Albert Bryan, the Democrat governor of the Virgin Islands, has apparently surrounded himself in recent years with fraudsters and grafters.

Bryan’s former commissioner of the territory’s parks and recreation department, Calvert White, was sentenced on Friday to five years in prison following his conviction for one count of honest services wire fraud and one count of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds.

‘This is unacceptable.’

The sentencing — relatively light given that the fraud offense carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and the bribery offense carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison — took place just weeks after the Democrat governor’s former police commissioner and former budget director were found guilty of extensive corruption.

White, who resigned last January, solicited and accepted a bribe from David Whitaker, the founder of the cybersecurity firm Mon Ethos Pro Support — a bribe that was facilitated by local businessman Benjamin Hendricks.

In exchange for $16,000 to later be paid by Hendricks, White agreed to help Whitaker obtain a contract valued at over $1.4 million for the installation of security cameras at U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Sports, Parks, and Recreation properties.

The Justice Department indicated that as part of the scheme, which lasted from late 2023 until the FBI intervened in June 2024, White provided confidential bidding information to Whitaker and proactively worked in an official capacity to ensure that Whitaker would get the contract.

RELATED: Woke Whitmer appointee from Nigeria admits to day-care scam, stealing millions from Michigan taxpayers

Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

“Calvert White rigged a public bid process in exchange for a bribe,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the DOJ’s Criminal Division. “He abused the trust of those who live in the community he was supposed to serve.”

While not ordered to pay a fine, White was required to forfeit $5,000, the amount he received from Whitaker via Hendricks as partial payment for the contract, reported the St. Thomas Source. He will reportedly wear a GPS monitoring bracelet until he surrenders to authorities on March 2.

For his role in the scheme, Hendricks was sentenced last week to 68 months in prison.

“Public officials take an oath based on trust and assume a responsibility of service to the people,” said Claudia Dubravetz, acting special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Juan field office. “When that trust is violated through acts of corruption, it undermines confidence in government and harms the communities it is meant to serve. This is unacceptable.”

Whitaker, who pleaded guilty in 2024 to two counts of wire fraud and one count of bribery and is set to be sentenced later this year, was apparently also in cahoots with former Virgin Islands Police Department Commissioner Ray Martinez and former Virgin Islands Office of Management and Budget Director Jenifer O’Neal.

Martinez was found guilty last month of five counts of honest services wire fraud, one count of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, one count of money laundering conspiracy, and two counts of obstruction of justice. O’Neal was found guilty of two counts of honest services wire fraud, one count of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, and one count of money laundering conspiracy.

The DOJ indicated that Martinez accepted roughly $100,000 in bribe payments from Whitaker — “including cash, luxury travel, personal expenses, private-school tuition, and restaurant equipment” — in exchange for wielding his official authority to approve invoices and award Whitaker a $1.4 million contract federally funded under the federal American Rescue Plan Act.

O’Neal knowingly approved a $70,000 inflated invoice under that contract and, in exchange, accepted a $17,730 lease payment for her business in federal funds from the inflated invoice.

Blaze News has reached out to Gov. Bryan’s office for comment.

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​Democrat, Albert bryan, Fraud, Bribery, Virgin islands, Territory, Calvert white, Department of justice, Justice, Fbi, Corruption, Wire fraud, Politics 

The federal government is moving closer to giving your car the authority to decide whether you are allowed to drive — without a warrant, without due process, and with no guaranteed way to reverse the decision once it is made.

And it is happening not because of one party alone, but because Congress, across party lines, has failed to stop it.

This is not about defending drunk driving. It is about stopping a government overreach that treats every driver as a suspect.

No accident

It’s no accident that all this happened quietly. It was written into law under the Biden administration’s 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, buried deep in Section 24220 — a provision few lawmakers publicly debated, but one that now threatens to fundamentally alter the relationship between Americans and their vehicles.

Section 24220 directs the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to mandate “advanced drunk and impaired driving prevention technology” in all new passenger vehicles. In plain terms, it requires systems that continuously monitor drivers and can prevent a vehicle from operating if impairment is suspected. No breath test is required. No police officer is involved. The judgment is made by software.

Once flagged, a vehicle may refuse to start or restrict operation. Here is the most troubling part: Federal law provides no clear process for getting out of that lockout. There is no required appeal. No mandated reset timeline. No human review. Drivers can find themselves trapped in what critics have begun calling “kill switch jail,” with no guaranteed path to restore access to their own car.

This is not targeted enforcement. It applies to every driver, every time, regardless of driving history.

That alone should raise constitutional alarms.

Proven approach

Drunk driving laws already exist — and they work. Ignition interlock devices have long been required for convicted offenders, and there are 31 approved interlock systems currently in use nationwide. Those systems require a breath sample and are imposed only after due process. Section 24220 discards that proven, targeted approach and instead subjects all drivers to pre-emptive punishment, including those who do not drink at all.

To comply with the mandate, automakers may choose from a range of technologies: driver-facing cameras that track eye movement and head position; software that analyzes steering, braking, and lane-keeping behavior; or touch-based alcohol sensors embedded in the steering wheel or start button. None of these systems determine guilt. They calculate probability — and then deny access.

False positives are inevitable. Fatigue, prescription medications, medical conditions such as diabetes or neurological disorders, and even stress can trigger impairment alerts. Shift workers, caregivers, parents, and first responders are especially vulnerable. When the system is wrong, the consequences are immediate — and the driver has no guaranteed recourse.

Pre-emptive denial

This is not a passive safety feature like an airbag. It is a government-mandated, pre-emptive denial of mobility enforced by an algorithm.

