Category: Conservative Review
Apple rolls out digital ID, says users get ‘privacy and security’
Digital identification is the latest frontier in privacy and data protection, according to its newest purveyor.
Apple rolled out support for digital ID in its Apple Wallet this week, boasting that users can provide a plethora of personal data in order to add their digital identifiers to their phones.
‘Biometric authentication using Face ID and Touch ID helps make sure that only you can view and use your Digital ID.’
In order to be eligible for the privilege of digital ID, Apple requires users to have the following:
- an iPhone 11 or newer or an Apple Watch Series 6 or newer.
- the latest software version.
- an Apple account with two-factor authentication turned on.
- a valid U.S. passport.
- a device with the region set to the United States.
If meeting the prerequisites, users must scan their passports into their phones, in addition to providing another live photo.
The photo and information must then be authenticated with Face ID or Touch ID.
Digital ID users can present their e-documents at TSA checkpoints for boarding domestic flights and at select businesses, Apple wrote in a blog post.
RELATED: UK government makes digital ID mandatory to get a job: ‘Safer, fairer and more secure’
TSA lists digital ID as being supported in at least 16 different states for domestic air travel, as well as Puerto Rico. Apple ID particularly is eligible in most participating states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Maryland, Montana, New Mexico, and Ohio.
States like Arkansas, Louisiana, New York, and Virginia only support a state-sponsored digital ID.
“Digital ID in Apple Wallet takes advantage of the privacy and security features already built into iPhone and Apple Watch to help protect against tampering and theft,” Apple claimed.
“Your Digital ID data is encrypted. Apple can’t see when and where you use your Digital ID, and biometric authentication using Face ID and Touch ID helps make sure that only you can view and use your Digital ID,” the company added.
The justification for digital ID on the grounds of increased privacy and security mirrors reasoning used by the U.K. government during its recent introduction of mandatory digital ID for its citizens.
RELATED: Can anyone save America from European-style digital ID?
Photo Illustration by Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images
“This government will make a new, free-of-charge digital ID mandatory for the right to work by the end of this parliament. Let me spell that out: You will not be able to work in the United Kingdom if you do not have digital ID,” U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced in September.
The leader stated that the digital ID would help crack down on illegal employment and immigration, before adding a moral justification to his argument.
“Because decent, pragmatic, fair-minded people, they want us to tackle the issues that they see around them. And, of course, the truth is we won’t solve our problems if we don’t also take on the root causes.”
As Blaze News previously reported, the digital ID movement seemingly started in the U.K. around 2004. At that time, the BBC published a report criticizing the government and the IDs as a “badly thought out” means of fighting organized crime and terrorism.
Since then, the idea has long been perpetuated by the World Economic Forum, the yearly gathering of government officials and international businessmen who discuss global policy and reform.
The WEF published “A Blueprint for Digital Identity” in 2016, citing the Aadhaar program, a government ID from India. The initiative was meant to “increase social and financial inclusion” for Indians. The Unique Identification Authority of India holds a database of user information “such as name, date of birth, and biometrics data that may include a photograph, fingerprint, iris scan, or other information.”
Over 1 billion Indians have enrolled in the program for the 12-digit identity number.
In 2023, the WEF promoted a report on reimagining digital ID.
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John Fetterman Takes Shot At Democrats For Not Releasing Epstein Files When Biden Was President
‘We sat on those for four years’
Why These Six Democrats Defied Hakeem Jeffries To End Shutdown
Six House Democrats defied Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Wednesday evening to support a Senate-passed deal to end the 43-day government shutdown. Though Jeffries tried to limit the defections, a handful of centrist Democrats, who all represent seats President Donald Trump won in 2024, crossed party lines to support reopening the government. The group cited […]
US man killed during mission trip in Angola — his wife is convicted for plotting his murder with security guard lover
The wife of a man killed in Angola has been convicted for orchestrating his murder during a mission trip with their family, according to a statement from their church.
44-year-old Beau Shroyer was found stabbed to death inside a vehicle on Oct. 25, 2024, in the town of Thienjo. His family had been sent to Africa on a mission trip in 2021 by the Lakes Area Vineyard Church in Detroit Lake, Minnesota.
Law enforcement had ‘strong suspicions of a romantic relationship between the person who ordered the crime and her accomplice, the guard at the couple’s residence.’
Shroyer had stopped to help people who were pretending to have vehicle issues in a remote area. They stabbed him to death and fled in the rental car, as previously reported by Blaze News.
Local authorities eventually arrested the man’s wife, 44-year-old Jackie Shroyer, and accused her of being the “mastermind” behind the slaying of her husband.
