'Not much of a party'

News 100 Nights of Hero 100 Nights of Hero Trailer Offers a Surreal and Seductive Fairy Tale Story The movie is based on the graphic novel by Isabel Greenberg. By Vanessa Armstrong | Published on November 3, 2025 Photo: Independent Film Company. An Independent Film Company Release. Comment 0 Share New Share Photo: Independent Film Company. An Independent Film Company Release. Writer-director Julia Jackman’s upcoming film 100 Nights of Hero has been described as a fairy tale romance. In it, a newly wedded woman with a bit too-on-the-nose name of Cherry (played by Longlegs star Maika Monroe) finds herself at the end of a dark wager when her husband—who has yet to touch Cherry in any romantic way—bets Manfred, a house guest played by Nicholas Galitzine (The Idea of You), that he can’t bed his wife in 100 days. Involved in this unexpected love (lust?) triangle is Cherry’s maid, Hero, played by Emma Corrin, whose previous credits include Nosferatu. The movie is based on the graphic novel of the same name by Isabel Greenberg, and Jackman said in a statement that “making this film has been a longtime dream” ever since she first read the story years ago. “It’s been a joy to shape its world and characters into something new, and I’m thrilled it found a home at Independent Film Compareny,” Jackman added in a statement announcing that the film was picked up by IFC for distribution in the U.S. “I cannot wait to share it with a broader audience—led by the extraordinary talents of our brilliant ensemble cast.” That ensemble cast includes Amir El-Masry (Limbo), Charli XCX (I Want Your Sex), Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?), and Felicity Jones (The Brutalist). The trailer, released today, sets up the premise well, and also gives off some surreal vibes as Corrin’s Hero aims to tell a story each night to keep Galitzine’s character from winning the bet. (Yes, the nod toward The Arabian Nights is intentional.) How the tale plays out remains unclear, especially since the trailer shows Cherry in partially naked entanglements with Manfred. You can watch the story unfold yourself when 100 Nights of Hero premieres in theaters on December 5, 2025. Check the trailer out below while you wait. [end-mark] The post <i>100 Nights of Hero</i> Trailer Offers a Surreal and Seductive Fairy Tale Story appeared first on Reactor.

The great Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda once said, “There are three kinds of people in this world: people who make it happen, people who watch what happens, and people who wonder what happened.” Jack Ciattarelli makes things happen. He’s a doer. Jack is an amazing leader, with a bold and achievable vision to revitalize New Jersey after eight long years of chaos and misrule. He is honest, dynamic, and absolutely committed to each and every one of you. Jack will: end the lawlessness of Gov. Phil Murphy and Rep. Mikie Sherrill‘s sanctuary state; make New Jersey affordable; fight to lower the unconscionable high tax burden on everyone living in our great state; support both private and public education without imposing the woke agenda on our kids; lower energy costs; end the misguided ocean wind experiment that not only will drive up energy costs to every consumer, kill whales, and eviscerate our ocean environment, but is extremely dangerous because it degrades and distorts marine and aviation radar; and strongly support law enforcement. Like President Donald Trump, both Jack and his running mate for lieutenant governor, Sheriff Jim Gannon, will always have the backs of those women and men in uniform who put their lives on the line every day to protect our communities. The fact that Sherrill voted to end qualified immunity is outrageous and puts every cop on the beat at risk. The fact that Sherrill refuses to release her records from the infamous 1994 Annapolis cheating scandal—and my House colleagues Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., Rep. Tom Kean, D-N.J., and I have publicly called on her to do so—begs the question: What is she hiding? Sherrill is AWOL in Washington and failed to vote on the most important national security legislation—the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). As Ronald Reagan succinctly put it—it’s time for a change. Jack Ciattarelli for Governor! It’s time. We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post CHRIS SMITH: It’s Time! Vote for Jack Ciattarelli in New Jersey appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Election Day is upon us. Though we are still a year away from the vital 2026 midterm congressional elections, there are still a number of races garnering national attention for one reason or another. Will President Donald Trump’s 2024 red shift in blue states continue? Will the Democratic Party lurch further to the Left? Here