Federal authorities arrested five individuals in connection with an alleged planned New Year’s Eve terror plot. A criminal complaint revealed that two of the suspects claim to identify as transgender.

The Department of Justice held a press conference about the alleged thwarted terror attack on Monday.

‘This case is another reminder about the dangers that radicalized Antifa-like groups pose to public safety and the rule of law.’

Bill Essayli, the first assistant for the U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, explained that, on Friday, his office and the FBI arrested several members of a “far-left, anti-government domestic terror cell who self-identify as the Turtle Island Liberation Front.”

The suspects were also members of a more radical offshoot of the group called the Order of the Black Lotus, according to Essayli. He highlighted the arrests of the four individuals from the Los Angeles area, stating that they have been charged with conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device. He noted that his office plans to file additional charges.

The arrested individuals were accused of attempting to construct and detonate improvised explosive devices in the Mojave Desert in preparation for alleged planned attacks on New Year’s Eve at five locations across Los Angeles, California.

Essayli claimed that the arrested individuals were planning to bomb multiple U.S. companies. They also allegedly planned follow-up attacks against Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

RELATED: FBI stops radical pro-Palestinian New Year’s Eve terror plot: Report

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Authorities uncovered posters associated with the TILF that included threatening language, including “Death to America” and “Death to ICE.”

“This case is another reminder about the dangers that radicalized Antifa-like groups pose to public safety and the rule of law,” Essayli said.

One of the four, 32-year-old Zachary Page, reportedly identifies as transgender and requested that authorities send him to a women’s jail, the New York Post reported.

Agents with the FBI’s New Orleans field office arrested a fifth individual tied to the TILF who was allegedly planning a separate attack in Louisiana.

An unsealed criminal complaint revealed that the suspect, 29-year-old Micah James Legnon, is a Marine veteran who claims to identify as transgender, the Post reported.

RELATED: The Zizians’ violent spiral: A trans group tied to killings across America

U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell. Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images

Legnon, a man who uses “she/her” pronouns, went by “Kateri TheWitch” and “DarkWitch She/Her” in online chat groups and allegedly posted threats against ICE on social media.

“S**t time to recreate Waco tx with these f**kers. F**k ice,” Legnon allegedly wrote, referring to the 1993 Waco massacre that resulted in the deaths of four federal agents and over 70 civilians.

Legnon is currently in custody and facing charges of making threats over interstate commerce.

Journalist Andy Ngo, who was the first to identify Legnon, stated that the suspect’s “social media is filled with posts calling for the m—rder of people he labels as ‘fascists.’”

An attorney for Page declined a request for comment from the Intercept. Court documents did not list an attorney for Legnon.

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​News, Turtle island liberation front, Tilf, Order of the black lotus, Bill essayli, California, Los angeles, La, Department of justice, Doj, Justice department, Immigration and customs enforcement, Ice, New year’s eve, Terror plot, Terrorism, Transgender, Trans ideology, Trans violence, Transgender crime, Politics 

The name Shedeur Sanders name may be on the tip of every football fanatic’s tongue, but BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock isn’t impressed with the Cleveland Browns’ quarterback.

According to Whitlock, Sanders is simply a “fifth-round pick who doesn’t have the strongest arm” and has “the worst leadership skills I’ve ever seen in professional sports.”

“The things that they’re avoiding about Shedeur — his inability to read a defense, his inability to process what’s going on on the field as quickly as quarterbacks need to. This is obvious. He held the ball in college because he can’t process quickly,” Whitlock says, pointing out that it’s painful to listen to him answer questions that he “clearly doesn’t comprehend.”

“Some reporter tried to throw him a softball of, ‘Hey, what do you think of Stefanski and how aggressive he was? Do you like that as a quarterback and as a member of the team?’ And the reporter is trying to get Shedeur to say, ‘Yes, I like that Stefanski believes in me and us and this offense and that we can be super aggressive. I like that,’” he explains.

“That’s all the reporter was trying to get Shedeur to say. Shedeur heard it as the reporter trying to bait him into attacking Stefanski,” he adds.

“I mean, first, that’s a rude question to ask,” Sanders replied to the reporter while taking questions.

When the reporter pressed him further and said, “Do you like the aggression, do you like the call?” Sanders responded firmly, “I like being out there playing.”

