Drain the swamp? Meet the refill.



Darline Nordone’s rise in South Carolina threatens to turn one of MAGA's founding promises into a punch line. The movement that vowed to "drain the swamp" is now watching establishment money, inherited political machinery, and a presidential endorsement converge behind the sister of one of the Senate's most durable establishment figures.

It also risks making Republicans look ridiculous as they denounce the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America.

Democrats will use this cartoonish spectacle to argue that the Republican Party has been captured by corporate interests and turned its back on ordinary Americans.

Nordone (recently rebranded as Darline Graham) remains something of a political blank slate. Beyond the relationship with her late brother Lindsey, her support for a pro-abortion political ally, her years in state bureaucracies, and her association with diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, voters have relatively little record from which to judge what she would actually do in the Senate.

Her refusal to state clearly what she is for and against only deepens the uncertainty.

What voters can reasonably expect, however, is continuity with the Graham political brand: Lindsey Graham's fanatical interventionist foreign policy, establishment instincts at home, and comfort with bipartisan deals that many MAGA voters spent the past decade rejecting.

That is precisely what the MAGA movement was supposed to oppose. We do not need to consult America’s founders to remember why. We need only go back to 2015, when candidate Donald Trump declared war on the political establishment and won by promising to change it.

Obviously, the call to “drain the swamp” reigns supreme in setting the frame, but there is an embarrassment of riches in terms of quotes to choose from to make the point even more specifically. How about at the first Republican debate in 2015:

I will tell you that our system is broken. ... I give to everybody. When they call, I give. And you know what? When I need something from them, two years later, three years later, I call them. They are there for me. ... And that’s a broken system.

How about candidate Trump on Hillary Clinton:

These interests have rigged our political and economic system for their exclusive benefit. Big business, elite media, and major donors are lining up behind the campaign of my opponent because they know she will keep our rigged system in place. They are throwing money at her because they have total control over everything she does. She is their puppet, and they pull the strings.

And what about the special interest support of failed military interventions supported by his then-opponent Senator Lindsey Graham:

Judging by the incompetent way he ran his campaign, it is easy to see why his military strategies have failed so badly — we can’t even beat ISIS!

That is the political movement I signed up for, volunteered for, worked for, and still fight for.

RELATED: ‘Birthright senatorship’ betrays America First

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How can that movement be squared with an extension of establishment politics rather than its replacement? It can't. Everything Trump once condemned is now reappearing in almost cartoonish form.

So who is spending so heavily to support Darline Graham Nordone — and what do those interests expect in return?

A group called the Invest in Tomorrow Coalition is flooding money to support Darline Graham Nordone against her conservative opponent Ralph Norman. The group has announced $1 million in the race, as part of a $15 million larger pledge across the country, having already spent millions to defeat conservatives Chip Roy and Andy Ogles in their primary races.

The group is a super PAC, made possible by the 2010 Citizens United decision and its progeny, and funded by "clean energy" interests that favor government support for their industry. Conservatives have spent years attacking that kind of arrangement as corporate welfare — or, less politely, socialism. The point is not that every donor buys a politician outright. It is that political money is rarely charitable. Donors spend because policy matters to them.

Darline Graham Nordone has also received support from the establishment Senate campaign arm, the National Republican Senatorial Committee. While she can’t take over her late brother's campaign account directly, it can be transferred to the NRSC, which is funding her already. Notably, her opponent, Ralph Norman, is an original co-sponsor of the Save America Act from six years ago. For an establishment Senate already twisted into knots over its obstruction of that critical legislation, it makes sense that they wouldn’t want another fierce advocate for it.

There are others in this one-sided spending race as well. The Security is our Strength PAC, formerly associated with Lindsey Graham, is of course supporting her to the tune of $900,000. This group makes it clear that it views her as the one who will be “carrying the legacy forward.”

I take it from their perspective that they want the same out of this Graham that they got out of the last one, which is a different political tune than others suggesting that Darline may be more focused domestically. There is also a group called Palmetto Action that is coming in north of $1 million to oppose Ralph Norman, on similar lines.

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Alex WROBLEWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

Put simply, a great deal of money is flooding into South Carolina, and most of it is either supporting Darline Graham Nordone or opposing Ralph Norman. For a movement built around draining the swamp, the optics could hardly be worse.

South Carolinians should brace for a deluge of ads from every screen and speaker they own. Special-interest money can move votes; that is why people spend it. But the underlying question will remain: Why is Darline Graham Nordone a serious contender for this Senate seat? Her birthright senatorship via a famous last name, President Trump's endorsement, and a flood of outside money are doing much of the work.

South Carolinians should see this for what it is: a rejection of one of MAGA's core promises. This is not draining the swamp. It is restocking it.

