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Kelsey Grammer recalls tragic past, warns about socialists taking over Democratic Party

Kelsey Grammer, the star of “Frasier” who features in the upcoming film “Avengers: Doomsday,” highlighted the danger of the socialist contagion spreading through the Democratic Party.

At the outset of his interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham on Monday, Grammer highlighted his attendance at President Donald Trump’s Aug. 14 rally at the Nassau County Police Academy.

‘They don’t want to value the individual.’

Grammer, who stated last year that Trump is “one of the greatest presidents we’ve ever had,” explained why the event was so important to him.

“I’m a member of a club that most people don’t want to belong to. None of its members want to be in it,” said Grammer. “My father was gunned down in his carport on the island of St. Thomas when I was 14 years old. My sister was abducted and raped and murdered when she was 18.”

“Because of the men and women of the police departments throughout this country and because of the work that Donald Trump has done, for the first time in my life, I could rely on the idea that fewer families would be joining my club this year,” said the actor.

During his speech at the police academy, the president touted newly released FBI data showing that 2025 had the largest year-to-year decline in violent crime since the bureau began estimated crime trends.

Data reported to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program showed that violent crime overall decreased 9.3% from 2024 to 2025. Last year, murder and nonnegligent manslaughter decreased by an estimated 18.1%; rape decreased by an estimated 7.6%; aggravated assault decreased by an estimated 7.2%; and robbery decreased by an estimated 18.5%.

Despite the drop in crime, Grammer warned about a related rising threat: the leftist radicals who would abolish the very police forces that helped bring down the crime rate.

RELATED: Democratic socialist leader goes on Fox and admits every extreme thing they want to do

Grammer noted that these socialists “seem to have all the energy right now in the Democratic Party.”

“I get it because at least they have an idea,” continued Grammer. “It’s not that dissimilar from what Donald Trump was saying several years ago, you know, ‘Drain the swamp.’ I mean, I don’t think you should abolish the Senate, but I sure think some senators should look to their laurels and get the job done.”

The actor, who admittedly once humored a career in politics, noted that while the ascendant left and newly established right may be motivated to address the same problems, their proposed remedies are irreconcilable.

The socialists, Grammer suggested, “want to be in charge, and they don’t want to value the individual. To my mind, the individual is America’s greatest, single national treasure, and that’s what we always have to preserve. And I keep thinking about this quotation from Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn that said, ‘Let the lie come into the world, let it even triumph, but not through me.'”

After emphasizing that he is determined to help stop “all this nonsense,” Grammer told Ingraham that he expects American voters to ultimately deny the socialists their desired takeover.

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​Kelsey grammer, Socialism, Democratic socialists of america, Democratic party, Donald trump, Crime, Senate, Laura ingraham, Politics 

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Dolly Parton is dead at age 80

Iconic country legend Dolly Parton has died, according to a statement from her family.

Parton’s nephew Bryan Seaver announced her death in a video posted to social media Tuesday.

‘After a life of wearing heavy rhinestones, she finally deserves to be comfortable and have some rest.’

“My name is Bryan Seaver, son of Cassie Parton, and I’m representing the Parton and Owens family today announcing the passing of my Aunt Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean, sister, sis, and granny to one generation and Gigi to the next,” he said.

Seaver said Parton had asked him years ago to be prepared to announce her death.

“It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly,” he added. “Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by [husband] Carl, her parents, and countless others who have watched her and longed to meet her in the heavens.”

Parton had offered updates to her fans about her health recently after having to cancel some shows to let her rest.

“I can’t be dizzy, carrying around banjos, guitars, and such on five-inch heels,” she said in one video from May, “not to mention all those heavy rhinestone outfits, the big hair, my big personality.”

Seaver continued to say Parton is finally at rest.

“My family and I have shared a lifetime of beautiful memories with Dolly, but so have you. She has always been on your television, your record player, your CD, and on your phone playlist, becoming an extended part of your family whether you liked it or not,” he said.

“Our family and the team she has entrusted with her legacy will work diligently to ensure her spirit will live with us forever,” Seaver added. “Dolly was a farmer, just like her daddy; he farmed the soil, she farmed songs and happiness. Dolly called me and said she wants to rest in a beautiful bed of plush cotton because after a life of wearing heavy rhinestones, she finally deserves to be comfortable and have some rest.”

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​Dolly parton, Celebrity deaths, Country music, Human interest 

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Florida crook accused of ditching stolen car, hiding from cops in home’s garage. But homeowner has a gun.

A 34-year-old male is accused of ditching a stolen car and hiding from police in a home’s garage in Orange Park, Florida, on Monday, WJAX-TV reported. Orange Park is about a half hour south of Jacksonville.

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office said it received word about a stolen car just after 3:30 p.m., and deputies within five minutes found the car at Blanding Boulevard and Camp Francis Johnson Road.

‘Hey, you know what? If they stole a car, and he ran in my house, I’d shoot him too. Good for him.’

The driver fled and crashed into two sheriff’s office patrol vehicles as well as a citizen’s car, officials said, adding that no one was hurt in the crashes.

But two suspects bailed out of the car along Blanding Boulevard and ran in opposite directions, officials said, adding that both suspects were pursued on foot.

