A guest on CBS News’ “60 Minutes” attempted to claim on Sunday’s broadcast that despite reports of pre-dawn raids and the confiscation of electronics, German citizens really do enjoy free speech — until they say something that law enforcement interprets as “hate speech.”
Dr. Matthäus Fink sat down with host Sharyn Alfonsi to discuss the topic, and he explained how the recent raids had played out.
“What’s the typical reaction when the police show up at somebody’s door and they say, ‘Hey, we believe you wrote this on the internet’?” Alfonsi asked.
Fink said that the initial reaction was typically disbelief — mainly because they believed they were entitled to freedom of speech: “They say — in Germany we say, ‘Das wird man ja wohl noch sagen dürfen.’ So we are here with crimes of talking, posting on internet, and the people are surprised that this is really illegal to post these kind of words.”
“They don’t think it was illegal. And they say, ‘No, that’s my free speech.’ And we say, ‘No, you have free speech as well, but it is also has its limits,'” Fink continued.
Fink also revealed during the interview that in addition to posting swastika images or any other Nazi symbols — and even denying the Holocaust – it was also illegal to insult another person in public.
“And it’s a crime to insult them online as well?” Alfonsi asked.
“The fine could be even higher if you insult someone in the internet,” Fink replied, explaining, “Because in internet, it stays there. If we are talking face to face, you insult me, I insult you, okay. Finish. But if you’re in the internet, if I insult you or a politician …”
The interview comes just days after Vice President JD Vance spoke in Munich about the dangers posed by European nations like Germany when they policed the free speech of and even outright censored their people.
“Democracy restson the sacred principle that the voiceof the people matters. There’s no room for firewalls,” Vance said. “You eitheruphold the principal or you don’t.”
It also comes just a few hours after “Face the Nation” host claimed — during an interview with Secretary of State Marco Rubio — that the Holocaust had been caused by the fact that “free speech was weaponized.”
Rubio quickly shut Brennan down, explaining that censorship had been one of the hallmarks of the Nazi regime.
CBS News host Margaret Brennan claimed during an interview over the weekend that the Holocaust was caused because free speech was “weaponized.”
The left-wing host made the highly controversial remarks during an interview with Secretary of State Marco Rubio while talking about Vice President JD Vance’s speech in Europe last week where he criticized the continent’s leaders for abandoning certain values, like free speech.
“What did all of this accomplish, other than irritating our allies?” Brennan asked.
“Why would our allies or anybody be irritated by free speech and by someone giving their opinion?” Rubio responded. “We are, after all, democracies. The Munich – Munich Security Conference is largely a conference of democracies, in which one of the things that we cherish and value is the ability to speak freely and provide your opinions.”
Rubio said that a lot of things that Vance said “needed to be said” and that it was perplexing that anyone “would be upset about it.”
“People are allowed – you know, you don’t have to agree on someone’s speech,” he said. “I happen to agree with a lot of what he said, but you don’t have to agree with someone’s speech to at least appreciate the fact they have a right to say it and that you should listen to it and see whether those criticisms are valid.”
Brennan responded: “Well, he was standing in a country where free speech was weaponized to conduct a genocide.”
“And he met with the head of a political party that has far-right views and some historic ties to extreme groups,” she claimed. “The context of that was changing the tone of it. And you know that, that the censorship was specifically about the right.”
Rubio fired back: “Well, I have to disagree with you. I have to disagree with you.”
“Free speech was not used to conduct a genocide,” he noted. “The genocide was conducted by an authoritarian Nazi regime that happened to also be genocidal because they hated Jews and they hated minorities and they hated those that they – they had a list of people they hated, but primarily the Jews.”
“There was no free speech in Nazi Germany. There was none,” he continued. “There was also no opposition in Nazi Germany. They were a sole and only party that governed that country. So that’s not an accurate reflection of history.”
WATCH:
This is the first time I’ve heard the theory that the Holocaust wasn’t conducted with gas chambers but with free speech zones. pic.twitter.com/mpWm6UH2F4
Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) said over the weekend that America’s ballooning national debt was becoming a serious threat to U.S. national security.
Mullin made the remarks during a Sunday interview on ABC News’ “This Week” with Jonathan Karl when asked about Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cutting wasteful spending in other agencies and departments.
“We hate that anybody’s losing their job, but at the same time, we know that the debt that we have in this country is not manageable, and it’s becoming a national security risk, and we’re spending nearly a trillion dollars a year just in servicing the debt,” Mullin said. “That is scary. We’re spending more on interest payments than we are in our Defense Department now.”
“Anybody will tell you that is a road for disaster,” he continued. “So any time you take over a situation like Elon Musk has had many opportunities and many experiences with taking over businesses, you had to start cutting some of the fat.”
“And unfortunately, the number one expense we have in the United States government right now is payroll, and when you start cutting departments, some people’s jobs are lost,” he added. “And it hurts us because we don’t want anybody to lose their job. But at the same time, we have to get it under control because if we don’t get our debt underneath control, it becomes a national security — can you imagine if we get downgraded?”
He said that if the U.S. gets its credit rating downgraded and the dollar starts losing its value that it could lead to disastrous economic outcomes for the country.
“Our buying power, the ability to invest into the country, the ability to invest in our military starts shrinking, and then we start losing the strength part when we start wanting to be at the negotiating table from peace through strength,” he continued.
