A hulking transvestite butchered a beloved Portland taxi driver in an unprovoked Easter Sunday attack last year. Despite refusing to take respnsibility for the bloodletting and claiming victimhood‚ Moses Lopez managed to dodge a heftier sentence this week because Mike Schmidt‚ Multnomah County's leftist district attorney‚ approved a plea deal downgrading his murder charge to manslaughter. What's the background? Lopez went partying in downtown Portland on April 9‚ just days after being arrested and charged with menacing two employees of a Coos County Bi-Mart‚ trespassing‚ and weapons charges. When the fun came to an end‚ the LGBT activist called 911 and requested a ride home. The Oregonian reported that the operator told the transvestite to instead call a cab. Radio Cab driver Reese Lawhon‚ 43‚ obliged the transvestite‚ picking him up outside a donut shop. While there was initially some suggestion that the dispatcher had entered the wrong address‚ KGB-TV indicated Lopez had fouled up the instructions. Despite the miscommunication‚ Lawhon‚ a Texan with the company for 10 years‚ noticed the error‚ turned around under a highway overpass‚ and began to correct course. Blaze News previously reported that Darin Campbell‚ a spokesman for the cab company‚ noted on the basis of footage taken inside the cab that when Lawhon "went to put the new address in his GPS‚ the passenger stabbed him in the neck." KATU-TV reported that police were called at 6:41 p.m. to the scene of a cab stopped in the middle of traffic at the intersection of Southeast Washington Street and Southeast Water Avenue. Lawhon was found inside‚ slouched over the steering wheel with his neck cut open. Lopez was apprehended nearby shortly thereafter‚ covered in the victim's blood. First responders reportedly saw Lopez "drop a pair of brass knuckles with an attached blade on the ground." Ginger Lawhon‚ the victim's mother‚ was the last person to speak to him‚ reported KATU. "He returned the call saying he was working and would call later to visit. He never did‚" said Ginger Lawhon. "The world itself has been transformed and made deficient." Radio Cab noted in a statement upon learning of learning of the grisly slaying that Lawhon had been a "great person who came to work hoping to have a great Easter Sunday shift." An unrepentant killer Lopez was initially charged with second-degree murder and the unlawful use of a weapon. He also faced charges in a separate case for threatening two Bi-Mart employees‚ for which he skipped out on the first court date. Under the sweetheart plea deal Multnomah County DA Mike Schmidt approved‚ Lopez pleaded guilty to charges of first-degree manslaughter and the unlawful use of a weapon. He also saw his other case dismissed altogether per the terms of the agreement. The victim's sisters noted in a statement that they accepted the plea deal only so that their elderly parents would be spared from reliving the horror of what Lopez subjected their son to‚ reported KATU. "When Moses gets out in 20 years‚ assuming she's still alive‚ and I hope she's not‚ I look forward to testifying against her‚ whatever senseless crime she commits next‚ because she will‚" said Claire Pearce‚ one of the victim's sisters. "We tell our kids so many times that monsters aren't under the bed or in the closet‚ but it's a lie‚" Pearce told the court Wednesday. "Moses Lopez is a monster and will always be one." Lopez grinned when Pearce characterized him as a monster‚ reported the Oregonian. Lopez attempted to cast himself in court as a victim‚ complaining that the evening he butchered Lawhon‚ he had lost his debit card‚ had to listen to static on the dispatcher's radio‚ and wasn't taken directly to his desired destination. Lopez further suggested that he feared for his safety on account of being a transvestite in a predominantly leftist city. "I ended up in a very scary part of town where I was genuinely afraid‚" said the killer who traveled around with bladed brass knuckles. "I refuse to apologize for the lack of help that I so desperately needed." After displacing blame‚ the killer told Lawhon's grieving family members‚ "I want you to know that I accept the way that you feel." "The excuses that were made in the courtroom today for [Lopez's] actions are disgraceful" said Campbell‚ who underscored that Lawhon would have helped the transvestite if simply asked as opposed to brutally stabbed to death. "Our opinion is she is a homicidal mentally ill individual who should never be set free ever again‚" continued Campbell. "The Radio Cab management team that unfortunately had to see the video of the murder of Reese Lawhon are traumatized‚ I being one of them." A Multnomah County Circuit Court judge ultimately sentenced Lopez Wednesday to 22 years in state prison. The DA's office said in a statement‚ "The DA’s Office thanks PPB Detective Shaye Samora and the officers who assisted with this case. DA's Office staff also acknowledge the victim's family‚ as well as his friends and colleagues at Radio Cab‚ and hope that today’s sentencing brings some closure that will allow the healing process to continue." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Parents who deny their children "gender-affirming services" and abortions would be called abusers if an Illinois Democrat bill passes.What are the details?Democrat State Rep. Anne Stava-Murray proposed House Bill 4876‚ which would amend the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act to define an “abused child” as one whose parents deny the child abortions or “gender-affirming services‚" the Center Square reported.The outlet said Stava-Murray didn’t respond to requests for comment.However‚ the Center Square noted that Stava-Murray said in response to Facebook comments that “trans kids go through irreversible damage from a puberty that doesn’t match their gender identity every day in this country. To ignore that damage further harms trans children and puts them at risk for the mental health issues you purport to care about. Giving access to lifesaving gender affirming care should be the standard.”More from the outlet:The bill does not define “gender-affirming services‚” but refers to the definition in the Reproductive Health Act. A measure Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed last year amending the Reproductive Health Act doesn’t define “gender-affirming services‚” but does describe the treatment of gender dysphoria “or the affirmation of an individual’s gender identity or gender expression.”Treatment for gender dysphoria or “affirmation of an individual’s gender identity or gender expression” under the amended act says