A far-left Nebraska state senator is defending her actions after she removed portraits hung in the Nebraska State Capitol as part of America’s 250th anniversary celebration.

On Wednesday, state Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh (D) of Omaha took down multiple pictures and portraits from the Founders Museum, a traveling patriotic art display from PragerU meant to commemorate the heroes of the American Revolution.

‘Celebrating America during our 250th year should be a moment of unity and patriotism, not divisiveness and destructive partisanship.’

Surveillance video shared on X by Republican Gov. Jim Pillen shows Cavanaugh removing the pictures while others pass by. A still-frame shared by Pillen further shows Cavanaugh beaming with glee as she carries the pictures away.

“Celebrating America during our 250th year should be a moment of unity and patriotism, not divisiveness and destructive partisanship. I am disappointed in this shameful and selfish bad example,” Pillen said in the X post.

Cavanaugh told the Nebraska Examiner that she believed the exhibit violated Capitol regulations. “We are not allowed to adhere anything to walls in the hallway of the Capitol,” she explained.

“I have always been a stickler for the rules … so I removed the prohibited objects.”

RELATED: Trump announces ‘Patriot Games’ high school athletic competition for 250th anniversary of founding

The Founders Museum portrait shared by Gov. Pillen, though Cavanaugh denies taking this particular portrait down.

Cavanaugh claimed she attempted to remove the images without damaging them and alerted the Nebraska State Patrol that she had stored the pictures in her office.

The affected images were later recovered and restored to the Capitol walls.

While leafleting is prohibited in the Capitol and on its grounds, some art can be displayed with approval. Speaker John Arch told the Examiner that the Nebraska Capitol Commission had authorized the Founders Museum exhibit.

In response to Cavanaugh’s stunt, PragerU asked on X: “Why would an elected official take a tribute to American history off the wall of the capitol?”

Cavanaugh, described by the Examiner as “a Democrat in the officially nonpartisan Legislature,” made national news in 2023 when she filibustered the Let Them Grow Act, which banned the genital mutilation of kids, by chanting a mantra about the importance of “trans people.”

“Trans people belong here! We need trans people! We love trans people,” she repeated, slowly at first before building into a shrieking crescendo, during which she flailed about, wagging her finger and pounding the podium.

Despite Cavanaugh’s theatrics, Let Them Grow passed and was later signed into law by Gov. Pillen.

RELATED: Left-wing lawmaker loses it, spews furious, pro-trans chant amid legislative session: ‘Trans people belong here! We need trans people! We love trans people!’

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Machaela cavanaugh, Nebraska, Capitol, Founders museum, Prageru, Jimi pillen, Politics 

Anti-ICE protesters and rioters have forced Minneapolis public schools to shut down out of caution after a lethal shooting of a woman by federal agents.

Protesters denounced the Trump administration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement overnight at the same time that the governor and mayor, both of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, called for ICE to leave Minneapolis immediately.

‘All MPS-sponsored programs, activities, athletics, Community Education, including Adult Education, will be canceled.’

“Out of an abundance of caution, there will be no school on Thursday, January 8, 2026 and Friday, January 9, 2026 due to safety concerns related to today’s incidents around the city,” reads a statement from Minneapolis Public Schools.

“All MPS-sponsored programs, activities, athletics, Community Education, including Adult Education, will be canceled,” they added. “The District will not move to e-learning because that is only allowable for severe weather. MPS will continue collaborating with the City of Minneapolis and other partners on emergency preparedness and response.”

Some media reports tied the action to an incident where armed U.S. Border Patrol officers detained two staff members at Roosevelt High School after allegedly tackling people and pepper-spraying bystanders.

A school official who spoke on condition of anonymity described the incident to MPR News.

“The guy, I’m telling him like, ‘Please step off the school grounds,’ and this dude comes up and bumps into me and then tells me that I pushed him, and he’s trying to push me, and he knocked me down,” the official said.

“They don’t care. They’re just animals,” the official added. “I’ve never seen people behave like this.”

The Department of Homeland Security offered a far different version of the incident. DHS said agents were conducting an operation when a protester tried to impede them and rammed their vehicles. They gave chase and ended up near the school when a teacher “proceeded to assault a Border Patrol agent.”

DHS denied using tear gas at the incident, but witnesses contradicted that report.

