Category: blaze media

A hospice fraud problem is spiraling out of control in California.

There have already been several investigations into the problem, both from federal agencies and independent journalists who have exposed sprawling complexes and buildings all focused on the same thing.

‘Nobody there in person. Nobody answering the phones.’

Diagnosis: Fraud

An April, a Los Angeles Times report identified a “well-known” building housing 89 licensed hospices. This reportedly included a hospice operator charged with six felony counts who allegedly illegally took $2.5 million from the federal government by using collective signatures of retirees to enroll them in hospice.

The two-story building in the Van Nuys area of L.A. billed more than $38 million to Medicare in 2023 in total, the report stated, and the same building was the basis for YouTuber Danny Mullen’s recent video.

Mullen, along with podcast co-host and fellow comedian Leo Dottavio, visited the building to find it nearly vacant, save for people operating unrelated businesses.

“A lot of these hospice businesses had numbers on the door promising 24-hour on-call customer service. So, we rang them up,” Mullen said in the video. “Nobody there in person. Nobody answering the phones.”

RELATED: How a California crook committed $178 million worth of health care fraud — in just one year

– YouTube

‘Relyable’ sources

Most of their calls went to voicemail, some of the numbers had no inbox set up, and some were no longer in service, but one business that misspelled “reliable” as “relyable” did answer the phone.

The man who answered, whose number was allegedly listed on the business’ door, told Mullen and Dottavio, “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” and also that he was “not interested” in taking on a hospice patient.

“Whose hospice, man?” he added, before later calling back to tell the content creators, “I think you called the wrong number.”

The man later called back a second time, asking who gave them his number.

“F**k you, man,” the voice is heard telling Dottavio, despite Dottavio informing him the number was listed in public.

RELATED: The Trump administration is cracking down on fraud

Nobody home

In January, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz reported that California could be worse than Minnesota when it comes to fraud. Oz said that hospice fraud in the state is not only related to mafia and gang activity, but also involves human trafficking.

In March, YouTuber Nick Shirley investigated a plethora of businesses, including an entire complex, relating to possible hospice fraud. Shirley knocked on the doors of multiple businesses that appeared to be vacant. The same goes for Mullen and Dottavio; none of the alleged hospice businesses they visited at the aforementioned building were occupied at the time.

One man told the duo, “No one is here today,” but did not seem to provide a reason as to why the vast majority of the building was empty.

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​Align, Fraud, California, Dr. oz, Danny mullen, Los angeles, Entertainment 

The police chief who oversaw the reforms made by Minneapolis in the wake of the controversial death of George Floyd has resigned rather than face allegations of interfering with an investigation, according to the mayor.

Democratic-Farmer-Labor Mayor Jacob Frey announced Tuesday that Brian O’Hara had resigned rather than face the consequences from allegedly deleting evidence.

‘When trust is broken, it becomes extremely difficult to continue leading effectively.’

Investigators are looking into allegations that O’Hara had intimate relations with several city staff members, Frey said. When Frey told O’Hara he would face discipline over the alleged interference, O’Hara chose to resign instead.

“I accepted the resignation. It was an extremely painful decision, obviously, but I concluded that that was necessary to maintain public trust, and this was the right way to move forward as a city,” the mayor said.

“When you serve as chief of the Minneapolis Police Department, trust is not secondary to the job, it is the job,” he added. “When trust is broken, it becomes extremely difficult to continue leading effectively.”

According to the allegations, O’Hara deleted a contact from his city-issued phone in order to “shield” himself, and he also warned a colleague about the investigation after he was specifically instructed not to do so.

The independent law firm investigating the sex claims did not find enough evidence to substantiate the allegations.

Frey said that Assistant Police Chief Katie Blackwell would take up the mantle as acting police chief while the city conducted a search for an interim police chief.

“This is not about being intolerant of mistakes,” he added. “Everyone makes mistakes including me. But what I can’t allow is a breach of trust.”

RELATED: ‘ICE, get the f**k out of Minneapolis!’ Dem mayor calls ICE’s claim in deadly shooting ‘bulls**t’

O’Hara had been criticized for not doing enough to combat federal operations in Minneapolis as well as the police response to the shooting of Davis Moturi. He also oversaw the police response to the Annunciation Catholic Church shooting in Aug. 2025.

Despite the criticism against the police chief, Frey had nominated O’Hara to another four-year term earlier this month. The mayor said Wednesday that he would not have done so if he knew about the allegations.

City council members, including the president, criticized Frey heavily over the O’Hara affair.

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​Brian ohara, George floyd, Minneapolis, Politics, Jacob frey, Police 

After graduating from Princeton, Jacob Savage moved out to Hollywood to chase his dream of becoming a screenwriter. To make ends meet while pursuing this career, he became a ticket scalper and an SAT tutor. For years he worked diligently, believing that a breakthrough in screenwriting was just around the corner.

After numerous opportunities fell through at the last moment, Savage finally came to a sobering conclusion: He had the wrong skin color.

“A couple of times in my career, I was brought into various spaces and told ‘we were about to give you this staff writing job, and we can’t because you’re a white guy, and we already have too many white guys on staff,’” he tells Glenn Beck.

In 2025, Savage gained significant attention for his essay in Compact magazine, “The Lost Generation,” in which he argued that aggressive diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in media, academia, publishing, and Hollywood have disproportionately harmed Millennial white men by sidelining them in hiring and career advancement despite qualifications.

Savage tells Glenn that in 2011 when he first moved to Los Angeles, 48% of lower-level TV writers were white men.

“By 2024, that was 11%,” he says, noting that this number doesn’t even account for the “nepo hires.”

“It was not a slow change. It was not ‘we’re going to hire 1% less white guys every year.’ It was ‘we’re just going to stop.”’

Glenn emphasizes the importance of hiring based on merit: “Funny is funny; talent is talent.”

Savage agrees and suggests forsaking merit is largely why Hollywood’s industry health is rapidly declining.

“I think there are plenty of people who would have been releasing shows around now and been at that stage in their career who never got off the ground, and I think that is no small part of why Hollywood is struggling so much at the moment. They just sort of cut off a generation of talent,” he explains.

He speculates, however, that many Hollywood executives and showrunners didn’t actually believe DEI was good for show business but were essentially pressured and even forced through mandates into implementing it anyway.

“I don’t think that most showrunners really thought, ‘I really just don’t want to hire the best person for this job.’ I think a lot of people were frustrated,” he says.

That frustration has mounted over time, and now the tides are apparently turning.

“I spoke to this showrunner recently who was basically like, ‘We’re back to 2012 rules, which is don’t embarrass us with an all-white-male writers’ room, but other than that, you can hire whoever you want,”’ says Savage.

“They’re not going back to sort of ‘we don’t care at all,’ but they’re going back to ‘I think we can all acknowledge we went too far with this and we just want to make some money again.”’

To hear more, watch the video above.

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Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin has sent liberals and travel industry proponents into a tailspin after revealing a strategy that may prevent illegal immigrants from ever entering U.S. sanctuary jurisdictions in the first place.

During an appearance with Sean Hannity on Fox News Tuesday night, Mullin stated that he and others are “currently drawing up plans” to halt international passenger and cargo processing at airports near sanctuary cities since Democrats have attempted to interfere with DHS officers at immigration detention facilities, most recently in Newark, New Jersey.

‘They don’t want us to enforce immigration, but they want us to process immigration at their facilities?’

“Local, radical left Democrats aren’t allowing us to do our job and enforce federal laws,” Mullin claimed, so “we shouldn’t be processing international flights into their cities.”

“They don’t want us to enforce immigration, but they want us to process immigration at their facilities?” he continued. “Nothing about that makes sense to me.”

Mullin did not elaborate on which cities or airports he had in mind, though last year the Justice Department issued a list of “sanctuary jurisdictions” that includes states like California and Connecticut; counties like Cook County, Illinois; and cities such as Boston, Denver, and San Francisco.

RELATED: ‘If they want to come, they’re coming’: Democrats whine in viral video that sanctuary city policies won’t stop ICE

Companies and organizations associated with the travel industry have strongly opposed cutting off immigration processing at major U.S. airports.

