Stembridge News Digest

  • The sanctuary city playbook is spreading in red states Sat, 24 Jan 2026 14:30:00 +0000


    I live in a community that, not long ago, was a quiet town outside Austin — one of many places people fled in search of safety, order, and a better quality of life. Today, that same community is rapidly transforming into the very version of Austin many residents hoped to escape.

    Growth isn’t the problem. Ideology is.

    My community is changing, not because it is growing, but because it is abandoning the principles that once made it worth building a life here.

    A dangerous idea has taken hold in America: that enforcing the law is immoral, that accountability is cruelty, and that penalizing criminal behavior matters less than protecting the feelings of those who violate the law.

    This worldview didn’t emerge organically. Institutions taught it, activists repeated it, and public officials normalized it until many Americans came to believe the humane response to disorder is deliberate blindness.

    Last week, that ideology went on full display in my town.

    Federal immigration authorities conducted targeted enforcement operations in the area. Homeland Security professionals carried out lawful, focused actions while doing the job Congress — and the American people — have repeatedly mandated that they do.

    Within hours, local social media erupted. Facebook groups, Instagram accounts, and self-styled “community leaders” posted warnings about ICE. Progressive elected officials piled on, condemning the operation and circulating tips on how to avoid federal law enforcement. Some encouraged demonstrations near ICE activity to “drive them out.” Others urged residents to honk at ICE vehicles to alert everyone nearby to the supposed “danger.”

    Many Americans shrug this off as routine political theater. What followed was worse.

    RELATED: Why ‘anti-ICE protesters’ are useful, delusional idiots

    Tim Evans/Bloomberg via Getty Images

    Instead of standing firmly behind the rule of law, our local government and law enforcement agencies rushed to distance themselves — not out of principle, but out of fear. City social media accounts quickly clarified that ICE had merely notified the city of a vehicle parked near City Hall and that the city neither supported nor assisted the operation.

    The message was unmistakable: Don’t blame us.

    Screenshot/City of Buda/X.com

    Even more disheartening, the police department issued its own statement emphasizing that it was not cooperating with ICE enforcement activities, noting only that officers responded alongside an ambulance.

    Again, the message was clear: We want no part of this.

    Screenshot/Kyle Police Department/X.com

    This didn’t happen in Minnesota or Illinois. It happened in Texas — a state known nationwide for being tough on crime and historically supportive of immigration enforcement.

    It happened just miles from our state Capitol. Yet even here, local entities openly refuse to cooperate with the mandate Americans have repeatedly voted for: enforcing our immigration laws.

    In doing so, these institutions accomplished two things — neither defensible.

    First, they publicly disavowed the enforcement of federal law, as though lawful authority were something shameful.

    Second, they compromised operational security by broadcasting where law enforcement was present and what it was — or was not — doing. In any other context, that would be recognized as reckless. Here, activists applauded it.

    Texas leaders should treat this as a warning.

    State government must hold every jurisdiction accountable for never becoming a sanctuary — whether by statute or by practice — for illegal immigration and criminal activity. The Texas legislature took a critical step by passing legislation requiring most county sheriffs’ departments to participate in ICE’s 287(g) program. That built a foundation. We need more.

    Texas should require all local law enforcement agencies to enter the 287(g) program that best fits their department and to publicly commit to enforcing the law. Accountability cannot stop at county lines. It cannot become optional based on online outrage and activist pressure.

    RELATED: Illegal-alien patients drain Texas hospitals, racking up billion-dollar bill — in less than a year

    Photo by: John Lazenby/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

    Just one year ago, the country was overwhelmed daily by mass illegal border crossings. The effort to restore control through lawful enforcement and deportation has only begun. Texas will never address the scale of the problem if cities — especially in red states — can refuse responsibility and pass the buck.

    A society cannot function if enforcing the law is treated as oppression and breaking it is reframed as victimhood. Compassion doesn’t require chaos. Justice can’t survive if the people tasked with upholding it feel compelled to apologize for doing their jobs.

    My community is changing, not because it is growing, but because it is abandoning the principles that once made it worth building a life here. If we keep going down this path — where enforcing the law becomes controversial and officials fear activists more than disorder — we should not act surprised when the place we moved to becomes indistinguishable from the place we left.

  • Punk with attitude on overdrive caught on cop body cam allegedly trying to steal car — but not even a taser can slow his roll Sat, 24 Jan 2026 13:00:00 +0000


    Bodycam video from Daytona Beach Police showed an officer driving to an auto dealership on Jan. 14 and noting a suspect there was "actually trying to get into a car that's occupied."

    Not surprisingly, the officer said he didn't want the suspect to "carjack somebody."

    'Get me out of these cuffs, or you lose your job tomorrow. Do it.'

