Category: Blaze Media
‘Pro-death legislators’ want euthanasia in Illinois — Canada reveals why that’s a terrible idea
Democratic lawmakers in the Illinois legislature have passed a bill that would legalize doctor-assisted suicide across the state.
The bill now awaiting Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature, SB 1950, originally started out as a measure concerning sanitary food preparation. The bill was, however, hollowed out then repurposed. Instead of keeping consumers healthy, the language was changed to expedite death — authorizing a qualified patient with a terminal disease to demand that their doctor prescribe a lethal dose of medication, thereby ending “the patient’s life in a peaceful manner.”
Catholic leaders in the state are among the bill’s loudest critics.
‘Now, they can prescribe death.’
In May, Cardinal Blase Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, wrote, “I have to ask why, in a time when growing understanding of the deteriorating mental health of the U.S. population — and particularly among our youth — caused the country to create the 988 mental health crisis line, we would want to take this step to normalize suicide as a solution to life’s challenges.”
Cupich stressed that the Illinois legislature should explore options that instead “honor the dignity of human life and provide compassionate care to those experiencing life-ending illness.”
Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield stated after legislators ignored Cupich’s counsel and passed the bill in a 30-27 vote on Friday, “It is quite fitting that the forces of the culture of death in the Illinois General Assembly passed physician-assisted suicide on October 31 — a day that, culturally, has become synonymous with glorifying death and evil.”
RELATED: The total state will kill you for being old
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“It’s also ironic that these pro-death legislators did it under the cloud of darkness at 2:54 a.m. Make no mistake: killing oneself is not dying with dignity. Doctors take an oath to do no harm. Now, they can prescribe death,” the bishop continued. “Physician assisted suicide undermines the value of each person, especially the vulnerable, the poor, and those with disabilities.”
The Illinois Catholic Conference warned on Wednesday that the legalization of assisted suicide in Illinois will put the “state on a slippery path that jeopardizes the well-being of the poor and marginalized, especially those in the disability community and have foreseeable tragic consequences.”
The dangers and fallout of legalized assisted suicide are hardly hypothetical.
North of the border, Canada is weeks away from publishing its sixth annual report on so-called medical assistance in dying. While the official numbers have yet to be released accounting for all MAID deaths in 2024 nationwide, provincial data appear to indicate another year-over-year increase in state-facilitated slayings.
The federal government under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau passed the Medical Assistance in Dying Act in 2016, legalizing euthanasia nationwide. Originally, applicants had to be 18 or older and suffering from a “grievous and irremediable medical condition” causing “enduring physical or psychological suffering that is intolerable” to them.
The state-facilitated suicide program has since been grossly liberalized such that the country’s eugenicist-founded health care system can now effectively execute those struggling with anxiety, autism, depression, economic woes, PTSD, and other survivable issues.
In its first year, MAID offed 1,108 Canadians. That number tripled the following year, and by 2021, the number had climbed to over 10,000 assisted-suicide deaths in a single year.
The Canadian think tank Cardus revealed last year that “MAiD in Canada is no longer unusual or rare. Federal predictions about the expected frequency of MAiD have significantly underestimated the numbers of Canadians who are dying by this means.”
As of 2022, MAID was tied with cerebrovascular diseases as the fifth leading cause of death in the country. The following year, state-facilitated suicide claimed the lives of 15,343 individuals, accounting for 4.7% of all deaths in the country.
‘Feeling like a burden can play on a patient’s decision to request and receive a MAiD death.’
Authorities in Nova Scotia, a province of just over 1 million souls, indicated to Blaze News that it saw a drop in completed MAID slayings last year. Whereas there were 380 slayings in 2023, there were allegedly only 169 in 2024, with 286 active cases and 71 recorded natural deaths prior to MAID.
This appears to be the exception, not the rule.
The nation’s more populous provinces have alternatively seen continued increases in MAID slayings.
British Columbia’s 2024 euthanasia data, for instance, indicate that there were 3,000 state-facilitated suicides in the province last year. While most of the victims were over the age of 65, 1.5% of those slain were between the ages of 18 and 45 and individuals who were not dying. In fact, among the conditions cited as reasons and/or contributing reasons for MAID were “frailty,” dementia, mental disorders, and unstated neurological conditions.
