Category: blaze media

A Tuesday report from Punchbowl News claimed that Amazon is planning to make an update to its shopping site that would inform consumers about how tariffs have impacted the total cost of items.

The outlet wrote, “Amazon doesn’t want to shoulder the blame for the cost of President Donald Trump’s trade war.”

‘I was getting so excited about the Amazon tariff tracker so I could avoid buying anything from China!!’

“So the e-commerce giant will soon show how much Trump’s tariffs are adding to the price of each product, according to a person familiar with the plan,” it added. “The shopping site will display how much of an item’s cost is derived from tariffs — right next to the product’s total listed price.”

The recent report sparked backlash from President Donald Trump’s administration.

During a Tuesday press briefing, a reporter asked press secretary Karoline Leavitt about Amazon’s alleged tariff label plan.

“I just got off the phone with the president about Amazon’s announcement,” Leavitt stated. “This is a hostile and political act by Amazon.”

“Why didn’t Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years?” she questioned. “I would also add that it’s not a surprise because, as Reuters recently wrote, Amazon has partnered with a Chinese propaganda arm.”

Leavitt’s comment referenced a December 2021 report from Reuters that claimed Amazon had marketed “a collection of President Xi Jinping’s speeches and writings on its Chinese website.”

“This is another reason why Americans should buy American,” she added.

The reporter asked Leavitt whether Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is “still a Trump supporter.”

“Look, I will not speak to the president’s relationship with Jeff Bezos, but I will tell you that this is certainly a hostile and political action by Amazon,” Leavitt responded.

However, an Amazon spokesperson rejected Punchbowl News’ reporting.

The representative told ABC News, “The team that runs our ultra low-cost Amazon Haul store has considered the idea of listing import charges on certain products.”

“Teams discuss ideas all the time. This was never a consideration for the main Amazon site, and nothing has been implemented on any Amazon properties,” the spokesperson stated.

According to the company’s website, Amazon Haul items include “unbelievable finds from $2.99.” It explains that to keep prices low, Haul consumers are listed as the item’s “importer for customs purposes.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) responded to Amazon’s denial of the report.

“Ahhh come on Amazon!!” Greene wrote in a post on X. “I was getting so excited about the Amazon tariff tracker so I could avoid buying anything from China!!”

“Americans want to buy American and you were finally going to give us a way to know which products and companies were selling slave labor made goods from China undercutting our great American made goods,” she remarked.

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​News, Karoline leavitt, Donald trump, Trump, Trump administration, Trump admin, Amazon, Jeff bezos, Tariffs, China, Trade, Politics 

There’s a harrowing alliance growing between Marxists and Islamists in this country. It’s why we keep seeing Democrats battling to keep radical Muslims with terrorist ties from being deported by the Trump administration.

While the left claims that it’s just defending constitutional rights, Mark Levin knows what’s really uniting these two groups is their shared mission to dismantle the West.

He plays a clip of a young keffiyeh-clad man in Dearborn, Michigan — America’s jihad capital — calling for the destruction of the West.

“The American empire that’s been hurting our people since the beginning, the imperial Western powers that have been hurting our people since the beginning — they must fall. Inshallah, inshallah, they will fall. And my message to the people of Gaza and oppressed peoples across the world is that there are people here, both young and old, who are going to be willing to fight and are willing to put their lives and everything they can on the line to bring these empires down because they must come down,” he said.

“What he’s saying is that the West is in the way of Islam,” Levin translates, noting the distinction between peaceable Muslims, “who just want to live their lives,” and Islamists, who are “terrorists or terrorist-supporters.”

This latter group will persecute and kill peaceful Muslims as fast as they’ll persecute and kill Christians, he explains.

The unnamed man from Dearborn calling for the fall of Western powers is “an Islamist,” meaning he hates America and Americans and supports terrorism.

And yet — “The Democrat Party keeps pandering to people like this,” says Levin, and it’s because, like Islamists, it also thinks “the West has to be destroyed.”

While they both have different end goals — Marxists hope for the “withering away of the state,” while Islamists hope for “complete control of mankind” — for now, they need each other to keep their visions alive.

The fusion of Marxists and Islamists is a subject Mark Levin covers in depth in his upcoming book.

“I’m very, very excited about this one,” he says.

To hear more about it, watch the clip above.

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​Levintv, Mark levin, Blazetv, Blaze media, Marxism, Islamism, Destruction of the west, Dearborn, Dearborn heights 

Tennis’ leader in anti-doping and anti-corruption said players are not permitted to have a shower before a drug test.

The International Tennis Integrity Unit covers policy, sanctions, prohibition, and testing for doping in tennis, and it recently announced a change to its policy that had many fans asking questions.

The ITIA informed players on Friday that drug testing will be conducted immediately following matches and that if a player wishes to shower before the drug test, he or she will have to do so in front of a drug-testing official.

The new rule was shared by Tennis Channel reporter Jon Wertheim, who showed a snippet of a letter from the ITIA on his X page.

“On behalf of the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), we are sharing important updates to the Tennis Anti-Doping Program,” the letter stated, before introducing a subsection on “showering,”

“The ITIA and previously the ITF has worked hard to ensure that showers following matches can amount to a permissible delay to doping control, particularly when showering could have a detrimental effect on the health and wellbeing of a player.”

The letter continued, “However, showering is not an entitlement, and it is for this reason that the ITIA kindly requests that when showering[,] players adhere to the requirement to stay in full view of the chaperone observing them at all times.”

The letter added that if a player is not comfortable with being monitored while showering, the player should consider the idea of whether or not a shower is “necessary before providing a doping control sample. Failure to remain in full view of the chaperone will be taken extremely seriously by the ITIA.”

— (@)

After the seemingly bizarre wording of the policy received publicity, the ITIA reaffirmed its stance in a follow-up statement.

“We recognise that parts of the anti-doping testing process are uncomfortable,” the group said. “However, as with all World Anti-Doping Agency-compliant sports — not just tennis — players who are notified for a test after a match are observed at all times by an anti-doping chaperone until the test is completed.”

The group added, “This is a requirement of the World Anti-Doping Code.”

While the policy sounded strange on its surface, it did have a certain level of logic behind it. As outlet Metro noted, soccer’s governing body in the region, the Professional Footballers’ Association, has a similar policy in place with an added explanation:

“It is important for the laboratory to analyse your first sample and by having a shower a player could urinate easily without anyone noticing.”

The organization added, “Sports people have done this before in order to manipulate this seemingly insignificant procedure to avoid a positive result.”

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​Fearless, Tennis, Anti-doping, Drug test, Steroids, Uk, United kingdom, Soccer, Sports 

More than 100 attorneys with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division have resigned from their roles following President Donald Trump’s shift in priorities, an official told Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck.

During a Friday interview with Beck, Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, stated that over 100 lawyers quit after the DOJ announced the agency’s new direction under the Trump administration.

‘We’re also going after the notorious anti-Semitic violence and discrimination happening throughout the United States, but specifically on American college campuses.’

Beck asked Dhillon about the agency’s massive turnover, which some have reportedly referred to as a “bloodbath.”

Dhillon called it “colorful rhetoric,” noting that “none of these people had the guts to attach their names to these colorful quotes.”

She explained that many attorneys in the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division have accepted the Trump administration’s severance package offer, which allows them to continue receiving pay for “several months.”

Dhillon stated that she has not fired anyone in her division since starting the position earlier this month.

