Nothing scares the vaccine establishment more than a meaningful control group. Some vaccine trials do use inert placebos, but most compare a new product with an existing vaccine or another formulation. What we almost never get is long-term randomized evidence comparing children who receive the full schedule with children who receive none of it.Thanks to ubiquitous mandates, cultural taboos, and pressure from pediatricians, truly unvaccinated children are also increasingly difficult to find in large numbers. That is why the Amish data are so revealing — and why they should be studied rather than waved away.Why treat a naturally occurring unvaccinated cohort as an inconvenience rather than an opportunity?Last year, the Supreme Court vacated a shocking Second Circuit decision siding with the state of New York against Amish parents who declined to vaccinate their children. In Miller v. McDonald, the parents argued that forcing the Amish to violate their religious beliefs in their own private schools violates the First Amendment. Yet after the Supreme Court sent the case back for reconsideration in light of its recent religious-liberty precedent, the Second Circuit last month again ruled for New York.The legal fight continues and so does the coercion.Putting aside the legal and moral issues at stake, the facts presented during discovery about the health of the unvaccinated Amish should be newsworthy across the world, especially as we debate both the new mRNA flu shot and the discovery that Anthony Fauci was aware of COVID vaccine injuries from the beginning. Siri & Glimstad LLP, which represents the Amish families, provided the federal district court in New York with sworn expert medical evidence about the health status of 168 students in the three Amish schools targeted by the state for financial penalties.The doctor’s declaration states: “I am advised that there are 26 families across the three Amish schools at issue, which have a total of 168 unvaccinated children (meaning they have received no vaccines) and that none of them have any health issue that arose after birth.”The declaration then compares those 168 children with national background rates for allergies, autism, asthma, and ADHD. Using those rates, a random sample of 168 U.S. children would be expected to include several cases of each condition. According to the declaration, however, there were no documented cases of autism, ADHD, asthma, or food allergies among the 168 Amish children.RELATED: Fauci is yesterday’s fight. Medical freedom is today’s. Adam Glanzman/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesNo, that does not magically turn 168 Amish children into a randomized clinical trial. The Amish differ from the broader population in diet, lifestyle, environment, genetics, health care use, and countless other ways. But it does make them a rare, naturally occurring cohort of completely unvaccinated children — exactly the kind of population serious researchers should want to examine.And the court filing does not rely only on the Amish. It also presents records from 99 unvaccinated children who had religious exemptions in four contiguous school districts in Ulster County, New York. Those records were drawn from state school health examination forms completed by physicians. Here is the comparison presented in the filing: The numbers are striking. The filing reports zero cases of autism and diabetes in the Ulster County group, lower rates of ADHD and allergies, and a much lower asthma rate than the cited background figures.Those differences do not prove vaccination caused the higher general population rates. They do raise an obvious question: Why not study the difference rigorously?The court-filed evidence also notes that the expansion of the childhood vaccine schedule has occurred during the same decades in which autoimmune, developmental, and neurological diagnoses have risen sharply. Correlation is not causation, and anyone pretending otherwise is doing bad science. But correlation can be a reason to investigate — especially when government is mandating the products in question.RELATED: What happened to RFK Jr.’s red line on risky vaccines? Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty ImagesThese retrospective comparisons do not prove that vaccines cause autism, asthma, allergies, ADHD, or any other condition. They cannot control for all the differences between vaccinated and unvaccinated populations. But when government mandates a growing schedule of products for healthy children, shouldn't the burden be on public health authorities to pursue the strongest possible long-term safety evidence?Why treat a naturally occurring unvaccinated cohort as an inconvenience rather than an opportunity?That problem remains with the latest mRNA flu vaccine, which is being compared against another flu vaccine rather than an unvaccinated cohort. If officials want to mandate these products, why not demand the strongest possible evidence about their long-term effects? And why did the New York Department of Health decline to engage the data the Amish families placed before the court rather than explain why the comparisons are misleading?What is self-evident is that vaccine mandates make these questions harder to answer by shrinking the pool of children who remain completely unvaccinated. New York is willing to coerce Amish families in the name of public health? Then public health officials should be willing to confront the data those families have put before them and show their work.Religious liberty demands no less. Neither does science.

