A judge’s ruling temporarily blocking President Donald Trump’s order to end billions in social services funds could have met its match if Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky has his way.

The president tried to end federal funds being sent to California, New York, Minnesota, Illinois, and Colorado, but U.S. District Judge Arun Submaranian ruled against him on Jan. 9.

‘If you won’t show us a plan, a workable plan, we’re gonna cut it off until you do.’

The group of states had requested a temporary restraining order against the spending freeze and was granted 14 days while the court considers a longer order.

On Wednesday, Massie said he had crafted an amendment to legislation that would allow the president to bypass the ruling.

“After rampant fraud was uncovered at daycare centers in Minnesota and elsewhere, a judge blocked President Trump’s effort to put guardrails on those programs,” the representative wrote on social media.

“I’ve offered this amendment to circumvent the judge’s ruling and empower the President to withhold fraudulent funds,” he added.

He posted the text of the amendment.

“None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to make payments under the Child Care and Development Fund, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, or the Social Services Block Grant program to any State that the Secretary of Health and Human Services has identified, pursuant to existing law, as failing to comply with Federal eligibility or documentation requirements applicable to such program,” the text reads.

HHS Sec. Robert Kennedy Jr. claimed that the states were not punished for being Democrat-controlled, but rather because they did not comply with the federal request to create a plan to stop fraud.

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“The best way to help poor families is to end the fraud so that the money that is available for them. And that’s what we’re doing,” Kennedy said. “If you won’t show us a plan, a workable plan, we’re gonna cut it off until you do.”

The five states had argued in court that the order to end funds was unconstitutional because it could not be based on the “mere allegations or suspicion of fraud.”

The temporary restraining order will end on Friday.

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In Matt Damon’s new Netflix thriller, “The Rip,” a bunch of cops and crooks fight over a $20 million cash stash.

Making the movie required fighting for an even more precious commodity: the viewer’s ever-dwindling attention span.

‘It wouldn’t be terrible if you reiterated the plot three or four times.’

Appearing with long-time friend and co-star Ben Affleck on the “Joe Rogan Experience” last week, Damon revealed what his first collaboration with a streamer taught him about the new economics of the movie biz — and how it affects storytelling.

Dumbed down

Damon said that the “different level of attention” audiences are giving at home has started to affect how films are being made.

“Like, for instance, Netflix. The standard way to make an action movie that we learned was, you usually have three set pieces. One in the first act, one in the second, one in the third,” Damon began.

“You spend most of your money on that one in the third act. That’s your kind of finale. And now they’re like, ‘Can we get a big one in the first five minutes? We want people to stay tuned in,'” he continued.

Furthermore, the filmmaker explained that the reason dialogue has become simple and repetitive, in many cases, is that people are splitting their attention.

“‘It wouldn’t be terrible if you reiterated the plot three or four times in the dialogue because people are on their phones while they’re watching,'” Damon laughed, relaying notes he might receive from the platform.

RELATED: Is real-life ‘Star Wars’ America’s manifest destiny?

‘Casual’ vacancy

These types of notes and guidelines could really “infringe” on how writers are telling their stories, Damon stressed.

This theory of “casual viewing” was popularized and widely discussed in 2025, with outlet CBR calling it a style of filmmaking that is “overly descriptive, breaking basic rules of cinema and contributing to a dumbing down of the art.”

Affleck cited British crime drama “Adolescence” as a show that “didn’t do any of that s**t,” and that’s what made it “f**king great,” he added.

“There’s long shots of the back of their head. They get in the car, nobody says anything. … My feeling is just that it demonstrates that you don’t need to do any of that s**t,” Affleck said.

RELATED: Almost half of Gen Z wants AI to run the government. You should be terrified.

Photo by Arturo Holmes/WireImage

Du cinéma au smartphone

Affleck’s clear position when it comes to filmmaking and technology throughout the episode was that there will always be an audience for quality films.

“It’s like supply and demand,” he said. “People want to look at their phone, they can look at TikTok, they’re going to do that. I think what you can do is make s**t the best you can. Make it really good.”

When it comes to making movies for mobile viewers, Damon joked that he likes to rile up directors that he works with by asking them if they are thinking about how their film will look on a cell phone.

“That’s a joke that I like to make with every director I work with. Like, when they’re really puzzling over a shot or really grinding out something, I go, ‘You know, it’s not going to look as good on the phone.’ … Everyone gets angry.”

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A 35-year-old Indian student says he was told that curry stinks, but sandwiches do not.

Aditya Prakash and his fiancée, Urmi Bhattacheryya, won a settlement of $200,000 from the University of Colorado Boulder in a story dripping with progressivism.

‘My food is my pride, and notions about what smells good or bad to someone are culturally determined.’