“What we have made very clear last week in memos to each of the 11 sections in the Civil Rights Division is that our priorities under President Trump are going to be somewhat different than they were under [former] President Biden,” Dhillon told Beck.

After outlining the president’s priorities, many chose to walk away, she explained.

“En masse, dozens and now over 100 attorneys decided that they’d rather not do what their job requires them to do,” Dhillon continued. “And I think that’s fine because we don’t want people in the federal government who feel like it’s their pet project to go persecute police departments based on statistical evidence or persecute people praying outside abortion facilities instead of [those committing] violence.”

“That’s not the job here,” she declared. “The job here is to enforce the federal civil rights laws, not woke ideology.”

According to Dhillon, roughly 200 to 300 attorneys are currently in the Civil Rights Division.

Dhillon explained that the newly vacated positions would be filled by new lawyers who will be tasked with prioritizing the protection of religious liberty and the Second Amendment.

“The president signed an executive order targeting anti-Christian bias in federal agencies, and that tallies with some of our civil rights agenda, which is to protect the rights of people of faith throughout the United States,” she told Beck.

“We’re also going after the notorious anti-Semitic violence and discrimination happening throughout the United States, but specifically on American college campuses,” Dhillon added.

The DOJ plans to use the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, also known as the FACE Act, which was passed to protect women seeking to access abortion clinics, to “aggressively go after” attacks on prenatal care facilities.

“There were more than 200 incidents in the last few years of those facilities where people were counseled about their choices, about abortion, about keeping the baby. Those facilities have been violently attacked by activists with no action by law enforcement, federal or state,” Dhillon said.

In order to pursue the long list of civil rights offenses the Trump DOJ has in its sights, Dhillon stated that the agency will “need more lawyers, investigators, and commitment to do that work.”

“We’re going to run out of attorneys to work on these things at some point,” she remarked.

Dhillon told Beck that she believes the anti-Semitism cases against universities will have “a big impact.”

“You don’t have to sue everybody; you have to sue to make some cases stick,” she explained. “I understand people are impatient. You can’t build a bulletproof case against people who’ve been doing bad for decades in two weeks. It’s not going to happen, and the case won’t stick.”

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​News, Glenn beck, Harmeet dhillon, Department of justice civil rights division, Civil rights, Doj, Department of justice, Religious liberty, Anti-semitism, Trump admin, Trump administration, Donald trump, Trump, Politics 

Actor John Lithgow said he would not consider backing out of his new “Harry Potter” television show because of author J.K. Rowling‘s controversies.

Lithgow declined an opportunity to speak against celebrated author Rowling during an interview about HBO’s new “Harry Potter” series, as Rowling is said to be heavily involved.

Rowling has faced significant backlash for her views on transgender issues, particularly regarding men who believe they are women. Since about 2018, she has expressed concerns about men entering women’s spaces, especially in sports, and has been the target of accusations from activists.

Rowling was even accused of hate speech by an Olympic boxer who fought in the women’s division despite strong evidence that he is a man. Rowling also dared authorities to arrest her for her remarks and won the standoff.

‘Why is this a factor at all?’

In an interview with the Times of London, Lithgow said he has received some backlash of his own since agreeing to join the new series. The 79-year-old said he “absolutely” did not expect people to have such strong reactions and was simply thinking about how big the role will be, given that it is an eight-year commitment.

The Times revealed that some of the comments Lithgow received accused him of figuratively donning a Ku Klux Klan hood by agreeing to a role in a Rowling-backed program.

Before it was even announced that he had the role, Lithgow said he received a message from “a very good friend who is the mother of a trans child,” which, to him, seemed to be the “canary in the coal mine.”

“I thought, ‘Why is this a factor at all?’ I wonder how J.K. Rowling has absorbed it,” Lithgow continued. “I suppose at a certain point I’ll meet her, and I’m curious to talk to her.”

When asked if the criticism put him off the idea of starring in the show, Lithgow replied, “Oh, heavens no.”

Rowling has unfortunately had to get used to backlash from other famous “Harry Potter” faces for her simple beliefs. The stars of the original “Harry Potter” films — Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint — have all spoken out in opposition to her views.

“Transgender women are women,” Radcliffe wrote in 2020. “Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter.”

Similarly, actress Watson said in 2020 that “trans people are who they say they are” and noted that she had donated to a pro-transgender organization.

It was seemingly the hope of Rowling’s detractors that she would somehow not be involved in future iterations of “Harry Potter.” However according to Variety, HBO executive Casey Bloys has told media members that Rowling was “very, very involved in the process selecting the writer and the director” and that her beliefs have not affected the casting or hiring of staff.

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​Hollywood, Jk rowling, Harry potter, Transgenderism, Women’s rights, Hbo, Woke, Politics 

Just this past November, Americans overwhelmingly voted to put Donald Trump in the White House — and for far more than one good reason. Now, deep-state bureaucrats and rogue judges are trying to prevent the president from doing what he was elected to do in the first place.

“I think that’s really crucial to remind everyone,” Sara Gonzales of “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered” comments. “They’re trying to block him from making executive decisions even though he is the highest executive officer in the land.”

“Three rulings on immigration that are a direct threat to President Trump’s mandate to mass-deport all of these millions of illegals that broke the law coming into the country under Joe Biden,” she continues.

One ruling surrounds immigration enforcement in sanctuary cities.

“A federal judge just blocked the Trump administration from withholding federal funds from sanctuary jurisdictions,” Gonzales explains. “So now, you’re supposed to believe that it’s legal for a state to actively go against federal law and that that state somehow is allowed the same amount of taxpayer funds.”

“This is your money, this is my money, this is all of our money that we just somehow are forced to throw at whatever state wants to disregard whatever law they want to, and they still are allowed to take as much money from us,” she continues.

“And here we are. They are saying that these cities will be rewarded for protecting criminal illegals and actively obstructing ICE against federal freaking law,” she adds.

But this isn’t the first time judges have stopped Trump from going after sanctuary cities.

During his first term in 2018, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals was divided before agreeing with the lower court that the order exceeded President Trump’s authority when it came to sanctuary city funds.

Not only have they been weakening his battle with sanctuary cities, but another federal judge recently struck down Trump’s effort to require proof of citizenship to vote.

“Now they’re saying the president doesn’t get to say that you have to provide proof of citizenship to vote in this country,” Gonzales says. “You couldn’t even make it up if you tried. You could not even make up the absurdity of it all, that somehow, we are supposed to believe that, what? The president doesn’t get to say, ‘Hey, guys, it’s a rule that you can’t vote in these elections unless you’re a citizen’?”

“Some might say this was a plan all along when you move 20 million illegals into this country and then you insert judges who will vouch that you don’t need ID in order to vote,” she adds.

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​Upload, Free, Video phone, Camera phone, Video, Sharing, Youtube.com, Sara gonzales unfiltered, Sara gonzales, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Rogue judges, Leftist judges, Trump administration, Sanctuary cities, Illegal immigration, Illegals voting, Illegal immigration crisis, President donald trump, President trump 

Walmart announced a new program to help small businesses in the U.S. in a victory for the tariff policies of President Donald Trump.

The retail giant said its “Grow with US” program would help businesses in the U.S. “navigate the complexities of retail and bring their products to a national stage.”

Walmart will take applications from small businesses for the ‘Open Call’ program to help US businesses submit their products.

