What one report called “arguably the shortest of protests in recent memory” rocked the Sundance Film Festival for about 10 minutes on Sunday evening, as around 100 people gathered in Park City to voice their opposition to the ICE raids in Minnesota.

The diminutive demonstration echoed statements made by big-name festival attendees like Edward Norton and Olivia Wilde

‘Turn on your phone light for a minute or two.’

‘Melt’ down

Actress Natasha Lyonne posted a promotional flyer for the event, called “Sundancers Melt Ice,” which read, “Join us tonight to remember Alex Pretti and Renee Good” and “quietly register our collective protest.”

Pretti was recently shot and killed by federal agents during a violent scrum, while Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent as she hit him with her car.

“Turn on your phone light for a minute or two,” the flyer added. “Silent, respectful, together.”

RELATED: ICE unleashed: Agents can once again fend off agitators after court torpedoes Biden judge’s injunction

Chants encounter

The 10-minute event included protesters chanting “Love melts Ice! Love melts Ice!” according to Deadline, which noted that actor Elijah Wood (“Lord of the Rings”) turned out to offer his support.

“The folks who have been unlawfully gunned down in Minnesota — it’s awful,” Wood said.

“Here we are at this film festival that is about bringing people together; it’s about telling stories from all over the world. We’re not divided here; we’re coming together,” he continued.

RELATED: ‘You should f**king kill yourself’: DHS releases terrifying audio of anti-ICE agitator threatening Minnesota agent

Christina House/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Sign decline

The film festival is no stranger to progressive protests; in 2024, demonstrators flooded the streets of the small town to protest on behalf of Palestine, holding signs like “stop the genocide” and “end the occupation.”

“Ceasefire, now!” was chanted by the group, followed by “Free Palestine!”

In 2017, Sundance saw what is recognized as likely the largest protest to take place in Park City, when between 5,000 and 7,000 showed up on Main Street for a “Women’s March on Main,” the day after President Trump was inaugurated for his first term.

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Saudi Arabia’s world-renowned megaproject called the Line is seemingly making a U-turn.

In 2021, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced a futuristic city that was every globalist’s dream.

‘As a development that’s meant to span generations, Neom is advancing projects in line with strategic priorities.’

The city was to be “free of cars and streets,” with residents able to hop on high-speed trains to traverse the city in around 20 minutes. A press release boasted “hyper-connected AI-enabled communities powered by 100% clean energy” as well.

The gigantic, mirrored linear city was supposed to be up and running in significant capacity by 2030, but now it seems the project is being completely retrofitted for different needs.

The Financial Times reported that those briefed on Saudi Arabia’s new plans have stated that Prince Mohammed now envisions a “far smaller” project that has been scaled back in a considerable manner, with the Line likely become a high-tech data center.

A more “modest” project would still use existing infrastructure that is already built, but will be “a totally different concept” used in a “totally different manner,” the source said.

“Data centres need water cooling, and this is right on the coast, so it will have seawater cooling. So it will be a major centre for data centres.”

RELATED: Did American comedians SELL OUT for Saudi cash? The Riyadh hypocrisy exposed

Saudi Arabia reportedly hopes to establish itself as a “global hub for data and AI” under its Neom moniker, which is the Saudi group responsible for the project.

Neom told the Financial Times that it was “always looking at how to phase and prioritise our initiatives so that they align with national objectives and create long-term value.”

The statement continued, “As a development that’s meant to span generations, Neom is advancing projects in line with strategic priorities, market readiness, and sustainable economic impact.”

The Line will still attempt to meet hard deadlines such as the Expo international trade fair in 2030 and the FIFA World Cup in 2034.

RELATED: Akon’s African ‘Wakanda’ city gets crushed: ‘I take full responsibility’

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

According to YouTube channel MegaBuilds, the scope of the project was already being scaled down since its announcement; originally set for 170 kilometers long, it was downgraded to 2.4 kilometers, the channel said. At the same time, 9 million residents soon allegedly became 300,000.

However, original press stated a plan for 1 million residents, which was to create 380,000 “jobs of the future.”