Democrats will happily use this cartoonish spectacle to argue that the Republican Party has been captured by corporate interests and turned its back on ordinary Americans. They will also have an easy answer when Republicans denounce democratic socialism: Why should voters take that charge seriously if a Republican senator reaches office with the help of interests seeking to socialize the costs of private investment?

That will be a tough charge to rebut.

Here's the unfiltered truth about the 'moderate' who beat the America-hating socialist in Wisconsin



Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley upset socialist Francesca Hong in Wisconsin’s Democratic primary for governor on Tuesday.

But he’s no moderate. Crowley has pursued anti-white diversity, equity, and inclusion policies since taking office, from public parks to health care administration.

‘Apply a racial equity lens to all County decision-making.’

Crowley and every Wisconsin Assembly Democrat opposed a constitutional amendment in January banning race-based discrimination or preferential treatment by government agencies, though his dedication to DEI began much earlier.

Crowley began enlarging the county’s DEI programs shortly after his election as county executive in 2020, and he expanded the Racial Equity Ambassador team built under his predecessor during his first three months in office.

During that time, the Office on African-American Affairs “provided over 11,000 hours of racial equity training to more than 3,000 Milwaukee County employees to normalize discussions on racism, implicit bias, and microaggressions,” Crowley said in an August 2020 press release.

Crowley also deployed these ambassadors to public parks to determine if they were racist. Each park was reviewed and assigned a value in the Milwaukee County Park Equity Index, and parks' “equity index score” helped determine "major maintenance funding allocations."

As county executive, Crowley has publicly and consistently blamed white people for Milwaukee's problems.

RELATED: Francesca Hong voted to protect pedophiles as assemblywoman

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“People in historic positions of power have typically been straight and white and male,” Crowley said in 2020. “People fall in the river because those who hold the power don’t always have the interests of all people in mind.”

Crowley supported an ordinance requiring Milwaukee County to “identify and address policies, practices, and power structures that, whether intentionally or unintentionally, work in favor of white people and create barriers for Black, Brown, Indigenous people, and people of color,” according to the county website. Crowley was later responsible for the statute’s implementation and expansion.

The ordinance wasn’t just a declaration of Crowley’s policy priorities. It was binding on all future county executives and Milwaukee County government as a whole.

“The ordinance ensures racial equity is a top priority of Milwaukee County government and remains larger than any one government leader,” according to the Office of Equity Projects and Programs webpage.

Crowley also upheld standards designed to exclude white applicants from both hiring and promotional pathways.

“We are always mindful of considerations of diversity when promoting our staff,” Crowley’s 2020 racial equity budget review reads.

“To attract a diverse field of applicants, we have focused on reaching out to our contacts and organizations throughout the city (e.g. the Wisconsin Black Lawyers Association and the Hispanic Lawyers Association) to let them know when there is an opening.”

The county didn’t merely reach out to contacts. It spent taxpayer money selectively advertising to non-white job-seekers.

“This year we have added money to support ads on blackjobs.com (to attract professional African American job seekers) and hispanicjobs.com (to attract Hispanic, Latino, and Latinx candidates),” the review reads.

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White employees who managed to keep their jobs were subject to race-specific condemnation. The county noted in that same review that it was “recognizing the work white people need to do to change their understanding and historic perception, to bring culture change in support of diversity and racial equity.”

Crowley and his team knew their DEI priorities weren’t making Milwaukee more prosperous. The COVID-era budget admitted that “racial equity and revenue generation by nature clash.”

Despite that admission, Milwaukee still spent millions in grants distributed according to DEI metrics.

“Our pursuit of racial equity will not be put on pause for the pandemic. It is crucial to invest in our marginalized communities now to secure a path forward and opportunity for continued economic growth long after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides,” Crowley said in a December 2020 press release after awarding $11.6 million to 1,534 businesses.

“In step with the County’s mission to address racial inequity, priority was given to businesses with a letter of support from a member of the Ethnic & Diverse Chamber Coalition, a group of chambers of commerce supporting entrepreneurs of color, women, LGBT, and veteran-owned businesses,” according to the release.

A 2021 Wisconsin Partnership Program outcome report found that 66% of grant recipients were indeed minorities, women, or veterans.

These programs are active and ongoing.

Milwaukee also launched a Racial Equity Lens Strategy team in 2021, “developing tools and processes to apply a racial equity lens to all County decision-making.”

“From advancing racial equity efforts to investing in affordable housing, mental health services, and public transit, we’ve realized great progress over the last four years in making Milwaukee County the healthiest community in Wisconsin,” Crowley said in 2024 reflection on the end of his first term.

Crowley and the Milwaukee Office of Equity did not respond to requests for comment.

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Liberal media silent as Senate proves FBI spied on GOP without evidence as soon as Biden was president



Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has obtained new documents revealing that the Biden FBI's targeting of GOP lawmakers in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, protests was not limited to Operation Arctic Frost but was rather "part of a pattern of political weaponization."

