“The Odyssey” is destined for box office glory despite its anti-PR blitz.

Christopher Nolan’s take on Homer’s epic poem could generate $100 million this weekend. That’s impressive, especially for a film that feels like a homework assignment on paper.

Stallone’s early days are rocket fuel for the soul. He had nothing, suffered from a speech impediment, and seemed the most unlikely movie star possible.

Nolan is simply the most in-demand filmmaker of our era. Sorry, Mr. Spielberg, but it’s true.

Just don’t thank the film’s stars, who have spent weeks trying to scare half the country from seeing the film. Lupita Nyong’o, cast as Helen of Troy, mocked Homer for not giving enough time to his female characters. Samantha Morton, who plays a witchy woman in the saga, also played the down-with-the-patriarchy card to the press.

John Leguizamo is spending his red-carpet time demanding more Latino representation on screen. Hey, John, you’ve got seven upcoming screen credits. Can’t you let other Latino actors get a gig?

Co-star Elliot Page, who calls herself transgender, is using the publicity tour to spout gobbledygook about gender and sexuality.

Is this any way to market a movie? Good thing Nolan’s unparalleled skill behind the camera has movie fans panting in anticipation.

Who knows? If the film’s stars stuck to the promotional script, it might make even more money …

Breadstick nationalism

Speaking of Leguizamo, the actor popped up on “The Daily Show” this week to argue in favor of birthright citizenship. OK, we’ll listen. But how? He said that white Americans once came here illegally.

What’s the opposite of a mic drop?

“America works on the Olive Garden rule: When you’re here, you’re family,” he said.

Later, the actor made that comment sound brilliant by comparison.

“Now, the Trump administration says that we’re not talking about all children of immigrants. We’re only saying birthright citizenship doesn’t apply to children of people here illegally or temporarily. But how far back do you want to take that? Because at some point, every white person was here illegally.”

Maybe he should go back to culturally appropriating Greek culture on-screen …

RELATED: BILL PILLED: Maher warns fellow Democrats that they’re headed for woke-tastrophe

Shannon Finney/Getty Images

Serkis maximus

Andy Serkis is having a rough year.

The actor/director/CGI performer’s “Animal Farm” stunk up theaters just a few short weeks ago. Serkis’ pet project ignored George Orwell’s intentions, and the film cratered at the box office.

Still, brighter days lie ahead for the talented star. He’ll be directing the next “Lord of the Rings” movie. Except some intrepid journalist tried to shame him over the previous films’ lack of, wait for it, diversity.

How many moviegoers rejected the original “Rings” trilogy for that very reason? You can count them all on one hand.

Serkis, to our surprise, didn’t go the Apology Tour route. Nor did he vow to be an “ally” moving forward. Why? This isn’t 2020 anymore.

He did strike a diplomatic note while suggesting he won’t be bullied into adding Zendaya into yet another movie.

“Yes, there have been criticisms. … This particular film is somewhat acknowledging that. But I don’t think we will be doing a politically correct, just-casting-for-the sake-of-casting-and-ticking-boxes version of the film. So, it’s only where relevant basically.”

It’s not, “Go pound sand,” but it’s not a knee-bending retreat either. We’ll take it …

‘Rocky’ packs a punch

“I Play Rocky” sounds like the latest example of Hollywood’s imagination drain. The film offers a behind-the-scenes look at the 1976 boxing classic and the man who risked everything to make it to the big screen.

It’s not a reboot, a sequel, a prequel, or a reimagining … but it’s still a recycling project.

The trailer might change your mind.

Director Peter Farrelly is best known for wacky comedies like “Kingpin” and “Dumb and Dumber.” He shifted to dramatic fare with the Oscar-winning “Green Book,” and he looks like a fine choice to helm this inspirational yarn.

Stallone’s early days are rocket fuel for the soul. He had nothing, suffered from a speech impediment, and seemed the most unlikely movie star possible. But he had a dream, a vision, and a screenplay about a ham-and-egger who gets a shot at the title.

The rest is history, of course, but the story behind the story remains fascinating. It helps that star Anthony Ippolito looks and sounds just like the young Stallone.

It’s stunning.

“I Play Rocky” hits theater Nov. 13, and it could be just the movie we’ve been waiting for.

​Toto recall, Movies, Hollywood, Odyssey, Andy serkis, Lord of the rings, Dei, John leguizamo, Lupita nyong’o, Samantha morton, Elliot page 

A group of Republicans have written letters to the Federal Communications Commission asking for national changes to how consumers can use their cell phones.

