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10 MOST DANGEROUS STATES TO LIVE IN THE USA

American Crime

Both violent crime and property crime declined in the U.S. in 2023, according to estimates from the FBI, with the rate of murder and non-negligent manslaughter dropping by about 12% and the burglary rate down by roughly 8% year over year. The rate of vehicle theft, meanwhile, rose by 12%.

But the prevalence of crime – along with the perceptions and rhetoric surrounding it – can vary from state to state, shaping residents’ quality of life along with the futures of politicians and other officials charged with ensuring public safety.

[ MORE: The 10 Safest States in America ]

As part of the 2025 Best States rankings, U.S. News factored in the violent crime rate and property crime rate of each state to assess their overall public safety, based on FBI estimates. That assessment informs the best states for crime and corrections rankings and the overall Best States rankings.

Places at the bottom of the public safety ranking form this list of the country’s most dangerous states. Within the contiguous U.S., they range from the West Coast and the Mountain West to the South, and all but two of the 10 land in the lower half of the broader Best States rankings for 2025. Four of the states rank in the bottom 10 overall.

These are the 10 most dangerous states in the U.S., according to the Best States analysis. The FBI stresses that numerous factors can affect the amount and type of crime occurring in different areas, including climate, economic conditions, law enforcement priorities and population density. Many crimes also go unreported and would not be included in this type of data.

You can learn more about how states are assessed for the Best States rankings in our methodology.

Drone Aerial View of Downtown Columbia, South Carolina, USA.
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10. South Carolina

Violent Crime Rate: 471 per 100,000

Property Crime Rate: 2,193 per 100,000

Overall Best States Ranking: 40

Learn more about South Carolina.

Las vegas skyline looking from local park
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9. Nevada

Violent Crime Rate: 417 per 100,000

Property Crime Rate: 2,517 per 100,000

Overall Best States Ranking: 34

Learn more about Nevada.

A visitor takes in a view of the downtown district from Twin Peaks on Friday, Jan. 9, 2015, in San Francisco.
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8. California

Violent Crime Rate: 508 per 100,000

Property Crime Rate: 2,326 per 100,000

Overall Best States Ranking: 37

Learn more about California.

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7. Washington

Violent Crime Rate: 357 per 100,000

Property Crime Rate: 2,887 per 100,000

Overall Best States Ranking: 10

Learn more about Washington.

Grizzly Bear Feeds on a Jumping Salmon, Alaska
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6. Alaska

Violent Crime Rate: 726 per 100,000

Property Crime Rate: 1,877 per 100,000

Overall Best States Ranking: 49

Learn more about Alaska.

Riverboat on the Arkansas River docked at Little Rock. Shot with High Dynamic Range technique.
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5. Arkansas

Violent Crime Rate: 620 per 100,000

Property Crime Rate: 2,229 per 100,000

Overall Best States Ranking: 44

Learn more about Arkansas.

USA, Tennessee, Memphis, people walking on Beale Street at dusk, rear view
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4. Tennessee

Violent Crime Rate: 628 per 100,000

Property Crime Rate: 2,362 per 100,000

Overall Best States Ranking: 32

Learn more about Tennessee.

Pedestrian friendly Bourbon Street is lined with clubs and bars in New Orleans, Louisiana.
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3. Louisiana

Violent Crime Rate: 548 per 100,000

Property Crime Rate: 2,630 per 100,000

Overall Best States Ranking: 50

Learn more about Louisiana.

March 20, 2019 | Lone Tree, Colo. | A view of houses in Douglas County as the Spring Equinox supermoon sets behind the mountains. https://www.9news.com/video/weather/weather-colorado/raw-sky9-captures-spring-equinox-supermoon-setting-over-colorados-mountains/73-ef959705-a1bf-4c95-bf14-22f817937c8b
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2. Colorado

Violent Crime Rate: 474 per 100,000

Property Crime Rate: 2,879 per 100,000

Overall Best States Ranking: 11

Learn more about Colorado.

Prayer flags at the Lama Foundation in New Mexico.
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1. New Mexico

Violent Crime Rate: 749 per 100,000

Property Crime Rate: 2,887 per 100,000

Overall Best States Ranking: 47

Learn more about New Mexico.

These Are the 10 Most Dangerous States in the U.S.

  1. New Mexico
  2. Colorado
  3. Louisiana
  4. Tennessee
  5. Arkansas
  6. Alaska
  7. Washington
  8. California
  9. Nevada
  10. South Carolina

PAYMENTS BY TREASURY DEPARTMENT DO NOT RECONCILE TO CONGRESSIONAL APPROPRIATIONS!

