Would-Be Trump Assassin Wasn’t Only One Encountering ‘Insane’ Security Arrangement At Glitzy Dinner
'If I had hidden an explosive in my shoe'
RED FLAG: FBI says these apps let China suck up your personal data
Centralized smartphone app storefronts, like Apple’s App Store for iPhone and the Google Play Store for Android, make apps feel like they all come from the same safe place online, but the developers behind these apps are spread out all over the world. This month, the FBI brought attention to international developers, warning that installing apps built by foreign nations could pose a major threat to user privacy and security. Are they right? Let’s find out.
Do you use these popular Chinese apps?
On the final day of March, the FBI issued a warning “to highlight data security risks associated with foreign-developed mobile applications (apps) frequently used in the United States.”
Privacy labels reveal the secret parameters embedded in your favorite apps.
The FBI was especially critical of apps developed in the heart of China. Although it didn’t go out of its way to list some of the most dubious offenders, you may have heard of these popular candidates:
- TikTok, before its USDS joint venture, was made and owned wholly by ByteDance in Beijing.
- Temu and Shein, two popular online discount stores, are Chinese-owned with the former belonging to PDD Holdings Inc. in Shanghai and the latter founded by Chris Xu, who moved his company’s headquarters from China to Singapore earlier this decade, though there are talks that Xu may relocate back to the mainland for an IPO.
- CapCut, a popular mobile video editing app, is also developed by ByteDance, especially to help users create more engaging TikTok videos.
- RedNote (aka Xiaohongshu), a TikTok alternative that briefly garnered public attention in the USA after TikTok’s USDS joint venture launch, is also based in Shanghai.
- Tencent, a technology giant out of Shenzhen, owns the popular texting app WeChat. The company also invests in many U.S.-based game companies, including Epic Games (makers of Fortnite), Larian Studios (the group behind Baldur's Gate 3), and FromSoftware (the developers of Elden Ring).
Needless to say, Chinese companies — and by extension, the Chinese government — have their hands in many apps and games that U.S.-based users enjoy daily.
New warning, same old threat
The FBI’s warning noted that downloading and installing apps from Chinese companies could potentially leave users open to China’s mass data collection practices, which would inevitably put users’ security and privacy at risk for monitoring and abuse.
RELATED: Is downloading Trump's new White House app a security risk?
Unfortunately, while the FBI’s warning is new, foreign-made apps have long had the ability to gather user data at scale. This is partially the reason both Apple and Google implemented mandatory “Privacy Nutrition Labels” on all third-party apps in their digital stores.
How to check apps’ ‘Privacy Nutrition Labels’
The best way to protect yourself from apps with malicious data-gathering practices is to understand the kinds of data your apps can access and how the information is processed. You can find these details on the “Privacy Nutrition Label” included on any given app page.
Much like the nutritional label on a box of food displays hidden ingredients, privacy labels reveal the secret parameters embedded in your favorite apps.
Let’s look at TikTok on iOS and Android. If you click on one of those links on your mobile device and scroll down, you’ll find the “App Privacy” area on iPhone and the “Data safety” section on Android. Both of these clearly detail which bits of data the app collects and links directly to your identity.
As you can see, TikTok gathers a lot of personal information, including your location, contacts, search history, browsing history, device IDs, usage habits, and more. It’s a treasure trove of personal data all used to create digital user profiles and strengthen TikTok’s algorithm. This information is better protected now that all of it is stored on Oracle servers in the USA — thanks to the USDS joint venture — but before that, the CCP-influenced ByteDance saved and analyzed all of it on its servers in China.
Protect yourself from intrusive apps
China’s intrusive data-collection practices are the exact reason President Trump spearheaded the deal that moved TikTok’s U.S.-based user data to U.S. soil. Without it, China would continue to collect, analyze, and monetize U.S. users for reasons that benefit the Chinese government.
The unfortunate truth, however, is that TikTok is only one of many Chinese apps that can gather personal information on U.S. customers, and they do it usually without users’ knowledge. There are a few things you can do to keep yourself safe though:
- Be sure to check and verify the apps you install on your smartphone before you download them. Don’t just install anything to your device. Do some research and confirm that every app — and its developer — is legitimate and safe by reading the app’s terms of service and privacy policy, as well as checking out app reviews.
