Usually, I don’t feel any desire to play devil’s advocate. I have no interest in looking for ways to defend bad people or bad ideas. That’s not to say it’s wrong to play devil’s advocate. Generally, though, it’s not my style. I prefer to be as direct as possible. For example, if a certain group of people — say, Somalis in Minnesota — are being dragged online by hundreds of millions of people, I feel no desire whatsoever to step in and ask an annoying contrarian question, such as, “Hey, what if these people aren’t actually so bad?” At this point, however, I feel compelled to state one thing — just one thing — that could be considered something of a defense of the hundreds of thousands of Somalis who are currently living in Minnesota and defrauding the American taxpayer. Recently, I pointed out that the average Somali has an IQ that approaches the level of mental retardation, in part because of rampant inbreeding that affects roughly half of the population. That’s not a talking point. It happens to be true that the typical Somali has an IQ below 70. On the Left, they’ll claim that the IQ analysis is illegitimate because Somalia is a war-torn hellscape where everyone is malnourished, so you can’t possibly administer a valid IQ test, for some reason. But they’ll never explain why, when you look at the state of Somalia, it looks an awful lot like a country run by people with an average IQ of 68. They don’t have a functioning economy, or system of government, or anything that would indicate that they’re capable of establishing or maintaining a civilization. So what explains all of that, if not for IQ? Is it climate change? White supremacy? No one knows. In any event, I’m not here to play devil’s advocate on that particular question. The science is settled on the issue of Somali IQ. But I do think it’s worth asking an important follow-up, which naturally follows from our previous discussion. And that follow-up question is this: If the typical Somali is indeed very dumb, then how exactly were they able to scam taxpayers out of hundreds of millions of dollars in Minnesota alone? Sure, their fraud schemes weren’t exactly subtle. They spelled “learning center” as “lear-ing center.” They went slack-jawed when a YouTuber with an iPhone knocked on their front door. They had no kids inside their daycares at all — and then, when CNN showed up the next day, suddenly they had some woman standing out front, insisting that indeed, she does send her children to the daycare every day from 2:00 to 10:00 PM, which just so happen to be the precise operating hours of the daycare. None of this is particularly indicative of high IQs in the community. But at the same time, if their IQ is really hovering around 68, you’d think they wouldn’t even get this far. When your IQ is that low, you’re not just putting up signs with obvious typos for your fraudulent business. That’s more of a 75-to-85 IQ mistake. At 68 IQ, you’re barely able to comprehend the idea of a “business” at all. At that rung of the IQ spectrum, you hear about “laundering money” and you throw your cash into the washing machine. You hear about the importance of “head hunting” and you go out and literally scalp your competition. And you certainly aren’t navigating the bureaucracy of the state of Minnesota and filing lengthy forms. or anything like that. So who exactly helped the Somalis? We know they didn’t commit all of this fraud on their own. That’s the best “defense” I can muster for these people, and it requires us to figure out — Where did the help come from? We know Democrats, from Tim Walz on down, were complicit in the fraud. They understood that they were getting scammed — the budgets alone made that obvious — and they did nothing to stop it. But that still doesn’t address the question of who, specifically, held the hands of these Somalis as they set up these fraudulent businesses. To figure out who did hold their hands, I went looking through various online resources for citizens in Minnesota who wanted to start their own daycare. As it turns out, Blue Cross — which administers Medicaid in Minnesota — put out one such video around four years ago. Here’s a portion of the video from a foundation established by Blue Cross. See if you notice anything unusual. Watch:   Credit: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation Sorry, that was the Somali language version of the video that Blue Cross uploaded. Our mistake. Here’s the English language version, which they also provided, helpfully enough. Again, see what you notice. Watch: Credit: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation In case you’re listening to the audio podcast, I need to point out that there isn’t a single white person in the entire video that Blue Cross put out. The closest we get to a white person is the woman at the end who works as “county licensor” who will help the Somalis get their daycare so they can “preserve their culture” and their “community.” All of this is very strange, if you think about it for a second. There’s no obvious reason why Blue Cross, which is a health insurance company that manages Medicaid claims in Minnesota, would put out an instructional video specifically for Somalis who want to start daycares for other Somalis, and no one else. There’s no apparent reason why they’d want daycares to be established that exclude white children. There’s no reason they’d want to preserve Somali “culture” — and only Somali “culture.” But that’s clearly their goal, based on this video. And there are no other videos like this, on Blue Cross’ nonprofit YouTube account. They went out of their way to target Somalis, and encourage them to start daycares. There’s no video about “white daycares” that will preserve “white culture,” as you might imagine. There are no videos about Hispanic daycares or black daycares either. They’re all about Somalis, and only Somalis. So what’s going on here? Why is Blue Cross so passionate about the establishment of nonwhite, all-Somali daycares in Minnesota? If you’re the optimistic type, you might say, “well, they want to ensure that a low-income, low-IQ immigrant population is aware of their options, when it comes to establishing daycares and healthcare clinics. Blue Cross may simply be trying to help the Somalis out.” But if that’s the case, you