Stembridge News Digest

  • Tom Homan says Trump administration has located 23,000 of the 300,000 migrant children lost under Biden administration Fri, 29 Aug 2025 23:25:37 +0000


    The Trump administration's border czar announced Friday that federal officials have found tens of thousands of the missing children lost under the Biden administration.

    Tom Homan made the comments on Fox News as the administration released some data about President Donald Trump's mass deportation efforts.

    "Out of the 300,000 children — I looked at the numbers just yesterday — we've located over 23,000 of them," Homan said.

    'That's a big plus for the administration because the last administration wasn't even looking for them.'

    "So 23,000 locations of 300,000. President Trump's committed. We're not going to stop until we find every one of them or at least run every lead down on those 300,000 children. That's a big plus for the administration because the last administration wasn't even looking for them."

    The 300,000 figure is taken from a government report in 2024 about unaccompanied migrant children who had been released to sponsors or family members within the U.S. The report said that 32,000 of those children failed to show up to immigration court between 2019 and 2023, but another 291,000 of those children didn't receive court notices at all.

    Critics say the children aren't actually missing but that it is more of a bureaucratic "paperwork issue" of the government.

    "That doesn't mean something bad happened to them," said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick of the American Immigration Council to the BBC. "It means you missed a court hearing."

    However, Reichlin-Melnick admitted that some of those children are at higher risk for trafficking and abuse, a finding included in the 2024 report.

    RELATED: Online outrage erupts over video of illegal alien arrest — then his horrific charges are revealed

    A Department of Homeland Security official told Fox News that total deportations had reached 350,000 removals under Trump.

    "President Trump and Secretary Noem have jump-started an agency that was vilified and barred from doings its job for the last four years," the official said. "In the face of a historic number of injunctions from activist judges, ICE, CBP, and the U.S. Coast Guard have made historic progress to carry out President Trump's promise of arresting and deporting illegal aliens who have invaded our country."

    The spokesperson added that migration through the Darien Gap in Panama is down 99.99%.

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  • Federal appeals court rules Trump's tariffs are unlawful Fri, 29 Aug 2025 22:22:16 +0000

  • Steve Deace: How the ‘tranny madness’ must be eradicated Fri, 29 Aug 2025 22:00:00 +0000


    While Christians on the right may be viewed as “radical” in the eyes of the left, they’re not even as close to how radical the left has become.

    And BlazeTV host Steve Deace believes that needs to change if Americans want their children marked safe from the kind of evil that the left’s most radical are capable of unleashing — like the recent shooting of school children at church in Minneapolis.

    “Even as radicalized as we’ve all become in the last few years, we are still not to the level of radicalization that we are up against. Now, I would not be a supporter of equaling their radicalization because I think that would call us to do things that God’s word says that we cannot,” Deace says.

    “That being said, I think being more aware of their radicalization will make us more prone to do the preparation that God’s word says we must. And we haven’t,” he continues.


    And that radicalization of the other side was on full display in Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey’s comments regarding the horrific shooting on CNN.

    “Obviously, I’ve heard about the rhetoric and the narrative that is being pushed out. But here’s the thing. Anybody that is going to use this as an opportunity to villainize our trans community or any community has lost touch with a common humanity,” Frey told reporter Erin Burnett.

    “We’ve got to be operating not out of hate for any group, but out of a love for our children,” he added.

    “Straight up demonic levels of gaslighting,” Deace says.

    “How can the mayor of Minneapolis say that level of gas lighting with conviction? There was real conviction there. That’s not BS at all. That’s not virtue signaling. That’s real, because this is his religion, and he’s committed to it, and he’s more committed to it than most of you are,” Deace continues.

    “That level of conviction there is biblical, man,” he adds.

    And while many liberals have been touting the line that “prayer is not enough,” Deace is actually in agreement.

    “Words are not enough, and we need some commonsense gun control. Anybody who has ever sought any level of counseling, I don’t care if they’re 8 or 108, any level of counseling on quote, ‘gender affirming care,’ can never own a weapon,” Deace says.

    “What needs to happen is tranny madness needs to be completely eradicated from every social institution and polite conversation in the United States of America and not just for children. Any age regardless. It cannot happen,” he continues.

    “The sheer lunacy of this, no human civilization can be civilized and sustain it,” he adds.

    Want more from Steve Deace?

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  • Hidden phones, earpieces: Five non-English speakers arrested for alleged CDL cheating scheme Fri, 29 Aug 2025 21:00:00 +0000


    Several foreign nationals in Florida were allegedly caught cheating on their commercial driver’s license tests, further fueling national concerns about road safety due to an influx of non-English-speaking drivers in the American trucking industry.

    'This story, when viewed in the larger context, points to the phenomenon that we identified late last year: labor dumping.'

    Five men were arrested and are facing felony charges after Florida Highway Patrol investigators claimed they were involved in a scheme to use hidden phones and earpieces to cheat on DMV tests in Jacksonville, WTLV-WJXX reported.

    Each man taking the CDL test allegedly used a harness to strap a phone to his chest, hiding it under a T-shirt with a small hole that exposed the camera lens. This allowed the phone to record the English-language questions displayed on the DMV computer screen.

    The live video was streamed to an accomplice outside the facility, who then fed the correct answers back to the test-takers in real time in a language they understood, according to investigators.

    Some of the men wore button-up shirts over their altered T-shirts to better conceal the hole, according to investigators. Once seated in front of the computer, they supposedly unbuttoned their shirts to ensure that the phone camera could capture the questions displayed on the screen.

    RELATED: American trucking at a crossroads: Deadly crash involving illegal alien exposes true cost of Biden’s border invasion

    Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images

    Florida Highway Patrol Sergeant Dylan Bryan called the scheme “organized fraud,” adding that similar operations could be taking place across the state.

    All of the men who were arrested claimed they could not speak or read English and requested interpreters.

    RELATED: Florida teams up with ICE to crack down on illegal alien truckers after deadly crash

    Photo by Bob Riha, Jr./Getty Images

    “This story, when viewed in the larger context, points to the phenomenon that we identified late last year: labor dumping,” Shannon Everett with American Truckers United told Blaze News. “Approximately 10 states are responsible for the majority of noncitizen truck drivers being dumped onto the interstate system. This has been done with a combination of corrupt DMVs, fraudulent testing, and no enforcement for the last four years. Florida is one of the 10 states.”

