On Monday’s CBS Mornings and in an article at CBSNews.com, immigration reporter Camilo Montoya-Galvez continued his penchant for putting illegal immigrants first by scoffing at President Trump’s deportation efforts, claiming “[f]ewer than 14 percent of” those arrested by Homeland Security have violent criminal convictions or charges on their record. Even editor-in-chief Bari Weiss touted this story to question whether President has been focused on the “worst of the worst,” leading to multiple points of entry for X users to lambast CBS News and sister site The Free Press. Before going any further, the following are the only crimes CBS chose to track, given the rather strict definition by the FBI for what constitutes a violent crime: “[M]urder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault offenses.” Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin blasted them for having led us to wonder whether they believe crimes like distribution of child pornography, and DUI are serious enough for deportation and if they’re comfortable with such offenders remaining in the U.S.: Drug trafficking, Distribution of child pornography, burglary, fraud, DUI, embezzlement, solicitation of a minor, human smuggling are all categorized as “non violent crimes.” Like we said, ~70% of those illegal aliens arrested under @POTUS Trump and @Sec_Noem have pending… https://t.co/4AUzxGMEhP — Tricia McLaughlin (@TriciaOhio) February 9, 2026 In a second X post, McLaughlin explained Montoya-Galvez and CBS also omitted the reality that some the Trump administration have arrested carry serious criminal records in other countries: By @cbs’s standard, Edward Hernandez, who @ICEgov arrested last week in Virginia is a “non criminal” because he hasn’t been convicted in the United States. Never mind that he is an MS-13 member & confessed to murdering 5 people in El Salvador through shooting, torturing,… pic.twitter.com/lY3VYOQGdu — Tricia McLaughlin (@TriciaOhio) February 9, 2026 “A CBS News exclusive on President Trump’s immigration crackdown. Coming up, we have a reality check on the President’s claim that those who were arrested are the ‘worst of the worst,’” featured co-host Vladimir Duthiers bragged in a tease. After a break, he continued to pull on this supposedly dishonest thread: “[T]he President says agents are going after the ‘worst of the worst,’ but a new government document obtained exclusively by CBS News reveals who exactly ICE is going after, and it’s not what we’ve been told.” WATCH: Reminder that CBS News is not conservative and still absurdly liberal -- they still oppose taking violent criminals off the streets Monday's 'CBS Mornings' downplays and dismisses the Trump administration's deportation efforts, scoffing at the notion that violent… pic.twitter.com/C183UvIDKp — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 9, 2026 Montoya-Galvez explained that even though the Trump administration has said “they’re mainly looking to deport dangerous and violent criminals...an internal Department of Homeland Security document shows that a vast majority of the people arrested....have not been charged with or convicted of a violent crime.” He shamelessly downplayed these arrests of violent crimes as minuscule (and thus implicitly minimized the notion of taking these individuals off the streets): Here are the numbers. Fewer than 14 percent of the nearly 400,000 undocumented immigrants arrested by ICE over the past year had charges or convictions for violent crimes. That includes crimes like kidnapping, sexual assault, and homicide, and fewer than two percent were actually accused of being gang members. Nearly 40 percent of the people taken into custody by ICE under the second Trump administration did not have any — any criminal record at all, and were detained solely for living in the country illegally or overstaying a visa, which are civil violations of immigration law.  He concluded his initial remarks by extrapolating this data to mean “roughly 60 percent did some kind of criminal charge or conviction, but again the vast majority were not for violent offenses.” CBS Saturday Morning co-host Adriana Diaz gushed: “Camilio, your reporting on this is always so good. You have so many good scoops and new information like this one. So, what’s going on here because what’s happening on the ground, based on these numbers, is not the messaging from the White House?” Montoya-Galvez shamelessly dragged out the tiresome defense of illegal immigration as a seemingly innocent crime because overstaying a visa or entering the country illegally is just “a civil offense” (click “expand”): President Trump’s promises of mass deportation arguably helped his return to power, but the numbers shared statistically speaking cannot carry out the largest deportation in operation in American history by just targeting criminals and that’s because the reality on the ground is that the vast majority of the millions of people here living illegally in violation of the law are not criminals, let alone serious