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A simple hand-me-down has turned into a lively debate about having children at an early age and retro video games.

The retro-gaming community has become a gigantic industry (worth between $3 billion and $10 billion depending on the source), so large in fact that an old box of games or forgotten console could be worth thousands depending on the condition.

So when a third-generation gamer took to 4chan to post about whether or not it was worth it to fool around with an old PlayStation, readers’ brains imploded at his remarks. Not necessarily because of his apprehension over playing the system, but because he was receiving it secondhand from his grandfather.

‘This is nature healing.’

The unknown gamer posted his dilemma, which was then copied to an X post; it read: “Hey guys, I got this PS1 from my grandpa. Should I play it? I know there a lot of uncs here so maybe you would know if it’s good or not.”

Flabbergasted, readers immediately asked if the original poster was purposely trying to enrage them with his remarks, with some introspectively asking, “am I an ‘unc’?”

The new console owner calmly replied, “My grandpa is 58 and my dad is 38. He got the PS1 when my dad was 8, and my dad had me at 20, so I’m 18 now. My grandpa said he got the PS1 when it was released so he was 28 then.”

This spawned a flood of comments on X, ranging from support for young grandparents to disbelief at the idea that gaming consoles are now so old that they can be passed down by grandparents.

RELATED: Legendary Halo composer unravels the video-game industry’s woke collapse

— (@)

“Normalize being grandparents in your 50s,” one X user replied, while another pointed to the grim reality that retro gamers are the new antique hunters.

“Wait until you see tube tv prices[;] we’ve become the old people collecting antiques,” he wrote.

Other replies were seemingly more sarcastic: “What’s that grey rope wrapped around the controller?” an X user asked, referring to the connecting cord.

Another reader boldly claimed it is those ages “60-70 who paid for Duck Hunt on NES.”

He was not that far off. Duck Hunt was released on the NES in 1984, and a 60-year-old would have been 20 or a 70-year-old would have been 30 at the time.

RELATED: Rainbow Batman from LEGO sparks outrage: ‘We don’t need gay Batman!’

Photo by KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP via Getty Images

Others were more philosophical, stating that “Millennials understanding technology better than our grandparents was an aberration.”

The user’s assertion that grandparents know “more about literally everything than their grandkids,” including entertainment, was enough for him to determine that society is quickly resetting itself in terms of reverting back to righteousness.

“This is nature healing,” he wrote.

If nature equates to gamers scooping up old consoles, that user is right. However, PlayStation 1 is actually one of the cheaper retro systems currently on the market, likely due to the volume at which they were purchased. A used unit goes for about $100 USD if complete, or around $335 for an in-box version, according to current prices on PriceCharting.

Readers may be shocked to find out that a special-edition Nintendo 64 can sell for more than $3,700, and a single Pokemon game (Emerald, 2004) will fetch around $2,000.

Either nature is healing itself or nostalgia is. Entire store chains now exist dedicated to old video games, and it will not be long before great-grandparents are handing down their Gameboy Color to grandsons, who will likely scoff at the 8-bit monstrosity.

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​Return, Gaming, Nostalgia, Retro, Video games, Playstation, Tech 

As the investigation continues into the atrocious shooting at a church in Minneapolis on Wednesday, authorities have reported that they have been unable to contact the suspect’s mother.

‘There is a connection between the shooter and this particular parish.’

Mary Grace Westman, the mother of the trans-identifying 23-year-old male who opened fire on Annunciation Catholic Church during Mass, has retained criminal defense attorney Ryan Garry, according to Fox News Digital.

Westman is reportedly not cooperating with investigators.

“I know there were dozens of interviews that have been conducted with relatives, friends, associates of the shooter, as well as people — obviously, individuals, witnesses — that were present at the scene yesterday,” Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara stated during a Thursday press conference.

“I know we have not been successful in talking to the shooter’s mother yet at this time,” he remarked. “But there continue to be efforts made to get that done.”

O’Hara confirmed that authorities have been in touch with the shooter’s father.

RELATED: RFK Jr. investigating whether Minneapolis church shooting may have been sparked by gender transition drugs

Photo by TOM BAKER/AFP via Getty Images

When asked why Westman hired a criminal defense attorney, Garry told Fox News Digital, “She is completely distraught about the situation and has no culpability but is seeking an attorney to deal with calls like this.”

Westman is a former parish employee, and her son previously attended the school.

“So, obviously, there is a connection between the shooter and this particular parish,” O’Hara stated.

RELATED: Attacks against American Catholics and churches are out of control

Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images

Westman applied for her son to legally change his name in 2019 while he was still a minor, claiming that he “identifies as female and wants her name to reflect the identification.”

FBI agents reportedly attempted to make contact with Westman at her apartment in East Naples, Florida, on Wednesday, following the horrific shooting that killed two children and injured 18 others. Westman did not answer the door.

At least nine victims remain in the hospital as of Friday, the New York Post reported.

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​Minneapolis, Minnesota, Annunciation catholic school, Annunciation church and catholic school, Shooting, Robin westman, Robert westman, Minneapolis police, Minneapolis police department, Politics 

Goodbye, “new and improved” Yellow Brick Road? Not so fast.

Yes, the proposed “Wizard of Oz” remake from wokester Kenya Barris appears to be stalled, possibly for good. The project announcement came all the way back in 2022, when woke still ruled Hollywood.

If Hollywood’s imagination drain continues, in 30 years they’ll make a movie about the movie about the movie …

But now, Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton promise a “new” “Wizard of Oz” series that reimagines the saga from a young adult perspective.

The series will use “the Yellow Brick Road as a metaphor for the challenges and choices facing young adults today.” As Keanu Reeves might say, “Whoa!”

Maybe if we click our heels three times, this project will go the way of the Wicked Witch of the West …

‘Potter’ squatter

Sometimes, even Hollywood types make total sense.

Take Chris Columbus. The “Home Alone” director shot the first two “Harry Potter” films in that insanely successful series. Now, HBO Max is prepping a new “Potter” series that will bring the beloved books to life.

Again.

Didn’t the films do just that in epic fashion? Was anyone dissatisfied with the finished product? It’s all pretty confusing to Columbus (and to anyone who doesn’t understand Hollywood’s lust for intellectual property).

“I looked online, and there are photographs of Nick Frost as Hagrid with the new Harry Potter,” Columbus said. “And he’s wearing the exact same costume that we designed for Hagrid. Part of me was like, ‘What’s the point?’ I thought everything [on the HBO show], the costumes and everything, was going to be different. It’s more of the same.”

He’s right. And it doesn’t matter. The streamer wouldn’t risk all that cash — a reported $100 million per episode — if it didn’t have faith it’ll draw a crowd.

Heck, they might as well start a third Harry Potter adaptation as soon as this one wraps …

Rocky’s road

Sick of reboots, sequels, and prequels? How about a movie about the making of a movie? It sounds pretty darn meta, but this one actually might work.

Why?