On Monday, four GOP members from across the country told FCC Chairman Brendan Carr that it’s time for mandatory rules that allow for greater technological freedom among cellphone providers.

‘Working families and seniors on fixed incomes remain locked into carrier networks.’

Reps. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.), Mark Alford (R-Mo.), and Mark E. Amodei (R-Nev.) wrote the FCC to voice their “strong support” behind finalizing “uniform, mandatory cellphone unlocking rules.”

This would mean that when a customer is finished with a contract with his cellphone carrier, he could then have his phone unlocked so that it can be used under any other service provider/network, similar to carrying over one’s phone number.

“Consumers in our districts, including working families and seniors on fixed incomes, remain locked into carrier networks even after paying off their devices, unable to switch to more affordable plans due to a patchwork of voluntary carrier policies,” the congressmen wrote in a letter provided to Blaze News.

At the same time, Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-Wis.) wrote his own letter to Carr, which described locked phones as “artificial restrictions for consumers” that deter competition and “trap families in overpriced plans.”

RELATED: Dems launch new push to control more of what you do in your car

Jc Milhet/Hans Lucas/AFP/Getty Images

Both letters cited a national poll of 1,000 registered voters on the topic of cellphone carriers locking cell phones and restricting them from being used on competing networks.

Fitzgerald cited the “extremely high” support behind being able to keep one’s cell phone when changing carriers.

“Agreement is also broad and strong for the statements that locking devices to a network limits choice and is a main reason for paying,” the FabrizioWard poll stated.

The other Congress members referred to the massively bipartisan nature of the idea, which was shown through 86% of independents supporting cellphone unlocking.

Concurrently, 85% of Donald Trump voters agreed, while 90% of Kamala Harris voters also were in favor of the policy.

Other major support was found when participants were asked if they should be allowed to switch cellphone carriers with the same phone at any point if they pay off the remainder of their contract; an average of 85% of respondents agreed.

RELATED: You can finally buy Palmer Luckey’s favorite ‘flying car’ — there’s just one catch

Firdous Nazir/NurPhoto/Getty Images

“We respectfully request that the commission move forward to finalize a clear and enforceable unlocking standard,” the group of politicians wrote.

They continued, “Consumers seeking more affordable monthly plans may have limited options, paying higher rates than a more competitive market would require.”

Without a consistent standard, they argued, consumers will continue to be treated differently depending on which carrier sold them a phone, with little recourse if they are not allowed to opt out of their contract.

The FCC has yet to respond.

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

​Cell phones, Phone carriers, Fcc, Brendan carr, Tech 

In his primetime address to the nation on Thursday — which ABC, CNN, and NBC refused to carry — President Donald Trump provided damning insights into the apparent insecurity of American elections and past efforts to both exploit and cover up election system vulnerabilities.

Trump highlighted, among other things, the apparent attempts by the Chinese communist regime to interfere in the 2020 election; China’s “illicit acquisition of 220 million U.S. voter files”; the work by “members of the deep state” to “actively suppress and downplay information about the extent of China’s sinister election meddling”; and the discovery, according to a Department of Homeland Security review, that approximately 278,000 noncitizens were registered to vote.

‘He has cynically and corruptly decided to call into question our free and fair elections.’

“Great damage has been done to our country. Our elections were left vulnerable to being rigged and stolen, and the trust of the American people was lost,” said the president. “This cannot be allowed to continue.”

Officials in Beijing are hardly the only leftists outraged over Trump’s disclosures.

Following the speech and the White House’s release of supporting documents, Democrats lashed out in an apparent panic and accused Trump of trying to “rig” the upcoming midterms.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), found to have an unfavorability rating of 43% according to a recent Harvard-Harris poll, characterized Trump’s speech as a “pathetic attempt” to deny that “he lost the 2020 election.”

“He is working to rig the midterms before a single vote has even been cast. We won’t let him,” Schumer said in a statement. “When it comes to the SAVE Act, the courts have rejected it, Congress has rejected it, even members of your own party have rejected it — give it up.”

RELATED: FBI now investigating alleged election fraud among homeless in Skid Row of Los Angeles

Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg/Getty Images

In his speech, Trump noted that “addressing this crisis of election security demands that Congress must pass the SAVE America Act” — proposed legislation that would require individuals to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote.