RELATED: ‘ICE, get the f**k out of Minneapolis!’ Democrat mayor calls ICE’s self-defense claim for deadly shooting ‘bulls**t’

Another witness to the incident spoke to KARE-TV about the altercation.

“All of a sudden, a few high school-age kids came running and looking scared and maybe even tearful,” said Evan Johnson, who was walking his dog near the school. “And there was a woman right next to me who was going to head over and start filming herself. And she told this little boy to get into her car. She asked him first if he was afraid of what’s going on. And he just said, ‘ICE is here.'”

DHS said that at no point “was a school, students, or staff targeted, and agents would not have been near this location if not for the dangerous actions of this individual.”

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Minneapolis schools, Minneapolis shooting, Roosevelt high school ice, Anti-ice protests, Politics 

On Wednesday, federal agents approached an SUV in Minneapolis that was strategically angled to interfere with their law enforcement operation. The driver, 37-year-old Colorado native Renee Nicole Macklin Good, disobeyed repeated orders to exit the vehicle, then drove into a federal agent who opened fire in self-defense.

The agent who fatally shot Good is apparently no stranger to suffering injuries as the result of vehicular violence from radicals. In fact, he appears to be the ICE agent bloodied by another menace evading justice in Minnesota earlier this year.

Munoz-Guatemala hit the gas, trapping the ICE agent’s arm between the seat and the frame of the car.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told reporters on Wednesday, “The very same officer who was attacked today had previously been dragged by an anti-ICE rioter who had rammed him with a car and dragged him back in June. He sustained injuries at that time as well.”

On June 17, federal agents attempted to arrest Roberto Carlos Munoz-Guatemala in Bloomington on an immigration order.

RELATED: Woman who died plowing into ICE agent extolled by same liberal media that vilified Ashli Babbitt

Photo by Christopher Juhn/Anadolu via Getty Images

Munoz-Guatemala is a 40-year-old illegal alien from Guatemala who was previously arrested for domestic assault, convicted in 2022 for serial sexual abuse of a minor, and convicted for driving without a valid license.

Federal agents stopped the foreign sex offender’s vehicle and ordered him to exit; however, Munoz-Guatemala refused to comply.

As Munoz-Guatemala was preparing to speed away, an ICE agent smashed the rear window of the sex offender’s vehicle and attempted to open the car from the inside. However, Munoz-Guatemala hit the gas, trapping the ICE agent’s arm between the seat and the frame of the car.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota, “Munoz-Guatemala dragged the federal agent for more than 100 yards, while weaving back and forth in an attempt to shake the agent from the car.”

Footage of the incident shows the sex offender accelerating down a residential street with the federal agent hanging from the car.

The agent reportedly required 20 stitches for a deep cut in his right arm and an additional 13 stitches in his right hand.

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated at the time, “Instead of comparing ICE law enforcement to the Gestapo, Governor Walz should be thanking our brave law enforcement for arresting these violent criminals.”

A federal jury convicted the sex offender last month on one count of assault on a federal officer with a dangerous and deadly weapon, causing bodily injury.

When asked to confirm that the ICE agent in the two incidents are one and the same, the Department of Homeland Security seemingly confirmed that they are by directing Blaze News to a press release about Munoz-Guatemala.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Illegal alien, Ice, Renee macklin, Macklin, Renee good, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Kristi noem, Dhs, Department of homeland security, Immigration and customs enforcement, Immigration, Mexico, Illegal, Politics 

As Christians, when we consider New Year’s resolutions, we often think about reading the Bible more, praying more often, or maybe getting more involved in our church. Those are all wonderful things worthy of pursuing.

Rather than taking time to expound on those, however, I’d like to commend three other resolutions that may not make the usual lists.

Our bodies and souls are integrally connected, and each significantly influences the other.

These are practical — maybe even commonsensical — but given the times in which we live, they’re easy to neglect, with the result that we flourish less than we could.

1. Practice attention management

We hear a great deal about time management these days, but rarely about attention management. Americans spend multiple hours each day on their phones, with teens devoting more than nine hours(!) and adults more than four hours daily. We’re awash in a sea of texts, emails, videos, games, and alerts. If we’re not careful, these can become an endless series of distractions that divert our attention from more important things.

They can also subtly mold us in the shape of the secular culture that produces much of what we consume. As theologian Jason Thacker writes, “Following Jesus in a digital age requires … having our eyes wide open and seeing how technology is subtly shaping us in ways often contrary to our faith. We need to learn how to ask the right questions about our relationship with technology, examining it with clear eyes grounded in the Word of God.”

