The season of family road trips is upon us, and the open highway stretches ahead. You’ve packed the snacks, filled the tank, and are bracing yourselves for the first backseat skirmish over disputed elbow territory.

You consider keeping the peace via the usual distribution of digital Xanax — a screen and headphones for each underage passenger. But then a crazy idea hits you: Couldn’t we spend this time together? You know, making memories and such?

From cave rescues in Thailand to high-seas hostage escapes, ‘Against the Odds’ is the kind of storytelling that gets everyone quiet in the car (a rare feat).

“When do we get there?” The plaintive query, no doubt the first of a series, breaks your train of thought. Twenty-two minutes in — a new record. Then, the kicking starts.

Little thumps on the back of your seat, soft enough for plausible deniability and maddeningly off-rhythm, the kind of thing that could break a man once that white-line fever sets in …

May we suggest putting on a podcast? Nothing like good, old-fashioned, audio-only entertainment to make the miles fly by. Here are five family-friendly favorites to get you started.

RELATED: What moving my family to Budapest has taught me about America

nedomacki/Getty Images

‘Intentionally Blank’

Hosted by bestselling fantasy author Brandon Sanderson and sci-fi/horror writer Dan Wells, “Intentionally Blank” is like hanging out with your two funniest friends and listening to them shoot the breeze about everything from what makes a good villain to a running tally of notable food heists.

Try this episode: Ranking Our Favorite Cryptids
You’ve heard of Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster — but what about the Mongolian Death Worm?

‘Sports Wars’

Serena vs. Venus, Kobe vs. Shaq, Hulk Hogan vs. the world. Each season of “Sports Wars” takes you on a journey through some of the most intense rivalries across every sport, from basketball and tennis to football and wrestling. By turns hilarious and tragic, these stories of big personalities and high stakes will keep the attention of fans and non-fans alike.

Episode: Brady vs. Manning: Family First
Quarterbacks Tom Brady and Eli Manning are two of the most dominant players in the history of the NFL. Pit them against each other, and you’re looking at the most epic rivalry since the Pirate’s Booty ran out six exits ago.

‘Against the Odds’

Never give up! That’s the core message at the heart of “Against the Odds” and it’s thrilling real-life accounts of survival. From cave rescues in Thailand to high-seas hostage escapes, it’s the kind of storytelling that gets everyone quiet in the car (a rare feat). Be prepared for a few intense moments but nothing that crosses into R-rated territory.

Try this episode: Thai Cave Rescue: Lost
Seven summers ago, the world held its breath as courageous rescuers worked against the clock to save a boys soccer team trapped in a treacherous Thai cave. This six-episode season’s compellingly vivid account is gripping but not graphic — ideal for older kids who like suspense.

‘How I Built This’

Every product you use has a story, whether it’s the socks (Bombas) your son just threw at his sister or the chicken fingers (Raising Cane’s) that she spilled all over her car seat. “How I Built This” host Guy Raz gets some of today’s most successful entrepreneurs to spills the beans on the ups and downs of launching a brand. If you want to know how to succeed and be inspired by people who’ve battled back and made their mark on the world, this is the podcast for you.

Try this episode: Spikeball: Chris Ruder
Ever dream of kicking off the latest sports craze? That’s what Chris Ruder did when he revived a favorite game from childhood and turned it into Spikeball — and he tells the whole story here. Bonus points for inspiring kids to think beyond apps and startups.

‘Spooked’

When the headlights start coming on and the sugar crash hits, there’s nothing like a ghost story to keep the blood pumping. The unique thing about “Spooked” is that its stories are true — and told by the people who experienced them. With a runtime of around 27 minutes per episode, the stories are long enough to suck you in but not so long that they drag on. Yes, some hauntings can get a bit intense (more than one takes place during the Vietnam War), but generally the vibe is eerie without tipping over into nightmare fuel.

Try this episode: Borderlands
A U.S. Border Patrol agent encounters something strange while on night patrol in the Arizona desert; and a Sri Lankan woman’s mysterious illness requires a supernatural cure. Suspenseful and atmospheric while leaving plenty to the imagination.

