In recent weeks, illegal aliens have set up a makeshift encampment outside the Randalls Island shelter, where they are apparently operating an illicit open-air market, selling drugs, loose cigarettes, and food.According to the New York Post, the once lush park has now been taken over by an illegal tent city that is littered with trash, blankets, and clothing. The encampment, situated along the East River on Randalls Island, has more than 50 tents. The city has stationed two portable toilets in the area, but the Post reported that they were "filthy and overflowing, and don't appear to have been serviced for at least a week."'It's a calamity.'Some of the illegal aliens residing in the park have managed to crack into the city's utility poles to steal electricity for cooking or take over water fountains for bathing.The news outlet reported that more than two dozen tents line the park's pathway, and numerous electric scooters zip by at high speeds through the bicycle paths.One Manhattan resident told the Post that illegal immigrants are chasing and threatening local residents out of the area."This is my zen place. Well, it was my zen place," the resident stated. "There was never any trash here, and it's filled with trash here.""It's a calamity place now," she added.A New York Police Department officer stationed in the area told the Post that the open-air market and encampment situation is "getting out of hand."WABC-TV reported Wednesday that NYPD officers came through the area to perform a sweep and dismantle the encampment. Law enforcement reportedly confiscated unregistered motor vehicles. The Post noted that a similar encampment sprouted up last year that police had to clear out repeatedly.NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell stated, "We don't care about your status, we're here to fight crime — whoever you may be, wherever you hang out, wherever you live."According to the Post, many of the illegal aliens residing in the makeshift unlawful encampment were previously housed at the nearby Randalls Island shelter, which has become a hub for violence since it opened last year.A number of rowdy and even deadly altercations have broken out at the shelter. Just last month, a shooting near the shelter resulted in one death and two injuries. Earlier this year, a 24-year-old male who lived at the Randalls Island shelter was stabbed and killed by a group of men also residing at the shelter.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

An Arizona pro-abortion outfit was able to get its radical proposition onto the November ballot but failed in its recent legal battle to secure the final say on how to describe its potential victims in the informational pamphlets sent to voters. The assertion that the unborn are "human babies" is a statement of fact and basic science, yet it has proven incredibly controversial among pro-abortion activists in Arizona. The humanization of past and potential abortion victims may, after all, prompt voters to think twice about supporting Proposition 139 — the November ballot initiative that, if passed, would enshrine the right to abortion in the Arizona Constitution. Republican members of the Arizona Legislative Council presented a draft analysis of the initiative last month, which highlighted that existing law prohibits abortion if the "unborn human being" is younger than 15 weeks, reported the Arizona Capitol Times. The document elsewhere employed abortion activists' preferred term "fetus." "The ballot analysis prepared by the Legislative Council is intended to help voters understand current law. Arizona's 15-week law protects unborn children, while the abortion initiative essentially allows unrestricted abortions up until birth," Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma, chairman of the Legislative Council, told the Arizona Capitol Times. "It's really that simple." Arizona for Abortion Access, the group championing the ballot initiative, sued to prevent the phrase "unborn human being" from appearing in the voter information pamphlet's description of Prop. 139. The group's contention was that the phrase is "tinged with partisan coloring" and that the language amounted to an "illegal effort to confuse voters." While the abortion activists enjoyed initial success in the Maricopa County Superior Court, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled against them this week, indicating the lesser court was in error. According to the Arizona Supreme Court, "unborn human being," which is the specific phrase used in existing law, "'substantially complies' with the statute's impartiality requirement.'" The superior court's ruling has been reversed, and the pamphlet can go out with the language initially drafted by the defendants in the case, the members of the state Arizona Legislative Council. State Senate President Warren Petersen (R) noted, "Common sense and good judgment prevailed." 