Day: April 9, 2026
Sara Gonzales REACTS to Federalist exposé on GEC targeting Blaze Media — ‘Yes, the deep state actually is THAT threatened’
A Federalist article published yesterday revealed that the government-funded Global Engagement Center assured the State Department its censorship “test bed” platform would not target U.S. audiences, yet it proceeded to fund a trial specifically aimed at Blaze Media.
“Let me break it down simply,” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales says.
“Back in 2011, Obama signed an executive order to establish the State Department’s Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications … to support ‘agencies in government-wide public communications activities targeted against violent extremism and terrorist organizations,’” she recounts.
This was the “seed,” she explains, that would eventually sprout and bloom into a domestic censorship apparatus.
In 2016, Obama then signed an executive order, renaming the existing Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications the Global Engagement Center and tasking it with coordinating U.S. government-wide counterterrorism communications activities directed at foreign audiences abroad to counter terrorist messaging.
“Pay attention to these dates. 2016, [Obama] is out the door,” Sara says.
In the waning days of President Trump’s first term (December 14, 2020, to January 7, 2021), however, a GEC-funded test-bed trial diverted from its stated mission to target foreign disinformation when it set its sights on Blaze Media.
Its other target was Sputnik News, a Russian state-owned news agency and radio service.
“Why would we be as big of a target as a Russian state news agency?” Sara asks. “Is the deep state that threatened by what we talk about?”
“The answer is yes — the deep state actually is that threatened by what we talk about,” she answers definitively.
When Secretary of State Marco Rubio shut down the GEC and its successor office, the Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference, in 2025, the New York Times and other left-wing outlets lamented it.
Sara mocks the coverage the story received: “He closed down the State Department office on foreign disinformation. Why would we want to have disinformation? That’s bad!”
“No, it was just being used to suppress and censor actual American media,” she explains. “Sorry, I’m saying American media like it was plural — like it was like this big venture. … No, it was just us.”
Why Blaze Media specifically?
Sara believes it’s tied to Blaze Media’s COVID coverage.
“We were one of the only (actually the only) alternative media outlet that was telling the truth during COVID, myself included,” she says. “We were getting demonetized left and right because we were actually telling the truth.”
To hear more, watch the episode above.
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Anti-Trump ‘creepy porn lawyer’ has been released from prison
The attorney who represented an adult film actress who tried to take down President Donald Trump has been released from prison after serving time for defrauding his clients.
Michael Avenatti, nicknamed the “creepy porn lawyer” by Tucker Carlson, was convicted of trying to extort up to $25 million from the Nike shoe company and stealing from actress Stormy Daniels as well as others. In June, he was resentenced to serve 11 years and three months in prison in connection with some of the charges.
He reportedly cried in court before sentencing.
Avenatti once was considered one of Trump’s most potent foes and even said he was considering running for president but fell far short of taking down his opponent.
Daniels accused Trump of paying her hush money ahead of the 2016 election to keep her from speaking out about their alleged extramarital affair. Critics said the payment amounted to election interference.
Avenatti served about four years in prison and is ordered to report to a halfway house in Hollywood, where he will stay until Sept. 2028, according to TMZ. He is also ordered to stay away from unlawful controlled substances and has to participate in mental health treatment.
Fox News reported that he got early release after some of the sentences were allowed to run concurrently.
At the apex of the media circus propping up Avenatti’s celebrity, he was compared to one of the persons in the Holy Trinity by “The View” co-host Ana Navarro.
“Lately to me, you’re like the Holy Spirit,” she said in Aug. 2018. “You are all places at all times. Right? I mean, I see you all over cable news. … There’s a seat available if you want to be a co-host at ‘The View.’ There’s people here you can pitch!”
“He’s out here saving the country!” Joy Behar responded at the time.
Only a few months later, Daniels publicly accused Avenatti of ignoring her calls and starting a crowdfund campaign to raise money for her legal defense without permission. He was later convicted of stealing $300,000 from her and sentenced to four years in prison.
In 2021, he was sentenced to two and a half years for a conviction related to an extortion scheme he attempted against Nike. He reportedly cried in court before sentencing.
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The next year, he was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for stealing from his clients and obstructing the IRS. He was resentenced last June.
Avenatti was ordered to pay nearly $6 million in restitution.
He was also accused of domestic abuse by a former girlfriend, but he vehemently denied those claims and was never criminally charged.
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Homeless schizophrenic man accused of stabbing Iryna Zarutska to death is ‘incapable to proceed’ to trial
The man on trial for allegedly stabbing to death a Ukrainian immigrant without provocation has been determined to be “incapable to proceed” by a state psychiatric facility.
Video from the light rail train in Charlotte, North Carolina, captured the moment that Decarlos Brown Jr. allegedly brutally stabbed Iryna Zarutska in the neck, according to prosecutors.
Brown’s attorney argued that the capacity hearing cannot take place as long as the suspect is in federal custody.
Brown, who is 44 years old, had a long history of violence and mental illness before he allegedly attacked Zarutska, who was on her way home after working a shift at a pizza shop in Aug. 2025.
