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Tobias Ellwood: An age limit of 21 would protect our kids from toxic Chinese vapes but also boost our security
Who's accountable for the results?

Tobias Ellwood is a Former Chair of the Defence Select Committee and a former Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Minister.

 When Britain talks about China, the conversation tends to drift towards the familiar.

Espionage. Cyber intrusion. The looming new embassy in central London. Military posturing around Taiwan. The erosion of democracy in Hong Kong. Human rights abuses.

These are serious issues. They are visible, recognisable threats, the kind we have faced before. We have committees, strategies, and institutions designed to deal with them.

But by focusing so heavily on what we recognise, we are missing what matters most.

China’s most effective influence on the UK today does not come via diplomats, soldiers, or spies. It comes through economics, through supply chains, through the everyday products that quietly shape our lives. It is slow, legal-looking, and largely ignored.

National security is no longer just about tanks, troops, and intelligence agencies. It is about standards, dependencies, and control of the systems we rely on every day. When we define security too narrowly, we leave ourselves exposed in plain sight.

Nowhere is this clearer than in the explosion of illegal disposable vapes across Britain.

They are everywhere, sold openly at pocket-money prices, often in blatant breach of UK regulations. This is not accidental. Many are manufactured in poorly regulated factories in China, falsely labelled, and pushed into the UK market via organised criminal networks.

These products frequently exceed legal nicotine limits. Some pose fire risks. Others leak toxic chemicals. They are addictive, environmentally damaging, and disproportionately used by young people.

Local councils and Trading Standards are overwhelmed. Enforcement becomes reactive, not strategic. Shops are shut down, headlines are written, and the problem returns a week later. Nobody seriously believes you win the drugs war by arresting street-level dealers alone.

This is usually framed as a public health or consumer protection issue, and on one level it is. But it is also a question of national resilience. When vast volumes of unsafe products can be funnelled into the UK at speed, bypassing regulation and enforcement, that is a strategic vulnerability. Harm is inflicted without a hostile act ever being declared.

This is why legislation like the Tobacco and Vapes Bill matters beyond its headline aims. It is presented as a health measure, but it is also an opportunity to reassert control over a market that has clearly slipped the net. Raising the legal age for purchasing vapes to 21 would be a practical step, reducing uptake and making enforcement simpler and more credible. That opportunity is currently being missed.

Clear, enforceable rules matter. They reduce …

Shapiro fires back at DHS, says truck driver accused in deadly crash had legal status in database
Every delay has consequences.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's team is disputing the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) assertions about the immigration status of a semi-truck driver involved in a crash that left four dead in Indiana. The driver was taken into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody after a detainer was placed on him.
DHS said the driver, Bekzhan Beishekeev, a 30-year-old national of Kyrgyzstan, came into the U.S. "illegally" using the controversial CBP One app and was later issued a commercial driver's license (CDL) in Pennsylvania. The department confirmed to Fox News that Beishekeev entered the country on Dec. 19, 2023, at the Nogales, Ariz., port of entry, using the CBP One app and was released into the U.S. via parole by the Biden administration.
"Not only was Bekzhan Beishekeev released into our country by the Biden administration using the CBP One app, but he was also given a commercial driver’s license by Governor Shapiro’s Pennsylvania. These decisions have had deadly consequences and led to the death of four innocent people in Indiana on Tuesday," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
McLaughlin then called on "sanctuary" governors to stop issuing CDLs to illegal immigrants "before another American gets killed."
SEMI-TRUCK DRIVER HELD ON ICE DETAINER AFTER 4 KILLED IN HEAD-ON CRASH
Shapiro's office argues that Beishekeev had legal status when he was issued the license in July 2025 and that he could still be eligible under a DHS database to receive one.
"Every person who applies for a non-domiciled commercial driver’s license issued by PennDOT must provide proof of identify and proof of their legal presence in the United States. That information is verified by the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database, administered by Kristi Noem and the United States Department of Homeland Security," Shapiro spokesperson Alex Peterson said in a statement provided to Fox News.
"The individual in question had legal status in Kristi Noem’s database when the license was issued in July 2025 and still shows as eligible to receive a license as of today. Kristi Noem should focus on minding the shop in her own agency, as her incompetence and operational failures seem to be matching the scale of her moral failures as the Secretary of Homeland Security," Peterson added.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ALLEGEDLY RAMS ICE VEHICLE, BITES AGENTS AFTER FAILED GUN PURCHASE IN PITTSBURGH
The deadly crash occurred on Feb. 3 at approximately 4:00 p.m. when Beishekeev was driving eastbound on Indiana’s State Route 67 and allegedly …

Adrian Lee: The transformation of Britain’s population – and the British Nationality Act, 1948
Who's accountable for the results?