    State Attorney General James Uthmeier announced on Monday that Florida would ramp up its efforts to enhance road safety by turning some of its truck weigh stations into Immigration and Customs Enforcement checkpoints. This decision by Florida officials followed a fatal accident on August 12, which involved a truck driver from India. The driver received his CDL in California despite being unable to speak English.

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  • Trump prepares massive immigration enforcement in sanctuary city Fri, 29 Aug 2025 20:45:00 +0000


    President Donald Trump and his administration are expanding their efforts to carry out the largest deportation initiative in the nation's history.

    Kristi Noem's Department of Homeland Security is planning an operation in Chicago that would involve 200 agency officials and the use of the Naval Station Great Lakes, according to the New York Times.

    'The first day in Chicago, we took nine child predators off the street.'

    "President Trump has been clear: We are going to make our streets and cities safe again," a senior DHS official told Blaze News. "Across the country, DHS law enforcement are arresting and removing the worst of worst including gang members, murderers, pedophiles, and rapists that have terrorized American communities. Under Secretary Noem, ICE and CBP are working overtime to deliver on the American people's mandate to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens and make America safe again."

    The DHS' draft request, which awaits review by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, reportedly stated that the agency will use the naval base for "facilities, infrastructure, and other logistical needs" for a 30-day operation in the Chicago Metropolitan area.

    It requests space for 250 department personnel and a "Tactical Operations Center," an "Incident Command Post," bathrooms, laundry facilities, and parking for 140 vehicles, according to the document reviewed by the Times. The draft request also seeks storage space for medical supplies and weapons, such as rubber bullets and tear gas, the outlet reported.

    RELATED: Watch how Mayor Brandon Johnson reacts when asked if he will accept more police funding in Chicago

    Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images

    "These operations are similar to what occurred in Los Angeles earlier this summer. Same DHS team," Navy Cpt. Stephen Yargosz, the commanding officer of the naval base, wrote in a Monday email to his leadership team, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

    "This morning I received a call that there is the potential to also support National Guard units. Not many details on this right now. Mainly a lot of concerns and questions," Yargosz added.

    Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have made at least 1,400 arrests in Illinois between the beginning of Trump's second term and the end of July.

    The Trump administration has repeatedly warned sanctuary leaders, including Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker (D), that it plans to focus law enforcement efforts in jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration officials.

    RELATED: ‘Flood the zone’: ICE fires back at Boston Mayor Wu’s sanctuary defiance

    Photographer: Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images

    "Right after the election, when President Trump took the White House, the first operation that I was involved in was Chicago. [Mayor] Brandon Johnson says I wasn't welcome in Chicago. Well, the very next day, I was in Chicago along with the task force," Border czar Tom Homan told Fox News on Thursday. "The first day in Chicago, we took nine child predators off the street."

    "There's a lot more to do. President Trump is committed to making Chicago great again, making it safe again, since they failed to do so," Homan said, adding that ICE's current operation in the city is "about to get a lot bigger."

    The offices of Johnson and Pritzker did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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  • JD Vance shoots down 'outright lies' in report smearing envoy on Ukraine: 'A literal foreign influence operation' Fri, 29 Aug 2025 20:30:16 +0000


    Vice President JD Vance forcefully rejected a report in Politico that tried to undermine the reputation of the administration's envoy for peace in the Ukraine-Russia war.

    Vance said the Politico reporter had participated in a "literal foreign influence operation" that was meant to undermine the peace process. He also accused the writer of intentionally leaving out comments from prominent figures that expressed confidence in Steve Witkoff.

    'Felicia is just not very smart, and allowed herself to be used by deep state con men. Or she's in on it, and used her position to willingly participate in a literal foreign influence operation.'

    "This story from Politico is journalistic malpractice. But it's more than that: it's a foreign influence operation meant to hurt the administration and one of our most effective members," the vice president said on social media.

    "Notice how all of the people attacking Steve are on background? That means it's two or three deep staters who are angry that Witkoff has succeeded where they've failed," he added.

    The article by Felicia Schwartz cited many anonymous sources who characterized Witkoff's efforts to secure a peace deal between Putin and Ukraine as disorganized and beyond the envoy's abilities.

    Vance said the writer left out his quote on the story as well as those from Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Jared Kushner, a former Trump senior adviser. He implied that the article was written in service to a foreign power trying to implode the peace negotiations.

    "They have an agenda to blow up the president's efforts to make peace, and they saw her as a useful vessel to launder garbage into the conversation, truth be damned," he added.

    He also blamed actors of the deep state.

    "There are two possible explanations: Felicia is just not very smart, and allowed herself to be used by deep state con men. Or she's in on it, and used her position to willingly participate in a literal foreign influence operation. Either way, it's disgraceful," Vance continued.

    RELATED: Pentagon spox responds to Blaze News reporter on Ukraine saying aid reduction will embolden Russia

    "To set the record straight: Steve Witkoff is an invaluable member of our team," he added. "He did not mislead anyone on what the Russians told him and what the Russians conceded. (Trust me, I've seen the intel.) The fruits of his negotiations are that we have narrowed the list of open issues in the Russia-Ukraine war to a set of clearly defined issues — specifically, security guarantees and territorial concessions."

    He went on to call the article full of "outright lies."

    Schwartz argued that the lack of progress in the meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska was evidence that Witkoff's efforts were failing. There are no plans for a second meeting, and Russia has continued pummeling Ukraine.

    Blaze News reached out to Schwartz and Politico for comment on the accusations from Vance but did not receive a response.

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  • Drama continues as Rep. Cory Mills prepares for looming court hearing against Miss United States Fri, 29 Aug 2025 20:10:30 +0000


    The intrigue associated with the accusations against Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) regarding threats of violence and revenge porn continues as a hearing about a restraining order looms next week.

    While the hearing for an injunction for protection against dating violence is scheduled for the morning of September 5, attorneys for Mills and the petitioner, reigning Miss United States Lindsey Langston, can't seem to come to an agreement about a major detail.

    'Being a sitting member of the United States House of Representatives does not exclude [Rep. Mills] from the requirement of appearing in person for hearings on complex matters.'

