Democrat Katie Porter Falls Behind Outspoken GOP Candidate In Shocking California Poll
Porter slips six points in new poll
Exclusive: ICE rounds up pedophiles, rapist, other illegal offenders — ‘some of the worst crimes imaginable’
Federal immigration officials rounded up several violent criminals on Thursday, despite the ongoing government shutdown.
'Yesterday’s arrests include criminal illegal aliens convicted of some of the worst crimes imaginable, including sexual abuse of a minor.'
A Department of Homeland Security press release obtained exclusively by Blaze News highlighted five of Thursday’s “worst of the worst” arrests.
“Despite the Democrats’ longest government shutdown in American history, ICE refuses to slow down,” the press release read.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement apprehensions included illegal aliens with a prior rap sheet, including two pedophiles, a rapist, and other violent assailants.
ICE arrested Jose Rivera-Medrano, a 41-year-old from El Salvador who was previously sentenced to 20 years in prison when he was convicted of sexual abuse of a minor in Rockville, Maryland. He pleaded guilty in October 2019, according to court records.
RELATED: Illegal alien pedophile allegedly 'physically assaulted' ICE agent during immigration operation: DHS
ICE Buffalo captured Milton Antunez-Bonilla, who is from Honduras. The 40-year-old was found guilty of sexual assault against a child 15 years old in Nassau County, New York. He was sentenced to five years in prison.
Aaron Comisario-Galicia, a Mexican national, was convicted of rape in Los Angeles, California.
Federal agents nabbed 33-year-old Juan Raul Chavez-Reyes, a national from Mexico who was convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in Erath County, Texas.
ICE Houston arrested Joseph Perez-De La Cruz, a Mexican national who was convicted for conspiring to transport illegal aliens, placing lives in jeopardy in Del Rio, Texas. He was sentenced to three years in prison.
RELATED: Illegal alien learns his fate after a Wisconsin judge allegedly helped him evade ICE
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated that ICE agents are battling a severe uptick in threats.
“Even while facing an 8,000% increase in death threats against them, the brave men and women of ICE work tirelessly to get these worst-of-the-worst offenders off our streets and out of country,” McLaughlin said.
“Yesterday’s arrests include criminal illegal aliens convicted of some of the worst crimes imaginable, including sexual abuse of a minor,” she continued. “These heinous criminals have no business remaining in the country any longer, and we thank President Trump and [DHS] Secretary [Kristi] Noem for unleashing ICE to protect American communities.”
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Video: Woman pulls male intruder out of her car, throws him to the ground with ease — while her amazed husband watches
Astonishing surveillance video from a Hollywood gas station shows the moment when a woman pulled a male intruder out of her car and threw him to the ground with ease.
The woman, Star Carter, was sitting in the driver's seat of her red Alfa Romeo at the gas station Tuesday when a male stranger walked up and tried to open her passenger door, KCBS-TV reported.
'It was just like that Kendrick Lamar verse [from "Peekaboo"] was playing in my head, you know like, "Bing bop boom bop boom bop bam!"'
Her husband, Michael Carter, was pumping gas at the time and was on the other side of car.
"I stood up and was like 'Get outta here!' and then I walked around this way," Michael told KCBS, motioning toward the passenger side of the car.
But after Michael got back in the passenger seat, the crook sneaked back and opened the driver-side rear door closest to the gas pump and actually got into the back seat, video shows.
"I'm wrestling with him inside the car," Michael told the station, "and I'm kinda pushing him and pushing him, and all I know is he just disappeared."
With that, Star's husband smiled and told KCBS that "I'm looking over the back, and I said, 'Oh ... ohhh!'"
Michael's, shall we say, starstruck reaction was due to the fact that his wife got out of her driver's seat, got to the back door, ripped the intruder right out the car, and tossed him to the ground.
"I don't condone violence, but I do condone self-defense," Star told KCBS in the aftermath.
Star described what song was on her brain's playlist in that moment, telling the station that "it was just like that Kendrick Lamar verse [from 'Peekaboo'] was playing in my head, you know like, 'Bing bop boom bop boom bop bam!'"
With a laugh, she added to KCBS, "That's all I remember. I'm so embarrassed."
Wisely, the intruder ran off after Star introduced him to the concrete.
