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Former State Trooper Sentenced To 7 Years In Child Sex Sting

A former New Jersey State Police trooper who prosecutors say committed a profound breach of public trust has been sentenced to seven years in state prison for attempting to arrange a sexual encounter with a child during an undercover operation last summer, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced Friday.

33-year-old Shane H. Dempsey of Brick received the sentence Wednesday from Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Henry P. Butehorn. He must serve at least two years before becoming eligible for parole and will be required to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law. The sentence also subjects him to Parole Supervision for Life, mandates forfeiture of his public position and permanently bars him from public employment in New Jersey.

The case began when an undercover Prosecutor’s Office detective on the social media app Whisper was contacted by a user later identified as Dempsey. Authorities said Dempsey solicited sexually explicit images and discussed paying for a sexual act with someone he believed to be a 14-year-old girl.

Dempsey was arrested after arriving for the arranged meeting in his police-issued vehicle.

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Trump Calls for National AI Framework, Curbing ‘Onerous’ State-Based Regulations

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order calling for a national policy framework on AI regulation, curbing states from pushing “onerous” laws.

The Trump administration seeks to have America dominate in this “new frontier” of technology. The executive order would protect American innovation while seeking to prevent a costly regulatory regime from various states by:

  • Ordering the attorney general to establish an AI Litigation Task Force to challenge “unconstitutional, preempted, or otherwise unlawful State AI laws that harm innovation”
  • Directing the Commerce secretary to evaluate state-based AI regulation that conflicts with the national AI framework and withhold non-deployment Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) funding from any state with onerous state AI rules
  • Instructing the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to take actions that would hamper states’ ability to force AI companies to embed diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and other models that would violate the Federal Trade Commission Act
  • Calls for the development of a national AI legislative framework to preempt state AI laws that curb AI innovation

A White House press release noted that state legislatures have introduced over 1,000 different AI regulatory bills, which would create a “patchwork” of rules and other requirements. It also argues that left-leaning states such as California and Colorado are pushing AI companies to censor certain output and insert “left-wing ideology” in their models.

“The most restrictive States should not be allowed to dictate national AI policy at the expense of America’s domination of this new frontier,” the White House press release stated.

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FBI opens probe into over 350 suspected members of sadistic ‘764’ group accused of targeting children online

The FBI has announced the launch of a probe into “764,” an online group of nihilistic violent extremists who carry out sadistic criminal conduct, including child exploitation and sexual extortion.

According to a recent press release from the Department of Justice (DOJ), members of the 764 group “use known online social media communications platforms as mediums to support the possession, production, and sharing of extreme gore media and child sex abuse material with vulnerable, juvenile populations.”

“These individuals often conduct coordinated extortions of teenagers, blackmailing the victims to comply with the group’s demands,” the DOJ’s release added.

Members often target unsuspecting children online, utilizing blackmail and extortion to coerce them into sending sexually explicit images or harming themselves or others.

“For nearly 20 hours, they attacked, threatened, terrorized, dismantled my child. Every time he tried to fight back and ask why are you doing this to me, please leave me alone, they escalated,” stated Ohio resident Tamia Woods, a mother whose 17-year-old son committed suicide after having an encounter with the group in 2022.

“James was the victim of financial sextortion, and though he died by suicide, let’s be clear: he was murdered,” she stated. “In those last moments, my son, who had everything to live for, felt like he had no other choice.”

The FBI revealed that the bureau is currently investigating over 350 subjects in connection with the group, after two alleged leaders were arrested and charged in April.

21-year-old Leonidas “War” Varagiannis, a United States citizen residing in Thessaloniki, Greece, and 20-year-old Prasan “Trippy” Nepal of High Point, North Carolina, were the individuals arrested in the April sting.

Varagiannis and Nepal “directed, participated in, and otherwise caused the production and distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), and the defendants facilitated the grooming, manipulation, and extortion of minors,” according to a DOJ release at the time.

“Varagiannis and Nepal allegedly ordered their victims to commit acts of self-harm and engaged in psychological torment and extreme violence against minors. The affidavit alleges that the group targeted vulnerable children online, coercing them into producing degrading and explicit content under threat and manipulation. This content includes ‘cut signs’ and blood signs’ through which young minors would cut symbols into their bodies.”

If convicted, both Nepal and Varagiannis face life in prison.

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What The Top 1% Richest Americans Pay In Taxes Across The US

This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Bruno Venditti, uses IRS data from 2022 analyzed by SmartAsset to show how much the richest people contribute to income tax revenue.

