A popular child entertainer is getting lambasted online for posting a video with a pro-Palestinian photographer whom many accuse of being a Hamas sympathizer.

Rachel Accurso has millions of followers on YouTube and other social media platforms and has garnered billions of views, which led to a deal with Netflix. But many of her previous supporters have vowed to boycott her after she boosted photographer Motaz Azaiza.

‘Millions of kids consume her content. To expose them to Motaz is to expose them to the Palestine death cult.’

Azaiza is a Palestinian photographer who has earned praise for covering the war in the Gaza Strip, but he’s also been excoriated for a post that encouraged people to join the violence perpetrated by Hamas military leader Yahya Sinwar.

“Ms. Rachel, who makes content for toddlers, posted a video to her 3.4 million followers with her ‘friend,’ Palestinian journalist Motaz. Azaiza has called on his followers to support the ‘resistance’ and celebrated Yahya Sinwar,” author Hen Mazzig responded.

“Millions of kids consume her content. To expose them to Motaz is to expose them to the Palestine death cult,” writer Eitan Fischberger replied.

“Ms Rachel is a Hamas supporting sell out who … platforms Palestinians that advocate the kidnapping of Israeli children. She is now collaborating with Motaz, a Gazan who praises Hamas and who openly encouraged rape, murder, and kidnapping — including of children, on October 7th,” journalist Emily Schrader said.

RELATED: New York Times writer mocked and ridiculed for regurgitating bizarre NPR claim against Israel in Gaza war

“Has Ms. Rachel ever featured an Israeli child on her show to raise awareness about the thousands of orphans in Israel whose parents were murdered in the war Hamas launched?” writer and speaker Yoni Michanie asked. “Or to highlight the trauma of enduring nights in bomb shelters? Because I haven’t seen any examples yet.”

Accurso has been accused of spreading anti-Israel propaganda about the war in Gaza by an organization battling anti-Semitism. And the entertainer has claimed that her Christian faith leads her to celebrate Pride Month and LGBTQ causes.

Azaiza was named one of the top 100 most influential people by Time magazine in 2024.

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​Ms rachel, Child entertainers, Pro-hamas celebs, Motaz azaiza, Politics 

We live in an era when seeking the truth is like trying to catch the wind. Government and big corporations lead us through a land of smoke and mirrors, feeding us lie after lie to keep us perpetually trapped in the dark.

While many people have given up trying to find truth altogether, others have gotten more creative in their methods. One of those people is investigative reporter James O’Keefe, founder of O’Keefe Media Group, an undercover investigative organization notorious for conducting sting operations targeting the most corrupt government and corporate entities.

OMG just expanded its platform to include a new series called “American Swiper,” which aims to expose corruption, bias, and misconduct using undercover citizen journalists and hidden cameras. From intelligence agents and politicians to corporate bigwigs and media outlets, nobody’s secrets are safe.

Earlier this month as part of its “American Swiper” series, OMG released an audio recording of Rami Hassan, a deputy senior national intelligence officer at the FBI. On the recording, Hassan is heard telling his undercover date that law enforcement mishandled the Epstein case.

On the latest episode of “Normal World,” O’Keefe joined Dave Landau, ¼ Black Garrett, and Angela Boggs to dig into the Epstein scandal that somehow just keeps getting bigger.

The panel first revisits the audio capturing Hassan’s apparent admission.

“I’m with FBI. It’s a s**t show. I do a lot of kind of countering white supremacy things,” he said. “Although the last two and half years, I was at the White House and then kind of got moved back … with the new administration coming in.”

Hassan’s trained date then cleverly segued to the subject of Epstein. “Small coincidence, but I’ve been watching the Epstein documentary …” she began before Hassan interjected.

“They [FBI] were trying to … release some of the files — like the White House was … it’s just messy,” he said, according to the recording, before confessing that law enforcement “turned a blind eye” or “missed things” regarding the Epstein case.

What Hassan told a stranger, O’Keefe says, is “very similar to what Attorney General Pam Bondi did in April” this year. In another sting operation, OMG video shows Bondi telling an undercover journalist that “there’s tens of thousands of videos” that the DOJ has to sort through.

“The question I have is why did the Attorney General and [Hassan] disclose this information to a stranger in a public place before they disclosed it to the American people?” says O’Keefe, who thinks at this point we need to consider making everything “unredacted.”