offenders. Living in the country illegally, again, is typically treated as a civil offense of federal immigration law, and the millions of people who are here undocumented include very sympathetic individuals, including people who have been here for years, if not, decades. People who have American-born children, and now asylum seekers who are being arrested when they’re showing up to their court hearings, complying with the legal process. That is a question — a difficult question that our policy and lawmakers have to confront. Co-host and Democrat donor Gayle King also went down a predictable road of painting many illegal immigrants as a close friend who works at a grocery store: One of the most poignant things I’ve ever seen was a woman was saying, we want him to get the hardened criminals, but I didn’t know he meant Carol who’s been working in the grocery store for 25 years, who’s been a law-abiding citizen, who has had her children here. I think people are very shocked when you get behind the numbers to see who’s really being taken into custody and how they’re being taken into custody. Apparently, CBS decided to go harder in the paint for illegal aliens than U.S. citizens murdered by illegal aliens. Along with McLaughlin, the official White House rapid response X account sounded off as well: Fake News. Here's a few crimes categorized as "non-violent": Drug trafficking, human smuggling, child porn, fraud, DUI, burglary, etc. The article even admits 60% "had criminal charges or convictions (though it's actually ~70%). They're CRIMINALS and they're NOT welcome here. https://t.co/COngSVANsL — Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 9, 2026 The CBS News X post of Montoya-Galvez’s report was promptly raked over the coals by those outside the administration. Fox’s Bill Melugin pointed out the illegal aliens who murdered (and sexually assaulted) Rachel Morin, Jocelyn Nungaray, and Laken Riley would have been considered innocent souls in the eyes of CBS News: None of Laken Riley, Jocelyn Nungaray, & Rachel Morin’s illegal alien killers had any “violent” criminal history beforehand. https://t.co/IJF0tYfUSo — Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) February 9, 2026 NewsNation’s Bata Ungar-Sargon was blunt: “Apparently according to CBS it’s immoral to deport identity thieves, fraudsters, drunk drivers, smugglers, and human traffickers because these crimes can be committed non-violently. Needless to say, most Americans want these people deported, as they do every illegal alien. Conservative college professor Wilfred Reilly also blasted this lie peddled by Weiss and her network: I want to deport most or all illegal aliens, because they are not legally in the country, and we are a welfare state. Focus on criminals first, sure - but 60% of those being deported ARE criminals. Burglary, fatal DUI, and child porn are all non violent crimes. What about… https://t.co/3KMU3f3PdL — Wilfred Reilly (@wil_da_beast630) February 9, 2026 The same data set shows that 60% were charged with or convicted of (US) crimes, total, and ~100% were non-falsely-charged illegals. https://t.co/gK5Z5n8eWZ — Wilfred Reilly (@wil_da_beast630) February 9, 2026 Reilly also noticed a glaring gap CBS apparently thinks shouldn’t be grounds for deportation: “A very easy way to handle this point, in debates, is just asking: “Is child pornography considered a violent crime?’ Covenant Law’s Ian Speir did some math on a chart within CBS’s story and found things did not really add up: How did you guys count to 14%? When I add up the highlighted categories — which are all seriously dangerous or violent — I get 30.1%. pic.twitter.com/FBAJDdWTEj — Ian Speir (@IanSpeir) February 9, 2026 A few others landed solid blows: Has Bari gone all Bunny on us? If 60.2% are accused or convicted of a crime, that's more focused than I'd expected. Everyone knows there's a policy fight in DHS over how much to focus on criminals. If you are here illegally you are subject to deportation--criminal or not. That's… https://t.co/S8SS1cXElD — Mickey Kaus (@kausmickey) February 9, 2026 This is intentional obfuscation. The reality is, over 65% of illegals have pending charges or prior convictions. Among those considered "non-violent" by CBS: Child Porn DUI Drug & Human Trafficking@camiloreports, of course, waited until below the fold to mention these. https://t.co/XZcuFSLgk6 — Dan Hollaway (@DanHollaway) February 9, 2026 We don’t know how many crimes illegals commit. 1) Sanctuary cities, counties, & states don’t collect immigration status of perps. 2) Not all victims report crimes, from rape to property crimes esp. 3) Not all data gets reported to the Feds. This whole debate is flawed. ⬇️ https://t.co/xyh6JT8mBz — BDW (@BryanDeanWright) February 9, 2026 Why do we have to wait for them to hurt or kill someone before we remove them? Do we have borders and laws, or don’t we? https://t.co/nRy1Z402vV — Elizabeth Barcohana (@E_Barcohana) February 9, 2026 To see the relevant CBS transcript from February 9, click here.

