California’s crowded gubernatorial race is beginning to narrow, with former State Controller Betty Yee becoming the latest prominent Democrat to drop out, a sign that the party may be coalescing around a leading candidate to avoid disaster in the upcoming primary.

The California gubernatorial primary started with 61 official candidates in March, and approximately 20 have since dropped out.

‘I continue to believe there are too many Democrats in the field.’

While two Republican front-runners have emerged, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and former Fox News host and small-business owner Steve Hilton, Democrats have not yet rallied unified support behind any leading contenders for the upcoming election on June 2.

With Primary Election Day right around the corner, voters in the state will begin receiving mail-in ballots in two weeks.

California’s primary election operates on a nonpartisan basis, meaning all candidates are listed on the same ballot, and the two candidates who receive the most votes advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation.

The nonpartisan election rules could spell trouble for Democrats if they cannot rally enough support behind a candidate to beat at least one of the top two Republicans competing to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), who has reached his term limit.

RELATED: Billionaire Tom Steyer admits embarrassing ‘mistake’ after saying ICE should be ‘abolished’ in California governor’s race

Chad Bianco. Kent Nishimura/Getty Images. Steve Hilton. Robin L Marshall/FilmMagic

Democrats began the race with eight high-profile candidates: former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter, climate advocate and businessman Tom Steyer, U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, former California State Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa, and former California State Controller Betty Yee.

The Democratic field narrowed when Swalwell announced last week that he was suspending his campaign for governor and resigning from Congress amid sexual misconduct allegations.

On Monday, Yee became the latest Democrat to drop out of the race, citing low polling results. She told local CBS affiliate KOVR that the Democratic Party had “for whatever reason decided to put money into a poll that would narrow the field” and that the results showed that “experience and competence was not polling as high as we thought when I first started this race.”

“We’re in this new era where it’s kind of almost reality TV show mentality that people want,” Yee told the news outlet. “And, frankly, conflict sells. That’s what gets people’s attention. I’m not a flashy person. I don’t come with gimmicks. I even said and joked with my team one time, ‘Maybe I just need to bring like a folding stool and throw it off the stage just to get some attention.’ I mean, what’s it gonna take, right?”

Yee stated that she plans to endorse one of the remaining candidates soon.

The California Democratic Party’s poll showed voters leaning toward Republican candidates Hilton and Bianco. The highest-polling Democratic candidates were Becerra and Steyer. However, many of those surveyed stated they were still undecided.

RELATED: Republicans shine in first poll since Eric Swalwell stumbled out of California governor’s race

Betty Yee. ETIENNE LAURENT/AFP/Getty Images

Rusty Hicks, the chair of the California Democratic Party, compared the latest polling results to those from an April 7 poll.

Hicks stated that it showed Becerra had moved from 4% to 13%, with him “now tied for third with Tom Steyer.” He also noted that the undecided rate had fallen from 24% to 20%.

“All of these are positive signs for ensuring a strong Democrat moves into the General Election. But it is not enough and our work is not done,” he said.

Hicks addressed Yee’s decision to drop out of the race.

“Earlier today, we saw Betty Yee suspend her campaign. I commend her leadership and commitment to California. And I hope other candidates will consider her example,” Hicks added. “I continue to believe there are too many Democrats in the field.”

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Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, like other Democratic officials in the Constitution State, including Sens. Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal, thinks that requiring individuals to provide proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections is intolerable.

Lamont — flanked at a press conference late last month by Connecticut Secretary of State Stephanie Thomas, his Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, and others — stated about the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, “I, for the life of me, can’t figure out why we’re doing this. What’s the rush? Seems to me that the SAVE Act is a solution looking for a problem.”

‘Diminishing faith in the system.’

The governor, speaking just one month after one of the individuals accused in the 2023 Bridgeport absentee ballot fraud case was sentenced to prison, added, “I don’t want to put up all these bureaucratic roadblocks that make it tougher.”

While loath to make it tougher for individuals to vote without valid identification, Lamont certainly does not oppose all “bureaucratic roadblocks” or legislation aimed at requiring photo ID to prevent fraud.

Lamont signed a law last month requiring bottle redemption centers in the state to obtain from any individual hoping to turn in over 1,000 containers the “person’s name, the license plate number of any vehicle used to transport the containers to such redemption center, a copy of such person’s driver’s license, the collection points of the empty containers, and the number of containers tendered.”

