Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts put out the call for interns but added a list of racial and gender requirements that made many people scoff.

The 80-year-old has been in Congress since 1976 and is running for re-election against Republican John Deaton, a U.S. Marine veteran and attorney.

‘Why does a person need to disclose to you who they have sex with before you’ll hire them?’

“I’m hiring motivated and eager interns for the Spring 2027 semester in my Boston office. BIPOC, LGBTQ+, working class, veterans, and other underrepresented candidates with Massachusetts ties are encouraged to apply,” Markey wrote on social media.

“BIPOC” is an acronym for black, indigenous, and people of color.

Critics of Markey accused him of discrimination, and some responded with mockery.

“Blatant discrimination,” conservative commentator Riley Gaines replied.

“Why does a person need to disclose to you who they have sex with before you’ll hire them?” another critic asked.

“Funny way of saying that you’re proudly discriminating against people from other backgrounds attempting to work as interns for you. Sounds like something for @CivilRights to investigate,” another detractor said.

“Are you just openly announcing biased hiring practices? Wild,” another response reads.

“I am a STRAIGHT, WHITE, REPUBLICAN, over-40 MALE … my application will be in your office within the week. If you refuse me, I will sue you into oblivion,” another critic said.

RELATED: Democratic senator calls for new laws to ‘promote algorithmic justice’ over the ‘dangerous’ influence of Elon Musk and other billionaires

Markey is known as a progressive politician, and one of his campaign promises is to support passing a transgender “bill of rights.” He also pushed the Green New Deal alongside democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.

He has said that if he’s re-elected to another term, it would be his last in the Senate. He will be 86 years old at the end of that term.

Markey is far ahead of Deaton, according to the Blaze News Poll Watch below:

pollwatch.theblaze.com

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​Bipoc, Ed markey, Lgbtq, Massachusetts, Politics 

American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson went off on social media after claiming she was snubbed by a Brooklyn vintage shop.

But after the singer openly complained that an employee treated her as if she couldn’t afford what she wanted, the store offered a very different explanation: The item she wanted wasn’t for sale.

“Just drove all the way to Brooklyn to check out this store I thought looked really rad and had a few things in mind to buy and literally was looked at as if I couldn’t afford it and was told he could find something comparable for me,” she wrote.

“Wow, dude. You’re an idiot and just lost a huge sale. But y’all should go check out Art of Play in Brooklyn if you enjoy being treated like Julia Roberts’ character in Pretty Woman,” she added.

“She did the diva thing,” Alex Stein tells BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales.

“Give me a break. You’re going to thrift stores. Nobody treats you nice at these expensive thrift stores,” he adds.

The store responded to Clarkson’s claim, writing in a statement that Clarkson had “inquired about buying ‘Molly,’ a one-of-a-kind singing and dancing bird automaton who plays an important role in the magic shows” hosted at the store.

“Molly is permanently attached to the wall and isn’t for sale,” the store added.

“There should be a rule,” Stein comments. “If you are a multimillionaire, or even a millionaire, you can only complain about airline travel on social media. That’s my one rule because people are always empathetic to that.”

“Every single step that Kelly Clarkson made in this transgression was bad,” Stein says. “Every step was a left-footed step.”

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​Alex stein, Brooklyn vintage shop, Kelly clarkson, Sara gonzales, Blazetv show 

The Vatican said Tuesday that Pope Leo XIV was diagnosed with lung cancer after surgery to remove a lung nodule.

The Holy See Press Office released a statement from Dr. Luigi Carbone and Professor Stefano Margaritora at Agostino Gemelli University Hospital in Rome, Italy.

‘As he is admitted to the hospital, we accompany him with our prayers. … We are also deeply grateful for his teaching, which urges us to place the dignity of every person at the center.’

“As planned, the Holy Father underwent thoracic surgery. To ensure a radical resection, the lower lobe of his right lung was removed using a video-assisted technique,” the doctors said.

“An intraoperative histological examination confirmed the diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma, as suspected from the preoperative examinations. … The operation was successful, and there were no complications,” they added.

The operation lasted about 90 minutes, and the 71-year-old pope awoke normally afterward, the doctors said. He was returned to his 10th-floor hospital room.

Holy See Press Office Director Matteo Bruni said Monday that the pope was expected to stay in the hospital for a week.