    Florida Circuit Judge Fred Koberlein ruled previously that the hearing would be held in person at the Columbia County Courthouse. However, Mills and his attorney, Aaron Delgado, have petitioned the court for permission to attend via Zoom, court documents obtained by Blaze News showed.

    Mills "must be in Washington, D.C., on that date to fulfill his voting duties," and Delgado "is dealing with serious health issues that will make him unable to travel the three (3) hours, one-way, to make it to the Columbia County Courthouse in person," a motion from Delgado said.

    A response from Langston and her attorney, Bobi J. Frank, seemed to throw cold water on Mills' reason for being unable to attend in person. "A brief investigation" of the published calendar for the House of Representatives revealed that the lower chamber of Congress "is not in session on September 5, 2025," said the document from Frank.

    The only congressional group scheduled to meet that day is the House Committee on Natural Resources, evidence included in Frank's filing showed.

    "Undersigned Counsel could not find any published document confirming that Respondent is a member of the Natural Resources Committee; therefore, if he is not, the September 5, 2025, 10:00 a.m. meeting does not hinder Respondent's in-person participation in this matter," Frank wrote.

    The website for the Natural Resources Committee appears to confirm Frank's claim.

    RELATED: Panicking? Cory Mills allegedly harasses Miss United States to try to kill bombshell story

    Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call Inc./Getty Images

    Frank also asserted that presenting evidence through technology would hamper her case, especially since the technology will likely cause "delay and interruption."

    "Being a sitting member of the United States House of Representatives does not exclude Respondent from the requirement of appearing in person for hearings on complex matters," Frank argued, adding that Mills should "be treated no differently than any other person in a Court of Law."

    Delgado did not respond to a request for comment by Blaze News, and Frank declined to give one.

    It is unclear whether the court will permit Mills and/or Delgado to appear virtually at the hearing.

    Mills and Langston were in a romantic relationship for more than three years when they broke up in February after another woman called police and claimed Mills had been violent with her at his penthouse apartment in D.C. The woman later recanted her story, and Mills was never charged.

    To this day, evidence indicates that Mills is still married to Rana Al Saadi, though Mills has previously stated that they are separated.

    After Langston dumped Mills, he allegedly threatened to harm her future dating partners as well as to share with them intimate photos and videos of Langston. He also allegedly harassed her after he learned she had reported her accusations to the police and to the media, including Blaze News.

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  • Two leaders stand in the stark light of blame after horrific Minneapolis Catholic school shooting Fri, 29 Aug 2025 19:51:41 +0000


    On Wednesday, August 27, Robin (formerly Robert) Westman, a 23-year-old transgender-identifying person, opened fire through the windows of Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis during a school Mass, killing two children and injuring 17 others. Westman, a former student, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, left behind writings and videos expressing hate toward multiple groups and an obsession with mass shooters.

    “Minneapolis didn't just let a massacre happen. It helped make it happen,” says Jill Savage, BlazeTV host of “Blaze News: The Mandate.”

    And two people stand under a harsh glare of blame: Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D).

    Minneapolis’ reputation was already waning thanks to the George Floyd riots and its defund-the-police crusade when Tim Walz made the state a transgender sanctuary in 2023.

    But even though this move has proved disastrous, Mayor Frey has doubled down in his support for Minneapolis’ transgender community. “Anybody who is using this as an opportunity to villainize our trans community or any other community out there has lost their sense of common humanity,” he said at a press conference on August 27. The next day, he reiterated the sentiment in an interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett.

    “Should we be talking about the trans community and making sure that they feel our love and support, or should we actually be looking at the Catholics right now — the ones that were actually killed yesterday in that church?” says Jill.

    “This is the 42nd or maybe 43rd attack on an American Catholic church this year alone in the United States. It is over 520 attacks on Catholic churches here since 2020,” says Blaze Media senior politics editor Christopher Bedford.

    “They’ve been satanic; they’ve been anti-Catholic; they’ve been pro-abortion; they’ve been pro-trans.”

    But they haven’t been that surprising.

    “Minneapolis and Minnesota have had an extreme tolerance for evil and promoting evil,” says Bedford, condemning the state's “permissive abortion laws” and policies allowing the state to take children away from parents who oppose "gender-affirming care."

    Bedford stresses the need to investigate how things like cross-sex hormone therapy, puberty blockers, and mutilating surgeries impact a transgender-identifying individual’s behavior. Perhaps Westman was just a case of mental illness; perhaps there were drugs related to his gender transition that influenced his deadly actions. “I think that's something that's absolutely worth investigating,” he says.

    As for Walz, Bedford says he “deserves condemnation for his anti-Catholic sentiments.” The woke governor denied Catholic schools' requests for security funding in 2022 and 2023, despite an $18 billion state surplus, leaving nonpublic schools without access to safety grants provided to public schools. He also allegedly denied Catholic school students access to Minnesota’s Postsecondary Enrollment Options program, preventing them from earning tuition-free college credits, despite their academic eligibility.

    “These are the sorts of things that are going on in the United States and are being allowed by our politicians. … It's soft on evil, and it allows it to fester,” he says.

    To hear more, watch the episode above.

    Want more from 'Blaze News: The Mandate'?

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  • 'That is an outright lie!' Chicago pastor rips into Democrats over crime Fri, 29 Aug 2025 19:50:00 +0000


    A pastor in Chicago passionately argued against claims from Democrats about crime as President Donald Trump is preparing to send federal troops into the beleaguered Illinois city.

    Chicago lawmakers and community leaders have pointed to recent statistics showing that crime has decreased in the Windy City in order to accuse the president of authoritarianism. Pastor Corey Brooks pushed back in an interview with "Fox & Friends."

    'We still have mothers who are burying young boys, and their sons are dying prematurely. That is a serious issue.'

    Brooks, who runs a violence-prevention organization called Project H.O.O.D., said the current level of crime completely justifies the federal surge of troops. He pointed to the fact that there have been 254 deaths since the beginning of the year and that 80% of those victims were black males.

    "For anyone in our community to say that things are getting better and that people are safe, that is an outright lie!" the pastor said.

    "One of the number-one priorities of government is to make sure that the citizens of America stay safe. And that should be the number-one priority of the governor and the mayor, but it's not," Brooks added. "The only thing that they're really concerned [with] when it comes to black lives that matter is black lives that matter that vote."

    The federal surge implemented in Washington, D.C., also led to outrage from some local leaders, but others, like D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D), admitted that the troops helped bring down crime tremendously.

