Over 7,750 Baptized at Huntington Beach in Largest Single-Day Baptism in US History

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More than 7,750 people were baptized in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Huntington Beach, California, on Saturday, an event organizers say marked the largest single-day baptism in American history.

Hosted by Oceans Church and led by Pastor Mark Francey, the event dubbed “Baptize California” drew approximately 30,000 attendees from more than 300 churches across the state.

Participants of all ages publicly professed their faith through baptisms, either in the ocean or in portable baptisteries positioned along the beach.

“You were part of the largest water baptism in American history,” Francey told the crowd. “Who thinks that God could do it in the other states of America?”

The mass baptism, now in its second year, exceeded last year’s turnout of 6,000 and is seen by organizers as a spiritual catalyst for an even larger national event planned for next month. Called “Baptize America,” the initiative aims to unite thousands of churches across the United States in what is described as “the largest synchronized baptism in history.”

The next event will be held on June 8 and falls on Pentecost Sunday, a date that commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles in the Christian tradition. Organizers believe the timing is symbolic and strategic, pointing to revival and national spiritual renewal. (Read more from “Over 7,750 Baptized at Huntington Beach in Largest Single-Day Baptism in US History” HERE)

Common Appliance Raises Kids’ Cancer Risk Nearly Twice as Much as Adults’ — and It’s in 2 Out of 5 US Homes

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. . .Benzene, a harmful chemical found in gasoline, cigarette smoke and paint strippers, is a known carcinogen. Long-term exposure to high levels of benzene has been linked to leukemia and other blood-related cancers.

Now, a new study out of Stanford University reports that benzene-caused cancer risks are significantly higher — especially for children — in homes with medium to high usage of gas stoves and inadequate ventilation.

“Natural gas and propane stoves emit benzene, a known carcinogen through combustion,” the researchers explained in the forthcoming July issue of the Journal of Hazardous Materials.

“To our knowledge, ours is the first study to assess the carcinogenic health risks from benzene formed during gas combustion from stoves, as well as leukemia cases attributable to gas stove use.”

For the study, researchers simulated different cooking scenarios involving varying burner intensities and oven temperatures with minimal or no ventilation. (Read more from “Common Appliance Raises Kids’ Cancer Risk Nearly Twice as Much as Adults’ — and It’s in 2 Out of 5 US Homes” HERE)

Toilet Paper Shortage Could Be Coming to US Thanks to Trump Tariffs

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President Donald Trump‘s trade war is triggering alarm among global paper suppliers — one that could lead to a dreaded shortage in US supermarkets of a household staple: toilet paper.

Suzano SA, the world’s largest exporter of pulp, said US levies are disrupting shipments of the key raw material used in making toilet paper and other hygiene products.

The Brazilian company, which produces bleached hardwood pulp used by many American manufacturers, reported a 20% drop in US-bound exports in April compared to the same time last year.

“In response to the tariffs, we’ve had to pass increased costs on to US buyers,” João Alberto de Abreu, Suzano’s chief executive, told Bloomberg News.

The São Paulo-based company warned that continued trade barriers could worsen supply chain tensions and push prices higher. (Read more from “Toilet Paper Shortage Could Be Coming to US Thanks to Trump Tariffs” HERE)

Irony Alert — Transgender Lawmaker Against Name Change to Gulf of America: Dumb and ‘Ridiculous’

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Rep. Sarah McBride (D-DE), the first transgender member elected to the United States Congress, believes it is dumb and “ridiculous” to formally change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

McBride made the remarks on Thursday ahead of the House formally passing Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-GA) measure to codify President Donald Trump’s executive order.

“We are on our way to the House floor to vote on what is possibly the dumbest bill we could be spending our time on: Legislation to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. This is ridiculous,” McBride — a biological man who believes his claim to womanhood is legitimate — said of the simple name change.

“And look, you might think that we’re doing this because it’s another opportunity for House Republicans to be sycophantic to the man in the White House,” McBride said, contending that Republicans are focusing on the name change to distract from their polices at a time when he claimed “Donald Trump’s reckless and erratic tariff policy is crashing the economy.”

“Changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico — in this economy? What the hell are we doing here?” McBride, who — ironically — changed his own name from Tim to Sarah, added.

