the Israelis did and what the president did — our military, Netanyahu, his military — was right. The debate is over,” says Levin, noting that “94% of Republican MAGA supported [the strikes].”

Given that there were no American casualties, that there was no damage to U.S. military equipment, and that the mission was executed flawlessly, to “debate whether we should or shouldn’t have” is futile. “Obviously, we should have,” he says.

“Those who want to stop nuclear weapons and intercontinental missiles, ballistic missiles, from getting into the hands of a death cult are not warmongers,” he explains. “They’re peace lovers. The enemy is the warmonger.”

“The truth is those of us who said [bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities] has to be done, including the president of the United States, were right. Those who went on to create these hysterical fearmongering calculations” were wrong, Levin continues.

Even though a ceasefire has been reached and Iran’s nuclear capabilities have been drastically reduced, the worst thing we can do, according to him, is sit back and relax.

“I don’t believe the Iranian regime intends to have a ceasefire for long – at best maybe through the presidency of Donald Trump — but their mindset is their mindset, and they believe God is telling them what to do,” he says. “I don’t need to predict. It is a fact; it is a truism that they will be back.”

For now, however, “we have a very unique circumstance with these two great leaders … Trump and Netanyahu.”

To hear more of his commentary and analysis, watch the clip above.

Want more from Mark Levin?

To enjoy more of “the Great One” — Mark Levin as you’ve never seen him before — subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Mark levin, Levin tv, Donald trump, Benjamin netanyahu, Israel iran, Iran, Israel, Isolationists, Warmonger, Midnight hammer, Blazetv, Blaze media, Iran nuclear program, Levintv 

President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act just sent a jolt through America’s automotive industry — and this time, it’s not about subsidies or mandates. It’s about getting Washington out of the driver’s seat.

Passed by Congress and signed into law by President Trump on July 4, 2025, the legislation is packed with major changes that will affect your next car, your fuel bill, and maybe even your job.

Gas-powered vehicles are poised for a strong comeback. With emissions penalties gone and EV credits phasing out, automakers are incentivized to focus on what already works.

Whether you’re a mechanic, a car dealer, or someone simply trying to afford a reliable ride, this bill deserves your full attention. It dismantles a decade of EV favoritism, slashes penalties for automakers, and puts gas-powered vehicles squarely back in the spotlight.

Let’s break it down — without the fluff — and explain exactly why this matters to you.

USPS fleet unplugged

This legislation starts by hitting reverse on the U.S. Postal Service’s $9.6 billion push to electrify its fleet, which began in January 2024 with the purchase of 7,200 Ford E-Transit electric vans, developed especially for the USPS.

Now that this entire program has been marked “return to sender,” USPS can get back to delivering mail instead of testing environmental policy.

While an earlier version of the bill called for the USPS to sell off the electric vans, that provision was missing from the final document.

Hard reset on EPA overreach

Next up: the Environmental Protection Agency.

This bill takes direct aim at overreaching green energy policy eliminating California’s ability to set its own tougher vehicle emissions standards. California’s EPA waiver had long allowed the state to push automakers into building more EVs and hybrids — regardless of what the rest of the country wanted. That’s over. And with it, the ripple effect on nationwide vehicle standards could collapse.

More importantly, the bill removes the penalties automakers faced for missing fuel economy targets. Companies like Stellantis paid nearly $191 million in fines during just one two-year window (2019–2020) under CAFE standards. Now, those penalties are set to zero.

This gives automakers breathing room — and the ability to focus on building vehicles Americans actually want to buy: SUVs, trucks, and gas-powered cars with real utility or hybrid vehicles. Not battery-powered compliance boxes.

EV tax credits ending sooner

Here’s the part that really flips the EV market upside down: The tax credits are going away — and sooner than expected.

The $7,500 tax credit for new EVs and the $4,000 credit for used EVs will vanish after September 30, 2025 — a full three months earlier than the House originally planned. And it gets more aggressive: Leased EVs from non-U.S. automakers lose their credits immediately. The EV charger tax credit also ends in June 2026.

What remains? A manufacturing tax credit for U.S.-built EV batteries, but even that excludes any company with links to China.

This is a major economic pivot. With EVs costing an average of $9,000 more than gas-powered vehicles, losing these incentives could price many buyers out of the market. Analysts are forecasting a 72% drop in projected EV sales over the next decade, along with a possible loss of 80,000 U.S. jobs and $100 billion in expected investment.

Tesla may survive the fallout. But other automakers — like Ford and Hyundai — will likely delay or scale back future EV development. Expect fewer EV ads, slower rollouts, and more conventional models hitting showrooms.

More choice, more questions

So what does all this mean for you, the driver?

Gas-powered vehicles are poised for a strong comeback. With emissions penalties gone and EV credits phasing out, automakers are incentivized to focus on what already works. Expect more variety, lower prices, and vehicles designed for the actual demands of American families and businesses.

RELATED: WATCH LIVE: Trump kicks off 250th anniversary of the US with patriotic rally

Fuel demand is expected to stay high — and that’s good news for domestic energy production. Oil and gas industries have long warned that EV policy was artificially distorting the market. Now, that distortion is being corrected.

The bill also helps car buyers more directly with a proposed tax deduction for buyers saddled with auto loan interest — a nod to the growing number of Americans financing vehicles in a high-rate environment. It’s a way to offer relief without distorting the product landscape.

And while an annual $250 EV road-use fee didn’t make it into the final bill, don’t be surprised if that resurfaces in the next round of negotiations. Right now, gas drivers pay federal fuel taxes that help fund roads and infrastructure. EVs pay nothing. That imbalance may not last. This fight could be taken up by the EPA or the Department of Transportation.

Winners and losers

This legislation favors automakers willing to build vehicles Americans want — not those chasing regulatory credits. It’s a win for traditional manufacturers, oil and gas workers, and dealers in heartland states where EV demand has always been low.