    "There's no doubt about it that crime is still a serious problem in the city of Chicago," Brooks continued.

    "We still have mothers who are burying young boys, and their sons are dying prematurely. That is a serious issue. And for individuals to make us try to feel as if we're witnessing things getting better, that's not right."

    RELATED: Mother hid from home invader in closet with her baby — then shot thug in the head, police say

    Brooks went on to say that ultimately the solution to crime must come locally but that a federal surge would help that effort.

    "I realize that the National Guard is a temporary fix, but it will calm things down," he concluded. "It's up to organizations like ours to continue to do the solutions and bring the help that we need. But we have to speak out. We have to say something."

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  • 'F**khead crackers': Apparent trans-identifying genocide advocate allegedly guns down a dad who just took his boy to school Fri, 29 Aug 2025 19:35:00 +0000


    The day after a trans-identifying man shot up a Catholic church full of children in Minneapolis, an apparent trans-identifying radical allegedly opened fire in Massachusetts — this time leaving a father dead who had just walked his 6-year-old boy to school in Shrewsbury.

    The Shrewsbury Police Department indicated they received a 911 call just before 9 a.m. Thursday from an individual being attacked on the pathway near Jordan Park, just east of Lake Quinsigamond. The police dispatcher not only heard gunshots during the 911 call but also reportedly heard 56-year-old victim Kevin Doherty say, "He shot me."

    'We should kill them all.'

    Police arrived at the scene, finding Doherty wounded on the ground.

    After administering first aid, police took the victim to the UMass Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries. As the suspect had fled the scene, law enforcement issued a shelter-in-place order, locking down the nearby school, then launched a manhunt.

    Shrewsbury Police — working with the Massachusetts State Police's Special Tactical Operations Team and supported by other police departments in the area — tracked down the suspect using drone technology. SWAT ultimately captured the suspect at his home without incident.

    According to court records reviewed by MassLive.com, the 26-year-old male suspect, Snehal Ansh Srivastava, has been charged with armed assault with intent to murder and carrying a firearm without a license. During his Friday arraignment, Srivastava pleaded not guilty.

    Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said during a news conference that Doherty was on his way home from taking his boy to school when he spotted an individual spray-painting an overlook near Jordan Pond. Evidently concerned about keeping his neighborhood clean, Doherty took a photo of the alleged vandalism — and that apparently did not sit well with Srivastava.

    RELATED: Dead Minnesota church shooting suspect identified. Video suggests he was transgender and anti-Trump.

    PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

    According to local paper Community Advocate, Srivastava identifies as a "transgender." Srivastava — who appears bearded in various photos in videos but wears women's clothing — allegedly notes on his Instagram page that he uses "she/her/hers" pronouns.

    One of the suspect's apparent websites is replete with murderous rhetoric, including calls for genocide.

    Srivastava allegedly shared a number of "decrees" on a site titled "Nation of Ayodhya," which is linked from the aforementioned Instagram page. In one of the decrees, Srivastava allegedly states:

    I call on the Gangstas to assemble towards Revolution. Gangsta is an African Indigenous reclamation of Turtle Island. By the power vested in me by Mami Wata, and my ancestors descendent; I hereby bless every Blac(k) American Gang to establish themselves as a Tribal Society to be represented in the democratic republic of Black Hawk Nation. I authorize every Black American Gang to reclaim their territories as their Blac(k) American Indigenous homelands.

    Srivastava allegedly also calls Israel a "terrorist organization"; condemns "f**khead crackers"; says of Israelis, "we should kill them all, save Palestine and be jus [sic] be done with it"; states that "the protection of Palestine requires the eradication of western based genocidal white supremacy"; and calls for the arrest of Elon Musk and the dismantling of all American law enforcement agencies.

    It appears Srivastava also wears his extremism proudly.

    The Community Advocate noted that his house is spray-painted with leftist tags and slogans including "BLM" and "Free Palestine."

    RELATED: Liberal media bends over backward to avoid 'misgendering' gunman who murdered kids in church

    Unsurprisingly, Srivastava's arrest Thursday was not his first run-in with the law.

    In July 2021, police reportedly arrested Srivastava on charges of assault and battery, assault and battery on a police officer, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, resisting arrest, and malicious destruction of property.

    In September 2022, the Westborough Police Department arrested Srivastava on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, disorderly conduct, and mayhem. Witnesses told police at the time that Srivastava allegedly "drove his vehicle toward the victim in an attempt to run him over and then exited his vehicle wielding a machete which he used to cut the victim during the altercation."

    He apparently was arrested again for an outstanding warrant in March 2023.

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  • Is Burning Man demonic? Fri, 29 Aug 2025 19:30:00 +0000


    It’s Burning Man week again. The “Man” will burn this Saturday, as it does every Saturday before Labor Day.

    I used to be a devoted “Burner,” having attended faithfully every year from 2014 through 2022 (minus one year due to COVID). “Is Burning Man demonic?” is a question I see floating around several Christian circles, and as a newly baptized Christian, I’ve been asking myself the same question.

    To even begin unpacking that question, several prerequisites for theological understanding are necessary. And please excuse me, as I am a new Christian, currently devouring large amounts of Christian literature and trying to educate myself. So bear with me as I navigate and unpack the overlay of theology on my personal experience of Burning Man.

    The hidden, darker side of Burning Man, which prioritizes expression and freedom before safety and virtue, is a trade that everyone must make if they wish to attend the event, and it is rarely well informed.

    On the nature of “demons,” “Satan,” and “evil,” I’ve found C.S. Lewis’ "The Screwtape Letters" and its companion essay, "Screwtape Proposes a Toast," to be helpful illustrations of Satan at work. I recognize that Lewis was, at the end of the day, just a man and a novelist. Yet his gift lies in the way he translates spiritual truths into language that the everyday person can grasp. His ability to frame the unseen in terms we can see and feel is nothing short of remarkable.

    Lewis portrays demons as subtle, manipulative beings who exploit human weaknesses rather than overtly monstrous entities. In "The Screwtape Letters," hell is an organization with established hierarchies, laws, and menus for the consumption of souls. And the work of demons is not always loud or obvious, but often quiet, patient, and calculated, aimed always at one thing: the slow devouring of our God-given souls.

