Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. keeps racking up the wins in his campaign to help President Donald Trump make America a healthier nation, particularly on the dietary front.

His latest victory — and American consumers’ by extension — was secured at General Mills, the American ultra-processed food giant with cereal brands that include Cheerios, Chex, Cocoa Puffs, Lucky Charms, and Wheaties.

General Mills announced plans on Tuesday to remove artificial colors from all of its U.S. cereals and all K-12 school foods by next summer. The company indicated that it also intends to remove all fake coloring from its full lineup of American-facing products by the end of 2027.

How it started

In April, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Food and Drug Administration outlined a plan to phase out all petroleum-based synthetic dyes from America’s food supply.

The FDA initiated the process to revoke authorization for Citrus Red No. 2 and Orange B in the short term and to eliminate another six synthetic dyes — FD&C Green No. 3, FD&C Red No. 40, FD&C Yellow No. 5, FD&C Yellow No. 6, FD&C Blue No. 1, and FD&C Blue No. 2 — by the end of next year.

‘That era is coming to an end.’

The agency also requested that companies move up their timelines for the removal of FD&C Red No. 3.

RELATED: Kennedy has Big Pharma ads in his sights — and he’s not the only one mulling a crackdown

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Vani Hari, a critic of the food industry who founded Food Babe, told Blaze News in November that the brighter artificial colors, which are helpful with sales and attractive to children, are harmful to their health.

“The science shows that these dyes cause hyperactivity in children, can disrupt the immune system, and are contaminated with carcinogens,” said Hari. “There are safer colors available made from fruits and vegetables, such as beets and carrots. Food companies already don’t use artificial dyes en masse in Europe because they don’t want to slap warning labels on their products that say they ‘may cause adverse effects on attention in children.'”

Extra to seeking the removal of the harmful chemicals, the FDA indicated in April that it would partner with the National Institutes of Health to conduct research on how food additives impact kids’ health and development.

“For too long, some food producers have been feeding Americans petroleum-based chemicals without their knowledge or consent,” said Kennedy. “These poisonous compounds offer no nutritional benefit and pose real, measurable dangers to our children’s health and development. That era is coming to an end. We’re restoring gold-standard science, applying common sense, and beginning to earn back the public’s trust.”

FDA Commissioner Marty Makary noted that “given the growing concerns of doctors and parents about the potential role of petroleum-based food dyes, we should not be taking risks and do everything possible to safeguard the health of our children.”

How it’s going

A number of companies have proven amenable to the changes advocated by the Trump administration.

RELATED: How Big Pharma left its mark on woke CDC vax advisory panel — and what RFK Jr. did about it

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Thirteen days after HHS’ announcement, Tyson Foods indicated it was on track to remove all petroleum-based dyes from its production process by the end of May. Top executives from PepsiCo, Danone North America, and TreeHouse Foods similarly signaled commitments to scrap artificial colors.

‘When the government sets clear, science-based standards, the food industry listens and acts.’

The American fast-food chain In-N-Out Burger revealed last month that it was removing artificial coloring from two of its drinks and swapping out its high-fructose corn syrup-based ketchup for an alternative that uses real sugar.

A spokesman for the company told CNN that the changes were part of the chain’s “ongoing commitment to providing our customers with the highest-quality ingredients.”

Kennedy encouraged more companies to similarly volunteer “to prioritize Americans’ health and join the effort to Make America Healthy Again.”

Blaze News previously reported that Kraft Heinz got on board this week, stating that it will remove artificial food, drug, and cosmetic colors from products in the United States before the end of 2027.

“This voluntary step — phasing out harmful dyes in brands like Kool-Aid, Jell‑O, and Crystal Light — proves that when the government sets clear, science-based standards, the food industry listens and acts,” tweeted Kennedy.

While stressing that 85% of its full U.S. retail portfolio is “currently made without certified colors,” General Mills said Tuesday it would eliminate the remainder of artificial coloring in short order.

“Across the long arc of our history, General Mills has moved quickly to meet evolving consumer needs, and reformulating our product portfolio to remove certified colors is yet another example,” said General Mills CEO Jeff Harmening.

RELATED: Meat the enemy: How protein became the left’s newest microaggression

Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images

“Knowing the trust families place in us, we are leading the way on removing certified colors in cereals and K-12 foods by next summer. We’re committed to continuing to make food that tastes great and is accessible to all,” added the executive.

The removal of synthetic dyes from the food supply is a giant step, though there remains at least one chemical in cereals with effects that may warrant further action.

No artificial colors — but infertility?

A peer-reviewed study published last year in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology suggested that current concentrations of chlormequat chloride in oat-based foods “warrant more expansive toxicity resting, food monitoring, and epidemiological studies.”

Researchers on the study from the Environmental Working Group, a chemical watchdog accused in recent years of exaggeration, indicated that food samples purchased in 2022 and 2023 “show detectable levels of chlormequat in all but two of 25 conventional oat-based products.”

Quaker Oats and Cheerios were allegedly among the affected cereals.

‘Do we really need more chemicals in our food?’

