CNN: Dastardly Right Wing 'Freaks' Take Advantage Of Our Bias!

Fifteen observatories across the US, Mexico, and Hawai’i looked at the planet eclipsing a star.

National Public Radio’s “roving national correspondent” Frank Langfitt uncovered the least surprising story of the week: Liberal professors think Trump is a tyrant. The actual headline for the Tuesday morning text report read “Hundreds of scholars say U.S. is swiftly heading toward authoritarianism.” It’s laughable to portray left-wing campus professors as agents of democracy when academe is incredibly one-sided, but NPR took the survey all too seriously. A survey of more than 500 political scientists finds that the vast majority think the United States is moving swiftly from liberal democracy toward some form of authoritarianism. In the benchmark survey, known as Bright Line Watch, U.S.-based professors rate the performance of American democracy on a scale from zero (complete dictatorship) to 100 (perfect democracy). After President Trump's election in November, scholars gave American democracy a rating of 67. Several weeks into Trump's second term, that figure plummeted to 55. "That's a precipitous drop," says John Carey, a professor of government at Dartmouth and co-director of Bright Line Watch. "There's certainly consensus: We're moving in the wrong direction." And when did this survey began collating scholarly opinion on the state of American democracy? During Trump’s first year in office, of course! Carey said the decline between November and February was the biggest since Bright Line Watch began surveying scholars on threats to American democracy in 2017. In the survey, respondents consider 30 indicators of democratic performance, including whether the government interferes with the press, punishes political opponents and whether the legislature and the judiciary can check executive authority. Not all political scientists view Trump with alarm, but many like Carey who focus on democracy and authoritarianism are deeply troubled by Trump's attempts to expand executive power over his first several months in office. .... When these scholars use the term "authoritarianism," they aren't talking about a system like China's, a one-party state with no meaningful elections. Instead, they are referring to something called "competitive authoritarianism," the kind scholars say they see in countries such as Hungary and Turkey. The group’s definition of “competitive authoritarianism” seemed suspiciously curated to fit a certain president, though the study also found "Democrats are more supportive of aggressive action – including violence – against corporate CEOs in the name of economic justice than are Republicans..." But don't wait up for a story on that inconvenient statistic, at least not on taxpayer-funded NPR. In a competitive authoritarian system, a leader comes to power democratically and then erodes the system of checks and balances. Typically, the executive fills the civil service and key appointments -- including the prosecutor's office and judiciary -- with loyalists. He or she then attacks the media, universities and nongovernmental organizations to blunt public criticism and tilt the electoral playing field in the ruling party's favor. Once again, feel free to smirk at the idea that only Trump used loyalist prosecutors to try and tilt the electoral playing field. NPR allowed one dissenting voice. While the vast majority of scholars surveyed say Trump is pushing the country toward autocracy, other professors strongly disagree. James Campbell, a retired political scientist at the University at Buffalo, SUNY, says Trump is using legitimate presidential powers to address long-standing problems. Campbell points to Trump's use of tariffs to try to push companies to bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States....Campbell adds that he thinks many political scientists may see Trump as autocratic because they don't like him or his politics. Then the litany of Trump’s alleged anti-democratic actions resumed. In another example, Trump has withheld or threatened to withhold billions of dollars from universities, including Harvard, Princeton and Columbia, citing concerns about antisemitism. Scheppele says Orbán also targeted universities that had been critical of his government. And yet the Obama administration used the same levers of federal control to pressure universities to adhere to #MeToo standards of prosecuting alleged sexual misconduct by students, violating due process procedures to applause from the left and the approval of the press.

Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen’s shameless trip to El Salvador, to bring back illegal immigrant and accused MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia to his Maryland constituents, prompted the Big Three (ABC, CBS, NBC) networks to extend their exhaustive “mistakenly” deported “Maryland man” coverage. From April 1 through the morning of April 23, ABC, CBS, NBC jammed their evening and morning shows with a total of 143 minutes, 24 seconds devoted to Abrego Garcia.  ABC spent the most time (52 minutes, 32 seconds) on Kilmar Abrego Garcia. CBS came in second with 49 minutes, 26 seconds. NBC aired 41 minutes, 45 seconds on the deported man’s case. Over that same time period, another Maryland illegal immigration case — the trial and April 14 conviction of the murderer of Rachel Morin — was almost completely ignored by the networks.  So how much time did the networks devote to the Morin case?  A pathetic 12 seconds.  The sum total coverage of Morin came in a blink-and-you missed it mention on the April 16 NBC Nightly News.  ABC and CBS spent zero seconds on Morin. Another way to look at it? The networks spent 717 times more coverage on Abrego Garcia.  Not even Rachel Morin’s mother’s condemnation of Sen. Chris Van Hollen — in front of the White House press corps — could spike network coverage of her daughter’s tragic murder at the hands of an illegal immigrant.  However, Sen. Van Hollen’s political stunt did excite the networks.      The April 18 edition of ABC’s Good Morning America had an interview with Abrego Garcia’s wife. Co-host and former Clinton official George Stephanopoulos teased: “We’re going to get the latest now on the showdown over the Maryland man who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador. Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador to meet with Kilmar Abrego Garcia as he presses for the prisoner’s release and an appeals court weighs in.” ABC chief White House correspondent Mary Bruce gushed it was “remarkable” to see “Kilmar Abrego Garcia seated across from Maryland Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, the first images of the wrongfully deported Maryland man since we last saw him, head shaved and shackled, held in that notorious prison in El Salvador.”  Over on the April 18 edition of NBC’s Today show, senior White House correspondent Garrett Haake played the sympathy card: “Garcia’s wife said overnight that her prayers have been answered now that she knows her husband is still alive, but he’s also still not coming back to Maryland.” Sadly that same kind of sympathy has been hard to come by when it comes to the family of Rachel Morin on the networks.  While the Sunday roundtable shows were outside the study parameter, it should be noted that Sen. Chris Van Hollen made appearances on all three programs on on April 20.  Sen. Van Hollen was NEVER asked about Rachel Morin on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos or CBS’s Face The Nation.  However, NBC’s Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker did play a clip of Morin’s mother at the White House and asked Van Hollen to respond.  For this study MRC analysts looked at the broadcast evening (ABC World News Tonight, CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News) and morning news shows (ABC’s Good Morning America, CBS Mornings, CBS Saturday Morning, CBS Sunday Morning, NBC Today, NBC Sunday Today) from April 1 through the morning of April 23.

On Tuesday, it was ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel’s turn to be the late night comedian who fawned over his Democratic guest. The guest in question was Rep. Jasmine Crockett, and Kimmel began their interview by telling her, “I think it's fair to say you're the most entertaining member of Congress right now.” Apparently, Kimmel’s definition of entertaining means making fun of disabled people and calling black Republicans Uncle Toms. Nevertheless, Kimmel wondered, “Is that something that you—do you intentionally—because you know people will pay attention more if something is kind of funny or if it's delivered a natural way?”     Crockett claimed she is simply doing what people want, “I think that people are over politicians trying to politic. I think that they want people to—to truly represent them and their frustration and the annoyance and even some of, like, the comical stuff. Like, look at Pete, right? 'Cause we love DUI hires, right?” She also lamented, “People are like, 'Yo, this is a joke, right?' No, it's not. It's like this terrible nightmare. And literally, I really do know that it is a nightmare for so many people. Not just here but across the world. I get emails from all over this world with people that are fearful because of the lack of leadership that they're seeing right now on the federal level here in the United States.” Naturally, Kimmel agreed, “Lack of leadership, we're stripping—stripping the country down, we're really—I don't know if that we'll ever know how much damage will have been done, because some of the things are very much under the radar.” Kimmel also worried, “And you get to see that kind of stuff. You get to see the things that are being taken away. These important things—these things that are important to Americans that aren't—I mean, we do pay attention to Pete Hegseth, we pay attention to Elon Musk and whatnot, but the little things are the things that are really—are terrifying, aren't they?” Crockett affirmed Kimmel’s