Blaze News reported last year about a concealed-carrying garbage truck driver who turned the tables on a pair of would-be robbers in Chicago, fatally shooting one of them and wounding the other.

Chicago police told WLS-TV the incident occurred around 5:15 a.m. Jan. 31, 2025, just steps away from a high school in the Homan Square neighborhood on the city’s West Side.

‘The garbage collector disposing of more than just regular trash.’

The station, citing police, said a 28-year-old man garbage truck driver was outside in the 900 block of South Homan Avenue when two males approached him, showed a gun, and announced a robbery.

CWB Chicago reported that Aaron White and Kenneth Elliott approached the garbage truck driver near the back of his truck in an alley next to DRW College Prep — and the outlet said it obtained surveillance video showing what went down.

Elliott, 42, confronted the sanitation worker while White approached with a gun, CWB Chicago said, citing prosecutors and the video. The victim in the video appears to push White’s gun away with his forearm while struggling with Elliott, the outlet said.

The pair most definitely picked the wrong victim.

Police told WLS the victim had a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification card and Concealed Carry License — and put it to use.

Because when White extended the gun again, the victim fired at least three shots, striking White, who fell to the ground, CWB Chicago reported, adding that Elliott continued fighting the victim and wrapping his arms around him.

But the victim fired additional shots until Elliott fell to the ground as well, the outlet said, adding that the video ends with the victim leaving the scene.

RELATED: Armed thug tries to rob victim pumping gas. But perp chooses the wrong victim to violate.

Chicago police officers found White lying near the school with a gunshot wound to his neck, CWB Chicago said, adding that his arrest report indicated that he was still conscious and told officers he was lying on a gun. An officer rolled White over and secured the gun, the outlet noted.

WLS said the 42-year-old suspect — whom CWB Chicago identified as Elliott — was shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene.

CWB Chicago added that according to court records, White pleaded guilty Monday to attempted armed robbery with a firearm — and Judge Domenica Stephenson sentenced him to eight years in prison.

“The garbage collector disposing of more than just regular trash,” one commenter on the above news video stated. “Helping rid us of the two-legged garbage.”

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Prison sentence, Chicago, 2nd amendment, Guns, Concealed carry, Attempted robbery, Turning the tables, Crime 

Advocates sell sanctuary policies as a public-safety boon. Keep local police out of immigration enforcement, they argue, and immigrant communities will trust cops, report crime, and make everyone safer. But New York, Fairfax County, Virginia, and Chicago tell a different story.

When local authorities refuse to transfer removable criminal aliens already in jail, they do not neutralize danger. They return it to the streets, where law-abiding residents become prey.

Order requires one standard in the jail and courthouse, not a local veto over federal custody. Sanctuary policies reverse those priorities.

New York is making a strong bid to become America’s leading sanctuary snake pit. In May, Governor Kathy Hochul (D) signed the “Local Cops, Local Crimes Act,” which bans 287(g) agreements and contracts to house civil immigration detainees. These jail partnerships do not authorize “street raids.” They let local officials screen people already booked on local charges and transfer removable offenders to ICE in a secure setting.

The law also established an Orwellian “Office of Immigrant Trust” in Attorney General Letitia James’ office to enforce compliance. James warned the 12 law enforcement agencies that still had 287(g) agreements and sued the Rensselaer County sheriff after his office refused to terminate its agreement. Fifteen elected sheriffs, represented by the Federation for American Immigration Reform, filed a federal lawsuit, while Hochul dared opponents to “bring it on.”

The “Local Cops, Local Crimes Act” will not deliver the community safety its backers claim to seek. Ending 287(g) does not keep “local cops focused on local crimes.” If ICE later arrests the same person, agents must find and arrest him at large, using more officers and accepting more uncertainty and danger than a transfer from custody would require. Albany’s law forbids the orderly custody transfers that these agreements facilitate. It has also pushed veteran sheriffs into federal court to defend tools they use to protect their communities.

Fairfax County, Virginia, shows what happens when the sanctuary slogan becomes operating procedure. Sheriff Stacey Kincaid refuses to hold an inmate past a local release date based solely on an administrative ICE detainer. Her office requires a judicial warrant before it will extend local custody, though ICE issues detainers as administrative requests. Records from the sheriff’s office show that Fairfax declined 615 transfers over 16 months — 448 in 2025 and 167 in the first four months of 2026 — while transferring only 11 people to ICE.

RELATED: The mass-deportation promise is disappearing

PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP/Getty Images

The Justice Department opened a civil rights investigation into Commonwealth Attorney Steve Descano’s plea-bargaining, charging, and sentencing policy, which directs prosecutors to consider immigration consequences. The department is investigating whether that policy discriminates against U.S. citizens. It has not reached a conclusion.

