Albertans overwhelmingly rejected a move toward independence Monday, but supporters of separation insist the issue is far from settled.

In a provincial referendum, roughly 76% of voters chose Option 1 — for Alberta to “remain a province of Canada” — while about 24% backed Option 2, which would have begun the legal process required to hold a binding referendum on separation.

‘Keep your nose out of American politics,’ said Hoekstra.

The results remain unofficial until October 29.

The vote was quickly dubbed a “referendum on a referendum.” Even an Option 2 victory would not have meant Alberta was leaving Canada. It would have started the process toward another, binding vote on whether the province should separate.

Premier Danielle Smith campaigned for Option 1 alongside Prime Minister Mark Carney and Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre.

American interference?

The federalist cause also received some enthusiastic help from the Canadian press. Days before the vote, the Globe and Mail published a lengthy investigation connecting Alberta separatists to American Republican political operatives and alleging that independence leaders had offered Washington access to the province’s natural resources, including fresh water and oil royalties, in exchange for assistance.

But the investigation’s most explosive allegations were disputed by some of its own sources.

Dennis Modry, a co-founder of the Alberta Prosperity Project, acknowledged discussing possible resource arrangements with the United States. But fellow APP co-founder Jeff Rath, an Alberta lawyer who arranged the meetings with State Department officials, insisted none of those proposals had been discussed in Washington. The Globe also acknowledged that no agreements had been reached and quoted a White House official saying that no American support or commitments had been offered.

Writing in a sharply critical response, Alberta commentator Colin MacLeod accused the newspaper of combining separate incidents and individuals into a misleading narrative of coordinated American interference.

The investigation also documented American Republican consultants promoting political software to Alberta separatists. But APP leader Mitch Sylvestre told the Globe he refused to give the consultants access to his organization’s membership list, citing serious concerns about privacy.

In an exclusive interview with Blaze Lifestyle before the vote, Rath accused the Globe — which he characterized as one of the government’s “propaganda arms” — of deliberately misleading readers.

“But what surprised me was, like, how blatantly they lied and how foolish the lies were,” he said, singling out the allegation about trading Alberta’s water for American assistance.

“I mean, completely ludicrous. We have the St. Mary’s River watershed, and we have the Milk River watersheds. They’re the only rivers that flow from Alberta into the U.S. They’re governed under an international agreement by an international commission. You know, there’s not enough water in either one of those rivers to supply Las Vegas, let alone all of California.”

‘A massive machine’

On Tuesday, Rath told Blaze Lifestyle that the defeat would not end the independence movement.

He predicted support would grow as Carney’s Liberal government made life more difficult for Albertans and said he was proud of the result his side achieved against a powerful political establishment.

“We fought a battle against a massive machine,” Rath said.

Smith, meanwhile, was ready to put the question behind her.

“So tonight I want to invite every Albertan who may still feel hopeless or frustrated with the past direction of our country, to believe and hope in Canada again,” she said.

“Because although our country isn’t perfect and there is still much work to be done, I believe that Canada is on the rise again.”

RELATED: Exclusive: US ambassador says Canada walked away from ‘the best trade deal’ — twice

Bloomberg/Getty Images

Who’s interfering with whom?

But the referendum produced an awkward bit of cross-border symmetry.

In the closing days of the campaign, Carney warned foreign governments — specifically including the United States — to stay out of Alberta’s vote.

“Our expectation is, to be absolutely clear, on foreign governments, United States included, is we don’t get ourselves involved in their elections, they don’t get themselves in our elections,” Carney said.

At almost exactly the same time, U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra was accusing Canadian politicians of edging toward interference in America’s November 3 midterm elections.

“We are closely watching Canadian activities because it appears that some of this, from our perspective, in the way that we view our elections, could be inferred to be election interference,” Hoekstra said in an interview with “The Really Big Show.”

Among his examples were comments from Industry Minister Mélanie Joly about designing retaliatory tariffs to hit politically sensitive U.S. states.

Hoekstra’s advice to Canadian politicians was considerably less diplomatic.

“Keep your nose out of American politics,” he said.

In July, Carney appointed Maia Johnson, an American citizen and former Hillary Clinton campaign aide, as chief operating officer of the Prime Minister’s Office.

One wonders what the reaction would have been if Carney had appointed a former Trump campaign operative instead. Would the Globe and Mail have been so relaxed about American political influence in Ottawa?