It’s a loss for global automakers betting big on electric growth in the U.S. market — especially those with heavy investment in Chinese battery supply chains. And it’s a headache for urban planners, utilities, and environmental groups counting on mass EV adoption to hit clean energy targets.

The National Automobile Dealers Association, CarMax, and others were pushing for a longer transition period. They feared a sudden market disruption. Meanwhile, critics of the bill claimed it jeopardizes climate goals, raises future utility bills, and hands the EV lead to countries like China.

Why you should care

This isn’t just a debate about cars or clean air — it’s a fight over how much control government should have over your choices, your money, and your mobility.

Do you want a vehicle that fits your life, your budget, and your needs? Or do you want a central planner in Washington — or Sacramento — dictating your options? That’s the question this bill forces us to ask.

By pulling back mandates, cutting artificial market manipulation, and letting consumers — not bureaucrats — drive the demand, this bill aims to restore sanity to an industry that’s been distorted by politics and ideology for too long.

It’s not perfect, but it’s a start.

So think carefully about what this means, not just for the next car you buy — but for the future of freedom on America’s roads.

For more, check out my video here.

​Evs, Ev mandate, Donald trump, Auto industry, Gas-powered cars, Gas prices, Oil prices, Lifestyle, Align cars, Big beautiful bill 

Vice President JD Vance tore into the Democratic rising star Zohran Mamdani in a Sunday night speech over his apparent ingratitude and disregard for American tradition as he vies to helm the United States’ largest city.

During his keynote speech for the Claremont Institute on Sunday, Vance methodically detailed how Mamdani’s mayoral candidacy insults the very culture, history, and generosity of the country that allowed him to succeed, according to a transcript exclusively obtained by Blaze News. Mamdani, whose family fled political persecution in Uganda, won the Democratic mayoral primary in New York City and is shaping up to be the front-runner in the contested race against current NYC Mayor Eric Adams (independent).

“If our victory and President Trump’s victory in 2024 was rooted in a broad, working- and middle-class coalition, Mamdani’s coalition is almost the inverse of that,” Vance said.

‘Hatred … this is the animating principle of the American far left.’

RELATED: ‘White, well-educated’ Democrats are demanding lawmakers ‘get shot’ to prove they’re anti-Trump as deadly violence rises

Photo by Adam Gray/Getty Images

Although he campaigned on progressive policies that are typically targeted toward “underprivileged” and protected classes, Mamdani won high-income, college-educated voters. He also did particularly well in New York City’s gentrified neighborhoods, like Ridgewood and Bushwick. At the same time, he struggled among black voters and voters without a college degree.

“That’s an interesting coalition,” Vance noted. “Maybe it works in the New York Democratic primary. I don’t think it works particularly well in the United States at large.”

“His victory was the product of a lot of young people who live reasonably comfortable lives but see that their elite degrees aren’t really delivering what they expected,” Vance added. “And I say that not to criticize them, because I think that we should care about all the people in our country. … But we have to be honest about where its coalition is. It is not the downtrodden. It’s not for Americans. It is not about dispossession. It’s about the elite.”

Vance describes Mamdani and his supporters’ progressive worldview as ultimately paradoxical, uniquely motivated by a disdain for the American tradition.

“How could privileged whites march around with a straight face and decry white privilege?” Vance asked. “How could progressives pretend to love conservative Muslims despite their views on gender and sexuality? The answer is obvious. … The radicals at the far left, they don’t need a unifying ideology of what they’re for, because they know very well what they’re against.”

“What unites Islamists; gender studies majors; socially liberal, white urbanites; and Big Pharma lobbyists? It isn’t the ideas of Thomas Jefferson or even Karl Marx,” Vance added. “It’s hatred … this is the animating principle of the American far left.”

RELATED: Bombshell internal docs reveal the extent of Team Biden’s political miscalculations

Photographer: Christian Monterrosa/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Vance takes issue with the progressives’ disregard for American history and, by proxy, for American values. In Mamdani’s case, Vance criticizes his ungrateful attitude toward the very country that welcomed him and allowed him to prosper.

“The person who wishes to lead our largest city had, according to multiple media reports, never once publicly mentioned America’s independence today in earnest,” Vance said. “But when he did so this year, this is what he said, an actual quote: ‘America is beautiful, contradictory, unfinished. I am proud of our country, even as we constantly strive to make it better.’ There is no gratitude in those words, no sense of owing something to this land and the people who turned its wilderness into the most powerful nation on Earth.”

“I wonder, has he ever read the letters from boy soldiers in the Union army to parents and sweethearts that they’d never see again?” Vance asked. “Has he ever visited the grave site of a loved one who gave their life to build the kind of society where his family could escape racial theft and racial violence? Has he ever looked in the mirror and recognized that he might not be alive were it not for the generosity of a country he dares to assault on its most sacred day? Who the hell does he think that he is?”

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​Jd vance, Zohran mamdani, Claremont institute, American history, American heritage, Eric adams, New york city, America first, Progressivism, The left, Democrats, Republicans, Conservatism, Progressives, Conservatives, Political violence, American values, American independence, July 4, Politics 

Late Sunday evening, the Department of Justice and the FBI quietly dropped a two-page memo on Axios — a pathetic attempt to bury the Jeffrey Epstein scandal once and for all.

Instead, they lit a fire.

If the goal was to rebuild trust, this failed spectacularly.

Even longtime Trump supporters are furious. The memo offers nothing new. It doesn’t present fresh evidence. It doesn’t announce new investigations. It simply reviews old files and claims to find nothing of interest.

The first sentence tells the tale: The Justice Department and FBI “conducted an exhaustive review of investigative holdings relating to Jeffrey Epstein.” In plain English: They looked at what they already had. That’s it. No digging. No subpoenas. The Federal Bureau of Investigation simply acted as the Federal Bureau of Review.