“In Connecticut, you have to show ID to recycle more than 1,000 bottles in one day,” Utah Sen. Mike Lee (R) wrote in response to the passage of the legislation, “but not to cast a vote for the next leader of the free world.”

Libs of TikTok said, “Make it make sense.”

RELATED: How Republicans have failed to defund sanctuary cities for a generation

Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP/Getty Images

Republican Connecticut state Rep. Craig Fishbein said in a statement to Blaze News, “The hypocrisy and overt priorities of the Majority Democrats here are staggering.”

“While just last summer, Connecticut saw criminal convictions for voter fraud; they brought us in under the guise of an emergency session to pass this bottle bill, while continuing to ignore, or perhaps support additional voter fraud — thereby disenfranchising those voters who properly vote, and further diminishing faith in the system itself,” Fishbein added.

The editorial board of Connecticut’s Republican-American recently noted that “Connecticut Democrats’ solution to the bottle-deposit debacle reveals they agree that requiring ID is an effective anti-fraud measure. The question is why they pretend elections are the exception.”

The SAVE America Act, which would afford federal elections some semblance of a Connecticut bottle recycling standard of fraud protection, was passed in the House in a 218-213 vote on Feb. 11, then advanced to the U.S. Senate on April 10, but its fate is presently up in the air.

On Sunday, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) alleged that “after two weeks in recess, John Thune is no longer considering the SAVE America Act.”

A congressional insider familiar with the bill’s process subsequently told the Federalist that the proposed legislation is “still the pending business in the Senate.”

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President Donald Trump has warned Iran that the United States will swiftly resume the bombing campaign if they fail to strike a deal.

Talks are set to resume in Islamabad, Pakistan, between the Iranians and the American delegation led by Vice President JD Vance ahead of the ceasefire’s expiration on Wednesday. Trump announced the ceasefire earlier in April after threatening to destroy civilian infrastructure in Iran, infamously dubbing the operation “Power Plant Day” and “Bridge Day.”

‘They have to use common sense.’

“Well, I expect to be bombing because I think that’s a better attitude to go in with,” Trump said in an interview Tuesday. “But we’re ready to go. I mean the military is raring to go. They are absolutely incredible.”

“We have the most powerful military in the world, and everybody knows it.”

RELATED: IDF soldier caught smashing Jesus statue with sledgehammer — officials and critics react

Elke Scholiers/Getty Images

Since the ceasefire was put into place almost two weeks ago, Trump has ordered the military to take control of the Strait of Hormuz in an attempt to constrain Iran even further. Despite the United States’ many attempts to pressure Iran into making a deal, including the first round of negotiations that lasted 21 hours, a long-term agreement has not yet materialized.

“Iran can get themselves in a very good footing if they make a deal,” Trump said. “They can make themselves into a strong nation again, a wonderful nation again. They have incredible people.”

“But they have to use reason, and they have to use common sense.”

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A gang of juvenile males chased a Temple University student into a dorm, physically attacked the victim, and went on a rampage that included property damage — and it all took place around 3 a.m. Sunday.

The assault occurred inside the Morgan Hall South dorm at Broad and Oxford Streets in North Philadelphia, WPVI-TV reported.

‘We’re here for the safety of our residents and our students. So, when anybody is victimized, it’s concerning to us. We take it very seriously.’

Temple University police released surveillance photos showing at least nine males in connection with the assault, the station said.

Police told WPVI the victim suffered minor injuries and declined medical treatment; officers are still looking into what led up to the attack.

Investigators told the station in a separate story that cellphone video shows suspects damaging property inside the dorm lobby; one individual is seen smashing a monitor at a security desk.

RELATED: 6 thugs just 12 to 14 years old accused of beating up, robbing mentally disabled man riding his bike on Easter night

WPVI spoke with a student who said he used to live in the residence hall and received a campus alert about the attack.

“It puts the threat actually into perspective because, especially knowing as a college student your main priority is education, not really safety, but this happening is a little bit more in the forefront,” sophomore Emanuel Turner told WPVI.

Officials added to the station that they’re working with Philadelphia police and school district safety officials to identify those involved in the attack.