have to ask: Did Blue Cross notice when Somalis began defrauding Medicaid on a massive scale? Did they notice that, in many cases, this Medicaid fraud involved daycares — which received money under Medicaid when they treated patients with alleged “disabilities,” like autism? Why did it take Chris Rufo to tell us that Medicaid claims for autism in Minnesota somehow increased from $3 million to nearly $400 million, in just a few years? Why did it take a YouTuber to point out that many of the daycares are empty? Why didn’t Blue Cross blow the whistle on the obvious fraud, which presumably they would’ve noticed very quickly, since they were processing many of the claims? Why, instead, did they put out a video encouraging Somalis to set up even more daycares? Here’s one theory. It relates to how insurers like Blue Cross, which help manage Medicaid claims, get paid. These are hypothetical numbers to illustrate the point. Let’s say there’s no fraud at all, and Blue Cross pays “autism treatment providers” $100 million dollars per year on claims for autism therapy, adult daycares, home health services and so on. The state of Minnesota would then reimburse Blue Cross $100 million via Medicaid, plus give them a 15% bonus for profit, as well as administrative expenses. (After all, Blue Cross isn’t going to process the claims for free. They need some incentives.) 15% of $100 million amounts to $15 million in profit for Blue Cross, in this scenario. Now imagine there’s $300 million in Medicaid expenses billed to Blue Cross, $200 million of which are from Somali fraudsters. That means the total pie has now expanded significantly. 15% of $300 million is now $45 million in profit for Blue Cross. And in future years, Blue Cross will command a higher rate from the state for handling more claims. See where this is going? You can make the argument that more fraud means more money for Blue Cross in the long term — as long as that fraud is coming from Medicaid claims, which they’ll be reimbursed for. And daycares, again, are ground-zero for Somali fraud. That’s where they ran the “Feeding our Future” scam from. They said children were coming to the daycares and getting meals, when they weren’t. And many of these fraudulent “autism services” are also organized through daycares. Keep in mind that there’s no blood test for “autism,” or any clear diagnostic criteria whatsoever. The Somalis could simply declare that children had autism, and bam, the money started flowing. And that’s exactly what they did. So with this in mind — is it possible that Blue Cross wasn’t encouraging Somalis to set up race-based daycares out of the goodness of their own hearts? Maybe they were doing it because, like everyone else in Minnesota, they were in on the scam. You’d hate to think that might be a possibility. But it’s clearly worth investigating. At a minimum, they’re not paying much attention to the programs they’re involved with, even as insurance claims grow exponentially. But whatever the case, they’re not the only ones doing it. The “State Leadership Initiative” brought this video to my attention. It’s from an organization called “Child Care Wayfinder” in Minnesota, which receives millions of dollars from the state in order to help Somalis establish daycares. They don’t simply help the Somalis file the forms. They also fund the daycares directly. Watch: People have been asking: How did the somalians know how to game the system? Who helped them? Here are the NGOs proudly boasting how they helped defraud the taxpayer. First, Child Care Wayfinder. “Wayfinder navigators are available to company through the licensing process” https://t.co/PyaAfZI4Ub pic.twitter.com/kaYSG1p1X3 — State Leadership Initiative (@RedStatesLead) January 6, 2026 Credit: @RedStatesLead/X.com It’s not enough to go after the Somali daycares themselves. You have to look at who funded them, and helped create them. And you need to determine what they knew about the legitimacy of the businesses they were establishing. I’m not saying that this particular NGO is fraudulent. But in general, when you have armies of NGOs, flush with millions of taxpayer dollars, all setting up Somali daycares — many of which are indeed fraudulent — then at some point, you need to start raiding the NGOs and conducting some investigations into what they knew, or didn’t know. Just the other day, we learned that Aimee Bock — the white woman who helped organize the massive “Feeding our Future” scam for the Somalis — was also listed as the point of contact for 47 day care centers in Minnesota.  Credit: LibsofTikTok/TikTok.com Aimee Bock was the ultimate middleman for Somali entrepreneurs — all of whom, strangely enough, wanted to start daycares. As a “nonprofit director,” she helped an awful lot of Somalis make an awful lot of profit. And then, when she was busted for a fraud scheme to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars, the daycares dropped her.  How many other Aimee Bocks are out there? We should find out. In other words, we can’t pretend that Somalis are the only ones scamming us with fake claims of “autism” and other disabilities. Yes, it’s righteous to arrest and deport every single one of them. Yes, Somalis are committing horrific crimes. And yes, their average IQ is extremely low. But Americans are also committing an awful lot of fraud. In some cases, they’re helping Somalis while lining their own pockets. In many other cases, they’re simply helping themselves. Take for example the curious case of Graham Platner, who’s running for the Democrat Party’s nomination for U.S. Senate in Maine. Credit: Graham Platner for U.S. Senate Platner is best known as the guy with the Nazi tattoo who supposedly didn’t realize it was a Nazi tattoo. What’s interesting about Graham Platner, though, isn’t the tattoo. It’s the fact that, as of now, he has a 100% disability rating from the Department of Veterans Affairs, which stems from his deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq. Publicly, Platner has said that these benefits amount to roughly $5,000 a month, or $60,000 a year. Now, wait a minute, you might say. How can someone who’s “100% disabled,” to the point that they receive a substantial amount of cash every year from the taxpayer, possibly serve as a U.S. Senator? And for that matter, how