But she also had some parting advice for him: "I just said, 'Don't you ever do no stupid [word redacted in KCBS video] like this again!'"
The station said the Carters actually continued their night out, going to a comedy show at the Hollywood Improv.
The couple's unsurprised daughter later told KCBS that "my mommy, she was in like fight or flight — but she definitely fought, and he definitely took flight."
Star added to the station that she believes the intruder was on drugs at the time of the incident: "I don't know what this dude is capable of doing at all."
In the end, her husband was grateful that Star stood up to the crook.
"She is indeed my hero," Michael noted to KCBS with a laugh in the aftermath. "Thank you, Star!"
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Nancy Pelosi announces retirement after nearly 4 decades in Congress
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced Thursday that she will not seek re-election after nearly four decades serving in Congress.
Pelosi was first elected to the House in 1987 to represent California and eventually became the first female speaker of the House. Pelosi served as speaker from 2007 to 2011 under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama and again from 2019 to 2023 under Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
A successor has not been named.
"For decades, I've cherished the privilege of representing our magnificent city in the United States Congress," Pelosi said in a video posted on X.
"That is why I want you, my fellow San Franciscans, to be the first to know," Pelosi said. "I will not be seeking re-election to Congress."
RELATED: California Republicans sue to stop Newsom's redistricting scheme — he responds: 'Good luck, losers'
Although she has announced she will step aside after this term, a successor has not been named to run to represent California's 11th District.
RELATED: Zohran Mamdani becomes first openly socialist mayor of New York City
"With a grateful heart, I look forward to my final year of service as your proud representative," Pelosi said.
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Democrats are running as Bush-era Republicans — and winning
Republicans have given voters no reason to support them beyond the claim that Democrats are dangerously radical.
Well, sure. But when voters look around and see rising prices, rising crime, and no clear plan from the party in power, they turn to the other side. That’s what happened in Virginia, and it will keep happening as long as life stays unaffordable and Republicans offer nothing but excuses.
Republicans can still win — but not with hollow slogans or billionaire donors. They need to fight for affordable living, strong families, and safe communities.
Democrats’ victories in Virginia and New Jersey shouldn’t shock anyone — Trump didn’t need either state to win the presidency in 2024. What should alarm Republicans are the margins. Democrats crushed their opponents by 15 points in Virginia and 13 in New Jersey, performing better than Kamala Harris did against Trump in New York.
The blue wave swept deep into Republican territory. Democrats unseated Virginia’s attorney general — a respected conservative — with Jay “Two Bullets” Jones, a radical, scandal-prone candidate, and still won by nearly seven points. They gained at least 13 legislative seats, leaving Republicans with half the representation they held just eight years ago.
In Georgia, Democrats flipped two public service commission seats — their first statewide wins since 2006 — and won them by 24 points. They broke the GOP supermajority in the Mississippi Senate, flipped a state House seat, and took local races across Pennsylvania. In New Jersey, where Republicans didn’t even see the blowout coming, Democrats regained a supermajority in the General Assembly.
Taken together, these results point to a coming wipeout. Democrats have outperformed their 2024 presidential baseline by an average of 15 points in special elections this year, according to Ballotpedia — more than double the overperformance seen during Trump’s first term. In 45 of 46 key contests, Democrats either held or improved their position.
All liabilities, no benefits
Republicans now face the worst possible political scenario: They hold power, which unites and energizes Democrats, but they’ve done almost nothing with it to inspire anyone else.
The first year of Trump’s second term has been defined by trivial fights and tone-deaf priorities: tax favors for tech investors, special deals for crypto, and zoning disasters for rural and suburban voters. The data center explosion in Virginia, which has raised utility bills and wrecked communities, could have been an easy populist target. Instead, Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) vetoed a bill to rein it in.
Despite cozying up to Big Tech, Republicans haven’t reaped any benefit. The Virginia Republican Party is broke, its candidates are outspent, and the grassroots are demoralized. The GOP keeps selling out to special interests that will never back the party. How have the ties to crypto, Big Tech, and Qatar paid off?
The reality is, Republicans don’t need those donors — they need a message to inspire a new generation of activists.