'It's reckless to lose those safety precautions just to expand abortion beyond what most voters support.' In the wake of its failure, Arizona for Abortion Access issued a statement saying, "The Arizona Supreme Court today reversed the trial court's well-reasoned ruling and held that the phrase 'unborn human being' — a watchword for anti-abortion advocates with no basis in medicine or science — is somehow impartial and objective." "This means that Arizona voters will not be able to know the questions on their ballot in a fair, neutral, and accurate manner, but will be subjected to biased, politically charged words, developed not by experts, but by anti-abortion special interests to manipulate voters and spread misinformation," added the activist group. While Arizona for Abortion Access has expressed concern about lawmakers' word use, critics have alternatively suggested the abortion outfit's ballot initiative, supported by Gov. Katie Hobbs and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona, was itself deceptively worded. The initiative suggests, for instance, that the state cannot interfere with an individual seeking or getting an abortion up until viability. However, it appears that even viable babies can be killed at any stage if a so-called health care professional can think up a reason why that baby does not stand a chance of survival outside of the uterus or, alternatively, why the baby's continued existence threatens the health of the "pregnant individual." It Goes Too Far, the opposition campaign fighting the initiative, notes on its site that the use of the term "health care professional" means that individuals besides doctors, including abortionists incentivized to kill, can make such decisions. The opposition campaign further indicates that the initiative would have Arizona shut out "moms and dads when their minor daughter needs them most by removing the parental consent requirement." Earlier this year, Cindy Dahlgren, spokeswoman for It Goes Too Far, told the Arizona Mirror in an emailed statement, "Most voters are not told that under this unregulated, unlimited abortion amendment they will lose the required medical doctor, critical and commonsense safety standards for girls and women seeking abortion, and moms and dads will be shut out of their minor daughter's abortion decision, leaving her to go through the painful and scary process alone." "Abortion is legal in Arizona up to 15 weeks, and we have commonsense safety precautions to protect girls and women. It's reckless to lose those safety precautions just to expand abortion beyond what most voters support," added Dahlgren. Ballotpedia indicated that the Prop. 139 is one of several statewide ballot measures pertaining to abortion that has been certified for the general election ballot this year. Colorado, Florida, Missouri, New York, and South Dakota will similarly test voters' willingness to protect unborn human babies. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Five people — including two doctors and a notorious drug dealer known as the "Ketamine Queen" — have been arrested and face criminal charges in connection with Matthew Perry’s death from an accidental ketamine overdose last year, according to law enforcement. Federal and Los Angeles law enforcement officials announced the arrests during a press conference Thursday afternoon. 'Investigation has revealed a broad, underground criminal network responsible for distributing large quantities of ketamine to Mr. Perry and others.'Those arrested are Perry's live-in personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa; physician Mark Chavez, Dr. Salvador Plasencia; Jasveen Sangha; and Eric Fleming.Sangha and Plasencia are the lead defendants, and each has been charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine. Sangha, 41, also has been charged with one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute ketamine, and five counts of distribution of ketamine.Plasencia, 42, also has been charged with seven counts of distribution of ketamine and two counts of altering and falsifying documents or records related to the federal investigation.If convicted on all charges, Sangha would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison. Plasencia could face up to 10 years in federal prison for each ketamine-related count and up to 20 years in federal prison for each count of falsifying records.Sangha and Plasencia are expected to be arraigned Thursday afternoon at the U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles.Fleming, 54, on Aug. 8 pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death."Fleming admitted in court documents that he distributed the ketamine that killed Perry," according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California. "He further admitted to obtaining the ketamine from his source, Sangha, and to distributing 50 vials of ketamine to Perry’s live-in personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa — half of them four days before Perry’s death."Iwamasa, 59, on Aug. 7 pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death.Iwamasa allegedly conspired with Sangha, Fleming, and Plasencia to illegally obtain ketamine and sell it to Perry. Iwamasa confessed to repeatedly injecting Perry with ketamine without medical training, including performing multiple injections on the "Friends" star on Oct. 28, 2023 — the day Perry died.Iwamasa and Fleming will face up to 15 years and 25 years, respectively, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.Chavez, 54, agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine.Chavez admitted to selling ketamine to Plasencia, including some that Chavez had taken from Chavez's previous ketamine clinic.The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California added, "Chavez also obtained additional ketamine to transfer to Plasencia by making false representations to a wholesale ketamine distributor and by submitting a fraudulent prescription in the name of a former patient without that patient’s knowledge or consent."Chavez will be arraigned Aug. 30. He faces up to 