    On the quality of souls: “The great (and toothsome) sinners are made out of the very same material as those horrible phenomena the great Saints.” This suggests that the most delectable souls for devils are those with strong, passionate qualities, whether for good or evil, as they provide more “substance” to feast on.

    On the satisfaction of consuming robust sinners: “It was the souls of such as these, when we got them, that tasted so rich, so spicy, so full-bodied.” Screwtape laments the decline in quality of modern souls, reminiscing about the flavorful essence of historical figures like Farinata or Hitler, whose intense personalities made them a feast.

    On the disappointment with modern souls: “The sort of soul I grew up on we got from a tragedy: something with some real guts to it, something that would make your mouth water.” Here, Screwtape contrasts the bland, petty souls of modern times with the more robust, hate-filled souls of the past that were more satisfying to consume.

    Now, let me return to how Burning Man works. It is often described as more than a mere festival — many view it as a spiritual experience and call it “home.” I remember my own first arrival in Black Rock City: A volunteer crew of Burners greeted me, inviting me to ring a great bell, roll in the dusty sand, and declare, “I am not a virgin any more!” In that moment, I was welcomed “home.”

    One of my first experiences there was boarding an art car, a double-decker bus dressed up as a dragon. It carried me to my camp, and I can still feel the warmth of the sun on my skin, the soft flutter of the fabric in the desert wind, and the strange, almost living spirit of that dragon-bus.

    Everyone was so friendly on the bus. Perfect strangers smiling, talking as if they had known one another for years. Beautiful men and women, radiant in their freedom, sharing drinks, snacks, and little “playa gifts.” The artwork is otherworldly, and the structures emerge seemingly out of the dust. I had never experienced anything close to this before.

    Living in the Bay Area at the time, the only opportunity I would get to see this many people in motion was during commute hours. Yet here, movement was different. Not sullen, not weighed down. Thousands of people moved about with smiles, intoxicated by freedom and joy and navigating the city of Black Rock with an ephemeral air.

    As a sensory experience, Burning Man hits all of them in a very short fraction of time. Especially if you’re from Silicon Valley, where so much of life unfolds indoors and in front of screens, it feels like a sudden immersion back into the elements. Out there, under the desert sun, people often receive more vitamin D in a single week than they might otherwise get in months back home. I know that was true for my first year, when I became “hooked” on the experience.

    Most people who come to Burning Man are, in some way, searching. For some, it’s a search for identity or self-expression; for others, it may be healing from loss, or simply a desire to break free and let loose. Burning Man is a compressed version of the most exciting EDM concert you’ve ever been to: ecstatic dance classes, yoga lessons, group therapy sessions, expressive art installations, visits to the red-light district, and alcohol- and drug-fueled nights out with friends.

    And when I say “compressed,” I don’t just mean within the span of a week. What unfolds on the playa (the name given to the Black Rock Desert where Burning Man is held) feels like an entire lifetime distilled into mere hours. A single “playa hour” can carry the weight of countless parties, one-night stands, profound conversations, and fleeting moments of human connection. This is why, after Burning Man ends, long-term Burners usually will attend “decompression parties,” which continue the communal living, partying, sex, massages, deep and longing connections, unabridged confessions to one another, and feigning affection. These can go on for several days or, in some cases, even weeks.

    It all sounds intoxicating, doesn’t it? Unbridled ecstasy, shared communally, offered as the pinnacle of human experience. A sensory feast, a kind of temporary utopia. But here’s the catch: What feels like transcendence in the moment is, in truth, the flesh at its fullest — raw desire, fleeting connection, indulgence without anchor. It dazzles, it overwhelms, but it does not last. And it never will. When the dust settles, the hunger always returns.

    For several years, I camped at “Founder’s Camp” or “First Camp,” located at Esplanade and 5 o’clock. (Black Rock City is mapped out as a precise grid: concentric half-circles marked by letters, crossed by roads laid out like the hours of a clock.) First Camp is more than just a location; it is the nerve center of Burning Man, the administrative and business hub that quietly runs the entire event.

    Staying at First Camp afforded me a unique opportunity to spend time with leadership. I camped alongside Larry Harvey, the co-founder of Burning Man, and Marian Goodell, the current CEO. I would often find myself in personal conversations with them over meals in the dining tent or lounging in the common spaces. Yet over time, it became clear that First Camp was not only about logistics. It was also a place of access, where celebrities and dignitaries — tech founders, movie stars, diplomats, and even royalty — were hosted.

    The day-to-day operators at Burning Man all carried walkie-talkies and communicated issues affecting the event, such as arrests, injuries, deaths, accidents, missing-person complaints, and other concerns. It was always bustling and hectic. The old guard of Burning Man now includes several people in their 60s and 70s, and they continually welcome new leadership. Most young people burn out due to the weight of responsibility. It isn’t all fun and games; hosting such a massive and detailed event is a year-round commitment for several dozen people.

    The old guard is treated in an almost mythical fashion by newcomers, who love hearing about the founding stories and all the “crazy” years when things were “really wild.”

    True Burners cloak themselves in their “playa names,” part of a chosen family forged in the desert. Sometimes I never even knew the real names of people I camped beside. “Crimson,” for example, the woman who has overseen pyrotechnics since the 1990s, wore long white braids and radiated a maternal presence. She once hand-knit a baby blanket for my daughter. And yet after all these years, I still do not know her name beyond “Crimson.”

    Julie Jammot/AFP/Getty Images

    Yes, there are constant orgies. Yes, drugs are consumed in staggering quantities. And yes, sexual assault and rape occur at Burning Man, along with tragic, often preventable deaths. Nudity is everywhere. Overdoses happen so frequently that they rarely interrupt a party or shut down a camp.

    Yes, many openly practice magic, summoning spiritual entities as if for entertainment. Self-proclaimed “healers” abound, offering their versions of medicine and ritual. Occult symbols and ceremonies are practiced so frequently that they become ingrained in the fabric of daily life.

    But does the presence of these things alone make Burning Man demonic? We’ll answer that question a little later. But I know what Burning Man did to my spirit and to my brain, and it was not good.

    While everything started playfully for me at Burning Man, the truth is that dark and terrible things happened nearly every year I attended. My very first year, I heard about a young woman who was running to try to jump onto an art car and got sucked into its undercarriage and died.