A new Media Research Center study is raising fresh concerns about how Apple News curates information for millions of Americans, and MRC President David Bozell says the implications stretch far beyond media bias. In a Friday interview on The Derek Hunter Show on WMAL radio, Bozell pointed to Apple’s own admission that its news curation relies heavily on human editors rather than neutral algorithms. “Apple publicly acknowledged that its curation system is human driven,” Bozell explained. “There’s a lot of editorial decision making going on at Apple, certainly a lot more than some of the others.” According to the MRC study, Apple News continues to sideline right-leaning outlets while elevating leftist media sources in its daily national headlines. Bozell noted that although users can technically customize their feeds, the practical options are limited. “You are subject to the digital subscribers that Apple provides,” he said, adding that “the right wing ecosystem that exists to subscribe to on Apple is almost non-existent.” Apple News is run and curated by human editors; it's not an algorithm. It's an intentional manipulation of information by showing only left-wing sources to its users.@DavidBozell with @derekahunter pic.twitter.com/sVmyL4Lyhb — Media Research Center (@theMRC) February 6, 2026 The consequences, Bozell warned, are political as well as cultural. Many Americans — particularly older users and busy workers who rely on quick headline scans — depend on these aggregators as their primary news source. “They’re just going to pop on Apple and see what’s happening,” he said. “And it’s always negative against the President and this administration.” The Big Four News apps are force-feeding anti-Trump propaganda to millions of Americans everyday. If something doesn't change, there will be consequences come November.@DavidBozell @derekahunter pic.twitter.com/zd2XCJ1Wq9 — Media Research Center (@theMRC) February 6, 2026 For Bozell, the study is a call to action for conservatives to demand fair treatment — or begin building alternative media ecosystems of their own. Listen to the full interview here.  