When one thinks of Clement Attlee’s post-war Labour government from 1945 to 1951, certain images come to mind. Some of these images, such as Aneurin Bevan launching the National Health Service, are perceived as positive, others, like members of the British Housewives League burning their ration books following Labour dragging their feet on trade liberalisation, are seen as negative. Even then, the public were highly divided over Labour’s flagship policy of industrial nationalisation, but they largely supported the fullest possible implementation of the Beveridge Report. Above all, this era has gone down in popular imagination as one of austerity. 

During the freezing Winter of 1947, bomb sites littered Britain’s cities and people counted themselves fortunate to be assigned one of their local council’s new Prefab houses. Despite the victory, few could afford holidays within the British Isles. The great revolution in the acquisition of consumer durables for the home, which was to reach its peak in the era of Macmillan, was still many years away. Strangely, many of the current generation forget that this was also the moment when the foundations were laid for the complete transformation of the demographic composition of the British population. Mass immigration from the British Empire was created by the passage of the British Nationality Act of 1948.

In 1945, the population of the United Kingdom was significantly over 99 per cent white British. It was estimated that only 8,000-10,000 people of Afro-Caribbean ethnicity lived permanently in this country. Likewise, the number of residents from the Indian sub-continent was approximately 2,000, with 1,000 living in Birmingham. When War was declared in 1939, it is believed that Birmingham’s Indian population was just a little above 100. In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, the Polish population, which comprised 250,000 former soldiers and their families, vastly dwarfed those coming from the Asia and the Caribbean.  

The Poles were largely welcomed by British residents for many reasons. Firstly, they had fought valiantly throughout the War in landmark theatres such as the Battle of Britain, the North African desert war, the siege of Monte Cassino and, after D-Day, during the liberation of the Continent. They had proved themselves to be brave comrades in arms. Secondly, there was widespread revulsion at the oppressive post-war Soviet occupation of Poland. Communism was imposed on Poland and those returning home from their forces based in Britain faced incarceration in Soviet labour camps.

These people were deemed by the Communists to be “cursed soldiers”, who had “fought for capitalism”. Britons felt that we had gone to war in 1939 to save the Poles from the Nazis, but allowed them to later …

Savannah Guthrie family still hasn’t been contacted by mother’s possible abductor: Brother
Notice what's missing.

Cameron Guthrie, the brother of Today show coanchor Savannah Guthrie, said the family still has not heard anything from the possible kidnapper of their missing, 84-year-old mother, Nancy.

“Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you. We haven’t heard anything directly,” Cameron Guthrie said in a video message posted to Instagram.

TRUMP DIRECTS ‘ALL FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT’ TO ASSIST IN FINDING SAVANNAH GUTHRIE’S MOTHER

Police have been searching for Nancy Guthrie for six days after she was reported missing from her home in Pima County, Arizona, on Sunday. Federal and local authorities are working together to locate Guthrie, with the FBI announcing a $50,000 reward for whoever brings information related to her location or abductor.

“We need you to reach out, and we need a way to communicate with you so we can move forward,” Cameron Guthrie said in the video plea. But first, we have to know that you have our mom, we want to talk to you, and we are waiting for contact.”

Authorities have yet to name a person of interest or suspect in the apparent kidnapping, but Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said in a press conference on Thursday that the Guthrie matriarch “is still out there.” Investigators are looking into several reported ransom notes sent to various media outlets. At least one was labeled as fake.

President Donald Trump said he spoke with Savannah Guthrie on the phone after her mother’s suspected kidnapping and has pledged the availability of all federal law enforcement to the search mission.

