President Donald Trump pushed back on his own energy secretary&#8217;s gas price prediction on Monday as Americans continue to get pinched at the pump.
Trump said Energy Secretary Chris Wright is &#8220;totally wrong&#8221; after Wright told CNN on Sunday that average gas prices in the United States could stay above $3 into 2027.
&#8220;I think he’s wrong on that. Totally wrong,” Trump told The Hill.
The president added that gas prices would start dropping “as soon as this ends,” referring to the ongoing conflict with Iran.
During an interview on Sunday, Wright said he wasn&#8217;t sure when exactly gas prices would start coming back down, but predicted, &#8220;That might not happen until next year.&#8221;
“But prices have likely peaked and they will start going down,” Wright added. “Certainly, with a resolution of this conflict, you will see prices go down. Prices across the board on energy prices will go down.”
Gas prices appeared ready to drop late last week when oil prices tumbled to under $90 per barrel shortly after Trump and Iran announced a ceasefire that would allow ships to traverse the Strait of Hormuz. The agreement to open the strait, however, was short-lived as Iran said on Sunday that it was once again blocking ships in response to Trump keeping the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports in place.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard attacked two oil tankers over the weekend, and shipping traffic through the strait came to a standstill once again, CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/20/strait-hormuz-ship-tanker-oil-iran-war.html">reported</a>.
Brent crude jumped back up to over $95 per barrel on Monday morning, and average gas prices in the United States remain above $4 per gallon as of Monday afternoon, according to <a href="https://gasprices.aaa.com/">AAA</a>. Recent <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/poll-trumps-approval-rating-hits-second-term-low-economy-iran-war-rcna331462">polls</a> indicate that many Americans are <a href="https://poll.qu.edu/poll-release?releaseid=3956">frustrated</a> with the sharp rise in gas prices that followed Trump&#8217;s decision to launch &#8220;Operation Epic Fury.&#8221;
Democrats have attacked the Trump administration over the rise in gas prices, with Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/19/world/middleeast/energy-secretary-gas-prices.html">saying</a> on Sunday, “Americans literally can’t afford the Trump presidency.” At $4.04 per gallon on average, gas prices are at their highest level since June of 2022, when President Joe Biden was in office.
Vice President JD Vance is expected to meet with Iranian officials in Pakistan this week for another round of negotiations as the ceasefire is set to expire at 8:00 p.m. EST Tuesday. Trump said on Monday that he feels &#8220;no pressure whatsoever&#8221; to secure a deal with Iran.
&#8220;Time is not my adversary, the only thing that matters is that we finally, after 47 years, straighten out the MESS that other Presidents let happen because they didn’t have the Courage or Foresight to do what had to be done with respect to Iran,&#8221; he said.

President Trump Holds Roundtable On The Ratepayer Protection Pledge At The White House

Trump Says His Energy Secretary’s Gas Price Prediction Is ‘Totally Wrong’

Chris Wright

Donald Trump

Economy

Gas Prices

Iran

Democrats in Michigan nominated a Muslim attorney who has honored terrorists for a position on the University of Michigan&#8217;s Board of Regents.
At the Michigan Democratic Party&#8217;s nominating convention on Sunday night, delegates chose Amir Makled over incumbent regent Jordan Acker for a seat on the board that controls the university&#8217;s budget and leadership appointments, The Detroit News <a href="https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2026/04/19/jordan-acker-university-of-michigan-board-of-regents-amir-makled-wins-democratic-convention-vote/89691921007/">reported</a>. The contrast in the race could not have been clearer for Democratic delegates, who ultimately picked a Muslim who recently shared a post that referred to Israelis as &#8220;demons&#8221; over a Jewish regent who has faced antisemitic attacks.
Last June, Makled <a href="https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2026/04/09/university-of-michigan-regent-candidate-lawyer-amir-makled-deletes-posts-praising-hezbollah-leaders/89533176007/">shared</a> a post that called former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah a &#8220;martyr,&#8221; less than a year after Nasrallah was taken out in an Israeli airstrike. Another post shared by Makled honored Hezbollah official Abu Ali Khalil as a &#8220;martyr on the road to Jerusalem.&#8221;
In July 2025, Makled shared a post from Candace Owens, in which Owens referred to Israelis as &#8220;demons&#8221; who &#8220;lie, steal, cheat, murder, and blackmail.&#8221; The Muslim lawyer has since deleted those social media posts.
Makled secured the nomination over Acker, who has faced antisemitic threats from anti-Israel radicals following Hamas&#8217; attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. In December of 2024, Acker&#8217;s home was vandalized and damaged, and his wife&#8217;s car was spray painted with the words &#8220;Divest&#8221; and &#8220;Free Palestine.&#8221; Anti-Israel radicals also vandalized Acker&#8217;s law firm building, which police investigated as a hate crime, CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/09/us/university-of-michigan-regents-vandalized-acker">reported</a>.
Last year, Acker, along with regents Mark Bernstein and Sarah Hubbard, were given 24/7 security due to threats from anti-Israel demonstrators. Makled represented anti-Israel students who were arrested and charged last year with trespassing and resisting arrest when police broke up an encampment on Michigan&#8217;s campus.
The nomination of Makled over Acker reflects a major shift in the Democratic Party throughout the country, which has seen multiple leftist Muslims elected to public office. That shift is on full display in Michigan this year as another leftist Muslim, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, is in a tight race for the Democratic nomination to the open seat for U.S. Senate. El-Sayed <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/19/politics/michigan-senate-democratic-primary">told</a> CNN over the weekend that Hamas is just as evil as the Israeli government.
The Michigan Democratic Party did not release the vote tally for Sunday&#8217;s nominating convention. For many statewide offices in Michigan, the Democratic Party chooses its nominees through delegates who meet to cast their votes at a nominating convention. Acker&#8217;s ticket-mate, Paul Brown, who has also called for punishment for anti-Israel demonstrators, was renominated to run alongside Makled in the general election.
Makled rode a wave of support from leftist University of Michigan students and campus labor unions to his nomination victory.
“This is beyond the support that I was expecting,” Makled <a href="https://www.michigandaily.com/news/administration/amir-makled-defeats-regent-jordan-acker-at-democratic-convention-to-run-alongside-incumbent-paul-brown/">said</a> after he was nominated. “This is the largest convention I’ve participated in in 20 years, and I’ve been coming to them since 2006. This really shows how much the Democratic Party has expanded the electorate and energized the base of what people want to see come November.”
Makled will face Republicans Lena Epstein and Michael Schostak in the general election on November 3.
Not all Democrats were enthused by Makled&#8217;s candidacy. Brandon Dillon, a former chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party, blasted Makled and <a href="https://www.detroitnews.com/story/opinion/2026/04/17/dillon-the-democratic-party-has-no-room-for-amir-makled/89665735007/">wrote</a> in a Detroit News opinion piece that Makled&#8217;s social media posts &#8220;reflect a pattern of extremism and bigotry, all of which should be disqualifying for someone seeking one of the most powerful positions in Michigan higher education and statewide office.&#8221;
Acker faced opposition from Makled and many within the Michigan Democratic Party for his desire to hold anti-Israel radicals accountable after they intimidated Jewish students and obstructed law enforcement officers. Acker also faced scrutiny just a few days before the Democratic nominating convention when The Guardian published a report on alleged messages sent by Acker on Slack that appeared to be sexual in nature and included obscene comments about a female Michigan student.
Acker said that parts of the messages sent to The Guardian appeared to be &#8220;doctored,&#8221; adding that Acker &#8220;has never been on Slack.&#8221; Acker told The Detroit News that the allegations published in The Guardian are &#8220;ridiculous&#8221; and &#8220;fake.&#8221;

