A task force operation in Tennessee has led to 101 missing children cases being cleared, according to the U.S. Marshals, who also said more than 1,000 warrants had been cleared.

The Memphis Safe Task Force has been in operation for only several weeks, but the operation has led to more than 2,300 arrests and the seizure of over 389 firearms.

‘While investigative work is tedious, locating missing and endangered children is one of the things we are most proud of.’

The National Guard is a part of 31 state and federal agencies contributing to the Memphis Safe State Task Force.

“We are happy that we have been able to use our fugitive hunting skills to assist local and state authorities with finding these missing children,” said U.S. Marshals spokesperson Emily Williams. “What a testament to our partnerships to be able to work these cases together. While investigative work is tedious, locating missing and endangered children is one of the things we are most proud of.”

One case involved a 15-year-old who had been reported as a runaway on Sept. 1 and had allegedly indicated suicidal feelings. A tipster said that he had witnessed the boy living in a minivan with his father on his property in Hawaii. The property owner tried to kick them out of the location, but the man refused.

Officials said the father had a long criminal history that included domestic violence, abuse, drugs, battery, and burglary, both in California as well as Hawaii. On Nov. 6, the boy was recovered by officials and will be returned to Tennessee.

The dramatic increase in arrests has led to a shortage of space at the Shelby County Jail, according to Sheriff Floyd Bonner.

“When we were notified that the surge was going to occur, we started talking to the national marshals services, telling them that we weren’t prepared for this, but we couldn’t stop it, and we couldn’t delay it, they said it was going to happen,” said Bonner to WREG-TV. “We’ve been scrambling for a month now trying to get contracts signed and going back and forth with attorneys.”

RELATED: Texas teens find four abandoned children under 4 years old. Police said they had been alone for up to 2 days.

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office also confirmed that three inmates had died separately at the jail in just over a week’s time.

Other organizations involved in the task force included the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, Health and Human Services, and the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency.

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FBI Director Kash Patel traveled to Beijing last week to finalize a deal with China to end the fentanyl production pipeline.

‘The Chinese government agreed on a plan to stop fentanyl precursors.’

Patel joined White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday in the briefing room to share the results of that visit.

Patel credited the accomplishment to Trump’s “historic engagement with [Chinese] President Xi,” referring to the leaders’ meeting in October.

Patel reported that the FBI has seized 1,900 kilograms of fentanyl — enough to kill 127 million — so far this year, noting that it was a 31% increase compared to the same time frame last year.

“Fentanyl precursors are what makes up fentanyl. While we, the inner agency, the Department of Justice, have been fighting hard to seize and stop drug traffickers, we must attack fentanyl precursors — the ingredients necessary to make this lethal drug,” Patel stated.

RELATED: Trump reveals what’s at stake if Supreme Court rules against his tariffs: ‘Devastating’

Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

He noted that he is the first FBI director to travel to China in over a decade.

“The Chinese government agreed on a plan to stop fentanyl precursors,” Patel said.

“The People’s Republic of China has fully designated and listed all 13 precursors utilized to make fentanyl. Furthermore, they have agreed to control seven chemical subsidiaries that are also utilized to produce this lethal drug.”

“Effective immediately, essentially, President Trump has shut off the pipeline that creates fentanyl,” he continued.

“This historic achievement has saved tens of thousands of lives.”

RELATED: Trump scores win for American farmers as China commits to ‘massive’ soybean purchases

Photo by DON EMMERT/AFP via Getty Images

China’s Commerce Ministry announced early this week that it would adjust requirements for some precursor chemicals, requiring a license to export them to the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Most fentanyl that enters the U.S. is from Mexico, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office. The office reported in September that fentanyl continues to be the leading cause of overdose deaths in the country.

— (@)

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California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s presidential hopes hit another stumbling block after his former chief of staff was arrested for alleged political corruption Wednesday.

Dana Williamson, 53, was indicted by a federal grand jury for nearly two dozen counts, and she was arrested, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in California.

A statement from a spokesperson for Newsom suggested that President Donald Trump was abusing the legal process to punish his political opponents.