“The only reason you wouldn’t do it is you want to cheat because your policies are so bad and your candidates are so pathetic that you can’t get away or can’t get elected any other way,” added Trump.

Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), the House minority leader who hours earlier threatened American “regime change,” suggested that the concerns and evidence Trump presented to the nation on Thursday amounted to “deliberate and dangerous lies.”

Like Schumer, Jeffries claimed that the president’s concerns about election security are part of an election subversion strategy.

“He has cynically and corruptly decided to call into question our free and fair elections before a single ballot has been cast,” said Jeffries, a staunch opponent of the SAVE America Act. “Why? Republicans believe they need to cheat to win.”

Michigan Democrats, whose state featured in the president’s discussion of possible voter fraud, said that “despite whatever this rambling and corrupt man says, thousands of clerks, poll workers, and elections staff nationwide administered a free and accurate election” and claimed that Trump was actually attempting to “undermine our elections and disenfranchise voters.”

Some Democrats rushed to conclude that Trump was lying about election vulnerabilities even before he began speaking on Thursday.

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), for instance, said ahead of Trump’s speech, “You have to be a special kind of stupid to believe this bulls**t.”

All 24 Democratic governors clutched pearls over the speech, noting in a joint statement, “It’s deeply alarming that President Trump continues to try to undermine free and fair elections. No amount of lies and conspiracy theories can change the fact that our country’s elections have repeatedly been proven to be safe and secure.”

According to the Democratic governors, Trump’s “attacks” are “intended to intimidate and silence voters.”

Gavin Newsom, the governor of a state where noncitizens can vote in certain elections, individually crashed out over Trump’s speech, saying in a video, “This was a legitimate 25th Amendment moment, the ramblings of a mad king.”

Newsom told his followers that “nothing about what you watched tonight … was real.”

Sticking to the Democratic script, Newsom added that Trump “wants to rig the election in 2026.”

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

​China, Chuck schumer, Donald trump, Election interference, Gavin newsom, Hakeem jeffries, Jim mcgovern, Midterms, Save america act, Voter fraud, Politics 

A new report from a Pennsylvania commission highlights a growing problem in the state, yet lawmakers are faced with a number of tough decisions in their search for a solution.

Earlier this month, the Joint State Government Commission of Pennsylvania published a report on the state of online gambling, including sports betting, which has exploded in popularity since the United States Supreme Court struck down a federal 1992 prohibition on sports betting in May 2018.

‘Imagine if you were trying to quit drinking and someone kept leaving alcohol at your doorstep and then left coupons for alcohol at your doorstep.’

By the beginning of 2025, “95% of all sports betting wagers and 60% of all slot machine wagers in Pennsylvania were made online,” according to the House resolution prompting the report, citing public data from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.

The issues within this relatively new industry abound, according to the report.

Convenience is one such issue. Online gamblers now have access to online casinos “24/7,” no longer need to plan or pay for accommodations, and often enjoy “more generous” bonuses and promotions than can be found in traditional casinos. Gamblers can also use platforms like PayPal and Venmo as well as credit cards for payment, making online gambling an attractive option for many gamblers.

RELATED: Debit card company promises to pay your bill … sometimes: ‘Buy now, pay maybe’

Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images

The report details a number of online casinos’ bonus offers and marketing tactics, including “promotions, in-game advertising, advertising during sports broadcasts and webcasts, as well as using celebrated and animated spokespersons.” Artificial intelligence is often used to create this marketing content.

While the marketing tactics may seem innocuous, the report goes on to highlight several ongoing lawsuits against various online gambling platforms, in which it is alleged that the promotions were, for example, “false and misleading” or that the platform’s systems were “highly addictive.” In one particularly illustrative example, the report references a lawsuit called Brubaker v. Chester Downs & Marina that alleges, according to a Public Health Advocacy Institute summary:

a false and misleading promise of a “$2,500 deposit match.” Only in the small-print terms and conditions is it disclosed that a new customer playing blackjack is required to gamble $375,000 in just the first seven days after opening an account. In other words, no money or winnings can be withdrawn unless a total of $375,000 is risked. All money lost during the first seven-day period is kept by Caesars and Harrah’s Casino.

Kavita Fischer, a Pittsburgh-area psychiatrist and a leading proponent of addressing these issues after her own online gambling addiction, told the Associated Press: “The report made it clear that gambling is not a personal failing, it’s a public health issue, and the recommendations really reflect that.”