Chlormequat, first registered in the U.S. in 1962 as a plant growth regulator and recognized decades later by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as “toxic to wildlife,” has been linked in animal studies to disrupted fetal growth, damage to the reproductive system, delayed puberty, and reduced fertility.

While the EPA suggested in 2023 that there were no dietary or residential risks of concern associated with human exposure to chlormequat, the 2024 study suggested that “more recent reproductive toxicity studies on chlormequat show delayed onset of puberty, reduced sperm motility, decreased weights of male reproductive organs, and decreased testosterone levels in rats exposed during sensitive windows of development, including during pregnancy and early life.”

RELATED: HHS scraps COVID vaccine schedule for children and pregnant women: ‘It’s common sense, and it’s good science’

Rebecca Noble/Getty Images

Secretary Kennedy has criticized the use of chlormequat chloride, which he deemed “one of those ‘forever chemicals,'” on grains.

He noted in July 2023, “This chemical was prohibited by the very same EPA in 1962 for use on anything but ornamental plants in greenhouses. That was before the agency was captured by industry.”

Kennedy added, “Chlormaquat is linked to disruption of fetal growth, metabolic alterations, lower sperm motility, deceased testosterone, delayed development in puberty, and other effects. At a time when chronic disease is at an all-time high, do we really need more chemicals in our food?”

Blaze News reached out to HHS about the removal of artificial dyes as well as about chlormequat in the food supply but did not immediately receive a response.

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LOS ANGELES COUNTY, Calif. — The sound of a car horn honking in a strip mall parking lot echoed repeatedly as a driver followed close behind an unmarked U.S. Border Patrol SUV. The agent quickly drove out of the parking lot, with the wannabe lookout following close behind.

The civilian driver was so focused on the Border Patrol SUV he discovered that he drove right by two other unmarked Border Patrol vehicles in the lot. Blaze Media was embedded with Border Patrol on Tuesday to see firsthand how the large force of agents who have been deployed to the area are helping arrest illegal aliens.

‘Is that really kind of person you want around your family?’

While our vehicle managed to escape detection the first time, a man in a mask started filming our SUV a few minutes later. Assistant Chief Border Patrol Agent for the El Centro Sector David Kim rolled down the window to see what the man wanted.

“We don’t welcome you here. We feel you put fear into our community. … This is not good. You’re scaring working people. You’re not looking for criminals. You’re not; you know that. This is wrong,” the masked man told Kim. “Why? Tell me why. Why do you do this?”

RELATED: Los Angeles is what ‘America Last’ looks like

Julio Rosas/Blaze Media

When Kim explained the law Border Patrol was enforcing was 8 U.S.C. § 1325, the man replied, “That’s an immoral law.”

A few hours after the encounter with the illegal alien advocate, Border Patrol agents arrested Juan Diego Euan at a Home Depot in Cerritos for being in the United States illegally. After the arrest, it was discovered that he had a serious criminal conviction.

Originally from Mexico, Euan was convicted in 2015 for having sex with a minor under 16 years old and was in prison for two years. He also had six previous arrests for illegal entry.

El Centro Chief Patrol Agent Gregory Bovino said Euan’s arrest highlights how “child sexual predators have day jobs. Contrary to what some mayors say, big box hardware stores *wink wink* are places where criminal aliens congregate.”

RELATED: Trump orders ICE to ramp up deportations in Dem-controlled cities following MAGA backlash over selective pause on raids

— (@)

The “mayors” Bovino was referring to include Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D), who has repeatedly criticized federal immigration officials for targeting hardware stores to arrest illegal aliens.

“Let me be clear — chasing people through a Home Depot parking lot does not make Los Angeles safer,” Bass said on X.

Bass has said the crackdown on illegal workers will hurt the local economy because there are entire sectors in Los Angeles “that depend on immigrant labor. This administration is waging a war against our own economy.”

“There’s this misconception that people we’re finding at say Home Depot or at Lowe’ s or car washes … that they’re just hardworking people out there; they’ve never done anything wrong in their life. We made [that] arrest at Home Depot,” Kim said, referring to Euan.

“Someone is going to find a day laborer, bring them to their house, be around their family … and no is going to know that that person had sexually assaulted a child at some point in their life. And is that really kind of person you want around your family?” Kim asked.

While the Border Patrol units Blaze Media was with were able to apprehend illegal aliens without bystanders getting in the way, the same could not be said for the agents operating in Pico Rivera. Locals in a Walmart parking lot accosted the Border Patrol agents, who were driving marked vehicles. A fight broke out, and at least one person was arrested by the agents.

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​Politics 

In the midst of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, President Trump has put the latter on notice. Yesterday, he demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender” and suggested that the U.S. may target Iran’s head of state if the Islamic Republic refuses to stop its strikes against Israel or retaliates against American forces in the region.

The problem is “we can’t afford another war,” says Glenn Beck, calling Americans “all warred out.” And yet, we can’t ignore the grim reality that “Iran is the head of the snake” in the Middle East.

Despite America’s division on the issue, war with Iran is beginning to seem like a very real possibility. “Every sign says yes,” says Glenn. “We’re mobilizing; we’re moving assets in … the Israelis said everybody needs to get out of Tehran.” Further, the U.S. is floating the idea of using a B-52 bomber with a special bomb designed to penetrate deep underground, where Iran’s Fordow nuclear plant resides.

