Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas has officially admitted to having an affair with a former staffer who tragically committed suicide by setting herself on fire.

The scandal-ridden Republican owned up to the affair in a Wednesday interview with Joe Pags the day after receiving a lackluster electoral outcome in his Texas primary. Gonzales has notably maintained the endorsement of prominent Republicans, including President Donald Trump.

‘There’s a whole lot more to the story.’

“I made a mistake,” Gonzales said. “I had a lapse in judgment, and there was a lack of faith. And I take full responsibility for those actions.”

“Since then, I have reconciled with my wife, Angel,” Gonzales added. “I’ve asked God to forgive me, which he has, and my faith is as strong as ever.”

RELATED: Scandal-plagued Texas congressman forced into runoff rematch — after barely escaping defeat last time

In newly released text messages Gonzales allegedly exchanged with former district staffer Regina Santos-Aviles, Gonzales seemed to pressure Santos-Aviles to “send [him] a sexy pic” and to name her “favorite position.” Santos-Aviles appeared to push back on his advances, saying he was “going too far boss.”

When asked about the sexually explicit text messages released by Santos-Aviles’ widower, Adrian Aviles, Gonzales declined to confirm their validity. Gonzales instead deferred to the House Ethics Committee, which recently launched its investigation into the Texas Republican’s conduct.

“I’ll let the investigation play out and share all the different details on it,” Gonzales said. “I will say there’s a whole lot more to the story.”

Gonzales is now facing a primary rematch with gun YouTuber Brandon Herrera, who narrowly secured more votes than the incumbent, forcing the two rivals into a runoff.

RELATED: ‘Really disgusting’: Damning alleged texts prompt Republicans to call for scandal-ridden Tony Gonzales’ resignation

Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Herrera has been a harsh critic of Gonzales’ personal and political record, saying, “2 weeks ago this man called me a liar because I accused him of committing the heinous acts that he just publicly admitted to doing,”

“Is there anyone left who still trusts this now objectively proven liar?”

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​Tony gonzales, Brandon herrera, Regina santos-aviles, Adrian aviles, House republicans, Texas primary, 2026 primary, Republican primary, Donald trump, House ethics committee, Ethics investigation, Politics 

A North Carolina woman used the sign-off “Transforming the Masses” when responding to questions about her candidacy.

LaKeshia Mashonda Ruddi Alston was the lone Republican candidate for North Carolina state Senate District 22 and will face Democrat Sophia Chitlik in the midterms in November.

‘[W]hen I was a child, I thought as a child.’

Alston ran unopposed and shocked readers by posing for her board of elections photo wearing a niqab-style head cover, revealing only her eyes. The headdress is typically part of an Islamic garb for women. However, the Facebook account for the Durham County Board of Elections posted a second photo that showed her face, saying that Alston requested an additional photo.

Despite running as a Republican, Alston has reportedly voted for Democrat candidates in the past, twice in 2012 and once in 2024. She told the Daily Caller News Foundation that her party switch came as she matured.

“[W]hen I was a child, I thought as a child, but as I matured. I’m converted as a Republican. In order to form a more Perfect Union,” Alston said in an email.

The outlet noted that Alston signed her email with the phrase “Transforming the Masses.”

RELATED: Former MLB star wins GOP primary to replace Chip Roy in Texas

Photo by Durham County Board of Elections

With a population of about 200,000 as of 2020, the district has been dominated by Democrats for more than a decade. This started with Democrat Mike Woodard winning in 2012 by more than 30 points. He remained in office until he was unseated by fellow Democrat Chitlik in the 2024 primary. Chitlik won the general election by almost 72 points over a Libertarian opponent that year.

Although Republicans had previously controlled the district, a redistricting in 2011 changed the map to include the more Democrat-leaning Durham County.

Durham County has voted for Democrats all but twice in presidential elections as far as history can tell, dating back to 1920, when the county voted for Democrat Governor of Ohio James M. Cox.

In 1928, the county voted for Republican President Herbert Hoover, then in 1972 for Republican President Richard Nixon. The county has not voted red since and last supported Vice President Kamala Harris with over 144,000 votes, giving President Donald Trump just under 33,000 votes.

RELATED: Trump to intervene in Texas’ Senate race, anoint his preferred candidate

Readers on Facebook were not shy about letting their opinions be heard in reaction to Alston’s photos, with one calling the candidate a “devil in disguise.”

A woman named Ronda said that “changing parties seems to be the trend” in North Carolina, while Shana pointed out that the candidate is a “‘Republican’ who has been voting Democrat since 2008.”

Elizabeth added, “Any face cover should be banned,” and 23 people agreed with her sentiment.

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​News, North carolina, Senate, Republicans, Islam, Muslims, Democrats, Voting, Politics 

Newly released footage from the House Oversight Committee has put Bill and Hillary Clinton back under the microscope — this time over their past associations with Jeffrey Epstein.