does he continue to work as an oyster farmer and harbor master, if he’s 100% disabled? In response, you might point out that, under our current laws, it’s possible to receive $60,000 a year with “100 percent disability,” while also working full-time in an extremely demanding profession. And that’s probably true; I’m not an expert in disability law. But even I can tell you, with absolute confidence, that it shouldn’t be true. If you’re capable of becoming a U.S. Senator, and if you’re capable of working on a boat for a living, then you do not need $60,000 from the taxpayer on account of your disability. Period. It doesn’t matter if you’re a veteran. It doesn’t matter if you’re a good person or a bad person. It’s a matter of common sense. But Graham Platner, of course, is just one example of a much, much larger trend. Disability fraud in this country is rampant. And it’s extremely expensive, particularly when it comes to the VA. Something like 7% of our taxes go to VA benefits. How much of that is unnecessary spending on men like Graham Platner? How much money are we sending to fraudsters at the VA, instead of actual American service members who could use the money for their own, legitimate medical care?  Admittedly, from a political perspective, it’s not as easy to go after fraudsters in the VA compared to, say, Somalis in Minnesota who can’t even speak English. But it’s arguably a lot more important to do so, especially since it’s a more common and more expensive problem — and again, it’s wasting resources that should be used to treat (and assist) veterans who actually need it. But apparently the VA basically operates on an honor system, where if you say you’re disabled, the money starts flowing. Watch: Married couple is making $142,000 per year and is on disability The woman is making $4,700 per month from disability payments Her husband is making $3,600 twice a month and says he will soon go on disability too and start collecting money “This disability is forever” pic.twitter.com/W73OHbFqV0 — Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) June 7, 2025 Credit: @WallStreetApes/X.com Zoom out beyond the VA, and the hundreds of billions of dollars we spend there, and the problem becomes substantially worse.  So here’s a trivia question for you: How many food stamp recipients, if you had to guess, don’t have any children? You might think the number is fairly low, since under the law, if you’re an able-bodied adult without any dependents, it’s much harder to get food stamps. As an able-bodied adult, you can’t get SNAP benefits easily, unless you meet all kinds of work requirements. But here’s the amazing thing: 66% of SNAP recipients don’t have any children in their household. That’s roughly 26 million people (since, incredibly enough, more than 40 million people are on food stamps). Now, we’ve already discussed, on this show, how absurd it is that 40 million people in this country need food stamps in the first place. It’s an obvious farce. Most of them are obese. But the really interesting issue is that 26 million people are still getting food stamps, without kids. That shouldn’t be possible. The laws are supposed to prevent food stamps from flowing to tens of millions of able-bodied Americans with no dependents to feed. The trick, as you might have guessed, is that tens of millions of people are pretending that they’re not, in fact, “able-bodied.” In other words, we supposedly have around 20 million “disabled” people in this country, who are so disabled that they need us to buy their food (and also pay for their disability benefits on top of that, of course). The scale of the fraud is staggering. People claim they have PTSD, or a bad back, or whatever. They have no problem finding a doctor to sign off on this. And then they just stop working. Or, as in that Graham Platner’s case, they might choose to keep working in order to double dip — it makes no difference.  We are talking about an amount of fraud that dwarfs what’s happening in Minnesota, which is already outrageously high. And it’s no mystery why this is happening. At the highest levels of government and academia, it’s become fashionable to make disability “normal,” as part of a larger plot to normalize communism. This is a recent speech at Harvard’s public health school for example: Credit: Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health/YouTube.com They want to make something that, by definition, is abnormal — most people are not “disabled” — and turn it into something we see all the time. And the plan is working. This is from the Harvard Crimson. Roughly a fifth of undergraduate students at Harvard received disability accommodations last year — an increase of more than 15 percentage points over the past decade, according to data published annually by the National Center for Education Statistics. The rise — from roughly three percent in 2014 to 21 percent in 2024 — brings the share of undergraduate students receiving accommodations at Harvard in line with the national average, which has consistently hovered around 20 percent. Yes, the national average is now 20%. 20% of undergraduate students are supposedly “disabled.” And then, when these students go out into the real world, many of them claim to be “disabled” once again — so that you have to pay their bills. They’re victims, and they’re dependent on the system. It’s almost like, all along, the Left has done everything in its power to normalize dependency and empower the government at the same time. As Mamdani put it, they want to destroy the “rugged individual” and make him dependent on the collective. They want a generation of professional victims. And disability fraud is one way they’re doing it. We need to see far, far more action on this than we currently are. Yes, swarm Minnesota with ICE and DHS and the FBI. Deport the Somalis. Shut down the daycares. But when you’re done with that, work your way up. Go after the NGOs. Go after anyone — Somali or not — who’s defrauding the taxpayer by pretending to work, or pretending to be disabled, or pretending to be starving. We aren’t talking about insignificant amounts of money here. We’re talking about a very large percentage of the tax dollars we’re forced to pay every year.  We’re talking about returning to Americans what is owed to us.

Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi says he is prepared to return to Iran for the first time since 1979 for the “ultimate battle” as nationwide protests expand and President Donald Trump threatens to take action against the Iranian regime. “I’ve trained all my life to serve my nation,” he said in an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity. “I am more than ever ready to step into Iran. I will be there with my compatriots to lead the ultimate battle.” Pahlavi’s remarks come as demonstrations have spread across 27 of Iran’s 31 provinces, resulting in at least 35 deaths, including two children, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. The protests are the largest the regime has faced in years. About 1,200 people have reportedly been detained in connection with the protests. The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights has documented many of the arrests, including a significant number involving Iranian Kurds, a long-persecuted minority in Iran. The regime has also reportedly attempted to suppress the protests by cutting the internet in areas around the country. According to Pahlavi, his return would not be to resume the power his father, the former Shah, was stripped of during the Iranian Revolution, but will be to guide a political transition to a democracy. “My role is to help my compatriots achieve that goal to bring about a peaceful end by means of a national referendum and a constitutional assembly,” he said. “I am impartial as to what the ultimate result will be as long as it’s a secular democracy.” Born in Tehran to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and Empress Farah Diba, Reza Pahlavi was officially named crown prince in 1967 at the age of seven. While he was in the United States undergoing pilot training, his father was overthrown during the 1979 Iranian Revolution, forcing the royal family into exile. Since his father’s death in 1980, Pahlavi has emerged as a prominent opponent of the Islamic Republic and an advocate for democracy in Iran. As demonstrations entered their second week, Mr. Pahlavi has highlighted the protests and called for continued participation, claiming that he’s “never seen an opportunity as we see today in Iran.” “Iranian people are more than ever committed to bringing an end to this regime, as the world has witnessed the last few days,” he said to Hannity. “The levels of demonstrations are unprecedented in Iran — over 100 cities, millions of people in the streets chanting ‘death to the dictator’ and ‘end to this regime.’” On Wednesday, Mr. Pahlavi urged Iranians to take part in coordinated chants from their streets or homes at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. “I call on you to begin chanting exactly at this time,” he said in a video message posted to X. “Based on your response, I will announce the next calls to action.” Pahlavi also used social media to address Iran’s armed forces, urging them to protect civilians and warning that those who continue repression or firing at civilians will be identified and punished. He encouraged the forces to register for a secure “National Collaboration Platform” to declare allegiance to the people and separate themselves from what he described as the regime’s “sinking ship.” Pahlavi also addressed international audiences in a new op-ed for the Washington Post, published shortly after Trump’s capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.  In the op-ed, he described the protests as a potential turning point and praised Trump’s “clear and firm support for the Iranian people,” which has included Trump threatening to take action if the regime kills peaceful protesters.  “For protesters facing prison, torture, or death, knowing they are not alone matters,” he wrote. “For the regime, it is a reminder that intimidation no longer guarantees survival. We saw proof of that in Venezuela.” In the op-ed, he lays out the specifics of his plan for a peaceful transition of power in Iran, aiming to move the country from decades of clerical rule to a secular democracy. Pahlavi says he created the “Iran Prosperity Project,” a network of more than 100 Iranian experts who have “developed detailed, sector-by-sector plans for an orderly transition that preserves essential services, stabilizes the economy and restores confidence at home and abroad.” According to Pahlavi, supporting the Iranian protesters is an “investment in global stability” to counter the regime that is known for funding terrorist networks around the world. The State Department’s Farsi language account has taken an active role in sharing videos from the ongoing protests, including a video on Wednesday evening showing an Iranian renaming a street after President Trump. “We honor the action of an anonymous individual in Tehran who named a street after President Trump,” the account posted. “The United States respects the voice of the Iranian people and their aspirations.”

Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet have not seen their grandfather, King Charles, in nearly four years. Their father, Prince Harry, moved to California with their mother, Meghan Markle, to give the children a chance at a more typical life. They officially stepped back as senior members of the royal family in 2020, which seemed to put considerable strain on the family. At the time, Harry’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, publicly supported her grandson and his wife. But the decision to leave the United Kingdom came with consequences, including Harry and his family losing government-funded security, something he had fought very hard for. A source close to People claims Harry might get his way after all. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (@meghan) Many Hope Prince Harry Will Bring His Family Back to the United Kingdom If the government reinstates his security, many hope he will bring his wife and children to the UK to visit his ailing father. An insider told People things look “positive” for Prince Harry. Harry wants the same security detail he had before moving away from the UK. An insider told The Daily Mail that security is a necessity for Prince Harry. “If you knew about the kind of threats Harry and his children have been getting, then you would understand why he doesn’t want to bring the kids over until police protection is granted,” the source shared. Government officials declined to comment on Prince Harry’s security but released the following statement, obtained by the Daily Mail. “We can’t comment on security matters,” a spokesperson said. “The UK Government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate. It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.” This story’s featured image is by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images.