The Euthanasia Prevent Coalition noted that MAID deaths in B.C. were up over 8% from the previous year and accounted for 6.7% of all deaths in the province last year.
Alberta, a province of just over 5 million souls, recorded 1,117 deaths in 2024, representing a year-over-year increase of 14.3% and making its total MAID kill count 5,646 victims since 2016.
Data obtained by the MAiD in Canada Substack indicate that in 2024, Ontario had 4,957 deaths, representing an increase of 6.8% and making its grand total 23,333 victims since 2016.
Quebec reportedly had 6,058 MAID deaths last year, representing an increase of 6.4% and making its grand total over 26,000 victims since 2016. In addition to the growing number of deaths, there is apparently a growing cohort of doctors willing to dish out lethal doses in Quebec. A recent government report indicated that over 2,000 physicians were involved in the slayings, representing an 11% increase over the previous year.
Rebecca Vachon, health program director at Cardus, told Blaze News that “based on current reporting from the most populous provinces, we expect to see more than 16,500 ‘medical assistance in dying’ or euthanasia deaths in 2024, which is an increase from the 15,343 deaths reported in 2023. This will likely result in MAiD deaths constituting 5% of total deaths in Canada that year, which, as Cardus discussed in a report released last fall, is a far cry from the expectations set by the courts that MAiD would be for exceptional cases only.”
Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images
The Canadian government released a report in 2020 indicating that the previous year, MAID resulted in a net cost reduction of over $86 million for provincial governments. The report additionally noted that further liberalization of the MAID program under Bill C-7, which was passed in March 2021, would result in an additional $62 million reduction in costs.
When asked whether MAID is being championed in part as a way to cut costs for Canada’s immigration-strained health care system, Vachon told Blaze News, “Regardless of intentions, the pressure that feeling like a burden can play on a patient’s decision to request and receive a MAiD death should not be understated.”
“For instance, Canadian MAiD providers report that almost 50% of the patients they helped die in 2023 reported feeling they were a burden on others — up 10% from the previous year,” Vachon said.
‘Illinois should be a state that offers compassion, care, and hope — not death — as the answer to human suffering.’
Polls conducted by Cardus in partnership with the Angus Reid Institute found that 62% of Canadians fear that those who are financially or socially vulnerable may consider state-facilitated suicide because of difficulties accessing adequate care, Vachon indicated.
The fear is justified given that 42% of all MAID deaths from 2019 to 2023 involved people who required disability supports. Of those victims, over 1,017 never received those supports.
“Canadians deserve care that alleviates their suffering and prevents it from becoming ‘unbearable,'” Vachon said.
Blaze News has reached out for comment to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office as well as to the leaders of the New Democratic Party and Conservative Party, Don Davies and Pierre Poilievre.
While the slope has been greased in Canada and in states such as California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Vermont, and Washington, there’s still hope that Pritzker may reconsider, especially after he noted on Monday, “It was something that I didn’t expect and didn’t know it was going to be voted on, so we’re examining it even now.”
Rather than sign the bill, the Illinois Catholic Conference has implored Pritzker to “expand and improve on palliative care programs that offer expert assessment and management of pain and other symptoms.”
Bishop Paprocki noted, “Pray for Gov. Pritzker to reject this legislation. Illinois should be a state that offers compassion, care, and hope — not death — as the answer to human suffering.”
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The thoroughly unimpressive Mr. Fuentes
Tucker Carlson’s interview with Nick Fuentes was supposed to be explosive. It wasn’t.
Far from normalizing Fuentes or advancing his strange brand of “right-wing” politics, the two-hour conversation exposed him as a shallow, aggrieved figure without the intellect or maturity to lead anything. Carlson didn’t destroy Fuentes with debate. He did something worse: He made him boring.
Fuentes built his notoriety as a young “influencer” who mixes nationalism with online provocation. He’s outspokenly racist, anti-Semitic, and obsessed with pushing the limits of shock. And he’s managed to attract a following among disaffected young men — the “Groypers.”
Fuentes’ interview marks his peak — and his decline. Once the outrage fades, he’ll return to obscurity.
In recent years, Fuentes has tried to rebrand himself as something somewhat more serious. He talks about immigration breaking working families, foreign wars enriching elites, and a culture that mocks masculinity. Those themes resonate because they tap real frustrations that many Americans share.
