Failed Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has suggested that the U.S. should completely change the way the winner of a presidential election is chosen.

Democrats have complained for decades that the Electoral College should be abolished after two recent elections swung to Republicans despite Democrats winning the majority vote.

‘That should be a discussion that we should have. I don’t think we should eliminate that as a point of discussion for potential action.’

Harris made the comments in an interview with Don Lemon released Friday.

“I think that there is some real shaking up that we have to do of the rules and the structure,” Harris said to Lemon.

“Is that get rid of the Electoral College?” he replied.

“I think we should — that should be a discussion that we should have. I don’t think we should eliminate that as a point of discussion for potential action,” she tepidly responded.

A clip of her comments was posted to social media.

Harris lost the popular vote to Trump in 2024 by only 1.5 percentage points but got buried in the Electoral College count 312 to 226.

In 2016, Donald Trump won the Electoral College, while Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, and George W. Bush also won the Electoral College in 2000, while Al Gore won the popular vote.

Proponents of the Electoral College argue that without it, presidential candidates would ignore smaller states and campaign only in large cities and states. They also point out that the change in campaigning means not all of the results would have flipped in elections where the popular-vote receiver lost.

Democrats proposed legislation in 2024 to end the Electoral College, which they said was unfair and biased against larger states.

“In an election, the person who gets the most votes should win. It’s that simple,” Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii said at the time. “No one’s vote should count for more based on where they live. The Electoral College is outdated and it’s undemocratic. It’s time to end it.”

However, a constitutional amendment would be needed to change the electoral process.

RELATED: New York Times hit with backlash over op-ed calling for radical government change so the left can compete

Rutherford B. Hayes and John Quincy Adams were the other two presidents who benefited from the Electoral College despite failing to win the popular vote.

The vast majority of presidential elections are won by candidates who won both the Electoral College and popular vote.

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​Constitutional amendment, Electoral college, Kamala harris, Politics, Election 

In a recent conversation with Brandon Tatum and Gary Chambers, ESPN host Stephen A. Smith promoted a “black first identity” — which frames black identity through the lens of historical oppression rather than individual agency and achievement.

“What the hell is wrong with looking at yourself as black first before you’re anything else? Black before you’re American. Black before, you know, you’re anything else. What’s wrong with that?” Smith asked Tatum and Chambers.

“Because all black people ain’t the same,” Tatum responded. “Like, for instance, we all different. So when I say ‘I’m black,’ what does that mean? The color of my skin.”

“Black people from New York is different than black people from the South. Black people from Africa that came over here as immigrants are very different than African-Americans. We’re diverse like anybody else,” he continued. “When white people say ‘I’m white first,’ what does that mean?”

Smith argued in response that black people should identify with their enslaved ancestors, as they are identifying with the “remnants of that even in today’s society.”

“I’m saying if you identify yourself as black before you identify yourself as American, what you’re doing is saying coming out of the womb, I know I’m going to be at a disadvantage because I’m in America and I’m going to have to scratch and claw and have an uphill climb,” he continued.

While he says that should not be met with a “defeatist attitude,” he goes on to say that it means “you are at least acknowledging that there are historical insidious acts that are associated with this particular nation.”

BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock is not amused.

“Stephen A. Smith is a cancer to the American media. That you could sit there and be paid $20 million a year by ESPN … and be as unqualified as Stephen A. Smith and then make the argument that there’s all these historical disadvantages, uphill climb,” he comments, annoyed.

“Don’t tell me about 150 years ago in slavery, something you did not experience. Don’t tell me about 100, 80 years ago, and segregation, and things you did not experience,” he says.

“When did you run uphill? When you flunked fourth grade? That was a racist plot? That was American racism making you repeat fourth grade?” he continues, pointing out that Smith’s obsession with a “black first identity” isn’t actually a “black first” identity at all.

“That’s a victim first identity. That’s what you just unpacked,” he explains.

“He’s promoting a victim first identity while claiming to be a Christian, while claiming to belong to some church, while claiming to have some sort of biblical worldview. Show me anywhere in the Bible where Christians are supposed to take on a victim first mentality,” he continues.

“Stephen A. Smith and myself grew up at the exact same time,” he says. “We’ve never been victims.”

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​Identity, Jason whitlock, Jason whitlock harmony, Stephen a smith, Brandon tatum, Black 

The Texas Rangers are pushing toward becoming the most family-oriented team in baseball.

Not only have the Rangers remained the sole annual holdout for Pride Night celebrations in the major leagues, this year they went above and beyond to celebrate fathers.

‘I think there was a sense of love and respect that I got from him.’