However, President Trump, in a Truth Social post yesterday, made it clear that while the U.S. knows the location of Iran’s “Supreme Leader,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, he will not be targeted and killed, at least “for now,” but warned that America’s patience was “wearing thin.”

All considered, the prospect of war with Iran has many conflicted and confused, but Glenn says there’s one key to understanding what’s going on — and that key lies at “the core” of “who [Donald Trump] is.”

We know without question that Donald Trump is a brilliant “negotiator,” and “when you negotiate at this high level, you don’t tell everyone what you’re doing,” says Glenn.

The first thing President Trump did was demonstrate that his word is ironclad, he explains. Unlike former presidents who have allowed Iran to cross “red lines” without consequences, Trump proved his “credibility” when on day 61, Israel “unleashed hell” on Iran’s nuclear facilities after Trump gave Iran a 60-day ultimatum to negotiate a nuclear deal.

With Iran now forced to take Trump’s threat of providing Israel with U.S. GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs seriously, the stage is set for high-stakes nuclear negotiations. As Americans watch Trump’s bold moves with a mix of awe and unease, wondering, “Are we going to war?” Glenn says Iran is asking the same question. It knows now without a doubt that “the guy doesn’t bluff,” he says.

However, what Iran doesn’t understand is that Trump is also an expert negotiator. It’s good that it doesn’t understand this, Glenn says, because it keeps the power in Trump’s hands. However, he’s “afraid the American people don’t understand [Trump’s negotiating abilities], either,” evidenced by the firestorm of conservative debating over his responses to Iran.

Trump’s plan, Glenn explains, is likely intentionally concealed to outmaneuver Iran. Public division among supporters, especially the online warring between prominent conservative pundits, signals weakness to Iran, undermining Trump’s strategy by suggesting a fractured base.

“I know the president hates nuclear war. I know the president likes Israel, but he’s not wanting to fight their wars. I know the president knows how much trouble we’re in with Islamic extremism,” and “if I know all of those things to be true,” then Donald Trump is almost certainly “negotiating … hoping that Israel will do the job” and America “won’t have to,” he speculates.

“I have to ask: Is the world’s best negotiator now negotiating? And I believe the answer is yes.”

To hear more of Glenn’s analysis, watch the clip above.

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We’ve been told our whole lives to “trust the experts,” but what happens when those experts — even the religious ones — lead us astray?

In a recent segment of “Ask Deace Anything” on the “Steve Deace Show,” one man came to BlazeTV host Steve Deace with this question after his girlfriend, who has PTSD and bipolar disorder, was hospitalized during a bad episode.

While his girlfriend was in the hospital’s care, the hospital chaplain told her she was an “empath” and had “psychic abilities,” before going on to baptize her.

She not only feels “spiritually empowered” and has “doubled down on New Age mysticism,” but refuses to listen to criticism since it came from a chaplain — someone she sees as a religious authority.

“That’s demonic,” Deace responds. “The most important thing that you could do, if you’re not doing it already, is to get yourself, and her with you if you can, into a faithfully witnessing, Bible-believing and -preaching church.”

“That is the most important thing that you could do,” he continues.

“This heretic gave her an idol, and because that idol gave her meaning in her suffering that, whatever her church experience up until this point, sadly has not offered for her.”

“And we greatly need and desire to have meaning in our suffering, purpose in it. And unfortunately, much of the modern Christian church will teach you suffering is to be avoided, frankly, or worse, will play into victimology,” he adds.

This, Deace explains, turns the one suffering into “a mark for the one who comes along and finds purpose and meaning for her in her suffering.”

“So you need to get the two of you, but at least you, into a church that teaches the full counsel of God. Because ultimately,” Deace continues, “your relationship will not survive a question of authority between you and this occultic guru, demonically influenced individual.”

“You’re going to lose, because this individual gave her something you can’t ever give her: purpose in her suffering,” he adds.

Want more from Steve Deace?

To enjoy more of Steve’s take on national politics, Christian worldview, and principled conservatism with a snarky twist, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

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Senator Lindsey Graham (S.C.) skipped over a few recent wars in an interview Tuesday to make a historical argument in favor of an American military intervention in Iran — action he has urged for well over a decade.

Gillian Turner, a talking head at Fox News, where Graham has been a frequent guest in recent days, told the senator that while a Ronald Reagan Institute poll found that 84% of Americans say that preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon matters to U.S. security and prosperity, “the rub, as you well know, is probably like 110% of Americans don’t want to have another 20-year-long or even 20-month-long war in the Middle East.”

‘I’d rather open up Pandora’s box than empty it.’

A poll conducted by the Economist and YouGov June 13-16 found that 16% of Americans think “U.S. military should get involved in the conflict between Israel and Iran.” Sixty percent of respondents said America should not get involved, and 24% said they weren’t sure. When asked whether the U.S. should continue to engage in negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program, 56% said yes.

“If you think radical Islam can be dealt with and ignored — dealt with without being dealt with — then you’re wrong,” said Graham. “You got to stand up to these people.”

