Category: Blaze Media
‘I feel like I’ve been fired by America’: Cracker Barrel CEO nearly brought to tears over redesign backlash
Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Masino told BlazeTV’s Glenn Beck that the company was trying to correct for lighting and comfort when it presented its redesign.
Masino was at the center of controversy in August when the old country store was blasted for changing its logo, branding, and interior design. Customers particularly took issue with the removal of the country man sitting on a chair next to a barrel, as well as the barrel itself, leaving just black “Cracker Barrel” text on a yellow background.
‘Were you surprised you weren’t fired?’
Beck sat down with Masino inside a Cracker Barrel, tucked away in a corner booth along with the company’s senior vice president of store operations, Doug Hisel. During the hour-long conversation that saw Masino almost shed tears at one point, the CEO expressed anxiety about agreeing to the interview due to feeling that her position throughout the ordeal had been misconstrued.
“I want to set the record straight,” she said. “I want people to know that this is the brand that they’ve always known and loved, and that our job is to take care of it and just set it up for the next 55 years.”
Beck cut the noise and directly asked, “Were you surprised you weren’t fired?”
“I feel like I’ve been fired by America,” Masino replied.
“That’s probably worse,” Beck noted.
The CEO explained that her intentions were only to help Americans love the brand, “the way I love this brand … the way everybody who works here.”
Pointing to the some 70,000 employees at Cracker Barrel, Masino said she knows the responsibility she has on her shoulders and that she must ensure her employees are taken care of, and in turn are able to put a roof over their head and food on their table.
“My job is to make sure that Cracker Barrel helps them do that,” she added.
RELATED: Cracker Barrel saves its old-timey decor — but will we settle for a Potemkin past?
Cracker Barrel CEO Finally Addresses ‘Woke’ Rebrand Controversy | The Glenn Beck Podcast | Ep 275
Surrounded by classic Americana synonymous with the store, Beck asked the execs about the disconnect in terms of the rebranding; Masino rejected that there was ever a plan to remodel.
“Was [the rebrand] ever intended to get rid of all this?” Beck asked, kindly referring to the bleakly remodeled restaurants that were shown online.
“I think a lot of people think that Doug and me and other people sit around are like, ‘Let’s remodel Cracker Barrel.’ Nothing could be further from the truth,” Masino claimed.
The real reason for the recalibration, she cited, were customer experiences that described visits as being “real dark” and not being able to read the menu. She then recalled not one but two stories where she spotted customers using a stadium cushion while eating at the restaurant.
“I love your food; I love it here, but your chairs are so uncomfortable,” she remembered one man telling her.
“That’s really where it all started,” Masino said. “How do we make the stores more comfortable?”
“How do we get the right balance of investment, of comfort, of nostalgia, of the tradition that everybody knows and loves here? But in a way, that’s easy for our teams to take care of,” she went on.
Masino said it was her expectation that customers would take issue with the presence of too many booths, but “it wasn’t that. It was the black and white and the decor.”
“So that’s why, when people got upset about it, we were like, ‘Oh gosh, that’s not the intention. We can revert them,'” she added.
RELATED: Cracker Barrel folds again, tells customers they ‘don’t need to worry’
Glenn Beck (L) interviews Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Masino (M) and Doug Hisel (R), senior vice president of store operations. Image courtesy Blaze TV / Glenn Beck
Beck was able to extract a lot of the boardroom reasoning behind the branding blunder from the CEO. Masino told him that the remodeled stores in question were all company-owned and have since been reverted back to their original design, save for four in Florida that are dealing with permitting laws; but the company is working on that.
During this line of questioning, Beck pointed out that he could feel Masino’s genuine nature and that she was “hurt deeply” and “personally” from the backlash the company received.
“You’re so human, and you’re fighting it. Why?” Beck asked.
“I don’t know,” Masino replied, appearing to tear up. At this point, Hisel jumped in to reassure Masino that she is a good person, doing her best.
