A female high school senior won her second straight state wrestling title‚ defeating multiple opponents on her way to the Maine championship.Maddie Ripley‚ a 17-year-old from Oceanside High School in Rockland‚ Maine‚ beat three opponents en route to another state wrestling championship against male competitors. The feat was even more impressive when considering that she won the inaugural women's title just days earlier at a different weight class. Ripley won the 107-pound girl's state championship‚ then‚ just days later‚ defeated males in their 113-pound division."I didn’t really hear too much that it was a fluke. Now that I’ve won a second‚ then it just proves that it wasn’t‚" Ripley said confidently‚ according to ABC News."Girls are working hard‚" Ripley continued. "Last year when I won I was like really excited. It was the first time I won. And then this year‚ I was still super excited."Ripley's coach and stepfather said that more and more colleges are starting up female wrestling programs‚ and the sport is in a time of a lot of talented female athletes."I think girls' wrestling is just exploding right now‚" he said. "The more athletes we get‚ the better they’re going to do."Ripley is not the only female wrestler to take on males in a time when male athletes are often invading female athletics. An Arizona high school senior named Audrey Jimenez won the Division I state wrestling title against boys just days earlier. "Why not?" Jimenez said about her decision to first wrestle boys. The 18-year-old actually needed special permission from the state athletic body to compete against males and capitalized on the decision.In 2022‚ Bella Mir‚ daughter of UFC legend Frank Mir‚ was among a group of Nevada teenage girls who started competing in wrestling matches against males. Mir‚ along with Jenavi Alejandro and Juliana Alejandro‚ wrestled males‚ with Alejandro becoming the first girl to win a match against a boy at the state level in 2019.Mir expressed sympathy for the boys and said they are in a lose-lose situation."I feel bad for the boys. If you win‚ you look bad because you beat up on a girl. But if you lose‚ it sucks because you got beat by a girl‚" she explained.Mir is now a professional mixed martial arts fighter and was even signed to a representation deal with the UFC while in college for her name‚ image‚ and likeness.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Just a few days ago‚ El Salvador President Nayib Bukele delivered a bold speech at America’s annual Conservative Political Action Conference. His warning against global elites‚ including George Soros‚ and other “dark forces” was welcomed with applause and cheers from a highly receptive audience. “If [elites] want a seat at the table‚ they should run for office. Let the people vote. It will not be a pretty sight for them – if the elections are free and fair‚” he said. “Who elected Soros to dictate public policy and laws? Why does he feel entitled to impose his agenda?” “Soros and his cronies hit a brick wall in El Salvador‚” he continued. “Thank God‚ another glory be to Him‚ Salvadorans are now immune to his influence. No one believes his lies any more.” “In the span of less than a decade‚ gangs took control of all the country and our society. They evolved into a parallel government controlling elections and even political parties. ... Murder capital of the world – it’s a tragic title to hold.” “Jumping out of the water when it's already boiling is an almost impossible feat. You are not there yet‚” Bukele said in reference to America. “And believe me‚ you don’t want to be.” After El Salvador “arrested terrorists” and began “removing corrupt judges‚ attorneys‚ and prosecutors‚” it finally was able to begin the process of “cleansing” itself‚ Bukele told the audience. The country also was forced to acknowledge the hard truth: “The corrupt system works in tandem with the so-called international community‚ the NGOs‚ and … the fake news.” “Just like it happens here in the United States‚” Bukele warned. “El Salvador and a lot of places in South America are on their way out of that kind of corruption while [Americans] are stepping headlong into it‚” says Keith Malinak‚ reiterating Bukele’s main point. “Can you imagine back in the '80s and '90s us pointing to El Salvador's leader for inspiration on any topic?” asks Pat Gray. To hear more‚ watch the clip below. 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.