A House subcommittee later questioned Descano and Kincaid under oath. The record includes people whom Fairfax released despite ICE detainers and whom authorities later charged with new crimes, including murder. Fairfax and ICE dispute responsibility for at least one such release.

Defenders respond that Fairfax is not “harboring” anyone because ICE can still make street arrests. But jail transfers give agents the safest opportunity to assume custody; street arrests expose officers, suspects, and bystanders to more risk. When a county rejects hundreds of detainers, it does not prove illegal aliens commit less crime. It releases people federal officers have identified as removable and leaves ICE to find them elsewhere.

Prosecutors compound the problem when they shape charging or plea decisions to avoid deportation. A justice system that treats otherwise comparable cases differently based on immigration consequences creates a two-track courthouse. The Justice Department is investigating whether Descano’s office gave noncitizen defendants preferential treatment that citizens did not receive; it has not yet answered that question.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) has used executive orders and litigation to limit police cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

RELATED: Democrats move to make ICE agents unemployable in California

PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP/Getty Images

During the migrant surge that defined his early term, Chicago spent $639.6 million to house and serve 46,282 arrivals; 42%, about $269 million, came from the city’s corporate fund. Chicago now faces an $882.4 million budget gap for 2027, although city officials cite several drivers unrelated to migrant spending.

Chicago already has plenty of homegrown problems. What did residents gain from spending $639.6 million on a crisis that strained police stations and city services? Johnson offers platitudes and accusations of racism to anyone who asks.

Communities are safer when jailers transfer a removable offender from local custody instead of releasing him and forcing federal agents to hunt him later. Cities protect their budgets when they put lifelong residents ahead of noncitizens.

Order requires one standard in the jail and courthouse, not a local veto over federal custody. Sanctuary policies reverse those priorities. Lawmakers and voters must remove this pox from America.

​Sanctuary cities, Democrats, Ice, Jail, New york, Chicago, Police, Kathy hochul, Letitia james, 287g, Immigration, Deportations, Doj, Fairfax, Opinion & analysis 

A day-care business is facing a million-dollar lawsuit after surveillance allegedly caught an employee running a toddler fight club.

Heather and Richard Harris filed the lawsuit in Tarrant County District Court against Arka Risinger Educators LLC in Fort Worth, Texas.

‘Their trust was violated when the safe environment they were promised turned into a child fight club.’

The Harrises allege that a substitute teacher had children assault their 4-year-old child after other teachers had left at the end of the day in April 2026.

The child’s mother noticed that he was crying uncontrollably and had injuries when she picked him up from the day care.

The staff told her he had gotten into a fight, but the mother demanded to see the video of the incident.

The lawsuit said the child suffered bruising and scratches to his arms and post-traumatic headaches. He also suffers from lasting emotional anxiety.

A state investigation by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission’s Child-Care Licensing Division cited the Arka Montessori day care for multiple violations.

“Their trust was violated when the safe environment they were promised turned into a child fight club,” read the lawsuit.

The family is suing for $1 million for negligence, gross negligence, and premises liability.

RELATED: LGBTQIA+ activist called for Trump to be assassinated and for harassment of his attorney

No criminal charges were filed in the case.

The substitute teacher is no longer employed at the day care, according to the owners.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Daycare, Fight club, Arrest, Crime 

If you drive an EV, you have probably heard one argument over and over: Whatever you pay for the car, you’ll save money charging it.

That can certainly be true if you charge at home, particularly if you have access to inexpensive off-peak electricity. But once you depend on public fast chargers, the math can look very different.

Put $40 or $50 worth of gasoline into an efficient RAV4, and you’re buying hundreds of miles of driving range

On a recent episode of “The Drive,” my co-host Karl Brauer told me about charging a Hyundai Ioniq 5 N at a Level 3 charger. It cost him about $50.

Within 24 hours, Karl filled up his 2023 Dodge Demon 170 with E85. The bill was $47.

Yes, you read that correctly. It cost him more to charge the Hyundai than to fill a 1,025-horsepower Dodge Demon.

Power fail

That’s just one experience, and charging prices vary enormously. But it illustrates something EV buyers need to understand: Electricity isn’t free, and public fast charging can be surprisingly expensive.

One Chevrolet Bolt owner recently learned that lesson in spectacular fashion.

He plugged into a public charger at a Hyundai dealership and ended up with a bill for $414. The explanation, according to the report Karl and I discussed, was an extraordinary pricing structure for drivers outside the dealership’s charging program: $5 per minute and $5 per kilowatt-hour.

After the driver complained, the charging company intervened and reduced the bill to about $14. So no, $414 isn’t a normal price to charge a Chevrolet Bolt. But the episode demonstrates why drivers need to pay attention to what a charger costs before plugging in.

Buzzkill

Even at ordinary public fast-charging rates, the comparison with gasoline isn’t always what EV advocates would have you believe.

