In a recent interview with Bryan Tyler Cohen, former President Barack Obama was asked about the existence of aliens during a “speed round” of questions, and Obama made a shocking statement.

“They’re real,” Obama told Cohen quickly.

The clip quickly went viral, sparking renewed questions about what the former president knows and what he has previously said about UFOs and extraterrestrial life.

‘Statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there’s life out there.’

Obama clarified to Cohen that he has never actually “seen them” himself and dismissed long-running Area 51 conspiracy theories, saying that the government is not actively hiding aliens, unless agents somehow managed to conceal that information from the president of the United States.

But this was not the first time Obama publicly addressed the issue.

RELATED: ‘Who put them there?’ Scientists struggle to explain UFO-like objects captured in 1950s astronomy photos.

Image credit: YouTube screenshot

In 2021, during an appearance on “The Late Late Show with James Corden,” Obama was pressed about UFOs.

“There are some things I just can’t tell you on air,” Obama said.

Though the exchange began lightheartedly, Obama shifted to a more serious tone.

“What is true, and I’m actually being serious here, is that there’s footage and records of objects in the skies that we don’t know exactly what they are,” Obama said. “We can’t explain how they moved, their trajectory. They did not have an easily explainable pattern. And so, you know, I think that people still take seriously trying to investigate and figure out what that is.”

President Donald Trump has also fielded questions about aliens on multiple occasions, including during an interview with podcast host Joe Rogan.

“I interviewed jet pilots that were solid people — perfect, great pilots, great everything. And they said, ‘We saw things, sir, that were very strange, like a round ball, but it wasn’t a comet or a meteor,’” Trump said. “‘It was something, and it was going four times faster than an F-22.’”

“There’s no reason not to think that Mars and all these planets don’t have life,” Trump added.

These previous statements from both presidents are notably similar in tone, acknowledging unexplained aerial phenomena while stopping short of confirming extraterrestrial life, making Obama’s comment to Cohen all the more noteworthy.

However, Obama has since attempted to give more context to his declaration that aliens are “real.”

RELATED: Pentagon psyop exposed: Military reportedly cooked up tales of alien technology in weapons cover-up

Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

A day after the interview, Obama made a clarifying post on Instagram, saying he was “trying to stick with the spirit of the speed round.”

Obama then delivered a gut punch to the community of UFO believers, saying, “Statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there’s life out there. But the distances between solar systems are so great that the chances we’ve been visited by aliens is low, and I saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us. Really!”

Studies show that the American people remain curious about the UFO phenomenon. A 2025 poll from NewsNation/Decision Desk HQ surveyed 521 Republicans, 559 Democrats, 349 independents, and 18 “other” voters and found that 44% of Americans believe the government is concealing UFO information. Twenty-eight percent disagree, while another 28% remain unsure.

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​Politics, Ufo, Aliens, Podcast, Obama, Trump, Pentagon, Conspiracy, Polls 

As the search for Savannah Guthrie’s mother stretches into its third week, the “Today” host released a video update over the weekend — with an urgent appeal to anyone who might know her mother’s whereabouts.

Nancy Guthrie, 84, was reported missing on February 1 after a member of her church noticed she was not at the usual service and later notified her family. While police have been investigating some evidence, there are still no positive leads to her whereabouts, two weeks after her disappearance, CNN reported Monday morning.

‘And we believe in the essential goodness of every human being. And it’s never too late.’

On Sunday, Savannah Guthrie released a second video appealing to anyone who knows where her mother is, including in particular the masked man who was caught on doorbell camera footage, which Guthrie likewise posted on her Instagram.

In the most recent video, which Guthrie captioned “Bring her home. it’s never too late to do the next right thing,” she said:

It’s been two weeks since our mom was taken, and I just wanted to come on and say that we still have hope and we still believe. And I wanted to say to whoever has her, or knows where she is, that it’s never too late, and you’re not lost or alone. And it is never too late to do the right thing. And we are here. We believe. And we believe in the essential goodness of every human being. And it’s never too late.

RELATED: ‘Today’ host Savannah Guthrie’s mother, 84, vanishes from home after missing church; police warn: ‘We have a crime scene’

Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images

CNN reported that investigators have still not identified a motive for Guthrie’s disappearance.

However, a glove found near Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson, Arizona, residence appears to visually match a glove seen in the doorbell camera footage. DNA from the glove is being examined to try to identify a suspect in the case, according to CNN.

Any DNA found on the glove will be run through the FBI-managed Combined DNA Index System, which is a national database of over 19 million offender profiles.

