Chick-fil-A still closes on Sundays, still puts its Christian mission at the center of its corporate purpose, and still welcomes all customers through its doors.

But apparently, the company’s faith-based identity is also still a mainstream headline more than a decade after its widely publicized controversy over same-sex marriage.

In a recent interview on “The Today Show,” CEO Andrew Cathy was pressed about the backlash that followed his father Dan Cathy’s 2012 comments on gay marriage and their donations to conservative Christian organizations.

“It’s a company that was sort of built on God, if you will. And that still also seems to be very much a part of the DNA of Chick-fil-A,” NBC’s Craig Melvin said to Cathy, who responded that it’s their “anchor.”

“It is our anchor in the sense of what our corporate purpose states, that we’re in business to glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that’s entrusted to us, have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A,” Cathy said.

“There were folks who were protesting, they were boycotting Chick-fil-A, that Chick-fil-A, they don’t stand with the LGBTQ plus community,” Melvin said, asking, “What would you say to those folks?”

“Well, for anybody that hasn’t tried us, we’d love for you to come try and have our great-tasting food and the hospitality that we’re known for. I think that everybody that will be willing to walk in the door, they’ll see that they’re welcome to come eat with us. We’d love to give them a great-tasting sandwich and give them great hospitality,” Cathy replied.

“You don’t want to talk about that chapter in Chick-fil-A’s history,” Melvin pressed.

“We’re focused on serving everybody that comes in and eats with us,” Cathy said with finality.

“LGBTQ, we don’t care,” BlazeTV host Pat Gray says, joking that milkshakes are loved by both homosexuals and heterosexuals.

“You know, it would be nice though if the Cathy family or anybody could just tell them, ‘Look, we have different beliefs than you, it’s OK,’” he says.

“Am I going to ever say that I agree with the lifestyle? No, but you know what? I don’t have to,” he adds.

Want more from Pat Gray?

To enjoy more of Pat’s biting analysis and signature wit as he restores common sense to a senseless world, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Chickfila, Gay marriage, God, Andrew cathy, The today show, Blazetv show 

A male allegedly broke into a home in Mesquite, Texas, in the middle of the night over the weekend — and quickly discovered why that was an ill-advised move.

Mesquite Police responded to a report of a shooting around 4:15 a.m. Saturday in the 2600 block of Brushwood Lane, KDFW-TV reported, adding that arriving officers found a man outside the home with a gunshot wound and rendered first aid.

‘Why in the world would you break into a house in Texas of all places?’

Investigators told the station that residents inside the home woke up to the sound of loud banging, and one resident who investigated saw an individual breaking into the home — and fired a weapon, striking the suspect.

The suspect was taken into custody on a charge of burglary of a habitation and taken by paramedics to a local hospital for treatment, KDFW said.

Mesquite Police told Blaze News that the suspect — identified as Arthur Alonzo — was released from the hospital and transferred to the Dallas County Jail.

RELATED: Male on parole accused of breaking into home in broad daylight. But gun-toting homeowner isn’t having a bit of it.

Commenters under KDFW’s Facebook post about the incident had some strong reactions to it:

“Why in the world would you break into a house in Texas of all places?” one commenter wondered.”Thats right!!” another user responded. “More people need to remember that.””Homeowner deserves an upgraded weapon as an award,” another commenter wrote.”Don’t break into my house, you won’t get shot,” another user promised.”Good job … we must protect our home and loved ones … if they would have called the police first, they might have been killed … it takes too long to get there … the homeowner did [exactly] what they should have,” another commenter noted.

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

​2nd amendment, Gun rights, Guns, Home invasion, Homeowner shoots intruder, Self-defense, Shooting, Texas, Crime 

Polling expert and political strategist Frank Luntz explains why the polls showing a comfortable lead for Democrats are not dependable.

Luntz explained during an appearance on CNN Thursday why many may now be making the same polling mistake he made in 2016 and claimed polling just isn’t capturing an accurate picture of the electorate.

‘I’m still skeptical. In the end, Republicans are less likely persons to believe the polls.’

“What do you think the polls may be missing? Do you think they’re under-sampling the kind of voter that Trump usually brings out, that sort of non-engaged voter that may not respond to a phone call from a pollster?” asked anchor Boris Sanchez.

“We know that they don’t respond to phone calls. We know that in the exit polling back in 2016, and I say this publicly because I want people to hear this,” Luntz said.

“You know, I teach at West Point. I cannot lie, cheat, or steal. The cadets can’t. I can’t. I got 2016 wrong. I believed in the exit polls. Trump voters walked away, refused to participate, because they thought that it was against them,” he added.

“They thought that the polls were all biased,” Luntz said. “And that’s what Republicans are being told right now: ‘Don’t believe the polls. They’re not accurate.’ Well they may be, we’re about to find out.”

He went on to say that turnout is the key to the election, and the polling may not be accurately reflecting which group of people actually shows up at the ballot box.

“I’m still skeptical. In the end, Republicans are less likely to participate. They’re less likely to believe the polls are happening. I’m most interested in turnout,” he continued.

“They’re polling how the electorate overall feels and not polling the people [that] are actually going to participate. But in the end, who the hell cares?”

RELATED: Pollster Frank Luntz says CNN town hall exposed why Kamala Harris was losing to Trump

Despite the warning about the polling, Luntz also said the president’s historically low approval rating would affect Republicans’ chances to win the midterm elections.

“That’s not good at all, and he’s as recently as three weeks ago called affordability a hoax. It’s not a hoax if you can’t afford eggs. It’s not a hoax if you can’t afford steak,” said Luntz.