The productive conversation concluded with a brief mention of Hisel and Masino reaffirming that “everybody is welcome at Cracker Barrel.”
“It’s America’s store,” Hisel said. “Come as you are. If you play checkers, we can do pancakes and country fried turkey. Come as you are.”
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‘Abortion Is Everything’ book for kids calls killing unborn children ‘human superpower’
Abortions are described as a “uniquely human superpower” in a new kids’ book meant for children as young as 5 years old.
The book, titled “Abortion Is Everything,” was created by Amelia Bonow, an activist who is also responsible for the “Shout Your Abortion” campaign.
‘The book is marketed to children from 5 to 8, with the goal of explaining abortion in kid-friendly language. This isn’t just propaganda. It’s grooming.’
A post on the group’s social media page proudly marketed the book, according to the Live Action pro-life group.
“Parents, caregivers, and educators who work with children have long been searching for a tool to talk with kids about abortion, especially given the volume of political noise currently surrounding the issue,” reads a post on Instagram.
The book intends to describe how an abortion feels and why people have them.
“With accessible, inclusive language, ‘Abortion Is Everything’ frames abortion as the actualization of a uniquely human superpower: our capacity to imagine the future and make choices that lead us towards the life we envision,” the post reads. “Abortion is a tool that allows human beings to shape our destinies, and which has shaped the entire world around us.”
The Live Action group strongly condemned the effort in a post on social media.
“The founder of ‘Shout Your Abortion’ is now targeting kids. With a children’s book. Promoting abortion,” the post reads. “The book is marketed to children from 5 to 8, with the goal of explaining abortion in kid-friendly language. This isn’t just propaganda. It’s grooming.”
RELATED: Missouri man admits to kidnapping pregnant girlfriend at gunpoint to force her to have abortion
Photo by Chris Polk/E! Entertainment/NBC via Getty Images
“The abortion industry has long tried to indoctrinate children into their pro-abortion agenda,” the group continued on its website. “This book, presenting abortion as human empowerment, is just the latest example.”
The political fight over abortion has moved to the state level after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the decision establishing federal abortion rights in the historic 2022 Dobbs decision.
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Texas and Trump team take down over 30 illegal alien truck drivers in 1 day — California licenses BUSTED
With increased national focus on the trucking industry, federal and state authorities are stepping up efforts to crack down on illegal truck drivers to address concerns about road safety and national security.
A one-day operation last week in Texas led to the apprehension of 31 illegal alien truck drivers, according to Republican Governor Greg Abbott’s office.
‘When illegal immigrants break the law and illegally drive on our roads, they endanger the lives of countless Texans and Americans.’
The joint commercial vehicle enforcement operation on November 11 in Wheeler County along I-40 involved multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Texas Department of Public Safety, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the governor’s office reported on Wednesday.
Law enforcement officers inspected 105 vehicles as part of an effort to identify suspicious commercial driver’s licenses. DPS troopers referred 31 drivers to ICE after they were unable to verify their lawful presence in the U.S., despite presenting CDLs.
“It was determined that all 31 individuals were in the country illegally,” the governor’s office reported, noting that most of the licenses were issued by California, with none issued in Texas.
“Millions of Texans drive on our highways, roads, and streets every day,” Abbott stated. “When illegal immigrants break the law and illegally drive on our roads, they endanger the lives of countless Texans and Americans.”
Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images
“This joint state and federal operation along one of the nation’s longest transcontinental highways removed illegal drivers and unsafe vehicles from Texas roads,” Abbott continued. “While liberal states like California issue licenses to illegal immigrants and risk the lives of Americans, Texas will work with our federal partners to maintain safe roads and apprehend illegal immigrants to protect our communities.”
Meanwhile, in Oklahoma, Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) has similarly launched efforts to remove illegal immigrant truckers from the roads.