The Rangers played to a 4-3 Father’s Day win against the San Diego Padres on Sunday but put extra focus on the fathers on the team.

Rangers players and their many children lined up outside the dugout for the national anthem before the game, and the family-oriented promotions continued throughout the day.

Aside from bringing their kids onto the field, players participated in a video that talked about how their fathers motivated them and contributed to their lives and careers.

First to make remarks was pitcher Jacob deGrom, who said his father still plays catch with him in the offseason, continuing his dedication to his son’s baseball path since he was a boy.

“My dad was willing to hit me as many grounders as I want, throw me as much batting practice as I want, and play catch as long as I wanted,” deGrom recalled. “Once he got off work, pretty much it was we were going to play something till it was time to go inside and eat and go to bed.”

RELATED: ‘Left-wing gender goblins’: Critics torch New York Times for running ‘trans dad’ essay on Father’s Day

Relief pitcher Jacob Latz said he idolizes his father for his drive and motivation.

“He’s my idol,” Latz plainly stated. “I don’t think he’s ever taken a nap in his life.”

The 30-year-old continued: “Looking back on how far we’ve come and then, you know, just to have those moments, still being able to play catch with him at his age is pretty cool.”

First baseman and slugger Jake Burger revealed his dad grew up working on a turkey farm in Southern Indiana, filling up buckets of feed for the turkeys.

“Every single morning at 5:00 a.m.,” Burger explained.

Burger was born in Missouri but said his father carried over that work ethic and instilled it in him growing up.

“I think there was a sense of love and respect that I got from him, and that’s how I want to exhibit it to my kids too.”

RELATED: Before she knows God, she knows Dad

The Rangers also posted some dad jokes to round out the day, asking questions like, “How does the moon style his hair?”

“Eclipse it,” outfielder Brandon Nimmo read.

Pitcher Nathan Eovaldi asked, “What did the scarecrow win an award for?”

“He was out standing in the field.”

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​Fearless, Mlb, Texas rangers, Father’s day, Sports 

Rep. Ilhan Omar, a radical Minnesota Democrat who has in recent years been accused of immigration-related fraud, is facing renewed scrutiny over her finances in the wake of a new filing claiming that she and her current husband, former Democratic consultant Tim Mynett, might have a negative net worth.

Republicans remain dissatisfied with the explanation provided by Omar’s office — that the dramatic fluctuations in the congresswoman’s alleged net worth is the result of an “accounting error” that has since been rectified.

‘Voters see right through the corrupt lies of Ilhan Omar.’

Riches

The Somalia-born ethno-nationalist raised eyebrows last year with a financial disclosure report claiming that in 2024 — the same year that the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, D.C., and the DOJ’s public integrity unit reportedly launched an investigation into the congresswoman’s finances — she and her husband held assets of between $6 million and $30 million.

The couple’s sudden fortune was linked in the filing to Mynett’s venture-capital management firm, Rose Lake Capital LLC, as well as to his now-defunct winery, eStCru LLC.

In addition to contradicting Omar’s previous assertion that she was “not a millionaire,” the May 2025 filing prompted House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (Ky.) and other Republicans to question “how her husband accumulated so much wealth over the past two years.”

After all, she reported assets valued at no more than $208,000 in 2023, and a year earlier, Rose Lake Capital reportedly had only $42.44 in its bank account.

“There is no way such wealth could have been accumulated, legally, while being paid the salary of a politician,” President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post on Jan. 22.

RELATED: Squad-endorsed candidate once reportedly volunteered with group tied to al-Qaeda and testified for terrorist ‘blind cleric’

Rep. Ilhan Omar and her current husband, Tim Mynett. Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg/Getty Images

The congresswoman subsequently filed an amended disclosure for 2024 claiming that the value of the assets she and her husband held was between $18,004 and $95,000. The Wall Street Journal highlighted that in the amended disclosure filed on March 26, Mynett’s businesses were shown as having no value once liabilities were factored in.

“The amended disclosure confirms what we’ve said all along: The congresswoman is not a millionaire,” Jacklyn Rogers, a spokeswoman for Omar, stated at the time. “The congresswoman amended her disclosures voluntarily as soon as the discrepancy was identified.”

Rags

Days before Vice President JD Vance claimed last month that Omar was under investigation by the Justice Department, the foreign-born congresswoman filed her financial disclosure for fiscal year 2025.

According to the new filing first detailed by the New York Post, Mynett made no income last year from Rose Lake Capital.

The only money Mynett allegedly earned last year was $201 to $1,000 from eStCru, which filed for termination in April — roughly one week after Omar filed her amended financial disclosure stating the winery was effectively worthless.