RELATED: Gang of teens caught on video beating up, robbing victim in shopping mall; similar attack happened at same mall last month

Temple Police Deputy Chief Gaetano Sava told WPVI that the incident is “concerning. Whenever our residents, I mean, we’re here for the safety of our residents and our students. So, when anybody is victimized, it’s concerning to us. We take it very seriously.”

Campus police said Temple and Philadelphia Police are enhancing patrols, and officials urge those with information about the incident to contact the PPD tip line at 215-686-TIPS (8477) or Central Detectives at 215-686-3093. You also can contact Temple’s Investigations Unit at 215-204-6200 or Temple Police at 215-204-1234.

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Smart TVs operating on behalf of foreign entities have alarming capabilities.

The TVs are capable of capturing screenshots of a user’s TV display every 500 milliseconds and sending that data back to their home country.

‘The days of Chinese tech companies spying on Americans’ televisions are over.’

Consumer data is then allegedly sold, in the same way online browsing data is, so companies can bolster their ad targeting capabilities. This not only puts sensitive user information at risk, but serves as a massive profit generator for TV manufacturers.

Until recently, there was no pushback against these major manufacturers, but in December, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton lined up lawsuits against Sony, Samsung, LG, Hisense, and TCL, directly accusing them of spying.

Definitely not ‘spying’

Through its lawsuits, Texas secured an agreement from South Korean manufacturer Samsung in February to stop collecting “Automated Content Recognition” data without user consent.

The settlement also compelled Samsung to implement disclosures and consent screens that are easy to understand by the user.

RELATED: Texas sues five TV manufacturers for secretly ‘spying’ on owners

Paxton commended Samsung for its changes and said the company “promptly implement[ed] important safeguards for consumers,” while other smart TV companies have instead “chosen to illegally spy on Texans and act as digital invaders in their homes.”

Samsung rejected the idea that it was spying, however, and said the settlement “affirms what Samsung has said since this lawsuit was filed — Samsung TVs do not spy on consumers.”

“In fact, Samsung allows you to control your privacy — and change your privacy settings at any time,” the company added, per BleepingComputer.

The Texas AG also made some ground against Hisense, a Chinese manufacturer.

A first of its kind temporary restraining order was granted against Hisense, which stopped the company from using its ACR technology to collect, use, sell, share, disclose, or transfer Texans’ data.

RELATED: States should work with AI, not against it

Artur Widak/NurPhoto/Getty Images

“The days of Chinese tech companies spying on Americans’ televisions are over,” Paxton declared. He has since vowed to bring the other companies, including Chinese brand TCL Technology, to court for “illegally spying on Texans,” stating that legal actions will “move forward.”

Tech billionaire and defense contractor Palmer Luckey recently called the intrusions a “growing problem for American national security” with an unbelievable amount of “sensitive and classified” information getting collected by foreign nations.

“Users have no idea. Nobody expects that their TV or monitor is a surveillance tool,” Luckey wrote on X. “When I have joked that Smart TVs should be illegal, I am only half-joking.”

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France was among the Western nations whose elites determined it worthwhile in the second half of the 20th century to open the floodgates to mass migration from the third world, especially from former colonies.

Award-winning French novelist and travel writer Jean Raspail foresaw the threat this demographic replacement posed to his nation and to Western civilization more broadly and dared — following the collapse of the Fourth Republic and amid the flight of Vietnamese “boat people” to Europe — to explore this threat in his controversial 1973 dystopian novel, “The Camp of the Saints.”

‘A ban by Amazon is a virtual ban of book sales and distribution.’

Both then and now, Raspail’s novel serves, on the one hand, to illuminate the folly of multiculturalist aspirations and allowing unassimilable hordes of culturally antipathetic foreigners into one’s nation and, on the other hand, to enrage those who are still pretending that unchecked mass migration is a laudable policy and that saying otherwise is “racist.”

Evidently, the book is still ruffling feathers. This time around, the novel has apparently prompted a negative reaction from the world’s largest company, Amazon.

The novel — characterized by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a “racist fantasy about an invasion of France and the white Western world by a fleet of starving, dark-skinned refugees” — was first translated into English in 1975 and has been published several times since in the United States. Despite growing in relevance and popularity, supply couldn’t meet demand for the book in recent years, especially as the right-holders had reportedly refused to reprint it. A small publishing house stepped up, however, and managed to secure the rights.

