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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is taking action to remove ingestible fluoride prescription drugs for children off the market.

In a press release, the FDA said products that are swallowed offer significant risk to infants and toddlers, unlike toothpaste with fluoride or fluoride rinses.

The FDA also said the ingestion of fluoride products comes with risks like problems with the early development of the gut microbiome in childhood, thyroid disorders, weight gain, and decreased IQ. The federal agency provided links to several studies that point to worrying effects in children, especially in regard to their IQ.

A meta-analysis of studies related to fluoride ingestion and child IQ found an inverse association between fluoride measures in urine and drinking water versus children’s IQ.

RELATED: The abortion pill crisis Big Pharma doesn’t want you to see

Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo. Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

An inverse association is defined as a relationship where an increase in one variable leads to a decrease in another variable. Simply put, the more fluoride that was in urine samples and drinking water, the lower the measured child IQ was.

The meta-analysis looked at 74 studies from across the world and found that 64 (86%) reported inverse associations between fluoride exposure and measured children’s IQ.

‘The best way to prevent cavities in children is by avoiding excessive sugar intake and good dental hygiene.’

Michael Connett, an attorney who has sued the EPA over the fluoridation of drinking water, told Blaze News he was happy to see the idea finally come to fruition.

“I think it is an excellent decision, and long overdue,” Connett said.

Connett has been at odds with the federal government since at least 2016 when he filed a petition against the FDA on behalf of the Fluoride Action Network. The petition specifically targeted “unapproved prescription drugs” and claimed there was a large body of scientific and medical evidence that demonstrated fluoride supplements were neither safe nor effective.

FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, who was confirmed by the Senate in March, said he was instructing the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research to evaluate the evidence regarding the risks of systemic fluoride exposure. With a goal date of October 31 to complete a safety review, the Department of Health and Human Services said it would develop a set of best practices for dental hygiene for children at the same time.

“The best way to prevent cavities in children is by avoiding excessive sugar intake and good dental hygiene, not by altering a child’s microbiome. For the same reason that fluoride may kill bacteria on teeth, it may also kill intestinal bacteria important for a child’s health,” Makary said.

RELATED: 100 days of MAHA: What has Robert F. Kennedy Jr. done so far to make America healthy again?

The move comes as Utah became the first state to ban fluoride in its water in March.

Just last week, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his surgeon general, Joseph A. Ladapo, announced they were looking to become the second state to do so.

Ladapo said that proponents of fluoride in the water supply reminded him of the “Peanuts” character Linus, the little boy who carried around a blanket for emotional security.

“You know? Hold your blanket. But, unfortunately, you know, he is a kid. But what we have instead — we have professionals. There are doctors, dentists, [and] public health leaders who are holding on to fluoridation like that blanket,” Ladapo said during a press conference.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also said the recent decision “directly safeguards the health and development of our children.”

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There have been multiple air traffic control communication and radar malfunctions in recent days, prompting renewed concern about
risks in America’s skies and on its runways.

The Federal Aviation Administration acknowledged in a
series of statements that there was a telecommunications issue Friday at Philadelphia TRACON Area C, the air traffic control tower and radar facility at Philadelphia International Airport that guides aircraft into and out of Newark Liberty International Airport airspace.

Although the issue apparently lasted only 90 seconds, the FAA slowed aircraft in and out of Newark while ensuring that “redundancies were working as designed.” The ground stop
reportedly lasted around 45 minutes, and, according to the flight tracking site FlightAware, roughly 280 flights were delayed and 87 canceled at Newark as of late Sunday.

‘We use floppy discs. We use copper wires.’

A week earlier, the FAA similarly had to slow arrivals and departures on account of “telecommunications and equipment issues at Philadelphia TRACON.”

The New York Times
reported that air traffic controllers working the airspace around the Newark airport lost communications with planes for nearly 30 seconds. While 10 people reportedly should have been on duty to help coordinate traffic in the Newark airspace at the time, only four controllers were at their posts.

RELATED: Delta plane nearly collides with Air Force jet mid-flight near DC airport; investigation launched

Photo by KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy minced no words following the late April 28 incident, stating, “The system that we’re using in air traffic control is incredibly old. This system is 25, 30 years old. We use floppy discs. We use copper wires. The system that we’re using is not effective to control the traffic that we have in the airspace today.”

Stu Burguiere highlighted some of the technological artifacts the FAA still relies upon to regulate American airspace in his
BlazeTV documentary “Countdown to the Next Aviation Disaster.”

In addition to copper wires, Burguiere discussed “paper flight strips,” which Reason Foundation founder Robert Poole indicated are still used to track planes.

“It comes off a little printer at the controller’s workstation,” explained Poole.

Blaze News
previously reported that the FAA has attempted to update the paper system for over four decades, but the plans remain behind schedule and over budget.

Burguiere also took a look at a November 2023 FAA
report that indicated the agency is not only using floppy discs but employing equipment so old that there are no replacement parts available.

“Beacons used to determine the location of aircraft with working transponders,” the report reads. “Includes 331 units that are 28-46 years old. Many of these systems are pre-digital, and many parts are unavailable because the manufacturers no longer exist or no longer support these systems.”

After characterizing the systems in place as antiquated and faulty, Duffy said, “Of course it’s safe,” citing the kinds of reactive measures taken in Newark and elsewhere. While confident in the safety of American travel, Duffy appears both intolerant of further delays and unwilling to leave anything to chance.

— (@)

Duffy stated that “we must get the best safety technology in the hands of controllers as soon as possible” and indicated that the Trump administration is “working to ensure the current telecommunications equipment is more reliable in the New York area by establishing a more resilient and redundant configuration with the local exchange carriers.”

According to the FAA, Duffy and acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau are taking several actions to improve upon existing air traffic control systems, such as adding three high-bandwidth telecommunications connections between the New York-based Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System and the Philadelphia TRACON; replacing copper telecommunications connections with fiber-optic technology from this millennium; and deploying a temporary backup system to the Philadelphia TRACON to provide redundancy during the cable switchover.

‘It has to be fixed.’

Burguiere noted in his BlazeTV documentary that the FAA was not just way behind on critical technological upgrades but dangerously understaffed at critical hubs nationwide —
stressing that “with 77% of key facilities below the FAA’s own staffing threshold” as of December, “our skies are becoming a ticking time bomb.”

It appears that Duffy has also taken the dearth of talent at the FAA to heart. The transportation secretary and Rocheleau are apparently committed to increasing controller staffing.

RELATED: Videos: Terrifying moment Delta plane crashes, bursts into flames; passenger says airport’s runways were in ‘weird condition’

Katherine KY Cheng/Getty Images

The FAA indicated that the “area in the Philadelphia TRACON that handles Newark traffic has 22 fully certified controllers and 21 controllers and supervisors in training. Ten of those 21 controllers and supervisors are receiving on-the-job training. All 10 are certified on at least one position, and two are certified on multiple positions. We have a healthy pipeline with training classes filled through July 2026.”

Blaze News asked the FAA to comment about the nationwide issue of old and aging systems and the perceived problem of understaffing at the FAA and was directed to Duffy’s previous statements and
May 12 press conference regarding the incident at the Newark airport.

Regarding staffing, the FAA said in a statement obtained by Blaze News, “The FAA and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) collaborate to establish staffing goals for every facility, for every area in the facility, and for each shift. They update the goals yearly, and the goals are based on full staffing in the facility or area. There is a nationwide shortage of air traffic controllers, and the FAA for years has not met the staffing goal for the area that works Newark airspace.”

“The persistent low staffing levels and low training success rate at New York Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON), or N90, were contributing factors to moving control of the Newark airspace to the Philadelphia TRACON in 2024,” added the agency.

The airspace over Newark is far from the only domain experiencing troubles.

WAGA-TV
reported that over 600 flights were delayed Monday at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on account of what officials termed a “runway equipment issue.”

Duffy
told NBC News Monday, “I’m concerned about the whole airspace.”

“What you see in Newark is going to happen in other places across the country,” continued the transportation secretary. “It has to be fixed.”

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Criminal charges were being looked into regarding Letitia James’ allegedly fraudulent real estate deals — but now the investigation is official.

The FBI and U.S. attorney in Albany have launched a criminal investigation into the mortgage fraud claims against the New York attorney general.

The investigation follows a request that the DOJ investigate Letitia James, sent by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte. Pulte claims that James falsified records to get favorable loans on a home she purchased in 2023 in Virginia and a Brooklyn apartment James has owned since 2001.

“I mean, this is just chef’s kiss-type stuff,” Sara Gonzales of “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered” comments. “If these were her primary residences, then she should not have qualified to be New York attorney general, because of the rules for New York attorney general.”

“So which one is it, Tish, did you sign up to be New York attorney general under false pretenses, or did you try to sign a deal and lied to get a more favorable loan? Which one is it, because, either way, you’re a scumbag,” she continues, adding, “It couldn’t happen to a more deserving person.”