Amir Makled/University of Michigan

Dems Make A Stunning Switch And Backlash Is Building Fast

anti-Israel

Democratic Party

Elections

Jewish

Michigan

Muslims

Politics

University of Michigan

Tennessee has had enough of LGBT Pride Month and will now recognize June as &#8220;Nuclear Family Month.&#8221;
Tennessee Republican Governor Bill Lee signed a <a href="https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Bill/HJR0182.pdf">resolution</a> this month that designates June as a month for the state to celebrate the nuclear family, which the resolution defines as a husband, a wife, and any biological or adopted children. The resolution easily passed the Republican-dominated state legislature, clearing the House 72-18 last year and passing the Senate 26-4 last month.
&#8220;The nuclear family, consisting of one husband, one wife, and any biological, adopted, or fostered children, is God&#8217;s design for familial structure and has been the bedrock of society since the creation of the world,&#8221; the resolution states.
&#8220;Tennessee&#8217;s values do not align with the humanistic, globalist ideologies of the World Health Organization, the United Nations, and like-minded organizations that fight for population control through the means of promoting sterilization and abortion practices,&#8221; the Tennessee resolution continues, adding, &#8220;The nuclear family is under attack in our beloved State and nation, and it is our responsibility to uplift, protect, and support values that help Tennessee prosper.&#8221;
The resolution highlights the devastating results that children often reap from growing up in fatherless homes. It also highlights a 2016 study, which found that of a sample of 56 school shooters, 82% of them &#8220;were raised in an unstable family environment or without both biological parents together.&#8221;
Leftist organizations expressed outrage after Lee signed the resolution last week. The LGBT activist organization GLAAD called Tennessee lawmakers who passed the resolution &#8220;clueless.&#8221;
“The strongest families are grounded by love,&#8221; a GLAAD spokesman <a href="https://www.advocate.com/politics/states/tennessee-nuclear-family-month">told</a> the LGBT news outlet The Advocate. &#8220;Lawmakers trying to exclude and intentionally harm some families should be recognized as actively harming all by not focusing their time working for an inclusive Tennessee where all are welcome and can succeed.”
June has been nationally recognized as Pride Month since a declaration signed by former President Bill Clinton in 1999. Following the Supreme Court&#8217;s landmark decision in favor of gay marriage in 2015, LGBT Pride Month became increasingly popular, with numerous American organizations and businesses pushing LGBT themes and messages throughout June.
Last year, however, as many Americans pushed back against the Left&#8217;s constant trumpeting of LGBT talking points and its embrace of transgender procedures for children, some companies dialed back their messaging during Pride Month. The election of President Donald Trump in November 2024 also reflected Americans&#8217; growing frustration with the Democratic Party&#8217;s adoption of LGBT talking points.
Tennessee was among the first states to ban gender procedures on children, prohibit schools from hiding children&#8217;s gender &#8220;transitions&#8221; from parents, and crack down on drag queen performances in public or in settings where children are present.

