If socialists needed more evidence that their economic model is financially disastrous, they can look no farther than the Modern Times Café in Minneapolis.

The 15-year-old neighborhood restaurant, owned by anti-capitalist Dylan Alverson, announced it will be closing permanently at the end of the year. In January, following the shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents, Alverson eliminated all prices for a free/donation-based model open to everyone except ICE.

“Starting today, January 26th, and until the occupation of Minneapolis is over, we are a free restaurant,” he said on Instagram.

Alverson briefly closed in July and reopened with prices in August, but it wasn’t enough to save the business, which still collapsed under debt and unsustainable economics.

Stu Burguiere and Dave Landau, BlazeTV hosts of “Stu and Dave Do America,” think the demise of Modern Times is hilarious and predictable.

“You know, normally I’m not one to take joy in someone else’s misfortune,” Dave says.

But given that this is the “inevitable outcome of someone’s stupid choice, it’s a little easier,” he says.

Stu reads Alverson’s announcement that the cafe will be permanently closing:

For the last 6 years, I’ve been trying to prove that Modern Times can continue to exist. I’ve exhausted every option without compromising the core fundamentals that make Modern Times what it is.

Because of this, we have made the choice to close at the end of the year. This has been an incredibly difficult decision and one that did not come lightly. I announce this decision now, with the hope that we can spend the next two plus months celebrating the nearly 16 years that Modern Times has stood for creativity over cost, kindness over profit, and uncompromising values as a business in this country.

This coming week I’ll start to explain how we got to this point and what the next couple months will look like. The only way for places like Modern Times to exist in the future is to actively challenge the reasons why it can no longer exist.

“[Alverson] doesn’t believe in capitalism, but he does now believe in crippling debt,” Dave says.

But debt wasn’t Modern Times’ only issue. Stu reveals that “neighbors began to be crowded out of the restaurant by people who could not pay and who lingered around the restaurant all day.”

“Complaints mounted of open drug use, theft, discarded needles in the alley, and overdoses on the sidewalk,” he adds.

“That’s strange. So they were stealing stuff even though it was already free,” Dave says.

Stu shares that Modern Times isn’t the only “pay what you can” restaurant to utterly fail. The EAT Café at Drexel University in Philadelphia closed in 2019 after just two and a half years for the same reasons that closed Alverson’s business.

“So in a country of people that are known … for taking advantage of every situation, including government programs that are there to help those that are in need — turned out to be awful? I can’t believe it,” says Dave.

To hear more, watch the episode above.

Want more from Stu and Dave?

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​Stu burguiere, Dave landau, Socialism, Blazetv show 

Anthropic, the maker of the AI program Claude, is on its way to the public market after taking a big step on Monday morning.

On Monday, Anthropic’s S-1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission was published, and the document revealed a number of highly anticipated facts about the frontier AI company’s plans for the future.

The hope is to achieve something ‘without historical precedent: what we refer to as a country of geniuses in a data center, available to every organization and sector of the economy.’

In a statement about the filing, Anthropic revealed that the company plans to list its public stock on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “ANT.”

This step toward an initial public offering comes at a time when anxieties are rising about a potential AI bubble-burst.

And questions remain over whether Anthropic can meet its multi-billion-dollar, multiyear commitments in infrastructure and AI development.

Anthropic reported a net loss of over $80.7 billion in the first half of 2026, but the real numbers behind the accounting are less staggering.

RELATED: Top lab’s financial data shows the AI bubble is about to pop, says controversial analyst

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

About $72.4 billion of Anthropic’s $80.7 billion net loss came from a noncash accounting charge tied to changes in the value of its financing instruments, representing roughly 90% of the reported losses.

The company’s operating expenses dropped, and it generated $16.3 billion in revenue, but its expenses still exceeded revenue by $693 million. However, this operating loss is a significant improvement from the loss of over $2.1 billion in the first half of 2025.

Anthropic reported that large companies have adopted Claude as their go-to model, citing a concentration of 250 enterprises providing $10 million or more in revenue and an additional 1,900 companies providing $1 million or more.

While many people will gladly look past these negative figures for a time in anticipation of the company’s promising future, Anthropic outlined a couple of noteworthy risks and developments associated with Claude, as well as an evocative vision for the company’s future.

Anthropic attributed its recent success to the fact that its employees heavily use Claude in their work to develop the model, noting that 90% of the company’s codebase was written by Claude in September 2026.

The filing notes that the volume of code produced is up 45 times per employee, compared to the end of 2024.

The filing also disclosed a recent development in its dealings with government regulations. According to the filing, the Federal Trade Commission issued a civil investigative demand to Anthropic “seeking information about our customer protection, data protection, and privacy practices, as well as the safety of our products.”

Roughly halfway through the filing, Anthropic described the buildout of “millions” of “virtual collaborators,” wherein Claude is capable of working independently and on the same level as that of a “brilliant colleague.”