Insane: Over One-Third of Payments Issued by Treasury Cannot Be Tracked Back to Appropriation

With so much going on these days — on multiple fronts — it’s difficult to keep up with it all. On Tuesday alone, there were multiple cabinet secretaries testifying before Congress, President Donald Trump made multiple appearances, commenting on everything from trade to FIFA, the Houthis cried “Uncle!”, and India and Pakistan appear primed to bust out into an all-out war.

All of which is to say: I didn’t have an opportunity to watch Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s testimony before the House Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee oversight hearing live. But looking back over some of the key moments, one was particularly jaw-dropping:

According to Bessent, over one-third of the 1.5 billion payments issued by the Treasury Department in the past year cannot be traced back to a corresponding appropriation. That’s 500 million payments (not dollars — individual disbursements) that cannot readily be matched for auditing or accountability purposes.

HINSON: Can you define for the committee today what an improper payment is, and some examples of what you’re seeing — and why these procedures were not already in place before, Mr. Secretary?

BESSENT: Well…it’s a bit mystifying why they weren’t in place. And what we are seeing is that there was a very complacent upper level of management in many departments…across the entire government. What I can say at Treasury is that of the 1.5 billion payments…we send out every year, they are required to have something called a TAS — the Treasury Account Symbol. We discovered that more than one-third — one-third — of those payments did not have a TAS number. So, as the Appropriations Committee, you should be shocked by that because: How can a payment be tracked back to an appropriation? Only through the TAS number. So there was no accountability. So that is why the 450 organizations that sit above Treasury, where Treasury acts as the paymaster, are unable to pass an audit. So, we have cracked down on that. Every payment now requires a TAS number — very simple.

If you’re like me, that has to leave you gobsmacked. Of course, we all knew that there was a lot of waste and inefficiency in the federal government. But the idea that 500 million disbursements per year had no way to be properly tracked or accounted for is beyond mindboggling.

Of course we’re drowning in debt: We’ve got elected representatives who spend like drunken sailors — enabled by a Treasury Department intent on shoveling money out the door willy-nilly. Thank God President Trump and DOGE and grown-ups like Sec. Bessent are at least attempting to bring some order and accountability to bear.

Editor’s Note: DOGE is finding billions of dollars in wasteful spending, and the Democrats are losing their minds as they realize their gravy train and woke projects are coming to an end.

 

ALCATRAZ ISLAND FEDERAL PRISON TO BE RE-OPENED ?

Alcatraz island  was known“The Rock” closed 62 years ago, and San Francisco has channeled the public’s macabre fascination with life inside the notorious prison to turn it into one of the city’s top tourist attractions.

Visitors can wander through the Gardens of Alcatraz, peruse the Big Lockup Exhibit, or take a night tour where one can “enjoy the beauty of a sunset silhouetting the Golden Gate Bridge” as well as “experience a cell door demonstration.” Over the years, Boy Scouts have clamored to hold overnight campouts in the infamous isolation cells of D Block. Athletes compete in prison-themed events, including a canoe race circling the island and the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon.

Calling the prison a “symbol of law and order,” Trump on Sunday said he is directing the Bureau of Prisons and other federal agencies to rebuild Alcatraz to house “America’s most ruthless and violent offenders.” San Francisco boosters aren’t keen on the idea and visitors aren’t so sure, either.

On Monday, National Park Ranger Matthew Connelly welcomed a crowd of more than 100 tourists and said he’d take questions. Just not all. When the subject of Trump’s proposal came up, he looked concerned and directed a reporter to call public affairs.

Those on the packed tour had plenty of thoughts after trudging from a ferryboat up a steep, quarter-mile walkway to the imposing fortress. Before entering the main gate, an Australian visitor jokingly suggested Trump lock himself into a new prison there. “He should lead by example,” the man said with a laugh. He and his wife declined to give their names. “No thanks mate, we want to get home.”

Taking selfies with his wife in one of the windowless cells on a prison corridor called Broadway, John La Pierre, a 62-year-old tourist from the Netherlands, was supportive of Trump’s plan.

Chris Manikowski and Naomi Alexandra at Alcatraz's chow hall.

Naomi Alexandra and Chris Manikowski in the former chow hall. Photo: JIM CARLTON for WSJ

“I think the idea itself to put people on a certain island where they have no comfort, especially for those high delinquents, that’s a good idea,” La Pierre said. But he was wary of whether such a historic site could again be made into a modern prison complex.

Sitting in what had been the chow hall, Londoners Chris Manikowski and Naomi Alexandra said that instead of doubling down on a prison with such stark conditions, Trump should take a page from Norway, which treats prisoners well and has low recidivism rates.

“I think the times have changed, and for prisoners to spend a week without showering in those dark cells, it’s too much,” Manikowski, 28, said.

Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener of San Francisco agreed, calling the president’s idea “unhinged and terrifying.” Trump wants to turn Alcatraz “into a domestic gulag in the middle of San Francisco Bay,” Wiener wrote on social media.