Angola official Manuel Halaiwa said that law enforcement had “strong suspicions of a romantic relationship between the person who ordered the crime and her accomplice, the guard at the couple’s residence.”
They also arrested two people they said were her accomplices, identified as Bernardino Isaac Elias and Isalino Musselenga Kayoo “Vin Diesel.” A third alleged accomplice identified as Gelson Guerreiro Ramos is still on the run.
Authorities said Jackie Shroyer paid Kayoo $50,000 to commit the crime.
“Though this news is shocking and extremely difficult to comprehend, it’s important for you to know that this verdict follows a very thorough investigation and trial process that was monitored closely, conducted fairly, and carried out with integrity,” said the church’s pastor, Troy Easton, in a statement.
The couple’s five children were brought back the U.S. after their mother’s arrest to be with family.
Jackie Shroyer will serve her sentence in Angola, according to the church.
The church did not say what her sentence was.
The victim’s cousin Bret Shroyer told KSTP-TV that his death hit their family hard.
“Beau was a rock, just a really strong member of the family, he was doing good, all of the time,” he said. “He was supportive; he was always looking for ways to help somebody else out.”
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Trump officially ends ‘pathetic’ Democrats’ record-breaking shutdown
President Donald Trump officially ended the Democrats’ record-breaking shutdown after House Republicans passed the funding bill Wednesday night.
Trump signed the GOP’s continuing resolution into law after the House passed the bill in a 222-209 vote, bringing the 43-day shutdown to a close. The House vote largely fell on party lines, with 216 Republicans voting in favor and 207 Democrats voting against the funding bill. Notably, two Republicans voted against the bill and six Democrats voted in favor of it.
‘Don’t forget what they’ve done to our country.’
“People were hurt so badly,” Trump said from the Oval Office Wednesday night. “Nobody’s ever seen anything like this one. This was a no-brainer. This was an easy extension. But they didn’t want to do it the easy way. They had to do it the hard way.”
“They look very bad, the Democrats do,” Trump added.
Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
Trump urged Americans across the country to remember the pain inflicted by the Democrat shutdown when the 2026 midterms come around.
“I just want to tell the American people: You should not forget this,” Trump said. “When we come up to midterms and other things, don’t forget what they’ve done to our country.”
Democrats initiated the government shutdown after blocking the GOP’s clean continuing resolution from passing in the Senate before the September 30 funding deadline.
After prolonging the shutdown for over 40 days, eight Senate Democrats caved and passed the funding bill in the Senate, sparking intraparty outrage for agreeing to a “pathetic” political deal.
The only concession Democrats managed to secure was a reversal of reduction-in-force notices implemented during the shutdown and the prevention of any more RIFs through January 30, the day the new funding deal expires. This affects only about 4,200 of the roughly 150,000 federal layoffs that have taken place during President Donald Trump’s second term.
RELATED: Democrat senator makes stunning admission about Obamacare failures
Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images
The main reason Democrats shut the government down in the first place was to renegotiate Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year. Rather than securing any commitments from Republicans to negotiate or amend any health-care-related policies, Democrats walked away with a promise from Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) to hold a vote on extending the subsidies.
This is the same deal that was on the table since day one of the government shutdown.
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‘THIS WILL SAVE LIVES’: Kash Patel Provides Update on Fentanyl Fight, New Agreement With China [WATCH]
![‘THIS WILL SAVE LIVES’: Kash Patel Provides Update on Fentanyl Fight, New Agreement With China [WATCH]](https://hannity.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/GettyImages-2245821070-300x200.jpg "US-POLITICS-BRIEFING-LEAVITT")
Progress in the fight against fentanyl.
Michigan Senate Candidate Abdul El-Sayed Helped Lead Anti-Police Group as It Organized Detroit Protest Turned Deadly Riot
Abdul El-Sayed, a candidate in the 2026 Democratic primary for Michigan’s open Senate seat, was on the board of an anti-police group when it organized Detroit protests that turned deadly in May 2020, public disclosure records reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon show.
The post Michigan Senate Candidate Abdul El-Sayed Helped Lead Anti-Police Group as It Organized Detroit Protest Turned Deadly Riot appeared first on .
House Democrats cave, vote for GOP bill to end record-breaking shutdown
House Republicans passed a government funding bill late Wednesday night, bringing Democrats’ record-breaking shutdown closer to a welcome end.
The continuing resolution passed in a 222-209 vote, with 216 Republicans voting in favor and 209 Democrats voting against the funding bill. Two Republicans, Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Greg Steube of Florida, voted against the bill.
‘Democrats gained nothing from their shutdown while hardworking families paid the price.’
Several Democrats also crossed the aisle, with a handful voting in favor of reopening the government. Democrat Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, who is retiring at the end of this term, bucked his party, alongside Reps. Adam Gray of California, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, Don Davis of North Carolina, Henry Cuellar of Texas, and Tom Suozzi of New York.
