Former Democrat Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (Ill.) faced a brutal primary loss after attempting to revive his political career in the aftermath of a corruption scandal.

Jackson represented Illinois in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 until 2012, when he resigned, citing health issues amid a federal investigation into his campaign’s finances. Jackson, son of the late civil rights activist Jesse Jackson Sr., pled guilty in 2013 and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for misusing approximately $750,000 worth of campaign funds for personal expenses.

‘A terrible night for anti-Israel candidates.’

Jackson ultimately served 17 months more than a decade ago. His name recognition and political experience were not enough to secure the Democratic nomination for Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District on Tuesday. He earned just 29% of the primary vote, while Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller won with 40.4% of the vote.

Jackson’s scandal-ridden track record was not the only force working against him. As in other primaries across the country, a very powerful lobbying group put its thumb on the scale, likely costing Jackson the race.

RELATED: Jasmine Crockett claims voters were ‘disenfranchised’ following crushing defeat in key Texas primary

Photo by Saul LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee has successfully ousted anti-Israel Democrats like former Reps. Jamaal Bowman (N.Y.) and Cori Bush (Mo.), and Tuesday night was no exception. AIPAC touted a pro-Israel winning streak, saying the organization helped “defeat six would-be Squad members” in the Illinois primaries.

“Six up… Six down!” AIPAC said in a post on X. “A great night for the pro-Israel community and a terrible night for anti-Israel candidates.”

“Tonight’s results tell a critical story: centering campaigns on attacking Israel and demonizing pro-Israel Americans is a losing strategy.”

RELATED: ‘Judgement Day is coming’: Ken Paxton advances with establishment incumbent in key Texas primary

Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service/Getty Images

Jackson was not an overly anti-Israel candidate, but AIPAC deemed Miller more supportive of its cause compared to the former congressman. Miller was reportedly able to rake in support from an AIPAC-aligned group that spent over $4 million on promoting her campaign.

Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District is heavily Democrat, and Miller is expected to secure the House seat in November.

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Israel Flores-Ortiz, an illegal alien from El Salvador who stole into the U.S. in 2024 and was subsequently released by the Biden administration, is accused of molesting at least nine girls at Fairfax High School in Virginia where he was enrolled in the 11th grade, even though he is at least 18 years old.

Adding insult to injury, the school allegedly downplayed the scandal.

‘They have attempted to sweep it under the rug.’

The alleged offenses took place as recently as Feb. 25. Flores-Ortiz was arrested on March 7 and has been charged with nine counts of assault and battery.

“There’s a group of about 12 individuals that have reported this assault,” a mother of one of the victims told WJLA-TV. “It was all perpetrated by a single individual who is a stranger to the girls. He just sneakily walked up behind them and put his hand in between their legs. It was not just a butt smack or a butt grab. It was a groping of a private area. It had been occurring for several months.”

Two of the victims’ mothers said that the school was doing a terrible job handling the situation.

“Abysmal, abysmal,” said one of the mothers. “I think from the very beginning, Fairfax County has attempted to diminish what happened to these girls.”

Fairfax High School principal Georgina Aye reportedly waited over two weeks after the incidents were reported to notify parents in an email, “We are writing to share the news of the recent arrest of a student who was charged with inappropriately touching other students at school. These incidents involved the student touching students’ buttocks while they were transitioning in the hallways.”

RELATED: ICE arrests child-diddlers and ecstasy traffickers while Dems try to ‘score brownie points,’ DHS says

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D). Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images.

Parents lashed out over Aye’s claim that the alleged molestation was simply a matter of a “student touching students’ buttocks.”

“Yeah, no, I would not be here for butt slapping,” one mother told WJLA. “I would, I mean, I would be upset about that, but this wouldn’t be my second day this week here at the courthouse for that. It was a clear violation. He put his hand in between my daughter’s legs, and the butt was actually the last thing that he touched.”

Another mother said, “The girls have experienced harassment and bullying from peers at school, including people that they once thought were their friends, and the letter that they sent out, referencing it only as buttocks touching, just adds fuel to rumors that they were just attention seeking.”

“They have attempted to sweep it under the rug,” said one mother.

The City of Fairfax School Board, which oversees Fairfax High School in partnership with the FCPS, said in a statement on Monday that it “takes the recent situation at Fairfax High School very seriously.”