​Lifestyle, Podcasts, Road trips, Vacation, Summer, Culture, Recommendation 

The assassination of a top Minnesota Democratic lawmaker has taken a bizarre turn, with accused murderer Vance Luther Boelter telling the FBI that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) told him to kill U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) so that Walz could run for U.S. Senate, a Minnesota newspaper reported.

A handwritten letter Boelter allegedly left in a Buick sedan abandoned hours before his June 15 capture said the Democratic Minnesota governor ordered him to kill Klobuchar and others, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported. The “rambling, conspiratorial,” and “incoherent” letter included a claim that he was trained “off the books” by the U.S. military, the newspaper said.

Boelter had ‘on the ground experiences combined with training by both private security firms and by people in the US military.’

Alpha News first reported that the letter, addressed to FBI Director Kash Patel, placed the blame for the shootings on Gov. Walz.

A spokesman for the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office told the Star Tribune that “we will state only that we have seen no evidence that the allegations regarding Governor Walz are based in fact.”

A spokesman for Walz, the failed 2024 Democratic U.S. vice presidential candidate, did not issue a denial, but said the governor is “grateful to law enforcement who apprehended the shooter, and he’s grateful to the prosecutors who will ensure justice is swiftly served,” the Star Tribune reported.

In a June 20 statement, Klobuchar said: “Boelter is a very dangerous man, and I am deeply grateful that law enforcement got him behind bars before he killed other people,” the newspaper said.

Blaze News contacted Walz’s office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Twin Cities, but did not receive a reply before publication time.

Boelter, 57, is charged in federal court with murdering Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, and shooting state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman. Boelter will also face first-degree murder and attempted murder charges in Hennepin County District Court.

On June 15, the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office shared a photo of Boelter’s arrest and described him as “the face of evil.”

Boelter allegedly left behind a handwritten “hit list” with the names of more than 50 Democratic lawmakers from Minnesota, Texas, Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, according to court records and law enforcement sources quoted by local media. The list also included officials from abortion provider Planned Parenthood North Central States, police said.

RELATED: The stuff of nightmares: Boelter allegedly sought to kill 4 lawmakers

Vance Luther Boelter allegedly wore a silicone mask disguise at the first three homes he visited on June 14, but appears to have ditched the mask before arriving at the home where a key Minnesota lawmaker and her husband were assassinated. FBI

A biographical profile for Boelter on his Praetorian Guard Security Services business website states Boelter had “on the ground experiences combined with training by both private security firms and by people in the U.S. military.” The bio said Boelter “has been involved with security situations in Eastern Europe, Africa, North America and the Middle East, including the West Bank, southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.”

A mobile phone associated with Boelter’s home in Green Isle, Minn., pinged in overseas locations between 2022 and 2025, including Turkey, Dubai, Africa, India, and Nepal, according to the Washington D.C.-based Oversight Project.

Boelter was wearing a police-style uniform and tactical vest when he allegedly went on his shooting rampage, the FBI said. He drove a dark Ford SUV with an emergency light bar on the roof. He left the vehicle in the Hortmans’ driveway before allegedly forcing his way into the home and murdering the couple and the family dog, the FBI said.

Boelter allegedly intended to shoot at least two other Minnesota legislators in the overnight hours on June 14. He went to the home of state Rep. Kristin Bahner (DFL-Maple Grove) and state Sen. Ann Rest (DFL-New Hope). Bahner was not home. New Hope Police Department officers arriving to check on Sen. Rest scared off Boelter, who was sitting in a parked car a block away.

Boelter allegedly donned a “hyper-realistic” silicone mask that covered his head. When he allegedly pounded on the Hoffmans’ door just after 2 a.m., he was wearing the silicone mask. According to the FBI affidavit filed in federal criminal court, Boelter was also wearing the disguise as he sat in his vehicle a block away from Sen. Rest’s home.

But by the time he allegedly attacked the Hortmans 90 minutes later, it appears he no longer had the mask on, according to video taken from a Brooklyn Park police vehicle.

Who is Vance Boelter?

Based on court records, public databases, interviews, and news archives, here is what is known about one of the most infamous criminal suspects in Minnesota history.

