Iran Tried To Put A Bullet In My Head Because I Support The West’s Pressure Against The Regime

Trump has correctly adopted a maximum pressure policy. The United Kingdom, the European Union, and its member states should follow suit.

State Department set to designate cartels as terrorist groups for 'total elimination,' angering Mexican president



Border czar Thomas Homan discussed recent cartel threats against U.S. Border Patrol agents and U.S. military personnel with Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck last week, noting that he anticipates that "there will be violence on the border."

Homan further indicated that President Donald Trump is prepared to both "rain hell down" on the cartels and "wipe them off the face of the earth."

The State Department is now taking steps to streamline the annihilation process.

According to the New York Times, the State Department is planning to designate over six cartels and criminal groups with links to Latin America as foreign terrorist organizations.

'The Cartels' activities threaten the safety of the American people.'

Six unnamed sources familiar with the imminent decision told the Times that in addition to Tren de Aragua and MS-13, the Trump administration plans to designate six Mexican cartels as FTOs: the Cartel del Golfo, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the Michoacán family, the Northeast Cartel, and the Sinaloa Cartel.

The planned designations are in accordance with an executive order Trump signed on his first day in office.

"The Cartels' activities threaten the safety of the American people, the security of the United States, and the stability of the international order in the Western Hemisphere," wrote Trump. "Their activities, proximity to, and incursions into the physical territory of the United States pose an unacceptable national security risk to the United States."

Trump underscored that it is now the "policy of the United States to ensure the total elimination of these organizations’ presence in the United States and their ability to threaten the territory, safety, and security of the United States through their extraterritorial command-and-control structures."

When a secretary of state ultimately makes an FTO designation, Congress must be notified of his intent and given seven days to review the designation. Apparently, Secretary Marco Rubio has already done so.

Unless there is a successful effort in Congress to block the FTO designation of these groups responsible for mass murder, kidnappings, assassinations, and trafficking deadly substances into the homeland, notice of the designation will be published in the Federal Register.

Once in effect, it will be unlawful for any person in the U.S. or subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S. to knowingly provide "material support or resources" to the terrorist organizations. That includes financial services, lodging, identification, and transportation.

The Mexican government, the New York Times, and Soros-backed liberal think tank Brennan Center are among the radical outfits that have taken issue with the Trump administration's plan.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum threatened to expand her lawsuit against American gun manufacturers and vendors if the State Department went through with the designations, reported CBS News.

Sheinbaum noted specifically Mexo would introduce another allegation accusing gunmakers of "complicity" with terrorist organizations.

Blaze News previously reported that the New York Times complained that terrorist designations for the cartels culpable for the deaths of over 200 Americans a day might lead to American companies having to wean off Mexican labor; a loss to the Mexican economy in the form of reduced remittances; and unilateral American military strikes on terrorists and terrorist facilities.

Rachel Levinson-Waldman, the managing director of the Brennan Center's liberty and national security program, alternatively suggested that the designations were "counterproductive" because they might negatively impact asylum seekers who give money to the cartels, NGOs that service illegal alien communities, and American drug addicts and pushers.

To the likely chagrin of Levinson-Waldman and the Times, the Trump administration is unlikely to give mass-killers a pass in order to protect the Mexican economy and keep fentanyl dealers out of prison.

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

Syria’s new rulers: From jihadist terror to ‘moderate’ media rebrand



Syrians across Europe rejoiced at the news of Bashar al-Assad’s overthrow in December. Crowds filled the streets of Paris, celebrating the downfall of a dictator who ruled Syria with an iron fist and killed thousands of opponents. In Germany, migrants — many with faces painted in their host country’s colors — sang in support of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Islamist rebels who ended the Assad family’s five-decade rule. Car horns in Berlin, home to Europe’s largest Syrian diaspora, drowned out chants of “free at last.”

In Damascus, a similar scene unfolded. Residents tied a fallen statue of former President Hafez al-Assad to a truck and dragged it through the streets. Yet this collective euphoria remains an illusion. Behind carefully crafted media spectacles of controlled spontaneity, thousands of Syrian Christians live in fear, weighing whether to flee the country to save their lives.

The fall of Bashar al-Assad marks the end of a brutal era. But the jihadist rebels who toppled him warrant extreme caution.

Syria has one of the world’s oldest Christian communities, dating to the first century. According to tradition, the apostle Paul converted on the road to Damascus, and Christians in the remote mountain village of Ma’lula still speak Aramaic, the language of Jesus. Before the Muslim conquest of the Levant and the establishment of Islam in the seventh century, Christians made up roughly 80% of Syria’s population.

