A jury found Noel D. Stepney guilty of Rape in the Second Degree on June 11. According to the KCPAO, he has a combined 33 convictions and charges stemming from cases involving domestic violence, theft, narcotics sale and possession, and attempted escape.

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Listen to The Jason Rantz Show on Seattle Red or livestream on the Seattle Red YouTube Channel weekdays from 3pm – 7pm or on demand wherever you podcast!

Yoo’s piece profiles Kimlis Tek, who is currently in ICE custody after serving 15 years in prison. KING 5 frames him as a victim — a tragic figure caught in the so-called “DOC-to-ICE pipeline,” facing what they call “double punishment.” But here’s what KING 5 doesn’t want you to know: Kimlis didn’t spend 15 years behind bars for jaywalking or merely for “assault,” as Yoo breezily claims. That sanitized phrasing is designed to shield readers from the depravity of his actual crimes.

Is this the same Tek who was for slashing his wife’s arm with a military-style seven and a half inch knife — a six inch long wound so deep it severed muscle, left a permanent scar, and required 28 staples and over a month of rehab? But that’s not all. He was also convicted of witness tampering, and violations of a domestic violence no-contact order.

According to court records, he repeatedly pressured the victim to lie, asked her to skip trial, and called her at least 40 times in violation of court orders. The idea that this was simply “assault” is journalistically negligent — or purposefully deceptive.

KING 5 has become Resistance TV for illegal immigrants

Yoo’s framing isn’t accidental. It’s part of a pattern.

Her previous stories spotlight so-called “farmworker activists” self-deporting, ICE making arrests in parking lots that supposedly “traumatize” communities, and King County passing “immigrant protections” so that even dangerous offenders don’t face deportation. The unifying thread? Illegal immigrants are always victims. Law enforcement is always the villain. And the crimes? Barely mentioned or downplayed to the point of parody.

In fact, KING 5’s “Facing Race” series has become the digital megaphone for open-border radicals. They used to gin up outrage over race; now it’s outrage over ICE daring to do its job by detaining convicted felons. Their messaging is clear: if you’re in the country illegally and you commit violent crimes, you still shouldn’t be deported—because somehow that’s injustice.

This is absurd.

The absurdity of the ‘double punishment’ complaint

Of course someone like Tek Kimlis faces “double punishment.” That’s how the law works. If you’re a green card holder or here illegally and you commit violent felonies, you don’t get to stay. That’s not some racist policy—it’s a basic standard of public safety. Why should a foreign national who slashed his wife with a combat knife and then tried to harass her into silence get a second chance here?

Yoo doesn’t answer that. She doesn’t tell viewers the details of Kimlis’ conviction. She doesn’t show the scar. She doesn’t quote the victim,. She certainly doesn’t explain why a man who made dozens of harassing calls in violation of a court order should be viewed as sympathetic. Instead, viewers are treated to an interview with Kimlis’ weepy relatives, framed to tug at your heartstrings while leaving you in the dark.

This isn’t journalism. It’s propaganda. And KING 5 has made it their mission to push this narrative, facts be damned.

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The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) USA is hosting the annual “Gaza 5K,” which sounds like a fun charity jog, until you realize it’s basically a PR rebrand for Hamas enablers. Think of it like Burning Man for people who think October 7th was “resistance art.”

UNRWA is the same agency that had dozens of employees . The same agency that had a literally . The IDF stored in an UNRWA school, but hey, maybe that’s just a misunderstood after-school program?

Here in Seattle — the capital of smug moral preening — folks might actually be excited to participate in the event. Because nothing screams “human rights” like raising money for an organization with staff who moonlight as terrorists.

Run for Hamas to support mental health?

The website for this run says the proceeds go to “children’s mental health in Gaza.”

“This is your chance to provide critical psychosocial support to the millions impacted by the ongoing Israeli military assault on Gaza. This event includes an optional 5K walk/run, fundraising prizes, community, and as much Palestinian culture as we can squeeze into your morning. The Gaza 5K is your chance to meet and connect with folks who share your solidarity and commitment to the mental well-being of refugees,” the event page said.

Considering UNRWA employs people who just might think killing Jewish babies is a justified coping mechanism for imaginary oppression, this is alarming. If that’s therapy, I’d hate to see their idea of a group hug.

Propaganda masked as compassion

Of course, the Gaza 5K isn’t about health. It’s about virtue-signaling your hatred for Israel while pretending to care about refugees. It’s activism cosplay for people who think reading a Vox headline counts as foreign policy experience.

