When Bill Clinton was president in 1995, he gave a speech about immigration that sounded eerily like something President Trump would say today — and Democrats loved it.

“Our nation was built by immigrants. People from every region of the world have made lasting and important contributions to our society. We support legal immigration, but we won’t tolerate immigration by people whose first act is to break the law as they enter our country,” Clinton said.

“We must continue to do everything we can to strengthen our borders, enforce our laws, and remove illegal aliens from our country. As I said in my State of the Union address, we are a nation of immigrants, but we’re also a nation of laws. And it is wrong and ultimately self-defeating for a nation of immigrants to permit the kind of abuse of our immigration laws we have seen in recent years,” he continued.

Clinton then went on to talk about not only increasing deportations but tripling the “number of criminal and other deportable aliens deported since 1993.”

“Every day, illegal aliens show up in court who are charged. Some are guilty, and surely some are innocent. Some go to jail and some don’t. But they’re all illegal aliens. And whether they’re innocent or guilty of the crimes they’re charged with in court, they’re still here illegally,” he said.

“Have you ever heard such hatred?” BlazeTV host Pat Gray comments on “Pat Gray Unleashed.”

“One of the original MAGA guys,” he adds.

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President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice opened an investigation into Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and now the Democrat’s supporters are being urged to “rush” donations to his legal defense fund.

‘If you’re with me, please rush a donation to our legal defense fund and help ensure we can keep fighting for accountability, transparency, and justice.’

Reports surfaced last week that President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice is investigating Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and others for potentially violating a conspiracy statute related to statements they made about the deployment of federal immigration agents to the Minneapolis region.

Walz issued a statement following the reports, accusing the Trump administration of “weaponizing the justice system,” adding that “threatening political opponents is a dangerous, authoritarian tactic.”

Frey similarly accused the Trump administration of weaponizing the federal government “to intimidate local leaders for doing their jobs.”

The DOJ issued subpoenas on Tuesday to several Democratic officials, including Walz and Frey.

RELATED: ‘You want to live with these people?’ Trump exposes killers and child rapists Walz, Frey are shielding with anti-ICE agenda

Tim Walz, Gwen Walz. Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

The subpoenas, which both Walz and Frey confirmed they received, were connected to the DOJ’s investigation into whether the officials conspired to impede federal officers from carrying out their duties, according to CBS News.

On Friday, Alpha News reporter Liz Collin shared screenshots of an alleged Walz campaign notification, encouraging supporters to donate to the governor’s legal fund.

RELATED: Justice Dept. slaps Gov. Tim Walz, AG Ellison, Minneapolis Mayor Frey with subpoenas: Report

Photo by Christopher Juhn/Anadolu via Getty Images

“Last week, the federal government opened an investigation into me. … My job is to defend Minnesotans and the rule of law, and I’m sure as hell not backing down. But the road ahead is long, difficult, and expensive,” it reads.

“If you’re with me, please rush a donation to our legal defense fund and help ensure we can keep fighting for accountability, transparency, and justice,” the message reads, featuring a link that redirects to an Act Blue webpage where supporters can donate.

“BREAKING: The DOJ is investigating Tim Walz on baseless charges. Donate now to aid his fight,” the webpage states.

Blaze News has reached out to Walz’s office for comment.

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An image was circulated widely this week showing a visibly upset preschooler wearing an oversized hat and Spider-man backpack standing in the company of federal immigration agents. Evidently loath to investigate the circumstances surrounding the photo and what it actually depicts, Democrats and other radicals rushed to condemn U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D), for instance, suggested ICE had treated the boy like a criminal, while twice-failed presidential candidate Kamala Harris wrote that he “is just a baby. He should be at home with his family, not used as bait by ICE and held in a Texas detention center. I am outraged, and you should be too.”

‘No one thinks that makes any sense.’

New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D) went a step further, accusing ICE of “kidnapping 5-year-olds and using them as bait” and suggesting the agency should be defunded.

The liberal media didn’t appear particularly eager to correct Democrats’ false narrative, which was incubated by woke officials with Columbia Heights Public Schools, where the child was reportedly enrolled.

During his visit to Minneapolis on Thursday, Vice President JD Vance gave the press a reality check, noting that anti-ICE propagandists glossed over some critical information about the incident.

“I actually saw this terrible story while I was coming to Minneapolis,” said the vice president.

“And I see this story, and I’m a father of a 5-year-old — actually, a 5-year-old little boy. And I think to myself, ‘Oh my God, this is terrible. How do we arrest a 5-year-old?'”