“As he is admitted to the hospital, we accompany him with our prayers, mindful of the close bond between our university and the Agostino Gemelli University Hospital Foundation,” said Catholic University of the Sacred Heart Rector Elena Beccalli to Vatican News.

“We are also deeply grateful for his teaching, which urges us to place the dignity of every person at the center and to build dialogue and peace,” she added.

The removed tissue will be examined in the days after the operation, according to Vatican News.

Bishop John Dolan of the Diocese of Phoenix, Arizona, released a video asking for prayers for the pope.

“We ask that you pray for him, though, and entrust him to our blessed mother, to, of course, Jesus her son, and we ask also that St. Joseph, who is the patron saint of the church, will bless our holy father, that he will continue to serve the church worldwide,” he said.

“He has been a true blessing, and we ask that the Lord will bless him as he journeys forth,” Dolan added.

RELATED: Pope Leo appoints bishops who defended DEI and criticized immigration enforcement

“This is a moment to unite in prayer for the Holy Father, asking Our Lord to grant him healing, strength and a full recovery. Our Lady, Health of the Sick, pray for him,” Catholic commentator Mark Lambert said.

Pope Leo XIV is the first American pope in the history of the Catholic church and was selected by the conclave of cardinals in March 2025. Although he was born in Chicago, Illinois, he spent much of his time in Peru.

He was scheduled to visit Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru in November, but it is unclear whether the diagnosis will change those plans.

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​Pope leo xiv, Vatican, Catholic church, Cancer, Politics 

President Donald Trump approved of Katie Zacharia’s first media briefing on Tuesday as the newest White House press secretary.

The president told reporters that Zacharia did a good job as he left the White House to go campaign for Republican candidates in Alaska.

‘I’m looking forward to working with each of you as well, especially as we are in the middle of the midterm blitz, with energy and excitement never before seen in the history of midterms.’

The 42-year-old mother of four children thanked the president in her opening comments before the press.

“Good morning. I am so honored to work for President Trump and the American people as the new White House press secretary,” Zacharia said.

“I want to thank President Trump for his trust that he has placed in me. I have wanted to work for him for a very long time,” she added.

“I’m looking forward to working with each of you as well, especially as we are in the middle of the midterm blitz, with energy and excitement never before seen in the history of midterms, thanks to President Trump,” she said.

Zacharia’s first media briefing lasted only 14 minutes, but she made news by announcing that Kimberly Guilfoyle had been asked to resign as the U.S. ambassador to Greece after allegations of impropriety began swirling last week.

“We have asked Ambassador Guilfoyle to resign,” Zacharia said. “She has been a wonderful asset to the team, and we wish her well.”

Guilfoyle announced on her social media account that she would resign and denied accusations that she had abused her office for personal gain.

“I have dedicated my professional life to fighting for justice, standing up for what is right, and defending the values that make America exceptional,” Guilfoyle wrote. “I will not allow false accusations to define my decades of public service.”

A reporter asked the president to grade Zacharia’s performance afterward.

“I thought she did excellent,” he said. “She did very good.”

RELATED: Marco Rubio takes on press secretary role — and gives Iran one choice to avoid total economic collapse

Trump enthusiastically endorsed Zacharia to follow Karoline Leavitt, who has since signed on to be a Fox News contributor.

“She has an unblemished record of support, and has been a loyal and brilliant supporter, right from the beginning,” the president wrote of Zacharia on Friday. “She is, likewise, a devoted fan and member of MAGA!”

Zacharia is the seventh woman in a row to head the White House press secretary office.

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​Katie zacharia, Press secretary, White house, Politics, Donald trump, Karoline leavitt 

Young Americans might be trending straighter these days, but recent polling indicates that some of their minds are still twisted.

According to the Yale University-based Buckley Institute’s 2026 National Undergraduate Study, undergraduate students — self-identified liberals in particular — are increasingly a censorious, thin-skinned bunch who not only entertain anti-American views but are warming up to socialism.

‘The 14-point spread in favor of socialism is the largest in the five years the question has been asked.’

Pollsters with Inquire LLC found in their survey of over 800 students that while 87% of respondents agreed that the First Amendment is important and needs to be followed and respected in today’s society, a record high 49% of undergraduate students overall said that they favor their college or university “having speech codes to regulate speech for students and faculty.” A majority of liberal students — 53% — were on board with speech regulation on college campuses.

