By now, most Americans have figured out that the push for the SAVE America Act is performative — perhaps even more than the usual Washington standards.

Republicans have a closing window of unified control of the House, Senate, and White House. Yet the structural advantages Democrats spent decades building remain largely untouched outside temporary executive action. The SAVE America Act is one way to answer that problem with basic election rules such as voter ID and limits on mail-in voting.

John Thune understands leverage perfectly well. It is time for Republicans who say they want this bill to pass to prove they do, too.

Elections remain vulnerable to the same disputes over identification, mail voting, and administration that Republicans have spent years denouncing, while other institutional fights — immigration enforcement and reform of the FBI among them — remain unfinished. If Republicans lose unified control without locking in durable changes, a future Democrat administration can reverse much of what has been done by executive order.

Despite what the D.C. consultant class says, Republican success in the midterms will hinge on base motivation. Voters need something to vote for. Democrats are already portraying Republicans as the party of their own DEI: data centers, the Epstein class, and the Iran war.

Fair or not, those are political anchors. Without a positive agenda, the charge will stick.

The consultant class responds with the usual sermon about unity, which in practice means: Get in line and do what leadership says. But voters do not want WWE. They want UFC.

The Republican Party is already in an internal fight over what it will become after Trump, and only one side seems willing to use leverage. Some will call that destructive infighting. But the fight is already happening, and it will shape the party for decades. The question is not whether Republicans should have an internal struggle. It’s whether conservatives intend to participate in it as effectively as the senators and institutions working against them.

Recent Senate fights make the point. Republicans have held up ICE funding to block an Anti-Weaponization Fund and delayed Attorney General Todd Blanche's confirmation. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) used leverage to extract millions for Alaska nonprofits.

Politics is, at bottom, the acquisition and use of leverage. The Senate's left-wing Republicans understand that. The right too often makes threats it will not carry out — and loses.

The real show is not on the Senate floor. It is in the bank accounts.

The money controlled by Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, led by Tim Scott (R-S.C.), explains more than another ideological taxonomy ever could. Hundreds of millions of dollars flow through leadership-aligned committees and outside groups from interests that want something from Washington. That money becomes both carrot and stick: protect friendly incumbents, discipline troublesome ones, and keep conservative senators talking rather than acting.

RELATED: Drain the swamp? Meet the refill.

Sam Wolfe/Bloomberg via Getty Images

That’s how Thune and Scott can go on television praising the SAVE America Act while the leadership machine supports senators who stand in its way. My friends and I call this the head pat: Give conservatives a little rhetorical affection while making sure nothing they want actually happens. And it works. All the time.

The same network is lining up behind Senator Darline Graham Nordone (R-S.C.), rather than original SAVE America Act co-sponsor Ralph Norman. The scale is enormous. As of June 30, the Thune-aligned Senate Leadership Fund reported $238 million cash on hand, while its allied network, including One Nation, said it had raised more than half a billion dollars for the midterms. Those are obscene sums for a party that increasingly presents itself as the vehicle of working-class voters.

More important, the money is not politically neutral. It is a mechanism for deciding which senators get protected, which challengers get starved, and which legislative priorities receive serious attention.

Some of that war chest will protect senators most resistant to the SAVE America Act. Leadership gives them money and political lifelines while they deny the bill a vote. Those dollars do not come with strings attached for Republican voters. They come from donors and industries that need things from the Senate.

That is the leverage SAVE America Act supporters have ignored. If leadership can use money and floor time to reward compliance, conservatives can make leadership pay a price for blocking their priorities. Until they do, they have not begun to fight.

The absence of pressure is itself revealing. If leadership truly regarded passage of the SAVE America Act as a must-have priority, it would be using every institutional tool at its disposal to find votes and impose costs on holdouts. It is not.

The Senate made the problem obvious on August 8. Instead of forcing a vote on the full SAVE America Act, it took up a narrower photo-ID bill from Senator Jon Husted (R-Ohio). It failed 52-46. Then, that same morning, Thune filed cloture on the CLARITY Act crypto bill — a leadership priority that could consume much of the Senate's limited September floor time before the midterm campaign takes over.

Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), one of four Republicans who refuses to back the SAVE America Act, said the quiet part out loud: Unless its supporters find 60 votes, “they know it’s dead, and so all this is theater.” Thune says the Senate is “bound by arithmetic.” But arithmetic is not an alibi. Leadership chooses where to spend its money, floor time, and pressure.

So stop asking nicely.

RELATED: How Kamala Harris accidentally sold the SAVE America Act

Christian Bruna/Getty Images

Senate leadership routinely holds unrelated priorities hostage to get what it wants. Republicans who actually want the SAVE America Act should do the same. When the Senate returns in September, it will face a college sports bill, Thune's CLARITY Act, and the National Defense Authorization Act. Those are leverage points.

A team sport works only if everyone is playing the same sport, wearing the same jersey, on the same field. Senate leadership is not behaving like it is on your team. Treating it as though it is only guarantees another round of speeches, cable hits, and failure.

The base needs to see a cage fight. Give the people what they want.

Refuse to hand leadership what it wants until the SAVE America Act gets an up-or-down vote at a 51-vote threshold. That is the same kind of hostage-taking the Senate’s left flank uses successfully. Thune understands leverage perfectly well. It is time for Republicans who say they want this bill to pass to prove they do, too.

Former students of a performing arts teacher in Warren, Michigan, are saying that he had regularly crossed boundaries with his students after his arrest on Aug. 18.

37-year-old Mark Michael Sharrow is a teacher at the Warren Consolidated School of Performing Arts, which is a nationally recognized magnet school for students in grades 9 through 12.

Investigators allegedly found sexually explicit videos of children on Sharrow's phone.

He was initially arrested for a charge of third-degree criminal sexual conduct from Houton Lake, according to the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office.

"What we had uncovered in the course of our investigation was accusations that involved former students after they had graduated," said John Bernia, a school superintendent.

Sharrow's home and phone were searched following his arrest. Investigators allegedly found sexually explicit videos of children on Sharrow's phone and also discovered methamphetamine and LSD at his house.

He was charged with five counts of aggravated possession of child sexually abusive material, five counts of using a computer to commit a crime, one count of possession of methamphetamine, and one count of possession of a Schedule 5 controlled substance and LSD.

A judge set Sharrow's bond at $1 million cash or surety during his arraignment hearing on Wednesday.