'Wasteful international organizations'

Democrats Are Getting Ahead of Themselves and So Is the Media (Update: AOC Calls It Murder)

Many popular movies make a constructive point: If you work hard enough and push through tough times, you can achieve your dreams. In “The Pursuit of Happyness,” a struggling father tells his son, “Don’t let anyone tell you, you can’t do something.” The movie is a true story about a man who overcomes homelessness and gets his dream job. In “Rocky Balboa,” Rocky says, “It’s not about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.” These are good messages. They fit my libertarian philosophy. We libertarians believe people try harder and do best when individuals are free to pursue their own dreams. In my new video, I interview libertarian Timothy Sandefur, author of the new book, “You Don’t Own Me.” He says, “The title comes from the famous song by Leslie Gore, saying, I’m in charge of my own desires, dreams. I’m responsible for my own self.” “That’s kind of obvious.” I point out. “It should be,” he replies. “Unfortunately, a lot of people ignore this and say, you’re responsible for other people, or other people must be responsible for you.” He gives examples from Hollywood. “The original ‘Wizard of Oz’ movie is this optimistic, joyful film about somebody who always had the strength within her to accomplish her dreams.” But the recent “Wizard of Oz,” “Wicked,” focuses on the Wicked Witch, who is a victim because she’s green. Her dream isn’t to do anything; it’s for others to accept her. “Very different from a film in which the character wants to accomplish something,” says Sandefur. She rejects the wizard’s offer of a seat by his side, instead asking him to help society. Sandefur says the message is, “We should not pursue our own dreams. Instead, curtail our own behavior for the benefit of society.” Likewise, in the latest “Wonder Woman” sequel, the villain grants individuals’ wishes, but that threatens the world. So Wonder Woman tells everyone to give up their wishes. That saves the day. As Sandefur puts it: “We should not want things, not desire or dream things, and that will save the world.” The flop “Strange World” is a kid’s movie about a society that relies on a power source called Pando. Leftist scriptwriters, selling climate hysteria, have the hero say: “If we want to survive, Pando has to go.” The good guys happily destroy their main source of energy. Sandefur mocks the stupidity, “Living without today’s energy technology doesn’t just mean doing without warm coffee. It means doing without ambulances when you have a heart attack, doing without an airplane to carry people’s organ transplants. Doing without today’s energy technology would be a colossal disaster for the human race. Yet the movie kind of ridicules that concern.” When woke movies fail, Hollywood often blames the audience. After remaking “Charlie’s Angels,” director Elizabeth Banks said, if this movie doesn’t make money, it’s because “men don’t go see women do action movies.” But that’s just dumb. Didn’t Banks notice that men helped make the original “Charlie’s Angels” TV series a hit? Did she not notice “Kill Bill,” “Aliens,” “Tomb Raider,” “Resident Evil” — lots of successful action movies feature female leads. “The reality,” says Sandefur, “is that people are not interested in another lame remake that satisfies all the politically correct tests.” “Films that are individualistic,” he adds, “tend to be very successful.” But “Hollywood wants to propagandize to us about the evils of individualism.” To Sandefur, the best message is: “My life is mine. I don’t exist to make other people happy.” “Sounds selfish,” I say. “It is, but it’s also true that I might want to spend my life helping other people that I love, my wife and my kids. When it comes down to it, my life belongs to me.” Every Tuesday at JohnStossel.com, Stossel posts a new video about the battle between government and freedom. He is the author of “Government Gone Wild: Exposing the Truth Behind the Headlines.”

The Trump Administration’s shockingly successful removal of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro (captured and flown out of Caracas on Saturday morning to face trial for drug trafficking in New York City) was greeted with sulky attitudes in a mainstream press unwilling to credit Trump for a move that may well drastically improve the lives of millions of Venezuelans. The New York Times has been particularly petulant on Trump's bold military maneuver. Roca News rounded up headlines from New York Times op-eds and Letters to the Editor and found an almost exclusively negative trend (links and bylines provided by NewsBusters). Here's a sampling: “Trump’s Attack on Venezuela Is Illegal and Unwise,” by the paper’s Editorial Board. “To Trump, on Venezuela: You Break It, You Own It,” by opinion columnist Thomas Friedman. “Maduro’s Ouster Plays Right Into Putin’s Hands,” by opinion columnist M. Gessen. “This Isn’t Regime Change. It’s Extortion,” by opinion columnist Michelle Goldberg. “Trump Is Unleashing Forces Beyond His Control,” by opinion columnist David French. “The Danger of Trump’s Flamboyant Violence,” by Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer Mr. Sullivan is a former national security adviser. Mr. Finer is a former principal deputy national security adviser. “Who Wins From Trump’s Venezuela Oil Gambit? Not Regular Americans,” guest essay by economist Rebecca Patterson. “‘Arrogant, Dangerous and Illegal’: Trump’s Motives for the Attack on Venezuela,” headline over the Letters to the Editor section. And NewsBusters found the paper’s news stories to be almost as bad. A sampling: Tuesday lead story: “Maduro, Appearing in U.S. Court for Arraignment, Says He Was ‘Kidnapped’ and Pleads Not Guilty.” Tuesday front-page story: “Trump’s Goals for Reviving Venezuela’s Oil Industry Will Not Come Easily or Cheaply.” Page A8 Tuesday: "Venezuela’s Legislators Offer Scorn as Trump Demands Obedience." Wednesday lead story: “Trump’s Foray Into Venezuela Could Embolden Russia’s and China’s Own Aggression.”   Wednesday front-page story: “After Maduro’s Ouster, Marco Rubio Faces the Challenge of Running Venezuela.” A story posted Wednesday, perhaps bound for Thursday’s edition: “Maduro Is Gone, but Repression in Venezuela Has Intensified.” There were a few scattered positive or more neutral headlines, such as “Returning Home No Longer Seems Out of Reach for Venezuelans in Florida” and “South Florida Is at Its Peak Political Influence After Maduro’s Capture,” both by Patricia Mazzei reporting from Florida.