Stephen A. Smith isn’t happy with the National Association of Black Journalists after the group presented him with the “Thumbs Down” award.“The reality of the situation is that you don’t have facts. You have feelings. And this is where it gets a bit deep. What a few board members decided to do, no doubt egged on by a couple of people on the board who will remain nameless, but put their names up,” Smith said in response to the award.“You can see the names there for yourself. Figure it out, along with some others. The reality is that it was a personal hit job. That’s what it was,” he added.In the aftermath, Jemele Hill and Don Lemon commented on his award as well — but ended up calling out BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock instead of Smith.“I have never once called Stephen A. a sellout. I’ve never called him that, and I’ve never called him a c**n or any of these other things because I don’t actually think he is one,” Hill told Lemon.“I don’t do that, and I don’t want to do this black litmus test anyway. And so, I mean, there are some people who do fully deserve and they also embrace the title, Jason Whitlock, but that’s OK.”“So obviously I was like, hold on, I embrace the title of sellout and c**n? What? You know, that’s just her taking a cheap shot,” Whitlock comments.Dre Baldwin agrees, calling it the “high school lunchroom.”“I get disappointed when I see black people talking like this. I'm sure maybe it happens in the Asian, Latin, and white communities as well, but I see it mostly in the black community that when there’s a person who is not going along with the group, you get the bandwagon effect,” he says.“All of us are over here and you’re over there with the quote-unquote wrong opinion,” he adds.Want more from Jason Whitlock?To enjoy more fearless conversations at the crossroads of culture, faith, sports, and comedy with Jason Whitlock, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

An Alabama woman put a liquid chemical into a microwave and heated it up before splashing it onto her longtime friend and causing significant chemical burns. Quicheay Williams was convicted of first-degree assault by a jury in Mobile, Alabama, on Wednesday over the Feb. 25 attack.She underwent several skin grafts, lost her left eardrum, lost her hearing in that ear, and has limited eyesight from her left eye.Jasmine Clausell had invited Williams to live with her at her home after finding her friend was homeless on Feb. 11. Two weeks later, Clausell asked Williams to move out, which angered her, according to prosecutors.Mobile police said in the ensuing argument, Williams splashed the chemical liquid, which was described as similar to Draino drain cleaner, onto Clausell.Then Williams pulled a gun on her as well.Clausell's grandfather testified in court that he saw the two tussling before hearing his granddaughter yelling that something had been tossed onto her.The victim spent two months in the hospital receiving treatment for the severe burns that covered about a third of her body on the left side.She underwent several skin grafts, lost her left eardrum, lost her hearing in that ear, and has limited eyesight from her left eye.Clausell also underwent laser treatments to reduce the scarring.The victim addressed the media after the conviction."Justice was served today, and me and my family are just grateful that the jurors, they just saw what it was and justice was served," she said.Williams is awaiting sentencing and could face up to 20 years in prison.Clausell was described as a nursing student and a single mom of a 4-year-old boy in the GoFundMe account set up for her benefit.RELATED: UK man arrested after 11-year-old dies from TikTok challenge in sleepover at friend's home District Attorney Keith Blackwood said prosecutors were very happy with the verdict."It brings some sense of justice that Jasmine Clausell suffered at the defendant’s hand," he said. "This week was the time in court where that was proven beyond a reasonable doubt.""I am very satisfied with the verdict; we appreciate all of you for all the prayers,” Clausell added.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

California has perfected the art of regulating productive industries into oblivion while giving bad actors with the right political connections a free pass.With more than 395,000 regulatory restrictions, the nation’s eighth-highest corporate tax rate, and an overzealous bureaucracy, Sacramento has driven hundreds of major employers — including Tesla, Oracle, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise — to business-friendly states like Texas.California was once the crown jewel of American opportunity, but Sacramento’s progressive priorities have turned it into a cautionary tale.Yet, while Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) micromanages everything from Hollywood film permits to brush-clearing fees, Sacramento looks the other way as an unchecked plaintiffs’ bar undermines local communities and distorts the justice system.The latest investigative reporting out of Los Angeles County shows how far this racket has gone. Predatory personal-injury law firms have turned an environmental remediation challenge at the Chiquita Canyon Landfill into an unregulated gold rush, illustrating why the Trump administration and federal authorities must step in before those in Sacramento make the situation worse.For years, the foothill community of Val Verde has