Warren Consolidated Schools released a letter to parents and staff about the arrest and indicated that Sharrow was on administrative leave when he was arrested.

"I want to thank the young people who reported difficult information to members of our staff. It is never easy to bring forward serious information, and the bravery of these individuals is commendable," the letter stated.

"As always, we cooperate fully and work closely with law enforcement and the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office," the letter continued.

RELATED: Police find hundreds of thousands of child porn files after man drops memory card at store

A former student of the school told WXYZ-TV that the arrest was not surprising because Sharrow's behavior with the students had raised red flags.

"I wasn't fully shocked. We all thought he was weird with students," said Mary Bonkowski, who graduated just a few months ago from the school.

She said she was glad that officials took the accusations seriously.

"I'm very glad that they had the courage to say something, because that's extremely difficult, especially because you don't know if you're going to be believed," she said. "I mean, historically, a lot of these things have been swept under the rug, so I'm glad that they finally listened and that it was taken seriously."

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A recent picnic in the park turned violent when a child allegedly called a transgender-identifying person named Leanne Lawson a name he didn’t like — and he reacted by allegedly hitting the child.

Rather than expressing regret, he doubled down in multiple follow-up TikTok videos, arguing that anyone who uses certain language toward him should expect a violent response.

“So I was just minding my business here in Lewis Park, just having a little picnic, you know, just minding my own business, having a picnic. And then this group of kids came up and started hassling me,” Lawson began in the first video.

“Talking s**t to me, calling me a t*****,” he explained.

“They used words they weren’t supposed to, and I smacked one of them upside the head. And yeah, they didn’t like that,” he added.

In a second video, he continued, saying, “I smacked a couple kids upside the head for saying words they shouldn’t be saying.”

“But I’m going to be honest with you: It wouldn’t have mattered if they were kids. Anybody talks to me like that now, and I’m going to react like that. Any person that starts using language that requires me to justify my existence for just sitting there, eating some charcuterie in the f**king park,” he said.

“I’m going to smack them upside the head,” he added.

“Sir … are you denying that you are a t*****?” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales comments.

“You’re not fooling anyone,” she adds.

Lawson even posted a follow-up video, explaining that the “kid's mom came up and apologized” to him.

“This kid’s mom came up and like, ‘I’m so sorry about my son,’ and I was just like, ‘Yo, your son better not talk crazy like that or he’s going to get his head knocked off.’ Like, I didn’t lie about what I did,” he said.

“Who could have predicted that maybe trans and mentally ill people could be violent, right?” Gonzales asks. “Like, boy, we’ve never seen that happen before.”

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America may be entering a period of extraordinary economic opportunity. Artificial intelligence could drive a wave of investment, construction, productivity, and growth. The question is whether ordinary Americans will own enough of that growth to benefit from it.

That makes tax policy about more than rates and revenue. If Washington wants Americans to build wealth, it should make it easier to own appreciating assets — stocks, funds, homes, and businesses — and keep more of the gains they earn over time.

Building wealth requires more than rising wages. Americans need the ability to acquire assets, hold them, and benefit from compounding over decades.

President Donald Trump is reportedly looking for new policy wins ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, including capital gains reform. The White House and congressional allies are considering indexing capital gains for inflation and creating a new exemption for certain home sales, reportedly including homes worth $2 million or less.

Both ideas move in the right direction. They would let Americans keep more of the returns on investments they have held for years and reduce tax penalties that can discourage people from selling appreciated assets.

The usual objection is that capital gains reform is a giveaway to the rich. But IRS data cited by Americans for Tax Reform show that 74% of tax returns reporting capital gains come from households with incomes below $200,000. Millions of Americans own stocks through brokerage accounts, mutual funds, and retirement plans. The tax code should not treat long-term wealth building as something reserved for the affluent.

Inflation makes the problem worse. A taxpayer can owe capital gains tax even when part of the apparent gain simply reflects a dollar that has lost purchasing power. Indexing gains for inflation would make the tax apply more closely to real economic profit rather than paper gains created by rising prices.

Housing presents a second opportunity. Expanding or exempting capital gains treatment for certain home sales could encourage more owners to put appreciated properties on the market. Many older Americans remain in homes that no longer fit their needs, in part because selling can result in a sizable tax bill.

RELATED: Big Tech gets the network. You get the bill.

Baona/Getty Images

Reducing that penalty could make downsizing more attractive and free larger homes for younger families. It wouldn’t solve the housing shortage — America still needs to build more homes — but it could help the existing housing stock move to people who need it.

The broader principle is more important than either proposal. Building wealth requires more than rising wages. Americans need the ability to acquire assets, hold them, and benefit from compounding over decades. Ownership is how economic growth becomes personal.

The White House should therefore think bigger than a handful of tax tweaks. The next phase of Trump’s economic agenda should aim to turn more Americans into owners.

A serious capital gains overhaul could encourage people to invest, save, start businesses, sell homes when it makes sense, and accumulate wealth over time. If the coming AI boom creates enormous new fortunes, ordinary Americans should have a better chance to own a piece of it — not merely watch Sam Altman get richer.

The U.S. Supreme Court sided Monday with President Donald Trump against a collection of Democrat-controlled states who sued to oppose his executive order restricting mail-in ballots.

The highest court of the land found in a partisan 5-3 ruling that the states did not have standing to sue against the president's order and overturned a lower court order to block the restrictions in 23 states.

'Only Democrat politicians and operatives would be upset about lawful efforts to secure American elections.'

"This internal directive does not regulate the States' voter registration processes," read the order from the Supreme Court. "Nor does it impinge on the States' authority 'to create and enforce a legal code' for elections."

However, the majority ruling warned that not all measures taken by the executive to implement the order will be necessarily lawful.

"On that score, time will tell," the majority said.

The court's three liberal justices dissented from the ruling.

The executive order from March directed the Department of Homeland Security to tabulate a list of citizens eligible to vote. It then called on the U.S. Postal Service to only accept ballots from people on the list.

U.S. attorneys general from several Democrat states sued to stop the order on the basis that it would disenfranchise some voters who could vote lawfully.

"Only Democrat politicians and operatives would be upset about lawful efforts to secure American elections and ensure only eligible American citizens are casting ballots," read a statement from White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson in April.

In her dissent Monday, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson accused the president of seeking to "foment chaos ahead of the November elections."

Justice Sonya Sotomayor said the ruling only "postpones" the adjudication of the president's order.