    With that, the officer exited his cruiser and removed keys from a truck's ignition just before a male — later identified as 18-year-old Jayden Brown — ran from behind the truck to the driver-side door.

    The officer ordered him to "get on the ground" — but the male twice replied, "Oh, yeah?"

    It seemed like a taunt.

    Well, the officer wasn't having it and deployed his taser, and the most Brown could muster was an agonized moan as his body stiffened like a board at an angle against the open car door:

    RELATED: 15-year-old Florida female caught on police bodycam video bashing cop car — with a shovel: 'You kidding me?'

    Image source: Daytona Beach (Fla.) Police Department video screenshot

    Image source: Daytona Beach (Fla.) Police Department video screenshot

    In the ensuing moments, Brown seemed relatively under control, and officers put handcuffs on him.

    But then his attitude returned with a vengeance.

    RELATED: Police bodycam video shows Florida man offering cops alcohol during car chase that ends with suspect getting tased

    Image source: Daytona Beach (Fla.) Police Department video screenshot

    "I'll be out by tomorrow," he told cops surrounding him. "It's all good."

    An officer asked him his age.

    "I could be 20," Brown replied. "I could be 21. How do you know?"

    Cops decided to run the vehicle's tags, but the skin-and-bones thug remained full of attitude.

    "Whatever. Do it. It's not mine," Brown declared to the officers. "It's stolen, so now what? And there's no VIN, so now what? You can't trace it back to nobody, now what? I get thousands of guns from who I know in the military ... now what? Everybody in my family my whole life has all been federal agent workers; that's why we all have so much money to do everything we do, wow! I didn't steal anything yet. I was just trying to find out where my car was."

    Soon he started yelling out a plea apparently for someone to record the encounter on Instagram live.

    RELATED: Police reportedly use Taser on 95-year-old great-grandmother with dementia who was holding knife while using her walker in Australian nursing home

    Image source: Daytona Beach (Fla.) Police Department video screenshot

    Then he demanded that officers remove the handcuffs.

    "Get me out of these cuffs, or you lose your job tomorrow," Brown said. "Do it."

    The cops, undaunted, read him his rights — and the boasting continued.

    "By day I'm trading millions and trillions of dollars a day," Brown told the officers.

    RELATED: Pro-gangster protesters crash Marjorie Taylor Greene rally. Two get the high-voltage treatment: 'There ya go.'

    Image source: Daytona Beach (Fla.) Police Department video screenshot

    Police played along: "Good for you, man."

    "In 18 years, I made your income times 20 billion, so do something about it," Brown continued.

    Soon officers put Brown inside a police vehicle — and his attitude still didn't let up.

    "You're the one who put me in this van — and guess who's getting out tomorrow while you're still working at your job?"

    RELATED: Parents attack female middle school deputy, steal her taser, bodycam video shows. Sheriff reacts with profanity-laced tirade.

    Image source: Daytona Beach (Fla.) Police Department video screenshot

    Below is the police department's video of the encounter with Brown:

    RELATED: Crazy bodycam video shows suspect trying to flee cop on a lawnmower, getting tased — and it only gets worse for him

    In the end, police said Brown was charged with three counts of grand theft auto, burglary of an occupied dwelling, and criminal mischief.

    RELATED: Blaze News original: Check out these wild crimes that quickly turned intense, even bloody — and often went right off the rails

    Image source: Daytona Beach (Fla.) Police Department

    If you're hoping that Brown got an attitude adjustment as the result of his arrest, you might be disappointed.

    At Brown's first appearance in court the following day — Jan. 15 — a judge indeed found probable cause for charges of burglary of an occupied structure, criminal mischief of less than $200, and three counts of attempted grand theft of a motor vehicle, WKMG-TV reported, citing records, adding that he was released on recognizance.

    Remember one of Brown's over-the-top boasts to officers on the day of his arrest?

    "I'll be out by tomorrow," he said. "It's all good."

    Brown even added while in the police vehicle, "You're the one who put me in this van — and guess who's getting out tomorrow while you're still working at your job?"

    An official at the Volusia County Correctional Facility confirmed to Blaze News that Brown was set free Jan. 15 — the day after his arrest.

    He's due back in court in February for arraignment, WKMG added.

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  • The Supreme Court can protect families or protect corporate cover-ups Sat, 24 Jan 2026 11:30:00 +0000


    When you get pregnant, doctors warn you to avoid everything from coffee to deli meat. When you build a home — as a spouse, parent, or homeowner — you make careful choices about what comes through the front door, onto your table, and into your yard.

    But what if those precautions don’t matter? What if the food you serve, the lawn your kids play on, or the weeds you spray carry a poison approved through fraud, sold without warnings, and protected from accountability by the Supreme Court?

    We ask parents to obsess over lunch meat. We can demand at least as much honesty about what gets sprayed on the yard.

    That isn’t paranoia. It’s the situation Americans may soon face.