“Well I do a little bit more follow-up research, and what I find is that the 5-year-old was not arrested; that his dad was an illegal alien; and when they went to arrest his illegal alien father, the father ran,” said Vance.

RELATED: ‘Going to get someone killed’: Democratic AG shocks with talk about shooting ICE agents in ‘stand your ground’ Arizona

Photo by Jim Watson – Pool/Getty Images

Vance told the Minneapolis crowd, “So the story is that ICE detained a 5-year-old. Well what are they supposed to do? Are they supposed to let a 5-year-old child freeze to death? Are they not supposed to arrest an illegal alien in the United States of America?”

The Department of Homeland Security indicated that when ICE attempted to arrest the boy’s father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, in the Minneapolis suburb of Columbia Heights on Jan. 20, the illegal alien from Ecuador “fled on foot — abandoning his child.”

Marcos Charles, the assistant director of enforcement and removal operations for ICE, indicated on Friday that after the illegal alien ditched his little boy and was arrested, ICE officers “stayed with the child. They cared for him, took him to get something to eat from a drive-thru restaurant, and spent hours ensuring he was taken care of. Again my officers did that. Not his father.”

Charles noted further that people inside the illegal alien’s apparent residence refused to open the door for the young boy and take him back.

According to DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, the boy’s alleged mother was inside the house and would not let him in even after officers assured her that she wouldn’t be taken into custody.

Marc Prokosch, a lawyer representing the family, indicated during a press conference on Thursday that the boy and his father were reunited and are being kept together at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, a family holding center in Dilley, Texas.

“Parents are asked if they want to be removed with their children, or ICE will place the children with a safe person the parent designates. This is consistent with past administration’s immigration enforcement,” said DHS.

The vice president further suggested that the argument that ICE cannot arrest illegal aliens who have children is unworkable given that’d mean “every single parent is going to be completely given immunity from ever being the subject of law enforcement.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. No one thinks that makes any sense,” said Vance.

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​Us immigration and customs enforcement, Ice, Alexandria ocasio-cortez, Kamala harris, Jacob frey, Columbia heights, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Dhs, Marcos charles, Adrian alexander conejo arias, Politics 

This September marks the 50th anniversary of the Hyde Amendment’s first passage in the House of Representatives — the annual appropriations rider that bars federal funding of elective abortion.

No one should be surprised that Democrats would mark the moment by extending Affordable Care Act subsidies that help enable backdoor abortion funding in blue states. What did surprise pro-lifers was President Donald Trump’s recent declaration that Republicans “have to be a little flexible on Hyde.”

Human lives aren’t negotiable. Neither is the Hyde Amendment.

“We’re all big fans of everything, but you have to have flexibility,” Trump told House Republicans in Washington on Jan. 6. He urged them to “work something” out on health care, a line that seemed to suggest Hyde could become a bargaining chip.

For millions of GOP voters, it cannot.

Just one year ago, the president aligned himself with them. On his fourth day in office, he signed an executive order declaring that “consistent with the Hyde Amendment,” it is the policy of the United States “to end the forced use of Federal taxpayer dollars to fund or promote elective abortion.”

The same president helped overturn Roe v. Wade, restored the Mexico City policy ending funding for overseas abortions, and declared himself the “most pro-life president” in history.

If his position has changed, Americans have the right to know.

The Hyde Amendment is estimated to have saved more than 2.6 million lives over the past five decades. It forbids the use of federal tax dollars for abortions except in cases of rape, incest, or a life-threatening medical emergency.

Yet the abortion lobby found a work-around. Twenty state Medicaid programs cover elective abortions using state funds, and millions of enrollees in those plans receive federal subsidies to help pay their premiums.

In plain terms, federal tax dollars indirectly support abortion in blue states, regardless of Hyde. It’s the same moral and fiscal problem that drove Congress to defund Planned Parenthood in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act spending package last July. Why cut off one pipeline while leaving another one wide open?

The Jan. 1 expiration of Biden-era enhancements to Obamacare subsidies offered Republicans a chance to close this loophole.

RELATED: ‘Fraud … for abortion’? Vance announces probe into Planned Parenthood’s $88M taxpayer-funded loans at March for Life

Photo by Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images

House Republicans, to their credit, tried. In December, they passed H.R. 6703, which would explicitly block federal dollars from helping pay for a Medicaid plan that covers elective abortion. The Congressional Budget Office projects that the bill would lower Obamacare premiums by 11% on average through 2035 — nearly double the estimated reduction in the Democrats’ plan — and shrink the national deficit by $35.6 billion.

Then 17 Republicans defected.