Monday’s episode of The View featured their sixth interview of a Democratic politician so far this year, two of which either were rumored to have presidential ambitions or were featured on the short lists of party insiders: Governors Josh Shapiro from Pennsylvania and Andy Beshear of Kentucky. The latter was Monday’s guest with moderator Whoopi Goldberg hyping him up as “the most popular Democratic governor in America.” Despite Beshear not formally throwing his hat in the ring for a presidential run, Goldberg introduced him as a “contender” in the Democratic Party primary, which apparently was new to him: GOLDBERG: … he is a contender for his party's presidential ticket in 2028. Did you know that? BESHEAR: You're breaking some news here. Goldberg followed up by touting Beshear’s bone fides as to why he would make a confident candidate who should be emulated: So, you were on the short list for Kamala Harris's VP pick in 2024, you are frequently mentioned as a Democratic political contender because you found a way to do the seemingly impossible, run and won three times in deep-red Kentucky. So what have you been able to do that you can tell other Democrats they might want to think about doing? “Well, I'm willing to share it with Democrats, I'm willing to share it with Republicans, too, because what we want is good government in the end,” Beshear said. “I spend 85 percent of my time on things that matter to 100 percent of the people of Kentucky or the United States. Things like good jobs, accessible healthcare, safe roads and bridges, safe communities.” He also seemed to contribute his success to not use what he called “advocacy speak,” which sounded a lot like what the right would call “woke.” “We've allowed advocacy speak, which was created for the right reasons, but I don't think you change stigma by changing words. I think you change it by changing hearts,” he argued. In something of a blink and you’d miss it moment, as Beshear was warning about advocacy speak, the camera cut to a shot of him and co-host Sunny Hostin who appeared to be staring daggers at him (see above image).   The View has on their 6th Democratic politician this year (guess how many Republican they've had on), Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY). They use it as an opportunity to promote him as a candidate for national office. pic.twitter.com/B8mgrLHAXQ — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) February 9, 2026   The next question was from pretend independent Sara Haines, who teed him up to go after Trump with accusations about him stealing elections: Now Governor, President Trump's repeated calls to nationalize elections have been raising fears about how far he may go to interfere with the midterms later this year. You’re the current chair of the Democratic Governors Association and last week, all 24 Democratic state governors put out a statement condemning the threats, but what are you doing to ensure that your state retains its ability to carry out independent and fair elections? Of course, even the fake Republicans on the panel did their part to make Beshear look appealing to a national electorate. Co-host Ana Navarro gushed about Beshear equating the two shooting deaths by ICE in Minneapolis, Minnesota to “Bloody Sunday,” the 1972 massacre in Derry, North Ireland where British soldiers killed 26 people. The analogy was ridiculous and possibly inciting. Bloody Sunday, also known as the Bogside Massacre, was just one incident in a 30-year internal U.K. conflict that saw over 50,000 people killed or injured by British government forces and Irish ethno-nationalist insurgents. The other fake Republican, Alyssa Farah Griffin tried to give him a hand by teeing him up to support voter ID, which a vast majority of American supported, but he couldn’t even get behind that: FARAH GRIFFIN: Voter ID is something that a large amount of Americans support, Kentucky does require voters to show an ID for federal and state elections. Where do you fall on the SAVE Act specifically? BESHEAR: Well, I consider myself pragmatic. You know, I think that we can agree that election security is an important thing, but when you complete policies that are so onerous you push people out that have the right to vote, who should be able to register. For her part, Hostin wanted to know if he was attending a party at the White House after the administration didn’t invite Democratic governors to a meeting: HOSITN: Well Governor, the annual National Governors Association meeting is set to take place later this month, and it's usually a bipartisan meeting of governors all across the country. President Trump has decided only to invite Republican governors to this -- yeah -- to this meeting, and then he's hosting a separate bipartisan dinner at the White House and he did not invite the only black governor in our country, Wes Moore, and Jared Polis for some reason. Do you intend to be there for the dinner? BESHEAR: No, I ain't going. To conclude the interview, Goldberg suggested to Beshear he should call his own meeting. “Well, governor, maybe you should just have your own governor’s thing and invite all the other governors and do a separate thing from his gathering,” she said before hawking Beshear’s podcast. The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: ABC’s The View February 9, 2026 11:35:04 a.m. Eastern WHOOPI GOLDBERG: Our next guest is the most popular Democratic governor in America, who’s bringing his message to the national stage with his Sirius XM podcast and he is a contender for his party's presidential ticket in 2028. Did you know that? GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D-KY): You're breaking some news here. GOLDBERG: Please welcome Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear. [Applause] BESHEAR: Thank you. GOLDBERG: So, you were on the short list for Kamala Harris's VP pick in 2024, you are frequently mentioned as a Democratic political contender because you found a way to do the seemingly impossible, run and won three times in deep-red Kentucky. So what have you been able to do that you can tell other Democrats they might want to think about doing? BESHEAR: Well, I'm willing to share it with Democrats, I'm