The documents obtained by Grassley and published by the Daily Caller provide insights into the nature and baselessness of the Biden FBI's "Rampart Twelve" investigation, which was initially pursued against Republican Reps. Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Paul Gosar (Ariz.), and Andy Biggs (Ariz.), as well as against former Rep. Mo Brooks (Ala.), by the bureau's Washington field office.

'My Democrat colleagues want to ignore these facts and evidence and defend the fired officials who participated in Biden’s lawfare.'

As with Arctic Frost, this Biden FBI lawfare campaign saw investigators obtain toll records, at least for Boebert and Gosar. Toll records provide investigators with identifying information of callers along with the date, time, location, and length of a call.

The Rampart Twelve probe was launched on Jan. 22, 2021, two days after Biden took office, on the basis of bogus claims made by then-Reps. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) and John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) as well as by Democrat Rep. Steve Cohen (Tenn.). These claims specifically alleged that the Republicans "may have assisted or conspired with persons, groups, or organizations who planned or organized the unlawful entry on January 6, 2021, of the United States Capitol Building."

For instance, Sherrill, now the governor of New Jersey, alleged in a January 2021 video shared to Facebook that some lawmakers had brought groups of people into the Capitol ahead of Jan. 6 to conduct "reconnaissance for the next day."

Text messages between prosecutors reveal a desire by elements at the Biden Justice Department to advance the case despite an awareness that proving the Republicans intended harm when supposedly bringing people to the Capitol "might be impossible" and that some of the imagery cited by the complainants "does not look suspicious."

There was a clear desire to avoid additional levels of scrutiny when executing this lawfare campaign against the Biden administration's political opponents.

After concern was apparently expressed about secretly investigating members of Congress, J.P. Cooney, a prosecutor who ultimately served as a top deputy to special counsel Jack Smith in two criminal prosecutions of President Donald Trump, provided some reassurance to Timothy Thibault, an anti-Trump FBI agent then with the the bureau, that doing so was OK.

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Cooney noted in a Feb. 3, 2021, letter to Thibault that Attorney General Bill Barr did issue a memorandum in February 2020 requiring prior written notification and consultation with the assistant attorney general and the U.S. attorney with jurisdiction before investigating "declared candidates" for Congress. However, Cooney claimed that the Republican targets were fair game as they were no longer candidates but rather newly sworn-in members of the House.

The FBI appears to have kept Rampart Twelve alive until at least January 2022, when Thibault informed a Washington field office FBI agent who wanted to interview Boebert and Gosar that "direction from FBIHQ is to close the case."

"Rampart Twelve appears to be a predecessor case to Arctic Frost," Grassley said in a statement read by Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) during the hearing on Tuesday.

"The evidence to support the investigation didn't exist. Even so, J.P. Cooney personally concurred with opening the investigation even though his text messages told a different tale."

Schmitt told the Daily Caller, "These bombshell documents reveal that bad actors at the highest levels of our government and intelligence agencies targeted broad swaths of the America[n] right and sitting members of Congress with no evidence of wrongdoing."

"This fishing expedition was nothing more than a political agenda. Finally under the leadership of Chairman Grassley and the work of this committee, we are shining a light on this corruption that the Democrats ignored under Biden, and we will not stop until there is full accountability for those involved," added Schmitt.

As of midday Tuesday, no liberal media outfit appears to have touched the story of the Biden FBI's Rampart Twelve fishing expedition.

"If not for my investigative work and brave whistleblowers, we wouldn’t know about FBI agents’ and DOJ prosecutors’ disgraceful efforts to try and destroy Republicans," Grassley told the Caller. "My Democrat colleagues want to ignore these facts and evidence and defend the fired officials who participated in Biden’s lawfare. I’ll continue working to expose the widespread constitutional abuses that occurred under the Biden administration, because transparency brings accountability."

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Trump threatens Insurrection Act after ambushed ICE agent shoots illegal alien: 'Put an end to the travesty'



Despite their vilification by Democrat officials and an 8,000% increase in death threats, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents continue in Minneapolis and other dangerous sanctuary jurisdictions to make arrests — 70% of which are reportedly of criminal illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime in the United States.

When attempting to make one such arrest on Wednesday evening, a federal law enforcement officer was savagely attacked not only by the illegal alien he was pursuing but by a pair of onlookers who apparently felt compelled to frustrate the administration of justice.

'Minnesota insurrection is a direct result of a FAILED governor and a TERRIBLE mayor encouraging violence.'

The incident resulted in an apparent defensive shooting, which radicals seized upon as yet another excuse to attack police, engage in wanton destruction, and altogether ramp up what the Department of Justice is now referring to as an "insurrection."

The shooting

The Department of Homeland Security indicated that around 6:50 p.m. local time, federal agents attempted to arrest an illegal alien from Venezuela. The suspect peeled away in his vehicle and fled the scene but ultimately crashed into a parked car.