But Fuentes offers no coherent moral or political vision. Others — better read, more disciplined, and far less toxic — make similar arguments with insight and integrity. The late Charlie Kirk, for example, famously wanted nothing to do with Fuentes and his followers for precisely that reason.
The grudge-filled path
Carlson’s interview focused less on ideas than on Fuentes’ grievances. He recounted his early days as a libertarian campaigning for Ted Cruz in 2015, his shift to Trumpism, and his viral rise after a debate with a leftist opponent. Soon he was clashing with prominent conservatives, especially the Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro.
According to Fuentes, Shapiro and his allies sabotaged his career and drove him into exile on the “dark web.” At no point does Fuentes wonder whether Shapiro recognized instability and immaturity in him — or simply concluded that he wasn’t worth the investment.
Like many in his Gen Z cohort, Fuentes mistakes online engagement for substance. Without outrage, he has nothing. He’s poorly educated, reads little, and shrugs off legitimate criticism. The result is a young man trapped in perpetual adolescence, angry that the world won’t take him seriously.
Carlson’s indulgence
Carlson tries to humanize Fuentes, appealing to Christian charity and the value of learning from failure. But Fuentes clings to his score-settling. His list of enemies includes not just Shapiro but Charlie Kirk, Joe Kent, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) — and even Carlson himself, though he gets a temporary reprieve for offering the platform.
Carlson also attempts to rationalize Fuentes’ anti-Semitism, giving him space to “clarify.” Fuentes insists he doesn’t hate Jews personally — he just opposes Judaism as a “force against Western civilization.” He repeats conspiracy theories about Jewish control of institutions and denies the Holocaust.
Carlson pushes back, but only mildly. Both men protest that they “don’t hate Jews” and have Jewish friends, as if that were exculpatory. It isn’t. The exchange casts neither in a good light.
Empty provocateurs
The rest of the interview dissolves into incoherence. Fuentes casually praises Joseph Stalin, of all people, before the conversation fizzles. Carlson’s attempt to recast Fuentes as a misunderstood outsider backfires. The result is a portrait of a man whose only real claim to relevance is being disliked — and even that feels undeserved.
Carlson’s indulgence of fringe figures is becoming a pattern. Andrew Tate. Darryl Cooper. Now Fuentes. Each enjoys a sizeable online following built on provocation and grievance. And each, when pressed, collapses into self-pity and incoherence. These men are charlatans and grifters who don’t challenge the establishment; they merely rehearse falsehoods and conspiracy theories to raise their profiles among mostly lonely, disaffected young men.
RELATED: Tucker Carlson, Nick Fuentes, and the war for the conservative soul
Photo by NurPhoto via Getty Images
The decline of two brands
Fuentes’ interview marks his peak — and his decline. Once the outrage fades, he’ll return to obscurity, remembered mostly as a cautionary tale about what happens when empty charisma meets unearned confidence.
Carlson, meanwhile, risks following him down that path. His willingness to platform attention-seekers may boost short-term clicks, but it erodes long-term credibility. Each indulgence costs him a little more trust.
The tragedy isn’t just Fuentes’ wasted potential. It’s the spectacle of one of the right’s most talented communicators lending his megaphone to a man who long ago proved himself unworthy of it.
Noncitizen Kansas mayor accused of illegally voting ‘multiple times’ after winning re-election
The mayor of a Kansas town who won re-election on Tuesday has been accused of election fraud for allegedly voting despite being a noncitizen.
Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach (R) announced the charges against Jose “Joe” Ceballos, the mayor of Coldwater, on Wednesday. The 54-year-old is a permanent resident of the U.S. but not a citizen, according to Kobach, and is a citizen of Mexico.
‘In large part, our system right now is based on trust. … In this case, we allege that Mr. Ceballos violated that trust.’
“Joe Ceballos, who garnered nearly 83% of the vote Tuesday for a second term as Coldwater mayor, was charged with three counts of voting without being qualified and three counts of election perjury,” Kobach said. “Both are felony offenses.”
“In Kansas, it is against the law to vote if you are not a U.S. citizen. We allege that Mr. Ceballos did it multiple times,” Kobach added.
If found guilty, Ceballos could face nearly five years in prison and a $200,000 fine.
