The media fearmongering about pro-lifers is nothing new. Admitting the fears are false, but fearmongering anyway is something different. Yet, that is exactly what NBC’s Dasha Burns did on Friday’s edition of Nightly News as she traveled to Missouri ahead of that state’s upcoming abortion ballot measure. Host Lester Holt introduced Burns’s segment by declaring, “the issue of contraceptive deserts, places where many women don't have enough access to birth control. According to a reproductive rights nonprofit, more than 19 million women are affected, just as millions of Americans vote on access to contraception.”     The segment sought to answer whose fault that is, and right away Burns said there is nothing to suggest pro-life laws have anything to do with it, “In the months after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Maggie Oliva went to the pharmacy to pick up her birth control prescription… Maggie, who now works for a grassroots reproductive rights group in St. Louis, says the pharmacist denied her prescription because they were unsure if it was legal, which it was.” Instead of asking the liberal activist why her movement keeps fearmongering, Burns instead asked, “How does that experience sit with you today?” Olivia claimed, “It feels infuriating. I definitely felt like I was doing something wrong.” Burns then tried to tie the issue to abortion, “Two months later she got pregnant and crossed state lines to get an abortion... Family planning experts say since the near-total abortion ban in Missouri, women have been facing mounting barriers to accessing contraception.” But Burns just said it is legal, so maybe pro-life laws aren’t the problem. However, still trying to force a narrative, Burns then turned to Missouri Family Health Council Executive Director Michelle Trupiano, who declared, “Politicians purposefully conflate abortion and birth control. Our polling shows almost 30 percent of Missourians don't believe or don't know that all forms of birth control are legal.” Trupiano isn’t wrong, but it is the liberal politicians she supports who do that. Conservative politicians are always making it clear that they aren’t coming to contraception. Burns surely knows this true as she turned to State Sen. Denny Hoskins, “That confusion, a strained healthcare system, and contraceptive deserts covering much of Missouri makes accessing birth control more challenging.” Hoskins, however, rebutted, “You say there's contraception deserts, I guess, I would say I respectfully disagree.” While Burns lobbed the “how do you feel” kind of questions to liberal activists, in her questioning of the Republican, she used liberal logical that says if something is not subsidized by taxpayer money, it is being curtailed, “But, didn't the state specifically take action to not support funding for contraception?” Hoskins, who earlier claimed “They do have adequate access to contraception in Missouri,” pointed out, “We did. We did, most certainly. I don't think it should be paid for by taxpayer dollars.” Towards the end of the segment, Burns warned, “Six in ten women in Missouri are concerned about passing laws that limit access to birth control.” Nurse Kate Wagner replied, “Some of our patients would, you know, show up and they would say, ‘My device is due to be replaced next year, but I want to go ahead and have it replaced sooner than that, because I'm worried about, you know, the politics changing.’” She was followed by Olivia, who recalled, “I remember somebody called the office and asked if she needed to rip out the IUD herself. She was so scared.” And what did they say in return? Burns herself said birth control is legal and Hoskins gave absolutely no reason to believe “politics changing” will change that. Instead of allowing abortion activists to prey on people’s fears for votes, Burns should’ve asked them why certain doctors and pharmacists are incapable of reading the laws that actually exist. Here is a transcript for the November 1 show: NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt 11/1/2024 7:10 PM ET LESTER HOLT: Also tonight, the issue of contraceptive deserts, places where many women don't have enough access to birth control. According to a reproductive rights nonprofit, more than 19 million women are affected, just as millions of Americans vote on access to contraception. Here is Dasha Burns. DASHA BURNS: In the months after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Maggie Oliva went to the pharmacy to pick up her birth control prescription. MAGGIE OLIVA: I ultimately ended up leaving and— BURNS: Without— OLIVA: Without birth control.  BURNS: Maggie, who now works for a grassroots reproductive rights group in St. Louis, says the pharmacist denied her prescription, because they were unsure if it was legal, which it was. How does that experience sit with you today? OLIVIA: It feels infuriating. I definitely felt like I was doing something wrong. BURNS: Two months later she got pregnant and crossed state lines to get an abortion. OLIVIA: When you can't control the care that your body can receive, it's a devastating feeling of powerlessness. BURNS: Family planning experts say since the near-total abortion ban in Missouri, women have been facing mounting barriers to accessing contraception. MICHELLE TRUPIANO: Politicians purposefully conflate abortion and birth control. Our polling shows almost 30 percent of Missourians don't believe or don't know that all forms of birth control are legal. BURNS: That confusion, a strained healthcare system, and contraceptive deserts covering much of Missouri makes accessing birth control more challenging. DENNY HOSKINS: You say there's contraception deserts, I guess, I would say I respectfully disagree. BURNS: Denny Hopkins is a Republican state senator and voted in favor of a bill that would have excluded emergency contraceptives from Missouri's Medicaid program. HOSKINS: They do have adequate access to contraception in Missouri. BURNS: But, didn't the state specifically take action to not support funding for contraception? HOSKINS: We did. We did, most certainly. I don't think it should be paid for by taxpayer dollars. BURNS: On Missouri's ballot this year, a constitutional amendment, ensuring “a person's fundamental right to reproductive freedom” which would include abortion and birth control. Kate Wagner works at the only clinic in a 45-mile radius that provides the full ranges of birth control methods. KATE WAGNER: Good morning, ladies. WOMAN: Good morning. WAGNER: It's not just one size fits all. BURNS: Six in ten women in Missouri are concerned about passing laws that limit access to birth control. WAGNER: Some of our patients would, you know, show up and they would say, "my device is due to be replaced next year, but I want to go ahead and have it replaced sooner than that, because I'm worried about, you know, the politics changing." OLIVIA: I remember somebody called the office and asked if she needed to rip out the IUD herself. She was so scared.