“I don’t know if they understand how people actually feel, that they are anxious, nervous, angry because their lives are tougher today than they used to be,” he added.

He warned that if the polls were indeed correct, Democrats would have a big night on November 3.

2026 midterm polling map: Where the polls stand

pollwatch.theblaze.com

Every Senate, governor, and House race with public polling on one map, state by state, with the Blaze polling average. From Blaze News.

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

​Democrats, Frank luntz, Midterm elections, Polling, Politics, Republicans, Donald trump 

As rioters have left a trail of destruction all across France, one shopkeeper channeled his inner hero to defend his business’ doors.

A man known only as Pierre has become an online hero for his recent defense of a video game store, and his image will likely live on forever as a meme.

‘I can’t intellectualize what happened. Maybe it will come a little after the battle.’

Pierre is a salesman at the Micromania store in Nice, France, a chain owned by GameStop. During the seemingly unending violence that gripped the country over the weekend, Pierre stood up to rioters who were attempting to break into the shop, which already had its security doors down and its front door broken.

In a video seen by over 4 million viewers, Pierre marched down one rioter who taunted him, but as he walked back to his entrance, he was blindsided from behind with a kick.

However, Pierre got right back up and was later seen calmly adjusting his glasses as he remained steadfast at the entrance. To make his story even more iconic, he was pictured in the doorway alongside a life-sized photo of popular anime character Goku from the show “Dragonball Z.”

A photo of his stance has already reached tens of millions worldwide, with Pierre humbly telling French outlet ICI that he likely shouldn’t have engaged with the rioters.

“I can’t intellectualize what happened. Maybe it will come a little after the battle,” he remarked.

“I think it shouldn’t have been done anyway,” he said of his actions. “It’s stupidity. But in the moment, that’s what I did.”

RELATED: Europe is burning. Does anyone still care enough to save it?

“Thank you so much. My team and I are deeply touched,” Pierre reportedly said in response to the support he’s received.

After allegedly suffering some wounds during his attack — likely from shattered glass — a fundraiser was set up to support him and the store.

“Donations are made to support Pierre,” the fundraisers wrote, while also noting to be aware of scams as Pierre did not ask for anything to be promoted on his behalf.

At the time of this writing, the donation page had reached over $11,000.

Pierre’s image already seems like it will withstand the test of time with supporters creating memes like this AI video of him performing a powered attack on rioters akin to the anime character he stood beside.

Another page has animated him into being his own hero, and it doesn’t appear such posts will cease anytime soon.

RELATED: Macron watched France burn — then blamed the ‘French people.’ Trump: ‘The migrants have taken over.’

Photo by Valery HACHE / AFP via Getty Images

There will be an asterisk on Pierre’s record though, at least for some of his supporters. The salesman said that while it was very nice to see gamers stand up and support one another, he made sure to qualify that the rioters did not represent the true ideology of the left-wing protests.

“We must not forget that it remains in the minority in terms of attitude,” Pierre explained. “For the rest of the procession, things went rather well. There are a few bad apples, but that’s not the majority,” he claimed.

The riots in Europe are a warning sign of unchecked immigration policy, according to Nick Freitas.

In his latest documentary, the former Green Beret said that mass migration will eventually lead to the downfall of the West, through ever-growing resistance and a refusal to assimilate.

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

​Gamestop, Video games, France, Tech 

A former University of Kentucky cheerleader who admitted to killing her newborn son has been sentenced — and the family of the deceased infant is wondering what the future could have held for the baby.

On Friday, 22-year-old Laken Snelling was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the death of her infant, according to Fox News.

‘Instead of celebrating his milestones, we’re left mourning the milestones that never were passed.’

According to Court TV, Fayette County Circuit Court Judge Diane Minnifield ruled that Snelling is not eligible for probation because she committed a “crime of violence.”

“Based on the nature of this charge, you’re not even probation eligible to be considered,” Minnifield said during Snelling’s sentencing. “You know, this is a crime of violence. This is a crime that took the life of an innocent baby that did nothing, you know, did nothing but come out and breathe, and that’s it.”

Minnifield added, “You’re going to have a lot of time. You’re young, you’re 22 years old. You’re going to have a lot of life.”

Minnifield said the father and his family are “going to have a lot of life ahead of them, but this hole will never go away.”

“This loneliness, this just now in the pit of your stomach, it’s never going to go away,” Minnifield continued. “You’re going to have to find ways to live with it, and all of that’s only going to come by God.”

Snelling received 415 days of credit toward her sentence for time spent under house arrest.

According to a statement released by the city of Lexington, police officers were dispatched on a report of an unresponsive infant around 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 27, 2025.

“When officers arrived, they located an infant that was pronounced deceased at the scene,” authorities stated.

Police arrested Snelling days later and charged her with abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant.

As Blaze News previously reported, Snelling was indicted in March and then pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter, abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant in August.

During an August court hearing, Snelling admitted to killing her newborn son.

“I was under a lot of emotional stress, and my baby came unexpectedly,” a tearful Snelling told Judge Minnifield. “And instead of helping him, I ended his life. And afterwards, I cleaned up and didn’t tell anyone.”

“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.”

Snelling admitted to tampering with physical evidence by placing towels in a plastic bag.

Snelling conceded that she concealed the birth of the baby by stating: “I didn’t tell anyone after.”

RELATED: Mom kills 3-year-old son, husband at popular family resort, cops say. Then she makes chilling 911 call.