RELATED: A treacherous week for America First (and Israel, too)

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images

“We live in a world where we have to defend ourselves,” continued the senator, a former proponent of the false Iraqi weapons of mass destruction narrative who co-sponsored the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq resolution of 2002. “I don’t think it’s going to be 20 months, but here’s what I do believe: If we don’t get it right now, we’re going to pay later.”

Graham employed different language but more or less made the same argument 15 years ago, years before he said that “the world is literally about to blow up.”

RELATED: Iran is not the next Iraq War — unless we make the same mistake twice

Photo by Wisam Hashlamoun/Anadolu via Getty Images

“If you use military force against Iran, you’ve opened up Pandora’s box,” he reportedly told a crowd at the American Enterprise Institute in September 2010. “If you allow Iran to get a nuclear weapon, you’ve emptied Pandora’s box. I’d rather open up Pandora’s box than empty it.”

Graham also suggested at the time that military operations should be executed with regime change in mind — something he supported in Iraq, Libya, and Syria.

‘The men and women who serve, they’re the ones going.’

When asked in the interview Tuesday whether he could “make the commitment that this would not lead to a longer war,” Graham said, “I can guarantee you that if the ayatollah gets a nuclear weapon, he would use that.”

Graham then appeared to insinuate that American troops are required in Iran, stating, “The men and women who serve, they’re the ones going — not people answering the poll. And if you ask them, ‘Would you be willing to risk your life to stop the ayatollah from having a nuclear weapon?’ All of them would say, ‘Yes.'”

“We live in a world where you got to confront problems,” said Graham. “You want to avoid World War III? Learn the lessons from World War II.”

RELATED: Israel’s strategy now rests on one bomb — and it’s American

Photo (left): Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images; Photo (right): Iranian Leader Press Office / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images

The senator appeared to insinuate that a failure to help attack Iran was akin to appeasing Adolf Hitler, stressing that American freedom was conditional on attacking Iran: “If we do not fight for our freedom, we will lose it.”

Fox News’ John Roberts subsequently alluded to the opposition by some Republicans to another regime-change war, referring to Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s recent tweet in which she noted, “Anyone slobbering for the U.S. to become fully involved in the Israel/Iran war is not America First/MAGA. Wishing for murder of innocent people is disgusting. We are sick and tired of foreign wars. All of them. And this one will quickly engulf the Middle East, BRICS, and NATO as countries are required to take a side.”

Graham said the Republican opposition to “supporting Israel against Iran could literally be put in a phone booth” and claimed Greene simply doesn’t understand the threat posed by the “religious Nazis.”

In a separate interview on the same network, Graham implored President Donald Trump to go “all in” on Iran, suggesting that the U.S. should “do joint operations” with Israel if necessary.

On Tuesday, Trump noted on Truth Social that he knew exactly where Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was “hiding.” While indicating that Khamenei was “an easy target, but is safe there,” Trump promised not to “take him out (kill!), at least not for now.”

After indicating American “patience is wearing thin,” Trump wrote, “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”

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A cell phone associated with the Minnesota residence of accused political assassin Vance Luther Boelter went on extensive travel over the past three years — including trips to Dubai, Turkey, and India — the Oversight Project reported Tuesday.

Based on a geofence analysis of Boelter’s home in Green Isle, Minn., the Oversight Project said it found a “unique device” that it tracked going back three years.

The Oversight Project used the phone’s unique Ad ID number that is picked up on various phone apps to track its travel near the family home in Sibley County, around the Twin Cities area, nationally, and internationally.

“What’s more interesting is the amount of international travel linked to this device — visits to Africa, Nepal, Turkey, India, and Dubai,” the Oversight Project posted on X. “Also visited some major U.S. cities such as Washington D.C., and other places like the Chicago Yacht Club.”

— (@)

Mike Howell, president of the Oversight Project, told Blaze News that the investigation of the phone is just beginning, so the group does not yet have explanations for the locations and patterns of travel.

The phone data seems to relate to things Boelter has posted online about his employment history and travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.

Boelter, 57, was charged June 16 in federal court in Minnesota with two counts of murder, two counts of stalking, and two firearms charges related to stalking. He was captured late June 15 in Sibley County, Minn., after the largest police manhunt in Minnesota history.

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

A cell phone associated with accused Minnesota assassin Vance Boelter pinged across the United States and internationally.Image from the Oversight Project

He is charged with the assassination of Democrat Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, in their Brooklyn Park, Minn., home at about 3:30 a.m. June 14. Boelter is also charged with shooting and attempting to kill Democrat state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, in their home in Champlin, Minn.

Federal prosecutors said Boelter did online research on four legislators’ homes prior to his shooting rampage. He allegedly visited one home in Maple Grove, but no one was home. He reportedly parked down the block from another home in New Hope, but was scared off by a squad car from the New Hope Police Department.

The suspect was disguised as a police officer, wearing a “hyper-realistic” silicone mask that covered his entire head. In his vehicle, police say they found what was described as a handwritten “hit list” with the names of more than 50 lawmakers and other public officials.

‘We’re doing farming and fishing projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo.’

