Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado complimented the U.S. Senate campaign of Texas Democrat James Talarico — and even delivered a humorous jab at his opponent, Democrat U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett.

Boebert appeared alongside Talarico on “Real Time with Bill Maher” Friday, talking about everything from faith to Talarico’s infamously pulled Stephen Colbert interview. Boebert also extended a compliment to the congressman, noting that his Senate candidacy has been impressive and joked about giving him a leg up ahead of the primary against Crockett.

‘My concern is not for my campaign, it’s for the Constitution.’

“I do want to congratulate you on the success so far in your campaign,” Boebert told Talarico before adding, “Maybe I should endorse Jasmine Crockett so you could do a little better!”

Talarico, Maher, and the crowd laughed in response.

RELATED: Crockett hits back, says Colbert is full of it: ‘They just didn’t want to air it

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Boebert also set the record straight in the aftermath of Talarico’s interview with Colbert, noting that Crockett’s analysis — that the federal government had nothing to do with the decision to pull the interview — was correct.

“It wasn’t President Trump that canceled your segment,” Boebert said. “This is one area where Miss Crockett is correct. This was a decision by the network. They didn’t want to have her on, possibly. They didn’t want to have that equal time.”

Boebert added, “But I also think that the way it was aired — I mean you got over five million views. You raised 2.5 million dollars in 24 hours, so it was a pretty big success for you.”

RELATED: Stephen Colbert melts down after CBS pulls interview with Democrat just months before his show ends

Photo by Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images

Talarico and Boebert also sparred over the pulled Colbert interview, with the Texas Democrat claiming it was a top-down order from President Donald Trump.

“My concern is not for my campaign, it’s for the Constitution,” Talarico said.

“Right, but it wasn’t the president who said ‘Do not allow this to air …'” Boebert replied. “It was equal share time. It was already in the rules. And that network said, ‘We do not want to have the equal share. We don’t want to fulfill that part of the rule.'”

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​Donald trump, Lauren boebert, James talarico, Jasmine crockett, Stephen colbert, Bill maher, Texas primary, Texas democrat primary, 2026 primary, Senate primary, Politics 

Liberal leadership often leads to higher gas prices and higher profit margins for oil merchants, a digging expert is saying.

With oil prices once again dropping, it may surprise many to know that while Democrats traditionally are harsher on the oil industry, they actually end up making those companies more money, while the average American’s pocket gets lighter.

‘The left always is looking to punish.’

Dan Doyle, president of fracking company Reliance Well Services, said that when pipelines and other drilling technology are limited by Democrats, it is the consumer who suffers.

“Profitability is a little bit better under Democrats than Republicans,” Doyle told Return in an exclusive interview. “Trump is very tough on oil prices, you know, because he’s using them this time to get gas prices lower. So he’s really pressuring to bring those oil prices down.”

President Biden shutting down the Keystone XL pipeline his first day in office was just one example of Democrat-led moves that increased the cost of daily living for Americans, Doyle explained.

“You shut the pipelines down, it just makes it more expensive. Now you’re bringing it over the roads,” he asserted. “Now you’re putting this stuff over the road or in train cars.”

Doyle referred to the Lac-Mégantic train disaster in Canada in 2013, when a runaway train carrying crude oil derailed and killed 47 people in an explosion.

Comparing that to pipeline safety, Doyle said, “There could be a leak, but let me tell you, if there’s a leak, you know it immediately and it gets cleaned up.”

RELATED: America won’t beat China without Alaska

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Doyle asked readers to simply check out the oil prices under Democrat leadership versus Republican.

“Under Obama back in [2013-2014] and, I believe, later, oil was routinely at $100. So you take CPI and you adjust it for inflation. … That’s twice what it is right now.”

Doyle was actually estimating conservatively. According to data from the Energy Information Association, a government agency, the price per barrel was $98.99 under Obama in January 2012; when adjusted for inflation using the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index inflation calculator, that equates to $142 per barrel in January 2026.

