Justice Alito decries threats of political violence — and hints that he might RETIRE next year
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said in an interview that he is considering retiring next year.
Alito told CBS News that the harassment and physical threats judges are receiving are a new danger to the judicial system.
'We are not part of any political movement. And we are not attempting to further any political agenda.'
CBS News chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford asked him if there was a decision that required particular courage, and he said the Dobbs decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was the leading example.
"I think that required courage by all of the justices in the majority," said Alito.
"Of course ... we didn't know it at the time," he added. "We didn't know it when we produced the draft that was leaked, but it required courage to go ahead with that because of the implications."
He said he had even lost old friendships because of that decision.
"That's something you have to live with," Alito added.
"Is that just part of the job being a justice?" she asked. "You're going to lose friends, you're going to get protested, you're going to have death threats, you're going to have to wear a bulletproof vest today?"
"It's part of the job that you're going to displease people by making decisions on controversial matters, because one side or the other is going to really dislike you because of the decisions," Alito responded.
"The physical threats and the harassment represent something new in our society and something that's quite disturbing. And I think it's a danger. It's a danger for the courts," he added.
"And it's a danger for others in public life," Alito warned.
The 76-year-old went on to say he will consider retiring next year but said it was difficult to predict the political circumstances surrounding the decision.
He also criticized recent presidents for being more vitriolic in their opposition to Supreme Court decisions.
"Did [President Donald] Trump change that?" Crawford asked.
"It's been bipartisan," said Alito.
"I want to be evenhanded on this. The criticism of the court by President [Joe] Biden and justices by President Biden and his administration was very harsh. And President Trump has been very harsh."
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He also denied that the judges had a partisan motivation.
"We are not part of any political movement. And we are not attempting to further any political agenda," said Alito. "We are trying to interpret the Constitution as best we can and apply it in cases that come before us."
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Theo Von asks Mamdani to define socialism — and critics fire back at his response
The democratic socialist mayor of New York City gave his personal definition of socialism while on a podcast this week, and many found it to be naive and unserious.
On Thursday's episode of his "This Past Weekend" podcast, comedian Theo Von asked Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) to define socialism.
'That's not socialism, that's fantasy.'
"I want to talk a little bit about socialism, right, because it's a buzzword, right?" Von said. "... Will you define socialism for us? Because people say it a lot and don't know what it is. And sometimes, those people are me."
Mamdani laughed.
"I'm so happy to be with those people right now," he responded.
"Socialism, to me, it means that you will have whatever you need to live a dignified life and that it is the government's job to deliver on that, right?" Mamdani said.
"It's a belief that you shouldn't live in a place where all you can do is pick your own leaders," he added. "You should also be able to have that power in the rest of your life, right? People talk about it as the extension of democracy from the ballot box to the rest of your life."
The exchange can be viewed below on Von's podcast.
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He then explained what dignity meant under his political beliefs.
"When people say dignity, I want to be very clear, we're talking about the things that allow you to take a breath: housing, child care, right, public transit," the mayor said. "No one should be priced out of these things. These are non-negotiables; you need these to live."
He also repeated the well-worn trope that the country was already operating under socialist principles.
"And what I think is so confusing is there's parts of life in our country that line up with this belief," Mamdan said. "Public education — we believe that everyone should be able to go K through 12 for free, and they do. Libraries — we believe that everybody should be able to read a book that they'd like to for free, and they do. But when it comes to early childhood education, right — before kindergarten — we're comfortable with people paying $20,000 a year to afford it."
Mamdani added, "As a socialist, what I'm fighting for is that nobody is priced out of dignity."
Many criticized Mamdani for the hollow definition.
"That's not socialism, that's fantasy. And that's what this podcast between Mamdani and Von was all about," responded columnist Libby Emmons.
"Socialism is very much like the plantation owner-slave relationship," replied one X user. "You are housed and fed and kept relatively healthy so that you can be of some use to the state and its ruling elites. If Democrats are successful selling this to American descendants of slaves it will be the biggest con job in human history."
"Some bureaucrat gets to decide what you need and what a dignified life is. I’d rather have no government at all," said another critic.
A poll in 2020 found that Americans favored capitalism over socialism by a 2-1 margin, but more recent polling has seen many Americans turning toward socialism because of inflation and the affordability crisis.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!Exclusive: Republican operative fired after flashing 'OK' sign speaks out
Paul Joseph Tinkle told Blaze News he has been a shoe-leather Republican campaigner in Indiana since he was a teenager. His activism ended with him working as an operative for the Indiana Republican Party. He was unceremoniously fired on Tuesday after making the "OK" sign in a picture, he claims.