​American politics, Independence, Retaliatory tariffs, Alberta, Alberta referendum, Pete hoekstra, Mark carney, Canada, Lifestyle, Letter from canada 

The cost of recruitment seems to be getting with the times.

A unique offer has been pushed out by a U.S. Army unit in Georgia involving the release of the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI game, and it’s surprisingly had some success already.

‘The command team … wanted to get soldiers excited to re-enlist.’

Fort Stewart in Georgia is home to the Army’s 9th Brigade Engineering Battalion, and the unit also seems particularly keen on playing the new video game.

That’s the logic behind the latest recruiting offer aimed at keeping soldiers in the forces for years to come.

Recently, federal officials told CBS News that the unit in Georgia was offering active-duty soldiers a four-day pass to play the game when it comes out in November, but only under the condition that they extend their contract with the military.

As reported by IGN, about 130 soldiers are eligible to extend their contract and receive time off after the November 19 release of the game, according to a copy of an Army memo circulating online.

“Any soldier who signs a re-enlistment contract between” August 1 and November 14 will be “authorized for a special four-day pass,” the memo stated.

The memo was signed by commanding officer Lt. Col. Ryan Hodgson.

“This special pass is specifically designated to coincide with the highly anticipated release of the video game Grand Theft Auto VI,” the memo added.

It may come as a shock to some readers, but the gamble has already paid off.

RELATED: Charlie Kirk murder online role play banned from Grand Theft Auto: ‘Tasteless, unacceptable’

As of late August, at least 20 soldiers have taken advantage of the incentive and decided to extend their military contract, trading the four days of eye-and-thumb-blistering gaming for an extension of their service.

“The idea was to have a unique incentives program that connects to what soldiers are interested in,” Lt. Col. Angel Tomko, a spokesperson for the 3rd Infantry Division, told CBS News. “The command team, in conjunction with the career counselor, wanted to get soldiers excited to re-enlist.”

The aforementioned memo said it hoped to promote “retention, boost morale, and reward the continued dedication” of the soldiers in that battalion.

RELATED: Self-driving trucks are about controlling the roads — not making them safer

Stephen Morton/Getty Images

According to trading platform Polymarket, GTA VI could trigger a $1 billion deficit to the U.S. economy when it launches due to worker inactivity.

Economic analysis page Cost of America estimated that if around 1.5 million workers called in sick for work upon the game’s launch, the billion-dollar deficit could become true.

A GameSquare survey showed that out of 1,000 respondents, 100 said they would be skipping work on launch day (10%), while another 300 (30%) said they were considering it.

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​Video games, Grand theft auto vi, Army, Georgia, Tech 

Nine male teens brutally beat up a lone male victim after he defended a bullied female at a Florida high school, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office said.

The 17-year-old male victim of the beatdown was having lunch Friday with his girlfriend in the cafeteria at Harmony High School in St. Cloud when they saw another female being bullied, officials said, adding that carrots were being thrown at her.

‘This victim did the right thing by standing up for another student being bullied. He is the brave one; the nine teens that chose violence against him are the cowards.’

The male victim told the suspects to stop throwing food at the female, officials said, and two males argued with the victim and his girlfriend.

The male victim then tried to de-escalate the situation by leaving the area with his girlfriend, authorities said.

But just after 2:30 p.m. the same day, deputies responded to reports of an off-campus physical altercation, officials said.

The male victim was walking to his car when one of the suspects, a 16-year-old, struck him, authorities said.

With that, the other eight suspects — ages 14 through 18 — repeatedly threw punches at the victim’s face and head, leaving him bloodied and injured, officials said.

The victim’s mother took him to a hospital, and he received 11 stitches to close the wounds in his face, authorities said.

Deputies received a cellphone video of the beatdown, officials said, adding that the clip was used to identify all the suspects.

Deputies on Wednesday went to Harmony High School and arrested the nine male students who participated in the crime, officials said, adding that all nine were charged with felony aggravated battery and felony inciting a riot.

Two 18-year-olds — Quianelle Antonio Reyes-Cintron and Brian Alexander Ramirez — were booked into the Osceola County Jail, officials said, while the seven minor suspects were taken to the Juvenile Assessment Center.