Omar claimed that the total value of her and her husband’s assets last year was somewhere in the range of $20,000 to $125,000 and that their liabilities — student loans and credit card debt — were between $30,000 and $100,000. On the basis of Omar’s financial allegations, her net worth is between -$80,000 and $95,000.

A spokesperson for Omar told Blaze News in a statement, “The amended disclosure confirms what we’ve said all along: The congresswoman is not a millionaire.”

“The original filing was based on incomplete information from Mr. Mynett’s businesses’ accountants in good faith and deference to professional judgment. It listed assets without liabilities, and it significantly overstated her husband’s net worth,” the spokesperson continued. “The accounting error created a misleading picture of far greater wealth. The congresswoman amended her disclosures voluntarily as soon as the discrepancy was identified. The amended disclosure is now complete and accurate.”

Delanie Bomar, spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, told the Post, “Voters see right through the corrupt lies of Ilhan Omar.”

“Omar has spent her entire career covering up Democrat-enabled fraud that cost taxpayers billions, so it’s no surprise that she would do the same for her husband,” Bomar continued.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) stated, “Ilhan Omar and her husband need to be held accountable for their sketchy financial disclosures. They’re clearly lying and trying to game the system.”

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​Ilhan omar, Fraud, Minnesota, Financial disclosure, Net worth, Money, Congress, Democrat, Politics 

Jimmy Kimmel announced that he will be replaced this summer with a rotating roster of hosts that includes one histrionic hater of President Donald Trump.

Kimmel said Rosie O’Donnell will be one of the hosts to take over the show as he takes a traditional two-month break for the summer.

‘It’s been heartbreaking to see what’s happening politically and hard for me personally as well.’

“We have assembled a potent group of hosts to fill in for me, beginning with Tiffany Haddish, Colman Domingo, Ike Barinholtz, Anthony Anderson, Jelly Roll,” said Kimmel on Thursday.

“And as a special treat for our commander in chief, I asked one of his all-time favorites, Rosie O’Donnell, to be here to keep the hits coming,” he added.

O’Donnell and Trump have attacked each other verbally since before he became president, and his insults against her have been used by opponents to accuse him of misogyny.

One of his most famous jabs came during the first debate for the presidential Republican primary in 2015, when he interrupted moderator Megyn Kelly.

“You’ve called women you don’t like fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals,” said Kelly.

“Only Rosie O’Donnell!” said Trump to loud applause and laughter.

“For the record, it was well beyond Rosie O’Donnell,” Kelly responded when the laughter subsided.

In March, O’Donnell said she was leaving America for Ireland with her youngest child, Clay, and would return when all citizens have equal rights. She has said that the 12-year-old identifies as nonbinary.

“I was never someone who thought I would move to another country. That’s what I decided would be the best for myself and my 12-year-old child. And here we are,” she said.

RELATED: Trump team calls out ‘depravity’ of Jimmy Kimmel’s response to lethal ICE shooting

“It’s been heartbreaking to see what’s happening politically and hard for me personally as well. The personal is political,” she added. “When it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America, that’s when we will consider coming back.”

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​Jimmy kimmel, President donald trump, Rosie o’donnell, Politics 

Economist Alan Greenspan has died at age 100, according to his wife.

Greenspan chaired the U.S. Federal Reserve for four terms under four different presidents, beginning in the Reagan administration in 1987 and ending in 2006 under the George W. Bush administration.

‘The more flexible an economy, the greater its ability to self-correct after inevitable, often unanticipated disturbances.’

Many credited his economic policies for the prosperity of the 1980s and ’90s, but others blame him for the global financial crisis of 2008.

He was married to veteran NBC journalist Andrea Mitchell since 1997. Mitchell said he died Monday from complications of Parkinson’s disease.

Former President Ronald Reagan called him “an economist’s economist, one of the most widely respected men” in the field when he appointed Greenspan as Fed chairman.

After the financial crisis which Greenspan described as a “once-in-a-century credit tsunami,” he admitted that he made a mistake in his assumptions about human nature.

“Those of us who have looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholders’ equity, myself included, are in a state of shocked disbelief,” he said during a 2008 congressional hearing.

“I made a mistake in presuming that the self-interest of organizations, specifically banks and others, were such that they were best capable of protecting their own shareholders and their equity in the firms,” he added.

His admission has become the basis for critics of the free market capitalist theory of economics.

RELATED: The Economist gets crushed over sympathetic portrayal of dead Iranian leader

He is also credited with coining the phrase “irrational exuberance” to explain investor behavior that leads to a market bubble.