The film is “I Play Rocky,” and it recalls Sylvester Stallone’s battle to both write and star in the movie that would change his career. A young Stallone was a virtual nobody in Hollywood when he wrote a script about a down-on-his-luck boxer who got a chance at being the champ.

The studio loved the script but clamored for a “star” to play the main character. Stallone dug in his heels, insisting he was the right person to play Rocky Balboa. “Yo!”

It’s as inspiring as the actual film, and director Peter Farrelly previously gave us the Oscar-winning “Green Book.”

If Hollywood’s imagination drain continues, in 30 years they’ll make a movie about the movie about the movie …

‘Eternals’ flame out

Ask any indie filmmaker what they crave more than anything else, and the answer is clear.

Money. As in, “Can I have some more, please?”

Indie filmmakers make do with less, cutting corners wherever possible and finding new ways to stretch their limited budgets.

So when indie auteur Chloe Zhao got the keys to a Marvel project, she probably pinched herself. Endless Mouse House cash!

It turns out that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. Zhao’s “Eternals” flopped, at least by superhero standards, and she retreated to more familiar terrain with the upcoming indie drama “Hamnet.” That film is a fictional look at the death of William Shakespeare’s son and how it inspired the creation of “Hamlet.”

Too much cash wasn’t the elixir Zhao expected.

“‘Eternals’ had, like, an unlimited amount of money and resources. And here we have one street corner that we can afford, to [stand in for] Stratford. … ‘Eternals’ didn’t have a lot of limitations, and that is actually quite dangerous. Because we only have that street corner [in ‘Hamnet’], suddenly everything has meaning.”

Here’s betting she’ll miss that MCU-size personal trailer …

No sisterhood for Sweeney

“It girl” actress Sydney Sweeney enraged the left by flaunting her good “genes” in an American Eagle ad. The commercial roiled the usual suspects, who dubbed her a Nazi for trying to peddle jeans with her iconic curves.

Conservatives rallied to her side, understanding that sex sells and Sweeney did nothing wrong. One group that refused to have the starlet’s back?

Feminists.

RELATED: Sydney Sweeney is rebuilding Americana — one Bronco at a time

Photo by MEGA / Contributor via Getty Images

Why didn’t they support her against the woke mob? Doesn’t she have the “agency” to make her own creative choices?

Their silence got even louder when a certain comedian came to her defense. Matt Rife, known for his rough-and-tumble crowd work, isn’t a feminist by any definition. Glamour magazine slammed his comedy brand as misogynist.

Yet it was Rife who defended Sweeney on a related subject. The actress recently teamed with Dr. Squatch for a bathwater soap product dubbed “Bathwater Bliss.”

“I keep seeing people mad at Sydney Sweeney for noooothing. She’s learning that the internet is full of absolute garbage losers who will twist anything you say into a c**ty misinterpretation. People are awful.”

People can be awful. And feminists can be hypocrites all day long.

​Entertainment, Culture, Gwen stefani, Wizard of oz, Hollywood, Harry potter, Tv, Movies, Toto recall, Sydney sweeney 

America doesn’t have a science problem. It has a trust problem.

The collapse of trust didn’t happen in a vacuum. It happened because the people running our institutions — government agencies, public health bureaucracies, and elite media — chose fear over facts, power over principle, and silence over accountability.

Truth alone won’t restore trust. We need courage. We need accountability. And above all, we need to stop pretending that silence keeps the peace.

I’ve spent more than three decades in life sciences, investing in innovation and funding companies that bring real cures to market. Bureaucracy can slow progress. But during COVID-19, the damage went farther. It wasn’t just red tape. It was arrogance, censorship, and the collapse of debate inside institutions once devoted to transparency and truth.

We told Americans to “trust the experts,” then changed the story every few weeks. We locked down playgrounds while allowing political protests. We shut down small businesses while rewarding massive platforms. We punished skepticism, not misinformation. We arrested surfers, fired nurses, and drove policemen and military personnel out of their jobs for refusing a vaccine. Where were the “my body, my choice” voices then?

Now Americans don’t just question mandates — they question everything: the data, the motives, the science itself.

Who can blame them? Childhood vaccination rates are falling because public health failed. An entire generation lost precious developmental time in isolation. Families grieved alone. And the same bureaucrats behind those mandates persuaded us to blame COVID, when in fact it was their decisions that did much of the damage. No one has been questioned. No one has been punished. Not one county health official has been held accountable.

A recent Gallup poll showed trust in institutions like the CDC and FDA has collapsed by more than 30 points in just a few years. That trust won’t be restored by press conferences or new slogans. It will only be restored when real leaders tell the truth about what went wrong and take responsibility to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Dr. Scott Atlas put it plainly: The lockdowns weren’t the result of the virus. They were the result of decisions — decisions made by people who ignored known data, silenced dissent, and wielded authority like a weapon. And they got it wrong. Pretending otherwise only guarantees the disaster repeats.

So where do we start if we want to rebuild trust?

End the illusion of absolute authority. The CDC, NIH, and FDA must return to their proper role: advisory. They don’t make laws. They don’t issue mandates. They provide information — period.

Impose term limits on public health leadership. No more 30-year bureaucratic dynasties. Power without turnover hardens into ideology.

Ban conflicts of interest. No royalty payments to government scientists from the very companies they regulate. No revolving door between regulators and pharma.

Demand transparency. Every agency meeting, vote, and decision should be public and immediate. If they work for us, we should know what they’re saying.

These aren’t partisan talking points. They’re common-sense reforms. The stakes are too high to shrug and “move on.” Parents who lost a year of their children’s development, the elderly who died alone, the small business owners who lost everything — they deserve accountability. This isn’t about public policy. It’s about principle.

RELATED: No perp walks, no peace

Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images

And here’s the deeper truth: Fixing this mess isn’t just government’s job. It’s up to us — the entrepreneurs, innovators, parents, doctors, investors, and voters — to become stewards of truth. Not because we crave power, but because we believe in clarity. Because we still believe in the ideals America was built on.

I came to the United States at 15 after fleeing war in Beirut. I’ve seen what happens when fear and control override freedom and reason. I’ve spent my life betting on better — on ideas, on people, and on this country.

Truth alone won’t restore trust. We need courage. We need accountability. And above all, we need to stop pretending that silence keeps the peace.

It doesn’t. It only postpones the next disaster.

​Opinion & analysis, Covid-19, Tyranny, Trust the science, Trust the experts, Pandemic, Vax mandate, Vaccines, Moderna, Johnson and johnson shot, Mrna, Centers for disease control and prevention, Cdc, Lockdowns, Food and drug administration, Science, Fda, Children, Learning loss, National institutes of health, Nih, Polls, Gallup 

Detransitioner Claire Abernathy was just 14 years old when doctors told her parents she’d take her own life without hormones and surgery — and promised “gender care” would save her life.

