All Out of Joy: Trump's Cabinet Picks Face Bomb Threats, Swatting

Democratic U.S. Rep. Katie Porter of California sought a domestic violence restraining order against her former live-in boyfriend, but he claims she is trying to keep him from talking to the media. The details of the request were reported by Politico, which obtained court documents filed by Porter at the Orange County Superior Court. 'In recent weeks, his threats against my family and my colleagues have escalated in both their frequency and intensity.' Porter accused Julian Willis of “persistent abuse and harassment" from 1,000 text and email messages sent to her, her family, and her staff over three months. Willis had been her romantic partner for several years and had at times lived at her residence. A judge granted a temporary restraining order on Tuesday and scheduled a hearing for December. Porter claimed in the filing that Willis threatened to damage her reputation by accusing her of having genital herpes. She submitted test results to the court to show that the allegation was false. She also said that Willis had struggled with mental illness and drug abuse, which led to two alleged involuntary psychiatric hospitalizations. “I have observed him misusing prescription painkillers, snorting Ritalin, and abusing cannabis and nicotine patches,” she is quoted as writing in the documents. “He has also previously disclosed to me his use of cocaine and nitrous oxide (‘whippets’).”Willis spoke to Politico and said that Porter was trying to keep him from going to the media and also from filing his own lawsuit against her. “This is her way of combating all that,” he is quoted as saying.He claimed that a police report documented Porter becoming "aggressive" and "violent" against him and Porter's children in mid-August and asked for police supervision for his moving out of her home at that time. She said that she was out of town when he moved out and did not get any indication that police were present at the home. “She’s a monster,” Willis said. Porter, who is leaving Congress after an unsuccessful bid for the Senate, released a statement to Politico about her ex-boyfriend. “Mr. Willis has suffered from well-documented mental health and substance abuse issues," Porter said. "As the records filed today show, those issues have gotten increasingly worse since I ended the relationship and asked him to leave my house. In recent weeks, his threats against my family and my colleagues have escalated in both their frequency and intensity, and I feel I must ask for this order from the court. I sincerely hope he can get the help he needs.”In 2013, Porter obtained a restraining order against her then-husband who then obtained a reciprocal restraining order against her. They later divorced. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