Officials said “the female suspect/passenger was caught within minutes; the male suspect, who was behind the wheel of the stolen car, continued to run and went through several backyards of a nearby neighborhood until he entered a resident’s detached garage” on Grafton Drive.

WJAX reported that the male suspect was trying to hide in the garage.

However, officials said that once the male suspect entered the garage, the homeowner — who was armed with a gun — confronted him.

Sheriff Michelle Cook told WJAX the homeowner “intervened and actually shot the suspect who had entered his detached garage. The suspect was shot in the leg by the homeowner.”

Officials said deputies rendered first aid to the suspect who was taken to a local hospital; there are no outstanding suspects.

RELATED: Threatening male begins beating up Florida mobile homeowner, but victim pulls gun, fires once — ‘and the threat was over’

The arrested suspects are William Tracy White Jr. and Amanda Jean Strickland, WJAX said.

Neighbor Anita Jones told the station that at first she “thought somebody had died.”

Jones added to WJAX that she wasn’t home when it all went down but that nothing like this has happened since she moved into the neighborhood four years ago.

“I can’t believe it happened here,” Jones added to the station. “Hey, you know what? If they stole a car, and he ran in my house, I’d shoot him too. Good for him.”

The sheriff told WJAX that White has two outstanding warrants for grand theft and armed robbery.

According to jail records, White remained incarcerated Tuesday and was charged with aggravated fleeing with injury or damage, burglary, and other charges. His bond was just over $35,000. There is no jail record for Strickland, who is 32.

Officials said those with information that could assist in the investigation are encouraged to contact the sheriff’s office at 904-264-6512; tips can be submitted through the SaferWatch or by calling First Coast Crime Stoppers by dialing **TIPS.

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​Homeowner shoots intruder, Florida, 2nd amendment, Guns, Gun rights, Self-defense, Home invasion, Stolen car, Arrest, Crime 

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Enes Kanter Freedom wears ‘adult human female’ shirt to WNBA game — gets kicked out

Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom made headlines for declaring for the WNBA draft — but his dreams were shattered after getting into a verbal altercation this week at a Chicago Sky game with player Natasha Cloud.

Kanter was sitting courtside in a shirt that read: “WOMAN noun. adult human female.”

Cloud approached Kanter and shouted at him during a time-out. When he took a few steps toward the court, he was told to leave.

“I just got kicked out of a @WNBA game for supporting WOMEN!” Kanter Freedom wrote in an Instagram post on Sunday night. “Let that sink in, AMERICA!”

“It was crazy … this shouldn’t be a shirt that like brings people to heckle or harass you, but the heckling and the harassment from the WNBA’s very, very tolerant and inclusive fan base began before Enes even made it into the stadium,” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales says, before playing a clip of Kanter being harassed while he was walking into the stadium.

One fan was yelling at him, while Kanter smiled and kept going.

“That is some serious masculine energy from WNBA fans, which is odd because Enes has already said she is a proud trans woman. So I guess these fans are transphobic,” Gonzales says.

And Natasha Cloud’s response was no better.

“Full-blown meltdown because of words on a shirt,” Gonzales says.

“According to people that were seated nearby, she was yelling, she was cursing, she was dropping F-bombs. I think that that’s actually very transphobic. And I actually think this should be investigated as a hate crime,” she continues.

“By the way, I don’t think that’s appropriate language to be spewing with children and teens and whoever else was at that game. I just don’t find that to be appropriate,” she adds.

Want more from Sara Gonzales?

To enjoy more of Sara’s no-holds-barred takes on news and culture, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Chicago sky, Enes kanter freedom, Natasha cloud, Trans woman, Transphobic, Hate crime, Sara gonzales, Wnba, Blazetv show 

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The real reason 1 in 3 Americans are cutting off their family

Family estrangement used to be reserved for tragic situations like abuse — but it’s becoming more common and for far less serious reasons.

According to a recent YouGov poll, 38% of U.S. adults are estranged from at least one family member.

“More than one out of every three people you’ll meet today, are estranged from at least one family member of their own family. A sibling, a parent, a child, a grandparent,” BlazeTV host Nick Freitas comments.

Of the 38% of estranged family members, 24% is a sibling, 16% is a parent, and 10% is a child.

“And here’s the part that should stop you cold,” Freitas says. “Researchers have found people are more willing to cut off a family member for having a different political opinion than for committing a serious violent crime.”

“Once upon a time the reason why you broke off contact with a family member was because there was significant abuse,” he says.

“We’re talking about substance abuse, alcohol abuse, violence, perhaps sexual abuse in some way. And all of these, any single one of these, we would all look at and be like, ‘This totally makes sense,’” he continues.

“But more and more, we’re getting to a point where minor political differences are now blown up into something that are existential threats to someone’s safety and mental health. And that is fairly new,” he adds.

While political differences are a major factor in fractured families, another one is social media influence.

According to psychologist Richard Blake, cited in this Fox News article, “Heavy social media use has been linked to poorer parent-child relationships.”

“A study of nearly 9,800 teens found that spending more than two hours a day on social media was linked to significantly greater odds of negative relationships with one or both parents,” the article reads.