Prosecutors allege that Williamson illegally funneled approximately $225,000 from a dormant political campaign to various business entities for an associate’s personal use between Feb. 2022 and Sept. 2024.

Williamson allegedly “conspired with a business associate to create false, backdated contracts” after she was subpoenaed over Paycheck Protection Program loans to her business.

She also is accused of illegally reporting personal expenditures as business deductions on falsified tax forms. The more than $1 million in expenditures included “private jet travel, luxury hotel stays, home furnishings, and designer handbags,” according to the release.

A statement from a spokesperson for Newsom suggested that President Donald Trump was abusing the legal process to punish his political opponents.

“Ms. Williamson no longer serves in this administration. While we are still learning details of the allegations, the governor expects all public servants to uphold the highest standards of integrity,” read the statement. “At a time when the president is openly calling for his attorney general to investigate his political enemies, it is especially important to honor the American principle of being innocent until proven guilty in a court of law by a jury of one’s peers.”

However, the press release indicated that the investigation began under the Biden administration, undermining Newsom’s suggestion.

RELATED: Gavin Newsom lashes out at Joe Rogan for accusing him of ruining California: ‘He did horrible s**t!’

“This is a crucial step in an ongoing political corruption investigation that began more than three years ago,” said U.S. Attorney Eric Grant. “As it always has, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to protect the people of California from political corruption.”

If convicted, Williamson faces decades in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.

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Brandon Johnson, Chicago’s Democratic mayor whose disapproval rating is over 60%, joined Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner and other American leftists in complaining to foreign bureaucrats on Friday about the Trump administration’s faithful enforcement of federal immigration law.

After detailing some of the ways that his “sanctuary city” has worked to undermine federal law enforcement initiatives, Johnson stressed to members of the United Nations Human Rights Council, “We cannot do this alone.”

The ‘United Nations is not going to tell President Trump what to do.’

“That is why I call on this council to hold the federal government of the United States to the same standards of accountability you apply elsewhere in the world,” said Johnson, whose city has seen at least 368 homicides already this year. “No country should be above international law. Human rights are universal or they are meaningless.”

When asked about Johnson’s request that foreigners meddle in American politics, White House border czar Tom Homan told “The Big Weekend Show” that it “just proves he’s not that smart.”

RELATED: Trump celebrates historic crime drop in hostile sanctuary city after federal ‘blitz’: DHS

Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images

“Asking the United Nations to, you know, interfere with ICE enforcing U.S. law is like asking an arsonist how to stop a fire,” said Homan. “The [International Organization for Migration], part of the U.N., helped fund the mass migration during the Biden administration’s four years, spending millions upon millions of dollars helping that … international migration coming to the United States.”

Homan underscored that the “United Nations is not going to tell President Trump what to do. President Trump was put into office on the promise of making this country safe again, on the promise of having the historic deportation operation — that’s exactly what America’s getting.”

‘We live with the consequences of that moral failure every day.’

The border czar noted that in addition to making Americans safer by giving the boot to criminal noncitizens and securing the border, the Trump administration’s clear messaging to would-be invaders that they’re not welcome has also saved the lives of thousands of migrants who might have joined the multitudes who previously died trying to reach America.

In their campaign to protect the people of Chicago from the illegal aliens Johnson is apparently keen to harbor, ICE has caught numerous dangerous criminal noncitizens.

For instance, two days before Johnson’s appeal to the U.N., ICE officers captured Alan Eduardo Garcia, an illegal alien from Mexico whose rap sheet includes arrests and convictions for felony strangulation, domestic battery, disorderly conduct, battery causing bodily injury, aggravated battery against a handicapped or pregnant woman, and unlawful use of a firearm, the agency claimed.

Among the other apparently dangerous foreigners ICE has captured in recent weeks was an illegal alien from Somalia who has convictions for multiple domestic assaults, rape, and multiple DUIs; a convicted murderer from Mexico; and multiple members of the terrorist gang Tren de Aragua.