“I am directing ALL Federal Law Enforcement to be at the family’s, and Local Law Enforcement’s, complete disposal, IMMEDIATELY. We are deploying all resources to get her mother home safely. The prayers of our Nation are with her and her family. GOD BLESS AND PROTECT NANCY!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Cameron Guthrie’s video is one of several emotional pleas the family has put forth since the news of her missing status on Sunday. The three Guthrie siblings – Savannah, Cameron, and Annie – released an initial video earlier this week in which they spoke to their mother’s nature and character and also spoke directly to the reported ransom notes.

“We, too, have heard the reports about a ransom letter in the media. As a family, we are doing everything that we can. We are ready to talk, however. We live in a world where voices and images are easily manipulated, we need to know without a doubt that she is alive and that you have her,” …

Ohio’s GOP governor: Ending TPS for Haitians would be ‘blow to the economy’
Who benefits from this decision?

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) defended Haitians under temporary protected status (TPS) who reside in his state, three days after a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from revoking such status from hundreds of thousands of migrants from the Caribbean country.
“If they lose temporary protected status and they no longer can work and the companies can’t employ them, that’s a blow to the economy, that’s a blow to the state,” DeWine told host Dana Bash Thursday on CNN’s “Inside Politics.”
DeWine said Thursday that Springfield “is coming back” in part because of the Haitian community.
“They’re not only working, but of course they’re spending money in the community. There’s been businesses started, restaurants have started,” he added.
Ongoing Court Case
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes implemented a stay on Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s order halting TPS for Haitians in the U.S., which was scheduled to go into effect Tuesday. The order is on hold pending the result of a lawsuit five Haitian TPS holders filed against the Trump administration last July.
In a scathing 83-page memorandum opinion, Reyes wrote that the Homeland Security secretary did not consult with appropriate agencies before issuing the order — as required by federal law — and it seems “substantially likely” she “preordained her termination decision and did so because of hostility to nonwhite immigrants.”
She also noted that while the administration contends that “the harms to Haitian TPS holders are speculative,” the State Department issued a travel advisory on July 15 that individuals should not travel to Haiti “due to kidnapping, crime, terrorist activity, civil unrest, and limited healthcare.”
“‘Do not travel to Haiti for any reason’ does not exactly scream, as Secretary Noem concluded, suitable for return,” wrote Reyes, an appointee of former President Biden.
Are Hatians being unfairly targeted by DHS for removal? Which countries honestly qualify for TPS? Are Republicans trying to moderate on immigration after a decline in support on this issue? Do you expect Ohio Republican candidates to echo DeWine's sentiments for the 2026 midterms, like Vivek Ramaswamy and Jon Husted?

Republicans warn Democrats' ICE reform push is cover to defund border enforcement
This affects the entire country.

Senate Democrats are standing firm by their demands to rein in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), but Senate Republicans believe they have an ulterior motive: completely defund immigration operations across the country.

"I'm really concerned that all the Democrats want to do is defund ICE," Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital, "They want open borders. They don't want to get rid of criminals."
Republicans argue the canary in the coal mine came last week when the Senate was advancing a Trump-backed funding deal.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., attempted to pass an amendment that would have stripped the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE of $75 billion, which was summarily defeated on the floor.
SWEEPING BILL TO CRUSH SANCTUARY CITIES, PROTECT ICE AGENTS UNVEILED IN SENATE
"Every single Senate Democrat voted yes," Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said. "That’s how radical Democrats have become. The Senate rightly rejected this amendment. The Sanders Amendment exposes Democrats’ open borders goals."
That money came from President Donald Trump's marquee "big, beautiful bill," which shoveled billions to DHS for immigration operations, ensuring the agency is flush with cash for the next three to four fiscal years, regardless of congressional Democrats’ desires to defund it.
Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., told Fox News Digital that the money from the "big, beautiful bill," wasn’t going anywhere. Britt is leading talks for Senate Republicans over the issue.
"That’s not up for negotiation," Britt said.
SCHUMER, JEFFRIES MEND RIFT, PRESENT UNITED FRONT ON DHS REFORMS AS DEADLINE NEARS
"Once again, just like they did in the last shutdown, they would be putting the American people in jeopardy and at a worse place as a result of trying to win on a political posturing or political issue," she continued. "So look, I plan on going into this with good-faith intentions, and I certainly hope that they will as well."
As the week has gone on, some Senate Republicans believed that all their counterparts wanted to do was gut ICE. 
When asked if he believed that Democrats' end goal was to completely defund immigration enforcement operations, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., told Fox News Digital, "100%."
"There's no way we're going to put handcuffs on ICE to limit what they can do," Tuberville said.
Senate Democrats pushed back against the assertion that they wanted to gut the agency, arguing that because of the funding already established by the "big, beautiful bill," there was little they could actually do to defund immigration operations.
"I …

Americans Vote With Their Feet
The headline tells the story.

