Native American protesters outraged over oil leasing ban form road blockade that shuts down Biden admin's event



Over the weekend, a group of Navajo Nation citizens protested a new oil leasing ban by forming a road blockade that shut down a Biden administration event.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland on June 2 placed a ban on oil, gas, and mineral-leasing within 10 miles of Chaco Canyon, located in Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico.

The ban is set to remain in effect for 20 years, despite pushback from the Navajo community, which argued that the prohibition would negatively impact low-income residents who depend financially on land leases.

Within the 10-mile buffer zone, 53 allotments generate $6.2 million a year in royalties for more than 5,000 Navajo citizens. Another 418 allotments within the buffer zone are not leased.

The Navajo members are estimated to lose $194 million as a result of the ban, according to the Western Energy Alliance.

Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren stated that many individuals in the area lease their land to fossil fuel companies. The government awarded land allotments to the Navajo citizens in the 1900s as a consolation for the downsizing of the tribe's territory.

Nygren told Fox News Digital, "To totally disregard those local communities – it's unfair."

"There's no need to celebrate putting people into poverty, to celebrate undermining the Navajo Nation's sovereignty, undermining everything that comes into working with tribes, in this case, Navajo Nation," Nygren added.

"You can't pound your chest on going after people in poverty," he continued. "I don't know who would want to celebrate that. Personally, I think that's, I don't know, you got to not have a heart if you're going to put people that are already impoverished in Third-World-country conditions and barely have enough to pay for gas, food, laundry, the daily necessities – to put them into an even tougher situation."

Haaland was accused of failing to properly consult with the Navajo Nation before implementing the ban. The tribe previously supported a five-mile buffer zone around the canyon but claimed that Haaland did not consider it.

According to the Department of Interior, the ban will not impact existing leases. However, critics of the action claimed that the buffer zone indirectly makes the Navajo Nation's allotments worthless since drilling would require crossings through federal land impacted by the ban.

On Sunday, Navajo citizens protested the DOI's ban by creating a road blockade that prevented Haaland and Bryan Newland, the assistant secretary of Indian Affairs, from attending a scheduled event celebrating the action at the Chaco Culture National Historical Park.

Haaland called the protest "not ideal."

"To see any road — yes, less than ideal. That's the nicest thing I can say — to see any road into any of our national parks or our public lands blocked was heartbreaking because our public lands belong to all Americans," Haaland added.

\u201cOpponents and supporters of the buffer zone around Chaco Canyon clashed today after Navajo allottees blockaded the road to the park in preparation for Interior Secretary Deb Haaland's planned visit. The allottee protestors did not let cars into the park.\u201d
— Hannah Grover (@Hannah Grover) 1686515476

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

56-year-old woman gives birth to her own grandchild after serving as the surrogate for her son and daughter-in-law



Nancy Hauck, 56, has given birth to her own grandchild after serving as the surrogate for her son Jeff and his wife Cambria.

"Everything went perfectly and we are feeling so blessed to have her in our family," Nancy said, according to People. She noted that she is "facing new emotions of having a baby, but not bringing the baby home with me afterwards."

"It is a mix of deep gratitude and some sadness from the separation," she said, according to the outlet.

"How many people get to watch their mom give birth?" Jeff Hauck said, describing it as "a beautiful moment."

"It's really special that it gets to be my daughter," he said.

Jeff and his wife Cambria had previously had other children via IVF, including twin girls, followed by twin boys. Following the birth of their boys, Cambria experienced hemorrhaging, and the couple made the difficult decision for her to have a hysterectomy — but they still had embryos that had been created via in vitro fertilization.

"We wanted to give them all a chance at life," Cambria noted.

Jeff told told KSL-TV that the couple knew they would need "to use a gestational carrier" in order to have more of their embryos.

Nancy floated the notion of serving as a surrogate, according to People — at the time, she did not even believe it would be a possibility because of her age, but she offered because she wanted her son "to know that I would have been willing to do it."

"We were in amazement by her selfless love, and her willingness to sacrifice so much for our family," Cambria told KSL-TV.

St. George grandma pregnant, carrying son’s baby after his wife’s hysterectomy www.youtube.com

It all worked out, and Nancy gave birth to her own grandchild, a baby girl named Hannah.

"In my heart I want all of my grandkids to know that they're equally as loved," Nancy noted, according to People, "and I would've done it for any of them."

Host of progressive media accounts claim they’ve been arbitrarily demonetized by YouTube



Several independent progressive media personalities spoke out recently claiming their YouTube accounts were arbitrarily censored by the video platform for publishing or covering content deemed "harmful."

Independent journalist Caitlin Johnstone first reported on the news, further advancing speculation that the Google-owned video company is engaging in a widespread content crackdown.


Johnstone wrote in a blog post Wednesday that "progressive commentators Graham Elwood, The Progressive Soapbox, The Convo Couch, Franc Analysis, Hannah Reloaded and Cyberdemon531 have all received notifications from YouTube that their videos are no longer permitted to earn money through the platform's various monetization features, as has Ford Fischer, a respected freelancer who films US political demonstrations."

BREAKING: After me spending the last week criticizing @TeamYouTube's takedown of my raw footage from January 6, the… https://t.co/N1FpCNqzTe
— Ford Fischer (@Ford Fischer)1612382324.0

For years, conservative content creators on the platform have complained — and sued — after being suddenly demonetized without explanation, and now YouTube appears to be unleashing a similar censorship tactic on independent media figures with differing political views.