How Democrats outflanked the GOP
Democrats have learned to look like the party of normalcy while Republicans drift between populist posturing and corporate servitude. In Virginia, Abigail Spanberger ran on cutting costs, lowering taxes, and fighting crime — and she did it in the language of moderation. Republicans, who should own those issues, barely showed up for the debate.
Spanberger’s ads promised relief from inflation and touted her background in the CIA and law enforcement. She presented herself as steady and practical while Republicans floundered. Once again, Democrats outflanked the GOP on the right.
Republicans could have drawn blood by hammering Democrats on crime in Northern Virginia. Instead, they ran away from tough-on-crime policies. Winsome Earle-Sears even toyed with “criminal justice reform” while voters begged for accountability and order.
The result: Democrats ran as Bush-era Republicans, while Republicans looked like corporate consultants. Democrats talked about affordability and safety. Republicans talked about crypto and zoning boards.
The Trump paradox
The GOP’s reliance on one man has hollowed it out. Trump won the presidency in 2016 by talking about forgotten workers and American industry. But his divided message, personal vendettas, and fixation on media attention have since consumed the movement.
RELATED: Here’s what exit polls reveal about Tuesday’s electoral bloodbath
Now the party gets the worst of both worlds — all of Trump’s baggage, none of his appeal. Democrats use him to rally turnout. Independents recoil. The GOP lacks infrastructure, vision, and discipline. The movement that once promised to fight the establishment has become addicted to social media applause.
A party in search of conviction
If Virginia had a commanding figure like Ron DeSantis at the top of the ticket, Republicans might have dampened the blue wave. But without an inspiring message, voters in an economic crisis will always drift to the other side.
The problem isn’t demographics; if it were, Democrats would campaign in Virginia the same way they do in California or New York City. Instead, they skate by on empty promises because Republicans, trapped by special interests and lacking a winning message, have become easy targets — and surrendered the very issues that could win back suburban voters.
Republicans can still win — but not with hollow slogans or billionaire donors. They need to fight for affordable living, strong families, and safe communities. They need a moral and economic vision that reaches beyond social media and into the lives of working Americans.
The question conservatives must ask is the one George Patton once put to his men in another context: When will we finally fight and die on our own hills instead of dying on someone else’s?
Twitter is not America. And unless Republicans start acting like they know the difference, they’ll keep losing — and keep deserving it.
Here's what exit polls reveal about Tuesday's electoral bloodbath
The crushing defeats experienced on Tuesday by Republican candidates in the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial races as well as in the mayoral race in New York City are sure to be locally consequential as well as nationally telling.
After all, these elections provide insights into voter sentiment ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, in which Democrats will likely be able to flip five House seats, owing to the successful passage of the gerrymandering measure in California championed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), Proposition 50.
It turns out that hostility toward President Donald Trump continues to animate a significant number of voters and that younger Americans, particularly young women, are receptive to radical candidates.
New York City
Socialist Zohran Mamdani took over 50% of the vote in the New York City mayoral race, beating Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa by 43.3 percentage points and disgraced former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo by nearly nine points.
It's clear from CNN's exit polls that Mamdani's pinko populism resonated with a great many voters, particularly younger voters, in a city where the cost of living is widely regarded as a bigger issue than the correlated strain of illegal immigration and the problem of crime.
Mamdani campaigned on freezing the rent for all stabilized tenants; building more affordable housing; raising taxes on millionaires and corporations; raising the minimum wage; "expanding and protecting gender-affirming care citywide"; and frustrating the efforts of the Trump administration to enforce federal immigration law.
The majority of voters who said that the most important issues facing NYC were immigration and crime indicated that they voted for Cuomo. Meanwhile, 66% of the clear majority of voters who said the cost of living was the number-one issue ended up supporting Mamdani.
Mamdani also secured the support of:
- 65% of voters who disapprove of Trump as well as 8% who approve of him;
- 33% of voters who expressed an unfavorable view of the Democratic Party and 65% of those with a favorable view;
- 46% of white voters and 54% of non-white voters;
- 69% of voters ages 44 and younger, including 84% of women under 30;
- 75% of the irreligious vote, 33% of the Jewish vote, 33% of the Catholic vote, and 42% of votes by those identifying as Protestant or other types of Christian;
- 82% of the non-straight vote;
- 82% of the votes cast by people who have been in New York City for 10 years or less; and
- 65% of first-time mayoral voters.