it includes “all supplies‚ care‚ and services of a medical‚ behavioral health‚ mental health‚ surgical‚ psychiatric‚ therapeutic‚ diagnostic‚ preventative‚ rehabilitative‚ or supportive nature that is not unlawful under the laws of this State.”PushbackAwake Illinois founder Shannon Adcock launched a campaign against the bill‚ the Center Square noted. “In Illinois‚ parents who are considered child abusers can lose custody of their children if in this case they do not affirm transgender drugs‚ surgical procedures such as penis and breast removal; this is incredibly radical‚” Adcock told the outlet.Adcock also explained to the Center Square that under Stava-Murray’s bill‚ denial of abortion‚ hormone therapy‚ or other gender surgeries aren't the only things that could trigger child abuse or neglect charges. She also told the outlet that denial of “primary medical care” such as drug prescriptions or vaccines would be catalysts for child abuse accusations. “And if a minor opts for this‚ and you as a parent deny that‚ that means that you are considered an abuser of a child‚” Adcock added to the Center Square. What's more‚ Adcock told the outlet that the bill would expand what mandated reporters of alleged child neglect and abuse must disclose.She added to Center Square that under the bill‚ "doctors that are performing these procedures against a parent’s [will] would not be sued." The bill was in the House Rules committee last week‚ the outlet said.Here's a news video focusing on another group's push for a ballot proposal protecting parents' rights in light of the Illinois bill: Conservative parents push for ballot question on child gender therapy consent youtu.be Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The Federal Trade Commission recently announced a new investigation of Google‚ Amazon‚ and Microsoft’s respective partnerships with artificial intelligence developers. “As companies race to develop and monetize AI‚ we must guard against tactics that foreclose this [economic and competitive] opportunity‚” said FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan said in a statement. Under Khan‚ the FTC has proved itself a poor judge of which business practices foreclose competition. To facilitate its categorical bias against big business and mergers‚ the agency has often deployed junk economic analysis to bring cases whose theories clearly contravene established antitrust precedent. Moreover‚ it has skirted inconvenient procedural and evidentiary barriers. Regulation by raised eyebrow rather than due process has cowed many litigation-averse firms into compliance. Bullying works. It remains unclear whether the FTC’s AI inquiry will morph into more serious legal action. But the agency‚ which has received embarrassing judicial rebukes each time it brought a case to trial‚ has managed to shape industry’s decision-making in another way. It has created a climate of fear‚ relying on hyperaggressive probes and inquiries over evidence and due process. It has also put forward heightened regulatory-compliance burdens and propagated vague new guidance that provides little certainty as to what conduct the commission might consider illegal. The agency’s message to the tech companies and their AI partners is clear: The Eye of Sauron is on you — tread carefully. The metaphor is not entirely apt. Sauron would never‚ presumably‚ have failed so spectacularly to win his court cases. In a November 2022 policy statement‚ the FTC declared it would act against “abusive‚” “exploitative‚” and “collusive” conduct. To attract scrutiny‚ conduct need not even qualify as “facially unfair‚” the agency said. What such broad terms might mean in practice‚ the agency declined to state. Moreover‚ a mere “tendency to generate negative consequences‚” the policy statement read‚ could draw regulatory ire. Enforcers need not “turn to whether the conduct directly caused actual harm in the specific instance at issue.” While this guidance governs only a part of the FTC’s regulatory portfolio‚ its principles illuminate the agency’s larger strategy. In effect‚ the agency has sought to maintain maximum flexibility to combat whatever business practices it — due to any given set of particulars‚ at any given moment — deems “anticompetitive.” Actual law and the welfare of consumers are tertiary considerations at best. This uproots the foundations of American due process‚ which requires the government to prove wrongdoing before confiscating a citizen’s life‚ liberty‚ or property. Under today’s FTC‚ the process itself serves as the punishment. Khan has admitted her willingness to pursue cases she likely cannot win. As the New York Times reports‚ Khan stated that if "there’s a law violation" and agencies "think that current law might make it difficult to reach‚ there’s huge benefit to still trying." Khan means she will bring lawsuits against mergers that she believes should be illegal‚ regardless of what the law says. This sort of regulation by raised eyebrow rather than due process has cowed many litigation-averse firms into compliance. Bullying works. “Companies have changed their behavior‚ structuring deals to avoid accusations that they break antitrust law‚” Reuters reported in October 2022. Khan has also argued for acting against business practices that current law does not prohibit as a means to lobby Congress. Because‚ she says‚ “even if you lose‚ that then creates the message for Congress to know … they [antitrust agencies] recognize there’s a problem here‚ the current law is not adequate for them to reach it‚ and so let’s change the law.” This statement’s profound injustice is startling. To influence lawmakers‚ Khan is willing to use her powers — powers predicated on the state’s monopoly on violence — to bully American firms. Even though‚ by her own admission‚ the firms have not violated existing law. If a police officer who favored driving slower were to begin ticketing drivers who drive 10 mph below the speed limit‚ he would likely lose his job. “Sorry‚ ma’am‚ the current law is not adequate to ticket you for driving 50 in a 60 zone‚ but I have to send a message to city hall‚” is not an acceptable excuse. Instead‚ Khan’s lawlessness has catapulted her to stardom among the progressive left. “If angels were to govern men‚ neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary‚” James Madison wrote in Federalist 51. All government officials require constitutional restraints on their exercise of power. The FTC hopes to erode all constraints on its operations — be they statutory‚ constitutional‚ political‚ or economic. Constitutional balance and the rule of law must be restored.