Tennessee Nuclear Family Month

‘God’s Design’: Red State Swaps Pride Month For ‘Nuclear Family Month’

LGBT

Pride Month

Tennessee

Ten Republicans joined with Democratic House members on Thursday to pass a resolution that seeks to protect 350,000 Haitians from deportation.
The House resolution would require the secretary of Homeland Security to designate Haiti for temporary protected status until 2029. Republicans Don Bacon (NE), Mario Díaz-Balart (FL), Mike Carey (OH), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA), Carlos Giménez (FL), Mike Lawler (NY), Nicole Malliotakis (NY), Rich McCormick (GA), Maria Elvira Salazar (FL), and Mike Turner (OH), bucked President Donald Trump and his mass deportation effort and signed onto the resolution. Independent Rep. Kevin Kiley, who caucuses with the Republicans, also voted in favor of the resolution.
The Democrats broke out in cheers and applause when the resolution passed.
While President Donald Trump would likely veto the resolution if it made it to his desk, the vote reflects a divide in the Republican Party that is complicating the administration&#8217;s immigration agenda. The resolution&#8217;s passage also comes just one week after Homeland Security revealed that Rolbert Joachin, an illegal immigrant from Haiti accused of murdering a woman with a hammer, was granted temporary protected status by the Biden administration.
Joachin&#8217;s alleged murder was caught on camera, with footage showing the suspect charge a female gas station attendant in Fort Myers, Florida, before he attacks her. Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116377422440266990">shared</a> the footage of the gruesome murder, calling the killer an &#8220;animal &#8230; who was released into our Country by the WORST President in History, Crooked Joe Biden.&#8221;
Last year, the Trump administration moved to terminate temporary protected status for Haitians, but the move was quickly blocked by a federal judge. The Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments on the issue this month after the Trump administration appealed the federal judge&#8217;s decision, NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/house-bucks-trump-passes-temporary-protected-status-haiti-immigration-rcna332181">reported</a>.
The White House came out &#8220;strongly&#8221; opposing the House resolution on Wednesday, telling <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-trump-admin-comes-out-swinging-on-haitian-immigration-bill-backed-by-some-republicans?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=4&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=EXCLUSIVE%3A+Trump+Admin+Comes+Out+Swinging+On+Haitian+Immigration+Bill+Backed+By+Some+Republicans">The Daily Wire</a>, &#8220;The President has made it clear that this Administration’s priority is protecting the American people and addressing the criminal threat posed by those who enter this nation with little to no vetting or overstay the visa granted them.”
“Numerous Haitian nationals previously granted TPS have been the subject of administrative investigations for fraud, public safety, and national security,&#8221; the White House added.
Rep. Bacon <a href="https://x.com/RepDonBacon/status/2044549535985193241?s=20">argued</a> that deporting 350,000 Haitians would worsen &#8220;serious workforce shortages.&#8221;
&#8220;I’ve heard from healthcare providers and business leaders across Nebraska, including @OmahaChamber, who are concerned about the impact this would have on patient care and our economy. I don’t see the goodness of deporting people who are here legally, working, and contributing to our country,&#8221; Bacon said.
Malliotakis also cited concerns about the health care industry if Haitian migrants were deported.
“Look, I have a lot of health care workers in my district that are of Haitian descent, that are on TPS and my nursing homes,&#8221; she <a href="https://x.com/BillMelugin_/status/2044852771782828391">told</a> Fox News. &#8220;My health care facilities have said that they&#8217;re going to lose skilled staff at a time when there is a shortage. And so it&#8217;s the right thing to do for my district, for the health care facilities I represent.&#8221;
Rep. Lawler <a href="https://x.com/RepMikeLawler/status/2044766720162697580">added</a> that the deteriorating situation in Haiti would cause &#8220;chaos&#8221; and &#8220;uncertainty&#8221; for Haitian migrants if they were forced to go back to their home country. Lawler helped force the vote on the resolution and was joined by Democratic &#8220;Squad&#8221; member Ayanna Pressley (MA). The proposal was also sponsored by Florida Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Haitian-American who faces expulsion from the House for allegedly funneling millions of dollars into her campaign illegally.
The Trump administration has raised concerns about the large number of Haitian migrants in the United States. Trump highlighted reports on Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, during his 2024 election campaign, including on stage during a debate against then-Vice President Kamala Harris.

Mike Lawler TPS

The Republican Rebels Who Sided With Dems, Defying Trump On Haitian Deportations

Deportations

Haiti

Haitian immigrants

Immigration

Legal advisers have been telling migrants from Muslim countries to pose as gay to be granted asylum in Britain, with some lawyers going as far as coaching migrants on how to fabricate photos and come up with their own back stories, the BBC <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c937wldkkw8o">reported</a> on Wednesday.
The BBC&#8217;s undercover investigation revealed how legal advisers are raking in cash by helping migrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh apply for asylum by claiming to be gay, which would put them at risk of persecution in their home countries.
One BBC reporter went undercover to a meeting organized by a group that claims to support gay and lesbian asylum seekers. Around 175 people attended the meeting put on by Worcester LGBT, but it appeared that none of them actually identified as lesbian or gay.
&#8220;Most of the people here are not gays,&#8221; one man said, according to the BBC.
Another man replied, &#8220;Nobody is a gay here. Not even 1% are gay. Not even 0.01% are gay.&#8221;
The BBC reporter posed as a migrant seeking asylum and met multiple times with an adviser for Worcester LGBT named Tanisa. For their first meeting, the reporter met with Tanisa at her house and was invited to her bedroom to chat. Tanisa sat on her bed as she told the undercover journalist that he should apply for asylum as a gay man, but the reporter quickly informed Tanisa that he wasn&#8217;t gay.
&#8220;Listen to me. There is nobody who is real. There is only one way out in order to live here now and that is the very method everyone is adopting,&#8221; Tanisa replied.
&#8220;At the moment there is only one route from where you can get a visa and it is open,&#8221; she added. &#8220;It is the asylum visa &#8230; it is on human rights and it is called gay case or same sex. There is no hope for any other visa.&#8221;
Tanisa stressed that the undercover reporter would have to convince the U.K. government of his asylum claim by memorizing a made-up story and coming up with fake photos.
&#8220;The approach we will take is this: I will fully prepare you for the interview by compiling a comprehensive package for you, including photographs of you at clubs, various other pieces of supporting evidence, an organizational letter, and additional letters of support, so that you are completely ready when I send you in,&#8221; Tanisa said.
The cost of the legal advice came out to 2,500 British pounds, or 3,385 U.S. dollars, but Tanisa said that price would increase if the U.K. government rejected the asylum claim and the case was appealed. The phony asylum seeker then asked about his &#8220;wife,&#8221; who was still in Pakistan.
&#8220;If you call her here, then we will apply for her asylum as well,&#8221; Tanisa said. &#8220;Once she&#8217;s here, we can make her a lesbian.&#8221;
The LGBT sham could bring in as much as 7,000 pounds, or 9,480 U.S. dollars, per case for some legal firms, the BBC reported.
The BBC also interviewed one man who arrived in Britain from Pakistan in 2011 on a student visa. When his visa expired, he sought help from a lawyer who advised him to claim to be gay and attend Pride marches and gay clubs to bolster his story. In that case, the migrant&#8217;s attempt at asylum was unsuccessful, and he moved back to Pakistan. That migrant, however, told the BBC that three of his friends from Pakistan successfully obtained asylum in Britain by lying about their sexuality.
The United Kingdom has seen a massive spike in Muslim migrants in the past decade, and hundreds of those migrants have claimed LGBT identities in their asylum claims. Britain&#8217;s Home Office <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c937wldkkw8o">reported</a> that 578 Pakistanis claimed to be LGBT in their asylum claims in 2023 alone. Another 175 asylum-seekers from Bangladesh and 103 from Nigeria claimed to be LGBT.