“We’ve seen firsthand how investing in small businesses results in better assortment, better meeting the needs of our customer base, and supporting jobs and growth in communities,” John Furner, the president and CEO of Walmart U.S., said to Axios.

Walmart will take applications from small businesses for the “Open Call” program to help U.S. businesses submit their products to the retail giant and Sam’s Club. Events for the program will be held in Kansas City, Baltimore, Atlanta, Austin, and Columbus. They have a similar program in Mexico as well as India.

John David Rainey, the company’s CFO, had previously indicated that more than two-thirds of the products they sold were “made, grown or assembled” in the U.S.

“The third that we import comes from all over the world, but China and Mexico are the most significant,” he added.

In 2021, Walmart announced a plan to spend an additional $350 million on products made, assembled, or grown in the U.S., which would help create about 750,000 jobs, according to the company’s estimate.

Walmart also resumed importing Chinese products after a pause despite the massive tariff after meeting with Trump last week, according to CNN. Factory owners in China told CNN that the orders had resumed from Walmart as well as Target.

“In two months, the shelves in the U.S. will probably be empty,” said Allen Yan, who runs factories in Zhejiang.

“American supermarkets don’t have much inventory left, and we’re also waiting to see how the situation develops. Our toys are low value-added products — if tariffs drop to around 30%, it will be easier for our customers to accept,” said another factory owner.

The stock market reacted negatively to the tariffs, with a loss of more than $10 trillion at one point, but some of that has recovered after Trump announced a 90-day pause on most tariffs, even as he escalated the trade war against China.

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​Walmart tariffs, Tariffs on business, Trump tariffs, Tariffs victories, Politics 

Sarah Fields is not only a Republican Texas delegate, army veteran, and mother, but she’s also the woman behind exposing Karmelo Anthony’s most prominent defender, Dominique Alexander.

Alexander has caught wind of Fields’ investigation, as he’s begun holding up her social media posts at press conferences and pointing the finger at her.

“It started with me sharing the arrest report, which I find pretty wild, because I requested the arrest report through an open records request to Frisco PD,” Fields tells Jason Whitlock on “Jason Whitlock Harmony.”

“As soon as I received it, I read it, and I posted it. All I said was ‘arrest report for Karmelo Anthony,’ and it went viral, it got millions of views, and I got threats. My family was threatened, I was threatened, I was called a racist, I was called a bigot for sharing an arrest report, an official document,” she continues.

What ended up really getting under Alexander’s skin was when Fields discovered that his fraudulent organization has filed nothing through the IRS since 2020 — and that he has a lengthy history of criminal behavior.

“It appears like money laundering, is what it looks like, and I have challenged him multiple times to share financial statements, and it’s funny — he doesn’t respond to that,” she explains. “He has no problem saying that it’s disrespectful, and that I’m a liar, but he hasn’t dispelled any of the supposed lies.”

“He hasn’t defended himself and said, ‘Actually, here’s documentation. Here’s receipts.’ He’s done none of that. He just says that I’m disrespectful and that I’m lying about him,” she continues, noting that Alexander even blamed Fields for the appearance of victim Austin Metcalf’s father at the press conference.

And while hundreds of thousands of dollars have been raised through the Anthony family’s GiveSendGo account, Fields doesn’t believe that money has been obtained honestly.

“I truly believe that the family and Dominique Alexander are trying to cash in. I believe that they were dishonest with the people who were donating to the GiveSendGo, especially since once they reached over $400,000 on the GiveSendGo, they then magically changed the description to say, ‘Oh, this isn’t actually just for legal funds. This is to cover all expenses, including relocating,’” Fields says.

“This looks like Black Lives Matter all over again,” Whitlock comments. “Except there is no dead black man or boy. There’s a black man or boy that has committed murder, and it’s like they can turn any situation — whether you get killed or whether you do the killing — you can be the victim worthy of raising money off of and then funneling the money any direction you want to go.”

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​Camera phone, Free, Sharing, Upload, Video, Video phone, Youtube.com, Fearless, Jason whitlock, Fearless with jason whitlock, Sarah fields, Karmelo anthony, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze online, Blaze media, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast, Blaze originals, Dominique alexander, Black lives matter, Austin metcalf, Austin metcalf murderer 

Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty added to the growing acceptance of Christianity in the NFL when he was selected early in the first round by the Las Vegas Raiders.

At No. 6 overall, Jeanty became the highest-drafted Boise State player in the school’s history. The accolade will be hard for him to escape, but it has been his faith that he has managed to keep at center stage.

As he was about to exit the draft stage, Jeanty was asked to provide advice and what he would say to his 10-year-old self. The athlete said, “Just continue to trust in God and your abilities, and stay disciplined.”

“All your goals and dreams are accomplish-able,” he added, per Sports Spectrum.

Soon thereafter, Jeanty sat down for his first press conference for Las Vegas to get introduced to the Raiders’ fanbase. The young running back was asked a lot about his character — which is something that was of particular focus for the team’s coaching staff — with one reporter asking how much faith is a part of Jeanty “as a man.”

‘God had His hands on this [Boise State] program.’

“It’s everything,” Jeanty replied. “That’s what I’ve been rooted in. That’s what helped me get to where I’m at in this point. I’m just thankful for that relationship with the man upstairs because it’s given me so many opportunities.”

Jeanty has reportedly been featured in pro-Christian videos with organizations such as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. In a video for that group, Jeanty described himself as a “Christian cleverly disguised as an All-American running back.”

“I’ve learned that God has blessed me with amazing talents. I’ve just been able to do a lot of great things with it, but at the same time, not losing yourself in it and understanding that my identity is in Christ,” Jeanty said in the video.

He added, “God had His hands on this [Boise State] program. I could see that Christianity was a big thing here and that guys were real big on their faith. I learned to embrace that, and all the guys and people around the facility have embraced me.”

Boise State was founded by the Episcopal Church in 1932.

— (@)

Boise State had a second man of faith drafted late in the sixth round; defensive end Ahmed Hassanein immediately referenced his faith on a media call afterwards, as well.

“[My time at Boise State] taught me so much, other than being a football player and a pass rusher. It taught me how to be a man. A man of God. A man of honor. A man of respect.”

According to CNN, Hassanein previously converted from Islam to Christianity and soon become a leader in the Boise State locker room.

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​Fearless, Football, Nfl, Nfl draft, Faith, Christianity, Sports 

Americans keen to watch a movie on DVD have in years past frequently been confronted with a compulsory anti-piracy ad equating the unlawful digital acquisition of a film to grand theft auto. Moviegoers occasionally had to sit through the same jarring ad in theaters. In an ironic twist, the iconic font flashed repeatedly at would-be pirates in dark rooms across the country may itself have been pirated.

The
ad, which has been parodied numerous times including by “The IT Crowd” TV series, was created by the Motion Picture Association of America in conjunction with Britain’s Federation Against Copyright Theft and the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore. It debuted in theaters around the world and on home entertainment in July 2004.

At the outset, it shows a teenage girl downloading a pirated film on a desktop computer. The ad then runs through a sequence of dramatized crimes broken up by white text on black background telling prospective digital pirates that they would not similarly engage in other forms of theft: “You wouldn’t steal a car”; “You wouldn’t seal a handbag”; “You wouldn’t steal a television”; “You wouldn’t steal a movie.”

Finally the ad states, “Downloading films is stealing — is against the law. Piracy. It’s a crime.”