During his testimony, former President Bill Clinton was shown photos of himself with the convicted sex offender.

“They actually decided to show him some of the photos of his time with Epstein during the testimony,” Gonzales says, pointing out that “he is having quite the time reliving his past experience with Epstein.”

In the clip of Clinton, he appears to be taken by the photos, staring at them while his lawyer tries to grab them and take them away from him. He takes them back and looks a little longer.

“That is not, to me, not the vibes you want to be giving when you’re being questioned about your involvement with a known sex trafficker of young girls. Probably not the look that you want to give,” Gonzales says.

Clinton also went on to claim while under oath that he never has lied while under oath, Gonzales says.

“Very interesting when we just revisit some of Bill Clinton’s very famous history,” Gonzales comments.

“First question I have for you, Mr. President, have you ever lied in a deposition?” Clinton was asked during his testimony.

“No,” Clinton responded.

“Have you ever lied while under oath?” he was asked again.

“No,” he responded again.

“I think what he meant was, ‘No, I’ve never lied while under oath, except for the time that I was impeached for lying under oath about having an affair with my intern Monica Lewinsky,’” Gonzales says.

“Do you really reach a point in your life where you actually forget that you were a president who was impeached for lying under oath about the affair that you had in the Oval Office with your staffer?” she asks. “Like, I feel like that would have to be the very last memory to go.”

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​Camera phone, Upload, Video, Sharing, Free, Video phone, Youtube.com, Sara gonzales unfiltered, Sara gonzales, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Bill clinton, Jeffrey epstein, The epstein files, Monica lewinsky, Bill clinton impeached 

A 10-year-old Florida boy was arrested and perp-walked on camera after threatening to bring a gun to his elementary school and leaving a kill list in his classroom, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said.

The sheriff’s office on Wednesday posted video of the boy in handcuffs, being led out of a patrol vehicle and being walked to a holding cell.

‘This is another reminder to talk to your kids and teach them this lesson before they learn it in the juvenile justice system.’

Officials said the student wrote in permanent marker on a Pride Elementary classroom whiteboard that he’d bring a gun to school.

The student then left a “list of people who i’m gunna kill” in a desk, officials said.

The sheriff’s office said the boy is in custody on a felony charge of making a written threat to kill.

Blaze News is not naming or showing the face of the suspect due to his age.

RELATED: 12-year-old Florida girl posts ‘detailed manifesto’ about conducting mass shooting at middle school over bullying: Cops

Image source: Volusia County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office video screenshot

The parents of the three students named on the list were notified, officials said.

The sheriff’s office said the boy told deputies he didn’t mean it, and his parent indicated that he doesn’t have access to any firearms.

Officials said, “That doesn’t change the consequences of his actions. This is another reminder to talk to your kids and teach them this lesson before they learn it in the juvenile justice system.”

Late last month the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said officers arrested a 12-year-old girl after she posted online a “detailed manifesto” about carrying out a mass shooting at a middle school due to bullying.

Blaze News over the last several months has reported about Florida authorities accusing teens — and those even younger — of making similar threats and arresting them. What’s more, law enforcement agencies frequently have released the names and images of the young suspects, a decision that hasn’t made every observer happy.

In February, a pair of 15-year-olds were arrested after being accused of threatening to shoot up high schools, police said.In late October, an 11-year-old girl was arrested after writing a “kill list” at her desk at school, police said. Then just two weeks later, an 11-year-old boy from the same school district was arrested after allegedly creating a “kill list” at school, police said.Also in October, a Florida sheriff’s office came under fire for posting 9-year-old male’s mug shot on Facebook after his felony arrest for allegedly bringing a knife into his elementary school.Just a week prior, that same sheriff’s office said a 10-year-old was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill, a third-degree felony, after bringing a pocketknife to school and threatening another student. The sheriff’s office posted the suspect’s name and mug shot.

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​Florida, Kill list, Gun threat, Volusia county sheriff’s office, Arrest, Perp walk, Elementary school, 10-year-old boy, Making a written threat to kill, Crime 

A Senate Armed Services subcommittee hearing regarding the readiness of the U.S. military was interrupted on Wednesday by a bone-breaking scuffle.

Brian McGinnis, a Marine veteran and firefighter who is running as a Green Party candidate to represent North Carolina in the U.S. Senate, noted in a video taken before the hearing that he intended to ask lawmakers “why they’re going to send our men and women to harm’s way when our elected officials said that there would be no world war.”

Wearing his Marine Corps dress uniform, McGinnis interrupted the hearing with a condemnation of America’s involvement in Iran, shouting, “No one wants to fight for Israel,” and, “Stand up for America.”

‘This gentleman came to the Capitol looking for a confrontation, and he got one.’

