On Monday morning, the major broadcast networks threw a pity party for illegal immigrants living in the Charlotte, North Carolina area and gripping with “fear” and “rising tensions” as the Trump administration launched Operation Charlotte’s Web over the weekend. In a tease, NBC’s Today co-host Savannah Guthrie knocked Charlotte as having experienced “southern discomfort” with “[f]ederal agents making dozens of arrests in Charlotte over the weekend, the newest flash point in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.” Guthrie also committed one of the oldest pieces of liberal media bias, refusing to give party ID (Democrat) as she boasted “North Carolina’s governor condemn[ed] the tactics.” She later cued up correspondent Ryan Chandler by citing “mounting tensions” in the Queen City with Chandler fretting “[i]t was a weekend of protests and some public clashes between Charlotte residents and Border Patrol agents who have been making swift arrests across the city” with local officials unsure of “what Border Patrol may plan to do next.” Chandler took the side of poor illegal aliens, hook, line and sinker: NBC’s ‘Today’ sent correspondent Ryan Chandler down to cover #OperationCharlottesWeb, boasting ICE met “defiance in the streets” and “Governor Josh Stein pushing back” amid “rising tensions” over the raids and “Hispanic-owned businesses shutter[ing] out of fear.” Chandler also… pic.twitter.com/Y6P53F5tz3 — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) November 17, 2025   Chandler barely mentioned any support for or defense of the raids: “The Department of Homeland Security says the mission is about public safety, blaming sanctuary policies for releasing people on immigration detainers. Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino said among those arrested are violent criminals and people with removal orders.” He tossed a softball at the pastor of a Hispanic church seeing empty seats: “What are you hearing from your community today?” The emotional pastor replied: “There’s a lot of people in fear right now. They’re scared about — to go and — because the situation right now and — yeah, it has been tough. It’s been rough this weekend.” Chandler concluded by planting more seeds of fear: Now, a big question on a lot of parent’s minds this morning, what might this mean as kids head back to school? Well, Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Districts tell us they do plan to operate normally, saying that they’ve been given no official notice that Border Patrol plans to operate on their properties. ABC’s Good Morning America wasn’t going to be left out. Co-host and former Clinton official George Stephanopoulos bragged in his own tease of “[f]ierce pushback as Customs and Border Patrol agents descend on Charlotte, North Carolina.” Correspondent Faith Abubey was on scene to insist “North Carolina’s largest city is waking up on edge with the surge of Border Patrol agents here on the ground...striking fear and some backlash here in this community.”     “This morning, dozens of people rounded up in an immigration crackdown in Charlotte, North Carolina. Customs and Border Patrol [sic] agents descending on the city...Masked agents seen here smashing this car window, ordering the man inside to get out. The man, Willie Aceituno, telling our affiliate WSOC he was stopped twice Saturday morning but was released both times after showing proof he’s a U.S. citizen,” she added. Abubey, however, was the only network correspondent to mention Department of Homeland Security’s pushback on the worship of Aceituno, arguing “he was,” in Abubey’s summation, “interferring with their operation.” She also stuck up for illegals by citing a New York Times investigation (click “expand”): Throughout the administration crackdown across the country, officials say they’re targeting individuals with criminal records, “the worst of the worst.” But federal data obtained from a Freedom of Information Act request lawsuit and published by The New York Times show fewer than 40 percent of those detained by ICE, which is leading DHS’s nationwide crackdown, had criminal convictions. Roughly eight percent have been convicted of a violent crime. Overnight, a DHS spokesperson insisting the stats are “horrendously misleading” and that the majority of those arrested by ICE “have convictions or pending criminal charges.” And, Robin, agents detained at least 80 people over the weekend. There were protests but no major clashes between the agents and the community. DHS hasn’t said exactly how long the operation will last, but sources tell ABC News it could be short and New Orleans, another Democrat led city maybe next[.] Finally, CBS Mornings started their coverage with co-host Gayle King emphasizing “the raids” having faced “protests and objections from