Uncensored Free Speech Platform

Luke Evans: The UK Medical Training Bill has real merit but contains a major hidden flaw
Ask who never gets charged.

Dr Luke Evans MP for Hinckley and Bosworth, and Shadow Parliamentary Minister for Health and Social Care.

Most people agree on a basic truth: if you train as a doctor in the UK, you should have a fair shot at building your career here.

That is why the UK Medical Training Bill has real merit.

At its heart, the Bill seeks to prioritise UK-trained doctors for NHS training posts, particularly at the early stages of their careers. That matters. Training places are limited, competition is intense, and too many UK graduates feel pushed aside after years of hard work and public investment.

This concern is not hypothetical. In recent years, the NHS has expanded both domestic and overseas recruitment. That was understandable in the aftermath of the pandemic, with record backlogs and workforce shortages. We needed all hands on deck.

But the balance has tipped. In 2025, 15,723 UK-trained doctors and 25,257 overseas-trained doctors competed for just 12,833 training posts at the next stage of British medical training. UK graduates were, quite simply, squeezed out. Looking ahead to 2026, more than 47,000 applicants have already entered the system. The Government is right to conclude that something has to change.

This is not a criticism of international medical graduates, who play a vital and valued role in our NHS. But after the previous Government expanded medical school places at home, it is now necessary to rebalance recruitment as part of a long-term workforce plan—one that, frustratingly, has once again been delayed.

On principle, then, this Bill is reasonable. It speaks to fairness, workforce planning, and respect for the doctors we train.

But there is a serious problem hidden in the detail.

The Bill contains an implementation clause that allows the Health Secretary to decide when its main provisions take effect. In plain terms, it can be switched on when it suits the Government—and held back when it does not.

Clause 8 states that the Act will come into force “on such day or days as the Secretary of State may by regulations appoint,” and allows for transitional or saving provisions at his discretion. That may sound technical. It is not. It is political.

If the Health Secretary genuinely believes this reform is right for the NHS and right for doctors, it should be implemented clearly, promptly, and without ambiguity. What possible justification is there for delay?

The uncomfortable conclusion is that this clause creates space for the Bill to be used as leverage, particularly amid ongoing industrial tensions. It gives Wes Streeting an on-off switch that only he controls.

That is not how serious workforce planning should be done.

The NHS needs leadership, not performative pressure. Doctors need certainty about their futures. Patients need a health …

Battleground GOP lawmaker moves to block what he calls Democratic redistricting 'power grab'
This is performative politics again.

FIRST ON FOX: A battleground district House Republican is wading into the redistricting war that has seized the U.S. with his own new proposal to crack down on "partisan gamesmanship."
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., has introduced a bill called the Fair Apportionment and Independent Redistricting for Maps that Avoid Partisanship (FAIR MAP) Act, which would impose new guardrails on the process of changing congressional districts across all 50 states.
The bill would bar states from drawing districts for or against a specific political party or candidate and ban the creation of new congressional maps more than once a decade following the U.S. census.
It comes as election watchers eye Virginia and Maryland as the latest states whose Democrat-led legislatures could move to redraw their congressional boundaries ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
REDISTRICTING BATTLES BREWING ACROSS THE COUNTRY AS PARTIES COMPETE FOR POWER AHEAD OF 2026 MIDTERMS
Earlier this month, a state Supreme Court judge in Lawler's own home turf of New York ruled that New York City's lone Republican-held district is unconstitutional and must be redrawn — handing potentially a consequential win to Democrats.
Lawler said of Democrats' push in his state, "[Gov. Kathy Hochul] and [House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’] scheme to redraw New York’s congressional districts months before an election is a blatant power grab and misuse of public office."
The growing redistricting war was kicked off last year when Texas' GOP-led legislature approved a new congressional map that could give Republicans as many as five new seats in the House of Representatives come the November elections.
Redistricting normally occurs every 10 years after the U.S. census is taken to ensure that seats in the House are reflective of each state's population. And while there's a patchwork of state laws aimed at blocking those districts from being redrawn along partisan lines, there is no current federal standard.
In addition to banning mid-decade redistricting in most cases and creating a federal gerrymandering standard, Lawler's bill would also create a host of new provisions dictating how those populations are ultimately counted and how disputes can be resolved.
The bill would block state and local courts from legal redistricting fights, for example, leaving it to federal judges to weigh in on those fights.
DOJ URGES SUPREME COURT TO BLOCK CALIFORNIA MAP, CALLS NEWSOM-BACKED PLAN A RACIAL GERRYMANDER
It would also mandate that just U.S. citizens are counted toward state populations when creating new maps — something that …

OPINION: Christopher Klein, Superintendent, Department of Detention Facilities for Anne Arundel County v. Charles Brandon Martin
Equal justice apparently isn't equal anymore.