Despite growing concern, Congress has chosen not to stop the mandate, with Democrats largely supporting continued funding and a number of Republicans also voting to keep the program intact.

In January 2026, the House voted on an amendment offered by Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky that would have blocked funding for NHTSA’s implementation of Section 24220. That amendment failed, allowing the mandate to continue moving toward full enforcement.

Supporters argue the technology does not allow government agents or police to remotely shut down vehicles. While that may be technically true today, the mandate still requires continuous driver monitoring. Once that hardware becomes standard across the national vehicle fleet, expanding its use becomes a political decision — not a technical limitation.

RELATED: Dystopian future as misguided safety push sends drivers to ‘kill switch jail’

Library of Congress/Getty Images

Privacy risks

Privacy and cybersecurity risks only deepen the concern. Any system capable of denying vehicle operation must meet extraordinarily high standards of accuracy and security. Those standards have not been proven at national scale. A malfunctioning or compromised system could strand drivers during extreme weather, medical emergencies, or in remote locations.

Cost is another unavoidable consequence. Vehicles are already becoming unaffordable for many Americans. Adding cameras, sensors, software, and compliance infrastructure will only accelerate price increases and reduce consumer choice. Drivers who want simpler, more reliable vehicles will have fewer options — because mandates do not allow opting out.

Proponents often compare this mandate to seatbelts or airbags. That analogy fails. Seatbelts do not prevent you from driving. Airbags deploy after an accident. This system intervenes before any wrongdoing occurs, based on assumptions rather than certainty, and enforces compliance by denying access altogether.

This is not about defending drunk driving. It is about stopping a government overreach that treats every driver as a suspect and hands control of personal mobility to software.

If Americans want to prevent this future, Section 24220 must be defunded — before “kill switch jail” becomes the default setting for the next generation of cars.

The following are the Republican members who voted against the amendment to block funding for NHTSA’s implementation of Section 24220:

Mark Amodei (Nev.-02)
French Hill (Ark.-02)
Max Miller (Ohio-07)
Don Bacon (Neb.-02)
Jeff Hurd (Colo.-03)
Mariannette Miller-Meeks (Iowa-01)
Stephanie Bice (Okla.-05)
Brian Jack (Ga.-03)
Blake Moore (Utah-01)
Gus Bilirakis (Fla.-12)
John James (Mich.-10)
Tim Moore (N.C.-14)
Mike Bost (Ill.-12)
David Joyce (Ohio-14)
James Moylan (Guam-A.L.)
Ken Calvert (Calif.-41)
Thomas Kean Jr. (N.J.-07)
Greg Murphy (N.C.-03)
John Carter (Texas-31)
Mike Kelly (Penn.-16)
Dan Newhouse (Wash.-04)
Tom Cole (Okla.-04)
Jen Kiggans (Va.-02)
Zach Nunn (Iowa-03)
Mario Diaz-Balart (Fla.-26)
Kevin Kiley (Calif.-03)
Hal Rogers (Ky.-05)
Neal Dunn (Fla.-02)
Young Kim (Calif.-40)
Maria Elvira Salazar (Fla.-27)
Chuck Edwards (N.C.-11)
Kimberlyn King-Hinds (Northern Mariana Islands-A.L.)
Mike Simpson (Idaho-02)
Jake Ellzey (Texas-06)
Darin LaHood (Ill.-16)
Elise Stefanik (N.Y.-21)
Randy Feenstra (Iowa-04)
Nick LaLota (N.Y.-01)
Glenn “GT” Thompson (Penn.-15)
Randy Fine (Fla.-06)
Mike Lawler (N.Y.-17)
Mike Turner (Ohio-10)
Chuck Fleischmann (Tenn.-03)
Frank Lucas (Okla.-03)
David Valadao (Calif.-22)
Vince Fong (Calif.-20)
Nicole Malliotakis (N.Y.-11)
Derrick Van Orden (Wis.-03)
Brian Fitzpatrick (Penn.-01)
Celeste Maloy (Utah-02)
Rob Wittman (Va.-01)
Andrew Garbarino (N.Y.-02)
Brian Mast (Fla.-21)
Steve Womack (Ark.-03)
Carlos Gimenez (Fla.-28)
Dan Meuser (Penn.-09)
Ryan Zinke (Mont.-01)

​Kill switch, Auto industry, Lifestyle, Thomas massie (r-ky.), Privacy, Big tech, 2021 infrastructure investment and jobs act, Joe biden, Nhtsa, Align cars 

BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales is doubling down on her investigation into alleged H-1B visa fraud — especially after the response she received.

“The community that we have angered, they’re really not happy. And we keep hearing the claim that we’ve invaded someone’s privacy, ‘You’re doxxing people,’” she explains. “No, actually we’re not. The information that we’re providing is newsworthy and serves the public interest and has to be exposed for what it is.”

“How else can you expose the fraud and the corruption and the scams if you can’t put it in front of people and show them,” she continues.

And 3Bees Technologies — one of the companies she discovered to be operating out of an empty office space where no employees were to be found — updated its website to attempt to combat what Gonzales exposed.

“They’ve made quite certain to just make everyone know, ‘3Bees Technologies is an IT consulting company, and all the employees in 3Bees Technologies work at client site address, and no one works from 3Bees office address as we are a IT consulting company,’” Gonzales says, reading from its updated website.

“How’s that for broken English?” she asks.

“But also you may have just accidentally admitted to committing fraud because it’s against the law to not properly disclose where your workers are to the government. They have to know. USCIS says, ‘Employers must file amended H-1B petitions when a new Labor Condition Application for Nonimmigrant Workers (LCA) is required due to a change in the H-1B worker’s worksite location.’”