There’s a place to feel compassion for Palestinians who are stuck in Gaza thanks to the actions of terrorist organization Hamas. Though activists pretend there isn’t overwhelming support amongst those living in Gaza for the murder of Jews, not every Gazan supports the ruling governing party. They’re deserving of sympathy and support, just not through UNRWA.

The agency from the United States and over a dozen other countries in 2024 under the Biden administration. Trump continued the funding pause when he took office. UNRWA can’t be trusted and shouldn’t be seen as much more than another anti-Israel arm of the United Nations.

Going to the run? Defend yourself

If you’re a local elected official thinking about showing up — don’t. Unless you’re ready to explain why you’re fundraising for a group with members who literally participated in a massacre. If you’re a tech bro who wants to “run for peace,” start by running to Google and research who you’re actually funding.

UNRWA shouldn’t be getting a dime or any support. Not from your tax dollars, and sure as hell not from a crowd of self-righteous joggers in Redmond pretending they’re saving the world one mile at a time.

This isn’t charity — it’s terrorist laundering with a pedometer and a keffiyeh.

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How could we be in the dark? Evil Republicans who defunded NPR and, as Democrats predicted, swaths of the American public didn’t hear a single natural disaster warning!

Oh, wait. Pretty much everyone was aware of the tsunami threat. There were even some folks in North Dakota who thought they were at risk. Weird.

Despite Democrats’ dire warnings that slashing federal funding for NPR would mean the end of life-saving emergency alerts, somehow — miraculously — we still got a tsunami advisory last night. Incredible. I thought the second we stopped subsidizing tote bags and whispery monotone voices reading haikus from vegan transgender refugees, Americans would be left to die in ignorance, swallowed whole by a rogue wave while screaming, “Wait! I haven’t finished ‘Morning Edition’!”

Turns out, nope. Much like Democrats’ claims of empty shelves and a destroyed economy due to the Trump tariffs, the claims were politically inspired drivel that they think they’ll get away with.

The system worked, despite NPR’s defunding

Phones buzzed. TV crawlers rolled. Radios blared. The National Weather Service and other agencies issued alerts. Local emergency agencies sprang into action. The system worked.

And NPR? Not exactly leading the charge.

This is awkward, because just a few days ago, progressives warned us that defunding NPR was akin to lighting the Emergency Broadcast System on fire. They painted apocalyptic scenarios where an earthquake hits and we’re too uninformed to know what to do — because we didn’t fund Morning Edition’s latest interview with a yurt-dwelling, one-legged yoga instructor who identifies as “earth-fluid.”

Democrats whined that pulling the plug on federal support for NPR, filtered through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, would leave rural Americans especially vulnerable. Because apparently, in this condescending worldview, the heartland is full of barefoot rubes whose only connection to emergency alerts is Steve Inskeep.

Locally, Seattle-NPR affiliate KUOW couldn’t even be bothered to write its own story. They used one by the Associated Press that wasn’t updated since 6:28 p.m. on Tuesday. They were, and will never be, a go-to station when it comes to natural disasters or any kind of climate event. It’s certainly not where you go for breaking news. That’s not what they do. It’s not what most local NPR stations do. Yet Democrats claimed otherwise, hoping to continue funneling our tax dollars to stations that aired their press releases uncritically and lobbed them softball questions in interviews.

Democrats were lying to you

Federal funding to NPR is irrelevant to your safety. Tsunami warnings don’t depend on “All Things Considered.” They come from NOAA, the National Weather Service, local emergency management agencies, and yes, even those alerts that show up on your iPhone whether you want them or not. They’re aired on radio and television stations, published on websites, and distributed on X and Facebook.

And that’s exactly what happened last night.

While some folks were fast asleep and others were doom-scrolling X, alerts rolled out up and down the West Coast after seismic activity near Russia. Texts, radio alerts, push notifications—it was all there. In fact, the warning was so widely disseminated that some people in landlocked Grand Forks, North Dakota were .

And NPR? They were there too, sure. I think? Maybe. The world knew, so it doesn’t matter. The sky didn’t fall. The sea didn’t swallow us whole. And we didn’t need taxpayer-funded progressive programming to survive.

What a revelation.

Turns out, when you cut through the hysteria and smug elitism, you find what conservatives have been saying all along: critical emergency alerts are a function of public safety infrastructure—not a side hustle of the NPR tote bag brigade.

Maybe now we can finally stop pretending the fate of the republic hinges on another episode of “Fresh Air with Terry Gross.”