According to DW, the U.S. Travel Association and several major airlines issued a joint statement on Friday, predicting that “such a move would have devastating consequences for the travel industry and communities that depend on international visitation.”

Airlines for America, another trade organization, insisted that reducing the presence of Customs and Border Protection at airports would cause “significant operational disruption to carriers, travelers, and the flow of international cargo.”

However, even other members of Trump’s Cabinet have responded to Mullin’s idea with ambivalence. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy admitted during a congressional hearing Thursday that he has misgivings about restricting air travel based on “politics.”

“We have people from around the world and around the country that need to be able to fly into all different kinds of places,” Duffy told Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.). “We shouldn’t shut down air travel in a state that doesn’t agree with our politics.”

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​Customs and border protection, Illegal immigrants, Markwayne mullin, Sanctuary jurisdictions, Sean duffy, Politics 

The NAACP has called for young black athletes to boycott Southern sports programs in light of redistricting, and BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock is tired of the organization’s victim mindset poisoning the youth.

“The NAACP has been set up as an institutional leader for black people, and they continue to promote the message that we’re owed something, we’re victims, and that young black people, you need to make these incredible sacrifices,” Whitlock tells Virgil Walker.

“The idea that blacks are being marginalized … is absolutely inaccurate and false,” Walker agrees.

“No black person is now not able to vote that was voting. No black person is marginalized. There are no tests that are going to be in place at voting booths. … Nothing is going to change. But they’ve leveraged that to an audience for whom they’ve preached victimology,” he says.

“They want to leverage young black players at the very moment in their lives when they’re actually coming into opportunity, education, and money,” Walker says, pointing out that the organization is “nowhere to be found” when those kids are struggling during their youth.

“And the moment at which these kids are about to walk through a door of opportunity, the NAACP says, ‘Oh, hold up, hold up. Before you go there, we need to take all of that opportunity away from you, because you need to spend that equity, that sweat equity, with us,” he continues.

“That kind of messaging should scream so loud in the ears of parents that they begin to see organizations like the NAACP for the fraudulent organizations that they are,” he adds.

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​Fearless, Jason whitlock, Naacp, Redistricting, Virgil walker, Boycott, Racism, Fearless with jason whitlock 

Television host Chelsea Handler said she knows exactly what comedians Shane Gillis and Tony Hinchcliffe are like behind closed doors after allegedly talking to their ex-girlfriends.

In addition to throwing insults at the two stars in a recent interview, Handler also talked about how her promiscuity is justifiable so long as she is “hot.”

‘I’m rich, I’m famous, and I’m hot.’

‘Gross vibe’

The 51-year-old said she knew there was going to be a “gross vibe” at the Kevin Hart roast, and she blamed Gillis and Hinchcliffe for setting the mood.

Handler told podcast host Deon Cole that she had Gillis’ and Hinchcliffe’s ex-girlfriends “blowing up” her inbox to tell her about them, which led her to the conclusion, “Oh, these guys are pretty bad.”

Handler followed her game of telephone by stating that what she was told confirmed “everything we know” about the two comedians.

“That they’re racist, that they’re bigots, that they’re sexist, you know, that they think they’re, like, invincible,” Handler claimed.

Gillis “believes — this is per one of his exes — that he’s invincible. He’s like, ‘Doesn’t matter. I can say anything I want,'” Handler said.

Despite claiming the duo’s jokes at the Netflix roast were “gross” and filled with “disgustingness,” Handler described herself as the same as the two comedians, but a female version.

“I don’t care if these guys say that I’m a whore. Like, I’m doing exactly what they’re doing, except I’m a woman and I’m allowed to. … I’m rich, I’m famous, and I’m hot. So I’m f**king people.”

RELATED: Chelsea Handler learned a valuable lesson — if you’re going to attack Tony Hinchcliffe, don’t go first

Sex machine

After receiving confirmation of her empowerment from the host, Handler reaffirmed that her age would not stop her from having a lot of sexual partners.

“That’s what I’m going to do. And I’m going to continue to keep doing that as long as, you know, I remain as f**kable as I am,” she claimed.

Handler took a hard stance against roast jokes Gillis and Hinchcliffe made about race, “lynching,” and black comedian Sheryl Underwood’s deceased husband. At the same time, though, she admitted that even though many black people — including Underwood herself — did not get offended by the jokes, she still found it “gross.”

“I’m not here to tell black people what’s funny about black jokes,” Handler told Cole.

“That’s my opinion. I don’t like that. I also don’t like the N-word, but I have plenty of black friends who toss that around all the time. It’s not my place to say, ‘Oh, that word makes me feel uncomfortable.’ You know, black people are allowed to do whatever they want.”

RELATED: ‘SNL’ star Che blasts Kevin Hart roast’s white writers — after he turned down job

Offensive line

Handler’s interview was posted on Wednesday, but so was an appearance by Underwood on Gillis’ podcast. Not only had Gillis previously revealed that Underwood immediately approved his jokes when he called her ahead of the roast, but she told Gillis to his face that she did not want anyone to be offended on her behalf.

“Don’t be offended for me if I’m not offended. But be offended for your point of view,” she told Gillis and co-host Matt McCusker. “You can have your point of view; we’re not saying you can’t have it.”

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​Align, Chelsea handler, Tony hinchcliffe, Shane gillis, Comedy, Entertainment 

A 75-year-old American citizen was arrested while trying to cross the border into the U.S. after Customs and Border Protection officers discovered numerous packages of alleged illegal narcotics in his vehicle, according to a CBP press release obtained exclusively by Blaze News.

Federal authorities apprehended the suspect, who was driving a 2011 Volvo XC60, on Friday while crossing the Juarez-Lincoln Bridge at the Laredo Port of Entry in Texas.

‘Our officers’ vigilance and dedication continue to play a critical role in safeguarding the border and preventing narcotics from reaching our streets.’

A CBP officer referred the suspect to a secondary inspection, which involved a canine and nonintrusive inspection system examination. Officers reportedly uncovered 14 packages containing nearly 33 pounds of alleged cocaine and 288 grams of alleged ketamine within the vehicle.

According to CBP, the illegal narcotics have a $455,822 street value.

The suspect was placed in custody, and CBP seized the alleged narcotics and vehicle. Homeland Security Investigations special agents are investigating the seizure.

RELATED: Exclusive: Border Patrol discovers 19 people hiding in drainage system trying to illegally enter US

Salwan Georges/The Washington Post/Getty Images

“This seizure of cocaine and ketamine at the Laredo Port of Entry demonstrates our ongoing commitment to protecting our communities from dangerous drugs and illicit activity,” stated Alberto Flores, the port director for the Laredo Port of Entry.

“Our officers’ vigilance and dedication continue to play a critical role in safeguarding the border and preventing narcotics from reaching our streets,” Flores added.

RELATED: 6 people found dead in boxcar in Texas border town, police say

Salwan Georges/The Washington Post/Getty Images

CBP credited President Donald Trump, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, and CBP officers for stopping illegal activity and facilitating the lawful entry of legitimate travelers across the southern border.

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​News, Southern border, Customs and border protection, Cbp, Narcotics, Drug smuggling, Homeland security investigations, Hsi, Donald trump, Markwayne mullin, Department of homeland security, Dhs, Politics 

A star running back for the Green Bay Packers has been arrested on five charges that include a felony surrounding domestic abuse allegations.

Hobart-Lawrence police in Wisconsin responded to a disturbance complaint on Saturday morning involving Packers running back and three-time Pro Bowl player Josh Jacobs.

‘We ask for fairness and restraint.’

Police arrived after 8:30 a.m. to investigate the domestic issue, according to NBC26, which resulted in Jacobs’ arrest and subsequent booking into the Brown County Jail. Jacobs’ charges include battery, disorderly conduct, and criminal damage to property, all of which fall under the category of “domestic abuse.”

Other charges include intimidation of a victim and the more disturbing felony charge of “strangulation and suffocation.”

According to the NFL, which cited jail records, Jacobs was charged with one felony and four misdemeanor counts of assault with a bond set at $1,350.

Jail records reviewed by Blaze News made no mention of any charges and said Jacobs had been issued a “mandatory court appearrance [sic]” but “no bond.”