WATCH:
When asked about Elon Musk’s efforts to layoff federal employees, GOP Sen. Mullin tells @JonKarl the move is necessary to control debt.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) said over the weekend that President Donald Trump was ready to start increasing pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to force him to end his war in Ukraine.
Mullin made the remarks during a Sunday interview with ABC News’ “This Week” with Jonathan Karl when asked about an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal that said Trump was the one who “wants a deal more,” implying that he was not arguing from a position of strength.
“Is President Trump poised to actually really turn the screws on Putin?” Karl asked.
“Absolutely because Putin knows the one person that can truly change the war is the United States,” Mullin responded. “If we went all in for Ukraine, if we went all in with the resources we have, from air superiority to – to the weapons that we can deploy to Ukraine, Putin knows at that point he would be in an extremely negative position.”
“I think that being the opportunity for President Trump to talk to Putin and say, listen, we want to end the war,” he continued. “We don’t want to have to engage more. But we’re not going to allow you to move forward. So, let’s negotiate a peace deal here or you’re going to force our hand to be farther involved. That’s what peace through strength is. It’s negotiating peace, but using strength as a backup. If you make us do something, we will do it.”
“We did this in Syria when President Trump was in office in 2017,” he noted. “You saw that Putin went ahead and engaged with – with – with Syria. They used chemical weapons. And immediately what President Trump did is he bombed the airport and took over the air space that Russia was [in] control over, and he controlled the air space for the remainder of his presidency. So we had the ability to do it and Putin knows that.”
WATCH:
GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin says Pres. Trump has the capability to apply pressure to Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin to negotiate a deal to end the war in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said over the weekend that he will not accept any deal made between the United States and Russia about his country unless he is part of the negotiations and agrees with the deal.
Zelensky made the remarks during a Sunday interview with NBC News’ “Meet The Press” with host Kristen Welker when asked about President Donald Trump’s remarks about Ukraine last week.
“He did not say yes when he was asked if he sees Ukraine as an equal member in the peace process,” Welker said. “He did say later that Ukraine would have a seat at the table.”
“Have you been given any assurances that Ukraine will have an equal seat at the negotiating table?” she asked.
“I will never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine,” He responded. “Never. And our people, never. And our adults, and children, and everybody, it can’t be so.”
“The war in Ukraine is against us, and it is our human losses,” he continued. “And we are thankful for all the support, unity between USA – in USA around Ukraine support, bipartisan unity, bipartisan support, we’re thankful for all of this.”
“But there is not any leader in the world who can really make a deal with
Putin without us about us,” he added. “Of course, the United States can have a lot of decisions, economical partnership, and et cetera. We’re not happy with it, but they can have with Russians. But not about this war without us. And that’s why I think that what we need, very closely to work and quicker.”
He said that the U.S. was the country’s largest strategic partner and that they were ready to share their plan with the U.S. to bring the war to a close.
WATCH:
NOW – Zelensky: “I will never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine. Never.”pic.twitter.com/mPTfLgJzO8
Daily Wire host Michael Knowles debated 25 LGBT activists on gay marriage, transgenderism, and pride parades on the latest episode of “Surrounded.”
The show features Knowles, a conservative author and podcast host, surrounded by 25 people who disagree with him — in this case, LGBT activists. After Knowles asserts a claim, the activists race to debate him until they are either voted out by their peers or their time expires.
Knowles’ first assertion, that gay marriages does not exist, was met with an activist claiming the ancient Mayan civilization recognized gay marriage. However, when Knowles asked the activist to explain, they were at a loss and asked fellow activists to look it up on Google.
“What was their view of gender?” Knowles asked. “What did the Mayans think? You brought it up, you seemed so confident in this. What did the Mayans think about marriage and gender?”
“What — what, we can talk about differences in the way that they are recognized,” the activist stumbled.
“Can we? I don’t know that you know the difference,” Knowles pressed. “You said that there was a difference, but you haven’t explained how there was a difference. … Do you have an answer?”
“People can look up right now … on Google,” the activist responded, gesturing toward fellow activists.
Knowles laughed and summed up his point. “What people usually do, is they say, ‘Well look, I’m sure that there were all different types of marriage throughout history all over the world.’ And what I’m telling you is, there actually hasn’t been.”
Further backing his assertion, Knowles explained that children have the right to both a mother and a father. “Children do very poorly when they are raised by two men or two women,” Knowles said.
“What about the right of a kid to have his natural mother and father?” he posed. “When the rubber meets the road in gay marriage … it’s the ability to adopt children and in some cases, acquire children by going to the ‘baby store’ and purchasing the eggs of one woman and renting the womb of another woman, and raising children, depriving them intentionally of their natural mothers, and that’s very wrong. And that does infringe on the rights of kids.”
Knowles also claimed that the ideology of transgenderism should be eradicated totally from public life, a claim he’s previously articulated. Knowles explained the harms of the ideology, specifically for girls and women who are having their spaces invaded and opportunities taken from them by males.
Citing a recent United Nations report, Knowles explained that girls and women have lost out on nearly 900 medals at the expense of male athletes who identify as transgender.
One activist, a man who claims to be a woman, claimed the men who won awards over females in girls and women’s sports “deserved them.”