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Early last week, Quality of Life Coalition leader Saul Spady was at Cal Anderson Park meeting a friend when he noticed upwards of 30 tents all around the property. They made up roughly five “multi-tent encampments,” in addition to errant singular tents. He said that

“Probably the most shocking moment … a mother and a daughter came running up to me … and she’s like, ‘Oh my God, that man is urinating over there. He whipped out his ‘woohoo’ in front of my daughter.’ That’s horrible,” Spady explained on “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH. “And then, well, I was walking around, of course, you get the whiffs of fentanyl, and it just reminds you that we really lost the plot in a lot of ways.”

City of Seattle says encampment at Cal Anderson Park is ‘resolved,’ but it’s not

A spokesperson for the City of Seattle explained to “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH that the situation had been “resolved” by the Unified Care Team (UCT), a multi-agency staffed unit that supposedly connects the homeless with resources.

“Cal Anderson Park is included in the Unified Care Team’s weekly inspection schedule,” the spokesperson explained. “When UCT became aware of tents at the location on July 24, they immediately began offering shelter and supportive services to individuals residing there, and they resolved the site on July 25. UCT will continue to closely monitor the location and take additional action as needed.”

But the site was not “resolved” by any definition of the word. In fact, Spady says it appears the encampment has actually grown.

In a follow-up statement, the spokesperson claimed it “facilitated the removal of all unauthorized structures on July 25, leaving the park open and accessible to all. Given that the park quickly repopulates, UCT plans to visit the location at least twice each week to inspect, conduct outreach, and remove structures and associated debris as needed.”

Something has to be done

Of all the neighborhoods you’d expect to be complacent about growing, dangerous homeless encampments, it’s Capitol Hill. Residents are overwhelmingly far-left, many socialists, who often defend their neighborhood as some mecca of progressive values. But their complacency shouldn’t mean that the city does little to help people living in filth get the help they need.

Spady’s Quality of Life Coalition is pushing a homeless encampment ban in unincorporated King County. He’s currently collecting signatures for a ballot initiative. But his goal includes bringing this common sense and wildly popular idea to the city of Seattle. City council candidate Rachael Savage also announced this week that she filed an initiative mirroring the Quality of Life Coalition.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at pushing cities, counties, and states to sweep encampments and push the homeless into shelters and treatment. Though homelessness has worsened under Democratic leadership, especially in Seattle and King County, thanks to their laissez-faire approach of “harm reduction” and “housing first,” Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and Governor Bob Ferguson have criticized President Donald Trump’s move. But if they considered it “resolved” when an encampment is growing, perhaps they should take the help when offered.

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and splashed headlines about vaccination rates “dropping again,” and kindergarten vaccines “falling,” as if Washington suddenly turned into an anti-vax bunker. In The Seattle Times, Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy, Jr is implicitly blamed for the dip, noting it “coincides with growing anti-vaccine sentiment throughout the country.” Fox 13 tells viewers that kindergarten vaccination “fell more than 4% compared to the 2020–2021 school year,” implying it’s to blame for a small number of local measles cases. 

But what neither highlight: they’re comparing today’s numbers to a COVID-era peak — an artificial high point created by extraordinary mandates and compliance pushes, plus fear — not to the normal, pre-pandemic baseline. By that measure, statewide vaccination is still higher than normal, which makes the “down” framing misleading at best and manipulative at worst.

Vaccination rates are hardly ‘down’ the way Seattle media claims

Vaccination rates are not “down” in the traditional sense. We’re headed back to normal. This is exactly where vaccination rates were before COVID hysteria artificially inflated the numbers. Pretending otherwise is a classic case of cherry-picking data to fit a preferred narrative.

The Washington Department of Health’s own shows the K-12 “complete” vaccination rate for 2024-25 is about 89%. That’s slightly lower than the pandemic highs, but perfectly in line with the historical averages before COVID. Yet, The Seattle Times and Fox 13 would rather have you believe this is some shocking decline. They’re comparing today’s numbers to those pandemic-driven anomalies and framing it as proof of a public health crisis. That’s not honest reporting. That’s manipulation to serve a narrative.

Seattle media, intentionally or not, want to tie this entirely predictable return to normal levels to their favorite political bogeymen: MAGA conservatives and religious Washingtonians. If you read between the lines of these stories, you’ll notice the loaded language and the not-so-subtle finger-pointing. They highlight “personal” and “religious” exemptions as if those exercising their rights are dangerous villains threatening public health. It’s the same divisive tactic we saw throughout the pandemic: demonize certain groups to advance an agenda.

It’s also about trust

It’s possible that the vaccination rates would have stayed artificially high and become the new normal. But Seattle media and the left-wing lawmakers they carry water for ruined the trust many had in public health officials.