A Texas police officer — a husband and father of three — was fatally shot in the line of duty in an "ambush" Monday.The Greenville Police Department stated in a press release that Officer Cooper Dawson initiated a traffic stop around 7:40 p.m. Greenville is about 75 minutes northeast of Dallas.'We are heartbroken over the loss of Officer Cooper Dawson, who selflessly put his life on the line to serve and protect our community.'The suspect reportedly fled the traffic stop, and Dawson allegedly pursued the suspect on foot.Police noted that Dawson, 27, was "ambushed and shot multiple times" while pursuing the suspect.Despite suffering critical injuries, Dawson reportedly "displayed exceptional courage, returning fire, and striking the suspect."Following the shooting, both Dawson and the suspect were rushed to Hunt County Regional Hospital.Dawson's condition was so severe that authorities had to airlift him to Medical City Plano where he later died.Dawson's death reportedly was the first in the line of duty within the Greenville Police Department in more than 100 years. The Dallas Morning News identified the alleged cop-killer as 25-year-old Christian Robert Sparger.Citing Denton County court records, the Morning News said Sparger pleaded guilty last year to charges of aggravated assault and continuous violence in a separate case.The paper also said Sparger was arrested in 2017 and 2018 for marijuana possession, public intoxication, and failure to identify as a fugitive with intent to provide false information."Officer Dawson was a highly respected member of the Greenville Police Department and had previously served with the Garland Police Department," Greenville Police stated. "His dedication to public service and his unwavering commitment to protecting the Greenville community will never be forgotten."Before leaving the Garland Police Department in 2023, Dawson purportedly earned 10 certificates of merit, a dozen commendations, and two bars for saving a life.Greenville Police Chief Chris Smith declared, "We are heartbroken over the loss of Officer Cooper Dawson, who selflessly put his life on the line to serve and protect our community. We ask that you keep Officer Dawson’s family, our department, and the Greenville community in your thoughts and prayers during this incredibly difficult time."According to KXAS-TV, Smith added, "We are hurting. We are hurting as a department. We are hurting as a community. Today, we honor him as a hero, a husband, a father, and a friend. The grief we feel is indescribable."Smith also said, "We lost a good man today. He was an excellent officer. Today, we honor him as a hero, a husband, a father, and a friend. The grief we feel is indescribable."Greenville Police displayed a squad car in front of its department in memory of Dawson. At 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Greenville Police featured a procession of Dawson's remains through the city streets as a tribute to him.Dawson also served with the U.S. Army National Guard.Details regarding memorial services for Dawson's family will be announced in the coming days, police said.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Hurricane Helene had devastating effects on Western North Carolina. Many residents are still displaced. Some of them are even living in tents right now. Why then has FEMA and the North Carolina National Guard ceased operations in areas most impacted by Helene? Mercury One executive director JP Decker joins Jill Savage on “Blaze News Tonight” to share what the nonprofit is doing to fill the gap in the government’s absence. “The devastation is still there. Nothing has really changed in regards to some of those buildings in Asheville or Black Mountain,” says Decker, adding that there’s still “20- to 30-feet tall piles of debris.” By the looks of the North Carolina National Guard’s social media pages, however, it would seem that they’re working tirelessly to help the victims. But when Decker was on the grounds with Mercury One, “There was no FEMA, there was no National Guard.” In addition to other nonprofits, he says, “It was the everyday person who was standing in the gap and doing what the government should have been doing.” Making matters worse is the fact that the city of Asheville, North Carolina, recently installed a single-unit public bathroom that cost a pretty $400,000. “This shows how important local government elections are when you have people who are willing to do something like this when there's people that are suffering and living in tents,” says Decker. Blaze News editor in chief Matthew Peterson points to a recent article written by Blaze News investigative journalists Steve Baker and Joseph Hanneman, in which they report the same story. “The Army, Air Force, and National Guard have pulled most personnel from Western North Carolina. The temporary shelter need is 'extremely urgent' as winter looms,” they wrote. Baker, who spent time in North Carolina helping with relief efforts, has a difficult time speaking about the tragic abandonment of the North Carolinians. “We made relationships with these [government employees] and became very friendly with them. We were seeing each other every day; we were going out to the disaster relief site ... going out with their dog teams, going out with their people, helping recover bodies and also help removing debris and clearing people's property,” he says. “And then to see these forces removed ... I get very emotional about this.” “Last week ... I drove over a 100 miles through the most devastated areas in the western part of the state and mile after mile after mile, tent after tent after tent, where people won't leave their property because they're afraid they're going to lose it if they leave,” he recounts. “And not one military vehicle, not one troop on the ground.” Shocked at what he was seeing, Baker said he called the public affairs offices to inquire about the egregious abandonment. He was met with responses, such as, “You’re right, Mr. Baker. We withdrew.” But when Baker asked the obvious follow up question — Why? — he was met with silence. “There is no answer because there is no logical answer,” he tells the panel. To hear more of the story, watch the clip above. Want more from 'Blaze News Tonight'?To enjoy more provocative opinions, expert analysis, and breaking stories you won’t see anywhere else, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Three American citizens who have been locked up in China for years have been released.Politico, which first reported the story, claimed that Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and John Leung have been released as part of a prisoner swap between the U.S. and China.Swidan, a 48-year-old Texas native, was arrested 12 years ago for allegedly manufacturing and trafficking drugs. He was then put on trial for an agonizing five and a half years before being sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve. A court upheld that death sentence last year.The Dui Hua Foundation, a prisoner advocacy nonprofit based in San Francisco, claimed that the evidence against Swidan was "entirely circumstantial," and in 2020, the U.N. determined that Swidan's detention was "arbitrary," Politico reported."I’m just elated and excited — I can’t even believe it," his mother, Katherine Swidan, told the outlet after learning the news of her son's release.The family had previously expressed concerns about his health and possible suicidal ideation.Both Li and Leung were convicted of espionage. Li, a 60-year-old Chinese immigrant who lived in New York, was arrested by Shanghai police in September 2016, according to the AP. In July 2018, a court sentenced him to 10 years in prison, another sentence that the U.N. later described as "arbitrary," as well as "political and not criminal" and "at least in part attributable to his status as a foreign national of Chinese heritage," Politico said.Li suffered a stroke while incarcerated, CBS News reported.Leung, a 78-year-old permanent resident of Hong Kong, was arrested in 2021, accused of spying in China on behalf of American intelligence agencies since 1989. Last year, he was sentenced to life in prison and had more than $70,000 worth of property confiscated.'Soon they will return and be reunited with their families for the first time in many years.'Though CBS News and the AP indicated that the U.S. State Department classified all three men as "wrongfully detained," Politico reported that Leung — whom CNN described as "a veteran leader of several pro-Beijing groups in the United States" — was not considered to be "wrongfully detained" by either the State Department or the U.N. State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel was similarly vague about Leung's case in May 2023, telling CNN cryptically: "Broadly on wrongfully detained designations, that work is a deliberative process that is ongoing."In any case, all three are now free and should be back in the U.S. "in a few hours," a senior White House official said, according to Politico."Soon they will return and be reunited with their families for the first time in many years," the White House said in a statement.A statement from a National Security spokesman indicated that China no longer has any wrongfully detained Americans in custody: "Thanks to this administration's efforts and diplomacy with the PRC, all of the wrongfully detained Americans in the PRC are home."They are expected to be taken to Brooke Army Medical Center outside San Antonio, Texas, which is equipped to give former hostages psychological evaluations and help them reacclimate into society.The men were released to U.S. custody in exchange for "unidentified Chinese nationals," CNN reported. The U.S. has also officially reduced the travel advisory level for China from three to two, encouraging Americans to exercise "increased caution" in the communist country rather than to "reconsider" traveling there.The Chinese embassy in Washington declined CNN's request for comment.The release of the detainees comes at the tail end of the Biden-Harris administration, and some outlets are declaring it a last-minute victory for the outgoing administration.The release also comes just days after President-elect Donald Trump promised to impose a 10% tariff on Chinese goods in retaliation for China reportedly manufacturing fentanyl and then shipping it into the U.S."This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!" Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