RELATED: Oklahoma ICE sting busts 34 illegal alien truck drivers, others with rap sheets
Photo by George Rose/Getty Images
He provided an update in early November about Operation Guardian, which has also conducted enforcement along the I-40 corridor, noting that it has already resulted in the arrest of over 100 illegal alien truck drivers.
“For the second time in just the past month, the state of Oklahoma and ICE have banded together to bolster public safety along Oklahoma’s highways, identifying and apprehending illegal aliens who are in the country illegally and have been recklessly issued a commercial driver’s license by states like California, Illinois, and New Jersey,” said Marcos Charles, the executive associate director for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations. “Many of the illegal aliens arrested behind the wheel of an 80,000-pound tractor trailer can’t even read basic English, endangering everyone they encounter on the roads.”
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Florida Christians win $70K over anonymous complaint against tiny cross displayed in their yard
An anonymous complaint against a small cross in the yard of some Christian homeowners has led to a community development district paying out nearly a quarter of a million dollars.
Wayne and Bonnie Anderson were notified on April 1, 2019, that their 1-foot white cross was in violation of yard decoration standards at The Villages.
‘In law, there has to be harm — what’s the harm? What’s behind all this? Something sinister, I guess.’
“I thought it was an April Fool’s Day joke,” Wayne Anderson said. “We call it a religious icon; they call it yard art — like the same with pink flamingos.”
He says that someone anonymously complained, and the Village Community Development District 8 began to fine him $25 for each day that he refused to take the cross down.
“The last I heard it was $44,000 for us,” he said.
“It’s not hurting anybody — there’s no harm,” Anderson added. “In law, there has to be harm — what’s the harm? What’s behind all this? Something sinister, I guess.”
The community district filed a lawsuit against the couple, and more than five years later, a judge ordered the district to settle with the couple. The district agreed to pay $173K in court costs and legal fees, as well as $70K for the Andersons.
And the cross gets to stay in the yard.
RELATED: California parents file lawsuit to stop curriculum that makes kids pray to Aztec gods
“Quarter of a million dollars nearly — over the little white cross,” Wayne Anderson said. “Can you believe that?”
WOFL-TV said the community district did not respond to requests for comment. The report noted that other crosses had popped up in the same neighborhood.
“This should never have happened, and it should never happen again,” Anderson added. “In the end, we get to display [it] as is our constitutional and God-given right.”
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Nicki Minaj stuns Hollywood by praising Trump
While most rappers and Hollywood celebrities have spoken out against President Donald Trump, one of them is bravely standing for his actions. And who it is is shocking, to say the least.
“I would like to thank President Trump for prioritizing this issue and for his leadership on the global stage in calling for urgent action to defend Christians in Nigeria, to combat extremism, and to bring a stop to violence against those who simply want to exercise their natural right to freedom of religion or belief,” rapper Nicki Minaj said.
Minaj also called the violence against Nigerian Christians not only a “growing problem in Nigeria,” but in “many other countries across the world” that “demands urgent action.”
“I want to be clear: Protecting Christians in Nigeria is not about taking sides or dividing people. It is about uniting humanity. Nigeria is a beautiful nation with deep faith traditions. … When one’s church, mosque, or place of worship is destroyed, everyone’s heart should break just a little bit,” she continued.
“And the foundation of the United Nations, with its core mandate to ensure peace and security, should shake,” she added.
“Has Nicki Minaj always been a Trump supporter?” BlazeTV host Pat Gray asks on “Pat Gray Unleashed.”
“God bless her,” executive producer Keith Malinak adds.
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Trump DOT hammers Gov. Shapiro, threatens to pull millions after state hands CDL to ‘suspected terrorist’ illegal alien trucker
The Department of Transportation issued a warning on Thursday to Pennsylvania that it is at risk of losing tens of millions of dollars in federal funding, according to a department press release obtained by Blaze News.
The DOT sent a letter to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) and state DOT Secretary Michael Carroll stating that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration uncovered “evidence of procedural and programming errors” in the state’s issuance of non-domiciled commercial learner’s permits and driver’s licenses.