Trump said reopening Alcatraz ties to his campaign promise to lower violent crime. His pitch harks back to the prison’s 1930s origins, when it opened to deal with “the most incorrigible inmates in federal prisons,” according to a government history. It operated as a maximum-security facility for nearly three decades, closing in 1963 because of millions of dollars in needed repairs and the expense of hauling all supplies, including fresh water, to the facility by boat.

Alcatraz was tiny by the standards of most federal facilities, never housing more than around 275 prisoners. Its shadow is huge.

The prison has graced the silver screen in such films as Michael Bay’s 1996 action thriller “The Rock” and 1979’s “Escape from Alcatraz,” starring Clint Eastwood. It housed famous criminals including mobster Al Capone and George “Machine-Gun” Kelly.

At times, Alcatraz was almost as famous for those who tried to escape as it was for those who were inside. Contrary to myth, cold temperatures and strong currents—not sharks—were the biggest obstacles to making it the mile-plus to shore. Trained swimmers as young as age 9 have successfully made the journey that so many prisoners failed.

A visitor in a solitary confinement cell at Alcatraz.

Visitors Monday had mixed views on Trump’s plans for Alcatraz, one of the most storied prisons in American history. Photo: Ethan Swope/Bloomberg

In one unsuccessful escape in 1941, a prisoner who gave up after hitting the Bay’s cold water later tried to escape again from a San Francisco federal courtroom. Another man attempted to leave by stealing an Army uniform and calmly walking aboard an Army launch. He was promptly returned to Alcatraz when the boat landed at nearby Angel Island.

Today, more than a million visitors each year travel to the island, according to the National Park Service. In peak season, tourists book tickets weeks in advance.

Not everyone in San Francisco has understood why a sinister prison is such a draw. “It’s heinous,” declared one writer on “Broke-ass Stuart,” a local alternative website, noting the irony of a progressive city touting a museum of human suffering. “I don’t think moms from Minnesota should be allowed to take selfies in rooms where men pushed past the point of no return hung themselves.”

For those looking to bring a dose of reality back home from the prison tour, visitors can buy rectangular magnets reminding them of Alcatraz’s central tenets. Like Regulation #5: “You are entitled to food, clothing, shelter, and medical attention. ANYTHING ELSE YOU GET IS A PRIVILEGE.”

Parents seeking some tough-love discipline can slap Regulation #23 on the fridge: “If you make GROUNDLESS COMPLAINTS for the purpose of…STIRRING UP TROUBLE…you will be subject to DISCIPLINARY ACTION.”

President Trump said he directed the Bureau of Prisons, together with the Department of Justice, FBI and Homeland Security to reopen and expand the historical prison. Photo: Fred Greaves/Reuters; Leah Millis/Reuters

For $13.95, tourists can also take home a replica tin inmate cup, which had the advantage back in the day of not being able to be broken into shards that could become a weapon.

Carson Brock, a 24-year-old from Cincinnati who voted for Trump, said from the prison’s gift shop that he favors preserving Alcatraz’s history over reopening. “But if that’s what he wants to do, then I guess so be it,” he said.

One Alberta resident touring the island was reticent to share her views, but concluded: “We’re Canadian, we don’t really care.”

Visitor Mike Neville, another Trump supporter, said he thinks turning Alcatraz back into a prison would be cost-prohibitive. The 61-year-old, visiting from Colorado Springs, Colo., has a better plan: “I always liked the idea of turning it into a casino.”

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES WORKFORCE GENERALLY ARE DOING NOTHING, NOT WORKING AND HAVE SOME OF THE WEIRDEST HABITS, CHECK OUT THE PAINTED NAILS ON THIS PENTAGON FOUR STAR GENERAL

Federal Whistleblower Exposes DHS as a Woke Daycare: Coloring Books, Emotional Chaos, and Zero Enforcement

Milley
  • A DHS whistleblower reveals a workplace overrun by emotional instability, toxic relationships, and absurd distractions like coloring walls.
  • Federal employees admit to doing “nothing” for months, with no real work being conducted in critical agencies.
  • The Biden administration has turned law enforcement into a therapy session, eroding national security and institutional strength.
  • This culture of weakness is not accidental — it’s a deliberate strategy to keep Americans dependent and compliant.
  • Some of the greatest signs of weakness are coming from Republicans, who want to pass laws banning speech against Israel’s genocidal actions.

The collapse of American governance: From strength to coloring books

(Natural News)—Once, the U.S. government projected authority, discipline, and competence. Today, it’s a glorified daycare center where federal employees — supposedly tasked with national security — pass the time with coloring books and fake accomplishment certificates. A recent undercover interview with a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employee confirms what many have long suspected: The federal bureaucracy is a hollow shell, staffed by emotionally fragile individuals more concerned with identity politics than enforcing the law.