They may as well have stamped the two-pager: “Nothing to see here.”

No client list. No blackmail ring. No suspicious circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death. According to the memo, none of it exists — at least not in the files current political leadership received.

So what happened to the promise of transparency? Of real oversight? If reform means letting the same entrenched bureaucrats investigate themselves, then nothing has changed.

The FBI and Justice Department officials have spent years turning a blind eye to crimes committed by the ruling class — crimes that threaten national security and corrupt the very institutions charged with upholding the law. Just ask anyone who remembers the Clinton email scandal, the Alfa Bank hoax, the Biden family’s foreign cash pipeline, or the Uranium One deal swept under the rug.

Now we’re supposed to believe they took Epstein’s crimes seriously?

Shifting the blame — with vague suggestions that “Epstein belonged to the intelligence services” — doesn’t cut it. It’s a dodge, not an explanation. Jurisdictional excuses don’t fly when public trust is on the line. Americans want answers from the people who once claimed they would deliver them.

The entire premise of public skepticism surrounding Epstein was that the U.S. government never truly investigated him. He was widely believed to be an asset. If that’s the case, why would the FBI have a smoking-gun confession just lying around in its files?

And even if someone had written down every sordid detail, would we really expect a mid-level bureaucrat to produce it on command?

The memo only accounts for one corner of the federal government. What about the intelligence community? What about foreign actors? What about the rest of the system?

The choice to give this exclusive to Axios is equally baffling. This is the same outlet to which the Trump administration handed the Biden-Hur audio tape — the story co-authored by a reporter who collaborated with Jake Tapper on a book abetting the cover-up of Joe Biden’s cognitive decline. That release was botched too: dropped on a Friday evening, selectively edited, and spun to discredit critics.

So why trust Axios with another political bombshell?

Predictably, Axios buried the lead and used its piece to promote a tangential swipe at President Trump, implying — via Elon Musk’s speculation — that Trump might be named in the Epstein files. That’s the kind of media framing the Justice Department and FBI just handed to the American people.

And let’s not forget: This wasn’t just a Justice memo. It was a joint DOJ-FBI release. In Washington, that means one of two things. Either both agencies want credit, or both want cover. This reeks of the latter.

Nothing in the memo aligns with public statements from political leadership.

RELATED: Is the FBI salvageable? Here’s what bureau insiders have to say

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

In February, Attorney General Pam Bondi declared that the Epstein client list was “sitting on my desk right now.” That same month, she wrote to FBI Director Kash Patel saying she had Epstein’s contact list and that the U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York still hadn’t turned over thousands of documents. Then in March, Bondi said she had a “truckload” of evidence. But now we’re told no such list exists and all of that evidence amounted to nothing?

Patel promised, “I will do everything, if confirmed as FBI director, to make sure the American public knows the full weight of what happened.” A two-page memo? That’s the “full weight”?

Deputy Director Dan Bongino vowed, “I’m not letting it go, ever.” So why does this feel like a shoulder shrug? Are we just supposed to “let it go” now?

It all adds up: grandstanding promises, empty symbolism, pointless stunts — like handing out Epstein binders to influencers at the White House — and now, a slapdash memo dumped just as Bibi Netanyahu sits down with President Trump, which will only fuel speculation that Epstein was connected with Israeli intelligence. If the goal was to rebuild trust, this failed spectacularly.

The Epstein saga isn’t going away. This memo doesn’t answer questions — it raises more. And the longer officials play games, the more the public will suspect they’re hiding something.

Until leaders stop playing defense and start delivering real accountability, don’t expect the American people to move on. They won’t.

​Opinion & analysis, Pam bondi, Kash patel, Dan bongino, Justice department, Fbi, Jeffrey epstein, Suicide, Epstein list, Epstein files, Whitewash, Client list, Transparency 

A disturbance call about a PlayStation video game console led to the arrest of a mother of three after police said they witnessed horrendous living conditions at her apartment unit.

Louisiana police responded to the residence at the Village Square Apartments on June 5 and found a cockroach infestation so bad that they described it as “hazardous” and “unsanitary” to the children, according to a press release from the Shreveport Police Department.

‘Roaches were also seen coming through holes in the walls, further compromising the health and safety of the environment.’

They identified the mother of the children as Cavinitri White and arrested her after an investigation.

“The infestation was observed on nearly every surface, including furniture, kitchen cabinets, and inside the refrigerator,” the release read. “Roaches were also seen coming through holes in the walls, further compromising the health and safety of the environment.”

The children were aged 1, 3, and 4 years old.

Police alerted the department’s Youth Services Division, which opened a child neglect investigation into the incident.

RELATED: Georgia parents charged with murder after their 12-year-old girl dies as an indirect result of a severe lice infestation

The Department of Children and Family Services also responded to the scene and released the children to the custody of their father after determining the living conditions to be unsafe.

White was booked into the Shreveport City Jail and charged with three counts of neglect of family. In Louisiana, a conviction on a charge of neglect of family is punishable by a fine of $500 or 6 months in jail, or both, in addition to probation.

Police said the investigation is ongoing.

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​Shreveport mother arrest, Cavinitri white arrest, Cockroach infestation, Cockroach arrest, Crime 

For nearly half a century after the catastrophic 1967 trial, the U.S. government failed to approve a safe and effective RSV vaccine. Then came the COVID-19 debacle — and suddenly, we’re supposed to believe the science caught up. As if by magic, after the mRNA disaster and its lingering questions, federal agencies now bless an endless stream of RSV shots for children and adults alike.

Never mind that just two years ago, Anthony Fauci co-authored a paper admitting that safe RSV vaccine development faced “many and complex” challenges. He cited risks like antigenic drift and called for “outside-the-box” thinking to make next-generation vaccines possible.