RELATED: NFL players defend NY Giants QB Jaxson Dart after he introduces Trump: ‘Fake Trump hate’

John Fisher/Getty Images

Jacobs’ attorneys, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, released a statement saying, “Josh vehemently denies the allegations, and this matter is in the early stages of investigation with important evidence that has not yet been made public.”

The attorneys added, “We ask for fairness and restraint while the judicial process takes its course.”

The Packers told NFL reporter Tom Pelissero that they are “aware of the matter involving Josh Jacobs.”

“As it is an ongoing legal situation, we will withhold further comment,” the Packers’ statement concluded.

On Wednesday, the Packers canceled their scheduled player media availability after their open practice. Coach Matt LaFleur will still hold his scheduled press conference, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

The team will still have a chance to make players available to the press though. NFL teams must make head coaches and players available at least once for every three days of official team activities during training camp.

RELATED: Judge scolds accuser of ex-Patriots player who said he smacked and choked her, then offered her $100K

Todd Rosenberg/Getty Images

Jacobs has had an outstanding career so far. He surpassed 1,000 rushing yards in four of his first seven seasons, with 929 rushing yards in 2025.

He led the league in rushing yards in 2022 with 1,653 yards and was named first-team All-Pro that same season.

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​Fearless, Green bay packers, Nfl, Football, Crime, Domestic abuse, Sports, Josh jacobs 

If you think car prices are already out of control, brace yourself. The next spike is coming, and it has nothing to do with supply-chain excuses, dealer markups, or government mandates.

In fact, it has nothing to do with the car industry at all.

Automakers have limited options here. They can delay production, strip out features, or pass the cost directly to buyers.

It is being driven by Big Tech’s race to dominate artificial intelligence, and no matter who wins, the American car buyer will pay the price.

Bidding war

Behind the scenes, a quiet bidding war is underway for one of the most critical components in modern vehicles: memory chips. These are not exotic, cutting-edge parts reserved for luxury cars. They are the backbone of everything from your backup camera to center screens to your safety systems. And right now, they are getting sucked up by massive AI data centers at a pace the auto industry simply cannot match.

Companies like Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI are spending billions building out AI infrastructure. These operations require enormous volumes of high-performance memory, the same category of chips used throughout today’s vehicles. The difference is they are willing to pay more, lock in longer contracts, and move faster than any automaker.

Chip manufacturers, including Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron, are shifting production toward AI demand because that is where the profits are strongest. That leaves fewer chips available for automakers, and the ones that are available are getting more expensive by the day.

Winter is coming

Automakers are already feeling it. Executives at Ford Motor Company have acknowledged rising costs tied to memory chips, even as they try to reassure investors that supply remains stable for now. But that stability is fragile, and industry analysts are warning that shortages could begin to impact production as soon as late 2026.

Some companies are more exposed than others. EV-focused brands like Tesla and Rivian face added risk because their vehicles rely even more heavily on advanced computing systems. Traditional automakers like General Motors and Ford Motor Company may have slightly more flexibility, but they are still tied to the same supply chain realities.

What does that mean for you?

It means the car you want may cost more, take longer to arrive, or come with fewer features than expected. We’ve seen this before.

RELATED: Why the Pentagon just called Detroit’s Big 3 automakers

Jim West/UCG/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Computers on wheels

Modern vehicles are essentially computers on wheels. A typical car today uses large amounts of memory to manage safety systems, navigation, infotainment, and driver-assistance technology. In higher-end or electric models, that number climbs even further. Remove or limit those chips, and something has to give. Which means fewer features.

Automakers have limited options here. They can delay production, strip out features, or pass the cost directly to buyers. If history is any guide, they will do some combination of all three.

We saw it during the last chip shortage, due to COVID-related supply-chain disruption. Vehicles were shipped without features that customers had already paid for, with vague promises they might be added later. In many cases, those features never came back.

Now imagine that scenario again, only this time driven by a long-term shift in how chips are allocated globally. In other words, no end in sight.

Back to basics?

Some automakers are trying to get ahead of the problem. Toyota Motor Corporation and Honda Motor Company are working more closely with semiconductor suppliers to secure long-term agreements. It is a smart strategy, but it also highlights a bigger issue: The auto industry is no longer in control of its own destiny when it comes to critical technology.

It is competing with Silicon Valley, and Silicon Valley has deeper pockets.

There is also a lesson here that automakers would rather not admit. For years, they pushed more screens, more software, and more complexity into vehicles, selling it as innovation. But that strategy came with a cost, and now that cost is showing up in the form of supply vulnerability.

Many drivers today are asking for less tech and just the basics. But with added technology that collects your data, car brands are going to be forced to cut corners somewhere. And we know they will give up features and still collect data and track your every move. All of this takes chips that are getting more expensive.

The more technology you pack into a car, the more exposed you are when those components become scarce.

New approach

For consumers, this may force a shift in thinking. Simpler vehicles could become more attractive, not just because they are easier to use, but because they are less dependent on volatile supply chains. At the same time, the used car market could see renewed demand as buyers look for alternatives to increasingly expensive new models. This happened during the last chip shortage where used cars ballooned in price. That makes it a good time to sell and a bad time to buy.

The push for AI is not slowing down. If anything, it is accelerating. That means the competition for memory chips is only going to intensify, and the auto industry will continue to be caught in the middle.

So the next time you see a higher price tag on a new vehicle, do not assume it is just inflation or dealer markup. There’s a good chance it’s tied to a data center somewhere, running thousands of servers, training the next generation of AI models.

There may be a big opportunity here: a growing market for affordable cars not encumbered with expensive, invasive, and bug-prone tech. But first, car makers will have to ditch the endless tech arms race and listen to their customers.

​Ai, Ai data centers, Artificial intelligence, Big tech, Car prices, Lifestyle, Silicon valley, Supply chain, Align cars 

An Israeli national linked to a Chinese fraudster’s illegal biolab in Nevada managed to skate on a felony charge this month after the Justice Department mysteriously moved to dismiss the criminal complaint against him.

Police raided a house in northeast Las Vegas on Jan. 31 managed by 55-year-old Ori Salomon, an Israeli national currently in the U.S. on an E-2 visa, and owned by Jia Bei Zhu, a Chinese national convicted of fraud earlier this month and linked to the secret biolab discovered in Reedley, California, in late 2022.

Inside Zhu’s Vegas property on Sugar Springs Drive, law enforcement agents found a “possible biological laboratory” complete with a “bio-safety hood, a bio-safety sticker, a centrifuge, multiple refrigerators, red-brown unknown liquids in gallon-sized containers, and refrigerated vials with unknown liquids,” according to Christopher Delzotto, FBI special agent in charge at the bureau’s Las Vegas office.

‘The Government has concluded that the interests of justice require dismissal of the complaint.’

That same day, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department also executed a search warrant at the residence where Salomon lives and allegedly found a French passport bearing the name “Ori Salomon,” an Israeli passport with the name “Ori Solomon,” and a black semi-automatic pistol.

While Salomon — accused of being a primary “agent and conspirator” with Zhu, who contacted him 467 times in the weeks leading up to the raid — was arrested on a state charge of disposing and discharging hazardous waste, the discovery of a firearm at his residence evidently piqued the interest of federal law enforcement.

After all, Salomon is prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm as a non-immigrant visa holder.

According to the original criminal complaint, Salomon made a recorded call to his daughter while in jail where he discussed the presence of additional firearms at his residence.

RELATED: Hasan Piker tests the line between dissent and enemy aid

Las Vegas Metro Police Department footage screenshots

A federal search warrant was executed at Salomon’s residence on Feb. 2, during which law enforcement reportedly seized multiple guns, including a Springfield Armory XD-9 9mm handgun; a Savage Mark II .22 caliber rifle; an IWI US Tavor-x95 5.56 rifle; a Glock 19 9mm handgun; and a Springfield Armory SA-XD ACP .45 caliber handgun.

Salomon’s adult daughter confirmed that the firearms in the house belonged to her father, the complaint claimed.

Salomon was charged with one count of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.

However, on May 11, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada — helmed by Israeli-born U.S. Attorney Sigal Chattah — filed a motion to dismiss the complaint without prejudice.