When asked whether they would avoid taking a class with a professor who publicly shared opinions they disagreed with, 55% of liberal students, 33% of moderates, and 33% of conservatives confirmed that they would steer clear.

Whereas 27% of conservative students said that they could not bring themselves to be “close friends with someone who affiliates with a different political party,” 65% of liberal students said that they keep their friend groups politically homogeneous.

A plurality of liberal students (47%) said that offensive speech should be subject to criminal prosecution. Only 24% of conservatives and 34% of moderates agreed with the proposition.

RELATED: ‘Reign of terror’: One-third of Democrats give thumbs-up to Trump assassination

MELISSA MAJCHRZAK/AFP via Getty Images

As for the use of physical violence to prevent someone from uttering so-called hate speech or making “racially charged comments,” 45% of all respondents said it was justifiable.

When broken down by ideological affiliation, a majority of liberals were once again in the extreme camp, with 54% agreeing that violence is sometimes warranted. Only 30% of conservatives and 36% of moderates agreed.

Perhaps more troubling, when asked about the Turning Point USA founder’s assassination last year at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, 38% of liberal respondents agreed with the statement, “Charlie Kirk’s rhetoric was harmful and threatening to many people. It should not be a surprise that his words had consequences.”

Seven percent of conservative students similarly agreed with the statement, which effectively justifies Kirk’s murder.

Only 13% of all respondents overall said that Kirk’s rhetoric “was neither harmful nor threatening and that his assassination is a bad sign for public discourse on college campuses.”

Unsurprisingly, a majority (58%) of the liberal cohort that appeared receptive to both censorship and political violence said that they prefer to live under a socialist regime. Fifty-seven percent of liberals also said that socialist countries like Cuba and the former Soviet Union “offer a better economic model than capitalist countries like the United States.”

Nineteen percent of conservatives and 28% of moderates also chose socialism over capitalism, according to the survey. On the question of whether countries like the failed Soviet Union and failing Republic of Cuba offer preferable economic models to the U.S., 32% of moderates and 53% of conservatives said they disagreed.

“The 14-point spread in favor of socialism is the largest in the five years the question has been asked and only the third time socialism has led capitalism,” the Buckley Institute said. “The only major demographic groups that favored capitalism over socialism were conservatives and Asian students.”

Not only have liberal undergraduate students idealized failed states where food scarcity is the norm, they have adopted cynical views about the promise of equality in America.

Fifty percent of all respondents — and 66% of liberal respondents — agreed with the statement that “America is inextricably linked to white supremacy and in general most minorities remain excluded from the American promise of equality.”

When asked whether America “deserved September 11th” — an Islamic terrorist attack that claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 people, including children, and injured thousands more — a staggering 22% overall somewhat or strongly agreed, including 28% of liberals, 16% of moderates, and 17% of conservatives.

A vast majority — 72% — disagreed, 63% strongly so. Another 6% said they weren’t sure.

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​Poll, Students, Extremism, Socialism, Political violence, September 11, Politics 

When Joe Biden’s age and mental fitness was questioned, Democrats would brush it aside with reassurances that the former president was better than ever.

Now, Republican Senator Thom Tillis (N.C.) is running the same cover for Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

“Mitch McConnell is retiring this year. I ran into Mitch. The difference between the Biden situation and the Mitch situation is, I’ve had conversations with Mitch. That man’s brain is as sharp as it ever is,” Tillis claimed in an interview on MS NOW.

“His body’s failing him because he’s had a lifelong struggle with polio,” he added.

“You’ve got to be kidding,” BlazeTV host Pat Gray comments. “I love how these childhood diseases come back up as a convenient excuse for what’s going on now.”

“Like it did with Biden stuttering,” he adds.

Tillis went on to say that he met with McConnell “a couple of weeks ago” and asked him how he was doing.

“He spent probably less than 30 seconds talking about that, and he immediately jumped to, ‘What are we going to do to help Ukraine? What are we going to do to save the Senate and keep the filibuster?’”

“Does that sound like a man who’s not prepared to actually finish out his term?” he asked.

“Thom Tillis is doing the exact same thing Democrats did with Biden,” Gray comments. “That’s amazing.”

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​Thom tillis, Mitch mcconnell, Pat gray, Joe biden, Blazetv show