The hope is, according to the filing, to achieve something “without historical precedent: what we refer to as a country of geniuses in a data center, available to every organization and sector of the economy.”

Blaze News reached out to Anthropic for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

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​Anthropic, Claude, Tech, Politics 

Black October will go down in history as the mass cybersecurity event that put nearly 80% of the world wide web at risk of attack. Although the official fix is available, you and your online data could be vulnerable for years or more. Here’s what you can do to protect yourself from the PHP meltdown and whatever comes next.

From the outside looking in, the web is an intricate and complex network that pulls data together into one giant assembly of information. It is robust, instantaneous, powerful. Behind the scenes, though, many of today’s websites are held together with code and protocols that have proven to be stunningly fragile in the age of AI. One such element is PHP.

We’re in the thick of what may be the most arduous cybersecurity battle in human history.

PHP — or Hypertext Preprocessor — is an open-source scripting language for developers to build websites and apps. It is freely available and easy to use, making it an ideal choice for developers of any level. This is how PHP came to power almost 80% of all websites online today. So naturally, when not one but two critical PHP vulnerabilities leak out into the wild, there is reason to worry.

The pair of vulnerabilities, labeled PHP2Shell, were discovered by Wiz Research, an AI security company acquired by Google. Seemingly, these vulnerabilities have always existed in PHP going back to 2004, and it took AI to uncover them. The worst part is that hackers don’t even need login credentials or special access to break into a vulnerable site. They can simply break in and take whatever they want.

There is some good news: A patch for PHP2Shell is available and rolling out on websites now. But there is also bad news: Your data may still be at risk.

Three reasons why you’re still in danger

Implementation: Although the patch is available, it will take time for developers to implement the new versions of PHP 8 on their websites. Keep in mind that nearly 80% of the web needs an update. During this time, some websites may go down, some features may not work, and you may temporarily lose access to your data. Most of these updates will take place in the coming weeks, but some could stretch out even longer.Upgradability: Many well-maintained websites will receive the PHP update without fault, but there are many others running on old versions of PHP that cannot or will not be updated. In fact, an estimated 34.7% of websites still run on the outdated PHP 7 or lower. These sites will remain vulnerable to PHP2Shell and other security threats for the foreseeable future.Future vulnerabilities: Humans didn’t know PHP2Shell existed. Without AI, we would still likely be none the wiser. Considering how quickly frontier AI models are being used to find defects in online cybersecurity worldwide, the likelihood of future discoveries is high, bordering on certainty.

RELATED: Most of the internet is suddenly melting down, and there’s only one fix

mediaphotos/Getty Images

8 ways to protect yourself from PHP2Shell

The good news is that you’re not completely powerless in this. There are things you can do to protect yourself and your data. These require some work, though, so you’ll have to be an active participant in securing your digital footprint.

Passwords: First and foremost, you need to make sure that the passwords to your most important accounts — including your email and bank — are stored in a safe password manager. Also, make sure your passwords are all unique and complex. Do not reuse the same simple passwords! Most password managers will help you generate secure options for maximum protection.

Authentication: Enable two-factor authentication and passkeys on every account that offers it. This adds an extra layer between you and your accounts that a hacker can’t exploit without direct access to your phone. At the same time, avoid using SMS-based authentication; this is not as secure.

Updates: Make sure you update all of your devices — phones, tablets, computers, watches, activity trackers, appliances, everything — to the latest versions of their available software. This is the best way to get the latest security patches as soon as they are available. Set a reminder to do this monthly, or better yet, enable automatic updates so that your devices are always protected.

Bank alerts: Set up alerts for all purchases made on your debit cards and credit cards. With alerts, you’ll know exactly when any of your cards are used and how much was spent. Many banks offer this feature built directly into their apps on your phone, which you can enable through the in-app settings.

Credit: Freeze your credit at Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. With a credit freeze, anyone who steals your identity is instantly blocked from taking out a loan or a credit card in your name. It also protects your credit score from any following damage. Just remember to unfreeze your credit if and when you do want to take out a new credit card or loan.

Taxes: Reach out to the IRS to get an identity protection PIN. This PIN blocks third parties from filing taxes with your Social Security number or taxpayer identification number. Note, however, that identity protection PINs only last for one year, and you will have to renew annually if you want to keep the PIN active in perpetuity.

Carrier: Reach out to your phone carrier to put a port-out PIN on your phone number. This PIN ensures that only you can move your phone number from your current carrier to a different carrier. Some carriers enable port-out PINs by default, while others will allow you to move your number without it, so you should check to see how easy it is for hackers to try to steal your phone number.

Identity protection: Invest in an online identity protection service. These groups actively monitor the dark web for signs of your information and can detect, stop, and mitigate both attempted and successful identity thefts. This way, you can know exactly if and when your data is floating around places you don’t want it to be.