In the vehicle Boelter allegedly abandoned at the Hortman home, police found notebooks with a handwritten list of politicians, lawmakers, and Planned Parenthood officials. The list included Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (DFL), U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), U.S. Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Rep. Hortman, former Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman (D), and several officials associated with Planned Parenthood North Central States.

According to an FBI affidavit filed in federal court, Boelter got the Hoffmans to open their front door around 2 a.m. June 14 by pounding and shouting, “This is the police! Open the door!” When the senator and his wife tried to push Boelter back out the door, he shot them both, according to the federal criminal complaint. The Hoffmans are recovering in a hospital. A statement released by the Hoffman family said the senator was shot nine times and his wife suffered eight bullet wounds.

Police in nearby Brooklyn Park almost intercepted the suspect on the front porch of the Hortman residence at 3:30 a.m., but he opened fire on officers as they arrived, according to the FBI. Boelter then allegedly burst into the home and shot the Hortmans to death. He also allegedly shot their golden retriever, Gilbert, who had to be euthanized due to his grave injuries.

More than three hours after the Hortman killings, Boelter reportedly approached a man at a North Minneapolis bus stop and asked to buy an e-bike from him. The men took the bus to the witness’ residence, where Boelter paid him $900 for the e-bike and a used Buick sedan, prosecutors said.

The suspect was able to evade a massive police dragnet for nearly 40 hours. Police found the abandoned Buick on a rural Sibley County highway on June 15. A police aerial drone spotted Boelter in a wooded area about one mile from his Green Isle residence. Boelter put his hands up and surrendered to a SWAT team around 9:15 p.m.

Employment history

According to Boelter’s LinkedIn page and a video he made for a course in the funeral industry, he founded a company called Red Lion Group dedicated to increasing the food supply in the populous Democratic Republic of the Congo.

It appears Red Lion consisted of Boelter and his wife, Jennifer. There is no indication that he was associated with other entities named Red Lion, such as the United Kingdom-based charity or the hospitality holding company.

RELATED: ‘Weak, emasculated leader’: Ex-Vikings player blames Tim Walz for Minnesota killings

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

In a LinkedIn post in 2023, Boelter said he was in the Democratic Republic of the Congo “working on several projects.”

“Red Lion Group had a great meeting with the new governor of Congo Central to talk about private business projects,” Boelter wrote. “That are all moving forward in that a [sic] province.”

In an undated video posted online, Boelter explained his food-industry history and desire to help the African nation produce more of its own food.

“The company I was working for at the time wasn’t interested in doing anything in Africa. So I talked with my wife, and we decided I would just put in my two-week notice and we’d just go off on our own to try to do these projects to help out in Africa,” he said. “So we’re doing farming and fishing projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo.”

The Red Lion Group website domain name was registered on Jan. 25, 2023, according to the domain lookup site Whois. The domain is set to expire on April 15, 2026. The website does not appear to be connected to the internet. The domain ownership information is masked.

One of Boelter’s online biographies makes a fleeting reference to international travel. He and his wife are the registered owners of Praetorian Guard Security Systems, which appears to be little more than a website and some Ford vehicles customized to look like police cruisers.

Some of the addresses associated with the company on state records are residential homes. The company’s registered office address in Prior Lake, Minn., is a divorce law firm. There is no listing on LinkedIn, nor any employees under the company name.

RELATED: Survivors of Minnesota assassination attempt release statement: ‘Incredibly lucky to be alive’

A tow truck removes an abandoned Buick sedan allegedly driven by accused assassin Vance Boelter as police search the area on 301st Avenue in Belle Plaine, Minn., on June 15, 2025.Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

According to Vance Boelter’s biography on the Praetorian Guard website, he “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.” It does not provide details on the “security situations.” The website has been taken offline, but some of its content is accessible on the Wayback Machine.

A lifelong friend of Boelter, David W. Carlson, said Boelter was having financial difficulties recently. Boelter’s LinkedIn page said he was “looking to get back into the U.S. food industry” and was open to senior-level jobs.

Southern Minnesota family

Boelter grew up in Sleepy Eye, a town of 3,400 in southern Minnesota, about 110 miles southwest of Minneapolis. His father, Donald LuVerne Boelter, was a legendary baseball coach for 34 years at Sleepy Eye Public School and earlier at Ceylon High School. With 309 career wins, nine conference titles, and a .620 winning percentage, Donald Boelter was inducted into the Minnesota State High School Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2009. He died in September 2013 at age 80.

Vance Boelter’s mother is 90 and still lives in southern Minnesota.

His brother, Tarry Boelter, was a star baseball player at the University of Minnesota and briefly played for the Minnesota Twins. He was a 350-game-winning baseball coach at Murray County Central High School in Slayton, Minn. He was inducted into the Minnesota State High School Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2013.

Vance Boelter married the former Jennifer Doskocil in Winona, Minn., on October. 4, 1997. At the time, Boelter lived in Arcadia, Minn., and his new wife was from Springbrook, Wis. They went on to have five children.

Boelter’s jobs took the family across the country, living in Muldrow, Okla., Shakopee, Minn., Sheboygan Falls, Wis., Inver Grove Heights, Minn., Gaylord, Minn., and Green Isle, Minn., according to public databases.