RELATED: Thugs ages 11 to 14 gang up on, mercilessly beat up victim on sidewalk — and adults are done: ‘I’m very fearful for my life’

Officials said Sheriff Chris Blackmon wants to send a message to all students attending public or private schools in the county. “If you put your hands on another student on or off campus, deputies will arrest you. This victim did the right thing by standing up for another student being bullied. He is the brave one; the nine teens that chose violence against him are the cowards.”

Osceola School District Superintendent Mark Shanoff added the following, authorities said: “Let me be clear: physical intimidation, threats, or acts of violence of any kind will not be tolerated in our schools or in our community, whether on or off campus. Such behavior is fundamentally inconsistent with the values of our school district and the standards of conduct we expect from every student. We take these matters seriously, and there must be accountability when those expectations are violated. I am grateful for our tremendous partnership with the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office and our law enforcement partners, whose collaboration is essential to maintaining safe communities and ensuring our students are held to the highest standards of respect, responsibility, and personal conduct.”

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​Florida, Mob attack, Teens, High school, Arrests, Bullying, Physical attack, Crime 

An anti-capitalist cafe in South Minneapolis decided in January that it would not only deny service to federal agents but would “function as a free and donation based restaurant” until the end of the city’s so-called “occupation” by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

It turns out that feeding leftists for free and antagonizing potential customers is an unworkable business model.

‘We are done making money for the fascists that occupy our city.’

Dylan Alverson, the owner of Modern Times on 3200 Chicago Avenue, announced on Saturday that the cafe — which in desperation resumed charging for food in what Alverson dubbed “a fascist economy” — will soon be closing its doors for good.

“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,” Alverson noted in a post on Facebook. “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.”

In a lengthy eulogy for his dream, Alverson characterized the cafe — which underwent a rebrand as Post Modern Times — as a “glorious and radical experiment” that “put people over profit, quality over margins, and creativity at all costs.”

After complaining about the cafe’s struggles and blaming a world “that doesn’t make sense,” he acknowledged that the failing establishment “ran for over 6 months as a completely free restaurant” and “gave away 30,000 meals and spent through our original donations.”

RELATED: Berkeley set out to defend DEI — and found no financial upside

Jerome Gilles/NurPhoto/Getty Images

According to Alverson, the cafe has been losing $10,000 a week.

Though he admitted elsewhere that he had implemented “the worst and most psychotic business structure,” he also characterized giving meals away for free as an act of protest after the fatal shootings of anti-ICE radicals Alex Pretti and Renee Good.

“I am sick of generating money for the soldiers in our streets and for a government that won’t protect us — a government who is actively inflicting daily harm on its citizens,” he wrote on Jan. 26. “Effective tomorrow we are done making money for the fascists that occupy our city. We refuse to generate taxes under the guise of a functioning for-profit capitalist business aligned with government strategy.”

Alverson’s decision to stick it to ICE by forgoing profits captured the attention of liberals farther afield.

In addition to receiving donations from around the country, the cafe garnered positive media attention including from the New York Times, which presented this “social experiment” largely as a success story and optimistically reported in June that “profits are up.”

Two months after the Times’ glow-up, Modern Times showed signs of strain, announcing “PRICES ARE RETURNING TO THE CAFE.”

The New York Times’ podcast “The Daily” revisited Alverson’s doomed experiment this month, noting that while the cafe wasn’t making money, its owner appeared keen that “this new model is something that other restaurants could adopt.”

Alverson stated in his closure announcement, “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.”

This is not the first anti-capitalist establishment to go belly-up in recent years.

The Anarchist, a leftist establishment in Toronto, Canada, that touted itself as an “anti-capitalist, anti-colonial cafe, shop, and radical community space on stolen land,” permanently closed in 2023.

Although the Anarchist charged money for its food, its anti-Catholic, anti-police owner stated that “the lack of generational wealth/seed capital from ethically bankrupt sources left [him] unable to weather the quiet winter season, or to grow in the ways needed to be sustainable longer-term.”

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​Leftism, Minneapolist, Socialism, Business, Politics, Immigration and customs enforcement 

Americans really love AI. They‘re especially fond of ChatGPT, with nearly 68 million people using it regularly. Some users are probably reading this piece right now. If so, then you should be worried.

Online, people say things they would never say to their spouses, colleagues, employers, or closest friends. Not in a million years. Not in a million lifetimes. They discuss crippling debt and ongoing infidelity. They share health concerns and religious anxieties. Too many disclose their darkest thoughts. The AI model listens attentively. Most importantly, it takes notes — lots of notes. This is troubling. But what it does with those notes is even more troubling.