The son of a small-town hero high school baseball coach, Boelter grew up in Sleepy Eye, a southern Minnesota town of 3,400 souls named for Chief Sleepy Eye, onetime head of the Sisseton Dakota tribe. Vance is the youngest of six children born to Donald Boelter and the former Yvonne Strate. A sister died in infancy. His siblings include two sets of twins.

According to a Minnesota newspaper, Mrs. Boelter gave birth to fraternal twins during a March blizzard in 1956. “At Ceylon, Minn., Mrs. Donald Boelter became the mother of twins in her trailer home during the height of the blow Saturday night,” The Minneapolis Star wrote two days later.

His father was a high school athletics standout at New Ulm High School and a basketball and baseball star at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. Don Boelter coached baseball at Ceylon High School and Sleepy Eye Public High School.

Don Boelter won nine conference titles, was runner-up for six more, and had 309 career wins and a .620 winning percentage. His Sleepy Eye Indians teams went to the state tournament three times, winning the title in 1981 and finishing second in 1976. He died in 2013.

Vance’s brother, Tarry Boelter, 69, joined his father in the Minnesota State High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame after a 350-win baseball coaching career.

Vance Boelter married the former Jennifer Lynne Doskocil on Oct. 4, 1997, in Winona, Minn. They have four daughters and a son. The daughters are named for Christian virtues and gifts. The son is named after a missionary Boelter knew who was killed in the New Adams Farm Massacre in Zimbabwe in November 1987.

Political views

The question of what role politics played in the killings took a sudden twist with news that the letter Boelter allegedly left in the Buick blames Gov. Walz.

The political finger-pointing began as soon as Blaze News’ Julio Rosas first reported that police named Boelter as the primary suspect in the killings. Early on, Gov. Walz called the crime a “politically motivated assassination,” although he did not say what evidence backed up that contention.

As word spread of Boelter’s identity, the sides squared off to argue whether Republican or Democratic politics were to blame for Boelter’s alleged evil rampage.

Left-leaning MSNBC blamed the crime on President Donald J. Trump’s alleged rhetoric. Political analyst Anthony Coley tied Trump’s pardon of some 1,500 Jan. 6 defendants into the equation. “Just four months ago, we saw this president pardon violent January 6 offenders, people who were convicted,” Coley said. “Fifteen hundred, he just pardoned. That, to me, normalized political violence.”

Others chimed in on social media, including tennis legend Martina Navratilova, who posted, “This is on [T]rump.”

The pendulum swung the other way as word got out that Boelter had been appointed to a workforce development board by two successive Democratic governors, Mark Dayton and Walz, in 2016 and 2019.

FBI agents stage in a neighborhood in Green Isle, Minn., on June 15, 2025. Law enforcement agencies were searching for Vance Boelter, a suspect in the killing of DFL state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman. Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

An appointment proclamation signed by Walz in December 2019 read in part, “Because of the special trust and confidence I have in your integrity, judgment, and ability, I have appointed and commissioned you to have and to hold the office of Business Member, Governor’s Workforce Development Board.”

Boelter was named to the county-board-appointed Dakota-Scott Workforce Development Board in Dakota County, Minn., in 2013. He later became its chairman. A LinkedIn post described Boelter as “a true workforce leader” who “walked the walk.”

The ties to Democratic governors, along with news that police found fliers in Boelter’s fake police vehicle that said, “No Kings,” brought blowback from the right. Nationwide No Kings protests against President Trump were staged across the nation on June 14.

The fact that Boelter allegedly had a hit list loaded with Democrats in his vehicle could be a significant factor in analyzing a motive. Boelter’s childhood friend, David Carlson, said he never saw Boelter take an interest in state or local politics. He told Minneapolis reporters that Boelter was a Trump supporter.

There are no records in the Federal Election Commission database or Minnesota Campaign Finance Board records that show Boelter ever donated to a political candidate, political party, or political action committee.

The Oklahoman newspaper and the Independent claimed that Boelter was a registered Republican in 2004 when his family lived in Muldrow, Okla. Neither paper cited a source beyond “voting records.”