“I recognize the world is glued together by secrets. … You can’t do a military strike against bad people if they know that you’re coming, right? … But I think at this point, things are so out of balance,” he says. “Everything’s redacted. Everything’s a lie.”

As for the DOJ and FBI’s joint memo claiming Epstein’s client list “doesn’t exist,” O’Keefe says the “no-evidence argument” is always “a red flag.”

“In fairness to the Department of Justice, perhaps it’s not what the MAGA people want it to be. But I would bet you a hundred bucks that there’s something there … that they don’t want us to see,” he says.

To hear more of his take and more about other OMG sting operations, watch the episode above.

Want more ‘Normal World’?

To enjoy more whimsical satire, topical sketches, and comedic discussions from comedians Dave Landau and 1/4 Black Garrett, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Normal world, Blazetv, Blaze media, Dave landau, James okeefe, Okeefe media group, Epstein, American swiper 

We live in an era when seeking the truth is like trying to catch the wind. Government and big corporations lead us through a land of smoke and mirrors, feeding us lie after lie to keep us perpetually trapped in the dark.

While many people have given up trying to find truth altogether, others have gotten more creative in their methods. One of those people is investigative reporter James O’Keefe, founder of O’Keefe Media Group, an undercover investigative organization notorious for conducting sting operations targeting the most corrupt government and corporate entities.

OMG just expanded its platform to include a new series called “American Swiper,” which aims to expose corruption, bias, and misconduct using undercover citizen journalists and hidden cameras. From intelligence agents and politicians to corporate bigwigs and media outlets, nobody’s secrets are safe.

Earlier this month as part of its “American Swiper” series, OMG released an audio recording of Rami Hassan, a deputy senior national intelligence officer at the FBI. On the recording, Hassan is heard telling his undercover date that law enforcement mishandled the Epstein case.

On the latest episode of “Normal World,” O’Keefe joined Dave Landau, ¼ Black Garrett, and Angela Boggs to dig into the Epstein scandal that somehow just keeps getting bigger.

The panel first revisits the audio capturing Hassan’s apparent admission.

“I’m with FBI. It’s a s**t show. I do a lot of kind of countering white supremacy things,” he said. “Although the last two and half years, I was at the White House and then kind of got moved back … with the new administration coming in.”

Hassan’s trained date then cleverly segued to the subject of Epstein. “Small coincidence, but I’ve been watching the Epstein documentary …” she began before Hassan interjected.

“They [FBI] were trying to … release some of the files — like the White House was … it’s just messy,” he said, according to the recording, before confessing that law enforcement “turned a blind eye” or “missed things” regarding the Epstein case.

What Hassan told a stranger, O’Keefe says, is “very similar to what Attorney General Pam Bondi did in April” this year. In another sting operation, OMG video shows Bondi telling an undercover journalist that “there’s tens of thousands of videos” that the DOJ has to sort through.

“The question I have is why did the Attorney General and [Hassan] disclose this information to a stranger in a public place before they disclosed it to the American people?” says O’Keefe, who thinks at this point we need to consider making everything “unredacted.”

“I recognize the world is glued together by secrets. … You can’t do a military strike against bad people if they know that you’re coming, right? … But I think at this point, things are so out of balance,” he says. “Everything’s redacted. Everything’s a lie.”

As for the DOJ and FBI’s joint memo claiming Epstein’s client list “doesn’t exist,” O’Keefe says the “no-evidence argument” is always “a red flag.”

“In fairness to the Department of Justice, perhaps it’s not what the MAGA people want it to be. But I would bet you a hundred bucks that there’s something there … that they don’t want us to see,” he says.

To hear more of his take and more about other OMG sting operations, watch the episode above.

Want more ‘Normal World’?

To enjoy more whimsical satire, topical sketches, and comedic discussions from comedians Dave Landau and 1/4 Black Garrett, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Normal world, Blazetv, Blaze media, Dave landau, James okeefe, Okeefe media group, Epstein, American swiper 

A foreign national residing in one of Massachusetts’ migrant shelters confessed to committing a horrific crime against his daughter.

A 44-year-old man, who lived at the Marlborough Holiday Inn, pleaded guilty on July 11 to aggravated rape of a child.

‘I’m not looking for political theater — I’m seeking accountability for the horrific abuses that have taken place.’

The shelter’s then-manager, Jon Fetherston, reported the attack to authorities, claiming that the man raped and impregnated his 14-year-old daughter while residing in the state-run facility. He previously told Blaze News that while managing the shelter from November 2023 to July 2024, he reported many tragic crimes, including alleged domestic violence and sexual assault.