The situation is especially concerning when parents ask LLMs for relationship advice.

According to a recent paper, aptly titled “The Algorithmic Self-Portrait: Deconstructing Memory in ChatGPT,” the program saved 96% of stored memories on its own initiative, without user prompting or permission.

Meanwhile, a rather shocking 52% of ChatGPT’s memory files contain psychological insights into the user, detailing personality traits, behavioral issues, and other intimate observations. If someone asks for help proofreading a job resume while ranting about an annoying employer, ChatGPT will link the request to the context and add a note about the user’s workplace concerns. The traditional surveillance state was, in many ways, painfully obvious, with mysterious phone calls, CCTV cameras, and men in trench coats tailing you home and parking across the street.

By comparison, AI software is highly effective at extracting extremely valuable info from its users without them ever noticing. To encourage voluntary self-disclosure, the creators of these programs only need to make them intuitive, very friendly, easy to use, and incredibly addictive. In return, they get a deep look inside their users’ psyches. The company can store its findings in the cloud, turning it into an incredibly valuable asset to monetize and, more worryingly, weaponize. Both tech giants and hackers who eventually breach their systems could exploit these personal details and make Americans’ lives absolute hell.

Family matters

The situation is especially concerning when parents ask LLMs for relationship advice. Mothers and fathers turn to AI to help them deal with tantrums, bullying, developmental disabilities, and bitter divorces. Teens turn to the same service for guidance on sensitive issues they feel embarrassed to discuss with their parents. This material can be stored indefinitely, creating a detailed dossier on minors who, through no fault of their own, cannot fully understand the long-term repercussions of sharing private details with a chatbot. They are children, after all, and children do silly, regrettable things. They don’t know better; the parents, however, really should.

If a company understands what makes an individual tick, it can pull the strings like a master puppeteer. Organizations can use this information to pressure users and subtly steer them toward specific purchases or political viewpoints. The U.S. Constitution was built on the idea that a society founded on individual liberty should encourage open debate about politically charged ideas. A free republic simply cannot survive if one highly influential group has limitless access to another’s inner workings.

RELATED: OpenAI cancels its latest chatbot — it wouldn’t stop acting like a supervillain

Heather Diehl/Getty Images

The companies that build these programs claim their products offer convenience and a uniquely personal experience. This may be true, but just because something is easy and effortless doesn’t mean it’s good. Smoking ticks both boxes, but only the most disingenuous or deluded would argue that the benefits of lighting up a cancer stick outweigh the risk.

This is serious. As AI grows in prominence and intelligence, more Americans will turn to ChatGPT and similar models for advice and assistance.

The cost of convenience

Software developers and oddball tech lords like Sam Altman shouldn’t get a free pass to conduct psychological profiling under the guise of convenience and time savings. Modern AI is cleverly and deliberately designed to appear more human than it is (let’s not forget that it’s not human at all, even if it happens to have a name like Claude). These programs are designed to respond in a friendly, nonjudgmental manner and to log the conversation for later reference. They act like the perfect companion, remembering every detail and never forgetting to compliment users on their supposed brilliance. They are omniscient and obedient, a lethal combination designed to flatter and ultimately deceive.

People start trusting this “friend” and share their hopes, desires, and deepest dreads without considering the long-term consequences. We are dealing with arguably the most powerful technology ever created. AI may very well be, on balance, a force for good, but that doesn’t mean it’s sensible to confess everything to a digital stranger posing as an ally. At best, it’s unwise. At worst, it’s destructive and can cause irreversible damage.

Tech executives love to say they only want to build products with the consumer’s best interests in mind. No one should be comforted by these not-so-sincere promises. Personally, AI succeeds for them only if it knows a user more intimately than the user’s children or spouse ever could. It is an unethical and unfair trade-off: The inner workings of an LLM like ChatGPT are treated as a black box, while the inner workings of an average American are mined and memorized.

Americans must recognize that companies like OpenAI are nowhere near as trustworthy as they claim to be. They must also recognize that psychological profiling is far more likely to expand than to ebb and ask themselves whether they are prepared to surrender ever-greater access to their private lives to companies that have every incentive to know more about them and the people they hold dearest.