According to the Oklahoma State Elections Board, there are no voter records going back that far. “Voter registration information is only kept for approximately six years following the deletion of a voter; then it is destroyed,” said Misha Mohr, public information officer for the Oklahoma State Elections Board in Oklahoma City. “We do not have voter registration data dating back to the early 2000s.”

Ruby Brunk, secretary of the Sequoyah County Elections Board, told Blaze News that Boelter is not listed in that system. She confirmed that records “do not go back that far.” Muldrow is a town of 3,300 residents in Sequoyah County.

Employment

Boelter spent much of his career in the food-processing and convenience-store industries, working for companies including Gold’n Plump chicken, Gerber Products Co., Del Monte Foods, Johnsonville Sausage, Lettieri’s/Greencore Group, and 7-Eleven.

At Lettieri’s in Shakopee, Minn., Boelter was a plant manager responsible for production operations, quality, maintenance, safety, and research and development, according to an October 2013 article in the Star Tribune. The company, which was purchased by Ireland-based Greencore Group in 2014, produces food-to-go items for retail outlets such as convenience stores.

Boelter moved his family many times with job changes. According to property records, the Boelters owned residential properties in Fort Smith, Ark.; Muldrow, Okla.; Sleepy Eye, Minn.; Shakopee, Minn.; Sheboygan, Wis.; Arcadia, Wis.; Inver Grove Heights, Minn.; and Green Isle, Minn. They also rented apartments or homes in some locations, including Gaylord, Minn.

Members of the Minnesota State Patrol block a road as law enforcement officers search in Belle Plaine, Minn., for assassination suspect Vance Boelter.Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

Boelter attempted to establish his own companies at least twice. He and his wife founded Praetorian Guard Security Services LLC in September 2018, according to Minnesota Secretary of State records. The business registration with the state of Minnesota lapsed in February 2022, but was reinstated in June 2023. Registration was again terminated, then quickly reinstated in January 2025, records show.

Praetorian Guard was founded to provide armed security services to residential and commercial customers. Boelter had the official title of director of security patrols, while his wife was listed as president and CEO. The company drove Ford SUVs, “the same make and model of vehicles that many police departments use,” the website said.

Praetorian Guard did not have a website for several years after the business was founded. The domain name pguards.net was registered in March 2021. Domain information was updated in April 2025, according to the WhoIs website. The domain registration is valid until March 2026. The website is no longer connected to the internet.

From April 2016 to November 2021, Boelter was working for 7-Eleven as an operations manager, according to his three-page resume posted online by journalist Ken Klippenstein.

Boelter left that job to found Red Lion Group, a company that appeared to be just him and his wife. Red Lion’s mission was to establish and develop “farm to fork” food production projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Between 2021 and spring 2025, Boelter made several trips to the DRC that lasted up to two months.

In one of his online biographies, Boelter said he had worked for Schwan’s Company, based in Marshall, Minn. He did not provide any dates or details. Schwan’s sells food and ice cream in grocery stores and formerly sold directly from freezer trucks that call on residential customers. It was formerly named the Schwan Food Company.

Vance and Jennifer Boelter founded Praetorian Guard Security Services in 2018, but it is not clear if the business was ever operational beyond purchase of a police-style SUV.Google Maps/Praetorian Guard website via the Wayback Machine

To try to support his business and charity ventures, Boelter took jobs in the funeral industry from 2023 until mid-2025. According to a video he posted online, Boelter’s duties included body removal and transport for Wulff Funeral Homes and Metro First Call LLC. The work also included body removals from crime scenes for delivery to medical examiners’ offices such as in Hennepin County, Boelter said.

Tim Koch, owner of First Call, told Blaze News, “As far as Vance Boelter is concerned, he worked for our company from August 28, 2023, until he voluntarily left on February 20, 2025. To say anything more at this time would be irresponsible, as the investigation continues.”

Boelter also left his job with Wulff Funeral Homes prior to June 14, a general manager told several Twin Cities media outlets. Blaze News reached out to Dignity Memorial, the owner of Wulff Funeral Homes, but did not receive a response before publication time.