“So if you’re saying that your employees are working off-site and you have not actually amended their LCAS, you are committing fraud. You are breaking the law. Thank you 3Bees. We will definitely intend to use that against you when we deliver all of this to the authorities,” Gonzales continues.

Gonzales also points out that if all their employees are working remotely, there’s no point in them living in America in the first place.

“I would just like to point out if you’re just an IT consulting firm and all you do is consult, you’re just a firm that consults, you don’t need a workplace. Why the hell are we bringing these people into this country anyway?” she asks.

“They can just stay in India. They can just hop on a Zoom call. They can just hop on the phone,” she adds.

Want more from Sara Gonzales?

To enjoy more of Sara’s no-holds-barred takes on news and culture, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Upload, Video, Sharing, Camera phone, Free, Video phone, Youtube.com, Sara gonzales unfiltered, Sara gonzales, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals, H-1b investigation, H-1b scam, Texas scam, 3bees technologies, Indian scam, H-1b fraud, Fraud, Fraud investigation 

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) says that taxpayers will be on the hook for another handout available to illegal aliens.

The socialist mayor and Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul had previously announced their plan to provide free child care for 2-year-olds in the city as well as other programs for children across the state.

‘These are programs for every single New Yorker. These are not programs that are going to ask the immigration status of any one of the children.’

During a roundtable discussion Friday, Mamdani said that the program would be open to illegal immigrants.

“Just to put it very clearly, these are programs for every single New Yorker. These are not programs that are going to ask the immigration status of any one of the children,” he said.

“All of those children are New Yorkers,” he added. “They should all be enrolled in 3-K and pre-K, no matter where they were born or where they come from.”

He went on to clarify the sanctuary city policies of New York City.

“And we are also proud to be a sanctuary city,” Mamdani continued. “What a sanctuary city means is that we have policies in place, policies have existed for years in the city, that deny ICE agents access into schools, hospitals, city properties, or even the properties of city contractors unless those ICE agents can present a judicial warrant signed by a judge.”

Hochul has previously had to cut education funds in order to make up for spending on the immigration crisis. She has also set aside funds to help fight the Trump administration in court.

“As New York’s first mom Governor, fighting for New York’s families has always been at the core of my agenda,” said Hochul earlier in the month. “Since taking office, I’ve put families front and center, fighting to make our state more affordable and laying the groundwork to deliver universal childcare.”

RELATED: ‘Such an a**hole’: Mamdani rejects kids’ snow day despite brutal forecast — backlash is fierce

President Donald Trump has made the dismantling of sanctuary city policies a central goal of his second term. His efforts to defund local governments with the policies have been stymied by legal opposition.

Critics of socialism are watching New York City closely to watch the effects of Mamdani’s policies on the prominent U.S. city. He has vowed to significantly hike up taxes in order to fund massive increases in social spending.

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​Zohran mamdani, Nyc sanctuary city, Free childcare for illegal aliens, Illegal aliens in nyc, Politics 

Last week, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued an opinion on the free-speech parameters for sitting judges in the commonwealth in a major decision related to a 2024 case.

The case concerned former Judge Mark B. Cohen, a Democrat who was suspended from the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas by the Court of Judicial Discipline in October 2024 over his outspoken political posts on Facebook.

‘When, as here, a sitting judge adopts the persona of a political party spokesperson and abuses the prestige of his office to advance that party’s interests, he detracts from the reputation of the entire judiciary.’

These posts, the Philly Voice reported, involved, for example, Cohen’s views about former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), the hammer attack on California Democrat Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s husband, and the election of Democrat Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, among other national and state political issues.

RELATED: Activist Democrat judge sabotages National Guard surge in Memphis after 100 children rescued

Photo by MARTIN BUREAU/AFP via Getty Images

The opinion outlined some of the other issues that Cohen advocated for on Facebook, demonstrating his apparent partisanship.

“Judge Cohen advocated for legislation, such as the Build Back Better Bill that was then being promoted by the Democratic Party, cheered on Democratic politicians, impliedly endorsed a candidate for congressional office, touted his own legislative achievements as a Democrat, and criticized the policies of predominately Republican legislatures.”

Cohen previously served as a Democrat Pennsylvania state representative from 1974 to 2016 prior to his election to the Court of Common Pleas in 2018, according to his biography on the Pennsylvania House of Representatives website.

Six of the seven justices on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court affirmed the opinion. However, Justice Wecht filed a concurring opinion in which he expressed his refusal to endorse “any suggestion that a jurist” who formerly served in a political branch of government “may not in some appropriate fashion refer to … his or her record of actions taken or accomplishments achieved while serving.”

The seventh, Justice McCaffery, did not participate in the decision or deliberation of the case.

While the court affirmed that judges are in fact uniquely qualified to share their professional opinions on some matters, the issue with Cohen’s posts was consistently the “volume and tone” of the content he was sharing.

Justice Dougherty, who wrote the opinion of the court, said, “Thus, Judge Cohen did not put just his own reputation at risk. When, as here, a sitting judge adopts the persona of a political party spokesperson and abuses the prestige of his office to advance that party’s interests, he detracts from the reputation of the entire judiciary.”

The opinion of the court upheld the CJD’s concerns “not just that Judge Cohen publicly posted his personal, political views, but that he posted so regularly and one-sidedly that he appeared to be ‘an advocate for the Democratic Party.'”

The Court concluded that “the Commonwealth’s interest in protecting the efficiency of the administration of justice outweighed Judge Cohen’s interest in posting partisan political content on Facebook where the volume and tone of his posts cast him as little more than a spokesperson for the Democratic Party.”

Cohen’s lawyer, Samuel Stretton, suggested that Cohen is considering an appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court.