“In large part, our system right now is based on trust,” Kobach said. “Trust that when the person signed the registration or signs the pollbooks saying that he’s a qualified elector or that he is a United States citizen, that the person is telling the truth. In this case, we allege that Mr. Ceballos violated that trust.”
The president of the Coldwater City Council released a statement before Kobach’s press conference on Facebook.
“While the recent allegations involving the mayor are understandably concerning, we will allow the proper legal process to take its course before making any further comments,” Britt Lenertz said. “It’s important that we respect both due process and the integrity of our local government.”
Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab said during the press conference that new resources provided by President Donald Trump allowed the administration to check voters’ citizenship status.
“They could be a legal resident, but they’re not a citizen, and we want to make sure that gets clarified,” said Schwab said. “If they voted, then it’s a crime. And we have run that system; we’re currently verifying. We don’t want any false positives, but, Attorney General, be prepared to be busy.”
The city attorney for Coldwater said that Ceballos raised some red flags after seeking citizenship status in February.
“He’s been a registered voter since 1990. He applied for citizenship in February of this year and, through that, raised the issue of whether he was a legal citizen,” said Skip Herd.
Ceballos was first elected mayor in 2021 and ran unopposed for re-election in 2025. The city attorney will determine whether he will be eligible to continue as mayor.
“As a mayor, he’s done a wonderful job,” continued Lenertz. “As a city councilmember, he’s done a wonderful job. He’s always put our community first in everything he does.”
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Not a ‘feminist’: Allie Beth Stuckey defends speech condemning porn amid ‘conservative’ backlash
BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey’s Turning Point USA speech where she condemned pornography as “evil in every way” sparked a wave of attacks from men who claim to share her Christian and conservative values.
These men claimed that she was a “feminist” who should not be directly speaking to men. In fact, she was simply reciting a message that Charlie Kirk himself was very passionate about.
“There is a segment of males on the right, presumably the political right, who also profess to be Christians, who have been expressing their utter indignation that I gave a speech at a Turning Point USA campus stop and that in that speech, I talked about the dangers of pornography,” Stuckey explains on “Relatable.”
“I was called a feminist. I was called a bad mom, a negligent wife who was trying to act like a man. I was told that I should only talk to women or that I should not talk at all, that women have no place in the public square,” she continues.
Stuckey was asked by Kirk to join her on this campus tour before he was assassinated, so in order to honor him, her speech reflected the most controversial truths that he taught.
One of these truths is that porn has “weakened men,” which was the catalyst for all the outrage that followed.
“Charlie was so good at talking about this and so good at talking so courageously and sternly and clearly to the young men,” Stuckey said during her “controversial” speech, before explaining why it “is so detrimental not only to men” but also “objectifies women and children.”
“It commercializes sex, which is a gift from God for a married couple, between one man and one woman. And it glorifies violence. It creates addiction and shame. It destroys marriages. It ruins your perception of other people. It is the legal loophole for sex trafficking. It is evil in every way, and it will destroy your life,” she said.
“And this is what I would want to say to men, and I hope that you hear it from strong men in your life, that men, we need you. And we need your masculinity, and we need your strength, and we need your boldness, and we need your courage, and we need those things to be harnessed for good,” she continued.
“We need really strong men, and porn makes you weak,” she concluded.
Some “Christian conservative” men who heard this part of Allie’s speech took to X to mislabel her a “feminist” who should not be speaking to men.
“There is probably not another Christian woman in the conservative commentary space who has made more of an effort than I have to pull women away from progressivism, to try to change women’s minds and hearts when it comes to abortion, to try to change women’s minds and hearts when it comes to marriage,” Stuckey says in response.
“So, to say that I am a feminist who preaches to men really is just laughable. And it just goes to show you that people will just lie,” she adds.
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Thug forces his way into apartment, attacks elderly resident. But armed neighbor rushes over and permanently ends threat.
Police in Medford, Oregon, said officers responded to a report of a shooting at 18 Hawthorne Street just after 3:30 a.m. Sunday.
The investigation revealed that a neighbor heard and observed a loud commotion outside his apartment, police said.
‘Good job neighbor. That’s what it’s about!!’