Freitas recalls one TikTok influencer who often called for children to shun their families over different beliefs.

“I forget the guy’s name, but he was a trans activist, and he used to love to go on there and talk about no contact with family and how it’s empowering, and ‘Don’t worry, you know, I’m your family now,’” he says.

“Really creepy stuff watching a guy in makeup encouraging kids to cut off their family members because they don’t accept your trans lifestyle,” he continues.

“So there’s no question that the social media influence, I think, greatly contributes to what’s going on right now,” he adds.

“Making the Argument with Nick Freitas” is available on BlazeTV+, YouTube, and major podcast platforms.

Start watching Nick Freitas NOW at blazetv.com and use the promo code NICK40 for $40 off your BlazeTV+ subscription.

​Family estrangement, Nick freitas, Substance abuse, Trans activist, Social media, No contact, Blazetv show 

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Emotional roller-coaster: Texas just won back its most famous (and fun) business

Years after moving its headquarters to North Carolina, one of the most beloved theme parks in America is finally coming home to Texas.

Six Flags Over Texas, the first in what became a chain of parks, opened in Arlington on Aug. 5, 1961. The park, which saw over 8,000 visitors on its first day, according to the Texas State Historical Association, was a huge success, and Six Flags ultimately became the biggest regional theme park company in the world.

‘Arlington is a vibrant entertainment district where the Six Flags story began more than six decades ago.’

Six Flags Entertainment Corporation now operates 20 amusement parks, 14 water parks, and nine resort properties in North America as well as an amusement park in Saudi Arabia.

Despite starting in the Lone Star State, Six Flags moved its headquarters to Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2024 after merging with Cedar Fair — a merger the companies said helped reduce dependency on any one particular park or region.

Six Flags announced on Tuesday that it is planning to relocate its corporate headquarters to its current offices in Arlington’s Choctaw Stadium, which has served as a corporate office since 2020 and will now serve as the “primary hub for the company’s corporate leadership and shared business functions.”

“The decision to return the company’s headquarters to Arlington is a continuation of our efforts to evolve the organization and enhance operational efficiency,” said Six Flags president and CEO John Reilly. “After an extensive review, we determined that concentrating our personnel, processes, and decision-making in our Arlington office, where a portion of Six Flags corporate employees are located, is the best path forward for the company.”

RELATED: The Frontier Endures: Civilization, Violence, and Cormac McCarthy

Courtesy of Six Flags

According to Reilly, this move — which is expected to be completed by March 2027 — will improve collaboration, strengthen company culture, and improve coordination among the leadership.

While the company framed the relocation as evolutionary, the CEO emphasized that it was also a return to its roots.

“Arlington is a vibrant entertainment district where the Six Flags story began more than six decades ago with the opening of Six Flags Over Texas. The city sits at the heart of our five Texas parks and provides our leadership team with direct access to park operations and a regular on-the-ground presence,” said the CEO. “We look forward to building on the strong capabilities we already have in place there, and capitalizing on the vast talent pool in the Dallas-Fort Worth area as we advance our strategic growth plans.”

While the leadership is leaving Charlotte, the company reassured North Carolinians that Six Flags will remain a major employer and contributor to the eastern city’s economy through its investments in Carowinds and Carolina Harbor.

Arlington Mayor Jim Ross welcomed the news, stating, “This strategic move brings the company closer to its five Texas parks, enhancing collaboration and support for operations. Arlington’s central location within the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, robust transportation access, and vibrant business environment make it an ideal base for Six Flags’ leadership.”

Ross noted that Arlington has long shared a rich history with Six Flags.

“This relocation of Six Flags’ corporate headquarters back to Arlington not only honors this legacy but also sets the stage for a dynamic future filled with growth, collaboration, and shared success.”

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s office did not immediately respond to Blaze News’ request for comment.

Six Flags will continue to maintain an office in Sandusky, Ohio, the home of Cedar Point and where Cedar Fair was headquartered.

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​Six flags, Arlington, Texas, Charlotte, North carolina, Business, Theme park, Politics 

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Former congressman sends warning to WNBA over blocking male player: Get ready for court

Male basketball players looking to get into the WNBA Draft are hearing murmurs from around the league about their eligibility.

Two former NBA players, Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White, have both declared they are ready to tie up their laces and play against women in 2027.

‘The WNBA should preserve all records in anticipation of litigation.’

After Freedom was ejected from a Chicago Sky vs. Indiana Fever game on Sunday though, sources from around the league have thrown a wrench in the players’ plans.

Without official WNBA comment, “multiple sources” told ESPN that both Freedom and White are not eligible to play in the WNBA despite declaring themselves to be eligible for the league’s draft.

Enter former Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who has both revealed that he is legally representing White throughout the ordeal and sent the WNBA a warning about preserving all its records.

The WNBA has not notified [White] or our legal team of any decision on draft eligibility, as is their standard practice and policy,” Gaetz wrote on X Monday. “The WNBA should preserve all records in anticipation of litigation.”

The WNBA’s official communications on White’s eligibility would likely become evidence in court should the fiasco go to trial.