Johnson suggested that the Trump administration’s refusal to let the U.N. police its actions amounts to a “moral failure,” adding that “we live with the consequences of that moral failure every day.”

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Death chants, celebrations of murder, aggressive protests, and violent demonstrations are mostly happening on one side of the political aisle. The Democrat Party is supposed to be all about tolerance, love, and inclusivity, so why are lefties so hostile? Why do they cheer when political opponents are murdered in cold blood? Why do they scream for the death of their own country while championing the causes of terrorists overseas? Why do they physically attack people for wearing MAGA hats or selling Charlie Kirk merchandise on the street?

In other words: Where did their humanity go?

This was a topic Stu Burguiere, BlazeTV host of “Stu Does America,” dove into with conservative firebrand Megyn Kelly on a recent joint episode.

The increase in left-wing violence, while certainly a multifaceted issue, is caused in part by the digital age, Stu speculates. “Young people in the last 20 years — their time socializing with other human beings is down between 50% and 70%” thanks to things like the iPhone and social media, he says.

Given that today “pet owners spend more time actively engaged with their cats than they do other human beings,” is it any wonder their sense of humanity has dwindled? “There’s a disconnect that’s brewing between younger people and just the people around them,” says Stu. “They don’t see them as humans. They don’t have any respect for them at all.”

Never was this clearer than when countless left-wingers across the country celebrated the murder of Charlie Kirk. Stu laments the fact that feeling sadness for the brutal death of a man whose only crime was to share his opinions in the public square is still too high a bar for the left to clear.

Even feeling sadness for Charlie’s family — his widow, Erika, and their two young children — is too high a bar for some on the left. “There’s a baby boy who’s still sleeping in a crib, there’s a toddler girl who have no understanding that they will never know their father. And there’s a mother who’s trying to raise them,” says Megyn.

And yet numerous left-wing attacks have been aimed directly at Erika and her children. They’ve been mocked; their grief has been publicly celebrated; gruesome re-enactments of Charlie’s murder have circulated online.

Megyn says that while there’s plenty of people she loathes, especially in left-wing media, she would “never wish for them to get hurt.” “God forbid they ever got attacked, I would never celebrate it. I would shed tears for them,” she says.

But young progressives today seem incapable of feeling any emotion for people they disagree with. Are the screens they live behind numbing their humanity?

While the digital age has undoubtedly stunted social and emotional development, conservatives are just as embedded in this technological landscape, but their civility has largely remained more intact than that of their liberal counterparts.

Stu theorizes that the digital age has had more of a negative impact on the left because progressives often prescribe to collectivism — the belief that the group (society, community, race, class, etc.) is more important than the individual, and that people should be judged, valued, or treated primarily based on their membership in that group rather than their personal actions, character, or choices.

Collectivism is the foundation on which DEI, affirmative action, and race/gender quotas are built. It’s a mentality that inevitably leads to bigotry as human beings are reduced to group identity. This ideology, says Stu, exacerbates the negative effects of social isolation caused by our technologies.

However, the loss of faith is another important factor. “In general, right-wing families are connected with faith,” says Megyn.

Progressives, in contrast, are far more likely to be secular, with those who identify as very liberal being the most likely to reject faith altogether. That means they don’t prescribe to a set of moral ideals set by a higher power and therefore can more easily justify things like violence, hatred, and revenge.

But that doesn’t mean lefties aren’t religious at their core. “Wokeism,” which Megyn calls a “false god,” has become the religion of the left. All the fervency, enthusiasm, and commitment that propels people of faith is still there; it’s just channeled in directions that are “extremely damaging.”

To hear more of Stu and Megyn’s conversation, watch the episode above.

Want more from Stu?

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​Stu does america, Stu burguiere, Megyn kelly, Leftwing violence, Digital age, Smartphones, Collectivism, Loss of faith, Blazetv, Blaze media, Charlie kirk 

After more than two centuries, the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia has put in its final two cents — sort of.

On Wednesday, at an event that included Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Treasurer Brandon Beach, the mint stamped the last two U.S. pennies that will ever be made after production costs and the rise in digital financial transactions made the one-cent coins wasteful and impractical.