    The Supreme Court last week agreed to hear Monsanto Co. v. Durnell, a case pushed aggressively by Bayer, the German pharmaceutical giant that bought Monsanto in 2018. The justices will decide one narrow but decisive question this term: Does federal pesticide law block state failure-to-warn lawsuits when the Environmental Protection Agency has not required a cancer warning on the label?

    Bayer wants the answer to be yes. It wants federal pre-emption — a legal shield that turns an EPA-approved label into immunity. If Bayer wins, state juries could lose the ability to hold companies accountable even when families prove they used a product as directed, got sick, and never received a warning.

    That outcome would reward the very behavior the law should punish.

    Juries across the country have already heard evidence in Roundup cases and awarded billions to plaintiffs who developed cancer after using the herbicide. Yet Roundup still sells without a cancer warning. Now Bayer wants the Supreme Court to slam the courthouse door on future victims for good.

    Consider what that means in human terms.

    Pregnant mothers avoid raw fish and unpasteurized cheese to protect their children, yet millions of families unknowingly expose themselves to chemicals linked in research to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and other cancers. A major meta-analysis published in the journal Pediatrics found that children exposed to residential pesticides face significantly higher risks of leukemia and lymphoma. Another peer-reviewed 2019 meta-analysis linked glyphosate-based herbicides to an increased risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

    We get lectures about sushi, but weed killer gets a pass.

    This fight should feel familiar. During COVID, Americans were told to trust emergency approvals as official guidance shifted rapidly. Those who raised concerns often got mocked or sidelined. Only later did many learn the story was more complicated than the public was allowed to hear.

    We can’t undo that confusion. We can refuse to repeat it.

    The evidence here does not revolve around a single labeling dispute. The deeper allegation is deception. Critics claim Monsanto relied on ghostwritten research and buried evidence to convince regulators glyphosate was safe — and that those approvals then became the foundation for selling Roundup without a cancer warning.

    RELATED: The fruit of the US pesticide industry is poison

    Firn via iStock/Getty Images

    In late 2025, a key study used for years to defend glyphosate was retracted over serious ethical concerns and undisclosed corporate influence. That retraction matters because it goes to the heart of Bayer’s argument: that the government approved the label, so the company should be protected.

    Pre-emption should not become a reward for fraud.

    If the Supreme Court sides with Bayer, the fallout will spread far beyond Roundup. The ruling could shield tens of thousands of pesticides from meaningful liability so long as companies point to federal “compliance” — even when compliance was built on manipulated research, regulatory capture, or withheld evidence. Families could lose their best tool for accountability: state courts and state juries.

    That isn’t pro-business; it’s regulatory capture. In fact, it’s immunity for wrongdoing.

    The court should reject this power-grab. Federal minimum standards should not erase state-level accountability, especially when the federal process can be gamed. Americans deserve warnings when products pose real risks. Families deserve the ability to seek justice when corporations hide dangers and regulators fail to act.

    We ask parents to obsess over lunch meat. We can demand at least as much honesty about what gets sprayed on the yard.

    The Supreme Court has a choice: protect public health, or protect corporate cover-ups. The country should insist that it choose public health — for our families and for generations yet unborn.

  • Four people found shot to death after 12-year-old calls 911 from closet with other children, police say Sat, 24 Jan 2026 10:30:00 +0000


    A 51-year-old man is in custody after his 12-year-old child called Georgia police from a closet and they found four people shot to death.

    The harrowing incident unfolded at the Lawrenceville home on Brook Ivy Court early on Friday morning, according to police.

    'Four people dying at the same time, especially with children in the home ... it's shocking to anybody.'

    Police entered the home at about 2:30 in the morning to find the bodies of four people, as well as the 12-year-old still in the closet with two other children ages 10 and 7 years old.

    The victims were identified as 37-year-old Nidhi Chander and 38-year-old Harish Chander, who own the home, and their relatives 43-year-old Meemu Dogra and 33-year-old Gourav Cumar.

    Vijay Kumar was arrested after a police dog was able to track him trying to hide in the wood line.

    They said that Kumar and his wife, Dogra, had gotten into an argument in Atlanta and drove to the Chander home with their 12-year-old child.

    "It is unknown at this time what the argument was about, why they came to the residence, or what led up to the incident," police said in a statement on social media.

    Police said they were able to arrive while the suspect's car was still at the scene because the child called so quickly after the incident.

    The children were unharmed.

    RELATED: Police shoot New Jersey man who charged them with machete — then find gruesome scene

    "It's definitely a tragic situation. Four people dying at the same time, especially with children in the home ... it's shocking to anybody," said Gwinnett Police Cpl. Angela Carter.

    Kumar was charged with malice murder, felony murder, cruelty to children in the first degree, and two counts of cruelty to children in the third degree.