WLEX-TV reported that Minnifield told Snelling on Friday: “Sometimes we make choices and decisions, and there’s a consequence for each of those. And, you know, sometimes those choices and consequences affect our future for the rest of our lives.”

Snelling did not address the court during sentencing, but one of her attorneys explained why the defense submitted no letters of support.

One of Snelling’s attorneys said during the hearing:

We chose not to submit any statements from her or from the large number of people who want to send letters in support of her. One of the concerns we had, this case has had some media attention, and we just didn’t want to fuel that fire anymore by letters in support of her. So the fact that we did not submit anything, don’t take that as a reason she doesn’t care about what happened. She is incredibly, deeply saddened by what happened. She’s taking complete responsibility for it.

The baby’s father, Izaiah Hall, noted in court that he had named their son McCoy Cade Hall, according to Court TV.

“I don’t wish the worst on Laken. What happened is, it is what it is. I can’t change it,” Hall stated.

Hall’s mother said her deceased grandson was “a perfectly healthy, beautiful baby boy.”

“A baby who had barely begun its life,” she continued. “A baby that deserved a chance to grow to be loved. … Instead of celebrating his milestones, we’re left mourning the milestones that never were passed. Instead of watching him grow, I’m left wondering who he would have been.”

WKYT-TV reported that Hall’s sister added, “He was not garbage. He was the most beautiful, perfect, innocent, full-term baby boy.”

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

​Cheerleader, Manslaughter, Murder, University of kentucky, Mother kills children, Crime 

Comedian Shane Gillis has observed a new phenomenon: Women are wearing increasingly revealing clothing to work out at the gym. But apparently, joking about something that everyone has noticed is enough to send women all over the world into a defensive frenzy.

In this case, a defensive frenzy means posting themselves wearing those revealing outfits in rebellion of Gillis’ viral observation.

And while BlazeTV host John Doyle has noticed the same thing Gillis has, he believes the response to the comedian’s joke goes far beyond gym etiquette.

“Shane Gillis is under fire for accurately describing female behavior, which is of course the highest blasphemy one can commit in 2026 America. And women are just proving his point by advertising themselves and their bodies all across social media,” Doyle begins, before breaking down “the metaphysics of the thirst trap.”

“I think there’s a much deeper kind of phenomenon going on that actually speaks pretty heavily to the nature of women,” he says.

“When you call them a w***e, they’re not taking insult the same way that a woman 100 years ago would be insulted if you called her a prostitute pretty much. It’s actually different. It signals something different about the dynamics that we’re all experiencing,” he continues.

“A woman’s agency generally is through her sexuality, their beauty, their attractiveness, you know, whatever it may be. This has been their way of making it throughout the world forever. This has not changed. This is never going to change,” he adds.

However, what has changed is the idea that “if you give it up easy, you’re empowered.”

“You are rebelling against the patriarchy and the previous social order that had governed basically forever, right? Because all shame for any premarital conduct was going to be pretty much eroded completely,” he explains.

“Now, when women are shamed, it’s because they give it up to men at all, which does not actually mean just sex. This means doing literally anything at all to appeal to men even a little bit,” he says.

Now, it’s become “low status” to try to appeal to men or be nice to them, which is why Doyle says they have to “maintain a level of plausible deniability.”

“This is why it’s about the thirst traps at the gym. You know, if a woman posts a thirst trap at the gym, ‘No, I’m just posting a picture on Instagram,’” he says.

“So nothing has changed on a fundamental level. Pre- and post-sexual revolution were all the same, but now it can’t be acknowledged. So women are still working to make themselves desirable to men,” he continues.

“Pretty much everything they do literally ever is about signaling that they are desirable,” he adds.

Want more from John Doyle?

To enjoy more of the truth about America and join the fight to restore a country that has been betrayed by its own leaders, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​John doyle, Sexual revolution, Shane gillis, Womens gym outfits, Blazetv show 

A 34-year-old mother has been released from custody after a pickup truck she was driving hit multiple people on a soccer field in Wichita, Kansas, killing a 6-year-old boy and a 35-year-old man and injuring 10 others Saturday afternoon, police said.

Sedgwick County 911 received multiple calls reporting that a vehicle had driven onto soccer fields at Stryker Sports Complex, striking several people, police said.

‘What should have been a day of children playing soccer and families spending time together ended in tragedy.’

“The preliminary investigation indicates a Chevrolet pickup driven by a 34-year-old woman was parked in a parking space near the soccer fields before it drove onto one of the fields, striking multiple children and adults,” police said.

Two juveniles — both children of the driver — were inside the pickup at the time of the crash, police said, adding that another child of the driver was playing soccer on another field at the complex.

Despite lifesaving efforts by emergency personnel, two people died at the scene, police said, adding that they have been identified as 6-year-old Cole Adrian and 35-year-old Nicholas Schafer, both of McPherson, Kansas. Police said the two victims were not related.

The 10 people injured in the crash were taken to hospitals with injuries described as noncritical, police said, adding that a 61-year-old woman was hospitalized after experiencing medical complications unrelated to traumatic injuries, which brought the total number of people taken to hospitals to 11.

Police said the 10 people injured in the crash are described as:

A 5-year-old girlA 5-year-old boyTwo 8-year-old boysA 9-year-old girlA 28-year-old womanA 32-year-old manA 59-year-old womanA 65-year-old womanA 68-year-old man

Investigators interviewed more than 30 witnesses, including the two juveniles inside the pickup at the time of the crash, before interviewing the driver, police said.