Tinkle spoke exclusively to Blaze News on the events surrounding his firing, the behind-the-scenes operatives seemingly stirring up hysteria, and what it means for the party moving forward.
'Indiana is a place that a lot of people are worried is trending purple, and it's the liberal Republicans … that are making us go purple.'
The trouble started for Tinkle after a social media group picture was published on Sunday morning, Tinkle told Blaze Media. In that photo he is seen making the "OK" sign.
"That Sunday morning, I received texts from a couple of different people in this program — supervisors in this [Indiana GOP] program," Tinkle told Blaze News.
"One of them showed me a text that had been sent to them by someone in Hamilton County," Tinkle said. "And they just asked, 'Well, explain yourself. Like, what's going on here?'"
"I explained over text," Tinkle told Blaze News. "I didn't get an in-person meeting or anything."
In between Tinkle's stints working on Republican campaigns and for the Indiana state GOP, the 27-year-old told Blaze News he spent three years with the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program, working as an educator in Japan. The program is sponsored by Japan's government.
As evidenced by photos posted by Tinkle on X, the "OK" symbol is a common hand gesture in Japan when taking photographs.
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Regarding the texts Tinkle claims referred to "Hamilton County," the chair of that county's GOP, Mario Massillamany, denied playing a role in Tinkle's firing. He told Blaze News that he informed the Indiana state GOP of concerns raised by anonymous individuals and removed the photo out of an "abundance of caution."
"I was not instrumental in getting him fired," Massillamany told Blaze News. "I have had nothing to do with firing him."
Massillamany also insisted, "I did not know what his sign was."
Tinkle offered Blaze News a different version of events.
"I was told Mario's really angry. He's reached out to people [at] the top of the party," Tinkle said. "I didn't get to explain to anybody in person. I didn't get to talk to Mario. I didn't get to talk to the Republican chair."
Blaze News also reviewed a text sent to Tinkle by a state GOP "supervisor" Tinkle declined to name. The text appeared to support at least some of Tinkle's claims.
"Mario thinks you dropped a white power symbol and no one will be able to convince him otherwise," the supervisor told Tinkle just prior to his termination, one text showed.
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Two sources familiar with the Hamilton County GOP confirmed Tinkle's account and further told Blaze News that it fits a pattern of anti-whiteness by Massillamany.
Massillamany has ruffled feathers with loyal Republicans lately.
Massillamany previously told Larry Lannon in an interview that diversity and female candidates were essential to his political philosophy. He described his approach as "getting more people from diverse communities" to run for office in Hamilton County.
In that interview, Massillamany also described criticism levied at Secretary of State Diego Morales as racist.
"I think that some of the attacks that he's received would not have been received if he were the prototypical white male from Indiana, but he's a short Hispanic from Guatemala that has a thick accent," Massillamany told Lannon.
"He's got a bigger target on him."
When Blaze News attempted to ask Massillamany about his views on DEI and diversity, he hung up the phone.
Massillamany also publicly distanced the county party from Save Heritage Indiana in July, an anti-mass-migration group that held a rally on Aug. 1 in Fishers featuring Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith.
"Save Heritage Indiana is not affiliated with the Hamilton County Republican Party," Massillamany told the Indiana Citizen. "I had not heard of the organization or of Nathan Roberts or of Daniel Poynter prior to this inquiry, and neither has attended or participated in any Hamilton County GOP event."
The group's website lists state Rep. Chris Jeter (R), who represents House District 88, among its endorsers. Jeter is a founding partner of Massillamany's own Fishers law firm, Massillamany Jeter & Carson.
In firing Tinkle, the Indiana state GOP may have lost one of its most loyal operators.
"I have worked in Republican Party politics since before I could even vote," Tinkle told Blaze News. "Maybe they think I'm a young infiltrator or something, but it's quite the opposite."
"When I was 16 in 2016, I worked the primary election, because you can do it at 16," Tinkle said. "I remember all the way back then. I love Trump."
Tinkle told Blaze News that Republicans like Massillamany are endangering the party's future in Indiana.
"Indiana is a place that a lot of people are worried is trending purple, and it's the liberal Republicans that are making us go purple."
