Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer warned states on Friday that if they allow illegal immigrants to collect unemployment benefits, they could lose federal funding. Chavez-DeRemer sent a letter to all governors, telling them to comply with President Donald Trump’s directives to make sure illegals are not getting American tax dollars and illegal immigration is not incentivized. “Our nation’s unemployment benefits exist solely for workers who are eligible to receive them,” the secretary wrote. “To qualify for unemployment, one must be able and available to work, actively seeking work, and be legally authorized to accept employment in the United States. Unemployment benefits are not a handout for those in our country illegally.” Chavez-DeRemer specifically cited Trump’s “Preventing Illegal Aliens from Obtaining Social Security Act Benefits” memorandum and Executive Order 14218, “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders.” The letter notes that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem recently informed states that they are allowed to use the DHS immigration database known as SAVE. The system “helps verify the immigration status of benefit claimants and is a critical tool in the toolbox in ensuring that illegal immigrants do not access our nation’s unemployment benefits,” Chavez-DeRemer said. “I instructed the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) to send a letter to all State Unemployment Insurance Administrators urging them to immediately start using SAVE for every initial and continued claim filed by an individual who indicates that they are not a U.S. citizen,” the Labor Secretary continued. “This letter also reminds states of their existing legal obligations regarding immigrant access to unemployment benefits and that noncompliance with these existing obligations will result in the loss of the state’s Title III UI administrative grant,” she added. Earlier in the week, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USDA) will crack down on illegal immigrants accessing food benefits known as food stamps or SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). “USDA’s nutrition programs are intended to support the most vulnerable Americans,” Rollins said, Fox News reported. “To allow those who broke our laws by entering the United States illegally to receive these benefits is outrageous.” The Trump administration has also threatened to withhold federal funding from states that do not comply with other orders and federal law, such as Title IX rules. Maine, for example, is in a heated battle with Trump for refusing to protect girls’ sports and adhere to federal law. Additionally, the administration has taken aim at the federal funding for specific schools, such as Harvard University. Trump froze more than $2 billion in financing for Harvard after it rejected demands to dismantle its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and do more to curb student anti-Israel protests, The Daily Wire reported.

President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky met early Saturday in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican to discuss peace talks between Ukraine and Russia. The last face-to-face meeting Trump had with Zelensky took place in February at the White House, and did not end well, with Trump saying Zelensky was not ready for peace talks. Trump and Zelensky met minutes before the start of Pope Francis’ funeral, which took place at 10 a.m. Rome time and 4 a.m. Eastern. Pope Francis passed away on Easter Monday, drawing leaders from around the world to Rome. The meeting reportedly lasted about 15 minutes, and Trump and Zelensky will continue such talks. The meeting this go-around, according to both sides, went more smoothly than the last face-to-face. Behind Scenes, Vatican City—President Trump sat down to meet privately with Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine this morning in St. Peter’s Basilica… pic.twitter.com/zzC78AgbNh — Dan Scavino (@Scavino47) April 26, 2025 Zelensky said on X that they had a “good meeting” and thanked President Trump. “We discussed a lot one on one. Hoping for results on everything we covered,” Zelensky wrote. “Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out. Very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results. Thank you [President Trump].” Good meeting. We discussed a lot one on one. Hoping for results on everything we covered. Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out. Very symbolic meeting that has potential to… pic.twitter.com/q4ZhVXCjw0 — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 26, 2025 A White House spokesman said the pair “met privately today and had a very productive discussion,” according to a CNN report. Trump and Zelensky met in St. Peter’s Basilica for about 15 minutes (pictures per Team Zelensky) pic.twitter.com/PP7iwK6qzi — Mathieu von Rohr (@mathieuvonrohr) April 26, 2025 On Friday, Trump said Russia and Ukraine were “very close” to a peace deal, and called for top leadership of the countries to “finish it off.” Trump made the comments on Truth Social just as he landed in Rome for Saturday’s funeral. On the same day, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow to speak with President Vladimir Putin and other top Russian officials and push for a peace deal. “Just landed in Rome. A good day in talks and meetings with Russia and Ukraine,” the president said. “They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to ‘finish it off.’ Most of the major points are agreed to. Stop the bloodshed, NOW. We will be wherever is necessary to help facilitate the END to this cruel and senseless war!” Nothing like some tough diplomacy in one of the most beautiful places in the world. pic.twitter.com/v23MhfVoBJ — Mike Waltz (@michaelgwaltz) April 26, 2025 Trump also said earlier on Friday that Zelensky needs to sign a mineral deal with the United States, saying that he was “at least three weeks late.” “Ukraine, headed by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has not signed the final papers on the very important Rare Earths Deal with the United States,” Trump posted online. “It is at least three weeks late. Hopefully, it will be signed IMMEDIATELY. Work on the overall Peace Deal between Russia and Ukraine is going smoothly. SUCCESS seems to be in the future!” Leif Le Mahieu contributed to this report. Related: Trump Lands In Rome For Pope Francis’ Funeral. Here’s What To Expect.