Prosecutors neglected to detail in the motion why they wanted to dismiss the complaint other than noting, “After a careful review of the evidence and additional information provided by defendant, the Government has concluded that the interests of justice require dismissal of the complaint at this time.”

The Justice Department and Salomon’s attorney did not respond to Blaze News’ request for comment.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Elayna Youchah, who released Salomon in February on a personal recognizance bond, ultimately agreed to dismiss the federal complaint. However, Salomon is still scheduled to appear in court on June 4 in connection with the hazardous waste charge.

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​Biolab, China, Criminal complaint, Firearms, Fraud, Israel, Israeli, Jia bei zhu, Search warrant, Sigal chattah, Las vegas, Nevada, Justice department, Politics 

A Georgia teacher has been accused of committing child sex crimes against six teenagers, according to multiple reports.

Maris Nichols — a 25-year-old biology teacher at Alexander High School in Douglas County — was arrested May 8.

‘The alleged behavior is unacceptable and violates the professional standards all employees are required to uphold.’

WSB-TV reported that Nichols was charged last week with multiple counts of child molestation, improper sexual contact by an employee, grooming of a minor for sexual offense, and one count of tampering with evidence.

A judge set Nichols’ bond at $74,000.

The judge ordered Nichols to remain under house arrest except for medical appointments, religious services, and legal consultations. The Times-Georgian reported that Nichols also must wear an ankle monitor, undergo a mental evaluation, avoid contact with minors not related to her, and stay away from the school.

The Times-Georgian obtained arrest warrants saying Nichols had sex with a student in a closet next to her classroom between 3:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. on April 23.

According to court documents obtained by WAGA-TV, Nichols also had sex with the same student inside a Hummer off campus in Douglasville.

Investigators added that Nichols allegedly sent nude photos and videos of herself to multiple students, including videos of herself masturbating with a sex toy during live video chats with at least two teens under 16, WAGA reported.

The arrest warrant said Nichols had sex with another student in the back seat of his truck at a golf club.

Nichols also sent explicit messages to two male students that detailed sexual acts she wanted performed on her, according to the arrest warrant.

The warrant added that a female student received videos containing nudity from the teacher, who also urged the student to watch the “Fifty Shades of Grey” movies before asking to discuss the salacious films.

The New York Post reported that Nichols instructed one of the teens to whom she sent sexual messages to delete their communications.

RELATED: Female elementary teacher, 25, turned in by husband for alleged sexual misconduct against underage student: Court docs

In a letter sent to parents that Fox News obtained, the Douglas County School System noted that it’s “deeply troubled” by the accusations.

The school system launched an internal investigation “upon learning of the alleged misconduct” and has cooperated with state and local law enforcement in their investigations.

“The alleged behavior is unacceptable and violates the professional standards all employees are required to uphold,” the letter stated, adding that it can’t provide additional information regarding the allegations.

School officials did not reveal if any disciplinary action had been taken against Nichols or if she had been terminated. But she was not listed Wednesday among the staff on the high school’s website.

During Nichols’ bond hearing earlier this month, her attorney Christy Draper said the case was an “unfortunate situation.”

“She is a solid member of this community. She’s never even had a speeding ticket before,” Draper said, according to the Times-Georgian. “This is not your typical person that you see in these kinds of situations.”

“The truth is eventually going to come out,” Draper added. “It’s going to show that this alleged victim is more the perpetrator of this situation. This is a lot more technical and a lot more complex than what meets the eye.”

However, a prosecuting attorney called the defense attorney’s allegations “egregious,” the Times-Georgian reported.

Draper gave a statement to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that read:

As this matter is currently under active investigation, we will not provide a detailed comment at this time. We are fully committed to getting to the bottom of these allegations and ensuring that every relevant fact is brought forward.

The arrest warrant did not specify the ages of the alleged victims but did note they all were teenagers.

Nichols was hired as a teacher at Alexander High School in May 2023.

WAGA reported that Nichols also has been a “player personnel director” for the high school football program.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to Blaze News‘ request for comment.

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​Teacher arrested, Teacher sex scandal, Child sex crimes, Georgia, Maris nichols, Crime 

Newly released Department of War documents shed light on possible aerial capabilities of UFOs.

On Friday morning, the Pentagon announced a document dump of more Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena files, revealing the findings of a current U.S. intelligence official.

‘The object then split into two and changed direction.’

The official said that in 2025, he was part of a team sent to investigate unusual noises and sightings of “orb-like” objects near a sensitive U.S. military facility.

“Our mission was to investigate loud thuds heard in the mountains on the test range, which coincided with … sightings reported over the previous several nights,” the government official wrote.

While flying at low altitude in a helicopter, the intelligence officer discovered “a large cave entrance with no visible end in sight,” but saw no safe landing spot.

Realizing they were low on fuel, the pilots took him to a prearranged rendezvous point and dropped off one unknown official before heading to a tanker for refueling. Before long, their Joint Operations Center had detected hits on radar, in the same area sightings were made on previous nights.

Using infrared goggles, ground teams soon reported seeing a UAP and described it as “super hot,” low to the ground, and moving at high speed.

“The object then split into two and changed direction,” the officer said of the ground team’s description, but this wouldn’t be the only time the unidentified object seemingly performed the unbelievable maneuver.

RELATED: Vast image ‘reminiscent of the grim reaper’ appears over Los Angeles

Luis Gutierrez/Norte Photo/Getty Images

The officer and the two pilots soon arrived and scanned the area with night-vision goggles, infrared, and the naked eye. The ground team then informed them that the foreign object had risen from the ground and moved within 10 feet of the helicopter before dropping below it and speeding off.

“The pilots observed it through NVGs and saw it split into two as a smaller object emerged before it accelerated out of sight,” the officer recalled.

The helicopter allegedly pursued the object, but was unable to match its speed. The officer was later told that several fighter jets in the area were asked to help identify the UAP.

The “close UAP encounters” allegedly lasted over an hour and took place when the helicopter was asked to search a nearby mountain.

RELATED: Why Big Tech’s biggest just signed on to build the Pentagon’s AI army

Luke Sharrett/Getty Images

The report’s summary said the incident occurred sometime in 2025 and referred to the official encountering unidentified “glowing orbs” both at close range and at a distance.

It further described the object as accelerating away in two different directions. Numerous “higher-altitude” orbs were described as the objects that came close to the helicopter.

Photos are featured along with the report, including ones that allegedly show the object after splitting in two. However, the bulk of the photos are dated as being captured in 1999.

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​Return, Ufo, Uap, Pentagon, Department of war, Tech 

Pope Leo XIII issued a papal encyclical in 1891 titled “Rerum Novarum,” which the Vatican notes “became the document inspiring Christian activity in the social sphere and the point of reference for this activity.”

In that groundbreaking document about the just ordering of society, Leo XIII applied Catholic doctrines to the modern conditions that manifested as a result of the Industrial Revolution.

Besides rejecting socialism as a means of remedying social ills and setting the stage for localism, the late pope expounded on the Church’s doctrine on work, private property, the rights of workers, the obligations of the rich, the dignity of the poor, and other timely terms and issues.

‘It can only bring about conflict more quickly and render it more impersonal.’

The current pope, Leo XIV, has set out in his first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas,” to do for his era what his predecessor did 135 years ago.

The Roman pontiff has, accordingly, scrutinized “the great trends of our time, particularly technological advances,” through the lens of the Church’s Scripture- and tradition-based social doctrine — that living “legacy of wisdom, where we find principles for thought, criteria for discernment and judgment, and concrete guidelines for action.”

While the pope covers a great deal of ground in his encyclical, five remarks stand out as especially provocative and/or memorable.

1. The two cities

At the outset, Pope Leo XIV raises the questions of where man is going and toward which goal does he wish to orient himself.

Leo XIV notes that in the era of AI, mankind is faced with a choice — not whether or not to embrace technology, which he does not regard as a force intrinsically antagonistic to humanity — but of whether to “construct a new Tower of Babel or to build the city in which God and humanity dwell together.”

RELATED: It’s not easy being pope — Leo’s big new tech encyclical proves it

Alessandra Benedetti – Corbis/Corbis/Getty Images

The American pope suggested that the choice will inevitably dictate how the transformative technology of the age is employed, given that this technology takes on the “characteristics of those who devise, finance, regulate, and use it.”