A public defender filed a court filing Tuesday citing the mental evaluation from the Central Regional Hospital, but the judge must determine whether he will accept the findings.
The case is expected to be delayed until Brown is given psychiatric treatment to restore his capacity to proceed.
Zarutska, who was 23 years old at the time of her death, had fled from Ukraine to escape the dangers of the Russian war. Her death has become a national crusade against lax criminal prosecution and was featured in President Donald Trump’s last State of the Union address to Congress.
Brown’s attorney argued that the capacity hearing cannot take place as long as the suspect is in federal custody.
WBTV-TV reported that the process of restoring competency in North Carolina can take a long time because of the lack of psychiatric resources.
The suspect’s mother has admitted that Brown suffered from mental illness and had been arrested more than a dozen times.
RELATED: Axios gets obliterated online for unbelievable framing of stabbing death of Ukrainian refugee
Tech billionaire Elon Musk donated $1 million to help fund murals across the country to honor the memory of Zarutska and bring more publicity to the cause.
Some of those efforts have been stymied by local activists and politicians who oppose the murals on the basis that they are “divisive” or do not align with their values.
“Evil doesn’t see policy. Evil doesn’t see left or right. Evil doesn’t see any of that. Evil is just evil,” said graffiti artist Gear Duran, who painted a mural in Las Vegas. “I’m here trying to combat that, to bring awareness with this mural, just to bring some positivity and light to what happened.”
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CBS to replace Stephen Colbert with actual comedy
CBS will waste no time looking for laughs after “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” ends its near-11-year run.
Colbert has faced consistent scrutiny since reports surfaced of his show’s alleged $40 million annual losses against a $100 million budget. Now, the finish line is fast approaching as his show nears its May 21 finale.
‘The world can never have enough laughter.’
CBS will reportedly waste no time replacing Colbert and is moving right along with a new lineup for the 11:35 p.m. time slot on May 22.
Giggle gang
According to The Hill, Colbert’s late-night talk show is set to be replaced by a pair of half-hour programs featuring actual comedians.
First, back-to-back episodes of “Comics Unleashed” will air in Colbert’s soon-to-be former slot, moving up an hour from where it sits currently. The show features panels of bantering stand-up comics that have ranged from newbies to legends like Dennis Miller, Bert Kreischer, John Lovitz, and more.
Moving into the 12:35 a.m. slot is “Funny You Should Ask,” a reboot of the 1968 classic of the same name. The format has celebrities and comedians answer trivia questions, while contestants have to determine if they are giving the right answer.
RELATED: ‘LATE’ HATE: Even Hollywood is sick of Colbert’s endless pity party
Nothing personal
CBS said in 2025 that its cancellation of Colbert’s show was “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night.”
They added, “It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content, or other matters happening at Paramount.”
This came around the same time that CBS News’ parent company, Paramount, paid a $16 million settlement to President Trump. The lawsuit claimed the network deceptively edited an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris during her 2024 presidential election campaign, the Guardian reported.
Colbert called the settlement “a big fat bribe.”
Happy meal
Both shows replacing Colbert are produced by comedian Byron Allen, who has pushed out a steady stream of TV shows and movies over the past two decades.
Allen told The Hill that “Comics Unleashed” is a platform for comedians to simply “make people laugh,” adding that he truly appreciates CBS for “picking up our two-hour comedy block.”
“The world can never have enough laughter,” Allen added.
The 64-year-old is on the board of governors of the Motion Picture & Television Fund, along with other Hollywood staples like director J.J. Abrams, actor Colin Farrell, and rapper Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson. The fund describes itself as supporting “working and retired members of the entertainment community with a safety net of health and social services.
In 2025, Variety reported that Allen reached a settlement with McDonald’s after filing a $10 billion lawsuit against the food chain. The lawsuit alleged that McDonald’s discriminated against black-owned media companies in its TV advertising expenditures.
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Isa Briones breaks down Trinity Santos’ relationships in ‘The Pitt’
Dr. Trinity Santos, played by Filipino-American actress Isa Briones, is one of the most complex characters in the award-winning medical series “The Pitt.”
Flood control hearing deferred pending Chavit Singson’s affidavit –Lacson
Flood control hearing deferred pending Singson’s affidavit –Lacson
House panel subpoenas NBI’s Matibag over probe into VP Sara’s ‘threat’ vs Marcos
The House Committee on Justice has subpoenaed National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Atty. Melvin A. Matibag in relation to its ongoing impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte.
LIVE UPDATES: Conflict in the Middle East (April 9, 2026)
Here are the latest news and updates on the US-Israel war against Iran and related developments.
Abu Dhabi police arrest more than 350 over footage, disinformation
Police in the emirate of Abu Dhabi arrested nearly 400 people for filming or “spreading misinformation” during the Middle East war, which saw Tehran launch a campaign of strikes on the Gulf.
IMF, World Bank and UN food agency say war is increasing food prices, insecurity
The World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the U.N. World Food Programme warned on Wednesday that sharp increases in oil, natural gas and fertilizer prices triggered by the war in the Middle East will inevitably cause rising food prices and food insecurity.