The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office reported that a buccal swab was taken after the daughter’s baby was born.

“Those samples were sent to a forensic testing laboratory, and on January 24, 2025, it was determined that not only was the defendant the biological father of the victim, it was also twenty-three trillion times more likely than not, that he was the biological father of the victim’s baby,” the DA’s office said.

RELATED: ‘Dangerous and corrupt’: Whistleblower demands DOJ probe Massachusetts migrant shelters

Photo by Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Following last week’s guilty plea, the man faces a prison sentence of 12 to 15 years. His name was withheld to protect the identity of his daughter.

Last month, Fetherston stated that he sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi urging the Department of Justice to open an investigation into the state’s shelter system, warning that the program is “dangerous and corrupt.” He highlighted concerns related to “a disturbing pattern of criminal activity, sexual assaults, financial abuse, and the widespread use of no-bid contracts.”

His letter called on the DOJ to investigate “criminal activity and sexual violence within Massachusetts-run migrant shelters,” “widespread fraud and misuse of federal and state funds,” “the deliberate refusal to coordinate with federal law enforcement agencies,” and “the pattern of retaliation against those reporting abuse, danger, or misconduct.”

RELATED: Inside Massachusetts migrant shelters where crime flourishes under Democrats’ watch

Jodi Hilton for The Washington Post via Getty Images

Fetherston told Blaze News on Friday that he has not yet received a response from Bondi’s office.

“As of today, I have not received a response from Attorney General Bondi’s office, but I remain hopeful that justice will prevail. I’m not looking for political theater — I’m seeking accountability for the horrific abuses that have taken place,” Fetherston stated. “The system failed these vulnerable families, and those responsible — whether they’re shelter administrators, state officials, or private contractors — must be held to account. If Bondi or the DOJ won’t act, I’ll keep pushing until someone does. The tragedies inside these shelters must end, and silence is not an option.”

The DOJ said Friday that it does not have Fetherston’s letter.

Fetherston provided Blaze News with tracking receipts indicating that his mail was delivered on June 13, addressed to Bondi in Washington, D.C.

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​News, Massachusetts, Jon fetherston, Immigration, Illegal immigration crisis, Illegal immigration, Immigration crisis, Marlborough, Pam bondi, Department of justice, Doj, Politics 

A foreign national residing in one of Massachusetts’ migrant shelters confessed to committing a horrific crime against his daughter.

A 44-year-old man, who lived at the Marlborough Holiday Inn, pleaded guilty on July 11 to aggravated rape of a child.

‘I’m not looking for political theater — I’m seeking accountability for the horrific abuses that have taken place.’

The shelter’s then-manager, Jon Fetherston, reported the attack to authorities, claiming that the man raped and impregnated his 14-year-old daughter while residing in the state-run facility. He previously told Blaze News that while managing the shelter from November 2023 to July 2024, he reported many tragic crimes, including alleged domestic violence and sexual assault.

The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office reported that a buccal swab was taken after the daughter’s baby was born.

“Those samples were sent to a forensic testing laboratory, and on January 24, 2025, it was determined that not only was the defendant the biological father of the victim, it was also twenty-three trillion times more likely than not, that he was the biological father of the victim’s baby,” the DA’s office said.

RELATED: ‘Dangerous and corrupt’: Whistleblower demands DOJ probe Massachusetts migrant shelters

Photo by Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Following last week’s guilty plea, the man faces a prison sentence of 12 to 15 years. His name was withheld to protect the identity of his daughter.

Last month, Fetherston stated that he sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi urging the Department of Justice to open an investigation into the state’s shelter system, warning that the program is “dangerous and corrupt.” He highlighted concerns related to “a disturbing pattern of criminal activity, sexual assaults, financial abuse, and the widespread use of no-bid contracts.”

His letter called on the DOJ to investigate “criminal activity and sexual violence within Massachusetts-run migrant shelters,” “widespread fraud and misuse of federal and state funds,” “the deliberate refusal to coordinate with federal law enforcement agencies,” and “the pattern of retaliation against those reporting abuse, danger, or misconduct.”

RELATED: Inside Massachusetts migrant shelters where crime flourishes under Democrats’ watch

Jodi Hilton for The Washington Post via Getty Images

Fetherston told Blaze News on Friday that he has not yet received a response from Bondi’s office.