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Social media was lit afire with outrage on Saturday over the death of Peanut the squirrel, a pet and online star, at the hands of the New York state government. The pet squirrel was euthanized by the Department of Environmental Conservation after anonymous complaints were lodged against the owner Mark Longo. Another pet belonging to Longo, Fred the raccoon, was also euthanized. Longo said he had rescued Peanut after seeing the squirrel's mother get run over by a vehicle.The squirrel was known as "P'nut" on various social media accounts until his untimely death at the age of seven by order of the state. “RIP MY BEST FRIEND. Thank you for the best 7 years of my life. Thank you for bringing so much joy to us and the world. I’m sorry I failed you but thank you for everything,” wrote owner Mark Longo in a post announcing his death. Longo said the squirrel was very friendly and docile, but state officials claimed the squirrel bit an officer while they tried to confiscate him. That provided the pretense for his state execution. “Well internet, you WON,” Longo wrote after the animals were seized. “You took one of the most amazing animals away from me because of your selfishness.”The incident enflamed critics of state tyranny online where many memes were cast. "I want a government small enough to have neither the time nor the resources to conduct a 5 hour raid over a pet squirrel," read one popular response. "Petty bureaucrats can, at a whim, terrorize people. Nobody was being hurt, good things were being done, but some petty rule was broken. They mobilized goons and destroyed something good," read another tweet. "Euthanizing someone’s indoor pet squirrel under the guise of a rabies concern when New York is infested with rats is a perfect allegory for how the government functions writ large - DRAIN THE SWAMP," said another critic. Longo said he had rescued Peanut after seeing the squirrel's mother get run over by a vehicle.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Election Day is now less than a week away, and Donald Trump appears to be gaining ground in some states. A new poll shows the former president taking marginal leads in Wisconsin and New Hampshire — which might spell disaster for Kamala Harris. “Look at the vote share,” Justin Robert Young, the host of “Politics Politics Politics,” tells Jill Savage and Rob Eno of “Blaze News Tonight.” “If Kamala Harris is at 47% or below, that’s where the Donald Trump campaign really, really wants them, because Donald Trump is essentially a hard-capped 48% candidate.” “The trajectory seems to be going toward Trump,” Eno adds. “Harris is below other places where she’s been, especially with African-American voters.” Harris has reportedly been spending this last week of the campaign going on “black podcasts” and “urban radio stations” for interviews. “Do you think that they feel like they’re hurting ... with that vote, that they need to go get what should have been sealed, you know, for two generations — years ago?” Eno asks. “No, it’s not a good sign for her to be trying to shore up and not specifically the black vote, the black male vote very specifically. They are very much worried about that,” Young responds, noting that Kamala recently went on Shannon Sharpe’s podcast, where he was reading pre-written questions “literally off cards.” “I wouldn’t say that it’s ridiculous to say, ‘Well, maybe this is a major problem,’ because if there is tremendous attrition with the black male vote, it’s not just a problem for Kamala Harris, it’s a problem for the Democratic Party going forward,” he adds. Meanwhile, Donald Trump has “absolutely dominated this cycle” after his McDonald’s stunt, Joe Rogan podcast appearance, his huge Madison Square Garden rally, and his master response to Joe Biden calling his supporters “garbage.” “There’s no doubt that this election is about Donald Trump, and both campaigns want it that way,” Young says. “The closing argument for the Kamala Harris campaign is that Donald Trump is a dangerous, unhinged, unchecked fascist that is going to destroy the country and democracy in general.” “We will see whether or not that’s effective. If I were involved in their campaign, I would spend less time using my resources to direct attention to obvious Donald Trump wins,” he adds. 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.

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Former President Donald Trump told supporters during a rally in Gastonia, North Carolina, Saturday that while Venezuelan crime is down 72%, "ours is through the roof."