“We support the students who have been directly affected and encourage members of the Fairfax High School community to support one another during this difficult time. Inappropriate conduct has no place in our schools, and we understand the concern and distress this incident has caused for students and families,” said the school board. “We also want to express our support for Principal Dr. Georgina Aye, a student-centered leader who has devoted her career to serving and supporting students. We have confidence in her leadership.”

In addition to receiving what one victim’s mother described as “a completely sanitized letter” from the school’s purportedly “student-centered leader,” parents were allegedly informed by Fairfax County Public Schools that upon his release, Flores-Ortiz would return to school.

FCPS told WJLA in a statement, “While Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) is unable to comment on specifics due to federal and state privacy laws, we prioritize student and staff safety and we fully investigate any time someone shares that an incident has occurred at school, or that they do not feel safe at school.”

FCPS did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

ICE issued a detainer for Ortiz, the agency told WJLA, “to ensure this violent criminal is removed from our country so he can never claim another victim again.”

Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid’s (D) office told Blaze News in a statement:

Israel Flores Ortiz remains in the custody of the Sheriff’s Office in the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center (ADC). While it is still too early in the process to know the outcome of his case, ICE has been notified of Ortiz’s location at the ADC, and they are able to execute their detainer by responding to the ADC and taking Ortiz into custody if and when he is ordered released.

The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office does not obstruct or prevent ICE from acting on their civil detainers.

Flores-Ortiz reportedly requested to be released on bail. Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano’s (D) office told Blaze News that there was a bond hearing, but “after listening to arguments, the judge decided to hold him. He is being held.”

Judge Dipti Pidikiti-Smith reportedly denied Ortiz’s request on Friday after reviewing surveillance video of one of the incidents.

“This 19-year-old criminal illegal alien should NOT have been attending a Virginia high school and allowed to prey on innocent teenage girls. He now faces nine counts of assault and battery. This is yet another example of the Biden administration’s failed open border policies,” DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement.

“We are calling on Fairfax County sanctuary politicians to NOT release this predator from jail back into our communities to assault more teenage women,” continued Bis. “Unfortunately, Governor Abigail Spanberger ended cooperation with ICE and is siding with criminal illegal aliens over American citizens.”

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​Pedophile, Molester, Molestation, Illegal alien, Immigrant, Illegal, Noncitizen, El salvador, Israel flores ortiz, Fairfax county, Fairfax county public schools, Fairfax, Virginia, Democrat, Kincaid, Ice, Immigration and customs enforcement, Dhs, Politics 

Selling one’s soul to the devil for fame, money, or power is an age-old trope. Elites have long dismissed it as nothing more than a conspiracy theory perpetuated by “satanic panic” Bible beaters, but is there any truth to this legendary exchange?

In her March 10 podcast episode, actress Candace Cameron Bure, best known for her role as D.J. Tanner in the iconic sitcom “Full House,” suggested that it’s more than just a theory. The outspoken Christian revealed that she’s personally stared Hollywood’s dark underbelly in the face.

On a recent episode of “Strange Encounters,” BlazeTV host Rick Burgess reacted to Bure’s anecdote and exposed the truth about Hollywood’s depravity.

On the “Candace Cameron Bure Podcast,” Bure told her co-host Madison Prewett Troutt about a time when she and her husband, former NHL hockey player Valeri Bure, accidentally attended an S&M themed party.

“I went to a party once with Val because we were married, and it ended up being this underground party that was an S&M like sex thing that was so dark and demonic,” she recounted, adding that her “eyeballs were popping out of [her] head.”

The scene was so shocking that the couple immediately left. “We made a hard U-turn and walked right out of there,” she recalled.

“It was just so slimy and weird. … We just had no idea what we were walking into. And it was so disgusting and gross.”

The “Full House” star has long been open about rejecting Hollywood’s moral compromises. On the “Stay True Podcast” last year, she explained: “I was just honestly never the kid that wanted to do the risky thing, that wanted to use my body or my sexuality to get ahead or my morality meant more to me, and my character has always meant more to me than the success of things.”

Rick reads between the lines of Bure’s comments.

“What she’s saying is there were moments she got scripts and there were things in the script she didn’t want to do,” he says, implying that Bure’s dedication to her Christian values might have cost her opportunities because she refused to participate in the “underground demonic world of Hollywood.”