It takes some intentionality to guard our hearts from the often counter-Christian messages coming through our screens, but we have to make it a priority because “everything [we] do flows from” our hearts (Proverbs 4:23). We can use technology in many beneficial ways, but we must also “examine everything” and “hold firmly to that which is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21) while avoiding obstacles to our spiritual growth.

2. Get more sleep

There’s an old saying among pastors that “sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is take a nap.” After all, we’re not just souls or minds, but also physical beings, by God’s design. Christians are sometimes tempted to view our physical nature in a negative light, but this reflects a Gnostic view that sees the spiritual as good and the material as bad or inferior. This is alien to Scripture, however, which tells us that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). As John W. Kleinig argues in his book “Wonderfully Made: A Protestant Theology of the Body”:

The body matters much more than we usually imagine it does. It matters because it locates us in time and space here on earth. It matters because we live in it and with it. It matters because through it we interact with the world around us, the people who coexist with us, and the living God who keeps us physically alive in it.

Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). In order to keep them healthy and functioning properly, adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep each day. A lack of sufficient sleep can lead to heart disease, hormonal imbalances, reduced immune response, and a lack of mental focus, among other problems.

Since blue light from our phone and computer screens can make it harder to get deep, restful sleep, this is another good reason to limit screen time, especially close to bedtime.

Get enough sleep, and you’ll likely notice greater energy, optimism, and an increased capacity to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Our bodies and souls are integrally connected, and each significantly influences the other.

3. Cultivate friendships

Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, half of U.S. adults reported feelings of loneliness, with 58% worrying that no one in their life knows them well. We live in a hyper-individualistic society that often views other people as obstacles to our personal agendas. Yet God designed us to live in close connection with other humans, especially fellow believers. The writer of Hebrews instructed his readers not to give up “meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another” (Hebrews 10:25). Like Christians in the early church, we should “[devote ourselves] to … fellowship” (Acts 2:42).

Since we’ve been noting how some of these resolutions affect our physical health, it’s remarkable that chronic loneliness is more dangerous than smoking 15 cigarettes a day! Thus, author Justin Earley observes that “friendship will make or break your life.” We can see the wisdom of God’s statement in Genesis that “it is not good for the man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18).

RELATED: 6 ways I’m using 2026 to deepen my relationship with God

Heritage Images/Getty Images

The quality of our friendships also makes a big difference. We’ve all seen groups of people sitting together in some public place, not interacting with one another, but engrossed in their phones. “This is what community often looks like in the digital age,” writes pastor Jay Kim. “Lonely individuals falling prey, over and over again, to the great masquerade of digital technology” that lulls us “into a state of isolation via the illusion of digital connection.”

As Kim goes on to note, while we can communicate digitally, we can only commune in person. Communication is about the exchange of information, while communing involves the exchange of presence. Communing is the more difficult task because it “requires more of us: more of our attention, empathy, and compassion.”

So this year, I encourage you to practice attention management, get enough sleep, and intentionally look for opportunities to begin new friendships and deepen old ones. It will take some deliberate effort, and every relationship will have growing pains, but the greater depth of fellowship will be worth it. As a saying often attributed to 18th-century evangelist George Whitefield goes, “No man is the whole of himself. His friends are the rest of him.”

A version of this essay originally appeared in the Worldview Bulletin Substack.

​Abide, 2026 resolutions, Christian living, Health, Make america healthy again, Lifestyle, Sleep, Blue light, Tech, Faith 

Jim Irsay was the owner of the Indianapolis Colts before he passed away. Now, his daughter Carlie Irsay-Gordon is the team’s new owner — and BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock isn’t thrilled with the attention her presence has been drawing.

“She magically appears as the team’s owner and standing on the sideline. And she is what I’m calling an example of the equalizers and this whole feminist movement we have going on in the National Football League,” BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock comments.

“America, beyond question — American culture, American society — the feminist movement has overtaken everything. And that’s why we have women like Carlie Irsay-Gordon pretending to be some sort of football savant and standing on the sidelines with headsets on and listening to the coaches,” he continues.

“If women can overtake the NFL, that should be a message to you that they can overtake, and they are overtaking, all of American society,” he adds.

And when Irsay-Gordon spoke about the end of their season during a press conference, Whitlock points out that she’s literally reading off a script.