The resolution is now headed to President Donald Trump’s desk, where he is expected to sign the bill into law Wednesday night and reopen the government.
Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images
The House vote took place just days after eight Democrat senators caved over the weekend and voted alongside Republicans to pass the funding bill in the Senate Monday night. These Democrats include Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Jacky Rosen of Nevada, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Angus King (I) of Maine, and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada.
Although some lawmakers crossed the aisle to reopen the government, Democrats ultimately failed to secure commitments from Republicans to negotiate health care policy.
“For over six weeks, Democrats held our country hostage over demands for health care for illegal aliens and to prove to their base they could ‘stand up’ to President Trump,” Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger (Texas) told Blaze News.
“Let me be clear: Democrats gained nothing from their shutdown while hardworking families paid the price,” Pfluger added. “Now, it is time to get back to governing and delivering on the mandate we were given by the American people last November.”
RELATED: Senate Republicans pass key deal with Democrat defectors as end to record-long shutdown draws near
Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The reason Democrats shut down the government in the first place was to force the GOP to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year.
Democrats fell short, securing only a commitment from Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) to hold a vote on extending the subsidies. Notably, this offer was available to Democrats on day one of the government shutdown.
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FBI whistleblower pans bureau for alleged ‘gross misconduct’ and ‘fraud’ in early Jan. 6 pipe-bomb investigation
The Biden FBI is guilty of “gross misconduct and/or fraud” for calling off surveillance of an early person of interest in the Jan. 6 pipe-bomb case, an FBI whistleblower alleges in a letter to Congress. The letter refers to events that occurred nearly five years before Blaze News disclosed that the surveillance subject lived next door to a Capitol Police officer who is now a potential forensic match to the gait of the bomb suspect.
After reading the Nov. 10 protected whistleblower disclosure from an FBI supervisory special agent who is still at the bureau and a Nov. 8 Blaze News investigation of the pipe-bombs case, U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie believes the FBI “has been engaged in a cover-up” or has been “grossly incompetent.”
“Either way,” Massie (R-Ky.) told Blaze News in a statement, “these latest revelations about the pipe-bomb investigation require answers from the new FBI director.”
The Blaze News investigation said former Capitol Police Officer Shauni Rae Kerkhoff, 31, appears to be a forensic match to the gait of the pipe-bomb suspect. A forensic gait analysis arranged by Blaze News rated Kerkhoff’s stride as a 94% match to the individual shown on video planting pipe bombs the night of Jan. 5, 2021.
The gait analysis used a computer algorithm to analyze walking parameters including flexion (knee bend), hip extension, speed, step length, cadence, and variance. The veteran analyst who ran the study said based on visual observations the program can struggle with, he personally pegged the match at closer to 98%.
Kerkhoff has not been charged with any criminal conduct by any law enforcement agency in connection with the pipe-bomb incident.
The FBI has not responded to Blaze News requests for comment.
Attorney Kurt Siuzdak of Madison, Conn., filed a 10-page protected disclosure on behalf of his client, the whistleblower, with Massie and U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), among the most active lawmakers still investigating Jan. 6 and its aftermath. Loudermilk is the chairman of the House Select Subcommittee to Investigate the Remaining Questions Surrounding Jan. 6.
The FBI supervisor said that “after FBI agents came within yards of the person who has been identified” in Blaze News’ reporting, “the FBI surveillance team agents were ordered to cease their investigation, denied permission to conduct at least one logical interview, immediately removed from surveillance, and reassigned to do general leads work,” Siuzdak wrote.
“The ‘neighbor’ identified below [in the whistleblower complaint] lived within feet of [Person of Interest 3] and she appears to be the same individual as investigative reporter Steve Baker identified as a former U.S. Capital [sic] Police officer, who is currently associated with a U.S. intelligence agency,” Siuzdak wrote.
After the FBI identified several persons of interest in the pipe-bombs case, Squad 21 of the Washington Field Office Intelligence Division was assigned to do “FISUR,” or physical surveillance, in the Bailey’s Crossroads section of Falls Church, Va.
Kyle Seraphin, who was then a member of Squad 21, told Blaze News the surveillance lasted two days before the squad was pulled off the case without warning.
The new whistleblower said the female next-door neighbor of the man being surveilled was photographed by FBI agents.
“The ‘neighbor’ had been photographed by the FBI surveillance team, and her photograph and attire are similar to the individual who [allegedly] placed the devices,” Siuzdak said.
The FBI had already determined that the man referred to in FBI documents as Person of Interest 3 should be interviewed by agents. But when Seraphin proposed that he do a “knock and talk” at the man’s door, the idea was rejected, Siuzdak said.