James accused President Trump of committing a similar act, although in his case, neither she nor anyone else could name a victim.

“We need a flowchart of all of the Trump indictments, all of the Trump legal trouble, because of all the lawfare that was waged against him, but she filed a civil lawsuit, just as a refresher, in September 2022 against President Trump, the Trump Organization, his three eldest children, alleging widespread fraud by inflating the value of real estate to secure, look at that, favorable loans and tax benefits,” Gonzales explains.

“So the thing that she accused President Trump of, she was doing the whole time,” she continues, adding, “Isn’t that interesting?”

Want more from Sara Gonzales?

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A May 12 court hearing in the Ashli Babbitt $30 million wrongful-death lawsuit against the federal government devolved into shouting by U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes, who lambasted Judicial Watch attorney Robert Sticht for the second time in 10 days.

The hearing was scheduled to consider a motion by Aaron Babbitt’s former attorney, Terrell N. Roberts III, who wants a 25% “charging lien” placed on the gross amount of any financial settlement. Judge Reyes rejected Roberts’ earlier request for a temporary restraining order combined with a settlement lien.

‘Judicial Watch does not a get fee out of this settlement.’

On May 2, attorneys disclosed that Judicial Watch, which represents Aaron Babbitt and his late wife’s estate, had reached a settlement agreement “in principle” with the U.S. Department of Justice. No terms were disclosed. A final agreement could be signed at any time but might take weeks to complete, attorneys said.

Roberts represented Babbitt from shortly after Babbitt’s wife was shot to death Jan. 6 by U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd. Roberts abandoned the case in late February 2022 but has been seeking up to 40% of the financial settlement negotiated by Judicial Watch. Babbitt was left to find new legal counsel after Roberts fired him as a client.

On May 6, Judicial Watch proposed that Roberts join in fee arbitration with the Attorney Client Arbitration Board of the District of Columbia Bar — an idea Roberts opposes.

Judicial Watch attorney Richard Driscoll said under D.C. Bar Rule 13, if one party requests it, arbitration is mandatory for both parties. Driscoll filed a petition for arbitration May 9 with the Attorney Client Arbitration Board. Roberts has 21 days to respond.

“The petition for arbitration that was filed with ACAB points out that he [Roberts] has asserted a lien for 40% on the recovery and that we dispute that, and therefore we’re asking the arbitration board to adjudicate that dispute,” Driscoll said.

“It’s in D.C. Bar Rule 13. It’s a condition of being a member of the D.C. Bar,” he said.

The loudest outburst by Judge Reyes came about 30 minutes into the hearing when Sticht complained that the ongoing fee dispute with Roberts is causing expensive delays in finalizing the case. Roberts first sought to intervene in the lawsuit and obtain a charging lien in February.

“This is crazy, and it is costing a lot money,” Sticht said. “And just so the court knows, for the record and all the press who may be on the telephone, Judicial Watch does not a get fee out of this settlement.”

Ashli Babbitt pleads with three U.S. Capitol Police officers to call for backup due to the angry crowd outside the Speaker’s Lobby on Jan. 6, 2021.

Photo by Tayler Hansen

Judge Reyes tried to cut Sticht off after he mentioned the media.

“Mr. Sticht, did I not just tell you that when I start talking, you stop?” Reyes asked.

“I’m sorry, your honor,” Sticht replied as the judge spoke over him.

“Stop talking when I’m talking,” Reyes shouted. “I have given you an opportunity to talk every single time you have asked. I have given every lawyer an opportunity to talk every single time they have asked in front of me, which is why my hearings sometimes go on for hours. The only thing I ask is that when I’m talking, you’re not.”

Zoom delays caused problem

Sticht tried to tell the judge that the cross-talk was due to a delay in audio and video over the Zoom teleconference system from Sticht’s California office. Reyes was having none of it.

“We have a delay, your honor. We have a delay,” Sticht said.

“All right, fine,” the judge replied. “Stop talking.”

Users of teleconference platforms such as Zoom, Webex, Google Meet, and GoTo Meeting often experience latency problems that cause uncomfortable audio and video delays. The results can include participants who speak over each other, video that goes out of sync with audio, video that freezes or skips, and screeching audio feedback if participants don’t mute the microphone when not speaking. Those phenomena launched a barrage of teleconferencing memes on social media.

‘It’s a really simple rule around here.’

During the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. District Courts offered audio dial-in lines for hearings in the E. Barrett Prettyman United States Courthouse in Washington, D.C. Judge Reyes opened public access audio for the Babbitt lawsuit hearings.

During a tense May 2 court hearing, Reyes repeatedly lost her temper with Sticht. She constantly pronounced his surname “Stitch.” When he made a remark about Roberts getting his case information from a reporter who called for comment on the alleged settlement, Reyes lowered the boom.

RELATED: New video covers 19 minutes in the Jan. 6 life and death of Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt

Ashli Babbitt celebrated her 35th and final birthday on Oct. 10, 2020.Photo courtesy of Aaron Babbitt

“When I tell you just stop talking, you stop talking. And you are not going to make snide remarks in your responses to my questions that are not only snide but don’t answer my question,” Reyes said. “OK? So my question is not about where Mr. Roberts gets his information.”

The May 12 hearing did not go much better.

About 30 minutes into the proceeding, Sticht said the lawsuit was making headway toward possible settlement when Roberts came along with a “crazy idea of a charging lien.”

“One complaint, though, Judge, is that these resources are being spent frivolously: mine, the court, the government, and we’re delaying the inevitable settlement,” Sticht said. “I think everybody needs to get out of it and let us finish our job. When there is a settlement fund, there is nothing that prevents Mr. Roberts from chasing that, wherever it is.”

The judge kept interrupting, apparently not realizing that the Zoom teleconferencing platform the court used to connect to Sticht in California had audio and video delay. This resulted in repeated cross-talk episodes and, in the case of the judge, flashes of anger.

After four intonations of “Mr. Stitch” from the judge, the Judicial Watch attorney said, “If I may, your honor. The CH is pronounced with a K.”

Judge Reyes again took after Sticht.

“When I say your name, that means you stop talking,” she said. “It’s a really simple rule around here. When I start talking, everyone else stops. Now I honestly don’t know if this, if you interrupting judges, is what you do all the time or if I just get the particular joy of it, but from now on when I start talking, please stop.

RELATED: President Trump says he’s ‘going to take a look at’ fatal Jan. 6 shooting of Ashli Babbitt

On the eve of the third anniversary of Jan. 6, Aaron Babbitt looks out on North San Diego Bay near the home he shared with his wife, Ashli.

Joseph M. Hanneman/Blaze News

“Secondly, we are here to decide a legal argument. Do not start anything with for the press. We are not here for the press; we’re here for the legal argument.”

Brian J. Boyd, a DOJ civil rights trial attorney, told the judge the government objects to the part of Roberts’ motion that would impinge on the government’s sovereign immunity.

“He is seeking injunctive relief against the United States under the FTCA [Federal Tort Claims Act] to preclude us from disbursing funds from Treasury,” Boyd said. “We’ve raised this issue with him. We did so again on May 6 in the joint meet and confer. He has yet to explain to us under what jurisdiction or what authority he believes he can pursue injunctive relief against the United States here.”

‘He wants the full amount of the fee when he didn’t perform.’

Judge Reyes dismissed the government from Roberts’ motion.

The judge entered an order that gives Roberts a limited intervention in the case for the purpose of receiving timely notices of the signed settlement agreement, the request to the U.S. Treasury for funds, and the eventual payment of funds.

Sticht said he would speak with Aaron Babbitt about the proposed solution to have Sticht divert 25% of the settlement into a trust fund until the Attorney Client Arbitration Board rules on the fee dispute. Judicial Watch told the judge that under the Federal Tort Claims Act, Roberts could receive no more than 25% of the settlement.

“I don’t have my client here in my office, your honor, so I can’t get his consent, but I’ll say that I agree the court should not get involved in the underlying fee dispute. I don’t know any case anywhere where an attorney claims he fired a client and then he wants the full amount of the fee when he didn’t perform. I just don’t know how that’s going to fly.”

Still, Roberts made a last pitch for the 40% contingency fee contained in his January 2021 engagement agreement with Aaron Babbitt.

“I believe that I’m entitled to the contingency fee that I agreed to, subject to the law,” Roberts said.

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​Politics 

President Joe Biden’s physical decline was reportedly so rapid that his team discussed putting him a wheelchair if he was re-elected, especially if he suffered another fall.

According to a new book from CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’ Alex Thompson, Biden aides discussed the president’s serious physical decline, with others in his inner circle reportedly concerned about the degeneration of his spine.