Gay Muslim in England

‘Make Her A Lesbian’: Lefty Lawyers Caught Coaching Migrants On Being Gay To Gain Asylum

England

Migrants

Ben Shapiro laid into the “low IQ grievance ideology” of Candace Owens, Tucker Carlson, and Megyn Kelly on Tuesday night, urging a packed crowd of college students to reject the conspiracy theories, doomsday predictions, and anti-Trump rage being pushed by the podcasters.
During a speech at the University of Pennsylvania, the Daily Wire founder said that the three are pushing “a grievance-based view of the world in which they and those like them are perennial victims of the American system.” 
Shapiro’s speech came just a few days after President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-goes-nuclear-on-tucker-megyn-and-candace?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=11&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Goes+Nuclear+On+Tucker%2C+Megyn%2C+And+Candace">ripped</a> Carlson, Owens, and Kelly, saying they all have “Low IQs.” 
“They’re stupid people, they know it, their families know it, and everyone else knows it, too!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. 
Shapiro expanded on the president’s observation and argued that the group of anti-Trump podcasters has bought into “conspiratorial grievance politics,” which he compared to a “zombie infection.” 
“The attraction of low IQ ideology is envy,” Shapiro said. “A belief that lack of success is somehow a reflection not of bad decision-making or the hardship of life, but of a cruel system, designed by a nefarious cadre of evildoers. Envy. As Adam Smith put it, envy is ‘that passion which views with malignant dislike the superiority of those who are really entitled to all the superiority they possess.’” 
<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2Q54Jt70-Xo?si=PlQxntGbfSkVmRvp" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Some of these beliefs have recently been demonstrated by Carlson, Owens, and Kelly, Shapiro said, giving multiple examples of how they have pushed conspiratorial grievance politics. 
“You are indeed rolling in low IQ horesh*t if you believe, as Tucker Carlson does, that the president is a ‘slave’ to Israel, or that Alex Jones is a ‘prophet,’ or that the chief opposition to Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro was ‘globohomo,’ or that Russia is wonderfully run, or that Sharia Law produces wonderfully clean and robust civilizations, or that Winston Churchill was the villain of World War II, or that Nick Fuentes is less evil than Ted Cruz.” 
Shapiro then called out the “low IQ slop” and “conspiratorial trash” pushed by Owens, who has suggested that Erika Kirk and Turning Point USA, along with the Israeli government, were involved in the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Shapiro also blasted Owens for saying that Charlie Kirk appeared to her in a dream and for latching onto the conspiracy theory that Brigitte Macron “has testicles.” 
“And worst of all, you are preying on low-IQ people when you cynically humor all of the foregoing for clicks and cash, as Megyn Kelly does,” Shapiro continued. “Nobody is upset with Megyn Kelly’s facile, trite, hackneyed takes on Middle Eastern politics. People are upset with her absolute cowardice and annoyed by the fact that, as a 55-year-old person, she cosplays courage like a clout-chasing 16-year-old girl.” 
Shapiro said the “low IQ grievance ideology” pushed by Carlson, Owens, and Kelly opposes the basic principles of what Shapiro called “high IQ conservatism.”
“High IQ conservatism rests on four foundations: free minds, free markets, public virtue, and a properly constructed government designed to protect these first three values,” he said. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
To Make America Great Again, we need high IQ Conservatives. <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@benshapiro</a> <a href="https://t.co/YZ56hkT1ie">pic.twitter.com/YZ56hkT1ie</a>
— YAF (@yaf) <a href="https://twitter.com/yaf/status/2044558892617597251?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“But low IQ grievance ideology rejects the fundamental basis of these central principles,” Shapiro added. 
He broke down how “low IQ grievance ideology” attempts to tear down free minds by arguing “that we are all victims of a sort of Marxist false consciousness, implanted in us by nefarious outside forces.” The ideology also attacks free markets “in true Marxist style.” 
“Low IQ grievance ideology also argues that public virtue is a sham. The church your parents sent you to as a child? It’s probably fundamentally broken. Either it’s cucked, or it’s intolerant,” Shapiro said.
The ideology says “the people we really need to emulate are true heroes like alleged rapist Andrew Tate and role models like Clavicular,” Shapiro added. “Or people spouting new forms of Christianity that are actually old forms of non-Christianity that revive the Marcion heresy and revel in attributing literally everything to demons, from aliens to underwater sea creatures to strange nighttime dog scratches.”
The line for Shapiro&#8217;s speech at UPenn, his first college speech this year, stretched around the block.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Students are lining up around the block to see <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@benshapiro</a> speak tonight at the University of Pennsylvania! <a href="https://t.co/qTakAnsrNt">pic.twitter.com/qTakAnsrNt</a>
— YAF (@yaf) <a href="https://twitter.com/yaf/status/2044185131716325859?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