On Jan. 8, they voted with Democrats to force a “clean” three-year extension of Obamacare subsidies with no language protecting taxpayers from subsidizing abortion.

Now the bill moves to the Senate, where negotiations reportedly continue on a bipartisan package. Thankfully, contrary to Trump’s calls for “flexibility,” Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has signaled that Hyde will remain non-negotiable in any deal.

“We want to ensure that, if we do anything, it’s done in a way that reforms these programs and … ensures that those dollars aren’t being used to go against the practice that’s been in place for the last 50 years around here, when it comes to taxpayer dollars being used to finance abortions,” Thune told reporters on Jan. 6.

The president — and any Republicans tempted to treat Hyde as disposable — should follow Thune’s lead. Trump may have a gift for “the art of the deal,” but the values at the center of the Republican coalition are not bargaining chips.

The GOP has long cast itself as a party of abolitionists, freedom fighters, and defenders of the vulnerable unborn. It should not compromise those claims for short-term political convenience — and become what it says it opposes.

Respectfully, Mr. President, human lives aren’t negotiable. Neither is the Hyde Amendment.

​Opinion & analysis, Abortion, Hyde amendment, Obamacare, Affordable care act, Subsidies, John thune, Donald trump, The art of the deal, Compromise, Pro-life 

Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California says employees of Immigration and Customs Enforcement should be “unhirable” in his state in order to oppose deportation efforts.

Swalwell made the comments while being interviewed on CNN, but his comments were posted to social media, where they were widely circulated.

‘If you’re going to work for fascists, forget about working in this state. … So we’re not weak, we have to go on offense.’

“I don’t think anybody likes or wants what ICE is doing right now. We were told the most violent individuals would be deported,” said Swalwell.

“Again, a child, U.S. citizen, battling stage-four cancer, deported,” he added. “Once you shoot a mom in the face three times who has stuffies in her glove compartment and Cheerios, not a weapon, not a knife, you shot her in the face three times, and you claim that you were justified? Forget it! No one asked for this, and ICE as it exists today needs to be completely dismantled.”

Swalwell was referring to the lethal shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis, but he conveniently failed to include that she had made her vehicle into a weapon when she swerved into an ICE agent.

The other incident he cited was that of a child with kidney cancer who was sent to Honduras when his two parents, both described as “mothers,” were deported. A lawsuit claims the government did not give his parents the option to let the boy stay in the U.S., but the Department of Homeland Security denies the allegation.

Swalwell went on to say that he would ruin ICE agents’ employment opportunities if he were elected governor.

“As governor, I would use the powers of the office. If you’re going to wear a mask as an ICE agent in our state, I will take away your driver’s license. If you work for ICE, you will be unhirable in the state,” Swalwell added.

“If you’re going to work for fascists, forget about working in this state,” he added. “So we are not weak. We have to go on offense. Otherwise the most vulnerable in our communities are on defense, and I urge every governor to start protecting their people in their state that way.”

RELATED: Ocasio-Cortez gets crushed online for her comments about ICE — by outraged liberals

CNN anchor Kasie Hunt pushed back on Swalwell’s claim about “fascist” ICE agents. “Do you think every ICE agent on the streets is a fascist?” she asked, eyebrows briefly furrowed.

In response, Swalwell doubled down, claiming that working for ICE is a “choice.” “No one’s forcing you to do that,” he added.

Swalwell’s announcement to seek the governor’s office in California has been mocked and ridiculed by Republicans. A November 2025 poll showed that only 24% of Californians had a favorable view of the candidate, 23% had an unfavorable view of him, and a majority of 53% were unsure or had not even heard of him.

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Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas took off on a cross-country flight Tuesday bound for the Sunshine State ahead of a bitter snowstorm expected to ravage the nation’s capital.

Washington, D.C., residents are hunkering down for a bitter winter storm this weekend, clearing shelves in grocery aisles and general stores. Meanwhile, Cruz was spotted on a flight bound for Laguna Beach, California, mirroring a similar trip he took in 2021, when Texas endured a devastating winter storm and power outage.

‘You need to start preparing for an intense winter storm.’

“Meteorologists use the Waffle House Index to measure disasters,” one meteorologist quipped. “Texans use the Ted Cruz Index: If he’s on a plane, expect crippling ice, snow or cold.”

Notably, the Senate was out of session this week, and a spokesperson for Cruz maintained that he was on a “pre-planned work travel that was scheduled weeks in advance.”

“He will be back in Texas before the storm is projected to hit.”