RELATED: Sophie Cunningham supporters speak out: WNBA is just passing the blame

The @WNBA has not notified @Highway_30 or our legal team of any decision on draft eligibility, as is their standard practice and policy.

The WNBA should preserve all records in anticipation of litigation. https://t.co/Mwr4dlgNwg
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) August 25, 2026

Attached to Gaetz’s message was video of White, wearing a wig, saying that it is “completely bigoted” of the WNBA to deny his “trans existence.”

White’s commentary on the subject included further mockery of the transgender movement. He stated earlier this month: “To continue to deny black transgender lesbians is tantamount to genocide.”

Freedom’s methods of protests have been more straight-faced and straightforward. In addition to wearing a shirt that read, “WOMAN noun. adult human female,” at the recent WNBA game, the 6’10” center simply said that the WNBA rulebook, as it exists, should mean he can play.

“If they don’t come up with a rule, then I am ready and prepared to play in May and just get ready for the draft in April,” Freedom told Fox News. “These are the rules that literally they put, so I’m just literally following their rules,” he added.

RELATED: WNBA star has mid-game meltdown at former NBA player wearing pro-women shirt: ‘I think it triggered her’

Shelby Tauber/Bloomberg/Getty Images

While the aforementioned WNBA sources have put the former NBA players on notice, there has been no official league statements regarding male eligibility.

The WNBA did meet recently to discuss the issue but concluded there was “no immediate eligibility matters affecting the WNBA.”

The WNBA’s 2026 collective-bargaining agreement with its players says that “only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA,” but the league has so far not provided its definition of what a woman is.

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​Basketball, Wnba, Transgenderism, Matt gaetz, Royce white, Sports, Womens sports, Enes kanter freedom 

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So long, stay gone: Trump administration tires of ‘bogus asylum claims,’ will start revoking visas — lots of them

The days of foreigners using temporary tourist and business visas to stay in the U.S. indefinitely are over.

In addition to launching a Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force aimed at curtailing the number of anchor babies, the State Department is poised to take action against foreigners who are attempting to use their nonimmigrant visas as stepping stones to asylum in America.

‘This is really just good housekeeping.’

According to a pair of U.S. officials and State Department documents obtained by the Associated Press, Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s department is set to announce the revocation of B-1 and B-2 visas that were issued over the past decade to foreigners who have sought or are seeking asylum. More than 200,000 foreign nationals reportedly could see their visas revoked at the outset.

Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau noted on Monday, “People in the US and all over the world are fed up with bogus asylum claims.”

“Asylum isn’t supposed to be a loophole to circumvent immigration laws; rather, it’s supposed to provide a narrow safe harbor for persons persecuted because of their ‘race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion,'” said Landau. “But the system has long been swamped by frivolous asylum claims, meaning that it takes years to adjudicate whether applicants are actually entitled to asylum — during which time they can typically work, have children, and otherwise put down roots in our country.”

RELATED: Is Ilhan Omar getting deported? Trump’s post raises eyebrows

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau. Finn Gomez/Getty Images

A B-1 visa is intended for short-term business activities “other than the performance of skilled or unskilled labor” and is not for persons who seek to obtain and engage in employment while in America. Allowable uses for this particular nonimmigrant visa include traveling to the U.S. to participate in commercial negotiations or conferences.

A B-2 visa is intended for tourists — those who want to travel to the U.S. to visit with friends or relatives, obtain medical treatment, or take a vacation.

Fiscal year 2024 alone saw the issuance of over 6.49 million B-1/B-2 visas classed “Temporary Visitor for Business and Pleasure”; 31,544 B-1 visas classed “Temporary Visitor for Business”; 1.91 million visas classed “Combination B1/B2 and Border Crossing Card”; and 12,072 visas classed “Temporary Visitor for Pleasure.”

State Department spokesman Thomas Pigott said in a statement obtained by the Associated Press, “We are coordinating with DHS to identify and revoke the nonimmigrant visas of foreigners who have come to the United States claiming to be short-term visitors, but then file for asylum to stay here permanently.”

Pigott did not say precisely how many visas might ultimately be affected, noting only that “as the process will be ongoing, the number of revocations remains dynamic and will be done on a rolling basis.”

When asked for comment, the Department of Homeland Security referred Blaze News to the State Department, which did not immediately respond.

Simon Hankinson, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, told Blaze News, “This is really just good housekeeping.”

“Asylum fraud is the easiest way for mala fide or economic migrants to get to stay in the West. Anyone claiming asylum here is clearly no longer doing what they said they would when they got a visa, and they certainly should not be allowed to come and go as they please,” continued Hankinson. “We encourage tourists, business people, students, athletes, and all kinds of others to come here for a temporary period … but there are rules. Visitors are not supposed to break our laws or overstay their welcome.”

Hankinson also noted: “When they apply for visas, aliens must show sufficient ties to their home country that they will return – which is the very opposite of what they would need to prove to get asylum. Some people lie to get immigration benefits.”

While foreigners whose visas are revoked might not necessarily be deported immediately, a U.S. official told the Associated Press that they would nevertheless lose their status as tourism or business travelers under the proposed initiative.

Hankinson acknowledged that foreigners who have already been granted asylum are able to process to green card and citizenship — and visa revocation doesn’t change that. However, if they are refused asylum, they can be deported.