“The Line currently consumes about 20% of global steel production,” MegaBuilds claimed, as the Saudis were attempting to build a marina that is twice the size of any in existence.

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Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, reportedly sent a message to employees saying that it was patriotic to call out government overreach, specifically centering on Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Altman’s internal message on Slack was met with approval by many of the employees, according to a report at the New York Times.

‘We are going to continue to try to figure out how to actually do the right thing as best as we can, engage with leaders and push for our values, and speak up clearly about it as needed.’

“I love the U.S. and its values of democracy and freedom and will be supportive of the country however I can; OpenAI will too,” Altman said, according to reports. “But part of loving the country is the American duty to push back against overreach. What’s happening with ICE is going too far.”

Altman went on to praise President Donald Trump.

“President Trump is a very strong leader, and I hope he will rise to this moment and unite the country,” the CEO continued. “I am encouraged by the last few hours of response and hope to see trust rebuilt with transparent investigations.”

The message did not mention the lethal shooting of anti-ICE agitator Alex Pretti on Saturday, but it was sent to employees after the controversial incident.

“As a company, we aim to stick to our convictions and not get blown around by changing fashions too much,” Altman added.

“We didn’t become super woke when that was popular, we didn’t start talking about masculine corporate energy when that was popular, and we are not going to make a lot of performative statements now about safety or politics or anything else,” he concluded. “But we are going to continue to try to figure out how to actually do the right thing as best as we can, engage with leaders and push for our values, and speak up clearly about it as needed.”

Blaze News reached out to Altman for comment.

RELATED: VIDEO: Leotarded liberals protest ICE facility with ’80s-themed aerobics class

The White House appeared to distance itself from some of the rhetoric being used by officials at the Department of Homeland Security about the Pretti shooting. Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino agreed to leave Minneapolis after the president said border czar Thomas Homan would be overseeing the operation in Minnesota.

Altman’s leadership at OpenAI has been a tumultuous ride that includes mass resignations, numerous lawsuits, and other allegations against the CEO.

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As the BLM-fueled chaos of 2020 appears to be repeating itself in 2026, the same demographic appears to be falling hardest for it: liberal white women.

And it only makes sense, as according to a Gallup poll graph, the partisan gap between men and women has almost doubled in the past 25 years — with women moving radically leftward, while men have stayed relatively the same.

BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey explains that the answer as to why this is happening is “not entirely simple.”

However, one reason is that women seek social cohesion, while men are more likely to form an identity outside of a group.

“We’ve all had those moments where we just want to be agreeable. Like, we feel compassion for this person. We want to feel polite. We don’t want to be at odds with them, especially when we’re in conversation,” she explains, using an example from her own life.

Stuckey recalls recently getting her hair done by a hairstylist who was very sweet. When the hairstylist began trying to discuss horoscopes with Stuckey — who doesn’t believe in horoscopes — Stuckey just nodded her head and didn’t say anything.

“You take that, like, one awkward scenario and you extrapolate that, or you make that bigger in how you live your life and make even big political decisions — you can see how that leads someone in the direction of following the cultural zeitgeist, which is progressivism,” Stuckey explains.

Though according to researchers in a study Stuckey reads, these traits “were naturally selected to yield better results in raising children.”

“So there is good reason why we like cooperation. These are not all bad things. These can help in being good moms,” Stuckey says.

“That is part of the psychology, I think, of what is going on here. And that is so like Satan, by the way, to manipulate women and to use really good things about ourselves and to use them as a hook for propaganda and to ask the age-old question, ‘Did God really say?’” she continues.

“It’s just that all of these good things about us make us more susceptible to lies,” she adds.

Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?

To enjoy more of Allie’s upbeat and in-depth coverage of culture, news, and theology from a Christian, conservative perspective, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

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The Department of Homeland Security highlighted several of Monday’s “worst of the worst” arrests in Minnesota.

As part of the DHS’ Operation Metro Surge, federal authorities have captured kidnappers, pedophiles, and other violent assailants, according to a press release obtained by Blaze News.

‘Our law enforcement officers are risking their lives to arrest these thugs — some RELEASED from Minnesota jails — and are saving countless American lives by getting these criminals out of our country.’