Following the interviews, investigators consulted with the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office, police said, adding that the 34-year-old driver was subsequently released pending the results of toxicology testing and a mechanical examination of the vehicle.

Police said no charges have been filed, and investigators are continuing to work toward determining the circumstances that led to the crash.

RELATED: ‘Devastating’ skydiving outing leaves 12 dead

Wichita Police Capt. Aaron Moses at Saturday’s news conference said the driver has a valid license, no outstanding arrest warrants, and was cooperating with investigators, Fox News reported.

Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan expressed his condolences to the families and everyone affected by the tragedy: “Our hearts are with the families of Adrian and Nicholas as they face an unimaginable loss. What should have been a day of children playing soccer and families spending time together ended in tragedy. We are also thinking about those who were injured, their loved ones, and everyone who witnessed what happened. We know this tragedy has affected many people throughout our community, and we want those families to know they are not alone. Our officers and investigators will continue working to understand exactly what happened.”

Police said they encourage all those who may be struggling with the tragedy to reach out for support; mental health services are available through Sedgwick County COMCARE. Anyone needing emotional support also can call or text 988 — the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — to speak with trained crisis counselors and receive information about available resources, police said.

All those with information about the crash are encouraged to contact police investigators at 316-268-4407, police said, adding that anonymous tips can also be provided through Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111.

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

​Mother, Child killed, Soccer, Kansas, Truck crash, No charges, Injuries, Crime 

France is seeing some of the worst violence in its streets in decades as demonstrations have turned into property damage and looting.

As hundreds of thousands have blocked roads in different cities over the weekend, French outlets are claiming that the protests are in response to ever-rising energy costs and students who are upset with their school conditions.

‘We are proud to announce that we are blocking the largest museum in the world.’

However, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has described some of the worst protesters as far-left and “ultra-left” politically, and there have been many viral moments in the European country that scream of progressive ideology, mirroring protests that have happened worldwide in the last decade.

1. Burning down the state

Public buildings, luxury boutiques, and supermarkets were targets of rioters, who attacked police cars as well as officers, according to Reuters.

The city of Limoges had its city hall set on fire, while in Marseille protesters busted their way into city hall and tagged it with anarchist graffiti. The city tourism office in Lyon was also seen engulfed in flames.

RELATED: Macron watched France burn — then blamed the ‘French people.’ Trump: ‘The migrants have taken over.’

2. Louvre protest backlash

Students led a blockade at the entrance of the Louvre and denounced “police repression,” Newsweek reported. The incident involved blocking the front doors of the historic museum while performing music.

In a video seen by millions of viewers, tourists are outraged that their time and money has been wasted as the pseudo-buskers block the entrance. The tourists chant at the protesters and give them the middle finger.

“The tourists who are waiting are aggressive with us because they’ve paid for their tickets,” one of the protesters reportedly said. However, the group also allegedly distributed leaflets that read, “We are proud to announce that we are blocking the largest museum in the world.”

RELATED: Illegal alien and 15 others charged with election crimes, DOJ says

3. The unfazed jogger

“Those who destroyed must pay,” French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday. “Those who looted must pay back. Those who sought to bring down the Republic will be held accountable.”

As the destruction and dismay was evident through burned property, masked rioters, and smoke in the air, one Paris resident went viral for her apparent composure through the ordeal.

A woman wearing a sports bra, shorts, and a jacket tied around her waist has been the subject of several videos where she is seen casually jogging through the chaos and past a pile of burning bikes.

The camera then pans to show the woman running passed dozens of masked protesters and toward a sea of demonstrators, all dressed in black. Another burning fire with thick, black smoke is seemingly her next destination.

4. Your city tomorrow?

Millions have already watched at least four French police vehicles get violently attacked by rioters in Paris in another viral video.

As the cop cars drive by with sirens blaring, about a dozen rioters dressed in black attempt to smash the vehicles with rocks, debris, and other objects.

With literal sparks flying, one rioter even turns to the camera and is seen smiling as they record the dirty work on their phone.

“Paris today. Your city tomorrow?” the post on X asked, followed by, “Where are you, President Emmanuel Macron?”

5. The warning

Western nations are in grave danger of being overrun by people who have “no love or appreciation for it,” warns Nick Freitas in the documentary “The Immigration Crisis That Will Destroy the West.”

Freitas talks about the betrayal of politicians and the ever-growing demographic changes in the West, stemming from poor policy that includes mass asylum claims from countries like Pakistan, while immigration systems let in countless economic migrants from the third world.

– YouTube

6. Posing for the camera

A group of rioters are happy in another video to relish in their spoils and pose for the camera in front of trashed streets and raging fires. As some give the camera the middle finger, rioters in the background of the group grunt in unison. One even waves what appears to be a mannequin’s leg.

The post from Visegrad 24, a news curator in Central Europe, described the scene as “young 2nd and 3rd-generation migrant rioters” who had gathered to celebrate setting Paris on fire.

It is unclear who the rioters are, but the post noted that they “proudly give the French people the finger in the picture.”

7. Cordial monsters

In another viral video, a woman who appears to support the protests attempts to disavow looters at a grocery mart but fails as they calmly work around her efforts.

“But why are you doing this?” the woman asks the looters, according to a translation. “Arretez!” she yells, meaning “stop.”

The woman then tries to block the entrance to the store while saying, “That’s not the cause.”

Unperturbed, the looters gently remove her from the entrance and then cheer as they help each other inside to continue stealing. One male grabs the woman and takes her aside, saying, “You are going to hurt yourself.”

“They won’t be able to listen to reason!” the man adds.

“What’s the point of doing that?!” the woman screams back.