local leaders in the city that prides itself on welcoming immigrants.” Correspondent Skyler Henry was CBS’s man on the ground and featured sound from one activist who unintentionally gave away the game illegal immigrants play by flocking to the U.S. to have children and thus demand be allowed to stay (click “expand”): HENRY: Federal immigration agents swept across Charlotte over the weekend, from landscaping gigs to shopping centers, arresting 81 people on Saturday alone. And, yesterday, the Department of Homeland Security said a U.S. citizen drove a large van at law enforcement mid operation, ramming cars and injuring an officer before he was arrested.” PROTESTERS: Abolish ICE! Abolish ICE! HENRY: Immigration raids drew protests in a strongly Democratic city where around 18 percent of residents were born outside the U.S. CARLOS MAGÑA: A lot of friends and acquaintances who said that they’re not going out. They’re having their kids who are citizens go and pick up their — their clothes and food for them. HENRY: Customs and Border Protection Chief of Patrol Gregory Bovino uploaded photos of several people who were apprehended, claiming they are in the country illegally and outlining their alleged criminal histories. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am a citizen! HENRY: But in videos posted online, some who were detained said they do have legal status. [WINDOW SMASHED] That includes Willie Aceituno, who was filming as federal agents broke a window of his truck before detaining him Saturday even though he said he was a citizen. “they threw me to the ground and I always have my papers with me in my bag,” he said. “They didn’t care. I told them many times.” Once the agents did look at his documents, Aceituno said he was allowed to walk back to his car. Like Chandler refused to denote Governor Stein as a Democrat, Henry played two soundbites of Mecklenburg County Board Commissioners Chairman Mark Jerrell, but left out he’s a Democrat. To see the relevant transcripts from November 17, click here (for ABC), here (for CBS), and here (for NBC).

We’ve got a new interactive series called Worst Media Take of the Week, where you — our loyal NewsBusters visitors and MRC supporters — get to vote on which leftist journalist or celebrity had the worst media take 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 Take of the Week are in and the winner is… Sunny Hostin! The ABC’s The View co-host won with 54 percent of the vote. Hostin took first place for blasting the Democrats for backing down on the shutdown, as she claimed they “caved” to President Donald Trump’s “cruelty.” MSNBC host Joe Scarborough came in second place with 32 percent. PBS contributor Jonathan Capehart finished in third place with 14 percent. The following is a montage of all the nominees:      WINNER (54 percent of the vote)   Sunny Hostin: Democrats “Caved” to Trump’s “Cruelty” “This was a choice by Republicans to cut SNAP benefits! This was a choice Republicans to cut ACA subsidies! This was a choice by the Republicans to gut the federal government and federal employment! Democrats had nothing to do with it. I want an opposition party! I think the Democrats caved! I think the Democrats let down the American people!...We’re not gonna get better, because with Donald Trump the cruelty is the point! He does not care! It’s a Republican choice!”— Co-host Sunny Hostin on ABC’s The View, November 10.   SECOND PLACE (32 percent of the vote)   Joe Scarborough: Democrats Backing Down on Shutdown Amongst “Great Retreats” Like George Washington, Dunkirk   “Sometimes….strategic retreats actually lead to eventual victory….When George Washington retreated from Long Island in 1776. That retreat helped us eventually win the Revolutionary War….There have been movies made about Dunkirk. I mean, one of the great retreats in the history of modern warfare allowed the British to live to fight another day.…Why did these Democrats do what they did?...Because Democrats, unlike a lot of Republicans, actually care about the hungry. They just do. Are Republicans going to be rewarded because they don’t give a damn about helping the hungry in their own districts?”— Host Joe Scarborough on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, November 10.   THIRD PLACE (14 percent of the vote)   Jonathan Capehart: “There’s a Meanness and a Cruelty” to Trump’s Shutdown Strategy “There’s a meanness and a cruelty here when you put all of these things together, using the shutdown, using these things to pressure Democrats to come to the table and come up with a deal.”— Contributor Jonathan Capehart on PBS News Hour, November 7.   Thanks again to all who participated!    Funded by James P. Jimirro