“Whether by intention or by happenstance, many, if not most, governments in recent decades have been relying more and more on the forces of the marketplace and reducing their intervention in market outcomes,” Greenspan said in a 2005 speech.

“We appear to be revisiting Adam Smith’s notion that the more flexible an economy, the greater its ability to self-correct after inevitable, often unanticipated disturbances,” he concluded.

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​Alan greenspan, Andrea mitchell, Economic policies, Ronald reagan, Global financial crisis, Politics, George w. bush 

The day that honors the end of slavery was celebrated unanimously across most sports leagues, with some notable exceptions.

One was the Detroit Lions, who confused fans with their decision not to post any materials in support of Juneteenth.

‘It must have been an accident.’

Given that Juneteenth was first recognized as a holiday in 2021 by President Joe Biden, it is not unusual for the day to be overlooked by the common sports fan. For most pro sports teams though, every possible iteration of race or cultural politics typically gets marked down on the calendar.

This was why football fans were confused when the Lions opted not to post anything for Juneteenth, with one Lions supporter assuming “it must have been an accident.”

“Just go look at the Lions profile picture,” the fan noted; the Lions’ X photo features transgender and gay pride colors.

There was no mention of the new holiday from the National Hockey League either, Fox News reported.

The league is only a week removed from the last game of the Stanley Cup Finals, so it is possible employees are on hiatus. However, the NHL has been deeply involved in diversity efforts for years — especially since the Black Lives Matter era — making this a strange move for the league as well.

RELATED: SF Giants commentator compares gays to black people as ‘oppressed’ minority following Christian protest

Diamond Images/Getty Images

Some players in the league previously complained the NHL wasn’t doing enough to support diversity, even after the hiring of a woman named Kim Davis to serve as the executive vice president of social impact, growth initiatives, and legislative affairs.

With a goal to bring diversity to the league and its C-suite, Davis described hockey as a “tribe” that needs to “feel more welcoming.”

This eventually led to the NHL Player Inclusion Coalition, which has since wreaked havoc on the league with its initiatives.

Blaze News previously reported on the league-wide controversies surrounding Pride jerseys, Pride tape, and player backlash.

RELATED: Juneteenth only makes sense if natural law is real

Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

Still, NFL fans seemed split on the latest issue online, either dragging the Lions organization for not supporting Juneteenth or being puzzled as to why they support other progressive celebrations if they are able to avoid this one.

“I just find it wild that they can support LGBTQ but not black people especially since most of their team is Black,” an X user wrote.

Another reaction from the story had one fan saying they had grown to hate the “weird idea of social media telling teams what to do.”

With the Lions as the lone standout in the NFL, they join the Texas Rangers of the MLB who similarly are the only team in their league not to celebrate gay pride with a dedicated night.

The Lions and the NHLPA, which runs the Player Inclusion Coalition along with the NHL, did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

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​Fearless, News, Nfl, Nhl, Mlb, Detroit lions, Sports 

The Los Angeles Fire Department has been battling a blaze at a Boyle Heights cold-storage facility for nearly a week that began when the solar panels on the warehouse’s rooftop caught fire.

Former mayoral challenger Spencer Pratt criticized Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass for cutting the LAFD’s budget and noted that the warehouse had previously been the site of a solar panel fire in 2024.

‘Interior storage rack systems remain in place and are supporting portions of the collapsed roof, creating complex and unstable conditions that require a cautious and methodical approach.’

“This same warehouse had a solar panel fire 2 years ago,” Pratt wrote in a social media post. He claimed that Bass “slashed the LAFD budget and now they can’t stop it, and it’s spewing out heavy metals into the lungs of Boyle Heights folks for a week straight.”

“Nice job, Karen!” he added.

Officials have reported that air monitoring results show no toxic chemicals or hazards beyond those expected in normal fire smoke.

Pratt further criticized the city’s leadership for having to “bring in resources from TEXAS to manage a single structure fire” after LAFD Chief Jaime Moore stated that the city was bringing in water cannons from Texas.

RELATED: ‘Reckless negligence’: Spencer Pratt announces he’s ‘teaming up’ with Karen Bass’ brother who sued his sister over Palisades fire

Etienne LAURENT/AFP/Getty Images

The fire prompted California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and Bass to issue emergency declarations on Saturday.

Newsom’s office stated that the fire has “produced significant smoke and particulate matter that may affect air quality in surrounding neighborhoods.”

“The City and County have opened spaces for families seeking relief from the smoke, and we will continue working around the clock and doing everything possible to put this fire out completely,” Bass stated.