Nearly in tears, she turns to the camera in distress before walking away. The camera then pans to the looters inside as a helpless shopkeeper stands in the store.

Woman, shopkeepers plead with looters as French protests turn violent

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

​France, Riots, Paris, Louvre, Immigration, Politics 

Democratic U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan has revealed a nefarious plot to dissuade young people from joining the Republican Party.

Slotkin was speaking at the University of Chicago on Tuesday when she said Democrats are gearing up to prosecute Republicans and scare young people from being more active in the Republican Party.

‘She is exactly the fascist she’s been lecturing the rest of us about.’

“I want to look at these signature cases and not just focus on the president but on the people who enabled him,” said Slotkin.

“I want young people coming out of school to say, ‘Should I go work for the Trump administration? Like, that sounds fun. I might get an opportunity.’ I want them to be like, ‘Lord, that might be buying myself a ton of problems that I don’t want, and so let me avoid participating in that,'” she continued.

“I want that deterrence message,” Slotkin concluded.

Video of her plan was posted to social media, where she was criticized heavily. It went viral with millions of views, including by her colleagues in the Senate.

“It is absolutely disgraceful to threaten young Americans for participating in politics and serving their country,” responded Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah).

“Spare me the pearl-clutching — especially from Republican Members of Congress and online MAGA grifters who have cheered President Trump’s weaponization of the government against those he doesn’t like, as recently as last week,” Slotkin responded, apparently referring to the raid on the D.C.-area home of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.).

Slotkin also cited the Trump administration investigating her participation in a video calling on U.S. military members to “refuse illegal orders.”

“President Trump has turned the government against people, with raucous support from you and virtually all D.C. Republicans. So spare us the manufactured outrage,” she added to Lee.

Others on social media lambasted Slotkin for the comments.

“She intends to unleash a slew of investigations to deter young people from even considering supporting the Administration … if they know what is good for them,” replied legal expert Jonathan Turley.

“Incredibly unAmerican. She is exactly the fascist she’s been lecturing the rest of us about,” read one response.

“What amazes me most is that they don’t even try to hide the fraud and contempt,” replied another critic. “They feel so secure in their DC jobs and immune to consequences they don’t put much effort into masking it.”

RELATED: Sen. Slotkin says FBI is investigating 6 Democrats Trump called ‘traitors’ for ‘seditious’ video

“Are we living in a Soviet Commie world? She is threatening people who want to be part of MAGA — that she is hoping to arrest us. Who the @#$# does she think she is!?” said one detractor.

“Dead party. No message whatsoever. Just destroy or deny opposition. She’s so perverse. So insane. She has no business in government whatsoever,” said another.

The raid at Omar’s home was part of an investigation into the circumstances of her immigration from Somalia to the U.S. She is also under investigation for possible financial crimes related to her disclosures.

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

​Elissa slotkin, Social media, Democrats, Online backlash, Politics 

We may be witnessing the beginning of the end of Europe.

It’s October 18, 2026, as I write; who knows what more will have happened in European cities by the time you read this? Since yesterday, rioters have burned down much of the 143-year-old town hall in Limoges, France. In Milan, masked mobs have looted stores, set fires, and battled police in the square outside the magnificent Duomo cathedral.

It’s like watching your cousins’ house burn while the arsonists laugh and your cousins argue over whether to call the firefighters.

In Paris, cars burn and shops are ransacked. In some of the most chaotic footage, badly outnumbered police appear to be in retreat, their vehicles speeding through smoke-filled streets as masked rioters chase them and hurl objects at the cars.

Even Joan of Arc wasn’t spared. In Paris, masked demonstrators climbed the statue of France’s patron saint and plastered it with political stickers. In Toulouse, rioters draped another statue of Joan in a yellow vest and hung a Palestinian flag from it.

Nearly 2,400 people were arrested across France. Historic buildings have been torched, businesses looted, and hundreds of police officers injured. The authorities themselves have acknowledged that radical far-left groups and criminals are exploiting the unrest.

‘C’est pas la cause!’

And what does the mainstream media call this spectacle? A “protest against the rising cost of living,” or a show of frustration with educational inequality. The Guardian explains that the movement began with complaints about teacher shortages and deteriorating schools before expanding into nationwide demonstrations against inequality and falling living standards.

Perhaps that’s how the protests began. But what does a shortage of teachers have to do with burning down a 19th-century town hall? How does smashing the windows of a luxury boutique improve conditions in a classroom?

Take a look at the footage of looters helping themselves to luxury goods. Whatever grievances brought people into the streets, there is nothing remotely political or principled about this. It’s theft, vandalism, and destruction, committed by people who apparently believe that anything they can seize or smash is theirs for the taking.

One particularly miserable video from Paris shows a woman desperately trying to stop a group of looters from destroying a shop. “C’est pas la cause!” she cries repeatedly — roughly, “That’s not what this cause is about!” The men ignore her, laughing as they continue ransacking the place. She seems genuinely bewildered that anyone claiming to protest injustice would behave this way.

Against civilization

The rioters aren’t merely destroying property. They’re attacking the physical inheritance of a civilization. In Limoges, the town hall survived two world wars before a mob set it ablaze. In Paris, monuments and public spaces that have belonged to generations of French citizens become stages for intimidation and disorder.

And France is hardly alone. This weekend, violent clashes have also erupted in Belgium and Italy, while student riots in Albania earlier in the week left government buildings in flames. The grievances vary, but the scenes have become disturbingly familiar: burning barricades, ransacked businesses, and police struggling to contain mobs that seem to regard every public grievance as an invitation to destruction.

