President Donald Trump has backed a social media gun activist for the election of the 23rd congressional district in Texas after the Republican incumbent backed out of the race.

Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales was forced to drop out after evidence surfaced that he had cheated on his wife with a staffer named Regina Santos-Aviles. Santos-Aviles later committed suicide by lighting herself on fire at her home in Uvalde.

‘I had a lapse in judgment, and there was a lack of faith. And I take full responsibility for those actions.’

Brandon Herrera is a gun manufacturer and YouTuber known as “the AK Guy” who challenged Gonzales in 2024 and lost by fewer than 400 votes.

“Brandon is strongly supported by many Highly Respected MAGA Warriors in Texas, and Republicans in the U.S. House. As your next Congressman, he will work tirelessly to advance our MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN Agenda,” the president wrote on Truth Social Wednesday.

Herrera will face attorney and former elementary school teacher Katy Padilla Stout, the Democratic candidate for the seat. Democrats didn’t previously believe the seat could be flipped, but with the incumbent falling, they see an opportunity to seize the advantage.

“Brandon will fight hard to Grow the Economy,” the president continued, “Cut Taxes and Regulations, Advance MADE IN THE U.S.A., Unleash American Energy DOMINANCE, Safeguard our Elections, Champion School Choice, Keep our Border SECURE, Stop Migrant Crime, Support our Brave Military, Veterans, and Law Enforcement, and Protect our always under siege Second Amendment.”

Trump added, “HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”

RELATED: ‘The appropriate decision’: Scandal-ridden Tony Gonzales ends re-election bid after admitting to affair

Gonzales, a father of six children, admitted to the affair after sexually explicit texts he allegedly sent to Santos-Aviles were leaked to the media.

“I made a mistake. I had a lapse in judgment, and there was a lack of faith. And I take full responsibility for those actions. … I’ve asked God to forgive me, which he has, and my faith is as strong as ever,” he said in a podcast interview.

The congressman’s conduct is being investigated by the House Ethics Committee.

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

​Trump backs brandon herrera, Rep. tony gonzales scandal, Regina santos-aviles self immolation, Staffer lights herself on fire, Politics 

Rising tensions with Iran sent oil markets into panic. What happens if the conflict escalates?

“So we get these times in the markets, in periods of great uncertainty, where you have real information that is uncertain, right? You don’t know, with 20% to 30% of the world’s oil going through the strait of Hormuz, if that is going to be cut off entirely,” financial expert Carol Roth tells Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck.

“Then that is exacerbated by financial markets, and there are two pieces to that. One is just when there are these periods of uncertainty, sometimes you get, from hedge funds that have large positions and sometimes levered positions in the market, something called de-grossing, where they just get rid of everything and they go to cash, and they go, ‘We’re just going to sit and wait out and see what happens,’” she explains.

“And then you get the algorithms, and the algorithms are jumping on headlines, which are rapidly changing and uncertain, and other algorithms are following those first algorithms. So you get this exacerbation of volatility, something where … uncertainty and fear drives an outcome in the market, and then it becomes exacerbated by the dynamics of the financial market,” she adds.

Roth notes that the “good news” is that these tend to be “short-lived.”

“Because once there becomes a price mismatch between what certain people think is reality and the prices that are reflected,” she tells Glenn, “then greed drives in, they buy things up, and the prices kind of stabilize.”

But Glenn wants to unpack the “worst-case scenario.”

“Worst-case scenario: This drags on, this gets ugly. They find a way to mine the strait of Hormuz or whatever, and they shut it down. What will that do to the price of oil?” Glenn asks Roth.

“I mean, that’s a blowout. Minimum $120 to $150 a barrel. And if it really, you know, gets bad, I’ve seen a few analysts call that up to $250,” Roth answers.

“But let me give you some good news. The likelihood of that is sort of priced right now at like a 20% chance. So 80% chance that doesn’t happen,” she adds.

Want more from Glenn Beck?

To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​The glenn beck program, Glenn beck, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Oil prices, Strait of hormuz, Oil, Iran, War with iran, Carol roth, President trump, The trump administration, Donald trump 

Are youth sports quietly replacing church in American life?

Sports analyst Danny Kanell recently shined a light on this question when he suggested that youth games shouldn’t start before 9 a.m. on Sundays — and maybe shouldn’t be occurring on Sundays at all.

“He’s got two young daughters that are potential volleyball stars. And Sunday morning, Danny put out a video over X that complained about, ‘Man, what am I doing at 7:30 in the morning?’” BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock comments, before playing the clip.

“We need to save youth sports. We need to save parents from youth sports, because I’m here at a volleyball tournament and it is 7:40 on a Sunday. We need to enforce some laws that you cannot start youth sports games on the weekends before 9:00 a.m.,” Kanell began.

“And how about no sports on Sundays? How about that one? Let’s put those laws into effect,” he added.

“I’m in full agreement with Danny,” Anthony Walker tells Whitlock. “I have seen, over my lifetime, sports just invade family life. And when I look at the scriptures … the scriptures tell us in Acts chapter 2 that they all who believe were together. They had all things in common. They fellowshipped together. They broke bread from house to house together. They were real community together.”

“And that was what was primary, you know, their families and the church community was primary, and everything else is secondary. We now live in a situation where we’re trying to squeeze in the family time. We’re trying to squeeze in the fellowship and worship time,” he continues.