is a quick preview of what races to watch on Tuesday. Minneapolis Mayor Race Two mayor races have become prominent in this election cycle. While Minneapolis perhaps doesn’t quite reach the level of attention of a New York City, it has its own version of Zohran Mamdani who looks to pull the Democratic Party even further to the Left. The city’s ranked-choice voting system has ensured that the top two candidates will be Democrats. The first is incumbent Mayor Jacob Frey, a man who already veers far to the Left and was an enthusiastic supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement when the city was hit by riots in the summer of 2020. Challenging him is democratic socialist Omar Fateh, the son of Somali immigrants who became the first Muslim to serve in the Minnesota Senate after his victory in the 2020 election. My colleague, Tyler O’Neil, wrote about Fateh in his preview of the mayor’s race: A self-declared democratic socialist and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, Fateh is running on a platform of raising taxes “to ensure the wealthy pay their fair share.” He champions “environmental justice.” … The state senator seems to be leveraging the influence of the small but influential Somali Muslim community in Minneapolis. The Minnesota insider described the Somali community as a “very important voting bloc” that is “not the majority” of the city but extremely influential. Members of this community reportedly went to train with the terrorist group al Shabaab in Somalia and the Islamic State, but law enforcement has partnered with the community to oppose radicalism. NYC Mayor Race It’s rare that a mayor’s race garners so much national attention, but this is a big one in the Big Apple. In one corner, you have 34-year-old New York Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America who ran a successful insurgent campaign in the Democrat primary. He’s been the frontrunner since his June victory. In the other corners are Andrew Coumo, the former governor of New York who was defeated in the Democrat primary and now is running an independent campaign, and Curtis Sliwa, the Republican. Sliwa is the founder of the Guardian Angels, an anti-crime organization started in the late 1970s. Mamdani staked out a position of resistance to President Donald Trump and federal immigration law enforcement. His platform leads with his message about housing being too expensive and offers mostly government solutions to the problem which boils down to tax the rich, tax the whites in a city held to be the financial capital of the United States. Not only that, but he’s also made himself cozy with radical Islamists and refused to condemn the phrase, “globalize the Intifada.” Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who has entered what’s looking like a close race for New York governor in 2026 commented on Mamdani’s unseemly connections. This is who the Worst Governor in America @KathyHochul is proud to endorse:"He looks pretty happy to be there. Zohran Mamdani wants to be the next Mayor of New York City…Who is he with? He's with an Imam who once urged for jihad on the Big Apple, and he is smiling. This is an… pic.twitter.com/7WxPJmAl3K— Elise Stefanik (@EliseStefanik) October 26, 2025 Cuomo has taken up the position as the experienced choice who knows how to govern and has condemned Mamdani’s radicalism. Sliva has maintained that he is the true anti-Mamdani choice and is the only candidate who has been consistently serious about stopping and preventing crime in the city. Recent polls show that the race may be tightening, though many polls also showed Cuomo winning the primary. One way or another, what happens in the New York mayor’s race will have repercussions not just for the city but the country. New Jersey Governor Race Few states shifted more dramatically to the right in 2024 than New Jersey. While the Garden State still ended up casting its electoral college votes for former Vice President Kamala Harris, the dramatic voter shift was notable. Is New Jersey a purple state now? Is it maybe even leaning red? Those are the questions looking to be answered in the New Jersey governor’s race where Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli face off to replace Gov. Phil Murphy who is being term-limited out of office. Ciattarelli came close to beating Murphy in the last election. Most polls show that Sherrill leads Ciattarelli, but the race has tightened considerably since it began. According to RealClearPolling, Sherrill began with a 21-point lead in June, but current polling averages show an under four-point separation between the candidates. The race has been close enough that even former President Barack Obama went on the campaign trail to help Sherrill over the finish line. Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy came out to help Ciattarelli. ? ? https://t.co/QFSzyYSrKC— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) October 16, 2025 “New Jersey is a state with a lot of Republicans who just don’t know yet that they’re actually Republicans,” Ramaswamy said when visiting in mid-October.  Virginia AG Race The Virginia attorney general race has become one of national importance not just because Virginia is a key electoral battleground, but because of a singular issue that has changed the race. Democrat Jay Jones, who is challenging incumbent Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares, came under scrutiny after a series of his texts were published by National Review where he said he wanted the former Republican speaker of the Virginia House and his children to be shot. The texts were from 2022 but surfaced not long after the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Despite calls for Jones to leave the race, he apologized and decided to continue his campaign. Virginia Democrats have refused to call for Jones to abandon the race. According to polls, Miyares opened up a significant lead over Jones after the texts surfaced and maintains that lead into election day. There are two major questions about this race heading into election day. What can be expected of an elected official who has wished violent death on his opponents once he’s in office? That Jones trails badly in the race may resolve that issue, but another question is whether his comments will drag down the rest of the Democrat ticket. Virginia Governor Race The race for Virginia governor is shaping up to be a possible bellwether for the 2026 midterms, so it’s received a great deal of attention. Republican Gov. Glenn Younkin was ineligible to run due to Virginia’s unique ban on consecutive terms for governor. Set to replace him are his Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears or Democrat candidate Abigail Spanberger. Spanberger is a congresswoman and a former CIA agent. She’s been leading in the polls throughout the race, but her lead has narrowed in recent days. This is likely in part due to the aforementioned attorney general race. Spanberger has run as a defender of federal employees, an issue particularly salient in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington. But she’s been unwilling to address major issues that Earle-Sears has campaigned on. The first is the issue of transgender ideology, which in part vaulted Youngkin to office in 2021. Spanberger has essentially punted on the issue and refuses to address it. The second issue is the comments by Jones. Not only has she continued to support Jones, but she refused to engage Earle-Sears on the issue when it came up during their October debate. Virginia’s @WinsomeSears asks @SpanbergerForVA why she won’t condemn Dem AG candidate Jay Jones for calling for the kids of a political opponent to die while Spanberger refuses to even look at her in their debate. This is powerful. pic.twitter.com/KTGsNAd67L— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) October 10, 2025 The post Here Are 5 Elections to Watch on Election Day appeared first on The Daily Signal.

On Tuesday, Pennsylvania voters will decide whether they want to retain the Democrat majority on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Three Democrat justices of the seven-person court are up for a retention vote, and the results could impact the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential election in the Keystone State, which could be a cause for concern for potential 2028 Democrat presidential candidate Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. If all three justices are not retained, then the court will have an even split between Republican and Democrat justices until the 2027 elections, and a chance for a Republican majority if those following elections go the GOP’s way. The election provides Republicans a chance at redemption because Republicans lost all three state Supreme Court seats by about 3 to 4 points in the last election that was held in 2015. Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices serve for 10-year terms and can hold office until the mandatory retirement age of 75. One of the three justices up for retention, Christine Donohue, would reach mandatory retirement in 2027. Pennsylvania Is Becoming More Red “Pennsylvania has been trending more and more red over the past decade with a nearly equal split now between registered Democrat and Republican voters,” Vince Benedetto, the founder and president of Bold Gold Media Group, which broadcasts political commentary throughout Pennsylvania and New York, told The Daily Signal. Benedetto said to “expect extremely close races where a relatively small number of votes will decide major election outcomes and could decide national balance of power.” And, for