The Capitol Police said in a statement obtained by the Daily Montanan, “This afternoon, an unruly man who started to illegally protest during a hearing, put everyone in a dangerous position by violently resisting and fighting our officer’s attempts to remove him from the room.”

In footage captured by CBS News’ Alan He, multiple USCP officers can be seen forcefully ejecting McGinnis from the room with the help of Montana Sen. Tim Sheehy (R), who can be seen grabbing McGinnis’ leg and trying to pull him out the door.

Sen. Sheehy, a decorated Navy SEAL veteran who partook in numerous combat deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq, said in a statement, “Capitol Police were attempting to remove an unhinged protestor from the Armed Services hearing. He was fighting back. I decided to help out and deescalate the situation.”

RELATED: Lindsey Graham feverishly demands ANOTHER Middle Eastern conflict: ‘Fly with Israel’

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Footage of the struggle published by Code Pink, a leftist anti-war group co-founded by former Democratic political activist Jodie Evans, shows McGinnis insert his arm through one doorway while the rest of his person is being forced through an adjacent doorway.

Sheehy can be seen wrapping his arm around McGinnis’ shoulder in an apparent effort to free the protester’s arm — now trapped by the closing second door — while the officers tug at the protester’s legs.

A loud snap can be heard, prompting an onlooker to yell, “His hand! His hand!” and another individual off-screen to utter, “Oh my God.”

Amid groans from onlookers, a man off-screen yells, “The senator broke his hand! A sitting U.S. senator just broke the hand of a Marine.”

Upon realizing that McGinnis’ arm was indeed stuck, the officers momentarily stopped pulling to help Sheehy dislodge the broken limb.

When asked whether his hand was OK, McGinnis said, “No, it’s not.” He later noted on X that his arm was broken.

While being escorted out of the building, McGinnis — who married a Palestinian and volunteered in 2024 for the pro-Palestinian “Freedom Flotilla Coalition” — shouted, “Free Palestine! From the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli, Palestine will be free!”

The USCP confirmed that the protester was treated for an injury and now faces three counts of assaulting a police officer and three counts of “resisting arrest and crowding, obstructing, and incommoding for the unlawful demonstration.”

Sheehy noted on X, “This gentleman came to the Capitol looking for a confrontation, and he got one. I hope he gets the help he needs without causing further violence.”

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Like a highly contagious mind virus, democratic socialism is spreading fast among young Americans. The numbers, the polls, and the election results all point in the same direction: A growing share of the next generation is not just flirting with socialism — it is warming to it.

One poll from late 2025 found that nearly 60% of Americans ages 18 to 24 — and well north of 50% ages 25 to 29 — said they would support a democratic socialist for president in 2028. That support even included about a quarter of self-identified Republicans and 42% of moderates.

America needs a return to proper free-market economic policies — and a cultural renewal that treats liberty not as a slogan, but as a birthright worth defending.

Recent local elections reinforce the point. Democratic socialist mayors on both coasts — Zohran Mamdani in New York City and Katie Wilson in Seattle — won close to 80% of the youth vote in their respective races.

Plenty of institutions deserve blame for this trend. Public schools. Teacher unions. Academia. Legacy media. Social media. Hollywood. Parents too. Each has played a role in shaping how young Americans see the country and what they think “fairness” requires.

But focusing on those inputs misses the deeper driver.

A troubling share of young Americans believes the economy is rigged against them.

In late 2025, the Heartland Institute and Rasmussen Reports conducted polls on how young Americans view the U.S. economy and the American dream. The results were bleak. Only about 2 in 10 young Americans said they expect their economic future and personal happiness to be better than their parents’. Roughly three-quarters said housing costs have reached a “crisis level,” and they believe their odds of owning a home are shrinking by the day.

That despair didn’t come from nowhere.

This generation came of age in the aftermath of the Great Recession. They watched corporate bailouts become routine and “crony capitalism” harden into a feature of the system. They watched politicians arrive in Washington broke and leave rich, often by playing stock-market games that would end careers in the private sector.

They grew up under the shadow of foreign wars that burned trillions on “nation-building” while much of America decayed. They watched the dollar lose value as Washington normalized out-of-control spending, money printing, and debt accumulation. They watched manufacturing shrivel while leaders prioritized globalism over domestic production, dimming the prospects for secure, high-paying jobs.

RELATED: The party that made life more expensive wants credit for noticing

Photo by Andres Kudacki/Getty Images

Put it together, and you get a generation primed to reject the system — and open to any ideology that promises to punish the winners and rewrite the rules.

Layer on the post-9/11 surveillance state, and the picture darkens further. Many young Americans have never lived in a country where privacy and liberty felt secure. They’ve grown numb to constant monitoring and to platforms that decide what they see, share, and believe. It should not surprise anyone if their commitment to free speech, property rights, and personal liberty weakens under that pressure.