A Catholic organization is accusing a group of trans activists of committing a "hate crime" after they allegedly tricked a New York City cathedral into hosting a funeral service for a trans-identifying atheist‚ the New York Post reported.CatholicVote‚ a nonprofit group‚ penned a letter last week to New York State Attorney General Letitia James urging her to investigate the circumstances surrounding a funeral that was held at St. Patrick's Cathedral earlier this month.The church came under fire after it hosted a funeral service for Cecilia Gentili‚ a 52-year-old trans-identifying activist and former sex worker‚ Blaze News previously reported. More than 1‚000 people attended the service‚ which featured a performance of "This Day" by actor Billy Porter. Gentili's family referred to the activist as "St. Cecilia‚ mother of all whores” and a photograph of the deceased included the words "transvestite” and "whore." Some of those in attendance used the funeral service as an opportunity to advocate for so-called gender-affirming health care services. Attendees reportedly sang "Ave Maria" but changed the lyrics to "Ave Cecilia" and danced through the cathedral's aisles.Brian Burch‚ the president of CatholicVote‚ wrote in the letter to James that the activists "deceptively" gained access to the cathedral to "advance ideas and beliefs hostile to doctrines of the Catholic Church.""Importantly‚ according to both media reports and video footage readily available online‚ activists admit to withholding from cathedral administrators the full intent and purpose of their gathering‚" the letter continued. "The deception employed to gain access to St. Patrick's Cathedral in order to hold a ceremony that profaned that holy place and mocked the Catholic religion cries out for justice."According to the organization‚ the funeral service was an "outrageous sacrilege" and "a hate crime.""I urge you to defend the rights and dignity of Catholic New Yorkers and the tens of thousand of Catholics from throughout this great nation who visit St. Patrick's to honor the saint and practice their faith each year‚" the letter concluded.In a statement following the controversial funeral service‚ Rev. Enrique Salvo said‚ "The Cathedral only knew that family and friends were requesting a funeral Mass for a Catholic‚ and had no idea our welcome and prayer would be degraded in such a sacrilegious and deceptive way‚" he added.Ceyenne Doroshow‚ the event's organizer‚ previously told the New York Times that she intentionally did not inform the church that Gentili was a man who identified as a woman‚ stating she "kept it under wraps." Gentili's family demanded an apology from the archdiocese for cutting the service short‚ claiming that they never tricked the cathedral into hosting the gathering‚ Blaze News previously reported. The funeral ended an hour early after priests made the determination to forgo a Mass‚ a decision supported by Cardinal Timothy Dolan‚ the archbishop of New York.Gays and Lesbians Living in a Transgender Society also argued that it is "simply not true" that the church's leadership was manipulated into hosting the service."Funeral organizers advised cathedral staff to look up Cecilia Gentili‚ her work‚ and the community she served. To now place responsibility on the funeral organizers to have affirmatively disclosed the gender identity of their loved one is imposing a burden upon the mourners that would not be expected of a non-transgender person‚" the organization contended.According to Burch‚ the controversy surrounding the event was regarding the disrespectful behavior of the attendees and not that the church held a funeral service for a trans-identifying individual."It's pretty clear here they chose St. Patrick's not because it's big and beautiful and on Fifth Avenue — they singled it out explicitly because of the Church's position on human sexuality‚" Burch told the Post. "If they would have had the funeral service and not put on the blasphemous circus‚ then no one would have said anything."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Another Ivy League school announced Thursday that it plans to reinstate standardized testing requirements for undergraduate applicants‚ the College Fix reported.Yale recently declared that its fall 2025 applicants must submit scores from at least one of four standardized tests. According to Yale News‚ the university has recently adopted a new test-flexible policy incorporating more testing options. In addition to SAT and ACT scores‚ undergraduates can now submit Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate scores.Yale allowed undergraduate applicants to opt out of submitting test scores for four years. Several other schools‚ including Columbia University‚ Dartmouth College‚ Harvard University‚ New York University‚ and Stanford University‚ dropped admissions testing requirements during the 2021-2022 application cycle. The College Fix reported that over 1‚900 colleges and universities had test-optional admissions policies in 2023.Yale’s dean of undergraduate admissions and financial aid‚ Jeremiah Quinlan‚ told Yale News that the new policy could help increase diversity.“The entire admissions office staff is keenly aware of the research on the correlations between standardized test scores and household income as well as the persistent gaps by race. Our experience‚ however‚ is that including test scores as one component of a thoughtful whole-person review process can help increase the diversity of the student body rather than decrease it‚” Quinlan stated. “If I thought this policy was likely to set any of those efforts back‚ we would not adopt it‚” Quinlan added.While Yale had a test-optional policy‚ the university found that some applicants omitted scores that would have improved their chances of acceptance.Quinlan explained‚ “We found that by inviting students to apply without any scores‚ some applicants unwittingly hurt their chances of admission by withholding scores that would have been useful to the admissions committee‚ even though they were below the median range of our enrolling students.”More than 1‚000 undergraduates who did not submit test scores have been admitted to Yale. “Our analyses have found that applicants without test scores have been less likely to be admitted; concerningly‚ this was especially true for applicants from lower-income backgrounds and those attending high schools with fewer college-preparatory courses‚” Quinlan noted.Dartmouth College‚ a private Ivy League university in New Hampshire‚ announced earlier this month that standardized testing scores would once again be required for admission beginning with the class of 2029‚ Blaze News previously reported.The college similarly argued that the change would “improve — not detract from — our ability to bring the most promising and diverse students to our campus.”Dartmouth College economics professor Bruce Sacerdote also noted that some applicants previously opted not to share test scores when it could have “helped that student tremendously‚ maybe tripling their chance of admissions.”According to Quinlan‚ standardized testing scores remain “the single greatest predictor of a student’s performance in Yale courses in every model we have constructed.”“Our process is‚ of course‚ very selective‚ but it is also holistic and contextual. Each applicant is considered as an individual‚ and officers conduct a whole-person review of each file‚” Quinlan added.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Ibarra illegally crossed into El Paso in 2022 and was released on parole by Customs and Border Protection shortly thereafter‚ ICE said.

The general-election polling that forecasts a united GOP by Election Day isn’t hard to believe.

They Really Hate Chik-Fil-A! Bombshell Piece in the Atlantic Details How Things Have Gone Wrong at NYT

Politico: Intel Officials Worried 2nd Trump Term Would Mean a Super-Politicized Intel Community

The More We Learn About the Alleged Murderer of GA Nursing Student‚ the Worse It Gets

Trump Appeals $450M NY State Fraud Judgment‚ Calls Out 'Fake Political Prosecutions'