- Limit permissions so the app can only access the features on your phone that it needs to operate. Refrain from enabling location, microphone, camera, or photos access, and never provide other sensitive information, unless you know you can trust the app.
- Always download the latest software updates for your phone and the app itself. Updates regularly patch security vulnerabilities to keep your device safe.
At the end of the day, the best way to secure your data and your device is to use your best judgment. Only download the apps you absolutely need. For everything else, you’re much safer accessing online services through your web browser.
Is Trump's new White House app unsafe for your security and privacy?
Last month, the Trump administration announced a brand-new White House app available for iPhone and Android. The move shocked the internet, causing some to warn that installing the app would give the government a window into every phone’s most private data. After reviewing the privacy policy, those early fears were somewhat overblown, though not completely invalid. Here’s everything we found.
The new White House app replaced the previous version that was launched by former President Barack Obama in 2010. After 16 years, the app was long overdue for an overhaul. Updated to version 47 as a nod to our 47th president, the app now entails a brand-new design and features optimized for the MAGA age.
There are some inherent flaws within its code.
A quick tour of the White House (app)
The new White House app offers a unique window into the presidency of Donald Trump. It’s comprised of five main sections:
- Home: The home page displays announcements, goals/mission achievements, and other important messages from the Trump administration. These can include information on the MAHA movement, border security, cost-of-living improvements, and more.
- News: The news page showcases press releases and major updates directly from the administration as well as trusted media outlets.
- Live: The live feed displays long-form videos, shorts, and livestreams featuring President Trump and his various on-camera appearances, from diplomatic meetings, to important announcements, and a meme or two for good measure.
- Social: The social tab provides a live feed of various social media accounts connected to the president, including Rapid Response 47, the White House, and Donald J. Trump. There’s also a tab that lets you write to the White House, text President Trump himself, sign up for the White House newsletter, and you can even submit a tip to Immigration and Customs Enforcement if you suspect illegal immigration is taking place in your neighborhood or workplace.
- Gallery: The gallery displays photos of various events featuring President Trump and his administration, including important addresses, bill signings, Cabinet meetings, and more.
Privacy concerns?
From the moment the new White House app went live, sleuths on social media were quick to warn others not to download it, claiming it to be government spyware that can gather users’ private data.
Based on its privacy labels on the App Store and Google Play, the White House app may collect your email address and phone number (both optional) for marketing purposes as well as app usage data for analytics. Notable components missing from the data collection notice include precise location data, microphone access, camera access, photos access, and browsing history.
In other words, the White House app doesn’t have permission to listen to your conversations, spy on you through the camera, or see your exact location.
RELATED: How the FBI can flout Apple's privacy tools
Going a step further, we took a look at the White House’s privacy page. Based on this information, the White House website (and by extension, the app) may collect the following that developers aren't required to disclose directly on the app page:
- The device’s originating IP address
- The internet domain name
- Information about your computer or mobile setup (e.g., type and version of web browser, operating system, screen resolution, and connection speed)
- The pages on WhiteHouse.gov that you visit
- The internet address, or URL, of the website that connected you to the site if you accessed WhiteHouse.gov via a link on another page (i.e., “referral traffic”)
- The amount of data transmitted from WhiteHouse.gov to your computer
At first glance, none of these seem out of the ordinary. Practically all websites you visit log this information about your device and usage habits.
So the White House app is safe to use, right? Not so fast ...
Secrets under the hood
A self-professed web designer and former reverse engineer that goes by “Thereallo” decompiled the Android version of the White House app to see exactly what its code entails. Thereallo makes several censorious claims about the app that earned the White House’s announcement a community note on X. The highlights include:
- Security risks driven by arbitrary JavaScript injection and an absence of certificate pinning that could leave the app open to hacks in the future.
- Dubious GPS tracking that logs the device’s location in the foreground (while the app is in use) every 4.5 minutes and in the background (while the app is not being used) every 9.5 minutes.