10 years in federal prison.'These defendants took advantage of Mr. Perry’s addiction issues to enrich themselves.'Authorities noted that Sangha is known as the "Ketamine Queen" because she allegedly is a big-time seller of the dangerous drug. Law enforcement officials described Sangha's North Hollywood house as a "drug-selling emporium" and declared they found 80 vials of ketamine, thousands of pills, methamphetamine, and cocaine at her home. Authorities said Sangha also sold ketamine to a 33-year-old man who died from an overdose in August 2019.Immediately after the overdose death, Sangha allegedly conducted a Google search for "Can ketamine be listed as a cause of death[?]""Investigation has revealed a broad, underground criminal network responsible for distributing large quantities of ketamine to Mr. Perry and others," U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said at Thursday's press conference. "This network included a live-in assistant, various go-betweens, two medical doctors, and a major source of drug supply known as the ‘Ketamine Queen.'""These defendants took advantage of Mr. Perry’s addiction issues to enrich themselves," Estrada continued. "They knew what they were doing was wrong. They knew what they were doing was risking great danger to Mr. Perry, but they did it anyways. In the end, these defendants were more interested in profiting off Mr. Perry than caring for his well-being.”Estrada said that the defendants dealt Perry approximately 20 vials of ketamine in exchange for $55,000 in cash between September and October 2023. Plasencia — a licensed medical doctor known as "Dr. P." — allegedly wrote in a text message in September 2023, "I wonder how much this moron will pay."Perry, 54, died at his Los Angeles home Oct. 28, 2023. An assistant found him unresponsive and face-down in his hot tub.In December, the Los Angeles County medical examiner revealed Perry’s cause of death was the result of "the acute effects of ketamine."“There were trace amounts of ketamine detected in the stomach contents,” the report continued. “He was reported to be receiving ketamine infusion therapy for depression and anxiety.”The coroner said contributing factors included drowning, coronary artery disease, and the effects of buprenorphine — a drug used to treat opioid use disorder.Perry struggled with addiction for many years.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

A liberal professor and researcher says that the revelation about the Harris campaign altering headlines in Google searches to influence voters is just misdirection away from far greater threats from Google. Dr. Robert Epstein of the American Institute for Behavioral Research & Technology, a lifelong liberal, joined "Blaze News Tonight" on Wednesday to sound the alarm on the threat of election interference from Google. 'They have basically undermined the free and fair election because they can shift so many votes.' "This is inherently a comparative kind of dirty trick, if you want to call it that. It's competitive, it's not illegal. Google says it doesn't violate their policies, so that's not a huge story," Epstein explained. "But there is a huge story here involving Google and some of the other tech companies which I think Google doesn't want us to look at," he continued. "I think they're misdirecting us with these smaller issues because they don't want us to look at them." Epstein went on to say that his research team has been monitoring the big tech platforms for bias and found astounding evidence. "So what's really happening here is that these companies, Google especially, are shifting votes by the millions without people's knowledge. But of course our system finally, for the first time ever, is capturing all the evidence," he continued. "They're, for example, sending out register-to-vote reminders to Democrats at about two and a half times the rate they're sending them to Republicans." He went on to say that Google could subtly influence votes simply by introducing a left-ward bias in its searches. "We're seeing very extensive bias in Google search results which can shift a lot of votes because people believe Google search results, and so people who are undecided are very vulnerable to manipulation with Google search results," he explained. Epstein said that the results of his data gathering and analysis showed that Google could influence between 6 million and 25.5 million votes in the election. His team also found evidence of an "extreme liberal bias" in the video recommendations made to viewers by the YouTube platform. "It doesn't affect people who have made up their minds, but it has a big effect on the undecided voter; and they're the ones who, of course, determine the outcome of the election," he added. "They have basically undermined the free and fair election because they can shift so many votes, and normally with no one having the slightest idea that they're doing this," Epstein concluded. To guard against further search engine manipulation, Epstein told Blaze News that voters should "start by protecting their privacy." In a 2017 article, he offered seven steps users can take. He also recommended that Americans review the data he's collected at the website at America's Digital Shield. Here's the video of Dr. Epstein's comments: Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

