Day: October 31, 2025
Senate talks show signs of progress as government shutdown grinds into 2nd month
Shades of optimism filled the Senate this past week as bipartisan talks on a way out of the government shutdown increased.
Hornets star LaMelo Ball fined $35,000 for flipping off referee after foul call
LaMelo Ball received a $35,000 fine for making an obscene gesture, a middle finger, toward a referee during the Charlotte Hornets’ loss to Miami Heat.
The game was fixed long before the bets were legal
The integrity of sports is in trouble again, or so the headlines say. The FBI last week arrested more than 30 people in a wide-ranging gambling probe that ensnared Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier.
A former Cleveland Cavaliers player, Damon Jones, was also charged in two separate cases — one involving sports betting improprieties, the other tied to Billups’ alleged participation in an illegal poker ring linked to the mafia.
Cheating is illegal. Addiction is tragic. But gambling itself isn’t a sin against the republic.
Given the timing — amid public debate over legalized sports wagering since 2018 — the FBI’s sweep might look like vindication for critics of betting. It isn’t.
Millionaires behaving badly
When federal agents arrest millionaire athletes and coaches for gambling crimes, it raises an obvious question: Is legalized sports betting really to blame?
Rozier’s salary cap for the 2025-26 season is $26.6 million. His career earnings total more than $160 million. Billups made $4.7 million during the 2024-25 NBA season. Disgraced Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter, 25, had earned $2.7 million before his ban for sharing medical information to steer bets.
When people earn sums that most Americans can’t even imagine, they often invent new ways to ruin themselves. The average NBA salary in 1991 was $800,000; today it’s more than $8 million. As David Cone of Crain and Company observed, “Even if you’re just on a roster, you make more than doctors make. There’s no excuse.”
There really isn’t. This scandal is less about gambling and more about human nature — about greed, self-destruction, and the moral rot that wealth alone can’t fix. The Supreme Court’s decision to legalize small wagers didn’t make multimillionaires betray their sport for a few illegal dollars. They did that on their own.
The moral lesson that hasn’t changed
When infielder Fred McMullin went down in the 1919 “Black Sox” scandal, he earned $3,500 a year — roughly $67,000 in today’s money. Those players were underpaid and easily tempted. No one can say that about professional athletes or coaches today.
Legalized betting didn’t create this corruption, and FBI Director Kash Patel said as much during an interview with Laura Ingraham on Fox News.
Critics overplay their hand
A video clip from ESPN’s “Get Up” made the rounds this week after producers hastily removed an on-screen ad for ESPN Bet during coverage of the scandal. The network’s discomfort spurred an online feeding frenzy from the right’s new morality police, who pounced on the moment as proof of hypocrisy.
Saagar Enjeti circled the ad and captioned it, “Spot the problem.” But the real problem isn’t the ad; it’s addiction and bad character. Billups apparently got hooked on poker. Rozier and Jones broke the law and got caught in an era when every transaction and text leaves a trail.
Enjeti calls this “uncontrolled.” Tell that to the players facing federal indictments. Gambling today is more visible, traceable, and regulated than ever before. The temptation hasn’t changed — the surveillance has.
RELATED: The myth of the online gambling ‘epidemic’
Hirurg via iStock/Getty Images
Americans were always betting
Critics say the explosion of legal sportsbooks has opened new avenues for corruption. Maybe. But it has also pulled a massive shadow economy into the light. Americans didn’t wait for the Supreme Court’s permission to wager; by 2015, they were already betting an estimated $150 billion a year on illegal offshore sites.
Yes, the sector’s growth has been explosive. And yes, it’s unsettling to see leagues, networks, and sportsbooks growing so intertwined. But that doesn’t make moral crusaders the saviors of integrity.
The real vice
Take Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who reportedly won $1.4 million playing blackjack in Las Vegas last year — less than 1% of his net worth. Critics didn’t call that a moral crisis.
The point is simple: People should be free to spend their discretionary income as they choose. Cheating is illegal. Addiction is tragic. But gambling itself isn’t a sin against the republic.
The latest pro sports scandal offers a moral lesson, but not the one the prohibitionists want to hear. Legalized betting didn’t corrupt sports — people did. And no law can outlaw greed.
Allie Beth Stuckey on ‘Fox & Friends’: Charlie Kirk ‘was such an encourager of so many of us’
What made Charlie Kirk such a force to be reckoned with?
That was one of topics up for discussion Monday when BlazeTV’s Allie Beth Stuckey joined “Fox & Friends” co-hosts Ainsley Earhardt and Griff Jenkins before headlining that evening’s Turning Point USA tour stop at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.
‘He really was an anomaly. God just blessed him with amazing work ethic and persistence and energy.’