“We have a coloring wall. Literally a coloring wall. Oh, coloring. Yeah, we have coloring books because we’re so bored, there’s nothing to do,” the whistleblower admitted. “We’ve been doing a bunch of training, and we’ve been giving each other fake Microsoft Word printout accomplishment letters of how amazing we are.”

This isn’t just incompetence — it’s institutional decay. The same government that once stood as a global superpower now employs agents who spend weeks performing meaningless tasks, questioning why they’re even there. “We were all doing basic security checks of individuals, which is just checking someone’s name and date of birth. And we were all doing this for a week, and we were wondering, why are we doing this?”

The rise of the weak: How emotional fragility replaced enforcement

The whistleblower’s most jarring revelation? The workplace culture is dominated by emotional instability and sexual identity politics. “I sit down at our first happy hour and I realize, holy s**, everybody’s gay. Everybody you work with? Everybody. Everybody’s a lesbian, gay, or in a toxic relationship.”*

This isn’t about personal lifestyle choices — it’s about the Left’s deliberate push to replace competence with identity-based groupthink. The federal government, once a symbol of American strength, now operates like a therapy session, where agents are rewarded for fragility rather than resilience.

This is the inevitable result of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) mandates, which prioritize feelings over function. When law enforcement agencies care more about pronouns than prosecuting crime, the nation is in deep trouble.

A government of children, for children

The Biden regime didn’t create this mess overnight, but it has accelerated the decline. The federal workforce is now a sanctuary for the emotionally stunted, where actual work is replaced with performative activism and self-congratulatory nonsense. The legacy of these spoiled children continues, even as reformers move into leadership positions to try and wrangle the woke mind virus, the group think, the DEI, the left-wing brainwashing, and the childish safe space coddling.

As much as we’d like to hope for a stronger, more unified government, one that stands on principle, even those reform figures we recently elected are kowtowing to speech controls that prioritize Israel’s genocidal actions. This is also a sign of cowardly group think among the Republican Party, and while many aren’t taking to coloring books to cope with the issues, they still look like children sitting around Netanyahu’s table, hoping to impress their daddy. Since Biden left office, there’s still warmongering and other forms of right wing group think that have permeated – showing that violent and cowardly tendencies have infected even the reformers that we cheered on to take over the dying left-wing government.

None of the federal government’s current bloviating is real governance — it’s a slow-motion collapse. A nation cannot survive when its institutions are run by people who need coloring books to cope with their jobs. The Left’s obsession with “safe spaces” has turned the U.S. government into a laughingstock, incapable of defending its own borders, enforcing its own laws, or maintaining basic order. The Right’s obsession with admiring itself, with violence in the Middle East and speech controls that protect Israel’s genocidal actions have made accountability and trust in government a laughingstock as well.

History shows that civilizations crumble when their leaders prioritize comfort over courage. Rome didn’t fall in a day — it rotted from within, its institutions weakened by decadence and distraction. The U.S. is following the same path, trading strength for sensitivity, law and order for appeasement.

As this whistleblower’s account proves, the federal government is no longer a serious entity. It’s a daycare for the emotionally dependent, a bureaucracy of broken minds. The question now is: When the real threats come — and they will — who will be left to stand against them? ICE Barbie, cosplaying with guns, outfits, and ten layers of makeup?

ALL HORSES IN KENTUCKY DERBY WERE RELATED TO SECRETARIAT!

Report: All Horses in 151st Kentucky Derby Were Descended from Legendary Secretariat

Mindframe with Irad ortiz riding wins the Churchill Downs Sprint during the 151st running
Horsephotos/Getty Images

Every horse that ran the 151st Kentucky Derby on Saturday in Louisville, Kentucky, is reportedly descended from one American champion.

Pedigrees apparently show those horses are descended from Secretariat, the horse that in 1973 ran the fastest mile-and-a-quarter in the derby’s history, the Louisville Courier Journal reported Saturday.

Looking back six generations of most horses will reportedly show they are descended from a champion such as Secretariat or Northern Dancer, the outlet said.

According to derby contending trainer Whit Beckman, “It’s one of those stats. It’s bound to happen at some point with how much he shows up in every single pedigree. It’s really cool. Very cool.”

Secretariat was a thoroughbred racehorse that became the first in 25 years to win the Triple Crown in 1973, per History.com. According to the site:

In 1974, Secretariat was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. In 1999, he was the only non-human included among ESPN’s 50 greatest athletes of the century and he became the first thoroughbred to be honored with his own U.S. Postal stamp. Outside the paddock at Belmont Park now stands a statue of Secretariat with both his front feet in the air.