Determining the exact number of Christians in Syria is difficult. The country has not conducted a census in more than 60 years. Before the civil war, estimates suggested Christians made up about 10% of Syria’s 22 million people. That number has dropped significantly due to Islamic terrorism, violence, persecution, and forced expulsions. Only a few hundred thousand Christians are believed to remain.

Since taking control on Dec. 8, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham spokesmen have claimed they will protect Syria’s ethnic and religious minorities. Their statement came just weeks before Christmas, the most significant holiday in the Christian calendar. On Christmas Eve, footage posted to social media showed masked individuals setting fire to a large Christmas tree in the main square of Suqaylabiyah, a Christian-majority town in central Syria.

When Syria's civil war began, Christians were not initially targeted. In April 2013, however, armed militants kidnapped and murdered two prominent Christian leaders — Bishop Yohanna Ibrahim of the Syrian Orthodox Church and Bishop Boulos Yaziji of the Greek Orthodox Church. While the exact motives remain unknown, reports suggest the al-Nusra Front was responsible.

The fall of Bashar al-Assad marks the end of a brutal era. The “Butcher of Damascus” ruled with bloodshed, and few will mourn his downfall. But the jihadist rebels who toppled him warrant extreme caution.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s current leader, Abu Muhammad al-Julani, previously served as an emir of the al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate. The group openly declared its goal of transforming Syria into an Islamic state governed by Sharia law. When Islamist forces take control of a region, Christians typically face three choices: convert to Islam, accept dhimmitude — a subordinate status that, if violated, can result in death — or face execution. In some cases, rulers allow exile as an alternative.

In 2013, the U.S. State Department designated Julani as a “specially designated global terrorist” with a $10 million reward for information leading to his capture. Nevertheless, Western foreign policy often operates under the principle that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Many Western elites, eager to celebrate Bashar al-Assad’s downfall, have tacitly approved of HTS. Former British intelligence chief Sir John Sawers even referred to HTS as “a liberation movement.”

Since seizing power, Julani has undergone a media rebrand. Now known as Ahmed al-Sharaa, he appears in blazers instead of combat fatigues. CNN and other outlets present him as a transformed figure, as if trading a militant’s uniform for a suit instantly converts a radical Islamic terrorist into a peaceful revolutionary. The BBC refers to this shift as “moderate jihad.” As long as HTS pledges to form an “inclusive” government, the United Nations is considering removing it from its list of banned terrorist organizations.

This narrative is absurd. Julani is nothing if not a media-savvy jihadist. His past is well documented — he was a member of al-Qaeda and ISIS, mentored by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the former leader of ISIS. He founded the al-Nusra Front, pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda, swore an oath to Osama bin Laden, and was radicalized by the events of 9/11.

Yet his makeover appears to be working. Western leaders and media figures suggest that swapping battlefield fatigues for tailored suits and parroting liberal talking points absolve him of his past. By courting sympathetic Western governments, HTS aims to gain ideological influence and establish itself as a legitimate force in Syria’s political landscape.

When al-Julani promises to protect the “rights” of minorities based on law, he is referring to the “rights” granted to dhimmis under Sharia law. This is what happened in 2015 when ISIS forced Syrian Christians to convert to Islam or sign a dhimmi contract.

Under HTS, Syrian Christians face a bleak future.

NYT Uses Anonymous Terrorist Sources For Latest Deep State Hit On Tulsi Gabbard

The Times will accuse DNI nominee Tulsi Gabbard of meeting with then-Lebanese Hezbollah Supreme Leader Hassan Nasrallah in 2017.

New York Times sets high bar for derangement by suggesting Trump's 'terrorist' label for cartels could hurt economy



Mexican drug cartels are responsible for the untimely deaths of hundreds of thousands of people over the past two decades. When factoring in the fentanyl they smuggle into the United States, the cartels are also culpable for the deaths of over 200 Americans a day. In addition to dealing in murder and addiction, they routinely engage in mass kidnappings, rape, torture, and political intimidation.

Evidently keen for a change, President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Monday setting the stage for Mexican cartels as well as other criminal gangs operating in the Western hemisphere, including MS-13, to be designated foreign terrorist organizations.

The New York Times, afforded an opportunity with a new year and a new administration to embrace common sense, instead reverted to its old ways on Wednesday, concern-mongering about the economic impact of Trump's plan to identify and hold terrorists accountable.