The table below includes each state’s share of income taxes paid by the top 1% and the total amount of income tax they paid.

Wyoming leads the nation, with the top 1% paying 54.67% of all state income taxes.

Florida and Nevada follow closely, both surpassing the 50% threshold.

These states attract high-income individuals in part due to tax-friendly policies and large concentrations of wealthy households.

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Trump: Strikes on Venezuelan land could begin ‘pretty soon’

President Donald Trump indicated on Thursday that U.S. military strikes on Venezuelan soil could come “pretty soon,” following a recent seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker.

On Thursday, President Trump was asked by a reporter whether the military campaign against Venezuela is still about stopping drugs from entering the United States, or if the administration is motivated by the nation’s oil resources after the interdiction of a Venezuelan oil tanker.

“Well, it’s about a lot of things, but one of the things it’s about is the fact that they’ve allowed millions of people to come into our country from their prisons, from gangs, from drug dealers, and from mental institutions, probably proportionately more than anybody else,” Trump responded.

“We had 11,888 murderers come into our country, many of them are from Venezuela. We had thousands of Tren de Aragua – the gang – come in from [Venezuela], which they say is the most violent gang,” he continued. “So it has to do with a lot of things, they’ve treated us badly, and I guess now we’re not treating them so good. If you look at the drug traffic, drug traffic by sea is down 92%… anybody getting involved in that right now is not doing well.”

“… And we’ll start that on land too, it’s gonna be starting on land pretty soon,” Trump added without providing further detail.

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Lefty ‘Consumer’ Watchdog Group Bought & Paid For By Big Pharma

The National Consumers League is America’s oldest consumer advocacy organization and a group trusted by the left, especially, to stand up for consumers’ interests.

But according to a review of its tax filings by the Washington Examiner, it has also become part of a web of astroturf groups shilling for the corporate interests of PhRMA, the massive drugmaker trade association that operates in Washington, DC, which donated close to $1 million to it just last year.

The organization’s 2024 tax form, which became available a few days ago, shows that the non-profit spent close to $600 million last year advocating for Big Pharma’s financial interests and policy agenda in Washington, DC, and state capitals across the country.

And a key way in which that advocacy was accomplished was through the National Consumers League, also known as NCL.

The Examiner reports that “PhRMA donated roughly $2 million to NCL between 2020 and 2024, including $875,000 in 2024 alone.”

During that time, NCL has hewed closely to PhRMA issue positions on matters including regulation of insurers that negotiate for lower drug prices for Americans (also known as PBMs), and the 340B drug discount program that disproportionately benefits red, rural America.

But a review of content historically featured on NCL’s website indicates that prior to taking PhRMA money, the group never criticized PBMs or 340B.

When asked for comment by the Examiner, NCL did not deny that their criticism of PBMs and 340B was related to the PhRMA funding, and they confirmed “that contributions from PhRMA support [the group’s] ‘healthcare work.’”

The Examiner has previously reported on apparent astroturf, “pay-to-play” advocacy efforts undertaken by PhRMA.

The Wall Street Journal also ran an exposé about PhRMA’s tactics in the nation’s capital, including what critics say looks like a “buying off” of supposed progressive “identity” groups like Black, Gifted & Whole– a group focused on “Black Queer men”– and MANA, A National Latina Organization.

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DOJ Sues Four States for Violating Federal Election Law

The Department of Justice announced Friday it has filed federal lawsuits against four states, which were all accused of election law violations.

According to a press release from the DOJ Office of Public Affairs, the suits target Colorado, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Nevada.

The department says the states failed to produce their statewide voter registration lists upon request.

The filings bring the Justice Department’s nationwide total of such lawsuits to 18, the release said.

In addition to the four states, the Civil Rights Division is suing officials in Fulton County, Georgia.

The lawsuit against Fulton County seeks records related to the 2020 election.

The DOJ said the actions are being handled by its Civil Rights Division.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon addressed the lawsuits in a statement.

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Newsom’s ‘National Model’ For Homeless Wracked By Fraud

Gov. Gavin Newsom has made reducing the homelessness crisis in California a top priority, saying the scale of the state’s efforts is “unprecedented” and calling for the continued expansion of his signature effort – Project Homekey – that has already cost $3.75 billion. 

But in a state with more than 181,000 homeless individuals, or about one-third of the U.S. total, Homekey has been marred by failures and scandals, including a lack of government oversight and accountability as well as a federal investigation into allegations of fraud in Los Angeles. 