Pennsylvania voters, election integrity remains top of mind: “How those votes are counted will be watched very closely!” the broadcaster said. Election Integrity Remains a Priority Matthew Brouillett, president and CEO of the Commonwealth Partners Chamber of Entrepreneurs, a 501c6 membership organization that supports free-market principles, expressed discontent with The Daily Signal over some of the past decisions by the state justices up for retention—especially those involving election integrity. “Over the past 10 years, Justices Donohue, Dougherty, and Wecht have ignored clearly-written laws to issue orders that contradict these laws. For example, on gerrymandering, the law is clear that it’s the legislature’s job to draw maps. But in 2018, the court said it wanted to draw its own map, which benefitted Democrats,” Brouillett said. He also criticized the court’s decision regarding late ballots for the 2020 general elections in Pennsylvania. “On mail-in ballots, the law is clear that ballots must arrive by 8:00 pm on Election Day. But in 2020, the court told counties to ignore this law,” Brouillett continued. “Also on mail-in ballots, the law is clear that ballots must be dated, but in 2020, the court said undated ballots in Allegheny County would count just this once, even though Justice Donohue literally said that the decision allowed ‘technical violations of the Election Code.’” When asked about what the impact on perceived election integrity, Benedetto “If those justices are retained, it will almost certainly keep fueling doubts on Pennsylvania election integrity while also allowing past, rather extraordinary judicial intervention in matters historically left to the state legislature, to become precedent.” Ken Martin, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, told The Pennsylvania Capital Star that he viewed the stakes as, “Everything from redistricting and education funding and everything else that comes before the courts,” among other issues. “What you want is fair-minded independent judges on the bench who are going to take their job seriously, which is to not legislate or push an agenda, but actually base their decisions on the rule of law and base their decision on legal precedent, not on politics,” Martin added. Conservatives’ Chance of Victory? Benedetto also said that “From an historical perspective in PA, the odds generally favor judges being retained.” Since 1968, only one statewide judge has lost their retention race. That was Democrat Justice Russell Nigro, who lost retention in 2005 by a slim margin of 49% to 51%. He blamed voter anger over pay raises for Pennsylvania government officials as a reason for his loss. Nigro’s colleague, however, Justice Sandra Schultz Newman won retention that same year by vote of 54% to 46%. Still there a variety of one-off factors this year that could make Pennsylvania history. “Polling-wise, it’s a mixed bag and very unpredictable this year, thanks to all the national noise, government shutdown drama and influx of spending into the races by both parties,” Benedetto noted. A Franklin & Marshall College poll conducted in late September and early October found that 43%, 51%, and 55% of registered Pennsylvania voters did not know if they were going to vote to retain Donohue, Dougherty, and Wecht, respectively. “Polling shows a very large numbers of undecideds, with ‘No’ votes polling higher than usual, but it’s tight. Also, retention votes are often more complex to message to voters, which often leads to a lot of undecideds in the data,” he concluded. The post Experts Weigh in on Critical but Under the Radar Race in Pennsylvania appeared first on The Daily Signal.

BBC Caught Doctoring Video of Trump

Over the weekend, President Trump made it clear that he is strongly considering sending U.S. troops into Nigeria, to stop the killings of Christians by Muslim groups, killings he says are permitted by Nigeria's government. You would think that most people, especially people of faith, would be outraged by what's taking place in Nigeria, and welcome Trump's words. Not so for Reverend Al Sharpton, who made that clear on the Sunday edition of MSNBC's Politics Nation.  Sharpton's guest was the House Democrat Whip, Congresswoman Katherine Clark of Massachusetts. He led off the interview by talking to her about the government shutdown, but before he let her go, he weighed in on the situation in Nigeria.  