Following in the footsteps of Nimrod and choosing the first option would mean giving way to an ancient temptation and pursuing “a single language, a single technology, a single direction”; building a society “on pride and the claim to self-sufficiency”; and working toward a “future that excludes God and reduces the other to a means.”

The second option would similarly mean dominating the heavens but rather patiently cultivating a “space in which humanity rediscovers its solid foundations and its final end” — a place “less visible and less spectacular” that is founded on the common good and has for its bedrock a firm relationship with the Almighty.

Building for the common good necessitates resisting the “Babel syndrome” that animates transhumanism and other vainglorious efforts to correct what God has created and instead “accepting the limits and weakness of humanity without considering them an error to be corrected,” said the pope.

2. Falling victim to achievement

Leo XIV observed that within the ascendant technocratic paradigm previously denounced by Pope Francis, there is a “tendency to let the logic of efficiency, control, and profit alone shape personal, social, and economic decisions.”

‘Speed and efficiency should never be the supreme motivating force for the irreversible decisions.’

This contagious way of looking at the world — which threatens to reduce “creation to an object of exploitation and human beings to mere cogs in a system driven toward ever greater efficiency” — has spread in concert with “the expansion of artificial intelligence, cognitive science, nanotechnology, robotics, and biotechnology,” said the pope.

Pope Leo XIV warns that unless technological progress advances with corresponding ethical and social progress, “the result may be an increase in means without a growth in humanity: ‘having more’ without ‘being more.'”

3. More dehumanization on the battlefield

Sensitive to the increasing ease of war-making, “tragically marginal” efforts to prevent conflicts, and the “perpetuation of conflict as a source of power and income,” the pope discussed the need to rein in and regulate the use of AI where the battlefield is concerned.

Leo XIV noted that moral judgments of a lethal or irreversible nature cannot be reduced to calculation and should not be entrusted to artificial systems.

RELATED: Killer drones have conquered the skies. Can we ever be safe again?

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP/Getty Images

Leaving the work of killing and ruination to machines neither makes war more morally acceptable nor removes the intrinsic inhumanity of conflict, said the pope; rather “it can only bring about conflict more quickly and render it more impersonal, lowering the threshold for resorting to violence, transforming defense into threat prediction and thus reducing victims to data.”

‘Decisions now seem to be driven almost exclusively by economic calculations, justified through media distortions.’

Where AI and automated systems are involved, the pope advocates for:

holding those who design, train, authorize, and employ the technology used in strikes accountable;ensuring that “speed and efficiency should never be the supreme motivating force for the irreversible decisions made in the context of war”;requiring technology that facilitates attacks to distinguish between combatants and noncombatants and factor in the impact on defenseless populations;requiring weapons systems to retrace and reconstruct their decision-making processes “so that accountability and blame are not collapsed into ‘the machine'”;keeping decisions to use lethal force under human control; andavoiding an international AI arms race.

Leo XIV notes, “While AI can enhance the defense and protection of civilians, it can also lower the threshold for the use of force, shield people from responsibility, and foster a culture in which the enemy is reduced to a statistic and the victim to ‘collateral damage.'”

4. The new colonialism

After noting that the “Church renews her firm condemnation of all forms of slavery, trafficking, and the commodification of persons,” Leo XIV discussed a novel form of colonialism incubated in the digital economy that “appropriates data, transforming personal lives into exploitable information.”

The pope railed against the mining, aggregation, and analysis of individuals’ data — especially information about their health and genetics — noting that such information affords the powers that be “structural leverage over the future, for they can shape needs and markets. They can also decide, before others, to whom medicines, investments, and protections will be allocated.”

The remedy, according to the pope: restore “to individuals not only the data that describes them, but also the ability to decide how it is used, by whom, and for whose benefit.”

5. A false realism

The pope rails in his encyclical against realpolitik — politics based on doing what is regarded as expedient rather than what is understood as morally or ethically right — particularly as it relates to war.

Leo XIV, certain that “we live at a time of significant spiritual and cultural blindness,” characterized realpolitik as a “truly irresponsible” form of false realism that “sows in consciences and in society an attitude of resignation to the inevitability of war and dismisses peace and dialogue as utopian or irrational positions that ignore the risks at stake.”

While stressing that “peace is neither a naïve hope nor merely the absence of war” and is “always possible as the fruit of justice and charity,” the pope recognized that the prevailing climate of pragmatism and nihilism has nevertheless set the stage for “new wars that are perhaps even more dangerous than those of the past, since they tend to disregard all ethical limits.”

“Decisions now seem to be driven almost exclusively by economic calculations, justified through media distortions, manufactured enthusiasm, and ‘dreams’ that inevitably shatter, generating frustration and further violence,” wrote the pope. “When people come to believe that nothing is genuinely true and that principles are hollow words, then the fuse in their hearts is lit for new eruptions of intolerance and aggression.”

Just as he rejects this “false realism,” the pope rejects the encompassing “culture of power,” highlighting an alternative: the “civilization of love.”

“Christians see the darkness and acknowledge it for what it is, yet they do not merely gaze upon it passively, for they know the light and understand that the darkness has not overcome it and cannot defeat it (cf. Jn 1:5),” wrote the pope. “For this reason, even when suffering seems to have the last word, Christians serve the good and are sustained by a theological hope that gives reality both meaning and direction.”

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​Artificial intelligence, Industrial revolution, Leo xiv, Politics, Pope, Transhumanism, Technology, War, Data, Big tech, Tech 

This situation has happened to me twice in recent months. I meet a guy around my age (50s, 60s). We talk and find we have things in common. I’m excited to possibly make a new friend.

In both cases, there was no political discussion. I didn’t say anything about politics. And they didn’t either, which was a welcome relief.

These guys should be playing golf and awaiting grandchildren, not defending trans activism or walking in Pride parades.

In both situations, the subject of children eventually came up. I don’t have any. They both did.

That’s when things got tricky. One of them announced he had a gay daughter. And the other informed me that he had a trans son.

Supporting the supporters

In both cases, I nodded my head when they told me this, as if their children’s sexuality were a normal thing to bring up, which it is, in my progressive coastal city.

I also saw, in both cases, that these fathers were genuinely supportive of their gay or trans kid. Of course they were. It’s their kids!

I nodded along with them, showing that I was supportive of their kids, too, and that I supported them for supporting their kids.

At the same time, I know from experience that these situations are often more complicated than they appear. Like, are their kids actually gay or trans? Or are they just thinking about it? Or talking about it? Or experimenting with it?

Whenever I hear a parent say his high school or college-age kid is gay or trans, I think to myself: Let’s see what the kid tells you in a year or two.

The truth is that it has become almost mandatory for even the most well-adjusted young people to question their sexual preference and gender identity.

They’ve been receiving this messaging for decades now. Their schools, their teachers, and the entire society have told them: “Being gay is great. Being trans is awesome. Why not consider becoming one of those yourself? You might like it. You might discover it’s your true nature.”

But is that accurate? Most people turn out to be heterosexual. So why are our schools and educators so eager to get young people going off in all these different directions?

Why are these people involved in any aspect of a young person’s sexuality?

Forced participation

Another thing I notice: Nobody talks about the toll these situations take on the parents. Having a trans or gay child can be quite a lot to deal with.

It forces parents to concede — at least implicitly — that all this sexual identity talk is a good idea. In effect, it turns them into progressive Democrats.

Also, it’s a lot of stress. Older people didn’t have to navigate sexual identity when they were young. They don’t have any experience with these situations. Most of them just got married and had kids. And some of them didn’t.

But there wasn’t an entire culture war built up around what choices people made. You were free to do whatever. This was America.

RELATED: The return of Drag Queen Story Hour?

Irfan Khan/Getty Images

Gay until graduation

All of this reminds me of a close friend whose only child (a son) came out to her as gay while he was in high school.

Naturally, she supported him. Though at one point she privately said to me, with a sigh, “I guess I’ll never hear the pitter-patter of tiny feet.”

But then, two years later, the son decided he wasn’t gay after all. So all that anguish was in vain.

But then, another year later, the son started dating a trans person!

All of this was quite confusing and difficult for my friend. But of course, she couldn’t say anything or even commiserate with her friends, lest she be labeled a bigot.