- User behavior tracking through various avenues, including cross-device aliases, notification interaction logs, in-app clicks, and more.
Note that these points were only confirmed in the Android version of the White House app. Due to the closed nature of Apple’s mobile platforms, decompiling iOS apps are far more complex.
So is the White House app really safe to use?
While the new White House app looks good on the surface, there are some inherent flaws within its code that could open users up to cyber security threats and data tracking. If you’d like to use the app, consider these options first:
- Enable a trusted VPN to mask your IP address from the app’s location-monitoring protocols.
- Revoke any permissions from that app that request location data or access to see nearby devices to ensure it can’t tap into your GPS data or connected Bluetooth devices.
- Install the app within a secure sandbox, either inside a Private Space on Android or within an iPhone that isn’t attached to your primary Apple account, to ensure any future cyber attacks on the app can’t attempt to access the rest of the data in your device.
- Don’t download the White House app. Simply visit whitehouse.gov for the latest information from the Trump administration.
If you’re still interested in checking out the White House app for yourself, you can download it from the Apple App Store for iPhone and the Google Play Store for Android.
Trump adds new condition to ICE airport plan in DHS shutdown fight
Weeks into the Democrat shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, Trump finally threatened to take matters into his own hands in the Transportation Security Administration lines on Saturday. And Trump gave an update on Monday, signaling his continued intention to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at major airports.
On Monday, Trump announced that he would accept a slight change in policy for the ICE agents covering for TSA workers, all while taking some jabs at his political opponents.
'I would greatly appreciate, however, NO MASKS, when helping our Country out of the Democrat caused MESS at the airports, etc.'
"I am a BIG proponent of ICE wearing masks as they search for, and are forced to deal with, hardened criminals, many of whom were let into our Country by Sleepy Joe Biden and his wonderful 'Border Czar,' Kamala (she never even went to the Border!), through their absolutely INSANE Open Border Policy," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
RELATED: Trump threatens Democrats that he'll fix TSA himself — and it involves ICE
However, he then added: "I would greatly appreciate, however, NO MASKS, when helping our Country out of the Democrat caused MESS at the airports, etc."
In the first year of the second Trump administration, opponents of ICE repeatedly called for the removal of face coverings for the ICE agents, arguing that masks allowed agents to act with relative impunity. Supporters of ICE argued that the masks were employed for the agents' own safety.
Trump said on Saturday that the ICE agents would "do Security like no one has ever seen before, including the immediate arrest of all Illegal Immigrants who have come into our Country."
Travelers have faced extremely long screening wait times as TSA workers continue to work without pay, if they show up at all. Many have been forced to get temporary jobs during the shutdown to make ends meet.
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Epstein files were allegedly compromised by foreign hacker in 2023; FBI admits 'cyber incident'
The FBI Field Office in New York produced myriad documents pertaining to its criminal probe into child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Attorney General Pam Bondi suggested in a Feb. 17, 2025, letter to FBI Director Kash Patel that "thousands of pages of documents related to the investigation and indictment of Epstein" were stored on site there.
Some of these documents were allegedly compromised in a hack years before the Department of Justice began publishing the heavily redacted Epstein files.
Reuters' source suggested that the hack appears to have been executed by a 'cybercriminal' rather than a foreign government.
The bureau revealed in 2023 that it was investigating a hack of its computer network, which it characterized as an "isolated incident that has been contained."
Multiple sources briefed on the matter told CNN at the time that FBI officials suspected the incident involved a bureau computer system used in the investigations of images of child sexual exploitation.
Reuters, citing a source familiar with the matter and recently published DOJ documents, reported on Wednesday that the hack entailed a foreign actor's targeting of files related to the FBI's investigation of Epstein.
The hack reportedly took place after a server at the New York FBI office's Child Exploitation Forensic Lab was allegedly left exposed by Special Agent Aaron Spivack, who did not return Reuters' numerous requests for comment but has previously issued a voluminous statement on the matter.