RELATED: Glenn Beck’s 2026 DOOMSDAY prediction has ALREADY begun

Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images

With an eye on weather forecasts, DMV locals are stocking up on household essentials, prepping at levels not seen since the COVID-19 pandemic. Photos circulating on social media under the hashtag “snowmaggedon” show long lines and grocery shelves cleared of produce and non-perishables while hardware stores report snow essentials like shovels and even sleds flying off the shelves.

Ahead of the brutal forecast, dozens of states have declared a state of emergency, and officials are urging Americans to prep for the winter storm set to bring ice, sleet, snow, and sub-zero wind chills all over the Northeast and Southern Plains.

Southern states like Texas are at the highest risk of record-breaking low temperatures, but any of the affected areas may have to endure days of sub-zero temperatures if their power goes out.

RELATED: Do not pass the plow: The danger of declaring a golden age without repentance

Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Stocking up on batteries, food, water, winter clothing, and blankets, as well as refueling cars, is recommended. Also make sure carbon monoxide alarms are functioning, and never run a gas generator inside a home or garage. Officials are also advising those affected to avoid traveling and to monitor any weather developments over the coming days.

“You need to start preparing for an intense winter storm right now,” Matt Van Swol of North Carolina said in a post on X. “I did not [heed] the warnings of many people before Hurricane Helene and we were caught totally unprepared. Do not make the same mistakes I did. Please start preparing for extreme cold and no power for at least a few days, right now.”

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Vice President JD Vance attended the 2026 March for Life in Washington, D.C., on Friday, during which he announced that the Trump administration had launched an investigation into Planned Parenthood affiliates.

The crowd began to chant “JD” as Vance stepped onto the stage. He recalled that his first speech as vice president was at last year’s March for Life.

‘You should not be able to commit fraud and use taxpayer money for abortion.’

“Some of you may remember that in my remarks last year, I told you all, one of the things I most wanted in the United States of America was more families and more babies. So, let the record show, you have a vice president who practices what he preaches,” Vance said, referring to the recent announcement that he and second lady Usha Vance are expecting their fourth child.

Vance credited Trump for selecting Supreme Court justices who delivered “the most important Supreme Court decision in my lifetime,” Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

Vance argued that Trump “shattered a 50-year culture of disposability … that treated human life as expendable the moment that it became inconvenient.”

“He empowered our nation and our movement to build a culture of life from the grassroots up. … Our vision is simple: We want life to thrive in the United States of America,” the vice president continued.

“We’re not trying to argue to the Supreme Court anymore. We are trying to argue to our fellow citizens that we must build up that culture of life,” he added.

RELATED: Nash Keen’s life proves the unborn deserve the law’s protection

Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Vance pledged that pro-life supporters have an ally in the Trump administration.

The vice president announced that the administration on Thursday launched a fraud investigation into Planned Parenthood affiliates for “millions of dollars” in Paycheck Protection Program loans that were “unlawfully received and unlawfully forgiven by the Biden administration.”

“You should not be able to commit fraud and use taxpayer money for abortion,” Vance remarked.

He also mentioned a “historic” expansion of the Mexico City Policy to block international organizations that promote or perform abortion abroad from receiving taxpayer money.

Ahead of Vance’s speech, the March for Life played recorded remarks from President Donald Trump.

“For 53 years, students, families, patriots, and believers have come to Washington from every corner of the country to defend the infinite worth and God-given dignity of every human life,” Trump told attendees. “Six years ago, I was proud to be the first president in history to attend this march in person. Since then, we have made unprecedented strides to protect innocent life and support the institution of the family like never before — there’s never been anything like it.”

“Under the Trump administration, we’re strongly defending religious liberty. We’re bringing back faith in America. We’re bringing back God,” Trump added.

RELATED: ‘Federal dollars should not pay for abortion, period’: Sen. Cassidy doubles down on Hyde, abortion pill restrictions

Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

A Thursday press release from the Small Business Administration stated that the agency is reviewing more than $88 million in PPP loans provided to Planned Parenthood affiliates. The agency noted that it sent letters to 38 Planned Parenthood organizations requiring documentation proving their eligibility to receive the relief funds.

Melanie Newman, Planned Parenthood’s chief external affairs officer, issued a statement responding to the SBA’s action.

“Planned Parenthood member organizations follow the law — and previous investigations prove it,” Newman stated. “These latest politically motivated intimidation tactics are about the Trump administration finding every possible avenue to shut down Planned Parenthood health centers and make it harder for people to get high-quality health care from their trusted Planned Parenthood provider. That’s it.”

“And that’s what the Trump administration and its allies are focusing on today: shutting down Planned Parenthood health centers. Meanwhile, all across the country, people can’t afford to see a doctor; the hospitals they rely on are closing; even basic groceries are too expensive,” Newman said. “That’s what the Small Business Administration should be working on: making people’s lives better. Instead, they’re hellbent on making them worse.”