willing to share it with Republicans, too, because what we want is good government in the end. So, I think it's three things. First, while I’ll stand up for all my convictions, while I’ll always stand up against discrimination and attacks on the people of Kentucky, I spend 85 percent of my time on things that matter to 100 percent of the people of Kentucky or the United States. Things like good jobs, accessible healthcare, safe roads and bridges, safe communities. Making sure that what I do every day makes life better for Democrats, Republicans, independents, just everyone. The second thing I try to do is talk like a normal human being. We've allowed advocacy speak, which was created for the right reasons, but I don't think you change stigma by changing words. I think you change it by changing hearts. And so, in my state we’ve lost a lot of people to overdoses but no one has ever said they've lost a loved one to substance use disorder. They say addiction. (…) 11:37:54 a.m. Eastern SARA HAINES: Now Governor, President Trump's repeated calls to nationalize elections have been raising fears about how far he may go to interfere with the midterms later this year. You’re the current chair of the Democratic Governors Association and last week, all 24 Democratic state governors put out a statement condemning the threats, but what are you doing to ensure that your state retains its ability to carry out independent and fair elections? BESHEAR: This should concern everyone. And it should start with the fact that he didn't use nationalize in his first statement. He said Republicans should take over elections in certain states. You know, this president does show you who he is and he says the quiet part out loud. SUNNY HOSTIN: Yes, he does. BESHEAR: So everyone can hear it. We're not going to let him mess with our elections. [Applause] ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: And Governor, the White House has been pushing the SAVE Act which would require citizens to show documents like a passport or birth certificate to register to vote. Voter ID is something that a large amount of Americans support, Kentucky does require voters to show an ID for federal and state elections. Where do you fall on the SAVE Act specifically? BESHEAR: Well, I consider myself pragmatic. You know, I think that we can agree that election security is an important thing, but when you complete policies that are so onerous you push people out that have the right to vote, who should be able to register. And so, I think on any policy you've got to look at what's reasonable. What is a form of ID that the vast majority of Americans have or can secure? What are your policies that are going to make sure that those that don't have that form can get it and can get it easily? I think we look at what do we want the end game to be? I think it's everyone who has the right to vote being able to vote. And how do we form our policies around that? ANA NAVARRO: Governor, you've called the events that we've been seeing in Minneapolis the Bloody Sunday of our generation. President Trump said last week that he was going to take a softer touch on immigration enforcement, but there's no indication his administration is backing down. In fact, they are now trying to remove Liam Ramos and his father, do an expedited removal of that five-year-old child. But do you expect this crackdown to continue throughout the country, and what is your plan for your state if it comes to Kentucky? BESHEAR: Well, every ICE agent should be withdrawn from every city and every community that they are in. [Applause] This -- this organization has to be reformed from the top down. Secretary Noem needs to be fired and every – [Applause] -- every agent needs to be retrained. I mean, I headed -- I was attorney general in Kentucky, the top law enforcement official. The aggressive actions of ICE, you don't see with any other law enforcement group anywhere. The idea that you don't need a judicial warrant to storm into the home of an American is just wrong. And we've got to make sure that this organization and the way that it acts I going to respect all of our rights. There is a body count of American citizens right now because of the actions of this agency. That should be enough to say we're going to take a pause, we're going to pull everybody back and we're going to try to get it right. HOSITN: I hope that happens. Well Governor, the annual National Governors Association meeting is set to take place later this month, and it's usually a bipartisan meeting of governors all across the country. President Trump has decided only to invite Republican governors to this -- yeah -- to this meeting, and then he's hosting a separate bipartisan dinner at the White House and he did not invite the only black governor in our country, Wes Moore, and Jared Polis for some reason. Do you intend to be there for the dinner? BESHEAR: No, I ain't going. [Laughter and applause] Wes is a friend of mine, even if he wasn't a friend of mine this would be wrong. And Jared as well. But the other thing that's going on is they didn't invite any Democratic governor to the business section. And this is when we try to get together and move the country forward where we can agree. And if he's not going to invite us to the business section, I'm not going to go to dinner the social section. You know, my job is to get things done for our people and so they will be without me in both of those. [Applause] GOLDBERG: Well, governor, maybe you should just have your own governor’s thing and invite all the other governors and do a separate thing from his gathering. BESHEAR: I would love that and I'd love to see how many Republican governors come. How many will put being the head of their state first. Because what we're seeing right now is people that put being a Democrat or a Republican ahead of being an American. And we've got to see that change. GOLDBERG: I like that. All right. Our thanks to Governor Andy Beshear. You can catch new episodes of the Andy Beshear Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts and Saturday mornings on Sirius XM Progress and don't miss a special live episode tomorrow at noon eastern. And we will be right back.