.@michaeljknowles: Men identifying as trans women took 900 sports trophies from real women in recent years
Noting the activist’s prior claim that trans athletes were actually not taking awards from females, Knowles rebutted, “Okay, it’s not happening, and they deserved them. Okay, that is the logic I hear from the pro-trans crowd.”
Later in the episode, Knowles claimed that transgenderism is a social contagion, referencing how fast the ideology is spreading, specifically among youths. Disagreeing with Knowles, a male who believes he’s a female told Knowles that his symptoms of psychological despair and confusion are “gone” since undergoing hormone therapy.
Knowles pointedly asked when the activist received the medical treatment, to which he revealed it was only one year ago.
“I’m telling you it’s going to come back,” Knowles told the activist, explaining that data show there can be a brief reprieve from symptoms after medical intervention, before mental health declines.
“You’re wrong,” the activist responded. “You can’t predict the future, babe.”
“Maybe you’ll be one of the lucky few,” Knowles said. “I’m saying statistically, you probably won’t be.”
“I think you might be really angry at me for telling you the truth.”@michaeljknowles calmly dismantles the myth that cross-sex mimicry brings true happiness in front of a clearly struggling trans activist.
“You’re talking over me because you don’t want to hear this, but I’m telling you that the largest data set, the largest study every conducted to follow the long-term outcomes of transgender-identifying people, found that not only did their suicide rates and depression not improve, their anxiety actually went up.”
One activist told Knowles that his “energy” exposes that he actually wants to “erase LGBT people and our history.”
“All I’ve been doing is coming here and citing historical examples and citing a lot of scientific studies and telling you explicitly that I’m talking about an ideology that is not conducive to the flourishing of anyone, and for the good of everyone, including you guys, I would like to see a restoration of sensibility. And every time I say something like that, you say, ‘Nah man, I just kinda feel the vibes that you hate us and want to erase us all.’ And I don’t know where you’re getting that from.”
The Daily Wire’s Michael Knowles has a heated exchange with an LGBTQ+ person who claims “we are here in this room today because of black trans women,” and asks if Michael would like to see the “thong” he is wearing under his clothes. “I don’t need you to show me that.”
The White House is calling out what it says is “another hoax” after the media and at least one Democrat in Congress perpetuated allegations that the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was releasing classified information.
It started on Friday with the left-leaning HuffPost reporting that DOGE, which is led by technology entrepreneur Elon Musk, was posting to its new website classified information about the size and staff at the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).
An unnamed Defense Intelligence Agency employee claimed DOGE posted “secret” data, resulting in people “scrambling to check if their info has been accessed.” Anonymous Senate aides claimed NRO’s headcount and budget were classified over concerns about foreign adversaries taking advantage of it.
Upon initial publication, HuffPo’s report quoted an NRO spokesperson deferring questions about the data to DOGE. HuffPo’s story also said the White House did not immediately return a request for comment. It was updated later, after publication, with a White House denial.
Other news outlets picked up on the report. The Daily Beast re-aggregated it. ABC News also pursued the story, citing its own intelligence community sources who asserted that what DOGE did likely represented a significant breach. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) also pushed the notion.
“Yesterday, the DOGE guys post classified information on their website, and they had to realize, oh, we didn’t realize that agency was a classified agency. You shouldn’t let people run rampage through offices that have classified information,” he said on “Fox News Sunday.”
But, as former House investigator and journalist Jerry Dunleavy pointed out in a series of posts on X, the NRO headcount information is publicly available on the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) website and DOGE says on its site that workforce data comes from OPM.
“DOGE even says under “Sources” that it’s pulling its data from OPM’s publicly available data set as of March 2024,” he said. “OPM posted then NRO has 1,097 employees. DOGE posts now NRO has 1,097 employees. So… is the claim here that OPM has been publicly posting classified info for years?”
An email from White House Principal Deputy Communications Director Alex Pfeiffer said the “controversy” is really just DOGE reformatting data that is already publicly available and denying that there was a “breach” of sensitive information.
“DOGE is sharing OPM data from under the Biden administration,” Pfeiffer said in a statement. “The headcount for this agency is publicly available on OPM’s website. These attacks are just another hoax meant to undermine the great work the Trump Administration is doing.”
Border Czar Tom Homan doubled down on his call for the Department of Justice to get involved in response to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) advising illegal aliens how to avoid federal immigration authorities.
Homan made the remarks during a Sunday interview on “State of the Union” when asked about his comments from last week.
“Are you suggesting that she should be prosecuted?” host Dana Bash asked.
“I’m asking the Department of Justice, who are the prosecutors and decide who they prosecute and what the standards of that prosecution is,” he said. “I simply said, at what point is that impeding? Because you can call it ‘know your rights’ all you want, we all know the bottom line is. The bottom line is how they evade law enforcement. Don’t open your door. Don’t answer questions.”
“We’re talking about people here in the country illegally with a criminal conviction who had due process, at great taxpayer expense, and were ordered deported by a federal judge, but became a fugitive,” he continued. “And we’re talking about don’t open your door to ICE, you don’t have to answer questions. I think it’s more about how they evade law enforcement not to get arrested, even though there’s a federal warrant for your arrest, how they evade that, rather than know your rights.”
“They have the right to know their rights,” he added. “The Constitution said they have the right to certain rights. But I hope to God we’re not educating people are going to be the next murder of a college student. I have said it before, if we would have had access to the man who murdered Laken Riley in New York, he would never made it to Georgia to kill a woman.”