"Today's decision does not address whether the President's attempts to interfere with States' administration of the November 2026 elections are lawful," wrote Sotomayor in a dissent joined by Justice Elena Kagan.

RELATED: Appeals court unanimous in pivotal ruling on undated or misdated mail-in ballots

"Nor does it suggest that the Executive Branch has any constitutional or statutory authority to implement the President's directives," they added.

New York Attorney General Letitia James agreed with Sotomayor in her own statement on the ruling.

"This decision is a painful setback, but it will not be the final word," she wrote. "The right to vote is sacred, and no administration should be allowed to put that right in jeopardy by making it harder for eligible voters to cast their ballots."

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A Thursday night WNBA game between the Atlanta Dream and the Los Angeles Sparks was briefly interrupted when one fan gave the players a blast from the recent past.

Strangely enough, green dildos were thrown onto WNBA courts last season in the middle of games. Now a fan is bringing the viral trend back by launching yet another sex toy onto the court.

In a video of the incident, Sparks star Cameron Brink kicked the toy away after it dropped in front of Jihyun Park, who was in the middle of a free throw. Dream star Angel Reese then pointed out the perpetrator, who was trying to flee the scene of his crime.

Security was able to stop the man from leaving, but BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock doesn’t see the trend going away anytime soon.

“I’m saying this in all seriousness. I have a source that says that will not be the last dildo thrown in the WNBA games as we close out the regular season and that dildos may start appearing in other sports,” Whitlock says, stifling laughter.

“This is a protest of the heat that Sophie Cunningham’s been taking and the whole transgender issue,” he continues. “I’m seriously saying that, because I was told by this source yesterday ... ‘dildos will fly tonight,’ and they did,” he explains.

“And they say they’re not going away,” he adds.

Steve Kim notes that Reese was on top of it.

“I’ve seen political assassination attempts where people weren’t that adamant about pointing out the shooter,” Kim says.

“It’s really too bad she wasn’t in Dallas back in ‘63. We would have found out who killed JFK,” he adds.

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A prostitution sting in Ohio nabbed the owner of the San Francisco 49ers, whose family is worth billions of dollars, according to police.

Forty-six-year-old Jed York was arrested at about 9:30 a.m. on Sunday morning at the Wheat Hill Mobile Home Community in East Palestine.

York agreed to donate the $160 confiscated during the arrest to the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force.

Police say York responded to a known prostitution website in Columbiana County, Ohio, and ordered up a prostitute for $140, according to the New York Post.

While on the way to meet what he believed to be a prostitute for a sexual tryst, York was instead arrested by an agent from the Mahoning Valley Human trafficking Task Force.

A representative for the trailer park said in a statement on Facebook that York was pulled over at the business, but that the trailer park was not part of the prostitution sting.

"This news of this arrest in our quiet community is just as shocking to us, as to the rest of you," the trailer park manager added. "While we support law enforcement in their efforts. We really have no other knowledge of the situation."

York was initially arrested on charges of engaging in prostitution as well as possession of criminal tools, but the prostitution charge was reduced to disorderly conduct.

He was ordered to pay a fine of $1,150 and to serve two days in jail after pleading no contest.

York also agreed to donate the $160 confiscated during the arrest to the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force.

A spokesperson for the NFL told Forbes only that the league was "aware of the matter, which will be reviewed under the personal conduct policy."

RELATED: Owner of adult bookstores in Texas allegedly ran prostitution and money laundering ring

The 49ers told Forbes the incident was a "legal matter" that was resolved and the team would not be providing any further comment.

The York family is believed to be worth about $8.5 billion, primarily from the valuation of the team.

Jed York is originally from Youngstown, Ohio. He is married to Danielle Belluomini and has two sons with her.

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Anti-white agitpropist Karen Attiah appears to have gotten the last laugh with the Washington Post, despite dancing on the grave of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk after he was assassinated last September.

A private labor arbitrator, Sarah Miller Espinosa, has ordered Jeff Bezos' newspaper not only to hire back Attiah but to compensate her with back pay and lost benefits.

'We cannot tolerate the risk your performance poses to The Post.'

According to the Sept. 11, 2025, termination letter that Attiah shared online, the Washington Post fired Attiah for "gross misconduct."

"Your comments on social media regarding the death of Charlie Kirk violate The Post's social media policies, harm the integrity of our organization, and potentially endanger the physical safety of our staff," said the letter. "Among other requirements, the Company-wide social media policy mandates that all employee social media postings be respectful and prohibits postings that disparage people based on their race, gender or other protected characteristics."

The paper flagged two posts Attiah made on the liberal X knockoff Bluesky just hours after Charlie Kirk's death.

In the first, she wrote, "Refusing to tear my clothes and smear ashes on my face in performative mourning for a white man that espoused violence is.... not the same as violence." In the second, she wrote, "Part of what keeps America so violent is the insistence that people perform care, empty goodness and absolution for white men who espouse hatred and violence."

Attiah also wrote: "For everyone saying political violence has no place in this country… Remember two Democratic legislators were shot in Minnesota just this year. And America shrugged and moved on"; and "If anything, the rush to coddle violent white men is self-protective — that we know they are not used to feeling vulnerable and mortal — and will react violently out of fear. And we will all suffer."

RELATED: The truth did not kill Jason Arday

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

"The poor judgment exhibited by your public comments regarding Charlie Kirk arise against the backdrop of documented performance concerns, which have been raised with you," said the Post's termination letter. "Given these concerns, and in light of your recent unacceptable Bluesky posts, we cannot tolerate the risk your performance poses to The Post."

When faced with potential consequence over her actions, Attiah masqueraded as a victim.

Attiah claimed in a Substack post that she was fired for "speaking out against political violence, racial double standards, and America’s apathy toward guns."

After suggesting that she was "being silenced" for doing her job, the agitpropist proceeded to smear Kirk again, accusing the dead father of two of, among other things, attacking black women "as a group" and endangering academics by "putting them on watch lists."

Attiah, a member of the Washington Post Guild, filed a challenge to her firing and retained the representation of the Democracy Defenders Fund, co-founded by former Obama official Norm Eisen. Eisen and the rest of the legal team claimed in a Sept. 24 letter to the Post that Attiah "spoke truthfully and forcefully about matters of vital public concern, and her performance is worthy of praise — not condemnation — for speaking difficult truths at a challenging time."

The matter was ultimately decided on Aug. 20 in arbitration.