SHARPTON: Trump has threatened military action in Nigeria...He has directed the Pentagon to draw up plans to go in, quote, "guns a-blazing," if the country doesn't do more to address alleged mass killings of thousands of Christians by Islamic extremists. Trump of course offered no details or facts, or things that we could really lock down and say this is what we see happening. "Alleged" massacre of Christians? This isn't fake news, like Tawana Brawley's claims. Take the European Parliament, which reported "Between 2019 and 2023, nearly 17,000 Christians were killed in targeted attacks because of their faith. In just the first seven months of 2025, more than 7,000 victims were reported." As if that wasn't bad enough, Reverend Al the alleged Christian took it a step further. SHARPTON: But he's threatened to deny all aid to Nigeria if it doesn't comply. He's also reclassified Nigeria as a country of concern, as he had during his first term. I have to point out like Venezuela, Nigeria is a top oil producer, and it's interesting, he's only choosing non-white countries, where in Ukraine and other places, he seems to be a lot more -- less aggressive with his language, in terms of coming in with guns blazing at Russia. I'm sorry, did I miss Sharpton's concern, any concern, one bit of concern, for the Christians who are, even allegedly, being killed by Muslims in Nigeria? And he wasn't about to ask the Congresswoman what she might know about it. Instead, he wanted to know when Congress will "reclaim its war powers" from Trump. And Clark was more than happy to comply. Her answer made no mention of the Christians, but attacked Trump for "acting like a King" and for the hits on ships out of Venezuela, that are allegedly making drug runs.  Earlier in the interview, Sharpton did asked her about her comments made on October 16th to Fox News's Chad Pergram, in response to a question about the risk that the Democrats could get blamed for the government shutdown, for failing to pass the bill to open the government in the Senate.    Sharpton said "Last month you said the shutdown would hurt the American people, but you were criticized by Republicans for calling it as a leverage point for Democrats." Clark didn't seem thrilled but get a load of her response: "Well out of respect for you Rev, I will address the argument of Republicans from  that I did a while ago, and just say that it is BS. It is a highly edited clip." Whoa! A highly edited clip. I think not. I recently watched the whole 28 minute interview. Here's the Q and A, unedited that made news.  PERGRAM: I understand the math in the Senate. I understand the  healthcare position for the Democrats. No responsibility on the Democrats? You don't think that the public will perceive that the Democrats are responsible. CLARK: I mean shutdowns are terrible. And of course there will be you know, families that are going to suffer, we take that responsibility very seriously. But it is one of the few leverage times we have. It is an inflection point in this budget process..." She then immediately went back to Dem talking points. That answer was not edited. She said what she said. All in all, it was quite a show. But let none of us lose sight of the fact that neither Reverend Al, nor the second ranking Democrat in the House, uttered one word of concern about the Christians of Nigeria. Sadly, going after "King" Trump trumped that horror. 

The liberal media: covering for Muslim violence around the world! When such violence occurs in the West, the liberal media is often reluctant to release the names and associated information about the perpetrators. How often have we heard "the motive for the attack is unknown," despite the knife-or-gun-wielding perp having yelled Allahu Akbar as he carried out his attack!? That same liberal instinct extends to Muslim predations in other parts of the world. Thus, in response to President Trump's warning that he might order military action in Nigeria to counter the persecution and killing of Christians, CNN This Morning devoted a segment seeking to debunk the claim that Christians are being singled out for persecution there.  Host Audie Cornish brought in Kenya-based CNN correspondent Victoria Rubadiri, who claimed that allegations of a religious war in Nigeria are "certainly not the case." Central to the effort Cornish and Rubadiri made to dismiss allegations about the persecution of Christians in Nigeria was that only conservatives are raising such concerns. Thus, Cornish opened the segment by saying: "Leaders in Nigeria pushed back against claims out of the US political right that Christians face some existential threat there."  