(Read more from “Irony Alert — Transgender Lawmaker Against Name Change to Gulf of America: Dumb and ‘Ridiculous’” HERE)

The Fertility Crisis Isn’t Just Having Fewer Kids, It’s Women Not Having Any

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As a mother of eight, I approach every Mother’s Day with mixed feelings. I look forward to the burned French toast, illegible handmade cards, and sweet (if clumsy) gestures from my children. But I also feel sadness. As a 40-something mom of a large, happy family, I am an endangered species. The United States is on track to surpass Switzerland as the global leader in childless women in their 40s.

I have a great life. I’m never bored. I’m constantly challenged to give more of myself, and I receive more love than I ever imagined when I was still single. Married mothers report the happiest, least lonely, most meaningful lives in our age group. In fact, 80 percent of mothers say they are “happy with our lives,” compared with just 68 percent of childless women.

I don’t say this to brag (most days I still wonder how I got this lucky). I say it because I want to build a society where women are happier and more fulfilled — and all the signs suggest that to get there, we need more married mothers.

The Real Fertility Gap

Even the corporate media has started to admit that women aren’t having the children they want. A pro-natalist movement has gone viral (and lives rent-free in the NPR editors’ heads) thanks to voices like Elon Musk and cringey-but-earnest influencers like the “techno puritan” Collins family.

The Trump coalition, big-tent as ever, has opened a path for both secular birthrate alarmists and religious (mostly Catholic) voices to find common ground. In late April, The New York Times profiled policy ideas from the natalist camp: a $5,000 “baby bonus,” menstrual health education, and a “National Medal of Motherhood” (thanks again, Collins family) for women with six or more kids. (Read more from “The Fertility Crisis Isn’t Just Having Fewer Kids, It’s Women Not Having Any” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

There’s No ‘Sanctuary’ For Family Of Woman Allegedly Killed By Illegal Alien

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As Joe Abraham fights for justice for his daughter Katie and victims like her, the suburban Chicago father isn’t holding out much hope in “sanctuary” Illinois.

Katie Abraham was killed in a car crash near the campus of the University of Illinois in Urbana the weekend of Jan. 18. She was 20 years old.

Her killer, according to police, was a previously-deported illegal alien who was allegedly drunk when he slammed his SUV into the driver’s side of the vehicle Katie’s friend was driving as it was stopped at a red light. Julio Cucul-Bol, a 29-year-old Guatemalan national, was driving 78 miles per hour when his vehicle collided with the Honda Civic, Champaign State’s Attorney Julia Rietz said at the suspect’s arraignment, according to WCIA. Rietz said Cucul-Bol applied the brakes about a half a second before the collision; he made “little to no attempt to steer out of the way” of the car filled with four college-aged students, including 21-year-old Chloe Polzin, who died at the hospital from her injuries.

Cucul-Bol immediately fled the scene. When U.S. Marshals ultimately apprehended him days later, he was about an hour south of Dallas, Texas, en route to the U.S. southern border, according to federal law enforcement officials. Upon his arrest, the illegal immigrant gave police a phony name, Juan Jahaziel Saenz-Suarez. His falsified paperwork claimed that he was a 27-year-old Mexican national residing in Urbana.

‘I Don’t Have Faith’

Back in Champaign County, Cucul-Bol is now facing multiple charges, including two counts of reckless homicide, a Class 3 Felony, two counts of leaving the scene of a personal injury crash resulting in death, a Class I Felony, and aggravated driving under the influence resulting in death, a Class 2 Felony. (Read more from “There’s No ‘Sanctuary’ For Family Of Woman Allegedly Killed By Illegal Alien” HERE)

Trump Would Be ‘Ok’ With a Tax Hike on the Rich but Cautions Against It

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President Donald Trump said it would be “OK” with him if Republican lawmakers raised taxes on the rich, but in the same breath he cautioned against it.

Trump took to Truth Social to share his message as Republicans on Capitol Hill work to forge the “Big Beautiful Bill.” He argued that Democrats would likely seize on such an increase to try to score political points:

The problem with even a “TINY” tax increase for the RICH, which I and all others would graciously accept in order to help the lower and middle income workers, is that the Radical Left Democrat Lunatics would go around screaming, “Read my lips,” the fabled Quote by George Bush the Elder that is said to have cost him the Election. NO, Ross Perot cost him the Election!