The History.com article said after his Triple Crown victory, Secretariat later sired nearly 600 horses that included more than 40 stakes winners. However, he was the only one of his kind.

Sovereignty won the derby on Saturday, and the crowd went wild watching the horses pound through the mud on the track.

UPI reported, “Sovereignty rallied by Journalism in deep stretch Saturday to win the 151st Kentucky Derby by 1 1/2 lengths, giving Dubai-based Godolphin its first victory in the Run for the Roses and a weekend international trifecta of top-level Classic victories.”

FAA THE DUMBEST EMPLOYER IN THE WORLD! BIDEN ERA HIRING POLICIES ARE THE DUMBEST !

President Trump pointed to hiring guidance for the Federal Aviation Authority which included positive preference for those with disabilities including “hearing, vision, missing extremities, partial paralysis, complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, psychiatric disability and dwarfism.”

THE CRAZY DEI POLICIES HAVE NO PLACE IN THE WORLD OF AVIATION SAFETY!

Can you imagine an air traffic controller with severe intellectual disability or psychiatric disability guiding an airliner landing!????

THE DUMBEST PRESIDENT enacting the dumbest policies is finally off the stage!

 

AMERICAN HEALTHCARE SYSTEM IS HIDING THE UGLY TRUTH! AMERICANS ARE SICKER THAN EVER!

The DARK Truth Behind America’s Healthcare System

Are we facing a health crisis in America? It might be worse than you think. Shockingly, 77% of our young people can’t even pass the health exam required to join the military. This isn’t just a health problem; it’s a national security issue. How did the world’s most powerful nation become so unhealthy?

There’s a growing movement pushing back against our broken system. It’s called the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement. Spearheaded by figures like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) and Dell Bigtree, CEO of Maha Action, MAHA is fighting for medical truth and transparency. You can find out more about their work at Maha Action. But what exactly is MAHA trying to achieve? And why is it so important right now?

MAHA: More Than Just a Movement

MAHA is gaining serious momentum, and it’s already making waves. It played a significant role in the last election, drawing in voters who are deeply concerned about their health and the health of their families. Think about the “MAHA Moms.” These are mothers who are fired up about the dangerous chemicals and toxins hiding in our everyday foods.

Here’s a scary example: Froot Loops sold in America contain toxic chemicals that are illegal in the Froot Loops Kellogg’s makes for other countries. Why are we allowing this? These are the kinds of issues that are driving people to get involved and demand change. People are waking up and realizing that health is political, and they’re ready to fight for it.

RFK Jr. has pointed out that our healthcare system focuses on managing sickness and disease instead of preventing them in the first place. Why is that? Shouldn’t the goal be to eradicate sickness altogether?

Think about it: The pharmaceutical industry makes more money when people are chronically ill. Cures and prevention don’t generate the same profits. The problem is that our system has been run by an industry that benefits the most from keeping people sick. And the numbers don’t lie.

We’re now the sickest nation in the industrialized world. Back in the 1980s, only about 12.8% of kids had a chronic disease. Now, that number has skyrocketed to nearly 60%! That means 60% of our children have a disease they’ll likely struggle with for the rest of their lives.

Cancer rates are higher than ever. Heart disease is on the rise. People are dying younger. Whatever success we thought we had in healthcare is now slipping away. The focus has been on pushing more and more drugs to cover up the symptoms instead of finding the real cause of the problem.

RFK Jr. recently fired a large number of people at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to change this very culture. His goal is to shift the focus toward finding the root causes of diseases like cancer, heart disease, autism, asthma, ADD, and ADHD. It’s a bold move, but a necessary one.

Look at the numbers: In the 1960s and 70s, the autism rate was about 1 in 10,000. Today, it’s 1 in 34. For boys, it’s even more alarming – about 1 in 22. What’s causing this explosion? How corrupt has our healthcare system become that these numbers are allowed to happen? These are serious questions that deserve serious answers.

So, what’s to blame? Is it vaccines? Fluoride in our water? 5G cell phones? Herbicides and pesticides like glyphosate? Hormones in our meat supply? Pollution in the air?

The truth is, we may not know exactly what’s causing this health crisis. But we do know one thing: We’re getting sicker, and it has to be related to the toxins in our environment. Our genes haven’t changed that dramatically in just 40 years. So, it’s clear that something in our environment is triggering these health problems.

And here’s the kicker: Every single one of these potential toxins – from the beef we eat to the water we drink – has been approved and declared safe by our regulatory agencies like the HHS, FDA, CDC, and NIH. This system needs to change, and fast.

Remember when kids used to play outside all the time? Basketball courts were packed. Now, kids are glued to their phones and iPads, often eating junk food. How do we get them moving again? How do we inspire America to get healthy again?