“At that point, they would never qualify for a visa because they’d be high risk to overstay again or come illegally,” said Hankinson.

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​Department of homeland security, Deportation, State department, Trump administration, Visa, Heritage foundation, Marco rubio, Asylum seeker, Politics 

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The $1 trillion social media addiction trial has begun — is the disorder real?

Social media apps like Facebook and Instagram are addictive! At least that’s what four states proclaimed in a monster lawsuit that accuses Meta of fostering unsafe platforms for young users’ mental health and well-being.

Together, the states seek $1.4 trillion in damages — nearly enough to bankrupt the entire company, while lawmakers get even more fuel to ram down restrictive age verification laws on Americans.

The company faces an uphill battle.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. As the trial now gets underway, all eyes are on two simple questions.

Is social media addiction medically real? And does that matter in court?

The lawsuit

In early July, Meta revealed that four blue states banded together to stick it to the company and its two top social media platforms. California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey filed a joint lawsuit that claims Facebook and Instagram are addictive, especially to minors, and that Meta misled the public on the danger both apps posed to users’ mental health.

Meta was quick to refute the claim, stating that “social media addiction” isn’t a real mental health condition recognized by the American Psychiatric Association, the World Health Organization, or any other medical organization. The company also denied that it misled the public.

These counterclaims fly in opposition to the historic loss Meta faced in a similar lawsuit against a 20-year-old woman who convinced a jury that she became addicted to social media as a minor. It’s important to note, however, that several other companies were also implicated in that lawsuit, including Snapchat and TikTok (both of which settled) and YouTube (which was also forced to pay damages alongside Meta).

Nevertheless, the plaintiff states want the court to impose sweeping changes to how social media works altogether, scrapping so-called “infinite” scroll, video autoplay, the hugely popular evanescent content that’s often the standard format for short video posts, and even ubiquitous features like filters that alter your facial appearance or content feeds determined largely by algorithm.

Is social media addiction a real problem?

Even if there is no clinical definition for social media addiction, that doesn’t mean these platforms aren’t harmful. But are they actually addictive? It depends on who you ask.

An addiction is defined as “a compulsive, chronic, physiological or psychological need for a habit-forming substance, behavior, or activity having harmful physical, psychological, or social effects and typically causing well-defined symptoms (such as anxiety, irritability, tremors, or nausea) upon withdrawal or abstinence.”

RELATED: Saying Meta hurts kids’ health, state lawsuits demand $1T in penalties

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Some experts claim that an addiction to activities — such as social media, video games, and smartphones in general — illicit a dopamine response in the brain that, if overused, can lead to dopamine deficiency — a complete crash of the brain’s reward system. At this stage, a user may experience irritability, depression, and anxiety. These feelings of withdrawal cause them to re-engage in the addictive activity to regain a sense of pleasure, only to find that the reward mechanism isn’t as effective, which leads to even more of the behavior as they chase the original thrill.

Others claim that the dopamine deficiency theory is pseudoscience at best. Real addiction is much more complex. Unlike activities that provide hits of dopamine, addictive chemicals, like drugs and alcohol, force the dopamine system to run wide open without end, giving the user an insatiable urge for more that can only be fueled by ingesting larger quantities of the initial drug.

Dopamine is involved in both cases. However, it takes an artificial stimulus — like a drug or chemical — to actually turn a dopamine rush into an addiction. Anything else is merely a bad habit that can be reversed or broken.

The real danger of social media

Whether you believe that social media addiction is a legitimate condition or a total farce, the ramifications of cases like the one Meta faces today could have widespread consequences for the American people.

Politicians on both sides of the aisle are actively trying to take away our rights to freely access smart devices, AI chatbots, and websites without some form of digital ID. One defining factor in this war against a private and anonymous internet hinges on underage users. Some lawmakers believe that we need protections in place to limit or outright ban social media access for minors. A victory against Meta would only be positioned as further “proof” that social media harms underage users and that more legislation is the only solution.

Given how badly the last case like this went for Meta, the company faces an uphill battle. If found guilty, it could pay up to $1.4 trillion in damages, or approximately 85% of its entire value listed on the NASDAQ.

​Tech, Social media, Addiction, Meta 

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Federal agents wanted to search his phone — now they say the trick he used to stop them is a crime

A simple check at the airport has become a national conversation after an activist used the ultimate trick to stop his phone from being searched.

The high-profile stunt, now coming to light, has kicked off a fresh round of debate about the justified reach of government power into your personal data.

Samuel Tunick was allegedly on a federal watch list when he was stopped at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport while returning from a vacation last year.

‘It just seems like a good idea to protect my private data.’

Tunick is a known activist associated with a movement that fights against what progressives labeled “Cop City” in Atlanta. This refers to a police and fire training center that was erected in the southern city in spring 2025.

Tunick was stopped by Customs and Border Protection officers upon his return from the Dominican Republic in January 2025, the New York Times reported, and authorities wanted to search his phone.

The activist was reportedly questioned before eventually turning over the device, a Google Pixel phone.

But with the help of a security-centric operating system called GrapheneOS, Tunick provided officers with a passcode that, when they entered it, erased the contents of his phone.