What comes next?

The PHP2Shell outbreak was a wake-up call for anyone who spends time online. Your personal data is only as safe as the online security measures that defend it. Unfortunately, as AI continues to pore through websites and uncover new exploits, data breaches may become more common. For this reason, it’s a good idea to take extra steps to secure your identity, data, and accounts as much as possible.

The tips above are things you should always do, regardless of the latest cybersecurity headlines. But they are even more vital now that we’re in the thick of what may be the most arduous cybersecurity battle in human history. Do these, and you’ll be prepared for what comes next.

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​Cybersecurity, Cyberattack, Hackers, Hacking, Tech 

The English Premier League says it has “no room for racism,” but some players are refusing to fall in line with the league’s cult-like practices.

For the 2026-2027 season, the top soccer league in England is still pumping out diversity, equity, and inclusion messaging reminiscent of years past and seems heavily entrenched in progressive ideology.

‘No, I don’t go down.’

The bizarre ritual of kneeling before games persists as well, with announcers routinely citing the league’s tagline that there’s no room for racism in soccer.

Even though George Floyd died more than six years ago — and more than a decade has passed since Colin Kaepernick began kneeling in the NFL — the Premier League is boasting bizarre DEI benchmarks, like its investigations into “4,000+ cases of online discriminatory abuse.”

“Legal action [has been] brought against abusers across three continents,” the league bragged on its anti-racism page.

There have been some players who have refused to participate in the pregame kneel, however, which is still noteworthy in a league with near 100% compliance.

As reported by Dissenter, multiple black English players garnered media attention for refusing to kneel, like Leeds United player Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who began defying the standard last season.

“Dom is more or less like, ‘No, I don’t go down. I show my respect by standing up,'” teammate Daniel Farke explained.

RELATED: Comedian Chris D’Elia gives hilarious take on Israel/Palestine — and people can’t handle it

Everton’s Ainsley Maitland-Niles was the only player on the field who refused to kneel before a game last week.

More black players like Brazil’s Rayan Rocha and New York-born Tyler Adams, both of whom play for Bournemouth, made headlines for their refusal recently, too.

Other nonconformists include Ivorian player Marc Guéhi and Morocco national team member Issa Diop, who play for Manchester City and Ipswich Town, respectively.

The league said in a statement that “players will be taking the knee before kick-off during the next two match rounds to show unity against all forms of discrimination.”

“This is in line with the decision made by captains at the start of the season,” the league added, per Metro.

RELATED: ‘Protests are not unusual’: NFL insists game in Paris will be completely safe — then cancels fan event

Shaun Brooks – CameraSport/Getty Images

On top of showcasing workforce diversity quotas and women in hijabs coaching soccer, the league seems so deeply rooted in DEI that it could rival the most liberal university syllabus in terms of dedication to the progressive ideology.

For example, the Brentford Bees note on their website that the team is “committed to tackling racism” while “ensuring equity, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of everything we do.”

Brentford even had players Nathan Collins and Josh Dasilva visit schoolchildren for a DEI indoctrination session. The athletes spoke to children from India and Kosovo on the importance of “challenging discrimination” and to “stand together against racism.”

Another event aimed at teaching children about DEI had an organizer saying it is “hugely important that we continue to educate young people” about the league’s anti-racism action plan.

At this event, children got to play soccer in exchange for participating in “interactive educational workshops” that included “educating young people on the importance of acting against racism.”

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​Soccer, England, English premier league, George floyd, Dei, Sports 

A transgender-identifying man was sentenced to 25 years in prison after being convicted for producing child pornography, according to a Department of Justice press release.

Thirty-five-year-old Joseph Downing Barnes Jr. “exposed his breasts” to boys during online webcam chat sessions in order to get them to perform sexual acts that he could record, the DOJ said.

Investigators found 74 videos and four images of child pornography on his phone and found more on his online accounts.

Barnes is from Virginia and was arrested in August.

The boys were ages approximately 10 to 15 years old and were made to believe that Barnes was a biological female, the DOJ said in the press release.

Barnes saved the recorded webchats to his Google account, according to the statement of facts signed by the defendant and his attorney.

This was not the first time he was arrested for crimes related to child sex abuse material. In 2016, he was convicted in the Eastern District of Virginia for trading child sex abuse videos on the Kik application.

Investigators found 74 videos and four images of child pornography on his phone and found more on his online accounts, according to a DOJ press release from December 2016.

He was sentenced to nine years in prison in that case as well as 25 years of supervised release.

RELATED: DISTURBING details from child porn arrest of Pride group founder and school board member

Barnes was identified by law enforcement in 2016 after a man named Justin Clark was found to be trading child porn online. Barnes was one of the people who traded the media with Clark.

Clark was sentenced to six years in prison at the time.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation recommends that parents of young children actively monitor their online activity or restrict their online use to avoid the threat from online predators.