dealt with noxious odors caused by an inactive portion of the Chiquita Canyon Landfill. The landfill operator tried to act as a responsible partner: complying with environmental guidelines, coordinating with multi-agency response teams, and providing nearly $25 million directly to affected local residents through a community relief fund.Rather than encouraging a constructive resolution, a chaotic web of overlapping state regulators — including South Coast Air Quality Management District, L.A. County Public Works, and the Regional Water Quality Control Board — paralyzed the site with conflicting mandates, ultimately forcing the critical facility to halt waste intake.Rather than protecting residents, progressive governance turned Val Verde into what locals described as the "Val Verde Hunger Games.” Text messages uncovered in court filings revealed Downtown L.A. Group boasting "PackemRackemStackem" and demanding recruiters "Get em for me ... all of them," leading to thousands of dubious claims that the landfill’s attorneys have flagged as infected with misconduct.This dynamic is emblematic of California’s broader livability and business environment crisis. Sacramento imposes the nation’s highest income tax and an annual $800 LLC fee on entrepreneurs, yet allows predatory litigation mills to exploit vulnerable, non-English-speaking residents for 40% to 45% contingency fees.Overregulation does not stop trash from being generated; it merely shifts waste to distant facilities, spikes consumer hauling costs, and enriches opportunistic trial lawyers.RELATED: ‘Expert witness’ humiliated in $61 million lawsuit after lawyers discover one insane detail Daniel Acker/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesWhen state and local bureaucracy paralyzed debris removal following Southern California’s wildfires, the Trump administration took decisive action. Under Executive Order 14181, federal authorities expedited cleanup operations and completed in just 28 days what state bureaucrats estimated would take over a year.The Trump administration and the Environmental Protection Agency under Administrator Lee Zeldin must apply that same standard of execution to Chiquita Canyon. The EPA must supersede Sacramento’s overlapping alphabet-soup agencies, streamline the process under unified federal oversight, and ensure actual technical remediation takes precedence over regulatory extortion and predatory lawsuits.California was once the crown jewel of American opportunity, but Sacramento’s progressive priorities have turned it into a cautionary tale where critical infrastructure is strangled and legal grift thrives.If Sacramento refuses to rein in its rogue plaintiffs’ bar and fix its broken regulatory state, the federal government must remind Californians to restore that which Newsom destroyed: common sense.

A plot to bomb the New York state Capitol and kill lawmakers has been thwarted, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.The 35-year-old woman had allegedly planned to kill as many as possible, destroy as much of the building as she could, and then escape to the ISIS-controlled territory in Syria.She posted anti-American messages that included, 'Praise be to Allah for September 11th.'Jessica Bowie was arrested on Wednesday as she gained possession of what she believed to be an explosive device for her mission.The criminal complaint said Bowie was documented running reconnaissance on the Capitol building numerous times.Bowie allegedly outlined her deadly plot to an informant."I want to destroy as much of the building as possible and kill the senators while they are meeting. I want them to lose a lot of important documents as well," she is quoted as saying."I want it to have a affect on the American system. And destroy some of the taghut," she added, which the agent said referred to anything that takes a person's focus away from Allah.The charging documents went on to say that she wanted to return to commit acts of terrorism against other targets including the New Year's Eve celebration in New York City as well as the president in the White House.She also posted anti-American messages that included, "Praise be to Allah for September 11th," as well as an indication that she pledged allegiance to ISIS.One image included in the release was of Bowie allegedly scanning items at a Home Depot that included nails to be included in the bomb.Bowie made her initial appearance in federal court on Thursday after being arrested at a McDonald's near her residence on Sherman Street.RELATED: 'Major' Halloween terror plot thwarted by FBI involved links to ISIS, 'LGBTQ+ community' She was charged with providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. She faces a possible sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted as well as a fine of $250,000."This case is yet another example of how this FBI is built to not only identify threats of terrorism quickly, but to stop their alleged plots before they are able to harm the American people," said Matt Fodor of the FBI National Security Branch."This is just the latest example of this FBI stopping an alleged terrorist in their tracks - in 2026 we’ve already disrupted 400+ such attacks at home and around the world," read a statement online from FBI Director Kash Patel. "For any individual who may be considering harming Americans in the future: know that we will find you."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!