Boelter had been a plant manager at Lettieri’s LLC, a manufacturer of food-to-go products in Shakopee, Minn. The company was later purchased by Greencore Group. While working at Lettieri’s, Boelter was appointed to the Dakota-Scott Workforce Investment Board by the Dakota County Board.

In 1994, Boelter worked at a processing plant for Gold’n Plump chicken in Cold Spring, Minn.

Mike Howell is a contributor to Blaze News.

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​Politics 

Forty years ago this month — June 5, 1985, to be exact — a high school senior named Ferris Bueller decided not to go to school.

Instead, he took his girlfriend, Sloane, his best friend, Cameron, and a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder (“borrowed” from Cameron’s dad) on an adventure-packed odyssey through Chicago, during which they lunched at a hoity-toity French restaurant, took in a Cubs game, and participated in the Von Steuben Day parade, all while engaging in an epic race against time, parents, and Vice Principal Edward R. Rooney.

Ironically, it’s Ferris who exhibits the very leadership qualities Vice Principal Rooney lacks.

Spoiler alert: He gets away with it.

“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” is a teenage rebellion fantasy, but of a very different sort from the type Hollywood cranks out today.

For conservative pundit and former Nixon speechwriter Ben Stein, who had a small but indelible role as a droning economics teacher, the movie is a glorious product of the Reagan era. Noting that Hughes “was an ardent Republican” who “believed Reagan could transform all of us into Ferris Buellers,” Stein celebrates Ferris as “an unregulated high school kid in an unregulated world.”

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But Ferris is no libertarian. “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” celebrates loyalty, courage, and even justice. It encourages us to love our families, to stand up for our friends, and to be grateful for the time we’re given on Earth.

Yes, Ferris breaks the rules, but his mischief — unlike that of the 1960s radicals who came before him (or, for that matter, the leftists currently wreaking havoc on our streets) — is creative rather than destructive.

In fact, take a closer look at his itinerary, and you see that Ferris follows a strict moral code of his own.

Real friendship is sacrificial

Ferris’ name may be in the title, but this is Cameron’s story. Ferris is the same carefree, popular guy at the end of the movie as he is at the beginning.

Cameron complains about being roped into his best friend’s “stupid crap,” but eventually we understand that all of Ferris’ elaborate planning — not to mention the risk he assumes — is for Cameron’s benefit. It’s Cameron, not Ferris, who really needs this day off. As a true friend, Ferris realizes that the only way to break Cameron out of his shell is to make him face his deepest fears — even if Cameron ends up hating him for it.

Family bonds are important, no matter how fraught

Ferris lies to his parents, but there’s no contempt beneath his deception. He truly loves them as much as they love him.

Cameron is not so fortunate. His strict home life — ruled by an emotionally absent, domineering father — has paralyzed him with anxiety and fear. When Cameron finally confronts this truth, he resolves not to reject his dad so he can heal his “trauma” (as he might be encouraged to do today) but to stand up to him — a healthy sign that the father-son relationship is worth saving.

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Even Ferris and his seething, judgmental sister Jeanie repair their rift by the end of the film. Jeanie lets go of her resentment and helps her brother when he needs it most, while Ferris learns the humbling lesson that even he can’t always go it alone.

Authority deserves respect — but only when it’s earned

Vice Principal Rooney embodies overreaching authority — petty, ineffective, and consumed by the need for control. In the end, Rooney’s childish obsession with “beating” Ferris undoes him as much as any stunt his quarry pulls. Ironically, it’s Ferris who exhibits the leadership qualities Rooney lacks. With his natural charisma and willingness to take calculated, strategic, and effective action for himself and for others, Ferris can’t help but draw people to him.

We should be grateful for the present moment

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Ferris’ deceptively simple motto expresses deep, timeless wisdom.

All that he and friends gain by hoodwinking the adults are a few precious hours to appreciate the city of Chicago and each other’s company. And that’s enough.

They don’t waste their time while playing hooky; instead they spend it truly alive to the joy of existence. And while church isn’t one of their stops, the reverent gratitude they display brings to mind Psalm 118:24: “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

​Entertainment, Movies, Ferris bueller, Conservative values, Traditional values, Comedy, T3, Faith, Align 

President Donald Trump’s broad coalition faces the hardest test of his second administration this week, all depending on what the president commits the country’s armed forces to over the next few days.

On one side of the MAGA coalition, Iran hawks, military interventionists, and remaining neoconservatives are excitedly watching for their long-awaited collapse of the ayatollahs’ regime. On the other, America-firsters, skeptical non-interventionists, and the handful of the coalition’s actual isolationists watch with worried eyes.

Just consider the pros and cons. Foreign entanglements are rarely clean and simple, and a lot rides on the next few days.

From a certain point of view, it is the best of times to attack; from another, it is the worst of times — for both MAGA and the historically close American-Israeli relationship. So let’s examine the pros and cons.

Pro: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump are both credible wartime leaders. Israel’s longest-serving prime minister has a long history of successful hawkish intervention where he felt necessary, and Trump is no slouch either.

In Trump’s first term, the president proved the Washington blob wrong when he swiftly dealt with the Islamic State’s “caliphate,” bombing its forces into submission and hunting its leader down “like a dog.”