Boelter had also enrolled in mortuary science courses at Des Moines Area Community College in Ankeny, Iowa. The school, which offers online and on-campus courses, told WOI-TV in Ames, Iowa, that Boelter enrolled in mortuary science classes in 2023 and 2024.

Charity and faith

Boelter and his wife also tried their hands at running tax-exempt charities at the same time that Red Lion Group was operating in the DRC, records show.

They founded You Give Them Something to Eat Inc., an anti-hunger charity based on the Gospel story of the miracle of the loaves and fishes. The Internal Revenue Service approved it as a tax-exempt charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code, effective June 28, 2021. The group only filed one IRS tax return, in 2022, and reported no income or expenses.

The Boelters also established a religious nonprofit organization, Revoformation Ministries Inc. According to IRS records, Revoformation filed 13 tax returns between 2007 and 2023. Because the charity’s income was under $50,000, Revoformation was not required to state the amount.

Vance Boelter dances with enthusiasm during a sermon at a Christian church in Matadi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, in September 2021.Centre Évangélique Francophone La Borne Matadi/YouTube

On the Revoformation website, Boelter’s biography states that he was ordained in 1993 and “has enjoyed speaking in different parts of the United States as well as in several international cities such as Jerusalem, Israel.” It said prior to the attacks on America on Sept. 11, 2001, he had made “several trips” to Gaza and the West Bank, where he “sought out militant Islamists in order to share the Gospel and tell them that violence wasn’t the answer.”

Robert Spencer, an internationally recognized expert on Islam, told Blaze News that Boelter likely would have been killed or taken hostage for preaching to Islamists with a Christian message.

Boelter earned a diploma in 1990 at the Christ for the Nations Institute in Dallas.

Boelter delivered sermons on several occasions between 2021 and 2023 at the Centre Évangélique Francophone La Borne Matadi in far Western Democratic Republic of the Congo. He visited the country as part of a missionary group from the Global Impact Center in Columbia Heights, Minn.

The Matadi church, the Global Impact Center, and Christ for the Nations issued statements after Boelter was charged with the murders distancing themselves from him and decrying the violence.

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​Politics, Crime, Minnesota shootings 

The unfolding fallout between Elon Musk and the Trump administration over the past month hasn’t stopped Musk’s companies from breaking new ground in their industries. Tesla’s newly launched service may change transportation as we know it.

Following years of delays and hype from Elon Musk, Tesla launched the long-awaited, fully autonomous Cybercab in Austin, Texas, on Sunday. The service uses brand-new Tesla Model Y cars with no add-ons, meaning that all Model Y Teslas are capable of fully autonomous driving.

RELATED: Jeff Bezos jolts Tesla with $20,000 Cybertruck killer

Photo by Stanislav Kogiku/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Musk shared his excitement about the announcement on X, calling this achievement a “culmination of a decade of hard work.”

On top of being fully autonomous, Robotaxi also “automatically syncs your media & streaming settings before picking you up.”

Tesla invited a small group of users to test out the new service in the capital city for a flat fee of $4.20, Business Insider reported.

Tesla’s X page reposted several users’ first experiences with the fully autonomous ride service. Many of them reported that the ride was smooth and enjoyable. One user posted a screen recording of his attempt to leave a tip, which was met with a humorous error message.

While this service is currently only available in Austin, Texas, following the soft launch, Tesla has created a new portal for users to receive updates about Cybercab coming to their area in the future.

​Tech, Tesla, Model y, Cybercab, Robotaxi, Elon musk, Austin texas 

The Department of Homeland Security issued a national terrorism advisory bulletin on Sunday warning that Iran-linked extremists might seek to execute retaliatory attacks on American soil in the wake of the U.S. B-2 bombings of Iranian nuclear sites.

The previous U.S. administration’s failure to secure the southern border, its cover-up of the rise in terrorism-linked migrants, and its release of hundreds of Iranian nationals into the homeland altogether appear to have helped create the environment in which such threats are viable.

Masoud Pezeshkian, the president of Iran, told French President Emmanuel Macron in a call on Sunday, “The U.S. has attacked us; what would you do in such a situation? Naturally, they must ­receive a response to their aggression.”