    Another year, a man hurled himself into the fire and died. One year, a girl impaled her vagina on rebar while attempting to build something that she had no experience constructing.

    Although I never personally experienced any of the Orgy Dome events, I heard unsettling accounts from those who did. Stories of encounters with people who seemed, in their words, “possessed.” Even with moderators present to prevent outright abuse, some described locking eyes with people engaged in sex who seemed to “have no soul.”

    There are endless stories of people “tweaking,” overdosing, or getting lost and unable to find their way back to their camp all night. While the organization tries to mitigate these tragedies, they continue to happen year after year. The dark side of Burning Man is an accepted reality and risk because the organizers and the most devout Burners believe that the upside of Burning Man is vital enough to risk a few lives here and there. Meanwhile, the event itself is sustained by some of the wealthiest donors in the world, many of whom treat it as their personal playground.

    That money and influence have elevated Burning Man into something much larger than a festival. It is now an institution, so culturally powerful that it has even garnered its own exhibit at the Smithsonian.

    After my first year at Burning Man, I cannot deny that I was changed. Returning to San Francisco, the city felt almost unrecognizable. At a stoplight, I remember watching people cross the street and swearing I could see their souls suspended just outside their bodies, pulled forward a step or two beyond their physical selves. It was as if my own soul had been jolted awake, moving in ways it never had before.

    That shift left me more fearless. I began to take risks without hesitation, emboldened by the realization I had at Burning Man: Life is a stage. I threw myself deeper into the culture, seeking out Burner communities and chasing that same sense of connection and openness I had first experienced on the playa.

    Within three years, nearly everyone in my social circle was a Burner. It was like belonging to a secret society of sorts. Together, we believed we had access to a limitless reality, something hidden from the outside world, something you could only understand if you were a Burner.

    However, the hidden, darker side of Burning Man, which prioritizes expression and freedom before safety and virtue, is a trade that everyone must make if they wish to attend the event, and it is rarely well informed. Whether you realize it or not, the moment you step into Black Rock City, you are signing on to that bargain.

    It is a culture where sexuality and spontaneity are prized above comfort and contentment. Women don costumes designed to dazzle, only to suffer strange infections — UTIs, skin rashes, textile dermatitis — as the price of “looking hot.” Men are surrounded by exotic, beautiful young women, while their wives are at home taking care of their children. Once inside, the illusion is strong: The outside world seems to dissolve, and this is by design. Burning Man seeks to create a reality so consuming, so intoxicating, that nothing beyond its borders appears to matter.

    For many, Burning Man is nothing short of a religious experience, especially for those who make a pilgrimage to the Temple. And I must admit, rather shamefully now, that I was once one of those people. Each year, I brought something to surrender there: a photograph of someone I had lost, an old wedding dress from my failed marriage, or some artifact heavy with pain that I longed to release.

    The ritual was always the same. The Temple became a vessel for grief, sorrow, and suffering. When it burned, it was meant to be a collective release. As the structure collapsed, great spirals of smoke would rise into the sky and dust devils would swirl across the desert floor. Among Burners, these were spoken of as “the spirits.”

    Year after year, the burning of the Temple was a profoundly moving moment, one that reduced me to tears as I stood among 60,000 others, all of us silent, all of us watching, all of us worshipping the flames in silence.

    So I return to the question — for you and for myself: Is Burning Man demonic? When you read what I have shared, does it strike you as something rooted in light or in darkness? Does it sound like a culture that draws people closer to truth or farther into illusion?

    Looking back now, through the lens of Scripture and Christian theology, I have come to believe that Burning Man is not just an eccentric festival, but rather a powerful vehicle for deception. In fact, it may be one of the most effective tools for Satan to misdirect souls away from our heavenly Father. When you surrender yourself to “the playa,” you do not simply embrace freedom; you also open yourself to profound distortions of what is good.

    Julie Jammot/AFP/Getty Images

    Year after year, I witnessed art installations that did more than provoke; they mocked virtue itself. There was, and remains, a striking irreverence for Christian tradition. Altars were erected where people were invited to offer confessions and prayers, not to God, but to idols. I saw effigies dedicated to symbols that stood in sharp opposition to the sacred: in 2024, a giant clitoris displayed as an altar; in 2015, a statue of a child’s lower body, arteries wired into what resembled a digital machine; in 2023, Chacc, a Mayan rain god once worshipped through human sacrifice. There are hundreds of these pieces of artwork scattered through Black Rock City, and each year, something new and perverse is introduced. My understanding is that these art pieces are considered “offerings” to the event, to be experienced by Burners.

    Julie Jammot/AFP/Getty Images

    Even the attendees are considered part of the art. Radical self-expression and participation are two of the 10 guiding “Principles,” and both are on full display. Over time, I began to notice that what surrounded the Man Effigy before it burned was not mere performance. The dance troupes encircling it were not simply entertaining; they were invoking. Their movements and chants served as ceremonial openings, calling on “spirits” to bear witness.

    Julie Jammot/AFP/Getty Images

    I remember the founder once telling me that the burning of the Man symbolized the release of the soul. But I cannot help but ask: To whom is that soul being released? If the whole point of Burning Man is to surrender the soul in ecstasy, where does it go? And to whom is it being sent? I am a newbie to demonology, but there is clearly something dangerous at work here.

    Take the demon Morax, for example. Also known as Marax or Forax, he appears in several occult texts, including "The Lesser Key of Solomon" and "Pseudomonarchia Daemonum." He is described as a great earl and president of hell, commanding between 30 and 36 legions of demons, each capable of taunting, tempting, and tormenting humans. He is often portrayed as a bull with a human face or a man with the head of a bull. What is striking are his supposed abilities: teaching astrology, liberal sciences, and the properties of herbs and precious stones, as well as bestowing spiritual docents. Does any of this sound familiar?

    Burning Man draws scientists, executives, innovators, and leaders. On the playa, you glimpse sides of them that remain hidden in the everyday world. The stern executive suddenly wears crystals and stones around his neck; the scientist speaks freely of esoteric knowledge with a conviction you would never hear in a laboratory or boardroom.

    This is part of what makes Burning Man unlike any other gathering. Within the span of a single week, it concentrates a kind of nucleus of power — intellectual, financial, spiritual — that I have never witnessed assembled in one place before.