“As of today, I have not received a response from Attorney General Bondi’s office, but I remain hopeful that justice will prevail. I’m not looking for political theater — I’m seeking accountability for the horrific abuses that have taken place,” Fetherston stated. “The system failed these vulnerable families, and those responsible — whether they’re shelter administrators, state officials, or private contractors — must be held to account. If Bondi or the DOJ won’t act, I’ll keep pushing until someone does. The tragedies inside these shelters must end, and silence is not an option.”

The DOJ said Friday that it does not have Fetherston’s letter.

Fetherston provided Blaze News with tracking receipts indicating that his mail was delivered on June 13, addressed to Bondi in Washington, D.C.

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

​News, Massachusetts, Jon fetherston, Immigration, Illegal immigration crisis, Illegal immigration, Immigration crisis, Marlborough, Pam bondi, Department of justice, Doj, Politics 

There’s a time portal in Upstate New York that can take you back 40-50 years.

You’ll have a hard time believing this, but it’s true. You’ll find normal people, friendly customer service, sincere smiles, and multi-generational families having good old-fashioned fun. Inside this wrinkle in time, there are no touchscreens, no questions about signing up for text messages to get a discount, and no dead-eyed Gen Z cashiers who need to get a manager if they key in the wrong amount.

Every carhop was a pretty, well-put-together woman between 20 and 50. All wore clean, well-fitting uniforms and genuine smiles on their faces.

This doorway to a better time is disguised as the A&W Restaurant on route 281 in Cortland, and I believe it can save America. Stay with me for details below; first we have to take stock of where we are in 2025.

Chimes and misdemeanors

In a typical day, the average American — let’s call him Matt — gets into his car and struggles with a touchscreen TV just to get the air conditioning going while a series of “helpful reminder” chimes and warnings lecture about seatbelts and looking behind before he backs up.

At work, he has to answer to Caitlynne, the candy-haired HR manager who demands to know when he’s going to sit through the Belonging and Inclusion video. When he answers the phone, some random under-35 with phone anxiety who won’t identify himself asks, “Is this, like, Matt?”

Check yourself

The fast casual lunch spot has his favorite burrito ready to go at 12:15, but Worker Tyler insists Matt “has to” use “the app” to pay “because we don’t have the staff for the register.”

On the days that they do have the staff, Adelaide hands him the bag over the counter, then swings the iPad around: “It’s just gonna ask you a question?” Fast-food workers believe they’re entitled to tips for handing you a bag, but they don’t have the character to ask directly, so they disguise it with a phony statement delivered in “upspeak.”

On the way home, Matt’s wife, Becca, texts him to ask him to stop at the grocery and get half and half. This “quick stop” takes a half-hour because while the store is filled with shoppers, only one live human is on a register. The self-checkouts have lines going down the paper towel aisle and one sullen heifer with face metal to supervise the so-stupid customers, who, like, can’t even figure out how to scan milk?

Tech tyrants

Once Matt is home, Becca apologizes that the laundry isn’t done, but she can’t get the washing machine to run. It has 26 “features” and cycles — none of which say simply, “Wash in hot water.”

Becca made the inferior-human mistake of trying to make the tub fill all the way, but the Wi-Fi-enabled machine decided that using enough water to get the clothes clean is Causing the Environment to Experience Harm. So it just sits there doing nothing, and Becca can go suck eggs.

In bed with their books, Becca and Matt sigh as Matt’s work phone dings at him with a message from his boss that “can’t wait” until morning. But he can’t open his email, because company policy requires two-factor (read: “You must have two computers on your person at all times”) authentication, and the “super easy app” with a special secret code keeps shutting down.

Fridge opens YOU

Does any of this sound familiar? It’s what life looks like in 2025, a time that most of us in Generation X thought would look like “The Jetsons.” But instead of friendly robot maids and easy-to-fly space cars, we’re bossed around by over-digitized automobiles and jacked-up telephones.

For the first time in history, our machines don’t execute our commands. Instead, they issue orders and commands to us. Get the key sequence right or you’re not eating tonight, meat bag.

Matt to the fridge: “Open the freezer doors, HAL.”

The fridge: “I feel like maybe I can’t do that, Matt?”

Woe betide anyone who complains about this. Complainers will be assured by young people (and a surprising number of middle-agers) that they’re lol-boomer-stupid for not instantly recognizing that the squiggly line drawing on the touchscreen is supposed to mean “send this text.”

We humans are fairly begging the machines to finish us. Have you noticed how we walk around all day with devices the size of a pack of cards with alphabetic letters so tiny your finger selects four at once and yet we apologize for having “fat thumbs”?