Among the Epstein files released by the Department of Justice in recent months is a 2024 statement from Spivack in which he addresses the allegations that he "improperly stored digital evidence at his residence"; "improperly handled, documented, and stored digital evidence and failed to secure [child sexual abuse material] within policy, resulting in a cyber intrusion"; and "exceeded the limits of his authority by contracting an outside company to develop computer software on behalf of the FBI."
Spivack — who apparently participated in the Epstein investigation — stated that the cyber "intrusion" happened on Feb. 12, 2023.
After logging into his computer to find a .txt file indicating that his network had been compromised, Spivack claimed that he ran an anti-virus sweep, which identified a potential threat. He said that he was unable, however, to remove the threat, as his "administrative privileges had been removed."
Spivack notified some of his colleagues, attempting to rectify the issue, then noticed that the main server was down, that other servers were malfunctioning, and that "the folders that contain our data was missing."
According to Spivack's timeline, he and others later noticed "strange IP activity that took place [on Feb. 12] from two IP addresses."
"The activity included combing through certain files pertaining to the Epstein investigation," stated Spivack.
It's unclear what particular files were accessed and whether they were downloaded, reported Reuters.
By 5 p.m. on Feb. 13, 2023, Spivack said, "we realized we were hacked."
The FBI reiterated that the "cyber incident" was an "isolated one" and said in a statement obtained by Reuters that "the FBI restricted access to the malicious actor and rectified the network. The investigation remains ongoing, so we do not have further comments to provide at this time."
The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.
Reuters' source suggested:
- that the hack appears to have been executed by a "cybercriminal" rather than a foreign government;
- that the hacker did not appear to realize he or she had hacked a law enforcement server; and
- that the hacker expressed revulsion at the presence of child sexual abuse images on the device and threatened to turn its owner over to the FBI.
The hacker — whom the FBI allegedly spoke to on video chat but was unable to identify or locate — may have acted alone, but Jon Lindsay, an associate professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology's School of Cybersecurity and Privacy, suggested that the hack demonstrates the files' potential intelligence value.
"Who wouldn’t be going after the Epstein files if you’re the Russians or somebody interested in kompromat?" Lindsay told Reuters. "If foreign intelligence agencies are not thinking seriously about the Epstein files as a target, then I would be shocked."
Reuters indicated it was unable to "establish the result of the bureau's internal investigation" regarding Spivack or connect with FBI agents identified in the documents as being involved in the investigation.
Spivack stressed in his 2024 statement, "I have rescued more exploited children than anyone in the NYFO and in most of the Bureau. All I wanted to do was to better the Bureau. I did not know how to do everything right, but I always did the right thing and everything I did was with good intentions. I love this job. I was not reckless."
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Amazon's Ring is running a spy ring from your home. Here's how to turn it off.
If there were one thing that stood out about the Super Bowl commercials this year — aside from companies desperately appealing to Millennials with '90s-themed nostalgia — it was the prevalence of artificial intelligence. Chief among them, Amazon showed off a new AI feature that taps into its broad Ring camera network to create a mass surveillance dragnet so effective that "Minority Report" would blush. Even worse, the feature is enabled by default, which means your Ring camera could be scanning your street right now.
Your neighborhood is under AI surveillance
We live in odd times when Amazon would willingly spend millions of dollars on a Super Bowl ad, just to tell the world a secret that most companies would keep to themselves — that their Ring cameras are now essentially AI-powered mass surveillance tools.
Your cameras have been automatically opted in, and they are actively scanning your street.
The feature is called Search Party. In the 30-second ad, a little girl is given a puppy. After falling in love with him, the dog goes missing, only to be found after Ring cameras installed throughout the neighborhood scan the streets and identify the missing pet. It’s a heartwarming tale on the surface, positioning Search Party as a smart and helpful way to find a lost dog and bring him back home.
To Amazon’s credit, the feature was meant to be a benefit to users, boasting that more than one dog has been returned home per day since the feature launched. The broader implications, however, are that Search Party’s capabilities could easily be expanded to scan the faces of humans. It’s not unrealistic either, since Ring already does a version of this for designated family and friends with a feature called Familiar Faces. With humans as the target instead of animals, Ring’s camera network could create a surveillance state bolstered with facial recognition, ID matching, and a criminal database. It’s the stuff of dystopian nightmares.