If Kennedy truly doubts the safety of older vaccines, why would his handpicked advisers endorse new injections for a virus that rarely warrants immunization?

Apparently, that box got checked quickly — at least according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted last month to approve Merck’s new RSV monoclonal antibody shot, Enflonsia, for prophylactic use in infants. The treatment mimics a vaccine in function and application.

The approval came despite glaring trial results.

Yes, the Phase 2b/3 CLEVER trial included a legitimate placebo group — finally. But the vaccinated group suffered more deaths and injuries than the placebo group. All-cause mortality ran slightly higher among those who received Enflonsia.

How can any vaccine win approval without reducing the risk of death?

Trial data showed three deaths linked to the vaccinated group, compared to just one among the placebo group. Statistically underpowered or not, that outcome suggests a 50% higher risk of death. That alone should have triggered demands for further study.

Instead, the CDC approved it.

The vaccinated group also faced a 350% higher incidence of upper respiratory tract infections, a 63% higher rate of lower respiratory infections, and a 41% higher risk of febrile seizures. The sample size wasn’t large enough to detect rarer events — yet regulators waved it through anyway. And all this for a virus that most infants overcome with basic care and a nebulizer.

ACIP passed the recommendation 5-2 on June 26. Dissenters Retsef Levi and Vicky Pebsworth cited the higher death rate and adverse reactions. Levi raised additional concerns about immune enhancement — where vaccination worsens the disease in later exposure — and called for longer trials focused on high-risk groups.

History supports his skepticism. In the 1960s, trial participants who received the RSV vaccine developed worse outcomes in subsequent years. We’ve seen similar patterns with some newer RSV formulations. None of today’s trials followed participants long enough to rule out antibody-dependent enhancement.

Even Moderna’s RSV/hMPV combo trial in infants aged 5 to 8 months had to be halted last year due to signs of enhanced respiratory disease. Yet, in May 2024, the Food and Drug Administration approved a similar mRNA shot for adults 60 and older. On June 12, Trump’s Health and Human Services expanded that approval to adults over 18 deemed “at risk” — despite all we’ve learned about the dangers of mRNA and respiratory virus vaccines.

RELATED: RFK Jr. torches vaccine panel to make consequences count again

Hailshadow via iStock/Getty Images

The FDA under Joe Biden approved Abrysvo, Pfizer’s RSV vaccine for seniors and pregnant women, despite serious warning signs. Post-licensure data linked the shot to elevated risks of Guillain-Barré syndrome within 42 days of injection. And in trials involving pregnant women, 5.7% of infants were born prematurely in the vaccinated group — compared to 4.7% in the placebo group.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. deserves credit for demanding more rigorous placebo-controlled trials. But what’s the point if agencies approve vaccines even when trials raise red flags?

RFK Jr. has publicly questioned links between childhood vaccines and autism — especially the hepatitis B shot. If he truly doubts the safety of older vaccines, why would his handpicked advisers endorse new injections for a virus that rarely warrants immunization?

Merck’s Enflonsia includes genomic material derived from an ovarian cancer cell line. Why on earth would we inject even a minimal amount of tumorigenic cells for a bad cold that we’ve been treating successfully with a nebulizer for years?

No one expects RFK Jr. to overhaul the CDC overnight, especially given internal resistance and pro-mRNA holdouts within the White House. But at the very least, many hoped the reckless approval of unnecessary vaccines would stop under his watch.

Instead, the CDC pressed forward with the same reckless momentum.

What happened to “first, do no harm”?

​Opinion & analysis, Robert f. kennedy jr., Hhs, Department of health and human services, Vaccines, Centers for disease control and prevention, Cdc, Rsv, Mrna vaccines, Vaccine safety, Vaccine skepticism, Retsef levi, Vicky pebsworth, Donald trump, Monoclonal antibodies, Anthony fauci 

A 20-year-old woman who wants to remain anonymous told WCBS-TV about her terrifying experience that began as she was heading to the Norwood Avenue subway station in Brooklyn on her way to her lifeguard job Sunday.

Suddenly a male — a complete stranger to the woman — began violating her.

‘What was going through my head was, like, ”I’m just not going to see my family again.” That was it, I was just not gonna see my family.’

“And he’s putting his arms around me, and I’m pushing him off of me, and I’m like, ‘I don’t know you,'” she told the station.

The woman added to WCBS that when she was on the platform waiting for her train, the male reappeared.

“He’s like, ‘Come on, let’s go.’ And I’m like, ‘I don’t know you,'” the woman recalled to the station. “He comes close to my face, and he’s like, ‘You don’t know me.'”

WCBS said the victim argued with her assailant, told him to get away — and then he grabbed her.

“When the train came, like I said, he got more aggressive, and that’s when he, like, bear-hugged me to the point where, like, my arms are restricted,” she recounted to the station. “The only thing he just kept saying was, ‘You’re mine now, you’re mine now, you’re coming with me, you’re coming with me.'”

A witness captured video of the attack, and in it the woman can be heard screaming.

Rondel Whitfield told WCBS in an initial story that he was on his way to church when he witnessed the attack in progress and soon got involved.

“I said, ‘Brother, please, just let the lady go. You know what I’m saying? Let the lady go.’ He’s like, ‘No.’ He just started being real barbaric. Like, I’ve never seen nothing like that in my life,” Whitfield recounted to the station.

RELATED: Chilling video shows suspect shoving man into path of NYC subway train — but victim survives ‘by God’s own hand’

The New York Post said “several men” gathered on the elevated platform and hollered at the attacker to let the woman go. The paper said the attacker allegedly shoved the woman to the ground and bear-hugged her as she tried to run away a second time, according to police and prosecutors.

“What was going through my head was, like, ‘I’m just not going to see my family again.’ That was it, I was just not gonna see my family,” the victim told WCBS in a subsequent interview. “That’s why I called my mom.”