The corresponding
print campaign, which used the same font, insinuated a link between “DVD piracy and serious crime,” highlighting cases where pirated DVDs were found in the possession of unsavory characters including an illegal alien and drug traffickers.

Bluesky user Rib
noted last week that the font used throughout the ad “was a pirated clone (XBAND Rough) of a real font (FF Confidential).”

‘The campaign has always had the wrong tone.’

Rib
explained that by using the font editing software FontForge on a PDF from the ad campaign’s website, he was able to confirm “they are indeed using the illegal clone version of the font, rather than the licensed one!”

Sky News subsequently
conducted its own investigation. After replicating the process, the network drew the same conclusion: The piracy ad’s font was pirated.

The British news site noted, however, that there was no evidence to suggest the campaign’s designers were aware that the font was pirated, adding that copies of the pirated font were widely circulated in the early 2000s.

Dutch type designer and software developer Just van Rossum told Sky News, “I had known about the ‘illegal clone’ of my font before, but I didn’t know that that was the one used in the campaign.”

Van Rossum confirmed to Melissa Lewis, a reporter at the Center for Investigative Reporting, that XBAND Rough “is indeed an ‘illegal clone’ of FF Confidential.”

“The campaign has always had the wrong tone, which (to me) explains the level of fun that has been had at its expense,” said van Rossum. “The irony of it having used a pirated font is just precious.”

Neither America’s Motion Picture Association nor the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore responded to Sky News’ requests for comments. The Federation Against Copyright Theft declined to comment, indicating the campaign predated anyone now working at the organization.

Van Rossum
told TorrentFreak that he has no intention of taking action, as he is no longer the font’s official distributor. The licensing is reportedly now handled by the American digital typesetting company Monotype.

This is not the first time an anti-piracy ad came off sounding like hypocrisy.

The Foundation for the Protection of the Rights of the Entertainment Industry of the Netherlands asked Dutch musician Melchior Rietveldt to compose music for
another anti-piracy video in 2006.

Wired
reported that the following year, Rietveldt discovered that his music was being used on a globally distributed “Harry Potter” DVD without his permission. His music had actually been used on at least 70 different commercial DVDs.

Years later, an Amsterdam court fined Rietvedlt’s music royalty collections agency, ordering the outfit to pay the musician the money owed him.

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​Technology, Piracy, Pirate, Digital, You wouldn’t steal a car, Ironic, Dvd, Movies, Entertainment, Music, Font, Politics 

Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) insisted to CNN that he had no clue as to how severely former President Joe Biden’s mental acuity had declined until his disastrous debate with then-candidate Donald Trump.

Coons was asked about his long defense of Biden being able to serve a second term after stories from the new book “Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House” say Coons knew he would have to be part of the post-debate “cleanup crew.”

Defenders of Harris say her time as the nominee was too short for voters to really get to know her.

“Now, there are some people who‘ve written on this. … If you felt that way, maybe you shouldn‘t have criticized Democrats for their reservations about President Biden at the time. Do you wish you had done things differently at this point?” anchor John Berman asked.

“Well, John, obviously, if I had any idea that President Biden was going to perform as poorly as he did at that debate, I would have been advising him differently and advocating differently. That debate performance was the first time I saw anything like that out of President Biden,” Coons replied.

“He had been and was a strong and capable president, and he still had strong public performances, interviews, and just the next day went to North Carolina and spoke forcefully at a rally. But I was shocked. I was genuinely surprised by that performance that evening and was wrestling with what it meant for our path forward,” he continued.

Biden’s refusal to let then-Vice President Kamala Harris have a longer chance at being the Democrats’ nominee is still a sore spot within the party. Harris’ horrific performance in the general election has since raised questions whether she should run for president in 2028. Some Democratic governors, like California’s Gavin Newsom and Illinois’ JB Pritzker, appear to be positioning themselves to be in the top spot.

Defenders of Harris say her time as the nominee was too short for voters to really get to know her. There is a chance Harris will instead opt to run for governor of California.

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​Politics, Chris coons, Biden, Kamala harris 

A female has been charged with stabbing to death a 29-year-old Kansas City, Missouri, firefighter-paramedic; the attack took place in an ambulance during a trip to a hospital early Sunday morning, city officials told KMBC-TV.

Graham Hoffman was critically injured around 1 a.m. while taking a patient to Saint Luke’s Hospital on Barry Road, the station said.

‘She stabbed me in the heart.’

Shanetta Bossell faces several charges, including first-degree murder and armed criminal action, KMBC reported, adding that the Clay County Prosecutor’s Office requested a $1 million bond. Bossell remains in police custody, the station said.

What happened?

Kansas City police officers found Bossell, 39, on the side of a road with a severe cut on her finger and called for an ambulance, KSHB-TV reported, citing a probable cause statement.

Officers said they offered to take her home in their vehicle, KSHB reported, but Bossell soon agreed to go to a hospital in the ambulance.

During the ambulance ride, police saw the ambulance’s emergency lights activate as its driver pulled over on the side of the road, KSHB said.

Hoffman’s partner, the ambulance driver, said in an interview he heard Hoffman yell for Bossell to sit back down — and then he heard Hoffman call for help because she had a knife, KSHB said.

The ambulance driver said Hoffman told him, “She stabbed me in the heart,” KSHB reported.

The driver tried to help Hoffman while officers worked to detain Bossell, KSHB said, adding that Hoffman died from his injuries at a nearby hospital later Sunday afternoon.

Hoffman had served with the Kansas City Fire Department since 2022, KMBC said, adding that Kansas City Fire Department Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins said Hoffman was working overtime when he was stabbed.

“He was a young firefighter-paramedic,” Hopkins told KMBC. “Speaking with a lot of his classmates and folks that work with him today, he was very vibrant. Loved to travel, and he loved serving his community.”

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said the city and its departments will “figure out a way to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” KMBC reported.

“We will do all we can to ensure that Graham’s family not only receives justice, but that all understand that our first responders, our paramedics, our police officers, our nurses, our physicians, everyone who gives care in our community can be safe,” Lucas added, according to KMBC.

Suspect’s reported violent encounter just last week

Authorities said Bossell on Wednesday bit a Platte City officer, KSHB-TV reported.

The Platte City officer — who was still in uniform — saw Bossell trying to get into his personal vehicle, KSHB said.

The officer told Bossell to stop but stated she started walking toward his front door, KSHB added. The Platte City officer lives in Kansas City, KSHB said. Platte City is about a half-hour northwest of Kansas City.

The officer grabbed Bossell by the arm and tried to detain her, KSHB said, adding that Bossell tried to grab the knife in the officer’s vest multiple times.

While the officer tried to radio for help, Bossell bit the officer’s arm and would not let go, KSHB said.

Prosecutors charged Bossell with second-degree assault of a police officer and resisting arrest, both felonies, KSHB reported, adding that Bossell posted bond Friday.

“Due to the violent nature of the incident, Bossell should be considered a danger to the public,” the last line of the probable cause statement for Wednesday’s incident reads, KMBC said.

You can view video reports here and here.

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​Murder charge, Kansas city fire department, Paramedic, Ambulance ride, Fatal stabbing, Graham hoffman, Shanetta bossell, Missouri, Crime 

The Oversight Project sent a Freedom of Information request earlier this year to the U.S. Selective Service System seeking data on illegal aliens who failed to register for the draft.

Now with the responses in, it appears that the watchdog group’s hypothesis — both that the SSS during former President Joe Biden’s tenure made little effort to ensure that male illegal aliens ages 18-26 were registered for the draft, as required by law, and that multitudes of military-age male illegal aliens likely slipped through the cracks as a result — was right on the money.