The Indiana state GOP did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
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'It's ALL stolen': RFK reveals Medicare scam that stole billions from taxpayers
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claims yet another scam that he says robbed taxpayers of billions from Medicare.
Kennedy made the comments during the "Make America Healthy Again" conference Tuesday while speaking with Vice President JD Vance.
'We were on par, on track to spend $23 billion this year. ... And we stopped it. We put an end to it, and we've now driven that down.'
"We have perverse incentives in the department, and we gave the people opportunity to steal, and we made it almost irresistible," said Kennedy.
He went on to give "skin substitutes" as an example, defining skin substitutes as "simulated skin that you put on certain wounds after dressing them carefully."
"These skin substitutes ... the doctors who prescribed them would get 6% of the sales cost. And so they were incentivized to prescribe more expensive products," he explained.
"So 2019, we were paying $200 million. Last year, we spent $14 billion. All stolen. It's all stolen," he claimed.
"And we were on par, on track to spend $23 billion this year. ... And we stopped it," Kennedy said.
"We put an end to it, and we've now driven that down," he added. "That cost down to somewhere around $1 billion. And we saved that money, but it was allowed to get out of control. And you're seeing — I mean, we can tell our stories. You and I can sit here all day long and just tell insane stories about the level of theft."
RELATED: RFK Jr. shuts down $1 BILLION in funding to California and Minnesota
Also during the fireside discussion in the summit at the Waldorf in Washington, D.C., Kennedy touted the benefits of artificial intelligence in the medical field.
"If somebody tells you, ‘Masks work, trust the experts,’ AI may tell you otherwise. If somebody tells you, ‘Social distancing works, trust the experts,’ AI may correct that," Kennedy said.
"And if somebody tells you that a vaccine will prevent transmission and infection — ‘Oh, you need to take it to protect your grandmother’ — AI may say it actually doesn’t do that," he added. "So it really has the capacity to ... free us from medical tyranny."
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'Fool me once': CNN analyst has bad news for Democrats who believe recent polls
Recent polling generally indicates that congressional Democrats are poised to come out on top in the midterm election. CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten is not convinced, however — especially considering pollsters' track record.
"We've had really good Democratic polls coming out from Ohio, Michigan, Iowa," Enten told "CNN News Central" talking head John Berman on Wednesday.
'There's a very, very strong chance that Republicans hold onto the United States Senate.'
A Marist Poll published on Wednesday showed U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed (D) leading former Rep. Mike Rogers (R) 51%-44% in Michigan. The latest USA Today/Suffolk University poll shows Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Sherrod Brown leading Republican Sen. Jon Husted 47%-44% in Ohio. According to a Fox News survey conducted from Sept. 24-28, Democrat Josh Turek has a two-point lead over Republican Ashley Hinson in the U.S. Senate race in Iowa.
"Fool me once, shame on you," continued Enten. "Fool me four times, I just have to ask the question: Could it happen again?"
Enten highlighted how the GOP outperformed September 2024 polls concerning Senate races and the White House by 9 percentage points in Iowa, 6 points in Ohio, and 5 points in Michigan. That same September, national polls suggested that Kamala Harris would win a presidential election that she ultimately lost in a landslide.
"I will note that the leads that the Democrats have in all of these races right now are under how much the GOP outperformed back in 2024," said Enten. "So you look at this, and you go, 'You know what? Maybe we should just hold on a second here because we've seen this dance before' — and it was not a dance that Democrats like when the votes were actually cast and counted."
RELATED: CNN analyst pours cold water on Democrats' dream of a political takeover in November
Berman insinuated that Trump not being on the ballot this time around might be a factor, but Enten noted that the lesson from the 2018 election — Trump's first midterm election — is that "it's the same exact story."
"The GOP outperformed September polls in the major 2018 statewide races by 6 points in Iowa, 6 points in Ohio, and 8 points in Michigan," said Enten. "The bottom line is this: Over the last few [election] cycles, whether it be 2018, 2016, 2020, 2024 — Republicans have outperformed their September polls by at least 5 points in all these three states where Democrats right now are ahead."
The data analyst suggested further that if Republicans outperform their Midwest polls as they did in 2018 and 2024, then even with Democrats carrying states such as Alaska, Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas, there could end up being a 50/50 split in the U.S. Senate with Vice President JD Vance serving as the tie-breaker.
"So if history holds in terms of the GOP outperforming their September polls, well, there's a very, very strong chance that Republicans hold onto the United States Senate, even if Democrats win in places they don't historically win in, like Texas," said Enten.