“Knowing the kind of surveillance that activists have been subjected to, it just seems like a good idea to protect my private data that I don’t necessarily want corporations or governments to have access to, just out of the principle of privacy,” Tunick told the Times.

The 30-year-old is now facing federal obstruction charges for “knowingly” destroying, damaging, wasting, or disposing of digital contents for the purpose of “preventing and impairing” a government search.

Tunick told the outlet that his charges stem from the national security memo that calls for the investigation of participants in “criminal and terroristic conspiracies,” which includes organized networks and entities behind targeted campaigns of “intimidation, radicalization, threats, and violence designed to silence opposing speech.”

RELATED: Tracking device exposes Amazon’s secret plans for rare books

Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Theodore Hertzberg, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, provided the following statement to Atlanta News Now:

Obstructing federal law enforcement is a serious matter that has serious repercussions. Individuals who destroy or attempt to destroy property, including data, to prevent lawful search and seizure should expect to face prosecution and punishment for their actions.

A spokeswoman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection told the Times that her agency has the authority to search electronic devices of anyone entering or leaving the United States, regardless of citizenship, in order to enforce laws around terrorism, national security threats, and more.

She reinforced that less than 0.01% of electronic devices of international travelers’ phones had been searched in the last fiscal year.

RELATED: This team accidentally let AIs loose to attack companies — and won’t share how bad the problem is

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Tunick said that he was just one of “hundreds of thousands” of people in his movement and that he was initially intrigued by “Cop City” from an “environmental justice” angle.

He called it especially important when it was combined with the “concerning trend that we’ve seen over the last several years of expanding and militarizing the police at the exact time when tens of millions of Americans are demanding the exact opposite.”

Law Commentary notes that Tunick has pleaded not guilty and that the case remains pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

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​Customs and border protection, Atlanta, Samuel tunick, The fourth amendment, Tech, Search 

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Victims in Oregon quintuple homicide case identified

The sheriff’s office investigating a suspected quintuple homicide in Oregon over the weekend has given an update in the case.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office released the identities of the homicide victims found at the scene in rural Forest Grove, which is west of Portland.

‘I have not been a part of or witnessed a scene quite this complex.’

The victims were Mary Elizabeth Kimsey, 85; Rowan Karla Kimsey, 60; Stella Jade Kimsey, 26; Linsey Mae Haraldsen, 26; and Alvin Raymond Chu, 27, officials said.

According to the report, Mary was Rowan’s mother and Stella’s grandmother, Linsey was Stella’s best friend, and Alvin was Linsey’s partner.

Mary, Linsey, and Alvin reportedly lived in Portland, while Rowan and Stella lived at the property where the bodies were found.

The deceased homicide suspect, 36-year-old Benjamin Charles Parker, was Stella’s boyfriend; Parker also lived at the property, but his body was found Sunday roughly 200 miles north of the crime scene.

Parker was found dead in a car in Enumclaw, Washington, in what authorities believe is a suicide.

KOIN-TV reported that the car containing Parker’s body was found behind a Safeway grocery store.

RELATED: Suspect in ‘complex’ quintuple homicide found dead in a car — in a different state

In a news conference, sheriff’s Detective Shannon Wilde reportedly said, “Any time you have one person deceased, let alone five, that’s a logistical challenge.”

Two dogs and two cats also were found dead on the property. A third cat was found alive and treated at a veterinary clinic but was subsequently euthanized “due to the extent of its injuries.”

“I will say that in my 22 years here, I have not been a part of or witnessed a scene quite this complex involving this type of an investigation,” Sheriff Caprice Massey said, according to the Associated Press.

The five victims were discovered on Saturday after fire personnel responded to a 5:27 a.m. vehicle fire on the property in the 47300 block of NW Otis Lane.

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​Suicide, Homicide, Oregon, Bodies found, Washington state, Crime 

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El-Sayed gives bizarre defense for cutting off kids’ genitals … on Fox News

Abdul El-Sayed, the Islamic Democrat hoping to win an open U.S. Senate seat in Michigan, has mounted a bizarre defense of a barbaric practice that he wants American taxpayers to fund: sex-rejection mutilations for children.

On “Jesse Watters Primetime” on Fox News Monday, El-Sayed — who holds a medical degree but has seemingly never put it to clinical use — repeatedly dodged when the eponymous host pressed him with difficult questions, especially regarding medical care.

‘Abdul, Michigan’s not going for that.’

Growing visibly frustrated with El-Sayed’s evasiveness during their nearly half-hour exchange, Watters asked the Democrat flatly, “Sex changes for minors. Do you support that?”

“Look, you know, I remember having great conversations with my conservative friends about Right to Try legislation — the idea that the government shouldn’t tell you what kind of health care you should have,” said El-Sayed. “I just think the government shouldn’t tell you what kind of health care you should have, and if you’re a minor, it’s between you, your doctor, and your parents.”

“You want to ‘try’ on kids?” said the revulsed host.

El-Sayed responded, “If you disagree with that, if you disagree that health care decisions need to be made by a doctor and their parents and a patient, then I just think we agree to disagree,” neglecting to mention that under Medicare for all, which he supports, the taxpayer would effectively be made complicit in any such decision.