​Artificial intelligence 

Since 2019, the NFL has partnered with Jay-Z’s company Roc Nation to curate and produce the Super Bowl halftime show, making the billionaire rapper/entrepreneur the main decision-maker on the performer each year.

According to recent articles from Puck News and Deadline, Jay-Z has chosen himself as the performer for Super Bowl LXI.

“This somewhat blows my mind, but it’s right on brand for the NFL and Jay-Z,” says “Fearless” host Jason Whitlock.

Whitlock begins by listing out the Super Bowl halftime performers since Jay-Z took control in 2019:

2020 — Shakira & Jennifer Lopez

2021 — The Weeknd

2022 — Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar

2023 — Rihanna

2024 — Usher

2025 — Kendrick Lamar

2026 — Bad Bunny

“And now he’s picking himself. This has really turned into a no whites allowed situation,” sighs Whitlock. “Diversity, equity, and inclusion is no part of Jay-Z’s strategy or the NFL strategy as it relates to Super Bowl halftimes.”

The NFL, he says, seems to have learned nothing from the toll Turning Point USA’s alternative halftime show took on Bad Bunny’s performance last year.

“TPUSA’s halftime show was a raging success that actually hurt Super Bowl ratings. Bad Bunny’s ratings dipped. The Super Bowl ratings did not do what they were supposed to do. … Doesn’t seem like the NFL has learned anything,” he says.

While Jay-Z is “not the same” as Bad Bunny, who “sang in Spanish” and “made homosexual references,” Whitlock still doesn’t think he’s a good choice for what’s supposed to be a family-friendly show.

“I find Jay-Z’s music inappropriate for a Super Bowl halftime. It’s gutter rap music,” he says.

To hear more, watch the episode above.

Want more from Jason Whitlock?

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

​Bad bunny, Jason whitlock, Jay-z, Super bowl, Super bowl halftime show, Blazetv show 

The Air and Marine Operations component of U.S. Customs and Border Protection may have ruined a major payday for drug traffickers when it interdicted a boat with millions of dollars’ worth of alleged cocaine.

The vessel was caught with three “undocumented occupants” from Venezuela on Oct. 7 in the seas just below Guayanilla, a town in southern Puerto Rico, according to a CBP press release.

‘This seizure reflects the value of coordinated maritime enforcement and the vigilance of our personnel and partner agencies.’

CBP said the vessel was a “Yola-type” boat, which is a small, often handmade open vessel composed of wood or fiberglass.

Ponce Marine Operations crews transported the vessel to the Ponce port of entry for further examination.

In the vessel, officials discovered about 1,309 pounds of alleged cocaine, which they estimate to be valued at $9.4 million. A field test confirmed it was cocaine, CBP claimed.

The investigation into the confiscated substance is being led by the Homeland Security Task Force, as well as the prosecution efforts.

“Air and Marine Operations remains committed to protecting Puerto Rico’s maritime borders and disrupting transnational criminal organizations that seek to move dangerous contraband through the Caribbean,” said Caribbean Air and Marine Branch Director Christopher Hunter.

“This seizure reflects the value of coordinated maritime enforcement and the vigilance of our personnel and partner agencies,” he added.

RELATED: Liberals pounce to defend drug cartels after Trump reveals strike on drug-running gang members near Venezuela

Allegedly drug-running vessels in the Caribbean have become a flash point among critics of the administration who allege that the military strikes on boats are extrajudicial.

The strikes on allegedly drug-running boats preceded a military operation in January in which U.S. troops captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and transported him to the U.S. for prosecution. In a superseding indictment announced on October 8, he and his wife have been charged with conspiring to commit torture, narcoterrorism, and other drug and weapons crimes.

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​Puerto rico, Venezuela, Drug cartels, Cocaine, Drug smuggling, Politics 

My wife, Gracie, recently heard Dana Perino on “The Five” discussing how poorly Republican candidates explain their accomplishments. “Why won’t the Republicans listen to her?” she asked. Tyrus often makes a related observation: Republicans don’t know how to play with a lead. I told Gracie that much of what’s wrong with this country belongs squarely at the feet of the GOP.

Democrats announce their intentions. Republicans raise money promising to stop them. Washington gets bigger, Americans get the bill, and another Republican email requests $25. Before midnight, naturally. Apparently, losing requires a subscription.

Republicans want our votes; our opinions apparently weren’t part of the purchase.