“It’s very important for a judge to have the right to be involved in issues that don’t come before them or their colleagues,” Stretton said.

According to prior court documents, Cohen, 77, was suspended without pay in October 2024 through December 31, 2024, at which point he was mandated to retire due to age. Based on available court documents, it is not clear whether his benefits would continue, though his legal counsel appealed the decision to suspend his medical benefits.

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​Politics, Free speech, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Philly voice, Mark b cohen, Us supreme court, Scotus, Social media, Facebook, Democrat 

President Donald Trump says that he has spoken with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) via phone and indicated that the Democrat was cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement efforts after publicly opposing them.

The president posted about the phone call with the governor in a social media statement on Truth Social after rioting escalated in Minneapolis in response to another lethal shooting over the weekend.

‘Even in Minnesota, Crime is way down, but both Governor Walz and I want to make it better!’

“Governor Tim Walz called me with the request to work together with respect to Minnesota. It was a very good call, and we, actually, seemed to be on a similar wavelength,” wrote the president.

Earlier on Monday, the president had announced that he was sending border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota to manage the ICE operation.

“I told Governor Walz that I would have Tom Homan call him, and that what we are looking for are any and all Criminals that they have in their possession,” Trump added. “The Governor, very respectfully, understood that, and I will be speaking to him in the near future.”

He went on to say that Walz was “happy” that Homan was being sent to Minnesota. Trump also touted his success in sending federal troops to Washington, D.C.; Memphis, Tennessee; and New Orleans, Louisiana.

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt had said that Homan would also be investigating the large-scale fraud scheme in the state.

Trump added, “Even in Minnesota, Crime is way down, but both Governor Walz and I want to make it better!”

RELATED: Tim Walz tries to dunk on Trump and gets pantsed on social media

Walz also posted about the phone call on social media.

“I spoke to the President earlier. We had a productive conversation and I explained to him that his staff doesn’t have their facts straight about Minnesota,” he wrote.

He added a link to his op-ed in the Wall Street Journal defending his administration against accusations that it did not honor ICE detainers.

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​Tim walz vs trump, Walz caves to trump, Trump truth social, Minnesota ice protest, Politics 

In mid-December, the White House released an executive order establishing the second Trump administration’s space policy. In the order, the president outlines a policy to “secure the Nation’s vital economic and security interests” and “unleash commercial development” in the stars.

Mastery over space and its riches will go to the nations able to pursue their interests within that domain and defend them.

The order follows on the Department of Energy’s “first-ever government purchase of a natural resource from space” last May. If successful, the procurement of lunar helium-3 by 2029 promises to be the first nugget in a 21st-century gold rush. With the value of the isotope reaching $20 million per kilogram by some estimates, prospecting and settlement of the final frontier — a goal of President Trump’s order — might soon follow.

Withdrawing from the Outer Space Treaty might help secure that frontier for Americans. Ratified by the Senate in 1967, the treaty was born of the Cold War. After the Soviet Union launched Sputnik in 1957, the global community focused on how to prevent pre-existing terrestrial tensions from spilling over into space.

Inspired by the scientific cooperation displayed during the 1957-58 International Geophysical Year, the U.N. Ad Hoc Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space believed that a precedent of peaceful coexistence had been set in the cosmos and did not prioritize “problems relating to the settlement and exploitation of celestial bodies.” After all, Yuri Gagarin had not yet completed his maiden orbit, nor had Neil Armstrong made his “small step.”

The final treaty preserved that oversight. Inspired by the 1959 Antarctic Treaty, the OST proscribed claims of sovereignty (Article II) and banned WMDs in outer space and military activities on celestial bodies (Article IV). It remained an open question how international law would govern settlement and exploitation and keep it peaceful.

As the Cold War has given way to new tensions between the United States, Russia, and China, the realms of space have remained anything but “realms of peace.”

Even before the OST, the superpowers developed anti-satellite weapons. Such innovation has not slowed. The vice Chief of space operations even testified to Chinese weapons systems that can conduct “dogfighting” in orbit. Notwithstanding Russia’s status as a party to the treaty, the American people experienced an anxious evening in 2024 when intelligence revealed that Russia may be developing a nuclear-armed electromagnetic pulse system in orbit.

Americans, both in and out of uniform, rely on the military satellites that form the Global Positioning System. How might American or allied forces fare against a near-peer adversary if even a portion of GPS satellites are out of action?

The first Trump administration did not shy away from the stars, establishing the Space Force. Nonetheless, China has responded in kind with an “aerospace force” of its own. A new space race has begun, and the stakes are perhaps higher than they were during the Cold War.

Unlike in the mid-20th century, the settlement and exploitation of the cosmos are now within sight. The moon is rife with rare-earths and terrestrially scarce helium-3, which might unlock the challenges of nuclear fusion and quantum computation. Accordingly, China and Russia are racing back to the moon.

It is clear that the current legal framework for space neither admits of sovereignty nor effectively constrains adversaries. Yet mastery over space and its riches will go to the nations able to pursue their interests within that domain and defend them. Will America be able to?

Withdrawing from the OST would clear the chief international hurdle to exercising sovereignty over celestial bodies, which have cost American lives and capital to survey. Absent Article IV, the United States would be able to develop systems to defend the nation’s interests off-Earth in response to adversarial threats. Mike Solana may see his dream become reality.

A pathway to defensible sovereignty over celestial bodies would set the legal conditions for a true American space economy. Territorial ownership in the cosmos would build on the Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015, which allowed private entities to recover and sell astral treasures. The government would have the authority to order the coming lunar helium and asteroid gold rush with a usage scheme similar to that governing federal lands. Finally, private space operators would know they have a right to mine and keep what they mine — with the legal fallback of the state.