That is why diagnosing the rise of democratic socialism requires more than blaming schools or Hollywood. Those are symptoms and accelerants. The cause is deeper: America has drifted away from too many of the principles that made it a beacon of freedom and a land of opportunity.

If that is true, the remedy won’t come from scolding young Americans for their politics. It will come from proving, again, that free markets can build a stable life, that honest work can buy a home, and that the rules apply to the powerful as well as the weak.

To reduce the appeal of democratic socialism, America needs a return to proper free-market economic policies — and a cultural renewal that treats liberty not as a slogan, but as a birthright worth defending.

​Democratic socialism, Young americans, Zohran mamdani, Katie wilson, Great recession, Affordability, Socialism, American dream, Us economy, Opinion & analysis, Gen z, Voters, 2026 midterms, Jobs, Housing, Employment 

Awareness of the long-standing generalized anti-AI sentiment has turned a corner, as according to an advertising insider report, consumers, particularly the all-important younger cohorts, are so strongly biased against the use of AI that it’s threatening the proverbial bottom line.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau, which, according to its website, “empowers the media and marketing industries to thrive in the digital economy,” released a report in January stating that “82% of ad executives believe Gen Z/Millennial consumers feel very or somewhat positive about AI-generated ads, nearly double the 45% of consumers who actually feel that way. This gap has widened from 32 points in 2024 to 37 points in 2026.”

Even if it wasn’t holy, it was understandable. Now it comes off to more and more people as direct humiliation.

A real surprise, apparently, to executives. Despite the fact that many industries are all-in on refactoring human society with AI, it would appear that number crunchers and pollsters didn’t seriously consult those among us who prefer joy and satisfaction outside the world of lines on graphs trending upward.

Odd because the sheer quantity of articles in major publications with “AI” and “backlash” in their headlines is enough for casual pattern recognizers to take notice without even trying.

Last week, the over-the-top “luxury” brand Gucci, whose handbags double as status symbols, dropped an AI ad campaign on Instagram. The company seemed shocked by the vehemently negative response: slop, insulting, AI trash.

In fact, the reaction was so uniformly bad that, once again, many articles were written by the usual zombified outlets — the BBC, The New York Times, TIME — wherein the “backlash” is treated with almost effete surprise!

Virtually every governmental and social institution is in some red-flashing-light level of excessive decay, mostly due to an overemphasis by Western culture on the aforementioned lines going up, instead of the old standards like social, physical, and psychic well-being. But still, the consensus is shocked that young people don’t want to trade meaningful work, relationships, and systems of value for simulations thereof.

RELATED: First AI film hits theaters — viewers call for boycott: ‘This is complete garbage dude’

Photo by Mateusz Wlodarczyk/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Aside perhaps from the gargantuan name-brand AI companies (ChatGPT, Anthropic, Grok) buoyed by immense government funds, corporations in general, having bought the whole of the cost-savings promises of AI deployed into every level of their profit ventures, are getting nervous.

Another finding in the IAB study? “Some sentiment gaps between ad executives and consumers have actually grown wider. For instance, the percentage of consumers calling a brand “innovative” by using AI dropped from 30% in 2024 to 23%, while advertiser belief that AI signals innovation increased from 40% to 49%.”

There’s more going on. While the Gucci ads deploy a gouache collage of aesthetic dead-ends and seem to depend on their meaning for long-gone social fabric that the “creatives” don’t likely know how to manipulate anymore to drive sales, the real offense — the one that caused regular Instagram scrollers to stop and take a swipe at Gucci — is that the ads scream cheap.

The visual dexterity, the meaningless symbols, the absence of real human beings depicted in this once-aspirational fantasyland? It all adds up in the gloss to being chintzy. Unsurprisingly, this is insulting to people who have to, and want to, work for a living.

It’s one thing to create an interesting visual or audio piece while using lo-fi or primitive tools. This can impress. We know human ingenuity was expended. We appreciate the thrift, the bending of rules and the use of creative constraints to open new dimensions. And it’s possible to make ads without real people. All of this has been done before without the upheaval, without the counterassault from consumers. But consumers knew in those situations that their human-based feedback loop — strive, achieve, display — still had some social capital. Even if it wasn’t holy, it was understandable. Now it comes off to more and more people as direct humiliation.

“Bleak days,” the BBC laments, “when Gucci can’t find a real human Milanese grandmother to wear an outfit from 1976.”

Here is the double-edged issue with slop: Gucci consumers are purchasing from the striver/acquisition point of view, so their mental frame requires there be careful social and financial stratification to navigate. Even if the navigation is only an illusion. No one buys Gucci and becomes the hyper-interesting and windswept person they see in the advertisements. Of course, Gucci ad makers know and knew this, but the cost-saving opportunities with AI were too much to resist. The deal is broken.

​Tech, Ai, Artificial intelligence, Ai slop