As in the Black Lives Matter riots in America in 2020, “protest” has become an all-purpose excuse for criminality. We are expected to regard the wreckage as an unfortunate side effect of people demanding justice, rather than evidence of a society losing its ability to enforce the most basic rules of civilized life.

And what of Europe’s leaders? French President Emmanuel Macron has condemned the rioters, promised arrests and punishment, and authorized additional security measures. Fine. But why were mobs able to overwhelm police, loot businesses, and burn public buildings in the first place? How is it possible that a historic town hall, with people still inside, could be invaded and deliberately set on fire?

Diversity’s downside

The media does not like to mention this, but it’s obvious to anyone with eyes: Watch these videos and you’ll see crowds made up predominantly of young men who appear to be of sub-Saharan African, North African, or Middle Eastern descent. Which raises another question: To what extent is this failure of public order the result of years of unchecked mass immigration from third-world Muslim countries?

France’s leaders have spent decades celebrating diversity and invoking the supposedly universal values of the French Republic. Macron has likened French culture to a river fed by many tributaries. But a river can only absorb so much before it changes course. French soil has no magical properties that automatically instill centuries of traditions and values in anyone who sets foot on it.

And the numbers are hardly trivial. France had 9.3 million foreign-born residents in 2024, up 21% from a decade earlier. A French Senate investigation this July identified nearly €2 billion (about $2.2 billion) in asylum-related spending last year, without counting certain health, education, and welfare expenses. The same report complained that failed asylum-seekers frequently remain in the country despite orders to leave. This is an enormous undertaking for a state already struggling to provide the services its citizens expect.

RELATED: Queers for Palestine: The woke left’s unholy alliance with Islamism

NurPhoto/Getty Images

‘New’ France

And why is it that so many of those who are supposed to be assimilating into French society seem instead to be embracing the politics of the global far left, with its loyalties and grievances extending far beyond France?

Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s radical-left France Unbowed party has discovered a powerful constituency in the immigrant-heavy suburbs. In the 2024 European elections, the party made the Palestinian cause a centerpiece of its campaign, and 62% of Muslim voters backed its list. Mélenchon celebrated the emergence of what he called a “new France”. But what holds this new France together? What shared loyalties, traditions, or obligations bind it to the old one? Those questions deserve more than another sermon about the virtues of diversity.

Time will tell, but it looks increasingly as though Europe’s political leadership has lost the will to defend what it governs. Most of us have watched an elderly relative lose the will to live. When that happens, the person usually dies in short order. Something similar seems to have overtaken Europe’s governing class.

Maybe it’s too early to deliver a eulogy. But what is “too soon” today may be too late tomorrow.

Death in the family

How else but with rage and grief is one supposed to react to watching the world he knew being destroyed?

Europe and the United Kingdom are, in a sense, part of an American’s patrimony and of any Westerner’s. America is a descendant, now a cousin, of England. France lent us help in the American Revolution. Enlightenment ideas that built the modern West flowed between us.

To see the destruction in Europe is not like watching a distant star go supernova. It’s like watching your cousins’ house burn while the arsonists laugh and your cousins argue over whether to call the firefighters.

Are we witnessing the end of what the 20th century left us? That was an era in which we at least tried to preserve the best of our physical and political heritage, building on top of it as times progressed. We understood that civilization required active stewardship. Borders needed policing, laws needed enforcing, and the inheritance of previous generations needed protecting.

Now the police are struggling to hold the streets, and the guardians of Europe’s cultural treasures appear powerless to stop their destruction.

I’m from the 20th century. No one in my cohort or above could ever have imagined we would live to see such times. We were foolish to believe that our first-world West would tick along without active stewardship, and now we’re experiencing the sorrow of our folly.

Think of the final scene in the original “Planet of the Apes.” Charlton Heston’s character, believing himself stranded on an alien planet, comes upon the ruins of the Statue of Liberty, half-buried in the sand. He realizes he has been on Earth all along. Everything that made it home has been destroyed — by his own people.

“We finally really did it,” he says, before collapsing to his knees and cursing those responsible.

Watching Europe today feels like living through that scene. Except this isn’t a movie. And it’s terrible.

​European destruction, Europes burning, Europes end, French diversity, Limoges france, Milan mobs, Paris chaos, Planet of the apes, Rioters in europe, Western heritage, Mainstream media, Immigration, Mass immigration, Emmanuel macron, France, Islam, Lifestyle, Culture, Intervention 

Although they cannot bring themselves to endorse Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers outright, a pair of big names in Michigan Democratic circles have issued a plea to fellow travelers: Do not vote for Rogers’ leftist opponent, Abdul El-Sayed.

Lon Johnson, the former chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, and David Kramer, a longtime Democratic strategist who worked on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s gubernatorial campaign and Sen. Elissa Slotkin’s Senate campaign, made their case in an op-ed published on Friday in the Detroit News — an anti-Trump paper that officially endorsed Rogers last month.

‘A vote is never owed.’

At the outset, the duo noted that El-Sayed has failed to earn the trust of “loyal Democrats,” assuage their fears, and “unite a party whose nomination he won with less than 50% of the vote.”

“As a result, we will not vote for Abdul El-Sayed,” wrote the duo. “Some may then conclude we, or other loyal Democrats, need to vote for a different party, but for many of us, leaving the ballot blank is an act of dignity.”

Johnson and Kramer stated that their “gravest concerns involve El-Sayed’s associations with figures who have excused or minimized terrorism, his reluctance to unequivocally condemn dangerous rhetoric, and his support of extreme policies.”