President Donald Trump was a factor in the majority of respondents' votes in the Virginia, New Jersey, and California, according to CBS News' exit polls. In the New York City mayoral race, however, only 40% of respondents said Trump was a factor when deciding for whom to vote.
RELATED: Democrat who sent death-wish texts wins top law enforcement office in Virginia
While Trump was not a factor across the board in the NYC mayoral election, 76% of the people who said he was ultimately cast ballots for Mamdani.
New Jersey
In the New Jersey gubernatorial election, Democrat Rep. Mikie Sherrill beat Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli 56.2% to 43.2%, dealing him a more crushing defeat than he experienced in the 2021 gubernatorial election when he lost to Gov. Phil Murphy (D) by just over three points.
Exit polls show that Sherrill performed particularly well with women, non-whites, and college graduates and benefited greatly from voters' hostility toward the president and his administration.
The New Jersey Democrat apparently secured the support of:
- 77% of non-white voters and 47% of white voters;
- 67% of voters ages 44 and under and 51% of voters 45 or older;
- 94% of liberal voters, 62% of moderates, and 11% of alleged conservatives;
- 62% of female voters and 81% of female voters under 30; and
- 62% of voters with a college degree.
Voters who felt that the state's economy was faring poorly under Democrat management were more likely to cast ballots for Ciattarelli. Seventy-seven percent of voters who figured things were good voted for Sherrill.
It's clear that voter sentiment about federal politics leached into New Jersey's gubernatorial election.
'An antipathy for Trump also appeared to be a factor for a majority — 51% — of California voters.'
Whereas those who expressed satisfaction with the way things were going nationally — 88% — voted for Ciattarelli, 77% of those who were dissatisfied voted Democrat.
Of the 40% of voters who said that opposing Trump was a factor, 97% voted for Sherrill. The Democrat also secured 93% of the majority — 55% — who signaled disapproval for the president.
The majority of voters — 53% — indicated that the Trump administration has gone too far with its immigration crackdown, and 49% suggested the next governor should not cooperate with the administration.
Virginia
In the Virginia gubernatorial election, Democrat Abigail Spanberger beat Winsome Earle-Sears, the state's Republican lieutenant governor, 57.5% to 42.3%.
Like Mamdani, Spanberger enjoyed a great deal of support from the youth and appeared to benefit not only from voters' antipathy toward the Trump administration but from their financial desperation.
CNN exit polls show that Spanberger secured the support of:
- 65% of the female vote, including 81% of women under 30;
- 92% of the black vote, 67% of the Hispanic vote, 79% of the Asian vote, and 47% of the white vote;
- 63% of voters with a college degree;
- 56% of voters who earn $50,000 or more and 62% of voters who make less; and
- 82% of non-white voters and 47% of white voters.
A majority of voters indicated that federal cuts impacted their finances, and 69% of those affected said they cast ballots for Spanberger.
In a reverse of the trend in New Jersey, those respondents who said Virginia's economy was faring well majoritively voted Republican, while most of the 39% of voters who said the economy was not doing well or doing poorly ended up supporting Spanberger.
When asked what the most important issue facing the state was, a plurality — 48% — cited the economy. Of that cohort, 63% voted Democrat.
As was the case in the other races, those angry or dissatisfied with the way things were going nationally tended to vote Democrat 80% of the time.
Of the 38% of voters who signaled that opposition to Trump was a factor in their electoral decision-making, 99% voted for Spanberger, and 58% of all respondents signaled disapproval of his presidency.
It appears that disapproval of the Democratic Party was no guarantee of a vote against Spanberger, as roughly one in five of those who hold an unfavorable view of the Democratic Party voted for her.
California
Antipathy for Trump also appeared to be a factor for a majority — 51% — of California voters, 98% of whom voted in favor of the gerrymandering measure, Proposition 50.
According to CNN's exit polls, 64% of California voters disapprove of the job Trump is doing. Only 9% of the voters in that camp voted against Prop 50. Sixty-three percent of voters said the Trump administration's immigration actions go too far, and 59% suggested Gov. Newsom shouldn't cooperate with federal authorities.
Again, young women under 30 proved for Democrats a reliable cohort — 83% of women ages 18-29 supported the measure.
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