Through his window, he saw an unknown male attempting to force entry into the front door of a nearby apartment, which he knew was occupied by an elderly resident, police said.
The neighbor grabbed his handgun and rushed over to assist, police said, adding that once he was in the unit, the neighbor saw the suspect assaulting the elderly resident.
During the confrontation, the neighbor shot the suspect, and the suspect was pronounced dead at the scene, police said, adding that multiple rounds were fired.
The deceased individual has been identified as 32-year-old Martin Uriel Jimenez of Medford, police said.
The neighbor who fired the shots was detained and is cooperating with investigators, police said.
While no arrests have been made, police noted that detectives are continuing to investigate.
Police added that “as is standard protocol in all investigations where deadly force was used and resulted in death, the case will be presented to the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office for review.”
Image source: Medford (Ore.) Police
It appears that many commenters under the police department’s Facebook post about the shooting are squarely behind the neighbor who rushed over to help. The following are but a few of them:
- “I own the property where this occurred,” one commenter stated. “I know all the tenants well. They are all clean, gainfully employed, good citizens. The intruder was unknown to any of them. The intruder was violent, deranged, no pants on, kicked in an apartment door at 3:30am and attacked the tenant inside as he was calling 911. The younger man in the neighboring apartment heard the commotion and came to the aid of his neighbor resident to find the intruder beating the older gentleman/tenant and causing injuries. When the younger neighbor intervened, the random, pants-less, 6’2”, 280# intruder charged at him and was shot by the neighbor in an act of self defense. 100% justified.”
- “That hero better not get charged!” another user declared. “I hope my neighbor would do the same.”
- “The intruder received justice,” another commenter wrote. “I hope the neighbor is cleared as it should be.”
- “Sounds like the neighbor saved the resident, don’t charge that man for anything,” another user said.
- “Good guy with a gun for the win!” another commenter exclaimed.
- “Good job neighbor,” another user said. “That’s what it’s about!!”
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Turn off the money; they’ll leave: Elon Musk nails the border truth
Elon Musk’s appearance on “The Joe Rogan Experience” last week should be required listening for anyone who still believes “one citizen, one vote” is the bedrock of our republic. For more than three hours, Musk — engineer, entrepreneur, and agent provocateur — peeled back the curtain on what he called Washington’s longest-running con: a taxpayer-funded pipeline that turns illegal immigrants into future Democrat voters.
Musk didn’t hedge. The ongoing government shutdown, he said, isn’t about continuing resolutions or fiscal cliffs. It’s about Democrats refusing to cut the hundreds of billions in welfare spending that draw migrants across the border. Turn off the cash, and the migrants leave. Cut the flow of migrants, and the left’s imported electorate vanishes.
When the rule of law returns to our borders, it returns to our ballot boxes. That’s a future worth shutting down the swamp to secure.
Joe Rogan was gobsmacked, for good reason. The former head of the Department of Government Efficiency described, in clear terms, what many Americans have long suspected but have been told was a conspiracy theory: The government’s own spending has become a political machine.
The welfare magnet
Musk’s argument is simple. Blue-state welfare programs — Medicaid expansions, housing vouchers, EBT cards, in-state tuition — advertise America as “free everything” for those who cross the border. When Rogan asked what would happen if those benefits stopped, Musk replied, “The Democratic Party will lose a lot of voters.”
Not some — a lot. California’s supermajority didn’t appear by chance, he noted; it was built city by city, sanctuary by sanctuary.
That blueprint is now spreading to Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, and other battlegrounds with generous welfare systems. The U.S. Census already rewards high-immigrant states with extra congressional seats and Electoral College votes. Add motor-voter laws, same-day registration, and ballot harvesting, and you don’t need a single illegal ballot to tip the scale. The counting itself does it.
This is arithmetic, not a conspiracy theory. Since 2021, the Department of Homeland Security’s parole programs have admitted more than a million people under “humanitarian” pretexts. Federally funded NGOs meet them at the border, fly or bus them to swing districts, and sign them up for every benefit imaginable.
Musk argued that ending the handouts would prompt a voluntary exodus within weeks — no ICE raids or roundups required. Yet Democrats treat any effort to cut those programs as existential sabotage. Why? Because their own numbers show what happens when the inflow stops: Red states stay red, blue states fade to purple, and the Electoral College map becomes competitive again.