“She’s looking down every fourth word at notes in front of her. She’s reading a script. She’s pretending to be a male leader by reading a script. This is all scripted and intentional,” Whitlock says.

“In 2022, NFL owners put out a statement saying that diversity in ownership was an important goal for the NFL. And so, they’ve been ushering in all of this female leadership into the National Football League,” he explains.

“Anything that’s diverse, anything that promotes something that’s not male, patriarchal, and white, that’s all good. … Anything that disrupts tradition, anything that disrupts biblical patriarchy, anything that disrupts male authority and leadership, it’s all good. It’s a positive. It’s a sign of progress,” he continues.

While Irsay-Gordon isn’t the first daughter of an owner to inherit an NFL team, Whitlock points out that it’s not the fact that she inherited the team, but the hyperfocus on her while the Colts were off to an 8-2 start.

“She was the hottest thing in the NFL — ‘She’s holding the coaches accountable, she’s on the sidelines during the games, she’s on headsets, let’s do stories about it,’” Whitlock mocks.

“This is the future of the NFL,” he adds.

Want more from Jason Whitlock?

To enjoy more fearless conversations at the crossroads of culture, faith, sports, and comedy with Jason Whitlock, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Video phone, Sharing, Camera phone, Upload, Video, Free, Youtube.com, Fearless with jason whitlock, Fearless, Jason whitlock, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Nfl, National football league, Carlie irsay gordon, Indianapolis colts, Feminism nfl, Feminist, Feminist movement 

A North Carolina mother was arrested for negligence almost a month after her toddler boy was found submerged in a container of water on a home’s front porch and later died, the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office said.

Deputies responded to a 911 call about a missing child in the 200 block of Old Timber Road in Jacksonville around 4:30 p.m. Dec. 11, officials said.

‘Don’t have kids if you’re not diligent about the care and protection you provide them! You are responsible for their lives! Literally!’

Shortly after deputies arrived at the home, they found a 16-month-old boy unconscious and submerged in water inside a container on the front porch of the home, officials said.

Deputies and emergency medical services personnel immediately initiated lifesaving measures, officials said, adding that the boy was taken to Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune, where he later was pronounced dead.

RELATED: Baby’s fingers amputated after mom leaves her alone with pit bull puppy, hears screams, finds dog chewing on child’s hand, officials say

Image source: Onslow County (N.C.) Sheriff’s Office

An investigation determined that negligence on the part of the child’s mother was a contributing factor in his death, officials said.

Elizabeth Marie Holderness, 30, turned herself in Monday to the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office, officials said.

The sheriff’s office said Holderness has been charged with felony involuntary manslaughter, felony negligent child abuse – serious bodily injury, and six misdemeanor counts of contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile.

Investigators determined that Holderness showed reckless disregard for human life, WCTI-TV reported, citing arrest warrants.

The warrants allege Holderness willfully ingested an illegal substance in a separate room for an extended period of time while the child was in her care, the station added.

She received a $75,000 unsecured bond after her first court appearance Monday in Onslow County District Court, WCTI said, adding that Holderness bonded out later Monday afternoon.

While a number of commenters posting under the sheriff’s office Facebook entry about the incident claim to know Holderness and caution against judgment, others didn’t feel that way:

“Maybe you shouldn’t do drugs,” one commenter said. “If you’re defending these actions, do better.””Everyone making excuses. This boy was 16 months [old]. Those children are never to be left unattended. Period,” another user declared, adding that “the mother got negligence for a reason.””Makes me sick! Don’t have kids if you’re not diligent about the care and protection you provide them! You are responsible for their lives! Literally!” another commenter wrote.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​North carolina, Onslow county sheriff’s office, Mother, Child, Toddler death, Mother arrested, Crime 

Five Republican senators joined Democrats to defy President Donald Trump, voting to advance a war powers resolution to rein in military action in Venezuela.

The war powers resolution advanced in a 52-47 vote on Thursday, with Republican Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Todd Young of Indiana joining 47 Democrats.

‘I oppose socialism everywhere but that’s not today’s debate.’

If passed, the resolution would limit Trump’s authority to enact military intervention in Venezuela without congressional approval.

Although the resolution is likely to pass the Senate, the House rejected a similar war powers resolution in December. Notably this resolution was blocked before Trump ordered the military operation to capture Nicolas Maduro.