It’s time to find out who had the Worst Media Quote of the Week. This interactive series is where you — our loyal NewsBusters visitors and MRC supporters — get to vote on which leftist journalist or celebrity had the worst media quote of the week.   Much appreciation to all who voted last week via NewsBusters and the MRC’s various social media sites (Facebook, Instagram and X.com).   The results of the Worst Media Quote of the Week are in and the winner is… Rick Wilson! The Lincoln Project founder and frequent pundit won with 47 percent of the vote. Wilson took first place for spewing venom about the Trump administration as he claimed they had “people in the street shooting Americans because they want us to shut up,” and comparing this time in the U.S. to “Nazi Germany in 1936.” ABC’s The View co-host Joy Behar came in second place with 42 percent. Finishing last was former CNN correspondent Jim Acosta at 11 percent.  Check out the following clip (via the MRC Video team) to see the nominees in action:    

Just how badly did Republicans do in two Texas special elections last weekend? Not as badly as apocalyptic headlines in liberal-leaning outlets would suggest — but badly enough that Republicans nationwide have to learn some searing lessons. Although the GOP lost both races, one was for a U.S. House seat that’s been in Democrats’ hands for decades: Christian Menefee’s victory narrows the GOP’s congressional majority, but only because that safely blue seat had been vacant since Rep. Sylvester Turner died last March. The other contest, which yielded an upset, was for a Texas state senate seat that will be up for election again before the legislature convenes. In other words, the victorious Democrat, Taylor Rehmet, won’t get to vote on anything before Texans get another vote on him, and the November race that really matters is certain to have stronger turnout t han last Saturday’s special election. The trouble is Rehmet didn’t just win, he won by more than 14 points in a red-leaning Ft. Worth-area district. Democrats and much of the media converged on the same message: this was a district Donald Trump won by roughly 17 points in 2024, so the swing away from the GOP was more than 30 points, a staggering humiliation that augurs a Republican wipeout in November. But comparing presidential elections to state senate elections — and a January special election, at that — is absurd. Never mind presidential years: Saturday’s turnout was pitiful even in comparison to typical off-year state legislative races. Merely 94,000 or so people voted last weekend, barely a third as many as participated the last time the seat was up in a general election, back in 2022, when nearly 278,000 ballots were cast. The advantage the party opposing the White House historically enjoys in midterms applies all the more in special elections: the opposition is always more motivated, and it takes especially intense motivation to get voters to the polls in January after a winter storm. Add the fact the real contest for this seat is the one in November, and Saturday’s winner doesn’t actually get to attend the legislature, and the scenario for maximizing the protest vote and minimizing Republican turnout was perfect. On top of that, the GOP was divided. In the special election’s first round last fall, two Republicans vied against each other as well as Rehmet, allowing him to beat them both, and wounds from the intraparty rivalry hadn’t healed by the time of the runoff. Yet all this only means the Republican performance was abysmal, not prophetically catastrophic. The party can count on doing better in November, but better won’t be good enough unless the GOP gets its act together. In Texas and around the country, the last thing Republicans should do is swallow the Democratic line that fixes the blame for the GOP’s woes on Trump and his agenda. In fact, Democrats won in Texas by borrowing from Trump’s playbook: Rehmet ran as a populist and went all-out to secure the working-class vote. He played up his background as a machinist, union member (and leader) and veteran. Trump is president today because he’s a master at winning blue-collar voters who like him but don’t like the Republican brand. When Trump’s on the ballot, his personal brand is strong enough to boost his party downticket, but in midterms, Republicans are on their own again. Indeed, they get the worst of both worlds: anti-Trump voters turn out to punish his party, while pro-Trump