Search Party is enabled by default on all Ring outdoor cameras and doorbells. That means your cameras have been automatically opted into the service without your consent, and they are actively scanning your street corner for lost pets right now.
Can the government spy on Americans with Search Party?
Amazon claims that privacy, security, and user control are critical pillars in Ring’s products and services. If this were the case, Search Party would have been optional from the start, but I digress.
For what it’s worth, Ring will only hand over users’ personal information and the recorded footage saved to user accounts when served a legal warrant or for urgent law enforcement requests involving imminent danger. So the government probably won’t exploit Search Party for surveillance purposes now or in the future, at least not in most cases.
Either way, it’s still creepy that Ring could one day build and keep a record of every person who walks by one of their devices, thanks to AI disguised as a helpful pet finder.
RELATED: How to stop Microsoft from letting the government see everything on your computer
How to disable Search Party on Ring cameras
Although Search Party comes pre-enabled on your devices, you have the power to turn it off. Follow these quick steps to rid yourself of Amazon’s intrusive AI spyware for good:
- Open the Ring app on your smartphone.
- Tap the hamburger menu in the top left corner.
- From the menu, choose “Control Center.”
- Under “Search Party,” tap on the “Search for Lost Pets” option, and disable it.
Your neighbors need to know about Search Party too
Keep in mind that disabling Search Party on your cameras is only half the battle. Every other Ring camera, including the ones in your neighborhood, is surveilling the block, monitoring you and your neighbors when you walk by. If you really want to kick Amazon’s AI out of your community, you’ll need to spread the word.
Tell your neighbors about the feature and how to disable it. Bring it up in town hall meetings. Let your neighbors know you do not want Search Party anywhere near your home. Only then will you be free from Amazon’s prying eyes.
Ballots by Prime: Democracy’s dangerous next-day delivery
When 250 state ballots arrive in your Amazon order, faith in election security gets harder to defend. Yet that’s exactly what happened to a woman in Newburgh, Maine, who opened her package of household items to find five bundles of 50 official Maine referendum ballots.
Adding to the irony, the ballots were for Question 1 — a measure asking voters whether to tighten absentee ballot rules and require photo ID. The woman did the right thing and called authorities. But what if she hadn’t?
How can citizens trust the vote when ballots appear as shipping mistakes?
Now under investigation, the bizarre mix-up raises urgent questions. Who had access to the ballots? Were chain-of-custody rules violated? How many more ballots might be “out for delivery”?
For years, skeptics of election fraud have claimed concerns about ballot integrity are overblown. Yet events like this prove the opposite: The system is riddled with vulnerabilities. When official ballots wind up in an Amazon box, the process is beyond merely “flawed” — it’s broken.
Election officials and lawmakers must confront an uncomfortable truth: The safeguards meant to protect our democracy aren’t working. Anyone arguing against stronger voter ID laws should look to Newburgh. How can citizens trust the vote when ballots appear as shipping mistakes?
This isn’t a partisan issue. It’s a test of whether Americans still believe their votes matter. A democracy depends on a transparent, verifiable process — from printing to counting. When that chain breaks, confidence collapses.
Newburgh should be a wake-up call. Every ballot must be tracked, every voter verified, every election beyond reproach. Reassurances and press conferences won’t cut it. Citizens deserve a voting system that’s airtight, accountable, and secure. Anything less insults the republic.
Commonsense reforms aren’t complicated. Require a government-issued photo ID to vote — the same standard used to board a plane, buy a beer, or enter a federal building. For mail-in ballots, require proof of identity both when requesting and returning a ballot. Without that, the system leaks from every seam.
RELATED:Honor system? More like fraud system
When ballots get rerouted into cardboard boxes unnoticed, the integrity of democracy itself comes into question. It signals a culture that prizes convenience over vigilance, treating ballots like junk mail instead of sacred instruments of self-government.
Democracy doesn’t collapse in secret; it erodes in daylight while people look away. That’s why reform must be bold, not bureaucratic. States need top-to-bottom reviews of how ballots are printed, stored, distributed, and tracked — and consequences for failures.