The BBC described the ordeal as a case of “food racism” while outlet Indian Express said Prakash was the “target of racism” over his microwaved food.

Ate crime

The couple reportedly claimed they faced a series of “microaggressions and retaliatory actions” after a staff member at the university — who was British, according to the BBC — complained about the “smell” of the food Prakash had in the microwave.

The staffer allegedly said the food was giving off a “pungent” odor and informed Prakash there was a rule against heating foods that have strong odors. Prakash reportedly claimed there was no such rule publicly stated and said, “It’s just food. I’m heating and leaving.”

The Indian also said he later inquired what foods were considered pungent. He was allegedly told that smelly foods included curry but not sandwiches.

In a pickle

The couple claimed they soon lost their research funding and teaching roles, and a lawsuit followed. Prakash claimed it was not about money, though.

“It was about making a point — that there are consequences to discriminating against Indians for their ‘Indianness,'” he said.

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Photo by John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images

Prakash also claimed he was a victim of “systemic racism” because his department “refused to grant” his Master’s degree.

“That’s when we decided to seek legal recourse,” he said.

The May 2025 lawsuit alleged discriminatory treatment and a “pattern of escalating retaliation” but was settled with the university that September. The terms reportedly include giving the students their degrees while denying all liabilities and banning them from studying or working at the school in the future.

Paneer miss

The dish at the center of the controversy is called palak paneer, which, according to cooking website Hooked on Heat, contains some strong ingredients.

The main parts of the dish include spinach and paneer, a soft white cheese considered to be the Indian version of cottage cheese. Also added to the dish are onion, ginger, garlic, chili powder, garam masala (Indian spices), and more.

Prakash reportedly argued that his food only stinks according to some people.

“My food is my pride, and notions about what smells good or bad to someone are culturally determined,” he posited.

Cruciferous context

A counterargument he allegedly faced was that even broccoli is not allowed to be heated because of its odor, but Prakash claimed that “context matters,” before adding, “How many groups of people do you know who face racism because they eat broccoli?”

His fiancée says that President Trump’s re-election has caused a “narrowing of empathy” toward foreigners.

“Institutions talk a lot about inclusion, but there is less patience for discomfort, especially if that discomfort comes from immigrants or people of colour,” she claimed.

RELATED: Young white Americans want their own identity politics now — and conservatives shouldn’t be surprised

Currying favor

The university told BBC that while it cannot comment on the specifics of the claims due to privacy laws, it is “committed to fostering an inclusive environment for all students, faculty and staff regardless of national origin, religion, culture and other classes protected under U.S. laws and by university policies.”

“When these allegations arose in 2023, we took them seriously and adhered to established, robust processes to address them, as we do with all claims of discrimination and harassment,” the school continued. “We reached an agreement with the students in September [2025] and deny any liability in this case.”

The couple has reportedly not since returned to the United States, with Prakash saying he is willing to start over.

“If this case can send out a message that this (‘food racism’) cannot be practiced with impunity, that we, as Indians, will fight back, that would be the real victory,” he said, per Indian Express.

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Liberals are incredibly excited about a recent study that accuses American-born U.S. citizens of committing more crimes than illegal immigrants — but BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales thinks they’re getting a little ahead of themselves.

“First of all, actually, 100% of them, if they’re here illegally, 100% of them are criminals already. But I digress,” Gonzales says on “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered.”

“This is a talking point that they keep putting out there intentionally,” she adds, before playing clips of several prominent liberals, like Sunny Hostin from “The View,” making this claim.

In one clip, Hostin happily repeats the line, saying, “Undocumented immigrants are much less likely to have committed crimes than American citizens. American citizens commit more crimes than anyone who is undocumented.”

As she finishes her sentence, the crowd erupts in applause.

“Use your brains,” Gonzales scoffs.

The study these liberals are citing is from Northwestern and reads, “Using incarceration rates as a proxy for crime, a team of economists analyzed 150 years of U.S. Census data and found immigrants were consistently less likely to be incarcerated than people born in the U.S. They also found beginning in 1960, the incarceration gap widened such that immigrants today are 60% less likely to be incarcerated than the U.S.-born.”

“Let’s say it’s 1% of these people committing more crime than they already committed when they entered here illegally. Who cares if it’s 1%? It’s crime that we don’t need to have. But, like, when you start looking at their argument, it completely falls apart. We’re not under an obligation to take in any criminals,” Gonzales comments.

“Just let them flood in en masse because a Northwestern study said that they commit less crime,” she mocks.

“It’s so stupid,” she continues. “But this is the kind of thing that the mainstream media and all of these leftist hacks keep pushing. ‘Well, but like, only some of them are criminals.’”

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