Homan mocked Ocasio-Cortez for claiming that he was only “vaguely” familiar of America’s immigration laws.
“I have done this since 1984. I forgot more about the immigration law than AOC will ever know,” he said. “Matter of fact, at a hearing couple years ago, I had explained to her that entering the country illegally was actually a crime. So I’m not going to play that game with her. I simply made a statement. When you sit down with people who are wanted by us, criminal aliens that been ordered to be deported from the United States government and ignore that order, if you and I ignore that order, we’d be sitting in prison.”
“But they ignore their order from a federal judge, they’re hiding in a home, and she’s telling them not to open the door,” he said. “Now, I’m not saying that’s illegal. What I’m saying is, I asked the attorney general, at what point is it impeding and what point is it not impeding?”
WATCH:
“I have done this since 1984. I forgot more about the immigration law than AOC will ever know.”
Trump border czar Tom Homan doubles down on his criticism after previously suggesting Rep. @AOC was “going to be in trouble” for a webinar advising immigrants of their rights when… pic.twitter.com/ebcPeKDIrd
Border Czar Tom Homan pushed back over the weekend against suggestions that there was a corrupt deal between President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor Eric Adams that led to Adams allowing local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration officials in removing illegal aliens from the city.
Homan made the remarks during a Sunday interview with CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union” when asked if federal corruption charges against Adams were dropped in-exchange for Adams’ compliance with executing Trump’s immigration agenda.
“No, I think that’s ridiculous,” Homan responded. “Me and Mayor Adams met a couple months ago. I think it was probably eight, nine weeks ago we met. And we had the same discussion. And we talked about getting a presence in Rikers Island. We talked about how we can collaborate on public safety threats and finding the missing children that were — that can be found after they release the sponsors.”
“We had that a couple months ago, long before this other discussion,” he continued. “So I don’t think it had anything to do with it. Matter of fact, the meeting went very well. It was the same meeting we had a few weeks ago. The reason we had the follow-up meeting because there was no action being done.”
Homan pushed back against claims that he was unsatisfied with the previous meeting that he’d had with Adams.
“No, I didn’t come out of that meeting unsatisfied,” he said. “After several weeks, I was taken back that we hadn’t gotten the action yet about getting to Rikers Island.”
“So we rescheduled the meeting to talk about, OK, well, we talked about how — what things we need to put in place how we can make this happen,” he continued. “And that’s what the meeting Thursday was about. And we came out Thursday with a plan in how we can get in Rikers Island in the Criminal Intelligence Division, so we can understand who’s in there, who’s foreign-born in Rikers Island that’s a significant public safety threat.”
“We also talked about how we can collaborate on the missing children, many of them are going to be in New York City,” he added. “And that’s what we talked about. I really don’t think it had anything to do with whatever’s going on in Justice Department. We never talked about that. It’s kind of out of my lane.”
“No, I think that’s ridiculous… I don’t think it had anything to do with it.”
White House border czar Tom Homan denies allegations of a quid pro quo between New York City Mayor Eric Adams and the Trump administration, after Adams agreed to give ICE access to Rikers Island… pic.twitter.com/tXMvcymLwg
President Donald Trump attended NASCAR’s Daytona 500 race on Sunday.
The 67th rendition of the famous auto-racing event is taking place at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. One of Trump’s aides, Dan Scavino, posted a video to X showing a look from inside Air Force One during a flyover above the venue.
Trump, who previously attended the Daytona 500 as president during his first term in 2020, later could be seen arriving in a motorcade. “The Beast” even took a lap around the Daytona International Speedway.
“Today, I look forward to joining tens of thousands of American Patriots in Daytona Beach, Florida, for the ‘Great American Race’ — the legendary Daytona 500 — and the official start to the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series,” Trump said in a statement. “This iconic race showcases the fastest, most fearless drivers in motorsports, who represent our Nation’s love of tradition, competition, and automotive innovation. The Daytona 500 brings together people from all walks of life — from lifelong racing fans to first-time spectators — they all join in celebrating a shared passion for speed, adrenaline, and the thrill of the race. From the roar of the engines on the track to the echo of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ soaring through the stands, the Daytona 500 is a timeless tribute to the speed, strength, and unyielding spirit that make America great. That spirit is what will fuel America’s Golden Age, and if we harness it, the future is truly ours.”
“Since the very beginning, NASCAR has carried forth a proud tradition of honoring our heroic Service members for their unwavering courage. While fans from around the world gather today at Daytona International Speedway, we extend our unending gratitude to the selfless men and women in uniform who risk their lives to keep us safe. When the engines start or the checkered flag waves, and all 500 thrilling miles in between, our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, and Guardians stand ready to defend cherished traditions like this—and for that, we are truly thankful,” Trump added. “Melania and I send our best wishes for a safe and successful race. May God bless our Armed Forces, and may He continue to bless the United States of America.”
Last weekend, Trump attended the Super Bowl in New Orleans, where the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22. The Daily Wire reported how Trump took a swipe at Taylor Swift, who is dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and had endorsed now-former Vice President Kamala Harris for president in the 2024 election, with a post to Truth Social that noted how fans booed the singer when she was shown on TV.
“The only one that had a tougher night than the Kansas City Chiefs was Taylor Swift. She got BOOED out of the Stadium. MAGA is very unforgiving!” he wrote on social media, adding video clips of her getting booed and another shot of the crowd cheering the American flag.
Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has “cracked the code” on how to break the “deep state” with the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), according to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).
Johnson told Mark Levin, host of “Life, Liberty, and Levin” on Fox News in an interview that aired Saturday night, that he met with Musk for an hour at the DOGE leader’s office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building last week.
The speaker noted that Musk has been working out of the old Secretary of War Suite and “we laughed about how appropriate that is because he’s declared war on the deep state and the bureaucracy.”
Johnson added, “You have Democrats now out having rallies to stop him. What is he doing? He’s identifying and allowing us to cut out fraud, waste, and abuse. How could they be against that? It’s irrational. It’s going to work against them.”
Later in the interview, Levin got Johnson to agree that Democrats are being hypocritical for opposing Musk’s work to transform the government via DOGE after they embraced another wealthy billionaire, George Soros, who has influenced policy.
Johnson also talked about how Musk is helping Congress perform its constitutional duty to keep the Executive Branch in check by providing a level of transparency that has been lacking in recent decades.
“The oversight job has been hindered because the deep state and the bureaucracy has not turned over the data. They wouldn’t give us the information we were seeking. We didn’t know all this because it was hidden,” Johnson said.
“Now Elon has cracked the code. He is on the inside of the belly of the beast, Mark,” the speaker added. “And he is unveiling and revealing all these things that we knew intuitively were happening but we didn’t have the evidence.”
Johnson concluded his comments by emphasizing, “This is a game changer. It is truly revolutionary and we’re going to restore ultimately through this process the federal government to the original intent of the Founders.”
The speaker added, “And that’s what has the the Big Government socialist liberals and Democrat Party apoplectic because they’re afraid of what the final result of this is going to be and it’s very exciting for the people.”
A 16-year-old received a three-year detention sentence on Thursday for the murder of a former U.S. military interpreter during a carjacking attempt in Washington, D.C., in 2023.
D.C. Superior Court Judge Kendra Briggs sentenced the teen to a three-year lockup after prosecutors struck a plea deal with the killer to serve 17 months. Briggs called the murder of Nasrat Ahmad Yar in 2023 a “senseless” act and doubled prosecutors’ request for the teen’s sentence, according to WUSA9.
The killer could have faced a maximum sentence of five years in secure detention if he had elected to go to trial and had been found guilty. D.C. code mandates juvenile felons be released when they turn 21.
Those close to Yar expressed disappointment at the sentence. Even after the judge’s increase, the term does not seem long enough after the teen killed Yar, a 31-year-old father of four.
“In the grand scheme of things what actually would have been justice would have been a sentence that would have been proportionate to him being sentenced to as an adult,” Jeramie Malone, a friend of Yar, said. “I didn’t get the sense that he was actually remorseful.”
The judge emphasized the need for the killer’s “rehabilitation” during the sentencing hearing.
“There is a lot of rehabilitation needed here,” Briggs said, according to The Washington Post.
“You have suffered trauma as a child, but you also made a very bad decision that resulted in the death of a man,” Briggs added. “I would hope that you take advantage of the rehabilitation services and that you come back to the community a better person.”
Yar served as an interpreter for the U.S. Army Special Forces in Afghanistan before he left the country and landed in Pennsylvania. He moved with his family to Alexandria in 2022.
Yar was gunned down in his car while working for the rideshare company Lyft less than a year after moving to Alexandria. Yar, who at the time was the sole provider for his family, had been driving to make money to pay rent when the teen shot him in an attempted carjacking.
“He was so happy he got a new car because he could take care of his family,” Yar’s friend Rahim Amini said after the tragic 2023 incident. “His wife asked him to stay home but he said, ‘I have to pay rent. I don’t have that much money. I have to work.’”
The highly anticipated matchup between national teams USA and Canada on Saturday night started with three fights within the first nine seconds of the match.
USA and Canada met on the ice during the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off, a round-robin tournament featuring Sweden and Finland in addition to the North American neighbors. Team USA led the tournament entering the match after a 6-1 rout of Finland. Canada entered the game second after a 4-3 overtime win against Sweden.
The longtime rivals USA and Canada began their match with three separate rounds of fisticuffs. USA’s Matthew Tkachuk and Canada’s Brandon Hagel dropped gloves as soon as the puck hit the ice on Saturday night. Brady Tkachuk traded blows with Sam Bennett immediately after, with the referees stepping in after Tkachuk took Bennett down on the ice. J.T. Miller and Colton Parayko finished up the trio of bouts.
The match between USA and Canada was looked forward to by players on both teams as the latest chapter in the rivalry.
“I think it’s going be the biggest game that I’ve ever played in my career,” Brady Tkachuk said ahead of the big game. “I’m really looking forward to that. There’s a big buildup to it. USA vs. Canada is bigger than just the guys on the ice. There’s so many people past, present and down the road [that it affects]. We’ve been talking about this game especially.”
The animus between USA and Canada began to show during USA’s matchup with Finland when Canadian hockey fans jeered the United States’ national anthem.
“When you play the Americans, you want to beat them so bad,” Canada defenseman Drew Doughty said before the USA-Canada game. “And I still have this feeling at 35 years old, how bad [I] want to beat the Americans. They’re a really good hockey team. … It’s going to be a tough battle. But this is probably the most exciting matchup of the tournament.”