The bystanders then pulled the victim away from her attacker, police told the Post, adding that they appeared to hit him as one of them yelled, “I’m gonna f**k you up!” Video shows men on top of the attacker punching and stomping him.

“Somebody try to tell you something, chill the f**k out?” one of the men is heard saying in the aftermath of the beatdown, the paper added. “Now you got it!”

The woman finally was able to escape and is seen in the clip running to the other end of the platform and crying on the phone with her mother, the Post said.

“She was just saying, ‘Mom, he’s trying to take me, he’s trying to take me,’ and I’m, like, trying to run to her as fast as I can,” the victim’s mother recounted to WCBS.

The victim noted to the station that she got to a Metropolitan Transportation Authority booth, and an MTA worker helped her get inside it for safety and then moved her into another room until police arrived.

“About the guys that stepped in, I’m very, very, very thankful because without them, I would not be home,” the victim recounted to the station.

Police said the victim complained of shoulder pain and suffered minor injuries to her stomach and arms, WCBS reported, adding that her mother said that while her daughter is traumatized, she’s been able to go to work.

“I’m very, very grateful for those that were there helping my daughter,” the mother told the station. “I am so, so, so, so grateful ’cause if it wasn’t for you guys, I wouldn’t have my child today.”

The video below is from the follow-up WCBS story and includes an interview with the victim.

RELATED: 11-year-old girl charged with aggravated battery after 8 to 10 youths brutally beat up 63-year-old man on Chicago train

Police have identified the suspect as 42-year-old Fredrick Marshall of Queens, WCBS said. Police told the station that the suspect had a knife and blackjack on him. A blackjack is frequently described as a leather stick weighted with lead that’s used for striking.

While Marshall has been charged with two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, third-degree assault, and second-degree harassment, the Brooklyn district attorney’s office told the station that the charges aren’t bail eligible, and Marshall has been on supervised release.

“It’s unacceptable,” the victim told the station in regard to the suspect being set free. “It’s really insane to me how they could just release somebody after they did that.”

BlazeTV host Auron MacIntyre had the following to say about the incident and its aftermath.

“Many people have asked ‘Where have all the good men gone? Why aren’t they protecting women?’ Everyone saw what happened to Daniel Penny for protecting his fellow subway passengers,” MacIntyre told Blaze News. “Now these men have stepped up and protected a defenseless woman, but her attacker is immediately out on the streets. This is anarcho-tyranny. The people of New York City are governed by disastrous progressive polices that get innocent people killed.”

The victim also told WCBS that her employer has been paying for her to take Ubers to work and that she wants to see more of a police presence at subway stations.

“I still haven’t fully processed what happened to me,” she added to WCBS.

The station said the victim is working on getting an order of protection from the DA’s office.

Editor’s note: This story has been edited after publication to include the date of the attack.

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​Crime thwarted, Brooklyn, New york city, Subway train platform, Woman attacked, Male assaults woman, Good samaritans, Men to the rescue, Arrest, Supervised release, Bail reform, Not bail eligible, Crime 

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) offered Elon Musk some political advice following the business magnate’s announcement that he is starting the “America Party,” a new political party Musk claims will counter the “Republican/Democrat Uniparty” amid his ongoing feud with President Donald Trump.

During a Monday afternoon press conference, DeSantis stated, “I think Elon Musk has been one of the most innovative entrepreneurs, not just in our country’s history, but probably in world history. And I think he’s done a lot and has a lot more left in the tank, obviously.”

‘If somebody as significant as Elon wants to get in the game on that, he will have a, I think, very consequential impact.’

DeSantis praised Musk for his efforts in the 2024 election and for initiating the Department of Government Efficiency, a concept that the governor has also adopted at the state level to reduce Florida’s budget.

While DeSantis noted that he is “a big fan” of Musk’s cost-cutting efforts, he issued a serious warning about his third-party aspirations and offered some advice.

The governor explained that a third party would likely result in Democratic candidates winning elections, particularly if Musk plans to fund Senate and House candidates in competitive races.

“As it is now, even if somehow a third party could elect some people that were so-called fiscal conservatives, I don’t think it would even move the needle even if they got elected,” DeSantis said. “And we know that they wouldn’t get elected because it’s really one of two parties, so you’re either just taking votes away from one side or the other.”

RELATED: ‘TRAIN WRECK’: Trump blasts Elon Musk over anti-MAGA campaign, new ‘moderate’ party

Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images

He stated that the Republican Party is facing a significant issue with political candidates making promises on the campaign trail that they do not keep once elected, particularly regarding reining in the nation’s out-of-control budget.

Instead, the Florida governor argued that Musk could have a “monumental impact” on the nation if he focused on working with state legislators to add a balanced budget amendment to the United States Constitution, which he noted could be done without congressional approval.

“I don’t think just electing a few better people is going to change [the nation’s] trajectory,” DeSantis continued. “You need to do a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution. You can do it through the states; you can do it through Article Five. We’ve got 28 states that have approved this. There’s another four or five that are on the docket. Once you hit 34, then you write an amendment, and then the states are able to ratify that.”

RELATED: The political future of Elon Musk

Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

The governor also called for Musk to push for term limits for members of Congress.

DeSantis stated that he is confident Musk would be successful in implementing these changes.

“That is achievable. And especially, if somebody as significant as Elon wants to get in the game on that, he will have a, I think, very consequential impact on that, and I think would be just the type that could bring this across the finish line,” DeSantis remarked.

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​News, Ron desantis, Desantis, Florida, Donald trump, Trump, Elon musk, Musk, Musk trump, Trump musk, Trump musk feud, Third party, America party, Department of government efficiency, Doge, Politics 

A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order against funding cuts for Planned Parenthood that were included in the “big, beautiful bill” endorsed by President Donald Trump.

Attorneys for Planned Parenthood argued in the lawsuit against the Trump administration that the cuts could have led to the shuttering of 200 abortion clinics across the country.