It starts with our children. That’s why MAHA Action is working on a school lunch program to get whole, nutritious foods into schools and kick out the processed junk. We’re spending trillions of dollars on healthcare every year, and most of that goes to treating chronic diseases. If we can teach our kids to eat well from the start, we can change the future.

MAHA is working on some big initiatives to inspire the nation. They’re aiming to launch a “Get America Healthy Again” campaign for the 250-year anniversary of the United States. The goal is to make that year the year we decide to become the strongest, healthiest nation in the world again.

When you have a nation of sick and overweight young people, it’s not just a health problem – it’s a national security threat. It’s time to take this seriously.

The WHO: A Threat to Sovereignty?

President Trump made a significant move when he pulled the U.S. out of the World Health Organization (WHO). Why was this so important?

During COVID, the WHO drove lockdowns worldwide. They’ve also signed treaties that could override national constitutions. The WHO is setting up a situation where they become the governing body of the world during pandemics. This raises serious concerns about national sovereignty.

Figures like Bill Gates have become major funders of the WHO, raising questions about influence and control. The argument is that globalists are seeking a one-world government. Trump’s stance was clear: the U.S. Constitution and sovereignty come first.

A Victory: Utah Bans Fluoride

There are some victories to celebrate. Utah recently banned fluoride in its water supply. For years, concerns about fluoride were dismissed as conspiracy theories. But now, major studies are showing that fluoride can lower children’s IQ. And the more fluoride a pregnant woman drinks, the more IQ points her baby can lose.

Florida is also removing fluoride in some districts. There’s hope that RFK Jr. might make federal policy changes regarding fluoride recommendations. Every IQ point counts, especially for our children.

Good food, clean water, and exercise are essential for a healthy nation. It’s time to take action..

CRAZY CALIFORNIA ADDS TO ITS HIGH GAS PRICES THROUGH STUPID FUEL REGULATIONS!

California Losing Important Valero Oil Refinery, Exclusive Supplier of Travis AFB

Valero to shut Benicia refinery, which generates about 12% of the fuel in California . The reason: A toxic regulatory environment and high costs.

It turns out the biggest casualty in California’s War on Fossil Fuels may be our national security.

Last year, Governor “CRAZY STUPID”Gavin Newsom signed into law a measure ordering energy producers to stockpile gasoline, despite pushback from industry.

Soon after, Phillips 66 announced plans to stop operations at its Los Angeles-area refinery in the fourth quarter of 2025. Meanwhile, energy giant Chevron moved its headquarters to Texas, citing high taxes and burdensome regulations.

Now Valero Energy Corporation has announced plans to close its Benicia oil refinery, located just northeast of San Francisco, by the end of April 2026.

This facility, which processes between 145,000 and 170,000 barrels of crude oil per day, has been a significant economic engine for the city of Benicia and a major supplier of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and asphalt for the California market.

The challenging regulatory environment in the state that is hostile to fossil fuels was cited as a reason.

Valero CEO Lane Riggs cited challenging regulatory and enforcement environment for the decision to cease operations.

Benicia’s closure is the latest in a series of planned refinery shutdowns in the state. In October, Phillips 66 (PSX.N), opens new tab said it would shutter its Los Angeles-area refinery by the end of this year. Phillips 66 last year converted its Rodeo refinery into a renewables production facility.

Gasoline prices in California are among the highest in the country due to the state’s reliance on imports to offset declining supplies.

Keep in mind, California’s total oil consumption averages approximately 1.4 million barrels per day. This means the Benicia refinery processes about 12% of the oil California uses, so the shut-down will have significant impact on the state and the region.

However, Arizona and Nevada are likely to feel the impact of the closure as well.

Because California is an “energy island,” meeting demand for California and the parts of Nevada and Arizona that rely on its refineries will require costly imports of volatile fuel by emissions-heavy tanker ships.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has long blamed rising gas prices on refiners’ “price gouging,” but even though his own administration has said that it has no found no evidence of such, he called a special legislative session last year to pass new refinery regulations that both Democratic and Republican governors of neighboring states warned would lead to price hikes and supply shortages.

Now, with the closure announcement, the warnings from the energy industry and regional leaders are coming to fruition.

…With the state’s ban on the sale of new gas-powered cars in 2035, new refineries are not being built, leaving remaining refineries operating at nearly 100% capacity at all times. As a result, outages at even a single refinery result in spikes in gas prices.

As a reminder, the new regulations would require energy companies to stockpile gasoline. Furthermore, our state legislature was keen on allowing wildfire victims to sue energy companies due to ‘climate crisis’ claims.

But it turns out there is a serious national security consideration in this closure. The Valero refinery is the exclusive supplier of jet fuel to nearby Travis Air Force Base, which it delivers through a direct pipeline.