The second-order benefits from such policies would flow back down to Earth. Extraterrestrial mineral leases could generate government revenues, and space-based securities could launch a new financial industry. The increased commercialization of the cosmos may finally make off-Earth settlement profitable at scale, inspiring figurative and literal pioneers.

Leaving the OST might inspire America’s adversaries to do the same. However, withdrawal would let the United States treat space as a legitimate arena for applying national power, as China has done. It would be a proportional response to nations that have acted as if the treaty did not exist. Exiting would enable the U.S. to legally and openly develop the same capabilities as its adversaries, mitigating the chances of conflict. Leaving the OST might very well restore strategic balance.

There are few better motivations for the pursuit of peace than the promise of profit. As Russia and China pursue their national commercial interests in space, the risk of disruption to billion-dollar development projects would disincentivize expansionist or militarist aggression. The same risk would also motivate former parties to the treaty to prevent environmental contamination. Even amid tension, space powers should recognize mutual self-interest, such as in preserving the rescue-and-aid guarantees of the treaty or establishing exclusive economic zone-style areas on shared celestial bodies.

RELATED: What’s Greenland to us?

Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images

Fundamentally, some measure of competition is good. The new contest over space could ignite a worldwide flood of passion for exploration. That race to the stars (with winners) would be more honest than the original “carried out … in the interests of all countries.” To date, only five countries have ever landed on the Moon.

Fortunately, the logistics of withdrawal itself are far from a moon shot.

Article XVI of the Outer Space Treaty empowers the president to provide one year’s notice of withdrawal. Judicial delay would be unlikely. In Goldwater v. Carter, the Supreme Court found that presidential termination of a ratified treaty was a “nonjusticiable political dispute.” For precedent, the White House can look to President Bush’s withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty: Congress and the courts did not object.

Shipments of cosmic resources for epoch-making technologies are on their way. President Trump seeks a return to the moon by 2028, with “a permanent lunar outpost” and “economic development” to follow. America cannot turn its back on the spacefaring future, and aging international and national law must adapt before our adversaries arrive. Only then may America trade the title of “aerospace republic” for a simpler one: “space republic.”

Editor’s note: This article was originally published at the American Mind.

​Outer space, Trump, Space force, Outer space treaty, Space race, Anti-satellite weapons, Rare earths, Opinion & analysis 

Several Republican lawmakers are sounding the alarm following another shooting in Minnesota.

Anti-ICE agitator Alex Pretti was fatally shot by a federal agent in Minneapolis on Saturday, with the Department of Homeland Security saying he “violently resisted” when agents attempted to disarm him. This is the second fatal shooting of an anti-ICE agitator in Minnesota. Renee Good was shot earlier this month after turning her car and accelerating toward an agent.

‘The killing yesterday … should raise serious questions.’

Administration officials like DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and top adviser Stephen Miller have branded Pretti a “would-be assassin” who committed acts of “domestic terrorism.”

This comes after weeks of mob violence, theft, and property destruction in response to ICE presence in Minneapolis. These often coordinated acts are indiscriminately aimed at federal agents conducting lawful operations. The protesters are also threatening journalists simply exposing their violent tactics and even intimidating local churchgoers.

While the investigation continues, some Republican senators and representatives have made an effort to distance themselves from what they called a “horrifying situation.”

RELATED: Democrats threaten to shut down government over ICE funding: ‘We are not powerless’

Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Several senators who are known to buck the Trump administration came out with critical statements following the shooting, citing claims that conflict with DHS’ narrative.

“The tragedy and chaos the country is witnessing in Minneapolis is shocking,” Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said in a post on X. “The killing yesterday of Alex Pretti, a U.S. citizen, by ICE agents should raise serious questions within the administration about the adequacy of immigration-enforcement training and the instructions officers are given on carrying out their mission.”

“Lawfully carrying a firearm does not justify federal agents killing an American — especially, as video footage appears to show, after the victim had been disarmed,” Murkowski said. “A comprehensive, independent investigation of the shooting must be conducted in order to rebuild trust and Congressional committees need to hold hearings and do their oversight work. ICE agents do not have carte blanche in carrying out their duties.”

Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who is notably retiring, said officials jumping to conclusions could risk tarnishing President Donald Trump’s legacy.

“There must be a thorough and impartial investigation into yesterday’s Minneapolis shooting, which is the basic standard that law enforcement and the American people expect following any officer-involved shooting,” Tillis said in a post on X. “For this specific incident, that requires cooperation and transparency between federal, state, and local law enforcement. Any administration official who rushes to judgment and tries to shut down an investigation before it begins are doing an incredible disservice to the nation and to President Trump’s legacy.”

RELATED: DHS: Armed suspect fatally shot by federal agent in Minneapolis; suspect ‘violently resisted’ disarming attempt

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

Other senators who have otherwise supported the administration also expressed skepticism after the shooting, calling for a thorough investigation.

“The nation witnessed a horrifying situation this weekend,” Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts of Nebraska said in a post on X. “My prayers are with the family of Alex Pretti.”

“My support for funding ICE remains the same. Enforcing our immigration laws makes our streets safer,” Ricketts clarified ahead of a major Senate vote on DHS funding. “It also protects our national security. But we must also maintain our core values as a nation, including the right to protest and assemble. I expect a prioritized, transparent investigation into this incident.”

Ricketts’ Republican colleague Sen. Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania echoed a criticism put forth by the National Rifle Association, saying Pretti was lawfully exercising his right to carry a firearm.