The Hill reported that the FBI is encouraging those with tips to reach out to 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department also said last Wednesday that individuals can submit tips at 88-CRIME or 520-351-4900.

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​Politics, Savannah guthrie, Nancy guthrie, Instagram, Pima county sheriff’s department, Fbi, Tucson arizona, Guthrie, Codis 

Sports broadcaster Stephen A. Smith says he is a fiscal conservative but a social liberal.

For those reasons, the ESPN personality says he is not completely opposed to running for office, but it would be as a Democrat.

‘I couldn’t see myself running as a member of the GOP.’

The 58-year-old critiqued policy from both of the last two administrations during an interview with “CBS Sunday Morning” and host Robert Costa, remarking that he has “no desire to be a politician.”

“Zero. I have no desire to run for office,” he told Costa. But when asked if he would “run for president,” Smith revealed that the door is still open.

“I’m not ruling it out because I’d love to be on the debate stages against some of these individuals that think they’re better suited to run the country, because I think that the American people deserve to listen to and hear from somebody who genuinely cares about making life better for them instead of yourself.”

RELATED: ESPN fatigue: Stephen A. Smith pushes vaccines, racial drama, and no real journalism

When asked which party’s banner he would fly, Smith said he would run as a Democrat chiefly because of the fact that he is more left on social issues.

“I couldn’t see myself running as a member of the GOP. I’m a fiscal conservative. I can’t stand high taxes, but I’m a social liberal in the same breath because I believe in living and let live. I pay attention to the desolate and the disenfranchised. Yes, I like strong borders. That’s absolutely true. We never needed open borders, but we don’t need it to be completely closed either. We’re a gorgeous mosaic.”

The sports analyst criticized both President Biden’s and President Trump’s policies during an extended version of the interview, calling out Biden’s open-border policies.

“The borders needed to be closed. [Trump] was right to do that, but only because Biden opened them,” he explained.

Smith’s criticisms of Trump mainly focused on deportations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which he described as “grabbing people up [and] snatching people off the streets.”

RELATED: Jason Whitlock: Stephen A. Smith is a part of a controlled ‘clown show’

Smith took issue with the targets of the agency and claimed the Trump administration had previously characterized enforcement as “going after the criminals,” only to then enforce immigration laws against “anybody who crossed the border illegally.”

The interview touched on a lot of different topics, including racism. At one point during the interview, Costa noted that Smith’s broadcasting style had garnered him the nickname “Screaming A. Smith.” The analyst quickly retorted.

“White men are all over the place screaming all the time. They don’t call them screaming whatever,” Smith declared. “Matter of fact, they call them passionate, and they never associate the word ‘anger.’ But somehow they do that with me despite this fact that I smile a lot. A lot of reasons to be happy.”

On the subject of race, Smith later noted that he does not believe racism is “as prevalent as some on the left would like us to believe.”

Smith said he does believe that the vast majority of Americans judge each other on the content of their individual character rather than skin color.

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​Sports, Stephen a. smith, Democrats, Trump, Republicans, Election, 2028, Biden, Racism, Ice, Immigration, Politics 

Never before have we seen a technology that offers such an impressive veneer of competence, yet demonstrates such dangerous incompetence when it actually matters. It’s what happens when government works together with the largest tech companies to monopolize the public square, prematurely promote AI for the wrong uses, and exaggerate the boundaries of its limitations. “Just good enough” can work for some functions of life, but not if you are on the operating table.

When humans outsource their measured judgment to what poses as an expert but lacks internal resistance when unsure of facts, you get catastrophic failure.

Reuters is reporting, based on lawsuits from several injured patients, that in the rush to approve AI-assisted medical devices for surgery, the FDA is receiving a record number of malfunctions leading to injuries during surgery. Additionally, companies are being forced to recall these products at a record pace.

Specifically, the report highlights TruDi from Acclarent, a software that provides imaging and real-time feedback to ENT surgeons during delicate procedures. The product had already been on the market for three years in 2021, at which time the FDA received seven complaints of malfunctions and one complaint of patient injury as a result of error. At the time, this was within the realm of normal baseline adverse event reporting. In 2021, however, Acclarent introduced machine-learning algorithms to the software.

Since then, the FDA has received 100 unconfirmed reports of malfunctions and eight instances of serious injuries.

What sort of injuries? In numerous instances, the software reportedly hallucinated and allegedly misinformed surgeons about the location of their instruments while they were using them inside patients’ heads. While causation is yet to be proven, patients who underwent operations with TruDi guidance since 2021 have reported:

Cerebrospinal fluid reportedly leaking from the nose.The surgeon mistakenly puncturing the base of a skull.Two patients suffering a stroke after a major artery was wrongly cut.