The piece in the Times — a paper compromised by the CIA during the Cold War, reflexively willing to print Hamas propaganda, and instrumental in recent Democratic attacks on conservative Supreme Court justices — stated at the outset that "President Trump's executive order designating Mexican cartels and other criminal organizations as foreign terrorists could force some American companies to forgo doing business in Mexico rather than risk U.S. sanctions."

Maria Abi-Habib and Simon Romero of the Times, both based in Mexico City, suggested that American companies fearing sanctions might think twice about doing business south of the border, especially with terrorists involved at various levels in supposedly legal industries, "from avocado farming to the country's billion-dollar tourism industry." The terrorist designation will make it easier to prosecute businesses and individuals suspecting of aiding the cartels, which could come down to transferring money to a compromised Mexican entity.

Fabian Teichmann, an expert on terrorist financing, told the Times that banks might be among the organizations that will ultimately decide it's no longer worth doing business with potential cartel members.

"Banks might say, 'We don't want to be anywhere close to those who are considered to be terrorists, so we want to avoid that risk,'" said Teichmann. "From a banking perspective, that will be a very reasonable decision."

'The Cartels' activities threaten the safety of the American people, the security of the United States, and the stability of the international order.'

There are, of course, steps businesses can take to avoid working with terrorists.

The American firm FTI Consulting noted in a recent report that "the potential FTO designations underscore the urgent need for heightened due diligence when engaging with third parties."

"Recommended actions include conducting thorough background checks on potential partners, suppliers, employees and clients to ensure no direct or indirect connections to criminal organizations," continued the report. "Risk assessments of third parties should include close monitoring of changes in ownership, financial health and legal standing. Enhanced due diligence also requires regular updates to internal databases, cross-referencing with OFAC and other international sanctions lists, and utilizing advanced screening tools for continuous monitoring."

Whereas the FTI report, which was cited in the Times report, made clear there are possible steps corporations could take to ensure they're not getting into bed with killers, Abi-Habib and Romero nevertheless cast doubt on the possibility of identifying businesses devoid of cartel links, insinuating that the greater risk is not Americans going into business with mass-murdering rapists and drug traffickers but what might happen economically if they took the higher ground.

The Times, which failed to consider potential gains from Trump's EO such as fewer terrorists and a check on the opioid crisis that cost the U.S. an estimated $1.5 trillion in 2020 alone, suggested that the terrorist designation might lead to American companies having to wean off Mexican labor; a loss to the Mexican economy in the form of reduced remittances, in which the nation received $63.3 billion in 2023; and unilateral American military strikes on terrorists and terrorist facilities.

Trump, who has a mandate to do things the New York Times does not like, has a different set of concerns.

"The Cartels' activities threaten the safety of the American people, the security of the United States, and the stability of the international order in the Western Hemisphere," he stated in his executive order Monday. "Their activities, proximity to, and incursions into the physical territory of the United States pose an unacceptable national security risk to the United States."

'Journalists at the New York Times get together in an editorial meeting and actually come up with this s**t.'

"It is the policy of the United States to ensure the total elimination of these organizations' presence in the United States and their ability to threaten the territory, safety, and security of the United States through their extraterritorial command-and-control structures, thereby protecting the American people and the territorial integrity of the United States," added the president.

Regarding the Times article, Utah Sen. Mike Lee (R) wrote, "The New York Times publishes its own version of 'abrazos no balazos' — 'hugs not bullets' — a term popularized by former Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez-Obrador, calling for gentle treatment of drug cartels."

"That was a bad strategy for Mexico," Lee continued. "It'll fare no better in the U.S."

"Of course it is the New York Times concocting this framing," tweeted Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).

Stephen Miller, contributing editor at the Spectator, wrote, "A room full of journalists at the New York Times get together in an editorial meeting and actually come up with this s**t and publish it. There's not a single person in the room who goes hey wait a second."

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

The Israel-Hamas Hostage Deal Gives Too Much To Terrorists

The cost of the cease-fire to Israel for freeing only some of the hostages is handing Hamas and Iran an undeserved victory.

Crime, Corruption, And Incompetence Pay Well For Leftist Big City Leaders

The nation’s largest cities, run by Democrats, are crime-infested, debt-ridden places making their liberal leaders a very good living.