Mike Howell, president of the Oversight Project, told Blaze News, “The fact that the Biden administration purposefully ignored having the biggest invasion of military-age males in American history fulfill their legal obligations is a massive scandal.”

Background

Immigrant men ages 18-25 must register for the draft within 30 days of arriving in the country.
According to the SSS, this includes parolees, illegal aliens, legal permanent residents, asylum-seekers, refugees, and all men with visas of any kind that expired more than 30 days ago. Those on current non-immigrant visas are exempt so long as their visas remain valid until they turn 26.

The Oversight Project filed a
FOIA request in late January for documents pertaining to whether inadmissible and deportable aliens have been registering for the Selective Service.

The request
noted that the SSS stated on its website that it does “not now, or in the past, collect or share any information which would indicate a man’s immigration status, either documented or undocumented”; that it lacked the “authority to collect such information”; and that it had no use for such information “irrelevant to the registration requirement.”

‘Your agency would have seen unprecedented increases in registrations over the Biden administration.’

The Oversight Project appeared eager to square the agency’s apparent refusal to collect data on multitudes of draft-eligible men on account of their undocumented status with the SSS’ assertion that it plays a critical role in ensuring American readiness in a time of crisis and how “high registration rates across the nation serve as the foundation of fairness and equity for full operations.”

The watchdog group also appeared interested in determining whether the SSS witnessed a spike in registrations during the unprecedented flood of illegal aliens into the United States during the Biden administration, noting that SSS data provided to Congress showed the agency
received over 23,000 registrations in 2023 from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services but alternatively provided no data for entities that handle illegal immigration.

“If male inadmissible aliens between 18 and 26 were registering for the Selective Service, which is usually their duty under law, then your agency would have seen unprecedented increases in registrations over the Biden administration,” said the FOIA request. “The absence of such a surge indicates that there is widespread criminal noncompliance by such aliens.”

FOIA answered

The SSS informed the Oversight Project that it has
no records for the period beginning Jan. 20, 2021, and ending March 20, 2025, sufficient to show how many:

draft-eligible inadmissible aliens either registered or failed to register for the draft;
draft-eligible males entered the country and either registered or failed to register for the draft;
aliens who entered the U.S. as unaccompanied alien children that have since registered or failed to register for the draft;
asylum applicants have registered or failed to register for the draft;
aliens with final orders of removal have registered or failed to register for the draft; and
draft-eligible males who registered or failed to register for the draft have also received or have applications pending for immigration parole, Temporary Protected Status, deferred enforcement departure, or Deferred Action on Childhood Arrival.

The SSS revealed further that it had no registration records from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which does not register immigrants but provides non-immigrant visa information regarding ineligible men living in the country on temporary visa status.

‘Luckily, this provides an opening for the Trump administration.’

The agency also noted that it receives printed copies of completed registration records for immigrants legally entering the country via U.S. Citizenship and Immigrant Service — but that this information is entered into the Selective Service database without indications of whether the registrant is a legal immigrant or whether the records were provided by USCIS.

Relevance

The information concerning male illegal aliens’ registration or failure to do so — which appears presently out of reach — is relevant for a number of reasons.

First, a knowing and purposeful failure to register on the part of an illegal alien is a felony offense under the Military Selective Service Act of 1917 and a deportable offense under the McCarran-Walter Act of 1952.

The Congressional Research Service
indicated that the Department of Justice rarely pursues felony cases against those who fail to register for the draft — there were no criminal prosecutions between January 1986 and 2021. A failure to prosecute in decades past does not, however, mean that the Trump administration cannot start anew.

“Luckily, this provides an opening for the Trump administration, which is focused on removing criminal illegal aliens as a priority,” Howell told Blaze News. “Now they can turn every military-age male illegal into a criminal overnight, drawing in way more government resources to support mass deportations.”

Blaze News reached out to the DOJ for comment about prosecuting such offenses but did not receive a response by deadline.

Second, where relevance is concerned: Male illegal aliens who fail to register can be precluded from obtaining U.S. citizenship and are ineligible for certain federal and state employment opportunities and education benefits.

Third, the absence of an increase in registrations amid the unlawful deluge of military-age men into the U.S. during the Biden administration could serve as an indictment of elements of the previous government.

Fourth, American men might be interested to know in the event of a war necessitating the draft how many military-age foreign nationals have or have not registered to join them in risking all abroad to protect the United States and the vulnerable citizens who remain behind. Eligible citizens, like the SSS, might also have an interest in “fairness and equity” and like to know whether illegal aliens are willing to sacrifice for the nation into which they have stolen.

Willful blindness

Documents obtained by the Oversight Project revealed both an awareness behind the scenes that the SSS was failing to capture information on potential illegal alien registrants and an interest in omitting the requirement that illegal aliens register for the draft.

Craig Brown, who stepped into the role of acting director of the SSS in January 2021, appeared to confirm that the agency was consciously missing a big piece of the puzzle, noting in an April 28, 2023, email that “undocumented immigrants are by definition not giving data. We get info on every male trying to legit stay in the country.”

‘President Trump should fire Biden holdover Craig Brown.’

In a December 2022 email chain between Selective Service employees concerning the estimated cost of a legislative proposal that would automatically register all eligible men on their 18th birthdays, an employee then working as deputy general counsel, legislative affairs, noted, “We may want to consider omitting the requirement that undocumented immigrants register.”

“President Trump should fire Biden holdover Craig Brown,” said Howell. “It looks like he purposefully failed to realize that the biggest invasion of military-age males meant he should probably get them registered for the draft. That is his job, after all.”

A Selective Service spokesman did not respond to a question about Brown’s email but said in response to the Oversight Project’s broader critique, “U.S. citizens and immigrants residing in the United States (except for those on non-immigrant visas) are required to register with the Selective Service System within 30 days of their 18th birthday. The law permits men to register up until they turn age 26.”

“The agency works to raise awareness of the legal requirement to register with all men within this age range,” added the spokesman.

The spokesman told Blaze News that the agency “would not speculate on outcomes” when asked whether U.S. District Court Judge Trevor Neil McFadden’s
ruling earlier this month enabling the Trump administration to proceed with its requirement that everyone in the country illegally must register with the federal government might result in an increase in Selective Service registrations.

The Oversight Project made clear in its FOIA request why continued apathy on this matter is unacceptable, noting:

Failure to register for Selective Service is a felony, and thus the pool of potential criminal illegal aliens is much larger than believed. Moreover, an illegal alien’s failure to register for Selective Service reflects that they are not coming to America for a better life with a desire to contribute to society. At the end of the day, they seek to illegally obtain the freedoms offered by America while at the very same time violating their legal duty to defend the country. Every illegal alien who submits an absurd asylum claim, is “paroled,” or “gets away” after illegal[ly] crossing the border quite literally seeks to avail themselves of American freedoms on the backs of everyday Americans who complied with their Selective Service registration requirements and if it becomes necessary would defend those freedoms with their lives.

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​Selective service, Selective service system, Draft, Military, Biden administration, Illegal alien, Illegal immigration, Deportation, Deport, Homan, Mike howell, Oversight project, Politics 

On April 17, following a leak investigation into unauthorized disclosures of sensitive military information, three of Pete Hegseth’s top Pentagon officials — Senior Adviser Dan Caldwell, Deputy Chief of Staff Darin Selnick, and Chief of Staff to the Deputy Defense Secretary Colin Carroll – were fired and escorted out of the Pentagon.