‘Joe Biden allowed tens of millions of illegals to pour into our country through open borders, including a suspected terrorist who Pennsylvania then allowed to get behind the wheel of a semitruck.’
Pennsylvania issued CDLs with expiration dates beyond the foreign nationals’ lawful presence in the country, according to the DOT. Further, the state was accused of issuing licenses without requiring drivers to provide proof of lawful presence in the U.S. The department also stated that other non-domiciled CDLs were issued to lawful permanent residents who were eligible for regular CDLs.
Of 150 records reviewed by the FMCSA, two instances were found in which PennDOT issued non-domiciled CDLs with expiration dates that extended beyond the drivers’ lawful presence. The FMCSA uncovered four cases in which the department failed to provide evidence that it required drivers to present lawful residence documents. Lastly, the FMCSA identified two instances in which the department issued a non-domiciled CDL to individuals who were eligible for a regular CDL.
The DOT noted that 12,400 drivers hold an unexpired non-domiciled CLP or CDL issued by Pennsylvania.
The federal department demanded that Pennsylvania take “immediate corrective action” or risk the decertification of its CDL program and losing certain federal-aid highway funds. The corrective action includes an immediate pause on the issuance of all non-domiciled CLPs and CDLs, as well as an internal audit to identify procedural errors. Pennsylvania is also required to identify and void all unexpired non-domiciled CLPs and CDLs that were improperly issued.
RELATED: ICE takes down alleged ‘wanted terrorist’ illegal alien trucker
Josh Shapiro. Photo by Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images
Failure to comply may lead to the DOT withholding $75,500,000 in funding for fiscal year 2027.
Thursday’s warning is part of the DOT’s greater effort to crack down on road safety and national security concerns related to the flood of illegal aliens that joined the trucking industry amid the Biden administration’s open-border crisis. The DOT has already withheld funds from California over similar violations.
Akhror Bozorov. Image source: Department of Homeland Security
“Under President Trump, this department is taking every measure to ensure dangerous foreign drivers aren’t illegally operating 40-ton vehicles on American roads,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated. “Joe Biden allowed tens of millions of illegals to pour into our country through open borders, including a suspected terrorist who Pennsylvania then allowed to get behind the wheel of a semitruck. I will continue to fight to get these dangerous drivers off our roads to protect American families and support our national security.”
Duffy’s statement presumably referred to Akhror Bozorov, a 31-year-old truck driver from Uzbekistan who was recently arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The agency stated that Bozorov was accused of belonging to a terrorist organization. He was issued a non-domiciled CDL with REAL ID by Pennsylvania.
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Fire breaks out at UN climate alarmist conference reportedly plagued by flood, toilet, ‘inadequate air-conditioning’ problems
Over 50,000 climate alarmists from across the globe climbed aboard fuel-guzzling planes, boats, and automobiles and traveled to Belém, Brazil, this month to attend the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference.
On the second-last day of anti-American diatribes and globalist pearl-clutching over the supposed crisis that Bill Gates recently admitted “will not lead to humanity’s demise,” the conference went up in smoke, at least partly.
‘The world is watching Belem.’
Footage circulating online shows a hectic scene: of flames erupting in the pavilion area of the Hangar Convention and Fair Center of the Amazon, where nations and various NGOs had set up their public-facing stands; of security guards blowing whistles and shooing panicked delegates and observers away; and of some individuals attempting to extinguish the growing inferno as it ate a hole in the roof.
One person in the office of the summit presidency confirmed that the blaze had been contained within about 30 minutes, the New York Times noted.
“Firefighters and security teams responded promptly and continue to monitor the site,” Cop30 organizers said in a statement obtained by Le Monde.
It’s presently unclear what started the fire. No injuries have been reported.
RELATED: Bill Gates does stunning about-face on climate ‘doomsday’ claims: ‘This view is wrong’
Photo by PABLO PORCIUNCULA/AFP via Getty Images
The fire proved to be the latest of several issues affecting the conference.