Caption Christopher Klein, Superintendent, Department of Detention Facilities for Anne Arundel County v. Charles Brandon Martin Summary Because the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the award of a new trial based on reasoning that departed from the strict standards that govern the grant of federal habeas relief to prisoners convicted in state court prescribed by the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, the Court grants the State’s petition for a writ of certiorari and reverses the judgment below. Author Per Curiam Opinion Certiorari Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due August 14, 2025) Case Link 25-51

Republicans go all-in on 'Sharia law' attacks ahead of Texas primary
Be honest—this is ridiculous.

Anti-Muslim rhetoric has emerged as a potent ingredient in the looming Texas Republican primary while candidates compete to raise fears about the spread of Sharia law in the state and portray themselves as the toughest option to stand against it.

From the state’s white-hot GOP Senate primary down to local races, Republican candidates are pledging to fight the hardest against a proposed residential development of 1,000 homes centered around a Mosque north of Dallas, while issuing dire warnings about the supposed threat of Islam and questioning their opponents’ commitment to the cause.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and his top primary opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, have sparred in attack ads and on the trail over that project and Afghan refugee resettlement program, at times veering into inflammatory anti-Islamic rhetoric. Cornyn called for a federal investigation into the project; Paxton launched several probes and in December sued the development over alleged securities fraud.

Texas is a heavily diverse state, with non-Hispanic whites representing less than two fifths of its total population — a flashpoint for years on the right. The state’s relatively small but fast-growing Muslim population has become a charged issue for Republicans seeking to distinguish themselves in competitive races. This year’s GOP ads – which vary from condemning terror attacks to burning the Quran – represent an escalation of rhetoric the party has long used to rally its voters.

“The Muslim community is the boogeyman for this cycle,” said Texas GOP consultant Vinny Minchillo. “One hundred percent this message works — there's no question about it. This has been polled up one side and down the other, and with Texas Republican primary voters, it works. It is a thing they are legitimately scared of.”

Muslim advocacy organizations and Democrats decry the ads as racist and grossly inaccurate characterizations of those communities.

“The Texas GOP has declared war on Islam in Texas, claiming that Islamic leaders in the state are implementing Sharia law and using it in court,” said Joel Montfort, a north Texas-based Democratic strategist. “None of it is true, it is just fearmongering and racism to stir up the GOP base and get them to vote.”

A POLITICO review identified ads in half a dozen races since the start of 2025 that highlighted “Sharia law,” according to data from AdImpact, which tracks political advertising. All were from or backing Republican candidates touting their fights against it, and most were common in Texas.

Last week, Cornyn launched a seven-figure ad buy titled “Evil Face” that declares “radical Islam is a bloodthirsty ideology,” referencing the Oct. 7 Hamas attack against Israel and December Bondi Beach shooting in Australia. The ad also …

How much do you think the underpinning moral basis of a doctrine is useful to politics?
We're watching the same failure loop.

As an explanation for what I mean by this, I am an optimistic nihilist. The universe has no underlying morality to ground it. It just exists and has no idea it exists. A system of morals doesn't fundamentally exist. It may be however useful to declare some principles are important in order to achieve certain outcomes to avoid undesirable ones. If you want a fairly stable society that corrects it's flaws, is peaceful, and makes interesting things happen, then you can decide that certain outcomes will be likely to produce such things like a generally free state with a socially involved ownership of the economy, a generally democratic political system, and a competitive news system with diversified ownership and control over it. I could cite arguments from whatever ideology be it communism, environmentalism, Islamist social philosophy, liberalism, Toryism, anything I feel like to justify it to other people, but under it all, it is simply useful to make ourselves value certain things and act as if they were sacred like an idea of human rights perhaps even if they are not inherently true.
What ideas on this do you have?

EU opens investigation into Elon Musk over Grok’s sexualized deepfakes
Who's accountable for the results?

The European Union has opened a new investigation into Elon Musk’s X over the platform’s recent proliferation of sexualized deepfakes of women and children.

The European Commission said it will determine whether the social media company properly assessed and mitigated risks before integrating the artificial intelligence chatbot Grok into its app. The body is particularly alarmed about recent reports of X users asking Grok to undress women, often seen wearing bikinis in digitally altered photos.

The commission said the sexually explicit content may be illegal in the EU, especially if the content specifically targets children, as has been the case in certain reported instances.

The investigation was launched under the Digital Services Act, the same law that the commission invoked to fine X roughly $140 million in December.

“Sexual deepfakes of women and children are a violent, unacceptable form of degradation,” EU tech commissioner Henna Virkkunen said in a statement on Sunday. “With this investigation, we will determine whether X has met its legal obligations under the DSA, or whether it treated rights of European citizens — including those of women and children — as collateral damage of its service.”

Adopted in 2022, the DSA essentially moderates content on online platforms to prioritize user safety by removing illegal content, including but not limited to child sexual abuse material.

The European Commission is also expanding its December 2023 investigation to establish whether X properly assessed and mitigated all risks associated with its decision to switch the app’s algorithm to a Grok-based system.

As it gathers evidence and information, the commission said it “may impose interim measures in the absence of meaningful adjustments to the X service” made by its billionaire owner.

As of Monday morning, Musk has not directly responded to the latest investigation, as he did after learning of the $140 million fine. However, he has commented on the Grok sexualization issue before.