“He was so generous with his time,” the “Relatable” host recalled, noting that the slain activist miraculously managed to balance traveling nonstop, raising a young family, scaling TPUSA into a national juggernaut, and igniting a movement that reached millions — all while still making time for others:
He could’ve been doing a million other very important things, but he would take the time every day to text his friends, to text his colleagues, to send Bible verses, to say, “Hey, keep going,” “I saw this article,” or, “I saw you talk about this topic. You did such a good job.”
He was such a champion, such an encourager of so many of us, and that is going to continue to bless me for the rest of my life.
‘Keep slugging’
Jenkins asked Stuckey what she anticipated seeing at the Baton Rouge TPUSA event, especially in the wake of LSU’s Charlie Kirk tribute back in September.
“It makes me think of when we heard Charlie’s widow, Erika, talk about, ‘You have no idea what you’ve done,’ and you hear Andrew Kolvet, Charlie’s producer, talk about that he hopes that the TPUSA events are going to be bigger than ever before. Is that what you anticipate seeing tonight?” Jenkins asked.
“Oh, absolutely,” Stuckey said.
And her instincts were spot-on.
The sold-out Baton Rouge event — hosted by the local TPUSA chapter — drew a massive 1,600 attendees, far exceeding expectations. Lines wrapped around the block, and doors opened early to accommodate the surging crowd of young conservatives eager to honor Kirk’s legacy and rally in support of faith, family, and freedom. The vibe was electric and defiant, pulsing with patriotic fervor as chants of “USA!” and “Charlie Kirk!” erupted from a packed house.
Stuckey inspired and challenged the crowd with a powerful speech on “five of Charlie Kirk’s most controversial truths,” motivating students with Charlie’s favorite phrase of encouragement: “Keep slugging.”
‘He really was an anomaly’
Earhardt told Stuckey she found it “amazing” to hear from so many people all that Kirk had done for them. “I’m hearing you say he would text you, encourage you,” she marveled.
“He also had to fundraise. He also had a family. He was traveling. He was contacting so many people and really pouring into their lives. How did he balance it all? How did he have time to do it?”
“I have no idea,” was Stuckey’s candid response.
“You know, I’ve joked a few times that, in true Charlie fashion, he is giving all of his friends and his team a whole lot of work. … Gosh, it’s taken at least a dozen of us to make up for Charlie’s speaking engagements and all of the different obligations that he had on his show and everywhere,” she laughed.
“He really was an anomaly. God just blessed him with amazing work ethic and persistence and energy because, of course, God knew that his time was tragically short. And he had a lot to accomplish, and he did.”
In the end, Charlie didn’t just create a movement — he multiplied one.
“Even though he was the center of it, it’s far beyond him,” Stuckey said.
The Charlie effect
And she’s right. Since his tragic death, Charlie’s American Comeback Tour, which was rebranded as This Is the Turning Point Tour to honor his legacy, has experienced an explosion in participation. Campus events see massive, exceeding-expectations turnouts. Thousands are left outside as arenas fill to bursting. Patriotic chants fueled by grief-turned-determination electrify the atmosphere.
Interest in TPUSA membership has also dramatically increased, with the organization receiving more than 120,000 requests to start local chapters since the founder’s martyrdom.
The Charlie effect is real — and it’s fueling a nationwide revival.
“He left a legacy that really multiplied, and that speaks to who he was as a person but also just where we are as a country right now. People have woken up, and people are ready to step off the sidelines and come into the arena, and I say let’s go,” Stuckey urged.
Alleged shoplifter caught on video brutally beating 18-year-old supermarket employee who confronted him: ‘Senseless’
An alleged shoplifter in a North Carolina supermarket was caught on surveillance video brutally beating an employee who confronted him.
Detectives from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department are working to identify two individuals involved, WBTV-TV reported.
‘When we have self-checkouts, it just presents an opportunity for people who are not doing the right thing, thieves, to take items and commit crimes.’
Police told the station the physical attack took place Oct. 20 at the Food Lion in the 2200 block of Park Road in Charlotte.
Two people were in the self-checkout area of the supermarket attempting to steal items when an 18-year-old Food Lion employee confronted them, Detective Ashley Phillips told WBTV.
Surveillance video showed one of the alleged shoplifters speaking with the employee and then walking with the employee into a back room, the station said.
Another surveillance camera captured the attack in the back room. Video shows one of the suspects grabbing the employee in the neck and chest area and slamming the employee against a large container against a wall, punching the employee, and then appearing to stomp the employee on the floor.
Surveillance video then shows the two alleged shoplifters leaving the Food Lion with the stolen items following the beating, WBTV reported.