The 46th president’s “halting walk” was of particular concern to his staff, as was the potential of Biden suffering a devastating fall. The fears reportedly came after Biden tripped over a sandbag at the Air Force Academy in June 2023, which resulted in increased precautions over his walking paths and stage layouts.

According to Axios, Biden’s team tried to implement shorter walking routes for the president, increasingly had him wear sneakers, and insisted on the installation of handrails up to the stage for his appearances. These changes were coupled with visual briefings to ensure that the president knew his particular path for each event. The situation was reportedly so dire that the briefings were described as an effort to ensure that Biden knew every step he was expected to take.

Biden’s doctor, Kevin O’Connor, allegedly even had concerns that another fall could necessitate a wheelchair for the president.

CNN Presidential Debate at the CNN Studios on June 27, 2024, in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

RELATED: When the mainstream media’s left-wing bias costs them credibility

Staff and O’Connor’s concerns over Biden’s “severe” levels of “physical deterioration” inspired internal discussions about the use of a wheelchair, but staff reportedly did not want to put the president’s health first and were willing to wait “until after the election.”

The president’s team reportedly said it was politically untenable to have him use a wheelchair during the re-election campaign.

The president’s physician expressed even more concerns, believing that if Biden suffered another fall, it would be a “difficult recovery.”

The doctor was so worried that he reportedly joked at times that he was the only one trying to keep the president alive, whereas Biden’s staff was trying to kill him. O’Connor allegedly wanted Biden to have more rest than presidential aides were allowing, and his diagnoses were even at odds with what Biden staffers were saying about his health.

For example, White House aides said the president’s poor gait was a result of a foot fracture, but O’Connor had said that “both small fractures of his foot are completely healed” and that “this injury has healed as expected.”

As well, O’Connor said publicly that Biden’s posture problems were from “significant spinal arthritis.”

An anonymous Biden spokesperson told Axios that his “medical exam made clear that he had a stiffened gait caused, in part, by wear and tear to his spine — but that no special treatment was necessary and that it had not worsened.”

“He was transparent about this, and it was far from ‘severe,'” the statement continued. “Yes, there were physical changes as he got older, but evidence of aging is not evidence of mental incapacity.”

The spokesperson concluded, “We are still waiting for someone, anyone, to point out where Joe Biden had to make a presidential decision or make a presidential address where he was unable to do his job because of mental decline.”

RELATED: Who can lead the Democrats out of the wilderness?

‘Those who claimed nothing was wrong are politically and perhaps literally blind.’

Corporate and liberal media are “wholly guilty” of “failing to show courage to report out what was happening before our very eyes,” said Curtis Houck, managing editor of MRC NewsBusters.

Houck told Blaze News, “Those who claimed nothing was wrong are politically and perhaps literally blind, and those who knew but bowed to political pressures are guilty of the highest order of cowardice.”‘

CNN’s Tapper, who wrote the book — “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again” — has been criticized for on-air confrontations in which he accused others of lacking a medical background when pointing out the president’s deterioration.

In October 2020, Tapper accused Lara Trump of mocking Biden’s “stutter” when she attempted to refer to a “cognitive decline.”

Houck added that without a media “cover-up,” Vice President Kamala Harris likely would not have been the Democratic nominee in 2024.

“The criticism will be of Tapper and Thompson and their sources withholding key anecdotes that would have further accelerated Biden’s exit and allowed for a longer runway for whoever the Democratic nominee would have been, because it certainly wouldn’t have been Kamala Harris.”

Blaze News reached out to the Office of Joe and Jill Biden regarding claims made in the upcoming book. This article will be updated with any applicable responses.

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​Biden, Joe biden, News, President, Wheelchair, Cognitive decline, Cnn, Jake tapper, White house, Politics 

A Nebraska father reportedly killed his entire family and himself in what authorities suspect was a triple murder-suicide. The dad allegedly murdered his wife and children on the same day as his son’s high school graduation — and just days after being released from a mental hospital.

Around 9:45 a.m. Saturday, deputies with the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office reportedly responded to an emergency at a home in Johnson Lake.

‘But my husband tries to kill himself … a lot.’

Deputies found the dead bodies of four individuals “with fatal knife wounds,” the Nebraska State Patrol said in a press release. Police allegedly also discovered a knife at the grisly crime scene.

Police identified the deceased individuals as 42-year-old Jeremy Koch, his 41-year-old wife, Bailey Koch, and their sons, 18-year-old Hudson Koch and 16-year-old Asher Koch.

RELATED: Boy, 15, claims brother killed ‘whole family’ before killing himself. But sister, 11, survives — and tells different story.

Marccophotou00a0viau00a0iStock / Getty Images Plus

Just days before the tragedy, Bailey Koch launched a GoFundMe campaign titled “Jeremy’s Battle: Mental Health Support Needed.”

“But my husband tries to kill himself … a lot,” Bailey wrote.

She noted that Jeremy attempted suicide four times, including a near-fatal collision in 2012 during which “he drove straight into a semi on the highway.”

Bailey said her husband was diagnosed with severe depression in 2009.

The wife said Jeremy went seven years “without experiencing dark thoughts” until July 2024.

She said that because of her husband’s mental illness, he could not consistently work at the family’s landscaping and greenhouse services business.

RELATED: How teacher’s alleged grooming of student led to marriage-ending affair, chilling suicide pact, possible 105-year prison term

D-Keine via iStock / Getty Images

Bailey wrote, “In March, just a couple months ago, I woke to Jeremy shaking me awake saying, ‘Something is wrong.’ He was standing over my bed with a knife ready to end his life.”

The mother said she was able to “talk him down and into accepting help.”

Jeremy was admitted to the Richard Young Hospital for inpatient mental health treatment for the fourth time.

She said her husband refused to eat or drink while at the hospital and was “slowly completing suicide.”

Bailey said Jeremy was released from the hospital on Thursday so he could attend his son’s high school graduation.

“But it appears Jeremy is reacting negatively to our attempt with a new mental health med … one he’s been on for a whole three nights,” she wrote.

Bailey continued, “And yes, he’s having suicidal thoughts, so he had some tears of frustration and sadness.”

The wife noted that she was not going to bring Jeremy back to the mental hospital until after Hudson’s graduation.

Bailey thanked those who had donated to the GoFundMe campaign.

“Oh my heart, you guys!!! I cannot thank you all enough for the support … financial, through messages of support and suggestions, and through prayers,” she wrote. “We feel you holding us as we fight this battle and know God placed you in our lives, so we feel His presence.”

The crowdfunding campaign ended on Sunday after raising more than $20,000.

RELATED: Death of Hollywood actor’s daughter ruled suicide, parents suspect something far more sinister: ‘Her body tells a different story’

gorodenkoff via iStock / Getty Images Plus

News Channel Nebraska reported that Lane and Peggy Kugler — Bailey’s father and mother and the grandparents of the two teen boys — said in a Facebook post: “What I saw will haunt me the rest of my life.”

The Kuglers said they were the first to discover their loved ones dead — “lying in their beds.”

Bailey was a special education teacher with Holdrege Public Schools.

“Our Holdrege school community is grieving after a tragic event that has deeply affected us all,” the school district stated. “Our hearts are with everyone impacted.”

The sons attended Cozad High School, where Hudson was supposed to graduate Saturday.

“Cozad Schools was made aware of a tragic situation that will deeply affect our Cozad community,” the school district said. “Our thoughts are with all those impacted during this incredibly difficult time.”

Bailey also said Hudson was supposed to move to California for a “three-year bonsai apprenticeship” after graduating high school.

Asher was a freshman in high school and a “rockstar golfer on the varsity team.”

Bailey said, “Proud parents here.”

You can watch a local newscast from KLKN-TV here about the tragedy.

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An alarming development from the depths of the media swamp has been brought to light by UnHerd’s Emily Jashinsky, who dropped a bombshell this week: Leaked documents expose Punchbowl News for offering corporations “editorial influence” — for the right price.

Jashinsky posted a brief overview of the expose on X, writing: “Breaking Points got ahold of a leaked pitch deck from Punchbowl News. The document reveals how they allow corporations to buy influence over editorial decisions.”

“WH told us several subscriptions were canceled by the Trump admin as well. We also have their numbers: They’ve charged corporate sponsors $210,000 for a week of email ads. You can see the pricing sheet, with subscriber numbers and open rates below,” Jashinsky continued.

Christopher Bedford, Blaze Media’s D.C. correspondent and senior editor for politics, isn’t surprised in the slightest.

“It’s the new journalism, same as the old journalism,” Bedford tells Matthew Peterson and Jill Savage on “Blaze News Tonight.”

“Punchbowl are essentially unregistered lobbyists,” he continues. “If Punchbowl was good at its job, then corporations wouldn’t actually need to hire lobbyists, they would be able to read that newsletter, maybe pay a premium.”

