Former network news star Katie Couric actually interviewed a Republican – Sen. Rand Paul – on her YouTube show, and the senator tried to take a moderate tone in contrast to Couric’s extremist DNC talking points. Couric cited a CBS News number. "Senator, if ICE agents were truly talking about the worst of the worst, as the president likes to say," she began. "Less than 14 percent of nearly 400,000 immigrants arrested by ICE in President Trump's first year back in the White House had charges or convictions for violent criminal offenses, according to an internal Department of Homeland Security document obtained by CBS News." Liberals can't do the math that even if you accept this claim, that's 56,000 violent criminals.  Many network reports (in addition to CBS) have tried to harp on the notion that Trump is somehow failing if violent criminals aren't 100 percent of the deported. Then they play games and don't count people charged with violent crimes, or convicted in other countries of violent crimes. Paul said "the facts make a difference." Jesse Watters pointed out how Katie Couric pushed Sen. Rand Paul on CBS's report that only 14 percent of 400,000 migrants arrested in Trump's first year back were violent criminals. Paul points out that matters if your family is victimized by someone who should have been removed. pic.twitter.com/isr6wfG38x — Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) February 14, 2026 COURIC: So isn't all this talk about ridding the country of violent criminals a massive overstatement, if less than 14 percent, again, of the 400,000 immigrants being arrested had charges or convictions for violent criminal offenses? SEN. RAND PAUL (R-Ky.): Well, I think the facts make a difference. And so that's one of the questions we will ask. And so when you come to Minneapolis, if they have a policy that says, oh, we're not going to turn over from our jails nonviolent prisoners, people who are, I don't know why you're in prison if you're nonviolent, but maybe you have a drug crime that's a nonviolent. COURIC: I think there are plenty of nonviolent people in prison. PAUL: But the thing is, that's not their policy. Their policy is we will turn no one over. So you can be, you beat somebody half to death, you get an assault charge, and you're in jail for a couple years, and somehow you're getting out on parole, and you're not going to be turned over and you're illegal…. I've got a problem with that, and so do probably most independents and Democrats. But that's what we have to ascertain. And the thing is, is that's not the policy of Mayor Frey. He did not come forward and say, we're not going to turn over nonviolent prisoners. He just simply said, we're not going to cooperate at all. Paul discussed his sense of the polls: "I think most people are in the middle. I think most people actually hate what the use of force that they saw with Alexander Pretti. But I think if you ask them, if a guy's committed rape and he's in prison, and he's going to get out, do you want him deported? I think people would say, hell yes, he ought to be deported." Couric couldn't accept this common-sense majority position -- perhaps in deference to her liberal fans -- so Paul kept bringing the common sense.  COURIC: Let me say that though, what about the 14%? Such a low percentage of 400,000 people. PAUL: If your daughter gets raped by the guy that gets back out and he's one of the 14%, I don't think you're going to quibble about whether it's 14 or 64. What I'm saying is, if you're not going to turn over anybody, then that's 0%. I don't think the percentage, it makes a halfway argument to how much effort we have. But if Minnesota is not going to turn over anybody, the whole argument, whether it's 14 or 86, doesn't mean anything. So if they're not turning over anybody, then inevitably there are, and there are many emotional cases. The Laken Riley case of a guy that had been arrested, should have been deported. He was a thug, he was arrested multiple times up in New York. The government paid to send this thug to look for a job in Atlanta. It was almost like, we'll give you a bus ticket so your crime committing person will send you to some other state. But to Laken Riley's family, it was a big deal, and it is a big deal to people who care about what happened to her, that if that person had been deported. Now you might tell me that person's an anomaly, he's only one in 100, but up in Laken Riley's family, I don't care if it's one in 100. The one in 100 people who are violent, if that's a number, or if it's 14 in 100, we want them deported.