“I actually think that’s the attitude we should all take,” T.J. Moe agrees.

“In fact, America used to take this as a whole. You know, going back … from the beginning of our founding till about 1960, we had something called blue laws, where you couldn’t go in and go shopping for anything that was nonessential because we believed in the Lord’s day,” Moe explains.

And when it comes to sports, it’s not just parents and their kids whose Sundays are being hijacked.

“Sunday is now NFL day. It is not the Lord’s day in America, and I think that is destructive and awful,” Moe adds.

Want more from Jason Whitlock?

To enjoy more fearless conversations at the crossroads of culture, faith, sports, and comedy with Jason Whitlock, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Fearless with jason whitlock, Fearless, Jason whitlock, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Anthony walker, Tj moe, Church, Sports, Danny kanell, Religion, Sunday service, Nfl, Football 

Hollywood actress Katherine Heigl has lashed out at online trolls who lambasted her for merely attending a charity event at the president’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.

Heigl went to her first red carpet event in two years to attend the Wine, Women & Shoes annual fundraiser on Sunday but was immediately criticized by many on the left.

‘F**k her and anyone attending maga-lago for any reason.’

Many accused Heigl of supporting President Donald Trump since his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, was a co-chair of the event.

“I’ll give you this: All of you people who had weirdly intense, knee-jerk hatreds of Katherine Heigl 20 years ago were right,” progressive activist Jonathan Cohn responded.

“OMFG Katherine Heigl is a C**t. Who knew!!!” author Lorraine Evanoff replied.

“If you’re not appalled by pedo Trump, then you’re complicit. Don’t hide behind the dogs,” one user said on the X platform.

“Supporting Nazis. So many orgs that aren’t run by white supremacists. This is a choice,” another detractor said.

“F**k her and anyone attending maga-lago for any reason,” another response reads.

The actress fired back at her critics in a statement to Variety.

“Animals don’t vote,” she wrote. “The only room they don’t like is the euthanasia room at a shelter. They are completely at the mercy of us, and they have no voice of their own.”

She went on to say that animal advocacy is a deeply personal issue for her.

“Anyone who knows me knows that protecting animals is one of my greatest passions,” Heigl continued. “My mother, Nancy, and I have spent years advocating for animals through the Jason Heigl Foundation. As a society, we should all come together to protect the voiceless and the innocent. This should not be a polarizing issue.”

She also personally responded to many comments on social media.

RELATED: Liberals blame homophobia for man on video tossing brick at gay club in NYC. Police arrested a gay man for the crime.

Photo by Christopher Polk/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

The organizers of the event said they raised $5.5 million for a no-kill animal shelter.

Heigl is best known for her role in the popular “Grey’s Anatomy” television series.

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

​Katherine heigl, Liberals spew hatred, Celebrities at mar-a-lago, Greys anatomy actor, Politics 

Musician Gene Simmons minced no words when asked about Hollywood’s opinions on current political matters.

During a street interview in Beverly Hills on Tuesday, the KISS co-founder was asked about how other celebrities have commented on the recent American bombings in Iran.

‘Nobody’s interested in your opinions.’

Specifically, a reporter from TMZ asked Simmons about Ben Stiller and others criticizing President Trump “over this war thing.”

Tongue lashing

From the jump, Simmons was ready to let everyone know what he thinks.

“Yeah. Because everybody in the world should listen what actors and comedians say because they’re so qualified,” the rock star said sarcastically.

“Basically, shut the f**k up,” he firmly stated. “Do your art, and shut up. Nobody’s interested in your opinions. That includes me, who I vote for, [and] who I like.”

Simmons, now 76, then posed a simple question to celebrities:

“Who the f**k do you think you are?”

RELATED: KISS frontman Gene Simmons takes on Tim Tebow critics who attack player’s faith

Ruffalo rebuffed

The musician may have put some thought into the topic beforehand, showing that even after 50 years as a platinum-selling artist, he still seemingly has his feet on the ground.

“People in America work hard for their living, and they don’t want to be lectured to by people who live in mansions and drive Rolls-Royces. It’s time for everybody in the entertainment industry to shut their piehole and just do your art. Nobody cares what you think. I don’t,” he added.

Simmons, real name Chaim Witz, then targeted actor Mark Ruffalo — who is rather outspoken about his left-wing politics — and gave another sarcastic rebuff.

“What will Mark Ruffalo … what does Mark think about politics? I don’t care,” he confirmed, telling the reporter that celebrities should likely stay out of politics, or instead, one should “go to Kylie Jenner and ask her what she thinks of the war so far.”

RELATED: Fox News permanently bans Kiss frontman Gene Simmons for crude behavior, report says

Photo by Alex Kent/Getty Images

Pot, meet kettle?

Simmons has made public statements that could be considered political, however. For example, he chimed in during the COVID-19 era and said, “If you’re willing to walk among us unvaccinated, you are an enemy,” telling listeners of the Rock N Roll Channel to “stay away from evil people who don’t care about your health.”

KISS released it’s first studio album in 1974, releasing an album near-annually until 1992. The band’s time wound down with albums in 1997, 1998, 2009, and 2012.

According to the RIAA, KISS has sold more than 25 million album copies and has the most gold-certified records (30) of any group ever.

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

​Align, Kiss, Celebrities, Hollywood, Mark ruffalo, Trump, Iran, Protesting, Left wing, Entertainment