“We not going to be here and ever point fingers at no coach or do anything like that. You know, that’s extremely disrespectful and that’s not even in my place. So I’m thankful for being out there, honestly, and I’m thankful that he trusts us as a offense to be able to go out there and be able to execute,” Sanders continued.

“Did we execute? No, we didn’t. But, you know, I’m just thankful that we have that trust,” he added.

“‘I’m never going to point a finger,’” Whitlock mocks. “The man’s not asking you to point fingers. He’s so defensive, so unsure of himself.”

“Remember,” he says, “money is supposed to fix all this.”

“Oh, if they just had access to money, all the education rates and everything would go through the roof. No. If you’re not instilled with the right values, if your father thinks that, ‘Hey, my swagger and my arrogance and my gold chains and my braggadocio,’ if that’s what he’s preaching and demonstrating in the home … that’s how you end up with a kid that grew up in a 30,000-square-foot mansion … who can’t process,” he continues.

“And everybody is blaming Kevin Stefanski, that ‘Oh, he’s got it in for Shedeur.’ He doesn’t know how to communicate with Shedeur, because Shedeur doesn’t know how to communicate properly,” he adds.

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A North Carolina county government has chosen to disband its public library board after the group refused to take down a book that advocated for the transgender agenda.

The controversy involved the “Call Me Max” book that tells the story of a girl asking teachers to refer to her by her chosen identity rather than the biological reality.

‘Planting this lie in a child’s mind at a young age can lead them down a harmful path of social and medical transitioning. Public libraries should never expose children to books that cause them to question their gender or include other inappropriate sexual content.’

The board in Randolph County had reviewed the book and found that it fit within the county’s guidelines in October. Dozens of people attended that hearing to voice their opinion about the book.

The nine-member library board was then disbanded by the Randolph County Board of Commissioners by a vote of 3-2.

The North Carolina Values Coalition had previously described the picture book as an attempt to “groom children towards transgenderism at very young ages” and actively opposed its inclusion.

The group applauded the decision to dissolve the board.

“‘Call Me Max,’ recommended for 5- [to] 9-year-olds, teaches children that their parents may be wrong about their gender and that their gender is actually whatever they feel it is,” read the statement from their spokesperson to Blaze News.

“Planting this lie in a child’s mind at a young age can lead them down a harmful path of social and medical transitioning,” the statement continued. “Public libraries should never expose children to books that cause them to question their gender or include other inappropriate sexual content.”

The author of the book, a transgender-identifying individual named Kyle Lukoff, said that the actions of the county board were alarming.

RELATED: Trans reporter tries to defend Chelsea Clinton and proves she’s pushing ‘porn’ for children

“Policies can be helpful, but this is ultimately a question of power,” Lukoff said. “If there are people in power who believe trans people don’t belong in their communities or the world at large, they will twist those policies to make it a reality.”

While disbanding a public library board is unusual, it is within the power of the county organization.

Voters of Randolph County supported President Donald Trump by an overwhelming margin — nearly four to one.

The commissioners have not indicated when they will reconstitute the library board.

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​Transgender agenda, Call me max book, Randolph county north carolina, Trans books public libraries, Politics 

Because today’s auto industry feels thoroughly international — Americans can buy nearly any car made anywhere, and American vehicles are common sights overseas — it’s easy to forget how deeply regional car markets still are.

That’s the topic of the latest episode of “The Drive,” a podcast I host with executive analyst at iSeeCars.com and Forbes Autos contributor Karl Brauer. This week, our guest is longtime Detroit News auto columnist and syndicated cartoonist Henry Payne.

Japan’s streets — especially in dense cities like Tokyo — are filled with vehicles most Americans rarely see: kei cars, a government-defined class of tiny, boxy, ultra-efficient runabouts.

In a conversation that jumps from Japan’s Mobility Show to the battle over unionization at Volkswagen’s U.S. plant in Chattanooga, we keep returning to the same theme: Cars are global, but markets are local—and policy is increasingly the hidden hand behind what gets built, where, and for how much.

The power of US demand

Payne joins us fresh from the 2025 Japan Mobility Show, an experience he says he found “surreal.”

“My grandfather fought on Okinawa in WWII, and here I am two generations later, and I am going to Japan as a guest of Honda,” he says.

Despite all that’s changed since then, Payne says the show was a reminder of how regional cars still are.

Japan’s streets — especially in dense cities like Tokyo — are filled with vehicles most Americans rarely see: kei cars, a government-defined class of tiny, boxy, ultra-efficient runabouts. They’re built around small displacement engines, tight dimensions, and the reality that Japan imports most of its energy. They make sense there.