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When BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales decided to knock on the door of a home that she believes to be committing H-1B fraud, she wasn’t sure what she was going to find. And what she stumbled upon was strange, to say the least.

“The Indian scammers, news alert, they didn’t like it so much,” Gonzales jokes.

In a video of the confrontation, Gonzales is standing on the doorstep asking where the H-1B workers who are working for the company — whose address happens to be a residential home — are, while an Indian man, who appears to be the homeowner, steps outside and threatens to call the cops.

This company is called Qubitz Tech Systems LLC, which has 13 H-1B visas approved.

“Somebody is knocking on my door and then they are like threatening me,” the man said into his phone after dialing 911.

“I’m not threatening you, sir,” Gonzales responded.

And Gonzales is confident that this is just the tip of the iceberg with how much fraud there is going on in America.

This also isn’t the only company that appears to be committing H-1B fraud. 3BEES Technologies is another Texas company Gonzales looked into, which had 27 H-1B visas approved between 2022 and 2025.

When Gonzales went to the address listed for this particular company, she found an empty, under-construction office space with no signs of life.

“We exposed how many people, as it turns out, are creating phony companies, shell companies, so that they can import thousands upon thousands of workers into our country and then come here and suck up all of our resources,” Gonzales says.

“This problem doesn’t exist in a vacuum,” Gonzales says. “There are probably an insane amount of companies who are pulling this off. They’re going completely undetected by the government. Which, my question to the government is, where is USCIS on this matter?”

“If little old me can just go on the government website and pull these addresses and match them up and see if it looks legit, why isn’t the government doing that?” she asks.

“Look around you, look around your communities,” she says, adding, “tell me that this isn’t a much larger issue that’s happening intentionally by using loopholes and gaps in our visa system.”

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While video game player demographics are split almost down the middle — 53% male and 47% female — the gap is vastly wider when it comes to esports. Men dominate the category, taking up 95% of the available spots in game tournaments, while women only account for 5%. So what happens when a skilled male player gets paired with a less experienced group of girl gamers with a $12,000 grand prize on the line? Naturally, they kick him off the team in the name of misogyny.

What happened?

On January 18, 2026, streamer Kingsman265 went live on his channel as he met up with several other players in preparation for a Marvel Rivals tournament with a prize pool of $40,000, with $12,000 going to the winning team to be split among four players. As a rank 1 player himself, Kingsman265 had his eyes set on the prize money, which he planned to use to pay his college tuition, and he actually had a solid shot at winning it. However, during a practice match before the tournament, he quickly realized that his teammates were more interested in feminist politics than in winning.

Proof that he knew what he was doing, his warnings were positioned as insults.

The rest of the team was composed of three female players named Cece, Zazzastack, and Luciyasa. Kingsman265 quickly suggested a change to the team’s character lineup, recommending that they run a triple support setup to give their team the best shot at victory. The pushback was immediate, as the female players rejected his warnings, opting to play with characters they were familiar with instead of using a loadout that was more effective, especially in a tournament setting.

Things went downhill from there. Tensions rose at several points throughout the video, with Cece telling him to shut up after he pleaded his case for a triple support setup, even after he explained that they would lose without it. Another teammate told him to “shut the f**k up” after they lost a practice match, a moment that vindicated Kingsman265, as it displayed the team’s vulnerabilities in real time. Then Cece ended with “this is f**king getting annoying” as Kingsman265 continued to urge the team to change their strategy, to no avail.

The team went their separate ways to play ranked games apart for the night. Shortly after, Kingsman265 learned that he was kicked out of the tournament entirely by the organizer, BasimZB, for his allegedly “toxic” behavior. Basim later admitted that he made the wrong decision based on “misinformation” from Cece and her team.

Kingsman265 was ultimately relegated to the sidelines for the Marvel Rivals tournament, leaving him behind to watch his team get knocked out in the first round, proving that his instincts around their character lineup were correct.

The fallout

As the male gamer in this situation, Kingsman265 was made to look like the bad guy. He was unceremoniously kicked out of the tournament due to his “toxicity” in ganging up on three girl gamers as he tried to spur them to victory. Instead of recognition that his skills, knowledge, and ranking were proof that he knew what he was doing, his warnings were positioned as insults.