Under President Trump, oil prices have never gone over $73.15 (January 2025), whereas the previous three presidents have peaked at far higher prices. President George W. Bush had prices skyrocket to $128.08 in July 2008. President Obama’s top price was $108.80 in April 2011, while President Biden’s peak price was in June 2022 at $113.77.

As of November 2025, the U.S. crude oil purchase price was just $58.13.

“People that are a bit marginalized or either struggling, you know, two jobs, three jobs, they don’t need to be paying these artificially or politically — not necessarily artificially, but politically — [inflated] costly bills.”

RELATED: Inside China’s plan to beat the US at big tech forever

Photo courtesy Dan Doyle

Doyle spoke at a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, for then-candidate Vice President JD Vance in 2024. During that speech, the oil entrepreneur argued against claims that his industry is causing environmental damage and spoke on the “war on fracking” that started under President Obama’s administration.

Doyle explained that this was the start of the “punishment” his industry has received under Democratic Party rule. Doyle laughed about that punishment in his interview with Return, but got very serious when it came to who actually suffers.

“The left always is looking to punish. … They care more about punishing with the pricing, and all that ends up doing, really, is driving the price up for the consumer, whereas, you know, the people at the top are just taking a little bit of a hit on their profit margin. So it’s actually tougher for the oil billionaires under Republicans.”

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​Return, Oil, Gas, Gas pipelines, Fracking, Trains, Obama, Republicans, Democrats, Tech 

In less than two weeks, two deadly shootings — both allegedly by transgender-identifying biological males. One was a school rampage in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, that killed eight people, and the other a targeted family attack during a youth hockey game in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, where two of the alleged shooter’s family members were left dead.

BlazeTV host Stu Burguiere wonders if we’re dealing with a “trans shooter epidemic.”

“We’ve done this story … over and over and over and over and over and over and over again,” he says.

It’s usually one of two scenarios, he says: “You have some person who’s a crazy sort of leftist that winds up getting into the trans ideology world” and becomes “very defensive of it to a violent extent, like we saw with the Charlie Kirk situation,” or “you have a situation where the person is just a crazy leftist and starts going out and killing people because of their mass confusion in their life.”

But what’s the root cause of this kind of violence?

On this episode of “Stu Does America,” Stu dives into a study that might provide some insight into that question.

“Obviously, all [transgender-identifying] people are not murdering others. We do, though, see a disproportionate amount of people who are involved in this ideology … that are involved in violent acts,” he says, citing trans-identifying biological female Audrey Hale, who killed six children and three adults at an elementary school in Nashville in March 2023, and Tyler Robinson, the alleged assassin of Charlie Kirk, who was romantically involved with a transgender-identifying male.

Stu wonders why of all the “fancy letters” in the LGBTQIA2+ alphabet, it is transgender-identifying individuals who seem more prone to violence.

The answer may lie, at least partially, in how different sexual identities answer the question: “Is disagreement violence?”

Stu cites a study from PsychFORM, which examined how transgender-identifying respondents answered that question compared to gay-identifying respondents.

“About 15% to 18% of gay people say, ‘Yeah, you know, any disagreement, I see as violence.’ … The number for trans people is 100%. 100% of trans people in this poll said that disagreement equals violence,” Stu exclaims.

The study also tested another question: “Is reasoned disagreement permissible?”

According to the chart, roughly 18% of gay-identifying respondents answered no, compared to over 90% of trans-identifying respondents.

“If you’re looking for an explanation to understand what’s going on in that realm when it comes to violence and trans people, look no farther than that chart,” says Stu.

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, Trans shooters, Transgenderism, Trans violence, Blazetv, Blaze media 

Rural health care in America faces a host of chronic challenges: high costs, limited access, and aging infrastructure. For millions of families across the heartland, these problems aren’t abstract — they determine whether patients can see a doctor, reach a hospital, or receive timely care close to home.

By expanding flexibility, encouraging innovation, and meeting rural communities where they are, policymakers have begun to confront the unique realities of rural health care.

More than 60 million Americans — nearly one in five — live in rural areas where patients routinely travel long distances only to find fewer doctors, hospitals, and clinics available to serve them.