“What they often do, they push these different issues, advocacy things, they push their agenda, they spread Capitol Hill gossip, which is, you know, fun, but not necessarily that helpful, and they create all these false cliffs and these false deadlines,” he adds.

But that’s not all.

“Their reporting has been suffering,” Bedford explains. “Pedaling influence, selling influence, it’s kind of the game. And for so much of Washington, it’s really disgusting.”

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​Agenda, Blaze media, Blaze news tonight, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Blaze podcast network, Blaze podcasts, Blazetv, Camera phone, Christopher bedford, Corrupt dc, Free, Jill savage, Journalism, Lobbyists, Matthew peterson, Politics, Propaganda, Punchbowl news, Sharing, The swamp, Upload, Video, Video phone, Washington dc, Youtube.com 

Democrats and their media allies now argue that members of Congress hold a newly invented constitutional right to storm U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities. Their claim? Elected office grants them authority to resist arrest, trespass on federal property, and even assault law enforcement — all in the name of “oversight.”

This claim fails both legally and morally. The members involved should face prosecution for any crimes they committed, along with disciplinary action in the House of Representatives. For too long, the political class has treated immigration enforcement as a mere policy disagreement — as if wanting laws enforced and wanting them ignored were morally equivalent. In doing so, the left has normalized the historically abnormal: mass illegal immigration and the sabotage of our deportation systems. It’s time to treat these actions for what they are — criminal subversion of U.S. law.

No one gets to use ‘oversight’ as a pretext for criminal behavior.

Start with what happened last week in Newark, New Jersey. The instigators included New Jersey Democratic Reps. LaMonica McIver, Bonnie Watson Coleman, and Rob Menendez Jr., along with Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. Baraka was arrested for trespassing and defying multiple warnings to leave the premises. According to Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, body camera footage shows “members of Congress assaulting our ICE enforcement officers, including body-slamming a female ICE officer.” DHS plans to release the video soon.

The Democrats have mounted two defenses. First, they claim victimhood — insisting they broke no laws. That argument will not survive video evidence.

Second, they assert an absolute right to enter ICE facilities without warning under their oversight authority. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee, defended the stunt by denouncing ICE as “Trump’s stormtroopers” and promising “more oversight — and more unannounced visits.”

Thompson and others cite an appropriations law that says, “Nothing in this section may be construed to require a Member of Congress to provide prior notice of the intent to enter a facility … for the purpose of conducting oversight.”

That phrase — “conducting oversight” — is the entire ballgame.

The fact is, oversight powers do not belong to individual members of Congress. They belong to the full House, delegated through formal committees led by majority-party chairmen. Minority members cannot issue subpoenas or demand access on their own. Without authorization from Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.), the Democrats on the Homeland Security Committee had no legal basis to enter — let alone rush — a secure ICE facility.

ICE’s past policy of accommodating visits reflects executive discretion, not any congressional right. No one gets to use “oversight” as a pretext for criminal behavior. Even with proper authorization, no member of Congress holds the right to use force to conduct an inspection. This is a political argument masquerading as a legal one.

U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba has indicated she will proceed with prosecution. Her decision should rest solely on the facts — not the convenient legal fiction of “oversight amnesty.” As Bennie Thompson himself once said when chairing the January 6 select committee, “No one is above the law.”

Congress should not let this incident pass without consequences. While expulsion may prove unlikely due to the two-thirds vote requirement, the House can and should remove these members from their committee assignments. Rep. McIver currently sits on the Homeland Security Committee, where Secretary Kristi Noem is scheduled to testify this week. Let her watch from the hallway.

​Opinion & analysis, Immigration, Immigration and customs enforcement, Ice, Newark new jersey, Lamonica mciver, Bonnie watson coleman, Rob menendez, Ras baraka, Arrest, Oversight project, Oversight, Rights, Bennie thompson, Mark green, Donald trump, Mass deportations, Federal courts, Alina habba 

Inflation dipped to a four-year low despite tariff uncertainty, indicating consumer prices have barely been affected by President Donald Trump’s trade war.

The annual inflation in April fell to 2.3%, which is the lowest rate since February 2021. Although Trump’s tariff policies sparked fears that prices would skyrocket, the annualized inflation rate during Trump’s second term so far is only at 1.6%, which is considerably slower compared to former President Joe Biden’s term, which saw an 8.6% annualized inflation rate during the first 18 months.

Trump also struck two trade deals in the last week with the United Kingdom and China, alleviating consumers’ concerns about market volatility.

RELATED: Rand Paul’s anti-tariff crusade was doomed — and rightly so

Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

‘Every dollar is going further and workers are able to keep more of their hard-earned paychecks!’

Americans are also enjoying lower costs for essential goods like gas and groceries. Average energy prices have fallen about 1.5% since January, and food prices declined in April for the first time since Trump was president in November 2020.

RELATED: Vance casts tiebreaking Senate vote after Republicans join Democrats to tank Trump’s tariffs

Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

The cost of apparel also fell 0.2% in April despite a slight 0.4% uptick in March. Automakers are also relatively unaffected by tariffs, with the cost of new vehicles remaining unchanged, while used car prices fell by 0.5%.

“For the last several years, hardworking families have faced an affordability crisis,” Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said in a statement Tuesday. “Finally, with [President Trump] at the helm, Americans are breathing a sigh of relief — every dollar is going further and workers are able to keep more of their hard-earned paychecks!”

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​Inflation, Donald trump, Scott bessent, Lori chavez-deremer, Tariffs, Department of treasury, Department of labor, Trade war, China, United kingdom, Joe biden, Cost of living, Cost go goods, Egg prices, Gas prices, Politics 

The Democratic National Convention voted to void David Hogg’s election in a late-night vote on Monday, just months after he was elected to serve as vice chair in February.

Hogg has been the subject of scrutiny both on the national stage and within the DNC. In recent weeks, reports of infighting and criticisms of Hogg have circulated, indicating an increasingly tense and disorganized Democratic Party.

‘I ran to be DNC vice chair to help make the Democratic Party better, not to defend an indefensible status quo that has caused voters in almost every demographic group to move away from us.’

Despite reports suggesting Hogg’s leadership was unwelcome, the DNC said the vote to void Hogg’s election was based on a procedural challenge, arguing that he was improperly elected in the first place.

Hogg disputes this claim, saying that he was challenging the status quo within the DNC and attempting to reform the party, which outraged old-guard Democrats.

“Today, the DNC took its first steps to remove me from my position as vice chair at large,” Hogg said in a statement. “While this vote was based on how the DNC conducted its officers’ elections, which I had nothing to do with, it is also impossible to ignore the broader context of my work to reform the party, which loomed large over this vote.”

“I ran to be DNC vice chair to help make the Democratic Party better, not to defend an indefensible status quo that has caused voters in almost every demographic group to move away from us,” Hogg added.

After the Democrats’ devastating loss in the 2024 presidential election, Hogg emerged as a reformer aiming to identify the DNC’s shortcomings that contributed to President Donald Trump’s landslide victory. Hogg’s damage control consisted of harsh pivots and even flat-out rejections of political and cultural norms, like cancel culture and wokeness, which Democrats have strongly supported in the past.

In a recent appearance on “Real Time with Bill Maher,” Hogg said Democrats hemorrhaged young men because their party was too judgmental and caused them to feel as though they were constantly walking on eggshells.

“We’ve created a culture where we say, well, if you say the wrong thing, you’re excommunicated,” Hogg said. “And that’s just not how human beings work. Nobody is perfect.”

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​David hogg, Dnc, Democratic national convention, Democratic party, Kamala harris, Donald trump, Wokeness, Cancel culture, Bill maher, Politics 

Liberal activists and media personalities have long championed America’s acceptance of refugees, especially from terrorist hotbeds like Afghanistan and Syria. They characterized criticism of this acceptance — particularly that born of concerns about national security threats — as racist, xenophobic, and un-Christian, and framed the Trump administration’s targeting of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program earlier this year as immoral.

Support for bringing in persecuted people from afar suddenly crumbled Monday after the Trump administration welcomed 59 white Afrikaners at Dulles International Airport under the URAP.

MSNBC’s “Deadline White House,” for instance, was abuzz with condemnations, ascriptions of collective guilt, and racially charged commentary.

Rick Stengel, a former official in the Obama administration,
told a sullen Nicolle Wallace that the admission of a handful of South African farmers — whom major political parties in Pretoria gleefully sing about butchering in packed stadiums — was “deeply and morally wrongheaded and repulsive. These are the descendants of the people who created the most diabolical system of white supremacy in human history, apartheid.”

‘It’s taking places away from refugees who are really being crushed.’

While acknowledging that the landed Afrikaner families, which include numerous young children, were not directly responsible for apartheid, Stengel suggested they were nevertheless beneficiaries of racism and themselves racists. Meanwhile, over at NBC News, talking head Andrea Mitchell alternatively
suggested that young children also bore responsibility for apartheid.