She described to the AP what she called the “predatory” nature of many of the platforms’ marketing schemes. “I had so many quit dates,” she said. “Imagine if you were trying to quit drinking and someone kept leaving alcohol at your doorstep and then left coupons for alcohol at your doorstep. That is what is the predatory part of all of this.”

The report noted that, while state law prohibits any person under 21 years old from gambling, the intended limitations on youth exposure to gambling advertisements has apparently been circumvented by social media and influencers, who use a “blend of promotional intent with entertainment” to promote gambling services without announcing that they are making an advertisement.

Among the biggest problems, though, is the possible connection between online casinos and an increase in compulsive or problem gambling. As evidence, the report said that calls about internet gambling placed to a gambling hotline and categorized as the “most problematic form of gambling” skyrocketed from under 100 calls per year in 2019 to over 900 by 2025.

While the individual and social problems that apparently stem from this industry seem to abound, lawmakers face a dilemma that will likely cause significant disagreement in the searches for a solution.

For one thing, this new industry is a massive cash cow for the state. “There is no denying that the revenue from online gambling and sports betting can be economically beneficial overall for the states where iGaming is legal,” the report stated.

Citing Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board data, the report says the revenue from legal gambling nearly reached a staggering $6.4 billion in fiscal year 2024-2025, 39% of which was from iGaming alone.

The growth shows no sign of stopping either.

According to a May 2026 press release from the PGCB, iGaming revenue saw a massive year-over-year increase, crossing a quarter billion dollars in revenue: “Casino games offered online generated $254,825,042 during May 2026. Compared to revenue of $232,853,763 in May 2025, this represents an increase of 9.44%.”

Other PGCB data points from the report present a revealing picture of the unique growth that online forms of gambling have undergone since their legalization. While slot machine revenue has essentially remained stable at or around $2.4 billion in yearly revenue since fiscal year 2012-2013, with the exception of a dip during the pandemic, iGaming revenue has grown tenfold in less than half that time. Sports wagering, video gaming terminals, and fantasy sports contests have seen impressive growth as well.

The solutions, as mentioned previously, come with some trade-offs. The commission suggested, first, that Pennsylvania follow the lead of states like Colorado and Massachusetts and begin collecting anonymized data from online transactions on gambling platforms. This would ostensibly allow for a more “precise” identification of “harmful” practices and potentially identify gambling trends among the population.

More immediate proposals include the prohibition of the use of credit cards for deposits, mandatory limits on play time, banning logged-out promos, geospatial advertising blockers at places like universities, and the prohibition of the use of artificial intelligence for individualizing marketing strategies.

Doug Harbach, the PGCB director of communications, responded to Blaze News’ request for comment on Thursday, saying, “This report was drafted for possible action by the General Assembly, and the PGCB will continue to work with them on these issues. We wholeheartedly agree that effective and legal additions to the Gaming Act and regulations should be considered to protect the gaming public.”

Harbach added that the PGCB has a set of proposed regulations dealing with problem gambling, which the public can view and submit comments on no later than August 11. The public can learn more and review these proposals on the PA Bulletin website.

Blaze News reached out to DraftKings, the American Gaming Association, and Caesars Entertainment but did not immediately receive a response.

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

​Online gambling, Pennsylvania, Sports betting, State lawmakers, Politics 

As the investigation into the death of 18-year-old Nolan Wells continues, a growing number of public figures — who BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock believes are installed chaos agents — are claiming race must have played a role.

“All of these leaders — they’ve all been installed. They’ve all been installed to promote chaos. And there’s no bigger example than Ben Crump,” Whitlock says.

“This man being dressed up as some lawyer with zero command of the English language, someone that literally probably has an IQ hovering around 70. And he’s out here running around as the face of the civil rights movement and a respected civil rights attorney and being quoted in newspapers and media organizations all across the country,” he continues.

“And he’s been allowed to parachute in like a carpetbagger, to parachute into Mississippi, and just to stir racial animus. And he’s been joined by Jasmine Crockett and others to stir racial animosity,” he adds.

And a clip of Crockett speaking to TMZ only proves his point.

“Some people feel like it’s racially motivated. What do you think?” a reporter asked Crockett.

“I mean, I think that specifically as black Americans in the United States right now, we are always going to question whether or not there is a racial motivation,” Crockett responded.

“But also, if you know the history of Mississippi, I think that you’d have to be blind not to question potentially what is happening, especially in the case of an 18-year-old who ends up deceased without his cell phone, without any communication whatsoever with anybody prior to ending up deceased,” she continued.