The tension between the two sides recently drifted off the ice when President Donald Trump threatened to slap heavy tariffs on Canada before an agreement was reached on border security.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said this week that Americans who are receiving food stamps may soon be banned from using them to purchase junk food.
Rollins made the remarks while answering questions from reporters outside the White House on Friday about working with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to reform the SNAP program.
“I look forward to working with Bobby Kennedy as we figure out, do we have the healthiest choices?” she said. “So when a taxpayer is putting money into SNAP, are they okay with us using their tax dollars to feed really bad food and sugary drinks to children who perhaps need something more nutritious?”
She said that she looked forward to working with DOGE to see where the SNAP program is wasting money and if it is meeting the metrics required to hit its goals.
“Oftentimes, these government programs are started with the idea that you’re going to help people — it’s not a handout, it’s a hand up — and then years later, the programs are even bigger, and you’ve got more people on them,” she said. “And are we really giving people a hand up, or is it instead a handout? So if we can have a whole other group of really smart people looking at SNAP and other programs at USDA, that will allow us to ensure, what are our metrics for success? Are we meeting those metrics for success?”
“Will we ever take food out of a hungry child’s mouth? Of course not. This is the United States of America,” she continued. “But truly, this program has grown so large, especially in the last administration. Under Biden, I think SNAP, grew almost 30% more than before.”
According to the USDA, more than 42 million people received SNAP benefits in fiscal year 2023, costing the country well over $110 billion per year.
USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins welcomes RFK Jr.’s help reforming SNAP to cut “bad food and sugary drinks”
“When a taxpayer is putting money into SNAP, are they okay with us using their tax dollars to feed really bad food and sugary drinks to children who need something more… pic.twitter.com/nFeooY3fkM
Hollywood star Zachary Levi spoke with Daily Wire podcast host Matt Walsh about coming out in support of President Donald Trump, as well as the current state of Hollywood.
Speaking on “The Matt Walsh Show” podcast, the 44-year-old actor said he knew he wanted to be an actor from a very young age because he wanted to make “people feel good.” And as he got older, that same platform led him to feeling the need to “come out of the political closet” to support Trump in the election, despite the fear of being canceled.
“It was, I think overwhelmingly, it was more positive,” Levi said. “This isn’t just red versus blue, because the reality is there’s people on the red and blue that actually are decent human beings that actually do want a better world. And there’s people on the red and blue who are not decent people who are absolute swamp monsters.”
“And so because of that, I haven’t really found any presidential candidate to be all that inspiring in all of my adult life,” he added. “I was intrigued by Trump in that he wasn’t a career politician, but I had enough of him and his brashness and kind of bullishness and, you know, the things that most people take umbrage with. But it certainly wasn’t Hillary [Clinton], [Joe] Biden, or Kamala [Harris].”
Levi admitted that if the Democratic Party had let Robert F. Kennedy Jr. run, he would’ve voted for a Democrat, but when RFK Jr. was kept off the ticket, he turned his support to Trump, whom Kennedy backed.
“And then, you know, Trump is nearly killed. And there, I think, all of us … in every party, on every level, every end of the spectrum, that was a massive, massive moment for Trump, particularly within that massive moment. I, and many others like me, saw this incredible, I think, God-inspired shift,” the actor said. “I think that was a miracle that Donald Trump lived.”
“But it brought a humility to Donald Trump that I don’t think existed in him before, at least not on that level,” he added. “And that’s something I need in a leader. … Because the alternative to me was not an option in the way that I know a lot of people on the other side felt the same way about Donald Trump.”
Levi said that’s why it didn’t matter what happened to his career, because “if I save my career, but Kamala gets into office and we continue down this death spiral to the bottom that I fully believe that we were on … I was like, I can’t. God did not build me to do that. God built me to fight.”
The “Chuck” star told Walsh he, thus far, has not been canceled, “try as some might.”
“So my team is all with me. I still have very good relationships with lots of people in the industry. I’ve lost some friends,” Levi said. “There are people that all of a sudden stop following me on social media and don’t return my calls and stuff, and it’s a bummer, but I still love them.”
“I still have plenty of other jobs in film and television and some podcast stuff that’s coming up and building the studio, and I got my baby on the way,” he added. “And, you know, I’m busy and blessed and grateful not just that I followed the conviction that God put on my heart, but that it wasn’t ultimately in vain. And we actually did it.”
The conversation then turned to original storytelling in Hollywood, and Walsh asked Levi if it was dead with all the sequels and remakes or if it still had a chance.
“Man, I hope so,” Levi said. “I mean, if I have anything to do with that, absolutely. I mean, it’s one of the reasons why I felt very strongly 25 years ago when I started working in the industry, and I just saw how broken it all was. I mean, even then there was the beginnings of this trend of let’s just go reboot this long, old series into a movie.”
The “Shazam!” star said he thinks Hollywood executives are pressured not only by whether the movie will make a lot of money, but also by what he called an “insane” sociopolitical agenda.
“I think a lot of people want to say that Hollywood is the one pushing a lot of the agenda that they don’t like, whatever that agenda is,” Levi said. “Certainly Hollywood is massively complicit in it, but I don’t know that these agendas even necessarily start in Hollywood.”