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​Child pornography, Child abuse, Lgbtq agenda, Politics, Transgender 

The rising cost of diesel is punishing millions of Americans — especially rural households. Every time a farmer fills his combine, a small businessman tops off his box truck, or a family fuels up the pickup, they feel the cost.

Prices have stayed stubbornly elevated compared with the pre-pandemic baseline. Because trucks move roughly 70% of America’s freight tonnage, every extra dime at the pump ripples outward to grocery bills, hardware stores, and the operating margins of the mom-and-pop businesses that keep small towns alive.

Plastic is increasingly displacing steel, iron, and other heavy metals that would otherwise add hundreds of pounds per vehicle.

There are many familiar culprits policymakers can and have identified. These range from refinery closures and global supply chain disruptions to international sanctions and domestic regulations.

However, there is a coming legislative and regulatory threat that will raise prices even more for Americans. Proposals such as the Tracking Plastic Act of 2026 — introduced by Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) alongside Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) — would place tight reporting restrictions on plastics and make advanced recycling more difficult.

Few voters who will pay for it have any idea what is coming. That threat is the accelerating regulatory war on plastics.

At first glance, plastics and diesel seem unrelated. In reality, they are joined at the molecular hip. Both come out of the same barrel of crude, are refined in the same facilities, and are governed by the same interlocking economics.

Petrochemical feedstocks, such as the natural gas liquids that become polyethylene, are not simply landfill waste. They are co-products whose sale helps keep American refineries economically viable. Shrink that market through bans, caps, or mandates, and America won’t magically get more diesel. Refineries that lose their petrochemical outlet get older and dirtier, and eventually they get shuttered.

There is a second, more direct link that ought to alarm anyone who cares about affordability. According to the American Chemistry Council’s 2026 report Plastics and Chemistry in Automobiles, the average vehicle assembled in North America last year contained 428 pounds of plastics. This accounts for nearly 10%of vehicle weight, but around 50% of its total volume. That plastic content has grown 18% in a decade, even as trucks and SUVs have grown larger.

Plastic is increasingly displacing steel, iron, and other heavy metals that would otherwise add hundreds of pounds per vehicle.

RELATED: The Gulf is America’s energy shock absorber

RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP/Getty Images

Decreasing vehicle weight is the single most cost-effective way to squeeze more miles out of every gallon of gas or diesel. The same report notes that real-world fuel economy has more than doubled since 1975. This gain has been enabled not only by better engines but by lighter materials. Every pound of plastic that regulators force back into steel is an extra pound the engine has to haul down the interstate.

Multiply that across the 15 million vehicles produced in North America each year and across a national fleet of more than 280 million, and the fuel penalty is enormous. For the diesel pickups, work vans, and tractors that already do the heavy lifting in fuel consumption, the impact is measured in billions of gallons annually. This also translates to billions of dollars extracted straight out of the pockets of hardworking Americans.

The activists driving anti-plastic legislation and regulatory measures ought to think deeply about this. Rather than punishing material that makes modern life lighter, safer, and cheaper, policymakers should shift their focus. Making innovative advanced recycling techniques easier would reduce plastic waste and lower diesel prices, a rare win-win in Washington.

The next time a Beltway coalition insists that phasing out plastics is a costless moral upgrade, policymakers should consider how it will impact the bills of Americans across the nation. Working Americans deserve a break from rising bills.

​Plastic, Diesel, Fuel costs, Taxes, Regulations, Rural households, Natural gas, Jeff merkley, Adam schiff, Ron wyden, Polyethylene, Refineries, North america, Chemistry, Legislation, Vehicles, Washington, Opinion & analysis 

What has remained fan theory up until this point is now being openly discussed: Major sports leagues are likely to suffer when a new video game comes out.

The idea has been floated by fans for years, but for the highly anticipated release of Grand Theft Auto 6, athletes are openly saying they’re OK with missing work.

‘Scouts are going to be horrendous.’

NBA center Steven Adams broke the fourth wall recently when he sent out a warning to fans and media that when GTA VI drops in November, the entire league is going to suffer performance-wise.

“I will say, you guys should anticipate November,” the Houston Rockets player told reporters. “The performance of the league, league-wide. GTA is dropping.”

No matter if Adams is predicting his own temporary demise or recognizes the amount of gamers he plays ball against, either way, a reckoning is coming.

The New Zealand native went even further and suggested that coaching skill would drop and so would scouting efficiency.

“Scouts are going to be horrendous, mate,” he warned. “Just for November. But it should bounce back in December hopefully.”

Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton sent out a similar warning during the summer, joking that he might not be seen on the racetrack when the game is released.

“I’m dying for the new Grand Theft Auto to come out. GTA 6,” Hamilton said in front of fans in Belgium.

“Yeah, that’s the one I’m waiting for. I have to cancel all my work when that game comes out,” he added.

