Day: January 15, 2026
Leavitt swipes at SCOTUS justices over women’s sports hearing: ‘Alarming’ to hear debate on ‘biological fact’
Karoline Leavitt said it was “alarming” that justices grappled with basic biological facts and hoped the Supreme Court would rule to protect women’s rights.
Oprah reveals struggle with ‘shame’ of weight-loss drugs and what happened when she quit
Oprah Winfrey discusses GLP-1 weight-loss medications and obesity as a disease, challenging long-held misconceptions about willpower and food addiction.
Homeless encampment at center of health alert over rat-borne disease
Berkeley declares a health emergency after a leptospirosis outbreak forced homeless encampment evacuations. Multiple rats and dogs were infected with the disease.
Chelsea Handler admits ‘I love drugs’ and potential partners are ‘gonna have to party’
Comedian Chelsea Handler reveals she “love[s] all drugs” and won’t date anyone who doesn’t party, sharing her candid views on relationships at age 50.
FBI arrests suspect after federal courthouse in Minneapolis windows smashed
The FBI arrested a man accused of smashing federal courthouse windows during a violent protest in Minneapolis on Jan. 7 in the wake of Renee Good’s death.
Minneapolis mayor who told ICE to ‘get the f— out’ now calls for peace after another shooting incident
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey calls for peace amid ICE protests after a Venezuelan immigrant allegedly attacked a federal agent with a shovel during operations.
Leavitt clashes with journalist over Renee Good, calls him ‘left-wing activist’ in tense WH briefing exchange
During a tense briefing exchange, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt labeled The Hill columnist Niall Stanage a “left-wing activist” over his comments about ICE.
DHS slams Dems for complaining about immigration law: ‘It is quite literally their job to change it’
Democrats call for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s impeachment following fatal ICE-involved shooting, while DHS defends enforcement actions.
Sara Gonzales mocks Clinton statement in Epstein investigation: ‘You can’t make this up’
When Hillary Clinton was asked to sit for a sworn deposition on Wednesday morning as a part of the House’s bipartisan probe into Jeffrey Epstein, she refused to appear. Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, also defied a subpoena to appear before the House Oversight Committee.
Now the House Oversight Committee will begin contempt of Congress proceedings.
“Now on the one hand, it’s rather upsetting to see more Democrats use this situation as just another political pawn. But on the other, Donald Trump has the opportunity to do the funniest thing ever and finally make good on one of his biggest campaign promises,” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales says.
“And now remember, the Democrats said, ‘Oh, it’s the Republicans who don’t want to investigate. It’s the Republicans who don’t want to release the files.’ Actually it’s the Republicans right here who are trying to investigate. The Republicans run the House,” she continues.
“And Bill and Hillary Clinton right there, kind of key figures in this whole thing. They should probably tell us what they know,” she says, adding, “I mean, hey, Democrats, if we’re serious about getting to the bottom of this, we should hear from those two evil ghouls on the screen, shouldn’t we?”
Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) has announced he will be moving to hold the pair in contempt — but they don’t appear to be willing to go quietly.
“This past year has seen our government engage in unprecedented acts, including against our own citizens. People have been seized by masked federal agents from their homes, their workplaces, and the streets of their communities. Students and scientists with visas permitting them to study and work here have been deported without due process,” a statement from the Clintons began.
“The people who laid siege to the U.S. Capitol have been pardoned and called heroes, agencies vital to the country’s national security have been dismantled,” the statement continued.
Finally after pointing out more grievances they have with the Trump administration, they wrote, “Every person has to decide when they have seen or had enough and are ready to fight for this country, its principles, and its people, no matter the consequences. For us, now is that time.”
“I mean, you just couldn’t make that up if you tried,” Gonzales laughs.
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Why speed limits don’t make our highways safer
Speed limits are the most ignored law in America. Everyone knows it, everyone does it, and politicians pretend they don’t.
Yet despite near-universal noncompliance, speed limits keep trending upward. That sounds backward — but there’s a reason. And if we want safer, smarter roads, we need to be honest about how limits are set, why they fail, and what would actually fix them.
Speed limits aren’t broken because speed itself is dangerous. They’re broken because the system is disconnected from reality.
This isn’t about reckless driving. It’s about reality. America’s speed policy is built on outdated assumptions, inconsistent enforcement, and political fights that have little to do with safety. Dig into the data and one thing becomes clear: The current system isn’t working.
And no — an American Autobahn isn’t coming anytime soon.
The risk everyone ignores
Speed limits aren’t chosen on a whim. They’re usually based on the 85th percentile rule: Engineers measure how fast drivers already travel, and the speed that 85% stay under becomes the benchmark.
In theory, this reflects real-world behavior. In practice, when most drivers already exceed posted limits, every traffic study pushes numbers higher. It becomes a feedback loop: People speed, limits rise, people keep speeding. The result isn’t safer roads — it’s inconsistency, which is far more dangerous than speed alone.
Safety debates fixate on top speed, but the real danger is speed variability — the difference between how fast vehicles are moving relative to each other.
A road where some drivers do 55 mph and others do 80 mph is dangerous not because of the fastest car, but because of the difference. High variability leads to congestion, abrupt lane changes, tailgating, and road rage. Uniform speeds are far safer. America fails here because limits don’t match behavior, enforcement is sporadic, and real-world speeds vary wildly.
Unsafe at any speed
Some argue we should simply raise limits to match reality. But the data doesn’t support that.
Outdated limits do breed distrust, but raising limits without fixing enforcement, road design, and driver training only widens speed differences. There’s also a political ceiling: Higher limits face resistance that has little to do with safety.
Insurance companies have long resisted higher limits. Greater speeds can mean more severe crashes, higher payouts, and larger claims — so insurers lobby accordingly.
Then there’s Vision Zero and its “safety over speed” movement, which prioritizes lower limits, stricter enforcement, and speed cameras to reduce fatalities. Critics argue it oversimplifies the problem by blaming speed while ignoring poor infrastructure, distracted driving, and inconsistent enforcement. The result is a political stalemate divorced from what actually works.
Why we can’t drive 55 … or 85
The Autobahn always comes up in these debates, and for good reason. It works because everything aligns.
German driver training is rigorous, emphasizing lane discipline and high-speed control. Left lanes are strictly for passing. Roads are engineered for sustained speed. Enforcement is consistent and focused on the right behaviors — tailgating, lane blocking, and distraction.
You can’t copy just one piece of that system and expect the same result.
The national 55 mph limit of the 1970s was widely ignored and eventually repealed. Safety gains were modest and short-lived, while frustration and economic costs were substantial. Arbitrary limits without public trust don’t last.
RELATED: Mandatory speed limiters for all new cars — will American drivers stand for it?
Vintage Images/Getty Images
Brake check
Do speed limits actually work?
Yes — but only when they align with road design, real driving behavior, consistent enforcement, competent driver training, and low speed variability. Right now, America misses on nearly all counts.
Speed limits aren’t broken because speed itself is dangerous. They’re broken because the system is disconnected from reality. The solution isn’t simply raising or lowering numbers — it’s aligning engineering, enforcement, training, and expectations.
America’s biggest problem isn’t speed. It’s inconsistency. Until that changes, noncompliance will continue — and so will preventable crashes. Smarter speed policy won’t come from politics. It will come from practical engineering, and that would save more lives than any number posted on a roadside sign.
