Former California GOP Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is weighing in on the ICE raids being conducted in his home state, placing blame on both Republicans and Democrats for failing to prioritize effective immigration reform. Variety reporters spoke to the actor as he walked the red carpet for the premiere of his Netflix series, “Fubar.” When asked his opinion about President Donald Trump deploying the National Guard and Marines to protect federal buildings and federal workers amid violent protests, Schwarzenegger pivoted and answered a different question instead. “Well, I’m not so much interested in that as I am that the politicians have the responsibility to create immigration reform so we don’t have to have this crap going on in the first place,” he told the reporter. “This is the result of Democrats and Republicans not being able to come together in this immigration reform. And so that’s what needs to be done so that you don’t have to go and start arresting people in the first place, so we know who is in this country and who is working here, who has the temporary working permit, who has the permanent working permit,” Schwarzenegger continued.  “We don’t even know who is in here,” Schwarzenegger continued. “For decades now, they have been avoiding the subject because it’s an advantage to both parties to not do it. So they’re all political hacks, party hacks, rather than public servants.” Schwarzenegger, who is Republican but has more moderate views on many social issues, served as governor of California from 2003 until 2011. Other celebrities have been outspoken in their criticism of the raids, using social media and awards stages to condemn President Trump’s decision to send in the troops.  Influencer Kim Kardashian also railed against ICE agents doing their jobs. “When we’re told that ICE exists to keep our country safe and remove violent criminals — great,” Kim Kardashian wrote in a statement shared to her Instagram story. “But when we witness innocent, hardworking people being ripped from their families in inhumane ways, we have to speak up. We have to do what’s right.” The SKIMS founder also discussed “how deeply immigrants are woven into the fabric” of Los Angeles.  “There HAS to be a BETTER way,” she added.  

Numerous Democrats decried Israel’s Thursday night attack on Iran as the American ally destroyed one of the radical Islamic regime’s nuclear facilities and killed some of its top military leaders. After Israel conducted airstrikes in Iran, many leftists claimed Israel was taking “immoral” actions and pursuing “dangerous escalation” with the Iranian regime, a state sponsor of terrorism that funds violent groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, which seek Israel’s destruction. “The Israeli government bombing Iran is a dangerous escalation that could lead to regional war,” said Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), a member of the “Squad.” “War Criminal Netanyahu will do anything to maintain his grip on power. We cannot let him drag our country into a war with Iran. Our government must stop funding and supporting this rogue genocidal regime.” Tlaib’s fellow “Squad” member, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), added, “Regardless of what Trump thinks, Israel knows America will do whatever they want and feels confident about their ability to get into war and have the American government back them up. Israel also knows they can always rely on getting America to protect and serve its needs. Everyone in America should prepare themselves to either see their tax dollars being spent on weapon supplies to Israel or be dragged into war with Iran if this escalates.” Israel targeted “hideouts of senior operatives in the Iranian military leadership,” according to the Israel Defense Forces. Among the Iranian military leaders taken out by Israel were Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Iranian Regime, Mohammad Hossein Bagheri; Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami; and Commander of Khatam al-Anbiya (Emergency Command), Gholam Al-Rashid, as The Daily Wire reported. Throughout the night, more than 200 Israeli Air Force fighter jets struck more than 100 targets across Iran. Ben Rhodes, a political commentator and former Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting under President Barack Obama, blasted Israel and President Donald Trump after the attack was launched. “This war will above all harm innocent people for no good reason. We live in truly cruel, perilous and stupid times,” he wrote on X. Rhodes, who was so critical of Israel while working in the White House that he was reportedly nicknamed “Hamas,” called Israel’s action “pointless, dangerous, and immoral.” “Trump was either totally humiliated by Bibi or has been lying about his commitment to ending wars,” he added. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released a statement condemning Israel for risking “a regional war that will likely be catastrophic for America.” “Iran would not be this close to possessing a nuclear weapon if Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu had not forced America out of the nuclear agreement with Iran that had brought Europe, Russia, and China together behind the United States to successfully contain Iran’s nuclear ambitions,” Murphy added, referring to the previous Iran nuclear agreements pushed by Obama and former President Joe Biden that failed to prevent the Ayatollah from pushing forward with its nuclear and missile programs, according to U.S. intelligence. Predictions of a large-scale war that could force the United States into the conflict are overblown, according to Brett McGurk, the former National Security Council Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa under President Joe Biden. McGurk told CNN that Iran’s capability of responding to Israel’s attack is severely hampered since the leaders of terror groups that would coordinate Iran’s response “are all dead.” Trump urged Iran on Friday to reach a new deal with the United States, saying, “Two months ago I gave Iran a 60 day ultimatum to ‘make a deal.’ They should have done it! Today is day 61. I told them what to do, but they just couldn’t get there. Now they have, perhaps, a second chance.”

For the folks who live near Khao Yai National Park in Thailand, it’s not unusual to spot a friendly elephant every once in a while. In fact, there’s a 27-year-old male elephant who is well known in the area. His name is Plai Biang Lek. People love him, even when he does try and steal their food. This remains true despite a recent and unexpected act of thievery: The giant elephant went inside a grocery store! The store is located in Thailand’s Nakhon Ratchasima province, putting it in close proximity to the elephants who roam the area. Because the grocery has such a wide opening, Plai Biang Lek didn’t have much trouble getting inside. Check out what this hungry elephant did next in the viral video below! @nbcnews An #elephant caused chaos in a grocery store in #Thailand when it walked in and began to help itself to snacks. ♬ original sound – nbcnews According to Khamploi Kakaew, the owner of the store, Plai Biang Lek passes by all of the time. But this was the very first time he actually stepped foot inside the building. Once he did get inside, he certainly didn’t want to leave. There were so many snacks to choose from, after all! In the end, the elephant went with some pretty tasty options: about nine bags of sweet rice crackers, a sandwich, and dried bananas. Nobody Can Stay Mad at This Adorable Elephant in Thailand Who Stole Food From a Grocery Store “It walked up to the counter — the candy counter near the freezer,” Khamploi says. “It used its trunk to gently push the freezer out of the way so it could fit inside.” Around 10 minutes passed before the elephant was removed from the store. Doing so required the assistance of nearby park rangers. Thankfully, no one was hurt during the elephant’s food raid. Even the building came out unscathed, minus the dirt trail left behind. And as far as the stolen food goes… well, a wildlife protection group offered the store money to cover their loss. “They said they were ‘sponsoring the elephant’s snack bill,'” Khamploi recalls. “It was kind of funny.” You can find the source of this story’s featured image here! The post Elephant Helps Itself To Snacks After Walking Into Grocery Store In Thailand appeared first on InspireMore.

A roundup of mysterious, paranormal and strange news stories from the past week.

'Lost the culture war on climate'

'I've never had to resign in disgrace'

'I think it's a chilling moment'

I have a feeling his run-ins with discipline had nothing to do with his skin color

'Barbaric practices'

'The Left literally didn't care'