“Some of them might, but some of them are thinking, ‘What’s the hip, cool thing to do? What are we going to do so that people like us and we don’t get canceled?’” he added. “So I think because of that, it’s — you’re drawing in an executive class that’s going to serve those two masters. It’s money and agenda appearance, whatever that is.”
Levi also reflected on all the great things coming in his life, including his new film “The Unbreakable Boy,” which he said tackles autism “authentically and beautifully.”
“‘The Unbreakable Boy’ comes out February 21st,” Levi said about the true story. “Man, I’m proud of everything I’ve done on some level, very grateful for everything I’ve gotten to do. But I’m particularly proud of this film. It is a very grounded slice-of-life film. No superheroes, no big bang and anything like that.”
On Friday, Patricia Heaton dropped some surprising news that she will also be appearing in Levi’s upcoming movie.
“Hey Valentine’s Day friends! A little announcement…” Heaton captioned her video post on X about her involvement in the project.
Walsh and Levi also talked about the introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into Hollywood, the studio the actor’s building in Texas, and more. The entire interview can be viewedhere.
Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) admitted during a recent appearance on MSNBC that he had traveled to Europe with the intent to undercut the Trump administration’s agenda as presented by Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Crow shared a brief video clip of himself speaking with MSNBC host Alex Witt about President Donald Trump’s policies, saying in his caption, “I’m in Munich because I refuse to let Vance and Hegseth be the voice of America to the world.”
Leaving out the fact that Vance and Hegseth, both part of Trump’s administration, were supposed to “be the voice of America to the world,” he continued, “There is a group of us here who are engaged in real diplomacy and communicating that our economy and security are tied to the well-being of Europe.”
WATCH:
I’m in Munich because I refuse to let Vance and Hegseth be the voice of America to the world.
There is a group of us here who are engaged in real diplomacy and communicating that our economy and security are tied to the well-being of Europe. pic.twitter.com/IOIZZDrqZr
“Alex, the Trump administration’s policies are changing not by the day, but by the hour,” Crow claimed. “And I think that is a reflection of the fact that they have no policy. There is no doctrine, there is no policy. They will put out a tweet, then they will pull it back and hour or two later.”
“The problem with that is that none of this is funny, none of this is comical,” he continued, bragging about his plan to effectively undercut the work the Trump administration was doing there. “Because it has really real consequences to our partnership, to our allies. You know, I am here in Munich because I refuse to let Donald Trump and JD Vance and Secretary Hegseth and others be the voice of America to Europe and to the world.”
“There is a group of us here that are engaged in diplomacy, that are engaged in discussions to let them know that there’s a lot of people in America who understand that our economy is tied to Europe, that our peace and prosperity is tied to Europe, and that we can’t pull back into our own borders and forget what’s going on in other places.”
Vance and Hegseth, both of whom are in Europe as well, have been very clear that the Trump administration does not intend to abandon America’s allies — but they have been equally clear that some of those allies may have expectations that cannot be realized.
Border Czar Tom Homan said this week that he has contacted the Department of Justice to find out if Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is violating the law by offering guidance to illegal aliens to avoid being deported.
Homan told Fox News during an interview on Thursday night that he contacted the Deputy U.S. Attorney General in response to the webinar that AOC hosted assisting illegal aliens in evading federal immigration officers.
He said he sought guidance on understanding if her actions constituted impeding law enforcement operations.
“So, maybe AOC is going to be in trouble now, but I need the [deputy attorney general] to opine on that, because there’s an impediment, it’s impediment in my opinion, I’m not a prosecutor, but we need some further guidance on that,” he said.
He added that the Trump administration was willing to “take every federal dollar out of” sanctuary cities who fail to comply with federal immigration enforcement.
“We just want to make common sense,” he added. “And sanctuary cities, if they want to step aside, step aside, we’re coming, we’re going to do it for you.”
AOC snapped back with a statement that made a variety of unsubstantiated claims, including suggesting that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were “entering the homes of everyday Americans without a warrant.”
“And I am proud to offer civil education to everyday Americans to ensure ICE’s compliance with the law, given the numerous reports of agents providing incorrect paperwork in their attempts to enter and search private homes,” she claimed. “Since Mr. Homan seems to be vaguely familiar with U.S. immigration law, we also remind him that according to Congressional statute, becoming undocumented in the United States is a civil offense and not a criminal one.”
President Joe Biden abruptly exited the 2024 presidential race in late July — after a disastrous debate performance and a series of troubling interviews and public appearances — but he did still manage to etch his name in the presidential record books.
Biden, according to data compiled and published by the Republican National Committee, took 577 vacation days out of the 1,463 days he spent holding the office of the presidency. By percentages, that amounts to 39% of his total time in office — more vacation than any modern president has taken.
The RNC was already tracking Biden’s excessive vacation habits long before he left office.
Biden spent today — his 16th straight day on vacation — lounging on the beach.
He has spent a total of 532 days (40.3% of his presidency) on vacation.
As the New York Post noted, average Americans would have to put in 52 years of work — without ever using a vacation day — to accrue the number of days, at a rate of 11 days per year, that Biden blew through in just four years.
“That’s a day off for every 2.5 days on,” Noam Blum added.
David Limbaugh also added context, saying, “These are apparently the days identified as vacation days. But in truth I doubt that 10% of his days in office were anything remotely approaching working days.”