“But you want to put government inside a clinic or a hospital selectively,” El-Sayed told Watters.

RELATED: Sacrificing body parts and informed consent to the sex-change regime

Watters pressed the issue, asking El-Sayed whether he, as a doctor, “thinks it’s OK for a parent to slash his kid’s ding-a-ling off. You think that’s OK?”

“Do you really want to have this conversation?” responded El-Sayed. “Are you circumcised?”

Watters confirmed that he was indeed circumcised, then noted that “circumcision is different than castration.”

“It’s a problem that you think that you get to decide what happens between a parent, a doctor, and a patient,” said El-Sayed. “I’m just saying that yes, circumcision is a surgery on a kid’s ding-a-ling, so if you really want to bring that up, you can. I just think you guys are really selective.”

“That’s wacky. Abdul, Michigan’s not going for that. That is sick stuff,” said Watters.

Monday night, Michigan GOP senior communication adviser Greg Manz retweeted a clip of the exchange between El-Sayed and Watters along with a statement previously given to Blaze News: “Michigan taxpayers footing the bill for abortions and irreversible gender reassignment surgeries, even for children — it doesn’t get more extreme than that.”

The “war room” account for Republican candidate Mike Rogers called opponent El-Sayed a “conman” who “is too extreme for Michigan.”

Despite El-Sayed’s insinuation that circumcision and sex-rejection surgeries are in the same ballpark, they are worlds apart.

Male circumcision simply involves the removal of the foreskin covering the tip of the penis, but so-called feminizing genital surgery — the sex-rejection procedure performed on confused male victims’ genitals — is a complicated and horrific procedure.

RELATED: El-Sayed’s mom worked for designated terror group that financed bin Laden ahead of 9/11: Report

Bob Riha, Jr./Getty Images

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, in this procedure,

the testicles are cut off; the skin along the shaft of the penis is separated from the penile tissue and preserved to construct a fake vagina; a portion of the glans of the penis along with some blood vessels and nerves are fashioned into a fake clitoris; a space is hollowed out between the bladder and the rectum; the skin that once encased the victim’s penis is turned inside out and put into the space; the urethra is shortened; the “scrotal skin is rearranged and used to surgically construct a labia majora”; and a temporary catheter is shoved into the victim’s bladder.

The sex-rejection procedure that is performed on females is also a complicated affair that requires multiple mutilations, including the removal of skin, fat, nerves, arteries, and/or veins from other parts of the body and a lengthening of the urethra to construct a fake and nonfunctioning penis.

El-Sayed won’t take a stand against such procedures, but most Americans think they’re unconscionable.

According to a nationwide Gallup poll conducted in May, 57% of U.S. adults believe that “changing one’s gender” is morally wrong. A 2026 SLU/YouGov Poll conducted in Missouri found that 67% of voters opposed sex-rejection medications for minors and 73% opposed sex-rejection surgeries.

A February 2025 Pew Research Center survey found that 56% of American adults want to make it illegal for health care professionals to provide minors with sex-rejection “medical care.” A Washington Post-KFF poll found in 2023 that 68% of Americans oppose puberty blockers for trans-identifying kids ages 10 to 14, and nearly 60% opposed hormonal treatments for teens ages 15 to 17.

El-Sayed has repeatedly vowed to “fight to expand Medicare to cover all necessary health care” and “extend it to every single American from cradle to grave without premiums, copays, or deductibles.” He has acknowledged that this scheme will not only require higher taxes but would pay for so-called “reproductive rights” and “gender-affirming care.”

El-Sayed’s campaign did not immediately respond to Blaze News’ request for comment.

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​Abdul el-sayed, Jesse watters, Medicare for all, Michigan, Politics, Us senate, Health care, Transgender 

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The WNBA’s war on reality: Will the league survive the transgender madness?

The Women’s National Basketball Association is struggling to define the very category it was created to promote, and BlazeTV host Steve Deace couldn’t be less impressed.

“Something called the Women’s National Basketball Association is having a deep probing conversation of what the term ‘woman’ means. It’s not right-wing parody. It’s not a Babylon Bee spot. It’s not a meme. It’s not a troll,” Deace tells XX-XY Athletics founder Jennifer Sey.

“This is literally what is occurring right now,” he continues, adding, “Make sense of it, please.”

“They’re not discussing what a woman is. They’re discussing how do we get through this without doing anything,” Sey tells Deace. “That’s what they’re discussing.”

“They’re in a panic, and they’re going, ‘How do we say something but do nothing?’ That’s basically what they’re talking about,” she adds.

While other leagues have made it clear that they will not be allowing men in women’s sports, the WNBA remains one of the last leagues with a clear “agenda.”

“And that agenda is not women’s basketball. It’s politics,” Sey says. “That’s all it is. It’s woke politics. That’s their agenda. It’s a joke. The whole league is a joke.”

And if you look at it from a financial perspective, it makes even less sense.

“They’ve never made money in 30 years. They’re totally subsidized by the NBA. They have a chance right now to actually make money. They have a golden goose in Caitlin Clark. They won’t lead with her. They won’t market her,” Sey explains.