‘Planned Parenthood’s desperation is showing as they run to the courts again to fix a crisis of their own making.’

U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani for Massachusetts granted the request on Monday, only three days after Trump signed the bill on the Fourth of July.

The bill had initially shut down funding for Planned Parenthood for 10 years before the Senate parliamentarian changed the bill in order to follow the rules of the Senate. The change cut funding for only one year.

Planned Parenthood Federation of America CEO Alexis McGill Johnson claimed that the bill would lead to cuts in availability for other health care for women as well.

“This case is about making sure that patients who use Medicaid as their insurance to get birth control, cancer screenings, and STI testing and treatment can continue to do so at their local Planned Parenthood health center, and we will make that clear in court,” she wrote in a statement.

Pro-life activists decried the lawsuit after it was filed.

“Planned Parenthood’s desperation is showing as they run to the courts again to fix a crisis of their own making,” said Katie Daniel of Susan B. Anthony’s Pro-Life America.

RELATED: Trump admin targets federal funding to Planned Parenthood over ‘possible violations’ of law, executive orders

Lila Rose of Live Action called the order “unjust judicial activism that should be immediately overruled by higher courts.”

Critics of Trump’s funding bill say it will drastically add to the federal debt without significant cuts to spending. Proponents have applauded the president for preserving tax cuts to boost the economy.

Talwani had been nominated to the court in 2013 by former President Barack Obama.

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​Judge indira talwani, Federal judges vs trump, Planned parenthood funding, Trump loses in court, Politics 

A total of 11 aircraft violated the restricted airspace over New Jersey during President Donald Trump’s July Fourth weekend visit, prompting a fighter jet to be scrambled, according to authorities.

The First Air Force — also known as Air Forces Northern, which is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida — announced in a statement that 11 civilian aircraft breached the temporary flight restriction airspace over Bedminster, New Jersey, where President Trump was spending the holiday weekend.

‘No excuses! Stay sharp, stay legal, and stay out of restricted airspace.’

“This morning’s intercept, followed by two later [temporary flight restriction] violations, brings the total to 11 unauthorized incursions into restricted airspace this weekend,” the First Air Force stated on Sunday.

North American Aerospace Defense Command scrambled a fighter jet to intercept unauthorized aircraft violating the temporary flight restriction in the airspace over the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, approximately 40 miles west of New York City.

Around 2:40 p.m. on Saturday, a fighter jet intercepted a civilian aircraft and executed a “headbutt” maneuver before safely escorting the plane out of the restricted airspace, Fox News reported.

The headbutt maneuver is an aerial interception technique used by military planes to visually alert and redirect an unauthorized aircraft that has violated restricted airspace. The military airplane will fly in close proximity to the unauthorized aircraft before cutting in front of the nose of the civilian aircraft, according to Newsweek.

An F-16 jet carried out a headbutt maneuver on a “general aviation aircraft” near the airspace around Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort on April 4, Newsweek reported.

As Blaze News reported in March, F-16 fighter jets intercepted two unauthorized aircraft that had breached a temporary flight restriction in Florida when President Trump was at Mar-a-Lago in West Palm Beach.

RELATED: Key US Air Force base shut down over drone activity as aerospace CEO unveils chilling theory on wave of mysterious drones

— (@)

James Gagnon — a former NORAD Operations Division Operations Standards Branch chief — revealed the procedure for when an aircraft violates the temporary flight restriction.

“When an aircraft enters a TFR that is not in contact with air traffic control and fighters are available, we’ll have the fighter aircraft escort them out of the TFR,” Gagnon explained.

“It’s these people who are not on a flight plan or are flying VFR (Visual Flight Rules),” Gagnon continued. “They’re not talking to anybody, and FAA doesn’t know who they are. It’s much easier when you’re talking to the guy.”

NORAD noted that if the pilot of the unauthorized aircraft does not respond, the military plane will employ “more aggressive tactics such as dropping flares and performing ‘headbutt’ maneuvers, the rough equivalent of giving someone a shove and saying, ‘Hey, you!'”

A NORAD spokesperson told Reuters that the fighter jet involved in the intercept was an F-16.

RELATED: 2 males accused of operating drone ‘dangerously close’ to Boston’s Logan Airport

Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The First Air Force cautioned pilots: “These TFRs are in place for a reason. No excuses! Stay sharp, stay legal, and stay out of restricted airspace.”

NORAD warned pilots, “It is critically important for North American flight safety that temporary flight restriction (TFR) violations are avoided. All pilots must familiarize themselves with updates to restricted airspace, including reviewing new and existing FAA [Notice to Airmen] that impact their flight plans and activities. Adhering to FAA restricted airspace protocols is mandatory, regardless of geographical region, airframe, or aircrew.”

Gen. Gregory M. Guillot, the commander of NORAD, stated on Sunday, “NORAD and the FAA aim to keep the skies over America safe, with close attention paid to areas with temporary flight restrictions (TFR) to ensure flight safety, national security, and the security of the president.”

Guillot stressed, “TFR procedures are mandatory, and the excessive number of TFR violations this weekend indicates some civil aviators are not reading Notice to Airmen, or NOTAMs, before each flight as required by the FAA.”

Guillot warned that any unauthorized aircraft in temporary flight restriction airspace will be intercepted by an armed fighter aircraft from NORAD.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, pilots who violate TFRs can face fines and certificate suspensions or revocations, depending on the severity of the violation.

NORAD is a joint organization between the United States and Canada that is tasked with “the missions of aerospace warning and aerospace control for North America,” and includes “monitoring of man-made objects in space and the detection, validation, and warning of attack against North America whether by aircraft, missiles, or space vehicles, through mutual support arrangements with other commands.”