For instance, torrential rainfall at the outset of the conference flooded the entrances to the venue and left certain meeting areas soaked. There were reportedly also complaints of non-functional restrooms and oppressive heat.
In addition to complaining about “inadequate air-conditioning in venue areas” and the “poor condition of the delegation offices provided,” Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, whined in a Nov. 12 letter to Andre Correa do Lago, the president of COP30, that the conference’s security was substandard. According to Stiell, hundreds of protesters had damaged property and injured staffers.
COP30 was embroiled in scandal even before it began as the result of the local government’s decision to cut a four-lane highway through tens of thousands of acres of protected Amazon rainforest to ensure that COP30’s participants would enjoy easy motorized transit in and out of the hosting city.
Hours before the fire began, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged negotiators to reach an “ambitious compromise” on an anti-fossil-fuel agenda, stating, “The world is watching Belem.”
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Epstein files backfire as Democrats get pulled into their own trap
Democrats appeared thrilled when they thought the Epstein files were finally going to take President Donald Trump out, but BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales points out that instead, it appears that the president has “been playing 4D chess all along.”
“They didn’t realize they were just going to fall into a trap of implicating themselves,” Gonzales says, before playing a clip of Democratic House Delegate Stacey Plaskett — who is from the Virgin Islands, where Epstein Island was — doing just that.
When the last batch of Epstein documents came out, the Washington Post even noticed that Plaskett and Epstein would text quite often.
“In fact, they were texting in the middle of congressional hearings, and he ended up coaching her on how to get dirt on President Trump during a hearing of Michael Cohen’s testimony,” Gonzales explains.
“The irony is not lost on me that they kept trying to get Trump with Jeffrey Epstein. I mean, it turns out, Jeffrey Epstein at every direction hates his f**king guts. Like, he hates Donald Trump. So, the idea that they were best buds … he clearly hates Donald Trump,” she continues.
Plaskett has since tried to defend herself, and it didn’t help her case.
“I got a text from Jeffrey Epstein, who at the time was my constituent, who was not public knowledge at that time that he was under federal investigation, and who was sharing information with me,” she said on the House floor.
However, in 2008, Epstein was serving a sentence for a prostitution case.
“We all knew in 2019 that Jeffrey Epstein was a bad guy,” Gonzales says, pointing out that Plaskett even admitted this to CNN, appearing unable to keep her story straight.
“I believed that Jeffrey Epstein had information, and I was going to get information to get at the truth. If individuals are not involved in illegal activity, extending his criminal enterprise or his financial enterprise or all of those things, I think that we need to look at what people are doing moving forward,” Plaskett said.
“Wait, let me just better understand that. What is that point? Because at the time, he was a known sex offender, and it had been detailed all the sexual abuse,” the CNN anchor replied.
“There are a lot of people who have done a lot of crimes, and as a prosecutor, you get information from people where you can,” Plaskett replied.
And House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) made sure to defend Plaskett when he was being grilled on her admission on CNN — but Gonzales points out it’s likely just because he also was “in bed” with Epstein.
One email reveals that Democrat fundraisers invited Epstein to an event to meet privately with Hakeem Jeffries, which meant his campaign was soliciting money from Epstein.
“Dear Jeffrey, we are thrilled to announce that we are working with Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, one of the rising stars in the New York Congressional delegation. Sometimes referred to as ‘Brooklyn’s Barack,’” the email read.
Another section of the email asked Epstein to reach out if he “would like to get an opportunity to get to know Hakeem better.”
“The fact that he was groveling for support, financial support, from a convicted child predator,” Gonzales scoffs. “Like, these are bad people.”
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‘A House of Dynamite’: Netflix turns nuclear war into an HR meeting
Netflix’s thriller “A House of Dynamite” very much wants to teach us something about the folly of waging war with civilization-ending weapons. The lesson it ends up imparting, however, has more to do with the state of contemporary storytelling.