“Little girls are showing up across the country. They’re buying her jersey. They’re buying tickets. It’s like they don’t want to run this like a business. They just want to be in the politics,” she says.

“Not to mention all the behind-the-scenes shenanigans. I mean, half of them are married to each other. Like this is not a legitimate business. It’s a clown car,” she adds.

The league is digging itself into a hole, and it could pull itself out of it, but Sey tells Deace that it won’t.

“I think the only sensible thing they can do is to stand up and say, ‘This is the WNBA. We were wrong. It’s not about inclusion. This is elite female athletes, and it’s female athletes only,’” she explains.

“And you know what would happen, Steve, if they did that? It would be two weeks of noise from the activist class, and then it would be over, and they’d get back to basketball,” she continues, adding, “But they won’t do it because they’re not in this for basketball.”

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​Jennifer sey, Steve deace, Wnba, Caitlin clark, Transgender, Men, Womens sports, Blazetv show 

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‘I ended his life’: Ex-University of Kentucky cheerleader drops bombshell confession in newborn baby’s death, changes plea

Laken Snelling, a former University of Kentucky cheerleader who was arrested after her newborn son was found dead in a closet at her home, has pleaded guilty to charges related to the infant’s death.

During a Friday hearing, Snelling pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter, abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported.

‘I deprived him of oxygen.’

WKRC-TV reported, “Prosecutors recommended 10 years in prison for first-degree manslaughter and one year for each of the other three charges.”

The judge has discretion to impose the sentences concurrently or consecutively, according to WKRC.

A Fayette County grand jury indicted Snelling in March.

Snelling, 22, pleaded not guilty to all four charges in April.

The Herald-Leader, citing a police citation, reported that officers were dispatched to Snelling’s Lexington home at 10:30 a.m. Aug. 27, 2025, for a report of a “deceased infant.”

Court documents WKYT-TV obtained said police discovered an infant’s remains wrapped in a trash bag inside a closet at her home.

In a Snapchat group chat that Snelling was part of, her roommates discussed hearing unusual noises on the morning of Aug. 27.

One roommate sent a message around 4 a.m. saying she heard a loud noise that sounded like something had fallen, according to court documents.

Court documents also revealed that a second roommate said she heard the noises as well and noted that the clamor was forceful enough to knock a picture off the wall.

Another roommate said the noises lasted about an hour, according to court docs.

Shortly before 9 a.m. Aug. 27, Snelling sent a message in the group chat stating that the noise was her passing out, court records said.

Court documents added that Snelling told her roommates she hadn’t been feeling well and planned to get examined by a doctor.

The Herald-Leader reported that roommates found “a blood-soaked towel on the floor and a plastic bag containing evidence of childbirth” inside Snelling’s room, the police citation said.

As Blaze News previously reported, Snelling told police she gave birth to a baby around 4 a.m. on Aug. 27, but the infant “fell into the floor of her bedroom.”

According to the affidavit, Snelling informed investigators that she did not believe the baby boy was breathing or alive, and she passed out approximately 30 minutes later.

When Snelling awoke, she “quickly got up” and saw “the baby turning blue and purple,” the affidavit stated.

Snelling said she believed the baby “to be dead and wrapped the baby up like a burrito and laid next to it [on] the floor because it gave her a little comfort in the moment,” court documents said.

The arrest record said Snelling “admitted to concealing the birth by cleaning any evidence, placing all cleaning items used inside of a black trash bag, including the infant, who was wrapped in a towel.”

Snelling, a former University of Kentucky student-athlete, was arrested in August 2025 in connection with her infant’s death.

Snelling, a former STUNT team member of the University of Kentucky, withdrew from the school after her arrest.

RELATED: Mother confesses to killing her newborn because of ‘expenses,’ enlisting daughter to help dispose of baby still crying inside trash bag: Prosecutor

The Kentucky Medical Examiner’s Office determined the baby was born alive, and his cause of death was asphyxia by undetermined means.

However, Snelling recently dropped a bombshell court confession about her baby’s death.

“I was under a lot of emotional stress, and my baby came unexpectedly. And instead of helping him, I ended his life. And afterwards, I cleaned up and didn’t tell anyone,” a tearful Snelling told Fayette County Circuit Court Judge Diane Minnifield, according to a video of the hearing posted by Court TV.

“I ended his life,” Snelling admitted to the judge.

When asked by Judge Minnifield how she ended his life, Snelling confessed: “I deprived him of oxygen.”

The judge asked Snelling why she was pleading guilty to the tampering of physical evidence charge, and she responded, “I put the towels in a plastic bag.”

Snelling said of the concealing the birth of an infant charge, “I didn’t tell anyone after.”

“It’s very tragic, and it’s very sad, and I hate that we can’t fix that,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Kimberly Henderson Baird said, according to WLEX-TV. “But we did the best we could. We talked to the family to let them know what the offer was. So there was a lot involved in this case.”

Baird said of Snelling, “I think she has a great deal of remorse.”

Snelling is scheduled to appear in court Oct. 16 for a sentencing hearing.

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​Cheerleader, Guilty plea, Infant, Manslaughter, Newborn killed, University of kentucky, Crime