These are apparently the days identified as vacation days. But in truth I doubt that 10% of his days in office were anything remotely approaching working days. https://t.co/9aYOxUMnhl
Biden’s vacation days outnumbered the 381 taken by President Donald Trump during his first term of 1,461 days — which comes out to approximately 26% of his time in office — and even managed to surpass the previous record set by the late George H.W. Bush, who spent 543 of his 1,461 days as president, or 37%, on vacation.
Former President George W. Bush had a slightly lower vacation-to-work ratio, taking 1020 vacation days out of his 2,922 days in office (35%). The late President Ronald Reagan and former President Barack Obama came in at 11%, and the late President Jimmy Carter vacationed for just 5% of his presidency.
Biden put them all to shame when, after being unceremoniously ousted from the Democrats’ 2024 presidential ticket, he took 23 days off in a row beginning on August 8th.
Biden also made headlines when he issued 39 pardons and nearly 1,500 sentence commutations on December 12, 2024 — the “largest single-day act of clemency in modern history.”
America is a nation of second chances.
Today, President Biden is pardoning 39 people convicted of non-violent crimes and commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 people who were placed on home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic. pic.twitter.com/Hzg4nWcfkE
Acclaimed author J.K. Rowling announced on Saturday that she may have found the winning entry for “Bats*** Take of the Year,” and she shared her findings in an X post.
In addition to creating the famed “Harry Potter” book series, Rowling has been a vocal advocate for sex-based rights and, in particular, protections for single-sex spaces for women who are survivors of domestic abuse. For that reason, radical transgender activists have labeled her a Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist (TERF) and have repeatedly targeted her for abuse and harassment on social media.
Rowling highlighted one such attack in her Saturday post, saying it ought to be a contender for one of the craziest comments of the year.
She shared a screenshot of just the text of the post — without displaying the person’s identity: “Has it ever occurred to you that by constantly suggesting that men get into women’s spaces to rape by wearing a dress and a wig that they might be following your suggestion? Your endless bulls*** harms both women and trans people.”
Rowling responded to the post, saying, “It’s only February, but this will take some beating at the 2025 Bats*** Take of the Year Awards. ‘It’s women’s fault if trans-identified men commit sexual assault in previously women-only spaces, because by saying that’s a thing that happens, women put the idea in men’s heads.'”
The author also responded to a recent post from trans-identifying male politician Sophie Molly, who had complained that trans people were less welcome in the United Kingdom than ever.
“Trans people are being treated with the utmost contempt and disdain. The polls have recorded a steep downward trend in support for trans people since 2018,” Molly posted.
“Turns out threatening and enacting violence, trying to get opponents sacked from their jobs, fighting to remove women’s rights, expecting to be treated as a holy victim caste and screaming ‘bigot’ at all who disagree isn’t the most effective form of activism. Who’d have thought,” Rowling replied.
Turns out threatening and enacting violence, trying to get opponents sacked from their jobs, fighting to remove women’s rights, expecting to be treated as a holy victim caste and screaming ‘bigot’ at all who disagree isn’t the most effective form of activism. Who’d have thought. https://t.co/BNwN1ZK3a5
After school board members walked out on parents who were upset over LGBT book “The Rainbow Parade,” the board is doubling down and prohibiting public comments at meetings until at least the end of April, citing alleged racism.
As reported by The Daily Wire, residents in Penfield, New York, tried to raise concerns at a school board meeting on Tuesday about an explicit LGBT book out on display at the school’s elementary library, called “The Rainbow Parade,” which is about a young girl with two mothers who take her to a Pride Parade. However, the board walked out on parents before public comments began, telling attendees they must submit written complaints only.
Now, the board representing Penfield Central School District has barred public comment at all meetings for the months ahead.
“Our district values the voices of all community members and encourages constructive engagement,” an email from School Board President Dr. Emily Roberts reads. “However, respect, civility, and adherence to meeting protocols must be upheld to ensure that all discussions remain productive.”
“With this in mind, we have decided to pause public comment at BOE (Board of Education) meetings during the months of March and April so that we can all work together restoring a positive environment in which respectful conversations can take place,” Roberts continued. “In the meantime, should you have concerns you wish to bring to the Board’s attention, please email us.”
The message also cited alleged racism, since one of the board meeting attendees showed up on Tuesday wearing a gorilla suit and a black “Make America Great Again” hat. Roberts suggested it was worn as an act of racism, since the district’s superintendent and some of the board members are black.
The Penfield NY school district has announced that it will prohibit public comment at its meetings until at least the end of April. pic.twitter.com/6mU9YQoPQ4
The Daily Wire has reached out to the district’s superintendent, Dr. Tasha Potter, about the controversy, but did not receive a response.
As noted by The Daily Wire, “The Rainbow Parade” includes illustrations that show men in sexual BDSM gear, drag queens, and others are naked.
“That’s not how you object, so, if you cannot, again, follow by what we ask you to do, we will ask you – we will ask those people who cannot do that to be removed,” a board member said at Tuesday’s meeting. “We are here at our board meeting, conducting our business.”
Kimberly DeRosa, who attended the meeting, told The Daily Wire that parents want an end to any sexualized content in classrooms and the library. She added that residents will vote for new school board members in May, and some of the candidates for those positions were in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting.
BIG SCANDAL UNFOLDING in Penfield Central School District in New York:
A kindergartner reportedly came home with a book about attending an LGBTQ pride parade which included pictures of naked people and men in bondage fetish gear.
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