Espinosa, the arbitrator, stated that the interpretation that Attiah's posts disparage white men "is unsupported by the actual words, as well as the context, of the Grievant's posts"; that "the Washington Post failed to establish the Grievant engaged in gross misconduct"; and the paper lacked a good and sufficient cause to fire Attiah.

Eisen said of the order, "The Post tried to pass off retaliation as discipline, but the rule of law has exposed it for what it truly is: wrongful termination. This is a landmark decision for every journalist who refuses to be silenced."

Attiah said, "This decision confirms what we’ve said from the start: I was doing my job as an opinion journalist, and doing that job is not misconduct."

A spokesperson for the Post told Blaze News that the paper respects the arbitration process and declines to comment further.

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Some residents of Gary, Indiana, have been without electricity for weeks, and many in the black community are rushing to blame racism and discrimination.

Deadly storms knocked over electricity poles and brought damaging flooding to northeast Indiana, including Gary, and initially knocked out power for about 300,000 residents.

'It's full of black people. We the blackest city out here, so they don't want to check on us.'

While the Northern Indiana Public Service Company has been working to return power to customers, it has been hampered by violence targeting utilities workers.

On Aug. 14, restoration efforts were paused after a utility truck was damaged by gunfire. No injuries were reported.

"These aren't simple repairs,” said Melody Birmingham, an executive at the parent company of NIPSCO. "These are lines that ordinarily take us, and systems that ordinarily take weeks or months that we are trying to accomplish in days or weeks."

She rejected accusations that NIPSCO was neglecting the city because a majority of its population is black.

"We have areas that are probably affluent where we still have customers out as well. ... This has nothing to do with race or any type of division," said Birmingham, who is black. "It’s really a matter of where the storm hit."

Among the most prominent voices blaming racism are Dr. Bernice King, the daughter of the late Martin Luther King Jr.

"What is happening in Gary, Indiana, raises a deeper question about whose communities are treated with urgency," she wrote on social media Monday.

"Black communities have too often been expected to endure neglect, absorb the consequences, and keep surviving," she added. "No community should have to prove that its families are worthy of immediate care. Our communities deserve more than survival. Black communities deserve to be valued."

Others are speaking out to the media.

"We know why they not coming out here though. I mean it's obvious, you know, it's obvious" said one resident named Amara to BreakThrough News.

"It's full of black people. We the blackest city out here, so they don't want to check on us."

RELATED: Black man blamed racism for arson at his home that killed 2 — until an accomplice speaks up

Some residents signed onto a class-action lawsuit against the company for allegedly neglecting the area and setting up the conditions for far worse damage from the storms.

Six adults and one boy were killed as a result of the storms, according to the state Department of Homeland Security.

NIPSCO indicated that it was close to returning power to most Gary residents sometime this week.

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President Donald Trump has threatened to punish Canada with 50% tariffs on automotive and steel imports after the country's leaders rejected his trade deal offer.

In a post on Truth Social on Monday, he cited Canada's tariffs on farms and said the situation was no longer sustainable. The new tariffs will go into effect on New Year's Day, 2027, the president said.

'We’re all in ... everyone’s in for an economic war.'

"On January First, 2027, Tariffs on all Cars, Trucks, both large and small, Automotive Parts, and Steel, will be increased to 50%. Build in the U.S. and there are ZERO TARIFFS," wrote the president.

"Canada will be treated like a State no longer!" he added. "On Trade, and in other ways, also, they are among the worst Nations in the World to deal with. They feel entitled, and yet, WE DON’T NEED CANADA, THEY NEED US!"

Ontario Premier Doug Ford responded defiantly to the tariffs.

"He underestimates Canada. We’re all in,” Ford said. “Up here, we’re at a fever pitch, everyone’s in for an economic war. They know they’re going to have to sacrifice."

On Friday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney walked away from talks with the Trump administration on trade, and the U.S. responded on Saturday by immediately imposing 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian products.

Carney said Canada would retaliate with reciprocal tariffs beginning Sept. 8.

Ford went on to threaten to cut off energy and materials from Ontario to the U.S.

"I’ll cut them off," Ford said in reference to critical minerals. "You won’t get a grain of sand out of Ontario."

He noted that Canada provides electricity for about 1.5 million homes and businesses.

"He can kiss my ass as far as I'm concerned," Ford added.

"We need to throw everything and the kitchen sink at him. He's arrogant, he's cocky."

RELATED: Trump says Canada is considering his offer to become the 51st state of the US

Canada is one of the largest trading partners of the U.S., but the U.S. depends far less on Canadian imports than our neighbor to the north depends on U.S. imports.

About 59% of Canada's imports come from the U.S., while only 12.6% of U.S. imports come from Canada.

The Trump administration also launched a new campaign Monday to cripple Iran through economic sanctions in order to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz completely.

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The Democrat candidate for one of two U.S. Senate seats for Texas was seemingly caught spreading misinformation about an emergency incident at an Amazon warehouse.

James Talarico was campaigning at a church when he referred to an incident at an Amazon warehouse in which an employee died.

'Lying isn’t very Christian. And that’s what you’re doing here because that’s not what happened.'

He posted a video of his comments to social media on Sunday to spread the message against corporate greed.

"An Amazon worker died in one of Amazon's warehouses. And as he lay dying, management told the other workers: 'Turn around. Don't look. Get back to work.' Get back to work? That was a human being. That was a child of God," Talarico claimed.

"Sacrificed on the altar of corporate greed," he added.

An Amazon employee did die after collapsing at an Oregon facility in April in Troutdale, Oregon, and that story has been used by Democrats and other activists to attack capitalism, though Amazon has specifically denied allegations about it.

Amazon responded to a Blaze News request for comment by directing to a previous statement about the incident, denying the "misinformation" being spread online.

"Sadly, one of our teammates collapsed during his shift from what we now understand as a pre-existing medical issue. When our onsite team was notified, three CPR certified team members, including two from our on-site safety team, provided CPR and deployed an automated defibrillator until emergency medical services (EMS) arrived shortly after."

The statement went on to say that the area was cordoned off while the company's safety teams and EMS cared for the worker. Unfortunately, the employee passed away.

And in contrast to criticism casting Amazon as cold and heartless in its response, the company outlined steps taken to protect the man's privacy and to care for the other workers at the warehouse.