Operations at several schools in the area were temporarily relocated due to ongoing air quality concerns, the Los Angeles Times reported.

RELATED: ‘It’s war’: Spencer Pratt says he’ll keep working to save Los Angeles — and claims to have damaging evidence

Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images

The LAFD provided an update on Sunday stating that fire crews had made “significant progress,” but noted that the “building’s construction continues to present operational challenges.”

“Interior storage rack systems remain in place and are supporting portions of the collapsed roof, creating complex and unstable conditions that require a cautious and methodical approach,” the LAFD wrote.

“Smoke conditions have improved significantly and are expected to continue improving as firefighters make progress extinguishing the fire. Although smoke conditions are trending in a positive direction, intermittent increases in smoke may occur as crews open walls and other concealed spaces to locate and extinguish hidden fire,” it continued.

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​News, California, Los angeles, Spencer pratt, Karen bass, Gavin newsom, Fire, Politics 

Elon Musk’s unprecedented rise to a trillion-dollar net worth has sparked outrage from leftists, who believe it is unfair that one person should possess that much wealth. But BlazeTV host Stu Burguiere sees Musk’s accomplishment very differently.

“I look at that as an incredible achievement. I look at that as something that is amazing. He’s done a lot of amazing things. He’s an incredible person,” Stu says.

“He’s out there just generating wealth like no one has ever seen,” he continues, pointing out that the “left is pissed off about it” and leftists think it’s “terrible.”

And one article published by the Guardian is a perfect example of the left’s attitude towards Musk’s wealth.

“Is it bad that Elon Musk has a trillion dollars? Yes, and here’s why,” the headline reads.

“There’s really innovative thoughts here,” Stu jokes, “like ‘fiscal fairness’ is one of the reasons. So that’s really thoughtful. Second is — I thought this was interesting — ‘wastefulness.’”

Stu points out that the author, Ingrid Robeyns, lives in the U.K.

“I’d say it’s a free country, but she’s in the U.K., where they’re arresting people with opposite opinions,” he says.

“There’s a lot of interesting choices being made by that wonderful nation and the people in it. And we don’t get to control it because it’s their country, not ours, first of all. But secondly, because we’re not them. Like you control your own life. I wish people could get a little bit more sense on that one,” he continues.

Robeyns explained in her article that Musk’s wealth creates “harms.”

“Extreme wealth concentration undermines democracies,” Stu reads.

“He’s made more millionaires than pretty much anybody else,” he says, explaining that Musk has taken employees from the “lowest levels of the food chain” at his company and turned them into millionaires.

“She then says, by the way, ‘it comes with massive greenhouse gas emissions and environmental harm,’” he adds.

“I guarantee you that Tesla has done more with the electric cars to protect the environment than Ingrid does after any meal she’s ever had,” co-host Dave Landau chimes in.

“And there are emissions that she provides. … If you’re in the same room, you’ll know about them,” Stu adds, laughing.

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​The guardian, Stu burguiere, Uk, Stu and dave do america, Elon musk 

A major tech company has announced that it is coming to Texas with a new partnership with an energy giant in the Lone Star State.

On Monday, Chevron announced that it is partnering with Microsoft to develop a new data center campus, known as “Project Kilby,” in Texas.

The project will scale to an estimated capacity of 2.67 gigawatts of capacity over time.

The two companies signed a 20-year power purchase agreement in anticipation of the planned, “co-located” power plant and data center.

Reuters reported that the facility is set to be built in Pecos, Texas, west of Midland.

RELATED: The AI gold rush could become an incumbent graveyard

BENOIT DOPPAGNE/BELGA MAG/AFP/Getty Images

“AI is reshaping the global economy, and abundant, affordable, reliable energy is essential to fueling that transformation,” said Jeff Gustavson, Chevron president of New Energies, in a Monday press release. “Chevron is uniquely positioned to deliver power to customers with certainty, speed, and at a competitive cost, leveraging Permian natural gas and our proven execution capabilities. This project links Chevron’s traditional strengths to emerging demand, creating differentiated value for our shareholders and the communities where we operate.”

This agreement, the press release notes, is an important milestone leading up to the final investment decision, which is expected to be made at the end of this year. The “first power delivery is anticipated in 2028.” The project will scale to an estimated capacity of 2.67 gigawatts of capacity over time.

The joint infrastructure appears to be designed, at least in theory, to avoid burdening residential neighbors with higher electricity rates, one of many oft-repeated objections to new data centers being built.

The press release claims that “Kilby is designed to deliver reliable, dispatchable electricity directly to Microsoft while aiming to mitigate impacts on the regional grid that consumers rely on,” presumably by, at least in part, circumventing the main power grid in the state.