“The official line that we got is that they were leaking to the press, and Pete Hegseth even went on Fox News to back that up,” says Jill Savage.

However, Blaze News senior editor of politics and Washington correspondent Christopher Bedford says, “Something is rotten in Denmark.”

Caldwell, Selnick, and Carroll “worked with Pete Hegseth at Concerned Veterans for America; they have been loyal to him; they helped push him across the finish line to become the secretary, and now you’ve got all of them kicked out,” says Bedford.

However, “Their personal communication devices weren’t confiscated; they weren’t placed under arrest; they were given access to these secret files until the moment that they were escorted out the door, and Hegseth went on to say, ‘Well, some of them may be exonerated.”’

“There’s something weird here,” says Bedford.

He went through several possibilities — “a turf war with Hegseth’s chief of staff” or a deep-state plot — but came to the conclusion that those scenarios are unlikely.

But then another thought came to him: “Maybe this is ideological,” and “it’s from the secretary.”

Given Caldwell’s skepticism of war with Iran and Hegseth’s “hawkish” stance, perhaps there was a behind-the-scenes clash we don’t know about yet.

What isn’t vague, however, is that “this is starting to make the Pentagon look very shaky,” Bedford says. “Pete Hegseth better start coming up with some answers.”

To hear more of Bedford’s analysis, watch the episode above.

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

​Blaze news tonight, Jill savage, Blazetv, Blaze media, Pete hegseth, Pentagon, Leaker, Department of defense, Dod 

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights announced Monday that it has found the University of Pennsylvania in violation of Title IX for allowing men to compete on its women’s sports teams.

In order to resolve its violations of federal anti-discrimination law and to avoid a referral to the Justice Department for enforcement proceedings — which could lead to a loss of federal funding — the university has 10 days to take action.

The ED’s proposed resolution agreement requires the institution to: notify the university community that it will now comply with Title IX in all of its athletic programs; “restore to all female athletes all individual athletic records, titles, honors, awards or similar recognition for Division I swimming competitions misappropriated by male athletes competing in female categories”; and send a letter to each female athlete whose recognition is restored apologizing “for allowing her educational experience in athletics to be marred by sex discrimination.”

While the announcement did not explicitly reference any particular transvestite athlete, by the mention of swimming competitions, it is clear that the invasion of William “Lia” Thomas into women’s sports and spaces was at issue.

Blaze News previously reported that Thomas was a middling performer on the University of Pennsylvania men’s swimming team until he starting taking hormones in 2019 and competing against women.

Thomas, ranked 554th in the 200-yard freestyle for men, went on to crush records set by females in the 500-yard freestyle at the 2022 NCAA Division I championships and tie with All-American swim star Riley Gaines for fifth that April in the women’s 200-meter.

According to Gaines, to whom the university must now apologize, it was around that time Thomas exposed his male genitalia in a women’s locker room.

Paula Scanlan, a former University of Pennsylvania student athlete who was listed as a senior on Penn Athletics’ Women’s Swimming and Diving Roster and swam with Thomas, initially objected to his participation anonymously but put her name on record in 2023 to fight against male infiltration of female sports.

‘I honestly don’t think that they are sorry for what they did to us female athletes.’

“Little girls who look up to Riley Gaines and Paula Scanlan can find hope in today’s action — the Trump Administration will not allow male athletes to invade female private spaces or compete in female categories,” acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said in a statement.

Trainor added, “UPenn has a choice to make: do the right thing for its female students and come into full compliance with Title IX immediately or continue to advance an extremist political project that violates federal antidiscrimination law and puts UPenn’s federal funding at risk.”

Scanlan said in a video statement Monday, “I don’t think the University of Pennsylvania is going to apologize to anyone.”

“I honestly don’t think that they are sorry for what they did to us female athletes,” continued Scanlan, adding that that by all indications, the university appears to believe men belong in women’ sports.

Scanlan noted, for instance, that “the University of Pennsylvania nominated Lia Thomas for NCAA Woman of the Year. Each school gets only a few nominees and they chose Lia Thomas.”

“They also told all of us female athletes that we needed to seek psychological services if we objected to him undressing in our locker room 18 times per week,” continued the female athlete. “They continue to highlight Thomas’ achievements all over social media and they would also sell out the stands of our swim meets to media so that they could take pictures of us in our swimsuits.”

The Trump administration suspended approximately $175 million in grants and contracts to the University of Pennsylvania last month over its policies enabling men to compete in women’s sports.

In response to the funding freeze, J. Larry Jameson, the university’s president, effectively blamed the NCAA for Thomas’ invasion of women’s sports.

“For NCAA Division I sports, eligibility is governed by NCAA rules,” wrote Jameson. “Beginning in 2010, the NCAA required that transgender student-athletes be permitted to participate on college teams. Penn has never had a transgender student-athlete policy of its own. During the 2021-22 season, a student-athlete who had transitioned while on leave from Penn the previous year competed in women’s swimming, in full compliance with NCAA rules and Title IX policies in place at the time.”

Jameson noted that when the NCAA revised its policy in compliance with President Donald Trump’s Feb. 5 executive order, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” the university followed suit.

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​Education department, Lia thomas, William thomas, Ncaa, Swimming, University of pennsylvania, U of p, Transgender, Trans, Athletics, Sports, Politics 

A former Department of Justice prosecutor whom the Trump administration fired in March is now challenging his termination, the Associated Press reported Monday.

Adam Schleifer previously worked as an assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles. However, he was removed from his position reportedly one hour after pro-Trump activist Laura Loomer called for his termination in a post on social media.

‘A Trump hating federal employee is now “challenging his firing” from the DOJ after I exposed his anti-Trump vitriol.’

On March 28, Loomer questioned why President Donald Trump’s administration had allowed the “Biden holdover” and “Trump hater” to remain on staff with the U.S. attorney’s office.

“Fire him. He supported the impeachment of President Trump and said he wanted to repeal Trump’s tax plan,” she wrote. “We need to purge the US Attorney’s office of all leftist Trump haters.”

Loomer shared a screenshot of Schleifer responding to a 2020 post from Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).

Schiff’s post read, “Donald Trump must be convicted and removed from office.”

Schleifer responded, “This. Proud of my former rep. … Trump erodes our constitutional integrity every day with every lie and every act of heedless, narcissistic corruption.”

He also previously shared his plans to “repeal Trump’s tax plan.”

According to a Monday report from the AP, Schleifer challenged his recent firing in a filing to the Merit Systems Protection Board. He argued that his termination was due to “unprecedented partisan and political reasons” and undermined the justice system’s “bedrock principle.”

He claimed that his firing was an unlawful retaliation for protected political speech made before he was a government lawyer.

Schleifer reportedly received a letter last month from a White House official notifying him that he had been terminated, but no reason was given.

He is seeking to be reinstated and receive back pay, as well as other relief.

The filing, obtained by the AP, read, “Nothing in Mr. Schleifer’s conduct as a private citizen would cast any doubt on his commitment to defend the Constitution and the rule of law and to advance the impartial administration of justice.”

Schleifer declined the AP’s request for comment. The White House did not respond to the news outlet.

Loomer reacted to Schleifer’s challenge.