"Shortly after this event occurred, employees were sent home with pay for the rest of the day," they added. "When we resumed operations the following day, any employee who requested time off was given that time, and onsite grief counselors were provided to anybody who chose to come to work and needed them."

Many online found Talarico's politicization of the man's death to be inappropriate and crass, especially as the Democrat regularly cites Christianity in his campaign.

"Lying isn’t very Christian. And that’s what you’re doing here because that’s not what happened," said one critic.

RELATED: James Talarico shamelessly panders on Karmelo Anthony verdict — on NY-based radio show

"Total LIE about the actual events. Do you EVER tell the truth??" said another.

"You don’t turn someone’s distress into a sideshow Talarico," responded one detractor. "You allow medical personnel and others qualified to handle the situation and ask everyone else to leave the scene. And it’s also exactly what the first responders tell you too. And another reason you are unfit to serve in our senate."

Amazon has been hounded by critics pointing out that its workers are twice as likely to be injured as non-Amazon workers. Another report found that Amazon warehouses had 30% more injuries than the industry average in 2023.

The company responded to the criticism by noting Amazon had invested $2.5 billion in increased safety standards.

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Right-wing activist Eoin Richard was carried out of a church over the weekend after an anti-Islam protest ended in chaos.

Richard intended to launch his Take Back L.A.: Free Speech Rally on Sunday at the Islamic Center of Southern California, but he ended up at Precious Blood Catholic Church after claiming to have received death threats. He was quickly outnumbered by counterprotesters, chased through the church, and assaulted at a nearby Starbucks.

‘We aren’t going to be able to march to the Islamic Center due to threats on our lives.’

In videos posted to Instagram, Richard and at least one supporter are seen fleeing into Precious Blood Catholic Church while agitators follow closely behind.

After being picked up and removed from the church, Richard is cornered at a nearby Starbucks along with his companion. The activist group shouted that he is a “Nazi," a "piece of s**t," and a "terrorist."

"JIHADISTS and ANTIFA storm CATHOLIC CHURCH and abduct EOIN RICHARD after mass," Richard's Instagram caption reads.

Masked assailants later poured blue paint all over Richard and his companion. Eventually, Los Angeles Police Department officers arrived to escort the men from the store. They did not appear to make any arrests.

A day prior to the confrontation, multiple Islamic organizations drew attention to Richard’s event.

RELATED: Is Ilhan Omar getting deported? Trump's post raises eyebrows

Nihad Awad, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, says so many minorities, including American Muslims, "have been attacked in the past two years." (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images file photo)

The Council on American-Islamic Relations Los Angeles, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, and the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California condemned Richard’s rally in a press release Saturday.

“ICSC has served as a place of worship, community, and belonging in L.A. for generations. Attempts to bring hate, intimidation, or fear to the doorstep of any house of worship have no place in our city,” ICSC spokesperson Omar Ricci said in a statement. “We will not allow those who seek to divide our communities to define who we are or how we respond.”

MPAC even provided its followers with detailed background information on Eoin Richard, sometimes referred to as Eoin Richard Connolly, and his activism.

“There is no identified public evidence that Connolly has explicitly called for violence against the Islamic Center, Muslims, or event participants,” MPAC admitted in its community alert and threat assessment posted to Facebook.

MPAC did, however, warn its followers that Richard’s flyer combined “explicitly Christian mobilization with Crusader-associated symbolism” and that he had “documented relationships with activists involved in confrontational protests.”

“We aren’t going to be able to march to the Islamic Center due to threats on our lives. But we’re still having our rally here, rallying with Christians and Catholics here in L.A.,” Richard said in an Instagram story filmed outside of Precious Blood.

“The parish had no participation in the demonstration, nor did it give permission for its filming,” an Archdiocese of Los Angeles spokesperson told Blaze News. “The individuals shown in the filming removing another person from the church are not staff nor are they affiliated with the parish in any way.”

“In addition, the man wearing a clerical shirt seen in some of the videos is not part of the parish nor Archdiocese and is believed to be clergy member of another Christian denomination,” the spokesperson said. “We are grateful to the LAPD which responded promptly to the incident.”

Richard, MPAC, the LAPD, CAIR-LA, and the ICSC did not respond to requests for comment.

Richard was previously a candidate for Los Angeles mayor, according to the L.A. Times.

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Editor's note: This article has been updated after publication to include comment from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

LaRell Herbert once believed the only explanation for his lifelong gender confusion was that he had been born in the wrong body.

So after leaving the Mormon faith, embracing a secular worldview, and undergoing a gender transition, Herbert openly identified as a woman for seven years.

And he believes it all started when he stumbled onto pornography on the internet.

“I had this weird experience where when I started exploring pornography, I realized that there was a very particular flavor of pornography that was my poison, you might say,” he tells BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey on "Relatable."

“This happened to be BDSM pornography,” he says, noting that after some “self-healing,” a repressed memory surfaced.

“I had this repressed memory from when I was 5 years old come up where I was restrained, as just a child, restrained by this electrical cord and violated sexually,” he says.

As his addiction grew, he “started envisioning [himself] in the shoes of the women in the pornography.”

“That was the only thing that would do it for me. And also it felt like a victimless crime. If I could pleasure myself to the thought of me being in their shoes in the scenario, then it wasn’t a sin in my mind,” he explains.

“And this is one of the things that I like to teach people now, is that sexuality can be programmed,” he continues. “We of course all are born with the biological sex tendencies that are in us because we’re male or female and attraction to the opposite sex is natural to one’s biology.”

“If that differs at all in your psyche, in your system, that means that something happened, some sequence of experience happened to you as a child or you were exposed to things in a certain sequence that made you develop the perspective you have now,” he adds.

With the addition of his childhood trauma, Herbert recognized that his “sexuality was very much programmed by viewing that pornography, by repetitively exciting those feelings.”

Herbert was also married when he began his transition, which led to a lot of “distress” in his marriage — especially for his wife.

“I didn’t want to cause her distress, even though I felt like I had to pursue being a woman in order to be happy. I at some point told her basically, I can’t go on living if I can’t do this,” he tells Stuckey.

“I think it was largely for selfish reasons at the time. I’ve learned that being trans is a very selfish thing. It’s all about me and my needs and what I can do for myself to be happy, and you forget the people around you,” he adds.

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The thought of China making it to the moon likely left a lot of Americans with an uneasy feeling.

To make matters worse, the communist giant was primed to make a first-of-its-kind discovery.