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Media breathlessly reports on 'new' ICE traffic stop rules — then ICE tosses cold water on its narrative
Media reports on the death of prior traffic stop rules for immigration operations are greatly exaggerated, according to the feds.
Many in the media rushed to report on a memo outlining traffic stop rules in order to imply that the administration is reacting to criticism by weakening engagement standards.
'This memo makes no changes to how ICE conducts vehicle stops. ALL officers have always received vehicle stop training.'
The memo indicated that there were no circumstances where officers would be "authorized to engage in vehicle pursuits or [precision immobilization technique] maneuvers" against vehicles with drivers who refuse to pull over.
"ICE issues new instructions on vehicle stops after shootings, new guidance shows," said a CNN headline Thursday.
"New ICE guidance bans high-speed car chases and sets tighter rules for traffic stops, a memo obtained by the AP shows," was the headline at the Associated Press.
"ICE Forced to Rein In Two Controversial Tactics Within 24 Hours," blared out Newsweek.
When a spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement was asked to comment on the "new" rules, they said there was "nothing new" in the memo.
"Occasionally, ICE leadership issues guidance reminders to law enforcement officers," read the spokesperson's statement to ABC News. "This memo makes no changes to how ICE conducts vehicle stops. ALL officers have always received vehicle stop training."
The spokesperson added, "Vehicle stops and arrests of illegal aliens continue."
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The latest controversial shooting involved a migrant named Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, who was DoorDashing in Austin, Texas.
Perez initially complied with immigration officers' demands on September 20 but then allegedly fled in his car and also allegedly clipped an officer with the side mirror on his car. After a car chase, an officer shot him in the back.
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Brewery fires co-owner over supposed skepticism about mass Indian graves hoax
A Canadian brewery has fired one of its owners who may have dared to question the mass Indian graves hoax.
After spending time fighting forest fires, planting trees, then working on a bottling line, John Adair took a risk and started a brewery with several other people in Sooke, British Columbia. It turns out that the real risk wasn't starting a business in a small municipality but doing so with people who would instantly throw him under the bus to appease woke cranks.
'Show me the evidence.'
The Sooke Brewing Company announced on Thursday that "John Adair has been terminated, effective immediately," adding that his "views and actions do not reflect the values of Sooke Brewing Company, its ownership, or its staff."
Adair had apparently done the unthinkable: He allegedly wore a shirt to work on Wednesday emblazoned with the statement, "Show me the evidence."
While a shirt signaling a desire for evidence might appear innocuous to most people, the management team at the brewery deemed it "offensive" because of the day on which Adair allegedly wore it.
Since 2021, Canada has observed "National Day for Truth and Reconciliation" on Sept. 30, owing to legislation pushed by a former Liberal minister. According to the Canadian government, this federal statutory holiday — which is also known as "Orange Shirt Day" — was established to recognize so-called "survivors" of Canada's now defunct residential school system.
The residential schools — which were in many cases operated by various Catholic dioceses as well as by Anglican and Presbyterian churches — were established across Canada in the 1880s as part of a federally mandated campaign to educate poor Indian children who had no alternative local school options and to assimilate them into contemporary society.
RELATED: Trump is right about the Smithsonian. Canada shows what happens when woke history wins.
An estimated 150,000 children attended the schools over the course of a century.
"Orange Shirt Day" took off in the wake of the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation's announcement that children's remains had been discovered in an apple orchard near a former Catholic-run residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia.
Despite an absence of any real evidence of children's remains in that area, what followed was a literal firestorm:
- Hundreds of churches were torched and/or vandalized.
- Statues remembering historic figures were toppled.
- Canada Day festivities were canceled around the country.
- Catholic dioceses were targeted for extortion.
- Canadian institutions lowered the national flags in memory of the supposedly missing children.
- Then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other officials in Ottawa expressed grief over the supposed discovery.
A radical parliamentarian even passed a motion with unanimous consent demanding that the Canadian government "recognize what happened in Canada's Indian residential schools as genocide." Thousands of children allegedly did die while attending the schools, but the main killer was reportedly tuberculosis, which similarly swept through non-Indian populations.
In the years since the First Nation's announcement, tens of millions of federal dollars have been wasted in hopes of recovering children's graves that simply aren't there. Not a single body has been found to date.