In the U.S. they generally wouldn’t — despite recent rumblings from Trump to the contrary.

That contrast matters because it underlines a second point: The United States is not just a big market — it’s a market that props up entire global product plans. Payne notes that Honda sells far more of its output in the United States than it does in Japan, and other Japanese brands lean even harder on American buyers. The U.S. consumer is simply a different customer: higher buying power, more space, more appetite for variety, and more willingness (or necessity) to buy larger vehicles.

In other words, when automakers build out multiple trims and performance variants off the same platform — base model, sport model, track model, special edition — that’s usually because of U.S. demand.

Auto industry math still comes down to very specific local realities: what people can afford, where they live, what infrastructure exists, and what regulators demand.

Flex or flounder

If Japan shows how regional car markets still are, Chattanooga shows what happens when the most powerful market of all — the United States — starts limiting its own flexibility.

Payne’s argument is that transplant automakers (foreign brands building cars in the U.S.) have long enjoyed a competitive advantage: non-union shops.

It’s important to note that the advantage is not in labor prices — “You’ll find that the pay scales of the non-union automakers in these right-to-work states are pretty competitive with UAW,” Payne says — but in the ability to adapt to changing markets.

Unions add a layer of management that makes it more difficult to shift production, change processes, and retool lines.

Nonetheless, Volkswagen’s Chattanooga plant last year became the first foreign-owned factory to unionize. This was the UAW’s third attempt to unionize the plant — and the first time that VW didn’t put up a fight. Why not?

In a word, Payne says, the EV mandate. Because it so much harder to make a profit on EVs, VW relies on various subsidies and tax breaks — incentives turned out to be politically sensitive.

Volkswagen wasn’t legally required to accept unionization — but the politics had shifted. With the UAW closely aligned with Democrats and billions in EV incentives flowing from Washington, Payne notes that VW received a letter from 33 Democratic senators urging it to stay neutral, citing “a lot of money on the line.” The leverage wasn’t statutory; it was political.

Thanks to President Trump, the EV tax credits ended in September, removing much of VW’s incentive to unionize. Of course, by then it was too late.

RELATED: ‘A uniquely American industry’: SEMA CEO urges EPA to scrap emissions regs

SEMA CEO Mike Spagnola. Bill Clark/Getty Images

‘The Henry Ford of his time’

The conversation ends with a more personal detour: Payne’s long-running fascination with Tesla — which he sees less as an “EV brand” and more as a rare disruptor in a mature, brutally difficult industry.

In fact, Payne calls Elon Musk “the Henry Ford of his time” and the Tesla Model 3 (he’s on his third) “the most fascinating car I’ve ever owned.”

“It’s good to have a disruptor,” Payne continues, likening Musk to Donald Trump and the latter’s effect on Washington, D.C. “It’s good to have Elon Musk come into the automotive industry … and say, ‘Why are we selling cars through dealers instead of through stores like Apple sells iPhones? Why aren’t we updating cars constantly like phones and making them better on the road?’”

And if you’re wondering why your next car costs what it costs — or why automakers seem to change direction every six months — this episode offers a blunt answer: The industry is being pulled by forces that don’t always align, and the tug-of-war is happening everywhere at once.

Listen to the full episode of “The Drive with Lauren and Karl” (featuring Henry Payne) below.

​Drive with lauren fix and karl brauer, Honda, Tesla, Uaw, Lifestyle, Auto industry, Ev mandate, Align cars 

A former NFL sideline reporter may be running for office after a few years of getting familiar with the political field.

The news comes after much criticism of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D), including the former sports reporter describing him as a non-serious politician who has allowed fraud to run rampant in his state.

‘Tim Walz is not serious. He adores Ilhan Omar.’

After 11 years working on the beloved “Sunday Night Football” broadcast, sideline reporter Michele Tafoya left the program in 2022. Immediately following the Super Bowl — Tafoya’s last NFL gig — the California native was announced as the campaign co-chair for Republican gubernatorial candidate Kendall Qualls.

Now, Tafoya is reportedly eyeing a possible Senate run in Minnesota, where a retiring Democrat will open up a seat in the Democrat-majority state.

As reported by OutKick, Tafoya met with members of the National Republican Senatorial Committee last week, which has reportedly been recruiting her in hopes of launching a Senate campaign.