In the latest episode of Apple TV+'s Shrinking ("D-Day"), which ironically aired during National Marriage Week, a heartwarming scene between Harrison Ford's Paul and high-school senior Alice (Lukita Maxwell) turns sour when she declares she wants kids but no husband, because marriage is a "sexist construct." Cue the eye rolls. This isn't clever writing. It's Hollywood's calculated jab at society's cornerstone, courtesy of liberal elites pushing so-called "empowerment" while dismantling family values. Paul is a therapist who Alice looks up to as her mentor and counselor. When discussing Alice’s future, the conversation turns to marriage and family, as she declares she wants children, but not a husband, because she believes marriage is a “sexist construct”: Apple TV's comedy #Shrinking declares marriage is a "sexist construct" during #NationalMarriageWeek. @AppleTV @MarriageWeekUSA @HarrisonFordLA #ValentinesDay #ValentinesDay2026 pic.twitter.com/G1DOGDXFL5 — Dawn Slusher (@BlondeBlogger) February 14, 2026 Paul: Least now you know, you can get it through it on your own if you have to. But hear this. You never have to. Alice: Good. 'Cause, I mean, I'm about to go to college, and that's gonna be insane. And then there will be work stuff and marriage. Actually, never doing that. That's a sexist construct. Or, sh*t, babies. Well, I guess I could do that. I did raise Dad. One might discount this babble as what Gen Z thinks is their newfound "conventional wisdom." But marriage isn't sexist. It's the ultimate equalizer. When done right, it's about unconditional love, commitment, and partnership. It lets men and women thrive together, raise kids responsibly, and build stable homes. Mountains of evidence show married couples are happier, healthier, and wealthier. Bad people can abuse any institution, but that doesn't make marriage itself flawed. Hollywood's propaganda-normalizing anti-marriage mantras in lighthearted scenes targets impressionable teens. It convinces girls that ditching marriage leads to fulfillment, not loneliness, with Netflix and cats as your only companions. This erodes bonds, encouraging delayed or skipped marriage, and it's fueling America's crisis: plummeting marriage and birth rates. Marriage rates are collapsing. The U.S. rate hit 6.1 per 1,000 in recent data, down sharply from historical highs. This decline isn't harmless. Out-of-wedlock births are 40% of all U.S. births, with about 34% of kids in single-parent families. Economist Melissa Kearney, author of The Two-Parent Privilege, shows kids from married two-parent homes have far better outcomes: lower poverty (often just 5% in married households vs. much higher in single-parent ones), better academics, and reduced behavioral issues. Children are more likely to be exposed to violence, crime, and abuse when there is just one parent, and children in married households perform much better academically. Crime surges where families fracture. The Institute for Family Studies' 2023 Stronger Families, Safer Streets report found cities with high single-parent households had 48% higher total crime, 118% higher violent crime, and 255% higher homicides (across 600+ cities, 2015–2019). In Chicago, high-single-parent areas saw 137% higher total crime, 226% higher violent crime, and 436% higher homicides -- patterns tied to father absence, even controlling for poverty and race. Delayed marriages hammer fertility, down to 1.6 kids per woman in 2024, well below the 2.1 replacement level. Fewer births mean populations shrink which leads to slower growth, stalled innovation, strained entitlements for seniors, and weaker social ties with fewer family connections. Shows like Shrinking aren't progressive, they're regressive, chipping away at America's strength. What they call "sexist construct" is actually America’s saving grace. We must push back: tax incentives for marriage, education on its benefits, and calling out this anti-marriage propaganda. Because if we let Hollywood continue to redefine family, we'll all pay a heavy price.

Most hard core liberals, especially in the media, take it as a matter of absolute faith that President Donald Trump is the puppet of Russian president Vladimir Putin. However, an article published in a very surprising source has shattered that myth. The Atlantic magazine, yes that Democrat-loving periodical, published an article on Friday that destroyed that notion. And the two authors of the piece can't be written off as ill informed. Both Thomas Graham and Alan Cullison are members of the Council on Foreign Relations. In addition, Graham is the author of "Getting Russia Right" and Cullison was a former Moscow correspondent for The Wall Street Journal. Their article,"Putin Didn’t Know How Good He Had It," sweeps away the sacred liberal belief that Putin somehow controls Trump. In fact, they make a strong case that it was in large part due to Trump that Putin and Russia are currently in a very bad position on the world scene. For decades, Russian President Vladimir Putin railed against the world that the United States built after the Cold War. In his account, an international order run by a single power would hinder Russia and produce needless conflict, especially when that power was as self-serving and duplicitous as America. Now Donald Trump is dismantling the order that Putin had so long abhorred, and a new multipolar world is emerging in its place. Putin had thought he could rise to the top of such a system, in which raw economic and military might outweigh diplomacy and alliances. But he was mistaken: The norms and institutions of the postwar order actually masked Russia’s vulnerabilities. Putin has gotten the world he wished for—and it’s threatening to crush him. And if you are still clinging to the absurd notion that Putin somehow controls a compliant Trump then you (hello, Atlantic readers) have taken a fatal overdose of the thoroughly discredited Steele Dossier as Graham and Cullison continue to reveal the reality of the situation. Putin also assumed that a multipolar world would free him from American interference. And indeed, Trump has accommodated Moscow in some ways. His conciliation does not, however, extend to Russia’s energy sector, the foundation of its economy: Last fall, Trump levied wide-ranging sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil, the country’s two largest oil producers. The U.S. has also ramped up enforcement against shadow tankers, threatening a primary channel that Russia has used to sidestep sanctions on its oil sales. Trump’s plans to revive Venezuela’s petroleum sector might likewise hurt Russia. Executing those plans may prove more complicated than Trump anticipates, but they could drive Russia’s oil prices below what its federal budget can sustain. Moscow is at the mercy of an American president who circumvents traditional channels of power and obliterates the constraints that once regulated their use. For example, Trump could attempt to use his recently constituted Board of Peace to bypass the United Nations Security Council—and Russia’s veto—and muscle through his preferred policy in the Middle East, eroding Moscow’s influence in the region. Thanks to decisions by both Trump and Putin, moreover, the two powers no longer have any functional arms-control agreements. Without these, Trump could choose to accelerate his “Golden Dome” missile-defense program, which Russia fears could undermine its own nuclear deterrence. Trump’s disdain for international alliances and norms has also begun to reshape Europe in a way that may exacerbate Russia’s weakness. As U.S. security assurances wane, European countries are developing their hard-power capabilities. Germany has committed 100 billion euros to modernize its military, and Poland is building up its armed forces with a goal of amassing 300,000 troops. Putin has long wanted to split the U.S. and Europe. But he might soon find that the continent—which collectively dwarfs Russia in population and wealth—poses a significant challenge even if it doesn’t belong to a U.S.-dominated alliance. This should dispel the idea that Trump is merely Putin's puppet. However, never underestimate the liberal aptitude for self-deception. The same poor souls fully expected the Mueller Report to prove Trump-Russia collusion, when that report revealed no vast conspiracy, were still unable to let go of their delusions. However, it is refreshing to see cold reality splashed directly on the faces of the Atlantic readers.