Why the Bourbon Street massacre is part of a GLOBAL pattern



While many of us were asleep in our beds on New Year's Day, 14 Americans were murdered and 35 were injured at the hands of a radicalized ISIS supporter in New Orleans.

The alleged terrorist, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, was a Texas-born Army veteran who somehow became radicalized by ISIS under the noses of everyone in his community.

“He was consumed by hatred in this ideology,” Glenn Beck of “The Glenn Beck Program” says of the terrorist. “If we can understand how people like Jabbar can fall into darkness, we may be able to stop the next tragedy before it begins.”

“This so-called lone-wolf is part of a growing pattern,” he continues. “German Christmas market attack, the London bridge stabbings, it’s now here on American soil. But let’s not ignore the bigger picture. While he may have acted alone in execution, everything leading up to it was not an isolated process.”


Jabbar’s story, Glenn says, “also raises uncomfortable questions about our preparedness for terrorism in 2025.”

“How did he acquire the knowledge to build a sophisticated bomb? How many more are like him? How many are homegrown? How many have we imported over our border?” Glenn asks.

“There’s another question: technology. The smart glasses from Meta. He used those to plan his attack, but he also used social media to pledge his allegiance to ISIS. So how do we balance this innovation with security?” he continues.

“The reason why I wanted to bring this up today is it’s more than just a tragic event. It’s a warning. It reveals the cracks in our systems, the complacency that allows those cracks to widen. Our borders, our political correctness. This story is important because it forces us to confront the uncomfortable truths about our safety, our priorities, and our policies,” he adds.

Want more from Glenn Beck?

To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Columbia defends letting professor who celebrated Hamas terrorist attacks teach course on Zionism



Columbia University, a hotbed of anti-Semitism and leftist extremism, will have a professor who celebrated the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks teach a course on Zionism in the new year.

Joseph Massad is a professor of modern Arab politics at Columbia University who has a special interest in "theories of nationalism, sexuality, race, and religion" and regularly contributes to the Middle East Eye, a radical blog apparently owned by a former official for both Al Jazeera in Qatar and the Hamas-affiliated al-Quds TV, Jamal Bessasso. Massad has also long contributed to the Electronic Intifada, a pro-Palestinian propaganda website.

On Oct. 8, 2023 — one day after Hamas terrorists massacred over 1,100 Israelis — Massad penned an article titled "Just another battle or the Palestinian war of liberation?" wherein he expressed amazement and apparent delight at the so-called "victories of the resistance."

"What can motorized paragliders do in the face of one of the most formidable militaries in the world? Apparently much in the hands of an innovative Palestinian resistance, which early on Saturday morning launched a surprise attack on Israel by air, land, and sea," wrote Massad. "Indeed, as stunning videos show, these paragliders have become the air force of the Palestinian resistance."

In addition to suggesting the terrorist attacks were provoked, Massad spoke highly of the terrorists' "success."

"Perhaps the major achievement of the resistance in the temporary takeover of these settler-colonies is the death blow to any confidence that Israeli colonists had in their military and its ability to protect them," continued the Columbia professor. "In the interest of safeguarding their lives and their children's future, the colonists' flight from these settlements may prove to be a permanent exodus. They may have finally realized that living on land stolen from another people will never make them safe."

At one stage in the article, Massad insinuated that the victims were "cruel colonizers" and stated, "The sight of the Palestinian resistance fighters storming Israeli checkpoints separating Gaza from Israel was astounding."

Whereas Massad described the terrorist attacks as "remarkable," "stunning," "striking," and "astounding," he referred to the Israeli response as "barbaric."

According to the university's directory of classes, Massad will teach a course on "the history of the Jewish Enlightenment (Haskala) in 19th century Europe and the development of Zionism through the current peace process between the state of Israel and the Arab states and the Palestinian national movement."

The listing further notes that the Hamas apologist will also provide "a historical overview of the Zionist-Palestinian conflict to familiarize undergraduates with the background of the current situation."

Nearly 50 students are already enrolled in the class, which is unsurprising granted the anti-Israel sentiment that abounds on campus.

Just last week, anti-Israel radicals marched around campus calling for a "free and liberated Palestine" and carrying banners that reportedly read, "Globalize the Intifada," and "Within Our Lifetime."

Blaze News previously reported that on the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, pro-Hamas protesters chanted, "Resistance is justified." One video of the demonstration showed protesters chanting, "One solution! Revolution!"

The university has apparently been reluctant to do anything meaningful to curb pro-terrorist sentiment on campus.