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  • Montana is Minnesota 2.0: Insurance chief exposes NEW Obamacare fraud bust on Glenn Beck Sat, 24 Jan 2026 10:00:00 +0000


    In the wake of Minnesota’s massive fraud scheme busts, some states have started questioning what’s going on within their own borders. In Montana, Commissioner of Insurance and State Auditor James Brown’s curiosity spurred him to do some digging, and what he found made his jaw drop.

    On this episode of “The Glenn Beck Program,” Glenn sits down with Brown to expose the massive Obamacare fraud scheme he recently uncovered in Montana.

    “It’s bad,” Brown says of the scandal. “This is government at its worst. It's human nature at its worst.”

    Under Obamacare, members of federally recognized Native American tribes can sign up for Marketplace health insurance plans anytime (not just during open enrollment), often with little or no out-of-pocket costs.

    “This scheme involved targeting at-risk Native Americans who live on reservations in Montana, fraudulently enrolling them on Obamacare, then physically transporting them across state lines, which is, as you know, human trafficking, and then billing our insurance company for rehab treatments that did not take place or were unnecessary or performed at greatly inflated costs,” Brown explains.

    “And then what would happen is these Native Americans who were targeted then were just dumped out on the streets in Arizona and Southern California.”

    “Why were they taken across state lines?” Glenn asks.

    Brown explains that a lack of “proper oversight” in places like Los Angeles and Phoenix enabled fraudsters to exploit the Affordable Care Act’s strong protections for mental health and addiction treatment. Under those federal parity laws, insurers are required to cover rehab the same as regular medical care — even from out-of-state providers — allowing distant rehab facilities to rake in large sums of money from fake or inflated bills.

    Glenn follows up with the obvious: How much money are we talking here?

    “Fifty million with an M in fraud committed through this scheme,” says Brown, adding that the good news is this awareness has allowed his office to prevent another “23.3 million” from being stolen.

    But money is only half the horror.

    “There's 200 Native Americans that have probably been victimized by this,” says Brown.

    However because his jurisdiction is limited to the Montana border, and much of this fraud is taking place outside state lines, he is heavily reliant on the feds for prosecutions.

    “Are they actively pursuing this?” Glenn asks.

    “The Trump administration has been very helpful on the CMS side, which is the federal agency that administers Obamacare. They've been very active in working with us to make sure these fraudulent payments stop,” says Brown. “Not so much luck so far on the criminal prosecution side, but we are working on that.”

    To hear more details about the massive fraud schemes uncovered in Montana, watch the full interview above.

    Want more from Glenn Beck?

    To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

  • EPA to California: Don’t mess with America’s trucks Sat, 24 Jan 2026 09:30:00 +0000

  • The winter apocalypse of 2026 has begun: 'This is a major to extreme ice threat' Sat, 24 Jan 2026 01:10:00 +0000


    A large-scale winter storm will affect large regions of the United States, and much of the panicking has already led to food and supply shortages at grocery stores.

    Nearly half of the U.S. population is already under emergency watch, warnings, and alerts from Winter Storm Fern, according to the National Weather Service.

    'This is a damaging ice event. We have been lucky for a long time, but the data is showing a setup that demands respect and preparation.'

    One meteorologist for WCNC-TV in North Carolina issued a dire warning on social media.

    "Folks, I cannot stress this enough: Please prepare now!" said Brad Panovich. "We have all day today (Friday) and most of the daylight hours on Saturday to get ready. After that, the window closes. This is not a 'bread and milk' situation — this is a major to extreme ice threat. We are looking at a setup we haven't seen in at least 10 years, and if the higher ice totals hold, we could be looking at something we haven't dealt with in 20 years (think back to the 2002 ice storm)."

    He said that people should be prepared to be without electricity for hours and perhaps days. Travel will be dangerous beginning Saturday evening, and families should be "hyper-aware" about tree limbs that may snap above their homes.

    Families across the country are responding by stocking up on supplies and clearing out their local grocery stores. Many are comparing it to the panic from the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

    "Tennessee is really tripping over the snowstorm. There is nothing in stores," wrote one witness on Facebook.

    "If you're from Oklahoma you know there's probably not any bread or milk left," another shopper said on a social media post.

    The administration has issued warnings about the storm.

    "We are anticipating a major winter weather event expected to impact much of the U.S. population this weekend, especially the Midwest and East Coast," said Department of Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem Wednesday. "DHS is working with state and local authorities, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to monitor and prepare for this likely adverse weather."

    RELATED: 'Snowmageddon': 'Ted Cruz Index' may predict bitter winter storm for DC

    Others took the opportunity to make jokes about the storm on social media.

    "Night crew here," reads a post from the Greensboro Police Dept. "Please remember that whoever you hang out with on Saturday, you're stuck with until at least Tuesday when the ice melts. You’re either going to be besties or not. Choice is yours."