Rubadiri echoed that assertion, saying that allegations of persecution of Christians have: "Been rumbling in a lot of the social media spaces on the right, or the conservative part of the US." Let's examine their claim that it's only the "political right" and "the conservative part of the US" have raised the issue. Bill Maher, hardly a conservative, spoke out on the September 26th episode of his HBO show Real Time with Bill Maher: “I’m not a Christian, but they are systematically killing the Christians in Nigeria. They’ve killed over 100,000 since 2009. They’ve burned 18,000 churches. This is so much more of a genocide attempt than what is going on in Gaza. They are literally attempting to wipe out the Christian population of an entire country.” Per Grok: In 2023, a bipartisan bill (H.R. 5519) to create a U.S. Special Envoy for Nigerian Christian persecution passed the Democratic-controlled House Foreign Affairs Committee 46–0. Republican Rep. Chris Smith introduced it, but 29 Democrats co-sponsored the bill. In 2023, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, a Social Democrat, called the killings “genocide-level” and tripled aid to displaced Nigerian Christians. The Norwegian Labour Party government funds the Stefanus Alliance, a left-leaning Lutheran group that runs safe houses for attacked Christian villages. Global Human-Rights NGOs, almost all left-of-center, have condemned the violence. Amnesty International issued reports titled “Harvest of Death” and “Targeted for Faith” — highlighting Christian villages wiped out. Human Rights Watch: Issued a 42-page brief “They Burned Everything” — documenting Fulani attacks on Christian farming communities. Even the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect--founded by George Soros’ Open Society!--lists Nigeria as an R2P crisis because of “Christian genocide.”  The UN and the Vatican under Pope Francis -- not exactly conservative strongholds, have also weighed in. UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion (2022): “Christians are deliberately targeted for killing and kidnapping.” Pope Francis (2023): called it “a terrible genocide” in an open letter co-signed by 350 African bishops, many of them liberation-theology progressives. As for Rubadiri's claim that more Muslims have been killed than Christians, a study by the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa found that Christians were 6.5 times more likely to be killed in the violence than Muslims. NewsBuster Isaac White documented today that ABC and NBC have similarly tried to downplay  Muslim violence against Christians in Nigeria. So, why does the liberal media choose to serve as useful idiots for perpetrators of Muslim violence? Seen in a broader light, this is how civilizations decline. Here's the transcript. CNN This Morning 11-3-25 6:12 am ET AUDIE CORNISH: This morning, leaders in Nigeria pushed back against claims out of the US political right that Christians face some existential threat there. That's after President Trump doubled down on an ultimatum to bring in military action to the country.  So in a Truth Social post over the weekend, Trump threatened to stop aid, and come in guns a-blazing to stop what he calls the mass slaughter of Christians.  PRESIDENT TRUMP ON AIR FORCE ONE: They're killing record numbers of Christians in Nigeria. And there are other countries, very bad also. You know that. That part of the world. Very bad. They're killing Christians. They're killing them in very large numbers. We're not going to allow that to happen.  CORNISH: The Nigerian government and President Trump's advisor on Africa say what's happening there is much more complex. We're bringing in Victoria Rubadiri. She joins us live from Kenya to do a little fact-checking.  . . .  VICTORIA RUBADIRI: And it's really important to add there, Audie, that religion is a very important fault line in Nigeria, but it's not the main driver of the violence in the country.  CORNISH: Can you just give us a little information about how you think this made its way into political discourse in the US? I'm also reading that this might be information from decades ago. Can you give us some context?  RUBADIRI: Certainly. It's been rumbling in a lot of the social media spaces on the right, or the conservative part of the US. Many, of course, pointing to what they're calling religious war in Nigeria. That certainly is not the case.  And the numbers also points to that. Groups that have been monitoring this violence over the last 15 years or so that it started taking up more headlines have said, yes, thousands have been killed. But what they say is more Muslims have actually been killed in these attacks.  And the reason being, most of these groups like Boko Haram or some ISIS affiliated terror groups focus their attacks in northeast Nigeria. Now, in Nigeria, more Muslims actually occupy in the north. More Christians are in the south. And for that reason, there're more Muslim victims in these particular attacks.   And it's a very complex situation when it comes to issues of insecurity and insurgency in Nigeria. We also have issues of conflict around resources like land and livestock between herders and farmers.  So it goes beyond just terror or religion. Many analysts say that it's more an issue of geography that determines the victim than it is faith or religion.  CORNISH: That's Victoria Rubadiri. Thank you so much. Very, very helpful. 