“I started identifying as trans when I was 12 years old following a sexual assault and some pretty severe bullying that I was experiencing at school,” Abernathy tells Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck on “The Glenn Beck Program.”

“Adopting this identity gave me, well, one, it gave me the ability to pretend to be a new person, someone that this didn’t happen to. And it also gave me an entire social network, a whole friend group of other kids who felt similarly to the way I did,” she explains.

That’s when Abernathy began going to therapists who were recommended by others with the same issues.

“They made my parents feel like abusers for being skeptical, for wanting to take pause before making irreparable changes to their child’s body,” she tells Glenn.

“Did anyone say, did any doctor say, ‘Hang on, we should look at the abuse’?” Glenn asks.

“No one. My mom asked about the abuse, the bullying, all these things that I’d gone through, disordered eating, and she was told in no uncertain terms, ‘No, that does not make a child think that they’re trans,’” Abernathy explains, noting that this occurred at “one of the most well-funded children’s hospitals in the nation.”

Abernathy was then put on testosterone at 14 years old, and then shortly after they were discussing surgery.

“I started testosterone in November of 2018, and by January, I was approved for surgery. It didn’t happen until June, but that was just because we wanted to wait until the summer between my eighth and ninth grade years,” she says.

Doctors told Abernathy and her parents that the only effective treatment for her “gender dysphoria” was “chemical and surgical intervention” and that if she did not go through with it, “the most likely outcome was suicide.”

“They didn’t tell me that it would permanently take away my ability to breastfeed. They didn’t tell me that the majority of kids who look to pursue this end up growing out of it,” she says. “There was a lot of things that I wasn’t told.”

Want more from Glenn Beck?

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​Free, Upload, Video phone, Camera phone, Video, Sharing, Youtube.com, The glenn beck program, Glenn beck, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Conservative podcast, Conservative radio, Right wing, Right wing podcaster, Detransitioner, Claire abernathy, Detransition, Trans minor, Transgender surgery for minors, Gender care, Gender ideology 

While federal immigration officials work around the clock to deport foreigners out of the United States these days, some law enforcement agents in Texas are scrambling to keep one Chinese national here after he allegedly stole proprietary cancer research with plans to take it back to his homeland.

Yunhai Li, a post-doctoral researcher, joined the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston in 2022. According to KTRK, Li claimed in a signed legal statement that he had been working on a vaccine to keep breast cancer from metastasizing.

‘There was a pretty good chance that he was going to get deported or leave the country, so we needed to file something.’

Li was in the U.S. on a research exchange scholar visa issued by the State Department. Moreover, much of his research was funded by federal entities like the Department of Defense and the National Institute of Health, and as a recipient of federal funding, Li signed documents promising to abide by confidentiality agreements and data storage and sharing restrictions, KTRK reported.

Toward the end of his research, Li uploaded about 90 GB of research data to his personal Google drive, his statement said, according to the outlet. After MD Anderson officials approached him about the uploaded data, he deleted it, offering proof that he had done so. However, according to KRIV, Li also allegedly uploaded the data to the Chinese server Baidu.

Li had also continued to receive funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China and maintained his employment at the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University during his time in America without disclosing that information to MD Anderson, documents said, according to KRIV. The forms Li signed to receive federal U.S. funding make plain that such conflicts of interest are forbidden.

RELATED: University of Michigan now under fire after Chinese scholars allegedly smuggle bio-weapon

FreshSplash/Getty Images

On July 1, Li resigned from MD Anderson. Eight days later, he attempted to board a plane at Bush Airport, headed for China.

While he was at the airport, federal agents with Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations examined his devices, where they discovered “unpublished research data and articles representing trade secrets, including material-restricted confidential research data, writings, drawings, and models,” according to documents cited by KRIV.

According to reports, Li did not seem to deny the allegations. Instead, he reportedly indicated to investigators that he is entitled to the data he allegedly intended to exfiltrate to China.

That data “is a product of my efforts over the last three years. I believe I have a right to possess and retain this data,” he wrote in the signed statement, according to KTRK. He also stated that he feared the data was “going to waste.”

RELATED: Chinese nationals on student visas allegedly ripped off elderly Americans in nasty scheme

spawns/Getty Images

For now, Li reportedly faces state charges of theft of trade secrets and tampering with a government record, though federal prosecutors are looking into his case as well. If convicted on the charge of theft of trade secrets alone, he could spend up to 10 years behind bars and pay a fine of up to $10,000.

“There was a pretty good chance that he was going to get deported or leave the country, so we needed to file something,” Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare told KRIV. “We needed to make sure that he was going to stay here, the information was going to stay here, and he was going to be held accountable.”

Li paid the $5,100 bail and bonded out of custody on Monday. He had to surrender his passport as a condition of his release.

Li’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment from KRIV.

‘We are constantly working to find ways to improve our screening and vetting processes.’

Li is not the only Chinese former MD Anderson researcher accused of attempting to steal sensitive data. Back in 2019, the hospital fired three Chinese employees on suspicion that they had attempted a similar data heist, KRIV reported.

With such a troubling track record regarding Chinese researchers, Blaze News wanted to know what steps MD Anderson has taken recently to vet foreign applicants more thoroughly and prevent similar problems in the future.

The hospital did not respond to our questions about vetting or whether any patient data had been compromised in connection with these cases, but it did provide the following statement: “As of July 1, 2025, Yunhai Li is no longer employed by the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Institutional leaders are working with relevant authorities on this matter.”

A spokesperson for the State Department declined to comment on any particular case, but did suggest that under the Trump administration, visa applicants would “be screened and vetted to the maximum extent possible to ensure they will respect the terms of their admission to the United States.”

“The Trump administration is focused on protecting our nation and our citizens by upholding the highest standards of national security and public safety through our visa process,” the spokesperson told Blaze News.

“We are constantly working to find ways to improve our screening and vetting processes and to support legitimate travel to the United States while protecting U.S. citizens.”

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​China, Md anderson, Yunhai li, State department, Cancer research, Data theft, Politics 

Houston police said two males wearing face coverings, tactical vests, and badges displayed around their necks approached a residence in the 4000 block of Bellnole Drive around 11 p.m. last Friday.

Both males were armed with guns and told those inside the residence that they had an arrest warrant, police added.

‘They knocked on the wrong door.’

Those inside the home “became suspicious because they have a Ring camera, and the suspects were stating they had a warrant — but it’s just two people, and they’re masked up, and [there are] no police cars, no lights, or anything like that,” Lt. Khan told KRIV-TV.

With that, police said the two groups exchanged words, which led to an exchange of gunfire, and the two males wearing tactical gear — ages 28 and 36 — were struck by gunfire.

RELATED: Male posing as federal agent fires about 30 rounds from AR-15 rifle outside Texas sheriff’s office, sheriff says

Image source: Houston Police Department

The residents called 911 following the shooting, police said, but responding Houston Fire Department paramedics pronounced both males dead at the scene.

The identity of the deceased males is pending identification by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, police said.