    "Big storm on the way. Reminder: I don't run City Hall anymore. Yelling at me on Twitter will not speed up snow removal," former NYC Mayor Eric Adams wrote.

    Some even blamed the lack of an accurate forecast on President Donald Trump.

    "The Bottom Line: This isn't a 'fun snow day.' This is a damaging ice event," Panovich continued.

    "We have been lucky for a long time, but the data is showing a setup that demands respect and preparation," he added. "Use today and tomorrow to prepare your family and check on your elderly neighbors, then stay off the roads once this starts."

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  • Judge orders release of two church-storming anti-ICE activists Sat, 24 Jan 2026 00:30:00 +0000


    Two of the anti-ICE protesters who stormed a Saint Paul church on Jan. 18 were ordered to be released from custody, according to a statement from the Racial Justice Network.

    Nekima Levy Armstrong and Chauntyll Allen were arrested for their alleged involvement in an activist protest at the Cities Church after identifying a pastor as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.

    'Despite aggressive attempts by federal prosecutors to delay and derail the process, the courts stood firm in defense of constitutional rights, due process, and the rule of law.'

    Levy Armstong is a civil rights attorney and activist, while Allen is a member of the St. Paul School Board. Both were arrested on Thursday along with a male.

    The group claimed that they had been peacefully protesting against ICE and excoriated the Justice Dept. for seeking their prosecution.

    "Despite aggressive attempts by federal prosecutors to delay and derail the process, the courts stood firm in defense of constitutional rights, due process, and the rule of law," their statement reads. "A second judge affirmed the original ruling issued on January 22, confirming that the activists must be released, a decisive rejection of prosecutorial overreach and political intimidation."

    They also posted a video of the arrest of Levy Armstrong.

    Critics of the protest have been outraged after a magistrate refused charges against former CNN anchor Don Lemon, despite his being at the protest. He has defended his actions by claiming to have been there as a journalist.

    "Once the protest started in the church, we did an act of journalism, which was report on it and talk to the people involved, including the pastor, members of the church, and members of the organization," Lemon said later. "That's it. That's called journalism."

    Further outrage ensued when it was discovered that the wife of the magistrate who refused the charges against Lemon is reportedly an assistant attorney general at Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison's office.

    RELATED: Anti-ICE radical who took credit for the invasion of Minnesota church ARRESTED by feds

    "Our fight is far from over," the statement from the Racial Justice Network continued.

    "We will continue to organize, mobilize, and litigate until all charges are dropped against all detainees and meaningful accountability is imposed for this blatant abuse of power," they added. "All power to the people. Justice will not be silenced."

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  • Florida sheriff: New video shows deputy fighting armed shoplifting suspect, fatally shooting suspect as he runs away with gun Sat, 24 Jan 2026 00:15:00 +0000


    Newly released bodycam and surveillance videos show a Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office deputy fighting an armed shoplifting suspect last fall and then fatally shooting the suspect as he runs away with a gun, authorities said.

    The incident took place at a Walmart in southwest Miami-Dade on the morning of Nov. 6, WFOR-TV reported.

    'We are grateful at this time. The circumstances could have gotten so much worse.'

    Deputies were notified that a male allegedly was shoplifting inside the store, the station said, adding that surveillance video shows the suspect walking through the aisles before exiting the building, the station said, citing the sheriff's office.

    Authorities said a deputy tried to stop the male as he left the store, WFOR said, citing the sheriff's office.

    The male in question later was identified as 36-year-old Kennedy Graham, the station said.

    More from WFOR:

    Body camera video shows Graham running from the deputy as a struggle breaks out. In the footage, the deputy can be heard yelling, "Don't resist, don't resist," as the two wrestle on the ground.

    Deputies say the officer called for backup while trying to detain Graham.

    Investigators say the video was slowed down to show Graham was armed during the encounter. Store surveillance video shows the deputy pinning Graham to the ground and holding him by the neck with his legs as Graham continued to fight back.

    At one point, Graham dropped the gun, then picked it up again and ran, investigators said. The deputy is then seen pointing his weapon and firing.

    RELATED: Wild video: Florida cop clings to hood of moving car, shoots through windshield on busy downtown street in broad daylight

    Graham was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the station said, adding that no one else was hurt.

    Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz back in November defended the deputy's actions, WFOR said: "I will say this, this individual had an extensive criminal past. We are grateful at this time. The circumstances could have gotten so much worse."

    Investigators also displayed the weapon they say Graham was carrying at the time of the shooting, the station said, which added that the deputy involved has not been identified. WTVJ-TV reported that Graham's gun was loaded.

    "We recognize that incidents of this nature raise questions and concerns within our community, and I believe the public has the right to see critical incidents involving law enforcement," the sheriff's office said in a Thursday statement, according to WFOR.