‘Let’s rip the waste out of our great nation[‘]s budget, even if it’s a penny at a time.’

Those lucky two pennies have been marked with what USA Today described as a “special omega mark” and will not enter into circulation.

The Philadelphia Mint first began stamping pennies in 1793, a year after Congress passed the Coinage Act. According to the New York Post, at the time, items that could be purchased for a penny included a biscuit, a candle, a piece of candy, and of course, a person’s thoughts.

RELATED: Bitcoin and the return of honest money

Matthew Staver/Bloomberg

However, these days, the one-cent coins cost nearly four cents to make, and the decision to discontinue stamping them is expected to save the Treasury Department $56 million in materials annually.

“Ongoing increases in production costs and the evolution in consumer habits and technology have made its production financially untenable,” a statement from the department said, according to USA Today.

The department further noted that the penny “remains legal tender and will retain its value indefinitely.” Reports estimate that at least 250 billion pennies are currently in circulation.

President Donald Trump has railed against ongoing production of the penny for months, calling for it to end. “For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful!” he posted on Truth Social back in February.

“I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies. Let’s rip the waste out of our great nation[‘]s budget, even if it’s a penny at a time.”

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The House Oversight Committee recently received over 23,000 documents from the Epstein estate in response to a subpoena. Democrats on the committee published a handful of the dead sex offender’s emails on Wednesday that referenced the president, suggesting the documents “raise serious questions about Donald Trump and his knowledge of Epstein’s horrific crimes.”

Keen observers noticed, however, that the documents bore signs of strategic alterations that apparently had been made, allowing Democrats to attempt to conceal critical context and tarnish President Donald Trump.

One of the documents shared by Oversight Democrats shows an email exchange dated April 2, 2011, between sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and child sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, where Epstein noted, “I want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is trump.”

“[VICTIM] spent hours at my house with him ,, he has never once been mentioned,” added Epstein.

Maxwell responded, “I have been thinking about that …”

— (@)

Oversight Committee Republicans were quick to point out that the victim’s name was not redacted in the documents that were originally provided to the committee at large.

“It’s because this victim, Virginia Giuffre, publicly said that she never witnessed wrongdoing by President Trump,” noted the committee Republicans. “Democrats are trying to create a fake narrative to slander President Trump. Shame on them.”

RELATED: Accountability or bust: Trump’s second term test

Virginia Roberts Giuffre, with a photo of herself as a teen. Emily Michot/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images.

Giuffre, who reportedly died by suicide in April a month after being injured in a car crash involving a school bus, claimed in a 2016 deposition that Maxwell trafficked her after recruiting her while she was working as a spa attendant at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.

Giuffre made it abundantly clear that while Trump was a friend of Epstein, “he didn’t partake in any sex with us” and “never flirted with me.” She also wrote in her memoir that when she met him in 2000, “Trump couldn’t have been friendlier.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to Blaze News, “The Democrats selectively leaked emails to the liberal media to create a fake narrative to smear President Trump. The ‘unnamed victim’ referenced in these emails is the late Virginia Giuffre, who repeatedly said President Trump was not involved in any wrongdoing whatsoever and ‘couldn’t have been friendlier’ to her in their limited interactions.”

Leavitt added, “The fact remains that President Trump kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his club decades ago for being a creep to his female employees, including Giuffre. These stories are nothing more than bad-faith efforts to distract from President Trump’s historic accomplishments, and any American with common sense sees right through this hoax and clear distraction from the government opening back up again.”

The other emails shared by the Oversight Democrats are between Epstein and author Michael Wolff, a fanatical critic of Trump whose works the White House emphasized “are riddled with mistakes and inaccuracies.”

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, did not respond to Blaze News’ request for comment.

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​Virginia giuffre, Jeffery epstein, Jeffrey epstein, Epstein, Ghislaine maxwell, Pedophile, Elite, Cult, Sex offender, Trafficker, Mar-a-lago, Donald trump, Politics 

An Illinois middle school teacher has been accused of sexually assaulting a student after her neighbors noticed something suspicious about her house and tipped off police, according to authorities.