The real shutdown fight
That, Musk said, is why Democrats would rather grind Washington to a halt than surrender their demographic advantage. The “shutdown” isn’t a budget fight — it’s a fight to preserve a political machine.
Enter Donald Trump’s enforcement agenda: the program many voters thought they were getting after the 1986 amnesty deal that never delivered. Mass deportations. Mandatory E-Verify. The end of catch-and-release. A full audit of every federal dollar funneled to “new arrivals.”
Critics reflexively cry “xenophobia,” the same way they called a border wall “immoral.” But this isn’t about left versus right — it’s citizens versus cartels. A union welder in Pennsylvania, a black business owner in Atlanta, and a Latino pastor in Miami all lose when the voting power of citizens is diluted by noncitizens who bypass the legal system their grandparents followed.
Representative government dies when representation is determined by who sneaks across the border first. Real elections require verifiable citizens, not harvestable bodies. Ethical leaders don’t traffic in future ballots; they protect the franchise like nuclear codes.
The fix
The appeal of Trump’s immigration plan is that it’s universal. America First means American tax dollars for American citizens, not for an imported electorate. Require proof of citizenship to register to vote. End chain migration and the visa lottery. Finish the wall. Empower ICE and Customs and Border Protection to do their jobs. The crisis collapses the moment the incentives do.
RELATED: ‘Operation MRE’: Meals, reform, enforcement in a SNAP!
breakermaximus via iStock/Getty Images
No more midnight ballot drops in swing districts. No more census manipulation. Just the restoration of an old promise: play by the rules, and the rules will protect you.
A choice bigger than party
This fight transcends party and personality. It’s about whether your grandchild’s vote will still count in 2050. Support strong immigration enforcement. Demand audits of federal spending. Tune out media race-baiting and sentimental excuses. End the programs that siphon taxpayer money into the hands of those who broke the law to get here.
When the rule of law returns to our borders, it returns to our ballot boxes. That’s a future worth shutting down the swamp to secure.
Masked anti-ICE agitators are in for a rude awakening as new DHS policy goes into effect
Federal officers have been met with a range of resistance from protesters, most notably in blue sanctuary cities like Portland and Chicago. Now, however, the Department of Homeland Security has announced the implementation of new rules that should give officers an advantage as they continue to do their already dangerous jobs.
Early this week, the Department of Homeland Security updated its list of prohibited and restricted conduct on federal property, and those wearing face-coverings should take note.
Those rules will be enforced ‘on federal property or in areas outside federal property, that affects, threatens, or endangers federal property or persons on the federal property.’
“Wearing a mask, hood, disguise, or device that conceals the identity of the wearer when attempting to avoid detection or identification while violating any federal, state, or local law, ordinance, or regulation” is forbidden, the rules say.
Those rules will be enforced “on federal property or in areas outside federal property, that affects, threatens, or endangers federal property or persons on the federal property,” the rules state.
RELATED: ‘Unleashed’: Houston ICE agents complete another large-scale immigration raid
Photo by Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images
Investigative journalist Katie Daviscourt reported that this rule change is a “game changer” because it will give federal agents greater jurisdiction in making arrests at and near the federal facility in Portland, where local police previously had jurisdiction.
DHS officers at the Portland facility announced Wednesday that they had begun enforcing the new policy, Daviscourt said, though it was originally supposed to go into effect in January 2026.
Violation of the rules “can be a federal criminal offense punishable by incarceration up to 30 days and a $5,000.00 fine,” DHS noted.
The greater latitude granted by this rule change may allow federal officers to operate more efficiently as they work to deport illegal aliens from America.
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‘Warfighter’ son of a popular Michigan sheriff is now gunning for Congress
The son of a longtime Michigan sheriff has officially tossed his hat in the ring for Congress.
On Thursday, Captain Mike Bouchard, son of Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard, announced that he will be running as a Republican for the 10th District seat in Michigan currently occupied by Rep. John James (R), who is now running for governor.
“My family taught me that service isn’t a slogan; it’s a duty,” Captain Bouchard said in a press release. “I’ve worn the uniform of our nation and faced America’s enemies abroad. Now I’m ready to fight for our people here at home — to keep our families safe, our jobs local, and help make our country strong again.”