While both residents are cooperating with the investigation, police said the fatal shooting will be referred to a Harris County grand jury.

Blaze News on Thursday asked an official in the Houston Police Department’s Office of Community Affairs what citizens should do if they encounter those who are impersonating police officers, and the official said people should “call 911” in the event that they are faced with “someone suspicious.” The official noted, “It’s as simple as that,” and that it’s in the interests of “everyone’s safety.”

A number of commenters under KRIV’s Facebook post about the deadly incident seemed decidedly behind the winners of the shoot-out:

“Homeowner of the year, BRAVO! You are the best!” one commenter declared.”They knocked on the wrong door,” another user surmised.”More of that needs to happen around here,” another commenter stated.”This is the best news,” another user wrote.

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​Crime, Impersonating cops 

Former Washington Post writer Taylor Lorenz — the blogger who doxxed Libs of TikTok in 2022, called breathing without a mask “raw dogging the air,” and expressed “joy” over UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s assassination — appears to have finally stumbled across a story of value.

Lorenz detailed in a piece for Wired magazine this week how a dark money group has launched a “secretive program aimed at bolstering Democratic messaging on the internet,” offering would-be propagandists up to $8,000 a month for their services but requiring in exchange the surrender of a significant amount of creative control as well as “extensive secrecy about disclosing their payments.”

‘You failed. You didn’t influence anyone. You made fools of yourself.’

Lorenz indicated that among those allegedly approached with contracts by Chorus, the apparent nonprofit arm of a liberal influencer marketing platform, was nonstraight activist Laurenzo; Eliza Orlins, a public defender who once competed on “The Amazing Race”; and one of the pro-abortion zealots behind the Women in America account on TikTok — three individuals who did not respond to Lorenz’s requests for comment.

Other influencers allegedly involved “in communication about the program” include: 2024 Democratic National Convention speaker and Gen Z influencer Olivia Julianna; Playboy executive turned podcaster Loren Piretra; leftist YouTuber David Pakman; and Sander Jennings, the brother of Jared Jennings — the boy called “Jazz” whose genital mutilation was promoted on reality television.

Chorus has reportedly boasted that its initial propagandist cohort has a collective audience of over 40 million followers.

Blaze News senior politics editor Christopher Bedford said Thursday on “The Mandate” that “this was designed to reach out to among the most unstable TikTokers you’ve ever seen — the kind of folks who were at the White House with the nine-inch nails talking about how everything is gay and how great Joe Biden is because everything is gay now. These are the people that they are trying to pay — and they were also trying to control the message.”

“My favorite part about the story is how incredibly incompetent this operation was,” said Bedford. “Reading through it, I’m thinking: Well, you failed. You didn’t influence anyone. You made fools of yourself.”

This initiative, the Chorus Creator Incubator Program, is funded by the second-largest super-PAC donor in 2020, the Sixteen Thirty Fund.

Politico indicated that the Sixteen Thirty Fund forked out $410 million in 2020 in an effort to torpedo President Donald Trump’s re-election and to help Democrats take control of the Senate. It has kept up pressure in the years since.

According to Influence Watch, the Sixteen Thirty Fund, which is not obligated to reveal its contributors, is managed by Arabella Advisors — a leftist, for-profit dark money group based in Washington, D.C., that is presently undergoing a messy breakup with the Gates Foundation.

The Sixteen Thirty Fund confirmed to the New York Post that it is serving Chorus as a “fiscal sponsor” and providing it with “operational and administrative support.”

The Chorus Creator Incubator Program was reportedly launched in July. The propagandists involved were notified that over 90 influencers would take part.

Some of those who apparently signed on told Wired that the “contract stipulated they’d be kicked out and essentially cut off financially if they even so much as acknowledged that they were part of the program.”

RELATED: Democrats want a new Joe Rogan — but their dogma won’t allow it

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Copies of the contract reviewed by Wired apparently confirm these claims, indicating that participants cannot disclose their relationship with Chorus or the Sixteen Thirty Fund and cannot disclose that they’re paid shills.

In addition to their discretion, program participants must allegedly clear all of their bookings with lawmakers and political leaders through Chorus.

On a Zoom call reviewed by Wired, Graham Wilson, a lawyer working with Chorus, allegedly told participants, “There are some real great advantages to … housing this program in a nonprofit.”

“It gives us the ability to raise money from donors. It also, with this structure, it avoids a lot of the public disclosure or public disclaimers — you know, ‘Paid for by blah blah blah blah’ — that you see on political ads,” Wilson allegedly said. “We don’t need to deal with any of that. Your names aren’t showing up on, like, reports filed with the FEC.”

‘They don’t know how to deal with bad press.’

Wilson did not respond to Wired’s request for comment, and the Federal Election Commission declined to comment.

Ellie Langford, the director of programming at Chorus, reportedly told liberal influencers on a Zoom call in June, “Our political systems haven’t been able to figure out a real solution, and I’ve been really excited to see you all treading the path forward. I deeply, deeply believe that the work you all are doing is what’s going to make the difference in supporting and frankly resuscitating our democracy.”

Bedford noted that this ham-fisted effort on the part of leftists to regain control of the public discourse made him realize that “in the last couple of decades, while the American right has been building an alternative media system, which has become extremely successful and really launched into cool mode around 2011, 2012, with Daily Caller, but then finally came into its own with the meme wars in 2016.”

“They’re 10, 20 years ahead of where Democrats are,” continued Bedford. “Democrats don’t know what to do if ABC and CBS and CNN lay off half their employees. That’s all they know. It’s their only game in town. They don’t know how to deal with bad press. They don’t know how to deal with new media — and they’re going to have to learn real quick.”

Bedford noted further that it’s clear from liberals’ desperation to find and anoint a Joe Rogan-caliber influencer that they’ve missed the point.

“They put politics before entertainment. ‘We need a liberal Joe Rogan.’ No, you don’t. You just need to convince Joe Rogan,” added Bedford.

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​Arabella, Sixteen thirty fund, Chorus, Influencers, Propaganda, Democrat, Leftist, Taylor lorenz, Democrats, Joe rogan, Politics 

The Biden administration issued a secret directive before leaving office to extend Kamala Harris’ Secret Service protection beyond the typical duration provided for former vice presidents.

‘The vice president is grateful to the United States Secret Service for their professionalism, dedication, and unwavering commitment to safety.’

President Donald Trump canceled Harris’ federal protection on Thursday, according to a memorandum reviewed by CNN.

While former presidents receive lifetime protection, vice presidents receive six months of protection after leaving office. Harris’ should have ended on July 21.

However, shortly before departing from office, then-President Joe Biden reportedly extended Harris’ protection for an additional year.

A Thursday memorandum issued to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem read, “You are hereby authorized to discontinue any security-related procedures previously authorized by Executive Memorandum, beyond those required by law, for the following individual, effective September 1, 2025: Former Vice President Kamala D. Harris.”