While the suspect proceeded to take off running, an agent, who has been identified as an ICE officer by U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commander Gregory Bovino, caught up with the Venezuelan in the 600 block of 24th Avenue North.

When the ICE officer attempted once again to make the arrest, "the subject began to resist and violently assault the officer," said the DHS.

Seeing the two men struggling on the ground, two individuals exited a nearby apartment and allegedly began attacking the officer with a shovel and a broom handle, enabling the illegal alien to break free.

The Venezuelan allegedly proceeded to use one of the two improvised hitting implements to strike the outnumbered officer.

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Photo by Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Image

"Fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals, the officer fired a defensive shot to defend his life," said the DHS.

The two alleged attackers and the Venezuelan — who sustained a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the leg — reportedly barricaded themselves in the apartment but were ultimately flushed out. The illegal alien and the officer were taken to the hospital, and the two suspected attackers were placed in custody.

Minneapolis police were ultimately joined at the scene by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the FBI.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara confirmed that a broom and a snow shovel were found at the scene of the struggle and indicated "at least one person may have assaulted federal law enforcement."

The Minneapolis reflex

O'Hara indicated that in the wake of the struggle and shooting, a mob assembled and began "engaging in unlawful acts."

In addition to pelting law enforcement officers with incendiary devices, ice, rocks, and other projectiles, rioters ransacked and vandalized federal vehicles, videos showed.

Mayor Jacob Frey (D) wasted no time in fanning the flames, referring to ICE during a press conference on Wednesday night as an invading force that's supposedly rounding up American citizens.

"I've seen conduct from ICE that is disgusting and is intolerable," said Frey.

After demonizing ICE and championing anti-ICE protests, Frey suggested that radicals "taking the bait" weren't helping.

Gov. Tim Walz (D) also responded with mixed signals, characterizing federal agents as villains and recommending resistance but also suggesting that Minnesotans should remain peaceful.

"You're angry. I’m angry. Angry is not a strong enough word," Walz said in a video address on Wednesday night. "You are not powerless, you are not helpless, and you are certainly not alone. All across Minnesota people are learning about opportunities, not just to resist, but to help people who are in danger."

The Justice Department evidently saw the signal through the noise and accused the two Minnesota Democratic Party leaders of incitement.

"ICE operates in thousands of counties without incident. Men and women doing their jobs, protecting us from criminal aliens," said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. "Minnesota insurrection is a direct result of a FAILED governor and a TERRIBLE mayor encouraging violence against law enforcement. It's disgusting."

"Walz and Frey," continued Blanche. "I’m focused on stopping YOU from your terrorism by whatever means necessary. This is not a threat. It’s a promise."

President Donald Trump threatened on Thursday morning to invoke the Insurrection Act "if the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don't obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job."

Trump noted that many presidents have utilized the Insurrection Act of 1807 and that it would "quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great state."

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No more stiff upper lip: My fellow Brits are fed up with 'diversity'



How would you destroy a country if you had the opportunity?

Deracinate the native population? Create authoritarian hate-speech legislation to prevent civilians from questioning the state’s actions? Smear those who disagree as dumb, racist idiots? Eliminate symbols of national solidarity and pride?

Leicester is one of the first British cities to have a non-white majority, thus earning the newly coined progressive accolade 'super diverse.'

The British state has done all of the above.

Suicidal empathy

Liberal elites think "diversity is a strength." I would call it suicidal empathy. White British people made up 98% of the United Kingdom’s population in 1968, but they are predicted to become a minority by 2063. The barbarians are at the gates, and we have merely opened the doors. All in the name of multiculturalism.

What is so alarming is the speed of increase. Net migration has increased the number of people living in the United Kingdom by 3.7 million since 2010 — more than the population of Connecticut. The percentage of foreign-born people living in the U.K. has almost trebled in 30 years.

If you only account for people entering the country, about 3.6% of Britain’s total population has arrived between 2021 and 2023. To put this in context, the Huguenots, who are sometimes referred to as “Britain’s first refugees,” arriving between the 16th and 17th centuries, made up about 1% of the population. It took about 50 years to accomplish.

It wasn’t always this way. For the bulk of the 20th century, immigration had a minor impact on British life. Between 1945 and 1995, net migration to the United Kingdom was less than 1 million.

Care Blair

That all changed in 1997. It was multiculturalism’s year zero. The "New Labour" government was new Britain: managerial elites and technocrats exercising power through bloated government bureaucracies and radically transforming society. The architect was Labour Party leader and newly elected Prime Minister Tony Blair, who sought to socially engineer a multicultural society and "rub the right’s nose in diversity." In the 30 years since 1995, net migration has rocketed to almost 8 million.