DHS reported last week that it had made 3,000 arrests over the last six weeks as part of the ongoing operation.

“The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) highlights more worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens arrested in Minnesota yesterday during Operation Metro Surge, including those convicted of kidnapping, child rape, assault on a law enforcement officer with a firearm, assault, and possession of fraudulent documents,” Tuesday’s release reads.

Among those arrested on Monday was Bee Yang, an illegal alien from Thailand. Yang was issued a final order of removal in 2015 after he was convicted of numerous crimes, including first-degree kidnapping, assault on a law enforcement officer with a firearm, robbery with a dangerous weapon, breaking and entering, felony larceny, and larceny of a motor vehicle.

RELATED: ‘You should f**king kill yourself’: DHS releases terrifying audio of anti-ICE agitator threatening Minnesota agent

Bee Yang, Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Federal agents arrested Wilson Johny Encalada Molina, an illegal alien from Ecuador. He was issued a final order of removal in 2023 after he was charged with third-degree rape of a child under 17 years old, malicious punishment of a child, and endangering the welfare of a child.

Wilson Johny Encalada Molina. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Ian Mwangi Irungu, from Kenya, was also nabbed by immigration agents. He was previously convicted of selling heroin and dangerous drugs.

Ian Mwangi Irungu. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Melvin Yobany Hernandez Espana, from Honduras, was previously convicted of assault.

Melvin Yobany Hernandez Espana. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Immigration agents captured Sergio Quintero Romero, an illegal alien from Mexico with a final order of removal from 2012. He was previously apprehended by law enforcement three times for illegally entering the U.S. Romero was also accused of attempting to defraud the immigration system by presenting a fraudulent lawful permanent resident card to an immigration official.

Sergio Quintero Romero. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Federal law enforcement officials also nabbed Oliverio Otoniel Francisco-Esteban, an illegal alien from Mexico. He was issued a final order of removal in 2015. DHS reported that Francisco-Esteban has been removed from the U.S. five times, and he was previously convicted of three counts of driving under the influence of liquor, possessing fraudulent immigration documents, illegal entry, and re-entry. Francisco-Esteban currently has an outstanding warrant in Ohio for failure to appear.

RELATED: ICE unleashed: Agents can once again fend off agitators after court torpedoes Biden judge’s injunction

Oliverio Otoniel Francisco-Esteban. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

“Just yesterday, DHS law enforcement arrested several repeat offenders including a criminal illegal alien convicted of kidnapping, robbery, felony larceny, and assault on a law enforcement officer with a firearm,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated in the Tuesday press release.

“Our law enforcement officers are risking their lives to arrest these thugs — some RELEASED from Minnesota jails — and are saving countless American lives by getting these criminals out of our country. 70% of all ICE arrests nationwide are of illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime in the U.S. Check out more of the worst of the worst we arrested in Minnesota at wow.dhs.gov/Minnesota,” McLaughlin added.

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An altercation involving U.S. Border Patrol led to one person in critical condition after getting shot in Southern Arizona, according to a spokesperson for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.

The shooting comes only three days after anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement agitator Alex Pretti was shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota, when he interfered with an operation while armed with a gun.

‘Patient care was transferred to a local medical helicopter.’

The unidentified person was shot near milepost 15 on West Arivaca Road in southern Pima County at about 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, according to the Santa Rita Fire District.

The circumstances of the shooting have not yet been released.

“Patient care was transferred to a local medical helicopter for rapid transport to a regional trauma center,” said a statement from the fire department. “The incident remains under active investigation by law enforcement agencies.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is assisting in the investigation.

PCSD said they were conducing a routine investigation into the use of force.

“Such requests are standard practice when a federal agency is involved in a shooting incident within Pima County and consistent with long-standing relationships built through time to promote transparency,” said the agency in a statement.

RELATED: More anti-ICE footage: ‘I am a liberal, leftist, pagan, lesbian, transgender woman, and witch!’

Democrats are threatening to force a partial government shutdown unless Republicans agree to separate funding for the Department of Homeland Security in a new bill that has been passed by the U.S. House of Representatives.