A recent investigation by Google confirmed that an Iranian hacking group targeted the presidential campaigns of former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.A Wednesday report from the Google Threat Analysis Group found that the hackers, an Iranian government-backed threat actor known as APT42, attempted to infiltrate roughly a dozen email accounts affiliated with the campaigns. 'Successfully gained access to the personal Gmail account of a high-profile political consultant.'"Associated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), APT42 consistently targets high-profile users in Israel and the U.S., including current and former government officials, political campaigns, diplomats, individuals who work at think tanks, as well as NGOs and academic institutions that contribute to foreign policy conversations," Google reported.The technology company stated that it blocked "numerous" attempts by APT42 to log into the personal email accounts of those currently and previously affiliated with the campaigns. It noted that it prevented similar attacks from APT42 against Trump's and Biden's presidential campaigns in 2020.Despite the many thwarted attempts, Google reported that APT42 "successfully gained access to the personal Gmail account of a high-profile political consultant." However, it did not specify whose account was compromised.Google notified the targeted campaigns and law enforcement.Over the weekend, the Trump campaign reported that an Iranian group had hacked its internal communications in June. The infiltration resulted in a leaked campaign research paper on Trump's running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio). The campaign noted that the 271-page report contained only publicly available information on Vance. Microsoft also released a report confirming that an Iranian group tied to the IRGC sent a phishing email to "a high-ranking official on a presidential campaign." Microsoft, like Google, did not identify the target of the attack.The FBI has since released a statement announcing it is "investigating this matter."Harris' campaign stated, "Our campaign vigilantly monitors and protects against cyber threats, and we are not aware of any security breaches of our systems."Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung told Politico, "These documents were obtained illegally from foreign sources hostile to the United States, intended to interfere with the 2024 election and sow chaos throughout our Democratic process.""The Iranians know that President Trump will stop their reign of terror just like he did in his first four years in the White House," Cheung added. "Any media or news outlet reprinting documents or internal communications are doing the bidding of America's enemies and doing exactly what they want."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Kamala Harris very clearly has her sights set on a very particular demographic — and it’s become way too obvious. Harris kicked off a recent rally with Megan Thee Stallion. The famous rapper, clad in a cropped suit top and pants, began twerking for prospective voters. Dave Rubin of “The Rubin Report” was disturbed by the performance, and apparently so was one comedian, Tim Dillon of “The Tim Dillon Show.” Which is why Rubin had to show a clip of Dillon absolutely obliterating Kamala — one he doesn't "want you to miss." “This is the campaign; these are the policies,” Dillon comments as he watches a clip of the rapper sticking her tongue out on stage. “You’re voting for this,” he adds. “They have their perfect candidate. Half Indian, half black, attractive woman,” Dillon continues. “If you were going to build a robot in a lab that would be secretly controlled by billionaires, it is Kamala Harris.” Dillon then goes on to call Harris “hollow,” which is perfect for a political candidate. “She is hollow in the best way, meaning certain people, when they are hollow, there is something deeply uneasy about them, because some of them would want to not be hollow. There is some humanity in them that is trying to escape,” Dillon says. “Kamala is so at home with her hollowness. She has been eaten by ambition. It is stage four; it has gone to the brain,” he adds, noting that “everything she says is crazy.” “She tries on different accents, she has different sayings, she makes up family members that don’t exist, you know, ‘My aunt used to say that the future is just the past,’” Dillon mocks. “She will wreck the country and the world.”Want more from Dave Rubin?To enjoy more honest conversations, free speech, and big ideas with Dave Rubin, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Researchers have come up with four potential constructions of the next supercontinent, but which of these scenarios is the likeliest depends on who you ask. The post In The Future, The Earth Might Be Just One Giant Continent, Experts Predict appeared first on All That's Interesting.

At first glance, the statue looked like a moss-covered river rock. On closer inspection, experts say it likely hung on the wall of an unidentified building in the 14th century. The post Spanish Fisherman Accidentally Discovers Medieval Virgin Mary Statue appeared first on All That's Interesting.

Measuring six inches tall and made of clay, the figurine was likely used in prayer rituals, but was left unfinished before sinking to the bottom of Lake Bolsena several millennia ago. The post 3,000-Year-Old Goddess Figurine Still Bearing The Handprints Of Its Maker Found At The Bottom Of An Italian Lake appeared first on All That's Interesting.

Toothbrush Troll David Leavitt SCHOOLED for Claiming GOP Doesn't Want Kids Learning to Read or Write