Former Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) allegedly started the push to get Bill Belichick hired at the University of North Carolina by contacting political allies in the area.Rubio, who is now the secretary of state under President Donald Trump, was one of the first allies to hear from former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick about pursuing a position with the University of North Carolina.Belichick won six Super Bowls in the NFL with the New England Patriots before being let go. He eventually signed a five-year, $50 million contract to become the head coach of UNC.However, the road toward that monumental deal is said to have been rather unorthodox and involved political strings being pulled at some of the highest levels.'There's a chance Belichick would come to Chapel Hill.'Belichick reportedly sent out the word to his political connections, including former Senator Rubio, who then contacted other allies in North Carolina. Rubio is said to have made a call to Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) in hopes that he could get in touch with some of his own contacts at the university.In an in-depth report, ESPN spoke to Tillis, who explained that Rubio, a big sports guy, called him to talk about Belichick."Rubio follows the sports world pretty closely, and he called me and said, 'There's a chance Belichick would come to Chapel Hill,'" Tillis told the outlet.Tillis recalled, "[Rubio] said, 'He wants a school with a great academic reputation, and he wants to try to build a program to bring them a national championship.'"The senator revealed he then told Rubio, "Well, let me go [make some calls]."Tillis explained that he immediately got on the wire with Phil Berger, the North Carolina Senate president pro tempore. He reached out to the Senate president for his strong connections at UNC, but Berger reportedly did not immediately take the idea seriously. Berger allegedly even laughed at the thought of Belichick wanting to go to North Carolina — until Tillis reassured him that the proposal was real.When approached by ESPN, UNC Chancellor Lee Roberts was not willing to comment on any influence that Rubio, Tillis, or Berger may have had. He did say, however, that he has been "really pleased" with the support the school has received "across the board" since hiring Belichick."We expected the response to be positive, but it has been even more overwhelmingly positive than we imagined," he explained. "We obviously wouldn't do it if we didn't think it was a wise investment, and it's still early, but we couldn't feel better about where we are with that."ESPN claimed that an inside but unnamed source confirmed that the "push to land Belichick" all stemmed from the actions "with the politicians."While Belichick's foray into college football came as a surprise to many, insider reports described his departure from the NFL as a rather contentious one. Belichick allegedly grew tired of NFL owners and was even told that he didn't deserve to be "empowered."Sources close to the coach said he was "disgusted" by what the league had become.Rumors circulated in January that Belichick had been contacted by his former star quarterback Tom Brady — who is now a part owner of the Las Vegas Raiders — but rumors that the coach would join Brady in Las Vegas have largely died down. At the same time, however, the NFL season is still far away, and Belichick's contract with North Carolina reportedly included a $10 million buyout if he leaves before June 1, 2025. That price tag is something a prospective NFL team would likely be willing to pay.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