RELATED: DOD reveals stunning new details following Trump’s attack on Iran

Iranian leader Ali Khamenei. Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

The Iranian regime apparently intends to respond to the American bombings of the nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan in part by closing the Strait of Hormuz, which would disrupt global oil and gas supplies. According to Iranian state media, the Shiite nation’s parliament agreed on Sunday to take this consequential step, but the final decision rests with Iran’s national security council.

The Trump administration indicated that the decision to close down the shipping lane, which roughly 20% of the world’s oil and gas transits, would be a “suicidal move.”

The Iranian regime, designated by the U.S. as a state sponsor of terrorism 40 years ago, might entertain other suicidal forms of retaliation.

The DHS suggested that Iran may rely upon diasporic radicals to follow through on its promised revenge, noting that “low-level cyber attacks” against American networks by pro-Iranian hacktivists and by Tehran-backed actors are likely.

In terms of kinetic attacks, the terrorism advisory noted that “the likelihood of violent extremists in the Homeland independently mobilizing to violence in response to the conflict would likely increase if Iranian leadership issued a religious ruling calling for retaliatory violence against targets in the Homeland.”

“The ongoing Iran conflict is causing a heightened threat environment in the United States,” added the DHS bulletin. “Iran also has a long-standing commitment to target U.S. government officials it views as responsible for the death of an Iranian military commander killed in January 2020.”

It wouldn’t be the first time in recent years Iran hatched violent plots targeting individuals on American soil.

For example, a Pakistani radical traveled from Iran to the U.S. in 2024 to allegedly avenge the death of Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian terrorist and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander who was snuffed out by an American airstrike at Iraq’s Baghdad airport on Jan. 2, 2020. Asif Raza Merchant was arrested on July 12 for allegedly plotting to assassinate Trump and other public officials.

Years earlier, Iranian intelligence officials and assets targeted a New York-based critic of the regime. One of the men involved in the plot was Niloufar Bahadorifar, an American citizen living in California.

‘We have zero information?’

“Since the start of the conflict, we have seen media releases by foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) — including Hamas, Lebanese Hizballah, the Houthis, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, among others — some of which have called for violence against U.S. assets and personnel in the Middle East because of Israel’s attack,” said the DHS bulletin. “The conflict could also motivate violent extremists and hate crime perpetrators seeking to attack targets perceived to be Jewish, pro-Israel, or linked to the U.S. government or military in the homeland.”

RELATED: Why the right turned anti-war — and should stay that way

Photo by Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images

Retired San Diego Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent Aaron Heitke told members of the House Homeland Security Committee in September that the Biden-Harris administration concealed from the American public information about illegal aliens with terrorism ties as part of its effort to “quiet the border-wide crisis.”

Heitke delivered the following bombshell:

In San Diego, we had an exponential increase in [Special] Interest Aliens (SIAs). These are aliens with significant ties to terrorism. Prior to this administration, the San Diego sector averaged 10-15 SIAs per year. Once word was out that the border was far easier to cross, San Diego went to over 100 SIAs in 2022, way over 100 SIAs in 2023, and more than that this year. These are only the ones we caught. At the time, I was told I could not release any information on this increase in SIAs or mention any of the arrests. The administration was trying to convince the public that there was no threat at the border.

Former Republican Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (N.Y.) asked Heitke what was known about the gotaways who had entered the U.S.

When Heitke responded, “None,” D’Esposito said, “Zero information of millions of people — some of which have been found to be on the terror watch list — we have zero information?”

“Correct,” said Heitke.

Citing data recently provided by a Border Patrol agent, the Center Square reported that over 700 Iranian nationals who illegally stole into the U.S. were ultimately released into the homeland by the Biden administration.

Late last year, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers reportedly apprehended seven Iranian SIAs in Maverick County as well as military-aged men from Afghanistan, Egypt, and Turkey.

“It is our duty to keep the nation safe and informed, especially during times of conflict,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement to Blaze News. “The ongoing Israel-Iran conflict brings the possibility of increased threat to the homeland in the form of possible cyberattacks, acts of violence, and anti-Semitic hate crimes.”