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Illustration: The Verge Google Chat is launching huddles, a Google Meet-powered addition that lets you start a quick call with your coworkers. Google said it would add huddles to Google Chat in customer preview over a year ago, but we haven’t heard about it since then. The company says the feature has started rolling out and should reach all Workspace users by January 6th. As we noted last year, this is the same feature as Slack’s Huddles, using the same exact name. There aren’t a lot of differences between the various office suites these days, but this is really going the extra mile. GIF: Google To get one going, simply click a dropdown menu at the top of a chat and select “Start a huddle.” That’ll pop open an audio call invite that you can... Continue reading…

Image: Laura Normand / The Verge Microsoft is being investigated by the Federal Trade Commission in a wide-ranging antitrust probe, making it the fifth Big Tech company to fall under such scrutiny in several years. The agency is looking into Microsoft’s cloud and software licensing business, cybersecurity services, and AI offerings. Bloomberg first reported the news and The Verge confirmed the investigation with a person familiar with the matter, granted anonymity to speak to a confidential probe. The demand for information that spans hundreds of pages and culminates over a year of informal discussions with Microsoft competitors and partners. One focus is on how Microsoft bundles productivity and security software with its Azure cloud, per the source. The FTC’s... Continue reading…

Illustration by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has finalized amendments to its Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), making it easier to protect consumers who are tricked into paying scam tech support companies. The FTC could already go after these fraudster companies if they initiated calls to people — now, they can do the same thing if people call the scammers too. Fake tech support fraud has been on the rise for many years. The “company” tricks people into thinking they have a virus or other problem by sending scam emails, popups, and other messages. This encourages them to call to a help desk, which then convinces them to pay up. The FTC has long attempted to wrangle money back from these scammers. But as it explains in a published proposal, a 2021... Continue reading…