The film revolves around a high-stakes crisis: an unexpected nuclear missile launched from an unspecified enemy and aimed directly at Big City USA. We get to see America’s defense apparatus deal with impending apocalypse in real time.
It seems the best Ms. Bigelow, Mr. Oppenheim, and the team at Netflix can offer up is a lukewarm ‘nukes are bad, mmkay?’
Triple threat
“Revolves” is the operative word here. The movie tells the same story three times from three different vantage points — each in its own 40-minute segment. From first detection to the final seconds before detonation, we watch a bevy of government elites on one interminable red-alert FaceTime, working out how to respond to the strike.
This is the aptly named screenwriter Noah Oppenheim’s second disaster outing for the streamer; he recently co-created miniseries “Zero Day,” which features Robert De Niro investigating a nationwide cyberattack.
That series unspooled a complicated and convoluted conspiracy in the vein of “24.” “A House of Dynamite” clearly aims for something more grounded, which would seem to make accomplished Kathryn Bigelow perfect for the job.
And for the film’s first half-hour she delivers, embedding the viewer with the military officers, government officials, and regular working stiffs for whom being the last line of America’s defense is just another day at the office … until suddenly it isn’t. The dawning horror of their situation is as gripping as anything in “The Hurt Locker” or “Zero Dark Thirty.”
Then it happens two more times.
On repeat
In Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,” Duke Orsino laments a repetitive song growing stale: “Naught enters there of what validity and pitch soe’er, but falls into abatement and low price.”
Or put another way, the tune, not realizing its simple beauty, sings itself straight into worthlessness.
And somehow, this manages to be only part of what makes “A House of Dynamite” so unappealing. Our main characters — including head of the White House Situation Room (Rebecca Ferguson), general in charge of the United States Northern Command (Tracy Letts), and the secretary of defense (Jared Harris) — offer no semblance of perspicacity, stopping frequently to take others’ feelings into account before making decisions, all while an ICBM races toward Chicago. From liftoff to impact in 16 minutes or less, or your order free.
Missile defensive
So thorough is this picture of incompetence that the Pentagon felt compelled to issue an internal memo preparing Missile Defense Agency staff to “address false assumptions” about defense capability.
One can hardly blame officials when, in the twilight of the film, we’re shown yet another big-screen Obama facsimile (played by British actor Idris Elba) putting his cadre of sweating advisers on hold to ring Michelle, looking for advice on whether his course of action should be to nuke the whole planet or do nothing. The connection drops — she is in Africa, after all, and her safari-chic philanthropy outfit doesn’t make the satellite signal any stronger. He puts the phone down and continues to look over his black book of options ranging “from rare to well done,” as his nuclear briefcase handler puts it.
And then the movie ends. The repetitive storylines have no resolution, and their participants face no consequences. The single ground missile the U.S. arsenal managed to muster up — between montages of sergeants falling to their knees at the thought of having to do their job — has missed its target.
Designated survivors — with the exception of one high-ranking official who finds suicide preferable — rush to their bunkers. The screen fades to black, over a melancholy overture. Is it any wonder that audiences felt cheated? After sitting through nearly two hours of dithering bureaucrats wasting time, their own time had been wasted by a director who clearly thinks endings are passé.
No ending for you
If you find yourself among the unsatisfied, Bigelow has some words for you. In an interview with Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, she justified her film’s lack of a payoff thusly:
I felt like the fact that the bomb didn’t go off was an opportunity to start a conversation. With an explosion at the end, it would have been kind of all wrapped up neat, and you could point your finger [and say] “it’s bad that happened.” But it would sort of absolve us, the human race, of responsibility. And in fact, no, we are responsible for having created these weapons and — in a perfect world — getting rid of them.
Holy Kamala word salad.