Seattle media contributed to the trust deficit during COVID. It’s likely the main reasons parents aren’t blindly complying with every vaccine recommendation like they did from 2020-2022. The constant lies about school closures, mask mandates, and vaccine efficacy eroded public trust in public health officials and the media that parroted their talking points. Parents remember being told the COVID vaccine would stop transmission — a claim they knew wasn’t true. They remember government bureaucrats pretending children were at high risk for COVID complications when the data showed the complete opposite.

Is it any wonder that some parents are taking a step back and re-evaluating their choices? That doesn’t make them “anti-vaxxers,” despite what some want you to believe. It makes them rational human beings who no longer take the media or public health establishment at their word.

Just read the data

The Seattle Times and Fox 13 are banking on the fact that most readers won’t actually dig into the Department of Health’s data. They’re betting you’ll see their scary headline and blame the people they want you to blame.

But the truth is boring and inconvenient: vaccination rates are stable and almost identical to what they were in 2016, 2017, and 2018. The only real change is that we’re no longer living under the shadow of COVID-era coercion. If the media truly cared about public health, they would focus on restoring trust, not misinterpreting the data to target the Trump administration. But that would require introspection.

Washington’s vaccination rates aren’t collapsing. What we are witnessing is the media exploiting data for cheap political points. And every time they do it, they make it harder for the public to trust them.

Listen to The Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason Rantz on ,��,��, and .

Listen to The Jason Rantz Show weekdays from 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. on AM 770 KTTH or on-demand wherever you listen to podcast

Listen to The Jason Rantz Show weekdays from 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. on AM 770 KTTH or on-demand wherever you listen to podcast

Listen to The Jason Rantz Show weekdays from 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. on AM 770 KTTH or on-demand wherever you listen to podcast

“If you see such a need to investigate this, why didn’t you raise it during the Biden administration? We couldn’t find that you made any public comments about Epstein in previous administrations,” Brown said to Jayapal on CNN Wednesday morning.

“Well, I would have been happy to raise it then as well,” she replied, before explaining that she was “focused on so many different pieces.”

What in the world does that mean? She’s asked why she didn’t raise her concerns before claiming she would have been happy to raise those concerns. And yet she didn’t.

Kudos to Pamela Brown for confronting Squad member Pramila Jayapal for her sudden feigned interest in the Epstein files. And a bonus that they used a clip of me calling her out.

Related:

— Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz)

Jason Rantz called out Pramila Jayapal on CNN, too

Brown didn’t stop pressing, airing a clip from the day earlier where I joined CNN to call out Jayapal and other Democrats for acting in bad faith on this issue.

“They’re [pursuing the Epstein files] because they think that it’s going to create more distrust within the [MAGA] movement. Ultimately, I think that actually hurts [Democrats] because I don’t know how many MAGA base members are going to say, ‘Yes, I support what Pramila Jayapal and Eric Swalwell are saying! I’m on their side!’ So, actually, I think they’re hurting their own cause,” I said on CNN.

Jayapal didn’t have much of a relevant response, instead saying, “Well, good, then he shouldn’t worry about it.” She claimed that her base is clamoring for the Epstein files (they are not, which is precisely why Jayapal has been completely silent on the issue until recently), then weirdly claimed that Republicans attend her townhalls in Seattle (they most certainly do not).

Democrats are suddenly pretending to care about the Epstein Files, thinking they’ll help create tension between the base and Trump. They’re actually ensuring there *isn’t* tension.

— Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz)

“So Jason and others should feel perfectly fine then with my calling for this because they shouldn’t have to worry about it if they think nobody’s listening,” Jayapal added, apparently confused by the statement she was responding to.

I don’t care that Jayapal is demanding the Epstein files. That she is exploiting the suffering of innocent young girls to try to score political points when she didn’t care one iota of Epstein’s victims before is something she’ll have to live with, not me.

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Whether you consume NPR or not, the principle stands. Why should and programming that is consistently liberal? And if it were conservative content, this wouldn’t even be a debate amongst Democrats.

Most Americans don’t tune in, and those who do often pay via corporate underwriting or local fund drives. So why should you, the taxpayer from Puyallup, Seattle, Snohomish, or Issaquah—whether you listen or not—be footing the bill? NPR content, both locally and nationally, is produced for older progressives who cry over their white guilt while drinking oat milk lattes on their drive to Lululemon to buy a pair of $60 yoga pants. Let them pay for NPR.

NPR’s operating budget is substantial — hundreds of millions of dollars annually — with a sliver funded federally. That subsidy helps cover programs like Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Fresh Air. But most funding comes through fees paid by its affiliate stations, donations, sponsorships, and grants. If NPR is truly viable, let it survive without a federal safety net like the rest of us.