China's boots-on-the-ground mission was set for 2030.

The China National Space Administration's Chang'e‑7 has taken aim at the moon's south pole, where the darkest and most barren parts of the surface are located. Particularly, China has focused on the Shackleton Crater, whose large rims provide permanently shadow regions where researchers believe water ice could exist.

Chang'e‑7's launch, complete with lander, rover, and mobile probe, was scheduled to take place before the end of August, but China's entire lunar exploration roadmap has now been blown out of the water after the space program officially delayed its launch on Sunday.

The Chinese government announced that the Chang'e-7 mission has been delayed until at least 2027.

"Based on the principles of safety, reliability, and infallibility, after comprehensive analysis and judgment, the Chang'e-7 mission does not meet the launch conditions and cannot be implemented in the scheduled window this year," the space administration said, per a translation.

And so far, at least, the United States government has not made any comment on the momentous development.

No reason for the delay was provided by Beijing, but the most circulated scenario has been that Typhoon Narra and its 45 mph winds were the cause for disruption.

Singapore outlet the Straight Times reported that 54,000 Chinese were displaced by rising flood waters, including more than 8,000 being moved to emergency shelters.

RELATED: LIFE ON MARS? Bizarre formation in NASA photo sparks red planet conspiracy theory

CN-STR/AFP/Getty Images

Ars Technica reported on a typhoon warning center that warned the storm is expected to persist for several days, preventing workable launch conditions at China's Wenchang site. This would cause the Chinese space authorities to miss their launch window to hit the underside of the moon.

This now puts China's entire timeline into question, as Chang'e‑7's mission was the crucial first step toward getting more robots, and eventually humans and engineering and military equipment, onto the moon's surface.

Chang'e-8, another probing mission, was set for 2029, while China's boots-on-the-ground mission was set for 2030. Beijing had stated that it had its space station "steadily in orbit" to serve as a platform for its manned lunar landings.

These steps would have put the communist nation's preparatory framework ahead of the United States' Artemis program but still would have had its manned-landing come after NASA's.

RELATED: Vast secrets hide below the moon's surface — and China is about to find them out before we do

CN-STR/AFP/Getty Images

Now China finds itself at risk of falling permanently behind America's Artemis program.

After the Artemis II flyby, Artemis III will serve to monitor the lunar surface for future landings while testing U.S. systems associated with the fourth mission. Artemis III has a window of 2027, now the same as Chang'e-7.

Artemis IV astronauts have a goal of landing on the moon in "early 2028" to establish permanent residency on the satellite.

The Chinese shake-up now could put NASA and team USA considerably ahead of China, whose lunar landers were said to be large and impressive.

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The thought of China making it to the moon likely left a lot of Americans with an uneasy feeling.

To make matters worse, the communist giant was primed to make a first-of-its-kind discovery.

China's boots-on-the-ground mission was set for 2030.

The China National Space Administration's Chang'e‑7 has taken aim at the moon's south pole, where the darkest and most barren parts of the surface are located. Particularly, China has focused on the Shackleton Crater, whose large rims provide permanently shadow regions where researchers believe water ice could exist.

Chang'e‑7's launch, complete with lander, rover, and mobile probe, was scheduled to take place before the end of August, but China's entire lunar exploration roadmap has now been blown out of the water after the space program officially delayed its launch on Sunday.

The Chinese government announced that the Chang'e-7 mission has been delayed until at least 2027.

"Based on the principles of safety, reliability, and infallibility, after comprehensive analysis and judgment, the Chang'e-7 mission does not meet the launch conditions and cannot be implemented in the scheduled window this year," the space administration said, per a translation.

And so far, at least, the United States government has not made any comment on the momentous development.

No reason for the delay was provided by Beijing, but the most circulated scenario has been that Typhoon Narra and its 45 mph winds were the cause for disruption.

Singapore outlet the Straight Times reported that 54,000 Chinese were displaced by rising flood waters, including more than 8,000 being moved to emergency shelters.

RELATED: LIFE ON MARS? Bizarre formation in NASA photo sparks red planet conspiracy theory

CN-STR/AFP/Getty Images

Ars Technica reported on a typhoon warning center that warned the storm is expected to persist for several days, preventing workable launch conditions at China's Wenchang site. This would cause the Chinese space authorities to miss their launch window to hit the underside of the moon.

This now puts China's entire timeline into question, as Chang'e‑7's mission was the crucial first step toward getting more robots, and eventually humans and engineering and military equipment, onto the moon's surface.

Chang'e-8, another probing mission, was set for 2029, while China's boots-on-the-ground mission was set for 2030. Beijing had stated that it had its space station "steadily in orbit" to serve as a platform for its manned lunar landings.

These steps would have put the communist nation's preparatory framework ahead of the United States' Artemis program but still would have had its manned-landing come after NASA's.

RELATED: Vast secrets hide below the moon's surface — and China is about to find them out before we do

CN-STR/AFP/Getty Images

Now China finds itself at risk of falling permanently behind America's Artemis program.

After the Artemis II flyby, Artemis III will serve to monitor the lunar surface for future landings while testing U.S. systems associated with the fourth mission. Artemis III has a window of 2027, now the same as Chang'e-7.

Artemis IV astronauts have a goal of landing on the moon in "early 2028" to establish permanent residency on the satellite.

The Chinese shake-up now could put NASA and team USA considerably ahead of China, whose lunar landers were said to be large and impressive.

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Karmelo Anthony, who savagely murdered 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a high school track meet last year, appealed to have his conviction and corresponding 35-year prison sentence thrown out.

Anthony's attempt to forgo the legal consequences of his actions is off to a rocky start.

'Im gonna lick there blood off the blade.'

After District Judge John Roach Jr. — who presided over Anthony's trial — was recused last week from overseeing subsequent steps of the case, Anthony's lawyers made their play for a new trial before retired Judge Michael Chitty, who replaced Roach.

With the push for a new trial came new character evidence about the killer and his victim — evidence from police reports, school records, and cellphone data that was previously withheld owing to what prosecutor Bill Wirskye referred to as a "gentleman's agreement" between prosecutors and the defense.

According to court documents referred to in court and reviewed by CBS News, hours before killing Metcalf, Anthony allegedly sent a text message stating, "I'm lowk on the verge."