“As I have often said, I support the Border Patrol, ICE, and the critical work they do to enforce our laws,” McCormick said in a post on X. “Irresponsible rhetoric and a lack of cooperation from Minnesota’s politicians are fueling a dangerous situation. I also agree with the NRA and others — we need a full investigation into the tragedy in Minneapolis. We need all the facts. We must enforce our laws in a way that protects the public while maintaining its trust. This gives our law enforcement officers the best chance to succeed in their difficult mission.”

RELATED: Vance crushes false narrative about ICE ‘arresting’ 5-year-old boy

Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images

While several Republicans remained critical, others like Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma came in defense of the Trump administration, suggesting protesters had crossed the line into obstructing law enforcement.

“Law-abiding citizens have every right to carry a firearm,” Mullin said in a post on X. “You DO NOT have a right to obstruct law enforcement activity, or commit another felony with one. This is not difficult.”

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Montpelier, Vermont, population 8,000: This is the smallest state capital in the country. If you have seen a postcard of a downtown in Vermont, it’s almost certainly Montpelier.

When I rolled into town in a U-Haul 23 years ago and came through a mountain pass and saw the town, I thought Disney rolled out a series of false fronts of Victorian Americana, because it looked like a movie set.

She was genuinely sweet, polite, and helpful. And she was so obviously a girl on the cusp of a womanhood I fear she will never have.

But when you get out of the car and look closely, you see the cancer. Like most Vermont towns and cities, “woke” has infected the shared public brain. Montpelier is bedecked with trans/queer flags, BLM signs, graffiti exhorting people to “fight the man.”

The city clerk posts on local online forums about how oppressed the “undocumented neighbors” are and how important it is to let them vote in city elections. Until recently there was an upscale, overpriced Marxist (heh) coffee and dessert shop named “Delicious Dissent.” Clenched-fist graphics sat alongside messages like “for the workers” in flowing, girly script painted on the windows.

Meeting ‘Johnny’

But the people are even sadder, and “Johnny” is the saddest. She was the teen girl who checked out my order at one of the local markets. “Johnny” is not the name on her tag, but it’s a close approximation. She wore the name tag next to a series of buttons telling onlookers that her pronouns were “he/him” and that “nonbinary identities are valid.”

Readers, I had to leave quickly after my order, because I was tearing up, wishing this poor girl had better influences in her life.

We’re used to young wokesters being snide and socially aggressive; they’re often loud and insufferable. Not Johnny. I didn’t even notice her strange name badge and buttons at first because I was thinking about how unusually polite she was for a store clerk in 2026. Where I live, you are lucky to get eye contact from a clerk. More often, they ignore you, leave you to bag your own order, and stare at their phones while fiddling with the metal bull rings hanging from the middle of their noses.

Johnny was different. “Hi, how are you this evening?” she asked me. I perked up, eager to have that rare pleasant business transaction. We chitchatted about the coming snowstorm as she went through my items. But as I looked at her, my heart got soft and the sadness came.

She was morbidly obese, as are so many people in this town. Not just chubby, but dangerously fat. Heart-attack-by-30 fat. Her breasts were smashed down in a binder (a strap confused women wear when they’re trying to look like a “man”). Her hair had four inches of natural color and bright blue ends that had grown out. It wasn’t washed. Her face was covered with cystic acne, and her uniform hadn’t been cleaned.

Girl, interrupted

“Johnny.” “He/him.” A blind man could not have mistaken this girl for a man. Her voice was a girl’s voice. Her demeanor was feminine. She was genuinely sweet, polite, and helpful. And she was so obviously a girl on the cusp of a womanhood I fear she will never have. How long will it be before she gets “top surgery” — a cosmetic mastectomy — funded by Medicaid through the state? How long until she starts taking testosterone and permanently turns her voice into that frog-kazoo croak that “trans men” develop?

I don’t know anything about Johnny’s home life, but I can make some educated guesses. At absolute best, whatever parents she has neglected her. More likely, they have been actively abusive. No sane, moral parents allow or encourage their teen girl to strap down her breasts, eat to the point of dangerous obesity, never shower, and try to tell the world that she’s a male.

It’s not unlikely that her parent(s), however, actively encourage these morbid choices. Too many people in Vermont are in a state of actual psychosis. They are literally disconnected from reality. They actually believe girls can become men. They genuinely believe that most of us are white supremacists just waiting to lynch one of the approximately seven black people in town.

Bad education

And anyway, once the kids are in the public school system, their glazed-eyed “Karen” teachers encourage their self-destruction.

In 2021, the Burlington School District surveyed the sexual orientation and gender identity views of high school students. Yes. Teachers and adults are asking children who they want to sleep with and whether they believe they’re the opposite sex. Yes, this is child sexual abuse. Yes, they get away with it. Yes, everyone acts as though this is normal and not predatory.

The results, proudly published on the state health department’s website, are shocking. Fully 30% of these kids told survey-takers that they were “LGBTQ+.” Really? Nearly one-third of the students are either homosexual, bisexual, “transgender,” “nonbinary,” or “queer” (whatever the hell that means)?

Between parents who ought to be in prison and teachers, administrators, and health officials, kids like “Johnny” don’t have a chance.

RELATED: ‘The Emperor vs. the Twink’: Joe Allen attacks the transhumanoids

Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Vanity Fair

Someone cared

Had I been born three decades later than I was, I would have ended up the male version of Johnny. I grew up fatherless, with only a temporary stepfather who beat me senseless and tried to murder my mother after molesting my sister. My mother was deranged with borderline personality disorder and tore through the house like a trailer-park version of Joan Crawford in “Mommie Dearest.”