A specious argument to fund NPR

Local stations will tell you they need federal support for emergency alerts or rural coverage — but that’s a laughable claim. Continuing to funnel tax dollars simply to prop up an ideologically slanted media brand cannot be justified with the specious emergency alerts claim.

The Emergency Alert System is administered by FEMA, which can dole out grants in place of the CPB. There’s obviously a way to fund rural stations’ emergency alert infrastructure without funding NPR content. Emergency alert capabilities are not contingent on NPR’s federal funding.

And if tax dollars are on the table for NPR and PBS, then shouldn’t all media funded by the government be fair game?

I fully endorse this idea. Fully.

— Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz)

Should conservative media be subsidized with taxpayer dollars as NPR is?

Imagine the uproar if your tax dollars were used to subsidize commercial talk radio, like “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH. Social media would flare up instantly: “Why is the government bankrolling right-wing radio?” “This is propaganda for conservatives!” “How dare they use taxpayer money to push a partisan host?”

You’d see fast-track legislation, public editorials, hearings—dozens of op-eds accusing the administration of weaponizing public funds for ideological gain. But that outrage is conveniently muted when it benefits NPR.

It’s a point that Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) made on X this week, floating the idea to push a bill to publicly fund “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH. Democrats would, of course, reject that bill. They’d own the hypocrisy by pretending NPR isn’t clearly left-wing.

When tax dollars go to liberal-leaning media, the left applauds it as “independent journalism,” “cultural enrichment,” or “community service.” Yet if that funding goes to conservative talk radio—even a transparent, well-known platform—suddenly it’s “state-sponsored propaganda.”

This isn’t even about media bias

This is not about saving one institution or crusading for media bias. It’s about fairness and principle. If it’s unacceptable to tax the public to fund any media outlet—especially partisan ones—then it’s inconsistent to defend that subsidy only when it aligns with your worldview.

Advocates for NPR say this week is “a test” — a referendum on public broadcasting’s place in our society. But the real test is consistent logic, not partisan double standards. If the government shouldn’t pick winners and losers in the media landscape, then none of it deserves special treatment — left, right, or center. KTTH exists because there’s a marketplace for it. Is there a marketplace for NPR? I think there is. So, why would the government be compelled to fund it? Exploring the is not doing a public service, no matter what MSNBC hosts claim.

This is why removing the CPB funding stream is justified—not as an attack on journalism, but as a step toward a genuine free-market media. If a station serves its community, it will thrive on listener donations, sponsorships, ad and digital revenue (which can include government funding of ads). If it can’t, it shouldn’t be kept alive by the sacrifice of taxpayers who will never tune in.

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There’s been some disunity among Trump supporters who want transparency on Epstein. Last week, many were disappointed to hear there’s supposedly no client list and, yes, Epstein did kill himself. Skepticism is not only understandable — it’s warranted. The Epstein saga has always stunk to high heaven, and being promised the full files only to get a wet paper towel of nothing has understandably fueled outrage. But the base’s anger isn’t really directed at Trump — it’s directed at Attorney General Pam Bondi.

So, what fixes the tension (to the extent it even exists)? The absolute clown show of Democrats trying to latch onto the moment.

Why would MAGA side with the Squad on the Epstein files?

From Pramila Jayapal to Eric Swalwell, the same Democrats who never cared one iota about Epstein are now feigning concern over transparency. It’s pure political theater. They’re exploiting the MAGA base’s frustration in hopes of creating a rift between Trump and his loyalists. But the effort is so painfully obvious, it backfires.

Trump supporters aren’t going to jump ship just because the Squad suddenly found morals on child sex trafficking. If anything, they’re sprinting back to Trump. Because if the Radical Left is for something, MAGA knows it’s probably garbage.

Trump earned his support through action and results — not press releases. The base isn’t going to abandon him for a few fumbled file releases, especially not when the Democrats pushing this narrative are the most unlikeable, dishonest voices in American politics.

This is all so laughably transparent.

— Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz)

Let’s also not kid ourselves — no one outside political X cares about Epstein. Find me a poll that puts this scandal above the economy, crime, or immigration. You won’t. The average American is more worried about their rent, their kid’s school, or their safety. If Democrats want to trade their already weak attacks on Trump’s border policies or economic wins for a Hail Mary on Epstein, let them. It’s a losing strategy that gives Trump room to focus on what matters.

A self-inflicted wound that will heal

Yes, this was a misstep. The White House overpromised and underdelivered, and the influencer stunt with the Epstein files was a PR belly-flop. It likely created real friction between Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, and Deputy Director Dan Bongino.