Since when did we accept that we don’t measure up to the machine, instead of making the machine measure up to our needs?

Time portal

That was a long wind-up before I tell you about the A&W time portal in Cortland, New York, I know, but it was necessary. Now that you’re feeling 21st-century exasperation, imagine what it would be like to have the lunch I had with my sister last week.

That restaurant has been in Cortland since long before I was born. My mother worked there when I was a baby, and Grandma brought me in to eat cut-up hot dogs in a high chair. This all took place in the same dining room, under the same roof, with the same sign and the same food that I enjoyed the other day on a hometown trip with my sister.

The first thing you notice is that there’s no drive-through. That’s because it’s a drive-in. For those younger than 45, that means you pull into a covered parking spot, you place your order through an intercom, and a waitress called a “carhop” brings you food on a tray that hooks onto your car door. On this visit, my burger came in a bag, but you get the idea.

Flipping the switch

The menu boards are printed and static, not revolving LED displays. The intercoms are the very same heavy-duty steel and chrome units originally installed in the late 1950s. Operating them could not be simpler. Press the button — yes, a physical button that does one thing and gives tactile feedback — to place your order. On the right, there’s a toggle switch (again, yes) you flip to have your tray picked up.

“NO CARDS — CASH ONLY — ATM INSIDE,” says a sign on the menu. I walk into the dining room to get my cash. It’s an actual dining room with carpet, padded booths, and attractive hanging lamps. Each table features A&W’s 1980s signature traditional corded handset phones; you can place your order or call for a waitress by picking one up.

RELATED: Fear the beaver: How a gas station became a cult (and why you should consider joining)

Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Warm welcome

The place was hopping, and everyone on staff had a chipper tone and a smile. I worked in restaurants for years, and this was a sure sign of a well-run establishment where staff enjoyed their work. That was probably the part of this visit that felt most like I had slipped back in time — there were zero mumbling Gen Z kids acting like my patronage was a burden.

At almost every table was a multi-generational family from toddlers to grandpas eating together and behaving like sane humans. I had to slap my own face to make sure I was awake.

The carhop brought our order out and, mirabile dictu, counted my change back up to the original tender amount. All without an iPhone. She was about 22, attractive, and genuinely cheerful. I gave her a 50% tip.

Every carhop was a pretty, well-put-together woman between 20 and 50. All wore clean, well-fitting uniforms and genuine smiles on their faces. No outrageous makeup or clacking face jewelry — and no attitude.

A quick 18

Next door is the A&W mini-golf course. Most of the families went over there after burgers and onion rings. The course had no Branded Franchise characters, no X-Men(™) or Marvel Universe Friends(™). Instead, you aimed your ball at holes graced by miniature fairy-tale castles, cartoon bears, and raging tigers.

Cortland Miniature Golf Course

Faithful readers, it was wholesome. The burgers and rings were bigger, better, hotter, and about a third cheaper than the slop served at more famous national chains. Yes, the onion rings are still the best you can get.

The best of American life

My sister Jesse and I grew up in Cortland. It was a hard childhood; our mother was deranged and violent, and we wanted nothing more than to run away from that stupid, awful small town and have a life somewhere, anywhere, that didn’t look like home.

Today I’m 50 and she’s 46. When we drive through Cortland of 2025, we see a town that looks pretty much the same as it did in the 1980s.

What we couldn’t see as children is obvious now. Cortland is a working-class town full of people who keep their houses and lawns tidy, know the value of a dollar, and take pride in doing their work well. Frankly, it seems like paradise.

There’s no better example of the best of American life than what you get at the A&W Restaurant on Route 281. If more of the country would look at that example and remember how good work — and life — can be when it’s done sensibly with a smile, America could save itself. God bless that place and everyone who works there.

​God bless america, Lifestyle, A&w drive-in, Cortland, Ny, Small town usa, Intervention 

A multiagency investigation into a suspicious uptick in reported crimes uncovered an alleged visa fraud scheme that led to the arrest of several current and former law enforcement officers.

U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana Alexander Van Hook explained that an “unusual number of armed robberies” in small Louisiana communities sparked investigations. He noted that most of the listed victims were not from the area.

‘99.9% of law enforcement’s good.’