RELATED: James Talarico shamelessly panders on Karmelo Anthony verdict — on New York-based radio show

That same morning, the killer's ex-girlfriend notified a staff member at Centennial High School that Anthony was "engaging in stalking behavior, to include, but not limited to, driving by her home and refusing to allow her to end their relationship," said prosecutors.

Prosecutors also highlighted text messages where Anthony allegedly admitted to punching girls in the face and committing burglaries; discussed robbing someone for $300; threatened to vandalize a house because of a "grudge"; and told a friend, "Imma shoot the school up tmr" "with my blick."

According to a message thread between Anthony and his ex-girlfriend presented in court, Anthony allegedly wrote, "I like punching people"; "when get mad I see red"; "when I get mad I blackout"; and "when I get mad I can't control myself."

Prosecutors also alleged that Anthony had not only repeatedly threatened to murder his ex-girlfriend but in one instance allegedly texted her, "When I stab sb im gonna lick there blood off the blade," reported KXAS-TV.

This sharing exercise was a two-way street, and some allegations about Metcalf and his brother were likewise revealed.

Metcalf and his twin brother, Hunter, were once caught spray-painting racist remarks and sentenced to 12 months of juvenile probation. The documents also raised allegations about Metcalf using racial slurs in school, swearing at a teacher, discussing bringing a gun to school, bullying at least two other students, and texting provocative statements.

On Saturday, Judge Chitty denied the defense's retrial without elaboration.

"Our commitment to our client has not changed," said Russell Wilson, an attorney for Anthony, reported the Associated Press. "We will continue to advocate vigorously on his behalf through every lawful avenue available."

The defense will reportedly continue an appeal in the Fifth Court of Appeals.

Blaze News did not immediately receive a response from Wilson.

Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis stated, "We respect, and expected, the court’s decision denying the motion for a new trial."

"The jury’s guilty verdict stands, and we remain confident in the process. Every defendant has the right to appeal, and our thoughts and prayers remain with the Metcalf family in the painful wake of last week’s hearing," added Willis.

The Stand With Karmelo Coalition said in response to the ruling,

We continue to maintain that serious constitutional and legal errors denied Karmelo Anthony the fair trial to which he was entitled. The restrictions placed on public access to his trial raised fundamental Sixth Amendment concerns. The defense made consequential decisions throughout the trial in reliance upon an agreement with the State concerning the evidence that would — and would not — be introduced, only to have the State change its position at a critical point in the proceedings. And we maintain that errors in the jury instructions impaired the jury’s consideration of the issue at the very heart of Karmelo’s defense: whether he acted in self-defense.

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Democrats will do anything to get the black vote, and Senate candidate James Talarico is no exception.

“He’s trying to win over the black vote because the black people in Texas, the Democrats at least, are very, very upset that Jasmine Crockett didn’t win. They wanted ... Jasmine Crockett because she was black,” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales explains.

“So I think now his tactic to try to win over the black Democrat vote is saying that he’s cool with a little murder as long as it’s a black person carrying out the crime, I guess,” she adds, before playing a clip of Talarico on "The Breakfast Club."

“From Texas, we seen what happened with Karmelo Anthony, and you said it was a tragedy. What did you mean by that?” Talarico was asked.

“Well, I’ve done a lot of work in the state House on justice reform, and right now we’ve got a system that doesn’t serve all Americans equally, and we know that black Texans have not gotten the justice they deserve in many cases,” he responded.

“And you know, I’m not an expert on this particular case, but I know that there were no black members of the jury. And to me, that’s the only evidence you need to really prove that this system is not working for black Texans,” he added.

Adam Johnson, who is well known as January 6th’s “lectern guy,” points out that he went to federal prison for “misdemeanor trespassing.”

“So if it’s about color, if it’s about these things that he’s bringing up, I don’t know. I think a lot of us went to jail and we were very much white when we were there,” he tells Gonzales.

But Talarico isn’t the only Democrat trying to court black voters.

“[Abdul El-Sayed is] actually taking a different approach than James Talarico,” Gonzales says.

“Apparently, now he is African,” she adds, noting that originally she just believed him to be Muslim.

“I am Arab. I’m also African. My family immigrated to this country from Egypt. I’m proud of my African heritage,” he said in a recent press conference.

“So obviously he is like, ‘Oh, well, technically I’m African,’” Gonzales says.

“He’s like, ‘I’m just a plain old black man like you,’” she adds.

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The days of the American Bar Association overseeing the accreditation of law schools may be numbered.

The ABA has enjoyed the authority to accredit law schools since 1952. This authority is vested in the ABA Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, which is supposedly independent.

'It should not have any role, much less a monopoly role, in law school accreditation.'

However, critics have suggested that the ABA is insufficiently independent of the institutions and profession it is overseeing.

Currently, the ABA's legal ed council fully or provisionally accredits nearly 200 law schools.

Thirteen of the programs approved and accredited by the ABA are freestanding law schools with no affiliation to a college or university. Their ABA accreditation renders them eligible to participate in federal financial student aid programs.

More consequentially, the Wall Street Journal — which first reported on the proposed termination of the council's accreditation authority — noted that in most U.S. states, law school graduates' ability to take the bar exam is conditional on their school's approval by the ABA.

RELATED: The right needs a public defender network for lawfare

The ABA's accreditation authority, last renewed in 2021, comes up for renewal next month.

According to a notice by the Education Department posted in the Federal Register on Friday, the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity is scheduled to meet on Sept. 23 and 24 and will discuss the petition for renewal of recognition filed by the ABA's legal ed council.

Daniel Thies, the previous chair of the ABA's legal ed council, will appear as a witness. He declined Blaze News' request for comment.

According to a report made public on Friday, Education Department staff have recommended that the ABA legal ed council be stripped of its oversight and accreditation authority, citing in part the council's insufficient independence from the profession.

An Education Department spokesperson confirmed in a statement to Blaze News, "After reviewing ABA’s accreditation standards, Department staff found the accreditor out of compliance with the agency’s accreditation regulations and recognition standards."

"We will not comment on details, as the process is ongoing and involves multiple stages of review, including by an independent, bipartisan advisory committee in September," added the spokesperson.

Melissa Hart, a Democrat who previously served on the Colorado Supreme Court and now serves as chairwoman of the ABA's legal ed council, figures that the ABA will make a convincing case and ultimately retain its accreditation authority.

Hart said in a statement to the Blaze News, "The Council is confident it complies with the Higher Education Act and with the Department’s requirements for accreditors. We look forward to the opportunity to address any misconceptions and clarify the record at our upcoming hearing before the NACIQI committee next month."