“It’s unfortunate. Any act of violence is senseless,” Phillips told the station. “When we have self-checkouts, it just presents an opportunity for people who are not doing the right thing, thieves, to take items and commit crimes.”
Phillips added to WBTV that employees who witness illegal activity in the workplace shouldn’t attempt to intervene.
“We want to suggest to everyone that is in a store working as an employee, just step back and observe, then collect as much information as you can and call 911 so that way police can respond, and you don’t have to interfere with someone committing a crime,” she noted to the station.
Phillips added to WBTV that she’s hopeful someone will recognize the alleged shoplifters through the surveillance videos and still images: “They’re very clear. I’m hoping that someone will see it and call it in. We get some good tips, and I’m very grateful for that.”
Those with information about the Food Lion incident are asked to call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600, the station said, adding that tipsters can remain anonymous and receive a cash reward if they have information that leads to an arrest. Community members can also submit tips about crimes through the P3 Tips app, WBTV noted.
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‘Unfit for the gavel’: House GOPs sound off on Judge Boasberg, stand with senators in calling for impeachment
House Republicans are ramping up the pressure on activist judges in the wake of the bombshell findings about Operation Arctic Frost.
The revelations concluded that former President Joe Biden’s FBI targeted conservative groups, private citizens, and even sitting senators. One recurring name in a thread of surveillance scandals is James Boasberg, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, who greenlit the subpoenas that targeted Republicans.
‘It is clear that Judge Boasberg has abused his judicial authority for weaponized political purposes.’
In light of his involvement, a growing number of House Republicans are standing with outraged senators in calling for his impeachment.
“It is clear that Judge Boasberg has abused his judicial authority for weaponized political purposes,” Republican Rep. Marlin Stutzman of Indiana told Blaze News. “His unconstitutional blocking of President Trump from making America great again and involvement in Arctic Frost are reason enough to remove him from the bench. Impeachment hearings should begin immediately.”
RELATED: ‘Not. One. Story.’ Liberal news outlets’ silence regarding Biden’s ‘enemies list’ is deafening
Photo by DREW ANGERER/AFP via Getty Images
“A judge waging lawfare against elected senators of the United States and weaponizing their power for political gain should be impeached,” Republican Rep. Mark Harris of North Carolina told Blaze News. “Full stop.”
Republican Rep. Brandon Gill of Texas took matters into his own hands and introduced articles of impeachment against Boasberg to “hold him accountable for his attempt to undermine the will of the people.”
“Radical activist Judge James Boasberg continues to weaponize his judicial authority and target his political opponents,” Republican Rep. Brandon Gill of Texas told Blaze News. “Judge Boasberg facilitated the egregious Arctic Frost scandal where he equipped the Biden DOJ to spy on Republican senators. His lack of integrity makes him clearly unfit for the gavel.”
Republican Rep. Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma called Arctic Frost a “Watergate-level scandal,” saying the only way to restore faith in the legal system is to impeach activist judges like Boasberg.
“Under a directive from Special Counsel Jack Smith, the Biden DOJ spied on almost every major conservative group — including the Trump campaign and the RNC,” Brecheen told Blaze News. “This is a Watergate-level scandal for which accountability must be had. We must take all the steps available under law to pursue justice and restore the American people’s faith in our legal system. This starts with beginning the impeachment process for any corrupt judges involved in this scandal.”
RELATED: Damning new docs reveal who’s on Biden admin’s ‘enemies list,’ expose extent of FBI’s Arctic Frost
Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Gill’s fellow Texan Republican Rep. August Pfluger also railed against Boasberg’s involvement in the surveillance effort, calling for an investigation. Pfluger likewise joined Brecheen to urge Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Jack Smith and “every single Biden-era DOJ bureaucrat” who partook in this scandal.
“Jack Smith’s ‘Arctic Frost’ investigation into President Trump, Republican lawmakers, and conservative groups has turned out to be exactly what we expected: an unconstitutional political witch hunt,” Republican Rep. August Pfluger of Texas told Blaze News. “The weaponization of our nation’s top law enforcement agency to target political opponents is unacceptable, especially in the United States.”
“These individuals must be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law — and we will ensure this kind of blatant corruption never happens again.”
The House has the sole authority to introduce articles of impeachment for a judge, and just a simple majority is needed to pass them. Republicans hold a slim majority in the House, 219-213.
Editor’s Note: This article was update to include a statement from Republican Rep. Josh Brecheen.
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Republicans torch Obama judge over his role in Biden FBI’s ‘partisan vendetta,’ demand impeachment
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and other Republicans are seeking the impeachment of U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg, the Obama appointee who apparently helped the Biden FBI spy on Republican lawmakers’ phone records.