Deportations and border security have been a crucial part of the second Trump administration, and nine months in, the government has started to release some results. Despite seemingly constant obstruction from Democrats, the administration has begun to deliver on its promises of mass deportations."The president is all about results, ... and what President Trump, Secretary Noem, and our law enforcement have been able to do in the past 270 days, despite the injunctions, despite the obstruction from sanctuary city politicians and these activist judges, is really nothing short of extraordinary," Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a Fox News interview on Monday.'While ICE actions targeting criminal illegal aliens have captured most of the attention, the phenomenon of large-scale self-deportation is probably even more significant.'She went on to report that over 2 million illegal aliens have left the country since the beginning of Trump's term, citing an October 27 press release.McLaughlin claimed in the press release that the majority of the deportations have been voluntary: "More than 2 million illegal aliens have left the U.S. including 1.6 million who have voluntarily self-deported and over 527,000 deportations."RELATED: Trump reportedly sends 300 National Guard members to Portland from California — and Democrats are seething Photo by Jamie Kelter Davis/Getty ImagesAccording to a March 2025 study by the Federation for American Immigration Reform, there are an estimated 18.6 million illegal aliens in the United States."While ICE actions targeting criminal illegal aliens have captured most of the attention, the phenomenon of large-scale self-deportation is probably even more significant," Ira Mehlman, media director at the Federation for American Immigration Reform, told Blaze News. Mehlman emphasized that illegal aliens are "rational" actors. If the perceived benefits of coming to the United States are unavailable to them because of their illegal status, they will likely leave voluntarily or not immigrate at all. "If we ... make it difficult to enter, difficult to find employment or access benefits and services, and that there is a reasonable chance that you might be apprehended and removed, illegal aliens will make similarly rational decisions: Many fewer come here illegally, and many of those who are here decide that they should leave on their own," Melhman told Blaze News. The government is also offering illegal aliens $1,000 and a free flight to self-deport, according to the press release.Deterrence and shifting incentive structures for illegal immigrants have been key to turning the tide on the Biden border crisis, but more work needs to be done, as DHS admits."This is just the beginning. ... DHS, ICE, and CBP have not just closed the border, but made historic strides to carry out President Trump's promise of arresting and deporting illegal aliens who have invaded our country," the DHS press release continued. "Illegal aliens are hearing our message to leave now or face the consequence: Migrants are now turning back before they even reach our borders.""Migration through Panama's Darien Gap is down 99.99%," McLaughlin added, referring to the dangerous route connecting South and Central America that many immigrants use on their way to America. In the interview, McLaughlin also added that 10,000 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers will soon be hired to assist with immigration operations. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The U.S. Department of Justice released a criminal complaint detailing the stunning accusations related to an alleged ISIS-related Jihadi terror plot thwarted in Michigan.Federal Bureau of Investigation officials searched several locations Friday and arrested three suspects before FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau had prevented a major terror attack planned for Halloween weekend.Prosecutors say that messages between the co-conspirators show references to other terror attacks that they wanted to emulate.On Monday, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi posted the unsealed criminal complaint against two individuals, though as many as five were allegedly involved."Our newly unsealed complaint reveals a major ISIS-linked terror plot with multiple subjects arrested in the Eastern District of Michigan targeting the United States," wrote Bondi. "According to the complaint, subjects had multiple AR-15 rifles, tactical gear, and a detailed plan to carry out an attack on American soil."Mohmed Ali and Majed Mahmoud allegedly purchased a shotgun and an AR-15 and practiced shooting with three other co-conspirators, according to the complaint.They are both U.S. citizens.The FBI found over 1,600 rounds of ammunition during a search of their homes, as well as multiple AR-15-style rifles, shotguns, handguns, and tactical vests, the complaint said.RELATED: AP gets annihilated online for sympathetic report on terrorists injured in Israeli pager attack Photo by Andrew Leyden/Getty Images The investigation began when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official found alarming terror-related images and searches on a phone of one of the co-conspirators after they returned to the U.S. from traveling abroad.Prosecutors say that messages between the co-conspirators show references to other terror attacks that they wanted to emulate. The alleged plot was targeting innocents in the Ferndale suburb of Detroit."Many of the clubs and bars in this area intentionally attract members of the LGBTQ+ community," read the complaint.One of the co-conspirators also allegedly wanted to go to Syria to join ISIS and was trying to persuade the others to follow. Five men were questioned by law enforcement, and two were released.RELATED: 10 members of terror cell charged with attempted murder over 'ambush' attack on ICE facility, feds say On Sunday, Amir Makled, an attorney for one of the suspects, said he had reviewed the matter and claimed there had been no plot, just a group of young gamers."I don’t know where this hysteria and this fearmongering came from," said Makled."If these young men were on forums that they should not have been on or things of that nature, then we’ll have to wait and see," he added. "But I don’t believe that there’s anything illegal about any of the activity they were doing."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!