“The armed robberies never took place, and those listed in the applications were never victims of crime,” Van Hook stated during a Wednesday press conference.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced a 62-count indictment against a local business owner, Chandrakant Patel, and several current and former police officers: Oakdale Chief of Police Chad Doyle, Oakdale’s Ward 5 Marshal Michael Slaney, Forest Hill Chief of Police Glynn Dixon, and former Glenmora Chief of Police Tebo Onishea.

The indictment charged the defendants with bribery, conspiracy to commit visa fraud, and mail fraud after the men reportedly ran a “more than nine-and-a-half-year alleged scheme to author, facilitate, produce, and authenticate false police reports of purported armed robberies in the central Louisiana area.”

RELATED: Chinese nationals on student visas allegedly ripped off elderly Americans in nasty scheme

Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Hundreds of foreign nationals used those alleged false police reports to apply for U visas, which are intended to protect crime victims who are willing to assist law enforcement in investigations or prosecutions.

The indictment claims that the foreign nationals contacted business owner Patel to request that they be labeled as armed robbery victims in police reports. Patel would then allegedly ask Doyle, Slaney, Dixon, or Onishea to write up the false police reports so the immigrants could use them as official supporting documents in their visa applications.

Patel allegedly received thousands of dollars for his participation in the scheme. According to the indictment, he offered to pay a Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office agent $5,000 in February for a fake police report.

RELATED: Exclusive: Government doesn’t know if any illegal aliens registered for draft, as they are required to do, during Biden surge

Photo by Miami Herald via Getty Images

Rapides Parish Sheriff Mark Wood told WBRZ-TV, “99.9% of law enforcement’s good.”

“We go to work every day. We get up, we do what we’re supposed to do. For whatever reason, the allure of money, or whatever it is that leads them to do the wrong thing, don’t do it,” Wood stated.

The USCIS reported, “If convicted, the defendants each face a sentence of up to five years in prison on the conspiracy charge; up to 10 years on the visa fraud charges; and up to 20 years on the mail fraud charge. Patel faces up to 10 years on the bribery charge. In addition, they could be ordered to pay a fine of up to $250,000 on each count.”

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​News, Louisiana, Illegal immigration crisis, Illegal immigration, Immigration crisis, Immigration, Visa fraud, Uscis, Us citizenship, U.s. citizenship and migration services, United states citizenship and immigration services, False police reports, Police reports, Police corruption, Corruption, Bribery, Fraud, Politics 

Director Salvador Litvak brought “Guns & Moses” to a Jewish film festival in Atlanta earlier this year, and an audience member gave him an earful.

The film follows Rabbi Mo Zaltzman (Mark Feuerstein), who becomes proficient in using firearms after a gunman targets his synagogue.

‘Now, in the Jewish community, the term “survivor” has a new meaning on top of the Holocaust — survivors of those kibbutzim on the border [of Israel].’

“I don’t have a question. I have a statement. … This is not what we need. This is not how we fight — with guns. We fight with a pen,” Litvak recalls the woman telling him during a post-screening Q&A.

“Ma’am, I 100% agree with you. Articles, editorials, speeches. We need to be doing that the best that we can to fight anti-Semitism and to build alliances with our friends and supporters,” Litvak told her.

“But when a bad guy enters a synagogue intent on killing people, then you need a guy like me and a guy like Rabbi Mo … to stand between you and that would-be murderer,” he continued.

Protect and serve

Litvak, an Orthodox Jew, is part of Magen Am, a volunteer security organization that trains Jews to protect their communities.

“The crowd applaude. … You could see it was so difficult for her,” the “Saving Lincoln” filmmaker said about the exchange.

Pictures from the Fringe/Emma McIntyre/Getty Images

“Guns & Moses” — co-starring Neal McDonough, Dermot Mulroney, and Christopher Lloyd — offers a timely look at Jews fighting back via the Second Amendment. Litvak, who co-wrote the film with wife Nina Litvak, wrapped production before the Oct. 7 attacks.

The Jewish community already understood all too well the threats against it. Post-October 7, the film’s sobering message hits harder.

‘Good and meaningful’

Litvak says he decided to make a thriller as his next feature back in 2019. He began watching a classic thriller every day to study the best of the best. Then he read about a California synagogue shooting that killed member Lori Gilbert-Kaye.

Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein survived the assault but lost two fingers in the melee. Litvak later interviewed the rabbi.

Goldstein had asked people to make something “good and meaningful” from the tragedy, the director recalls.

“I was very moved by that,” he said, and “Guns & Moses” was born.