While proponents of the deal point to economic growth potential for the state and efforts to mitigate negative environmental impacts, critics say there may be some serious drawbacks to the plan.

For example, a Mother Jones article from last month noted that Microsoft may intend to take advantage of significant tax incentives that could cost the state heavily.

Greg LeRoy, the executive director of Good Jobs First, pointed out that Microsoft does not mention tax abatements in its pledge. “If they don’t say, ‘We will refuse tax abatements,’ then they’ve got their fingers crossed behind their back,” LeRoy told Mother Jones.

Oil & Gas Watch warned that the project may have significant environmental impacts, including a yearly output of over 13.8 million tons of greenhouse gases, a comparable annual output to that of nearly 3 million gas-powered vehicles.

This agreement comes less than two weeks after Governor Greg Abbott (R) directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to “take immediate steps to protect residential ratepayers from the costs of data center expansion.”

In the letter, Abbott directed the PUC to “take action to require data centers to pay for all of their electric infrastructure costs to ensure that no residential ratepayer is burdened by those costs.” Abbott added that these directives are building upon Senate Bill 6 and directed the PUC and ERCOT to submit a report by July 17 and to take action to reduce residential ratepayer transmission costs by July 31.

Project Kilby will primarily use natural gas power and plans to “use non-potable, brackish groundwater sources for power plant operations.”

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​Ai technology, Chevron, Data center, Microsoft, Texas, Greg abbott, Politics 

When a trio of masked teens tried to rob a man aboard a Chicago bus Saturday night, the 54-year-old fought back, police told CWB Chicago.

Chicago police told the outlet the man was riding a northbound Ashland bus near 57th Street around 11:22 p.m. when the three males approached him and demanded his property while aboard the bus.

‘This will continue to happen all over the city. Can’t stand at the bus stop. Can’t ride the CTA bus. Can’t ride the train.’

Investigators told CWB Chicago the trio began taking items from the man, including a chain necklace that was later recovered from one of the suspects.

A witness told WGN-TV in the station’s video report that the suspects were “talking about shooting him, blowing his brains out.”

But the man soon decided he wasn’t going to give up his stuff without a fight.

Police told the outlet the man reached into his bag, pulled out a “sharp object,” and fought with the robbers.

The suspects battered the victim before fleeing the bus, and CWB Chicago reported that officers initially were dispatched after a bus panic alarm generated a “person with a knife” call.

But as the investigation unfolded, police learned the three ski mask-wearing teenagers targeted the passenger who fought back, the outlet said.

CWB Chicago said police recovered a knife at the scene.

More from the outlet:

Then came the plot twist: While officers were sorting out what happened on the bus, 911 operators received another call from the 5600 block of South Justine Street from a caller reporting that his 13-year-old little brother had been stabbed in the hand.

When officers arrived, they quickly connected the dots. According to a police report, the wounded 13-year-old, his older brother, and another individual at the Justine location turned out to be the robbers. Police also recovered the victim’s chain necklace at the scene.

RELATED: Plucky elderly man who uses a walker fights back in brutal fashion when much younger male unleashes attack on him with wrench

Police told CWB Chicago that Chicago Fire Department personnel treated the victim, who suffered a cut on his hand, and then took him to St. Bernard Hospital; he was listed in good condition.

Two of the alleged robbers suffered what police said were minor injuries, and paramedics also treated them the outlet said, adding that the three suspects were arrested and charges were pending as of Sunday morning.

A number of commenters reacting to the station’s video report about the incident were up in arms:

“The mayor will give the 3 criminals the key [to] the city for such bravery,” one commenter wrote sarcastically.”Every law-abiding citizen should invest in a [Firearm Owners Identification Card], firearm training, and the [Concealed Carry License],” another commenter said. “Stay ready for the Devil.””A 54-year-old man taking on three young punks and only having a laceration on his hand … bravo!!!” another commenter wrote. “And glad they caught and arrested the three thugs; just too bad they will be released, if they aren’t already, due to [Illinois Democrat Gov. JB] Pritzker’s absurd Safe-T Act.””In a future plea deal, charges of assault with bodily harm and aggravated robbery will be reduced to fare evasion — probably,” another commenter predicted.”This will continue to happen all over the city,” another commenter lamented. “Can’t stand at the bus stop. Can’t ride the CTA bus. Can’t ride the train.”

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​Arrests, Chicago, Crime thwarted, Fighting back, Injuries, Knife, Police, Robbery, Self-defense, Crime 

The Los Angeles School District superintendent resigned on Sunday, just four months after federal agents raided his home and office.