— (@)

After intimating the white farmers own too much land — a perceived issue South Africa’s socialist-run regime appears keen to rectify with its new
land-confiscation law — Stengel stated, “There’s no injustice here. As you mentioned, it’s taking places away from refugees who are really being crushed by authoritarian governments and military governments.”

RELATED: Episcopal Church kills government partnership over request to resettle white Afrikaner refugees

“It’s just a farce and a sham,” continued Stengel. “It’s like a Batman movie or something where all the bad guys get collected under one roof.”

African American studies professor Eddie Glaude, another one of Wallace’s apoplectic guests, suggested the administration’s supposed white nationalism was evidenced by the admission of a football-team’s worth of South African farmers.

Former and current Democrats similarly rent their garments and ran with this narrative.

Former Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md.)
suggested to MSNBC that the problem is the Afrikaners’ race, noting that their admission demonstrates the Trump administration’s “disdain for people of color.”

— (@)

Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen (Md.),
fresh off trying to bring a Salvadoran MS-13 affiliate accused of domestic abuse and human trafficking back into the U.S., similarly condemned the acceptance of the Afrikaners, claiming they do not need refugee status and their acceptance was part of a “sick global apartheid policy.”

The aversion to bringing in white refugees does not appear to be limited to Democrats and their friends in the media.

‘Afrikaners fleeing persecution are welcome in the United States.’

Blaze News previously reported that the
Episcopal Migration Ministries, an arm of the Episcopal Church that has served as one of 10 agencies the U.S. government contracts to resettle refugees, announced Monday that it will not help white Afrikaners on account of the church’s “steadfast commitment to racial justice.”

The presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, Sam Rowe,
revealed in a letter to fellow Episcopalians that rather than resettle farmers from South Africa classified by the U.S. government as refugees, the EMM will end its contract with the federal government by the end of this fiscal year.

Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

“Any religious group should support the plight of Afrikaners, who have been terrorized, brutalized, and persecuted by the South African government,” White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly told Blaze News. “The Afrikaners have faced unspeakable horrors and are no less deserving of refugee resettlement than the hundreds of thousands of others who were allowed into the United States during the past administration. President Trump has made it clear: refugee resettlement should be about need, not politics.”

RELATED: No one is coming to save you

President Donald Trump told reporters Monday, “It’s a genocide that’s taking place that you people don’t want to write about, but it’s a terrible thing that’s taking place.”

“Farmers are being killed. They happen to be white,” continued Trump. “Whether they’re white or black, makes no difference to me, but white farmers are being brutally killed and their land is being confiscated in South Africa.”

— (@)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday afternoon, “Afrikaners fleeing persecution are welcome in the United States. The South African government has treated these people terribly — threatening to steal their private land and subjected them to vile racial discrimination. The Trump Administration is proud to offer them refuge in our great country.”

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​Boers, Afrikaners, South africa, Refugee, Migrants, Race, Racism, Anti-white, Donald trump, Marco rubio, White, Pretoria, Politics 

On May 7, Fox News’ Bret Baier interviewed Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on “Special Report” about Sanders’ and New York Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s “Fighting Oligarchy” tour, which focuses on issues like wealth inequality and opposition to Trump’s policies.

During the interview, Baier cited a “Free Beacon” report noting that Sanders’ campaign committee, Friends of Bernie Sanders, spent over $221,000 on private jets in just the first quarter of 2025. He pressed Sanders on the apparent contradiction between his anti-oligarchy rhetoric and his use of private jets — a mode of travel associated with wealth and high carbon emissions.

One thing Pat Gray loves is when a hypocrite is exposed. He revels in the embarrassing footage of Sanders floundering as he attempts to justify his elitism.

“When’s the last time you saw Donald Trump during a campaign mode at a national airport?” Sanders fired at Baier.

“He’s also not fighting the oligarchy,” Baier countered.

“You run a campaign, and you do three or four or five rallies in a week. It’s the only way you can get around to talk to 30,000 people. You think I’m going to be sitting on a waiting line at United? … No apologies for that. That’s what campaign travel is about. We’ve done it in the past; we’re going to do it in the future,” Sanders defended.

Pat is disgusted at the hypocrisy.

Sanders’ point about Donald Trump taking private jets falls completely flat given that “Donald Trump isn’t b***hing about income inequality all the time.”

“Donald Trump is not a socialist; you are! That’s why there’s a different standard for you, because you’re a hypocrite,” condemns Pat.

If contradicting his stance on wealth inequality wasn’t bad enough, Sanders traveling on private jets also clashes with his position on climate change, which criticizes airplane travel for its high CO2 emissions and global warming impact.

“Donald Trump doesn’t believe in man-caused climate change. That’s why Donald Trump isn’t asked that question. Nobody expects him not to take private jets,” says Pat.

Compare him to Sanders, who not only beats the climate change drum but also unapologetically travels via private jet, claiming he’s far too important to fly domestically.

“You expect me to be with the unwashed proletariat? No, no — not when I’m part of the bourgeoisie,” mocks Pat.

“I mean he is clearly stating that he is the oligarchy, and that’s okay,” says co-host Keith Malinak.

“The unapologetic hypocrisy there is staggering,” says Pat.

To see the footage of Sanders’ interview with Baier and hear more of the panel’s commentary, watch the episode above.

Want more from Pat Gray?

To enjoy more of Pat’s biting analysis and signature wit as he restores common sense to a senseless world, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Pat gray unleashed, Pat gray, Blazetv, Blaze media, Bernie sanders, Bret baier, Fox, Fighting oligarchy, Socialism, Climate change 

The Chicago White Sox are officially taking a lap and claiming the new pope as one of their own.

After Chicago-born Robert F. Prevost was elected and became Pope Leo XIV last week, the White Sox and their in-town rival, the Chicago Cubs, battled over who could claim the papacy’s support.

The tug-of-war started with a bevy of outlets claiming they knew which way the new pope leaned.

ABC News allegedly declared that he’s Cubs fan. Chicago outlet WLS-TV claimed that he is a fan of both Chicago teams.

The debate was largely closed when the pope’s brother, John Prevost, confirmed in an interview that Pope Leo XIV was always a Sox fan.

“He was never, ever a Cubs fan, so I don’t know where that came from. He was always a Sox fan.

Pope Leo XIV addresses the crowd at St. Peter’s Square. Photo by Francesco Sforza – Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images

The White Sox proudly posted the video of the pope’s brother’s words alongside an image from their jumbotron at Rate Field.

“Hey Chicago, he’s a Sox fan!” the team boasted.

The White Sox also made an official statement, which noted, “A pinstripes White Sox jersey with his name on it and a hat are already on the way to Rome, and of course, the pontiff always is welcome at his ballpark.”

‘The White Sox proudly congratulate the South Side’s very own.’

After claiming the victory, the White Sox made a new graphic that hilariously labeled the pope as the “South Side’s very own.”

“The White Sox proudly congratulate the South Side’s very own Pope Leo XIV, named the 268th pope of the Roman Catholic Church,” the stadium scoreboard read.

Former White Sox pitcher Eric Fedde, who now plays for the St. Louis Cardinals, had a lot of sympathy for the pope having to endure a less-than-desirable team over recent years.

Fedde played on the 41-121 White Sox team last season and remarked, “Well, maybe he had to pray a few times watching us.”

The pope is joined by President Barack Obama as a fellow White Sox fan, as well as names like Pablo Picasso and even actor Mr. T.

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​Fearless, Pope, Pope leo xiv, Chicago, White sox, Sports 

There’s nothing California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) wants more than to sit at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.

“I would contend that Newsom’s ambitions for the presidency exceed even Hillary Clinton’s,” says Liz Wheeler of “The Liz Wheeler Show.”

However, there’s a little problem standing in his way: He’s too radical to appeal to the general public. Making California a transgender sanctuary state that prevents schools from notifying parents if a student requests to use a different name or pronouns or identifies as a gender different from what’s on the student’s school records. Offering a first-time homebuyer assistance program to undocumented immigrants. Gavin Newsom is as radically left as they come.

And he knows it. His new podcast, “This Is Gavin Newsom,” is an attempt to rebrand himself as moderate — not because he’s actually become more moderate but to paint over the past that would surely choke his presidential dreams.

“He’s bringing people from the right onto his podcast, and he wants to be very chummy with them, very charming; he wants to portray himself as a centrist for one purpose: so that he can collect a library of sound bites to portray himself once the 2028 campaign cycle begins as some kind of common-sense, reasonable, middle-ground Democrat,” says Liz.

But that’s not going to happen on her watch. Liz has a detailed record of Newsom’s history, and she’s using it to debunk every lie that comes out of his mouth.

In her debut episode of Newsom vs. Newsom, Liz compared Newsom’s sound bite from his interview with Charlie Kirk, in which he agreed that biological males competing in women’s sports is unfair, to the truth: He’s been the governor since 2019, and he’s done absolutely nothing to protect female athletes or the integrity of their sports. In fact, under current state law and policies, biological males are permitted to compete on girls’ sports teams.