    The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is still investigating the incident, which is standard practice in police shootings, WTVJ added.

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  • 'State-of-the-art': GOP congressman pre-empts Crockett's 'grandstanding' with glimpse inside ICE facility in Texas Fri, 23 Jan 2026 23:00:00 +0000


    A Republican congressman from Texas pre-empted criticism from Democrats on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in his district after Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) announced that she would visit to oversee operations.

    Crockett said the Dilley Detention Center near San Antonio was in her crosshairs after reports indicated that a 5-year-old was being sent to the facility after being used as "bait" by ICE agents.

    'Democrats are doing everything they can to spin the truth against law enforcement.'

    The Department of Homeland Security has vehemently denied the claims and said that the boy had been protected by agents after his father fled from an immigration enforcement operation. An attorney for the family said the boy's father had a pending asylum claim, but Vice President JD Vance contradicted that claim and said he was an illegal alien.

    Democrats have used the media framing of the issue to hammer away at the administration.

    "I am aware of reports that this precious 5-year old, Liam Ramos, who was kidnapped by ICE as he returned home from preschool in Minneapolis may be in San Antonio, Texas," wrote Crockett Friday on her social media account.

    "I will be visiting the Dilley Detention Center in San Antonio next week to conduct oversight and will demand answers on the whereabouts and well-being of Liam. If it were up to me, we’d be at the Dilley Detention Center RIGHT NOW getting answers. But let’s be clear about what’s really happening here: The Trump Administration is illegally blocking Members of Congress from conducting lawful oversight," she added.

    "We have an absolute right — under federal law and the Constitution — to enter detention facilities, unannounced, to ensure the safety and well-being of people in government custody," Crockett continued. "I am outraged. My heart aches for Liam’s family. We will get answers."

    Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas posted a video of the facility to undermine any possible suggestion from Crockett that Ramos might be maltreated.

    "In the coming days, you’ll see a lot of grandstanding by politicians at the Dilley ICE Center in my district, #TX23. It’s all for show," he wrote on social media.

    "I've been there & seen the state-of-the-art facilities & protocols that @ICEgov follows," he added. "Our ICE agents & CBP personnel are doing their jobs, & yet again, Democrats are doing everything they can to spin the truth against law enforcement."

    RELATED: Trump admin blasts Ilhan Omar over 'vile lie' accusing ICE of using autistic child as bait

    Among those on the left who have pounced on the story is failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

    "Enforcing the law is one thing. Terrorizing a population, using children as pawns, is another. My heart aches for Liam Ramos and his family," she wrote.

    Clinton and her husband could face contempt of Congress charges after refusing a subpoena related to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

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  • 'Such an a**hole': Mamdani rejects kids' snow day despite brutal snowy forecast — and the backlash is fierce Fri, 23 Jan 2026 22:45:00 +0000


    Newly inaugurated New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is facing some criticism for saying he would not declare a snow day for children during a bitter winter snowstorm.

    Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency for the entire state of New York on Friday, but the mayor said that students would be required to have online learning rather than a free day.

    'F**k him my kid will not be remote learning he will be building a snow man and some sleigh riding.'

    "I know to the disappointment of any student that’s watching this right now, Monday is either going to be a remote learning day or it’s going to be an in-person school day," Mamdani said Friday.

    "It’s not going to be a traditional snow day. That is a determination we’ve made," he added.

    Forecasts say the city could be hit with as much as 18 inches of snow through the weekend, along with very cold temperatures.

    Critics online responded with disapproval of the decision.

    "I like this mayor but I do not like this! Give the kids a snow day!" said Cristóbal Alex of MSNBC.

    "Snow days are an American pastime/tradition of happiness. So out of principle, he despises it and has to do the opposite," read another response.

    "Mamdani had an equity-focused agenda, but this is not equitable. Don't forget too, the research has shown that students didn't learn as much during virtual learning. This is just a wasted day that counts," said another user.

    "F**k him my kid will not be remote learning he will be building a snow man and some sleigh riding," replied another critic.

    "Mamdani is such an a**hole. No snow days?" read another.

    RELATED: 'Tax them to the white meat!' Mamdani's new 'equity officer' posted now-deleted X posts against white women.

    "The forecasts don’t always get it right, but what is being predicted right now, whether it’s a foot of snow or even a little bit more, would be one of the biggest snowfalls that our city has seen in years," continued Mamdani.

    "Either late tomorrow evening or early Sunday morning, we are going to see snow start to begin to fall across our city," he added. "It will fall and fall and then fall some more."

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  • Matthew McConaughey: Choose God and family, not 'participation trophies' Fri, 23 Jan 2026 22:30:00 +0000


    Matthew McConaughey doesn't want participation trophies, and he doesn't want success to be watered down.