The Canadian self-flagellation nevertheless continues unabated, while activists lean on the Liberal government to criminalize skepticism about the unmarked graves hoax and the imagined "genocide."
Leah Gazan, a member of the socialist New Democratic Party, has a private member's bill before the House of Commons that would amend Canada's Criminal Code so that anyone who "wilfully [sic] promotes hatred against Indigenous peoples by condoning, denying, downplaying, or justifying the Indian residential school system in Canada or by misrepresenting facts relating to it" would be guilty of an indictable offense punishable by up to two years in prison.
According to City News, a photo of Adair wearing a "Show me the evidence" T-shirt taken on Wednesday was widely circulated on Threads and was also shared on Reddit, prompting outrage and an effort on Google Reviews to tank the brewery's score.
RELATED: Canadian state media backs secret plot to trap and humiliate Indian mass-grave skeptics
The woke online mob apparently figured that the shirt was referring to the unmarked graves or at least had something thematically to do with "Orange Shirt Day."
The brewing company, which did not respond to Blaze News' request for comment, said in one of multiple statements on Facebook:
We are aware of the photograph circulating online showing a member of the Sooke Brewing Company ownership group wearing an offensive T-shirt while working at the brewery on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. We want to be unequivocal: the message displayed on that shirt does not reflect the values of Sooke Brewing Company. The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a day to honour Survivors, remember the children who never returned home, acknowledge the profound and ongoing harms caused by residential schools, and reflect on the responsibility we all share in advancing reconciliation.
In the post announcing Adair's termination, the company noted, "We are committed to Truth and Reconciliation and to respectful relationships with local First Nations communities and have reached out to First Nations leadership to listen, understand their concerns, and determine the appropriate next steps to ensure something like this does not happen again."
When asked for comment, Adair told Blaze News, "Given the circumstances, I'm currently seeking legal advice before making any public statement."
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The president may be campaigning to help Republicans in the midterms, but he is allegedly already making plans for after the election.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump made stops in Texas and Oklahoma, but he took some time out for an old friend who has a storied history in both places.
'So long as I'm here, you're not going to have any problems.'
When the president visited Peterbilt Motors in Denton, Texas, he was greeted by the towering, pink-haired character who is Dennis Rodman.
Rodman went to college at the nearby North Central Texas College and also attended Southeastern Oklahoma State in Durant, Oklahoma, where Trump held another rally later in the day.
In Texas, Trump pointed out Rodman in the crowd, calling him "the greatest guy" and a "friend for a long time."
Trump communications adviser Margo Martin later posted a video of the two meeting face-to-face, where the president called Rodman the "best rebounder in the history of basketball," with Rodman responding that Trump is "my friend."
A source described as "close to Rodman" revealed to the New York Post that the president has big plans to reconnect with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un after the midterms, saying, "Trump wants to refocus again on North Korea and start talking about Kim Jong Un."
The source added, "Dennis believes he's the ambassador of goodwill between North Korea and the United States. As Trump ponders what to do next, he's been soliciting ideas, and one of those key people he's talking to is Dennis."
The news comes as Washington Post reporter Josh Rogin claims that Rodman had a falling out with Kim Jong Un after allegedly getting too drunk during his last visit.
"He can't help Trump with North Korean diplomacy anymore," the reporter claimed.
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A White House official told Blaze News: "President Trump in his first term held three historic summits with North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un that stabilized the Korean Peninsula. U.S. policy on North Korea has not changed. President Trump remains open to talking with Kim Jong Un, without any preconditions. There has been no change on this policy."
As Trump toured the facility in Texas, a reporter asked if he was "brokering any peace with North Korea with Dennis today."
Trump replied, "I can tell you this: We have a good relationship, and you're not going to have any problem — so long as I'm here, you're not going to have any problems."
"Somebody else comes, you could have some big problems," the president added.
Joining Rodman at the Texas event was his girlfriend, a rapper called Yella Yella, who also said hello to the president.
"You're with that guy?!" Trump asked her. "What the hell are you doing with him for?" he continued, as others laughed off-camera.
The rapper proudly posted images from the event on her Instagram page with the caption, "Hanging With TRUMP ... wow," with a shocked face and goat emojis.
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Rodman, now 65, reportedly joined the president's motorcade for the ride to Oklahoma, 740 the Fan reported.
The former athlete allegedly told Reuters that he hoped to speak to the president about "life."
When asked if he was going to North Korea in the near future, Rodman reportedly replied, "If you buy the ticket."
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