“And he was out with his Caucasian friends. And then law enforcement tells everybody there’s no foul play to be suspected. Now, a blind man could see that there’s something to investigate,” she added.

“Well, it sounds like you think it is racially motivated,” the reporter answered.

“I absolutely think that I can tell you that we don’t have any answers, but if you think that race is not something to look at, then you are not really trying to investigate,” Crockett said.

When the reporter pressed further, Crockett pointed out that the “white kids deleted their social media accounts.”

“It looks like a racial thing to me, but hey, maybe we’ll find out that it wasn’t,” she added.

“That’s illogical thinking. That’s another reason why we need to repeal the 19th Amendment,” Whitlock comments.

“Out here running her mouth about something she knows virtually nothing about. … And oh, of course, it must be racist. Kids don’t drown in boating accidents during the summer, during Fourth of July weekends,” he continues.

“That never happens. It has to be racial,” 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.

​Ben crump, Civil rights, Fearless, Jasmine crockett, Jason whitlock, Mississippi, Nolan wells, Racial animosity, Race, Jason whitlock harmony 

A black and gay-identifying Catholic priest has accused the Trump administration of idol worship.

Fordham professor Fr. Bryan Massingale — who, according to his Fordham bio, is a priest with the Archdiocese of Milwaukee — received the Catholic Theological Society of America’s John Courtney Murray Award in June. Massingale used his acceptance speech, published Tuesday by Jesuit publication Outreach, to attack the Trump administration and praise “sexual diversity.”

‘Black flesh is a place of divine encounter, revelation, and manifestation.’

The Trump administration removed Massingale’s book “Racial Justice and the Catholic Church” from the Naval Academy library in April 2025 as part of a wider crackdown on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the federal government.

“Why? Because that work is in direct opposition to the idolatrous ideology of white so-called ‘Christian’ nationalism that is the heart of the immoral projects being advanced by our nation’s administration,” according to Massingale. “All of this is done in the name of ‘God’ — an idol that sanctifies only white, male, heterosexual bodies.”

“It was banned because I believed that one cannot be an unabashed racist and call oneself a follower of Jesus,” Massingale said. The book is available on Amazon.

Rev. Massingale and the Archdiocese of Milwaukee did not respond to a request for comment. The CTSA declined to comment.

RELATED: WNBA star says black women are ‘amazing’ and deserve equality in strange, race-riddled rant

Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

The theology professor announced his sexual orientation in 2019 at a Global Network of Rainbow Catholics meeting, according to a Spectrum News NY1 interview. Roman Catholic priests promise during their ordination process to maintain celibacy.

Massingale described his “black Catholic theological project” as “more radical than most often acknowledge.” He later told attendees that they live in “a society and a church where folks are not conditioned to love black bodies.”

Massingale did not elaborate on how Americans should be “conditioned to love black bodies.”

The Murray Award winner led a controversial gay priest retreat in 2018, prompting condemnation from then-Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki. Massingale previously considered leaving the Catholic Church, but told NBC News in 2022, “I’m not going to let the church’s racism rob me of my relationship with God.”

In the same interview, Massingale called for clerical celibacy to be optional and told NBC his dream is a church-sanctioned wedding between two black, gay men or two black lesbians.

“I praise the holy mystery who, through the miracles of creation and incarnation, made black gay/queer/same-gender loving flesh sacred and holy,” Massingale’s speech concluded. “Who has stamped black, queer flesh with the image of God and made it a manifestation of God’s presence and grace in the world.”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered” and “under no circumstances can they be approved.”

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

​Black, Catholic, Celibacy, Gay, Jesus, Priest, Racial justice, Sexual orientation, Trump administration, Religion, Lgbt, Politics 

Rather than walk back his controversial defense of a convicted child rapist who stole into the homeland, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) bemoaned the pedophile’s deportation by the Trump administration and emphasized the supposed need not to judge him by his “worst day.”

Tou Lue Vang, a 42-year-old illegal alien from Laos, repeatedly raped a young girl over a two-year period, beginning when she was just 10, and in one instance, offered her $10 for her silence, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

‘Child molesters are among the classes of criminals most likely to re-offend.’

When interviewed by police, the pedophile reportedly suggested that his child victim was as guilty as he was, and downplayed his horrific child sex crimes as “a cultural thing … to marry and have sex with girls as young as 12.”