    The iconic actor recently gave a speech only he could deliver, forgoing giving traditional advice in favor of providing his own spiritual leanings that work for him.

    'I think in the West, because we want everyone to feel really great, participation trophies!'

    The movie star was asked about how he critiques his performances on screen and how he gauges success.

    "I know if I'm bogeying or if I'm birdieing. ... I've seen myself on screen [and thought], 'You're kind of bulls***ting there,'" McConaughey told host Jay Shetty on his podcast.

    Faking the grade

    From there, McConaughey trashed the idea of expanded grade-point averages through extra credit.

    "I'm not into extra credit. I don't like 4.2 GPAs. That tells me, like, what happened? Are we, then, we're not giving the right test? If 4.0 was the pinnacle, you know, that means not many people should be getting it, if anybody," he explained.

    The Texan said that with higher scores, institutions have either over-leveraged the original task or broadened the scope of scoring and therefore cheapened the credit.

    "I think in the West, because we want everyone to feel really great, participation trophies! 4.2 GPA. Well, I feel better," he said sarcastically.

    It was from there that McConaughey began to explain where he seeks validation from, which was the true shining light of the discussion.

    RELATED: Matthew McConaughey calls for 'gun responsibility' not gun control, goes on to demand gun control

    Heavenly helpers

    Aside from his wife and kids, McConaughey revealed he has a trio of people in heaven that he looks to for reactions — and God's reaction through them.

    "I have a council in the sky. Three people that are extremely important to me in my life: my dad, Penny Allen, and John Cheney."

    While the 56-year-old explained that Cheney is his old friend, it was not clear who Allen is.

    "I see them, wink at them, talk with them, listen to them ... run ideas by them, run decisions by them, and then I look up and see what their reaction is. And it's been a very trusted council for me."

    This is a way to put "souls that are no longer with us" in "a heaven sense," he explained. "They're a conduit from God to me, and I have no expectations of them."

    In God he trusts

    It doesn't always go well for McConaughey, though. Sometimes his dad is "dancing in his underwear with a Miller Lite and a piece of lemon meringue pie," he laughed, but sometimes "they're not dancing," and he has to figure out why.

    RELATED: Matt Damon: Netflix dumbs down movies for attention-impaired phone addicts

    Photo by PG/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

    The Uvalde, Texas, native said it is very important to him to not have a picture of God in his mind, as he does not want to minimize his meaning.

    In the end though, this all leads to McConaughey seeking his own validation, he admitted.

    "I try to measure how I counsel and referee myself off of some of the people I just brought up to you," he told the host.

    "That's where I prove it."

    McConaughey added that he does not look too far outside his own circle, because those he knows are who he trusts.

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  • Vance crushes false narrative about ICE 'arresting' 5-year-old boy Fri, 23 Jan 2026 22:15:00 +0000


    An image was circulated widely this week showing a visibly upset preschooler wearing an oversized hat and Spider-man backpack standing in the company of federal immigration agents. Evidently loath to investigate the circumstances surrounding the photo and what it actually depicts, Democrats and other radicals rushed to condemn U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

    Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D), for instance, suggested ICE had treated the boy like a criminal, while twice-failed presidential candidate Kamala Harris wrote that he "is just a baby. He should be at home with his family, not used as bait by ICE and held in a Texas detention center. I am outraged, and you should be too."

    'No one thinks that makes any sense.'

    New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D) went a step further, accusing ICE of "kidnapping 5-year-olds and using them as bait" and suggesting the agency should be defunded.

    The liberal media didn't appear particularly eager to correct Democrats' false narrative, which was incubated by woke officials with Columbia Heights Public Schools, where the child was reportedly enrolled.

    During his visit to Minneapolis on Thursday, Vice President JD Vance gave the press a reality check, noting that anti-ICE propagandists glossed over some critical information about the incident.

    "I actually saw this terrible story while I was coming to Minneapolis," said the vice president.

    "And I see this story, and I'm a father of a 5-year-old — actually, a 5-year-old little boy. And I think to myself, 'Oh my God, this is terrible. How do we arrest a 5-year-old?'"

    "Well I do a little bit more follow-up research, and what I find is that the 5-year-old was not arrested; that his dad was an illegal alien; and when they went to arrest his illegal alien father, the father ran," said Vance.

    RELATED: 'Going to get someone killed': Democratic AG shocks with talk about shooting ICE agents in 'stand your ground' Arizona

    Photo by Jim Watson - Pool/Getty Images

    Vance told the Minneapolis crowd, "So the story is that ICE detained a 5-year-old. Well what are they supposed to do? Are they supposed to let a 5-year-old child freeze to death? Are they not supposed to arrest an illegal alien in the United States of America?"

    The Department of Homeland Security indicated that when ICE attempted to arrest the boy's father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, in the Minneapolis suburb of Columbia Heights on Jan. 20, the illegal alien from Ecuador "fled on foot — abandoning his child."