    For many years, I was intoxicated by the sophistication and wonder of it all. I remember one evening after a Burning Man leadership dinner, standing beside Larry Harvey as we waited for our cars. From his pocket, he pulled a sketch he had drawn of the oracle stone of Delphi, which, he explained, he planned to build inside the Man. This was not unusual for him. Each year, Larry would consider what form of divination he wanted to embed in the effigy, and each year it would be incorporated into the design.

    The number of esoteric and occult encounters I had at Burning Man is now beyond count. For nearly a decade, these things felt normal to me because my entire world was steeped in that community. It was only later, while reading the Bible and books like "The Screwtape Letters" and learning about the grand hierarchy of demons, that I realized how eerily familiar it all seemed.

    Burning Man itself carries its own hierarchies, not unlike the structures described in the Bible (“principalities and powers,” Ephesians 6:12) and those later explored by C.S. Lewis. You can see it even in the physical design of Black Rock City: who is positioned where, who gets access, who is allowed to stage for the Man’s burning. Camps mirror this stratification, each with its own social order.

    The more exclusive the camp, the more valuable the roles become — “juicier souls,” to borrow Lewis’ language. There are the beautiful young women, prized for flattery and companionship. The builders, tasked with fixing things and running errands. The wealthy executives, underwriting it all. The celebrities, passing through on invitations. The trust-fund shaman-socialites, curating the “experience.” And, of course, the drug dealers, rebranded as psychedelic healers.

    Screwtape warns his legion of tempters: “Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one — the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”

    Such is true of Burning Man. There were no sudden jolts, no dramatic crossroads. Only a slow descent. Before you realize it, you become an empty vessel — lost, pretending, unable to find joy, and unable to find God. I was not just on the road to hell; I was already living it.

    It has taken me years to rebuild what was broken inside me, and it took waking up from a near-death experience to see the truth finally — and to find the courage and humility to come to Christ for all the things I once went searching for at Burning Man.

    I’ve spoken with other former Burners this year who have also been saved by Christ, and it is no coincidence that each of them has turned away from Burning Man. None of them misses it. For the first time in years, they are rediscovering joy and fulfillment in the ordinary rhythms of life.

    The same is true for me. As I devote myself to Scripture, to my family, and to walking in the light of the Lord, I find that this process of renewal continues to unfold, deepening day by day, step by step. I no longer desire to “Burn the Man”; I now burn with zeal in the Spirit.

  • NC election official resigns after police say they caught him drugging teenagers' ice cream Fri, 29 Aug 2025 19:05:00 +0000


    The head of the Surry County Board of Elections in North Carolina resigned after police say he was caught on camera drugging his step-granddaughter and her friend.

    On August 3, Republican election official James Yokeley Jr. allegedly flagged down police officers at a gas station near a Dairy Queen in New Hanover County, North Carolina.

    According to a report from local outlet NC Newsline, Yokeley claimed that the two teens had found hard objects inside their Dairy Queen Blizzards, a whipped ice cream treat. Police alleged that was not the case, however, after they saw surveillance footage from inside the restaurant.

    'I remain prayerfully confident that I will be exonerated of all accusations levied against me.'

    "He can be seen placing something on the counter, and it's pretty apparent that when the employees make the drinks, he's trying to observe if anybody's observing him," Wilmington Police Lt. Greg Willett said in a press conference on Friday.

    Willett said officers went to the Dairy Queen and asked for the in-store video, which Willett claimed "clearly shows Mr. Yokeley placing the pills in the ice cream."

    What was actually in the pills was perhaps more disturbing; police field tests showed that the small blue pills contained cocaine and MDMA. The girls did not ingest the drugs, though, police stated.

    In a letter, Yokeley not only issued his resignation, but he also denied the allegations that have been levied against him.

    RELATED: Woman shot in the face and dead man found in home where 2 children were sleeping safely, police say

    "I am writing to formally resign from my position as Board Chair," Yokeley wrote in the letter.

    He concluded that it was in the "best interest" of the state and local board but described the case as his "own falsely accused circumstances."

    "Based on the truth and facts, I remain prayerfully confident that I will be exonerated of all accusations levied against me."

    Sarah Whisenant, owner of the Dairy Queen in question, told WECT-TV that she did not recognize Yokeley or the two teenagers, but emphasized that her staff would never do such a thing.

    "Thank goodness we had video," Whisenant said.

    Four employees were working at the Dairy Queen at the time.

    RELATED: Study warns of possible link between world's most popular painkiller and autism

    Photographer: Noah Berger/Bloomberg via Getty Images

    The North Carolina State Board of Elections and Surry County Board of Elections said they are both "aware of the charges against Mr. Yokeley" and will "continue to collect information about the situation and will provide support to the Surry County board, as needed."

    Yokeley was appointed as the head of the Surry elections board in June 2025. He has been charged with two counts of felony contaminating food or drink with a controlled substance, felony child abuse, and felony possession of Schedule I narcotics.

    In court, the 66-year-old reportedly waived his right for a court-appointed attorney and was told he was not allowed to have contact with the teenagers. According to a report from NBC10 Boston, he posted $100,000 bond.

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  • DC Dems are furious at Mayor Bowser for admitting Trump's troops are lowering crime Fri, 29 Aug 2025 18:50:00 +0000


    Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) admitted that the president's deployment of troops in the district has lowered crime, leading many liberal lawmakers to respond with anger and scorn.

    Bowser related the significant drop in carjackings in the district during a press conference Wednesday, where she said that crime had been dropping before the federal surge but that those officers contributed to the trend.

    'We know that when carjackings go down, when use of gun goes down, when homicide or robbery go down, neighborhoods feel safer and are safer.'

    "We greatly appreciate the surge of officers that enhance what [the D.C. Municipal Police Department] has been able to do in this city. The most significant thing that we are highlighting today is the area of crime that was most troubling for us in 2023," said Bowser.

    "Now, we have driven it down over the last years, but ... for carjackings, the difference between this period, this 20-day period of this federal surge and last year represents a 87% reduction in carjackings in Washington, D.C.," she added.

    "We know that when carjackings go down, when use of guns goes down, when homicide or robbery go down, neighborhoods feel safer and are safer," Bowser said. "So this surge has been important to us for that reason."

    She went on to say that she had personally coordinated with U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.

    D.C. Democrats were furious that Bowser had characterized the surge as a positive development.