Jessica Bergmann — a 34-year-old teacher at Washington Middle School in Aurora — was arrested on Friday without incident. Bergmann was charged with felony criminal sexual assault by a person in a position of authority and two felony counts for aggravated criminal sexual abuse, the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office said in a Saturday statement.

‘Cases involving alleged abuse by a teacher strike at the core of community trust.’

Bergmann was released from custody after her initial court appearance, but she was ordered to have no contact with anyone under the age of 18 years old, the attorney’s office said.

The state’s attorney’s office said the Wheaton Police Department began an investigation after receiving leads about “suspicious incidents involving a minor male and an adult female.”

The Daily Herald said it obtained court documents indicating that the Wheaton Police Department launched an investigation in October after concerned neighbors tipped off law enforcement that a young male made frequent visits to Bergmann’s home.

The state’s attorney’s office said in the press release that Bergmann first met the alleged victim when he was a student at Washington Middle School. Bergmann — a math teacher at the school — also was a coach on a school soccer team, of which the boy was a member, according to prosecutors.

The attorney’s office noted that the student graduated from middle school, but Bergmann and the boy began “communicating via text messages and phone calls” when he was a sophomore in high school.

DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin and Wheaton Police Department Chief P.J. Youker accused Bergmann of having an “inappropriate sexual relationship with a student.”

The DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office stated:

It is alleged that at some point in time, the relationship between the two turned sexual. It is further alleged that the relationship progressed further and that the victim would frequently go to Bergmann’s home, occasionally staying overnight, where the two would engage in sexual intercourse.

RELATED: Shocking texts allegedly reveal sinister plan by teacher and her boyfriend to groom, sex traffic her student

Berlin declared, “The profound abuse of trust and authority allegedly displayed by Ms. Bergmann is extremely disturbing and will be met with the full force of the law.”

Berlin also said in his statement:

Teachers are entrusted with our students’ well-being. They are given the awesome responsibility to guide and protect our students, not to harm or exploit them. A teacher who takes advantage of a student, as alleged in this case, is not only breaking the law, but they are also breaking the trust placed in them by the community, the school, and the victim’s family.

Chief Youker said of the alleged sexual abuse allegations:

Cases involving alleged abuse by a teacher strike at the core of community trust. This behavior is unacceptable, and the Wheaton Police Department is dedicated to fully investigating any reports involving this allegation, to fully ensure the safety of our community and our children.

The DuPage County Children’s Advocacy Center assisted in the investigation, according to authorities.

The Daily Herald noted that the student is now 17 years old.

At the time of publication, Bergmann was not listed on the employee directory for West Aurora School District 129.

Washington Middle School Principal Marchel Rogers and West Aurora School District 129 Superintendent Michael Smith did not immediately respond to Blaze News‘ request for comment.

Bergmann is scheduled to appear in court Dec. 1 in front of Judge Margaret O’Connell.

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​Teacher arrested, Teacher student sex scandal, Teacher sex scandal, Bad teacher, Jessica bergmann, Jessica bergmann teacher, Child sex crimes, Child sexual assault, Crime, Illinois 

Archbishop Paul S. Coakley is not in favor of giving politicians preferential treatment.

Coakley, archbishop of Oklahoma City, was elected as the next president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in a secret ballot on Tuesday and will serve a three-year term as president.

‘I think in many cases it becomes the right decision and the only choice.’

Coakley has set a strong precedent for supporting the denial of communion to certain politicians that dates back more than a decade.

Most recently, in 2022, Coakley spoke in support of Archbishop Salvatore Joseph Cordileone of San Francisco. As reported by Life News, Cordileone decided to withhold communion from Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) at the time after she backed the Democrats as they blocked a vote on a bill to stop infanticide at least 80 times.

As Pelosi’s district encompasses San Francisco, Cordileone informed Pelosi she would be denied communion following her repeated dismissal of the archbishop, who attempted to speak with her about supporting “grave evil.”