He rejects the notion that Hollywood infuses depravity into film and music “because that’s what the people want.”

“That’s not true because we know that really family-oriented movies and shows have far bigger numbers than any of this garbage. No, it’s an agenda. It’s coming from a dark place,” he warns.

To hear more of Rick’s commentary, watch the full episode above.

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A male was caught on video punching a Philadelphia-area crossing guard in the face and knocking her out in front of elementary students Monday afternoon.

The incident took place outside Walnut Street Elementary School in Darby Borough shortly after 3:30 p.m., WPVI-TV reported.

‘Her children go to this school, so can you imagine? They shouldn’t have to witness anything like that.’

Authorities told the station the guard was helping students cross the street when a male exited his car, chased her down the sidewalk, and punched her in the face.

“It’s disgusting,” Darby Borough Police Chief Joe Gabe told WPVI. “She stated an unknown male exited a Nissan Altima and came at her in an aggressive manner, chased her down the street, about a quarter of the way down the block, grabbed her, and struck her in the face with his left fist.”

RELATED: 3 females dragged Philly crossing guard off bus when she tried to escape brutal beating, detective says; suspects arrested

Surveillance video captured the attack; it shows the male chasing the guard down a sidewalk until she stops next to a school bus. The male gets in her face, brutally punches her, she falls backward to the ground, and he runs off.

She told police she was knocked unconscious as the male ran back to his car and drove away, the station said.

The chief told WPVI it’s believed the suspect may have been angry about waiting in traffic: “He may have been upset with having to wait for her to cross children off of the school bus there.”

Gabe added to the station that the suspect was yelling profanities as he drove through the intersection prior to the attack: “When he was approaching her, he was yelling more obscenities at her before he grabbed her and struck her in the face.”

The crossing guard suffered swelling to her face, WPVI said, adding that police said she regained consciousness, walked home, and then called authorities.

The station said the crossing guard didn’t report to work Tuesday, and a male crossing guard took her place.

“We just spoke to her, she’s feeling OK, but she’s very shaken up over what happened yesterday and is worried to go back to her position as a crossing guard,” Gabe added to WPVI.

Dionne Galloway, a school district employee, added to the station that “I see her every day. She’s a part of this family, this school district. She crosses these children every day. She’s always on time. She’s always helpful. I just hope she recovers and is safe. Her children go to this school, so can you imagine? They shouldn’t have to witness anything like that.”

Police told WPVI they’re asking for the public’s help in identifying the suspect, who was seen driving a gold Nissan Altima. However, police added to the station that the car didn’t have a license plate and had a paper tag in the window.

“It’s terrible that a person would come up, just out of nowhere, just maybe frustrated with traffic or having to wait, and goes over and assaults this woman,” the chief told WPVI. “A male goes over and assaults this woman in front of children and has no problem doing it.”

Gabe also has a message for the suspect, the station noted: “We are tracking you down, and we’re hoping that we will be able to find you and have you prosecuted. So the best thing to do is to turn yourself in.”

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Republicans didn’t win the Senate so their leaders could manage expectations. They won it to deliver results. Will Republican leaders actually deliver? We are about to find out with the SAVE America Act.

The legislation requires proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections. That is not a fringe idea. It’s the law of the land in nearly every nation in the world — and is one of the most widely supported election reforms in the United States.

Republicans campaigned on restoring integrity to elections. Passing the SAVE America Act should be treated as a blood oath, not a messaging exercise.

A February Harvard CAPS/Harris poll found that 85% of voters say only U.S. citizens should vote in American elections. The same survey found that 71% support the SAVE America Act itself, 81% support voter ID, and 75% support proof-of-citizenship requirements. Perhaps most striking: Roughly 70% of Democrat voters support voter ID.

That’s a consensus. When an issue has that level of support, failure usually isn’t about policy. It’s about will.

Yet Senate Republicans still appear poised to treat the SAVE America Act like a messaging exercise: Debate it for a bit, eventually set up the opportunity for Democrats to kill it rather than having to vote on the bill, shrug, and move on.