ben low iq

Ben Shapiro Lays Into The ‘Low IQ’ Podcast Class

Ben Shapiro

College

Megyn Kelly

Tucker Carlson

Two teenagers who pledged support for ISIS pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to terrorism and weapons charges tied to an alleged plot to carry out a bombing outside of Gracie Mansion in New York City.
Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, are accused of planting improvised explosive devices, sometimes referred to as the &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/terrorists-have-killed-hundreds-with-mother-of-satan-bomb-used-in-nyc-attack">Mother of Satan</a>,&#8221; on a street near the mayor&#8217;s residence during an anti-Islam demonstration led by far-Right activist Jake Lang in March. Balat and Kayumi pleaded not guilty in a federal courtroom, appearing in handcuffs and wearing tan jumpsuits, Gothamist <a href="https://gothamist.com/news/teens-plead-not-guilty-to-islamic-state-inspired-plot-near-gracie-mansion">reported</a>.
According to the indictment, investigators obtained dashcam footage from the vehicle that Balat and Kayumi drove from their suburban Pennsylvania home to New York City.
“Just can’t wait for that bomb to go off and his [i.e., Individual-1’s] freaking head, his body to get split in half, bro, dead,” Balat is heard saying on the recording, according to the indictment. Prosecutors indicated the remark was likely directed at Lang. Balat also allegedly discussed targeting both government officials and civilians.
“All I know is I want to start terror, bro,” Kayumi allegedly told Balat, according to court documents.
If convicted, both Balat and Kayumi face life in prison.
Federal prosecutors told the judge on Wednesday that they are preparing &#8220;voluminous&#8221; discovery materials. The two teens are scheduled to appear in court again on May 16.
The demonstration outside of Gracie Mansion in early March drew more than 100 protesters and counterprotesters. Authorities say Balat threw a bomb toward the far-Right protesters, but it did not detonate. He allegedly attempted to deploy a second bomb before dropping it and fleeing the scene. An NYPD officer was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hero-nypd-chief-seen-chasing-isis-terror-suspects-relives-his-split-second-decision">hailed</a> for quickly jumping into action to chase down Balat and apprehend him.
Authorities later recovered a third improvised device from a nearby car, which contained traces of triacetone triperoxide, a highly volatile explosive compound commonly referred to as the &#8220;Mother of Satan.&#8221;
Investigators allege Balat pledged allegiance to ISIS during interrogations, while Kayumi told authorities he had watched ISIS propaganda, CBS News reported. The two had also recently spent time in Turkey, and Kayumi flew to Saudi Arabia in 2024, <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/03/08/us-news/self-radicalized-isis-supporters-used-explosive-called-mother-of-satan-inside-bombs-thrown-at-gracie-mansion-protest-sources/">according</a> to the New York Post.
&#8220;This was a planned attack motivated by extremist ideology and inspired by a violent, foreign terrorist organization,&#8221; NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in March.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the attempted bombing &#8220;reprehensible,&#8221; but not before he condemned the far-Right protesters for demonstrating.
&#8220;White supremacist Jake Lang organized a protest outside Gracie Mansion rooted in bigotry and racism. Such hate has no place in New York City. It is an affront to our city’s values and the unity that defines who we are,&#8221; Mamdani <a href="https://www.nyc.gov/mayors-office/news/2026/03/statement-from-mayor-zohran-kwame-mamdani-on-protests-outside-of">said</a> one day after the attempted attack. &#8220;What followed was even more disturbing. Violence at a protest is never acceptable. The attempt to use an explosive device and hurt others is not only criminal, it is reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are.&#8221;

Emir Balat, 18, is arrested after throwing an alleged

Teens Accused Of ISIS-Inspired Terror Plot Against NYC Protesters Enter Their Official Pleas

ISIS

New York City

Terrorism

Daily Wire host Michael Knowles took the stage at Villanova University, Pope Leo’s alma mater, on Tuesday night and addressed the ongoing feud between the president and the pontiff.
Knowles acknowledged that the fight between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo has placed “MAGA Catholics” such as himself in a &#8220;tricky position.&#8221; Trump ripped Pope Leo earlier this week after the pope condemned the president’s immigration policies and the war in Iran.
Knowles warned that any lasting division between Trump and the pope would affect the whole country, not just American Catholics, and benefit the &#8220;dark forces&#8221; that oppose Christianity and conservative political principles.
Even in America’s modern society dominated by secularism, there are moral and spiritual authorities competing for influence over politics, Knowles argued. The Daily Wire host highlighted leftist organizations that act as religious authorities, such as Planned Parenthood and LGBTQ activist centers.
“We will have rulers and we will have priests of one sort or the other,” Knowles said. “In an age of intensifying political and spiritual struggle, the president and the pope need to work together to illumine the earthly sphere because the alternative is that they work against one another to the sole benefit of the many dark forces that oppose us all.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/michael-knowles-live-from-villanova">WATCH: MICHAEL KNOWLES AT VILLANOVA</a>
For Trump and the pope, there are far more issues that bring them together than divide them, the Daily Wire host told students at the Catholic university near Philadelphia. Besides the pope&#8217;s more Left-leaning position on immigration, the pontiff&#8217;s views on nearly every social issue are to the Right of many Republicans, Knowles continued.
He pointed out that America remains the most religious country in the West, and its Catholic presence is only growing.
Knowles said that even if there wasn’t a Catholic influence in the United States, there would still be “a tension between the spiritual and the temporal authority, between the president and whatever pastor, preacher, or layman stood in inevitably to make spiritual claims.”
Even in the middle of a spat between the White House and the Vatican, conservative Catholic Americans can balance support for President Trump’s policies with respect for Pope Leo, Knowles said, citing a passage from Dante, who revered the papacy but was a political enemy of Pope Boniface VIII.
“You might say, in fact, that Dante found himself in exactly the same tricky position that MAGA Catholics find ourselves in this week,” Knowles said. “And with characteristic subtlety and sophistication, Dante offers us an example of how to deal with this dilemma in the very last lines of ‘Monarchia.”
In that passage, Dante wrote, &#8220;Let Caesar honor Peter as a first-born son should honor his father, so that, refulgent with the light of paternal grace, he may illumine with greater radiance the earthly sphere over which he has been set by Him who alone is Ruler of all things spiritual and temporal.&#8221;