RELATED: 9 Republicans aid Democrats to advance Obamacare subsidies

Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

Paul and Hawley justified their votes from a constitutional perspective, arguing that war powers belong to Congress and not the president.

“I oppose socialism everywhere but that’s not today’s debate,” Paul said in a post on X. “The question is simple: Does the Constitution allow one person to take us to war without Congress? The answer is no. War powers belong to the people’s representatives. Full stop.”

“With regard to Venezuela, my read of the Constitution is that if the President feels the need to put boots on the ground there in the future, Congress would need to vote on it,” Hawley said in a post on X. “That’s why I voted yes on this morning’s Senate resolution.”

RELATED: ‘Errand boy’: Mike Collins rips Jon Ossoff’s silence on Maduro, points to Laken Riley’s Venezuelan killer

Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for MoveOn

In contrast, Collins supported the war powers resolution to curb Trump’s authority because she disagreed with his vision for a post-Maduro Venezuela.

“I believe invoking the war powers act at this moment is necessary, given the president’s comments about the possibility of ‘boots on the ground’ and a sustained engagement ‘running’ Venezuela, with which I do not agree,” Collins said.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Donald trump, Senate, Senate republicans, Senate democrats, War powers resolution, War powers, Venezuela, Nicolas maduro, Josh hawley, Todd young, Lisa murkowski, Rand paul, Susan collins, Politics 

The Trump administration is uprooting the United States from another large money-sink as it continues to try to put America first.

On Thursday, Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent announced that the U.S. is “immediately” withdrawing from the Green Climate Fund, a United Nations-aligned organization that has cost the U.S. billions in the last decade.

‘Continued participation in the GCF has been determined to no longer be consistent with the Trump administration’s priorities and goals.

“Our nation will no longer fund radical organizations like the GCF whose goals run contrary to the fact that affordable, reliable energy is fundamental to economic growth and poverty reduction,” Bessent said in a statement on social media.

The Green Climate Fund is an affiliate of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The GCF was established in 2010, according to a timeline on its website.

In a press release, the Treasury Department said that while the administration “is committed to advancing all affordable and reliable sources of energy, … the GCF was established to supplement the objectives of the UNFCCC, and continued participation in the GCF has been determined to no longer be consistent with the Trump administration’s priorities and goals.”

RELATED: Biden seeks to blow $1 billion on a UN climate fund that has already diverted $100 million to America’s top adversary

Photographer: Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The GCF Board — directed by James Catto, an American, until Thursday’s announcement — is “charged with the governance and oversight of the Fund’s management.” The GCF, according to its website, “embodies a new and equitable form of global governance to respond to the global challenge of climate change.”

Under the Biden-Harris administration, the United States pledged $3 billion in a multi-year “replenishment” of the fund spanning from 2024 to 2027. The United States also seeded the fund at its inception, providing $2 billion, according to the same 2023 press release.

The Green Climate Fund did not respond to Blaze News’ request for comment.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Politics, Globalists, United nations, Gcf, Global climate fund, Biden harris, Unfccc, Secretary bessent, United states, America first, Trump administration, Treasury department, Un framework convention on climate change, James catto 

When gasoline surged past $5 a gallon in 2022, the impact landed on every household, every small business, and every industry that depends on transportation — which is to say, nearly all of them.

Families were reshuffling budgets, truckers were adding unavoidable surcharges, and businesses were raising prices simply to stay afloat.

It remains true that no president controls gas prices outright. But federal policy does shape how quickly American energy can be produced, moved, and delivered.

At the same time, Americans were told that there was little anyone in Washington could do to ease the burden. The message stayed the same for months: Global forces were responsible, and there was no quick fix for the pain drivers were feeling at the pump.

Yet while families struggled with the highest fuel prices ever recorded — a national average of $5.02 per gallon — the federal government was encouraging Americans to buy electric vehicles costing between $50,000 and $70,000.

All pain, no gain

Transportation officials suggested that the “more pain” people felt from gasoline prices, the more attractive EVs would become. Energy officials repeated that an electric car was the fastest way for families to reduce their gas bills to zero. For most households, though, the math just didn’t work. The average new EV price in 2022 was $66,000 according to Kelley Blue Book, while the median U.S. household income was around $74,000. A new electric car was not an immediate or practical solution.