Fear of faith

The director assembled a sturdy cast, including veteran thesp Lloyd, who plays a Holocaust survivor. Litvak landed on the “Back to the Future” alum — who hired a dialect coach to get his Eastern European accent just right — after being rejected by a series of “very big names of a certain age.”

“This older Hollywood [community] is very afraid of faith. … It’s like a peanut allergy for them,” said Litvak, whose mother and grandmother survived the Holocaust.

He faced more roadblocks while sharing the rough cut around Hollywood. He recalls screening the footage for a “big agent” who predicted the film would clean up on streaming platforms.

Litvak gently told him he saw the title as a theatrical release, adding that the film’s audience will be not just Jewish patrons but Christians and conservatives.

“What are you talking about? Those people hate Jews,” he recalls the agent saying.

“My jaw was on the floor. … Have you ever met the people you fly over? Obviously, you don’t know them. I know they support the Jewish people. I don’t think this is news.”

Shattering stereotypes

The exchange stuck with Litvak.

“This guy is so out of touch. Hollywood in general is so out of touch with half of America,” he said.

He hopes “Guns & Moses,” which opens in cinemas today, shows the power of self-defense in uncertain times. He also wants the movie to shatter Jewish stereotypes.

“It’s a faith-based movie. It’s an action thriller, which isn’t a typical genre within the faith-based [genre]. It’s about an orthodox rabbi who takes his faith seriously. … It’s not about a nebbishy or neurotic Jew,’ he said.

“[Judaism] is a beautiful tradition that has so much to share. It’s very important to us to smash those stereotypes.”

“Guns & Moses” takes firearm training seriously. It’s not a matter of showing the hero knocking over a few tin cans in a slick montage.

“In the real world — God forbid you’re ever under pressure and in danger and you have to draw a firearm and use it — to hit the bad guy and not hit innocent people … takes not just skill but muscle memory,” he said.

‘Never again,’ again

The film’s subject matter meant Litvak’s team had to work around the Hollywood system, not benefit from it.

“We knew that no studio was going to make this movie,” he said. What he couldn’t foresee was a massacre on the scale that Hamas committed two years ago.

RELATED: New York City’s likely next mayor wants to ‘globalize the intifada’

Photo by Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images

“We always thought [the topic] would be relevant. … Now, in the Jewish community, the term ‘survivor’ has a new meaning on top of the Holocaust — survivors of those kibbutzim on the border [of Israel],” he says.

That, plus the “overt” anti-Semitism on college campuses nationwide, rocked him.

“It was at least considered inappropriate or impolite to call for the death of Jews on national TV,” he said. “Democrats will not walk back support for ‘globalize the intifada,'” he added, alluding to New York City mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani.

“We’re living in such times,” he said. “‘Never again’ means we have to take responsibility for our safety.”

​Salvador litvak, October 7, Hamas, Hollywood, Antisemitism, Guns, Culture, Movies, Interview, Align interview 

CNN host Harry Enten warned Democrats this week they could trail Republicans by the largest margins in decades if they do not turn things around.

Enten, the resident stats expert at CNN, told Democrats to “hold the phone” if they think criticizing the Trump administration over the Jeffrey Epstein files is going to save them.

Instead, Trump’s support has been resilient among likely voters, with the Democrats in danger of taking a monumental backstep in the 2026 midterm elections.

‘Democrats have not come anywhere close to sealing the deal at this particular point.’

Enten delivered the shocking numbers to CNN’s John Berman, giving him the grim “bottom line” for the Democrats.

“Democrats are behind their 2006 and 2018 paces when it comes to the generic congressional ballot.”

In Democrat versus Republican congressional ballot margins, the Democrat lead has shrunk by more than two times when compared to July 2005, when it was a +7-point margin. The gap remained the same in 2017, but in July 2025, the margin is now just a +2 for Democrats.

“Donald Trump may be unpopular, but Democrats have not come anywhere close to sealing the deal at this particular point,” Enten told his colleague.

The devastating numbers somehow got way worse for Democrats when breaking down the midterms race by race.

RELATED: Election officials rage as Trump administration pushes for election security

When comparing chances for seat changes ahead of previous midterms under Republican presidents, Democrats were favored by +7 in 2005 and a whopping +33 in 2017, CNN showed.

The Democrats over performed in both cases, picking up 31 seats in the 2006 midterms and 41 seats in the 2018 midterms.

Now, CNN’s Enten showed Republicans are up a shocking 12 points at the same time this year ahead of the 2026 midterms.