El-Sayed is a Muslim Democrat who:

served on former President Joe Biden’s Unity Task Force for Healthcare,defended sex-rejection mutilations for children,advocated in June 2020 for defunding the police, andstill advocates today for a tax-raising “Medicare for All” scheme.

Johnson and Kramer took issue with El-Sayed’s refusal during his Oct. 8 debate with Rogers to identify “whether Iran or Israel posed the greater threat to America, dismissing the comparison as hypothetical.”

El-Sayed said during the debate that “both of them have proven dangerous in their own way.”

RELATED: Ocasio-Cortez dumps BIG MONEY into El-Sayed campaign

Sarah Rice/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Johnson and Kramer also expressed concern about whether El-Sayed shares the radicalism exhibited by others in his orbit.

For starters, El-Sayed is the son of Fatten Fathy Elkomy, an Egyptian immigrant who reportedly worked for an Islamic organization that the U.S. Treasury Department labeled a specially designated global terrorist organization in 2004.

The Treasury Department noted at the time of the terror designation that the group, the Islamic African Relief Agency, may have “provided direct financial support” to Osama bin Laden and, by extension, Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

Elkomy’s daughter and El-Sayed’s half-sister, Eman Abdelhadi, is a professor at the University of Chicago who was arrested last year for allegedly spitting on an Illinois state trooper outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.

Abdelhadi not only delivered an “October 7 blessing” on the first anniversary of the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel but has signaled a familial link to the Muslim Brotherhood, though El-Sayed has denied that he and his family have ties to it.

While a man cannot choose the family he is born into, he certainly can choose his friends.

El-Sayed brought Hasan Piker to Michigan to campaign with him on multiple occasions, including on Aug. 3.

Piker is the multimillionaire son of Muslim immigrants from Turkey who:

stated that “America deserved 9/11” and called for another attack; said that he has no patriotism in his heart for America;identified the colors of Hezbollah terrorists as his “favorite flag”; shrugged off sexual violence by Hamas terrorists; andtold viewers who care about Medicaid fraud to “kill” Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.).

“Leadership is measured not only by what you say, but by what you are willing to confront,” wrote Johnson and Kramer, who expressed concern about El-Sayed’s relationship with Piker as well as their party’s takeover by the Democratic Socialists of America.

The Democratic duo concluded that “legitimate frustration with the political establishment cannot justify surrendering our party to ideological extremism. Winning elections means little if we lose the principles and broad coalition that make governing possible.”

“Supporting a candidate is a choice, not an obligation. Party loyalty is not blind obedience. Support must be earned, and a vote is never owed,” they added.

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

The race for the open Michigan U.S. Senate seat remains neck and neck, according to Blaze News’ Poll Watch. El-Sayed has just a 2.7 point advantage over Rogers.

Michigan Senate polls 2026: El-Sayed vs. Rogerspollwatch.theblaze.com

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

​Hasan piker, Muslim brotherhood, Mike rogers, Abdul el-sayed, Democratic party, Michigan, Senate, Politics 

NEW YORK CITY — Horse-drawn carriages have clopped through Central Park for over 160 years. This Thursday, the New York City Council is scheduled to vote on a bill that would bring the long-standing tradition to an end.

The legislation, known as Romanch’s Law, would ban horse-drawn carriage operations starting June 1, 2028. Both Democrat Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Democrat Council Speaker Julie Menin have publicly voiced their support for the phaseout.

‘It’s going to be a disaster for me, for my family. I cannot pay my bills.’

“They’re stealing my American dream from me,” Atakan Aktay, a Turkish immigrant who has worked in the Central Park carriage industry for 13 years, told Blaze News.

The bill follows the June death of 18-year-old Romanch Mahajan, an Indian tourist vacationing in New York with his family. During a carriage ride through Central Park, the driver stepped away to snap a photo of the family when the horse suddenly bolted, throwing Mahajan’s mother from the carriage. Mahajan jumped out after her, striking his head on the ground and suffering fatal injuries.

Supporters of the ban say eliminating the industry would protect both horses and the public. But for the drivers whose livelihoods depend on the carriages, the legislation threatens to dismantle everything they have spent decades building.

Aktay, who owns nine horses, two carriages, and multiple operating medallions, said he has invested his life savings in the business.

“It’s going to be a disaster for me, for my family. I cannot pay my bills,” he said. “You don’t just wipe out the whole industry because of an accident. You regulate, you modernize.”

RELATED: Man shot by ICE in the Bronx — Mamdani demands Trump end all operations in NYC

Blaze News

The bill requires the city to develop a job transition program for displaced workers and consider compensating carriage owners but does not guarantee any financial payouts. Christina Hansen, a carriage driver of 20 years, said the help falls short.

“They want to put me to work at 22 bucks an hour doing something that I don’t want to do, like I’m some sort of plug-and-play widget,” she said.

Sam Uzun, a 27-year-old driver who also works as a data scientist, said he has another career to fall back on. Many of his colleagues do not.

“Some of the people are 60 years old, 65 years old. They like to do this job,” Uzun explained. “They are depending on this business, their family and their kids.”

Drivers also pushed back against allegations of animal cruelty. “We love our horses as much as a mother loves their kid,” Uzun said.

Hansen raised another unanswered question: What happens to the horses?

“There’s no funding set aside in the bill to pay for the long-term care of retiring carriage horses,” she said. “They want my horse to be homeless, to be a charity case.”

The bill bars selling or transferring the animals for slaughter or for use in another carriage business, but it does not require owners to give them up.