RELATED: Secrecy at USSS: Ex-director who oversaw Butler rally almost got security clearance back — and Curran likely knew

Photographer: Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The termination of Harris’ protection comes as she prepares to set off on a book tour for the release of her new memoir, “107 Days.” The book, which details Harris’ “candid and personal account of the shortest presidential campaign in modern history,” is scheduled for release on September 23.

“The vice president is grateful to the United States Secret Service for their professionalism, dedication, and unwavering commitment to safety,” Kirsten Allen, a Harris senior adviser, told CNN.

Neither the White House nor the Secret Service responded to CNN’s requests for comment. A Biden spokesperson declined to comment, the news outlet reported.

RELATED: Kamala, Hillary champion Texas Democrats who camped out at statehouse, engaged in ‘bad Kabuki theater’

Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Trump canceled Secret Service protection for Biden’s adult children, Hunter and Ashley, in March.

“We are aware of the president’s decision to terminate protection for Hunter and Ashley Biden,” the agency stated at the time. “The Secret Service will comply and is actively working with the protective details and the White House to ensure compliance as soon as possible.”

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Republicans underperformed in the 2022 midterms. No red wave. Not even close. Since then, special election after special election has gone badly for the GOP. Losses pile up everywhere — like what just happened in deep red Western Iowa. Uh-oh.

Donald Trump won Woodbury County in 2024 by a wide margin, 60% to 37%. But in a special election this week, Democrats carried the county by nine points — a swing of more than 30 points in a place where Democrats don’t even control the election machinery.

Men, spend at least half the time on self-government that you spend on football this fall. Hold your candidates accountable.

That should terrify every Republican. If Donald Trump isn’t on the ballot, or if the candidate isn’t a strong standard-bearer like Ron DeSantis in Florida or Kim Reynolds in Iowa, the GOP struggles to turn out voters. The Republican brand is busted unless tied to someone who transcends it.

Rep. Randy Feenstra (R), the congressman from Western Iowa, is the antithesis of a transcendent candidate. He’s nothing in Washington yet somehow thinks he’s suited to be governor. That is exactly the sort of mediocrity voters are rejecting.

Enough. We cannot accept Republicans who bide their time, hoping Trump passes from the stage, only to drag us back to the timid talking points of 2005. No more Mitt Romneys. The choice is stark: Either embrace Trump’s America First agenda without apology or get out of the way.

The stakes couldn’t be clearer

The Woodbury County loss is a four-alarm fire. If Republicans don’t wake up, Democrats will catch them flat-footed again in the 2026 midterms.

Look north. Minnesota is already succumbing to progressive chaos. The state covers for an Islamic takeover of its largest city. Catholic children were just shot at Mass by a trans terrorist. Politicians there proudly defend the worldview that produces bloodshed, blasphemy, and disorder. And still, red states remain complacent — unprepared for the next wave of evil attacks on faith, family, and freedom.

RELATED: Democrat’s shocking victory in Iowa raises alarm for GOP

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Republicans can’t afford that softness any longer. Too many in the GOP act like the proverbial dog returning to its vomit. That weakness must end. Candidates must raise the stakes, not bury them in cowardice and equivocation. They must be warriors ready to defend this country against every enemy, foreign and domestic.

A challenge to men

So here’s my challenge: Men, spend at least half the time on self-government that you spend on football this fall. Fortify your homes, your churches, and your communities. Hold your candidates accountable.

If you don’t, your sons may not inherit the blessing of football season — or the freedoms you’ve taken for granted.

​Opinion & analysis, Iowa, Special election, Democrats, Republicans, 2022 midterm elections, 2026 midterm election, Polls, Mitt romney, Rinos doing rino things, Rinos, Donald trump, Minnesota, Kim reynolds, Ron desantis, Mediocrity, Randy feenstra, Congress, Useless people 

Cheyenne and its residents will soon be inevitably remade as a mysteriously unclaimed — but enormous, and enormously expensive — data center begins construction in the small Wyoming city. It’s estimated that the installation will consume twice the electrical power presently pulled down by the entire state of Wyoming. Without elaborate recycling and efficiency measures, it could consume as much as 124 billion gallons of water per year.

One wonders how that is going to be squared with the perennial water scarcity, rights, and related ranching issues natural to Western states.

A curiously parallel set of circumstances is played out in “Eddington,” Ari Aster’s new film, which forces viewers to grapple with a host of tragicomic plotlines played out in a spiraling COVID-era narrative driven by the arrival of … a huge, unclaimed, anonymous data center in the heart of a small and arid Western town.

Isn’t that an odd coincidence?

While Aster’s film pivots on the psychological meat grinder of the lockdowns — and the impressively timed eruption of the BLM riots and protests — the auteur, by placing the data center’s construction at the center of the maelstrom, seems to be pointing his audience toward even greater forces at play. Like your average New Mexican depicted in Eddington, your average Wyomingite in reality is unlikely to have the time, interest, or wherewithal to really understand — much less manage — the extent of the planetary and human terraforming that tech, banking, and government have set in motion.

An age of terraforming

These data centers are something new. Many are adding their own power plants. The whole operation is contingent on water, of which they need a great deal, in a constant supply. Today, aggregate usage is about 560 billion gallons per year. Extrapolating the math from combined estimates of the Guardian and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, by 2030, these installations could demand up to 25 trillion gallons. This is about what the entire country of Australia uses per year.

The additional social terraforming is tough to grapple with, especially given the uncertainty around immigration/remigration reforms under Trump: boosts of status and capital into otherwise economically decimated areas of the country might be embraced either way. Of course, our data-hungry tech overlords are historically not given to any great charity, so local wealth hikes may be short-lived. The desperate drive to build these data centers, after all, is driven by a need to constantly expand the hypothetical value of numbers on screen or on paper.

Terraforming isn’t going to happen without its drawbacks for locals. Remaking the terrain in the image of AI is going to include the rerouting, application, and control of energy. Families should expect correlative hikes in the electric and gas bills. The data center in Cheyenne will rely on Wyoming natural gas, evidently packaged into the deal somewhere. Anecdotal reports from truckers indicate at least one new pipeline going into the ground already between Pinedale and Lander.

RELATED: How China built a solar-powered back door into millions of American homes

Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images

Projections are that nearly $10 trillion will be invested in the construction of data centers in the next five years around the globe. X is building in Tennessee, OpenAI in Texas, Meta in Louisiana, Google in Ohio. The Trump administration has promised a $500 billion investment of government cash.

It’s all indicative of a multilateral institutional agreement that artificial intelligence must 1) make number go up, 2) make number go up, and, a somewhat distant third, perpetuate some semblance of the current global geopolitical order. How that gets worked out between the international global elite composing what David Rothkopf calls the superclass is yet to be seen.