A Texas woman accused of sex trafficking women for her former financier boss has temporarily lost her teacher certification, according to a new report. As Blaze News noted in September, a former famed Wall Street financier with money ties to George Soros is accused of torturing women at a secret BDSM sex "dungeon," according to authorities.'During many of these encounters, Rubin brutalized women's bodies, causing them to fear for their safety and/or resulting in significant pain and injuries.'On Sept. 26, FBI agents arrested 70-year-old Howard Rubin at his home in Fairfield, Connecticut. On the same day, FBI agents also arrested Rubin's alleged personal assistant — 46-year-old Jennifer Powers — at her home in Southlake, Texas.The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York said in a statement released in September, "A 10-count indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging retired New York-based financier, Howard Rubin, also known as 'Howie' and 'H,' along with his personal assistant, Jennifer Powers, with sex trafficking and transporting women in interstate commerce for sex acts with Rubin."Rubin — a former high-profile money manager at Salomon Brothers, Bear Stearns, and Merrill Lynch — was also charged with bank fraud in "connection with misrepresentations made to a bank in the course of financing Powers' mortgage for the Texas home of Powers and her husband."If convicted of sex trafficking, Rubin and Powers each face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years behind bars. Rubin and Powers face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted of transporting women to engage in commercial sex acts. Rubin faces a maximum prison sentence of 30 years if he's convicted of bank fraud. Rubin and Powers have pleaded not guilty to all charges.Federal officials said Powers became Rubin's personal assistant around 2011 and "managed the logistical aspects of their commercial sex operation."Federal prosecutors said the alleged sexual abuse crimes occurred between 2009 and 2019 when Rubin and Powers "recruited multiple women to travel to New York City to engage in commercial sex acts with Rubin involving bondage, discipline, dominance, submission, and sadomasochism, referred to as 'BDSM' sex, and some of the women were trafficked."According to the Associated Press, Rubin "lured dozens of women, including former Playboy models, to be sexually and physically assaulted during encounters in his Central Park penthouse in a soundproofed room described in court papers as 'The Dungeon.'"Federal authorities said the purported sexual encounters happened at luxury hotels and at Rubin's two-bedroom penthouse apartment in midtown Manhattan, where one of the bedrooms was converted into "what they referred to as a sex 'dungeon' that was painted red, soundproofed, and furnished with BDSM equipment and devices, including a device to shock or electrocute the women."The federal prosecutor's office stated in the news release, "During many of these encounters, Rubin brutalized women's bodies, causing them to fear for their safety and/or resulting in significant pain and injuries."Federal officials said Rubin and Powers also forced the women to sign nondisclosure agreements, which would "require the women to assume the risk of the hazards and injury of the BDSM encounters with Rubin, prohibit the disclosure of information about the BDSM sex with Rubin, and require the payment of damages in the event of a breach."RELATED: Shocking texts allegedly reveal sinister plan by teacher and her boyfriend to groom, sex traffic her student Special agent Harry Chavis said Powers was quite involved in the alleged sexual abuse, and it was "not a one-man show."Chavis stated, "While Rubin dehumanized these women with abhorrent sexual acts, Powers is alleged to have run the day-to-day operations of the enterprise and got paid generously for her efforts."The Dallas Morning News, citing online records from the Texas Education Agency, reported Friday that Powers temporarily lost her state teacher certification. The paper added that Powers worked as a long-term substitute teacher for Old Union Elementary in Southlake.A TEA spokesperson added to the Morning News that the State Board of Educator Certification is required to temporarily suspend a teacher’s certification or permit following an arrest. The paper added that in such cases, a hearing on the temporary suspension "must take place within about two months of the final outcome of the legal case."CBS News in September reported that the Carroll Independent School District confirmed Powers had been a substitute teacher but was dismissed.Cameron Bryan — president of the board of trustees for the Carroll Independent School District — said the district followed all TEA hiring requirements, including fingerprint-based criminal background checks.An attorney for Powers did not immediately respond to the Morning News' request for comment.