“A Trump hating federal employee is now ‘challenging his firing’ from the DOJ after I exposed his anti-Trump vitriol,” Loomer wrote in a post on X. “Trump haters are very angry they are being exposed before they are given a chance to sabotage and obstruct the 2nd Trump admin.”

“I’m going to expose all of them!” she added.

Loomer has previously taken credit for some of the White House’s decisions to terminate staffers.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration fired the director of the National Security Agency, Gen. Timothy Haugh, and his civilian deputy, Wendy Noble, was removed and reassigned. Several National Security Council officials were also terminated.

Loomer responded to the firings in a post on X.

“NSA Director Tim Haugh and his deputy Wendy Noble have been disloyal to President Trump. That is why they have been fired,” she wrote. “Thank you President Trump for being receptive to the vetting materials provided to you and thank you for firing these Biden holdovers.”

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​News, Adam schleifer, Adam schiff, California, Los angeles, Laura loomer, Trump administration, Trump admin, Donald trump, Trump, Department of justice, Doj, Merit systems protection board, Mspb, Politics 

Progressives routinely advance their agenda by obscuring the suffering of women and children. Every cultural revolution they champion, from redefining marriage to dismantling biological sex to flooding the country with abortion pills, demands one thing: suppression of consequences.

During the gay marriage debate, we were told it was all about adult love and equality. In reality, children paid the price.

This is the progressive playbook: Minimize harm, deny casualties, and move the Overton window.

With the transgender surge, Americans were assured it was just about “letting people pee in peace.” In reality, it meant lost female swim and track records, male rapists in women’s prisons, and irreversible surgeries on minors.

And now it’s the abortion pill. Sold as “a safe, effective, FDA-approved method for people to end a pregnancy in the comfort of their own homes,” it has quietly become one of the most dangerous medical products routinely given to American women — no doctor visit required.

A groundbreaking new study by the Ethics and Public Policy Center shatters the illusion of safety around mifepristone, the abortion drug created by Danco Laboratories and greenlighted by the FDA. Based on real-world insurance claims (versus the previous shallow clinical trials) the data shows that one in 10 women who take the abortion pill suffer a serious or life-threatening complication: sepsis, hemorrhaging, emergency surgery, hospitalization — even death.

“Simply stated,” the report says, “mifepristone, as used in real-world conditions, is not ‘safe and effective.’”

Naming the victims

The study analyzed a staggering 865,727 chemical abortions between 2017 and 2023, drawn from an all-payer insurance claims database covering private insurers, Medicaid, Medicare, Tricare, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Unlike the cherry-picked participants in controlled trials, these women represent the actual population using mifepristone today.

The EPPC found that 10.93% of women experienced serious adverse events within 45 days of their abortions — a rate 22 times higher than what the FDA reports on its drug label, which still cites outdated trials from as far back as 1983. As the authors note, those clinical trials enrolled just 30,966 people and were conducted under tightly controlled conditions. The real world doesn’t work that way.

And the real world has already buried the dead.

Amber Nicole Thurman, a 28-year-old medical assistant and mother from Georgia, died on August 19, 2022, from septic shock after experiencing complications from a medication abortion. After taking abortion pills, she developed a severe infection due to retained fetal tissue.

In 2017, 23-year-old Keisha Atkins underwent a late-term abortion in New Mexico, using mifepristone and misoprostol. She developed sepsis and required transfer to the University of New Mexico Hospital. Her condition rapidly worsened, and she died during emergency surgery.

Atkins and Thurman are not rare exceptions. Candi Miller, a 41-year-old mother, and Porsha Ngumezi, 35, also suffered fatal complications. Other unnamed victims fill the record. These women represent just a fraction of the tens of thousands who faced serious complications after taking mifepristone.

The EPPC report confirms what these stories reveal: The FDA has abandoned its responsibility to women in pursuit of politically pressured expediency.

In the name of “access,” the FDA has dismantled the original safeguards it once demanded when approving mifepristone in 2000.

Back then, patients were required to make three in-person visits. Only physicians could prescribe the drug. Pills had to be administered in a clinic or hospital setting. Providers had to be able to diagnose ectopic pregnancies and provide emergency surgical care if needed. Adverse events had to be reported.

Now? One telehealth call. Pills mailed to your house. And no obligation to report complications — unless the woman dies.

Returning to reality

In light of such overwhelming evidence of harm, the EPPC report recommends that “the FDA immediately reinstate its earlier, stronger patient safety protocols to ensure physician responsibility for women who take mifepristone under their care, as well as mandate full reporting of its side effects.”

The EPPC is right. Because the data is damning.

The study used the FDA’s own criteria to identify serious adverse events: infections, transfusions, ER visits, repeat surgeries, and psychiatric emergencies, all coded through ICD-10 and CPT medical billing systems. And while the report was cautious — tracking events within 45 days instead of the 72-day window used by FDA trial data — the outcome was still catastrophic.

“We included CTCAE Grade 3 (severe) and Grade 4 (life-threatening),” the report notes. “We did not include Grade 1 (mild) or Grade 2 (moderate).”

In other words, these weren’t headaches or stomach cramps. These were emergencies. And the women were often alone.

Chemical abortions now account for roughly two-thirds of all abortions in America. That means mifepristone is not a niche product — it’s mainstream. And yet the public has been systematically lied to about the risks, even as the federal government continues to loosen restrictions.

This is the progressive playbook: Minimize harm, deny casualties, and move the Overton window. It worked with marriage. It worked with gender. It’s working with abortion pills — unless we stop pretending.

Justice requires living in reality. And the reality is that women and children are the consistent casualties of the progressive utopia.

We owe women more than euphemisms about “empowerment.” We owe them truth, compassion, accountability — and, in this case, stricter regulations that once existed for their protection.

The EPPC’s report is only the beginning. As more real-world data emerges, the FDA and drug manufacturers will be forced to answer the one question they’ve dodged for decades: How many women must suffer and die before “safe and effective” actually means something again?

​Abortion, Fda, Progressives, Abortion bill, Natural law, Mifepristone 

At first glance, outsiders might expect North Dakota to have already passed both school choice and a ban on pornography in public libraries. Republicans hold overwhelming majorities — 42-5 in the Senate and 83-11 in the House — and every statewide elected official is a Republican. Yet, Republican Gov. Kelly Armstrong’s twin vetoes of both bills have forced conservatives to wait another two years to achieve these basic red-state goals. Warnings about Armstrong’s weakness came early and often.

SB 2307 could not be simpler. “A public library or a school district may not maintain in an area easily accessible to minors explicit sexual material,” the final amended text reads. Any sane person should support this standard. The definition of “explicit sexual material” mirrors language already used in other areas of law. The bill does not even ban the books outright — it merely restricts children’s access to sexually explicit material in publicly funded libraries.

Electing more governors like Kelly Armstrong will leave conservatives with nowhere to run.

Without enforcement, any law becomes meaningless. SB 2307 addresses this by requiring local prosecutors to investigate violations. Schools and libraries found out of compliance risk losing state funding.

Despite the bill’s straightforward intent, it barely passed — just 27-20 in the Senate and 49-45 in the House — with more than a third of Republicans joining Democrats to oppose it. Last week, to the shock of party officials, Armstrong vetoed the bill.

“I don’t pretend to know what the next literary masterpiece is going to be,” Armstrong wrote in his veto message. “But I know that I want it available in a library.” In parroting tired liberal straw-man talking points, Armstrong claimed he agreed with the concerns but dismissed the bill as a “misguided attempt to legislate morality through overreach and censorship.”