Under-resourced communities face over-sized health challenges. Nowhere is this more evident than in rural America, where higher rates of chronic disease, premature mortality, and addiction persist compared to the rest of the country.

In recent months, the Trump administration and Congress have advanced a set of reforms — largely overlooked in the national debate — that directly address long-standing disparities and structural weaknesses in rural health care, and they could meaningfully strengthen care delivery in these communities, improve health, and save lives.

The most significant of these efforts is the Rural Health Transformation Program, established last year in President Trump and the Republican Congress’ signature One Big Beautiful Bill Act. This $50 billion program represents the largest investment ever dedicated specifically to rural health, far exceeding the scale of prior grant programs. States that receive awards can use these resources to modernize and stabilize their rural health systems.

The program allows states to invest in innovative care models tailored to rural realities — whether expanding outpatient capacity, strengthening the health care workforce, or upgrading aging facilities. Instead of imposing a one-size-fits-all approach, the program gives states the flexibility to design reforms that reflect local needs and constraints.

Although media attention has shifted elsewhere, the White House and congressional leaders should continue to emphasize the long-term importance of this investment. The program addresses a foundational weakness in America’s health system and delivers tangible support to rural communities that have too often been left behind.

As part of the recently enacted FY 2026 appropriations legislation, Congress also extended Medicare telehealth flexibilities through December 31, 2027, delaying a return to statutory barriers that once limited access to telehealth services. Telehealth allows patients to connect with specialists, receive mental health services, and manage chronic diseases without traveling hours for an appointment.

In communities facing persistent provider shortages, telehealth has become not a convenience but a lifeline — a bridge over miles of empty road, connecting rural patients to care that would otherwise remain out of reach.

The FY 2026 appropriations legislation also reauthorized the Acute Hospital Care at Home initiative, which allows eligible patients to receive hospital-level care in their own homes. This approach reduces costs, eases pressure on rural hospitals with limited capacity, and improves patient satisfaction. For small hospitals struggling to keep beds staffed and doors open, Acute Hospital Care at Home offers a practical way to deliver high-quality care while preserving local access.

RELATED: Trump’s economic numbers look good so far, but you wouldn’t know from reading the news

Douglas Rissing / Getty Images

Finally, although Congress has not yet enacted it into law, lawmakers are working to reauthorize the Rural Health Care Services Outreach Program. This program supports community-based efforts to expand access to care, strengthen coordination among providers, and address persistent service gaps. Its grants help rural health systems collaborate across institutions and tailor solutions for populations that too often fall through the cracks.

Taken together, these reforms do not promise a quick cure — but they do offer a realistic treatment plan. They don’t strengthen rural health care because it’s easy; they make it easier because rural health care must be strong. While these efforts will not eliminate every challenge rural communities face, they are designed to deliver tangible improvements that deserve recognition.

By expanding flexibility, encouraging innovation, and meeting rural communities where they are, policymakers have begun to confront the unique realities of rural health care. Yet as the news cycle moves on, these achievements risk being overlooked. Policymakers in both Congress and the executive branch should resist the urge to rush to the next challenge and instead highlight the significance of these steps in the right direction.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published by RealClearHealth and made available via RealClearWire.

​Rural heathcare, One big beautiful bill, Healthcare, Healthcare costs, Rural america, Rural americans, Rural hospitals, Opinion & analysis, Donald trump, Health and human services 

Americans reportedly send six billion text messages per day, with 81% of U.S. users relying on the built-in messages app on their phones instead of alternatives like Telegram and WhatsApp. If you’re still sending SMS messages, though, you could be leaving yourself open to unwanted threats and security risks. Here’s how and why you should enable RCS messaging on your phone right now.

A brief history of RCS

RCS, short for Rich Communication Services, is the new gold standard text messaging platform that has officially replaced SMS and MMS. It was created all the way back in 2008 by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association, a unified organization consisting of popular cell service providers, including AT&T and T-Mobile, among many others.