In her latest episode of Newsom vs. Newsom, Liz debunks another lie Newsom told Kirk: that neither he, nor anyone in his office, uses the term “Latinx.”

For those unfamiliar with the term, Latinx is a gender-neutral word used to refer to people of Latin American descent or heritage and serves as an alternative to terms like Latino (male) or Latina (female), which are gendered in Spanish. The “x” replaces the gendered endings to supposedly be inclusive of all gender identities.

Newsom told Kirk, “Not one person ever in my office has ever used the word Latinx before. … I just didn’t even know where it came from.”

Except that’s a huge lie.

“Even CNN, to their great credit, put together a compilation of Governor Newsom using the term Latinx,” says Liz.

She plays the compilation, and sure enough, Latinx is a term Gavin Newsom is well versed in.

“The reality is that Gavin Newsom has bought into wokeness as much as a politician can buy into wokeness. He’s propagated it; he has signed it into law; and now he’s trying to deny his radical reality to trick centrists into voting for him as president,” says Liz.

To see the footage of Newsom’s contradictory statements and hear more of Liz’s analysis, watch the episode above.

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​Liz wheeler, The liz wheeler show, Blazetv, Blaze media, Gavin newsom, Charlie kirk, Latinx, California 

Amid a broader spiritual collapse, one trend stands out: Young men are returning to church in growing numbers. Generation Z, in particular, seeks structure, meaning, and community in a world fractured by chaos and alienation.

For decades, the dominant story in the West told of religion’s slow death. Church attendance dropped year after year, while “nones” — those who reject any religious affiliation — surged. But recent data complicates that narrative, especially among younger Americans.

The return of young men to the church is a cultural reckoning and a budding flower of renewal.

Gen Z remains the least religious generation on record, with 34% identifying as unaffiliated — higher than Millennials (29%) or Gen X (25%). Yet signs of revival are breaking through. One recent survey found that 31% of Gen Z attend religious services at least once a month, while 25% actively practice a faith.

Similar trends are occurring in the United Kingdom. A report by the Bible Society reveals that Catholics now outnumber Anglicans by more than two to one among Generation Z and younger Millennials. In 2018, Anglicans made up 30% of churchgoers ages 18-34, while Catholics accounted for 22%. By 2024, these figures had changed to 20% Anglican and 41% Catholic.

According to the Becket Fund’s 2024 findings, members of Gen Z attending religious services at least monthly rose from 29% in 2022 to 40% in 2024. Similarly, those who consider religion important in their lives increased from 51% to 66% over the same period.

Religious is the new ‘rebellious’

What explains the sudden shift? For generations, youth pushed back against the dominant order, and for much of the 20th century, that order was Christianity. But what happens when Christianity fades, replaced by atheism or whatever postmodern creed happens to be in vogue? The instinct to rebel remains. Only now, the rebellion turns back toward order, tradition, and moral clarity.

For years, legacy media and Hollywood told young men they were disposable — interchangeable, expendable, even dangerous. That narrative failed. And now, young men are driving the revival.

Historically, women filled the pews in greater numbers. But in 2024, that dynamic flipped. According to the Alabama Baptist, 30% of men attended weekly services compared to just 27% of women — a quiet but telling reversal of a long-standing pattern.

Men lead the charge

Traditional, structured worship has become a magnet for young men seeking discipline and meaning. Orthodox and Catholic churches — with their rituals, hierarchy, and deep historical roots — have seen a marked rise in male converts.

A 2022 survey reported a 78% increase in conversions to Orthodoxy since 2019. Catholic dioceses across the country have posted similar gains. From 2023 to 2024, some reported conversion spikes of up to 72%. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles alone welcomed 5,587 people into the Catholic Church this Easter, including 2,786 baptisms at the Easter Vigil — a 34% jump over last year.

But this resurgence goes deeper than doctrine. Churches offer young men what the modern world fails to provide: real community. According to the Barna Group, 67% of churchgoing adults report having a mentor — often someone they met through church. Among Gen Z and Millennials, that number rises to 86% and 83%, respectively.

Small groups and discipleship programs allow young men to wrestle with challenges, seek counsel, and build genuine friendships. These are exactly the structures secular society neglects — and precisely what my generation craves.

Cultural shifts have accelerated the return to faith. The internet may connect everyone digitally, but it often isolates people in the real world. Local churches still offer something screens can’t: brotherhood, accountability, and face-to-face contact. In a culture that demonizes masculinity and treats male virtues as liabilities, the church remains one of the last institutions to honor strength, discipline, and leadership without shame or apology.

A cultural mandate

Many young men today feel discarded by a society that marginalizes their natural instincts and virtues. Christianity offers them something different — a call to action rooted in service, discipline, and brotherhood. It gives them a place where effort matters, strength is welcomed, and belonging isn’t conditional. The need to connect, to matter, and to be respected — long ignored in secular culture — finds real expression in the life of the church.

This return of young men to the pews marks more than a spiritual revival. It’s a cultural reckoning. In many ways, it echoes the moral foundation laid by America’s founders. Though denominationally diverse, the founders agreed that freedom without faith could not last. George Washington said it plainly: “Religion and morality are indispensable supports” to political prosperity.

Today’s young men appear to understand what many in power have forgotten — liberty without virtue cannot endure. As America drifts, a new generation looks not to slogans or screens but to God — for strength, clarity, and the courage to rebuild what has been lost.

​Opinion & analysis, Faith, Gen z, Religion, Church, Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Millennials, Revival, Christianity, Civilization, Culture, Surveys, Masculinity, History, Ritual, Hierarchy, Discipline, Friendship, Loneliness, Community 

The baby-buying business is booming.

Powered in part by affluent gay male couples, for a few hundred thousand dollars they can purchase eggs from a poor woman, pay for a lab-arranged conception, and then “buy” another poor woman to carry the baby through surrogacy — right up until the doctor rips newborn Junior away from her hands and gives him to his two new daddies.

The baby-buyers are calling all the shots here. The women who are poor enough to submit to this have no virtually no voice.

This is evil for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that buying a baby is human trafficking. (And let’s not forget that not every baby-buyer wants to raise a child. Some want to resell. Human trafficking of human trafficking.)

Since we just celebrated Mother’s Day, we need to spotlight this abhorrent practice and how it shapes our view of mothers.

Here’s the truth: It teaches us that moms aren’t really needed. It teaches us that a woman in a child’s life brings nothing special that two men can’t replicate. The media eagerly publishes stories about gay dads and how they can “bond just as well” with children as the real mother who’s been paid and sent away.

So, ladies: Your contribution as a mother isn’t special. Women and men aren’t really that different. You goofy Christians and your “God created two genders” nonsense has been disproved! When it comes to children, we can mix and match parents at will. We just don’t need moms.

This is what the progressive, liberal culture wants us to believe about mothers.

Oops, hold on a second

Well, we might still need women for one thing. Not their feminine nature or anything they bring to the table as a creature different from a man. No, all we need from women are their eggs.

The franken-scientists haven’t yet figured out how to create their own, so for now, we need to use women for their ovaries.

After all, what could be better than flooding the female body with a bunch of hormones in order to harvest their eggs in a procedure that nobody has ever described as pleasant? Oh, and those additional hormones? Yeah, they’re implicated in the rise of certain cancers for women undergoing this process.

As Nadya Williams says in her excellent article “The Babies Money Can Buy,” this procedure is “only the latest cost our society is willing to exact from women to go against their biology in order to play the fertility game (as it becomes in the process) by men’s rules. … Egg freezing, after all, is a lucrative business, largely fueled by women trying to extend their childbearing years. But it is also fueled by men who decide to have children without, well, ever marrying a woman.”

Yes, the “we find women icky” crowd are happy to find a woman who can’t quite make ends meet and buy parts of her to make their new mom-less child.

How is this acceptable?

Oops, just one more second

Because science hasn’t yet perfected a viable alternative womb option, this practice tells women: We need to keep you around for now, but just as an incubator for our lab-made child. Sound good?

Baby-buyers prey on women in desperate financial straits with this generous offer: You can have all the discomforts of pregnancy and all the pain of childbirth, but no baby! Your hormones will be totally wacky afterward, and you’ll probably feel quite sad to lose the little person who grew inside of you.

In fact, as Williams explains:

There are additional emotional costs that are involved in carrying a child for nine months. Pregnancy is the ultimate bonding process for mothers with the baby in utero. The surrogate’s body, hormones, emotions — all these combine to treat the baby as her own, because that is how pregnancy is naturally designed to work.