You may remember that one day prior to the shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis, the city's Mayor Jacob Frey was on CNN's OutFront with Erin Burnett accusing ICE of being racist and "sowing chaos" on the streets of his city, with no push-back. Thursday night, CNN hosted Frey on The Source with Kaitlan Collins, and he was allowed to go off unchecked once again. Collins began the sit-down by asking Frey about the announcement that Operation Metro Surge will be ending in Minnesota, and the Mayor responded in part, by trashing ICE. "This has been an operation that has been devastating, even catastrophic, to families, to our immigrant community, to small and local businesses throughout our city." Of course Collins failed to mention what ICE has accomplished in Minnesota, with the arrests of more than 4,000 illegal immigrants, including murderers and rapists. Every illegal immigrant is celebrated as a "neighbor," as "family," as part of "our community." None of them should ever be deported. That's the message, both obvious and subliminal.  She even referenced one of his more disgraceful moments, where Frey commanded ICE to "get the F*** out of Minneapolis." It was "famous," Collins said. "I mean, you famously told ICE to get the 'F' out of your city." She also expressed her admiration for the protesters standing in the cold: "And they were protesting, I mean, in subzero temperatures, some days."  So it should come as no surprise that Collins did not follow-up with even one question challenging any of Frey's claims during the entire interview. FREY: ..What I think everybody found so exceedingly objectionable is both the scope of what we saw in 3,000 to 4,000 ICE agents and Border Patrol, versus 600 police officers, and also the conduct that we were seeing on our streets, which was these roving gangs of agents, picking Somali people and Latino people off the street, not based, not on the basis of them having been a criminal, but on the basis of the way that they looked. That's not okay in Minneapolis. That is not okay in any city in America. Collins then played a clip of Tom Homan, addressing what had been accomplished. HOMAN: There were some issues here and we addressed those issues. But I'm not going to sit here and say anybody did anything wrong and that they were unprofessional. I'm going to say, there's some issues here. We fixed those issues. We've had great success with this operation, and we're leaving Minnesota safer. The idea that Minnesota might be safer is banished from the mind. Time for the big fat softball. COLLINS: When you hear that, and you think about Renee Good and Alex Pretti, I mean, do you view that as issues? FREY: Issues would be certainly the understatement of the century. These are people that should be alive today. Alex and Renee were standing up for their neighbors. They were practicing First Amendment, and Second Amendment, and 10th Amendment, and probably Fourth Amendment... Bottom line is constitutionally-protected activity was taking place...These were not domestic terrorists. These were part of our Minneapolis collective family. These were neighbors. They were family members. We loved them, and they deserved better. Of course neither the Mayor nor Collins mentioned that days before his shooting, Pretti had spit on and damaged an ICE vehicle, in a confrontation with agents. More from Frey. FREY: ..It was this practice of hunting down people that had done nothing wrong. It was the detention of United States citizens. It was the dragging of a pregnant woman through the street. It was having these massive and traumatic impacts on children...  Of course Collins failed to mention DHS's claim that the "dragged"  woman had tried to damage a squad car and attempts to arrest her were abandoned after protesters throw ice and rocks at agents. Collins then brought up Governor Walz's demand for federal compensation for "what they broke" in Minnesota, again, tossing that softball. COLLINS: ..He said, You don't get to break things and then just leave without doing something about it. Do you agree with that, that there should be federal compensation? FREY: I do.    Shocking! Now if Collins had confronted Frey with some of the inflammatory things that both he and the Governor have said that many believe had fueled the chaos, that would have been shocking in the true sense of the word. A horrible interview.