As fans roared at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, on April 12, they weren’t just cheering on the fighters entering the Octagon. The thousands of people in attendance at UFC 314 were taking part in a sport that has gripped Americans — especially young men — through traditional courage and patriotism.  The UFC has surged in popularity in recent years, not just as the premier MMA organization in all of combat sports, but as a cultural force to be reckoned with. Unbridled athleticism and the ferocious skills of its fighters are the initial draw, but that’s only the beginning. The UFC’s unapologetic embrace of courage and patriotism resonates deeply with a growing fanbase, especially as other sports leagues, such as the NBA and NFL, fell prey to woke BS. The sport celebrates physical and mental toughness above all else. Fans are drawn to the unfiltered intensity. Promos showcase blood, sweat, and stoicism as warriors stare down their opponents. The UFC resonates with Americans who have grown tired of cultural leftism disparaging manliness and dismissing traditional male virtues to exhaustion.  The UFC isn’t afraid of honoring the United States of America and its military veterans, first responders, and values either. Even in a sport that has representation from countries across the globe, respect for the United States is paramount. Fighters often wrap themselves in their nation’s colors, and post-fight interviews are peppered with shout-outs to the troops or expressions of national pride. This overt patriotism strikes a chord with fans who see the UFC as a bastion of unapologetic love for country.  President Donald Trump adds to this allure. During UFC 314, the president walked into the packed arena to the chants of “USA!” as he appeared on the big screen. Trump’s appearances at UFC fights are not just celebrity cameos — they’re symbolic endorsements of the UFC’s ethos. For many fans, seeing Trump in the octagon reinforces the UFC as an arena where their values are celebrated, not challenged. It’s no surprise that Jeremy’s Razors is proud to be the official razor partner of the UFC. Americans deserve to participate in a sport that makes them proud of their heritage and values, and they deserve a razor that will give them a quality shave without nicks, cuts, or criticisms of their hard-fought beliefs.

Virginia Giuffre, the most prominent victim of Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse, has died by apparent suicide, her family announced Friday. “It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia,” her family said in a statement to NBC News. “She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking.” Giuffre, who was 41, leaves behind a husband and three children. The family lived in Australia. Giuffre was involved in several legal actions targeting Epstein. She filed a defamation lawsuit against Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, whom she accused of grooming her for Epstein’s abuse when she was a 16-year-old spa attendant at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach (Trump reportedly later banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago in 2007 for harassing another member’s teenage daughter). Giuffre said the sexual abuse she suffered included lessons on Epstein’s oral sex preferences. Giuffre also sued Prince Andrew, claiming the British royal sexually abused her when she was 17. The prince has denied the accusations. Last month, Giuffre sparked alarm when she posted a photo on Instagram of herself in a hospital bed, saying doctors had told her she had “four days to live” after a car crash with a school bus. However, she was discharged nearly a week later. Giuffre was one of the first people to call for criminal charges against Epstein, and other Epstein victims credited her with giving them the courage to speak out. “Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She was the light that lifted so many survivors,” the statement said. “In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight.” Epstein was found dead at 66 in what was ruled a suicide in his Manhattan jail cell in August 2019. He was awaiting trial after being accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls. The lurid details of his alleged sex ring include accusations that he procured underage girls for prominent men on his private island in the Virgin Islands, Little St. James.