Let’s just (not) be friends

It seems unlikely that I’ll ever hang out with either of these two guys I met. They have too much on their plates. And because of their children, they now have a stake in the sexual identity debates.

And this during a time when they were supposed to be letting go of their children. These were supposed to be their “empty nest” years.

They did their duty. They raised good kids. In both of these cases, the parents had put them through college.

These guys should be playing golf and awaiting grandchildren, not defending trans activism or walking in Pride parades.

But fathers love their children. So naturally, they want to help. They’ll do anything they can for their kids.

Grumpier old men

It used to be that older men were expected to become grouchy and conservative in their old age. But even that natural evolution has been subverted.

Now their lives are affected by LGBTQ politics almost as much as their children’s — which, I suspect, is exactly how the LGBTQ crowds like it. Anything that disrupts traditional families is all right by them.

​Culture, Gay children, Lgbt, Lifestyle, Parenthood, Traditional families, Blake’s progress 

A male who broke into a Memphis home early Tuesday morning came face-to-face with the armed homeowner, who was more than ready for him.

Memphis police told WMC-TV that officers responded just after 1 a.m. to a shots-fired call at a home on Eldridge Avenue in the North Memphis area.

‘This is my home. I mean, I should be able to enjoy it without people comin’ through the window on me.’

When officers arrived, they learned the homeowner caught an intruder breaking into the residence — and the homeowner was holding the suspect at gunpoint, the station said.

Police added to WMC that the suspect was lying face-down on the bedroom floor. The station’s video report below about the incident says the homeowner fired two shots.

RELATED: ‘I didn’t have any hesitation’: Gun-toting homeowner says he spotted intruder in his house and ‘just let it fire’

Officers commanded the homeowner to put the gun down, the station said, adding that they then checked the suspect — Simeon Pratcher, 33 — and found he was not wounded.

Pratcher told police he came through the window because he thought no one was home, WMC reported, after which he was taken into custody without incident.

Pratcher is facing charges of aggravated burglary and possession of burglary tools, the station said. Jail records indicate he remained behind bars Wednesday morning, and no bond amount is listed. His next hearing is Wednesday morning.

The video report also notes that the homeowner experienced a break-in just days earlier, during which his home was ransacked and items worth thousands of dollars were stolen.

“This is my home,” the victim told WMC in the video report. “I mean, I should be able to enjoy it without people comin’ through the window on me.”

After the previous break-in, two people were arrested, the station said.

“I’m not runnin’,” the defiant homeowner told WMC.

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​Home invasion, Memphis, Tennessee, Homeowner shoots at intruder, Arrest, Jailed, Guns, Gun rights, Self-defense, Crime, Second amendment 

In a recent interview, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos pushed back against claims that taxing billionaires more would meaningfully improve life for working Americans, arguing that even dramatically increasing his tax burden would do little to solve inflation or lower costs for families.

“People sometimes say that, you know, I don’t pay taxes. That’s not true. I pay billions of dollars in taxes … if people want me to pay more billions, then let’s have that debate, but don’t pretend that that’s going to solve the problem,” Bezos said.

“You could double the taxes I pay, and it’s not going to help that teacher in Queens. I promise you. You can’t connect those two things. Not logically,” he added.

BlazeTV host Pat Gray couldn’t agree with Bezos more, pointing out that he also “bleeds terribly” during tax season — but the government largely just wastes his money.

“And so, what happens is you could double that, or you could triple it, or you could quadruple it. It’s still going to the government, and they’re still wasting it on crap,” he adds.

But Bezos wasn’t done, taking on high rent costs as well.

“I recently saw somebody blame it on Airbnb. OK, Airbnb is not the cause of expensive rent … it’s already been outlawed in New York City and rents are still very high. So we know Airbnb isn’t causing high rents,” he said.

“What’s really causing high rent is government intervention. We subsidize demand with things like tax policy, which is fine, but at the same time, we constrain supply. We constrain supply with things like zoning and permitting. Why does it take so long to get something permitted to build?” he continued.

“If you want rents to come down, econ 101, really simple,” he said, explaining that you can’t subsidize demand and constrain supply.

“If you do, prices are going to skyrocket. But this is not anybody’s fault other than government policy. And this is fixable. Again, this is a skills issue,” he added.

“We should put together an economic commission. Featuring Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, you probably want to avoid Bill Gates,” Gray comments.

“But you know, get these guys together who know how to be successful and understand economics and help us craft a makes-sense tax policy in this country where you’re not just pounding people who are successful,” he adds.

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​Airbnb, Bill gates, Billionaire, Elon musk, Inflation, Jeff bezos, Pat gray, Pat gray unleashed, Tax policy 

Establishment Republicans are not the only ones who have suffered stunning electoral upsets lately.

After more than two decades in Congress, Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) lost the Democratic primary runoff on Tuesday to Rep. Christian Menefee (D-Texas), a man not only 40 years Green’s junior but who just took his seat in Congress a few months ago.

‘The President of the United States is a racist, a bigot, a misogynist, as well as an invidious prevaricator.’

Texas Republicans can take credit for forcing a contest between two sitting Democratic congressmen. After the Texas congressional district map was redrawn, the 9th district suddenly became much redder, compelling Green to seek the 18th district seat currently occupied by Menefee.

Neither Menefee nor Green managed to crest the 50% of the vote needed to win the Democratic primary outright on March 3. Menefee eked out a slight edge over Green that night, 46% to 44%.

By contrast, the primary runoff on Tuesday was a blowout in which Menefee trounced Green nearly 70% to 30%. The outcome was so unexpected that NBC News chief data analyst Steve Kornacki called it “jarring.”

Menefee was gracious in victory, stating, “Congressman Green, brother, I want to give you your flowers. I want to thank you for your service to people across Houston and Harris County.”

Green claimed the loss would mark the move “to another chapter in life,” adding, “I plan to continue to have a career associated with service.”

RELATED: Rep. Al Green forced into runoff with candidate half his age after failing to get 50% of Democratic primary vote

Rep. Christian Menefee and other Democrats; Nathan Posner/Anadolu/Getty Images

The extent to which Green has “served” his constituents in Texas since he was first elected in 2004 is a matter of debate. Even the Houston Chronicle acknowledged that Green is not necessarily as well known for “shepherding high-profile legislation” as he is for building “influence through seniority and committee assignments.”

At the national level, Green, a former president of the Houston chapter of the NAACP, is probably best known for his race-based activism and anti-Trump animus.

“The President of the United States is a racist, a bigot, a misogynist, as well as an invidious prevaricator,” he railed in July 2019. “To say that Donald John Trump is unfit for the Office of the President of the United States is an understatement.”

Since Trump began his first term in office in 2017, Green has introduced or co-sponsored articles of impeachment against him at least four times. Green has also been forcefully removed from each of Trump’s last two State of the Union addresses, most recently back in February, when he carried a sign that read, “Black people aren’t apes!”

Trump is not the only racist Republican in Green’s eyes. Green has also leveled accusations of racism against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Tennessee Rep. Diana Harshbarger, and all the Texas state lawmakers, including Gov. Greg Abbott, who helped redraw the congressional map.

The 18th District of Texas is deep blue, and Menefee is expected to coast through the general election in November against Ronald Whitfield, who secured the Republican nomination in March after earning just 4,500 total votes.

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​Al green, Democratic primary, Establishment republicans, Texas republicans, Politics 

As the Trump administration and congressional Republicans work to lower Americans’ cost of living this year, they should be guided by a simple principle: All affordability is local.

Democrats and too many establishment Republicans still think they create jobs, economic growth, and opportunity. Whenever high prices pinch consumers, lawmakers huddle up with K Street lobbyists to see what big business, big tech, and big banks want … and give it to them.

Yet they scratch their heads as corporate profits surge while working families’ monthly bills only climb higher.

Corporate consolidation makes life easier for lawyers, lobbyists, bureaucrats, and politicians. But it makes life much more expensive for everyone else.

We’ve seen this pattern again and again. Obamacare. Federal student loans. Subsidized mortgages. The Build Back Better inflation bomb. These policies doled out billions to insiders and middlemen but left everyday Americans holding the bag.