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Former football coach John Beam was known for giving players who most coaches wouldn’t gamble on a chance after being featured in the Netflix series “Last Chance U" — which focuses on junior college athletes attempting to turn their lives around. Now, Beam, 66, has been tragically shot and killed on the Laney College campus where he worked in Oakland, California.The suspect is believed by police to have known and targeted Beam.“That was the second shooting this week in Oakland on a college campus, by the way, and very unfortunate,” BlazeTV contributor Jason Brown, also known as Coach JB, tells BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock on “Fearless.”“I did get calls by buddies of mine that are up there, that are in that conference, and what I was told is very disturbing and unfortunate ... I haven’t seen the final report so it’ll all be allegedly at this point, but I heard it was a targeting situation where they walked into his office,” he explains.“He had an office that butts up against the street, the neighborhood there in Oakland, and it’s very, very far from the facilities. It’s very, very far from anything, and it’s real easy to go do something and not be seen and then just escape,” he continues.A suspect has been taken into custody and a gun has been recovered.The suspect, as Brown understands, “walked in his office, did whatever happened, and then just went right into the hood behind it.”Whitlock is shocked, asking Brown how “dangerous is it being a junior college coach in California?”“As dangerous as it can be, because at the end of the day, you don’t have security walking around like a D1 coach. You don’t have resources,” Brown says. “You’re out there in the hood, at churches, trying to get food at food banks for your players, if you really care for your guys like I did.”Want more from Jason Whitlock?To enjoy more fearless conversations at the crossroads of culture, faith, sports, and comedy with Jason Whitlock, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Academy Award-winning actor Jon Voight released a video calling on the president to take action to prevent the newly elected socialist mayor from imposing his destructive policies on New York City.Zohran Mamdani surprised many by winning the Democratic nomination in the mayoral primary election and then went on to easily win the office in November. The socialist Democrat garnered 50.4% of the vote over runner-up Andrew Cuomo, who got support from 41.6%.'The blood, sweat, and tears that the city of New York was built on will turn into a virtual refugee shelter for the radical Muslim ideology. This is now the most dangerous time for our citizens of New York.'Critics are warning that Mamdani's extremist socialist policies will worsen the plight of NYC residents, but Voight says the threat is so severe that President Donald Trump should address it."The mayor that has taken over New York City is a Muslim who is going to take down the 'city that never sleeps,'" he began on the video posted to social media."The city of life's dreams, this city that our ancestors brought forth in prosperity and greatness and liberty. This city will turn into a forbidden place of darkness, the blood, sweat, and tears that the city of New York was built on will turn into a virtual refugee shelter for the radical Muslim ideology. This is now the most dangerous time for our citizens of New York," he added. Voight went on to say that the mayor has no right to dictate socialist rules for the city that would take away citizens' rights. "This must be stopped, and his mayoralty should be terminated immediately," he continued. "You, the people of the greatest city, New York, are in danger of losing your city to this communist fool. We, the people, must stand for the greatest nation’s purpose — the honor of our flag, the red, white, and blue — and for which it stands, one nation under God, with liberty and justice for all," Voight added. He then pleaded with the president to take action. "We the people have put our trust in the president of the United States, Donald J. Trump. He, and only he, can stop this horror as this mayor, Mamdani, will try to destroy New York’s wealth and turn it into a socialist crap city." RELATED: Angelina Jolie says she's moving from California: 'Hollywood is not a healthy place' "Let this be a warning to the people — and may God bless," Voight concluded.The 86-year-old has been a passionate Trump supporter, and in 2019, the president awarded him the National Medal of Arts. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Immigration Attorney's Sob Story Thread About Ukrainian Hubby/Dad Being Deported Gloriously FACT-NUKED

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