RELATED: Florida JetBlue flight diverted after unruly passenger claims to be the devil, punches female companion

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Despite delays in mass layoffs ordered by a Clinton judge, the Trump administration has already managed some significant housecleaning at the U.S. State Department.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has, for instance, fired scores of contractors who supposedly worked abroad building up civil society and democratic practices, and shuttered the rebrand of both the censorious Global Engagement Center and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

These actions, coupled with Rubio’s plan to can thousands of State Department employees, have enraged all the right people — including the Democratic lawmakers in Congress who claimed in a June 27 letter that large-scale reductions in force of America’s diplomatic workforce would “leave the U.S. with limited tools to engage as a leader on the world stage during this critical juncture.”

It appears that the changes have angered bad actors besides those in Congress — some of whom intend to respond with something more serious than sternly written letters.

‘They’ve done a very foolish thing.’

A number of anonymous former USAID and State Department officials recently told the Allbritton Journalism Institute’s publication NOTUS about their plans to undermine the Trump administration.

While it largely sounds like a revival of the “resistance” that undermined the first Trump administration, this group of would-be saboteurs appears keen on using nation-destabilizing tactics practiced abroad on their own government.

RELATED: ‘Nothing to be proud of’: State Department spits on USAID’s grave following Bono, Obama eulogies

Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

According to NOTUS, some jilted establishmentarians who were previously “stationed across the globe actively supporting opposition movements in autocratic nations” are now building a network of federal workers who are “willing to engage in even minor acts of rebellion in the office” — what BlazeTV host Auron MacIntyre and other critics have alternatively characterized as “treason.”

“They were so quick to disband AID, the group that supposedly instigates color revolutions,” a currently employed federal official told NOTUS. “But they’ve done a very foolish thing. You just released a bunch of well-trained individuals into your population. If you kept our offices going and had us play solitaire in the office, it might have been safer to keep your regime.”

Color revolutions — such as the 2003 Rose Revolution in Georgia, the 2004 Orange Revolution in Ukraine, and the 2005 Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan — are political upheavals aimed at toppling supposedly illegitimate or abusive regimes and replacing them with supposedly liberal democratic regimes.

Blaze News previously highlighted that in many cases, color revolutionaries were afforded help and direction by state actors and/or by nongovernmental organizations.

The Washington Post’s David Ignatius described such efforts plainly in a 1991 column about successful efforts undertaken at the time in Russia, noting that instead of engaging in Cold War-style covert operations, overt operatives “have been doing in public what the CIA used to do in private — providing money and moral support for pro-democracy groups, training resistance fighters, working to subvert communist rule.”

Although the current Republican administration was given a clear mandate by the American people to rule, it may have repeated the error made by other sovereign governments targeted by color revolutions: Its agenda is not aligned with that of a clique of unelected bureaucrats in the District of Columbia.

RELATED: Flipping cars for ‘justice’ — then back to poli-sci class

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Those now plotting against the American government were once paid by the federal government to push Latin American militants to overthrow supposed dictators and to support African secessionist movements. They also apparently helped kick off “an ultimately successful uprising in the Middle East,” according to the NOTUS report.

It’s unclear whether that “successful” Middle Eastern uprising is the same one that resulted in both a civil war that claimed the lives of over 600,000 people and Islamic terrorists running Syria.

‘Today it starts with four, but tomorrow it’s 10.’

Former State Department officials told NOTUS that they are holding “noncooperation” training sessions, attempting to set the stage for a nationwide general strike, and circulating copies of the CIA’s Simple Sabotage Field Manual, which notes that “acts of simple sabotage, multiplied by thousands of citizen-saboteurs, can be an effective weapon against the enemy” and will “demoralize enemy administrators.”

The manual provides tips for interfering with organizations and productions, such as bringing up irrelevant issues as frequently as possible; haggling over the precise wordings of communications, minutes, and resolutions; advocating caution and generally slowing down processes by any means; demanding written orders; deliberately misunderstanding orders; waiting until current stocks of necessary materials are exhausted before ordering new materials; giving incomplete or misleading instructions to new workers; and holding “conferences when there is more critical work to be done.”

Rosarie Tucci, the former deputy assistant administrator of the now extinct USAID Bureau for Conflict Prevention and Stabilization, is apparently operating “in this space,” co-leading a group called DemocracyAID with fellow USAID alumna Denielle Reiff. Their group is reportedly running workshops with those still employed by the federal government.

“The whole point of it is to start off slow,” Tucci told NOTUS. “You’re building up that muscle and that bravery, and you’re building up your numbers. Today it starts with four, but tomorrow it’s 10. We’re helping them understand that is the organizing, and that is the process to get to a massive strike.”

Blaze News has reached out to the State Department for comment.

White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said in a statement to Blaze News, “It is inherently undemocratic for unelected bureaucrats to undermine the duly elected President of the United States and the agenda he was given a mandate to implement.”

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California police told KTVU-TV that a disagreement between three men in line for Pokémon trading cards led to a stabbing that reportedly was captured on video.

The incident unfolded Saturday as card collectors were lined up outside a GameStop store waiting to buy Pokémon card packs, Colma Police Department Sgt. Daniel Mendoza told KRON-TV. The station added that the argument began when two individuals tried to cut in line.

‘One of the other individuals in the group of two hit them in the back of the head with a glass mason jar and used broken glass to begin to stab them.’

Mendoza said a fight broke out, and one victim was stabbed with a shard of glass at about 9:20 a.m.

“While two were fighting, one of the other individuals in the group of two hit them in the back of the head with a glass mason jar and used broken glass to begin to stab them,” he told KRON-TV.

Video of the incident was posted to social media, where it quickly went viral.

Police were called to the store on Junipero Serra Boulevard and found a man with life-threatening injuries, including multiple stab wounds and cuts, KTVU said, adding that he was transported to a hospital and reported to be in stable condition.

Witnesses told police that the two men involved in the stabbing fled in separate vehicles, KTVU added, but some witnesses wrote down license plate numbers and took photos of the fleeing cars.