Anyone familiar with using LLMs can easily understand how AI could misidentify anatomy. “The product was arguably safer before integrating changes in the software to incorporate artificial intelligence than after the software modifications were implemented,” one of the suits alleges.

TruDi is one of at least 1,357 medical devices using AI that are now approved by the FDA. That is double the number the agency allowed through 2022, which means that somehow the FDA was able to properly scrutinize nearly 700 AI medical devices in three years. There are currently only 25 scientists working in the Division of Imaging, Diagnostics and Software Reliability, the key agency that assesses the safety of these products.

The apparent rush to market with overhyped and exaggerated capabilities of LLM is clearly reflected in the results from recalls. Researchers from Yale and Johns Hopkins recently found that 60 FDA-authorized medical devices using AI were linked to 182 product recalls, with 43% of those recalls having occurred less than a year after the devices were approved. According to the study published in JAMA, that’s about twice the recall rate of all devices authorized under similar FDA protocols.

Notably, most of the companies associated with the recalls in the JAMA analysis were publicly traded companies. “The association between public company status and higher recalls may reflect investor-driven pressure for faster launches, warranting further study,” warn the authors.

According to one lawsuit in Dallas, the doctor using the TruDi system was “misled and misdirected,” leading him to cut a carotid artery — which resulted in a blood clot and stroke.

The plaintiff’s lawyer told a judge that the doctor’s own records showed he “had no idea he was anywhere near the carotid artery.” The patient, Ralph, was forced to have a portion of skull removed as part of the remedial treatment, and he is still struggling to recover his daily functions a year later.

This is part of a broader problem of laziness on the part of AI users and the desire for speed and shortcuts creeping its way into health care. Researchers from Oxford, in a recent study published in Nature Medicine, found that among 1,300 patients who used LLMs to diagnose medical problems, many of them were provided with a mix of bad and accurate information. They found that while the AI chatbots now “excel at standardized tests of medical knowledge,” their use as a frontline medical tool would “pose risks to real users seeking help with their own medical symptoms.”

Again, “just good enough” is nowhere near enough for health care. The fact that a majority of the information is correct is even more dangerous.

The problem with LLMs is that they present themselves as the most qualified and knowledgeable cognitive human being, capable of adapting to a dynamic situation. However, despite the confidence, lack of hesitation, and even coherence that they offer, they lack the ability to use judgment through error and revision. When humans outsource their measured judgment to what poses as an expert but lacks internal resistance when unsure of facts, you get catastrophic failure.

RELATED: Can computers really make up for everyone getting dumber?

MF3d/Getty Images

In public policy, particularly the FDA and approval of AI technology in health care, we must not fall into the trap of prioritizing speed over safety. That must be the guiding principle in the deployment of these technologies. The money that has been thrown at these technologies and the fact that the return on investment is still lagging should not induce us into a frenetic and rushed approval.

As a percentage of GDP, AI investment is bigger than the railroad expansion of the 1850s, putting astronauts on the moon in the 1960s, and the decades-long construction of the U.S. interstate highway system in the 1950s through 1970s, according to the Wall Street Journal. The difference is that this is all unproductive debt not producing any meaningful revenue. Now, these companies are desperately paying “influencers” to shame people into using their products.

Hopefully the technology will get better, but we should not continue prioritizing this technology in its current iteration without major changes. Nor should we ever mistake generative AI as a replacement for the human mind rather than a potential tool for augmentation of the human mind. Safety always comes first, and God created human judgment and human ethics powered by a human brain to be the last line of defense against danger.

​Ai, Surgery, Ai in medicine, Healthcare, Ai medical tools, Fda, Llms, Artificial intelligence, Opinion & analysis 

Actor James Van Der Beek found love from God before his passing.

Since the 48-year-old “Dawson’s Creek” star’s death from cancer, support has poured in for his family by the millions. However, a video from Van Der Beek’s journey with faith may provide an even longer lasting impression than some of his films.

‘If I’m worthy of God’s love, shouldn’t I also be worthy of my own?’

Van Der Beek passed away on February 11, with his family delivering the message on his Instagram account.

“Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning. He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace,” the message read.

Nose-to-nose with death

Since then, fans have reconnected with a message the actor posted on his birthday on March 8, 2024. At that time, Van Der Beek said he was on the road to recovery after having to look his own mortality in the eye, coming “nose-to-nose with death.”