That may satisfy the Senate’s procedural instincts, but it won’t satisfy voters. It certainly isn’t how Donald Trump gets a deal done. In “The Art of the Deal,” Trump laid out a strategy he has followed again and again with demonstrable success: seeking leverage, wearing down your opponent, fighting back hard and never folding, exerting time to your advantage, and applying psychological pressure.

Past Senate leaders have understood this method and have used it themselves. In December 2009, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) wanted the Affordable Care Act passed before Christmas. Several Democrat senators were balking.

RELATED: ‘Allows ICE to kick tens of billions’ off voter rolls? Schumer’s SAVE Act claims keep getting worse.

Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Reid’s solution was blunt: No one goes home until the votes are there. The Senate stayed in session nearly a month and passed Obamacare on Christmas Eve. Senators whose votes hadn’t been there suddenly discovered ways to support it. Amazing what happens when missing Christmas becomes the alternative.

Senate leaders routinely use endurance and inconvenience as leverage — especially in budget fights. They keep the floor open overnight, run endless amendment votes, and threaten to blow through recess until the holdouts crack.

That kind of determination to change the dynamic when “the votes aren’t there” should not be reserved just for spending bills. The SAVE America Act is exactly the kind of legislation where pressure works and why Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) wants to restore the standing filibuster for this bill to maximize pressure.

The recess threat isn’t just about challenging Democrats’ ideological commitment to unverified voting processes. It’s about the human cost of being physically trapped in Washington while your family, your staff, your donors, your fundraisers, and your district events — as well as your junkets and vacations — are elsewhere. That applies to every senator regardless of how committed they are to blocking the bill.

And over 80% public support for common-sense voter ID creates an entirely different kind of psychological pressure: the daily political exposure of defending an unpopular position.

This would be the application of Trump’s doctrine, which isn’t just about wearing down a monolithic opponent — it’s about identifying and applying pressure to the weakest link.

Remember, Democrats are politically exposed. Democrats must defend two Senate seats this year — including Georgia, where Jon Ossoff faces re-election in a state Trump carried, and Michigan, where Gary Peters’ retirement has created a competitive open seat.

Other Democrat incumbents — from Jeanne Shaheen in New Hampshire to Mark Warner in Virginia — represent states where elections are often decided at the margins. Picture what a real floor fight would look like if Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) were serious about getting the SAVE America Act passed.

RELATED: The SAVE Act is the hill voters will die on

Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images

The SAVE America Act stays on the Senate floor. No artificial deadline. No prearranged surrender through cloture vote. Republican leadership simply says: We are staying here until this bill passes — even if that means canceling spring recess.

Senators like Jon Ossoff — or any Democrat in a competitive state — would be faced with a brutal choice: Keep blocking a bill their own voters support overwhelmingly, while missing weeks of campaigning, or break ranks.

That’s exactly the kind of leverage Trump talks about. Find the pressure points. Apply force where the incentives are weakest. Keep the fight going until the opposition starts looking for the exit. Republicans don’t need to break the entire Democratic caucus. They need seven votes — really six if you think John Fetterman (D-Pa.) is smart and sensible.

Now add one more piece of leverage: Restore the standing filibuster so that obstruction actually carries a cost. The Senate survived that rule for most of its history, and its absence has helped turn the Senate from the world’s greatest deliberative body into the place where legislation dies in darkness.

If Democrats want to block the SAVE America Act, let them talk all night if necessary. Let them explain repeatedly why they oppose proof of citizenship to vote. Go on record with their condescending view that married females are too dim-witted to get new IDs (thank you, Mazie Hirono) and their racist smears that minorities will struggle to get ID (thank you, Chuck Schumer).

The modern “silent filibuster” protects obstruction from accountability. A talking filibuster does the opposite — it puts obstruction on display.

Republicans campaigned on restoring integrity to elections. Passing the SAVE America Act should be treated as a blood oath, not a messaging exercise. Trump would understand that instinctively. The question is whether Senate leadership does, because right now the country isn’t looking for performative politics. It’s looking for resolve and results.

A “hybrid talking filibuster” is a good step, but ultimately what counts is delivering results, and Donald Trump, the dealmaster, shows how to get it done.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published by RealClearPolitics and made available via RealClearWire.

​Save america act, Election security, Voter fraud, John thune, Senate republicans, Save act, Gop, Trump, Democrats, Opinion & analysis, Filibuster, Voting rights, Voter id, Voter registration