Man-made horrors

Consider that Ari Aster is primarily a director of smart horror films. What is he suggesting with his “Eddington” data-center plot point? With regard to the terraforming theme, we have to factor in one more aspect: electromagnetic disturbance. The COVID era was, above all else, simply bizarre. The uncertainty was vast, the anxiety pervasive, and the onrush of untested technology in its various forms was tough to keep up with in any serious way. We were, you’ll recall, trying to feed our families. Disturbance, indeed.

You may have more faith in the teleological strength of financial incentivization than I do, or in the creative adaptation of humanity, but hear me out: The addition of colossal quantities of electromagnetics concentrated in our rural spaces, where whole biosystems are already under burden, doesn’t sit well.

Unseen forces are unique this way. In fact, if you were, say, a talented director/writer of neo-intellectual horror films, you could get pretty far down the roads of objective correlative, symbolism, and atmospheric plausibility with the insertion of vast and unquantified amounts of electricity into American deserts. Cap it off by anonymizing the owners of the force, and you’ve got a bona fide spectral invasion. Well played, Mr. Aster.

The ownership of the Cheyenne data center is for now “unknown,” although local rumor suggests Sam Altman’s OpenAI is the likely future occupant. We shall see.

We’re told, even by its creators, that the size and impact of artificial intelligence are beyond measure. We know little of the oncoming impact on human-level well-being, socio-political or financial. Even less do we know about the basic ecological sustainability of the project. Then we add the government contribution (which means commitment) of half a trillion dollars. All this piling on — can we even see what’s being taken away?

It starts to sound like the stuff horror films are made of.

​Tech, Culture 

A jury decided the fate of a Wisconsin woman who beat to death a family friend that she had found in a bathtub with a nonverbal, autistic relative.

Richard Platt, 77, was found dead in the basement of his home on Glen Park Court in New Berlin in Feb. 2024 after getting beaten with a ceramic angel sculpture.

Brown admitted striking him on the head and body. She also bit his face and tried to gouge his eyes out.

Later that same day, 44-year-old Martha Brown was detained as a person of interest by the nearby Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office after they received a call about a partially dressed woman roaming through a neighborhood. Brown was found hiding in a garage in Cedarburg and was draped with a shower curtain.

Brown revealed her involvement in the New Berlin incident when she was being treated at a hospital. That led to police performing a wellness check on the man and finding his body.

The woman said that she had known Platt for 14 years and had lived with him for about six years. Platt had helped her take care of the 22-year-old nonverbal, autistic relative, but Brown said she confronted him after suspecting he had been molesting the relative.

Brown said she chased him into his basement, where they had an altercation.

She said that he had touched her inappropriately and attacked her, and Brown admitted striking him on the head and body. She also bit his face and tried to gouge his eyes out but said she left without knowing his condition.

RELATED: Mother hid from home invader in closet with her baby — then shot thug in the head, police say

Police said they found a “tremendous amount of blood spatter” at the scene and “significant head trauma” on the victim.

Brown tried to argue that she acted in self-defense, but a jury disagreed and found her guilty of first-degree intentional homicide on Tuesday after deliberating for only two hours.

She will be sentenced on Nov. 20 and may face life in prison.

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A mass shooting carried out by the trans-identifying man Robin Westman has revealed that lies are far more dangerous than guns — despite the left’s unwavering belief that the two are flipped.

“A lot of people are evaluating the transgender angle of this, and it’s worthy of evaluation, but it’s really just a symptom of a much larger problem. And it’s a larger problem of the lies that we have introduced into American society, the lies of convenience that we tell in the name of tolerance, in the name of inclusion,” BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock explains on “Fearless.”

“Lies are actually the source of wickedness and evil. Lies are what got America in this place. Lies are more dangerous than guns,” he continues.

And Whitlock points out that in Minnesota, those who thrive on leftist lies are in control.

“Minnesota is a crazy place. … But trust me, if we were willing as Christians — so-called, self-professed Christians — if we were willing to live out the truth and the wisdom expressed in the Bible, Jacob Frey, George Floyd … this new guy from Somalia, Muslim that’s running for mayor, Ilhan Omar … they wouldn’t exist. Their lies would be intolerable to us,” Whitlock says.

“These lies are the slippery slope that will create tragedy after tragedy after tragedy. Our children will be more unsafe. We’re going to create more evil, wicked nutjobs and not get them the help that they need. And the help that they need is the truth,” he continues.

The truth for Robert Westman — who had changed his name to “Robin” Westman — is that he was not a woman and would never be one.

But the left refuses to point out the lie.

“These lies that we keep telling ourselves fuel a culture of deceit. And if Jesus Christ and the Bible are the source of truth, anything that stands in the way of truth is evil and wicked. It’s the antithesis of a biblical Christian obedient worldview,” Whitlock says.

“This is so obvious,” he continues, “but it’s also very dangerous because once you go down this path, once you start having this conversation and you start evaluating things from like, okay, are we serving Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior? And if we’re not, what are we really doing? And who are our real allies?”

“People don’t want to have these discussions because it could cost them money,” he says. “It could cost them reputation in the world.”

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The Department of Homeland Security hasn’t deported nearly enough illegal aliens to justify the massive distraction and cost of providing security for the 2026 World Cup. In Secretary Kristi Noem’s own words, “the 2026 FIFA World Cup is anticipated to be the largest, most complex sporting event in the world — equivalent to a dozen Super Bowls over a single summer.”

Congress already allocated $625 million for World Cup security in Democrat-run cities, many of which fight Trump’s immigration agenda at every turn — including his effort to make those cities safer. That sum doesn’t even touch the other operational costs the administration will pick up, diverting substantial law enforcement bandwidth away from deportations.

In the absence of a serious mass deportation drive, hosting a summer-long soccer spectacle is an insult to Americans who want their country back.

Why shower these hostile jurisdictions with taxpayer dollars to celebrate a recreational export from the third world? It makes no sense. The DHS fills its feeds with memes invoking legacy America, then turns its focus from mass deportations to futbol. Add to that the wave of tourist visas that will be handed out to international fans, swelling an already absurd total of 55 million visa-holders inside the United States.

The numbers don’t add up

The Trump administration’s deportation progress remains anemic. Reliable statistics don’t exist because they aren’t being published, which runs directly against Trump’s own promises of transparency. It also mirrors the very failure senior Trump officials once blasted Biden for — refusing to release numbers.

What little we do know is piecemeal. The DHS told CNN that ICE deported nearly 200,000 people in the first seven months of Trump’s term. A senior official even boasted that put ICE “on track for its highest rate of removals in at least a decade.” But that still fell short of the administration’s stated target.

Even taking the 200,000 figure at face value, we’re still talking sub-Obama-level numbers. When Americans voted for Trump, they voted for the largest mass deportation in U.S. history. The second item on his 20 campaign promises spelled it out: millions removed from the interior, more than at any time in history.

Trump himself often invoked Dwight Eisenhower’s “Operation Wetback” as the benchmark. By most estimates, that meant removing about half of the illegal aliens in the country. Applied today, that’s roughly 10 million people — half of the often-cited 20 million total. Nothing we’ve seen so far comes close. The math just doesn’t math.