It may seem that it’s impossible to get anything done in Washington these days.

Nevertheless, the free spirit of Americans cannot be suppressed.

Americans are voting with their feet.

Per the Census Bureau’s just released annual report on population growth and migration in the U.S., Americans are packing up and moving from anti-growth blue states to pro-growth red states.

Top five in population growth from July 1, 2024, to July 1, 2025: South Carolina, Idaho, North Carolina, Delaware, Tennessee.

Top five in population loss: New York, Hawaii, Alaska, District of Columbia, California.

Seven of the 10 top growth states voted for Donald Trump in 2024. 

Of the top 10 states losing population over the 12-month period, nine of the 10 voted for Kamala Harris in 2024.

Those many Americans who still understand that freedom is the magic elixir that drives growth and prosperity are exiting blue states, leaving them to stew in their left-wing, socialist, low-growth and low-opportunity juices.

Americans for Tax Reform breaks it down further.

Comparing economic conditions in the states that gained population to those that lost: the marginal tax rate in population-losing states is on average 24.5% higher than in the population-gaining states; the average state and local tax collection in the population-losing states is 61% higher than in those gaining population; the average corporate tax rate in population-losing states is 44% higher than in those gaining population; and 60% of population-gaining states are right-to-work states — states that prohibit paying union dues as a condition for employment — compared to only 10% of population-losing states that are right-to-work.

The Brennan Center has analyzed what the implications of this trend, if it continues on its current track, will mean regarding distribution of congressional seats after the 2030 census.

The biggest gainers: Texas plus four seats and Florida plus three. The biggest loser: California minus four.

The Brennan Center looks at what the change will be by region in 2030 compared with 2020. 

The South would pick up nine seats, Northeast would lose four, Midwest and Plains states down three, Mountain states up three, and West down five.

The Wall Street Journal estimates that this translates into a gain of 10 seats in states that voted for Trump in 2024.

The U-Haul Growth Index, published once per year and released earlier this month, reporting results for 2025, shows essentially the identical picture. U-Haul summarizes transactions for the year — some 2.5 million — reporting net in-migrations and out-migrations for all states.

Top five states for in-migration in 2025 were Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee and South Carolina.

Per U-Haul, “Seven of the top ten growth states currently feature Republican governors, and nine of those states went red in the last presidential election.”

States with the most people leaving are California, Illinois, New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts.

Per U-Haul, “Nine of the bottom 10 growth states feature Democrat governors, and seven of those states went blue in the last presidential election.”

Americans for Tax Reform also notes that nine …

Trump shares racist video depicting Obamas as apes, sparking outrage
Ask why this angle was chosen.

President Donald Trump shared a racist video on his social media platform Thursday night that depicted former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes in a jungle, sparking intense condemnation.
The Obamas briefly and suddenly appear near the end of the short video, which promotes false claims that voting machines helped steal the 2020 election, with their faces superimposed onto the bodies of apes. As the images appear, for about one second, the start of the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” plays in the background.
The post, which recalls the racist trope of comparing Black people with monkeys, prompted swift backlash. In a statement to CNN on Friday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the broader response to the video “fake outrage.”
“This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from the Lion King,” Leavitt said. “Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.”
Is the meme truly racist, or is Press Secretary Leavitt right that it's all jungle play? To viewers who have more racist inclinations, how do you think they read the meme? How will this impact the perception that Trump has racist inclinations?

Top fiery moments as Democrats clash with Treasury Secretary Bessent in chaotic Hill hearings
What's the endgame here?