RELATED: US Army unit grants soldiers 4-day pass to play Grand Theft Auto VI — there’s just one little catch

GTA 6 comes out on November 19, the same day as the start of the F1 Heineken Las Vegas GP. It should go without saying that fans will be checking in to see if Hamilton is absent that weekend or possibly the following week for the Qatar Airways Qatar GP (Nov. 27-29).

While Hamilton appeared to be joking, athletes have seemed to be hinting at what has been suspected by fans for years; they are not immune to binge-playing their favorite games.

Circling back to Adams, the 33-year-old’s warning extended to the NFL and other professional leagues.

“Look at NFL, look at all the leagues and watch them plummet, mate. Just for the month of November, performance is going to go down. It should come back up though. Most of the boys will get it done, but hopefully they finish the game.”

Adams’ warning about the NFL touches on a widely discussed theory that, in particular, NFL quarterback Kyler Murray has had performance dips when Call of Duty games have been released.

RELATED: This top video game company is betting its future on something gamers hate

Lewis Hamilton is so eager to play GTA VI that he is willing to cancel all his work to play it #f1

The “Kyler Murray Call of Duty theory” claims that Murray’s performance drops upon the release of new Call of Duty titles, which come out yearly, and continues to suffer in subsequent weeks.

The theory claims Murray’s fantasy stats between 2019 and 2021 suffered in conjunction with Call of Duty releases, and there’s even advanced analytics that claim Murray typically has slight dips in performance when the games have “double XP” weekends.

Fans are expecting the same from the quarterback when GTA 6 drops, and maybe he should take them up on that considering the aforementioned theory landed him a sponsorship from the game in 2024.

Other athletes to toss out the idea of GTA 6 being a focus in their life were young soccer stars Tyler Fredricson and Lamine Yamal.

Fredricson, 21, said he is “all ready for GTA 6,” while Yamal, 19, inexplicably posted a GTA VI logo to his social media after winning the 2026 World Cup.

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​Gaming, Video games, Lewis hamilton, Nba, Formula 1, Steven adams, Kyler murray, Grand theft auto vi, Tech 

Rapper Nicki Minaj became the topic of likely tongue-in-cheek speculation about a major White House vacancy after she took a ride on Air Force One.

Karoline Leavitt’s departure from the White House in August left the Trump administration in desperate need of a similarly talented press secretary. Given Katie Zacharia’s trial run lasted only five days, the role remains vacant.

‘I think we may have found the new White House Press Secretary!’

Speculation abounds about whom the president might appoint to the role next, and several names have been floated, including CNN contributor Scott Jennings; White House communications aide Danielle Alvarez; White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly; and Katie Miller, the wife of President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Stephen Miller.

On Sunday, White House communications director Steven Cheung teased another potential contender: Nicki Minaj.

Minaj — a native of Trinidad and an enthusiastic supporter of Trump and Vice President Vance whose real name is Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty — joined Trump onstage at his rally in Port Huron, Michigan, on Sunday.

After the rapper sang Trump’s praises and denounced so-called “sex changes” for children, the president stated, “You see why everybody likes Nicki. Love, like. But she is a very, very special person. She gets it. Smart.”

The rapper had flown to Michigan in style — on Air Force One — where she sat down for a conversation with Cheung, who later shared a video of part of their exchange on social media with the caption, “Ladies and gentlemen, I think we may have found the new White House Press Secretary!”

RELATED: Hello and goodbye: Katie Zacharia is out as White House press secretary

Sarah Rice/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The White House’s X account replied with the eyeballs emoji, and the Trump War Room account responded, “Press Secretary @NICKIMINAJ has a nice ring to it!”

These posts have prompted widespread speculation about whether Minaj is indeed a contender, and there is some chatter about optics due in part to her husband’s rape conviction, her brother’s child rape conviction, and her admitted arrival to the U.S. as an illegal alien child.

The White House did not respond to Blaze News’ request for comment by deadline. However, one person familiar with the situation told Semafor last week that a new pick will “definitely not” be named before the midterms.

Cheung told Semafor that the president and “his team are focused on the midterm elections.”

Minaj, who said on Jan. 28 that she was finalizing “citizenship paperwork,” did not immediately respond to Blaze News’ request for comment.

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​White house, Katie zacharia, Karoline leavitt, Nicki minaj, Steven cheung, White house press secretary, Politics 

A Florida police officer who discovered a dead man during a welfare check is accused of exploiting the man’s death to carry out an elaborate scheme that allegedly continued for years, according to authorities.

The Broward County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that 35-year-old Brian Louis Sguros was arrested last Monday. Sguros — a Lauderhill Police Department officer — was booked on charges of official misconduct, criminal use of deceased personal identification, criminal use of personal identification information, offense against computer user, and unlawful use of a two-way communication device.

‘Sguros represented himself to the Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office as West’s friend, although there is no indication he knew West, and stated that West had no living family, which was untrue.’