Instead of writing more checks this time, congressional Republicans should focus on rewriting the rules that are contributing to our affordability crisis. Federal regulations — mostly imposed by deep-state bureaucrats, not elected legislators — cost the U.S. economy more than $2 trillion per year. That’s five times the size of last year’s Working Families Tax Cuts legislation.

Reforming these regulations would lower prices, spur job-creating investment, and produce the broadly shared prosperity Republicans promised on the campaign trail.

Their first priority should be to reform the federal permitting process, an issue the White House and Congress have been working on together. However, despite real progress to improve efficiency and remove unnecessary red tape, the response has yet to match the urgency of the moment.

The permitting process has become a punchline — it’s wasteful, corrupt, and self-defeating. Federal agencies are blocking massive, urgent infrastructure investments in energy, mining, defense, transportation, AI computing, and manufacturing. Sometimes it seems like the U.S. economy’s greatest rival is not China, but our own government.

Our energy needs alone warrant wholesale regulatory reform. The United States today has neither the energy production nor transmission capacity we need to keep up with AI-driven electricity demand. New rules should be streamlined, transparent, and, most of all, fair. Our economic competitiveness and national security depend on these investments. A more prosperous, more secure future is not going to build itself.

The second priority, related to the first, is housing. President Trump has already signed executive orders to reform regulations that are holding back new home construction. Congress needs to follow his lead. The inability of working families to afford homes today has metastasized into more than an economic drag — it’s becoming a social crisis.

Current housing regulations seem intentionally designed to drive up home prices. This is great for well-off Boomers who see their homes primarily as 401(k)s with finished basements. But it’s catastrophic for young couples hoping to get married and start families.

By some estimates, the U.S. housing shortage is already more than 4 million units. Federal regulations should not stand in the way of new home building — nor should Washington subsidize state and local governments’ regulatory obstruction.

RELATED: A ‘Soviet’ housing fix from Congress

Michal Fludra/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Federal rules drive up costs in every sector of our economy. Health care, education, business, and occupational licensure all present golden opportunities to reform-minded policy entrepreneurs in the House and Senate.

And while they’re fixing regulations in those industries, Congress should also key in on the industry that ties them all together: banking. Right now, federal banking regulations are tilted in favor of the big banks, unfairly hamstringing some community banks and forcing many others to merge or close.

Industries dominated by huge corporations always seem robust. But as we saw during the financial crisis — and as we see every time an artificial bubble bursts — healthy, consumer-friendly markets are diverse and decentralized.

While outright bank failures have remained relatively limited in recent years, community banks are steadily disappearing through mergers, consolidations, and voluntary closures. In 1990, there were around 12,000 community banks scattered across the U.S. Today, only around 4,000 remain.

According to the FDIC, the number of community banks continues to decline each quarter, with 44 of them either closing or being absorbed by larger institutions in the fourth quarter of 2025 alone. That trend matters because community banks are not interchangeable with Wall Street giants.

Corporate consolidation makes life easier for lawyers, lobbyists, bureaucrats, and politicians. But it makes life much more expensive for everyone else.

Too many federal regulations treat all banks the same, putting compliance burdens on small lenders that only megabanks can afford.

These regulations squeeze resources out of the local financial institutions that growing communities rely on. Especially in the AI era, the real-world human economy will depend more than ever on personal relationships, community solidarity, and interpersonal trust. Right now, Washington disadvantages those things and the community banks defined by them.

The American people are ready to make our economy affordable again — as soon as Washington lets them. Streamlining federal rules will allow Americans to build, drill, mine, invest and lend, and compute and compete as never before.

Lawmakers must remember that a more affordable economy is a more local, more cooperative, and more human economy. Regulatory reform — from national infrastructure to community banking — is an investment in America’s most powerful and undervalued resource: our people.

Editor’s note: This article appeared originally at The American Mind.

​Big banks, Big business, Big tech, Corporate profits, Cost of living, Democrats, Obamacare, Trump administration, Opinion & analysis, Inflation, Affordability, Housing 

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton enjoyed more than one victory on Tuesday night.

In addition to defeating incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the GOP Senate primary runoff election by over 380,000 votes, Paxton saw his endorsee, Texas state Sen. Mayes Middleton, win the Texas attorney general Republican primary runoff.

With over 97% of the expected votes in, Middleton — a proud supporter of the America First agenda — had secured 55.2% of the vote. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), a former deputy to Paxton who who turned coat and pushed for Paxton’s resignation, trailed behind by 10.4 percentage points.

‘Republican obstructionists have to be done away with.’

Roy noted just before 10 p.m. that he had called Middleton to congratulate him. The victor thanked the fourth-term congressman online, writing, “Looking forward to working with you to keep Texas Red and see you pass the SAVE Act.”

Middleton — an oilman, seventh-generation Texan, and father of four who was endorsed by numerous conservative groups including the Texas Family Project, Moms for America Action, and the True Texas Project — pledged in his campaign to “lead the charge to secure our border, protect Texas kids, ensure fairness in girls’ and women’s sports, protect Texas taxpayers and consumers, ensure strict election integrity, and root out waste, fraud, and abuse from our government.”

RELATED: Trump-endorsed Paxton DEMOLISHES Cornyn in GOP Senate primary runoff

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

He also said that he would work to eradicate Sharia law in the state and abolish the H-1B visa program.

During the campaign, Roy and some of his backers characterized Middleton as inexperienced. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Middleton’s former primary opponent, Aaron Reitz, were among those who countered this framing.

Patrick repeatedly stressed that “Mayes Middleton is one of the most conservative members in Texas Senate history — a proven, unapologetic MAGA conservative who fights and wins,” who will “work hand-in-hand with the Governor, the Legislature, the Department of Justice, and President Trump to make the Texas Attorney General’s office the strongest in the nation.”

“Some criticize Mayes by saying he lacks the legal experience to lead. But that argument doesn’t hold up,” Reitz noted in an op-ed. “For nearly twenty years, Mayes has practiced law as a civil attorney, focusing on oil and gas transactions and litigation, while at the same time serving in state government.”

Middleton criticized Roy in turn for previously turning on President Donald Trump, characterizing the lawmaker as a backstabber who “betrayed MAGA.”

Roy — who enjoyed the backing of elements of the GOP establishment including Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) — stressed that he is aligned with Trump and has a stellar conservative voting record. However, some evidently have not forgotten that he opposed efforts to challenge the 2020 election results in Congress; accused Trump of “clearly impeachable conduct” after the Jan. 6, 2021, protests; and backed Trump 2024 presidential primary challenger Gov. Ron DeSantis.

After winning the presidential election in 2024, Trump suggested that Texas Republicans should primary Roy, accusing Roy of “getting in the way, as usual,” and noting that “Republican obstructionists have to be done away with.”

Middleton will now face off with Texas state Sen. Nathan Johnson, a litigator and composer, endorsed by the Houston LGBTQ+ Political Caucus and multiple gun-grab groups, who contributed scores to the anime series “Dragon Ball Z.”

Johnson has pledged to lead “the fight against the MAGA machine’s assault on our individual rights, against the looting of our tax dollars, and against federal overreach.”

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​Attorney general, Chip roy, Donald trump, Election, Maga, Mayes middleton, Texas, Politics 

Poping ain’t easy. After the turbulence of the Benedict and Francis papacies, during which the Vatican largely wrestled with internal challenges, the unique and contested authority of the bishop of Rome finds all of Christianity at an uncanny crossroads.

Just since Leo’s ascension, AI has developed to a point that — for many millions of people worldwide — intuitively underscores the failure of modernity’s greatest power structures to justify humanity’s continued existence and our continued individual existence as human beings. Science, economics, ideology, art, philosophy, ethics — none of these grand pillars of modern life can any longer give a defense of humanity adequate to bring silence and stillness, or even a “strategic pause,” to the juggernaut.

Already, of course, there are instant criticisms.

Desperate for something to cling to in the storm, many find themselves thirsting for exactly what modernity seemed to tell them to abandon: a guiding spiritual authority over their personal and social lives, one they are sure they can trust as a matter of life and death. With so many of the cults and sects born in the modern age fizzling out or mid-collapse, the obvious place to turn is the nemesis of the self-determining modern person: so-called “organized religion,” which for most in the West, especially America, still means the Christian church.