voters who don’t feel much connection to the GOP itself stay home in droves. Republicans have to overcome this by making Trump’s brand their own, giving his working-class voters reasons to vote for them on their own merits without Trump on the ballot. And they have to do it while maintaining party unity — unlike in Texas — despite free-market conservatives’ unease about populism and the tendency of some religious conservatives to think social issues are enough to win on without a pocketbook pitch to the working class. It’s in typically red regions like Texas’ 9th senate district that the GOP is most hazardously complacent because those are places the old formulas have worked best for the longest time — which leaves an opening for Democrats to go after the working-class votes Republicans ignore. The GOP isn’t just lazy, it’s scared. Keeping social and economic conservatives together in a single coalition is hard enough; why complicate it by trying to squeeze in populists as well? Trump, of course, has answered that: because it’s what’s necessary to win nationwide, and increasingly that’s what it takes to win in places like Texas, too. With or without Trump on the ballot, the GOP’s survival now depends on the coalition he pioneered. Daniel McCarthy is the editor of Modern Age: A Conservative Review. To read more by Daniel McCarthy, visit www.creators.com.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing calls from lawmakers and critics to resign over his appointment of Peter Mandelson, a known associate and possible informant of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as the United Kingdom's ambassador to the United States. While Starmer's right-hand man, Morgan McSweeney, resigned on Sunday over his involvement with Mandelson's appointment, the prime minister doesn't appear keen to meaningfully accept any responsibility himself — a reluctance now supported by many of his liberal allies in the British government. A short-lived appointmentStarmer appointed Mandelson — known in British political circles as the "Prince of Darkness" — as ambassador to the U.S. in December 2024, claiming he would "bring unrivaled experience to the role."Starmer's choice was controversial at the time.'The game's up, mate, and it's time you recognized it.'After all, Mandelson had not only publicly described the recently re-elected Donald Trump as a "danger to the world" and "little short of a white nationalist and racist," but was an associate of Epstein long after Epstein pleaded to soliciting sex from girls as young as 14.A source told the BBC that when Starmer made the decision, "The Epstein stuff in broad terms was definitely known and discussed in detail before his appointment."RELATED: Why are so many people all of a sudden saying Epstein is alive? Peter Mandelson. Photo by Brook Mitchell/Getty ImagesEmails released last year revealed that the Starmer pick was not only chummy with Epstein, but had grown close enough with the sex offender to apparently regard him as his "best pal."The Foreign Office announced on Sept. 11 that Mandelson had been withdrawn as ambassador, noting that the "emails show that the depth and extent of Peter Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is materially different from that known at the time of his appointment.""In particular Peter Mandelson's suggestion that Jeffrey Epstein’s first conviction was wrongful and should be challenged is new information," added the Foreign Office.It gets worseAny hopes that Starmer's office may have had of putting the Mandelson appointment in the rearview mirror were dashed by the Department of Justice's latest release of the Epstein files, which contains emails showing that Mandelson was not only tight with Epstein but possibly furnished him with confidential government information.The New York Times noted, for instance, that newly released emails appear to reveal that Mandelson provided Epstein with a confidential economic memorandum that had been sent to former Prime Minister Gordon Brown.The documents also reportedly indicate that Epstein paid Mandelson $75,000 across three separate transactions in the early 2000s.Mandelson announced earlier this month that he was leaving Starmer's Labour Party to spare it from "further embarrassment." In a Feb. 1 letter to the party's general secretary, Mandelson claimed that he had no record or recollection of financial payments from Epstein; he regretted "ever having known Epstein"; and had