“If that is stopped, what does that mean to the base?” Young said. “Travis uses an amazing amount of fuel to fly all their planes, much more than can be easily replaced, and certainly not replaced within a year. So I think that this becomes a matter of real concern to the Defense Department and it’s potentially a national security issue.”

Valero dropped its bombshell April 16 announcement roughly six months after regional and state air regulators fined the company a record $82 million for secretly exceeding toxic emissions standards for at least 15 years. And last month, city leaders voted unanimously to impose moderate new safety regulations on the facility.

The fact that it is a national security issue may give the Trump administration the excuse it needs to kill the state’s inane environmental programs, replacing them with more reasonable and achievable federal ones.

Finally, Valero contributed about 20% of Benicia’s tax base. That city will now have to find a way to tighten the belt, as it is very unlikely a new business will swoop in and replace the monies Valero paid.

The pain has not really begun, as we haven’t fully entered the FO phase of the FAFO cycle. Hopefully, there will be a solution to the situation quickly, as I suspect California’s plans to run its own refineries will end in complete failure.

ztakddot | April 30, 2025 at 9:10 pm

Newsome. Nothing more needs to be said. His name is now a curse word.

DaveGinOly in reply to ztakddot. | April 30, 2025 at 9:34 pm

newsom; verb: To totally screw something up; see FUBAR

ztakddot in reply to DaveGinOly. | April 30, 2025 at 9:42 pm

Yeah. I was thinking of the F in FUBAR as in: Before he knew it he was Newsomed!
or Newsome around and find out = NAFO. That would lead to something like: She NAFO’d
or she Newsomed around and found out.

There would also be the ever popular NOAD: Newsome off and die. And then we come to
your favorite and mineL NUBAR = Newsomed Up Beyond all Recognition.

Gentle Grizzly in reply to ztakddot. | April 30, 2025 at 9:42 pm

In order to prop up the economy, Newsom could always move the state capital back

DaveGinOly | April 30, 2025 at 9:32 pm

When Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, nearly all of the USSR’s manufacturing capability, necessary for the conduct of the war, was in the path of the Wehrmacht. The Russians disassembled thousands of factories and moved them east of the Ural mountains, putting them out of range of even the Luftwaffe.

It would be a relatively simple operation, in comparison to the scope of the USSR’s reaction to the invasion, to dismantle the refineries in CA and move them to friendlier neighboring states.

The Gentle Grizzly | April 30, 2025 at 9:34 pm

Travis can be supplied via tanker trucks. Electric tanker trucks.

TargaGTS in reply to The Gentle Grizzly. | April 30, 2025 at 9:43 pm

I don’t know much about Travis other than it’s a GIGANTIC base, home to the AMC with a dozen or more resident units. A Marine Corps air base, which is generally only a fraction of the size (in terms of aircraft), will easily use well over 1-million gallons of Jet A each year, to say nothing of the fuel for the maintenance and other supply missions. Travis likely uses fuel measured in the tens of millions each year. That’s a lot tanker trucks.

Travis is the home of the 60th Air Mobility Wing. But you are correct. Travis is the gateway to the Pacific (and the largest military aerial port in the US).

I would be surprised if there isn’t robust existing authority the president can use to exempt critical infrastructure from state regulatory actions (particularly for national defense). If that exist, Trump should use it tomorrow and extend whatever tax/regulatory incentives he can to incent Valero to keep the refinery open. The cost to relocate Travis would be…exorbitant, and probably not even possible no matter what the cost because of geography. Travis is a gateway location between CONUS and the Pacific and Southeast Asian theaters.

Hope this pressures Maricopa County to release their requirement for the boutique gas mixture that saddles them with the highest pump prices in Arizona

Ironclaw | April 30, 2025 at 10:43 pm

When you make it impossible to do business, don’t be surprised when businesses leave

All refineries need to leave California and then then need to tell California they will no  make their special blends. Good luck walking to work on the interstate.

“California is an energy island” – State regulations for their special blend for gasoline is the cause here. Entirely self inflicted. No refinery anywhere in the country, outside of CA, can supply them.

But it turns out there is a serious national security consideration in this closure. The Valero refinery is the exclusive supplier of jet fuel to nearby Travis Air Force Base, which it delivers through a direct pipeline.

How nice. Guess the federal government might want to reconsider the whole idea of “single-source contracting” when it comes to supplying our military bases. But I doubt they will.

President Trump needs to declare the refineries in California part of the National Defense Act via Executive Order. At the same time have Lee Zeldin rescind California’s special EPA waver. It’s past time that the Federal Government stop giving California special treatment.