If democracy is worth defending, ballots are worth protecting. Anything less, and we’ve already surrendered what makes the vote sacred.
‘No Kings’ is the clown show covering for a coup
In June, the left launched its “No Kings” protest to denounce the horrific “authoritarian dictatorship” of Donald Trump. Deporting illegal alien gang members, preventing the mutilation of children, and punishing criminals all became proof of Trump’s incipient “fascism.”
Now that Trump has deployed National Guard troops to stop violent leftist mobs from attacking ICE officers, Democrats and the left have decided to stage a sequel on Saturday. The whole thing will look like farce — clever signs, bad folk music, and stale slogans — but behind the clown show, the left is radicalizing shock troops preparing to do real violence.
The ‘No Kings’ spectacle will fill news segments and late-night monologues, but it’s just camouflage.
No myth runs deeper in American life than the idea that peaceful protest drives reform. Boomers grew up believing that singing folk songs, waving witty signs, and smoking pot were powerful tools of change. The media sanctified the calm resolve of civil rights marches and the flower-child theatrics of the anti-war movement as the true engines of progress. As usual, Hollywood left out the ugly parts.
Those movements also produced riots, rapes, arson, bombings, and murders. The violence was so widespread that Richard Nixon’s 1968 campaign ran one of the most famous ads in political history promising to restore law and order. The peaceful demonstrators made for good television, but it was the violence that moved the needle. No one likes to say it aloud, but the violence worked.
The first round of “No Kings” protests had respectable turnout but achieved nothing. Leftists filled the streets to mock Trump and chant about freedom, but no policies changed, and no momentum followed. Trump’s approval may have slipped to the mid-40s, but Democrats still wallow in the low-30s. Americans may be weary, but the protests haven’t persuaded them that the Democrats can govern.
Violence has been far more effective. The assassination of Charlie Kirk has made conservative campus events nearly impossible. Universities now demand absurd security fees or simply cancel appearances outright, citing “safety concerns.” The threat doesn’t come from the speaker — it comes from the activists university officials refuse to restrain. Several conservative commentators are stepping in to finish Kirk’s tour, but the assassin’s veto has reshaped the landscape.
Violence also brought Jimmy Kimmel back to late-night television. After he lied about Kirk’s assassination, sponsors complained, and two major affiliates refused to run his show. Sinclair Broadcasting even planned to air a Kirk tribute in his slot. Then came bomb threats, followed by gunfire targeting an ABC station in California. Sinclair folded, scrapped the tribute, and restored Kimmel to the lineup. Terrorism works. It succeeds where boycotts fail.
RELATED: Evil unchecked always spreads — and Democrats are proof
Mob action has disrupted immigration enforcement too. Leftists have assaulted ICE officers, blocked arrests, surrounded vehicles, and tried to plant explosives. One would-be assassin aimed for agents but only killed detainees. Trump’s Justice Department has begun cracking down, but the left keeps escalating. They’ve learned that violence yields results.
It’s hard to take Democrats seriously when they wail about “authoritarianism.” They jailed Trump officials, abortion protesters, meme-makers, and even the president himself. They don’t fear power — they crave it. What they hate is losing it.
Organizers claim that more than 2,000 “No Kings” protests are set for the weekend. The biggest ones will draw crowds, mostly aging Boomers reliving their youth. They’ll march, sing, and pretend to matter. But the real movement isn’t in the drum circles. It’s with people like Jay Jones, the Virginia attorney general candidate who still enjoys Democratic support despite texting fantasies about murdering the children of conservatives. That’s the true face of the modern left. They’re not waving signs — they’re plotting.
The “No Kings” spectacle will fill news segments and late-night monologues, but it’s just camouflage. Behind it stands an organized, violent movement convinced that terror is legitimate politics. These people don’t want debate. They want obedience — and they’re willing to bleed us for it.
It’s Time To Stop Live Streaming Church
Streaming removes us from the sacred and has become an excuse to avoid fellowship, while presenting numerous safety and privacy concerns.Today's top stories
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UNBELIEVABLE: THIS politician has been absent 33.4% of the time, but there’s someone with an even WORSE record