The suspected pipe bomber moves to a bench behind the Democratic National Committee building in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 5, 2021. FBI
The face-to-face interview with POI3 “would have obviously led to the doorstep of the ‘neighbor,’” Siuzdak wrote. “However, investigative steps offered by the FBI agents in the field were rejected, and agents were immediately reassigned. The discontinuation of the investigation was described [by the whistleblower] as improper.”
Kerkhoff is named in consumer, banking, and credit records as having resided next door to the man under surveillance. She later moved to Alexandria, Va. When Blaze News editor in chief Christopher Bedford visited the area of Alexandria near her residence the night of Nov. 7, the curtains were drawn, two civilian-looking vehicles were in the driveway, one civilian-looking truck was out front, and a fourth vehicle pulled up after Bedford parked. Two plainclothesmen got out of the final car, and a third joined them from inside the house. The three men stood sentry in front of the home for a time.
The local police responded to Bedford’s visit, and when he tried to drive away, he was quickly pulled over and asked why he was in the area. The local police promptly allowed him to go after he provided his ID and explained the reason why he was near the address.
Internal FBI documents included in the protected whistleblower disclosure corroborated information contained in a January 2025 report from the Committee on House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight.
According to the documents, the FBI had investigated an individual known as POI2, who was seen on surveillance video taking photographs behind the Capitol Hill Club the morning of Jan. 5 — about nine hours before an unknown subject in a grey hoodie placed a pipe bomb next to a row of rolling commercial garbage tubs.
The pipe bomb suspect (above left) walking west on C Street toward Rumsey Court, stopping in front of a congressional rooming house (upper right), possibly looking to place a pipe bomb on Jan. 5, 2021. Capitol Police squad cars (below) with lights engaged were across the street as the suspect walked down the court to plant the bomb. FBI/@Armitas/U.S. Capitol Police CCTV
The man left the area and later returned to walk through Rumsey Court, which runs behind the Capitol Hill Club and the Republican National Committee building. When he was later questioned by FBI agents, the man claimed he was taking photographs of “objects bearing numerals” for a book project.
Agents used surveillance video to track the man through part of the day Jan. 5. He arrived at the Capitol South Metro Station from the East Falls Church Metro Station at 9:58 a.m. Capitol Police “observed POI2 switching hats when we [sic] exits South Capitol Metro,” an FBI report said.
After taking photographs behind the Capitol Hill Club, POI2 walked around the U.S. Capitol complex and met with two unknown individuals, the House report said.
The FBI considered POI2’s behavior suspicious and said he could be considered a possible accomplice to the pipe bomber.
The man again walked through Rumsey Court before proceeding to the Capitol South Metro Station and riding the train back to Falls Church, Va., where he arrived at 6:53 p.m.
FBI records show that Person of Interest 2 was dropped off at the East Falls Church Metro by a Volkswagen Tiguan registered to Person of Interest 3, who was put under surveillance by the FBI a week later. Person of Interest 2 used a prepaid Metro SmarTrip card to pay for the train rides. The SmarTrip card was purchased by Person of Interest 3, the FBI said.
The FBI interviewed Person of Interest 2, who was not identified in the investigative documents Blaze News reviewed, on Jan. 19, 2021. The man was subsequently dismissed as no longer a person of interest in the pipe-bombs case. The FBI also cleared Person of Interest 3 of having any role in the placement of the bombs.
The U.S. House report said the FBI did not explain on what basis it cleared Persons of Interest 2 and 3, indicate how the men knew each other, or explain how Person of Interest 2 obtained the other man’s prepaid SmarTrip card.
In a Nov. 12 story, the Daily Wire reported that “law enforcement suspected a particular Falls Church, Virginia man’s Metro card of being linked to the case, and also that the Capitol Police officer was in fact his neighbor, literally sharing a wall with him.”
The man told the Wire his Metro card “was used by a childhood friend who traveled from the south to attend Trump’s rally, and stayed with him to save money. The Air Force vet let him borrow his card and picked him up from the Metro station in Virginia after the rally, he said. Both men are Trump supporters, he said.”
The man said he had been interviewed on the matter by what he believes to be Metro transit police, as was his visiting friend. Furthermore, the man told the Daily Wire that he does not believe his Metro card was used by his neighbor, the Capitol Police officer, on January 5.
Blaze News was unable to independently confirm the Wire’s report. Blaze News investigative reporter Steve Baker knocked on the front door of the man’s townhouse on Nov. 9, but he declined to comment.
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Armistice Day on the Western Front and in Russia
World War I ended in Russia on March 3, 1918, with the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. The signatories…