In Syria, too, Trump enforced the red lines he drew — but didn’t involve the United States any further than that. And in Afghanistan his famed MOAB strike helped bring the Taliban to the table.

Both men have repeatedly warned Iran for a decade that it was on the path to a war they’d gladly bring it, and here we are.

To the hawks, Trump and Netanyahu seem a match made in heaven for realizing their dreams of crippling Iran’s nuclear capabilities or even ousting the regime entirely. But wait just a minute and consider why Trump is back in office in the first place!

Con: Trump was elected first in 2016, then again overwhelmingly in 2024 on great big waves of discontent.

That anger, first rippling in the Tea Party movement and then apparent from Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders’ first and only authentic campaign, stretches across tax policy, education policy, foreign policy, outsourcing, DEI, immigration, and the Democratic Party’s obsessions with social issues. It can all be boiled down to “the elites do whatever they want without any regard for what will actually help Americans.”

Bombing Iran’s nuclear program into the Age of the Steam Engine might be the right thing to do for an ally in need. It might be smart foreign policy, when it comes to America’s red lines being taken seriously. It might even be just. But you really, truly have to stretch far and wide into the future and all the many paths it can take to divine how intervention helps Americans here at home.

That’s a problem. It’s a big reason you see such discontent and even rage bubbling up all over the America First and MAGA right, from Tucker Carlson to the Federalist’s Sean Davis to the anonymous X poster down the way.

Some of these types think war not only doesn’t serve American interests but actively threatens our safety by unleashing broader conflict. Others recognize the promises we heard in the lead-up to Afghanistan and Iraq: that this is different from Vietnam and we won’t get bogged down because we’re way smarter now.

The reality is that a large segment of voters never signed up for another Middle Eastern war. They want the government to focus on problems at home for a change.

This discontent doesn’t just jeopardize the MAGA coalition’s unity; it jeopardizes broader domestic support for our alliance with Israel, which is already under strain among the Democrats.

None of the latter MAGA camp are happy right now, but a very short war made up of successful strikes could change a lot of their minds. Trump is just the sort of man to deliver that possibility.

Pro: Trump’s done this before, in Afghanistan and Syria. The reason he has such credibility on the national stage is that unlike his two Democratic predecessors, he delivers overwhelming force exactly when he says he will.

Let’s say American bombs could reach Iran’s football-field-deep mountain uranium enrichment plant and we blast it and go home, leaving in place an Iranian regime still clinging to power but set back decades from developing nuclear weapons.

Is Trump the man to break the curse of the Middle East? A wise man once told me the number-one trick to never getting divorced is simple: Never get divorced, even — especially! — when times are tough. Maybe all it takes to not get entangled in nation-building is not to get entangled in nation-building — especially when times are tough.

Since right around the time he descended the golden escalator 10 years ago, the president has told the Iranians to stop enriching. The United States has made that demand for decades longer still.

Now the bill has come due. Unlike previous U.S. presidents, this one collects. Wasn’t one of the driving issues of both 2016 and ’24 the Democrats’ foreign policy weakness, from “pallets of cash” and “red lines” under Barack Obama to the sloppy retreat from Afghanistan under Joe Biden? What no American voted for, however, is another 20-year war in the Middle East.

Con: Reports suggest Israel wanted to take out Iran’s supreme ayatollah but that the United States blocked the operation. The president later posted on Truth Social that we know the ayatollah’s location and will kill him if he makes a wrong move.

But what happens if he’s killed and the Iranian regime doesn’t recover? What if the entire state collapses? The regime has endured for five decades, but tyrannies often seem invincible — right up until their leaders flee to exile through Moscow International Airport.

Iran has a sophisticated society, far more advanced than Iraq’s and nothing like the tribal chaos of Afghanistan. It’s also a much older civilization. But it’s not a unified Persian monolith. Between 35% and 40% of the population — including the ayatollah’s own late father — belongs to one of the country’s many ethnic minority groups.

Maybe that wouldn’t come to any violence, and maybe Iran’s oil could pay for reconstruction. Some Iranian dissidents and expats hope Reza Pahlavi, the 46-year-exiled crown prince of Iran and eldest son of its last shah, could return. He’s the current head of the National Council of Iran, a secular, United Nations-friendly group that claims to represent millions of Iranians.

The problem is we don’t know, do we? Sure, the crown prince’s father ruled Iran at the peak of its domestic freedoms, but he was ousted by a violent domestic revolt. Iran’s hard-line regime makes it more than a little challenging to gauge domestic opinion, and lots of exiled leaders have promised the West they’d be greeted with ticker-tape parades upon their triumphant returns.

But few have pulled off such a feat without the U.S. military marching behind them, and in Iraq and Afghanistan, both exiled governments ended in failure even with American GIs dying in the streets to maintain their power. And don’t forget that during the half-century they’ve spent in exile, the council backed Iraq in its disastrous war on Iran.

So let’s assume the worst: civil war, with Iranian refugees flooding into Europe. Who steps in?

Israel has neither the ability, the mandate, nor the care to do so. Nearby China certainly doesn’t care and would probably just profit and steal along Iran’s periphery. Russia remains bogged down in Ukraine, and Europe simply cannot afford to bring stability.