 

BECOME A UPS DRIVER AND MAKE $175,000 SALARY DUE TO NEW TEAMSTER CONTRACT-THOSE TYPES OF DEMANDS ONLY BANKRUPT TRUCKING COMPANIES-

Sean O’Brien and the UPS Layoffs

President Trump is pressing CEOs to announce new U.S. investments, but has he spoken with his friend Sean O’Brien, the Teamsters boss? United Parcel Service on Tuesday announced 20,000 job cuts and 73 facility closures this year in no small part thanks to Mr. O’Brien.

The UPS layoffs follow its January decision to cut half of its delivery business with Amazon, its largest customer. The shipper’s rising labor costs have made many Amazon deliveries less lucrative. Amazon can use its own network of mostly non-union drivers to deliver more of its own packages at lower cost than UPS.

Last year UPS announced 12,000 job cuts, mostly in management, owing to falling package volumes and rising labor costs from its 2023 Teamsters agreement. That contract raised average compensation for full-time drivers to $170,000 from $145,000 over five years. Teamsters at UPS get up to seven weeks of vacation and don’t pay healthcare premiums.

But fewer workers will now get this as UPS’s rising labor costs have forced cutbacks and prompted more automation at sorting centers. Mr. O’Brien on Tuesday said UPS “is contractually obligated to create 30,000 Teamsters jobs under our current national master agreement.” He’s misleading his members.

A Teamsters summary of the agreement says “UPS will offer part-time employees the opportunity to fill at least 22,500 permanent full-time job openings throughout its operations covered by this agreement,” which “shall include the obligation to create at least 7,500 new full-time jobs from existing part-time jobs” in the last three years of the agreement.

In other words, UPS agreed to make some part-time jobs full-time and give part-time employees a chance to fill some full-time openings. But the rich labor agreement Mr. O’Brien struck is now pricing workers out of jobs. It’s not the first time. His militancy helped drive trucking firm Yellow Corp. into bankruptcy in 2023, costing some 22,000 Teamsters their jobs.

Mr. Trump’s tariffs also won’t help UPS workers. Chinese deliveries to the U.S. have been highly profitable for UPS, but those are expected to decline. CEO Carol Tomé noted, however, that Chinese exports to the rest of the world might increase. “ We can move where supply chains move,” Ms. Tomé said. Alas, U.S. workers can’t.

Mr. Trump named Teamsters favorite Lori Chavez-DeRemer as Labor secretary in return for Mr. O’Brien’s non-endorsement last year. At least the union chief has protected one job.

100% NET ZERO RENEWABLE ENERGY FAILURE PUTS SPAIN AND PORTUGAL ON TOTAL LOSS OF ELECTRIC POWER-MORE TO COME ON GREEN ENERGY INSANITY

Spain’s big blackout came less than week after it went full green on electricity

Spain and Portugal achieved net zero on Monday, but not the way anyone would want to achieve net zero: By going back to the cave people times with no electricity.

According to the New York Times:

A major power outage hit Spain and Portugal on Monday afternoon, abruptly shutting down daily activities, halting trains and subways, cutting off traffic lights, closing stores and canceling or delaying some flights.

Hours after the power shut off around 12:30 p.m. Central European time, stranding tens of millions of people across the Iberian Peninsula, officials remained at a loss as to the cause, though several denied any foul play.

“At this point, there are no indications of any cyberattack,” António Costa, the president of the European Council, wrote on X after communicating with the leaders of Spain and Portugal, who both assembled emergency meetings. “Grid operators in both countries are working on finding the cause and on restoring the electricity supply.”

Their whole society was disrupted, and no one knows exactly why as of yet.

According to Politico Europe:

The massive blackout that left the Iberian Peninsula in the dark on Monday appears to have been sparked by the unexplained disappearance 15 gigawatts of power from Spain’s electricity grid.

“This has never happened before,” said a grave-looking Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez at a press conference late on Monday evening. “And what caused it is something that the experts have not yet established — but they will.”

He added that “no hypothesis has been rejected, and every possible cause is being investigated.”

How does anyone “lose” 15 gigawatts of electricity, accounting for about 60% of Spain’s consumption at the time?

Sure, they are looking into a cyberattack, or a terrorist act, or a rare weather event involving magnetic fields, or maybe some bad maintenance, and they should. But they have gone remarkably quiet lately, making one think of the one possibility they might want to be quiet about.

The blackout was unprecedented, and it happened just shortly after this happened:

They went completely to wind and solar and as a result, got this.

Michael Shellenberger, who’s an expert on science matters, thinks this is the most likely case as do a lot of us, given the sudden reticience of public officials:

They have reasons to be reticient — having promoted green energy for years, forcing Spaniards and others to give up their fossil fuels, for the greenie ‘wave of the future.

That wave, as it turns out, involves begging Morocco for an electricity bailout and living like cave people, without even access to their own money.

If authorities, who promoted this greenie model can’t admit this, then Spain will have many more of these “net-zero” days. This is the green future the left has been promoting around the world, and it’s primitive.