Following Vang’s conviction for first-degree criminal sexual assault, a Justice Department immigration judge issued the rapist a final order of removal in October 2006. Vang, however, having been given 30 years of probation and no prison time, remained in the country for another two decades. Seeking to rectify this matter, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested and detained Vang on Dec. 10.

The Trump administration’s efforts to give the child rapist the boot were frustrated, first when a judge ordered Vang’s release in February, and then again on June 10 when — just a week before he was finally set to be deported — Walz joined leftist Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie Hudson in voting to pardon the child rapist.

Walz claimed during the pardon meeting that since his days as a child rapist, Vang “has started a family, he’s become a critical member of the community, and he has lived a life without any serious criminal violations since that time.”

RELATED: Marco Rubio takes action to END the threat from Tim Walz’s illegal alien pedophile pardon

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Ellison said that the decision was unanimous and made “after an exhaustive process, which included a statement of support for the pardon from the victim, a recommendation to grant the pardon from the Clemency Review Commission, and a large number of community support letters.”

The pardon evidently wasn’t worth the paper it was printed on.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced last week both that he had revoked Vang’s legal status and that the pedophile had been removed from the United States on Friday.

“This foreign criminal will never pose a threat to any American ever again,” said Rubio.

Walz is evidently cut up about the child rapist’s successful deportation.

“I guess the question I would ask is, did that make us any safer?” Walz said with regard to the child rapist’s ouster. “Did that make the children that are left behind any more stable?”

“Did it improve the idea that we can’t all be judged by our worst day?” continued the governor, who also acknowledged that Vang committed “horrific crimes.”

This commentary by the self-identified “knucklehead” has prompted more disgust.

The Department of Homeland Security responded to Walz’s remarks this week, stating, “For Tou Lue Vang this wasn’t just one ‘worst day’ — it was YEARS of repeatedly sexually assaulting a girl starting when she was 10. Just disgraceful.”

“Tim Walz asked, ‘How does this make us safer?’ in response to Secretary Rubio stepping in to remove an illegal alien convicted of raping a 10-year-old girl,” wrote Republican Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer. “Well, Tim, typically, communities are safer when convicted child predators aren’t just roaming the streets.”

“I am very willing to judge this guy — and Tim Walz — by his worst day,” tweeted Utah Sen. Mike Lee (R).

The White House’s official rapid response account on X noted that “Walz is one seriously sick, depraved individual.”

“Good grief,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (D) said of Walz’s remarks. “Also, child molesters are among the classes of criminals most likely to re-offend, so it’s not just one day but probably a pattern of malicious conduct that creates a number of victims. Why would you not want an illegal alien that fits this profile to be deported?”

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, Tim walz, Minnesota, Rapist, Marco rubio, Democrat, Keith ellison, Immigration and customs enforcement, Crime, Politics 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection released exclusive details to Blaze News related to a $28 million counterfeit bust from the Port of Louisville.

The shipment from Hong Kong was seized by CBP officers on July 9. It was discovered when officers pulled it for inspection on its way to Illinois.

‘Officers are trained to identify illicit shipments and work diligently for American consumers by stopping the flow of unlawful trade.’

The shipment included 200 watches that bore suspected trademarks of the Audemars Piguet brand.

The Centers of Excellence and Expertise of the CBP determined the watches to be inauthentic. They were seized for “bearing counterfeit versions of registered and recorded trademarks,” according to the CBP news release.

Last month, the CBP claimed it had seized a similar shipment at the same port of 375 counterfeit watches that were worth $54 million of the genuine products. It had also been shipped from Hong Kong.

“Counterfeit goods are poor-quality products costing U.S. businesses billions of dollars a year while robbing our country of jobs and tax revenues,” said Philip Onken, Louisville’s port director. “Officers are trained to identify illicit shipments and work diligently for American consumers by stopping the flow of unlawful trade.”

The CBP reminds Americans to shop at reputable websites to avoid receiving counterfeit products.

RELATED: Sports memorabilia in chaos after seller admits massive scheme to fake signatures, then commits suicide

U.S. Customs and Border Protection news release

CBP said 70,000 men and women comprise the federal agency.

“We enforce safe, lawful travel and trade and ensure our country’s economic prosperity. We enhance the nation’s security through innovation, intelligence, collaboration, and trust,” the agency said.

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

​Customs and border protection, Counterfeit bust, Economy, Trade, Politics