Meanwhile, federal actions during those early years reflected a shift away from domestic oil development. The Keystone XL pipeline permit was canceled on day one, new federal oil and gas leasing was paused, existing Arctic leases were withdrawn, and a record 180 million barrels were released from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Drilling permits decreased, and U.S. oil production fell below 2020 levels despite growing demand. Those choices — combined with refinery constraints and global volatility — kept domestic supply from growing at the pace needed to bring relief.

Supply high

The landscape looks very different today. By late 2025, U.S. energy production had expanded significantly. Federal lands reopened for leasing, permitting became faster, and producers were able to meet more of the country’s energy needs. American crude oil production climbed to an all-time high of 13.4 million barrels per day, and the number of active drilling rigs rose substantially from pandemic-era lows. More supply began moving through the system, helping stabilize markets that had been strained for years.

The results are unmistakable. The national average for regular gasoline sits near $3 per gallon — roughly 40% lower than the 2022 peak. Eighteen states now have average prices below $2.75. These aren’t isolated discounts; they are widespread indicators of stronger supply and more balanced market conditions.

RELATED: America First energy policy is paying off at the pump

Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Where the rubber meets the road

It remains true that no president controls gas prices outright. Global crude markets, refinery operations, seasonal demand, transportation costs, and taxes all influence what drivers pay. But federal policy does shape how quickly American energy can be produced, moved, and delivered. When supply is constrained, prices rise. When supply grows, prices ease. The past three years have demonstrated this in real time.

The contrast between the experience of 2022 and the reality of 2025 underscores a simple point: Energy policy affects everyday life in immediate, measurable ways. It determines what families pay to commute, what businesses spend to operate, and what consumers pay for goods delivered across the country. It is not theoretical. It shows up every time someone fills a gas tank.

For millions of Americans now seeing sub-$3 gasoline again, the numbers tell the story more clearly than any political argument.

​Joe biden, Lifestyle, Auto industry, Donald trump, Energy policy, Gas prices, Pete buttigieg, Align cars 

A gambling website is taking a stance on whether or not the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro constitutes an American invasion of the country.

Maduro was arrested by U.S. forces at his home in Caracas, Venezuela. The socialist leader has since claimed that he is innocent.

‘Then what the f*** would be an invasion?’

The contention comes from Polymarket, a website bent on letting the user gamble on nearly anything, after posting the bet, “Will the U.S. invade Venezuela by …” with certain date ranges listed.

As reported by multiple outlets, Polymarket has decided it is not willing to provide payouts to those who said (with their wallets) that the capture of Maduro was indeed an invasion.

This caused outrage on website, with commentators leaving remarks such as “Everyone is calling it invasion.”

“Then what the f*** would be an invasion?” another user said, according to MarketWatch.

One commentator cited the death toll from the event, which was allegedly 80, and said, “So it’s not an invasion because they did it quickly and not many people died?”

RELATED: GAMBLE: In huge new deals, ESPN and Google cave to the online betting economy

Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images

With the existing deadlines for the bet currently set at the U.S. invading Venezuela by January 31, March 31, or December 31, Polymarket has added “additional context” to its rules section for the page, defining what would constitute an invasion in the company’s eyes.

“This market refers to U.S. military operations intended to establish control,” it reads. “President Trump’s statement that they will ‘run’ Venezuela while referencing ongoing talks with the Venezuelan government does not alone qualify the snatch-and-extract mission to capture Maduro as an invasion.”

It further added, “This market will resolve to ‘Yes’ if the United States commences a military offensive intended to establish control over any portion of Venezuela between November 3, 2025, and January 31, 2026, 11:59 PM ET. Otherwise, this market will resolve to ‘No’.”

Rumors have swirled around an account created on December 26, reported to be anonymous by the Financial Times, which allegedly bet more than $32,000 that Maduro would be removed by the end of January. This would have garnered the trader a $400,000 profit.

RELATED: Trump DOJ ends battle with Polymarket after Biden’s FBI raided CEO following 2024 election

Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images

There are still other outstanding bets surrounding Maduro, including whether or not bodycam footage of his capture will be released by Jan 31, with around $60,000 already wagered.

Also, almost $200,000 has been bet on whether or not the capture was staged.

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) recently proposed legislation to prohibit insiders “from engaging in covered transactions involving prediction market contracts,” per the Financial Times.

For his own part, the first American pope, Leo XIV, recently called out gambling as a problem and a “scourge” that can tear families apart.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Return, Gambling, Polymarket, Invasion, Maduro, Trump, Venezuela, Tech