Telling the truth inside the federal government now comes with a price — and Steve Friend has paid it over and over again.“I received news right before Christmas that you had been fired by the FBI,” BlazeTV host Steve Deace tells Steve Friend on the “Steve Deace Show.”It all started when Friend was assigned to what he calls “the most important, highest-priority case in the history of the FBI” — January 6. This ultimately led to Friend becoming a whistleblower in 2022 when he saw the way the government was weaponizing the law to go after American citizens.“What I found was that so few people who are currently in the employ of our federal government, in the employ of the FBI, were willing to actually stand by my side when I brought forward my concerns,” Friend tells Deace.“And that resulted in my ultimate suspension and eventually having my security clearance suspended and permanently revoked,” he explains.While Friend was promised that things would be different under the Trump administration, it hasn’t changed — and has ended in his termination from the FBI.“I get a phone call Sunday night, December 7, from the FBI that says I am to report to work the following day. And I did. I reported to work Monday, December 8,” Friend tells Deace. “Was actually driven to Jacksonville. I was not the recipient of a gun because I didn’t have an active security clearance.”“The FBI, in fact, told me they couldn’t assign me any work, and I had to be escorted around like a prisoner through the facility because they couldn’t allow me to have unfettered access to their facility. I didn’t have access to a computer, a cell phone,” he continues, noting that he did receive credentials and went to work the next few days.“I had no insurance information, no back pay, and finally was told, ‘You have 400 hours of vacation time. Feel free to use it,’” he adds.When Friend decided to use the vacation time to take his wife to Tampa for a Christmas event, he got a call asking him to come back to the office — to which he responded that he was out of pocket and couldn’t be there.“They said, ‘Okay, come back on Monday.’ An hour later, got a text message from Caitlin Doornbos, a journalist from the New York Post, that said she was working on a story about the FBI planning to fire me and wanted a comment,” he tells Deace.“So, apparently, the plan was in that they were going to bring me back as a sort of humiliation ritual to fire me, but they didn’t execute it properly because they leaked it to the media to besmirch my reputation before they had actually fired me,” he says.“Wound up getting a termination letter signed, autographed by Kash Patel himself dismissing me as an FBI agent,” he continues, adding, “and then 90 minutes later, the New York Post dropped their story, and then MAGA Inc. influencer crowd went to work to try to besmirch me and say that I had issued some sort of a veiled threat to the director but somehow got a credential and badge 72 hours later.”Want more from Steve Deace?To enjoy more of Steve's take on national politics, Christian worldview, and principled conservatism with a snarky twist, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

John Candy’s death stunned the world, but the comedian himself had anticipated his demise for decades. Ever since the death of his own father by heart attack 38 years earlier, the beloved comedian believed that he would meet a similar fate — and he did. Alan Singer/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal/Getty ImagesJohn Candy’s cause of death would probably have come as no surprise to the comedian himself, who predicted he’d die much like his father. Fans were likely shocked when John Candy died because they believed that the comedic icon was just as jovial and upbeat in real life as he was on the silver screen. Indeed, Candy was a selfless animal lover and generously contributed to numerous charities. But his warmth and generosity were matched by a pack-a-day smoking habit, toxic dietary habits, and a cocaine addiction. According to his children, however, Candy did his best to take care of himself despite his vices. Perhaps he was still deeply affected by his formative years, during which his father died at age 35 and an injury prevented him from becoming the college football player he aspired to be. But Candy found solace in comedy. He joined up with the improvisational group Second City in his native Toronto and later in Chicago. His writing work was widely recognized and awarded, and he was cast in some of the most iconic comedies of the 1980s. Just like that, Candy became a household name. As his fame skyrocketed, however, so did his vices. Then, in 1994, John Candy died suddenly while filming a movie in Mexico. He left behind two children, colleagues who remember him fondly, and movies that are Thanksgiving and Christmas staples. His life was rich and exciting, and John Candy’s death came as a blow to anyone who was touched by it. John Candy Finds Stardom — And Toxic Crutches TwitterJohn Candy started smoking a pack of cigarettes per day when he was 18. John Franklin Candy was born on Halloween in 1950 in Ontario, Canada. His parents were working-class and his father died suddenly of a heart attack when he was just five years old. His father’s heart condition and his own obesity would continue to be perilous themes in his life. Throughout school, Candy was a formidable football player and hoped to go on to play in college, but a knee injury made that impossible. So he transitioned to comedy and later enrolled in Centennial College to study journalism. But his big break came in 1972 when he was accepted as a member of the Second City comedy improvisational troupe in Toronto. He became a regular performer and writer for SCTV, the group’s television show, in 1977. And shortly after that, he was sent to Chicago to officially train with the troupe’s heavyweights. Then, John Candy’s career exploded. He went on to appear in treasured hits like The Blues Brothers (1980), Stripes (1981), and genuine blockbusters Planes, Trains And Automobiles (1987), Home Alone (1990), and JFK (1991). Getty ImagesJohn Candy (left) with SCTV costars Catherine O’Hara, Andrea Martin and Eugene Levy. But behind Candy’s reputation as a funny man was his predilection for drugs and overeating. Though he often tried to diet and exercise, Candy would turn back to bad habits. It didn’t help that Candy’s career was also largely built on playing the big funny guy. According to Carl Reiner, who directed Candy in Summer Rental in 1985, the comedian was overcome with a sense of fatalism. “He felt he had inherited in his genes a Damoclean sword,” he said, referencing the early death of Candy’s father. “So it didn’t matter what he did.” His son, Chris, added how “he grew up with heart disease… His father had a heart attack, his brother had a heart attack. It was in the family. He had trainers and would work at whatever the new diet was. I know he did his best.” But, as his