But there are legitimate reasons some of these documents might be withheld — protecting victims, avoiding false smears of innocent people, and preserving active investigations. Those reasons don’t go away just because the outrage machine is fired up.

The performative outrage from Democrats who think the American people have short memories is a joke. They didn’t care about Epstein when it mattered, and now they’re using the scandal as a cheap stunt to attack Trump. It’s not going to work. Trump’s base isn’t defecting to the Squad, and the average voter doesn’t list “Jeffrey Epstein files” as a top concern. The real issues still favor Trump. If anything, Democrats just reminded us why we don’t trust them — and why Trump’s instincts, even when flawed in execution, still beat the radical Left’s calculated cynicism every single time.

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The alleged assault occurred after an argument involving the delivery man, who was delivering a pizza via a bicycle, and juveniles. According to the police report, the victim asked the two juveniles to move their electric Lime bicycle that was blocking the sidewalk on 7th Avenue and Blanchard Street. When he continued to bike to the delivery address for the pizza, he told police he was followed by the two juveniles, who then assaulted him.

In a video of the assault, posted by Seattle Submission on X, police say the victim was pummeled multiple times by the juveniles. The man was punched and kicked multiple times in the head and body, before being taken to the ground by the male. The female is seen kicking him in the head multiple times. The victim was referenced in the police report.

According to the victim, the juvenile boy said he was a member of a street gang before saying, “I should kill you.”

Shocking scene near Westlake, Seattle! Domino’s delivery biker allegedly hits a couple with his bike then gets jumped in a wild street fight caught on camera. 😳💥

— SEATTLESUBMISSIONS (@SEATTLESUBMISS)

Juvenile allegedly confesses, but says he was ‘disrespected’

The juveniles fled, but were arrested about one mile away after police got descriptions and viewed witness video. The male suspect, per the police report, told police that the victim called him a “b*tch,” and told him to get out of the way.

“[Suspect] stated that he will not tolerate disrespect from anyone, so he followed the victim couple of blocks to confront the victim,” the police officer wrote in the incident report. SPD has not confirmed whether or not this statement is truthful.

“[Suspect] stated that he walked up to victim and was within the arm’s reach of the victim to verbally confront the victim, but the victim pushed him away with his hand,” the police report continues. “Suspect [name redacted] stated that he believed no one is allowed to hit him as he is a 14-year-old juvenile, and especially when the victim had disrespected him. Suspect [name redacted] stated that he knowingly beat the victim by throwing closed fist punches on the victim’s head after pushing down the victim to the ground.”

One victim in custody, other wasn’t booked. Yes, there’s a criminal history

SPD explained to “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH that the 14-year-old boy was arrested for Felony Harassment and Misdemeanor Assault in 4th Degree. He was booked into juvenile detention at the Judge Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center.

While the 15-year-old girl was also arrested for Assault 4th Degree, she was released from police custody to a family member. The juvenile detention center declined the booking because it was a misdemeanor case.

The victim suffered minor injuries.

It’s unclear if the female suspect has a criminal history. But the boy, who is not being named by KTTH or MyNorthwest because of his age, has a criminal history, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Charges for domestic violence were previously dropped because they could not find the alleged victim. And he’s currently involved in a case from June, charged for possession of a stolen vehicle and eluding police.

The boy was also reported missing from the Des Moines Police Department in late 2024, but that issue has since been resolved.

According to users on Reddit, the juvenile suspects have been problems in the neighborhood. Last week, a user posted photos of the teen and said the boy was riding a Lime bike recklessly. After he said something, the two allegedly ” started coming to our face and shouting racial slurs and pushed me a lot of times, threatening to kill me if my mom was not with me. By the time I could’ve called 911, they ran away.”

This alleged assault highlights a surging problems with juveniles

This disturbing case exposes exactly how broken our juvenile justice system has become.

When a 14-year-old feels so emboldened that he brags about alleged gang affiliation, threatens to kill someone, and beats a man in broad daylight—across the street from a police station—it’s not just a failure of policing. It’s a cultural rot. These kids didn’t just think they’d get away with the alleged crime—they likely knew they would.

This is what happens when progressive policies teach teens that consequences are optional and accountability is “oppression.” That’s not merely ignorance. That’s conditioning.

Listen to The Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason Rantz on ,��,��, and .

Hazelo shared his side of the story on “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH and said he’s not giving up.

Island County GOP chair claims his trial was unfair

Hazelo first recounted his time in court and claimed that his case was littered with objections that did not favor his arguments.