He then cautioned against a tax hike on the rich, before saying he would be okay with it if Republicans move forward with one.

“In any event, Republicans should probably not do it, but I’m OK if they do!!” he added. (Read more from “Trump Would Be ‘Ok’ With a Tax Hike on the Rich but Cautions Against It” HERE)

Dems Storm ICE Prison Holding Alleged Killers, Gangsters and Child Predators, Make Demands

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Three members of Congress stormed through the gates of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in New Jersey on Friday, demanding they be allowed to conduct an “oversight visit.”

Reps. Rob Menendez Jr., Bonnie Watson Coleman and LaMonica McIver, all New Jersey Democrats, entered ICE’s Delaney Hall detention facility in Newark and were held up inside the first checkpoint, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News.

“These members of Congress storming into a detention facility goes beyond bizarre political stunt and puts the safety of our law enforcement agents and the detainees at risk,” a DHS statement to Fox News said. “Members of Congress are not above the law and cannot illegally break into detention facilities. Had these members requested a tour, we would have facilitated a tour of the facility. This is an evolving situation.”

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested at the scene for trespassing, authorities said.

“The Mayor of Newark, Ras Baraka, committed trespass and ignored multiple warnings from Homeland Security Investigations to remove himself from the ICE detention center in Newark, New Jersey this afternoon,” Habba wrote on X. “He has willingly chosen to disregard the law. That will not stand in this state. He has been taken into custody. NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW.”

(Read more from “Dems Storm ICE Prison Holding Alleged Killers, Gangsters and Child Predators, Make Demands” HERE)

WATCH: Female Fencer and Trans-Supporting USA Fencing Head Face Off at Heated DOGE Hearing

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The battle over women’s sports came to a head for women’s fencing on Wednesday in a heated congressional hearing where female fencer Stephanie Turner took questions alongside USA Fencing Chairman Damien Lehfeldt, who doubled down on allowing trans-identifying men.

Lehfeldt was subpoenaed to appear before the House Oversight Committee’s DOGE subcommittee for the hearing titled, “Unfair Play: Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.”

Turner was disqualified from a Maryland tournament in March for taking a knee and refusing to compete against a trans-identifying male opponent. She ultimately stepped away from fencing altogether.

“It took me nearly three years to get up the courage to come out publicly,” Turner told lawmakers at the hearing. “That knee I took in protest was a cry for help and an act of desperation.”

Turner also explained how biological sex impacts performance in fencing, reminding lawmakers that it is a “combat sport.”

(Read more from “WATCH: Female Fencer and Trans-Supporting USA Fencing Head Face Off at Heated DOGE Hearing” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Microsoft Bans Employees From Using ‘Chinese Propaganda’ Chatbot

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Microsoft has banned employees from using DeepSeek — the viral Chinese chatbot it worries is a purveyor of “propaganda” — company President Brad Smith told senators Thursday.

He testified that the app is blocked across all Microsoft devices and stripped from the Windows Store because engineers fear it funnels employee data to Chinese servers and pushes CCP-friendly answers. Smith’s disclosure to the Senate Commerce Committee vaults Microsoft to the front of a widening effort to keep DeepSeek off American — especially government and corporate — devices.

“At Microsoft we don’t allow our employees to use the DeepSeek app,” Smith testified, warning of “data going back to China” and answers shaded by “Chinese propaganda.”

Smith said engineers dissected DeepSeek’s open-source R1 model after it went viral in January and “changed the code … to remove the harmful side effects” after putting it through stress tests designed to catch security gaps and weed out propaganda before listing it on Azure’s cloud marketplace. DeepSeek did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

The hearing underscored Washington’s growing unease over Beijing-linked AI tools that operate beyond U.S. export controls yet harvest American data. DeepSeek rocketed to the top of Apple’s and Google’s app charts this winter by offering ChatGPT Plus-level performance for free. At the same time, DeepSeek admits it “directly collects, processes and stores your Personal Data in the People’s Republic of China.” (Read more from “Microsoft Bans Employees From Using ‘Chinese Propaganda’ Chatbot” HERE)