In “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,” Aragorn commands the defenders of Helm’s Deep: “Show them no mercy, for you shall receive none!” The mercy rule belongs in T-ball for 5-year-olds, not politics, where a nation’s survival is at stake. Yet Republicans have spent decades playing as though their first obligation were to avoid upsetting the opposition.

We watched Bush absorb political beatings, McCain court people who never returned the favor, and Candy Crowley intervene during Romney’s confrontation with Obama. McCain reached so far across the aisle that he was practically horizontal. We sent Republicans to oppose the Democrats. They seemed determined to impress them.

Meanwhile, Rush Limbaugh labored daily, exposing the left and teaching millions what fighting it looked like. “I don’t want to stand with them. I want to stand over them,” declared the booming voice of the Doctor of Democracy. “What do they offer that we want? What do they stand for that’s good for the country?” His exasperation carried through the golden EIB microphone and across the fruited plain.

Rush understood the glass jaw beneath the left’s self-appointed moral superiority. Its champions claimed the virtue, assigned themselves the intelligence, and expected everyone else to accept the verdict. Rush laughed at that verdict. He challenged the falsehoods beneath their claims and mocked the people accustomed to doing the mocking. As he put it, “Mock them, and they become unhinged.”

The Tea Party had put Washington on notice, and Romney’s defeat deepened the frustration. Voters who followed the experts’ advice about electability were tired of lectures from people who kept losing. Then Trump came down the escalator.

I told my son in 2015, “Trump’s going to win.” He asked how I knew. “Because the establishment doesn’t understand how pissed off the American people are.” Voters were furious about government fraud, grift, and overreach. Republicans campaigned against Washington, then unpacked as though they had checked into a resort. People wanted someone willing to take a political swing and make it hurt.

Trump did.

RELATED: JD Vance says he is ‘DISGUSTED’ with Republicans after controversial Ramaswamy ad

Daniel Heuer-Pool/Getty Images

Suddenly, people who had spent decades sneering at conservatives discovered an urgent national need for civility. Their media scribes encountered a Republican who questioned the interrogator, and their disapproval failed to produce the customary apology. Rush had shown us the glass jaw. Trump kept pounding it. I’ve never seen political derangement displayed so relentlessly or applauded so enthusiastically.

They warned Trump’s voters that he was combative. Yes. That was in the job description. His victories exposed Republican excuses, and his willingness to confront the press exposed their deference.

How much of the GOP’s helplessness had been habit? Some Republicans learned. Others still regard Trump’s voters as an unpleasant condition the party might recover from. They want our votes; our opinions apparently weren’t part of the purchase.

Now Republican candidates need coaching to defend their own record. How many seminars does this require? Dana, too many Republicans spent years selling us the fight. Trump made their customers start asking about delivery.

Start with the border. Maintaining control there would be enough for me. Customs and Border Protection reports that fiscal year 2026 was the first full fiscal year with zero Border Patrol releases into the country’s interior. Apparently, enforcement was possible!

Under the trade agreement with Japan, GlobalFoundries plans two new American chip factories, financed by up to $21 billion in Japanese investment. Trump’s Justice Department announced charges against 324 defendants in 2025 in alleged health care fraud schemes involving more than $14.6 billion in intended losses.

RELATED: Conservatives demand competition — except in their own primaries

Eric Lee/Getty Images

Trump’s administration also moved to speed permitting for AI infrastructure and canceled thousands of USAID awards. Innovation deserves room. Taxpayer spending deserves scrutiny. There is a record to campaign on, so defend it. Make opponents defend theirs. When reporters put words in your mouth, spit them out.

Here’s a freebie: Biden signed a law providing nearly $80 billion in additional IRS funding. Meanwhile, it took a young man with a camera to put Minnesota’s day care spending under national scrutiny. Why did elected Republicans need a YouTuber to make people ask where the money went?

Trump cannot supply every Republican’s backbone. If Democrats take Congress, candidates who failed to make their case should answer for it. If Trump carries them across the finish line, a thank-you should precede complaints about his manners.

They should also remember one of Rush’s favorite sayings: “They don’t make statues of great moderates in history.” I miss Rush. He spent decades teaching us how to fight, and millions of listeners learned. Too many Republicans learned only how to fundraise. They have less than two weeks to prove that winning wouldn’t ruin their business model.

