Author: adler

Jan. 15, 1919, was an unusually warm day for the North End of Boston, Massachusetts. Workers were busy with many city residents outside to enjoy the weather.
That’s when disaster struck around 1:00 p.m. The City of Boston in their commemorative piece said a loud rumble sound was heard, but Bostonians thought it was an elevated train nearby; it wasn’t.
A 50-foot tall tank full of 2.3 million gallons of molasses was rushing toward them at 35 miles per hour. Purity Distilling Company built the tank only four years prior.
Although fairly new, residents were aware of the tank leaking.
Purity, instead of addressing structural issues, decided to paint it brown to disguise the problem. Engineers said after the spill that the walls were too thin for that much molasses, around 26 million pounds. The walls of the tank were also vulnerable to cracking.

The Great Molasses Flood in Boston, 1919. pic.twitter.com/CTefc25V7m
— History Calendar (@historycalendar) July 15, 2025

According to the Smithsonian, one engineer in 2015 concluded the walls on tank needed to be twice as thick for that much product.
Jan. 15, 1919 was the perfect storm.
The weather, the amount of molasses in the tank that day, and the aforementioned structural issues caused the disaster which killed 21 people and injured 150. Two 10-year-olds were among the dead — Pasquale Iantosca and Maria Distasio.
The deceased were mostly workers and drivers, but also included a fireman who had just gotten to sleep in the firehouse before the flood hit.
The stickiness of the molasses made cleaning up debris incredibly hard.
Purity tried to shift blame, accusing anarchists of setting a bomb on the tank, but in 1925 a court-appointed auditor attributed the incident to negligence by U.S. Industrial Alcohol, the company who made the tank, reported the History Channel.
Per History, aerospace engineer Nicole Sharp became interested in the molasses flood after teaching a class at Harvard University where students created a scaled down replica of the event. They released corn syrup into a cardboard version of Boston and observed the effects.
“I watched as the corn syrup engulfed tiny figurines,” Sharp said. “It would be like having a tsunami wave hit you.”
What seems ridiculous and laughable at first read becomes a horror story when discovering the destruction and death wrought by the flood.
To think unassuming Bostonians, just weeks after enjoying Christmas with their families decided to venture out to work or to enjoy the weather only to find a catastrophe hit them.
The City of Boston added some good did come out the Great Molasses Flood.
Engineers would be required to sign and seal plans for structures with inspectors examining projects, and architects being required to be transparent when it came to their designs.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
The post Post-Christmas Disaster: How 26 Million Pounds of Molasses Killed or Injured 170 in the Streets of Boston in 1919 appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

A Dallas house that has drawn attention for its past decorations has done it again — defying critics with a Grinch-themed display.
The mansion in Dallas’s Preston Hollow neighborhood attracted visitors from around the Dallas area and beyond last year after videos of its display went viral, according to KDFW-TV.
“I think it’s really fun, fun for the kids. I know it causes traffic, but it celebrates the season,” Julie Mills, who lives near the house, said.
Visitors indeed mean traffic, and that has ruffled some neighborhood feathers.

“With traffic going both ways, you had thousands of people with little kids coming to see that,” a man whose son lives near the home and whose identity was given as Vin said. “Every night I am here, I worry about an ambulance coming to pick up a kid.”
He noted that last year his son’s home experienced a 3:00 a.m. fire.
“If it had been when the crowds were here, their house would have burned down,” he said, because firetrucks could not have gotten through.
Stephen Collins, who lives near the house, said neighbors are being deprived of their peace and quiet.
“In the real estate world, there is a phase, the clause of quiet enjoyment,” he said. “It has to do with quiet enjoyment. I would suggest these neighbors are not getting any enjoyment or quiet.”
Last December, the city of Dallas spent $25,000 to control the traffic.
Off-duty police officers were also hired by a third party to direct traffic, according to WFAA-TV.
A representative from the city of Dallas said the Dallas Code Compliance Department got “multiple concerns.”
However, city officials inspected the home and did not issue citations for noise or light issues.
Some neighbors have posted signs warning visitors that their cars could be towed if they park in front of houses, according to CBS News.
Others support the display.
“They are bringing community together, and it’s getting you in the spirit,” visitor Taylor Brooks said. “I love this house. I will come every year. It’s so pretty.”
Visitor Caleb Frazier said the house embodies the holiday spirit.
“Bringing people together and all parts of the season. ‘Tis the season, and this is what Christmas is about,” he said.
The property is owned by Ryan and Mandi De Vitis, according to the Daily Mail.
“Be nice to my neighbors, even though they’re not nice to me,” De Vitis told visitors one night when they were seeing the display.
He has said some neighbors “don’t want certain people in the neighborhood” and “only want their type of people.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
The post Video: This Dad’s Christmas Light Display Is So Huge It Cost $25,000 in Traffic Control Alone appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