“All of those definitions that I cared so deeply about were stripped from me,” he said, after saying he viewed himself as an actor. Being away for cancer treatment meant he could “no longer be a husband” and no longer “pick up his kids and put them to bed.”

“I could not be a provider because I wasn’t working. I couldn’t even be a steward of a land,” Van Der Beek continued. It was at this point the Connecticut native revealed how he felt about his identity as a “skinny, weak guy alone in an apartment with cancer.”

RELATED: Scott Adams made Trump plausible before anyone else would

Worthy of God’s love

“I meditated, and the answer came through. I am worthy of God’s love simply because I exist. And if I’m worthy of God’s love, shouldn’t I also be worthy of my own? And the same is true for you,” he posited.

Van Der Beek admitted to his audience that he believed this revelation came to him because of “all the prayers and the love that have been directed toward me.”

He added, “However it sits in your consciousness, however it resonates, run with it. … I am worthy of love because you are. Thank you for the love and prayers everyone. Have a blessed day.”

Van Der Beek leaves behind his wife, Kimberly, and six children. Since his passing, many celebrities have come out in support of his family, emphasizing how kind of a soul the actor was.

‘Forever in my heart’

This included WWE star Stacy Keibler, who said, “Spending these final days with you has been a true gift from God. I have never been so present in my life,” according to Page Six.

NFL legend Brett Favre revealed he was good friends with the Van Der Beek family, remarking on their shared faith, laughs, and conversations over the years.

“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” actor Alfonso Ribeiro shared multiple heartfelt messages online, stating that he was with Van Der Beek before his passing.

“I’m so broken right now,” Ribeiro wrote. “I will forever be in debt for all they’ve given me and my family. He will live forever in my heart.”

RELATED: Actor James Van Der Beek calls out Democrats for not holding primary debates, calls them ‘back room’ decision-makers

‘Dawson’s Creek’ (1997). Photo by Warner Bros./Getty Images

‘No debate no democracy’

Throughout his illness, Van Der Beek remarked how financially straining the ordeal had become. He had even auctioned off jerseys from his beloved football movie “Varsity Blues” to pay for cancer treatment in November.

The actor’s family has posted a Go Fund Me campaign, which as reached nearly $2.3 million at the time of this writing. Director Steven Spielberg reportedly donated $25,000 as well.

In 2023, Van Der Beek made headlines after criticizing the Democratic Party for not holding a primary to choose their presidential candidate.

“How do we have a government, how do we have democracy if we’re letting a small, little back room of people make all the important decisions for us?” he asked at the time.

“That’s not a democracy, and it doesn’t work. Because y’all have been wrong about a lot these last couple years in that back room. No debate no democracy.”

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​Religion, Align, Dawson’s creek, Christianity, Cancer, Actor, Hollywood, Recovery, Faith 

Two 15-year-old males are accused of threatening to shoot up Florida high schools and were arrested last week.

One teen is from Volusia County, and the sheriff’s office said officers responded Thursday to a tip about him. The second teen is from Okaloosa County, and the sheriff’s office reportedly arrested him last Monday.

‘I commend those who reported the threats. Their willingness to speak up may have prevented a dangerous situation.’

Blaze News is not naming or showing the faces of the suspects due to their ages.

The Okaloosa County 15-year-old lives in Fort Walton Beach and was charged with issuing a written/electronic threat to commit a mass shooting and using a two-way communication device to commit a felony, the sheriff’s office told WEAR-TV.

The sheriff’s office said the teen’s threats were directed toward Choctawhatchee High School and that “investigation witnesses” told the sheriff’s office that the suspect “had been making increasingly specific threats between December 2025 and January 2026,” the station reported.

Officials were notified Jan. 16, WEAR said.

The sheriff’s office noted to the station that a “forensic analysis of his phone revealed it contained a document titled ‘List 2026’ containing names of students that attend or have attended Choctawhatchee High School” but that “no weapons were found.”

The suspect admitted to investigators that he made the threats but said that they were “jokes,” WEAR reported.

Sheriff Eric Aden had the following to say about the incident, according to the station:

I commend those who reported the threats. Their willingness to speak up may have prevented a dangerous situation. Reporting concerns is the best way to protect your classmates, your school, your community, and yourself. I encourage parents to please talk to your children about the seriousness of violent statements and the importance of reporting concerning behavior immediately to school administrators or law enforcement. We are proud of our successful partnership with the Okaloosa County School District as well as those who did the right thing and came forward.

The teen in question was transported to the Department of Juvenile Justice facility near Crestview, WEAR said.