“So it’s not just on the generic ballot where Democrats are behind their 2017 and 2005 pace. It’s actually when it comes seat by seat, you see that at least at this particular point, Republicans actually have more net pick-up opportunities,” Enten stressed.

“This doesn’t look anything like those wave elections back in 2006 or 2018,” he added.

RELATED: When I brought the truth to Congress, Democrats lost their minds

The stat guru concluded by showing the congressional ballot margin numbers were the same among voters in October 2024, before the presidential election, as they are now.

“Reality check,” Enten wrote on his X account. “Dems are way behind their 2006 & 2018 pace … at this point in the cycle.”

The host emphasized that the numbers he is seeing are indicative of when Republicans have held onto a House majority and appear strikingly similar to the 2024 election cycle.

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​News, Democrats, Republicans, Midterm, Polling, Cnn, Election, Trump, Biden, House, Congress, Politics 

I was recently asked a question by a conference participant about whether education faces an AI apocalypse. “I’m on staff at a college in Washington state, and in my work, I interface with our curriculum,” the concerned educator said.

“Our instructors tell us they’re no longer really teaching because about 90% of assignments they get back are AI-generated,” they went on. “When you take the students away from the AI, they’re functionally illiterate. Getting together is nice, as long as there’s some commonality. But if AI destroys our ability to transmit culture meaningfully from person to person, the connections between humans will eventually fail, because there will be no commonality of learning, culture, or understanding.”

I have a pretty straightforward take on this — extremely basic, really.

We ask education to be way too many things: It’s a rite of passage, a day care, a credential factory, a gatekeeper, and so on.

In my day job at Symbolic AI, I’m always trying to get state-of-the-art language models to produce text artifacts reflective of human steering, human insight, and human intelligence. You input your notes and your thoughts, and it’s supposed to become, say, a news article or something. But even the latest models are very brittle. LLMs are fragile.

When you color outside the lines, the whole thing starts to collapse and fall apart. If this brittle, janky prototype technology has destroyed higher education as we know it — really? I’m trying to imagine Professor Tolkien’s seminar back in the day, where you show up to read some medieval history and you bring this ChatGPT output. Why would you even do that?

In seminars I was in, reading Plutarch or whatever, there would have been no room for this. Maybe AI is a bit like a wildfire in the ecosystem that burns away some of the dead wood, fertilizes the ground, and allows something better — and perhaps older, closer to what it once was — to grow back.

If someone genuinely wants to learn, grow intellectually, and become educated, and you tell him clearly, “Using AI in these ways will help you toward that goal, and using it in these other ways will hinder you,” then he’ll generally choose the right path and avoid misusing the tools.

It’s kind of like physical exercise. Imagine someone wants to build muscle. You could have a machine lift the weights for you — which would obviously be pointless, even though, sure, the weights got lifted — or you could use the machine to provide resistance and actually get stronger.

But if someone is just trying to check a box, gain status, or please his parents or peers with the appearance of being educated, he’ll do whatever he has to do — AI shortcuts included. My honest feeling about those folks is that I’d rather not waste educational resources on them.

RELATED: Supreme Court grants massive victory to Trump administration on cutting down Department of Education

Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Education should mainly be for those who truly want to learn. Right now, though, we ask education to be way too many things: It’s a rite of passage, a day care, a credential factory, a gatekeeper, and so on.

My view here is grounded in my experience raising my own girls. I’ve found that when they genuinely want to learn something — whether it’s painting, Iceland (my oldest is obsessed … no clue why), algebra, pop-music lore — they naturally dive in with enthusiasm.

But if they have to do something just to check a box, we talk about whether there’s actually any value in it. If we agree it’s beneficial enough, they’ll do it — but usually at around 70% effort, which is good enough. And if we decide it’s pointless, we scheme up a shortcut to minimize their wasted effort so they can spend their time on something better.

My big question in these cases is always: What are you doing with the time you saved by taking that shortcut? Did you waste it, or did you put it to good use and end up ahead?

This exact question is going to apply to newsrooms adopting AI tools like mine. Once you gain back some of your time, what are you doing with it? Are you just churning out more content slop, or are you investing in better, deeper stories?

By the way: I don’t assume that everyone’s going to default to producing slop — the returns on that are diminishing anyway. In fact, there’s a real chance we’ll see better reporting emerge, because ultimately that’s what audiences value and will pay for.

A version of this article was published at jonstokes.com.

​Ai, Education, Tech, Lifestyle, Return