Mass immigration, along with its accompanying doctrine of multiculturalism, has been a 30-year flawed experiment. The notion that the West has entered a post-historical period in which cultural practices, religion, and ethnicity would coalesce into a harmonious global community based on universal principles has proven to be dangerously false.

The limits of tolerance

What has happened to my country over the last few decades gives the lie to the neoliberal fantasy of an all-inclusive, peaceful, and prospering multicultural society. A once-tolerant citizenry has grown weary of the fruits of diversity: Pakistani grooming gangs targeting mainly white, working-class girls; cousin marriage; inter- and intrareligious conflict; terrorism; Sharia law courts; and independent MPs advocating for Islamic blasphemy laws.

Our compassion for asylum-seekers has also waned — especially with the realization that many of the people our government chooses to import harbor values antithetical to Western civilization — if not downright opposed to it.

Brothers Hashem and Salman Abedi — responsible for killing 22 people when Salman blew himself up at an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena in 2017 — were both born in the U.K. after their Libyan parents were granted asylum in 1993.

But their father had Islamist ties back in Libya and took his family there in 2011. It is believed that both boys — then teenagers — fought with the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group against Muammar Gaddafi.

Just last month, an Afghan migrant was found guilty of threatening to kill Nigel Farage, the Reform U.K. leader.

RELATED: Cry 'God for England'

Nina Power

Super diverse

The Muslim population of England and Wales has risen to 4 million — a 44% rise in a decade. Driven by a huge increase in Asian immigrants from Pakistan and India, immigration has led to rapid demographic change to major cities across the country. Leicester is one of the first British cities to have a non-white majority, thus earning the newly coined progressive accolade "super diverse."

When Conservative MP Robert Jenrick stated that he had not seen another white face while walking around Handsworth, an inner-city area of Birmingham, he was merely stating a fact. There are approximately 600 White British people in the neighborhood, out of a total population of about 12,000.

But Jenrick was criticized for being "divisive" and "irresponsible" by Ayoub Khan, the independent MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, where Muslims account for about 45% of the resident population, according to 2021 census data.

Khan won his seat partly on a pro-Palestinian platform and has criticized the major parties for what he describes as neglect of his community. He also endorses cousin marriage and controversially labeled the grooming gang scandal a "false right-wing narrative." It's not so much Britain first as anywhere else first.

Collapse of cohesion

I could go on. Among the issues that increasingly preoccupy the British public are those rooted in rapid demographic and cultural change. Coroners have warned that vulnerable elderly patients are dying because some foreign care-home staff lack adequate English — one 2024 case involved workers unable to distinguish “bleeding” from “breathing” when calling emergency services.

White British children are a minority in one in four English schools. The national flag, though legally unrestricted, is often treated as an embarrassment outside state-sanctioned occasions such as football tournaments. And several of Britain’s largest cities — including Birmingham and Bradford — regularly appear near the top of European crime rankings, a trend critics link to poor integration and rapid immigration.

Each of these concerns points to a deeper unease about whether the institutions meant to preserve national cohesion are still capable of doing so.

In 2014, a BBC straw poll asked viewers the question, "Is multiculturalism working?" 95% of the respondents replied with a resounding "no."

The mood has not improved since then; more than half of U.K. voters now support mass deportations.The British, renowned for their toleration and stiff upper lip, have had enough.

Democrat senator blocks vote to end shutdown to protest Trump's 'authoritarianism' in drawn-out rant



Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon is gunning for a record-breaking filibuster in hopes of blocking President Donald Trump's "attempts to trample on the Constitution."

Merkley began his filibuster Tuesday night in order to prevent Trump's "authoritarianism" in the form of a clean, nonpartisan continuing resolution that Democrats have blocked nearly a dozen times. As of early Wednesday afternoon, over 18 hours into his Senate floor spectacle, Merkley appears to be aiming to beat New Jersey Democrat Sen. Cory Booker's record-breaking 25-hour filibuster back in April.

Democrats' $1.5 trillion funding bill aims to undo every policy implemented by Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Addressing an empty chamber, Merkley railed against Trump's efforts to address crime in Portland after an appeals court ruled in favor of the administration deploying the National Guard.

“Portlanders have responded in a very interesting way,” Merkley said. “They are demonstrating with joy and whimsy.”

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Photo by Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images

The whimsical response from Portland residents included a horde of naked cyclists temporarily blocking an ICE facility's driveway to protest the crime crackdown. Several arrests were later made after some protesters became rowdy, refusing to move out of the driveway.

"They want to make it clear to the world that what Trump is saying about there being violent protests or a rebellion in Portland,” Merkley said, “it’s just not true.”

RELATED: Appeals court rules Trump can lawfully order National Guard troops to Portland

Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

Due to Merkley's drawn-out floor speech, the Senate has not been able to schedule another vote to reopen the government as the shutdown approaches its fourth week.