RCS didn’t receive broad appeal, however, until Google purchased a company called Jibe Mobile in 2015, which specialized in RCS technology. Google went on to integrate RCS directly into the Google Messages app on Android by 2020, making it the premiere messaging service on Samsung Galaxy phones, Google Pixel devices, and more.

After years of pressure from Google, Apple finally adopted RCS into iPhone in 2023, replacing SMS as the fallback option while maintaining iMessage as its proprietary messaging service.

RCS is meant to unify the text messaging experience across iPhone and Android.

It’s important to note that SMS and MMS are still supported on most devices today, but they’re not nearly as secure, capable, or reliable.

Benefits of RCS

RCS is meant to unify the text messaging experience across iPhone and Android. While iPhone users who text other iPhones will still default to iMessage, Android users who text other Android devices or iPhones will send messages through RCS. These new RCS-style messages come with several benefits that will be very familiar to iMessage users on iPhone while making texts better for Android users overall.

Encryption: For starters, RCS messages between Android phones are end-to-end encrypted, keeping your conversations safe and private from anyone who might want to take a peek, including your carrier or the government. Apple’s version of RCS is currently unencrypted, but a future software update is expected to enable end-to-end encryption later this year.Read receipts: It’s nice to know when someone actually saw the text you sent, right? RCS supports read receipts that indicate when a text message has been delivered and when it was read, along with a nifty date stamp.Group messaging: Group message threads have long been a point of contention for iPhone and Android users. With RCS, users can now name the group, see who’s typing with typing indicators, and even leave emoji reactions for all to see.Media files: Finally, RCS supports high resolution images and videos, making it easier to share photos and other content in their original quality instead of relying on the grainy, compressed MMS images of the past.

An RCS warning

While RCS is safer, more private, and simply better than SMS, the service’s ability to send hi-res imagery makes it easier for scammers to send spam messages to a broader group of people. In fact, the emergence of RCS is partly responsible for the growing degree of spam texts in the U.S.

That shouldn’t deter you from switching to it, though. The benefits of RCS far outweigh its deterrents. It’s also the future of text messaging standards, meaning it will be supported and receive security updates for the long haul, far beyond SMS and MMS.

If you receive too many spam text messages while using RCS, check out our anti-spam text guide. This will banish scammers from your messages app for good.

How to enable RCS on iPhone and Android

It’s fairly easy to enable RCS on both iPhones and Android devices. Before you go looking for these settings, though, note that RCS activation is contingent on your carrier allowing RCS onto its network. Some carriers have been slower than others to enable the service, so if it’s not available on your device yet, it will be in the future. Most carriers are on board, though, so you probably won’t have any trouble.

RELATED: Amazon’s Ring is running a spy ring from your home. Here’s how to turn it off.

Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

To enable RCS on iPhone, open the Settings app. Scroll to the bottom and tap “Apps.” Then scroll to the middle of the page and tap into “Messages.” Near the lower half of the screen in the “Text Messaging” section, you’ll find “RCS Messaging.” Tap on that, toggle RCS Messaging on, and you’re done!

Screenshots by Zach Laidlaw

To enable RCS on Android, you’ll first need the official Google Messages app. At the time this article was published, Google Messages is the only messaging app on Android that fully supports RCS’ full list of features, including end-to-end encryption. Inside Google Messages, tap on your profile picture in the top right corner. Then tap on “Messages settings.” “RCS chats” is right at the top. Dive into that menu, toggle RCS chats on, and you’re ready to go. On this page, you can also customize your RCS experience, by either enabling or disabling some of the features mentioned above.

Screenshots by Zach Laidlaw

Enable RCS now

Text messaging technology has come a long way since the days of flip phones, T9 keypads, and other ancient artifacts of the early 2000s. If you’re not using RCS already, you’re basically inviting your carrier to read your texts, your phone is more vulnerable to cellular network attacks, and your phone number could even be stolen and swapped into another device by a criminal. You can prevent all of this and enjoy a better texting experience by enabling RCS today. There’s really no reason not to.

​Tech, Rcs, Text, Phones