“When the deliberations were going on in the courtroom, the objections that came from the prosecution, and the upholding of the objections that came from the prosecution, the lack of our ability to admit evidence, we had already written it off, I was already thinking about appeals,” Hazelo said. “I was optimistic that a juror would say, ‘Wait a minute, if they aren’t allowed to present their side of the case, that creates some serious doubt.'”

KTTH host Jason Rantz asked Hazelo about the specific evidence that the judge chose to omit from being admitted in the case.

“We wanted to include what the auditor can and can’t do. The legislature gives an office the authority to do something, and that’s all they’re allowed to do,” Hazelo said. “If it’s not included in that authority, they’re not allowed to do that. It’s pretty simple.”

Hazelo noted the a set of regulations detailing each agency’s authoritative limitations, as part of their case for being unjustly accused.

“We wanted to present the WAC, and we were specifically told that we were objected by the prosecutor. The judge upheld the objection, and we weren’t allowed to present it,” Hazelo said. “The ironic part is the jury wanted it. The jury came back on day three and sent a question to the court asking for the WAC, and the court wouldn’t give it to them.”

What’s next for Tim Hazelo?

When asked about Hazelo’s next steps after being found guilty, he stated that he will continue to fight.

“We are going to appeal. I have a list of five things that stick out to me and my attorney, one being a conflict of interest with [the Island County Prosecutor Greg Banks],” Hazelo said. “Back in December, myself and two other sued Island County over the mask mandate. The fact that the suit is still in litigation, you would think that [Banks] would recuse himself from prosecuting me.”

Hazelo has a long history of working with the federal government and mentioned that the impact of this ruling would derail his career.

“The problem here is you’re someone who is a contractor, and you work with the federal government, but now you have a felony on your record,” Rantz said.

“I’ve had some of the highest clearances you can get based on the job that I performed for our country, and now all of a sudden, my security clearance is at risk,” Hazelo replied. “I was 19 when I got my first security clearance in the personal reliability program with the US Navy, and 38 years later, this whole thing is at risk over a face mask, in 2024.”

Hazelo revealed the importance of a security clearance in his field and related his experience being accused of an occurrence that could happen to anyone.

“If I lose the security clearance, my career is over. I suppose I’ll be giving people hugs at Walmart, it’s that devastating because without the clearance I can’t do what I do, period,” Hazelo said. “If they can do that to a guy like me, that’s been clean for his entire life, anybody can get charged with anything at any point in time. It’s unfortunate, and that’s what we’re fighting against.”

A has been created to help aid in Hazelo’s fight, which has already gained nearly $13,000 of his $100,000 goal.

“The hard part is it takes money to fight, and they know that I’m going to run out, and at some point, I’m going to have to give up and take what they give me,” Hazelo said.

Listen to the full conversation below.

Listen to The Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason Rantz on ,��,��, and .

The , filed in King County, accuses oil companies of knowingly contributing to the 2021 heat wave that led to 65-year-old Julie Leon’s death. It appears to be the first climate-related wrongful death lawsuit in U.S. history. And it’s completely frivolous.

The complaint is as absurd as it is offensive. The filing blames the heat wave on climate change, fueled by gas and oil companies. That, apparently, caused Leon to die from hyperthermia. It goes on to blame ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, and Shell:

While understating the need for serious collective action on climate change, and in an effort to temper concerns about the risks of their products, Defendants misrepresented their own efforts to manage GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions. Defendants have engaged—and continue to engage—in this deceptive conduct to dupe consumers into believing Defendants’ voluntary actions are sufficient protection against the dangers posed by climate change. These tactics have proven remarkably effective.

What happened to Leon was tragic. But blaming oil companies for that? That’s legally unserious and morally grotesque.

Ridiculous legal logic behind climate change lawsuit

According to the lawsuit, Leon was driving during an intense heat wave — without air conditioning, having not eaten solid food due to a post-operative liquid-only diet following bariatric surgery. Lawyers claim she experienced “heat-related symptoms [that] occurred so rapidly that she decided it was unsafe to continue driving.”

Those symptoms, the lawsuit contends say, caused her to pull over and that she “was so incapacitated by the effects of the heat that she was unable to call for help.” She was there for roughly two hours when a passerby found her slumped over. She was pronounced dead.

Now, Leon’s daughter, through her attorneys, claim climate change via oil production and consumption is to blame for the death.

But if this ridiculous legal logic holds, then shouldn’t we also blame the car manufacturer for her air conditioning failing? Or the city she pulled over in for not having sufficient shade?

Why stop at oil companies? She should sue the state of Washington for helping keep oil companies in business by allowing for the sale of gas and oil. Indeed, the state is a customer, too. Was the car being driven powered by gas and oil? Leon herself, then, was part of the problem.