RELATED: 25 years later, the gaming console that caused so much chaos is still No. 1

Photo By Eduardo Parra/Europa Press via Getty Images

It wasn’t until Kingsman265 posted his video of the practice match, along with a conversation between Cece and himself dubbed the Cece Files, that the truth came to light. Not only did Cece and her team want Kingsman265 to be banned from the tournament, but they conspired to remove him, claiming that “there are plenty of people in line who are just as good. Kingsman, like everybody else, is replaceable.”

The aftermath was swift, with the internet quickly turning on the female team in favor of Kingsman265. Despite telling anyone who saw the video not to harass Cece and company, the message exchange between them shows that the internet has no tolerance for liars. She begged Kingsman265 to take down the video — or, at the very least, cut out the incriminating parts that made her and the team look guilty — but he refused, noting that it was a legitimate video. Cece lost several sponsorship deals and partnerships for her behavior.

All’s well that ends well

The whole debacle cost Kingsman265 his shot at a $3,000 grand prize to help pay off his college debt, but what came next was even sweeter. Once he was exonerated of any wrongdoing, Kingsman265 saw a huge boost to his channel, netting 139,000 followers on Twitch (and counting), 10,000 paying subscribers, and instant acceptance into the Twitch Partner Program, which will allow him to earn money for streaming online. As an added bonus, he received more than $3,000 in donations from supporters, surpassing the amount he would have earned from winning the Marvel Rivals tournament, and Marvel Rivals developer NetEase even sent him credits to buy skins for his character.

The good guy won in the end, leaving the all-girls team with a major loss in the tournament, loss in internet clout, and loss in their streaming careers. All of it could have been avoided if they had not made Kingsman265 out to be the toxic misogynist that he wasn’t, but if that had happened, his own gaming career wouldn’t be rocketing through the stratosphere at this very moment.

What happens online lives forever — the lies that are told and the truth that comes through in 4K — and the consequences are unavoidable. This is why it is always important to keep your receipts when tension erupts on the internet. You never know when you’ll have to defend yourself against cheats and liars who think they control the narrative.

​Tech, Culture 

The Australian Open has become about politics instead of tennis, thanks to one reporter’s questions.

As men and women have won matches at the tournament in Melbourne, Australia, a male reporter has consistently popped up to ask players about their feelings about current U.S. politics.

‘We are very diverse, we are a home of immigrants.’

“I’ve been asking a lot of the American players just how it feels to play under the American flag right now. And I’m curious how you feel,” the man asked No.4-ranked Amanda Anisimova on Wednesday, with noted vocal fry.

Anisimova was praised for shutting the questions down, but it turns out the same reporter has asked the same divisive question to at least four other American tennis players.

The Women’s Tennis Association’s No.6-ranked Jessica Pegula faced almost the same question on Wednesday, though more specifically about living in Florida.

Pegula’s answer likely won’t please nationalists as much as Anisimova’s did.

“Personally Florida’s been, I think, OK. I think Florida, there’s a big melting pot of different people from all over, in Florida,” the 31-year-old went on. “So I feel like especially me being in South Florida, near Miami, I mean, there’s people of all over the country that come to move to Florida, and there’s a lot of international people that are there. I don’t know if that’s maybe why you kind of get a lot of different cultural differences in a good way honestly.”

RELATED: ‘I don’t think that’s relevant’: American tennis star shuts down reporters fishing for anti-Trump answers

The reporter, who is alleged by several outlets such as Breitbart and Yahoo to likely be the Athletic’s Owen Lewis, has not publicly confirmed he has asked the questions despite sharing that he has been in Australia covering the event.

Next up was men’s No.9-ranked Taylor Fritz from California, who on Thursday had just completed a second-round win. Fritz buried his head in his hands as he answered the question, albeit reluctantly.

“Not sure what we’re, like, specifically talking about, but there is a lot going on in the U.S., and I don’t know, I feel like whatever I say here is going to get put in a headline, and it’s going to get taken out of context,” he groaned. “So I’d really rather not do something that’s going to cause a big distraction for me in the middle of the tournament.”

On Thursday, No.9-ranked female Madison Keys from Illinois faced the reporter. Her reaction was much more progressive than her compatriots, saying, “I’m not a fan of divisiveness, and I think the beauty of the U.S. is we are a mixing pot.”

“We are very diverse, we are a home of immigrants. And I hope that we can get back to those values,” she added.

RELATED: ‘It’s not fair’: No. 1 women’s tennis player states obvious truth about transgender athletes in women’s sports

No.3-ranked woman and Florida native Coco Gauff took it a step further by bringing race politics into the mix with her response.

Gauff initially said she feels “a bit fatigued talking about it.”

She then claimed, “It is hard, also I think, being a black woman in this country and having to experience things, even online.”