This is a Gateway Hispanic article.
The post What does U.S. law really say about health coverage for immigrants? appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump made phone calls to US troops on Christmas Eve.
Trump boasted about the $1,776 Christmas bonus given to the troops as he thanked the service members.
“It’s tax-free and we distributed almost all of it in time for Christmas and you’ve earned it,” Trump said.
The president said it is a great time for this country because we have taken in hundreds of millions of dollars from tariffs.
Six units – one from each branch of the US military joined the video call with Trump – including the US Army 2nd Brigade combat team and part of the 34th infantry division stationed in Iraq.
Trump also thanked the crew on the USS Gerald Ford in the Caribbean Sea.
“I want to thank you all. I want to wish you a Merry Christmas,” Trump said.
At one point Trump’s call with the troops was abruptly cut off.
“We lost the connection, sir. We’re gonna try to bring it back up,” an aide said to President Trump.
“Okay. The sound was cut off. The picture was cut off,” Trump said.
The president looked irritated.
“I think that’s the enemy doing it,” Trump added.
WATCH:
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The post STRANGE: President Trump’s Christmas Eve Call with Troops Abruptly Cut Off (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

America’s murder rate has experienced the largest drop on record.
According to the Real-Time Crime Index, which compiles data from 570 law enforcement agencies, the national murder rate has fallen by nearly 20 percent compared with the same period in 2024.
Axios reports:
The FBI will not release official 2025 violent crime data until sometime next year, though RTCI estimates have historically tracked closely with federal figures.
Other major crime categories measured by the index were also down nationwide and across locations of all population sizes, including motor vehicle thefts (23.2%), aggravated assaults (7.5%) and robbery (18.3%).
New York City and Memphis recorded nearly a 20% drop in murders compared with 2024, and Chicago saw them fall almost 28%.
New Orleans saw a decline of 7.5%, while Los Angeles County recorded murders dropping by nearly 19%.

U.S. murders on pace for largest one-year drop on record. -Axios pic.twitter.com/lZy0vLfIKh
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) December 24, 2025

However, the figures exclude crimes such as manslaughter, killings in self-defence, negligent homicide, and accidental deaths.
Other offences, including motor vehicle theft, robbery, and burglary, have also declined, many by double-digit percentages.
The declining rates are not universal. For example, Johnston County, North Carolina, and Gilbert, Arizona, have both reported increases of 600 percent.
Since taking office in January, President Trump has made tackling violent crime a central political priority.
Among his more controversial proposals is the threat to deploy the National Guard to cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and Portland in an effort to restore public order.
The figures were celebrated by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who said the the president is “restoring law and order in America.”

President Trump is restoring Law and Order in America https://t.co/Xm3SBAIC1D
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) December 24, 2025

Meanwhile, the Departmenr of Homeland Security credited its deportation policy for helping to bring the numbers down.
“Here at DHS we’ve been operating by this radical idea that removing murderers from our country would bring down the murder rate,” they wrote on the X platform.
“Who could have guessed it would work?”

Here at DHS we’ve been operating by this radical idea that removing murderers from our country would bring down the murder rate.
Who could have guessed it would work? https://t.co/SRbnLhSiQm
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) December 24, 2025

The post U.S. Murder Rate Experiences Largest Drop on Record — Nearly 20 Percent Decline in Last Year appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Hugh Clements/Image: Video screenshot NBC 10 WJAR
The Gateway Pundit reported that Brown University placed their DEI campus security chief Rodney Chatman on leave following the deadly shooting on campus that killed two people and wounded nine others.
Brown President Christina Paxson announced on Monday that Hugh Clements, a former Providence police chief, will serve as the interim head of Public Safety at Brown.
WPRI reports:
Clements retired from Providence police in January 2023 after serving nearly 40 years in uniform. He was colonel of the department for 12 years.
**********
After leaving Providence, Clements was named director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) for the U.S. Department of Justice. He stepped down earlier this year and has been working as a security consultant.
Clements is a widely respected law enforcement leader and was contacted by the university days after the shooting, Target 12 has learned.
Paxon noted that Clements would report directly to her.
Under Chatman’s leadership, there are many unanswered questions about how the shooter so easily gained access to the building where the shootings occurred.
A janitor at the school has come forward saying he warned school authorities about a strange figure who turned out to be the shooter, days before the incident.
The New York Post notes that Chatman has been the subject of two no-confidence votes since arriving at Brown in 2021, “with the measures expressing ‘deep concern’ about Chatman’s ability to lead the Brown Police Department.”
The Brown Daily Herald reported that in January 2025, he faced allegations from one departing officer who claimed the workplace was a “toxic,” “vindictive” “s—tshow.”
Watch:

BREAKING: Brown University hires Hugh Clements, former Providence police chief to head campus security after mass shooting.
It took 11 students shot, 2 dead to suspend and replace DEI Black Lives Matter Campus Chief Rodney Chatman with competent leadership. https://t.co/p9OVHdO3mO pic.twitter.com/3oD3WXIWQV
— Dapper Detective (@Dapper_Det) December 23, 2025

The post Brown University Replaces DEI Campus Security Chief with Former Providence Police Chief appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

The White House released an epic MAGA Christmas video on Christmas Eve.
The short clip featured Clark Griswold from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation as he attempts to showcase his Christmas lights for the second time after the first disastrous rollout.
Clark Griswold’s Christmas lights spell “MAGA” as “Hallelujah chorus” plays.
“Merry Christmas and Make America Great Again!” the White House said.
WATCH:
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The White House wished Americans a Merry Christmas:
Christmas is a time to celebrate everything that makes our country exceptional. Across America, every home carries its own stories and traditions, yet it is our shared values that bind us together as one Nation. In every community, we are lifted by simple acts of kindness that reflect the enduring American spirit of generosity, patriotism, and gratitude. These moments remind us that the heart of America is strong.
This season also invites us to reflect on the blessings we share. For nearly 250 years, our Nation has grown through the hopes and hard work of families who believed in something greater than themselves. Their example inspires us today, especially at Christmas, when we gather with loved ones to celebrate the faith, family, and freedom that define our national story.
We also remember the brave men and women of our Armed Forces who cannot be home with their families. Their service protects our freedom and allows Americans to celebrate in peace. We hold them—and their loved ones—close in our hearts.
We hope you enjoy your visit to the “People’s House,” a living symbol of our Republic and a beacon of American excellence. As you walk these historic halls, may you be reminded that our Nation is strongest when we come together with gratitude for our past, joy in the present, and hope for the future. May your home be filled with the warmth and wonder that make Christmas in America so special— and may God bless you and your family.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
The post WATCH: White House Releases Epic MAGA Christmas Video appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

 
It has been 1,071 days since the Georgia Supreme Court remanded the VoterGA.org lawsuit back to the lower courts after determining Garland Favorito’s voter integrity group did, in fact, have standing.  That lawsuit was asking the court to unseal the physical paper ballots and allow inspection.

Last year, the Georgia State Election Board also sought to unseal the physical paper ballots when it issued a subpoena to Fulton County demanding the ballots, ballot stubs, envelopes, and digital images.  Fulton County’s Board of Registration and Elections, without a vote from the board, filed a lawsuit challenging that subpoena.
Today, Judge Robert McBurney granted the State Election Board access to the physical ballots and related documents; however, the Board would be on the hook for the estimated $400,000 in “document costs,” as estimated by the county.
Fulton County has until January 7th to provide the State Election Board with the estimated costs.
Fox 5 Atlanta reported:

As 2025 draws to a close, there is no end in sight to the prolonged legal challenges surrounding Fulton County’s 2020 presidential election.
Last year, the Republican-led Georgia Election Board reopened an investigation into Fulton County’s handling of the 2020 election.
On Friday, they scored a court victory.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney’s decision grants the election board access to Fulton County’s 2020 ballots and related documents.

Fulton County Chairman Rob Pitts seemed irritated with the decision, telling FOX 5, “This nonsense has to stop at some point.  I assured the public then, reassure the public today, those elections are open and fair and transparent, and every vote was counted.”
This decision from Judge McBurney comes as Fulton County admitted to the State Election Board that it was missing signatures from poll managers on poll tapes for more than 315,000 ballots.
Fulton County’s Admission That 315,000 Votes Were Unlawfully Cast Exonerates President Trump Once And For All
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