Disturbing exploitation

The lawsuit doesn’t just seek money — it exploits a woman’s tragic death to forward a political agenda. In other words, it’s not just a civil suit — it’s a climate activism press release disguised as litigation.

We’ve seen this playbook before. And those lawsuits never go to trial because they’re not intended to.

What happened to Julie Leon was a confluence of individual choices, unfortunate circumstances, and yes, an extreme weather event. But to exploit her death for a partisan legal stunt? That’s manipulation.

Money and messaging

Her daughter, who filed the suit, claims this is about accountability. But does anyone seriously believe this case is about healing or closure? Or is it about money and messaging?

Julie Leon deserved better than to become a pawn in a climate lawsuit that will do nothing but generate headlines and billable hours. This case is built not on law or science — but on emotion and political theater. And while the environmental left will cheer it on, the courts should see it for what it is: an exploitative cash grab that cheapens real grief and wastes judicial resources.

It won’t bring Julie Leon back. It won’t stop the next heat wave. But it might land a few headlines — and that, sadly, seems to be the point.

Listen to The Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason Rantz on ,��,��, and .

In a recent  op-ed, a retired Washington family doctor spun a sympathetic tale, lamenting that patients might lose access to vital services if Planned Parenthood were to lose its Medicaid funding. Her analysis is framed around a recent Supreme Court decision that allows states to cut funding to Planned Parenthood and federal efforts to defund it.

Dr. Judy Kimelman,��a retired OB/GYN and the past chair of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists for the Western States,��painted a picture of a healthcare apocalypse, where women across the state would be deprived of everything from contraception to life-saving cancer screenings. It’s an emotional, compelling narrative. It’s also profoundly dishonest.

Abortion is entirely omitted from the op-ed

The entire piece engages in a manipulative omission, deliberately ignoring the basic argument: Planned Parenthood is the nation’s largest abortion provider. This isn’t an incidental part of their business, either. It is their business. And it’s the only reason their taxpayer funding is the subject of debate.

To read the op-ed is to exist in an alternate reality where the organization is little more than a charitable community clinic. Kimelman doesn’t mention the word “abortion” once. Not a single time. It’s a fact so central to the discussion that its absence isn’t an oversight, but a calculated deception designed to mislead you.

According to its own 2023-2024 , Planned Parenthood performed a record-breaking 402,230 abortions in a single year. It’s an ironic record given the Democrats spent the last couple of years claiming Republicans outlawed abortion, forcing women into back alleys.

While Planned Parenthood was busy setting that grim record, the healthcare services they pretend are the main offerings, like cancer screenings, continued a years-long decline. For every one adoption referral Planned Parenthood made, they performed 187 abortions, according to the Charlotte Lozier Institute. This is not a healthcare organization that happens to provide abortions. It is an abortion enterprise that offers other services on the side.

And who pays for this enterprise? You do. Last year, Planned Parenthood raked in $792.2 million in government funding — money from your taxes. That’s over $2.1 million flowing from the public purse into their coffers every single day.

A really dishonest argument

The argument from defenders like Kimelman is that without these public funds, Planned Parenthood couldn’t provide its other services. This is the core of the gaslighting campaign. They are holding women’s healthcare hostage to protect their abortion business.

The solution is simple. If Planned Parenthood truly cared about providing contraception, STI testing, and prenatal care to low-income women, it could continue to receive hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars for those very services. All they would have to do is separate their abortion operations from their other healthcare services into a distinct, financially independent entity.

But they refuse. For Planned Parenthood and for activists masquerading as family doctors, abortion is mission-critical and non-negotiable. They would rather sacrifice every cancer screening and every contraceptive prescription than give up a single dollar that frees up other money to facilitate their primary, grisly work. They are willing to let women go without care to ensure they can continue to end the lives of unborn babies with public subsidies.

Don’t fall for the gaslighting

When a physician claims that restricting their funding is an attack on women’s health, what they are really saying is that a woman’s health is less important than protecting their abortion empire.

The reality is, no one is trying to stop Planned Parenthood from existing. No one is trying to ban abortion outright through this funding debate. The issue is, and has always been, about one thing: should taxpayers be forced to subsidize the nation’s leading abortion provider? The answer is a resounding no.

Don’t fall for this emotional blackmail. Don’t let them gaslight you into believing this is about anything other than what it is. This is a fight over abortion and whether you should be compelled to pay for it. The fact that they have to lie and omit the truth to make their case tells you everything you need to know.

Listen to The Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason Rantz on ,��,��, and .