She argued that “marginalized communities” are being affected, and the only thing she can do is “donate and speak out.”

Gauff then cited the fact that she posted a Martin Luther King Jr. video online recently and said, “We must keep moving forward,” as an example of her activism.

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Everyone who lived in Dallas five years ago remembers the record-setting snowstorm in February 2021, and with a forecast that suggests similar weather coming up this weekend, many people aren’t taking any chances.

The storm in 2021 shut down the city for nearly a week, thanks to the roads icing over and limited equipment to respond to a weather event of that magnitude. Power outages shook the state, and disastrous accidents were caused by ice on the highways.

These factors, among others, led to shortages at the grocery stores, a fact many people have now recalled as they look at the upcoming forecast.

I found myself on a quest to find fruit, primarily apples and bananas, for smoothies on what could likely be one of the busiest days for area grocery stores this year. Here are some of the photos I took, which reminded me not so much of February 2021 as of March 2020, the beginning of the pandemic — yes, including carts full of toilet paper.

These photos were taken at an Aldi and a Walmart in Irving, Texas, on the evening of January 22, 2026.

Aldi

The shelf usually stocked with bread was almost entirely bare at AldiCooper Williamson

The bagel shelf, opposite the larger bread shelf, was similarly picked clean. Cooper Williamson

Before Aldi, I got most of my other groceries at Sam’s Club, which was packed but largely well stocked — except for the shopping carts. There were no shopping carts in the reserves at the entrance; they were all being used or in the parking lot.

As I waited in line for a slice of pizza before I began my shopping, I watched helplessly as a man snuck up and grabbed the cart that I had parked near the cafe. Back to the parking lot for another one.

The meat aisle was nearly empty.Cooper Williamson

Luckily, I had done most of my shopping at Sam’s Club and didn’t need any sandwich materials. Aldi was nearly clean out of all of them.

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The bacon, butter, and yogurt sections.Cooper Williamson

But Sam’s wasn’t immune to the panic-buying hive mind that had overtaken all of Dallas. I was at Aldi because Sam’s too had been raided of all of its apples and bananas.

The best the stores had to offer at this point were some of the worst relatives of these coveted fruits.

There was not a single case of bottled water left in the store. Cooper Williamson

From a distance, I thought I had found the key ingredient for my smoothies after much searching. However, to my disappointment, what I thought were bananas turned out to be plantains — and there were no bananas in the store whatsoever.

No bananas to be found in the grocery store; only some ripe plantains. Cooper Williamson

Despite my failure to find bananas at Aldi, I had come too far and would not be denied. I ventured to Walmart, which proved to be even more chaotic than Aldi.

Walmart

Forced to park all the way in the back of the parking lot due to the crowds, I didn’t know what to expect as I walked into Walmart. Walking in, however, I quickly surmised that it would be similar to, if not worse than, Aldi. I ended up looking around the aisles to see what people were grabbing at the highest rate. Here are some of the Dallas snowstorm preppers’ favorites.

The poultry section was cleaned out. Cooper Williamson

Several varieties of milk were missing. Cooper Williamson

Like Aldi, the usually full aisle of bottled water packages was barren. Cooper Williamson

Americans love their vegetable oil. Cooper Williamson

Finally, I circled back to the produce section. At first, I was worried that I wouldn’t find any bananas when I saw entire shelves that looked like they had been raided hours before.

Crates of assorted fruits, some entirely empty. Cooper Williamson

The vegetable display showed which vegetables Americans would be willing to part with for a week or so. Cooper Williamson

However, in the midst of the empty shelves sat a display of bananas. Even this display, though stocked, was missing half of its capacity.

Caught up in the exciting moment of discovery, I forgot to get a photo of them, though I gladly spent the 86 cents for a bunch and readily made my way home after a long five hours of shopping.

The panic consensus

As I sit here writing this article on the morning of January 23, sipping on a green smoothie (bananas, apples, and all), I wonder whether this is the new reality. I wonder whether every time the forecast warns of a snowstorm, Southern states like Texas will overreact like the last few times we have gotten a storm forecast.

I complained earlier that it took me most of an evening to get all of my shopping done. While it’s true that I am a picky eater and not a very efficient shopper, it is astounding that it took going to four stores (yes, I also went to the Kroger near the Aldi to get romaine and apples for the smoothie) over the course of five hours to find a bunch of bananas.

In bad weather, it is true that the roads are only as safe as the people driving the cars. Growing up in Colorado, a place that gets a lot more snow, I always found it strange that Texas can’t handle a few inches of snow. And I also don’t remember people panic-buying food and water like they were preparing for a hurricane before the pandemic.