Captain Bouchard, a paratrooper and Bronze Star recipient who just returned home after serving a nine-month tour in Iraq with the Michigan Army National Guard, claims he wants to continue serving his state and his country.
‘Michigan built the tools that won wars. Now we’ll rebuild the economy that wins the future.’
“Warfighters don’t quit. We adapt, overcome, and keep moving toward the objective. That’s the mindset I’ll bring to Congress — mission focus, no excuses, and zero tolerance for failure. The people of Michigan deserve a warfighter in Washington who understands the mission and has the backbone to get the job done,” his statement continued.
In the press announcement about his candidacy, Captain Bouchard repeatedly referred to President Donald Trump, indicating that he intends to run on a MAGA-type platform. He has already identified public safety, caring for veterans, and the restoration of American manufacturing as his primary issues.
“Michigan built the tools that won wars. Now we’ll rebuild the economy that wins the future. President Trump is putting America First, and our economy will reap the rewards,” he said.
Captain Bouchard has long had the support of his father, Sheriff Bouchard, who spent nearly a decade in the Michigan legislature as a Republican before becoming sheriff of the state’s wealthiest and second-most populous county in 1999.
The sheriff told Blaze News back in September that his son is an “amazing person” who is “very qualified” to represent Michigan in Washington, D.C. “He feels very strongly about serving this country, and I think the next step in his mind would be to serve in a different capacity where his experience and knowledge could help.”
“He’s just wanting to make a difference.”
Other notable Michiganders besides his father who urged Captain Bouchard to run for the congressional seat include rock legend Ted Nugent; former Michigan Gov. John Engler (R) and his wife; former state Attorney General Bill Schuette; Macomb County Prosecutor Pete Lucido; and Macomb County Treasurer Larry Rocca.
RELATED: ‘Defund the police’ dying out, but cop-hatred from Dems, media still going strong
Photo by Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images
In response to a request for comment about Captain Bouchard, a spokesperson for Rep. James previously told Blaze News, “Given the current dynamics and potential candidates in Michigan’s 10th District, John’s confident [Republicans] will hold the seat.”
While James won the seat in a squeaker in 2022 and then won re-election with relative ease in 2024, the 10th District is by no means a Republican stronghold, spanning most of Macomb County, a blue-collar area often considered a bellwether in presidential elections.
Other Republicans who have expressed interest in running for the 10th Congressional District include state Rep. Joe Aragona and former Oakland County GOP Chairman Rocky Raczkowski, the Detroit News reported in July. Assistant prosecutor Robert Lulgjuraj of Sterling Heights announced his candidacy in August.
The Democrat primary race for the seat is full as well, as former special victims prosecutor Christina Hines, former state Rep. Tim Greimel, attorney Eric Chung, and U.S. Army veteran Alex Hawkins have all announced their candidacy.
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Democrats’ shutdown is about to make catching a flight a lot harder
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned on Tuesday that if Democrats keep the government shut down, there could be serious repercussions for air travel as air traffic controllers — those directing over 44,000 flights and more than 3 million airline passengers daily — are being spread thin and overworked without pay.
“You will see mass chaos. You will see mass flight delays,” said Duffy. “You’ll see mass cancellations, and you may see us close certain parts of the airspace because we just cannot manage it.”
‘Asking them to go without a full month’s pay or more is simply not sustainable.’
Duffy’s warning evidently fell on deaf ears. Democrats have, after all, made explicit their intention to use Americans’ pain and inconvenience as political “leverage.” A senior Democrat aide even indicated last month that the party will not concede short of “planes falling out of the sky.”
Citing air traffic control personnel issues and the need to keep American skies safe, Duffy announced on Wednesday that the Federal Aviation Administration will be reducing air traffic by 10% across 40 “high-volume” markets starting on Friday.
Despite his recent initiatives to recruit, train, and retain air traffic controllers, Duffy indicated that the fruits of such efforts take years to fully manifest and that at present, the FAA is still 2,000 controllers short. The government shutdown greatly compounds the impact of this underlying staffing problem as the existing workforce is spread thin, overworked, and paid nothing.
While air traffic controllers received a partial payment in early October, Duffy indicated that they haven’t been paid since, prompting some controllers to take second jobs.