Yes, the original Designer got it right the first time, and women — and their babies — are the ones who pay this soul-destroying price of separation from the little human they grew. You’ve probably read of cases where surrogates went to court to get a baby back, but savvy baby-buyers make sure their contracts are airtight. Even in cases where they decide they don’t want the baby and want it aborted.

After a woman bids a permanent farewell to the child she carried, maybe she’ll receive the extra bonus of recovering from surgery, since some buyers prefer their surrogates to have a C-section. Never mind that the procedure is far riskier, requires a longer recovery, and has been known to cause a lifetime of complications.

The baby-buyers are calling all the shots here. The women who are poor enough to submit to this have virtually no voice.

Again. How is this acceptable?

Now, I understand that not every surrogate is in these circumstances, but we must grapple with the facts as we have them — and they don’t paint a pretty picture.

Women and children, last not first

Remember when our culture encouraged men to put women and children first? Yeah, not so anymore. Now, we can just erase women completely.

Case in point: Colton Underwood, who starred on the reality show “The Bachelor” before coming out as gay. He and his now-husband recently bought eggs and a womb to create a motherless baby, then posed in the hospital with the child shortly after taking him from his mother. Afterward, they claimed their child has no mother at all.

Both the woman who carried the baby and the egg donor — completely erased.

Most surrogacy arrangements like this are highly questionable ethically. How did we get to the place where two rich guys can buy or rent a woman’s body parts?

Of course, it’s objectionable for anyone to do it. But the fact that our culture is now celebrating two men purposefully creating a motherless child is especially disgusting. It smacks of misogyny, and it hurts the child who was created to be mothered — not just fathered.

How is the child hurt? Because that Designer I mentioned created these little ones to be nurtured on the outside by the person who carried them inside. We know about mother-child bonding: It’s emotional and physical.

Before birth in any pregnancy (including surrogacy), the child’s genetic material crosses through the placenta and circulates in the mother’s blood, according to Dr. Kristin Collier, a bioethicist. The child literally becomes part of the mother. How cruel and wrong for the child to be taken from her. Countless studies have demonstrated other ways in which the maternal-child bond is irreplaceable for a child’s long-term health.

Yes, other situations rupture the maternal-child bond. But this situation is unique because the baby was created expressly to be taken away from its mother, expressly to live a life with no mother. That makes it even worse.

It is ironic that the progressive left embraced the book and TV series “The Handmaid’s Tale” as a rhetorical tool, darkly warning how President Trump or Republicans or pro-lifers want to enslave women and force them into bearing children.

Those “warnings” come from one side of the same mouths that celebrate two gay daddies making not one but two new forever-motherless babies.

Do they not see how we are inching toward a similar dystopian outcome? A woman-rejecting, woman-disrespecting, woman-using, woman-abusing outcome? Do they not see that even in that show, the birth mothers are devastated when their babies — who are products of rape — are taken from them?

And we must remember the children who will never have a mom in their lives. It’s a tragic loss for them, just like it is when a young mother dies or some other situation removes a mother from her children.

But at least those kids know who their mother is and sometimes will get a new mom in their lives. Until recently, humans have universally recognized and honored this crucial fact: Children need a mother. And not just daughters, by the way, though it’s sad to think about a girl growing up without her mother.

Yes, our dysfunctional culture is also rewriting the importance of fathers, and two women should not create babies who will never see or know their father. But surrogate fathers are not the same because a man’s contribution to a lab-conception process is much — shall we say — quicker and simpler.

No, this denigration of the role of a mother hits women and children the hardest.

Think about this the next time you see two daddies showing off their new designer baby on social media, which invariably generates likes and positive comments from those who fail to think deeply about this and from those who don’t understand the flawed nature of the research on same-sex parenting.

That research, for the record, is often conducted using participants recruited from LGBTQ advocacy organizations, and it mostly focuses on parental perception, not actual outcomes for children.

Them Before Us, an organization devoted to putting children’s needs before adult “wants” (including the need for a mother and a father), is a great resource for learning more about how to protect motherhood, fatherhood, and children.

There’s never been more of a direct attack on motherhood.

It’s not the news we want to discuss around Mother’s Day, but when mothers are deemed unnecessary, that’s nothing to celebrate.

​Designer babies, Lgbt ideology, Surrogacy, Natural law, God, Motherhood, Culture 

A stunning report from “60 Minutes” supported some of the more shocking claims of egregious fraud and abuse in federal spending by President Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency.

The report aired Sunday evening and included interviews with Bryan Vorndran, the head of the FBI’s cyber division, as well as fraud expert Linda Miller, who worked at the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

‘They begin buying stolen identities so that they can begin applying for disaster loans, disaster grants, on behalf of stolen identities.’

Miller said she was glad to see that tech billionaire Elon Musk, who headed up DOGE, was making the issue of fraud such a public issue.

“To be honest, Elon Musk coming out and saying, ‘There is a huge amount of fraud,’ I welcome that message completely because finally, someone is actually saying this,” she said.

She said that much of the fraud was from foreign state actors, mostly from Russia and China. She estimated that the total amount of federal money lost through fraud every year was between $550 billion and $750 billion, and is nearing a trillion.

“What we’re really talking about is nation-state actors,” she said. “We’re talking about organized crime rings. We’re talking about using vast amounts of stolen Americans’ identities to monetize them for, you know, criminal activity.”

Among the more astounding claims was that nearly every American’s Social Security number and other private information were available for purchase on the dark web.

“Is it true that the Social Security number of just about every single American is available for sale on the dark web?” asked Cecilia Vega of CBS News.

“That is a true statement. All of our personally identifiable information — name, date of birth, former addresses, social security number — is available on the dark net and can likely be purchased,” said Vorndran.

In just one case from last year, officials concluded that $6 billion of pandemic relief money was stolen through fraud.

“When a disaster happens in the country, the fraud actors see where it’s coming. They look at the zip codes. And they begin buying stolen identities so that they can begin applying for disaster loans, disaster grants, on behalf of stolen identities,” Miller said.

RELATED: Trump reads long list of ridiculous federal programs found by DOGE during congressional address

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Miller did have a minor criticism of the work DOGE was doing. She said that too often they conflated fraud with programs that they didn’t approve of politically.

“You may not agree with what USAID does. You may not want to be investing American dollars in, you know, foreign fertilizer, for example. You may think that’s the wrong thing to be spending money on, but that’s not fraud,” she said.

“Fraud is willful deception. It involves willful deception,” she explained. “And it has to be proven in a court of law.”

The segment from “60 Minutes” can be viewed in its entirety on the show’s YouTube channel.

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​60 minutes doge, Doge fraud, Federal funds fraud, Bryan vorndran, Politics 

The first 100 days of Trump’s presidency marked a well-earned honeymoon. But the next 100 days will test whether the marriage can survive — especially with unruly offspring like judicial overreach and intra-MAGA infighting threatening the union.

Take Chief Justice John Roberts, for example. In a recent interview, he claimed the judiciary is “independent” from the other branches, yet also insisted it has the authority to “strike down” both laws and executive actions. So which is it? Are judges independent arbiters — or unaccountable gods?

Every movement walks a fine line between selling its soul and learning to take ‘yes’ for an answer.

Roberts may not understand what “independent” actually means. How can the judiciary call itself independent when it relies entirely on the other two branches for its power? Judges don’t appoint or confirm themselves. They don’t fund their own operations. They can’t enforce their own rulings or impose new policies. They act only through the political structures that created them.

‘Neither force nor will’

The judiciary is, by design, the most dependent of the three branches. The Constitution’s framers structured it that way to protect the rights they believed came from God, not government. Want proof? Run a full-text search of the Constitution for “strike down” or “struck down.” Those words don’t appear — because that power was never explicitly granted or even implied. Read Federalist 78 and 81. Hamilton makes it plain.

He also made clear that courts have no authority to tax, spend, or raise armies. Why did he highlight those powers? Because they are the most sweeping and dangerous. Governments that can conscript citizens and debase the currency can do real harm. But the political branches exercise those powers — and voters can hold them accountable. The judiciary, with its lifetime appointments, cannot be removed when it abuses its role. That’s why, as Hamilton wrote, courts were designed to possess “neither force nor will.”

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier shows exactly what’s at stake. He’s openly defying a federal judge’s order on immigration. So why hasn’t anyone arrested him for contempt? Who would enforce the order? The U.S. Marshals? Not without Trump’s OK. Local sheriffs? Only if Gov. Ron DeSantis agrees.

The chief justice is betting you won’t notice. He’s counting on your silence while the courts expand their own power unchecked. But a republic cannot survive if one branch decides its own jurisdiction. Power flows where it’s permitted to go. And the so-called moral majority — the people John Adams believed would hold the republic together — have surrendered too many battles to keep “We the People” alive in more than name. We’ve never truly been a nation of laws. We’ve always been a nation of political will.

Maligning MAHA?