WTVJ-TV reported that Sguros appeared in court Wednesday, when a judge set his bond at $25,000.

Following his arrest, the Lauderhill Police Department placed Sguros on administrative leave without pay.

On July 11, 2022, Sguros responded as a backup officer to a welfare check at the home of 71-year-old Dennis West in Lauderhill, which is about five miles west of Fort Lauderdale.

Police said West was found dead inside the home.

Citing Sguros’ arrest affidavit, NBC News reported that the medical examiner determined that West died of natural causes from arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

The Broward County Sheriff’s Office said Sguros “became involved in West’s post-death affairs.”

“For instance, Sguros represented himself to the Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office as West’s friend, although there is no indication he knew West, and stated that West had no living family, which was untrue,” the police statement read.

Bodycam footage from the 2022 welfare check showed no indication that Sguros knew West, police said.

According to authorities, Sguros paid the property taxes and utility bills from the home in West’s name.

USA Today obtained property records showing Sguros had paid over $2,500 in taxes on the home, though it remained registered to West’s estate.

Sguros also used West’s identification to secure a home repair permit from the city of Lauderhill.

A detective said Sguros forged West’s signature on the home repair permit.

An August 2024 permit application seeking approval to replace windows and doors at the home for $8,000 listed West as the owner, and the application included his driver’s license information and contained a signature purportedly belonging to him, despite his death two years earlier, according to USA Today, which added that the phone number on the application belonged to Sguros.

Officials with the home remodeling company believed the homeowner was alive.

Court documents said the notary whose name and information appeared on the permit told investigators that the signature was not hers and added that she did not believe the notary stamp on the documents was hers, either.

RELATED: Former therapist intern accused of sex with patient during sessions, arranging ‘alibis’ for him to leave rehab for trysts

Investigators also said Sguros utilized his access to law enforcement databases to obtain information about West.

Court records said Sguros launched seven database searches related to West, which were conducted from his work-issued computer between July 2022 and January 2023. Those searches disclosed West’s Social Security number, date of birth, address, and other information, according to the court docs

The Broward County Sheriff’s Office and the Broward County Property Appraiser began an investigation into Sguros after the Lauderhill Police Department provided information about a possible crime.

In February 2025, Sguros and his spouse filed paperwork with the Broward County Property Appraiser seeking to claim ownership of the home, according to the affidavit.

Months later, a real estate company bought the property from West’s heirs, according to court documents.

USA Today reported that the real estate company raised concerns with authorities about Sguros’ involvement with the property when one of its employees encountered Sguros when they attempted to take possession of the property in the fall of 2025.

The affidavit said Sguros surrendered the keys to the property to the real estate company, but he “demanded reimbursement for repairs and improvements he claimed to have made.”

According to NBC News, Sguros filed a complaint against the real estate company in February, saying in filings that he found West in the home while he was on duty and adding that he subsequently began to clean, secure, and invest in the property.

NBC News reported that Sguros did not explain in his court filings how he obtained possession of the property.

Citing the arrest affidavit, USA Today reported that Sguros said in civil court that he spent at least $214,000 on repairs and improvements to the home, increasing its value to about $500,000.

Sguros claimed he paid for the work to prevent squatters and criminal activity, according to the affidavit.

Police noted that the investigation remains ongoing.

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​Florida, Florida police, Strange news, Broward county sheriff’s office, Crime 

The Trump administration is not impressed by a “sob story” put out by “60 Minutes” meant to undermine the mass deportation efforts undertaken in the president’s second term.

The story that aired Sunday highlights the struggles of the family of Moussa Diawara, a 57-year-old man who was deported in July and claims he eventually ended up in his native country of Mali. During the segment, his wife, son, and daughter tearfully speak to him while they continue to reside in Texas.

‘Just in case you’re wondering how bad the immigration fraud problem is.’

A judge ruled in 2012 that Diawara, who had overstayed a visa, could be deported, but not to Mali after he claimed that he would be persecuted there, CBS News reported. Diawara was deported to Ghana, and soon after his arrival, Ghanaian officials sent him to Mali, he claims.

He indicated to “60 Minutes” that he feared persecution in Mali, a Muslim-majority country, because he had converted to Christianity. He eventually escaped to another African country but asked CBS not to identify it, the outlet reported.

The story was clearly intended to elicit sympathy from viewers, but the narrative did not survive a fact-check from James Percival, the general counsel of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security who appeared in the segment.

“This illegal alien is @60Minutes poster child for what it claims are wrongful deportations,” wrote Percival in a statement on social media Sunday night. “I pulled his file. His claimed reason for fearing Mali was that he is ‘gay,’ just in case you’re wondering how bad the immigration fraud problem is.”

Percival suggested the family’s sob story contradicted the father’s claim that he feared persecution as a gay man.

A post from Immigration and Customs Enforcement reinforced the point and mocked the news program.