    Marcos Charles, the assistant director of enforcement and removal operations for ICE, indicated on Friday that after the illegal alien ditched his little boy and was arrested, ICE officers "stayed with the child. They cared for him, took him to get something to eat from a drive-thru restaurant, and spent hours ensuring he was taken care of. Again my officers did that. Not his father."

    Charles noted further that people inside the illegal alien's apparent residence refused to open the door for the young boy and take him back.

    According to DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, the boy's alleged mother was inside the house and would not let him in even after officers assured her that she wouldn't be taken into custody.

    Marc Prokosch, a lawyer representing the family, indicated during a press conference on Thursday that the boy and his father were reunited and are being kept together at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, a family holding center in Dilley, Texas.

    "Parents are asked if they want to be removed with their children, or ICE will place the children with a safe person the parent designates. This is consistent with past administration’s immigration enforcement," said DHS.

    The vice president further suggested that the argument that ICE cannot arrest illegal aliens who have children is unworkable given that'd mean "every single parent is going to be completely given immunity from ever being the subject of law enforcement."

    "That doesn't make any sense. No one thinks that makes any sense," said Vance.

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  • Tim Walz supporters urged to 'rush' donations to his legal fund amid DOJ probe Fri, 23 Jan 2026 22:00:00 +0000


    President Donald Trump's Department of Justice opened an investigation into Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and now the Democrat's supporters are being urged to "rush" donations to his legal defense fund.

    'If you're with me, please rush a donation to our legal defense fund and help ensure we can keep fighting for accountability, transparency, and justice.'

    Reports surfaced last week that President Donald Trump's Department of Justice is investigating Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and others for potentially violating a conspiracy statute related to statements they made about the deployment of federal immigration agents to the Minneapolis region.

    Walz issued a statement following the reports, accusing the Trump administration of "weaponizing the justice system," adding that "threatening political opponents is a dangerous, authoritarian tactic."

    Frey similarly accused the Trump administration of weaponizing the federal government "to intimidate local leaders for doing their jobs."

    The DOJ issued subpoenas on Tuesday to several Democratic officials, including Walz and Frey.

    RELATED: 'You want to live with these people?' Trump exposes killers and child rapists Walz, Frey are shielding with anti-ICE agenda

    Tim Walz, Gwen Walz. Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

    The subpoenas, which both Walz and Frey confirmed they received, were connected to the DOJ's investigation into whether the officials conspired to impede federal officers from carrying out their duties, according to CBS News.

    On Friday, Alpha News reporter Liz Collin shared screenshots of an alleged Walz campaign notification, encouraging supporters to donate to the governor's legal fund.

    RELATED: Justice Dept. slaps Gov. Tim Walz, AG Ellison, Minneapolis Mayor Frey with subpoenas: Report

    Photo by Christopher Juhn/Anadolu via Getty Images

    "Last week, the federal government opened an investigation into me. ... My job is to defend Minnesotans and the rule of law, and I'm sure as hell not backing down. But the road ahead is long, difficult, and expensive," it reads.

    "If you're with me, please rush a donation to our legal defense fund and help ensure we can keep fighting for accountability, transparency, and justice," the message reads, featuring a link that redirects to an Act Blue webpage where supporters can donate.

    "BREAKING: The DOJ is investigating Tim Walz on baseless charges. Donate now to aid his fight," the webpage states.

    Blaze News has reached out to Walz's office for comment.

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  • Bill Clinton in 1995 sounds EXACTLY like Trump today Fri, 23 Jan 2026 22:00:00 +0000


    When Bill Clinton was president in 1995, he gave a speech about immigration that sounded eerily like something President Trump would say today — and Democrats loved it.

    “Our nation was built by immigrants. People from every region of the world have made lasting and important contributions to our society. We support legal immigration, but we won’t tolerate immigration by people whose first act is to break the law as they enter our country,” Clinton said.

    “We must continue to do everything we can to strengthen our borders, enforce our laws, and remove illegal aliens from our country. As I said in my State of the Union address, we are a nation of immigrants, but we’re also a nation of laws. And it is wrong and ultimately self-defeating for a nation of immigrants to permit the kind of abuse of our immigration laws we have seen in recent years,” he continued.


    Clinton then went on to talk about not only increasing deportations but tripling the “number of criminal and other deportable aliens deported since 1993.”

    “Every day, illegal aliens show up in court who are charged. Some are guilty, and surely some are innocent. Some go to jail and some don’t. But they’re all illegal aliens. And whether they’re innocent or guilty of the crimes they’re charged with in court, they’re still here illegally,” he said.

    “Have you ever heard such hatred?” BlazeTV host Pat Gray comments on “Pat Gray Unleashed.”

    “One of the original MAGA guys,” 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.

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