On Feb. 25, the FBI executed search warrants at Alberto Carvalho’s office and his San Pedro home. Carvalho was placed on paid administrative leave a couple of days later.

‘Because I believe our schools must remain focused on students and learning without distraction, I am resigning as Superintendent of LAUSD effective today, June 21, 2026.’

The reason for the raids has not been publicly revealed. However, some reports indicate they may have been connected to an investigation into a company that received $3 million from the district to develop an educational chatbot for students. The company went bankrupt, and the chatbot was never fully delivered.

Carvalho, who became superintendent in 2022, has not been charged with any crimes. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Carvalho sent a resignation letter on Sunday to the Los Angeles Unified School District and Board of Education members, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Carvalho’s letter did not address why he was stepping down from his position. However, he seemed to refer to the investigation as a “distraction.”

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“It has been a great honor to serve you,” Carvalho wrote.

“Over the past four years, together, we have made historic progress — gains that belong to our students, our educators, staff, and our communities.”

“Placing students first has always guided my work,” he continued. “Because I believe our schools must remain focused on students and learning without distraction, I am resigning as Superintendent of LAUSD effective today, June 21, 2026.”

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An LAUSD spokesperson told WTVJ that the district’s Board of Education “acknowledges receipt of the letter of resignation from Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho, effective June 21, 2026.”

“The Board remains steadfast in its commitment to ensuring stability, continuity, and continued progress through strong leadership. Our focus remains unchanged: providing every student with a high-quality education, supporting our dedicated workforce, and maintaining the trust of the communities we serve,” the statement read.

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​News, California, Los angeles, Alberto carvalho, Politics 

Last month, I wrote here that the AI bubble was about to pop and that when the subsidies ran out, the bill would land on the customer. The whole thing rested on one ugly fact: The companies selling AI were losing money on nearly every power user and pretending otherwise.

I figured we had a year or two before the cracks really showed. Maybe three. But the receipts started landing within weeks. What I got wrong wasn’t the diagnosis, but who would blink first. I figured the pain would start at the bottom, with small shops priced out when their renewals came due. Instead, it started at the very top, with the richest companies on earth — including several of the same outfits building and selling the stuff.

The message was: Get on board or get left behind.

The implications are massive. Let’s review.

Uber torched its entire AI budget in four months

Uber’s CTO, Praveen Neppalli Naga, told the Information in April that the company had already burned through its full 2026 AI coding budget. Four months in. Gone.

The culprit was Anthropic’s Claude Code. Uber rolled it out to its engineers in December 2025, and usage roughly doubled by February as adoption climbed from a third of the organization to better than four-fifths. By April, Naga was, in his words, back to the drawing board, because the budget he planned for the year had vanished in a third of it. Per-engineer costs were reportedly running anywhere from $500 to $2,000 a month.

On the “Rapid Response” podcast, Uber president Andrew Macdonald admitted he can’t connect all that token spend to anything customers can actually see. Asked whether the AI was producing more useful features, he said flatly, “That link is not there yet” and that the spending gets harder to justify when AI isn’t free.

Uber dropped roughly $3.4 billion on R&D in 2025, with AI a big chunk of that. Now the company has slapped a cap on it. Employees get $1,500 worth of tokens per coding tool each month, and the company is still trying to figure out what, exactly, it bought.

Microsoft revoked its own people’s Claude Code licenses

Microsoft is canceling internal Claude Code licenses across its Experiences + Devices division, the group behind Windows, Teams, Outlook, and Surface. The cutoff is June 30, 2026, which happens to be the last day of Microsoft’s fiscal year.

The pilot launched in December 2025. Engineers liked Claude Code so much that they started ditching Microsoft’s own GitHub Copilot CLI for it. Six months later, the company is pulling the plug and herding everyone back to Copilot. Token billing turned what looked like a flat seat license into a runaway tab, and Microsoft’s finance people reached the same conclusion Uber’s did.

Remember, this is Microsoft. They put money into Anthropic. And they still couldn’t justify keeping the lights on for their own engineers to use the tool.

Meta flipped from ‘tokenmaxxing’ to ‘tokenminimizing’

“Tokenmaxxing” was Silicon Valley’s newest bit of corporate slang, and it means exactly what it sounds like: Burn tokens to hit a target, climb a board, prove you’re “innovative.” Output optional.

For two years, Meta pushed staff to use AI for everything. Internal leaderboards tracked who burned the most tokens, handing out titles like “Token Legend.” The message was: Get on board or get left behind.