Newsom, who appears to be preparing for a presidential bid in 2028, could make Homekey, which he calls a “national model,” a talking point in his campaign. The state claims the program has created almost 16,000 permanent housing units that will serve over 175,000 people. But since the state doesn’t track outcomes – whether people placed in housing saw their lives improve or if they returned to the streets – the program’s effectiveness is unclear, according to a critical 2024 state auditor’s report. 

“[Our budget] is bloated with homeless spending, a bottomless pit and taxpayer boondoggle that doubles down on failure year after year,” the Republican-turned-Democrat Los Angeles Councilwoman Traci Park said at a meeting in May. “Hundreds of millions of dollars on bridge homes and Homekeys and interim housing sites, and no one can even tell us which ones are operational.”

What is clear is that homelessness in California has skyrocketed in the five years Homekey has been in place, growing by more than 20%, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. That’s an increase of some 36,000 people between 2019 and 2024.

Homekey has been touted by officials as a more cost-effective way to house the homeless. By hiring developers to convert excess motel and hotel rooms and other existing structures into permanent housing, the costs are two to three times lower than building new units, according to the auditor’s report.

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Tim Walz Blames White Men For Widespread Fraud in Somali Community

Minnesota Governor and failed Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz blamed white men for the widespread fraud in the Somali community.

It was recently revealed that Walz and the Democrats allowed a $1 billion heist to take place largely through the Somali community in Minnesota.

The massive scandal happened on Tim Walz’s watch. The GOP-led Oversight Committee is conducting an investigation into the Somali fraud ring.

Some reports suggest the fraud may have exceeded $8 billion.

A reporter asked Walz about the rampant fraud in the Somali community.

“Do you want to hear more from the members – the leaders of the Somali community to say we need to look at ourselves and hold ourselves accountable..” the reporter said.

Walz shifted the blame to white men and said the Somalians are the secondary victims.

“It’s not law abiding citizens. If that were the case, there’s a lot of white men who should be holding a lot of white men accountable for the crimes they have committed,” Walz said.

“I think what you’re seeing here is they’re secondary victims in this…by signing them up and they say well I had no idea I was in this program,” Walz said.

“Each community’s got this in their own midst, but to blame them and say that they should have been responsible for stopping it, I think that’s a pretty hard reach,” he said.

“But no, I think this idea that the Somali community is to blame for this because they didn’t do more. I think that’s how we got into this,” he said.

The Somalians are the victims here.

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Russia hoaxer Marc Elias just humiliated himself in front of Clarence Thomas…

Marc Elias has spent years masquerading as a serious legal mind, even though everyone who actually practices law knows the truth: he’s a clown. If it wasn’t for the Clintons, he’d be chasing ambulances in some podunk town. Instead, Elias is a political fixer. A Clinton-world errand boy. The kind of guy who speaks loudly to cover the fact that his arguments collapse the moment any competent person pushes back.

Also, remember, this is the same Marc Elias who helped inject the Russia hoax into the bloodstream of American media. The same Marc Elias who turned opposition research into a national mental illness. Cable news loves him because he talks fast, says scary things about Trump, and never has to face cross-examination.

So naturally, for reasons known only to the left’s most overconfident strategists, everybody decided that Marc Elias was the guy to take his act to the Supreme Court of The United States.

That decision didn’t go well…

Instead of friendly fake news anchors nodding along, Elias ran straight into a brick wall called Clarence Thomas. Elias had no script to fall back on. He wasn’t getting those lovely, gentle softball lobs. This guy went into the lion’s den with zero protection. So, when Marc had to face a competent Justice, quietly asking him to explain what the heck he was arguing and why any of it made constitutional sense, Marc crumbled.

It was painful.

And Elias wasn’t arguing some random fringe case. He was trying to sell the Court on this convoluted theory that coordinated political spending was some “First Amendment” speech issue. Basically, he wanted the justices to believe that paying campaign bills and coordinating expenses somehow magically transforms into “protected expression.”

Justice Thomas was not buying it.

As you listen to the audio, pay attention to what keeps happening. Thomas asks a simple question. Elias responds with a fog machine of confusion. Thomas asks again. Elias keeps circling the drain, repeating phrases like “symbolic speech” and “the act of giving,” without ever landing a coherent answer. Eventually, Thomas flat-out says he does not understand what Elias is even arguing.

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