The seat in question will be vacated by Democrat Sen. Tina Smith for the 2026 midterm elections.

RELATED: Whitlock: Michele Tafoya risked everything to start her own Freedom Convoy

— (@)

A run by Tafoya would put her in a tough Republican primary field that includes former NBA player Royce White, former Navy officer Tom Weiler, and former Navy SEAL Adam Schwarze.

Tafoya, however, has not been shy about criticizing Minnesota Democrats, particularly Gov. Walz and Rep. Ilhan Omar. She recently asked Walz in an X post to “please deal with the horrendous fraud [he] allowed” in Minnesota, along with other posts about Omar’s activities.

Tafoya said on X in September that “Tim Walz is not serious. He adores Ilhan Omar.”

She added, “He signed legislation for abortions at 9 months, tampons in boys[‘] bathrooms, and making Minnesota a sanctuary for kids who want to get life-altering gender surgeries without parental consent.”

RELATED: Whoopi Goldberg declares ‘white people’ are the ones who need to ‘step up’ and make skin color a non-issue in America

— (@)

Tafoya made headlines in late 2021 after appearing on left-wing squawk box “The View,” where she dared to question the protests of then-NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who kneeled during the national anthem.

Kaepernick had compared the NFL Draft to a slave auction in a documentary at that time.

“I’ve been covering the NFL for 25 years,” Tafoya had said, per OutKick. “Nobody forces these guys to play. I thought comparing it to the slave trade was a little rough. These guys enter willingly, they are the most well cared for people. Yes, they play a hard sport. And every one of them — black, white, Latino, whoever’s playing the sport — will tell you how much they love it, and they’re willing to do it, and they make a d**n good living.”

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​Fearless, Minnesota, Tim walz, Football, Nfl, Senate, Senator, Midterms, Sports 

In a Sunday interview with WCCO-TV, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) accused U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of pulling over her son on Saturday and pressing him for proof of citizenship. Others who have trouble with the truth, namely Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) and the liberal media, were quick to make hay of Omar’s allegation.

“Congresswoman Omar’s son was pulled over by ICE while he was following the law, on his way home from Target,” Walz said in a post on X. “This isn’t a targeted operation to find violent criminals, it’s racial profiling.”

‘It is shameful that Congresswoman Omar would level accusations to demonize ICE as part of a PR stunt.’

The Department of Homeland Security stopped the narrative in its tracks, noting that the Democrat ethno-nationalist’s sob story appears to be yet another tall tale.

DHS noted on Tuesday that “ICE has absolutely ZERO record of its officers or agents pulling over Congresswoman Omar’s son.”

“With no evidence, it is shameful that Congresswoman Omar would level accusations to demonize ICE as part of a PR stunt,” continued the agency. “Allegations that ICE engages in ‘racial profiling’ are disgusting, reckless and categorically FALSE.”

“What makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is if they are illegally in the U.S. — NOT their skin color, race, or ethnicity. Under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, DHS law enforcement uses ‘reasonable suspicion’ to make arrests,” added the DHS.

RELATED: Ilhan Omar compares Stephen Miller’s immigration rhetoric to Nazism

Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

Clinging to the congresswoman’s narrative, Omar’s office said in response to the DHS on Tuesday, “The congresswoman’s son and others were pulled over by ICE, racially profiled, and forced to prove their citizenship with a passport.”

“ICE has long operated as a rogue agency beyond reform,” continued the statement from Omar’s office. “It’s no surprise that an agency known for disappearing people also can’t keep its records straight.”

The response from Omar’s office may amount to a rock thrown from a glass house.

In the wake of border czar Tom Homan’s confirmation that the Trump administration is investigating Omar for alleged immigration fraud — possibly in connection to Omar’s marriage to her alleged brother — former Democratic congressional candidate AJ Kern told Alpha News that public records appear to indicate Omar has trouble keeping the record straight about when she was born.

While Omar has repeatedly indicated that she became a citizen at the age of 17 — a claim she even made to the Guardian this week — Kern noted that Omar “was actually 18 in the year 2000, when her father became eligible to apply for citizenship.”

Citing official documents, Kern suggested that Omar “actually wasn’t a minor when her father could apply for naturalization,” adding that “it kind of blows a hole in her story that she obtained naturalization or citizenship when she was 17.”