So it would fall to us. Nation-building once more, whether we like it or not.

It needn’t come to that. Trump won in 2016 and ’24 saying his predecessors started conflicts but that he would end them with strength. In that sense, his involvement in this conflict isn’t really a departure from what he ran on — so far.

Trump’s foreign policy only works when allies and adversaries believe he’s willing to respond with overwhelming force when challenged. Under his leadership, the United States regains the ability to tell the West how much to spend on defense — and the world how to trade with us. Foreign leaders know he won’t hesitate to use the big stick.

Maybe he can land this plane. Just consider the pros and cons. Foreign entanglements are rarely clean and simple, and a lot rides on the next few days — both foreign and domestic.

Daniel McCarthy in the Spectator: Trump won’t be dragged into a regime-change war

Blaze News: Israel’s strategy now rests on one bomb — and it’s American

Blaze News: Massie, Dems seek to limit presidential war-making authority amid talk of Iranian regime change

ABC News: Exiled Crown Prince Reza sees ‘best opportunity’ to get rid of regime

The Spectator: Has Trump sided with the hawks?

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​Opinion & analysis, Politics 

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. noted in an op-ed last year that one of the ways President Donald Trump can make America healthy again is by reviewing direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical ad guidelines.

“The U.S. and New Zealand are the only countries that allow pharmaceutical companies to advertise directly to the public,” wrote Kennedy. “News channels are filled with drug commercials, and reasonable viewers may question whether their dependence on these ads influences their coverage of health issues.”

The administration is now poised to tackle this issue with policies that might make it costlier and/or more difficult for pharmaceutical giants to push their products directly to patients.

Health and Human Services press secretary Emily Hilliard told Blaze News that “Secretary Kennedy has consistently emphasized direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising must prioritize accuracy, patient safety, and the public interest — not profit margins.”

“Consistent with Secretary Kennedy’s public health commitments, we are exploring ways to restore more rigorous oversight and improve the quality of information presented to American consumers, who deserve nothing less than radical transparency,” added Hilliard.

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Bloomberg reported that the administration is considering two policies in particular.

The first would require drugmakers to to be more forthright in their ads about the side effects of their products.

Given that pharma products often have myriad side effects, this would likely increase the run time of TV ads, thereby making them far more costly. Since a total ban on pharma direct-to-customer ads would expose the administration to litigation, this potential disincentive could have a similar effect without the consequence.

Individuals said to be familiar with the plans told Bloomberg that the second policy would entail denying pharmaceutical companies the ability to write off DTC advertising as a business expense for tax purposes.

Recent analysis from the Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing indicated that the average annual global spending on advertising and promotions in 2023 among the drugmakers AbbVie, Amgen, Biogen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Gilead Sciences, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, and Pfizer was $1.4 billion, with Pfizer spending the most.

The advertising data firm MediaRadar reportedly found that companies spent $10.8 billion last year on direct-to-consumer pharma advertising.

Drugmakers spent a combined $729.4 million to run TV commercials for the top 10 brands in just the first three months of 2025, reported Fierce Pharma.

‘The American people don’t want to see misleading and deceptive prescription drug ads on television.’

Bloomberg suggested that these potential policies could impact a key source of revenue for advertising, media, and pharmaceutical companies.

AbbVie chief commercial officer Jeff Stewart reportedly told analysts in May that if there were a crackdown on pharma ads, the company “would have to pivot,” potentially focusing its advertising online rather than on mass media.

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Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images

Alex Siciliano, a spokesperson for the National Association of Broadcasters, told Bloomberg, “Restricting pharmaceutical ads would have serious consequences for stations, particularly those in smaller markets, and could raise First Amendment concerns.”

Those concerned about HHS purging the airwaves of Big Pharma propaganda need not only fear initiatives from the Trump administration.

Independent Sens. Bernie Sanders (Vt.) and Angus King (Maine) introduced legislation last week that would ban drugmakers from using direct-to-consumer advertising outright, not only on TV and radio, but on social media, digital platforms, and in print as well.

“The American people are sick and tired of greedy pharmaceutical companies spending billions of dollars on absurd TV commercials pushing their outrageously expensive prescription drugs,” Sanders said in a statement.

“The American people don’t want to see misleading and deceptive prescription drug ads on television. They want us to take on the greed of the pharmaceutical industry and ban these bogus ads.”

An Axios-Ipsos poll conducted last year found that 59% of Americans support banning TV pharma ads.

Unlike the Trump administration’s potential policies, the End Prescription Drug Ads Now Act might not survive a constitutional challenge, given that Congress is barred from making any law abridging the freedom of speech.

The independent lawmakers noted in their joint statement that HHS Secretary Kennedy is not the only relevant party who has expressed an interest in clearing the airwaves; the American Medical Association has similarly endorsed a ban.

“The widespread use of direct-to-consumer advertising by pharmaceutical companies drives up costs and doesn’t necessarily make patients healthier,” said King.

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​Big pharma, Pharmaceuticals, Pharmaceutical, Robert f kennedy jr, Kennedy, Trump, Trump administration, Health and human services, Health, Drugs, Politics