dedicated his "life to the values and success of the Labour Party."Mandelson is presently under investigation for possible misconduct in public office.Starmer digs in heelsDays after his appointee left the Labour Party, Starmer gave a speech, stating, "Sorry that so many people with power failed you. Sorry for having believed Mandelson’s lies and appointed him."After insinuating that he was deceived by Mandelson, Starmer suggested that he will remain in the role of prime minister to "ensure accountability is delivered." Apparently, accountability for Starmer meant letting Chief of Staff Morgan McSweeney fall on his sword. In a statement obtained by the Spectator concerning his resignation on Sunday, McSweeney wrote, "The decision to appoint Peter Mandelson was wrong. He has damaged our party, our country, and trust in politics itself."McSweeney, an apparent protégé of Mandelson, claimed that he advised Starmer to make the appointment and that the "only honorable course is to step aside."On Monday, Starmer's director of communications, Tim Allan, also quit "to allow a new No. 10 team to be built."Neither resignation appears to have placated those in the British Parliament keen to see Starmer shoulder some blame.Calls to resignAnas Sarwar, the leader of the Scottish Labour Party, said on Monday, "The leadership from Downing Street has to change," reported ITVX. "We cannot allow the failures at the heart of Downing Street to mean the failures continue here in Scotland," continued Sarwar. "They promised they were going to be different, but too much has happened. It cannot continue."Clive Lewis, a member of Starmer's party, suggested that upon reflection, it's clear the Labour Party is "ruined" and needs to be rebuilt without its current leadership. Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform UK Party, told GB News, "It's over; it's done. The game's up, mate, and it's time you recognized it.""He's lost legitimacy, he's lost authority, events have moved way beyond his control, and I'm afraid it's all down to his own grievous misjudgment," continued Farage. "But remember, even before the Peter Mandelson case, he was already the most unpopular prime minister in living memory."On Monday, Starmer stated, "After having fought so hard for the chance to change our country, I’m not prepared to walk away from my mandate and my responsibility to my country, or to plunge us into chaos, as others have done," reported the Guardian.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

A law enforcement operation found that more than 50 fugitives with felony warrants were taking advantage of taxpayer-funded housing in Columbus, Ohio.U.S. Marshals partnered with agents from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Franklin County Sheriff's Office on "Operation Clean House," targeting suspects living in HUD housing.The warrants issued in the operation included rape, drug trafficking, endangering children, strangulation, and failure to register as a sex offender.U.S. Marshal Michael Black with the Southern District of Ohio said that HUD reached out to him to cooperate on the operation, which lasted six days."Every time we do this, we're making our community safer, one arrest at a time," Black said.The warrants issued in the operation included rape, drug trafficking, endangering children, strangulation, and failure to register as a sex offender."One of the houses, we recovered an AK-47. There were some drugs recovered," Black said. "You know, one individual that's wanted for felony strangulation, sex offenders, child abandonment, and numerous other violations."WCMH-TV was present at two arrests. One was a woman with felony warrants for weapons charges, and the other was a woman with a warrant for probation violation for aggravated burglary, assault, and ID fraud.RELATED: 'This is where ICE has come to die': Self-identified Antifa member arrested for threats against federal agents, DOJ says Thirty HUD agents were involved, and all the arrests were conducted without any critical incidents."Criminals are on notice — we will not tolerate crime in HUD-funded housing," HUD Sec. Scott Turner said on social media. "The Trump Administration will ensure public housing is safe housing and taxpayer funds do not support criminal activity." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

We must be able to call domestic political terrorism by its proper name.

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