RELATED: They’ll Build a Fire with Your Lovely Oak Door

The late French writer Jean Raspail; Micheline Pelletier/Sygma/Getty Images

Vauban Books, an imprint of Redoubt Press, published a new edition in September, generating significant waves and sales. After months of sales of the title on its platform, Amazon U.S. removed the paperback listing for the new edition on Friday.

Vauban Books editor in chief Ethan Rundell said in a statement on Sunday that his publishing house was “informed by Amazon that the book is in violation of the company’s ‘offensive content’ policy. Amazon has supplied no information as to which portions of the book are offensive nor to whom.”

After noting that Vauban had sold roughly 20,000 paperback copies of the book since first listing it for presale on Amazon last summer and that it nets an average rating of 4.8 stars, Rundell said, “It may be no coincidence that the listing was removed one day after New York Magazine published a critical article on Vice President Vance that referenced the book. This echoes a 2019 campaign that targeted Stephen Miller, leading the novel’s previous publisher to drop the title from its catalogue.”

Rundell noted that regardless of whether Amazon chooses to distribute the title, Vauban Books “remains committed to keeping the novel in print and accessible worldwide.”

Shortly after making the initial statement, Vauban Books announced that Amazon U.S. had also removed the hardcover edition of the novel.

There was a great deal of backlash over the book’s removal.

Nathan Pinkoski, a senior fellow at the Center for Renewing America who penned the introduction for the new edition, called the reported removal of the paperback option “an egregious act of censorship.”

“Amazon is committed to the burning of your fine oak doors,” wrote BlazeTV host Auron MacIntyre, referencing the following line from the novel, “Your universe has no meaning to them. [The invading migrants] will not try to understand. They will be tired, they will be cold, they will make a fire with your beautiful oak door.”

Former Idaho Solicitor General Theo Wold wrote, “Amazon just censored a book first published in 1973 that depicts the destruction of the west through third-world mass migration. I’m sure all the people who whine about ‘book bans’ when a school board prevents 6-year-olds from reading about gay sex will be just as upset.”

Jason Kenney, Canada’s former Conservative minister of immigration and former Alberta premier, tweeted, “This is outrageous. Amazon handles up to 80% of book distribution in North America. A ban by Amazon is a virtual ban of book sales and distribution. I have never read The Camp of the Saints (although I am now moved to do so,) so offer no judgement about its merits. But there is no denying that it is a widely read novel with a significant cultural impact on France, and around the world.”

It appears the backlash prompted Amazon to rethink things.

As of Monday morning, the paperback version of the novel is available again on Amazon.

When asked for comment about the novel’s removal, Amazon told Blaze News that an “error” was responsible for the paperback listing of the book’s temporary removal and that other formats were not affected.

An Amazon spokesperson told Blaze News, “We’ve resolved an error that briefly affected the availability of a paperback listing of The Camp of the Saints, and the title is now restored.”

Vauban Books stated after its title reappeared on the platform, “Amazon has still not offered an explanation as to why the novel was taken down. We have received NO explanation, much less apology, for the deletion of the paperback Friday and hardcover this morning.”

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Democrats had a meltdown during a committee hearing while grilling Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum on all of the programs he is attempting to shut down.

And no one was ready for his answer.

‘We found organizations that were receiving grants from Interior where 80 to 100% of the revenue of that NGO was a grant from the federal government.’

In a Monday House Committee Hearing, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) asked for clarification on Burgum’s proposed “complete elimination” of some programs in the Fish and Wildlife Service, including some state and tribal wildlife grants.

Burgum replied with a shocking statistic about where some “nongovernmental organizations” get their money.

RELATED: Revamped National Parks program prioritizes Americans and ensures foreigners ‘contribute their fair share’

Heather Diehl/Getty Images

“There was a review done of the grants,” he said.

“And that is an area where there’s been substantial review. We found organizations that were receiving grants from Interior where 80 to 100% of the revenue of that NGO was a grant from the federal government.”

“And yet those organizations, we were the sole source of their revenue, but they would have a CEO making $650,000 and four $400,000 lobbyists,” Burgum continued.

DeLauro stammered in reply: “It would be very interesting because we can’t get any information. We may agree with you. Give us the reasons why all of these grants are cut, the organizations are cut. … We just can’t take your word.”

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