“The 60 Minutes sob story tonight highlighted an illegal alien and his wife and two children. One problem. The illegal alien claimed he was a HOMOSEXUAL in order to try and dodge deportation to Mali,” read the statement.

“You literally cannot make this up,” ICE added.

“60 Minutes” noted on social media and in the segment that the DHS had “questioned the credibility of Diawara’s arguments for fearing persecution in Mali,” without providing further details.

RELATED: ICE is deporting Mexicans to nations beyond Mexico — and their government is not happy

“I absolutely believe with all of my heart that these third-country removals have stopped crimes from happening and kept Americans safer and that is our fundamental obligation at the Department of Homeland Security,” Percival said on “60 Minutes.”

The report said that about 25,000 people who had been deported from the U.S. had been sent to countries other than their country of origin.

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​60 minutes, Media bias, Immigration, Mass deportation, Politics 

Leftists and the Western liberal media rushed to congratulate radical socialist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Sunday over his alleged victory in Brazil in the second round of the presidential election against Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the right-leaning son of a convicted former Brazilian president now under house arrest.

Behind this mad rush to legitimize what could be Lula’s fourth nonconsecutive term is not only desperation on the part of liberals to halt a rightward shift in South America but incredible uncertainty over whether the election was itself legitimate.

‘What took place is simply inexplicable.’

After all, there was high-level meddling in the final hours of the election — meddling executed at the request of the Lula campaign and that may have had a profound impact on the outcome.

His former boss’ bidding

Cristiano Zanin long served as Lula’s personal lawyer, defending the socialist against corruption charges and even helping him get out of jail in 2019.

Zanin — whose wife is the daughter of a former Lula lawyer — was rewarded for his efforts. Lula nominated him to the Federal Supreme Court of Brazil, and Zanin was sworn into office in August 2023.

RELATED: ‘Cold civil war’ about to heat up? DataRepublican exposes evidence of color revolution plot

Wagner Meier/Getty Images

Lula, a Beijing-friendly leftist, lost to Bolsonaro in the first round on Oct. 4, 47.03% to 45.16%. And though he was apparently in the lead early on Sunday, Bolsonaro managed to overtake him — at least temporarily.

Bolsonaro was, however, kneecapped around the time polling stations around the country were set to close when Zanin ordered the polling stations to remain open for another two hours.

While Bolsonaro had asked the election court for more time in a handful of regions where voters were affected by nasty weather — including the swing state of Minas Gerais — the Lula campaign demanded extended voting times nationwide, including in Bahia, a pro-Lula stronghold, reported Bloomberg.

The Lula campaign suggested that an extension was needed in part because of alleged voter suppression by pro-Bolsonaro mayors.

Zanin obliged his former boss with a universal extension even though: results from 1,225 polling sections had reportedly already been published by the Superior Election Court, some polling stations were reportedly already closed, and some stations’ voting machines had been irreversibly shut down.

According to the TSE, the Superior Election Court of Brazil, Lula secured over 4.4 million more votes than Bolsonaro and won the election 51.79%-48.21%.

Illegitimate?

Bolsonaro rejected the outcome of the election and indicated that he will pursue an annulment of it in light of the last-minute rule-change by one of “Lula’s friends.”

As relayed by state media, Bolsonaro told reporters outside his campaign headquarters, “It is impossible to recognize the election results given the circumstances under which these events unfolded. We will engage our legal team and seek the annulment of this election. We are not here to play games. I will not accept the rules being changed in the middle of the game — once again, by Lula’s friends on the Supreme Federal Court,” according to a translation.

The right-wing challenger emphasized that “what happened today was not normal. In fact, it was unacceptable.”

Rogério Marinho, Bolsonaro’s campaign chief, said that Zanin’s decision was an “unfeasible action to disrupt the process of an election that they already lost at the ballot box,” according to a translation.

Bolsonaro further said:

For the first time in history, a Supreme Court justice — who is also a former lawyer for Lula — issued a unilateral ruling at the request of a former law partner, changing the rules of the game while the game was already underway. At 5:01 PM, Justice Zanin — who is not even a member of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) — bypassed the specialized electoral judiciary and issued a decision extending the voting period by two hours. This had never happened before in the history of Brazil. There was a complete breakdown of equal treatment among Brazilians in different cities and states. I will never know how many votes I might have received in a state where the polls were not reopened. What took place is simply inexplicable.

The president of the Superior Electoral Court, Judge Kassio Nunes Marques, reinforced Bolsonaro’s characterization, stating that Zanin’s last-minute rule was legally groundless and unprecedented.

Nunes Marques said that there was “no regulation authorizing any extension” and that “never in the history of the TSE has there been any extension,” according to a translation.

Despite these admissions, Nunes Marques defended the final result, stating, “There was no alteration resulting from the judicial decision. … We have absolute security regarding the entire electoral process.”