Democrats originally shut down the government after they blocked the Republican-led funding bill, allowing the September 30 deadline to lapse. Despite Democrat posturing, the GOP's bill remains a clean continuing resolution with no partisan anomalies.

In contrast, the Democrats' $1.5 trillion funding bill aims to undo every policy implemented by Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Democrats are also insisting on addressing Obamacare subsidies even though they expire at the end of the year.

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Tylenol's concerns about possible autism risk date back more than a decade, documents reportedly show



Medical groups, foreign health organizations, and some lawmakers threw a conniption this week after President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dared to take action over the apparent association between autism and prenatal exposure to acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol.

A popular tactic taken by critics was to refute a claim the Trump administration wasn't making, namely that acetaminophen was causally linked to autism.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, for example, stated, "In more than two decades of research on the use of acetaminophen in pregnancy, not a single reputable study has successfully concluded that the use of acetaminophen in any trimester of pregnancy causes neurodevelopmental disorders in children."

Of course, the point the administration was making concerns the apparent correlation, not causation, between Tylenol use during pregnancy and autism in children — a correlation that has been borne out in numerous studies published in reputable peer-reviewed scientific journals such as Environmental Health, JAMA Psychiatry, Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics, and the International Journal of Epidemiology.

While such studies evidently have not swayed organizations cozy with the pharmaceutical industry, they certainly caused alarm behind the scenes at the very company that made Tylenol for six decades.

Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson made the acetaminophen product Tylenol available over the counter in 1960. In 2023, J&J spun off its consumer health care division Kenvue as an independent company, which now makes the drug.

Damning internal documents recently obtained by the Daily Caller indicate that years before J&J parted ways with Tylenol, some of its senior scientists admitted that a possible association existed between Tylenol and autism.

RELATED: Fact-check: Tylenol confirms 2017 pregnancy warning tweet is authentic

Photo Illustration by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

For instance, when serving as the U.S. director of epidemiology for J&J's pharmaceutical arm Janssen in 2018, Rachel Weinstein noted in an email, "The weight of evidence is starting to feel heavy to me."

After referencing "studies in prenatal exposure and neurodev outcome," Weinstein wrote, "It looks like there are a bunch of papers from 2016 that we somehow missed. Many of them by Liew et al."

One of the papers Weinstein may have been referring to was a study published in the international journal Autism Research. The study indicated that maternal use of acetaminophen for over 20 weeks of pregnancy "increased the risk of [autism spectrum disorder] or infantile autism with hyperkinetic symptoms almost twofold."

The company documents were provided to the Caller by the law firm Keller Postman, which is leading a class-action lawsuit against Kenvue as well as against retailers that sell their own store-branded acetaminophen.

Ashley Keller, lead attorney for the families whose suit will be heard before the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit beginning on Oct. 9, told Blaze News, "The emails confirm that the company's nothing-to-see-here response to the administration's announcement is pure spin."

"Internally, the company was aware of the growing body of scientific evidence linking prenatal Tylenol use to neurodevelopmental harm in offspring," Keller added.

'There are dozens of studies showing a link between Tylenol and neurodevelopmental harm in offspring.'

Weinstein wrote in a 2014 letter to one of the researchers behind the 2014 study titled "Acetaminophen use during pregnancy, behavioral problems, and hyperkinetic disorders," which was published in JAMA Pediatrics, "We recognize the substantial strengths of the study and the data sources."

That study concluded, "Maternal acetaminophen use during pregnancy is associated with a higher risk for HKDs and ADHD-like behaviors in children."

Referencing her correspondence with the researcher on the 2014 paper, Weinstein and other top J&J scientists considered backing follow-up studies; however, she then noted, "Do we really need to stick our neck out and make this offer?"

Slides for a 2018 internal presentation labeled "privileged and confidential" discussed epidemiological studies concerning potential links between Tylenol and various neurodevelopmental disorders. The slide summarizing the studies under review states, "Individual observational studies show a somewhat consistent association of increased occurrence of neurodevelopmental outcomes with prenatal exposure."

Internal communications further indicate that some J&J employees were reportedly also aware of a 2018 scientific review that indicated nine recent studies had suggested "an increased risk of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes following prenatal [acetaminophen] exposure."

The Caller indicated that Weinstein could not be reached for comment.

A spokesperson for J&J told the Daily Caller, "Johnson & Johnson divested its consumer health business years ago, and all rights and liabilities associated with the sale of its over-the-counter products, including Tylenol (acetaminophen), are owned by Kenvue."

The current maker of Tylenol, Kenvue, in turn continued downplaying a link between its drug and autism.

"Nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of the people who use our products," said Kenvue spokeswoman Melissa Witt. "We have continuously evaluated the science and continue to believe there is no causal link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and autism."

When asked about Kenvue's assertion that "there is no credible science that shows taking acetaminophen causes autism," Keller, the attorney representing families in the class-action lawsuit against Kenvue, told Blaze News, "To quote the late, great Justice Scalia: 'Pure applesauce.'"