fears, “No, it really is. But let me tell you something. We really don't know how much damage they're causing. When I tell you that the level of incompetence is almost, like, incomprehensible, it is so bad. And when you bring up the idiot known as Elon Musk, he is not only, like, very sinister and has no idea what he's doing, and people are like, 'Oh, no, he absolutely knows 'cause he's the richest man in the world!' Like, yes, he knows how to hire smart people, but don't conflate that and believe he is the genius, because he ain't, and so, he has inflicted so much harm and done so much that even Trump don't want to talk about it. When is the last time you heard about Elon?” Earlier, during his monologue, Kimmel took on the subject of the upcoming papal conclave, “I'll tell you how it works. Over the next few weeks, 135 flamboyantly dressed cardinals will gather to pass judgment on a series of aspiring candidates. In a lot of ways, it's the Catholic version of RuPaul's Drag Race.” Meanwhile, Kimmel continues to blow smoke whenever he has Democratic guests on. Here is a transcript for the April 22 show: ABC Jimmy Kimmel Live! 4/22/2025 11:36 PM ET JIMMY KIMMEL: The search for a new pope is about to begin and nobody’s going to be more insufferable this week than your friend who saw the movie Conclave and now knows everything about how it works. I'll tell you how it works. Over the next few weeks, 135 flamboyantly dressed cardinals will gather to pass judgment on a series of aspiring candidates. In a lot of ways, it's the Catholic version of Rupaul's Drag Race. … 12:23 AM ET KIMMEL: I think it's fair to say you're the most entertaining member of Congress right now.  JASMINE CROCKETT: I don't know. KIMMEL: Is that something that you — do you intentionally — because you know people will pay attention more if something is kind of funny or if it's delivered a natural way? CROCKETT: I think that people are over politicians trying to politic. I think that they want people to — to truly represent them and their frustration and the annoyance and even some of, like, the comical stuff. Like, look at Pete, right? 'Cause we love DUI hires, right? I mean, I think that it's fair. People are like, “Yo, this is a joke, right?” No, it's not. It's like this terrible nightmare. And literally, I really do know that it is a nightmare for so many people. Not just here but across the world. I get emails from all over this world with people that are fearful because of the lack of leadership that they're seeing right now on the federal level here in the United States. KIMMEL: Lack of leadership, we're stripping — stripping the country down, we're really — I don't know if that we'll ever know how much damage will have been done, because some of the things are very much under the radar. CROCKETT: Yeah. KIMMEL: And you get to see that kind of stuff. You get to see the things that are being taken away. These important — these things that are important to Americans that aren't — I mean, we do pay attention to Pete Hegseth, we pay attention to Elon Musk and whatnot, but the little things are the things that are really — are terrifying, aren't they? CROCKETT: No, it really is. But let me tell you something. We really don't know how much damage they're causing. When I tell you that the level of incompetence is almost, like, incomprehensible, it is so bad. And when you bring up the idiot known as Elon Musk, he is not only, like, very sinister and has no idea what he's doing, and people are like, “Oh, no, he absolutely knows 'cause he's the richest man in the world!” Like, yes, he knows how to hire smart people, but don't conflate that and believe he is the genius, because he ain't, and so, he has inflicted so much harm and done so much that even Trump don't want to talk about it. When is the last time you heard about Elon? KIMMEL: Not much, you don't see him that much. CROCKETT: No, no, you ain't been hearing about him. KIMMEL: You think Trump is distancing himself from Elon Musk? CROCKETT: Yeah, because as soon as people started to look at his ratings, right? He continues to have these failing ratings. So, now they're like, “oh, get rid of Elon”. Let me tell you, the stench ain't getting off of you, Trump, honey. Like, You are a problem, he is a problem, Pete is a — all y'all a problem.

A new report from the Daily Wire reveals that Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott had a hand in making Colony Ridge, the controversial Texas development area, a designated Opportunity Zone after rubbing elbows with a Colony Ridge executive.The Opportunity Zone program, created early in President Donald Trump's first term, helps encourage private funding for low-income areas by offering enticing tax incentives to investors. Five years after an initial investment in an Opportunity Zone, a portion of the capital gains earned on the investment can be exempted from taxes. After 10 years, all capital gains are tax-exempt, the Daily Wire explained.According to documents acquired by the Daily Wire through public information requests, Abbott sent a letter to then-Treasury Sec. Steven Mnuchin on March 21, 2018, asking the Treasury Department to consider designating the census tract that includes Colony Ridge an Opportunity Zone.On April 6, 2018, Abbott sent a second letter on the topic, and by April 10, he had sent a third letter.'There is no evidence to suggest Abbott was aware of the Colony Ridge business model.'By happenstance, William "Trey" Harris, a co-owner of Colony Ridge, and state Sen. Brandon Creighton (R) had attended a luncheon at the governor's mansion on April 4, about two weeks after Abbott's first letter and just two days before his second letter.Harris and Abbott have not commented on the conversation during that luncheon, and Creighton could only recall to the Daily Wire discussions about "the history of the grounds" of the mansion and "the property and the home itself."However, by July 2018, the IRS had approved the Colony Ridge census tract to be considered an Opportunity Zone, just a couple of weeks after Trey Harris made his first direct donation — a cool $100,000 or so — to Abbott's campaign coffers. His wife, Celeste Harris, had already donated a similar amount on March 19, two days before Abbott sent the first letter.Trey Harris made multiple appearances at the governor's mansion in 2018. He attended a "summer kickoff fiesta" in May as well as a reception in December.All told, Mr. and Mrs. Harris contributed approximately $1.5 million to Abbott between 2018 and 2022, good enough to make Trey Harris Abbott's 15th highest individual donor, the Daily Wire said.Despite these connections, Abbott denied that Harris alone prompted him to advocate on behalf of the Colony Ridge-area census tract. Other individuals likewise hoped for the Opportunity Zone tag, spokesman Andrew Mahaleris told the Daily Wire.Moreover, the Opportunity Zone designation "did not create" the problems at the Colony Ridge development, Mahaleris added. "Governor Abbott is ensuring safety there and across the state," he continued. "Governor Abbott directed the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to investigate any potential environmental issues in Colony Ridge, whether it be air, water, or land."The Daily Wire noted that "there is no evidence to suggest Abbott was aware of the Colony Ridge business model, which openly targets immigrant populations." Still, the development has highlighted its Opportunity Zone designation — brought about in part by Abbott — in multiple ad campaigns.A Colony Ridge representative declined a request for comment from the Daily Wire.'He’s a politician; it is what it is. He’s got to cover his butt first.'Dubbed "the world's largest trailer park," Colony Ridge has made national headlines in recent years after residents — many of whom are in the U.S. illegally — began complaining about inadequate infrastructure, fetid water, crumbling roads, and rampant crime, as Blaze News previously reported.In February, federal law enforcement agents raided the area, nabbing 118 individuals who were either suspected or convicted of heinous crimes, including murder and child sexual abuse. Many of the arrestees were also illegal aliens.At the time, Abbott celebrated news of the raid, claiming he and border czar Tom Homan had been planning it "for months."Spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris indicated to the Daily Wire that Abbott will continue to help federal, state, and local officers enforce the law in Colony Ridge."These teams will coordinate with Homeland Security agencies to track down the thousands of illegal immigrants with active warrants across Texas and deport them from our country," Mahaleris said.Abbott has attempted to distance himself from Colony Ridge, and Trey Harris has since apparently withdrawn his financial support. "He’s a politician; it is what it is. He’s got to cover his butt first," Harris told the New York Times in 2023. "But don’t expect a million dollars next year. It ain’t happening again, brother."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Democrats have centered their opposition to the Trump administration's deportation of foreign gangsters under the Alien Enemies Act on the case of MS-13 associate Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national sent packing on March 15. The tale they have attempted to tell with the assistance of willing elements of the liberal media is one of an innocent "Maryland man" traduced — an immigrant wrongfully detained, wrongfully deported, and wrongfully imprisoned in his home country. While this narrative has already collapsed under the weight of numerous troubling facts about Abrego Garcia — his illegal entry into the U.S.; his admitted failure to appear for hearings on traffic violations; the domestic abuse allegations lodged against him; his affiliation with a terrorist gang; and the determination by two courts that he poses a danger to the community — it appears there is yet more dirt on the supposed innocent whom Democrats seek to bring back into the United States. According to court and Homeland Security Department intelligence documents reviewed by Just the News, the vehicle Abrego Garcia was driving when pulled over by police in 2022 was owned by a human trafficker. 