Knowles/Trump/Pope

Michael Knowles Makes The Case For Why Trump And The Pope Must Get Along

Catholicism

Michael Knowles

Pope Leo

Police in Omaha, Nebraska, shot and killed a woman who slashed the face of a 3-year-old boy during a kidnapping attempt at Walmart on Tuesday, authorities said.
The attacker, who authorities have not identified, was confronted by police just outside of the Walmart as she was holding a knife to the young child, who was sitting in a shopping cart, Omaha Police Deputy Chief Scott Gray said. The woman refused verbal commands from the officers and then slashed the 3-year-old boy across the face before at least one officer opened fire and killed her.
The toddler was taken to the hospital after suffering &#8220;a rather large laceration across the left side of the face,&#8221; according to the deputy police chief. Authorities believe the young boy will survive. No one else was injured in the kidnapping attempt or the shooting.
&#8220;The officers gave the suspect commands,&#8221; Gray said. &#8220;There is video that shows the suspect swiping the knife at the child, cutting him across the face.&#8221;
Police said the child&#8217;s &#8220;caretaker&#8221; was shopping at Walmart with the toddler seated in a shopping cart when she was confronted by the suspect, who was armed with a large knife, which investigators believe she stole from the store, ABC&#8217;s Omaha affiliate KETV <a href="https://www.ketv.com/article/omaha-walmart-shooting-officers-kill-woman-kidnapping/71015802">reported</a>. The perpetrator then allegedly snatched the child from the caretaker, &#8220;essentially kidnapping the child,&#8221; and ordered the caretaker to walk in front of the shopping cart as they exited the store. The woman held a knife up to the child as they walked.
After walking out of the store, the two women had a verbal &#8220;back and forth&#8221; before police arrived on the scene at around 9:20 a.m. local time, Gray said. Authorities do not believe that the attacker and the caretaker knew each other, adding that it remains unclear why the perpetrator targeted the woman and the young boy. It is also not known whether the caretaker was the child&#8217;s mother or someone else.