According to Armstrong, limiting children’s access to sexually explicit material in taxpayer-funded libraries now qualifies as “censorship.”

The rest of Armstrong’s veto message trots out the usual excuses — warnings about frivolous lawsuits, handwringing over enforcement logistics, and complaints about oversight costs. But his main point could not be clearer: Armstrong opposes any effort to shield children from sexual content in public institutions.

Bought out by teachers’ unions

What can parents do when public schools flood classrooms with pornography? Send their kids to private school, of course. Unfortunately, Armstrong worked to block that option, too.

House Bill 1540 would have established Education Savings Accounts for private school students, giving them a chance to compete with just a fraction of the money state and federal governments pour into the public system. The bill passed the House 49-43 and the Senate 27-20 — the same narrow margins as the library porn bill.

In his veto message last week, Armstrong whined that public school students pay taxes, too, and griped that HB 1540 offered them nothing. Instead, he threw his support behind Senate Bill 2400, which turns school choice into another welfare program for the public education establishment. Most of the money under SB 2400 would flow straight to parents whose children already attend public schools.

But why would public school students need education savings accounts when their tuition already costs nothing? The entire school choice movement rests on a simple truth: Government pours massive sums into public education, and families need just a fraction of that money diverted to private options to have a real choice. In North Dakota, the average combined state and federal cost of public education hits about $13,778 per K-12 student. Yet under HB 1540, the proposed funding for education savings accounts ranged from only $1,100 to $4,000, depending on household income — all of it aimed at private school students.

The funding imbalance also explains the shortage of private schools across much of North Dakota. Armstrong cited the lack of private schools outside major cities as justification for pouring even more money into public schools. But with fairer funding, more private schools would emerge. In a duplicitous statement, Armstrong claimed he “strongly supports expanding school choice.” Yet, real expansion demands closing the funding gap — something Armstrong clearly opposes. His true allegiance lies with the teachers’ unions, not with parents seeking alternatives.

A pattern of reckless endorsements

The Senate bill Armstrong promoted also stuffs extra money into school lunch programs and ropes homeschooling parents into the scheme — despite the fact that North Dakota homeschoolers explicitly rejected involvement.

Conservatives had plenty of warning. Armstrong served in the leadership of the RINO Main Street Partnership during his time in Congress. Although North Dakota boasts a growing conservative bench, Trump’s premature endorsement last spring handed Armstrong the governorship in one reckless move.

If Trump keeps up his reckless endorsement habits, every deep-red state will soon struggle to pass even the most basic conservative priorities. Once Trump leaves office, Democrats won’t just revive Biden-era policies — they will escalate.

Deep-red states like North Dakota, immune from political swings in general elections, must become our last strongholds of freedom. Electing more governors like Kelly Armstrong will strip away that sanctuary and leave conservatives with nowhere to run.

​Opinion & analysis, North dakota, Red states, Rino republicans, Kelly armstrong, School choice, Teachers unions, Pornography, Public schools, Libraries, Conservatives, Majority, Sexually explicit material, Veto 

Professional football Hall of Famer and ESPN analyst Shannon Sharpe was recently hit with a $50 million civil lawsuit. The plaintiff, 20-year-old OnlyFans model Gabriella “Gabbi” Zuniga, alleges over the course of their two-year relationship, Sharpe raped her twice, recorded sexual encounters without consent, and threatened her.

Even though Sharpe has denied the allegations and insisted his encounters with Zuniga were “100% consensual,” he has temporarily stepped down from his role at ESPN.

In a statement, Sharpe wrote, “At this juncture I am electing to step aside temporarily from my ESPN duties. I will be devoting this time to my family, and responding and dealing with these false and disruptive allegations set against me. I plan to return to ESPN at the start of the NFL preseason.”

Jason Whitlock, however, says what’s probably going on behind the scenes is ESPN and Sharpe are engaged in a “negotiation about his exit.”

“If Shannon Sharpe quits … he surrenders all that money; if ESPN can fire him for cause, he surrenders all that money,” he says. “[Sharpe] wants ESPN to have to fire him without cause so that he can get some of that money that ESPN owes him.”

Granted Zuniga’s attorney is Tony Buzbee, who has a long history of prosecuting black celebrities, Sharpe is going to need all the money he can get.

“If he’s going to survive, even in the podcast space, he’s going to have to reach a bunch more settlements with potential accusers” because Buzbee’s MO is “[kicking] up enough dust and enough controversy that other accusers come out of the woodwork, and they all want settlements,” Jason explains.

“ESPN likely wants to fire him with cause and say, ‘We don’t owe you an additional dime.’ Shannon Sharpe wants them to fire him without cause so he can get” a portion of his salary “in a settlement, and then he can take that money and dole it out to his accusers,” he continues.

“He can then do ‘Club Shay Shay,’ and the corporations and advertisers that support ‘Club Shay Shay’ can all put the blinders back on.”

Sharpe’s claim that he’s temporarily stepping away from ESPN is most likely “a delay tactic as they negotiate his exit.”

To hear more of Jason’s analysis, watch the episode above.

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Student loans are back in the headlines as the Trump administration moves to resume collections on delinquent federal student debt.

The issue demands serious scrutiny. Borrowers should honor their obligations. Yet the federal government has become the world’s largest predatory lender, handing tens of thousands of dollars in debt to teenagers who often lack the financial literacy to understand what they are signing. No underwriting process checks their ability to repay. Unlike most other loans, student debt cannot be discharged through bankruptcy.

The Trump administration should shift its collection stance and seize the opportunity to reform the broken student lending system.

This corrupt setup has enriched colleges, universities, and their administrators while leaving young people burdened with worthless degrees and mountains of debt.

With an entire generation saddled by debt and losing faith in the American dream, the Trump administration should lead a bold reform effort to fix student lending.

A five-step plan

First, Trump should work with Congress to get the federal government out of the student loan business entirely. The government is not a bank. Borrowing money at the federal level only to shovel it out to unqualified borrowers is reckless and unsustainable.

Next, the administration should pressure universities — particularly nonprofits with massive endowments. To maintain their tax-exempt status, these institutions must justify the return on investment for their degrees, hold a stake in the loans, and offer refunds for programs that fail to deliver promised outcomes.

If a student pursues a degree leading to a $50,000 salary, a college should warn them that taking on $200,000 in debt will never produce a worthwhile return. Aligning financial incentives would push schools to prioritize real-world job skills over administrative bloat and ideological indoctrination.

Student loans should also undergo an underwriting process based on both the student’s academic aptitude and the projected market value of the degree they are pursuing. Loans for high-value degrees should be higher than those for low-value ones, forcing colleges to stay competitive. Loans should also be restricted from funding noneducational expenses like spring break trips.

Additionally, student loans should become dischargeable through bankruptcy, just like other forms of personal debt. Colleges that hold a portion of the loan would then share the risk, giving them a stake in student success.

Finally, outstanding student loans must be restructured. Interest payments already made should be applied toward the principal, and students should have the right to seek recourse against universities that saddled them with overpriced, low-value degrees.

Trump’s big opportunity

The Trump administration has already welcomed many young Americans into the center-right coalition. Tackling the real crisis of college debt — an industry siphoning wealth from the next generation while pretending to offer economic opportunity — would show young voters that conservatives stand for their future.

Fixing student lending is not only good politics; it is the right thing to do to preserve the American dream for everyone.

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