As for the 15-year-old from Volusia County, the sheriff’s office said it responded to a tip about an Atlantic High School student “who posted about shooting up his high school.”

RELATED: 11-year-old arrested for alleged ‘kill list’ at Florida school — just 2 weeks after similar incident in same school district

Image source: Volusia County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office video screenshot

Officials said Thursday he’s “in custody for a felony. I can’t solve every issue out there that might cause a 15-year-old to post what he posted. But I can guarantee we’re going to act quickly to protect the 99% of kids who just want to know they’re safe at school. Once again, parents, talk to your kids before they make this mistake.”

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​Crime thwarted, Florida, Arrests, Teenagers, High schools, Mass shooting threats, Volusia county sheriff’s office, Okaloosa county sheriff’s office, 15-year-old males, Crime 

The two major prediction market companies, Kalshi and Polymarket, have determined that they will use what amounts to online betting and rehypothecation schemes to eventually financialize “every difference of opinion” — and both platforms started giving out free groceries in New York City to keep any PR issues at bay. Believe it or not, most bettors lose money.

The sequence of events is remarkable. Kalshi, founded in 2018, came into being first. Polymarket didn’t get started until 2020 but got into operations immediately and grabbed huge market share before Kalshi could get off the ground. Polymarket didn’t have any government authorization to operate but worked the margins and caught attention. The Commodities Futures Trading Commission fined Polymarket and set the company on the overseas sidelines for four years. In the meantime, Kalshi formed quickly and launched in 2021. Jump to 2025, and Polymarket acquired a U.S.-based previously licensed exchange, putting it back in the game.

If it sounds a lot like gambling, that’s because it is a lot like gambling.

Now both companies are mushrooming in value, intent on financializing everything heretofore not yet saleable. Like opinions and politics. Like famous relationship outcomes. And war.

It’s hard to keep perfect track, but Kalshi is currently facing something close to 20 federal lawsuits. Meanwhile, Polymarket, among its own federal legal issues, is currently suing the state of Massachusetts. “Polymarket U.S. now faces a real and imminent risk of identical enforcement,” the lawsuit states, “exposing it to civil penalties, potential criminal liability, forced cessation of operation within Massachusetts, and severe collateral consequences to its nationwide operations.”

So-called prediction markets are trading platforms providing users with the options to create, buy, and sell contracts on future events. If it sounds a lot like gambling, that’s because it is a lot like gambling. The main difference so far appears to be not-so-cleverly veiled legalese and chicanery coupled with the option to place a bet — er, purchase a yes/no contract — but also to sell said financial instrument. Typically once bets are placed, they’re locked.

The capacity to sell your bet opens several of the same secondary market opportunities found in standard stock exchanges — hedging, immediate profit taking, and so forth. Essentially, you can play it like a day trader, except you’re betting on outcomes or events as varied as the winner of the Super Bowl or the likelihood of the halftime performance to involve ambulances and pack animals.

It’s unclear exactly how both of these companies, ostensibly in mortal combat for the market share (estimates vary, but it’s safe to say hundreds of billions of dollars), decided almost simultaneously to cover their optics issues by supplying Big Apple residents with free groceries. Isn’t that SNAP’s job? Are Gotham’s socialist politicians giving advice? Or is this an example of the inevitably messy transition from Boomer to Zoomer/Millennial domination of political and social economy operations?

RELATED: Prediction markets let you ‘bet’ in states where gambling is banned: Here’s how

Gabby Jones/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The free groceries will buy plenty of favor from the everyman on the street. How, though, will Kalshi or Polymarket deal with the rest of the major financial players who will want their cut?

It gets interesting, because according to Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour, “the long-term vision is to financialize everything and create a tradeable asset out of any difference in opinion.” This sounds provocative, and it is. However, we know tokenization, digitalization, and any number of other schemes to contort the pricing mechanisms of a free society are already en route. The underlying assumptions regarding control or at least a plausibly accurate prognostication — not just seeing the future, but memeing it into being, a process dubbed hyperstition — should point observers to the potential for even worse insider trading and control schemes than those we suffer under now.

This is the sort of thing you would imagine at the very last phases of civilizational decline, of course. Wild claims of near-divine power, sweeping assaults on the old power order, and an all-out mad scramble for anything resembling monetary advantage. With liquidity always a challenge, Kalshi and Polymarket will likely continue to hemorrhage cash to cover optics until they can grease the regulatory skids and find a place at the table with current giants. Or the current giants will just buy them out. But either way, it appears that the power and danger of prediction markets are here to stay — at least for a while.

​Tech