Walmart/Police

Every Parent’s Nightmare Inside Walmart Ends With A Split-Second Decision

Crime

kidnapping

Nebraska

Police

Walmart

Roblox, the most popular online gaming site in the world, announced new age-based accounts on Monday as the company seeks to address numerous allegations of sex predators targeting children on the platform.
Roblox <a href="https://about.roblox.com/newsroom/2026/04/introducing-roblox-kids-and-select-accounts">introduced</a> new age-based accounts for children under 9 and for children between 9 and 15, which the company says will limit the games children can access and how they can chat with others online. The new accounts will also give parents more oversight over their children&#8217;s gaming and chat activities, according to Roblox. The new age-based accounts are set to officially launch in June.
&#8220;When they roll out in early June, these accounts will more closely align content access, communication settings, and parental controls with a user’s age. We’re also establishing an ongoing selection process for games available to users under 16,&#8221; Roblox said. &#8220;This update will bring age-checks, account-level defaults, content ratings, ongoing moderation, and expanded parental controls together into a unified framework for younger users.&#8221;
The move comes after Roblox has faced intense scrutiny over its child safety measures and has been accused of standing by as child sex predators took advantage of the game&#8217;s realistic interactive settings and chat functions to prey on children. The platform, which boasts over 80 million daily users worldwide, allows gamers to develop their own games or play games developed by other users. Roblox is especially popular among children, with the company claiming that around half of all American kids under 16 are active on the platform.
The platform&#8217;s interactive concept has exposed children to sexually explicit content, exploitation, and grooming by predatory adults, according to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who sued Roblox in November. The <a href="https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/images/press/Petition_0.pdf">lawsuit</a> alleges that Roblox has deceived parents about the safety of the game when, &#8220;In reality, Roblox is a sprawling and unregulated digital playground that is overrun by predators and saturated with sexual content.&#8221;
When the changes announced by Roblox go into effect, it will mark the first time the platform has set up specific account barriers to separate children under 16 from adult users. Parents will also be given expanded oversight of their children&#8217;s accounts, including the ability to monitor and manage chats and block specific games they don&#8217;t want their children playing.
Alleigh Marré, the executive director of the American Parents Coalition — which raises awareness about activists agendas and corporate interests influencing children — told The Daily Wire that Roblox&#8217;s move isn&#8217;t enough to address the issues on its platform. Marré argued that the age-gated accounts are just another &#8220;toolset,&#8221; not an actual fix.
&#8220;Tools without accountability don&#8217;t solve systemic problems,&#8221; Marré said. &#8220;Now, that doesn&#8217;t mean that it&#8217;s not going to help parents, but it&#8217;s just another dashboard. So, without Roblox taking some responsibility and putting some controls on the back end with teeth, it really doesn&#8217;t do anything except foist responsibility from a platform they&#8217;ve created onto parents.&#8221;
For its new age-gated system, Roblox will rely on an artificial intelligence tool that estimates the user&#8217;s age based on a photo the user uploads to the platform. Parents can also manually verify their child&#8217;s age when they sign up for a Roblox account.
Under the new guidelines, kids between the ages of 5 and 8 would only be allowed to use a &#8220;Roblox Kids&#8221; account, which would only give them access to games with &#8220;a Minimal or Mild content maturity label,&#8221; Roblox said. Under the game&#8217;s <a href="https://en.help.roblox.com/hc/en-us/articles/8862768451604-Content-Maturity-Labels">rating system</a>, &#8220;Minimal&#8221; includes games that could &#8220;contain occasional mild violence, light unrealistic blood, and/or occasional mild fear.&#8221; &#8220;Mild&#8221; games could &#8220;contain repeated mild violence, heavy unrealistic blood, mild crude humor, and/or repeated mild fear.&#8221;
Kids under 9 would also have all online chat communications disabled by default. Parents, however, can turn on chat functions for a &#8220;Roblox Kids&#8221; account, which limits communications to &#8220;in-game chat with other users under 13-years-old&#8221; and users who are designated by parents as &#8220;trusted friends.&#8221;
Once a user turns 9-year-old, he is automatically moved up to a &#8220;Roblox Select&#8221; account, which will gives users between 9 and 15 access to a larger library of games, including games that fall under the &#8220;Moderate&#8221; maturity level. Roblox defines &#8220;Moderate&#8221; games as those which could &#8220;contain moderate violence, light realistic blood, moderate crude humor, unplayable gambling content, and/or moderate fear.&#8221;
Marré told The Daily Wire that the age-gated accounts still pose risks to children.
&#8220;When a child turns 9, they go from the entry-level Roblox to the 9- to 15-year-old bracket, which is a very wide maturity swath. You&#8217;re talking about a fourth grader with a sophomore in high school. That&#8217;s a very big difference,&#8221; Marré said. &#8220;And that&#8217;s if everybody is playing by the rules. That doesn&#8217;t stop a bad guy from creating a profile posing as a 14-year-old and reaching out to kids because now these bad guys are funneled into the &#8216;safe space&#8217; for kids too.&#8221;
Users 16 and older won&#8217;t see any changes to their accounts, Roblox said.
&#8220;Together, these updates are part of our ongoing work to build age-appropriate experiences for all users, apply safety-by-default protections for younger users, and give parents more visibility and control over how their children use Roblox,&#8221; the company added.

Roblox

The App Millions Of Kids Use Just Changed The Rules After Predator Fears Explode

Children

Gaming

Sexual Abuse

Technology

Hasan Piker, the leftist streamer who once said that America &#8220;deserved 9/11&#8221; and has sympathized with Hezbollah and Hamas, was defended on the pages of The New York Times on Sunday after he campaigned with a Democratic U.S. Senate candidate in Michigan.
In a 2,000-word <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/12/opinion/hasan-piker-democrats.html">article</a> that was originally titled &#8220;Hasan Piker is not the Enemy,&#8221; New York Times opinion columnist Ezra Klein acknowledged some of Piker&#8217;s controversial comments, including his support for designated terrorist groups, but argued that &#8220;to focus only on those comments is to miss much else that Piker has said and believes.&#8221; Klein also suggested that Democrats would be unwise to brush Piker off and refuse to appear on his show because of his large social media following and his appeal among the younger and more radical segments of the Left.
The streamer has also gained national attention for expressing support for radical Islamic terrorists while calling Republicans &#8220;the biggest terrorists&#8221; in the world.
&#8220;I would vote for Hamas over Israel every single time,&#8221; Piker said during a recent appearance on the popular leftist podcast &#8220;Pod Save America.&#8221; At another point of the podcast, Piker <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/popular-leftist-claimed-america-deserved-9-11-his-latest-comments-pour-gas-on-the-fire">said</a>, &#8220;The biggest terrorists, the biggest domestic terrorist in this country, the biggest terrorist internationally is the Republican Party.&#8221;
According to Klein, statements like these shouldn&#8217;t scare Democrats away from Piker. The New York Times columnist also argued that just because Piker has voiced support for terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah doesn&#8217;t mean he&#8217;s a &#8220;Jew hater.&#8221;
&#8220;I have deep disagreements with Piker, but he isn’t a &#8216;Jew hater.&#8217; He’s an anti-Zionist. And here, I think, the real stakes of this fight come into view,&#8221; Klein wrote before going into a long defense of Piker&#8217;s anti-Israel views.
&#8220;Israel, as it is behaving today, and as it is constructing itself for tomorrow, is incompatible with any normal understanding of liberal values,&#8221; Klein continued.
The New York Times columnist did not say if Piker&#8217;s cheering for designated terror groups is in line with liberal values. Instead, Klein touted Piker&#8217;s support for Jewish Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Jon Ossoff (D-GA).
On Monday, the Times changed the headline on Klein&#8217;s opinion article from &#8220;Hasan Piker is not the Enemy&#8221; to &#8220;This is Why There&#8217;s No Liberal Joe Rogan.&#8221;
Much of Klein&#8217;s defense of Piker focuses on how the Democratic Party pushed cancel culture to its own detriment. Klein points out that most Democrats either condemned or ignored podcaster Joe Rogan in the lead-up to and during the 2024 presidential election cycle, paving the way for Republicans to capitalize on Rogan&#8217;s massive audience with very little counter-messaging.
&#8220;In avoiding those spaces, Democrats avoided contact with the kinds of voters they otherwise claimed to represent,&#8221; Klein wrote. &#8220;This is the mistake Democrats often make when they talk about what they did wrong in 2024. They realize, now, that they should try to talk to the people who listen to these shows; they are less likely to realize that they should listen to the people who talk on these shows.&#8221;
Klein then argued that Piker represents another opportunity for Democrats to reach voters, and he questioned the reasoning of Democrats, such as Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin and Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego, who have declined invitations to appear on Piker&#8217;s show.
&#8220;When you’re dealing with podcasters or streamers who talk, unstructured and unrehearsed, for hours each week, if not every day, there’s going to be so much said that it’s almost inevitable that a dossier of dumb statements can be compiled,&#8221; Klein wrote. &#8220;To write those people out of acceptable political discourse is to back yourself into a shrinking, sanitized corner of the public sphere.&#8221;
Democrats who are approaching Piker correctly in Klein&#8217;s view are Sen. Sanders, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who have all either appeared on Piker&#8217;s show or collaborated with Piker in some form. California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has also said he is open to appearing on Piker&#8217;s show.
Most recently, Piker campaigned with U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan as El-Sayed hopes to win a competitive Democratic primary.
&#8220;There&#8217;s a battle brewing,&#8221; Piker <a href="https://x.com/JessicaCostescu/status/2041678014715400629">said</a> at a campaign event with El-Sayed. &#8220;A battle brewing not only against the corrupt fascist forces of the Republican Party, but also against do-nothing Democrats.&#8221;