Coakley supported the decision, saying, “I applaud the courage of Archbishop Cordileone and his leadership in taking this difficult step. Let us continue to pray for Abp. Cordileone, priests of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, Speaker Pelosi, for the protection of the unborn, and for the conversion of hearts and minds.”

The new USCCB president has remained consistent, and the proof is showcased in an interview he gave in 2014.

RELATED: They think ‘Christian AI’ will hasten Christ’s second coming — and now they’re building it

— (@)

After Coakley said that many Catholic politicians have been at the forefront of “fostering so-called abortion rights,” he was asked about denying them communion due to the “severity” of their support for abortion.

Coakley replied, “I think one has to determine yet at what point it can be determined that they have come to that state of obstinate refusal to desist from that condition of manifest, grave sin.”

He told Life Site News, “I think we have an obligation as bishops, as pastors, to try to work with them to bring them to a change of heart and refusing them communion would be, not the first, but more than likely, the last stage in a serious [sic] of steps.”

The outlet then clarified, asking if it was something he would rule out or not.

“Oh, absolutely not,” Coakley reiterated. “I think it is something that Canon Law sanctions and that I think many bishops find themselves with no other choice but to make that decision. I think in many cases it becomes the right decision and the only choice.”

RELATED: Protestant pastor says polygamy is biblical: ‘He divinely ordained it’

VATICAN – 2022/06/29: US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi (R), with her husband, Paul Pelosi (C), attend a Holy Mass for the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul lead by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica. (Photo by Stefano Costantino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Upon accepting his new role, Coakley wrote a statement on X about being “put out into deep waters” in his new position.

“Once again, the Lord is inviting me,” he wrote. “Please pray that I may be a faithful steward and a wise servant of unity and communion with our Holy Father, Pope Leo, and with my brother bishops.”

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Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom tried to criticize the rise in energy costs under the Trump administration — and then was reminded that his state pays the highest costs for power.

In a social media post published Tuesday, the liberal governor tried to blame rising energy prices on President Donald Trump’s global warming skepticism. The governor attended the COP30 climate change conference in Brazil and blasted the administration’s policies.

‘Gavin Newsom and the Democrats have NO credibility on the affordability issue.’

“Utility costs have risen 11% in the last year as Trump has promoted fossil fuels and curbed investment in solar and wind power. Climate change is an affordability issue,” posted the X account for Newsom’s press office.

Critics quickly reminded Newsom that California has little room to criticize national energy prices.

“Electricity cost have risen 64% since 2020 as Newsom has promoted ‘green’ energy and chased away investment in cheap, reliable power. Gavin Newsom and the Democrats have NO credibility on the affordability issue,” replied Corey Uhden, a regional development officer of the California GOP.

“Gavin Newsom is in Brazil touting his failed energy agenda — the same one that’s left Californians paying some of the highest gas and electricity prices in the nation,” replied Rep. Vince Fong (R-Calif.). “After harming our state’s domestic energy production, California now relies on foreign oil — and imports from Brazil have increased to 20% of our imported supply.”

“Gavin Newsom is probably the last person on the planet who should talk about energy affordability. Under his failed leadership California has the highest electricity rates in the lower 48 [and the] highest gas prices in the country,” replied Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.).

The White House piled on through a statement from a spokesperson.

“Governor Newscum flew all the way to Brazil to tout the Green New Scam, while the people of California are paying some of the highest energy prices in the county. Embarrassing!” said Taylor Rogers. “If Gavin News[o]m’s support for the climate agenda was sincere, he would not be attending a climate summit that required chopping down thousands of acres of protected Amazon rainforest for a special purpose highway. It’s time for Newscum and other countries to drop the climate facade!”

RELATED: Gavin Newsom lashes out at Joe Rogan for accusing him of ruining California: ‘He did horrible s**t!’

Newsom seems to be trying to position himself for the presidential nomination in 2028 by criticizing Trump. When the president won his second election, Newsom declared California the leader of anti-Trump state resistance.

Aside from the cost of energy, California has also been lambasted by critics for mismanagement of the energy grid that has led to deadly and damaging forest fires.

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