brother-in-law, Frank Hober added, “It was always in the back of everyone’s mind. No one talked about it, but it was in the back of John’s mind too.” A scene from John Candy’s final film, Wagons East. Candy later admitted that his drug habit began in earnest when he moved to Chicago to perform at Second City. There, he joined the likes of Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, and John Belushi, all of who were heavy drug users. “The next thing I knew, I was in Chicago, where I learned how to drink, stay up real late, and spell ‘d-r-u-g-s,'” said John Candy. John Belushi’s fatal drug overdose made Candy quit drugs for a time. But he continued to smoke cigarettes and used food to quell his anxiety. When that didn’t work, panic and anxiety set in. Inner turmoil followed him to the set of his final film in Durango, Mexico — and hastened his demise. John Candy Dies Of Heart Failure While Filming The night before he died, John Candy reached out to several people. He called his co-stars and his children, who had no idea it would be the last time they would ever hear their father’s voice. “I was nine. It was a Friday,” his son Chris recalled. “I remember talking to him the night before he passed away and he said, ‘I love you and goodnight.’ And I will always remember that.” But his daughter Jen has a more tragic final memory of her father. “I remember my dad the night before. I was studying for a vocabulary test. I was 14. He had just come home for my 14th birthday, which is February 3, so I was talking to him on the phone, and, I hate this, but I was slightly distant because I was studying.” The Candy FamilyChris Candy with his father. The next day, on March 4, 1994, 43-year-old John Candy returned to his hotel room after a day on the set of the Western parody Wagons East. It had been a particularly good day of shooting, during which Candy reportedly believed he had just delivered one of the best performances of his career, and he celebrated by cooking his assistants a late-night dinner. Yet Candy’s son Chris recalled how everyone on set could see how his bad habits had caught up with him. “Richard Lewis, who worked with him on that movie, told me he was so much fun and so funny, but when he looked at my dad, he looked so tired.” TwitterJennifer Candy regrets being curt during their last chat before John Candy died. After dinner, Candy said goodnight to the cast and crew and retreated to his room to go to sleep. But he never woke up. John Candy died in his sleep, and his cause of death was heart failure — just like his father. His children were pulled out of Friday mass at their school, St. Martin of Tours, and told the tragic news. “I cried hysterically for five minutes, and then I stopped,” said Jennifer. “And then I was done crying in public for a while. It was a whirlwind after that point. That’s when we really knew about paparazzi because you had all the cameras.” KOMO News 4 reports on the death of John Candy. But his children also took solace in the positive outpouring at their father’s funeral. “I remember when we were ready to take him to [Holy Cross Cemetery], they blocked off [Interstate] 405 from Sunset [Boulevard] all the way to Slauson [Avenue],” said Chris. “LAPD stopped traffic and escorted us all. I still can’t believe that. Whenever I feel like I lose the importance of him to people, I just remember that happened. They do that for the president.” The Comedy World Fondly Recalls Candy Mary Margaret O’Hara sings ‘Dark, Dear Hart’ at John Candy’s funeral. Before John Candy died, his comedic skills, openness, and humility made him beloved by all audiences. “I think that’s what draws people into a lot of those characters, you felt for them,” explained his son Chris. “And that is something he came into the world with, that vulnerability.” Hollywood icons like Steve Martin and John Hughes also struggled to comprehend the reality of Candy’s death. “He was a very sweet guy, very sweet, and complicated,” Martin said. “He was always friendly, always outgoing, funny, nice, and polite. But I could tell he had kind of a little broken heart inside him. He was a brilliant actor, especially in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. I think it was his best work.” Wikimedia CommonsAfter John Candy died, he was buried in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. But Candy’s legacy was built on far more than mere movie stardom and acting talent. The comedian was a selfless contributor to charities like Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Pediatric AIDS Foundation. He rescued animals and felt a kinship to those who couldn’t change their conditions. “He liked to make people laugh and feel good,” said his daughter Jen. “And with certain kinds of charity work, especially with kids, he could do that, and that made him feel good.” In October 2020, Toronto Mayor John Tory declared the actor’s birthday “John Candy Day.” “As much as he is gone,” said Jen, “he is not gone. He is always there.” After learning about how John Candy died, read about a similarly devastating demise, the death of James Dean. Then, learn about funnyman Phil Hartman’s death by murder-suicide. The post How Did John Candy Die? Inside The Beloved Comedian’s Tragic Death appeared first on All That's Interesting.

The Polly Klaas FoundationPolly Klaas was killed by a career criminal named Richard Allen Davis. Polly Klaas was just 12 years old when she was kidnapped during a slumber party at her Petaluma, California home on Oct. 1, 1993. Polly’s disappearance quickly captured national attention, but her family went about two months with no answers as to where the young girl was. Finally, answers came on Dec. 4, 1993, when Polly Klaas’ kidnapper Richard Allen Davis admitted to abducting and strangling Polly. He also led the police to Polly’s remains in a shallow grave near Cloverdale. Though Davis was later convicted of murder and sentenced to death, no punishment could ever bring Polly back. Her horrific murder triggered outrage from the public, especially since Davis had been released on parole before killing Polly — despite the fact that he had a history of kidnapping. This helped fuel a number of new “tough on crime” laws across America, including California’s “Three Strikes and You’re Out” law, aimed at preventing another terrible tragedy like Polly Klaas’ murder. But many people — including Polly’s own sisters — have expressed concern that some of these laws have strayed from the original good intentions behind them. The Horrific Kidnapping Of Polly Klaas At The Hands Of Richard Allen Davis Polly Klaas was born on Jan. 3, 1981 in Fairfax, California. Her parents, Marc Klaas and Eve Nichol, eventually divorced, and Polly was staying at her mother’s home in Petaluma, California at the time of her abduction. On Oct. 1, 1993, Polly had a sleepover at her mom’s home with two friends. As Polly and her friends enjoyed their slumber party, Polly’s mother and sister fell asleep