Self-deportation is a mirage

In the absence of solid deportation numbers, the administration has leaned on funky “self-deportation” estimates instead — survey-based economic studies that supposedly suggest that millions have left. The methodology is flimsy.

Worse, the DHS already has a direct way to measure: the CBP One app, which offers illegal aliens $1,000 to sign in and self-deport. Hundreds of millions have been spent promoting it. So how many have taken the payout? The DHS won’t say. And are we really to believe that “millions” of aliens supposedly self-deported while leaving free money on the table? Of course not.

The silence here tells the truth: The numbers don’t exist, which is why they aren’t public.

RELATED: Mass deportation or bust: Trump’s one shot to get it right

Photo by Emilio Flores/Anadolu via Getty Images

The wrong priorities

In the absence of a serious mass deportation drive, hosting a summer-long soccer spectacle is an insult to Americans who want their country back. Soccer remains the least American major sport, beloved mainly among non-English-speaking immigrant populations. Its popularity reflects our feckless, America-last immigration policy, not cultural confidence.

It would be both a political and operational mistake to stage a massive security mission for futbol while mass deportations continue to lag. For a DHS that has prioritized slick communications above execution, one can only imagine the hollow theatrics that will accompany this event.

If the administration starts putting commas into deportation numbers, maybe the World Cup can be tolerated. Until then, it is the wrong priority at the wrong time.

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The debate around stricter gun laws is raging after a deranged transgender gunman slaughtered two children and injured at least 17 others at a Catholic school in Minneapolis.

The shooter, Robert Westman — who changed his name to Robin Westman — posted videos to social media that show a handwritten manifesto with “kill Donald Trump” and “for the children” scrawled on gun magazines.

And while the left believes guns are to blame, others are focused on what they believe to be the shooter’s clearly deteriorated mental state.

“Nobody’s talking about how hopped up these kids are on any psych drug you can imagine,” BlazeTV contributor Jeremy Ryan Slate tells BlazeTV host Dave Landau on “Normal World.”

“I think it comes down to the SSRIs. Like, that is the thing that really needs to be handled because it was actually … Jim Marrs … he did a really big deep dive when he was still with us, obviously looking at a lot of the school shootings and the amount of SSRIs that are linked to them,” Slate explains. “And that is the problem that needs to be handled.”

“I think there’s way too much, maybe in therapy, looking into the past and not the present or future, because I think all that buildup also and then treating it is not – I don’t know. I went to high school for five years, so I could be way off,” Landau says, lightening the mood.

“Well, with therapists it seems like the past is just an endless well to keep you coming back,” BlazeTV contributor Austin Robertson chimes in.

And it’s not just therapy and SSRIs that are plaguing the youth.

“You even see this with a lot of the transgender stuff that’s been in the news, as well. If you see how quickly they’re prescribing people hormones after one appointment with somebody, I think it’s very similar to how SSRIs are given out,” Slate says.

“That whole thing is confusing to me,” Landau says. “Because I don’t know the stats and all the levels of it, but obviously, I think adding hormones on top of hormones and somebody’s certain age has got to be extremely dangerous.”

“I just feel like sometimes science oversteps,” he adds.

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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he’s looking into whether gender transitioning drugs possibly taken by a transgender suspect could have led to the mass shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic church.

The horrific shooting took the lives of two children aged 8 and 10 years old and injured 17 others, including 14 children. Authorities have revealed that Robin Westman, who took his life after the shooting, was transgender and left extremist messages on social media.

‘It’s not really happening in other countries; it’s happening here. And we need to look at all of the potential culprits that might be contributing to that.’

When RFK Jr. was asked about the possibility of the drugs having side effects that led to the terrible violence, he said that was being investigated.

“We are doing those kind of studies now,” he answered during an interview with Fox & Friends Thursday.

One of the hosts noted that there had been another recent school shooting committed by a transgender person named Audrey Hale.

“We are launching studies into their potential contribution,” he said of the transition drugs.

RFK Jr. did not say if it was known whether either suspect had ingested such drugs for gender transitioning.

“Some of the SSRI drugs and some other psychiatric drugs might be contributing to violence,” he added, referring to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors that are used to treat depression.

“Many of them have black-box warnings that warn of suicidal ideation and homicidal ideation. So we can’t exclude those as a culprit, and those are the kind of studies we are doing,” he added.

RELATED: Catholic schools begged Gov. Tim Walz to increase security before horrific shooting — and he did nothing

The 23-year-old suspect changed his name from Robert to Robin in 2020 and had admitted to having suicidal thoughts for years.

“There was no time in the past when people would walk into a church or a classroom and start shooting people,” RFK Jr. continued. “It’s not really happening in other countries; it’s happening here. And we need to look at all of the potential culprits that might be contributing to that.”

Critics of the mainstream media have lambasted some outlets for their reticence in reporting that the suspect in the heinous shooting was a transgender person.

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Chip and Joanna Gaines’ new show, “Back to the Frontier,” has stirred up backlash from their Christian supporters, as it features a homosexual couple who used a surrogate to become fathers to their two boys.

The Gaineses did not take the backlash well, with Chip doubling down on their position by writing in a post on X: “Talk, ask qustns, listen … maybe even learn. Too much to ask of modern American Christian culture. Judge 1st, understand later/never.”

“It’s a sad sunday when ‘non believers’ have never been confronted with hate or vitriol until they are introduced to a modern American Christian,” he added.

BlazeTV host Steve Deace of the “Steve Deace Show” is disappointed in the Christian couple.

“You are watching Chip and Joanna Gaines now continue to descend into the abyss,” Deace says. “Now, what I think will be fascinating about them is they have chosen — well, Chip in particular tried to be a keyboard commando tough guy the last time they got exposed and went about not just deconstructing his faith, but reconstructing and attempting to say, no, they actually represent the true light of Christianity.”

“And that generated a way bigger level of backlash than what I’ve seen with others who have gone down this road,” he adds.

Deace explains that this is a common pattern that unfolds when it comes to Christian television stars like Chip and Joanna.

“What you see is using us to gain an audience. And then once you gain a certain foothold of that audience and credibility with said audience, to the point now that you cross over as something that’s known mainstream,” Deace explains.

“Once that crossover happens, then the offer is brought to you from the spirit of the age. Bow to the shibboleth of the damned, the rainbow jihad. And they pretty much all do,” he adds.

Now, what Chip has done by calling out his own base may have caused irreversible damage.

“They chose not to just abandon their base or assume that their base would not know and just stay with them no matter what. They chose to punch back at their base. So we’ll see if it works out for them or not,” Deace says. “It’s a bold choice, Cotton.”

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Public outrage over a statement from President Donald Trump about Chinese students allowed into the U.S. led to a clarification on Thursday from the White House.

The president was speaking to reporters on Monday with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung at his side when he addressed the negotiations with China.