"An initial recommendation from Department staff represents one step in the regular recognition process that the Council and other accreditors periodically complete," continued Hart. "A hearing with NACIQI is the next step in that process, and we’re confident the Council will address any concerns the Department may have at that hearing."

After the meeting next month, the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity will issue its own recommendation to Undersecretary of Education Nicholas Kent.

Kent appears keen on accreditation reform. He said in a statement on Wednesday, "The Trump Administration’s proposed changes to the accreditation system are intended to reorient our quality assurance framework so that accreditors prioritize student outcomes rather than bureaucratic processes or the promotion of divisive and unlawful ideological agendas."

"Instead of ensuring institutions offer high-quality educational programs that justify the time and cost of a college education, the antiquated accreditation system has contributed to inflated tuition, administrative bloat, and ideology-driven mandates on college campuses," added Kent.

While the White House did not immediately respond to Blaze News' request for comment, it's clear that the ABA is on the president's radar.

President Donald Trump issued an executive order in April 2025 tasking Education Secretary Linda McMahon with holding accountable, "through denial, monitoring, suspension, or termination of accreditation recognition, accreditors who fail to meet the applicable recognition criteria or otherwise violate Federal law, including by requiring institutions seeking accreditation to engage in unlawful discrimination in accreditation-related activity under the guise of 'diversity, equity, and inclusion' initiatives."

In the order, Trump called out the ABA's legal ed council for requiring law schools "to 'demonstrate by concrete action a commitment to diversity and inclusion' including by 'commit[ting] to having a student body [and faculty] that is diverse with respect to gender, race, and ethnicity.'"

With its accreditation authority now in the balance, the organization — in an apparent effort to counter claims that the ABA is "ideologically captured" — may be kicking DEI to the curb. The ABA's legal ed council voted in May to eliminate its rule requiring law schools to demonstrate commitment to DEI.

The change was not, however, final. According to the ABA Journal, the final determination on whether to jettison the DEI policy is scheduled for Sept. 8.

Conservative legal scholar John Eastman, founding director of the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, is among those who welcome the administration's move to remove the ABA from the law school accreditation process.

"It has long ceased to be a politically neutral professional organization and has instead become a front for the radical wing of the Democrat Party, using its accreditation authority to push radical DEI policies, for example," Dr. Eastman told Blaze News. "I witnessed this firsthand when I was dean at Chapman Law School from 2007 to 2010, as we confronted demands for minority hiring and admissions in order to have our accreditation renewed. And one need not look further than the list of Supreme Court cases in which it has filed amicus briefs to confirm the hard-left bent of this organization."

Eastman added, "It should not have any role, much less a monopoly role, in law school accreditation — just like it was removed from its preferred role in the judicial nomination process by President Bush in 2001 (restored by Obama in 2009, but then removed again by Trump in 2017 and not revived since)."

The ABA did not immediately respond to Blaze News' request for comment.

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An investigation into a suspected quintuple homicide has one sheriff describing the crime scene as one of the most "complex" she's ever seen.

First responders answered a call Saturday morning about a vehicle fire at a rural property outside of Portland, Oregon, where they also discovered five human bodies.

'Any time you have one person deceased, let alone five, that's a logistical challenge.'

The fire personnel who were first on the scene in the 47300 block of NW Otis Lane near Forest Grove soon called deputies.

Investigators later discovered the remains of "several domestic animals," according to a Washington County Sheriff's Office news release; no details have been disclosed regarding the identities of the human bodies.

“I will say that in my 22 years here, I have not been a part of or witnessed a scene quite this complex involving this type of an investigation,” Sheriff Caprice Massey said, according to the Associated Press.

According to CBS News, the investigation into determining the identities of the five victims was ongoing as of Sunday afternoon.

RELATED: Threatening male begins beating up Florida mobile homeowner, but victim pulls gun, fires once — 'and the threat was over'

In a news conference, sheriff's Detective Shannon Wilde reportedly said, "Any time you have one person deceased, let alone five, that's a logistical challenge."

From the first update, detectives said they believed this case was not a "random act of violence."

Authorities provided an update Sunday saying they had located and identified a suspect in connection with the killings.

The Washington County Sheriff's Office identified 36-year-old Benjamin Charles Parker as the homicide suspect in this case.

Parker was found dead in a car in Enumclaw, Washington, which is roughly 200 miles north of the crime scene.

KOIN-TV reported that the car containing Parker's body was found behind a Safeway grocery store.

His death is believed to be a suicide.

A Washington County Sheriff's Office representative on Monday told Blaze News they are not releasing more information on the case until next of kin are notified.

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An individual was caught on video kicking a man in the back of the head while he sat in a Southern California jacuzzi earlier this month, after which another suspect stole the man's phone.

The incident occurred Aug.14 when Greg Medina — who serves the homeless in San Bernardino — said he was relaxing in a jacuzzi when two suspects approached him from behind, KTLA-TV reported.

'I could have lost consciousness, or I could have been hurt a lot worse and drowned.'

Surveillance video captured one of the suspects delivering a hard kick to the back of Medina’s head, the station said, adding that the other suspect reached down to steal Medina's phone, which was sitting on the concrete.

Medina told KTLA he was listening to a class with earbuds when he "felt a sharp kick behind my head. I saw the kids off in the distance [but] didn’t really pay much attention to them.”

Medina added to the station that he didn’t get a look at the two suspects but that he believed they were either teens or young adults.

Medina tracked his phone to a neighboring apartment complex and contacted police, the station said.

He then went to an emergency room, where he learned he had suffered a concussion, KTLA added.

Soon, however, the case broke in a surprising way.

RELATED: 'Teen chaos in DC': Brawl with chairs used as weapons erupts in Chipotle after Pirro's warning to parents of thugs

Investigators told KTLA the parents of the two 13-year-old suspects turned them in Friday morning, and the pair were arrested on felony charges.

Police told the station that both teens were taken to Juvenile Hall; the suspect who allegedly delivered the kick was booked on robbery and battery charges, while the other suspect was booked on robbery charges.

The teens have not been identified because of their ages, KTLA said.

“I don’t hate them. … I forgive them,” Medina noted to the station. “I don’t wish any bad on anybody. However, I do feel that they need to be held accountable, especially the parents.”

“I could have lost consciousness, or I could have been hurt a lot worse and drowned,” he added to KTLA.

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