The House Committee on Education and the Workforce complained in August that the university had failed to expel any of the students responsible for the volatile demonstrations and encampment takeover in April, where Hamas-endorsed radicals illegally camped outside Columbia University for more than a week, destroying property, repeating genocidal rhetoric and demanding the institution divest from Israel.

'This would be akin to having a White Nationalist teach about the US Civil Rights movement.'

In the face of such unchecked extremism, one Jewish student tried to force Columbia's hand, filing a lawsuit accusing the university of allowing "a small group of fringe demonstrators to target Jewish students and faculty with harassment, hate speech, and violence for the sole reason that they are (or appear to be) Jewish." Columbia agreed to increase safety measures in June as part of a settlement.

The Israeli Embassy to the U.S. responded to the news of Massad's course, asking on X, "How many people has he already managed to indoctrinate?"

Amid backlash over the course, the university issued a statement Tuesday, denouncing his controversial comments but indicating he would teach the course anyway.

"Professor Massad's statements following the terrorist attack on October 7 created pain for many in our community and contributed to the deep controversy on our campus. We have consistently condemned any celebration or promotion of violence or terror," said the statement. "We remain committed to principles of free expression and the open exchange of viewpoints and perspectives through opportunities for constructive dialogue and understanding throughout our campus community, and we seek to provide a learning environment and classrooms that promote intellectual inquiry and analytical thinking along with civility, tolerance, and respect."

Columbia noted further that Massad's course is one of three that students can take next semester on the subject of Zionism and the history of Israel.

This did not sit well with Lawrence Rosenblatt, an adjunct professor of international and public affairs at Columbia, who submitted his resignation, reported the Jerusalem Post.

"I hereby resign my position as a member of the Columbia University faculty, effective immediately. I do so in response to learning (and seeing listed on the Columbia class registry) that a course on Zionism and the State of Israel will be taught this coming semester by Joseph A. Massad, who has advocated for the destruction of the State of Israel and celebrated the October 7 attacks," wrote Rosenblatt. "This would be akin to having a White Nationalist teach about the U.S. Civil Rights movement and the struggle for Black equality, or having a climate denier teach about the impact of global warming, or a misogynist teach about Feminism."

Rosenblatt, who was reportedly not scheduled to teach in the spring semester, noted that Massad is entitled to his opinions and has a right to express his opinion, but "Columbia has a responsibility to teach objectively and fairly."

"At best perhaps one could tolerate a class on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict co-taught from the many diverse Israeli and Palestinian perspectives, though not by someone who advocates for the eradication of a group of people. But that is not what is happening here," continued Rosenblatt. "Columbia has lost not only its moral compass, but its intellectual one."

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

Harris-Walz is the most RADICAL ticket in US history — here’s the unfortunate proof



We all know Kamala Harris and Tim Walz themselves hold radically leftist views — specifically surrounding abortion. But after a deeper look into whom they’ve hired to work in their campaign and administrations, it only gets worse.

“The new appointee for Harris’ campaign, she’s a global warming extremist that says, ‘If you are in the oil and gas business at all, you’re a terrorist,’” Glenn Beck of the “Glenn Beck Program” warns.

This extremist is Camila Thorndike, and she’s the climate engagement director.

“She is somebody who is so extreme on global warming. She doesn’t like capitalism, she doesn’t like oil and gas or anything like that, so why would she join the Kamala Harris campaign?” he asks, noting that Harris has publicly flip-flopped on issues like fracking.


Harris’ team has also hired Brian Lazinski as the education czar.

“He’s actually one of the people helping implement the framework or curriculum for the new ethnic studies standards in the state of Minnesota,” Glenn explains. “Remember you were told by the propaganda machine that CRT is nothing?”

“Remember, this came in under Biden-Harris, this came into our schools. They didn’t dare release it under Donald Trump, but they put it into our schools after the election,” he says.

In a recording Glenn obtained, Lazinski — who has been working under Minnesota governor and VP pick Walz — explains that critical race theory is not “about telling our stories” but rather about overthrowing the system.

“You can’t be a critical race theorist and be pro-U.S. It is an anti-state theory that says the United States needs to be deconstructed, period,” the new education czar said, adding, “That’s why I’m a critical racist.”

Stu Burguiere of “Stu Does America” is concerned by what he’s just heard.

“Oh, that’s why he’s a critical race theorist, because, you know, the overthrow of the government and the insurgency,” he mocks.

Want more from Glenn Beck?

To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.