Alluding to some of the credible science that has been undertaken to date, Keller underscored there is cause for concern.

"There are dozens of studies showing a link between Tylenol and neurodevelopmental harm in offspring. The direct measurement studies that look at biomarkers all show dose response (more Tylenol, more risk)," Keller said. "They also show very elevated odds ratios (double, triple, quadruple, even quintupling of the risk). The animal models, which can control for genetics far better than human observational studies, show that acetaminophen is neurotoxic."

"Does that mean causation has been definitively established? No, it is simply likely," Keller continued. "But even if you only think it is plausible, we shouldn't have to wait for definitive proof of causation before we warn pregnant women of risks."

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Ex-teacher allegedly 'confessed to inappropriate conduct with high school student' at her home 'on multiple occasions'



A former Texas teacher was arrested for allegedly having "inappropriate conduct with a high school student," according to police.

KTXS-TV reported that 25-year-old Lily Victoria Janek was arrested at her home in Brownwood on Wednesday. She was charged with an improper relationship between an educator and a student. Janek's bond was set at $50,000.

'While we are sickened by the conduct of this former employee, we know that this incident is not a reflection of the many exceptional educators teaching in classrooms across the district.'

Janek had been employed as a teacher and a coach for the Mullin Independent School District.

The Brownwood Police Department said in a Thursday statement that law enforcement was tipped off in November 2024 about a "possible improper relationship between a student and educator."

Detective Peyton Donahoo claimed Janek "invited the student to her home in Brownwood, where it was alleged that sexual activity occurred" on "multiple occasions."

Police said the accusations were "confirmed during subsequent interviews with Janek and others associated with the report."

The school district said in a Wednesday statement that "today, a former Mullin ISD employee was arrested for allegedly engaging in an inappropriate relationship with one of our students."

"The district had been notified on Friday, April 4, 2025, that a Mullin ISD employee had confessed to inappropriate conduct with a high school student," the statement read. "After receiving the letter from law enforcement, we reported the employee’s conduct to Child Protective Services, suspended the employee, banned her from all school property and school-related activities."

On April 7, the board of trustees voted to terminate the employee, the school district said.

The district added that the superintendent filed a report with the Texas Education Agency about the teacher's alleged inappropriate conduct with a Mullin High School student.

The school district noted that it was "fully cooperating" with law enforcement, Child Protective Services, and the Texas Education Agency.

"While we are sickened by the conduct of this former employee, we know that this incident is not a reflection of the many exceptional educators teaching in classrooms across the district," the Mullin Independent School District stated. "We are committed to supporting the students and families impacted and ending the school year strong for all of our children."

The school district offered additional counseling services to anyone affected by the alleged conduct of the former teacher through the school psychologist, as well as through the Texas Child Health Access through Telemedicine.

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Armed men storm South African church during sermon to kidnap American pastor in front of his wife and children, officials say



Armed men stormed into a church in South Africa last week and kidnapped an American pastor from Tennessee, according to authorities.

Late Thursday, 34-year-old pastor Josh Sullivan was giving a sermon for about 30 people — including his wife, Meagan, and their six children — at the Fellowship Baptist Church in Motherwell, a township near the seaport city of Gqeberha in the country's Eastern Cape province.

'We’re in a really tense situation right now.'

Suddenly, four armed men stormed into the church and kidnapped the pastor in the middle of his sermon.

"It is alleged that while a sermon was conducted at the church, four armed and masked male suspects entered the church," police told CBS News.

Jeremy Hall, spokesman for the Sullivan family, told local newspaper TimesLive that the kidnappers "knew his name."

"The men came into the church and initially held Meagan and walked her toward the door before saying, ‘Josh, is this your wife?’ They then pushed her to the ground and took Josh before driving off in his vehicle," Hall said.

The kidnappers also allegedly stole two cell phones from people in the congregation.

The armed kidnappers reportedly took Sullivan at gunpoint, forced him into his car, and drove off. The car was abandoned about a mile from the church.

A U.S. Department of State spokesperson told the BBC that the agency is aware of the kidnapping of an American citizen in South Africa.

The spokesperson said there was no "greater priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens abroad."

Police spokesperson Captain Andre Beetge said, "As I understand, there has been no ransom raised."

Beetge noted that if a ransom was demanded, the case would be handed over to the Hawks — a specialized police unit that investigates organized crime, economic crime, corruption, and other serious crimes.

Hawks spokesman Lieut. Col. Avele Fumba stated, "The police are currently following all possible leads to locate the victim and apprehend the perpetrators."

Since February 2012, Sullivan has been on the staff at the Fellowship Baptist Church in Maryville, Tennessee.

"Please pray for Josh Sullivan, missionary to South Africa," the church said in a statement.

Sullivan and his family arrived in South Africa from Tennessee in November 2018, according to his personal website.