Arivaca is a rural community of fewer than 1,000 people about 10 miles away from the U.S.-Mexico border.

This is a developing story.

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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directed all state agencies on Tuesday to “immediately freeze” new H-1B visa petitions, citing “recent reports of abuse in the federal H-1B visa program” and the “federal government’s ongoing review of that program to ensure American jobs are going to American workers.”

BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales, who exposed a rash of possible H-1B visa fraud in the Lone Star State earlier this month, welcomed the governor’s directive.

‘Bad actors have exploited this program by failing to make good-faith efforts to recruit qualified US workers before seeking to use foreign labor.’

Gonzales told Blaze News, “I am thrilled to hear our work exposing the abuse of the H-1B system is being taken seriously, and I commend Governor Abbott for taking necessary steps to protect American workers in the state of Texas from having their jobs stolen from them.”

“I hope this is the first of many statewide actions that course correct on this issue,” Gonzales added.

RELATED: ‘A direct path to Citizenship’: Trump announces official launch of Trump Gold Card visa program

At the outset of her investigation, Gonzales scrutinized a pair of companies that on paper appear to have relied in recent years on scores of foreign workers: 3Bees Technologies Inc. and Qubitz Tech Systems.

3Bees Technologies Inc. — whose agent, director, and president is Vamsi Krishna Vajinapally — had 27 H-1B beneficiaries approved in 2022 and 19 visa petitions apparently denied the following year. Qubitz Tech Systems had 12 H-1B beneficiaries approved last year.

RELATED: America should eliminate the H-1B and replace it with THIS

BlazeTV

Gonzales’ visits to the supposed offices of both companies — a vacant construction site in one case and a vacant, prison cell-size room with a single chair in the other — proved eye-opening, prompting her and others to question whether the companies and their visa sponsorships were above-board.

“Once you start scraping data from H-1B databases, you start seeing immediately all of these patterns,” Gonzales said in her damning report. “The biggest question I have right now is: If we were able to find this with just a little bit of Google-searching and follow-up, why hasn’t [U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services] done anything to combat this?”

When pressed for comment, Abbott’s office referred Blaze News to his directive, which states:

Evidence suggests that bad actors have exploited this program by failing to make good-faith efforts to recruit qualified U.S. workers before seeking to use foreign labor. In the most egregious schemes, employers have even fired American workers and replaced them with H-1B employees, often at lower wages. Rather than serving its intended purpose of attracting the best and brightest individuals from around the world to our nation to fill truly specialized and unmet labor needs, the program has too often been used to fill jobs that otherwise could — and should — have been filled by Texans.

Per the governor’s directive, state agencies are prohibited from initiating or filing any new petition to sponsor a non-immigrant worker under the federal H-1B visa program unless given express permission by the Texas Workforce Commission.

The governor has also given public universities and various state agencies until March 27 to provide an account of how many H-1B visa holders they are currently sponsoring; the countries of origin of their sponsored H-1B visa holders; the expected expiration date for each sponsored visa; and the efforts taken to ensure that Texan candidates were afforded a reasonable opportunity to apply for each position filled by an H-1B visa holder.

“State government must lead by example and ensure that employment opportunities — particularly those funded with taxpayer dollars — are filled by Texans first,” Abbott wrote in his directive.

The H-1B visa program enables U.S.-based employers to temporarily hire foreign workers into specialized positions that American citizens supposedly can’t do. H-1B specialty occupation workers are generally admitted for a period of up to three years, which can in most cases be extended for another three years.

While Republicans are taking action, lawmakers from both parties have in recent years expressed concerns about H-1B visa fraud and abuse, proposing amendments to the Immigration and Nationality Act that would reform or even abolish the program.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ H-1B Employer Data Hub indicates that over 41,500 H-1B visa beneficiaries were approved for fiscal year 2025 in Texas. Oracle America Inc., Tesla Inc., AT&T Services Inc., Hewlett Packard, American Airlines, Texas A&M’s flagship campus, and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center were among the top sponsors.

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​H-1b, Visa, Immigration, Immigrant, Wage suppression, Wage, Money, Texas, Greg abbott, Sara gonzales, Fraud, Visa fraud, Politics