That political will must now be exercised — boldly — against both the judiciary and the emerging fractures inside the “Make America Healthy Again” movement. While it’s true that MAGA 2.0 wouldn’t exist without MAHA, the movement faces internal risks just as dangerous as external enemies. If MAHA lets infighting fester, it will rot from the inside — just as Anthony Fauci’s unchecked power eroded trust during COVID.

I first heard of Casey Means through Joe Rogan and Tucker Carlson. Now, I’m being asked to believe — by MAHA stalwarts I deeply respect — that Trump’s nominee for surgeon general is some kind of psyop designed to block real accountability. Seriously? If Rogan and Carlson are now launch platforms for deep-state mind control, then it might be time to pack it in and let the judges run wild. Eat, drink, and brace for booster number 666.

When you’ve lived on the margins as long as the MAHA crowd has, it’s natural to view new arrivals — alleged “bandwagon jumpers” like Means and her brother Callie — with suspicion. But every successful team needs bandwagon fans. Have you ever noticed how stadiums only fill when a team wins? That’s no coincidence. MAHA has gained traction and credibility, and now people want in. That’s a good thing. But if MAHA wants to become the new status quo, it must learn to govern.

Every movement walks a fine line between selling its soul and learning to take “yes” for an answer.

At some point, you have to move past the constant sense of betrayal and start making real compromises. That’s how things get done. Whether in marriage, business, or politics — risk always comes with meaning. It’s just math.

Pulling the COVID shot off the market would take guts. So will getting a Republican Congress to accept its mandate from the people, rather than punting to unelected judges while cashing in on K Street.

The next 100 days must restore order. The path forward looks clear. What’s uncertain is whether we have the courage and conviction to walk it. Were we made to be ruled by John Roberts and Anthony Fauci? Or will we step up and govern like citizens? Yes, governing is hard. But letting medical and judicial “experts” run our lives is far worse.

Right?

​Opinion & analysis, John roberts, Supreme court, Judicial supremacy, Federalist, Federal courts, Congress, Donald trump, Ron desantis, James uthmeier, Maga, Maha, Joe rogan, Tucker carlson, Casey means, Calley means, Surgeon general, Trust, Deep state, Psyop 

It was Coco Chanel who said, “In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different.” She was talking about fashion and personal branding, of course.

However, during the dark years of World War II, the maxim took on a dark meaning when the visionary fashion icon’s drive to remain indispensable led to cultivated strategic ties with German elites in order to secure her personal safety, social status, and business interests in Nazi-occupied France.

Glenn Beck, who just returned from vacation in Europe, tells Stu Burguiere that many have no idea that “Coco Chanel was a despicable human being.”

During WWII, “most of the designers just close down and they’re like, ‘We’re not making anything for anybody right now.’ But not Coco Chanel. She decides she’s going to move into the hotel where all the Nazis are,” says Glenn.

Once she was living in the Ritz, she started “making dresses for the Nazi wives” and “[sleeping] around a little bit with a few Nazis.” One Nazi she had a strategic romantic relationship with was Hans Günther von Dincklage, a German intelligence officer who gave her protection and influence.

At one point, she outed the French Jewish family who had partnered with her to fund the iconic perfume Chanel No. 5, but thankfully, they had already “transferred ownership to somebody else” by that point.

“Is it fair to call her a Nazi spy?” asks Stu.

“Yeah, she was known as a Nazi spy,” says Glenn.

But if her Nazi allegiance was well-known in France, how is her brand still thriving today?

It turns out that the answer lies right here in America.

When the war ended and she saw that Nazi collaborators were being executed, Chanel moved to Switzerland. From there, she put together a French couture show, which Vogue Paris rejected due to her Nazi ties.

However, Vogue America — “the same people that started the Met Gala in 1948” — decided to “whitewash her,” says Glenn.

“They brought her out on a new collection” that pitched “the little black dress,” which to this day is said to be something every woman should own. Her brand soared again.

“When did Vogue magazine come out and go, ‘You know what? That whole Nazi thing with Chanel was probably pretty bad’? Oh, I don’t know — never!” says Glenn.

To hear more about Coco Chanel’s Nazi ties, as well as the story of another French designer who was a war hero, watch the episode above.

Want more from Stu?

To enjoy more of Stu’s lethal wit, wisdom, and mockery, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Stu does america, Stu burguiere, Blazetv, Blaze media, Coco chanel, Nazi germany, Wwii, Nazi spy, Fashion, France 

Five years after COVID-19, how do red-state doctors still face persecution for heroically treating patients whom the medical establishment abandoned?

Instead of honoring doctors like Mary Talley Bowden and Eric Hensen with medals, the Texas Medical Board hounds them with investigations that could strip them of their licenses. The state legislature, meanwhile, has let the session slip by without so much as a committee hearing for bills that would end this travesty.

COVID exposed the worst kind of medical malpractice. Now, in Texas, we’re watching political malpractice finish the job.

Dr. Bowden, a soft-spoken ear, nose, and throat specialist based in Houston, treated thousands of COVID patients — none of whom died under her direct care. But 48-year-old Tarrant County Sheriff’s Deputy Jason Jones wasn’t so lucky. The father of six died needlessly in a Houston hospital that refused to treat him with anything beyond a ventilator. Hospital staff even covered his breathing tube to block his wife from administering ivermectin and barred Bowden from stepping in after writing him off as a lost cause.

In October and November 2021, Texas Health Huguley Hospital in Fort Worth fought Jason’s wife, Erin, every step of the way. Though hospital doctors had no recovery plan, administrators did everything possible to stop alternative treatments. Even after a court granted Dr. Bowden the right to administer ivermectin, the hospital threw up bureaucratic roadblocks: demanding a list of every surgery she’s performed, three letters of recommendation, and stacks of irrelevant paperwork — despite her record as one of Houston’s most trusted breathing specialists.

On Nov. 10, Bowden sent a nurse to the hospital to administer ivermectin. Hospital staff blocked her from entering, claiming an appellate court had stayed the district judge’s order — yet no such stay had been issued, and neither Bowden, her attorney, nor the nurse had received notice. The nurse turned around without ever stepping inside the ICU.

Jason Jones never received the treatment. The hospital discharged him at half his body weight. He spent the next year in poor health and died in 2023. In the end, the hospital got its way.

Process is the punishment

Jones’ story mirrors those of tens of thousands of Americans during the pandemic. Instead of holding anyone accountable or honoring doctors who fought to save lives, lawmakers have looked the other way. Rather than being celebrated, Bowden was hit with a Texas Medical Board complaint. Her alleged offense? “Disrupting” the ICU — despite the fact her attorney gave the hospital 30 minutes’ notice and she acted under court authority.

Bowden refused to pay a fine or submit to a mandated eight hours of continuing medical education. The board continues to pursue sanctions. The case remains open. She has lost hundreds of thousands of dollars and spent countless hours defending herself — all while continuing to treat patients. Without action from Gov. Greg Abbott or the Texas Legislature, she still faces the loss of her medical license.

At a recent hearing, Bowden attempted to call Dr. Mollie James, a Missouri ICU physician who moved to New York at the height of the pandemic. The board blocked the testimony, claiming James lacked sufficient credentials. Instead, they grilled Bowden about her political views on the COVID vaccine, citing her social media posts.

Four years after COVID’s failures became common knowledge, Texas still punishes the doctors who stepped up when others refused. Physicians who treated patients the medical establishment left to die now face professional ruin — while those who denied care walk free. The Texas Legislature has blown two full sessions without doing anything to stop it. The Texas Medical Board looks more like its draconian California counterpart every day.

No hearings, no accountability

State Sen. Bob Hall (R) has tried repeatedly to reform the board. This year, he finally succeeded in passing SB 2422 out of the Senate on a party-line vote. The bill orders the TMB to vacate all investigations and disciplinary actions against doctors who prescribed COVID treatments like ivermectin, spoke out against lockdowns or mandates, or refused to wear a mask. It requires the board to expunge all related records, refund fines, and reimburse legal expenses.

The Texas House hasn’t even held a hearing.

Abbott — whose mask mandate triggered many of the cases now under scrutiny — has said nothing. The governor refuses to push for legislation to correct the damage. Meanwhile, doctors like Eric Hensen, an ENT specialist in Tyler who treated thousands of COVID patients, still face the threat of losing their licenses. Hensen’s “crime”? He followed Abbott’s original mask guidance. The same governor who issued the order now watches in silence while Hensen’s career is destroyed.

COVID exposed the worst kind of medical malpractice. Now, in Texas, we’re watching political malpractice finish the job.

​Opinion & analysis, Covid-19 pandemic, Covid-19 tyranny, Texas, Legislature, Mary talley bowden, Texas medical board, Eric hensen, Ivermectin, Ventilators, Deaths, Jason jones, Hospitals, Lawsuit, Malpractice, Bob hall, Mollie james, Vaccine mandates, Greg abbott, Mask mandates