​Democrats, Gop, Republicans, Rush limbaugh, Tea party, Voters, Customs and border protection, Usaid, Opinion & analysis 

Kamala Harris has made election integrity a big talking point ahead of the midterms. The former vice president’s latest claims of cheating raise an obvious question: Does she object to voter-roll maintenance itself, or can she identify a lawful safeguard she actually supports?

At an appearance in South Korea last week, the former vice president alleged “overt cheating” in American elections, citing voter-roll purges. In September, she accused officials of “cheating by purging voter rolls.” Over the summer, she also criticized the SAVE America Act for requiring documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections.

Harris can keep calling voter-roll purges ‘cheating.’ But California’s unanswered questions and New Jersey’s documented registration failure demand more than talking points.

Harris wants to turn basic election safeguards into the boogeyman of election administration. But isn’t the point to ensure that only American citizens vote in our elections?

Election officials must not improperly remove eligible voters. They also have an obligation to identify ineligible registrations. Harris talks about purges without making that distinction. Americans deserve to know which safeguards she opposes and why.

Start with California, Harris’ home state. On Monday, the Justice Department charged 28 lawful permanent residents with federal election-related offenses, including fraudulent registration and illegal voting. Eleven were arrested. The charges are allegations, not convictions, but the cases warrant serious attention.

Federal prosecutors say all 28 appeared on a list of more than 20,000 people the government believes are likely noncitizens registered in California. The Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security sued the state on October 15, seeking to stop ballots attributed to people on that list from being counted until their citizenship is verified.

Governor Gavin Newsom (D) called the lawsuit an attempt to “suppress California voters.” The state should be able to show how it verifies eligibility and corrects its rolls.

It cannot. A separate public records response exposes an accounting problem: California’s statewide voter-registration system “does not contain a voter status reason for cancellation due to non-citizenship.” The state could not provide a count of registrations canceled for that specific reason. Why not?

New Jersey supplies an even clearer example of why verification cannot be an afterthought. In July, Governor Mikie Sherrill (D) acknowledged that a “serious software error” had registered approximately 6,600 people who answered “no” when asked whether they were U.S. citizens during motor vehicle transactions. The “error” occurred between June 2023 and June 2024.

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

CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP/Getty Images

A subsequent state accounting found that about 340 newly registered people had actually voted. New Jersey claims it has no evidence that those votes changed an election result. That does not excuse a system that registered people after they expressly declined to attest to citizenship.

At a House Judiciary hearing in September, I noted that at least three New Jersey elections in 2025 were decided by a single vote or ended in a tie. When a race is that close, election officials cannot shrug off registration errors.

New Jersey voters understand the stakes. A Rutgers-Eagleton poll released this month found that 82% of state residents support requiring photo ID to vote in person, while 71% favor documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register.

Even Sherrill has expressed support for voter ID. That requirement establishes identity; proof of citizenship establishes eligibility. They serve different purposes, and neither question should be brushed aside with a slogan about voter suppression.

RELATED: ‘DON’T TRUST THE POLLS’: Failed Democratic candidate melts down after ANOTHER pollster outed as a total fake

Katie McTiernan/Anadolu/Getty Images

Minnesota has its own lesson in the need for clear rules. Governor Tim Walz (D) signed a 2023 law that lets residents get standard driver’s licenses without proving lawful immigration status. During an October 2025 legislative hearing, state Rep. Patti Anderson (R) pressed state elections director Paul Linnell on whether those licenses could be used as voter identification. He failed to give a direct yes-or-no answer.

Minnesota does permit a driver’s license as proof of residence for Election Day registration. Citizenship eligibility is a separate requirement. Election officials should be able to explain the distinction simply, especially when lawmakers ask about vulnerabilities.

Accurate voter rolls, citizenship verification, and clear identity rules protect the votes of eligible Americans. Officials should explain how those safeguards work and correct failures when they find them.

Harris can keep calling voter-roll purges “cheating.” But California’s unanswered questions and New Jersey’s documented registration failure demand more than talking points. If she believes these safeguards are improper, she should explain which ones — and what she would do instead.

​Election integrity, Election laws, Election officials, Election results, Kamala harris, Voter fraud, Voter id, Voter registration, Voter rolls, South korea, Save act, Doj, Dhs, California, New jersey, Mikie sherrill, Tim walz, Citizenship, Americans, Opinion & analysis