RELATED: Security video shows store employee beat down thieves who tried to steal Pokémon cards worth $2,700

Photo by John Keeble/Getty Images

Police told KTVU they tracked down one of the suspects only half a mile away from the store, and another suspect was found in Daly City. They were identified as 49-year-old Miguel Orellanas-Flores and 27-year-old Isaiah Calles, the station said, adding that the two suspects are from San Francisco.

Both were charged with assault with a deadly weapon, assault with a deadly weapon causing great bodily injury, battery with serious bodily injury, and conspiracy to commit a crime, KTVU said, adding that they both were booked into the San Mateo County jail.

Pokémon trading cards are an incredibly popular industry worth billions; the Pokémon Company is ranked among the top 10 global licensors, behind Disney and Hasbro.

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Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass went on a victory run Monday after claiming to have stopped immigration raids in her city, but the head of Border Patrol’s El Centro Sector said the agency was not done with its mission.

Bass has been vocal in her opposition to deportation efforts, but she launched into action when federal agents reportedly began a large-scale operation at the famed MacArthur Park.

‘We will go anywhere, anytime we want in Los Angeles.’

Bass posted video showing federal agents rushing into the public park and expressed her outage in a post on social media.

“This is footage from today in MacArthur Park. Minutes before, there were more than 20 kids playing — then, the MILITARY comes through,” she wrote. “The SECOND I heard about this, I went to the park to speak to the person in charge to tell them it needed to end NOW. Absolutely outrageous.”

KTTV-TV reported that the operation included armored trucks but that no arrests were made after Bass intervened.

Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent Gregory Bovino told Bill Melugin of Fox News that Bass had spoken to him on the phone about the operation and that he offered a defiant response.

“I don’t work for Karen Bass. Better get used to us now, cause this is going to be normal very soon,” Bovino said.

“We will go anywhere, anytime we want in Los Angeles,” he added.

KTTV’s report praised Bass for what it called a “moment of visible leadership” and quoted her end of the phone conversation.

“So they’ve stopped that? They’ve completed their mission here? What’s the time frame before they leave?” Bass said in the call.

RELATED: Video shows SoCal vice mayor reportedly issue ICE resistance challenge to violent street gangs: Where are ‘all the cholos’?

Bass also called the operation “outrageous and un-American” and accused the Trump administration of orchestrating a militarization of the streets through federal immigration law.

“There is no plan other than fear, chaos, and politics,” she said. “Home Depot one day, a car wash the next, armed vehicles and what looked like mounted military units in a park the next day.”

In June, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the administration would continue deportations despite protestations from local lawmakers and riotous demonstrators.

“We’re going to stay here and build our operations until we make sure that we liberate the city of Los Angeles,” Noem said.

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British band Bob Vylan is in some serious trouble.

The English punk rap duo began a pro-Palestinian chant during a show at Glastonbury, which quickly escalated into them leading the audience in calling for harm against Israel. During their set, they screamed, “From the river to the sea,” and, “Death, death to the IDF,” referring to the Israel Defense Forces.

Though the crowd seemed to enjoy the chant, the band is now facing the consequences of their actions, as several countries are prohibiting them from entering.

“The @StateDept has revoked the US visas for the members of the Bob Vylan band in light of their hateful tirade at Glastonbury, including leading the crowd in death chants. Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country,” U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau wrote in a post on X.

“Did they say anything about America? No,” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales comments. “But that type of hatred and violence — we don’t have to let just anybody in. This is the United States of America. We should be very selective when we decide who to let into our country, even if for a brief amount of time.”

While some are siding with the band and calling it an attack on First Amendment rights, BlazeTV contributor Jaco Booyens notes that foreigners “don’t have First Amendment rights.”

“It really has been refreshing to see this administration get tough on how, you know, they’re shutting down all of these visas until they can figure out how to properly vet these people on social media. I mean, this is people overseas,” Gonzales agrees.

“All of these foreigners think that it’s just some sort of a right that they should have to be able to come over here whenever they want, and it’s like, no, this is the greatest country in the world, and we have to protect that,” she adds.

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Rioting against Americans moving to Mexico has roiled Mexico City, and the Department of Homeland Security used the occasion to mock the controversy surrounding illegal immigration.

Mexicans have complained that the growing number of Americans moving south has made housing costs soar and displaced locals, but the anger erupted in vandalism over the weekend.

‘It’s almost impossible to live, to find housing. … We’re living the consequences of gentrification.’

“If you are in the United States illegally and wish to join the next protest in Mexico City, use the CBP Home app to facilitate your departure,” read the post from the DHS.

The agency posted a link to a Reuters report quoting a protester about the purpose of the demonstrations in Mexico City.

“The reason we’ve gathered here is precisely to hear the thoughts of many victims, mainly young people today, for whom it’s almost impossible to live, to find housing,” said Eduardo Alanis, as translated from Spanish by Reuters.

Protest signs had messages comparing the gentrification to neo-colonization. An Associated Press video showed one protester spray-painting the message, “Kill a gringo,” referring to white people who had moved to Mexico City.

“We’re living the consequences of gentrification, which is the government directing its public policies towards people with high purchasing power,” he added, “often illegally displacing local populations who have lived in these neighborhoods for 40, 50, and we have documented cases of up to 60 years.”

RELATED: DHS releases details about ‘barbaric, dangerous’ illegal aliens on Sudan deportation flight after judge ruling

Immigration hawks have made similar claims about illegal aliens exacerbating the housing crisis in the U.S. Others have argued that illegal aliens bring housing costs down by providing cheap labor in the construction industry.

In Los Angeles, some activist and union groups are demanding a rent moratorium in order to help the families of those displaced by immigration raids. They reported that many are afraid to go to work or leave their homes because of the mass deportation policies of the Trump administration.

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