At one point this month, Musk claimed he was “not aware of any naked underage images generated by Grok” and stressed that the chatbot is designed to “refuse to produce anything illegal” in violation of the law in a country or state. He previously warned that anyone who created such illegal content using Grok would face the same consequences as if they had uploaded it themselves.

IAN HAWORTH: MUSK’S AI PLAYGROUND IS BECOMING A MORAL MINEFIELD

In line with that warning, X …

Israeli military announces final hostage remains recovered from Gaza
Every delay has consequences.

The Israeli military announced that the remains of the final Israeli hostage have been recovered from Gaza.

Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, 24, was killed on Oct. 7, 2023, and taken to Gaza by Hamas. Over 250 people were taken during the terrorist attack, and the recovery of all of their remains has been a key hurdle in peace negotiations.

The deceased hostage SFC Ran Gvili has been identified and will be returned for burial.

According to the information and intelligence available to us, SFC Ran Gvili, 24, who served in the Israeli Police Special Forces, fell in combat on the morning of Oct. 7, 2023, and his body…
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) January 26, 2026

ISRAEL TO REOPEN RAFAH CROSSING ON A ‘LIMITED BASIS’

With all the hostages returned, Phase Two of President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan is in place, and the Rafah border crossing is expected to reopen.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

Yep, Trump should absolutely invoke the Insurrection Act in Minnesota, I 100% support him doing that this time
This affects the entire country.

Tim Walz deployed the Minnesota National Guard, but they haven’t done anything to maintain public order, instead, they’re handing out free stuff to protesters. I’m not sure if that’s supposed to be one of their tactics for maintaining public order, Walz also doubled down by calling federal agents “rogue,” which only fuels more violent rhetoric against them
The Minneapolis PD is basically dead at this point, they are doing nothing while still getting paid by taxpayers
I also saw a video on X where a federal agent was left bleeding while defending a hotel from insurgents and masked far-left extremists
At this point, I agree with deploying the military for the sake of safety, for both civilians and federal agents
What’s more frustrating is that the mainstream media don’t even document or mention all of this, they choose to fuel more violent rhetoric against ICE agents instead
Links:
Minnesota National Guard handing out freebies:
Walz doubling down:
Minneapolis PD turned back after being called to help maintain public order from chaos:
Far-left extremists trying to vandalize property, incite violence, and harm federal agents:
Federal agent covered in blood:

Discussion Thread: Illinois US Senate Democratic Primary Debate
This is performative politics again.

C-SPAN's description in advance is: "The three top candidates running for the Democratic nomination in the 2026 U.S. race in Illinois -- Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, Rep. Robin Kelly, and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi -- participate in a debate hosted by the University of Chicago."
Where to Watch
C-SPAN: Illinois U.S. Senate Democratic Primary Debate

Chicago Sun-Times via YouTube: Open Seat in Illinois: U.S. Senate Democratic Primary Debate

'Michigan's government is pathetic': Perry Johnson mounts gubernatorial bid as Gov Whitmer's exit approaches

Businessman Perry Johnson announced a Michigan gubernatorial bid on Monday.
"I am running for Governor of Michigan. My business experience brought quality and efficiency to help save the auto industry. We can deliver better services at lower cost by running state government with efficiency, accountability, and a results-driven mindset," he wrote in a post on X. 
The post featured a campaign video that asserted, "Michigan's government is pathetic."
Johnson's campaign site indicates that he supports the idea of eliminating Michigan's state income tax.
WHITE HOUSE SAYS TRUMP GAVE ‘APPROPRIATE’ RESPONSE AFTER HECKLER CONFRONTATION CAUGHT ON VIDEO AT FORD PLANT
Johnson ran for president for part of 2023 before dropping out and endorsing President Donald Trump.
Trump responded to the endorsement in a 2023 Truth Social post, calling Johnson "a brilliant Businessman who has enjoyed great success." 
BUSINESSMAN PERRY JOHNSON ANNOUNCES 2024 PRESIDENTIAL BID
Johnson tried to pursue the 2022 Michigan Republican gubernatorial nomination, but was one of multiple candidates disqualified from the primary ballot, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, is currently serving her second term, and is thus not eligible to run again.
Johnson is jumping into a crowded Republican gubernatorial field that includes former state Attorney General Mike Cox, U.S. Rep. John James, former State House Speaker Tom Leonard, and State Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, according to the Detroit Free Press.
GOV WHITMER SAYS AMERICA ‘READY FOR A WOMAN PRESIDENT,’ CONTRASTING MICHELLE OBAMA
"Perry Johnson is just the latest extreme, out-of-touch candidate to join Michigan’s chaotic Republican primary," Democratic Governors Association Communications Director Sam Newton said in a statement.
"From being all-in on Donald Trump’s harmful, cost-raising agenda and supporting an abortion ban to spending over $7 million dollars on his last failed gubernatorial campaign, it’s clear Johnson will make Michigan Republicans’ already ugly and bruising primary even more chaotic and expensive," Newton added.
Fox News' Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report