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was grilled by Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill in back-to-back hearings this week that repeatedly erupted into shouting. Bessent was on the Hill to discuss the nation’s economic health but faced sharp questioning that at times derailed the proceedings.
The confrontations reflected broader Democratic frustrations over President Donald Trump's trade agenda and renewed pressure on the Federal Reserve, sharpening concerns about inflation, borrowing costs and the administration’s economic direction.
Against that backdrop, cost-of-living pressures dominated the hearings, with Democratic lawmakers demanding clearer answers as Bessent defended the administration’s policies.
Here are the top contentious moments from Bessent's hearings.
On Wednesday, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., was among the first to clash with Bessent over Trump's economic agenda, with the irate congresswoman asking at one point if someone could "shut him up."
The exchange took place during Bessent’s testimony before the House Financial Services Committee. Waters, the panel’s ranking member, pressed Bessent on the potential inflationary effects of Trump’s tariffs on U.S. consumers, repeatedly calling for a yes-or-no answer.
Waters: So I ask you, Secretary Bessent, will you be the voice of reason in this administration and urge President Trump to stop waging a war on American consumers, harming housing affordability, and putting the economy at risk? Yes or no. You don’t have to explain.
Bessent: Representative —
Waters: Will you be the voice of reason? Will you be the voice of reason?
Bessent: A study from Wharton University has shown —
Waters: Reclaiming my time. Reclaiming my time. Mr. Chair, will you let him know when I ask to reclaim my time —
Rep. French Hill, R-Ariz., House Financial Services Committee chairman: The time does belong to the gentlewoman from California.
Bessent: Ten to 20 million immigrants —
Waters: Can you shut him up?
Bessent: What about the housing stock for working Americans? And can you maintain some level of dignity?
Hill: The gentlewoman’s time has expired.
Waters: No, my time has not expired.
Hill: Your time has expired. The gentleman —
Waters: The gentleman took up my time. I think you should recognize that, Mr. Chair.
Hill: The gentlewoman’s time has expired.
Following the contentious exchange with Waters, Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) asked Bessent to commit to pausing and fully scrutinizing any Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) licensing tied to World Liberty Financial, a Trump-linked crypto firm.
He cited …

Grant Guidelines for Libraries and Museums Take “Chilling” Political Turn Under Trump
Transparency shouldn't be controversial.

A library in rural Alaska needed help providing free Wi-Fi and getting kids to read. A children’s museum in Washington wanted to expand its Little Science Lab. And a World War I museum in Missouri had a raft of historic documents it needed to digitize. They received funding from a little-known federal agency before the Trump administration unsuccessfully tried to dismantle it last year.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is now accepting applications for its 2026 grant cycle. But this time, it has unusually specific criteria.

In cover letters accompanying the applications, the institute said it “particularly welcomes” projects that align with President Donald Trump’s vision for America.

These would include those that foster an appreciation for the country “through uplifting and positive narratives,” the agency writes, citing an executive order that attacks the Smithsonian Institution for its “divisive, race-centered ideology.” (Trump has said the museum focused too much on “how bad slavery was.”) The agency also points to an executive order calling for the end of “the anti-Christian weaponization of government” and one titled Making Federal Architecture Beautiful Again.

The solicitation marks a stark departure for the agency, whose guidelines were previously apolitical and focused on merit.

Former agency leaders from both political parties, as well as those of library, historical and museum associations, expressed concern that funded projects could encourage a more constrained or distorted view of American history. Some also feared that by accepting grants, institutions would open themselves up to scrutiny and control, like the administration’s wide-ranging audit of Smithsonian exhibits “to assess tone, historical framing and alignment with American ideals.”

The new guidelines are “chilling,” said Giovanna Urist, who served as a senior program officer at the agency from 2021 to 2023. “I think that we just need to look at what’s happening with the Smithsonian to know that the administration has a very specific goal in mind when it comes to controlling the voice of organizations and museums across the country.”

An agency spokesperson told ProPublica it is not unusual for the institute to publish directors’ letters with grant applications, and that this one informs readers “about this Administration’s thematic emphases in the semi-quincentennial year.” He did not comment on criticisms that those letters insert political themes into a historically nonpartisan program.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, IMLS is working to revitalize our cultural institutions, urging less traditional applicants to consider working with us, and to promote civic pride and a deep sense of belonging among all Americans,” he said, adding that any institution that “meets programmatic requirements and goals” outlined in the funding opportunity “will receive all due consideration and undergo peer review.”

The spokesperson did not say how alignment with Trump’s executive orders would be weighed in the selection process or address concerns about the administration’s intrusion into funded institutions.

Established in 1996, the institute is the only …