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

​Terrorism, Iran, Tehran, Assassination, Violence, Israel, Bombing, Department of homeland security, Dhs, Kristi noem, Immigration, Border security, Illegal immigration, Politics 

Republicans are in a fix. Medicaid costs have exploded over the past six years, and the system is rife with waste, fraud, and abuse. Democrats don’t want to do anything meaningful about it, but large majorities of voters support most of the Republicans’ proposed tweaks. Well … all except one, which pits old-guard Republicans against the populist insurgents.

But a solution exists.

As a body, the Senate is reliably more than a decade behind the rest of the country, politically. But political realities still do have an impact.

Medicaid — federally subsidized health care for the poor — is out of control. Since 2019 (or during COVID and President Joe Biden’s time in office), the federal expense has ballooned 56.5%. There are currently 72 million people on the rolls, or about a quarter of the American population. Republicans want to do something about it, and they’re right to.

Some of the GOP’s proposals are remarkably popular with the American public. Cutting the deceased from the rolls, for example, polls at 86% approval — about as close as you’re going to get to everybody these days. Similarly, cutting illegal immigrants from the rolls polls at 82%.

Democrats say it isn’t happening — but they sure seem angry about it.

Take work requirements. A new rule would make able-bodied adults without dependents do something — anything — to qualify for benefits. Work. Volunteer. Train. Whatever. And Americans overwhelmingly support the idea.

As it turns out, so do most people collecting benefits.

Then there’s this: thousands of working-age adults who self-report spending four or more hours a day watching TV or playing video games. Requiring those folks to work polls lower, but still polls at 72% approval.

Now comes a less popular idea — but no less important.

Some states are dodging their share of Medicaid spending by gaming the system. A convoluted scheme lets state governments shuffle money back and forth with hospitals, inflating how much they appear to spend. That trick boosts their federal match and lowers what they actually have to pay.

Here’s how it works. States are supposed to split Medicaid costs 50-50 with the federal government. But instead of paying a hospital $100 for a procedure and getting $50 back, a state will pay $106, then slap the hospital with a $6 tax — so the state’s net cost is still $100. But because the state “spent” $106, Washington reimburses the state $53 instead of $50. Congratulations: The federal taxpayer just got fleeced for an extra three bucks.

That example comes from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget — a nonpartisan watchdog group that wants the loophole closed.

It’s a classic shell game. It undermines the spirit of federal aid and violates basic fairness. Yet it persists — partly because it’s buried in bureaucracy and partly because few politicians want to pick a fight with hospital lobbyists or state budget directors.

The scam may be obvious. Fixing it won’t be.

That’s because nearly every state south of Alaska plays this game to some degree — but rural, low-tax states depend on it the most.

Rural hospitals operate on thinner margins. Fewer beds. Older, poorer patients. Less insulation from federal policy swings. Obamacare made a bad situation worse.

In the past 15 years, 139 rural hospitals have either shut down completely or converted to outpatient-only facilities. A third blamed Obamacare directly. That’s more than three times the annual closure rate of urban or suburban hospitals.

Bigger hospitals typically collect the lion’s share of the kickback under the provider tax scam. But rural hospitals live on the edge — which makes them more dependent on that extra funding and more exposed if it goes away.

And that’s where the GOP’s internal conflict begins.

Rural states tend to lean Republican. So do rural voters more broadly. Cities and suburbs go blue; the countryside votes red. That means this fight pits two factions within the party against each other: fiscal conservatives who want to end the grift vs. populist conservatives more concerned with shielding vulnerable Americans — the “forgotten men and women” Trump made central to his coalition.

For one group, it’s about principle. For the other, survival.

The fight also feeds into Democrats’ hoped-for battle, which ignores all the pesky details about illegal aliens, dead recipients, and able-bodied men and instead focuses on any threats to rural hospitals and the poor. They’d much prefer to say Republicans cut your health care — a talking point that polls strongly in their favor — and run on that in the midterm election.

The White House is well aware of this reality, so it wants a fix. Republican Sens. Josh Hawley (Mo.), Susan Collins (Maine), and Jim Justice (W.V.) all represent just the sorts of states a provider tax crackdown would impact hardest and have proposed a separate Rural Hospital Stabilization Program to soften the blow and protect the 700 or so hospitals already on the margins. It’s a long-needed fix, but the kind of thing previously ignored by a Republican Senate that leans toward traditional supply-side economics.

