The Republican candidate has prevailed in the special election for the 7th congressional district of Tennessee.With 81% of the vote in, Matt Van Epps, a Trump-endorsed Republican, holds a lead of more than 11,000 votes over radical Democratic state Rep. Aftyn Behn. CNN and NBC News among other outlets have called the race for Van Epps.'I hate all of the things that make Nashville.'Though as of this writing he hasn't yet claimed victory on social media, Van Epps did tweet, "THANK YOU, TENNESSEE," shortly after media began calling the race.Behn has not commented on social media. However, she has lately had to answer for some previous comments and behaviors that indicate an erratic temperament and a deep-seated animus for Nashville, the city she was running to represent in Congress."I hate the city, I hate the bachelorettes, I hate the pedal taverns, I hate country music, I hate all of the things that make Nashville, apparently, an 'it' city to the rest of the country," she said.In 2019, Behn also stormed into the office of Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, and security had to come in and forcibly remove her, video revealed. She then began kicking, screaming, and sobbing on the floor.By contrast, President Trump described Van Epps as a "phenomenal Candidate" and a "MAGA Warrior" in a Truth Social post on Tuesday morning.RELATED: Trump torches Nashville-hating Democrat for string of scandals: 'How the hell can you elect a person like that?' Photo by Jon Cherry/Getty ImagesThe special election was held on Tuesday to replace former Republican Rep. Mark Green, who abruptly retired in June after helping pass Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Green said he planned to pursue a private sector opportunity that was "too exciting to pass up." By holding the seat, Republicans will keep a 220-213 majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, though Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has already announced she plans to resign in January. Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill also stepped down from her seat after winning the New Jersey gubernatorial election last month.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

A federal judge in Boston issued a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration cutting federal funds to Planned Parenthood in 22 states on Tuesday.U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston sided with a group of Democratic state attorneys general who had filed a lawsuit against the provision in the president's One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed into law in July.'We won a court order stopping the federal government from playing politics with our health care system.'Talwani said that the lawsuit would likely prevail when considered fully, but she paused the injunction to allow the administration seven days to appeal.The same judge also blocked the cutting of abortion funds in July, but an appeals court later allowed the cuts to continue while the lawsuit progressed. The former order was criticized as "unjust judicial activism" by Lila Rose of the Live Action pro-life group.Planned Parenthood said that at least 20 clinics had shut down since the order to cut funding was renewed during appeal. It argued that as many as 200 centers would shut down if the order was allowed to stand.Alexis McGill Johnson, the CEO of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, argued that the order would reduce availability of other health care provided to women."This case is about making sure that patients who use Medicaid as their insurance to get birth control, cancer screenings, and STI testing and treatment can continue to do so at their local Planned Parenthood health center, and we will make that clear in court," Johnson said in July.Among those celebrating the order was New York Attorney General Letitia James, an avowed opponent of the president."We won a court order stopping the federal government from playing politics with our health care system and defunding Planned Parenthood," James wrote. "We'll continue our lawsuit to defend New Yorkers' health care and reproductive freedom from unconstitutional attacks."RELATED: Former Planned Parenthood director committed suicide after apartment raided by police in child pornography investigation Talwani was appointed to the court in 2013 by former President Barack Obama.She is also responsible for blocking Trump's cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program over the government shutdown in October. The president responded by blaming Democrats for refusing to vote to end the shutdown.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

BlazeTV host Christopher Rufo broke a massive story surrounding the Somalian community in Minnesota last week. Members of the community “allegedly participated in complex schemes related to autism services, food programs, and housing.”Prosecutors estimate billions of taxpayer dollars have been stolen and some of it has ended up in the hands of a terrorist organization in Somalia."For example, the Housing Stabilization Services Program — meant to cost $2.6 million per year — exploded to $104 million annually by 2024 and $61 million in just the first half of 2025 before being shut down because the vast majority of it was fraudulent," explains BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey on "Relatable."Somali-owned nonprofits like Feeding Our Future were also claiming to feed thousands of children daily "with fake rosters and invoices," before using the money to fund luxury vehicle purchases and "overseas real estate," she continues.“Say you were a Republican who had been running in Minnesota and you had run on, ‘Hey, we got to cut spending, and we have to cut the taxpayer dollars that we are giving to Feeding Our Future.’ What would the liberal media have said? ‘Oh, you’re evil. How dare you DOGE this. You don’t want to feed innocent children. You want these innocent children to starve,’” she says.Separately, a $14 million autism services fraud ring allegedly paid Somali parents cash kickbacks to enroll kids, despite the children not having autism diagnoses.“What are we doing?” Stuckey asks. “I mean, if this is happening in Minnesota, and this is actually being uncovered in Minnesota, which is pretty incredible, like, what’s happening in California? What’s happening in Illinois? What’s happening in New York? What is happening in Houston, these Democrat-run places where there are these large Somalian Islamic groups?”“I mean, you’ve got to give them credit. They look out for themselves. They’re going to put themselves first. They’re looking out for Somalia. They’re looking out for Afghanistan. They’re looking out for Islam. They’re looking out for their people,” she continues, pointing out that these scandals have "erupted" since Governor Tim Walz (D) took office in 2019.“If he ran right now, every Democrat in the state of Minnesota would vote for him. I mean, we already had someone in the state of Virginia win after texts were leaked that said that he wanted to kill his opponent's children,” Stuckey says.“So I don’t think that fraud is, like, the moral limit that the current Democrat Party has,” she adds.Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?To enjoy more of Allie’s upbeat and in-depth coverage of culture, news, and theology from a Christian, conservative perspective, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

The White House fired back at singer Sabrina Carpenter after she strongly objected to the use of one of her songs in a social media post from the Trump administration. The video shows people getting arrested by law enforcement officials while Carpenter's popular song "Juno" plays in the background. Carpenter responded from her own social media account. 'We won't apologize for deporting dangerous criminal illegal murderers, rapists, and pedophiles from our country.' "Have you ever tried this one? Bye-bye," reads the White House post from Monday. She replied, "This video is evil and disgusting. Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda." White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson responded on Tuesday with a statement again referencing Carpenter's music. "Here's a Short n' Sweet message for Sabrina Carpenter: we won't apologize for deporting dangerous criminal illegal murderers, rapists, and pedophiles from our country," she wrote. "Anyone who would defend these sick monsters must be stupid, or is it slow?" Carpenter's objection might have backfired on her, since it brought more attention to the White House video. It has garnered more than 3.3 million views. RELATED: Rapper Eminem slammed after demanding Ramaswamy stop using his songs on campaign Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic Other musicians have decried the use of their songs by the Trump administration, including Beyoncé, Abba, the Foo Fighters, and Kenny Loggins. Carpenter made headlines in 2023 when she filmed a music video at the the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic church in Brooklyn, New York, which included "profane decorations" on the altar. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!