A viral video shows the insane moment when a driver plowed his car into a CarMax dealership showroom in southern California. The vehicle slammed into customers, leaving eight injured, including two who were in critical condition. Just after 2 p.m. Saturday, a customer at a CarMax dealership in Inglewood "had his vehicle appraised," according to CarMax. 'One sales representative got run over, his hand got crushed by the car.'The Inglewood Police Department said a customer had a "business dispute," which NBC News said may have been the driver’s motive to go on the rampage. The customer allegedly left the showroom, went to the parking lot, and got into a silver Subaru SUV. Video shows the car reversing and ramming through a doorway of the CarMax showroom. Mitchell Marshall — who allegedly witnessed the incident — told KCAL-TV he saw some people arguing before the mayhem ensued."So then he backed up, came this way, made a big U-turn and rammed it — not once but twice," Marshall said. "It was totally unnecessary, whatever was going on in there."Another witness — Sim Wang — told KTTV-TV, "We suddenly saw a fight, fighting, it was really loud. Everyone was kind of worried, and security tried to stop the guy."Wang said he saw the driver slam into people inside the showroom and that he almost became a victim himself."Suddenly, we heard shouting, glass cracking, and then there's the SUV running through the store — nearly just passed me by," Wang said.Wang claimed, "One sales representative got run over, his hand got crushed by the car. I was there, it was so close to me ... it was two steps or five steps close to me. I was shouting, 'Move out! Move out!'"The driver recklessly plowed through the showroom before speeding through a different doorway of the CarMax dealership. KTLA-TV shared video of the vehicular rampage. According to CarMax, the suspect hit and injured two employees and six customers. According to officials, the injuries ranged from body aches to serious head injuries.The two people critically injured were taken to a local hospital, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.The driver fled the crime scene then drove less than a mile to the Los Angeles Police Department’s Ahmanson Recruit Training Center where he turned himself in to authorities, Inglewood Police Department Sgt. Cesar Jurado told the Los Angeles Times. Police said the incident is being investigated as an intentional act.CarMax — which buys and sells used cars – said it was "working with the authorities on the investigation" into this "terrible event."NBC News reported that the suspect — who was not identified — faces multiple counts, including assault with a deadly weapon.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Two aircraft flew too close to President Donald Trump's Florida estate over the weekend, prompting a stern warning from the North American Aerospace Defense Command.On Friday, Trump left the White House to spend the weekend at Mar-a-Lago in West Palm Beach, Florida, the fifth time he has done so since his second term began in late January. Trump's presence then automatically triggered a temporary flight restriction for the area near Mar-a-Lago, but at least two pilots apparently didn't get the memo.'Adherence to TFR procedures is essential to ensure flight safety, national security, and the security of the president.'At approximately 8:50 a.m. on Saturday, one aircraft entered the restricted space. Then a second airplane — described as "a civilian aircraft" — violated the TFR barely 24 hours later, at 1:15 p.m. on Sunday, NORAD said in a statement.In both instances, an F-16 fighter jet from the Continental U.S. NORAD Region was forced to intervene, and according to NORAD, the second aircraft "was safely escorted out of the area."During these incidents, flares were also used "to draw attention from or communicate with the pilot," NORAD said. These flares, though highly visible, "burn out quickly and completely" and therefore posed "no danger to people on the ground."Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander of NORAD and the U.S. Northern Command, expressed frustration about the apparent security breaches."Adherence to TFR procedures is essential to ensure flight safety, national security, and the security of the president," Guillot said in a statement. "The procedures are not optional."According to NORAD, fully 20 aircraft have violated TFRs near Mar-a-Lago just since Trump took office a few weeks ago. Guillot placed the blame on pilots, claiming they are not doing their duty and keeping apprised of all notices to airmen, often referred to as NOTAMs, posted for the area, "as required by the FAA.""Pilots, please check NOTAMs!" NORAD pleaded on X. — (@) The news of the apparent TFR violations near Mar-a-Lago comes on the heels of reports of an armed gunman shot by Secret Service agents near the White House early Sunday morning, when Trump was still in Florida. The suspect has been described as emotionally disturbed and possibly "suicidal."Founded in 1958, NORAD is joint agency between the United States and Canada "charged with the missions of aerospace warning and aerospace control for North America," according to its website. The NORAD leadership team comprises high-ranking members of the U.S. and Royal Canadian Air Forces.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) may present herself as the “ghetto queen of Congress,” but an old video has resurfaced that shows it might all just be an act. In the video, Crockett speaks in a calm and eloquent fashion, carefully choosing her words and remaining respectful to her interviewer. “It’s just being fake,” Jason Whitlock of “Fearless” says. “We have mastered the art of being fake in front of certain people for our benefit, or for performative reasons.” “They took a little suburban black girl next door, cute face, went to a little private, I think, Catholic, predominantly white high school in St. Louis, and said, ‘Hey, we’re going to dress you up as a ‘yas queen’ from the ghetto when you get to Congress,’” he continues. “And so she’s cursing and being loud, and she’s leaning into the fake eyelashes and the fingernails and all of that. It’s a clown show. We’ve seen it a million times,” he adds. Shemeka Michelle agrees. “Not only was Jasmine Felicia Crockett not this ghetto person when she was a state representative, she was born to a pastor and his wife,” says Michelle. “So this, what she’s portraying, is not even the life that she actually lived. And we’ve known for a long time that it was a character,” she continues, noting that in other old videos from just five years ago, she was “a little bit chubbier, eyelashes weren’t as long and dramatic.” “Now that’s all we see,” Michelle says. “Every time she opens her mouth, she’s cursing, or she has to hit her hands together constantly, showing us those long fingernails.” “It’s a gimmick; it’s an act,” she adds. 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.

Texas police say a man killed his fiancé and tried to stage his death as a suicide but was foiled by an investigation into his Google searches. In January, police found the body of 27-year-old Luis Banos Norberto shot in the face with a rifle in his arm at an apartment he shared with 31-year-old Ty Vaughn in Baytown, a suburb of Houston. He allegedly mentioned Norberto's immigration status several times unprompted. Court documents reviewed by KTRK-TV said that Vaughn told police he had gotten into an argument with Norberto and left the apartment before returning and finding him dead. When police investigated surveillance video and interviewed neighbors, they said that they determined Vaughn had been at the apartment at a time he claimed to have been away. Neighbors told police they heard two gunshots soon after he was seen walking back to the apartment. About 22 minutes later, Vaughn texted Norberto, "Babe? Babe why are you not texting back?!?!" and another 71 minutes later, he called 911. "My spouse is dead. Help. My life is over," the man told the police dispatcher. Police said Norberto was found with a gunshot through his eye, a rifle propped up in his arm, and a photograph of the couple torn up. When interviewing Vaughn, he allegedly mentioned Norberto's immigration status several times unprompted, according to police. They also found that he had searched, "Can I kill an illegal human" on Google on his phone. Vaughn was arrested and had a bond set at $500,000. Some of the neighbors told KTRK that they hadn't even heard about the violent incident until they were approached by the news station. A KTRK reporter had offered condolences to Vaughn before he had been arrested, and he replied, "It is what it is." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

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The Trump administration's decision to take a different approach from western Europe to almost every international conflict means that concerns over global security are "increasing, rather than decreasing," German Foreign Intelligence Service President Bruno Kahl said.