RELATED: Videos capture Palestinian activists screaming at Mamdani: ‘Opportunist piece of s**t!’

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Some New Yorkers see room for a middle path. Mickey Krisburg, an Upper East Side resident, described the carriages as “a great part of the culture of New York” and called for better oversight to ensure the horses are “well maintained, well cared for.”

Another resident, Jennifer Federer, suggested that replacing horse-drawn carriages with electric alternatives could preserve drivers’ jobs while addressing animal welfare concerns.

“I don’t want humans to have their jobs taken away from them and have to change their entire life,” she said. “That would be my compromise.”

For tourists, the allure of this quintessential Big Apple experience remains very much alive.

“We came to New York for my 13th birthday to see ‘Wicked’ and go on a horse and buggy ride,” said a 13-year-old girl from Michigan as she stepped off a carriage with her parents.

“The New York dream, right?” her mother added.

But with the city council vote just days away, that New York dream may soon become a thing of the past.

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

​Central park, Politics, Zohran mamdani, Horse 

A Pennsylvania woman killed her 3-year-old son and husband at a popular family-friendly resort in the Pocono Mountains, according to authorities. Afterward the mother reportedly called 911 to help her commit suicide.

Around 3:13 p.m. last Monday, law enforcement responded to the Great Wolf Lodge in Scotrun for a report of a “distressed female,” according to a statement the Pocono Township Police Department released.

‘Every day, I work so hard to be the best person, the best mother, the best wife.’

“The female, identified as Metallica Rose Harrison of Towanda, Pennsylvania, advised the dispatcher that she needed help committing suicide,” the police statement read.

NBC News obtained the criminal complaint, in which Detective Earl Ackerman of the Pocono Township Police Department wrote that Harrison asked the dispatcher for help “to find the vein in her neck to stab” because she was attempting to commit suicide.

Police said officers discovered a deceased adult male and a 3-year-old male child in a room at the resort; they were later identified as the suspect’s husband, Charles Harrison, and the couple’s son, whose name has not been released.

According to the affidavit People magazine obtained, Metallica Harrison told the dispatcher she had knives and that “my husband and son are already gone in the bed in the living room.”

“They’re already gone, I’m sorry,” the 27-year-old told the dispatcher, police said.

The affidavit said Charles Harrison appeared to have suffered multiple stab wounds to his chest while the boy had a single stab wound to the chest.

Police said Metallica Harrison had injuries to her wrist and neck and was taken to a hospital for treatment.

The affidavit indicates that during the ambulance ride to the hospital, she told first responders: “I f**ked up. I f**ked up. I just needed energy and strength.”

Police said she repeatedly made “statements that she wasn’t supposed to be here.”

“Every day, I work so hard to be the best person, the best mother, the best wife,” she said in the ambulance, according to the affidavit. “It wasn’t supposed to end like this. I was supposed to have my happy family. That’s what I envisioned since I was a child.”

Police said Metallica Harrison told officers while at the hospital that she was “suicidal, not stupid.”

WGAL-TV reported that investigators recovered two teal-handled knives, medication bottles, and containers of what law enforcement believes was blood.

Resort employees confirmed to police that the recovered knives were not the type kept at the Great Wolf Lodge.

Police executed a search warrant at the family’s home where they seized 10 teal knives, teal-colored scissors, nine sealed envelopes addressed to Metallica Harrison, four sealed envelopes addressed to Charles Harrison, two journals, a book, financial records, a laptop, a safe, and an envelope, according to WGAL.

Police said of the seized records, “It is common for individuals in these scenarios to document their homicidal and suicidal ideations via hand writings or electronics prior to, during, and after the act has taken place.”

Investigators found an electric utility shutoff notice posted on the front door of the home, the warrant stated.

Police said the Harrison family checked into Great Wolf Lodge on Sept. 21 and were scheduled to leave on Tuesday.

RELATED: Mom left ominous note at Las Vegas hotel before ‘very medicated’ cheerleader daughter found dead in murder-suicide: Coroner

Police records show investigators spoke with the slain father’s mother and sister, who told them Metallica Harrison was “dominant” and “controlling” and had isolated Charles Harrison and the boy from Charles’ family during the last three years.

WGAL reported, “The women also told investigators that Metallica appeared resentful toward her son and had said she never wanted to become pregnant, the documents stated.”

Charles Harrison’s mother, April Thetga, said money had been drawn from her son’s retirement account to pay for the three-week trip.

“It was definitely odd, but they’d taken their 401(k) out. … There was nothing we could do about that,” Thetga told the New York Post.

Metallica Harrison was arrested and charged with two counts of criminal homicide.

On Tuesday, Magisterial District Judge Daniel Kresge ordered Harrison held without bail, according to police.

Harrison is being detained at the Monroe County Correctional Facility.

Police characterized the incident as an “isolated domestic tragedy.”

“Our thoughts and deepest condolences go out to the family and loved ones affected by this tragedy,” police stated.

Police have not revealed a possible motive and said the investigation is ongoing.

The Great Wolf Lodge said in a statement, “We are deeply saddened and heartbroken by a tragic domestic incident that occurred yesterday in a guest room at our resort in the Pocono Mountains.”

“It was an isolated family incident, and we’re cooperating fully with local law enforcement as they conduct their investigation,” the resort’s statement continued. “Our thoughts are with the family and loved ones of those affected.”

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

​Mother, Son, Husband, Pennsylvania, Resort, Killings, Arrest, Criminal homicide, Stabbings, Suicidal, Crime