During a press conference on Wednesday regarding the latest insights into the FBI’s Arctic Frost operation, Cruz called on the House to impeach Boasberg, stating, “Judge Boasberg put his robes down, stood up, and said, ‘Sign me up to be part of the partisan vendetta against 20% of the Republicans in the Senate.'”
‘This order is an abuse of power.’
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) underscored that what Boasberg “did to Senator Cruz and maybe other senators absolutely — and I don’t say this lightly — absolutely is worthy of impeachment proceedings. There has to be accountability.”
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) published documents earlier this month detailing how the Biden FBI sought private cellphone records from at least nine Republican lawmakers during Arctic Frost — an operation that set the stage for at least one case brought against President Donald Trump by former Attorney General Merrick Garland’s special counsel, Jack Smith, whose appointment was ruled unconstitutional.
Grassley released additional documents this week showing that Smith and his team subpoenaed records for over 400 Republican individuals and entities as part of what the Iowa senator called a “fishing expedition.”
Cruz — whose Senate office hardline and cellphone records were reportedly targeted — suggested on Wednesday that the indiscriminate targeting of conservatives was “egregious” and that the secret subpoenaing of lawmakers’ communication records was executed “in complete contravention of the Constitution, of separation of powers, of the Speech and Debate Clause, of free speech, of basic rights and property.”
The Texas senator produced a court order apparently indicating that Boasberg barred AT&T from informing Cruz that his phone data was being collected by the Biden administration. The prohibition was to remain in effect for at least one year.
RELATED: Damning new docs reveal who’s on Biden admin’s ‘enemies list,’ expose extent of FBI’s Arctic Frost
Photo by Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post via Getty Images
The order reportedly stated as cause that “the court finds reasonable grounds to believe that such disclosure will result in destruction of or tampering with evidence, intimidation of potential witnesses, and serious jeopardy to the investigation.”
“I can tell you there is precisely zero evidence to conclude that I am likely to destroy or tamper with evidence or to intimidate potential witnesses. Zero evidentiary basis for that,” stressed Cruz. “This order is an abuse of power. This order is a weaponized legal system.”
‘Boasberg is that radical leftist judge who is out of control.’
Cruz admitted that he had not yet seen the subpoenas for the other senators but speculated “Judge Boasberg printed these things out like the placemats at Denny’s, one after the other.”
The Texas senator noted that if a litigant makes a claim for which there is no factual basis, “that litigant is subject to sanctions in federal court — and if a judge signs an order reaching a factual conclusion for which there is zero evidence whatsoever, that judge is abusing his power.”
Blaze News has reached out to Boasberg for comment.
‘Who is Boasberg?’
“Now who is Boasberg? Boasberg is that radical leftist judge who is out of control, who has been issuing nationwide injunctions, one after the other, trying to stop President Trump from carrying out his mandate from the voters,” said Cruz.
Boasberg has worked ardently in recent years to earn the label “radical leftist.” For instance, he:
- ordered in August the release of a woman accused of repeatedly threatening Trump’s life;
- temporarily blocked summary deportations of apparent Tren de Aragua terrorists by the Trump administration under the Alien Enemies Act;
- tried unsuccessfully to hold Trump administration officials in contempt for deporting illegal aliens to El Salvador;
- kept Kevin Clinesmith — the former FBI attorney who, according to the DOJ, fabricated evidence to support a surveillance application to the same FISA court, lying about Carter Page’s past cooperation with the CIA — out of jail; and
- mandated a right to Medicaid for able-bodied adults without work requirements.
The demands that Boasberg face accountability for his involvement with the FBI’s Arctic Frost “fishing expedition” come just months after Attorney General Pam Bondi slapped him with a misconduct complaint for allegedly “making improper public comments about President Trump and his administration.”
This is also not the first time that Republicans have called for his impeachment.
After ordering the Trump administration not to deport suspected members of the Tren de Aragua terrorist organization, President Trump called for Boasberg to be impeached, suggesting in a March 18 post on Truth Social that Boasberg was a “radical Left Lunatic of a Judge.”
That same day, Republican Rep. Brandon Gill (Texas) introduced articles of impeachment accusing Boasberg of attempting to seize power from the executive branch, thereby interfering with the will of the American people; jeopardizing the safety of the nation; and engaging in actions that prioritize political gain over the duty of impartiality owed the litigants in the case.
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Jiu-jitsu”s Isabella Butler wins PH”s 7th gold in Asian Youth Games
Isabella Butler delivered the Philippines” seventh gold medal in jiu-jitsu at the Asian Youth Games on Thursday.
PBA: Jerom Lastimosa stars in Magnolia escape vs. Phoenix
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Jerom Lastimosa sank two pressure-packed free throws late to seal the win for Magnolia over Phoenix, 83-80, on Friday in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.