Emails reviewed by Alpha News show that Omar’s staff contacted the Legislative Reference Library on May 17, 2019, requesting they change the Somali-born ethno-nationalist’s date of birth from Oct. 4, 1981, to Oct. 4, 1982.

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

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​Somali, Minnesota, Ilhan omar, Leftist, Liar, Tall story, Liberal media, Us immigration and customs enforcement, Ice, Dhs, Politics 

In Maryland, a new commission to study slavery reparations will soon be established after a months-long legislative fight.

On Tuesday, the Maryland General Assembly voted to override Democratic Gov. Wes Moore’s veto of a bill that would establish a commission to study slavery reparations.

Fox News reported that the Senate voted 31-14 to override the veto, and the House of Delegates approved the override 93-35. Democrats enjoy a sizable majority in both chambers.

‘It’s immoral and it’s fiscally ruinous to this state and it sends a message to the generations out there now in Maryland that if you’re concerned about fairness, dignity, opportunity in this state — to flee Maryland.’

Moore, a black Democrat, originally vetoed the bill in May, arguing for “action” rather than establishing another study.

In his veto letter to Senate President Bill Ferguson, Moore said, “Now is not the time for another study. Now is the time for continued action that delivers results for the people we serve.”

RELATED: ‘Beachhead of criminality’: Trump admin urges Walz to resign in light of ‘ghost students’ fraud scheme

Photo by Jonathan Newton/for The Washington Post via Getty Images

Delegate Matthew Morgan (R-St. Mary’s County) warned that the bill was only going to enable “race-bait handouts”:

“This bill betrays the original intention, the unifying event of the civil rights movement. It’s immoral and it’s fiscally ruinous to this state and it sends a message to the generations out there now in Maryland that if you’re concerned about fairness, dignity, opportunity in this state — to flee Maryland,” Morgan said on the House floor Tuesday.

The recently approved bill will establish a commission that will study possible forms of reparations to black Americans for the legacy of slavery and racial discrimination.

The Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland celebrated the override of the governor’s veto in a statement posted to Instagram: “This landmark action establishes a rigorous and comprehensive plan for reparations and marks Maryland’s first-ever step toward reparations. At a time of growing attacks on diversity and equity, today’s action reaffirms our shared commitment to truth-telling, accountability, and meaningful progress for Black Marylanders.”

A preliminary report is required by January 1, 2027; a final report is due by November 1, 2027.

The commission will expire in the summer of 2028.

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​Politics, Reparations, Governor wes moore, Wes moore, Black americans, African americans, Maryland, Legislative black caucus of maryland, Slavery, Bill ferguson, Matthew morgan 

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has signed a bill legalizing “medical assistance in dying” for terminally ill adults with a prognosis of six months to live or less — making Illinois the 12th U.S. state to allow assisted suicide.

The legislation was narrowly approved by the Illinois Senate in October after the Illinois House passed it in May.

“First, do no harm,” Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck comments. “I’m having a hard time with that. Doctors, maybe you can tell me how you get around this. First, do no harm. That is a very important concept that our doctors are to buy in to and that we all believe.”

“This is the 12th state in the country that is allowing assisted suicide. And there are about 25 others that are standing in line for it. What a surprise: Illinois is the first of this batch of them coming in to say, ‘I want to kill people.’ It is a culture of death, and that’s what we are battling,” he says.

“When you look at what people are saying about global warming, what is the solution? Fewer people. How do you do that? Well, culture of death takes care of that, right? When you look at, you know, just about anything now — health care, abortion: culture of death. Islam: culture of death. Marxism, honestly, it is a culture of death,” he continues.

However, supporters of this culture of death like Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) argue for it as a humane option — and a rare one.

“Western world, you’re being played. This is not compassion. I’m going to be real clear with you. This is preparation for when the system can no longer afford to fulfill its promises. That’s what this is. … They are preparing you so you look at this as compassion,” Glenn explains.

“And so when it gets worse and worse up until the very end, you don’t recognize it. I mean, they’re beginning to, a little bit in Canada, to see what’s coming their way. And why is it happening? Because they can no longer afford socialized medicine,” he says.

“Can America afford to fulfill its promises that it’s made for generations on all of this socialized everything? No,” he states.

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​Camera phone, Video, Upload, Sharing, Video phone, Free, Youtube.com, The glenn beck program, Glenn beck, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Culture of death, Marxism, Jb pritzker, Maid, Medical assistance in dying, Illinois maid, Suicide, Legalizing suicide