I believe that America’s core ideals are very much linked to its Christian faith. So as Easter has just passed, I thought this would be a good time to take a closer look at the state of the American church and then weep quietly and say it was a great country while it lasted. Now, according to a Pew poll, 62% of Americans identify as Christian. This is a slight drop from the 1697 poll which showed 99.9% of Americans were Christian with one heretic hiding in the woods hoping some long-haired guy with a buckle on his hat wouldn’t blow his head off with a blunderbuss. But today’s religious landscape looks different depending on political affiliation. For instance, on the political Left, 43% of those who identify as progressives say they have abandoned Christianity and become Episcopalians. Fourteen percent of progressives say they have renounced the corrupt beliefs of colonizing white men, have returned to the innocent and beautiful natural religion of indigenous peoples, and were preparing to sacrifice a virgin to the volcano God until they realized that by the time they were sure she was a virgin, she wasn’t a virgin anymore, and if they threw her into a volcano there’d be no one left who knew how to make breakfast. Other progressives say they are sick of the sort of restrictive religions that ruined the 1950’s by making everything so great. Instead they have turned to more modern faiths with practices that reflect the moral progress of mankind. These practices include yogic meditation, ritual mindfulness, and tantric sex followed by butchering any unborn babies conceived during tantric sex, then celebrating the mass slaughter by dancing around a pole in a wild blood-drenched frenzy, getting a full body tattoo featuring goat-headed demi-gods with flaming eyes, then running naked through a forest while grunting inarticulately and listening to music that’s mostly composed of drumbeats and shrieking because classic rock is just the best. WATCH: The Andrew Klavan Show Among Christians on the political Right, 17% say they believe in Christ so hard they’ll kill anyone who disagrees with them, 14% say their faith is so strong they might even be willing to go to church as long as porn is provided, and 8% say their worship mostly involves posting unspeakably cruel remarks on social media to people who aren’t as Christly as they are. Four percent of conservative Christians say they have abandoned their own egos for Christ’s sake and have thus elevated their souls into a state of suffering-yet-serene agape love, and are now hiding in the woods hoping some long-haired guy with a buckle on his hat won’t blow their heads off with a blunderbuss. The remaining 57% of Right-wing Christians spend most of their time sobbing and whispering, “Oh God, I suck so bad, please, please, please have mercy on me and don’t send me to hell or California.” As far as other American religions go, 94% of limousine drivers identify as Muslims, 16% of Christian women pretend they’re Buddhists, and 82% of Jews control 90% of everything except which parts of Ivy League campuses they’re allowed to walk on without one of their professors pointing at them and making that awful insect noise like Donald Sutherland at the end of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” Approximately 29% of Americans have no religion whatsoever and they say that makes life much easier because they’re able to rotate their heads 360 degrees and spider walk across the ceiling, which comes in very handy when they’re trying to escape from the exorcist. Around the world, the religious landscape is much more varied. For instance, in Great Britain, while 47% of the people identify as Christian, 70% of them say that Islam is also absolutely great, totally fine, really wonderful and not a problem at all, no, really, it’s fantastic, they’re not just saying that because they’d be arrested for telling the truth. In France, 49% of the population were excited because they thought they belonged to a dark, obscure, mystery cult with elaborate secret rituals until they found out they were actually just Catholics. And in China, 23% of high-ranking Communists identify their kidneys as Uiger. * * * This excerpt is taken from the opening satirical monologue of “The Andrew Klavan Show.” The views expressed in this satirical article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire. Andrew Klavan is the host of “The Andrew Klavan Show” at The Daily Wire. Follow him on X: @andrewklavan Klavan is the bestselling author of numerous books, including the Cameron Winter Mystery series. The fourth installment, “A Woman Underground.” His most recent nonfiction release is “The Kingdom of Cain: Finding God in the Literature of Darkness.” (May 2025, Zondervan/HarperCollins).