"We are looking to finish language school soon and plant a church to the Xhosa-speaking people," Sullivan wrote on his site.

Missionary Mark Coffey said of Sullivan, "Josh’s love for the Xhosa people is evident in everything he does. He doesn’t just serve them — he walks with them, learns from them, and pours his life into building lasting relationships rooted in the love of Christ. He often says that learning the Xhosa language wasn’t just about communication — it was about connection."

Sullivan's father-in-law, David Witt, told WVLT-TV, "We’re asking that everybody pray for Josh. I came out here to ask for prayer. We’re in a really tense situation right now."

Witt added, “It’s devastating in terms of the children. These are my children and grandchildren. On the flip side, we serve a big God. We trust in him."

Last week, a Chinese national was kidnapped in Gqeberha, according to the anti-gang police unit.

Citing police statistics, CBS News reported that there were more than 17,000 kidnappings in South Africa during the 2023-2024 fiscal year — an 11% increase from the previous year.

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Kristi Noem takes charge, rights Biden’s and Mayorkas’ wrongs at DHS



Donald Trump’s second presidential administration has stormed into Washington like a Category 5 hurricane, dismantling the bureaucratic rot left by Joe Biden and previous presidents at an astonishing pace.

Among the high-profile disruptors in Trump’s Cabinet, few have made a more dramatic impact than Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

The damage inflicted on America’s borders and law enforcement agencies during the Biden years is severe, and fixing it will not be easy.

Since taking office on January 25, Noem has been everywhere. She has joined Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on arrest operations in New York, inspected DHS security measures in New Orleans ahead of the Super Bowl, and accompanied Border Patrol agents in Texas — both by helicopter and on horseback.

Kristi Noem’s border visits are more than just photo ops — they mark a long-overdue corrective to the disastrous tenure of her predecessor, Alejandro Mayorkas.

Under Mayorkas’ “leadership,” more than 10 million illegal aliens entered the United States. When the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that DHS could not mass parole illegal aliens into the country, he expanded the practice anyway. Since fiscal year 2021, authorities have caught 362 individuals on the terrorist watchlist illegally crossing the Southwest border. That figure is just one piece of the overwhelming evidence showing how Mayorkas and Biden enabled an unprecedented border crisis.

The consequences of Mayorkas’ mismanagement have been severe, but his gaslighting only deepened the public’s frustration. Throughout the Biden administration, Americans watched him testify before Congress and speak to friendly corporate media outlets, repeatedly insisting that the southern border was secure — despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

Instead of enforcing immigration laws, Mayorkas actively encouraged illegal crossings. His DHS even introduced the CBP One phone app, which Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and others described as a “concierge service for illegal immigrants.”

Mayorkas’ tenure also devastated the agencies under his command. With Border Patrol effectively transformed from a law enforcement agency into a welcoming committee for illegal aliens, more than 4,000 agents left the department since October 2020. Retirement rates more than doubled compared to the previous two administrations. Morale plummeted not just within the Border Patrol but also at ICE and other agencies under DHS.

Against this backdrop, Noem’s ride with the Del Rio horse patrol unit in Texas carried particular significance. In 2021, five members of the unit saw their reputations destroyed when the government’s highest officials and the media falsely accused them of wrongdoing over a misinterpreted photograph.

During a chaotic scene involving Haitian migrants, mounted agents were photographed with their horses’ reins flying through the air. Anti-border activists assumed the worst, immediately accusing the agents of whipping migrants.

Mayorkas, who initially defended the agents, quickly reversed course, declaring himself “horrified” by the images and vowing swift punishment. Biden, ignoring due process and the presumption of innocence, proclaimed, “It’s outrageous. I promise you those people will pay.”

The accusation against the Del Rio horse patrol had one major flaw: The photographer who captured the image stated that no whipping had occurred. Furthermore, Border Patrol does not issue whips to mounted agents.

Rather than admit their mistake, Mayorkas and Biden allowed the accused agents to endure months of public scorn, their reputations unjustly tarnished. A nearly 10-month inquiry confirmed that the agents had not whipped migrants, yet they still faced internal disciplinary action.

In a quiet acknowledgment of the injustice, DHS last year discreetly awarded a service medal to one of the mounted agents — a meager attempt at redemption but far from the public apology the patrol deserved. It remains one of the most shameful episodes in the department’s history.

During her Texas visit, Noem rode horseback with some of the falsely accused agents, signaling a commitment to repairing the relationship between DHS leadership and frontline personnel.

“The last leadership team at DHS, and Mayorkas, he rode over them,” Noem told Fox News’ Lawrence Jones. “I think it’s important today that they know I ride with them.”

The damage inflicted on America’s borders and law enforcement agencies during the Biden years is severe, and fixing it will not be easy. But Noem’s energy, leadership, and management style suggest she is up to the task.