The depth of cognitive discomfort and embarrassment required of so many to return to the one place they had been convinced most to walk away from is so intense that the pressure on would-be spiritual authorities is reaching historic proportions. How to speak in a way neither too harsh nor too gentle? How to communicate effectively in an era of communication overload and parasocial relationships at scale? How to take needful risks of rhetoric and persuasion without provoking a devastating backlash, without being totally misunderstood, without becoming just another huckster cleverly hooking people with yet another sensationalistic, over-optimistic or over-pessimistic scenario?

Pope Leo, among many others of lesser public exposure, confronts all these questions and more. And in one document (so far), “Magnifica Humanitas,” he is expected to somehow answer them all or at least point the way to an answer as grand and comprehensive as the cyber ultimatum — justify yourself or say goodbye — being thrown down at the trembling feet of the human race.

Great expectations

This is obviously way too much weight to be piled atop one letter from one person — even this 50-page letter (an encyclical, addressed to the bishops of the Church in communion with Rome) and this person, the first American pope and the first with a degree in mathematics. It could have been guessed that Leo himself is cognizant of the good and not-so-good reasons for these towering expectations, and in this respect his much-hyped encyclical does not disappoint. It is a masterful exercise in managing constraints to preserve freedom of movement for a few carefully chosen steps. Leo had to show that his approach to the question of technology flowed with not only his predecessors but the Church as a whole, reaching back to its ancient origins. He had to speak in terms Christians generically could at least understand and find in the text some basis for sympathy and respect. He had to affirm his office’s claim to spiritual authority, and the Catholic Church’s and its tradition, without much further alienating any significant audiences, but while paying special homage to the constituencies he believes are key to mounting a successful bid for spiritual authority of any kind over AI-age technology. And he had to extend an olive branch of sorts to at least some of the most powerful of the AI technologists — a treacherously political task, given the increasingly naked opposition he faces from the Thiel/Palantir wing of tech and the increasingly naked worshipfulness toward AIs shown by tech’s effective altruist wing.

All this he managed to do, focusing his remarks on the core Christian understanding that humanity is alone the image of God on Earth, made capable by Christ of attaining to the very heights of sacredness intended for us by the Father. This purpose, this being, however deeply marred by the Fall, preserves for us individually and together a magnificent grandeur that nothing made by our own mortal hands can possibly surpass. Only by using our tools to degrade ourselves to radical new lows can those tools establish over us an overawing mastery that appears in our disfigured and diminished state to be godlike — to be, in fact, the real deity, the only deity.

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To avoid this fate worse than death, Leo brings the reader to the Catholic social teaching tradition. In sum, that teaching describes our inalienable sacredness in terms of a universal and particular human dignity that must be protected and cultivated among all, even and especially the most wretched, through the affirmative protection of full access to life’s ancient fundaments (work, rest, shelter, movement, family, etc.) and newer social staples (intellectual property, software, hardware, etc.). Rather than a set of principles, Leo shows the teaching as an embodied and active social practice, one that harbors and manifests the human grandeur bestowed by God as a common good that we, and the Church, are duty-bound to sow into.

Lovers and haters

Already, of course, there are instant criticisms. The feed has begun to fill up with many clever and incisive critical commentaries of “Magnifica Humanitas.” It is asserted that Leo’s cozying up to Anthropic is both cynical and naive. It is claimed that the pope spends so much time on social organization that he fails to dig into the fundamental questions about how a person is supposed to locate his own personal significance or identity apart from the community or the cyber collective. Some accuse Leo of simping for the political left by defending illegal “migration.” Others take issue with his insistence on a clear phenomenological and ontological distinction between the capabilities of humans and the capabilities of AIs. The list goes on and on.

Above and beyond all these objections, however, it would simply be absurd to think that any pope, making a respectable go at fulfilling even only his “first among equals” role ascribed before the schism to the bishop of Rome, would not issue a theological and anthropological “effort post” on the present technological situation that looks more or less like “Magnifica Humanitas.” While Leo’s repeated emphasis on the conciliar and synodal character of the Church could uncharitably be seen as mere theological window dressing for socialist-style social justice, Orthodox and high-church Protestant Christians, to take a few examples, could see at a higher level a papal recommitment to an embodied experience and understanding of spiritual authority that is both well grounded and well distributed, not concentrated at a single earthly point from which every drop of trustworthy guiding must radiate down.

Yet it is true that Leo chose his emphases for reasons not all Christians or Americans would prefer to privilege most, and in the spirit of developing some of the more useful themes left outside the encyclical, I would venture — as someone who covered all these issues over five years ago, complete with passages heavily citing the same Romano Guardini quoted in “Magnifica Humanitas,” in my book “Human Forever” — a few additional reflections.

Frontier observations

Firstly, Leo makes much use of a contrast between two forms of building — that of the Tower of Babel, which seeks to consummate human pride by tooling a total, united identity, and that of the walls of Jerusalem, which were patiently reassembled under the repentant leadership of Nehemiah. Some people, especially exceptional ones, will always seek to build for the whole of humanity by building at scale for a whole-of-humanity use case, and indeed this is not the only or the crucial modality. At the same time, the metaphor of rebuilding Jerusalem suggests a unity of the city of God and the city of man that many will experience as unattainable even on a more patient timeline. Historically, Christians in this position have ventured to society’s frontiers, “empty” spaces where the barest habitations can be prepared to protect and nourish the cleansing of the personal heart and the prayer for the salvation of the human race. And, historically, these habitations, which grew into monasteries, not infrequently became the seeds of villages and townships — the city of God the germ of the city of man. Ours is a moment perfect for the building of monasteries, into which many who feel incapable of living in the world will flow if they are not enclosed in a system of “assisted suicide” at scale.

Secondly, work, value, and society — these relational things at the center of Leo’s presentation of human worth — take on still higher stakes when energy, memory, and money increasingly converge, as they are now clearly doing. Obviously a tool that asserts a monopoly on the choice of tools — where “everything’s computer,” as Trump says, and AI is “the only thing we have,” as Thiel says — is not neutral. More interestingly, however, what choice of tools do we have to cultivate and sustain a socioeconomic life richly rooted in the full complement of salutary architectures? Today, any worthwhile answer to this question has to begin with Bitcoin — where the unity of energy, memory, and money is manifested in a tool that isn’t AI and that just about anyone can start using right now to enable friends, family, parishioners, and even monks to build and strengthen one another without relying on top-down, centralized control. Indeed, if Bitcoin is not used in this way, it is easy to see how it will be seized upon to undergird even stronger and more sweeping forms of top-down control.

Thirdly, Leo recognizes the limitations of any papal encyclical to address these matters. How to know who to trust in seeking and receiving authoritative spiritual wisdom is a matter increasingly hard to settle from a primarily or mainly intellectual approach, such as considering the persuasiveness of a person’s presentational management of concepts, terms, and ideas. So does the risk of hinging humanity’s prospects on intellectual persuasiveness become acute, driving the seeking and the receiving deeper into the direct experience over time of face-to-face relationships with persons not legible from the increasingly disembodied “aerospace” of the field of intellectual presentation. Subsidiarity as a “principle” precipitates ultimately into relational and personal practices — beginning with their grounding not just on bottom-up practices of fraternity, but, even more fundamentally, on the rock of one’s own personal and interior humbled attention toward the moment-to-moment effort at cleaning out the chamber of the heart enough to receive the Holy Spirit.

Finally, while harmony between us and our own tools is not a pipe dream, it is a difficult matter of balance and degree tested by the deepest honesty about what rationales lurk in the hidden recesses of our hearts. Free will must involve trade-offs, often stark while rarely utterly absolute. The gradations thereof pertain increasingly to accepting that all choices in favor of merely human means at the expense of divine means make debits of treasure that can and do compound. The joyful sadness of accepting the prospect of divine forgiveness for the infirmity involved — and the dedication of the will to keeping this weakness in mind, even as our more merely human means are used even or especially unto the human good — is increasingly essential to maintaining a relatively more harmoniously balanced relationship between human-made and divine-made (or begotten) means.

​Tech, Pope leo xiv, Artificial intelligence