RELATED: Phones and drones expose the cracks in America’s defenses
Photo by dikushin via Getty Images
Bigelow-er
For much of her career, director Kathryn Bigelow has told real stories in interesting ways that — while not always being the full truth and nothing but the truth — were entertaining, well shot, and depicted Americans fulfilling their manifest destiny of being awesome.
That changed with Bigelow’s last film, 2017’s “Detroit,” a progressive, self-flagellating depiction of the 1967 Detroit race riots (final tally: 43 deaths, 1,189 injured) through the eyes of some mostly peaceful black teens and the devil-spawn deputy cop who torments them. “A House of Dynamite” continues this project of national critique.
But what, exactly, is the point? It seems the best Ms. Bigelow, Mr. Oppenheim, and the team at Netflix can offer up is a lukewarm “nukes are bad, mmkay?” This is a lecture on warfare with the subtlety of a John Lennon song, set in a world where the fragile men in charge must seek out the strong embrace of their nearest girlboss.
It’s no secret that 2025 carries a distinct “end times” energy — a year thick with existential threats. AI run amok, political fracture edging toward civil conflict, nuclear brinkmanship, even the occasional UFO headline — pick your poison. And it’s equally obvious that the internet, not the cinema, has become the primary arena where Americans now go to see those anxieties mirrored back at them.
“A House of Dynamite” is unlikely to reverse this trend. If this is the best Hollywood’s elite can come up with after gazing into the void, it’s time to move the movie industry to DEFCON 1.
GOP ex-aide found tied up with gruesome wounds and ‘Trump whore’ written on her stomach — feds say it was all a hoax
A woman found with hateful political messages written on her body with gruesome injuries was not a victim of a heinous attack, but she plotted the hoax herself, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
Twenty-six-year-old Natalie Greene was found bound up with zip ties with numerous slashes and “Trump whore” written on her stomach on the night of July 23, according to a press release. The Rutgers student was working for Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey at the time.
They also obtained a photograph of the design for the body modification that Greene requested from the scarification artist. They matched the wounds photographed by an officer.
Greene allegedly told investigators that she and a friend were attacked by three armed men on a trail at the Egg Harbor Township Nature Reserve in New Jersey.
When police arrived, they found her yelling, “He has a gun! He has a gun!” and crying loudly.
She was also found with the message “Van Drew is a racist” written in marker on her body.
Greene was transported to a hospital for treatment, where officers took photographs that were included in the criminal complaint.
Investigators grew suspicious when Greene’s friend appeared agitated when asked to provide keys to the car they drove to the nature reserve, a Maserati sport utility vehicle. After gaining access to the car, they found black zip ties as well as duct tape inside.
RELATED: Dem who blamed Trump for ‘Hinduphobic’ messages has been arrested for alleged race hoax
Image source: U.S. Dept. of Justice press release screenshot composite
Police then obtained cellphone data from the pair and saw that Greene had driven to the studio of a “scarification artist” in Pennsylvania just before the reported assault.
After obtaining data from their phones, investigators saw that someone had googled “zip ties near me” from her friend’s phone as well. They were able to garner evidence that she purchased the zip ties on the day of the alleged attack at a Dollar General store.
Investigators said they obtained evidence from the scarification studio that showed Greene paid $500 for body modifications just hours before the alleged attack. The studio requires clients to provide identification and sign a consent form prior to services performed.
They also obtained a photograph of the design for the body modification that Greene requested from the scarification artist. They matched the wounds photographed by an officer.
Drew’s office released a statement about Greene to the New Jersey Globe.
“While Natalie is no longer associated with the congressman’s government office, our thoughts and prayers are with her and hope she’s getting the care she needs,” the statement read.
RELATED: Activists blame Trump for ‘kidnapping’ of mom for deportation — feds say it was a hoax
Image source: U.S. Dept. of Justice press release screenshot
Greene was charged with conspiracy to convey false statements and hoaxes and making false statements to federal law enforcement. Each count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison as well as a fine of $250,000 and three years of supervised release.
She was released on a $200,000 unsecured bond after her arraignment on Wednesday.
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