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With each iOS 17.4 beta that Apple releases‚ Europeans are getting closer to what's considered to be the holy grail of Apple's iPhone for many longtime users: iPhone sideloading. That's the ability to install any app on your phone‚ like you do on Mac and Windows. Third-party App Marketplaces will emerge to compete with the App Store. Third-party payment systems will also be available‚ and many people think that will make apps cheaper. Apple confirmed all that‚ so it's happening in Europe this March when the Digital Markets Act (DMA) goes into effect. But most of that is just wishful thinking. In reality‚ this is a potential nightmare waiting to happen‚ as malware could become much more prevalent on iOS. iPhone sideloading is hardly as good as some people might expect it to be. And that's actually a great thing for users like me who want nothing to do with it. Apple's new deal for developers has plenty of provisions in place that might keep malware away from the iPhone despite opening it to apps outside of the App Store. If you're excited about iPhone sideloading‚ like some of you clearly are‚ you should temper your expectations. Your iPhone experience won't change all that much. You're not getting the freedom you wanted. And those third-party App Marketplaces? It'll be a while before there are any good options out there. Continue reading... The post iPhone sideloading isn’t the freedom you think it is appeared first on BGR. Today's Top Deals This $16 clip-on lens kit fits the iPhone or any Android phone‚ and it’s awesome Amazon deal offers a 7-inch Android tablet for under $43 Save 61% on a 6-port USB rapid charger on Amazon Save 75% on a Canon black and white multifunction laser printer on Amazon

A contentious New York City law that would have granted voting rights in local elections to 800‚000 noncitizens was deemed unconstitutional by a state appeals court Wednesday.

Soaring grocery bills and surging restaurant prices are costing Americans 11.3% of their paychecks‚ the highest amount in 33 years‚ data from the federal government shows.

Democrat Rep. Ruben Gallego leads Kari Lake by six points in a hypothetical three-way Arizona Senate race‚ a key contest that will have a major impact on control of the upper chamber in November‚ according to an Emerson College poll released Thursday.

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate rose this week for the third time in as many weeks‚ driving up home loan borrowing costs in just as the spring homebuying season ramps up.