Hasan/Hamas

New York Times Runs Cover For Terrorist-Sympathizing Streamer Cozying Up With Democrats

Democrats

Hasan Piker

The New York Times

President Donald Trump ordered two bags of food from McDonald&#8217;s to the Oval Office via DoorDash for lunch on Monday and allowed the delivery driver to talk about the massive tax return she received thanks to Trump&#8217;s &#8220;Big, Beautiful Bill.&#8221;
Dasher Sharon Simmons, who wore a shirt that read &#8220;DoorDash Grandma,&#8221; walked up to the outside door of the Oval Office as cameras rolled and was greeted by the president.
&#8220;Nice to meet you. I have your DoorDash order for you, Mr. President,&#8221; Simmons said.
&#8220;Look at this. This doesn&#8217;t look staged, does it?&#8221; Trump quipped as reporters gathered to watch the food drop off and ask Trump questions during a quick press conference.
Simmons told Trump that she was surprised to receive a tax refund of over $11,000 this year thanks to the tax cuts passed in Trump&#8217;s &#8220;Big, Beautiful Bill.&#8221; The bill, which was passed the Republican-controlled Congress and signed into law by Trump last summer, allows Americans to deduct federal taxes on tips and overtime. Trump&#8217;s tax cuts gave many waiters, bartenders, and delivery drivers a massive boost in their 2025 refunds.
&#8220;You know, we call it the &#8216;Great, Big, Beautiful Bill&#8217; — we should call it the &#8216;Great, Big, Beautiful Tax Cut Bill&#8217; because it&#8217;s tremendous amounts of money,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;And that&#8217;s on overtime, that&#8217;s also on social security, as you know.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
WATCH IN FULL: <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> receives a <a href="https://twitter.com/DoorDash?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DoorDash</a> delivery to the Oval Office.
&#8220;I have your <a href="https://twitter.com/DoorDash?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DoorDash</a> order for you, Mr. President!&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/lwFHbHmYVk">pic.twitter.com/lwFHbHmYVk</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/2043736844144124206?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Trump tipped the dasher $100 for the McDonald&#8217;s delivery. He also invited her into the Oval Office.
<div id="attachment_1077065" style="width: 875px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1077065" class="wp-image-1077065 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-2270730070-865x576.jpg" alt="" width="865" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-2270730070-865x576.jpg 865w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-2270730070-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-2270730070-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-2270730070.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 865px) 100vw, 865px" />Photographer: Salwan Georges/Bloomberg via Getty Images</div>
After dropping off the president&#8217;s McDonald&#8217;s order, Simmons told Fox News that Trump&#8217;s no tax on tips has helped her save up money after she and her husband were forced to spend much of their savings on her husband&#8217;s medical bills when he was diagnosed with stage-three cancer.
&#8220;As you know, going through treatments — even with insurance — you kind of break the bank,&#8221; Simmons said. &#8220;And we pretty much went through our savings, so when I found out about the no tax on tips, I was like this is incredible. You know, it&#8217;s not going to replace my life savings, but it&#8217;s going to help, certainly, with future doctor&#8217;s appointments and future things that we have going on. It means a lot.&#8221;
Simmons added that in 2025, half of her total earnings came through tips. Following the passage of the &#8220;Big, Beautiful Bill,&#8221; many seniors also qualified for an additional $6,000 in deductions on their 2025 tax returns. So far, the average tax refund for all Americans in the 2026 filing season has been over $3,600, up nearly 11% from last year&#8217;s refunds, <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/filing-season-statistics-for-week-ending-march-6-2026">according</a> to IRS data.
The Trump administration is highlighting the president&#8217;s economic policies as the 2026 election season ramps up. Earlier this month, the White House <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-job-growth-surges-past-expectations-in-march">celebrated</a> a jobs report that showed a net gain of 178,000 jobs in March, more than tripling expectations.
On other economic fronts, however, Trump is taking a hit as the Iran war continues. The president faces criticism over rising gas and energy <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inflation-report-shows-iran-war-impact-as-a-key-piece-tells-the-story">prices</a> in the wake of his decision to launch &#8220;Operation Epic Fury.&#8221;

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Zach Jewell