    "We should not, as the District of Columbia, be giving people the impression that this is a good thing, that we are OK with it, that it is helping the city. It is not doing any of those things," said Democrat Robert White Jr., an at-large council member, on social media. "I am not OK with this. The average resident is not OK with this. D.C. residents, D.C. voters, are not OK with this."

    "Our residents are afraid, hesitant to go out & to work, angry that our limited autonomy is being eroded. There is nothing welcome about this," said council member Brianne Nadeau, also a Democrat.

    RELATED: Exclusive video: Black DC residents tell Blaze News the reasons they support Trump's DC crime strategy

    Other critics of the president, including Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom, have accused Trump of militarizing the streets of the U.S. in order to intimidate his political enemies.

    The president has indicated that he is looking into sending more troops into crime-riddled cities and named Chicago among those possible recipients of a federal surge.

    "We didn’t ask for any federal officers," said Bowser. "We’re driving crime down, but while they’re here, how can we most strategically use them to accelerate the work that MPD has done? So that's our point."

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  • Why the nicotine myth might be the most lethal public health lie Fri, 29 Aug 2025 18:00:00 +0000


    An alarming new survey reveals a dangerous blind spot in the medical community: Countless doctors still believe nicotine directly causes cancer. That myth has been repeated for decades, but science says otherwise.

    The survey by Povaddo LLC included 1,565 U.S. medical professionals. Nearly half of health care practitioners (47%) and 59% of those treating heavy smokers incorrectly identified nicotine as a carcinogen. Another 19% weren’t sure. The result: Many physicians discourage patients from trying “tobacco harm reduction” products — like e-cigarettes or smokeless tobacco — that contain nicotine but eliminate the thousands of toxins in combustible cigarettes.

    It’s time for the FDA to cut through decades of propaganda and tell the truth: Nicotine is addictive, but it isn’t the cause of cancer.

    This misunderstanding costs lives. By misidentifying nicotine as the killer, doctors steer smokers away from safer alternatives that could dramatically reduce cancer, heart disease, and lung disease.

    Education matters. Health care providers need to know nicotine is addictive, but the real harm comes from the smoke. Until that distinction is clear, patients will remain trapped in the deadliest habit of all — traditional smoking.

    Science has already proven the case. A conventional cigarette contains more than 600 ingredients and, when burned, produces over 7,000 chemicals, including arsenic, formaldehyde, tar, and lead. Smoking kills more than 480,000 Americans each year, according to the CDC, making it the nation’s leading cause of preventable death. By contrast, studies show vaping or smokeless products cut exposure to those toxic substances by orders of magnitude.

    Even the FDA admits this. In 2017, then-Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said, “Nicotine, though not benign, is not directly responsible for the tobacco-caused cancer, lung diseases, and heart disease that kills hundreds of thousands of Americans each year.” Yet years later, the agency continues to regulate vaping into oblivion while dragging its feet on promoting THR.

    The public is ahead of the bureaucrats. A 2024 poll of U.S. voters found overwhelming support for FDA reform and a strong desire to reduce smoking. Congress has noticed too. Former Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.), a physician, called risk reduction for combustible smoking not “a partisan issue.” Rep. Don Davis (D-N.C.), co-chairman of the Congressional Tobacco Harm Reduction Caucus, added: “As we move from smoke-based to smokeless products … that’s going to reduce the harm [caused by] tobacco across this country.”

    RELATED: WHO’s war on FDA: Science or sour grapes over US cuts?

    Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images

    Americans want safer alternatives. Lawmakers in both parties support tobacco harm reduction. The medical community, however, remains misinformed — and the FDA’s mixed messaging hasn’t helped. Every day doctors cling to the nicotine myth, more smokers stay chained to cigarettes.

    It’s time for the FDA to cut through decades of propaganda and tell the truth: Nicotine is addictive, but it isn’t the cause of cancer. Doctors need to know it, patients need to hear it, and policies need to reflect it. Mislabeling nicotine has killed enough people already.

    If regulators and medical professionals are serious about saving lives, they must stop demonizing nicotine itself and start promoting harm reduction. Millions of lives depend on it.

  • Oregon considers transportation tax hike on EVs to save government jobs Fri, 29 Aug 2025 17:24:26 +0000


    In an effort to prevent mass layoffs at the Oregon Department of Transportation, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek (D) is proposing a new, mandatory tax program for electric vehicles. While Republicans say the governor's proposal would be unnecessary if the state managed its money well, the tax proposal is set to be considered today in a special session announced last month.

    Oregon is attempting to fill a $354 million budget gap for transportation infrastructure construction and repairs, possibly resulting from vehicles becoming more fuel-efficient.

    'We invite Democrats to join us in funding essential services without raising taxes, to stand with Oregonians who cannot afford to shoulder more costs.'

    “This could still be prevented today, without a special session, if Democrats made the decision to use existing revenue from the emergency board. We can still protect these jobs without raising taxes — and we should,” Oregon House Republican Leader Christine Drazan said last month. "We invite Democrats to join us in funding essential services without raising taxes, to stand with Oregonians who cannot afford to shoulder more costs.”

    RELATED: Out of juice: Only 5% of US car buyers want an electric vehicle

    Christine Drazan, former Oregon gubernatorial candidate and current House Republican Leader.Photo by Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images

    The proposal, according to the AP, includes an EV road-usage charge that is equivalent to 5% of the state’s gas tax. It also includes raising the gas tax by six cents to 46 cents per gallon, among other fee increases.

    EV drivers would be required to enroll in a pay-per-mile system based on road usage. They could either pay 2.3 cents per mile or a flat $340 annual fee, with a break-even point just under 14,800 miles per year.

    ODOT policy adviser Scott Boardman said drivers would have several options for the government to track their mileage, including a smartphone app and the vehicle's telematics technology.

    Oregon's existing system, OReGO, which was launched on July 1, 2015, is currently a voluntary program. Kotek's proposal would mark a departure from this system by making it mandatory. Skeptics warn that this may discourage car buyers from considering buying electric vehicles in the future, with the program set to take effect starting in 2027 and extending to hybrids in 2028.

    If it passes, Oregon will join Hawaii as the only states to begin a mandatory pay-per-mile program for electric vehicles. Oregon lawmakers will debate and vote on the bill, which requires a supermajority in both the House and Senate to pass.

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