Perhaps this is just another reminder that the preppers aren’t as crazy as people make them out to be. I certainly don’t want to repeat my quest to the grocery store on the eve of the next cold front moving through Dallas.

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China’s aggression in the Indo-Pacific no longer comes in bursts. It has become dangerous and systematic for America.

A recent long-range patrol by Chinese forces, conducted alongside Russia, prompted Japan to scramble fighter jets. It marked the latest in a string of incidents after months of heightened Chinese military activity around the Senkaku Islands.

If Washington and Tokyo keep strengthening this partnership, they can make the Indo-Pacific more difficult for Beijing to bully and far more stable for everyone who depends on it.

These shows of force don’t happen by accident. China uses them to normalize military pressure, probe red lines, and test the unity of U.S.-led alliances.

This latest episode also made one thing clear, at least: The Trump administration is watching closely.

In a visible show of solidarity with Tokyo, U.S. strategic bombers joined Japanese fighter aircraft for high-profile drills. Days earlier, Chinese military aircraft conducted takeoffs and landings inside Japan’s air defense identification zone and shadowed Japanese aircraft with their radar off near Okinawa. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s State Department expressed concern and reaffirmed its commitment to a “strong and more united” U.S.-Japan alliance.

Washington increasingly recognizes what Tokyo has understood for years: China’s behavior doesn’t just destabilize the region. It challenges the security order that has kept the Indo-Pacific from tipping into open conflict.

That reality puts a premium on reliable partnerships. No partnership matters more than the U.S.-Japan alliance.

Nowhere does that matter more than Taiwan. China’s large-scale military exercises, dubbed Justice Mission 2025, have pushed tensions in the Taiwan Strait to the highest levels in decades. Beijing aims to intimidate Taipei, warn off “external interference,” and alter the status quo through pressure rather than persuasion.

The Trump administration’s National Security Strategy arrived in that environment. While headlines still focus on Europe and the Middle East, the document makes the administration’s priorities clear: The Indo-Pacific remains central to U.S. strategy.

The NSS describes the Indo-Pacific as a critical economic hub that accounts for nearly half of global GDP. It commits the United States to a “free and open” Indo-Pacific by securing sea lanes and upholding international law.

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MF3d via iStock/Getty Images

That framework didn’t start in Washington. Japan first advanced the concept of a free and open Indo-Pacific, and the region later adopted it through partnerships such as the Quad — the informal grouping of the United States, Japan, India, and Australia.

Rather than announcing a new direction, the NSS reinforces a familiar one: Alliances form the core of deterring China. Unlike the Trump playbook in Ukraine, the administration treats alliances as the bedrock of Indo-Pacific security against Beijing’s expanding military reach.

Japan sits at the heart of that network.

China pressures Japan across its waters and airspace, making Tokyo a frontline state. Japan also serves as the United States’ indispensable partner in the region, with basing, interoperability, and shared strategy that no other ally can match at the same scale. Under new conservative leadership, Japan has begun acting with urgency.

Japan’s defense minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, has emphasized that urgency, warning that the country now faces its most severe security environment since World War II. Japan has deepened coordination with the U.S. and other like-minded partners while strengthening its military capabilities by accelerating security reforms and easing restrictions on defense equipment transfers.

Japan has also moved up its plan to raise defense spending to 2% of GDP — from 2027 to now. That headline matters less than where the money goes.

Tokyo has prioritized capabilities suited for a long-term, high-risk environment: unmanned aerial vehicles, expanded surveillance platforms, and submarines equipped with vertical-launch missile systems.

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Photo by GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images

Japan’s objective looks straightforward. It aims to become a more capable military partner that complements U.S. forces rather than relying on them by default. That shift aligns with President Trump’s demand that allies reduce dependence on American power by strengthening their own defense industries and readiness.

The U.S.-Japan alliance has also moved beyond drills and declarations toward defense-industrial cooperation. Expanded maintenance and repair coordination, along with eased export controls, have begun laying the groundwork for a durable security partnership.

This collaboration marks a shift from rhetoric to endurance. Aligning strategy with industrial capacity won’t eliminate risk. It will raise the cost of Chinese coercion and reduce the chances that Beijing miscalculates.

Koizumi has stressed that 80 years after World War II, the U.S.-Japan alliance still embodies reconciliation and remains the best instrument to deter China’s rising aggression.

If Washington and Tokyo keep strengthening this partnership — in capability, production, and resolve — they can make the Indo-Pacific more difficult for Beijing to bully and far more stable for everyone who depends on it.

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