As a body, the Senate is reliably more than a decade behind the rest of the country, politically. But political realities still do have an impact, and this is just the type to push senators to action. The rest of their cuts are important and poll very well. Instead of cracking down on a faulty system that has already just slowed the problem down, there’s a chance here to come up with a better solution. It’s worth taking seriously.

Glenn Beck: No, Mike Lee isn’t paving over Yellowstone for condos

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, 2016: Provider tax limits should be on the table for Medicaid reform

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​Opinion & analysis, Politics 

On June 23, Americans mark the 53rd anniversary of Title IX being signed into law. This landmark legislation gave women the opportunity to fairly compete in athletics. Unfortunately, thanks to the extreme left’s ridiculous desire to force women to compete against men, Title IX is under threat.

As the highest-ranking woman in Congress, I am proud to introduce a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives to commemorate Title IX’s enactment and celebrate women’s and girls’ contributions to education and athletics. It’s time all members of Congress go on the record supporting Title IX and women in sports.

Our daughters can depend on Republicans to protect women. We are fighting to end the insanity created by extreme leftist Democrats.

The erosion of Title IX protections is harming young girls. For example, in my home state of Michigan, a transgender water polo player was allowed to compete in the national championship, leading to an unfair advantage and a sham outcome.

Recently, during track and field competitions in Washington and California, biological boys stole victories that should have gone to girls. These biological boys would likely never have seen the podium had they competed against men. Allowing this behavior, which I often describe as the ultimate form of bullying, is ironic given our nationwide efforts to eliminate it.

Instead of wrongfully celebrating these boys who are stealing victories from women, we should recognize and celebrate rightful champions Lauren Matthew, Jillene Wetteland, Lelani Laurelle, and Kira Gant Hatcher. They put in the work and were forced to compete unfairly against biological males, only to have their hard-fought victories snatched away.

The parents, teachers, classmates, and administrators who allowed this to happen and are responsible for this miscarriage of justice should be ashamed. Instead of cheering on women and Title IX, they cheer for the destruction of women’s sports.

As a woman, a mother, an athlete, and a coach of young girls, I am appalled. The fact that anyone would rather allow biological men to compete in women’s sports than protect our girls is reprehensible. Where are the feminists who have dedicated their lives to protecting women and women’s empowerment? No matter how hard Democrats try to deny it, biological men have an inherent advantage over women in sports.

President Trump and House Republicans have taken action to prevent these nightmares from happening in the future. House Republicans passed the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, and President Trump signed an executive order to protect girls and keep men out of women’s sports. Just this month, Education Secretary Linda McMahon recognized June as Title IX Month.

RELATED: I played against the best, but never a man. Here’s why.

Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images

These actions resulted in the NCAA announcing a new policy protecting women athletes from men competing in women’s sports. Despite multiple states having followed suit, not all girls are protected.

This led President Trump to threaten to cut federal funding to California if the state continues allowing transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports. In my opinion, he absolutely should. The president has already begun the process of stripping Maine of federal funds for a similar act of defiance. If states value this extreme, woke ideology more than federal funding for their students’ education, they should lose it.

Fifty years following the ratification of the 19th Amendment, Title IX gave women equal footing in the world of athletics, and now Democrats are trying to set all our young women back. Our girls deserve better.

Our daughters can depend on Republicans to protect women. We are fighting to end the insanity created by extreme leftist Democrats. And we won’t stop until every girl and woman has the right to fairly compete in sports.

If that means defunding every state, defeating every extreme left-wing Democrat governor, and demoralizing every biological male who steps foot on a women’s athletic field, we will.

We fought for more than 50 years for this right. I won’t let it end under my watch.

​Opinion & analysis, Title ix, Democrats, Republicans, Congress, Transgender athletes, Transgender agenda, California, Washington state, 19th amendment, Sports, High school, Track and field, Biological males in women’s sports, Women’s sports, Women’s rights, The courts