RELATED: Trump uses tariff revenue to protect poor mothers and kids hurt by Democrats’ shutdown
Photographer: Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images
“Our air traffic controllers, and a lot of those who work at DOT but throughout government, they haven’t received paychecks,” said Duffy. “Many of these employees, they’re the head of household. They have their spouse at home. They have a child or two or three, and when they lose income, they are confronted with real-world difficulties in how they pay their bills.”
Nick Daniels, the president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said in a statement on Friday, “For this nation’s air traffic controllers, missing just one paycheck can be a significant hardship, as it is for all working Americans. Asking them to go without a full month’s pay or more is simply not sustainable.”
‘We are not going to do anything that will compromise the safety of air transport in the United States.’
“During the shutdown, these professionals are required to oversee the movement of the nation’s passengers and cargo while many are working ten-hour days and six-day workweeks due to the ongoing staffing shortage, all without pay,” continued Daniels. “This situation creates substantial distractions for individuals who are already engaged in extremely stressful work. The financial and mental strain increases risks within the National Airspace System, making it less safe with each passing day of the shutdown.”
Bryan Bedford, the administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, noted that a recent deep dive into National Airspace System data revealed both “issues of fatigue” among controllers and pressures building in a way that if left unchecked could impact air safety.
“The data is telling us we need to do more, and we are going to do more,” said Bedford.
“We’re going to look for a ratable reduction across these 40 markets over the next 48 hours,” said the FAA administrator.
“We’re not going to wait for a safety problem to truly manifest itself when the early indicators are telling us we can take action today to prevent things from deteriorating.”
While the FAA has not released the final list of airports that will have their capacity cut, a source provided a proposed list to CBS News naming the following airports:
- Anchorage International (ANC)
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL)
- Boston Logan International (BOS)
- Baltimore/Washington International (BWI)
- Charlotte Douglas International (CLT)
- Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International (CVG)
- Dallas Love (DAL)
- Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA)
- Denver International (DEN)
- Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW)
- Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County (DTW)
- Newark Liberty International (EWR)
- Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International (FLL)
- Honolulu International (HNL)
- Houston Hobby (HOU)
- Washington Dulles International (IAD)
- George Bush Houston Intercontinental (IAH)
- Indianapolis International (IND)
- New York John F. Kennedy International (JFK)
- Las Vegas Harry Reid International (LAS)
- Los Angeles International (LAX)
- New York LaGuardia (LGA)
- Orlando International (MCO)
- Chicago Midway (MDW)
- Memphis International (MEM)
- Miami International (MIA)
- Minneapolis/St. Paul International (MSP)
- Oakland International (OAK)
- Ontario International (ONT)
- Chicago O’Hare International (ORD)
- Portland International (PDX)
- Philadelphia International (PHL)
- Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX)
- San Diego International (SAN)
- Louisville International (SDF)
- Seattle/Tacoma International (SEA)
- San Francisco International (SFO)
- Salt Lake City International (SLC)
- Teterboro (TEB)
- Tampa International (TPA)
“If the pressures continue to build even after we take these measures, we’ll come back and take additional measures,” continued the FAA administrator. “We’re trying to be prescriptive, surgical, put the relief where the relief will do the most good, but again, we are not going to do anything that will compromise the safety of air transport in the United States.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday, “We want to reopen the government so we can resume travel in the safest and most efficient way possible, especially as we head into the busiest travel season.”
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Nancy Pelosi announces retirement after nearly 4 decades in Congress
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced Thursday that she will not seek re-election after nearly four decades serving in Congress.
Pelosi was first elected to the House in 1987 to represent California and eventually became the first female speaker of the House. Pelosi served as speaker from 2007 to 2011 under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama and again from 2019 to 2023 under Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
A successor has not been named.
“For decades, I’ve cherished the privilege of representing our magnificent city in the United States Congress,” Pelosi said in a video posted on X.
“That is why I want you, my fellow San Franciscans, to be the first to know,” Pelosi said. “I will not be seeking re-election to Congress.”
RELATED: California Republicans sue to stop Newsom’s redistricting scheme — he responds: ‘Good luck, losers’
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Although she has announced she will step aside after this term, a successor has not been named to run to represent California’s 11th District.
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Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
“With a grateful heart, I look forward to my final year of service as your proud representative,” Pelosi said.
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