Johnstone called the news "a jarring escalation in the steadily intensifying campaign against alternative news outlets online."

TheBlaze reached out to Google to request comment about the news but did not receive a response in time for publication.

Judged by the media figures' Twitter posts regarding the censorship, most seemed to have received the same opaque email notice from YouTube, informing them that their channel "is not in line with our YouTube Partner Program policies" and thus "is not eligible to monetize" or access any "monetization tools and features."

The email then directed them to their accounts monetization page where they could view the "specific" policy that was flagged by specialists. Only the policy on display on that page was anything but specific. It simply reads that the account was demonetized for "harmful content," or "content that focuses on controversial issues and that is harmful to viewers."

The accounts were then instructed to make edits or remove altogether the content that caused the channel to be flagged. But, according to the complaints of some of the media figures, YouTube never indicated specifically which content on the channel caused it to be flagged.

Btw, @TeamYouTube what exactly was I demonetized for? It says harmful content but I debunk conspiracy theories and… https://t.co/PXx9hMuOHT
— Hannah Reloaded (@Hannah Reloaded)1612384498.0

On its support website, Google outlines its "harmful and dangerous content policy" by listing the types of content that would be subject to removal from YouTube. Included on the list are videos about dangerous challenges, pranks, drug use, violent events, and more.

The list is rather exhaustive and YouTube even advises users to "keep in mind that this isn't a complete list," perhaps giving the company a variety of avenues by which it can pursue censorship should it desire to.

Men accused of looting homes in Oregon's wildfire evacuation zone take deputies on crazy chase through golf course



Deputies have arrested two men who they believe were looting homes in Oregon that had been evacuated due to the deadly wildfires on the West Coast.

The Beachie Creek Fire, which is smoldering in Clackamas and Marion Counties south of Portland, has burned 186,856 acres. In Marion County, officials have ordered 13,764 structures to be evacuated because they are at a Level 3 evacuation, which means "evacuate now" because there is current or imminent danger for the area.

Devastating video from Mill City, taken by a @MCSOInTheKnow deputy. A huge section of the Santiam Canyon is under e… https://t.co/qpSvcYlJTa
— Hannah Ray Lambert (@Hannah Ray Lambert)1599591398.0


OREGON: a family flees near Detroit Lake. A seriously frightening & fiery experience while also showcasing the brav… https://t.co/9cCAG3FZgl
— ELIJAH RIOT (@ELIJAH RIOT)1599631980.0

With so many homes having been evacuated because of the massive fires, two Oregon men apparently tried to capitalize on the devastating natural disaster. Anthony Travis Bodda, 21, and Alexander Justin Jones, 36, were accused by police of looting evacuated homes in Marion County and taking deputies on a wild high-speed chase.

On Thursday, firefighting crews alerted police to a suspicious van in the towns of Detroit and Idahna, and were concerned that the vehicle could be involved with recent looting in the area.

Deputies responded just after 10 a.m. on Thursday, and the van drove off "at a high rate of speed." Deputies from Marion and Linn Counties, as well as Oregon State Police, pursued the van in the Beachie Creek wildfire evacuation zone. The men attempted to ditch police by driving through a golf course.

Police used spike strips to disable the vehicle, then the men jumped out of the van and ran through the golf course. A police dog chased down the suspects. One was attempting to break into a home to escape the cops when he was apprehended. The other man was also tracked down by a K9 unit as he was entering a goat shed, according to police.

Bodda and Jones were both booked at the Marion County Jail and charged with attempted theft in the first degree, burglary in the second degree, felony elude, misdemeanor elude, reckless driving, interfering with a peace officer, possession of a burglary tool, reckless endangering, criminal mischief in the first degree, and criminal trespass in the second degree.

Sheriff officials said several stolen items were found inside the van. Bodda and Jones are also responsible for $1,500 in damage to the golf course, according to Fox News.

"I am disappointed that while in a state of emergency these people would victimize members of our community," Marion County Sheriff Joe Kast said. "The women and men of the Marion County Sheriff's Office are committed to holding people accountable if they chose to victimize residents from our evacuated areas."

He added that his officers would continue to patrol the evacuated areas to prevent any looting.

People in Oregon have said that their homes were looted during the deadly wildfires.

"Everything had been rifled through," said Christy Beaver from Junction City. "Drawers were open. Stuff was all over. Credit cards and checkbooks were missing. We're not sure what else is missing because we haven't been able to go back up there."

Blue River resident Marcie Costa said that she lost her home in the Holiday Farm Fire. Her neighbor's home survived the fire, but possession worth more than $1,000 were stolen, including a generator.

"We've suffered enough these people have suffered enough," Costa said. "We don't need to be victimized anymore from someone who don't give a stuff about us."

"We understand that OSP and the Sheriff's Department are doing the best that they can," Costa said. "But they're spread so thin."

Rumors of widespread looting caused 300 people to attempt to return to their homes inside the fiery evacuation zone. The concerned residents left the Super 8 hotel in Redmond on Thursday to inspect their properties for fire damage and looting.

"All across the region, we are asking folks to please respect those closures," said Kassidy Kern, a spokesperson for the U.S. Forest Service. "Not just for the security of your personal property, but also for firefighters working in the area."