Now the memo reads differently. In June, Meta told roughly 6,000 employees the company clamping down on AI costs by capping token usage and building an internal dashboard to track who’s spending what. The Information called it “tokenminimizing,” and the company admitted internal AI use alone is on track to cost billions this year.

Here’s the context that makes it sting. Meta raised its 2026 capital expenditure forecast to between $125 billion and $145 billion, nearly all of it AI infrastructure. It also announced about 8,000 layoffs in April, roughly 10% of the company, with cuts beginning May 20.

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JDawnInk/Getty Images

So: Meta is spending more on AI than ever, fired thousands of people to help pay for it, and now can’t afford for the survivors to actually use the thing. Got it.

Amazon shut down its AI leaderboard

Amazon ran an internal leaderboard called KiroRank that scored employees on AI usage. The idea was to gamify adoption and reward the heaviest users.

It worked a little too well. Staff started “tokenmaxxing,” assigning AI agents pointless busywork just to climb the board. Some reportedly used AI for tasks they could have knocked out faster by hand, burning compute to chase a number. First reported by the Financial Times, Amazon killed KiroRank at the end of May. Senior VP Dave Treadwell’s message to the troops: “Please don’t use AI just for the sake of using AI.”

That’s the whole problem in one sentence. Amazon wanted adoption. What it got was theater. Employees gamed a metric that had nothing to do with whether any real work got done.

The tokenmaxxing hangover

The sticker shock is showing up everywhere. TechCrunch reported in early June that a Priceline employee watched a routine Cursor renewal come back four to five times more expensive. One financial operations director described companies blowing through their entire 2026 token budget by April and quietly panicking.

Fortune’s Jeremy Kahn put a headstone on it in late May: “Tokenmaxxing is dead.” Companies raced to burn tokens and reward people for it, then discovered that adoption metrics aren’t business outcomes.

For two years, the answer to “should we use AI” was always yes, and the only argument was how fast. The question has quietly changed to “what did we get for it,” and a lot of companies don’t like the answer.

What this actually means

In May, I argued that AI companies were running loss-leading subscriptions, burning investor cash to buy the market, and hiding the real cost behind a subsidized price. You weren’t paying for the product. You were getting a subsidized demo, with the price hike scheduled for after you got hooked.

What I didn’t see coming was how fast the subsidizers would start cutting themselves off.

The companies with the deepest pockets are first in line to ration it, and several of them are the very ones building and selling it. They looked at the invoice and realized they can’t afford their own product. Uber’s CTO said the budget was blown away. Meta is building dashboards to meter its engineers. Microsoft, an Anthropic backer, is canceling licenses. Amazon found out its own people were manufacturing fake demand.

These aren’t scrappy startups running out of runway. They’re the richest companies on earth, with effectively bottomless access to capital, and they all hit the same wall at roughly the same time.

It’s not just them, either. On June 14, the Economist ran a piece called “Companies are scrambling to curtail soaring AI costs,” and the best line came from an executive at a big U.S. tech company who called the coming squeeze “an absolute nightmare.” His point: A large company runs hundreds of software programs, and once each one ships its own AI agents, the bills stack up fast. Ramp, the corporate-card provider that can see its clients’ actual spending, figures AI bills have jumped 13-fold in a year. Its heaviest 1% of users now average around $7,450 per person per month, against $11 for the typical customer. Even Sam Altman has called mounting customer costs a serious problem, which is a strange thing to hear from the man selling the tokens.

At current prices, AI costs more than it returns, and even the companies selling it can’t make the internal math work.

The lesson

AI has real uses, and I lean on it every day. But economics don’t care how you feel, and you can’t meme your way around a compute bill that climbs every month a power user gets better at burning tokens. That’s not hypothetical. It’s the whole reason the firms selling AI are the first ones rationing it.

If you run a business and you have bet the whole thing on API calls to somebody else’s model, look hard at that dependency. When the companies building these models can’t afford to let their own staff use them freely, what do you think happens when your renewal lands?

There are alternatives, and they’re getting absurdly cheap. The Economist notes that a mid-tier model like Anthropic’s Sonnet can run about 1/20 of what its flagship Opus costs. Kimi, an open-weight model from the Chinese startup Moonshot AI, runs about 1/20 of that. Stack those up, and a lot of routine work runs at a rounding error next to frontier pricing. “Send the easy jobs somewhere cheaper” is a real strategy now, not a compromise. You don’t have to stay locked into a vendor that is quietly rationing its own product.

The bubble isn’t bursting with a headline. It’s bursting with a memo. A budget revision. A canceled license. A quiet decision to ration the tool you were told would change everything.

And the people who sold you the revolution? They’re the same ones pulling the plug.

​Tech