Raquel Machado, a professor at the Federal University of Ceará, told the New York Times that Bolsonaro can push for either a technical audit to determine whether the outcome was affected by unequal voting conditions or an abuse-of-power case through the TSE’s inspector general, which could result in Lula’s disqualification.

After claiming victory, Lula told supporters in Sao Paulo that “it was democracy that made this happen,” according to the Guardian.

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​Brazil, Flávio bolsonaro, Luiz inacio lula da silva, Election, Socialism, Politics 

I knew our mail-in ballots had been sent out because my friends were posting photos of their ballots on social media. This meant my mail-in ballot was probably waiting in my mailbox, as well.

But I didn’t retrieve it right away. I let it sit there. The truth is that I don’t like mail-in ballots. I don’t trust them. I experience a traumatic response just thinking about them.

In 2022, remembering what happened in 2020, I took my mail-in ballot directly from my mailbox to the dumpster.

Since mail-in voting was implemented in Oregon back in 1987, nothing good has happened here. The state has gone straight into the toilet.

And when it was implemented nationwide, in 2020, well, then the rest of the country went straight into the toilet, too.

So yeah, I can barely stand the sight of a mail-in ballot. I am physically repulsed. I prefer not to have it in my house.

Utopian fantasies

I didn’t always feel this way. I was happy to participate at first. In the early 1990s, this new way of voting seemed fresh, modern, and convenient.

The envelope shows up in your mailbox. You open the outer envelope and there’s another envelope inside, along with the official ballot, with its ovals and government scan codes.

You fill out the ovals, fold it up, seal it, and sign your name. And then cheerfully drop it in a mailbox.

Safe and secure

Mail-in ballots are designed to look official, sanctioned, secure. They make you feel like the state is being extra careful with your personal ballot, your one precious vote.

But the reality is that your ballot is just beginning its journey. It gets driven here and there. It gets put into piles and bags and maybe gets dumped in one spot and then moved to another spot.

It ends up at the post office, or in a county warehouse space, or it gets fed into a counting machine. It might even get hand-checked by an election worker somehow trained to decide whether your signature looks enough like the one on file.

Really, who knows where your one precious vote goes? After it is opened, depending on who sees it first, it might go straight into the trash!

A feeling of helplessness

In Oregon, mail-in voting is the only way you can vote. The future of your state, your city, your business, your family — it all depends on a complex system of mailing and sorting and counting and verifying.

And then maybe more ballots show up later. And the ballots of dead people are floating around. Or the ballots of people who used to live in your building.

And then activists “harvest” other people’s ballots. “Here, Grandma, let me help you fill that out.”

RELATED: California makes ‘massive concession’ in lawsuit over 20,000 ‘likely noncitizen’ voters, DOJ says

L-R: Ronaldo Bolaños/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images; ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images

The big night

After you have mailed in your ballot, a couple of weeks pass, and then election night rolls around. Often, one of the candidates will appear to have an insurmountable lead. The local news shows the tallies. The pollsters make predictions. Everybody gets excited. The projected winner might even dare to celebrate.

But after three decades of mail-in voting, we Oregonians know better. What matters is not who wins on election night. It is who wins in the weeks after, when those last bundles of wayward ballots finally make it in. Only then is the final count concluded.

In Oregon, the winner is always a Democrat. Maybe not for every minor local position. But if it’s important, the Democrat wins.

Since mail-in voting was first implemented in Oregon almost 30 years ago, all our governors have been Democrats.

And for the last 12 years, they have been exclusively LGBTQ, far-left, DEI Democrats. This, in a state once known for its balanced, centrist political climate.

Going national

In 2020, I used my mail-in ballot to vote for President Trump, who won handily on the night of the election, but then somehow lost by a late-arriving influx of mail-in ballots which — against all statistical probabilities — were almost all cast for his opponent.

In 2022, remembering what happened in 2020, I took my mail-in ballot directly from my mailbox to the dumpster.

This was partly out of disgust and partly because I had made an important discovery: While door-knocking for a local candidate, I was given an app that had remarkably specific information about the neighborhood I was canvassing. I could see which residents were Republicans, how often they voted, and whether any other voters lived in their house. Which meant that who you voted for was public knowledge, and not private and anonymous like you had been told.

But if there’s a chance …

Fast-forward to now, and here I am, faced with another Oregon governor’s race. It is between two women, of course. But one of the women is a reasonable and straightforward Republican. And people say she has a real chance. So now I have to vote. Just in case it will make a difference.

So out to the mailbox I go. To retrieve my mail-in-ballot. I hold my nose. Fill in the ovals. And get it out of my house and into the mailbox as fast as possible.

​Oregon, Oregon governor, Elections, Mail-in voting, Donald trump, Ballot harvesting, Governor’s race, Lifestyle, Voting, Voter fraud, Democracy, Blake’s progress