‘President Trump isn’t proposing an increase in student visas for Chinese students. … It’s simply a continuation of existing policy.’

“President Xi would like me to come to China. It’s a very important relationship. As you know, we are taking a lot of money in from China because of the tariffs and different things,” Trump said.

“I hear so many stories about ‘We are not going to allow their students,’ but we are going to allow their students to come in,” he added. “We are going to allow it. It’s very important — 600,000 students.”

The admission from a president who had been very open about his opposition to Chinese expansionism and foreign-born students led to outrage from his supporters. There were 277,398 students from China allowed to attend U.S. colleges in 2023.

He went on to argue later that the high number of Chinese students would help keep U.S. schools financially solvent.

“We’re honored to have their students here,” he said.

On Thursday, the White House clarified his statement.

“President Trump isn’t proposing an increase in student visas for Chinese students. The 600K references two years’ worth of visas. It’s simply a continuation of existing policy,” the statement reads.

RELATED: Chinese nationals on student visas allegedly ripped off elderly Americans in nasty scheme

In May, the State Department had issued a statement indicating that they would be “aggressively” revoking visas for Chinese students if they were found to have links to the Chinese Community Party.

“We will also revise visa criteria to enhance scrutiny of all future visa applications from the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong,” State Sec. Marco Rubio added.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry had opposed the opposition to student visas and called on the U.S. government to “protect the legitimate rights and interests of international students, including those of Chinese students.”

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The Trump administration announced a new proposed rule on Wednesday to increase vetting of foreign nationals and prevent “forever” students who abuse the visa system.

Trump’s Department of Homeland Security highlighted F visas for students, I visas for media members, and J visas for exchange visitors, which include professors, research assistants, au pairs, and camp counselors, among others.

‘For too long, past administrations have allowed foreign students and other visa holders to remain in the US virtually indefinitely, posing safety risks, costing [an] untold amount of taxpayer dollars, and disadvantaging US citizens.’

The rule proposes ending “duration of status” for these visa programs, which currently allow immigrants to remain in the United States for an unspecified period of time without further screening.

“In turn, foreign students have taken advantage of U.S. generosity and have become ‘forever’ students, perpetually enrolled in higher education courses to remain in the U.S.,” a DHS press release reads.

More than 2,100 foreign nationals who were granted F-1 visas between 2000 and 2010 were still residing in the U.S. as of April, according to the proposed rule. It highlighted several instances of abuse, including a case involving a dance school student who received an F-1 visa in 1991. The student’s school reportedly requested 17 program extensions between 2003 and 2020. The student transferred to an English language training program at a different school in 2022 and, as of May, has remained in the U.S. on a student visa, the document noted.

By eliminating duration of status, those on student visas would be permitted to remain in the U.S. only for the duration of their education programs, which are not to exceed four years.

RELATED: Trump admin to vet all visa holders — revoke and deport threats to America

Photo by MEGAN JELINGER/AFP via Getty Images

Foreign media representatives would be granted a stay of up to 240 days, with the possibility of extending it for an additional 240 days, according to the new rule. However, their time in the U.S. would be limited to the duration of their temporary activity or assignment.

If the proposed rule is adopted, individuals with F, J, or I visas would be admitted for a fixed period of time. They would generally be allowed to request an extension, but they must submit their extension application directly to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

“This would allow DHS to conduct proper oversight as part of [Student and Exchange Visitor Program] and [Student and Exchange Visitor Information System] by making access to necessary information more accessible and reducing the number of individuals here on visas,” the DHS press release reads.

RELATED: American universities should be for Americans

Photo by Miami Herald / Contributor via Getty Images

The proposed rule highlighted a significant increase in visa applicants since duration of status was initially granted for these programs, including a reported 250% increase in J visas and a 94% increase in I visas from 1985 to 2023.

“In 2023 alone, there were over 1.6 million admissions in F status, a dramatic rise from when the legacy Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) first shifted to D/S admission in 1979. For example, in the 1980-81 school year, there were approximately 260,000 admissions in F status,” the proposed rule reads.

The first Trump administration proposed this rule in 2020. However, it was later withdrawn under the leadership of former President Joe Biden.

“For too long, past administrations have allowed foreign students and other visa holders to remain in the U.S. virtually indefinitely, posing safety risks, costing [an] untold amount of taxpayer dollars, and disadvantaging U.S. citizens,” a DHS spokesperson stated. “This new proposed rule would end that abuse once and for all by limiting the amount of time certain visa holders are allowed to remain in the U.S., easing the burden on the federal government to properly oversee foreign students and their history.”

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A directory connecting prospective patients to doctors of only one race has been rolled back after a lawsuit.

The lawsuit came from legal activist group Do No Harm, which sued WURD Radio, a Philadelphia radio station that promotes “Black Talk Media.”

According to legal documents, WURD controlled a black doctors’ directory with the support of the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Medicine department, along with a group called the Consortium of DEI Health Educators.

‘… connecting you with Black doctors across major hospitals.’

The radio station promoted the directory on Facebook last year as a resource to bridge “Health Gaps in Philadelphia.”

The post stated, “WURD Radio launches the Black Doctors Directory, connecting you with Black doctors across major hospitals.”

As of this week, the Philadelphia-area physicians’ directory has rolled back its requirement that the doctors listed be of a certain race, while also changing its name.

“The Black Doctors Directory is now the Community Health and Wellness Directory. Ability to participate in the Community Health and Wellness Directory is not determined on the basis of race,” Do No Harm wrote in a press release.

The lawsuit noted the directory will have to make more concessions as well.

RELATED: All-female marketing team DESTROYS Cracker Barrel

The radio station agreed to “only publicize the directory under [the new name] or an equally race-neutral name,” and must consider “any licensed physician in the greater Philadelphia area” when adding to the directory.

However, according to the offer of judgment, one caveat to consider was that the licensed physician would have to demonstrate a “commitment to treating patients and communities historically and currently underserved,” but that cannot include inquiring about or considering the physician’s race.

Since the conclusion of the lawsuit became public, PhillyBlackDoctors.com has been taken down, and WURD’s page promoting the directory (as linked through its Facebook post) also no longer appears to be live.

RELATED: The woke party’s favorite costume: Moderation

Then-Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro sits for a radio interview with WURD on November 8, 2022. Photo by Caroline Gutman/Washington Post/Getty Images

The original webpage had promoted finding black doctors in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey, while showcasing radio segments from WURD Radio that featured guests like the “Twin Sister Docs.”

While the listenership for the radio segments is unknown, the online versions of the segments that were visible on the webpage garnered between eight and 32 plays.

“We are grateful that the directory is open to physicians of all races,” said Stanley Goldfarb, M.D. and chairman of Do No Harm. “Do No Harm has long opposed ‘racial concordance,’ a thoroughly debunked theory that only breeds suspicion and prejudice.”

Goldfarb added, “When medical providers prioritize expertise and high-quality care, patients will see better health outcomes.”

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