Unsurprisingly, I turned out to be a homosexual beset with intractable PTSD. By the time I was 13, I had been placed in an institution for being “incorrigible.” That was no day in the park, but it was better than remaining at home with a gorgon wearing a mother mask.

In sixth grade, I remember walking to school one day in an almost catatonic state. I felt nothing. I thought nothing. It’s a hard feeling to describe, but I think “dissociation” is closest. For no reason I can remember, I pulled a red crayon out of my backpack and colored in my lips as if I were a stripper getting ready to perform.

Then I sat down in class and stared at the blackboard. I could hear Ms. Haag’s voice as she gave the lesson, but I heard the mush-mouth of the teacher’s voice in the old Charlie Brown cartoons. When class was over, Ms. Haag pulled a chair up in front of my desk and sat down, looking me in the eye. She held onto my hand and asked, “Josh, why did you put that on your mouth? Is something wrong that you want to talk about?”

“I don’t know” was all I said. And I didn’t know. I still don’t know. But someone cared. My teacher cared. Someone noticed, and someone said something.

A blind eye

There will be no Ms. Haag for today’s Johnnys. When society has been turned upside down, nothing is normal. Beauty is called ugly. Violence is called love. Men are called women. Abuse is called care.

Some grown-up somewhere in Johnny’s life has looked at her and felt what I felt. She wanted to ask Johnny what was wrong, because she could see that something — many things, probably — was terribly wrong. But she can’t. Because if you notice the horror, you are targeted. You’re called a child abuser for objecting to child abuse. You’re called a predator for wanting to shield the innocent. Any genuinely caring teacher who tried to intervene would be fired and then held up for public scorn as a bigoted tormentor of children.

I know how insane this reads, but it’s true. I live here, and I’ve been targeted for speaking out. This is the end-state of a society that runs on boundless narcissism and pathological lying. It’s satanic.

When I left the store with the bag that Johnny packed my order in, I put on my seatbelt and waited for a few minutes because I needed to cry. I wanted to be Johnny’s dad and save her. My God, won’t somebody help her?

All I can do for Johnny is pray, and I have been, even though I confess I’m not sure anyone is listening. Would you pray for her, too?

​Culture, Women, Feminism, Men and women, First-person, Intervention, Transgender ideology, Vermont, Montpelier, Burlington, Child abuse 

If you thought Virginia Democrats were “moderate” — especially Abigail Spanberger, the new governor — you might want to think again.

“They are only getting worse. And this should be remembered when it comes to the midterms. Let me just give you a few things that they are proposing. Taxes and economic policy is becoming full-fledged Marxist,” Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck explains, adding, “They are proposing new and expanded taxes.”

“What a surprise. They have introduced bills now that will expand the sales tax base to include services like landscaping, gym memberships, vehicle repairs, food delivery, home repairs, raising the revenue beyond the traditional goods, the progressive income tax brackets,” he continues.

But that’s not all.

“They are now proposing creating new tax brackets, higher tax brackets, meaning people with taxable income over a certain threshold, they’re saying $600,000, will pay higher rates than those with lower incomes,” Glenn explains.

“This one I really love,” he continues, reading, “Federal employee tax.”

“The federal employee will get a tax break versus everybody else. There are proposals now that will give special tax subtractions for retired federal employees and incentives for federal retirees. While you, who didn’t ever work for the government, you’ll see a broader tax increase,” he says.

They’re not only going after taxes — but guns as well.

“They’re also trying to have a mandatory waiting period on gun purchases. A ban on leaving your gun unattended in your vehicle … also a state firearm purchaser licensing system. That sounds really good,” Glenn says.

“An 11% tax on ammunition and guns and civil liability for the gun industry participants for crimes committed using guns that they sold or built. Oh, OK, that’s really good,” he mocks.

“They’re trying to enact, you know, more DEI and ESG stuff. … They want to expand racial bias and diversity training for professionals, nurses, real estate agents, and law enforcement. Now why does the real estate agent need diversity training?” he asks.

“Let me lay down the biggest warning I could possibly lay down, and I’m not going to dwell on it or spend time today on this. The scariest people in Nazi Germany did not wear the black uniforms. … They were the nurses and doctors. Do not train them in any of this DEI, any of this bull crap,” he continues, adding, “It’s very dangerous.”

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An independent journalist claims to have infiltrated encrypted Signal chat groups used by anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement activists, uncovering what appears to be a coordinated effort to obstruct federal immigration enforcement and harass law enforcement officers.

Cam Higby, an on-the-ground reporter known for undercover infiltrations, shared on X screen recordings and member lists from the alleged chats. His posts revealed hundreds of participants apparently actively plotting interference with U.S. ICE operations.

‘Your body on the line.’

The exposed alleged conversations show members checking license plates, broadcasting intersections where agents are active, and even pursuing ICE vehicles. Higby described the tactics as “organized obstruction” in an X post.

Higby claimed his expose made a solid dent in the anti-ICE operation, with one administrator admitting it would take time to “get things up and running” again after the exposure. Higby later reported that the Signal group was “running at about half strength.”

RELATED: Liberal media spins ‘homicide’ narrative after ICE detainee death — but DHS sets the record straight

Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Despite allegations of high-level involvement in the anti-ICE network, which critics have labeled insurrectionist, far-left Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan (D) posted a video urging protesters to escalate by putting “your body on the line.”

The information comes during heightened tensions in Minneapolis and other cities, where left-wing activists have clashed with federal agents over immigration enforcement. Higby continues dropping fresh screenshots and member lists, vowing more exposures in the “Signal Gate” saga.

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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) has repeatedly turned to the 1930s in search of potential analogs for those people and actions today that he finds disagreeable.