Before the Department of Homeland Security shutdown at midnight on Saturday as a result of Democrats demanding certain ICE reforms, ABC’s World News Tonight host David Muir and chief White House correspondent Mary Bruce declined to inform their viewers that ICE will be largely immune from the shutdown. Muir began by introducing Bruce, “Tonight, a partial government shutdown now just hours away. Democrats refusing to fund the Department of Homeland Security unless there are major changes to these immigration operations, including having ICE agents remove their masks. Here's Mary Bruce tonight.” Bruce started her report by cueing up a clip from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, “Tonight, for the third time in President Trump's second term, parts of the federal government bracing for a shutdown. Democrats refusing to fund the Department of Homeland Security unless Republicans agree to key changes to immigration enforcement.”   ABC's David Muir and Mary Bruce decline to mention that Democrats' anti-ICE partial government shutdown of DHS won't actually affect ICE because of last year's Big Beautiful Bill. Instead, we only get a clip of Mike Johnson lamenting "What they're going to do is shut down FEMA,… pic.twitter.com/lKexES4QGi — Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) February 14, 2026   After the clip, Bruce continued, “Democrats demanding that ICE agents stop wearing masks, display identification, coordinate with state and local governments, and obtain warrants signed by a judge before making arrests.” ICE would love to be able to cooperate with state and local governments, so perhaps Democrats and ABC should talk to Democratic governors and mayors about that. As it was, Bruce then played another clip, this one of Speaker Mike Johnson declaring, “What they're going to do is shut down FEMA, Coast Guard, TSA, and things that hurt real people.” Some viewers may listen to Johnson’s statement and simply conclude he was mentioning DHS’s other functions, which is only partly true. Due to 2025’s Big Beautiful Bill, ICE and Border Patrol have sufficient funding to keep operating as normal, and back in November, during the last shutdown, DHS used BBB funding to keep paying ICE and CBP agents. Johnson’s statement should be read as saying that Democrats are punishing FEMA, the Coast Guard, the TSA, and, if this shutdown goes on for an extended period of time, American air travelers who will have to deal with long lines at airports in order to go after ICE. As it was, Bruce then introduced a clip of herself, “Tonight, hours before the government shuts down, the halls of Congress empty. Republican leaders sending lawmakers home for a week-long holiday recess. As he was heading out of town himself, President Trump telling me he plans to get personally involved in talks, but refusing to say if he's willing to make any concessions.” In a clip of Trump on the White House lawn, Bruce yelled, “How long are you prepared for this fight to go on?” For his part, Trump declared, “So, I am here to protect law enforcement. Our great police and ICE and Border Patrol and everybody. I'm here to protect them because they're protecting us.” Bruce concluded by trying to undermine that argument, “And David, Democrats say they're trying to protect the American too after two American citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were shot and killed by immigration enforcement officers.” Last year, Democrats and ABC made sure to promote themselves as the civil service’s best friends. Now, when Democrats want to make them go without a paycheck, again, Muir and Bruce can’t even bring themselves to say that the two main agencies Democrats are angry at won’t even be affected by their antics. Here is a transcript for the February 13 show: ABC World News Tonight 2/13/2026 6:41 PM ET DAVID MUIR: Tonight, a partial government shutdown now just hours away. Democrats refusing to fund the Department of Homeland Security unless there are major changes to these immigration operations, including having ICE agents remove their masks. Here's Mary Bruce tonight. MARY BRUCE: Tonight, for the third time in President Trump's second term, parts of the federal government bracing for a shutdown. Democrats refusing to fund the Department of Homeland Security unless Republicans agree to key changes to immigration enforcement. HAKEEM JEFFRIES: We’ve drawn a hard line in the sand on behalf of the American people. And we're not going to allow the Congress to cross it. ICE needs to be dramatically reformed. Period, full stop. BRUCE: Democrats demanding that ICE agents stop wearing masks, display identification, coordinate with state and local governments, and obtain warrants signed by a judge before making arrests. MIKE JOHNSON: What they're going to do is shut down FEMA, Coast Guard, TSA, and things that hurt real people. BRUCE: Tonight, hours before the government shuts down, the halls of Congress empty. Republican leaders sending lawmakers home for a week-long holiday recess. As he was heading out of town himself, President Trump telling me he plans to get personally involved in talks, but refusing to say if he's willing to make any concessions. How long are you prepared for this fight to go on? DONALD TRUMP: So, I am here to protect law enforcement. Our great police and ICE and Border Patrol and everybody. I'm here to protect them because they're protecting us. BRUCE: And David, Democrats say they're trying to protect the American too after two American citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were shot and killed by immigration enforcement officers. David.