Karl looked up public fast-charging prices before the show and found rates generally running around 40 to 55 cents per kilowatt-hour. Industry data bears out his informal survey. Paren, which tracks the U.S. fast-charging network, put the average price of public DC fast charging at 53.8 cents per kilowatt-hour in the second quarter of 2026.

Now compare that with an efficient gasoline vehicle. Karl used the Toyota RAV4 as an example. Put $40 or $50 worth of gasoline into an efficient RAV4 and you’re buying hundreds of miles of driving range — while filling the tank takes minutes rather than waiting for a battery to charge.

A hybrid can make the comparison even more interesting.

Run the numbers by the mile. An EV getting around three miles per kilowatt-hour would cost roughly $18 to drive 100 miles at that average fast-charging rate. A 2026 RAV4 Hybrid rated at 43 mpg combined would cost about $7 to travel the same distance with gasoline at $3 a gallon — and about $9.30 even at $4 a gallon.

RELATED: Tesla buyers burned through California’s new EV rebates in days

Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

Private plug

This doesn’t mean an EV is always more expensive to operate. If you own a home, plug your vehicle in overnight, and have inexpensive electricity, the economics can be very favorable. Some utilities also offer substantially cheaper off-peak rates.

But that’s not everybody’s situation.

Plenty of people live in apartments or condos where they can’t simply plug in overnight. Others take long trips and have to use public fast chargers along the way. For those drivers, the price displayed at the charging station matters every bit as much as the price displayed at a gas station.

And electricity prices aren’t uniform. They vary by location, utility, time of day, charging network, and sometimes even the particular charger you’re using.

That’s why I don’t buy the blanket claim that an EV is automatically cheaper to fuel than a gasoline car. You have to do the math for your car, your electricity rates, and your driving habits.

Before buying an EV, find out what you actually pay per kilowatt-hour at home. Then look at the public fast-charging networks you’re likely to use and check their prices. Compare those costs with the fuel economy of the gasoline or hybrid vehicle you’re considering.

You may discover that charging at home saves you plenty of money.

But if you’re depending on public fast charging, don’t assume you’re getting a bargain just because there’s no gasoline going into the car.

​Dodge demon, Ev, Hybrid, Hyundai ioniq, Tesla, Toyota, Fuel economy, Lifestyle, Auto industry, Gas prices, Automotive 

Kratom products are advertised everywhere — at gas stations, smoke shops, and vape stores — but comedian and filmmaker Davey Jackson believes the rapidly growing industry deserves far more scrutiny.

In a new documentary, Jackson examines how concentrated kratom extracts and synthetic derivatives have transformed a once-obscure plant into a multibillion-dollar industry.

“There’s basically three categories. There’s natural powder leaf kratom, which a lot of people use and have used successfully for, you know, a lot of years. And then there’s a slightly newer product, and it’s an extract,” Jackson tells BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales.

“So they’re basically extracting and concentrating the kratom into these drinks … which that’s a whole other story. And then they have these synthetic products like 7-OH or MGM-15 or MGM-16 that the DEA is in the process of banning right now,” he explains.

Gonzales points out that “there’s big money in the industry,” referencing the company Feel Free.

“That’s an interesting one. So they got their start giving away their products on college campuses, just handing them out to college students. And again, this is a fairly addictive thing that we’re dealing with here,” Jackson says.

“These Feel Free shots, you know, they’re not as bad as the 7-OH tablets that are getting banned right now, but they’re certainly habit-forming. Much more potent than the actual kratom product,” he explains, noting that the founder of Feel Free is “an ex-con” who “spent time in federal prison for fraud.”

“They’re the number one retail kratom product in America. I want to say they’re doing $250 million a year in sales. They’ve been investigated by the DOJ … and they actually are a big part of the kratom conspiracy that we were investigating,” he continues.

“It just must all come down to money, right? Whoever is making money wants to keep it alive,” Gonzales says.

“Yeah,” Jackson agrees. “So you’ve got companies like Feel Free who absolutely want to keep it alive and have lobbied to keep the kratom industry unregulated to a large extent, but they were also a big part of the push behind the ban for 7-OH because 7-OH was, you know, kind of taking up market share.”

“They’re making $250 million a year already, but obviously they want to make more. And then of course, there’s Big Pharma. You know, people that are taking 7-OH that you can buy at a gas station or a smoke shop,” he continues.

“Granted,” he adds, “I don’t think it’s safe from a regulatory perspective as far as what they’re actually putting in this stuff because I’ve heard multiple times there’s 7-OH that’s been tested that has [fentanyl] in it. I mean, that’s horribly dangerous, right?”

Want more from Sara Gonzales?

To enjoy more of Sara’s no-holds-barred takes on news and culture, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Big pharma, Dea, Documentary, Fentanyl, Filmmaker, Kratom, Davey jackson, Sara gonzales, Blazetv show