Walz smeared, for example, Holocaust survivor Jerry Wartski and the tens of thousands of other Americans who attended a campaign event for President Donald Trump in October 2024, comparing them to the Nazis who rallied at the location in February 1939.

‘Her story has nothing to do with the illegal immigration, fraud, and lawlessness plaguing Minnesota today.’

Walz claimed on May 17, 2025, that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — which was active during his former running mate’s tenure as vice president as well as during the Obama administration — was “Donald Trump’s modern-day Gestapo.”

In the wake of 37-year-old Alex Pretti’s fatal shooting by a federal immigration agent on Saturday, Walz once again went in search of a damning reference. This time, he likened Minnesota children whose streets are being cleared of violent criminal noncitizens to Jews in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands who were faced with systematized mass murder.

After further vilifying federal immigration agents and reiterating his demand that ICE leave the Gopher State, Walz said during a press conference on Sunday, “We have got children in Minnesota hiding in their houses, afraid to go outside. Many of us grew up reading that story of Anne Frank.”

“Somebody’s going to write that children’s story about Minnesota,” added Walz. “And there’s one person who can end this now.”

RELATED: ‘F**k off’ and ‘Get ICE the hell out of Minnesota’: Democrats rattle sabers after Bondi demands voter rolls

Photographer: Jack Califano/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Anne Frank was a Jewish German girl whose family attempted to hide from Nazi forces in the secret annex of an Amsterdam residence. After two years of hiding, the family was captured after the Sicherheitspolizei raided the location in concert with Dutch police. Frank was taken to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945, where she and her sister died in 1945. Her father, Otto, survived Auschwitz, then later saw to the publication of Anne Frank’s diary.

Critics have suggested Walz’s comparison is indefensible.

Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, the U.S. State Department’s special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism, tweeted, “Ignorance like this cheapens the horror of the Holocaust. Anne Frank was in Amsterdam legally and abided by Dutch law. She was hauled off to a death camp because of her race and religion. Her story has nothing to do with the illegal immigration, fraud, and lawlessness plaguing Minnesota today.”

“Our brave law enforcement should be commended, not tarred with this historically illiterate and antisemitic comparison,” added the rabbi.

Republican Rep. Randy Fine (Fla.) said that “comparing the removal of illegal immigrants to the Holocaust is antisemitic and repulsive.”

Shabbos Kestenbaum, a Jewish American activist and political commentator at PragerU, wrote, “One million Jewish children were killed during the Holocaust. Illegal immigrants are offered thousands of dollars to take a free flight home. Tim Walz is an evil retard.”

The White House’s rapid response account said that Walz is a “truly disturbed, unstable individual.”

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Crooks crashed a car through a jewelry store entrance in a brazen, broad-daylight smash-and-grab heist caught on surveillance and cellphone video Friday afternoon in Southern California.

The Anaheim Police Department said officers responded to Classic Jewelers on East Santa Ana Canyon Road around 2:30 p.m., KTLA-TV reported.

‘My life flashed before my eyes.’

Employees told police that multiple suspects intentionally rammed a dark-colored Nissan Rogue into the front of the business to gain entry and steal jewelry, the station said.

“Eight to 10 guys run in with masks, trash cans, and crowbars, hammers, and smash every showcase,” the store owner told KTTV-TV.

The owner added to KABC-TV that he told the crooks “‘I have a gun. Get out. I have a gun.”

Well, they allegedly took the gun, too.

“My gun was on the table. They grabbed my gun, and at that point I thought I was going to get shot,” the owner recalled to KTTV.

“My life flashed before my eyes,” he added to KTLA.

RELATED: Video: Masked smash-and-grab robbers don’t look so scary when jewelry store owner pulls his gun and opens fire

The store owner said the group got away with about $1 million in gold and jewelry, as well as his gun, KTLA noted.

“They took everything within a matter of a minute,” he recounted to KTTV. “This is our livelihood.’

The suspects then fled in two Dodge Charger sedans, police told KTLA, adding that the Nissan used to plow through the store’s entrance — which was stolen — was driven from the scene.

But one thing ultimately worked in the jewelry store’s favor: An employee recorded cellphone video of the escaping vehicles — and their license plates were on the clip.

Subsequently, cops were on the lookout and soon caught up to the cars.

Police told KTLA one of the cars was involved in a multi-vehicle collision, and all four occupants — the driver and three passengers — fled but were soon located and arrested.

Then an Anaheim Police Department air unit located what was believed to be the second suspect vehicle — and that car also was involved in a multi-vehicle crash, police told KTLA. Immediately two males believed to be involved in the jewelry store heist were arrested, and a handgun was recovered at the scene, police added to the station.

Police found trays loaded with stolen jewelry in one of the cars, KTTV said.

Two additional males were arrested hours later in the rear yards of separate residences, police added to KTLA.

RELATED: Cops make progress after mob of violent, hammer-wielding thugs pull off brazen smash-and-grab robbery in broad daylight

Police told KTLA a total of eight suspects — all of whom are under the age of 24 — were identified as:

Jose Andres Martinez-Colindres, 24, of InglewoodLeontrey Gipson, 23, of Los AngelesDeondre Jones, 23, of Los AngelesTylaind Brown, 20, of ComptonKhilen Toles, 20, of InglewoodKhamari Toles, 20, of InglewoodLatrell Mathews, 19, of Los Angeles

A 17-year-old male from Los Angeles also was among the arrestees, KTLA said.

The seven adult suspects were booked on suspicion of multiple felonies, pending review by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, police told KTLA, adding that the juvenile was released to a guardian pending further proceedings.

Several uninvolved motorists were hospitalized in the two vehicle crashes, KTLA reported, adding that their injuries were “non-life-threatening.”

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