in the adjacent room. Then, a man broke into the home. Around 10:30 p.m., Richard Allen Davis, an ex-convict on parole, climbed through a window in the home and entered Polly’s bedroom. Armed with a knife, Davis soon threatened to kill the three girls. The Polly Klaas FoundationShortly before Polly Klaas was abducted by Richard Allen Davis, she reportedly pleaded with her kidnapper: “My mom and sister are in the next room. Please don’t hurt them.” Ultimately, Davis bound and gagged Polly’s friends before abducting Polly at knifepoint. Polly’s friends were later able to untie themselves, after which they alerted Polly’s mother to what happened. And just like that, Polly Klaas had been kidnapped. But it wasn’t the first time Davis had committed such a crime. In fact, he was a career criminal who had a long history of theft, burglary, assault — and kidnapping. Back in 1976, he had abducted a young woman at knifepoint near Oakland, and in 1984, he kidnapped yet another woman from Redwood City before forcing her to take out $6,000 from her bank account. Not only was he caught and convicted, but he was also sentenced to 16 years in prison. However, Davis was eventually released early on parole — shortly before he abducted and murdered 12-year-old Polly Klaas. An Abduction And Murder That Captured The Nation’s Attention People MagazineA People magazine cover from 1993, discussing Polly Klaas’ kidnapping and murder. Soon after Polly Klaas’ mother called the police to report Polly’s abduction, a nationwide search began for the young girl and her kidnapper. Throughout October and November of 1993, Polly’s loved ones banded together to help the authorities find her. The case also caught the attention of actress Winona Ryder, who was raised in Petaluma. Ryder offered a $200,000 reward for anyone who could safely return Polly. Though thousands of volunteers joined forces with investigators to track down Polly, the young girl was sadly already dead. It was later revealed that Polly had been murdered by her abductor just hours after he’d taken her. Shockingly, Polly’s kidnapper and killer, Richard Allen Davis, had also encountered the police soon after the abduction. A woman named Dana Jaffe reported a “disheveled” and “panic-stricken” man whose car was stuck in a ditch near her home in Santa Rosa. The police let him go without checking his criminal history — as that wasn’t the standard practice at that time — and about two months later, Jaffe found girls’ clothing while hiking on her property. YouTubeRichard Allen Davis showed no remorse for his crime and even flipped off Polly’s family during his murder trial. Dana Jaffe quickly called the police again, reminding them about the suspicious stranger she had seen back in October, and authorities soon realized that he had a lengthy criminal history, including kidnapping. Forensic evidence collected from Polly’s home and Jaffe’s property pointed to Davis being Polly’s abductor, including a palm print found at the crime scene that was a match for Davis. On Dec. 4, 1993, Davis himself admitted to kidnapping her and strangling her in his car before hiding her body in a field. Soon after his confession, he led the authorities to Polly’s remains, which were hidden in a shallow grave near Highway 101 by Cloverdale. By 1996, Davis had been found guilty of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to death, and he remains on death row to this day (he eventually tried to apply for resentencing, but this was denied in 2024). The Aftermath Of Polly Klaas’ Murder Polly Klaas’ murder sparked the creation of the Polly Klaas Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting vulnerable youths, recovering missing children, and keeping kids safe in their communities. Polly’s father Marc Klaas founded the KlaasKids Foundation in 1994 amidst his grief, helping to raise awareness of other cases of missing children and working to stop crimes against other kids. That foundation ran for 30 years. Marc Klaas has also made a name for himself as an advocate for the death penalty. Shortly after his daughter’s killer was sentenced, Marc Klaas said, “The last thing Polly saw before she died was Richard Allen Davis’ eyes. The last thing Richard Allen Davis will see is my eyes, I hope.” Meanwhile, public outrage surrounding Polly Klaas’ murder also inspired a number of “tough on crime” laws across America. One notable law was California’s “Three Strikes and You’re Out,” which was approved in 1994. This law was meant to establish life sentences for all felonies if the defendant in question had two prior convictions for serious or violent crimes. The Polly Klaas FoundationPolly Klaas’ sisters have spoken out against some of the laws that emerged after their sibling’s murder. However, that law eventually became mired in controversy. According to The Guardian, “Three Strikes” not only led to a major increase in California’s prison population, but over 7,500 people were sentenced to life in prison within the first decade after the law passed — and nearly half of those people were sentenced for relatively minor and nonviolent offenses. Polly Klaas’ own sisters, Jess and Annie Nichol, were later horrified to learn that “Three Strikes” was often disproportionately applied to defendants with disabilities and mental illness and that some defendants had received life sentences after committing crimes as minor as stealing baby shoes. In recent years, “Three Strikes” has undergone modifications in the hopes of protecting people from being unfairly targeted or harshly punished for nonviolent crimes. Meanwhile, Jess and Annie Nichol have focused on emphasizing the prevention of violent crimes from happening in the first place. They also hope to improve treatment for survivors. “There’s the trauma of losing Polly and then there’s the trauma of how her death was used to punish other people,” Jess Nichol told The Guardian in 2022. “We don’t want our pain to be used to punish anyone else.” The sisters also launched a podcast called A New Legacy, meant to discuss alternatives to mass incarceration, issues with the criminal justice system, and the hopes for a new legacy connected to Polly Klaas’ tragically short life. “There’s an underlying assumption that the thing that victims want is the harshest sentencing for the people who caused harm. And that’s really the only option,” Jess Nichol said. “It’s this revengeful ‘eye for an eye’ culture. I’ve come to realize we don’t really have a ‘department of corrections and rehabilitation.’ It’s a ‘department of punishment and revenge.'” After reading about the kidnapping and murder of Polly Klaas, learn about the horrific death of Cherish Perrywinkle at the hands of a convicted pedophile. Then, read about Gary Plauché, the Louisiana dad who took deadly revenge on his son’s rapist on live television. The post Inside The Brutal Murder Of Polly Klaas, The 12-Year-Old Kidnapped From A Slumber Party appeared first on All That's Interesting.