'Vehicle is used by HSI Baltimore target in human smuggling/trafficking operation.' The Tennessee Star revealed in a damning report last week that Tennessee Highway Patrol pulled Abrego Garcia over in late 2022 for driving erratically and discovered that he was transporting seven passengers from Texas to Maryland. The THP officer realized that the Salvadoran national, who did not have a valid driver's license at the time, was on a terrorist watch list but not on a deportation list. One of Abrego Garcia's passengers also was apparently on a terrorist watch list. The officer, concerned that the MS-13 associate was engaged in human trafficking — his suspicion piqued by the passengers' lack of luggage — notified the Biden FBI, which instructed him to take pictures of Abrego Garcia and his passengers, then to release them. At the time, DHS intelligence created a record of the encounter. Documents reviewed by Just the News indicate that the black 2001 Chevrolet Suburban that Abrego Garcia was driving had been flagged by the Homeland Security Investigations Baltimore field office as belonging to a suspected human trafficker. "Vehicle is used by HSI Baltimore target in human smuggling/trafficking operation. Vehicle makes trips to southern border to pick up noncitizens," said the record. The DHS identified the owner of the SUV that Abrego Garcia was driving as Jose Ramon Hernandez Reyes — an illegal alien from Mexico who Abrego Garcia told a state trooper was his boss. Hernandez Reyes pleaded guilty on June 4, 2020, to smuggling illegal aliens. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Mississippi indicated that Hernandez Reyes was pulled over on Dec. 4, 2019, in a white minivan he had rented, which was carrying seven illegal aliens — including three who were previously deported or removed from the U.S. — from Houston, Texas, to different locations around the country. Abrego Garcia's alleged boss was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment and three years of supervised release. Following his prison sentence, he was scheduled for removal proceedings. It appears the illegal alien whom Democrats are desperate to return to the U.S. may have picked up where his alleged boss left off. Despite Abrego Garcia's record, Democrats continue to throw their support behind him. Democratic Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen traveled last week at taxpayers' expense to El Salvador, where he demanded Abrego Garcia's release from the country's Terrorism Confinement Center and shared an intimate moment with the Salvadoran national over drinks. On Monday, Democratic Reps. Robert Garcia (Calif.), Maxwell Frost (Fla.), Yassamin Ansari (Ariz.), and Maxine Dexter (Ore.) followed in Van Hollen's footsteps but were denied a similar opportunity to dine with the MS-13 associate. Before returning to the U.S., they impotently demanded that President Donald Trump "bring Kilmar Abrego Garcia home now." Democratic National Committee Vice Chair David Hogg rushed to defend the MS-13 associate on Sunday, telling Trump's former chief of staff Reince Priebus, "This was not an MS-13 gang member, and you damn well know that. He was not." Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz's daughter recently appeared to liken Abrego Garcia to Jesus Christ and suggested that "this administration would have already taken [Jesus] and removed him from this country without due process." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

If you’re still waiting for more Path of Exile 2 changes to roll out before returning to Grinding Gear Games’ ARPG sequel, there’s plenty of choice. Last Epoch Season 2 is a real winner, and a perfect excuse to discover the fighty newcomer’s excellent additions to the genre. Torchlight Infinite Sandlord splashes a little city builder into the fast-paced free Steam game. Diablo 4 Season 8 is also around the corner. But if all you want is Path of Exile 3.26, GGG has a delightful little stopgap for you to make the wait more bearable once the current Legacy of Phrecia event ends. Continue reading While we wait on Path of Exile 3.26, new custom leagues are here to fill the gap MORE FROM PCGAMESN: PoE 3.25 details, Best free PC games, Best ARPG games

Especially in the wake of Call of Duty 4, we had a surfeit of gray-brown military shooters - Battlefield 3, the rebooted Medal of Honor, and of course Black Ops and the direct Modern Warfare sequels defined the mid-’00s FPS aesthetic. It got samey. But the backlash was too severe. Today’s shooters practice a banal visual maximalism, with loud colors, big shapes, and cartoon characters. Even the ostensibly more-grounded FPS games, like Counter-Strike 2, Far Cry, and present-day CoD, have strayed into neo-psychadelia. And that’s just part of the problem. Loot boxes. Microtransactions. Empty customization. Wraith Ops, a new shooter published by Hell Let Loose’s Team17, is coming to challenge it all. Continue reading New FPS game Wraith Ops wants to fix the worst problems in modern shooters MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best FPS games, Best multiplayer games, Best war games

How does Oblivion Remastered lockpicking work? The lockpicking minigame from Oblivion was always a polarizing subject, with some players saying it was too finicky and others insisting that it was just right. Lockpicking is an important skill to master in Oblivion Remastered, as many of the RPG's secrets are behind closed (and locked, obviously) doors. With Oblivion Remastered stealthily dropping in our laps, players have had to quickly re-learn skills they may not have used for quite some time, one of which being that a particular flick of the wrist and distinctive clunk sound that accompanies the cracking of a lock, or in some cases, the maddening snap of a broken lockpick. Here are some tips for lockpicking in the RPG, and where you can find yourself some new picks if the need arises. Continue reading Oblivion Remastered lockpicking explained MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Oblivion Remastered quest list, Oblivion Remastered mods, How long is Oblivion Remastered?